to this The third is a man that wyll stande in the thing that is good and lightely depart from a thing that is euell But generally the man that is constante is better then the manne that is mutable for the mutable moueth with euerye winde but the constante mouethe not for anye stronge desire but somtime by his noble delectacion mouethe frome his falce credence and consenteth to the trewthe It is impossible that a man be wise and incontinent to geather For prudence is but onelye in the worke ofte tymes incontinence and wylynes be together and so subteltie is deuided from prudence And prudence is in those thiges which be good But subteltee is both in the good and in the euil And the wise man that worketh not according to his science is lyke to hym that slepeth and is droncke The lighte and wantō man is the pit of carnal desyres afflict and swalowed in the workes of reason and is as a drunckard which hath bound his wit and is smothered in his brayne by the vapours of wyne for to much wine peruerteth the ryght iudgement The frendful man is he that wronges other by councell prepensed and by I re maketh election without reason which is euel withoute remedy ¶ Of Amitee cha xxxix AMitee is one of the vertues of almightie God and of mā and is much nedeful to thelife of mā and a man hath nede of frēdship in this life as of other thynges And the mighty riche princes of the earth haue nede of frendes to whom thei may be beneficial and of whom they may receaue thankes honors and seruices A gret suretie it is to a mā to haue frendes for so much as aman is in the degre of gretnes the more egal he is to fal and his fal most perillous Then frendes are mooste nedefull in the tyme of stryffe and aduersitee And therfore it is a good and a sure refuge For a manne that hath no frende is alone in his dedes And when he is with his frend he hathe companye and helpe to brynge his worke to passe For why of two perfytte personnes commeth perfite worke and vnderstandyng The makers of the lawe put their Citizens in comfort to haue Charitee together with Justice For why yf euery man were iuste yet Charitee should be nedefull But yf euery man wer frendly to other Justice shuld not nede for whi frendshippe destroyeth al strife and euery discorde that may be ¶ Of the kindes of Amitee Chapiter .xl. THE kyndes of Amitee bee knowen by the thīges that a man loueth whiche be thre that is to saie Good Profytable and delectable And he that is suche one accordyng to the truthe loueth hym that is like hym The kindes of amite ben thre the one is loued for good another for gaines and the other for delectaciōs and to euery one it is nedefull to manifest tribulaciō For they that loue bereth good will commonly one to another and verely loue the thinges by the which they be frendes that is to say delectacion profit whence the amitee indureth so longe as indureth the delectaciō and the perfite and therfore they be frēdes and enemies The frēdshyp is in olde folkes but the frendship of delectacion is amongest them that be yonge howbeit the perfite Amite is in them that be good and that be like in vertue and beare good wil one to another because they be like in their vertues And this frendshyp is a way that conteyneth al goodnes and amongest themthere is no delectaciō nor euil And therfore this frendship cannot be be twene the good man the euell but onely amongest theim that be good But the amitee that is by delectacion or for profit may be amongest good euel howbe it it contyne weth not longe Amite is a laudable adornement to them that company together and is a fayre lyfe by the which they liue together in tranquillitee and the tranquillttee that is amongest them doth not depart by the diuersitee of places and shoulde not stande yf they were farre of this maye bee a departyng goyng out of the myndfulfrendship and therfore it is a prouerbe that long viages depart frendshippe A welbeloued thynge hathe some noble goodnes and therefore frendes loue together not because of fode or repaste but because of habit and euery frend loueth his welthe and rendereth one to another accordynge to equalitee Howe that the substance of the good shuld be cōmen Chapiter .xli. THe participacion of theim that be parteners together in good and euell in marchandise and in conuersacion together is euer a beginning of frēd ship and according to the quan titee of the thynges soo is the quantitee of frendshyppe and they that haue frendes oughte to common amongest them For amitee is a thing of commente and euery commontie desyreth lyke concupiscence And therefore is made the solempnitee of Pasch oblacions and offerynges so that of thes thinges mai growe company and loue amōgest neighboures of the whiche thing procedeth honour and exaltacion of almighty God And in olde tyme they kept their solempnitees after Corne Haruest because at that time menne were mooste able to helpe their frendes and to geue thankes to God for his benefites receiued ¶ Of Principalitees Chapiter .xlii. THere be thre principalitees the fyrste of the Kyng another of the Commonalte and the thirde of the Father vppon his children and echone of these hathe his conntrary For the King inforceth his subiectes to goodnes and is studious to procure theyr good estate as the Herdemanne is studyous vppon his stocke It is a differēce betwene the Lordshippe of the king and other in this For the kinge is Lorde vniuersall of the people the father is the cause of the generacyon of hys chyldren and of the brynging vp of theym Then the father is natural lord of his chyldren and their loue is greate Therefore the father oughte to be honoured with the honoure dewe vnto hym The Justice of euerye manne is accordyng to the quantitee of his vertue then whosoeuer is greateste oughte to bee mooste loued and honoured The loue of brothers is as the loue of fellowes because they come together and hathe one symylitude when there commeth aduersytee ⧠The Lorde and the subiectc haue one Relygyon togyther Lyke as the craftes manne and his instrumente and as the bodye and the solle And he that vseth the Instruemente profyteth thereby and therfore he loueth it but the Instrument loueth not hym that wearethe it ⧠And lykewyse the bodye loueth not the solle The Instrument is as the bonde man whyche loueth not his Lorde The father loueth the sonne and the sonne the father because the one is made of the other but the loue of the father is more stronger than the loue of the sonne the reason is for that the father knoweth his sonne to be of hym in shorte tyme after his byrthe But the sonne knoweth not the father of longe after that is when his
wittes be come to him and discression coÌ„forteth More ouer the father loueth the soÌ„ne as hymself But the soÌ„ne loueth the father as a thyng made of him Brothers loue together as beeyng of one beginnyng For thei be one thing although thei be departed And this that conforteth loue emonges brethern is that thei bee nourished and brought vp together ¶ The .xliij. Chapter ¶ The loue that a man hath with GOD. THe loue that aman hath with god and the loue that a maÌ„ hath to his father is of one nature For why Eche one of their loues is by a recordacioÌ„ of grace But the loue of God oughte to bee preferred before the loue of the father For y e benefites that a maÌ„ receiueth of God be more greate and more noble then thei whiche be receiued of the father The amite of kyndred frendes neighbours and straungers is more and lesse accordyng to the diuersite of the causes by y â— whiche one beareth good will vnto another Therefore thei that be brought vp together beeyng of long tyme conuersant together be of great frendship The loue that is betwene a man and his wife is loue naturall a more auncieÌ„t loue then is y e loue of citezeÌ„s emongest theÌ„ and in this loue is great profite For why the workes of the maÌ„ is diuerse from the workes of the woman And that whyche the one canne not dooe the other dothe and so they fulfyll theyr busynesse The chyldren be bondes whiche bynde the womanne to the husbande in loue because the chyldren bee the common wealth of them bothe How that loue is increased by coÌ„municacion of frendes Chapyter .xliiii. COmmunicacioÌ„ ioineth theym that be good togyther in one loue by occacion of vertues whiche verily be louing together in theym selues for there is not amongest them any strife or contencion nor will to haue victory the one of the other but only to serue and please for why It is a great pleasure when a man hath dooen seruice to his frendes There bee frendships whiche be called questionalles and those frendshippes bee in men whiche receiue one of another wherof commeth greate accusacions as when the one saieth I haue dooen thee pleasure and thou hast doen me none Suche frendship cannot long indure ⧠Amitee is like vnto Justice and accordyng to iustice in two sortes that is to saie Naturall and legall So is frendship in two sortes naturall and legall And the legall is called amitee and the perticular is a market of change as she that standeth in geuyng and receiuyng naturally froÌ„ hand to hande There are diuerse men that be pleased with that thyng whiche is well and conuenient but notwithstaÌ„dyng thei leaue the good take the profitable A good thyng it is to do good to other without any hope of gaynes But profitable is when a manne thynketh to haue a greater power This seruice is it that a manne dooth to hym that is mightie and able to geue rewardes and chaunge for seruice dooen ¶ The .xlv. Chapiter Of the loue that ought to bee emongest menne LOue is the pryce of vertue and thankes or benefites receiued Gaynes or wynnyng is seuerally of nede the greater man ought to geue vnto the lesse winnyng the lesse ought to geue vnto the greater honor and reuerence And this ought to bee accordyng to the deseruyng of theim bothe In these waies is conserued frendeship The honor that a manne ought to doo to almightie God and to his father is not like other honors for no man can geue sufficiente honores and thankes to God to his father Although he inforce himself to do what he can the commendable equalnes is to equall the kindes of amite that bee diuerse as it is in the orderyng of citees that the shomaker selleth his shooes as he will and likewise other craftes men emongest them One thing is loued by the whiche all marchaundise bee made equall and confirmed this is Gold and siluer When the louer loueth his loue for delectacion she loueth him for profite thei loue not the one the other right wel therfore suche loue is sone loste Euery loue y â— is for light thinges doth shortly departe But the reasoÌ„s that be strong and stedfast causeth frendship and loue to continue that is by vertue for the good is long laster For why Uertue cannot be remoued but profite departeth when profitable is taken awaie A man that syngeth for gaynes if a manne should syng one song for another he would not be coÌ„tent because he loketh for another reward Then there shalbe no concord in marchandise if there be not concord of willes and that is wheÌ„ a man receiueth for that that he geueth that he would haue And sometymes it is for that for y â— whiche he geueth nothing but honor reuerence as did Pithagoras the which would haue nothyng of hys Scholers for his doctryne but honoure and reuerence And somtime for doctryne a man will haue mony as the Mechaniques but it is not so in Philosophie for he that teacheth other knowledge ought to receiue of his disciple honor and subieccion as a lord and father It is nedefull for a manne to knowe the dignitie of men So that euery man maie geue honoure accordyng to his dutie For a man oweth one honor to his father another to the people another to the Lorde of the hoste another to the felowe another to the neighbor and another to the straÌ„ger He that vseth fraude in freÌ„dship is worse theÌ„ he that vseth fraude in gold and siluer eueÌ„ somuche as frenship is more precious then gold and siluer so muche the wourse is he that fraudeth amitie then he that deceiueth in Golde and siluer And like as false money is shortly broken so false frenship shortely departeth ¶ The .xlvi. Chapiter ¶ How almightie God departeth all goodnesse THE equall parte of goodnes is almighty God whiche geueth too euery one accordyng as their nature is apte to receiue The man that is good delighteth in hymself hauyng ioye of the good woorkes and if he bee good reioyseth hym muche with his frende whiche he taketh as himself But the euill manne flieth from the good and noble operacions and if he be very euill he flieth from hymself For when he standeth alone he is rebuked in hymself in rememberyng the euill woorkes whiche he hath dooen and neither loueth hymself nor other because the nature of goodnesse is mortified in hym in the depenesse of iniquite â—e delighteth not fully in y â— euill that he doth For the nature of goodnes draweth vnto delectacion and deuâ— deth in hymself And therfore he is in perpetuall troble paines full of bitternesse and dronken in filthinesse and of diuersitee Then to suche a man no man caÌ„ bee afrende For a frende ought to haue in hym a thyng to be loued and suche one hath in hymself so muche misery that there is no remedy that he may come to felicite Then let no man fall in
to this pitte of Iniquite but rather enforce hym to come to goodnes by the whiche he maie haue delectaciō and ioye in him self Comforte is not frendship althoughe it bee like vnto it The beginnyng of frendship is pleasure had in tymes past As the loue of a woman of the whiche a manne hath had pleasure and delectacion and is a bonde of loue and foloweth it inseperable the desperaciō of the whiche procedeth Comforte maie bee frendship by similitude till it bee growē by custome of time and the office of comfort apperteigneth vnto hym that hath in hym grace and grauite and excercised in vertue knitte of loue and concorde for discorde in opinions is to bee drawen oute of a noble congregacion so that it maie remaigne in vnitee and peace and in concord of willes Those thynges that geue other verite and dignitee to rule bee vertuous their woorkes And the vnite of opinions be found in good menne bycause thei bee firme and stable emōgest theim self in outwarde thynges for thei beare good will continually but seldome men agre in one opinion And to fulfill their desires thei sustaine greate strife and muche businesse but not because of vertue And bee solicitous to deceiue them with whō thei haue to doo and euer be in strief and in contenciō The benefactors loue their beneficiates more then thei bee loued of them For the benefactor loueth with pure liberalite but the beneficiates louen their benefaccores by debte of thankes And moreouer the benefactor loueth the beneficiate as creditor But the beneficiate loueth as a debtor y ◠creditor reioyseth against his debitor The debitor is trobled bicause he feareth his debitor then the beneficiates fain to loue their benefactours bycause thei would not bee rebuked of vnkindnesse And yet the receite of the benefite is factor and in speciall if he haue mynd For why The vttermoste perfecciō of man is in his operaciō ¶ The .xlvij. Chapiter ¶ How man delighteth hym in many thynges A Manne delighteth in three thynges that is to say in thynges present in vsyng of them In thynges past in remēbryng of them and in thinges to come in trustyng of them The woorkes good and noble contine we long and be delectable to remēbrance But the delectable and profitable satisfie but litle and the memory shortly past Euery manne loueth more the thinges that he getteth with paine then the thyng that he getteth without pain as it is of money whiche whē it is gotten with great labor it is kept with great studie and moderatly spente And who y ◠getteth it without labor spendeth it without moderaciō And this is the cause wherefore the mother loueth y ◠childe more then dooth the father For why She suffreth great trauail and anguishe in the birthe Now in somuche that it is a light thing to receiue benefites and a hard thyng to geue theim the benefactor loueth better his benefactor then the benificiator loueth his benefactor There bee men that loue themself to much and that is called a filthy loue The euill man doth euery thyng vpon will but the good and verteons manne dooth the workes whiche bee good and verteous for the loue of vertue and good nes And there bee other menne that by y ◠nobilitee of their mindes be good to their frendes in leuyng them their goodes So that their workes maie remain in perpetuall memorye My frend is another This is a prouerbe By a prouerbe it is saied Frendes haue one life and one bloud and all their thynges be bee equally comen as the nose to the face the knee to the legge and the fynger to the hande A manne ought to loue his frend for in louing him he loueth him self and should not be loued for honor or corporall delectacion but rather for the very loue of vertue And the manne that loueth his frend in this sorte is a very frende he helpeth and supporteth with body and goodes and with his life if nede be The full felicitee of mankynde is in the obteignyng of frendes for no man would haue al the goodes of the worlde to liue alone Then a man hath nede of frendes to whom he maie bee benificiall and with whom he maie comenly vse felicite It is a natural thyng to man to liue citezenly and a necessary thyng to a manne to accomplishe his busines of necessitee by his neighbores and frendes whiche cannot bee doen by hymself To do well it is a noble and delectable thyng and the vertues electe in good deedes bee fewe But the profitable delectable be many The frendes of pleasure should not bee many for thei be but for disgestion of meate There can bee but one verteous frend As a man can haue but one louer that he loueth intierly For whi That loue is of aboundaunce the whiche is but to one alone But counsaill honest and conueniente ought to bee to euery man by dutie of vertue A man hath nede of frendes in tyme of aduersitee and prosperitec to be comen with hym in his goodes and liuyng in ioye and plesure so that menne maie become the better one by another And in aduersitee so that a man maie haue helpe and counsaill of his frende ¶ The .xlviij. Chapiter ¶ How Delectacion is naturall DElectaciō is borne and norished with vs from the beginnyng of oure nature therfore children should bee taughte at the beginnyng to delight themselfes in thynges conuenient and likewise against that to mislike the contraries And this is the foundacions of vertue morall and in processe growethe and is knowen the beatitude of the life For when a manne delighteth in a thyng it is his choyse and when it greueth he flieth it And there bee menne whiche be seruauntes to the delectacions wherfore their delectacions bee destroyed against God of this that thei owe. Those mē whiche claime delectacions and folowe them saie against their mindes and saie not euill of theim concerning the vertue For the true woorde dooth euer helpe and amendeth the maners of the life better but the operacion woorketh more then doth the worde And therefore the good man informeth his life with good wordes good workes The thyng that is desired for it self is beste and the griefe is euil For why It is contrary to delectacion also euery thyng that is good helpeth vnto another thyng to make it good And delectacion helpeth other thynges and maketh theim better Then she is good Plato saieth That delectacion was not good paraduenture he saith not truth For why In euery thyng is naturally some thyng that is good then in delectaciō is some thing that is good It is a thyng vnpossible that one good thyng be contrary to the other And it is impossible that one euill be not contrary to another and bothe two are to be fled But two goodes are not contrary together but rather be like and both two are to bee electe and chosen but yet the one maie bee better then the other As
the most noblest life that is in hym For although a man bee but litle of persone he is aboue all other creatures whence the moste delectable life that a man hath is by vnderstandyng ¶ The .lij. Chapiter ¶ Of the morall vertue and of the happie manne THese vertues morall or Ciuill will bee in more trouble more solicite then the intellectualles for that liberalitee hath neede of riches The iuste man is busied with theim that commaūde iustice and likewise of the straunge man and chaste but these vertues intellectuall haue no nede for the accomplishyng of their operaciōs of outward thynges But rather many tymes the very perfight mē bee sped in these vertues of the outward thynges But a man that cannot come to the perfeccion of this life oughte to chose a waie to liue accordyng to the comen lawes For the operaciō of the vnderstandyng speculatiue is in thend of example of the very beatitude of man And manne is likened to God and his angels For the other operacions bee not worthy to be likened to God nor to heuenly thynges God and his angels haue moste noble life for thei be euer in the moste best speculacion their speculacion neuer wereth nor faileth And the manne that inforceth hymself moste contynually to vnderstande thinke of these thynges is moste like vnto theim that bee in the very beatitude ¶ The .liij. Chapiter Of the knowledge of Uertues AMan to bee happie in this worlde hath nede of moderate conductingin outward thinges for because nature geueth not sufficient inwardly of these thynges As to bee satisfied in brede of wine of other thynges that be nedeful to the life of man But it is not nedeful to be lorde of the sea and of the land for suche thynges maie happen to thē that are of lesse degree of riches that be more ware to bee happy then the Lordes of these thynges And therfore it is well saied of Anaxagoras that felicite is not in riches nor in lordeship his saiyng is to be noted for the woordes of hym are to be alledged whose woorkes agree with his saiyng A man that maketh his orision accordyng to the obedience of the ordre of the vnderstandyng is loued of God If almightie God haue cure of man whiche is a worthy thyng to beleue Then moste cure he hath of thē that moste inforceth themselfes to be like vnto hym and best rewardeth theim and delighteth hym to them that is to saie with them as one frende with another Thē according to this saiyng we ought to thinke that it is sufficiente to obtaine felicite only to know y ◠thinges written in this boke of vertues and frēdship and of other thinges but the accōplishyng is in the operacions For this thyng that of nature ought to be doen sufficeth not only to be said but to be doen. And in this forme is fulfilled the goodnesse of man ¶ The .liiij. Chapiter ¶ Yet of like matter THE knowledge of vertue maketh a māne of power to be admonished vn to good woorkes specially such as haue good nature and moued by admonision to do well Also payn maketh a man to flee from vice for feare of punishement and not for the loue of vertue but for feare of paine thinke not well though thei dooe well It is not possible for theim that bee hardened in malice to be corrected by wordes There bee menne whiche bee good by teachyng And those men that bee good by nature haue it not of theim selfes but by the grace of God whiche is vetely called good nature Then the solle of him that hath the garmente of goodnesse and of righte loue hateth euill the mouyng ingendereth vertue in her as doth the seede that is cast vpon good ground And to the intente that a man haue a good custome from the beginnyng to vse to loue thynges that bee good to hate euil he ought to be brought vp frō his youth accordyng to the noble lawes and vse the woorkes of vertue and this oughte to bee in maner of continence although it bee not delectable to many men yet the hande may not bee withdrawen from chastesyng of children yea and from childhode till thei bee greate There be menne whiche maie not bee corrected by woordes And there bee that cannot bee by woordes but by payne And there bee other whiche will not bee corrected by nother of these sortes And those bee to be takē from other The good and noble ruler of the citee maketh good citezens whiche obscrue the lawes and doo y ◠worke that it cōmaundeth Thei be aduersaries that obserue not the lawes and commaundementes although thei dooe well In diuerse Citees there is no good rule because thei liue dissolutly in folowyng their willes The moste conuenient rule that may be in citees is that whiche is tēpered prouidently in suche sort as maie bee kepte not to heuy and that whiche manne desireth to bee obserued in hym and in his children and in his frendes The good punisher of y ◠lawes is he that maketh rules vniuersall whiche bee determinate in this boke and conioyne them to the perticulars whiche cometh daily in hādes therefore to ordre the lawes well it is nedefull to haue reason and experience FINIS ¶ Imprinted at Londō in the parishe of Christes Church within new gate by Richard Grafton Printer too our soueraigne lorde Kyng Edward the. VI. 1547. Cum priuilegio ad imprimendum solum SVSCIPITE INCITVM VERBVM IACO I