witte and power to bring to effecte And truely when she vnderstode the same of that I desired she made me a gracious gift the which as I had receiued and receiuing it at what time it pleased me me thought none by a greate way to haue a life comparable to myne in gladnesse only one thing pricked me that I coulde not make hir beleue how perfectly I loued hir Further than this she perceiuing me to loue hir as I sayd passed lightly for me But the Gods that will graunt no worldly good turne without some bitternesse to the ende that the A goodly sentence heauenly may be the better knowen by consequent the more desired to this they gaue me an other corsey without comparison noisome that is that it hapned one day as I abode with hir all alone in a secret place séeing without being againe séene who passed by espied a propre yong man and of a pleasant countenance to come along by vs whom she behelde as I perceiued with a fixed eie and being past she fette a pitifull sigh the which I espying sayde Alas do you so soone repent as that ye now sigh for the loue of an other She whose face was thorowe this occasion painted with a new rudde swearing by the power of the high Gods began with many excuses to endeuor hir self to make me beleue the contrary of that which I had conceiued thorowe the sigh but all was to no purpose bicause she kindled my heart with an anger so exceding fierce as she made me then almost ready to chide with hir but yet I withhelde me therfrom And certainely it wil neuer out of my minde but that she loueth him or some other better than me and all those persuasioÌ„s the which at other times heretofore she vsed for my helpe that was that she loued me better than she did any other I nowe esteme them all in contrary imagining that she hath fainedly sayde and done all that she hath heretofore wrought wherby I endure intollerable griefe neither doth any comfort at all preuaile therin but bicause shame often times doth bridle the wil I haue rather to sorrowe me than glad me I doe not continue my bitter griefe so as I make any apparaunce therof but briefly I am neuer without cares and cogitations the which bring me far greater annoy than I willingly would Lerne then to beare the lesse griefs since thou séest the greatest with a valiant minde borne of me To whome I answered that as it semed to me his grief although it wer great was no wayes to be compared to myne He answered me the contrary and thus we abode in a long contention and in the ende parted without any The quenes iudgement vpon this fift question diffinition Wherefore I pray you that ye wyll say your iudgement hereof Yong Gentleman sayd the Quèene great is that paine of yours and greate wrong doth the damsell committe in not louing you But yet at al times your grief may by hope be eased the which happeneth not to your companion bicause that since he is once entred in suspect nothing is able to draw it away Therfore continually whilest Loue lasteth he sorroweth without coÌ„fort So that in our iudgement greater séemeth the griefe of the iealous than that of the vnloued Louer Then said Clonico The contrary opinion of Clonico Oh noble Quéene since you saye so it playnely appeareth that you haue alwayes bene loued againe of him whome you haue loued by occasion whereof ye hardely knowe what my payne is Howe may it appeare that iealousie bryngeth greater griefe than is that I féele forsomuch as the iealous possesseth that he desireth may in holding the same take more delight therof in one houre than in a long time after to féele any paine thorowe want thereof and neuerthethelesse he may thorow experience abandon such ielousie if it happen that this iudgemeÌ„t be found false But I being kindled with a fiery desire how much yâ— more I sée my selfe farre off from the attaining thesame so much the more I burne and consume my self assaulted of a thousande instigations neyther is any â—â—perience able to helpe me therein bycause thorowe the often reprouing hir and finding hir euery houre more sharpe I liue desperate Wherefore your answere séemeth contrary to the truth bycause I doubt not but that it is much better to hold wyth suspition than to desire with teares That amorous flame that doth shine in our eyes and that euery houre doth adorne our sight with the greater beautie doeth neuer consent replied the Quéene that we loue in vaine as The Quene replieth you affirme but for al that it is not vnknowen to vs how great and what maner of payne that is both of the one and the other and therefore as our answere hath bene confirmable to the truth â–ª one thing we wil shewe to you It is manifest that those things which most do hynder the quiet of the minde are cares the whiche are some of them come to a merrie ende so some we sée to ende with great sorrowe wherof how much more the minde is repleate so muche the more hath it of griefe and chiefliest when as the same are noisome and that the iealous haue more store therof than haue you is manifest bicause you héede nothing else but only to get the good will of the damsel whome ye loue the which not being able to attaine is to you a griefe most grieuous but yet it is certayne that it may easly come to passe to attaine the same at one instant not thinking thereof forsomuch as womens heartes are inconstant bysides peraduenture she loueth you not withstanding to proue if you also loue hir she sheweth the contrary and so perhappes wyll shewe vntill suche time as she shall be well assured of your loue so that with these thoughtes hope can mitigate vnfained griefe but yâ— iealous hath hys mind full fraught of infinite cares agaynst the which neyther hope nor other delyght can bring comfort or ease the paine For he standeth intentiue to giue a Lawe The effectes of Iealousie to the wandring eyes the which his possessor can not giue He will and doth endeuour himselfe to giue a Law to the féete to the hands and to euery other act of his Mistresse He will be a circuÌ„spect knower both of hir thoughts and of hir myrth interpreting euery thing in euill parte towardes him selfe beleuing that eache one desireth and loueth hir whome hée loueth Likewise he imagineth euery word that she speaketh to be twaine full of disceite And if he euer committed any detractioÌ„ towards hir it is death to him to remeÌ„bre it imagining to be by yâ— like meanes deceiued He wil with coniectures shut vp the ways of the aire of the earth And briefly the heauens yâ— earth birds beastes euery other creature that he thinketh doth hinder his deuises And to remoue him froÌ„ this hope hath no place bicause in
this doing if he find the woman faithfull he thinketh that she espieth that which he doth and is therfore hedefull therin If he findeth that he séeketh for and that he would not finde who is more dolorous than he If peraduenture ye thinke that the imbracing hir in his armes be so great a delight vnto him as should mitigate these pangs your iudgemeÌ„t is then false bicause such maner of colling bringeth him in choller in thinking yâ— others as well as he hath imbraced hir in yâ— like sort if the womaÌ„ peraduenture do louingly entertaine him he demeth that she doeth it to the ende to remoue him from such his imaginations and not for the true loue she beareth him If he finde hir maliciously disposed he thinketh that she then loueth an other and is not content with him And thus we can shew you an infinite nuÌ„bre of other suspitions and cares that are harbored in a iealous person What shal we then say of his lyfe but yâ— it is farre more greuous than that of any other liuing creature He liueth beleuing not beleuing The miserie of a iealous life and still alluring the woman and most times it hapneth that these iealous persons doe ende their liues thorowe the selfe same malice wherof they liue fearfull and not without cause for that with their reprehensions they shewe the way to their owne harmes Considering then the aforesayde reasons more cause hath your friende that is iealous to sorrow thaÌ„ haue The conclusion of the Queene vpon the fift question you bicause you may hope to get he liueth in feare to lose that which he scarsly holdeth for his owne And therfore if he haue more cause of griefe than you and yet comfortes him selfe the best he can muche more ought you to comfort your selfe and to set aside bewailings that are more méete for faint heartes and hope that the assured loue which you beare towards your Lady shal not lose his due desert For though she shew hir selfe sharpe towards you at this present it can not be but that shée loueth you bicause that loue neuer pardoned any loued to loue and ye shal know that with the fierce vehement windes are sooner broken the stubbourne okes than the consenting réedes ¶ The sixt Question proposed by a yong Gentlewoman NExt vnto Clonico sate a faire GentlewomaÌ„ apparelled in blacke vesture vnder an honest veile who as she perceyued the Quene to haue made an end of hir words thus began to saye Most gracious quene I remembre that being a litle girle how one day I with my brother who was a propre yong man and of ripe yeares abode all alone in a garden without other company and in tarying there together it happened that two Two daÌ„sels amorous of a GentlemaÌ„ he not knowing thereof and that which happened yong damsels of noble bloud abounding in riches borne in this our Citie who loued this my brother very well and perceiuing him to be in the sayde garden came thyther and began a farre off to beholde him that was altogether ignoraunt of their purpose And after a while seyng him all alone sauing for me of whom they reckned not bicause I was but a little one thus the one began to say to the other We loue this yong Gentleman aboue all others neyther doe knowe whether he loueth vs or no yet is it méete that he loue vs both so that now it is léeful for vs to satisfie our desire and to knowe whether he loue eyther of vs or whether of vs he best loueth to the ende that she whome he shall best like of may after remain his without being hindred of yâ— other wherfore since he is all alone that we haue a méete time offred let vs runne vnto him eche one imbrace and kisse him that done he shall take whether of vs beste pleaseth him These two yong Gentlewomen being thus determined vpon this resolution began to runne their race towardes my sayde brother Wherat he maruelled greatly espying them and seeing in what sort they came but the one of them or euer she came at vs by a good waye stayed all bashfull and almost wéeping ripe the other runne thorowe and came vnto hym whom she imbraced and kissed and so sate hir downe by him recommending hir selfe vnto him And he after the admiration conceyued of hir boldenesse was somewhat ceassed prayed hir as euer she loued hym to tell him truly what moued them thus to doe She concealed nothing from him the which hée hearyng and examining well in his mynde that which the one and other had done knewe not how to persuade hym selfe whether of them best loued him neyther yet whether of them he might best loue And so hapnyng at that time to depart from them he after prayed couÌ„sel of many of his friendes touching this matter neither hath any one euer satisfied his desire touching yâ— demaunde For the which cause I praye you from whome I assuredly beleue to haue a true definition of this my question that ye will tel me whether of these two damsels ought soonest to be loued of the yong maÌ„ To this Gentlewoman the Quéene thus made aunswer The aunswer of the Queene Truly of the two yong women she as it semeth loued your brother best and soonest ought to be loued of him againe yâ— doubting bashfully abode without imbracing him and why I thus thynke this â—â— the reason Loue as we knowe maketh those alwayes Loue is accompanied with feare fearfull in whome he dâ—eth abide and where he is of greatest force there is likewise the greatest feare and this hapneth bicause the intent or consent of the person loued can not be fully knowen And if it could be knowen many things should be done that in fearing to offende are lefte vndone bicause the one knoweth that in displeasing is taken awaye euery occasion to be loued And with this feare and loue shamfastnesse is always accompanied and not without reason Rereturning then to our question Wée say that it was an act of one vnfainedly enamoured that of the Gentlewomans whereby she shewed hir selfe both fearefull and bashfull And that of the other was rather the part of one both leude and licencious And therefore he being of hir best beloued ought the rather according to our iudgement to loue hir best Then answered the Gentlewoman Most curteous Quéene The Gentlewoman replieth to the Queene it is true that where loue abideth with moderation there fear and bashfulnesse doth altogether frequent but where he doeth abounde in such quantitie as he taketh away the sight from the most wise as is alredy said I say that feare hath there no place but that the motioÌ„s of him that féeleth the same are according to him that vrgeth them forwards and therfore that GentlewomaÌ„ seing hir desire before hir eyes was so hotly kindled as al shamfastnesse abaÌ„doned she raÌ„ne straight to him by whom she was so vehemeÌ„tly pricked
without feare to being to passe to fulfill his desire Wherfore I gather that the lesse noble ought to be preferred in loue before the more noble Youre iudgement deceiueth you sayde the Quéene to the faire Gentlewoman bicause Loue is of this nature that how much yâ— more one loueth so much the more he desireth to loue And this maye be séene by them The Quenes olution vpon the eight question that thorowe Loâ—e féele the greater griefe the which although it trouble them not a little yet loue they coÌ„tinually the more Neither doeth any one from his heart although he make great apparance in wordes desire therof a spéedie ende Then as small troubles are sought for of the slouthefull of the wise things that are attained with moste trouble are helde most deare and delightful And therfore in louing the lesse woman to get hir shuld be as you say little trouble and the loue both little and short should be folowed as though one in louing would desire to loue lesse lesse which is contrary to the nature of Loue as we haue sayd But in louing the greater that is gotten with trouble happeneth the contrary bicause â–ª that as in a thing dearely gotten with trauaile is reposed all diligence to the well héeding of the gained Loue euen so is she euery houre the more loued the longer doth continue the delight and pleasure thereof And yet if ye will say that all the doubte is of their kinsmen we wil not deny it for this is one of the occasions Wherfore it is a trouble to haue the loue of one of these great women But notwithstandyng the discrete in such cases procéede by a secrete way And we doubt not but that the honor both of the greatest and meanest woman is by some of their kinsfolkes according to their power loked vnto in such sort as a fole may come to an euill aduenture louing aswel in a base as in a noble stock But what shall he be the The cruelty of Pisistratus will passe Pisistrato in crueltie hauing offended theÌ„ which loued his without forethinking that which he should afterwardes haue done to those that had had the same in harte â–ª In saying also that louing a greter woman then himselfe he shall neuer bée able to come to the ende of his desire bicause the woman coueteth to loue one greater than hir selfe and therfore will make of him no estimation at all ye shewe your selfe to be ignorant that the meanest man in The meanest man of better condition than the noblest woman what beloÌ„geth to natural vertues is of greater and better condition than the noblest woman of the world Whatsoeuer maÌ„ she then desireth she desireth him yâ— is of greater and better coÌ„dition than hir self bicause the vertuous or vicious life maketh many tymes the meane great and the great meane In as much therfore as any woman shall bée solicited by any man in â—ue sorte euen so without doubt she shall yeld to his desire though the great with more trouble than the meane For we sée the softe water with a continuall fall to breake and pierce the hard stone and therfore let none despaire to loue For so much goodnesse shall follow him that loueth a greater woman than hymselfe The Quene concludeth that we should rather loue the more noble woman than the lesse noble as he shall endeuour him selfe to please hir to haue decent qualities the companie of noble personages to be ornate of swete talk bolde in enterprises and splendant in apparell and if he shall attain to greater glorie the greater delight shall he haue of minde likewise he shall be exalted with the good report of the people and reputed of a noble mynde Let him therefore followe the most noble as we haue already sayd ¶ The ninth Question proposed by FERAMONTE Duke of Montorio NExte vnto pleasant Pola sat FeramoÌ„te duke of Montorio who after the Quéene had sayde thus began I consente that it be conuenient to loue the ye haue alredy fully answered this GentlewomaÌ„ to hir question And that a man ought to loue rather a more noble womaÌ„ than a lesse noble than hymself may very wel be yelded vnto thorow yâ— sundry resons by you shewed touching the same But forasmuch as there are sundry GentlewomeÌ„ of sundry sorts attired Whether is to be chosen in louing either the wife the widowe or the maide with diuersities of habites that as it is thought do diuersly loue some more some lesse some more hotly and some others more luke warme I desire to vnderstande of you whether of these thrée a yong man to bring his desire to a most happy ende ought soonest to be enamoured of either of hir that is maried or of the maide or of the widow To whome the Quéene made this aunswer Of the thrée the one that is the The Queenes answere maried woman oughte in no wise to bée desired bicause she is not hir own neither hath libertie to giue hir selfe to any and therfore either to desire hir or to take hir is both to commit an offence against the diuine lawes as also against the lawes naturall and positiue the offending wherof is to heape vpon our selues the diuine anger and by consequent heauie Iudgement Howbeit who that gropeth not his conscience so farre inwardly doth oftentimes spéede better in louing hir than of any of the other two either maide or widowe in as muche as he although such loue sometimes be with greate perill is to haue the effect of his desire And why this loue may diuers times bring the louer to his desire sooner than the loue of the others this is the reason It is manifest that in how much more the fyer is blowen so muche the more it flameth and without blowing it becommeth dead And as all other things thorowe much vse doe decay so contrarywise lust the more it is vsed yâ— more it increaseth The widow in that she hath ben a long time without the like effect doth féele the same almost as though it had neuer ben and so is rather kindled with the memorie therof than with any concupisceÌ„ce at all The mayde that yet hath no skill thereof neyther knoweth the same but by imagination desireth as it were one luke warme and therfore the maried woman kindled in such passions doth more than any of the others desire such effectes What time the maried are wont to receiue from their husbands oultragious wordes or dedes wherof willingly they would take reueÌ„ge if they might there is no way left more redier vnto them than in despite of their husbandes to giue their loue to him by whome they are allured to receiue the like And although it be expedient that such maner of reuenge be very secrete that no shame grow thereby neuerthelesse are they yet content in their myndes Further the always vsing of one kind of meate is tedious and wée haue oftentimes séene the delicate meates left for
might glorie themselues more therein than in all the remnant they had and perceiuing the same aboute them therewith to glad their mindes as ye Paris haue hearâ— Parys seldome times or neuer entred into the bloudâ—e battailes against the Gréekes without bearing some token vpon him that had ben gyuen hâ—â— by his Helene beleuing better to preuaile Helen therwith than if he had gone without the same And truely in my opinion his thoughte was not vaine therfore I shoulde thus say that as you sayde the yong woman did very wysely not defining it for all that as you haue done but in this maner She knowing â—haâ— she was very wel loued of two yongmen and that she coulde not loue moe than one for that Loue is an indeu 〈…〉 e thing she would rewarde the one for â—he loue he bare hir to the end that such good will should not be vnrewarded and so gaue him hir Garland in requitall therof To the other whom she loued she thought she would giue courage and assured hope of hir loue taking his Garlande and decking hir selfe therwith in token wherof she plainly shewed to be beholding vnto him for the same â–ª And therfore in my Iudgement she loued better him from The Quenes solution of this first question whom she toke than him to whom she gaue â–ª to whom the 〈…〉 us made aunswere Youre argument should haue pleased vs right wel if your self in your tale had noâ— condemned the same Sée howe pillage and perfect loue can agrée together How can ye shew me that we loue him whome we spoile better than him to whome we giue According to the Question propouÌ„ded to the one she gaue a Garland and from the other she tooke a Garland neyther had she from whom she gaue ought giuen hir and that which we sée euery day for example may here suffise as is commonly sayde They are of Gentlemen farre better loued on whome they bestowe fauor and giftes than those that are by them depriued of them And for that cause we lastely holde opinion concluding that he is better loued to whome is giuen than hée from whome is taken We know very well that in these our reasonings much might be obiected against this oure definition and much also aunswered to the contrary reasons But lastly such determination shall remaine true And bicause time now serueth not to stay with this our talke vpon one matter only without moe we will giue eare to the rest if it please you To whome Philocopo sayde That it pleased him right wel that very well suffised such a resolution to his demaunded question so helde his peace ¶ The second Question proposed by LONGANO NExt to Philocopo was placed a curteous yong man and gracious to behold whose Name was Longano who no sooner than Philocopo had left thus began Most excellent Quéene so trim hath bene the firste question that in my conceipt myne shall bring no delight at all Yet to the ende not to be seuered from so noble a company forth it shal thus he folowed saying It is not many dayes past that I abyding all solitarie in my chaumber wrapte in a heape of troublesome thoughtes sprong from an amorous desire the which with a fierce battaile had assaulted my heart by happe heard a pitious plaint Two sisters complaine them of being in loue wherevnto bycause I iudged it by estimation néere vnto me intentiuely I layde myne eare and therby knew that they were women by occasion wherof I sodainly rose to sée who and where they were and loking forth at my chaumber window I heard oâ—eragainst the same in one other chaumber two yong women the same being sisters adorned with an inestimable beautie there abiding without any other companie whome as I sawe making this sorowfull plaint I withdrew my selfe into a secret place without being of them espied and so beheld them a long while neither was I able for all that to vnderstand all the wordes that they thorowe griefe vttered in teares but that the effect of such plaint according to that I coulde comprehende séemed to mée to be for Loue wherefore I thorowe pitie and so swéete an occasion offred beyng thus close as I was began to â—heade my trickeling teares And after that I had in their griefe perseuered in the same a good space for somuch as I was their very familiar and also their néere kinsman I purposed to vnderstande more certaine the occasion of their sorrowe and so went vnto theÌ„ who had no sooner espied me but al basheful they withheld them from teares endeuoring theÌ„selues to do me reuerence To whom I sayd Gentlewomen trouble not your selues neyther let this my coÌ„ming moue you to restraine your inward griefe for your teares haue ben now a good space apparant vnto me It shall bée therfore néedelesse to hide you either yet thorowe bashefulnesse to hide from me the cause of this your plaint For I am come hither to vnderstaÌ„d the same And be you assured that ye shal not receiue by me either in word or déede any euil requital But rather helpe and comfort in what I maye The women greately excused them selues saying that they sorrowed for nothing but yet after I had coniured them and they seyng me desirous to vnderstande the same the elder thus began to say It is the pleasure of the Gods that to thée our secretes be discouered thou therfore shalt vnderstande that wée aboue all other women haue alwayes resisted the sharp dartes of Cupide who of a long season in casting yâ— same was neuer yet able to fasteÌ„ any one of theÌ„ in â—nrhertes But now lastly being further inflamed hauing determined to ouercome that his childish enterprise tooke of new with his yong arme of his best dearest shafts with so great force wouÌ„ded yâ— hearts so sore inféebled through the sundry blowes before receiued as the heades therof pierced déepe so as they made a farre greatter wounde than if resistance had not ben made to the other former had lyke to haue bene And thus for the pleasure of two most noble yong GentlemeÌ„ we are become subiects to his deitie folowing his pleasure with more perfect faith and ferueÌ„t will than euer any other women haue done Now hath Fortune the loue of them as I shall declare vnto you lefte vs both comfortlesse First I before The first lamenteth the losse of hir enioied louer my sister here was in loue and through myne endeuor beleuing wisely to end my desire so wrought as I got the loued yong GentlemaÌ„ at my pleasure whoÌ„ I found as greatly enamoured of me as I of hym But truly now hath not the amorous flame through such effect cessed neither hath the desire lessned but eache one more vehemeÌ„tly increaseth and more thaÌ„ euer I do now burne in his fire And what tyme seing how I might best mitigate the flame therof holding it inwardly secrete it after happened that the horned Moone was no
and sharpe Duke in battaile a most humble and pleasant Louer It makes the gréedie and couetous liberall and curteous Medea the most carefull hider of hir arte after she felt his flames liberally yelded hir selfe hir honour and hir artes to Iason Who makes men more diligent to high attemptes than he And what he can do beholde by Paris and Menelaus Who furthereth forwardes the angry fiers more thaÌ„ doth he He sheweth vs how oftentymes the anger of Achilles was quieted thorowe the swéete prayer of Polixena He aboue all others maketh men couragious and strong Neither know I what greater example may be giuen vs than that of Parseus who for Andromaca made a maruelous proufe of his vertuous force He decâ—eth al them that are by him apparelled with excellent qualities with ornate talke with magnificence and with pleasauntnesse He I say bestoweth vpon all his subiectes finenesse and gentlenesse Oh how many are the good thinges which procede froÌ„ him Who moued Virgill Who Oâ—â—de Who the other Poets to leaue of theÌ„selues eternall fame in those their holy verses the which if he had not bene should neuer haue comen to our eares but he What shal we say further of his vertues but that he was able to giue such a swéetenesse to Orpheus harpe as after that he had called to that sound all the woodes standers about and made the running streames to stay to come into his presence in milde peace the fierce Lions togethers with the faint hearted Hartes all other beastes he made likewise the infernall furies quiet and gaue rest and swéetenesse to the troubled soules and after al this the sounde was of such vertue as he attained to haue againe his lost wife Then is he not the chaser away of honour as you say neyther the giuer of vnsitting troubles nor the prouoker of vices nor the disposer of vaine cares nor the vnworthy vser of the libertie of others So yâ— euery one of whom he maketh none accompt and is not as yet his seruaunt ought with all their wit and diligence to endeuour and to occupy theÌ„selues in the attaining the fauour of such a Lord and to become his subiect since through him he becommeth vertuous That which pleaseth the Gods and men of greatest streÌ„gth ought likewise to please vs. Let such a Lord therfore be loued serued and liue alwayes in our myndes Greatly deceiueth thée thine opinion said the Quéene and it is no maruell bicause as farre as we vnderstand thou art so far enamoured as none the like and without doubt the iudgement of the enamoured is méerely false bicause as they haue lost the sight of the eyes of their minde so haue they banished reason as their vtter enimy And for this cause it shall be conuenieÌ„t that we against our wil speake of Loue the which greueth vs since we be his subiects But yet to plucke thée froÌ„ thine error we shall turne our sileÌ„ce to a true report and wil therfore that thou know that this Loue is nothing else than an vnreasonable will sprong of a passion thorowe wanton pleasure that is opened to the eyes nourished with idlenesse by the memorie and thoughts of foolish myndes and many times in how much it multiplieth it taketh away the inâ—eÌ„t of him in whom it abideth froÌ„ things necessary disposeth yâ— same to things vnprofitable But bicause yâ— thou thorow exaÌ„ple giuing dost endeuor thy selfe to shew yâ— all goodnesse all vertue doth procede froÌ„ him we will procede to yâ— disproufes of thy proufe It is no part of humilitie vniustly to bring to a mans self that which belongeth to an other but rather an arroganâ—ie and an vnsitting presumption The which thing Mars whome thou makest thorowe loue to become humble assuredly vsed in taking away from Vulcan Venus his most lauful wife And without doubt this humilitie that appeareth in the face of louers doth not procede of a benigne heart but taketh roote from guile and deceipt neither makes this loue the couetous liberall but when as such abundance as thou layest to haue bene in Medea doth abounde in the heart and doth depriue the same of the sight of minde and most foolishly is become prodigall of things heretofore dulâ— estâ—â—ed deare and not giuing the same with measure but vnprofitably casting them away beleueth to please â–ª displeaseth Medea nothyng wise of hir prodigalitie in short time repented very much without vtilitie and knew that if she had modestly â–ª vsed those â—ir dere gifts she should not haue comen to so vile an ende And that soliciting that purchaseth or worketh hurt to the soliciters as it seemeth to vs ought not any ways to be sought for â–ª for much better it is to stand idle than worke harme although that neither the one nor the other is to be praysed Paris was a solicitour to his owne distruction if he behelde the ende of his soliciting Menelaus as reason was became diligent not for loue but to recouer his honor lost as eche discrete person ought to doe Neither yet is this loue a meane to mitigate anger but the benignitie of mind the brâ—nt being past that induceth it makes it to become nothing remitteth the offence against whome it is angry And yet louers and discrete persons were wont at the prayers of the persone loued or of some friende to forgiue offences to shew them selues curteous of that which coste them nothyng and to make the crauers therof beholdyng vnto them And in this sort Achilles many times shewed him selfe to expell from him this coÌ„geled anger Likewise it séemes that this makes men couragious and worthy But therof I can shew you the contrary Who was a man of greter valour than Hercules and yet being enamoured became vile and forgetfull of his force so that hée did spin thréede with the womeÌ„ of Iole Assuredly in thinges wherin occurreth no daunger a most hardy people are the enamoured and wherin daunger hapneth they shew them selues in apparaunce hardy and put them selues forward neither doth loue but little wit allure them so to do to the ende they may after haue glory in the sight of their loues although it hapneth very seldome bicause they doubt so much the losyng of the person loued that they are rather content to be helde â—â—le of little courage than to giue them selues to perill And yet we doubte not but this Loue reposeth all swéetnesse in Orpheus harpe We agrée that it is true that thou haste shewed that truely in generall loue ladeth the tongs of his subiects with such a swéetenesse with so many entiâ—ements â–ª as they many times would therby make the stones turne vp side downe so yâ— to entice is not only the propretie of wauering and inconstant men but of vile men Howe shall we say that such a lorde ought to be followed thorowe the good propretie of the follower Assuredly he in whom he abideth maketh wise and profitable counsels to be despised For it was
euill with the Troians that those of Cassandra â–ª were not heard of Paris He maketh likewise his subiects to forget and despise their good fame the which ought to remayne to vs all on earth after our deathes as an eternall heire of our memorie And how much these aforsaid did contemne the same Aegistus maye suffise for an example Although Scylla wrought no lesse hurt thaÌ„ Pasiphe Is not he the occasion that breaketh sacred bondes of the promised pure faith Yes truely what had Ariadna done to Duke Theseus wherby contaminating the matrimoniall bandes and giuing himselfe and his promised faith to the windes he shoulde abandon hir poore miser among the desert rockes A little pleasure in gasing in yâ— eyes of Phedra was occasion to celerate so much euill and of such requitall for the receiued honor In him also is found no law and that it is true may be sene by the doings of Tereus who hauing receiued Philomena â–ª from hir pitifull father and carnally knowen hir made no stay to contaminate the most holy lawes matrimonially coÌ„tracted betwene him and Progne the sister of Philomena This also calling and causing himself to be called a God occupieth the reasons of the gods Who could euer fully with words shew the iniquitie of him He to speake briefly leadeth them that follow him to all euils and if by happe his followers do any vertuous act which happeneth very feldome with a vicious beginnyng they beginne it desiring thereby to come very quickly to the desired end of their lothsâ—m willes the which may be rather sayd vices than vertues forsomuch as that is not to be héeded only which man doth but with what minde it is doone and so according to the will of the worker to repute the same vicious or vertuous bicause that neuer of an euill roote sprang a good trée nor from an euill trée good fruite This Loue then is leude and naught and if he be naught he is to be fled And who yâ— flieth things euill of consequent foloweth â—he good and so is both good vertuous The beginning of this loue is none other thing than feare the sequele is sinne and the ende is griefe and noy it ought then to be fled and to be reproued to feare you to haue him in you bicause he is violent neither knoweth he in any of his doings to vse measure and is altogether void of reason He is without al doubt yâ— destroyer of the minds yâ— shame anguish passion griefe plaint of yâ— same neuer coÌ„senteth that the heart of whom that lodgeth him be without bitternesse who will then praise that he is to be followed but fooles Truly if it were lauful we would willingly liue without him but of such an harme we are to late awares and therefore it is conuenient for vs since we are caught in his nettes to follow his life vntil what time as that light which guided Aeneas out of yâ— dark waies flying yâ— perillous fiers may appeare to vs guide vs to his pleasures ¶ The eight Question proposed by a faire Gentlewoman named POLA. ON the right haÌ„d of Galeone was set a fayre Gentlewoman whose name was Pola pleasant and yet vnder an honest couerture who after the Quéene bleÌ„t thus began to saye O noble Quéene ye haue domed at this present that no person ought to folowe this our Lord Loue I for my part consent therevnto but yet since it séemes to mée impossible that the youthfull race both of men and women should be runne ouer without this benigne Loue I gather at this present setting apart by your leaue your sentence that to be enamoured is léefull taking the euill doing for due working And in following the same I desire to know of you whether of these two womeÌ„ Of what degree one should chose his louer ought rather to be loued of a yong maÌ„ both two pleasing him alike either she that is of noble bloude and of able kinsefolke and copious of hauing much more than the yong man or the other that is neither noble nor riche nor of kinâ—folkes so abounding as is the yong man To whom the Quene thus made answere Faire GentlewomaÌ„ admitting the case that The Queenes aunswer both man and woman ought to follow Loue as you haue before affirmed we giue iudgemeÌ„t that in how much the woman is richer greater and more noble than the yong man of whatsoeuer degrée or dignitie he be of euen so she ought to be rather preferred to the loue of a yong man than ought she that hath any thing lesse than he bicause mans mynde was created to follow high things And therfore he must séeke rather to aduance than any ways to imbace him self Further there is a common prouerbe which sayth The good to couet better t is Than to possesse that bad is Wherfore in our iudgemeÌ„t thou art better to loue yâ— most noble with good reason to refuse the lesse noble TheÌ„ said pleasant Pola â–ª Noble Quéene I would haue giuen an other iudgement if it had ben to mée The contrary opinion of Pola with hir reasons of this question as ye shall heare We all naturally doe rather desire short and briefe than long and tedious troubles and that it is a lesse and more briefe trouble to get the loue of the lesse noble than of the more noble is manifest Then the lesse ought to be followed for as much as the loue of the lesse may be said to be alredy wonne the which of the more is yet to get Further many perills may folow to a man louing a woman of a greater coÌ„dition than him self is of neither hath he lastly therby any greater delight than of the lesser For we sée a great woman to haue many kinsfolkes and a great family and them all as diligent héeders of hir honour to haue an eie vnto hir so that if any one of them happen to espie this loue therof may folow as we haue already sayde great perill to the louer the which of the lesse noble can not so lightly come to passe and these perils eche one as he is able ought to flie for as much as who that receiueth harme is sure therof who that hath done it laâ—gheth him after to scorne saying he spâ—edeth well where he liketh there let him loue yet dieth he more than once But how â–ª that once hapneth where and for what occasion besides eche one ought to take good héede it is very credible that a Gentlewoman will lightly estéeme of him for that she will desire to â—â—â—e one more noble or greater than hir self and not one inferiour to hir selfe wherby seldom or neuer he shal attaine his desire But of the lesser shal happen the contrary bicause that she will glory to be loued of such a louer and will endeuour hir selfe to please him to the ende to nourishe Loue and yet if this were not â–ª the power of the louer onely myght be able