maketh nothing against this our saying For there was no such nere coniunction of mynds with him as was betweene them two them selues the one with the other but it was rather an admiration of that most rare Friendship and surpassing goodwill of men among themselues which vnto a most mightie King seemed admirable happie and entierly to bee wished for and which also seemed farre safer and blessedder then that his royall estate and condition So were Ionathan and Dauid friendes together being but onely two For Friendship betweene moe then two groweth out of estimation looseth of his dignitie and price is contemned and lesse accoumpted of and in trueth forfaiteth his wonted force and proper vertue It followeth in the definition Of mutually louing defending cherishing mainteyning one an other For these be the very chiefest and principallest effects of Friendship that such as bee true friendes in deede must mutually loue one the other and that not faynedlie and clokedlie but euen truely and sincerely and because of such their mutuall sinceritie and true loue they doe also mutually defend cherish maintaine and protect one an other Last of all there is added in the definition so farte foorth as may lawfully bee done without offence to GOD or dishonor to his most glorious Maiestie Wherein be set downe the endes whereunto and the bounds how farre Friendship may stretch beyond which bounds it is not in any wise lawfull to passe So that hereby we see three especiall poyntes most necessarie and behoouefull for the better explication and further opening of the force vertue efficacie nature of Frendshippe namely to bee heere opened handled and discussed viz. 1 The scope and marke whereat Frends doe ayme 2 The very effects of Friendship 3 The Endes and bounds that must bee layed out and of Frindes in their Friendship to be kept and obserued Which three poynts I purpose here particularly to prosecute after that I haue first laied downe myne opinion and iudgement of this question Whether an holie firme and neere friendship lincked and vowed betwene certaine godly and faithfull persons bee any way repugnaunt to that charge and Commaundement of our heauenly Father touching the louing of all men in generall The fourth Chapter Contayning a question Whether the lawe of Friendship doe any whit oppugne the generall Commaundement of God touching loue and charitie to all men FIrst such men as holde opinion that there is herein a repugnācie doe alledge two reasons The one is The generall Commaundement of God wherby we are charged to loue one an other Now if it bee lawfull for some particular persons to contract within them selues a kinde of more streict and nere amitie then with others then thinke they that this generall Rule of louing all men indifferently is transgressed and broken Their second reason is this Our dueties commaunded and enioyned vnto vs in that generall Commaundement of Loue ought to bee so great towards all men yea towards our very Enemies that greater better or faithfuller can there not ne possiblie ought there to be shewed vnto those whom wee call and tearme Friendes What force or effect then say they is there in this singular and speciall goodwill mutuall agreement and inward Friendshippe onely betwene some two and no moe By these two Arguments they thinke this same neere bond infringible consent firme loue and singular force of speciall Friendship is encountred and taken away because it maketh vs say they the more remisse negligent and slacke to loue ayde assist and relieue others which are not so fastlie ioyned in heart vnto vs because thereupon wee haue more minde to please and benefite those whom we haue specially chosen for our deare and neere Friends letting all others in a maner to passe by without any helpe at our handes at all For answere whereunto we say that there be other and the same most strong and inuincible Arguments to confirme approue establish and warrant this speciall kinde of entier Amitie among men prouing the same to bee to the godlie not onely lawful and allowable but also honest lawdable and necessarie First the authoritie of the Sacred Scriptures which teacheth vs that wee ought to loue such as wee admit and receiue into our inward Friendship And therfore the Spirite of GOD thundreth out threates comminations and punishments against violaters and breakers of this inward amitie and profession of speciall Loue. Secondly the example of godly men who both publiquely and priuately haue sundrie tymes solēnely entred into religiously with mutuall consent professed this neere strict bond of Amitie Which deede and purpose of theirs God himself both praiseth and also setteth the same forth vnto vs as a patterne to imitate In this sorte were Dauid and Ionathan lincked together in a most firme bonde of perfect Friendship And those couenants which among Kinges and Princes and high Estates are called Leagues are among priuate persons tearmed Amitie But Leagues are allowable and warrantable by the lawe of God And therfore Amitie and Friendship also Thirdly Nature her self together with the common speach and settled opinion of al Nations for there is no people but highly extolleth the vertue of Frendship and hath deuised notable sentences of praise in condemnation thereof as namely this Wee haue no lesse neede for the vse of this life of Friendship then we haue of water and fier Notablie and excellently is the same discoursed vpon and cōmēded vnto vs in their learned works both by Aristotle and Cicero And it is the common receiued opinion and vsuall tearme of Nature of all people of the world generallie against the which whosoeuer resisteth and againe saieth speaketh euen against his owne Conscience Finally these former Arguments of the againsayers are vnsufficient and prooue nothing because they may both of them be easily answered and quickly confuted As first I say and answere that by entring into a certaine hearty and inward friendship with some one particuler person the generall Commaundement and Precept of almightie God is neither hindred nor taken away For God himself who teacheth vs to loue all men hath notwithstanding by his Lawe appoynted certaine degrees of Loue for vs to followe whereby wee are to loue some more tenderly and dearely then other some For he willeth vs not to yeeld alike and equall loue vnto all men indifferently and without respect seeing that wee are commaunded to loue our wife more then our parents our Children aboue Straungers and them which bee of the houshold of Faith more then Infidels Seeing therefore in respect of consanguinitie kindred and proximitie of bloud it is lawfull for vs to make a difference by louing our neerest friendes more ardently and with greater affection then others and to discerne betwene the inwarde heartie loue which wee beare to them and the common generall loue which vniuersallie we beare to all others why may wee not also bee allowed the same in respect of our vowed promise
sworne couenant and professed Amitie And our Sauiour Iesus Christ being the patterne of all true Loue is saied to haue loued Iohn aboue all the rest of his Disciples Their second Argument is vaine and friuolous They demaund this question what is there left for any speciall Friendship when as all men in generall yea our very Enemies ought of vs to be vnfaynedly loued To whom let this briefly suffice for answere that albeit we loue all and shewe our selues ready and willing to helpe relieue and defend all yet be some more specially commended vnto our care then other some Therfore the goodliest and fayrest fruite of Loue is this noble vertue Friendship The fifth Chapter To what scope and drift true friendshippe tendeth THE common vulgar sorte of men ioyne together in friendship one with an other for many considerations and for sundry endes purposes For either they knit themselues in league together in respect of some priuate gayne commoditie and profite that the one hopeth to reape by the other or els for some respect of pleasure or finally because they seeke thereby to attaine some preferment honour dignitie praise or countenaunce The true Christian friend of whom we here speake is farre from any of these endes neither respecteth he any of all these aforesayd purposes but his chiefe and principall drift is that in this his Friendship God specially may be truely honored and his Neighbour vnfainedly loued For this onely thing doe al the godlie specially care for and this marke doe they in the whole course of their loue chiefly ayme and shoote at But as there may be assigned many endes and scopes wherefore Friendship is sought for and concluded among men so is there one speciall and as it were a proper chiefe and peculiar ende thereof And that is this looke whome GOD hath adorned and blessed with some speciall giftes aboue others and therby mooued vs to haue the same partie for his rare qualities in admiration vnto such an one doe we willingly adioyne our selues and with him desire wee most gladly to enter into entier familiaritie The first meanes therefore that firmely knitteth this moste friendly agreement of mindes together is the will of God which mooueth and draweth our hearts so to doe And next is the admiration of the rare vertues and singular giftes which we see in an other in so much that we earnestly desire because of the same to bee in his companie to haue his vnfained loue and to stand assuredly in his fauour And because we commonly admire and most especially loue those vertues wherein wee chiefly take most delight and whereunto we feele in our selues by God his good gift some sparkes and inclinations it commeth therfore to passe thereby that there is seene in those that enter into this fast bond of friendship a similitude and likenesse of maners and affections the one with the other and that being thus linked together they doe by a certaine inwarde testimonie and secrete iudgement retaine one and the same consent in all things and still iumpe together in one opinion This third cause therefore for the procuring and piecing of firme and true Friendship is of most excellent force and beareth most effectuall sway I meane the similitude of maners and like delight in studies and affections For to will and iust alike that is to say what the one willeth the other to will the same and what the other nilleth the other to be alike affected is firme and stedfast Friendship Friendes therefore commonly take delight in thinges alike and chiefly for the most parte frame themselues by natures conduction and inclination vnto the loue and studie of one and the selfe same vertue The first foundation therefore of Friendship is grounded vpon likenes of studies and similitude of maners For in that we hope to be defended maintained and protected by our friendes in that we our selues desire to be amiable and admirable to the good and godly in that finally we seeke a faithfull companiō and helper vnto whome to impart our whole deuises and counsailes all these are rather effects of true Friendship then ends thereof Certes in that firme and fast agreement of mynds betweene Dauid and Ionathan there was none other scope or ende respected then this which we here mention As touching that sentence of our Sauiour Christ Make you friendes of the vnrighteous Mammon it is not to bee otherwise vnderstood then that we must learne to bestowe our wealth and money better then the common sorte of men doe namely vpon the poore and needie which may commēd vs vnto God by their prayers and not vpon the rich and wealthie whom we commonly notwithstanding are more readie to pleasure and benefite To conclude therefore with Cicero Where is this holy Amitie godly Friendship if the partie whom wee professe to loue and choose to our friende bee not truely sincerely vnfainedly and onely for himselfe and by himselfe ardently affectionatly and hartily loued The sixt Chapter Of the effects of true Friendship THere bee three especiall effects of true Friendship to witte mutuall loue in God an holie consent of myndes and an interchaungeable or reciprocall defence maintenaunce assistaunce and protection one of an other to the vttermost of abilitie and power First as touching Loue It is an affection of the heart by the which wee especially loue some one more thē others wishing vnto him all welfare and prosperous successe And this Loue is called Dilectio as who should say Delectio which signifieth a choyse or an electiō culling out the word Diligere to loue is so named of an other like worde Deligere which signifieth to pick or choose out because that party whō we tenderly loue we specially pick and choose out frō among all others and haue a speciall care and desire for his well doing and prosperitie more then for all others besides Therefore we loue all men in a generalitie but we tenderly and affectionatly embrace but fewe or but some one onely or paraduenture none at all For there is a greater vehemencie and a more effectuall signification in this word Diligere then there is in the word Amare although to loue be the signification both of the one and the other which difference is wel noted by that most eloquent Marcus Cicero in one of his familiar Epistles written to Paetus Whereby wee may see that force and violēce is not the way to procure and knit firme Friendship betweene parties nor yet feare but rather a free choyse of the mynde and an hartie good liking toward some peculiar person vpon whom God so disposing our heart wee franklie and in full measure bestowe the whole zeale of our entier fauour For a man that enrolleth himselfe once in the Register of a perfect and sincere friend doth so effectuously and dearely loue his friend that he euen accoumpteth and acknowledgeth him as an other himselfe and wisheth no better in any respect to himselfe
TRVE and Christian Friendshippe With all the braunches members parts and circumstances thereof Godly and learnedly described Written first in Latine by that excellent and learned man Lambertus Danaeus and now turned into English Together also with a right excellent Inuectiue of the same Author against the wicked exercise of Diceplay and other prophane Gaming ¶ Imprinted at London for Abraham Veale dwelling in Paules Church-yard at the signe of the Lambe 1586. ¶ To the Worshipfull my very good friendes Maister VVilliam Bromley and Maister Reginald Skreuen Secretaries to the right Honorable the Lord Chauncelor of England DANAEVS mine Author chose for the Patrone of this his Treatise in Latine a Gentlemā Secretarie to the King of Fraunce I for my trāslatiō thereof into English haue made choyse of you twaine Gentlemen as well as the other and Secretaries though not to a King yet to a Personage of Honor next to a King and in vertue wisedome zeale grauitie authoritie and knowledge so rarely furnished as I would that all Kings were Your friendly curtesies towards me deserue this and a farre more thankful remēbraunce and the very title of this Pamphlet emboldened me to woe you for pardon in thus farre presuming and aduenturing vpon your patience I haue chosen not the one but both twaine of you because firme stedfast and perfect friendship cannot bee betweene either moe or lesse then twaine and because also I am not ignorant in what a sweete league of mutuall loue and Christian sympathie you twaine be linked together Fare ye hartily well At Butley in Chesshyre the 22. of Iuly 1586. Your vnfayned well willer Thomas Newton ¶ A Discourse of true and Christian Friendship with all circumstances thereof godly and learnedly discussed The first Chapter Of the ground and foundation of true Christian friendship THe ground and foundation of true Christian Friendshippe is the admiration of vertue or of some speciall gift of God that is in an other the praise vse whereof respecteth either God himself or els man This mooued Ionathan to knit himselfe in most firme friendship with Dauid whom for his valiaunt heart and noble courage in vanquisshing proud Goliath he highly estéemed honoured and entierly loued Such persons therefore as either for some singular gift of true Godlinesse or for some speciall praise of some morall vertue as namely Iustice fortitude liberalitie c. doe excell others and are worthily therefore inuested with the title of deserued commendation we doe throughly loue entierly reuerence and hartily fauour And this later is the neerest the next cause that wee commonly vse to respect and to haue regarde vnto But the former of the twaine is that which is occasioned bredde and brought forth by a secrete instinct of the Spirite from God to wit the mutuall knitting together of myndes and a like inclination and conformitie of willes For al true and holy Friendship hath his ground from GOD in whome it is firmely established and by whom only it continueth sure stedfast and permanent The second Chapter Who be fit to lincke together in fast friendship and betweene what persons it may be ALthough many sortes and kindes of Familiaritie be tearmed by the name of Friendship yet of them all is there but one onely kinde that of right may chalenge the name of true Friendshippe And this can be among none others sauing onely those which be faithfull and true hearted Christians such I say as are ledde by the Spirite of God and haue his feare before their eyes For when Infidelles and vnbeleeuers doe ioyne together in consent about any matter among themselues they doe it either for reward hyre and gayne sake or els for their priuate pleasures or finally for their aduauncement and honours sake all which endes are most farre from true Friendshippe Therefore I say it can be among none others thē onely such as be godly and faithful and feare the Lord effectually For there can be neither fellowship nor agreement of mynds betwene a beleeuer and an Infidell yea the Apostle Paule warneth vs not to cōpanie with such but to come out from them and to separate our selues from their familiaritie Now although wee bee in some sorte allowed and not altogether flatly forbidden a certaine kinde of common conuersation with Infidelles and vnbeleeuers so farre forth as the societie and necessitie of this our humaine life for mutuall entercourse of cōmodities and curtesies one with an other requireth yet may we not linck our selues in that neere familiaritie or vse that ordinary companie and friendly conuersation with them wherby any inward heartie friendship or good liking one of an other may growe and be engendred In this godly sorte was the fast friendship betweene Dauid and Ionathan made and confirmed which were both of them godly persons and fearing the Lord. For like with like according to the old Prouerbe doe best agree and are easiliest brought to keepe companie together The third Chapter What true and Christian friendship is WE must therefore plainely declare what true Friendship is Wherein we must first note the distinction and difference that is made betweene fauourable goodwill called Beneuolentia and perfect Friendship tearmed Amicitia For a fauourable goodwill is that when men being absent one from an other yea which neuer sawe one an other doe yet heartily loue one an other drawne thereunto by a kinde of admiration of vertue or some notable and singular gift of God which the one doth perceiue espye and knowe to bee resiaunt in the other So when as Paule had as yet neither seene Peter Iames nor Iohn yet did he loue thē and this kind of loue was this fauourable good will and this Beneuolentia which wee speake of beeing knitte and combined together betweene persons absent But Friendship requireth both the companie the sight and the familiar conuersation of friends together amōg themselues Therfore it is onely among them which are either daiely conuersaunt one with an other or els such as haue aforetyme liued long tyms together For familiar conuersation and frequent companie keeping encreaseth as the Prouerbe saith this friendship and sowdreth men together in this indissoluble agreement of myndes Now Friendship is such a kinde of loue and inwarde affection as that there can not possiblie be any greater and vnto which there cannot any thing be either added or put vnto more It requireth therefore a mutuall frequentation and familiar conuersation because thereby our goodwill liking and affection is vsually encreased strengthened and made greater In this sorte was that friendship betweene Dauid and Ionathan not only at the first occasioned and begun namely by that their domesticall and familiar conuersation at home in Saules house but was also thereby much encreased and furthered For this same dailey being in companie together which I speake of or at least this often meeting and conference together doth feede as it were this newe kindled fier or flame of ardent affectiō
then he doth vnto that his newe chosen Friend For if there should bee allowed neuer so little difference herein the name of Frendshippe were vtterly gone and quight quayled and might no longer enioye that title as the same Cicero no lesse eloquently then truely hath set downe For such is the force of Friendship that whensoeuer a man wisheth any better happe to himself then he doth to his friend it by by ceasseth and dyeth And such effect doth this Loue worke in the mynds of faithful frendes that the one reioyceth at the prosperous estate and welfare of the other and contrariwise soroweth and is greatly greeued at his mishap and aduersitie euen as wee see came to passe in Ionathan who greatly sorowed at the calamitie and affliction of Dauid Yea so mightie is the force of this Loue and coniunction of myndes that they weepe together and reioyce together Finally when a man is faithfully professed in this league of sincere and true Friendship he preferreth and more esteemeth his friende then he doth any other whomsoeuer and beareth vnto him a farre greater affection and zeale then to all other men for so seemed Ionathan to preferre his deare friende Dauid before his owne naturall father so farre forth as Gods glorie is not thereby eclipsed nor his holy will and commaundement wilfully transgressed For he be wrayed and opened his fathers secrete counsell vnto Dauid and tried out by deuises what his fathers purpose sayinges and meaninges were toward him yea this Ionathan feared not a whit to discouer and opē vnto him such practises as greatly sounded to the shame and reproach of his owne father King Saule This so vehement mutuall Loue breedeth likewise among friendes a mutuall consent and an holy agreement of mynds in al things yea it ingendreth also betweene thē a sweete pleasure and lōging desire of the one toward the other And the further that they bee asunder by distaunce of place the more ardently do they desire and long the one for the other as it were one entier Soule being separated and vehemently desiring the other halfe of it selfe being absent Finally the neerer they be together the more is the flame of their inward mutuall affection inkindled and through daily conuersing together is still made sweeter and pleasaunter This kinde of vehement Affection is not lightly seene among any other persons for it commonly falleth out that this daily conuersation and frequent familiaritie together breedeth and soweth among them either flat hatred or at least apparant contempt But betweene Frendes it is the meanes that bindeth and tyeth them the surer and the faster together For their naturall dispositions so rightly agree together that what the one thinketh good the other thinketh not amisse and in all things they commonly retaine one and the selfe same iudgement striuing within themselues whether of them may surmount and ouercome the other in curtesies and benefites They drawe moreouer in one equall yoke they haue one will one minde one purpose and meaning whereby their mutuall consent in all respects is not onely inuiolably conserued but also much the more encreased Therfore there is no iarring no dissension no brawling no chyding no contention no froward ouerthwarting betweene them that be friendes in deede but the one beareth with the other the one yeeldeth to the other in giuing of honour the one goeth before the other the one not so wedded to his opinion but that he suffreth himself to be easily persuaded or dissuaded by the other so farre as the honor of God is not thereby any way empayred or emblemished The third and last effect of true Friendship is the interchangeable curtesie defence protection assistaunce ayde maintenance and conseruation to the very vttermost of abilitie and power of one Friend for an other with no lesse care for his preseruation safetie preferment commoditie and all other benefites whatsoeuer both touching himselfe and also all them that depend vpon him For if by that societie loue which ought to bee betweene all the godlie among them selues we accoumpt those that by nature are ioyned and lincked vnto vs as our owne and doe studie which way wee may doe them any good either in mainteyning them with necessaries or defending them frō extremities how much more ought one Frend to be carefull for the good estate and welfare of an other and to accoumpt him as his owne yea as himselfe specially hauing vowed and promised and that with an oth so to doe Therfore he will bee readie in trueth to say and to promise the same that Dauid spake and vowed to Abiathar He that seeketh thy life shall seeke my life also Their Guestes their familiars their friendes and their enemies shal be common betweene them and no more to the one then to the other And to conclude All things among friendes according to the olde Prouerbe are common Chiefly principally and afore all thinges the one ought to haue an especiall care for the saluation and soule health of the other next for the safetie and welfare of the bodie and thirdly for their other goodes ioyntly appertayning vnto them either in common in the right of faithfull Friendship of which sorte be worldly goodes Cattaile money wealth and the francke vse thereof at either of their pleasures or els priuately and singularly belonging vnto the one of them as for example his wife Therfore if the one shall vnderstand of any conspiracie or practise deuised imagined or intended to the hurte and hinderaunce of the other he will discouer and reueale it For so dealt Ionathan toward Dauid They will also hazard themselues the one for the other and put themselues in present daunger for their defence and rescue aswell in their absence as in their presence For so did Ionathan put himselfe into most apparant perill for his faithfull friend Dauid In al respects and at all assaies they are helpfull and assistaunt the one to the other To conclude by their most friendly and syncere admonitions aduises assistaunce and ayde so farre as by the warrant of the Word of God and of a good Conscience is lawfull they vnfaynedly relieue succour helpe cherish comfort encourage maintaine nourish cheere vp and sustaine the one the other For Friendes doe mutually helpe the one the other either with their wealth and goodes or els with their aduise and counsell or finally with their trauaile and labour In their giuing of counsaile and aduise or in their admonitions and frendly directions one Friend doth not flatter an other neither doth he cōceale and hide from him if he espye and knowe in him any faultes worthie of reprehension For Christian Friendship tendeth vnto and respecteth the aduauncement of Gods glorie and not the fostring and nourishing of men in their errors He that is a godly friend remembreth and vseth this notable sentence of Phocion the Athenian Thou canst not haue mee to bee both a Flatterer and a Friend to thee also For a Flatterer
and a Friend doe not onely differ in deed and in name but sure and certaine it is that Flatterie is the rankest poyson the most daungerous plague to Frendshippe that possiblie can bee The which although it carie an outward shewe of great affection and syncere goodwill yet doubtlesse doth it vtterly vndoe the bond of Friendship vtterly weaken and enfeeble his strength and vtterly each way destroye and marre the nature thereof For the Flatterer resembleth and counterfaiteth the wordes of an vnfained Friend but not his honest mynde neither his syncere loue nor his true hearted Affection Moreouer all these three poyntes aboue specified ought among Freendes to bee common For Friendes not onely straine them selues mutually to requite curtesies but also in these their curtesies couet the one to surmount passe yea to preuēt as much as in them is the one the other And therfore these perfourmances of mutuall Loue of mutuall Consent of mutuall Defence Protection and Assistaunce bee actions enterchaungeable and reciprocall But yet not so as that a Friend should purposelie bestowe a curtesie vpon his Friend in hope of as good a turne or as large a benefite at his handes againe for no other godly honest man extendeth his loue and charitie toward his neighbour mercenarywise or as it were letting and fearming it out for hyre and gaine but because the force and nature of Friendship is such that it will not haue these things otherwise then mutually and reciprocally returnable All curtesies therefore are betweene them giuen taken restored and requited mutually howbeit and let this bee well noted not alwaies alike not alwaies equally nor in semblable proportion For many tymes the one receiueth at the handes of the other more curtesie and greater benefite then he is able againe in the like measure to requite and repay either by reason of the great oddes of the estate and condition of friendes or els for the difference of their wealth and abilitie As for example the one peraduenture is very rich the other poore the one fortunate the other miserable the one exiled and banished the other liuing at home in his natiue Countrey But all these notwithstanding he that hath lesse stoare and smaller pittaunce of abilitie although perchaunce he requite not so amplie and beneficially as hee receiued yet requiteth hee and returneth as much as he is able Wherevpon I say that curtesies and benefites among Friendes are alwaies mutuall and enterchangeable but yet not alwaies alike and equall as appeareth in Ionathan and Dauid Yea Friends doe not onely mutually protect defend and maintaine one an others person credite state wealth and possessions but also as much as they are able procure the same to bee bettered and augmented And therefore there is no maner of rancorous enuie or spightful disdaine betweene them For there is not a greater nor a certainer plague nor a more fretting Canker vnto syncere and true Frendship next to Adulation and Flatterie then is Spight and Enuie The seuenth Chapter The right Ends of true and Christian Frendshippe IN discussing the Boundes and Endes of true and Christian Friendship there bee two especiall poynts to bee decided that are commōly brought into question The first is of the Tyme how long it ought to remaine and bee continued The second of the maner and way how it ought to be obserued retayned and kept that is to say what how farre and how much one friend is to perfourme and to doe for an other Cōcerning the first which is of the Tyme let this stand for a definitiue and resolute answere that if the syncere vowe and vnfained goodwill of them that godly enter into this Christian league of Friendship be aduisedly considered it ought to be endlesse and to continue betweene them perpetually euen so long as they both shall liue in this world And yet many tymes without any fault of theirs by some casuall error and mishappe it may so fall out that there may be good cause either vtterly to renounce and breake of or at least to withdrawe and relent Friendshippe For what if the one of the Friendes should renye his faith and of a faithfull beleeuer become a faithlesse Infidell and of a Christian become a Turke or a Pagan Certes in this case all Friendship is vtterly to be forsaken and all Amitie if after sundrie exhortations and admonitions hee still persist in his obstinate miscreancie must be quight renounced Howbeit such a greeuous Apostacie and such an horrible backsliding breedeth in the mynd of a Friend no small heauinesse and sorowe yea and many tymes also causeth him for a tyme to suspende his determination and to linger some while in hope of amendment and repentance For euen so likewise at the death of our Friend although wee verily beleeue and rest assured that his soule is receiued into euerlasting blisse yet doe wee sorowe and lament and that sometyme very much as wee may see in Dauid But yet must wee obeye the lawes of God and of our frailtie Least otherwise wee should like the olde Gyaunts goe about to make warre against God or irreligiously to preferre our owne affections before the feare of the Lord our maker Therfore there may oftentymes be giuen most iust occasion to breake and renounce Friendship but yet the vowe and purpose at the first ought so syncerely to be made and intended as that it should last continue and be retayned for euer And therefore that tearme and sentence which by some is vsed is most beastly and reprooueable Loue as though thou shouldest one day hate Which sentence and aduise if it should preuaile and bee allowed then farewell all fast Friendship for then is all the force pith and strength thereof vanished then bee all the synewes of it loosed and weakened and all that firme trust and assured opinion that ought to be among Frendes safely boldly and willingly to impart and cōmunicate together their myndes one with an other and one to reueale and open his secretes vnto an other is vtterly dashed and put to flight For why neither will they neither dare they aduenture so to doe for feare of afterclappes Finally to the ende they may thankfully pleasantly trustily and boldly liue together this silthie Deuilish tearme of diffidence and distrust Loue as though thou shouldest one day hate must bee quight banished and vtterly remoued out of their mynds although as I said afore it may sometyme so fall out that we may and ought to hate those whom aforetyme wee haue right dearely loued but this thing happeneth contrary to the hope desire and wish of Friendes Therefore let this sentēce of trust and good opinion rather take place be heard Loue as though thou shouldest neuer hate So long therefore as those two Friendes doe liue together they ought in heart vowe to cōserue keepe and maintaine their Frendshippe with all maner of behoouefull curtesies and not to conceiue so much as any suspition either of breaking
or vtter dissoluing thereof For this course doe they still take that are true and faithfull Friendes within themselues But there is an other question here moued When the one of the Friendes is dead what ought the other Frend being aliue to do with the deceased parties Children and how is he in respect of the Friendshippe which hee bare to their father to deale with them and whether the same Friendshippe ought to be continued towarde the Children of him beeing dead or no Truely it very well standeth with the rule of Equitie and Reason that as Children bee heyres of their fathers Landes and Goodes so also to enherite their fathers Friendship accordingly as Isocrates writing to Demonicus hath most excellently set downe Because among the fathers Goodes his Frendship is also reckened and is many times farre better and profitabler then al the enheritance that the Father leaueth or can bequeath vnto his Children And to such effect commonly is Friendship embraced and entred into with an heartie desire and affectionate vowe of the Parents that the fruite thereof may redound and bee continued euen vnto their posteritie and Children Thus did the Friendship betweene Ionathan and Dauid reach and extend vnto the Children of Ionathan Which although it may seeme to bee done by Pact and Couenaunt at the first agreed vpon betwene them yet doubtlesse is this euer included in the wish and desire of all Friendes that the fruict of their mutuall Friendshippe and loue should also after a sorte appertaine and be entailed vnto their children for that euery godly and faithfull person hath speciall respect to prouide not onely for himselfe but also for his Children those that depend on him Therefore are both the Wife and Children of the deceassed Friend to be tenderly loued and all other thinges besides that appertained vnto him yea the very Dogges and the Cattaile that belonged vnto him and all this through an inward affection of hearty goodwil borne vnto the late owner and by the law and duetie of perfect Friendshippe Howbeit not in such measure and proportion as the partie Friend himselfe being deceassed but the exceeding great loue vehement zeale of their late firme Amitie and stedfast coniunction liueth still in the breast of him that remayneth aliue and sendeth foorth many sparkes of his vnfayned loue wheresoeuer he beholdeth and is brought into godly remembraunce of his deceassed Frend by his true and liuely Images which be his Children left behinde Hereupon there groweth yet an other question about that gift of Goodes which Dauid bestowed on Ziba the seruant of Mephibosheth which gift notwithstanding that he was afterward better enfourmed of the trueth of the matter and of Ziba his treacherous infidelitie towarde his Maister yet did he not wholly and entierly reuoke For the Goodes which in right belōged vnto Mephibosheth who was the Sonne of Ionathan he gaue vnto Ziba whereas he had afore in remembraunce of his Friend Ionathan appoynted the same vnto this his Sonne and had giuen commaundement that the same should be assigned and assured vnto him thereby to shewe himselfe thankfull and myndfull of the firme Friendshippe betweene himselfe and Ionathan father of the sayd Mephibosheth Yet Dauid being afterwards suttly beguiled and craftily deceiued by Ziba reuoked his former gift made to Mephibosheth and tooke away from him all that he had afore bestowed vpon him Now the question is this whether this last fact of Dauid may bee defended or how can hee any wayes bee excused but that he dealt herein directly and flatly against the lawes and endes of true Friendship First and formost when as the same Dauid might easilie haue espyed the falshood of Ziba and how cunningly he had bene deceiued and circumuented by his treacherie and false tales yet shewed hee not so much fauour and compassion vnto his deare Friendes Sonne as either seuerely to punish and sharpelie reuenge so notable a villanie and fraudulent cosenage wrought against him by his owne seruaunt nor yet to restore vnto him all his Goodes againe Certes in this case as I thinke Dauid cannot at any hand bee excused but that hee greatly offended and sinned and that moe waies then one to wit first in respect of being a King and secondly as being the professed and sworne Friende of Ionathan the father of this Mephibosheth In that he was a King his office and duetie had beene to haue punished and reuenged the open treacherie and manifest falshood of the Seruaunt against his Lord and Maister And in that he was a Friend his duetie had bene to haue relieued protected the Sonne of his deceassed Friend being shamefully abused and lewdly deceiued through the fraude of his owne Seruaunt and pitifully despoyled of all his Goodes by him that was his Vassall His office and duetie I saye had bene in remembraunce of the great Friendshippe betweene him and Ionathan to haue defended and supported his Sonne being oppressed and afflicted and being well able to haue restored him to his fathers inheritance But in that Dauid neglected and omitted so to doe surely therein he is worthy of great reprehension and to be deemed and accoumpted as one vtterly vnmyndfull of his office and duetie Furthermore to haue transgressed the Boundes and to haue sinned against the lawes of true Friendship yea and quight to haue forgotten both his promise and the benefites which he had afore receiued Therefore this fact of Dauid is not by any that are professed Friendes to be imitated and followed neither to be drawne into example If any man to excuse Dauid will say that because he had bound himself by an Oath and had now alreadie giuen the same Goodes vnto Ziba that therefore he could not lawfully call backe his promise the answere hereunto is easilie shaped For Dauid had afore giuen the very same Goodes vnto Mephibosheth and therefore in that partition of them which hee graunted to bee equally made betweene them both hee cleared not himselfe from the Conscience of his Oath before God For he sware also vnto Ziba that he would giue vnto him all the whole Goodes of Mephibosheth and not a moytie or portion of them onely And yet he assigned vnto him but onely a part and tooke an other part away from him And therefore euen in this same partition Dauid brake his Oath and therein is he manifestly culpable afore God for taking his Diuine name in vaine To be short there can no excuse bee pretended nor any reason as I thinke alledged whereby Dauid in this case can bee cleared either frō the foule fault of breach of Friendship or of his solemne Oath lōg afore sworne vnto Ionathan The second thing that in the discussing of the Endes of Friendshippe is brought into question is of the Maner and Way how and in what sorte and how farre by the lawes of Friendshippe Friendes must doe one for an other Sūmarily such Maner such Bounds such Endes such Limites and Markes must to the