nobility of man dooth neither consist in antiquity of bloud nor in wealth but in the vertues of the mind when I shall haue alleadged such reasons as my slender capacity y e smal time which is left me wil will giue me leaue albeit that to perswade you in this point the reasones already rehearsed may seeme sufficient Whereunto Fabricio added some other words and after he had a little taken breath and called his wits togither as one halfe weary already he gaue this beginning to his future discourse Most worthy gentlemen It was his pleasure whose will doth moue the heauens to create and frame all things we see in this world to a certaine and due ende The sunne which for the most part doth shine vnto vs and from the which lesser starres doe take their light principally to shewe vnto vs the magnificence of his glory and next for the profit of man Likewise he created the earth the water the ayre the fire and other liuing creatures for the vse of man But man himselfe was formed for God that soueraign and infinite good and not for any other thing here beneath on earth We know also by those motions we doe feele in our selues that man is neuer thorowlie contented albeit he haue vnder his power and dominion whatsoeuer hee may especiallie wish or desire in this world for though some one delight to haue children or riches or great offices dignities and honour and that fortune doe fauor him in al his demands yet is y e desire of his minde neuer in rest but hee still longeth couetously more and more after somthing or other bicause there is not here on earth any stability nor the ende of any infinite good But man by the intellectual knowledge of his vnderstanding gaining the infinite grace and excessiue loue of him who in himselfe is the infinitie of goodnes his mortall desire is staid resteth it selfe like vnto a stone which being cast on high neuer resteth vntill it come to the bosome of the earth which is the last end of the rest thereof Now I say that he is most perfit and noble who approcheth neerest vnto this last end Forasmuch as if I desire heate surely how much the neerer I shall draw neerer vnto the fire by so much shall I attain vnto my desire Then to see who is y e most noble most perfit of vs two wee ought to consider which of vs approcheth neerest vnto the end hee was made for For without doubt he shal be deemed the most noble and not he who is descended of most noble bloud And as you knowe that no man can attaine vnto any end but by some meanes The meanes wee haue to come thereunto is vertue which hath residence in the soule and not in the bodie and God made the soule vnto his likenesse and not the body where it remaineth which in it selfe doth onely resemble brutish beastes If then Possidonio thou doest inrich this thy body with apparell and with wealth if thou doest fill it with daintie fare and leauest thy soule without the ornament of vertue and good conditions surely thou doest not adorne thy selfe with perfit Nobilitie as degenerating from the determinate end thereof For man being framed of body and soule his will shall either encline to the body or the minde If to the bodie because it was framed of earth which draweth downwardes hee cannot comprehend nor desire any other thing but terrestriall and earthly matters If to the minde because it is nothing but a celestiall spirite he cannot couet after anie other thing then to mount on high where al perfection consisteth and disdaine fraile thinges which are on the earth But man ought to gouerne himselfe according vnto reason not according as the bodie but as his soule guideth him the one being subiect vnto corruption the other made to liue eternally Likewise the ornamentes of the soule as that is immortall euen so are they and those that set forth the body are corruptible as the body is Forasmuch as both the internall and externall goodes of the bodie which consist in a iust proportiō of members in health in force in riches in procreation of children in building of pallaces and such other things are al fraile and transitorie in asmuch as to day they haue their being and in a moment are brought to the ground whereas contrarily the goods of the soule are durable perpetuall and eternall You see then howe much the soule is farre more perfit and noble then the body Wherefore if thou desirest to please the body and I determine to serue and obey the soule I shall haue so much aduauntage of thee in nobilitie as the one excelleth the other as if I should say Those thinges that doe set forth the soule are vertues which a man doth irreuocablie poure into his minde for vertue is a firme abiding affection of the minde which causeth whosoeuer is possessed therewith to deserue great praise And whensoeuer it is not constant it looseth the name of vertue seeing that this stabilitie of affection by continuall vse and practise is changed into an habitude Some of these vertues doe consist in good maners and behauiour others in the vnderstanding The former doe consist in a meane betweene two extreames the latter neither in extremitie nor in a meane as prudence science intelligence and wisedome Other some which by auncient writers are called morall vertues are so many appetites and desires as come into our minde For if so bee that I am naturally addicted vnto women or some other aboue measure desirous of daintie fare Or else if when reason commandeth I doe abstaine from looking on a woman or that other from his meate surely both of these in vs is a vice Vertue then considering the middle of these extreames with a strong bridle ouerruleth these inordinate appetites which a man can hardly withstand at the first assault because hee cannot so well at the first temper the naturall motions of the fleshe nor refrayne the insatiable desire of the belly The like I may say of diuerse and sundrie desires of man which cause him to fall into abhominable vices Now if Vertue did not oppose it selfe against vice I doubt not but our estate shoulde whollie resemble if it were not worse then the life of beastes voide of reason There are besides other vices which man beeing ouertaken withall perswading himselfe they proceede from vertue hee falleth headlong into them As if I should extreamely thirst after honor and dignitie And thou shouldest shewe thy selfe ouer liberall in spending thy goods If this man should rashly thrust himself into the midst of a fray In these vnbrideled appetites albeit they seeme good because that to be placed in honour to bee liberall and a man of courage haue the apparence of good thinges yet notwithstanding they are vitious and ought to bee auoided Forasmuch as my desire leaneth to ambition thine to prodigalitie and the rashe courage of the other to
the lady Laura after a long cōtinued speech with a womanlike voice added that which followeth This is no smal matter that hauing demanded leaue for my selfe only I haue obtained it for the whole companie For the which I doe giue thanks vnto you both which being said she turned againe towards Possidonio and spake vnto him in this sort It seemeth vnto me Possidonio that the scope of thy last words did tend to this end that in as much as man cannot engender any thing els but man that thou being descended of noble parents art for that cause a noble man which in my iudgement cannot in any wise be wel concluded For albeit that a man cannot beget any other thing then man yet it followeth not that y e same qualities shuld remain in the children which are in the parents so consequently he y t is born of a noble man albeit that of his father he receiue his being and the forme of his bodie yet shall hee not receiue nobilitie therewith which is as a qualitie which either may be or not be in the subiect Nay contrarily Madame quoth Possidonio he which is borne receiueth in like maner the self same qualities because that if a man be white the child shal likewise be participant of his whitenes if he be blacke he shall be partaker of his blacknes In asmuch as whosoeuer giueth the essence or being he giueth likwise that which followeth the essence which is manifestly prooued in our selues and the Ethiopians The yong lady stood at a stay it may be not knowing how to frame a replie Wherefore Possidonio hauing a litle takē breath folowed on his discourse in this maner Gentlemen by that which may be gathered by the words which I haue spoken you may perceiue that nobilitie in man is giuen him of nature and infused in his bloud wherfore like as the lawes of nature are stable firme so likewise nobilitie in the family of man thorow his bloud by which it is continued is permanent and durable Here M. Iohn Francisco one of the companie taking the speech vpon him said in this sort The force of nature is so great in the procreation of children that verie seldom or almost not at all there is any difference betweene the father and the child as I will make manifest vnto you by a tale or historie if so you please I call it by which you may know the mightie power of Nature in the nobilitie of man There was a gallant and noble ladie who dwelleth not farre from hence whose name for the respect I beare vnto her I wil not manifest married to a worthie knight by whom she conceaued and did beare a faire yong sonne And as it happeneth very often not so much in regard of the opportunitie which these ladies haue as in respect that for the most part they liue daintily and idlely it chanced whether it were thorowe loue or of her owne free will her husband perceiuing nothing thereof that she ioyned hirselfe to one of hir seruāts so that in succession of time she brought forth two children Now these growing further in age the eldest did so farre exceede his other brethren for so were they all esteemed by the father as the supposed father did surpasse the true father for as he waxed bigger so did he grow comely of personage and quicke of wit whereas the other vvere very fooles and blockheads and the eldest of them did continually exercise himselfe in worthy and valorous actions he desired to learne to be vertuous hee tooke pleasure in horses to run at the ring and in al other honourable kinds of exercise which by reason of his age hee was able to vndergoe but the rest shewed themselues as base far from dooing any vertuous action and indeed hee did no lesse shine amongst them then the sunne amidst the rest of the planets the follie and cowardise of the other tvvo vvas so great that the common report did run euery where that like as in behauiour and wit they did differ from the other so likewise they had another father and their slothfulnesse besides that there vvas no resemblance betweene him and them imprinted so great a beleefe in the husband that hee constrained his wife to confesse the troth vnto him and in the end she being no lesse forced by experience then by nature it selfe she opened the whole secret vnto him And besides the Lady I speake of I knowe yet two other women who although they be descended of base parentage yet are they faire and gratious to beholde who not contenting themselues with their husbandes as ill disposed vvomen are woont to doe did when opportunitie serued them and do stil take their pleasure with yong men of Noble bloud bringing foorth fruite answereable to their voluptuous pleasure and this I know for troth that by them they haue brought forth most noble children whereas of their husbandes they haue had most clownish creatures so that euen in beholding their naturall forme and the constitution of their body they doe giue sufficient testimony thereof By this you may see how nature sheweth her power in the nobilitie of bloud seeing from the same wombe is borne by reason either of the noble or ignoble seede a gentle and diuine spirite and another abiect and base And as concerning that Madam Cassandra which you alledged euen now answere might be made vnto you besides that which already is saide That albeit in the generation of mankind there aboundeth more bloud on the woman her part greater daungers and greater labours yet notwithstanding we ought to haue regard vnto the dignitie of the man and not of the woman for as concerning this matter we will compare the woman to the earth which bringeth foorth fruit according to the seed it receiueth Hereunto maister Dominico again taking the speech vpon him said These examples of yours M. Iohn Frācisco doe bring into my remembrance the successe of Romulus and Remus who descended of the auncient royall stocke of the Siluit and were as histories doe report being little ones by the commandement of their vncle Amulius cast into the riuer Tyber on the bāks whereof Faustulus maister of the kinges sheepe did find them who knowing who they were gaue them to Laurencia his wife that she might bring them vp who notwithstanding was called a shee Wolfe because she did willinglie yeeld her bodie as common amongst the shepheards Now these children being brought vp in Faustulus his flocke and growing in age they did not intend the keeping of the beasts nor the leading of a country life but first giuing themselues to hunting afterwardes to set vpō theeues who were often endamaged by them they began to shew the valor which was in them And as fit occasion fel out Faustulus declared y e whole matter to Numitor whoe before was banished out of the kingdome by his brother Amulius which hee hauing vnderstood immediatly his mind gaue him that they were his nephews and
children who in their swadling cloutes descended of a noble stocke are no sooner come into the world but they are esteemed of noble bloud and yet are neither capable of vertue nor reason surely none at all You may then perceiue in considering both the subiect and the obiect of the nobilitie of the minde howe great likewise the excellencie and the perfection thereof is And to proceede further vpon this matter I finde that euen Fortune sometimes hath her part in this Nobilitie of bloud coâ—ioyned with riches for if my selfe and you were â—orne of a Noble familie and those of base parentes or that wee be by birth riche and they poore vvhat glorie vvhat Nobilitie vvhat praise ought we to attribute to our selues and vvhat profite or what fault or rather what defect are vve to impute vnto them Truely none at all seeing that they haue committed no offence and we are not aduaunced thorow our riches The glorie then and the fault ought to bee attributed vnto fortune whoe gouerneth worldly matters as it pleaseth her and not vnto vs whereas the Nobilitie of the mind is not in subiection nor slauerie but free and out of all humaine perill and he vvhich by his ovvn vertues becommeth noble shall haue the honour and the glorie thereof and not fortune nor his auncestors nor any other whosoeuer Here M. Peter Anthony broke off his speech without saying anie more Wherefore Nennio taking the discourse vpon him said thus Certainly to fortifie this side concerning the nobilitie of the minde no lesse delightfull then true reasons do stil offer themselues as amongst others that which I novv remember forasmuch as I esteeme that hee ought to be adiudged perfit vvho hath no need of any other novv the nobilitie of the minde is of that sort therefore it is perfit The like vvhereof cannot be saide of the Nobilitie of bloud for if it vvere perfit it should haue no need of riches vvhich according to thy saying the other day Possidonio are not onely an ornament but a part of Nobilitie Which is more then true for nowe adaies a man can hardly conuerse amongst gentlemen and great Lords but that he shal be mocked of euerie one if hee be not rich and hath not vvherevvithall to spend of his ovvne or at the least if he be not vvell clad in apparell vvhich thinges are in this our age not smally set by It follovveth then that bloud is not sufficient of it selfe alone to make a perfect nobleman And we cannot with reason name that perfect nobilitie which proceedeth from thence as being subiect to that which is verie incoÌ„stant Wherfore we will say that if the noble man by birth wanteth riches he shall likewise want nobilitie which conclusion Possidonio thou diddest affirme in thy discourse to be true And in truth it is come to passe at this day when as the noble born doth excercise some craft or handiworke that is vile and derogating from nobilitie But how poore soeuer a man is that is born of noble bloud I would not iudge that he should become ignoble thorow pouertie albeit that he had not the same renowne and reputation with men of this age as he that is both noble and rich Herehence it commeth that manie descending of a high linage giuing themselues to some vile exercise haue darckned and wholly lost their nobilitie so that they are no more esteemed of the bloud of Noble men but reckoned amongst the coÌ„mon sort Herehence it proceedeth likewise that amongst manie being of one familie some are reputed noble and others ignoble You may see then howe corporall and base exercise doth bring contempt vnto the nobility of bloud and conuert it into his contrarie We must then conclude that vertue only is necessarie therein For a noble man by bloud who is depriued of vertue is made no otherwise then as a sepulchre of white marble inriched with fine gold which at the first shewe is pleasant to the sight of those that behold it but considering afterwards the rotten body and filthy stinch that is within it it seemeth vnto them hideous and horrible Such a one is hee who is descended of noble bloud for at the first sight he seemeth gratious pleasing but looking afterwards to the foule corruption of his maners and to the default of the gifts of his mind by which he shuld become worthie neither this grace nor the pleasure which was found therein is anie more seene but in steede thereof basenesse and deepe contempt Whereof hee may be called noble in apparance by the which the common people whose eyes are blinded that they cannot see the trueth doe lightly iudge and holde him as a noble man which is farre different from him whose minde is fraught with vertues because that hee holdeth not an apparance of true Nobilitie but the verie essence thereof Nennio made no staie but still followed on his discourse when as the Ladie Camilla who was desirous to heare an end of their controuersie which it maie be shee gathered by the last wordes vttered by Nennio turning towards him with a prettie grace according to her woont and yet with somewhat a hastie spirite shee saide these wordes vnto him Thou concludest alreadie Nennio that Possidonio is he that shall loose the wager seeing that his nobilitie is apparant and not true You are verie hastie Madame quoth Nennio to desire to heare the sentence before time require and before the rest of the companie for in that discourse which nowe we doe make to approoue or disallow of the two sortes of Nobilitie both the one and the other opinion is fortified as you may haue vnderstoode with more pregnant reasons so much there wanteth that I intend not as yet so soone to descend to the determining of the question seeing that wee haue so great time lefte vs. Let it not then displease you to staie a little and to hearken vnto mee Both to staie and to heare you likewise shall please me well aunswered the young Ladie but yet it seemed vnto me that you intended as much as I saide vnto you Nennio replied Madame I pray you haue patience a little and be attentiue vnto my speeche vntill I haue ended it for I doubt not but you shall with the rest be satisfied with my iudgement The yong ladie being appeased Nennio taking the discourse vpon him began to speake in this wise Nobilitie of bloud indeed is apparant but hee which is depriued of vertue is hardly esteemed to shine amongst men vvith the glorie of his bloud onely vvhich commonly bringeth forth ignorance wherevpon followeth aftervvardes contemptible pride For so soone as the light of mans vnderstanding is occupied vvith ignoraunce vvhereby it is let that it cannot enter into the trueth of thinges man cannot consider that anie is more wise or more learned then himselfe but becommeth proude in suche sorte that thorough ignorance hee is made bold insolent and rashe easily contemning all maner of vertue of science and