my palays And suche as the prince is suche shal be his householde as his house is so shal his courte be as the courte is so shal the hole empire be For this cause a kynge ought to be ryghte honeste his house well ordered and ruled his officers well lerned and his courte well kepte in awe Of my good life dependeth their good lyues and consequētly the yl liues Euery nation lerneth in theyr particuler scoles The Syriens in Babylon the Persians in Dorkes the Indiens in Olympe the Caldees in Thebes the Grekes in Athenes the Hebrewes in Helye the Latines in Samie the Frenche men in Orliance the Spaniardes in Gades and they all togyther in Rome The vnyuersall scole of all the worlde is the persone the house and courte of a prynce As we emperours do say the same wyl our subiectes say as we do they wyll do that we forsake they wyll leaue yf we lese our selfes they wyl lose them selues if we win they wyl winne and fynally our welth is theyr welth and our harme is their harme Truely the prince is bound to kepe his owne persone honestly and well besene his hous and courte so well ruled that all they that shall se it maye haue desyre to folowe and do therafter and that all they that here therof may desyre to see it Take ye hede and let vs take hede Haue ye in mynde and let vs haue in mind that they which be of strange lādes going through strāge landes into strange landes by their great trauayles commynge to haue and demaunde succour and remedy of vs may haue no cause to report any sclanders of our yl customes What thing more monstruous can be noysed among men than that they shulde come and complayn of the theues of their countreys to the theues of my courte What greatter shame and inconuenience can be than to demand Iustice of their mensleers of the mankyllers of my court and house What crueltie were so cruel as to complayne of the vagaboundes of theyr landes to the slouthfull and ydell folke of my house What thyng can be more shamefull than to come to accuse theym that haue sayde ylle of emperors before them that euery day blaspheme the goddis What thynge can be more inhumayne than to come to aske iustyce on hym that hath transgressed but ones of them that neuer dyd good warkes Truely in suche case the pore men shulde retourne with their ignoraunce begyled and we shulde tarie with our cruell malyce shamed of men and culpable before god O howe many smalle matters do we chastise in men of smal reputation which without breakyng of Iustyce we myghte forbeare and howe many great thynges do the goddis suffre in the hye pryncis and lordes the whiche not without Iustyce they may greuousely punyshe And by that cruell men as cruel can pardon nothynge and the goddis pitiefull scantely wyll chastyse anye thynge Yet for all this I wolde that none shulde deceyue hym selfe for though the goddis forbeare theyr iniuries yet they leaue theym not vnpunysshed by straunge Iustice The goddis ben in their chastisementes as he that gyueth a blowe to an other the hyer that he lyfteth his bande the greatter is the stroke on the cheke By semblable wise the mo yeres that they forbere our sinnes the more afterwarde do they hurte vs with peynes Truelye I haue seene the goddis dyuers tymes to dyuers persones forbeare dyuers synnes a greatte whyle but at the laste I haue sene theym all vnwaares chastysed with one chastisement ¶ Howe the emperour wolde haue them of his courte to lyue Capit. xxv SIthe that the goddis haue ordeyned and my fatall destenies haue permytted that I shulde be chosen emperour not to slouthfull I haue laboured all that I myght to vysyte the Empire ye lyttelle yonge folkes that are here were gyuen to me of your fathers for to nouryshe you in my palays And for you that ar bygger I was desyred to receiue you in hope to haue gyftes and rewardes and other I dydde chuse to do my seruyce The intention of the fathers whā they bryng theyr chyldren to the court of princis is to put theym from dalyance of their frendes and banyshe them from the wantonnes of their mothers And me seemeth it is well done for the chyldern from theyr youthe oughte to gyue them selfe to trauayle wherby they ought to lyue and resiste the disfauour and falles of fortune Ye are not come from your coūtreys to lerne the vyces of Rome but to lerne many good maners that are in Rome and leaue the yll maners of your landes All that doo not this and forsake trauayle gyue them selfe to very ydelnes The myserable Rome hath moore nede of labourers for to labour than of lordes and habytauntes Patriciens that wyll but passe the tyme in rest and pleasures I sweare to you that not for werynge the armes with the craft of weuynge and the fyngers with spinnyng the bordell houses nowe adayes are fuller of ydel women than the churches of good priestes And I sweare ageyne that easelyer may be founde .x. M. yll women in Rome to serue in pleasure of vyces than .x. M. good menne to serue in the churches I pray you who sleeth the marchantes in hye wayes Who dispoyleth wayfaringe men and pylgrimes on the mountaynes Who piketh the lockes and breketh honest mens dores and wyndowes Who robbe by strengthe the churches but these lewtrynge theues which wyll not labour by day but dispose them to rob by nyght O Rome what harmes come to the for one onely euyll Who hath fylled Italy so full of loste people the palays soo full of vnable persones the mountaynes so full of theues the tauernes so full of yl women and euery place so full of vacabūdes but one the canker of ydelnes and slouth whiche destroyeth the god customes more than the windes and waters thyne olde worne walles Beleue me oone thynge for I wote that I say trouth therin that the crafte of weauing wherin all the naughty vilanyes are wouen and wrought and the seede of all vnhappye vyces the slydynge of all goodnesse the fallynge of all theym that be euyll and the awakynge and prouokynge of all these is but this fowle vyce of slouthe and idelnesse And more ouer I saye that there is no vyce amonge all vyces that bredeth so great a fyre and causeth soo contynualle a syckenesse of slepe amonge aaged folke and that puttethe good folke in soo great peryll and dothe soo moche domage to theym that be euyll as doth ydelnes Who is it that causeth sedition amonge the people and sclaunder in Realmes but they that reste and doo nothynge bycause they wolde eate the foode gotten by sweat of them that labour Who is it that fyndeth newe inuencions of tributes and forayne exactions but ydell men the which bycause they wyl not worke with theyr handes fynde profite with infinite exactions who maketh discētion betwene neighbors but idel folke they
deuide theyr ylle amonge theyr neighbours bycause they occupy not theyr forces in good workes nor refraine theyr tongues to clatter of other mens liues who imagineth in these dayes so many malices in Rome the whiche was neuer harde of our fathers nor redde in our bokes but vacabundes that neyther apply nor sette their wittes about nothynge els but thynke howe to endomage other The emperour that coude vanyshe all these ydell persons out of his empire myght well auant him selfe to haue oppressed all the vices of the worlde I wolde it pleased the immortal goddis that of so many triumphis that I haue hadde of straungers occupied in good exercyses that I hadde sene one of the vacaboundes of Rome driuen out of all houses There was an auncient lawe none myghte be taken and receyued for a citisen in Rome but he were first examined by the Censure In the time of Cato Censorius when any wolde be a citiesin of Rome this examination was made of hym He was not demaunded of whens he was nor what he was nor whens he came nor wherfore he came nor of what kinne or auncient stocke he cam but only they toke his handes betwene theyrs and if they felte them softe and smothe forthewith as an ydell vacabunde man they dispatched and sent him away and if they found his handes harde and full of hard knottes by and by they admitted hym a citezen and dweller in Rome Also whan any officers toke any yll doers put them in prison that was called Marmotine in stede of information the firste thynge that they toke hede of was theyr hondes whiche if they had bene as a labourers handes and a worke man though his crime were greuous yet his chastisement was mitigate and more easye and if the vnhappye prysoner chāced to haue ydell handes for a littel faut he shuld haue sharpe punishement It hath ben an old sayeng He that hath good handes muste nedes haue good customes I say I chastised neuer a labouringe man but I was sorye for it nor I neuer caused to whyppe a vacabunde but I was gladde of it I wyll tel you more of this Catho Censorius whiche was greately feared For euen as chyldren in the scholes herynge their maister commynge in renne to their bokes So when Catho went through the stretez of Rome euery body went to theyr worke O right happy baron before whom the people feared more to be idel than to do yl before any other Than beholde ye at this houre what force vertue hath and howe valiaunte a vertuous man is seinge that all the worlde feared Rome onely for her worthynes in armes and all Rome feared Catho onely for his vertues The aduentures of men are so dyuers and the suspect fortune gyueth soo many ouerthwart turnes that after that a great space she hathe gyuen greatte pleasures incontinent we are cyted to her subtyll trauayles of repentaunce O happy Cato Censorine who with suche as haue folowed his wayes are nowe sure fro the abatementes of fortune Than he that wyll haue glorye in this lyfe and attayne glorye after deathe and be beloued of many and feared of all lette hym be vertuous in doynge of good workes and deceyue no manne with vayne wordes I sweare vnto you by the lawe of a man of worshyppe that if the goddes wolde accomplisshe my desyre I had rather to be Cato with the vertuous policies that he vsed in Rome than to be Scipio with the abundance of blode that he shedde in Affrike All we knowe wel that Scipio hadde a great fame in beatynge downe of cities and cuttynge innocentes throtes and Catho hath attayned eternal memorie in reformyng the people pardoning trespassours and teachyng ignorant folke Than ye may all see yf I haue not good reason more to desyre to be Cato to the profyte of many than to be Scipio to the preiudyce of so many Lo my frendes these wordes I haue said bycause ye may see that our predecessours somme in their owne londes other in strange landes some beinge yonge and some olde in their tymes had glorye in their persons for them selfe and for the worlde to come haue left no lesse memory for their successours and ofsprynge And we doo all the contrary I beinge emperour am lothe for to commande any yll and our officers for theyr interest do wors And where as we are set in dyuers pleasures by our vice we fall hourely into dyuers myseries and are noted to our greate infamie By the which occasion the iust goddes for our vniuste workes gyuinge iuste sentence commaunde that we lyue with suspection dye with shame and to be buried with forgettefulnes neuer to be hadde in memory Than you of my courte take good hede and prynte welle my wordes in your myndes for who so seuer I se or fynde ydell from hensforth I discharge hym out of my seruice ye that be lerned may write and rede ye that be men of armes and knyghtes exercyse you in feates of warre ye that be officers occupie you in your offices And take this for certayne that if ye take not this for a warnynge and monition that I haue gyuen you betwene you and me the punyshementes that I shall gyue vnto you shall be openly And to the entente that ye haue it better in your memorie and to be a doctryne to pryncis hereafter to comme this presente practise and remonstrance I haue written in all tongues and set it in the hyghe Capitoll with manye other of my wrytynges The goddis be kepers of you and also they defende and kepe me from yll fortunes and mysaduentures ¶ Of a maruaylous and feareful monster that was seene in Scicile and of his wrytynges cap. xxvi IN the yere of the foundation of Rome vii C.xx and .xli. of the aege of Marcus the emperour and .ii. yeres before he toke possession of the empire the .xx. day of the month Sextilis which now is called August about the tyme of the sonne settynge in the realme of Sycil than called Trinacrie in a citie called Bellyne on the see now named Palerme a port of these there chāced a thing right perillous to them that sawe it and no lesse fearefull to them that shall here it nowe As they of Bellyne or Palerme were then celebratynge a feaste with great ioye for the gladnes that their Pirates had ouercome the army of the Numidiens and had taken .x. of theyr ships and cast xxxii persones into the see bycause at that time they were ennemies eche to other and for the yl workes they dydde were shewed the great passions that passed among them And as it is the customme the thinge that these Pyrates get on the see they departe it amonge them all whan they come home And whan they comme to lande they spende that merily that they gatte with greatte trauayle It is a thynge well to be noted howe all good and ylle hartes are applyed The good men haue greatte desyre to theyr triumphes
Soo all these thynges tyme acheueth and burieth but onely trouthe the whiche of the tyme and of all thynge that is in the tyme triumpheth Neyther to be fauoured of the good nor to be persecuted of the yll may be but that somtyme trouth may be stopped and hydde but whan it is displeased and wyl displease than at the laste she commeth to a good porte and taketh londe The fruites in the spryngyng tyme haue not the vertue to gyue sustenaunce nor perfyte swetenesse to satisfie the taste of them that eatetth therof but thanne passeth the season of sommer and haruest comethe whiche tyme dothe better rype them and thanne that that we doo eate dothe profyte vs the profe therof is ryghte sauerynesse and gyuethe the more force and vertue and the greatter is the taste I wyll in these fyrste wordes saye that in the fyrste aeges menne were more estemed by theyr meke customes and delycatenes than they were after reproued by their grosse and rude vnderstandynges Certaynely somme of the aunciente philisophers I speake of the mooste aunciente as welle Caldees as Grekes who fyrste lyfted theym selues to regarde the sterres of the heuen and surmounted the hyghe mounte of Olympius there to contemplate and regarde the influences of the planettes in the heuen I dare well saye that they haue rather merited pardon by theyr ignoraunces than praysynge or grace by their wysedome These were the fyrste that wolde serch the trouthe of the elementes of the heuen and yet they were the fyrste that dyd so we errours in thinges natural of the erthe Homere in his Illiade said these wordes in speakynge of philosophers I prayse nothyng the knowlege of myn auncesters but I can them greatte thanke and prayse in that they desyred knowlege This was welle sayde of Homer For if amonge the aunciente men had not rayned suche ignoraunce there had not ben soo many sectes and parcialities in euery schole He that hath redde the auncient antiquities of the philosophers shall not denay me the presumption of the knowledge and ignorance of that they desired to knowe the whiche is chiefe cause that science is not all one There is greatte nombre of parcialities Cynitiens Catoniens Peripaticiens Academyens and Epicuriens who were as contrary in their opinions as dyuers in their naturalities I wil not that my penne be so dismeasured to reproue soo moche the auncient men that the glorie all onely shoulde abyde with them that be present Truely if he merite guardon and prayse that sheweth me the way wherby I thynke to passe yet no lesse meriteth he that sheweth and aduisethe me of the waye wherby I maye fayle The ignoraunce of the auncient men hath ben but as a guyde to aduyse and aduertise all other and bycause they erred we haue foūd sith the waye to their great prayse and to our gret shame I say that if we that be no we present had benne than wo had knowen lesse than they dydde And if they that were than were nowe at this houre they shoulde surmounte vs in knowlege And that this is trewe tt appereth wel For the auncient sages with their diligēce to know the trouth by their close and ferme made the wayes But we by our slouthe folowe not the open wayes Than to the purpose that I wyll saye we that be nowe present canne not complayne of them that haue bene but that the trouthe the which accordynge to Aule Gel. is doughter of the tyme In this tyme of the worlde declarethe to vs the errours that we oughte to flee and the trouthe of the doctrine that we ought to folowe But as nowe the humayne malyce is so experte and the vnderstandynge of mortall menne is so dulle that in tyme of nede in goodnes of wyt we fayle and in all yll we knowe more than we ought to knowe In suche wyse that some with one parte of the more and some with lesse al presume to wyn the game And though this be true yet it is but a smalle thynge to that we abyde fore There is so moche that we oughte to knowe For the moste that we knowe is the least parte of that we be ignorant of as the thynges natural accordyng to the varietie of the tyme lyke maner dothe the operations of the elementes In semblable wise in thynges mortall as the ages hath succeded so are discouered the sciences For certayne all the fruites cometh not together Whan one fayleth an other begynneth to entre in reason I wylle saye that neyther all doctours amonge christen menne nor all the philosophers amonge the gentylles were concurrante in one tyme but after the deathe of one good an other came better The hygh and supreme wysedome the whiche all meane thynges gouerneth by Iustice and departeth it accordynge to his bountie wyll not that at oone tyme the worlde shulde want or be destitute of sage men nor at an other tyme want of symple personnes some desyringe the fruite and some the leaues In such sort that they shulde haue enuy of that other were impeched This auncient world that ranne in Saturnus dayes the whiche other wyse was called the golden worlde the whiche was so estemed of them that sawe it and soo moche praysed of theym that harde the writynge therof and soo moche desired of them that felt no parte therof was not gold by the sages that dyd gylte it but bycause that there was none yll that did vngylt it This our age nowe is of iron yet it is not called of yron for faute of sages but bycause the malycious people surmounte I confesse one thynge and I thynke I shall haue manye wyll fauour me in the same that there was neuer in the worlde so moche people teachynge vertue and soo fewe folowynge the same Aul. Gele sayth in his boke that the ancient sages were holden in reputation bycause there were fewe teachers and many lerners at this houre it is contrary there be but fewe lerners and many teachers The small esteme that the sages be in at this tyme maye be sene by greatte veneration that the philosophers were holden in as than the whiche thynge was trewe Homer among the grekes Salomom amonge the Hebrewes Lygurge amonge the Lacedemonyens Lyuie amonge the Romayns Cicero amonge the Latines Apolonius Thianeus amonge all the barbarike nations I desyre to haue ben in all these ages whan the worlde was so ryche of sage persons and so poore of symple persons whan they assembled out of ferre countreys and of dyuers realmes and strange nations not all onely to haue hard their doctrines but also to haue sene their persones I thynke I am not begyled in the histories for whan Rome in his moste prosperitie was hyghest in tryumphe Titus Liuius dothe write it in his histories and the glorious saynt Ierome affirmethe it in the prologe of the byble that mo people came to Rome to se the eloquences of the bokes more than to ioy any Romayne trumph Whan Olympias was delyuered of her
Eyther I lye or I haue redde in the lawe of the Rodiens where as it is written We cōmaunde the father in marienge .x. sonnes to trauayle but one day but to mary oone vertuous doughter lette hym trauayle .x. yeres ye suffre the water come to the mouth sweate droppes of bloode trauayle the stomake disherite all his sonnes lose his goodis and aduenture his person These wordes in this law were pitieful for the doughters not lesse greuous to the sonnes For .x. sonnes by y e lawe of men ar bound to discouer to go ouer al the world but y e doughter by y e good law ought not to go out of y e hous I say more ouer that as thinges vnstable threte fallyng so lyke wise it chaunseth to yonge damselles whiche thinketh all theyr tyme loste and superfluous vnto the daye of their mariage Homere sayth it was the custome of ladies of Grece to count the yeres of theyr lyfe not fro the tyme of their byrth but from the tyme of theyr maryage As if one demaunded of a Grecian her age she wolde aunswere xx yeres if it were .xx. yeres sith she was maried though it were .lx. yeres sith she was borne Affirminge after they hadde a house to gouerne and to commande that daye she begynneth to lyue The Melon after it is rype and abydeth styll in the gardeyn can nat scape but eyther rotteth or elles must be gathered I say the mayden that taryethe longe tyll she be maried can not escape eyther to be taken or infamed I will saye no more As soone as the grapes be ripe it behouethe that they be gathered so it is necessary that the woman that is come to perfite age be maried and kept And the father that doth this casteth perill out of his house and bringeth him selfe out of thoughte and contenteth well his doughter ¶ Of a syckenes wherof themperour died of his age and where he dyed cap. xxxix MArcus the Emperour beinge olde not onely by age but by trauaile and great peines that he had taken and suffred in warres In the xviii yere of his empire and .lxii. yere of his age and of the foundation of Rome .vi. C. and .xl. as he was in Panony now called Hungarie with his hoste and Commode his sonne at a citie called Vendebone situate vpon a ryuer that had .iiii. M. fire housis and beinge in wynter and the waters great very weate wether he beinge in the fieldes about the .xxx. day of December sodainly vpon a nyghte as he wente with lanternes about his campe there toke hym a syckenes or palsey in one of his armes so that he coude not weld his speare nor yet drawe his swerde nor put on his owne clothes Than this good emperour charged with yeres and with noo lesse thoughtes and wynter increasynge with manye great snowes and fresynge of the erthe there felle on him an other malady called Lytarge the whiche put the Barbariens in great hardines and his hoste in greatte heuynes his person in peryll and his frendes in great suspect of his helthe There was done to hym all the experience that coude be founde by medicins as vnto great pryncis and lordes is accustomed And all dyd him no profite by reason the maladye was greuous and themperour charged with yeres and the ayre of the lande was contrarye to hym and the tyme helped hym nothynge and also he was not well intended And as men of worshyppe do sette more by theyr honour than by theyr lyues and had rather dye with honour thanne lyue dishonoured to assure their honour they aduenture euery houre their lyues and had leauer haue one houre of honour than a. C. yeres of lyfe So thus this sicke emperour caused him selfe to be borne all about his campe and went to see the scarmyshes and wold slepe in the feldes the which was not without great peryll of his lyfe nor without great trauaylle of his person Thus on a day the emperour beinge in a great feuer and letten bloudde harde a great clamour or noyse in the fielde made by his men that had brought home great quātitie of forage and theyr ennemies sette on theym to rescue it there was medlynge on bothe parties the one to beare away and the other to defende The Romaynes for hungre dyd what they coulde to beare it a waye And the Hungaryens fro whense it came made resystence They medled so one with an other and their debate was soo cruell that there was slayne .v. capitaynes of the Romayns the worst of them was more worthe than all the fourage that they had won And of the Hungariens were so many slayne that all the fourrage that they had loste was not so moche worth Certainly considering the crueltie that was there done the profyte that came therby was very smalle to the Romayns so that there went but a fewe away with the fourage of the Hungariens fewer was lefte to make resistence The emperour seinge the yll order and that by the reason of his bloudde lettynge and feuer he was not present at that acte he toke suche a heuynes at his harte wherby he fell into suche a traunce that it was thought he had ben deade and so he lay .iii. nyghtes and two dayes that he coude se no lyght of the skye nor speake to any persone The heate of his syckenes was greatte and his peynes greatter he dranke moche and eate lyttelle he cowlde not slepe his face was yelowe and his mouthe blacke Somtyme he lyfted vp his eies oftentymes ioyned his handes togyther He spake nothynge and syghed many tymes His throte was soo drie that he coulde not spytte his eies were verye soore with sobbynge and wepynge It was greatte compassion to see his deathe and a greate plage of confusion to his howse and also the very greate losse of his warre There durste no manne looke vppon hym and fewer speake to hym Panutius his Secretarye sorowynge at his harte to see his mayster so nere his dethe on a nyght in the presence of dyuers other that were there he sayd to hym ¶ The wordes of Panutius his secretary to themperour at the houre of his deathe Cap. xl O Marcus mi lorde there is no tongue that can be styll nor any hart suffre nor eies dissimule nor wytte that can permytte it My bloudde congeleth and my sinewes dry the stones openethe and my sowle wolde passe forthe the ioyntes vnioyne asonder and mi spirites are troubled bicause you take not the wyse and sage counsell the whiche ye gaue to other that were symple I see you my lord dye and I oughte for to be soore displeased therwith The sorowe that I fele at my hart is how you haue lyued lyke a wyse persone and at this howre you do lyke a simple man Tenne yere a knight gyueth meate to his hors to thentēt that he shulde kepe him from peryll and all that the wyse man studyeth for a longe season oughte
of bokes and to cowardes to babble of armes I say it bycause the answerynge to a letter was not of necessitie to reherse to a woman as I am whether it were before the battayle or after I know well thou art scaped fro it for thou were not the first that fought nor the laste that fled Whan thou were yonge I neuer sawe the go to the warre that euer I dredde or had suspecte of thy lyfe for knowyng thy cowardyse I neuer toke care for thyne absence for therin I was mooste sure of thy persone Than Marc tell me nowe what thou dost in thyn age I thinke thou bearest thy speare not for to iust in the warre but for to leane on whan the gowte greueth the. Thy helmette I deme thou bearest with the to drynke within tauernes and not to defende the fro the strokes of swerdes for I neuer sawe the stryke man with thy swerd but I haue knowen the slee a. M. women with thy tonge O malicious and vnhappy Marc if thou were as valyaunt as thou arte malycious thou shuldest be as greatly dredde of the barbarycke nations as thou arte hated as reasonne is of the matrones of Rome Tell me what thy lyste at the least thou canste not denye but as thou haste ben a weake and slacke louer soo thou arte nowe a weake and slacke cowarde knyght an vnknowen frende auaricious infamed malicious cruell ennemy to euery man and frend to no body And we that haue knowen the yōge stronge and lusty condempne the for an olde foole Thou sayest that takynge my letter into thy handes thy harte toke the poyson of malyce I beleue it wel without swearynge for any thyng beinge malicious forthwith fyndeth lodging in thy house Beastes that be corrupt lightly take the poyson that they that ben of good complexion caste away Of one thyng I am in certayn thou shalt not die of poyson For one venyme oftentymes dystroyeth an other venym O malycious Marc yf all they in Rome knewe the as well as sorowfull Boemya dooth they shuld soone se what difference were betwene the wordes that thou spekest and the intention of thy hart And if by the writinges that thou makest thou meritest to haue the name of a philosopher by the ylnes that thou doest inuente thou doste merite to haue the name of a tyraunt Thou sayest thou sawest neuer certitude in the loue of a woman nor ende of her hate I haue great glorie that other ladyes besyde me haue knowlege of thy small wysedome A se Marc I wyll not mocke the thou arte suche one as neuer deserued that one shoulde begynne to loue the nor leaue to hate the. Wylte thou haue certitude in loue and thou vnfaythfull of thy seruyce Wylt thou serue with mockeries and woldest be loued truely Wylte thou enioye the personne without spendynge of any of thy goodes Wylt thou haue no complayntes of the and thou not ceassynge thy malyces Thou sayest thou knowest the ylnes of women I wil thou know we be not so folyshe as thou thinkest nor thou so wyse as thou weneste to prayse thy selfe ▪ yet hytherto hath ben sene mo men to folowe the appetyte of women than there hath ben women folowynge the wylle of men 〈◊〉 none of bothe is great truste and yet we both practyse that one man hath his harte so myghty to be more wyser than thre wyse women and one woman thynketh her soo strong to put vnder her feete and ouercome .iii. C. suche as be lyght Thou sayest thou arte abashed of my lyghtnes to leaue Rome and come to the being in the warres Great is the loue of the countrey sith that many leaue dyuers welthes that they haue in straunge landes and lyue straitly for to lyue in their owne lande but greatter is my loue syth that I wolde leaue Rome with al the pleasures to go and serche for the in strange landes among the cruel battayles O malicious Marke O straunge louer yf I leaue Rome it were to go and seke my harte beynge in the battayles with the. And certaynly dyuers tymes whanne I doo thynke on thyne absence I swowne and sorowe as my hart were not with me and yet I fynde no perfyte remedy I thynke our loue is not lyke these beastes that ioy of their pleasures without to wyll and desyre theyr wylles I sweare to the by the goddesse Vesta and by the mother Berecinthia that thou owest me more for one day of loue that I haue had to the than for the seruyces that I haue done to the in .xxii. yeres Beholde vnhappy Marc howe moche in thy presence I haue always regarded the and in thyn absence I haue alwayes thoughte on the and slepynge I haue alwayes dreamed of the I haue wepte for thy trauayle and laughed at thy pleasure and finally all my welthe I haue wyshed the and al thyn ylles I haue wyshed me I ensure the one thynge that as nowe I fele not soo moche the persecution that thou doest to me as I do the mysknowlege that thou makest to me It is a great sorowe for an auaricious man to see his goodes loste but without comparyson it is farre greatter for the louer to se his loue yll bestowed It is a hurt that is alway soore a peyn alway peynful a sorow alway sorowful it is a deth that neuer endeth O ye men if ye knewe with what loue women loueth you in perfytenes whan they loue with what harte they hate whan they are set to hate I swere to you ye wold neuer cōpany with thē in loue or if ye do loue them ye wold neuer leue thē for feare of their hate there is neuer gret hate but where as moch loue was fyrst But thou shalt neuer be gretly hatid for thou were neuer truly loued of ladies The sorowfull Boemia hath loued y e .xxii. yere of her lyfe now she only hateth y e tyl after her deth Thou sayest I may be eaten for veriuyce and yet I wold be solde for wyne I knowe wel I haue erred as one that hath ben yonge and lyght and whan I perceyued that I had loste my way and that my mysaduenture can fynd no way nor remedy It is the greatest losse of al losses whan there is no remedy I haue erred lyke a feble and a weake woman but thou hast erred as a stronge man I haue erred by simple ignorance but thou haste erred of a prepensed and wilfull malice I haue erred not knowinge that I shulde haue erred but thou knewest what thou diddest I haue trusted to thy wordes as to a faythfull gentylle man and thou haste begyled me with a thousande lesynges as a lier Telle me diddest thou not seke occasion to comme into my mothers house Getulia to allure me her doughter Boemia to thy minde Dyddeste thou not promise my father to teache me to rede in one yere and thou taughtehe me to rede the boke of Duidius of the arte of loue Diddest thou not sweare
.xiiii. yeres neuer manchylde nor manne aboue the age of .viii. yeres came within her gates And not contente with this that she dyd to gyue example to all Rome and to attayne perpetuall memory where as she had lefte with her thre sonnes the eldest of whom was but thre yeres of age and as soone as they came to .viii. yere she sente them out of her house to their grauntefathers And thus dydde this excellent Romayne lady to the entente that vnder colour of her owne chyldren there shulde none other yonge children entre into her howse Those yeres passed after that the good olde man Torquate was retourned fro the warres of the Volseos the sayde wylde man with one eye wente by the doore of the sayde Torquate and one of her maydens tolde her that it was a meruaylous thyng to se and the good lady hadde great desyre to see hym and bycause there was none to brynge hym to her that she myghte see hym she dyed for sorowe And for certayne thoughe he came often inoughe by her doore yet she wolde neuer goo nor loke out at her wyndowe to se hym Her deathe was gretly bewayled in Rome for she was in Rome most derely beloued and good reason for many dayes afore was no suche womanne brought in Rome And by the commaundement of the senate the tenour of this writinge in verses were set vpon her sepulchre ¶ Here lyeth the glorious matron wife of Torquate that wolde aduenture her lyfe to assure her good fame ¶ Beholde Faustine this lawe was not made to remedy the death of this matrone but to the ende that to suche as ye be and to all the worlde it shulde be a perpetuall example of her lyfe and memorie of her deathe It was well done to ordeyne that law for an honest woman being with chylde that it shulde be kept to all vertuous women And as women wold that the lawe of them that be with chylde shuld be kepte so by the same lawe it is requisite to require that they be honest In the .vii. table of the lawe it is sayd we commande that where there is coruption of customes there lyberties shal not be kepte ¶ Howe tydinges was brought to the emperour that the Mauritayns wold conquere great Britayne Cap. xxii IN the .liiii. yere of Marcus the emperours aege and the tenthe yere of his election to thempire In the month of Iuly as he was in the citie of Naples and not in verye perfite helthe for he was soore payned with the goute in his foote there came a Centurion in maner of a messager with great hast saying that in great Britayn was sodenly arryued a great nauye of warre to the nombre of C. .xxx. shyps of the realme of Mauritain and the quantitie of .xx. M. men of foote and .ii. M. men of armes and that the kyng of Mauritayns brother was their capitayne named Aselipio the whiche had taken lande at a hauen of the yle called Arpine and that to resyste soo great a power there were but a fewe people in the sayde yle The good emperour heringe these tidynges though he felte it inwardely as a man yet he feyned it outwardly as a discrete man with a sadde countenaunce and made fewe wordes Than seinge that busines myght not be delayed he sayde these wordes I wyll go with a fewe people and do what I can For better it were with a fewe to go betymes than to tarye for many and goo to late And forthwith the good emperour pourueyed that all they of his palays shulde departe to go to Brytayne and none to tarie behynde to do hym seruyce The custome was that the emperours shulde haue alwaye in theyr houses suche men as were mete to be sent forthe in any besynesses that shulde happen for warre And after that they were shypped there ariued one of Britayne that shewed howe the Mauritayns were retourned so that none of theym was lefte in the ile Than this emperour kepte his house in a good poynt Lyttel occasion suffiseth to them that be naturally of yll inclynation to departe and sprede throughe countreys to do harme therfore he sent them of his house to the entent that by occasion of the warre they shuld not leade an yll lyfe Than the emperour fearyng the dissolution of his courte and boldenes of his offycers to the intent they shuld not leaue vertue and growe in vice he determyned on a day to call them to him secretely and to say these wordes to them ¶ What themperour sayd to them of his courte in eschewyng ydelnesse Cap. xxiii THe greattest sygne in a vertuous mā is to do vertuous werkes and vertuously to spende and occupie his tyme and the greatest signe of a loste man is to lese his tyme in naughtye warkes The greattest happe of all and the greattest desire of men is to lyue longe For dyuers chances that fall in shorte tyme may be suffered and remedyed by longe space Plato sayde A man that passeth his lyfe without profyte as one vnworthy to lyue oughte to haue the reste of his lyfe take from hym The fylthe of secrete chambres the stynche of the pompe in shippes nor the ordures of cities do not corrupt the ayre so moche as ydell folke do the people And as there is in a man that occupieth his tyme well no vertue but it encreaseth soo in hym that occupieth his tyme ylle there is no villanie but it is suspecte in hym A manne that is alwaye welle occupied ought euer to be reputed as good and the ydel man with out further enquerie ought to be condemned as nought Shewe me nowe I desyre you what dothe nourysshe the corrupte and fowle wiedes the nettelles that stynge and the briers that pricke but the erthe that is vntylled and waxen wylde and the fyeldes fulle of thystelles whyche is not wyeded and vysyted with the ploughe O Rome without Rome that nowe as vnhappy hast but onely the name of Rome bycause thou arte so dere in vertues and makest vices good cheape Yea yea and I shall tell the knowest thou wherfore thou arte so bycause thou haste vnpeopled the lanes and stretes of werkemen and offycers and haste peopled it all aboute with infinite vacaboundes I knowe for trouthe that the Samytes Vosigoths Astrogoths and Peniens spredde in your territories do you not so moche domage as do these ydell and loste people stuffed in euery shoppe All wryters canne not deny me that if al natiōs wold cōquere Rome they coude not take awaye one loope of the walles of it and these ydell people haue troden and pulled vnder theyr feete the good renome of it An infallyble rule it is a man gyuen to exercyses is vertuous and one gyuen to lewtringes is a vicious person What a diuine thing was it to se the diuine worldes of our predecessous the whiche syth Tullius Hostilius vnto Quintus Cincinatus dictatour and sith Cincinatus vnto Cyncinos whiche were of the Syllans and Marians there was
Decembre bicause that soone after in the month of Ianiuer the offyces of Rome were dyuided And it was reason that they shuld knowe to whom they shulde giue or denye their dignities to thentent that good shulde not be chosen in stede of yll nor the yl in stede of good The ê‘ticular cause why they banyshed the man his wife with their doughter was this The second emperour of Rome August ordeined that none shuld be so hardy to pys at any dores of the teÌ„ples and Caligula the .iiii. emperour commanded that no woman shuld gyue any cedules to hange about the peoples neckes to heale the feuer quartayne And Cato Censorine made a lawe that no yonge man nor yonge mayden shulde speake togyther at the conduites or welles where they fetched water nor at the ryuer where they washed their clothes nor at the ouens where they baked breadde bycause all the yonge people of Rome that were wylde and wanton ranne euer thyther So it befell that as the censures and consules vysited the quarter called mount Celio there was a dweller named Antigonus accused that he was sene pyssyng against the temple wall of Mars and his wyfe was accused that she hadde solde cedules for feuer quartaynes and lykewise his doughter was accused that she was sene at the conduytes ryuers ouens spekyng and laughing with yonge men of Rome The whiche was a great shame to the maydens of Rome Than the censures seinge the yll order that they had fouÌ„d in the howse of the sayde Anthygone by the regesters by due examination being warned afore they were banyshed into the yles of Cycill for as longe as it shulde please the senate And lyke as in edifices sumptuous and of greate estimatoin one stone is not decayde or writhed out without shakynge or mouynge of an nother euen lykewyse is it in the chaunces of men For commonly one vnhappynes chaunceth not but an nother foloweth And I saye this bycause Anthigone loste not allonely his honour and welthe but also he was banyshed and besyde that by the tremblynge of the erthe his howse fell downe and slewe a welbeloued doughter of his And all the whyle that this was done at Rome that that befell of the monster in Cicile Marke the emperour was in the warres agaynst the Aragons and there he receyued a letter frome Antygone wherin was rehersed his banysshynge â–ª wherof the Emperour hadde great compassion and to comforte hym sente hym an other letter ¶ Of a great pestylence that was in Italy in this emperours tyme. Cap. xxviii FIue yere after the dethe of Anthony the meke father in law to Marcus Aurelius and father to Faustine there felle a pestilence in Italye and it was one of the .v. great pestylences amonge the Romayne people This mortalitie dured the space of two yeres and it was vnyuersall thorough out all Italy to the great domage and feare of all the Romains for they thought that the goddis wold haue distroyed them for some displeasure that they had done agaynst them There dyed so many as wel of great estate as ryche and poore greatte and small yong and olde that the writers had lesse trauayle to wryte the smal nombre of them that were lefte alyue than to wryte the multytude of them that were deed Lyke as whan a great buyldynge wyll falle firste there falleth some stone In lyke wyse the Romayns neuer had no great pestilence in their tyme but first they were thretned with some token signe or prodigie fro heuen Two yere before that Hanyball entred into Italy in an euenyng whan the wether was clere and faire sodaynely it rayned bloudde and mylke in Rome And it was declared by a woman that the blode betokened cruel warre and the mylke a mortall pestilence Whan Scilla retourned from Champayne to put Marius his ennemy out of Rome his men of warre and knyghtes sawe in a nyght a fountayne that ranne bloudde and who soo euer was bathed therin semed to be poysoned with venyme Of the whiche prodigie folowed that of .ii. C. and .l. M. dwellers in Rome what with theym that dyed with the swerde and other consumed by pestilence were consumed with Scilla and of them that sledde with Marius of the sayde great multitude of Romayns there abode alyue no mo but .xl. M. persons Certaynly Rome neuer receyued so greate domage in .vi. C. yeres before as they dydde by their owne propre people All the tyrantes were neuer soo cruell ageinst strange landes as the Romayns were than ageinst their owne propre landis And this seemeth to be true bycause the same day y t Scilla passed through Rome with his bloody swerde a capitayn of his sayd to him Sir Scylla if we slee them that beare armour in the feldes them that bere no armour in their houses with whom shal we lyue I coniure the by the hye goddis sith we be borne of women let vs not slee the women and syth we be men lette vs not slee the men Thou thynkest that in sleinge al the Romaynes to make a common welth of beastis of the mountaynes Thou entrest with a crie to defende the common welthe and to put out the tyrantes that distroye the common welthe and we do remayne tyrantes our selues To myn vnderstandynge that capitayn merited as great glorie for the good wordes that he spake as Scilla dydde merite chastisement for the crueltie that he dyd This we haue said bycause that ere suche damages dyd falle there appered before certayne prodigyes and tokens No lesse token was shewed before the mortalitie that fel in the time of this good emperour the whiche was a fearefull thyng The case was so On a day as themperour was at the teÌ„ple of the Virgins Vestales sodaynly there entred in two hogges and ranne aboute his fete and there felle downe deed And on an other day as he came frome the high Capitoll for to haue gone oute at the gate Salaire he sawe two kytes ioynynge togyther with their talantes and soo fel downe deed at the emperours fete And within a shorte whyle or season after as the sayd emperour came fro huntynge his houndes rennynge at a wylde beast as he gaue two greyhoundes that he loued well water to drinke with his owne handes sodenly they fel downe deed at his fete Than he remembryng the swyne the kytes and the greyhoundes deed so sodeynly he was greatly dismayed and assembled all his priestes magitiens and diuines demandynge what they sayde to the prodigies And they by those thinges passed iudged the dede present and determyned that within two yeres the goddis wold sende great greuous punyshementes to Rome Than within short while after there began a warre agaynste the Parthes whereby there fel the yere after great famyn and pestylence amoÌ„ge the Romayns This pestilence came with sores vnder the arme pittes so that all the senate fledde away and the emperour alone abode styll in the capitoll Than the ayre began to be so corrupt
it shalbe said it is by reason of the ignoraunce of hym selfe or by yll counsell of such as be about hym if goodnes succede to hym it shall not be attrybuted by reason of his good gouernaunce but that fortune hath suffered it and not by the circumspecte wysedome that he hath hadde in the meane seasone but that it was of the pitie that the goddis had of hym Than sithe it is thus a vertuous and a worthy prince in his ydell tymes ought secretely to rede is bokes and openly to common and counsell with wyse men And in case yll fortune wyll not permyt hym to take their counselles yet at the least he shal recouer credence among his subiectes I wil say no more to you but I estem the knowlege of a wise persō so moch that if I knewe that there were shops of sciēces as there is of other marchaundise I wold giue al y t I haue only to lerne that a wise mā lerneth in one day Finally I say that I wil not giue that litel that I haue lerned in one houre for al the gold in the worlde And more glory haue I of the bokes that I haue red and of such workes as I haue writtē thā of al the victories that I haue had or of y e realmes that I haue won ¶ What a vilayne sayde to the senatours of Rome in the presence of the emperour Cap. xxxi THis emperour being sicke as it is aforesaid on a day as there were with hym diuers phisitiōs and oratours there was a purpose moued amonge them howe greately Rome was chaunged not all onely in edifices but also in customes and was full of flaterers and vnpepled of mē that durste say the trouthe Than the emperour sayd The fyrste yere that I was consul there came a poore vilayne from the riuer of Danubie to aske iustice of the senate ayenste a censure who dydde dyuers extortions to the people and he hadde a small face and great lyppes and holowe eyes his heare curled bare heeded his shoes of a porkepes skyn his cote of gotis heare his gyldell of bulle rushes and a wyld eglantine in his hand It was a strāge thinge to se him so monstruous and meruayl to here his purpose Certainly whan I saw him com into the senate I wende it had bene some beaste in the figure of a manne And after I had harde hym I iuged hym one of the goddes if there be goddes amonge men And as the custome in the senate was that the complayntes of the poore persons were hard before the requestis of the ryche this villayne had lycence to speake and so beganne his purpose wherin he shewed him selfe as bolde in wordes as extreme and base in his aray and sayd O ye auncient fathers and happy people I Myles dwellynge in a citie on the ryuer of Danubie doo salute you Senatours that are here assembled in the sacred senate The dedes do permytte and the goddis suffre that the capytayns of Rome with theyr great pride haue redused vnder subiection the vnhappy people of Germany Great is the glory of you Romayns for your battayles that ye haue wonne throughout all the worlde But if writers say true more greater shalbe your infamy in time to come for the cruelties that ye haue done to the innocentes My predecessours had people nyghe to the flode of Danubie and bycause they dyd ylle the erthe wared drie and they drewe to the frseshe water than the water was noyful to them and they returned to the main lande What shal I say than your couetise is so great to haue steangers goodes and your pryde soo renoumed to commaunde all strange landes that the see maye not profite vs in the depenes therof nor the erthe to assure vs in the caues therof Therfore I hope in the iust goddes that as ye without reason haue cast vs out of our houses and possessions so other shal com that by reason shal cast you out of Italy and Rome And infallible rule it is that he that taketh wrongfully an other mans good shall lese the right of his owne Regard ye Romains though I be a villain yet I knowe who is iust rightwise in holding his owne and who a tyrant in possessynge others There is a rule that what so euer they that be yl haue gathered in many dayes the goddes taketh fro them in one day and contrarie wise all that euer the good haue loste in manye days the goddis restoreth to them agayne in one day Beleue me in one thynge and haue no doute therin that of the vnlaufull wynning of the fathers there foloweth the iuste losse to theyr chyldren And if the goddes toke from them that be yll euery thyng that they haue wonne as soone as it is wonne it were but reasone but in lettynge them alone therby they assemble by lyttel and lytel diuers thynges and than whan they thynke least theron is taken from them all at ones This is a iuste iugement of the goddis that sithe they haue done yll to dyuerse that some shulde do yll to them Certaynely it is not possible to any vertuous man if he be vertuous that he take any taste in an other mans good And I am sore abashed how a man kepynge an other mans good can lyue one houre Syth he seeth that he hath don iniure to the goddis sclādred his neibours plesed his enmies lost his frendes greued them that he hath robbed and aboue all hath put his owne person in peryll This is a shamefull thynge amonge menne and culpable before the goddis the man that hath the desyre of his harte and the brydelle of his warkes at suche lybertie that the lyttel that he taketh and robbeth fro the poore semeth moche to hym but a great dele of his owne semeth to hym but lyttel O what an vnhappy man is he whether he be Greke or latin that without consideration wyll change his good fame into shame iustice into wrōg ryght into tyranny or trouth into lesynge the certayne into vncertayne hauynge annoyaunce of his owne goodes and dye for other mens He that hath his principall intention to gather goodes for his chyldren and seke not for a good name amonge them that be good it is a iuste cause that he lese all his goodes and so without good name to to be shamefull amonge them that be yl Let all couetous and auaricious people knowe that neuer amonge noble men was gotten good renoume with spredynge abrode of yll gotten goodes It can not endure many dayes nor yet be hydden vnder couert many yeres a man to be holden ryche amonge them that be ryche and an honorable man amonge them that be honorable for he shal be infamed of that he hath gathered his ryches with greate couetyse or kepeth it with extreme auarice O if these couetous people were as couetous of theyr owne honour as they be of other mens goodes I swere to you that the lyttel worme or mothe that eateth
yl reprefe For he hathe taken his naturalitie of the goddes and his norture among you Dyuers tymes whan he was a chylde ye toke hym in your armes to thentente that nowe he is a man ye shulde sette him in your hartes Hytherto he hath taken you for his maysters and nowe at this tyme he muste repute you as his fathers And whiles I lyued ye helde hym for your prince in nourysshynge hym for your emperour in seruing him and as your parent in helpyng hym and as your sonne in teachynge hym Hytherto ye onely helde him charge as father mother and maysters he is nowe as a newe shyppe put this daye into the ryghte see fletyng to the botomles swolowe where as the sayles of prosperitie wyll make hym fall and the rockes of vnhappynes wyll drowne hym Than amonge so many vnportunate wyndes and vnstable waters there is greatte necessitie of good oores Surely I am very sory for thempire and haue great compassion of this yonge prince and suche as wolde his welthe shall more bewaylle his lyfe than my dethe For scapynge fro the see I se my selfe at a good sure porte and vppon mayne lande and leaue hym the sweatte and trauayle For as yet he knoweth not howe to aduenture to sayle on the see nor yet knoweth not whether he shal abyde the age of my long experience nor whether he shall be a reasonable emperour or noo But what shall sorowfull Rome do whan it hath nouryshed a good prynce and that fatall destenies maketh an ende of hym or that by enuy of them that be yll he is slayne or the crueltie of the goddes taketh hym away or that the body by his owne propre handes be lyfte vp in suche wyse that in the experiment of princes al the life tyme parteth in be waylynge of the youthe of yonge princes and the grauitie of theyr aunciente princes passed O if these princis beleued at the beginnynge of theyr empire other kynges that are fayled in the world howe they be taught when it is so importable for one man without charge to rule soo many realmes and he doinge nothynge but take theyr goodes robbe him of his renoume banishe theyr persons fro him and he to ende his lyfe and his subiectes augmente theyr sorowes and sith he is but one he can doo no more than one though dyuers hope that he doth for all Regarde in what mysaduenture a prince lyueth whan the least villain in Italy thinketh that all only for hym and on hym alone the prince setteth his eies And sithe the worlde is so changeable and the people so vnruly the day that a prynce is crowned and exalted with a sceptre ryalle the same daye he submitteth his goodis to the couetous all his estate to the semblaunce of other Thus than in this the goddis shewe their power For al the vnderstandinges are tacked to one free wyll The semynge of all they codempne and alowe but one They giue the domination to one and the subiection to many To one they gyue the chastisemente of all and not al to the chastisement of one For the tast of many they gyue meate but to one the sauour wherof is swete to some and sowre to other to some remayneth the bone and to some the fleshe at the last some be drowned other be hyndred at the ende al haue an ende I wold demand of you that be moste familiar what is the crowne of thempire or the sceptre of golde or the coler of perles or p̄cious stones or rubes of Alexāder or vessel of Corinth or chariottes of triūph or what offices of Consules or dictatours are desired in change of their rest for it is certaine they can not attayn to the one without lesing of the other And this is the cause y t there be yl mariners to hardy pilottes for they fle fro the see to the lande fro the lande to the see One thing I wil say y t is ageinst my self euery mā hateth warre no man seketh for peace Al sorowe for one that is angred and none is cōtent to appeace al wold cōmande but none wil be commanded This hath ben in the world passed now at this present tyme men be so light y t they rather chose to cōmand with peril than to obey with rest Seing that my dayes are diminished my sickenes augmented suspectinge thā that I se nowe whan I returned fro the warre of Sycill I determyned to make my testament the whiche ye may see here Open and behold it and therby ye shall se howe I leaue you to be maysters of my son yet in loue and fidelitie ye be to gyther all as one Great peryll the prince is in and the common welth in an yll aduenture where as be many intentions amonge the gouernours Certainly the princis are gloryous and the people well fortunate and the senate happy whan all agree in one counsell and that the counsaylers be auncient and many of them and all their intētions agree vpon one thinge Whan this was in Rome it was feared and dred of tyrantes hauynge their consultations approued with iii. C. barons And though their reasons were diuers yet their wylles and intentis were al one for the comon welth I desire and coniure you by the goddis that ye be al frendes in conuersation and conformable in counsell All the weake debilities in a prince may be suffred except yl counsell and al defautes of counsellours are tollerable except enuy and yre Whan the freting worme called a mothe entreth among them it causeth peril in Iustice dishonour to the prince sclaunder in the cōmons and parcialitie in the superiours The counsaylour that hath his mynde ouercome with ire and his harte occupied with enuy and his wordes outragious to a good man it is reson that he lose the fauour of the goddis his priuitie with the prince and the credence of the people For he presumeth to offende the goddis with yll intention to serue the prince with yll coūsell and to offende the common welth with his ambition O howe ignorant are these princis that take hede of suche herbes venims that myghte poyson theym in their meates and care not for the poyson that they of theyr priuye counsayle do gyue them Doubtles there is no cōparison for the herbes and poysons can be giuen but on one daye but the venym of yll counseyle is gyuen euery howre Venym is defended by the horne of an vnycorne by tryacle and otherwise by vomites but the poyson of yll counsell hath no remedy and lesse defensiues And fynally I saye that the venym gyuen by an enmy can but slee one emperour in Rome but the poyson gyuen by hym that is moste priuye to euyll counsell sleeth the emperour and distroyeth the common welthe And where as euery vertuous prince setteth more by perpetual renoume than this fallyble lyfe ye beinge gouernours of thempire and maysters to my sonne they that owe hym
I haue done in my lyfe For otherwise their conuersation shulde be fekyll to the people and importunate to the. Also I cōmit to the Lipula thy sister that is amōge the virgins Vestales Thinke that she is doughter of thy mother Faustin whiche I haue greatly loued in my lyfe vnto the houre of my death I haue lamented hers Euery yere I gaue to thy sister .ii. M. sexters for her necessities she had ben as well maried as the other yf she had not be brent in the vysage whiche was estemed of euery man an yl aduenture and specially of her moder that wept alway for her But I esteme that yll aduenture a good fortune For if she had not ben brent in the face with fire she had in the worlde as touchyng her renome be brent with diuers tonges Son I swere to the that for the seruice of the goddes the fame of men she is more surer with the virgins in the temple than though she were in the senate with the senatours I deme that at the ende of the iourney she shal finde her self better at ease closed and locked in than thou with all thy libertie In the prouynce of Lucany I haue lefte for her the .ii. M. sexters I wyll not that thou take them fro her Also I cōmytte Drusia the wyddowe to the which hath layd a great proces against the senate bycause y t by motions afore passed her husbande was banished I haue great compassion of her for it is thre monthes sythe she put in her demande and bycause of my great warres I coude not declare her iustyce Sonne thou shalte fynde it trewe that in .xxxv. yere that I haue gouerned Rome there was neuer wydow that helde her processe before me passynge .viii. dayes Take compassion of suche For womennes necessities are right peryllous and at the laste yf their besynes be longe in hande they recouer not so moche of theyr goodes as they lese in their renowme Also haue compassyon of poore men and the goddis shall rewarde the with great ryches Also I commytte to the my auncient seruantes to whom my longe yeres and cruel warres my often necessities the displeasure of my bodye and my longe syckenesses hath ben right paynefull For they as true seruantes to gyue me lyfe haue taken peyn vnto the deth It is reason that syth I haue taken their deth that they inherite parte of my lyfe One thing I holde for certayne In case that my bodye abyde in the sepulchre with wormes yet I shall alwayes before the goddis haue remembraunce of them In this doinge thou shalt do as a good chylde to satisfie them that haue serued thy father Take hede my son euery prince doinge Iustice acquireth ennemies in the execution therof And this is done by thē that are mooste nere to hym For the more priuie they are with the prince the more hatefull they are to the people And though euery mā loueth Iustice in generall yet they all hate the execution therof in particular Whan a iuste prince is deade the people take vengeance of the vniuste seruantes Whan thou were a chylde my seruantis noryshed the to the entent that thou shuldest susteyne them in their age Surely it were great shame to the empire an offence to the goddis an iniurie to me and an vngentylnes of the ▪ that thou hast foūde them .xviii. yeres with their armes abrode to halse the that they shulde finde one day thy gates shet ageinst them These thinges I cōmit to the particularly kepe them alway in memory And sith I remembre them at my deth cōsider how I loued them in my life ¶ Of the last wordes that themperour spake to his sonne and of a table that he gaue hym Cap. xlviii WHan the emperour had ended his said recommendations the daye began to sprynge and his eye stringes began to breke and his tonge faultred and his handes shoke Than the said happy emperour felynge that weakenes began sore to drawe aboute his harte he commaunded Panutius to go into his study and to brynge to hym a coffre that was there And whan it was brought to his presence he opened it and toke out a table of thre fote broode and two fote longe it was of wood Lybanus rounde about garnished with vnycorne It was closed with two leaues subtylly wroughte of a red wood that some sayde was of the tree that the Phenyx bredeth in and is called Rasyn And as there is but one byrde Phenix bredyng in Arabie so lykewise there is no mo trees in the worlde of the same kynde On one of the outwarde parties of the table was pyctured grauen the god Iupiter on the other the goddesse Venus In the inwarde partyes of the Table that shette was pictured god Mars and the goddesse Ceres In the principall of the sayd table was pyctured a Bulle subtylly wrought to the quycke and vnder that a kynge was pyctured The whiche payntures were sayde to be of the handy warke of the expert Appelles an ancient worke man in payntynge Than the emperour toke the table in his hande and with great peyne he sayd Thou seest my sonne Comodus how I am al redy scaped from the trappes of fortune and am enterynge into the heuy aduentures of dethe I wote not why the goddis haue created vs syth there is so great annoyance in our lyfe so great perylle at our deathe I vnderstande not why the goddis haue and vse so great crueltie to the creatures Lxii. yere I haue sayled with great trauayle through the great perylles of this lyfe and at this howre I am commaunded to take lande and discharge me of my flesshe and to take erthe in the sepulchre Nowe vntyeth the lyuely thredes nowe vndothe the spyndel nowe ryueth the webbe nowe endeth my lyfe Nowe am I awaked from the slepynge euyll remembrynge howe I haue passed my lyfe I haue no more desyre to lyue And in that I knowe not whyche way to go I refuse dethe What shall I do I am determyned to put me into the handes of the goddis wyllyngly sythe I muste do so of necessitie Whome I require yf they haue created me for any goodnes not to depriue me fro them for my demerytes I am nowe in the laste gate and to this howre I haue kepte the greattest and most excellent iewell that I coude fynde in all my lyfe In the .x. yere of myn empire there arose a warre agaynst the Parthes wherfore I determyned in myne own person to giue theym battayle After that warre I came by the auncient citie of Thebes for to see somme antiquitie Amonge the whiche in a pristes howse I founde this table the whiche as a kynge was reysed in Egypte incontynente it was euer hanged at his beddes heed and this priest shewed me that it was made by a kynge in Egipte named Ptholome Arsacides that was a vertuous prince And in the memorie of him and example of other the priestes kepte it
a sure lyfe ye wyll committe your selfe to the chaunces of fortune and where as other haue necessitie of you ye put your selfe to be in the necessitie of other And thoughe the prince make no warre he shuld not suffre his people to warre Euery manne ought to leaue the warre Frend Cornelius I demaund of the whether is more trauaylle to his persone or domage to his realme a kynges ennemies orels his owne armie His ennemies robbe on the costes but our men robbe all the londe The enmyes maye be resisted but we dare not speake to our owne men The ennemies enuade vs on one day and recule backe ageyn but our garisons robbe daily and abyde styll The strangers haue some feare but ours are shameles and at the last the farther that our ennemies goo the more they waxe liberall and our armies of men euery daye encrease in crueltie in suche wyse that they offend the goddis and be importunate to theyr princes and noyful to the people lyuynge to the domage of euery man and be vnprofytable to al men By the god Mars I swere to the and as I maye be holpen in the warres that I gouerne with my hande I haue mo complayntes dayly from the senate on the capitaynes that ben in Illyrike than on all the ennemies of the Romayne people I haue more feare in mainteynynge one standarde of a hundred menne than to giue battaylle to .l. M. ennemies For the goddis and fortune dispatche a battayle in an houre be it good or badde but with these other I can do nothyng in al my lyfe Thus it hath ben my frende Cornelius and thus it is and thus it shall be Thus I founde it thus I holde it and thus I shall leaue it Our fathers dyd inuente it and we susteyne it that be their chyldren and for ylle it shal abyde to our heires I say to the one thyng and I thynke I am not deceyued therin To endure so great domage and to no profitte of the people I thinke it a great foly in man or els a great punishement of the goddis Be the goddis soo iuste in all iustice and so true in all veritie that they wyll suffre vs without reason to do yl in strange landes to whom we dydde neuer good and in our owne howses to haue shrewde tournes of them to whom we haue alwaye done good These thynges frende Cornelius I haue writen to the not bycause I thynke it nedefull that thou shuldeste knowe it but my spirite resteth in shewyng of it Panutius my secretatrie went to visite this land and on the way I gaue him this letter and I do send to the two horses I thynke they be good The armour and iewels that I won on the Parthes I haue departed them Howe be it I sēde the a chariot of theym My wyfe Faustyne salutethe the and sendeth to thy wife a riche glasse and an ouche of precious stones to thy doughter I beseche the goddis to giue the good lyfe and me a good death Marcus thy loue writeth to the Cornelius his frend ¶ To Torcates beinge at Gayette in consolation of his banysshement ¶ The .iii. letter MArke of mount Celio companion of the empire to the Torcate beinge at Gayette patricien Romain salute to thy person and vertue and force against aduers fortune It is a thre monthes sythe I receiued thy letter the whiche myn eies myght not make an ende to rede nor my handes to answere I am so heuy for thy heuinesse so peinfull for thy peyn and so hurt with thy wounde that where as thou wepest with thyn eies outwardely I weepe with my harte inwardly I wote what difference is betwene the tree and the croppe and the dreme fro the trouthe I here of thy trauayles by straunge persons and I fele them in myn owne person But where as true frendes be the peynes are in cōmen The greate infortunes ought to be suffred for one thynge bycause they declare who ar the true frendes I knowe by thy letter howe thou arte banyshed from Rome and all thy goodes confyscate and that for pure heuynes thou arte sycke in thy body I wolde go se the and counsayle thy person bycause that thou myghtest see with what harte and wyll I doo wepe for thy mysaduenture But if thou take me for thy trewe frende beleue me as I beleue the that is howe moche I feele thy mysaduenture Of trouthe as thou art banyshed bodyly soo am I banysshed inwardely in my harte And yf thy goodes or substaunce be taken away fro the I am robbed of a good frende and companyon And yf thou lackeste thy frendes I am abydynge amonge myn enmies Though I might remedy by workynge of my power thy banyshment yet I wyl counsaile thy spirite with certain wordis If I be not forgetfull I neuer sawe the contente in this lyfe bycause thou were euer besye in thy prosperitie and wery of any aduersitie And as nowe I se the dispayre as though thou were but new come into this worlde I haue knowen the this .xxxii. yeres in great ioy and nowe thou complaynest of .vi. monethes that fortune hathe tourned her whele O Torcate nowe thou mayst knowe that vertuous men feare more two dayes of prosperitie than two hundred of aduerse fortune O howe manye menne and howe manye ryche cities haue thou and I sene slyppe fro their prosperities throughe their vycyous lyuynge and straunge enmities In suche wise that theyr vaynglorye and slypper prosperitie endured but two dayes and the hurtes and losse that they haue hadde and the cruell and extreme enmities the whiche also that they haue wonne lasteth to this daye in their heires Contrarye wyse we see some set in the height of tribulations the whiche haue escaped by castynge away vyces clothynge them with vertues wery of euyll warkes folowynge goodnes beinge frendes to all and ennemies to none What wylte thou that I shulde say more They that are happye are ouercome in peace and they that are vnhappy do ouercomme other in warre Therfore my frende Torcate it semeth to me no lesse necessite to gyue good counsayle than to prosper with great prosperitie to remedy them that are in gret heuynesse For as wery are they that go the playn way as they that costeth the hyghe mountaynes By thy letter I perceiue that what tyme thou hopedst to haue ben in most quietnes and rest this yll fortune and chaunce fell on the. Be nat abashed therof For thoughe that all newe chaunces causeth newe thoughtes presently yet therby cometh more cause of stedfastnes in tyme to come Certaynly the tree beareth not so moche fruite there as it springeth first as it dothe whan it is newe set in an other place And all good smelles are more odoriferous if they be wel medled and chaufed togyther I pray the tell me abydynge in the worlde beinge a chylde of the same and louing the world what hopest thou to haue of the worlde but worldly thinges the worlde shall always
made a face in the worlde .xxxiii yere thou hast ben in the grace of the world nowe it is tyme fro hensforth to fall at some discorde therwith Abell kyng of the Assiriens hoped to haue but seuē yeres of good prosperitie Queene Simiramis but onely syxe Abell kynge of the Lacedemoniens fyue Eutrete kynge of the Caldeens .iiii. Alexander kynge of the grekes .iii. Amylcar the great of Carthage but two and our Gayus Cesar Romayne but one onely and many before and sythe not one yere And sith thou were the mooste vnknowen of lynage the grosseste of vnderstandynge and the leaste of power the darkest of fame and the most weke in merites wherfore than complayneste thou on fortune If thou haddest ben vertuous in all these .xxx. yeres thou haddest neuer eaten without thoughte nor neuer spoken without suspection nor slepte without stertyng thinking what thou haddest to do and wherin fortune myghte begyle the. He that is so longe besette aboute with soo many enemies I can not tell howe he shuld take any sure slepe Ah Torcate Torcate the worlde hath so many falles and we knowe so yll howe to continue amonge theym that be worldly that scantly we are fallen whan our handes and fete lyke sclaues be so faste tyed that we can not lose them It fylleth our persons full of vices strengtheth our sinewes to wickednes weaketh our hartes in vertues and fynally rendreth our spirites in a traunce and masethe our vnderstandynge and chaungeth our taste and sufferethe vs as beastes to shewe our euylles that we fele with waylynges all though as men we durst not shew it And that this is true it appereth that whanne we see that we lose we lament and complayne and none can helpe hym selfe This smal lesson I writte to the to the ende thou shuldest lyue in lesse thoughte The horse colte that thou dyddeste sende me leapeth very well The spanyell that thou sente to me is well but he is wylde the calfe was verye fatte and I wolde haue eaten it forthwith but my wyfe Faustyn besily prayed me to kepe it and thynketh that it was stolen in a gardeyne I sende to the .ii. M. sexters for to succour the in thy trauayles And as touchinge thy banyshement at tyme conuenient I shal dispatch thy matters with the senate The consolation of the goddis and the loue of man be with the Torcate The sodeynnes of euils and the yre of the furies be seperate froo me Marcus Aurelius Faustyn my wyfe greteth the and in lyke wise fro her parte and ours to thy mother in lawe and thy wyfe haue vs recommended Marc of Rome sendeth this writynge to Torcate of Gayette ¶ A letter sent to Domitius of Capue to comforte hym in his banisshemente The fourth letter MArke oratour Romayn borne on mount Celio to the Domitian of Capue salute and consolation of the goddis consolatours In this right colde wynter there arose in this lande a myghty gret wynd and by reason of the great wynde arose great quantitie of waters and the waters haue caused great humidites and great humidities brede dyuers maladies and diseases and amonge all the infirmities of this lande I haue the goute in my hande and the ciatica in my legge For the helth of my wyfe Faustine I can neyther go nor write I saye it bycause I can not write to the so longe as the case wolde require and as thy thankes meryteth and my desyre coueteth It is shewed me that by occasion of a hors thou hast had strif with Patricio thy neyghbour that thou art banished fro Capue and set in the prison Mamartyn Thy goodis are cōfisked and thy chyldren banished thy house caste downe and thy neuewe is putte out of the senate and banysshed the senate for .x. yeres It is tolde me that all the daye thou wepest and wakest by nyght in company thou diest and doest loue to reste solytarilye Thou hateste pleasure and louest pensyuenes And I haue no meruayle for the sorowefull hartes lyue with teares and wepynge and be mery laugh in dienge I am ryght sory to se the lost but moche more that for so smalle a thynge thou shuld be cast away as for a hors to lese al thyn estate O howe variable is fortune and howe soone a mysaduenture falleth before our eies Fortune gyueth these euyls we see it not with her handes she toucheth vs and we fele it not she tredeth vs vnder fete and we knowe hit not she speaketh in our eares and we here her not she crieth alowde vnto vs and we vnderstande her not and this is bycause we wyll not knowe her and finally whan we thynke we are moste surest than are we in moste peryll Trouth it is that with a lyttell wynde the fruyte falleth fro the tree and with a lyttell sparcle the house is sette a fyre a small rocke breaketh a greatte shyppe and with a lyttell stone the legge is hurte I saye that oftentyme of that we feare not cometh greatte peryll In a close Fistula rather than in an open the surgiens doubte the peryll In depe styll waters the pilote feareth more than in the great hye wawes Of secret enbushement rather than of open armies the warriour doubteth I wyll not onely say of straungers but of hys owne propre not of ennemyes but of frendes not of crewelle warre but of peace not of open domage or sclaunder but of secrete peryll and myschiefe a wyse man ought to beware Howe many haue we sene that the chances of Fortune coulde not abate and yet within a shorte whyle after vnwarenes with great ignomynious shame hath ouerthrowen them I wolde witte of the what reste can a persone haue that trusteth euer vpon the prosperitie of fortune syth for so lyght a cause we haue sene so great a stryfe in Rome and suche a losse to thy howse Seynge that I see I wyll not feare the wyndes of her trauayles nor beleue in the clerenesse of her pleasures nor her thunders shal not feare me nor wil trust vpon her flatteringes nor thanke her for that she leueth with me nor be sorye for that she taketh froo me nor wake for any trouthe that she sayth to me nor ryse for any of her leasynges nor lawghe for any thyng that she desyreth of me nor wepe for gyuing me leaue If thou knowest not the cause of this I shal tel the. Our lyfe is so doubtefull and fortune so way warde that she dothe not alway threate in strykynge nor striketh in thretnynge The wyse man gothe not soo temperately that he thynketh at euery steppe to falle nor lyue with so smalle athought to thynke to ouerthrowe in euery playn pathe For oftentymes false fortune shaketh her weapon and striketh not and an other tyme stryketh without shakynge Beleue me of one thynge Domitius That parte of the lyfe is in moste perylle whan with lyttell thoughte or care men thynke them selfe moost sure Wylt thou se the trouthe therof Cal to thy minde Hercules
teares of wepynge are for thy damage Nowe come to the rest of euyll fortune Thou gyuest me knowledge that the goddis haue taken a doughter fro the And the monstrous erthequake hath throwen downe thy howse and the senate hath gyuen a sentence agaynste the wherby thy goodes are loste and thy persone banyshed The goddis be to me as propyce and meke as they haue ben cruelle to the. I am soore abasshed of that my spirite hath conceyued in this as of the losse that thou thy wyfe haue felt yet am I not abashed of the monster that feareth the people nor of the trymblynge that hathe shaken downe thy howses nor of the fyre that hath brent thy goodes nor of the goddis that haue permitted suche thynges to falle But I am abashed that there is so moche malyce in the and in thy neyghbours For the whiche iustely ye do deserue to haue soo horrible and cruelle chastysementes Beleue me in oone thynge Antigonus and doubte it not yf men lyued lyke men and chaunged not the rule of conditours the goddis wolde then be always as goddis not to cause vs to be borne of oure mothers to gyue vs so cruel chastisemētes by the hande of monstrous beastes Certaynely it is iuste and mooste iuste that brute beastes be chastysed by other brute beastes and the monsterous by other monsterous beastes and such as offend with greatte fautes to be punyshed with great peynes I say to the one thynge the whiche semeth a newe thynge to the and that is this the euyll persons offende more by infamy than the goddis gyue theym peyne for it rather than for the offence that is cōmitted ageynst them As the goddis naturally be pitiefull and alwaye haue the name therof so we are always euyl and our euylnes and shameful werkes deserue to haue sore chastisement The symple folkes call the goddis cruell in that they se theyr chastisement openly and for they see not our secrete ylnesse Than the goddis haue reason to complayn bicause we with our sinnes offend them and they by our cruelnes are infamed An ineffable rule it is that the pitieful goddis do not punysshe extremely with extreme chastysementes sythe that fyrste the vicious men doo extremely with extreme vyces The tyme that Camillus was banyshed Capue and that the frenche men possessed Rome Lucius Clarus consule was sent by the senate to the oracle of Apollo to demande counsell what the Romayne people shuld do to be delyuered out of their great perylle And there this consule was xl dayes within the temple on his knees before Appollo offerynge right straunge sacrifices and shedde many teares with wepynge and yet he coulde haue none answere and so with no smal inconueniences he returned to Rome Than the holy senate sēt out of euery temple two priestis and whan they were prostrate on the erthe Apollo sayde As one beginnynge is correspondent to an nother begynnynge and one place to an nother Meruaylle thou not though by the reason of an extreme demaunde I shewed my selfe extreme to answere Ye Romaynes sythe ye faylle men ye come to seke to the goddis for the occasion wherof we wyll gyue you no good coūsayle whan ye haue nede nor permytte that men shulde fauour you whan ye goo to seke for them Regarde my frendes not for the sacrifyces that ye haue offred to me but for the amitie that I haue had with your fathers in tyme past I wyl discouer to you a secrete the whiche is that ye shall say to the Romaynes fro me .vii. thynges The fyrste is lette neuer man leaue the goddis for an other man for feare that the goddis depart fro the myserable man in his moste greattest necessitie The .ii. is that more auayllethe to holde the parte of one of the goddis immortall that is in heuen than with all the mortall men in the worlde The .iii. is that menne shulde beware to anoye the goddis for the yre of the goddes doth more domage than the iniquitie of all men The iiii is the goddis neuer forgette a man at any tyme but if the goddes be forgotten by men a. M. tymes The .v. is that the goddis do suffre that one shall be persecuted by an other that is ylle or they haue fyrste persecuted one that is good And therfore ye are stryke with the feates of the frenchemen bicause ye haue persecuted and banyshed Camyllus your naturalle neyghbour The .vi. is if the men wyl haue the goddis fauourable in the time of warre they muste serue them fyrste in tyme of peace The .vii. is that the pitiefull goddes sendeth not to any realme some extreme chastisement but if it be for some extreme offences commytttd in the same realme And shewe to the Senate that I wold make none answere to Lucius Clarus bycause they sent so yll a man to theyr god Apollo as ambassadur the whiche they ought not to haue done Ye Romayns take this counsell of me and if ye fynde it yl take no more of me In a straunge message sende alwayes the most eloquent men and in your senate set the wysest men And commytte your hostes to valiant capitayns and to your goddes sende alway the most innocent men The iust goddes neuer appease their ires ageinste vniust men but if the requirers be very innocente and meke For a fowle vessell is not made cleane but with fayre water For with foule handes it is hard to make the vessel clene The goddis be so iust that they wyl not gyue iuste thynges but by hādes of iust mē Finally I say if ye wyl driue the french men your ennemies out of your landes fyrste cast out the passiōs fro your hartes Thynke for trouth that the goddis wyll neuer driue your ennemies out of Italy tyll Camyllus and al the gyltlesse that be banyshed be returned ageyn to Rome Certaynly the cruell warres that the goddis permytte at this tyme presente is but a warnynge of the chastisementes for offences passed For that the yl men haue done to the innocentes in diuers dayes after by the handes of other that be yl the paimēt is made in one daye This answere Apollo made to the priestes flamynes that were sent to hym out of Rome whiche thinge made the senate sore abashed I remēbre that in the boke of the aunswere of the goddis in the annales of the capitol there I founde it the whiche boke the first day of euery monethe was red by a senatour before al the other senatours of the senate Therfore frēd Antigonus as the god Apollo said if thou wylt not beleue me that am thy frende beleue the god Apollo O Antigonus beholde howe the vnderstanding of vayn men are but bestly to the spirites of the goddis whiche are secret and hid and where as they speke al other ought to be stylle For one counsell of the goddis is more worth in mockerie than al the coūsels of mē though they be neuer so ernest
Of whens thinkest thou that this cometh I shall shewe the The goddis are soo perfyte in all bountie and so wise in al wisedome and we are so yl in all malyce so simple in all symplenes that though they wolde erre they can not bicause they be goddis and we y t wolde be assured erre bycause we be men And herin I se what a brute beast man is for all these mortall men are so entier in their owne wylles that they wyll lose more in folowyng their owne opinion than wynne by the counsel of an other man and that worst of al is they take so the bytte in the teeth in doinge yll that there is no bridell that can refrayne them And they are so slowe to do well that there is no pricke nor spourre that can dryue theym forwarde Thou doest complayne of the pytiefull goddis and of the sacrate senate Also thou complaynest of ioyfulle fortune Thre thynges there be that one of them is inoughe with one stroke of a stone to take away thy lyfe and bury thy renoume And whan eche of them hath drawen the apart than al together wyl stryke on the with stones Thou hast taken great competitours and yet I knowe not what thy worthynes is I shal shewe the some strengthes and valiantnes that the aunciente barons hadde and therby thou shalt se what they of this worlde dothe holde ¶ The felawe of Scipio Nasica toke a serpente in the mountayns of Egipt whiche after it was slayne flayed and the skynne mesured in the felde of Mars it was .vi. score fote of length Hercules of Thebes proued his force with the serpente Hydra And in strykynge of one of his heedes there sprange out .vii. other heades ¶ Mylon the giaunt to exercise his strength was accustomed euery day to ouertake a bul with renninge a fote and cast hym downe and he made many courses with the bull as it were an other naked yonge man and yet that was more meruayle he with one stroke of his fist slewe the bul and the same day wolde eate hym all together ¶ On mount Olympe Cerastus the giaunt of the nacion of Grece wrasteled with mo than .l. M. menne and none coude styre nor shake him And if Homere begileth vs not of this gyaunt he was of suche fame and dedes that euery foure yeres there was a custome that al nations of the world went to wrastle at moūt Olympe And therof came the rekenynge of the Olympiades ¶ In the second warre punike among the captiues of sorowefull Carthage Scipio brought a manne a lorde of Maurytayne ryght strong and fierse to behold and in celebratynge a spectacle in the palayes of Rome which was than of greatte renoume there were innumerable beastes ron at This captiue prisoner lept into the parke and kylled two beares and wrastled with a lyon a great whyle finally being sore hurte with the lyons pawes he strangled the lyon with his handes This was a monstrous thynge to se and nowe it semeth incredyble to be belued ¶ In the yere CCCCxx of the foundation of Rome Curio Ledent a renoumed capitayne comynge fro Tarente agaynst Pyrro kyng of the Epirotes he was the first that brought .iiii. Oliphātes to Rome the day of his triumph Stages and places were made for .xxx. M. men to se the rennynge of these Olyphauntes and in the myddes of the pastyme the plankes brake and slewe mo than .v. M. persons And among them there was Numatian the whiche bare vpon his shulders a planke with mo than .iii. C. men tyl that he and they were succoured ¶ Gayus Cesar beinge yonge fleinge the companye of Sylla bycause he was perteyninge to Marius he being amonge the Rodiens wan his meate with coursyng runnynge of horses with his handes bounde dehynd hym It was a monstrous thinge to se as the annales wytnesse howe he wolde guyde the horses with his knees soo faste as thoughe he had drawen them with the reynes of theyr bridelles ¶ In the .xv. yere that the capitayne of Cartagenens entred into Italy our auncient fathers sente to the realme of Frigie for the dyesse Berecynthia mother of the goddis and whan she arryued at the porte Hostie the shyppe that she came in ranne vppon the sande and by the space of .iiii. dayes .xxx. M. men that came in the army coude not remoue it by chaunce came thither one of the virgins vestales named Rea whiche with her gyrdelle tyed to the shyppe drewe it to the lande as easily as she wolde haue drawen a threde from the distaffe And to the intente that we shulde beleue suche thinges as we here were done in tymes past we may know it by dedes done presētly in our days I remembre whan my lord Adrian came fro Dacie he dydde celebrate a spectacle in Rome wherin there was mo than .ii. M. wyld bestes And the thing most notable y t we haue sene there was a knyght borne by the riuer Danubio who toke a hors and ran into the parke and slewe so many wylde bestes that there fledde fro him lyons leopardes beares olyphantes and we dyd fle fro them and he slewe mo of them than they dyd of men These strange thinges I haue recyted to the that of all these I am not so abashed as I am of the to se the redye to doo armes ageinst the goddis and against the senate and ageinst fortune These thre are gyauntes in vertuous valyauntyse and happy at all tymes and they be suche as commaund them that commande other The goddis by their naturalyte and power close vp the furies and gouerne the sterres And the senate with their Iustyce ouercomethe realmes and subdueth tyrantes and fortune with her tirāny taketh them that they leaue and leauethe them that they take and honoureth them that they dishonour and chastyseth them that serue her she begyleth euery person and no person begyleth her she promyseth moche and fulfylleth nothynge her songe is wepynge and her wepinge is songe to them that be deed amonge wormes and to them that lyue in fortunes at them that be present she spurneth with her fete and threateth them that be absente All wyse men shrinke fro her but thou lyke a fole sheweste her thy face Of one thynge I am abashed of the to complayne of the senate and yet I meruayle not for in conclusion they be but men yet of trouth in thinges of Iustice they ought to be more than men And to complayn on fortune I meruayle not a lyttell for in the ende fortune is fortune amōg mortalle men And all the heuens is of an aunciente quarelle and whan we are besette with mooste greattest quarelles than she stryketh vs with most greuous hurtes I haue great wonder that thou being a Romain cōplainest on the goddis as if thou were one of the barbariens We Romayns are not so moche renowmed among al nations for the multitude of realmes that we haue ouercome as we are for the great churches
content to be my subiectis and that straungers shalbe desirous to come and serue me ¶ This instructioÌ„ August Cesar gaue to a gouernour of his bicause it was shewed him that he was somwhat cruell in that realme Certainly they were short wordes but they be right coÌ„pendious And wold to god they were writen in the hartes of our iuges Thou writest how that ile is sore troubled by reson of the censures iuges therof It is a noyfulle trauayle to receyue the auctoritie of iustyce into the hande of an vniust man and it is a thyng not to be suffred that one with tyranny shulde tyrannyse diuers other not with the lyfe but with the auctoritie to correcte good men therby to be called a good ceÌ„sure The auctorite of his office giueÌ„ to him by his prince oughte to be his accessarie and his good lyfe for principall in suche maner that by the rectitude of his iustice the yll shuld fele the excution therof Al that haue auctorite shuld tempre it with wysedome purenes of liuinge It is a great goodnes to the coÌ„mon welth and great confusion to hym that is chastised with peyne whaÌ„ the miserable that is chastised seeth nothynge in hym that chastiseth wherby he hath deserued to be chastised And coÌ„trary it is great slackenes in a prince to coÌ„maunde and great shame to the comon welth to consente and great inconuenyence and reprofe to the iudge to execute whan a poore wretche for a smal faute is put to more peyne for the same smal faut done in one day than is gyuen to them that be greate for many tyrannyes that they haue commytted during their life These be they that peruerte the common welth and sclander the worlde and put them selfe out of auctoritie ¶ In the .iii. yere that great PoÌ„peie toke Elia the which is nowe Ierusalem the same tyme beinge there Valerius Graccus thyder came an Hebrewe or a iewe as the annales shewe to complayne to the Senate of the wronges greues that were done to hym in that londe so in doinge his erraÌ„de in the name of al that ê“uince he sayd these wordes O fathers conscript O happy people your fatal destenies ê‘mitte and our god leueth vs with IerusaleÌ„ lady of al Asie mother to y e Ebrues to be in seruage of Rome to the Romains Certeynly gret was y e power of PoÌ„pey moch more the force of his army to take vs. But therfore I say that greatter was the yre of our god without comparison the multitude of our synnes wherby we dyd merite to be lost I wold ye knew one thiÌ„g it sore displeseth me y t ye Romaynes haue not proued it by experieÌ„ce That is our god is so iust y t if among vs there had beÌ„ .x. iust meÌ„ amonge .l. M. yl one god he wold haue ê‘doned al y e yll And than ye Romayns shulde haue sene as the Egiptiens dyd howe our god alone may do moch more than al your goddis togyther And certaynely as longe as we be synners so longe ye shall be our lordes And as longe as the yre of the Hebrues god doth endure so longe shall the power of the Romayns laste And bycause in this case I folowe one way and by your secte ye folowe an other waye ye can not retourne to honour one god onely nor I to honour dyuers goddis I wyll leue this matter to the god by whose power we haue ben nourished by whose bouÌ„te we be gouerned and returne to the case of our embassade Ye know what peace hath ben betwene Rome and Iudee and betwene Iudee and Rome we with you and ye with vs. In all thynges we haue obeyed you and ye vs. Noo iuste thyng we haue denyed you And bicause there is nothynge more desyred of the people and lesse put in operation than is peace and there is nothynge more abhorred by the whiche abhorynge euery maÌ„ lyueth thaÌ„ is warre I do warn you of this with truth prouyde therfore iustice put them awaye y t folowe your wylles to do vs yl And let vs haue no suche malycious folke as intyse vs to rebell The greatteste signe and strongeste pyller of peace is to put away the perturbers of peace What profyte is to saye peace peace in secrete to say warre warre I say this bicause ye haue banished the eldest son of king Idumeo out of Lyon for his demerites and ye haue sente in his stede Campanius Marcus Ruffus and Valerius Graccus for presidentes They be .iiii. plages or .iiii. pestilences so that the least of them were sufficiente to enpoyson the hole empire of Rome than moche soner our myserable realme of Palestyne What thynge can be more monstrous than that the iudges of Rome shuld sende men to put away ylle customes fro them that be yll and they them selfes are the inuentours of newe vyces What greatter shame and inconuenience is in Iustice than they that haue auctoritie to chastise wanton youth to glorifie them selfe to be capitaynes of theym that be wylde What greatter infamye can be in Rome than they that ought to be vertuous and iuste to gyue example to other to be yll and vicious I lye if they haue not so writhen and enlarged the disciplyne of Iustyce that they haue taught the youthe of Iude suche vyces that haue not ben harde of by our fathers nor red in no bokes nor sene in our tyme. O Romayns beleue me in one thynge what counselles Iude hath taken of Rome at this houre lette Rome take of Iudee Many realmes are gotten with myghty capitaynes and moche shedyng of blode and ought to be obserued with a good iudge not in shedynge of blode but in gettynge of hartes Certainly the iudge that wynneth moo good wylles than money ought to be beloued and he that serueth for moneye and loseth the good wylles for euer oughte to be abhorred as pestylence What thynke ye is the cause nowe adays that your presidentes be not obeyed in a iust cause Of a trouth it is bycause that fyrste they commaunde vniust thinges The commandementes that be iuste maketh soft meke hartes and suche as be vniust maketh men cruel We be so myserable in all myseries that to hym that commaundeth well we obey yll and the more yl they commaunde the more obeyed wolde they be Beleue me in one thynge that of the great lyghtnes and small sadnes of the iuges is bredde lytell feare and great shame in the subiectis We that be iewes thynk our selfe wel aduertised by the mouth of our god that sayth Euery prynce commyttyng charge of Iustice to him that he seeth vnable to execute the same or dothe not principally for Iustyce sake accomplyshe iustyce but dothe it for his owne profyte or els to please the nor can not remedy a small matter but inuent other more greatter alteryng and troublyng the peace for theyr owne particular welth They wepe for their owne harme and no lesse for
that no shyp can sayle out of the east into the weste for the The Pyrate answered and sayd If I kepe the see in daungier why doste thou Alexander kepe all the see and lande as loste O Alexander bycause I fyghte with one shyppe in the see I am callyd a theefe and bycause thou robbest with .ii. C. shyppes on the see and troublest all the worlde with two C. thousande men thou arte called an emperour I sweare to the Alexander yf fortune were as fauourable to me and the goddis as extreme ageinst the they wolde gyue me thyne empire and gyue the my lyttel shyppe and than peraduenture I shuld be a better kynge than thou art and thou a wors thefe than I am ¶ These were high wordes and well receyued of Alexander and of trouth to se if his wordes were correspondent to his promyses he made hym from a pyrate to a great capitayne of an army and he was more vertuous on land than he was cruell on the see ¶ I promyse the Catulus Alexander dyd right well therin and Dionides was to be praysed gretly for that he had sayd Now adays in Italy they that robbe openly are called lordes and they that robbe priuely ar called theues ¶ In the yere bokes of Liuius I haue redde that in the seconde troublous warre punyke betwene the Romaynes and Carthaginens there camme an ambassadoure Lusytayne sent fro Spayne to treate for accorde of peace Whan he came to Rome he proued before the senate that sythe he entred into Italye he had ben .x. tymes robbed of his goodes and whyles he was at Rome he had sene one of them that robbed hym hange vp an other that had defended hym He seinge soo ylle a dede and howe the thefe was saued without Iustyce as a desperate manne toke a cole and wrote on the gybet as foloweth ¶ O gybet thou art made among theues norished amōg theues cut of theues wrought of theues made of theues set among theues and thou arte peopled with innocentis ¶ And there as I red these wordis was in the original of Lyuius and in his histories I swere to the by the immortall goddis that all the Decade was written with blacke ynke and these wordes with redde vermylon I canne not tell what wordes I shulde sende the but that euery thing is so newe and so tender and is ioyned with so yll syment that I feare me all wyll fall sodeynly to the playne erthe I tell the that some are sodaynly rysen within Rome vnto valour to whom I wyll rather assure their fall than their lyfe For all buyldynge hastely made can not be sure The longer a tree is kepte in his kynde the longer it wyll be er it be olde The trees whose fruite we eate in sommer doo warme vs in wynter O howe many haue we seene wherof we haue meruayled of their rysynge and ben abasshed of their falles They haue growen as a hole piece and sodeynly wasted as a scomme Their felicitie hath ben but a short point their infortune as a longe lyfe Finally they haue are died the myll armed it with stones of encreace and after a lyttell grindinge left it in vtyle al the hole yere after Thou knowest wel my frend Catulus that we haue sene Cincius Fuluius in one yere made Consule and his chyldren tribunes and his wyfe a matron for yonge maydens and besyde that made keper of the capitol and after that not in one yere but the same day we saw Cincius beheeded in the place his chylderne drowned in Tybre his wyfe banysshed froo Rome his howse raced downe to the grounde and all his good confysked to the common treasourie This rigorous example we haue not redde in any boke to take a copie of it but we haue sene it with our eies to kepe it in our myndes As the nations of people ar variable so are the condicions of men dyuers and appetites of mortall folke and me thynketh this is true seing that some loue some hate and that that some seke some escheweth And that that some setteth lytel by other make of In such wise that al can not be contēt with one thing nor some with all thinges can not be satisfied Let euery man chuse as hym lyst and enbrace the worlde whan he wylle I had rather mount a softe pace to the fallynge and yf I can not come therto I wyll abyde by the way rather than with sweatte to mount hastily and than to tumble downe heedlyng In this case sith mens hartes vnderstand it we nede not to write further with pennes And of this matter regarde not the lyttell that I do saye but the greate deale that I wyl say And sith I haue begon and art in strange landes I wyll write the al the newes fro hens This yere the .xxv. day of May there came an ambassadour out of Asie sayinge he was of the yle of Cetyn a barone ryghte elegant of body ruddy of aspect and right hardy of courage He considered being at Rome though the sommers dayes were longe yet wynter wolde drawe on and than wolde it be daungerous saylynge into his yle and sawe that his besynes was not dispatched On a daye being at the gate of the senate seinge all the Senatours entre in to the Capitolle without any armour vpon them he as a man of good spirite and zelatour of his countreye in the presence of vs all sayd these wordes ¶ O fathers conscripte O happy people I am come fro a straunge countreye to Rome onely to see Rome and I haue founde Rome without Rome The walles wherewith it is inclosed hath not broughte me hyther but the fame of them that gouerne it I am not come to se the tresourie wherin is the treasure of all realmes but I am come to se the sacred senate out of the whyche issueth the counsell for al men I came not to se you bycause ye vanquishe all other but bycause I thought you more vertuous than all other I dare well say one thinge excepte the goddis make me blynd and trouble myn vnderstanding ye be not Romayns of Rome nor this is not Rome of the Romayns your predecessours We haue harde in our yle that dyuers realmes ben wonne by the valyātnes of one and conserued by the wysedome of all the senate and at this houre ye are more lyke to be distroyed than to wynne as your fathers dydde all their exercise was in goodnes and ye that are their chyldren passe all your tyme in cerymonies I say this ye Romayns bycause ye haue almoste kylde me with laughinge at you to se howe ye doo all as moche your diligence to leaue your armure withoute the gate of the senate as your predecessours dyd to take them to defende the empire What profyte is it to you to leaue your armes for the sureties of your personnes and putte them on wherwith ye slee all the worlde What profiteth it to the thoughtfull suiter that the senatour
thou offereste to me syropes I haue watched all nyghte and touched newly the alarme For thy ancient amitie I pray the and coniure the in the name of the goddis sythe that my harte is rebell againste thy wyll whiche is right doutfull cause me to leaue to desire the thus without doubte And to thentent that thou shuldest not think any vnkindnes in my white heares as I may argue thy face of ydelnes I wyll that we recken what we haue wonne or hope to wynne Shewe me what cometh of these pleasures the tyme yll spent good name in scaterynge to pardicion the patrimonie wasted the credence loste the goddis annoyed the vertues sclaundred the name of brute beastes got and surnames of shame suche ye and we and other be Thou wrytest in thy letter howe thou wylte leaue Rome and come se me in the warres of Dacy Seinge thy foly I laugh and knowledgynge thy boldnesse I beleue the. And whan I thynke thus I take the letter agayne out of my bosom beholde the seale doubtynge if it be thy letter or not Thou alterest my pulces and felynges of my hart the colour of my face chauÌ„geth imageninge that either shame surmounteth in the or elles grauitie fayleth in me For suche lyghtnes shuld not be beleued but of lyke light persones Thou knowest well he that dothe yll meriteth peyn soner than he that doth infamy I wold wytte whither thou wylt go Thou hast ben cutte for vertinace and nowe thou woldest be solde for wyne Thou beganst fyrst as cheries and thou wilte be laste as quynces we haue eten the in blosomes and thou wylt be lyke the fruite the nuttes ar very good but the shales be harde with strawe and donge thou arte made rype and thou art rotten and if thou be rotteÌ„ thou art to be lothed Thou art not coÌ„tent with .xl. yeres that thou haste of the whiche .xxv. yeres art passed in tast as wyne that is to be sold and as straweberies hyd vnder the leaues that are corrupte and rotten Art not thou Boemia that lacketh two tethe the eies holowed with white heares a riueled face one hande loste with the gout a rybbe marred with childe beryng whyther wylt thou go put thy selfe thaÌ„ in a barel caste the it into the riuer thou shalt come out al weate We haue eaten the freshe fyshe nowe thou woldest bring hyther y e rusty old salt fishe in sted therof O Boemia Boemia now I knowe there is no trust in youth nor hope in age Thou complayneste that thou haste nothynge That is an olde quarell of the amorous ladies of Rome whiche takynge all say they haue nothynge and that ye lacke of credence ye do fulfylle with money Therfore beleue me louynge freÌ„de the folyshe estate that procedeth of vnlaufull wynnynge gyueth small suretie and lesse good name to the persone I can not tell howe thou haste spende so moche For if I drewe of my rynges with one hande thou dyddest open my purse with the other hande I had greatter warres with my coffres than than I haue nowe with myn ennemies I coude neuer haue iewell but thou woldest demaÌ„d it nor I dyd neuer deny the. Nowe at this houre I meruayle for in this myn age I fynde great hynderaunce by my youthe Thou complaynest of trauayle and pouertye I am he that hath great nede of that medicine for this opilation and a playster for that soore and to haue somme colde water for that hote feuer Art thou not aduised that I banyshed my necessitie in the londe of forgetfulnes and dyd set vp thy wyll for the request of my seruice In wynter I went all bare and in sommer charged with clothes I went on fote in the myre and rode in the faire way whaÌ„ I was heuy I laughed and whan I was mery I wept For dred I drewe forthe my strengthes and out of my strengthes cowardise The nightes to sigh and on the day to wayte where thou wentest by Whan thou haddest nede of any thynge I was fayne to robbe my father for it Tel me Boemia with whom fulfilledst thou thyn open folies but with the yll orders that I putte my selfe to in secrete wot ye what me semeth by you amorous ladies of Rome ye are in the court as the lytel mothes eating olde clothes and a pastime for lyght folkes tresorers of fooles sepulchres of vices This that semeth me is that if in thy youth euery maÌ„ gaue to the bicause thou shuldest gyue y t to euery maÌ„ now thou giuest thy self to euery maÌ„ bycause euery maÌ„ shuld giue him to the. Thou tellest me that thou haste ii sons lackest helpe for them Yeld graces to the goddis of the pitie that they haue vsed with the they haue giuen to .xv. children of Fabricio my neyghbour but one father to two of thy chyldren onely they haue gyuen .l. fathers Therfore deuyde them amonge theyr fathers and euerye maÌ„ shall not haue one fynger Lucia thy doughter in dede and myn by suspecte remembre that I haue done more in marienge of her thaÌ„ thou didst in her procreation For to the gettyng of her thou didst call dyuers to mary her I dyd it alone I write to the but lyttel to the respect of that I wold write Butrio Cornelio hath spoken moche on thy parte he hym selfe shall shewe the as moche of my parte It is longe ago syth I knewe thyn impacience I knowe well thou wylt sende me an other letter more malicious I pray the sith I wrote to the secretely defame me not opeÌ„ly And whan thou redest this letter remeÌ„bre what occasions thou giuest me to write though y t we be not frendes yet wyl I not leue to send the syluer I send the a gowne the goddis be with y e bring me out of this warre with peas Marke pretour in Dacie to his auncient louer Boemia ¶ The answere to the emperours letter sent by Boemia The .xvi. letter BOemia thyn ancient louer to the Marc of mouÌ„t Celio her mortal enmy I desire veÌ„geaÌ„ce of thy person yll fortune for al thy life I haue receyued thy letter therby ê‘ceyue thy daÌ„nable inteÌ„tes thy cruell malices Suche yll persons as thou art haue this priuilege y t sith one doth suffre your vilanies iÌ„ secret ye wyll hurte them openly but thou shalt not doo so with me Marc for though I be not tresouresse of thy tresours yet at leaste I am treasouresse of thyn ylnesse and where as I can not reuenge me with my persone I shall labour to do it with my tongue And thynke that though we women be weake and our bodies sone ouercome yet wyte it for certayne that our hartes are neuer vanquyshed Thou sayest that scapyng from a battayle thou dyddest receyue my letter wherof thou were soore abashed It is a very common thyng to theym that be weke and slacke to speke of loue wanton fooles to treate