their maners he cared nat so greatlye / Whiche the man chylde dothe ofter lerne from home than at home And yet he doth allege the opinion of Chrysippus as though he allowed the same But the mayde / whom we wolde haue specially good / requireth al intendaunce bothe of father and mother / lest any spotte of vice or vnclenlynes shulde stycke on her Let her take no suche thynges neither by her bodily senses and wyttes / nor by her norishyng and bryngyng vp She shall fyrst here her nurce / fyrst se her and what so euer she lerneth in rude and ignorant age / that wyll she euer labour to counterfete and folowe counnyngly Therfore saint Hieronyme / whan he dyd teache the daughter of Leta / he warned that the nurce shulde be no drunkarde / nor wanton / nor full of talke and chattyng Of the residue of her infancy The seconde Chapter AFter that she is ones weaned and begynneth to speke and go / let all her play pastyme be with maydes of her owne age / and within the presence either of her mother or of her nurce / or some other honeste woman of sad age / that maye rule and measure the playes and pastymes of her mynde / and set them to honestie and verue Auoyde all maÌ„nes kyn away from her nor let her nat lerne to delite amonge men For naturally our loue contynueth the longest towarde them / with whom we haue passed our tyme in youth Whiche affection of loue is the most stronge with women bycause they be more disposed to pleasure and dalyance Nowe in that age / whiche can nat yet discerne good from badde / they shuld be taught none yuell And hit is an vngratious opinyon of them that say / they wyll haue theyr chyldren to knowe both good and yuell For by that meanes they say they shall the better fle vice folowe vertue But hit were more suertie / and more profitable / therto more happye / nat onely to do none yll / but also nat ones to knowe hit For who hath nat harde / that we were cast iÌ„ to misery / that selfe houre that the fyrst ancetries of mankynde knewe what was good and what was badde And verely / fathers that wyll nat haue their children vnexpert and ignoraÌ„t of yuell / be worthy that theyr childreÌ„ shuld knowe both good and yll And whan they repent them of theyr yuel doyng / shuld call yet vnto remeÌ„brance / that they lerned to do yuel by their fathers mynde and wyll Let the mayde lerne none vnclenly wordes / or waÌ„toÌ„ / or vncomely gesture mouyng of the body / nat so moche as thaÌ„ whaÌ„ she is yet ignorant what she dothe / and innocent For she shall do the same / whan she is growen bygger and of more discretion And it chaunceth vnto many / that what thynge so euer they haue ben accustomed iÌ„ before / they do the same afterward at vnwarres and vnauysedly And often tymes suche braydes come vpon them agaynst theyr wyll And the worse they be / the oftener they do them For folkes myndes beare them better awaye Let the father and mother be well ware that they alowe none vncomely dede of her / neyther by wordes / laughynge / nor countenance / neyther kysse and enbrace her therfore whiche is the foulest dede of all For the mayde wyll labour to reherse often that / whiche she thynketh shall please beste her father and mother Let all her bryngynge vp be pure and chaste the fyrste yeres / bycause of her maners / the whiche take their fyrst furmyng of that custome in youthe and infancy Of her exercise The thyrde Chapter WHan she is of age able to lerne any thyÌ„g / let her begynne with that / whiche ê‘teyneth vnto the ornameÌ„t of her soule / and the kepyng and ordryng of an house Howe be it I appoynt no tyme to begynne Some reken best to begyn at the seuenth yere in whiche opinion are Aristotel / Eratosthenes / and Chrysippus Quintilian wolde begynne at the fourthe or fyfte yere But I put all the ordryng of this matter in the discrecion of the fathers and mothers whiche may take auysement after the qualities and complexions of the childe so they be nat letted with inordinate affection by reason wherof some set so moche by theyr chyldren / and care so sore for them / that they kepe them from all laboure leste they shulde fall in to any syckenes So whan they wene to encrease and streÌ„gth theyr bodyes / they bruse weaken them The cherisshynge and suffrance of the fathers and mothers hurteth moche the children / that gyueth them an vnbridled lybertie vnto vice infinite and specially the maydes But these be refrayned holden vnder for the most part by feare Whiche if hit lacke / than hath she all the bridell of nature at large / and runneth heedlonge vnto mischiefe / and drowneth her selfe therin and cometh nat lyghtly to any goodnes / without she be of nature suche as we maye se some Therfore lette her bothe lerne her boke / beside that / to handle wolle and flaxe whiche are two craftes yet lefte of that olde innocent worlde / bothe profitable and kepers of temperance whiche thynge speciallye women ought to haue in price I wyll medle here with no lowe matters / leste I shulde seme to make moche ado aboute thynges that be to symple for my purpose But I wolde in no wyse that a womaÌ„ shulde be ignorant in those feates / that muste be done by hande no nat though she be a princes or a quene For what can she do better / or ought to do rather / what tyme she hath ryd her busynes in her house Shulde she talke with men or other women And what shall she still talke of Shall she neuer holde her peace Or shall she syt muse What I praye you Womans thought is swyfte / and for the most parte vnstable / walkyng and wandring out from home / and sone wyl slyde / by the reason of it owne slypernes / I wote nat howe far Therfore redyng were the best / and ther vnto I gyue them couÌ„saile specially But yet whan she is wery of redynge / I can nat se her idell as it were the women of Perse lande / drowned in volupters and pleasures / sittyÌ„g amonge the companye of gelded men / syngynge and bankettynge contynually Whiche pleasures were ofte chaunged and renewed to eschewe tediousnes and th ende of one pleasure was the begynnynge of another folowynge Saynt Hieronyme wolde haue Paula to handle wolle / that moste noble woman commen of the bloode of Scipio and Gracchus whiche was also descended of the lynage of kynge Agamemnon the prince of all kynges and to lerne to dresse it / and to holde and occupie a rocke / with a wolle basket in her lappe / turne the spyndel / and drawe forthe the threde with her owne fyngers And Demetrias / whiche was as great of byrthe
thou nat in thyn owne power / but vnder it / neyther thou canste nat rydde the therof whan thou woldest Who wolde be glad to receyue home suche a guest Who wyll nat kepe hȳ away frō his house For loue fyrst of all troubleth and tosseth al thynge vp set downe at his luste / that hym selfe may beare the more outragious rule / and confoūdeth and blyndeth the witte and reason / that it shall nat se and knowe what is done within / but suffre it selfe to be holly ledde and drawen at loues pleasure This cruell venome that so robbethe vs of our syght / and draweth vs ouer a thousande rockes and hylles / and many tymes throweth vs in suche a doungian / from whēce we can neuer scape out There is no dede so vngratious / so cruell / so outragious / or so strange / that we wyll nat do to obey loue Disceyue frendes / kyl kyns folke / sle father and mother / mourder chyldren / whom her selfe hath borne / all these be but trifyls for loues pleasure neither it is rekened any great greuous acte to destroy vtterly theyr countrey / to perysshe an holle realme / or rydde vp all mankynde What remembrance can here be of holynes / of vertue / iustice / god / of deuotion / or good mynde / all is but iapes / yea and finally thyn owne helth forgotten Wherfore / who so is safe inough / and consydereth these thynges / and doth nat his diligence neuer to come in to this rage and fransy / is worthy to be kepte therin / nor neuer to fynde ende or measure of that iuell / but to be vexed bothe day and nyght with the fyre brande of Cupide neyther to take meate / nor slepe / nor se / nor reste / neither to haue any vse belongynge vnto mankynde This affection of loue taketh wonders sore the myndes of all folkes / and specially of women Wherfore they had nede to take the more hede / leste it steale in vpon them For it cometh commonly at vnware vpon suche as wyll take no labour to auoyde hit / whan they be in the danger and occasions therof / nor care what mynde come / but receyue hit whan it cometh / as a swete and a pleasant thynge nat knowynge what and howe perillous a poyson / lyeth hydde vnder that pleasāt face Therfore they shulde specially withstāde the fyrst occasions whiche thyng Ouide the maister of loue counsayleth / and as the Prophet in the psalme dothe teache Suffre nat those chyldren of Babylon to growe vp / but knocke them vpō a stone / and breke them on the harde fyrmamēt of religion / that is Christ / whiche in the cantikels gyueth warnynge vnto virgins / sayenge Take ye the yonge foxes / whiche marre your vins And he cōmandeth to take them the more dilygently / if the vins shewe all redy flowers of good frute Nowe loue by lōge space waxeth more / gethereth strēgth as many other thynges do / For Ouide sayth / I haue sene a wounde / that in the begynnynge Mought easily haue be brought to healynge Whiche by delay and continuance Hath after growen vnto more greuaunce Gyue none eare vnto the louer / no more thanne thou woldeste do vnto an inchauntoure or a sorcerer For he cometh pleasātly and flaterynge / fyrst praysynge the mayde / shewynge her howe he is taken with the loue of her beautie / that he must be deed for her loue for these louers knowe well inough / the vayne glorious mȳdes of many / whiche haue a great delyte in theyr owne preyses / where with they be caught lyke as the Byrder begyleth the byrdes He calleth the fayre / propre / wytty welspoken / and of gentyll bloode Wherof parauenture thou arte nothynge at all / and thou lyke a foole arte glad to here those lyes / weneste that thou doeste seme so in dede / whan thou arte neuer a whytte so But put case thou doeste seme so / loke whether he call the wyse and honeste / whiche if he do nat all thy preyse is nought and if he do / what maye he hope to gette of the For if he hope to optayne his purpose therby / than hath he belyed the. How hath he thā hādled his matt He sayth he is taken with thy propretes what than and sayth he shall dye / excepte he maye haue the / yea there is the cause of his complaynt Therfore beware thou / leste thy selfe be taken also with his wordes / and perysshe as well as he He saythe he shall dye for the / yea and that he dieth euē streight way Beleuest thou that A foole / let hym shewe the / howe many haue dyed for loue / amōge so many thousandes as haue bene louers Loue dothe peyne some tymes but it neuer sleeth Or though he dyd dye for the / yet it were better for the let hym perysshe / than be perisshed thy selfe and that one shulde perisshe thā twayne I nede nat to reherse here / the common songe of louers / whiche they synge onely to disceyue / whan they haue many tymes nat one droppe of loue towarde her For if he had ones fulfylled his appetite of the / than wolde he shewe howe moche he loued the. If he had loued thy good vertues mynde / as longe as thou haddest lyued / he wolde neuer haue ben full or wery of the. But nowe bycause he loued but only thy body / and the shorte pleasure therof / therfore whā the body decayeth / his loue also vanissheth away / and he fylled and saciate with pleasure / lotheth the plente There be nat a fewe examples therof neither we nede nat to fetche them of the olde worlde For there is none so ignorant / but he hath harde tell / and seen thousandes of men / whiche whan they had abused yonge women for a season / haue caste them vp in to some stewes / bycause they neuer loued them in dede And manye that haue loued very feruētly / haue bene turned at the last from hotte loue vnto mortall hate / and haue kylde their loues / or cutte theyr throttis There is no cite / wherin those thynges be nat harde dayly Wherfore I wonder moche of the foly of yonge women Whiche wyllyngly drowne them selfe in the great see of wretchednes Wherof come so manye stewes / and so many harlottis / yea that haue ben cōmen of honeste kynne What is the cause / that so many yonge women lye pockye / and scabbed / in spyttels / and lazer houses / and that yonge women What is the cause that so manye go a beggynge / pale and sycke / but these meanes Wherfore if no regarde of vertue / no regarde of goodnes and honestie may moue the / if none actis of holy virgins may reuoke the / at leste wyse let these miserable chancis ef yonge women turne the / whiche doutlesse shall light vpō the / if thou folowe on the same
is hit / nat to loue them that thou hast borne But yet let them hyde their loue / lest the children take boldenes there vpō / to do what they lyste Nor lette nat loue stoppe her to punisshe her children for theyr vices / and to strength their bodies and wittes with sadde bryngynge vp For you mothers be the cause of mooste parte of ylnes amonge folkes wherby you maye se / howe moche your children are beholdyng vnto you / whiche induce noughty opinions in to them with your foly For you haue the bryngyng vp of them and you alowe theyr vnthriftynes And whan they be goynge vnto high vertue / and abhorre the ryches of the worlde / and the pompe of the deuyll you with your wepynge / and sharpe rebukynge / call them backe agayne in to the deuylles snares bycause you had leauer se them ryche thā good Agrippyna / mother vnto themperour Nero / whan she had asked south sayers of her sonne / whether he shuld be emperoure / yea sayde they / but he shall kyll his mother let hym kyll her sayd she / so that he maye be emperour And so he both was emperour kylled her But whan it came to the poynt / Agrippyna wolde nat gladly haue bene kylled / and repented that her son had th empyre Fynally you / through your cherishyng wil neither let them take laboure to lerne vertue and haue a pleasure to fyll them full of vices with delicatenes Therfore many of you wepe and wayle for I speke nat of all and be well punysshed and worthyly in this lyfe / for your madnes Whan you be sory to se your chyldren suche as your selfe haue made them Nor you be loued of them agayne / whan they perceyue them selfe vnloued of all other for your loue There is a certayne tale of a yonge mā / whiche whā he was led to be put to deth / desyred to speke with his mother and whan she came / layde his mouthe to her eare / and bote it of And whan the people that were by rebuked hym callȳg hym nat only a these / but also cursed / for so entreatynge his mother / he answered agayne This is the rewarde for her bryn gynge vp For if she / sayd he / had corrected me for stealing my felowes boke out of the schole / whiche was my fyrst thefte thā had I nat proceded vnto these mischeuous dedes But she cherysshed me / kyssed me for my doyng Nowe where to shulde I reherse the madnes of those mothers / that loue better those children / that be foule / croked / leude / dullardes / sluggardes / droūkerdes / vnruely / and folisshe / than those / that be fayre / vpryght / counnyng / quicke witted / inuentyue / sober / treatable / quiet and wyse Whether is this an errour of folkes myndes / or a punysshement of god / deserued for their syns / to make them to loue suche thȳges / as be worthy no loue Dūme beastis cherysshe euer the fayrest of their whelpes / or byrdes / lightly hit is a sygne of good proffe in them / whan the dāmes make moche of them Also hūters knowe that that shal be the best dogge / whiche the damme is most busye about / and for whom she careth the most / and carieth fyrst in to her lytter But in mākynde that is the moste vile and the least worthe / that the mother loueth most tenderly If you will beloued in dede of your children / and specially in that age / whan they knowe what is true and holy loue / thā make them nat to loue you ouer moche / whan they knowe nat yet what loue is but sette more by a spised cake / a hunnye combe / or a pece of sugare / than by bothe father and mother No mother loued her childe better thā myne dyd me neither any chylde dyd euer lesse perceyue hym selfe loued of his mother than I. She neuer lyghtely laughed vpon me she neuer cokered me and yet whā I had ben .iii. or .iiij. dayes out of her house / that she wyst nat where / she was almost sore sicke And whan I was comen home / I coulde nat perceyue that euer she longed for me Therfore was ther no body / that I more fled / or was more lothe to come nyghe / than my mother / whan I was a childe But after I came to yonge mānes estate / there was no body / whom I delited more to haue in syghte Whose memorye nowe I haue in reuerence / as afte as she cometh to my remēbraūce / I enbrace her with in my mynde and thoughte / whan I can nat with my body I had a frende at Paris / a very well lerned man Whiche amonge other great benefites of god / rekened this for one that his mother was deade / that sherysshed hym so wonderously Whiche sayd he if she had lyued / I had neuer come to Paris to lerne But had syt styll at home all my lyfe / amōge dicyng / drabbes / delycates / and pleasures / as I begounne Howe coude this man loue his mother / that was so glad of her dethe But a wyse mother shall nat wysshe for pleasures vnto her childe / but vertue Nor for ryches / but for counnyng / and good fame And rather for an honest dethe / than for an vncomly lyfe The women of Lacedemon / had leauer their sonnes shulde dye honestelye for the defence of they ▪ coūtrey / than fle to saue theyr lyues And we rede in histories / that many of them haue kylled with theyr owne hādes / theyr sonnes / that were cowardes and dastardes / pronouncyng these wordes This was neuer my sonne / Nor borne in Lacedemone Sophia whiche had .iij. goodly daughters / named them with .iij. names of vertue / hope / faith / and charite / and was very glad to se them all dye for the honour of Christe / buried them her owne selfe / nat farre from Rome / in the tyme of Hadryan themperour Let nat the mothers be so diligēt in teachynge theyr children craftes to gette good by / as to make them vertuous Neither shall bydde them take exāple of suche as haue gathered moche goodes in shorte space but rather of suche as haue comen vnto great vertue and goodnes The people of Megara is dispreysed / and nat without a cause / for teachyng theyr children nygardshyppe and couetyse and in stede of honest children / made them sparynge bonde men Wherfore they caused suche thynges / as wese chaunseth nowe adayes / that with byddyng them so ofte / seke for good / get good / increase theyr good / and gether good by all meanes / they caused their children to do myschiefe vngratious dedes The whiche faute is a great parte in the fathers and mothers / whiche be coūsaylours / causers / and setters vpon / and as good reason was / whan the children coulde fynde none other wayes to come by ryches /
The mother is discontent / that all her sonnes loue shulde be tourned vnto her doughter in lawe and the wyfe can nat suffce any to beloued / but her selfe And there of ryfeth hate / enuye / and braulyng / as it were be twene two dogges / if a man stryke and sherysshe the one the other beynge bye Pythagoras scholers in olde tyme / and those that were of his secte / dyd nat reken frendship mynysshed / the mo that come vnto it but to be the more encreased and streÌ„gthed so the mother ought nat to thynke her selfe a mother euer the lesse / if her sonne marye a wyfe nor the wyfe ought to counte her selfe a wyfe the lesse / if she haue a mother in lawe but rather either of them ought to reconsile the man vnto the other / if any discorde chaunce betwene them Thou folishe mother in lawe / woldest thou nat haue thy sonne to loue his wyfe / whiche is a companyon frende inseparable Coudeste thou haue suffered nat to haue bene loued of thyne owne husbande What greatter mysery canst thou wisshe vnto thy sonne / than for to dwell with his wyfe with displeasure And thou folysshe doughter in lawe / woldeste nat thou haue thy husbande to loue his mother doest nat thou loue thy mother Thou shalt be loued of thy husbande as his felowe and dere mate and thy husbaÌ„de shal loue his mother / as vnto whom he is dounde / for his lyfe his norisshyng / and his bryngyng vp and therfore he oweth great loue kyndnes The daughter in lawe / knowynge that her husbaÌ„de and she is all one / shall reken her husbandes mother her owne / and shall loue her and reuerence her no lesse than her naturall mother / but be more seruiseable vnto her / that she maye bynde her the more to loue her She shall nat be displeased / if her husbande loue his mother / but rather and she be a good and a vertuous womaÌ„ / if she se hym nat behaue hym selfe vnto his mother accordynge lyke / she shall exhorte hym and desyre hym to behaue hym selfe as a son ought vnto his mother There is no mother in lawe so out of reason / but she wyll be the better content / if she knowe her doughter in lawe chaste / louyng to her husbaÌ„de Agrippina / nece vnto Augustus theÌ„perour by his doughter Iulia / whiche was maried vnto Germanicus / neuew vnto Liuia theÌ„presse / by her sonne Drusus / she was hated of Liuia / both as a doughter iÌ„ lawe / and as a stepdoughter / was of her owne nature bothe sharpe shrewed inough but she was so chaste of body / and so louyng vnto her husbande / that with those two vertues she altered the fyerce mynde of her mother in lawe Liuia / and tourned hit to good The doughters in lawe ought to nourisshe and sustayne theyr mothers in lawe in theyr necessite / none other wyse / thanne if they were theyr owne mothers Ruth / a Moabite borne / lefte her countre and all her kynne / for her mother in lawe / bycause she wolde nat leaue the olde myserable woman in sorowe and heuynes Therfore she bothe comforted her with wordes / nourisshed and founde her with her laboure / and in all conditioÌ„s fulfylled the roume of a doughter neither that same great charite of Ruth lacked rewarde For by the counsayle and helpe of her mother in lawe she gate Booz vnto her husbande / a great ryche man / and bare Isai the prophet / and was graundemother to kynge Dauid / of whose stocke our lorde Christe was borne Howe she shall lyue with her sonne or her doughter maryed / and howe with her sonnne in lawe and doughter in lawe The .xiiij. Chap. AS it is conuenient for the wyfe to apply her selfe vnto her husbandes discretion and wyll in all other thynges so whan any of her children shall be maryed / that both Aristotle in the seconde boke of house kepyng / teacheth / and reason byddeth / that the holle auctorite ouer the childreÌ„ shulde be gyuen to the fathers So by the lawes of Rome / chyldren were nat vnder the mothers rule / but the fathers and that so longe as he lyued / though they were maried / and of great age / excepte they were at theyr owne lybertie Nowe howe great power ought fathers to haue ouer theyr owne children / whaÌ„ god wolde the Ioseph shulde haue some auctorite ouer Christe Changell of our lorde / what tyme he shewed vnto Iosephe in his dreame / that that / whiche was in the wombe of Mary / was nat conceyued by mannes generation / but by the power and worke of the holy goost She shall sayd he / beare a sonne / thou shalte call his name Iesus He sayd nat / she shall beare the a sonne / as thuse is to say to the owne fathers For women beare children vnto theyr husbaÌ„des and yet he sayd / thou shalt call hym Wherby he signyfied the power and auctorite of hym / whiche was his father apparent / whan he hadde said vnto the virgin / His name shal be called Iesus A wyse woman shall nat pursue her doughter in lawe / nor wene that she wynneth loue with hatyng her / neyther of her nor of her sonne If she loue her / gyue her good couÌ„sayle / and teache her And if she do afore her suche thynges / as maye be example vnto her doughter in lawe / both of chastite and so bernes And if she make no discorde betwene the maried couples / but if any chaunce betwene them by reason of other / auoyde it / and reconsyle them agayne with all her myght Fynally / if she beare a motherly affectioÌ„ towarde her doughter in lawe / she shall lyghtely brynge to passe / that bothe her sonne shall be more bounde vnto her / and shall optayne great loue and reuerence of her doughter in lawe For howe moche more shall he loue her / of whom he hath ben borne / by whom he hath his wyfe / both more chaste and more sober / and better agreynge with hym / wherby he shall be bounde vnto her nat only for that benyfite / that she is his mother / but also bicause she hath be the instructrice of his wyfe / and causer of a great parte of his felicite And the doughter in lawe on her partie shall beare none other minde vnto her mother in lawe / than if she were her owne mother / by whom she hath â—othe gotten more knowlege / and is made better / hath her husbaÌ„de more pleasant louyÌ„g vnto her And in a sharpe a rygorous mother in lawe all thyng chauÌ„seth coÌ„trary As for that daughtÌ„ that is maryed / the mother shall nat desyre to haue so moche her owne / as whaÌ„ she was a mayde / but remeÌ„bre / that than she is skyfted in to another house kynred / to eÌ„crease that stocke but she may
wyse as some men be vn apte / agayne some be euē borne vnto hit / or at lest nat vnfete for hit Therfore they that be dulle are nat to be discoraged / and those that be apte / shulde be harted encoraged I perceiue that lerned women be suspected of many as who sayth / the subtyltie of lernynge shulde be a noryshement for the malitiousnes of theyr nature Verely I do nat alowe in a subtile and a crafty womā suche lernȳg / as shulde teche her disceyte / and teche her no good maners and vertues Natwithstandyng the preceptes of lyuȳg / thexāples of those that haue lyued well / and had knowlege to gether of holynes / be the kepers of chastite and purenes / and the copies of vertues / and prickes to pricke and to moue folkes to contynue in them Aristotel asketh a question / why trompetters and mynstrelles / that playe at festis for wagis / and resortynges gatherynges of people / whom the grekes call in their langage / as ye wolde say / Bacchus seruantes / be euer gyuen vnto pleasures / and no goodnesse at all but spēde out theyr thryfte / and theyr lyfe in noughtynes He maketh answere hym selfe / that hit is so / bycause they be euer amonge volupteis and pleasures / and bankettyng nor here any tyme the preceptes of good lyuyng nor regarde any man that lyueth well and therfore they can lyue none other wyse thā they haue lerned / eyther by seynge or heryng Nowe haue they harde / nor sene / neither vsed any thynge / but pleasure and beastlynes / amonge vncomely cryeng and shouttyng / amonge dauncers and kyssers / laughers and eaters / drunkerdes and spewers / amonge folke drowned in excedyng ouermoche ioye and gladnes all care and mynde of goodnes layde aparte Therfore muste they nedes shewe suche thynges in theyr conditions and all theyr lyfe But you shall nat lyghtlye fynde an yll woman / excepte it be suche one / as eyther knoweth nat / or at leste way consydereth nat what chastite honestie is worthe nor seeth what myschiefe she doth / whā she for goth it nor regardethe howe great a treasure / for howe fowle / for howe lyght / and transitorie an image of pleasure she changeth what a sort of vngratiousnessis she letteth in / what tyme she shutteth forthe chastite nor pōdreth what bodily pleasure is / howe vayne and folyshe a thynge / whiche is nat worth the turnynge of an hande / nat only vnworthy wherfore she shulde cast away that / whiche is moost goodly treasure / that a woman canne haue And she that hath lerned in bokes to caste this and suche other thynges / and hath furnyshed fensed her mynde with holy coūsailes / shal neuer fȳde to do any vilany For if she can fynde in her harte to do naughtyly / hauyng so many preceptes of vertue to kepe her / what shulde we suppose she shulde do / hauynge no knowlege of goodnes at al And truely if we wold call tholde worlde to remembraunce / and reherce theyr tyme / we shall fynde no lerned woman that euer was yll where I coude brynge forth an hundred good / as Cornelia / the mother of Gracchus / whiche was an example of all goodnes chastite / and taught her childrē her owne selfe And Portia the wyfe of Brutus / that toke of her fathers wysedome And Cleobula daughter of Cleobulus / one of the .vij. wyse men / whiche Cleobula was so gyuen vnto lernynge and philosophie / that she clerely dispised all pleasure of the body / and lyued perpetuallye a mayde at whom the doughter of Pythagoras the philosopher toke exāple / whiche after her fathers deth was the ruler of his schole / and was made the maystres of the college of virgins Also Theano / one of the same secte schole / doughter vnto Metapontus / whiche had also the gyfte of prophesie / was a woman of syngular chastite And saynt Hieronyme sayth / that the .x. Sibilles were virgins Also Cassandra / and prophetis of Apollo / and Iuno at Cryssa / were virgins / and that was a common thyng / as we rede / that those women that were prophetes were virgins eke And she that answered suche as came to aske any thyng of Apollo in Delphis / was euer a virgine of whom the fyrste was Phemone / whiche fyrste foūde verse royal Also Sulpitia / wyfe vnto Caleno / lefte be hynde her holy preceptes of matrymony / that she hadde vsed in her lyuynge her selfe / of whom the poet Martial writeth on this wyse Redeth Sulpitia all yonge women That caste your mynde to please one man Redeth Sulpitia also all men That do entende to please one woman Of honest and vertuous loue doth she tell / Chaste pastymes / playes and pleasure Whose bokes who so consydreth well Shall say / there is none holyer And hit is playnly knowen / that no man in that tyme was more happy of his wyfe / than was Caleno of Sulpitia Hortentia the doughter of Hortentius thoratour / dyd so resemble her fathers eloquence / that she made an oration vnto the iuges of the cite for the women whiche oration the successours of that tyme dyd rede / nat only as a laude and preyse of womens eloquence / but also to lerne counnyng of it / as well as of Cicero or Demosthenes orations Edesia of the cite of Alexandre / kins womā vnto Syryā the philosopher / was of so great lernyng and vertuous disposition / that she was a woundre vnto all the worlde in her tyme. Corinna Theia a vertuous woman ouer came the poete Pindar .v. tymes in verses Paula the wyfe of Senec / enfourmed with the doctrine of her husbande / folowed also her husbande in conditions And Senec him selfe maketh sorowe / that his mother was nat well lerned in the preceptes of wyse men / whiche she had bene entred in at her husbandes commandement Argentaria Polla / wyte vnto the poete Lucane / whiche after her husbandes dethe corrected his bokes / and it is sayde / that she helped hym with the makynge / was a noble woman of byrthe / ryche and excellent of beautie and wyt / and chastite of whom Calliope in Statius speaketh thus vnto Lucane / I shall nat only gyue the excellence in makynge But also bynde in maryage the vnto One mete for thy wytte and great counnyng Suche as Venus wold gyue or the goddes Iuno In beautie symplicite / and gentilnes In byrthe / grace / fauour / and ryches Also Diodorus the logitiā had .v. daughters excellent in lernynge and chastite of whom Philo / mayster vnto Carneades / wryteth the historye zenobia the quene of palmyra / was lerned both in latyn and greke / and wrote an historie of whom / with other mo in the next boke / I shal tel the maruaylous chastite I nede nat to reherse the Christen women / as Tecla disciple of Paule / a scholer mete for
bretherne that thought their syster had ben a maydeÌ„ / whan they same her great with chylde / they dissembled theyr anger so longe as she was with chylde but as soone as she was delyuered of her chylde they throuste swordes into her bealye / and slewe her / the myddewyfe lokynge on In the same parte of Spayne / whan I was a chylde / thre maydens with a longe towell / strangled a maydeÌ„ that was one of theyr companyons / whan they toke her in the abominable dede Histories be full of exaÌ„ples / and dayly ye se neither hit is maruaile that these be done of fathers and frendes / and that the affection of loue and charite is tourned so sodaynely in to hate whan the women taken with the abomynable cruell loue / all loue caste quite out of theyr harte / hate theyr fathers and mothers / bretherne and children nat only theyr frendes and aquayntance And this I wolde nat that onely maydens shulde thynke spoken vnto them / but also maryed womeÌ„ and wydowes / fynally all women Nowe let the woman turne to her selfe consydre her owne vngratiousnes / she shall feare abhorre her selfe nor take reste day nor nyght but euer vexed with the scourge of her owne conscience / and bourned as hotte fyre brondes shall neuer loke stedfastlye vpon any body / but she shall be in feare / leste they knowe some what of her lewednes that than no body shall speake softely / but she shall thynke they speake of her vnthryftynes She shall neuer here talkyng of noughty women / but she shall thynke hit spoken bicause of her Nor she shall neuer here name of corruptyon spoken by any other / but she shall thynke hit mente by her / or of her selfe Nor no body shall stoure priuely in the house / but she shal feare / lest her vngratiousnes be opened / and that she shall be punysshed streyght What realme woldest thou bye with suche perpetual vexation Whiche many a man supposeth to be none other payne in hell The same payne haue wycked men / but women farre sorer / bycause theyr offences be rekened fouler / they be more timorus of nature And doutles / if hit be well consydred / women be worthy these punisshmentes / and moche worse / that kepe nat theyr honestie diligently For as for a maÌ„ nedeth many thynges / as wysedome / eloquence / knowlege of thynges / with remembraunce / some crafte to lyue bye / Iustice / Leberalite / lustye stomake / and other thynges moo / that were to longe to reherce And though some of these do lacke / hit is nat to be disliked / so that many of them be had / but in a womaÌ„ no maÌ„ wyll loke for eloqueÌ„ce / great witte / or prudence / or crafte to lyue by / or ordryng of the commen weale / or iustice / or liberalite Finally no man will loke for any other thing of a woman / but her honestye the whiche onely / if hit be lacked / is lyke as in a maÌ„ / if he lacke al that he shulde haue For in a womaÌ„ the honestie is in stede of all Hit is an euyll keper / that can nat kepe one thyng well / commytted to her kepyng / and put in truste to her with moche commendation of wordes and specially whiche no maÌ„ wil take from her agaynst her wyll / nor touche hit / excepte she be wyllynge her selfe The whiche thyng onely / if a woman remembre / hit shall cause her to take better hede / to be a more ware keper of her goodnes whiche alone / thoughe all other thynges be neuer so well in saftye / so loste / all other thynges perysshe to gether there with What can be safe to a womaÌ„ saith Lucrecia / whan her honestie is gone And yet had she a chast mynde in a corrupt body Therfore as Quintilian saythe / she thrist a sworde in to her body / and auenged the coÌ„pulsyon / that the pure mynde myght be seperated froÌ„ the defyled body / as shortly as coude be But I saye nat this bycause other shulde folowe the dede / but the mynde By cause she that hath ones lost her honestie / shulde thynke there is nothynge lefte Take from a woman her beautie / take from her kynrede / ryches / comelynes / eloquence / sharpenes of wytte / counnynge in her crafte / gyue her chastite / and thou haste gyuen her all thynges And on that other syde / gyue her all these thynges / and calle her a noughtye packe / with that one worde thou haste taken all from her and hast lefte her bare and foule There be also other thyÌ„ges / both in the body and minde / that helpe a woman vnto the kepynge of her honestie wherof I wyll speake nowe Of the ordryng of the body in a virgin The .viij. Chaptre THough hit were nat for this pourpose to speke of the body / nat withstaÌ„dyng for as moche as some thynges that be in the mynde come of the reason and complection of the bodye Therfore must we speke some thyng of the ordryng of the body of a virgin Fyrst of all me thyÌ„ke that it is to be tolde theyr father mother / as Aristotel dothe bydde in his historie of beastes / that is that they kepe theyr doughters / speciallye whan they begynne to growe from chyldes state / and holde them from mennes company For that tyme they be gyuen vnto most lust of the body Also the maydens shulde kepe them selfe / both at all other / and at the tyme specially / from either herynge or seyng / or yet thinkyng any foule thing / whiche thing she shall labour to do Neuer the lesse at other tymes two / vnto the tyme that they be maryed / moche fastynge shall be good / whiche dothe nat feble the bodye / but brydell hit / and presse hit downe / and quenche the heate of youthe For these be only the very and holye fastes Let theyr meate be meane and easy to gette / neither hotte of hitselfe / nor spised with spices / nor delycate And they oughte to remembre / that our fyrste mother for meate was cast out of paradise And many yonge womeÌ„ that had ben vsed to delycate meates / whan they had nat them at home / haue gone forth froÌ„ home ieoê‘ded their honestie Let their drinke be the drynke prepared of nature / that is clene water Valerius Maximus sayth / that wyne was vnknowen vnto women of Rome in olde tyme / leste they shulde fall in any shame For bycause it was wonte to be the nexte waye from Bacchus the father of intemperance vnto Venus vnlefull But if theyr stomake will nat beare water / gyue them some ale / or bere / or small wyne / as shall be sufficient to digest theyr meate / and nat enflame theyr bodies Nor that is nat only good for theyr maners and rankenes of the bodye / wantonnes / to kepe them
waye that they haue gone before For the louer wyll disceyue the / eyther bycause it is his custome to disceyue / or bycause that is the rewarde of this fylthy loue / orels bycause the pleasure lothed by the reason of abundance / moueth hym so to do Here vnto many thynges shall profite / that haue bene tolde in the place / where I haue intreated of the kepyng and sauynge of chastite as that good fare of meate and drynke / do nat kendle noryshe loue / neither also idelnes / nor ouer moche kepyng of company with men Lucian the rhetorician enduceth Venus askynge her sonne Cupide / what is the cause / that whā he woūdeth with his darte of loue / bothe Iuppiter / Neptune / Apollo / Iuno / yea her selfe to his owne mother / and finally all the goddis / yet doth he nat ones meddell with Pallas / Diane / and the Musis Where vnto he answereth Pallas sayth he thretneth me / whā I come to warde her / and resisteth and withstandeth the occasions Nowe the Musis be ful of vertuous reuerence / and euer occupied with some vertuous labour and so they kepe them out of loue with theyr study And Dian runneth about in the woddes and desartes / and so she can nat loue / bycause she fleeth companye For moche of loue crepeth in by the bodylye senses whiche after nourysshed with in tender myndes and thoughtes / groweth vnto more But parauenture the mayde is caught all redy / than must we seke a remedy for the wounde / afore it cōstrayne her to do that thȳg / whiche shall cause her euer lastynge repentance Fyrst thou mayst be sory / that thou hast wyttyngly throwē thy selfe in to that doungian Nor those folkes ought to be taken hede vnto / that saye / hit lyethe nat in theyr owne power / to eschewe loue For so saye some / whiche excuse theyr owne vyce with necessite as though they had done it agaȳst their wyll Nor they that so say seme to knowe the power and nature of loue Also remembre this lytell verse Loue can nat be thrust out / but it maye crepe out Wherby we maye perceyue / that loue neyther breaketh in violently / nor can be cast out violently But lyke wyse as hit hath by lytell and lytell crepte in / so by lytell and lytell it may be put awaye agayne Therfore let nat thy mynde wandre For if it be nat kepte / it wyll runne thyther of hit owne accorde Some tyme consyder thy selfe / howe many thynges thou haste done folysshelye / blyndly / and without witte / brayne / or reason / by the meanes of loue And howe moche good tyme thou haste loste in it / with vnprofitable folysshe cares / and lost the occasions of many good dedes Remembre also howe thou haste bourned / howe many thynges thou haste thought / sayd / yea and done / parte folisshe / parte madde / ye and some vngratious Remembre in to what misery thou castest thy selfe lyke a blynde body and what a benyfit agayne thou haste opteyned / that haste recouered thy syght / and a pourpose and wyll to comme vnto better mynde agayne Whiche thynge thou mayste reken to be a great gyfte of god / and thy selfe to be moche bounde to hym for hit Therfore set thy selfe vnto some worke / and kepe thy selfe from the syghte and herynge of the parson / that thou loueddest and if he come by chance in to thy thought / turne thy mynde some other way / either with redyng or prayeng / or some good communication or some honest songe / or studyeng of some mery matter so that it be clene and honest And if he / whom thou louest / haue any faute or vice / call that ofte vnto remembraunce / and nat what vertue and goodnes he hath For there is no bodye lyuynge but he hath some thyng / that may be dispreysed therfore let that be had fyrste in remembrance and consydre this / that great vices lye often hydde vnder the coloure of vertue / and many perillous thinges cloked vnder an honest face outwarde Beautie makethe folkes proude and disdaynous noble byrthe maketh them stately ryches / intollerable strength of body cruell Therfore cōsydre in thy mynde / nat what he hath sayd / that hath lyked the / but what he hath spokē / that hath dislykedde the as if he hath eyther done or sayd ought peuysshely / folysshely / foule / horrible / abomynable / lewedely / vnthriftyly / madly / vngratiously and by that that cometh forthe / make coniecture / what lyeth hydde secretely and closely with in For there is no bodye / but he hydeth his faute as moche as he can / and sheweth his vertue vnto the vttermoste / so the vertue appereth more than it is / and the vice lesse More ouer we be disceyued with the nere similitudes of vicis and vertues / whan euery mā laboreth to seme better thā he is / and we vnwysely / and after the common opinion esteme vertues / callyng hym liberall that is a waster / and hym bolde / that is foolehardye / and eloquent / that is a great babler / and wytty / that is inconstant / where with yonge women be ofte disceyued / whan they can nat perceyue the sothe / and iuge the man by that / whiche outwardly appereth Neither any man goth to his loue / but he setteth hym selfe forthe with all his best propretes / that he may seme to lacke nothynge / that any man ought to haue by that meanes disceyueth folisshe yonge women / hydyng great vicis / vnder a thyn colour of vertue / as byrders hyde the lyme with meate / and fysshers the hoke with the bayte This a yonge woman ought to consyder / before it be to late to repent / leste she begȳne to waxe wyse / whan hit shall nothynge auayle And if thou be clene gotten out of loue / healed / hast recouered thy syght agayne / than shalt thou se / howe moche thou arte bounde vnto god / that hath taken the out of thy madnes / and restored the vnto thy witte For what vertuous christē woman / or els pagan / of any wytte or honestie / loued euer any other thā her husbāde Therfore thou shalte neither desyre thy selfe to be louedde in this wyse / neither by vngratious craftes inflame the myndes of men / the whiche fyre shall retourne agayne vnto thy selfe Many women reioyse to haue louers / whose hartis they may burne inflame purposely O thou vngratious woman / seest thou nat / howe thou bryngest hym in to the possessiō of the deuyll with thy crafte / whither thy selfe shall go also / thereto receyue thy mede / wher ye shall both burne / he for beynge ouer come of the deuyll / and thou for ouer commynge hym for the deuyll / ye shall bothe be payde your wages Nowe the apostle sayth The wagis of synne is dethe Howe
preyse for the tyme all that she doth / bicause they haue delite therin But and the folysshe maydes coulde here what men speake afterwardes amonge them selfe one vnto an other / without dissimulation than shulde they knowe in dede howe hartely they preysed them and lyked them they shulde vnderstāde than / that whan the men called her mery conceyted / they ment they were bablars / and chatters and whan they called them lusty tyrers / they mēt they were lyght mynded and where they called them well nurtred / they ment they were wanton But some wold say here / yet by these meanes they come by mariage I graunt / in dede some do but the moste parte doth nat For both mo be maried / and that also vnto better husbādes / that neuer go about to tempte no men / the whiche whan they se them selfe begyled with the women / they kylle them vp with yll intreatynge And this the mayde may be sure of / that she shall neuer haue good lyfe with that husbande / whiche she hath gootten by wyles and craftes Or if there be any man so mad or folisshe / that had leauer haue suche a woman to his wyfe / than one that loueth solitariousnes / and is sad both of behauour and aparell / and mylde of there suche a mā wolde nat I marye my doughter to for he muste nedes loue lewdnes and vyce / that setteth more by suche knackes / thā by vertue and goodnes Nowe wil I speke a fewe wordes of loue / the whiche doteth all maydes for the mooste parte / disceiueth them greatly / and bryngeth to moche mischiefe For hit dothe nat become amayd to make any signe / that she wold fayne be maried / or that she loue any yōge man to wedde For if she loue hym afore or she haue hym / that it be knowē / what shall he thynke / but that she wyll as lyghtly loue another as she hath done hym / whom as yet she ought to shewe no loue vnto neither he wil beleue that she loueth hym alone / seynge there is as great cause to loue other And if he shulde marie her / he wyll thȳke she wyll haue as good mȳde to other as hym selfe / whan she is so lyght of loue Let euery body excuse the matter as they wyll / but in very dede euery woman / that loue the any man vesyde her husbande / is accursed / if she haue a do with hym and though she haue nat / yet is she an harlotte in mȳde And there hath bene many that haue loued so outragiously / that they haue bene obedient vnto the pleasure of those mē / whom they hoped shulde be their husbandes And afterward that men haue dispised cast them vp whiche in my mynde was well and wysely done For they be vnworthy for to be maried / that dare shewe an example vnto those men / whom they shulde haue / howe well they can fynde in their harte to lye with a mā / that is nat theyr husbande For by likelihode they wyll both do that same with other men afore their mariage / and in their mariage with theyr adulterers There is no daye / wheron these thynges by chance nat in euery cite nor there is no woman so ignorāt what is done in the cite / but she hereth tell of these thynges I haue harde tell in this countre / that wowars haue bene forsakē for none other cause / but bycause there was no loue betwene the parties afore For the yonge women sayde / they coulde nat loue them / nor fynde in theyr harte to haue them in mariage / whom they loued nat / nor knewe before and this is a great vse they saye / in Candye What nede is it to rebuke suche myndes with wordes / whiche who so dothe nat perceyue to be vnchaste / I holde her farre more noughtye than they be Nowe than louest nat thou thy husbande / bycause he is coupled vnto the by goddis lawes and goddis commandement / but bycause thou arte vsed to his loue before So do drabbes and harlottis / whiche for lyke cause loue theyr louers and thou arte nat farre vnlyke vnto those drabbes And so hit chanceth vnto suche women / euen by the punyshemēt of god / that all the loue / whiche they ought to kepe in theyr mariage / they spende it out afore Wher of this common sayenge came vp that they that marie for loue / shall leade their lyfe in sorowe For it chanceth by many / that after the heate of loue is ones past / there foloweth great hate / whiche thyng ofte tymes maketh wōdre and talke amonge the people / whan they here tell / howe so great louers within .iii. or .iiij. dayes fal at debate / and begynne to deuorce / or the bryde cake be eaten Nor it is no maruayle for neyther the fyre maye laste / that lacketh wodde neyther loue / that is nat nourisshed with honest louynge For amonge yll folkes / as Cicero sayth / can be no sure frendshippe Wherfore hit is nat expedient to make maryages by loue afore hande / neither to couple and bynde that mooste holy charite with so fylthy and brytell bandes and yet moche worse is it to make them to marye by stryuyng / and hate / thretnyng / and sute as whan they go to lawe to gether / the man for the woman / bearynge her in hande / that she is his wyfe and the woman in lyke maner for the mā I neuer harde tell of more folysshenes / than for a woman to laboure to haue a mā / agaȳst his wyll / with whom she shall bothe lyue atwynne and excepte he loue her / she shall lyue in perpetuall sorowe And loue muste be gotten with fayre meanes / and nat compelled For he wyll neuer be a sure frende / that is drawen and holden by force What a madnes is hit to begynne that sacrament of holy loue with hate I wolde nat / so god me helpe / haue a seruant agaynst his wyll moche lesse a mate neyther hit is nat good to compell a man agaynst his wyll Nor I wolde the woman shulde be maryed vnto hym / excepte he desyre her with all his harte nor hit becometh nat the maydes frēdes to pray or labour for a maryage / or ones to offre the mayde of theyr partye but the mā shulde seke for mariage and so it shulde be done in dede / sauyng that money ruleth and ordreth all thynge For nowe they be maryed vnto money / money marieth And as Senec saythe / men drawe theyr wyues to them with theyr fyngers And therfore se we so many sorye and vnluckye maryages / whan bothe the partyes se them selfe coupled vnto the money / and nat vnto the mā or the woman Therfore bothe of them enbraseth and holdeth faste it And as for the wyfe / the husbande kepeth her but as his concubyne / and she hym as aduoutrer neyther loueth one another /
thynke / that she coude do nothyng that shulde more please her husbādes concubyne / than if she ronne from her house and her husbande / or elles be at debate with hym For than she will thynke to haue his fauour the more / whan she seeth his wyfe caste hit of with her frowardnes / besyde the speche of people / whiche thȳg is worse for a woman / than to suffre any kynde of payne with her husbande We rede in storyes that yonge and newe maryed women / whan their husbande 's many tymes for the loue of huntynge hath layne out al night / they haue suspected them with other women / and folowedde them in to the woddes and forestis / and there in the darke haue ben kylled with arrowes and torne with dogges / in the steade of wylde beastis / and suffered great payne for theyr curious ieolosy But howe moche more curtesly and wisely dyd Tertia Emylia wyfe vnto Affricane the fyrste / whiche whan she sawe that her husbande had a fantasye vnto one of her maydes / dissembled the matter / leste she shulde seme to condempne of incontinēcy the vanquissher of the worlde / and the prince of her countrey / and also her selfe of impacience / that coude nat suffre a wronge of her husbande / whiche was the nobliste mā of the worlde in his tyme. But bycause no mā shulde thynke / that she kepte any grutche in her harte / she maried that same woman / that had ben her husbandes concubyne / vnto an honest man of her owne seruauntes / supposyng that if folkes departed out of this lyfe / haue any remembrance or felynge of worldly matters / that dede shulde be a great pleasure vnto her husbandes soule This wyse woman knewe well inough that she was the wyfe the lady of the house / whether so euer her husbande went And if she shulde beare any grutche that her husbande shulde lye with other women that were but a fantasye of bodely pleasure / and nat of loue Moreouer / if the wyfe shulde take displeasure with her husbande / she shulde but prouoke him the more and if she suffre hym / she shal the soner reclame hym / and specially whā he doth perceyue and compare to gether her gentyll maners and his concubynes vnreasonable pryde for so Terence a peynter and declarer of the world is conditions wryteth in the comedye called Hecyra / that Panphilus was gotten frome Bacchis his concubyne / whom he loued so well / and brought a way his mynde vnto his wyfe / after that he had ones consydered and knowen well hym selfe / and Bacchis / and his wyfe / that was at home / estemynge bothe theyr maners as they were in dede / howe his wyfe was as an honeste woman / ought to be / sober / demure / and shamfast and howe she suffred all the harmes and wronges that her husbāde dyd vnto her / kepte her displeasure in close than his mynde by lyttel and litle ouer comen partly with pite / that he hadde on his wyfe / partlye with wrōges done by Bacchis / fell clene out from Bacchis and tourned all his loue vnto his wyfe / seyng she was of conditions accordynge to his appetite Thus sayth Terence Neyther I wyll let passe the dedes of that noble woman / whiche whā her husbande was taken with loue of an other mānes wyfe / she sawe hym go dayly vnto her with ieoperdye of his lyfe / bycause of the womans husbande and her bretherne / that laye styll in watche for hym / sayd vnto her husbande in this manere Syr I se you can nat be gotten away from the loue of that womā / neither I wyll require that of you / I desyre you only / that you loue nat with so great ieoperdye of your lyfe she sayth she wyll be cōtent to goo with you Therfore brynge her home vnto pour owne castell / and I shal leaue her all this the moste goodlyest parte of the place / and go my selfe in to an other / I promyse you of my fayth to entreate her none other wyse / thā myn owne syster if you fynde contrary / dryue me out of the house / and let her abyde So in conclusyon she persuaded her husbande and vpon a nyght he brought his concubyne in to his castel / sore tremblyng and fearyng her louers wyfe But she receyued her moste gentelly and courteslye / and brought her in to her chambre / nor neuer called her but syster / and sente vnto ger twys aday / commaūded she shulde be entreated more tēderly and dayntely thā her owne selfe / without any token of hate / either in worde or dede Than sayde she vnto her husbande Nowe may you vse your loue with lesse care ieoperdye So / the mā of an holle yere came nat at his wyfe / whiche was both fayrer and more noble of byrth / and honeste / and in all poyntes more goodly than his concubyne What she thought in her mynde / only god knoweth but as farre as men coude perceiue / she toke no displeasure with the matter at all / speciallye after she hadde rydde her husbande out of ieoperdye Moche was she in the churche / and moche in prayer / and euery mā knewe wel inough her trouble / but no man knewe that euer she grutched or cōplayned With in a yere / this man tourned his mynde holly vnto his wyfe / and beganne to hate his concubyne deadly / and at the laste put her away and set all his loue vpon his wyfe / in so moche / that euer after he sayd / that al his mynde / his lyfe / and his harte was in her / and nowe he saith he wyll nat lyue lōge after / if it shulde chaūce her to dye I wyll nat name them / bicause they be both on lyue These examples haue I brought of them that haue an euident cause of ieolosy For as for them that be nat sure of any cause / and be vnreasonable / and intollerable / and cause great vexacion / both vnto their selfe and vnto their husbandes / for an offence / that they wotte nat whether it be so or nat / as many do / whiche either loue inordinatly / or folowe theyr owne fantasyes ouer moche / they take lyght suspeciousnes and feble coniectures / for great and euident argumentes If her husbande bourde with a nother woman / lette nat the wyfe streight suspecte / that he loueth her A great parte of this affection commeth of beleue / and ryseth ofter of opinion and suspection thā matter in dede Therfore let nat the woman be taken with euery lyght suspection / whiche ought nat to be moued or agreued though she knewe any thȳg in dede Of raymentes The .viii. Chap. ALso arayment in lyke wyse as all other thynges oughte to be referred vnto the husbandes wyll / if he lyke symple arayment / let her be contēt to weare it For if she desyre