that they make that dovvne their feathers fell For if at verteous actes their vices vainely striue The good shall grovv the bad shall quayle sure the best shall thriue I meane such men as this that vvell doth vvorke and vvill And labours for his countries gaine and so hee shall doe still Shall vvere a garlande gaye of flovvers that florish fayre VVhen painted vveedes that vvants good sap shal perish in the ayre Thus as my cunning serues and cause requires in deede I prayse the vvorke and like the man that giues you this to reede ¶ Of the slipperie state of fortune and vvhat Princes and vvhere they vvere aduaunced one vvay and hovve they vvere oppressed another vvay FOrtune the Treasurer of the worlde that ruleth realmes ouercommeth kingdomes oppresseth kinges exalteth Tyrauntes and doth to whom she will giue lyfe and to whom she hateth appoint death She calleth some to renowne some to shame What honour she gaue to some what honour she tooke from others How she exalted base mē how she oppressed proude Princes Histories do recorde All the Kings that euer raigned in Rome almost from base birth and slender progenie were aduaunced by fortune to sit in royall Rome and enioy princely Scepters Romulus the first King and builder of Rome borne of Rhea a Uestall Uirgine and daughter vnto Amulius left as a pray vnto beastes forsaken of all Rome hated of his owne grandfather that he founde more friendship in a shée Woolfe then hée had at his grandfather Amulius more kindnesse of the Woolfe for his nourishment then loue of his mother though he was borne of her Notwithstanding contrary to the expectation of Amulius not thought of in Rome by fortunes fauour he was by the Woolfe preserued and by a poore shéepe brought vp to be a King of Rome The like happened vnto Cyrus at thrée dayes olde when hée was commaunded by his grandfather king Astiages to be drowned and deliuered vnto Harpagus chiefe officer about Astiages by King Astiages owne hande to be killed and destroyed yet by fortune a Bitche being likewise left as Romulus was fed him and mylkt him gaue him life whē his parentes appointed death for him brought vp by a Bitche beyng a banished infant to be the firste and most renowmed King that euer raigned in Persia. Euen so of Paris King Priamus sonne called likewise Alexander the like commaunded he shoulde in all haste being borne bée killed which being preserued by fortune was brought vp by a beare to be a famous Phrigian Prince Thus Cirus by fortune found friendship more in a bitch thē in his own mother Romulus more loue in a Woolfe then in all Rome Alexander more kindnesse in a Beare then in his father Priamus To speake of Telephus the sonne of Hercules fostered by a Hart. To speake of Camilla and Semyramis the one brought vp by a Mare the other by birdes of the ayre to be such famous Quéenes as the one ruled the Volskans the other y e Babylonians How fortune appointed litle Antes to féede King Midas and Bées to féede Plato the wealth of the one the eloquence of the other did certifie the same but to declare first the extolling and aduauncement of simple and base men vnto princely seates Torquinus Priscus a straunger borne in Corinth the sonne of one named Demaratus a banished marchāt from his country became a famous King in Rome yea so famous I say that he enlarged the confines of Italy amplified the wealth and state of Rome augmented the number of the Senatours encreased the order of Knighthood and left Rome so happy at his death that the Citizens thereof would twise haue trauailde as farre as Corinth to spéede of so noble a Prince Tullius Seruius a poore straunger likewise aduaunced vnto the same place by fortune and Tullius Hostilius a shéepheard and from féeding of beastes extolled to be likewise King of Rome Thus fortune to shewe her might exalteth the poore and oppresseth the proude Thus from banished straungers from simple shéepheardes appointed she famous Princes and noble Kinges fortune elected Senatours appointed Consuls made Tribunes Censors Fortune as Seneca saith from lowe birth and base condicions made Princes Fortune had them from the Plough to sitte in seate of Kinges Fortune tooke Gordius from his Plough to be a King in Phrygia Fortune tooke Agathocles from his fathers Shop being a Potter and made him King in Sycilia she brought Darius from the Stable of Cyrus to be a King in Persia she brought Giges from a shéepehearde to be the welthiest king that euer raigned in Lydia She spared no place without respect to any man Iustinus a swineheard from féeding of his swine became a mightie Emperour of Constantinople And Carpenters likewise may bragge of Telephanes which fortune aduaunced to the kingdome of Lydia Shall not husbandmen extoll fortune which made Valentianus Emperour in Rome Howe much fortune fauoured learning howe she brought the greatest Princes in the worlde to honour simple men and caused the cruell tyrauntes to estéeme and reuerence the same That king Dionisius the wicked tyraunt of Sycilia when he heard that diuine and noble Philosopher Plato was comming vnto Sycilia made certen of his Nobles to go méete him on the Sea in a Ship so brauely appointed so gorgeously dressed with sayles of purple silke to bring him a lande where Dionisius him selfe taryed his comming in his golden Chariot with foure white Horses trapped ouer with gold tooke him vnto his owne Chariot princly talked vnto him reuerently vsed him honourably so entertained him that if Iupiter had descended from Skie greater honour coulde hée not get in Créete then Plato a poore philosopher Aristons sonne of Athence got in Sicilia Aristotle borne in Stagira a poore Phisitions sonne named Nichomacus merited suche fame by fortune that not onely Philip King of Macedonia thanked God that his sonne Alexander was borne in his time vnder whose tuition Alexander fiue yeres learned Philosophie but also Alexander the great conquerer of the worlde honoured and saluted him as his Maister vnto whom he sayde that he was no lesse bounde for his learning vnto Alexander and vertuous education then he was vnto king Philip his father for his birth he shewed the same being in India a countrey farre from Gréece and in the middest of his great warres vnto his maister writing the state of India the successe of his iourneys the prodigious and monstrous sightes that Alexander sawe vnto Aristotle That mightie Artaxerxes king of Persia hearing of the fame of that learned Hippocrates did sende vnto the chiefe gouernour of Hellespont earnest letters for Hippocrates promising in writing great honours equalitie to the chiefe rulers of Persea fellowe and friende to myghtie Artaxerxes Thus fortune was not onely honoured as a goddesse in Antium but also worshipped in all the worlde thus euery man toyleth for fortune goeth
briefly that magnanimitie was in Hercules that hée neuer offended iuste men hée neuer hurted innocent men hée preserued diuers kinges and countreys he neuer spoyled good countrey nor subdued a iust king therefore wholy addicted to merite fame In destroying the Serpent Hydra the Dâ—agon Priapus the Lion the wild Bore and terrible Bull. In conqueryng Gereon Cerberus and Diomedes cruell Tyrauntes In takyng the gylted Hart in vanquishing the Centaures and the rauenyng Birdes named Stymphalides was there any tyranny or cruel attempts in this his .xij. enterprices Well let Hercules passe who was as they say more ayded of the gods then helped of man With these princely actes renowmed feates of Hercules was noble Thesius much enamored insomuch he aemulated the vertuous life of Hercules that he tamed wylde beastes slue monsters ouercame cruell Creonâ— tyraunt of Thebes went downe as the Poet saith vnto hell to imitate Hercules feates to resemble Hercules magnanimitie to augment Theseus fame creating alters appointyng sacrifice in memorie of Hercules hoping that others woulde doe vnto Theseus as Theseus dyd vnto Hercules Next vnto Theseus for antiquitie of time that valiaunte and renowmed Gréeke Achilles the onely stay and comfort of his countrey the verye hope of all Gréece whose magnanimitie valiaunt courage worthy actes and famous life is at large set foorth in Homers Iliades which Homer Alexander the great by the reading of the manhood of Achilles being yet in his fathers dayes brought vp in schoole with that learned Philosopher Aristotle so estéemed that hée neuer went to bed but that he had Homer vnder his pillowe and there fell in loue with the prowesse of Achilles honoured his life and magnified his death in so much hée went vnto Ilion in Phrygia where that famous Citie of Troy sometime stoode to sée the graue of Achilles where when hée came and sawe the worthye monumentes his marshall chiualrie his famous feates and renowmed lyfe depaynted aboute the Temple enuironed and compassed about his sumptuous tombe he brake out in gushing teares beholding the tombe saying O happie Achilles to happen on suche a Homer that so well coulde aduaunce thy fame And thus Alexander being mooued by Homer to imitate Achilles wayed nothing else but magnanimitie and courage of minde as Curtius and Diodorus Siculus can well testifie whose lyfe though it was but short was a mirrour vnto all the world that being but twentie yeares when he began to enuie the actes feates of Achilles that in twelue yeres more which were his whole time of life he became King ouer Kings a conquerour ouer conquerours that he was named an other Hercules for his prosperous successe in his enterprises insomuch that Iulius Caesar the first and most valiaunt Emperor that euer was in Rome at his great coÌ„quests entering into the Temple of Hercules in Gades reading the lyfe of Alexander printed rounde about the Temple hys worthie fame depainted his noble déedes set foorth hys victories and conquestes in euery place described suche monumentes and myrrours in memorye of his noble life that Caesar fell vnto the like teares for Alexander as Alexander did for Achilles Thus one in loue with the other for magnanimitie sake eche one desirous of others fame as Caesar thought him selfe happie if he might bee counted Alexander Alexander iudged himselfe renowmed if he might be named Achilles Achilles sought no greater fame then Theseus Theseus euer desired the name of Hercules Therefore Agesilaus King of the Lacedemonians wondering muche at the singuler magnanimitie and force of Epaminondas Prince sometime of Thebes who with one little City coulde subdue all Gréece This Epaminondas hauing warres with the Lacedemonians people no lesse renowmed by warre then iustlye feared by Epaminondas after great victories and triumphes had by this Prince was after this sort preuented by Agesilaus in the wars of Mantinia that al the people of Sparta were counceled eyther to kill Epaminondas or to be kilde by Epaminondas whereby the whole force and power of Lacedemonia were fully bent by commaundement gyuen by Agesilaus their King to fall vpon Epaminondas where that valiaunt and noble Prince by to much pollicy was wounded to death to the spoyle and murther of all the people of Thebes and yet a liue caried vnto his tent demaunded of his souldiours the state of the fielde whether Thebes or Sparta was conquered being certified that the Lacedemonians fledde and that he had the victorye he foorthwith charged the ende of the speare to be taken out of his side and wounde saying Nowe your Prince Epaminondas beginneth to liue for that he dyeth a Conquerour wée reade not skant of Epaminondas mate which being compared vnto Agamemnon for his magnanimitie was angrie therewith saying Agamemnon with all Gréece with him was .x. yeres about one towne the Citie of Troye Epaminondas with little Thebes in one yeare conquered all Gréece This order was amongst the Lacedemonians before they shoulde go vnto warres they were by lawe charged to make solemne sacrifice vnto the Muses and being demaunded why they so did sith Mars hath no societie with the Muses Eudamidas then their King aunswered for that we might attaine aswell of the Muses how to vse victorie gently as of Mars to become victors manfully These Lacedemonians were so valiant that hauing banished their King Cleonimus for his passing pride and great violence making Areus to raigne as a King This Areus being in Créete ayding the people of Corcyra in warres with the most part of the Citizens of Sparta this Cleonimus their exiled King consulted with Pirrhus King of Epyre perswading then or neuer to conquere Sparta considering Areus was in Créete that Sparta was not populus to defende any strength came both and pitcht thir fielde in open face of Sparta assuring themselues both to be at supper in Cleonimus house The Citizens perceyuing the great army of Pirrhus thought good by night to sende their women vnto Créete to Areus making themselues ready to die manfully in resisting the hoast of the enimie and being thus in the Senate agréeing that the womankinde shoulde passe awaye that night least theyr nation at that time shoulde be quite destroyed by Pirrhus then rushed a great number of women in harnesse of the which Archidamia made an Oration to the menne of Sparta much blaming their entent and quite confounded their purpose saying Thinke you O Citizens of Sparta that your wiues and daughters woulde liue if they might after the death of their husbandes and destruction of Sparta beholde howe readye we are howe willing the women of Sparta will die and liue with theyr husbandes Pirrhus shall well féele it and knowe this daye No maruayle that the broode of these women shoulde be valiaunt and stoute If Demosthenes who so muche was estéemed in Athens had sayde in Sparta that which he wrote in Athens that they which sometime ranne awaye shoulde fight againe he shoulde haue the like rewarde
that Archilogus had for that he wrote in his booke that it was sometime better to caste the buckler away than to die he was banished the confines of Lacedemonia At what time the Citie of Sagunto was destroyed against promise of the people of Carthage The renowmed Romanes though league was broken and peace defied yet the Senators did sende Ambassadours Eabius Maximus with two Tables written the one contaynnig peace the other warres which was sent to Carthage eyther to choose peace or warres the election was theirs though the Romans were iniuried and though they could best defende their owne yet woulde the noble Romans suffer often offences Hardie then were the Romans when Scaeuola went alone armed vnto the tentes of Porsenna King of Hetruria either to kill Porsenna or to be kilde by Porsenna greater fortitude of minde coulde be in no man more valiaunt in heart no man séene than in Cocles who onely resisted the whole armie of of King Porsenna vntill the Citizens of Rome came to take vp the draw bridge and then leapt in all his harnesse from his enimies vnto the middest of the riuer Tiber though hee was sore in diuers places wounded yet neyther his fall hurted him neyther his harnesse preste him neyther water drowned him neyther thousands of his enimies coulde kill hym but swimmed through the riuer Tiber vnto Rome to the great admiration of king Porsenna and excéeding ioye of Rome so that one poore Romane gaue the repulse to the whole armie of a king Ualiaunt was Rome and Romans feared when Popilius was sent Ambassadour to Antiochus the great King of Syria when Antiochus eyther for pryde or pompe of his person or contempt of Popilius refused to aunswere the Romane Embassadour was then presently enforced to aunswere the state of Rome and demaunded of the Embassadour before he might goe out of a litle rounde circle which Popilius made wih his ryding Rodde Then faithfull was Rome when Pomponius a Romane Knight and souldier vnder Lucullus general in the fielde against Mithridates King of Pontus by whome Pomponius being taken as a prisoner sore wounded and mangled The King demaunded if hée woulde helpe him to life woulde he be true to Mithridates to whome the poore wounded Romane aunswered Pomponius wyll be vnto Mithridates as Mithridates wyll be vnto Lucullus so true and faithfull were Romanes as they were stout and valiaunt in so much that Scypio being thréescore yeres almost and being sought of a young souldier to bye a braue Buckler and a fine Target sayd that a true Romane must not trust vnto the lefte hande where the Buckler is or to hyde him selfe vnder a Target but muste truste vnto his ryght hande and shewe him selfe in fielde in open sight This magnanimitie hadde the people of Sithia at what time Darius King of Persia was marching with his armie towarde Scithia they hauing vnderstanding therof like people of great magnanimitie sent certaine Ambassadors to méete Darius to signifie his welcome vnto Scithia by presents sent by the Ambassadors when therefore the Ambassadours mette with King Darius they began to tell their message and opening a priuie place a wallet where theyr presentes were they tooke out a mouse saying Unlesse you créepe like this mouse to some countrey or swymme like this frogge or flie lyke this birde these arrowes shall pierce your hartes the presents were a Mouse a Frogge a Sparrow and fiue arrowes gyuing to vnderstande by the Mouse earth by the Frogge water by the Sparrow flight by the arrowes death rare presentes sent vnto a King simple giftes small charges but it contayned valiauntnesse fortitude and contempt of Darius rather to moue him to warres than to entreate of peace Though Scythia was bare yet was shée stoute though rude and barbarous yet valiant and manful â–ª It is not in the nature of the place or in the number of the persons that magnanimitie conâ—isteth but in the valiant hart and noble minde wherefore Leonides King of Sparta was wont to say vnto his souldiours that he had rather haue one Lion to leade a whole bande of Déers than to haue a whole bande of Lyons ruled and led by one Déere applying his meaning vnto King Zerxes who hauing ten hundred thousand shippes on seas sayling towarde Gréece so many as all Gréece coulde scant receyue so many that diuers riuers and flowdes were dryed vp by his huge armie a proofe sayth Iustine more of his welth then of his magnanimitie Leonides knowing well the maner of Zerxes that he was séene first fled and laste in fielde whose glorious pompe and shew of men was not so famous and terrible at his comming to Gréece as his departure from Gréece was shamefull and ignominious began to perswade the Lacedemonians béeing but foure thousande in number willinglye to liue and to die for the renowne of Sparta in Thermopyla exhorting them to dine as merilye with Leonides their Capitayne as though they shoulde suppe with Pluto but perswasions vnto these that were perswaded were superfluous spurres vnto those that might not be stopt with bridles were néedelesse as in Thermopila well séene and prooued to the noble fame of Leonides and great shame of Zerxes It is not in multitude of men that magnanimitie of menne consisteth but in wise and valiaunt heartes for witte and will ioyned togither sayth Salust make manne valiaunt wherefore Agamemnon that most renowmed Emperour of all Gréece appointed at the siege of Troye woulde often saye that he had rather haue sometime ten wise Naestors then tenne strong Achilles tenne Vlisles then tenne Aiax wisdome in warre auaylâ—th much Plutarch reciteth foure famous and renowmed princes and eyther of these foure had but one eye to the aduansing more of theyr passing port the first was Philippe King of Macedonia and Father vnto Alexander the great whose wisdome in warres whose pollicie in feates whose liberalitie vnto his souldiours whose clemencie and humanitie to his enimies in fine whose successe in his affayres were such that his sonne Alexander after doubted whether the valiauntnesse of hys father woulde leaue anye place to Alexander vnconquered The second was Antigonus King in the same selfe place succéeding after Phillippe whose warres with Mithridates King of Pontus and Pirrhus King of Epire fully set foorth in Plutarch doe yéelde due honour and renowne for his force and magnanimitie The thirde Hanniball Prince of Carthage the whole staye of all Libia for sixtéene yeares the whippe and scurge of Rome and Italye whose name was so terrible for his â—ourage and hardenesse that both Antiochus king of Siria and Prusia king of Bithinia rather for feare than for loue being then but a banished man receyued vnto honour The fourth Sertorius a Roman Prince borne in Sabina whose thundering clang of fame was nothing inferior to y e proudest These were not so famous by their prowesse and chiualry one way as they were
that cunning workman Memnon made might bée iustly numbred with these worthy and famous workes But to procéede to other sumptuous buildinges though not counted of the seuē woonders yet allowed amongst the best for the stately work of the same of no inferiour fame as Labirinthus made by Dedalus in Créete of such difficulte worke that he that came in coulde not without guide come out againe Thrée others were made lyke vnto them the one in Egypt which Smilus made the other in Lemnos which Rholus wrought and the thirde in Italy which Theodorus made These .4 Labirinthes were so curiously wrought that Porsenna king of Hetruria toke hence example to make him a monument after death to bury him selfe Againe after these there were other woonderfull workes made by the Kinges of Egypt called Obelisci famous and renowmed buildings that when Cambyses King of Persea at the siege of the citie of Sienna sawe but one of them he was in such an admiration that he thought them inuincible Phyus made one of fortie cubits King Ptholomeo made another of fourescore Cubites in Alexandria and diuers others which for their fame were then counted as marueylous as any of the seuen woonders But let vs speake of sundry buildings aswell of Cities and Townes as also of Temples Houses and Pallaices whose fame thereby long flourished as Romulus by building of Rome Cadmus by building of Thebes a Citie of Beotia in Gréece And Ogdous by the buildyng of the famous Citie of Memphis in Egypt Neither may I escape any sith I tooke vpon me to recite all whose renowmes and names by these their workes do yet liue I must not escape Alexander the great which in his businesse and great warres made a Citie of his name named Alexandria I must not forget King Darius which likewise builded vp Susa a citie in Persea These two Kings though they destroyed thousandes of cities yet they builded some cities Neither may I omit Caesar Augustus which made a famous Citie in memorie of the great victory ouer Antonius and Cleopatra and named it Nicopolis that is in english the city of victory King Ninus an auncient King made the Citie of Niniue within two hundred yeres after the flood of Noah Sichem made Sidon Agenor made Tire Then the worlde waxed populus and Kings began to builde euerye where for the furtheraunce of ciuilitie and encrease of pollicie and wit which the worlde in the beginnyng was very rawe for as the worlde grewe vnto ciuile order and perseueraunce of things so with all Cities and Townes were builded Castles fortified and hye walles raysed for a Bulwarke and a defence vnto the same so by litle and litle the world was full of Cities Then Siracusa was made by Archias The Citie of Argos was made by Phoroneus Laodicea by King Antiochus And so briefely to recite them ouer the noble and famous Citie of Troy in Phrygia was made by Dardanus Arpos a Towne in Apuleia was built by Diomides and so Telegonus builded Tusce in Italy being the sonne of Vlixes a Gréeke Capis likewise made the Citie Capua which Hanniball layde long siege at but lest I might be to long in rehearsing the builders of famous Cities hauing iust occasions to respect the time I wyll ende with Cities and Townes alwayes consydered that women ought not to be forgotten as Semiramis Quéene of Persea whiche builded vp the Citie of Babylon Queene Dido which made the warlyke citie of Carthage King Acrisius daughter Danaes which builded in Italy a great Towne called Arde. Diuers Quéenes and noble women are for the lyke no lesse famous then men were Now pausing a while we will repeate those that encreased the cōmon wealthes and beautified with other kinde of buildinges Amongst other myracles and woonderous workes Mount Atho◠was made of Zerxes Nauigable euen vnto the sea eleuen yeres hée kept thirtie thousande men to bryng his minde to passe Caesar made in one day two famous Bridges the one ouer the riuer called Rheum and the other ouer the riuer called Ara in one day which was almost vncredible Alexander the great made such a Tabernacle at the maryages of the nobles of Macedonia with the women of Persea as Alianus doth witnesse that a thousande Perseans and a thousande Macedonians and fiue hundred with swordes and siluer Targets lodged in that house while the mariages continued Trayan the Emperour made such a Bridge in Danubia that for length breadth and height all the worlde coulde not shewe the like What shoulde I rehearse the Temple which Salamon made in Hierusalem vnto the whiche muste néedes the Ephesians with the Temple of Diana and the Carthagineans with the Temple of Iuno créepe and geue place for princely pallaices and royal dwellyng néedes must Alexander for all his brauery and Clodius house which was the spectacle of of Rome yéelde vnto the golden Hall of Nero but yf finenesse of workes if the rarenesse of skill if I say the worthinesse of woonders might claime place and chalenge iustly fame I shoulde praise Spintharus for the making of y e Temple of Apollo in Delphos or Meleagenes for his worke in Prienna in making y e Temple of Minerua Shoulde I commende Epeus for his cunning about the brasen horse in Troy Shoulde I commende Perillus for his brasē Bull in Agrigentū yea or Vulcanus whom the Poets faine for his skil and knowledge in working he was appointed by Iupiter to work onely for the celestiall gods or the image of Diana in Chios who was so skilfully made that vnto those that came vnto the Temple she séemed glad and ioyful and vnto those that went out of the Temple she séemed sad and angrye Shoulde I prayse the artificiall golden birdes made by y e Sages of Persea or the curious work of Pallas Temple in Ilion No certainly but the worke and inuention of noble nature vnto the which nothing is harde It pierceth the Cloudes it vadeth the Seas it compasseth the whole worlde that is the cunnyng workman the skilfull Carpenter which saith Cicero guideth euery man as a Captayne I might here haue occasion in this place to speake of the worke of nature but that it is néedelesse consyderyng howe familiarly she instructeth any man vnto her workes which is most straunge and marueylous ¶ Of Painting HOrace that learned Poet affirmeth that the like power and dignitie is geuen vnto a Poete as vnto a Painter naming the one a speakyng picture and the other dumbe poesie For painting vnto the ignoraunt was as printyng vnto the learned Where the one vewed with the eye the other read with y e tongue Paintyng and grauing were the auncient monuments of Gréece and so much estéemed that Phydias waxt so famous amongst the Gréekes as Plini doth witnes for that he made the Image of Minerua in Athence so artificially and so subtilly with a great Target in her hande wherein were grauen the warres
want than that they shoulde not shewe mercie according vnto his custome to the comfortlesse Zerxes the great King of Persea with lenitie and gentlenesse towardes his brother Arimenes with whome before he was a great enimie made his foe his friende brought his enimie before to be his naturall brother then Porus a famous Prince of India being conquered by Alexander the great fearing that pittie might not haue place in the heart of such a great conquerour sought nothing else of Alexander which willed him to aske any thing and he shoulde haue it but clemencie this vertue long wayted vpon Alexander vntill pride the roote of al mischiefe corrupted his gentle heart vntill he was by the Medes and Perseans perswaded to be the sonne of Iupiter So gentle before that King Darius did wishe eyther to conquer Alexander bicause he might shewe curtesie vnto Alexander or else to be conquered by Alexander Aeneas Siluius was woont to saye the saying of Sigismonde the Emperour that happie are those Princes that foster vp clemencie in Court and prudent is those Princes that vseth humanitie in their cities It was no small proofe of humanitie in the Senatours of Rome at the buriall of Siphax King of Numidia which being taken by the Romanes and kept in Tiberius house according to marshall lawe and before he was raunsomed by the Numedians dyed at Rome where suche solemnitie honour pompe was shewed at his funerall such giftes giuen such liberalitie vsed as if Siphax had died amongst his owne subiects hée might haue wanted to haue such glorious buriall in Numantia being their king as he had in Rome being their Prisoner That is worthy humanity that is shewed vnto meÌ„ in aduersity and that is méere clemencie that is done vnto those banished straungers as the Romaines sometime did vnto Prusias king of Bithinia who being driuen to exile by hys sonne Nicomedes came vnto Rome where humanitie and clemencie were fostered and nourished in the Senate being mette at Capua a Citie sometime by Hannibal conquered of Scipio and Cornelius and brought vnto Rome not like a banished man but lyke a noble Prince with such triumphes and honour done vnto him with such passing curtesie and liberality of Senators that though he was banished Bithinia his kingdome and by Nicomedes his owne sonne yet was he receyued vnto Rome of straungers and that to the fame of Rome Thereby the Romanes grewe to that admiration with all people that for their lenitie and surmounting curtesie they were of all men beloued and for their valiauntnesse and magnanimity they likewise were of all the worlde feared For as vnto Siphax and Prusias woonderfull clemencie and humanity were by the Romanes tendered so vnto Ptholome King of Egypt being of his owne brother banished and by the Romanes receyued and restored againe vnto his kingdome the like was shewed Rome then was called the hauen of succour the Anker of trust the keye of curtesie where all succourlesse Princes and noble Cappitaines fledde Rome florished then while pittie and mercy continued Rome prospered while humanitie and clemencie were fostered Rome excelled all men in gentlenesse and pittie When Marcellus and Matellus the one Capitaine of Siracusa the other in Celuberia The noble Capitaine Marcellus was so pittifull that after his souldiours had conquered Siracusa with great slaughter and murther of men women and children he mounted vp into a high Tower of the Castle and there with wéeping and lamenting the ruefull sight of Siracusa more like to one conquered than a conquerer to a Prisoner than a Prince that anye that sawe him theÌ„ might rather iudge Marcellus a Siracusan captiue than a Romane Capitaine Happie was Siracusa sith fortune was no better to happen on such a gentle conquerour which was so glad for his owne victorie as he was sorrowfull for the fall of Siracusa That renowmed Romane Maetellus besieging the great City Centobrica in the countrie of Celtiberia wheÌ„ he perceyued theyr bulwarkâ—s broken theyr walles ready to faâ—l and victorie nigh at hande hée began to be mooued with pittie and mercie possest chiefe place in his heart that when the women of the Citie brought their children on theyr armes to craue mercy at Maetellus hand he auoyded the calamitie and misery that was redy to fall on Centobrica spared the Citie remooued his campe being with pittie and mercie of the ruthfull women and innocent children quite conquered Thus gentle Maetellus where he might haue bene a Conquerour ouer men he suffered himselfe to be conquered by little infantes O Rome happie were those golden dayes wherin through clemencie and gentlenesse thou wast as much loued and honored as thou hast béene by valyaunt Capitaines trembled and feared at Pompeius the greate when Tigranes King of Armenia being by him conquered had knéeled before Pompeius face yéelding his crowne and scepter at Pompeius his foote and himselfe vnto his gentlenesse as a captiue Tooke him in his armes embraced him put his Crowne on his heade and restored him to the kingdome of Armenia againe The like courtesie vsed he towarde Mithridates King of Pontus being deade for his royall buriall though the knewe well the great hatred that Mithridates had fortie yeares against the Romanes yet in stéede of iust reuengement Pompeius vsed princely clemencie The gentlenesse that was then vsed in Rome yea betwixt foes was such that Iulius Ceasar that valiaunt Emperour and Conquerour was as willing to reuenge the death of his great enimy Pompeius vpon Photina and Bassus who slue Pompeius and sent his heade vnto Caesar as L. Paulus was courteous and fauorable to his most mortall foe Persen Hanniball though he was counted the most and greatest enemye that euer Rome felt yet mooued with that clemencie that he won more commendations for the buriall of P. Aemilius Gracchus Marcellus these noble Romanes then he wan fame by ouercoming thrée thousande Romanes in fielde The chiefe fame that Hanibal was worthy of was for humanity and gentlenesse as proued by these two noble Romanes before mentioned which Hanibal caused their carkasses diligently to bée sought for in the feelde and solempnely to bée buryed with honour and renowme though they were his enimies and as Hanibal was much commended in Rome and wel-beloued of the Romanes onely for humanity so was he feared much in Rome for his prowisse and valiaunt déedes of armes Polycrates that tiraunt of Samos was chéefely commended for his gentlenesse and curtesie shewed towardes women which were the wiues and mothers of the dead souldiers in restoring them vnto libertie in geuing them wealth to liue great charge that no man shoulde do them any wrong Augustus the Emperour when hée behelde in the Citie Alexandria the sworde wherewith Marcus Antonius slewe him selfe coulde not refraine teares to shewe his humanitye in opening his clemency of nature vnto his enemie commaunded he should be honourably buryed with his deare fréende Cleopatra in one graue
liued a hundred and odde yeares Metellus of lyke age called to the like function and administration of common welth being an olde man What should I speake of Appius Claudius of Marcus Perpenna of diuers other noble Romanes whose age and time was the onlye occasion of their aduauncement vnto honour dignity What shoulde I resite Arganthonius who was thrée score yeres before he came vnto his kingdome and after ruled his countrey fourescore yeares vnto his great fame and great commendations of age To what ende shall I repeate Pollio who liued in great credite with the people vnto his last yeres a man of worthy prayse of renowmed fame which liued a hundred and thirtie yeres in great aucthoritie and dignitie To speake of Epimenides whome Theopompus affirmeth that hée liued a hundred and almost théescore yeres in great rule and estimation small it were to the purpose to make mention againe of Dandon amongst the Illirians which Valerius writeth that he was fiue hundred yeres before he died and yet of great memorie and noble fame Nestor which liued thrée hundred yeres of whom Homer doth make muche mention that of his mouth proceeded foorth sentences swéeter than honey in hys latter dayes yea almost his strength corespondent vnto the same That renowmed Prince Agamemnon Generall of all Gréece wished no more in Phrigia but fiue such as Nestor was which with their wittes and with their courage hée doubted not but in short time he were able to subdue Troye Swéete are the sayinges of olde men perfite are their councelles sounde and sure their gouernaunce Howe frayle and weake is youth How many Cities are perished by young councell Howe much hurt from time to time haue young men deuised practised and brought to passe And againe of age how full of experience knowledge prouision painful studious vnto the graue as we reade of Plato that noble Philosopher which was busie and careful for his countrey writing and making bookes the verye yere that hée died being fourescore and two Of Isocrates which likewise being fourescore and fourtéene compiled a booke called Panathenaicus of Gorgias which made the lyke studious carefull to profite his countrie I saye a hundred and seuen yeres was altogither adicted to his bookes to his studie So of Zeno Pithagoras and Democritus might be spoken men of no lesse wit trauaile and exercise than of time and age For as Cicero sayth the gouernement and rule of common wealthes consisteth not in strength of bodye but in the vertue of the minde wayghtie and graue matters are not gouerned with lightnesse of the bodie with swiftnesse of the foote with externall qualities but with authoritie councell and knowledge for in the one saith he there is rashnesse and wilfulnesse in the other grauitie and prudence As Themistocles Aristides who though not friendes then at Athens both rulers yet age taught them when they were sent Embassadours for the state of Athens to become friends to profite their countrie which youth coulde neuer haue done That sage Solon was woont often to bragge howe that he daylye by reading learning and experience waxed olde Apelles that approued painter and renowmed Gréeke in his age and last time woulde haue no man to passe the daye ydle without learning of one line Socrates being an olde mar became a scholler to learne musicke and to playe vpon instrumentes Cicero being olde himselfe became a perfite Gréeke with studie Cato being aged in his last yeres went to schoole to Enneus to learne the Gréeke Terentins Varro was almost fourtie yere olde before he tooke a Gréeke booke in hande and yet prooued excellent in the Gréeke tongue Clitomachus went from Caâ—thage vnto Athens after fourtie yeres of age to heare Carneades the Philosophers lecture Lucius as Philostratus doth write méeting Marcus the olde Emperour with a booke vnder his arme going to schoole demaunded of the Emperour whether he went lyke a boye with his booke in his hande the aged Emperour aunswered I go to Sextus the Philosopher to learne those thinges I knowe not O God sayde Lucius thou being an olde man goest to schoole now like a boye and Alexander the great died in thirtie yeres of age Alphonsus King of Cicilia was not ashamed at fiftie yeres olde to learne and to trauayle for his knowledge and least hée shoulde lose the vse of the latten tongue hée occupied him selfe in translating Titus Liuius vnto hys vulgar tongue though he was a King I doe not holde with age in diuers men which for want of discretion and witte waxe childishe againe but of perfite men in whome age séemed rather a warraunt of their doinges For euen as he that playeth much vpon instrumentes is not to be commended so well as he that playeth cunningly and artificially So as all men that liue long are not to be praysed as much as he that liued well For as apples béeing gréene are yet sowre vntill by time they waxe swéete so young men without warraunt of time and experience of thinges are to be misliked If faultes be in olde men sayth Cicero as manye there bée it is not in age but in the life and maners of men Some thinke age miserable bicause eyther the bodie is depriued from pleasure or that it bringeth imbecilitie or weakenesse or that it is not farre from death or quite called from due administration of common wealthes these foure causes sayth Cicero make age séeme miserable and lothsome What shall wée saye then of those that in their olde age haue defended their countries saued their Cities guided their people and valiauntly triumphed ouer their enimies as L. Paulus Scipio and Fabius Maximus men of woonderfull credite in their olde yeres What may be spoken of Fabritius Curius and Coruncanus aged men of great agilitie of famous memorie in their last dayes Howe might Appius Claudius be forgotten who being both olde and blinde resisted the Senatours to compounde with king Pirrhus for peace though they and all the Consulles of Rome herevnto were much enclined If I shoulde passe from Rome a place where age was much estéemed vnto Athens amongst the sage Philosophers if from Athens to Lacedemonia where age altogither bare swaye and rule if from thence vnto the Aethiopians and indians where all their lines are ruled and gouerned by olde men if from thence vnto any part of the worlde I shoulde trauile I might be long occupied in reciting the honour and estimation of age Herodotus doth write that the Aethiopians and Indians doe liue most commonly a hundred and thirtie yeres The people called Epeij doe liue in the countrey of Aetolia two hundred yeres naturally and as it is by Damiates reported Lictorius a man of that countrey liued thrée hundred yeares The kinges of Arcadia were woont to liue thrée hundred yeres The people of Hyperborij lyued a thousande yeres We reade in the olde
the Lacedemonians and the Thracians people though they were much giuen to warres seuere in dealing hardie in all trauayles and in learning most rude yet woulde they acquaint themselues with musicke vntill they were thirtie yeres olde The people of Créete brought vp their youth in all kinde of melodye and harmony The most part of the worlde dyd learne musicke saue in Egypt as Diodorus in his second booke affirmeth that musicke was forbidden least the tender and soft mindes of their youth shoulde bée intised to too much pleasure And though some contemne musicke with Diogines and saye that it were more profitable to mende maners than to learne musicke And some that will with Alcibiades taunt musicke who was woont to say that the Thebans were méete men to learne musicke for that they coulde not speake but that the Athenians should hate such wanton tunes for that thei spake without instrument Likewise King Pirrhus being demaunded which was the best musition Python or Charisius he despising them and their musicke preferred a great warrior according to his owne mind named Polysperches Though these I say with diuers others despised musicke sometime yet wée reade againe as wise as they as stout as they vsed much musick as Achilles Alexander the great Nero Silla M. Cato Socrates Cimon To many might I repeate that were as wise as they were merie as learned Ioppas whose songues in Virgill are expressed as Salij whose pleasaunt pamphletes Rome a long while embraced and much estéemed For as musicke is dolefull pleasaunt full of harmony and melodie so is musick terrible and fearefull full of life and courage For wée reade in the olde age while yet the worlde was rawe that Aliates King of Lidia â–ª in his warres against the Milesios hadde musitions for his Trumpetters Pipers and Fidlers as Herodotê° in his first booke affirmeth to mooue the people with musicke vnto warres The people of Créete as Gellius writeth had Gitternes and Cithrones playing before them as they went vnto the fielde to fight The Parthians vsed as Plutarchus in the life of Crassus reporteth the ringing of belles at theyr going vnto field The Ethiopians vsed songes of diuers tunes and dauncing before they went to warres The Sirians before they mette their enimies woulde sing Balades to honour the same with all kind of dauncing to solace them selues The Cimbrians did make melodye with drie skinnes beating the skinnes with stickes at the very entraunce vnto the enimies Cirus the great King dyd with his souldiours sing vnto Castor and Pollux before he tooke his voyage to the enimies The Athenians woulde sing Hymnes vnto Iupiter before they woulde go to the féelde The first noyse and sounde that the Lacedemonians had as Thucidides saith in stéede of TruÌ„pettes were Flutes vntil by an oracle they were warned of Apollo that if they thought to haue victory euer Messena they should appoynt a man of Athens for their Capitaine the Athenians being right glad of the oracle for that the Lacedemonians Athenians were alwayes enimies one vnto another they sent vnto Athens for a Captaine where they appointed vnto them a lame and a deformed man named Dircaeus in reproche a mock of the Lacedemonians This Dircaeus being appointed and made a Capitaine ouer all the people of Sparta he first then inuented the trumpe and taught all the Lacedemonians to sounde the trumpe which was such a terror vnto the enemies the people of Messaena that at the first sounde of the trumpets they fledde and so the Lacedemonians got the victory Thus was the auncient musicke in the beginning so necessary that euery countrey endeuoured to haue skyll in musicke then Mars claimed musicke in the féelde nowe Venus occupieth musicke in Chaumbers that kinde of gentle and softe musicke the Egyptians forbad the youth to bée taught therein lest from men they woulde become againe women But shall wée ioyne the olde auncient games the mirth the solace and the playes that they vsed in those dayes together with their musicke to prooue the agilitie of that time and the actiuities of that age to bée much estéemed amoÌ„gst the Gréekes and Gentiles The Gréekes at some time had foure great games appointed the first in mount Olimpia in Arcadia harde by the Citie Pisa which Hercules inuented first to honour Iupiter This was so famous amonst the Gréekes that euen as the Romanes vsed to accompt the â—ime by their Consuls so did the Gréekes vse to number by the games of Olimpia which was appointed euerye first yere Unto this game came all the youth of the worlde both on horsebacke and on foote to do maisteries the reward was appointed for the victors a Garland made of Oliue leaues for they came not there for money but for mirth and exercise in so much that when Tigranes King Artabanus sonne harde of the fame therof and of the Garlandes of Oliue hée sayde Well worthy were the Gréekes to be spoken of that so litle estéemed money that Oliue was preferred for the chéefe reward in Olimpia This same mooued first King Zerxes to warre against the Gréekes to his losse and decaye The seconde games were called Pithij and inuented of Apollo in memory that hée killed the great Serpent Python which was of Iuno sent to kyll Latona Apollo his mother Here was appointed for the victories eyther a foote or a horsebacke a Garlande made of Oken leaues Here likewise all the youth of Gréece exercised feates practized policies vsed maisteries and prooued them selues in any thing that they felt them apt to do as in running leaping wrastling riding swimming or such like as then wée vsed The thirde was called Isthmia inuented of Theseus in the honour of Neptune In this play was appointed for y e victors certen garlands made of Pine leaues hauyng the name of Isthmos a place in Achaia where Neptune is worshipped where the Temple of Neptune is compassed The fourth game is called Nemea which the Argiues make in memory of Hercules for that hée killed a great and a fearce Lion in the woods of Nemea according vnto the name of the play Here do likewise the Argiues come to exercise youth practize feates as the rest do These foure playes were long in Gréece obserued as causes and occasions for men to come together to shewe feates and to trye qualities The first in Olimpus for Iupiter the seconde in Delos for Apollo the thirde in Isthmos a place in Achaia for Neptune the fourth amongst the Argiues to Hercules In the first play the Garlande of victory was of Oliue in the seconde play the Garlande of victory was of Oke in the thirde play they had their Garlandes of Pine the fourth play of Poply and thus then they triumphed in their mirth they bragged of their victories they gloried in their garlandes while yet Lawrel as Ouid sayde was not knowen Besides these foure famous playes there were diuers others as Pirrhus play which hée
make foes to become frendes euill men to become good by preuentyng euill with lenitie and gentlenes It behoueth not a wiseman to reuenge iniuries neither doth it become a prince to requite euil with the like but ouercome rather the euill with good Therefore was it truely spoken of the wiseman Sapit qui sustinet he that can suffer is verie wise ¶ Of Thefte and Sacrilege AFTER that gréedie desire vnto wealth had possest a place in mans harte and after that the world was altered from a wealth in common vnto a priuate wealth euerie man with studie and industrie to augment his owne with the spoile of others And bicause Princes began one to suppresse an other to spoile and destroie either others dominion mouyng firste noble men to imitate them in stealyng and takyng awaie perforce others wealth thought it be not an apt epitheton for princes to be called theues and spoylers yet truely by Princes it began by nobles imitated and by all the world at length practised that some became Pirates vpon the Seas some Sacriledges of Temples and some graunde Théeues of countries and kyngdomes For after the deluge of Noah there was neither thefte or sacriledge knowen almost 300. yeres vntill Ninus the third king of the Assirians who first began to plaie the Theif in Asia Dionisius kyng of Sicilia and tyraunt of all the worlde the greatest robber that euer raigned vpon yearth beeyng not satisfied with spoile and theft vpon Landes and Seas but also became a Sacrilege in the Temples of the gods whiche he so neglected that after hee robbed the Temple of Iuppiter in Olimpia he passed foorth vnto Locris to spoile the Temple of Proserpina and from thens vnto Epidaurus to steale the golden beard of Aesculapius This Tyraunte kyng would not suffice hym self vntil he worthily had merited the name of a thief a pirate and a sacrilege Xerxes spared not emongeste others wicked spoiles to sende fower thousande of his soldiours to Delphos to robbe the Temple of Apollo Spartacus a greate prince and a maintainer of thieues gathered a whole armie of fugitiue persones vagaboundes thieues and robbers and marched towarde Rome with warres either to conquere Rome or to be conquered by Rome but there was he and all roges vanquished by Pu. Crassus The Citie of Rome was often in perill by Thieues and robbers as by Silla Catilin and Marius famous spoilers of Italie And as Cercion did robbe and spoile after the Countrey of Athēs so Tittigias in Arcadia was renoumed For theft I might in this place speake of the robbery of the Emperour Nero of the spoile and waste of that beastlie Emperour Heliogabalus and of the sacrilege and theft of Caligula These thrée Emperours stale alwais spoiled and tooke from Rome more then euer thei gaue to Rome Marcellinus writeth that there was somtyme a Kyng of the Parthians named Arsaces which in the beginnyng of his raigne was then named the maister of théeues a teacher and a schoolemaister vnto all robbers and spoilers whiche afterward he subdued Seleucus Alexanders successoure he became famous and renoumed in marshall feates and ciuill policie Herodotus likewise doeth report of one Amazis a Kyng of Egipte who when at any tyme money wanted he was wonte to spoile waste and take a waie all that euer he might either by stealthe or force Thus the names of Princes firste was corrupted that the Poetes iudged well and worthily Mercurie to be the God of Theeues And for the antiquitie of thefte it is thought that Prometheus Duealions Father as Poetes dooe faigue by the aide of Minerua stoole firste fire from Phoebus for the whiche facte was punished in mounte Caucasus after this sorte he was bounde faste by all the Goddes and an Egle appoincted to eate vp his harte and to hale his puddynges a long in furtheraunce and memorie of his theft Hercules and Iason twoo of the moste famous princes that euer Grece fostered went vnto Cholcus to steale the golden Fléece Theseus and Perithus wēt vnto the kyngdome of Pluto to steale Proserpina awaie But I will not speake of suche Thefte for too many examples should bee reade in that behalfe If I might vse suche scope of writyng but I will briefly passe ouer and speake onely of aunciente and famous Théeues whiche for that the nomber is infinite I omittyng tediousnesse speake of fewe for a proofe of my matter There was dwellyng in a rocke nigh Athens ▪ a famous Théefe named Sciron whiche was wonte to throwe headlong straungers that were gestes ouer a rocke vnto the sea and after that he had continewed a long tyme in spoilyng and murtheryng of menne that passed by in takyng their gooddes and liues awaie he was in the same sorte of Theseus putte to death on the rockes vnto the Seas as he was wonte to doe with others Cacus whom Virgil maketh mention the sonne of Vulcanus was so craftie a théefe that hauyng a den in mounte Auentine he vsed to drawe any thyng bacwarde by the taile vnto his caue where he spoiled it whether it were manne or beaste there should he bee broughte by sleight of Cacus to bee destroied vntill he attempted to spoile Hercules by stealthe whiche after long wrastlyng in his denne Hercules with his clubbe slue hym The famous Theefe Scinius vsed suche feates and theftes about Corinth that he would binde any passer by or straungers vnto trees and there would hewe them vnto small gobbettes for their money and substaunce These thrée laste renoumed Théeues are muche mētioned of writers for euen as Capiton kepte hym self fiftie yeres in a denne as a common robber to steale and to spoile so did thei consume their tyme seuerally and in sondery countries as graund Théeues The Argiues were menne moste noted infamous for this faulte in so muche that a Prouerbe grewe of the Argiues Argiuifures that is Argiues are Theeues With the Persians there wer certaine théeues called Cardaces permitted without punishment to steale and to robbe The old Germaines and auncient Egiptians might somtime by lawe and libertie of their countrie likewise steale Lycurgus made lawes in Sparta emōgest the Lacedemoniās that he which did steale without reprehentions or takyng with the theft should be free and he whiche could not artificially steale and attempte Thefte beyng taken should bée punished in so muche Brusonius in his seconde booke doeth intreate of a yong man that stole a yong Foxe the owner therof followyng after demaundyng whether the younge man sawe any where a little Foxe he denied chidyng the Foxe vnder his cloke but the Foxe a subtile beast willyng to shewe hym self vnto his maister did bite and scratche the yongman so sore that his puddynges gusshed out of his side because he suffered hym self so to die by reason that he would not manifest his theft The yongman then deniyng aunswered and saied I had rather die then to bee taken with thefte Wherefore Theophrastus a noble Philosopher
the felicity ioye and pleasure he was in least man shoulde possesse the place where sometime the Diuell raygned as an Aungell deceyued man This enuie tooke roote then in the first age for Cain enuied so his brother Abell that hée slue him for that God accepted Abels sacrifice refused his Ioseph was of his owne brethren likewise sold vnto Egypt for enuie that he was better beloued of his father theÌ„ they were Saule did so enuie King Dauid that hée gaue his daughter Michol in mariage to Dauid for that shée being his daughter might betray hir husbande to the Philistines Dathan and Abiron hadde great enuie toward Aaron Daniell was much enuied in King Nabuchadonosors Pallacies What shoulde I be long in this The Apostles the Prophets the Martires yea Christ himself was enuied at by Iewes and Gentiles Insomuch that tiranny and murther was the sequell of enuie as from time to time tried from age to age séene and from man to manne practized euen vnto deade men shewed as Achilles vnto Hector haling and drawing his bodye about the fieldes of Troye in open sight of King Priamus his father as M. Antonius vnto Cicero hauing Ciceros heade sette before him to ease his Tigrishe minde permitting his wife Fuluia to weare Ciceros tongue in hir Bonet As Cambises vnto the Iudge Sisamenes being deade to flea him being fleane to cut him in péeces being cut in péeces to giue him to be deuoured of beasts birds I might wel declare the tirany of Tullia shewed toward hir father king Ser. Tullius being dead to cause hir Chariot and horse to treade hir fathers bodie in the streates Of Tomyris Quéene of Scithia towarde King Cirus being deade to strike of his heade and to bathe it in blood Of Silla towarde Crassius being deade to burne his bodye more to shewe hir tiranny To note the tirannie of Alexander in Thessalia Of Busiris in Egipt To open the wicked life and state of Dionisius in Siracusa Of cruell Creon in Thebes of Periander in Corinth Of Pisistratus in Athens I shoulde be tedious to amplifie that which may be briefely examined And this we reade and sée dayly by experience that the ende of Tirants is to die in tyrannie and as they deale with others so are they dealt with all As Diomedes and Busyris were woont to feede their Horses with mens fleshe and to breake their thyrst with mens bloode so were they themselues vanquished by Hercules and made foode to be eaten and deuoured of their owne horses which they before fed with other mens fleshe Likewise the great tiraunt Phalaris and that cruell Perillus were both destroyed with those new inuented torments that they made for others I meane the brasan Bull which Perilles made to satisfie the tirannye of Phalaris Thrasillus and Scyron the one teaching the waye of tyranny was first of all in that which hée taught vnto others tormented and slaine the other throwne hedlong into the sea by Theseus euen so as he was woont to doe with others To speake of the great cruelty of Aemilius which as Aristides in Plutarch doth testifie that hée vsed to recompence anye man that woulde and coulde inuent newe tormentes to punishe the innocent and to pleasure his tigrishe minde Hée I saye dwelling in Agesta a Cittie of Sicilia made a brasen horse to vexe and torment the people wherein through the commaundemâ—nt of Arminius Paterculus chiefe magistrate of the Citie he first suffred the assaye of his newe inuented workes Wee reade againe of the fiftie sisters King Danaus daughters called Belides which béeing maried to the fiftie sonnes of Aegistus siue all their husbandes in the first night saue Hipermestra one of them so named spared the life of hir husbande Linceus The like we reade of the thirtie Sisters of Albina which after the selfe same sort made an ende of thirtie husbandes in one night The sequell of tirannye was suche that what wanted in the father was fully employed in the sonne for amendement is rare séene and that which is more often tried and very well considered of a simple woman named Ihera who when she perceyued that the people of Siracusa did wish y e death of Dionisius the tiraunt shée streight knéeled vppon hir knées and besought the Goddes that he might liue and being demaunded why shée prayed for suche a tyraunt shée sayde I knewe thrée kinges in Syracusa euery one a tyraunt the seconde woese than the first the thirde worse than the seconde and now Dionisius being the fourth worse than the thirde and hée that shall be fift I feare least hée be worse than Dionisius and therefore I praye the Goddes he might liue for of two euilles the lesse is to be chosen Marke howe in a simple woman in a sillie person truth often doth soiourne The like of a certen husbande man wée reade that digging in the grounde when the murtherers that slue king Antigonus passing by in haste taking their flight into Phrigia demaunding a husbande man why he digged so déepe I digge vp sayde hée an other king Antigonus to rule Macedonia letting them to vnderstande the true Prouerbe that séeldome comes the better that hée that woulde come after shoulde be farre worse than King Antigonus O happie age O golden worlde while tiranny was not knowne The great Monarchies of the world were gotten with tirannie and likewyse through tiranny lost The first Monarch after the great deluge was that of the Assyrians which began vnder Ninus the third king of the Assyrians and continued in slaughter and tiranny vntill Sardanapalus time the last king whiche was a thousande two hundred nine and thirtie yeares From the Assyrians it was woonne with the sworde and brought with violence and tiranny by that cruell and blouddie Arbactus vnto the Meedes and remayned there vntill king Astiages which was the ninth king and lasâ— king of the Meedes two hundred and fifty yeres from the Meedes it was had by tiranny awaye by king Cirus vnto Persea and there stayed vntill the time of king Darius which was two hundred and thirtie yeares from the Perseans it was with bloode and great slaughter taken awaye by Alexander the great vnto Macedonia and there maintayned vntill Perseus time which was a hundred and seuen and fiftie yeares from the Macedonians it was posted vnto Rome where vnder Iulius Caesar the prowdest Monarche in all the worlde fomed in bloode florished in tirannye a long while Thus tirannie was fedde and fostered from one countrie vnto an other vntill almost the whole worlde was destroyed The murther and tirannye that long florished in Gréece betwixt the Thebans and the Lacedemonians againe betwixt the Lacedemonians and the Athinians betwixt the Athinians and all Gréece Who readeth it not in Thucidides Tamburlanus the great murtherer King sometime in Scithia got through tyranny Medea Albania Mesopotamia Persea and Armenia passed ouer Euphrates subdued Asia the lesser and tooke
vnto higher honours and dignities by sundrie studie and seache of coueteous desire The gentleman in heauyng his rentes in spoiling his tenauntes in takyng all from and giuyng nothing vnto The marchauntes attempt the slipperie Sandes of Sirtes thei saile ouer Charibdus and Silla through surgyng seas to hasarde life for the Pearles of India and thus all for money O wicked worlde what profited Cirus to be kyng of Persia of greate fame and glorie and then by coueteousnesse to bee vanquished by a woman Tomiris Queene of Scithiae and twoo hundred thousande souldiors beside hym his heade beyng smitten of and caste vnto a barell of bloud to drinke that whiche auarice compelled hym to attempte What did it auaile kyng Antigonus to name hym self the Rasor of Asia the Shauer of Macedonia preferryng his own vnsatiate desire before Alexander the Greate vpon a bragge of his auarice boastyng Alexander to bee but a Reaper of Asia and Antigonus the sharpe shauer and spoiler thereof the one poisoned in Babilon in the middest of his triumphes and lefte thirtie daies vnburied without regarde or honour yea without any to putte in the grounde The other slaine and cutte in peeces emongeste his mortall foes Alexander kyng Pirrhus soonne What shoulde I recite sondrie Princes priuate persones wholie addicted to this vile auarice but Kyngdomes and Countries altogether drowned in this miserable Coueteousnesse The Lacedemonians the renowmed people of the whole worlde after their long banishemente of money and manly contempte of wealth at length corrupted by Lisander to embrace coueteousnes in Athens the sacred aucthor of learnyng the Well of Philosophie after they had despised Kyng Philip of Macedonia and all his wealthes in fine brought in subiection by money valiaunt Thebes while Spaminondas liued subiect to no desire desirous of no riches but yet allured to yelde to money in so muche they waxed so couetous they beganne one to warre against another that in séeking to be Lords and chief one ouer another they became slaues and subiectes to forren princes whiche all the while they were not moued by couetousnes they resisted the violence of their enemies but euen as Aesopes dogge was not contented with the meate that he had in his mouth but beyng gréedie to snatche at the shadowe thereof he lost that whiche he caried in his mouth Had not Hanniball been couetous of Rome and Italie he had not loste Carthage and Libia Had not Pirrhus been desirous to possesse Macedonia he had not been dispossessed of Epyre. If Mithridates had béen contented with y e whole kingdome of Pontus If the greate kyng Antiochus had not thursted for Aegipt he had not been banished from Assiria Such coueitousnes grewe on a sodden in the citie of Rome that Iugurth kyng of Numidia woulde often saie that Rome woulde haue been sould for money If Biers and Sellers could haue happened to mée So couetous waxed Rome that all thynges were soulde for money in so muche that when Antiochus had prepared a greate armie sumptuously appointed with Helmets Speares Targats of Siluer and demaūdyng of Hanniball whether he was well appointed to fight against the Romaines Haninball vnderstandyng the wealth and substance of the Souldiours of Antiochus one waie and not ignorant of Romains force for that he .xvj. yeares had famous warres against them perceauyng the desire and gréedines of the Romaines to substaunce another waie answered kynge Antiochus after this sorte There is sufficient at this tyme for the Romaines though they be euer so coueitous O Rome the Lampe and Lantarne of the worlde while money was not knowen O Sparta most renowmed while yet the lawes of Licurgus was obserued when harde Iron was coined for money then Rome florished then Sparta prospered then Romaines were feared and Lacedemonians dréeded O golden worlde before the coine of Iron when shamefastnes ruled the people and iustice gouerned princes It is seldome seen whē wealth encreaseth that auarice abateth for as the world grew vnto wealth so it grewe vnto couetousnes when gold was found firste by Cadmus in Mounte Pangaeum as both Plinie and Herodotus affirme then was no earth digged no Seas saild no countreis trauailed vnto for money but now they haue digged vnto the verie bottome of Caucasus vnto the depest parte of the yearth and like to digge Pluto out of hell if thei continue saith Phalerius There is no dangerous Ile on yearth no gapyng Gulfe in Seas but money hath sought it out Would to GOD some ofspringes of kyng Agis who sometime in Sparta commaunded al the riche Citizins to bryng their Bookes and Billes of accoumptes vnto the common Haull where and when he perceiued the Lacedemonians to bee muche geuen vnto auarice the Citie of Sparta vnto vsury he called for all the billes of deptes the creditours assuryng themselues of paimēt was rewarded after this sort al their billes and bookes of deptes burned before their face with a full sentence of the kyng and the wisemenne Ephori Agesilaus was wont to speake that kyng Agis fire was the best that euer was in Sparta farre better then Neros fire who burned and would haue often flamed the noble citie of Rome where hee was Emperour and gouernour of Agis burned the scroules of Usurie and coueitousnes in respecte of his tender loue towarde the people of Sparta Nero set afire the whole Citie in consideratiōs of his hatred towardes his owne Subiectes trustyng more the spoile and the wealth of Rome then readie to gouerne the state of the Empire with wisedome and vertue Kynge Agis exclamed with famous Maro against money and coueitousnes the Emperour Nero did alwaies crie out and procure that verse of Horace saiyng O Citizins first séeke money and then trauaill for vertue There should no straunger inhabite Sparta that was either riche or desirous of riches but when they began to embrace wealth to loue money to wear Golden Ringes on finger Pearles hangyng at their eares Bracelettes aboute their armes Chaines about their neckes at length they weare Gold and precious stones on their showes then wantonnes and lecherie were firste chambered then glotonie and dronkennes were fostered then vices and wickednes began to preuaile Uertue and Godlines beganne to be oppressed Thus Auarice first began by princes and maintained by all sorte of men then of couetousnes sprong vp desire of fame and glory not only in Kesars and Kinges but in meane and simple persons how simple a slaue a vile abiect most desirous of fame Herostratus by name burned the greate Temple of Diana coumpted one of the seuen wonders for hir monstrous and huge buildinges detected himself of the crime to become famous Pausanias a meane man in respect demaundyng of his frende Hermocles how he might be famous was councelled to kill kyng Philip kyng of Macedonia father vnto Alexander the greate whiche as willyng he did accomplishe as hee was
a pilgrimage for fortune I remember of a worthy Historie of one Rhodope a faire and a gorgeous strumpet in Egypt which fortune so fauoured for her beautie that she being a washing her selfe in a well an Eagle fled with one of her shoes vnto the famous City of Memphis where then the king of Egypt kept his Courte named Psamnetichus before whom the Eagle let the shoe fall The king dismaide at the beautie of the shoe amazed of the working thereof musing muche howe nature myght frame so fine a foote made open proclamation throughout all Egypt to séeke suche a woman whose foote serued that shoe and being found to bring her to the king and being brought to the king she was maryed vnto the king Thus from a cōmon woman fortune appointed an Eagle to make her a Quéene in Egypt If fortune fauoured suche that was naught of life slaunderous of report ignominious and infamous in all Egypt to be a Quéene in that kingdome where she was a queane who should make much of suche a dame in whom neither constancie was euer founde or trueth euer tryed I iudge that man most fortunate that is of all least fortunate and sith fortune is deceitfull to her owne friendes she can not be true vnto her foes therefore very learnedly did wise Bion aunswere being demaunded what was most daungerous in the worlde to be most fortunate Phocion that learned Athenian was woont to say that better it were to lie carelesse vpon the grounde safe and sounde then to lie carefully vnder cloth of states in daunger and perill A certen wise prince before he should be crowned king tooke the Crowne firste as Valerius saieth in his hande saying after looking musing a while O Crowne more noble than happy whose peryll to enioye if men knew no man woulde take thée vp from the grounde though thou diddest offer thy selfe What felicitie happened vnto Alexander the great which fortune so aduaunced to be a King of kinges a conquerour of conquerours yea to be worshipped as a god and to be called the sonne of Iupiter whose fame compassed the whole earth in so muche that Thalestris Quéene of the Amazons came from Sythia vnto Hircania with thrée hundred thousand women to lye with Alexander thirtie dayes to be with childe by him and yet in Babylon that fortune that so exalted him did likewise oppresse him being in his chief fame but thirtie two yeres poysoned by his kinsmen and friendes left and forsaken of all men that he was thirtie dayes vnburied as a begger not as a king as a beast not like Iupiters sonne The lyke fortune serued Iulius Caesar whiche after thundring clang of the lyke fame was in his owne Citie of Rome and in the Senate house amiddest his Councellours slayne and murthered so tyrannouslye with Bodkins and Daggers of his most trustie friendes Brutus and Cassius that he had twentie and thrée woundes in his body Thus was the misfortunate end of so fortunate a beginning How did fortune deale with famous Zerxes whose huge armies dryed vp riuers whose infinite numbers of Nauayes couered ouer the Ocean Seas whose power and force all Gréece trembled at fortune that promised al Gréece vnto him at a becke she I saye gaue him ouer to the handes of Pericles his enimie to bée vanquished vnto the force of Artabanus to bée slaine A litle better she vsed Mithridates King of Pontus after many victories in diuers countreyes noble tryumphes sundry times which fortie yeres and moe she mainteyned against the inuincible Romanes to the great detriment and losse of Rome and at length to his great discomfort after he had lost wife children and all his friendes lefte him in his olde age a pray vnto Pompeius This is the friendship of fortune to plague to punish those which oftentimes she sheweth her selfe most curteous vnto Therfore was Plato woont to thank God that he was borne a man not a beast in Gréece not in Barbary thanked fortune that he was a scholler vnto Socrates which wayes despised fortune and her force for fortune neuer doth a good déede but she requiteth y e same with an euill turne Pyrrhus that valiant king of Epyres whom so famously fortune guided that he was counted by Hanibal the seconde souldier and Prince for his magnanitie and courage vnto Alexander the great whose ende by fortune was such that a siely simple argiue woman kilde hym with a litle Tilestone Hanibal whose name was so terrible vnto Rome by fortune .xvj. yeres was by the same driuen to exile a banished abiect from his coūtrey and wéery of his life ended his dayes with poyson in Bithinia Alcibiades which fortune so fauoured one way that hée excelled all men in personage and birth in wisdome and honour in strength and wealth and in all kinde of vertues surmounting all Gréece againe was brought to suche banishment and penurie to suche infamie and reproche that hée was compassed and taken of his enimies burned in his bed with his whore called Timandra Cambises and Nero whose cruell and vnhappy dayes both Rome and Persia long time felt their fawning fortune after much tyranny bloodshed of others was such that beyng wéery in murtheryng others they siue them selues that was the ende of their fortune Polycrates who euer sayled with prosperous windes of fortune that hée was taken and named fortunate Polycrates at length so serued of fortune as other Princes were he was hanged by one Orontes an officer of king Darius in open sight of Samos where he a long time florished and in the ende hanged on a high hyll named Mycalensis mount These euyls happen by fortune yet wée sée them not she gripes vs with her handes yet we féele not she treadeth vs downe vnder her féete and yet we wyll not know it Happy is he that accompanieth not with fortune though diuers thinke them selues happy that be fortunate as Giges Cressus two Kinges of Lydia so wealthy that they iudged no man as happye as they were and yet was Aglaus the poorest in all Arcadie Byton the simplest of all Gréece the one by the sentence of Solon the other by the oracle of Apollo iudged farre more happy then they The very tyraunt Dionisius being banished from his kingdome of Corinth woulde often say in his miserie that happy twise were they that neuer knew fortune whose fawning face in the beginning doth purchase cruell death in y ◠end◠Wherfore a certaine Lacedemonian saide Diagoras who being in the games of Olimpia in Gréece hauing his children his childrens children crowned with Garlandes of fame for their vertuous actes and qualities that time that it were great happe vnto him to dye presently at such a sight of his childrens fortune and being asked the cause he sayde that fortune neuer pleased that man so much with fame but she woulde in time displease the same as muche
notorious and spoken of for that either of them hadde but one eye These renowmed Princes and singuler souldiers excelled all men in wisedome and prowisse as prooued is in Plutrarch by their liues Phillip for temperaunce of lyfe Antigonus for fayth and constancie vnto his friende Hanniball for truth and pacience for his countrie Sertorius for his clemencie and gentlenesse towardes his enimies which for theyr passing courage inuinsible stoutnesse and worthy enterprises happened to be depriued of their eyes as Philip lost his eye at the siege of the Citie of Methon Antigonus at Perinthia Hanibal in Hetruria Sertorius in Pontus Whē the people of Thasius had erected alters appointed sacrifices for to honour Agesilaus in their Temples for his fame of fortitude they send Embassadors to certifie the king therof which say y t as Apollo was in Delphos honored as a god so Agesilaus was in Thasius but the King as he was valiaunt so he was wise much detesting assentations and flatterie of people demaunded of the Embassadours and required them if that their countrey coulde make gods to make some firste of their owne countrey saying Agesilaus had rather be king in Sparta then to be a god in Thasius O renowned Sparta O famous Greece While hidden hatred was exempted while ciuill warres were not knowen while Athence sought no supremacie ouer Sparta while Sparta sought no maisterie ouer Thebes then all the power of Persea the force of Macedonia might not staine one lyttle towne in Greece but the insolencie of princes the desire of fame the felicitie of renowme the honour of glorie was such as Alexander the great aunswered King Darius Embassadours who comming from Persea vnto Macedonia to entreate of peace tendering vnto Alexander the daughter of Darius in maryage with all the countrey of Mesopotamia and twelue thousande talentes yerely beside with such princely promising of the kingdome of Persea after Darius dayes as there wanted no princely liberalitie in Darius offeryng nor princely stoutnes in Alexanders answere saying vnto y e Embassadors Tell your master Darius king of Persea that as two Sunnes may not be in y e firmament so two Alexanders maye not rule the earth Such valiant mindes coulde be subiect in no wise neither Darius vnto Alexander nor Alexander vnto Darius Such stoutnesse raigned in Princes to mainteyne states that as Archestratus the Athenian was woont to say that in the Citie of Athence two Alcibiades myghte not rule so Ethocles the Lacedemonian dyd lykewise speake that two Lisanders might not agrée in Sparta So contrarye and diuers were Princes so high and loftie of courage so valiaunt of heart so noble of minde that though fortune coulde not so often fawne and fauour the states of Princes but that she which is most vncertaine coulde vndoe in a day that which was gotten in a yere yet in no wise could fortune take valiaunt mindes from men nor spoyle magnanimitie of Princes nor diminishe courage of olde men as that worthy and most auncient souldier Mithridates King of Pontus after he had plagued the Romanes with fortie yeres long warres during the which time he shewed him selfe no lesse hardie and stoute in resistyng the strong force of Romanes and valiaunt and couragious in attemptyng the fortitude of Romanes And though by fortune forsaken in his latter dayes and spoyled of all health fréendes children countreys kingdomes and all worldly wealth yet to spite fortune his mortall foe went to Celta thinking with them to passe ouer vnto Italy to let the Romanes vnderstande that though fréendes countreys by fortune were spoyled yet neither fortune with her spite nor all y e Romanes with their force could subdue King Mithridates valiaunt heart In this ioyed Princes only then not to be conquered In this onely triumphed they because they might not bée vanquished In this gloried they most in that they were frée from subiectiō Cercylidas being one of the wise men named Ephori in Sparta hearyng the thundring threatnings of King Pirrhus Embassadours the slaughter and murther tha◠King Pirrhus entended vpon men women children the cruell destruction and last confusions of the Lacedemonians aunswered no lesse stoutly then wisely the Embassadours of the King saying If Pirrhus your Maister be a god we haue not offended him therefore we doubt him not but if Pirrhus be but a man tel your Maister that the Lacedemonians be mē likewise therfore we nothing feare him at all This valiaunt Pirrhus thought so wel of him selfe felt him so ready iudged al men inferiour in enterprices vnto him that being at the victorie of that noble Cittie Tarentum where he sawe such feates attempted such actes done such stoutnesse shewed by the Romanes that he being dismayde at the manhoode and boldenesse of Romanes thought if magnanimitie were lost the moulde thereof shoulde be founde in a Romanes heart insomuch that long looking vewing of Romanes he cryed out and sayd O howe soone woulde Pirrhus conquere all the worlde if eyther he were King in Rome or Romane souldiours subiect vnto Pirrhus Of these Romanes was Haniball wont to saye to King Antiochus of Siria being enforced to forsake Carthage that Rome might not suffer equalitie either Prince ouer all or subiect vnto all Rome was compared vnto Hidra of Lerna that hauing so many heades when one was cut off an other sprang vp insomuch that all the world might not destroye Rome being iniured or ouercommed of the enimies as fortune often permitted they were not to be entreated before the like fortune happened vnto them as happened against them as Licinius Emperour hauing lost diuers of his souldiours vnto Perseus king of Macedonia which aftewarde was subdued by that valiaunt Romane Pompeius the great this Perseus hauing taken diuers of Licinius souldiours did sende certaine Orators to speake for peace which eloquently perswaded with Licinius to consent thereto after long talke learned councell pithy perswasions by the Orators it was aunswered as briefely plainelie and simplye by Licinius that the best waye for king Perseus to craue peace at the Romanes was first to restore the prisoners of King Perseus which were Romaines home againe and then to sende his Ambassadors to the Emperour Licinius otherwise the whole countrie of Macedonia shoulde féele the force and magnanimitie of the Romanes To speake of the conquest and victories of Iulius Caesar of the audacitie of Metellus of the fortune of Silla of the sharpe dealing of Marcellus being thereby the spurre of Rome called of Fabius likewise named the Tergat of Rome of diuers more valiaunt Romanes it were infinite the reading thereof but I meane not to molest the reader and yet one little historie to proue the renowmed Romanes most worthie of this valiaunt vertue magnanimitie writtē in Claudian of one Camillus a noble Romane who hauing a long time layde siege at Philiscus and coulde not preuayle The Shoolemayster of the Cittie hauing his Scholers vnder pretence of walking
oute of the towne came and offred his schollers vnto Camillus saying by this meanes you maye doe what you will vnto Philiscus for here be theyr children whome I know to redéeme they wyll yéelde vp the towne Camillus hauing regarde to the fame of Rome and loathing much to shewe villanye rewarded the Schoolemayster after this sort hée did set him naked before his schollers fast bounde with his handes on his backe and euery one of the schollers with a rodde in his hand saying vnto the boyes bring him home to your parentes and tell your friendes of his falshoode and the poore boyes hauing a good time to requite olde beatings were as gladde as he was sorrowfull laying on loade girckt him with so manye stripes as loytering Treuauntes maye best be boulde to number vntill they came vnto the Citie where they toulde their parents the cause thereof which wayde the clemeccie and humanitie of Camillus to be such that they gladlye and â–ª willingly yéelded themselues and theyr Citie vnto the handes of Camillus knowing well that he that woulde vse them so being hys enimies and foes coulde not vse them yll by yéelding all vnto his courtesie who might haue had all by tiranny Nowe sith this vertue was often séene in diuers Quéenes Ladies Gentlewomen and others I may not omitte the pilgrimage of their liues We reade of two Quéenes of the Amahones a countrye of Scythia Penthesilaea the first and Hippolite the second the one so valiaunt against the Gréekes at the destruction of the noble Citie of Troy that in open fielde she feared not to encounter face to face with that valiaunt Gréeke Achilles the other so hardye that shée shrinkt not at the force and stoutnesse of that renowmed Champion Theseus which being conuicted by Theseus for hir singuler stoutnesse and courage maried hir whiche certainelye had happened vnto Penthesilia had shée not béene conuicted by Achilles Camilla likewise Quéene of the Volskans beside hir princely profession of sacred virginitie which she vowed vnto Diana was so famous for hir magnanimitie that when Turnus and Aeneas were in wars for the mariage of Lauinia King Latinus daughter she came bellona lyke vnto the fielde resisting the violence and puissaunce of Troyans with the Rutiles as an ayde vnto Turnus That noble Zenobia the famous Quéene of the Palmireians a Princes of rare learning of excelent vertues of most valiaunt enterprises after that hir husbande named Odenatus had died tooke the empire of Syria and attempted the magnanimitie of Romanes that a long time shée withstoode in warres that noble and renowmed Emperour Aurelian by whome the Emperour was woont to saye when it was obiected vnto him that it was no commendacions for a prince to subdue a woman that it is more valiaunt to conquer a woman being so stout as Zenobia than to vanquishe a King being so fearefull as Zerxes The auncient Gréekes as Herodotus doth witnesse were much amazed at the magnanimitie of Artimesia Quéene of Caria after that the king hir husbande died did shewe such fortitude against the inhabitauntes of Rhodes that being but a woman she subdued their stoutenesse shée burned their Nauies wasted theyr wealth vanquished and destroyed the whole I le entered into the Citie of Rhodes caused hyr ymage to be made and set vp for a monument of hir chiualrie and pertuall memorie of hir victorie O renowmed Ladies O worthye women that with feaminine feates merited manlye fame Howe famous Teuca Quéene of the Illiryans gouerned hir subiectes after the death of hir husbande king Argon which being warred on diuers times by the Romanes infringed theyr force broke theyr bonds discomfited their armies to hir perpetuall fame commendacion shée gouerned the people of Illeria no lesse wisely then she defended the puissaunt force of the Romanes stoutly shée liued as histories report as soberly and chastly without the company of man as shée gouerned hir countrie wisly and stoutelye without the councell of man it were sufficient to repeate the auncient histories of two women to prooue fullye an euerlasting prayse and commendacion vnto all women the one written by Herotus in his first booke of Queene Tomyris of Scythia the other mencioned by Valerius and Iustine of Cleopatra quéene sometime of Aegipt The first after that Cirus had trespassed muche in hir kingdome of Scithia killing destroying and burning without regarde to princely clemencie or respect vnto a womans gouernement yet vnsufficed though hée slue the Quéenes owne sonne named Margapites thirsted more and more for bloude that then the valiaunt Quéene being muche moued to reuenge Margapites death waying the gréedie rage of Cirus came Lion lyke to fielde eyther to loose hyr owne life or else to reuenge hir sonnes death prest vnto Cirus more lyke at that time to a grimme Gorgon than to a sillie Scythian slue him in the fielde haled him vp and downe the field cutte of his heade and bathed it in a great Tunne full of bloudde appoynted for that purpose saying Nowe Cirus drinke thy belly full of that which thou couldest neuer haue ynough this valiaunt Tomyris reuenged tyranny requited the death of one Scythian Margapites with the death of two hundred thousand Persians The other Quéene Cleopatra after that Iulius Caesar was murthered by Brutus and Cassius and that Marcus Antonius being by Augustus warred on for his periurie fasâ—oode shewed vnto his Uncle Caesar shée I saie Cleopatra hauing the most part of Arabia and Siria confederated with hir friende and louer Antonius against Augustus being then the seconde Emperour of Rome that shee ayded him a long time vntill that she perceyued that Augustus preuayled and that Antonius was vanquished then least shée shoulde be conquered by Augustus shée conquered hir selfe yéelding rather hyr bodye a praye vnto Serpentes than a subiect vnto Augustus Hanniball could no more but to poyson himselfe rather then to yéelde to Scipio Well let Semiramis with hir valiaunt force and stoutnesse be commended at Babilon where shée raigned fortie yeares a wydowe after King Ninus hir husbandes death Let noble and famous Atalanta with hir Bowes and Speares and feates of armes be praysed in Archadia â–ª Let Hipsicratea that followed hir husbande Kinge Mithridates vnto warres as a Lackie vnknowne be extolled in Pontus Let Helerna Ianus daughter with all hir fortitude be spoken of in Latine And let Delbora be famous amongst the Isralites These women were no lesse famous for theyr pilgrimage then the worthye Conquerours and Champions of the world they were in no point inferiour vnto men in diuers poyntes farre excelling Princes and Kinges eyther the worlde then was very weake or slender or else women then were valiant and stoute And to omitte perticulerly to touch women I will open and declare the nature of Countries the women of Lacena woulde togither with their husbandes go vnto the fielde yea they went souldiour lyke vnto Missenios to fight in
fielde The women of Cimbria woulde kill those that first fledde the fielde though they were nigh friends or kinsemen vnto them The women of Saca had this custome eyther at their mariage to be conquered by theyr husbande 's the first daye or else to be conquerours ouer their husbandes all the dayes of theyr life theyr combat sayth Aâ—lianus was for victorie and not for lyfe The women of Persea woulde méete theyr housbandes and sonnes flying the fielde lifting vp theyr clothes shewyng their priuities saying Whither flée you O Cowardes will you againe enter into your mothers wombes will you créepe into your wiues bellies as they did in the warres betwixt Cirus and his Grandfather Astyages The women of Sparta woulde go vnto the fielde to sée in what place theyr Husbandes and friendes were wounded if it were before they woulde with gladnesse and ioye shewe the same vnto euerye man and burie the bodie solemnely if their woundes were behinde they woulde be so ashamed of the same that they left them vnburied in the fielde The women of Scithia called Amazones liued as conquerours ouer men and not conquered by men vntill Alexander the great destroyed them and theyr countrey which before were so valiaunt that they wayed not to encounter with Hercules in the fielde and after with Theseus in open battayle they blusht not to méete the valiant Gréekes at the destruction of Troye Magnanimitie which was then for defence of countries is nowe tyrannye to destroye that at their banquettes and drinkinges they had their Garlandes on their heades for as the worlde grewe in wealth so it grewe in sumptuousnesse for the triumph of Romulus was farre inferiour vnto the gorgeous triumph of Camillus and yet Romulus was a king Camillus was but an officer Time bringeth thinges vnto perfectioÌ„ In time Rome waxed so wealthy y â— Camillus I say was caried in a chariot al gilded wrought ouer with golde hauing all white horses trimly deckt a crowne of pure golde on his head all the Senatours and Consuls of Rome going a foote before him vnto the Capitoll of the Citie and thence vnto the temple of Iupiter where to honour the triumph further they slue a white Bul as sacrifice vnto Iupiter and thence to bring him triumphantly through the Citie of Rome vnto his owne house euen so in Greece and in Carthage in time grewe vnto suche pompe sumptuous triumphes that there was as much studie to inuent braue shewes and solempne sightes in triumph as there was care and diligence to haue moued the enimies When Epaminondas ruled stately Thebes When Hanniball gouerned proude Carthage when Laeonidas bare sway in warrelike Sparta then Greece and Lybia were acquainted with solempne and braue triumphes In Ninus time triumphes were in Assyria In Arbaces time the triumphes flourished amongst the Meedes In Cyrus time the triumphes were in Persea In Alexanders time it was in Macedonia In Caesars time it was in Rome and thus alwayes from the begynnyng of the worlde triumphes folowed victories And here I meane a litle to entreate of the triumphes of the Romanes whiche farre diuers wayes surmounted the rest whose fame was spred ouer all the worlde And yet imitatyng in all things the Gréekes insomuch that Rome alwayes had Athence as a nource or a paterne to frame their lawes for when their Kings were banished aswell in Athence as in Rome yet they ruled triumphed more by Oratours in Athence by Consuls in Rome then by Kings Therefore as Plini saith they exercised suche feates of armes they practised suche pollicies of warres they vsed suche solempnitie in triumphes that Rome then was noted to be the lampe and lanterne of Mars They had I saye diuers garlandes made onelye for the triumph of warres Plini compteth seuen sortes of garlandes which the Romanes hadde the first made of pure golde appoynted onely for the triumphes of Princes the seconde of Laurell which of all was most auncient in Gréece in Italie appoynted for the triumphes of Pallas souldiours the thirde of all kinde of swéete flowers made appoynted to him that restored Cities vnto theyr liberties againe the fourth made of Oaken leaues to him that defended Citizens from death These two garlandes were of great honour in Rome and specially in Gréece the one Cicero ware in Rome for his inuectiues against the conspiracies of wicked Catelin the other Fabius Maximus did weare for that he saued Rome from the seconde warres of Carthage where Haniball was Capitaine The sift Garlande was appoynted for him that assaulted the walles of the enimies first and entered the towne the sixt for him that first attempted the tentes of the enimies the seauenth bestowed vpon him that boorded first the Name of the enimie These thrée last Garlandes mencioned for the skaling of walles the boording of shippes and attempting the tentes were made all of Golde and giuen by the Princes or Senators to the aforesayde souldiours There was likewise in Rome concerning the triumphes that none might triumph vnlesse he had bene before some officer in Rome as Dictator Pretor Consuls or suche like and if any without they were sent by the Senators had wonne any victories though there conquest were neuer so great and their victorie neuer so famous as Pub Scipio for all his victories in Spaine and Marcus Marcellus for all that he tooke captiue Siracuse bycause they were not sent nor appoynted by the Senators they might in no wise by lawe made clayme triumphes thereby Then Rome florished then Rome was defended from diuers offered iniuries saued from enimies At what time M. Curius triumphed ouer the Samnites Mae Agrippa triumphed ouer the Sabines Pauâ—aemilius ouer the Lygurians Marius ouer the Numidians Pompeius ouer Armenia and Pontus Scypio surnamed Affricanus ouer Carthage and al Lybia Iulius Caesar ouer all Europe and Affrike then Rome was feared of all the worlde and nowe Rome is dispised Then Rome might say Roma vincit nowe Rome may say Roma victa Then Roma armata nowe inermis Then Roma nowe Ruina but time consumeth all things That victorie that was not manfullye gotten and â—aliauntlye wonne by force of armes in the fielde was rather counted among the Romanes tyrannie then victorie for when Lucius Pius in a banquet that he made had filled the people of Sarmatia full of Wine and made them so drunken that all the nobles and captaynes of Sarmatia yéelded them selues as subiectes vnto the Empire of Rome for the whiche Lucius Pius at his returne home to Rome required accordyng to the custome to haue a triumphe done vnto hym for the victorie of Sarmatia whiche when the Senatours had fully hearde of the victorie howe and after what sort Lucius Pius subdued the Sarmatians he was openly beheaded by decrée of all the Senate and a slauÌ„derous Epitaph set vpon his graue to manifest the deceit he vsed in stéede of magnanimitie to deceyue them by Wine which he ought to subdue by
they were and vsed accordingly vnto some purpose yea assoone as Vulcanus or Prometheus founde out the profite of the fire Anacharsis the Scythian founde first belowes to blowe the same assoone as Ceres taught the way to tyll and plowe straight did Argeus inuent the dounging of the same Assoone as euer Vrania founde firste Astrologie the people of Chaldea straight practised the same As soone as Errato had the vse of Geometrie the people of Egypt straight exercised thē same To be breefe after that Clio founde first Histories Melpomen Tragidies Thalia cōmedies Polyhimnia Rethoricke Callipe poaetrie yea Palles herselfe whom al y e Gréekes supposed to be first founder of sciences artes Simonides straight inuented the arte of memorie as the register and sure recorder of knowledge to kéepe the same When the vertue of hearbes were founde of Mercury of Cheron and of others Then Hyppocrates and Auicena practised Phisicke therewith though the most part do attribute vnto Apollo the first exercise in Phisicke and vnto his sonne Asculapius the practise of Chirurgery Dedalus in Creete was the first Carpenter Amphion the first Musition in Thebes Tages the first Soothsayer in Hetruria Nothing escaped mans industry in so muche that Aristeus king of Arcadia first founde the vse of Honye and the nature of Bées The Lydians to die Wooll The Egyptians the first vse of Flaxe The Phrygian◠to sewe first with néedles The Hetruscans weauyng Nature left nothing vnsought for her owne profite as Plautus saith she is alwayes desirous to inuent and to know new things Uictories triumphes were first inuented by Dionisius Crassus made the siluer Garlande first to be worne in Rome The Phrygians made the Chariot first Huntyng by Artaxerxes was made and lawes therevnto appointed Epeus for that he inuented the brasen Horse in Troy for the Gréekes is famous Perillus for that he made the brasen Bull in Agrigentū vnto the Emperour Phalaris is renowmed though the one was made to satisfie tyranny and the other to accomplishe treason yet suche was the desire that men had to fame that alwayes they studied and coniectured what best might aduaunce them therevnto which was and might be a perpetuall memorie of their attempted trauayle What thing it was to sée in auncient time the inuention and pollicie of men in all countreys what orders what lawes were in all places to obserue that by wyt which afterwardes they destroyed by warres before Antigonus shaued and spoyled Macedonia before Ninus empouerished all Asia before Alexander destroyed the whole worlde What was inuented in Rome before Iulius Caesar and Pompeius altered it before those wicked members Silla and Marius spoyled it before that rebell Catelin disturbed it before Marcus Antonius and Augustus quite destroyed it so that pollicie of men in obseruing lawes and orders their wisedome in framing them their magnanimitie in defending them were topsey turuey throwen downe afterwardes by cruell tyrauntes and wicked princes as Caligula Nero Tiberius Heliogabolus with others so that time findeth all things and endeth all things time maketh and time destroyeth ¶ Of sumptuous and woonderfull buildinges I Thought it best to place other straunge and woonderfull buildinges which were made by mennes handes togither with the merueylous workes of nature and bycause some amongst the rest are so famous that for the renowne thereof they are named in number the seuen woonders of the worlde The first was called Pyramides which the Kinges of Egypt made by the citie of Memphis a miracle so made that twenty and two yeres sixtie thousande were occupied and trauayled in the same either as Plini to embusie the vulgar people lest they shoulde be ydle or else to shewe and bragge their superfluous wealth in making so huge a worke The seconde were the walles of Babylon which Quéene Semiramis vnto her perpetuall memory hath made as a monument amongst the Perseans In making of these walles she kept three hundred thousand men at worke vntill these Walles were made of two hundred Cubites height and fiftie Cubites broade hauing a hundred gates wrought all of brasse rounde about to come and go vnto the Citie and from the Citie And vpon the Walles were made thrée hundred Towres She brought Euphrates one of the foure floods of Paradice to passe through the middest of Babylon The thirde in order was the sumptuous tombe of Mausolus King of Caria which Quéene Artimesia his wife made so gorgeous that it was twentye and fiue Cubites long of height in compasse foure hundred and eleuen foote and wrought rounde about with sixe and thirtie pillers and brode beames hence all the monumentes and braue buildings of Emperours and kings tooke their patterne for it was so curiouslye wrought that vpon the East side that famous workeman Scopas shewed his skill vpon the Weast side that renowmed Leocares wrought his cunning vppon the North side Briax a man of great name applyed his part and vpon the South side Timotheus did what he coulde to winne fame These foure famous workmen had more fame by making the tombe of Mausolus then for all the workes that euer they made before These two noble Quéenes cannot be blotted out of memorie all the while that the names of Babilon are readde of in bookes or the Tombe of Mausolus spoken of with tongues Nowe to passe further to speake of that monstrous monument and huge myracle which excelleth all the worlde for worke I meane the great Temple of Diana amongst the Ephesians which all Asia were occupied withall two hundred and twentie yeres almost with all powers of the world at the building thereof This Temple was made nigh the seas for feare of earthquakes it was foure hundred twentie and fiue foote long two hundred and twentie foote in breadth it had a hundred twentie and seuen pillers which for the wealth thereof euery one after another was made by a king The chéefe maister of this worke was Ctesiphon whose fame thereby was spread ouer all the worlde The fift was the hie Towre which King Ptholome made in the I le of Pharos to ease the saylers vpon the Seas This Sostratus made so high that in the night time there hanged a Candle for a light a marke vnto poore Maryners which coulde be séene for y e height of the towre almost euery where The other two last of the seuē woonders were two Images the one for Iupiter made by Phydias of Iuory in Olimpia The other made for Phebus in Rhodes by Cha. Lindius whose hugenesse was such that it was thréescore and ten Cubites high so great was this Cofussus that when it fell downe by an earthquake it séemed a woonder to the beholders euery finger that he had was more then a man of this age These seuen huge and monstrous workes were called the seuen woonders of the worlde whiche Plini and Plutarch ▪ speaketh of in diuers places Some suppose that Cirus regall Pallaice which
with another much more might be spoken I meane not those fonde foolishe and fantasticall fables fostered by women and olde men sitting at the fire where often the ydle braâ—â—e is occupied but those wise and prudent fables of Poets which containe wisedome in sence though they séeme light in wordes which durst not be opened playne in those daies for the tyranny of Princes which then woulde not haue theyr faultes toucht in anye but that learnedly with fables poeticall As the fable of Sphinx of Cirses of Tantalus of Acteon and of others ¶ Of Eloquence PYrrhus King of the Epire and defender long of the Tarentines was woont to say of Cineas his Oratour that hée wanne more victories thorowe the eloquence of Cyneas then he through the force and puissaunce of all his Epirotes besides for through eloquence woulde Cyneas make the stout enemies to yéelde and by eloquence woulde Cyneas mooue the cowardly souldiers to victorie Valerius a noble and an eloquent Romane at what tyme the Kinges of Rome were expelled and their names quite banished and nowe the populer state hauyng such liberty thereby that the whole Citie through sedition and late sprong libertie was like to come to ciuile warres betwéene them selues had not I say Valerius appeased the furie of the people being redie in heartes to become enemies vnto their countrey finding them triumphing much and reioysyng within them selues deuiding one from another to maintaine discorde He reduced them not onely through his eloquence vnto peace and quietnesse but also vnto such state brought them that where Rome was like then to fall to ruine Rome at that time beganne to florish prosper Great was the force of eloquence in Marcus Antonius which with his sugred and swéete perswasions turned the furious rage and tyranny of the souldiers of Marius and Cinnanus beyng sent of these two cruell Captaynes to kyll him vnto such lenitie and mercie that hauing their swordes naked drawen redie to accomplishe promise with Marius hauing hearde Antonius his eloquence as men conuicted with wordes coulde neuer kéepe promise with Marius though they had great rewardes appointed nor coulde of them selues though enimies they were vnto Antonius finde in their heart to kyll hym Pericles wanne such renowme in Athence by his eloquence which sometime was scholler vnto Anaxagoras that he had the gouernment and rule of Athence commited vnto him as vnto one the people reposed more credite or trust in Pericles wordes then they had in the force and strength of Athence beside Insomuch that when he woulde speake any thing vnto the people such mellifluous wordes and sugred sentences procéeded foorth of his mouth that they were amazed or astonied to heare him willyng alwayes neuer wéery of his counsel We reade that the eies did water to sée him the eares allured to heare him y e hart conuicted to yéelde vnto him Cowardes are made couragious stout tyrauntes are made gentle and mercifull Cities preserued victories gotten and all by eloquence What is it but man is able through comely gesture and apt pronunciation bring to passe What coulde escape Cicero in Rome What might haue auoyded Demosthenes in Athence whose knowen eloquence whose learned perswasions whose swéete and sugred wordes coulde aswel mooue enimitie in Athence towarde King Philip as it coulde kindle loue in Rome towarde Pompeius Such is the excellencie of eloquence that it mooueth aswell men to the sight for the gesture countenaunce and pronunciation as it doth enforce men to heare for the maiestie and swéetnesse of wordes For Hortensius was not so eloquent in wordes but he was as comely in gesture and so excâ—llent in either of them that when he spake before the people Senatours and Citizens of Rome they were no lesse enamored with his sight then they were allured and entised with his wordes for he laboured no lesse outwardly to please night became very darcke all the souldiours of Paulus yea Paulus himselfe being their Generall and Captain were dismayde and quite discomfited thinking it had bene some prodigious showe to prognosticate mishappe to come and readie to yéelde in heart and courage vntyll Sulpitius began to perswade the rude Souldiours with reason opening the causes vnto the souldiours and declaring the effectes of the superiour bodies so eloquently that then being readie to yéelde for feare they were readie to fight valiauntly by eloquence of Sulpitius and where through feare of that sodaine sight and chaunge of the Moone they were readye to yéelde as Captiues to King Perseus they were stirred mooued by the eloquence of Sulpitius to become conquerours and victours ouer King Perseus in the same selfe night The lyke Pericles sometime amongst his souldiours of Athens at what time the Sunne so darckened that great terror and feare came vpon the souldiours hée eloquently perswaded his souldiours and toulde them euen as he hearde of his Maister Anaxagoras the cause thereof and quight expelled feare from the souldiours by reason and made them boulde againe through hys eloquencie In Africke there was in the time of Anascarimis a philosopher named Afranio being demaunded what he did learne all the dayes of hys life aunswered to speake well the seconde time being asked what hée taught vnto others aunswered likewise to speake well at the last he was demaunded what he knewe in anye science he sayde I knowe nothing but to speake well so that this olde Philosopher Afranio learned nothing taught nothing nor knew any thing but to speake well and most certaine it is that he that consumeth all the dayes of his life to learne to speake well and knoweth nothing else but to speake well spendeth his time very well ¶ Of those that had their pictures and Images for a shovv of their deserued fame erected THE greatest honour that both Gréekes Gentiles vse towarde those that deserued well in the coÌ„mon wealth was to aduaunce them by pictures painted images gorgeously grauen thinkyng thereby either to enflame them further to do good or else to discourage them againe in doing euyll by banishing and neglecting their pictures which wheÌ„ Fauorinus the Philosopher hearde that the Citie of Athence had reiected his picture because Adrian the Emperour was angry with him sayde I am right glad therof for better sayd he had it béene for Socrates to haue had his brasen picture broken and throwen away for some shewe of displeasure by the Athenians then to be depriued of his lyfe for nothing by the Athenians for the surest state of all is not to be knowen Agesilaus therefore King of the Lacedemonians vnderstanding that the inhabitants of euery countrey in all Gréece had decréed to put vp the picture of Agesilaus for a memorial of his vertuous and noble actes to be as monumentes of his life after death Returnyng then from Egipt vnto Gréece beyng verye sicke a little before hée dyed wrote letters vnto Gréece that they shoulde make no pictures no Images
no painted shewes no grauen worke of his person ne yet of his life saying If I haue done well in life the vertue thereof is a sufficient monument when I am dead Cato Senior was of that opinion that he had rather that men shoulde aske why hath not Cato his picture set vp then to aske why hath Cato his picture vp A number of sage Philosophers of wise Princes Rome the one dyed in Assiria the other in Egypt Paulus Aemilius dyed in Cinna T. Gracchus in Lucania Augustus Caesar in Nola. Trayane the Emperour in the East part of the worlde with diuers other famous men borne within the Citie of Rome as these gentlemen Cornelij Scipiones Catones Dicij noble families who dyed like pilgrimes of the worlde scattered one from another So in Athence where Themistocles Theseus Solon with others yet in Syrus Cyprus and Persea were they buryed King Iugurtha borne in Numidia buried in Rome Againe King Aegeus borne in Athence Pharao in Egypt Aiax in Gréece Leander in Abidon yet their graues and buryall was in the bottome of the Sea Marke howe puissaunt princes of the worlde and mighty Kesars were subiectes vnto fortune And sée agayne the learned sage Philosophers which as I sayde before had their names aduaunced their persons estéemed their pictures erected yet not able to auoyde the furious frets of fortune as Pythagoras borne in Samos dead in Metapontus Virgil borne in Mantua buried in Brandusium Terence borne in Carthage brouhht vp in Rome and ended his life in Arcadia These Princes and noble men had notwithstanding in diuers places their fame spread their name aduaunced and their pictures euery where erected Gorgias Leontinus was the first amongst the Gréekes for his wisedome and eloquence that had his picture set vp in Delphos in the Temple of Apollo His scholler Isocrates had for his wit and passyng eloquence in Olimpia his picture erected Demetrius Theophastrus scholler after he had tenne yeres with all diligence and industry gouerned the state of Athence hauyng thrée hundred and thréescore pictures in Gréece erected and set vp for his fame and renowme in administration of the common wealth yet were they all broken and taken downe of enuie afterwarde which when Demetrius hearde of the inconstancie and enuie of the people in shewyng their malice therein he sayde Though they exile my pictures yet can they not banish the vertuous cause of the pictures Mithridates king of Pontus made a worthy monument at Sylo vnto Plato about the which as Plutarch saieth was written this sentence Mithridates made this picture of Plato and dedicated the same vnto the Muses Mutius Scaeuola had his picture in Rome for that he deliuered the Citie of Rome from Porsenna King of Ethruscan for the like Cocles was not forgotten of the Romanes It were vnto small purpose to speake of Lucullus of M. Attillius and Octauius whose fame and renowme made their pictures to be monumentes thereof What shoulde I embusie my selfe with infinite names of men sith womē well deserued the same as Tanaquil Torquinius wife Cloaelia a Uirgin of Rome yea as Quintilian saith Phryne for her beauty wanted not to be commended by pictures so common were they for all men that I referre those that wyll reade further of this vnto Plini where he may at large satisfie him selfe in that poynt I shoulde be ouer much charged to recite the places persons and time that pictures were only erected to aduaunce their fame and to stirre them further in such procéedinges as were the cause of these their pictures Therefore as before is spoken they shall finde in Plini store of them ¶ Of those that defended diuers from deathes from Serpentes Dragons Lions and of cunning Archers EUen as by these valiant and noble conquerours not only Townes Cities and countries were defended Serpentes Dragons Lions and other monstrous and wilde beastes were slayne but also diuers and sundrie captiues and Prisoners were deliuered from deathes vnto life Howe manye did famous Hercules that ofspring of the Gods saue from the gulfe of Auentin where that Cacus both daye and night murthered the passers by Howe many deliuered he from the huge monster Chimaera which continually with flashing flames of fire feared slue diuers valiaūt men for he had thrée heades one of a Lyon the seconde of a Dragon the thirde of his owne monstrous proportion He againe slue Sphinx a terrible beast in Ethiopia which with his sight destroied men How he ouercame Gereon Cerberus and Diomedes and diuers other enterprises it is before rehersed Perseus after that Neptune had defloured Medusa in the temple of Pallas the Goddes being displeased therewith turned euery héere of her head vnto snakes whose sight was so venemous that whatsoeuer he was that behelde hir died presently Perseus I saye slue the same whereby he deliuered diuers that shoulde else perishe Cappadox being then tribune of the souldiours in Affrica vnder the Emperour Dioclesian vanquished a huge serpent and deliuered a younge Phrigian made euen for mouth a praye Euen so Alcon a noble Archer of Créete shotte at a Dragon which had his owne sonne in his clawes readye to be deuoured and slue him whereby his fame shall neuer die and saued his Sonne vnhurted But I pause here from the skilfull Archers and speake a little more of these famous and renowmed conquerours of wilde beasts of monsters and of Serpentes as Bellorophon King Glaucus sonne of Corinth being accused of fornication with Quéene Stenobia King Praetus wife of Argyue he was iudged to die and to be deuoured of the monster Chimaera which he valiauntlye subdued in prison The fame of Lysimachus is spreade ouer all the worlde for that he kilde a Lion being but a souldiour vnder King Alaxander The name of Coraebus shall not be forgotten amongst the Peloponesians for the ouerthrowing of that terrible monster in Gréece The renowne of Atti Regulus shall alwayes be reuiued when any man doth think of the great serpent that hée slue by the floode Bragada which as Plini sayth was a hundred and twentie foote long Did not these noble fellowes profite their countries muche in sauing thousandes liues which shoulde haue béene destroyed by these monsters The Poets faine that Cadmus Agenors sonne did kill a Serpent whose téeth engendred brought foorth out of the earth harnessed men which fought and destroyed one an other Againe such were the happe of young maydes as Balsaria when Carphurrinus Crassus was taken Captiue of the Messalines and shoulde be offred for a sacrifice vnto Saturne shée deliuered Crassus from death and made him conquerour where before he was conquered vnto hir euerlasting fame Calluce a young woman after Troy was by the Gréekes destroyed when hir father King Lycus sayling vnto Libia had appoynted to kill Diomedes for a sacrifice to appease the Goddes for winde and weather she deliuered him from the King
Cicero in his first booke of Tusculan commendeth much the clemency of Cleobulus and Biton in shewing such loue and obedience to their mother which being in her Chariot redy to go to the solempne feast of the goddesse Iuno the horses sodainly dyed hauing no other remedy lest their mother should go a foote yoked themselues to drawe the Chariot tenne miles to their immortall praise and commendations I remember of a history in Patritius of one Simonides which for that hée was mooued with pittie to bury a dead corps left in the way where no man woulde put him vnto the earth as hée was passing with his felowes ouer Seas that night before they should saile in the morning appeared vnto Simonides the selfe same man which he had buried vpon the way warning him that day not to go to Sea which when hée shoulde take shipping he remembring his dreame tolde it vnto his felowes desiring them to stay that day but his company laughing him to scorne leauing Simonides on the shoores sayled vnto the Seas where in sight of Simonides the Shippe and all his felowes were lost The lyke pitie séene in Simon the son of that valiaunt Greeke Miltiades who being elected Generall ouer the Athenians against the great mighâ— and force of puissaunt Zerxes in the warres of Marathon which was nothing inferiour vnto his renowmed father in prowesse but farre passed him in clemencye and curtesie A young man for his lenitie pitie ioyned with valiauntnesse appoynted by the people of Athens to encouÌ„ter with Zerxes whom his father Miltiades often plaged he then at the first time of his magnanimity tried enforced Zerxes after spoyle of souldiours and victorie of fielde to flye vnto Persea So pitifull that hée payde a great some of money to haue his father buried Milciades which after many conquestes and fawning fortune in victories died in prison whose death and buriall prooued no lesse loue and faythfulnesse towardes his father in Simon then it shewed euidentlye the pittie and mercy he had in redéeming his fathers corpes to be buried Wherefore that pittifull Emperour Alexander Seuerus being demaunded what is that which is chiefe felicitie in this worlde sayde to foster friendes with benifites and gentlenesse and to reconcile foes with pitty and rewardes Alphonsus at what time certen dogges barked at him tooke a toaste out of his cuppe and cast it to the Dogge then saying gentlenesse and clemencye shall make foes friendes I knowe not what greater humanitie coulde be in Vaspasianus the emperour after that Vitellus had kilde his brother Sabinus and had long persecuted Vaspasians sonne yet he being subdued spared not to shew gentlenes to Vitellius his daughter with a great some of money towarde hir mariage Aegesilaus King of the Lacedemonians after he had the victorie of Corinth was not so glad of his conquest as he lamented the deathes of so many Athenians and Corinthians sayde as Plutarch doth witnesse wéeping O Gréece thou spillest more men with ciuil warâ—es by discorde than woulde defende thy state against all the worlde with courage To vse victorie gently is more famous than to conquer cruellye As that Emperour Adrian was woont to saye that Princes ought rather with Pittie to saye this I can doe then with tirannye to saye this I will doe Augustus that most pittifull Prince after he had conquered that famous Cittie Alexandria which the great conquerour Alexander had made and named it according to his owne name béeing mooued with pittie stirred with mercy in sight of the Citizens which hoped to haue nothing but death sayde for the beautie of your Citie and memorie of Alexander for the loue I haue vnto Prius your Philosopher and for the pittie I beare vnto you all I spare vnto you your Cittie and graunt you life O swéete sounding wordes from a pittifull Prince not muche vnlike his predicessor Iulius Caesar his owne mothers brother who after vanquishing of Pompeius at Pharsalia sent letters vnto Rome of loue professed of suche friendshippe promised that though Pompeius was the onely ioye of Rome the long delight of Romanes the defender and meintainer of theyr name and fame yet being conuicted they receyued Caesar as an other Pompeius for that he vsed humanitie and shewed gentlenesse euen vnto his enimies for noble heartes ought to coÌ„temne cruelty princes mindes ought to abhor tirannye A simple sparow which to auoyd y e griping pawes of a hungry Sparhaucke that woulde haue prayed vppon him fledde vnto Artaxerxes bosome being in campe where after long panting aswell for feare as for wearinesse in Artaxerxes bosome he sayd It is as litle masterie vnto a Prince or commendation to a valiant Capitaine to destroye that which of it selfe doth yéelde as it is a fame vnto Artaxerxes to kyll this poore Sparow that fled for succour saying againe beholding the Sparrowe As I will not betraye thée thou little Sparrowe for that thou hast fledde for helpe vnto Artaxerxes so will I neuer deceyue anye man that will haue confidence in me If this pittie of Artaxerxes was shewed vnto a Sparrowe how much ought Princes to shewe the same vnto men Antigonus though he was a great enimie vnto Pirrhus as Princes bée during the time of warre being slayne of a silye woman in Argos and hys heade brought by Alcyoneus vnto his father King Antigonus thinking to please his father much to bring King Pirrhus head which long had molested Antigonus aliue but the king perceauing the cruell tiranny of his sonne to delite in dead mens heades tooke the staffe whereon his sonne Alcioneus caried the head in stéede of thankes which hée looked for at his fathers handes hée was well and worthily rewarded with stripes tooke Pirrhus head very honourably deckt and couered it and after long looking theron hée coÌ„maunded his son Helenus to cary it vnto the kingdome of Epire where Pirrhus in life time was King there to bée buried according vnto the custome of y e Epirotes by king AlexaÌ„der his own brother The like history is writteÌ„ in Herodotê° of King Darius which yéelded thankes vnto those that brought Histeus head as Antigonus did vnto his sonne Alcioneus saying I do as litle ioy to sée Histeus head being dead as I do lament much such tiranny and cruelnesse to bée in you who neuer sawe King Darius so cruell to any man aliue as you are cruell vnto Histeus being dead As Darius was gentle of him selfe so hée greatly estéemed those that were gentle insomuch hée being at the point of death euen at that time when hée was so weake that hée knew not Polistratus that gaue a litle water to refreshe his heart sayde Whosoeuer thou bée I knowe thée not and for that I am not able to thanke thée Alexander shall and wyll requite thy gentlenesse and the gods shall thanke Alexander for his clemency and humanity towarde my mother my wife and children and with that hée stretched
neyther durst any man by the same lawe prayse any wine in presence of women for wine causeth heate heate mooueth lust lust causeth murther Wherefore wise men write that it is daungerous to prayse thrée thinges in presence of people A man to prayse the beautie of his wife for feare of fornicatours for so did king Candales of Lidia prayse his wife vnto his friende Giges that he was murthered therby and the Quéene his wife afterward maried vnto Giges To bragge of his riches and substaunce for so did Sichaeus shewe his substaunce vnto Pigmalion King of Tire maried the kinges sister named Eliza and yet slaine by the selfe same Pilgmalion king of Tire and his owne brother in lawe Euen so to commend swéete wine in presence of people breéedeth a desire vnto lust and lust vnto death The famous Romanes for a long while kept a straite order to obserue temperaunce that the Ladies and matrones of the Citie of Rome might in no wise be suffered to drinke wine for abstinence is the onely keye of temperauncy so straight was this lawe lookt vnto that Eg. Maecenus slue his owne wife as Plini recordeth for that she loued wine and was by the lawe of Romulus made for that purpose saued from death In the same place of Plini it is read that a certaine matrone of Rome was iudged to die for that shée had a priuie keye vnto a Celler of wine So nie did they obserue this temperaunce that Cato the Censor appoynted by lawe certaine men to kisse the women of Rome to knowe whether they smelled of wine by their breath No man of what degrée so euer hée was Consul Censor Tribune or Senator might drinke wine in Rome before he was thirtie and fiue yeares of age The people of Massaliotica made and ordayned that the women shoulde drinke no other drinke than water Amongst the Egyptians there was by a lawe appoynted how much wine their Princes might drinke and no more The Perseans fed only then with breade sault and water The Prophetes of Iupiter in Créete abstaine from flesh and wine In Rhodes he was taken a grose braynd man that fedde on anye thing else but on fishe The Lacedemonians most hatefull vnto those that were fat by feeding insomuch they woulde punish their owne children with hunger if they waxed fatte eyther by féeding or by Idlenesse This abstinence was fostred as a nourse vnto chastitie and temperaunce then Princes lothed vice and loued vertue then they abhorred gluttonie and dronkenesse and honored abstinence and sobrietie The learned and sage Philosophers and men of passing abstinence and sobrietie being no lesse studious than carefull of temperaunce despised banquettes refused feastes lothed and defied belly chéere that being allured of Princes entised of noble men sought of all men forsooke and fledde from the same saying we eate to liue we liue not to eate A worthy and golden sentence to be obserued Rather hadde Diogines féete and licke dishes at Athens than to féede daintilye at Alexanders table Rather had that learned Gréeke noble Zeno drinke water and féede poorely as an example vnto his Schollers vnto temperaunce to come by abstinence than to pamper his belly at Antigonus Princely table to shewe them the waye vnto gluâ—â—â—â— and dronkennesse Rather had Plato forsake Dionisius table than to abstaine from his woonted philosophicall chéere This vertue of abstinence was of noble Socrates maintayned with breade and milke onely and learned Homer honored it with potage made of hearbes Of auncient Pithagoras with beanes Anacharsis a Scithian Philosopher being demaunded of his estate howe hée fedde how he did lie and how he was clothed aunswered I féede on hunger I lye on the grounde and am clothed like a Scithian The famous AtheniaÌ„ Aristides at what time King Dionisius made suite for his daughter to mariage though he was a puissaunt Prince a mightie king yet for his gluttonny and prodigall drinking for his tirranny and excesse Aristides who abhorred such vices in Princes soberly and temperately answered that he had rather kill his daughter with hys owne hande then to giue his daughter in mariage vnto Dionisius So odious vnto good Princes was that excesse of eating and prodigall drinking and so highlye estéemed was abstinence and temperaunce that in Athens a long while in the temple of Ceres that of all the lawes of Triptolemus thrée onely commaundementes as Zenocrates sayth were highly obserued The first their Goddes to be worshipped the seconde their parentes to be honoured and the thirde to abstaine from fleshe and féeding O most temperate life when abstinence was obserued O most goulden worlde when neyther wine nor banquets were knowne then chastitie was honored in the temple of Vaesta then temperaunce frequented the Capitoll of Iupiter then luste knew no way to the pallace of Caesars then abstinence walked in the market place then all Rome was chast Then Rome triumphed when kinges were depriued for lecherie towarde Lucretia Then Rome merited fame when the princely office of Decem viri were banished for the rape of Virginia When Scipio Affricanus had ouercommed the famous citie of Carthage and Numantia he was not so valiant by his great renowmed conquest as he was famous by abstinence for when he triumphed as a valiaunt victor a certaine noble younge Uirgin that for hir passing beauty and great admiration of person was presented vnto Scipio as a rare gift whose beautie and excellencie though Scipio a long time was amazed thereat yet had such respect to abstinence as a thing belonging vnto a prince specially vnto a conquerour that ouercame kingdomes and countries not to be subdued by luste trusted not his souldiours to guide and garde this Uirgin but with his presence brought hir home to hir father vnto Campania saying were it not that I am a conquerour I hadde not béene able to bring thy daughter home A greater conquest surely it was of Scipio to ouercome himselfe thaÌ„ to subdue Numantia or Carthage â–ª That lesson worthy of a prince he learned of Alexander the great who thought it a shame vnto a conquerour of men to bée conquered by women and though in diuers aucthours and places this prince is noted a glutton and drunkard yet of woonderful abstincence towardes women which is rare founde in a drunken Prince For when Alexander came vnto Illyria vnto the Temple of Iupiter where he saw a passing faire woman of comely beauty vewing styll the comely state of her person and féeding him selfe a long season with the sight thereof his counsellour and great fréende Ephaestion perceyuyng that Alexander was taken in the Briers of beautie saide It is not méete that Alexander should want any thing that hée wisheth for to whom Alexander aunswered neither is it an honour vnto Alexander that ouercame al men to be ouercome by one woman The modestie and continencie of Princes
sobbes sighes and silence she came to Christe Better sayth Zeno it is to fall from foote or horse than to lie in tongue Euen so the learned Athenians obserued silence in such estimation that though Athens was counted the well of wisdome the flower of Philosophie where all the world came to learne to speake yet learned they silence in suche sorte as that worthye Gréeke Themistocles at that time he was banished Athens and enforced to goe into Persea where he was much esteemed and honorably receyued and being intreated of the King to shewe the state of his countrie Themistocles besought the king to graunt him one yere to learne the Persean tongue and then the king shoulde be certefied in all poyntes that he woulde demaunde of Themistocles O famous Gréeke though banished from Athens yet obserued hée the lawe of Athens forgot not silence which was so honoured in Gréece though hée was in Persea a place sayth Curtius where silence was so magnified that sharpe punishment was prouided for tongue taulking The people of Sparta were noted as men giuen most vnto silence hating so superfluous wordes that when the Embassadours of the Abderites as Plutarch maketh mention had made a long and a tedious oration before King Agis of Sparta and after much time spent and many wordes in vaine bestowed as tongue talkers doe taking their leaue from Agis willing to haue an answere to theyr King of Abderites salute your king sayth Agis from me and tell him as long as you spake so long helde Agis his peace letting them to vnderstande of theyr much folly in babling The like aunswere receyued the Embassadours of Samos after a long Oration and tedious talke of Cleomenes King of the Lacedemonians saying the first part of your Oration I forgot the second parte I vnderstande it not and the thirde part I doe not well alowe That Tayler is not expert that maketh Hercules hose to a childes legge nor that Shoomaker can be good sayth Agisilaus that frameth Titorâ—â—us shooe to that little Molons foote neyther may he be counted wise that speaketh muche to none effect Wherefore the first thing which that auncient and learned Pithagoras taught his Schollers was carefullye to kéepe silence It was Pythagoras lawe that none of his schollers might speak any thing in fiue yere space after their first comming vnto schoole It was no lesse carefull vnto Pythagoras to teache them silence than it was painefull for them to learne silence Most harde and most difficult is that silence vnto a young man that one Messius pined and tormented himselfe thrée yeares as Plini sayth for silence sake But Simonides sayd sometime to a still man amongst a number of wisemen If thou be a foole sayde he thou doest the part of a wiseman to holde thy peace but if thou be wise thou art a foole that thou doest not speake to wise men and so I ende silence to follye is great wisdome and silence to wisedome is méere folly Cleanthes therefore being desired of a Gentleman some shorte wise sentence to instruct his sonne with all sayde learne onely this word to thy sonne Siga that is silence That noble and renowmed philosopher Zeno at what time he had prepared a banquet in Athens to receyue the Embassadours of Antigonus King of Macedonia where certaine learned Philosophers and eloquent Orators were present after many large and subtill disputations and great ostentation of Rethoricke betwixt them had at supper Zeno being demaunded of the Embassadours why hée kept silence all that while aunswered that to kéepe silence is greater knowledge than to speake for silence sayde Zeno is most difficult to obtaine and most harde to kéepe and therefore most rare founde A Gentleman in that company then named Agatho hearing Zeno so commending silence being no lesse desirous to leare silence then being learned to kéepe it prepared a great stone and healde it in the roufe of his mouth thrée yere to auoide ydle wordes superfluous talke and to learne sober silence and vertuous taciturnitie Alexander the great when his mother Olimpias did send letters from Macedonia vnto India where then he was at warres wherein were written muche concerning the state of Macedonia and great complaynts made on Antipater with diuers more secret councelles sealed he reading these newes his friende Hephaestion who knewe all the secretes of Alexander looking and reading the letters with the King vnto the ende then Alexander toke his signet from his finger after perusing of these letters ioyned it close vnto Ephaestions mouth saying Sith in friendeship you fayle not in silence breake not A showe of silence in Alexander honored but of Princes which honoured silence Iulius Caesar most estéemed the same he may iustly chalenge for sobrietie in drinking and modestie in taulking the garlande of prayse Who after long warres with Pompeius the great sometime his especiall friende yea and marièd to Iulia Caesars daughter being conuicted in Pharsalia and enforced to flee vnto Egypt his treasures substaunce and welth being brought vnto Caesar in a great cheast where diuers sealed letters and great councelles Caesar founde which he neuer opened for silence sake tooke them all togither and threwe them into the fire for that all men might learne how much hée estéemed silence this done vnto Pompeius at Pharsalia and the lyke vnto Scipio at Thescus he sayde vnto his souldiours that it behooued a Prince to finde out friendes rather than sâ—arch out foes The noble Emperour knew well by reading of Pompeius letters he might be mooued to diuers iniuries by opening of Scipios secrettes he might accuse diuers wrongfully therefore he had rather purchase by silence friendes than by breaking of counsell mooue enmitie Howe sure and safe is the rewarde of silence hystories of Gréeke and Latine can well report Had Calisthenes followed the councell of his Mayster Aristotle eyther merily or neuer to speake vnto a Prince he had neuer founde fault with Alexander by speaking to anger Alexander and to harme himselfe Hadde not learned Seneca so reprooued the Emperour Nero and tyraunt of Rome with wordes he had not béen rewarded with death If the Poet Neuius had not written his minde vnto Metellus If Chius had not béene familier in talke with king Antigonus they had saued lyfe by silence which haue purchased death by talking Therfore Phocion that wise Gréeke which sugred Demosthenes called the rasor of Athens was alwayes afrayde as Plutarchus sayth least anye sodaine sillable or foolishe worde might escape his tongue imprudentlye So that silence gayneth lyfe and wordes causeth death as Linus the auncient Musition at what time with Hercules he founde fault for that he was Linus scholler and taught him on instrumentes for wordes speaking of Linus vnto Hercules he was slaine of his owne mayster so that silence vnto Princes is most nâ—cessarie O noble silence O rare vertue O most worthy Iuell thou hurtest no
Testament that Adam our first father liued nine hundred and thirtie yeres and Eua his wife as many Seth nine hundred and twelue yeres Seth his sonne called Enos nine hundred and fiue Cainan the sonne of Enos nine hundred and tenne Malalehell the sonne of Cainan right hundred fourscore and fiftéene So Enoch the son of Iared liued nine hundred théescore and fiue yeres Enoch his sonne named Mathusalem liued nine hundred thréescore and nine with diuers of the first age I meane vntill Noahs time which began the seconde world after the floode and liued as we reade nine hundred and fiue yeres His sonne Sem sixe hundred yeres and so lineally from father vnto son as from Sem vnto Arphaxad froÌ„ Arphaxad vnto Sala from Sala vnto Heber the least liued aboue thrée hundred yeres This I thought for better credite and greater proofe of olde age to drawe out of the olde testameÌ„t that other prophane autorities might be beléeued as Tithonius whom the Poetes faine that he was so oulde that he desired to become a Grashopper But bicause age hath no pleasure in the worlde frequenteth no banquets abhorreth lust loueth no wantonnes which sayth Plato is the only bayte that deceyue young men so much the happier age is that age doth loath that in tyme which young men neyther with knowledge with wit nor yet with councell can auoyde What harme hath happened from time to time by young men ouer whom lust so ruled that euersion of common wealthes treason of Princes friends betrayed countries ouerthrowne kingdomes vanquished all y e world almost through pleasure perished Therfore Cicero sayth in his booke entituled of olde age at what time he was in the citie of Tarâ—ntuÌ„ being a young man with F. Maximê° that hée bare one lesson from TarentuÌ„ vnto the youth of Rome where Architas the Tarentine saide that nature bestowed nothing vpon man so hurtfull vnto him selfe so dangerous vnto his countrie as luste or pleasure For when C. Fabritius was sent as an Embassador from Rome vnto Pirrhê° king of Epire being then the Gouerner of the citie Tarentum a certaine man named Cineas a ThessaliaÌ„ borne being in disputation with Fabritius about pleasure saying that he heard a Philosopher of Athens affirming that all which we doe is to be referred vnto pleasure which when M. Curius and Titus Coruncanus hearde they desired Cineas to perswade the King Pirrhus in that to yéelde vnto pleasure and make the Samnits beléeue that pleasure ought to be estéemed whereby they knew if that King Pirrhus or the Samnites being then great enimies vnto the Romanes were adicted vnto lust or pleasure that then soone they myght be subdued and destroyed For that nothing hindereth magnanimitie or resisteth vertuous enterprises so much as pleasure as in the treatise of pleasure it shall at large more appeare Why then how happie is olde age to dispise and contemne that which youth by no meanes can auoyde yea to loath and abhor that which is most hurtfull vnto it selfe For Cecellius contemned Caesar with all his force saying vnto the Emperour that two thinges made him nothing to estéeme the power of the Emperour Age and witte Castritius wayed nothing at al the threatning of C. Carbo being then Consull at Rome which though hée sayd hée had many friendes at commaundement yet Castritius aunswered and sayde that he had likewise many yeres which his friendes might not feare Therfore a wiseman sometime wept for that man dieth within fewe yeres and hauing but little experience in his olde age he is then depriued thereof For the Crowe liueth thrise as long as the man doth The Harte liueth foure times longer than the Crow The Rauen thrise againe liueth longer than the Hart. The Phaenix nine times longer than the Rauen And therefore bicause birdes doe liue longer time than man doth in whome there is no vnderstanding of their yeres But man vnto whom reason is ioyned before he commeth vnto any grounde of experience when hée beginneth to haue knowledge in thinges hée dieth and thus endeth hée his toyling pilgrimages and trauayle in fewer yeres than diuers beastes or birdes doe ¶ Of the maners of sundrie people and of their strange life THe sundrie fashion and varitie of maners the straunge lyfe of people euerye where through the worlde dispersed are so depainted and set foorth amongst the writers that in shewing the same by naming eche countrey and the people therof orderly their custome their maners their kinde of liuing something to signifie howe diuers the maners of men bée Therefore I thought briefely to touch and to note euery countrey in their due order of liuing and to beginne with the Egyptians people most auncient and most expert in all sciences that Macrobius the writer calleth the countrey of Egypt the nourse and mother of all Artes for all the learned Gréekes haue had their beginning from Egypt euen as Rome had from Gréece This people obserue their dayes by accouÌ„t of houres from midnight vnto midnight They honour the Sunne and the moone for theyr Goddes for they name the Sunne Osiris and the Moone Isis Their féeding was of fishe broyled in the heate of the Sunne with hearbes and with certaine foules of the ayre They lyue a thousande yeares but it is to be vnderstanded that they number their yeares by the Moone The men beare burthens vppon theyr heades and the women vpon their breastes and shoulders The men make water sitting the women standing The Crocodill is that beast which they moste estéeme that being deade they burie him A Sowe is that beast which they most detest that if anye part of their clothes touche a Sowe they straight will pull of their clothes and washe them ouer They are blacke people most commonly slender and very hastie Curtius call them sedicious vaine very subtill in inuention of thinges and much giuen to wine The Aethiopians people that liue without lawes and reason seruauntes and slaues vnto al men selling their children vnto merchauntes for corne their héere long with knottes and curled The Indians people of two muche libertie as Herodot sayth accompanying their women in open sight neyther sowe they nor builde neyther kill they any liuing beast but féede of barly breade and hearbes They hange at their eares small pearles and they decke their armes wrestes and neckes with golde Kinges of India are much honoured when they come abroade their wayes set and deckt with fresh flowers swéete odours and men in armes folowing their Chariots made of Margarits stones and men méeting with frankinsence And when their king goeth to bed their harlottes bring them with songues and mirth making their prayers vnto their Goddes of darckenesse for the good rising of their King Againe the children kill theyr parentes when they waxe olde Their maydes and young damoselles of India are brought abroade amongst the young men to choose them their husbandes When any man dieth his wife wil dresse hir selfe most brauest for
vnto Iulius proculus charging him to erect him vp a Temple in that place where hée walked saying that hée was now a god and that his name was Quirinus Remus likewise king Romulus his brother appearing vnto Faustulus and to his wife Laurentia somtime his nource complayning of his miserable death desiring them to make labour that the same day wherin hée was slaine might bée accompted amongst their Holydayes for that hée was canonized amongst the goddes Wée reade in Lucan how that the soules of Silla and Marius two famous and renowmed Romanes were alwayes walking and appearing vnto men before they were purged by sacrifice for the deuyls made the people beléeue when the bodies shoulde bée buryed with all funerall due therevnto belonging the soules shoulde haue rest to practise superstition amongst them as you hearde a little before What complaint made Hector and King Patroclus vnto Achilles What request made Palinurus and Deiphobus vnto Aneas which Homer and Vergil write of for the buriall of their bodies Suetonius writyng of the liues of Emperours sheweth how Caligula sometime Emperour in Rome after he was dead being halfe burned and buried for that hée wanted due solempnity of buriall appeared in the Gardens of Rome called Lauriani to the kéepers troublyng and molestyng them very much vntyll his sisters caused him to be taken vp and commaunded he shoulde bée throughly burned and solemnly buried There was in Athens by report an excellent faire house to sale for that no man durst dwell within it for about midnight continuallye there was hearde sounde noyse clashing of armour and clattering of chaines and there appeared an image or shape like an olde man leane and lothsome to beholde with a long bearde staring heares and feattered legges This house hauyng a péece of paper vppon the doore written of the sale therof for that no man woulde venture to dwell Athenodorus a Philosopher returnyng from Rome where hée aboode a long time with the Emperour Augustus Caesar vnto Athens and reading the writing vpon the doore hée hired the house and commaunded his seruaunt to make his bed in the highest chaumber in the house where hée setleth him selfe to marke and beholde things that woulde happen being thus in study first hée hearde the sounde and ratling of chaines and then hée an olde man begging towarde him to folow the Philosopher went after him with his candle in his hande into an inner court where the image left him alone and vanished Athenodorus tâ—e next morning caused the rulers of the Citie to digge vp that place where they founde diuers bones of dead men these were commaunded by the Philosopher to bee burned solemnly which afterwarde was quiet and styll without either noyse or sight Thus the deuyll soweth the séede of supersticion and maketh oftentimes his aungels to worke miracles What straunge workes did that coniurer Bileam bring to passe by the meanes of deuyls What woonders wrought that wicked Appolonius by the helpe of Satan What maruayles showes and sightes did Simon Magus vse by the industry of false spirites What did not Pharoes sorcerers oftentimes attempt by perswasion of deuils marke their ende and iudge of their life the one breaking his necke the other drowned in the red Sea and so the rest ended their liues miserably To many haue béene and I feare are yet that geue credite vnto such vaine illusions and phantasticall sightes ¶ Of dreames and warnings AMongst the Gentiles dreames were so obserued that the vaine superstition noting of the same was the whole trust and hope of their countries friendes and liues that when the kings of India take theyr rest they are brought to bead with all kinde of melodie and harmonie euerye man knéeling vpon his knées beséeching Morpheus the God of sléepe to reueale those thinges vnto their King that shoulde be commodious and profitable vnto the subiectes They thought themselues well instructed when eyther by Oracles they were perswaded or else by visions suggested King Pirrhus knewe well that hys dying daye was at hande when hée besieged the Citie of Argos and sawe in the market place a brasen Woolfe and a Bull which the Argyues for memory of thinges past and auncient monumentes had put vp for he by an Oracle had to vnderstande at what time he shoulde sée a Bull and a Woolfe fighting togither hée shoulde then prepare himselfe to die Alexander the great after that the Oracle of Iupiter Ammonius was pronounced that hée shoulde be vnconquered hée doubted not but to subdue the whole worlde and so trusted more vnto the Oracle of Iupiter than he mistrusted the mutability of Fortune tooke vpon him the conquest of all the world attempting nothing at al without some Oracle or dreame hadde warned him therevnto for before the great conquerour Alexander had séene Hercules in his sléepe reaching out of the wall his hand promising hym his ayde and helpe in his warres hée had not so boldely attempted so hye an enterprise without feare and dreade of his enimies Unto Hanibal after long perturbation of minde with great industrie and studie how he might annoye and destroye the Romane Empire appeared a young man of woonderfull beawtie who warned him that Iupiter sent him as a Capitaine before Hanibal into Italy whereby straight hée was encouraged the rather to take the charge in hande hoping thereby to enioye triumphant victorie ouer hys enimies Caesar that mightie Prince and Monarch and the first Emperour that euer possessed Rome thought in his sléepe that hée committed fornication with his mother which when it was opened by Southsayers that it was the earth that was his mother and that hée shoulde suppresse all the Princes of the earth vnder him euen as he thought in his sléepe of hys mother he was hée was enflamed thereby to rayse warres and most cruelly allured to murther eyther perswading himselfe to be subiect vnto all men or else a conquerer ouer all the worlde After that noble and renowmed Gréeke Themistocles was exiled from Athens and banished quite the confines of Gréece hauing doone such seruice and honour vnto his countrie as Plutarch worthilye mentioneth for the subduing of prowde Zerxes king of Persea the great enimie of all Gréece béeing in great perill and daunger of life in straunge countrie hée séemed to sée in his sléepe a Dragon creaping vpward from his belly towarde his face which assone as the Dragon touched his face he was chaunged as he thought vnto an Eagle and caried by the Eagle a great way thorough the ayre vnto a strange countrie where the Eagle gaue him a goldeÌ„ staffe in hand so left him wherby streight he was enformed that he was not onely deliuered from all daungers but also shoulde be sought for of all Gréece to the encrease of fame and augmentation of honour Brutus cleane contrarie after much good successe and prosperous fortune after he murthered Caesar at length he was in his slepe by a
is written in the liues of the fathers that a young man seruing an Hermet being sent of his maister vnto a village harde by where a certen great Usurer and a vicious man being dead was caryed honorably and buried with solempnitie with the Bishop of that Diocesse which when the boy saw hée wept out that so euyll a man so wicked an Usurer should haue such solemne buriall and returning whom hée founde his maister deuoured of a Lion which so mooued him almost to bée beside him selfe saying The wicked Usurer dieth with greate honour and is buried with great pompe that liued all the dayes of his life in sinne and wickednesse My maister being fifty yeres in the wildernesse an Hermet is eaten vp and deuoured of a Lion whiche studied and traueyled to fight with sinne and with the deuyll An angel appeared vnto the boy saying The deuyll can no more hurt thy maister for hée hath done his worst and now thy maister hath conquered the deuyll The deuyll spared the Usurer in his life time that hée might possesse him after his death SOcrates therefore dying héeing constrayned for that hée refused their gods and sayd that hée would rather worship a Dogge than the gods of Athens and to drinke his last draught perceyuing that his wife wept demaunded the cause of her wéeping his wife aunswered and sayd the innocencie of Socrates death is the cause of my wéeping Nay rather sayde Socrates laugh and reioyce at that and wéepe at him that deserued death The like examples haue wée of King Antigonus and Anaxagoras the Philosopher hearing both that their sonnes dyed in the warres the one sayd I knowe I hadde my sonne borne to die the other without vexation or chaunge of countenaunce made him be buried out of hand saying It is no straunge thing to heare of death aswell vnto Princes as vnto poore men happened A Great King being admonished by his Phisitions of death began to lament much his state saying Alasse Myser that I am howe many princelye Pallaces regall Courtes howe manye Kingdomes and countries must I depart from and go vnto those quarters I know not where Howe manye Princes coulde I commaunde to come with mée anye where Howe many Noble men might I cause to go before to prouide my places and seates and nowe not one poore man in all the worlde will beare mée company to my graue saying thou worlde enimie of my soule ¶ THE DEATHES OF CERTEN Noble Princes in english verse ¶ Alexander the great his death WHat sounde assurance is of man what certaine lotte of life When Atrop cuts which Lachese spinnes with cruell cursed knife Hée yesterday renowmed Prince and King of Kinges so braue To daye in mouldred mossie mire layde in his fatall graue Yesterdaye the sonne of Ioue might all commaunde at will To day starcke naked in the earth with wormes his belly full ¶ Iulius Caesars death I Long that ruled Rome at will in middest of Rome am spilde And in the Senate house amongst the Senators I am kilde Who Countries Kingdomes Castles strong who Europe all did quell To Brutus hande and Cassius snares vnwares I Caesar fell With Bodkins Daggers Swordes and Staues I Caesar there was slaine Of fostered foes which friendeshippe fainde as Abel was of Cain ¶ Cirus King of Persea his death WHat Kesar King or Prince thou art that passes here this way Suffer Cirus seauen foote to rest his Corpes in clay Whose gréedie minde and raging race whose fortune frowning wild That Cirus shoulde be in Scithia slaine by Tomyris Quéene in fielde Whose heade was off and bathed in bloode to whome the Quéene spake first Drinke cruell Cirus bloode ynough that long for bloode did thirst ¶ Agamemnon his death WHome tenne yeares warres in Phrigian fieldes nor Troyans force subdue Who me winde nor Seas nor tempest hurt this Clitemnestra slue This famous Prince and Capitaine graunde of all the Géekes in fielde Whome fame in Phrigia so aduaunced his onely spouse him kilde Thus fortune friendly flowed fast and fauored fame to sounde Till frowning fortune foylde the state which fawning fortune founde ¶ King Pirrhus his death HEre Pirrhus Prince of Epire lyes whose force Tarentum knew At Argos was by a woman slaine with a Tilestoone that shée threw ▪ Whom thousande Princes coulde not hurt nor Romanes all annoy Whom shot of Gunnes ne dreadfull dart might Pirrhus Prince destroy This seconde souldier counted was to Alexander King A sielie Argiue woman lo to graue did Pirrhus bring ¶ Hanibal his death THe fostered fame the glory great that was in Carthage coast The honour long that Lybia had againe in time was lost He that was the scurge of Rome and Romanes oft offend He that saued his natiue zoile and Carthage did defende The same at last to Siria fled to craue Antiochus ayde Unto Bithinia thence he went to Prusias King dismayde And there to voyde Flaminius force he poyson dranke did die Thus hauty Hanibal ended life and there his bones do lye ¶ Pompeius death POmpeius fléeing Pharsalia fieldes from Caesar life to saue Whome then Photinus fayned friende to Egypt soyle did laue And there by slaightes of faythlesse frindes for golde and siluer loe Pompeius heade was sent to Rome to Caesar for to shoe His bodie left vnburied lieth in Egypt slimy sandes Who sometime King of Pontus prest and all Armenia landes ¶ Cicero his death WHome Cicero saued off from death the same did Cicero kill Pompilius prowde to please the rage of Mar. Antonius will Whos 's heade was sette in sight to sée Antonius minde to please Whose tongue did Fuluia pricke with pinnes Hir stony heart to ease Who when hée was for Clodius sake exiled Rome to raunge Twentie thousande Romanes mournde in mourning wéedes the chaunge Hée thrée times Consul was in Rome now in Caieta slaine Whose noble name and lasting fame shall styll on earth remaine ¶ Demosthenes death THe sugred sappe the solace long the guyde of Athens then That stoute withstoode king Philips force in spite of Philips men Of whome king Philip in his warres was forcde to say at length Hée feared more Demosthenes tongue then all the Athinians strength Such is the ende of mortall wightes such is the miserie of men That howe to die the time the place he knoweth not where nor when ¶ Achilles his death THe hope of Gréece and countries care Achilles strong of force Like stoute Alcides fought on foote like Mars himselfe on horse But last that ruled Goddes sometimes did then Achilles mooue To walke to Troye to féede desire for Priamus daughters loue Who by a Dart that Paris driude Achilles had his ende Whose worthy actes and marshall feates in Homer well is pende ¶ Hectors death HEctor stoute whose strokes full sterne the Gréekes did girde so grim And foyled foes in Phrigian fieldes death happened thus to him In spoyling of Patroclus king Achilles faythfull friende Came strong Achilles to the place to sée Patroclus ende Then
many thinges whiche when he came vnto kyng Pirrhus his master whom from Rome he recited not onely his doynges and orations but also their aunsweres and replies euery woorde by woorde as then was spoken doen or written by the Senators This Cyneas was not so excellent of Memorie but also of passyng eloquence of whom kyng Pyrrhus was wonte to saie that he gotte more cities tounes and kyngdomes by the eloquence of Cineas then with all the force and strength of al the Epyrotes beside It is writteÌ„ in Laertius lib. 8. that Pythagoras had charge of God Mercurie to aske what he would sauyng immortalitie and he should haue it and he willed to kepe in Memorie all thinges that he heard and sawe and to forgette nothyng beyng deade of that whiche he sawe beyng a liue whiche beyng graunted the soule of Athalides beyng slaine of Menelaus entered in Euphorbâ—â— Secondly tooke place in Hermonius thirdly in Pyrrhus and fourthly in Pithagoras whiche had suche Memorie thereby that he could describe the state of the liue and the dead Diuers were famous for Memorie emongst the Greekes as Archippus Lysiades Metrodorus Carneades Theodectes and others Many emongst the Romains were renoumed for their Memories as Iulius Caesar L. Scipio Portius Claudius Hortensius with infinite nomber What greate fame had Mythridates kyng of Pontus that hauyng as Plini and Gelius bothe reporte .xxij. straunge Nations that were souldiours alwaies in warres vnder him against the Romains that he could speake xxij languages with out interpreter to open his minde vnto theÌ„ A straunge thyng it is nowe to finde a man in this our ripe yeres that can speake half a dosen speaches If a man can but smatter in sixe or seuen languages he is noted to bee a rare felowe and yet king Mythridates had .xxij. A note of greate Memorie for some there be in learnyng one speache that thei knowe not thei forget an other that thei knowe That worthie man Lucullus is remembred of Cicero in his fourth booke of Achademicall questions for his passyng and noble Memorie The Aegiptians vsed notes and figures for their Memorie in so muche thei marked the well memoried man with the figure of a Hare or a Foxe for that the Hare heare beste and the Foxe of greateste Memorie and if any waÌ„ted Memorie thei compared hym to the Crocodâ—le We reade of Esdras a Prieste that had all the lawes of the Hebrues vpon his fingers ende We read of Portius that he neuer forgot any thyng that he once read before He againe would neuer read that whiche once he wrote but straighte out of hande his Memorie was suche would speake it and pronounce it in order euen as he wrote it before Memorie therfore is likened vnto a Nette whiche taketh and staieth greate fishe and letteth through the little fishe and euen as bookes that be not occupied waxe rustie and cleaue together so memorie whiche is not occupied saieth Seneca waxe dull and obliuious as wee oftentymes see howe forgetfull men waxe either with sicknes age or suche like that letteth the Memorie of man to be occupied as Orbilius by extremitie of age forgot his alphabetes and letters Hermolaus had a freÌ„de whiche in his youth was a perfecte Grecian and yet in his latter yeres waxed so obliuious that he could not read Greke Plini saieth Messala surnamed Coruinus waxed so forgetfull by longe sicknesse that he forgotte his owne name And Seneca doeth write of one Caluisius that was so weake of memorie that he did forgette the names of those that he was daiely in companie as Achilles Vlixes and Priamus whom he knewe verie well What is it els for a manne to wante Memorie but to wante the name of his knowen frende for he is no man that knoweth not that man as Augustus Caesar somtyme Emperour of Rome his beade is verie obliuious wheÌ„ he should come vnto the Senate he demaunded of the Emperor whether he would commaunde hym to doe any thyng that he could doe why saied the Emperour take this letter with thee that men maie knowe thee for thou knowest no man for thou wantest memorie Cicero doeth make mention of one Curio that was so obliuious beyng a iudge that he forgotte the case whiche he should giue iudgement vpon Likewise Atticus the soonne of Sophista was of fraile Memorie that he could neuer keepe in mynde the names of the fower Elementes Bamba a certaine kyng of the Gotes by a draughte of drinke giuen by Heringius his successour loste his Memorie it maie well be that drinke cutteth of Memorie For the Poetes faine that there is a riuer in helle named Lethes whose water if any man taste thereof he forgetteth any thyng doen or past before In this were the Thracians so dulle of Memorie that thei could not compte aboue the nomber of fower Now that memorie is praised in some and obliuiousnes dispraised in others that there wante no testimonie therein what maie bee spoken of those that then were compted the famous clearkes and the renowmest Oratours in all the worlde whiche did not onely staie in their oratioÌ„s but also quite wer beside their matters as Demosthenes and Cicero two noble Oratours vpon whoÌ„ depended the state of Athens and Rome suche imperfection was in them â–ª notwithstanding that Demosthenes was dismaied at the presence of Philip kyng of Macedonia and Cicero astonied at the presence of the Senatours that bothe tongue and countenaunce failed these noble clearkes Likewise Theophrastus that graue Philosopher successour vnto Aristotle many tymes was put to silence in the middest of his Oration before the people of Athens So was Heraclitus Seuerus doÌ„be before the Emperour Herodes Atticus before M. Antonius quite out of countenaunce so that the presence of princes the dignitie of places the maiestie of states abate and chaunge the worthinesse of the persone Some againe chalenge vnto theim selues whiche altogether thei are as voide of as Hipparchion when he would haue contended with Ruffinus he had not a woorde to speake in so muche that a prouerbe grewe by hym applied vnto hym that is more talkatiue then wise Hipparchion is dooen Some againe with Cassius Seuerus whiche though all his bookes were burned by the Senatours saied that he caried all his learnyng in minde and Memorie whiche could not bee taken awaie vnlesse his life likewise should bee taken awaie For my lernyng said he is in my mynde and not printed in bookes The greatest excellencie that can be in man is Memorie the beste iuell that manne hath is Memorie and the nexte thing that approcheth immortalitie is Memorie and so nigh that if a man could but remember the ende of thinges he should neuer taste death but he should liue for euer ¶ Of the pilgrimages of Princes and miserie of mortalitie THere is no beast vpon earth no foule in the eare no fishe in the Sea that séeketh his owne decaie but man
cause is the Greeke virgine Marina and Euphrosina a maide of Alexandria worthy preferred before Cleocritus Clisthenes for that they wente in the apparell of men to liue in the wildernesse to auoide luste and sensualitie the others wente in the apparel of women to begile women Caelius doeth report certaine women as Mantinea Lasthenia Axiothea and Phliasia would come in their apparell like men to heare Plato reade Philosophie in schoole The cause of their dissimulations was vertue and honeste life The cause of the others craftes and dissembling feates was vice and ill life so that dissimulation is either good or bad For wee reade at what tyme the launcyng laddes of Grece had determined to fetche home againe faire Helene Menelaus wife from Troie where she was rauished by Paris kyng Priamus soonne that then Achilles the stoutest and worthieste of all the Greekes while yet he slepte in the tente of Chiron his mother Thetis which the poetes fain to be a Goddesse sodainly tooke hym frō Chirons house chaunged his apparel like a woman appoincted where he should hide hym self with the doughters of kyng Lycomedes where he got of one of theim with childe whiche was Pyrrhus which was Deidamia soonne and commaunded hym to betraie him to no man for she knewe that her sonne Achilles should die in Troie if he would goe thether There Achilles a long while at the commaundement of his mother Thetis was vntill the oracle was giuen that the citie of Troie should neuer bée destroied without the helpe of Achilles Vlixes beyng moste subtile and craftie tooke vpon hym to seeke out Achilles tooke a little coffer full of fine wares meete for women and a strong bowe and arrowes which when Vlixes came vnto kyng Lycomedes doughters knowyng Achilles to bee there but because he was in the apparaill of a woman he knewe hym not and therefore shewed his fine ware vnto the kynges doughters a stronge bowe bente by hym while Deidamia and the reste of her sisters viewed the glisteryng ware of Vlixes Achilles stepte by and tooke Vlixes bowe in hande and drewe it whereby Vlixes straight perceiued by the drawing of so strong a bowe that he was Achilles and thus one crafte beguileth an other one deceipte deceiueth an other and one dissemblyng manne findeth out an other for by this meanes of craftie Vlixes was the dissimulation of Achilles knowen I might haue iuste occasion here to speake of those that were muche giuen vnto softe clothyng gaie apparaill and delicate fare as Aristotle the Prince of Philosophers delited to go braue in gorgious apparell with chaines and ringes and had herein greate felicitie Demosthenes and Hortenfius twoo famous and noble Oratours the one of Athens the other of Rome went so trimme and fine in their clothes with suche neate and wanton gesture that L. Torquatus would often call Hortensius Dionisias soonne for that she had greate pleasure in dauncyng and gestures of bodies but I will omitte suche and speake of dissemblyng persons whiche thought to hurt others destroied theim selues as that stronge Golias contempnyng all Israell in force and strength Iudith a selie woman ouercame hym Hammon was hanged vpon that galowes that he prepared for Mardocheus euen Absalon goyng about to destroie his father kyng Dauid hanged by the heares of his heade by Gods appoinctement ¶ Of Famine CICERO in his firste booke of Tuscilane questions doeth note the saiyng of Socrates that hounger was the beste sauce for meate and thurste the beste occasion to drinke Wherefore Kyng Dionisius the tyraunt hearyng muche report of the Lacedemoniās fare and specially of their Poddage whiche was called Ius nigrum the blacke Poddage bought a Cooke of the countrey as her seruaunt to diet hym in the ordinarie fare of the Lacedemonians whiche after muche paine taken of the Cooke in makyng these foresaid Poddage was had he broughte a measse thereof vnto the kyng whiche sore longed for it whiche assone as he tasted of it he powred it againe out of his mouthe verie angrie vnto the Cooke saiyng Is this the famous fare and Princely Poddage that the Lacedemonians so muche bragge of my dog should not said Dionisius eate this the Cooke perceiuyng the glottonie and excesse fare of the kyng saied O Dionisius when so euer thou eate of this Poddage thou must bring fit sauce for this meate whiche is Lacedemonians stomacke for the Princes of Sparta haue more pleasure in this kinde of fare then euer kyng Midas had in his golden banquettes What maketh any meate sweete hounger Or what causeth man to féede pleasauntly hounger What causeth any drinke pleasaunte thurste For at what tyme Darius enforced of meere thurste to drinke of a lake all defiled with stinkyng carkases of deade souldiors beyng then in warres and cōpelled then to take his flight he saied after his draught that he neuer dranke sweter drinke in his life Though this king was a proude prince ouer the Persians and had all kinde of wines at commaundement yet his excesse and aboundance then his want and penurie now his small stomacke then his thurstie stomacke nowe was the onely cause of this noble drinke whiche he so muche commended and preferred before all the wine that euer he dranke before Euen so reported kyng Artaxerxes in his warres when his victuales and all were spoiled by the enemies of fewe drie Figges of a peece of a Barley loffe vpon whiche he fedde so hongerly that he spake after this sorte O good Lorde of how greate a pleasure haue I been this while ignoraunte Lisimachus like wise beyng in warres in Thracia Domicianus the Emperoure where he and all his souldiours were kepte so longe without drinke vntill he was so thurstie that he was enforced and all his hoste to yelde as captiues to the Emperour Domitianus and nowe beyng in captiuitie hauyng a draught of drinke of the Emperour he saied O GOD that I should make my self from a king to be a captiue from a noble prince of Grece to bee a bonde slaue vnto the Romains for one draught of drinke Se what honger and thurste is how it hath made kynges to yelde princes to be vāquished Yea hath made Kyng Ptholomie in his owne kingdome and countrey kingdom of Aegipte to cōmende a peece of bread which was giuen him in a poore cottage to saie that he neuer eate better meate nor more comfortable cheare in his life thou that peece of bread was It was the very order of that noble Emperoure Iulius Caesar in all his warres more with famine then with sworde to vanquishe his enemies For this famous warrier would often saie that euen as the Phisicion would vse his paciētes so would he vse the enemies The rule of y e phisicion is to make his paciente faste to recouer his healthe The order of Caesar was to kepe the enemies from victuall to make theim yelde
and seyng hym with diuers of his felowes like to be murthered flewe vnto the very faces of the thieues and so strongly fought with theim that some the Dragon flue some sore hurt and some constrained to flie saued him and his felowes in recompence of his former courtesie Surely I iudge it a better benefite bestowed vpon suche a Dragon then vpon some vngratefull persones that be in the worlde ¶ Of reuengemente THe best waie to reuenge any iniury offered is to suffer quietly the same and to shewe vertue toward vice goodnesse toward euil honestie toward scurrilitie which is the onely poison vnto the enemy as for an example Laertius dooeth manifest the same by comparisons of thynges Who is he that seeth his enemies fieldes greene his pastures well grassed his house furnished and all thynges in comely order but he is a greeued therewith howe muche more saied he when the enuious seeth his foe adorned with all vertuous compassed with all pacience yea prosperyng in all goodnes he is therewith molested And in that place of his sixte booke he reciteth a worthie historie and a noble example of due reuengement by Diogines the Cinicke Philosopher who by chaunce came where diuers yonge men were at banquet makyng merie his heade beyng balde by reason of age he was so flouted and scoft of moste part of the companie that with stripes and strokes thei threwe hym out of the house the poore old Philosopher reuenged his wrong in this wise He tooke a peece of white Chalke and wrote the names of all those that so vsed hym vpon his cloke and so opened his cloke that all menne might reade their names and knowe how wickedly thei had vsed hym and what scoffes and floutes he had suffered of those persones whose names were to be read vpon his cloke and so brought them in suche blame with all men that thei wished in harte that thei neuer had seen Diogenes that made al the world to se their foly that afterward thei were noted as ridiculous persones not worthy of honeste companie and so were thei excluded from the good men banished from ciuile men and quite forsakē of all honeste and vertuous men Agesilaus kyng of the Lacedemonians when he had heard of certaine foes of his that alwaies spake ill of his person and of his state he after this sorte reuenged hym he chused and elected them chief capitanes ouer his men of armes and committed all the charge of his hooste vnto his enemies whereby he made his foes to become his frendes yea his seruauntes and slaues to doe what he would commande theim For so Demosthenes did when he was prouoked and iniuriously handled of hym that was in a banquet disposed to fall out and fighte with hym no saied Demosthenes I will neuer take that in hande which the victor thereof thereby sustaineth shame O worthie sentence and moste aptly aplied vnto a wiseman Wee reade in Brusonius of Dion of Alexandria who with silence reuenged more his foes then with woordes for beyng prouoked vnto anger by a vilaine and abiecte whiche folowed hym through the streate chidyng threatenyng him answered not one worde but bade hym good nighte when he came vnto the verie doore of Dion whiche when the enemie sawe he would not bee moued vnto anger to dooe hym hurte whereby he might dooe the like vnto hym againe he went vnto the nexte tree and hanged hym self Thus did Socrates beyng blamed of his frende for his silence in that he was iniuriously handled of his foe answered and saied that his enemies saiyng could not damage hym sith he was not that manne that the wordes did importe hym to bee and beyng striken and spurned by the same man Socrates was coūsailed to call the same vnto the Lawe before the Iudges vnto the whiche he aunswered whiche of you if an Asse strike hym will call that Asse before any iudges sith he is no better that thus vseth me For by this am I knowen to be Socrates and he knowen to be an Asse The greatest reuengemente vnto a foole is to lette euery man knowe his folie and the greateste hurte vnto a wiseman is to reuenge folie for it was all the reuengemente of Socrates when any man spake ill of hym to saie thus he neuer was taught to speake wel So courteous was that Fabius Maximus that when he had heard that one of his chief souldiers was about to betraie hym vnto his enemies he called the partie before hym not makyng hym priuie what he knewe of hym but demaundyng of Marsius what he wāted and willyng hym to aske any thing he should haue and so made him chief capitain of the armie By this meanes he became moste true vnto Fabius beyng before moste false This was farre from suche reuengementes as Alexander the Greate did who after he hadde subdued diuers Kyngdomes and Countreis he wente vnto the Temple of Ammon to knowe by the Oracles of Iupiter whether yet any were a liue that slue his father kyng Philip wherby he might shew more tyranny and practise murther further This was farre from M. Brutus rage whiche beyng not contente to vsurpe Caesar yea to kill hym in the Senate house but also when power failed when souldiers decaied and he almoste vanquished made his praiers vnto Iupiter and vnto the hoste of heauen to plage Caesar and his posterities This I saie was farre from Liuius Salinator who beeyng warned of Fabius Maximus not to reuenge malice vpon Hasdruball before he knewe the state of the matter the power of the fielde and the ende of the victorie where it should happen But he more rashely to reuenge then wise in sufferyng saied that either out of hande kill or bee killed And in this place I will recite 3. or 4. histories fitte for this purpose With Antheus a noble gentleman of Halicarnassus beyng in pledge lefte with Phobius chief Ruler then of Millesia fell Phobius wife in loue vsyng all meanes possible to allure Antheus in loue with her But he partely for feare and partely for loue of Phobius her housebande would in no wise consente to any filthye desire of this Cleoboea Phobius wife whiche she tooke in so euill parte that she beganne mortally to hate hym inuentyng what waie beste she mighte reuenge his cruell incurtesie in refusyng her loue She fained on a tyme that she had quite forgotten her old loue towardes hym and thanked Antheus very muche for the loue and greate zeale that he bare vnto her housbande Phobius in not consentyng to her follie then when she was in loue with hym Thus talkyng with hym Cleoboea broughte her old louer Antheus ouer a Welle where for that purpose onely she threwe a tame Partriche desiryng hym to aide her to haue her Partriche out of the Welle the young gentleman misdoubtyng her in nothing as one willyng to pleasure his frende and old louer went doune into the Well to haue the Partriche out but she
the lowest frequeÌ„ting the court more than the countrie approching nier stately princes than poore beggers And no meruell when Christ was assaulted with flattery of the Diuell promising him all the world if hée would knéele and flatter him Would to God that all Princes would speake vnto flatterers as Christ spake vnto the Diuell Auoyde Satan Away flatterer Or else I wish that wise men which are sonest of all by flattery allured to imitate the example of a noble man of Thebes named Ismenias who being sent Embassadour from Thebes vnto Persea vnderstaÌ„ding the maners fashions of the prowde Perseans that nothing can be gotten without flatterie no body can be hearde without knéeling dyd lette downe his ring to the grounde whereby he might stoope before the King not vnto the King but to take vp his ring Or else I woulde wishe all men to aunswere flatterers as Diogines aunswered Aristippus who speaking vnto Diogines that if Diogines could be content to flatter Dionisius the King hée néeded not to licke dishes or to liue poorely in Athens vnto whom hée aunswered if Aristippus coulde be content to licke dishes or to liue poorely in Athens he néeded not to flatter Dionisiê° It is read in Caelius that the women of Cipria were most giueÌ„ to loue flatterie insomuch they knéeled downe to bowe and bende their shoulders as a footestoole vnto their Ladies to mount vnto their Chariots surely the men of Persea and the women of Cipria engendred such broode of flattering Parasites that glorious Maysters neuer want flattering seruauntes The schollers of Gnato frequent alwayes Thrasonical places Haue we not many now a dayes that will speake vnto their friendes as Nicesias was woont to saye to Alexander the great being wounded and his bloode gushing out O what noble bloode is thys this bloode commeth from some God and not of man that I saye flattering Nicesias woulde affirme that that Gnat which happened to taste of the bloode of Alexander must néedes farre surmount other Gnats The wiseman saith that fiue things ought of all men to be mistrusted a straunge Dogge an vnknowen horse a holowe banck a talkatiue woman and a flattering seruaunt Fayre wordes make fooles faine yea flattering speache ouercome wise men Demetrius hauing then obtayned victory in the warres at Salamina being so ioyfull and glad of his hap did sende Aristodemus a very subtill and a cunning flatterer to certifie his father King Antigonus of his prosperous successe geuing in charge vnto him to shew the King his father orderly the triumph and victory in large maner Aristodemus no lesse ioyfull of the message then skilfull in flatterye leauing his Nauay and his company in Cipris went on lande towarde King Antigonus who hauing vnderstanding that Aristodemus was come from his sonne Demetrius being desirous after long looking of newes to heare of the warres and successe of his sonne sent diuers to méete him on the way to know the trueth and effect of his comming he saluting all men as one very sad and so sad that all men iudged that either Demetrius was slaine or else lost the fielde The King being certified that Aristodemê° was very sad and that there was no likenesse of good newes came hastily to méete him which when Aristodemê° saw he cryed out with a loude voyce a farre of saying Most happy art thou King Antigonê° commended of the gods saluted of Demetrius and this day feared of all the world Thy sonne is conquerer ouer conquerers and King ouer Kinges triumphant victor in the warres at Salamina thus artificially Aristodemus vsed suche flattery before King Antigonus that the King had as great a delite to heare Aristodemus flattering phrase as he had ioy and gladnesse of the prosperitie of his sonne Demetrius Thus Aristodemus with flattery won the heart and waded the bowels of King Antigonus that his rewarde was as much by his flatterye as his thankes was for his newes Marcus Antonius delited so much in the flattering speache of the Athinians at what time he was enforced to forsake Rome by meanes of Augustus Caesar who to reuenge the death of his Uncle Iulius threatned Antonius that the Citizens of Athens went to méete him out of the Citie hauing an Oration in commendation of his wisedome saying that he was well worthy to haue Minerua in mariage He ioyed so much of their adulation that they won this Romane by flattery to do more honor vnto Athens then nature could craue at his hand to loue Rome Such force hath flattery that when Alexander the great woulde haue dyed for sorowe yea woulde haue kylled him selfe for that he slue Clitus his foster brother in his anger â–ª yet Anaxarchus with faire wordes and sugred sentences asswaged his sorowes Aristippus when he might not obtaine his purpose at Dionisiê° hande with flattery and faire words he would knéele downe embrasing and kissing his féete and being accused of his friendes for that he was a Philosopher to be a flatterer he aunswered them in this sort Aristippê° is not in fault to speake vnto any man where his eare is Dionisius rather is to be blamed to heare at his féete or to haue his eares at his héeles Diogines therfore being demaunded what beast was most hurtfull vnto man of wilde beastes sayde he a tyraunt of tame beastes a flatterer What greater hurt happened vnto that noble and famous Alcibiades then flattery of fained fréendes to take him awaye from his maister Socrates with whom he was instructed in Philosophie to knowe him selfe to bée acquainted with selfe loue and to glory in flattery that at length with Timandra his harlot who a long time beguiled him with flattery y e house being fired hée was forced to flée naked from his foe vnto the midst of his enimies to be slaine And thus this valiaunt Gréeke was shamfully slaine by flattery whom y e learned Thucidides could neuer sufficiently praise his vertues otherwise what subiect is he that deliteth not in flattery what prince is he y t is not pleased with adulation What God is he saith the Poet that loueth not his commendation and prayse Hercules was gladde to heare the adulation of Cercopes Bacchus was ioyfull to heare the flatterie of Silenê° Euen Iupiter himselfe the king of gods was delighted in Vulcan The remedie therefore to auoyde this Gorgon to expell this monster to exile this murtherer is as Cato the wiseman sayth to vse truth for he that vseth to heare good talke alwayes will neuer speake euill anye time The nature of flatterie was so knowne that it was so hated of Augustus the Emperour that he lothed knéeling of his housholde seruauntes Tiberius the Emperour likewise woulde in no wise suffer anye of his owne men to call him Lorde for that there is but one Lorde Flatterie was so abhorred in Athens that when Timagoras was sent as an Embassadour vnto Darius king of Persea for that hée flattered
Achilles harneis whiche was onely meete for him the other for â—hat he gaue vnto others whiche he ought to haue geuen vnto hym and thus onely proceaded of selfe loue whiche is the nourse of pride Diuers there be that be proude of their euill doynges as Chares was and some as ignorant as Sparsus and some as mad as Aiax thinkyng no man worthy of any thyng but themselues I write as a Poet I meane as a christian bouldnes and rashenes ar hande maides of pride for what is it but pride taketh in hande selfe loue and arrogancie are chief Councellours vnto pride the onely Nourshes whiche feede and maintaine Pride Howe bolde was Lucifer to presume through Pride to sitte in the Sacred seate of GOD to attempte his maiesties throne though an Aungell greate prouoked by Pride to bee a GOD so ambicious his imppes are to mounte vnto the seate of Princes How presumptuous sometyme the greate Giauntes were to throwe mightie stones and huge rockes vp to the heauens to strike doune the Starres and as thei thought to moue Iupiter vnto warre So impudente are their dispersed broode with wicked and violente dartes of Pride against heauen and yearth How rashe was Phaaeton to mounte the loftie skeis attemptyng to rule the glorious Globe of mightie Phoebus So arrogant some are to chalenge that by pride which thei ought most to abhorre by reason Howe saucie was Icarus to enterprice beyonde his reache to ascende through Pride aboue his father Dedalus and to mounte higher to the heauens so false are thei whiche beyonde their nature and arte doe enterprise that whiche their witte and reason can not comprehende How proude was Actaeon to prease in place where sacred Diana was How bolde BellerophoÌ„ to ride on Pagasus How madde was Perithus to attempte the moste daungerous and perillous riuers Acheronta and Phlegeton yea to passe vnto Erebus to steale Proserpina kyng Plutos wife awaie Some are by pride that either to wickedly to winne or to shamfully to lose thei hasarde life But the prouerbe is true pride wil haue a fall Lucifer fell from the height of the heauens vnto the verie bottome of helle his Impes shall followe hym The Giauntes were destroied and conquered by Iupiter their broude shal be likewise vanquished Phaaeton burned Icarus drouned Actaeon eaten of his one Dogges Bellerophon brake his necke Perithons deuoured of Cerberus Milo slaine Polidamas killed Caesar murthered Alexander poisoned Hercules vanquished In fine all proude persones iustlie plagued The cause of pride is to forgette GOD. The frisselyng and frompelyng of heares the paintyng and colouryng of faces the staryng and roulyng of eyes are outward shewes of immoderate pride suche braggyng in gesture suche countenaunce in lookyng suche bearyng of bodie that pride it self seemeth therein to soiourne Suche washyng in sweete waters suche smellyng of sweete odours suche desire to see and to bee seen to speake and to be spoken vnto â–ª that vnder the banner of Pride thei triumphe and glorie O stinkyng seede of manne from the beginnyng O house of dunghill in the middest of his glorie O wormes meate in the ende That man or woman saieth Euripides smell well when thei smel of nothing but of inward cleanlinesse and not of outward shewes That manne that woman saieth noble Thucidides is moste to be commended that is neither praised nor dispraised the smell of pride is the worst sauour of stinch And here I thinke good to recite a historie whiche is written in the liues of the holie fathers that an Angel kept coÌ„panie with an Eremite who passyng by a dead stinkyng carkase the Eremite stopt his nose to auoide the ill sauour and smell of the Carren where at the Aungell smiled A little further thei passed by a faire garden where satte a verie faire woman richly apparelled bee decte with fragrante flowers and sweete odours in a grene harbour with her Lute in her hande where at the Anngell stopt his nose The cause beyng demaunded why he smelled not the stinkyng dead carren and stopt his nose at the sight of a verie faire woman The Angell aunswered that pride and vainglory doe stincke worse before the maiestie of God then all Carrens of the world The pride of the Quéene Cleopatra that she had in hir draught of drinke vnto M. Antonius The arrogancie of the Emperesse Poppea in makyng hir horses to be shodde with pure Golde The vainglorie of Quéene Semiramis in crauyng at hir housebandes hande kyng Ninus the Sceptor rule and gouernement of Siria vnto hir owne handes fiue daies were iustly plagued the firste stinged vnto death by Serpentes the seconde slaine of hir housbande Nero. The thirde killed by hir sonne Ninus so that some women likewise be so proude that diuers aduaunce them selfe with proude Niobes before the Goddesse Latona Diuers preferre themselues with arrogant Antigona before the Goddesse Iuno and diuers therebe that will set them selues with selfe loue with Lichione to go before the Goddesse Diana In fine the moste parte prone in comparisons with kyng Praetus doughters to matche themselues with the learned Muses but iustly rewarded were they accordynge vnto their pride and presumption These vnequall proude Comparisons breede muche discention euery peuishe Pan will compare with learned Apollo euerie Momus will assaile Minerua and euery Zoilus will bark at Cicero though the words be Poeticall and darke yet I hope the sence thereof is plaine to be vnderstanded euery manne is with proude Narcissus in loue with his owne shadowe desirous to viewe hym self in the Glasse of foolishe Accon studious and carefull to finde out the curious boxe of Phaon Pride the ring leader vnto hell hath as many shiftes so many showes so many chaunges so diuers shapes on yearth of the deuill as the Poetes affirme that Periclimenus had of Neptune vpoÌ„ the seas Is not the proud man shifted vnto a cleane man a fine man a handsome man Is not the coueitous man changed vnto a subtill prudent man a warie wise man Is not the Lecherous called an amarous man a louyng and a courteous gentleman Is not the idle man named a quiet and harmles man Is not the flattrer compted an eloquent person learned and wittie in his talkes thus vices are couered with names of vertues whatsoeuer is doen of enuie is doen of good will and whosoeuer is a dronkarde is a good fellowe and what is euen dooen vnder tyranny but it is applied vnto iustice so that dronkennes is chaunged vnto good felowship gluttony vnto hospitalitie enuie vnto good will and tiraÌ„ny vnto iustice For now these moÌ„sters which can shifte them selues to so many chaunges like Protheus I might compare iustly the menkynde by their shiftyng change of names vnto Achelous who when he would fight with Hercules he would shift hym vnto a Serpent and from a Serpent he would chaunge hym self vnto the liknes of a deuill or beyng a
deuill he could chaunge hym selfe to what forme and frame he would so the proude women likewise vsyng as many names of vertues vnto vices I might well thinke them to be of the broode of Metra the doughter of Erisithon whiche the Poetes faine she would alter hir self sometime vnto an Oxe sometime vnto a Mare somtyme vnto a Harte and sometime vnto a fliyng foule but the true shewe the naturall Metamorphosis of Pride is to chaunge vnto a deuill the father and grand aucthour of pride Pride would faine climbe vnto the skies the nature of the proude manne is to bee exalted though he neuer be so simple for poore Temison a Gardiner would bee called Hercules and Menecrates the proude Phisition would be called Iupiter we ought to reioice in nothyng but the Crosse of Christe But wee reioice of the disguised shewes of this wicked worlde So proude was Cressus kyng of Lidia of his wealthe that he went to Delphos to know of Apollo whether any man were so happie as hee was in all the worlde but for al his pride and wealth pore and simple Aglaus of Arcadia was preferred before kyng Cressus by Apollo and in the middest of his pride destroied he was by Cirus kyng of Persea So proude was king Caudales of the bewtie of his wife that he to whom he shewed his Queene naked and bragged of hir bewtie I meane Giges the same spoiled hym from his wife and from his pride slue hym and maried his wife afterwarde euen so Alexander Phaereus for the pride he had in tyrannie was slaine of his owne wife whom often vnto all he bragged of hir bewtie Fabia a woman sometime of Rome waxed so proud of a yong man that loued hir named Petronis that she slue hir owne housbande Fabritianus Pride in any thyng prouoketh vengeaunce in all men The Pride that Alexander the greate had after his tyrannie in Persea kyng Darius beeyng vanquished was seen and proued in the Mariages of the nobles of Macedonia vnto the women of Persea wher he maried firste Stratonica the doughter of kyng Darius and made .lxxx. and ten mariages in the same daie when he was maried hymself where suche pride was vsed that hundred tables wrought with Golde of Arabia with engins of Barbary and euery table hauing siluer Trestles and Alexanders table had Trestles of golde This the wealth of Darius caused first pride and then tyrannie in Alexander What is it but the proud man thinketh he maie doe Antiochus was so proude that he had that admiration of hymselfe that he iudged hym able to saile on the yearth and to go on the Seas Nicanor likewise saide of his insolente and arrogante pride that as God was mightie in heauen so Nicanor was mightie on yearth pride is neuer seen long vnreuenged for Nabuchodonosor that mightie and proude prince commaunding hym self to be called a God was made a beaste to eate grasse seuen yeres for his pride he would ascende vp vnto heauen and bee made like the height and he was thrust doune vnto Hell moste like a beaste Herod shinyng in his roiall Robes preached with suche pride vnto the people claimyng vnto hym the due honour and glorie belongyng vnto God in the middest of his pride while yet the people saide this is the voice of God and not man beholde the Angell of the Lorde stroke hym that with wormes he was consumed and with lice eaten to death Chore Dathan and Abiron for their proude insurrection against Moises were swalowed vp vnto the bothom of the yearth The proude Philistian Golias bragging out his owne strength trustyng in his owne power was conuicted by little Dauid a boie at that tyme kepyng shepe God doeth detest pride that by the mouthe of his Prophete Esaie he treadeth doune the pride of the doughters of Syon for that they walke in their owne waies for hee hath no pleasure in mans legges nor in anie outward painted shewe but in the roote of the humble mennes harte is his dwellyng Atchidemus the sonne of Agesilaus beyng conuicted by Philip kyng of Macedonia vnderstandyng that he waxed proude thereof and gloried muche of the victorie wrote an Epistle vnto Philippe saiyng If thou measure thy shadowe now being a victour with thy shadowe in tyme paste when thou waste conuicted thou shalte finde no lenger nowe then in those daies this Prince was wonte alwaies to taunte Pride in so muche he estemed a proude manne as a Gorgon or a Ciclop or deformed Monster who perceiuyng an olde man named Ceus commyng vnto Lacedemonia to bee verie proude in his apparell gesture countenaunce aidyng Nature and settyng foorthe hym self vnto the vttermoste his heade beyng white he could not tell how to help it but to satisfie his proude desire he died his heares yellowe vnto whom Archedamus said O Ceus art thou not contented that thy mynde is infected with false colours but thou must haue the heares of thy heade also ¶ Gf Coueteousnesse COuetousnesse the priuie searcher of hidden gaines the gredie gulfe of ill gotten goodes moste painfull in sekyng and mooste carefull in keepyng whose one daie of death is better thā al the daies of his life The onely misers and wretches of the worlde are thei whom neither shame can reproue for that thei are impudent neither reason rule in that thei are vnsatiate neither death maie feare in that thei thinke to liue for euer For euen as the infected member of man is vexed with an itche is alwaies clawyng so saieth Plutarche is the couetous mynde restlesse in seekyng As fire is neuer sufficed with woode nor yearth with water so the auarous is neuer satisfied with money Like as the graue is open to receiue dead Carkases euen as helle is neuer ful so is the coffer of the couetous neuer contented After that Alexander the Greate had conquered all Persia Grece India Scithia all Asia almoste all the worlde broughte vnto subiection And hauyng a cause to come to the Schoole of Anaxarchus the Philosopher who affirmed by the aucthoritie of Democritus that there were diuers worldes whiche when Alexander heard he began to wéepe beyng demaunded the cause thereof of his counsailers answered O Anaxarchus are ther so many worldes to be had I skant haue half one worlde yet O vnsatiate desire that could not suffice him with all the kyngdomes of Macedonia nor satisfied with all the worlde but wepte and cried out because he might not possesse more worldes then one The like historie of Pirrhus kyng of Epire after diuers good successe of fortune could not suffice his gredie desire with a kyngdom This prince had an excellēt orator named Cineas which for his eloquence and wit kyng Pirrhus did often vse to sende as Embassadour to the Romaines to the Macedonians and to other countreis with whom he had then warres By this Orator the kyng was wont to speake that he
gotte more couÌ„treis cities and triumphes by the eloquence of Cineas then euer he wanne by his force of warres This Cineas perceiuyng the king to be verie couetous and moste desirous of wealthe in so muche that he longed sore for the spoile of the citie of Rome consideryng the wealth of the Romaines he saied to kyng Pirrhus after this sort What if Fortune would sende God permit you to be king of Rome What would you theÌ„ doe Pirrhus saied Italie is a fertile countrey and full of wealth I should sone subdue Italie if I were kyng of Rome Then Cineas demaunded againe what after you had Rome and all Italie would you doe Pirrhus aunswered there is a famous Isle called Sicilia adioynyng harde vnto Italie verie populous and riche meete for the kyng of Rome Cineas asked the third tyme what then will you doe Pirrhus saied beyng kyng of Rome of Italie and of Sicilia I would sone subdue Carthage and then mighte I well conquere all Libia Cineas beyng almoste wearie in demaundyng this coueteous Prince the ende of his desire asked the fowerth tyme what would kyng Pirrhus doe then The kyng answered all Grece then should be at my commaundement Cineas vnderstandyng that there was no ende of his vnsatiate and greedie mynde asked of Kyng Pirrhus what if you were lorde ouer all the world Pirrhus said then I and thou would bee merie and would liue at reste So there is no ende prescribed to the desire of the auarous vntill he hath all hym self Proued by Marcus Crassus the wealthiest and the coueteous Romaine that euer dwelte in Rome so wealthy was this man that he adiudged no man riche but he that might with money keepe an armie of souldiors in the fielde so couetous was this Romaine again that he was not sufficed with all his huge wealthe and monstrous riches but thursted for more in so muche that after he was slaine emongest the Parthians people of greate wealth hauyng knowledge of his greedinesse to gooddes thei melted golde in reproche of his auarice vpon his head and willed hym to drinke his bealie full of that which he long thursted for Euen as the heade of Galba a coueteous Emperour sometyme of Rome was smitten of and filled full of golde and offered at the Sepulchre of Nero in obloquie and slaunder of their filthie and greedie liues bothe for that whiche the couetous man doeth honour a liue the same dishonoureth hym being deade The Subiecte that is auarous is perilous to a Prince And the prince that is couetous is odious to his subiectes Acheus a wealthie kyng in Lidia taryng molestyng â–ª and alwaies moste cruelly vexyng his subiectes waxed so hatefull to his owne subiectes that through his auarous dealyng by popular sedition was murthered and hanged ouer the Riuer Pactolus with his heade douneward where golde was so plentie that the waues thereof offered Sandes of gold in token he could not moderate his desire a liue he was sette beyng deade ouer the golden Riuer Pactolus to féede his auarice What greater infamie can happen to a Prince then coueteousnesse Kyng Darius hauyng obtained the Citie of Babilon through the falshode of Zopirus possessyng all the wealthe substaunce and treasures of the kyngdome of Persia hauyng all the spoile of the citie readyng the Epitaph of Quene Semiramis whiche she caused to bee sette on her graue to trie onely coueteous Princes that should succede her she made to bee written this little sentence What Kyng or Prince so euer thou art wantyng golde or siluer open my tombe and thou shalâ—e finde to suffice thee Darius I saie not contented with all the kyngdome of Persia caused the graue to be opened sought and searched euery where within the tuÌ„be vntill he sawe written in the inside of the stone this verse O thou wicked wretched prince if thou haddest not been moste coueteous thou haddest neuer opened Graues to come to deade folkes for money The like repulse had this Xerxes Kyng Darius soonne after he made the graue of kyng Belus to bee opened for money and finding nothyng but the like sentence written on a shorte Table as his father kyng Darius founde before in the tombe of Semiramis which sentence saied that he whiche should open kyng Belus graue and would not fill that glasse with oile whiche was in his graue should haue an euill ende which happened to kyng Xerxes afterwarde for that he was coueteous to spoile quicke and deade for money and not so liberall as beyng a Prince as to fill vp kyng Belus glasse with oile Thus auarous princes sought for money with dead men There is no respecte to place with the coueteous man sithe he hath no regard to any persone for money sake What respect had L. Septumilius to his assured and deare frende C. Gracchus when Opimius then Consull in Rome and greate enemie vnto Gracchus allured hym with money to betray him his manifest faithe before vnto his frend by couetousnes was altered vnto open enemitie for money he sold his frende for money he murthered his frende for money he lugged his frendes bodie rounde about the streates of Rome O howe infamous art thou Septumilius for thy auarice What respecte had Ptolomeus to his singulare and often approued frende Pompeius the great who to auoide the force of Caesar the Emperour fledde for succour vnto Egipte where the kyng his supposed frende caused one named Bustus to strike of his heade and made his officer Photinus to sell Pompeius heade for money vnto Caesar. What regard had Polimnestor kyng of Thracia to his frende and nigh kinsman Polidor At what tyme Polidors Father kyng Priamus sente hym in trust to his cousin Polimnestor for old acquaintaunce and affinitie with greate substaunce and wealthe of Troie to kéepe to the vse of kyng Priamus who perceiuyng the state of Ilion and roiall sceptor of Phrigia readie to yelde the fatall flames Coueteous Polimnester without regard of frendshippe before or respect of kindrede either vnto kyng Priamus or to his sonne Polidor slue his frende and kinsman to possesse the wealthe whiche Polidor had Oh vnhappie metall that thus moue menne to tyrannie O wicked money that make men murther frendes O moste cruell coueteous to perswade men to betraie men to kille father and mother to deceiue Cities and Countries to forsake faithe to subuert kyngdomes L. Silla a moste wicked and coueteous farre to bee hated and lothed before Crassus that wicked and auarous Impe of Rome passyng all menne bothe in wealthe and coueteousnesse that in so muche he became through gréedie desire of his vsuall mynde so cruell that he was called an other fire brande of Italie suche tyrannie proceadeth from his coueteousnesse that not onely in forraine Countries became a cruell enemie in spoilyng and robbing but also in Rome and Italie his natiue zoile a terrible tyraunte burnyng and murtheryng bothe Countries and the people This Silla could neuer
haue to suffice his mynde vntill at length he was consumed with lice hym self as his money was corrupted with Mothes Thei enioye nothing though thei haue all things thei possesse nothyng though thei be Lordes of Countreis true is that golden sentence of the Stoickes that the wise manne is onely riche for contentation is perfecte wealthe That wiseman Bias at what tyme the Citie of Prienna was besieged and subdued by the enemies the Citizeins thereof commaunded and suffered with bagges of their treasures to departe euery manne loded hym self with siluer and golde but Bias who tooke nothyng but a booke in his hande and beyng demaunded of the enemies why he carried not his goodes with hym he saied that all his wealthe and richesse was in his harte meanyng knowledge and wisedome a place moste fitte to laie and to kepe treasure saiyng I haue all my wealthe aboute me whiche you can not spoile me of Herodotus a noble Historiographer writeth a noble historie of one Alcmaeon whiche because he was wonte to welcome often the Embassadours of Cressus kyng of Lidia as thei went to Delphos to consult with the Oracles of Apollo was thus rewarded of Kyng Cressus for his clemencie therein that AlcmeoÌ„ should haue as muche golde and siluer by the kynges treasurer as he would bee able to carrie or beare awaie whiche delited so muche the coueteous mynde of Alcmaeon that he was as willyng to take al the substance of the Kyng had he been able and beyng so heauie loded that his bodily strength failed to suffice his gredie mynde would in no wise deminishe any part of his desire thoughe he coulde augmente the habilitie of his strength by any meanes and so to satisfie his auarous mynde he could neuer lode hym self with a fitte burthen either to heauie that he could not carrie or els to lighte that he would not carrie and thus as one not so able in strength as he was willyng in minde could not prescribe measure to his desire Had Alcmaeon learned of Plato howe to deminishe rather desire to encrease his strengthe then to studie for riches he had been able to carrie a good burthen of golde from kyng Cressus Hadde Demonica learned that lesson of Socrates that money and desire of wealthe is daungerous At what tyme Brennus the Capitaine and Prince ouer Senona laiyng siege to Ephesus she had not straight consented as one more couetous vnto money theÌ„ faithfull to her countrey betraied the Citie for money who according vnto promise demaunded of Brennus her deserued reward brought her to a greate heape of golde and waiyng her importunate desire vnto money loaded her so heauie with golde that she died vnder her burthen for wante of equall strength to her coueteous mynde The golden Sandes of Tagus all the glisteryng gemmes of Ganges all the treasures of Hydanspes can not suffice coueteous Princes Suche inordinate desire of wealth of glorie of fame raignyng in Princes from tyme to tyme that diuers dreamed in their sleape howe thei mighte satisfie their greedie guttes in the daie tyme toumblyng and tossyng their braine how thei mighte possesse kyngdomes and Countreis For Darius dreamed that al Macedonia should be at his becke and that Alexander the Greate should serue hym in suche homage and clothes as he some tyme did serue kyng CaÌ„bises Alexander dreamed that Hercules appeared to hym euery where and commaunded hym to passe vnto Tyre and to the Isle of Pharo promisyng helpe and assistaunce to haue wealthe and honour aboue al men Hanibali was so coueteous and desirous of Rome that a young manne of wounderfull beautie appeared vnto hym in his sleape commaundyng hym to make his armie rieadie to passe vnto Italie assuryng him to become lorde of Rome and Italie Thus in slepe did thei studie how to feede coueteousnesse Thus by dreames did thei coniecture how thei might bee famous glorious and renoumed Thus through fonde phantasies of visions did at lengthe become murtherers and tyrantes of the worlde What was the onely death of that noble Troian Hector the greedie desire to spoile kyng Patroclus â–ª What was the ende of that renoumed Gréeke Achilles his auarous dealyng with kyng Priamus for his soonne Hectors auarice neuer lodgeth but with princes noble menne and riche menne the poore of necessitie is enforced to seeke his liuyng Kyng Midas was not contented with all the kyngdom of Lidia made his desire and wishe of GOD Bacchus to bee a meane vnto Iupiter that what so euer he touched should be golde whiche beyng graunted euen at diner his breade that he touched became golde his drinke he tooke in hande conuerted vnto golde and beyng priuie to his miserie and wretchednesse that he was in almoste famishâ—e hymself for that he could not digeste golde as well as meate and drinke whiche could not perceiue his estate before and suffice him with al thinges beyng the wealthiest kyng that euer was in Lidia now through his coueteousnes enforced by hunger to die O hongrie panches of golde O cursed desire of money What hath not been doen by thee What place was not soughte by thee Euriphiles was so coueteous that she betraied her owne housebande Amphiraus to Adrastus kyng of the Argiues for a bracelet of golde that the kyng did weare aboute his arme If Ochus kyng somtyme of Persia had obserued the rule of noble Plato whiche said that a kyng whiche deliteth in auarice can not prospere He had not staied from the Citie of Babilon for sparing of some siluer which he should giue to the poore women of the citie for it was a Lawe made by kyng Cirus that what kyng so euer of Persia had comen vnto Babilon he should giue a peece of gold vnto euery poore woman in the toune for the whiche cause kyng Ochus would neuer come vnto Babilon These commodities followe coueteousnesse toile and trauaill in gettyng care and thoughtes in keping Had Euclio thought of that saiyng of Plutarchus that riches for the mooste parte are hurtfull to those chiefly that doe desire moste he had not hidden vnder the grounde suche Treasure and wealth of golde and siluer that he durste not goe out of his house for feare of robbing nor yet as Plautus saieth abide in his house for feare of killyng Uerie well is it described of wisemen the chariotte of coueteousnes the fower wheéles named faint courage contempt of God forgetfulnesse of death and vngentlenesse the twoo horses that drewe the Chariot are named rauine and nigardshippe the driuer of the horses is called desire the twoo cordes that rule the horses are appetite to gette and feare to forgette A whole volume might bee written vpon these names but sithe the moste parte knowe well the maner and motion of auarice superfluous it is to commente or glose to the smalleste noumber The Princes are not ignoraunce for slaughter murther and tyrannie teacheth them the order of this chariotte The noble man desireth alwaies to ascende
wide worlde was as riche as he and there after long bragges of his Kyngdomes and vaine ostentations of wealthe an aunswere was made vnto hym by Apollo out of the secrete place of the Temple that Aglaus a poore manne of the Countrey of Arcadia was farre richer and more fortunate then he was Thus are thei mooste misers noted of wise men hauing all thinges and yet hauyng nothyng for that thei are neuer contented with any thynge When Alcibiades had muche bragged of his fortune wealth and substaunce boasted very muche of his landes in Athens a certaine Philosopher shewed a little Table wherein the whole Countrey of Athens was described in a verie little roume desiryng Alcibiades to shewe hym there his liuynges and landes in Athēs whiche when Alcibiades mighte not nor could in any wise shewe the same No more saied the wise Philopher can any coueteous manne shewe any parte of his substance for that thei haue nothyng though thei haue muche Thus Craesus and Giges though thei wer most wealthie kynges in Lidia yet wer thei both by Apollo and Solon adiudged misers So odious was vsurie and coueteousnes that when it was demaūded of Cato the wise what vsurie was he answered what is to murther a man It robbeth and killeth poore men it murthereth innocentes This is that false felowe that wil sell all thinges with Simō This is he that wil betray Christ with Iudas To this it is saied that soner a Camell shal go through the eye of a Nedle then he should goe vnto heauen Wherefore the memorie of death is better to hym that hath pleasure in possessions ¶ Of Prodigalitie and Dronkennes THE greate delight the Epicureal felicitie that Princes haue had in excesse of eatyng and drinkyng from tyme to tyme in all places are not onely in prophane Histories regestred but also in Deuine Scriptures ▪ mencioned The Poetes make songes of prodigall Princes the Histriographers defame theim the Philosophers abhorre their companie howe could the Poet Sidonius omit the prodigal draught of Cleopatra Quéene of Aegypt without a song howe might Plinie forget the sumptuous excesse of the Empresse Poppea without a taunt How should Martiall let passe the impudencie of proude Bassa without worthy scoffes of hir too muche prodigalitie The first preparyng a banquet to hir frende and louer Antonius where one dishe of meate stoode hir in two hundred thousande Crownes The seconde so sumptuous and prodigal to set showes of glisteryng Gold vnder hir Horses feete The thirde most proude and impudent to appoint vessels of Gold wrought with Precious stoanes to receaue hir excrementes in stead of hir stoole of ease Their sumptuous prodigalitie excesse and pride must not be vnspoken to shewe the horror therof as an example to other proud prodigall Princes Therefore to matche these sumptuous Ladies I wil trauel no further then the citie of Rome where thrée Emperours one succéedyng in a maner the other not onely comparable to these dainty dames but farre surmountyng theym in eche respect Caligula the only Dregges and Faex of Emperours and Princes for prodigalitie and excesse spending and spoilyng the whole reuenewes of the Empire of Rome vpon Hoores and Queanes a Sacriledge of churches a spoiler of the Citie a robber of all the Countrey so filthy was this Emperour so odious for his excesse that hee wished that all Rome had but one necke that hee with one stroke might strike of the head to the end he might haue to suffice his prodigalitie his Actes perticulerly to touch it were tedious for he neuer did a good tourne to the Citie of Rome The seconde Nero surnamed the tyraunt Caligula his sisters sonne moste like his owne sonne for that he was knowen to be nought with Agrippina his sister Neros mother this Emperour past Caligula his vnckle in all excesse of glotonie and dronkennes wasting spendyng with strumpets and queanes consuming daie night with riotous and infamous persons vsing the cōpanie of Minstrels frequentyng feastinges and banquets accompanyng the felowship of Theues and Tyrauntes that Nero hymselfe was called the firebrande of Rome The thirde Heliogabalus the verie sincke of shame the onely rotten member of the worlde who past all the slaues of the world in prodigalitie tearyng all to péeces in brauery Precious clothes commaundyng Nauies to sink before his face in the riuer of Tyber his house with all precious odours and sweetnes his Galeries strowed ouer with Saffron his Stoole of Gold his Chamber pottes of Onix stoan his Slippers wrought with precious Margarites I will omitte to speake of his monstrous lecherie of his cruell tyranny of other prodigious and terrible actes but let the learned reade Suetonius of Heliogabalus life let the vnlearned iudge of his life by his death who beyng kilde on a Iakes and throwen to the Riuer Tiber lest any ofspryng might succéede hym the Citizins of Rome through his mother Scemides aliue to beare hym companie for that shee brought vp suche a Gulfe of mischief I am amazed to thynk wherin the wide world I might finde his mate bicause that all writers doe agree that in excesse and dronkennesse only for that fault Alexander the great the conquirour of the whole worlde is much defamed I am vrged amongest so many vertues that Alexander had this onely filthy and abhominable vice to note wherin he had great delight makyng certen garlands and braue Crownes of Gold appointyng greate gifts and rewardes for them that excelled in drinkyng Calanus when he should die at the gorgeous pompe of his funerall and solemne exequies he desired Alexander to make a memoriall of his death by some sacrifice of drinkyng whiche Alexander accomplished made three Garlands of pure golde the best valued lxxx poundes The seconde .xxx. Pounde The thirde .x. Pounde And then prepared a sumptuous feaste with suche Diriges of drinkyng for Calanus that Alexander wan the beste and first Garlande Promachus the seconde ▪ The third a hundred made claime by lawe Thus Alexander hauyng such felicitie in dronkennesse Androcides a gentleman of Greece wrote vnto Alexander being in Babilon perceiuing the prone and propensed mind of this Prince to win a letter wherein was a Table written one with this little Sentence in letters of Golde Remember Alexander when thou doest drink wine that thou doest drinke the blood of the yearth he neuer hurted any but in his wine famous in al things infamous in that exteemed and honoured of all in all thinges lothed and abhorred in that thyng in all the world Such crueltie he shewed in dronkennesse that hee slue his owne sisters brother Clitus killed Calisthenes his philosopher and councelour murthered his deere frende Lisimachus Cambises kyng of Persea and Father vnto Cirus the greate suche tyrannie he woulde commit in dronkennesse as beyng either spoken or counceled hee woulde rewarde with death and tormentes At what tyme Praxaspes one of his councelours willed hym to abstaine from wine
waie by certaine gentlemen of Greece straungers whence he caÌ„ and whether he would goe answered and saied I came from menne and I goe vnto women Notyng the valiaunt hardinesse of the Lacedemonians and tauntyng the daintinesse finenesse of the Athenians This prodigalitie of eating and drinkyng was so honoured this finesse of féedyng was so accepted that a little fishe saieth Plutarche was more accepted in Rome then a great oxe What wickednes proceded froÌ„ dronkennes What lust moued dronkards SecuÌ„dus the Philosopher being droÌ„ken did lie with his own mother as an ignorauÌ„t beast by wine being a learned philosopher which she knowyng beyng sober slue her self therefore and he for shame of the acte and for sorowe of her death pined and tormented hym self all the daies of his life The huge and mightie Holifernus beeyng drounken was beheaded by Iudith a selie woman The monsterous Ciclops Poliphemus being ouercome with wine sleping in a caue was slaine by Vlixes a simple Greke The pugill and Champion Alexander the conquerour of all the whole worlde was betraied and murthered with wine If suche reproche happen by wine if suche perilles and daungers accompanie dronkennesse If sodaine death alwaies waite for glottons and dronkardes hence maruaile muche men maie that all menne euery where at all tymes dooe embrace this prodigious monster If Lacidis the Philosopher fell into a palsie by drinkyng of wine by dronkennesse died Why did Mar. Antonius make a booke in defence of wine to maintain his droÌ„kennesse whiche booke was as odious vnto Rome as dronkennesse was estemed of Antonius If Philostrates by drinkyng of wine was made droÌ„ken and brake his necke from a ladder by a fall to his greate infamie and shame Why did Timocreon cause an Epitaphe to be sette on his graue in Rhodes for a bragge of his ignomious life saiyng Here lieth Timocreon of Rhodes that in life tyme eate muche meate dranke muche wine spake muche euill Thus vice beginneth sweete it endeth sower It beginneth with pride it endeth with shame It beginneth with wealth it endeth with pouertie Euen as Licinius Crassus was flouted somtime in Rome scofte in Italie mockt of all men because from a wealthie man he became a poore begger by prodigall expences So are thei laughed to scorne as bealie slaues waied as infamous persones regarded of no man that are compted dronkardes Euen as Gnosius was contempned in Greece that the Citizeins of Athens commaunded their children to auoide his companie for that he was noted suche a glotton and a dronkarde that when he went in the stréetâ— euery one pointed his finger at hym when he would goe to any house euery manne would auoide his companie Plini doeth repete the benefites of droÌ„kennesse Thence saith he procede the dropsie the swolne visage the pale colour the queueryng handes the foulteryng tongue staring eyes redde nose hence saieth Plini proceâ—de furious dreames stinckyng breath and beastlie behauiour hence the goute and palsie and all kinde of diseases these come of immoderate drinkyng of wine modestie in drinbyng of wine reuiueth the spirites comforteth the harte sharpeneth the witte and maketh glad the heauie minde As Homer the sugered and sweete Mecaenas of Greece was muche reuiued by a draughte of wine The aunciente Poete Enneus could best applie his studie after a cuppe of wine Aristophanes and Cratinus felt them selues moste apte and readie to versifie after little wine So that Pithagoras said true that the Uine hath three granes the first of pleasure the second of dronkennesse the thirde of madnes The first draught is pleasaunte the seconde is daungerous the thirde is madnesse Some write that it hath seuen granes the firste as afore saied of pleasure the seconde of companie the thirde of farewell and thus free then the fowerth of slaunder the fifte of braulyng the sixte of blowes the seuenth of madnesse then it weakeneth the senewes it killeth the memorie it dulleth the witte and spoileth all the sense of manne and of a manne maketh a beast vomityng and spuyng bothe wine and the secrete for in wine there is no silence There were certaine souldiers in Tarentum a citie sometyme vnder the Romaines and all that time defended by Pirrhus kyng of Epire who beyng drounken and ouercomed with wine began to slaunder and to defame Pirrhus with obloquie ignomious talkes and beyng demaunded by Pirrhus why thei so spake of hym one aunswered and saied more had been spoken had not wine wanted Three thynges there are that muche are to be lamented the marriner in a tempest the poore manne in debte and the prodigall persone with mony Thus Demosthenes would ofteÌ„ repeate in his Orations to moue the Olinthians and the people of Athens to abhorre prodigalitie dronkennesse There was sometyme a Temple in Sicilia consecrated vnto Ceres wher Triptolemus appointed solempne sacrifice great honour with glottonie and accesse of eatyng and drinking MelaÌ„pus likewise as Herodotus doeth write brought firste from Egipte vnto Grece the excesse order of drinkyng â–ª called the feast of Bacchus from Grece not long after it was brought vnto Hetruria from Hetruria vnto Rome from Rome vnto all the worlde Thus glottonie and dronkennesse grewe haile fellowes with Princes In Pontus with kyng Mithridates In Lacedemonia with Cleomenes In Sicilia with Dionisius In Lidia with Cambetes Timolaus in Thebes And as Plini affirmeth in Grece with Alcibiades and Diotinus In Rome with Piso and Torquartus In Aegipt Herodotus preferreth kyng Amazis These princes and noble felowes were Souldiers vnder the banners of Bacchus and Ceres maintainyng glottonie and dronkennesse twoo vile vices for twoo noble vertuous Worthie were the people of Sparta and Lacedemonia of immortall commendatioÌ„s of perpetuall fame Thei so abhorred this vile vice of drinkyng that thei made their slaues and captines named Helotes at their feastes appointed dronken that their children might see the beastlinesse thereof that thei mighte marke the shamefull state of dronkennesse therby rather to abhorre the filthines and brutish behauour of dronkards by vsing their houshold seruauntes in so muche that if any of their children waxed fatte or grosse in Lacedemonia they should faste it out with bread and water Wherefore Anacharsis the Scithian beyng demaunded how a man might exchue dronkennes aunswered in beholdyng the vncomely gestures of drunkennesse for some dronkards will brag much of their drinking and not be dronken as Aristippus hearyng a certaine Gréeke boastyng muche that he coulde drinke muche and not be dronken saide euen so can a Mule likewise coÌ„paryng his great bragges to the beastly Mule Uery fittly doth Cirus touch his grandfather Astiages when he was asked how it chaunced that he quaffed wine no better bicause saide Cirus I feare to suppe vp Poyson with wine whiche spoileth the right vse of bodie and minde We vse to excuse dronkards sometime beeyng wisemen euen as Demosthenes excused
that comparisons bee odious emongeste equalles and certaine more odious is it emongst vnequalles as betwene the riche and the poore But sithe the state of man is so diuers that some is contented with little and some neuer with muche Some toilyng and tramplyng hauing all thinges as though thei had nothing And some againe quiete and carelesse hauyng nothyng as though thei had all thynges consideryng that contentation of mynde and quietnesse of harte is the chief felicitie and soueraigne good of the worlde waiyng beside that pouertie is sure and saufe euery where and riches vnsure and dangerous at all tymes And that pouertie is carelesse and wealthe carefull I see not but by comparyng of the liues of Emperours Kynges and Princes of the worlde vnto selie poore menne But the state of the poore is better then the state of the riche as by Apollos Oracle proued of one Aglaus a poore manne in Arcadia preferred for his contentation before Kyng Cressus of Lidia whiche tooke hym self the happiest manne in the worlde for his wealth What profited kyng Darius to vanquishe the Persians and to be Kyng of Babilon and to haue out of Asia fiue hundred thre score and fiftene thousande Talentes yerely paied of tribute for he loste not onely all his wealthe but also his life for his wealthes sake by Alexander the great What profited Alexander again after that to haue the wealth of Persia the substaunce of Macedonia yea to haue all India and Asia and almoste the whole worlde in subiection and yet to bée poisoned of Antipater and lefte vnburied without regarde thirtie daies in Babilon for wealth was the chief cause of his death Was not poore Plautus and simple Cleanthes more happie in life then these two famous Kynges thei quietely with bakyng and bruing and appliyng their bokes liued a long tyme saufe and sounde These Princes were neuer at reste vntill one destroied an other in their youth and prime tyme. Kyng Xerxeâ— and Cirus gotte suche aboundance of wealthe by warres suche substaunce suche treasures that beeyng thereby disquietted and puffed vnto Pride to take enterprises in hande through perswasion of wealthe that the one after he thoughte to spoile and robbe all Grece was slaine by Artabanus the other thinkyng to subdue all Scithia was vanquished by Tomiris Queene of Scithia a woman and so bothe these proude Princes of wealth loste wealthe life and gooddes Was not Philemon and poore Acaetes which liued vnto the laste course of Nature quiete at reste more wise happie then thei If quietnesse of mynde if longe yeres if sauftie and soundnesse of life if perpetuall healthe maie perswade felicitie of life â–ª If poore Faustulus a Shepherd whiche somtyme founde in Romulus lefte of all men forsaken of his parentes hated of his freindes and nourished hym This Faustulus liued more mery yeres in keping of his Shepe a Shepherd then Iulius Caesar did in rulyng of Rome an Emperor For this Shepherde ended his life in old age this Emperour was murthered in the Senate house within fower yeres after he was elected Emperoure Was not Codrus a poore Poete and his wife Procula more luckie and happie to ende their daies after long life quietly then kyng Ninus and his wealthie Quene Semiramis that killed her housebande for the kyngdome of Assiria and after she likewise was slaine by her owne soonne Ninus for the obtainyng of the wealthe and substaunce thei had lefte was loste Examples are to many for the proofe hereof Solon a wiseman of Grece did preferre before riche and wealthie kyng Cressus Biton and Cleobis brethren twoo poore menne of Argiâ—e The poore familie of one Aelius in Rome where there were seuentene brethren hauyng but one poore fielde for their heritage liued longer proued happier and died more godly and liued more coÌ„tentiuely then the familie of Caesar. What was the cause that the Indians Babilonians Arabians and Lidians were spoiled destroied and murthered their greate substauÌ„ce â–ª treasures and wealthes of the Countreis If we examine well the doubtes and daungers of wealthe and waigh likewise the sauftie and surenesse of pouertie we must nedes preferre the quiete state of poore menne if thei be wise before the state and Fortune of Princes The worste lucke that can happen vnto a poore manne is to become riche for then he commeth from sure life to hasarde him with death And the beste that can happen vnto a riche manne is to become poore thereby is his life saued though his wealthe bee spoiled Howe Fortune dealeth in this poincte it is in diuers places of this booke mencioned The worst thyng that could happen vnto Demosthenes and Cicero was that they were aduaunced from their sounde state vnto honour and dignitie Wherby their liues wer lost the one beyng a consul of Rome the other the patron of Athens The worst thyng that could happen vnto Tullius Hostilius and vnto Torquinius Priscus was that thei wer aduaunced the one from a Sheparde the other from a banished straunger to be kynges of Rome If I should rehearse in this place howe many poore menne by callyng theim vnto wealth and honour haue been banished afterward slaine and imprisoned both in Rome in Gréece and in all the world I might séeme well vnto the reader more tedious then delectable If on the other side I should repeate how many Princes haue escaped death by loosing their Crownes and Scepters I were no lesse werie then fruictlesse Therfore I saie there is care and daunger in wealth and ther is quietnesse and safetie in pouertie The pleasure that Lucanus had in this worlde was nothyng elles but a poore Garden wher alwaies in his life he vsed to solace him selfe and when he died he commaunded his Graue to be made there where beyng dead he was buried Mecoenas had suche a Garden in Rome where all his feli-Citie was the Emperour Octauius might in no wise allure Mecoenas out of his Garden no more then Alexander the greate could moue Diogenes to forsake his Tunne to become wealthy here againe might bee brought those wise men that refused wealth and substaunce fled from honour and dignitie to liue quietly in pouertie but bicause I meane to be brief in all thinges I will omitte prolixitie Plinie doeth reporte that Protogenes a poore Painter was content to liue al the daies of his life in a little cottage that he made hym in his garden Plutarche likewise in the lief of Nicia doth write that Lamachus was so poore that when the people of Athens would make hym their king he wanted I saie Shues on his feete and yet had rather be poore Lamachus in safetie then to be kyng of Athens in danger For when a poore man named Hilarion met with certen Robbers and Theues and being demaunded of the Theues how chaunced that he feared not to walke alone in the night bicause saied hee I am