which vpon a tyme not yelding to the sacrifycers any lucky prophesies for that was taken for a religeon it moued the penitente Lacedemonians that in stede of the ambassadors slayne as many that is to say too should offer themselues to death Then Sparthius and Bulis offered theymselues departing thence to Lacedemon before they should come to Xerses sonne of Darius who before had sent the ambassadors they came to Hidernes y kinges Liutenant who entertayning them courteously after he knew the cause of their comming and the greatenesse of theyr myndes perswaded theym rather to choose the Kinges fauoure then deathe for Xerses would make theym rulers ouer all Greece and that he him selfe was one of hys Lordes whose State he willed them to consider and if they would follow his counsell they should not refuse the kinges frendshippe Then aunsweared they Thou knoweste not Hidernes howe ioyful a thinge the pleasure of liberty is where of thou euer seruinge a kinge hadde neuer proofe but if once thou mightest taste thereof thou wouldst preferre it before all the kingedomes of Percia Such felicitye hadd these men in their Common weales eyther of pouerty or at the lest wise with pouerty And yet was the lyfe of the Lacedemonians as before I sayde hard by reason of theyr vse in warres notwithstandinge by the benefyte of pouertye hauinge no monie at all so deare to theym was liberty as they esteemed it aboue a kingedome But omyttinge to speake of Common weales let vs inquyre of priuate Lyfe where in is greater Pleasure greater Quiet then in kingdomes neither can a Kinge bee assured of freendes neyther can he feele the chiefest sweete of Venus ioyes beinge in dout of desembled loue For wel you know the chief and greatest delight of that pleasure is to loue and be loued And how can he know himself beloued wheÌ„ feare of power or hope of reward do make the willinge suspected It is no meruayle thâ—rfore that so many doe declare themselues vnthanckfull to princes for they cannot be accompted as frendes that eyther for hope feare or daylye rewarde bee entertayned Therefore Philippus reproued his sonne Alexander because wyth geuing he thought to gayne the good will of people Albeit the lyfe of princes is most noble yet waÌ„ting loue and friendship by no meanes can be accompted happy because they are to seke of such benifyts as do nearest approch the happines of mortall men But let vs now consyder that although in these thinges they were equal to pore men whether then the lyfe of Princes or common persons were more pleasant The pore man rysing earlye after his handes be washed resorteth to his labor where hauing a while exercised him selfe besydes the helpe of his hongry supper the night before with his felow in labour where with hongrye Sauce they sauour all sortes of meate what soeuer commeth to hand semeth pleasant delicate and precious In dyning time they common of pleasaunt matters and tell what hope hee hathe of tyme to come This company breedeth no discention this dyet causeth no sacietye no disdayn no suspicion The diner ended after pawsinge a while they returne to accustomed labor wherein they get good appetite to supper There being met they want no mirth gentill ieastes and pleasante tales according to the quality of the guests Then to bed thei goe whereunto preparing themselues the shining starres doe stirre them vp to looke to heauen and remember that at length they shal come into that most blessed country promising in mynde if anye thinge were sinfully done thamendment of theyr offences Thus wearied with long labor by daye so sone as he commeth in bed sodenly he falleth in to sound sleape In such a sorte lyuinge the simple man gayneth healthy and long lyfe neither troubled with repentaunce of passed time nor feare of that wil after follow When holy dayes do happen he resteth his weary bones Then wandreth he at will and if ought therebe in towne pleasant or worthy sight he may without offence see it He veweth the suburbes the greene fieldes men dowes he meeteth his companions taketh each where his disport He mindeth no displeasing immaginacions he ioyeth in lyfe and liueth prepared for death And if happely he be learned maye bee som what the more accompted happy But the Princes life is cleare contrary He hauing shaken of his yesterdayes surfyte ryseth vppe hys mouth not well in taste but on the one syde offended with vnsweete sauour of his owne stomack on the other distempered with euyll rellesse Then assemble on euery hand his Garde souldiers seruantes parasytes flatterers and suters hys men 〈◊〉 about him they exclaime crye out complayne because all thinges are out of good order The porters kepe backe the importunate people some perhaps they promise liberty to passe in And if the prince be of good disposicion secretly he examineth his affayres which fynding to be infynite in nomber he lotheth his owne lyfe For some thinges he dispayreth to bringe to passe and some thinges he hath great care of Now he blameth y infidelity of some persons Now hee accuseth the slouth of others now he fyndeth fault with some mens couetise .. Now he forecasteth some necessarye matters Now he heareth prayers Now hee harkneth to suytes wherin y more attentiue he is the moore is his trouble and care of mynde so at last he referreth all to his Counsayle Thus you se that as to a prince nothing is displeasaunt so doth he nothinge with pleasure When diner time commeth then is he solemplye serued wythe Dishes Platters Cuppes Carpets Wyne Sallets Sauce meat bread Dainties of strange deuise and all sortes of princely prouision But beinge thus setled at meate either he hath no company at all or hauinge they be commonly inferiours and forced therfore to be placed farre beneath him who though outwardly merrelye disposed yet inwardely loden with many cares And as the Poet saythe VVythin vvhose fearefull face the palenes dyd appeare of great and greuous loue But now to returne to a kinge who fed withe delicate daynties and clothed in rich 〈…〉 glutted with yesterdayes cheare doth neyther 〈◊〉 his meate nor take pleasure in syght of any thingâ— he can beholde But clothed with all delicacye he leaneth backe looking round about and at 〈◊〉 chooseth some one meate that leaste doth offende him And admitte he could take delight in eating or drinkinge should that much pleasure him surelye no Because all hee doeth is ioyned wythe suspicion He feareth his meate his drynke his stole his Chayre his Trenchour his napkin and knife for in euery of theym may 〈◊〉 secret â—oyson What pleasure can eatinge be beset with so many suspycions Were it not better to Suppe withe simple sallets rootes and fruite then with all these rich dishes and daungerous delicates what can bee worse then suspicion where perill may also lurke and feare is neuer away which Dionisius by good ensample proued For when Damocles had longe flattered him as parasites doe
after the maner of Heraclites is continually to be bewailed as Palladas sayth Al vveeping vvas I borne all vveeping must I dye my vvhole life in vveeping haue bene consumed O lamentable life of man remayninge on earth in sicknes sorrovv and continuall miserye Therefore if at any time we must take leaue of lamenting thē ought y same either euer or neuer to be done for life is eyther euer to bee lamented or neuer Among other myseries what I pray you cā be greater then whē a man riseth frō bed in the morning to be incertaine of his returne to rest againe or being in bed whether his life shall continue tyll he ryse besydes that what labour what hazard care are men constrained to abyde with these our brittle bodies our feeble force and incertayne lyfe so as of no nacion I thinke a man better or more fytlye named then of the Spaniard who in their language do terme a man shadow And sure ther is nothing to be found of lesse assurance or soner passed then the lyfe of man no nor y may more rightlye be resembled to a shadow Somtime I consider with my selfe and thinke yf the chrystian lawe were therunto consentyng that the soules of som wicked deuils were entred into the bodies of men as torments for synnes and so after death none other hell or punyshment to folow So greate is the masse of worldly miseries as this lyfe is eyther for wicked folke or by some wicked god appoynted But when I duly consyder al I leaue this cōmon opynion as altogether vntrue perceiue that in this lyfe ther is nothing found y may iustly be called good or euyll do allow of those phylosophers as wyse who thought that al thinges consysted in opynion For what custome what law or what iudgement is so certein as is not encoūtred with contrary opinions and surely beleue me y the philosophers wold not so long haue contended amōg themselues if the matters of theyr contentiō had not rested only in opynyon what man is so mad as wyl say the swan is blacke or that the rauen is in colour whyte when the matter is otherwise to be iudged by cōmon sence But what is good or euyl O lord how much speach how great disputation and howe longe contencion hath beene The blynd man sekes a mote How can it be other thē discention when the thing dyffreth from it selfe the philosophers do disagre among themselues as of that that no wher is to be found And here vpon cōmeth to my memory a certayn fable written by an aūcient poet whych doth lyuely in my iudgement set forth mans lyfe It is told that when myghty Iupiter had made the heauens the earthe the seas the beastes and men he soberly consydered that vnlesse he allotted both punishment reward for mens desertes it should so come to passe as they would not only approue al kynd of dysorder but also dysdayne the gods theym selues for whych consyderation the greate Ioue cōmaunded Vulcan to frame two brasen tunnes the one to receyue all that was good the other to conteyn the euyl and made both good euyl thinges wynged to th ende they myght more fytlye be sent amonge mortall men accordinge to the quality of theyr desertes But Pandora being a busy goddes and gredie to loke into the vessels dyd open them sodēly both the good the euyl brake forth flewe theyr wayes the good houered vp to heauen the euyll made speee to the hel and in y barel of euyl remayned only hope in the vessell of good was founde suspycion as that wherw t they were maynteyned which newes when Iupiter hard as he is an angry god toke the empty vessells and in a rage threwe them down whych mortal men seing desyrous of newes drew nere embraced the emptye barrels some of the good and some of the euyll But they that layd hold of the empty tonnes dyd neuerthelesse persuade thē selues to haue gotten both good and euyl and yet in dede neyther good nor euyl fel to any mortal man sauing that they y hapned vpon the better barrel found in themselues opiniō of good with suspicion the other opinion of euill with some hope And so it came to passe not vnlyke as when men in darke nyghts walkyng in Arabia do happelye treade vppon some piece of yron or other cold thing are sodenly affrighted with feare leaste they haue hapned vpon a venemous serpent yet haue not euen so the only suspicion of good and evyll is that that perplexeth al mortal creatures because al that is good is ascended to heauen and al that is euyl gone down to the infernall sprytes And therfore euer synce the great Iupiter haue disdained to take acompt of mortal mens deseruings Truly although this be a fayned fable yet doth yt aswel declare the originall both of good and euyll as yf it had bene set forth in the learned scholes But as these earthly ioyes are vayne and instable so in the world to come al thyngs are certain assured euerlasting whether throughe sufferance of these afflictiōs whych we call euyls the godly loue doth cal vs according to the sayinge of y prophet because thou were accepted by god it was expedient y temptacion should try the for the almighty God not vnlyke a father that entierly loueth hys chyldren doth bring them vp in all contynencye sober lyfe restrayning their pleasures not suffring them without chastisement to exercise any euyl or vngodly lyfe And contrary wyse such as hee estemeth not and that lyue lyke chyldren destened to perdiciō wythout regard he doth suffer to pursue their dronken and disolute maner of lyuing Shal we therfore say the life of such seruauntes is more happy or more to be wished for then those sonnes For none are admitted to heauēly ioyes but those that in all good lyfe and perfection do deserue the same for as gold is fyned in the fornace so the life of a iust man by aduersity in this world is tryed And yet if al eyther good or euyl should be compared to y heauenly hope yt were no more then one grayn to a hole heape S. Paule therfore sayd that al we suffer in this worlde was not meritorious enough to gayn the glory of y world to come who so euer then that fyrmely embraceth thys faythe should he not in aduersyty reioyse in prosperitye lament and amids his miseries persuade himselfe that god doth make tryal of hys fayth after tryall to cal him among the number of his chosen If in getting worldly glory thou doest so much reioyse the reward therof being smal the cōtinuance short and mortal what should we do for this heauenly glory which is euerlasting great assured So great is this comfort y if ther were not manye y swerued in fayth the holy office of cōforting were al ready finished who wold not chaūge this short life with that life euerlasting this frayl with
discribeth Pompeius deathe in this wise In hast he stayde his vvofull voyce and vvould no vvord complayn Least vveping teares might so vnvvares his heauenly fame disdain And vvhâ—â—â—is noble side vvas pearst vvith fearce Achilles blade No sigâ— no sob no careful cheare no sorovving sound he made but in disdaine of crueltye Cato VticeÌ„sis determined to dye ordered his goods wiselye forseinge the good of others though he neglected his owne which done reading Plato of the immortality of soules layd himselfe down slepte so souÌ„dly as he snored after being awaked sticked himselfe And when throughe weakenes of his hand the wounde was not mortal suche as were by saued him tyl at length violently he brake lose dyed Such was his gredy desyre of death Otho themperoure a yong man of thirtye seuen yeares of al men accompted soft and effeminate after hee had won thre battels of the Vitelli for the sorow of one lost gaue his mony and substance to his frendes and willed his familiar companion to shewe himselfe to the souldiers lest that after he should be suspected and in the night with two daggers murdered himselfe And yet neither dispayred hee of the holding of the Empire nor wanted the loue of the Senate or his souldiers but onlye for that nether in victory or victored he would hinder the commoÌ„ wealth Caius Iulius by Caius themperour condempned to dye â–ª obteyned ten dayes pardon all whiche time careles he consumed in sleape and table play and when the hangeman came in to warne him y his tyme was euen at hande hee tolde what aduauntage he had in the game and willed his play felow that after his death he should not boast of winning and called the hangman to record who led him towardes death accompanied with a philosopher Vpon the way being asked whaâ— he mused of He aunswered I determined to obserue what at the last instant my soule shal feele when it parteth away to the ende that after I may aduertise my frends Aratus knowing he had taken a lingering poyson at the handes of Philippus the Macedonian kinge speaking one secrete worde to his familier frend passed the rest of his life so pleasantly as semed not to haue any such griefe or assurance to dye The seuen brothers called Machabei al yoÌ„g men and sonnes of one mother by the commaundement of king Antigouns one after an other and in sondry sorte together with their Mother killed themselues Tectamenes condempned to dye went his way laughinge and being asked whether hee disdayned the lawes answered no but by dyinge I must pay that I neither asked nor borrowed of any Which example although vnder the person of one vnknowen was much praysed of Cicero yet in wise iudgements such behauiour argueth In Tectamenes rather vanity theÌ„ fortitude for a man condempned specially for wicked doing naturally can not loue death neither was it our entente to proue that death should be desired or sought for But as it is the condicion of a faithlesse man not to restore y he boroweth so is it also an vnfreÌ„dly and vnthankefull parte not to kepe that hee boroweth As therfore death is not to be fled or lameÌ„ted â—o ought it not to be sought for But as y Poete sayth Do neyther seke nor shonne the ende of thine ovvne lyfe Yet happely Craton may holde such opinion and though it be not mainteined by reason yet for the meruaile gaineth reputation among the common sort The example therfore of Theramon is more honest and more couragious For he beinge vniustly by thirty Tyrantes condempned tooke the poyson saying according to the auncient maner of Athens Critus I drinke to the for so was the greatest Tyrant and worse then Theramines called that done whatsoeuer remayned in the cuppe he threw vpon the ground The death of Phocion was more noble he seing his frend desyrous to drinke poison didde stay him after findinge that which was not left to suffise did buy more saying that in Athens a man was forced to buy his own death But why do I labor to enduce more ensamples of men when whoole Nacions may be called to recorde As the Galathians did so little regarde Deathe as they feared not to fighte Naked So did also manye noble Romaines and Germaines that nedelesse it wer to resyte their names I do therfore thinke best in fewe words to declare that men were made mortall for three causes First because there shoulde be some ende of their offences This life is displeasant and the nerer age the moore troublesome and therefore the Gimniophista as men say answered Alexander well askinge whether death or life wer stronger Liâ—e quod hee because it beareth so many calamities The second cause is that goodmen without enuy might be honoured and euil Men without feare coÌ„dempned and that riches and aucthority for whiche menne commit greate wickednesse might not be regarded Yf those thinges whiche mortall men haue were iustly wayed they shoulde as Cares and Euilles be reputed Yet if death were not Menne would muse onlye vppon Thefte and Violence while in this short space that now they lyue they thinke so much thereof The third reason is for that men might receiue rewarde of good and euil according to the quality of their deserts For after death such as haue passed a godly life shall liue not only with their brethren kinsfolke but also accoÌ„panied withal honest and learned men and aboue y starres receiue ioy and euerlasting felicitye So contrary wise the wicked in darkenesse and solitarye places shal be tormented Therfore for wicked folke only death can bee thought euill and yet is not but Good men not vnlike the Swanne who only at his death do synge may boldly reioyse and be gladde Some there are so ambicious that the care of their funeralles doth trouble them muche who are not to bee comforted but for their follye to be reprehended what is the body of man when the Spirite is passed awaye It is no moore accompted as parte or member of him but rather a Carckcasse vnprofytable stinckinge and horryble Seneca therfore didde well deuise that the same should be buried not in respect of the Dead but the liuinge least they by sauour and sight therof might be offended Where vppon in sundrye nacions hath growne sundrie customes of buryinge the Deade The Grecians were wonte to wrye them in the earthe The Romaines dyd burne them in fyre The Nathabeians did burye them in their dungehilles Yea their Kinges had none other Sepulchre The Ethiopians do cast them into the ryuers to be deuoured of Fishes The Magi did geeue them to wilde Beastes Hercani to Doggs But the Massageti most meruailouslye do eate them The Egiptians with their owne Nayles doe burie them The Persians doe wrappe theym in Waxe So incertayne is the reason where is no reason at all Alas good Foole doest thou not heare the Poete sayinge To vvant a tombe the lacke is neuer great What doth it preuayle the to lye in marble aboue the ground
Eliades doth affirme those to liue short liues that do not render their parentes that due rewarde of education Such is the counsell of true dealing and surelye these vnnatural mindes procedes from some deuill otherwyse they coulde not be giltye of so greate a mischiefe The nature of man is diuelishe and so wicked as it woulde destroye all parentes neyther can it gouerne it selfe neyther doth it contayne in it selfe any curtesye by meane whereof necessarilye in shorte space it must be consumed But as it is the part of an vngracious sonne to hate the lyfe of his parentes so it is y part of a wise sonne pacieÌ„tly to take theyr deathes and to turne the same to his coÌ„moditye according to then sample of the good Phisitions who hauinge medecins wil not vse poyson yet hauing venome at hande after longe tryall of other thinges will rather then faile by venome cure diseases So the wyse man by well and discrete vsing of euill doth make the same good As first commeth to memorye the gouernment of household the ensample of wysedome and the desyre of glorye in all which the reuerence and respecte towardes the father doth chiefely hinder thee or altogether let thee The authoritye of fathers contayneth in it somewhat more then seruice and hindereth the execution of great thinges be it in warres learning or administration of the common wealth for all thinges hauinge euil successe are imputed to the sonne and al good to the father whom if hee loueth he cannot dissemble it though he deserued it not or if he loue him not it shal be called his default or want of dutye And the examples of them that willingly haue geuen place to their sonnes in glorye are so fewe as the honour that Antiocus did to his sonne Demetrius maye be taken as a myracle The euente of worldly procedings haue also made proofe of this opynion because al such as haue become excellent eyther in armes learninge or ciuil gouernmente were of those whose fathers in youth were taken awaye as Iulius Caesar Octauius Augustus Alcibiades Cicero Galenus Aristoteles yea what had Alexander beene if Phillippus had liued but one foure yeares longer for had Phillippus ended the warres wyth Darius being victorious he had gayned the whole glorye or if he had been victoryed hee coulde not haue left to Alexander meane and power of happye procedinge As therefore to cowards and men of no vertue the timelye death of the father hath euer brought hinderaunce So to noble minds it is occasion whereby to shewe themselues as they be This muste also be set before oure eyes that both life and death be the giftes of God and do euermore depende vppon his prouidence Therefore whosoeuer reproueth lyfe or death doth in sylence disalowe complayne of the deuine Iudgement because both the one and the other is meete and profitable And chiefelye if thou offende or did not loue them thou ought not to lamente for hauinge lost them thou hated Or if thou lamente otherwise it must be because towardes them thou were vnnatural But nowe thou arte safe so as thou can neyther be appeached of impiety if thou hast not before procured their harmes nor after be thought vnfrendly sith against thy wil or by mishap thou cannot offend How much better had it beene for Priamus that Hector and Politus had dyed before him who founde himselfe so greuouslye perplexed with theyr miserable chauÌ„ces as he disdayned his owne lyfe Was not Hector more happye in death for Astianax theÌ„ Priamus because to auoyde the sight of Priamê° misery he sought his owne death and so by dying left hym miserable All these were the actes of good parentes but of thother howe many haue bene whom though to hate were vngodlye yet to loue them is not necessarye Some haue taken away the common parent as did Clitemnestra who hauing killed Agamemnon was herselfe betrayed by Orestes her coÌ„mon sonne So Almenon murdered his mother Eryphiles for hauinge coÌ„sented to y death of his father Amphiarus These examples are common neither is it necessarye to loue such parents for notwithstanding by them wee haue our being yet against their willes as it seemeth we kepe it because they sought the destructioÌ„ of them of whoÌ„ wee came Therfore Licophron killed Periandrus his father for beinge chiefe auctor of his mothers death would neither take regard of his fame neither speake vnto him nor suffer him selfe to be spoken vnto But how much more wicked be they the seeke the death of theyr owne sonnes of whom the ensamples are not so few as happelye thou thinkest Mithridates murthered some of his owne sonnes and had hee not wanted power hee woulde not haue lefte one of his children on liue Theseus was also causelesse the cause of Hippolitus death and as they saye Medea cut her owne childreÌ„ in peeces Of more certentye the same is tolde of Catelina who to th ende he might be maryed a new with poyson killed his owne sonne almost a maÌ„ Matheus Duke of that Carthaginenses haÌ„ged his owne sonne Carthalus returning froÌ„ victory only because meetinge his father theÌ„ in exile he was appareled in purple wyth the badge of victorye Should any other sonne of hys suruiuing him weepe or lament the death of so cruel a father nay rather a malicious beast Yet how muche more vile was the acte of Laodices wyfe of Axioratus kinge of Capodacia who hauing by that husband sixe sonnes with poyson murthered fiue intendinge also to kill the sixt yongest of all had it not by the pollicy of kinsefolke bene preueÌ„ted What beast doth liue so hard harted as can beare the crueltye of such a mother Cattes and Connyes by reason of theyr excedyng great lust do deuoure theyr yong newly brought forth but other mothers among al the brutish kinde to destroye theyr owne yonge I neuer redde nor thoughe written it were hardlye I durst beleue Wyth like bestialitye of minde did Euergetes Ptolomeus murther the two children he gotte vpon hys sister Cleopatra the one of good yeares thother verye yonge Of these and such lyke parentes to bewayle the death how great a folly were it I my selfe haue seene and so haue manye others a gentlewomen that to enioye vnlawfull loue wythin xv dayes wyth a sword slewe her owne husband poysoned her owne sonne and before theyr buriall was maryed to her newe loue But nowe I see what thou wouldest saye I mourne not for the death of suchan auncetor but for one that was iuste good godlye and that dearelye did loue mee but howe doest thou know whether hereafter he wil be such a one stil for all such as killed theyr wyues or children were at the first also good yet grewe to this madnesse after many yeares which sheweth that theyr wickednes eyther came with time or els thoccasion grewe by time Therefore there is nothinge so vniuersallye incertaine as the loue towardes children brethren wyues kinsefolke frendes maisters Craft couereth many things so doth base fortune occasion
and wysedome all which when age groweth on like vnto stares in the tree are encreased and detected So olde age beinge come sometimes in respecte of power but more often in regarde of follye and vtilitye olde men do for necessitye vse the helpe counsel of theÌ„ they loue not and onlye because of theyr owne debilitye which saueth the giltles children from many misaduentures at theyr hands for whom they liue continuallye a most miserable lyfe Others do disherit theyr children others consume theyr patrimonye and some seeke newe wyues breeding the sorrowe that stepmothers most coÌ„monlye make The iniurye of euerye of whiche ioyned wyth the combersomnes and seueritye of age is encreased And to conclude with one example of a wise man amonge all those fooles let that of Cato Câ—nsorinus a man of excellent witre suffice thee he hauing a sonne of good yeares fell first to aduoutry and after marying a moste defamed woman thereby clearlye discredited the reputation of wisedome and former life yea besydes all this ordayned the Nephewe of Clieus to be Coheyre wyth his sonne at that tyme Preator in Rome Why should I then neede to resyte Lysander Tiberius and the reste of those olde Monsters that in age were not onelye wicked but also withoute Mercye when the integritie and Romaine wisedome through defaulte of age was worne away Therfore seinge the number of manye brethren breedeth pouertye where great abundaunce wâ—teth impossible it is that any of theym canne doe great things It must then be confesses that y â— â—â—athe of the father ought much to be lament 〈…〉 sorrowed not at all Much lesse ought the death of Brothers to make a man sorrowfull it menne woulde rightly waye thinges as they are And fyrst it must be considered which is also to be thoughte of in the losse of children when alone without brethren thou be born whether thou wilt lamente because they were not borne Truly syth I see no man so to do I hardly thinke that any will saye it is worthye weepinge to bee borne with brethren â–ª or if being a childe 〈…〉 dyuers brethren wilt thou now renew the sorow of their death which I know also thou wiâ—t not because we loue not y we know not but we lameÌ„t for them we loue If then thou think neither those that are not borne nor those that are worthy to be mourned for how much lesse the other that were borne and lyued a good tyme For if to haue brethren it be euyll then to loose them is a pleasure But if it bee good seinge in all good thinges it is better to haue hadde some thinge then nothinge who doubteth But these that liued some reasonable yeares if they dye are lesse to bee sorowed for then those that neuer were borne nor knowen Such is the condicion of euilles that what soeuer is euerlasting is most displeasaunt and in al such some rest is thought pleasaunt In a tyme of famine is it not better to haue two Loaues then no bread at all After long labour is not rest he it neuer so little better then none Dothe not one dayes libertie refreshe a man well that lyeth continually in prison Are not suche as liue in miserie somewhat comforted when they remember that some parte of their lyfe was pleasauntly passed Seinge then it is better to haue had bretheren to haue lyued in their company to haue sorrowed reioysed with theym and therfore art more happy then they that vttterlye haue had none at all who for all that do neither weepe nor lament But false imaginacion and opinion is the faulte hereof whereby thou thinckest that not onelye he but also thy selfe should for euer liue togethers of which hope worthylye deceiued vnworthilye thou mournest for thy brother what if in thy choyse yf were to liue brotherlesse or without one only brother who after fortie yeares should suruiue the Whether would thou haue a brother with such condicion or liue without Surely thou would haue him vnlesse to haue brethren thou thinke it euill But if to chose the brotherlesse lyfe then wouldst thou not complaine Yet hauing the better choyse thou doest What is the cause other then that now thou art vnprepared to disgeste thy brothers death but when the choyse was made thou were prepared Thus deathe therfore is not to bee blamed but in opinioÌ„ only it semeth intollerable and therein thou lamentest the commodities receiued as there is no necessety thou neuer thinkest But be it for the purpose that this thy Brother was good and loued the much which as men saye is not common In Brethren hard it is to fynde vnfayned loue Truely if thou haue regarde to dayly experience the most brothers be coÌ„bersome quarrelous â—â—â—â—ous discencious captious and disdaynefull The Poet was wonte therfore verye well to resemble brethren to the windes because they euer disagreed among them selues and lyued not lyke frends or fellowes but as those whom discorde did beste become Chain did fyrst shewe to Abel what brotherly loue would after be Then Iacob deceiued Esau committing his eleuen children into the seruitude of Ioseph his brother yea some of theim they ment to haue slayne forgetting not only pitty but also their common parentes and the innocency of their age After their daies Absolon killed Amnon his brother Abimelech the sonne of Gedeon murdered his threscore and ten brethren one only except No godlye lawe no holye Religion no feare of GOD from so wicked a deede could withholde hym Neyther are the examples of the Gentiles more mercifull Atreus hauinge murdered the three sonnes of Thiestes hys brother gaue hym theyr fleshe to eate spoyled hym of hys Kyngdome and rauished his wyfe Etheocles and Polynues Oedipi Simulus and Rhesus did likewyse one murther the other so did also Romulus and Remus Iugurtha was not contented onelye to kill his brethren Adherbales and Hiempsales but also before they dyed cutte all theyr fleshe from theyr bones Cambises hauinge one onelye brother called Smerdis a simple man and lyuinge in priuate lyfe by reason of a dreame was by him slaine So lighte a cause can cause a brother to seeke the life of a brother What did Antonius to Gâ—ta or Antipater the Macedonian Kynge Phrahates who wythoute cause slewe hys thyrtye bretherne and wyth theym Herodes hys father by whom in the place of Pacorus latelye deade hee was Crowned kinge The Queene of Tilaea toke for husband her brother Hiperio by whom she conceyued two children the one called Sol the other Luna throughe enuye killed Hiperio then caste Sol into the ryuer Eridanus and wyth sorrowe thereof dyed Luna Cleopatra also for women are not free from such wickednes to th ende she mighte more safely aspyre to the kingdome of Egipte flewe hee sister Arsinoes and her yonge brother of the age of fiftene yeares If I resighted euery mischiefe that brothers haue committed to brothers this booke coulde not contayne theym My selfe haue knowen one man twise giltye of his bretherns death another the
yeare before was beheaded for hauinge murdered thre of his brethren but the death of two was apparauntlye knowen There is no thruste for Falernus more greate then the desyre of wicked folke to committe crueltye in their owne kinsefolke Yea sometimes this wicked violence is put in proofe amonge kinsefolke of one name But amonge this sinnefull sorte thy brother is none Admitte hee be good of honest conditions modest and vertuous yet what canst thou loke for more at him then others for if thou seeke good will a frende can doe it if necessitye thy sonne must be preferred if pittye thy parentes are better if dutye thy fellowes are morefitte if flatterye thy seruauntes do it best Of all which nomber seinge thou paciently sufferest death the losse of thy brethren oughte not more impaciently to be borne And hereof a most euidente token maye be the greate constancye of the parentes at the death of theyr children the like loue of whom is neuer seene neyther amonge brethren nor amonge children towardes theyr parentes But thus thou doest saye I loued my brother dearelye honoured him trulye but did he likewyse loue thee Alexius was brother to Isaac king of Germanye and by him receyued as a companion in gouernment taken of the Turkes he redeemed him wyth great summes of money notwythstanding al which at his returne hee deposed Isaac from his kingdome put out his eyes and kepte him in continuall pryson Thou mayst boldlye sweare by GOD that thou loued and not be deceyued but how thou art beloued is harde to knowe Titus honoured Domitianus yet howe manye iniuryes did Domitianus do vnto Titus and as it is thought in the ende wyth poyson hee killed him What can be more perillous chiefelye where is greate inheritaunce thenne to commit the children to thy brothers tuition a thing almost impossible it is to loue trulye both the brother and his children or woulde thou haue thy brothers shoulde loue soe as they should forgette theyr children Who knoweth whether euill fortune shall rather take thy children or thy good brother from thee For hee lyuinge eyther wythoute perill thy children mighte not bee lefte voyde of angouerour or not without iniurye committed to others Call to memorye the example of Childebertus the Frenche kinge who by practise gotte from theyr mother Clothilda the two sonnes of hys brother and slewe them because the lawfull heyres of his brother lyuinge hee thoughte that quietlye hee could not possesse the whole kingdome Many there haue beene seene to commit more crueltye vppon theyr nephewes then this and common it is to take theyr patrimonyes from them but the occasions both of perill and iniurye are all at once remoued Lastlye this is to be noted that nature as it deuideth inheritance so doth it departe conditions amonge brethren If one be honest an other dishonest If one be noble of mind an other of base courage if one be industrious another is slouthfull If thou hate thy brother why lokest thou to be loued if thou loue him loue bindeth thy iudgemente And verye like it is that as in thee there is singuler honestye so in thy brother is no lesse dishonestye but thou seest it not occasion wanteth Thy brothers inheritaunce was well gotten howe well gotten naye rather wonne by deceit But admitte it be as be it cannot that thou knowe thy brother doth trulye loue thee thou arte childlesse hee hath children lefte behinde him accompte of them and let them bee in place of a brother in educatioÌ„ of them shal be greater charity and in keeping greater reuerence But if neyther thou nor he haue children and hee that dyed is thy onelye brother if thou adopt children they shall better serue then thy brothers Siluer is lost and gould is found But if this thou cannot do sooner then thou woulde yea against thy wyll thou thy selfe shal or long followe him and had he suruiued woulde percase skantlye haue wept one teare for thee and if so hee had done was hee not by so muche wyser then thy selfe If before him thou would not haue dyed why doest thou lameÌ„t that he is fyrst deade Other frendes do liue other kinsfolke and other companions Howe manye brothers and kinsfolke in Christ do liue as mortal men and do dailye pray for thee And thyne owne brother is alreadye gone to GOD arte thou sorrye that he hath gayned libertye and euerlastinge lyfe Thoâ—cation of euerye sorrowe is pacientlye to be borne notwithstaÌ„dinge the necessitye of na-nature the custome of others and the variable condition of worldlye thinges do woorke the contrarye Neyther can there come any greater griefe to men by death then to be berefte of children yet although the same doth happen to the whole nomber of any mans ofspringe and therewith all hope of other be remoued yet is his condition not such as deserueth eyther weeping sadnes or sorrowe And nowe let vs more deplye consider whether the life of him that is barren or of him that hath children is more happye The childles man hath onelye to lament that he hath no child to leaue behind him which if in respect of perpetuitie thou foolishlye hopest amonge so manye thousandes of men doest thou thincke thy posteritye should remayne though the world were neuer to ende But that the worlde doth ende besydes that the lawes haue so determined also al famous Philosophers Aristotle except haue so agreed And if thy life be not coÌ„tinued for euer what is that to thee or if thy posteritye do alwayes remayne art thou for that respecte the happyer when the Paripatetians conclude that the seede of the father is no porcion of the childreÌ„ but y they are whollye ingendred of the mothers bloud Galenus thincketh y the vaynes the synowes and artires are onely made of the fathers seede al the rest of the mothers bloude howsoeuer it be no graund child is porcion of his graundfather So subtill is this pleasure of posteritye as in deede it maye be called nothing after a few yeares all memorye of great graundfathers is worne out who is he almost that euer knewe his great graundfather But on the contrary part to so smal a pleasure how great a care is ioyned hereof commeth perill of life charge in education feare of honger care in learning wantonnes in childhoode rashenes in youth contumacy disobedience disdaine All which in riche men and happye times are soe common as are accompted for necessarye euils Now what hope can be in posteritye when onely charge and feare commeth thereby People are opprest kinges make warres the Prince of Turkes with fyre and swoorde wasteth all vile seruitude of all euill the worst draweth on some yelde some are hidden in hookes on euery syde disorder euill men are not allowed good subiectes persecuted Dost thou then thinke that in times of such calamitye it is not care enoughe for thee to prouide for thy selfe but wil also be charged wyth an encreased burden of necessarye cares what caÌ„ bee more wicked then this oure
our selues our couÌ„try of god and that which is most our childreÌ„ al. So dotingly we do loue our children as we seme rather to hate theÌ„ â–ª We bring theÌ„ vp not in vertue but in iniury not in learning but in lusting not in feare of god but in desire of ryches not to liue long but to the performance of foule delites yet was it not nature y made this default of folish care of imoderate loue to whoÌ„ she gaue a certain modest desire of honger thirst to euery creature so far as was nedeful Yet though imperfection of mynd only man without honger eateth drinketh without thirst without necessity doth vse euery sorte of delighte And in like sort doth he loue his children so much as not only he suffereth them but for them the fathers wil also do euil and attempt al wickednes and thincketh them of his owne makinge But assuredly they are not but â—ee the woorkes of God who gaue them minde lyfe forme force maners wit and encrease And of these the Father made nothinge Then leaue I saye to lament for that is none of thyne hee that made yt hath called it agayne vnto hym to whose Commaundemente yt is boothe iuste and Godlye it shoulde obaye And if thou desyre to knowe whether this Loue bee Naturall or like vnto other desires an imperfection of mind Beholde other lyuing thinges who after education do neuer knowe their owne no nor loue them But if this were a gift of Nature it shold by reason of pitye and necessity rather be in children towardes their parents then in parentes towardes their children which example Nature as it semeth did not forget in brute beastes for among birdes the Stork Among four foted beasts the Dormouse doth feede his aged parents But after the first educatioÌ„ of loue borne to their parents no sinne is extant but men by study as it were doth passe other liuing things through the imperfectioÌ„ of mind esteming himselfe to much The pitie of brute beastes cometh altogether when both of education loue th end is one duringe which time the old beastes be weaker labersome leane careful and miseserable as to all men it doth appeare Surelye it seemeth a great madnes to torment thy mind coÌ„tinually with this nedeles care of posteritie for besydes that this desyre is neither reasonable nor necessary some man may iustlye meruaile why it is so common but the answere there vnto is not douted of If fyrst thou doest show me the cause why so many men became couetous ireful and subiecte to desyres of lust And all these besides they be vices not naturall nor reasonable are also dishonest Yet thonly loue of children after educatioÌ„ though it procedeth neither of nature nor reason yet is yt honest But I haue perhaps in so apparaÌ„t firme matter for wise men spoken more then was requisite And haue vsed reasons true though subtil and shorte Therfore let vs come to longer speache arguments more playne lest I seme not so muche to proue as to deceiue thy son therfore being dead consider fyrste whether hee was well reported or accompted wicked For manye times the son of a good father is seene to proue an euil man by reasoÌ„ the homely vices are hardlier discouered then y externall besydes that loue byndeth iudgemente Wherof a fable is come forth how the Cuckovv in old tyme for her young birdes contended in singinge with the Nightingale and hers appointing the asse to be their Iudge whose sentence was y he knew not which of them did synge most swetly but wel he was assured the Cuckovves did most playnlye and distinctly pronounce their notes So the children of euery one are not only best loued but also the euyll by the euyll are most allowed of In which cases as we haue also sene meÌ„ of right good iudgement mete it is that we should not only lameÌ„t but also reioyse And in auÌ„cieÌ„t time they did much more then this for both Manlius Torquatus agaynst his son Deciê° Silanê° pronouÌ„ced so cruel a seÌ„tence as with a cord he hanged himself And M. Scaurus finding his sonne among others fleinge being only giltye of feare did force him to returne to his enemies be slaine Lykewise a woman of Lacedemon killed her son for his slouth and returning from the wars of whom this noble verse was written Thou dastard knight Damatrion thy mother here haue slayne That doest both her and Spartayn bloud vvith covverdice distayne Such and more wicked sonnes being bereft of lyfe do thereby sease to offend their parents kinsfolke yea are also themselues saued froÌ„ greater infamy Some sonnes haue not forborne to coÌ„spyre the death of their fathers As Blandenius Zesides who slewe his mother and Euander that at the perswasion of his mother Nicostrata murdered his owne father and for that cause was banished Italye Such moÌ„sters as they are being left aliue are causes of many euils so Paris was the subuersioÌ„ of both Priamus house country notwithstaÌ„ding wheÌ„ he dyed Priamus weped So folish are mens cares that they wishe they wot not what excellinge as they think the Gods in wisdome reproue those that in their ignorance shall procure their good For if thy son were wise honest godly noblye mynded hauing hope of children that may support thyne vnweldiage What is wanting in the graund children if none be a fond thyng it was to hope that he would not nor could not do But how soeuer it be greater is y dauÌ„ger of them that are worse then death then hope of those he hath to proue better And misery vilety shame continuall griefe and disdain are al more euyl then death deathe is common to all men but these to fewe who also are all subiect to death Were it not better by dyinge to preuent all these iniuries then to haue thy desyre so dearlye bought For necessarye it is that who so wyll lyue old must suffer many euils Ther is almost no mortal creature liuing long but at somtimes before he dieth doth hate his life wherto put the saying of y Poet. Although vnvveldyage vvhen lyfe doth vveare avvay None other ill did bring vvithall but that as men do say By liuinge long ful oft vve see vvich vvee vvould not behold Truly if such desyre thou haue of children if thy sonne died thou beinge olde thy time to follow is next if in thy youth then hast thou hope enoughe to haue more Finally Sorowe is a womanishe thinge and not fytte for men Therfore the Licians were wont to constrayne mourners to weare womens garmentes to th ende their garment might agree with the mynd And surely not without occasion because among all people the more vile they be the more beastly they lament As women fyrste next children then barrennous men the greatest nomber of whom be effeminate Contrariwise meÌ„ the more valiaunt they bee the more they oppresse their griefe and soâ—er driue their Sorow away This sort of Sorrowe goeth
pryce As lettyse apples grapes and radish And contrary wyse rych men make none accompt of partrydge hares peacockes and plouers which pore men esteeme for excellente delycatees What choyse is there in thinges when it is only change that breedeth the dyfference Cicero telleth that Suppynge wythe Lentulus hee surfyted of sweete Beetes The lyke reason there is to proue that a pore man sleapeth more soundly then the rich And as men saye The grassy flag the silke more soft doth yeld the sleapes vvith great delight But stately beds in tovvers alofte the richmans rest vvith feares affright The rich man troubleth his minde with cares The pore maÌ„ careth only by labor to get his liuing The richmans cares are earnest manifold howe to kepe his welth how to bestow it which way to accompt with his receiuers The pore maÌ„ careth only for himself The rich man is enforced to kepe others wherof groweth so great sorow as somtymes we reade y they haue not only laÌ„guished but also killed themselues The pore man with losse of goods is neither so tormented as he killeth himself nor so desperate as to occasion others to lay hande vpon him One only feare the poreman hath whyche is lest he lack wherwith to lyue And yet what a nomber of helpes hath hee Freendes aliaunce kinsâ—olke good men and hospitalles Neither shalt thou almost fynde any vnles they be dishonest y can want any thinge For whoso getteth by arte any thing ought not from day to day spende all but euer keepe somewhat in store whiche rule obserued there is no daunger of beggery Thus wee see the wantes of pore men manye wayes supplied And among the rest a pore man in time of famine maye liue by seruinge the riche whoe are subiecte to suche inconuenients as can not bee eschewed as Imposicion of Princes subtilty of seruants craft of heyres deceite of enemies and men vnknowen Whereof came the Satyre Som hourding vp great heapes of gold not knovving hovv to vse theÌ„ Lyke sacred stuffe doth store vp vvealth so folly doth abuse them But who needeth to meruayle or thinke I haue alledged a fayned reason wheÌ„ I my selfe haue sene an hundred men by sundry meanes through their riches to perish without fault Others haue ben poisoned by their familiers others slayn with the sword others hanged some robbed by the waye as was Curtius in our citty and Aluisius Donatus in that town of Saccensi But of such as haue perrished throughe honger in my lyfe I haue scarcely seene four and they not with out fault For ensample wherof yt were superfluous to resite any histories the proofe therof being dayly sene Therfore among so fewe richmen seing so many for riches do miscary and among so many poore men so fewe do perrishe for honger is not in that respect the condicion of rich men much worse then y state of the pore The rich man prouideth shift of apparel houshold stuf not only nedefull but also burdenous whiche asketh care kepinge and dayly reparacion And yet god knoweth no gold is more holsome to drinck in theÌ„ glasse neither is Siluer more cleanly then stone nor brasse more mete to boyle in then the pitchers of earth Garmentes the more symple they be y more holsome lesse burdenous A man comethe into this world naked hee needeth a garment but no burden The Romaynes and Lacedemonians were at the beginning so basely appareled as that kinges had them in admiracion As touchinge nedeles garmentes what should I saye other then as Socrates said beholdinge the wares to be solde in the fayre How many things are there I neede not Hee accompted theim nexte to the Gods that wanted fewest thinges The gods haue no want to be supplied and all thinges super fluous is troublesome chieflye in apparell Duste doe decaye it water dothe rot it the thief dothe steale it thy freend do weare it the walles do rub it wearinge doth make it threede bare thy neighbour doth borow it and seldome restore it so good as it was lent What is this apparell other theÌ„ a troublesome and burdenous brauerye If thou regarde their beautye paynted clothes be best or if thou respect the ambicion that shal hereafter be declared But let vs consider whether loue be more towardes the poore or the riche A pore man is simple and truly loued the richman is either feared or honoured And if happely he be loued none assurance he can haue thereof But percase it may be sayde that a richman is more sure from iniury surely no A pore man may best be reuenged for nothing hee hath to lose nor that he feareth to forgoe The rich man carefull both of life and liuinge suffereth manye iniuries It is magnanimity of minde and no worldly goods that maketh a man to liue in security yet perchaunce you saye A rich man may mooste safely offend others But how A pore man perfourmeth his offence alone in person but the rich man hauing coÌ„mitted offence though none other perill were hath felowes in offendinge and euer feareth to be by them detected He hath also champioâ—s ministers to whome hee is indebted whyche I thinck the Poet knewe speakynge of Domitianus whome for his cruelty he called Nero sayinge in this wyse But vvould to God hee rather had his time consumde in toyes Then cast such care on cruell dedes or sought such vvicked ioyes VVhen noble states he pluct a dovvne and men of vvorthy fame His subiects loue forthvvith he lost and gaynd eternall blame But vvhen in bloud of simple soules he bathde his bloudy hand VVithout renenge he felt the smart and could no longer stand Such guerdon God doth geue to men of cruel mynde that seeke the liues of harmelesse folke Then I pray you what hath a rich man better theÌ„ a poore Lyfe health chyldren meate sleape frendes liberty security delight quiet garments vteÌ„siles loue rest with all other thinges more desyred It is therfore no meruayle that Horacius sayde Happy is he vvhome God hath prouided suffycientlye vvhervvith to lyue He lyueth in best estate that possesseth so muche as maye mainteyne him to lyue whiche as Aristoteles sayth is so much as is needefull for a mans owne person and his womans The Prophet doth witnesse the same sayinge O Lord geeue me neither riches nor pouertye And if nedely I must decline from the meane Riches are moore peryllous then pouerty For pouerty is relieued by industrye and arte but there is no remedye againste the discommodityes of Riches Also the fall from riches is greate and without recouery but pouerty diffreth litle from sufficiency where of to lyue In pouertye a man hazardeth only his body but in vsyng riches both bodye and Soule is aduentured Finally if pouertye be remoued all inconueniences that it dothe bringe bee also taken awaye But suche as loue riches they fallinge doe notwithstandinge keepe styll theyr imperfections both of body and mynde Pouerty therfore vndoubtedly is more happye more assured then
from his birth did neuer see then hath he 〈◊〉 to complayne according to the common saying That the eye seeth not the hart rueth not For in that we knowe not we neyther delight nor fynd offence Al be it we see many things we take pleasure in yet of theym that doe discontent vs the nomber is greate One only perfyte eye we haue whiche is the spyryte and that more liuely is in the blynde then in them that can see by reason the outwarde eyes is there vnto a hynderaunce For which reason wee fynde that the blinde men both in wit and memorye excell all others And as they say of Tyresia For God â—ris face did hyde and 〈◊〉 vvithin the breast he set Meaninge that the blynde man did in mynde see the moste And therfore in olde tyme suche menne were honoured for prophecyinge thinges to come When Antonius the holye comforted Didimus the Philosopher he sayde vnto him let it suffise that styll thou enioyeste thy celestiall eyes thoughe the other be lost Diodorus the Stoike a companion to Cicero was blynde yet in Philosophye Musicke and Geomatrys excellent Caius Drusus was so cunninge in the Lawes Ciuil althoughe he were hymselfe blynde yet helped hee many that could see Some say Democrites for the enuy his Cittizens did bear him put our his own eyes Ascâ—epiades the Philosopher in his blindenes was wont to playe sayinge the wante of syghte was nothinge els but as thoughe a chylde should doe some thynge to an other whereby hee mighte fynde a wante But amonge other commodities blyndenes doth make death the moore tollerable Because deathe is feared for nothinge so muche as that wee loose the comforte of lighte and come into darckenes when if thou be blinde before thou shalte feele the lesse alteracion that whiche tormenteth others moste in dyinge thou shalt as it were dye vnwares Some perhappes there are so grosse as will discommonde olde age forgettinge that who so is now olde hath beene in tymes paste younge But for tryall here of let Sephalus or Spurinna be called in question of whome we may enquire whether old age not abused be better then lustye youth The vertue and strength of Iacobus Philippê° Sacchi whoÌ„ Franciscus Sforza did those to be prince of the Senate doth sufficiently shewe Wherfore syth in all these Calamities aforesaid nothinge is euyll let vs consyder whether in common miseries we ought to lament as in plagues famine and destruction of countries which because they are common doe seeme the moore pacientlye to bee suffered But if they were euyll woulde be of all other moste intollerable because they are most hardlye amended Wee see therfore that the discontentacion of men growethe rather vppon opinion then cause And seeinge it is vniuersall let vs followe the golden age in whyche tyme was more fidelitye more frendly conuersacion more easy lyfe y men better mynded and their maners the lesse corrupte that their fortune was so euyll In that age they lyued only vpon frute if they had gotten bread â–ª they accompted themselues happy but thou that wantest neither bread wyne bedde nor other prouision doeste notwithstandinge complayne It is enuy therefore no pleasure superfluity no necessity that doth torment vs For if our desires were reasonable wee should at all tymes haue lyke wishes And knowinge with howe fewe bace thinges nature is contented we shoulde not fynde so infortunate ende of our doinges But seinge in that miserable tyme men lyued so contented this can not be sayde any myserye at all For he is onely in misery y is enforced to hate his own lyfe yet in coÌ„mon calamities no man hateth his owne lyfe but moste paciently beareth all aduersityes For nothinge seemeth dishonourable that is common Euerye euylle of mannes lyfe dothe consyste in reproche death except And euery thing that is good in glorye The reason thereof is that as at the beginninge I sayd verye good or euyl was not to be found among mortall men But to return to the purpose our countrye perisheth and there in our frendes kinred reputacion and substance I graunt but dost thou accompt those only thy neighboures that inhabite thy couÌ„try Surely we are al disceÌ„ded of one line and if we loke backe to our grandfathers great great grandfathers oure affinitye is muche It is good maners y getteth frends vertue y wiÌ„neth reputacion which if thou want it is not reputation but rather ambicion and crafte In pouertye thou haste manye Companions so as for thyne error thou nede not be ashamed for want of company thou cannot bee weary And in pouertye as erst I sayde there are many wayes to reliefe as hospitalles kinsfolke charitable persons all good men Also the vniuersalitye of the misery taketh away al reproch And though many through slouth and lothenes to labour do fall into beggery yet a mynde industrious and armed with vertue is seldome subiecte thereunto Albe it the hole cittye of Siracusa was taken spoyled and sacked yet Marcellus preserued Archimedes Also when Megara was taken by Ptolomeus after by Demetrius son of Antiochus yet Stilpho the Philosopher was saued and at the kinges handes receiued both honour and rewarde for the one desyred his company the other became his scholer When Rhodus was besieged by Demetrius Protogenes the painter being found in the suburbes was by him honored though the other cittezens remained scant in surety Vertue is alwayes accompanied with Nemesis who sufferethe none to beg sauing men from coÌ„mon calamities Socrates remayned in Athens healthy when y plage was there at the greatest Crates escaped harme at the saccage of Thebes A man of greate vertue ought not to hazarde himself in common calamyties Now remayneth it onely somwhat to say of manye miseries assembled togethers And as Diogenes said I am hee vpon whom all misfortune is cast no house I haue no towne in exile a vagabond and begger Yet to counteruayle all these miseries he thought the vertue of minde of force enough If therfore being olde thou art sicke pore and banished whether doth the encrease or deuide thy miseries Calamities are not according to this number but the greatnes to be measured It commeth to passe in these as it doth in greifes of y bodie one Calamity driue than other awaye Exile taketh awaye the dishonor of misery when thou liuest amoÌ„g people vnknowen And as erst I sayd ther is nothing saue death that a man desyreth more to eschewe Whether had thou rather be Philota when he was persecuted of Alexander hauinge youth beauty strength grete byrth ryches then in seruitude sicke and in thine old estate Truelyâ— the condicion of man is lyke vnto a garment whiche the more rich beautifull it be the more a sport doth disgrace it and the lesse beauty it hath y lesse hurt the garment ther by receiueth It is also to be considered that no man is al his lyfe in miserye for sleape causeth forgetfulnes of sorow and is as pleasant to men in sorow as to those that be most happie Also the delights of our sences be to al meÌ„ almost alyke comon as tast venery sight heariÌ„g and smellinge So all things that be delectable to man do not togethers decay If therfore at one instant all mortall men did sleape then for that time none should be more happye then other But wee are most assured not onely to sleape but also dye and as long to lyue we cannot so how far we are from death is to vs vnknowen Wherfore to bear euery thinge resolutely is not onely the parte of a wise man but also of a man wel aduised seinge y there is nothing in this life that may iustly be said to be against vs Therefore Homerus fayned Aten the Goddes of Calamitye to barefooted as one that could not touch any thing sharpe or hard but walked lightly vpon the heades of mortall men Meaninge that Calamity durst not come nere anye but such as were of base minde simple subiecte to effeminacy But among such as were valiant and armed with vertue shee durst not come Wherfore lift vp thy mynde to heauen where an euerlastinge and most pleasaunt life is prepared for thee Men in this worlde are lyke trees some slender some great some florishing some bearing frute some witheringe some growinge some blowen downe and some frutefull which in one harueste time are brought togeathers and laide vppon one stacke Neither is there afterwardes sene any difference among them what they be or haue bene al at one time be cut downe neuer more to growe agayne Euen so al pryde ambicion ryches aucthoritye children frendes and glory doe in shorte space grow olde and perishe neither dothe it make matter whether thou were Irus or vile Galba Antaxerles or noble Hercules Onelye honestye and vertue of mynde doth make a man happy and onely a cowerdlie and corrupt conscience do cause thine vnhappines Because the worste that the good man can feare is the best that the euyll can wishe for whyche is the destruction of the Soule in death But as he ought not to hope thereof so should not the other feare it For God the eternal father hath sent vs into this worlde as children and heyres of hys kingdome and secretly beholdeth how wee fighte and defend our selues against our sences y world and the Deuyll And who so in this battell valyantly fighteth shal bee called and placed amonge the Princes of heauenlye kingedome And who so slothfully or cowerdly behaueth himself as a slaue in featnes shall for euermore be bounde This worldly stage was purposely prepared that God the father might secretly beholde vs Such foolishe children then as in his sighte wantonlye slouthfully and sediciouslye lyue shoulde they not thinke he doth beholde them Whenso euer therefore thou haste taken that laste leaue of Life thy soule like vnto a louer embracinge his death shall enioye that swetenes and security whiche we can neither wryte of nor conceiue For sith these worldlye louers amongest whom be many mislykings without assuraÌ„ce or eternity can scarcely expresse their ioyes in loue Happy yea thrise happy is this heauenly louer who forgettinge all others wythe his one loue is vnited For within this kingdome he loueth and liueth in the sight of him that can do all thinges and therefore lyke a good sonne to his father is euer readye to do his pleasure FINIS
vnhappy excremeÌ„t which being lost in dreames as often it hapneth thou carest not at all but what matter is it howe it be lost I meruayle the lesse of Aristippus that disdayned his sonne so much as he cast him away Other likewise I heare distroyed them as Lauis did Oedipus Priamus Paris Neither do thou thinke this custome only of kinges obserued but also of priuat men which lawe by Romulus of infamous memorye and happy successe in Italy fyrst was ad nulled Hereupon were erected almose houses y children shoulde no more bee brought vp by wilde beastes But this perhappes thou wilt saye My sonne was now become lyke vnto me I had speÌ„t much mony care and payn vpon him and so was likely to haue ben noble but these coÌ„plaints were more meete for mothers because if thou lamentest thy losse of mony theÌ„ hadst thou more nede to be cured of thy couetise then comforted for losse of thy sonne And hereof be most assured that children do not take three maners and condicions of their Parentes and they will follow the condicions of none lesse then of theym which is the reason why the children of pore men are more lyke to their parents then the children of the rich because pore men are both fathers maisters of their childrens lyfe but rich men not so Whye shouldeste not thou then make an other mans childe thine For hee is moste lyke the in condicions that is of thine owne bringinge vp Quintilianus telleth how Alexander had certain imperfections of Lionida his Tutor which he kept styll beinge come to mans estate For though we eschewe the immitation of vices yet in vertues we seeke to folow them Therfore if he that is dead was loued for vertue we commend thy meaninge but yet O Lorde how pleasant how happy is that life where vnto from this obscure darckenesse thy sonne is gone yea how swete was that trauayle Neither do I thinke it nedeful to declare those ioyes pleasures which our soules hauing forsakeÌ„ these earthly pleasures do possesse for while the soule is loden with that heauy burden it coÌ„prehendeth immortall thinges with the mortall Scantly it can be expressed how much force dignitie and glorye the soule beinge at libertie hath For the conceiuyng and not the teachinge wherof all be it a man in this lyfe be neuer so excellent he is notwithstanding imperfect because he is onely a man complete that vnderstandeth which the soule beinge closed within the bodye cannot doe Therefore what meruaile is it that the soule so slowly and painfullye departeth froÌ„ the bodye Lykewise with greate labour and much difficulty a man is from his mother brought forth to thys vale of misery In consyderacion of all these the bitternes of sorowe for thy sonnes deathe should be the lesse wayinge the glory whych he now hath and the reputacion of his youth together with the weary abode hee made in hys mothers wombe Nature hath ordained that al greate encrease of felicitye is attayned through harde labour With the same reason shalt thou be coÌ„forted yf thy sonne be an infant and thyne only sonn I omytte to tel what hee maye hereafter be but now he hath hit the marke for which he was borne For is there any other end whereto we were born then death as the body for the soule and as sleaping for watching so was lyfe geuen vnto vs for death wherefore as sleape is necesary for all men some more and some lesse so is life for the Soules wherfore if thou want meane to get an other son then choose thou some other one of thine affinitie and bringe him vp in learning honest disciplyne hardly shalt thou fynd such a sonne made by hys parents If such a one by education thou makest thou gainest thanks of God whose children we al be of thy couÌ„try which is mother to al men Neither in dutye shalt thou fynde him inferior to other children It is not my meaning to wish the death of children but that paciently men should beare it neyther will I that the childe of an other shoulde be preferred before our owne but rather that thy sonne be so brought vp as he may deserue to be preferred before others yet if we consider succession we shall fynde that excellent Maisters haue hadd notable scholers noble fathers vyle children And to omit all others Socrates was not estemed of his sonnes but by Plato his scholer was praysed to the skies Did not Theophrastus commende Aristotle more then Nichomachus The auncient examples do showe that the scholars haue proued not only more worthy then sonnes but also more thankful what sonne was euer so fauourably to his father as would yelde him the glorye due to himselfe as Plato woulde haue done to Socrates Besydes that men of notable vertue haue not only wanted children but also neuer sought for any As Thales Zeno Plato Apeâ—les Diogenes Galenus Virgilius and Homer and to some they haue come as it were againste their willes as to Alexander and Iulius Caesar And no meruaile y noble men haue seldome vertuous children Surely I think for some great respects it commeth to passe that of some noble parents vile children should discend which was very well and pleasantlye witnessed of Spartianus whose wordes are these Remembring vvith my selfe O Dioclesian Augustus that almost none of these great men haue lefte any sonne very good or proffytable It appeareth then suffyciently that worthye men haue either died without children or haue bene without And fyrst let vs begin at Romulus he left no children Neither hadd Numa Pompilius any that could proffit the common weale What had Camillus were his children lyke him What had Scipio What had the two Catoes that were called the great Then what should I speake of Homer Demosthenes Virgilius Crispo Tâ—rentius Plautus with diuers others What of Caesar or Tullius to whome alone it had bene better to haue bene childelesse What of Augustus who though he had the choise of all could not adopt one good Traianus was also deceiued in the election of hys heyre But omitting adopted childreÌ„ let vs speake of babes begotten by Antonius pius and Marcus the goddes of the common wealth What man hadd bene more blessed then Marcus had hee not lefte behynde hym his heire Commodus Or who had ben more happy then Seuerus Septimius had he not gotten Bassianus What doe we learne other by these ensamples then that Children do not take theyr myndes of their Parentes but of God otherwise they should be like to theim Nor in dede we cannot call theym oures but children of God the common father and they ought to be imbraced for their vertue not vertue for theym which if men in worldly procedinges did marke they should be like to Gods and leade a blessed lyfe But nature hath labored somewhat to deceiue vs in the Loue of children that is to say y euery man do so much care of that as for that we fail not to forget y loue of