be called prosperous whych hath in it many people but that which hath in it few vices Speakyng therfore more perticulerly the cause that moued me to put you from me is bycause in the day of the great feast of god Genius you shewed in the presence of the senate your litle wisedom and great foly for so much as all men did behold more the lightnes of your parson then they did the follies of the iuglers If perchaunce you shewed your folly to th entent men should thinke that you were familiar in my royal pallace I tell you that the errour of your thought was no lesse then the euil and example of your work for no man ought to be so familiar with princes but whether it be in sporte or in earnest he ought to do him reuerence Since I geue you leaue to departe I know you had rather haue to helpe you in your iorney a litle money then many councelles but I will geue you both that is to wete mony for to bring you to your iournies end and also counsels to the end you may lyue And meruail not that I geue counsel to them that haue an office to councel others for it chaunceth oftetimes that the phisition do cure the diseases of others and yet in dede he knoweth not his owne Let therfore the last word counsell be when you shal be in the seruices of princes and great lordes that first you labour to be coūted honest rather then wise That they do chose you rather for quiet men then for busy heades and more for your fewe woordes then for your much bablyng For in the pallace of Princes if the wise man be no more then wise it is a great happe if he be moch estemed but if he be an honest man he is beloued and wel taken of all That Princes and other noble men ought to ouer see the tutours of their children least they conceale the secret faultes of their scollers Chap xxxvii VVe haue before rehersed what conditions what age and what grauity maisters ought to haue which should bring vp the children of Princes Now reason would we shold declare what the counsels should be that princes shold geue to the maysters and tutours of their children before they ought to geue them any charge And after that it is mete we declare what the counsel shal be whyche the mayster shall geue to hys dyscyple hauyng the gouernement of hym For it is vnpossible ther should happen any misfortune wher rype counsel is euer present It shal seame vnto those that shal profoundly consider this matter that it is a superfluous thing to treate of these thinges for either princes chose that good or els they chose the euil If they chose not good maisters they labour in vaine to geue thē good counsel for the folish maiser is lesse capable of coūsel thē the dyssolute scoler of holsome admonitiō If perchaunce princes do make elections of good maisters then those maisters both for them selues and also for others ought to minister good counsels For to geue councell to the wyse man it is either a superfluous dede or els it cōmeth of a presumptuous man Though it be true that he whych dare geue councel to the sage man is presumptuous I saye in lyke maner that the dyamonde beyng set in gold loseth not his vertue but rather increseth in pryce value I meane that the wiser a man is somuche the more he oughte to desire to knowe the opinion of another certainly he that doeth so cannot erre For to none his owne councell aboundeth somuch but that he nedeth the counsell and opinion of another Though princes and great lordes do se with their eyes that they haue chosen good maisters and tutors to teache their children yet they ought not therfore to be so negligent of them selues but that sometimes they may geue the maysters counsell For it maye be that the maysters be both noble and stout that they be auncient sage moderate but it may be also that in teaching children they are not expert For to masters and tutours of princes it is not somuche necessary that science doth abounde as it is shame that experience shoulde want When a riche man letteth out his farme or maner to a farmor he doth not only consider with him selfe before what rent he shall pay hym but also he couenanteth with hym that he shall keape his groundes well fensed and ditched and his howses well repaired And not contented to receiue the thirde parte of the frute of his vine but also he goeth twyse or thrise in a yeare to visite it And in seyng it he hath reason for in the end the one occupyeth the goods as tenaunte and the other doth viewe the grounde as chefe lord Then if the father of the family with so great diligence doeth recōmend the trees and the groūd to the labourer how much more ought the father to recōmend his children to the maisters for the father geuing coūcell to the maister is no other but to deliuer his child to the treasurer of sciēce Princes and great lords cānot excuse them selues of an offence if after that they haue chosen a knight or gentleman for to be maister or els a learned wise man to be tutour they are so necligēt as if they neuer had had children or did remember that their childrē ought to be their heires certainly this thing shold not be so lightly passed ouer but as a wise man which is careful of the honor profit of his child he ought to be occupied aswel in taking hede to the maister as the maister ought to be occupied in taking hede to the child For the good fathers ought to know whether the maister that he hath chosen can cōmaund and whether his child wil obey One of the notablest princes among the auncientes was Sculeucus king of the Assiriās and husband of Estrabonica the daughter of Demetrius kyng of Macedony a lady for her beauty in al Grece the most renowmed thoughe of her fame in dede she was not very fortunat This is an olde disease that hapneth alwayes to beautiful women that ther be many that desire them mo that slaunder them This king Seuleucus was first maryed with another woman of whom he had a sonne called Antigonus the whyche was in loue with the second wife of his father that is to wete with the quene Estrabonica and was almost dead for loue The whiche the father vnderstandyng maried his sonne with her so that she that was his stepmother was hys wife and she that was a faire wyfe was a faire doughter he which was hys sonne was made his sonne in lawe he which was father was stepfather The aucthor herof is Plutarke in his liues as Sextus Cheronensis saith in the third boke of the sayenges of the grekes The king Seuleucus laboured diligently to bring vp his son Antigonus well wherfore he sought him .ii. notable maisters the one a greke
and reproue the .40 yeares of an other Ther are many princes tender of yeres but ripe in counsailes and for the countrary there are other princes old in yeares yong in counsailes When the good Emperour Vespasian died they determined to put his sōne Titus in the gouernement of the empire or some other aged Senator because they said Titus was to yong And as they were in controuersie of the matter the Senatour Rogerus Patroclus said vnto the Senate For my parte I require rather a Prince which is yong and sage then I do a prince which is old and foolysh Therfore now as touchyng the children of Theodosius one day Estilconus the tutour of Archadius speaking to a greke philosopher very sage whose name was Epimundus sayde thus vnto him Thou and I long time haue bene acquainted together in the palace of the emperour Theodose my lord who is dead and we ar aliue thou knowest it had bene better that we .2 had died and that he had liued For there be many to be seruauntes of princes but there ar few to be good princes I feele no greater griefe in this world than to know many princes in one realme For the man whiche hath sene many princes in his lyfe hath sene many nouelties and alterations in the common wealth Thou knowest well that when Theodosius my maister died he spake to me these wordes the which wer not spoken without great sighes and multiplienge of teares O Estilconus I dye and am going into an other world wherin I shall giue a streighte accompte of the Realmes and seignories which I had vnder my charge And therfore when I thinke of myne offences I am meruelously afrayed But when I remember the mercy of God then I receiue some conforte and hope As it is but mete we should trust in the greatnes of his mercy so likewise is it reason we should feare the rigour of his iustice For truly in the christian law they are not suffred to liue as we which are Princes that liue in delightes of this world and afterward without repentaunce to goe streighte to Paradyse Then when I thinke of the great benefittes which I haue receiued of God and of the great offences which I haue committed when I thynke of the long tyme I haue lyued and of the litle which I haue profited also that vnprofitably I haue spent my time On the one part I am loath to dye for that I am afrayed to come before the tribunall seate of Iesus Christ and on the other part I would liue no lenger because I do not profit The mā of an euil life why doth he desire to lyue any longer My lyfe is now finished the tyme is shorte to make amendes And sithe god demaundeth nought els but a contrite harte with all my harte I doe repente and appeale to his iustice of mercie from his Iustice to his mercy because it maye please him to receiue me into his house and to giue me perpetuall glorie to the confusion of al my synnes and offences And I protest I dye in the holy catholike faith commend my soule to god my body to the earth to you Estilconus Ruffinus my faithful seruauntes I recōmende my dere beloued children For herby the loue of the childrē is sene in that the father forgetteth thē not at the houre of his death In this case of one only thing I doe warne you one only thing I require you one only thing I desire you one onely thing I cōmaund you that is that you occupye not your mindes in augmentinge the Realmes seignories of my childrē but only that you haue due respect to giue thē good education vertuous seruāts For it was only the wise men which I had about me that thus long haue mainteined me in this great auctoritie It is a goodly thing for a prince to haue stoute captains for the warres but without comparison it is better to keape haue wise men in his palace For in the end the victory of the battaille consisteth in the force of many but the gouernement of the common weale oftentimes is putte vnder the aduise of one alone These so dolefull and pitiefull wordes my lord and maister Theodosius spake vnto me now tell me Epimundus what I should doe at this present to fulfill his commaundement For at his harte he had nothing that troubled him so much as to thinke whether his children would vndoe or encrease the cōmon wealthe Thou Epimundus thou art a Grecian thou art a philosopher thou hast vnderstandyng thou art an olde seruaunt thou arte my faithfull frend therfore for al these thinges thou art bound to giue me good healthful counsaile For many times I haue heard Theodosius my maister say that he is not accompted sage which hath turned the leaues of many bookes but he which knoweth and can geue good healthful counsailes Epimundus the philosopher aunswered to these wordes Thou knowest wel Lord Estilconus that the auncientes and great Philosophers ought to be brief in wordes and very parfect in their workes For otherwise to speake muche worke litle semeth rather to be done like a tyraunt then like a greeke philosopher The Emperour Theodosius was thy Lord and my frend I say frend because it is the libertie of a greeke Philosopher to acknowledge no homage nor seruice to any superiour For he in his hart can haue no true sciēce that to rebuke the viicous kepeth his mouth shut In one thing I cōtent my selfe in Theodose aboue al other princes which were in the Romaine empire and that is that he knew and talked wisely of al his affaires and also was very diligēt to execute the same For all the fault of Princes is that they are prompte bold to talke of vertues and in executing them they are very slacke fearefull For such Princes can not continew in the vertue which they doe commende nor yet resyste the vyce which they do dispraise I graunt that Theodosius was an executour of iustice mercifull stoute sober valiaunt true louyng thankfull and vertuous and finally in all thinges and at all times he was fortunate For fortune oftentimes bringeth that to Princes which they will and desire yea many times better then they looke for Presuppose it to be true as it is most true that the time was alwayes prosperous to the Emperour Theodosius yet I doubte whether this prosperity wil continew in the succession of his children For worldlye prosperitie is so mutable that with one only man in a moment she maketh a thousande shrewde turnes and so much the more it is harde to continue stedfast in the second heyre Of slowe and dull horses come oftentimes couragious and fyerse coltes and euyn so of vertuous fathers come children euill brought vp For the wicked children inherite the worste of the father whiche is ryches and are dysenherited of the best whiche are vertues That whiche I perceyue in this matter as
circumspect that they kepe them in awe feare subiection that they ought not to be contented though the fathers say they are pleased For the disordinate loue that the fathers haue to them is the cause that they caÌ„not se whether they be mockers or euil brought vp And if it chaunced as ofttimes it doth that the father shold come to the maister to cause him to withdraw correction in this case if the master be a wise maÌ„ he ought no lesse to reproue admonish the father then to correct the sonne And if this did not auaile I councel him to forsake and leaue his charge For the man of an honest nature after he hath taken anye charge in hand wil eyther bring it to passe or els he wil dye in the same I wyl not denaye but that it is reason noble mennes sonnes be more gently brought vp handled and honoured then the sonnes of the Plebeiens for more delicately is the palme tree which bringeth forth dates cherished then the oke which bringeth forth Akornes wherwith the hogges are nourished Let princes and great lordes beware that the pleasures which they gaue their childre in theyr youthe be not so excessyue nor of soo longe continuaunce that when they would withdraw them the world hath not alredy festered them For the children brought vp with to much delicatenesse are disobedient to their fathers and mothers or els they are sicke in their bodyes or worse then that they are vicious in their behauiours so that their fathers shold be better to burye theym quycke then to bring them vp vycious ¶ That princes and greâ—te Lordes oughte to be carefull in seking wyse men to bryng vp their children Of .x. conditions that good Schole maisters ought to haue Cap. xxxiiii WHen he that is without end gaue beginning to the world in this sort he beganne The Sonday he created heauen and earth The Mondaye he created the element the Tuesday he created the Planettes the Wednesday he created the Sonne and the Mone the Thursday he created the birdes in the ayre and the fishes in the sea the fryday he created Adam and Eue hys wife and truly in that he created and how he created hee shewed himselfe as God For as sone as the house was made he fornished peopled it with that that was necessarie as he could wel do Omitting therfore the creator and talking of creatures we se by experience that a householder in planting a vineyarde immediatly maketh a hedge to the ende that the beasts do not hurt it and eate it vp And when it is wel growen he hyreth some poore laborer to watche that trauailers do not gather nor eate the grapes therof The rich man that traffiqueth by sea after he hath made a great shippe and bestowed vi or vii thousand ducates if he be wise he wil first prouide a man that may gouerne her before he wil seke marchaundise for to fraite her for in perilous tempestes the greatnes of the shippe lytel auayleth if the pilot therof be not expert The householder that hath many cowes and shepe and likewise hath faire feeldes and pleasaunt pastures for his cattel doth not only seke herdmen to kepe the cattell but also dogges to feare the wolfes and cabannes to lodge the herdmen For the cabanne of the shepherdes and the baying of the dogge is but as a sauegard of the shepe from the raueninge of the wolfe The mightie and valiaunte princes whiche in the frontiers of their enemyes kepe strong fortresses seke alwayes stout and hardy captaynes to defend their walles for otherwise it were better the fort shold be battered to the grounde then it should come into the power of the enemyes By the comparisons aboue named ther is no discreat man but doth vnderstand to what end my penne doth write them that is to know to kepe and proue how that men which loue their children wel adding this vnto it haue great neade of good maisters and gouernours to teache and bring them vp For whiles the palme tre is but litle a frost doth easely destroy it I meane whiles the child is yonge if he haue no tutour he is easely deceiued with the world If the lord be wise and of vnderstanding there is no fortresse so esteamed neyther ship so fayre nor herd so profitable nor vyne so fruitful but that he better estemeth to haue a good sonne then al these thinges together or any other thing in the world For the father ought to loue his childreÌ„ as his owne proper and al residue as giftes of fortune If it be so as it is in deade since that for to keape and watche the herd they seake a good shepherde if for the vine they seake a good labourer if for to gouerne the shippe they seke a good maister and for to defend a fort they seke a good captayne why then wil not the wise fathers seke for good maisters to teach bring vp their chyldren O princes and great lords I haue now told you and agayne do say that if you trauaile one yeare to leaue your chyldren goodes you ought to sweate 50 yeres to leaue them wel brought vp For it auayleth lytle to carye much corne to the myl if the myl be out of frame I meane that in vayne riches and treasurs are gathered when the child that shal inherite them hath not witte to vse them It is no smal matter to know how to choose good gouernours For the prince is sage that fyndeth such a one and much more happie is he that of him shal be taught For in my opinyoÌ„ it is no smal charg for one man to bring vp a Prince that shal gouerne manye As Seneca sayth the wise man ought to conferre al thinges with his frend but first he ought to know who he is that is his frend I meane that the wise father oughte for his children to seke one good maister and to him he should recommende them al but first he ought to know what he is For that man is very simple which wil bye a horse before he se proue him whether he be hole or lame He ought to haue many and good condicions and qualyties that shoulde bring vp the children of princes and great lordes for by one way they nourishe the tender trees in the orchard after another sort they plant the wild trees in the mountaynes Therfore the case shal be this that we wil declare here what condicions and behauiours the maisters and gouernours of noble mens sonnes ought to haue which may bring them to honour and their disdoundeth to the honour and praise of his mayster The first condicion is that he which ought to be tutor to noble mens sonnes shold be no lesse then 40. yeres of age no more then 60 bicause the maister that is yong is ashamed to comaund if he be aged he is not able to correct The .2 it is necessary that tutors be very honest that not only in
purenes of conscience but also in the outward apparance and cleanes of lyfe For it is vnpossible that the child be honest if the mayster be dissolute The 3. it is necessary that tutors and gouernours of princes and great lordes be true men not only in their words but also in their couenauntes For to say the truth that mouth which is alwaies ful of lyes ought not by reason to be a teacher of the truth The 4. condicion it is necessary that the gouernours of princes great lordes of their owne nature be liberall for oft tymes the greate couetousnes of maisters maketh the harts of princes to be gredy and couetous The 5. it is necessary that the maisters and gouernours of princes great lords be moderate in wordes very resolute in sentences so that they ought to teach the children to speake litle to harken much For it is the chefest vertue in a prince to heare with pacience and to speake wyth wisedome The 6. condicion is it is necessary that the maysters and gouernours of princes and great lords be wise men and temperate so that the grauitye of the mayster maye restrayne the lyghtnes of the Schollers for there is no greater plagues in Realmes then for princes to be yong and their maisters to be lyght The 7. it is necessarye that the maisters and tutors of princes and greate lords be wel learned in diuinity and humanitie in such sort that that which they teach the princes by word they may shew it by writing to the end that other princes may execute and put the same in vre for mens harts are soner moued by the examples of those which are past then by the words of them that are present The 8. condicion it is necessarie that the maisters and tutors of princes be not giuen to the vice of the flesh for as they are yong and naturallye giuen to the flesh so they haue no strength to abide chast neyther wisedome to be ware of the snares Therefore it is necessarye that theyr maisters be pure and honeste for the Dyscyples shall neuer bee chaste if the mayster bee vicyous The 9. it is necessary that the masters and tutors of Princes and greate lords haue good condicions bycause the children of noble men being daintely brought vp alwayes learne euill condicions the which their maisters ought to reforme more by good conuersacion then by sharpe correction For oftentimes it chaunceth that whereas the maister is cruel the scholer is not merciful The .10 it is necessary that the maisters and tutors of prynces and great lordes haue not only sene and red many things but also that they haue proued chaungeable fortune For since noble mens sonnes by the gift of god haue great estates they ought therefore to prouide to speake to many to aunswere to many and to entreat with many and it is very profitable for them to be conuersaunt with expert men for in the end the approued mā in councel hath preheminence I was willyng to bringe in these rules in my writing to the end that fathers may kepe them in their memory when they do seke maysters to teach their children for in my opinyon the father is more in fault to seke an euil maister then the maister is to make an euyl scholer For if I choose euyl taylers to cut my gowne it is my faulte that the cloth is lost and my gowne marred Albeit the Romaines were in al their doings circumspect yet for this one thinge I must enuy the good doctrine which they gaue to noble mens children For wythout doubt it is vnpossible that in any city there by a good common wealth vnlesse they are very circumspect to bring vp yong children Sabellicus in his rapsodies sayth that in the 415 yeres of the foundacion of Rome Qintus Seruilius and Lucius Geminus then consulles being in the warre against the Volces the stout aduenturous captaine Camillus there rose a great strife and contencion in Rome amongest the people and the knights and that contencion was vpon the prouision of offyces For in great common wealthes it hath bene an aunciente quarell that in knights and gentlemen there surmounteth pride in commaundyng and amonge the people ther wanteth pacience in obeyinge The knightes and gentlemen would they should chose a Tribune Millitare in the senate to speake in the name of al the knyghtes that were absent and present for they sayd that sence they were alwayes at the warre the whole common wealth remained in the power of the people The commons on the other part importuned and desired that a new officer should be created the whych should haue the charge to examine and take accompt how the youth of Rome were brought vp bycause the comon people did accuse the knights gentlemen that the longer they remained in the warres the more sensuallye their chyldren lyued in Rome It was decreed then that a Tribune Millitare should be erected the which in aucthority and dignytie should be equal with the senatours that he should represente the state of warlike knights but that office continued no longer then foure yeres in Rome that is to wete til the time that Camillus retourned from the warres For thinges that are grounded of no reason of them selues they come to nought Al the knights gentlemen sought to the vttermost of their power to maintaine their preheminēce on the other side al the cominalty of Rome was against it In the end the good captaine Camillus called al the knights gentlemen to gethers and sayd vnto them these words I am greatly ashamed to se that the stoutnes should be so lytle of the Romaine knights that they should cōdiscend to the wil of the Plebians for in dede the myghty do not get so much honour to ouercome the lytle as the litle do to striue with the great I say that the strife debate amongest you in Rome doth displease me muche therfore you knights if you wil not lose your honours you must eyther kil them or ouercome them You cannot ouercome them bycause they are many kyll them you ought not for in the end they are youres therfore ther is no better remedy then to dissemble with theym For things which suffer no force nor obserue not iustyce ought alwayes vntil conuenient time to be dissembled The immortal gods did not create Romaine knights to gouerne people but to conquere Realmes And I say further that they dyd not create vs to teach lawes to oures but to giue lawes to straungers And if we be the children of our fathers immitators of the auncient Romanes we wil not content our selues to commaund in Rome but to commaund those which do commaund in Rome For the hart of a true Romaine doth lytle esteame to se himselfe lord of this world if he know that ther is another to conquere You others did creat this Tribune Millitare we being in the warre whereof now theris no necessitye since we are in peace
one being sad which departed but very wel pleased For it is not comely for the magnificence of a prince that the mā which cōmeth to his pallace only for his seruice should returne murmuring or without rewarde This good emperour shewed him selfe sage to seke many sages he shewed him self wise in the choice of some of a good vnderstāding in dispatching others in cōtenting thē all For as we see daily by experience though the elections be good cōmonly great affections thereupon engender For those for not being chosen are sory to see the others chosen are shamefast In such case likewyse let it not be esteamed litle to serche a good remedy For the goldsmith ofttymes demaundeth more for the workemanship then the siluer is worth I meane that somtime princes do deserue more honour for the good meanes they vse in their affaires then for the good successe whereunto it commeth For the one aduenture guideth but the other wisedome aduaunceth The good emperour not contented with this prouided that those .xiiii. philosophers whiche should remaine in his pallace should sitte at the table and accompany his persone the which thing he did to see if their life wer cōformable to their doctrine if their words did agree to their works For ther are many mē which ar of a goodly tōgue of a wicked life Iulius Capitolinus and Cinna Catullus whiche were writers of this history say that it was a wonder to see howe this good Emperour did marke them to know if they were sober in feading temperate in drinking modest in going occupied in studieng and aboue all if they were very sage in speakynge and honest in liuing Would to God the princes of our tyme were in this case so diligent and carefull and that in committing in truste their affaires they would not care more for one then for others For speaking with due reuerence there aboundeth no wysedome in that prince whiche committeth a thing of importaunce to that man whom he knoweth not whether he is able to brynge it to passe or not Many talke euill and maruaile that princes and great lordes in so many thinges doe erre and for the contrary I maruaile howe they hitte any at al. For if they committed their waightie affaires to skilfull men though perhappes they erre once yet they hitte it a hundred times but when they committe their busines to ignoraunt men if they hitte once they misse a thousand times againe In this case I say there is nothing destroyeth younge Princes more then for that they committe not their affaires to their olde and faithfull seruauntes For in fine the vnfained loue is not but in him that eateth the princes bread daily It is but reason that other princes take example by this prince to seke good maisters for their children and if the maisters be good and the schollers euyll then the fathers are blamelesse For to princes and great lordes it a great discharge of conscience to see though their children be loste yet it is not for want of doctrine but for aboundaunce of malice The Romaine prince had a custome to celebrate the feaste of the God Genius who was God of their byrthe and that feaste was celebrated euery yeare once whiche was kepte the same daye of the byrth of the Emperour ioyfully throughout all Rome for at this day al the prysoners were pardoned and deliuered out of the pryson Mamortina Yet notwithstanding you ought to knowe that if any had sowed sedition amonge the people or had betrayed the armies or robbed or done any mischiefe in their temples those three offences were neuer pardoned nor excused in Rome Euen as in Christian religion the greatest othe is to sweare by God so amongest the Romaines there was no greater othe then to sweare by the God Genius And since it was the greatest othe none could sweare it but by the licence of the Senate and that ought to be betwixt the handes of the priestes of the God Genius And if perchaunce suche an othe were taken of light occasion he which sware it was in daunger of his life For in Rome it was an auncient lawe that no man should make any solempne othe but that first they should demaunde licence of the Senate The Romaines did not permitte that lyers nor disceiuers should be credited by their othes neither did they permitte them to sweare For they said that periured men doe both blaspheme the Gods and deceiue men The aboue named Marcus Aurelius was borne the .xxvii. day of Aprill in Mounte Celio in Rome And as by chaunce they celebrated the feaste of the God Genius which was the daye of his birth there came maisters offence Iuglers and common players with other loyterers to walke and solace them selues For the Romaines in their greate feastes occupied them selues al night in offring sacrifices to the gods and afterwardes they consumed all the day in pastimes Those iuglers and players shewed so muche pastime that all those which behelde them were prouoked to laughe and the Romaines to say the truth were so earnest in matters of pastime and also in other matters of weight that in the daye of pastimes no man was sadde and in the time appointed for sadnes no man was mery So that in publike affaires they vsed all to mourne or els all to reioyce Cinna Catullus saith that this good Emperour was so wel beloued that when he reioyced all reioyced and when the Romaine people made any great feast he him selfe was there present to make it of more authoritie and shewed such mirth therein as if he alone and none other had reioyced For otherwyse if the prince loke sadly no man dare shewe him selfe mery The historiographers say of this good emperour that in ioyfull feastes and triumphes they neuer saw him lesse mery then was requisite for the feast nor they euer sawe him so mery that it exceaded the grauitie of his persone For the prince whiche in vertue presumeth to be excellent ought neither in earnest matters to be heauy nor in thinges of small importaunce to shewe him self light As princes nowe a daies goe enuironned with menne of armes so did then the good Emperour go accompanied with sage philosophers Yea and more then that which ought most to be noted is that in the dayes of feastes pleasures the princes at this present goe accompanied with hongry flatterers but this noble Emperour went accompanied with wise men For the prince that vseth him selfe with good company shall alwayes auoyde the euil talke of the people Sextus Cheronensis saith that a Senatour called Fabius Patroclus seing that the Emperour Marcus went alwaies to the Senate and Theaters accompanied and enuironned with sages saide one daye to him merily I pray thee my lorde tell me why thou goest not to the Theater as to the Theater to the Senate as to the Senate For to the Senate Sages ought to go to geue vs good councell and to the Theaters fooles to make vs pastime To
this the good Emperour aunswered my frend I saye thou art much deceaued For to the sacred Senate wherein there are so many sages I would leade all the fooles to the ende they might become wise and to the Theaters where all the fooles are I would bring the sages to the ende to teache them wisedome Truly this sentence was fit for him that spake it I admonishe princes and great lordes that in steade to kepe company with fooles flatterers parasites they prouide to haue about them wyse and sage mē in especially if the fooles be malicious for the noble hartes with one malicious worde are more offended then if they were with a venemous arrow wounded Therfore returning to our matter as the emperour was in the feast of the god Genius that with him also were the .xiiii. sage philosophers maisters of the prince Comodus a iugler more conning then al the rest shewed sondry trickes as cōmonly such vaine loiterers are wont to doe For he that in like vanities sheweth most pastime is of the people most beloued As Marcus Aurelius was sage so he set his eies more to beholde these .xiiii. maisters then he did stay at the lightnes of the fooles And by chaunce he espied that fiue of those laughed so inordinatly at the folly of these fooles that they clapt their hands they bet their feete lost the grauitie of sages by their inordinat laughter the which was a very vncomly thing in such graue persons For the honest modestie of the body is a great witnes of the wisedome and grauitie of the mynde The lightnes and inconstancie of the sages sene by the Emperour and that al the graue Romaines were offended with them he toke it heauely as well to haue brought them thether as to haue bene disceiued in electing them Howe be it with his wysedom then he helped him selfe as muche as he coulde in not manifesting any griefe in his harte but he dessembled and made as though he sawe them not For sage princes muste nedes feale thinges as men but they ought to dissemble them as discrete The Emperour presently would not admonish them nor before any reproue them but he let the feaste passe on and also a fewe dayes after the whiche being passed the Emperour spake vnto them in secret not telling them openly wherein he shewed him selfe a mercifull prince for open correction is vniuste where secret admonition may take place The thinges whiche Marcus Aurelius saide to those fiue maisters when he put them out of his house he him selfe did wryte in the third booke and the first chapter vnder the title Ad stultos pedagogos And saide that he said vnto them these and suche other like wordes ¶ Of the wordes whiche Marcus Aurelius spake to fiue of the ▪ xiiii maisters whiche he had chosen for the education of his sonne and howe he sent them from his pallace for that they behaued them selues lightly at the feaste of the God Genius Chap. xxxvi MY will was not my frendes to forsee that whiche can not be excused nor I wyll not commaunde you that whiche I ought not to commaunde but I desire that the gods of their grace doe remaine with me and that with you the same iust gods may goe and that likewyse from me and from you the vnlucky and vnfortunate chaunces may be withdrawen For the vnlucky man were better be with the dead then remayne here with the liuing Since that nowe I had receiued you and with great diligence sought you to that ende you should be tutors to my sonne the prince Comodus I proteste to the immortall gods that I am sory and that of your shame I am ashamed and that of your paine the greatest part is mine And it can be no otherwyse for in the worlde there shoulde be no frendship so streight that a man therefore shoulde put his good name in daunger The sages that I haue sought were not prouided onely to learne the prince Comodus but also to refourme al those that liued euill in my pallace And nowe I see the contrary for where I thought the fooles should haue bene made wyse I see that those that were wyse are become fooles Knowe you not that the fine golde defendeth his purenes among the burning cooles and that the man endued with wysedome sheweth hym selfe wyse yea in the middest of many fooles For truely as the golde in the fire is proued so among the lightenes of fooles is the wisedome of the wyse discerned Do not you knowe that the sage is not knowen among the sages nor the foole among the fooles but that amonge fooles wyse men doe shyne and that amonge the sages fooles are darkened for there the wyse sheweth his wysedome and the foole sheweth his folly Doe not you knowe that in the sore woundes the surgian sheweth his cunning and that in the daungerous diseases the phisition sheweth his science And that in the doubtful battailes the captaine sheweth his stoutnes and that in the boysterous stormes the maister sheweth his experience So in like maner the sage man in that place where there is great ioye and solace of people ought to shewe his wisdome and discretion Do not you know that of a moderate witte there proceadeth a cleare vnderstandinge a sharpe memory a graue persone a quiet minde a good name and aboue all a temperate tongue For he only ought to be called wyse who is discreate in his workes and resolute in his wordes ▪ Doe not you knowe that it litle auaileth to haue the tongue experte the memory liuely the vnderstāding cleare to haue great science to haue profounde eloquence a swete style and ample experience if with all these thinges you be as maisters and in your workes as wicked men certainely it is a great dishonour to a vertuous emperour that he should haue for maisters of young princes those which are schollers of vaine Iuglers Doe not you know that if all the men of this worlde are bounde to leade a good life that those which presume to haue science are muche more bounde then others are whiche by their eloquence presume to confounde the worlde For it is a rule certayne that alwayes euill workes take awaye the credit from good wordes And to the ende it seame not vnto you that I speake of fauour I wyll brynge here into your memory an auncient lawe of Rome the whiche was made in the tyme of Cinna whiche saide We ordeine and commaunde that more greauous punishement be geuen vnto the sage for one folly onely committed by him openly then to the simple man for a greater offence cōmitted secretly O iuste very iust law O iust and happy Romaines I saye vnto all those that togethers did finde ordeine the law For the simple man sleyeth but one man with his swerde of wrath but the sage killeth many by the euil example of his life For according to the saiyng of the deuine Plato the princes and sage sinne more by the euill
and the other a latine The king Seuleucus here with not contented prouided secreatly by the meane of a seruaunt of his named Parthemius that he shold haue no other office in the pallace but that what the maysters taught or did to his sonne Antigonus in the day he should secreatly come and tel him in the night But by the dilligence of Parthemius it came to the knowledge of the tutors that they had ouerseers for in the end ther is nothing accustomably but at the last wil be reueiled Since the ii philosophers knew the secret one day they sayd vnto the king Seuleucus these wordes Mightye prince Seuleucus since thou hast of trust committed thy son Antigonus into our haÌ„des why doest thou appoint thy seruauÌ„t Parthemius as accuser of our liues if thou countest vs euil and him good thou shalt showe vs great fauoure if thou wilt discharge vs commit to hym the tuition of thy son For we let the to know that to men of honor it is an vntollerable euil to shame theÌ„ and no dishonor to licence them Thou hast appointed Parthemius to goe and dog vs to see what we do or say openly and afterwardes to make relation vnto the secreatly the worst is that by the relation of the symple we should be condemned beyng sages for triacle is not so contrary to poison as ignorauÌ„ce is to wisedom And truly most noble prince it is a great matter that dayly inquisition be made of man for there is no beard so bare shauen but that it wil grow againe I meane that there is no man of so honest a lyfe but iâ— a man make inquisition he may finde wherwithall to detect The king Seuleucus aunswered them Consyder my frendes that I do know right well that neither the aucthoritie of the parson nor the good creadite of renowme wold be steyned for any other frend in this world if the rude men do it not much lesse ought the Sages to do it For ther is nothing that men trauaile for somuch in this life as to leaue of theÌ„ good renowme after their death Since you are sages and maisters of my sonne and likewyse counsailers of my house it is not mete you shold with any be offended for by good reason he alone ought to be estemed in the pallaces of princes that wil geue vnto the prince good couÌ„cell That which I haue sayed to Parthemius was not for the doubt of your faith neither to thinke any daunger in your aucthority And if the thing be wel considered it goeth well for you and not euil for me and the reason herof is that either you are good or els you are euil If you be good you ought to be glad that daily your seruices be reported vnto me For the continuall betyng in the princes eares of the good seruices of his seruauntes must nedes cause at the last their seruices to be well rewarded Yf you be euill and in teaching my sonne negligent it is but reason that I be aduertised For if the father be deceiued in his opinioÌ„ the son shall receiue poison in his doctrine and also bycause you shal not vndoe my realme nor slaunder me by your euil counsel If the fatal destenies permit that my son be euill I am he that loseth most therby â–ª for my realme shal be distroyed and my renowme vtterly abolished in the end my sonne shall not enioye the heritage And if all passe so you will care litel for you wil saye you are not in the faulte since the childe would not receiue your doctrine Wherefore me thinke it not euill done to ouer see you as you ouer see hym for my dutye is to see that you be good and your dutye is to trauaile that your disciples be not euill This kynge Seuleucus was an honorable man and dyed aged as Plutarke sayth and Patroclus more plainely declareth in the third boke of the warre of the Assirians and for the contrarye hys sonne Antigonus came to be a wycked Prince in all his doynges And this a man may wel perceiue that if he had not bene of his father so muche corrected and of the maisters so well instructed without doubte he wold haue proued much more wicked then he was For yong men on the on part beyng euill inclined and on the other parte euill taught it is vnpossible but that in the ende they should be vitious and defamed In my opininion though children be not euill inclined yet the fathers therof ought not to cease to correcte them for in tyme to come those that write will commende the diligence of the fathers in correcting the vices of the children I haue declared this example to councell that the father be not so necgligent that he shoulde vtterly forget to loke vnto his sonne thinking that now the maister hath the charge of him And of my concell that father ought in this thing to be so aduerâ—ised that if at the first he beheld the child with two eies that theÌ„ he shuld loke vnto him with .iiii. eies For oftetimes it is more requisite that the maysters be punished then the scollers Though princes are not daily informed of the life of the maisters as king Seuleucus was yet at the least oftetymes they ought to enquire of the state of the life of the behauiour both of the maisters and also of the children And this thing they ought not to do only once but also they ought to cal the maisters and councel them lykwise that they haue great respect to the doctrine of their children thinking alwayes to geue them good counsel to shew vnto their scollers afterwardes For otherwyse the mayster immediatly is discouraged when he seeth the father to be necgligent and nothing careful for the bringing vp of his children Princes in one thing ought to haue great respect that is to wete lest the maisters beare with the secreat vyces of children And he ought not to doe thus but also to call them vnto hym to aduyse them to warne them to praye them to counsell and commaunde them that they haue great respect to the bringyng vp of his childreÌ„ and further that he geue them some notable councell to thentente that the maisters afterwarde maye make relation therof to their scollers For there is no manne so weake nor childe so tender but the force whyche he hath to be vitious is ynough if he wil to be vertuous â–ª I would nowe demaunde the maisters and tutour which do gouerne the children of noble and vertuous men what more strength is required to be a glutton then to be a sober man to be a babler or to be silent to be dylygente or to be necgligent to be honest then to be dissolute and as of those few I speake so I coulde resite manye others In this case I wyll not speake as a man of science but as one of experience and that is that by the faith of a christian I swere that with lesse trauaill of the maister
and more profyte of the scoller he maye be soner vertuous then vitious For there is more courage required in one to be euil then strenght in another for to be good Also the maisters commenly haue another euill property worse then this whyche is they beare with their scollers in some secreat vices when they are yong from the whiche they cannot be withdrawen afterwarde when they are olde For it chaunceth oftetimes that the good inclination is ouercome by the euill custome and certainly the maisters whych in such a case should be apprehended ought to be punished as traitors pariured For to the mayster it is greater treason to leaue his disciple amongest vices then to delyuer a forte into the handes of the enemyes And let no man maruaill if I call such a mayster a treator for the one yeldeth the forte whych is but of stones builded but the other aduentureth hys sonne who is of his proper body begotten The cause of al this euill is that as the children of Princes ought to enherite realmes and the children of greate lordes hope to inherite the great estates so the maisters are more couetous then vertuous For they suffer their puples to runne at their own willes whē they be yong to thend to winne their hartes when they shal be olde so that the extreame couetousnes of the maisters now a dayes is suche that it causeth goodmens sonnes commonly to be euil and vitious O tutors of princes and maisters of great lordes I do admonyshe you and besides that I counsell you that your couetousnes deceiue you not thynkynge that you shal be better estemed for being clokers of vices then louers of vertues For there is none old nor yong so wicked but knoweth that good is better then euill And further I say to you in this case that oftetimes God permitteth when those that wer children become old their eyes to be opened wherby they know the harme that you haue done them in suffering them to be vitious in thier youth at what tyme your dutye had bene to haue corrected their vices You thought by your goods to be honored for your flattery but you find the contrary that you are despised worthely For it is the iust iudgement of god that he that committeth euill shall not escape without punyshment and he that consealeth the euill committed shal not liue vndefamed Diadumeus the Historiographer in the lyfe of Seuerus the .xxi. Emperour de clareth that Apuleius Rufynus who hadde ben consull twise and at that tyme was also tribune of the people a man who was very aged and likewise of greate aucthoritie thoroughe oute Rome came one daye to the Emperour Seuerus and sayed vnto him in this sorte Moste inuicte Prince alwayes Augustus know that I had .ii. children the whiche I committed to a mayster to bring vp and by chaunce the eldest increasinge in yeares and diminishing in vertues fell in loue with a Romaine ladye the which loue came to late to my knowledge for to such vnfortunat men as I am the disease is alwayes past remedy before the daunger thereof commeth to our knowledge The greatest grefe that herein I fele is that his mayster knew and consealed the euill and was not onely not a meanes to remedye it but also was the chefe worker of the adultery betwene them to be committed And my sonne made hym an oblygation wherin he bounde hym selfe if he woulde bryng hym that romaine lady he would geue hym after my death the house and herytages whych I haue in the gate Salaria and yet herwith not contented but he and my sonne together robbed me of much money For loue is costlye to hym that maynteineth it and alwayes the loues of the children are chargefull to the fathers Iudge you now therefore noble Prince thys so heinous and slaunderous cause for it is to muche presumption of the subiecte to reuenge any iniury knowyng that the lorde hym selfe will reuenge all wronges When the Emperour Seuerus hadde vnderstode this so heynous a case as one that was both in name and dede seuere commaunded good inquisition of the matter to be hadde and that before his presence the shoulde cause to appeare the father the sonne and the mayster to the ende eche one should alledge for his owne right for in Rome none could be condemned for anye offence vnlesse the plainetife had first declared the faulte before hys presence and that the accused shold haue no tyme to make hys excuse The trueth then knowen and the offenders confessyng the offences the Emperour Seuerus gaue iudgement thus I commaunde that this mayster be caste alyue amonge the beastes of the parke Palatine For it is but mete that beastes deuoure hym whyche teacheth others to lyue lyke beastes Also I doe commaunde that the sonne be vtterly dysinheryted of all the goodes of hys father and banyshed into the Iles Balleares and Maiorques For the chylde whiche from hys youth is vitious oughte iustlye to be banyshed the countrey and dysherited of hys fathers goods This therfore of the maister and of the sonne was done by the complaint of Apuleius Rufinus O howe vnconstant fortune is and howe oft not thynkyng of it the threde of lyfe doth breake I saye it bicause if this maister had not bene couetous the father hadde not bene depriued of his sonne the childe hadde not bene banished the mother had not bene defamed the common weale had not bene slaundered the master of wylde beastes hadde not bene deuoured neyther the Emperour hadde bene so cruell agaynst them nor yet their names in Hystories to their infamies hadde alwayes continued I doe not speake thys without a cause to declare by writyng that whyche the euyll do in the world For wyse menne ought more to feare the infamye of the litle penne then the slaunder of the bablyng tongue For in the ende the wicked tongue can not defame but the lyuynge but the litle penne doth defame them that are that were and the shal be To conclude thys my mynde is that the mayster shoulde endeuour hym selfe that hys scooller shoulde be vertuous and that he doe not dispayre though immediately for hys paines he be not rewarded For thoughe he be not of the creature let hym be assured that he shal be of the creatour For God is so mercyefull that he ofte tymes takynge pitie of the swette of those that be good chastneth the vnthankfull and taketh vpon him to require their seruices Of the determination of the Emperour when he committed his childe to the tutours whyche he had prouided for his education Chapter xxxviii CInna the Hystorien in the first booke of the times of Comodus declareth that Marcus Aurelius the Emperour chose .xiiii. masters learned and wise men to teache hys sonne Comodus of the whyche he refused fyue not for that they were not wyse but for that they were not honeste And so he kepte these nyne onely whyche were both learned in the sciences and also experte in bringyng vp the chyldren of
shall esteme it more that when I doe geue you my sonne to teache I geue you more then if I gaue you all the ryches of the Realme For in him that hath the reformacion of the childes life dependeth the fame of the Father after he is deade So that the Father hathe no greater renowme then to see hys chylde leade an honeste lyfe I praye the Gods that they maye be so mercyful and the fatall destinies so fortunate that if tyll thys time you haue watched to teache the children of others that from hence forwarde you watche to teache thys my sonne Comodus whyche I truste shal be to the comforte of all For the thynge that is vniuersally good to all oughte to be preferred before that whyche tendeth but to the commoditie of some You see my frendes that there is a greate difference to teache the chyldren of Prynces and to teache the children of the people the cause hereof is that the greatest parte of those come to the scooles and vniuersities to learne to speake but I doe not geue you my sonne Comodus to the ende you should teache hym to speake many wordes but that you should learne him to do good workes For all the glorye of the Prynces is that in the workes whyche he doth he be vprighte and in the woordes that he speaketh he be very discrete After that the children haue spente manye yeares in scooles after their Fathers haue spente muche money vppon them yf perchaunce the chylde can dispute in Greeke or Latin anye thyng at all thoughe he be lyghte and vitious the Father thynketh hys goodes well imployed For in Rome nowe a dayes they esteme an Oratour more whyche can doe nought but bable then a philosopher whyche is vertuous O wofull men that now lyue in Rome and muche more wofull shall those be whyche hereafter shall succede For Rome is no more that Rome whyche it was wont to be that is to wete that the fathers in olde tyme sente their children to scooles and studies to learne them to be silent and nowe they sende them to learne to speake to muche They learned them then to be sage and temperate and nowe they learne them to be dissolute And the worste of all is that the scooles where the sage and pacient were wont to be and from whence issued the good and vertuous workes are nowe full of bablynge Oratours and none issue oute from thence at this present but the euill and vitious So that if the sacred Romain lawes are exalted once in a weeke with their tongues they are broken tenne tymes in the daye in their workes What will you I say more since I can not tel you any thing without hurting my mother Rome but that at this present al the pleasures of vain men is to see their children ouercome others by disputing but I let you vnderstand that all my glory shal be when my son shal surmount others not in wordes but in silence not to be troublesome but to be pacient not in speakyng subtill wordes but in doing vertuous workes For the glorie of good menne is in workyng muche and speakyng littell Consider my frendes and do not forget get it that this daye I committe my honour vnto you I put into your handes the estate of Comodus my sonne the glory of Rome the rest of the people which are my subiectes the gouernement of Italye which is your countrey and aboue all I referre vnto your discretions the peace and tranquillitie of the hole common wealth Therefore he that hath suche a charge by reason ought not to slepe For as the wise men say to great trust is required much diligence I will saye no more but that I would my sonne Comodus shoulde be so well taught that he should haue the feare of god and the science of philosophers the vertues of the auncient Romaynes the approued councell of the aged the corage of the Romaine youth and the constancy of you whiche are his masters Fynally I would that of al the good he shold take the good as of me he ought to take the heritage and succession of the Empyre For he is the true prince and worthy of the empyre that with his eyes doth beholde the great signories he ought to enherite and dothe employe his harte howe to gouerne it wherby he shal lyue to the great profit of the common wealth And I proteste to the immortall gods with whom I hope to goe and to the goodnes of my predecessours whose faith I am bound to kepe I proteste to the Romaine lawes the whyche I dyd sweare to obserue in the conquest of Asia wherein I bound my selfe to continue and to the frendeshyppe of the Rhodiens the whiche I haue offered my selfe to kepe to the ennemitye of the Affricans the whyche not for me but for the oth of my predecessours I haue bounde my selfe to mainteine And I proteste vnto the vessell of the hyghe Capitall where my bones ought to be burnt that Rome do not complaine of me beyng alyue nor that in the worlde to come she curse me after my death If perchaunce the prince Comodus my sonne by his wicked lyfe should be occasion of the losse of hinderaunce to the common wealth And thoughe you whych are his masters vndoe it for not geuyng hym dew punishement and he thoroughe hys wicked gouernement destroye it yet I discharge my selfe by all these protestations that I haue made whyche shal be witnesses of my will For the father is bound no more towardes his child but to banyshe hym from his pleasures and to geue him vertuous masters And if he be good he shal be be the glory of the father the honor of him selfe the wealth of you and the profite and comoditie of the hole common wealth That tutours of Princes and noble mens children ought to be very circumspect that their scollers doe not accustome them selues in vices whilles they are yonge and speciallye they must kepe them from foure vices Chap. xxxix THe good and experte Surgeons vnto greate and daungerous woundes do not onelye applye medycynes and oyntementes whyche doe resolue stop but also do minister other good playsters for to restraine and heale them And verelye they shewe them selues in the one no lesse sage then in the other experte for as greate dylygence ought to be had to preserue the weake fliesh and to purge the rotten wounde to the end it maye be healed so lykewise the wyse trauailers learne diligentely the waye before they take vppon them any iourney that is to wete yf there be any daungers in the waye eyther of robbynge or sleyinge wherein there is anye by pathe that goeth oute of the hyghe waye Truly he that in this point is circumspecte is woorthy to be counted a sage man For accordyng to the multitude of the perylles of the world none can be assured vnlesse he know first where the daunger is wherin he may fal To shew therfore that which by these parables I meane
I saye that the tutors and masters of princes and great Lordes ought not to be contented onely to know what science what doctrine and what vertue they oughte to shewe and teache their scollers but also with greater care and diligence the yought to know from what euils or wicked customes they ought to withdraw thē For when the trees are tender and yong it is more necessary to bowe them and cut of the superfluous braunches with knyues then to gather their furtes with Baskettes Those which take vpon them to gouerne Moyles of great pryse value and those that tame and breake horses of a good race take great paines that such beastes be light that they leape wel and be well made to the sporre and bridel but they take much more paines that they be gentill familiar faithfull and aboue all that they haue no euill qualities Then sith it is so masters ought diligently to watche if they be good that in yong Princes there be no apparaunce of any notable vices For al the vertues which the yong do learne doth not them so much profit as one onely vice doth them hurte if they doe therunto consent knowyng that therby they may be herafter blamed or despised For if any man knew a beast that is wyld and stoburne and not gentill and will bye him at greate pryce suche a one hath his head more full of follyes then of wysedome Albeit that maisters ought to withdraw their scollers from many euil customes amōgest all there ar foure principall in any of the which if the prince be defamed the maister which hath taught him should deserue great punishment For according to the humaine lawes and customes al the domage and harme that the beastes do the vineyarde the keper that hath charge therof shall as he is bound recompence First the maisters ought to refraine in suche sort the tonges of their scollers that neyther in sport nor in earnest they permit thē to tell lyes For the greatest faulte that is in a good and vertuous man is to be briefe in the truth and the greatest villanye that is in a vicious man is to be long in lyes Merula in that .v. booke of Cesars saith that the firste war that Vlpius Traianus made was against Cebalus king of Daces who rebelled against the Romaines and with no smal victorie ouercame the Emperour Domitian in a battaile which they fought togethers For as Nasica sayd the pleasures that Rome had to see many victories were not so greate as the displeasure was whyche she toke to see her selfe once ouercome The good Vlpius Traianus gaue battaile to kyng Cebalus wherin Cebalus was not onely ouercome but also taken and afterwardes broughte before the emperour Traianus whyche sayde vnto him these wordes Speake Cebalus why didest thou rebell agaynst the Romaynes since thou knowest that the Romaynes are vnuincible The kyng Cebalus aunswered him If the Romaines could not be ouercom how did I then ouercome the Emperour Domitian Traian the Emperour sayde vnto hym againe Thou art greatly deceyued kynge Cebalus to thinke that when thou ouercamest the Emperour thou haddest ouercome the Romaines For when that Romulus founded Rome the Gods ordeyned that though their emperour dyed in anye battaile yet not withstandyng it is not to be thought that the empyre is ouercome The Hystoriographers made a great matter of the wordes that this Vlpius Traianus spake For therin he shewed that the Romaine empire was vnuincible After that this kyng Cebalus was dead and that for his desertes he was depriued as the Emperour Traian was a mercifull prince so he prouided that a litel child that Cebalus hadde shoulde be brought vp in his pallace with intention that if the childe became good they woulde geue hym the Realme whiche his father thorough Treason hadde loste For in Rome there was an auncient lawe that all that whiche the father lost by treason the sonne should recouer by hys faithfull actes It chaunced that the good Traian takyng his pleasure in the gardins of Vulcan sawe the sonne of kyng Cebalus and many other yong children of Rome stealynge fruite forth of an orchard and it is no wonder for the Locustes did not so much harme to the Corne as the children do to the fruites when they entre into the orchardes When the emperour afterwardes demaunded him frō whence he came he aunswered from his studye hearyng Rethoricke but in dede he came from stealing of fruite The emperour Traian was so angrie displeased that the child was a lyer that he commaunded he should vtterly be depriued and made voyde of al hope to recouer the realme of his father The Emperour Traian was greatly importuned as well of straung Imbassatours as of hys owne Countrey men that he would chaung that cruel sentence For prynces in a furie do commaund that which when they are pacient they doe vndo The emperour Traian aunswered them if the father of this child which was kyng Cebalus had bene a true prince he had not loste hys lyfe neyther hys Realme nor had not put me th empyre so many times in daunger but since the father was a lyer and the sonne is not true it were to vniust a thynge to render him the Realme For to me it should be great reproche and to our mother Rome as much dishonour that she beyng the mother of truthe shoulde geue realmes to children beyng lyers This was it that Vlpius Traian spake vnto the sonne of kyng Cebalus Marcus Aurelius the .xvii. Emperour of Rome had .ii. sonnes as before we haue rehersed the eldest of the whiche was called Comodus and his father procured greatly to disinherit him of the empire For he would that the second son named Verissimus should haue inherited it and he did not onely determine it but also spake it oft times openly For that thing is with great difficulty dissembled that excessiuely is beloued By chaunce an olde Senator and frend of Marcus the emperour one daye both goyng out of the Senate house sayd vnto him I meruaile at the much most excellent prince why thou doest disherite thy sonne which is eldest to make thine heyre the yongest knowynge that they are both thy sonnes and that the gods haue geuen the no others but them For the good fathers are bound to chasten their children but they haue not licence to disherit them The emperour Marcus Aurelius aunswered him If thou were a greke philosopher as thou art a Romain citizen and if thou knewest the fathers loue towardes hys childe thou wouldest not take pitie one my sonne whiche vndoeth the Empire but thou shouldest haue compassion on me his father which doth disherit him For the chyld scarcely knoweth what he loseth but I that am hys father doe bewayle the domage whyche I doo vnto hym For in the ende there is not in the world so cruel a father but if his sonne should be hurt with the pomell of the swerde in the hande the father would fele incontinentlye the
And I saye that they doe not suffer them to be to light or vnconstant for of younge men inconstant and light commeth oftētimes an olde man fonde and vnthriftie I saie that they doe not suffer them to be to rashe for of to hardy young men commeth rebellious and seditious persones I say that they doe not consent they be shamelesse for of the vnshamefastnes commeth sclaunderous persones Princes and great lordes ought to haue much circumspection that their children be brought vp in shamefastnes with honestie For the crowne doth not geue so much glory to a kyng nor the head doth more set forth the man nor the iewell more adourne the breast nor yet the scepter more become the hande then shamefastnes with honestie beutifieth a younge man For a man of what estate so euer he be the honestie which he sheweth outwardly doth hide many secret vices wherewith he is endued inwardly In the time of the reigne of the emperour Helius Pertinax the nyntenthe Emperour of Rome two consulles gouerned the commō welth the one named Verus and the other Mamillus one daye they came to the Emperour and were humble suiters to his highnes besechinge him that it would please hym to receiue their two children into his seruice the eldest of the whiche passed not as yet twelue yeares of age the whiche request after the Emperour had graunted the fathers were not negligent to bryng them vnto hym and being come before his presence each of them made an oration the one in Latine and the other in Greke Wherewith the Emperour was greatly pleased and all the residue amased for at that time none serued the Romaine princes but that he were either very apte to cheualry or els toward in sciences As these two children in the presence of the Emperour made their orations the one of thē behelde the Emperour in suche sorte that his eies neuer went of him neither once moued his head to loke down to the earth and the other contrary behelde the earth alwayes neuer lift vp his head during his oration Wherewith the Emperour being a graue man was so highly pleased with the demeanours of this child that he did not onely admitte him to serue him at his table but also he suffred him to enter into his chambre and this was a preferment of great estimation For princes did not vse to be serued at their tables nor in their chambers with any vnlesse they were of his owne kynred or auncient seruauntes And concerning the other childe whiche was his compaignion the Emperoure retourned againe to his father saiynge that when hereafter he shoulde bee more shamefast he woulde receiue hym into his seruice And certainly the Emperoure had reason for good and graue princes ought not to be serued with light and shameles children I woulde nowe demaunde fathers whiche loue their children very well and woulde they shoulde be worthy what it auaileth their children to be faire of countenaunce well disposed of body liuely of sprighte whyte of skinne to haue yellowe heere 's to be eloquent in speache profounde in science if with all these graces that nature geueth them they be to bolde in that they doe and shamelesse in that they saye the authour hereof is Patritius Senesis in the firste booke De rege regno One of the moste fortunate princes was the great Theodosius the whiche amongest all other vertues had one moste singuler which was that he was neuer serued in his pallace with any young man that was vnshamefast or seditious nor with an olde man which was dishonest For he said oftetimes that princes shall neuer be well beloued if they haue about thē liers or sclaūderers This good emperour spake as a man of experience and very sage for if the counsellers and familiars of princes be euil taught and vnpacient they offende many and if they be liers they deceiue all and if they be dishonest they sclaunder the people And these offences be not so great vnto them that committe them as they be vnto the prince whiche suffreth them The emperour Theodose had in his pallace two knightes the one called Ruffinus and the other Stelliconus by whose prudence and wisdome the cōmon wealth was ruled and gouerned And as Ignacius Baptista saieth they twoo were the tutors gouernours of the children of Theodose whose names were Archadius and Honorius For as Seneca saieth when good princes do die they ought to be more carefull to procure maisters and tutors whiche shall teache their children then to procure realmes or kingdomes for to enriche them These twoo maisters Stelliconus and Ruffinus had in the pallace of Theodose eche of them a sonne the which were maruellous wel taught and very shamefast and for the contrary the two princes Honorius and Archadius were euill manered and not very honest And therfore the good emperour Theodose tooke these children oftetimes and set them at his table and contrary he woulde not once beholde his owne Let no man marueile though a prince of suche a grauitie did a thing of so smal importaunce for to say the truthe the shamefast children and wel taughte are but robbers of the hartes of other men Fourthly the tutors and maisters of princes oughte to take good heade that when the younge princes their schollers waxe great that they geue not them selues ouer to the wicked vice of the fleshe so that the sensualitie and euill inclination of the wanton childe ought to be remedied by the wisedom of the chaste maister For this cursed fleshe is of suche condition that if once by wantonnes the wicket be opened death shall soner approche then the gate shal be shut agayne The trees which budde and caste leaues before the time our hope is neuer to eate of their fruite in season I meane that when chyldren haunte the vice of the fleshe whyles they be young there is small hope of goodnes to be loked in them when they be olde And the elder we see them waxe the more we may be assured of their vices And where we see that vice encreaseth there we may affirme that vertue diminisheth Plato in his seconde booke of lawes ordeyneth and commaundeth that younge men shoulde not marye before they were .xxv. yeares of age and the younge maydens at .xx. because at that age their fathers abide lesse daungers in begetting them and geuing of them lyfe and the children also which are borne haue more strength against the assaultes of death Therefore if it be true as it is true in dede I aske nowe if to be maried and get children whiche is the ende of mariage the Philosophers doe not suffer vntill suche time as they be men then I say that maisters ought not to suffer their schollers to haunte the vices of the fleshe when they be chyldren In this case the good fathers oughte not alone to committe this matter to their tutors but also thereunto to haue an eye them selues For oftetimes they wyll saye they haue bene at their
And wylde forests where swarmed heards of dere thousands of sheepe no cattal could not want with new encrease to store the wasted yere VVhole rowts I kept of seruile wights to sarue Defauts of princely courts with yrkesom toyle whose skilful hand from conning coold not swarue their sway was most to deck my daynty soyle The learned wights of musikes curious art I trayned vp to please mee with their play whose sugred tunes so sayled to my hart As flowing greef agreed to ebbe away The tender maides whose stalk of growing yeres yet reached not to age his second rayn whose royall fames were swalowed in no cares But burnt by loue as beauties lot doth gayn Lo I enioyed to feede my dulled spirite with strayned voice of sweete alluring song but yet to mount the stage of more delight I ioyed to see their comly daunces long The hilles of massy gold that I vpheapt So hugie were by hoord of long excesse That clottered clay with prouder price was kept In sondry realmes when ruthfull need did presse In some I say my bodies roling guyde did gase for nought but subiect lay to sight My iudge of sounds wisht nothing to abyde but was instild to kindle more delight The clother of my corps yet neuer felt that pleasde him ought but ay it toucht agayn my sycher of sauours if ought bee smelt that might content his woold was neuer vayn The greedy sighes of my deuoured brest Trauailed in thought to conquer no delight but yelded straight as wyer to the wrest to office such as wanton will be hight But when the doores of my abused eyen were hoysed vp with lookes and lookes agayn And that my egre hands did ay enclyne to touch the sweete that seasond still their payn VVhen wanton tast was fed with eche conceit That strange deuise brought forth froÌ„ flowing wit when restlesse will was ballast with the waight of princely reach that did my compasse fit I saw by serch the sory vnstable bloome the blasted fruit the flitting still delight The fyckle ioy the oft abused doome the slipper stay the short contented syght Of such as set their heauen of lingring lyfe In pleasures lappe that laughes at their abuse whose froward wheele with frowning turn is ryse to drown their blisse that blyndly slept with vse For lo the course of my delighting years that was embraste in armes of fansies past when wisdoms sonne through follies clouds aperes doth blush to here the count that pleasure cast So now I see the masse of huge delight with flattering face dooth promise but decay whose flitting foot entysed once to flight his restles wings doo seeke to sore away Lo thus hee slips reclaimd with endles payn Possest a while departing soone agayn This sayeth the sage Salomon talking of the things of the world the which as hee spake of the world so had hee proued it in deede in his parson Crediting as it is reason to such high doctrin I cannot tell what my pen can write more in this case since hee saith that after hee had all proued experimented possessed and tasted hee found that all that wee procure haue in this world is vanity O princes and great lords I beesech yee and in the name of Iesus christ I exhort you with great discretioÌ„ to enter into this deepe seas since thys order is so disordered that it bringeth all disorders euil customs For al those which shall trauail by the way when they shal think to goe most sure in the midst of their iourney they shal finde them selues to bee lost None ought to agree with the world for that hee might liue sure in his house for day night to all worldlings hee hath his gate open making their entry large sure But let vs beeware wee enter not and much more that wee lode not our selues with his vices and bee delighted with his pleasures For since wee doo waxe worse and that wee are entered therein though wee doo repent by no way wee fynd the sure comming out but the first wee must wel pay for our lodging I maruell not though the worldlings at euery moment bee deceiued sins superfyciously they beehold the world with their eies loue it profouÌ„dly with their harts But if they desyred as profoundly to consider it as they do vaynly follow it they shoold see very plain that the world did not flatter them with prosperity but threaten them with aduersity So that vnder the greatest point of the dye which is the vi is hyd the least which is the ase I woold counsel princes great lordes that they woold not beeleeue the world nor his flatteries and much lesse beeleeue them selues nor their vayn ymaginacions The which for the most part doo think that after they haue trauailed and heaped vp great treasure they shall enioy but their own trauail without the trouble of any man or that any man doo goe again them O how vayn is such thought and how oft dooth it chaunge contrary The world is of such an euill condicion that if hee let vs rest our first sleepe as well vs as that which wee haue gotten immediatly in the morning yea oftentimes an hower from thence hee waketh vs with a new care now hee hath prepared for vs some mean to occupy our selues about some other trouble ¶ The autour followeth his intencion and speaketh vehemently against the dysceyts of the world Cap. xl THemperor Traian sayd one day to his maister which was Plutarche the great phylosopher tell mee master why there are commonly moe euill then good and why without comparison there are mo which follow vices than those which embrace vertue The great Plutarche aunswered As our naturall inclinacion is more geeuen to lasciuiousnes and neglygence then to chastity and abstinence so the men which doo enforce them selues to follow vertue are few and those which geeue slack the reyns to vices are many And know thou if thou knowst it not most noble Prince that all thys euill proceedeth that men doo follow men and that they suffer not reason to follow reason Feeble and myserable is our nature but in the end wee caÌ„ not denâ—y that for all our trauailes wee may fynd remedy in it which seemeth to bee true For so much as if the sunne dooth annoy vs wee doo retire to the shadow If wee are greeued goyng on foot wee doo remedy it goyng on horseback If the sea bee daungerous wee saile with shyps If the cold doo vexe vs wee approch neere the fyer If thurst dooth trouble vs wee doo quench it with drink If rayn dooth wet vs wee go into houses If the plague bee in one place wee fly into another If wee haue enemies wee comfort our selues wyth our frends Fynally I say that there is no sorow nor trauaile but that a maÌ„ hath found some rest remedy This presupposed to bee true as it is trouth in deede now I ask all the worldlings if they haue found any remedy against
sinneth with a beautifull lady And hee which is drunk with sower ale offendeth more then hee which is drunk with sweete wyne And so in like maner greater offence commit they which lose their times with fooles that haue no grace then with iesters which haue good witts For it may bee permitted sometyme that the sage man for the recreation of his spyrits doo frequent the company of some pleasant man ¶ Of a letter which the Emperor wrote to Lambertus his frend gouernor of Helespont certifying him that hee had banished from Rome all fooles and loytering plaiers and is deuided into .3 chapters a notable letter for those that keepe counterfet fooles in their howses Cap. xlv MArcus Aurelius onely Emperor of Rome lorde of Asia confederate with Europe frendes of Affricke and enemy of the warres wisheth health to thee Lambert gouernour of the I le of Helespont With the furres which thou didst send mee I haue caused my gowne to bee furred and am girded with the girdel which thou didst present mee and am greatly contented with thy hounds For all is so good that the body doth reioyce to possesse it and the eyes to beehold it and also the hart to render thanks for it Where I dyd ask a few things of thee in iest thou hast sent mee many in ernest wherin not as a seruant but as a frend thou hast shewed thy selfe For the office of noble and worthyharts is to offer to their frends not onli that which they demaund but that also which they think they wil demaund Truly thou hast better measured thy seruices by thy noblenes then I thee demaund by my couetousnes For if thou doost remember I did demaund of thee only .xii. skinnes and thou hast sent mee .12 dosen I told thee that I desired .6 hounds for to hunt and thou hast sent me .12 of the best that can bee foūd in the I le In such sorte that I haue had honor and thou hast wonn renowne For in the litel I haue demaunded they shall see my lytel couetousnes and in the much thou hast sent mee they shall perceiue thy great lyberalyty I esteeme highly that which thou hast sente mee and I beeseech the gods send thee good luck For thou knowst wee may render thankes for the benefits receyued but wee haue not the power to requite the gentlenes shewed For the man which dare receiue of an other any gift dooth bynd hym selfe to bee his slaue I can not bee thy slaue for I am thy frend and thereof thou oughst to reioyce more then an other For beeing a seruaunt I should serue thee with feare but beeing thy frend I wyl profit thee with frendship Therfore to declare the cheefe occasiō wherfore I write vnto thee at this present I say I send thee .3 ships loden with iesters iuglers loyterers vacabonds and fooles and yet I doo not send vnto thee al the vacabonds which are in Rome for thē thy Ile should bee peopled with straungers The office that they had was that soom of thē iested and rayled at the table soome sang sundry malicious songs at mariages others told lies and news for their dinners at the gates other playd comon plays in the streats other enterteined the roman matrones with foolish nouells and tales others set forth vayne and light bookes of rymes and ballets and yet I swere vnto thee by the god Hercules these loiterers wanted no fooles to here them I let thee weete my frend Lambert that these loyterers are such and their scolers in nomber so many that though the maysters may bee in .3 ships caried yet the schollers could not bee in an hundred transported Of one thing I meruell much and also I affirme that the Gods bee offended since earthquakes ouerthrew the houses the great waters cary away the bridges the frost freese the vines the corrupt ayre infecteth the wise men and yet is there no plague that consumeth the fooles O how vnhappy art thou Rome vnto him that shall well beehold thee and dilygently serch thee For in thee wanteth valyant captayns honest Senatours iust Cēsors faithfull officers and vertuous Princes and onely there aboundeth fooles iesters plaiers dysers loyterers and vacabōds O what seruice thou shouldst doo to the gods and profit to our mother Rome if for .3 ships of fooles thou didst send vs one bark only of wise men I would not say but I wyll not cease to say that I haue seene fooles that I haue heard many folys but I neuer saw so great fooles nor hard such extreme folly as that of some noble romains and Italyens who think it a great act to keepe a foole in their house I iudge him to bee a greater foole that so desireth to keepe a foole then the foole hym selfe For a foole hath a semblaunce of the sage after that hee accompanieth with a sage but the sage sheweth him selfe a foole after hee accompanieth with a foole Why doo men seeke thinges of mockry since all that is in the world is mockry Why seeke wee fooles Since all that wee say is nothing but foly Why doo wee reioyce with those which flatter vs since there are none that say one onely trueth Why doo wee seeke fained fooles Since that all or the most parte of vs all are very fooles I see dyuers in Rome the which though they company with honest men are dissolute companyeng with sages they are symple treating with wise men they are without consideracion and beeing conuersant with fooles they think to bee sage If wee keepe company with pitefull wee shal bee pityfull If wee bee conuersant with the cruell wee shall bēe cruel If wee comunicate with lyers wee shal bee lyers Yf wee haunt the true wee shal be true and if wee desire the foolish wee shal bee fooles For according to the masters and doctrines wee haue such shall bee the sciences which wee shall learne the woorks which wee shal folow The famous tirant Dionisius the Siracusane which was in Scicil saied vnto the philosopher Diogenes Tel mee Diogenes what kinde of mē ought wee to haue in our houses with what persons ought wee to deuide our goods Diogenes aunswered him The wise man which will liue in peace with the comon wealth and that wyl not see his goods euyll employd ought not to geeue to eat nor to accompany with any but with the aged persons which should counsaile them and with the yong which should serue them with frends which should fauour them and with the poore to the end they should prayse them Denis the tiraunt greatly commēded that which Diogenes the philosopher told him but hee could neuer profyt with that counsayle For as hee shewed him selfe a tirant in robbing so hee shewed him selfe also vndiscreete in spending Presuppose that that which Diogenes the philosopher spake were true that is to weete that wee ought to feede the aged seruants frends and poore wee see by this aunswere it is not iust to geeue to eat
space of an hour Considering the omnipotency of the diuine mercy it suffiseth ye and I say that the space of an hour is to much to repent vs of our wicked lyfe but yet I woold counsell all since the sinner for to repent taketh but one hour that that bee not the last hour For the sighs and repentaunce which proceed from the bottom of the hart penetrate the high heauens but those which come of necessity dooth not perse the seeling of the house I allow and commend that those that visit the sick doo counsell them to examin their conscienses to receiue the communion to pray vnto god to forgeeue their enemiez and to recommend them selues to the deuout prayers of the people and to repent their sinnes fynally I say that it is very good to doo all this but yet I say it is better to haue doon it beefore For the diligent and carefull Pirate prepareth for the tempest when the sea is calm Hee that deepely woold consider how little the goods of this lyfe are to bee esteemed let him goe to see a rich man when hee dyeth and what hee dooth in his bed And hee shall fynd that the wife demaundeth of the poore husband her dower the doughter the third part the other the fift the child the preheminence of age the sonne in law his mariage the phisition his duity the slaue his liberty the seruants their wages the creditors their debts and the woorst of all is that none of those that ought to enherit his goods wil geeue him one glasse of water Those that shall here or read this ought to consider that that which they haue seene doon at the death of their neighbors the same shall come to them when they shal bee sick at the point of death For so soone as the rych shutteth his eyes foorthwith there is great strife beetweene the children for his goods And this strife is not to vnburthen his soule but whych of them shall inherit most of his possessions In this case I will not my penne trauel any further since both rich and poore dayly see the experience hereof And in things very manyfest it suffyseth only for wyse men to bee put in memory without wasting any more tyme to perswade them Now the Emperor Marcus Aurelius had a secretary very wise and vertuous through whose hands the affairs of the Empire passed And when this secretary saw his lord and maister so sick and almost at the hour of death and that none of his parents nor frends durst speak vnto him hee plainly determined to doo his duity wherein hee shewed very well the profound knowledge hee had in wisdom and the great good will hee bare to his lord This secretary was called Panutius the vertues and lyfe of whom Sextus Cheronensis in the lyfe of Marcus Aurelius declareth ¶ Of the comfortable woords which the Secretary Panutius spake to the Emperor Marcus Aurelius at the hour of his death Cap. l. O My lord and maister my tong cannot keepe silence myne eies cannot refrayn from bitter tears nor my hart leaue from fetching sighes ne yet reason can vse his duity For my blood boyleth my sinnews are dryed my pores bee open my hart dooth faint and my spirit is troubled And the occasion of all this is to see that the wholsom counsels which thou geeuest to others either thou canst not or wil not take for thy self I see thee dye my lord and I dye for that I cannot remedy thee For if the gods woold haue graunted mee my request for the lengthning of thy lyfe one day I woold geeue willingly my whole life Whether the sorow bee true or fained it nedeth not I declare vnto thee with woords since thou mayst manyfestly discern it by my countenaunce For my eies with tears are wet and my hart with sighs is very heauy I feele much the want of thy company I feele much the domage which of thy death to the whole common wealth shal ensue I feele much thy sorow which in thy pallace shal remaine I feele much for that Rome this day is vndoon but that which aboue al things dooth most torment my hart is to haue seen thee liue as wise and now to see thee dye as symple Tell mee I pray thee my lorde why doo men learn the Greek tong trauel to vnderstand the hebrew sweat in the latin chaunge so many maisters turn so many bookes and in study consume so much money and so many yeres if it were not to know how to passe lyfe with honor and take death with pacience The end why men ought to study is to learn to liue well For there is no truer science in man then to know how to order his life well What profiteth it mee to know much if thereby I take no profit what profiteth mee to know straunge languages if I refrain not my tong from other mens matters what profiteth it to study many books if I study not but to begyle my frends what profiteth it to know the influence of the starres and the course of the elements if I cannot keepe my self from vyces Fynally I say that it lytle auayleth to bee a maister of the sage if secretly hee bee reported to bee a folower of fooles The cheef of all philosophy consisteth to serue god and not to offend men I ask thee most noble prince what auaileth it the Pilot to know the art of sayling and after in a tempest by neglygence to perish What auayleth it the valyaunt captayn to talk much of warre and afterwards hee knoweth not how to geeue the battayl What auaileth it the guyde to tell the neerest way and afterwards in the midst to lose him self All this which I haue spoken is sayd for thee my Lord. For what auayleth it that thou beeing in health shooldst sigh for death since now when hee dooth approch thou weepest because thou wooldst not leaue life One of the things wherein the wise man sheweth his wisedom is to know how to loue and how to hate For it is great lightnes I shoold rather say folly to day to loue him whom yesterday wee hated and to morow to sclaunder him whom this day wee honored What Prince so hygh or what Plebeyan so base hath there been or in the world shall euer bee the whych hath so lyttle as thou regarded lyfe and so hyghly commended death What thyngs haue I wrytten beeing thy Secretary with my own hand to dyuers prouynces of the world where thou speakest so much good of death that sometymes thou madest mee to hate lyfe What was it to see that letter which thou wrotest to the noble Romayn Claudines wydow comforting her of the death of her husband which dyed in the warres Wherein shee aunswered That shee thought her trouble comfort to deserue that thou shooldst write her such a letter What a pitifull and sauory letter hast thou written to Antigonus on the death of thy child Verissimus thy sonne so much desired Whose death
streates And if hee were by chaunce intreatid by some noble man to accompany him or to ride beehind him of pleasure through the streates euery honest courtier ought not only to doo it but vnasked to bee ready to offer him selfe to wayte vpon him and go with him willingly And let the fyne courtier beeware that in geeuing his hand to a gentilwoman hee bee not gloued and if shee be a horsback that hee talke with her bare headed to doo her the more honor and if shee ryde beehind him and they chaunce to discourse togethers let him neuer looke back vpon her to beehold her for that is a rude maner and a token of ill education And one comon courtesy there is amonge courtyers that when they are in talke with ladyes and gentilwomen and enterteining of them they suffer them to doo with them what they will to reigne ouer them and to bee ouercomed in argument of them and they holde yt good maner to doo them seruice when they haue any occasioÌ„ offered to serue them And when hee shall accompany any gentylwoman to go a visitation with her or to walke abrode for their pleasure through the streates hee must ryde fayr and softly and if shee should happen to keepe him so long in talke till shee should light the good courtier must beare yt courteously and make a good couÌ„tenance as though it greeued him nothing syth wee know very wel that when women beeginne once to talke it is impossible for them to make an ende onles they bee ouertaken with night or preuented by some other accident Hee that wil bee a courtier must weare his shooes black and cleane his hose straight to his legges and his garments without plight or wrincle his sworde fayr varnished his sherts fynely wrought and his capp standing with a good grace For the chefest thing of court is that noble meÌ„ bee rich in apparell and the right courtyers fyne and cleanly It is not decent for a man to weare his slippers so long that the corke bee seene nor his garments till they bee torne nor furre til yt bee bare beefore nor shertes till they bee worne out nor his cappe till the turffe bee greasy nor his coate till yt bee threde bare nor his girdell till yt bee halfe broken For the courtier may not only weare his garments to content himself but also to like others that shall beehold yt And after that hee is once determined to go to the court hee must suppose to go thither well apparrelled els they will not suer account him to bee a right courtier For in this case excuse of pouerty may not bee alledged for they will think them rather miserable then poore courtiers The good courtier may not spare in court to spend afterwards at home but hee must pinche at home to bee liberall afterwards in the court And yet once agayne I retorne to recite that for a courtier to come into the princes fauor hee may not any waye bee sparing or miserable but rather honestly liberall and bountiful For seeldome tymes concurre these two things together to bee myserable and yet with his mysery to attayne to the princes fauor I remember I saw a frend of myne once in the court were a ierkin faced at the coller with martyrns and they were all bare and greasy and there was a certaine portugall in the court a pleasant compaignion that came to this gentleman and asked him properly what fayr Furrs they were hee ware about his neck and this gentillman auswered him martirns marterns syr sayth the portingall mee thinkes they are rather like furrs of Ashwednesday then of Shrouetewsday And finely this portingall compared Mardi that is tewsday to his martrin surrs so likewise his martrin furres to Mardi And sure hee had great reason not to prayse them but greatly to rebuke him for them For it had been more for his honor and worshipp to haue had the coller of his ierking lined with fayr new white lamine then with those old stale durty and swety marterns The brooches that our courtier must were in his capp must bee very rich and excelently wrought and his deuise or woord that hee will haue about yt such that though euery man may reade yt yet few shall vnderstand what yt meanes For such deuises are euer lightly grounded of vaine and fond toyes and therfor they should bee somuch more secret and obscure For suer the fault is great ynough in a man to deuiseyt though hee doo not beewray yt Also his seruants that waites vpon him must needes go handsomly apparelled syne nete in their apparell For it is small honor for the master to bee well apparellyd if hee let his seruants goe beggerly There are many courtiers that haue their men following on them with threede bare clokes torne coates foule shertes broken hose and rent shoos So that these poore seruingmen if â—or one moneth they were that their master giueth them for three other moneths after they were their owne proper flesh It is no wise mans part but a mere folly to keepe a greater traine then hee is able For that courtier that hath alwayes many seruants wayting on him and they going tottered and torne hauing no good thing to put on their backs or at least that they haue is but meane and simple shal soner wynne the name of a broker that prefarreth other men to saruice then of a master that keepeth seruants him selfe The good courtier must geeue vnto all his seruants that serue him ether apparell or wages for that seruant that serueth only in house for bare meate and drink shall neuer serue truly while hee dooth serue And therfor let the courtier looke well to yt that hee enterteigne no man into his saruice but that first hee agree with bim for standing wages onles yt bee that hee bee some neuew or kynsman or some of his deare frends els in the end if hee bee a noble man vnles hee doo so hee shall find that at the yeares end hee shall spend him more than if hee gaue him ordinary wages and beesids they will not bee contented with him although yt bee to his greater charge Also let him consider well if yt happen that when hee hath neede of seruants to wayre vpon him some brother or neighbors chyld bee offerid to hym whether hee shall receyue him or no. For after hee hath him in his house ether hee shall bee compelled to beare with his faults and disorders hee shall doo or els desirous to rebuke and reforme him or to send him home againe hee shall but winne anger and displeasure of his father or his proper kinsfolks Suerly such courtiers as take those kynd of men into their seruice haue a greate deale of payne and troble with them And truly it is too great a cruelty that the courtier should bee driuen to beare the dishonesty of his man the serues hym when his owne father could not away with his conditions Some fathers there
day in hearing tydings another day in doing seruyces somtime liking darknes sometime lothing lyght being in company and solitary lyueth and finally the poore louer may that he wil not and would that he may not More ouer the counsel of his frends auayleth hym nothing nor the infamy of his enemyes not the losse of goodes the aduenture of honour the losynge of his lyfe nor the sekyng of death neyther commyng neare nor flyeng farre nor seing with his eyes ne hearing with his eares nor tasting with his mouth nor fealing with his hand to conclude to get vyctory he is alway at warre wyth hym selfe Then I would ye louers knewe from whence your loue doth come it is this The entrayles wherof we are bread be fleshe the breastes that we sucked are fleshe the armes wherin we be fastned be of flesh the thoughts which we thynke be fleshly the workes which we do are fleshly the men with whom we lyue are of flesh and the wonder for whom we dye are flesh by whych occasion commeth the reuerting of our flesh to flesh many fre harts are intangled with the snares of loue It semeth wel my ladies ye were gendered in puddels as before is mencioned of the Egiptians the puddels haue no cleare water to drincke nor fruite to eate nor fish to be taken nor shyppe to sayle in I meane that in your lyues ye be filthy your personnes wythout shame in aduersitye weake and feble in prosperity ful of deceite and guyle false in your woordes and doubteful in your doynges in hatynge without measure in loue extreame in gifts couetous in takyng vnshamefast finally I say ye are the ground of feare in whom the wise men find peril the simple men suffer iniury In you the wise men hold their renowne slaundered the simple men their lyfe in penury Let vs omit the opinion of the Egiptians and come to the Grekes which say that in the desertes of Arabia the sonne shineth hottest at the beginning ther was found one womaÌ„ with one bird called the Phenix which bird was created on the water and the woman engendered by the great heat of the sonne of the pouder of trees in this wise Ther was a tree sore eaten with wormes vpon a time a blast of lightning set it on fier burnt it so as amongest the ashes of that rotten tre the first woman was made found Although I be a Roman philosopher yet can I not disalow the opinion of the greke philosopher Of trouth ye amorous dames ye haue your tongues of the nature of fire and your condicions like the pouder of a rotten tre Accordyng to the dyuersity of beasts so nature hath in diuers parts of the body placed their strength as the Eagle in her byl the Vnicorne in the horne the serpent in the taile the bul in the head the beare in his pawes the horse in the breast the dogge in the teath the bore in the tuske the doues in the winges the women in their tongues For of trouth the flight of the doue is not so hyghe as the fantasy of your folyshnes is vaine the cat scratcheth not so sore with her nayles as ye scratch the folish men with your importunities The dogge hurteth not hym so much that he runneth after as ye do the sorowful louer that serueth you the life of him is not in so muche daunger that catcheth the bul by the hornes as the same of him that falleth in your hands To conclude the serpent hath not so much poison in his taile as ye haue in your tongues I accept the Romaine ladies a part for ther are many very noble whose lyues are not touched with complaint nor good fames had in suspect Of such neither my letter speaketh ought nor my penne writeth but of those women I speake that be such as al the venemous beastes in the world haue not so much poison in their bodyes as one of those hath in their tongues And sith the gods haue commaunded our fate doth permit that the life of men cannot passe without women I aduise the youth besech the aged I wake the wise instrucâ—â—â—mple to shonne women of euyl name more then the comon pestilence Râ—â—â—â—ng the auncient lawes of Plato I find written this We comaund that al women openly defamed bee openlye banished the citye to thintente that others seing the sinne punished may abhorre the same for feare to fal in the like paine The same law said further we comaund that they pardon a woman for al her faults she committeth bodely in case ye se amendment likewise in her but we wil that no fault be pardoned committed by the tongue For actual sinne done is the frailety of nature the tongue only of malyce O deuyne Plato maister measure of al knowledge science prince of al philosophers When thou in the golden world maydst such lawes in whiche time ther was such scarsitye of those women which were euil and so great plenty of them that were good what should we do now in Rome wher there be so many euil openlye and none good in secret women naturally oughte to be shamefast in their face temperate in wordes wise of wit sober in going honest in conuersacion pitiful in correction ware in their lyuyng auoyding companyes faithfull in their promyse constaÌ„t in loue Fynally she that wil be counted honest let her not trust to the wisedome of the wise nor commit her fame to the wanton youth let euery wise woman take hede what he is that promyseth her ought For after that the flames of Venus be set on fire and Cupide shotte his arrowes the rich offereth all that he hath and the poore al that he may The wise man wil euer be her frend and the simple man for euer her seruaunt The wise man wil lose his lyfe for her and the simple wil accept his death for her The old men say they wil be frendes to their frendes and the yonge man wil say he wil be enemy to their enemyes The aged promysing to pay her debtes the other to reuenge her iniuries Finally the one because to hide their pouertie and the other to publyshe their beautie leade these fooles losing their lyues bringinge their fame to ende I wil leaue to speake of the good women for I mind not to charge them with ought I aske you amorous ladyes yf Plato was amongest you when ye made a play of my lyfe drew my picture about Rome no surely for that I se in your act now I do suspect that to be true which hath bene sayd of others for there are fewe in Rome that execute the paine of Platoes law One thing ye cannot deny if I were the worst of al men at the last ye se the end of my vylanies but this you caÌ„not deny that she which is least euil of al you the naughtines of her life I could not sufficiently set out in my lyfe Yt
I am sory they know so much only for that they subtilly disceiue and by vsury abuse their neighbours and kepe that they haue vniustly gotten and dayly getting more inuenting new trades Finally I say if they haue any knowledge it is not to amend their life but rather to encrease their goods If the diuil could slepe as men do he might safely slepe for wheras he waketh to deceiue vs we wake to vndoe our selues wel suppose that al these heretofore I haue sayd is true Let vs now leue aside craft take in hand knowledge The knowledge which we attaine to is smal that whych we shold attaine to so great that al that we know is the least part of that we are ignoraunt Euen as in things natural the elamentes haue their operacions accordyng to the variety of time so moral doctrines as the aged haue succeded and sciences were discouered Truly al fruites come not together but when one faileth another commeth in season I meane that neyther al the Doctours among the Christians nor al the phylosophers among the gentyles were concurrant at one time but after the death of one good ther came another better The chiefe wysedome whych measureth al thyngs by iustyce and disparseth them accordyng to his bounty wyl not that at one time they should be al wyse men and at an other time al simple For it had not ben reason the one should haue had the fruite and the other the leaues The old world that ran in Saturnes dayes otherwyse called the golden world was of a truth muche estemed of them that saw it and greatly commended of them that wrote of it That is to say it was not gilded by the Sages whych did gilde it but because there was no euyl men whych dyd vngild it For as thexperience of the meane estate nobility teacheth vs of one only parson dependeth aswel the fame and renoume as the infamy of a hole house and parentage That age was called golden that is to saye of gold and this our age is called yronne that is to say of yron This dyfference was not for that gold then was found now yron nor for that in this our age ther is want of theym that be sage but because the number of them surmounteth that be at this day malicious I confesse one thing and suppose many wil fauour me in the same Phauorin the philosopher which was maister to Aulus Gellius and his especial frend sayde ofttimes that the phylosophers in old time were holden in reputacion bycause ther were few teachers and many learners We now a daies se the contrary for infinite are they whych presume to be maysters but few are they whych humble theym selues to be scholers A man maye know how litle wise men are estemed at this houre by the greate veneracion that the phylosophers had in the old tyme. What a matter is it to se Homere amongest the Grecians Salomon amongest the Hebrues Lycurgus amongest the Lacedomoniens Phoromeus also amongest the Grekes Ptolomeus amongeste the Egiptians Liui amongeste the Romaynes and Cicero lykewyse amongeste the Latines Appolonius among the Indians and Secundus amongest the Assirians How happy were those philosophers to be as they were in those dayes when the world was so ful of simple personnes and so destitute of sage men that there flocked greate nombers out of dyuers contries and straung nacions not only to here their doctrine but also to se their persons The glorious saint Hierome in the prologue to the bible sayth When Rome was in her prosperitie thenne wrote Titus Liuius his decades yet notwithstaÌ„ding men came to Rome more to speake with Titus Liuius then to se Rome or the high capitol therof Marcus Aurelius writing to his frend Pulio said these words Thou shalt vnderstand my frend I was not chosen Emperour for the noble bloude of my predecessours nor for the fauoure I had amongest them now present for ther were in Rome of greater bloud and riches then I but the Emperour Adrian my maister set his eyes vpon me and the emperour Anthony my father in law chose me for his sonne in law for no other cause but for that they saw me a frend of the sages an enemy of the ignoraunt Happie was Rome to chose so wise an emperoure and no lesse happye was he to attaine to so great an empire Not for that he was heire to his predecessoure but for that he gaue his mynd to study Truly if that age then were happie to enioye hys person no lesse happie shal ours be now at this present to enioy his doctrine Salust sayth they deserued great glory whych did worthy feates and no lesser renowme merited they whych wrote them in high stile What had Alexander the great ben if Quintus Curtius had not writen of him what of Vlisses if Homere hadde not bene borne what had Alcibiades bene if Zenophon had not exalted him what of Cirus if the philosopher Chilo had not put his actes in memory what had bene of Pirrus kinge of the Epirotes if Hermicles cronicles were not what had bene of Scipio the great Affricane if it had not bene for the decades of Tâ—tus Liuius what had ben of Traiane if the renowmed Plutarche had not bene his frend what of Nerua and Anthonius the meke if Phocion the Greke had not made mencion of them how should we haue knowen the stout courage of Cesar and the great prowesse of Pompeius if Lucanus had not writen them what of the twelue Cesars if Suetonius tranquillus hadde not compiled a booke of their lyues and how should we haue knowen the antiquityes of the Hebrues if the vpright Iosephe had not ben who could haue knowen the commyng of the Lombardes into Italy if Paulus Diaconus had not writ it how could we haue knowen the comming in the going out and end of the Gothes in Spayne if the curious Rodericus had not shewed it vnto vs By these things that we haue spoken of before the readers may perceyue what is dew vnto the Historiographers who in my opinion haue left as great memorye of theym for that they wrote with their pennes as the prynces haue done for that they dyd with their swordes I confesse I deserue not to be named amongest the sages neyther for that I haue wryten and translated nor yet for that I haue composed Therfore the sacred and deuyne letters set a side ther is nothing in the world so curiouslye wryten but neadeth correction as I say of the one so wil I say of the other and that is as I wyth my wyl do renounce the glorye which the good for my learning woulde gyue me so in like maner euyl men shal not want that agaynst my wil wil seke to defame it We other writers smally esteme the labour and paynes we haue to wryte although in dede we are not ignoraunt of a thousand enuyous tongues that wyl backbite it Many now a dayes are so euil taught
or to say better so enuyous that when the aucthour laboreth in his study they playe in the streates when he waketh they slepe When he fasteth they eate when he sitteth turninge the leaues of the booke they go huntyng after vices abrode yet for al that they wyl presume to iudge depraue and condeme an other mans doctrine as if they had the aucthoritye that Plato had in grece or the eloquence that Cicero had in Rome When I find a man in the latyn tongue well sene his vulgar tongue wel polished in histories wel grounded in Greke letters very expert and desirous to spend his tyme wyth good bookes this so heroical and noble a parsonage I would desire him to put my doctrine vnder his fete For it is no shame for a vertuous and wise man to be corrected of an other wyse man Yet I would gladly know what pacience can suffer or hart dissemble when two or thre be assembled togithers at meate and after at the table or otherwyse one of them taketh a booke at aduenture in his handes against the whiche another will say it is to longe and another wyll saye it speaketh not to the purpose another it is obscure and another the wordes are not well couched another wyll say all that that is spoken is fained one will say he speaketh nothing of profite another he is to curious and the other he is to malicious So that in speaking thus the doctrine remaineth suspicious and the authour scapeth not scotte fre Suppose them to be therfore suche that speake it as I haue spoken of that at the table doe finde suche faultes suer they deserue pardon for they speake not according to the bookes whiche they haue redde but accordâ—nge to the cuppes of wyne whiche they haue drunke For he that taketh not that in geste whiche is spoken at the table knoweth not what gesting meaneth It is an olde custome to murmure at vertuous dedes and into this rule entreth not onely those that make them but also those whiche wryt them afterwardes Which thing semeth to be true for that Socrates was reproued of Plato â–ª Plato of Aristotle Aristotle of Auerois Sicilius of Vulpitius Lelius of Varro Marinus of Ptolomens Ennius of Horace Seneca of Aulus Gellius Crastonestes of Strabo Thessale of Gallian Hermagoras of Cicero Cicero of Salust Origines of saint Hierome Hierome of Rufinus Rufinus of Donatus Donatus of Prosper and Prosper of Lupus Then sithe that in these men and in their workes hath bene suche neade of correction whiche were men of great knowledge and Lanternes of the worlde it is no maruayle at all that I haue suche fortune since I knowe so litle as I doe He may worthely be counted vaine and light whiche at the first sight as for onely once reading wil rashely iudge that whiche a wyse man with muche diligence and studie hath wrytten The authours and wryters are ofttimes reproued not of them whiche can translate and compile workes but of those whiche can not reade and yet lesse vnderstande them to thintent simple folkes shold count them wise take their partes in condemning this worke and esteme him for a great wyse man I take God to witnes who can iudge whether my intention were good or ill to compile this worke and also I say this my doctrine at the feete of wyse and vertuous men to the ende they may be protectours defendours of the same For I truste in God though some would come to blame as dyuers doe the simple wordes whiche I spake yet others would not faile to relate the good intention that I ment And to declare further I say that diuers haue wrytten of the tyme of the said Marcus Aurelius as Herodian wrote litle Eutropius lesse Lampridius not so much and Iulius capitolinus somewhat more Likewyse ye ought to know that the maisters whiche taught Marcus Aurelius sciences were Iunius Rusticus Cinna Catullus Sextus Cheronensis whiche was nephewe to the great Plutarque These three were those that principally as witnesses of sight wrate the most parte of his life and doctrine Many may marueile to heare tell of the doctrine of Marcus Aurelius saying it hath ben kept hid and secret a great whyle and that of myne owne head I haue inuented it And that there neuer was any Marcus Aurelius in the worlde I know not what to saye nowe vnto them for it is euident to all those whiche haue red any thyng that Marcus Aurelius was husbande to Faustine father to Comodus brother to Annius Verus and sonne in lawe to Antonius Pius the seuenth of Rome Emperour Those which say I onely haue made this doctrine truly I thanke them for so saying but not for their so meaning For truly the Romaines would haue set my Image in Rome for perpetuall renowne if so graue sentences should haue proceaded from my head We see that in our tyme which was neuer sene before and heare that we neuer heard before We practise not in a newe worlde and yet we marueyle that there is at this present a newe booke Not for that I was curious to discouer Marcus Aurelius or studious to translate him For truly it is worthy he be noted of wyse personnes and not accused of equious tongues For it chaunceth oftentimes in hunting that the moste simplest man killeth the deare The last thing which the Romaines conquered in Spaine was Cantabria whiche was a citie in Nauarra ouer against Lagrogne and situated in a highe countrey where there is nowe a vaine of vynes And the Emperour Augustus whiche destroyed it made tenne bookes De bello Cantabrico where are thinges worthy of notinge and no lesse pleasaunt in reading which happened vnto him in the same conquest As Marcus Aurelius was brought me from Florence so was this other booke of the warres of Cantabrie brought me from Colleine If perhappes I tooke paynes to translate this booke as fewe haue done whyche haue sene it they woulde speake the lyke of it that they dyd of Marcus Aurelius Bycause menne are so long in speakyng and so briefe in studienge that without anye let or shame they will a vowe no booke to be in the worlde this daye but that they haue redde or seen it I haue as muche profited in this writynge whyche is humaine as other doctours haue done in matters whyche are deuine It is not translated worde for worde but sentence for sentence For we other interpreters are not bounde to gyue wordes by measure but it suffiseth vs to gyue sentencis by wayghte I began to studye this woorke in the yeare a thousande fiue hundred and eyghtene and vntill the yeare a thousande fiue hundred twentie and foure I coulde neyther vnderstand nor knowe wherein I was occupied and albeit I kept it secreat .vi. yeres yet it was knowen abroade whervpon the Emperour his maiestie being with the feauer diseased sent to me for it to passe the tyme away And I according to his commaundement shewed him Marcus Aurelius that
Chap. xviii The auctour stil perswadeth women to gyue their owne children sucke Chap. xix That princesses and great ladyes ought to be verye circumspecte in chosinge their nurces of seuen properties whyche a good nource should haue Chap. xx The auctor addeth .3 other condicions to a good nource that giueth sucke Chap. xxi Of the disputacion before Alexander the great concernyng the sucking of babes Chap. xxii Of wytchcraftes and sorceries which the nources vsed in old time in geuinge their chyldren sucke Chap xxiii Marcus Aurelius wryteth to his frende Dedalus inueighenge againste witches which cure children by sorceries and charmes Chap. xxiiii How excellent a thing it is for a gentleman to haue an eloquent tongue cap. xxv Of a letter which the Athenians sent to the Lacedemonians Chap. xxvi That nources which giue sucke to the children of prynces ought to be discret and sage women Chap. xxvii That women may be no lesse wyse then men though they be not it is not through default of nature but for want of good bringyng vp Chap. xxviii Of a letter which Pithagoras sent to his sister Theoclea she readinge at that time philosophy in Samothracia Chap. xxix The auctor followeth his purpose perswading princesses and great ladies to endeuour them selues to be wise as the women wer in old time Chap xxx Of the worthynes of the lady Cornelia and of a notable epistle she wrote to her .ii. sonnes Tyberius and Caius which serued in the warres Chap. xxxi Of the educacion and doctrine of children whyles they are yong Chap. xxxii Princes oughte to take héede that their children be not broughte vp in vaine pleasures and delights chap. xxxiii That princes and great lords ought to be careful in sekynge men to brynge vp their children Of x. condicions that good schoole maisters ought to haue Chap. xxxiiii Of the ii sonnes of Marcus Aurelius of the whych the eldest and best beloued dyed And of the maisters he reproued for the other named Comodus Chap. xxxv Howe Marcus Aurelius rebuked fiue of the xiiii maisters he had chosen for the educacion of his sonne Comodus And how he bannished the rest from his pallace for their light behauior at the feast of the god Genius Chap. xxxvi That princes other noble men ought to ouersée the tutours of their children lest they conceale the secrete faultes of their scholers Chap. xxxvii Of the Emperours determinacioÌ„ when he commytted his sonne to the tutoures which he had prouyded for his educacion Chap. xxxviii That tutours of princes and noble mens sonnes ought to be very circumspect that their scholars do not accustome them selues in vyces whyles they are yonge and speciallye to kepe them from foure vyces Chap xxxix Of .ii. other vyces perilous in youthe whych the maysters ought to kepe theym from Chap. xl The ende of the Table of the seconde Booke The table of the third Booke HOw Princes and great Lordes ought to trauaile to administer to all equall Iustice Chap. i. The waye that Princes ought to vse in choosing their Iudges Officers in their contreyes Chap. ii Of an oration which a vilian of Danuby made before the senatours of Rome concernyng the tyrannie and oppressions whyche their offycers vse in his contrey Chap. iii. The villayne argueth againste the Romaynes whyche without cause or reason concquered their contreye and proued manifestely that they throughe offendyng of their gods were vancquished of the Romaines Chap. iiii The villayne concludeth his oration against the Iudges which minister not Iustice and declareth howe preiudicial such wycked men are to the common weale Chap. v. That Princes and noble men should be very circumspect in choosyng Iudges and Offycers for therin consisteth the profyt of the publyke weale Chap. vi Of a letter whych Marcus Aurelius wrot to Antigonus his frende wherein he speaketh agaynste the crueltye of Iudges and Officiers Chap. vii The Emperour Marcus continueth his letter agaynst cruel Iudges and reciteth ii examples the one of a pitiefull kyng of Cipres and the other of a cruell Iudge of Rome and in this Chapter is mencioned the erbe Ilabia growing in Cipres on the mounte Arcladye whych beyng cut droppeth bloud c. Chap. viii Of the wordes whych Nero spake concernynge iustyce and of the instruction whych the Emperoure Augustus gaue to a iudge which he sent into Dacia Cap. ix The Emperour foloweth his purpose agaynst cruel iudges declareth a notable imbassage whych came from Iudea to the Senate of Rome to complayne of the iudges that gouerned that Realme Chap. x. The Emperour concludeth his letter agaynst the cruel iudges declareth what the grand father of king Boco spake in the Senate Chap. xi An exhortacion of the auctor to princes noble men to embrace peace and to eschew the occasions of warre Chapter xii The commodities which come of peace Chap. xiii A letter of Marcus Aurelius to him freÌ„d Cornelius wherin he describeth the discommodities of warre and the vanitie of the triumphe Chap. xiiii The Emperour Marcus Aurelius declareth the order that the Romaynes vsed in setting forth men of warre and of the ouâ—tragious vilanies whyche captaynes and souldiours vse in the warres Chap. 15. Marcus Aurelius lamenteth with teares the follye of the Romaynes for that they made warre wyth Asia And declarethe what great domage commeth vnto the people wher the prince doth begin warres in a straung countrey Chap. xvi That prynces and great lords the more they grow in yeres should be the more discrete and vertuous to refraine from vices Chap. xvij That princes when they are aged shold be temperate in eating sober in drynking modest in apparel aboue al true in their communication Chap. xviii .. Of a letter of the Emperour Marcus Aurelius to Claudius and Claudinus wherein he reproueth those that haue many yeres and litle discrecion Chap. xix The emperour foloweth his letter and perswadeth those that are olde to giue no more credit to the world nor to any of hys flatteries Chap. xx The emperour procedith in his letter proueth by good reasons that sith the aged persons wil be serued and honoured of the yong they ought to be more vertuous and honest then the yong Chap. xxi The emperour concludeth his letter sheweth what perilles those old men lyue in which dissolutly like yong children passe their dayes and geueth vnto them holsom counsel for the remedy therof Chap. xxii Princes ought to take hede that they be not noted of Auarice for that the couetous man is both of god man hated Cap xxiii The auctor foloweth his matter wyth great reasons discoÌ„mendeth the vices of couetous men Chap. xxiiii Of a letter whyche the emperour M. Aurelius wrot to his freÌ„d Cincinatus wherin he toucheth those gentlemen which wil take vpon them the trade of marchaundise againste their vocations deuided into 4. chapters Chap xxv The Emperour procedeth his letter declareth what vertues men ought to vse and the vices which
Annius Verus my father in thys case deserueth as much prayse as I doe reproche For whiles I was yonge he neuer suffered me to slepe in bed to syt in chayre to eate with him at hys table neyther durst I lyfte vp mine eyes to loke hym in the face And oftentymes he sayde vnto me Marcus my sonne I had rather thou shoudest be an honest Romayne than a dissolute Philosopher Thou desyrest me to wryte vnto the how manye masters I had and what scyences I learned in my youth Knowe thou that I had manye good masters though I am become an euyll scoller I learned also dyuerse scyences though presently I knowe lyttle not for that I forgote them but because the affayres of the empyre of Rome excluded me from them and caused me to forsake them For it is a general rule that science in that place is neuer permanent where the personne is not at libertie I studyed grammer with a mayster called Euphermon who sayed he was a Spaniard borne and his head was hore for age In speache he was very temperate in correction somwhat seuere and in life exceadyng honeste For there was a law in Rome that the childrens masters should be very old so that if the disciple were .10 yeres of age the master should be aboue fiftie I studied a long time Rethorick and the lawe vnder a greeke called Alexander borne in Lycaony which was so excellent an Oratour that if he had had as great a grace in writing with his pen as he hadde eloquence in speakynge with hys tong truly he had bene no lesse renowmed among the Gretians then Cicero was honored amonge the Romains After the death of this my master at Naples I went to Rhodes and hearde rethoricke again of Orosus of Pharanton and of Pulio whiche trulye were men expert and excellent in the arte of oratorie and especially in makyng comedies tragedies and enterludes they were very fyne and had a goodly grace Commodus Calcedon was my firste master in naturall Philosophie He was a graue man and in greate credite with Adrian he translated Homere out of greeke into latin After this man was dead I toke Sextus CheroneÌ„sis for my master who was nephewe to Plutarche the greate whych Plutarche was Traianus master I knewe this Sextus Cheronensis at .35 yeares of age at what time I doute whether there hath bene any Philosopher that euer was so well estemed throughout the Romain empire as he I haue him here with me and although he be foure score yeres olde yet continually he writeth the Histories and gestes done of my time I let the know my frend Pulio that I studied the law .2 yeres and the seekyng of the lawes of many nacions was occasion that I knew many antiquities and in this science Volucius Mecianns was my master a man whiche could reade it well and also dispute of if better So that on a time he demaunded of me merily and sayde Tell me Marke doest thou thinke there is any lawe in the world that I know not and I aunswered him Tell me master is there any lawe in the world that thou obseruest The fyfte yere that I was at Rhodes there came a marueilous pestilence whiche was occasion of the dissolution of our scoole which was in a narowe and litle place and beynge there a certaine painter paintinge a riche and exellent worke for the Realme of Palestine I then for a truth learned there to drawe and painte and my master was Diogenetus who in those dayes was a famous painter He painted in Rome .6 worthy Princes in one table and 6. other tirannous Emperours in an other And amongest those euill Nero the cruell was painted so lyuely that he semed a lyue to all those that sawe him and that table wherein Nero was so liuelye drawen was by decrees of the sacred senat commaunded to be burnt For they saide that a man of so wycked a life deserued not to be represented in so goodly a table Others saide that it was so naturall and perfect that he made all men afrayde that beheld him and if he had bene lefte there a fewe daies that he would haue spoken as if he had bene aliue I studied the arte of Nigromancie a while with al the kyndes of gyromancye and chiromancye In this science I had no particuler master but that somtymes I went to heare Apolonius lecture After I was maried to Faustine I learned Cosmographye in the citie of Argeleta which is the chiefeste towne of Illyria and my masters were Iunius Rusticus and Cyna Catullus Croniclers and counsaylers to Adrian my master and Antonius my father in lawe And because I would not be ignorant in any of those thynges that mans debilitie myght attaine to beyng at the warres of Dalia I gaue my selfe to musicke was apte to take it and my master was named Geminus Câ—modus a man of a quicke hand to play and of as pleasaunte a voice to singe as euer I hearde Romayne tonge prompte to speake This was the order of my lyfe and the tyme that I spente in learning And of good reason a man so occupyed can not chose but be vertuous But I sware and confesse to the that I did not so much geue my selfe to studye but that euery day I lost time enoughe For youth and the tender fleshe desyreth libertie and althoughe a man accustome it with trauailes yet he findeth vacant time also for his pleasours Although al the auncient Romans were in dyuerse thinges very studious yet notwithstandinge amongest all ouer and besides these there were fyue things wherunto they had euer a great respect to those that therin offended neyther requestes auayled rewards profited nor law old nor new dispensed Truly their good willes are to be comended and their dyligence to be exalted For the princes that gouerne great Realmes ought to employe their hartes to make good lawes and to occupie their eyes to se them dulye executed throughoute the common wealthe These fiue thinges weare these 1 The firste they ordeyned that the priestes shoulde not be dishoneste For in that Realme where priestes are dyshonest it is a token that the gods against the people are angrye 2 The seconde it was not suffered in Rome that the Virginnes vestalles should at their pleasoure stray abroad For it is but reason that she whiche of her owne fre wil hath heretofore promised openly to be good should now if she chaunge her mind be compelled in secret to be chast 3 The third they decreed that the iudges should be iuste and vprighte For there is nothing that decayeth a common wealthe more then a iudge who hath not for all men one ballaunce indifferent 4 The fourth was that the Captaines that should go to the warres should not be cowardes for there is no lyke daunger to the common wealthe nor no like sclaunder to the Prince as to committe the charge of men to hym in the fielde who wylbe firste to commaunde and laste to fighte
them do giue vnto their subiects good exāples that on the sabbotte day in especially other Festiuall dayes they repaire vnto the cathedral Church to here deuine seruice ther reconcileng them selues to god that they publickly in the presence of the congregaciō receiue the holy comunion supper of the Lord. For it would be a great sclaunder to Princes which ought to reprehend others of their faults that a man should neuer see them come to the Church and be partakers of that holye Sacrament We ordaine that at Easter chiefly Princes do go to the church Cathedrall and that the Metropolitan be there in person to celebrate the holy communion and the gospel being sayd the Prince hymselfe shal be bound to say with a loude voice the crede confirmed in the sacred counsaile of Nicene For the good Princes ought not only in their hartes to be faithful vnto Iesus Christ but are also bound openly with theyr mouthes to confesse it before the people We ordeine that Princes be not so hardie to haue in their courte aboue two bishoppes the one to giue him ghostlye counsell and the other to preache vnto him the word of God And those we will that the counsell assigne vnto him and that they be bound to find two personnes of the most auncient and vertuous which shall remaine in the courte no more but two yeares and that afterwardes others be placed there in their steades For there is nothinge more monstrous then to see the Churche longe withoute prelates ¶ What a goodly thynge it is to haue but one Prince to rule the publike weale for there is no greater enemye to the common weale then he whiche procureth many to commaund therin as by reasons folowing it shal be proued Cap. xxviii OFte tymes with my selfe alone I consider that sithe the deuine prouidence which doth all thinges by weight and measure and that of her and by none other all creatures are gouerned and that furthermore with God there is no accepcion of personnes for he maketh the one ryche and the other poore the one sage and the other symple the one hole and other sicke the one fortunate and the other vnluckye the one seruaunt and the other maister let no man merueile thoughe I muse therat for the varietie of time is the beginner of dissencions amonge the people In mans iudgmēt it semeth that it were better all were alike in apparel al equal in commaunding none greater then others in possessions al to content them selues with one kynde of meate and that the names of commaunding and obeing were vtterly abolysshed and brought to nought So that if the myseries of the one and prosperities of the other were put out from that day forward I protest there should be no enuy in the world Layeng asyde mans opinion whiche oughte not to be compared to the deuine misterie I demaund now what reason sufficed to thincke that of two brethren that is to wete Iacob and Esau both children of holy and deuout personnes the deuine prouydence woulde the one shoulde bee chosen and the other dispised that the one shoulde commaunde and the other obeye the one to be disherited beinge the eldeste and the other to inherite beinge the yongeste That whyche chaunced to Iacob with Esau the same chaunced to the children of Iacob and Ioseph who beinge patriarkes and chosen God prouided and ordeyned that to Ioseph beinge the youngeste his bretherne should serue and obeye hym This thinge was repined at of all the eleuen bretherne how be it their intencions auayled not for it is vnpossible for mans malice to disorder that which the deuine prouidence hath appointed we se daylye nothing els but that which man decreeth in a longe time god disposeth otherwise in one moment Truly it is not euill done but wel ordeined For in the ende sithe man is man in fewe thinges he can be eyther certaine or assured and sith God is God it is vnpossible that in any thinge he should erre It is a great benefite of the creator to be willing to reforme and correct the workes of the creatures For if God woulde suffer vs to do after our owne mindes we should be quyte contrarie to his pleasure God without a great mysterye did not ordeine that in one family there shoulde be but one father amonge one people there shoulde be but one citizen that should commaunde in one prouynce ther should be but one gouernor alone and also that one king alone should gouerne a proude Realme and likewise that by one onlye captaine a puissant armye should be led And furthermore and aboue all he willeth that there be but one Monarchyall king and Lord of the world Truly all these thinges are such that we with our eyes do see them and know them not we heare them with our eares and vnderstand them not we speake them with our tongues and know not what we say For truly mans vnderstanding is so dull that wythout doubt he is ignoraunt of more then he knoweth Appolonius Thianeus compassing the moste part of Asia Affricke and Europe that is to say from the bridge of Nilus wher Alexander was vnto Gades where the pillers of Hercules were he beinge one day in Ephese in the Temple of Diana the priestes asked him what thing he wondered at most in all the world for it is a generall rule that men which haue sene much alwayes do note one thing aboue another Althoughe the Philosopher Appolonius greatlyer estemed the workes then the speakinge of them that demaunded this question yet forthwith he made them this aunswere I let you know priestes of Diana that I haue bene throughout Fraunce England Spayne Germany throughe the Laces and Lidians Hebrues and Greekes Parthes and Medes Phrigians and Corinthians and so with the Perses and aboue all in the great Realme of India for that alone is more worthe then all these Realmes together I wyl you vnderstand that all these Realmes in manye and sondrye thinges do dyffer as in languages personnes beastes mettals waters fleshe customes lawes landes buyldinges in apparel and fortes and aboue all dyuers in their Gods and Temples For the language of the one dyffereth not so muche from the language of the other as the Gods of Europe differ from the Gods of Asia and the Temples and gods of Asia and Europe differ from them of Affrike Amonges all thinges which I haue sene of two onlye I dyd meruaile which is that in all the partes of the worlde wherin I haue trauailed I haue seen quyet men troubled by sedycious parsones the humble subiect to the proude the iust obedient to the tyraunt I haue sene the cruel commaunding the merciful the coward ruling the hardye the ignoraunt teaching the wise aboue al I saw that the most theues hunge the innocent on the gallowes The other thing wherat I marueiled was this that in al the places circuite wher I haue bene I know not neither could I find any man that
he geueth theÌ„ one which robbeth theÌ„ they require one to deliuer them from boÌ„dage he ordaineth one to kepe them as slaues And finally the Hebrues trusting to be deliuered of their iudges which ruled not according to theyr appetites god shal geue them a king that shal take they â–ª goodes from them by force O how many times ought we to pray vnto god to giue vs princes in our comon wealth prelates in our churches which do know how to gouerne vs and minyster vnto vs not accordynge to the weyght of our soule but accordyng to the measure of hys mercy Plato sath in the first booke of lawes that one of the most excellent lawes which the Siciones had in their prouince was to kepe the Cities that they shoulde not chaunge nor alter any thing therin Truly those Barbarous were sage in doing and Plato was very discrete to commend them therin For nothing destroyeth a common wealth soner then to suffer chaunges oftetimes therin Al these things semed to be true in the Hebrues the which in their gouernment were very rashe and vndiscrete For first they gouerned theym selues by Patriarches as Abraham was After they were gouerned by prophetes as Moyses by captaynes as Iosue by iudges as Geâ—eo by kynges as Dauid after they gouerned theymselues by Byshoppes as Abdias was and in the end the Hebrues not contented with all these God suffered that they should fall into the handes of Antiochus Ptolomeus and Herodes all tyrauntes This punishment fell accordyng to the iust iudgement of God vppon theym for their offeÌ„ces for it was euen mete that they that would not enioy the pleasauÌ„t lybertie of Iudea should tast the cruell seruitude of Babylone The condicion whych chaunced in the gouernement to the vnconstant Hebrues the same happened vnto the proude Romaines The which in the beginning of theyr Empire were gouerned by kinges afterwardes by tenne men then by the Consulles soo by the dictators by the Censours and afterwardes by the Tribu nes and Senatours and in the ende they came to be gouerned by Emperours and tirannous princes The Romaynes inuented all these alteracions in their gouernments for none other cause but to see whether they could be deliuered from the commaundement of an other For the Romaynes in this case were so proude harted that they had rather dye in lybertie then liue in captiuitie God had so ordeyned it and their wofull case dyd soo promyse it when they were aboue al other kyngs and realmes of the earth that then the slaue should be obedyent to his yronnes and the subiect should acknowledge the homage to hys maister And though the subiects do moue warres though kinges also do wynne Realmes and Emperours conquere Empyres yet wyl they or nyl they both great small should acknowledge them selues for seruauntes For duringe the tyme of oure fleshlye lyfe wee canne neuer withdrawe oure selues frome the yooke of seruitude And saye not you Princes for that you are puyssaunte princes that you are excepted from seruitude of menne For withoute doubte it is a thinge more vntollerable to haue their hartes burdened with thoughtes then their neckes loden with yrons If a slaue be good they take from him some yrons but to you that are prynces the greater you are they greater cares you haue For the prynce that for hys common wealthe taketh care hath not one momente of an houre quyete A slaue hopeth to be delyuered in hys lyfe but you can not looke to be delyuered tyl after youre death They laye yrons on the slaue by weyghte but thoughtes burdenne you wythoute measure For the wofull heart is more burdened with one houre of care thenne the bodye is pressed wyth twentye pounde of yrone A slaue or prysonner if he bee alone manye tymes fylethe of hys yrons but you Princes that are alone are more greuouslye tormented wythe thoughtes for soletarye places are Arbours and Gardeyns to woofull and heauye hartes A slaue hath nothing to care for but himselfe alone but you that be Princes haue to satisfie please al men For the prince shuld haue a time for himself also for those which are aboue him The deuine Plato saide wel that he that shold haue the lest part of a prince belonging to a prince oughte to be the prince himselfe For to the end the prince should be al his owne he ought to haue no part in himselfe Though a slaue worke trauaile in the day yet he slepeth without care in the night but you princes passe the daies in hearing importunate suetes the night in fetching innumerable sighes Finallye I say that in a slaue be it wel or be it euil al his paine is finished in one yere or is ended at his death but what shal a woful prince do when he dyeth If he were good ther is but a short memorie of his goodnes and if he hath bene euil his infamy shal neuer haue end I haue spoken these things to the ende that great small lordes and seruauntes should confesse and acknowledge the true signory to be onely vnto him who for to make vs lords aboue became a seruaunt here beneath ¶ When the tirannes beganne to reigne and vpon what occasion commaunding and obeying first began And how the auctorytie which the prince hath is by the ordenaunce of God Cap xxx CEasing to speake any further of the poetical histories auncieÌ„t feynings and speaking the truth according to the deuine histories the first that did loue in this world was our father Adam who did eate of the fruit forbidden that not so much for to trespasse the commaundement of one as for not to displease his wife Eue. For many now a dayes had rather suffer their coÌ„science a long time to be infected then one only day to se their wiues displeased The first homicyde of the world was Cayn The first that died in the world was Abel The first that had .ii. wiues in the world was Lamech The first citie of the world was by Enoch built in the fields of Edon The first musitian was Tubalcaim The first which sayled in that world was Noe. The firste tirant of the world was Nembroth The first priest was Melchysedech The first king of the world was Anraphel The first duke was Moyses The first which was called Emperour in the world was Iulius Cesar For vntil this time they which gouerned wer called CoÌ„sulles Censors Dictators And from Iulius Cesar hitherto haue bene called Emperours The first battaile that was giuen in the world as we rede was in the wild valleis which now they cal the dead salt sea For a great part of that that then was the maine land is now the dead sea The holy scriptures cannot deceue vs for it is ful of al truth by them it is declared that a thousand eyght hundred yeres after the world began there was no battaile assembled nor company that met to fight in the field for at that tyme
thee if they toke the prysoner though perchaunce in times past they vsed thy father Philip euill and haue now disobeied thee his sonne It were better counsell for thee to make them thy frendes by gentlenes then to confirme them ennemies by crueltie For the noble and pitifull hartes when they are reuenged of any make of them selues a bucherye Wee can not with trouthe saye that thy trauayles are well imployed to wynne suche honour sythe thy conuersation and lyfe is so vnconstaunt For trulye honour consisteth not in that flatterers saye but in that whiche Lordes doe For the great familiaritie of the wycked causeth the lyfe to be suspected Honour is not gotten by lyberall geuinge of treasoures at hys death but by spendynge it well in his lyfe For it is a sufficient profe that the man whiche esteameth renowme dothe lytle regarde money and it is an apparaunte token that man who lytle esteameth money greatlye regardeth his renowme A man wynneth not honour by murdering innocentes but by destroying tyrauntes for all the armonie of the good gouernement of princes is in the chastising of the euill and rewarding the good Honour is not wonne in taking and snatching the goodes of an other but in geuing and spendinge his owne For there is nothing that beautifieth the maiestie of a prince more thē to shewe his noblenes in extending mercy and fauour to his subiectes and geuing giftes and rewardes to the vertuous And to conclude I will let the know who he is that winneth both honour in this life and also a perpetuall memory after his death and that is not he whiche leadeth his lyfe in warres but he that taketh his death in peace O Alexander I see thou arte younge and that thou desirest honour wherfore I let thee vnderstande that there is no man farther from honour then he whiche procureth and desireth the same For the ambicious mē not obteining that which they desire remayne alwayes defamed and in wynning and getting that whiche they searche honour notwithstanding will not followe them Beleue me in one thynge Alexander that the true honour ought through worthy deades to be deserued and by no meanes to be procured for all the honour that by tyranny is wonne in the ende by infamy is lost I am sory for thee Alexander for I see thou wantest iustice since thou louest tyranny I see thou lackest peace because thou louest warre I see thou art not ryche because thou hast made all the worlde poore I see thou lackest rest because thou sekest contention and debate I see thou hast no honour because that thou winnest it by infamy I see thou wantest frendes because thou haste made them thyne ennemies Finally I see thou doest not reuenge thy selfe of thy ennemies because thou arte as they would be the scourge to thy selfe Then since it is so why arte thou alyue in this world sithe thou lackest vertues for the which life ought to be desired For truly that man whiche without his owne profite and to the domage of another leadeth his life by iustice ought forthwith to lose his breath For there is nothing that soner destroieth the weale publyke then to permit vnprofitable men therein to liue Therefore speaking the trouthe you lordes and princes are but poore I beleue thou conquerest the worlde because thou knowest not thy superiour therein and besydes that thou wylte take lyfe from so many to the ende that by their death thou maiest wynne renowme If cruell and warrelike princes as thou arte should inherite the liues of them whome they slaye to augmente and prolonge their liues as they doe inheritie goodes to maintayne their pryde although it were vnmeate then warre were tollerable But what profiteth the seruaunt to lose his life this day and his maisters death to be differred but vntil the morowe O Alexander to be desirous to commaunde muche hauinge respite to liue but litle me thinketh it were a great foly and lacke of wysedome Presumptuous and ambicious men whiche measure their workes not with the fewe daies they haue to liue but with the arrogant and haughty thoughtes they haue to commaunde They leade their lyfe in trauayle and take their death with sorowe And the remedy hereof is that if the wyse man cannot obtayne that which he would he should content him selfe with that which he may I let thee knowe Alexander that the perfection of men is not to see much to heare much to knowe much to procure much to come to much to trauayle much to possesse much and to be able to doe much but it is to be in in the fauour of the gods Finally I tell thee that that man is perfecte who in his owne opinion deserueth not that he hath and in the opinion of another deserueth muche more then that he possesseth We are of this opinion amonge vs that he is vnworthy to haue honour who by suche infamous meanes searcheth for it And therfore thou Alexander deseruest to be sclaue to many because thou thinkest to deserue the signorie ouer all By the immortall gods I sweare I can not imagine the great mischiefe which entred into thy breast so vnrighteously to kill kyng Darius whose vassale and frende thou wert onely because thou wouldest possesse the Empire of the whole worlde For truly seruitude in peace is more worth then signorie in warre And he that shall speake against that I haue spoken I saye he is sicke and hath loste his taste ¶ The sage Garamante continueth his oration shewing that perpetuitie of life can not be bought with any worldly treasure Among other notable matters he maketh mention of the seuen lawes which they obserued Cap. xxxiiii THou wilt not deny me Alexander that thou wert more healthfull when thou waste kyng of Macedonia then thou art nowe being lorde of all the earth for the excessiue trauayle bryngeth menne out of all order Thou wilt not denye me Alexander that the more thou gettest the more thou desirest for the hart which with couetousnes is set on fier cannot with wood and bowes of riches but with the earth of the graue be satisfied and quenched Thou wilt not denie me Alexander but the aboundaunce that thou thy selfe hast semeth vnto thee litle and the litle whiche an other man possesseth semeth vnto thee muche for the gods to the ambicious couetous hartes gaue this for penaunce that neither with enough nor with to muche they should contente them selues Thou wilt not denie me Alexander if in dede thy harte be couetous that first the pleasures of life shall ende before thy couetousnes for where vices haue had power long time in the harte there death onely and none other hath authoritie to pluck vp the rootes Thou wilt not denie me Alexander that though thou hast more then all yet thou enioyest least of any for the prince that possesseth muche is alwayes occupied in defending it but the prince that hath litle hath time and leasure in quiet to enioye it Thou wilt not denie me
I wold not yester daye aunswere to that that the Senatour Fuluius spake vnto me because it was somewhat late and for that we were long in sacrifices I thought that neyther time nor place was conuenieÌ„t to aunswere therunto For it is a signe of a lytle wisedome of great folye for a man to aunswere sodainly to euerye question The libertie that vndiscret men haue to demaunde the selfe same priuiledge hath the sage for to aunswere For though the demaund procede of ignoraunce yet the aunswere oughte to procede of wysedome Trulye wise men were wel at ease if to euery demaund they shoulde aunswere the simple and malicious who for the most part demaund more to vexe other men then for to profyte themselues more for to proue than to know wherfore wise men ought to dissemble at such demaundes For the sages oughte to haue their eares open to heare and their tongue tyed because they should not speake I let you know auncyent fathers sacred senate that the lytle whyche I knowe I learned in the yle of Rhodes in Naples in Capua and in Tharente And al tutors told me that the Intencion and end of men to study was only to know to gouerne them selues amongest the malicious For scyence profiteth nothing els but to know how to kepe his lyfe wel ordered his tongue wel measured Therfore I protest to god that which I will say before your sacred preseÌ„ce I wil not speake it of any malice or ill wil but only to aunswere vnto that which toucheth the auctoritie of my person For the thynges which touch the honour ought first by word to be aunswered afterwards by sword to be reuenged Therfore now beginning my matter addressing my words to the Fuluius and to that which thou spakest vnto me asking why I shew my selfe so to all men I aunswere the. It is because al men shold giue themselues to me Thou knowest wel Fuluius that I haue bene a Consul as thou art and thou hast not bene an Emperour as I am Therfore beleue me in thys case that the prince being dispised caÌ„not be beloued of hys people The gods wil not nor the lawes do permyte neyther the common wealth wyllyngly should suffer that al princes should be lordes of many and that they should not communicate but with a few For princes which haue bene gentile in their lyues the auncients haue made them gods after their deathes The fisher to fish for many fishes in the riuer goeth not with one bote alone nor the Mariner to fish in the depe sea goeth with one net only I meane that the profounde willes which are deepely enclosed in the hartes oughte to be wonne some by giftes other by promises other by pleasaunt words and others by gentle enterteynement For princes should trauaile more to winne the hartes of their subiectes then to conquere the Realmes of straungers The gredy and couetous hartes care not thoughe the prince shutteth vp his hart so that he open his cofers but noble and valiaunt men litle esteme that which they locke vp in their cofers so that their hartes be open to their frendes For loue can neuer but with loue againe be requited Sith Princes are lords of many of necessitie they ought to be serued with many being serued with many they are bound to satisfie many and this is as generally as perticulerly they cannot dispence with their seruaunts For the prince is no lesse bound to pay the seruice of his seruaunte then the maister is to pay the wages of the hired laborer Therefore if thys thing be true as it is how shal poore princes do which kepe many Realmes in keping them they haue great expenses and for to pay such charges they haue lytle money For in this case let euery man do what he will and let them take what counsaile they like best I would counsaile all others as I my selfe haue experimented that is that the prince shold be of so good a conuersacion among those which are his and so affable and familiar with all that for his good conuersacion only they should thinke them selues wel paid For with rewardes princes recompence the trauaile of their seruantes but with gentle wordes they robbe the hartes of their subiectes We se by experience that diuers marchauntes had rather by dearer in one shoppe because the marchaunt is pleasaunte then to â—ye better chepe in an other wheras the marchaunt is churlishe I meane that there are many which had rather serue a prince to gaine nothing but loue only thaÌ„ to serue an other prince for money For there is no seruice better imployed then to him which is honest good and gracious and to the contrary none worse bestowed then on hym which is vnthankfull and churlyshe In princes pallaces there shall neuer want euil and wicked men malicious deuelishe flatterers which wil seke meanes to put into their Lords heades howe they shall rayse their rentes leauye subsidies inuent tributes and borow money but there are none that wil tel them how they shal winne the hartes and good willes of their subiectes though they know it more profitable to be wel beloued then necessarie to be enriched He that heapeth treasure for his prince and seperateth him from the loue of his people ought not to be called a faithfull seruaunt but a mortall enemy Princes and Lordes ought greatly to endeuour themselues to be so conuersant among their subiects that they had rather serue for good wil then for the payment of money For if moneye wante their seruice will quaile and hereof procedeth a thousand inconueniences vnto princes which neuer happen vnto those that haue seruauntes whiche serue more of good wil then for moneye for he that loueth with al his harte is not proude in prosperitie desperate in aduersitie neither complayneth he of pouertie nor is discontented being fauourlesse nor yet abashed with persecution finallye loue and life are neuer seperated vntill they come vnto the graue We see by experience that the rablemeÌ„t of the poore labourers of Scicil is more worth then the money of the knightes of Rome For the labourer euery time he goeth to the fielde bringeth some profit from thence but euery time the knight sheweth him selfe in the market place he returneth without money By that comparison I meane that princes should be affable easie to talke with all pleasaunt mercifull benigne and stoute and aboue all that they be gracious and louing to the end that through these qualities and not by money they may learne to wynne the hartes of their subiectes Princes should greately labour to be loued specially if they will finde who shall succour them in aduersitie and kepe them from euill will and hatred whiche those princes can not haue that are hated but rather euery man reioyceth at their fall and miserie For eche man enioyeth his own trauaile and truly the furious and sorowfull hartes taketh some reste to see that others haue pitie and
younge Epesipus was of a good and cleare iudgement well made of his body and fayre of countenaunce and sithe in his youth he estemed his beautie more then his learninge the Emperour his vncle wrote him a letter into Grece whiche sayde this Marcus Aurelius the Romaine Emperoure firste tribune of the people and Byshop wysheth to thee Epesipus his nephew and scholler health and doctrine In the thirde Calendes of December came thy cosyn Annius Verus at whose comming all our parentage reioyced and so muche the more for that he brought vs newes of Gretia For truly when the harte hath the absence of that he loueth it is no one minute of an houre without suspition After that thy cosyn Annius Verus had spoken in generally to all bryngyng newes from their frendes and chyldren we talked together and he gaue me a letter of thyne whiche is contrary to that was wrytten me out of Grece because thou wrytest to me that I shoulde sende thee money to continue the in studye and they wrote vnto me from thence that thou arte more youthful and geuen to the pleasures of the worlde than becommeth thee Thou art my bloude thou arte my Nephewe thou werte my scholler and thou shalte bee my sonne if thou arte good But God wyll neuer that thou be my Nephew nor that I call thee my sonne duryng the tyme that thou shalt be younge fonde lyght frayle For no good man should haue parentage with the vicious I can not denye but that I loued thee from the bottome of my stomack and so lykewyse thy vnthriftynes greaueth me with all my harte For when I redde the letter of thy follyes I lette thee knowe that the teares ranne downe my cheekes but I wyll contente my selfe For the sage and wyse men though againste their wylles they heare of suche thynges paste yet it pleaseth them to redresse other thynges that maye come hereafter I knowe well thou canst not call it to mynde though perhappes thou haste it that when thy vnlucky mother and my sister Annia Milena died she was then young enough for she was no more but .xviii. yeares of age and thou haddest not then foure houres For thou were borne in the morning and she died at nonetide so that when the wycked childe possessed life the good mother tasted death I can tell that thou hast lost such a mother and I suche a sister that I beleue there was no better in Rome For she was sage honest and fayre the whiche thinges are seldome seene nowe a daies For so muche as thy mother was my sister and that I had broughte her vp and maried her I loued her tenderly And when she died here at Rome I redde then Rethorike at Rhodes because my pouertie was so extreme that I had no other thing but that whiche by reading Rethorike I did gette When newes came vnto me of the death of thy mother and my sister Annia Milena al comforte layde on syde sorowe oppressed my harte in suche wyse that all my mēbers trembled the bones sheuered myne eies without reste did lamente the heauy sighes ouercame me at euery minute my harte vanished awaye from the bottome of my harte I inwardly lamented and bewayled thy vertuous mother and my dere syster Finally sorowe executing his priuilege on me the ioyfull company greued me and onely with the louely care I quieted my selfe I knowe not nor can not expresse vnto the howe and in what sorte I tooke the death of my sister Annia Milena thy mother for in sleaping I dreamed of her and dreaming I sawe her when I was awake she represented her selfe before me remembring then that she liued I was sory to remember her death Life was so greuous vnto me that I woulde haue reioyced to haue bene put in the graue with her For truly he feeleth assuredly the death of an other whiche alway is sorowefull and lamenting his owne life Remembring therefore the great loue whiche my sister Milena bare vnto me in her life and thinking wherein I might requite the same after her death I imagined that I could not by any meanes doe any thing more acceptable for her then to bryng thee vp thou whiche arte her chylde and lefte an orphane so young For of all trauayles to a woman this is chiefest to leaue behinde her children to bring vp My sister being dead the firste thing I dyd was that I came to Rome and then sent thee to Capua to be broughte vp there in the whiche place harde at my nose they gaue the sucke two yeares For thou knowest right well that the money which by reading Rethorike I gate scarcely satisfied for thy dayly finding but that in the night I reade some extraordinary lecture and with that I payed for the mylke which thou suckedst on the dugge so that thy bringing vp depended vpon the labour of my lyfe After that thou wer weyned and brought from the teate I sent the to Bietro to a frende and kinsman of mine named Lucius Valerius with whom thou remainedst vntill fiue yeares were fully accomplished where I founde both him and thee all thinges necessary For he was in great pouertie and a great babler of his tongue in suche sorte that he troubled al men and angred me muche For truly a man should as willingly geue money to cause him to be silente whiche is talkatiue as to geue to a wyse man to heare him speake The fiue yeares accomplished I sente thee to Toringue a citie of Campagnia to a maister whiche taught children there called Emilius Torquates of whom to the end he should teache thee to reade and wryte three yeares I tooke a sonne of his whom he gaue me to reade to him Greke foure yeres so that thou couldest not haue any profite in thee without the encrease of my great trauayle and augmenting paine to my harte After thou were seuen yeares olde that thou couldest reade and wryte well I sente thee to studie in the famous citie of Tarenthe where I kept thee foure yeares paying to the maisters a great summe of money Because nowe a dayes through our euyll fortunes there is none that will teache without great stipende Without lamenting I doe not tell thee that in the time of the Cincinos whiche were after the death of Quintus Cincinatus vntill Cyna and Catullus the philosophers and maisters of Rome did neuer receiue one peny to teache sciences to any that would learne them For all the philosophers and maisters were by the sacred Senate payde and none ceased to study for lacke of money For in those dayes they whiche woulde applie them selues to vertue and sciences were by the common treasure mainteined As our fathers were wel ordered in their thinges so they did not deuide offices by order onely but also by order they paide their money in suche sorte that they paied first with the common treasure the priestes of the temples Secondly the maisters of scholes and studies Thirdly the poore wydowes and orphanes Fourthly the
straunge knyghtes whiche of their owne free wylles voluntarely were made citezins of Rome Fiftly all the olde souldiours whiche had serued xxxvi yeares continually in the warres For those which were retired home to their owne houses were honourably founde of the common wealth The .xii. yeares paste I my selfe was in Tarenthe and caried thee to Rome where I redde vnto thee Rethorike Logike and Philosophie and also the Mathematicall sciences keping thee in my house in my company at my table and in my bedde and furthermore I hadde thee in my harte and in my minde The whiche thinge thou shouldest esteme more then if I gaue thee my house and all my goodes For the true benefite is that onely whiche is done without any respect of profite or interest I kepte thee with me thus in this sorte in Laurente in Rhodes in Naples and in Capua vntil such tyme as the gods created me Emperour of Rome And then I determined to sende thee to Grece because thou shouldest learne the Greeke tongue and also to the ende thou shouldest accustome thy selfe to worke that whiche true philosophie requireth For the true and vertuous philosophers ought to conforme their workes to that they say and publishe their wordes with their deades There is nothing more infamous then to presume to be sage and to be desirous to be counted vertuous principally for him that speaketh much worketh litle For the man of a pleasant tongue euil life is he which with impostumes vndoeth the cōmon wealth When I sent thee to Grece withdrew thee from Rome it was not to exyle thee out of my company so that thou hauing tasted of my pouertie shouldest not reioyce at my prosperitie but it was that considering thy youthfull disposition and lightnes I was afrayd to vndo thee in the palace chiefly least thou wouldest haue presumed to haue bene to bolde familiar because thou werte my nephew For truly princes which take pleasure that their children be familiar with thē thei giue occasion that men shal not count thē wise cause also the yoūg mē to be estemed for light I haue tolde thee that I did for thee in Italy I will nowe let thee knowe what thou hast done and doest in Grece so that I wyl shewe thee to be notorious that is to knowe that thou taking and esteming thy selfe to be wel disposed in thy youthe thou haste forsaken thy studie and despised my counsayles thou arte accompanied with vayne and light men and hast viciously employed the money which I had sent thee to bie bookes All the whiche thinges to thee being hurtfull are to me no lesse dishonour and shame For it is a generall rule when the childe is foolishe and ill taught the blame and fault is layde on the maisters necke who hath taught him and brought him vp It greueth me not for that I haue broughte thee vp neither for that I haue taught thee to reade and cause thee to study neither likewyse to haue kept thee in my house to haue set thee at my table nor also to haue suffred thee to lye with me in bedde neither it greueth me to haue consumed so muche money on thee but with all my harte it greueth me that thou haste not geuen me occasion to doe thee any good For there is nothing that greueth a noble prince more then not to finde parsons able of capacitie to doe them any good They tell me that thou art well made of thy body and fayre of countenaunce and that thou presumest also in those thinges wherefore to enioye the pleasurs of thy persone thou hast forsaken philosophie wherwith I am not contented For in the ende the corporall beautie earely or late perisheth in the graue but vertue and science maketh men to be of immortall memory The gods neuer commaunded it neither the studies and vniuersities of Italy suffred it to haue the body fine and trimme the visage fayre cleare and the harte full of philosophie for the true philosopher of all other thinges estemeth leste the setting forth of the body For that the demonstrations tokens of a true perfect philosopher is to haue his eies troubled his eiebries burnte the head bauld the bal of his eies sonke into his head the face yellow the body leane and feble the fleshe drie the feete vnhosed the garment poore the eating litle and the watching great Finally he ought to liue as a Lacedemonian and speake as a Grecian The tokens of a valiaunt and renowmed captaine are his woundes and hurtes and the signe of a studious philosopher is the despising of the world For the wyse man ought to thinke him selfe as muche dishonoured if they call him stoute and sturdy as a captaine when they call him a cowarde and negligent I like well that the phylosopher studie the auncient antiquities of his forefathers that wrote the profounde thinges for the time to come that he teache profitable and holsom doctrines to those whiche are nowe aliue that he diligently enquire of the mocion of the starres that he consider what causeth the alteration of the elementes But I sweare vnto thee Epesipus that neuer sage of Rome came to those thinges nor philosopher of Grece likewyse but in searching the quietnes of the soule and despising the pleasurs of the body Touching the body I am like to beastes but concerning the spirite I am partely like to the gods sithe that following the thinges of the fleshe I am made lesse than my selfe and in following the motions of the spirite I am made more then I am For truly sensualitie maketh vs inferiour to beastes and reason maketh vs superiour vnto men The worldly malice and presumption naturally desireth rather to mounte then to descende and to commaunde rather than to be commaunded And since it is so why doe we by vices abase our selues to doe lesse then beastes being possible for vs by vertues to doe more then men Amongest all the members which men can haue there is nothing more tender to breake nor any thing more easy to corrupte then is the handesomenes of the body wherof we are so proude For in mine opinion to esteme him self to be handsome propre of persone is no other thing but to esteme our selues that dreaming we shal be riche and mighty and afterwardes awaking we finde our selues to be poore and miserable And me thinketh this thing to be true because I will declare what it is to se a young man in his first age the hed litle the heere yeallowe the browe long the eies grene the chekes white the nose sharpe the lips coloured the bearde forked the face liuely the necke smal the body of good proportion the armes litle the fingers longe to conclude so wel proportioned in his members that mens eies shoulde alwayes desire to beholde him and the hartes alwaies seke to loue him If this young man so faire and wel proportioned remained long time in this beautie and disposition it were
realme but that first he had bene brought vp in the studies of Grece I will not denie that all the renowmed tyrauntes haue not bene nourished in Scicile but also thou shalt not deny me that they were not borne in Grece Therfore see and beholde to whom the fault is from the mother whiche bare them or froÌ„ the nurse which gaue theÌ„ suck I do not say that it shal be but I say that it may wel be that if I were there in Grece I should be a better philosopher than thou if thou were here in Agrigentine thou wouldest be a worser tyraunt thaÌ„ I. I would thou shouldest thinke that thou mightest be better in Grece where thou art and that I might be worse in Agrigentine where I am For thou dost not so muche good as thou mightest doe and I do not so much euil as I may do The conning man Perillus came into these partes and hath made a Bul wherin he hath put a kind of torment the most feare fullest in the world and truly I caused that that which his malyce had inuented should be of none other than of himselfe experimented For there is no iuster law that when any workeman haue inuented engins to make other men dye then to put them to the torments by them inuented to know the experience in them selues I beseche the hartely to come and se me and be thou assured thou shalt make me good For it is a good signe for the sicke when he acknowledgeth his sicknes to the Physitian I saye no more to the but that once againe I returne to solicite the that thou faylest not to come to se me For in the end if I do not profite of the I am sure thou shalt profite by me and if thou winnest I cannot lose ¶ How Philippe kyng of Macedonia Alexander the great the king Ptolomeus the king Antigonus the king Archelaus and Pâ—rrus kynge of the Epirotes were all great louers and frendes of the sages Cap. xlvii IF Quintus Curtius deceiue me not the great Alexander sonne to kyng Philyppe of Macedome dyd not deserue to be called great for that he was accompanied with thousands of men of warre but he wanne the renowne of great for that he had more philosophers on his counsaile then all other princes had This great prince neuer toke vpon him warres but that firste the order of executyng the same shoulde before his presence be examyned of the sages and wise philosophers And truly he had reason For in affaires wher good counsaile haue proceded they may alwayes loke for a good end These Historiographers whych wrote of great Alexander as wel the Grecians as the Latines knowe not whether the fiersnes wherwith he stroke his enemyes was greater or the humanitie wherewith he embraced his counsayle Though the sage philosophers whych accompanied the great Alexander were many in nombre yet notwithstandyng amongest all those Aristotle Anaxarcus and Onosichrates were his most familiars And herein Alexander shewed hymselfe very wise For wise princes ought to take the counsaile of many but they ought to determine and conclude vpon the opinion of few The greate Alexander did not contente himselfe to haue sages with hym neyther to sende onlye to desire those whiche were not his but oftentymes himselfe in personne woulde goo see theym vysite theym and counsayle with theym Saying that the Princes whiche are the seruauntes of sages come to be made maisters and Lordes ouer all In the time of Alexander Magnus Diogenes the philosopher lyued who neither for entreatye nor yet for any promises made would come to see Alexander the great Wherfore the great Alexander went to se him and when he had desired him to go with him and acompany him Diogenes aunswered O Alexander since thou wilte winne honoure in keapinge of menne in thy companye it is not reason that I shoulde loose it to forsake my study For in folowing the I shall not folow my selfe and being thyne I shal cease to be myne Thou arte come to haue the name of the greate ALEXANDER for conqueringe the worlde and I haue attayned to come to renowme of a good Phylosopher in flyeng the world And if thou dost ymagine that thou hast gotten and wonne I thinke that I haue not erred nor lost And since thou wilt be no lesse in aucthoritye then a king do not thinke that I wil lose the estimacion of a philosopher For in the world there is no greater losse vnto a man then when he looseth his proper lybertie When hee had spoken these wordes Alexander said vnto them that were about him with a loude voyce By the immortall gods I sweare and as god Mars rule my handes in battaile if I were not Alexander the greate I would be Diogenes the Philosopher And he sayd further in myne opinion there is no other felycitie vpon the earth then to be Alexander king who commaundeth al or to be Diogenes to commaund Alexander who commaundeth all As king Alexander was more familyar with some philosophers then with others so he estemed some bookes more then others And they say he read oftentimes in the Iliades of Homere which is a booke where the storye of the destruction of Troy is and that when he slept he layde vnder his head vpon a bolster his sword and also his booke When the great king Alexander was borne his father King of Macedonie did two notable things The one was that he sent many and very riche giftes into the I le of Delphos wher the Oracle of Apollo was to the end to present theym with him and to praye him that it would please him to preserue his sonne The other thing that he did was that immediatly he wrote a letter to the greate Philosopher Aristotel wher in he sayd these words ¶ The letter of king Philippe to Aristotle the philosopher PHilippe king of Macedonie wisheth healthe and peace to the Philosopher Aristotel which readeth in the vniuersitie of Grece I let the vnderstand that Olimpias my wife is brought to bedde of a goodly man child wherof both she and I and all Macedonie do reioyce For kinges realmes ought to haue great ioy when there is borne any sonne successour of the naturall prince of the prouince I render thankes vnto the immortall gods haue sent many great giftes to the Temples and it was not so much for that I haue a sonne as for that they haue giuen him vnto me in the time of so great and excellent philosopher I hope that thou wilt bringe him vp and teache him in such sort that by heritage he shal be Lord of my patrimonye of Macedonie and by desert he shal be lorde of all Asia so that they should call him my sonne and the his father Vale foelix iterumque vale Ptolomeus father in lawe who was the viii kinge of the Egiptians did greatly loue the sages as wel of Caldea as of Grece and this thinge was estemed for a great vertue in king Ptolome
but for the residue it is a greuous burden and painfull office The like matter came to Ptolomeâ—s king of Egipt of whom the queene his wife did greatly complaine Admitte that all the Grekes haue bene estemed to be very wyse amongest all those the Athenians were estemed of most excellent vertue for the sages that gouerned the common wealth remained in Athens with the philosophers which taught the sciences The sages of Athens ordeined that all the neighbours and inhabitauntes might kepe twoo lawful wiues furthermore vpon paine of greuous punishmentes did coÌ„maunde that none shuld presume nor be so hardie to maintaine any concubine for they sayde when men haunte the companie of light women commonly they misuse their lawfull wiues As Plutarche saith in his politiques the cause why the Grekes made this lawe was considering that man coulde not nor ought not to liue without the company of a womaÌ„ and therfore they wold that man shuld mary with two wiues For if the one were diseased and lay in yet the other might serue in bedde wayte at the table and doe other busynes in the house Those of Athens had an other great respect and consideration to make this lawe which was this that if it chaunced the one to be barrayne the other should brynge foorth chyldren in the common wealthe and in suche case she that brought forth children should be estemed for maistres and the other that was barraine should be taken for a seruaunt WheÌ„ this law was made Socrates was married with Xantippa and to accomplish the lawe he toke an other called Mitra whiche was the doughter of the philosopher Aristides and sithe those two women had great quarrels debates together and that thereby they slaundered their neighbours Socrates sayde vnto them My wyues you see righte well that my eyes are holowe my legges are wythered my handes are wryncled my head is balde the body is litle and the heares are whyte why doe ye then that are so faire stand in coÌ„tention and strife for me that am so defourmed though Socrates sayde these wordes as it were in ieste yet suche woordes were occasion that the quarrelles and strifes betwene them ceased The Lacedemonians that in tyme of peace and warre were alwayes contrarie to the Athenians obserued it for an inuiolate lawe not that one man should mary with twoo wyues but that one woman should mary with twoo husbandes and the reason was that when one husbande should go to the warres the other should tary at home For they sayde that a man in no wyse should agree to leaue his wife alone in the common wealth Plinie wryting an Epistle to his frende Locratius and saint Hyerome wryting to a friere called Rusticus saieth that the Athenians dyd vse to marie the bretherne with the sisters but they did not permitte the Auntes to marie with their nephewes neither the vncles with their neices For they saide that brothers and sisters to marye togethers was to marye with their semblable but for vncles to marye nieces and auntes with nephewes was as of fathers to doughters of mothers to sonnes Melciades whiche was a man of great renowne amongest the Gretians had a sonne called Cymonius who was maried to his syster called Pinicea and beinge demaunded of one why he toke his sister in mariage he aunswered my syster is fayre sage ryche and made to my appetite and her father and myne dyd recommaund her vnto me and since by the commaundement of the Gods a man ought to accomplishe the behestes and requestes of fathers I haue determined since nature hath geuen her me for my syster willingly to take her for my lawfull wyfe Diodorus Siculus sayth that before the Egiptians receiued any lawes euery man had as many wyues as he would and this was at the libertie of both parties for as muche as if she would go she went liberally and forsooke the man and likewise he left her when she displeased him For they saide that it was impossible for men and women to liue long togethers without muche trouble contentions and brawles Diodorus Siculus said one thing speaking of this matter that I neuer red in any booke nor heard of the auncientes paste whiche was that amongest the Egiptians there was no difference in children for they accoÌ„pted them all legittimate though they were children of slaues For they saide that the principall doer of the generation was the father and not the mother and that therefore the children whiche were borne among them toke only the fleshe of the mother but they did inherite the honour and dignitie of the parte of the father Iulius Caesar in his commentaries saieth that in great Britaine called nowe Englande the Britons had an vse that one woman was maried vnto fiue men the which beastlines is not redde to haue bene in any nation of times paste for if it be sclaunder for one man to haue diuers wyues why shoulde it not also be a sclanderous and shamefull thing for one woman to haue many husbandes The noble and vertuous women ought to be maried for twoo causes The first to the ende God should geue them children and benediction to whome they may leaue their goodes and their memory The second to th end they should liue euery one in their owne house accompanied and honoured with their husbandes For otherwise I saie for a truthe that the woman that is not contented and satisfied with her owne propre husbande will not be contented nor satisfied with all men in the worlde Plutarche in his apotheames sayeth that the Cymbres did vse to mary with their propre naturall doughters the whiche custome was taken from them by the Consul Marius after that he did ouercome them in Germany and that of them he had triumphed at Rome For the chylde whiche was borne of suche mariage was sonne of the doughter of one sole father and was sonne and brother of one onely mother and they were also cosins nephewes and brother of one onely father brother Truly suche custome procedeth rather of wylde beastes then of reasonable creatures for many or the more parte of brute beastes after the females haue brought forth males within one yeare after they doe accompany with their dammes which brought them forth Strabo in the situation of the worlde and Seneca in an Epistle saye that the Lydes and the Armenians had a custome to sende their doughters to the Ryuers and hauens of the sea to gette their mariages selling their owne bodies to straungers so that those whiche would marie were firste forced to sell their virginitie The Romains whiche in all their affayres and busynesses were more sage and modeste then other nations vsed muche circumspection in all their mariages For they kepte it as an auncient lawe and vse accustomed that euery Romaine should marie with one woman and no mo For euen as to kepe two wyues among the Christians is a great conscience so was it demed amongest the Romaines muche infamie Amongest the
how to punishe the folyshe captaines and suffereth to be commaunded and gouerned by sage phylosophers Ye know right wel that al our warre hath not bene but only for the possessions of cityes and lymites of the riuer Milina Wherfore by this letter we declare vnto you and by the immortal Gods we sweare that we do renownce vnto you al our right on such condicion that you do leaue vs Heuxinus your embassadour philosopher The great Athens desyreth rather a phylosopher for her scholes then a hole prouince of your realmes And do not you other Lacedemonians thinke that that which we of Athens do is light or foolishe that is to wete that we desire rather one man to rule then to haue a whole prouynce whereby we may commaunde many For this philosopher shal teach vs to lyue wel and that land gaue vs occasion to dye euil and syth we now of your old enemies do become your true frends we wyl not onlye geue you perpetual peace but also counsayle for to keape it For the medycine which preserueth health is of greater excellencye then is the purgacion which healeth the disease Let the counsaile therfore be suche that as ye wyll the yonge men do exercise theym selues in weapons that so ye do watche and se that your children in time do learne good letters For euen as the warre by the cruell sword is followed so likewise by pleasaunt wordes peace is obteyned Thinke not ye Lacedemonians that without a cause we do perswade you that you put youre children to learne when as yet they are but yong and tender and that ye do not suffer them to ronne to vyces For on the one part wise men shall want to counsaile and on the other fooles shal abound to make debate We Athenians in lyke maner will not that ye Lacedemonians do thinke that we be frendes to bablers For our father Socrates ordeyned that the first lesson which should be geuen to the scholer of the vnyuersity should be that by no meanes he shold speake any word for the space of ii yeares for it is vnpossible that any man should be wise in speaking vnlesse he haue pacience to be sylente We thinke if you thinke it good that the phylosopher Heuxinus shal remaine in our Senate and thinke you if we profite by his presence that ye may be assured yee others shal not receyue any domage by the counsayles he shal geue vs. For in Athens it is an auncient law that the senate cannot take vpon them warres but that by the Philosophers first it must be examined whither it be iust or not We write none other thinge but that we beseche the immortal Gods that they be with you and that it please theym to contynewe vs in this perpetual peace For that only is perpetual which by the gods is confirmed ¶ That nurces which giue sucke to the children of Princes ought to be discret and sage women Chap. xxvii THE pilgrimes which trauaile through vnknowen contries straung mountaynes with great desire to go forward and not to erre do not only aske the way which they haue to go but also do importune those whom they mete to point them the way with theyr finger For it is a greuous thing to trauaile doubtfully in feare and suspicion By this comparison I meane that since I haue much perswaded that the fathers do learne teach their childrē to speake wel it is but reason that they do seke them some good maisters For the counsaile hath no authoritie if he which geueth it seketh not spedely to execute the same It is much for a man to be of a good nature or els to be of an euil inclinacion to be rude in vnderstanding or els to be lyuely in spirite and this not only for that a man ought to do but also for that he ought to say For it is no smal thing but a great good benefite whē the man is of a good nature of a good vnderstanding and of a cleare iudgemēt This notwithstandyng I say that al the good and cleare iudgements are not alwayes eloquent nor al the eloquentest of liuely spirites and vnderstanding We se many men which of a smal mater can make much for the contrary we se many men which haue great knowledge yet no meanes to vtter it So that nature hath geuen them highe vnderstanding through negligence of bringinge vp it is hidde Oftentimes I do meruaile that the soule of the babe when it is borne for th one parte is of no lesse excellencye then the soule of the old man when he dyeth And on the other side I muse at the babe which hath the members so tender wherwith the soule dooth worke his operacyons that they lytle seme to participate with reasonable creatures For wher the soule doth not shew her selfe mistres it wanteth lytle but that the man remaineth a beast It is a wonder to se the children that as yet beinge .ii. yeares of age they lyft their feete for to go they hold themselues by the walles for faulyng they wil open their eyes to know and they fourme a defused voice to speake so that in that age a creature is none otherwise then a tre at the first spring For the tree .ii. moneths being past beareth leaues immediatly and the child after ii yeres beginneth to frame his words This thing is spoken for that the Fathers which are wise should beginne to teache their children at that age For at that time the vynes beare grapes and other trees their fruite For the perilles of this lyfe are such that if it were possible the father before he see his sonne borne ought to admonishe them how he shold liue In mine opinion as they conuey the water about to turne the mille so from the tender youth of the infant they ought to shew and teach him to be eloquent affable For truly the child learneth distinctly to pronounce his words when he doth sucke the milke of his nource We cannot deny but that the children being but ii or iii. yeres old it is to sone to giue them maisters or correcters For at that age a nourse to make them cleane is more necessarie then a maister for to correct their speache On the one part the children are very tender for to learne to speake wel and on the other part it is necessarie that when they are very yong and lytle they shold be taught and learned I am of that opinion that princesses and great Ladyes should take such nources to giue their children sucke that they should be sound to giue them their milke and sage for to teache them to speake For in so yong and tender age they do not suffer but that she which giueth them sucke doth teache them to speake the firste wordes As Sextus Cheronensis in the Booke of the diuersityes of the Languages saythe The Toscans were the firste whiche called the natural tongue of the contrey the mother tongue which is to
honnye and she wrote two others the one of the vanities of youth and the other of the miseries of age This woman dyd read openly natural morall Phylosophye in the Scholes of Athens for the space of fiue twenty yeres she made forty bookes she had a hundred tenne philosophers to her Scholers she dyed being at the age of seuentie and seuen yeres the Athenians after her death engraued on her graue these words THe slised stones within their bowels keape Wise Aretha the great and only wight That forceth enuie gentle teares to weape For Grekes decay on whom the losse doth light The eye of fame the hart of vertues life The head of Grece lie here engraued lo more heauenly forme then had that heauenly wife Which vndermind the phrigies ioyes with woe Within the chest of her vnspotted minde Lay Thirmas troth and eke her honest faith Within her hande as by the gods assinde Stoode Aristippus penne that vertue wayeth Within the dongeon of her body eke Imprisonde was wise Socrates his soule That liude so well and did so wisely speke That follies brest he could to wisdome toule Within her head so ouer heapt with witt Lay Homers tongue to stayne the poetes arte Erst was the golden age not halfe so fitt For vertues Impes as when her life did parte As Marcus Varro sayeth the sectes of the philosophers were more then .lxx. but in the ende they were reduced into seuen and in the ende they were brought into thre sects chiefly That is to wete Stoicques Peripaeticques and Pithagoricques Of these pithagoricques Pithagoras was the prince Hyzearcus Annius Rusticus and Laertius with Eusebius and Boccace all affirme one thinge whereunto I did not greatly geue credite which is that this philosopher Pithagoras had a sister not onely learned but if it be lawfull to speake it excellently learned And they saye that not she of Pithagoras but Pithagoras of her learned philosophie And of truthe it is a matter whereof I was so greatly abashed that I can not tell who could be maister of such a woman since she had Pithagoras the great philosopher to her scholler The name of the woman was Theoclea to whom Pithagoras her brother wrote sent a letter when he red philosophie at Rhodes and she at Samothracia doinge the like The Pistle was thus as foloweth ¶ Of a letter whiche Pithagoras sent to his sister Theoclea he being in Rhodes she in Samothracia reading both philosophie Cap. xxix PIthagoras thy brother and disciple to thee Theoclea his sister health and increase of wisedome wysheth I haue red the booke whiche thou diddest sende me of fortune and misfortune from the beginning to the end and nowe I knowe that thou art no lesse graue in making then gracious in teaching The which doth not chaunce very oft to vs which are men and much lesse as we haue sene to you women For the philosopher Aristippus was rude in speaking profound in writing Amenides was briefe in wryting and eloquent in speaking Thou hast studied and written in such sorte that in the learning that thou shewest thou seamest to haue read all the philosophers and in the antiquities that thou doest declare it semeth that thou hast sene all the time past Wherein thou beinge a woman shewest thy selfe more then a woman because the nature of women is to caste their eies only in that that is present and commonly to forget that that is past They tell me that thou doest occupye thy selfe nowe in writing of our countrey And truly in this case I can not say but that you haue matter enough to wryte on For the warres and trauayles of our tymes haue bene suche and so great that I had rather reade them in bookes then see them with my eyes And if it be so as I suppose it is I beseche thee hartely and by the immortall Gods I coniure thee that in writing the affaires of thy coūtrey thou doest vse thy penne discreatly I meane that thou doe not in this case bleamyshe thy wryting by putting therein any flatterie or lesinge For oftetimes Historiographers in blasinge more then trouth the giftes of their countrey cause worthely to be suspected their wryting Thou knowest very well how that in the battayle paste the Rhodians were ouercome and that ours remained victorious Me thinketh thou shouldest not in this case greatly magnifie extolle or exalt ours because in the ende they fought to reuenge their iniury neither thou oughtest to blame the Rhodians for they did not fight but in the ayde of Rome I speake this my Syster because for to defende their own women shewe them selues Lyons and for to defende the thinges of an other man men shew them selues chickens For in the ende he onely maye be counted strong the whiche defendeth not his owne house but which dieth defending his and another mans I wyll not denie the naturall loue of my countrey nor I wyll not denie but that I loue them that wryte and speake well thereof but me thinketh it is not reason that they should disprayse the goodnesse and truthe of other countries nor that they should so highly comend the euill and vilenes of their owne For there is not in the world this daye so barren a Realme but maye be commended for some thing therein nor there is so perfite a nation but in some thinges maye be reproued Thou canst not deny me but that amongest thy brethren I am the eldest and thou canste not deny but that amongest all thy disciples I am the yongest and since that for being thy disciple I ought to obey thee thou like wyse for that I am thy eldest brother oughtest to beleue me By the fayeth of a people I doe councell thee my syster that thou doe trauayle muche to be profound in thy words vpright in thy life and honest of thy persone and besides al this true in thy writing For I let thee vnderstande that if the body of the man without the soule is litle regarded I sweare vnto thee that the mouthe of a man without truthe is muche lesse esteamed ¶ The authour foloweth his purpose perswading princesses and other ladies to endeuour them selues to be wyse as the women were in olde tyme. Cap. xxx THis therefore was the letter the whiche Pithagoras sente to his syster Theoclea whereby is shewed the great humilitie of him and the hyghe eloquence of her Hiarcus the Greke and Plutarche also in the booke of the gouernement of princes saye that Pithagoras had not onely a sister whiche was called Theoclea of whom he learned so muche philosophie but also he had a doughter the wisedome and knowledge of whome surmounted her aunte and was equall to her father I thinke it no lesse vncredible which is spoken of the doughter then that whiche is spoken of the aunte whiche is that those of Athenes did reioyce more to heare her speake in her house then for to heare Pithagoras reade in the schole And it ought to
And the cause whye I was willing ther should be none in the common wealth was for that ther was not riches in Rome sufficient to acquite the desarts of the Romaine chiualry And if you esteme an honorable office to be a Tribune Millitaire since you cānot al haue it me thinketh you shold al want it For amonge the noble men Plebeians it is not mete that one alone should enioy that which many haue deserued This history Sabellicus declareth allegeth Pulio for his aucthor reciteth that for this good worke that Camillus did in Rome that is to wete to set the great the smal at one he was aswel beloued of that romaines as he was feared of the enemies And not without a iust cause for in my opinyon it is a greater vertue to pacify his owne then to robbe straungers As touching the office of this Tribune wherupon this great cōtencion rose in Rome I cānot tel which was greater the folish rashnes of the knights to procure it or the wisedom of Camillus to abbolish it For to say the truthe the arte of cheualrie was inuented more to defend the common wealth then to byde at home haue the charge of iustice For to the good knight it semeth better to be loden with weapōs to resist enemyes then to be enuyroned with bokes to determyne causes Returning therfore to that whych the people sayd against the souldiors it was ordayned by the consent of al that in Rome an office should be erected and that he which should haue it should haue the charge to go through Rome to se what they were in Rome that did not instruct their children in good doctrine and if perchaunce he found any neighbours child that was euyl taught he chastised and banished the father And truly that punishment was very iust for the father deserueth more punyshment for that he doth therunto consent then the child deserueth more the offences which he doth comit When Rome was Rome that of al the world the common wealth therof was comended they chose for an officer therin the most auncient vertuous Romaine who was called the general vysiter of the childrē of Rome it semeth to be true for somuch as he whych had this office one yere hoped to be consul dictatour or censor the next As it appeareth by Marcus Porcio who desired to be corrector of the childrē afterwards succeded to be censor of the Romaine people For the Romaynes dyd not offer the office of iustice to any man vnlesse he had had experience of al offices Patricius Senensis in the booke of the common wealth saith that before the warres were betwene Carthage Rome the comon wealth of Carthage was very wel gouerned as it be semed such a noble citie but it is an auncient preuiledge of the warre that it kylleth the persones consumeth the goods aboue al engendreth a new passion miserie in the end destroyeth al good aunciente customes The Carthagians therefore had a custome that the chyldren and especially those which were of honest men should be put in the temples from iii. yeres tyl .xii. so from .xii. til xx they learned crafts sciences occupacions and from .xx. vntil .xxv. they instructed them in the feates of warre at the end of xxx yeres they gaue themselues to mariage ▪ For amōgest them it was a law inuiolable that no man shold mary vntil he were xxx yeres of age the women xxv And after that they were maried the moneth folowing they ought to present themselues before the Senate ther to chose what kind of estate they would take vpon them to liue in and what their minds most desired that is to wete if they would serue in the Temples folow the warre or trauayle the seas or get their lyuing by land or follow their occupacion which they had learned And loke what estate or office that day they chose the same they kept occupyed during their lyfe truly the law was very good bycause such chaunge of estates offices in the world are occasion that presently so many come to destruction Al the excellent and auncient Princes had many great philosophers for their masters this seameth to be true by this that kyng Darius had Lichanius the phylosopher for his mayster The greate Alexander had Aristotel the phylosopher for hys master Kinge Artaxerces had Pindarus the phylosopher for his mayster The aduenturous and hardye captayne of the Athenians Palemo had Xenocrates the Phylosopher for his maister Xemiades only kyng of the Corinthians had Chilo the phylosopher for hys mayster and tutour to hys chyldren Epamynundes prince of the Thebaines had for his maister and councelloure Maruchus the Phylosopher Vlisses the Greke as Homere sayth had for his mayster and companyon in hys trauayles Catinus the phylosopher Pirrus whyche was kynge of the Epirotes and greate defendoure of the Tharentines had for hys maister and chronicler Arthemius the phylosopher Of whom Cicero speaketh ad atticum that his sword was sharper to fighte then his penne ready to write The great kyng Ptholomeus Philadelphus was not onely scholer of the most singuler Phylosophers of Grece but also after he was king he sent for 72. phylosophers wych were Hebrues Cirus kyng of the Persians that destroyed the great Babylon had for his mayster Pristicus the Phylosopher Traian the Emperour had Plutarche for hys mayster who dyd not only teach hym in hys youth but also wrote him a booke how he ought to gouerne hym selfe his common wealth By these few examples which I haue expressed and by many other whych I omit Princes at this present may se how carefull princes were in tymes past to geue their chyldren wyse and learned men O prynces and great lordes synce you that are at thys present do presume and take vppon you that whyche your forefathers dyd I would that now you would consyder who brought them to so high estate and who leaueth of them eternal memory For wythout doubt noble men neuer wanne renowme for the pleasures they had in vyces but for the trauailes they had in vertues Againe I say that princes in tymes past were not famous for theyr stoutnes and apt dysposicion of theyr bodyes neyther for discent of hygh and noble lynage nor yet for the possession of many realmes or heaping vp of great treasours but they wanne obtayned immortal renowme for that their fathers in theyr youth put them vnder the tuiciō of wise and learned tutours whych taught them good doctrine when they were of age gaue them good counsaylers to gouerne the common wealth Laertius in the lyfe of the phylosophers Boccase in the boke of the lynage of gods say That among the phylosophers of Athens there was a custome that no straung phylosopher should reade in their scholes before he weare first examyned in natural and moral phylosophy for amonge the Grekes it was an auncyent prouerbe that in the schole
of Athens no vycious man could enter nor idle word be spoken neither they dyd consent that any ignoraunt philosopher should come in to read there As by chaunce many phylosophers were come from the mout Olimpus amongest the residue ther was one came to se the phylosophers of Athens who was natife of Thebes a man as afterwards he declared him selfe in mortal natural Phylosophy very wel learned and since he desired to remayne in Athens he was examined and of many and dyuers thyngs demaunded And amongest the others these folowing were some of them Firste they asked him what causeth women to be so frowarde since it is true that nature made them shamefast and created them simple the Philosopher aunswered A Woman is not frowarde but bycause she hath to much her wil and wanteth shame Secondarily they asked him why yong men are vndone he aunswered bycause time aboundeth them for to do euil and maysters wanteth to enforce them to do good Thirdly they asked him why are wise men deceyued aswel as the simple he aunswered The wise man is neuer deceyued but by him that vseth faire words and hath euil condicions Forthly they asked him of whom mē ought most to beware he aunswered That ther is to a man no greater enemye then he which seeth that thing in the which he desireth to haue in him selfe Fifthly they asked him why many princes beginne wel and end euil he aunswered princes begin wel bycause their nature is good they end euil bycause no man doth gaine say them Sixtly they asked him why do princes comit such follyes he aunswered Bicause flatterers aboundeth that deceiue them true men wanteth which should serue them Seuenthly they asked him why the auncients were so sage men at thys present so simple he aunswered Bycause the auncients did not procure but to know they present do not trauaile but for to haue Eightly they asked him why so many vyces were nourished in the pallace of princes he aunswered Bycause pleasures abound and councel wanteth The ninth they asked him why the most part of mē liued without rest few without paine he aunswered No man is more without suffereth more paine thē he which dieth for the goods of another litle estemeth his owne The tenth they asked him wherby they myght know the common wealth to be vndone he aunswered There is no comon wealth vndone but where the yong are light and the old vicious The xi they asked him wherwith the comon wealth is mainteyned he aunswered The common wealth cannot decay wher iustice remayneth for the poore punishment for the tiraunts weight and measure plentiful chefely if ther be good doctrine for the yong lytle couetousnes in the old Affro the historiographers declareth this in the x boke De rebus attheniensium Truly in my opinion the words of this philosopher were few but the sentences were many And for none other cause I dyd bring in this history but to profite me of the last word wherin for aunswere he saith that al the profite of the commō wealth consisteth in that ther be princes that restrayne the auarice of the aged that there be maisters to teach the youthful We se by experience that if the brute beasts were not tied the corne seedes compassed with hedges or ditches a man should neuer gather the fruite when they are ripe I meane that strife debate wil rise continually amonge the people if the yonge men haue not good fathers to correct them wise maisters to teach them We cānot deny but though the knife be made of fyne steele yet sometimes it hath nede to be whet so in lyke maner the yong man during the time of his youth though he do not deserue it yet from time to time he ought to be corrected O princes great lords I know not of whom you take councell when your sonne is borne to prouyde him of a maister gouernour whom you chose not as the most vertuous but as the most richest not as the most sagest but as the most vile euil taught Finally you do not trust him wyth your children that best deserueth it but that most procureth it Againe I say O princes great lords why do you not wtdraw your childrē from their hands which haue their eyes more to their owne profite thē their harts vnto your seruice For such to enrich themselues do bring vp princes vyciously Let not princes thinke that it is a trifle to know how to find chose a good master the lord which herein doth not employ his dyligence is worthy of great rebuke And because they shal not pretend ignoraunce let them beware of that man whose life is suspicious and extreame couetous In my opinion in the palace of princes the office of tutorship ought not to begeuen as other comon offices that is to wete by requestes or money by priuyties or importunities eyther els for recompence of seruices for it foloweth not though a man hath ben imbassadour in straunge realmes or captaine of great armies in warre or that he hath possessed in the roial palace offices of honour or of estemaciō that therfore he should be able to teach or bring vp their children For to be a good captayne sufficeth only to be hardy and fortunate but for to be a tutour and gouernour of princes he ought to be both sage and vertuous ¶ Of the ii children of Marcus Aurelius the Emperour of the which the best beloued dyed And of the maisters he prouided for the other named Comodus ▪ Chap. xxxv MArcus Aurelius the xvii Emperour of Rome in that time that he was maried with Faustine only doughter of the Emperour Antonius Pius had only ii sonnes wherof the eldest was Comodus and the second Verissimus Of these ii chyldren the heyre was Comodus who was so wycked in the 13 yeres he gouerned the empire that he semed rather the disciple of Nero the cruel then to descend by the mothers syde from Anthonius the mercifull or sonne of Marcus Aurelius This wicked chyld Comodus was so light in speach so dishonest in parson so cruel with his people that oft tymes he being aliue they layed wagers that ther was not one vertue in him to be found nor any one vyce in him that wanted On the contrary part the second sonne named Verissimus was comely of gesture proper of personne in witte verye temperate the most of al was that by his good conuersacion of al he was beloued For the faire and vertuous princes by theyr beauty draweth vnto them mens eyes by their good conuersacion they winne their harts The child Verissimus was the hope of the comon people the glory of his aged father so that the Emperour determined that this chyld Verissimus shold be heyre of the Empire and that the prince Comodus should be disherited Wherat no man ought to maruaile for it is but iust since the child
doth not amend hys lyfe that the father do disinherit him When good wil doth want and vicious pleasures abounde the children oft times by peruerse fortune come to nought So this Marcus Aurelius being .52 yeres old by chaunce this chylde Verissimus which was the glory of Rome the hope of the father at that gate of Hostia of a sodayne sicknes dyed The death of whom was as vniuersallye lamented as his lyfe of al men was desired It was a pitiful thynge to see how wofully the father toke the death of his intierly beloued son no lesse lamētable to behold how the senat toke the death of their prince beinge the heire For the aged father for sorow did not go to the Senate and the senat for few daies enclosed themselues in the high Capitol And let no man meruaile though the death of this yong prince was so taken through Rome For if men knew what they lose when they lose a vertuous Prince they would neuer cease to bewaile and lament hys death When a knight a gentleman a squyre an offycer or when any of the people dyeth ther dyeth but one but when a prince dieth which was good for all and that he lyued to the profit of al then they ought to make account that al do dye they ought al greatly to lament it For oft times it chaunseth that after ii or iii. good Princes a foule flocke of tyraunts succedeth Therfore Marcus Aurelius the Emperour as a man of great vnderstanding and of a princely parsonne though the inward sorow from the rootes of the hart could not be plucked yet he determined to dissemble outwardly and to burie his greues inwardly For to say the truth none ought for any thing to shew extreame sorow vnlesse it be that he hath lost his honour or that his conscience is burdened The good prince as one that hath his vineyard frosen wherin was al hys hope contented with him selfe with that whych remaineth his so derely beloued sonne being dead comaunded the prince Comodus to be brought into his pallace being his only heyre Iulius Capitolinus whych was one of those that wrote of the tyme of Marcus Aurelius sayd vpon this matter that when the father saw the disordinate fraylenes and lightnes and also the litle shame whych the prince Comodus his sonne brought with him the aged man began to weape and shed teares from his eyes And it was bycause the symplenes and vertues of his deare beloued sonne Verissimus came into hys mynd Though this Emperour Marcus for the death of hys sonne was very sorowful yet notwithstanding this he prouided how his other sonne Comodus should be gouerned this before that eyther of age or body he wer greater For we cānot deny but when Princes are mē they wil be such as in their youth they haue bene brought vp The good father therfore knowing that the euil inclinacions of his sonne should do him domage the empire in like maner he sent throughout al Italy for the most sagest expert men to be gouernours Tutors of Comodus the prince He made them seke for the most profoundest in learning the most renowmed of good fame the most vertuous in dedes and the most depest in vnderstandyng for as the dust is not swept with fyne cloth but with dry bromes so the lightnes follies of yong mē are not remedied but by the hard disciplyne of the aged Thys commaundement being published and proclaimed in Rome the bruit scattered through Italye there came and ranne thither dyuerse kinde of sages whom he commaunded to be examyned He being informed of the bloud of thier predicessours of the age of their persones of the gouernment of their houses of the spendyng of their goodes of their credit amongest their neighbours of the sciences they knew aboue al they were no lesse examined of the purenes of their lyues then of the grauitie of their personnes for ther are many men whych are graue in open wordes very light in secret works Speakyng therfore more particularly he commaunded they should examyne the Astronomers of Astronomy the phylosophers in philosophie the musitines in musike the Orators in oracions And so forth of other sciences in order wherin euery one sayd he was instructed The good emperour was not so contented to do this once but sondry times not al in one day but in many not only by an other man but also by him selfe Finally they were al examyned as if they had bene al one and that the same one shold haue remayned bene kept for al to be only master tutor of the young child and prince Comodus To acquire a perfect knowledge and to be sure not to erre in choyce of thinges in my opinion is not onely required experience of him selfe and a cleare vnderstanding but also the aduyse of an other For the knowledge of thinges wholly together is easy but the choyce of them particularly is harde This thing is spoken because the good Emperour sent and commaunded to chose gouernours and maisters of his children Of many he choose fewe and of fewe the most wysest of the most wysest the most expert of the most expert the best learned of the best learned the most temperate of the most temperate the most auncient and of the most auncient the moste noble Certainely such election is worthy prayse because they be true maisters and teachers of princes which are noble of bloud auncient in yeares honeste in life men of litle folly and of great experience According to the seuen liberal sciences two maisters of euery one were chosen so that the prince was but one and the others were .xiiii. but this notwithstanding the workes of this prince Comodus were contrary to the expectation of his father Marcus Aurelius because the intention of the good father was to teache his sonne all sciences and the study of the sonne was to learne all vices At the bruite of so great a thing as this was that the Emperour sought to prouide tutors for the prince Comodus and that they should not be those which were best fauoured but those whiche were found the most wysest in shorte space there came so many philosophers to Rome as if the deuine Plato had bene reuiued againe in Grece Let vs not marueile at all if the sages desired the acquaintaunce familiaritie of this good Emperour For in the ende there is no man so sage nor so vertuous in this life but sometime wyll seke after the fauours of the world Since there were many sages and that of those he chose but fourtene It was necessary he should honestly and wisely dispatche and geue the others leaue as did behoue him And herein the good emperour shewed him selfe so wyse that shewing to some a mery coūtenaunce to others speaking gently and to others by a certaine hope to others by giftes presentes al the good company of the sages departed the good emperour dispatched them not
dent of his blade at his harte In this case I sweare vnto the by the immortall gods that I do that whyche I would not do and I take that from him whyche I woulde not take For Anthonius my lorde and father in lawe gaue me the empire for no other cause but bycause he neuer found in me any lye and for this occasion I doe depriue my sonne from it for that I neuer found in him any trueth For it is not mete that the Empire being geuen vnto me for that I was true should be left inheritage to him that is a lier For in the ende it is better that the sonne do lose the heritage then the father shoulde lose his renowme By these two examples those whiche are the tutors and maisters of princes and great lordes may see how to be diligent to kepe them from lyes whilest they are yong and it ought to be in such sorte that neither in pastime neither in earnest aunswering they should be suffered once to tell a lye For those that for their pleasure were accustomed to lye in their youth will not fayle for their profite to lye in their age Secondarely the tutors and maysters ought to keepe their disciples that they be no gamesters and that they doe not accustome them selues in theyr youth to be vnthriftes for it is a great token of the decay of the Empire when the Prince in his youth is affectionated to play Experience sheweth vs that playe is a vice as Seneca sayeth whiche hath the propertie of a raging dogge with whome if a man be once bitten vnlesse he hath present remedie forthe with he runneth madde and the disease also continueth with him vncurable vntill the houre of his death Players not without a cause are compared to madde dogges for al those that vse it hurt theyr conscience lose their honour and consume theyr substance It chaunseth oft that in that wherin maysters should be most circonspecte they for the most parte are most negligent that is to wete that vnder the coullet of som honest recreation they agree to their scollers to vse some pastyme which if therin be conteyned no commendable exercise the children ought not to vse it nor yet the tutors to suffer it For vice is of such a propertie that if a chylde in hys youth dare playe apointe it is to be feared when he commeth to yeares he will playe hys cote Wayinge the matter more depely and aggrauating this vice I saye further and affirme that when the children of Princes and great Lordes playe a man ought not to make account of that which they may winne or loose for that of all miseryes were most misery if therefore my penne shoulde forbidde them play For play ought not to be forbidden to yong children for the money that they lose but for the vyces whiche they winne thereby and for the corrupte maners which therin they learne Octauian who was the second Emperour of Rome and one of the fortunatest Emperours that euer was among all his vertues was noted of one thing onely which is that from his youth he was to much geuen to play at tennis Of the which vice he was not onely admonished secreatly but also was forbidden it openly For as Cicero sayth in hys booke of lawes when the Emperour was noted of any open vice they might boldely reproue him in the open Senate When Octauian was for this vice reproued by the Senate they sayde he spake these wordes You haue reason O fathers conscript in takyng from me my pastime for it is necessary that the vertues of princes should be so many that all men might prayse them and their vices so fewe that no man might reproue them These wordes were notable and worthy of suche an excellent prince For in the ende consideringe their delicate and wanton brynging vp together with the libertie that they haue we ought to thanke and commende them for the good woorkes whiche they doe and moste of all to reioyce for the vices whiche they wante To our matter therfore amongest the other wicked vices that children get in their youth when they are players this is one that they learne to be theues and lyers For the money that they playe-to demaunde it their fathers they are afrayde and ashamed and of their owne proper goodes as yet they haue none in their handes Wherefore a man may easely conclude that if children playe of necessitie they must steale The sixe and thirty Emperour of Rome was Claudius Luganus a man verye temperate in eating moderate in apparell vprighte in iustice and very fortunate in chiualrie for he did not onelye repulse the Gothes from Illiria but also vanquished in a battayle the Germaines wherein were slayne aboue a hundred thousande This battayle was nere vnto the lake Veracus in a place called Luganus and for a memory of that great battayle and victory they called him Claudius Luganus For it was a custome among the Romaines that according to the good or euyll workes that princes did so they were iudged and knowen by suche surnames whether it were good or euyll This Emperour had but one onely sonne the whiche was a prince comely of personage and liuely of vnderstanding but aboue all thynges geuen to playe so that these good giftes whiche nature gaue him to woorke in vertue he misused alwayes in playe And amongest younge men he desyreth rather to haunte vyce then among the philosophers to learne vertue And hereat a man ought not to marueyle for all men of great courage vnlesse they be compelled to doe vertuous actes doe exercise of themselues many detestable vices It chaunced when this young prince had no more to playe nor gage he robbed out of his fathers chamber a ryche iewell of golde whereof also his maister was preuy And when the knowledge thereof came to the princes eares he immediatly disherited his sonne of the Empire and caused the head of the maister to be cut of his body all those likewyse that plaide with him to be banished the countrey This acte made euery man afrayde for correction executed after a good sorte hath this propertie that it encourageth the good to be good and feareth the wycked from their wickednes Merula in the tenth booke of Caesars where as at large he mentioneth this matter saieth that the Romaines estemed more the banishemente of those players from Rome then to haue drouen out the Gothes from Illiria and to saye the trouthe they had reason For a prince deserueth a greater crowne of glorie to banishe the vitious from his pallace then he doeth for chasing the enemies out of his dominion ¶ Of two other vices perillous in youthe whiche the maisters ought to kepe them from and that is to be shameles in countenaunce and addicted to the luste of the fleshe Cap. xl THirdly tutors ought to trauayle that the children whiche they haue in charge be not light and worldly nor that they doe consent that they be to bolde or shameles
deuotions in the temples when in dede they haue offered veneriall sacrifice to the Courtisan The vyce of the fleashe is of suche condition that a man can not geue hym selfe to it without grudge of conscience withoute hurte of his renowme without losse of his goodes without shortenynge of his lyfe and also without offence to the common wealth for oftetymes men enclyned to suche vyce doe rebell trouble and sclaunder the people Seneca satisfied me greatly in that whiche he wryteth in the seconde booke De Clementia to Nero where he sayeth these wordes If I knewe the Gods would pardon me and also that men woulde not hate me yet I ensure thee for the vylenes thereof I would not synne in the fleashe And truly Seneca had reason for Aristotle sayeth that all beastes after the acte of venery are sory but the Cocke alone O gouernours and maisters of great princes and lordes by that immortall God whiche created vs I coniure you and for that you owe to the nobilite I desyre you that you wyll brydle with a sharpe snaffle your charge and geue them not the rayne to followe vyces for if these younge chyldren lyue they wyll haue tyme enough to searche to followe to attayne and also to caste of those yokes For through our frayletie this wicked vyce of the fleashe in euery place in al ages in euery estate and at all tymes be it by reason or not is neuer out of ceason What shall I saye to you in this case if the chyldren passe the furiousnes of their youthe without the brydle then they be voyde of the loue of God they followe the trompet of sensualitie after the sounde whereof they runne headlong into the yoke and lose that whiche profiteth to wynne that whiche hurteth For in the carnall vices he that hath the least of that that sensualitie desireth hath muche more thereof then reason wylleth Considering that the maisters are negligent the children bolde their vnderstandynges blynded and seing that their appetites doe accomplyshe beastly motions I aske nowe what remayneth to the chylde and what contentation hath he of suche filthe and naughtines Truly since the fleashly and vicious man is ouercome with his appetite of those that escape beste I see none other fruite but that their bodies remayne diseased and their vnderstanding blynded their memory dulled their sence corrupted their wil hurted their reason subuerted and their good fame lost and worste of all the fleashe remaineth always fleshe O how many yoūg men are deceiued thinking that for to satisfie by once engaging them selues to vices that from that time forward they shal cease to be vicious the which thing not only doth not profite them but also is very hurtefull vnto them For fier is not quenched with dry woode but with cold water But O god what shal we do since that now a daies the fathers do as much esteme their childrē for being fine bold miniōs amōg womē as if thei wer very profond in sciēce or hardy in feles of arms that which is worst thei ofttimes make more of their bastards gottē in adultry thē of their legitimate child cōceiued in matrimony what shal we say thē of mothers truly I am ashamed to speake it but thei shold be more ashamed to do it which is because they would not displease their husbāds thei hide the wickednes of their children they put the children of their harlottes to the norse they redeme their gages they geue them money to playe at dyce they reconcile them to their fathers when they haue offended they borowe them money to redeme them when they are indebted finally they are makers of ther bodies and vndoers of their soules I speake this incidently for that the maisters would correcte the children but the fathers and mothers forbydde them For it litle auayleth for one to pricke the horse with the spurre when he that sitteth vpon him holdeth hym backe with the brydle Therefore to our matter what shal we do to remedie this il in the young man which in his fleshe is vitious Truly I see no other remedye but with moiste earth to quenche the flaming fier and to keape him from the occasions of vice For in the warre honour by tarrying is obteyned but in the vice of the fleshe the victorie by flying is wonne The ende of the seconde booke The thirde booke of the Diall of princes with the famous Booke of Marcus Aurelius wherein he entreateth of the vertues whiche Princes ought to haue as Iustice peace and magnificence ¶ How Princes and great Lordes ought to trauaile to administer to all equall Iustice Cap. i. EGidius Figulus one of the most famous renowmed Philosophers of Rome saide that betwene .2 of the zodaicall sygnes Leo Libra is a virgin named Iustice the which in tymes passe dwelled amonge men in earth and after she was of them neclected she ascended vp to heauen This Philosopher would set vs vnderstand that iustice is so excellent a vertue that she passeth all mens capacitie synce she made heauen her mansion place could fynde no man in the whole earth that would entertayne her in hys house During the tyme that menne were chaste gentle pitiefull pacient embracers of vertue honest and true Iustice remained in the earthe with them but since they are conuerted vnto adulterers tyraunts geuen to be proud vnpacient lyers and blasphemers she determined to forsake them and to ascend vp into heauen So that thys Philosopher concluded that for the wickednes that men commit on earthe Iustice hath lept from them into heauen Though this seme to be a poeticall fiction yet it comprehendeth in it hygh and profound doctrine the which seemeth to be very clere for where we se iustice there are fewe theues few murderers fewe tyrants few blasphemours Finally I say that in that house or common wealth where iustice remaineth a man cannot cōmit vice much lesse dessemble with the vicious Homer desyrous to exalt iustice could not tell what to say more but to call kinges the children of the great god Iupiter and that not for the naturalitie they haue but for the offyce of iustice whyche they minister So that Homer concludeth that a man ought not to call iust princes other but the children of god The deuine Plato in the fourth booke of his cōmon wealth saieth that the chiefest gift god gaue to men is that they beyng as they be of such vyle cley should be gouerned by iustice I would to God all those which reade thys writyng vnderstood right well that which Plato said For if men were not indued wyth reason and gouerned by iustice amongest all beastes none were so vnprofytable Let reason be taken from man wherwyth he is indued and iustice whereby he is gouerned then shall men easely perceiue in what sort he wyll lead his lyfe He cannot fyght as the Elephant nor defend hym selfe as the Tygre nor he can hunte as the Lyon neyther labour as the Oxe
for that they were vertuous By the immortall Gods I sweare vnto thee that when they came from the warre of Parthia triumphed in Rome confirmed the Empire to my sonne if then these nat nat had not withstoode mee I had left Commodus my sonne poore wyth hys vices and woold haue made heire of all my realmes some vertuous man I let thee to weete Panutius that fyue thyngs oppresse my hart sore to the which I woold rather see remedy my self then to commaund other to remedy it The first for that in my lyfe time I can not determyn the proces that the vertuous wydow Drusia hath with the senat Beecause since shee is poore and deformed there is no man that will geeue her iustice The second beecause I dye not in Rome And this for none other cause then that with the sound of the trumpet shoold bee proclaymed that all those which haue any quarell or debt against mee and my famyly should come thither to bee payd or satisfyed of their debts and demaunds The thyrd that as I made fower tyraunts to bee put to execucion which commytted tyranny in Asia and Italy so it greeued mee that I haue not also punished certayn Pyrats which roued on the seas The fowerth for that I haue not caused the Temple to bee fynished which I dyd beegynne for all the gods For I might haue sayd vnto them after my death that since for all them I haue made one house it were not much that any of them shoold receiue one into his which passe thys lyfe in the fauor of gods and wythout the hatred of men For dying after this sort men shal susteyn our honours and the gods shall prouide for our soules The fyfth for that I leaue in life for my onely heire Commodus the prynce yet not so much for the destruction which shall come to my house as for the great domage which shall succeede in the common wealth For the true princes ought to take the domages of their persons lyght and the domages of the common wealth for the most greeuous O Panutius let therefore thys bee the last woord which I will say vnto thee that is to weete that the greatest good that the Gods may geeue to the man that is not couetous but vertuous is to geeue hym good renowne in lyfe and afterwards a good heire at our death Fynally I say that if I haue anything to doo with the gods I require and beeseech them that if they should bee offended Rome slaundered my renowme defamed and my house demynished for that my sonne bee of an euill lyfe that they wyll take from hym lyfe beefore they geeue mee death ¶ Of the woords which the Emperour Marcus Aurelius spake vnto his sonne Commodus at the hower of death necessary for all yong gentlemen to vnderstand Cap. liiij SInce the dysease of Marcus Aurelius was so extream that in euery hower of his lyfe hee was assaulted with death after hee had talked a long tyme with Panutius his secretary hee commaunded his sonne Commodus to be wakened who as a yong man slept soundly in his bed And beeing come beefore his presence al those which were there were moued immediatly with cōpassion to see the eies of the father all swollen with weeping and the eies of the chylde closed with ouermuch sleepe They could not waken the chylde hee was so careles and they could not cause the goodfather sleape hee tooke so great thought All those which were there seeing how the father desired the good lyfe of the sonne and how lytel the sonne wayed the death of his father had compassion of the old man and bare hate to the wicked chylde Then the good Emperour casting his eies on high and directing his woords to his sōne sayd When thou were a chylde I told thy maisters how they ought to bring thee vp after that thou dydst waxe greater I told thy gouernors how they shoold counsaile thee And now will I tel thee how thou with them which are few and they with thee beeing one ought to gouern and maintayn the common wealth If thou esteeme much that which I wil say vnto thee my sonne know thow that I will esteeme it much more that thow wilt beeleue mee For more easely doo wee old men suffer your iniuryes then yee other yong doo receyue our counsailes Wysedome wanteth to you for to beeleeue vs yet yee want not boldnesse to dishonor vs. And that which is woorst the aged in Rome were wont to haue a chayr of wysedome and sagenes but now a days the yong men count it a shame and folly The world at this day ys so chaunged from that it was wont to bee in tymes past that all haue the audacity to geeue counsaile and few haue the wisedome to receyue it so that they are a thowsaund which sell counsailes there is not one that buyeth wisedom I beleeue wel my sōne that according to my fatal destinies thy euill manners litle shal that auaile which I shal tel thee For since thou wooldst not credyt these woords which I spake vnto thee in my life I am sure that thou wilt litle regard them after my death But I doo this more to satisfy my desyre and to accomplish that which I owe vnto the common wealth than for that I hope for any amendment of thy lyfe For there is no grief that so much hurteth a person as when hee him self is cause of his own payn If any man dooth me an iniury if I lay my hands vppon him or speak iniurious woords vnto him my hart is foorthwith satisfyed but if I doo iniury to my self I am hee which wrongeth am wrōged for that I haue none on whom I may reuenge my wrōg and I vexe chafe with my self If thou my sonne bee euill after that thou hast enheryted the empire my mother Rome wil complain of the gods which haue geeuen thee so many euil inclinacions Shee wil cōplayn of Faustine thy mother which hath brought thee vp so wantonly shee will complayn of thee which hast no will to resist vice but shee shall haue no cause to complayn of the old man thy father who hath not geeuen thee good counsailes For if thou hadst beeleeued that which I told thee men woold reioyce to haue thee for their lord and the gods to vse thee as their minister I cannot tel my sonne if I bee deceiued but I see thee so depriued of vnderstanding so vncertayn in thy woords so dissolute in thy maners so vniust in iustice in that thou desirest so hardy in thy duty so negligent that if thou chaunge alter not thy maners men wil hate thee and the gods will forsake thee O if thou knewst my sonne what thyng it is to haue men for enemies and to bee forsaken of the gods by the faith of a good man I sweare vnto thee that thou wooldst not onely hate the seignory of Rome but with thy hands also thou wooldst
footecloth more nete and clenly then the groomes and pages of the chamber haue his apparell and this proceedes of their great slouth negligēce And truely this passeth the bounds of shamefast degree yea and commeth much to charge the courtiers conscience the small account hee hath so to let his garments and apparell and other hys mouables to bee spoiled and lost And this happeneth very oft by the negligence of their pages and seruaunts which now throweth them about the chambers dragges them vpon the grownd now sweeps the house with thē now they are full of dust then tattered and torne in peeces here their hose seam rent there their shooes broken so that if a poore man come afterwards to buy them to sell agayn it will rather pity those that see them then geeue them any corage to buy them Wherefore the courtier ought not to bee so careles but rather to think vppon his own things and to haue an eye vnto them For if hee goe once a day to his stable to see his horses how they are kept and looked to hee may lykewise take an other day in the weeke when hee may fynd leisure to see his wardroppe how his apparell lyeth But what paciens must a poore man take that lendeth his implements and apparell to the courtiers that neuer laieth them abroad a sunning to beat out the dust of them nor neuer layth them in water to wash and white them bee they neuer so fowl And al bee it the beds and other implements lent to the courtier bee not of any great value yet it is not fitt they shoold bee thrown at theyr tayl kept filthyly For as charely and dayntily dooth a poore laboring and husband man keepe his wollen couerlet and setteth as much by it as dooth the iolly courtier by his quilt or couerpane of silk And it chaunceth oft tymes also that though at a neede the poore mans bed costeth him lesse money then the rich mans bed costeth him yet dooth it serue him better then the ritch and costly bedd serueth the gentleman or nobleman And this to bee true wee see it by experience that the poore husbandman or citizen slepeth commonly more quietly at his ease in his poor bed cabean with his sheets of tow then dooth the lord or ritch courtier lying in his hanged chamber bed of silk wrapped in his fynest holland shetes who still sigheth cōplayneth And fynally wee conclude that then when the court remoueth that the courtier departeth from his lodging where hee lay hee must with all curtesy thank the good man and good wife of the house for his good lodging curteous intertainment hee hath had of them must not stick also to geeue them somwhat for a remembrance of him and beesides geeue certein rewards among the maides men seruants of the house according to their ability that hee may recompence them for that is past win their fauor for that is to come ¶ What the courtier must doo to winne the Princes fauor Cap. iiij DIodorus Siculus saith that the honor and reuerence the Egiptians vsed ordinarily to their Princes was so great that they seemed rather to woorship them then to serue them for they coold neuer speak to them but they must first haue lycence geeuen them When it happened any subiect of Egipt to haue a sute to their prince or to put vp a supplication to thē kneeling to them they sayd these woords Soueraigne lord mighty prince yf it may stand with your highnes fauor pleasure I wil boldly speak yf not I will presume no further but hold my peace And the self reuerence custome had towards god Moyses Aaron Thobias Dauid Salomon and other fathers of Egipt making like intercession when they spake wyth god saying Domine mi rex Si inueni gratiam in oculis tuis loquar ad dominum meum O my lord and king yf I haue found fauor in thy sight I wil speak vnto thee yf not I will keepe perpetuall sylence For there is no seruyce yll when yt is gratefull acceptable to him to whom it is doon as to the contrary none good when it pleaseth not the party that is serued For if hee that serueth bee not in his maisters fauor hee serueth hee may well take pains to his vndooyng wtout further hope of his good will or recompence Wherefore touching that I haue sayd I inferre that hee that goeth to dwell abyde in the court must aboue all indeuer him self all hee can to obtayn the princes fauor and obtayning it hee must study to keepe him in his fauor For it shoold lyttle preuaile the courtier to bee beeloued of all others and of the prince only to bee mislyked And therefore Alcamidas the Grecian beeing once aduertised by a frend of his that the Athenians did greatly thirst for his death the Thebans desyred his life hee answered him thus If those of Athens thirst for my death them of Thebes likewise desyring my life I can but bee sory lament How bee it yet if King Phillip my soueraigne lord maister hold mee still in hys grace fauor repute mee for one of his beeloued I care not if all Greece hate and dysloue mee yea and lye in wayt for mee In deede it is a great thing to get into the princes fauor but when hee hath gotten it doubtles it is a harder matter to know how to keepe it For to make them loue vs and to winne their fauor wee must doo a thousand maner of seruyces but to cause them to hate and dislyke of vs the least dyspleasure in the world suffyseth And therefore the pain and trouble of hym that is in fauor in the court is great if hee once offend or bee in displeasure For albeeit the prince doo pardon him hys fault yet hee neuer after returneth into his fauor agayn So that to conclude hee that once only incurreth his indignation hee may make iust reckening neuer after or maruelous hardly to bee receiued agayn into fauor Therefore sayth the diuine Plato in his bookes De republica that to bee a king and to raigne to serue and to bee in fauor to fyght and to ouercome are three impossible things which neither by mans knowledge nor by any diligence can bee obtayned only remaining in the hands and disposing of fickle fortune whych dooth diuyde and geeue them where it pleaseth her and to whome shee fauoreth best And truely Plato had reason in his saying for to serue and to bee beeloued is rather happ and good fortune then industry or diligence Since wee see oft times that in the court of princes those that haue serued but three yeres only shal bee sooner preferred and aduaunced then such one as hath serued perhaps .xx. or .xxx. yeres or possible al his life tyme. And further hee shal bee both displaced and put out of seruice by means of thother And this proceeds not through his long and
craued in any thing and that they must needes stand by they re frend and draw on his side then they shew them selues as still as lambs and gentle inough to bee intreated Amongst others the new come courtier hath to bee acquainted withall hee must learn to know those the prince fauoreth and loueth best on whom hee must attend and wayt vppon and doo all the seruice hee can without grudge and disdaigne For there is no kyng but farre of on hym hath an other kyng that still contrarieth his mynd and preuenteth him of his intent and pleasure And euer neere vnto him some whom hee loueth and fauoreth that may dispose of the prince as hee lysteth Plutarke wryting to Traian sayd these woords I haue O Traian great pytty on thee for the first day thou tookest vppon thee the Imperiall crowne of the Romayn Empire of a free man thou thraldst thy self to bondage For onely you other princes haue autority to geeue lyberty to all others but neuer to graunt it to your selues saying more ouer that vnder the colour of royall lyberty you shall remayn more subiect then your own subiects that ere obey you For if you commaund many in they re houses also one alone after commaundeth you in your own court Now although many commaunded the prince or that hee would follow the counsell but of a few or that hee loued one aboue an other or that hee consented one alone should gouern hym thee good courtyer neede not once open his mouth to reason of the matter For so it myght easely fall out hee should beegynne out of hand to feele in the court of what importaunce yt were to enter into such discours of the prynce and afterwards to goe home to his own house to end yt with bitter teares Fyrst to purchase the hygh indygnation of the prince secondly to bee dysdeigned of the court thirdly to bee cast quyte out of fauor fourthly to bee exyled and banished the verge of the court and fyftly and lastly to end the rest of his wofull dayes in vile and myserable place Now if it bee hard to compasse to get into the princes fauor I thynk yt no very ill counsell that at least hee seeke to bee in fauor wyth him that is in the prynces fauor For oft times there commeth asmuch displeasure to vs beeing ill willed of those the prynce dooth esteeme fauor as there dooth by the princes own indygnacion that reigneth ouer vs. For that wee talke of prynces commeth not all to his eares and but seldome onlesse the matter bee sclaunderous and offensiue to his maiesty But to the contrary wee no sooner speak of those that bee in fauor beeloued of the prince but they are not onely with speede aduertised what was spoken of them but they further dyuine what wee thought of them Therefore my frend courtier syth it lyeth not in thee to diminish or impaire his credit that is in fauor with the prince beeloued in the court neither to displace his matters suyts hee taketh in hand that thou hast no autority to reforme gouern the cōmon weale nor to redresse amend the wrongs iniuries receiued I would wish thee to follow my counsel If thou spy the fauts imperfections of the court that thou rather suffer abide them in keepyng them secret thē to seeme to reproue them openly when thou seest princes thē selues contented to dissemble couer them priuely It is therefore the sounder counsel to follow and serue those that are in fauor credit then to pursue them in woord or deede And therefore the courtier must bee very choyse with whom hee is familiar to whom hee speaketh whom hee trusteth who heareth him and of whom hee receyueth all his intellygence For there is great difference beetweene the woords that are spoken and the intent meanyng wyth which they were spoken For the bowells and intrails of courtiers are so damnable and their harts so crooked and diuerted from the right path way of bounty and goodnes that the new and ignorant courtier shall think hym self much profited by their aduices and admonitions when in deede they shal but deceiue him and shall think hee was well counselled when hee shall fynd hym self the most deceyued in the world and in greater anger then beefore There are some also so lytle contented wyth the prince and so ill recompensed for their saruice that they are not onely not hys frends but they practyse secretly to purchase hym moe enemies And when the courtier seeth that hee that is in fauor and credyt dooth in deede styck close wyth hym vnfaynedly what neede hee care then though all the rest bee his enemies And the good courtier must consider that hee goeth not to the court to reuenge iniuryes but onely to purchase honor and profyt To whom also I geeue counsell that hee bee not enemy to him that is in fauor nor frend to his enemy and yet it shall bee best for him to bee frend to all and enemy to none if hee can possyble Who so euer desyreth to bee well thought of in the court and to bee beeloued of courtyers it is better for him to suffer iniuries doone hym then hee hym self to bee a procurer of them to others And for the iniuries detractyons and mutynyngs that they shall rayse against the fauored of the court no man ought to trust any other person then hym self syth that for the most part whom they doo trust when hee shall haue neede of the good report and credit of him that is in fauor with the prince thinkyng to doo hym a peece of great saruice hee shall not care to vnfold to hym euen the bottome of hys frends secrets whych were commytted to him in great secresy Hee must also consyder that hee can not possibly in a short tyme grow in fauor wyth the prynce nor come also to bee accepted for a frend of hym that is in fauor about the prince but the sooner to hasten his good fortune hee must acquaint him self thoroughly with the officers and seruants of the beeloued and doo them a thowsand pleasures dayly aswell in courteous woords as in seruyng their turnes also with money or iewels presenting them euer with some prety smal token frō them to haue them in mynd and to remember them to their maisters For the trew order of this disorder is in effect to bee rather frend to their seruants then familiar or beeloued with their masters that are in so great fauor hee must also bee informed which of his seruants that is in estimacion wyth the prince is in best credit with his master him hee must seeke to make hys frend aboue al other his fellows For euen as the prince hath a seruant whom hee loueth that leads him altogether euen so likewise hath the fauored courtier a seruant about him that cōmaundeth him There is no wil so free lyberal neither any lord so high absolute nor iudge so
charges for his dinner or supper let him looke in hys purse hee shal fynd these mates haue pickt vp in rewards asmuch as the hole charges of his dinner or supper besides More ouer they are dayly visited of their frends kinsfolks vitells are so deere of so excessiue price that to make their prouision at the best hand they must send out postes lackeis into all parts to bee their purueiers And yet are they further recharged that many times their seruants robbe them of all their money runne their way when they haue doon sometimes they must new aray them selues al with things the courtier in respect of his estimacion is bound to doo thorowly with the best maner or els to sequester banish him self from court courtiers life It is true that a poore gentelman or other suiter that of necessitie must follow the court knoweth very well the cause that mooueth him to bee a courtier attend on the court but yet hee shal not know what his charge expense wil bee about the suyt If hee haue any fauor or credit in the court hee may happely obteyn a quick and redy dispatch so perhaps saue some part of his money in his purse hee determined to spend without which hee shal not onely bee enforced to borrow but to send a new messenger to his house for more money O the more is the pyty how many haue I seen in princes courts spend til that euer they brought to the court to follow their suyt yet could not bee dispatched in any thing hee came for saue that in steede of their money they cōsumed they haue purchased them great troubles displeasures bewayling their lost time vayn expence And it is to bee considered also that if it bee a great dyfyculty to speak to the prince in our matter to the presedent of the counsell to the master of the requests to the priuy counsell to the marshals of the house to the treasorers to the cofferers to the fouriers to the fauored of the court it is farre greater more trouble to enterteigne content their seruants offycers For I dare assure you you shal sooner more easly winne the loue of the maister then you shal obtein the fauor good will of the setuant Princes are contented if wee obey them the fauored of the court if wee serue them but the seruants are neuer contented nor in quiet if they see wee doo not worship them entreat thē And surely I wil tel you a true tale wil not lye a woord to you In those days when I my self was also a courtier in the court of princes it stoode mee vpon many times rather to trouble the maisters then to pray the seruants If perhaps for penaunce of his sinnes the suter shew him self importunat in his affaires that hee presume to dare say to him some nipping or vnpleasant woord let him bee wel assured he wil not bee reuenged on him to hurt him with sweord or launce but onely in holding back his penne to delay him in his dispatch For I remember that once beeing but a poore preest I was entreated by the procter of a prouince to say him a douzen of masses for a great noble man in great fauor in the court that had his matter in hys hands hee coniured mee very earnestly that I should not say them for the health saluacion of his soule but onely that god would inspire him put into his mynd to dispatch him quickly of his buysines Therefore as wee haue spoken of the one it is reason wee should also speak of the other And therefore I say that there are some of these officers clerks of Iudges Magistrates counsellers secretaries treasorers marshals fouriers and other officers also of the court that are so wise men of such honesty ciuility that the dyscurtesyes wrongs sometimes their lord maisters doo to vs they doo the best they can either to take them from vs quite or at the least to lessen or dymynish them For the contrary also others there are so proud shameles such tatlers vile persons so vnconscionable with all of whom as it is a great pleasure for vs to see that they write and to heare that they can speak so well promesse so liberally onely to winne your money pick your purse so it is a great spight to vs and more shame reproche and infamy for them when afterwards wee see the contrary effects of their faire woords and fayned promises where with they feede vs continually And addyng thereto also wee see many times that such a yong courtier in lesse then fower years that he hath remayned in seruice with a noble man or other officer of the kings in the court hath gotten by his practise pollicy a faire moyle of great price with her harnes all gilt his cofers well sylled his tent for the feelde with feeld bed other furniture to it his carpets on his table his clothes of tapestry ouer his doores his gowns richly furred for the winter and those of sattin damask and taffeta for the sommer and yet notwithstanding al this glory hee may possyble keepe a curtesan for his pleasure maintayn her Al which things considered put together it is impossible hee should doo it by the gaines of his penne or seruice but onely by dishonest means robbing of his master I saw once in my presens a poore suter offer the clark of a Secretary eight Rialls of siluer for to dispach him of his suyt and hee refused them flatly and would none of them by no means notwithstandyng the poore man turned him vp the bottome of his purse and showed him that hee had but onely fower rialls left to bring him home withall So the poor man came to mee intreated mee to speak to this clark for him to perswade him to take his money hee offered him and to dispatch him since hee had no more left then hee shewed hym And I did so And this woorshipfull clerk made mee this vnhonest aunswer Sir behold my face and complexion and you shall fynd that it is all of gold and not of siluer For I sweare to you by our blessed lady of Lancet that yt is more then two years that I receiued for reward of my payns no other but gold and not siluer layd in my hands It can not bee but that seruant the vauntes him self to haue a face of gold wil one day put his maisters face in the myre Now albeit wee see the kings officers and others peraduenture vnder them to ryde on their nagges with their foote clothes to bee braue in apparell to bee rich in iewels and happely to haue a hundreth crownes in his purse wee should not maruell of it at all but if wee haue cause to think any thing yll in them it is for that many times they play away
chamber Adrian the Emperor hys onely fauored Ampromae Dioclesian hys frend Patritius whom hee loued as hym self and always called hym frend and compaignion Diadumeus Pamphilion hys great treasorer For whose death hee was so sorowfull that hee would haue made him self away beecause hee caused him to bee so cruelly slayn All these aboue named and infynyt others also some were maisters some lords some kyngs and some of great autority and fauor about princes by whose tragicall histories and examples wee may plainly see that they did not onely lose their goods fauor and credit but also vpon very light occasions were put to death by sweord Therefore mortall men should put no trust in worldly things syth that of lytle occasion they become soone great and of much lesse they sodeinly fall and come to woorse estate then before And therefore kyng Demetrius askyng one day Euripides the philosopher what hee thought of humayn debility and of the shortnes of this lyfe aunswered Mee thinks O Kyng Demetrius that there is nothyng certayn nor suer in this vnstable life syth all men liuing and al things also that serues them indure dayly some clipse and hereunto replied sodainly Demetrius sayd O my good Euripides thou hadst sayd better that all things vegitiue and sensitiue and ech other liuing thyng dooth not onely feele the eclipses efforce and chaunge from day to day but from hower to hower and minute to minute Meaning kyng Demetrius by these woords hee spake that ther is nothing so stable in this world bee it of what state or condicion yt will bee but in a twyinkling of an eye is ready to runne into a thousand daūgers and perils albeit wee bee all subiect of what state or degree so euer wee bee to sundry diuers thrales mishaps yet none are so neere neighbors to them as those that are in highest autority and greatest fauor with princes For there are many that shoots to hit down the white of their fauor but few that beyng down will once put it vp agayn and restore yt to his place For to lyue a contented life a man had neede to want nothing neither to haue any occasion to trouble him But the things that trouble vs in this vale of misery being so many and of such aboundaunce and those things contrarily so few rare to come by that wee neede and want wee may iustly account this life wofull and myserable aboue all others For sure farre greater are the greeues and dyspleasures wee receyue for one onely thing wee want then the pleasures are great wee haue for a hundreth others whereof wee haue aboundaunce Besides that the familiars of princes cannot think them selues so mighty and fortunat that any man may presume to cal them blessed or happy For if some serue and honor them others there are that persecute them and if in their houses they haue that flatter them and make much of them there wāt not in the court others that murmur at them and speak ill of them And yf they haue cause some times to reioyce that they are in fauor so haue they likewise continuall trouble and feare that they shal fall and bee put out of fauor And if they glory to haue great treasure they sorow also to haue many enemies And if the seruices and company they haue doo delight them the continuall buysines they haue doo vex them So that wee may say of thē as of plaistering of houses which are neuer so faire but they become black with some spot in time and woormes and other vermine do eat and wast them If there bee none that dare once admonish these great men in authority and tell them their faults by woord of mouth yet I will take vppon mee to doo yt wyth my wrytyng and say that they speake nothyng but it is noted their steps they tread are seene euery morsell of meat they eat ys marked they are accused for the pleasures they take and all thyngs that they haue are obserued All the pleasures that is doone them is regystred and all ill that that they know by them is published And fynally I conclude that the fauored of prynces are a game at tables whereat euery man playeth not wyth dyce nor cardes but onely with serpents tongues And therefore I haue sayd it and once agayn I returne to say That all those that are accepted of prynces must lyue contynually very wisely and aduysedly in all their dooyngs for it is trew and too trew that euery mans tongue runnes of them and much more yf they had tyme and opportunity like as they defame them with their tongues so would they offend them with their hands Wee doo not speak thys so much that they should looke to defend their lyfe but to foresee that they may preserue their honor and goods from perill and to geeue them by thys precept a good occasion to looke about them For to put them in disgrace wyth the Kyng all the days of they re lyfe to their vtter vndooyng and ouerthrow the kyng neede but onely geeue eare to his enemies ¶ The aucthor admonisheth those that are in fauor and great with the prynce that they take heede of the deceipts of the world and learne to lyue and dye honorably and that they leaue the court beefore age ouertake them Cap. xvi WHan kyng Alderick kept Seuerine the Romayn consull prisoner otherwise named Boetius that consull complayned much of fortune Saying alas fortune why hast thou forsaken mee in my age since thou dyddest fauor mee so much in myne youth and that I had serued thee so many years why hast thou left mee to the hands of myne enemyes To which complaynts fortune made aunswer thus Thou art vnthankfull to mee O Seuerius sith I haue vsed my things with thee in such maner as I neuer vsed the like with any other Romayn And that this ys trew I tell thee Consider O Seuerius that I made thee whole and not sick a man and no woman of excellent wyt and vnderstandyng and not grosse and rude rych and not poore wyse and not foolysh free and not bond a Senator and no plebeyan noble and valyaunt and not cowardly a Romayn and no barbarus or straunger born in great and not mean estate a graue man and no light nor vayn person fortunat and not vnlucky woorthy of fame and not obliuyon to conclude I say I gaue thee such part in the common weale that thou hadst good cause to haue pyty of all others and all others cause to haue spight and enuy at thee Agayn replyed Seuerius to this aunswer and sayd O cruell and spightfull fortune how liberall thou art in the things thou speakest and resolute in the things thou disposest sith always thou doost what thou wilt and seldome that thou oughtst And thou knowest there is no such myshap as to remember a man hath once been rich and fortunat in his tyme and to see him self now brought to extreame mysery Heare
force and power and as in the greenest bows is soonest hidd the fowlers little nett to katch the sely byrds And as wyth the fullest bayts of meat the fish are soonest taken and that wyth great force the wynd dooth blow on hyghest trees and as the most proud and stately buyldings the earthquake dooth most hurt and soonest ouerthrow them euen so by this I mean that Fortune neuer stroue to throw down any but such as shee had made great in honor and fauor For I doo not take yt for no great good luck though all thyngs succeede to bee fauoured of the court better then hee looked for nor to see them brought by their frendes to great estate and honor For albeeit fortune for a tyme dyssemble with him it is not for that shee hath forgotten him but afterwards to geeue him a greater punishment Those that will maruell at that I will speak euen now it proceedes of nothing els but wantyng witt and capacity to vnderstand yt There is no greter sicknes in this world then to bee in health No greater pouerty then neuer to haue neede of any thing And there ys no greater temptation then to bee neuer tempted Nor there can bee no greater sadnes then to bee always mery Nor greater daunger then neuer to bee in daunger For many tymes it so happeneth that where a man thinketh to passe ouer a daungerous flood safe enough his horse falleth ouer head and eares and drowneth his maister or hee escapeth hardly Socrates beeing one day demaunded which was the most sure and certayn thyng of this lyfe aunswered thus There is nothing more certayn in thys lyfe then to account all things vncertayn hee hath nor among ryches any greater then to haue lyfe and health But if the lyfe bee doubtfull and vnquiet what surety or certeinty may bee found in it Surely none Kyng Agesilaus beeing requested of certain of his Grecian captains to goe see the Olimpiade in mount Olimpus where all the Philosophers dyd assemble to dispute and where all the rich men of the countrey came to bye and sell any thing hee aunswered them If in mount Olimpus they sold and exchaunged sorow for myrth sycknes for health honor for infamy and lyfe for death I woold not only goe to see yt but I woold also spend all that I am woorth and that I haue But since the byer is mortall and the thyng also hee byeth condemned to death I wil buy nothing in this lyfe since I cannot carry yt with mee into my graue Yet is there an other deceipt whych the poore courtiers falleth into dayly and that is that in lyuing many yeres they thynk and assuredly beleeue in th end to lyght of a tyme when they hope to haue ease and rest whych is a mockry to thynk it and an extreme madnes to hope for yt For if their yeres grow by ownce and ownce their sorows and troubles increase by pounds Who can deny but that mylk that is kept many dayes dooth corrupt and becometh sharp and sower Yea the garments that are now very old and haue beene long worne without that euer moth dyd touch it dooth in the end also become rags and dust By this therefore I doo inferre that if it bee a most certeyn thing for yong men to dye quicly much more shoold old men bee assured that they haue no long tyme to lyue And there are many in the court of Princes also that fynd them selues so laden with sinnes and wickednes that they think assuredly that in changing their age tyme and fortune they shal not only leaue their vyces but shal bee discharged also of many greeues and troubles Which wee see afterwards happen contrary to them For there is no way so playn in this world but there is some ascent or discent for vs to goe vp to the toppe or some ryuer for vs to passe ouer or some terrible mountayn to fear or some crooked yll fauored way to lose vs in or some caue or hole to fall into Those also that thynk certeynly that the sunne cannot lose hys lyght nor that the moone can bee Eclipsed nor that the starres may bee darkened and that the earth shall not cease to bring foorth the seas to flow the water to runne the fyre to burne and winter to bee cold let them also bee assured that man cannot bee excused to suffer and abyde much For sure it is impossible hee shoold passe one day without some trouble or sinister happ of Fortune And the greatest trompery and deceipt that courtiers for the most part are abused in is that the more they wax in yeres the more they enter dayly into greater affairs and busines with a vayn hope and assuraunce they haue to dispatch them and bring them to such end as they list or desyre But afterwards whan they come to looke into their matters it is the wil of god and their deserts doo procure it that the poore old men fynd when they think to goe home to their houses that they see death approch neere them and they afterwards are caried to bee buryed in their graues O how many are there in court that beecome aged men by long seruing in court wyth a vayn hope afterwards in their age to depart from the court and to repose their aged yeres in their own houses in quiet and tranquility which abuseth them very much So that they may bee called Christians in name and thoughts but right wordlings and courtiers in dooings And therefore many tymes I reprooued dyuers old courtiers my frends for that they dyd not leaue the court when they myght haue left it wyth honor and commodity tellyng them it was more then tyme now they shoold depart from the court since age had stollen vppon them Which coold not tell how to aunswer mee nor what to say more then that they woold within a short tyme goe home to their houses wyth deliberation and intent to take theyr ease at home for the better health of their persons which they had not tyll then and so to seclude them from all dooings saue only in the morning when hee ryseth to goe to the church and serue god and from thence to goe to the hospitalles to visite the sick and diseased to seeke out the poore orphans and wydows amongst his neighbors to make peace betweene neyghbor and neyghbor and to releeue the poore And albeeit they haue told mee thys tale many a tyme and oft yet I neuer saw any of them put it in execution wyth good wyll And I saw once an honorable and rich courtier that was so old that for very age hee had neuer a black hear on his head nor any teeth in hys mouth neither any children sonnes or daughters to inherit his goods who notwithstanding was of so foolysh and fantasticall oppinion brought to that madnes by his sinnes that hee sware to mee that for discharge of his conscience only hee woold neuer leaue or geeue vp his office hee hadd in
of Flaunders And to euery table there was serued xxii sortes of meates I saw also at an other feast such kyndes of meates eaten as are wont to bee seene but not eaten as a Horse rosted a Cat in gely litel Lysars with whot broth Frogges fryed and dyuers other sorts of meates which I saw them eate but I neuer knew what they weare till they weare eaten And for gods sake what is hee that shall reade our writings and see that that is comonly eaten in feastes now adayes that it will not in maner breake his hart and water his plants The only spices that haue been brought out of Calicut and the maner of furnishing of our boords brought out of Fraunce hath distroied our nation vtterly For in the old tyme they had no other kinds of spice in Spaine but Saffron Comyn Garlick and Onyons and when one frend inuyted an other they had but a peece of beefe and a peece of veale no more and yt was a rare and dainty matter to add to a henne Oh misâ—â—appes of worldly creatures you imbrace not now the tyme that was for now iâ— hee bee an officer or popular person of any like condicion and that hee inuyte his frend or neighbour hee will not for shame set beefore him lesse then vi or vii seueral disshes though hee sel his cloke for hit or fare the worse one whole weeke after for that one supper or dinner Good lord yt is a wonder to see what sturr there is in that mans house that maketh a dinner or supper A .ii. or iii. dayes beefore you shall see such resorte of persons such hurly burly such flying this way such sending that way some occupied in telling the cookes how many sortes of meates they will haue other sent out to prouide a cater to by their meat and to hyer seruants to wayte on them and other poore folkes to looke to the dressing vp of the house brauling fyghting with theyr seruants commaunding their maydes to looke to the buttry to rubbe the tables and stooles and to see all things set in theyr order as syt as may bee and to tast this kynd of wine and that kind of wyne so that I would to god they would for the health of their soules but imploy half this care paines they take in preparyng one dyner to make cleane their conscienses and to coÌ„fesse them selues to allmighty god I would fayn know after all these great feasts what there remaineth more then as I suppose the master of the house is trobled the stewards and caters weried the poore cookes broyled in the fyer the howse al foule and yet that that is worst of al sometymes the master of the feast cometh short of a peece of plate that is stollen So that hee can not choose but bee sory for the great charges hee hath been at beesyds the losse of his plate and vessell stollen and the rest of his implements of house mard and in maner spoyled And peraduenture also the inuited not satisfied nor coÌ„tented but rather will laugh him to scorne for his cost and murmure at hym beehind his back Marcus Tullius Cicero was once bidden to supper of a couetous Roman a citizin borne whose supper agreed with his auarice So the next day it chaÌ„ced this couetous citizen to meete with Cicero hee asked him how hee did with his supper veri wel said Cicero for it was so good a supper that yt shall serue mee yet for all this day Meaning to let him vnderstand by these woodrs that his supper was so miserable and hee left with such an appetite as hee should dine the next day with a better stomack at home ¶ The author continueth his purpose Yt is now more then tyme wee doo bring you apparaunt proofes aswell by scriptures as profane autors that there was neuer made feast or bancket but the diuell was euer lightly a guest by whose presence always happeneth some mischeefe The first BaÌ„cket that euer was made in the world 〈◊〉 that the deuil made to Adam and Eue with the frute of terrestriall paradyse after which followed a disobeing of gods commaundement the lesse that Adam had of his innoceÌ„cy and a soden shame and perpetual reproche to our mother Eue mans nature preseÌ„tly brought to al synne vice So that wee may wel say they eate the frute that set our teeth an edge Did not Rebecca like wise make a feast to her husbaÌ„d Isaac in which Esaw lost his heritage and Iacob succeeded in the same blessing Isaac through fraude whome hee tooke for Esaw all through the counsell of his mother Rebecca shee hauing her desiere and purpose as shee wished Absalon did not hee make an other to all his breethern after which followed the death of Aman one of his brothers and by one of the other bretherne their sister Thamar was defamed and their father King Dauid very sore greeued and afflicted and all the realme of Israel slaundered Kyng Assuetus made an other of so great and foolish expence that hee kept open house for a hundred and fourscore dayes and it followed that Queene Vasti was depriued of her crowne and the fayr Hester inuested in her rome many noble men of the city of Hul were murdred and he weÌ„ in peeces by meanes wherof the Ebrues came into great fauor and credit and Aman the cheefe in authoritie and fauor about the prince depriued of all his lands and shamefully executed vpon the gallows Nardocheus placed in his roome and greatly sublimed and exalted Also the xiiii children of the holy man Iob which were .vii. sonnes and so many daughters beeing all feasted at their eldest brothers howse beefore they rose from the boord were they not all slayne Also Baltezar sonne of Kyng Nabucodonosor made a bancket to all the gentlewomen and his coÌ„cubines within the city so sumptuous and rich that the only vessell hee was serued withall and the cuppes they dranke in were robbed out of the temple of Ierusalem by his father and this followed after his great banket The self same night the Kyng with al his concubines dyed sodenly and his realme taken from him and put into the hands of his enemyes Yt had been better for all these I haue recited that they had eaten alone at home then to haue dyed so sodaninly accompanied Now let al these gourmands and licorous mowthed people marke what I shall say to them and cary yt wel in mynd and that is this that the sinne of Gluttony is nothing els but a displeasure great perill and a maruelous expence I say that it is a displeasure for the great care they haue continually to seeke out diuersityes of fine and curious meates great peril because they ploÌ„ge their bodyes into many diseases and in vnmercifull charge for the curiosity and nombers of dishes So that for a litel pleasure delight wee take in the sweete tast of those deinty meates beeing but a satisfaction to the mind for a
auncient and renowmed oratours of Rome one was called Metellus Numidicus the whiche one daye makinge his oration to the Senate sayde these wordes Worthy Senatours I let you vnderstande that I haue greatly studied what the counselles should be that I ought to geue ye touching mariage For the counsell rashe and sodeyne oftentymes is not profitable I doe not perswade you at all to mary neyther doe saye that ye shall not mary but it is true that if ye can lyue without a woman yee shall be free from many troubles But what shall we doe O ye Romaines synce that nature hath made vs such that to kepe women it is a great trouble and to lyue without them it is more daunger I dare saye if in this case my opinion myght be accepted that it should not be euyll done to resiste the lust since it coÌ„meth by fittes and not to take wiues which are continuall troubles These were the wordes which Metellus Numidicus spake the which were not very acceptable nor pleasaunt to the fathers being in the Senate for they would not that he shuld haue spoken such wordes against mariage For there is no estate in this lyfe wherein fortune sheweth her force more then in this state of matrimonie A man maye proue them in this sort that if the fashions and vsages of the auncientes were diuerse as concernynge ordinaunce truly there was no lesse contrarietie in their contractes and ceremonies Boccase the Florentine in a booke that he made of the mariages of the auncientes reciteth many and sondrie customes that they vsed in making the mariages whereof he telleth some not for to allowe nor maintaine them but to reproue and condemne them For the wryters did neuer wryte the vices of some but onely to make the vertues of others more clerely to be knowen The Cymbres had a custome that when they would marie after the mariage was nowe agreed vpon he that was made sure shoulde pare his nayles and sende them to his wife that should be and she in like sorte sent hers vnto him And then when she of him and he of her had receiued the nayles the one of the other they toke them selues maried for euer and did afterwardes liue together as man and wyfe The Theutonians had a ceremonie that the man that was sure rounded the heere of her to whome he was made sure and she did the lyke vnto him and when the one suffered the other to doe so immediatly they celebrated mariage The Armenians hadde a lawe that the brydegrome should pinche the right eare of the bryde and the bryde should likewyse pinche the lefte eare of the brydegrome and then they tooke them selues maried for euer The Elamites had a custome that both parties whiche were made sure pricked one the others litle finger vntil they bledde the whiche bloud they did sucke naturally and this done they were maried The Numidians vsed that the brydegrome and the bryde shoulde gather together a pece of earth and with their spet tell they tempered it and therewith the one annointed the foreheade of the other so that the mariage betwene theym was to annoynte the one and the other with a litle claye When those of Dace would be maried the brydegrome and the bryde eche one by them selues were brought in chariottes the one metinge the other and when they came togethers the brydegrome gaue a newe name to the bryde and she likewyse to him and from that tyme forewarde they liued as in lawfull matrimony When those of Hungary would marye the one sent vnto the other a familier god made of syluer whom they called Lares and when they had receiued the God of eche other the mariage was finished and they lyued as man and wyfe The Siconians had a custome and lawe that when they should mary the one sent to the other a shooe and that receiued of both they agreed to the mariage The Tharentins had a custome that when they did marie they set them selues at the table to eate and the one did feade the other so that if by mishappe the one should chaunce to feade him selfe that mariage was not estemed for constant nor good The Scithes had a custome and they kept it as a lawe that when men and women should marie as nowe they touche the handes the one of the other so did they them touche with their feete afterwards they set together their knees then they touched with their handes and then they sette their buttockes together and so their heades and in the ende they imbraced the one the other All these ceremonies done the mariages were assured and sufficiently confirmed and so we might saye of many others but to auoyde tediousnes we will folowe our matter ¶ How Princesses and great Ladies ought to loue their husbandes and that loue ought not by coniurations and enchauntementes to be procured but by wisedome honestie and vertue desired Cap. iiii ALl men that desire to achieue and obteyne any worthy thinge in this life inuente and searche many meanes to come thereunto for men by good prouision and circumspection compasse sondrie thinges whiche otherwise they should loose onlesse thei would by force take them As in the mariages of our christian religion wherin we doe not suffer that the man the wife be parentes and nigh of bloud leauing a part that the one is a maÌ„ and the other a woman that the one is strong the other weake oft times it chaunceth that there is betwene the man and the wyfe more contrarietie in conditions then diuersitie in linage I would saye therfore for healthfull counsel necessary aduice to the great dames princesses to al other wiues since they must nedes eate and drinke with their husbandes that they must sleape treate be conuersaunt talke finally liue die with their husbands that they should vse muche diligence to beare with their conditions for to say the trothe the wife ought in all thinges to folowe the conditions of her husband the husbaÌ„d in some thing to beare with the coÌ„ditions of his wife So that she by her pacience ought to suffer the imperfâ—ctions of him and he likewise by his wisdome ought to dissemble the importunities of her and in such sorte they ought to agree loue togethers that all those of the common wealth should reioyce at their behauiours For maried men which are quarellers sedicious persones the neighbours in steade of weeping wailing for the depriuation of their life demaund giftes the one of the other for bringing newes of their 〈◊〉 â—â—mit that the husband be couetous vnthrifty that he be deformed in his body that he be rude in condition base of linage rashe in his speache in aduersities fearefull in prosperities carelesse in the end being as he is husbande we can not denie but in the house he ought to be chiefe maister For the which it is also necessary that we geue now vnto the wyues some healthfull counsell
whereby they may beare and suffre quietly suche great troubles For at this daye there is no husbande so louing nor so vertuous in whom the wife shall not finde some euill conditions First of al wiues ought to endeuour them selues to loue their husbandes vnfainedly if they desire their husbandes should loue them without dissimulation for as we see by experience mariage is seldome broken through pouertie nor yet continued with riches For the euill maried folkes through debate and strife be separated in on week where as by good and true loue they are preserued all the dayes of their life To eate drie and vnsauory meates they vse to take salte for to amende it I meane that the burdens of matrimonie are many and troublesome the whiche all with loue onely maye be endured For as Plato the deuine philosopher sayeth one thinge oughte not to be called more painefull then an other for the labour we thereunto employ but for the great or small loue that thereunto we haue Though some sondry thyngs be troublesome and tedious yet when with loue it is begonne it is easely folowed and ioyefully achieued for that trauayle is nothyng noysome where loue is the mediatour I knowe right well and doe confesse that the counsell whiche I geue to women is sharpe that is for an honest woman to loue a dissolute man for a sage wyfe to loue a foolishe husbande for a vertuous wyfe to loue a vitious husbande For as dayly experience sheweth there are some men of so foolish conditions other women of so noble conuersation that by reason apparant they ought to take them for mistresses rather then they should accepte them for husbandes Although this in some particuler cases is true I saye and affirme that generally all women are bounde to loue their husbandes since that willingly and not by compulsion they were not enforced to take them for in like manner if the mariage pleased not the woman she hath not so much cause to complaine of her husbande for asking her as she hath reason to complayne of her owne selfe that accepted hym For the misfortunes that by our folly doe chaunce though we haue cause to lamente them we ought also to haue reason to dissemble them Be the man neuer so wylde and euill brought vp it is impossible if the wife loue him but he must nedes loue her againe And though perchaunce he can not force his euill condition to loue her yet at the leaste he shall haue no occasion to hate her The whiche ought not to be litle estemed for there are many wyues not onely of the Plebeians but also of the noble dames that coulde be content to forgeue their husbandes all the pleasure they should doe them and also all the loue that they ought to shewe if they would refraine their tongues from speaking iniurious wordes and kepe their handes from dealinge lothsome stripes We haue many notable examples in histories of manye noble and stoute Ladies as well Grekes as Romaines whiche after they were maried had so great faithfulnes and bare suche loyaltie to their husbandes that they not onely folowed them in their trauailes but also deliuered them in their daungers Plutarche in the booke of noble women declareth that the Lacedemonians keping many nobles of the Athenians prisoners whiche at that tyme were their cruell and mortall enemies and beinge iudged to die their wyues concluded to goe to the pryson where they laye and in the ende they obtayned of the Gayler thereof that they myght goe in and talke with their husbandes for in dede the teares were many that before them were shed the giftes were not fewe whiche vnto them were offered The wiues therefore entring into the pryson did not onely chaunge their apparell with their husbandes but also the libertie of their personnes for they went out as women and the women in their steades remained there as men And when they brought out these innocent wyues from pryson to execute iustice supposing they were men the Lacedemonians vnderstandinge the faithfulnes of the women determined that they should not only be pardoned but also that they should be greatly rewarded and honoured for the good examples of other women to whom they were maried The auncient and great renowmed Panthea when newes was brought her that her husbande was dead in the battayle she her owne selfe determined to goe seke him out with hope that as yet he was not vtterly dead and fynding him dead with the bloud of him she washed all her body and likewyse her face stryking with a knife her selfe to the harte and imbracing her husbande she yelded vp the ghost so togethers they were caried to the graue Porcia the doughter of Marcus Porcia the great when she hearde that her husband Brutus was taken and slayn she felte for that newes so great sorowe that all her frendes seinge her take the matter so greuously hidde from her all Irone where with she might kill her selfe and did laboure to kepe and preserue her from daungers wherein she might fall and shorten her life For she was so excellent a Romaine and so necessary to the common wealth that if they had lamented the death of Brutus her husband with teares of their eies they ought to bewayle the losse of his wife Porcia with droppes of bloud in their hartes Porcia therefore feeling in her selfe a wofull and afflicted harte for the death of her entierly beloued husband to declare that that whiche she did was not fained nor for to please the people but to satisfie her great marueilous loue since she founde neither sworde nor knife to kill her selfe nor corde to hange her selfe neither welle to drowne her in she went to the fire and with as great pleasure did eate the hote firie coales as an other would haue eaten any delicate meates We may say that such kinde of death was very straunge and newe whiche the Romaine founde to encrease augmente and manifest her loue Yet we can not denie but that she wanne to the posteritie of her name a perpetuall memorie For as a noble dame she would quenche with coles of fire her burning harte that enflamed was with firie brondes of loue As Diodorus Siculus saith it was a lawe custome amongest the Lidians to mary them selues with many wiues and whan by chaunce their husbande 's died the wiues which they had met together and fought in some plaine place And the women which remained only aliue and of the conflict had the victory cast them selues into the graue of their husbande so that those women then fought for to die as men nowe fight for to liue ¶ Of the reuenge a woman of Grece toke of him that had killed her husband in hope to haue her in mariage Cap. v. PLutarche in the booke that he made of the noble and worthy women declareth a thing worthy of rehersall and to be had in memory In the citie of Galacia were two renowmed citezens whose names
to Rome after hee had been cōsul a great while in the Iles Baleares hee said these woords beefore all the senate You know fathers conscript I haue been chief Iustice consull xiii yeares during all which tyme I sweare to you by the imortal gods that to my knowledge I neuer did wrong to any man nether any seruant of myne displeasure to any nor doone any thing that was not lawfull to bee doone in the howse where I lay Phalaris the tyraunt when hee receyued any displeasure of the Agrigentines hee caused his seruants to lodge in their howses with them for the one and the other were so wicked so vnthrifty such quarellers and brawlers that hee could not worke them a greater spyght nor displeasure then to lodge theim heere and there in theyr howses There bee also in the court some courtiers that are esteemed of euery man to bee of so euill beehauiour and demeanor their seruantes and famyly of such lewde and nawghty condicyons that theyr hostes are throughly resoluyd ether not to receyue them into theyr howses or if they bee compelled to yt to absent thē selues for the tyme of their beeing there rather then to suffer such iniuryes and wrongs as they are suer they must take at their hands The courtier must consider that somtimes hee hath neede of a bottel of water to drink a broome to swepe his chamber a platter or dish to serue him withal of a table cloth and napkins and of a towell for his hands and his face of a stoole to sit on and of soome kettle for the kytchin and in such case hee should charge his seruaunts curteously to aske these things of his host and not to take them parforce vnasked Euery man desiereth to bee master in his owne howse and bee hee brother cousen or frend hee will not suffer him to beare asmuch rule in his own house as him selfe So that hee wil be lesse offended with the hurt and losse of those things that hee hath lent and were gently asked him then with those which vnknowing to him by force and against his will they haue taken from him yea though they bring them afterwards hole and sound againe And this our libertie is somuch set by that wee shall see sometimes a man for his pleasure playe and lose a.c. Crownes of gold and saye neuer a woord and on the other syde if one breke the least glasse in his howse hee will crye and rage to the heauens I remember whan I was a courtier and went to visit an other courtier a frend of myne that was sick in his lodging I fell a chiding and rebuking the host for that I found him exclaymyng and criyng out of the pages which plaiyng at the bal had broken him a lytle lampe of glasse and hee aunswered mee thus I cry not syr for the losse of my lamp which is a halfpeny matter nor for the oyle that they spylt worth a farthing but onely for the liberty they robbe mee of and for the small account they make of mee The good and wise courtier may not bee to familiar with his host his wief nor suffer his seruants to bee busy with the mayds of the howse more then to speake to them for their necessaries for in this case they should lesse hurt the master of the howse to ransake and spoyle his house and all that hee had in yt then to take from him his honor and good name To cast the bedds on the flower to break the doores windows to vnpaue the stones to paint and black the walles or to make any noyse in the howse are all of them things yet somtimes tollerable though not honest nor ciuill but to take his wief and to abuse her it is nether lawfull nor possible to dissemble yt much lesse to suffer it For it were too much shame and reproch to the husband to abide yt and high treason and crime abhominable for the courtier to doo yt Nowe synce men are frayle and that they can not nor wil not subdue their passions and filthy motions of the flesh there wanteth not notwithstanding women in princes courts whose loue frendships they may easely embrace which though they were al commaunded to auoide the court and the vierge of the court yet it could not bee chosē but some might secretly cōtinue stil in court to enterteine the courtly courtiers For if in the court there bee kept a table of plaie .ii. moneths onely in the yeare all the yeare long beesides they fynd the streats full stored of comon woomen when the yeare is most plentiful and frutefull of all things yet still there lacketh soome prouision of vittailes in the court but of such women there is neuer no want but rather to manie And therfore wee haue not sayd without great reason that it were to much treason and dishonesty for the courtier to fall in loue with his hostesse for in dooing yt hee should doo her husband too much wrong disfame the wife and offend his frends and neighbors and vtterly vndoo hym self For Suetonius Tranquillus resyteth that Iulius Cesar caused a Captayn of his to bee beeheaded only for sclaundering and defaming of his hostesse the which hee did not tarying for the complaint of her husband nor the accusation of any other And the Emperor Aurelianus seeing one of his men at a window one day pulling his hostesse by the sleeue caused his hand to bee striken of immediatly although both his hostesse and hee sware hee did it but in iest and to no other intent Plutarch in hys booke De matrimonio sayth that there was a law among the Licaoniens that if any straunger did but only talk with his hostesse his tong shoold bee cut out of his head and if hee had passed further that hee shoold then lose his head Macrobius also in hys Saturnaller reciteth that amongst the Romayns it was reputed a great infamy if any mā came and praysed the beawty and maners of the mistresse of the house where hee lodged for in praising her hee let them vnderstand hee knew her and knowing her hee spake to her and speaking to her hee opened his hart to her and this dooing hee playnly defamed her and made her to bee euel reported of Aulus Gelius wryteth that the lyke punishment was geeuen to him that had carnall participacion with any vestall virgin the self same was also executed on him that procured any infamy to his hostesse where hee lay Which punishment was either to bee cutt in the middes quartered in fower parts or els to bee stoned to death alyue The good courtier must also haue an other great regard that is to comaund his seruants to looke wel to his ryding apparell and such as are lent him of courtiers to wear otherwhile to see that it bee kept clean and well brusshed and aboue all safely delyuered where it was borowed For commonly the horskeepers haue theyr horses lowsing clothes and their maisters