Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	witty_a	work_v	write_n	12	3	11.3417	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A53064	CCXI sociable letters written by the thrice noble, illustrious, and excellent princess, the Lady Marchioness of Newcastle.	Newcastle, Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of, 1624?-1674.	1664 (1664)	Wing N872; ESTC R33623	211,049	486

have not mentioned under your hand-writing that which you would have me give my Opinion Judgment or Advice of I will not give it under my hand but leave it till such time as we Meet for Friends may Talk as freely as Think fearing no Treathery and so I rest Madam Your faithful Fr. and S. LXVIII MADAM I Am Sorry that Sir C. A. is Kill'd and as Sorry that V. A. hath Kill'd him for by Report they were both Worthy and Right Honourable Persons which causes me to wonder how such two Persons could Fall out for surely they were such men as would be as Unwilling to Give an Offence as to Take an Affront and if the Offence was Unwillingly given as by Chance they being men of Honour and Merit would not be Grieved at least not Angry at or for it but many times a Third man will make a Quarrel betwixt Two others and leave them to Fight it out You may say that sometimes Quarrels cannot be Avoided although they be betwixt two Noble Persons as for Example two Dukes about the Preheminence of Place none knowing which of them had the First Place and neither Yielding must needs Fight to Decide it but such Cases are not often put to the Trial or ought not to be for Heraulds are for that purpose Judges But these two Noble Persons which you mentioned in your last Letter whatsoever their Quarrel was the one is Kill'd the other Banished and now to speak of such Quarrels as generally cause Duels between Private Persons they are either about Words or Women or Hawks or Dogs or Whores or about Cards or Dice or such Frivolous Idle or Base Causes I do not say All Quarrels but Most for some are more Honourable but of all Sorts or Causes of Quarrels Drunken Quarrels are the most Sensless As for the Manner or Fashion of Fighting Duels in my opinion are not Proper for in this Age in most Nations they Fight Private Duels somewhat after the manner of a Publick Battel as three against three or at least two against two also they Fight with Pistols and Swords with their Doublets on which serves instead of an Armour and for the most part a Horse-back first they shoot off their Pistols at each other and then they come to the Sword if they be not shot Dead before their time comes to Fight for Shooting is not a direct Fighting because they must stand at some Distance to take Aim which in my opinion appears Cowardly to Pelt at each other as if they were Afraid to come near each other besides a Child may have so much Skill Courage as to shoot off a Pistol and may chance to Kill a Man but a Child cannot tell how to use a Sword or manage a Horse also a Peasant or such mean bred Persons can shoot off Pistols or Carbines or Muskets but they have no skill to use a Sword nor know not how to manage an Horse unless a Cart-Horse that better in a Cart than when astride 'T is true Peasants or Common Souldiers will fight with Force and Fury like as Beasts and Kill their Enemy with mere Strength but not with pure Valour for they fight as in an Uproar and will knock one another down with their Staves or But-ends of their Muskets which is more a Club or Clown-fighting and if they have Swords they fight with the Pummel not with the Point for they know not how to use it neither is it fit they should wherefore the Gentlemen are too Strong for them for the Gentleman's point of his Sword hath the Advantage of the Clown's Club and the onely Grief to Gallant Valiant Gentlemen in the day of Battel or Duel is the fear they should be Kill'd with a Bullet against which they can shew no Active Valour or Well-bred Skill The last Observation concerning fighting Duels in this Age is in choosing of Seconds and the right Use of Seconds in all Ages that I have heard of unless these Later is to be Overseers Witnesses and Judges wherefore they ought to be Upright Honest Judicious and Skilful men and Worthy and Honourable Persons for they are to Judge whether their Quarrel requires Blood and may not be pass'd over without Dishonour also they are to see that each man may be Equally Armed and that there be no Untimely Advantages taken of each other also they are to Help or Assist them when they are Wounded as to Bind up their Wounds and they are to witness to the World how they Fought But in this Age the Seconds are so far from being Judges Overseers Witnesses or Helpful Friends as they become Duellers themselves Fighting for Company not for Injury or Wrong done to each other and for Fashions sake which is an Unjust Irrational Inhuman and Wicked Fashion or Practice neither is it Manly or Noble but Base and Beastly as to Fight without Reason or Injury wherefore Pistols and Fighting Seconds ought not to be But Madam if any should read this Letter besides your self I should be found fault with it being not Fit nor Proper for a VVoman to Discourse or VVrite of Duels or VVars nor of Horses or Swords or the like but pray if you hear any say so tell him that I have a greater Privilege than other VVomen in this Discourse for my Husband hath been a General of an Army of 30000 men and hath fought Battels also he is Master of those two Arts the Use of the Sword and the Manage of the Horse as there is not any man nor hath never been so well Known Skilful and Practised as he so that he is the best Horseman and Swordman in the World also two of my three Brothers were Souldiers or Commanders in War and well Experienced in that Profession and my Father was a Sword-man who was Banished for a time for Killing a Gentleman in a Duel of Honour Thus have I been Born Bred Lived and Married all with Sword-men and to my greater Honour all Valiant men and so leaving this Discourse I rest Madam Your faithful Fr. and S. LXIX MADAM YOu were pleased to desire my Opinion of the Lord Bs. VVorks truly it seems by his VVritings that he was Learned Eloquent VVitty and VVise fit for State-Counsel and Advice to Plead Causes Decide Controversies and the like and his VVorks or VVritings have been very Propagating and Manuring other mens Brains the truth is his VVorks have proved like as some sorts of Meats which through Time or mixture of some Flatuous or Humid Substance Corrupt and Breed Magots or Worms so his VVritings have produced several other Books The same have Homer's VVorks although they were of another Sort than his But you may say I write more of the Transmigration than of the first Formation or Principle more of the Effects than the Cause I confess my Pen hath Wandred from your Question and Asks your Pardon for my Transgression and with all Passionate Love wherefore I subscribe my self Madam Your Ladiships most

Beasts do lye for Prey Or such a Lane where 's Foul and Dirty VVay And so of VVaters and each Dangerous place But I write not to any mans Disgrace Then Censure not my Satyr-wit for Crime Nor putting this Epistle into Rime SOCIABLE LETTERS I. MADAM YOu were pleas'd to desire that since we cannot converse Personally we should converse by Letters so as if we were speaking to each other discoursing our Opinions discovering our Designs asking and giving each other Advice also telling the several Accidents and several Imployments of our home-affairs and what visits we receive or entertainments we make and whom we visit and how we are entertaind what discourses we have in our gossiping-meetings and what reports we hear of publick affairs and of particular Persons and the like so that our Letters may present our personal meetings and associatings Truly Madam I take so much delight in your wise witty and virtuous Conversation as I could not pass my life more pleasing and delightfully wherefore I am never better pleased than when I am reading your Letters and when I am writing Letters to you for my mind and thoughts are all that while in your Company the truth is my mind and thoughts live alwayes with you although my person is at distance from you insomuch as if Souls die not as Bodies do my Soul will attend you when my Body lies in the grave and when we are both dead we may hope to have a Conversation of Souls where yours and mine will be doubly united first in Life and then in Death in which I shall eternally be Madam Your faithful Friend and humble Servant II. MADAM THe Lady C. E. ought not to be reproved for grieving for the loss of her Beauty for Beauty is the Light of our Sex which is Eclips'd in Middle age and Benighted in Old age wherein our Sex sits in Melancholy Darkness and the remembrance of Beauty past is as a displeasing Dream The truth is a young beautiful face is a Friend when as an old withered face is an Enemy the one causes Love the other Aversion yet I am not of Mrs. U. R.'s humour which had rather dye before her Beauty than that her Beauty should die before her for I had rather live with wrinkles than die with youth and had rather my face cloth'd with Time's sad mourning than with Death's white hue and surely it were better to follow the shadow of Beauty than that Beauty should go with the Corps to the Grave and I believe that Mrs. V. R. would do as the tale is of a woman that did wish and pray she might die before her Husband but when Death came she intreated him to spare her and take her Husband so that she would rather live without him than die for him But leaving this sad discourse of Age Wrinkles Ruin and Death I rest Madam Your very faithful Friend and Servant III. MADAM I Do not wonder there are great factions between the three families C. Y. O. by reason they have no business or imployment to busie their heads about and their servants followers have as little to do which makes them censure backbite and envy each other for Idleness and Poverty are the creators of Faction and Pride and Ambition the disturbers of Peace Wherefore Idleness should be banish'd out of every family which will also be a means to be rid of Poverty for Industry is the way to thrive Besides when men have something to do they will have the less time to talk for many words from discontented persons increase hate and make dissentions the truth is words for the most part make more discord than union and more enemies than friends wherefore Silence is more commendable than much Speaking for the liberty of the tongue doth rather express men's follies than make known their wit neither do many words argue much Judgement but as the old Saying is The greatest talkers are the least actors they being more apt to speak spitefully than to act mischievously another Saying is That musing men rather study to do evil than contemplate on good But I am not of that opinion for if men would think more and speak less the world of mankind would be more honest and wiser than they are for Thoughts beget Consideration Consideration begets Judgement Judgement begets Discretion Discretion begets Temperance and Temperance begets Peace in the Mind and Health in the Body for when men want Temperance they are subject to Insatiable Appetites unruly Passions and wandring Desires which causes Covetousness and Ambition and these cause Envy and Hate which makes Faction and Strife which Strife I leave to Busie Natures Restless Minds Vain Humours and Idle Fools and rest Madam Your faithful Friend and Servant IV. MADAM THe other day was here the Lady I. O. to see me and her three Daughters which are call'd the three Graces the one is Black the other Brown the third White all three different coloured beauties also they are of different features statures and shapes yet all three so equally handsom that neither Judgment nor Reason can prefer one before another Also their behaviours are different the one is Majestical the other Gay and Aery the third Meek and Bashful yet all three graceful sweet and becoming Also their Wits are different the one Propounds well the other Argues well the third Resolves well all which make a harmony in discourse These three Ladies are resolv'd never to marry which makes many sad Lovers but whilst they were here in comes the Lord S. C. and discoursing with them at last he asks them whether they were seriously resolv'd never to marry they answered they were resolv'd never to marry But Ladies said he Consider Time wears out Youth and fades Beauty and then you will not be the three young fair Graces You say true my Lord answer'd one of them but when we leave to be the young fair Graces we shall then be the old wise Sibyls By this answer you may perceive that when our Sex cannot pretend to be Fair they will pretend to be Wise but it matters not what we pretend to if we be really Virtuous which I wish all our Sex may be and rest Madam Your very faithful Friend and Servant V. MADAM IN my opinion the marriage between Sir A. G. and Mrs. I. S. is no wayes agreeable wherefore not probable to be bless'd with a happy union though she is likelyer to be the happier of the two for 't is better to have an old doting fool than a wanton young filly but he will be very unhappy through Jealousie what with his Dotage and her Freedom which will be like fire and oyl to set his mind on a flame and burn out the lamp of his life Truly I did wonder when I heard they were married knowing her nature and his humour for she loves young masculine Company and he loves onely young female Companion so that he cannot enjoy her to himself unless she barr her self from