neuer Consulle at Rome but he coude do some maner of offyce or occupation wherwith they were occupied whan their offyce in the Senate was ended Some coude paynte pyctures or other flatte workes Other coude graue images and portry in wood or erthe or other thynges or coulde worke in syluer and other mettalles and other redde in scholes In suche wise that the holy senate myght chuse none but if he were first knowen in some maner handy craft I do fynde in the annales all that is aboue sayde and if I lye I do gyue me to the flames of Vulcan And there was an ancient lawe that a myller a smyth a baker or a poynt maker myghte not be a Senatour bycause men of the sayd occupations were commonly taken with deceytes and gyles Than regarde the maner and change of tyme and the corruption of customes that CCC yeres euery man trauayled for y e renoume of Rome this .viii. C. yeres euery man slepeth to the sclander of Rome Other thynges I fynd in the said annales worthye of eterne memorie the people of Rome hauyng .iiii. peryllous warres togyther yonge Scipio ageynst the Peniens Mucio agaynst the Cayens Metellus ageynst Alexander of Macedonie and an other Metellus his brother agaynst the Celtiberes of Spayne the lawe beinge so soore kepte that none shulde be taken from the mysterie and offyce that he occupied the senatours hauynge extreme necessitie of messangers to sende to the warres whan the senatours had gone thre dayes aboute with the censors of Rome they coulde not fynde one ydell man to be sente forthe with their letters I wepe for ioye that I haue of this antyque felicitie and I mourne for compassion of the myserie nowe beinge It is a confusion to say but I wyll say it Twenty yeres I had offyce in the senate and it is .x. yeres sythe I haue ruled the empire whiche is .xxx. in all In the whiche season I sweare by the goddis immortall I haue caused to whyppe caste in welles to bury quicke to hange to prycke and to banishe mo than .xxx. M. vacabundes and .x. M. ydell women Than what difference is there betwene that life and this dethe that glorie and this peyne that golde and this ordure that antike Romayn werke and this our present inuentife ydelnes of Rome ¶ In the lawes of the Lacedemoniens this was written in the table of the ydell people We commaunde as kynges we pray as seruantes we teche as philosophers and admonyshe as fathers that the fathers shall fyrste teache their chyldren to labour the feldes where by trauayle they may lyue and not brought vp in places where by ydelnes they may be lost And that lawe saith ferthermore If that yonge people obeye not as yonge we wylle that the aged people do correcte and punyshe them as aged And in case that the fathers be negligent to commaunde them or that they be disobedient We commande the prince than to be diligent to chastise them ¶ Certaynly these wordes are worthy to be noted wherby Lygurge the kynge deserued eternall memorie for his persone and the sayd realme perpetuall peace in the common welthe O Rome what doste thou why regardest thou not these lawes of the Lacedemoniens whiche with their frendely customes dothe mocke thy brutall vyces Slepest or wakest O Rome thou wakest all the worlde to leaue swete trauayles and slepest in vniuste ydelnesse Thou arte sure of ennemies and thou careles art drowned in slouth and ydelnes Than sythe that they that bene farre of do waken the thou oughtest to awakē them that thou kepest with the. I wolde speake to al them to gyther of my palays and longe ago I wylled so to doo but the multitude of straunge besynesses somtyme causeth a man to forget his owne ¶ Of the peryllous lyuynge of them that haunt the courte continually Cap. xxiiii THan the emperour ioined these wordis to that he had sayd Many thinges I haue sene and of credible persones I haue harde whiche me semed to be yll and none of them good Specially one whiche offendeth the goddis sclandreth the worlde peruerteth the cōmon welthe and endomageth the person selfe whiche is this cursed slouth and ydelnes that distroyeth them that be good vtterly bringeth to naught them that be yll Sometime secretely and halfe as in sport openly I haue admonysshed and rebuked some of you but I se it proufite none of you On one syde the pricke of reson constrayneth me to chastise you ageine consyderynge the malice of mankynde all thoughe that it be prompte to yll sometyme I am determyned to suffre you Many tymes I wold with furie chastise you as children but I do refrayne it consideringe that ye are yonge as yet knowe not the wiles of the worlde for they holde so styffely together the yl with the yl among them make so great a leage of vices with the vices that there be many that do by gyle suffre them selfe to be begyled and that whan we escape fro a littell wyle and knowe the begyler we thynke that we are begyled all redy with other greatte wyles I haue meruaylous great compassion of you my seruauntes speakynge to you as a lorde and to you my chyldren speakyng as a father for to se you al the day and nyght wandryng through Rome as loste persones and that worste of all is I perceyue that ye doo not perceyue your owne perdition What greatter beastlynes can there be than to se you wander lyke foles from house to house fro tauerne to tauerne from one gasinge to an other fro strete to strete fro place to place fro play to playe fro reuellers to reuellers And that more is that ye knowe not what ye desire nor what ye wold where ye go nor whens ye comme what pleasethe you or what displeaseth you what is proufytable or losse vnto you Nor ye remembre not that ye were borne reasonable menne and that ye lyue as wylde folke amonge menne and after shall dye as brute beastes Fro whens wene ye that this comethe The cause is the desyre of beastelye mouynges not resystynge the desyres of the luste of youthe and aboue all not applienge your mindes and willes to be wel ocupied Take hede amonge you of my courte and forgette not this Haue ye no thought but to seke newe pastymes and to borowe euery day No man of what condition so euer he be excepte he haunt feates of armes or other lernynge in some ordinarie exercyse shall haue his body lustye and his spirite quicke but shalbe acloyed in al other thinges and wander frome strete to strete as a vacabounde The harte of man is noble and hathe power continuallye for all actes and all pastymes of the bodye and yet in three dayes it is annoyed of hym selfe alone soo that with hym can not rest one laudable exercyse Lyke as I am emperor of all the worlde so it is reason and muste nedes be that I haue folke of all nacions in
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
mothers And the mothers to be good mothers ought to knowe how to bring vp their children The father is excused in gyuynge counsaill if the mother be vertuous and the doughter shamefast It is a greatte shame to the father beinge a noble man that his wyfe being a woman shuld chastise his sonne And a great inconueniēce of the mother beinge a mother that her doughter shuld be chastised by the handes of her father There was a lawe ordeyned by the Rodiens that the father with the doughter if she hadde a mother nor the mother with the sonne if he were a man shuld not entermedle eche with other but alonely men with men and women with women ought to be brought vp And thextremitie of the lawe was such that amōge them that dwelled in one house semed y t the fathers had no doughters nor the mothers no sonnes O Rome I wepe not to se thy stretes vnpaued nor that there is so many gutters in thy houses nor that the batylmentes fall downe nor the tymbre hewed downe nor for the mynyshynge of thine habitantes for all this the tyme bringeth and the tyme beareth away but I wepe for the and wepe for the agayne to se the vnpeopled of good fathers and vnprouided in the nourishing of theyr sonnes Our countrey began to faille vtterly whan the doctrine of sonnes and doughters was enlarged and theyr bridell lette go at libertie For there is now such boldnesse in men children and so lyttell shamefastnes in women chyldren with the dishonestie of the mothers that where as one father suffised for .xx. sonnes one mother for .xxx. doughters nowe .xx. fathers scantly dare vndertake to brynge vp well one son and .xxx. mothers one doughter I say to you thus Faustin you remēbre not how you ar a mother for you gyue more libertie to your doughter than oughte to be suffred And you Lucill remembre not how you are a doughter For you shewe to haue more lybertie than requireth for a yonge mayden The greattest gyfte that the goddis haue gyuen to the matrones of Rome is bycause they are women they kepe them selfe close and secret and bycause they be Romayns they are shamefaste The day whan the women want the feare of the goddis secretelye and shame of menne openly beleue me eyther they shall faile the worlde or the worlde them The common welth requireth so greatte necessitie that the women that dwell therin shulde be as honest as the capitaynes be valiant For the capitaynes going to warre defende them and the women that abyde at home conserue them As a. iiii yeres passed ye sawe the great pestilence and I demanded then to haue a compt of the people and I founde that of a. C.xl. M. women well lyuynge .lxxx. M. dyed And of .x. M. yll womenne in maner they scaped all I can not telle for whiche I shulde wepe eyther for the lacke that we haue of the good and vertuous women in our common welthe or elles for the greuous hurte and domage that these yll and wycked women do to the youthe of Rome The fyre that brenneth in mounte Ethna dothe not so greatte domage to them that dwelle in Scycille as one ylle woman doth in the circuit of Rome A fierse beast and a perillous ennemie to the comon welth is an yl woman for she is of power to do moche harme and is not apte to folowe any goodnesse O how many realmes and kynges rede we of to be loste by the yll gouernance of women and to resyste agaynste them hath ben nede of wysedom peryls money force and worthynes of many men The vices in a womā is as a grene rede that boweth euery way but the libertie and dishonestie is as a drye kix that breaketh in suche wise that the more yll they vtter the more vnlykely is the redres therof ageyn Behold Faustin there is no creature that more desireth honour and wors kepeth it than a woman And that this is true se by Iustice by orations by writynge and other trauayles manne getteth renowme but without it be by flatterynge and fayre speakyng vnto this houre by antyke writing we can rede of fewe women or none that eyther by writinge redynge workinge with nedell spynnyng or by weauyng haue gotten them any great renoume But as I saye of one I saye of an other Certaynly of dyuers we rede by kepynge them close in their houses well occupied in their besynesses temperate in theyr wordes faythfull to their husbandes well ordered in their personnes peasible with their neyghbours and finally beinge honeste amonge theyr owne famylye and shamefaste amonge straungers suche haue attayned great renowme in theyr lyfe and lefte eternal memorie of them after theyr death I wol tel you an antike histore as profitable to restreyne our vices as it dyd than augment vertues and it is this The realme of Lacedemoniens as Plato sheweth was at a season more dissolute by the vnthriftines of women than infamed by the crueltie of men so that of al maner nations they were called Barbariens What tyme Grece as a mother called philisophie of philosophers Lygurge a wise philosopher in knowlege and a right iuste kynge to gouerne partely with his doctrine righte profitable and partely with his pure lyfe made lawes in the sayde realme wherby he extirped all vices and planted all vertues I can not telle whiche of these two were moste happy The kynge hauynge so obedient people or els the realme to haue so rightfull a kynge Amōge all other lawes for women he made one greatly to be commended He commanded that the father that dyed shuld gyue nothing to his doughter And an other that neyther lyuinge nor dienge he shuld gyue any money to mary her with to the entent that none shulde marye her for her ryches but all onely for her goodnes and not for her beautie but for her vertues And where as nowe some be vnmaried bycause they are poore so then they abode vnmaried bycause they were shamefulle and vicious O tyme worthy to be desyred whan maydens hoped nothynge to be maried with theyr fathers goodes but by the vertuous werkes of theyr owne persons This was the tyme called the golden worlde whan neyther the doughter feared to be disherited by the father in his lyfe nor the father to dye sorye for leauynge her without remedye at his deathe O Rome cursed be he that first brought golde into thy hous and cursed be he that firste beganne to hurde vp treasure Who hath made Rome to be so ryche of treasure and soo pore of vertues Who hath made menne wedde villaynes doughters and leaue the doughters of senatours vnmaryed What hath made that the ryche mannes doughter is demanded vnwyllyng and y e doughter of a pore mā none wyll desyre what hathe caused that one mariethe a foole with fyue C. marke rather than a wyse woman with .x. M. vertues Than I saye that in this poynte the flesshe vanquysheth the fleshe and er euer the
Rome The mother of this emperour was called Domiciade as Cyne historien recounteth in the bokes of the lygnages of Rome The Camilles were persones in that tyme greatly estemed by cause they were accompted to be descended of Camille the famous and auncient capytayne Romayne whiche delyuered Rome frome the Gaulles that had wonne hit The men that descended of that lygnage were called Camilli for the remembrance of Camille and the women were likewise called Camilles in the remembrance of a doughter of the sayde Camylle that was called Camilla ¶ There was an auncyent lawe that al Romaynes shuld haue a partycular priuylege in the same place where their predecessours had done to the Romayne people any great seruyce For this auncient custome they had priuylege so that all they of the lygnage of Camylle were kepte and maynteyned in the hygh capytol And though the varietie of the tyme the multitude of tyrantes the ebulition and mouynge of cyuill warres were cause of the diminyshing of the aunciente Polycie of Rome and introduced in maner a lyfe not very good yet for all that we reede not that the preemynences of the Romaynes were broken but yf it were in the tyme of Sylla whanne he made the vnyuersall prescription agaynst the Marians After the deth of this cruelle Sylla in exaltynge of hym selfe Iulius Cesar the pitiefull made dictatour of Rome and chiefe of the Marians adnulled and vndydde all that Sylla had made and broughte ageyne into the auncyent estate the common welthe ¶ What hath benne the condycions the estate pouertie rychesse fauour or disfauour of the auncestours of this Marke Aurelye Emperour we fynde not in the aunciente hystories and yet it hath ben dilygently serched for The ancyent Romayn hystoriens were not accustomed to write the lyues of the emperours fathers namely whanne they be made monarches but the merytes and graces that their chyldren had as for the auctoritie that they hadde inheritynge their fathers Trouthe it is as saythe Iulius Capitolyn the father of Marke Aurelee themperour had ben pretour in exercises and capitayne in the Frontiers in the tyme of Traian the good and Adrian the wyse and Anthony the meke emperours This is cōfirmed by that the same Marc Aurelee wrot being at Rodes to a frende of his called Polion that was at Rome sayinge thus Many thynges haue I felte and knowen frende Polyon by the absence of Rome namely of that I se my selfe here alone in this yle but as vertue makethe a straunger naturall and vice tournethe naturall to a straunger And as I haue ben .x. yeres here at Rodes to rede philosophy I therby repute my selfe as naturall of this lande that hathe caused me to forgette the pleasures of Rome and it hath lerned me the maners of the yle And here I haue founde many of my fathers frendes Here was capitayne agaynste the Barbariens to my lorde Adrian Anthonye my father in lawe the space of .xv. yeres I lette the to wyte that the Rodian people are curteis and ful of good graces I wolde haue redde phylosophy as longe as my father had ben at Rodes in warre but I maye not for Adrian my lorde commaundethe me to go and kepe residēce at Rome howe be it euery man reioysethe to see his naturall countrey ¶ So by the wordes of this letter it is to be beleued that Anio Vero father to this emperour Marc hadde applyed the mooste parte of his lyfe in warre It was not the custome lyghtly to truste a person to haue the office of a gouernour on the Frontiers without he had bene well exercysed in the feates of warre And as all the glorie of the Romaynes was to leaue after theym good renowme the sayd Marc certaynly was taken for the mooste vertuous and had greatteste frendes in the Senate wherby he trusted on the conquest of the most cruell enmyes accordyng as the sayde Sexto Cheronense historien saythe The Romayns all though they had in theyr handes mooste peryllous warres yet they hadde in foure partes of the empire stronge and entier garnisons That is to say in Byzance the which is nowe Constantinople by reasone of them of the oryente And Engades the whiche nowe is called Calex a citie of Spayne for loue of them of the weste In the ryuer of Rhodano which is nowe y e ryuer of Ryne for the Germaynes And in Collosse whiche nowe is calledde the Rhodes bycause of the Barbariens In the kalendes of Ianuarie whanne the senate deuyded the offyces beinge pourueyed of a dictatour and of two consulles yerely Incontynente in the thyrde place they prouyded for foure mooste excellente barons to defendethe sayde foure Frontiers The whiche semeth to be true for the most famous and renowmed barons of theyr yonge daies were capitaines in the said Frontiers The great Pompeius was sent to the Byzaunces Canstantinople The worthy Scipio was sente to the Collossences and Rodyans And the couragious Iulius Cesar was sent with the Gadytaynes of Calyx of Spayne and the stronge estemed Marcus was sente to theym of the ryuer of Ryne This we saye bycause that Anio Vero father to Marc Aurele emperour had ben prouoste and pretour in the offices and one of the capitaines of the Frontiers whiche oughte to be in Rome one of the persons most estemed ¶ What maysters Marke Aurely hadde in his youthe cap. ii VVe haue not by any autentike histories fro whens whan or howe in what maner or in what exercyses or with what persons or in what londes was spent consumed the moste parte of the lyfe of this good emperour But to be shorte Iulius Capitolyn sayth that he had ben xxiii yere vnder the commaundemente of Adrian the emperour Howe be it contrarye wyse is founde by other hystoriens accordynge as saythe Sexto Cheronense in his hystorie It was not the custome of the Romayns cronyclers to wryte the thynges doone by these princes before they were pryncis but onely of yonge people beynge in their yonge age hauynge greatte and hye magnyficence and doing great interprises This semeth to be of trouth for Sueton Tranquyll recounteth largely the fearefulle dedes and enterpryses doone by Caius Iul. Cesar in his yonge age to shewe to princes to comme howe it was a great ambicyon that they had to attayn to the monarchy and but of smalle wytte and maturitie to kepe theym selfe therin It is noo newe thynge that menne gape for hye and frayle thynges And the more hygher the magnificēce is the more lower they fele fortune And whan they were diligent to accomplysshe their desyre as moche thoughte had they to conserue their quyetnes and reste In case thā that Anio Vero father to Marke the Emperour folowed the exercise of warres yet he put his sonne in the way to lerne science For there was a lawe sore vsed and accustomed and well kepte in the Romayne polycye that euery citesens sonnes that enioyed the lybertie of Rome and had accomplyssed .x. yeres shulde not be suffred
is wonte to doo so the emperour set more his intention on wyse men than his eies on fooles He sawe .v. of them satte beatyng the pauement with their feete and arose frome their places clappynge theyr handes speakynge lowde and laughyng excedyngely the whiche was noo lesse marked of the emperour than beholden Whan the feaste was done he called them asyde and sayde Frendes lette abyde with me the pitiefull goddis and lette the good dedes go with you I haue chosen you to thentent that foles shuld be conuerted to wyse men but I see wyse men become foles Do ye not knowe that with the fyre of myxture golde is drawen and by the lyghtnes of fooles wyse men are proued Certaynly the fyne gold defendeth his qualities in the quycke fournayes and lykewise the wyse man sheweth his vertues amonge fooles Wote ye not that a foole can not be knowen amonge fooles nor a wyse manne amonge sage folke Amonge wyse men the fole is made bryght and amonge foles wyse men do shyne Do you not knowe what shame it is to make the disciples of foles masters of princis Knowe ye not that of the couragious vnderstandyng procedethe the composytion of the bodye the reste of the person to be the temperance of the tonge What profiteth it you to haue an experte tongue a quicke memorie a clere vnderstandynge great science profounde eloquence or a swete style if with all these graces ye haue a wycked wyll Wherfore wyl wise men haue their wordes so distincte and moderate if their wordes be lyght And to thentent that it shulde not seme to you that I speake of pleasure I wyl brynge to you an antyke lawe of Rome In the seuenthe table of the lawes of our fathers was written these wordes We commaunde that a more greuous chastysement be gyuen to the wyse manne for a lyght dede done openly than to a secrete murderer O iuste lawe and iust men that ordeyned it For the symple labourer sleeth but one with his knyfe in his angre but he y t is wyse sleeth many with the euyll example of his lyuynge Curiousely I haue regarded that Rome begynneth to declyne when our senate fayllethe of meke and wyse Senatours and multyplieth with these serpentines The holy senate was adorned with olde prudent persons And not without teares I saye at this houre it is full of ianglers and lyers Auncientely in the scoles of Grece was taught onely wordes leauynge the werkes and than in Rome was taught to do werkes and leaue wordes But nowe it is contrarye for nowe in grece the lyers and ianglers are banyshed and hath sente them to Rome and Rome hath banished and sent the good wyse menne in to Grece and in this maner I desyre rather to be banyshed into Grece with wyse menne than to abyde in Rome with fooles To the prayse of a good man I sweare to you my frendes that whyles I was yonge I sawe in the senate the philosopher Crisippus broughte vp with good Traian speake oftentymes and he was so swete in his wordes that many tymes he was harde more than thre houres to gyther And he neuer spake word but it was of eternall memorye And whan so euer he wente out of the senate I neuer sawe hym do dede wherby he deserued to haue greuous peyn Certainly it was a meruaylous thynge to se here the estimation of his eloquence the infamie of his person All Rome was abasshed of his high eloquence and all Rome and Italy were sclandered with his wycked werkes The prosperitie of Rome dured CCC yere And so long Rome was Rome as it had simplicitie in wordes and grauitie in workes One thynge I shal shewe you ▪ which is great confusion to them alyue and great admyration of them that be deed that of all the auncient men I neuer redde a lyght word that they spake nor an yuell dede that they dydde What thynge was sene than in that glorious worlde but to reioyce in so glorious wyse men And nowe at this daye the worlde is so corrupted bycause there is so many yong corrupt surely I haue greatter enuie of their dedes thanne of our wrytynges Their fewe wordes and good werkes haue lefte vs example of greate admyration And the wyse men of this tyme teache vs openly and write vs secretely doctrines of pardition Than by this that I haue sayde and by other examples that I shall say ye maye knowe what I meane Whan the realme of Acaye submitted his peryllous hornes and his proude heed to the swete obeysance of the empire they drewe theym to this condicion that they wolde haue benne the hoostes of the garnysons of all Asye and not disciples of the oratours of Rome At that seson there was in Rome a great lorde ambassadour of Acaye temperate in wordes and honeste of lyuynge with a whyte heed He was enquired of the senate why he was so cruel to leade into his countrey for men of warre poore and couetous squiers and leaue wyse men of greatte harte He aunswered with suche loue as he had to his countrey and with suche grauitie as longed to suche a person and also with suche hardynes as his offyce required saying O fathers cōscriptes O happy peple It is .ii. days syth I yete any thynge and .ii. dayes sythe I slepte cursynge the fatall destenyes of fortune that hath brought me into Italye and lamenynge vnto the goddis that kepe me in this lyfe bycause my spirite is betwene the harde anuelde and the importunate hammer where as I do se all is as harde as the anuelde wheron the hammer often strykethe The thynge moste peryllous amonge all perylles is to make election ye constrayne me to chose and myne vnderstandynge canne not attayne therto and the goddis doo not shewe me what I haue to choose If I leade garrysons of menne of armes it shall be verye noyfull to the familyes if I brynge aduocates it shall be peryllous for the common welthe Sorowfull that I am what shall I do Oh heuy and vnhappy realme that abydeth for theym and ye cruel that commaundeth them Than sythe hit is thus I determyne me to leade them that shall waste our goodes and spende them rather thanne those that should corrupte and breake our customes For a legyon and an army by necessitie may put to affliction and sorowe onely a people But an oratour or an Aduocate by his malyce may corrupte a hole realme Than sayde the emperour to these wyse men Frendes howe greatte is the credence of ignorant people and losse of lerned men Wherfore shuld they of Acaie rather gyue meate to poore sowldiours men of armes than to haue for their neyghbours oratours and wyse speakynge aduocates So whan this communycation of the emperour was ended the .v. greate maysters wente awaye with greatte shame and the .ix. other taryed with great feare In all this whyle it passed not two monethes after that the prince Comode was come from his norces where as he hadde lerned
to them that were estemed amonge the commons but vnto them that deserued laude amonge wyse men In this maner he trusted no person for he maried not his doughters to suche as were praysed a farre of ▪ but to them that of longe tyme had ben proued nerehand In good faythe herein his reasone was good For in the thynge that towcheth a mannes honour he that is wyse ought not to trust in the onely information of straungers Nor he is not wyse that is so hardy to doo al thynges by his owne semynge and opinyon And he is but a symple persone that wyll do all thynge after the opinion of strangers And in these poyntes the emperour Marcus had a good respecte to kepe theym In walkynge good rest In speakynge great eloquence in eatynge good temperance In answering great subtiltie In his sentences and determynations great grauitie And therfore in this case of maryage he was full of grauitie tyl he was therin determyned And this onely came not of hym but of other whan they came to pray hym It befell that in a feast of the god Ianus the emperour goinge to the campe of Mars vppon a lusty hors fyers and flyngynge he mette soo rudely with a trūpettour that coursed as a knyght vpon a hors that with the stroke of metyng the trumpetour was ouerthrowen with his horse so that he was slayne and themperours hors legge broken and his owne fote hurte and his arme out of ioynte So greattely encreaced his hurt that he was in perylle Italye in heuynesse and all Rome was in doubte of his lyfe And bycause a fewe days afore that he had communication of a maryage for his thyrde doughter named Matrina for the determination that he shulde haue made the same day great suite was made to hym But for the great peyne of his arme and the bloude that was congeled in his bodye and the anguysshe that was at his harte as for the demaunde that was offered hym he dyfferred the aunswere tyll an nother daye The whyche daye commen in open presence he sayde in this manier ¶ What the emperour Marcus sayd to the father of a yonge man that wolde marye one of his doughters Cap. xii OFtentimes I haue sene in other and haue proued by experience that the small consyderation passed and the great acceleration in busynesses nowe present maketh great inconueniences in tyme to come onles that at that point the thynge be commytted to the vertue of some wyse persone rather than to his owne sole opinion Neuer the lesse in the case of mariage though the father be wise yet without the opinion of an other he ought not to determyn him lyghtly For enuyous fortune thoughe she shewe her selfe somwhat frowarde in all thynges yet in this case of mariage she ouerthroweth more than in all the other He that wyll speake of maryage ought to entre into his owne secretenes and to thynke profoundly theron as of a thyng that all his welthe lyeth in his credence his lyfe his honour his good fame the reste of his owne personne and his fleshe whiche is his chylde I am of opinion that yf all wise men were molten in a fournayes they coude not gyue one good counsell to make a mariage And wold ye that I whiche am simple shuld do it lyghtly by my selfe Truely therin behoueth rype and sadde counsell For ones fallen into the peryll therof none may haue remedy withoute greatter perylle The renowmed Marcus Portius whose lyuynge was a myrrour in his dayes and his wordes and counsels remayne for a remembrance sayd openly in the senate O noble fathers and happy people by the decrees openly proclaimed in places accustomed I know that in a coūsel and senate ye ordeyned three thinges that is ye vndertoke to make a newe warre agaynste the Parthes to continue the enmitie agaynst the Peniens and to marie .v. hundred matrones of Rome to .v. C. knyghtes of Mauritanie And certaynely I am abashed that amonge wyse men so hyghe affayres shulde be so soone and sodaynely concluded and determined To satisfie myn vnderstandynge and for the good wylle that I owe to the countrey I shall saye one worde that is to begyn warre and to pursue hatred and yll wyll and to conclude mariages In these causes a man ought to aske counsell of all the men of the worlde and al the goddis oughte to correct and amende it And .x. M. counsaylynges wolde be holden vpon eche of these thynges These wordes were worthy of great recommendation For one thynge by dyuers opinions ought to be determyned But many thinges by one opinion oughte not to be determyned And if this be for all thinges it serueth then most specially in mariages My frēdes ye say that he that offreth hym to be my sonne in lawe is greatly desyred loued and wel named amonge the common people To sell suche marchandyse set it not in so yll a shewe ▪ The credence of an honest manne lyethe not amonge the common voyce of the people but amonge philosophers not amonge many but amonge fewe not among howe many but what they be Ye know your selfe that at this houre all that the commons thynke is but a vayne thynge that they prayse is false that they condempne is good that they approue is nought that they alowe is shamefull and finally all that they laude is but folye Theyr praysinge begynneth with lyghtnes their folowynge without order and it endeth with furie O howe many haue I sene in Italye lyke the lies of wyne caste out of the senate and after put as fyrebrondes of tauernes in Rome by whose opinions the cōmon welth is gouerned and with great lyghtnes men put downe and with no les lyghtnes exalted agayne Beholde here that the workes of the people are holden in mockage with wyse men and that that is agreed amonge theym is estemed but for vanities with wise men For that that is meale with philosophers is eaten but for branne chaffe with symple folke and contrary wyse the meale of the symple is but branne chaffe amonge wise men Of al that our predecessours haue syfted in these dayes the chylderne of vanitie worke thereafter for they wyll be desyred and hate to be hated All suche holdeth a generall rule that euery man that desyreth to be beloued of euery man openly can not escape fro diuers secrete fautes Shall I tell you who is best beloued nowe adayes Than harken to me and I wyll tell you as moche as it toucheth to whom it may touche hurt who it may hurte fele it who that may fele it The people loueth hym that can dissimule with them and him that is nought and enuious of them that be good also suche as fauour lyers setteth trouth asyde and suche as accompanieth with mankyllers and murtherers to be serued of theues and fauoureth quarellers and pursueth suche as be peasible delyuereth offenders and sleeth innocētis renometh them that be shamefull and shameth them that
and couetous men to their lucre wynnynge Thus men ought to be beloued though shortly after they ought to be abhorred And also they ought to be abhorred ▪ as though shortely after they ought to be beloued Thus than the gouernours of the sayde cytie commaunded all the sayde shyppes to be sequestred into theyr owne handes to the intent that they shulde not be solde nor the coueytous people to haue the aduauntage in the byenge of them The cause was for the custome of the menne of the yles was that all thynges shulde be kepte togyther vnto the ende of the warre or at leaste tyll they had peace This was a iuste lawe For many tymes is made stedfaste appoyntmentes betwene great enmyes and not all onely for the auncient hatred but also for lacke of rychesse to satisfie the presente domages Thanne as all the people were withdrawen into theyr houses aboute suppertyme for it was sommer sodenly there came a monster into the myddes of the citie after this shape He semed to be of two cubytes of heighte and he had but one eye his heed was all pylled so that his scul myght be sene He had none eares but that a lyttell of his necke was open wherby it semed y t he hard He had two croked hornes as a gote His ryght arme was longer than the left his handes were lyke hors fete he had no throte his necke was egall with his heed his shulders shone as pytche his breste and stomacke was all rough of heare his face was lyke a man saufe it had but one eye in the myddes of his forheed and had but one nosethryll from the waste downewarde he was not seene for it was couered he satte on a chariot with .iiii. wheles wherat were two lyons fastened together before and two beares behynde and it coude not be determyned wherof the chariotte was made but there was no difference in facion therof and other that were vsed commonlye In the myddis of the sayde chariotte was a caudron lyke a table with two eares wherin the sayd monster was and therfore it was sene but fro the gyrdelstede vpwarde He went about in the citie fro gate to gate a long space castyng out spercles of fyre The feare was so great that dyuers women with chylde were delyuered with great peryll and other that were weake harted fell in a swowne And all the people great and smalle lesse and more ranne to the temples of Iupiter Mars and Phebus makyng importunate cries and clamours And the same season all the said Pyrates were lodged in the gouernours palayes named Solyn He was of the nation of Capue and there was all the rychesse kepte And whan this monster had bene ouer all the citie with his charyot than the lyons and beares brought hym to the palays where the Pyrates were and beinge very nygh to the gates that were faste closed the monster cut an eare of one of the lyons and with the bloode therof he wrote these letters R. A. S. P. I. P. These letters were a profe to all theym of highe spirite to gyue declaration of them and there were mo declarations than there were letters But finally a woman diuineresse or contrary a sothsayer that was had in great reputation for her craftes made the very declaration of the sayde letters sayinge thus R. reddite A aliena S si vultis P propria I in pace P. possidere Whiche all togyther is to saye Render that perteyneth to other yf that ye wylle in peace possesse your owne Surely the Pyrates were soore affrayde of that dredeful commaundement and the womā was greatly praised for her high declaration Than forthewith the same nyght the monster wente into a highe mountayne called as than Ianitia and there by the space of thre days was in the syght of all the citie and in that season the lyons made great rorynge and howlynge and the beares and monster keste out greate fearefull flames And all that season there neyther appered byrd in the aire nor beaste in the feldes and all the men offred great sacrifices to the goddis in suche wise that they brake the veynes of their handes and fete and offred their blode to se if they myght appease their goddis After the thre days passed sodenly appered a clowde blacke and derke vppon the erthe and it began to thunder and lyghten with a greate erthequake so that many howses fell in the citie and many of the dwellers and citesins dyed And than sodaynely there came a flame of fyre from the monster and brent all the palays where the sayd Pyrates were and the rychesses that were in it so that all was consumed in it yea the very stones and the domage was so great that there fell mo than .ii. M. houses And there died as good as .x. M. persons And in the same place on the toppe of the mountayne where as the monster was thēperour cōmanded to edifie a temple to the god Iupiter in memorie of the same Of the whyche temple themperour Alexander hauynge warre with them of the realme made a stronge castell ¶ What befell to a citesin of Rome in the tyme of this emperour Marcus Cap. xxvii THe same tyme that this aduenture chaunced in that Ile there was dwellynge in the same citie a Romayne named Antygone a lorde of noble bloude and sommewhat entred in age and about two yere before he his wyfe and a doughter of his were banyshed Rome and not his sonnes The occasion was There was an auncient laudable custome sith Quintus Cincinatus dictatour that two of the auncient senatours togyther shulde goo with the censure newly created and the olde in the month of Decēbre for to visite all Rome and they to call euery Romayne aparte alone shewynge hym the .xii. tables of their lawes and particular decrees of the senate demandyng of them if they knewe any neyghbour in their quarter that hadde broken these lawes And if they dyd it shulde be informed to the senate And there all togyther to ordeyne punysshement accordynge to the diuersitie of the fautes that they hadde commytted But the fautes commytted that presente yere they myght not chastise but to aduertyse them to amende afterwarde And all suche as were ones warned and in the nexte visytation founde stylle vnamended to be greuously punyshed and somtyme banyshed These were the wordes of the lawe in the .v. table and third chapiter It is ordeyned by the holy senate by consent of blisfull men receyuyng the auncient colonies that if men being men in one yere do trespas the men as mē for the said yere shall dissimule and forbeare but if they that be yll as yll do not amende they that be good as good shal chastise them Also the sayd lawe saith the first fautes are suffred bycause they ar cōmitted with weake ignorāce but if they cōtinue them y t they be chastised bycause their yll cometh of slouth and malyce This inquisition was euer made in the monethe of
he lyueth in this worlde he holdeth his felicitie but at aduenture and his aduersitie for his naturall patrimony Amonge all them that coulde reioyce in prosperitie and helpe theym selfe in aduersitie this emperour Marcus Aurelius was one whiche for any flatterynges that Fortune coulde shewe hym he neuer trusted in them nor for myshappe that he had in this life he neuer dispayred ¶ What Marcus themperour sayd to a Senatour as touchynge triumphes Cap. xxxv WHanne these feastes were passed as Sertus Cheronense saith a senatour named Aluinus sayde to themperour the same nyght that the triumphe ceassed Syr reioyce you sythe that this day ye haue gyuen so great ryches to the common treasure of Rome and I haue sene your person in the triumph of glorie and to the worlde to come of you and your house you haue lefte perpetuall memorye The emperour hering these wordis said in this maner Frēdes it is good reson we beleue the hūter knoweth the fiersnes of vestis the phisition the propretie of herbes the mariner the perils of rockes the capitaines the chances of warre and the emperour that triumpheth the ioyes that he hath of triumphes As god helpe me and as euer I haue part with my predecessours and as euer I haue good fortune the thoughtes that I haue had for these festes haue bene farre greatter than the feares that I haue had in all the iourneyes and battayles afore And the reason therof is very euydent to theym that haue clere vnderstanding For always in cruel battailes I was euer in hope to haue glorie feared not the ouerthrow of fortune What coude I lose in battayle Nothynge but the lyfe that is the leest thyng that men haue and alwayes in these triumphes I feare to lose renowme whiche is the greatest gyfte that the goddis haue gyuen me O howe happy is that man that loseth his lyfe and leaueth behynde hym perpetuall memorie Lette euery man vnderstande this that wylle and saye what they lyste that amonge noble and valyaunt barons he dyeth not that leeseth his lyfe and leaueth good renowme after hym and moche lesse tyme lyueth he that hath an yll name thoughe he lyued many yeres The ancyent philosophers reckened not the lyfe of a man though he lyued many yeres but they reckened the good werkes that he hadde doone The senate was importune vppon me that I shulde take this triumphe as ye knowe well and I can not tell whiche was greattest theyr desyre or my resistence You knowe not the trouthe why I say thus I dyd it not bycause of ambicion and for couetousnes of glorie but it was bicause I fere y e humain malice At the day of the triumph there was not so greate ioy shewed by the symple persons but the hyd enuy was greatter among the greattest persons This glory passeth in one day but enuy abydeth a hole yere The plentifulle realme of Egipt so happy in the blodshed of their enmies as in the waters of Nyle hadde a lawe immouable They neuer denyed theyr mercy to the captiues ouercome nor they gaue no triumph to theyr capitaynes ouercomers ¶ The Caldees mocke at the Romayne triumphes affirmyng how there is not gyuen so great chastisement to the capitayne of Egipte ouercome as the empire Romayne gyue to the ouercomer whan tryumphe is gyuen to hym And surely the reason is good for the thoughtefull capytayne whanne he hathe chased his ennemyes that Rome hath in straunge londes with his owne propre speare in payement for his trauayle they gyue him ennemyes in his owne propre lande I swere to you that all the Romaine capitaynes haue not lefte so many enmyes deed by swerd as they haue recouered ylle wyllars the daye of theyr tryumphes Let vs leaue the Caldees and speake we of our auncient Romaynes whiche if they myghte retorne nowe agayne in to the worlde they wolde rather be tyed faste to the chariottes as captiues than to syt in them as vyctours And the cause is theyr neighbours seinge them goinge as captiues wolde moue theyr hartes to set theym at liberte so that the glorie of theyr tryumphes is a meane to cause them to be persecuted and pursued I haue redde in writyng and herd of my predecessours and haue seene of my neighbours that the aboundaunce of felicitie hathe caused cruel enuie to be in many O in what peril are they that with particuler honor wold be exalted among other In the moste higheste trees the force of wyndes is mooste aduaunced And in most sumptuous buildynges lyghteninge and thunder doothe mooste hurte and in greatte thycke and drye busshes the fyers kendle mooste easelye I say that in them that fortune hath reysed most hyghly agaynst them spredeth the greattest poyson of enuye All suche as be vertuous say The mo ennemies they subdue to the common welthe the moo enuious they recouer of their renoume One ought to haue great compassion of a vertuous manne bycause where he trauaileth to be good there abydeth one thynge in hym of the whiche all onely at the deth he seeth the ende And that is the more a man recouereth here renoume amonge straungers the more he is persecuted with enuy amonge his owne nations Homer shewethe in his Illiades that Caluitio kynge of the Argiues was expert in clergie valiant in armes and indued with dyuers graces beloued with his people aboue al other he was a great louer of his goddis and worshypper of them This good kynge had a custome that in all thynges that he had to do he wolde fyrste aske counsayle in the temples of the goddes he wolde begynne no warre agaynste other nor ordeyne no newe lawe nor custome in his realme nor gyue aunswere to the ambassadours nor put no trespasours to death nor set no tribute on his people but first he wolde go to the temple and make dyuers sacrifices to knowe the wyll of the goddes And bycause he went so often to the oracles he was demaunded what answere the goddis made to hym in secrete seinge he was so importunate Then he answered and sayde I demand of the goddes that they shulde not gyue me so lyttell that euery man myght abate and ouercome me Nor also that they shulde gyue me so moche that euery manne shoulde hate me but my desyre is to haue a meane estate wherewith euery manne myghte loue me For I hadde leuer be felowe with many in loue than to be kynge of all with hatred and enuy ¶ Of the great reproche that the emperour gaue to his wyfe Faustyne and her doughter Capitu. xxxvi AFter the feastes of the triumphe afore sayde this good emperour wyllynge to satysfye his harte and to aduertise Faustine his wyfe and to teche his innocēt doughter without knowledge of any other he sent for them and sayde I am not contēt Faustine with that your doughter doth and yet lesse with that you do which ar her mother These maidens for to be good maydens oughte well to knowe howe to obey theyr
the welth of other and finally lese them selfes And therfore they aduenture them selfe into the gulfes inflame theyr lordes that haue gyuen them suche offices to gyue them to suche as haue deserued them Thou mayst know that the beginning of them is pryde and ambition and theyr middell is enuye and malyce and their ende is death and distruction And if my counsell were taken suche shulde haue no credence with princis or gouernours but as sclaundred men to be seperate not all onely fro the common welthe but fro theyr lyues Surely great is the couetyse of them that be shamelesse which without shame demaunde offices of the senate or princis but it is a more boldenes of malyce for the pryncis to gyue them In this and in the other thinges these are so dampnable that neyther the feare of the goddis doth withdrawe them nor the prince doth not refrayne them nor vengeaunce dothe not lette them nor the common welth dothe not accuse theym and aboue all other reason doth not commaund them nor the lawe subdue them ¶ O my frende Antygonus note this worde that I write in the ende of my letter In the yere of the foundation of Rome .vi. C.xlii. the Romaynes as thanne in the worlde hadde dyuers warres as Gayus Celius ageynst them of Trace and Gneo Cordon his brother agaynst Sardyne Iunius Sylla agaynst the Vmbres Minutius Ruffus ageynst the Macidoniens Seruilio Scipio ageynste the Lusitayns and Marius consull ageinst Iugurtha kyng of the Numidiens It befell so that Boco kynge of Mauritayne fauoured Iugurtha and vppon them triumphed Marius and they laded with chaines were led afore his chariot not without great compassion of them that sawe it After this triumph done incontinent the same daye by counsell of the senate Iugurtha was beheeded in prison and his companion Bocus had pardon of his life and the cause was It was a custome none to be putte to Iustice but firste the auncient bokes shulde be serched to se if any of his predecessours had done before any seruice to Rome wherdy the captiue shulde meryte to haue pardone of his lyfe and than it was found that the grauntfather of Bocus came to Rome and made great orations before the senate by whose wordes and sentences his sayd neuew merited to haue pardon of his lyfe and amonge other of his sayinges he rehersed these verses that sayd what is that realme where is no good amonge the yll nor yll amonge the good what is that realme that hath theyr houses full of good simple persons and banysheth away al wisedom Or what is that realme that suche as be good are cowardes and the yl hardy or what is the realme where al peasible are displeased and the sedycious praysed What is that realme that sleeth them that wolde theyr welth and are angry with them that wolde helpe theyr yl or what is that realme that permytteth the proude poore folkes and the ryche tyrantes or what is that realme where they all know the euyl and none procureth any goodnes or what is that realme where suche vices are openly commytted that other realmes feare to doo secretely or what is that realme where as all that they desyre they procure and al that they do procure they attayne and all that is yll they thinke and al that they thinke they say al that they say they may do and all that they may doo they dare doo and put in operation that they dare do and worst of all there is none so good to resyst it In suche a realme there shulde be none inhabitaunte For within short space the yll men shall be chaunged or elles dispeopled of good men or the goddis wyll confounde them or the tirantis shal take thē Dyuers thinges were said the which I passe ouer at this tyme. Howe thynkest thou Antigone I swere by the immortal goddis that my hart breketh to thinke of the great shame that was laid vpon Rome by such wryting as was lefte to theym by the grauntefather of this kynge Bocus This my letter I wolde thou shuldest rede in secrete to the pretours if they amende not we shall fynde the meanes to chastise them openly And as touchyng thy banishemēt I promyse the to be thy good frende to the senate that we may ioy our auncient amitie to gether And to get the out of that yle certainely I shal do my diligence I haue written to my secretarie Panutius to delyuer the .ii. M. sexters to releue thy pouertie and thus I sende the my letter to comfort thy heuy hart I say no more but the goddis giue the contentacion of that thou woldest haue ioy and rest to thy person And al corporall euyls cruel enmies and fatal destenies be seperate fro me Marke For the behalf of my wife Faustine I salute the and thy wyfe Ruffa She is thyn and I am thyn With visitation of ioy I haue receiued thy letter and thankefully I send the myn I shal not reste to desire to se thy persone in Italy and there in Sicyle to leue my feuer quartayne ¶ A letter sent by Marcus to Lambert gouernour of the yle of Helespont whan he did banishe the vacabundis fro Rome The .xi. letter MArke emperour of Rome lorde of Asie confederate with theym of Europe frende of theym of Affrike ennemye of the Maures To the Lambert gouernour of the ile of Helesponte sendethe of his parte contentation and suretie fro the sacrate senate I am furred with y e furres that thou haste sent me am clothed with thy mātel am right well pleased with thy greyhoundes If I hadde thought that thin absence fro Rome shuld haue procured so moche fruit in that yle longe ago I shulde haue determyned as well for thy profyte as for my seruice I sente to the in demaundynge but small thinges in my sporte and thou hast sent me many thynges in ernest In good sothe thou hast better proporcioned thy seruyce with noblenes than I to commaunde with my couetise For if thou remēbre I sent to the for a doseyne skynnes of furre and thou hast sent me .xii. doseyns and I dyd send but for .vi. greihoundes and thou hast sent me .xii. Truly in this case my pleasure is double For here in Rome thy great largesse is publyshed and my smal couetise there in Helesponte And bycause I am sure thou hast great thankes of me I praie to gōd to sende the salute and helthe And that fortune be not denied the at a good houre I sende the .iii. barkes of mayster foles yet I haue not sent the al. For if I had banyshed all the foles in Rome we shoulde haue peopled vs with a newe people These mayster foles haue ben so wily to teche foly the Romayn youth so apt to lerne thoughe they be but in .iii. barkes theyr disciples wold lade .iii. M. Carrakes I haue great meruayle of one thynge and my hart sclaundreth the goddis for I se wel that erthquakes
entreth vnarmed into the senate without swerde or dagger and his harte entreth into the senate armed with malyce O Romaynes I wyll ye knowe that in our yle we hold you not as armed Capitayns but as malicious senators not with sharpe grounden swerdes daggers but with hard hartis and venomous tongues ye feare vs. If ye shuld in the senate put on harnes therwith take away your lyues it were but a small losse seinge that ye susteyn not the innocentes nor dispatche not the businesses of suters I can not suffre it I can not telle in what state ye stande here at Rome for in our ile we take armour from foles whether your armours are take awaye as fro foles or madde folkes I wote not If it be done for ambitiousnes it cometh not of Romaynes but of tyrantes that wranglers and ireful folke shuld not be iuges ouer the peasible the ambicious ouer the meke and the malicious ouer the symple If it be done bicause ye be foles it is not in the law of the goddis that .iii. C. foles shuld gouerne .iii. C.M. wise men It is a longe season that I haue taried for myn aunswere and licence and by your madnes I am now farder of thā I was the fyrst day We brynge oyle hony saffron wood and timber salt siluer and gold out of our yle into Rome and ye wyl that we go elles where to seke iustice Ye wyll haue one lawe to gather your rentes and an other to determyne our Iustices ye wyl that we pay our tributes in one day and ye wyll not discharge one of our errandes in a hole yere I require you Romayns determine your selfes to take away our lyues and so we shal ende or els here our complayntes to thentent that we may serue you For in an other maner it may be than ye know by heringe with your eares which peraduenture ye wold not se with your eien And if ye think my wordes be out of mesure so that ye wyl remedy my contrey I set not by my lyfe And thus I make an ende Verily frend Catulo these be the wordes that he spake to the senate whiche I gat in writing I say of trouth that the hardines that the Romaynes were wōt to haue in other countres the same as nowe straungers haue in Rome There were that sayde that this ambassadour shoulde be chastised but the goddis forbyd that for sayinge trouth in my presence he shulde haue ben correct It is inough and to moch to to suffre these euyls though we slee nor persecute those that aduertyse and warne vs of them The shepe ar not in suretie of the wolfe but if the shepard haue his dogge with him I mene dogges ought not to leaue barkynge for to awake the shepardes There is no god commaundeth nor lawe counsayleth nor common welthe suffreth that they whiche are commytted to chastyse lyers shuld hang them that say trouth And sith the senatours shewe them selfe men in their lyuinge and sometyme more humayne than other that be slaues who elles shulde delyuer them fro chastisement O Rome and no Rome hauyng nothyng but the name of Rome where is nowe become the noblenes of thy triumphes the glorie of chy chyldren the rectitude of thy Iustice and the honour of thy temples for as nowe they chastise hym more that murmureth agaynste one only Senatour than they do them that blaspheme al the goddes at ones For it greueth me more to se a Senatour or censure to be worste of all other than it displeaseth me that it shuld be said that he is the best of all other For a trouthe I saye to the my frende Catulus that as nowe we nede not to seke to the goddes in the temples for the Senatours are made goddes in our handes This is the difference betwene theym that ben immortall and they that be mortall For the goddis neuer do thynge that is yll and the Senatours doo neuer good thynge the goddes neuer lye and they neuer say trouthe the goddis pardon often and they neuer forgyue the goddis are content to be honoured .v. tymes in the yere and the Senatours wolde be honoured .x. tymes a day What wylt thou that I shulde say more but what so euer the goddes do they ought to be praysed and the senatours in all theyr workes deserue to be reproued Fynally I conclude that the goddis assure and affirme euery thynge and they erre and fayle in nothynge and the senatours assure nothynge but erre in all thynges onely for one thynge the senatours are not of reasone to be chastysed and that is whan they intende not to amend theyr fautes they wylle not suffre the oratours to waste theyr tyme to shewe them the trouth Be it as maye be I am of the opinion that what man or woman withdraweth their eares fro heryng of trouth impossible it is for them to applye theyr hartes to loue any vertues Be it censure that iugeth or senatour that ordeyneth or emperour that commaundeth or consule that executethe or oratour that precheth No mortall man take he neuer so good hede to his werkes nor reason so well in his desires but that he deserueth some chastisement for some cause or counsaylle in his doinges And sith I haue written to the thus of other I wyll somwhat speake of my selfe bycause of the wordes of thy letter I haue gathered that thou desirest to knowe of my personne Knowe thou for certayne that in the kalendes of Ianuarye I was made censure in the senate the whiche offyce I desired not nor I haue not deserued it The opynion of all wyse men is that noo manne without he lacke wytte or surmounteth in foly wyll gladdely take on hym the burden and charges of other menne A greatter case it is for a shamefaste man to take on hym an office to please euerye man for he muste shewe a countenaunce outwarde contrarye to that he thynketh inwarde Thou wylte saye that the good are ordeyned to take the charge of offices O vnhappye Rome that hathe wylled to take me in suche wyse as to be the beste in it Greuous pestylence ought to come for them that be good sith I am scaped as good amonge the yll I haue accepted this offyce not for that I had any nede therof but to satisfie the desyres of my wyfe Faustine and to fulfyll the commaundement of Anthonius my grauntfather Haue no meruayle of any thynge that I do but of that I leaue to be doone For any man that is wedded to Faustyne there is no vylany but he shal do it I swere to the that sith the daye we were wedded me semethe that I haue no wytte I leaue weddynge for this tyme and retourne to speake of offices Surely a peasible man ought to be in offices thoughe it be peynefull for as the offyces are assured amonge theym that be vertuous so perillously gothe the vertuous folke amonge offices And for the trouthe hereof recken what they wynne
and than thou shalt se what they lose Saye that is good if thou knowest it and here the yl if thou desyre to knowe it He that wyll take the charge to gouerne other he seketh thought and trouble for hym selfe enuye for his neyghbours spourres for his ennemies pouertie for his ryches awakynge of theues peryl for his body an ende of his dayes and tourmente for his good renoume Fynally he seketh awaye to reiecte his frendes and a repeale to recouer his ennemies O an vnhappy man is he that taketh on hym the charge of chyldren of manye mothers for he shalbe always charged with thoughtes how he shulde content them all ful of sighes bycause one hath to gyue hym feare that one shulde take fro hym wepyng if he lese and suspection that they infame hym He that knoweth this without longe tarienge ought to sette a bridel at his heed But I saye of one as I saye of an other For I wyll swere and thou wylt not deny it that we may finde some nowe adays that had rather be in the parke to fight ayenst the bulles thaÌ„ be in suretie vpon the scaffold Oftentimes I haue hard say Go we to the Theatres to renne at the bulles go we to chase the hartes and wylde boores and whaÌ„ they come there they renne away not the bestes fro them but they fro the beastes In suche wyse as they went runnyng they returne agein fleinge I say these ambicious persones procure to gouerne are gouerned they commaund and are commaunded they rule and are ruled and finally thinkynge to haue dyuers vnder theyr handes these wretches put them selues vnder euery maÌ„s fote For the remedy of all these perylles my thoughte is comforted with one thing and that is without procuryng or offeryng my selfe the senate of their owne wylle hathe commaunded me In the .viii. table of our ancient lawes be these wordes We commaunde that in our sacred senate charge of iustyce be neuer giuen to him that wyllingly offreth hym selfe to it but to such as by rype deliberation be chosen This is certainely a iuste lawe For men nowe be not so vertuous nor so louinge to the coÌ„mon welth y t they wyl forget their owne quietnes and rest doing domage to them selfe to ê“cure an other mans profite There is none so folyshe that wyl leue his wife childreÌ„ his owne swete countrey to go into strange countreis but if he se him self amonge strange people thinkyng vnder the colour of iustice to seke for his own vtilitie I say not this without wepyng that the princis with their smalle study thought the iuges with their couetyse haue vndermyned shaken down the high walles of the policie of Rome O my frend Catulus what wylte thou that I shulde say but that our credeÌ„ce so minisheth our couetise so largely stretcheth our hardines so boldeth our shamfastnes so shameles that we prouide for iuges to go robbe our neyghbours as capytayns ageinst our ennemies I lette the to wyte where as Rome was beloued for chastising the yl nowe it is as moche hated for dispoylyng of innocentes I do remembre y t I red in the tyme of Denis Syracusan that ruled al Sicile there came an ambassadour fro Rhodes to Rome beinge of a good age welle lerned and valyaunt in armes and ryght curious to regarde euerye thynge He came to Rome to se the maiestie of the sacred senate the height of the high capitol enuironned with the Colliset the multytude of senatours the wysedome of the counsaylours the glorie of triumphes the correction of the yll the peace of the inhabytauntes the diuersitie of nations the haboundance of the mayntenaunce the order of the offyces and finally seinge that Rome was Rome he was demaunded howe he semed therby He answered and sayde O Rome in this thy present worlde thou arte fulle of vertues and wyse men hereafter thou shalt be furnished with foles Lo what high and very high wordes were these Rome was vi C. yeres without nycetie of howses of foles and now it hath ben .iii. C. yeres without one wyse or vertuous Loke what I say it is no mockery but of trouthe If the pitiefull goddis nowe adayes dyd reyse our predecessours fro dethe to lyfe eyther they wold not knowe vs for their chylderne or elles attache vs for fooles These be thinges vsed in Rome but thou sendest noo worde of that is vsed in Agrippine I wyll write nothynge to the to put the to peyne write to me some thynge to reioyce me if thy wife Dynsilla chanced well of the flote that came out of Cetin with salte oyle and honye I caused hit to be well prouided for her Wyte thou that Flodius our vncle was caste downe by rage of his hors and is deceassed Laertia and Collodius are frendes togyther by occasyon of a maryage I do send the a gowne I pray to the goddis to sende the ioy therof My wife Faustin saluteth the. RecoÌ„mende me to Iamyro thy sonne The goddis haue the in keping and contrary fortune be fro me Marcus thy frende to the Catulus his owne ¶ A letter sent by Marke the emperour to the amorous ladyes of Rome bycause they made a playe of hym The .xiiii. letter MArke oratour lerninge at Rodes the arte of humanite to you amorous ladies of Rome salutation to your persones and amendement of your desyred lyfe It is writen to me â–ª that at the feaste of the mother of the goddes Berecynthia all ye togyther there present played and gested on me wherin ye layde for an example my lyfe and my renoume It is shewed me that Auilina composed it Lucia Fulua wrote it and thy selfe Toringula dyd singe it and ye all together dyd present it to the Theatre ye haue portrayed and paynted me in dyuers maners with a boke in my hande tourned contrary as a fayned philosopher with a tongue alonge as a bold speker without measure with a horne on my heed a common cuckolde with a nettell in my hande as a trembling louer with a baner fallen downe as a cowarde capitayn with halfe a berde as a femynate man with a clothe afore myne eies as a condempned vacabound and yet not content with this but the other day ye portrayed me in a new maner Ye made my figure with fete of straw my legges of ambre my knees of wod the thyghes of brasse the belye of horne the armes of pytche the handes of mace the heed of yesso the eares of an asse the eies of a serpente the heares as rotes iagged the tethe of a catte the tonge of a scorpion and the foreheed of leade wherin was wryten in two lynes these letters M N T N I S V S the whiche meneth as I do take it The mortall man taketh not the statute so strange as the doublenes of the lyfe than ye went to the ryuer and therin tyed his heed dounwarde a hole day And if the lady Messalyn had not ben I think it
may that he wyl not and wylleth that he may not More ouer the coūsell of his frendes profiteth hym not nor the shame of his enmies nor losse of his goodes nor the aduenture of honour nor loosynge of his lyfe nor sekynge of deathe nor comynge nere nor goinge ferre nor seinge with eyes nor herynge with eares nor tastyng with mouthe nor yet feelynge of hande and finally to attayne vyctorie he hathe alway warre agaynst him selfe I wold these louers knew fro whens loue procedeth it is this The entrayles that we are bredde in is of fleshe the brestes that we sucke are of fleshe the armes that we are nourished in be of fleshe the werkes that we doo are of the fleshe by the which occasions commeth the repeale of our fleshe to their flesshe Many free hartes falle into the snares of loue It semeth well my ladies that ye are brought vp in puddels as the Egiptiēs say The puddels kepe no clere water to drinke nor fruite to eate nor fyshe to be taken nor vessell to sayle with I do say ye are fowle in your lyuynge shamefull in your persons in aduersytie feble and lethy in prosperitie subtyll and wyly false in wordes doubtfull in your werkes In hatynge ye kepe a disorder extreme to loue auaricious to gyue vnshamfaste to take and I saye ye are a receite of feare where as wyse men finde perille and simple men suffre In you wise men holde their renomes disalowed and the symple men their lyfe in penury ¶ Let vs leaue the opinyon of the Egyptiens and come to the Grekes whiche say that in the desertes of Arabye the sonne shyneth moste hote and they say that at the begynnynge there appered a woman alone with a byrde called Phenyx the whyche byrde they say was created of the water and the woman of the great heate of the sonne and of the corruption of the powdre that falleth fro the trees whiche the wormes do eate In this wyse there was a tree soore eaten with wormes and it chaunced by heate of the sonne and dryth of the powder that a fyre kendled and soo brente it and than of the fyre and powder of the sayd brent tree the fyrste woman was made And though I be a philosopher Romayne I wyll not say that the opinyon of the philosopher greke was yll For of truthe ye ladyes that be amorous haue your tonges of the nature of fyre your condicions of the rottennes of the pouder of wood After the diuersite of beestis nature hath put some strēgth in dyuers partis of their bodyes as the egle in the beake the vnicorne in the horne the serpent in the tayle the bull in the heed the beare in the armes the hors in the brest the dogge in his tethe the hogge in the groyne the wod doue in her wynges and women in their tonges Of trouth the flyghte of the wood doue is not so highe as the fantasie of your folyes nor the catte scratcheth not so soore with her nayles as ye scratche foles with your importunities nor the dogge hurteth not them that he renneth at as ye doo the sorowfull louer that seruethe you nor he is not in soo greatte perill of his lyfe that catcheth the bulle by the hornes as the good fame of the louer is that falleth into your handes And finally the serpent hath not so moche poyson in his tayle as ye haue in your tongues Set all the good Romayne ladyes apart for there be many of whom there is no complaynt of their persones nor suspection of their good names Of all suche my letter speketh not nor my penne writeth not of them but of other I speake of women that be suche that all venemous beastes haue not so moch poyson in their bodies as they haue in their tonges And sith that the goddis haue commaunded and our destenies do permyt that the lyfe of men can not passe without women therfore I aduertyse these yonge people and pray them that be olde and awake wyse men and tech the symple to flee away from women of yl name rather than from a comon pestilence ¶ Redynge the auncient lawes of Plato I fynde writen thus we cōmand y t al women opēly infamed be opēly put out of the citie to thentēt that other seing their sinnes not vnpunished may abhorre the sinne for feare to fal into the same peyne Also the same lawe sayth We command that pardon be giuen to a woman of all the fautes commytted by her owne body if any amendement be sene in her but neuer to pardon theym that haue commytted synne with their tonges For commyttynge synne with an yl persone is of fragilitie but with the tongue it is of pure malyce ¶ O diuine Plato master measure of al vnderstāding and prince of all philosophers whanne thou madeste that lawe in the golden world that there was neuer such scarcitie of yll women and so great aboundance of good women in Grece What shall we doo nowe in Rome where there be so many ylle openly amd so fewe good in secrete Naturally they were wonte to be shamefaste in theyr vysages temperate in wordes wyse of wyt sobre in goinge meke in conuersation pitiefull in correction well regardynge their lyuynge not kepynge companies stedfaste in promesse and constant in loue Fynally let not the woman that wyll be good truste in the wisedome of wise men nor in the flatterie of lyghte folkes But lette her vertuously regarde her renoume and beware alwayes of any manne that maketh her any promys For after that the flames of Venus be set on fire and Cupide hath shot his arrowes the ryche man offereth all that he hath the poore man all that he may the wyse man sayth he wyll be her great frēd and the symple alway her seruaunt the wyse man wyl lose his lyfe for her and the foole wyll take his deathe for her The olde man wyl say he wyl be frend to her frendes and the yong man wyl say he wyl be ennemie to her enemies Some wil promys to pay her debtes and other to reuēge her iniuries Fynally to hyde their pouertie and to shewe their beautie they leaue these fooles losing their persones and good fames I wille leaue to speake of good women for it is not myn intent to laye any thynge to theyr charge but to aduertyse them well I demaunde of you amorous ladies if Platon was there whan ye made a playe of my lyfe and drewe my fygure about in Rome No surely in dede by that I se in you at this tyme it is suspecious that is sayde of other For there is but a fewe in Rome whom Plato and his lawe dothe excuse One thynge ye can not deny if I were the worste of all menne at the laste ye haue founde the ende of my vilanies And ye can not denye me but she that is leaste yll of you in all my lyfe I coude not shewe the malyce of her lyfe It is greatte peryll to
And atte this houre you knowe not that they that do hate her wold her yll what dishonour theyr tongues doo speake of her Newe loue in yonge bloudde in the springinge tyme and flouryshynge youthe is a poyson that forthewith spredethe in to euery vayne It is an herbe that by and by entreth the entrayles a swownyng that incontinently mortifieth al the membres a pestilence that sleeth the hartes and finally it maketh an ende of all vertues I wote not what I saye yet al though I knowe what I wyll say For I wold neuer blasen loue with my tonge without I were sore hurte in myn vnderstandynge Ouyde sayth in his boke of the arte of loue Loue is I wote not what that commeth I wote not whens who sent it I wote not it engendreth I wote not how it is contented I wote not wherwith it is felte I wote not howe ofte nor I wote not wherfore And fynally loue taketh rote without breakynge of the flesshe outwarde or percinge the entrayles inwarde I wote not what Ouide meaneth hereby but I trowe whan he saide these wordes he was as farre banysshed from hym selfe as I am at this tyme from my selfe O Faustin they that loue togither shewe the signes of their hartes by dyuers wayes and in slepyng they reason and speake and by sygnes they vnderstande eche other The great voyce outewarde is sygne of lyttell loue inwarde and the great inwarde loue kepeth silence outwarde The entrayles within imbraced in loue cause the tonge outwarde to be muet He that passeth his lyfe in loue ought to haue his mouth close And to the entente that ye shall not thynke that I speake fables I wyll proue this by auncient hystories ¶ We fynde aunciently that in the yere .ii. C. and .lx. after the foundation of Rome Estrasco a yonge Romayne that was dombe and Veronne a fayre lady of the Latins that was dombe also These two sawe eche other on the mount Celyoit at a feest and there fel in loue eche with other And their hartes were as soore fixed in loue as theyr tonges were tyed for wordes It was a meruaylous thing to se them and feareful to note here The yong lady came fro Salon to Rome and he went fro Rome to Salon by the space of .xxx. yeres togither without the wityng of any persone nor they two spake not Than at the laste died the husbande of the lady Veronne and the wyse of Estrasco and than they discouerd their loue and treated a mariage betwene them of whome descended the noble lygnage of our Scipions whiche were more lyberalle in the feates of armes than theyr father and mother were in their tonges Than Faustine marke this thynge Lyttell aduantage it had ben to haue cut out the tonges of the two doÌ„be folkes to haue remedied their loue and not to haue cutte out theyr hartes ¶ Also I shall tell you of Massinissa a worthy knyght of Numedie and Sopharise a famous ladye of Carthage al onely by one sight as they sawe eche other on a ladder he declared his desire vnto her and she knowyng his lust breakynge the oores of feare and lyftynge vp the ankers of shame incontinent raised the sailes of theyr hartes and with the shippes of their ê‘sons they ioyned eche to other Here may we gather how the first sight of their eies and knowlege of their persons and the leage of their hartes and the mariage of their bodies the pardition of theyr estates and the infamie of their name in one day in one houre in one moment and in one steppe of a ladder were agreed What wyll ye that I saye more to this pourpose Do ye not knowe that Helayne the Greke and Parys the Troyan of two strange nations and of farre countreys with one only sight in a temple their wylles were so knyt togither that he toke her as his captiue and she aboode his prisoner In Parys appered but smal force and in her but lyttel resistence So that in maner these two yonge ê‘sons the one procuring to vanquishe and the other sufferinge to be vanquisshed Parys was cause of his fathers deathe and Helayne of the infamie of her husbande and they bothe of their owne deathes losse to theyr realmes and sclaunder to all the worlde All this loue caused one onely syght ¶ Whan great kyng Alexander wold haue gyuen bataile to the Amazons the quene capitayn of them no lesse faire than stronge and vertuous came to a ryuer syde and the space of an houre eche of them beheld other with theyr eies without speakynge of any worde and whan they retourned to their tentes the fiersnes was turned into swete waÌ„ton amorous wordes ¶ Whan Pyrrhe the faythefull defender of the Tarentynes and renoumed kynge of Epirotes was in Italy he came to Naples and he had not ben there but one day the same season there was a lady in the same citie named Gamalicice of a highe lygnage and greatly estemed in beautie The very same day she was goten with chyld and shamed through out al Italy and was thruste out of the citie and after she was delyuered of chylde she was slayne by one of her owne bretherne ¶ Also Cleopatra in the prouince of Bithinye in the wod Sehyn made a goodly banket or solempne feast to Marcus Anthonius her louer And thoughe she was not very honest yet had she with her right chaste women and thus the banket enduryng a great parte of the nyghte and the wod beinge thicke the yonge damsels were not so wily to hyde them but the yonge men Romayns founde them so that of .lx. doughters of senatours .lv. were gotten with chyld among the thycke bushes which thyng made a gret sclandre in the people and augmented the infamy of Cleopatre and minished the honestie of Marc Anthony ¶ Thus as I haue shewed of a smal nombre I coude say of many other Al men are not men nor all women be not women I say it bycause I wolde it shulde be sayde let it touche them that it toucheth and let them that can vnderstand me There is some shyppes that are so lyghte that they wyll sayle with a lytell wynde and there be some milles that wyll grinde with a lyttell water I saye there be some women so brittel that as a glasse with a fyllop wyll breke and wyl slyp with a lytel myre Shewe me Faustin haue you suffered your doughter to speke but with her vncles and kept company but with her cosins I say in this case as moche wilenesse hath the mother as the doughter to renne in peryll Do you not knowe that the quicke fire doth not forbere the wod be it wete or dry but in lykewyse it consumeth the harde stones Doo you not knowe that the hongre excessiue causeth beastes to deuour with theyr tethe the thynge that was bredde in their entrayles Doo you not knowe that the goddes made a lawe ouer al thinges except on louers bycause they may not abyde
it And doubtlesse it is ryghtwysely done that Rome condemneth not these folyshe innocentes bycause they haue none vnderstandyng The goddes gyue no peyn to amorous people bycause they are depriued fro reason Ye knowe whan I was censure there was a yong woman that had a child by her owne father and an other that had a chylde by her sonne and a niese by her propre vncle and there was sentence gyuen on them that the fathers shulde be cast to the lyons and the chyldren buryed quycke and the mothers were brente in the campe of Mars The mattier was soo horrible to here that I myght not endure to se the cursed men And I commanded by my decrees that none shulde be so bolde to speake in suche a case any more And if this case were fearefull to men than certaynely the Romayne matrones oughte to lyue chastely Than if the fyre of the father doo chaufe the doughter enflameth kynsfolke and bourne theym selfe ye maye be sicre if he fynde after eyther cousyn or fayre sister the flames of his concupiscence wyll not leaue to take holde on her for any parentage If this riotous fleshe wyll obey reason than it maye be that your doughter may speake liberally with her cousins but sith that passion repugneth so moche at reason I councel you trust not to moche in her bretherne you see by experience that the worme that is bredde in the thymbre eateth the same tymbre and the moothes that are bredde in the clothe eateth the same clothe I saye that sommetyme a man bringeth vp in his house some persone that after taketh his life fro hym Faustine take this that I haue sayd for a warnyng and these last wordes I gyue you for councell If you wyll kepe your selfe from thoughte and your doughter fro peryll alway let your doughter be occupied with some good werkes Whan the handes are occupyed with any good exercise than the harte is voyde fro many ydell and vayn thoughtes Euery lightnes done in youth breaketh downe a loope of the defence of our lyfe but ydelnesse wherby our enuye entreth is it whiche openeth the gate to al vyces Faustine wyl you wite I se dayly the parditon of the yong Romayne doughters For as sone as they be borne they presume to be amorous they as vnthoughtfull with the rechelesnes of the father and wantonnes of the mother leaue the iust trauayle and take vniust idelnes Of ydell motion and outragious thoughtes the eies take licēce without leaue the mynde altereth and the wyll is hurte and finally thynkynge to be the whyte that amorous men shote at they remayne as a butte ful of al vices And in conclusion there is nothinge that more rechaceth the balle of the thought in this playe thanne the hand sette a worke therwith ¶ What thought Marcus the emperour toke for the mariage of his doughters ca. xxxviii THan the good emperour Marc hauynge a clere vnderstandyng and a quiete wytte toke righte great hede of thynges that were paste prudently wayinge thinges present thinges to come Seinge that the pardition of princis lay al in wyl totally gyuinge them selfe eyther to strange thinges forgettynge their owne or els to entend to their owne nothing regardinge strange thynges His hart was so agreable to hym that neyther the hyghe businesses of them nor for all the affaires of his house he wolde not leaue one of thempire vnsped I saye this bycause this emperour Marcus had foure doughters whose names were Lucylle Porsena Matrina and Domitia All resembled their mother in excellent beautie but they resembled not theyr father in honestie and vertuousnes And thoughe they were in gouernance vnder their maystresses out of his presence yet he had them always in memorie and the elder they were the more study and thought he toke for them and whan they cam to cōplete age he studied to fynd prouision for them It was a laudable custome that the doughters of the officers of the Senate shulde not marye withoute lycence nor the emperours doughter without the aduysemente of the senate Than it was so that one of the sayd princesses his doughters beynge of aege and of wyll to be maryed her father seinge her importunitie to accomplyshe her desire bycause he was sycke he sente for Faustyne that she shulde goo and commune in the senate The whiche with all her power she withstode bycause that secretely she had treated for an other mariage for her doughter And openly she excused her selfe sayinge that her doughter was to yonge and tender of aege and as the goddis had gyuen age sufficiēt to the father so had not the doughter of yeres Whan the emperour vnderstode this he called Faustyne to his bedde syde where as he lay and sayd Dyuers thinges are dissimuled in particuler persons the least of them is not to be suffred in thē that shuld ensigne all other The prince is neuer well obeyed but if he haue good credence among his people I say this Faustin bicause you do one thinge in secrete and say an other openly Here in fayleth the credence of so high a lady and putteth inconuenience in the auctoritie of so great an empire If ye suppose my good desires be sinister in your hart for the welth of your owne chyldren howe shulde we hope than in any of your good workes for the children of straungers It semeth to you better to gyue your doughter to them that demād hir of the mother and refuse them that the father doth chuse Certainly bicause ye be a womā you deserue pardon but in that you are a mother you augment your faut Do you not knowe that mariages are guyded somme by fortune and some by vertues and wysedome Suche as demande the doughters of the fathers beleue me their eyes benne moore vppon their owne propre vtilitie than vppon the welth of an other I knowe welle you brynge forthe the chyldern but the goddis wyll mary them sithe they haue endewed them with so meruaylous beautie Doo you not knowe that the beautie of women setteth straungers on desire and putteth neyghbours in suspection to great mē it gyueth force to meane men enuye to the parentes infamie and peryll to the person selfe With great peyne it is kepte that is desired of many Of trouthe I say the beautie of women is nothynge but a sygne for ydell folke and an erly wakynge for them that be lyghte where as of the strange desyres lieth the renome of them self And I deny not but that a light person sercheth soner a woman with a faire face than one of honest lyuyng But I say that a woman that is maried only for her beautie may hope in her age to haue a sorye lyfe It is an infallible reule that she that was maried for her fairenesse is hated for her fowlenes O what trauayle he offreth him selfe vnto that marieth a faire woman It behoueth hym to suffre her pryde for beautie and foly alway go togyther Also he must suffre