and cold of the ayre that is whot and moyst of fyre that is dry and whot So that taking the world in this sort there is no reason why wee shoold complayn and lament of it since that without him wee cannot lyue corporally When the paynter of the world came into the world it is not to bee beeleeued that hee reproued the water which bare hym when hee went vppon it nor the ayre that ceased to blow in the sea nor the earth that trembled at his death nor the light which seased to lyght nor the stones which brake in sonder nor the fish whych suffred them selues to bee taken nor the trees which suffered them selues to bee drye nor the monuments that suffered them selues to bee opened For the creature knowledged in his creator omnipotency and the creator founded in the creature due obedience Oftentymes and of many parsons wee heere say o wofull world o miserable world o subtyl world o world vnstable and vnconstant And therfore it is reason wee know what the world is whereof the world is from whence this world is wherof this world is made and who is lord of thys world since in it all things are vnstable all things are miserable all disceitfull and all things are malicious which can not bee vnderstanded of this materiall world For in the fyre in the ayre in the earth and in the water in the lyght in the planets in the stones and in the trees there are no sorows there are no miseries there are no disceit nor yet any malyce The world wherein wee are born where wee lyue where wee dye differeth much from the world wherof wee doo complayn for the world agaynst whom wee fight suffreth vs not to bee in quiet one hour in the day To declare therfore my entencion this wicked world is no other thing but the euill lyfe of the worldlings where the earth is the desire the fire the couetice the water the inconstancy the ayre the folly the stones are the pride the flowers of the trees the thoughts the deepe sea the hart Fynally I say that the sonne of this world is the prosperity and the moone is the continuall chaunge The prince of this so euill a world is the deuill of whom Iesus Christ sayd The prince of this world shall now bee cast out and thys the redeemer of the world sayeth For hee called the worldlings and their worldly lyues the world For since they bee seruaunts of sinne of necessity they must bee subiects of the deuyll The pryde the auaryce the enuy the blasphemy the pleasures the lechery the neglygence the glottony the yre the malyce the vanity and the folly This is the world agaynst whych wee fight al our lyfe and where the good are princes of vyces and the vyces are lords of the vicious Let vs compare the trauels which wee suffer of the elements wyth those whych wee endure of the vyces and wee shall see that lyttle is the perill wee haue on the sea and the land in respect of that which encreaseth of our euyll lyfe Is not hee in more daunger that falleth through malyce into pryde then hee which by chaunce falleth from a high rock Is not hee who wyth enuy is persecuted in more daunger than hee that with a stone is wounded Are not they in more perill that liue among vicious men than others that liue among bruit and cruell beasts Doo not those which are tormented with the fire of couetousnes suffer greater daunger then those which lyue vnder the mount Ethna Fynally I say that they bee in greater perils whych with hygh immaginations are blynded then the trees which with the importunat wyndes are shaken And afterwards this world is our cruell enemy it is a deceitfull frend it is that which always keepeth vs in trauell it is that which taketh from vs our rest it is that that robbeth vs of our treasor it is that which maketh him self to bee feared of the good that which is greatly beeloued of the euill It is that which of the goods of other is prodigall and of his own very miserable Hee is the inuenter of all vyces and the scourge of all vertues It is hee which entertaineth al his in flattery and fair speech This is hee which bringeth men to dissention that robbeth the renowm of those that bee dead and putteth to sack the good name of those that bee aliue Fynally I say that this cursed world is hee which to all ought to render accompt and of whom none dare ask accompt O vanity of vanity where all walk in vanity where all think vanity where all cleue to vanity where all seemeth vanity and yet this is lyttle to seeme vanity but that in dede it is vanity For as false witnes shoold hee bere that woold say that in this world ther is any thing assured healthfull and true as hee that woold say that in heauen there is any vnconstant variable or false thing Let therfore vayn princes see how vayn their thoughts bee and let vs desire a vayn prince to tell vs how hee hath gouerned him wyth the vanities of the world For if hee beeleeue not that whych my penne wryteth let him beeleeue that whych hys parson prooueth The woords written in the book of Ecclesiastes are such I Dauids sonne that swaies the kingly seat with hungry thurst haue throwen amid my brest A vayn desire to proue what pleasures great In flying life haue stable foot to rest To tast the sweet that might suffise my will with rayned course to shunne the deeper way whose streams of his delight shoold so distill as might content my restles though to stay For lo queene follies imps through vayn beelief So proudly shape their serch of tickle retch that though desert auailes the waue of grief to science toppe their claimming will doth stretch And so to draw some nice delighting end Of fansies toyl that feasted thus my thought I largely wayed my wasted bounds to bend to swelling realms as wisedoms dyall wrought I ryall courts haue reached from the soyl to serue lodge my huge attending trayn Ech pleasant house that might bee heapt with toy◠I reared vp to weeld my wanton rayn I causd to plant the long vnused vynes to smooth my tast with treasure of the grape I sipped haue the sweete in flaming wynes old rust of care by hidd delight to skape Fresh arbors I had closed to the skies A shrouded space to vse my fickle feete rich gardeins I had dasing still myne eyes A pleasant plot when dainty food was meet High shaking trees by art I stroue to sett to fraight desire with fruit of leeking tast VVhen broyling flame of sommers sunne did hett the blossomd bows his shooting beams did wast From rocky hills I forced to bee brought Cold siluer springs to bayne my fruitful ground Large thrown out ponds I labord to bee wrought where nūbers huge of swimming fish were found Great compast parkes I gloried long to plant
eyther to iesters minstrels parasites flaterers loiterers or fooles First mee seemeth that a man ought not to think that fooles are capable to geeue counsayle since they haue it not for them selues for it should bee great foly to vse men as sages which of their owne will haue made them selues fooles The second mee seemeth that it is a vaine thinge to think that the iesters should serue as seruants for these vnhappy people to fly trauayle onely haue taken vpon them this office so sclaunderous Thirdly it semeth to bee a shamefast thing and of great inconuenyence that any noble and sage man should determine to haue any flatterer or iester for his famylyar frend for such ought not nor cannot bee counted among the true frends since they loue vs not for the vertue wee possesse but for the goods which wee haue Fourthly mee thinketh it a vayne thing to think that vnder the colour of pouerty it should bee iust to geeue meat to iesters or loyterers for wee cannot say the such are poore for that they want ryches but that folly aboundeth in them Since therefore a man is defamed to haue such iesters flatterers and loyterers for frends and that for beeing seruants they are vnhable and with out witt to ask them counsayle mee thynketh it is a great folly to spend hys goods on such loyterers For as their intencions to the gods onely are manifest and to men secret so their is nothing wherin the good doo approue and manyfest their intencions to bee good or euyl more then in the woordes which they speake in the companies which they keepe ¶ Marcus Aurelius goeth forward with his letter and declareth how hee found the sepulchres of many learned Philosophers in Helespont whereunto hee sent all these loyterers Cap. xlvi I will thou know Lambert that thy Ile is consecrated with the bones of many excellent men the which were banyshed by sundry tirannous Princes of Rome The auncients greatly commend that I le beecause there are therein stones caled Amatistes tame deere faire womeÌ„ familiar wolfes swift dogges of foote and pleasaunt fountaines Yet notwithstanding I will not cease to commend these things which reioyce those that bee presente and also comfort those that bee to come For I esteeme more the bones which the earth doo couer then the riches which groweth theron If thou hast not lost the sence of smelling as that I le doth sauoure vnto mee of sages so doth Rome stynk of fooles For for the time it is lesse payne to endure the stink of the beast then to heare the woordes of a foole When the warres of Asia were ended I returned home by that yle wherin I visited al the lyuing people and al the graues of the dead philosophers And for a trueth I tel thee Lambert the that iourney was veri trublesome vnto mee for here in my person endured much payne on the land I suffered dyuers daungers and on the sea I saw my selfe in sondry perils In the city of Corinthe where thou art resident at this present in the middest of the market place thou shalt finde the graue of the philosopher Panimio to whom the streight frendship auayled litel which hee had with Ouide but the enmity greatly endomaged him which hee had with Augustus the emperor Two miles from Theadfonte at the foote of the mountains Arpines thou shalt finde the graue of the famous orator Armeno who was by the coÌ„sul Scilla vniustly banished And of troth as here was much blood lost beecause Scilla should not enter into Rome so there were not few tears shed in Italye for the banishment of this philosopher In the gate of Argonata hard by the water in the top of a high rock thou shalt finde the bones of Celliodorus the Philosopher who obserued all the auncient laws and was a great enemy of those which brought in new customes and statutes This good Philosopher was banyshed in the prosperitye fury of the Marians nor for the euils they found in him but for the vyces hee reproued in them In the fyldes Heliny there was a great tomb within the which were the bones of Selleno the philosopher who was aswel learned in the .vii. lyberall artes as if hee himselfe had first inuented them And hee was banished by the Emperor Nero for beecause hee perswaded this cruel Emperor to bee merciful pyteful In the same fyeldes Heliny out of the woods towards the west part thou shalt find the graue of the philosopher Vulturnê° a man in Astrology profoundly learned which litle auayled him in his banishmeÌ„t For hee was banished by Marcus Antonius not for that Marcus Antonius would haue banished hym for hee was not offended by him but beecause his loue Cleopatra hated him as her mortal enemy For women of an euyll lyfe reuenge commonly their angry harts with the death of their especiall frends Diuers other tombs in that I le I saw the names wherof though in writing I haue them yet at this present I cannot cal them to memory Wel by the faith of an honest maÌ„ I swere vnto thee that thou shalt fynde al true which I haue told thee Now I tell thee Lambert that I visiting those graues their disciples did not beare them greater obedience when they were alyue then I dyd reuerence now they are dead And it is true also that in all that time my eyes were as much wet with water as their bones were couered with earth These philosophers were not banyshed for myscheues by their persons committed nor for sclaunders they had doon in the common wealths but beecause the deeds of our fathers deserued that they shoold bee taken from their company and wee their chyldren were not woorthy to haue the bones of so famous and renowmed sages in our custody I cannot tell if the enuy I haue to that I le bee greater or the pyty I haue of this miserable Rome for the one is immortall by the graues of the dead and the other is defamed with the lyfe of the lyuing I desire thee hartely as a frend and doo commaund thee as a seruaunt that thou keepe the pryuyleges which I geeue to that I le without breakyng any one For it is very iust that such cyties peopled with such dead should bee priuileged of the lyuing By this Centurion thou shalt know al things which are chaunced amongst the prisoners For if I should wryte al the whole matter vnto thee as it was doon I eÌ„sure thee vnto mee it would bee much paine to write it to thee great trouble to rede it It suffyceth presently to say that the day of the great solempnitie of the mother Berecinthe a sclaunderer arose in Rome by the occasion of these iesters scoffers and loyterers and by the fayth of a good man I sweare vnto thee that the blood which was shed through the places surmounted the wine which was drunk at the feast And think not that which I say to bee lytel that the blood which
vertues men ought to vse and the vyces which they ought to eschew Cap. xxvi IN tymes past I beeing yong and thou old I did succor thee with money and thou mee with good counsell but now the world is otherwise chaunged in that thy white hears doo iudge thee to bee old and thy woorks doo cause thee to bee yong Therefore necessity compelleth mee that wee chāge our stile which is that I succor thee with good counsell though thou geeue mee no money therfore for I count thy couetousnes to bee such that for all the good counsel coūselers of Rome the wilt not vouchsafe to geeue one quatrine of Capua Now for the good that I wish thee for that which I owe to the law of frendship I will presently geeue thee a counsel wherby thou mayst know what a good mā ought to doo to bee loued of god feared loued of mē If the wilt quietly lead thy life in this miserable world retain this well in memory which I write vnto thee First the good deedes thou hast receiued of any those shalt thou remember the wrongs thou hast sustained them shalt thou forget Secondarely esteeme much thy own little way not the much of an other Thirdly the company of the good always couet the conuersation of the euill dayly fly Fourthly to the great shew thy self graue to the small more conuersant Fiftly to those which are present doo always good woorks and of those that bee absent always speak good woords Sixtly way little the losse of fortune esteeme much things of honor The seuenth to win one thing neuer aduenture thou many nor for many things doubtfull doo not thou aduēture any one thing certain Finally lastly I pray thee aduertise thee that thou haue no enemy that thou keepe but one frend Hee which among the good wil bee counted for good none of these things hee ought to want I know well that thou wilt haue great pleasure to see these my counsels well writen But I ensure thee I shal haue greater pleasure to see them in thy deedes well obserued For by writing to geeue good counsel it is easy but by woorks to folow the same is maruelous hard My faithful frendship to thee plighted thy great ability considered caused mee always for thee in Rome to procure honorable offices by my suyt thou hast been Edite tribune maister of the horses wherin thou behauedst thy self with such wisdom that all the senate therfore yelded mee most harty thanks I procuring them for thee thou for thy self winning such perpetual renowm One thing of thee I vnderstand which with good wil I woold not haue knowen much lesse that any such thing by thee shoold haue been cōmitted that is to weet that thou leauing thy office of the pretorship in the warre by land hast taken vpon thee traffike of a marchāt by sea so that those which in Rome knew thee a knight doo see thee now in Capua a marchant My pen indyting this my letter for a tyme stood in suspence for no other cause but only to see what thing in thee first I might best blame either the noble office which thou didst forsake or the vyle base estate which thou hast chosen And though thou bee so much bereued of thy sences yet call to mynd thy auncient predecessors which dyed in the warres only to leaue their children and nephews armed knights and that thou presently seekest to lose that liberty through thy couetousnes which thei wanne by their valyauntnes I think I am not deceiued that if thy predecessors were reuiued as they were ambicious of honor so woold they bee greedy to eat thee in morsels sinnues bones and all For the children which vniustly take honor from their fathers of reason ought to lose their lyues The castels towns housen mountains woods beasts Iewels and siluer which our predecessors haue left vs in the end by long cōtinuance doo perish and that which causeth vs to haue perpetuall memory of them is the good renowm of their lyfe And therfore if this bee true it is great shame for the parents to haue such children in whom the renowm of their predecessors dooth end In the florishing time of Cicero the oratour when by his counsell the whole common wealth was gouerned hee beeing then of power both in knowledge and of money Salust said vnto him in his inuectiue that hee was of base stock wherunto hee aunswered Great cause haue I too render thāks vnto the gods that I am not as thou art by whom thy high linage is ended but my poore stock by me doth now begin too rise It is great pity to see how many good noble valiant men are dead but it is more greef to see presently their children vitious and vnthrifts So that there remaineth asmuch memory of their infamy as there doth of the others honesty Thou makst mee ashamed that thou hast forsaken to conquer the enemies as a romain knight and that thou art become a marchant as a poore plebeian Thou makest mee to muse a littel my freend Cincinnatus that thou wilt harme thy familiars and suffer straungers to liue in peace Thou seekest to procure death to those which geeue vs life and to deliuer from death those which take our life To rebels thou geeuest rest to the peace makers thou geeuest anoyaunce To those which take from vs our own thou wilt geeue and to those which geeueth vs of theirs thou wilt take Thou condemnest the innocent and the condemned thou wilt deliuer A defender of thy countrey thou wilt not bee but a tirant of thy common welth To al these things aduentureth hee which leaueth weapons and fauleth to marchandise With my self oft times I haue mused what occasion should moue thee to forsake chiualry wherein thou hadst such honor and to take in hand marchandise whereof foloweth such infamy I say that it is asmuch shame for thee to haue gon from the warres as it is honor for those which are born vnto office in the common welth My freend Cincinnatus my end tendeth not to condemne marchandise nor marchaunds nor to speak euill of those which traffick by the trade of bying and selling For as without the valiant knights warre cannot bee atchyued so likewise without the diligent marchants the comon wealth cannot bee maintained I cannot imagin for what other cause thou shooldst forsake the warre traffique marchandise vnlesse it were because thou now being old wantest force to assault men openly in the straits shooldst with more ease sitting in thy chayer robbe secretly in the market place O poore Cincinnatus sithens thou byest cheap sellest deare promisest much performest litle thou byest by one measure sellest by an other thou watchest that none deceiue thee playest therin as other marchants accustom And to conclude I swear that the measure wherwith the gods shall measure thy lyfe shal bee much iuster
the main land our parsons are in safegard Knowing thy property I woold rather binde my self to seeke thy lead tinne theÌ„ thy hart so wouÌ„ded For in the end thy lead is together in some place in the bottom of the sea but thy couetousnes is scattered through al the whole earth If perhaps thou shooldst dye and the surgions with the sharp raser should open thy stomack I sweare vnto thee by the mother Berecinthe which is the mother of all the gods of Rome that they shoold rather fynd thy hart drowned which the lead then in life with thy body Now thow canst not bee sick of the feuer tertian as I am for the heate with in thy body the pain in thy head woold cause thee to haue a double quartain and of such disease thou canst not bee healed in thy bed but in the shyp not in land but in the sea not with phisitions but with pirats For the phisicions woold cary away the money and the pyrats woold shew thee where thy lead fel. Trouble not thy self so much Mercury for though thou hast not thy lead with thee in the land it hath thee with it in the sea and thou oughtest inough to comfort thy self for where as beefore thou hadst it in thy cofers thou hast it presently in thy intrailes For there thy life is drowned where thy lead is cast O Mercury now thou knowest that the day that thou didst recommend thy goods to the vnknowen rocks and thy shyp to the ragyng seas and thy outragious auarice to the furious wynds how much that thy factors went desyryng thy profyt and gayn so much the more thow mightst haue been assured of thy losse Yf thou hadst had this consyderacion and hadst vsed this diligence thy desire had been drowned and thy goods escaped For men that dare aduenture their goods on the sea they ought not to bee heauy for that that is lost but they ought to reioyce for that that is escaped Socrates the auncyent and great Phylosopher determyned to teach vs not by woord but by woork in what estimacion a man ought to haue the goods of this world for hee cast in the sea not lead but gold not litle but much not of another mans but of his own not by force but willingly not by fortune but by wisedome Finally in this woorthy fact hee shewed so great courage that no couetous man woold haue reioyced to haue fouÌ„d so much in the land as thys phylosopher did delyght to haue cast in the sea That which Socrates dyd was much but greater ought wee to esteme that hee sayd which was O ye disceytfull goods I will drown you rather then you shoold drown mee Since Socrates feared and drowned hys own proper goods why doo not the couetous feare to robbe the goods of other Thys wyse Philosopher woold not trust the fyne gold and thou doost trust the hard lead Draw you two lottes Socrates of Athens and thou of Samia See which of you two haue erred or doone well hee to cary gold from the land to the Sea or thou by the Sea to bring gold to the land I am assured that the auncyent Romayns woold say that it is hee but the couetous of this present world would say that it is thou That which in this case I thynk is that thou in praysyng yt doost disprayse thy self and Socrates in dyspraysyng it of all is praysed and esteemed ¶ The Emperor followeth his matter concludeth his letter greatly reprouing his frend Mercurius for that hee tooke thought for the losse of his goods Hee sheweth him the nature of fortune and describeth the condicions of the couetous man Cap. xxxi THis messenger told mee that thou art very sad that thou cryest out in the night and importunest the gods wakest thy neighbors and aboue all that thou complainest of fortune which hath vsed thee so euill I am sory for thy grief for grief is a frend of solytude enemy of company a louer of darknes straunge in conuersation heire of desperacion I am sory thou cryest in the night for it is a signe of folly a token of smal pacience the point of no wise man and a great proof of ignoraunce for at the hour when al the world is couered with darknes thou alone doost discouer thy hart with exclamacions I am sory that thou art vexed with the gods saying that they are cruell For so much as if they haue taken any thing froÌ„ thee for thy pryde they shoold restore it again vnto thee for thy humility For as much as wee offeÌ„d the gods through the offence so much doo wee appease them with pacieÌ„ce O my frend Mercurius knowst thou not that the pacience which the gods haue in dissembling our faults is greater then that which men haue in suffering their chastisements for wee others vniustly doo offend them and they iustly doo punysh vs. I am sory that with thy exclamations and complaints thou slauÌ„derest thy neighbors for as thou knowst one neighbor always enuyeth another in especially the poore the rych And according to my counsell thow shooldst dyssemble thy payn and take all things in good part for if perhaps thy riches haue caused thy sorow thy pacience will moue them to compassion I am sory thou complainest of thy fortune For fortune sith shee is knowen of al dooth not suffer her self to bee defamed of one and it is better to thynk wyth fortune how thou mayst remedy it then to thynk with what grief to coÌ„playn For they are diuers men which to publish their pain are very carefull but to seeke remedy are as negligent O poore innocent Mercurius after so long forgetfullnesse art thou more aduysed to complayn of fortune agayn datest thow defye fortune with whom all wee haue peace Wee vnbend our bowes and thow wilt charge thy launces thou knowst not what warre meaneth and yet thou wilt winne the victory all are deceiued and wilt thow alone go safe What wilt thow more I say vnto thee synce I see thee commyt thy self to fortune Doost thow know that it is shee that beateth down the high walles and defendeth the town dyches knowst thou not that it is shee that peopleth the vnhabitable deserts and dyspeopleth the peopled Cities Knowst thou not that it is shee that of enemyes maketh frends and of frends enemyes Knowest thou not that it is shee that conquereth the conquerors Knowst thou not that it is shee that of traitors maketh faithfull and of faithfull suspicious fynally I wil thou know that fortune is shee which turneth realms breaketh armies abassheth kings raiseth tirants geeueth lyfe to the dead and berieth the lyuing Doost thou not remember that the second king of the Lacedemonians had ouer his gates such woords ¶ The pallace here beehold where men doo striue by fruitles toyle to conquere what they can And fortune â—cke that princes fancies riue by his vnbrideled wyl that alwayes wan CErtaynly these woords were high and proceeded of a hygh
Alexander though thou callest thy selfe lorde of all yet thou hast but onely the name thereof and others thy seruauntes subiectes haue all the profites for the gredy and couetous hartes do trauaile and toyle to get and in wasting that whiche they haue gotten they pyne awaye And finally Alexander thou wilt not denie me that all that whiche thou hast in the longe conquest gotten is litle and that whiche of thy wysedome and quietnes thou hast lost is much For the Realmes whiche thou hast gotten are innumerable but the cares sighes and thoughtes whiche thou hast heaped vpon thy harte are infinite I let the knowe one thing that you princes are poorer then the poore subiectes for he is not ryche that hath more then he deserueth but he that desireth to haue lesse then that he possesseth And therfore princes you haue nothing for though you abound in great treasures yet you are poore of good desires Nowe Alexander let vs come to the pointe and caste accompte and let vs see to what ende thy conquest wil come Eyther thou arte a man or thou arte a God And if thou be any of the gods commaunde or cause that we be immortall and if thou canst doe any suche thing then take vs and our goods withall For perpetuitie of the lyfe by no riches can be boughte O Alexander I let thee vnderstande that therefore we seke not to make warre with thee for we see that bothe from thee and also from vs death will shortly take away the life For he is a very simple man that thinketh alway to remayne in an other mans house as in his owne If thou Alexander couldest geue vs as god euerlastinge life eche man would trauayle to defende his owne house but sithe we knowe we shal die shortly we care litle whether to thee or any other our goods riches remaine For if it be folly to dwell in an other mans house as in his owne it is a greater folly to him that loseth his life in taking thought and lamenting for his goodes Presuppose that thou art not god but a man I coniure the then by the immortal gods and do require the that thou lyue as a man behaue thy selfe as a man and couet no more then an other man neither desyre more nor lesse then a man for in the end thou shalt die as a mā and shal be buried as a man and throwen into the graue then there shal be no more memorie of thee I tolde thee before that it greued me to see thee so hardy couragious so apte and so younge and nowe it greueth me to see thee so deceiued with the world and that which I perceiue of thee is that then thou shalt knowe thy folly when thou shalt not be able to finde any remedy For if the proude younge man before he feleth the wound hath all redy the oyntment You whiche are Grecians call vs Barbarous because we enhabite the mountaines But as touching this I say that we reioyce to be Barbarous in our speache and Greekes in our doinges and not as you which haue the Grecians tongue and doe Barbarous workes For he that doth well speaketh rudely is no barbarous man but he which hath the tongue good and the life euill Sithe I haue begonne to that ende nothing remaynd vnspoken I will aduertise thee of our lawes and life and marueile not to here it but desire to obserue and kepe it for infinite are they whiche extolle vertuous workes but fewe are they whiche obserue the same I let thee wete Alexander that we haue short life we are fewe people we haue litle landes we haue litle goodes we haue no couetousnes wee haue fewe lawes we haue fewe houses wee haue fewe frendes and aboue all we haue no enemies For a wyse man ought to be frende to one and enemy to none Besides all this we haue amongest vs great frendshippes good peace great loue much reste and aboue all we holde our selues contented For it is better to enioy the quietnes of the graue then to liue a discontented life Our lawes are fewe but in our opinions they are good and are in seuen wordes onely included as here foloweth We ordaine that our children make no more lawes then we their fathers doe leaue vnto them for newe lawes maketh them forget good and olde customes We ordayne that our successours shall haue no mo Gods then twoo of the whiche the one god shal be for the life and the other for the death for one God well serued is more worth then many not rewarded We ordaine that all be appareled with one cloth and hosed of one sorte and that the one haue no more apparell then the other for the diuersitie of garmentes edgendreth folly among the people We ordeine that whan any woman which is maried hath had thre childrē that then she be separated from her husband for the aboundaunce of children causeth men to haue couetous hartes And if any woman hath broughte forth any mo children then they should be sacrificed vnto the gods before her eies We ordeine that all men and women speake the truthe in all thinges and if any be taken in a lie committing no other fault that immediatly he be put to death for the same For one lyer is able to vndo a whole multitude We ordeine that no woman liue aboue .xl. yeres and that the man lyue vntill fiftie and if they die not before that time that then they be sacrifised to the gods for it is a great occasion for men to be vicious to thinke that they shal lyue many yeares ¶ That princes ought to consider for what cause they were made princes and what Thales the philosopher was of the .xii. questions asked him and of his aunswere he made vnto them Cap xxxv IT is a commen and an old saiyng whiche many times by Aristotle the noble prince hath bene repeted that in the ende all thinges are done to some purpose for there is no worke neither good nor euill but he that doth it meaneth it to some end If thou demaundest the gardener to what ende he watereth so oft his plantes he wil aunswere thee it is to get some money for his herbes If thou demaundest why the ryuer runneth so swift a man wil aunswere thee that his ende is to the sea from whence it came If thou demaundest why the trees budde in the spring time they will aunswere to the ende they may beare frute in haruest If we see a trauayler passe the mountaines in the snow the ryuers with perill the woodes in feare to walke in extreme heate in sommer to wander in the night time in the colde wynter if by chaunce a man doth aske one of them saiyng frend whether goest thou wherfore takest thou such paines and he aunswereth truly syr I know no more then you to what ende neither can I tell why I take so much paines I aske thee now what would a wyse man aunswere to
say that ye were men withoute reason beinge not contented with the sweete and fertyle Italye but that throughe shedynge of bloude you should desire to conquere al the yearth In that ye say we deserue to be slaues because we haue no prince to commaund vs nor senat to gouerne vs nor army to defend vs to this I wil aunswere That since we had no enemies we neded no armies sith euery man is contented with his lotte and fortune we had no necessitie of a proude senate to gouerne vs we being as we are all equall it nede not we should coÌ„seÌ„t to haue anye princes amongest vs. For the office of princes is to suppresse tyrants to mainteine the people in peace If ye saye further that we haue not in our couÌ„trey a coÌ„mon wealth nor pollicy but that we liue as the brute bests in the mountaines in this also you haue but small reason For we in our couÌ„trey dyd suffer noe lyers neyther rebels nor sedicious persons nor meÌ„ that broughte vs froÌ„ strauÌ„ge couÌ„treis any apparaile for to be vicious so that sithe in apparaile we were honest in meat very teÌ„perate we neded no better behauiour For although in our countrey there are noe merchands of Carthage oyle of Mauritania marchaÌ„ts of Tire Steele of CaÌ„tabrie odours of Asia gold of Spaigne siluer of Britaine Amber of Sidonie silke of Damasco corne of Scicill wine of Candy purple of Arabye yet for al this we are not brutishe neyther cease to haue a coÌ„mon wealth For these such other like things geue more occasioÌ„ to stir vp many vices theÌ„ for verteous meÌ„ to liue accordiÌ„g to vertue Blessed happy is that coÌ„moÌ„ welth not where grete riches abuÌ„deth but where vertues are highly coÌ„meÌ„did not where many light angrie meÌ„ resort but where the pacieÌ„t are resideÌ„t therfore it foloweth that of that coÌ„moÌ„welth of Rome for being rich we should haue pitie of the coÌ„mon welth of Germany for being poore ye ought to haue enuye Would to god that the conteÌ„tacion we haue with our pouerty ye others had the same with your riches For then neyther ye had robbed vs of our couÌ„treis nor we had not comen hither now to coÌ„plaine in Rome of your tyraÌ„nye I se romaines that the one differeth much from the other For ye others thoughe ye heare our opressions yet thereby ye loase not your pastime but we others can neuer dry the teares of our eies nor cease to bewaile our infinite misfortunes ¶ The villaine concludethe his oration against the iudges which minister not iustice and declarethe howe preiudiciall suche wycked men are vnto the publyke weale Cap. v. YE woulde thinke I haue saide al that I can say but certainly it is not so For there remaineth many things to speak which to heare ye will be astonied yet be ye assured that to speak then I wil not be afrayed sith you others in doing theÌ„ are not ashamed For an opeÌ„ offence deserueth not secret correction I meruaile much at ye Romaines what ye meaned to send vs as you did such ignoraÌ„t iudges the which by the imortal gods I sweare can neyther declare vs your lawes much lesse they can vnderstaÌ„d ours And the cause of al this euil is that ye seÌ„t not those which be best able to minister to vs iustice in Germany but those which haue best frindes with you in Rome presuppose that to those of the senat ye geue the office of censourship more for importunitie theÌ„ for abilitie It is litle that I can say here in respect they dare do there That whiche ye coÌ„mauÌ„d theÌ„ here I know not but of that which they do there I am not ignoraunt which is Your iudges take all bribes that are brought vnto theÌ„ opeÌ„ly and they powle shaue as much as they can secretly They greuously punish the offeÌ„ces of the poore disseÌ„ble with the faultes of the riche they coÌ„seÌ„t to manye euils to haue occasion to coÌ„mit greater theftes they forget the gouernemeÌ„t of the people to take their pleasure in vice And being there to mitigate sclaunders theye are those which are most sclaunderous wtout goods it auailethe no man to aske iustice And finally vnder the colour that they be iudges of Rome they feare not to rob all the laÌ„d of Germany What meanethe this ye Romaines shall youre pride neuer haue end in coÌ„maÌ„ding nor your couetice in robbing Say vnto vs what ye wil in words but oppres vs not so in dedes If you do it for our children loade theÌ„ with yroÌ„s make theÌ„ slaues For ye caÌ„ not charge theÌ„ with more theÌ„ they are able to cary but of coÌ„maÌ„demeÌ„ts tributs ye geue vs more theÌ„ we are either able to carye or suffer If you doe it for our goodes go thither take theÌ„ all For in our countrey we do not vse as ye Romaines do nor haue such coÌ„dicions as ye haue here in Rome For you desire to liue poore because ye desyre to dye riche If ye say that we wil rebel I marueile what you shoulde meane to think so sith ye haue spoiled vs robbed vs handled vs yll Assure me ye Romaines that ye wil not vnpeople vs I wil assure you we wil not rebell If our seruice do not contentye strike of our heads as to euil men For to tell ye the truth the knife shal not be so fearful to our necks as your tiranies be abhorred in our hartes Do ye knowe what you haue done ye Romaines ye haue caused vs of the miserable realme to sweare neuer to dwell with our wiues to sley oure own children rather then to leaue them in the handes of so wicked and cruel tirants as ye be For we had rather they should dye in libertie theÌ„ liue in bondage As desperate meÌ„ we haue determined to suffer eÌ„dure the beastly mocioÌ„s of the flesh during the time we haue to liue to the end we wil not get our wiues with childe For we had rather liue chast .20 or .30 yeares theÌ„ to leaue our childreÌ„ ê‘petual slaues If it be true that the children must endure that which the miserable fathers do suffer It is not only good to sley theÌ„ but allso it shoulde be better not to agree they should be borne Ye ought not to do this Romains for the laÌ„d takeÌ„ by force ought the better to be gouerned to the inteÌ„t that the miserable captiues seing iustice duely administred preseÌ„tly should therby forget the tiraÌ„ny passed coÌ„teÌ„t theÌ„selues with ê‘petual seruitude And sithe it is true that we are come to coÌ„plain of the oppressions which your officers do here vpoÌ„ the riuer of Danuby ê‘aduenture ye which are of the se nat will here vs though you are now determined to here vs yet ye are slow to remedy vs so that before ye begin to refourme an euil custome the whole coÌ„mon welth is all redy vndon I wil tel ye of some things therof to
After that the wife doth see her louing husband in the graue I woold ask her what good could remayne with her in her house Since wee know that if her husband were good he was the hauē of al her trobles the remedy of al her necessitys the inuentour of all her pleasours the true loue of her hart the true lord of her parson and the idoll whom shee honored finally he was the faithfull steward of her house and the good father of her children and familye Whether family remayneth or not whyther children remayneth or not in the one and in the other trouble and vexation remaineth most assuredly to the poore widow If perchaunce shee remayne poore and haue no goods let euery man imagine what her life can bee For the poore miserable vnhappy woman eyther wil aduenture her parson to get or wil lose her honesty to demaund An honest woman a noble worthy womā a delicat woman a sweete woman a woman of renowme a woman that ought to maynteyne children and family ought to haue great reason to bee full of anguishe and sorow to see that if shee wil mainteyne her self which the needle shee shal not haue sufficiently to find her self bread and water If shee gaine with her bodie shee loseth her soule If shee must demaund others shee is sahamed If shee fulfill the testament of her husband shee must sell her gowns If shee will not pay his detts they cause her to be brought beefore the iudge As women naturaly are tender what hart will suffer theym to suffer such inconueniēces and what eyes can absteine to shed infinite tears If perchaūce goods doo remaine to the miserable widow she hath no litel care to keepe thē Shee is at great charges and expences to sustain and maintayn her self in long suit about her lands much trouble to augment them and in the end much sorow to depart from them For all her children and heirs doo occupy them selues more to think how they might inherit then in what sort they ought to serue her When I came to this passage a great while I kept my pen in suspence to see whither I ought to touch this matter or no that is to weete that oftentimes the poore wydows put openly the demaund of their goods and the iudges doo secretly demaund the possession of their parson So that first they doo iniury to her honor beefore they doo minister iustice to her demaunds Though perchance shee hath no child yet therfore shee remaineth not without any comfort and for that the parents of her husband doo spoyl her of her goods For in thys case their heirs often times are so disordered that for a worn cloke or for a broken shirt they trouble and sore vexe the poore wydow If perchaunce the miserable wydow haue children I say that in this case shee hath double sorow For if they are yong shee endureth much payn to bring them vp so that ech hour and moment their mothers lyue in great sorows to think onely of the lyfe and health of their children If perhaps the children are old truely the griefs whych remayn vnto them are no lesse For so much as the greatest part of them are eyther proud disobedient malycious negligent adulterers gluttons blasphemers false lyers dull headed wanting wit or sickly So that the ioy of the wofull mothers is to beewayl the death of their welbeeloued husbands and to remedy the discords of their youthfull children If the troubles which remain to the mothers with the sonnes bee great I say that those which they haue with their doughters bee much more For if the doughter bee quick of witt the mother thinketh that shee shal bee vndoon If shee bee simple shee thinketh that euery man will deceiue her If shee bee faier shee hath enough to doo to keepe her If shee bee deformed shee cannot mary her If shee bee well manered shee wil not let her go from her If shee bee euil manered shee cānot endure her If shee bee to solitary shee hath not wherewith to remedy her If shee bee dissolute shee wil not suffer her to bee punished Fynally if shee put her from her shee feareth shee shal bee sclaundeted If shee leaue her in her house shee is afrayd shee shal bee stollen What shal the wofull poore wydow doo seeing her self burdened with doughters enuironed with sonnes and neither of them of such sufficient age that there is any tyme to remedy them nor substāce to maintein them Admit that shee mary one of her sonnes and one doughter I demaund therfore if the poore widow wil leaue her care and anguish Truely I say no though shee choose rich personages and wel disposed shee cannot escape but the day that shee replenisheth her self with doughters in law the same day shee chargeth her hart with sorows trauels and cares O poore wydows deceiue not your selues and doo not immagin that hauing maried your sonnes doughters from that time forward yee shal liue more ioyful and contented For that laid aside which their nephews doo demaund them and that their sonnes in law doo rob them when the poore old woman thinketh to bee most surest the yong man shall make a claym to her goods What doughter in law is there in this world who faithfully loueth her stepmother And what sonne in law is there in the world the desireth not to bee heir to his father in law Suppose a poore widow to bee fallen sick the which hath in her house a sonne in law and that a man ask him vppon his oth which of these two things hee had rather haue either to gouern his mother in law wyth hope to heal her or to bury her with hope to inherit her goods I swear that such woold swere that hee coold reioyce more to geeue a ducket for the graue then a penny to the phisition to purge and heal her Seneca in an epistle saith that the fathers in law naturally loue their doughters in law the sonnes in law are loued of their mothers in law And for the contrary hee saith that naturally the sonnes in law doo hate their mothers in law But I take it not for a generall rule for there are mothers in law whych deserue to bee woorshipped and there are sonnes in law which are not worthy to bee beeloued Other troobles chance dayly to these poore wydows which is that when one of them hath one only sonne whom shee hath in the steed of a husband in steed of a brother in steed of a sonne shee shall see him dye whom sith shee had his lyfe in such great loue shee cannot though shee woold take his death with pacience So that as they bury the dead body of the innocent chyld they bury the lyuely hart of the wofull mother Let vs omit the sorows whych the mothers haue when their children dye and let vs ask the mothers what they feele when they are sick They will aunswer vs that always and as often tymes as their
gaue great sacrifyces to their Gods and all to the end their Gods shoold not receyue the soule of thys tiraunt amongst them but that they woold send it to bee kept among the furies of hell I remember Patrocles second kyng of Corinthe inheryted the realme at two twenty years of his age who was so dysordered of hys flesh so vndyscreete in hys doings so couetous of goods and such a coward of hys person that where hys father had possessed the realme forty yeares the sonne dyd not possesse it thyrty moneths I remember Tarquine the proud who though among eyght knyghts of Rome was the last and comlyest of gesture valyaunt in armes noblest of blood and in geeuyng most lyberall yet hee employed all hys gyfts and graces which the Gods had geeuen hym euyll For hee employed hys bewty to ryot and hys forces to tyranny For through the treason and vyllany whych hee commytted with the Romayn Lucretia hee dyd not onely lose the realme and flying saued hys lyfe but allso for euer was banyshed and all hys lynage likewise I remember the cruell emperor Nero who lyued enherited and dyed yong and not without a cause I say that hee lyued and dyed yong For in him was graffed the stock of the noble and worthy Cesars and in him was renewed the memory of those Tyraunts To whom thinkest thou Panutius this tiraunt woold haue geeuen lyfe since hee with his own hands gaue his mother her death Tel mee I pray thee who thinkest thou hath made that cursed hart who slew hys mother out of whose womb hee came opened her breasts which gaue hym suck shed the blood whereof hee was born tore the armes in which hee was caryed saw the intrails wherein hee was formed The day that the emperour Nero slew his mother an orator said in the senat Iure interficienda erat Agrippina que tale portentum peperit in populo romano Which is to say iustly deserued Agrippina to bee put to death which brought foorth so straunge a monster amongst the Romayn people Thou oughtst not therefore to marueil Panutius at the nouelties whych thou hast seene in mee for in these three days that I haue beene troubled in my mynd and altered in my vnderstandyng all these things are offred vnto mee and from the botom of my hart I haue digested them For the carefull men are not blynded but with their own ymaginacions All these euil condicions which these Princes had scattered amongst them of whom I haue spoken doo meete togethers in my sonne Commodus For if they were yong hee is yong If they were rych hee is rych If they were free hee is free If they were bold hee is bold If they were wilde hee is wilde If they were euill certaynly I doo not think that hee is good For wee see many yong princes which haue been well brought vp and well taught yet when they haue inherited and come to their lands they beecome immediatly vitious and dissolute What hope haue wee of those which from their infancy are dissolute and euill enclined of good wyne I haue made oft times strong vineger but of pure vineger I haue neuer seene good wine This childe keepeth mee beetwene the sayles of feare the anker of hope hopyng hee shal bee good since I haue taught him wel fearing hee shall bee euill beecause his mother Faustine hath norished him euil And that which ys the woorst that the yong childe of his own nature is inclined to al euil I am moued to say this much for that I see his naturall inclinacion increase and that which was taught him dimynish for the which occasyon I doubt that after my death my sonne shal return to that wherin his mother hath norished him not to that wherein I haue taught him O how happy had I been if neuer I had had childe for not to be boūd to leaue him thempire for I woold chose then among the children of the good fathers woold not bee bound to such a one whom the gods haue geeuen mee One thing I ask thee Panutius whom wooldst thou cal most fortunat Vespasian which was naturall father of Domitius or Nerua the adopted father of the good Traiane both those two Vespasian Nerua were good princes but of children Domitian was the head of al mischief Traiane was the mirrour of al goodnes So that Vespasian in that hee had children was vnhappy Nerua in that hee had none was most fortunat One thing I wil tel thee Panutius the which by thee considered thou wylt litle esteeme life and shalt lose the feare of death I haue lyued lxii years wherein I haue read much hard much sene desired attained possessed suffred I haue much reioysed my self And in the end of al this I see my self now to dye and I must want my pleasures and my self allso Of all that I haue had possessed attained whereof I haue enioyed I haue only two things to weete payn for that I haue offended the gods and sorow for the time which I haue wasted in vices There is great difference beetweene the rych and the poore in death and more in lyfe For the poore dyeth to rest but yf the rich dye it is to their great payn So that the gods take from the one that which hee had putteth the other in possession of that hee desired Great care hath the hart to seeke the goods and they passe great troubles to heap vp them togethers and great diligence must bee had in keeping them and also much wyt to encrease them but without comparison it is greater grief to depart from them O what payn intollerable and grief it is to the wise man seeing hym self at the poynt of death to leaue the swet of his famyly the maiesty of his empire the honor of his present the loue of his frends the payment of his debts the deserts of his seruaunts and the memory of hys predecessours in the power of so euill a chyld the which neither deserueth it nor yet wil deserue it In their table of our auncyent laws were writen these woords Wee ordeyn and commaund that the father which shall bee good according to the oppinion of all may disheryt his sonne who according to the opinion of all is euill The law sayd further The chyld which hath dysobeyed hys father robbed any holy Temple iniuryed any wyddow fled from any battaile and committed any treason to a straunger that hee shoold bee banished from Rome and dysenherited from his fathers goods Truely the law was good though by our offences it bee forgotten If my breath fayled mee not as it dooth fayle mee for of trouth I am greatly payned I woold declare vnto thee how many Parthes Medians Egiptians Assirians Caldeans Indians Hebrues Greekes and Romains haue left their children poore beeing able to haue left them rych for no other cause but for that they were vicious And to the contrary other beeyng poore haue left them rych
to god and confesseth to the world that hee more rashely then wysely plonged him self into so graue and deepe a matter and whose yong yeres and vnskilfull head might both then and now haue excused his fond enterprise heerein For the second and last I must needes appeal to all the woorshipfull and my beeloued compaignyons and fellow students of our house of Lyncolnes Inne at that tyme from whence my poore english Dyall tooke his light To whose iust and true reports for thy vndoubted satisfaction and discharge of my poore honesty I referre thee and wholly yeld mee These recyted causes for purgacion of my suspected fame as also for established assurance of the lyke and thy further doubt of mee heereafter I thought good gentle reader to denounce vnto thee I myght well haue spared thys second and last labor of myne taken in the reformacion and correction of thys Dyall enlarging my self further once agayn wyth the translation of the late and new come fauored courtier and whych I found annexed to the Dyall for the fourth and last booke If my preceeding trauell taken in the settyng foorth of the first three books and the respect of myne honesty in accomplyshing of the same had not incyted mee vnwillyng to continue my first begonne attempt to bring the same to his perfyt and desyred end whych whole woork is now complete by thys last booke entituled the fauoured courtyer Whych fyrst and last volume wholly as yt lyeth I prostrate to the iudgement of the graue and wyse Reader subiecting my self and yt to the reformation and correction of hys lerned head whom I beeseech to iudge of mee wyth fauor and equity and not wyth malyce to persecute my same and honest intent hauyng for thy benefit to my lyttle skill and knowledge imployed my symple talent crauyng no other guerdon of thee but thy good report and curteous acceptaunce heereof Whych dooyng thou shalt make mee double bound to thee First to bee thankfull for thy good will Secondly to bee considerate how hereafter I take vppon mee so great a charge Thirdly thou shalt encourage mee to study to increase my talent Fourthly and lastly most freely to beestow thincrease thereof on thee and for the benefit of my countrey and common weale whereto duety byndeth mee Obseruing the sage prudent saying of the renowmed orator and famous Cicero with which I end and thereto leaue thee Non nobis solum nati sumus ortusque nostri partem patria vendicat partem parentes partem amici In defence and preseruation whereof good reader wee ought not alone to employ our whole wittes and able sences but necessity enforcing vs to sacrifice our selues also for benefit thereof From my lord Norths house nere London the .10 day of May. 1568. Thine that accepteth mee Th. North. ¶ The prolog of this present woork sheweth what one true frend ought to doo for an other Addressed to the right honorable the lord Fraunces Conos great commaunder of Lyon THe famous Philosopher Plato beesought of al his disciples to tel theÌ„ why hee iornyed so oft from Athens to Scicille beeing the way hee trauelled in deede very long and the sea hee passed very daungerous aunswered them thus The cause that moues mee to goe from Athens to Scicille is only to see Phocion a man iustinal that hee dooth and wise in all that hee speaketh and beecause hee is my very frend and enemy of Denys I goe also willingly to him to ayd him in that I may and to councell him in all the I know and told them further I doo you to weete my disciples that a good philosopher to visit and help his frend and to accompany with a good man shoold think the iorney short and no whit paynfull though hee shoold sulk the whole seas and pace the compase of the earth Appolonius Thianeus departed from Rome went through all Asia sayled ouer the great flud Nile endured the bitter cold of mount Caucasus suffered the parching heat of the mountayns Riphei passed the land of Nassagera entred into the great India And this long pilgrimage tooke hee vppon him in no other respect but to see Hyarcus the philosopher his great and old frend Agesilaus also among the Greekes accompted a woorthy Captayn vnderstanding that the kyng Hycarius had an other captayn his very frend captyue leauing all his own affayres apart traueling through dyuers countreis went to the place where hee was and arryued there presented him self vnto the kyng and said thus to him I humbly beeseech thee O puissant king thou deigne to pardon Minotus my sole and only frend and thy subiect now for what thou shalt doo to him make thy account thou hast doon it to mee For in deed thou canst neuer alone punish his body but thou shalt therewith also crucify my hart Kyng Herod after Augustus had ouercome Mark Antony came to Rome and laying his crown at the Imperiall feete with stout corage spake these woords vnto him Know thou mighty Augustus if thou knowst it not that if Mark Antony had beeleeued mee and not his accursed loue Cleopatra thou shooldst then haue proued how bitter an enemy I woold haue been to thee and hee haue found how true a frend I was and yet am to him But hee as a man rather geeuen ouer to the rule of a womans will then guyded by reasons skill tooke of mee but money only and of Cleopatra counsell And proceeding further sayd Lo here my kingdom my person and royall crown layd at thy princely feete all which I freely offer to thee to dispose of at thy will pleasure pleasing thee so to accept it but yet with this condicion inuict Augustê° that thou commaund mee not to here nor speak yll of Mark Antony my lord and frend yea although hee were now dead For know thou sacred prince that true frends neither for death ought to bee had in obliuioÌ„ nor for absens to bee forsaken Iulius Cesar last dictator and first emperor of Rome dyd so entierly loue Cornelius Fabatus the consull that traueling togethers through the alps of Fraunce and beeing beenighted farre from any town or harber saue that only of a hollow caue which happely they lighted on And Cornelius the consull euen then not well at ease Iulius Cesar left him the whole caue to th end hee might bee more at rest and hee him self lay abroad in the cold snow By these goodly examples wee haue resited and by dyuers others wee coold resite may bee considered what faithfull frendship ought to bee beetwixt true and perfect frends and into how many daungers one frend ought to put him self for an other For it is not enough that one frend bee sory for the troubles of an other but hee is bound if neede were to goe and dye ioyfully wyth him Hee only deseruedly may bee counted a true frend that vnasked and beefore hee bee called goeth with his goods and person to help and releeue his frend But in this our
court to chaunge that seruile trade of lyfe for quiet rest at home Thinking assuredly that enioying rest at home in his own house hee myght easely bee damned and abyding the payns and seruyce of court hee beleeued vndoubtedly hee shoold bee saued Surely wee may aptly say that thys old courtier was more then a dotard and that hee had mard the call of his conscyens since hee beleeued it was a charge of conscience to depart the court The ābition to doo much the couetousnes to haue much maketh the miserable courtiers beleeue that they haue yet tyme enough to lyue to repent them when they will So that in the court thinking to lyue two yeres only in their age good men they lyue fifty and three score yeres wicked naughty persons Plutarch in his Apothegmes saith that Eudonius that was Captain of the Greekes seeing Xenocrates reading one day in the vniuersity of Athens hee being not of thage of eyghty fyue yeres asked what that old mā was it was aunswered him that it was one of the philosophers of Greece who followed vertue and serched to know wherein true philosophy consisted Whereuppon hee aunswered If Xenocrates the philosopher tell mee that hee being now eyghty fyue yeres old goeth to seeke vertue in this age I woold thou shooldest also tell mee what tyme hee shoold haue left him to bee vertuous And hee said more ouer in those yeres that this philosopher ys of it were more reason wee shoold see him doo vertuous things thā at this age to goe and seeke it Truely wee may say the very lyke of our new courtier that Eudonius said of Xenocrates the philosopher the which if hee did look for other three score yeres or three score yeres and tenne to bee good what time shoold remain for him to prooue and shew that goodnes It is no maruel at al that the old courtiers forget their natiue countrey and bringing vp their fathers that begat them their frends that shewed thē fauor the seruants that serued them but at that that I doo not only woonder at thē but also it geeueth mee cause to suspect them is that I see they forget them selues So that they neuer know nor consider that they haue to doo till they come afterwards to bee that they woold not bee If the courtiers which in princes courts haue been rich noble in auctority woold counsel with mee or at least beleeue my writing they shoold depart from thence in time to haue a long tyme to consider before of death least death vnwares sodeinly came to take executiō of their liues O happy thrise happy may wee call the esteemed courtier whom god hath geeuen so much wit knowledge to that of him self hee doo depart frō the court before fortune hath once touched him which dishonor or layd her cruell hands vpon him For I neuer saw courtier but in the end did complain of the court of their yll lyfe that they lead in court And yet did I neuer know any person that woold leaue it for any scruple of conscience hee had to remain there but peraduenture if any did depart from the court it was for some of these respects or altogether that is to say Either that his fauor credit diminished or that his money failed him or that some hath doon him displeasure in the court or that hee was driuen from the court or that hee was denyed fauor or that his syde faction hee held with had a fal or for that hee was sick to get his health hee went into the countrey So that they may say hee rather went angry displeased with him self then hee dyd to lament his sinnes If you ask pryuatly euery courtier you shal find none but will say hee is discontented with the court either because hee is poore or afflicted enuyed or yll willed or out of fauor hee wil swere reswere again that hee desyreth nothing more in the world then to bee dismissed of this courtiers trauel painfull life But if afterwards perchaunce a lytle wynd of fauor bee put stirring in the entry of his chāberdore it wilsodeinly blow away al the good former thoughts frō his mynd And yet that that makes mee wonder more at these vnconstant courtiers vnstable brains is that I see many buyld goodly stately houses in their countrey yet they neither dwel in them nor keep hospitality there They graffe set trees plant fruits make good gardeins and ortchyards and yet neuer go to enioy them they puchase great lands and possessiōs and neuer goe to see them And they haue offices and dignities geeuen them in their countreys but they neuer goe to exercise them There they haue their frends and parents and yet they neuer goe to talk with them So that they had rather bee slaues and drudges in the court then lords and rulers in their own countrey Wee may iustly say that many courtiers are poore in riches straungers in their own houses and pilgrimes in their own countrey and banyshed from all their kinreds So that if wee see the most part of these courtiers bakbyte murmure complayn and abhorre these vyces they see dayly committed in court I dare assure you that this discontentation dyslyking proceeds not only of these vyces and errors they see committed as of the spight and enuy they haue dayly to see their enemies grow in fauor and credit with the prince For they passe lytle of the vyces of court so they may bee in fauor as others are Plutarch in his booke de exilio sheweth that there was a law amongst the Thebans that after a man was fyfty yeres of age if hee fell sick hee shoold not bee holpen with phisitians For they say that after a man is once aryued to that age hee shoold desire to lyue no lenger but rather to hast to his iorneys end By these exāples wee may know that infancy is till vii yeres Childhood to .xiiii. yeres youth to xxv yeres manhod till .xl. and age to three score yeres But once passed three score mee think it is rather tyme to make clean the nets and to content themselues with the fish they haue til now then to goe about to put their nettes in order again to fish any more I graunt that in the court of princes all may bee saued and yet no mā can deny mee but that in princes courts there are mo occasions to bee damned then saued For as Cato the Censor saith the apt occasions bring men a desire to doo yll though they bee good of them selues And although some do take vppon them and determyne to lead a godly and holy lyfe or that they shew themselues great hipocrits yet am I assured notwithstanding that they cannot keepe their tongue from murmuring nor their hart from enuying And the cause heereof proceedeth for that there are very few that follow the court long but only to enter into credit and afterwards to waxe rich
geue sentence against an other for the same offence Me thinke that we beholde our owne faultes as thorowe small nettes whiche cause thinges to seame the lesser but we behold the faultes of other in the water that causeth them to seame greater O how many haue I sene condemned by the Senate for one small faulte done in all their life and yet they them selues commit the same faulte euery houre I haue red that in the time of Alexander the great there was a renowmed pirate on the sea called Dionides which robbed and drowned all shippes that he could get and by cōmaundement of this good king Alexander there was an army sent forth to take him And when he was taken and presented to Alexander the king saide vnto him showe me Dionides why doest thou spoyle on the sea that no shippe can sayle out of the east into the west for thee The pirate aunswered sayd if I spoyle the sea why doest thou Alexander robbe both the sea and lande also O Alexander because I fight with one ship in the sea I am called a thefe and because thou robbest with two hundred shippes on the sea and troublest all the worlde with .200000 men thou art called an Emperour I sweare to thee Alexander if fortune were as fauourable to me and the gods as extreame against thee they would geue me thine empire and geue thee my litle shippe and then peraduenture I should be a better kinge then thou art and thou a worse thefe than I am These were high wordes and wel receiued of Alexander and of trouth to see if his wordes were correspondent to his promises he made him of a pirate a great captaine of an army he was more vertuous on land than he was cruel on the sea I promyse thee Catullus Alexander did right wel therin and Dionides was to be praised greatly for that he had said Now adaies in Italy they that robbe openly are called lordes and they that rob priuely are called theues In the annales of Liuius I haue red that in the second troublous warre punike betwene the Romaines Carthagians there came an Embassadour Lusitain sent from Spain to treate of accorde of peace When he came to Rome he proued before the senate that sithe he entred into Italy he had bene ten tymes robbed of his goodes and whiles he was at Rome he had sene one of them that robbed him hange vp another that had defended him He seing so euill a deede and howe the thefe was saued without iustice as a desperate man tooke a cole and wrote vpon the gibet as foloweth O gibet thou art planted among theues norished among theues squared of theues wrought of theues made of theues set among theues hanged full of innocentes with innocentes The originall of these wordes are in the history of Liuius where the whole Decade was written with black inke and these wordes with red vermilion I can not tel what other newes I should sende thee but that euery thinge is so newe and so tender and is ioyned with so euill sement that I feare me all will fall sodainly to the ground I tell thee that some are sodainly risen within Rome vnto honour whose fall I dare rather assure then life For al buildinges hastely made can not be sure The longer a tree is kept in his kinde the longer it will be ere it be olde The trees whose fruite we eate in sommer do warme vs in wynter O howe many haue we sene wherof we haue marueyled of their rising and bene abashed of their falles They haue growen as a whole piece and sodainly wasted as a skumme Their felicitie hath bene but a short moment and their infortune as a long life Finally they haue made a mylle and layde on the stones of encrease and after a litle grinding left it vnoccupied all the whole yeare after Thou knowest well my frende Catullus that we haue sene Cincius Fuluius in one yeare made consul and his children tribunes his wyfe a matrone for young maydens and beside that made keper of the capitol and after that not in one yere but the same daye we sawe Cincius beheaded in the place his children drowned in Tiber his wife banished fro Rome his house raced down to the groūd and all his goodes confisked to the common treasury This rigorous example we haue not red in any booke to take a copy of it but we haue seene it with our eies to kepe it in our myndes As the nations of people are variable so are the conditions of men diuers And me thinketh this is true seing that some loue some hate that some seke some eschewe and that some sette litle by other make much store In such wise that al can not be content with one thing nor some with al thinges can not be satisfied Let euery man chose as him liste and embrace the world when he wyl I had rather mount a soft pace to the falling and if I can not come therto I wyl abyde by the waye rather then with the sweate to mount hastely and then to tumble downe headlong In this case sithe mens hartes vnderstande it we nede not to wryte further with pennes And of this matter marke not the litle that I doe say but the great deale that I wyl say And sith I haue begon and that thou art in straunge landes I wil write thee al the newes from hence This yeare the .xxv. day of May there came an Embassadour out of Asia saiynge he was of the Isle of Cetin a baron right propre of body ruddy of aspect and hardy of courage He considered being at Rome though the sommers dayes were long yet wynter would drawe on and then would it be daungerous sailyng into this Isle and sawe that his busines was not dispatched On a daie being at the gate of the senate seing al the senatours entre into the Capitol without any armour vpon them he as a man of good spirite and zelatour of his countrey in the presence of vs all sayde these wordes O fathers conscript O happy people I am come from a straunge countrey to Rome onely to see Rome and I haue founde Rome without Rome The walles wherewith it is inclosed hath not brought me hyther but the fame of them that gouerne it I am not come to see the treasoury wherein is the treasure of all Realmes but I am come to see the sacred senate out of the whiche issueth counsayle for all men I came not to see ye because ye vanquishe all other but because I thought you more vertuous then all other I dare well saye one thyng except the Gods make me blynde and trouble myne vnderstanding ye be not Romaines of Rome nor this is not Rome of the Romaines your predecessours We haue heard in our Isle that diuers Realmes haue bene wonne by the valiantnes of one and conserued by the wysdome of all the Senate and at this houre ye are more lyke to lose then to