eche of them beheld other with their eyes without speaking of any worde when they returned to their tentes their fiercenesse was turned into swéete wanton words Ex Marco Aurelio Cleopatra in the Prouince of Bithinia in the wood Sehin made a goodly baÌ„ket and solemne feast to Marcus Anthonius hir louer And though she were not very honest hir self yet had she with hir right chast women And thus the banket endured a great part of the night and the wood béeing thicke the yong damselles were not so wilie to hide them but the yong men Romanes found them so that of sixtie daughters of the Senators 55. were gotten with childe Which thing made great slauÌ„der to the people sorow to the Senatours infamie to Cleopatra and dishonestie to Anthonius Ex eodem When Pirrhus the faythfull defendour of the Tarentines and renowmed king of Epyrotes was in Italie hée came to Naples and hadde not bene there but a day the same season there was a Lady in that same citie named Gamalice of a highe linage and greatly estéemed in beautie the very same day she was gotten with childe shamed throughout all Jtalie thrust out of the citie and slayne by hir owne brother Ex Marco Aurelio Nero Domicius was a monster of so horrible vncleannesse that he absteined not from his owne mother his naturall sister nor any degrée of kinred And that more horrible is to speake he vsed hys filthy buggerie with Porus a boy whom by magike and sorcerie he endeuoured to traduce vnto the nature of a woman Bruso li. 3. cap. 9. Letus declareth howe that Maxentius béeing at a time farre in loue with a noble and chaste gentlewoman of Rome sente vnto hir suche courtiers of his as were most fitte for that purpose whom also he had in greater estimation than any others and with suche was wonte to consulte about matters for the common wealth These first fell vpon hir husbande and murthered him in hys owne house then when they by no meanes neither with feare of the tyraunt nor threatning hir death pull hir from him at length she desired leaue of them to goe into hir chamber and after hir prayers she woulde accomplishe their request And when she was gone into hir chamber vnder this pretence she slue hir selfe But the rakehelles when they sawe the woman farrie so long béeing therewith displeased brake vp the doore and founde hir lying dead wherefore they returned and declared this heauie happe vnto their vnhappie maister Who was so farre past shame that in steade of repentaunce he was the more set on fire to attempt the like Ex domino Fox Also Tarquine the proude béeing a right goodly man in gesture right valiaunt in armes and of a noble bloud as an vnhappie Prince defiled all his vertues with vicious liuing in suche wise that he conuerted his heautie into lecherie and his power into tyrannie for dooing the lyke villanie vnto Lucrecia the chast Lady of Rome Whereby he loste not onely his realme but also caused the name of Tarquine to be banished out of Rome for euer after Liuius li. 1. 2. Of Liberalitie MYcippa in Salust said vnto Iugurtha that neither an armie of men nor yet abundance of treasure were so firme to retayne a kingdome as a sure and trustie friende whom neither golde can winne nor sworde compell to forsake his friende And suche friends saide he by beneficence liberalitie thou mayest easily finde At the siege of newe Carthage there was a proper yong woman who was the wife of one Lucius prince of the Celtibrians taken captiue and brought vnto Scipio as a bootie worthy of so valiant a captaine But he no lesse curteous liberall than he was valiaunt and martial did in most honest maner restore hir agayne Wherfore hir father hir friendes gaue him righte condigne thankes and offred him a great summe of money for hir raunsome Which summe Scipio willed them to deliuer vnto him and faking it in his hands he deliuered it vnto hir husbande and said besides the dourie which hir father had bestowed with hir he woulde giue that to hir mariage Abundantly declaring his liberal gentle disposition both in restoring the damsell and refusing the raunsome Who on another time hauing taken Hasdruball king Masinisâ—a his cosin captiue gently intertayned him and sente him home with other greate presentes vnto the king his cosin Shewing hereby that a valiaunt captayne oughte aswell to excell in liberalitie and other domesticall vertues as in warlyke affayres and prowesse Cymon was so gentle and liberall that whereas he had farmes orchardes and gardeynes in many places he neuer set any man to kéepe them but suffered who so woulde to enioy the fruits thereof Accustoming alwayes whersoeuer he wente to haue one followe him with a purse of money that if any one asked his almes he might straightwayes bestowe his liberalitie vppon him And if he sawe any one want clothing he would do off his own apparell and bestow it vpoÌ„ him And though this kinde of liberalitie be in these our dayes very rare yet by reporte good master Foxe dothe to his power resemble this good Cymon When a certayne Macedonian was driuing a Mule laden wyth the kinges coyne it happened that wyth the weight of the money the Mule was tyred Wherefore the man tooke it on his owne shoulders and beganne with greate payne to carrye it But the weighte thereof was so heauie that the poore man was forced to fall vnder it Whiche when Alexander the kyng espied he sayde bicause thou shalte not be wearie to carrie so tedious a burthen I giue it thée take it and carrie it to thy owne house When Ptolome had subdued Demetrius he not onely spared his lyfe but also lefte his tente vntouched and gaue him 8000. of his captiue souldiers without any raunsome saying that valiant men striue not for the death of men but for honour and glory Whose regall beneficence Demetrius wondering at desired God to giue him occasion to requite him with the like And so it came to passe For Demetrius tooke Cilla a notable aptayne of Ptolomeis captiue and with lyke humanitie restored hym agayne Amongest infinite foreine examples which I might here insert I thoughte good not to forget a domesticall example of an English captayne in beneficence and liberalitie inferiour to none In the reigne of king Edwarde the thirde the yere of grace 1 3 4 5. the king of England waging warre into Fraunce sente thither Henry Earle of Lancaster as generall captayne of his armie who albeit he were a man famous and notable for his prowes in marciall affayres yet in curtesie and liberalitie he surmouÌ„ted all others and almoste passed himselfe In so muche that at the siege of Briers wheras he had graunted euery man for his bootie the house with the implemeÌ„ts therein which he by victorie should obtayne amongest other his souldiers to one named Reth fell a certayne house wherein
regal bloud And wouldest thou thou varlet haue ben author of so horrible an acte Aneas Siluiu lib 3. commentariorum de rebus gestis Alpho. On a tyme when the Abbot of a certaine Monasterie was dead there came vnto the Courte of VVilliam Rufus then king of Englande two Monkes of the same house who before hadde gathered muche money and made their friendes to the king and offred large offred large offers eyther of them to be promoted vnto that dignitie Ther was also the third Monk who of méekenesse and humilitie followed the other two to the intente that on him whome the King shoulde admitte Abbot he shoulde attende and wayte The King called before him the two Monkes seuerally eyther of them out-profered the other but as he caste his eye aside he espyed the thyrde Monke standing by supposing that his comming had also bene for the like cause wherfore calling him vnto him he asked him what he would do whether he woulde giue more than his brethren hadde offred to be Abbot who aunswered the king and sayde that he neyther hadde nor woulde if he myght offer any penny for it nor by any suche vnlawefull meanes come by it When the King had wel pondered his answere he sayde that he was beste worthy to be Abbot and to haue the rule of so holy a charge and so gaue it him without taking any pennie for it Of Laboure and paine taking DEmocritus being demaunded what difference was betwixt the painefull and the idle answered the same difference that is betwéene the wicked and the godly For the labourer hopeth for his rewarde whereas the idle persone respecting his present estate is content to take his ease and to liue a miserable and beggerly life Ex Maxi. ser 32. The wise man in his Prouerbes reproueth the sluggardes in thys wise Go to the Pismire O thou sluggard beholde her wayes and be wise For shée hauing no guide gouernoure nor ruler prepareth hir meat in sommer and gathereth hir foode in haruest How long wilt thou sleepe O thou sluggarde when wilt thou awake out of thy sléepe Yet a litle sléepe a little slumber a little folding of thy handes together Therefore thy pouertie commeth on as a trauailer by the way and thy necessitie as an armed man. The Corinthians hearing that Phillip king of Macedonie was comming to inuade theyr kingdome began euery man to doe his endeuoure to resist his force One in making fitte his armoure an other in gathering of stones togither Be made the wals hygher and the other made the fortresses stronger and to be shorte euery one did somewhat which might tende to the defence and sauegard of the Citie Which thing when Diogines saw bicause he had no other thing to do he began to roll and tumble his tun Whereat when one of his fréends wondered and asked what he meaned thereby He answeared bicause I alone will not be idle when all these are so busily occupied Guido Bitur tit de Disidia When one tolde Socrates that hée woulde very faine goe to Olympia but that he feared least he shoulde not be able to endure the laboure and paynes Socrates answered him I know thou vsest to walk betwene thy meales which walke if thou vse onwardes thy way to Olympus within fiue or sixe dayes thou shalte come there Whereby the wyse man declared that it is rather a slouthful imagination than oughte else whiche maketh men afrayde to attempte any goodnesse For if we should sustayne any labour daunger or coste for some honest matter Lorde howe we excuse our selues detracte the time and cast daungers Whereas commonly in a thing of no value yea sometimes in vnhonest affayres we nothing sticke to sustayne the like or greater paynes As for example exhorte a slouthfull truande to the studie of learning and vertue and he wil straiwaies haue an excuse that for want of wealth he can not sitte vp and take paynes at his booke that he is not able to buy bookes and other necessaries to his studie and yet the selfe same fellowe for all his weaknesse can indure to sit vp whole nightes at cardes dise and tossing the pot and so bothe spende his money léese his credite and gette the Ague Goute or Dropsie or some suche disease When one Matheus Siculus blamed Alphonsus for labouring wyth his owne handes Alphonsus smyled and sayde what hath God and nature giuen Kings their handes to do nothing with The Lacedemonians vsed this prouerbe put to thy hande and then call on fortune and she will helpe thée Whereby they meant that we shoulde so call to God for helpe that we in the meane season be not idle our selues for then our prayer shall nothing helpe vs And as we know the he will prosper our workes that we attempte in his feare so oughte we to persuade oure selues that he detesteth idle and slouthful persons and that his pleasure is that we shoulde take paynes for his blessings not thincking him to be so folish that he wil bestow his blessings on them that eare not for thē Ex Plut. in Lacon Amis king of Egipt amongste other his statutes made an especiall law that the Pretor should once a weeke aske an accoumpte howe euery one in the Citie liued to the intent that if any were founde irle or occupyed in any vnhenest science he should be taken and punished as one greatly offending against the cōmon wealth Aristotle woulde often saye that the roote of learning was sowre and bitter but the frute thereof to be most pleasant and swéete ▪ Meaning thereby that without laboure and diligence a man can attaine nothing ▪ But after laboure and diligēce so applied that there ensueth perpetuall rest and tranquilitie of mind Ex Laert. lib. 5. cap. 5. Of Lawes Statutes and Decrees PAusanias being demaunded why the Spartanians might alter none of their olde lawes bicause said he that lawes ought to rule mē not to be ruled by thé Anacharsis no lesse pleasantly than truely called lawes spider webs bicause they take the silly flées but let the great birds through them Meaning that the pore only are punished for their offences but the riche and mighty by bribing and other shiftes escape vnpunished When one inquired of Demarchus why he was exiled his Countrey being himselfe Prince therof He answeared bicause that oure Spartantan lawes are mightier than oure Princes Meaning that albeit he were Prince of the Citie yet he ought to be ruled guided by the law Herein shewing a Princely modestie in so quietly taking his exile and so nobly authorizing his countrey lawes Who did not repine but spake well of the rigoure of his countrymen Antiochus the thirde wrote vnto his citizens willing them that if he chanced to wryte any thing vnto thē which were cōtrary to the order of their law thei shuld not accept it but accoūt it wrytten w eout his consent or knowledge For Princes sometimes for pleasing of
parties wryte suche things as they would be lothe to haue accomplised Wherefore what so euer is contrary to the law ought to be accompted as a thing forged and not coÌ„sented vnto by the Prince who oughte to defend and not to infringe his lawes and customes The Lacedaemonians had a lawe that in warring with their ennimies who so fled out of the fielde shoulde be apprehended and put to deathe But it hapned that fighting agaynste the Remaynes at a fielde called Leuctria the greatest part of the Armie tooke their héeles wherefore the Captains being destitute of ayde on the one syde were loth to put so great a multitude of theyr souldiers to death on the other side were as lothe to haue their lawes infringed So that they desired Agesilaus a valiaÌ„t captain a wise ceuÌ„seller to take so me order herein wherevpon going vp into the pulpet he began in thys sorte to insinuate the people My purpose is not at this time eyther to make any newe lawe herein or to adde or diminishe any thing from your olde and commendable decrées or in any sorte to alter or chaunge the same But only thys I counsell and thinke good that the Statute in thys case enacted shall from to morrowe forewardes take date for euer hereafter to be executed And so by thys shift he defended the citie from present danger and prouided a remedie for the dangerous mutation of lawes and all this by abrogating the lawe for one daye Ex Plutarc in Laco Apotheg Augustus made a Lawe for adulterers howe they shoulde be iudged which were accused thereof and howe they shoulde be punished which were founde guiltie therein But afterwardes hearing that a yong man hadde to doe with Iulia his daughter he was so incensed with ire that he fell on hym and beate hym wyth his owne handes Wherefore the yong man cryed out O Caesar thou madest a Lawe herein but dost thy selfe contrarie to it with which words Caesar comming to himselfe and remembring howe he hadde violated his Lawe was so sorie therefore that that daye he woulde eate no meate Ethelstane sometymes king of Englande prescribed a Lawe that euerie man shoulde paye Tythes of hys increase whose wordes are these Ego Ethelstanus c. I Ethelstane King charge and commaunde all my officere through my whole Realme to paye the Tithes of my proper goods as wel in liuing and cattel as in the corne and frute of the grounde and that my Bishoppes likewise of theyr proper goodes and my Aldermen and officers and heade men shall do the same Remembring what Iacob sayd vnto the Lord Of all things that thou hast giuen me I will paye the tenthe and howe terribly God threatneth vs that if we will not paye oure tithe from vs nine partes shall be taken away and the tenth only shal be lest vs. King Alfrede his father deuised and set forthe many godly holsome lawes wherein especially by him was prouided for the extirping and abolishing of al theft and theues out of this realm So that the realme throughe his viligante care was broughte to suche tranquilitie or rather perfection at that euery crosse or turning way he made be set vp a golden brooche at least of siluer gilded through out his realme and none to be so hardie by day or night to take it downe Vitoldus duke of Lituania desirous to differ from his subiectes made a Lawe that all men shoulde be shauen and no man to haue a bearde but he But nature so impugned his vaine deuise the he had no hair growing on his face Wherfore still coueting to haue a knacke by himselfe he shaued his head and his eye-browes forbidding his subiectes to doe the like And he would say that the people should obey the lawe and the lawe be subiecte vnto the Prince The words and workes of a right impious tirante Who when he oughte to giue his subiectes example of obeying the law wold himselfe be vnruely and lawlesse and deny that in life and conuersation which he ratified in words and constitution Of Lasciuious loue lust and lecherie OVid in his booke de arte amandi saith loue is I wotte not what that commeth I wotte not whence who sent it I wotte not it ingendreth I wotte not howe it is contented I wotte not wherwith it is felte I wotte not howe ofte nor I wotte not wherefore And finally it taketh roote without breaking of the fleshe outwarde or pearsing the intrals inwarde Diogines saith that loue is a businesse to set idle persones a woorke alluding to the verse of Ouid in his boke de remedio amoris Laert. lib. 6. Quasi tollas periere Cupidinis arcus Contemptique iacent sine luce faces VVhere idle minde is not in place There Cupids craft hath lost his grace Estrasco a yong Romane that was dumb and Verone a Latin Ladie that was dumbe also sawe eche other at the mount Celioâ—te at a feast and there fell in loue eche with other And theyr heartes were as sore fixed in loue as theyr tungs were tied with woordes The yong Ladie came from Salon to Rome and he went from Rome to Salon by the space of thirtie yeares together without the witting of any persone And at last died the husbande of the Lady Verone and the wife of â—icrasco and theÌ„ they discouered their loue and concluded a mariage of whom discended the noble linage of the Scipions which were more liberall in feates of armes than their father mother were of their tongues Ex M. Aurelio Masinâ—â—â—a king of Numidia and Sapharise a Ladie of Carthage all only by one sighte as they sawe eche other on a ladder he declared his desire vnto hir and she knowing his luste breaking the ore of feare and lifting vp the Ankers of shame incontinently raysed the sayles of their hearts and with the shippes of their persons ioyned eche to other And so the knowledge of their heartes the mariage of their bodies the perditioÌ„ of their estate and the infamie of their name in one day in one houre in one moment and in one steppe of a ladder was agréed Ex M. Aurelio Paris a Troian and Helena a Greke of two straunge Nations and of farre countroys with one onely sighte in the temple their willes were so vnited that he tooke hir as his captiue and she abode his prisoner In Paris appeared but small force and in hir as little resistaunce So that in maner these two yong persons the one in procuring to vanquish the other suffering to be vanquished Paris was cause of his fathers death and Helene of the infamie of hir husbande and they bothe of their owne death losse of men destruction of Troy slaunder to all the worlde Virg. li. 2. Aenidos When Alexander would haue gyuen battayle vnto the Amazones the quéene captayne of them no lesse fayre than strong and vertuous came to a riuers side and the space of an houre
he woulde neuer sitte in that seate where he mighte doe no more for his fréendes than for his foes Ex Plutarcho in Lacon Chrysippus being demaunded whye he woulde beare no office in the common wealth Answeared bicause that if I rule not well I shall displease God but if I rule as I shoulde doe the people will be offended Brusonius Lib. 3. cap. 5. Socrates was wonte to saye that it was a shame to sée that wher as in handy craftes no manne taketh anye thing in hande wherein he hathe not benetraded yet in administration of the common wealth oftentimes many are made officers whiche wotte but very little what belongeth thereto Ex Eras lib. 3. Apoth Antisthenes willed his Citizens to set Asses to ploughe and when they aunsweared that Asses were not apt to that laboure what matter is that quoth he For you make many Officers in the common wealth which neuer learned the manner thereof and yet when you haue made them they serue the turne wel inough Meaning that it was a thing muche more absurde to make an vnskilfull man a magistrate than to sette an Asse to ploughe Brusonius Lib. 6. cap. 5. Ex Laertio Lib 4. Cap. 1. When the regall Diademe shoulde be sette on Antigonus his head before it was put on he sayde these woordes O noble though vnhappie crowne if a mā knewe howe full of trouble and misery thou arte he would not take thée vp albeit he founde thee lying in the streate Max. Valerius lib. 7. cap. 2. Ex Stobaeo serm 46. Alphonsus the mightie king of Arragon vsed to say that Magistrates oughte as muche to excell priuate personnes in life and conuersation as they d ee in dignitie and vocation Meaning that the life of the subiects shal best be reformed when Princes and others giue others example of theyr godly and vertuous liuing As by this story folowing may appeare Ex Panorm lib. 6. Cato being Censor in Rome was so seuere a punisher of transgressoures and so feared for his good and vertuous liuing that like as children in the schole hearing their master comming runne vnto their bookes so when he wente through the citie euery one ranne vnto his businesse Who when he tooke any euill doer he strayghtewayes imprisoned him and in steade of examination the first thing he tooke hold of was their hands which if they had bene laborious and full of harde knots though his crime were very gréeuous yet his chastisemēt was mitigated and made more easie but if the vnhappie prisoner chanced to haue idle hands that is softe and smoothe he shoulde for a small faulte haue greeuous punishment For the Romanes had this prouerbe he that hath good hands muste néedes haue good conditions Ex Marco Aurelio The sayde Alphonsus also called effites and dignities touchstones to try the natures and dispositions of men which can in nothing be so well perceiued as in promotion and dignitie Ex Panormita de rebus gestis Alphonsi li. 6. Of Misfortune and miserie of man. CRates sayde that what state soeuer man follow he shall be sure to finde bitternesse therin In the field labour at home cares in a strange countrey feare if he haue ought in youth folly in age weaknesse in mariage vnquietnesse in lacking a wife sollitarinesse If a man haue children he shall haue cares if he haue none he is halfe maymed so that one of these two sayth he is to be wished either not to be borne or quickly to dye Xerxes séeing Helespontus swimming with his ships and all the playnes therabout mustring with his mē said that he was a right happie man therwith began bitterly to wepe Which soden alteratiō Artabanus his vncle espying wondred and demanded the cause therof Oh quod Xerxes now I remember howe short transitorie mans life is For sée of so great a multitude as here is within this hundred yeres there shal not be one man aliue Ex Plut. in Rom. Apoth When Philip king of Macedonie had subdued Cheronea a citie of Athens and thereby hadde purchased innumerable wealth he began to be hautie and high minded saying that fortune hadde no power to doo him harme But afterwardes béeing aduertised that his pride woulde haue a fall and howe vayne a thing man was he kepte a boy euery day to come to hys chamber doore and with a loude voyce to cry Remember Philip thou art a man. Also his sonne Alexander as he was at the siege of a certayne citie viewing in what place the walles thereof were moste weakest was wounded in the legge with an arrowe But at the first not séeling the smarte thereof procéeded in the siege vntill in fine his legge waxed so sore that he was compelled to take his horse and leaue the fielde And then he sayde Euery one telleth me that I am immortall and sonne to Iupiter but thys wounde playnely sheweth that I am a myserable mortall manne Ex Plutarch in vita Alexand. When flatterers came about Canutes sometimes king of Englande and began to exalte him with highe wordes calling him a king of all kinges moste mightie who had vnder his subiection bothe the people the lande and the sea Canutus reuoluing this matter in hys minde whether for pride of his heart exalted or whether to trie and refell their flattering wordes commaunded his chaire to be broughte to the sea side at what time it should begin to flowe and therein sitting downe charged and commaunded the floudes rising to goe backe and not to touche him But the water kéeping his ordinarie course growing higher and higher began to wash him welfauouredly Wherfore the king starte backe and sayde Lo ye call me a mightie king and yet I can not commaunde this little water to stay but it is like to droune me Dominus Fox Ex Polli li. 7. Hunting li. 6. A scholer of Zenons comming honie to his father was of him demaunded what profite he had attained by his long studie in Philosophie who answered that he would tell him and saying no more his father was offended and thinking his coste caste away he began to beate him Which thing his sonne paciently suffred Then his father demaūded him agayne to she we some experience of his learning to whom his sonne answered Lo this fruite haue I gotten by my Philosophie thus paciently to endure my fathers displeasure Ex Era. l. 8. A poth When one stroke Socrates with hys héeles and his friends sayde that they wondred howe he could put vp so great an iniurie he aunswered them what and if an asse should kicke you woulde you go to laws with him for it Another tyme when one gaue him a blowe he was nothing offended but sayde it was great pitie that menne coulde not tell when to doo on their helmets Ex Eras Pericles béeing rayled on and brawled with of a brabling marchaunt saide nothing but went his wayes home and when the other folowed him incessantly
father who abhorring all pride rebuked hir for hir ouer nicenesse Wherfore the nexte day shee attyred hir selfe more soberly and came and saluted hir father Who sayde vnto hir is not this attyre better than yesterdays yea quoth shee For to day I indeuoure to satisfie my fathers by yesterday my husbande his eyes Ex Macrobio Satur. lib. 2. cap. 3. An other tyme when one tolde hir that she was a great deale more proude than hir father Caesar She answered my father forgetteth that he is Emperour but I remember wel that I am an Emperours daughter Ibidem When one demaunded Phitons wife why she was not attired in gold as other princes wiues were she answered bicause my husbands vertue is a sufficient ornament for me Ex Stobeo ser 72. Tharsius Amphius béeing exalted from the state of a gardener vnto great honor and dignitie beganne to forget his olde friends Wherfore one of them saide vnto him if ye remēber sir we also sprang vp of the same séede that you did Of Princes and principalitie PYthagoras sayde that a Prince ought so to rule that he may be more beloued than feared of his subiects For loue causeth reuerence but feare causeth hatred and treason Ex Stobaeo ser 46. Edwarde surnamed the Confessour somtimes king of Englande describeth the office of a prince in this sort A king saith he ought aboue al things to feare God to loue obserue his commaundements to cause thē be obserued throgh his whole kingdome He ought also to kéepe cherish maintayne gouerne the church within his kingdome according to the institution of his auncientes and predecessors to defend the same agaynst al his enimies so the god aboue al thinges be honoured euer be before his eyes He ought also to set vp good lawes and customes suche as be holsome approued such as be otherwise to repel and put out of his kingdome Item he ought to do iudgement and iustice in his kingdome by the counsel of the nobles of the Realme Also thrée seruauntes a king ought to haue vnder him as vassals fleshly lust auarice and gréedy desire Whō if he kéepe vnder him as slaues he shall reigne well and honorably in his kingdome Al things are to be done with good aduisement and premeditation that properly belongeth vnto a king For temeritie and rashnesse wil bring a kingdome soone to desolation and decay Dominus Fox Ex libro regum antiq in praeto Londinensi Agesilaus would oftē say that a prince ought to excell his subiectes not in nicenesse and wantonnesse but in fortitude and temperaunce Also he sayde that a prince oughte to learne this lesson to be stoute and cruell agaynst traytours and rebels and to be gentle and louing vnto his citizens and subiectes And he was wont muche to reioyce in this that where as he was Prince and ruler of his people yet he coulde aswell indure to take paynes as any of them Yea when vs woulde haue his souldiers attempte any enterprise he hym selfe would be the first that should set on it and so for shame they woulde followe him in dooing the like Ex Plutarch in Lacon When one sayde vnto Theopompus king of the Lacedemonians that then it should be well with the Lacedemonians when the Prince knewe howe to rule the subiectes as he ought to doo he replied that that shoulde rather come to passe when the subiectes knewe howe to obey their Princes Meaning that the citie shall be beste gouerned where the citizens will be obedient and ruled by their gouernour For as the Gospell sayth euery citie deuided within it selfe shall be broughte to desolation Ex Fulgocio li. 7 ca. 2. Cyrus king of Persia sayde that no man shoulde be a Prince which were not better than the people whom he ruled and did not excell them in valiauntnesse and prowesse aswel as in wisdome and knowledge Brus li. 3. ca. 33. Fredericke the Emperour béeing demaunded whom he loued best of his subiects he answered that he loued thē best which would so please him that in no case they would displease god A christian prince and spoken right christianlike Ex Aenea Siluio Alphonsus king of Arragon sayde that those princes ought especially to be beloued feared which were louers and imbracers of iustice and equitie Which Princely vertues who so euer is indued withall theyr behest all men loue reuerence and feare As we reade of Cyrus who not only in iustice but also in all other princely vertues was him selfe an example vnto his subiectes and whose woorde was of as great a force as the oth of any priuate person Ex Panormi lib. 1. de rebus gestis Alphonsi When one tolde him that the king of Spaine should say that it was not comely for a Prince to be learned he said that those were woords of an Oxe and not of a man. For quoth he a Prince wythout learning is nothing else but as it were an Asse with a crowne Also whē it was tolde him that he was not apparelled like a Prince he answeared that he had rather be princelike in manners and authoritie rather than in his scepter and crowne Boso the last king of Araletensis commaunded the Bishop that he shoulde not goe to Euening prayer on Christmasse euen before that he came thether But when the Bishop with the rest of hys companie had taryed somewhat longer than his accustomed time and sawe that the king came not he went to seruice Wherfore whē the king came in he began to chide with the Bishop and was so moued that before all the people he gaue him a blowe Whereof the Bishop thincking to be reuenged complained to Otho the Emperoure who immediatly commanded that the Bishop should be beheaded And when the Archbishop intreated for him he woulde not forgiue him but sayde that no woorde that came from the mouthe of a Prince shoulde be spoken in vaine When one sayd vnto Antigonus that all things were honest and iust what so euer the Prince did he answeared yea amongst the Barbarike Princes it is so but we account nothing honest which is not honest in déede nor any thing iuste which is not iust in déede Alexander Seuerus the adopted sonne of Heliogabalus was a wise valiant and vertuous Prince who bare suche affection to learning and learned men that he would do nothing without their cousel and assistence From his Courte he dismissed all superfluous and vnnéedefull seruantes and sayd that he was no good pupill which fedde idle seruauntes with the bowels of his common wealth And amongste his other good vertues which was a rare thing in those dayes he was fréendly and fauourable vnto the Christians In so muche that when the Christians hadde occupied a certaine publike place to some good vse belike for the assembling and conuenting togither of the congregation the companie of the cookes or tiplers made chalenge thereto The matter being
brought before the Emperoure he iudged it more honest the place to serue to the woorshippe of God howe so euer it were than to the durtie slubbring of cookes and scullians Ex domino Fox King Alfrede alias Alurede Anno 899 king of Englande in his youthe perceyuing him selfe somewhat disposed to the vice of the fleshe and therby letted from diuers vertuous and good purposes did not as many yong Princes and Kings sonnes in the worlde be nowe wonte to doe that is to resolue them selues so all kinde of carnall licence and sensualitie running and folowing without bridle whether so euer theyr licence giuen doth giue them leaue as therefore not without cause the cōmon prouerbe doth reporte of them that kings sonnes learn nothing else well but only to ride Meaning thereby that Princes and Kings sonnes hauing aboute them flatterers which boast them in theyr faultes only theyr horsses giue them no more than to any other but if they fit not fast they will cast them But this yong king seeing in him selfe the inclination of the fleshe minding not to giue him selfe so muche as he might take but rather by resistance to auoid the temptation therof besought God that he would send to him some continuall sicknesse in quenching of that vice whereby he mighte be more profitable to the businesse of the common wealth and more apte to serue God in his calling Then at Gods ordinaunce he had the euill called Bicus till he came to the age of twentie yeres After this sicknesse being cured he fel to another which continued with him from twentie yeares of his age to 45. according to his owne petition and request made vnto God whereby he was more reclaimed and attempred from other more greate inconueniences and lesse disposed from that which he did most abhorre Also he deuided his goods into two equall partes the one appertaining to vses seculare the other to vses spirituall or ecclesiastical Of the which two principall partes the firste he deuided into thrée portions the first to the behoose of his house and familie the secōd vpon his workemenne and builders of his newe woorkes whereof he had right great delighte and cunning the thirde vppon straungers Likewise the other seconde halfe vppon spirituall vses he did thus deuide in foure portions one to the reléeuing of the poore an other to monasteries the third to the schollers of Oxford for maintināce of good letters the fourth he sent to forren churches wythoute the realme Also so sparing he was of time that he deuided the day and the night into three partes if he were not lette by warres and other great businesse the viij houres he spent in study and learning other viij houres he spent in prayer and almes déedes and other viij houres he spent his naturall rest sustinance of his body and the néedes of the realme The which order he kept duely by the burning of waxen tapers kept in his closette by certaine persones for the same purpose Nowe besides these other qualities and gifts of Gods grace in him aboue mētioned remaineth another part of his no little praise cōmendation which is his learning and knowledge of good letters whereof not only he was excellent expert himself but also a worthy maintainer of the same throughout all his dominions He translated into English Orossius pastorale Gregorij the historie of Bede Boetius de consolatione Philosophie also a Booke of his owne making in his owne tong which in the Englishe spéeche is called a handbooke in Gréeke called Inchiridion in Latin a manuell Suffring no man to aspire vnto any dignity in the court onlesse he were learned Do. Fox Next vnto this vertuous and learned prince Alfrede of all others that I could reade Maximi ian moste resembled hym in godly learning and in learned godlinesse Who was so excellente expert in the toungues but specially in the Latine stile that imitating the example of Julius Caesar he did wryte and comprehend in Latin histories his own acts and feates of chiualrie and that in suche sorte that when he had giuen a certaine taste therof to one Pycharmerus a learned man asking his iudgement how his warrelike stile in Latin did like him the said Pycharmerus did affirme and report of him to Iohn Charum the witnesse wryter of this historie that he did neuer sée nor read in any 〈◊〉 story a thing so exactly done as this was of Maximilian Moreouer as he was himselfe right learned so was he a singuler patrone and aduauncer of learning and learned men And for the maintenaunce thereof erected the excellent vniuersitie of Wittenberge Dominus Fox ex Iohanne Carione Of Pleasure KIng Lysimachus by chaunce of warre taken captiue of the Scithians in hys captiuity was so sore oppressed with thirst that he was glad for a draught of drinke to sell his kingdome But afterwardes remembring for howe shorte a pleasure he hadde solde a thing most precious he cried out and wept saying Alasse howe madde was I to sell a noble empire for the satisfying of my affection and gréedie belly The same day that Socrate shoulde drincke his deadly drench when his shakles were taken off his feete he felt himselfe maruellous light and pleasant and sayde behold how wonderously nature hath ordeyned that sorowe and pleasure goe alwayes togither and that there is neuer any perfite pleasure where there hath not bene paine and sorowe before Ex Laertio lib. 2. As Homer like a learned Poete dothe faine that Circes by pleasant enchauntments did turne men into beastes some into Swine some into Asses some into Foxes some into Wolues euen so Plato like a wise Philosopher dothe plainly declare that pleasure by licentious vanitie that swéete and pleasant poyson doth ingender in all those that yéelde them selues vnto hir foure notorious properties The first forgetfulnesse of all good things learned before The seconde dulnesse to receiue either learning or honesty afterwards The third a minde imbracing lightly the worst opinion and barren of discretion to make true difference betwixt good bad betwixt trouth and vanity The fourth a proud disdainfulnesse of other good men in all honest maters Plato and Home haue both one meaning For if a man inglut himself with vanitie or walter in filthinesse like a swine then quickly he shal become a dul asse to vnderstād either learning or honestie yet he shal be as subtil as a foxe in bréeding of mischeefe in bringing misorder with a busie hed a discoursing tōg and a factious heart alwayes glad to cōmend the worser partie euer ready so defend the falser opinion And why for where the will is giuē from goodnesse to vanitie there the minde is caryed from right iudgement to any fonde opinion in religion in Philosophie or any kinde of learning The fourth frute of vain pleasure by Homer and Platoes iudgement is pride of them selues and contempt of all others which is the very badge of all those that serue in Circes