The Ciuilitie of Childehode with the discipline and institucion of Children distributed in small and compēdious Chapiters and translated oute of French into Englysh by Thomas Paynell Anno. Do. 1560. ¶ To Mayster Antonie Browne the Sōne and Heyre of the righte Honorable Lord Antonie Vicount Mountegue Thomas Paynel sendeth greeting AFter that I had Englyshed thys Frenche boke incretyng very eligantly and compendiously of the Ciuilitie and good maners of chyldehod and howe chyldren should behaue them selues in the Church at the Table in the Scole in the Chamber after Dyner and Supper in commen and pryuate Assembles to honorable and priuate persones to theyr Parents and Scolemaysters what Authours they shoulde rede how to repete thē what raimēt thei should were and howe to vse it what dyligence they shulde vse in they re study and whan they shulde study what semelye and manerly contenaunce of face gesture of hand and of the hole body should become them what recreation and pastyme and what playes they shoulde vse and refuse and wyth whom they should playe what they oughte to doe or euer they prepare them selues to go to theyr reste and what thei should afterwardes record imagine wyth manyfold other thynges very mete and necessarye for the educacion and erudition of children I wyth my selfe reuoluynge and remembrynge how rusticallye and rudely the chyldren of thys noble realme of Englande in moste places be broughte up beynge ignorant of all good maners thought it no lost time nor labor to translate thys lytle booke in to Englyshe for the crudicion of chyldren and to dedicate the same to you a chylde and yet a spectacle to all chyldren of all good ciuilitie and pure maners where wyth ye doe manifestlye shewe where vnder whose wynge ye haue bene nourished brought vppe that vnder the ferula and wynge of your father a lerned and a noble man adurned wyth all humanite and vertue wyth all ciuilitie godly behauiour wyth wysdome counsell with affabilitie and comely gesture wherfore it shal be your parte from henceforth to ensue and folow the prudencie and wisdome the nobilyte and erudicion the pure and exquisyte maners and the liberalite of your moste noble father for vnsemely it is the father to be serued and the chylde vnterned the father to be lyberal and the chyld prodigal the father to be mylde and meke and the chylde vngentle and churlyshe Therfore I woulde exhorte you in this your tender age to apply and to geue youre selfe to honor and to feare god to erudicion vertue to honor and to obeye youre parentes and elders continually to serue God the geuer of al grace and goodnes fo so shall ye prosper both spiritually and temporally and obtaine the fauour bothe of in nine and of the immortall God for euer Thus our Lorde encrease you and kepe you ¶ The Ciuilyte of Chyldhod foure principall poynts required to order and to instructe youthe THe office to order and to instruct youthe hathe dyuers pointes of the which as this is the fyrst So it is the principal that the tender sprite and mynde may be seasoned wyth vertue The seconde that he loue and learne lyberal artes The thyrd that he be instructed in the maners of doyng and actions the whych this lyfe requyreth The fourth is that at the begynnyng of hys age and yeares he accustome hym selfe vnto the Ciuilite of maners the whyche thing I at this present haue pryncipally enterprised For many other and we our selues also haue wrytten many thinges of the three other poynetes And althoughe that the exterior and vtwarde gesture of the body dothe procede of the well lerned spyrite and mynde yet we do see that oftē tymes it chaunsyth throughe vncertain of the precepts that some times we desire thys good grace and gift in vertuous and wel lerned men Nor I wyll not denye that thys is not the worst part of philosophy but as mens iugements be now a dayes it profyteth and serueth very muche to gette and to optayne beneuolence and amytie and to cause the noble vertues of the soule to be commendable before the eyes of men Modestye and simplicite is required to be in yonge chyldren IT is necessary that in all thynge man be bothe of mynd of body of gesture and of raymente vpright but specialy handsom modest simplicite becommeth yonge children and among them and aboue all other noble infants and chyldren But they must be estemed more noble the adurne theyr spirites wyth liberall studies then they which paynte in theyr scutshons Lyons Egles Bulles and Liberds they haue more true nobilitie in that place of so great blasynge and armes maye take so much of the armes of nobilitie as they haue receyued and lerned of liberall artes The orberynge of the eyes TO the intente than that the sprite and mynde of the chylde well lerned maye shine on euery syde it thyneth and is sene principally in the face and visage his eyes must nedes be sweete peasable shamefast and restfull and not lifted vp or ouertwhart the which is a signe of cruelnes nor vage nor fearefull the whyche is a sygne of folly and a faulte of the brayne nor squinrynge nor blinekynge the whyche appertain to them whych are suspected and fraudulently go about some treson nor to muche open and enlarged the whyche appertainch to dullardes fooles nor oftentymes twynkling whych pertayneth to those that be inconstant not wandering hether and thether the whych pertain to the astonied for this was noted and blamed in Socrates nor to sharpe the whych is a sygne of anger nor assygninge and as it were apointynge and spekinge the whyche is a signe of vnchastity but declaring a certein quiet temperat and amiable sprit wyth all reuerence and truly yt was not yll saide of the aunciente philosephers that the eyes be the lease of the soule The auncient painters do declare vnto vs that in tymes past it was a singuler modestie to beholde the eyes halfe closed as amonge certein Spanyardes it is reputed gracious an amiable thinge to loke the eyes beyng abased and inclined Like wise we learne by the forsaid paynters that it was longe sense a signe of a wise man to draw in and to close the lippes but that that is cumly of nature shal be estemed goodly and honest before al people not wyth standinge that in these things we must sumtimes be like vnto fyshes the whiche dooe chaunge their couler after the thing they recounter and meete wyth all so must we apply our self after the custome of the countrey There are beside these other coūtrey There are beside these other coūtenaunces of the eyes that nature hath geuen to some after one sorte and to other after another sorte the whyche fall not vnder oure precepts but that the euyl gestures ofentimes do marre not only the countenance and order of the eyes but also of the hole body Contrary wise the gestures whyche are righte and
kisse one hath bene of long time a gracious and a comelye thing amonge the Almanes as their paintinges pictures declare Of drawing and putting ouce the toungue HE mocketh some manne that draweth out his tonge at him these snatchers gapers should vse and do that To spitte WHan thou spittest turne thy face aside to thintent thou spit vpon no man If thou haue caste anye ordure or filthinesse vpon the ground thou must trede it out with thy fote as I haue saide already to the ende that it trouble no mans heart nor stomake If it be not lawfull for to turne thee receiue and gather thy spittle into thy handkercher It is a vile thing to swalow downe thy spittle as we dooe see some that spit at euery woorde not of necessity but by custom Furthermore there be som that doe coughe and that by a vsuall custome such maner of doing doth smel and declare a liar or one that speaking doth forge what he should say To belche OTher at euery worde doe belche with lesse honestie the whiche thing if it come and drawe to a custome in youthe it will continue in age The selfesame must bee iudged of coughing wherof Clitipho in Terēce was reprehended of a seruant If thou be constrained to coughe be ware thou do it not before the mouth or face of a nother and that there bee not a fonde maner to coughe hier than nature requireth To vomite IF the wilt vomit turne thy self to soe other place for why to vomit is not ill of it selfe but it is a vile thinge if gluttonie bee the cause therof Cleane teeth YOuthe must take hede that theyr teeth be cleane but to make thē white with pouder belongeth to maidens to rub them with salte or alem is euil for the gummes to do this with his vrine belongeth to Spanyardes if any thing remaine betwene thy teethe thou must not take it out which thy knife nor with thy nailes as dogs and cattes doe nor with thy napkin but with a tooth piker made of a spindle or with a quill or with the lyttle bones taken out of the spurres of cockes or capons To washe the mouthe IT is an honeste thing a wholesome to washe the mouth in the morninge with cleane and pure water but to returne often tymes vnto it is foolishnes and vncomelynesse Of the vse of the tonge we shal speake in his place Of a cleane head IT is a rustical and a rude thyng not to be combe and that ther be a clenlynes but not a tyremente of maidens There must be neither lice nor nittes Often times to scratche the head in the presence of other is a thing not very decēt nor honest as to scratch the body with the nailes is a foule a filthy thyng and specially if it be done by a custome and not of necessitie That the heere fal nor hange not vpon his eies nor vpon his shoulders Oftentimes to couer his bushe by shakyng and casting vp of the head doeth pertain to horses that bee pompeous proude With the hande to turne vp that heere from the forehead an hygh is a thyng not very faire nor comely but to shede them with the hand is more modest An upright bodye TO holde down the heade and to lift vp the shoulders is a signe of slouthfulnes To bowe backe the body is a token of arreganey but to kepe it vpright without enforcemēt is comely That the head neither hang to the one side nor to the other for that smelleth of an hipocrite excepte there be a cause that a man may holde it so or that some like thing require it Ye must gouerne and rule your shoulders with a iuste counterpese and not after the maner of the Atheniens to holde vp the one and to let faule the other For such maner of countenaunces are dispraised in litle children tournynge themselfe into nature difformynge and defilynge all the bodye contrarye to his nature And therefore they that of sluggishnesse haue taken a custome to crooke the bodye shall get a crooked backe and a vice that nature hath not geuen them and they that haue a customed to hange the heade on the one syde shall so harden and geue them to that vse and maner that whan thei bee greate they cannot chaunge it The tender bodies bee lyke younge plantes tho whiche growe and ware harde in suche sorte as thou hast bowed and drawne them with stake corde and bande To caste the armes behinde the backe betokeneth an ydle persone and a these nor it is not much better sittinge or standinge to holde or to set one hande vppon his side the whiche thinge neuerthelesse to some menne semeth faire and goodlye and to smell of a manne of warre All that that pleaseth fooles is not yet honest but that thynge that is after reasone and nature The reste shall bee spoken whan wee shall come to speake of deuices and purposes and also of the Table Vnhonest members to bee couered DO discouer wout necesitie the mēbers vnto the which nature hath geuen shame oughte to bee euyll to an honest childe And whan necessitye constraineth him he oughte to dooe it with a certaine decent shamefastnesse ye and that he haue no witnesse to see them For the Aungels are alwayes present vnto whom shamefast company and keping of chastity is very greable for yong children And therfore we muste so muche the lesse suffer other to touch our mēbers frō that which to turn our eyes is chastitie and honestie To retayne vrine or ventositye TO retayne vrine is hurtfull to healthe but to make it secretely is a thing that kepeth hym from shame There be that commaund that a childe should retayne the ventositye of the belly beholding of his buttocks together but ceries this is not a point of Ciuilitie to shewe himself gracious and of good maners and to engender a certain sickenes yf it bee lawfull to turne away and beyng al alone to let it goe and auoide it otherwyse after the auncient olde prouerbe he muste disguise the so unde by coughyng they shoulde haue forbidden all this at once not to discharge the belly consideryng that it is more dangerous to kepe and holde his wynde than to retayne hys vrine Howe one should sit and stande vpryghte TO sit with the knees open and caste abrode or holde his legges wyde or crooked doeth pertayne to those that be braue and dooe counterfaite gentlemen Whan thou shalt be set see that thy knees and thy feete be close together also when thou doest stande that at the least thei be meanely open Some doe sit after this sorte that they cause the one legge to hange aboue the knee Some other stand vpright hauing their armes a crosse and their legges together the one maner pertaineth to men that be pensyfe the other to people that be foolyshe and to sit castynge one foote vppon the lefte thighe is the moode and maner of aūciente kynges but it is reproued
conuenient causeth that thynge that is semely by nature to be more comely decent that whych is vicious yf they take them not away wyll couer and diminishe them It is nothyng beautifull to behold any man with one eye for what other thing is that but to make hym selfe one eyed Let vs leue this gesture to the hūnes a people so called to shoters in crosse-bowes and to many other artificers Streyght browes THe Browes ought to be streight and not drawne bakwards the whyche is a signe of pride nor exalted the whiche is a signe of arrogancy no hanginge vpon his eyes the which pertaineth to dreamers and to those that thinke euyll A ioyfull and mery forehed FOrther more let the forehed be ioyfull full shewinge a good and mery chere not wrincled reuen the whiche pertaineth to age not cumminge and goinge for that pertaineth to hedge hogges not ouerthwarte and rughe which thinge pertaineth to bulles A clene nose THat there be no sneuill in the Nose the whych is a signe of a foule filthy people and Socrates the Philosopher was blamid for this vice to wipe his nose with his bonet if he haue one or vpon his gowne is a rustical and a rude thing to wipe his nose with his arme or elbowe pertaineth to fyshmongers nor it is not more manierly to doo the same with his hand if by and by thou make clene thy fingers vpon thy gowne To receiue the filthines of the nostrilles with an handkercher is honeste and likewise to turne the body a litle if there be any honest men there yf ther be any thing vpō the groūd after he hath wiped his nose with two fingers he must trede vpon it To blowe wyth the nose and to snorce TO blow lowde with the nostrelles is a filthy thing and a signe of color and yet more filthy to snorte the which pertaineth to those that be furious and withoute vnderstandinge yf they doo it customably for they must be pardoned that haue a high brethe and do brethe with great difficultie To speake in the nose is a thinge that men mocke at and it pertaineth to Storkes and Elephantes To shrinke vp the nose pertaineth to mockers and to those that playe the storke backwardes To Nese IF it chaunse that thou must nese in the presence of sum man it is a point of ciuilite to turn thy self a litle and incontinente after that the violence shal be appeased to make the signe of the crosse vpon thy mouthe afterwardes puttinge of thy bonet to salute thē that saluted thee or thē that saide Christe helpe For why to nese as to yawne doth wholy take away the hearing of the eares And afterwards to desyre pray them not to be displeased or els to geue them great thankes ¶ To saye God saue you when men neese IT is a deuoute thing to say god saue the mā whan he neseth If men doe it in the presence of dyuers aged menne the whiche say vnto some honorable man or woman God saue you the childe ought to put of his cappe Forther more to enforce him selfe to nese more lowder or to duble it to shew his force and strengthe pertaineth to those that be glorious and to retaine the sowne that nature geueth partaineth to folishe and vnapte people the which praise ciuilitie more than helthe Shamefast Chekes THat the chekes be died with a certain natural shamefastnes with suche as is meete and conuenient for a noble infant wtout paintinge or false coleringe but yet he must so temper it that it turne not in to great assuance or boldenes nor that it bring not a certaine astonishemente and dulnes and as the cōmen prouerb doeth saye The fourthe degre of foly For some haue this nature so strōgly emprented that it maketh them like to a parson or mā that ruleth This vice is or may be moderate yf the childe do accustome him self to lyue with men that be elder thē him self and if he exercise him self to play enterludes comedies To cause the chekes to swell is a signe of arrogance and to cause them to faul and swage dothe pertaine to him that disconfort him self or is disconfort the one doth declare that the man is glorious proude that other that he is a traiter The mouth close LEt not the mouth be to much shut as his is that fereth to receiue the breth of another nor that it be open and gaping as foles haue but that it be close the lippes kissing ech other swetlye It is also a filthy a vile thinge oftentimes to put forth the lippes to do as if thou shouldst cherish a horsse with the tongue although that this thinge is to be suffred in greate estates that go thorow the midste of a certaine company of people for nothing misbecummeth them but we do order teach an infant To Yawne IF by chaunce thou be enforsed to pawne nor can not turne the nor goe thy waies thou muste put before thy mouth either thy napkin or thy hande and make the signe of the crosse ¶ How one should laugh and how he should not TO laugh at all purposes and at all thinges that we see done doeth pertaine to fooles Contrarywise to laugh at nothing that men doe doth pertaine to sadde men and to shepish persons It is an ewil thing to laughe at vile and dishonest thinges Morcouer one maner of laughinge to make a great laughter that moueth all the bodie whereof the Greekes cal it al mouing and trauailing is not decent nor mete for no age so than it cānot become youth It to also a filthy thing whan a mā laugheth to neye like a horse nor that laughter is not very goodly that eular geth the mouth causeth the cheekes as it were to retere and discouereth the teeth the which laughter is called the girning of a dogge No man shall expresse his ioye in suche maner to the ende that he shew not a dissolute sprit and that he deforme not his mouthe These bee the woordes of fooles I pisse thorow laughter I burst thorow laughter I thought I should haue dyed through laughter or I sounde thorow laughter If anye thing chaunce where at a man doth so laugh that it causeth hun to eate again that he hath receyued he must couer his face eyther with his napkin or with his hande To laugh all alone or without any euidēt cause is attributed to foolishnes But yet if it so chaunce it shall be ciuilly well done to declare the cause wherefore he laughed or if it be not to be reueled he must finde some thing to the ende that no man thinke that they mocke hint To byte the lyppe TO bite the nether lippe is vile dishonest for it is the gesture of a man that threatneth and likewyse to bite the vpper lippe And also to licke the borders of his lyppes is an vncomely thing To haue the lyppes extended and as prest and redy to
In Italie certaine menne for honor sake doe laie one foote vppon another nor they sustayne not themselues but as it were vppon one legge after the maner of storkes if this gesture be cōuenient for litle children I know not To encline to doe reuerence and make courtesye LIkewise to encline and bowe thy knees after one maner is wel lyked in some countrey it is mislyked and another in another Some doe bowe the knees together and som holde them righte vp and other somewhat crooked There be that esteme that that maner pertayneth to women and therfore kepyng their bodies vpright they firste bowe the right knee and incontinent after the left the which maner is praised in the childrē of Englād The Frenche men do bowe onely the right knee with a certayne swete turning and mouing of the body In lyke thinges diuersitie hath no repugnance against honestie It shall be in the wyl of eche one either to vse the maners of the countrey or to cleue to the maners of straungers forasmuche as there bee men vnto whom the thynges and maners of straungers are most pleasant Of goynge THat our going be not as it wer broken and fayned nor to hastye the one pertaineth to softe and effemenate persones the other to those that be furious and mad Likewise that it be not wauering frō one side to the other and therefore let vs leaue it to the menne of warre of Swicherlande and to those that esteme it a great ornament to weare fethers in their bonets There are some that haue a foolishe maner of haltyng whan they gooe Notwithstandynge that wee haue seene Bushoppes that glorifyed in suche maner of goynge To shake the legges when men do syt pertayneth to fooles as to fyddle and to make a thousande toyes with the handes is a sygne of an vnsounde and entire vnderstanding ¶ Of rayment and of the honest forme and facion of the same WE haue spoken compendiouslye and briefly of the body Now we shall speake of the raymente in fewe woordes because that the raimēt in a maner is the body of the body and because that thereby a man maye coniecture and geue iudgement of the nature and qualitie of the spirite minde of men Notwithstanding that we can not prescribe nor limit a certayne maner and fashion because the fortune ryches or greate dignitie of euery mā is not like and that in all nacions lyke thynges are not semely or vnsemelye Furthermore because the selfe same thynges please not at all times or displease therfore as in other things like wyse in this we must geue somewhat as the prouerbe saith to the lawe and to the place And furthermore wise mē commaunde to serue the tyme yet neuerthelesse in these varieties mē finde a thyng that is of it selfe honest or not honest as thynges that serue to no vse for the whiche garmentes are made ¶ Long tayles or traynes in womens garmentes MEn doe deride and mocke to see women drawe their long tailes after them and men also be blamed whether thei be conueniente and meete for Cardinals and Bushops let other men iudge Shorte gownes VEry shorte gownes haue bene euermore vituperated and blamed as well in men as in women for why the seconde vse of garmentes is to couer suche partes as can not honestly be shewed to the eyes of men It is saide already not to pertain to man and also to sauer the feminine sepe to be vngyrded but nowe a dayes it is no rebuke nor vice to no man because the shamefull partes are couered with the sherte and hosen although that gowne doth open it selfe and flyeth abrode with the winde For thys cause the garment is vnhonest among al people the whiche is so shorte that whan thou stoupeste downe it couereth not those partes the whiche men do couer for honor sake To Iagge and to cut garmentes TO cut iagge his raiment thei do it that are out of their wit and mad Painted and garded rayment TO vse painted and garded raimēt pertaineth to fooles and apes Clenlines in rayment IT muste be then that there be clēlines in rayment after the riches and dignitie of man and after the coūtrey and custome and that the garmēt bee not vituperable to the craftesman nor settyng forth a molestiousnes and arrogancie Modestie in garmentes TO younge children belongeth a garment that is not curious so it be without foulnes filthines Clenlinesse and honestie in the vse and parte of them THere be certain that make redde the borders of their shertes and of their coates with a certain perfume of vrine or els thei plaister their brestes and their sleues with a certayn vile couering and not with playster but with the sneuil filthines of their noses with the ordure spittle of their mouth Sōe ther be whose gown dothe hāge all on one side vnto other it doth fal backwards vnto the reines of the back and there bee vnto whom that semeth verye faire and goodlye So that al the garmentes of the body must be cleane proper and well fashioned likewyse thei must be after the proporcion of the body If thy parentes haue geuen thee any ioly and semely apparell beholde it not tourningre thy eyes vnto it nor make not as though thou were merye and well contente shewyng it vnto other for one of these maners pertaine to apes and the other to pecockes Let other men looke vpon thee and bee thou ignoraunt that thou arte in good order The more that a great mannes riches is the more is his modestie and humilitie agreable It is for the poore whom we muste suffer moderatelye to glorifie themselues to the comforte of their pouertie But the riche man shewing foorth the sumptuousnes of hys raiment doeth reproche other of theyr misery purchaseth to himselfe enuy ¶ Howe he ought to behaue himselfe in the Churche AT all times and as ofte as thou doest come into the churche discouer thy head and swetely bowyng thy knees salute Iesus Christe Loke that thou come into no churche but with lyke deuocion thy head being bare and both thy knees vpon the earth make thy praier to almightye god disposing al thy body to deuocion and thinking the god is presēt with innumerable milions of Aungels And if he that doth come to speake to a king being in the companye of his nobilitie not discouering hys head is of all men estemed not onely rude but out of his wit what is he that hath his head vncouered and his knees vp right there where the immortall king of kynges and the geuer of immortalitie is present with al his celestial spirites most reuerently about him nor thou nedest not to care if thou se him not for other eyes see him and as certain it is that thei be presēt as if thou sawest them with thy corporall eyes for the eyes of faith see more certainly then the eyes of the fleshe ¶ Not to walke in the Churche ALso it is an vndecent thing and