dâ—ctresse puttyng on a Lyons hide as they saie let me not sticke now to goe through withall and to teache you this also that the selfe same felicitee whiche Christians doe so hotely desyre and by so many labours dooe seke for is naught els than a certaine kynde of rauyng in the sprite and godly foolisshenesse Whiche woordes I would not ye should grate on nor take them at the woorst but rather note the thyng in deede as it lieth For fyrst ye must thinke how Christians in this poinct dooe fully agree with the opinion of Platos Sectatours how the soule of man beyng drowned and entangled in the fleshely bandes of the bodie can not as being dusked with the grosenesse of the same beholde and take fruicion of the fight of verie thynges as thei are in deede Wherupon Plato defineth Philosophie to bee a meditacion or remembraunce of death in as muche as it plucketh and retyreth the mind of man from visible and corporall thyngê to those that are inuisible and ghostly Whiche effect is in death also Therfore so longe as the soule within man doeth rightly and in due wyse peruse the Organs of the bodie so longe is that man called sounde and of good discrecion but whan some of those bandes or conduiteâ— beyng ones perisshed she dooeth busily labour to recouer hir freedome minding a certaine flight as it were and breakyng lose from that hir flesshely prison the bodie by whiche struglyng the whole frame of the sensis and inwarde powers is disioygned you dooe holde him for madde and out of his right mynde whiche passion if it come perhaps through infyrmitee or faultinesse of any of those Organs than dooe all men precisely agree that it is plaine Madnes How be it we see that euin this kynde of rauers dooe sometyme also prophecie of thyngê commyng and sodeinly become knowers of tounges and artes whiche erste they neuer learned shewyng to haue in theim I wote neuer what espece of new inspiracion and diuinitee whiche vndoubtedly chanceth because the soule beyng somewhat enlarged and made freer from the bodies yoke and contagiousnesse beginneth a little to exercise and welde hir selfe accordyng to the propretee of hir owne nature And vpon like occasion many folke labouring in the extreme pangê of death are muche subiect as I take it to somewhat like hereto as often as if thei were rauished in a trauÌ„ce they dooe speake of certaine wonderous thyngê perteignyng to an other worlde But and if the saied wandryng of the wittê dooe befalle a man for that he is right passyngly moued aâ—d stirred vp with the loue of heauenly thyngê I doubte now whether it maie be called the selfe same kynde of madnesse yet sure it is so nere sybbe therto as many men now a daies will doubt neuer a whitte to repute that his feruent affection towardê god for a verie dotage of the mynde Namely seyng a smalle numbre of suche sely good soules as are deteigned therwith dooe in all theyr deedes and liuyng repine and disagree from the whole bande of other mortall men Wherfore I suppose they are serued as Plato feigneth that one of those prisoners was that satte bounden in a darke denne vnder grounde as before I recited vnto you wheras naught was seen els sauyng shadowes and representacions of thinges That where by chaunce the saied prisoner escaped out of the denne and so commyng abrode into this worlde saw verie thinges as thei were in deede returning of good will to his felowes to aduertise theim of the errour thei were in he was no whitte beleeued of theim but rather laught to scorne For wheras he like a man of wisedome and experience seemed to pitie their madnesse and great blindnesse in mistakyng so of thynges thei on the otherside did potte at him and thrust him out of their companie for a frantike foole So fareth it by the vulgar sorte of men who commenly haue those thyngê in greatest price and admiracion that are most sensuall and bodily as whiche thei take to be onely and none other wheras goddê folkes on the other part what euer draweth nerest to the bodily vse do the sooner therfore despise and set lyght by it forsomuche as they are holy rauisshed aud geuin to the contemplacion of inuisible thyngê For as worldlyngê haue richesse in best reputacion next therto estemyng the weale of theyr bodies and lest regardyng the profite of theyr soules in case thei regarde it at all for some of them beleue there is no soule because they can not see it at the eie So againe deuout persons put theyr whole confidence in god beyng the simplest and most pure thyng of all others and secondly do chearishe that that draweth nerest to hym I meane the sprite bestowyng no cost nor â—endance on their bodies nor on pleasures belongyng to the same But money of all thyngê they neglect and set no store by nomore than ye woulde dooe by thynges superfluous or rather noysome That and if maie chaunce at any time thei be enforsed to go about worldly affayres I can tell you yet that they doe it euil willyngly and with a spyced stomake So that Paule saieth thei haue goodes as not hauyng goodes and possesse theim as not possessyng theim by reason thei varie so muche from the vniuersall and vulgar sorte of men For although the Senses haue all a certaine parentage aâ—d kynneship with the body yet be there of the same some grosser in substaunce as are fealyng hearyng seeyng smellyng and tastyng some againe more seuered and remoued from the body as is memorie vnderstandyng and free-will Now seeyng that the soule of man hath therin most strength and vigour wherunto she moste applieth hir selfe therfore it cometh to passe that holy men the force of whose sprites is wholy bent vpon thynges contemplatiue whiche are most distaunt and aliened from the grosser senses dooe fare in the rest as if they were benummed or brute of iudgement as domme beastê are Wheras contrary the soules of vulgar people are most â—â—fe and pregnaunt in those grosse rude senses of the body beyng as blunt and dulle yet in the other fiue powers of the witte And herevpon I thynke it cometh that some deuoute persones as it is written of theim did without apperceiuyng the difference drinke lampe oyle in steede of wyne So likewyse as conceruyng the affections of the minde some of them be of faster league aud aliaunce to the body as are flesshely luste appetite to fode or slepe yre pride and enuie with suche other disordinate mocioâ—s wherwith holy men are euer at vnpeasible warre but the vulgars not onely dooe not eschew but rather embrace theim as supposyng they can not liue without them Than againe some other affections are entredeux and indifferent to bothe partes whiche we maie name Naturall as the reuerence a man beareth towardes father and mother the charinesse he hath ouer his children the loue he oweth to his kinnesfolkes and friendes with suche
wont with some transformacion or likenesse tournyng to succour men readie to perisshe so I also that in me lyeth dooe reuoke suche aged men as are at deathes dore and next the pitte backe againe vnto childhode Wherupon not causeles folkê call theim twyse children Now and if some woulde aske me how I dooe transforme theim so I will not hyde so muche as that from you For I bringe them to the fountaine of my mayden Obliuion called Lethes whiche springeth in the Isles fortunate for as for the other that renneth through the fieldes Elisiê is but a small branche of this former to the ende that as soone as they there haue dronken longe forgetfulnesse of thingê passed thei maie by little and little wasshyng awaie all the troubles and carefulnesses of the mynde become chilhisshe agayne But some perhaps will obiecte to me and saie that suche olde men dooe dote now and are paste theyr wittê Yea be as be maie yet this is euin the plaine recourse vnto childbode For is the same ought els suppose you than dotage or ignorance is it ought els in children that deliteth you than their indiscrecion For who is he that wolde not eschew and abhorre no lesse then a monster a child being endued with manlyke reason and capacitee Wherunto accordeth this common prouerbe I hate the childe whose witte ripeneth before the tyme. Or who wold gladly susteine to haunt or kepe company with that olde man who vnto his so longe practise and experience in thyngê had added also lyke quicknesse of the mynde and lyke sharpnesse of discourse Conclude therfore that old age doteth thorough my benefite and yet ye see howe these my good dotardê shall in the meane whyle rest vacant and discharged of all suche cares and anxieties wherwith wisemen of fressher sprites are wrongen continually in the meane whyle become cherisshers eche of other by neyghbourly gossippyng togethers and table plaie felyng no maner tediousnesse of this life whiche skarce a liuelier age suffreth yea and sometyme learne againe to spell a m o as the olde man of Plautus dooeth most wretched in case one yntch of sound witte remained in theim and yet through my procurement moste happy beyng also deare and welcome to theyr friendê amongê other respectê for this that commonly they are verie pleasant in company and merily bespoken For in Homer ye maie reade howe out of Nestors mouthe there flowed woordes sweeter than honie wheras Achilles langage byted bitter In Homer also olde men leaning ouer Troie walles put foorthe a swetedelyuerid voyce As to whiche regarde theirs maie be preferred before the verie grace of infancie whiche sure is muche gracious but yet partly disgraced when it lacketh speache and chattyng that are euin the chiefest recreacions of mans life Adde hereto that olde age ioyeth muche in children and children lykewyse will euer bee about oldefolkê Suche is nature in couplyng lyke and lyke together for what other thing is there vnlike betwix them saue that Elde is fuller of wrincles and noumbreth more yeeres Els their white heares their totheles iawes lesse proporcion of theyr bodies mylklongyng fumblyng in the mouthe chattyng fondnesse forgetfulnesse rechelousnesse for briefe all other condicions be of one degree so that the nearer men aproche to olde age the nearer retourne thei to the forme of childhode till at laste euin lyke children no tediousnesse of life nor sence of death felt they depart out of this worlde Can any of you compare now the other goddê transformacions with this of myne who what thei dooe iâ— waie of displeasure me listeth not to reherse But whom they moste fauour and are pleased with them trow I thei are wont to chaunge into trees into foules into grashoppers ye or sometyme into serpentê as if it were not a certaine kynde of perisshyng to be altered so into a new lykenesse wheras I reduce the selfe same man to the best and most pleasaunt parte of all his lyfe That and if men had the grace to forbeare quite from medlyng with wisedome leadyng foorth all theyr lyfe in my seruice now I wene there shoulde be no olde age at all but rather they shoulde enioie a moste happie and continuall youthe For see you not I praie you how these wysemen who are geuen to philosophie or some suche ernest and graue studie dooe for the most parte waxe hore before they be fully yonge men whiche vndoubtedly cometh of cares and incessant sharpe trauailyng of the braine by little and little sokyng vp the liuely iuyce of the sprites wheras my fooles on the other side be slicke and smothe skinned yea and well trussed together lyke hoglyngê of Acarnania suche as neuer shoulde fele I warrant you any discommoditee of age ne were it not that sometyme by chaunce theiâ—e infected with the contagious company of wysemen Suche is the lotte of mans life suffryng nothyng on all partê to be blisfull And here I maie bringe in the approued auctoritee of the prouerbe whiche affirmeth Folie to be the onely lynke that staieth fletyng youthe and kepeth of combrous age Lyke as not causeles men saie by the Brabanters that wheras yeres make other people the wyser they the lenger thei lyue are rooted the deper in folie Yet for all that where fynde you any nacion more iocunde or meter for the coÌ„men trade of liuing or that lesse feleth ages weight than this dooeth To whom as in countrey so also in maners are my Hollanders next neighbours For why shoulde I sticke to call them myne Seeyng thei take my parte so ernestly as therby thei haue gotten theim my name for an addicion so little wherof thei ar ashamed as they passe not to boste theim selues in it Let theim that will now goe and seke out Medea Circes Venus Aurora or I wote neuer what maner fountaine to haue theyr youthe restored wheras I onely am she that maie and vse to dooe it It is I that haue that meruailous iuyce wherewith Memnous daughter proroged the youthe of hir graundsire Tithonus I am that Venus through whose fauour Phaon waxed yonge againe whom therfore Sappho so much loued Mine be those herbes if any suche be and mine be those charmes and myne is that fountaine that not onely calle youthe backe againe ones beyng vanisshed but also whiche is more desyrable dooeth conserue it euerlastyng That and if ye all dooe subscribe to this opinion how nothyng is more pleasaunt than youthe and nothing more cumbresome than age now I trow ye perceiue how muche ye are beholdyng to me seeyng I vpholde to you so great a weale so great an euill excluded But what speake I yet of mortall men serche ye hardly all heauen and who that list than scorne be my name in case he finde any of the goddê not crabbed and dispisable vnles my influence dooe commend hym For why is my cosyn Bacchus euer lyke a striplyng and fayre busshed Forsouth because like a witles and dronken compaignion passyng
and wretched who drawe nearest to the bluntnesse of brute beastes and attempte nothyng beyonde mans degree For proufe wherof I will not blinde you with these Stoikes Syllogismes but rather induce you by some familiar exemple And by the faieth ye owe to the immortall goddê maie any thyng to an indifferent considrer be deemed more happie and blisfull than is this kynde of men whom commenly ye call fooles doltes ideotes and paches by most fayre and goodly names as I take theim Peraduenture I moue a thyng without purpose and verie fonde at the fyrst syght but ere I haue dooen ye will graunt I haue cause to saie it Seeyng fyrst suche ideotes are free and exempt from all feare of death whiche feare is no small corrosiue to a mind that mindeth it I warrant you Lyke as they fele not what a twitching turment it is to haue a grudged conscience and shrinke as little at these old wiues tales of sprites of diuellê of hobgoblyne and the fayries neither mournyng to theim selues for feare of euillê and aduersitees impendyng nor braggyng ouermuche vpon hope of any good lucke commyng To be briefe they are not tawed nor plucht a sunder with a thousande thousand cares wherwith other men are oppressed Thei blushe at nothyng they doubt nothyng they coueite no dignitee they enuie â—o mans fortune they loue not peramours and lastly if they be veraie brute Naturalles now they sinne not as doctours doe affirme Here I woulde my Maisters of sapience naie rather Maister fooles shoulde repute with theim selues how on all sydes theyr myndes are vexed continually Yea lette theim but gather to accompt to what a noumbre of discommoditees inconueniences and difficulties the state of theyr lyfe is endebted and so they shall soone summe vp from howe many and howe great euillê I haue subtraied these my selâ—e paches Who not onely them selues are euer mery plaiyng singyng and laughyng but also what euer they dooe are prouokers of others lykewyse to pleasure sport and laughter as who saieth ordeined herefore by the goddê of theyr beâ—euolence to recreate the sadnesse of mens lyues That wheras diuerse amongê them selues are diuersly enclined yet dooe all men generally with one assent owe fauour to these poore fooles coueit them fede theÌ„ stroke them embrace them yea so muche lacketh that auy wight of reason will do them any great iniurie as the verie wildbeastê experience teacheth haue been seen to spare and forbeare from hurtyng of theim thorough a certaine naturall sense of theyr innocencie For suche Naturals are holy and consecrate vnto the goddê specially to me and not without cause therfore dooe folke so esteme theim Lyke as many great lordes there be who set so muche by theim as scant they can eate theyr meate or byde a minute without theim cherisshyng them by iysse a little better than thei are went to dooe these frounyng philosophers A few of whiche sort also for honours sake and furniture of theyr courte they vouchesaue to enterteine But why they vse to make more of the other I thynke it soone gessed and ought not to be meruailed at For these waiwarde wysemen neuer come foorth but with admonicions and boke lessons yea and throughe confidence of theyr learnyng are not sometyme ashamed to saie the trouth wheras my fooles supplie a farre more gracious and acceptable office to delite men with theyr plaiyng daliyng fonde talke and deuises Yea and aboue all this haue a meruailous propretee in that they onely are plainsaiers and south speakers And what is more laudable at least as outwardely ye commende it than plainesse of speche For although Alcibiades prouerbe in Plato ascribeth trouth to children and dronkennes yet maie all the praise therof be chiefly appended to me as Euripides can well testifie who wrote thus A foole speaketh like a foole id est plainely For what soeuer he hath in his thought that sheweth he also in his countinaunce and expresseth it in his talke Wheras these wisemen are thei that ar double tounged as the aforesaied Euripides telleth vs with the one of whiche they speake the trueth with the other thyngê mete for the tyme and audience Theyr propretee it is to chaunge blacke into white and out of one mouthe to blow bothe hote and colde and thynke vnhappeliest in their hertê whan they speake smotheliest with their toungê How be it me seemeth that princê how euer the haboundant felicitee of theyr estate is wont to â—ase meane folkê etes maie yet as to this respecte be counted right miserable because they want of whom to here the trouthe and are faiue therefore to take flattrers for their friendê But some will saie trouth maie not at all tymes be spoken and therfore are these wysemen so eschewed because without respecte they speake frankly Now so it is in deede trueth for the most part is hatefull to princê And yet we see that of fooles oftetymes not onely true tales but euin open rebukes are with pleasure declared That what woorde comyng out of a wisemans mouthe were an hangyng mattier the same yet spoken by a foole shall muche delight euin hym that is touched therwith Suche a liuely grace to content men hath veritee as longe as it be mixed with naught els that maie offende But without offence to dooe the same the goddê haue graunted to fooles onely And so in a maner vppon lyke causes haue women lyke pleasure in theim in as muche as naturally the Feminine Sexe is bended all to pleasure and trifles That what so euer they do with these fooles although sometyme maie chaunce it be past sporte yet haue they the easie to expounde it to be nothyng but a plaiyng toy or a thing to make daliance as euer women be redie witted to tourne and excuse the mattier But now to retourne to my purpose my Ideotes hauyng thus ledde foorth theyr tyme in muche triumphe and solace at last without any feare or sense of death dooe passe hence the right waie to paradise there also to disporte theyr quiet and innocent soules in continuall plaie Now goe to if ye list and conferre any wyseman of theym all with these my symple and least regarded fooles as touchyng theyr state of blisfulnesse Or rather let vs draw on the other side for a comparison betwixe theim the extract of a man of wisedome For exemples sake a caitiue so I maie call hym that hath worne out all his childhode and youthfull yeres in learnyng of disciplines hauyng lost so the swetest part of his life in continuall watches cares and trauailes nor in all the residew that euer tasted one dramme of pleasure beyng euer niggardly euer poore melancholike and frounyng as harde and wrongfull to hym selfe as insupportable and odious to others pale meigre sikely and blereyed wasted awaie with elde and horenes whiche his owne wilfull studie auaunced to him before his tyme yea and before his tyme postyng as it were out of life although it skilleth not how soone