Lbeit
the diuersitie of Epistles are (as I saide before) as
manifold as are the sundrie occurrents, or rather imaginations of mens
fantasies: yet for so much as it seemeth pertinent vnto this Method
to induce their varieties vnto some particular titles, by such meanes
the rather to bring the learner into a speciall forme, whereby for his
necessitie or present turne to applie the same. I haue thought good
in imitation of the best and most learned iudgements of our time, to
drawe the sundrie parts thereof, vnder foure especiall heads, that is
to saie: Demonstratiue, Deliberatiue, Iudiciall, and
Familiar Letters. And howbeit the rules prescribed vnto either
of these, maie vnder their seuerall heads séeme to be particularlie
allotted, yet are they in nature so neerelie conioyned togither, as
hardlie shall you in anie of the first three fall into their particular
distinctions, but lightlie in one sort or other, you shall run into the
natures of the others.
For proofe whereof, and this to open more plainlie, let vs first
lay downe their properties in seuerall, and then sée by association
each with other how néerlie they do participate in their qualities.
You shall then vnderstande that this Demonstratiue kinde,
hath the name of a declaration, deliuerie or shewing of some one thing
or other, the distinctions of the Epistles thereunder contained,
are Descriptorie, in which bee described the manners and
conuersations of men, all vertues, vices and qualities both of bodie
and mind. Honorable chalenges, combats, entertainmēts, attempts,
orders of common weales, gouermnents, and estates, countries, cities,
hilles, valleies, fields, prospects, buildings and walkes, with their
pleasures and scituations. Laudatorie, wherein is speciallie
praysed anie thing, and Vituperatorie, in which is misliked or
condemned whatsoeuer maie be thought worthie either to bee abhorred or
dispraysed.
The Deliberatiue is so named, of the large comprehension
it hath of sundry causes and matters, being not almost tied to any
particular occasion or purpose: His distinctions are Hortatorie,
and Dehortatorie: Swasorie and Disswasorie, not
much vnlike together in their orders and properties: the natures
of the first being to exhort, counsell, aduise, or perswade to anie thing,
of the other, to withdraw, disswade or reduce to another meaning.
Conciliatorie, which serueth in acquiring of friendship of
acquaintance. Reconciliatorie, in reconcilement of kinred,
friends, or other persons. Petitorie, in suing for, or crauing
of anie thing. Commendatorie, in preferring the seruices,
persons or good qualities, of anie one. Consolatorie, in
comforting at times of troubles, sorrowe, or mishaps. Monitorie,
in forewarning, admonishing, or counselling from mischiefs.
Reprehensorie, in reprehending or correcting of errours and
behauiours. Amatorie, in matters of louing.
The Iudiciall is so called, in that it comprehendeth
matters lawfull, vnlawfull, or questionable to be handled: The
distinctions thereof are, Accusatorie, containing matter of
accusation. Excusatorie, which is occupied in excusing.
Expostulatorie, in reasoning of causes. Purgatorie, in
clearing or auoydance of thinges charged. Defensorie, in
defence of the action. Exprobatorie, in reproching or
obtruding of benefites vpon cause of vnthankfulnes. Deprecatorie,
in praying of pardon of a thing committed, and Inuectiue,
inueighing agaynst ill natures, qualities, occasions or persons.
Now the distinctions of these heades being thus laide open by
particular titles, we will see how neere in writing they concurre or
fall in, each with others. True is it, (as shall be séene in some
examples hereafter following) that touching the first head beeing
Demonstratiue, it sometimes falleth out in causes of aduertisement,
or relation of thinges made, that the title Descriptorie is
manie times meerlie in it selfe handled, without entring into anie
other particular addition or occasion, but in the other titles
of Laudatorie and Vituperatorie, not so. For how
can I either praise or discommend anie thing, without falling into
a Description of those persons, things or qualities, which
I disallow or commend. Againe, for the Deliberatiue kinde
in Hortatorie, Dehortatorie, Swasorie and Disswasorie,
Commendatorie, Monitorie or Reprehensorie, how can I
exhort, counsell, aduise, withdraw, commend, admonish or reprehende,
if therein I set not forth what is woorthie or vnfit, what to be
praysed, estéemed, disallowed, or eschued: which can not bee, without
of necessitie I fall into the partes Descriptorie,
Laudatorie and Vituperatorie. Likewise in matters Consolatorie,
Conciliatorie & Reconciliatorie, howe I maie comfort seeke
friends, or reconcile, if the partes Hortatorie and
Swasorie, be absent. So also for the iudiciall, if either I
accuse, excuse, expostulate, defende, reproach, intreate, or inueigh,
it must be done with the laying out of vices, and aduauncement of
vertues, in manifesting what is good, and setting forth what is euill,
neither of which, can be without matter Descriptorie, Laudatorie,
and Vituperatorie. By all which it appeareth, that
(howbeit these seuerall titles stand thus diuided) yet are the matters
of the same diuerslie wrapped togither, and the precepts seruing to
the one, must of necessitie by a like conueyance be drawne into an
obseruation with the other: notwithstanding for ease of the learner,
and to the end he may with more readines find out what best fitteth and
beseemeth the cause hee hath in handling, they bee thus drawne forth as
you see into so many particular distinctions.
Touching nowe our Familiar Letters, they also are to bee
drawne vnder their seuerall titles, as Narratorie, and
Nunciatorie, somewhat falling into the demonstratiue kind before
remembred, wherein we expresse and declare to those farre from vs, the
matters or newes presentlie in hand amongst vs: Gratulatorie,
wherein wee reioyce each with others of the good happes of fortune
betiding vs. Remuneratorie, being a gratefull relation
of cortesies, benefites or good turnes receiued. Iocatorie,
wherewith by a pleasant and swéete kinde of deliuerie of some
pretie conceit or iest, the minde is recreated. Obiurgatorie,
in which wee rebuke the ill demeanours of our children, seruants,
kindred, or acquaintance. Mandatorie, whereby wee commit
expreslie our affaires to such as we haue authoritie, either to
commaunde or intreate to be dispatched. To these and the others before
mentioned are manie Epistles Responsorie, the titles whereof
cannot be certaine, but examples and occasions plentifull: all which
I referre to their peculiar places each one, as they are suted forth
to be in their kindes deliuered. And now will we passe vnto the other
hereafter to bee obserued in deliuerie of Examples, accordant vnto
the seuerall titles of all these forenamed Epistles, and first of
Epistles Descriptorie.
Orsomuch
as in Descriptions, are (as I saide before) onelie
declared and set foorth at large, the maner, order, state, gouernment,
proportion goodnesse or value of anie thing: the Epistles consisting
solie thereof, be commonlie without addition at all, either of praise
or mislike, or anie other intendment, in respect whereof they might
in anie one iote varie from that title of Descriptorie.
Parts in Epistle Descriptory. The
force hereof besides the Exordium, comprehendeth chieflie
a narration, throughout, in which is contained (by laying
out the seuerall parts thereof) a perfect and plain demonstration or
description of any thing: In these sortes of Epistles, the excellency
of the writer, and painter concurreth in one, who the more that each
of them studieth by perfection,Comparison of the writer and painter.
to touch al things to the quick, by
so much the more neerer doe they both aspire to that exquisit kind
of cunning, that in each of these differences, is absolutely to be
required. The curious painterPainter.
in drawing a perfect peece of
Lantskip, presenteth many things vnto the eie, the conceit whereof
is maruellous: for with great admiration we do there séeme to behold,
the most pleasant and goodlie vallies: Woods hie and decked with
statelie trées (some tops whereof the wind seemeth to wreath and turne
at one side) then goodly riuers, hie waies and walkes, large situate &
high climing hils and mountains, far prospects of Cities, steeples, and
Towers, ships sayling on seas, and waues blown vp aloft, the element
cleere, faire and temperate, with some shining beames shadowing and
spreading ouer all these, wherein seemeth the delight so rare, and
climate so perfect, as verie desire prouoketh a man to gaze of it,
as a thing in present life, and most certaine viewe. And do I praie
you, our excellent writers degenerate at all from anie part of these?
Doeth not the learned Cosmographer in acquainting vs with the
vnknowne delights,Writer. scituation, plenty and riches of Countries which we
neuer sawe, nor happilie maie euer approch vnto, rauish vs oftentimes,
andPtolemy and other writers, de situ orbis.
bring in contempt the pleasures of our owne soyle: and manie
times a huge woonder, of the vnheard secrets neuer before
reported of, the incredible operations of diuers thinges, and state so high
and magnificent, such as the verie description and liuelie deliuery
whereof, maketh vs beleeue that our eies do almost witnes the same,
and that our verie sences are partakers of euerie delicacie in them
contained. But omitting the wight hereof, consisting in these worlds
of such strange accompt, with that fine inuention doeth Virgil
Virgil in his Aenidos.
manie times in his Aeneidos, and with howe much varietie
describe vnto vs the tides of the morning? Howe greatlie in his first
booke doth he amuse the reader, with the lamentable shipwracke, and
euen then (as it were) appearing surges, and intollerable turmoils vpon
the sea happening to Aeneas? What darknesse, what tempestes,
what rising and deepest fall of waues againe, what winds, what mingling
of heauen and earth together doth hee there relate? Then after, his
arriuall on shore and presenting to Queene Dido, howe is the
destruction of Troy in the person of Aeneas to her
described? In the fourth booke likewise, what an excellent description
maketh he of Fame? How he sheweth the banquet by the
Queene to Aeneas made, and how liuelie is the state and
magnificence thereof deliuered? Innumerable of these, both from him
and the Transformed shapes of OuidOuidii Metamorphoseos.
coulde I here recorde, the excellencie of each being such, as by the forceable vtterance thereof
bréedeth as great delight as astonishment vnto the curious searcher of
the same. And in as much as I haue vndertaken to conduct the learner by
example,Example. howe to behaue himselfe in some sort herein, we will proceed
with our Epistles Descriptory, the first wherof following,
maie seeme to bee sent from a traueller to a friend of his in England,
the mater whereof ensueth.
MY good Vncle, the remembrance of your charge giuen me, & my promise
Exordium Or a charge giuen, and promise made. to
you made at my departure out of England, bindeth me (at my nowe
being in quiet, and with good leasure setled in Germany) that
I should returne vnto you againe, my accustomed and dutifull
regard, in sort as I haue euer endeuoured my selfe to do vnto you.Narratio. It may then
please you, that remaining with my L. the Duke but a fewe daies at
Geneua, wee hasted thence to a Citie, called Noremberge,
being imperiall, scituate in the high partes of Germany, where
sithence wee haue almost continually remained. And albeit I could
somewhat write vnto you of our passages through diuers places of the
Country, yet insomuch as there is no part thereof so memorable as
this citie wherein we now remaine, the description thereof at this
present may solie content you. The Citie therefore, as it seemeth is
most ancient, and as many doe suppose and affirme, at that time when
the Country was first in subiection to the Empire of Rome, was
builded by Nero the Emperour, and of him taketh his name, as
Noremberghe, in signification Neros berghe, and so much
the rather doth it appeare, by sundry auncient monumentes therein yet
remaining. The Citie (besides that it is situate in a most delicate and
pleasant soyle,Scituation. wooded and watered most plentifully on euerie side,
with goodlie Trees, faire and delicate Riuers and springes,) is both of
great strength in the walles of the same, and plentifully builded with
high and statelie Towers on euerie part. The edificies of the Citie are
rare,Buildings. and of most sumptuous and statelie appearaunce, insomuch that
there is no one house in any rowe that exceedeth another in height,
but all of them builded leuell, by a verie Geometricall proportion.
The insides are not more polished with riches and ornamentes of great
beauty, then the outsides with brauerie, the verie frontsDeckings. of all which,
aswell of rich as poore, are most curiously embossed in a hard kinde of
substance (such I thinke as is our plaster of Paris) with artificiall
and liuely pictures, conteining histories of diuers memorable, and
strange effectes, and that with such wonderfull excellency, as any
waies may bee conceiued. The cost hereof is continually maintayned,
repaired, enlarged, and preserued, by a generall contribution of the
most worthy and honourable of the Citie. Besides, the colours so fresh,
so braue, and delicate laide in oyle, for defence against weather,
wherewith they are beautified and set forth, are verie straunge. The
streetesStreets. are wide, faire, and excellentlie well paued. The stone they
vse for the most part is marble, white, gray, and blacke, whereof is
great plentie, besides other kindes, which verie wonderfully they cut
and square in diuers small proportions artificiallie pointed and
shaped. The houses are not high, but backwarde builte, and inwardelie
large. This Citie retaineth yet the auncient gouernement of the
Romanes, for at this instant they haue theirGouernment Consuls,
Tribunes, Senators, Pretors, Quæstors,
Aediles and other interchangeable offices, as sometimes had
Rome, beeing in her greatest prosperitie. The attire also alike
to their dignities of all sortes of honourable personages, accustomed
to their callinges. Plaine are their habitesHabit of the people. for the most part, and
nothing sumptuous, retaining still one, and the selfe same ancient
fashion. The constitution of their bodies as wel men as women, are
faire, cleare, and of sounde complexion. Frugall in diet and expence,
and nothing prodigall. My L. the Duke is here of great sway, and
entertained with honorable accompt. ConclusoThus much haue I thought good to
aduertise you in discharge of my debt and your desire, attending by the
returne of this messenger the newes of your good health. To whom & al
other our friends, in sound and good affection I eftsoones do recommend
me. At Noremberghe this of, &c.
I Doubt not N. but that thy hart longeth, and mind is yet vnquieted,
Exordium. Of their accustomed friendship.because of my suddaine departure from
thee, and ignorance of my estate
and present being, whereof that thy desires may nowe at full be
resolued: know my good N. that not hauing beene scarce sixe moneths
from thee, I did long since perceiue my selfe to bee out of England,
and that it may appeare vnto thee, that I haue iust cause so to say,
thou shalt somewhat vnderstande by mee the state of this Countrey.
Wee liue heere in a soile delicate I must confesse for the ayre,
Narratio. Pleasant ayre vnfrequented. and
pleasant for the situation: with good leasure (I must tell thee) may
we here attend our deuotions, as hauing no care wherewith to encumber
vs, but the needlesse search of that whereof wee neuer find likelihood
to annoy vs.In voluntary abstinence.
As vncompelled by seuere decrees and interdictions, we
limit vnto ourselues an abstinence, thou mightst think we do it of
zeale, but in truth it is of want, wherein we haue more fasting daies
by a great manie then ability to beare them. Our conuersation is
with elements, with waters, with fieldes, with trees, with valleyes, with
hilles, with beasts, in the general vse whereof, wee find nothing
else but their proper shapes. And if by chaunce any other sorts of
creatures do appeare, they are naked shapes formed as men and women,
fierce, sauage, wilde, not capable of anie our reasons, nor we of their
speeches. Our foode is rootes, dried fishes, berries, and I knowe not
what other harshHard feeding. kind of fruits, and sometime foules, besides a kind
of graine growing in great cods wherby we somtimes obtain (though
not the naturall) yet some vse of bread, vnlike to that you eat, in
taste, goodnes, or propertie. Our lodgingsIll lodging. and places of repose are
caues, entrenched in the ground, the earth our beds, and clothes our
couerings. And these also hard as they are, enioy wee not in quiet,
but being awaited of the naked multitude (whose policies insinuate by
nature are farre greater then their strength)Danger. wee are faine by much
industrie to preuent them: into whose hands if any of vs doe chaunce
to fall, our dead carkasses in hastie morsels are conueied into their
intrailes. Hereby iudging of our estate, thou mayest accordinglie
deeme of our pleasures. The next message that thou shalt attend from
mee, shall bee my speedie returne, the seas and windes being not lesse
fauourable then they were at my going forth. Meane while recommend
my selfe to thy wel-wishing, and our safeties to God, I ende as thou
knowest, this of, &c.
THE decease (good Madame)Exordium.
Of the cause it selfe. of my Lorde your brother, hath occasioned
vnto your Lad. the sight of these Letters, wherein I haue rather
acquited my selfe of that whereunto by your honourable commaunde I was
enioyned, then anie wayes satisfied the griefe that by my selfe among
manie others, for his losse is intirelie conceyued. The manner whereof
may please you nowe to bee informed of,Narratio. which was thus. On Tuesday
beeing the thirteenth of this instant, hauing as it then seemed vnto
his L. and others, beene reasonablie well recouered from the woonted
force of his long consuming disease, beeing importuned by the dispatch
of some present affayres, as otherwise to haue some conference
with her Maiestie, hee went from his house of B. to the Court, where all
that day hee remained, and returned againe at night, not for all this,
finding himselfe at all disquieted at the least motion of anie the
pangs wherewith before time hee had so often been vexed. The most part
of that night hee was verie well reposed.Sudden sickenesse. Towardes morning the next
daie, he beganne somewhat to be agreeued, but nothing as accustomed: in
which state the most part of that day hee continued. At night againe
hauing eaten some small pittance to supper, towardes nine of the clocke
hee beganne most vehementlie to bee passioned, till which time wee
all had verie good expectation of his health and recouerie, which his
L. perceyuing, after hee had beene a while set vp in his bedde, hee
sayde, I knowe my good friendsDeclaration of his speeches.
and faithfull louing seruaunts, that the
great zeale and loue you doo beare vnto mee, is a vehement occasion
to kindle in you a desire of wel-wishing, and intendment of assured
safetie towardes mee, wherein I haue more cause to thanke your good
willes, then meane thereby to imagine the force of my disease to bee
lesse then long since I expected, and exceedinglie in my selfe haue
euer doubted, what wordes of comfort, protraction and delayes so euer,
haue by the Physitions to the contrarie beene vsed. One great and
exceeding comfort vnto mee is, that liuing, I euer loyallie demeaned
my selfe: and dying, I shall depart this worlde in her Maiesties good
grace, and especiall fauour. Next vnto that, the loue of you my dearest
friendes and entirelie beloued seruants and followers, whose hearts I
knowe doe pursue mee, and whose affections euen to the last gaspe of
death I am perswaded to bee euer firme and fixed towardes mee. Your
desires are, I knowe, that I shoulde liue, according vnto which the
least mitigation that may bee of my griefe, you measure by & by to the
hope of amendment, which is not so. For that in all the comfortable
speeches, that sundrie times I haue receiued from you, my selfe to
whome the inwarde effects thereof haue beene found most forcible, haue
euer mistrusted, and by manie probable circumstances adiudged the
contrarie. Long time endure I cannot, this knowe I well, happelie a
daie, two or three, I may yet bee conuersant among you, for my disease,
that standeth assured (the messenger whereof continuallie knocketh
at the doore of my imaginations, readie euerie houre to assault my
heart, and to carrie away with him the spoyles of a dying
carkasse) will not permit I shall long time trauell in this sort among you. And
for my selfe, stand ye all assertained, that hauing long since poyzed
in equall ballance, the long continuance of a fraile, wretched, and
trauelled life, the most part whereof is caryed away Mislike of the world.in sleepe,
sorrowe, griefe sickenesse, daunger, and the residue also neuer freed
of care and all maner of disquiet, with the hope of an euerlasting ioy,
happines, rest peace, and immortall residence: I finde no reason whie I
should at all affect the toyle of such earthlie tediousnesse. Insomuch
as hauing liued nowe almost threescore and thirteene yeares, and borne
my selfe (honourablie I trust) in all mine actions and seruices, and
further in the progression of my ripest yeares, yea in this verie
instant more then at anie other time am regarded of my Prince, and
esteemed of my Countrey, and among my Peeres reputed in the highest
degree of my fidelitie: I shall nowe die as becommeth my person,
woorthilie and honourablie. Bee you therefore recomforted I pray you,
as I am, and thinke that for all the loue you haue ought me, the
seruices you haue done mee, or tender care you doe yet in my heauiest
pangs beare vnto mee, the chiefest content you can doe vnto mee, is
that you bee satified herein with mee.Certain notice and
liking of death. That beeing verelie resolued
in my soule, of all that I haue here sayde vnto you, and hauing
ordered mine actions, and prepared my selfe thereto accordinglie, I
doe willinglie and with a right contented mind, leaue this transitorie
world so replenished as it is, with so manie grieuous casualties, &
hartilie do giue my bodie to his naturall course, and my soule into the
handes of the mightie Creator, for euer in his glorie (I trust) to bee
eternized. This speech ended, hee continued till after midnight, at
which time hee had about two houres slumber, and so beganne his paine
to encrease againe. In which till Wednesday following, almost in one
state, hee for the most part remained, oftentimes accustoming himselfe
with those that were about him to prayer, manie times, recording to
himselfe the goodnesse of God, and his mercies to him remembred, and
that with such zeale and intire regarde of his hoped repose, as that
it still seemed and was euidentlie apparant howe muche hee longed and
thirsted for the same. In fine, drawing by little and little towardes
an ende, euen in the verie last pang, ioyning his handes vp to heauen,
his heart and eyes thitherwarde fixed, hee recommended eftsoones
himselfe to the mercie of his Redeemer, and on Thursday last
about two in the morning died, to the lamentable griefe of all that were
about him, who heartily sorrowing his losse, were forced to shed teares
aboundantly. The day of the funerall is not yet certaine, but the same
is intended verie honorablie. Recommending my selfe vnto your La. in
all humblenesse, I take my leaue. At our sorrowfull house of B, this
of, &c.
Owe followeth it next, that after these Letters, meere
Descriptorie as you see, we doe treate of the other two partes
appertaining also to this forme, which are Laudatorie and
Vituperatorie, the vse whereof either solelie or intermixed in
any other kind of Epistles, shal of one or more of these causes take
their originall, that is to say, of the Person,
Praise of the person. deeds
or thing it selfe to bee commended, misliked or dispraysed.
1The person of anie one is to be preferred or disabled, by his
birth, 2descent, shewe, or abilitie. Secondlie, by his childhoode, or
3good education from his infancie. Thirdlie, of his youth, in which he
is either conuersant in studies of honest life, seriously giuen to
the knowledge of letters, affecting alwayes vnto laudable exercises,
temperat and sober in demeanour, or otherwise accounted dissolute
and wanton, vnhappilie led to the search of whatsoeuer mischiefes,
affectionate to the most basest conditions and practises, not tied to
anie order, but wholie pursuing an vncontroulled 4libertie. Fourthlie,
of his manly yeares being frequented with ciuill gouernment, or liuing
altogether without account. Priuately and publikely in all manlie
actions demeaned, or by apparant5 loosenes in each place discredited.
Fiftlie, of his olde age, the course whereof is with ancient grauitie
continued, or by al kind of euils most hainously misprised, whose
siluer haires are shining in vertuous happines, or miserable estate
drowned in lothsomnes. Sixtly, in his 6ende or departure out of this
world, agreeing to the saying of Solon, No man may be
counted happie before his death. For that in the expectatiō or
attaining therof, as at no time more in all the life of a man,
then chiefly appeareth, his vertue, constancy, strength & worthinesse, or
otherwise his imbecility, ouerthrow, shame and ignominious filthines.
Besides all these, many likelihoods are often taken either to the
praise or dispraise of the person, by occasion of the nation
or soile from whence he came, where hee was borne or trained. From
the generall condition or application of himselfe or of the people
thereof, by the habite, constitution of the bodie, complexion, looks,
fame, or other circumstances thereunto incident, by the actiuitie,
strength, swiftnes, nimblenes, fauor or beauty of the body. By the
gifts of fortune, as honor, wealth, worship, reputation and kindred.
And forasmuch as these demonstrations of persons are wholy occupied
either in praise or dispraise of their conditions or behauiours: the
chiefest part hereof shall also consist in Narration, without
peraduenture it falleth out in the life of anie one to haue some one or
mo things hapned or of them supposed, ill beseeming or vnworthy their
reputation, which either by defence, excusation, or Confutation
must bee coloured, diminished, or cleerely auoided. Examples whereof do
follow according to their particular occasions: and thus much for the
Persons.
In commendation or vituperation of the déeds of any one,Of the
deeds. we shall weigh with our selues what notable actions haue bin, wherein he or she
haue honorably or worthily behaued themselues, or by perpetual infamy
therof haue deserued in each posteritie for euer to be contemned.
Touching things likewise by themselues to bee extolled or disabled,
they are euer measured by the consonance and agréement they haue either
with reputation or dignitie.
The goodnesse or badnes,Honest which is tied to
vertue. excellencie or basenesse of any thing, is
gathered from the places of Honestum, Inhonestie, vnder
which is comprehended what is iust or vniust, godlie or wicked, direct
or indirect, worthy or to be dispraised. Honest is alwaies linked to
vertue. For whatsoeuer is either vertue it selfe, or affined with
vertue or deriued from vertue, or conducing to vertue, is absolutelie
declared honest.
The distinguishment of these falleth out to be sorted into foure
principall excellencies, that is, Prudence, Iustice,
fortitude and Temperance, it is therefore to be
intended, that not onelie deedes and actions, but also thinges themselues are
solelie of these, and for these either praised or debased.
Whatsoeuer then by sounde and wholesome perswasion tendeth either to the embracing
of the good, or shunning of the euill.Honest, what it is. Whatsoeuer includeth either
fidelitie, true friendship, equitie, obedience or gratitude. Whatsoeuer
conduceth to true pietie to God, thy Countrie, Parents, children,
and friends. Whatsoeuer appertaineth to the seueritie of the law, to
the admonishing of the wicked, and to the remuneration and defence
of the well deserued. Whatsoeuer tendeth to a tolleration or patient
forebearance of euils, to longanimitie, entring into hazard and dangers
for conscience, for thy countrey, kindred or friends. Whatsoeuer
concerneth chastitie, sobrietie or frugalitie, and seemely moderation
in all thinges, that in each of these is adiudged honest and none
others.
The contrarie hereof, which is Inhonestum, includeth
likewise whatsoeuer is not vertue, or is estranged from vertue,
hindering to vertue,Vnhonest. or in nothing furthering towards vertue,
whatsoeuer is pertinent to follie, iniustic, pusillanimitie, or
excesse, whatsoeuer by the euill therein committed is exempted from
praise. Whatsoeuer carieth perswasion to mischiefe & seducement from
the good. Whatsoeuer appertaineth to infedilitie, falshood, treason,
disobedience, slander, or ingratitude. Whatsoeuer withdraweth from
naturall regard and loue of thy Countrie, parents, children and
friends. Whatsoeuer impugneth the wholesome lawes and estate of euerie
common-wealth, tendeth to a notorious example of euill, hindereth or
blemisheth any others good deseruing. Whatsoeuer enforceth reuengement
vpon euerie small offence, hath in it no meane of sufferance, or
forbearance at all, entertaineth a lawlesse libertie of conscience to
perpetrate or yéeld to any vnlawfull action, or to become iniurious to
thy Country, state or calling. Whatsoeuer is furthering to a dissolute
liuing, vnbrideled lust, couetous tenacitie, prodegality, or detestable
excesse. These and such like, as confounders of all ciuilitie and
humane gouernment, are confirmed to be vnhonest.
Now these deedes, actions or thinges are by manie Oratory
partes to bee handled, or commended, according to the matters or
occasions whereout their praises are deriued, and because examples are
the best I might sort out diuers: as of Dauid, I coulde commend
his combate against Goliah, first ab honesto,
in that
he being the seruant of god fought against a blasphemer, Laus
ab honesto.also in his Princes quarell & defence of his countrey:
ab æquo, Ab æquo.because
it is meet and conuenient, that in causes so perillous, the strength
of each one be applied. A necessitate,A necessitate.
insomuch as thereon depended the sauegard of the Prince and people.
Ab vtilitate,Ab vtiltiate.
for that he killing such an enemie, brought to their owne country
peace and quiet, and also draue the other part in subiection to his
king and people. A difficili,A difficili.
because the vndertaking thereof
was so much the more waighty, by howe much himselfe was as it were an
infant agaynst a mightie giant, vnarmed against him that was armed,
vnfurnished against him that had al maner of complements of warre:
weake, where the other was strong: besides that the terrour of his
chalenge and hugenes of stature had before daunted the armie, & put
them all out of conceit, in so much that the doubt was so generall, as
no man dared to vndertake the quarell. Besides, herein is praised of
bodily force, his Actiuitie, and courage: of Vertues,
his woonderfull Magnanimitie, who by couragious desire durst to
vndertake the same: also his affiance in Iustice, and equitie
of the cause: His Pietie to God, his Prince and countrey:
Lastly, his Fidelitie, whose life was not spared when each one
drew backe for feare to be brought in hazard. And as to this action
of Dauid, I haue vsed all these Oratorie parts, so in
causes of sway and gouernment, a man might by the like parts and places
be praised for his great wisdome, whereby in handling of some notable
action in ambassage or consultation, he hath onely by graue aduise,
industrie, discreete search, perswasion or circumspection, compassed
weightie matters to the common weale, or thence auoyded huge and
imminent dangers: Cicero in the coniuration of Catiline,
beeing a mightie enemie agaynst his owne Citie of Rome, might
herein be an excellent patterne, who without stirring the people
at all, without any maner of bodilie resistance or force of armes,
without passing by any priuate or indirect means, did by the sole
matter of his wisedome, waightines of spéech, forcible reasons,
enforcements, rebukes, and perswasions driue him cleane out of the
Citie, and being expulsed (to the common peace, tranquilitie and surety
of the same Citie) did afterwarde by like demeanour, industrie, and
circumspection, so preuent his purposes, so circumuent his policies, so
turne him vpside downe, as he dared not, he could not, he
shamed to perpetrate what so often hee had sworne, and so many wayes intended:
in which action of Ciceroes, all these Oratorie parts
are in like maner included. So likewise, for some one rare & singular
point of Iustice another might be extolled, as beside common
expectation exercising the same. A president hereof might bee the L.
chiefe Iustice of Englande in the time of King Henrie
the fourth, who was so streictlie bent to the obseruation of iustice,
as hauing one of the Princes seruants arraigned before him at the
Kings Bench barre, for a fellon, and beeing one that the young Prince
greatlie (at that time of his youth) fauoured. The prince came to the
barre, and at the Iudges hands required his seruant; who answered that
he was the King his fathers prisoner, and stoode there vpon his triall
by lawe for his offences, that he could not in iustice, nor would (by
his pardon) deliuer him without his triall. The Prince mooued with
such deniall, stroke the Iudge on the face, and woulde by force haue
withdrawne the prisoner. The Iudge withstoode him, and aduertising
him mildlie of the offence he had done to the seate and place wherin
he sate of iustice, in such sort to strike him, stoutlie commanded
him to Warde, whereunto (uppon such admonition) the Prince obeyed,
and accordinglie remayned in durance, attending the aduertisement and
knowledge of his fathers pleasure. Here might bee a great contention,
whether the worthie Iudge in his equall administration and execution
of iustice, without feare, whereon stoode the hazard of his owne life,
beeing vpon him that was in succession to become his soueraigne Lord,
were more to be commended: or the Prince, in his subiection, and of
all other most singular obedience, more highly to bee extolled: the
one daring to doe what was lawfull vpon whatsoeuer hazard, the other
humbling himselfe to authoritie which he might easilie haue impugned:
and yet both actions such, as by many excellent Oratorie parts séeme
fit to be inlarged. For no doubt there was as much vertue in the ones
obedience, as there was excellency in the others sentence.
And as these, so the honor, worship, or wealth of anie man, his
deedes of charitie, either in Erection, conuersion or
repayring of any thing, whereby the common wealth is benefited,
vertue furthered, or the néedy prouided for, might bee in like sort
aduanced.
Finallie, Wisdome, Iustice, Bountie, Liberalitie, Curtesie,
Chastitie, might each of them as things by themselues, & of
themselues without the person of any one be alike commended. Whereof
I think it néedlesse to amplifie any further, seeing by the examples
hereafter set downe, the learner may sufficientlie bee enabled in
whatsoeuer, for those causes he shall vndertake to proceed vpon.
THE feruent loue, and entire zeale and regarde, wherewith your L. euen
in these tender and as yet vnripened yeares,Exordium, by
insinuation. seemeth to pursue the
vertues and honourable worthinesse of the most renowned and famous, and
the reuerend account, wherewith in your most secret imaginations you
haue euer admired, & as it were emulated their highest progressions:
hath mooued me in recordation thereof (and the rather to deliuer
vnto your L. the verye true image and liuely counterfeit indeede,Allegoria. of
vnblemished honour, adorned with all princely and most surpassing
noblenes) to propose vnto your view, a paragon so peerlesse, and of
so rare and excellent performaunce, as whereof no hystorie hath the
semblable, no region the match, nor any worlde hereafter may eftsoones
be supposed to produce the like.Hyperbole. You shall not neede my L. to ransacke
volumes,Procatalepsis. to search out the liues of the most honoured Scipio,
amongst the Romanes, nor out of Greece to fetche Themistocles or
Alcibiades from Lacedemon or Athens. Let Haniball rest
with his predecessors,Epitheton. who sometimes by vnbearded fortune did honor to
mightie Carthage, and (before them all) Achilles and Hector, that made
the fall of Troy so famous: And come wee into our owne Countrey,Synonymia. the
land wherein our selues inhabite, the soyle to vs natiue, and of all
others most deerest, and see you here my L. a Prince of so rare and
incomparable worthinesse, as your selfe will confesse throughout all
the course of his life, to haue beene of all others the moste happie
and vertuous.Anadiplosis. Edwarde, my L.
young EdwardNarratiō. (so helde in
his fathers life) vnder whose raigne he died in Englande, surnamed
for his noted excellencie, sometymes the blacke Prince.Hypotiposis. This
is hee on whome Nature, Fortune and Vertue, to the intent to yeelde
some apparaunt shewe of theyr woonderfull and mightie operations, had
aboue all others so especially
enrichedPraise of the Prince in generall. with all kinde of wished
and most exquisite perfections, as in that present season, in which
the delicacie of his aspiring minde reste vnto himselfeEpitheton. the highest
branch of honour from out her loftie seate of dignityMetanoia., it was denied
to any other whatsoeuer, to exceede? nay, but so much as to become
partaker with so rare a patterne of the like fruites of vertue and
neuer dying glory. And to the ende (in rehearsing some fewe of the many
particularities of such sounde and vncorrupted maiestie)Metaphora. the radiant
shining beames resiant in so high a personage, may with more facilitie
the sooner bee discouered: wee will first beginne with his originall
and foremost infancie, that by deducing from thence his complementes of
princelie excellencie, euen in the verie mouth of his entombed graue,
his bones may not bee reposed without an immortall recordation, and the
fame of his vertue celebrated by an endlesse memorie. Needlesse were it
my L. that I shoulde tell you of this statelie Prince,Præteritiō. that hee were
sonne and heire in succession, to the most mightie and most renowmed
Edward the thirde, king of this noble realme of England,
the most regarded vertues and inuincible chiualrie of whome, beeing
then euerie where so surpassing, and of such redoubted force, as (were
it not such memorable issue had sprong out of his Kingly loynes, Parenthesis. as
wherewith the states of the mightie were daunted, and Europe made to
woonder) might hitherto haue remained of-fame compotent ynough, to
haue bene compared vnto the mightiest: but that I may rather imparte
vnto you, that as golde, in the riches and glorie of it selfe,Parabola. beareth
price and value with the most precious, yet hauing annexed vnto his
proportion, a Diamonde of inestimable beautie, valour and goodnesse,
becommeth thereby farre more excellent then before, more shining and
glorious: so this soueraigne and puissant Monarch (admirable no doubt
by himselfe) yet hauing thus tied vnto the sunne-shine of his happie
raigne, the obscurer and eclipsing glorie of all other nations,Metapora. the
verie Loadstarre and direction of all other Tropheis, the Sunne it
selfe of worthinesse, and absolute concluder of euerie honourable
enterprise: howe coulde it bee but that this prerogatiue of his must
of force exceede, and goe beyonde all others,Antimetabole. when himselfe, by
the verie chaire of honours selfe was so farre aduaunced aboue any
others?Periphrasis.
And albeit the high and kingly worthinesse of so statelie
offspring and parentage, might no question in sundry sortes, yeelde
greate and mightie glorie to the issue: yet that it might not bee
alleadged that in taking vppon vs to commende the personage of one,
wee shoulde intimate the soueraigntie of the other, as it were by a
defect of praise sufficient, to supply the wante of our owne, and that
the honourable reputation of another cannot fitly bee saide to bee
this mans worthinesse, without by the braunch of his owne deserte,
hee hadde in his owne proper right most effectually caried the same.
Vnderstand you then of him, that which all men deeme most princely and
honourable, and there is none, were it the stoutest enemie that euer
liued, but will most highlie commende. This Prince, my L. who euen from
the verie cradle seemed to bee addicted to the knowledge, and feare of
God, and verie pietie of a sincere and Christian religion (besides that
hee was naturally so well formed and instructed in good documentes as
anie might bee) became in those verie tender yeares also, so apte vnto
learning, as the match or like of him therein, was seldome or neuer in
those dayes any where found, and in these times also may not easily
bee hearde of. Insomuch as of those that then knewe him verie well,
it certainely is deliuered, that beeing but the age of twelue yeares,
his vnderstanding and knowledge in the Latine tongue, was so perfect,
his progression in the Greeke so excellent, his skill and deliuerie of
forraigne languages so woonderfull, his Princelie towardnesse
in all thinges so rare and so plentiful, as many times mooued all the
regarders to admire him, but founde none of all his associates in the
same exercises, that were able to follow him.
Nowe if wee shall come to his riper yeares,Of his adolescence. and howe therein hee
profited in the towardlie exercise and vse of armes, beeseeming a
Prince of so high and exspected admiration, what coulde bee wished
in anie one that in him was not fullie accomplished. So comelie, and
with such vncontrouled dexteritie coulde hee sitte, ride and gouerne
his horse, so couragiously, and with such nobilitie coulde hee welde
and vse any weapon, either at tilte, barriers or turney, with such
high and woonderfull direction, ordered hee all his complementes to
either of these belonging, as did well manifest the magnanimitie and
worthinesse of his minde, and what manner a one hee woulde afterwardes
become toward the beautifying of his countrie. A more plaine and
euident demonstration whereof, did at any one time in nothinge so much
appeare as euen then, when hee was yet in his minoritie. For when
there was remaining as then, no signe or token at all of manlie shewe
in his face (beeing neuer the lesse of stature seemelie and tall, and
of goodlie constitution in his bodie, well beseeming the yeares hee
then caried) also attendante on the mightie King his father in the
warres of Fraunce: what thinges did hee there perfourme?Erotema. what weightie
enterprises, and those beyonde all expectation would hee vndertake,
in honour of his royall progenie: was it not too straunge, that
beeing in comparison of yeares, as it were a childe, deuoide of so
confirmed and auncient graffed experience as beseemed the warres, hee
vndertooke notwithstanding at eighteene yeares of age, with halfe
his fathers power (by a most couragious desire of an euerthirsting
glorie, with condition and charge either there to eternizeParenthesis. his death
by an euerlasting memorie, or backe to returne againe with triumphant
gained victorie) to ioine with the whole and mightie power of Fraunce,
and all the Chiualrie thereof, where (to his immortall and surpassing
high renowne) hee attained vppon them by the high permission of God, a
most memorable Tropheie? But why dwell I in these slender discourses
(small God knowes in respect of those mightie conquestesMeiosis. by him
afterwards atchieued) in deteining you from the sweete and ardente
remembrance of the rest?Auxesis. If he being yet sequestred in years from
any ripenes at all, when it was thē to be supposed he most needed
gouernmente, coulde by such stately and inuincible valour, so moderate
his great and waightiest actions, as to become at that verie instant
so redoubted and famous: what might we deem of him afterward, being
once perfectly established in all kinde of manly directions, but that
of necessity he should by manie degrees exceed and go beyond the
formost shewe of all his excellencies, and the greatest expectation
that might be of all his progressions? & so vndoubtedly he did. For
being once attained to mans estateEpanodus.
His mans estate.
hee grewe immediatly to become a
Prince. sage, discreet, politike & wise, in all his actiōs of rare
& singular circūspectiō and prouidence, benigne: & of all others
most fauourable and courteous: fortunate, and euer inuincible in the
warres, liberall to his followers, and of a high replenished bountie
to euerie one, a verie Patrone and defender of
innocents,His outward actions.
absolutelye fauouring alwayes the right, Magnanimious as touching his estate and
the high and waightie enterprises he tooke in hande, exceedinglie
feared abroad, woonderfullie beloued at home,His inward vertues. mixing alwayes the
enterchangeable exercise of Armes, with continuall studie of learning.
Of such rare modestie and temperance as is maruellous: In so much as
the King his father beeing here in England,Hypotiposis. when in the great fight
of Poictiers, hee had discomfited and ouerthrowne in one day
three mightie battels of the French, and taken in the last of them
king Iohn and his sonne prisoners: he was not puffed vp at all
with the honour of so statelie and triumphant victorie, neither grewe
he insolent vpon the same, but entertayned the King and his sonne in
his owne Tent so honourablie,His bounty & great humility.
and therewithall with so great nobilitie
and surpassing courtesie, as that hee neglected not to serue them
himselfe at Supper, and seemed verely at that season in all things, to
haue beene reputed in his owne intendment, as if hee had neuer beene
conquerour. The shewe whereof, so much increased his incomparable
bountie: and so mightilie honoured the estate of his victorie, as
that the King then confessed, that to become the prisoner of such a
one, it could bee no disparagement vnto so mightie a soueraigne as
himselfe, seeing that hee was by the force of that onely ouerthrowe,
made companion of the greatest NobilitieHis modestie. that euer hee sawe. Manie
Honourable partes could I here inferre vnto you of him (infallible
arguements of his incredible modestie) for long after this, when this
mightie Prince had atchieued so manie and waightie honours throughout
all Fraunce, as that the regard thereof made his name a terrour, and
his becke a commaunde to compell theyr Soueraigntie vnto his fathers
obedience: he was required by Don Petro, king of Castile, to
helpe him agaynst Henrie his bastard brother, who had then
expulsed him vnlawfully; and vsurped vpon his kingdome. Whereupon
hauing by the couragious endeuour of him selfe, and his Knightes, and
by their sole and onely prowesse, brought downe the vsurper, and driuen
him cleane out of the Countrey,Parenthesis. (albeit his strength was such, and the
admirable fauour of the people so greate, as might easilye haue inuited
him there, to the wearing of a crowne) hee neuerthelesse of a high and
noble disposition, holding itSententia. farre more honourable to make a king
then to be a king,
so farre foorth declared his temperance at that
verie instant (not commonlie happening vnto euerie one,Parenthesis. especially
in causes of a kingdome) as that hee vtterlie abstained so much as
to beare an appetite or liking therunto, howbeit good occasiō was
therunto ministred by the breach of Don Petro in paiment of his
souldiors: but to his immortall renowne, placed and restored therin
againe the true & lawful inheritour of the same setling him (according
as was intended) in his crowne and kingdome. Could there my L. in any
one haue appeared greater arguments of Magnanimitie, Iustice, and
Temperaunce, then was remaining in this Prince?Merismus. And yet if continuall
happinesse in all worldly attempts, if neuer ceasing and eternized
famous victories, if the commendation and honour done vnto him of his
mightiest enemies, if strength and glorie of his countrey, and honoured
titles of his victorious father, if confirmed leagues of diuers mightie
Princes, Confederates and Alies, if feruent and of all others the moste
principall and ardent loue of his Knightes, subiects and followers,
if all or anie of these might anie wayes haue induced him to the
breach of eyther of these vertues, what wanted to the furtheraunce
thereof, that in and vppon him, was not alwayes attendant and (as it
were)Allegoria. continuallie powred. Was hee not then wedded to honour, euen in
his formost Cradle? Did not Fortune immediately acknowledge
him, and confesse that he was her darling? Seemed vertue euer
prowde, but in his greatest perfection? Grew Fame at any time
so impatient as euen then, when (as the most conuenient harbour of all
her worthinesse) she sought out his dwelling? Agreed they not all with
one voice to abandon the statelinesse of all others, onelie to bee
resiant with him whome they helde most charie of all others?Confirmatiō. Witnesse
among manie other his more then ordinarie attemptes, the three battels
(then which no one thing throughout the worlde before or since became
of more greater remembraunce) by him in his moste youngest yeares, so
miraculouslie foughten, the one of which was at Cressay agaynst
the French, when he was but eighteene yeares of age (as you haue before
remembred.) the second at Poictiers, where died the King of
Bohemia, and King Iohn of Fraunce became his prisoner:
the thirde against the bastard Henrie, for the kingdome of
Castile,Hypotiposis. where in one whole intire fight the same Henry bearing
a mightie hoste, was by meere surpassing valour and moste woorthie
prowesse of this Prince discomfited, and by maine force thereof
expulsed his Seignorie. All which exploytes, and manie more besides,
celebrating thereby his eternall prayses, when he had with greater
glorie, then well may bee conceyued, furnished and finished to the
aduauncement of his immortall dignitie: See death,Epiphonema. dispightfull
death,Emphasis. who ioyning with the malignitie of the wicked world, hatefull
alwayes to vertue, and satisfying euer to malicious enuie, bereft the
vnwoorthie earth of his most worthie life. But howe? Not as falleth
out to euerie common creature, deuoyde of after memorie: for why?Antipophora. the
soueraigne commaunder of earth and skyes, allowed it otherwise: neither
beseemeth such stately patternes of honoured vertue, whose
spirites caried with greater efficacie of aspiring eternitie, then
those whose duller conceytes are adapted to more terrene and grosse
validities, shoulde bee exempted their perpetuitie. And albeit in all
the progression of the wished life of this mightie Prince,Commoratiō. anie one
thing was neuer founde contrarying, blemishing, or in one sort or other
impugning his honour (one sole imposition or taxe contraried in his
gouernement of Gascoigne excepted)Confutatiō. yet in the highest estate
of happinesse wherein hee alwayes liued, was hee neuer more happie or
glorious, then euen in his verie death. Insomuch as hee then dyed,Synonymia. at
which time in most honour and highest, toppe of all prosperitie, hee
was principallie established and chieflie florishing: at that instant
in which the type of his excellencie was in no one tytle or iote
obscured:Praise of his death. at that verie season when in the whole course and practise of
his life, hauing still addicted himselfe to sounde out the incertaine
and momentarie pleasures of the worlde, he had by perfect tryall found
out the small validitie and little affiaunce that was to bee reposed
in transitorie and fading glorie of the same. Euen then, when in the
exchaunge of the eternall habitation (the incomprehensible ioyes
whereof no eye hath seene, eare hath heard, nor tongue can expresse,)
hee best knewe howe to leaue this wretched life, and to compasse the
sweete and wholesome meditation of the other. He died (my L.)Epiphonema. as hee
euer liued, vertuouslie and honourablie, the determination of whose
deceasing corps, was preparation to newe ioyes: and commutation of
momentarie pleasures, an assurance of euer flourishing gladnesse. Thus,Peroratiō.
see you (my good L.) before your eyes, the most certaine and assured
counterfeite of verie true Nobilitie, furnished in the discouerie
of such a one, whose personage beeing in no kinde of excellencie
inferiour, to that in the highest degree may bee of any other imagined:
deserueth by so much the more of all honourable estates accordingly to
be embraced.Ecphonesis. Great is the ornament of prayse, and precious the renowne
that longeth to such vertue: the Diamond glimpse whereof equalleth
in beautie the fairest, and dimmeth by the verie shadowe thereof the
glittering pompe of the mightiest.Articulus. Beautie, strength, comelinesse
fadeth, yea, the worlde decayeth, pleasure vanisheth, and the verie
face of heauen it selfe perisheth: Onlie sacred vertue is
immortall, she neuer dieth, euer quickeneth, absolutely triumpheth, and
ouer all other earthly monuments euen out of the deepest graue for euer
flourisheth. Liue therefore my L. vertuouslie, and die wheresoeuer and
whensoeuer, yet howsoeuer honourablie. My paper burthened with his long
discourse, desirous rather to recreate then toyle your L. enforceth an
ende. Recommending my humble duetie in whatsoeuer to your honourable
acceptance.
THe respects of this Epistle argued in the personage of
so noble a Prince, haue caried in the matter thereof, the very shew of
the highest and chiefest vertues, whereupon all commendation may bee
principallie gathered. The next hereunto shall be Vituperatorie
also touching the person. Wherein as wee haue in the other,
sought by all occasions and circumstances therunto incident, what to
the furtherance of such requisite commendation might be alledged: so
will we herein imagin vpon what groundes or respects the occasions
of dispraise, may as farre forth otherwise in anie other qualitie be
remembred.
SIR, the straungenesse of an accident happening of
lateExordium.
Of the cause mouing admiration. amongst vs,
hath occasioned at this instaunt, this discourse to come vnto your
handes. There was, if you remember, at your last beeng with mee in
the Countrey, a man of great abilitie,Narratiō. dwelling about a mile from me,
his name was B. and if I faile not of memorie therein, wee had once
at a dinner together sitting (by occasion of a pleasaunt Gentleman
then beeing in our companie) greate speaches of him: the man I knowe
is not cleane out of your conceite, and therefore I will cease in
further speaches at this presente to reuoke him. What generall
hate the people bare him, and howe ill hee deserued from his first
conuersing among them, you haue not (I am sure) forgotten, in so much
as he was called the Hell of the world, the Plague of a
common-weale, the Mischiefe of men, and the Bondslaue of
the deuill.Metaphora. And no maruaile, for what iniurie mighte bee conceiued,
that was not by him imagined?Erotema. what euill coulde there bee that hee
shunned to practise? What mercilesse dealing that hee woulde not
proffer? What apparant wrong that hee ceased to inferre? What execrable
extortion that hee cared not to committe? What villanie so damnable
that he durste not put forwarde?Paradoxon. O God, it is incredible to thinke,
and vnpossible to bee surmised, howe greate, howe forcible, howe
manifolde, howe mischieuous, howe insufferable,Auxesis. howe detestable hath
beene the originall, progression, continuation, and determination
of his most wicked and shamelesse life, and were it not that by the
incessant outcries, continuall cursinges, and horrible denuntiations
of the innumerable multitude of those, whome in his life time hee
yoked, whome with his actions he feared, whom with the weighte of his
endelesse wealth, hee poized downe, that they durste not then whisper
in secrete, what nowe they openlie discouer, whereby the force of
his wickednesse being then secrete, became not as nowe so open and
apparant.Epiphonema. I durste not me thinkes of my selfe so much as surmize but
the one halfe of that,Paradoxon. wherein he became so notorious, so rare and
vnused are the euils, wherein hee seemed so throughly to bee fleshed. I
haue woondered sithence with my selfe many times: what soyle it might
bee, or what constellation so furious, as effected their operations
in production of so bad and vile a creature, at the time when hee was
first put forwarde with liuing into the worlde: In the search whereof
I haue beene the lesse astonied, in so much as thereby I haue growne
into some particular knowledge of his originall and parentes.His Parents. His sire
I haue vnderstoode was a villaine by birth,Auxesis. by nature, by soyle, by
discente, by education, by practise, by studie, by experience:Allegoria.
Epanodis. his
damme the common sinke of euerie rakehels filthinesse: the one of
whome (after innumerable offences committed, whereby hee deserued
a thousande deathes) was at the last for a detestable and notorius
crime burned peecemeale vppon a stage in Holland, and the other (after
sundrie consuming and filthie diseases, neuer able to rid her) was
in like manner hanged aliue in chaines for a most horrible murder in
England. Expect you not then, that the procreation and generation of
such an issue, must by argumente of the Parentes condition,Antiphrasis. sorte
to some notable purpose: you doe I know, and in trueth howe coulde
it otherwise bee likely. Nowe if hereby wee shoulde conceiue of his
education,Apostrophe. and howe his childehoode past away beeing fostered vp as hee
was, from one place to another, without any certaine abiding, but onely
Cœlum omnibus commune, the common habitation of the worlde.
We must no doubte suppose that he sawe much, knewe much, practised
much, ouerpassed much, and was glutted with verie much. And surely if
I shoulde giue credite to some whome I durst beleeue, that knewe him
euen then when hee was not much more then a childe, the verie yeares
he lastly bare,His childhood. gaue not more assured testimonie of what hee nowe was,
then the season in which he then passed, did yeelde an inuiolable
approbation, what in time following he would become,Ecphonesis. for euen thē;
what rapine, what theft, what iniurie, what slaunder, what lying, what
enuie, what malice, what desperate boldnesse, and daring to enter
into any mischiefe, was in him throughly planted? There was not (by
reporte) any one thinge whereby a man might afterwarde bee coniectured
to become infamous, but was in him fully replenished.Omoioteleton. Credite mee,
I coniecture so manifoldly of the sequell of his actions, as when I
vnderstande what hee was so ripely, I maruaile that hee liued thus long
so wickedly. But shall I turne here from, to his Adolescencie, and
shew what therein I haue hearde?Adolescencie. Truely it passeth all capacitie to
be censured: and it is too much to bee thought vppon. His pride,
his bouldnes, his shameles countenance, his lookes, his gesture, his
shew, his liuing, his conuersation, his companie, his hauntes shewed
still what hee was:Sinathrismus. There was no rake-hell, no ruffian, no knaue, no
villaine, no cogging raskall, no hatefull companion, no robber on
high waies, no priuy pilferer, but his hande was in with him, and
that hee was a copesmate for him, no brothell house but he haunted,
no odde corner but hee knewe, no cutter, but hee was a sharer with,
no person so lasciuious,Parison. abiect, vilde, or dissolute, but hee would
bee a copartner
with. Yet after all these trades, hauntes, sharinges,
and partakings,Brachiologia. hee became at last to serue an olde miser, aged for
his yeares and miserable for his couetousnes. This wretched olde man
(as each one fancieth as hee liketh) conceiued so much of the odde
youth,Ironia. that hee took him into his seruice, where, with badde attire,
and thredbare diet, hee liued with him a prettie season, somewhat more
then quarter maister. In the ende (by whose thefte God knowes) the man
had a chist broken vp, and a little coyne and plate stolne, where with
(becomming desperate) it was deliuered hee hung himselfe for griefe,
and beeing nowe deade, lefte no issue or other heire, to succeede his
wretchednesse and double barred hoorde,Metaphora. but B. his man, who being a
strong lubber,Epiheton. was by this time growne a sturdie knaue, and would
needes bee counted a man, and thereupon hee became owner and intruder
to his maisters pelfe,Allegoria. wretchednes and miserie. To reckon to you since,
howe hee came into the countrie here,His youth and age. beecame a purchaser, howe hee
hath spente his youth, passed his olde age, what bribery, extortion,
wrong, crueltie, rapine, mischiefe, and all kinde of villanie,Asyndeton. hee
hath bolstered, perpetrated, followed: what infidelitie, falshoode,
reuenge, priuy guile, treacherie, betraying the innocent, beating downe
the poore, fatherlesse and widowes: howe much euill hee hath done and
what litle good he hath deserued, what shoulde I clogge my selfe with
the remembrance,Antipophora. or trouble you with the rehearsall. It is too much, I
am not able, I cannot, nay, it were vnpossible to perfourme it. What
resteth then, but that I hasten to the scope which in my foremost
purpose was intended,Transitiō. that hauing deliuered his shamefull life, I
doe reporte vnto you his shamelesse and vnaccustomed death. See then
the incomprehensible power and iustice of God, see the weight of his
measure, see the woonderfull demonstration of his secrete iudgement,Prosonomasia.
howe of a carelesse life ensueth a cankered death: of a wilfull liuing
a wretched ending: of such money misers so manifolde miseries; as
whereof I sigh to thinke, and grieue to remember. The man somewhat
before his sicknesse grew into an extreame numnesse, in so much as hee
that neuer lusted to helpe others, was not nowe able to helpe himselfe,
nor any cared to relieue him: afterwardes fretting and fuming with him
selfe as it seemed, that not withstanding his greate masse of money,
and huge heape of wealth, none could bee entreated with prayers, or
hiered
with guiftes, so much as to meddle with him, he grew into such
a frensie, and consequently, into so ranck a madnes, that hee sate
swearing and blaspheming,Hypotyposis. crying, cursing, and banning, and that most
execrable, his lookes were grimme, furious and chaunged, his face
terrible, his sight fiery and pearcing,His inordinarie sicknes. they that sawe him feared, and
they that heard of it durst not come nigh him. In conclusion, some that
pittied him more then his deseruing, and grieued to see that, they
coulde not redresse in him, caused a companie to watch him, others to
prouide warme brothes, and in conclusion vsed all meanes possible to
comforte him. But what can man doe to preuent the secret determination
of the almightie? For loe whilst all men lefte him, and each one stoode
in doubt of him, a companie of rattes vpon a sudden possest his house,Merismus.
his tables, his chymnies, his chambers, yea his verie bed and his
lodging, vpon which & about which, they were so bold, as in the sight
of the beholders they durst appeare and come before them, and beeing
stroken, aboade, and were killed, and others come in their places:
What shall I say, the sight became so vncouth, as all men shunned,
ech one feared, and none durst abide it;Epiphonema.
His death. whereupon the miser beeing
lefte alone, thus pittifully died. The stench of his corpes admitted
neither day-light nor companie wherein to bee buried. Two onely that
were the conueyers of him, sickened vehemently,Metaphora. and one of them dyed,
the other is yet scarcely recouered. The matter hereof seemed vnto me
so straunge, and therewithall so opportune to warne vs of our actions,Epilogus.
considering how seuerely God punisheth when hee is once bent to
correction, as I coulde not but deeply consider of it, weighing with
my self that such as was his life, such was his death, the one beeing
hated of manie, the other not to be tolerated of any. The circumstance
whereof, referring herewith to your deep consideration, I doe bid you
hartily farewell.
He next vnto these laste of this Demonstratiue kinds
are nowe the Deliberatiue, the first titles whereof in order
suted forth, appeare to bee Hortatorie, Dehortatorie, Swasorie,
and Disswasorie. These beeing
as I saide before, neerlie affined together (sauing onelie that the Hortatorie and
Dehortatorie are a little more vehement, stirring and pricking
then the others, yet both consisting in well aduising and counselling,
the one by necessitie, the other as an inducement to thinges laudable
and worthie) neede therefore in all seeming but one maner of direction
in them to be followed. You shall then vnderstand that the seuerall
partes in either of these Hortatorie or Swasorie, to
be considered, doe principally stand vppon a diuersitie of affections,
which nature as it seemeth, hath from the beginning ordained, to bee
as it were stirrings or prouocations within vs, thereby to propose a
direct and most readie waie vnto Vertue, or to terrifie by
like degrees, or withdrawe vs from the pursuing of vices.
The motions or effects herein frequented, may bee said to bee
either of praise or mislike, of hope or reward, or feare of euill to
folow, of loue to well doing, or of hate vnto badnes, of emulation of
others praise, glory, or reputation, of expectation thereon depending,
of examples or of intreatie. By laying out of all or either of these,
as occasion shall serue, consisteth the efficacie of all exhortation
or aduising, pulling backe or disswading. Now how the qualities of
these, or any other in generall touching the propertie they haue
with Vertue or Vice, may for any turne be allotted:
I must as well for this Deliberatiue kind ensuing, as for all
other titles whatsoeuer, the same hereafter requiring, wholy referre
the learner to the places in the chapter preceeding the Epistles
Laudatorie and Vituperatorie in all things to be
directed.
As touching these particularities, which wee haue tearmed
Motions and affects, let vs consider if you will in
seuerall, and see what efficacie by distinguishment of all their
properties & partes they may beare in this writing. Praise (no
doubt) in matter of exhortation or stirring vp to well doing is of
most singular force, and so questionlesse is Mislike, when
generallie it may bee drawne from a regarded conceite of the greatest
and woorthiest, to the withdrawing from euill. For if we shall but
enter into, or consider of our owne common passages: what is it I pray
you that preferreth or disalloweth, giueth grace or disableth the
actions and endeuours of men, but the speciall allowance or mislike
that is
euery where had of them? Is it not account alone that giueth
encouragement vnto Vertue? Is Vertue so fullie
aduaunced in anie thing as in the estimate prayse and reputation,
that is attributed vnto her? No surelie. And this by insight had into
the verie woorst and lowest sort of men shall you find, that there is
hardlie anie lyuing of so base and contemptible a spirite, but that
by Prayse and commendation, hee may bee drawne vppe to some
liking of well dooing. And howebeit the issues of mens actions doe
at anie time seeme to bee spotted with euill, yet desire they at the
least wise for their reckoning sake, that they might bee esteemed as
good.
By this appeareth the singularitie of thinges excellent, in so
much as nothing is, or séemeth rightlie prayse-woorthie, but what is
accounted good, so little reputation haue the perpetratours of euilles,
as that of necessitie they are compelled to seeke credite, by falselie
attributing vnto themselues the name of good. Howe much more then
true Prayse and Mislike of thinges woorthie, or to
bee despysed, may by all lykelihoode bee auailable with those of good
spirite, to drawe them to Vertues.
To applie nowe this prayse in exhorting or counsailing anie one, it
behooueth wee first conceyue what disposition, habiliments, or other
matter of value are in him whome wee haue to deale with, furthering
or conuenient to such a purpose, whereunto wee woulde exhort or
perswade him, and the likelihoode of the same, greatlie to put foorth
or commende: or if before time he haue behaued himselfe anie wayes
well, we shall incourage him in praysing of that alreadie done; and in
shewing that the more excellent the thing is, the more difficult it
is to bee attained, for Difficilia quæ pulchra, and
yet the difficultie not so great as the prayse, glorie and recordation
thereof, shall thereby afterwards be returned honourable.
Likewise, if the state of the partie doe serue thereunto, it shall
not bee amisse to put him in minde of his parentage, or that fayling,
of his Fortune, Vertue, Nobilitie of minde, Wit, towardnesse, his
great expectation, abilitie, age, and Discretion, all of them no lesse
requiring, but this with great modeste to be deliuered, least in
séeming to preferre the certaintie of those vertues which are of good
account to be in him, we doe not palpably gloze with the partie, and
as it were seeke to drawe from his person, or account, the things that
neuer came neare him.
Now as Prayse, and the laudable estimate of euerie good
action, together with the iust mislike of thinges euill, spurreth and
eggeth forward to great purposes, so verie much thereunto preuaileth
this other of Hope, not that which of a seruile and base
humour or condition ensueth, which expecteth nothing that is frustrate
of gain, and performeth all endeuours by expectation of reward,
but that vertuous kinde of Hope, which enableth to the
perfection and absolute summe of all worthinesse, and whose limit is
honour, reputation, estimate and account: A like Companion whereunto
is Loue, beeing a zealous affectation of thinges singular,
which Loue produceth likewise in it selfe, not a mislike
onelie, but a burning Hateof things vile, contemptible, and
vnbeseeming.
As these in themselues doe each particularlie thrust forwards to
goodnes, so many times Feare, or doubt of inconuenience that
may ensue, terrifieth or disswadeth from euils. Commiseration
of the lamentable estate of any one, prouoketh also sometimes to
pittie, and disturneth in like sort manie times from reuenge.
Expectatiō, as wel of Loue as of Hate, of good
opinion as mislike in compassing of any thing is not the least.
Shame & ignomie of the action also, the dependance whereof is
oftentimes occasion sufficient of well doing, and hindrance alike, and
withdrawing from euill purposes. But aboue all is the spur of
Emulation, whose force gathered by a certaine kind of Enuie,
of others proceedings kindleth flames of regarde to aspire vnto the
like, but not that sluggish and execrable enuie bred of most wicked and
detestable malice, which when it selfe cannot, nor is able to doe any
thing worthie, snatcheth and continuallie gnaweth on the deserts of
others, but that generous and noble kind of enuie which discreete
Nature and vertue haue insinuated in our mindes, emulating by a
feruent desire to compasse, or possibly to go beyond what mightily by
others hath béene performed.
The authoritie of Example is also very weightie, giuing
warrant to any vertuous imitation that may be prescribed, and lastly
requests and intreatie which euer more preuaileth according to the
writers credit or grauity. These being sufficently considered, we will
nowe according to such like directions, endeuour to suite foorth vnto
you some particular examples.
I Haue manie times desired with my selfeExordium. (good Cosin) to obtaine some
necessarie meanes, whereby to manyfest the greate good will I doe owe
vnto you, and in some sorte or other to giue you to vnderstande, howe
much and howe greatly I haue tendred those good partes, that manie
times I haue seene and prooued to bee in you. And for as much as
Fortune hath denied vnto mee the estate, reputation and wealth,
that manie haue gained, and the most doe couet, whereby I cannot if I
woulde, bestowe vppon you such riches and treasures as might breede
content vnto others: I am determmined to imparte vnto you, that, which
vnto your present condition seemeth most requisite, and wherewith vse
and common experience hath heretofore inured mee,Prosonomasia. in steede of wealth
to giue you wordes, in steede of golde, good, for riches, reason, and
in lue of liuing, to affoord you a louing and constant hearte. And
whereas I am enfourmed, that contrarie to the expectation of some
(who ouer peremptorily haue heretofore deemedInsinuatiō. of these your young
yeares to be laden with loosenesse, and led forwarde by libertie) you
haue of your selfe, and of your owne motion and free will, obtained
license and allowance of your father to go to Cambridge, in
minde to giue your selfe whollie to studie, and the sole fruition of
learning, I mused with my selfe whether I might more commende the
motion, or attende your perseuerance in the action that thereby you
haue taken in hande, in so much as the memorie of the one cannot bee
for the worthinesse more permanent, thē the glorie of the other, to
your euerlasting commendation, will appeare to be most excellent.Auxesis. It
is reported of the mightie Alexander of Macedon, that he was a
King, that he was puissant, that he was warlike, that hee was famous,
that he was a Conqueror, and that hee subdued the whole worlde:Meiosis. but
when he came to himselfe, to the conuincing of his owne appetite, to
rule reason by the square of right he became a meacocke, a childe,
an infant, what should I say?Synonymia. he was no bodie. Howe much greater then
hee was, hadde the woorthie Prince appeared, if as in the conquest of
sundrie mightie kinges, regions and prouinces, so in all other thinges
tending to the suppression of his owne peculiar affectes, he had bene
no lesse or fullie so much as Alexander. Scipio, the most
renowned amongst the Romanes, and for his sundrie great exploites in
Affrica,Hypotyposis. surnamed Affricanus, we doe reade, atchieued
many valiant and incomparable victories, and were it but that sole
battell which hee fought (when Rome was nowe at wracke, her
Nobilitie spoyled, and her glorie trode vnder foote, readie almost
vppon any reasonable condition to bee deliuered into the handes of the
enemie) in which hee then freed his citie, repulsed Haniball
by a mightie ouerthrowe, and thereby daunted so farre foorth his
pride for euer, as expelled from him all hope thence forwarde, at
anie time else to become a Conquerour: It coulde not otherwise bee
saide without question, but herein, yea in this onelie action, hee
deserued eternall memorie: But was hee herein,Antipophora. thinke you, and for
this onely matter throughout all the prouinces recounted so famous? No
assuredlie. It was also his rare and most singular vertues otherwise,
that fullie perfected and polished the glorie thereof. It was his
rare Temperance, Modestie, Continencie, and
Sobrietie, wherein with woonderfull admiration hee exceedinglie
flourished, and became extolled aboue all others. This was it, wherein
more then Alexander hee became regarded and famous. The conquestes
that by this meanes hee daylie made of himselfe, returned more glorie
to Rome, more firme faith and reuerence, then the forcible progression
of all other his fattall ouerthrowes and victories: of so greate and
woonderfull reputation is Vertue to all her followers.Epiphonema.
Praise of the person. This beeing
so, how can I then say, but in this your action, you haue of your
selfe right wel begun, how can I think, but aboue many others you haue
therein verie well deserued? Wherein shoulde I augmente your praise
if not in that which you haue heereby so well performed, the force,
operation, and effect of all which, hath onely consisted in subduing
your owne appetite? Great commendation haue you won I must needes
confesse, and more then with common worthines haue you in this thinge
demeaned your selfe, but (my good Cosen) it is not ynough to haue
well begun in a matter, without also therein you doe vse perseuerance.Paræmia.
Hanniball knew well how to subdue, but he knew not howe to
entertaine his victories. As you haue alreadie in this your resolution
gotten great good liking, so behooueth both for the preseruation of
what alreadie woone, and to induce a perpetuall increase to the same,
that you doe euermore frequente and by earnest and zealous prosecution
seeke still to entertaine the fruits thereof. Proceede then a Gods
name,Exhortatiō. and goe on with good lucke in your enterprise, the more harder
and greater you finde the difficulty in attaining to vertue,
the more vehemente shall bee your glorie, and the more honourable
the reputation that thereby is pursued. For, what hath a man of allConfirmatiō.
that may be left vnto him in this worlde, whereof to vaunt himselfe,
but the memorie of that wherein he hath most worthily trauailed. The
rich reape possessions, which when themselues are once passed away,
are immediately distributed to others. The pleasures of the worlde
are momentarie, and after wee are once deade wee perceiue them no
more. Worship, honour and dignitie, perisheth euen in the verie selfe
remembrance. The reuenues of the mightie, when life is once fled, are
no more to be tendred. Shall wee then for a number of fruitelesse
vanities,Antipophora. (the regarde whereof doeth neuer last longer, then whilest
wee are in present vse of them) neglect the search of that which is of
all others most permanent? No surely. So behooueth notAb æquo. such as your
selfe,praise of his ancestors. that of your auncestours haue had so many good encouragements,
beseemeth not the remembrance of their excellencies in you alone to bee
perished. Tis vertue, beleeue me, that procureth Fame,
and soly Fame that makes men immortall. All other meanes are
feeble as the originall from whence they are deriued is vncertaine. At
leaste wise, it shall many other waies stande you greatly vppon,A necessitate. to
continue this course, in so much as by the æmulation of the vertues
of others, you shall thereunto be constrained, besides the loue and
regarde that all men haue borne,Of expectation. and euer doe beare to the remembrance
of vertue, the expectation of your entirely fauouring and carefull
louing friendes, who with greate longing doe attende the prosequution
of your woorthinesse,Of loue and hate. the ill conceite, malice and spite that some haue
hadde towardes you, whereby to ouerthrowe the good opinion of your
father, who with greater greedinesse than Woolues themselues,Hyberbole. with more
enuie than the Crocodile,
and farre more poyson than the serpent, doe
lie in waite but onely to hearken after the newes of your declination,
and the dissolued purpose of your good intention.Epilogus. Finally, my dearest
and best fauoured kinsman,entreatie. I doe adiure you, pray you, and as earnestly
as I can beeseech you, by the verie pure and entire loue of vertue,
whereof you nowe shall become partaker, by the immortall fame thereunto
onely awarded, by the care you are bounde and ought to haue of your
selfe, by all the kindred that hath tied vs in affinitie together,
by all the loues and possible entreatie that I can, you doe persist,
continue and remaine firme in this your intended purpose. In pursuite
whereof you shall minister vnto your friendes ioy and comforte, to
your enemies shame and reproch, to your selfe praise and eternall
regarde, and to all sortes of your acquaintance occasion to admire you.
Preferring many times my care and earnest affection towards you, with
my manifolde greetings vnto your good selfe. I doe bid you farewell. &c.
Or
asmuch as the knowledge of letters Responsorie are
as méete to bee vnderstoode in the ordinarie occasions hereof as any
others: I deeme it not amisse amongst the passages of these seuerall
titles of Epistles to sorte you foorth also of them some particular
Examples, the better in their disposition to enable yᵉ learner as
occasion may serue. Touching which, it is to bee vnderstoode that the
matter of euerie answere taketh his originall of a letter precéeding,
and dependeth principally on the parts thereof. The ordering whereof
(except in Letters Excusatorie or Defensorie) is
wholy exempted, the course in those other letters prescribed, and the
obseruation in these, is principally to consider on what partes the
letter which ought to be answered consisteth or is chiefly grounded.
Those, howebeit it behooueth we doe fully answere, yet shall you not
(as some ignorant of weldoing haue done) recite in your answere the
whole circumstance of the matter charged, verbatim in a manner
as it is written before you, for that woulde bréede tediousnesse,
besides a ridiculous disorder by such meanes frequented, but you shall
(if néede so vrge) capitulate the principall partes of euerie seuerall
matter charged, and thereupon frame you to answere the points, in
sorte as before you, shall be deliuered. Or sometimes not needing any
rehersall at all, if the pointes be but fewe, you shall answere onely
as the matter you haue in hande is to bée deliuered. Or otherwise in
this sorte: Touching the pointes in your Letter to bee answered:
for the first I say, or it is thus or thus, &c. In the second, it is
so or so. For the thirde, in this manner or that. Touching the fourth,
&c. And so answere the partes by their number. By which meanes
you shall both drawe your selfe to a breuitie therein, and become far
more pithie in the matters you haue to write of then otherwise can
be expressed. And this béeing sufficient for all matters hereafter,
touching these Responsorie kindes, we will nowe for the first
Example set you downe an answere to the epistle precéeding.
THe regard of your exceeding good will, and weight of your aduise and
good exhortationsProsonomasia. (my verie good Cosen) haue mooued me many times to
thinke on you, and to thank you for the same, I take no litle comfort
of your great good liking of my determination, and that the endeuour
therof beareth so forcible allowance at your handes, as to reckon the
same in so hie and great accompte, as you doe.Dichologia. I did (I confesse) erre
a while, but howe? as a young man, I went astraie I graunt, but not
with perseuerance, for I reclaimed my selfe ere I fell, and stoode
vpright ere by ouer much weight I slided too far in my purposes,
Errare est humanum, sed persistere belluinum. The course I
haue taken in hand as it was estranged from the opinion of many: so
in the prosecutiō thereof, I hope to vse such pursuit, as willingly
by declination therein, I meane not to become offensiue to any. Feare
you not sir,Allegoria. the account is alreadie set downe, for notwithstanding my
greene yeares must yet of force continue their note of imbecilitie:
This prerogatiue yet remaineth, that I may as I liste
adapt my opinion
to grauitie. You shall (good Coosen) doe mee a great pleasure, if as I
am partner of your loue and entyre affection, so I may sometymes bee
partaker with you of those exercises and sweet pleasures, wherewith
your studie is frequented: I meane that with some discourses of yours
you will nowe and then remember mee. By expectation whereof, you shall
often prouoke mee to aunswere you. Thus assuring my selfe of that I
neuer yet distrusted at your handes, your zeale and fidelitie towardes
mee; I regarde you as faithfull as I haue euer found you, and so will
alwayes account of you, &c.
IT is no little pleasure vnto me,Exordium. to consider with my selfe my good N.
the great trauaile, cost, and paine, dayly employed by your dearest
beloued parents,Insinuatiō. to induce vnto you the precious, and of all other most
delicate and sweete pleasure of learning: the value whereof, is without
all estimate, and the comfort therein conceiued, in no wise to bee
comprehended: the louing regarde of whome, and the most lamentable want
of the other, when I doe see you either with some ill fauouring aspect
not to incline vnto, or with some more then straunge or vnused tearmes
not to account of, I cannot but greeue with my heart, respecting the
linke whereby I stand charged to either of you, in so great apparance
as I doe to behold the same. True it is, that you are a Gent.Propositiō. that you
are heire apparant to large and verie great possessions,Merismus. that you are
(for the yeares you beare) of comely and goodly personage, that you are
in all things well accomplished, and euerie way as beseemeth: but yet
when I behold this fauour, this comlinesse, these accomplishments, and
know you to bee a Gent. and thinke vpon your large ensuing reuenues
and possessions, me thinkes there should yet be an ornament of all
these, and a thing of farre more goodly shewe, and more surpassing
value wanting to the same, that might if it were well entertained ad
more glorie vnto all the others, then the waight of the rest were euer
able to purchase.Procatalepsis. For suppose that all these complements of yours are
of large price, and verie necessarie, as they are indeede, and such
wherewith the state of man is greatly beautified, yet are they all but
thinges
pertinent vnto the bodie, by force whereof (setting onelie our
shape aside) wee doe communicate in euerie thing with beastes, for with
them wee liue,Synonymia. wee mooue, wee go, wee eate, and enioie the sensuall
appetite of inward or outward abilities. But by the benefit of
learning, of knowledge,Asyndeton. of skill, wee make difference of things, and
are onely thereby in our selues distinguished from beastes. And if man
which is the principal worke of God,Paradigma. was from the beginning a chosen
creature indued aboue any others, and therefore poynted to excell and
go beyond all others, howe much more needefull shall it bee for euerye
one according to such appoyntment to preferre and put forwarde the vse
thereof vnto his owne profite. And seeing as well by the ordinance
of God,Commoratiō. as common vse of reason, whereby we are gouerned and ledde,
euerie man is induced to propose vnto himselfe the exercise of thinges
that are good and honest, and that the same also among these, which
maketh a man nearest to his Creatour in perfection, is of all others
the moste to bee desired: howe much auaylable then and importaunt is
it to euerie man to bee frequented with learning, the vse whereof
freeth him of common ignoraunce, and maketh him capable of the high and
loftie mysteries.Ab honesto. And if in anie studie whatsoeuer, the reputation of
honest and good is to bee sought for, what I pray you then learning,
may bee iudged more honest, which hauing with it a certaine kinde of
diuine and sacred originall, hath from the beginning of the worlde,
beene with all men in greatest price and estimation.Allegoria. What may bee
deemed more good then that which from verie Asses and blockes, and (if
it were lawfull to say) from bruite men and beastes also themselues
maketh distinction, and without the which, there were left vnto vs from
such, no place at all of difference. What then that can bee sayde to
bee more honest, which draweth a man vppe to the diuine contemplation
of the sacred Maiestie, to the knowledge of high and heauenly thinges,
of woorthie and honourable vertues, and beeing sequestred by the wante
thereof, hee becommeth no otherwise than as a hogge, still groueling
on the earth, searching onely wherewith to fill his bellie, neglecting
in the meane time the expectation or regarde of any other statelie or
eternall Soueraintie. Nowe therefore, if the vse of learning, as the
thinge of greatest accompt and most woorthie, is heere sette downe to
bee so generallie, commended to all sortes of men, howe much more
consonant and agreeing is it then to the reputation of a Gentleman, who
by what distaunce so euer hee is measured in capacitie,Synathrismus. minde, order,
state and gouernment from anie other common or ordinarie person,Anthesis. by
so much the more ought hee in all endeuours to aspyre and seek to goe
beyond them. For whereas all other men in their seuerall vocations are
for the most parte,Etiologia. as it were withdrawne from the speciall notice and
eye-marke of all publique administration and gouernement: the Gentl.
contrariwise, the more woorthie and noble that hee is in calling, the
more neerer is hee to that aduauncement whereunto by nothing so much as
learning hee is enabled to bee preferred. For what profitable member
can hee bee in such a place, whose ignoraunce is farre greater then his
witte, and whose knowledge is lesse then the least of that, whereof
hee ought to take notice and experience. And seeing learning is of all
other thinges, a store-house so plentifull and precious,Epanodis. as whereof
the wiseman maketh his treasure, the poore man his riches, and the
wealthy one his pastime and pleasure, shall the Gentleman who in all
other thinges, by Nature striueth to bee excellent, bee in the greatest
action of all others so carelesse and negligent?Paramologia. Admit that you will
heere alledge the tediousnesse of studie, and a certaine impossibilitie
almost to attaine thereunto, I must aunswere vnto you againe, that
this commeth not of the labour thereof, which to those that willingly
aspire to the delicate taste of the same, yeeldeth great facilitie with
pleasure to bee receyued: but to a slouthfull and sluggish endeuour and
disposition. Far be it therefore (good Sir) that you beeing a Gentleman
in all other thinges so towardly, and the sonne of such a one as you
are, shoulde with the touch of so great a blemish, bee so throughly
stained.Epiphonema. So woorthie a discente as whereof you are deriued, such
infancie and child-hoode wherein so worthily you haue beene trained,
so great loue and charge of parents wherewithe you may bee animated,
doe inuite you farre otherwise, and to a more excellent purpose. Let
the sweete and yet vnknowne delight thereof prouoke you,Auxesis. the praise and
commendation solye to vertue appropriate and belonging, once prick you
forward, the honour and aduancement thereby continually happening egge
you. And if none of all these preuaile, yet the riches and rewarde
farre greater then anie earthly treasure, which are therunto incident,
tie you to a desire thereof. Thinke of the worthines of those, who
by howe much the more noble they were in birth,Dignitie and zeale of others. by so much the more
zealouslie they haue trauelled, not shunning any labour, sweate,
tediousnesse, scorning, yea bondage it selfe,Auxesis. whereby to compasse vnto
themselues the glorie and rewardes annexed to the dignitie heereof.
And if no other remembrance may be sufficient to establish you, regard
yet your liuing father and grandfather,By example. the one of whom neglecting his
ease and quiet at home, trauailed all Fraunce, Germanie, and Italie,
to the intent to attaine vnto the greatnesse of that whereunto you are
so hardly perswaded. Neither thinke I that you in whome all other good
actions do so plentifully flow, wil herein alone with a little labour
be terrified:Peroratiō. Wherefore my good N. I eftsoones entreate you againe, and
againe, by all the loue you haue ought to your name, fame, parentage
and stocke, and by all the expectation that in them, or anie of them,
is of your happinesse conceiued, you will proceede in this purpose: the
weight whereof besides the commoditie and pleasure redounding to your
selfe, shall vnto your parents and all others returne most comfortable
and pleasing. All which recommending to your courteous consideration to
bee entertained, I doe herewith take my leaue, &c.
SIthence the time of my little abode heere in LondonExordium. being scarce
twentie dayes, vnderstanding of the being in town of my La. your
mother, I repaired thereupon to her presence to visite her: there did I
receiue notice of your being in Ireland, and that vpon your honourable
behauiour, and good seruice there done: The L. D. did not onely testifie
the same by his owne hand-writing vnto diuers of the priuie Counsell,
but also in especiall letters besides commended the weight thereof,
vnto the regard of her most excellent Maiestie.
I did not a little reioyce to see that in such young yearesInsinuatiō
by praise of the action. wherein
commonlie falleth out a contempt of all excellencies, and a
fantasticall desyre of counterfeyte vanities, you coulde (besides the
common trade and custome of the worlde)Parenthesis. addict your selfe wholie vnto
so weightie and honourable an exercise,Epitheton. as by laboursome trauaile in
the seruice and honour of your Prince and countrie, to put forwarde
your selfe so timely. Credite mee, it is not a little pleasing vnto mee
to thinke thereon,Metaphora. neither standeth my affection so slender vnto your
fathers off-spring, but that I must euer holde the reputation of their
weldoing, an aduauncemente to my imaginations, and the sounde of their
good successe the verie harmonie of mine inwarde soule.
It is no newe thing I confesse, euen in these dayes to see a Gentleman
honourablie descended as your selfe, and of like worthie education, to
attaine vnto learning, to become practised in Armes, to put forward
themselues in seruice, but to continue with resolution, to performe it
with labour,Auxesis. to atchieue it with valour, to beare it with honour, here
is the excellencie, this is the rarenesse, hence springeth the noueltie.
Vertue retaining yet her ancient Maiestie, though not pursued
as in olde time, with such woonted vehemencie,Hypotyposis.
vertue hath three entrances. hath three entraunces,
leading directly vnto her beautifull passage, by the portes whereof,
whosoeuer is desirous to attaine her, in her purest and most glorious
estate, must of necessitie enter. First, Fortitude,Fortitude. whereby
hee must be enabled to endure whatsoeuer labour and trauell to be
imposed, accounting nothing difficult, to the end and sweet rewarde
whereof her excellencie is appropriate. Next, Magnanimitie,Magnanimitie.
which by a vehement and haughtie desire, reacheth vnto thinges most
excellent & of highest and stateliest value, not regarding the hard,
tough, & maine force of the passage, with what pursuit soeuer it must
bee followed, so be it by such meanes it may be wonne, and the glorie
thereunto due, may at last be attained: the reach wherof, tending to
the last end and scope of al his determinatiōs, sweetneth all maner of
trauel, and induceth therewithal a contempt of whatsoeuer lesse valued
or hindering, to the worthines of the same. Then Longanimity,Longanimitie.
enabling by greate constancie with rare and accustomed patience, to
awaite and endure the end, neuer giuing ouer vpon whatsoeuer assaults,
til the determined scope be by all kind of industry fullie and
perfectly furnished.
For this cause,Etiologia. the most renowmed parte of vertue is saide to
bee excellent, for that manie doe contemplate her a far off, but few
or none at all doe almost come so nigh her, as perfectly to see and
discerne her, in so much as some, nothing regarding the singularitie of
that, whose sweetnesse they neuer tasted of, become forcelesse of the
pursuit of so diuine an excellencie: and some other fauouring a litle
the daintines thereof, yet ouer-reached with the tediousnes of the
enterprise, and hindered by the opposition of a thousand vanities, are
so astonished in the first onset, as being therewith ouercome, doe by
and by giue ouer their purposes.
Now therefore my C. if you will bee a right fauourer of vertueAdhortation to vertue.
indeede, it behooueth that by these possibilities you doe (as a
faithful regarder of her diuine & sacred essence) only seeke to pursue
her, and that with such and none other respectes, and to no other ende
and purpose, but for the sole fruition of her stately and immortall
deitie.
The time now calleth you forth,Merismus. your Countrie and soyle wherein you
were borne and nourished inuiteth you, your praise alreadie gotten, and
hope of renowne euer after to followe, perswade you, the honour of your
house and parentage constraineth you, yea euerie of these solie and
altogether doe exhort and commaund you, that becomming the selfe same
you vowed, and they long since haue looked for, you doe nowe shewe your
selfe such as was promised, and wherein the expectation first conceiued
of you, may in no wise bee frustrated.
Consider I pray you, that the rewarde of vertue is honour,Clymax.
the guerdon of honour, Fame, the scope of Fame,
Eternity, the seat of eternity, immortall and euerlasting
glory. In liuing in the seruice of your Prince and countrie, the
profession you haue taken in hand is honourable,Antistrophe. the charge honourable,
the purpose honourable, and the ende and successe thereof must needes
be honourable: behooueth then that your continuance therein and your
owne deserts be also deemed honourable.
Thinke when you tooke vpon you to beare Armes,Metaphora. you then receiued
the full cognizance of Vertue, you were entertained with
honour, you became apprentise to fame, and it was assured
(that beeing with loyaltie demeaned) you shoulde at length receiue the
rewarde of euer flourishing glorie.Commoratiō. It is (beleeue me) no small matter,
that being a particular member, you are put foorth as a piller, vpon
the prop whereof reposeth one parte of the weight of the common-weale,
that
the ioyes of your whole countrie are fixed vpon your wel-doing,
that in pursuite hereof your priuate cause is not your owne, (the
secrete reuenge whereof may happelie turn to an infamed mischiefe) but
the cause of the common good, the publike matter of al, and that
where the scope is of all others most famous and honoured.
Being entertained in a sorte as you are,Of right and meet. you shoulde highly wrong the
opinion of a greate manie, in drawing backe from that wherein you haue
beene alreadie so worthilie behaued, and in becomming lesse than that
whereunto in your cradle you were at the beginning so principally
ordained:Auxesis. for vnseemelie were it that you shoulde not haue beene
hereunto at the first committed, vnlawfull not to haue persisted, and
dishonourable (in due sorte) not to see it accomplished.
Proceede then my C. in that whereunto your vertue, your Parentage,
your soile,Of example.
Paradigma. and your fidelitie haue called you, thinke what, how much,
and how greatlie it importeth you, that hauing had so manie of your
auncestours since their first originall, who haue beene deemed so
woorthie, it fitteth not your selfe alone (in so important actions,
concerning especially the honour of your prince and countrie) to bee
founde otherwise then equall vnto them in the highest qualitie. So
and in such maner,Epiphonema. and by such kind of meanes haue the most auncient
and renowned worthies of the world be come to be tearmed honored,
and mightie. So Epaminondas and AlcibiadesParadigma. among the
Grecians, Æmilius Paulus, Fabii and Scipiones
among the Romanes, haue bin deemed most statelie. For such cause the
acts of your predecessors & nobilitie of your deceased fatherProsopopœia. haue
bin registred with the most worthy. O so sweetly might sound from out
his breathing ghost vnto your liuing eare, that excellent verse of
Virgill.
Disce puer virtutem ex me verumque laborem,
Fortunam ex aliis.
Learne vertue (Child) of me and labours true,
But Fortunes
chaunce, from others do pursue.
The signification whereof, what other thinge may it else importe,
but that betweene themHis Parents. who beeing neuer eternized by anie memorable
action, as hauing confounded their liues with obscuritie, and such
as neuer were borne, there resteth in maner no difference at all.
Ardua virtutis est via.Sententia. T’is labours force that maketh way
vnto Vertue: great matters vnto the furtherance of her are but
easie,Auxesis. the meaner, trifles; the lowest of no value. To ouercome others
by vertue is a thinge most honourable, but in pursuite thereof to bee
conuinced of any other, is a thinge most vituperable: You are nowe
brought by Fortune into a straight passage,Dialysis. whereby of necessitie you
must either by reputation of most excelling worthinesse finish the
iourney, or recreant and discomfited, confesse the vttermost of your
imbecilitie. But what doe I conferre vnto your viewe, the notes of
such and so manie doubtes and hazardes, knowing a minde insinuate in
your selfe by nature,Anthypophora. that coulde neuer so much as thinke or imagine
of thinges contemptible, or of anie vile or seruile qualitie at all?
truelie for no woorse meane, nor to anie other ende or purpose, but
thereby to egge you forwarde by all kinde of possibilities, to the
encrease of your highest woorthinesse, that by howe much the more you
shall goe about to excell any others, by so much the more greater you
may be commended and extolled aboue others.
Ease and securitie,Parœmia. are two pernicious enemies of euer flourishing
glorie, and industrie preuenteth all circumuention, which either by
slouth or negligence may bee imposed: the victorie is not any others,
but your owne, nor the honour to any other appertaining but vnto your
selfe. Bee therefore such in continuance, as may fullie bee answerable
to each part of your noblenesse, and God who is the creator of all
thinges, and fauourer of each worthie enterprise, blesse your endeuours
with the sustentation of Vertue, which is euer permanent. At B.
this of &c.
THe extreame griefe wherein my selfe was a partaker with you,Exordium. of the
death of your late husbande, woulde not suffer mee (good Mistresse E.)
at my last beeing with you, to deliuer what then I thought meete for
your estate, & sithence I haue more at
large considered vppon to bee
for your profite. And albeit your selfe are, I knowe of discretion
sufficient, and the number of your friendes of regarde compotent,Insinuatiō.
both to consider and counsell, what vnto your present affayres may
bee deemed most correspondent: yet may it not bee ill accepted, if
my selfe of a great manie, that haue wyshed well to your person, and
fauoured euermore your good condition, doe heerein also among the
rest, put forwarde my meaning, and perswade you thereby vnto that,
which (though not alreadie may bee fitting to your instant lyking)Parenthesis. yet
to your present behoofe may returne no question of soundest and best
consideration.
And first, I deeme it not impertinent to referre vnto your knowledge
what I haue throughly conceyued with my selfe of your beeing,
viz. that you are a widowe,Merismus. a Gentlewoman of verie worshipfull
parentage and discent, the wife before time of a Gentleman of as good
reputation as liuing, as good alliaunce as credite, that you are knowne
to bee modest, discreete, wise and well gouerned, that you are and
ought to bee warie in your actions, and such as whereof the babling
multitude may reape no aduauntage, and finallie that by reason of the
ouerhastie determination of his life (whose continuaunce might haue
ridde you of innumerable cares) you are pestred with some troubles,
the most part of your liuing in suspence, and that whereof you deeme
your selfe most assured, hanging vppon so manie hazardes, as hitherto
remayneth doubtfull, in what sort you shall compasse it, or with what
liking to your selfe you may happily ouerpasse the same.
Touching the first, I warne you not that according to your present
estate, you do minde what you are, what you haue bin, of whom you are
discended, and in what sort you may best prouide with warinesse, to
deale for all these: but drawing to the latter, and weighing on what
tearmes you stande, howe hardly you are bestead, howe slender meanes
to auoid it, I repute him not the worst wel-willer, that coulde aduise
you with contentment and litle hazard, in what sort you might best
endeuour in all effectes to aunswere it.Narratiō. It is reported vnto mee, that
by the procurement of some, fauouring your aduauncement, there is nowe
profered vnto your lyking a young Gentleman, vertuous, discreete, and
well ordered, the sonne and heyre of a worshipfull Knight, on the
choyce and regarde of whose Parents, dependeth the best assuraunce of
your whole portion, in whose condition and behauiour, albeit you finde
no one thing to bee reprehended, yet disclaime you to bee married,Synonymia. you
will heare of no suters, there must bee in your presence no speech at
all of lyking, and you meane not so soone forsooth to set forwarde for
a husband.
The course you doe take herein, seemeth in my opinion verie euill,Merismus.
insomuch as contrarie to that, which both your yeares, your estate,
your liuing and present occasions doe require, you forciblie are
endeuoured to make so vndiscreete and setled a resistance:Erotema. Whie La. doe
you thinke it profiteth at all, the deceased ghost of him that loued
you (a young Gentlewoman as you are, scarce exceeding twentie yeares)
to liue thus solitarie? Hangeth the censuring of your modestie, and
acceptaunce of that which your best friendes doe wish for, and the
wisest doe allowe of, on the tatling humours of common supposes?Commoratiō. if it
bee deemed once fit for you to marry againe, and that vpon the warie
and circumspect choyse thereof dependeth a manner of necessitie, and
that nowe, before anie one of yours almost suspected it, the plenty of
that might bee charily wished for, is layde alreadie into your bosome,
behooueth the respect of a little time, which (beeing sooner or later,
so it bee perfourmed with modestie and aunswered with discretion)Parenthesis.
mattereth not at all to detaine you so much, as thereby you are not
able to see into your owne profite? Is it not, I pray you, a purpose
honest that is tendered? Is it not a matter lawfull to bee accepted?
Is it a thing vnmeete for your present yeares at this instant to
be reputed? Nay, is it not all in all whatsoeuer,Auxesis. that in the best
sort as the case now standeth, may vnto you be offered? Why then
abstaine you the entertainment of your owne good? Why drawe you thus
backeward from your owne aduauncement? Why cease you to accept that,
whereunto in the ende you must by meere force bee compelled? If you
will beleeue mee in any thing, or doe suppose the waight of my credite
to be auaylable vnto you in ought, I would aduise you in other sort,
considering that by declyning from a selfe-opinion of that whereunto
without anie manifest reason you are induced, you shall doe most good
vnto your selfe, and giue occasion to them that loue you, to thinke
that by so doing, their good counselles haue happely preuailed with you
and wrought such aduauncemente vnto you, I haue thought with my selfe
many times sithence the death of your husbād, howe much imported the
vnsetled reach of your liuing to be renued in match with one of good
calling: see nowe God and Fortune more fauouring your hap, then your
selfe, your owne wel doing, haue sente you such a one, as of whome you
might vaunt, and iustly in all thinges be occasioned to accompt of. It
now appertaineth that either by fond self-wil, or too much vnkindnes,
you shake not off from you the foremost occasion of your succeeding
happines. I reck not what of the cōmon sortProcatalepsis. (more of ignorance then
wit) may insuppose of the hastie conclusion be in secret alleadged,
their errours like their fancies, are as incertaine as peeuish. Be you
onely herein perswaded, to what most of all beseemeth you, and think
that both in the waightines, and regard attributed to his and your
own worthines, you can for the present frame your selfe to nothing,Vtilitie.
that to your estate may returne so cōmodious, whereunto though no
other matter at all enioyned you, it were sufficient that so forcedNecessitie.
a necessitie constraineth you, to which the regard of your selfe and
your owne good fortune willeth to obey.Epilogus. Longer coulde I debate vnto you
the greate liking of many, conceiued of the partie, to the deliuerie
whereof by the report of your neerest kinsmen, I doe solie refer you,
onelie studying in this, and whatsoeuer els I may, by all indeuours
to pleasure you, whereof praying you to be most assured, I doe in all
curtesie leaue to detaine you. At B. this of, &c.
THE sounde and entire familiaritieExordium, by insinuation. wherewith your parents in their
life time sometimes entertained me, and the neerenes of neighbourhoode
twixte both our friendes and long education wherein iointly we haue
conuersed together, mooueth mee at this instant somewhat to write vnto
you in respect of the reputation credit, and accompt that in the worlde
you nowe beare, and also the rather
to win you to the regarde of that,
which to the estate of your presente being, and worthinesse of your
parents, might be found meetest and conuenient.
It is giuen me to vnderstand of a younger brother you haue here in
London,Narratiō. who at the time of your fathers death beeing committed to your
charge, is for the defaulte of maintenaunce, badly inured, woorse
trained, and most perillously by all kinde of likelihood (through such
sufferaunce) in the loosnesse of his liuing alreadie hazarded.
I woondered not a little when I hearde it,Liptote. and so much the more was
the matter troublesome vnto mee, in that respecting it was not tolde
in secrete, it seemed by the lookes and gestures of the whole companie
that heard it, your good demeanor thereby was very hardly censured,
for that standing in such case of credite as you doe, your wealth so
aboundant, and your parentes so well accompted of, you woulde in this
sort,Prosonomasia. and in that place of all others suffer him to wander carelesse,
whome you ought to the contrarie to haue constrained, by any possible
carefulnes. How ill beseeming it is both to you & yours, that it
shoulde so fall out, you may by supposes coniecture. For my parte,
it grieued mee when I heard it, and I was not quiet till I found
conuenient time to aduertise you of it. And if my opinion may at all
preuaile with you, you shoulde quickly call him home from hence, and
see him more better to be prouided for, and more worthily trained.Merismus.
Consider I pray you, the life hee taketh in hand, befitteth not such
a one, whose originall was so honest, is ill beseeming the younger
brother of your selfe, vnwoorthie his birth or name of a Gentleman, and
altogether repugnant to the qualitie of your behauior or the greatnesse
of your liuing. You are to remember that hee is yet verie greene, nowe
pliable to whatsoeuer may bee impressed in him, as chafed waxe apte
to receiue anie figure,Parabola. like vnto a newe vessell to bee seasoned with
whatsoeuer liquor, what hee now taketh taste and sauour of, that hee
holdeth,Allegoria. what habite you nowe cast vpon him, the same shadow he lightly
beareth. Great cause haue you therfore now to be warie how and in what
sort he liueth.
Your industrie,Congeries. your brotherlie care, your loue, your especiall regarde
and kindnesse it is, that must bee ayding in this, you and none but
you are the man on whome hee relieth,Emphasis. you are to prouide for
him, and
it is your selfe that must answere for him. Think that nature,
loue, dutie yea verie piety bindeth you vnto him,
who hath none other left to depend on, but such as by possibilitie
your self may become vnto him. In the consideration of which let (I
pray you) my wordes become thus much regarded vnto you, that herein as
in all other things you performe that beseemeth you.Peroratiō. Longer could I
occupie my selfe to trauell in this action with you, but that I deem it
(more then impertinent) any further therein to require you. Greeting
your selfe manie times in my name, I bid you therefore farewell. From
my house in B. this of, &c.
Nnecessary
were it to wade further in either of these titles
hortatorie or Swasorie, the examples alreadie laide
downe being for them sufficient, wherfore we will now passe vnto
the contraries of these, being Dehortatorie and
disswasorie. The partes and places exhorting or
perswading hauing as you sée bene drawne from the qualities of
praise, fortified in diuers sortes, as well by the person,
by the action, as by the thing
it selfe, where vnder was comprehended what might be called
honest or good: So these on the contrarie parte pulling
backe or disswading, shall by the vnhonestie of the action or thing
as before hath bin said, and by the indignitie, vniustnes, wickednes,
insufferablenes, hate, mislike, contempt, or hazard of danger,
reputation or good name that thereof ensueth, be euermore measured.
In the handling whereof it is tolerable, by all sortes of
arguments, to infer and obiect any thinge to the diminution or defacing
of that which we go about to impugne. Yea, if need be, to inuert the
good also that in such a person may be supposed vnto a worser sence.
As if in dehorting or disswading a man from infidelity towards his
country I might first touching the action tender vnto him, how
vnnatural the cause is he taketh in hand, being against his natiue
soile: how vnhonest, by laying out the quality of the offence,
how vniust, in respect that it is against his allegiance
to his Prince, how impious, in that it retaineth no piety,
turneth to the disturbance of a quiet state, & bréedeth the subuersion
of al peaceable gouernment, how
insufferable, by reason that
good and wholesome lawes are thereby infringed, all sortes of honest
and good men wronged, and consequently the common wealth by such meanes
topsie turuie turned.
For the Person if he were at any time of worth I might
shewe then the indignitie, or ill beséeming of such a thinge
vnto him, for that actions of such kinde are alwaies vnto the noble
and best endued mindes vtterly repugning. And so thereupon if in him
there was euer reputed any wisdome, I might diuert it now vnto follie,
his Fortitude, I might challenge to be Temeritie,
his moderation crueltie, his stoutnes arrogancie,
his haughtines pride, his Freedome loosnes,and
consequently, for euerie other vertue induce or lay downe vnto
him a contrarie vice, respecting that by committing of actions
so vile & contemptible, all properties whatsoeuer of former
esteemed worthines doe vtterly loose the partes they haue of good,
and immideately are disturned there withall vnto euill.
And as in Epistles Exhorting or Perswading, the
intended vertue of goodnesse of euerie thing is more amplie set
foorth by the opposite euil: So in these of withdrawing
or disswading the intended euil by the
opposite good, is euer made more hatefull. Besides,
as there bee some thinges that are expresly good in themselues or
expresly euil, so are there some thinges that for themselues are helde
indifferent. In these, to perswade or withdrawe, there is a prettie
skill to be vsed, in which the discretion of the writer may not passe
vncommended, wherof (for so much as to a learner they may happely passe
vnregarded) I entende in this chapter to affoorde some application. For
in thinges alwaies knowne to be of themselues either good or euill,
there is no great cunning to make a shew of them as they are: but of
things which either by times, by liking, by place, by allowance, by
conuersation may be deemed good or bad, to be commended or disalowed,
in the setting foorth thereof appeareth both skill and discretion.
For example, that mariage is a thinge much to be preferred, and to
the increase of man of so greate necessitie, as without which there
could bée no orderlie estate or societie, no man I am sure will denie
mée. And to a man vnwilling to enter thereinto, I might (with intent
to drawe him to a liking thereof) besides a number of necessarie
causes to be alleadged, as the decay
of his house, the continuance
of a solitary, loose or bad kind of liuing, the end of his wealth and
name together hauing no issue to succéede him, infer also as much
pertinent to such a perswasion the sacred solemnization thereof in
Paradise, first by the eternall Wisdome himselfe thought méet
and appointed, then his pleasure to inioine the same to the worlds
increase, then the care that naturally we haue of issue to succéed
vs, the indignity for a man of value not to haue respect therof, the
loue likewise & mutuall societie betwixt man & wife, being of such
mightie efficacie, as wherunto no liking is to be compared, the swéet
pleasures, cares & delights, interchangeably passing betwéene them,
each dearly affying? them selues in the others contentment, solace
or pleasing, the ioy of procreation, when there shall be a childe
produced, whose infancie tatling with a pleasant lisping sound, shall
become an incredible delight to the parents hearing, with sundrie
other like inforcements and suggestions, all which might certainlie
shewe and declare the same to be as it is a matter of much woorth,
and sufficientlie set forth vnto the partie why it ought to be
embraced.
Now, as the same is out of all doubt not onelie tollerable, as I
said before, but by the necessitie thereof among many thinges held to
be praise worthy: so in another place, & to another person might I
againe find as much occasion for matter, why the selfe same marriage
should be alike dispraised, as (not reckoning the age of man or woman,
which many times more of dotage then discretion pursueth the same)
there might be opposed thereagainst the swéetnes of libertie, the vse
wherof (nothing more) conduceth principally vnto the estate & life of
man, who naturally coueteth vnrestrained & without controlment to do
that him liketh, the benefit wherof enioying, he may ride, go, walke,
rest, eat, drinke, studie, recreate, solace, and whersoeuer, and in
whatsoeuer companie pleaseth him best, vse the conceit thereof to his
owne appetite.
Now, hauing a wife (suppose she haue all the perfections you will
giue her) yet is the delicacie hereof bereft a man: for being once
married, hee thenceforth is no more vnto himselfe, but vnto her, for
her pleasure, to her choyce, at her liking, with her contentment, must
he then order his humours, his houres, his gestures, his companies, his
iourneys, his recreations, and what els he before time might fréelie
haue vsed, his owne liking is quenched, his
libertie restrained, and
yet the losse hereof a heauen to that which followeth, if by great
good fortune he bee not the better matched, For imagin the woman
chosen, do prooue a scolde, wayward, self-willed, malicious, frowning,
or suspitious, what a hell is hee then driuen into, whose serpentine
and more then Adderlike disposition shall be such as would terrifie a
thousande Diuelles. If she bee wanton, dissolute, lewde, or loose in
liuing, howe on the other side shall he then be turmoyled: what is it
that she will not presume vpon, & dare to hazarde? how infamous shall
her life then become to his liuing? how little will shee esteeme of
him, in respect of the large account she holdeth of many others? If
she be proude, then may she be vnsupportable: if her wit be more then
his, then arrogant: if she be foolish, then a mocking stocke: if she be
faire, then a spectacle to gaze on: if foule, then a simpring puppet
to wonder on: if shee be rich, presumptuous: if poore, then happilie
odious. But being what shee may bee, or touching her owne person the
best she can bee, what intollerable charge bringeth shee with her, what
cost of apparel, what care of diet, what houshold of seruants, what
expence for attendance, what prouision for children; what furniture for
house, what daily, continual & neuer ceasing cark & toile for her &
hers: in conclusion, what one discommoditie may be reckoned, that with
her or for her is not in short space a thousande times hazarded?
Thus doe you see how out of one selfe thing both praise and
dispraise by admittance may be gathered. A like thereunto may be added
in the vsage of wine. To a crazed man of weak disposition, or such a
one whose constitution of bodie for Phisicks sake should require it, I
might, to perswade him to the vse thereof, vrge the necessarie meane,
the goodnesse, propertie, vertue and wholesomnesse of the same, the
operation, howe it recreateth, driueth away heauinesse from the minde,
prouoketh appetite, comforteth, and many wayes (moderatelie taken)
helpeth and relieueth. But now to disswade againe the intermedling
therewith, what might bee imagined that coulde not bee rehearsed: by
manifesting the hurt and manifold inconueniences thereby ensuing, as
that it causeth drunkennes, dulleth the wits, making ill digestion,
ingendreth superfluities, weakneth the spirits, hurteth the braine,
driueth a man to forget himselfe, enforceth to commit that which
many times is filthie and often vnbeseeming, of a reasonable
creature frameth a beast, discouereth counsels, causeth slaughters,
and consequentlie ladeth both the bodie and minde with a thousand
mischiefes, impediments and diseases.
As of these twain, so might I stand vpon many others the like,
which for breuitie I omit, holding these applications sufficient
for the present intendment: adding herewithall, that the exhorter,
perswader or withdrawer from any thing, ought touching things
indifferent, specially to haue before his eyes the reputation of the
partie to whome he writeth, considering that some things are lesse
meete in one person then in another, and that which well fitteth and
agreeth with the state or condition of some one, is altogether vnmeet
and disagréeing in the behauiour of another. To consider in like sort
this old adage, ne quid nimis, whereby in reprouing
the vse of any thing he may prefer the moderation, and
inueigh against the nimium. Finally, to respect,
that of sundry indifferent occasions not the vse, but the abuse is
it which ought to bee reprehended. These beeing admitted, wee will
come to the Examples of both kindes aswell Dehortatorie
as Disswasorie, and see what therein may be tendred.
MY good G.Exordium. my faithfull louing Countriman, and dearest of account
By insinuation.(whilome all and either of these vnto me, so bee it the frowning
Metaphora.heauens and dispiteful wicked fate had not harboured the contrarie)
what shall I write vnto thee, or by what tearmes may I now salute thee?
Erst woonted were my letters to pursue thee, carelesse in any cost,Allegoria.
and familiarly and boldly to regard thee, now blushing at thy vncouth
hap, and carefull of they carelesse vsage, they cannot without griefe
approch thee, nor once without sorrowe intentiuely behold thee.
Alas, my G. what furie hath ledde thee,Ecphonesis. what madnes hath bewitched
thee, what hatefull destinie hath pursued thee, that beeing such as
thou wert, on whome Nature and the heauens as it seemed, had powred all
their giftes moste plentifullie, thou wouldest yet be ledde to deface
so many partes of excellencie, with one hatefull, ignominious and
shamefull blott, of wicked, and most heynous treacherie.
Diddest thou for this cause take vppon theeErotema. the profession of Armes, to
become iniurious to thy Countrey, to bereaue men of their patrimonie,Auxesis.
to bee a destroyer of vnitie, a patterne of infidelitie, the dishonour
of thy familie, and consequently to thy selfe and dearest soile,Ecphonesis. a
professed and open enemie? Ah happie in all other things, but in this
sole enterprize, in the broaching whereof thou wast put forwarde to bee
made the onelie vnhappie, behooueth with such ingratitude to rewarde
the first Authour of thy familie? Was this the ende of thy birth, thy
parents, education, thy estate, thy wealth, thy possibilitie, to become
a Traytour to thy Prince, and rebell to thy Countrey?Sinathrismus. No, no, my G.
vilde and too ill beseeming is the drift that hath so ouertaken thee,
and ignorant was he of that became thee, that first thereunto perswaded
thee.
When thou liest armed in the fields andDialogismus. (mustering thy ranks in the day
time) beholdest and lookest around about thy Countrey, thinkest thou
not then with thy selfe, in this soyle was I borne, within this land
lieth my patrimonie, heere had I first sucke, and sithence haue the
fruits thereof nourished me, and could I then become so ingratefull
and vnkinde, as for all these benefits to destroy thee? Not so, nor in
such maner haue the vertuous in field beene accounted so woorthie, not
for this cause in such actions, haue men beene said to beare themselues
honourably. Coriolanus, thou wast conuinced by the view of the
Citie and mothers intreatie, and shall I vnhappie man for all this,
persist in this crueltie?
Iustlie and by great occasion credit me, mightest thou thus complaine
of so great an iniurie, and all this being so true, as nothing more
true; can it be said in prosecuting the same, thou maist be freed frō
infamie?Anthypophora. What I pray thee hath made men famous, and canonized their
memorie,Epanodus. was it not their munificence and valiant demerits in and for
the good of their country? For in what one thing are we more likened
vnto God himselfe, then in the worthines of our minds, the resolutions
whereof, ought in no wise to be stained with such hatefull obloquie?
The Asse runneth through fire for the safegard of her issueParadigma. and shall
the valiant man then become negligent to the ayde of his Countrey? Howe
farre more waightilie shall hee bee accused, who not onelie
giueth no
ayde at all to his Countrey,Antithesis. but also is therunto an inconsiderate and
most cruell enemie? Howe carelesse are such men of their fame, and howe
vnlike of all others to those memorable woorthies, the precious regard
whereof, vnto them hath beene such, as then goods,Auxesis. possessions, riches,
kingdomes, yea life it selfe hath beene helde most dearest. Peruse but
the auncient hystories of Rome, and looke there of Mutius
Scæuola,Paradigma. the most inuincible Romane, with what confidence hee
went solie into the Tent of Prosenna, his and their Countryes
capitall enemie, in minde onelie to destroie him. The good Furius
Camillus, who after manie high and honourable seruices by him
done to the Common-wealth of Rome, was by his owne Citizens vniustlie
banished: howe farre off was hee thinke you, from this your opinion?
For the GallesEtiologia. whom before he had expulsed, hauing in the time of
this his banishment assieged the Citie of Rome, and beeing then verie
likely to haue distressed the same, insomuch as they had alreadie
forraged, burnt and destroyed the whole Countrey round about, hee more
sorrowfull at the likely ruine of his Citie, then grieued at his owne
banishment, (mooued thereunto of verie pietie to his natiue soyle and
Countrey) entred counsell with the Ardeats, and by his wisedome,
policie, and great manhood, so perswaded those people, that in feare
of their mishap, they were content to leuie a mightie armie vnder his
conduct, wherewith hee not onely put backe the enemie, but therewith so
mightilie pursued them, as by such meanes he vtterly freed and set at
libertie his Citie and Conntrey.
What neede wee search abroade for such forraine examples, and why draw
wee not home into our owne soyle of England?Transitiō. What Chronicle shall euer
remaine, or what English Hystorie shall euer bee extant, that shall
not euerlastinglie report, the deserued fame of that right woorthie
and verie noble indeede, Sir William Walwoorth, Knight, once
Lord Maior of London, the remembraunce whereof (to his perpetuall
prayse, and endlesse confusion of others, who not onely abstaine the
putting in vre of such his memorable vertue, but which is woorse, doe
endeuour by cruell force to tender violence vnto their Sacred Prince
and Countrey) shall yet flourish for euer. Ill doe you example vnto
your selfe, or thinke on the woorthinesse of that good man, who in the
time of King Richard
the seconde, when with a most suddaine and
strange kinde of Rebellion the King was troubled,Parison. the Realme pestered,
and the strongest of the Kinges subiectes greatlie feared: euen at
that time when the proude fawtour and CaptaineEmphasis. of the rebellious and
rascallie multitude,Periphrasis. durst hatefullie and most vndutifullie to bearde
the King in his owne presence, and each man shunned to impugne the
contrarie.Auxesis. This valiant, this good, this right noble and woorthie
Citizen, standing by, when the wicked and presumptuous varlet, with so
little reuerence approached the King, and remembring the seruices of
manie worthie men, that by an honourable aduenture and hazarde of their
liues had to their eternall memorie, before time freed their Countrey
with libertie, grieuing that with so high an abuse his soueraigne Lorde
beeing yet as it were a childe, shoulde there in his hearing, bee so
farre amated, couragiouslie stept vnto the Rebell,Dialogismus. and taking him by
the gorge, proude varlet (quoth hee) that darest thus contemptouslie
demeane thy selfe vnto thy King and Soueraigne, foule death betide
thee, and shame quicklie consume thee: Whie, aunswered the villaine
in greate disdaine, is it thou that greeuest at that I haue sayde?
Greeue, replyed the stoute couragious Citizen,Epizeuxis. yea, euen I, I it is
that greeue at thee, and happilie shoulde thinke my selfe accurst,
if thou shouldest escape from mee vnreuenged, wherewith drawing more
closelie vnto him, hee pulled him from his horse by maine force, and
stabbed him to the heart with his dagger. The destruction of whom,
bredde such confusion vnto all the residue of his headstrong armie, and
sight whereof kindeled so great a furie in the residue of the Kings
companie, (who for that present vpon speciall considerations, was there
attended on but meanelie) that the whole rebellious route were by such
meanes euer after discomfited vtterlie: wherewith before that instaunt
the whole RealmeAntithesis. had lyke to haue beene turned topsie turuie. Hee and
such as hee laboured not by ambitious pride to arrogate vnto themselues
a lawlesse extremitie, but studyed of meere loue and entire zeale, how
and which way they might performe best seruice to their Prince and
Conntrey.Ecphonesis. O more then ordinarie affection, and feruencie of high and
statelie woorthinesse, in the regarde whereof, life was not sweete vnto
these men, whose liuing might not redounde to become (for their dearest
soyle) to
bee honoured and famous.Aporia. What then may I say my G. of that
by thee, and thy copartners taken in hande, whether will you be driuen,
what shall become of you, how doe ye behaue your selues, who may
receiue you, in whose inward conceites (not the pietie and regard of
anie of theese) no nor so much as one sparke of their loialtie, coulde
so deepelie bee impressed, as whereby to withdrawe you from these
vnnaturall broiles?Auxesis. What haue you found in your deare prince? what in
your louing countrie? what in this citie? what to anie one of al your
selues in particularitie, that might in such hatefull maner incite you,
& by occasion whereof you should thrust your selues into so great an
enormitie? Beleeue me, & it shal verilie be auowed, the successe hereof
will returne vnto you none other in the ende then the verie reward
of infamie. I haue knowne thee, beeing far lesse in yeares then at
this instant, to haue bene able to rule thy selfe, and with plausible
moderation to bee indued in all things,Erotema. couldest thou then beeing a
childe performe this in thy selfe, and beeing nowe a man art not able
to endure it? There be I know about thee, that will perswade that all
that thou doest herein is vertue, that herein thou hast great wisdom,
much fortitude, and notable moderation, that the action is haughtie,
the occasion libertie, and the end glorie. But how greatlie they doe
erre in so saying, let this saying of good Camillus stand for
you and vs indifferentlie, whose notable speach sprung vp from those
his inuiolable vertues, spared not this, to affirme in presence of
all the Senate vnto the people.Prosopopœia. Let others (quoth hee) deeme it a
thinge euill and reprochfull at anie time to bee founde faultie, in
not yeelding ready succors and aid to their country: Camillus
for his part is & shal be of that resolute determination, that it is
& ought to be reputed for euermore a thing detestable and vild, and
of all other the most hatefull and replenished with all execrable
miserie. How thinketh then your gentle mind, of the action by this
time. Is it (suppose you) anie vertue that thereunto preferreth you?
Camillus iudged that it was not reprochfull, but villanous and
detestable, so much as to bee founde failing in ought to his countrie,
and may it then bee thought a thinge honest to become a persecutor of
your countrie?
It is not Fortitude, but Temeritie,Orismus. that conducteth
your enterprises, for Fortitude aspireth to far more noble
and statelier purposes. The action and determination, you preferre
therein is not (as fondlie by you is conceaued) honour, but
haughtines,Prosonomasia. not libertie, but loosenes, not
vertue, but viciousnes: why then continue you in this
sorte togethers, vpon so wicked and diuelish a purpose? Why returnest
not thou rather to thy self my G. & hauing long before striued to
emulate the praise of others by an vnstained gentilitie, wipe nowe
quickly off this foule blemish from thee, and couering the filthinesse
thereof by a most incomparable fidelitie, become once againe like vnto
thy self. At the least wise,Loue. if the loue of thy coūtrie, fidelitie
towards thy prince, the example of Vertue her selfe and so many her
famous and renowned followers (then which no one thinge on earth ought
more to allure a man) may not herewith conuince thee, let yet the
execrable and immortall hate,Hate. that all good men beare to the practise
of such kind of crueltie, the feareFeare. of euer harbouring shame, and
erected ignomie, and neuer after hope (thy credite once consumed)
againe to recouer thee, let these I say constrain thee. Whilst there is
yet but one craze or slender flawAllegoria. in the touchstone of thy reputation,
peece it vp, & new flourish again by a greater excellēcie, the square
of thy workmanship.Sententia. A fewe daies are to bee passed in which there is
yet time, fame wounded in life may once bee restored, if death doe
preuente thee, thy shame and destruction is for euer shrowded.Antithesis. The next
newes I hear from thee, may make thee fortunate, or me for thee alwaies
vnhappie. My longing would bee satisfied of this from which I dehortEpilogus.
thee. If onelie herein thou condiscende vnto mee, my selfe am thine,
and to none so much as thy selfe absolutely, I loue thee, I require
thee, I pray thee, and pray for thee, that thou maist as I wish, and
wouldest as I bid, bee for, and to mee. Farewell if thou doest well.
I Receiued on Saturday last a letter from your Vncle,Narratiō. wherein amongst
sundrie other matters I was aduertised, that leauing your former
learned studies, whereunto with greate cost and charge of your
parents, you had bene trained, you haue giuen your selfe wholie to
certaine thinges, the regarde whereof albeit in their moderate vses, I
cannot discommende, yet in respecte of your former intendmentes, I can
tearme them none other then meere follies, and verie fruitles vanities.
It is reported with vs for certaine, that you are become an excellent
good dauncer, that you are growne prettilie skilled on instrumentes,
whereon you play reasonablie, that you spende the time limitted for
more profite in the Vniuersitie, in making of songes and exquisite
fine ditties, that you are verie fitlie seated for wantonnesse, and
worthilie behaued in all kind of curious conueyances.
I woulde for mine owne parte nothing at all mislike what herein you
haue in some sorte frequented,concession. weighing indeede that as they may bee
in sorte entertained, those qualities doe not ill beseeme a Gentleman,
but are in their kinde verie fit and commendable to anie youthfull
reckoning:Parison. yet studying them as you doe by them selues, inuring your
selfe whollie to their delighte, abandoning what else might best honour
and beautifie their woorthinesse, in respect of the sole propertie
of them selues and their owne peculiar goodnesse, I say that in such
regarde they are vanities, trifles, thinges of no momente, and in each
sounde opinion to bee heldeSynonymia. of farre lesse value and iudgement.
The intendment of your going to the Vniuersitie was for learning
sake, to become an excellent scholler, not an exquisite dauncer, a
Maister of ArteProsonomasia. not an artlesse maister, a good Rhetorician, not a
conceited Musitian: your Vncles care, was by vilefying his wealth vnto
you, (the weight whereof by imminent perilles wee see daylie perish
before our eies) to purchase for you the endowment of a farre more
greater and assured treasure, and that is by knowledge to teach you
to discerne trifles, to procure in you a minde to despise trifles,
that leauing small riches to inherit, you your selfe might gather
possessions whereby to enrich you.
You then are farre misconceiued, to relinquish the hoped reckoning of
that you came for, to applie your selfe to that which fewe doe accompt
of, and the wisest woulde neuer sweate for, you shall therefore vppon
better aduise endeuour if you doe well, to returne your conceite to
a far more better purpose. You shall call to minde that all studies
whatsoeuer, by how much the more excellent ech one appeareth before
the other, by so much the more assured are they in their kinde, and
aboue all the residue, with far greater estimate to bee preferred:
if so? then must you graunt me that no one thing vpon earth (then
learning, then precious and high esteemed skill, then
aboue all earthly things whatsoeuer,Synonymia. heauenlie science) is of
so great and surpassing excellence. To lay out vnto you herein, howe
much glorious is her shining hue aboue all others,Parison. howe sugred her
plantes, howe daintie her fruits, howe delicate her pleasures, howe
incomparable her high and statelie reach, how she participateth the
skies, the element, the venerable search and knowledgeAsyndeton. of high and
sacred mysteries: I need not, you know it, you haue felt & tasted of
it. But to shewe howe much you misprise the force of her vertue, howe
ill conceiued, and far wandring, you are from the due esteeme of her
glorie, to make loue to her handmaides, to professe liking to her
seruantes, to become sole entertainer of her vassals: hereon resteth
the iniurie, this is it I complaine of vnto you.
And if either the sum and type of honestie placed in the weight of
the action,congeries. the necessitie, meetnes, and worthines, the vtility and
benefits seuen hundred fold compensing the trauel, may (as earthly
things haue often power to mooue one,Parenthesis. aboue things of far higher
estimation) induce you to her most dearest and precious fruition,
search then the fauor of these your louing mistresses, and (seemlie I
grant you may find them) but neuer shall they proue either so wealthy
or beautifull. What then should let you to returne to this glorious
Ladie?Erotema. Will you because you are an earthlie substance, followe the
common reason of euerie earthlie creature? humum sapere & alta
spernere? or saying that the appetites of the one are much
pleasanter for the time, or far lesse tedious then the other,Allegoria. welde
your opinion by a peeuish conceite of ease, to become a creditor to
wantonnes?
These imaginations as they are meerelie bad, so are they ten times
woorse in the pursuite, then they are sweete in the foremost thought.
PeeuishMeiosis. were it, simplie for you to stande vppon these vanities,
thinges wherein children haue delight, and young weaklinges doe roue at
cunninglie: you must suppose and harpe vpon the end that must succeede
vnto your trauaile, and finding the reache thereof pursue it with
feruencie: Such actions as these doe onelie beseeme men, and heerein
alone shall you shewe your selfe such as you may desire to bee, and
your friends doe heartilie wish you to prooue. Alexander restlesse in
the day tyme,Allegoria. gaped for worldles, but in the night season was rocked
a sleepe by the Muses, the pleasure hereof appeased his day
labours, and the content of this gaue rest to his trauels.
Too much impertinent were it for me to hale you on with arguments,Peroratiō.
who onelie go about to perswade you with warrantise: Neither thinke I
in the ende you will declare your selfe otherwise, then euer I haue
expected of you. Much more could I infer, that might greatlie induce
you to that whereunto your owne willingnesse must in the ende, of
necessitie conduce you. Onely, if in the weight hereof my perswasions
may something preuaile: I shall not forget in any woorthie part
thereof, at all times to commend you. In which reposing my selfe for
the present, I ende: this of, &c.
I Haue (good brother) receiued your letters,Exordium. dated the eight day of
this instant, which were with as great diligence as celeritie, conueied
to my handes, and by the fidelitie of the bearer haue vnderstoode to
the vttermost what you willed, and both of that and your letter haue
at large considered.Propositiō. It seemeth therin vnto mee, that whether through
ignorance of your owne good,Aporia. or inconsiderate rashnesse of youth, or
voluntarie intrusion of your selfe into your owne harmes, I knowe not,
but the matter and action mentioned and inforced by the whole course
of your letter, is altogither to be misliked, and for the extremitie
thereof to bee by all reason vtterly condemned,Auxesis. as whereunto you
ought not to condescende, much lesse to bee seene in publique to bee
a fauourer of, or, which is more, to appeare to bee, the onelie man
through whose follie and immoderate rashnesse, the same is solie to be
accomplished.
O good God! what blindnes is it that leadeth you?Ecphonesis. what sencelesse furie
that bewitcheth you? What matter of euill that pursueth you? By the
intollerable force whereof, without anie fore-sight at all, either of
the goodnesse or ilnesse of the action, the
lawlesse prosecution, the
matter of your owne reputation, the daunger of lawe wherein you are
intruded,Auxesis. the difficultie whereby it must be attained, the vnhonest
sollicitation of your friends, to so great a hazard, the discommoditie
that thereon is attendant, and perill euerie way that in the execution
cannot be auoyded: you will notwithstanding all this forget your selfe
so much, as in the accomplishment of a purpose so farre different from
the nature (I will not say of a Gentleman) but of an honest man, go
about to put in proofe what in the ende must of necessitie returne to
your owne confusion.
But you will say it is loue,Procatalepsis. and extreame lyking that compelleth you
to so forcible an action, as without the obtaining whereof you are nobodie,
Antipophora. you cannot liue. Loue say you? Alas, what loue tearme you this,
that is laden with so manie disordered motions, call you this loue?
Nay rather call it madnesse,Orismus. for loue is measured by no extremitie,
but in the honest and vertuous encrease thereof, where not by a
harebraine furie, but by a discreete and moderate ascention men by
degrees doe climbe vnto that, the sweete and pleasant force whereof
neuer participateth anie occasion of such vnreasonable badnesse.Erotema. Why
brother, doe you loue her whome you haue sued for, and because by
desert you cannot attaine her, will you vndertake thereupon to bereaue
her by force? Howe vnhonest I pray you is the purpose of so great a
wrong?Auxesis. Howe vnfit to bee put forwarde in the
meaner sort of men?Etiologia. How
intollerable in a Gentleman? For if in the account of things vnhonest,
any action whatsoeuer may appeare to be vile, what then this I pray you
may bee deemed more dishonest, more bad, or more vile?
And if it be punished extreamly by the lawe, the taking away of a mans
goods against his will,Auxesis. what may he deserue that bereaueth the person
of anie one, being also a Gentlewoman, such as to whome all humanitie
forbiddeth to proffer wrong, and to the honourable entertainment of
whome, is appropriate onely the nobilitie of a Gentleman, nay, in what
sort may such a one bee censured in the reputation of all honest men,
that in sort so violent, goeth about to rauish her, not onlie offering
iniurie therein to her person, but also to her fame, reputation and
offspring.
Thinke you that the intendment heereof can returne credite to your
lyuing? Thinke you that by deliuerie of such fruites you may bee
reputed a Gentleman? No beleeue mee,Anthypophora. it cannot bee, but according
to the vnwoorthinesse thereof, it rather shall giue occasion to all
that shall heare or vnderstande of it, to accuse, blame, mislike, and
vtterlie to condemne you.Concessiō. But what if no manner of suppose at all of
dishonestie were left therein, whereby to discourage and withdrawe you
from the action, imagining that the purpose thereof were helde meete
and honourable, and that to euerie one that could winne his choyce by
anie force he might, it were lawfull without discredite or anie censure
of law by what meanes soeuer, to compasse the same, do you thinke it
a matter sleight and easie for you to performe it? No, no sir, you
reckon too wide, you goe beyond the Moone, you are too much deceyued.Synonymia.
Know you not the Gentlewoman is worthilie descended, that she hath
parents,Asindeton. brethren, vncles, and friendes to keepe her, to rescue her, to
defend her? Why sir,Erotema. is there no more to say, but you will haue her?
You must haue her? and by maine force you will take her? You deale
with no children I can tell you, nor weakelings as you account of,
but men wise, valiaunt, well reputed, and of sound gouernment:Auxesis. who by
so much the more iust and right, the occasion is of their defence, by
so much the sooner will they, and are able to preuaile against you.Procatalepsis. I
recke not that you haue courage sufficient, that you are hardie, bolde,
and aduenturous (the vse whereof being imployed to good and laudable
purposes, were I confesse much more effectuall) but herein how euer
the case standeth, I see nothing so likelie as an impossibilitie, in
somuch as if you be delighted to become infamous, and in the memorie of
a shamelesse life to hazard your selfe to a shamefull death,Prosonomasia. then may
you enter into it: once this I knowe, that her can you neuer finde so
slenderlie accompanied, that with small force you can carie her, but
within a moment alwayes, there will not bee wanting a number that shall
bicker for her, from whose insight, you are altogither vnable, if her
selfe consented thereunto, to conuey her.
But graunting vnto your wilfull imagination,Concessiō. as much in all things as
you can desire, suppose you might winne her, conuey her, keepe her,
and that the daunger of lawe limited at all no hazarde thereunto, (the
contrarie whereof you well knowe, being guerdoned with no woorse then
losse of life) doe but yet againe returne to your selfe, and call to
minde your birth,Congeries. your familie, your profession, your
maner of liuing:Epanodis.
your birth by your parents who were worshipfull, your stocke by the
reputation yet helde of the same: your profession, which is Armes: your
liuing, a Gentleman. Is it then consonant or agreeing to all or anie of
these,Erotema. to commit any outrage, and that such an outrage, as to any other
were not so proper, as to a villaine, a wretch, a rascall, such a one
as neither by nature, education, or custome, knoweth to do otherwise?
What would you exercise I pray you on her, if you had her? Once you
confesse she doth not loue you, then no question, would she ten times
more hate you: Your answere I knowe would bee, either by entreatie to
perswade her, or by force to subdue her.
The conclusion is friuolous,Dialysis. if being now her supposed wel-willer, you
can by no meanes allure her, imagine you then by prayers to conuince
her, after you haue once shewed your selfe so extreame vnto her? And
if force be it you pretend, it is repugnant to gentlenes, yet (be
it you neglect what therein to be considered) assure your selfe her
malice neuerthelesse towards you will neuer be quenched. For that of
our selues we cannot freelie accept of,Sententia. we neuer by compulsion can be
procured to like of.Confutatiō. With you now, the case is quite contrarie, for so
imminent euerie way are the perils thereof vnto you, as if her friendes
should abstaine it, yet the lawes will punish it, and if no lawes were
at all, yet God would reuenge it.
If then you will hearken or vnderstand what is right, you must bee
disswaded from these intendments, wherin if my selfe should haue become
so graceles, as to haue set in foote with you, iustly we might haue
both confessed to haue beene drowned in all vnhappines togithers.
And nowe good brother,Epilogus. vse I pray you that meanes herein, that with
greatest commendation maie beseeme you, weigh with your selfe, that
such distemperate motions are not to bee followed, conceyue that
Vertue, whose seruaunt you were in your first education,
forbiddeth you to bee ledde by such sensuall appetites, thinke that
honour of Armes which you haue professed, extendeth not it selfe to
the frayle and weake subduing of a Womans condition, who by reason
of her sexe rather chalengeth at your handes a defence, then anie
man-like enforcement: besides, much vnwoorthie should it bee vnto your
reputation by violence to dishonour her, whose estimate and account
by reason of your liking, you oughte to preferre with all honour.
In fine, frame your selfe to doe that vncompelled, which by force
you shall bee constrained to wish once to haue perfourmed, so shall
you euer doe that beeseemeth you, and giue me cause, as my deare and
louing brother euermore to accompte of you. Our former loue and liking
willeth mee euermore to greete you, your sister and mine commendeth her
heartilie vnto you. Fare yee well, B. this thirteenth of Nouember, &c.
Fter
these Epistles dehorting and disswading,
followeth nowe the nexte title Conciliatorie, whose
vse being preferred in acquiring vnto our selues the acquaintance,
friendship or familiaritie of men worthie, haue often their directions
as well from those of honourable or worshipfull name or calling, to
such as are their inferiours, as otherwise betweene equals, or those
that bee accompted familiars: but seldome or neuer is frequented
to such as are our betters, for then it looseth the name of
Conciliatorie, and because of the humilitie thereof séemeth to
be Petitorie. Touching the first degree of these Epistles, it
is likelie, that hee who is much our better, will either of his honour,
woorshippe, or gentlenesse, in plainest tearmes alwaies offer himselfe
to his inferiours, whome in such sorte hee desireth to bee knowne vnto,
or otherwise willinglie woulde repute of. For the others, touching
equals or familiars, order therein requireth, that pithily and plainly
wee set downe the cause moouing vs to take knoweledge of him wee write
vnto, and thereupon to mooue his acquaintance.
This, albeit without some assentation, it hardlie falleth with some
in their writing to bee caried, yet shall our learner by all possible
means indeuour to keepe such Decorum herein, that hee gloze
not too palpably, least by such means he do incurre a notable suspition
of flatterie.
If in our selues we do conceiue or find some one or mo things, that
are vnto such a one pleasing, or whereof wee may coniecture the regarde
to returne vnto him, commodious, or to confirme towards vs a more
speciall liking, that shall we modestlie tender, and deuise without
arrogancy in some conuenient sorte to be signified. These are the
onely precepts in this kind of writing, to be considered, the effectes
whereof are in this sort following by their examples deliuered.
AFter my verie heartie commendations vnto you. This bearer and my
seruaunt whome I greatlie credite, hath signified vnto mee manie
matters tending to your great commendation, the reporte whereof, I
haue often sithence hearde confirmed by others. And for asmuch as
touching mine owne condition, I haue alwaies beene a fauourer of artes,
and entirelie accounted of the singularitie of anie one according
to his worthinesse, I haue so much the more greatlie desired your
acquaintance, as one whome willinglie I would doe good vnto. Assuring
you, that if at some conuenient time you will take paines to see mee,
I will not onelie (as occasion serueth) bee well content to imploy
you my selfe, but also in place of further accompt doe the best I
may to recommende you. Meane while I woulde gladlie bee infourmed by
the returne of this Messenger, at what time I may expect to see you,
according to which I will appoint horses, and send some to accompanie
you. And so for this present doe bid you hartilie farewell. From my
house of N. this twentieth of April, &c.
THe vniuersall reporte of your excellencie, each where declared, hath
mooued mee good M. N. not onelie to admire you for
the same, but among
a greate manie others, that regarde and especiallie doe accompte
of you, hath induced mee also hereby to praie your acquaintance. I
confesse sir, sithence I first heard of you, I grewe euen then verie
desirous to see and to know you, but being this other daie in companie
with sir T. P. I vnderstood howe much for your singular vertue both of
the good Knight and Ladie, you were hartilie commended and entirelie
fauoured.
This considerate opinion of theirs, hath in my speedie determination
egged mee forwarde, and caused me to salute you by these letters, the
rather for that I haue sundry times bene enformed with what ioifull
and friendlie conceite, you doe entertaine the familiaritie of euerie
Gentleman. Little (God knoweth) resteth in mee to pleasure you, the
worthines whereof I coulde wish, were as well answerable to your vertue
as effectuallie you might haue power in mee to commaunde it. This one
thing can I deliuer of my selfe, that since I had first capacitie to
discerne of mens conditions, I haue alwaies studied to honour the
vertuous, and euermore with reuerence to entertaine their actions. A
fauourer I haue still beene of the learned, and a diligent regarder
of their excellencies, such as in minde more then wealth wuld wish
to be reputed happy, & to my vttermost power gladlie accomplish what
might bee deemed most worthie. Such a one if you vouchsafe to like
of, I wholie yeelde my selfe vnto you, expecting nothing more then at
your conueniente leisure I might finde occasion to see you. Whereunto
referring the residue of all my desires, It doe for the present cease
to detaine you. London this fourth of Iune, &c.
TO these Epistles might be added two seuerall answers: in both
of which there is required a special and wel demeaned modesty, in
the one of humility to bee according to his better, in the other of
curtesie to gratifie his equall, each of them containing, a submissiue
executio of that, in either of their faculties and professions simply
to be attributed, the diuersities of both of them not impertinent
to these our instructions, I haue in sort following put downe to be
considered.
IT may please your Worshippe, I haue receiued your curteous Letters,
and by the same, as also by your messenger haue fullie conceiued of
your fauour and louing intendment towardes mee, for all which I can
but render vnto you my most humble and duetiful thankes. Touching
my selfe, I verie gladlie wish that there were anie thing in mee,
whereof you might take pleasure, or wherewith I might anie waies bee
enabled to doe you seruice: Such as it is I humblie render vnto your
commaunde, and doe pray that in as good sorte as I tender it, you will
bee pleased to accepte of it. Your man can witnesse, that as yet I
haue some earnest occasions for a while to detaine mee, who otherwise
woulde bee well contented foorthwith to waite vpon you. And were I not
thereunto especiallie enioined by your good fauour, the importunitie of
your seruaunt might happily in such case haue preuailed with mee. It
may therefore stand with your good pleasure to pardon mee, one moneth,
which tearme beeing expired, I thence forwarde will remaine at the
commaunde of none so much as your Worshippe, to whose good acceptaunce
I eftsoones doe recommende my selfe in all reuerente duetie. London
this of, &c.
Sir, I haue vnderstoode by your gentle and friendlie letters, not
onelie howe much I rest beholding to your good opinion, but also to the
curteous Knight, and my especiall good Ladie you write of, to each of
whome I haue founde my selfe indebted exceedinglie. Manie waies might
I aduertise you howe much I haue to thanke both them and you, which
that my desires may appeare answerable to your wishes I doe leaue, till
personallie in as present hast as conuenientlie may bee, I see you. I
am not altogether ignoraunt of the good partes which by some (vnto your
selfe well knowne) hath beene aduertised heretofore vnto me of you,
and for which I do most willinglie embrace you. Assuring you yᵗ you
haue but preuēted me in this one curtesie, which before my going out of
town, I was vehementlie perswaded to haue tendred vnto you, wherein
neuerthelesse I rest satisfied, in that by one so well accomplished as
your selfe, I haue heerein been so farre foorth conuinced. My busines
with his L. resteth I hope vpon a present dispatch, and therefore doe
I reckon (by Gods grace) within these verie few dayes to visite you.
Meane while, confessing howe much I stande charged vnto your selfe for
this sole courtesie, I doe pray that vnto the good Knight, and his La.
you will report my right humble dutie: And euen so doe commit you to
the Almightie. This of, &c.
Owe
after these Responsorie Letters, each answering vnto
the others tendered courtesies, I thinke it meet to come to the next
title, being in order Reconciliatorie. The matter whereof
importeth a reconciliation to those from whom wee acknowledge in some
sort or other to haue beene disseuered, contrarie to the bonde of
friendshippe or dutie that therein might bee required, whether by our
owne default, or by whose or what defect, as by the circumstance of the
action shall bee tendered. In the framing of these Epistles wee shall
recorde with our selues, in what league, amitie or dutie, wee haue
before time stoode charged or bounde to him to whome wee studie to bee
reconciled, thereupon shall wee according to the district obseruation
at that instant helde of the same, studie eyther to qualifie,
adnihilate, or vtterlie to extinguish the cause of falling of the
disseuerance, or breach. Then shall we desire for the considerations
thereunto inducing vs, to be retained againe in his wonted fauour
or friendlie acceptance. And these as in the examples following may
accordingly be suted.
THe regarde of our auncientExordium. amitie and long continued acquaintaunce,
wherein so firmelie and manie yeares wee haue beene knit togithers,
will not permit (my good D.) that wee for one slender grudge, (rather
by the malice and despite of others enuying our olde friendship,Parenthesis. then
by anie occasion of our selues, in ill time suggested betweene vs)
shoulde in this sort bee disseuered. True it is, that before this time
the like breach, or anie thing neare vnto the same was neuer seene
betweene vs, but what (mischiefe) shall I nowe tearme it, or imagine
to bee the occasion, that in so vnlooked time, and vpon so vnexpected
occasion, hath in this vilde sort, giuen meane to vntie vs, betweene
whome so great a league of loue, so long confirmed and approoued
liking, so manie protestations and vowes haue ere this passed, as that
by the force thereof it might well haue seemed wee should neuer haue
fallen to this variance. But what cannot enuie doe?Epitheton. What is it that
cruell, detestable and inueterate malice cannot performe? Credite
mee, my D. for my part I am sorie that euer follie so much maistred
vs, as to hearken in any sort to the stirrers vp of such bitternesse.
And as my selfe was the first that by admittaunce and allowaunce of
those rumours gaue the formost onset, by meanes whereof grewe this
discontenting and vnkinde department betweene vs: so will I bee the
first that shall endeuour to renue againe our friendshippe by a more
iust reconcilement, to the intent the fruites of our vnfained liking
becomming by such meanes the more forcible, may render vnto all the
worlde a sufficient testimonie, how hard and difficult a thing it is
to part those whome (but onelie death itselfe) hath power to disseuer.
Bee onelie contented my D. once againe, to restablish that which being
a little vntwisted, could neuer wholie be broken.Epilogus. Thy knowne good will,
and heartie zeale vnto mee; assureth mee not to distrust the same at
thy handes, which thou shalt euer finde to be graffed within me. This
euening by Gods grace I meane at our lodging to see thee, whither, and
to thy selfe I doe most heartilie commend me.
THis Reconciliatorie being different from that other
Conciliatorie Epistle, by reason of the argument thereof tending
to renue that, which formerlie might by the other before bee intreated
for, carrieth the effects thereof as well as it dooth betwéene equals:
so from an inferiour person to one who in reputation is somewhat
more then his better. vpon presumption of whose fauor, or by negligence of
his own dealing, hauing thrown himselfe into some disgrace with such a
partie, he may by meanes herein offred, reconcile himselfe in any sort
he list of humility. To the furtherance whereof, this example following
may bee considered.
PLeaseth my honourable good L.Narratiō. It was giuen me to vnderstand about two
daies passed by M. R. that your L. should very hardly conceiue of me,
in that vpon some vrgent occasion, I delaied to yeeld that testimonie
vnto his cause, which in equitie and reason I ought to doe:Propositiō. and the
rather, for that by your earnest entreatie and request, I was eftsoones
thereunto required. The griefe was not small I sustained thereby, in
that hauing receiued many and sundrie benefits by your honourable
fauour, whereby diuers waies I remaine in dutie and honestie charged
during my life vnto your L. I should stand on so great a hazard, as the
aduenture or losse of your good opinion, onely for a matter sinisterly
suggested vnto you against mee, without anie maintainable reason. Your
L. dooth I hope remember, in my last speeches had with you about the
very same matter (albeit before that time, I stoode on some tearmes,
doubting the malicious dealinges of the aduerse parties agaynst mee, in
reuengment of my plaine and honest testimonie to bee there giuen) yet
at the last I concluded, to gather together all the Notes ministring
furtheraunce to the cause, and thereuppon to deliuer my true and
certaine knowledge according as had beene required. Nowe, what care
I haue sithence vsed in the matter, and vppon intelligence had with
M. R. howe vehementlie in satisfaction of what might anie wayes content
your L. and bee furthering to his right, I haue proceeded therein, I
had rather himselfe shoulde deliuer, then I to become a reporter vnto
you. Insomuch as I well knowe (howeuer any others haue misinformed your
L.) himselfe as a Gentleman, will vppon his woorde assure the truth
and certaintie.Dichologia. I did I must confesse at the first vse some delayes
in immediate dispatch of the thing, but how and in what manner,
and to what end and purpose, let him also relate. Your L. I hope,
will therefore bee pleased to do mee that right, as not to be euill
perswaded towardes mee, in a case wherein I haue vpon your honourable
assuraunce and commaund, entred so farre foorth, as thereby I stande
assured to haue purchased vnto my selfe matter ynough of hatred, and
by those whomeAntithesis. (hauing refused to entertaine as my friendes) I haue
inabled sufficiently thereby to become my heauie and bitter enemies.
The hatred of whome cannot vnto mee anie wayes become so iniurious as
the ill conceyte of your L. should redound to bee of all others most
grieuous. For mine owne parte (so much doe I stande on the reuerent
regarde and account I beare vnto your L.) as were it not I rest
perswaded that vpon the equall deliueraunce conceiued of my willing
minde vnto your seruice, you would againe bee reconciled in fauourable
and good opinion towards me, I should so farre foorth bee discontented
in my selfe, as neuer could I bee at attonement with mine actions,
wherein by the least sparke of negligence whatsoeuer, I might thinke
to haue ouerslipped anie thing that shoulde become displeasing, or
otherwise offensiue vnto your honourable liking. Your L. woonted fauourPeroratiō.
and bountie giueth mee great expectation of the contrarie, and mine
innocencie and true report of maister R. doth also in some sort assure
me. Whereupon remaining as he that alwaies thinketh his life no better
spent, then for and in your L. vtmost seruice, I humblie surcease, this
day of, &c.
He
manner of these Epistles might in another purpose then herein
expressed, bee also applyed, as being Reconciliatorie, in the
behalfe of some other to bee written, as occasion may bee offered, but
forasmuch as they in that sort beeing handled, doe for the most part,
fall into the Swasorie, Disswasorie, Defensorie, or
Excusatorie kinde, I deeme it besides necessitie, to write anie
further examples thereof, for that when anie such shall bee brought
in question, the substaunce and conueyance of the state
and cause,
may readily thereunto be drawne out of the places before sorted vnto
each of those kindes, as in the discourse formerly set forth are at
large remembred. In manifestation whereof, let it be considered, that
if by an epistle of this title I shoulde endeuour to reconcile a man
to his wife, or a woman to her husband, a seruaunt to his maister,
or a maister to his seruant: the father to the Childe, the friende
to a friende, the neighbour to neighbour, or kinsman to kindred.
Needes must I for the compassing thereof shewe some reasons howe and
which way to induce these, and therefor must I of necessitie run into
diuers perswasions, defences or excuses, in the qualities whereof (by
whatsoeuer action I goe about to transpose them) the effectes yet
must néedes be concluded. Sufficeth therefore that for these Epistles
I haue deliuered sufficiently, and herewith will wee wade vnto the
nexte, which in order hereunto are Petitorie. And in asmuch
as these Epistles are so named, for the earnest petition or
requests in euerie of them contained, and that the variety of thinges
are such to be demanded, and mens conditions so diuers, at whose
handes or from whom the same are to be receiued: It therefore falleth
out by consequence that according thereunto the maner of the Epistle
must needs also be diuers and variable. For some things ther are which
fauorably and with great indifferencie, are oftentimes to be graunted,
required or obtained, as counsell, aid, patronage, good speeches,
natural care and regard, & such other like. Some also and such
semblable persons, as for which, or to whom, to aske or sue a certain
kind of shame, is in a māer tied, viz. in crauing, borrowing,
importuning, charging, or to vehement troubling. The stile, order,
and deliuery therefore appertaining to either of these must needly be
different. Touching then the generality of both, to either of them
it is requisite that in the Exordium, an indeuour bee vsed
whereby to adhibit vnto vs the good will, fauour, or good liking of him
to whome wee write. Nexte that therein wee procéede according to our
acquaintance with the partie, his estate, credite, or supporte whereby
to pleasure vs. Thirdlie, that the cause we take vpon vs to preferre,
bee iust, lawfull, and honest. Fourthly, that it be in his ability, or
power, counsel, aid, or protection, to prefer or relieue vs. Fiftly,
the order or meanes whereby the same may be wrought and accomplished.
Sixtly, our gratitude and
remuneration, worthily tied to
the thankefull acknowledgement or requitall of the same. In the first
sorte of these, the cause standing fauourable or indifferent, we
may the more bolder indeuour to produce or lay forth the aptnes or
beseeming therof. In the second, greater modestie, and a more shamefast
deliuerance is to be retained, the preferring whereof woulde be best
by insinuation, the better by couert meanes to wade into the
depth of our petitiō. In this place a more then ordinarie
bashfulnes would bee admitted, which giueth no small furtherance to
euerie demaund, as audacious and wainscot impudencie on the other side
returneth the greatest impediment in anie thing to be obtained. For
no man willingly would do benefit to such a one who in maner goeth
about as of duety and not of curtesie to exact the same, and rather
as a commaunder then crauer, woulde impudently thrust himselfe to the
obtaining thereof. And because the whole course hereof obserued by way
of euerie Petition, is by inference of many circumstances to
be altogither determined, the order as I haue related vnto you before,
must be conueyed by places Swasorie, resting very often in
confirmation of the honestie, goodnes, lawfulnes, and needfulnes of our
petition. And if the Exordium be happily framed of his person
to whom we direct our letters, it shall not be amisse that therein
briefly wee capitulate some parte of his vertues, curtesies, humanity,
bounty, readines to comfort, pleasure, or doe reliefe vnto any, whereby
we may priuately draw his fauour and good acceptance vnto vs: besides,
if he haue made vs before time beholding vnto him, we shall gladly
acknowledge the same, and declare that being already indebted, we study
more thereby to yoke our selues vnto him. If of our owne persons, then
shall we lay open, with what great expectation and regard we do in
our conceits entertaine the desertes and worthinesse of such a one,
modestly preferring what in fauor of him, and common and equall loue or
regard hath passed between vs. If of the interchangeable loue, liking
and curtesie, whilome resting between our predecessors or auncistors,
then the weight and force thereof we shall put forwards accordingly. If
of the person of our aduersarie against whom we demaund any assistance,
fauor, protection, or remedy, we may infer (if any such be) the common
mislike of both of vs towardes him, and how ill he hath deserued at
eithers handes and thereupon
require aid against him. If of the thing
or matter it selfe, the same be to be caried, we shall shew the value,
godlines, goodnes, or common benefit of the same, that the matter is
vnto him easie, to vs of great importance, and if without arrogancie
it may be done, we may inforce some occasions of benefit or other
contentment thenceforth to happen vnto him. And if any discommoditie do
happily séem to appeare in laying open the same (the liklihood whereof
may either alienate his minde, or withdraw his assistance or other
liking from vs) that shall we either study to extinguish or otherwise,
as much as we may, to qualifie or auoide; By such kind of meanes,
behooueth we prepare our selues to the deliuery of our petition, which
being in as apt and plaine tearms as may be laid open, we shal by
such inforcements (as in moouing affections hereunto, may be deemed
pertinent) with greater facilitie procure the same to be effected.
THe studie and great desire wherewith (sir) I see you bent continually
to the vniuersall aid and benefit of al men,Exordium. and for which to your
great praise you haue generally well deserued, and deseruedly are
euerie where reputed, hath mooued me in the behalfe of this poore man
to become a petitioner vnto you. About two moneths since,Narratiō. hee had
dealings with a neighbour of yours, touching a farme which he was for
tearme of yeares to take at his hands, and notwithstanding a promise
and graunt thereof to this bearer made (in consideration whereof
he paide him then in hand a good parte of his money) the iniuriousAllegoria.
cormorant glutting him selfe with extorting from the pouertie of this
and manie others, hath sithence that, not onelie passed a demise
thereof in writing to another, but goeth about to defraud the poore
man of his money, the sum whereof is the whole patrimonie, riches, and
stocke of himselfe, his poore wife and familie. And for so much as
without the countenance of some one fauouring the poore mans right,
hee is like to bee ouerborne with the weight of the other, and so
consequently to bee vndone: I haue thought good to make thus bolde to
pray your lawful fauour in his furtherance, that by your authoritie and
meanes, some honest satisfaction or ende may
be therein to his behoofe
had. You shall doe an act verie charitable, in dealing for such a one,
for the procuring of whose right, his heartie praiers for your safety
shall witnes wel the comfort you shall do him therein.Epilogus. I am perswaded
your speach and aid may herein preuaile verie much, as a thing which
with great facilitie you may cause to bee dispatched. And for my self,
as I shal at no time rest vnmindful of my request tendred vnto you
herein, so shall I not faile in what I may to the vttermost of my power
to satisfie you, by whatsoeuer possible requitall. And euen so with my
heartie commendations, I doe bid you farewel. R. this twelfth of Aprill.
IF floods of teares sealed with harde and bitter sighes,Metaphora. if continuall
sorrow and neuer ceasing care,Exordium. if consuming griefes not of a diseased
bodie, but of a pestred mind, might haue rendred sufficient and
assured testimonie,Epitheton. whereby to perswade your laden eares surcharged by
this time with the weight of my incessaunt and continuall cries: the
intollerable woes wherein I liued, secluded from the right and name
of a sonne, and barred quite from the sweete and gentle tearme of a
louing and kinde father, hadde ere this time giuen meane of recouerie,
to my daunted and dismayed spirites, and kindled in mee some wan hope,
one day to haue founde an houre so happie, wherein by a right conceite
conceiued of my vnkindlie pleasures, or conuinced by the importunity
of those who haue pittied my euils, your naturall care might in some
sorte or other haue bin renued, to the redresse of all my fore wearied
and heauie groning mischiefs.Ecphonesis. But infortunate as I am, that for all the
humble suit so manie times presented in these and such like blubbered
lines, so hardened is the mind of him I write vnto, that whilome hauing
bin a deare and louing parent, I may not heerein dare to tender, or so
much as once put forwarde vnto him, the appellation of a gratious and
pittifull father. If it haue so pleased vnto your grauitie,Periphrasis. in such
seuere manner still to deale with me, and that the hatefull shewe of my
ill desertes, is yet become of so loathed and detestable recordation,
in this verie season vnto you: then as (before time) eftsoones doe
confesse my letters vntimelie to haue approched vnto you: but if the
long detained grace, by whose heauie want (your sonne might I say?)Metanoia.
nay, the forlorne and despised issue of your aged yeares (for so I am
now forced to say) is perforce driuen almost into a desperate conceite
and mislike of his liuing, may by the least sparke of expectation,
be annexed to the most vehement effects of his prostrate and meekest
submission, then groueling vppon the lowest ground,Antithesis. and humbling my
highest imaginations to the deepest bottome, wherein your implacable
displeasures haue hitherto beene coueted, as meekely and with as
penitent speeches, as anie grieued and passionate minde can vtter: I
do beseech you sir, that at the last you will receyue (not into your
accustomed fauour) but to your common and ordinarie lyking, the most
disgraced of all your children, and pardoning the disobedience wherein
hee dared once so far foorth to prouoke agaynst him, the weight of your
knowne anger, vouchsafe hee may nowe againe bee of your familie, though
not partaking with your children.
This sole benefite and last request if my burthened soule may obtaine
at your handes, happilie I may then liue as comforted by the hope of
that whereunto a buzie and carefull endeuour may once peraduenture
enable me, otherwise dying in the ouerflowing of my desperate and
continued griefes, I pray at Gods handes I may obtaine that by mercie,
which cruell destinie in my life time could neuer win vnto me, by all
possible intreatie.Epilogus. My submissiue dutie answerable to the regarded
place of your fatherlie authoritie compelleth mee to attend with all
humblenesse the resolution of your clemencie. In the hope whereof,
resting my decayed and ouerwearied imagination, I liue till the receyt
of your knowne lyking do ascertaine, in what sort may please you to
repute me.
THe stile of this Epistle is vehement, because the passions of him
from whence it came were vehement, and is deduced as you see from the
nature of Reconciliatorie, which aswell for the submissiue
& lowest tearmes it beareth, as also for the vrgent petition therin
contained, I haue rather chosen to place among yᵉ Petitorie.
The part of honest herein deliuered, is passed in wordes
méekest & of great obedience, wherein he studieth by all possibilitie
to mittigate towards himselfe, the too much seueritie of his father.
The Exordium is carried by Insinuation, expressing
the vehement affects and surcharged conceits of a mind more then
ordinarilie grieued. The Possibilitie resteth in the father,
which commonlie by nature is with some more facilitie then estranged
diffcultie, entreated towards his sonne. The meane to compasse it, is
the mitigation or satisfaction of the iust mislike of a father, whose
charged authoritie affecteth nothing so much as obedience in children.
Thus are the places required herein, in sort as you see performed. And
for because within any one title, there is no one thing affoording
matter more plentifull, or with vse more commonlie frequented, then is
this petitorie kinde, (insomuch as whatsoeuer containeth any
speciall request, is hereunder included) I will sort you downe so many
examples of all sorts, as that there shall not faile herein wherewith
sufficientlie to instruct whatsoeuer in the like occasion is or ought
to be required.
AS one greatlie emboldned by the forwardnesseExordium. of your woonted courtesie
and liking euer bent towards me, I haue dared (Sir) once again vpon
presumption of the like, hereby to intreate you, wherein you may see in
what degree of affection I do intertaine you, in that not contented,
I haue alreadie so manie and so often times vsed you, I doe by such
meanes endeuour solie to make my selfe wholy and to none other so
much as beholding vnto you.Narratiō. My man hath returned me from London, how
by more then common celeritie I haue in my suite beene preuented by
my aduersarie, whereby it is like, my cause standing vpon so great a
hazard, it will goe verie hard with mee. Nowe if your woonted counsell,
and friendly assistance bee not speedilie ayding, both the hope of
benefit, charge and expense thereof will be lost vtterly? In regard
whereof, these may bee in as earnest maner as is possible to intreate
you,Petitiō. that vpon the attendance of my man, I may
(as woontedlie) vse you.Possibilitie.
Your counsell ioyned with a little trauell may greatlie profite me, and
now more then at any time else, exceedinglie pleasure mee. Wherein if
it may please you to yoke mee
further vnto you by the waight of your
courtesie: I shall not onelie endeuour by all possibilitie to requite
it, but also your selfe shall not faile at anie time to finde such a
one of mee, as of whose trauaile, industrie, or what other abilitie to
pleasure you, you may account of assuredlie. I haue by certaine other
Letters mooued my L. to haue fauourable consideration touching mee,
which as I am informed, his L. hath receyued. What els to bee performed
heerein, my man shall make knowne vnto you. And thus doubting as little
of your friendship herein, as of mine owne thankfull disposition,
prest alwayes to the vttermost to requite you, I doe heartilie bid you
farewell, D. of this, &c.
SIR, I am so bolde in my great necessitie, vnder assurance of your
forwardnes to do me good, to entreate your especiall ayde and
furtherance in two things, the one whereof this bearer shall instruct
you in, the other your selfe can best tell, for that I made you at my
last speech acquainted with the same. Both of which consisting in your
labour and deuice, I am of opinion that none then your selfe can fitte
the occasion better. And trulie such is the force of imprisonment, as
contrarie to that you haue woontedly knowne in me, mine vnderstanding
is quite decaied, and forworne with my libertie, and where the spirits
are so distuned, it must needes follow, the memorie can sounde nothing
but discord.
In fine, sir it is in you to doe me good, and to make me by this onlie
action for euer beholding vnto you, wherein if I may so farre foorth
presume of your fidelitie, assure your selfe, that if euer God giue mee
libertie, A. C. to none so much as to you shall be yoked in courtesie.
Good M. D. the matter hereof requireth some haste, wherunto I most
heartilie entreate you. Fare ye well, this of, &c.
GOod M. C. needelesse were it you should entreate mee in that, wherein
you haue founde mee alwayes most willing, and such whome with small
perswasions you may induce to a farre greater purpose then what in
your last letter is required. The Messenger I haue appointed to morrow
morning to returne againe to my lodging, at which time I will not
faile to finish, what in the best sort I can conceiue to bee vnto your
occasions furthering. Hard will it bee for mee to accomplish that,
wherein your selfe seeme so vnperfect, for that the dullest conceyte
forged from the most distempered of your imaginations, cannot but
sounde farre better tunes then the ripest of my inuention is anie
wayes able to deliuer. Neuerthelesse, such as it is, or so much as (by
dislike of your owne) you haue will to account of, that will I prepare
to your view, and put forward to your good speed, thinking it better by
deliuerie of a grosse deuise to satisfie the demaunde of a friend, then
by concealing the simplicitie therof to bee censured as vncourteous. In
conclusion, it is (sir) lawfull for you to vse mee to the vttermost,
and fittest to our confirmed league of amitie, that (in whatsoeuer) you
should imploy mee, wherein I desire you conceiue no more, then such as
I intend to become, and you shall assuredly find me, viz. yours, &c.
HEre must I note vnto you the last of these Epistles
Petitorie, in which is neither Exordium nor
Narration, but formost of all the petition, and afterwards the
parts folowing, the like whereof you may perchance finde hereafter.
For that where practise and skill hath enabled a man to doe well,
there is no necessitie that such should bee tied to rule, who being
of sufficient knowledge and capacitie are able to discerne what is
méetest, and accordinglie to direct the square of their owne doings,
sometimes one way, sometimes another, as in the intendment thereof,
may to the present occasion séeme most conuenient and readie. And as
in this one Letter, so may the learner light vpon many others being
different also from the obseruation herein deliuered, & somtimes
abruptly entring into the matter without any limitation at all, one
other example whereof shall bee next hereunto deliuered, the first
beginning of which, declareth the meane of accomplishment of the
request, before the petition declared, whereunto by imitation the
vnskilfull may not rashlie enter, without good aduisement of what in
the performance is meete to be considered; The method of which is in
this sort pursued.
NOwe is the time (wherein if your pleasure bee) you may perfourme what
erst you haue promised. I therefore desire you as heartilie as I may,
that your intent, being to doe me good, you will nowe execute the same.
And albeit I doubte not of your willingnesse herein, whose curtesie
hath not beene straunge towardes mee: yet rather enforced by mine owne
necessitie and continuall remembraunce of my vnprouided estate then
by anie other misgeuing, I prepare these lines, sollicitours of your
expected promise, which bearing in their fronte a token of oportunitie,
woulde praie you not to let slippe occasion, but with as much speede
as willingnesse to accomplish the same. Remembring howe manie waies I
am beholding vnto you, I remaine in accompt of your curtesies, rather
studious to thinke on them, then anie waies able to requite them, &c.
EVen as a bold begger,Exordium, by comparison. the more he is relieued, the more he still
presseth forward vpon the bounty of those, whom he supposeth to fauor
him: so fareth it with mee, who hauing eftsoons enioied your trauel to
my no small benefit, am neuertheles so shameles as stil to importune
you in the same.Insinuatiō. I haue, sir, I cōfesse, by your good means recieued
sundrie fauors at the hands of my Lord, which I cannot, nor euer shall
be able to requite vnto you, the matter of my suite notwithstanding
hetherto depending before his honour, I neither can nor may so farre
foorth withdrawe my selfe, but I must needes nowe and then solicite
you, as the Gentleman by whose onelie curtesie and perseuerance in
woonted care and good affection towardes mee I do liue, and so liuing,
continue my daies and yeares with such assured respecte, as hee that
hath sworne and vowed in himselfe neuer to forget you. It doeth sir,
so much stande mee vpon the procuring of his L. letter in my behalfe,
for the indifferente triall and hearing of my cause, as without (in
speciall and earnest speeches the same be directed for mee to the
Iustices and Commissioners) I am in greate despaire howe the case will
goe with mee. It is you therefore that must helpe mee herein, and by
your onelie meanes I must bee warranted in this action, the intendment
whereof furthering so much vnto right and cause of equitie as it doeth,
I hope his L. vpon your motion will the easilier condiscende vnto.Peroratiō. This
is that I require at your handes, and to the speedie dispatch whereof I
may not cease to importune you. Whereon concluding for the present, I
doe heartilie bid you farewel, &c.
Uch
more might bee handled in this kinde, the method whereof is
one of the most ordinarie of any sortes of Letters that are indited,
for that the greatest number of directions are commonlie concluded
in this matter, the requests wherof doe either especially concerne
the writer, or are otherwise to be respected in the behalfe of some
other. The occasion of which hath caried herein the plentie of so many
examples, that by manifesting the diuersities of their orders and vses,
the learner might not wante wherein to bee directed, and choice of
varietie wherewith to be delighted. Now, besides these hereby alreadie
deliuered, there are letters also yᵗ might be suted vnder this forme,
which from Noble men or others, are many times written in fauor of
sundrie persons, containing requests in their behalfs to be performed,
which not withstanding the difference of estates in that the same
doe for the most part passe vnto their inferiours, yet séemeth the
nature thereof to be petitorie, but in a different order of
these to be altogether pursued. Insomuch as neither agree-eth it, to
vse like circumstances of humilitie and entreatie, nor of pleasures
or curtesie, as in the other are required: but rather a necessarie
supposall and assurance of their demandes to be hearkened vnto, in
respect that of their honours, reputations, or credites, it is intended
they will require nothing, but that with reasonable toleration may be
liked of. But the vse of such kinde of
directions in choise of both,
I rather hold pertinent to the title Cōmendatorie, for that
whatsoeuer is therein written, in fauour eyther of the person or of the
cause, may in respect of the honour or reputation of those from whome
they come, bee better déemed in sorte of a curteous recommendation,
then otherwise by or vnder anie title of humilitie or submission: for
these causes I haue thought meete to adioine immediatelie hereunto,
the same Epistles Commendatorie, beeing so nearelie combined
with those of Petitorie as they are. The vse whereof are not
neuerthelesse so farre forth caried, but that from an inferiour to his
superiour, in some causes and vpon sundrie accidentes, the same are
deriued. The places appertaining vnto these kindes of Epistles be as in
the Petitorie are alreadie declared, chiefely when the same,
intendeth to a cause or person preferred to be fauoured. In which,
when it concerneth the person, we must beware that in the credible
deliuerie of whatsoeuer tending to his praise or preferment, we doe it
either by warrant of our owne knowledge, or by such certaine report
of others, whose opinion we deeme will not bee misled. And if neither
of these doe fall out to be knowne or beleeued, then shal we shew
what information wee haue besides our owne opinion, or peraduenture
no other assurance at all but our owne simple liking. Petitions also
are frequented in requiring fauour to these causes, wherein standeth
in highest regarde the state, countenance or authoritie of him, from
whome the letter is framed, who accordingly thereunto may desire
that the rather at his request, or vpon his sute, or for his sake,
or in regarde of his liking, the person may bee accompted of, or the
action furthered. Besides, it may bee added to the increase of a more
speedie performance, the loue, (if anie be, or the occasion thereunto
sorting) we owe to him we commende, or in whose fauour we write, either
solie for himselfe, or conueyed from his friendes, his parentes,
the consideration of his charge of wife, children or seruantes, the
wrong offered, benefite to be attained, or whatsoeuer other matter to
bee deemed requisite or conuenient. Nowe from whence or out of what
instigations, the matter of such commendation is to bee drawne, you
haue in the generall chapters of this booke alreadie at large. The
circumstances of which, and whatsoeuer else
hereby forewarned, shall
in the ensuing examples bee more at large deliuered.
IT may please your Lordship, This Gentleman the bearer hereof, with
whome a long time I haue beene acquainted,Narratiō. and of his qualities and
good behauiour haue had sounde and large experiment, hauing beene a
good time a sutor vnto mee, to mooue his preferment vnto your Lordships
seruice: I haue nowe at the last condiscended vnto, aswell for that I
know your Lordship to be now presentlie disfurnished of such a one, as
also that there shall hardlie be preferred vpon a sudden any one so
meete as himselfe to supplie that place. And thus much by your pardō
and allowance dare I assure vnto you, yᵗ if it may please you in credit
of my simple knowledge and opiniōCōmendation of the party. to imploy him, you shal find that
besides he is by parētage discended from such, as of whome I knowe your
Lordship will verie well accompt of, hee is also learned, discreete,
sober, wise, and moderate in all his actions, of great secrecie and
most assured trust, gouerned in all companies accordinglie: finallie,
a man so meete, and to this present turne so apt and necessarie, as I
cannot easilie imagine howe you may be serued better.Petition. Pleaseth your L.
the rather for the great good will I beare him, and humble duetie I owe
vnto you, to accept, imploie, and accompt of him. I nothing doubt but
your L. hauing by such means giuen credit to my choice,Peroratiō. shall finde him
such, as for whose good seruice, you shall haue further occasion to
thinke well of mee for him. Whereof nothing doubting, I doe refer both
him and my selfe in all humblenesse to your best and most fauorable
opinion, from my house in B. this of, &c.
After my verie heartie commendations vnto you. Sithence the receipt
of your last letters and recommendations of P. B.
into my seruice,
I haue had small occasion either to write or send vnto you till this
present. And for so much as vpon your certaine notice deliuered vnto
mee in fauour of his preferment, I helde my selfe so well assured in
all thinges of his behauiour, as I doubted not thereupon to receiue
him in place of greatest fidelitie, I haue thought good heereby to
let you vnderstand, what great pleasure I haue taken in his diligent
attendance, assuring you that for manie vnexpected qualities, which I
haue prooued to be in him, I doe woonderfullie well like of him, and
that with so good affection, as I intend not to omit anie thing that
may tend to his aduauncement. In beholding him oftentimes mee thinkes
hee manie wayes dooth resemble his father, who in sounde troth, I
doe suppose, might haue beene intertained with the best for his well
deseruing. This bearer shall enforme you of some especiall causes,
concerning my affayres in the Countrey, whom I doe pray you to conferre
with, and to affoord your trauell for his present dispatch, which I
will not faile heartily to requite vnto you. For your care had of my
wants, and diligent supply of such a one I do many times thanke you,
and haue promised in my selfe for the same to become a debter vnto you.
And euen so I do bid you hartilie fare wel. From the Court this of, &c.
MY verie good L. I am enformed by this Gentl. the bearer hereof,
that by meanes of one of your Chapleins, a motion hath beene made
of his preferment vnto your L. seruice: and forsomuch as those his
good friendes are not nowe in towne, who in respect of their account
with your L. might stande him in verie good steade: vnderstanding his
well-willing minde, and greate desire thereunto (for that I wish verie
well vnto his aduauncement) I haue taken vpon me heereby to entreate
(albeit I may not presume so farre, as to preferre a man vnto your L.)
that it may yet please you vpon my speeches to haue the better liking
of him. Assuring you that both by the credite of my La. F. who vppon
verye good conceyte towardes him, wished his preferment, with her late
deceased brother and last L. C. and also by the knowledge my selfe
haue had of him, and others besides, whome your L. hath in speciall
and chose regarde, he is one so sufficient, and euerie way so well
furnished to doe seruice to anie honourable personage, as by tryall and
proofe made of whose good parts and behauiour, your L. shall not reape
occasion of ill conceit, to whome soeuer haue vndertaken to preferre
him vnto you. And if it shall notwithstanding seeme farther conuenient
vnto your L. to make stay of his acceptaunce, for some priuate causes
hitherto vnsatisfied, I shall yet in his behalfe neuerthelesse become
thus farre a suter vnto you, that this my recommendation may with
your L. good fauour become a speedier meane the better (when it shall
happen) to mooue your L. good lyking towardes him. For which I shall
thinke my selfe, as in manie other occasions besides, vnto your
honourable opinion most deepely beholden. In acknowledgement of which,
and respect of my humble and dutifull regarde to the same, I doe nowe
and euermore remaine your L. &c.
THese two examples Commendatorie, are concluded to
one effect, the formost whereof with little alteration, may become
a president for anie recommendation, whether it bee to fauour,
friendship, choyce, or account, and not vnto seruice at all, for
that herein is shewed, in what sort men for their vertues may be
recommended. Now if there be anie other particular occasion in the
person, besides these, inducing matter of good liking the same in place
and stead of other, or togither with the other may be then alledged,
and the course herein deliuered at all times indifferently to be
obserued. And as these are from inferiour persons directed vnto their
superiours: so will we sort out some others, that from Noblemen in like
sort haue béene passed to their inferiours, examples whereof are in
like maner hereunto annexed.
AFter my verie heartie Commendations vnto you, where I am giuen to
vnderstande, that you are in election, and it is also verie likelie
you shall bee pricked by her Maiestie, high Sheriffe
for this yeare,
of the Countyes of Sussex and Surrey. This Gent. the bearer hereof,
beeing one whom for manie respectes, I doe greatly fauour, and for his
learning, skill, and honest vsage, haue long time vsed and reputed of,
I haue thought good by these (if it so happen you shall this yeare bee
named thereunto) to recommend to your good allowance to bee receyued
as your vnder-sheriffe for that time, putting vnto you such good and
reasonable securitie as appertaineth, for discharge of the sayde
office. And hereby also to pray you, that the rather for my sake, and
for the especiall choice and reckoning I haue made of him, you will
nowe before hand make certaine acceptance of his skill, by refusall of
whatsoeuer other that may bee recommended vnto you for the exercise of
the same office, assuring you, for that I haue well knowne and prooued
to be in him, you shall be so well furnished, as you would wish. And
besides, in that you shall gratifie me herein, I will not faile in anie
sort I may to requite you. And euen so I bid you heartily farewell.
HEerein is the honour and nobilitie of the personage greatlie to
bee respected who by so much the more his estate, countenance, or
authoritie requireth it, by so much the lesse may it be considered,
that in the inditing of these letters hee should with ouer large
entreatie bee charged, but rather with fewer spéeches, and lesse
circumstances to demaunde what hee purposeth. The conformitie whereof
may bee gathered out of the examples ensuing, according whereunto, hee
in whose fauour such kinde of Letters are to bee directed, (especiallie
if the inuention beeing of his owne procurement bee brought to bee
signed) ought to take heede that the regard of his honour and calling,
in whose name the Letter passeth bee not by too great humilitie of
tearmes in any sort misprised.
AFter my verie heartie commendations vnto you. This bearer hauing
of long time serued mee faithfullie, and beeing nowe desirous to
trauaile. I haue thought good heartilie to recommend vnto you. And
forasmuch as by reason of your office of Lord Gouernour of V. it is
likelie there are manie places of good preferment remayning in your
gift, vppon your followers to bee bestowed, I doe most heartilie pray
you, that you will not onelie for my sake bee contented to receyue him
into your seruice, but that also in fauour thereof, you will in anie
place of preferment about you, doe him that benefite and furtherance,
as to one whom you wish throughlie well vnto, you woulde performe.
Herein if my request may preuaile with you, I shall not onelie bee
readie to thanke you, but in whatsoeuer cause you haue to vse mee, bee
as willing to requite you. And so I doe bid you right heartily fare
well. At the Court this day, &c.
Fter
my heartie Commendations vnto your Lordship: where I haue beene
informed by this bearer, beeing a poore Tenaunt of mine, of a certaine
cause of his depending before you in her Maiesties Bench, and that
after manie thwartings and euill practises of his aduersarie, the
matter is nowe driuen to an issue, and tryall, from the benefite
whereof by corruption of some kinde of persons, hee hath these three
tearmes passed beene alreadie detayned, to his great hinderance, and
almost vtter vndooing. I haue thought good vppon his humble suite to
mooue your L. in his behalfe, and to pray you that at my instaunce you
will at some conuenient leysure examine the state of his matter, and
being informed thereof at large, doe him that speedie fauour in iustice
and right, as hee may not anie longer time therein bee deferred, but
that notwithstanding anie cauill or obiection thereunto hindering,
hee may before this tearme passed in anie wise haue a tryall. In
accomplishment whereof, besides that you shall greatlie satisfie mee in
respect of the poore
mans right, whereunto I wish great regard to
be giuen, you shal also performe a deed so charitable, as whereby you shal
perpetually bind him, his poore wife, and children continually to pray
for you. And albeit I nothing doubt herein your great willingnes and
voluntarie disposition to Iustice, yet that by reason of my request,
the matter wich more diligence may be harkened vnto, I eftsoones pray,
and therwithall hartilie doe bid your L. farewel, this of, &c.
TO all these examples Commendatorie, belongeth thrée
especiall sortes of Letters Responsorie, in which is either
flatly denied, absolutely allowed, or doubtfully accepted of, what by
force of those Epistles are seuerally commended. Of either
of these sutes I haue thought good to set downe some directions, the
diuersitie whereof, at the choice of him that searcheth the same, may
according to his present humor be either reiected or followed.
PLeaseth your good L. I receiued your fauorable Letters, and
cōmendation giuen in the behalfe of M. L. with whom hauing had
conference at large, I doe finde nothing lesse, then what by your L.
was of him deliuered, and in truth it doth not a little discontent
me, that as well in regard of your honourable and earnest demand made
in his fauor, as also that many great and vrgent respects, I stand
deeplie charged vnto you Lord. I cannot neuerthelesse herein perfourme
what I woulde: For that (besides it is yet doubtfull whether I shall
bee to the same place appointed by her Maiestie or no) if I bee chosen
Sheriffe, I haue two yeares since giuen my worde and assured promise to
my Lord of L. that I shall then accept of such a one to the exercise of
the vnder Sherifwick as shall by him to mee bee preferred. According
vnto which, standing nowe in election for this yeare as I doe, I am and
euer sithence haue beene yearelie sollicited to the selfe same purpose.
Whereof I thought it my duetie to aduertise your L. by these, most
humblie crauing pardon of the same, in that I may
not as I woulde,
herein satisfie your vrgente and vehemente request. And so with my
right humble duetie vnto your Lordshippe doe take leaue. This x. of
Nouember.
Y
humble duetie remembred vnto your good Lord shippe. The Letters
directed vnto mee from the same, together with the Gentleman in whose
fauor they were assigned, I haue entertained. And so much the more
welcome were they vnto mee, by howe much the more I repute my selfe
honoured, in that it hath pleased your Lordshippe anie waies to require
mee. Touching the partie recommended, your Lordshippe doubteth not I
hope, but that of the least of yours, I woulde make especiall accounte,
the effectes whereof you shall in this perceiue, in that for the
regarde I beare vnto your Lordshippe I will both repute of, and fauour
him. Besides what other aduauncement or prefermente his owne desertes,
or my aide may anie waies bring vnto him, hee shall bee sure at all
times to enioy it. Praying your Lordship in all other thinges as farre
foorth to stande my gratious and fauourable good L. as herein I shall
not faile to accomplish what to the vttermost may bee helde meete and
conueniente. And thus beseeching the Almightie to haue your Lordshippe
in his eternall protection, I doe in all humblenesse take my leaue,
from R. this seuenth of August, &c.
MY singular and especiall good L. I haue vnderstoode by your last
Letters, of a certaine fained and vntrue suggestion, deliuered by one
of your L. tenantes, against the proceedinges to him supposed to bee
tendred out of this Courte, according whereunto (albeit I was before
time, not altogether vnacquainted with the clamourous condition of the
partie) yet did I neuerthelesse, as by your Lordship was enioined,
examine at large the circumstances of the cause, and for the better
satisfaction of your Lordship, haue determined to set down vnto you
the trueth of the same. This R. L. whom your Lordship tearmeth to bee
a verie poore man, is not (as in simple shewe hee maketh himselfe
apparantlie to bee) but is rather such a one as from whome (beeing
narrowlie sifted) your Lordship might sooner drawe a hundred poundes
of his money, then halfe an inch breadth of his honestie. The argument
whereof in nothing so much appeareth as in this one action, wherin
against a poore man indeede, hee hath verie iniuriously behaued him
selfe, and hauing extorted from him this bonde nowe in suite (vppon
some conclusion, though no good consideration at all) of the summe of
one hundred pounde, goeth about vpon a nice quillet in the condition
to prosecute the forfeiture of the same, which indeed by the direct
wordes of the writing, is in lawe forfeited. For reliefe whereof his
aduersarie complained in the Chauncerie, by reason of the prosecution
of which bill, and notice particularlie thereof giuen to my Lorde
Chancellor, the saide R. L. hauing diuers time agreede to comprimit
the matter, and yet greedie as it seemeth to obtaine the forfeiture,
stil crieth on for triall, whilest the matter is still in debating,
for which cause the same hitherto hath onelie, and not otherwise been
delaied. And for as much assithence your Lordshippes letters receiued,
my selfe verie earnestlie haue trauelled to make some conscionable and
quiet ende betweene them, yet wil the same in no wise on his parte bee
assented vnto, by occasion whereof the extremitie of the lawe beeing
verie like to proceed, hee is the nexte tearme without further delaie
to obtaine a iudgemente, and so the poore man on the other side, to bee
vtterlie vndone: I thought it not amisse in aduertising the substance
hereof vnto your good Lordshippe to praie that in credite of what here
deliuered, your Lordship woulde bee pleased to procure the saide R. L.
to assent to some reasonable order. So doing, what in
conscience the
poore man is then able to pay, in respect of the other charges, and
purchase of his owne negligences: I holde not too extreame to be out
of the saide bond deducted, because in lawe hee was something charged,
though in equitie otherwise hee ought to haue been clearelie acquited.
Thus in discharge of my conscience herein, hauing so much deliuered
vnto your good Lordship, I doe recommend you to the protection of the
Almightie. London this thirteenth of Maie.
NOwe after these Epistles, let vs enter into one strange
commendatorie kinde, somewhat different from the order of the rest,
béeing such as wherein the partie directing the same, beeing somewhat
scant in deliuerie of ouer large & too credible spéeches, thought good
to mittigate the force of the same by the verie partes of extremitie
it self, wherein of a merry conceit, or some other pleasant humor, he
appeareth verie vnwilling to flatter, in reciting the example whereof,
because with many tedious precepts I haue now a good while wearied the
reader, I may peraduenture occasion some matter of recreation, which by
the single shewe therein gathered, appeareth in sort following to haue
bene performed.
SIr, I do send vnto your view the bearer hereof (a man shaped as you
see, & as bold in condition as he appeareth in shew)Narratiō. whome by all the
superfluities of summer ale, that hath wrought in his giddie brain, I
haue bin requested to cōmend vnto you. And in as much as in putting
so vnworthie a worthie in substance of so incredible allowance, it
somthing behooueth I hide not the giftes which by great search in
many a good hosterie, tauern, & alehouse, he hath by long trauell and
drowsie experiēceHirmos. ere this time gained, to his insupportable credēce.
I shall not spare in some sort to signifie vnto you, what in regard
of al these I am led to coniecture. Trueth is Sir, that hee is verie
well studied in the mysterie of Malt-wormes, and for his peculiar skill
in decerning the nappie taste by the nut-browne colour of Seller-ale
in
a frostie morning, hee is become a sworne brother of the rag-mans
number, and thereby standeth enioyned neuer to weare furres or other
lyning in the coldest winter, but onely the warmth of the good Ale,
which inwardlie must hearten him: Besides Sir, if you haue occasion to
credite him with a small parcell of money in dispatch of a iourney,
do but say the worde that it shall once lie in his charge, and you
may stand assured, that it shall be laide vp so safe, as any liquour
in the worlde can safe conduct it from his bellie. Take no care for
your kitchin, butterie or larder, for once a day hee loues to see all
cleane before him. Little apparell wil serue him, for his leueries
ensue weekly, out of the Bruers mesh-fat. His lodging hee reckes not,
the Chimney floore, and Billets endes serue for a Featherbed and
Coueringes. When you haue most neede of him, you shall alwayes bee sure
to go without him: if you delight in a Pigs-nie,Ironia. you maie by receyuing
of him, be sure of a Hogshead. Great store of small lyking you happily
may haue to him, wee knowe not what woonders the worlde may rende out,
for nothing is impossible where all thinges may bee compassed. It may
please you for recreations sake to looke vppon him, so you be not in
case to surfeit, looke what ill lyking you conceiue, report backe
againe I pray you in the inner facing of his chimney Casket, Omnia
sua secum portat,Prosonomasia. hee is somewhat a foolosopher, for hee carries
all his possessions about him, for terram dedit filiis hominum
he must needes then haue a large dwelling, I pray sir, giue him good
wordes how ill-fauouredlie soeuer you fauour his acquaintance, for
my part I request no remuneration for the preferment I haue tendred
towards him.
Thus much, would I haue done, and more, long since to bee rid of him.
His old maister beeing dead, it is necessarie some place to be pestred
with him, hee makes great choyse of your housekeeping, if you can like
to frame with him. Much more might bee deliuered in the condemnation
of his woorthinesse, but that I leaue to rehearse it, and nowe sir for
your owne appetite, I leaue to your contentment: Blame not me, but him
that lead mee,Prosonomasia. and so foorth to an ende. Commend me, but not condemne
me, for I shall once doe you a better turne, this is but the first, the
next may be woorse (better)Metanoia. I woulde say. And so fare ye well, &c.
Ime
is it now, I should leaue this last title of epistles, as
hauing thereof spoken alreadie sufficiently, & giue my selfe to the
deliuery of the next, which are Consolatorie, the effects
whereof are to bee bestowed on such as are grieued, according to the
weight or qualitie of the matter wherewith they are perplexed. And for
that the life of man is circumuented with so manie, and so vnlooked
causes of sorrowe and griefe, as it many waies néedeth to haue the
remedy of comforts to be applied vnto it, yet the equality of al sorts
of minds not such, as in one and the selfe same degree can accept and
beare it: It shall therfore be meete and conuenient, that in deuising
to yéelde this swéet and gentle remedie to anie troubled conceit, we
doe so moderate the matter, as that in the Discouerie therof, we rather
strike not to a far greater impatience or extremitie of vnmeasurable
sorrow then before, vpon vntimely thrusting forward, or ignorant
pursuit of the same, seeing that the mindes of some, are of so high
& incomprehensible stoutnes, as they shun in themselues and account
it a slauerie to be ouerwhelmed with woes. Others againe so rife and
so abundant in teares, as the least shewe of repetition in them,
induceth matter inough of continual mourning for which cause, we will
sort these matters of comfort, into three seuerall orders. The first
whereof shall be at choice, plainelie and simply as occasion serueth
to comfort or perswade, measuring our common calamities by yᵉ rule
of Iudges, séeing vnto a wise man, no one thing can returne cause of
disquiet so much as the shrowd of filthinesse and ignominious shame,
neither can hee be hurt of anie one without himselfe. These (the more
sensible they are with whome we deale, and of greater capacitie) the
more vehemently may we enforce by all sorts of forcible argumentes or
examples. The second of these must by insinuation be entred into, as
supposing a person of a high & statelie mind, and in a cause not common
to be censured, the weightinesse of whose griefe suppressed by a kinde
of vnconquered fortitude, we would goe about to comfort. We may not
with these deale, as in a case of ordinarie griefe with the others, but
rather by a more valuable meane, as
who would say, it appearing to vs
the inuincible valour wee see or holde to be resiant in their mindes,
shunning to bee tainted with the least touch of sweltring griefe, wee
doe offer our speeches or Letters to entertaine time with them, whose
hearts wee knowe cannot yeelde to anie forcible sting thereof. And nowe
considering the great validitie of their wisedome, and a minde in them
so vnconquered by anie stormes of Fortune, as is apparant, wee can but
encourage them stoutlie to beare, what others as weaklings doe lie
groueling vnder. In which wee shall finde greater cause to reioyce by
the woorthinesse of so goodlie a minde, then otherwise bee occasioned
to grieue for their sorrowes. The thirde and last likewise must in
another sort bee conueyed, as finding the passionate and perplexed
conceytes of some, yet fresh bleeding vppon the heauie wounde of
their sorrowes, wee maie not abruptlie enter with them, into the iust
occasion they haue so to be distempered, but rather for the lenefying
of their griefes (for in sorrowe also to bee accompanied breedeth
often some comfort) séeme to take vppon vs one part of their euils, by
declaration how grieuous for some especiall causes the same becommeth
vnto vs, either for vertue or some other praiseable condition in the
partie, by occasion whereof, wee doe euen participate, as it were,
with the griefes of them wee goe about to succour. For commonlie it is
giuen to vs to mislike such as dissent from our affections, and loue
them againe, who make themselues partakers of our euilles. It auaileth
also verie greatlie sometimes to extenuate or lessen the cause of the
griefe, either by the incertaintie of thinges casuall, being in some
respects subiect to frailtie, or by the hope of short continuaunce, or
by the necessitie of the action which may not bee withstoode, or by
some comfort or expectation left to mitigate the same. The reputation
also of wisedome, grauitie, the opposition of permutation of times
and seasons, the diminution of the occasion being nothing so great
or vrgent as we deeme it, the indurance of the thing to be a meane
vnto Vertue, and finallie, the common lot and condition of all men,
subiected vniuersallie to mishappe, to sorrowe, griefe, sicknesse,
disquiet, iniuries, wrongs, oppressions, and all kinde of euils, the
generall recordation whereof, aboue manie
things that may be opposed,
swaieth commonly ouer the passions of the minde, by a déepe regarde of
the vniuersalitie of the same, as that it soonest of all beateth downe,
the weight of all kind of il sorrowes and conceiuings whatsoeuer.
Herein the quick sentences and pithie sayings of philosophers, may
also be a great spurring, and finallie, all possible arguments that
maie be, wherby men are anie waies perswaded or led to forget their
euils. In this place it is principallie to be obserued, that in
ministring comfortable spéeches to the redresse of anie mishaps, wee
doe not by preferring of toies and sporting deuises, séek to relieue
them, for that albeit in times of pleasure, the humour of the partie
might in some sort, be therewith greatlie delighted, yet in causes
of such extremitie, all persons for the most part, verie hatefullie
doe endure the putting forwardes thereof, as too much impertinent to
the heauinesse wherewith by sorrowfull remembrances, their mindes are
commonlie amated. But if the cause be light, then may it not be much
amisse to vse some pleasaunt deliueraunce to such a one, especiallie
whose appetite standeth anie thing towards the same, but this also in
such louing, sweete, and gentle sort to bee done, as that true comforts
may seeme to be mingled with those conceited pleasures. Neither may we
in anie case seeke in vaunting sort, to thrust into their priuate view,
the present tranquilitie and happinesse wherein our selues repose, the
obiection whereof were too rusticall. For that as societie in miserie
it selfe, lenedeth the force of the greatest griefes, so the opposition
of anothers pleasure and freedome, is a corosiue or sting to the want
of anie one that is sequestred from the same. All these obseruations in
causes Consolatorie are greatlie to be regarded, whose vses
being to be imploied according to their seuerall suppositions. I leaue
to the discretion of the writer in what sort hee thinketh méete to haue
their efficacies performed.
GOod Mistresse P. I am sorie that my selfeExordium.
must become the vnluckie
Messenger of mine owne infortunitie vnto you, and
that in the fore
fronte of my letter is planted such extreame griefe as I cannot but
extreamelie bewaile, so often as I thinke of it. Neuerthelesse,Insinuatiō. knowing
vnder what motions wee liue, and that aboue our reach ruleth one,
vnder whose becke the mightiest doe stoope, and the greatest are made
subiecte, I must as my selfe, so likewise perswade you, to tolerate
all such chaunces whatsoeuer, as falling from such absolute direction,
to alter anie one iote thereof is impossible, and to resist the same,
fruitelesse and vtterlie vnauaileable. The care of my selfe (albeit
manie doe knowe howe much I tendred that I sigh for) is not so much,
seeing by reason I am led to be assured of yᵉ necessitie of our decaie,
as the motherlie pitie I haue alwaies perswaded my selfe to bee in
you, and that I nowe alreadie doe feare least forgetting the directe
square of our certaine liuing, you will runne into such vntimelie
sorrowes, as with manifolde teares will hardlie bee washed, and with
innumberable sighes, will scarcelie bee wiped awaie. But what shall I
rehearse vnto you a thinge so sudden and vnlooked for, as I protest by
the heauenlie maker and ruler of all thinges, at the receipte of your
last letters I neuer mistrusted or once looked for to haue happened?
Your teares I see, euen nowe awaite what I will saie, and loe, your
imaginations doe alreadie deeme the matter I must vtter. At least wise
if I shoulde seeme further to dissemble the occasion of my griefe, (and
by hiding the summe of all that may breede discontentmente) to conceale
what nowe I am inforced to vnfolde vnto you, the discharged messenger
returned vncompleate, woulde bewraie the effectes thereof before you.
It is then your son, good M. P. whose want I am inforced to
tolerate, and whose presence you must now henceforth determin vtterlie
to forbeare. Your last presage in commanding him to be seene liuing or
dead, hath now returned his liuing to be discharged, & his earthlie
coarse vnlooked for, to be couered with cinders. Had I thought it theē
(as by the Almighty I least mistrusted it) & had you prepared to haue
receiued him, as then before was required, you could not more sooner
haue assured mee his returning, then I am able now to performe him,
at your present sending. He is commaunded to another, that before did
expecte him, hee is swallowed in the gulfe,Allegoria. that from the foremost
howre of his birth did hetherto awaite him. Nowe if you will say hee
was young and might haue liued, examples doe shewe that
younger then
hee haue died.Antipophora. If you will say, you loued him greatlie. God by your
patience shall accepte him the more woorthilie. If you will say, you
are sorie for it in that hee was vertuous: consider the worlde wherein
hee liued, that might haue made him more vicious. Finallie, to answere
euerie obiection that by you may bee affirmed, nothing herein can more
fitlie bee auerred, then that in our life time wee see daylie before
our eies to happen. Knowe yee not, that all thinges doe by little
and a little growe into ripenesse, and foorthwith by degrees fall
into rottennesse? Hath not God vnto euerie thing after their greatest
perfection, included such certaine limites, that by and by they seeme
to bee appropriate to their latest confusion? Is there anie thinge on
earth so assured,Erotema. that by vnstaied incertaintie is not continuallie
guided? Among all fruites and blossomes on the ground, are there not
some that are sooner then others, euen on their tenderest braunches,
as it were alreadie ripened, and others againe that by long lying are
made rotten and mellowed? Al flowers spring not at one instant, nor all
blossoms with one sole blast are scattered. To man is appointed his
certaine boundes, vnto which to bee attained, and beyonde the which not
to passe, is alreadie limited. Your sonne as timelie fruite, so timelie
ripened, and as fitte for his season was as timelie gathered.Paradigma. It was
necessarie by nature hee shoulde bee perfected, and the perfection
attained, by nature also he was consequentlie to bee depriued. Onelie
that his sickenesse was naturall, and that in the continuance thereof
hee wanted no attendaunce, the credite of others as well as my selfe
can testifie. If Physicke coulde haue saued him, if Syrrops,
hot potions, or other necessaries woulde haue cured him, if teares and
praiers might haue kepte him, you had yet in safetie receiued him.Asyndeton. Hee
is deade, hee is gone, wee must after him. Of his first sicknesse hee
was whole, and perfectlie recouered, afterwardes from the Iaundise,
though somewhat weakned, yet lastlie deliuered. But the inwarde moath
that consumed him, would not suffer him to liue, which with extreame
gripes assailed him, that beeing not able anie longer to continue, at
the pleasure of God hee died. It is your parte therefore to bee nowe
recomforted, and therein in with patiencePeroratiō. to referre your selfe to Gods
determinate pleasure and iudgement, to which intent I haue taken in
hand this mid nights labour, after the receipte of your letters, which
were to bee returned
the nexte morning earlie, by reason whereof I can
no waie satisfie what you write for, neuerthelesse resting hereafter
to my vttermost power to pleasure you, and recommending my selfe also
to your woonted curtesie, I ende this fourteenth of Ianuarie, your
carefull friend, &c.
Eeing
the instabilitie of worldely chaunces is such,Exordium. as permitteth no
one thinge liuing to remaine stedfast, or in assured staie or certaine
condition at all times to endure and continue: no maruaile then (good
Sir) if your selfe beeing a mortall man,Synonymia. framed of the same earthlie
substance and qualitie, incident to terrene frailtie, and natures
imbecilitie, doe as other creatures alike participate the suddaine
euils, and daielie alterations thereunto annexed: a proofe whereof
resteth chiefelie in your present state and beeing, then which no one
thing may induce a more serious aduertisemente, of the vile accompte
and wretched contempte appropriat vnto your liuing. And albeit diuers
are the calamities wherwith not onelie your selfe, but sundrie others
your louing friendes carefull of your presente mishape,Epitheton. and grieued
to see the vncouth and bitter chaunge whereinto you are hapned, are
continuallie afflicted, in so much as there is not the stoniest and
flintiest minde of all that euer haue knowne you (your desperate vowed
enemies onelie excepted) but doe in some sorte or other, bewaile, and
as it were grieue to see the vnacquainted yoke thereof, with such
extremitie to be cast vpon you: I cannot yet but greatlie commende
the inuincible fortitude of your high and noble minde, who
by howe much the more, the vehemencie of these sorrowes are to you
vnknowne, and therefore the more vnused,Metanoia. doe not withstanding by so
much the lesse permitte, the mightie power of them to rule or beare
swaie ouer you, neglecting or (which is greater) despising the sharp
pricking sting thereof, who by the deepe pearcing force of the same, is
woonted to gall the remembraunce of manie others, and (as it were by
a forcelesse contempte
of such validities) not onelie not giue anie
token or signe at all in their vttermost practises, but seeme rather
to triumphe ouer the strength that thereby they had wrought,Auxesis. and by
an aduised, sage and woonderfull modestie and discretion, plainelie
to extinguish and put from you the furie of the same. Manifoldlie I
must confesse, haue you hereby deserued and much more euill,Concessiō. by the
wise and moderate entertainmente of these troubles, hath to your
aduersaries beene tendred, who in nothing so much do rest vnsatisfied,
as that in subduing your bodie, they cannot also yoke and bring vnder
by whatsoeuer extremitie the courage, and statelie progression of
your high and vnconquered minde. Wherein there is lefte in my opinion
great cause of comforte euen in the verie greatest of your miserie
vnto you, that in constant indurance thereof, you haue power to punish
them, that woulde disturbe you, and that in the perplexed imaginations
of their owne wicked and malicious enuie. Neither maie this that you
sustaine bee rightlie tearmed miserie,Meiosis. or such a one as your selfe
seeme to bee accompted miserable, whose minde in the verie captiuitie
inflicted vppon this your bodie is thus freede, and accompanied with
so ample and sweetened libertie: For these kinde of troubles as they
are worldlie,Etiologia. so haue they power also vpon the worldlie partes of
a man, and therein are cohibitions of such earthlie delighte, as
fauouring more vnto the satisfaction of a sensuall appetite, then
conducing to the excellencie of the inwarde minde, doe breede that
ordinarie restrainte wherewith men mortallie conceited, are for the
most parte troubled. But to the sweete imaginations of a pure and
innocent minde, what is left wherewith to bee discontented, but onelie
to haue committed anie thing vile, wretched, or otherwise ill beseeming
the vertue and excellencie wherewith the inwarde partes thereof are
throughlie indued. How manie waies then are lefte vnto you to reioyce,Metaphora.
vnto whose eies the continuall thirst of vertue it selfe hath
long since laide open the momentarie pleasures of this worlde, the
libertie whereof is vnto a woorthie conceite a meere seruage, in whose
fickle and transitorie affections reposeth so slender assurance,Epitheton. and
whose effecacies contemplate no other then vaine and foolish obiectes:
seeing that you haue thereby so well perceiued howe much the instinct
of a braue and delicate minde climbeth far aboue the reach of the body,
with a pleasant and vncontroulled libertie. These things impugning
I
must needes say a corporall appetite) permit you not, for such losse
of riches, possessions, children or friendes to become passionate, or
ouercome with extreame greefe, albeit participating as we doe with such
naturall causes, I doubt not but therewith you are sometimes touched,
though at no time conuinced. For which cause as often as you happen to
fall into the remembraunce of the same, suppose with your selfe that in
time, the bitter sting may yet bee repulsed, and that the lotte that is
fallen vnto you heerein, is no other but the common reward and hatefull
disquiet of the worlde, wherein the most noble and worthie minds are
commonlie the most vehementlie assaulted, and with deepest extremitie
by such kinde of meanes pursued.
The recordation whereof, may returne vnto you one principall and great
occasion of comfort, in that by distinction of your woorthinesse,
though you bee partaker of common trouble, yet are you sequestred
from the entertainment of a common opinion. It dooth not a little
reioyce mee to see that with such impregnable stoutnesse you doe so
farre foorth endeuour to resist your appetites, wherein (besides the
expectation of that which is incident also to these alterations, a
chaunge, I meane, and reuocation of woonted pleasures) you shall in the
meane time giue greater glorie to your actions, in not appearing for
anie worldlie estate, riches, or contentment to bee surprized in your
imaginations. Praying the comfort of all comfortes to bestowe vppon you
the deawe of his heauenlie grace in assistaunce of your extremities, I
take my leaue, this of, &c.
ALbeit my selfeExordium. (hauing receyued the sorrowfull newes of the vntimelie
death of my dearest kinsman, and your deceased louing husband) was in
the first hearing thereof so greatlie troubled, as by reason of the
griefe then presentlie conceyued for the same, my selfe happilie might
seeme to neede that comfort, which nowe I goe about to bestowe vpon
others: Yet weighing in my minde the
state wherein you stande, and
beeing also informed with what great extremitie you haue entertayned
the newes of his losse, I cannot but in respect of the great loue
I ought to him, and remembraunce of the like care, wherewith hee
principallie entertayned you, enforce my penne hereby to yeelde vnto
you those comfortable speeches, by the veritie whereof my selfe in so
great a storme of griefe,Metaphora. coulde hitherto as yet bee verie hardlie
satisfied.Narratiō. It was deliuered vnto me by my brother F. B. that beeing nowe
a Moneth or somewhat more passed, since by Letters out of H. the maner
of your husbandes death was vnto you reported, you immediatelie vppon
the reading of the Letters grewe into so great aboundance of teares,
and to so woonderfull impatience, as hauing euer sithence continued
the same, you will in no sort thereof bee recomforted. Assuredlie my
good Coosen, I must needes conclude with your owne speeches, and the
waight of your interchaungeable likinges, that there is great cause
left vnto you to become sorrowfull,Paramologia.
as hauing lost the chiefe and
principall iewell of all your worldlie loue and liking, the fauoured
Companion of all your pleasant and youthfull yeares,Allegoria. the entire comfort
and solace of your present happinesse,Synonymia. and such a one, who aboue all
worldes, or anie earthlie estimation at all, accounted, honoured,Auxesis. and
entyrelie receyued and loued you: but that you haue so great and vrgent
cause of extremitie to continue with so hard impacience as you doe, it
befitteth not, it is vnnecessarie, yea it is in my iudgement of all
others the most insufferable.Asyndeton. For
when it is not denied vnto you,Etiologia. that
you haue cause to mourne, that it is fittest vnto the matter of your
loue, to weepe ouer him, and bewaile him, it is then thereby intended
that there must be a meane therein, that the force thereof must be
limited, that the appearance beare shew of discretion. Doe we not all
know I pray you,Synonymia. and are witnesses that he was a mortall man, that as
our selues he was borne, vnder the selfe same condition, that hee must
once die, that hee had his time set, beyond which hee might not passe,
and that God who gaue him life thus long to liue with you, hath nowe
called him againe from this earth to leaue you?Climax. Are we ignorant that
Nature compelleth the wife for her husbande, the husbande for his wife,
parents for their children, and kindred for their kinsfolke, to weepe
and lament? But followeth it not also therewith that the losse and want
of them beeing layde
downe by an immooueable necessitie: wee can by
no meanes afterwardes bee in hope to reclaime them?Erotema. What great follie
doe wee then commit in thus searching after the ghostes of our deceased
friendes? Or what other thing doe wee therein performe, but yeeld a
plaine demonstration, that our teares are to none other ende, but to
bewaile them, because they were mortall?Metaphora. whome death could neuer haue
shunned without they had beene immortall.Merismus. Are wee not eftsoones put in
minde by the common casualtie of all thinges, that there is nothing
stable, that continuallie Kingdomes decay, Prouinces are shaken,
Countryes destroyed, Cityes burned, townes wasted, people consumed, and
that it remayneth a thing ordinarie with vs, daylie to bee conuersant
in these euilles, the losse of all, or eyther of which, (if they may
bee accounted euilles) why then doe we giue our selues by vnmeasurable
griefe, to a perpetuall continuance and renouation of those euils.Dialisis. But
you will heereunto alledge, that it is loue that enforceth you vnto
the same, and that such is the continuall remembraunce you haue, as
you cannot forget him.Erotema. Alas, howe fruitlesse is this loue, and zealous
remembrance in the deliuerance thereof? Howe farre sequestred is the
vehemencie of the same, from the searched recompence? Why learne wee
not rather of the wisest and woorthiest, how to mitigate the impacience
of our owne imperfections? In whose precepts, examples, and counsels,Antithesis.
if the immoderate vse or entertainment of anything bee forbidden,
shall wee not then in this, aboue all others be chieflie reprehended,
when wee enforce our selues by continuall Meditation of our losses to
shedde so manie teares to no purpose?Antipophora. What if your Husbande had not
nowe dyed at this instant, hee must, you know, haue dyed; hee could not
alwayes haue liued. Yea, but hee died you say, vntimelie, what call
you vntimelie I pray you? If in respect of the force preuayling vppon
him, whereby he was slaine, you name it vntimelie: then doe I graunt
vnto it: But if in regarde of the time of his life you affirme it, I
denie that the same may then bee sayd vntimelie. For why?Etiologia. hath
not the eternall Creatour of all thinges ordered by his diuine wisedome
each matter to passe his course in sort to himselfe best beseeming and
most pleasing? howe can you then say that to bee vntimelie, which by
his heauenlie moderation was so appoynted? Assure your selfe if hee had
then
beene at home with you, hee had also died, you could not haue
preuented it,Asyndeton. his houre was come, so was it determined, which way could
he shun it.
What then grieueth you in this action?Antipophora. Is it that hee was slaine?
Consider with your selfe it was in his princes seruice, his death was
thereby the more honourable, for in so doing, he died as a man, as a
souldiour, as a Gentleman.Auxesis. Yea, but you shall neuer, you say, see him
more? True in deed,Antipophora. but what of that? Is this death now greater then
his absence before? Yes forsooth it is indeede, and whie? because you
had hope then to see him againe, which by this means is taken away?
verie well. You did then while he was liuing recomfort your selfe with
hope, content your selfe nowe with necessitie, because it must needes
be so, and you can no wayes amend it. Is not this an ende sufficient
to determine all sorrowes?Erotema. If you weepe, lament, crie out, and become
grieued,Synonymia. requisite were it the same should returne to some ende, that
all your care, sorrow, griefe,Brachiologia. lamentation, or what els should not
appeare fruitles, that the intendment and determination thereof shoulde
be to some speciall purpose. See you then, herein is no supply, the
effects are bereft, the end taken away.Asindeton. Be not then so fond, as to
bedew that with your teares,Epiphonema. wherunto belongeth neither redresse, nor
mean of recouerie. Who is he that would be so mad, as to crie out vnto
him of whom he might be assured neuer to obtaine remedie? by cunning
art beasts we see,Paradigma. though they be most fierce, are tamed, a meane is
found wherewith to breake the Marble, the Adamant howe hard soeuer it
be, may by deuises be mollified: Onely death is of such force as no
wayes can be conuinced.
At the least wise, if neither of these argumentes might mooue you to
suppresse your exceeding sorrowes,Merismus. you must finally consider that wee
are Christians, and by the benefite of this corporall death,Antithesis. doe make
exchaunge for an vncorrupted life, that the withdrawing vs from this
vile earthly bodie of Clay and filth, is a commutation to a sacred and
heauenlie progression, and that wee haue nothing left vnto vs, in all
the trauelles, cares, disquiets, and heauie turmoyles of this wearisome
liuing whereof to reioyce vs, but the expectation wee haue of happines
and euer flourishing gladnesse. Suppose the Ghost of your husbandeProcatalepsis. were
heere present to see you in all this extremitie, what thinke you woulde
hee say? Howe much
disordered imagine you woulde hee thinke you to bee
in your affections?
And were it not that so manie coastes had seuered him both by lande and
seas peraduenture wearied with your bitter out cries in the conceited
image and shape of death, you might in apparance heare him, in these
like speaches accusing and rebuking such your distemperate actions.Prosopopœia.
And with breathing spirit to crie out vnto you saying, What is it
you goe about? what meane you by teares to search out for a thing
so irrecuperable. Whie torment you your youthful yeares, with such
vnprofitable,Metanoia. or rather as I may call it, desperate kinde of mournings?
whie with such vniust complaints accuse you Fortune, & so often doe
appeale death, and destinie of so hainous trespasse? Is it for that
you enuie my happie state, so soone transported from this vntowarde
soile, to a more prosperous felicitie? thus credit mee, and in this
sorte (were it possible he coulde speake to you) woulde hee accuse
you, in which consideration, were there not iust cause thinke you (of
such intemperance)Erotema. whie you shoulde be greatlie ashamed? Beleeue mee
good Cosin, there is neither profite or liking at all, of this bitter
continuance reaped, you haue alreadie waded sufficientlie in your
teares,Allegoria. you haue mourned for him in earnest loue as beseemed a wife,
it is nowe high time you bee after all this comforted. Thinke that
the greatest storme is by time at length ouerblowne, superfluitie of
coales encreaseth rather heate then flame, the ardencie of affection,
with vehemencie sufficient may be expressed, though not by extremitie
enforced. What shuld I say vnto you?Paradigma. You may not as other foolish
creatures, that are neither gouerned by wit, nor ordered by discretion,
make your selfe a spectacle to the world, but rather with such
temperanceParenthesis. (for euen in this extremitie of sorrow, is also planted
a rare patern of modestie) seek in such maner to demean your selfe,
as the lookers on may rather pittie you, by insight of your greate
discretion, then in this sorte to tormente your selfe by a needlesse
supposition. Much more haue I considered with my self, whereby to
satisfie my greeued imaginations,Peroratiō. in which beeing recomforted, and
reposed in my secrete thoughtes, I haue deemed it necessarie hereby to
imparte the same vnto you, beseeching that as well in regarde of your
selfe, as the little pleasure your friendes haue to behoulde you in
this straunge kinde of perplexitie, you will enioy the fruites thereof
with such sufficient contentment and satisfaction as verie heartilie I
doe wish vnto you. And euen so tendring my selfe in all thinges to your
curteous and gentle vsage, I doe heartily bid you farewell, S. this of
&c.
TOuching these Consolatorie Epistles. It is to bee
intended that ouer and besides the examples formerly deliuered, their
vse is also in causes of banishment, losse of parentes, goods, or
friends, in times of imprisonment, slander, persecution, sicknesse,
in miserable olde age, or plagued by disobedience, in ill successe
of mariages, in pouertie, and finally in whatsoeuer griefe of minde,
trouble, or aduersitie. In each of all which is as I said before, vsed
a great efficacie of perswasion for the mittigation of the same, by
laying the troubles and vncertain state of the world, with innumerable
euils annexed to the turning whéele thereof, the communitie of the
mischiefe to all, who though not with the selfe same, yet in some
sorte or other are alike disquieted, that the best way to expell the
griefe thereof, is by meditation of our estates, the condition wherein
we liue, the ineuitable force of that which is befallen vs, which
because wee are worldlinges must néedes in like sorte betide vs, howe
neare thereby wee may bee drawne in contempte of earthlie vanities,
the inticing baites, whereof are enuenomed with so manie and sharpe
poysons, that troubles are sent vnto vs from God, to call vs thereby
home vnto him, that they are the scourges of our disobedience, that
by such meanes wee are discerned to bee his children, that by pacient
sufferance, and entertainment of our harmes, we do nearest approch
vnto him, who beeing in humane shape on earth, conuersing with men,
was persecuted, slaundered, tooke vpon him the most despised estate of
pouertie, and by cruell death was constrained, that they who are cloyed
with most aboundance, haue therefore the greater charge laide vppon
their neckes, and that no one then they are nearest to destruction, the
height of whose estate, oftentimes occasioneth their vntimely deaths:
finally, that it were bootlesse to striue against their forces, in that
we thereby seem ignorant of Gods pleasure and ordinance, who working
all things vnto the best, knoweth perchaunce the punishment to be most
fittest
for vs, wherewith if we were not entangled, we might
happilie forgette him, and become carelesse regarders of his high and mightie
excellency. So and in such maner may we wade in these actions, whereof
hauing now deliuered sufficient, wee will adde hereunto one example
more, and therewith of this title conclude.
THe posting newes hitherwarde of the late decease of my good old
mistris your wife, hath made me in the verie going away of mine ague
fit, to strain my selfe to greet you by these letters. In the inditing
wherof, I manie time praied in my thoughts, that I were as readilie
deliuered of this my tertian feuer, as your selfe are in mine opinion
deliuered by such meanes of a hateful and verie foule encombrance.
I doubt not sir, but you doe nowe take the matter heauilie, being
thereby dispossessed as you are of such an intollerable delight, as
wherewith you were continually cloied by the nightlie embracements of
so vnweldie a carcase. I haue, I must confesse, verie seldome known
you for anie thing to mourne, neuerthelesse, if by such meanes you be
happily constrained to change countenance, I haue prepared a golden
boxe wherein I meane to consecrate all the teares you shed for that
accident, to Berecynthia the beldame of the Gods, as a relique
of your great kindship and curtesie.
Beleeue mee T. I am sorie that mine ague had not lefte mee, and that
I were not nowe in L. with thee, were it but to viewe thy lookes and
manlike behauiour, after so harde a bickering and incounter wherein
thou was berefte a hearte of golde so daintie, as I promise thee
to some graue sober fellowe, might haue become pretie conceited,
and a verie sweete pigges nie. Well T. thou must needes loose her,
ferendum est quod mutari non possit, bee not sadde I pray thee,
wee will finde out a better match wherewith to delghite thee. Thou
must consider that it is requisite that all thinges shoulde bee done
with indifferencie, shee hath lefte a thousande pounde in goodes, and
a C. markes by yeare vnto thee, let that content thee: what though
she was not maried a moneth to thee, thou must be a pacient
man, her
long continuance with so much wealth might peraduenture haue glutted
thee. The gods haue become more fauourable to thy young yeares, then
thy selfe doest consider of. Shee might I knowe haue liued longer time
for age, (for foure skore yeares olde I graunt is nothing) the woman
also in verie good plight too, by Saint Margerie: but what of that, wee
must, as I saide before, beare with necessitie. I praie God thou beest
not ouercome with sorrowe, but thou maist take it quietlie. There bee
men in the worlde that are so carelesse of their fortune, and so verie
fooles in their wishing, as they coulde content themselues greatlie to
bee in the like predicamente with thee: but thou I assure my selfe art
of a cleane contrarie opinion, sweare no more good T. I am perswaded
alone that it vtterly discontenteth thee. But hearest thou, plaie not
the madde man for all that, I will rather comfort thee my self, then
that thou shouldest die for sorrow.
One thing greatlie misliketh mee, I heard saie thou tookest an othe
vpon her death bed neuer to marie againe? See howe loue may leade mē?
Good God it is strange? I promise thee I could hardly be perswaded
thou didst so, without I shuld hear thee swear it. Be not so sottish
good boy, remēber thy self, and think on the Philosophers
words: non nobis solum nati sumus. Thou maist haue a wife man,
and become the father of ninetie nine children perchaunce ere thou
die. Forsweare thou nothing good T. but building of monasteries and
entring into religion, for these my selfe dare vndertake thou neuer
wilt nor meantest to doe, I woulde faine talke longer with thee, but I
am wearie, and therefore intende to leaue the expectation of the rest,
till I fortune to see thee. Fare (as otherwise thou canst not chuse)
well, hauing neither olde wife nor feuer, wherewith to encomber thee.
At S. this of &c.
WHat answere may be returned to all or any of these Letters, is
to be expected according to the griefe or presente condition of the
partie. The efficacie of the one whereof may bee such, as endureth
small arguing, and the inclination of the other so plausible, as
beareth with whatsoeuer may sounde vnto them comforting. But for
because the labour were endlesse to measure by writing, the affections
of each one in particular, I will onely set downe for this one fourme,
the generalitie wherof
may be inferred to the circumstances of any
other. A Letter Responsorie therefore vnto anie of these
Epistles, should in the generall parts thereof containe (as séemeth
me) a Remuneration or friendlie acceptance of their good
wils, that so haue béene imploied in comforting, and (if the partie so
thinke meete, or the occasion so standeth) to commend the wisedome,
learning, fauour, care or liking of him that so writeth, and therein
also the good effects, the same haue wrought, if some things (that
may bee alledged) did not impugn it, shewing his counsel is far lesse
vehement then our euill, and therfore swayeth not in respect therof, in
our minds, so much as might haue done with many others. In conclusion,
that we acknowledge neuerthelesse his great discretion therin, & that
deserued account of his trauell. Each of which places, howe they are to
be distributed appeareth in the example following.
GOod brother, I haue receyued your kinde Letters, wherein carefullie,
discreetlie, and effectuallie, you haue endeuoured to minister sundrie
comforts to my diseased minde, in all which I confesse you haue dealt
with mee as appertayneth vnto a faithfull, courteous, and louing
brother, whereunto as much as possiblie may be expected, I yeelde my
selfe vnto you for the same most bounden and assured. Neither will I
wrong you so much as to denie that in perusing the contents thereof, I
was not sometimes by the force of your arguments a little withdrawne
from the deepe consideration and hard suppose of my present euils, but
entring againe into mine owne estate, and finding howe mightily the
shewe of my forward mishaps swayeth ouer my maistred spirites, I doe
imagine the greatnesse of my losse to bee so much, as in comparison
whereof, whatsoeuer you haue deliuered eyther in the mitigation, or
qualifying of my harmes, seemeth farre lesse in quantitie, then the
smallest that may be conceyued of all mine euils. Follie were it for
mee to thinke, or you to beleeue, that the pensiue imagination of a
thing so neere, as wherupon concerned erst, the sum of all my ioyes,
pleasures and happinesse, could with the vehemencie of a fewe speeches
(more of zeale then equitie deliuered) bee suddenlie remooued. But
(as hath the adage)
Omnes quum valemus recta consilia agrotis damus. For coūsell is plentifull in euery one whose conceits by
freedom are exempted from any passion at all. Take it not so good
brother, that I thinke you not for mee, as well as my selfe, to bee a
partaker of my griefe, for I knowe it well you are,Antithesis. but yet the one
proceedeth of charinesse, the other of extremitie, you in pitie of my
sorrowes, and I in the very touch of mine euils. What time may doe I
cannot tell, to weare away what presently I feele to be forcible vpon
me, yet feare I the woorst, but will giue my selfe notwithstanding as
much as in me lyeth, to the practise of your counsels. How euer the
case standeth, I must acknowledge, that very waightily you haue dealt
concerning me, and for the same will neuer cease to thanke you. Fare ye
well, this of, &c.
IN this place wee will conclude our Epistles Consolatorie,
and passe out of the same title to the next therof, which
are Monitorie, and Reprehensorie. The one part
thereof beeing Monitorie, consisteth in forwarning to the
vnexperienced such matters as hee knoweth not, in sort as if therewith
hee should be throughly acquainted: the other, in skilful explaining
the offence of a thing faulty, which standeth vpon to be reformed. And
insomuch as there be few men that gladlie like to be supposed ouer
much faultie, or loue much to be rebuked for the greatnes of their
errors, the order therfore of these monitory, in setting
forth what may be counted offensiue, shall not accuse but admonish
from the greatnes or smalnesse of the same, qualifying the bitternesse
of reprehension with a certaine maner of praise, how euer desert doe
affoord to the furtherance thereof. For in a gentle condition or minde,
not altogether bent vnto euill, to suppose that the greatest part is
the better inclined, and it also in some good measure to commende,
breedeth no small incouragment to do well, hee to whom the admonition
passeth, hauing mean therby to think that his behauiour is not so far
ouergrowne, but that presumption of his Vertues do yet sway
in mens opinions, or at the leastwise imagining that men are ignorant
altogither of that, whereof they seeme to take no notice at all, he
will study the rather to hearken to such wholesome directions,
and
accordingly to reforme his maners thereunto betimes. And verilie (as
you haue before in the examples Dissuasorie) so in this also
it would not be amisse where we see an offence but new beginning, to
induce many good conditions of the partie to be opposed against the
same, and to lay before him, how ill sounding it would be to the due
commendation of the other, to bee touched therewith. Or otherwise where
wee see an inclination (though no matter in acion) to euill, to say,
that not for that we see him spotted with such offences, we do warne
him from their forces, but to the intent he may thereby the better be
instructed, in the vilenesse and discommended partes of the same, or
that because wee are for the most part led away and easily sliding into
euill, wee set before his eies therein, the hazard and inconuenience of
such euill. Now if the matter be so far forward, as we find it a plain
and open imperfection in him to whom we write, let vs then consider
yᵉ weight or inualiditie of the action, which beeing too monstrous or
notorious, it then needeth not admonition, but sharpe reprehension, and
is thereby secluded from the partes hereof, but not being intolerable
in his age or estate, in whom the same is found, then shall we not
aggrauate, but extenuate the apparance therof, shewing that it is a
thing common for men to fall, chieflie young men, who by the furious
sting of their youth, and want they haue of aged experience, are
hastilie led thereunto: but yet therewithall how manie wayes necessarie
it is, that he be withdrawne from the same, least happily the long
intertainment giuen to a fault, make it seeme a great offence, and
consequentlie hee be thereby led into far more dangerous euils.
Hereupon may we manifest vnto him our loue and tender care wee haue
ouer him, compelling vs for such cause to forwarne him, declaring that
our selues falling into the like errours, would be glad at his hand to
find the like, if the skill and experience of the partie might so much
performe. Another kinde of admonishment or reprehension there is also,
when men deale with those who are highlie before them in account, vnto
whome either imminent daunger or occasion of great hate or mislike
pursuing the same, forbiddeth in expresse manner to vse anie tearmes,
insomuch as their estate (beeing peraduenture loftie, and of power to
commaund or sway ouer vs) will not admit by writing to intermeddle
with their actions, and yet happilie
by reason of some hard dealings
offered vnto vs, or our friendes, might séeme much to preuaile in
one sort or other to giue them notice of it, whereby to auoide (if
it be possible) the expected vehemencie and intolerable support of
the same. With such men to deale, behooueth, if at least wise we be
compelled therunto, to make a recitall of many vertues, such as might
be commendable & beautifying vnto so great estate and authoritie, and
therwithall set forth the worthines to the vttermost of that we wish
to be in him planted: and fainedly also wee may suppose those
Vertues to be insinuate in his person, and howe much they are
furthering to his name and reputation, by occasion of which, we may in
the contrary haue meane to lay open all those vices, the insupportable
burthen, vileness, & execrable hatefulnes, or what bad purpose soeuer
is in them concluded, and shew how much they impugne the state, rule,
or authoritie of any one, what blemish they cast vpon him in whom
they are frequented, howe they destroie the good partes for which men
mightie and gracious haue desired to be commended, the conceit whereof,
may be with such facilitie and excellencie caried, as that he to whom
we write, shall with some insight thereinto, receiue a speciall view
of his owne faultinesse, yea and by the couertnes of the same, maie
also participate within his owne imaginations, the particular loue &
hate generallie attributed to either of both, wherein what other thing
shall we goe about, but in silence to admonish or reprehend what in
each of those ought to be bee refused or followed, which manner of
writing performed to suche ende and example, without shame and blushing
at all, each one may lawfullie vse, otherwise palpably to affirme,
those vertues and praises to be in a man in whose actions (becomming
most notorious in al kind of apparance) no one thing is to be found
so plentiful as very wickednes it selfe, this were a flatterie most
detestable, and of all others most filthie, to be in anie writer
receiued: yet such kinde of admonishment or reprehension as is before
recited, is pretily alledged to haue bene vsed by a certaine poore
man, who neghbouring néere vnto one worshipfull & of great account in
calling, but therewith more practising with vehemencie, then honestlie
vsing his knowledge of the lawes, had sustained a mishap by an Oxe of
the Gentlemans, who being a fierce beast, had goared a Cowe of the
poore mans. The poore man hauing receiued wrong, and doubting
howe to
haue recompence, by reason that the Gentleman was of as noted authority
as knowne hardnes, and to whome expresly he durst not complain of
the iniurie, deuised yet this subtiltie wherewith to entrap him. Hee
commeth to this great mans house, and being brought to his presence:
Sir (said he) I am come to deliuer vnto your Wor. who are a Iusticer
in place, for righting of wrongs done and committed, a matter very
conscionable to be respected, & for which in my opinion there ought to
be made a recompence. An Oxe of mine being a naughtie beast, through
the default of mine own fence hath goared a Cow of your Worships, which
is nowe lost and dead by the mishape thereof. Saist thou so, saide this
greate man, by my faith thou must then pay for her. And good reason
too, said the poore neighbour, for it was a wilfull offence, but and
if it please your Worsh. I mistook mine arrande, for in trueth, it is
your Oxe that by defaulte of your owne fence hath entred my ground,
& goared my Cow. Oh then (quoth the other) the case is altered, wee
will talke thereof at some more leisure hereafter. Nowe howbe it the
poore man happely departed without recompence, yet at the least by
this prety deuise he made the Gentleman to vnderstand his fault, & so
far as hee best might, did both admonish and reprehende his owne harde
and iniurious dealing by so witty a conclusion: for had hee not thus
gone about the bush, it is like he had not onely bene frustrate of
recompence, but also voide of any sentence at all of wrong, which by
this handling the matter, was by the Gentlemans selfe clearely on his
part adiudged. Infinite sortes of these, as well in the wise sayings
of Philosophers, as in other written histories are extant, which for
breuitie I omit and leaue to the desirous thereof, for their better
satisfaction, and hence will proceede to the examples of these two
seuerall sorts of Epistles.
THE execrable force of mischieuous euill, is such,
Exordium. and the maleuolente
disposition of the heauens to some people so
greate, as that hauing
once throughlie planted the fatall sting thereof in the mindes of
manie, it seemeth they bee created to none other ende, but onelie
by daring to perpetrate whatsoeuer matter of villainie cometh in
their mindes, to purchase to themselues with the determination of a
shamelesse life, the limited rewarde of a shamelesse and ignominious
death: This inchaunted course, perceiuing in these dangerous times howe
much it hath bewitched the estate of the whole worlde, and considering
with my selfe, that by reason of your fathers late decease, you beeing
a greene youth, voide of experience, bente to the triall of all
companies, richlie possessed, and wealthilie endued, are nowe lefte
into your owne handes, and thereby deliuered from the plausible and
quiet moderation of a faithfull and louing guide, vnto the endlesse
reach of a youthfull, carelesse and vncontrouled libertie, hath mooued
mee in respecte of the care that euer I erst had of you, beeing yet but
a childe, and in assured testimonie of the memorie I haue otherwise
protested to the ghost of your deceased louing parentes, to admonish
you of some few thinges, for the order and conuersation of your liuing,
beeing a course so important, as that in the admittance and exercise
thereof, cannot but consist the scope and after fruition of all your
happinesse, and benefit whatsoeuer.
And first of all, will I call vnto your remembraunce, that beeing the
sonne of so vertuous a father as you are, howe greatlie it importeth
vnto your estate to bee well gouerned, that as well the precedent
vertues,Paradigma. as auncient possessions of your antecessour, may in your
person bee resiant, that of your deceased parent (as well as in
corporall shape and fauour) you beare (in minde) the verie true image
and portraiture, that you stand not more in your actions vppon the
glorious name or title of a Gentleman, then of the verie true and
woorthie conditions and behauiours, that rightlie doe produce and
make a Gentleman. And albeit I finde no greate apparante cause (your
youthfull heade and vnstayed state of headestrong libertie onelie
excepted) that may induce anie argument or supposall to the contrarie,
but that you are of such and so worthie regarde, as that in your life
and conuersation, you deeplie ynough do conceiue of all or anie part of
these instructions or admonishmentes, which I nowe goe about to offer
and preferre vnto you; yet knowing howe manie, and howe sundrie
are
the euils wherewith our mortall state is endangered, howe diuers are
the motions to wickednes, and how manie waies we are readie to fall
into the crooked paths of the same. I coulde not but warne you that
comming euen nowe into the middest of the worlde as you do you shall
finde sundrie baites and allurementes drawing you into the worst and
most vilest parts thereof, that vnles you were directlie gouerned with
the righte rule and square of an honest and sober life, twentie to
one you would not onelie fall verie deeplie into the inconueniences
thereof, but (without great and vnexpected matter leading you to the
contrarie) be drowned and ouerwhelmed in the gulf therof for euer.
You must call to minde that liuing in a place so ordinarilie frequented
as is the Citie,Monitiō. wherein you are, and being in fellowship with so
manie and diuers sorts of men as you now be, conuersing also with the
innumerable multitudes of persons, of all estates, conditions and
faculties, as you there doe, it is no difficult thing for a young
youth of your birth and qualitie to be led into lewdnes, of a wanton
to become dissolute, of a spender to bee made a consumer, or of a
towardlie gentleman to be framed to an vntowardlie companion. Much may
the euill example of some lewdlie giuen, conduce hereunto, making you
to beleeue, that to become a roister, is credit: to become a swearer,
valiant: to shewe your selfe a waster, liberall: to be a drunkard, is
fellowship: to maintaine rakehels, is bountie: to become fantastical,
is youthful: and to bee an vnthrift, is to be counted gentle: But
better entring into these things then by common aduisement men in your
case ordinarilie doe, it shall appeare contrariwise, that in gaining
of credite you are to become modest and discreetlie behaued: in being
noted to bee valiant, you ought to bee a supporter of honour: shewing
your selfe liberall, it shall bee in rewarding the good: in maintaining
of fellowshippe, you shall vse sobrietie: in beeing bountifull, you
shall remunerate seruices: in manifestation of your youth, you shall
entertaine honest pleasures: and in beeing gentle, shewe your selfe
therewithall frugall.
The asse goeth out in the morning to carie burthens, and in the
euening receiueth his prouender for aduantage.Parimia. The Oxe grazeth all day
in the pasture, and at night is caried to the butchers stal: their
rewarde is their feeding,Antithesis. and the contentment they require is onelie
to fill their
bellies: behooueth that men also who from beastes are
sequestred by manie degrees of reason, should of their continuance and
finall determination liue a like carelesse?Antipophora. No verilie, it is too much
vnseemely. Such illusions as these are not fitte for a man, who by
the nobilitie of his creation was ordained to swaie ouer, and not to
become subiect to such vilities. You nowe beeing at your owne choice
and libertie, must beware and giue great and diligent aduertisement
to all your waies, you must eschewe and auoide not onelie the verie
euils thēselues, but also all occasions inducing or partaking with
those euils, you must imagine, that to bee in all thinges temperate
and discreete, doeth solie argue a reputation to bee within you, shun
vice as you would doe a serpent, flie wicked companie as a pestilent
infection, doe alwaies thinges woorthie your selfe, affecte not so much
the vaineglorious title of praise, as desire how and in what sort to
deserue and win praise. Esteeme nothing so precious as time, abandon
sloth, and in all your societie (as neere as may bee)Parimia. accompanie with
the best. Consider that such as is the tree, such is the fruite. Who
toucheth pitch must needes bee defiled. With the good thou shalt bee
made good, and with the euill thou shalt bee peruerted. Thinke none so
greate an enemie as he that misleadeth you. Misdeeme no man willinglie,
and giue occasion to all men to iudge of you indifferentlie.Perorasiō. These
counsels (forewarninges of your ruine or happines) if aduisedlie you
will hearken vnto, and faithfully lay vp among your chiefest secrets,
it shall no waies repent you to haue beene admonished, nor discontent
me in this sort so much to haue counselled you, in that pursuing the
effectes hereof, you shall become such as I with you, and your carefull
father if he had liued wold haue bene glad to haue seene you. The
Almightie giuer and moderator of al our actions, blesse and keep you.
Farewel from my house at D. this of, &c.
ALbeit good brother,Exordium. I knowe the matter of my writing will become
offensiue vnto you, and that I am not ignorant what heauie aduersaries
you haue, that daylie doe goe about to suppresse the soūd & faithful
aduise of those, who without flattery doe wish heartilie wel vnto you,
and studiouslie are busied at al times
for and towardes your good.
Such neuerthelesse is the loue and dutie that I owe you, as seeing you
in so great an errour as you are ouerwhelmed in, I cannot in respect of
our brotherlie affection, but I must needes warne you of it, whereof if
you become not repentant, and a renouncer betimes, I doubt,Metonomia. not onelie
the worlde will crie out agaynst you, but God also in high displeasure
will bee angrie with you.Narratiō. Trulie for mine owne part I am ashamed, and
also it greatlie grieueth me euerie where to heare of this extreame
couetousnesse and harde dealings, by you vsed towardes your poore
tenants, and other the inhabitants about you, who notwithstanding that
God hath aboundantlie blessed you with ryches more then sufficient,
you bee yet so miserablie bent vpon the worlde, as you care not by
what district and seuere handling you doe attaine vnto your wealth,
onelie so you haue it, or can come by it, you holde no conscience or
question at all of the winning it.Ecphonesis. Alas what cries doe you procure
agaynst you of the poore and wretched people, who beeing plagued with
the harde yoke you laie vppon them, are not able of themselues to
redresse, but onelie doe pray to God that hee will for them reuenge
it. The matter is too hatefull, and so great is the oppression and
wrong thereby offered, as it cannot continue. Might my woordes become
of weight vnto you, I woulde wish you to leaue it, and if not for my
sake, or in regard of your owne credite thereby so greatlie blemished
and impayred, and your good name and fame vtterlie by such meanes
obscured and defaced,Merismus. yet for Gods sake, who commaundeth charitie and
right to all men, who willeth that wee doe to euerie one as wee would
bee done vnto, who forbiddeth by such execrable lucre to heape to our
selues so vniust and filthie gaine,Asyndeton. you will refraine it, reforme it,
amende it. In trueth you doe not knowe, howe much euill thereby you
procure vnto your selfe, the blind desire you haue to heape vp riches
will not permit you to see,Brachiologa. what rancour, mischiefe, impietie, terrour
and dread, you crowde so neare togither, the little care you haue of
the world to come, so quencheth your affections, as you haue not power
to beholde the enormitie wherein you are so vehementlie transported.Metonomia.
For shame abstaine and become not the common obloquie of all men, bee
not you the man alone whome so manie shall curse, and all men for the
most part crie vengeance vpon. Otherwise
if by no admonition you will
relent, assure your selfe, God who is the righter of all wronges, will
in most seuere manner compell you vnto it, and in the ende by great
rigour punish you for it. It little liketh mee that herein, so iust
cause remaineth, as whereby I am forced in this sort to argue with you,
in which action the nature of a brother may giue you to vnderstande in
what sort I admonish you, and with what louing care I retaine you:Peroratiō. the
consideratien of which hath mooued mee (as my selfe woulde wish in the
like of whatsoeuer I shoulde haue erred, to bee dealt withall by you)Sententia.
to account the sweete rebukes of a friend to bee farre more profitable
then the dissembling glozes of a cruell and bitter enemie; to which
end whatsoeuer I haue sayde, may in like maner be conceyued by you.
Farewell. L. this of, &c.
THough it seeme an approouedExordium. follie to cast pearles before swine, or
to offer a golden saddle to an Asses backe:Allegoria. yet (not that I thinke
either the Sowe worthie of the pearles, or the Asse fit for the saddle)
I haue written vnto you, the one cause to manifest vnto you the vile
and bad parts of your sonne whereof you will take no notice, and of
which this Letter herein closed shall beare sufficient testimonie: the
other for charities sake, to admonish you which are his father, that
by your timelie looking to those matters, you may winde him from that,
which by small sufferance will breed your woes, and his irrecuperable
destruction, I haue vnderstood that hauing beene found heretofore in
the like pilfering with two Masters that he serued,Narratiō. and the secrete
information thereof beeing brought to your eares, you misliked his
courtesie that tolde you, iustified the matter to bee false that was
deliuered you, and not so much as examining the action, (which a good
father would haue done by all manner of industrie) you allowed your
sonne for honest, and affirmed that it was vnpossible hee should
enter into anie such theeuerie. If I see the childe of such a father
come to an euill ende, I will not maruell at all, seeing that besides
the ordinarie inclinations alreadie graffed in his young yeares, his
parentes are content by winking at it, to giue
him furtheraunce, and
in a manner to affirme it shall so bee, in so much as thereby seemeth,Antithesis.
the sonne hath sworne hee will neuer liue honestlie, and the father
hath promised that hee will set him forwarde to Tiburne,Erotema. for
his villainie. Is it reason that men (of zeale and conscience) should
goe about to pittie their misfortunes, who haue protested neuer by
compassion to preuent in themselues, the iust and appropriate rewarde
of their owne euilles?Aporia. What shall I say to the vnhappie father of such
a sonne, or rather vnhappie childe of such a father, whether shall I
forewarne him or you, the one purposing, the other animating,Prolepsis. to what
vnto each of you in the ende muste become a particular desolation?
Trulie these thinges will not continue, they can not long holde. Well
(not in respect that eyther of you haue deserued so much at my handes)
but for pities sake, I am content to beare with your infirmities, and
(so you will not vrge mee to your owne harmes, by your courteous,Orismus.
though not so much as honest vsage, for honestie willeth I shoulde haue
mine owne againe, or recompence) will part with my losses: but yet
therewithall warne you (to which ende I haue written this Letter) that
you preuent your mischiefes betimes, you doe consider the successe of
your owne harmes.Parimia. So long the potte goeth to the Riuer, that at last
it commeth broken home, euerie man will not deale with you as I doe.
It can not bee,Metanoia. but you must needes knowe, nay rather bee a partaker
of your sonnes euilles, howe euer you dissemble with the worlde, and
face out the matter before people. Take heede I say, God when hee
striketh,Sententia.
smiteth home, you will else repent it, for it will none
otherwise bee. Because I haue yet some hope, that by driuing into your
conceyte the enormitie hereof, and discouering the packe, which you
saide was lockt vp from your seeing,Allegoria. that at the least wise for the
feare of God, and to saue him from the gallowes, you will endeuour to
chastise him. I haue sent this bearer, who can infourme you of the
truth, time and place, of that which you goe about to shrowde vp so
couertlie, and if afterwardes you will not bridle him,Metonomia. I protest his
shamelesse foreheade must bee corrected by iustice, and the lawes must
further passe vppon. Surelie not for enuie of the person, but for the
shamelesse browe hee beareth, as one that had done none offence, to
prouoke mee by euill vsage to blaze his faultes, that otherwise by good
counsell, woulde haue couered
them: I thinke it a deede meritorious
to haue him punished, if you haue a desire as a father to cherish him,Antithesis.
haue a regarde as a friend betimes to correct him, otherwise you shall
sooner see him come to shame, then anie waies climbe vnto credite. But
for ought I can heare, both father & mother are so addicted to the
bolstring of his doings, as that it seemeth they haue alreadie vowed
their infamie to the world, and his life to the gallowes:Peroratiō. good counsell
may do much, and though in taste I seeme a bitter enemie, the proofe in
triall shall be better then of a fawning friend.
SIr, I am not a little grieued for the loue I owe you, to see that
in these ripe yeares of yours,Exordium. wherein men commonly are freight with
discretion, you neuertheles do verie indiscreetlie goe about to
compasse a matter so repugnant to reason, or any maner of considerate
and sage aduisement, as whereat the worlde can but woonder,Metonomia. and whereof
all that know you, or by any meanes may vnderstand of the match, will
no question greatly accuse & for euer condemne you. It is deliuered
with vs here for certain,Propositiō. that you are intended (vpon the doting
affection of a miserable old man,Metaphora. your neighbor, whose yeares are as
well fraught with diseases, and his manacled and benummed old ioynts
with imperfections, as his barred coffers with coine) to marry vnto
him my neece your yoongest daughter vpon a suddaine, and that to the
furtherance thereof, you offered to contribute of your owne store a
reasonable and sufficient portion.
Trust mee when I heard it at first, I deemed it as a counterfeit ieast,
thinking that the man whom I so wel knew before time, could not on
a sudden become such a paragon, as whereon a maiden of her feature,
youth,Antiphrasis accomplishment, and fauor, could so quickly become enamored,
neither thought I that howsoeuer the dotage of the olde man stood as a
conceit to smile at, that you for your part would so much as vouchsafe
to hearken to it, especially at any time so seriously to speake of
it, much lesse to open your purse to become a purchaser of it,Auxesis. or by
constraint at all to enforce her fauors, to giue signe or token anie
waies vnto it.
Alas sir,Ecphonesis. was there no one thing more wherein besides you coulde
ouershoote your selfe,Synonymia. but onelie in so bad a purpose, an action so
vnhonest, an intendment so vile, a matter so much impugning nature,Emphasis. as
that the verie earth, or hell it selfe, coulde not belch out againste
the fayre Virgine, so huge and so intolerable a mischiefe, to match
I say, the matchlesse fauour of so young and dayntie a peece to the
filthie,Prosonomasia. tawnie, deformed and vnseemelie hue of so wretched and ill
fauoured a creature?Antithesis. What nature
is this, to worke vnto her,Synonymia. whome of
your owne flesh you haue ingendered, whome so long you haue nourished,
whome to such and so manie perfections you haue trained,Metonoia vppon a
suddaine, naie euen in one moment, so manifest an occasion to cast
her awaie, not yeelding vnto her heauy censure,Hyperbole. so great a benefit as
death, but ten thousand griefes, the least of all which is worse then
any death that may bee, wherein comfortlesse she may complaine, grieue,
and bemoane her selfe without any reliefe at all, but by the precious
price and hazard of her own soule.
Howe vnequally doe you deale herein,Antithesis. to render vnto her being scarce
sixteene yeares of age, a husbande enfeebled by fourescore yeares and
vpwards,Hypotyposis. whose toes are swolne with the gowt, and legs consumed with
the dropsie, whose leane carcase beareth no apparance but of old scars,
and stifned limmes become vnweldie supporters of his pined corps,Metaphora.
whome furs must fence from the least blast of cold,Antiphrasis. & dew of nappy Ale
cherish with warme fires, whose nightcap carrieth more store of heat,
then al his body doth of agility or strēgth, and nose far more fruitful
then sauory,Antiphrasis. with distilling drops down trilling from thence in
freshest spring of the ioliest seasons, maketh ill fauored refections.Erotema.
What wrong do you tender the poore maiden therin? How vnworthy and
far ill beseeming is the same to her, who hath such a father, and
apparantly shal be known to be such a mans daughter? shall you not
therein bee noted of great folly, will not all men laugh at it, pitie
it, crie shame of it,Asyndeton. and her selfe poore soule praie to God to reuenge
it.
It is too much intollerable beleeue mee, that you should endeuour in
this sorte by colour of your Fatherlie authoritie to constraine her,
whome (albeit shee is your owne childe) yet maie you not thus forciblie
compell vnto so vnnaturall an extremitie:
Consider with your selfeCommoratiō.
howe grieuous the thing you goe about to compasse, may returne vnto
her, and whereas liking and choise is of all other things in case of
marriage to bee accounted most dearest, you not onelie agaynst her
will, do endeuour to induce a breach thereof, but also do giue her
ouer into the handes of such a one, whose inequalitie so far forth
disseuereth frō her appetite as that it cannot otherwise be, but (as
vnto all others, so vnto her chiefly) it must become vnsufferable. Haue
you no more care of her that is your daughter, but when nowe you haue
brought her to the passe, wherein shee should participate the vertuous
and modest vse of that, whereunto her yeares haue adapted her, and for
which ende and purpose, marriage was by Gods sacred ordinance at the
first ordayned,Antithesis. in steede of a
louing and contented husbande,Metaphora. to giue
her a withered olde Truncke, in lue of sweete and mutuall societie, to
wedde her to sorrowe and euerloathed griefe, to endow her with larger
profite then with honest contentment, thinke you that shee is a stone,
that her senses from others are different in their right operation
and qualities, that shee more or lesse, or in stranger sort then anie
others, can become therein more forcible, or lesse iniuried?Anthypophora. No sir,
assure your selfe, you must needes heape vp no other but extremities
vppon her, it cannot bee but if you proceed herein, you must of force
vndoo her, the ende and conclusion is so vtterlie bad, as it cannot be
remooued.
Returne then vnto your selfe, and thinke herein what best beseemeth
your daughter,Peroratiō. remember that what you take in hande in that action
is vngodlie, iniust, seuere, and vnnaturall, that in giuing such a
husband, you shall giue her (without the greater grace of God) and
him both to the diuell. Consider, that you are with pietie, and to
a Christian purpose and ende, to moderate your authoritie, weigh
with your selfe that the couetousnes wherwith you are ouercome is no
purchase to her of safety. And ballancing all these in the waight and
cords of equalitie, withdraw your selfe, and by such meanes become
disswaded from so great an absurditie.Epiphonema. So may you the more easilie
performe that vnto her belongeth, as a kinde and louing father, and for
the profite by this trauell reaped at your hands, bind her and all vs
with greater feruencie, to loue you. Whereon concluding the scope of
all my former desires, I end, &c.
ABout seuen dayes passed,Narratiō. I receyued Letters from my Brother N. the
long expectation whereof, and desire I had to bee infourmed of your
well dooing, made mee inwardly reioyce at the first viewe of them,
supposing that as I deliuered you out of my handes, I should still haue
found you in the same predicament, without alteration, or so much as
anie surmize of that wherof I haue beene thereby aduertised.
It is long since indeede that you were with mee, at which time you were
in manner a childe, neuertheles in those tender yeares so towardlie
giuen, and of so milde and gentle disposition, as there was great
cause whie then I should esteeme of you, and much matter offered to
all others that knewe yee, whereupon to commend you: But nowe if it
bee true as I am informed, your actions are turned quite contrarie,
you are become a chaungeling,Synonymia. you are no more the same, but another
in qualitie, minde and operation. If this bee so, you haue surelie
taken a wrong course,Antithesis. in exchaunge of vertue, to make choise of vice:
in steede of laudable exercises, to admit a number of lewd qualities:
in place of good and honest vsage, to enter into a life vnciuill,
lewde and sauage: your companie keeping is (as is reported) without
anie order, your studies are carelesse, your pastime recklesse, your
tabling drunkennesse,Epiphonema. your liuing vnthriftinesse: finallie, blushing
before time at all thinges, for their noueltie, you dare boldlie nowe
to aduenture anie thing bee it with neuer so great infamie. These
things, my good Coosen, I must tell you are vnfit for a Gentleman,
and much ill beseeming that education of yours, whereunto they were
neuer accustomed. From these, if you will doe aright, you are nowe
to weld your speedie course, and quicklie to depart, calling to your
remembrance, that what approcheth the condition of euerie ordinarie
person is not meete for your credite, and what in men of common account
appeareth to bee no blemish is in your reputation helde to be a great
and notable faultinesse.
When men desire to bee well famed,Hirmos. and by true renowne to rise
vnto worthinesse, they flie sloath, and giue themselues to auoyde
all occasions of Idlenesse, they endeuour to become painefull and
industrious to couet thinges of highest accompt, and to bee in companie
with the most vertuous. Their credite hath no supporte by vanities,
they seeke not their reputation among raunnagates, they conuerse
not with Tauerne-haunters, and bibbers, they liue not with men of
vilde accompt, dissolute and vngratious, such kinde of meanes (as
insufficient to glorie) they deeme wretched and opprobrious.Epiphonema.
You nowe if you would bee such as you ought to bee, must also pursue
the tracte of these, the sweetenesse and delicacie whereof (if but a
little you will pierce into the sowre and harsh taste of the other)
you shall quicklie conceiue,Antithesis. marke but the praise, benefites, estimate
and good reporte, entertained with the one; and on the other side, the
discredite, shame, discommoditie, and vile reckoning alwaies made of
the other, and then iudge by your owne decernement, howe much and howe
greatlie you are ledde awrie, in thus careleslie roaming vppon others
vilities, and concluding with your selfe vppon the ill conceipt that
all good men haue of such hatefull and disorderlie kinde of liuing,
returne betimes, ere too late, for want of good aduisement, you
foolishlie begin to crie out of your winning.
Principiis obsta, sero medicina paratur,
Cum mala per longas conualuere moras.
First stop the cause, too late doth phisicke come,
When euils smal, to great (by sufferance) run.
Credite me (whome euer you haue knowne to fauour you) the disgrace that
quickly you shall sustaine, if betimes you relent not these euils, wil
to a good mind become so vile and so odious as not without great sorow
and griefe, may bee wiped away. I disguise not with you in that I saie,
for you shall finde it and proue it to be true. It is a shame for any
man in those yeares, wherin of al others his towardnes should chiefly
be effected, to be accompted then bad, vilde, lewd, and ill demeaned,
much more for a Gentleman,Auxesis. whose education was so good, whose infancy
so well trained, whose adolescency so formerly with al kind of vertues
indued, to become, now when most discretion should swaie in him, worse
then before, more disordered then when hee
was to be corrected, lesse
commended in his owne gouernment then when he was vnder anothers
intertainment.
The loue that I beare vnto you, maketh mee the more largelye heereof
to enfourme you, which for that I deeme not of anie ill seede sprong
out of your owne nature,Metaphora. to bee growne vppe into such kernels, I doe
thereby adiudge, that with more facilitie they maie be disseuered, the
braunches I knowe are of others wearing, which I neuer wish to bee
so farre foorth lyked, as to become of your owne gathering. From the
inconuenience whereof, I hitherto haue studyed thus much to withdrawe
you, as hee that most of all desireth aboue anie other to enioie you.
The haste of the messenger, and wearinesse of writing enforce mee
to leaue. God, who is the conductor of all happie endeuours, blesse
you, and till I heare from you againe, my selfe will exspect the best
reformation that any good opinion may induce in mee, as yet to conceyue
of you. Fare you well, this of. &c.
Iuers
other patternes of sundrie occasions concluded vnder this
Tytle, might besydes these heere bee put downe, whereof because I haue
so largelie spoken in the discourse before these Epistles, I thinke
the examples alreadie proponed to bee sufficient. And nowe the last
of all these diuisions yet vnspoken of is Amatorie, whereof
because the humours of all sortes with loue possessed, are so infinite
and so great an vncertaintie in them remaineth, as that perchance
euen in yᵉ verie writing of his letter, the louer himself is somtimes
scarce certain of his own intended purpose therein, the lesse must of
necessitie be the precepts of the same, for that in some of them wee
require and entreate in others expostulate the matters and occasions
falling in the necke therof, other times complaine, another while fawne
and speake faire, then purge or cleare an accusation supposed agaynst
vs. Finallie, innumerable are the deuises wherewith the
reynes of loue
are conducted. But in as much as I haue heretofore giuen vnto all other
titles their seuerall preceptes, I will somwhat also in this place
speake to the purpose thereof: In which I must first referre the writer
vnto the consideration of the honestie of the action by him pretended
to be written of, and then for the places of request, complaint,
expostulation, or auoydance of anie thing therein happening to the
waight of his owne affection, which how vehemently, or slenderly it
weigheth, himselfe can best testifie, and lastly, for the well ordering
of either of these, to the examples Petitorie, Expostulatorie,
Defensorie, and Excusatorie in this booke plentifullie
deliuered, wherein howbeit the matter of loue is no wayes expressed,
yet to anie capable or wel disposed conceit, the conueyance thereof
cannot in the selfe exchange of the subiect be without some import vnto
them.
In this place there might also bee made a distinction of loue
where in a Sympathie of minds from man to man aswell vniteth
togither by an indissoluble league of amitie their hearts in one,
as betwéene man and woman, and that for the most part by a far
more waightie league, and more inuiolable discretion. But sith the
alteration thereof, as it much differeth in qualitie from the other, is
also alike exchaunged by title, that one tearmed by the name of
Friendship, and this other chalenging onelie to be deciphered
by Loue, these amours in this definition shall onely be
intended such, as are modestly tendered from men vnto women, and so
accordingly herein to be exampled and written vpon.
And howbeit the little experience I haue had of some conuersing in
this kinde of studie, hath sufficientlie taught mee to knowe, that the
verie instinct or setled impression of this kinde of fantasie is such
a Schoolemaister to inuention, and so cunning a refiner of any well
disposed conceit, as that with very small help, it thereby commonlie
performeth much more then well could bee otherwise intended. To the
helping and putting forwardes whereof, a number of excellent penned
discourses onelie pertinent and seruing to the efficacie of those
amours, are with the greatest singularitie that may bee deliuered, yet
in so much as this booke taking vpon it to set foorth of euerye the
tytles therein distinguished, some one or other particular example,
may not by the defect of these, seeme to haue anie want of that,
which by it hath bin formerlie promised. I haue thought good for order
sake, to pursue also in this place, the effect of this Methode. The
circumstances whereof by the examples following shall bee tendered.
THe long and considerate regarde, by which in deepe contemplation I
haue eyed your most rare and singular vertues, ioyned with so admirable
beautie, and much pleasing condition graffed in your person, hath
mooued me good Mistresse E. among a number whome entirely I knowe to
fauour you, earnestlie to loue you, and therewith to offer my selfe
vnto you. Nowe howbeit I may happilie seeme in some eyes, the least in
woorthines of a number that daylie frequent you, yet may you vouchsafe
in your owne priuate to reckon mee with the greatest in willingnesse,
wherein, if a seded and immooueable affection towardes you, if feruent
and assured loue grounded vpon the vndecaiable stay and proppe of
your vertues, if continuall, nay rather inexterminable vowes, in
all perpetuitie addicted vnto your seruices, if neuer ceasing and
tormenting griefe vncertainlie carried, by a hazardous expectation,
closed in the circle of your gracious conceyte, whether to bring vnto
the eares of my soule a sweet murmure of life, or seuere sentence of
a present death, may ought at all preuaile either to mooue, entreate,
sue, solicite, or perswade you, I then am the man, who shrining in my
inwarde thoughts, the dignitie of so woorthie a creature, and prising
in deepest weight (though not to the vttermost value) the estimate of
so incomparable a beatie, haue resolued liuing to honor you, and dying
neuer to serue other but you, from whose delicate looks, expecting
no worse acceptance, then may seeme answerable to so diuine an
excellencie, I remaine.
THis example seeming to be in the superlative degree, it is
intended that the direction thereof or the like, shoulde passe
vnto such a one, whose birth, education, or other complements, maie
sufficientlie answere the greatnesse and efficacie thereof, otherwise
to one meanlie demeaned, or farre lesse enabled, to indite or offer
the like, it might seeme vnto the writer, a great indignitie, as well
in iudgement, as by an apparant want of some other sufficiencie. For
which I thought good to admonish thus farre in this place, howbeit in
the seconde Chapter of this booke, I haue touching a respect in all
writing to bee had vnto the partie, his partes, place and qualitie,
plentifullie alreadie discoursed.
GOod Mistresse E. I am bolde though a straunger, to make these Letters,
messengers at this present of my good meaning towards you, wherein you
may please to thinke that I goe not about by pretence of a most entire
and heartie good will which I professe to beare you, to make present
surmise thereupon, that on so bare an assertion you should immediately
credite me, I prise your worthinesse at farre greater value, and weigh
your good allowance so much, as I onelie desire, that by your fauorable
liking I may intreate to haue accesse vnto you, not doubting but by my
being in your presence, I shall so sufficientlie by apparant proofe
maintaine the efficacie of that I now protest, and giue you so good
occasion to deeme well of mee, as you shall haue no reason to repent
you, that vpon so honest and louing request you haue condiscended to
my entreatie. Whose health and prosperitie tendering in all things as
mine owne, I sende you with my Letter a token of that great affection I
beare you, which I most heartilie praie you to accept of, and weare for
mee. And euen so doe continue.
Yours, if so you please to accept of me, &c.
THat men haue skill, and are by sundrie commendable partes enabled
to set foorth their meaning, there needeth, as I thinke no other
testimonie then your presente writing, your eloquence is farre beyonde
the reach of my poore witte, and the multiplicitie of your praises
fitter for a Poeticall Goddesse, then to the erection of anie such
earthlie Deesse. For my parte, I houlde them as the fancies and toies
of men, issuing from the weakest of their humours, and howe farre my
selfe can deserue, none then my selfe can better conceiue. Beeing one
of good sorte, as you are, I coulde doe no lesse then write againe vnto
you, the rather to satisfie the importunitie of your messenger, wishing
such a one to your lot as wel might paragonize those excellencies your
write of, and answere euerie waie vnto the substaunce of all those
inestimable prayses. So hauing, your loue and your writing, might (as I
take it) bee best suted togethers.
Yours, as far as modesty will, to aun-
swere your curtesies, &
GRacious obiect of my pleasing thoughtes, and mistresse of all my
inwarde happines, sweete were the lines you wrote, God wot vnto mee
your seruant howe comfortable, and how precious, knowing that their
premeditation had issue from those your peerlesse excellencies, & the
touch of those letters passed the guidance of your delicat hands, how
sharp or powerful soeuer be the weight of the same, the lesse shall be
the griefe, in that she whom I honour and estimate aboue all others,
hath vouchsafed to wish vnto my lot, y accōplishmēt of all those
excellencies, which none but her self can paragonize, and wherein she
onelie goeth beyond all others. Vouchsafe (sweete Mistris) that what
vnto you is intended to bee pleasing, may not seeme disgraced, by the
ornamente of Eloquence, the Soueraigne and praise-woorthie
Glorie whereof, beautifieth both speeches and reasons. Too
dulle are my senses (I confesse) to blaze foorth the weight of your
merites, your accomplishmentes beeing so manifold, as whereout (if
euer anie earthlie Deesse by anie excellencie were deriued) the same
might bee thought to haue alonlie proceeded. You may please of my loue
to deeme as of your owne deseuinges the foundation whereof cannot
bee so slender, as whereon so weake a thinge as fancie shoulde bee
grounded. But as your vertues are permanent, so may you iudge of
my loue to be perpetuall. Let it once more accord with your curteous
consent, that these letters with the first may haue the like fauourable
acceptaunce, whereby you shall kindle in mee no other or greater
presumption, then what best fitteth vnto the woorthinesse both of your
vertue and calling. With heartes longing and sighes sending, my
Letters, and well wishinges speede them togethers, crauing that you
will euer holde and deeme of me, as of him that in all protested faith,
loue and loyaltie, is and will bee alwaies.
Yours, &c.
SIr, your message is vnto mee as strange as your selfe, who are vnto
me a stranger, & what your good meaning vnto me is, I knowe not,
for giuing of hastie credite to your assertions, as you seem not
to chalenge it, so was I neuer hetherto of my self so hastie to do
it, hauing eftsoones bene taught, that of fairest speaches ensueth
often the fowlest actions: I cannot condemne your purpose, because I
entende the best of your dealings, and howbeit I am in no point so
restrained, but that in all reasonable sort that may be, anie accesse
may be granted: so when you shall by further notice sufficientlie make
apparant that with modestie I may doe it, I shall bee willing so farre
foorth as my yeares and present beeing, may minister occasion, in anie
thankfull requitall that may bee to yeelde my selfe vnto you. Till
which time I returne your token againe and my hartie thankes vnto you
by this bearer.
Your friend as one vnacquainted
hetherto may be, &c.
THE SECOND PART OF the English Secretorie. — Of Epistles Iudiciall. Chap 1. — An example of an Epistle Accusatorie in the state Coniecturall, from a merchant to the father of his seruant. — An example excusatorie returned to the effects of this coniectural epistle, from the father to whome the same was written. — An example Purgatorie from the partie chalenged in answer of the Epistle accusatorie before remembred. — An example of an Epistle Accusatorie in the state Iuridiciall and Coniecturall. — A Letter defensorie answering by confutation all the obiections in this former Epistle surmized.
S
I haue already exampled vnto you all sortes of Epistles,
contained vnder the two titles of Demonstratiue, and
Deliberatiue: So by the order and disposition formerlie vsed, it
behooueth (as nexte in course) I doe nowe come vnto the title
Iudiciall. Why this title is so called, I haue in that other booke
alreadie deliuered. So that nowe it may séeme fit, that herein as in
the other twaine before going, we deliberate what order and places
for the well handling and proper conueyance of Epistles, are
principallie to be obserued.
You shall then vnderstand, that for so much as the efficacie of
this title is wholie caried in cause of Accusation, Inuectiue,
Charge, or defence, the matters whereof are wholie
censured by lawe, by common reputation, by custome, by authoritie
or by iudgement, the Rhetoricians, for the more excellent
setting foorth of the Oratoriec partes hereof, haue vnto the
generalitie of the same, allotted thrée states or principall heades,
whereout by imitation, all our Epistles vnder this title are
wholie to be caried. The first is called Coniecturall, that
is, where a matter by coniecture onlie of time, place, estate, or
condition of the person, or other likelihoodes to the same agréeing,
may be supposed or enforced.
The second is Iuridicial, wherein not by coniecture, but
by matter in action, sentence, lawe, or iudgemente, wee aggrauate the
cause in question, in which remaineth the qualitie, circumstance, or
greatnes to be decided, and howe vehementlie or slenderlie it hurteth
or importeth.
The third is tearmed Legitima, which by
Lawes, customes, common vsage, or allowance, defineth
a thing to bee good or bad, tolerable or not to be suffered. Out of
these heades ariseth the plentie of all our following diuisions,
which also hereafter are in their places to be collected, the
first whereof, containing matter of Accusation or
Charge, may be saide to be Accusatorie, Expostulatorie,
Exprobratorie, Comminatorie and Inuectiue. The Second,
beeing Responsorie to either of these, may be saide to be
Excusatorie, Purgatorie, Defensorie or Deprecatorie. The
compasse aswell of the one as the other, either for matters
accused, obiected, purged, excused, entreated for, or
Defended, are simply or wholie included vnder all or one of these
heads before remembred.
The efficacie of either of these, aswell for inforcementes, as
for clearing or auoydance of anie matter do séeme to be drawne,
per locos absolutes, places absolute, and locos
assumptiuos, places assumptiue.
Loci absoluti are such, as containe in them enforcementes
not to be auoided, whether it be in charge, matter inuectiue,
or defence, for that they are collected of vnauoidable
groundes, that is to say, of Nature, Lawe, Custome, Contract,
common allowance, Righte, Lawfull and Good Sentence
and Iudgement. These aswell to the state Iuridiciall,
as to the other of legitima, are alike ordinarie
and common, this onely difference, that in that of Iuridicial,
they are all enforced to condemnation: in that of
legitima, censured by their qualitie, vse or toleration.
Loci assumptiui, are only collections by coniecture, and
not matter in certainty, but such as may be vrged by likelihoods yet
greatly enforce to accusation, and serue alike to mitigate by defence
or excusing, this to the state Coniecturall, and this of
Juridiciall doe remaine alike common.
The parts and places Cōiectural, for the heaping of
likelihoods, either to accuse, excuse, purge or defend, haue respect
vnto the Wil, dispositiō, or ability of any one.
The Wil is searched by the outward quality or condition of
a man, by his readines, hate, affection, or mislike to a thing,
Dispositiō, by the country or soil wherein one is borne, as if wee
shoulde say at this presente of a forraine aduersarie, Hee is a
Spaniard, how can hee beare good will to England?
By his ofspring, as if we should saie, Being born, and bred of lewde parents, how
can the issue be good. By his education, as thus, He was so
looselie trained vp, and so vilelie inured, that there is no hope
at all to be in him expected. By his studies, as to saie,
Consider but the application of his whole manner of liuing, weigh
his continuall practises, see but into his particular and ordinarie
studies, and then tell mee what you may iustlie suppose of the residue
of his beeing. And likewise by sundrie other circumstances.
Abilitie is vrged by Oportunitie, by Time
and Place, Aydes or Supportes, and the means of
either of these, measured by the credite, affection, want, companie,
conceit, or instabilitie of the person we goe about to accuse, excuse,
purge or defend.
Thus haue I largelie deliuered vnto you, the sum and scope of
what in speciall to be intended vnder this title, the vse and more
particular shew whereof shall bee by their seuerall Epistles more
amplie explaned vnto you. And howbeit I could here a little dwel by
some continued discourse, in the commendable aduancement vnto you of
the woorthinesse of this present part we haue now in hand of well
writing, wherein not onelie these places alreadie remembred, but
in a manner all other partes of the Deliberatiue and
Demonstratiue kinde are most plentifullie accited: Yet will I but
remember vnto you howe effectuallie by the well handling of anie the
particulars therunto belonging, and howe farre more singularlie then
in anie others, the excellencie of a good witte and a quicke, and fine
inuention is most fullie deciphered, feeling that in the occurrents
heereof, the writer is neuer tyed to anie one course in particular, but
hath scope to wade into all things in generall.
For that by the verie order of these Epistles, hee shall sundrie
times haue occasion to vse the partes Descriptorie, Laudatorie,
Vituperatorie, Hortatorie, Swasorie, Disswasorie, Petitorie, Monitorie,
Conciliatorie, Reprehensorie, and at many times diuers or the most
part of them altogithers. Wherefore leauing any further respect hereof,
vnto the ready conceite of such as thereunto may bee enabled, we will
proceed vnto the rest.
The partes for Disposition required in these Epistles,
are as in the others before going, that is to saie: Exordium,
Narratiō,
or Propositiō, Confirmatiō, Confutatiō, and Peroratiō.
The first of the distinctions vnder this part Iudiciall to be
prosecuted, appeareth to be Accusatorie, which either simplie
by coniectures, or by matter of knowne or verily supposed troth, as you
haue before remembred, or both wayes at once, may bee conueyed. Whereof
the first in sequence which I will deliuer vnto you for example, shall
be in the state coniecturall, which being framed to be questionable
betwéene a Merchant and his seruant, falleth out in sort following to
be performed.
SIr, you will perchaunce maruellExordium. to see the sudden accesse of these my
letters vnto you, togither with the hastie repaire of my man, (such as
heretofore hath not beene accustomed betweene you and me, sithence our
formost acquaintance) but to stay that doubt, and to enforme you at
large, what vrgent occasion I haue so to doe, it may please you with
as little discontentment as may bee, to giue your selfe to the view of
these Letters, and thereupon to censure on my behalfe the matter of the
same accordinglie.
Your sonne sir,Narratiō. who nowe these three yeares passed to your good lyking
hath continued in my seruice, and whome your selfe doe verie well
knowe, that for the reputation of his parentes and friendes, I alwayes
for the most part haue entertayned with especiall trust and regarde,
beeing this last Summer returned out of Barbarie, with an aduenture
in a shippe of mine owne, I did vpon great choyce, immediatelie after
his account deliuered, place in the ouersight, disposition and rule
of all my whole goodes, stocke, and Merchandise. And in expectation
and assurance of his especiall and more then ordinarie care and good
behauiour therein, did about September last (vppon a iourney which I
had to the North partes with diuerse of my nearest friendes, whereby I
was compelled to bee foorth by the space of two Monethes) commit vnto
his like credites, the custodie of diuers summes of money alreadie
receyued, as also the collection and further receyte of sundrie other
paymentes of great waight, at the dayes and times wherein they were
payable, by him to my vse to bee reserued and layde vp, sithence
which, by what sinister humour I knowe not, nor by what vntoward
conceit can I yet imagine, in the time of my absence, and a little
before my returne homewards, hee is gone away, no man knoweth whither.
Vpon the newes whereof being greatly aflighted, I haste to his counting
house, search his bookes of receits and paiments, and there withall
breake open his deske and coffers, in which after all reckoninges
fullie perused and considered of, I find my selfe to bee backewards of
diuers allowances, the certainty whereof I cannot yet determine, but
the greatnesse by the likelihoode, is verie vehemently to be suspected,
by reason that in this sort, without anie other occasion he is fled,
and from so great a charge without knowledge of anie one about me, so
suddenly departed.
What presumptions I haue, and those verie large, by such kinde of
dealing, whereby I may iustly burthen him, you may heereby coniecture,
as first his disposition, giuen (as sithence hath verie crediblie bin
reported vnto me) to be verie prodigall, & of most excessiue expence,
then the occasion offered by such immoderate confidence in him reposed:
next, the vncontrolled rule hee bare throughout all my dealings:
lastlie the time and secrecie of his departure, beeing thus hasted in
mine absence, and here withall some such things which are missing, as
whereof none were priuie but himselfe, and whereunto no accesse could
bee without himselfe. Insomuch as the losse which I reckon of, and
wherefro I can yet finde no release, by reason of this his vnknowne
departure, cannot (for ought I hitherto perceiue) amount to so little
as CC.li.
By some fewe that since his going away haue encountred with him,
it appeareth, that not onelie he is well monied, but also of his
iourneying Westward, whereby I am led to thinke his resort to be no
way so likelie, as to you which are his father, or to some other his
friends there about you. For which cause I haue directed these togither
with my man, as well to referre vnto your consideration what hath
passed, as also to pray that by your due search and examination of the
action, both his person may be answered, and my suspition of him the
better and more manifestly be cleared: and euen so recommending my
selfe and cause to the furtherance of your good direction, I take my
leaue. This of, &c.
THis letter hauing direction from the maister to the father, in
seeming a Gentleman of some good account, we will according thereunto
frame you an answer, which in this place according to the nature
thereof may be tearmed Excusatorie. The conueiance of which,
either lesseneth by vehement likelihoods the qualitie of the offence,
or otherwise (though not clearlie auoydeth) yet by the naked truth
or simplicitie of the action it selfe, maketh it seeme of farre
more slender moment or importance, then before it might haue béene
coniectured. And forasmuch as the father was a by partie to the wrong
suggested, and onely in that it was his son, and the reformation of the
thing opposed, might by him in some sort bee redressed or recompenced,
wee will suppose herein the Letter in forme following by him to be
answered, and the residue vnspoken of to be left to the purgation or
defence of the other on whome the fault is charged, and to whome in
particular, it belongeth to sée the same answered.
MAister R. I haue receyued your Letter, to no small griefe (at the
first) of my priuate conceyts, but sithence hauing examined the matter
am somewhat deliuered of doubt, by the satisfaction that in search of
the cause I haue alreadie receyued. My sonne (as you write) was here in
the Countrey, at my brothers house, not farre from mine owne dwelling,
and yet so newlie come thither, as he had reposed himselfe but one
night ere the sight of your present Letters and messenger were arriued.
To the action wherewith you do charge him, I can say nothing more then
that himselfe hath written, which agreeing with the formost speech, and
first examination had by his Vncle, I must hold as yet vndetermined
till I heare your further answer. For the coniectures you haue
deliuered, whereby to induce that you are a greater looser by him then
without further grounde I can hitherto imagine. I aunswere thus much,
that the alteration were verie strange, and humour too sudden, to finde
him now so lauish, whom before time your selfe haue commended to bee so
frugall, and especiallie in whatsoeuer to his charge and gouernment
hath by you beene committed.
To the residue I will be silent, because himselfe that first bredde the
occasion appeareth meetest to answere it.
If I heare not from you before the middle of this tearme, my intent
is by Gods grace to bee at London, where your apprentice and my sonne
shall be in person forth comming vnto you. At which time if I find
farther defects, or more equitie to charge him, contrarying to that
which alreadie haue bin answered by him, he shal not be mine by anie
his ill dealings to be vpholden, but yours as belongeth in any sort you
like to chastise him. And euen so recommending my selfe heartilie vnto
you, I do bid you farewell. This of, &c.
IT may please you sir, on Munday last, beeing the next day after
my comming to my Vncles,Narratiō. he sending to T. to my fathers house to
vnderstand his pleasure, worde was returned immediatelie, of a
messenger and letters receyued from you, whereby it was my fathers
pleasure to commaund me to his presence, and to require mine vncle to
be there present also in companie.
At my comming thither, many things were laid forth as wel by your
writing, as by the mouth of your man, how grieuouslie you were damaged
both by diuers summes wherein you were short in reckoning, and other
thinges by you missing, vppon my running away (as you tearme it)Prosonomasia. the
muchnesse whereof was not so much enlarged by your letter, as the
ouerlauish deliuerie of your man had to the great encrease of ill
opinion in my father, with diuers vnbeseeming tearmes, augmented the
same.
And nowithstanding I had in mine own conscience sufficientlie, and with
sound appearing trueth to the viewe of others answered the occasion,
yet forasmuch as neither seemed the same a full satisfaction to my
father, nor a matter clearlye auoided towardes you, till in your plaine
and certain notice, I had also confirmed the same, I was commaunded
by him to write what I there affirmed, and accordinglie to aduertize
you of the state of your busines, and inualidity of your coniectures,
that by the verity thereof I might with more liking
be reputed of, and
himselfe haue lesse cause then he supposed whereat to be grieued.
To the matter of your letter, whereby I am accused, and in which you
saie you are backward I knowe not in what, it appeareth that for the
finding out of the certaintie or likelihoode thereof you entred vpon my
desk and coffers, and searched my books of account and payments, which
beeing so, if you were as circumspect in my behalfe, as you were in a
rash surmize of your own harmes, you might haue assured yourselfe, for
to haue found no one penie of any summe wanting at all, or where any
was missing, either by exchange at your own appointment, or vpon other
good occasions to haue also seene howe the same was bestowed, or where,
or vpon what it was els where imploied.
For your better assurance wherein (if hitherto you vnderstande not so
much) my boxe marked with this letter A. lying in the neather parte
of my deske, will confirme the same. And least I might be deceiued
in ought, before your comming, by the sinister practise of some such
as had more enuie at my honest credite with you,Metonimia. than care of your
good (whereof I mistake not at all, if I iudge this viper to
be one) I not onelie reserued notes of euerie thing, caused one whome
you will beleeue (though to what purpose I protest hee then knewe not)
not onelie to tell euerie summe of money remaining in euerie bagge,
and to see the same sealed vp, but also to set his hand to my notes,
as witnesse to the same, so much I knowe I lefte, and of the residue
the declaration of a trueth shall bee witnesse sufficient of mine owne
fidelitie.
Finallie, touching the likelihood of my going awaie without knowledge,
and that also in your absence, to bee a token of some waste or wrōg
to you offered, which you value not to be so litle as CC. poūds, I
trust sir (albeit the sum be great where little remaineth, and if
also it were lesse, it were yet too much to bee lost) your selfe
notwithstanding can tell verie well, that more then once I haue bin
credited with ten times the value of that at your handes, when by great
similitude, I could with more facilitie haue benefited my selfe to a
farre greater value, if I had bin so disposed, then what herein to be
accompted of, and (if so I had beene then also minded) coulde haue been
therewith farther out of your reach then euer I yet entended. And where
you suggest that it is sithence told you of my lauish expence, I can
thereunto say nothing more then euerie one knoweth, that trulie will
speake of me, and so you find not the hindrance in your owne accompte.
I trust you will beare equallie what in others opinions maie bee
construed of reasonablie.
My going away is apparant, I cannot denie it, wherein if happelie
I haue done more then beseemeth, yet none so much as my selfe hath
thereby beene wronged, for that such occasion hath by meanes thereof
ensued, whereby my credite by sinister reports hath so greatly been
hazarded, yet was not yᵉ same altogether done without cause, nor voide
of honest excuse, for if either I had beene certaine of your so speedie
returne, or had not had so presumptuous an intruder vppon the trust
to mee committed (as at my comming to London I shall make more plaine
vnto you) I had not done as I did. And this assure your selfe sir, that
howe farre soeuer you imagine or are informed, that mine vncontrouled
rule in your house stretched, if I might with performaunce of as honest
trust haue discharged the same vnto you, as I alwaies had endeuoured, I
neither had lefte your house or stocke, to haue depended vpon so harde
supposed reckoning, nor lost you one houres commoditie of my seruices,
as you nowe challenge me to haue done.
My endeuour towardes my self,Peroratiō. my fathers care, and your woonted good
opinion, hath mooued mee in sort as you see, to giue items of those
whome iustlie I am to complaine of, and to praie you that surceasing
all other surmizes vppon our hastie comming to London you will more
circumspectly in the meane time consider both of your dealings and my
writing, which in as dutifull manner as beseemeth, eftsoons crauing at
your handes, I doe (as euer I haue been) remaine, and take my leaue, &c.
Your seruant confirmed in all fidelity
towards you, &c.
INiurious R. iniurious I maie iustlie tearme thee,Exordium,
Anadiplosis. whose long
acquaintance with mee, and interchangeable good liking passing
betweene vs, bredde yet so little respect in the waight of the same,
as could not forwarne me of an euill so imminent, by meanes whereof
I doubt and cannot forbeare to thinke, but that I am vtterly induced
to the shipwracke of mine owne estate, and burthened with such
infortunitie, as I shall neuer cease to remember.
But why (sencelesse as I am)Emphasis. make I doubt vnto thee of that, whereof
both the condition, abilitie, disposition, and euerie accident and
circumstance of the partie, whom I am forced to accuse, beareth so
sound witnesse, as if men and Angels should goe about to countermaunde
the same, not beeing able by a more certaine veritie in open shewe to
impugne it, there is none I am sure would beleeue no anie one that in
respect of the manifolde likelihoodes thereof,Metanoia. would almost so much as
vouchsafe to hearken vnto it.
But if in the foremost deliuerie of these thou alreadie musest, and art
desirous to be resolued what it is, wherein so questionles I deeme my
selfe thus deepelie to be wronged: knowe then, that finding here at L.
thy kinsman, thy vnhappie kinsman, wandering as a straunger,Epizeuxis. conuersant
with badde fellowes,Merismus. threedbare in apparell, forsaken of his neerest
kindred and friendes, readie to perish almost for want of foode, and
so pennilesse, and therewithall estraunged from all good account, as
beeing amongest other lewde persons, brought before a Iustice vppon
suspition of his wretched liuing, my selfe beeing in presence, and
taking vppon mee in hearing of his name, to bee knowing both of his
parentes and Countrey,Irmus. had such credite with the Iustice, as hee
foorthwith discharged him, wherewith not contented I did for thy sake,Merismus.
and in regarde of thee alone, take him home to my lodging, apparelled
him, saued his life, recouered againe his lost credite, and restored
him: Were not these benefites, thinkest thou sufficient to binde an
honest nature,Erotema. to thinke himselfe beholding to such a one? Happie had
I then beene, if neuer more had I intermedled with him,Parison. neuer better
regarded him, or at no time after giuen farther credite and liking vnto
him. Alas, was it alone my chance among so manie that had cast him off,Ecphonesis.
euen then to entertaine him, to relieue him,Auxesis. to reckon of him, nay
rather beyond all reason (as thy selfe by the sequell wilt confesse) so
farre foorth to dote of him, as nourishing my secrete mischiefe,Allegoria. as it
were in mine owne lodging, vnder the shadowe of mine owne couert,Synonymia. yea
in my verie bosome, I
must lead him yet farther along, in the end to
spoile me, and to meditate nothing so much, as my intended destruction?
Thou maruellest I know to heare thisParadoxon. (and strange & most strange it is
I must confesse) but yet true, and if not in him true, then in no other
true, by all likehoodes. But ere I farther report vnto thee, howe and
by what accident encreased my griefe, let mee yet shew thee more what
I did vnto him.Periphrasis. So ordered the vnluckie starres my cruel Fate, and in
such (more then disordered maner) wrought the heauens against mee,Parenthesis. as
albeit here at L. (for I must needes deliuer a truth vnto thee) he
was greatly desirous and became an earnest suter, I shoulde euen at
that time leaue him:Metaphora. yet pressed by mine one misfortune, and more then
tolerable liking, nothing regarding, or so much as once remembring in
what worse estate I might haue conceiued him,Hypotyposis. I bethought my selfe he
was a Gentleman, bredde of good and vertuous parents worshipfullie
allied. In their Countrey whilome well reputed, and if anie defect had
before befallen him,Meiosis. I knewe hee was a yonger brother, and want of
liuing and maintenance might impaire him, I had no sonne of mine owne,
his learning and other qualities (not to bee despised) drewe more and
more fancie vnto him: what should I say?Aporia. I rendred vnto him all account
and preferment that lay in my possibilitie to procure him: and shortlie
to conclude, into the Countrey (furnished in the best part according to
his calling) I took him with me.
If I should say to thee,Asyndeton. that his demeanour, his attendaunce, his
forwardnesse in all thinges to my noted liking, his outwarde shew in
whatsoeuer action vnto mee seeming to bee pleasing,Liptote. did not of it
selfe appeare to chalenge so much, I shoulde lie vnto thee. But what
of that,Sententia. howe is falshoode couered, but by the daintiest glosse, where
lurketh craft, if not in the shade of most simplicitie?Allegoria. Coulde the
Syren deceyue, if shee had no song? Which way should men bee bewitched,
if there were no meane of inchauntment? But did hee in the ende prooue
such in deede,Anthypophora. as he seemed, or hereunto appertained? No, no. God
knowes he failed much therein, yea, hee was too farre from it.Polyptoton. See then
how much beyond my selfe I was, that beeing thus intreated to discharge
my selfe of mine owne bane,Allegoria. would yet allure both Gods and men, to
bring into my bosome the purport of mine owne secrete and vnknowne
mischiefe.
Christmasse nowe drewe on, after that a good time we had remained in
the Countrey,Metalepsis. alas that times ordained and sacred to holie purposes,
should become ayders and furtherers to mens vile imaginations. In this
time, whilest all mens mindes were busied and occupied in dauncing,
banquetting and feasting, as vse and custome, and season of the yeare
had of auncient times induced, whilest the Hall was full of all sortes
of people,Synonymia. reuelling, playing, and occupyed in pastime, my daughter (O
griefe to thinke on, and heauiest sound to remember)Emphasis. my onelie daughter
was at bed-time missing: Search was made heere and there,Hypotyposis. inquisition
of this partie and that, this way ranne one, that waie another, the
house was troubled and filled with all hurlie burlie, onelie wading
further into the matter, and her Chamber throughlie perused,Merismus. her
apparell was missing, Chests broken vp, iewels bereaued, mine owne
lodging spoyled, and in the ende, I sawe and found my selfe in what
cruell sort that might be robbed.
Hereupon grew suspition,Climax. and of suspition arised matter of likelihood,
and of likelihood at last, assured and most probable coniectures.
One while this man was brought in suspect,Polyptoton. another while that partie
chalenged, then he was misdeemed, and another againe culpable adiudged,
but all in vaine. For hardly could my mind suppose, that hee to whom
my thoughts were so sincerely tiedPeriphrasis. in all more then common affection,
would so farre forth haue beene estraunged, as at any time to become
weeting of my intended harmes,Auxesis. neuer a conspiratour, much lesse an
executour. But wicked and vile conceited fraud, what cannot
dissimulation,Emphasis. in cloake of sugred guile vnder thy title put forward.
Prosopopœia.And yet might my ignoraunce herein verie well haue become excusable,
for a seuen night before that time,Epizeuxis. that luckles time in which this
action was concludedParenthesis. (for long before was it purposed) your kinsman by
my allowance and good will had taken leaue, and seemed to be departed,
to goe into N. to visite his friends, whose absence besides the little
matter that euer in him I supposed to be hereunto sounding,Irmus. and euerie
other circumstance conducing in all his common behauiours, not so much
as in shewe to giue a shadowe of this or any such like pretence, could
neuer haue induced mee to the least imagination at all, that hee of all
others, would haue offered to be seene in anie such thing.
But if you will nowe aske mee what presumptionAnthypophora. I haue then to charge
him more then another, in whome so little matter of suspition coulde
before time bee conceyued, I will aunswere yee. The presumptions are,
their conuersing together in one place, besides that, shee is by his
directions at L. and placed at his finding, that his pretence of going
away, was to depart into N. the deuise whereof appeareth nowe but a
plaine colour, to haue procured this vnhappinesse. Of all which I am so
surelie assertayned by the credible report of a Gentleman, so honest,
and of reputation so sufficient, as whereof I need to make no question.
For once they being togither, and in such sort as is deliuered,Expeditiō. argueth
the circumstaunce of his going to N. to bee but a meere disguising, his
intent eyther onelie to bee a meane with lesse suspition to compasse
her, and so consequentlie to betraie her, the stocke whereupon they
liue, to bee my wealth, and what from mee is robbed and vnkindlie
bereaued, howe can it otherwise choose?Erotema. is not the matter plaine and
euident? how else should he see her,Asyndeton. compasse her, receyue her, and in
such sort entertaine her?
If these bee supposes, then what may bee serious,Epitropis. if such assured notes
as these seeme trifles, what then can bee sayde to bee certaine? and
yet long was it I must needes bewraie, ere my selfe could conceyue
the similitude it bare of trueth,Epiphonema. so harde a matter it is where good
opinion is once rooted, by the veritie it selfe, almost to driue out
the same. But nowe sounding deeper into the action, I finde both will
and abilitie in each poynt so furthering, as without I determined to
winke still in mine owne blindnesse,Metaphora. I must renounce all fauourable
conceyte, and vtterlie confesse the same to bee but an errour.
For hauing waded into euerie deepe conceite,Epanodis. and imagination of the
accident, well weighing with my selfe also what maner a one the
partie hath beene,Parison. how euill vnto mee sithence he hath likewise beene
reported of, how vilelie before my receit of him hee was generally
demeaned, with what base people and men of basest reckoning I found him
accompanied: I do immediatelie condemne my selfe that was so sottish
as to expect any other euent at his handes, then what hath alreadie
succeeded, seeing where so manie euil dispositions haue bene before
time abounding, it is not easily noted that from such a one any
good
at all coulde bee at anie season proceeding. But too late nowe to my
no small griefe, doe I fall into this reckoning, which wisedome would
before haue preuented, and more circumspectlie haue intended to.Anthypophora. For
whence (if I trulie shoulde speake of the action) ensued this abilitie?
Was it not the fauour and especiall liking wherewith I receyued him?
Asyndeton.Howe could hee else haue presumed on it? Howe could he haue sought it?
Howe could he haue done it? But not for this doe I accuse thee my R.
as either accessarie,Meiosis. or fauourer of so badde and vnkinde a purpose,
but for thou knowing his course of life, weeting of my well deeming,
assured of his beeing with me, hauing reported vnto thee in what degree
I did credite him, woulde notwithstanding not so much as tell mee of
him,Conoratiō. nor suffer mee by thy gentle admonition so much as to surmize how
I might bee deceiued by him.
Let I pray thee the sorrowfull demonstrationPeroratiō. of these my Letters bee
a meane vnto thee,Synonymia. as thou louest mee, tenderest mee, and carest for
me, to search out the truth, the state and circumstance of the thing,
and yet (forlorne as I am) seeke I therein but mine owne sorrow, for
neuer shall I like of him, care for her, or hardlie after this in any
sort abide her. Yet for my minde desireth to be resolued (though euen
in these verie wordes deliuering I doe not seeme to doubt) let me
receyue the plentie thereof at large, bee it that the resolution be a
confirmation of mine owne vnhappinesse, the force whereof beeing past
remedie I must support as I can, and seeke as I may to endure the rest
with patience.
IT is sir,Exordium. accustomed that men in griefe of minde doe often speake
diuers things, for which in respect of their sorow they seeme to
deserue many wayes to be pardoned,Insinuatiō. according to which, your selfe
hauing of late sustained some aduerse hap, do what by surmises, & what
by misreports, seeme to be at oddes with your owne liking, and vpon
a sodein to become enraged with your owne fancie. In the course of
your whole letter viewing the wrong you haue sustained, & the extreame
disquiet wherewith you are perplexed, I pittie your misfortune, and
as a friende doe inwardlie grieue at that wherewith you are troubled,
wishing that either I had abilitie to redresse the matter to your
liking, or otherwise that my wordes were of weight to perswade you,
that with the extremity thereof you would not so greatly be moued.
Touching my kinsman,Polyptoton. whome for my sake in such sort as you write you
receiued, and to whome vpon the outward deserte of his behauiour you
vouchsafed such entertainement, and vppon whose absence and departure
(albeit with your good liking) you seeke to intrude the summe of all
your vnhappinesse and misfortune. Hee is not indeede at this instant
here in the countrey, but as I deeme and you haue informed, about
London. Neuerthelesse for so much as it seemeth by your writing,
and also by his thankful acknowledgement and deliuery, both vnto me
and others, how much he hath stoode beholding vnto you, and that it
standeth to bee parcel of a gentle mind, as wel to recognise a good
turne, as to remoue by a louing censure an ill opinion, where the same
rather of griefe then of malice is vniustlie conceiued (notwithstanding
I may not so effectually speake to the purpose, as if himselfe were
personally present) I will endeuour vpon mine owne knowledge as farre
as I may, and so much as in truth I canne lawfully iustifie, hereby
to satisfie you, and if it bee possible to expell those causelesse
coniectures of him, that in such sort doe annoie you.
To the matter therefore wherewith you are grieued,Apostrophe. I thus much dare
affirme vnto you in his behalfe, that in all your imaginations you haue
greatly misconceiued, and the reasons leading me thereunto are these.
First, where your selfe doe confesse that the onely matter you haue
in apparance inducing you to accuse him, is the credible report of a
friende of yours,Answere to the cause of coniecture. that sawe him and your daughter at London, and a
suppose thereby, that shee is at his disposition, and the theft of
your goodes to them both an indifferent finding. I saie the validitie
of all this is nothing,Procatalepsis. for omitting that by diuers casualties men and
women at aduenture doe daily meete, experience whereof is in common vse
amongst our selues, and euen then when we least do thinke of it, and
most woulde woonder at it, the reason whereof I ouerpasse, because to
the accident I am but a straunger, what reason
haue you so resolutelie
to thinke that the expenses whereon they remaine (so bee it they doe
as you alleadge continue togethers) must onelie bee drawne out from
that part of your lost substaunce, and so by consequence aggrauate a
likelihoode of his stealing your daughter? I neede not I trust perswade
you of his kindred, nor abilitie of his friendes, it resteth not in
doubt, you knowe it: then vnderstande you sir, it may also bee as
possible, that some one or other of them might at the length by some
more gentle motion then before time tender his good. Whereof I need
make no question, my selfe can assure you, for that an Aunt of his
dying of late, left him possessions to three hundred poundes value,
which beeing at his choise either to accept a diuision or money, it
is like he hath the coine and let the lande goe, and therupon is
the better enabled to do what is reported vnto you both for her and
himselfe.
Hereupon you begin to call in reckoning his life, and I knowe not
what late reportes and informations of his liuing, to coniecture
thereupon his common disposition and ill vsage, with abilitie to doe
you a displeasure,Erotema. performed by your owne countenance. Alas sir, why
shuld you be so far led awry by these vncertainties? Know ye not that
reportes are manie times slaunders? and that men for the most parte
speake generallie when they find a man in any sort to be iniured
particularlie?Dichologia. Hee is my kinsman I confesse, but not for that would I
yet defende him in his treacheries, but for mine owne knowledge of him
from the beginning, canne I witnesse the contrarie, I must tell you to
conclude thereupon, you do him small equitie. What if hee fell into
your notice by a little penurie?Anthipophora. Manie an innocent and good man by want
hath beene driuen to ill companie, yet themselues vnknowing,Pleonasmus. and not
weeting at all of their facultie, and so truelie may I herein deeme of
him, gladlie in the meane time thanking you, and himselfe eftsoones
confessing the weight hee then receiued of your curtesie.
And if we shall aunswere likelihoodes againe by coniectures, why may
not (I pray ye) the carefull endeuor and diligent aduerting, your
selfe doe confesse in all his continuance to haue remained in him
towards your liking,Antithesis. be as well a testimony of his honest affection,
and glad indeuor to recompence by any seruice your kindnes, as vpon
his naked sole information, you would goe about to wrest it as a token
of dissembled iniurie?Metonoia.
Nay rather why may not the suppose thereof bee
forcible to quench any other conceipt to the contrarie, seeing in the
reuolution of the same, you also doe graunt, that in all his behauiour
you neuer sawe so much as one suspect, whereby so farre as you are
gone, in such sort to induce you? For my part if we shal studie to
measure the conditions of men aright, I am of opinion that wee ought
rather to credit the vse and practise daily seene before our eies, then
by any misreport or vnseemely coniecture to giue scope vnto our owne
imagination or a selfe willed fantasie.
Honest gratuity and dissembled trechery, seldom in my conceipt, do
drawe in one line togethers,Anthithesis. thankefull I doe know him vnto you for any
benefite,Dialysis. for I haue seene him more then once, and that most feruentlie
to professe it, how he should halt with you by nature I finde not, as
whereunto I neuer saw him addicted: besides, thus much can I yet say
more to ascertaine you, that about the time mentioned in your Letter,
hee came hither to visite vs, sithence which till within this fortnight
he remained with vs. After about the receipt of his money, and for the
conclusion of that agreement, hee was disposed to London. There what
hath betided him I cannot rightlie enforme you, yet may the apparance
hereof bee sufficient, by good reason to assure you, that beeing thus
continued,Confutatiō. as I haue declared, hee coulde verie hardly and almost
without possibilitie, haue beene so forwardes in the matter as hath
beene suggested by you.
In respect of your ancient amity and acquaintance, I doe yet pray
you, that you wil be recomforted of your griefes,Epilogus. opposing vnto your
selfe this one assurance, that by some strange euent your daughter is
happened to his knowledge, and this fixed hope that by beeing with him,
she is retained to her best safegard, who as well in respect of the
accompt he beareth vnto you, as of the curteous regard it is most like
he carieth vnto her, hath vpon some vrgent businesse beene compelled to
stay her, determining in some conueniuent time, I warrant you to your
comforte and his credite and good opinion to be encreased, to returne
her vnto you. Not being vnmindfull howe much I haue heretofore beene
staied, both to thinke woorthilie of you, and to thanke you, I doe for
the present bid you most hartile farewell. T. this of, &c.
Of Epistles Expostulatorie. Chap. 2. — An example of an Epistle expostulatorie touching certaine iniuries betweene two friends. — An answere defensorie vnto the effects of the same Epistle. — A reply to the said answere Defensorie, wherein the matter of the Epistle is more firmlie maintained. — A second answere by the like reasons of the replie, in further defence of the partie. — An example of an Epistle Expostulatory touching vnkindnesse receiued. — An example of an Epistle expostulatory for breach of promise. — An example of an Epistle Expostulatorie from an inferiour Gentleman to his farre better in degree, authoritie and calling. — Of Epistles Exprobratorie. Chap. 4. — An example of an epistle Exprobratorie touching ingra- titude receiued. — An Epistle exprobatory, more largely exampled. — Of Letters inuectiue. Chap. 5. — An example of an Epistle Inuectiue of a father against his sonne. — An answere purgatorie of the sonne touching matters Inuectiue of the former Epistle. — A replie of the father confuting the allegations of the sonne, and maintaining the causes of the former inuectiue alleadged. — An example of another Epistle Inuectiue, pleasantly written against the humours and conditions of a vaineglorious person. — An example of an other Epistle inuectiue, written in cause of great desert against two seueral parties. — Of Epistles Comminatorie. Cap. 6. — An example of an Epistle Comminatorie. — An other example Comminatorie containing a greater vehemencie in the deliuerie. — Of Epistles deprecatorie. Cap. 7. — An example of an Epistle Deprecatorie, where the partie is charged in good opinion. — An example of an Epistle Deprecatory, in cause of wrong supposed to bee committed. — An example of an Epistle Deprecatory, pleasantly written to answere a former Letter. — Of Epistles familiar. Chap. 8. — A Letter Nunciatorie from a sonne to his father or friends, touching his being in seruice. — A Letter Nunciatorie in another sort of the selfe same matter. — An Epistle Narratorie containing aduertisements from one friend to another. — A Letter of aduertisement from a sonne to his father. — A Letter from a seruant or factor to his maister. — Of Epistles Remuneratorie. Chap. 9. — An example of an Epistle Remuneratorie from an inferiour, to one far his better in reputation and calling. — A Letter remuneratory from a Gentlewo- man of good sort to a noble man her kinsman. — A Letter remuneratory from one friend to another. — A Letter remuneratorie from a Better to his inferiour. — Of Epistles Iocatorie. Chap. 10: — An Epistle Gratulatorie from one friend to another. — A Letter Gratulatorie from a wife to her husband. — A Letter Gratulatorie from one to his kinsman seruing in London. — Of Epistles Obiurgatorie. Chap. 11. — A Letter Obiurgatorie from a maister to his seruant. — Of Epistles Mandatorie. Chap. 12. — A Letter mandatorie from a maister to his seruant or factor, being beyond the seas. — Another Letter mandatory from a maister to his seruaunt. — A Letter mandatory from a man to his wife. — A Letter Mandatory from one friend to another. — A DECLARATION of al such Tropes, Figures or Schemes, as for excellencie and ornament in wri- ting, are speciallie vsed in this Methode.
WIth these expressed examples, I thinke good to conclude this
passed title, and thenceforth to goe to the next, which is
Expostulatory. This worde seemeth to haue his definition of
reasoning, debating or arguing a cause, thereby to find the depth,
weight, certaintie or qualitie of the same, and according thereunto to
lessen, qualifie, or enforce the substance of griefe or mislike by such
meanes conceiued. And albeit iniuries, mislikes and discontentments are
ordinary to all men, yet do they for the most part, fall principallie
to be receiued among friendes, among kindred, great acquaintance and
familiars, by occasion whereof, this title in writing is but (as it
were) the first matter of challenge, before anie vile reproch bee
performed. And this also not where there is a resolute malice alreadie
conceiued, but where men aduisedlie and consideratlie do deliberate of
their and other mens actions according to reason to bee considered.
By which aduisement being led, without anie hairebraine or brainsicke
deuise or humor at all, they sometimes mildlie, and in curteous and
louing tearmes according to the state of the writer, and the condition
of those to whome he writeth, expostulate the iniurie, desirous rather
that the trueth by circumstances might be knowne, then anie quarrelsome
matter to bee obtruded. Otherwhiles more roughly and peremptorily they
deale, and yet not vnfittinglie nor badlie. But if the effect of your
writing be not determined in anie of these two sortes, but falleth
otherwise to a manner of reproching of benefittes, or to an exclamation
or bitter enforcement of euils, then may not the same bee said to
be Expostulatory, but rather to bee exprobratorie,
or inuectiue, of which both twaine hereafter shall be
further declared. And as this kind of expostulating falleth most with
persons of equalitie, for that it is scarse thought good maners, and
sometimes helde perillous to dispute of offences with one far aboue vs
in authoritie, and with our inferiour so to doe, it turneth more often
to bee Reprehensorie then otherwise: yet is the force thereof
manie times caried from an inferiour to his better, neuerthelesse
with a kinde of aunswerable submission alwayes respectiue to the
others reputation or greatnes. And so may a man with his inferiour
also in good sort sometime expostulate an iniurie, wherin if he shall
vouchsafe so to doe, the partie lesse in abilitie hath the more reason
to recognize his courtesie: for a man of good sort and greatlie reputed
of, to offer as it were an imparlance vnto his inferiour, whereby to
argue with him a matter in suspence to bee noted an iniury, cannot
be but much to be praised, and so adiudged in that betternesse, as
to procéede of a most singular bountie. So be it he do it not by
insultation, nor anie pricke of vainglorie, for so doing it looseth
a great part of the vertue therein praysed, vnlesse the desert of
the partie be such, as may well merite that or a greater euill to be
tendered. By all these means as aforesaid may iniuries be expostulated,
the vsage whereof as well in matter of accusation as defence, is
indifferently to be carried, considering that onely by varietie of
allegations and not otherwise those questionable causes are to be
sifted. And so here out will we wade into their seuerall examples.
MAister L. there passed if you doe call to minde,Narratiō. twixt you and mee
certaine speeches of great secrecie, vehementlie concerning the state
and good support of my brother. And for as much as I had then great
suppose, both of your honest courtesie and great fidelitie (as I
thought) sufficient to the matter then spoken of, I did (the extremitie
of the cruell creditours requiring it) not sticke to reueale vnto you
the conceiued maner and means how the same might be redressed. I do
verie perfectly remember, that but to one other besides your selfe, I
did communicate the cause, of whose rare and singular honestie I doe
so much assure my selfe, that if hee should reueale the same, I could
despaire for euer to find any man secret, or that with whatsoeuer
matter of friendship might hereafter be credited. But to be briefe with
you, the secret is discried, and therewithall so fully laide open,
as the whole maner of the same in sort as it was determined by one
of the parties whom it specially concerned, hath been to my brothers
owne eares deliuered. The other partie to whome I reuealed it hath
chaunged his lodging, and hitherto I haue not sent vnto him: whose
approoued fidelitie for that it remaineth of no small record to my
certaine knowledge, I will presume to verifie. It resteth then that
I must needes expostulate with you touching the iniurie, of whome I
haue more cause to doubt, being thereunto led not without manie and
those verie absolute coniectures. For first it is generallie knowne,
that you are verie needie, and to be plaine with you, there be those
that will iustifie that by such meanes you do shift now and then verie
cunninglie. It is master L. a verie base kinde of shift for a Gentleman
in anie treacherous manner to deale with his friend so vnkindlie. And
I can prooue besides, that sithence my trust reposed, you haue entred
speciall conference with the partie. The time likewise dooth somewhat
assure me, in which no one but your selfe coulde so suddenlie preuent
mee. There want not to giue scope hereunto, the speeches also which
the next day you deliuered mee after I had spoken with you, which
was, you feared least my man ouerheard, and might possiblie descrie
mee, whom your selfe knewe an houre before our conference, to haue
beene discharged our companie. Againe, the person and place where he
remaineth, enforce something, whereunto vnaccustomed you haue accesse,
and therefore for some speciall policie. And notwithstanding all these
vehement likelihoodes, yet will I not condemne you, till I see how
you will confute mee. Albeit my censure hitherto passeth that verie
hardlie you may answere it, without especiall note of infamie; which
being so, the displeasure may returne such as I can tell you, will not
be maistered verie easilie. The haste of the messenger forbiddeth me
longer delay, by reason whereof, I am compelled to leaue you. B. this
of. &c.
MAister H.Exordium. The manner of your writing seemeth vnto mee verye straunge,
and the circumstaunce such, as I promise you, wherewith I was neuer
acquainted. I am not a little greeuedLiptote. to thinke that you shoulde
in that peremptorie sort you doe, attribute vnto mee the name of
so base and vnfitte a dealing.Excusatiō. I would well you and your informer
vnderstoode: that it is not my practise to vse that cunning, which
you like to tearme by the name of shifting, neither (by whatsoeuer
necessitie constrained) doe I inure my selfe vnto the same. It is an
olde Prouerbe,Paræmia. Where the hedge is lowest, there euerie man is readie
to goe ouer. The verifying whereof appeareth in you, who hauing
no more certaintie then your meere imaginations to suspende mee, doe
iniuriouslie obiect my necessitie, as beeing the onelie meane wherewith
to disgrace me.Anthypophora. Whie, maister H. dooth it therefore followe because I
want, that my minde must of force become maimed with such treacherie?
You are deceyued, and they guesse much awrie, that in such hatefull
manner doe go about to abuse mee.Erotema. What argument call you that, that
for because you reuealed your counsell to vs two, and it liketh you
to preferre by certaine allowaunce the others reputation and abilitie
before mee, that therefore I haue deceyued you? Whie if you list to
suppose a trueth on my side (as lawfullie you might doe) were there
not as much reason that I for mine honestie, as hee for his brauerie
shoulde as indifferentlie bee censured? But your probable coniectures
you will saie doe entice you,Procatalepsis. the one whereof is the time wherein none
coulde preuent you. Was not I pray you that other in Towne as well
as I, though hee altered his lodging? And suppose that euerie daie
wee were both heere since,Paramologia. may it bee vnpossible that another might
endammage the matter as well as we? But I had speciall conference with
the partie, and the place and person without that occasion, of no
likelihoode by mee to bee frequented.Erotema. Had I conference? Is that a thing
so maruellous? Am I so farre estraunged from honestie, that I may not
haue speech with a man, but to worke my friend villanie? Alacke man,
whie, I was neuer so fearefull of mine one keeping secretes,Charientismus. that I
woulde haue denied it if you had asked mee, neither doe I much force
if your owne eyes doe witnesse the cause when I next speake with you.
In saying the place and person was before time by mee vnused, you
speake iniuriouslie, for your owne selfe doe knowe, that both he and
the rest, were to mee knowne before time, and that verie familiarlie.
To conclude, I wish you to bee perswaded, that in rewarding mee with
such conceytes as these, you shall doe mee but small courtesie, and ill
requite my faythfulnesse by vpbrayding mee with my necessitie, that
woulde haue endeuoured all meanes possible to pleasure you. And as
touching anie infamie to me redounding herein, I woulde I could as well
cleare all my offences to God-warde, as I can free my selfe of this
suspition, and that with as great honestie, as others most maliciouslie
haue sought to defame mee, and then no doubt my account should be a
great deale lesse then it is, when euer the Almightie by his eternall
summons should call me. In resolution whereof, I ende this answere. The
of. &c.
OF ancient time it hath often beene sayde,Exordium. that it is euill halting
before a Cripple,Allegoria. faithfull dealing and flourishing glosing are
two contraries. Among true friends indeede, and such as doe make more
account of their credite and honestie,Antithesis. then of the base acquiring of
a sleight commoditie, I doe confesse it is not of small moment to
builde vpon the rock of their assurance, and to make reckoning of their
word, to the vttermost, but where Gentilitie is not alonelie spotted,
but in a manner couered and debased alreadie with vnhonestie, and men
hold it for a Maxime to shrowd their lauish and euer emptied
expence, by whatsoeuer kinde of lucre, bee it neuer so filthie, it is
not necessarie that repose bee in such place stablished, least the
vntimelie rooting thereof, doe make men banne their winnings, and
lament the bitternesse of their losse, when too late they are out of
hope, for euer to haue the same recouered.
It seemeth Maister L. by the continuance of your Letter, that the
censure of my former direction, you haue passed ouer very sleightlie,
conceiuing that by a number of od speeches (which in maner of a racket
you haue vsed,Hypotyposis. to tosse my coniectures as tennis balles, being at your
deeming not much materiall, whether by order of the game you returne
them into the court, or banding them in the aire, suffer them to flie
at all aduentures) you do yet suppose to haue wrought a masterie, and
of whatsoeuer to bee saide agaynst you, to haue discharged your selfe
verie soundlie. You must thinke M. L. I am no babie, neither do you
deale with such a one, that notwithstanding in a plaine and honest
vsage hee accordeth to all simplicitie, is yet of so meane conceyte
but hee is able to vent your vttermost actions, deale you in the
handling of the same neuer so cunningly.
The maner of your vsage,Commoratiō. being peraduēture deliuered in some place
where you were lesse knowne, might make a flourish for your credit, and
for the present, in one sort or other auaile you, but vnto me it is
but matter to smile at, and occasion (to deale plainlie with you) the
more to mislike you, who not contenting your selfe to haue dealte more
vnfriendlie then befitteth, haue determined belike in your reasons to
make me beleeue, that I haue offered you the iniurie, and when you haue
stung mee to the quicke,Allegoria. perswade me that the violence of the mischiefe
lighted vpon your owne body. But the course herein you take, is too
far wide from the censure of any honest opinion.Erotema. What tell you me you
were acquainted before time with the partie, and of I know not what
businesse you had to do, which at the next sight you care not to shew
mee? and then forsooth that the others ability and my suppose must bee
preferred before you, in respecte of your necessitie? with such other
friuolous repetitions without substance or honestie? and after that
some Robin the deuil, or I wot not what spirit of the aire must
besides impossibility be supposed to reueale the accident.Confutatiō. What vanity
is this? what matter of reason therein, that as before I might not
assure my selfe of your infidelity? to what end proceedeth al the other
circumstances, vpon what conceipt doe they cleare you? Tush, tush,
deceiue not your selfe, nor thinke you go so couertly but that men of
discretion can and do daily see you.
Somwhat more thē you think I haue sithence heard how the world
goeth with you, you thought it very much at the beginning I shoulde
expostulate with you, but if I should stir you with this item
that I can tell you where, when, and vpon what expectation you descried
mee, you might thinke I did not then disguize with you.
I study not to capitulate your iniuries, as confessing my selfe also
not to bee vnburdened with offences: But good I deeme it were M. L.
that by some meanes you tooke notice of your owne infirmities. To
aggrauate the wrong that you haue done me, I list not, and more then
I intended haue I spoken vpon that you haue answered. Being vnwilling
to toile my selfe, or trouble your conceiptes any further, I herewith
conclude,
More sorie of your ill condition, then of the abuse you haue done me.
AS auncientlie it hath beene accustomedExordium. (as in the prouerbe by you
alleadged)Paræmia. Better it were for some to steale a horse, then for
others to looke on. It is an easie matter to find a staffe to beate
a dog, and to him that list to haue a bad conceipt,Allegoria. what honest excuse
may be alleadged that can drawe him from it. Men that are opinionatiue,
doe not for the most part measure thinges as they are, but commonlie as
their mind leadeth them,Sententia. and generally to speake of many thinges that
in particular are vnnumbred, what the cōceipt giueth in certainty to
be adiudged, there is with diuers persons no question of good and bad
afterwardes to be opposed. Among friends sundry occasions do happen
that meerely for themselues are to bee supported, the least of which
happening among strangers, would not without great discontentment be
carried.
It is giuen to some to beare much,Prosonomasia. because they seeme to bee borne to
it, and to laie their shoulders vnder euerie loade, because they are
inured vnto it: yet all that carie loades are not Asses, not euerie
one that supporteth a burden is forthwith a pack-horse. I knowe wel
M. A. you are no babie, nor I thinke you do suppose me so sencelesse
as to be a foole. I vse no rackets to your reasons, as vniustlie you
conceiue of me, nor would I haue you imagine that bicause you think ill
of me I must needs be guilty. I tell you againe as I told you before,
you highly doe wrong me. And in this one more then any other, you most
vnfriendly do abuse me.Erotema. Why do you so oftē inculcate vnto me, what
other haue reported, and some say they haue seene in me? It is the
truth I stand vpon, & not the malice of any one whatsoeuer, that so
vilely misdeemeth me.
It is not my custome to winke at all thinges as I doe vnto you, so
indifferently, but yet would I haue you conceiue howe much the iniury
toucheth me. You argue against mee that it is not inough that I say it
is not so, so say I vnto you, that you ought not to charge mee without
you can proue it so. Because there resteth some matter wherby I am in
good condition tyed vnto you, it is not seemely for your
credit, nor
fit for the honesty wherof you make profession, to lade me any whit the
more with iniury. Make what large collection you list of my present
state and necessity, I tell you, I deeme my selfe the same man that I
was in greater prosperity.
My request is for the surcease of all this iarre, your opinion maie
stande as you list, but giue mee conuenient time and accesse to cleare
mee. To vrge me as you doe, maie but breede that which to neither of
vs may returne pleasing, and which in the end I knowe will be to you
most discontenting. It were good that with lesse resolution you did
sway your opinions, so might you with smaller difficulty decerne, what
with facility in fine you will of your selfe condiscend vnto. My selfe
being as loth to disturbe you, as your self seeme wearied with the
former toile doe herewith set my limits, who worse conceipted of your
light beliefe then of the wrong you haue done me, do not withstanding
continue,
Desirous of your reformed imagination, &c.
NOw after these double thwartinges on either part receiued in
expostulating this iniury, (the like whereof by writing is sundrie
times occasioned, and remaineth in this place onlie for varietie, to
make shew how by well handeling, matters may on both sides be equally
enforced or weakned) I will sort you forth two or three seuerall
examples more, because of the necessary and often occurrence of this
title, daily being accustomed in our writing. The first whereof shall
be for matter of vnkindnesse: The second for breach of promise: The
thirde from a meane Gentleman to a personage of great honour, wherby in
cause of betternesse shall be exampled how iniuries may be expostulated
or complained of, and these in sequence shall followe by their
examples.
MAister G.Narratiō. I haue great maruell that remaining hitherto in town as
you do, we can by no possibility heare of your being, but by such
iangling messengers as you make currors for spite, whereby to abuse
your friendes. In which the discurtesie is far more by the vnbeseeming
courses & dealings therein vsed, then fitteth either your honestie or
our friendship to be tolerated. I doubted not ere this time how apt
you were to conceiue (euen for a verie toie) in the worst degree that
might bee, of any one that behaueth himselfe neuer so well vnto you,Epiphonema.
so ticklish are your humours, and so vnsteady your censures. And which
is worst, it cannot with you rest in imagination alone, but in such
odde kinde of reportes, and to such base persons you deliuer it, as
it verelie seemeth, you little recke what discredit you offer a man
in the same, the least whereof would make you storme to the gall, if
a man should but ouerslip himselfe in giuing any manner of sound of
you, tending to such effect as you proffer. Good God sir, are you and
I of late become such straungers together, as that neither writing
nor request may serue to haue accesse to your presence. Trust mee I
am vnused to these deuises, nor fit they at all vnto my appetite.
Either something or no body to me, but vnto such as more recke of your
coynesse then I doe, you may be as you will, or as their fortunes
may beare with you. For my part I am too vnapt to weld any such
insupportable amity. If you can vse me as your vpright, honest, and
well meaning friend, I am vnto you as firme as you woulde wish me,
otherwise to encounter so many diuersities, of vnfrequented fancies,
toyes, or mislikes, it aunswereth in no point vnto my propertie, which
hauing thought good of meere well wishing to signifie vnto you by
present writing, I leaue you to your best opinion, this of &c.
Yours in all good sort to be entertained, &c.
MAster K. I haue abstayned hitherto to come or sende vnto you,Narratiō. partly
weried with importunity, for that I thought two moneths being now
passed, I might in this space haue found a season conuenient, wherein
to haue ended with you. Hauing taken this cause in hand, I woulde (as
in good reason it seemeth fit) you should determine with me vpon some
conclusion, wheron resting assured, I might thenceforth know wherunto
to trust, & neither
waste labour in comming to so small purpose, nor
hinder my certaine busines by the vnsteadie stay of your affaires,
as alreadie I haue done. We haue talked manie times, and set downe
certaine limits, marie to so slender effect, as I neither know when to
demaund, nor you howe to satisfie. So that depending vpon shadowes, I
haue passed my time with small benefite, and you haue gone forward to
little purpose. I doe pray you therefore that hence-foorth such honest
meaning maie assure vs, as alreadie betweene vs hath on either part
beene performed, To delaie me thus with nifles, as I thinke it farre
from a Gentleman, so do I suppose you not intend it, considering how
many wayes thereby, I am and shall be hindred. This therfore may be the
certaine meane to satisfie vs both,Epilogus. that you will (as on Friday last
you promised) come and see the agreement betweene vs performed, whereof
I pray you aduertise your full resolution by this bearer. And so I bid
you heartily fare well, &c.
RIght Honourable,Exordium. though by the custome and common policie of this
vnhappie worlde, I am better warranted with a personage of your
greatnesse, to dissemble, then to deale plainlie, yet because I
finde as well by Gods owne worde, as by the euent of mens practises,
that such customes are neither pleasing to his Maiestie, nor alwayes
profitable to such as vse them, I haue aduentured to manifest that by
paper, which by words (albeit many times desirous) I neur had heart to
vtter.
My purpose is to be plaine,Propositiō. and in honest and dutifull sort to
expostulate with your L. wherein I finde my selfe greeued, and
vpon what ground this my complaint is framed. I therfore most
humblie beseech your L. for Gods sake and your owne, to pardon this
presumption, and to admit me fauourable and indifferent construction,
of what I shall here vnfolde vnto you by writing.
I exclaime of wrong passed, I vrge my miserie present, and I complaine
of you to your selfe, and so doe make you iudge of all that shall be
hereafter enformed.
Your L. did once knowe, and hath still some cause to remember, that of
all such lande and liuings as my father at his death was possessed,
one onelie poore farme fall to my share.
I my selfe doe knowe, and shall neuer easilie forget, that after
the same was thrust into my handes, I neuer inioyed it without much
vnquietnesse, quarrell and vexation, nor without the continuall malice
and molestation of my vnnaturall Vncle, and such his associates, as by
setting him on, vnderhande, did afterwardes finde meanes to fasten in
the same.
This poore liuing (once in maner lost, afterwards recouered, and yet
still fearefullie kept, the rather by meane of a newe trouble, moued
vnto me by maister B.) I was in fine driuen to offer for a little, but
to sell for lesse. Now here begins my iust cause of complaint. For vpon
firme hope of your L. fauour towards me, and that you would according
to your honourable promises haue done me an expected good: I was
content to yeeld my interest for eleuen hundred and three score pounds,
where sixteene hundred pounds had beene before offered by my kinsman,
and so I then told you.
This offer of mine, your L. for the time accepted, yeelding with some
difficultie to paie the odde eight score poundes, where I ought it.
Howe be it afterwardes, hauing gotten the Lease into your hands, and
beeing possessed of the bargaine, and none nowe daring to take the same
from you, you quarrelled with the Lease as before you had done with the
title, and made mee a fresh abatement of the odde eight score poundes,
affirming it to bee no part of your charge to paie my debts.
To salue this mischiefe, and to saue my eight score poundes (your
Lordship hauing reported the former bargaine to your most aduauntage)
I laboured without auaile, to helpe your memorie therein. Protesting
(and that most trulie) that vpon mine earnest and humble petition vnto
your L. to leaue mee woorth a thousand pounds, and to paie my debts,
and in regarde also of the great abatement of what I might haue had
else where, your Lordshippe had condiscended in the former conference
to discharge the same. And thereupon willed me, at my next returne to
bring a note of my debts, with the names of my creditors.
This tale I well remember with more trueth then good successe vttred
(speciallie the often touch of what my kinsman had offered me) did
greatlie mislike you. Whereupon growing in heate (yet with
some regard
of honour) you swore that if anie other bought the same at my handes
then your selfe, you would haue it for lesse then fiue hundred pounds,
yea, for nothing, or else it should go hard. Marie keeping it my selfe,
you said you would stand my friend: which hote or colde conclusion, I
protest did so appale, as with feare of further losse, with griefe and
discontentment I grewe sicke, and thereupon resolued to take what you
would giue me.
Your Lordship hauing thus, what with countenaunce and choler dismayed
mee, and finding by such peremptorinesse my sense to bee ouercome,
you ranne on still with this wresting course, and vpon authoritie
without cause or colour, cut me yet thirtie pound shorter. So as in
place of one thousand sixe hundred pound offered mee by my kinsman in
the Countrey, your Lordship gaue mee nine hundred and seuentie pound,
leauing me out of this to pay a hundred and sixtie pound debt.
By these meanes (right Honourable) was I then halfe impouerished, and
am now altogither vndone, hauing neither skill to vse that little
you gaue, nor will to raise my selfe after my fall, which I thought
impossible.
It was a wholsome caueat giuen mee by your Lordship, and a full
resolution put downe by my selfe, rather to stoope and to liue somwhat
sparing, then by anie prodigalitie to impaire my stock: but being
neither Marchant, Artizan, Broker, nor Vsurer, nor hauing among manie
debtors, scarce one good payer, I coulde hardly frame to doe what
was aduised me, or be so much mine owne friend, as at first I had
determined.
My state then brought thus lowe, my friends decayed and dead, my liuing
sold for little, and the money spent, I resolued and stil doe with the
rest to leaue my Countrey, as well to couer my want from mine enemies,
as to seuer my selfe from so vnfortunate acquaintance.
Find time therefore I beseech your honour, before my going to examine
these particulars, they containe I protest nothing but matter of truth.
It is a high vertue and most commendable in a man of your state, to
right your inferiour against your selfe, by this shall you winne him
vnfainedlie to loue you, who now vpon iust cause can do no lesse, then
thinke himselfe wronged by you.
And so my good L. this bill exibited into your chamber, not into any
court, deliuered to your owne handes, and to no man els, I leaue to
your honourable and best consideration, humblie once againe beseeching
your L. to suspend your hardest conceit against mee, for expostulating
my griefs, in repect my plainnes herein, passeth not without truth, nor
any wrong enforced, but vpon iust occasion.
Rom
matter Expostulatorie, wee will nowe turne our
selues to the next title beeing Exprobratorie, vnder which is
contained cause indeede of vehement and grieuous disdaine: chieflie
touching offences that impugne a contrarie and laudable merite and
desert. For which, howbeit in all ciuill vsages it be accounted
vndecent, vncourteous, and vnbeséeming anie gentle condition, to
reproch a man in time of mislike, with good offices or turnes, that
before he hath receiued. So when contrarie to the honest affection vnto
him bountifully tendred, a man shall either vngratefully refuse to
recognize the same goodnes, or impudentlie, vnciuilly, or inhumainly go
about to reward euil for good, and to enforce a most vniust vexation,
where himselfe hath receyued most comfort. In such cases to vse
this Exprobratory maner of writing, to signifie vnto
yᵉ party so forgetfull of gentlenes, both what he hath receiued, and
howe much he was charged by all waies, limits and means that may be
enforced, of humanitie, pietie, or gentlenes, it shall not be amisse,
and to such ende & no other is this Exprobratorie kind of
Epistles to be vsed: Of which, some certaine examples are in this place
to be deliuered.
I Doe not maruell Narratiō.at your woonted and sundrie delayes in aunswering my
requestes, nor that you breake so manie promises with your friendes
for the gratifying of their courtesies: In that beeing thinges by
nature annexed as they are to so seruile a condition,
they seeme (as
remedilesse) in all discreet iudgementes to bee borne withall. But that
I wonder at, is, howe my selfe (knowing as I doe, and hauing so often
tasted of that contemptible and harde disposition of yours towardes
mee) should yet be so assotted,Merismus. as to straine my friendes, to spende my
money, exercise my wits, yeelde my trauell, bende my care, and passe
my credite, to relieue, vpholde, nourish and maintaine such a one, in
bringing him from nought to ought, from the dunghill to the court, from
woe to wealth, as hath neither honestie to regarde me,Synathrismus. wit to vse me,
will to requite me, ciuilitie to respect mee, good nature to thanke
me, nor any one sparke of endeuour whereby so much in good seeming to
behaue himselfe towards me. Many occasions haue beene giuen mee before
time by some other misprizers of my curtesie, but you of all others
haue exceeded and do passe them all in vnhonestie.Commoratiō. That I shoulde bee
occasioned thus to reproch you as I doe, is iwis vnto me no great
contentment, but that at my handes who alwaies haue so manifoldlie
deserued of you, you should so far forth challenge to be reproched,
that certainly is it whereof you ought most to bee ashamed. Howe many
wayes you haue wronged me,Liptote. and howe little cause hereafter I haue to
entermedle or haue to doe with you,Metonoia. hauing so ingratefully, nay rather
inhumanelie dealt with me, let the world iudge betweene you and me. Had
I tried you in much, or in one halfe of that whereby in very dutie you
are charged vnto me, it had beene somewhat to haue denied me:Synonymia. But in a
matter so slender, so small valued, and but a trifle, to delay me, to
stande with mee,Asyndeton. to breake promise with mee, and which is worst of all,
most vnciuillie therewith to bearde me, that of all others is the most
detested that may bee. Sorie I am, not that I haue knowne you, for the
knowledge shall keepe mee from you, but that in nourishing of you, I
forgot my selfe so much, as I coulde neuer till this present perceiue
nor looke after you. Fare as you will for me, who euer hereafter desire
neither to know nor see you. From B. this of, &c.
ALbeit vnto a gentle minde there is nothing lesse proper,Exordium. then a
reproching of benefittes: nor any thing more contrarying,
then to bee
touched with discurtesies: yet respecting the weight of the manifold
wrongs done vnto me, & most iniurious deuises, wherein thou hast
contrary to all lawes of nature, vertue, or honestie, gone about to
abuse mee,Hyperbole. rewarding not euill, but worse then mischiefe it selfe,
for good, and doing that which all men hate, and the most discreet
doe abhorre in requitall of that which I chieflie deserued of thee, I
hold my selfe neither to be touched in gentlenes, nor deemed at all
in discurtesie,Allegoria. if to such a Camelion I giue his due colours, of so
vile a viper doe bewray the feature, to so ingratefull a wretch doe
blaze forth his picture, and of so vglie a beast do yeeld his due
portraiture, to the ende that at least it may appeare vnto thy selfe,
howe vnlike to that thou hast euer seemed vnto me,Antithesis. I haue nowe found
thee, and how contrarying to that my selfe haue manifoldly bounde thee,
thou hast now shewed thy selfe vnto me.
To the opening whereof let mee call to remembraunceMerismus. that beeing here
a great while sithence a straunger, spoiled of that thou haddest,
laden with sicknesse,Brachiologa. pursued of thy foes, burdensome to thy friends,
subiect to a number of casualties, of death, pouertie, hatred, penurie,Asyndeton.
griefe, trouble, and want, I tooke thee, I kept thee, I relieued thee,
I prouided for thee, and that at such time as when forsaken of all
others, thou wast onely compassed with extremitie, had not this one
curtesie,Anthipophora. nay rather vnaccustomed kindnes, beene sufficient alone,
wherewith to haue bound thee? Questionlesse it had, rested there at al
any sparke of good condition within thee, yet had this been all that I
had done for thee, happilie could I then haue contented my selfe, and
haue thought that thou haddest therein alone dealt but ingratefullie.
Abhorrest thou notErotema. in the perusing hereof to thinke howe thou hast
vsed mee?Commoratiō. Well knowest thou that on this hie point of curtesie, I
stucke not alone with thee, for after a recouery by my meanes had, and
restitutions of thine estate, vnto thy wonted possessions, health,
freedome and libertie, I not only so setled thee, but beeing haled thy
selfe (as it were) out of the Lions iawes,Asyndeton. I made thine aduersaries a
praie vnto thee, I fauored thee, I loued thee, I esteemed thee when
none would regard thee, when all men despised thee. Were not these
benefits sufficient,Erotema.
Aporia.
Allegoria. to haue yoked any good or honest disposition vnto
me? What Viper may I then terme thee? what monster or hellish imp
that not onely hast not vouchsafed so much as to requite, but scornest
in apparance so much as to beare a good opinion towardes me? Is it
possible that man than a Serpent, or than the very Crocodile it selfe
should become more malicious,Paradoxon. yet hast thou in far greater quantitie
then these contained thy venome,Hyperbole. the Hydra was not answerable vnto thy
propertie, the very Sauages themselues could not equall thee, thou art
infine beyond all, and there are none beyond thee, for both men and
beasts do abhor thy treachery.
What then auaileth that of such a one I haue merited so highlie?Erotema.
Whereto serueth it to haue extended on him so greate and vnused bounty?
The dog fawneth by kinde where he is loued, the Tyger by gentlenes
is from his cruelty disturned,Sententia. the Lion wil not suffer a kindnes
vnregarded. But thou (hatefull of all others) degenerating from all
nature both of men and beasts weighest not of friendship, reiectest
fauors,Pleonasmus. hatest all gentlenes, regardest no kindnes, contemnest merits,
and kindlesse of all kinds,Polyptoton. or rather sequestred from any kinde, giuest
thy selfe to rewarde the best deseruinges, with vnauoidable and most
destestable villanies.
Had I not too much deserued as I haue done at thy handes,Epizeuxis. it might in
some sort haue sufficed me.Anaphora. Had I by any known or pretended euill,
euer pursued thee, had I meant at any time badly vnto thee, it might
yet haue cōtented me, that forgetfull of al that before passed, thou
shouldest in this hatefull manner haue dealt with mee. But hauing onely
heaped on thy head a multitude of fauors,Merismus. receiued thee as I haue
done with so sundrie curtesies, imbraced thee as thou knowest with
infinite contentmentes, deliuered thee from death, and verie hellish
tormentors,Antithesis. what kindnesse could be more, or what merite so ample?
And contrariwise, what requitall so slender, what acknowledgement so
bad, or what recompence so euill, then wherewith besides all course of
iustice and equitie thou hast most vnnaturally acquited me?Epiphonema. One only
comfort resteth, that of all honest minds thou art hated deseruedly,
and out of all gentle company art excluded perpetually, wherin hauing
the only solace vnto my grieued conceits, that for the present may be
acquired, I liue in hope to see thee once againe to haue neede of mee,
when according to thy demerits I shall thinke of thee, and in the meane
while esteeme of thy fashions, as thou hast giuen me cause to accompt
of them.
O
these Exprobratorie epistles, doth next follow the
title inuectiue. A sharpe and bitter inueighing against
the person, déedes, or behauiours of men, occupied altogether in
condemning, disabling, and wresting, whatsoeuer maie bee collected
to the reproofe, diminution, or impugning of anie one, and that by
all maner of quips, tauntes, reproches, blames, imputations, or
designmentes that maie bee of euils. And yet this not by a disordered,
malicious or railing humour, vniustlie and without great and forcible
cause to be pursued, but by a learned, discreete, lawfull, or
reasonable toleration to be followed, which in all maner of directions
is principallie to be required. The conueiance is as full of Art as
anie others, that heretofore haue beene exampled vnto you, and as well
for rife and quicke inuention, as orderlie disposition, enforcementes,
and neate deliuerie, hath his speciall commendation.
THe sight of your letters,Exordium. and message receiued by your seruant haue
(good Coosen) bred to mee in perusing and harkening vnto the same,
no small matter of disquiet, not that your letters or messages for
themselues are,Metonoia. or haue beene at anie time ill welcome to my hands,
but in respect of him for whom they come, whom in truth I neuer recke
if I heare of,Epiphonema. so filled haue I beene long since with the euils by him
committed.Liptote. I am nothing ignorant that of loue and meere good will you
beare to mee and mine, you framed your speeches vnto me, which with how
much tediousnes I haue considered of, and with what willingnes I could
haue omitted to answere them, no one can so wel giue testimony,Periphrasis. as the
burthen of mine owne sorrow beareth witnes vnto me.
But for that I see you are ill conceyted at my heauinesse,Apostrophe. and of your
owne good nature woulde gladlye finde meane to recouer that vnto mee,Noema.
which my selfe am out of hope for euer to compasse, I am content,
though ill pleasing to my remembraunce, and the rather also that by the
extremitie of the euillesLiptote. your owne minde maie bee disswaded from anie
further dealing in the cause, to shewe vnto you the good conditions of
him you sue for, what manner a sonne hee hath alwayes beene vnto mee,
what reason thereby I haue to commaunde him from mee, and howe farre
wide you are, that in such sort as you declare, doe conceiue both of
him, and of mee.
I neede not repeate heere vnto you,Paralepsis with what fatherlie care I haue
brought him vppe to mannes estate, by what prouident foresight, I
sought both with maintenaunce and conuenient place of credite, to
continue him as a Gentleman, howe vnwilling I was to enter into the
search of euerie small offence, but attributing the force thereof
to his tyme of youth, was content to winke at that manie times,
the sufferaunce whereof I doubted would turne to the ruine that it
presentlie carrieth. I will but giue you an instaunce of the same, to
the intent that as you shall knowe thereof, so may you in reuoluing the
rest, consider the better howe vnkindlie, yea, more then vnnaturallye I
maie saie, hee hath rewarded me, and therewith will come to the present
estate wherein he now remaineth.
It is I iudge about three yeares sithence,Narratiō. to the intent to retaine
him in some good order of life, I placed him with a right godlie and
worshipfull Knight, Sir H. D. who for my sake both loued him, and I
knowe tooke paines to the vttermost to reforme him, before that time
I had placed him in an Inne of Courte, where with expences sufficient
I kept him. In both of these places hee brought mee more then I will
rehearse indebted, ranne himselfe on the rockes, durst not besides
(for that priuilie hee had taken vp) to shewe his head.Merismus. Complaints
were infinite against him, this man could not bee in quiet for him,
that mans seruant hee misused, this partie hee deceyued, that other
hee highlie wronged: what coulde I doe vnto these thinges, but as one
desirous to reclaime him whom he knewe to be his owne (though with a
resolute vow neuer to deale with him,) I then had cast him off, yet
by intreatie of his friends, and his earnest submission I receiued him
againe. Sithence which too much it is to be reuealed,Commoratiō. how stubbornlie
euen in mine owne house, how iniuriously among mine owne people, he
hath behaued himselfe, by reason whereof as compelled for the quiet
of mine owne familie, I appoynted him to goe from hence into S. there
to remaine with his Vncle. And because it was against a Christmasse,
and that I woulde not dismisse him vnfurnished of that belonged vnto
a Gentleman, (besides that, with a couple of good Geldings I horsed
him and his man, and suted him of apparell, and what other needfull
necessaries) I deliuered him twentie pounds in his purse. Hee was no
sooner gone to D. beeing not past twentie myles from my house, but the
verie same night hee loste all his money at dice, pawned his horses for
twentie Nobles, and was faine of an honest friend of mine to borrow
tenne poundes for his expences, and to redeeme his Geldings, one of my
poore Tenants there refusing to supplie his wantes, hee fowlie beate,
and if companie had not come in to the rescue, had like to haue slaine
him.
Nay, what hath hee done more, but knowing that these his ill demeanours
comming once to mine eares, I woulde neuer after repute of him, hee
hath confederated with a wicked rascall that once was his man, who
beeing the verye same night in his companie, the next day after came to
my house and robbed me.
Are not these impieties (thinke you) verie straunge?Erotema. What Nature is
in such a sonne, nay, where in him are those district lawes of Nature
become, that commonlie enforceth in all other children, an awfull
loue and reuerent regarde vnto their parents? Where is the feare of
diuine and humane lawes,Prolepsis. the one threatning a sharpe scourge for such
vndutifulnesse, and the other punishing by penall forfeytures and
imprisonments, the manner of such detestable and disordered loosenesse.
To what issue is the auncient right and laudable custome of our
forefathers alreadie runne, that whilome by seuere directions compelled
the runnagate vsage of their children to a more district imposition and
farre estranged exaction then nowe vsed, of a most rare and singular
obedience? Why is the common intendment earst in our predecessours
tymes, of lawfull and good so accustomablie vsed, thus quite forworne,
and in these our seasons
(filled with all kind of carelesnes) so far
forth disgraced? who is he that now recketh farther then his owne
fantasie, or what sonne wil for any zeale or dutie once seeke to repell
his owne appetite? Whither are ye gone yee iust and seuere iudges,Prosopopœia. by
whose sentence and opinion definitiue sharpe and bitter tortures were
laid downe vnto them, that durst presume by any outward shewe in the
world, but once so much as to countermaund the authoritie of their
fathers?
O times more iniurious then euill it selfe,Emphasis. by whose onely sufferance,
mischiefe spreadeth her selfe so highly as it doth, into such manifold
branches.Aporia. What would you haue me to say in these things? thinke you
not that I haue alreadie receiued discontentment inough at such
a ones hande? or would you wish me againe by returning him home
weetinglie,Metaphora. to sucke vp mine owne misfortune, and by nourishing an
expugnable wickednesse, to see a demonstration of mine owne sorrowe and
destruction daylie before mine eyes? No, no, coosin, I haue (I hope)
taken order sufficient for these thinges, his presence I am resolued
shal no more disquiet mee, by hearing or remembrance of him, if no
friend of mine doe otherwise vexe mee,Orismus. for needes a vexation must it
bee, be it but the least suppose, to conceiue that I haue yet remayning
vnto mee such a sonne. Take heede (good Coosen) that as hee hath
deceyued a great manie others, but mee of all others most especiallie,
he also doe not deceyue you. Driue him quicklie from your presence, and
thinke that a greater plague can you not receyue into your familie,
then a person so vile, and of all others demeaned so wickedlie.Peroratiō. This
is all that I can delyuer you of my present opinion, but not the least
of a thousande other accidents occasioning the same. Whereon I am
determined fullie to repose my selfe. Sending in the meane time my
heartiest commendations and earnest thankes for the indifferent care
had of my being both to you and your bedfellow, this of, &c.
WEre it not sir that my presenceExordium. might more offend you then I wish,
or by anie action of mine owne, woulde willinglie deserue, I had
(emboldened by the equitie and right of my cause) in all humble
reuerence and dutie, tendered my self vnto you, but vnderstanding howe
greatly the malice of mine auncient enemies haue preuailed towards mee,
and that without the verie pietie of your selfe, and equall regarde
had to the due information of my cause, there is no place of fauour
left vnto me, I choose as the meetest to abandon for a while the
yeelding vnto you (by my accesse) of anie such annoyance, and in the
meane time, to frame these humble lines, pacifiers of your more then
ordinarie discontentments, that as true aduertisers of the course of
that wherwith I am charged, they may plead pardon of your protested
mislike, and winne vnto me (as I hope) that intertainment againe, from
which hitherto by the vndeserued proceedings of mine aduersaries, I
haue iniuriouslie beene detained.
And albeit there is no reason whie, in the measure of all your actions,Insinuatiō.
I shoulde or ought to deeme, that you doe, or enterprise anie thing
vnaduisedlie: yet for so much as the secret sting of malice is such,
as is able to penetrate the wisest, and that where much is feared, the
least matter inducing thereunto is made occasion to question of, I doe
in as lowlie manner as I maie,Paresia. beseech that but with indifferencie you
will see howe and in what sort I am wronged, and giuing credite to what
hereby in mine owne defence alledged, you will censure the rest, as to
the respect of your fatherlie pietie appertaineth.
The weight of that,Propositiō. for which as I vnderstande you are agreeued agaynst
mee, is that heretofore you haue had suggested vnto you that I am
verie vnthriftie,Anaphora. that I keepe lewde companie, that I consume all at
dice, that I am a quarreller, and lastlie, that you surmize you were
robbed by meane of mee, or by my assent, all which to confirme, mine
aduersaries seeme to haue gathered vppon me great aduantage, in that
notwithstanding, beeing often forewarned the contrarie, I sithence fell
into companie, played at dice, brake a mans head, and that my man that
robbed you, was the night before in my companie.
Much more euill commonlie carrieth the reporter,Sententia. in deliuering an ill
suppose of a reasonable conceyted matter, then oftentimes dooth the
action it selfe, in the most woorst degree of truth that can bee,
beeing equallie considered of, for example, was it
euer helde a thing
insufferable for a Gentleman to frequent companie or to plaie at dice?Paramologia.
May it not sometimes be iustifiable to breake a mans heade? is it a
matter of preiudice that hee who once did mee seruice was seene in my
company? Your selfe, sir, I knowe wil aunswere for me to all these, No.
Then will not I, not only not deny but I did all these, but by your
fauour, iustifie to their faces, that honestlie, lawfullie, without
offence against you, or reasonable mislike of anie other, I haue and
might againe at any time enter into the like vsage of all or any of
these, as at that time I did, when they so complained of me.
The company whereof I am accused were such onely and none other as
I found in mine Inne,Commoratiō. gentlemen ech to you wel known and of all men
generallie well reputed, the plaie that I vsed was with them, the
set by agreement not great, concluded vpon more to passe time, then
whereof to make gaine.Hypotyposis. Hereunto commeth a bad fellowe out of the town
accompanied with one of your tenaunts, who looking on a good while,
craued at last hee might set, which being granted, a cast fell between
him and me of a nūber to be decided, for his opinion he dared me a
good time with twenty Nobles to my geldings, I accepted the wager, the
boorde went with mee, your tenant excepted, who against all others
stood against me, and hauing this wager in his custody would not
deliuer it me. Words by such meanes multiplied, and they both arose
against mee, whereupon forced to some impatience,Metonomia. my hand made way to
my right, wherewith I quailed their resistance. Lo now sir,Epiphonema. the matter
thus highly framed against me, lo here the losse, the pawning, the
borrowing of money, and what killing and slaying against mee reported.Synonymia.
See here I beseech you the vnthriftines, the misrule, the il company,
and what else that malice could any waies deuise to ouerthrow me.
And yet if but truely in their verie supposes they shoulde haue dealte
with me, what conceipt could they then haue found in all this to obiect
against me?Erotema. Is it not a thing ordinary among Gentlemen when they
meete together to solace themselues with some one or other reasonable
pastime, in allowance whereof, no one is ordered by himselfe, but by
common liking of the rest? Is it not a thing naturall to man, after
wearisome trauels to vse vnto his minde some honest recreation? Is
it not accordant to ciuilitie to entertaine times and occasions?
Affoorded you not therefore the money you gaue mee, in companie well
reputed, and in their honest exercises, moderatelie to maintaine
mee? Agreeth not hereunto your onelie dailie conuersation, your
entertainments, your continuall vse of companie applied in your owne
behauiors, and in others commended before me?
What then may bee saide to condemne me?Anthypophora. the common name (perchaunce)
of the plaie, carying with it a continuall surmize of inconuenience?Paramologia.
I need not here lay vnto your wisdome for my defence, that as well
therein, as in all other demeanors, there is vse which is
allowed, and abuse, that in it selfe is insufferable. To
commende the moderate vse hereof,Epanodis. I can induce nothing more then
custome, and for the choise of the best obseruation, the company
must cleare mee. Nowe in auoiding the enormities, the charge (if I
misconceiue not) you gaue me, extended to the fellowship of the worst,
in whose societie nothing is so common as ill vsage, and in whose
pleasures, no one thing so ordinarie as vnthriftinesse, each of which
occasioning that euill which I seeke to shunne, hath beene herein so
far exempted, as I protest there resteth in veritie, no suspicion at
all wherewith I may be charged.
But if nowe sir,Apostrophe. you will reason of your tenauntes hurte, what therein
may bee obiected that shall not euery waie further mee: who is hee
that by nature could bee so restrained, but by the verie instinct
thereof, hee will rather kill if neede bee, then stande to be killed?Paradigma.
Hath not the Soueraigne mother of all our earthlie beeing, armed euen
the verie Beastes themselues to their owne defence? hath not the Lyon
his clawes, the Bull his hornes, the Dogge his teeth, and the Boare
his tuskes? Doe not the worthiest sort of mankinde also contemne to be
misprized, and naturallie couet where they bee enforced, immediatlie
to be reuenged? Allotteth not the lawe vnto euerie man his right?Erotema. Was
it not by Conuention agreed, that the winner shoulde haue the wager?
And did not the vniuersall sentence of the whole boord, adiudge it
to me? What resteth any waies then to bee alleadged whereby in this
action to accuse mee? Nay rather what is vnleft herein to condemne him,Polyptoton.
that being your tenaunt, hauing his liuing of you and yours, beholding
as hee is to all yours, woulde yet be so vile conceipted against any
of yours, as not with ordinary speeches alone, but with vnfitting
tearmes, with violent force woulde goe about to withstande me,Asyndeton. to hurt
mee, yea desperatelie to confederate with another of my life and money
to bereaue me.
But nowe to drawe vnto the last parte that toucheth my man, standing
as a coniecture for that hee was in my companie the night before, I
must conspire with him to rob you.Dialysis. Do but cōsider sir I pray you,
what likelihood of truth this beareth: would any one be so mad as
once to harme, or go about to hurt the possessions that in right is
to no one so much as himselfe? Woulde I euer appeare so vngracious
as to confederate with a stranger, to no benefit but of himselfe,
to rob and spoile my father?Ecphonesis. Alas, what coulde there be so aduerse
vnto Nature, as should enforce in me so vnkinde a condition? You must
needes Sir (by your fauour) something consider, what one thing or
more might bee in mee occasioning vnto the same, it must either bee
some vehement necessitieExpeditiō. (which neuer hapened) constraining mee, some
great extremity (which you know to bee contrary) wherewith by keeping
mee too short of expence or maintenance you might enforce me, a kinde
of wanton prodigality, whereof no worlde can accuse me, ill counsell
whereunto so far forth I neuer could yeelde me, or a most detestable
and vile disposition graffed in my selfe, which no man euer found in
me. These causes as I thinke are the most likest of all others inducing
to those opinions, which howe farre they or any of them haue estranged
my condition, let but the verie consciences of my vtmost aduersaries
indifferently trie: me what if hee were in my company, is not that a
thing that without any suspition at all, might easliest of al others
happen vnto me?Dichologia. I am not weeting of mens thoughts, neither can I
coniecture of any other but their outward demeanors: if he were il,
weigh I pray you, the fault proceedeth not from me. Sory I am that any
such conceipt by any one of mine should so much offend you.
These things then falling out in such sort as they be, it may please
you sir, henceforth to allowe of this my iust Apology,Epilogus. and by the
selfe same nature, piety, and louing condition,
wherewith in all duty and obedience I seeme firmely charged vnto you,
in like sort to recognize and receiue mee, who notwithstanding I
confesse many waies heretofore, to haue erred,Dichologia. yet heerein in no one
point indifferent rest I rightlie to be challenged. The expectation
whereof hath made mee presume to the recommendation of these letters,
attending therwithal the newes of your good conceipt, and happy returne
of this bearer. From, &c. this, &c.
TO this defence, we will for the more variety suppose a reply to
be made by the Father, the reasons whereof shall yet also consist
in the selfe same state absolute, yeelding thereby a more
ample demonstration of the diuersitie of constructions incident to
those places, and how by the forcible applications of their special
intendmentes, they are, or may be caried to diuers seuerall purposes.
Inasmuch, as like to their present vse in this defence they haue beene
suggested for confirmation and to the clearing of the sonnes faultines,
herein also by the same conueiance they shal be maintained by the
confutation of al his former allegations, the matter whereof, in sort
following may be considered.
YOur wiles (Sirra)Exordium. and sophisticall expositions of your owne
misdemeanours, with sundrie confirmations therein vsed, whereby to
driue me from the verie suppose of that whereunto no one thing hath
giuen more euident testimony, then the course and progression of your
whole life,Metaphora are either too newlie forged, to reape at my hands any
sound credite, or the metall so light, as carieth in the weight thereof
verie small substance. in my conceipt to be beleeued.
Well haue you applied your witsInsultatiō. (no doubt) and to especiall good
purpose haue your studies bin framed, that can so cunninglie cōment as
you haue done vpon so bad a text, but withdraw your measure betimes,
and cease this ouerweening,Allegoria. least by continuing your selfe in a fools
paradice, and where al things are naught, supposing nothing to be
amisse, you do (as by your deserts you haue sundry times endeuored
to lose a father) so in the end frame a desperate meane to lose your
selfe, when you may neuer be recouered.
The shame you haue of your mischiefe done, and guiltinesse of your
owne conscience to come in my sight, togither with a knowne mislike
that you haue receiued from mee, either to see or heare from you: you
vse as a cloake, to couer the long pretext you haue made in defence
of your euils, you haue well shewed that paper beareth no other
hue but his owne, and the letters you imprint therupon, carrie but
their proper colour.Allegoria.
Though they falsifie a thousande actions, and
bolster vp inumerable lies, it is not seene in their chaunge, but in
a shamefast browe of him that were not past shame, the least of all
these would quickelie bee deciphered.Parison. Is it not inough you haue done
badlie touching your selfe, vnkindlie demeaned your selfe towardes your
fathers friendes, vnthriftily consumed your time in some one or other
badde companie, run at randon euerie way to your parents and your owne
infamie, but that also in your behauiours, you will not onelie dare
to denie it, but which is woorse, in your writing seeke to defende
it. It fitteth not that I shoulde vse reasoning, neither meane I to
contend with your cautels, but for fashions sake, or (if so you list)
to beate that to your remembrance, whereof hitherto you abandon the
notice, let me aske you this one question. In all your smooth passage
and flourish made of your companie, their reputation,Synathrismus. your ciuilitie,
small play, my allowance, and your construction vpon the same, dooth
it not drawe to this ende, that it was in an Inne, in a place filled
with all vnthriftinesse, in a dicing Chamber, in a spectacle for all
companies? Doth not the verie deliuerance of your owne fact condemne
you, dooth not the verie sequell of his entrance,Synonymia. looking on, and plaie
(whome you tearme to bee a base fellowe) impugne you? Dooth not your
after quarrell and mischiefe done oppose it selfe agaynst you? What if
all the information deliuered vnto mee in particular were not true? Is
not the substaunce true?Erotema. Nature coueting recreation, is in him
that will bee modestlie gouerned,Orismus. to be measured as well by time and
place, as by entertainment of companies, Custome carrying with
it selfe anie secrete insimulation of euill, is not to bee followed;
ciuilitie is not ciuilitie, when it shall bee repugnant
to a right gouerned modestie: can that be agreeing to Law,
which in effect is discordant from anie good order of law? Induce you
my allowance, as a confirmed sentence to your vaine opinions?
Why, sirra, frequented I euer anie such play
in Innes?Metonoia. Nay rather
did I not euer mislike it, alwaies spake against it, and in euerie
action condemne it? Stood not my conceit that being in the best part it
might be, though young men stoode neuer so much on their light gaming,
and little hinderance, it was rather an allurements and inurement to
vnthriftines then a pastime of any gentlenes, when it was vsed in a
Gentlemans house, which is by sundrie defences more tollerable, and not
in an Inne, the verie publike intertainer of all kinds of societies.
At your departing from mee, your iourney laie to S. you were to
trauaile to my friendes house. In respect of the time, my reputation,Synathrismus.
your beeing, the place, and the companie, I furnished you with money,
knowing that there, and with such persons, and in their seuerall
pleasures you were to bee conformed to companies: Hereof gaue I euer
allowance, the like whereof haue I deemed meetest for the expence and
societie of anie Gentleman, thither shoulde you haue trauelled, so in
the honest distribution of that allowed for your maintenaunce, you had
both auoyded the present mischiefe, alreadie incurred, and preuented
occasions, wherby manie times they are aduentured.
It is not inough,Sententia. not to doe euill, but we ought also to resist the
occasions of euill, what recreation I pray you, after trauell is more
natural then rest? Who more subiect to casualties, then they that
hazarde themselues to most companies?Antithesis. What custome better, then
to vse our Inne for repose, the onelie and sole intent whereunto it was
prepared? Wherein is ciuilitie more commended then in honest
gouernment? What more lawfull for any man then laudablie to beare
himselfe? Your demeanour is tyed to your own behauiour, and not to
anothers inclinations, your actions well disposed, are not offensiue to
what by others pleasures to bee continued: had you vsed the place as it
serued for, who would haue beene discontented? Once it appeareth that
euill is come of it,Merismus. brawlings arise, men are hurt, slanders ensue, and
infamy doth guerdon it.
Touching the latter part of your Letter I say little,Peroratiō. till I haue
more deliberatelieSententia. of the circumstaunce considered. Some, hoping
more of that you will bee, then I dare intende what you maie bee,
haue manie wayes in this action perswaded mee. Where much hath beene
ouerpassed, it is reason that something at length do beare shew to
haue well deserued. Simplicitie in well doing, is farre more pleasing
then a curious definition of well dooing. When I finde proofe of your
amendement, I shall then wish to see you. Meane while, it shall behooue
you to enter into your selfe, and more circumspectly to consider what
most fittest beseemeth you, wherewith at this present my directions
shall conclude. R. this, &c.
WEre the peeuishnes of my conceitsExordium. correspondent to those vaineglorious
humours of yours, I could before and sithence your exemplified
discourse committed to my view, haue vpon occasion sufficient, deuised
how and wherewith to haue preuented or answered your accustomed cauils.Epanodis.
The first whereof not hauing performed, so could I willinglie also haue
left the latter vndone by determined speech to haue beene accomplished,
were it not that hauing prooued the arrogancie to bee in you, wherewith
vniustly you charge me, I might by my ouerlong silence giue head to
your follies, and whilest by an outragious well liking of your selfe
you become ignorant of your owne mischiefs,Liptote. you might vse a scope not
necessarie therby more farther to abuse my sufferance, as heretofore
you haue done a great many others by their common negligence.
For auoyding whereof, I haue (as my leisure would induce mee) thought
good to giue place to mine owne determination, & to serue your humour
so farre forth as to answere your letter, not being stung, as you
fondlie and vainlie imagine,Ironia. with the venome thereof, nor galled with
the opposed surmises of your munificence, wealth, credite, reputation,
and I know not what besides, all which I do suppose either to be so
skant, as no man can substantiallie discerne them, or otherwise that
you would neuer so often as you do, without a surfeiting follie enduour
to obtrude them.
The policies you vse with mee are nothing straunge, which because
they are nowe growne so stale, bee euerie waie therefore the lesse
currant.Omiosis. Howe like vnto a shamelesse woman, or some other base
conceyted creature, you appeare in your wryting, let but the matter
of your Letter testifie, if because you haue both manlie shape and
countenaunce, you will admitte neither of these similitudes, you must
bee either a childe, or a foole, and so weare a bable,Sarcasmus. or take a horne
booke at your girdle, and get you to schoole againe.
You complaine that I haue done you iniurie,Anthypophora. if I haue, why then doe
you not content your selfe to pursue the reuengement thereof, either
with manlike or lawfull extremitie? Whie take you for a refuge these
cankred foolish vpbraidings,Schesis onomatō. womanish encountrings, vnseemlie lyings,
and childish threatnings. If we folow the rule you begin, we must
straight waies bee children, and then I must wrangle why you stole away
Toms bread and butter,Ironia. and you must threaten if I tell of that,
you will then complaine of mee for eating vp the firmentie that was
kept for the childs breakefast, or how I drunke vp my grandams ale and
toste, or lick bread in the dripping panne, or some such like weightie
causes.Insultatiō. A soueraigne capacitie no doubt. Is this manner of dealing
deriued I pray you from your Gentilitie, or had you it by education, or
haue you won it with your wealth, or is it incident to your reputation?Meiosis.
Bee these your incounters? A braue canuisado, indeede, when to deface
an honest minde, you haue shot out all the venome of twentie yeares
acquaintance that you haue stuffed togethers, and all not woorth a
butterflie, then to tell to those that accompanie you,Merismus. howe brauelie
you haue touched mee, howe with your learned enditing to so manie read
and shewed, you haue quencht mee, howe manie wayes behinde my backe,
if you were so ill disposed you could kill mee, and for default of
other matter forsooth, howe they laughed at mee to whome I haue spoke
somewhat against you, and howe master B. found Socrates in my
Letter, and sent to seeke out your well reputed sconce to expound it,Antiphrasis.
not without the credit of your owne worshipfoltie to be admitted to the
sight hereof:Prosonomasia. If I should for
carrying this insight,Meiosis. not say you were a
great Clearke, your grauitie I knowe would condemne mee, and it would
bee thought in your deeper studies, that my senses did faile me.Charientismus. But
alas sir, what is it that I woulde denie you? It is not I, well I wot
that haue abilitie, or if I had, woulde presume so far as to impugne
you,Epitropis. what wold you more sir? I am come to your bow, and acknowledge
your credit, your worshipful acquaintance, and all else you haue
brought me to. But yet sir, after all these sporting deuises, hee is
but a Nidcote,Asteismus. and that wise man can tell
you, that will glory so much
in such fruitles follies.
But say I tis your vaine glory? No, not so,Metonoia. it is but a Thrasonicall
exercise. There bee that affirme Gentilitie hath no deriuation, where
is neither good nature,Anthypophora. honesty, nor friendly condition. But what is
that to you? A man may sit vnder a stall with credit, but to be laid on
a stal, smelleth somwhat of beggership.Sarcasmus. Go to, I warrant him he is a
proud fellow, and little of good maner knoweth, that so rudely wil dare
to speake of your maistership.
Yet nowe we be in, let vs goe to it by the weeke. In odde sooth I must
tel you plainly,Apostrophe. your occupations haue beene too manifolde to thriue by
your honesty. But perchance the terme is quaint, and you will saie this
matter of honesty is besides your profession?Charientismus. Alacke sir, though it be,
you must pardon the writer, it was but a mistake in his penning, by ill
noting your pedegree.
Tush pedegree, pedegree, here is nothing with you in hande but twitting
with pedegree. Cockes fish, these proude fellowes that haue nothing
to liue vpō to see how malapert they be,Irmus. if they had ability to take
to as you haue, & wherwithal to beare vp their heads in yᵉ world as
you do, such credit with honorable & worshipfull, who haue multiplied
your praises for noted good parts, apparantly seen to be in you, what
would then become of their doings? Very true sir, but will not this be
sufficient to giue scope to the name of a gentleman?Asteismus. Faith sir, to be
plaine with you, tis but as the wiser sort do hold opinion.
For in our beliefe it is saide,Orismus. that a great deale better shewe doth
it make to giue but one certaine & true demonstration of a gentleman,
then to yeeld twenty brauados, and neuer come neare the true meaning
of them, railing, lying, backbiting, slaundering, facing, vaunting,
contemning,Omoiteleton. cogging, menacing, vpbraiding, taunting, and proudlie
defacing other mens actions,Brachiologa. desertes, qualities, behauiours, and
vertues, are in right reckoning, in verie trueth but slender partes of
a Gentleman.
You wil say,Paramologia. I am too far bewitched to tell you of these things, you
will raile at me, you will storme at me, you will not beleeue me:Asyndeton. you
will alleadge I am too different herein from all other opinions, your
acquaintance doe like of you, praise you, and magnifie you, very true
indeede, but they are but a fewe,Meiosis. and such also as doe it, haue intent
but to laugh at you,Allegoria. you are but the anuile whereout they hammer
their
pastimes, they vse you but as an instrument to bee pliable to their
turnes.Omiosis. In this as to Will Sommers, they yeelde to your rages,
they sooth vp your passions, and cokes vp your humors. But vnto me,
to whom such fashions are loathsome,Apostrophe. and in whose cares those base
purposesSynonymia. and surfetting demeanors of yoursEpitheton. are most ridiculous and
hateful,Epizeuxis. they are too intolerable.
The Peacoke when hee spreadeth his tayle,Paradigma. is glorious of his beautie,
but stooping downe to his feete, his feathers fall with the selfe sight
immediately. Woulde you but abase your eyes vnto the lower part of your
rising,Periphrasis. you might then recognize your original, and seeing the simple
obiect whereout your prosperity hath beene deriued, confesse that tenne
such glorious plumes as you studie to haue aduanced, without they were
better qualified coulde scarse make a shewe beseeming the lowest part
of all that belongeth to a Gentleman.
For my part it is not the shew you beare,Epanodis. but the pride wherewith you
are caried that despiteth me,Hysterō proteron. the qualities you haue, and not the
malice you vtter, that discontenteth me: whether your opinion stand
good or bad to me, it is not that I accompt of, as beeing such a one
whose censure to my knowledge, neuer stoode in that degree to bee
reckoned of.Allegoria. Onely doubting least ouerswolne with your humours, you
should consume in your follies I haue written that I haue done, leauing
the rest to your own correction, if at least you haue any wit at al
whereby to amend them.
I Am sorie it falleth vnto my lot among matters more serious,Exordium. that I
must at this present incomber my pen, and enforce my labours, about so
needlesse a purpose, as to decipher a knaue whome the worlde knoweth
alreadie by his colours, and a companion of his that will shortly
giue proofe of his facultie by his far spreading titles. And yet the
time hath bin when by their shadowes I could set them both to viewe,
and hauing cunningly deciphered them, could laugh at the portraiture,
imagining that there were more heades to carpe
at their villanies then
honest meaning to excuse their treacheries.
It was not amisse said amongst the wise,Sententia. that there cā be no friendship
but amongst the good, and yet is society so common amongst men, that
there is not the arrantest varlet in the world but he will find a
companion, & why? because therein is a likelihood, which although it
cannot turne to friendship, yet growing ex similitudine morum,
I find no reason but that a coniunction may be of knaues as well as a
separation of honest men sometimes.
Leauing your yokefellowe M. whome I esteemeParalepsis. so base a fellow as
comming out of the very Cell it selfe of all villanies, smelleth
so strongly of the stench thereof, that he is not worthy to come
within a mile of my paper, nor neare by a thousande Yeardes vnto
the worst parte of my studie, I will speake two or three words vnto
you maister F. which are his aduocate, and as it seemeth his second
selfe, nay rather incorporated in his bowels, and become maklenezed,
yea rather M. himselfe, for he hath taught you to handle his cause
so cunninglie, that he neede not ioine with you to lie for himselfe,
for you will lie for both, and surelie (not thinking you haue it by
nature, absit) I iudge it rather yᵉ infection of him who hath
so transmuted your disposition, that to boast, face, scold, and lie,
and that without shame, credite, or honesty, you surpasse as I heare,
why M. himself (of whom you are thought but the shadowe) cannot go
beyond you. You haue deliuered forth in publique speaches, that I and
my companions abused your Client with a false Lease, that we led him by
degrees into a deceiptful marriage, that I wil come with my hat in mine
hand to craue your Clients fauor, that you know me well, and thereupon
demaunded whether I was not once master L. his man, and being answered
yea, you paused, and then said, belike you knew me then.
Remembring that you are become a M.Sarcasmus. (whom alwaies I note for a shameles
liyng knaue) I wonder the lesse at your impudencie, marie if you were
an honest Gentleman, that did rather stande vppon your credit, thē vpon
such base respects to get money, by bolstering whatsoeuer villanies you
care not, I would then saie, tota erras via. But not shewing you
such fauour, I must needes tell you in shorte conclusion (You lie.)
And so much the rather because in the deliuerie thereof you make not a
matter of information of it, but rather as it seemeth a thing of your
owne knowledge.
And because the lie seemeth rather a word of course, then commonly of
substance, without proofe added to manifest the certaintie, I further
affirme that I will bring halfe a score, honester knowne then either
you or your Client, to whome he hath confessed the contrarie himselfe,
and made knowne the same most amplie vnto their owne vnderstanding,
who by the iustifying thereof, will proue him a shamelesse lying knaue
in his slaunders, and you a prating foolish dolt in the rash deliuery
of the same vpon so sleight a grounde, to defame an honest man of
more accompt then your selfe, and that without occasion. And because
you take vpon you to know me so well, and are yet of opinion that I
wil stoop to your Client, I must tel you therein your wisdom greatly
mistaketh both my nature and condition,Charientismus. for that I can neuer bee so
disparaged in conceipt, but that I coulde alwaies find an Asse by his
braying,Allegoria. and scorne a rascall though he were neuer so full of vaunting.
My dwelling with Mayster L. continued euermore with reputation and
credite sufficient euen to this present daie, I desire to be informed
without pausing, what you canne say to impugne the same, and albeit I
knowe a slaunderous mouth neuer wanteth whereof to gather, yet taking
mee at that present state, you shall finde mee such in trueth as all
your malice shall neuer bee able to disgrace me.
You saie I dare not walke abroade, that I cannot bee seene at
Westminster as your Clyent is. It is indeede spoken like a Tinker, and
sauouring somewhat of a Coblers stall, what betwixt choler and lying,
your Client and you haue taken order, to speake nothing honestlie.
And I woonder not of it, for you haue not so much as a sauour of
honesty about you.Asteismus. Vile malicious deuourers of men, do you thinke it
an easie thing,Emphasis. or matter of sleight purpose, so villainouslie to
derogate a mans good name (then which to a generous minde nothing is
more precious) or do you deeme all men of so base contempt as your
selues, that they can willingly suffer all things to bee benefited by
any thing? And when you haue shamefully vttered your lies in place of
audience, dare not for your breeches stand to the lest word of smallest
moment,Epitheton. that you let fall out of your ouerflowing venemous mouthes.
But de his taceo,Aposiopesis. the best is, you are both well knowne, for
the one of you, seeke all London for
a cogging,Synathrismus. brabling, boasting,
rayling shamelesse and lying knaue, M. is the man, and hee shall doe
it. He seeking all the towne ouer for a facing Aduocate, one that
coulde handle the matter like himselfe, F. was the man: Yee are both
well met together, continue your purpose, and see the ende, for you
meane so, nay you will do it.
I vse not F as he vsed me, to brabble, and to lie of him to strangers.
But hauing drawne his portraiture, I send the first counterfeite to
himselfe, that seeing it hee may shunne his lewdnesse, which yet lieth
in secret, and if hee continue shall quickelie bee published, and that
to his shame openlie.
I leaue you both as I found you, my paper and present matter for this
time taking end. In apparant hast, hauing otherwise more weightilie to
imploy my selfe, this last of Februarie, &c.
His
Inuectiue seemeth to haue béene ouer sharp in the
matter, but not in the maner, for the occasions thereunto inducing
might peraduenture merite that and greater. And howbeit both the
termes and conueyance are somewhat hard, yet is it in such cases
verie tolerable, when either the vilenesse of the action, or base
demeanour of the partie doth require it. And in this point there is
a great Decorum principallie to be obserued, to vse a bad
person with termes correspondent to his behauior & qualitie, as in any
other laudable purpose to entertaine another party according to his
calling or dignitie. And as this title of Inuectiue, and that
of Exprobratorie before going, are néerely affianced togither:
so also is the next heereunto, which is called Comminatorie.
The Etimologie or signification whereof, is by menaces to
threaten. Insomuch as participating with a kinde of Accusation
for iniuries committed, it expostulateth not, nor reasoneth of
anie circumstance, obiection or qualitie, but protesting a due desert
in the partie challenged, menaceth thereupon a speedie and answerable
reuengement. This, of this title is the substance and propertie. And so
will we procéed to the examples.
MAster D.Exordium. I see well by some experience had of your dealings, that
you haue small regarde of your honestie,Prolepsis. or welfare, two things in
mine opinion, whereof each one should bee charie. Your honestie, in
respect that you keepe no promise: Your welfare, in that you neglect
the oportunitie, for releasment of that, which in the ende must lie
vpon your owne shoulders. But seeing your inconsideration is so great,
and the like respect you carrie of your owne good growne to be slender,
blame not other men that breake with you vpon desert,Antanaclasis. nor mislike at
all their want of pittie, that haue no meane to pittie your selfe.
For my part looke for it, and you shall surelie finde it, that I will
prosecute all meanes possible to arrest you, and beeing so arrested,
I will not bee moued with intreatie, prayer, or other submission to
release you, till you haue payed the whole debt, charges and penaltie.
And whereas you sent mee worde by my man, that you could not accustome
your selfe, with one that trusted you to deale treacherouslie, I
answere againe, that if you make it so nice to bring him foorth to bee
arested for whome you are suretie: paie then the debt your selfe, and
satisfie me, and that speedilie: for if you doe not I vow I will meet
with you and that verie shortlie, when to your little content you shall
perceyue that in so vsing mee, you haue dealt most vnaduisedlie.Peroratiō. Thinke
of it as you list, and deale with me accordinglie: and so to your best
consideration of your owne safetie, I leaue you. This ninth of Iune, &c.
VNgracious ofspring of hellish brood, whome heauens permit for a
plague,Exordium.
Periphrasis.
Metaphora.
Aporia.
Emphasis.
Metonoia.
Erotema.
Ecphonesis.
and the earth nourisheth as a peculiar mischiefe, monster of
mankinde, and deuourer of men, what maie I tearme thee? With what ill
sounding titles maie I rayse my selfe vpon thee? Thou scorne of the
worlde, and not scorne, but worldes foule disdaine, and enemie of
all humaine condition, shall thy villanies scape foreuer vnpunished?
Will the earth yet support thee, the cloudes shadow thee, or the
aire breath on thee?Aphorismus.
Anthypophora. What lawes be these, if at least wise such may
be tearmed lawes, whereout so vile a wretch hath so manie euasions?
But shalt thou longer liue to become the vexation and griefe of men?
No, for I protest, though the Lawes doe faile thee, my selfe will
not ouerslip thee,Epizeuxis.
Asyndeton. I, I am hee that will plague thee, thou shalt not
scape me, I will be reuenged of thee. Thinke not thy iniuryes are so
easie, that they are of all to be supported,Epitheton.
Periphrasis.
Synecdoche.
Pleonasmus. for no sooner shall that
partched withered carkasse of thine, sende foorth thy hatefull and
abhorred lookes into anie publike shew, but mine eyes shall watch thee,
and I will not leaue thee, till I haue prosequuted that which I haue
intended towardes thee, most vnwoorthie as thou art to breath amongst
men,Polyptoton. which art hated and become lothsome euen in the verie bowels and
thoughtes of men. Triumph then in thy mischiefes, and boast that thou
hast vndone mee, and a number of others,Insultatiō. whom with farre lesse despight
thou hast forced to bende vnto thee. And when by due desert I shall
haue payed what I haue promised thee,Aposiopesis. vaunt then (on Gods name) of thy
winnings. For my part: but I will saie no more, let the ende trie all,
liue wretchedlie, and die villainouslie, as thou hast deserued,Metaphora. whome
heauens hencefoorth doe shunne, and the world denieth longer to looke
vpon.
He
menaces of this last Epistle you may well déeme to haue issued
from a hot enraged Spirit: of which though the stile bee vehement, yet
vnto men alike humorous, the same may stand for a president. Such kinde
of inuentions and men so affected with such estranged passions, are
as we sée diuerslie found, wherof I thought good to giue foorth this
example to bee considered, the waight neuerthelesse to bee measured
as in the others before to the person and matter occurrent. And nowe
will we to the last of all this state Iudiciall, which are the
Epistles Deprecatorie. The title of these Epistles carrieth a
name, accordant to the submissiue matter in them contayned, for their
efficacies are onlie carried by entreatie, request of fauour, good
opinion, allowance or pardon of anie iniurie or offence conceyued
or committed. In good natures, it is a thing proper to weigh with
themselues, howe much anie waies they stand charged, whether by respect
of person, dutie, friendship or soueraigntie, accordinglie thereupon
to frame their speeches or writings. Yet is not the matter hereof
Supplicatorie, as growing by waie of petition. But rather an honest and
gentle submission to the good liking, estimate or friendlie respect of
such, vnto whome, or by whome we are either accused, tied, charged, or
constrained, clearing, if it may be, or honestly otherwise mitigating
or auoyding what sinisterly, or vpon some intended conceit, may be
drawne to be against vs, and of the vse hereof to be spoken let this
now be sufficient.
WHen a PhisiognomerExordium. by chaunce (hauing beene famous in other places)
came into the forum of Athens, hee declared by the view
of diuers mens faces the diuersitie of their conditions,Hypotyposis. whereupon (for
better triall of his Arte) hee was demaunded what (Prima facie)
he thought of Socrates, he answered, by his countenance, to be
a man of verie euill condition. The people which knew the contrarie,
growing thereby into great rage, were readie to driue him out of the
forum. But Socrates comming forth. Be not angrie (quoth
he) for such a one might I haue beene, if by Philosophie I had not
corrected my maners.
By this might bee inferred (right Woorshipfull) that at the first
shewe, it is not good to giue rash iudgement of anie man, for the
Phisiognomer beeing able to iudge what men might bee, was not able to
say iustlie such they are: In like manner, your Worship hauing beene
led by misreports, are able to say, thus it is spoken, but not so it is.
To my great griefe it is informed vnto mee,Narratiō. that by the sinister report
of mine aduersaries, you thinke hardly of me. And so much the rather
haue I cause to bee grieued, for that in the mouth of an ignorant
person, I am not therby iudged of, but by the sentence and opinion of
the wise, held a man badly demeaned, careles, and such a one as beareth
small reputation.
Beleeue mee sir, and if it please you to take further notice of me, you
shal find it true, that it is more euill vnto me to be adiudged loose
of a wise man, then of a thousand base persons to be vtterly condemned,
for that the one speaketh of skill, and the other of a bad conceipt,Epanodis.
the first wishing all men to bee good, the other confessing no man to
be sufficient, that is not possessed with euil.
My aduersaries haue brought many heauy informations vnto you tending
in outward shew to my great disgrace, naming me as it pleaseth them, a
man (as they thinke of themselues) indifferent for all purposes. But
because I know you to bee wise, and thinke it a matter of no small
accompt to be well thought of at your hands: I am therfore the more
carefull to cleare my selfe, and do beseech you, that you will hold for
firme what I do here set down: assuring your selfe, that whatsoeuer my
aduersaries report of me, I doe make accompt what speeches passe from
me: and those that I deliuer vpon credite, I will performe with trust.
This then I say for aunswere generall, to whatsoeuer they canne obiect,
that if any parte of that in substaunce they haue deliuered vnto you
for certaine bee true, I will loose the credite of a Gentleman, and bee
regarded as I repute them: and besides, will repay whatsoeuer is to me
paide, and release what nowe I haue in sute against them.
Besides, pleaseth it your Worship for my credit sake to haue the
hearing of the cause, I will come face to face, and (though I knowe
the one of them to haue a shamelesse countenance) of himselfe, yet
let bring what counsell he will with himselfe, if I ouerthrowe not
euery matter obiected, and proue my selfe an honest man, I will loose
the debte and my credit too, which I accompt aboue all debts. Haue
not I then had great cause (hauing beene as vnto you, so in diuers
other places besides verie vniustlie railed at and defamed) to write
vnto these persons, and inueigh against them for it? Behold my letter
throughout, being well considered of, it shall bee euident that I had
great cause, and that very manifold to do it: for my part I knowe not
what others deeme, but touching my selfe, I had rather lose my life
then my good name, then which vnto me nothing is of more regard,
and I
tell you sir, if F. or a better man then he maketh no more reckoning,
but to defame me without a cause, he shal know and vnderstand that my
credit is deare vnto me, and that to maintaine the contrarie he shall
find a hard reckoning.
I spende not my time in making of Lybels, but to write in reproofe of
him that abuseth mee, which I take so highlie in griefe, as namelie,
they shoulde be so shamelesse to report that vnto your Worship which
they cannot stande to, that I holde it a wretchednes therein to be
silent, and a mischiefe for credit sake not to discouer a trueth.
Beseeching your worship of fauour and credite,Epilogus. to me and my rude lines,
I humblie take my leaue, beeing alwaies ready to auouch what here I
haue set down, wherof not failing I remaine
Your worships whensoeuer to
be commanded.
SIr, your Letters more troublesome to my conceipts,Exordium. then sauoring (as I
am credibly led to thinke) of that your woonted most noble disposition
vnto mee, I haue receiued. With what supportation and vnaccustomed
griefe I haue retained them, I refer to anie one (guiltlesse accused
and suspended from so high fauours as formerly by your bountie hath
been to me performed) simplie to be coniectured. Long was it ere I
could satisfie my selfe by any accesse that might bee to proffer my
selfe or these humble Letters vnto you: Yet neuerthelesse weighing howe
farre different these newe occurrentes were from those your auncient
fauours, I surmised with my selfe that the instigation proceeded soly
from others, hardlie perchaunce bearing those graces wherein I stoode
with you, and becomming thereupon my bitter enemies, the sinister
deuise whereof, stood vpon me wholy to ouerthrow or impugne. For
which hauing no other or better meane at this instant, then these my
submissiue lines, I propose them vnto you, as solicitors of your
former liking, confessing that if any waies I haue erred vnto you, as
I will not vtterlie seclude my selfe from any errour, it was but as
a young man, and rather by ignoraunce,Dicæologia. then of malice anie waies to
bee intended. And as touching any other obiection, let mee but craue
pardon to haue accesse vnto your presence, and then iudge as you finde
mee.Silepsis. Two waies are onelie left, my accusers to my face, or mine owne
simplicitie to cleare me. This is all I require, and so much I hope you
will not denie me. Wherewith resting in the due acknowledgement of that
your former bounty, I humbly surcease. This fifteenth of Nouember.
THe long sweating paines wherein your good selfeExordium. (my verie good friend
A) haue lately trauelled with your weatherbeaten barke, to aunswere
my Letters, moueth mee (howe simply so euer) to reply a little to the
same. Wherein, pardon first craued for so meane a wit, at a suddaine,
to take vppon it, to encounter so selected a stile, wherewith your
youthfull yeares are so replenished, I go to the matter.
Touching the iar you make of my formost writing, and late inciting you
to the tediousnesse of your studying, which for the causes alleadged,
your curtesie yet vouchsafeth to allow of, I, with so friendlie a
prospect as may be to so respectiue a iudgement, do right curiously
thanke you.
The compasse of your writing, according to the measure it beareth,
being so much mystical, as that the grossenesse of my wit cannot
well conceiue of, hauing drawne thereinto as it seemeth, the very
quintessence of those well performed partes, that in your person
are resiant, maketh me post off the answere, till by a more deepe
consideration I may better conforme me vnto it. Wherein I must confesse
in very deed, that all that may be within or without, ouer or vnder, or
besides master B. you haue to the vttermost strained.
For the paines you haue taken, I must pray you pardon though
I render
you no profit. My forgetfulnesse also in prising the simple value I
beare, with your worthines, & many other beautified parts of your
gentlenes, you must also let slip, otherwise I am vndone with the
griefe, and so I would sir, your worship did take it.
Nowe as touching the forgoing complaint you thrust in of your wants, I
could hardly beleeue that in the action you beare you could so greatly
be distressed. Neuerthelesse, for the little time I haue beene of your
masterships acquaintance, I haue vnderstoode of some that weare a
veluet suite with as small inheritance as your selfe, who haue vsed the
matter as slenderlie as may be, by any great credit to bee accompted of.
Epilogus.
Yet must you needes giue me leaue to be gone, for the tide tarieth no
man, but if you find your selfe in the lurch before I returne againe,
the best is, at my home comming you know where to find me. Et sic
valeas, gentle friend Topas.
WIth this pleasant direction I thinke meete at this present to
conclude these last Letters Iudiciall, and therewith also the verie
ende of all our Letters speciall, so tearmed by me as aforesaide, for
the speciall matters and conueyance to them seuerallie appropriate.
And nowe the next and last in turne, are those letters familiar,
for the ordinarie causes and matters of handling in them likewise
contained, so formerly named. Little informations néede here, more then
the directions alreadie in the Chapters of the first Booke that haue
beene deliuered, for their stile and methode. Seeing the common matter
in them vsuallie frequented, challengeth no such districtnesse in
propertie or conueiance, as was required in the others, only they for
orders sake as the rest, are herein to be distinguished (the better to
be found out & known by their partes) vnder their seuerall titles. The
first whereof appeareth to bee Narratory and Nunciatorie,
both alike in their vsage, consisting onelie in aduertisementes of
affaires, from friende to friende, seruant to maister, or generallie to
speake, from one person to an
other, the examples whereof according to
the seuerall properties do plentifullie ensue.
MY humble dutie remembred, good father, vnto you and my mother: These
are to aduertise you, that I am, I thanke God, in good health. As
touching my placing heere with my maister, I doe like verie well of the
trade, but I doe not thinke the seruice fit for me, as well for that it
seemeth, that more for the money that shall bee giuen with mee, then
for any desire to my good, hee is willing to haue mee. Besides, for
ought that I can learne, my maister is verie backeward in the worlde,
so that what minde soeuer you carrie to my placing here, I doubt it
will turne to verie small purpose. Neuerthelesse, as my dutie is, I doe
gladly submit my selfe to your pleasure, and am willing as becommeth
me, to do in all things according to your will. And euen so with my
heartie commendations to my Vnkle and Aunt, with my brothers and
sisters, I leaue further to trouble you: desirous, if it may seeme good
vnto you, that I may verie shortlie see you. From L. this thirteenth of
Februarie, &c.
GOod father, hauing the oportunitie of this bearer, I thought good to
certifie you of my present beeing, giuing you to vnderstande that I
am, I thanke God and you, in good health, and verie well placed heere
in London, where I am in hope to continue my heere beeing to some
profitable purpose. My maister vseth mee in verie good sort, and I
lacke nothing that appertaineth vnto such a one as my selfe. I trust
you shall haue ioy of mee, and ere a fewe yeares passed, I doubt not
but so to behaue my selfe, that I shall well deserue this good lyking
that alreadie I haue of my Maister, and further credite also at his
handes, and imployment about his businesse. I hope that you and my
mother, and all our friendes in the Countrey are in good health. I
pray you that you will
write vnto my Maister as occasion serueth, and
thanke him for his good vsage: and if you can to remember him with
some conuenient token from the Countrey. Thus desiring your daylie
blessings, and remembring my humble dutie to you and my mother, I take
leaue, From L. this of, &c.
THese presidents as they are here vsed, may be applied to any the
like purpose, of what qualitie soeuer the seruant be, or the seruice,
whence the same is deliuered, there néedes but change of names, and
contrarie applications, according to the being of the parties to be
vsed, and this onelie forme to be obserued and continued. And so will
we now to the other examples.
MY good N. you shall vnderstande by this bearer what speeches I haue
had in your behalfe, with Maister R. F. whome to tell you trueth, I
found at the first time verie strange, but after wee had a while
debated of the cause, and that I had enformed vnto him all those
reasons, which stoode both for your benefite and his owne satisfaction,
he was verie well contented. You haue much to thanke this Gentleman,
who omitted no part of a friend to deliuer in your absence what he
saw meetest to the purpose, and that in sooth with so deliberate and
sound resolution, as my selfe for your sake must needes also thinke the
better of him. I do refer the circumstance to both your leysures to be
debated on. And as touching that you willed me to deale for, with your
Vncle, it is, I see, to verie little profite, for that his suspicious
humours are such, as will not with anie reason whatsoeuer be diuerted.
I coulde tell you a Hystorie of that matter, but I leaue all to our
next meeting. My brother S. desired mee heartilie to commend him vnto
you, and so did your olde seruant D. You shall by the next Carrier
either heare further of me, or else verie shortlie thereupon you may
expect to see mee. And euen so with my heartiest commendations till
then I bid you fare well, S. this fifteenth of August, &c.
MY humble duty remembred good father vnto you, and my mother. It maie
please you to vnderstande, that vpon the receyte of your Letters
sent mee by P. your man, I haue done your commaundement. And whereas
you expected an aunswere by the carrier, for that P. went forwarde
Westwardes in his iourney, I could not till this present write vnto you
to anie effect. I haue receiued of Maister N. the twentie poundes which
shoulde haue beene paied at Easter last, and for the continuation of
my here beeing, I thinke it would turne you to some profite, so be it
I may be furnished accordinglie. Wools are as yet at high rate, but I
thinke shortlie they will fall, wherefore I haue not yet thought meete
to laie out anie monie about them. The next weeke you shall receiue by
C. the Carrier fortie poundes. And if it please you then to returne by
him those parcels of wares that I last wrote vnto you of, they will
now come in verie good time, respecting that the Faire at F. is nigh,
and for ought I yet perceyue, they are like to bee well solde there.
This is all I haue to write vnto you at this present, sauing my heartie
desire of your health, and likewise of my mother, with all my brothers
and sisters. It is here sayde, G. hath verie lewdlie demeaned himselfe
in his maisters businesse, whereby maister L. is like to bee much
indangered. Praying your daylie blessings vnto me, I humblie recommend
you to the Almightie. From B. this thirtie of May.
ACcordant vnto this last Letter maie any seruant frame himselfe
to aduertise his master of his affaires, altering onelie the names
of directions, and the matter as occasion serueth. Neuerthelesse
forsomuch as in causes of other accidents beyond the seas, both
masters haue occasion to write vnto their seruants or factors, and
likewise the seruant or factor to answer them againe, whereof perchance
some examples in this methode might also be sought for. As néere as
my little guesse in those causes will serue me, I wil set you down
some directions. Noting by the way, that the infinit number of all
occurrents are not herein to be satisfied, though to as many as bee
néedfull examples are intended to bee
giuen. Onely the learner must
consider, that the true and proper intendment hereof, is but for an
orderly conueiance of euery action to be prescribed, wherout one
direction picked, must and may well serue for a number in that or the
like degrée, vpon other occasions to be suted. Neuerthelesse, that
as well in this, as the former booke, we haue omitted no trauell for
the ease and better instruction of the studious to giue vnto them, of
euery common or néedfull matter, as manie seuerall directions, as that
the leading along of the same herein, may be wel iudged to be most
plentifull. According whereunto, of these two last recited partes, wee
will now sort you out some particular examples, of the first whereof
from the maister to the seruant, you shall expect hereafter vnder
the title Mandatorie, & of the second this example ensuing may be a
president.
SIr, my humble dutie remembred vnto you, and my good Mistresse, you may
please to vnderstand that I haue laden for your account in the good
ship called the R of B. according to your remembrance sent vnto me for
the same, by maister S. T. seuen Buts of Secke, which cost the first
pennie seuenteene Duckats the Butte: marked with your accustomed marke
in the margent. Moreouer, fiue Roues of Cochinelie, verie excellent
good, and of fine colour: which cost after Duckats the Kintall. All
which I hope by Gods grace shall safelie come vnto your hands, I send
you also herein inclosed your bill of lading: I wrote formerlie vnto
you for certaine commodities out of England by maister D. L. who came
alongst in the Fleete of L. and is as I vnderstand, safely arriued from
Lyons againe. Here is at this present small newes worth the
writing vnto you, wherefore, praying Almightie God for the health and
prosperitie of you and all yours, I humbly take my leaue. From L. this
of, &c.
Your faithfull and readie seruant at command.
IN the writing of this last Letter, there was shewed mee by the
Printer, a booke called the Marchants Auiso, helping, and in
mine opinion most fully & amplie
suffizing to this instruction. And
for as much as the conuieance of these letters, bee rather matters
priuate to Merchantes aduenturers, then resting in publique for anie
other vsers, I haue determined herein for that sorte, vnder this
Narratorie or Nunciatorie title to laie downe my limits,
referring the desirous of further direction, vnto the writer of
that Booke, whose labour for that purpose, not without his speciall
desert, cannot be by me or anie other to such end better furnished or
deliuered, his tearmes being most currant to those kind of dealinges,
and his methode also best answering vnto the true passages thereof.
For which in supplement of the residue of the required examples
yet vnfitted to this my Secretorie, I will proceed vnto
the next title of these familiar letters, which appeare to be
Remuneratorie. This title serueth to a Remuneration or
thankfull acknowledgement of benefits receiued, and to such end is by
the examples thereof to be imploied. And in so much as vnto euerie one
well conditioned, or of good and liberall education, it is a thing
pertinent, not to omit the respect of euerie benefit without some
thankefull consideration, it shall behooue that according to the estate
or qualitie of the partie, from whome we receiue the same, we do frame
our letters of thankes, which to our betters, equalles and inferiours
are in sundrie sortes to be deliuered, and according to the dignitie
and worthinesse of euerie one, excelling or going before vs, are euer
to be measured, and with the more or lesse submissiue and humble
acknowledgment is alike to be caried. Neuerthelesse, that according
to the efficacie of speech in each of them deliuered, the greatnesse
and weightie respect of euerie good turne, is by the considerate and
respectiue regarde thereof, the more amplie to be perceiued.
TO recognize (Sir) in multitude of wordes, howe much charged I stande
vnto your bounteous and euer curteous regard towards mee, were vnto
your wisdome I knowe but friuolous, who better respecteth the inwarde
seruice intended of anie one, (whereof I humblie beseech you on my
parte to stande assured) then an outwarde behauiour, the validitie
whereof maie manie waies bee doubted.
Yet neuerthelesse, in that the thoughts of men are only in word or
action to bee deciphered, let it I beseech you stande with your good
fauor that I may by these few lines confesse my selfe bound vnto you.
And for the residue, when it shall seeme good vnto your Worship to
command me, I will not haue life or abilitie that shall not be yours,
in al that it may please you to vse me.
MY good L. howe much I am bounde vnto your L. for multitude of fauours,
and especially that it pleased you to thinke so well of me, as to
write your fauourable letters in my behalfe: I can by no other waies
expresse, then to continue your L. most humbly affectionate poore
kinswoman, & wil for euer acknowledge it as of your great goodnes,
beyond any merit of mine owne. And as my bounden duty is, no day
shal passe me that I will not pray to God for your L. health and
prosperitie, and the redoubling of your daies. Beseeching your L. to
excuse this my boldnes, and to pardon me that in person I cannot do my
humble duty, but by writing, my Lady making such haste away, as so much
time wil not be permitted me. I most humbly therefore take my leaue of
your L. From S. this eleuenth of Nouember.
GOod M. D. my breach of promise in not hauing visited you with deserued
requitall, sithence my departure, maie breede
suspicion and doubt of
ingratefulnesse, but I hope, and by hope presume, that of your owne
good disposition towards all your acquaintance, you will yeelde vnto
an approoued trial before you condemn. For my part, if I should not
owe vnto you all honest minde and fidelitie, I shoulde much contrary
your great curtesie, and deseruedlie incur the shame of ingratitude.
You knowe that hauing swaied, as I haue done, out of the limits of
a comptrolled rule, and displeased so much thereby as my case hath
bewraied vnto you, those whome by nature and duty I ought to be awed
vnto, it is reason that by a more district obseruance I make amendes
for the residue. My father it seemeth though not yet by me, hath
otherwise vnderstoode how much I stand yoked vnto you, and thinketh
himselfe for all his sons vnthriftines somwhat therein to be tied
vnto you. His meaning is one of these daies to intreat your paines
hitherwards. But how euer deserts be noted, or care by nature doth
binde, assure your selfe whilest life leadeth along this earthly
coarse, I am and will bee alwaies most vnfainedlie yours. To whom, and
your good bedfellowe, I most hartily and often commend me. From B. this
of, &c.
T. F. I haue vnderstoode by my seruaunt P. howe much I am beholding vnto
you for your paines taken in my behalfe, about such busines as I sent
him, for which I not onlie thanke you for the present, but will remaine
your willing friende to requite you in anie thing that I maie. It was
tolde mee you had occasion to trauell this way verie shortly, I pray
you if you doe, let mee see you. And looke you faile not to vse me as
your good friende, if at anie time you fortune to haue neede of me.
Wherein doubt you not but you shall finde my readinesse as great as
your forwardnesse hath beene already in my businesse. And so doe bid
you hartily farewell. From T. this of, &c.
Your louing friend, &c.
Hus
haue wee deliuered vnto you of euerie of these sutes their
seuerall examples, wherein you must note, that if you write to your
better a letter Remuneratorie, you maie not promise vnto
him your gratefulnes with the verie word of requitall, but rather by
the proffer of seruice or other affectionate meaning in you, to the
answering of such curtesies as haue beene receiued. And next hereunto
will we passe vnto the title Iocatorie. The letters of
this sute are such as of some pleasant conceipted vain, do procéed
from one familiar friend or acquaintance to another, rather of some
sporting deuise then of anie important matter. The vse is common
among pleasant heades, and rather suted forth according to their
present vaines, then vpon anie prescribed order. Such whereof is at
the end of our Epistles Commendatorie, & one other vnder the
title Consolatorie mentioned in the former of these bookes,
and likewise a third vnder the title Deprecatorie, written
in this last part of letters, & a like whereunto was once written
by my selfe, and three or foure other of a merie acquaintance, to a
parson beeing our familiar, and one of good nature and disposition in
the country, wherein each one wrote a line of a seueral hand, and as
occasion fel out, inserted his sporting deuises, with many odde quips &
meriments, wherwith the good Parson thought himselfe greatlie wronged,
till he knew from whence it came. But in so much as to an inuention
onlie naturallie to be expected, no method can be well prescribed, I
leaue the Epistles of this sort to the discretion of the writer, as
his fantasie serueth to be pursued. And goe to the next, which are
called Gratulatorie. For as the one is a pleasant, merie and
sporting vaine, so is this a kind of reioicing, but in a more modest
and curteous maner, ouer the good healths, fortune, or other good
partes or preferments, of our friendes, kindred, or acquaintance, whose
examples to their proper purposes are nowe next to be deliuered.
SIr, I was verie sorie to vnderstand by the common report of our
neighbours of your great sicknes, as of such a one whom our countrie
should misse, and I promise you as much as anie poore welwiller of
yours, I grieued thereat, but being certainlie againe assured of your
good recouerie, I praise God in my thought for the same, and do reioice
it hath pleased his goodnes to bring you to your former strength.
Whereof hauing no better nor more apparant token at this present, then
my heartie well wishing, I thought it parcell of an honest purpose to
signifie the same vnto you by writing, especiallie hauing therunto so
good and fitte oportunitie, as this bearer, whome entirelie I knowe to
loue and regard you. And euen so with my heartie commendations to your
selfe, and my good Coosen your wife, I heartilie bid you farwell, From
B. this of, &c.
GOod husbande, I am glad that you haue at the last remembred your
selfe by this bearer, to write vnto me, who haue thought it verie long
to heare from you. I doe greatlie reioice of the good and prosperous
successe of your iourney, and chieflie that you haue endured your
trauel so well, being in so good plight and strength of bodie, as I
vnderstand you are by your Letter. We are much beholding vnto our
good friends in the Countrie, that haue giuen you so great and good
entertainment. And I heartilie pray you to commend mee vnto them. Your
businesse heere at London goeth well, thankes bee to God, and wee haue
no want of any thing but your presence, which if you would once hasten
hitherward, it were a comfort vnto vs all to see you, hauing beene as
me seemeth verie long absent. But maister C. and his friendes where
you are, vseth you so kindlie, that I thinke you cannot well tell howe
to winde your selfe out from your good companie. Yet good husbande
remember that at the last you must come home, and the sooner the
better. I referre all to your good discretion, and so commend mee most
heartilie vnto you. From L. this of, &c.
GOod Coosen, I am glad to heare of your good preferment in London,
and that, as I heare by your father and mother, you are so wel placed
there, and with so good a Maister. It is no little comfort vnto mee
to vnderstande, that you doe so resolutelie, and with so good a minde
dispose your selfe to your businesse, which I gladlie wish you would
continue. You must nowe remember that your friends with great charge,
care and industrie haue brought you vp, and that their intent and
meaning therein was, that in expectation thereof, they should haue
ioy and comfort of you in your elder yeares. For which, as you haue
now bequeathed your selfe to this place of seruice, so must you for
any feare of hard vsage, bitternesse of speech, or other mislike of
tauntes or rebukes, make account to endure and continue. It may be,
being yet vnacquainted with the customs and vsages of London, you doe
now at the beginning thinke well of that, which hereafter maie turne to
a discontentment: but good Coosen, so be it you haue no want of things
needfull and necessarie, frame your selfe to forbeare all other crosse
matters whatsoeuer, and giue you wholie on Gods name, to the benefite
of your seruice. You shall want therein no helpe, furtherance, or
incouragement on mine and your friends behalfe, who reioycing in that
alreadie to see you so well behaued, doe daylie praie to God to prosper
and blesse you. And thus with my heartie commendations I bid you fare
well. B. this of, &c.
Your Vnkle carefull of your
well doing, T. B.
THese three examples may bee sufficient to serue to anie matter of
this title: seeing in eyther of them is required but an alteration of
the cause whereupon wee frame our Letter to reioyce vpon: the forme of
conueyance is all one. For which we will hence procéed to the next in
course being Obiurgatorie, or a rebuking of the ill vsages,
demeanors or parts of any one. It sauoreth somewhat of the
Monitorie and Reprehensorie kindes before going, but in a
different maner: for that the efficacy of those Epistles do beare force
in matters publike or notorious, and these in vsages priuate and of
lesse importance. The order whereof by the examples following maie be
the better perceiued.
AMong some other causes that latelie haue beene aduertized vnto me
from my good and louing friends, it is made knowne vnto me, that you
in my absence, as well towards your Mistresse, whom in my place I haue
appointed ouer you, as among others your fellowe seruants, doe take
much vpon you. You runne and goe at your pleasure, wade into vnseemelie
courses, and giue your selfe vnto some other matters, neither fitting
the trust on you reposed, nor answering vnto my seruice. The newes
hereof, you must thinke pleaseth me not verie well, neither can I
with patience digest, that a companion of your being, to whom by my
sole fauour I haue giuen place of direction in my house, should be
so imperious ouer my wife and her due command in mine absence. Your
wide wandring & common haunts at your liking, cannot by all coniecture
be vnto mine estate profitable. Wherefore in signification that I am
nothing well pleased with these so lauish demeanors, if by the next
report I hear not that they are better amended, you are shortlie
thereupon likelie inough to find how ill contenting they be vnto
my humours: with which priuate rebuke, if priuatelie so it may bee
considered, being at this present resolued to conclude, I attend the
redresse of these euils: and so giue my selfe to my further trauels.
From B. this of, &c.
Your maister to requite you as you shall deserue.
He
force of these Epistles, mingled, as I said before, with the
other Titles in the last Chapter declared, may for further matter or
other occasions therin required, draw yᵉ plenty of their examples
from those reprehensorie
and Comminatorie, kindes
alreadie specified, this, for any other like direction being thereunto
for this place sufficient. And now the last of these familiar titles
ensueth, which is called Mandatorie. These Letters haue their
titles of such directions, matters in charge, or other instructions,
as by writing from one person to another are deliuered, and are the
most ordinarie in vsage of all other letters that are amongste vs
frequented. The conueyance whereof in these following Examples shall be
tendered.
MY heartie desire of your good sucesse and wel-fare intended, which
I hope God will blesse, I maruell that I haue receyued no Letters
from you since the fourth of March last, I hope you doe neuerthelesse
continue your good care and trust in mine affaires, whereof I nothing
doubt. I wrote by maister N. in the good ship called the P. of London
vnto you, which will shortly by Gods grace arriue at B. and is bound
for L. vnto my coosen T. R. for all your necessities to giue you ayd as
well in counsell as money: howbeit I hope you haue no great want of
either, considering those trusty friends I haue remaining where you
are, and your owne allowed diligence which formerlie I haue proued.
I do now send you by a bill of lading in the good ship called the S.
of D. those commodities you last wrote vnto mee of, viz. one packe of
verie fine broad cloathes, & twentie Tuns of Lead: the broad cloathes
stand me with all charges in sixteene pounde a cloath. I hope you will
haue regarde to the selling of these commodities to my best aduauntage,
wherein I pray you do your best endeuour as the market serueth. And
for the money arising thereof, I would haue you to employ on these
commodities there, which are here most vendible, wherof I principally
wrote vnto you in my last letters, which I doubt not by this time you
haue receiued. Otherwise I would haue you to confer with my coosen T. R.
there abouts. And thus desiring Almighty God to blesse and prosper you,
whom I desire you in all your actions and dealings to remember, I bid
you heartily farewell. L. this last of Maie.
Your maister willing in all things to requite
your seruices, &c.
ALbeit I haue manie occasions to write vnto you by this bearer, which
time will not suffer me to doe: Neuerthelesse such as are most needfull
I will hereby remember you of. At my departure from N. I gaue order for
certaine wares to bee sent vnto you from thence by the carier of C. and
thereof did then write vnto you at large in a Letter, and sent inclosed
in that letter a bill of the parcels. Now hauing sithence considered
with my selfe of the matter, my desire is that you do not transporte
them as I was determined, but let them rest vntill my home comming,
for that there is a shippe shortly going for B. of M. Alderman H. with
whome I am determined to ioine in the whole freight, and meane by Gods
grace therein to passe both those and some other commodities. About
thursday next, there is one T. B. appointed by my coosen L. P. to come
vnto you for fiftie pound, if he do come let him haue the money, and
take his note for the receipt, and this shall be your warrant. I would
haue you to looke to the waters side if the wind continue Southward,
for it is now serueth wel, and I doubt not but to heare from Lisbon,
for gladly would I vnderstand of our shipping, and of such letters as
shall be sent I wish you to take notice, and if I returne not before,
vse circumspection I pray you to prouide for their returne accordingly.
The haste of this bearer wil not suffer me to write more, only looke to
my businesse, haue care of the trust in you reposed, and commend me to
your mistrisse, tel her I will hasten homewards, as fast as I can. And
so to God I commit you. R. this of, &c.
Your louing maister, &c.
GOod wife, considering my hasty departure from you and my children,
my hope is that you wil haue that louing and respectiue care towards
them and your familie, that appertaineth. I haue left many things raw
by reason of the suddennes of my iourney, which standeth vpon your
good regard to be ordered, as namely the
charge of my seruantes, and
disposition of some other affaires and businesse. You shall nowe shewe
your selfe a carefull and discreete wife, if in mine absence, you will
a little take vpon you to be in my place. Regard and consider with your
selfe, that seruants are negligent and carelesse, and if the maister
forget his owne profit, they are as readie as others to share with
his gaines. Your painfull attendance to ouerlooke them, shal straine
their labours to my vsing, your desire to see into them, shall worke
their vsage to my well seruing. You must now a little while forget
neighbourhood, and walking for company, considering the old prouerbe:
That when the Cat is away the mouse wil go play: If master and dame
haue both continued absence, seruants fall a wasting, and do what they
list. You know good wife, I haue now taken a great charge of late vpon
me, which with some carefull looking to, may turne to good, let it not
be grieuous vnto you, nor thinke it hard, that I thus make you partaker
of my charge, as I do of my profit. For we are yoke fellowes you know,
and the charge is equall betwixt vs to be borne and supported. If as
louing mates and companions wee drawe forth togethers, we doubtlesse
shall by Gods blessed goodnes see the fruits of our labours. Our
children shall participate with vs of our trauels, and God shal prosper
our endeuours. And howbeit good wife, I haue alwaies found you such,
as of whose care to my well doing I neede haue no doubt, yet if by
the importance of my charge I bee driuen thus much to write vnto you,
thinke that in great trust of your modesty, respect of your loue, &
zeale to both our goods I haue done the same. And though no mistrust
remaine of any one about me: yet doe I put you in minde what youth
by too much sufferance and neglegct of libertie may be inclined to.
This is al I would, and so much I hope as you gladly will yeelde vnto.
Commend mee manie times to your selfe and likewise to all our friendes.
From R. this third of Maie, &c.
Your assured louing husband, &c.
MY harty commendations remembred vnto you, good maister R. These are
to certifie you that I haue presumed so much on your friendship, as
to put ouer certaine causes of mine in your name, for so much as for
many respects I find my selfe too far insufficient to deale with the
parties, I must therefore desire you to receiue some instructions
which I haue herwith sent you by this bearer, and therein to vse such
needfull furtherance as in like cases of friendship you may commaund
at my handes. I pray you also that you will take so much more further
paines for me, as at conuenient leisure to walke towards S. and there
to confer with my brother P. and vpon sight and hearing of such
matter as by him shall bee shewed and set forth vnto you, to deale
accordingly. Thus with my earnest desire to see you here at L. where
you shall most hartily finde your selfe welcome, I take leaue this of,
&c.
Your very louing friend, &c.
THus haue I led along, as you sée, this promised Methode by
varietie of directions and examples, fitting to euery purpose I hope
to the pleasing and content of all the indifferent readers: and here
as a limit sufficient to that determined labour, doe I laie downe my
rest. If anie faultes happen, as no doubt there will (for what from
fault maie bee frée) let the learned I beseech them winke at it, the
curteous ouerpasse it, and the considerate and well practised in such
like trauels fauour me in it, seeing my endeuour therein was done for
the best. And so doe I conclude my Methode.
FINIS.
Collected and explaned togithers,
according to their applications,
vsages, and properties.
By Angell Day:
Imprinted at London by P. S. for
Cuthbert Burbie. 1599.
To the courteous Reader. — OF FIGVRES, TROPES, and Schemes. — A Figure is diuided into Trope and Scheme . — The Tropes of wordes, are — Tropes of sentences, are — Schemes Syntaxicall, are , — Schemes Rhetoricall, are — Of the partes, place and Office of a Secretorie . — A Table shewing the principal mat- ters contained in the first part of this Booke .
S
in the two bookes before going (gentle Reader) my mind and purpose
was to set foorth vnto the learner, how much the phrase of our daylie
speech by well ordering and deliuerie is graced with Figures and
other ornaments of Art, and to such end and purpose, haue I in the
margent of euerie Epistle, directlie against the places where they are
vsed, quoted them to be seen. I haue now for better supplement of the
learners knowledge, determined in this place to make a collection of
them all, remembring with my selfe, that vnto such as are vnexperienced
in their particular applications, they shall be but of verie slender
moment in their quotations, without also they may be instructed by
example, how, where, and in what tearmes, wordes or cariage, they
are vsed, and wherein, and by what conueyance their efficacies are
explaned. For which cause, these briefe instructions following,
conteining, as in the title before going, a demonstration of their
true & seueral qualities, properties and natures, are to such ende
deliuered: wherein my purpose is to omit nothing, which in my poore
opinion may seeme vnto this deuised Methode anie wayes furthering.
And howbeit my selfe in the writing of these collections, doe well
consider the want I haue of other perfections, whereby to ornifie the
matter hereof, with examples correspondent, yet shall it by such meanes
appeare vnto all fauourers of science, what will and desire I haue to
deserue with the best, confessing (as by due proofe I haue found) no
speech to be accounted valuable or of weight, that is not graced with
these parts. Thus hauing at large expostulated my true meaning herein,
I commit the rest to your curteous censures, and my selfe to your good
opinions.
Yours, A. D.
Figure is a certaine meane whereby from a simple and ordinarie
kinde of speaking, we growe into a more cunning and excellent
deliuerie.
A Trope is as much to say, as a variation of a worde or sentence
from the proper & apt signification, vnto another neere vnto the same,
sometimes for pleasure, and otherwhile for ornament sake, and there
are tropes of words, and tropes of sentences.
A Scheme is a certaine new kinde of forme of writing &
speaking, and for the excellencie thereof is called the ornament, light
and colours of Rhetoricall spéech.
Betweene a Trope and a Scheme the difference
is, that the Trope changeth the signification, as in these
wordes Generation of Vipers, meaning thereby
homicides of their owne issue or antecessors, as the Viper
deuoureth her owne broode. The Scheme hath no change of
signification, but retaineth the expresse meaning, as, Can so
great anger be in heauenlie mindes? written of Iuno
in the Aeneidos of Virgill, whereas
anger is indéede onelie a humaine passion, yet without alteration is
there allotted vnto the heauenlie Gods. And of some there is helde in
them small difference, in so much as often times they runne into one
anothers meaning.
MEtaphora, which is, when a worde from the proper or right
signification is tanasferred to another neere vnto the meaning, as
to saie: We see well, when wee meane wee vnderstande
well, or to call them eaters or deuourers of men and houses,
who vndo the poore, or extort from them their goods or liuings:
or to saie, a homelie or rude speaker doth braie, which to do
belongeth to an Asse, or to attribute vnto thinges the properties they
haue not, as if we should say, the ground wanting wet, doth thirst
for raine, or fruits in their growth do labour,
or corne by the statelie length and weightie eare it
carrieth, to bee proude, or by Emphasis, that by
desire, men are enflamed, by anger kindled, fallen by errour: And
lastlie, in prayse of mans ofspring, as to saie, the beautie of
his stocke, or to call the place of renowne, the well or
seate of glorie, also to say, the showers of speech, flouds
of eloquence, onelie for ornament in writing, without anie other
proper affinitie, attribution or likelihoode.
Synecdoche, when by one particular we vnderstand a number,
as to saie, the braue English was conquerour, as much to saie,
as Englishmen were victours, or when by a part wee vnderstande
the whole, as to say, a blade for a sworde, a
Hall for a house, or when by one thing we vnderstand
another, as to say, the highest fall for the deepest
fall, the toppe for the bottome, Neptunes reigne
for the Sea: or when we put the matter whereof a thing
is made, for the thing it selfe: as to saie, the loftie Pine did
scowre the Seas, for the ship made of the Pine trée, or thus:
With slashing Iron furious on his foes, hee rusht amaine, &c.
for with slashing sworde: Likewise hee put spurres to
his horse, for hee ranne his horse. They haue liued, that
is, they are dead, they flourish, for they are rich, braue or
happie.
Metonymia, or transnominatiō, the putting
of one name for an other, as the inuenter for the thing
inuented, so do we call corne by the name of Ceres, we
put Bacchus for wine, Venus for lust, Vulcane
for fire, Neptune for the sea, Mars for warre:
likewise the continent for that which is contained, as if we should
say, acceptable to the heauens, meaning to him that dwelleth
in the heauens, a happie soyle, meaning happie people in
the soile, hee drunke vp the whole cup before him, for the
wine in the cup before him. In like maner when the cause efficient is
vnderstood by the effect, as when we say, Pale death, sorrowfull
dread, headlong rage, carelesse wine, vnshamefast night: wherein is
shewed, that dread causeth sorowe, death palenes, wine
carelesnes, and so of the rest. Further, when by her that holdes
the Scepter, wee signifie the Queenes Maiestie,
and likewise by mentioning the Sword, Magistracy.
Antonomasia, where to the person of anie one, wee giue an
other name, then his owne proper, as in stead of Christ, to
saie the Holie one of God, or The worlds Sauiour.
Or of the Queenes Maiestie, to saie The Virgin Queene, The
Royall Maide, with other like appropriations fitting so great an
excellencie.
Onomatopœia, where to a thing not hauing a proper terme, wee
faine or deuise a name, as to saie, the murmure of the waters,
the roring of the cannon, clashing of armour, & such like: where
neither murmur, roring nor clashing is by nature to
these belonging.
Catachresis where wee accommodate a name to a thing that is
not proper, as to saie, lend me your hand, or your aid, which
tearme of lending is more proper to money, or things that are borrowed,
and to say, mens powers are short, or their counsels
long, when in neither of both there is anie such measure.
Metalepsis, or Transumptiō, when by a certaine
number of degrees we go beyond that wee intend in troth, and haue
meaning to speake of, as to saie: Accursed soile that bred my
cause of woe, when we might as well crie out on the parties selfe
that hath don the wo, & not to go so far off as to the soile that bred
him, or as Penelope bewaling her husbandes ouerlong absence
from her, exclaimed in her Epistle to Vlysses, on Paris
that had raped Helena, wishing that he and all his fleet
had perished, ere the rape had bin committed, intending that by that
rape, the Grecians were drawn to the warres, and so the
siege for tenne yeares space continued, and ten yeeres after that,
her husband forced by many landes and seas to haue wandered. Of the
originall cause whereof her iust complaint was deriued.
ALlegoria, a kinde of inuerting or change of sence, as when
we shew one thing in wordes & signifie another in meaning, a
Trope most vsuall amongst vs euen in our common speaking, as when
we saie, Bow the With while it is greene, meaning to correct
children whilest they bee yong: or, There is no fire without
smoake: meaning that there is no ill conceipt without occasion:
or, I smell a Rat, that is, I know your meaning, for other
applications you haue the same diuerslie quoted in our Epistles to bee
seene in their margents.
Ænigma, a darke sentence, or as we ordinarilie say, a
riddle, rather vsed in high and déepe mysteries, otherwise conueied
sometime in pleasant fancies, then accustomed in other writings.
Parœmia, called amongst vs an Adage
or common saying, as thus: Who so toucheth pitch shall bee defiled
therewith: It earlie pricketh that wil be a thorn: many hands make
light worke, &c.
Ironia, a scoffe or flout, as when wee saie, Alas good
man, or to one that hath set debate or contention, you haue
spun a faire thred: or to him that hath made a long speach to no
purpose, you haue brought forth a mighty mole-hil, or to a
lewd person, you are an honest man.
Sarcasmus, a bitter bob as wee saie, or enuious derision, as
of one arraigned for fellonie, to twit him, that hee had like to
haue knockt his head against the gallowes, or of one suffering for
treason to saie, that it made him hop headlesse.
Asteismus, a smooth, as we call it, as when one tels a thing
repugnant to the present matter or companie, to saie, I had as
lieue he told me it snew, when neither the time of the yeare, or
present weather admitteth it snowe. Or when one misseth of a number, to
bid him take a sticke and tell it, or telling a lie, to bid
him take the haire from his lips.
Antiphrasis, when a word scornefullie deliuered, is
vnderstoode by his contrarie, as of a dwarfe, to saie in iest,
what a gyant haue we here, or of him that telleth a matter
ordinarie for strange, to saie, what a wonder telleth he, or
to say, the man hath a sharpe wit, when we intend he hath a
verie blunt capacitie, or of a blacke Moore woman, to saie, Will
ye see a faire pigion.
Charientismus, as when we scoffe a man in his threatning
mood to say, O good words, I pray you, or kill vs not at
the first dash, or, Bite not my nose off I pray you, and
such like.
Hyperbole, when for the manifestation of a thing vehement
or exceeding, the wordes of our speach doe goe beyonde credite, as to
saie, It woulde haue made a stonie hearte to weepe: hee wearied
the heauens with his clamour: Shee was fairer then beautie
herselfe, more cruell then Nero or Phaleris: Worse then the Deuill: Whiter then
snowe: sighing without ceasing, and infinite such like.
Of Schemes there are two sorts,
that is,
Grammaticall, and Rhetoricall.
Grammaticall are also deuided into two parts.
that is,
Orthographicall, pertaining chieflie to Poesie:
and
Syntaxicall, which are to be applied to our vses.
Clipsis,
that is a defect of sence in a word or necessarie
reason, aunswerable to the due construction, as when hauing spoken
sufficientlie of a matter, we close vp the sentence with these
wordes, But this for that let be, and now to the rest, where
after let be, this worde (sufficient) seemeth to be
wanting. Likewise, what might be more in the matter? for
what might be more don or spoken in the matter. Also to saie,
you are not to aunswere or compare with him, for you are not
meete, sufficient, or able to answere or compare with him. Or
otherwise to say, A man of so rare vertue, so deeplie to be
ouerseene, for, is it true that a man of so rare vertue
shoulde so deeply be ouerseene.
Aposiopesis, when by passing to another matter, we stop our
spéech on a sudden, as it were in an interrupted or discontented mood,
as to say, Are these the practises you take in hand? be these your
deuises? hath your worthy courage endeuored so mighty effectes? But I
will first tame your courses, and for the residue, I wil hold you in
so bridled a meane, that my selfe will warrant you henceforth from any
such like further proceedings. Or thus, Vngratefull creature,
hast thou dealt wel with me in thus conspiring my ill that haue euer
sought thy good? Wel, I wil saie no more, but for thee & thy complices
I wil take order well inough to stay you. Or otherwise by way of a
fearful rehearsall thus: What euill was there whereunto we were
not subiect? But whie dwell I in circumstances? wee were the men
allotted to that purpose.
Zeugma, when one or more clauses are concluded vnder
one verbe, as to saie, His loosenesse ouercame all shame: his
boldnesse, feare: his madnesse, reason: where all these clauses
are concluded vnder this one verbe, Ouercame. Or thus:
What auaileth it to shrine so much this vaine beauty, which either by
long sicknesse, extremity of old age, infinite sorrowes and cares,
or a thousand mishaps besides, is euery day in daunger or subiect to
bee vtterlie crased: In which all the clauses before going are
concluded in this one verbe is in danger, &c.
Syllepsis, when one verbe supplieth two clauses, one person
two roomes, or one word serueth to manie sences, as thus: He runs
for pleasure, I for feare: where this verbe run, serueth
to both purposes: also thus: But scorning so to be reproued, and
with a manly resolution by one stroke giuen, he acquited his shame,
his credit, and his person, where this one worde acquite
serueth to all clauses aforegoing and following.
Prolepsis, where some thing generallie first spoken,
is afterwards drawne into partes, as thus: Let vs take vpon
vs one selfe charge, I to direct abroad, you to order at home.
Or otherwise: Men diuerslie do erre, some by an ignoraunt
simplicitie, others by a most peruerse follie.
Pleonasmus, where with words seeming superfluous, we do
increase our reasons, as thus: With these eares I heard him speake
it: Or with mine eies I behelde him sorrowing, where we well knowe
that without eares or eies, we cannot wel heare or see, yet carieth
this kind of spéech, a vehemency in enforcing the matter so
plainelie, or throughlie to be hard or séene.
Macrologia, where a clause is finallie added to the matter
going before, in seeming more then néeded, as, Men of so high and
excelling vertue, let them euer liue, and neuer die, here
neuer die, seemeth superfluous, and yet notable wel adorneth the
sentence.
Anastrophe, a preposterous inuersion of wordes, besides
their common course, as when we say: for faults, no man liueth
without, when order requireth we should saie: No man liueth
without faults: Long when he had confusedly thus liued, for when he
had long time thus confusedlie liued.
Hysteron proteron, where that which ought to be in the first
place, is put in the second, as thus: After hee had giuen saile
to the winde, and taken the Seas, for after he had taken the seas,
and giuen saile to the wind. Also, That which of all others is
most sacred and permanent, honoured, and euer shining vertue, chuse
vnto your selues: for chuse vnto your selues honored and euer
shining vertue, which of all others is most sacred and permanent: or,
as commonly we say in our English spéech, Pull off my bootes and
spurs.
Tmesis of Diacope, a diuision of a word
compound into two parts, as, What might be soeuer vnto a man
pleasing, that had he, for whatsoeuer might be, &c. Hither
should he haue come to, when he finished his argument: for hitherto
should he haue come, &c.
Parenthesis, an intercluding of a sentence in any reason
commonlie set betweene two halfe circles, as thus: I am content
(not in respect you deserue so much at my hands) onelie for pitie
sake to hearken ynto you, the knowledge hereof is ordinarie, and
therefore I néede speake the lesse of it.
Hypallage, when by change of propertie in application a
thing is deliuered, as to saie, Darkesome wandring by the solitary
night, for wandring solitarilie by the darkesome night, or the
wicked wound thus giuen, for hauing thus wickedlie wounded him. The
vse hereof in Poesie is most rife.
Hendiadis, when one thing of it selfe intire, is diuersly
layde open, as to saie, On iron and bit he champt, for on the
iron bitte hee champt: And part and pray we got, for part of
the pray: Also by surge and sea we past, for by surging sea we
past. This also is rather Poeticall then other wise in vse.
Asyndeton, when two or thrée clauses or more disioyned do
follow one another, as to saie his house, his land, his purse,
himselfe, his life, were all at his commaund. Or thus, he
scapte, he ran, he rusht, and fled away. Or otherwise,
thy fame, thy wealth, thy friends, thy kin, and all hast thou lost
togithers.
Polysyndeton, when in like sort by many coniunctions sundrie
words one following the other are vnited together, as thus, Both
sworde and fire and dearth, three dreadfull scourges of the war were
alwayes attendant vpon him. Or thus, with faith and troth and
plighted heart, and loue he made him hers, &c.
Hirmos, where a continuance of speech is vsed, vntill
the ende of the clause, as God in the beginning made heauen,
earth, sea, firmament, sunne, moone, starres, and all things in them
contained: where you see all these words, heauen, earth, &c.
haue all one continuance vntill the last end of the sentence.
Epitheton, when for ornament sake we adde vnto a worde, or
for mislike do attribute somewhat vnto the same, as when for ornament
we say, Sweet beautie, precious loue, friendlie fortune: Or
contrariwise in mislike, vnbrideled lust, filthie gaine, wicked
guile, deceitfull fauour, fond fancie, &c.
class="antiqua"Periphrasis, when by circumlocution anie thing is
expressed, as when we say, The Prince of Peripateticks,
for Aristotle, the subuerter of Carthage and
Numantia, for Scipio. A man studious of wisedome, for
a Philosopher: A man diuerslie enriched, for one that is
wealthie, &c.
Liptote, when by the lesse that is spoken, the more maie bee
vnderstood, as thus: What auaileth it that thou dost not despise me,
which is by the contrarie, that thou louest mee, the deliuerie
thereof is singular by the negatiue, for that giueth grace to the
Figure, as it discontenteth me not to heare of you, but it
griueth me to heare ill of you. We are not so ignorant of things, but
we can perceiue somewhat. That is in the one, it pleaseth
mee well to heare of you, and in the other, we haue skill to
discerne of things, and thereby can perceiue somewhat.
Paradiastole, when with a milde interpretation or spéech
we colour others or our owne faults, as when we call a subtill
person, wise: a bold fellow, couragious: a prodigall
man liberall: a man furious or rash, valiant: a
parasite, a companion: him that is proud, magnanimous,
and such like.
Meosis, a maner of disabling, as when we saie, Alas
sir, it is not in my power to doe it: or otherwise, little God
wot could man doe in such a case.
ANaphora, or Repetitiō, where by rehearsall of one
worde wee make sundrie beginnings, as to saie, Learning bringeth
to knowledge, learning maketh wise, learning enableth to vertue,
learning is the ornament of the minde, finallie, learning is the onelie
substantiall proppe and guide of
mans life, without which nothing in a
manner can bee pleasant, nothing sauourie, nothing of value, &c. Or
thus, hauing committed so great euils, couldest thou yet dare to
come in open shewe of the worlde, couldest thou dare to shewe thy selfe
in the face of men, couldest thou dare to bee seene of anie one, that
hast thus generallie deserued to bee hated of all: Or otherwise
thus, When death commeth to chalenge his due, what then shall
auaile beautie, what youth, what riches, what strength? where then
shall become thy landes, where thy reuenue, where thy possessions? who
shall argue thy cause, who stande for thee, who plead for thee?
Epanalepsis, when with one selfe word, we doe both begin
and finish a sentence, the vse hereof is méerelie appropriate to
Poesie, Much asked he of Priams state, of Hector verie much.
Epizeuxis, or a redoubling of a word, by vehemencie to
expresse a thing, as thus: Thou thou art he on whom I liue to be
reuenged. He, he it was that wrought all my care. Thus, thus behooueth
men of vertue and courage to doe.
Anadiplosis, when the last word of a comma or member of a
sentence, is the beginner of another that followeth, as heauens
witnes my fall, my fall more grieuous then may be well supported by
common sorrow: or thus, Fie, too much vngratefull, vngratefull
to mee of all others, that so much at thy hands haue deserued.
Antistrophe, where manie members are drawne to ende with
one and the same worde, as, we haue our felicitie of vertue,
our renowne of vertue, our hope and expectation of vertue. Or
thus: men from their errours are reclaimed by loue, reclaimed by
hope, reclaimed by feare.
Symploche, where sundrie members haue one selfe beginning
and ending, as thus, If we shall debate of the times present, what
is I pray you the cause of all these euils? money: what hath beene the
decay of our estimate? money: what the ruine of our soules? money: what
the torment of our conscience? money: what the meane of all ambitious
aspirings, treacheries, and villanies? money: In fine, this cursed and
wretched title of gaine is it that bewitcheth all ages and seasons, and
that onelie by a seruile regarde and account giuen vnto money: Or
otherwise thus in contempt. What sillie soule wast thou when I
beganne first to like thee? nothing. What
when I tooke thee? nothing.
What before I cherished and regarded thee? nothing. And now that by me
thou hast beene made somthing, thou esteemest me as nothing.
Ploche, when by an Emphasin, a worde is either in praise
or disgrace, reiterated or repeated, as thus: Though Scipio
were neuer so much terrified with the Carthaginians in Spaine, with
the Numidians in Affricke, with aduersaries abroade, and with priuie
enemies at home, yet ceased he not to be Scipio still, that
is, sui similis, like vnto himselfe still.
Polyptoton or Traductiō, when one worde is often
repeated by varietie of cases, as thus: Who hath in his life
nothing so much pleasing as the verie life it selfe which he enioyth,
it is impossible that his life with vertue should anie wayes be
adorned: or by translating of one worde into diuers formes, as
thus: What manhoode call you this, so vnmanlie to deale in those
actions, that speciallie appertaineth to a man? Here is this
word manhood translated into vnmanlie man.
Membrum, or Parison, when one or moe members doe
followe in equall sentences, as thus: See now by one fault how
manie mischiefs thou hast heaped to thy selfe, thou hast consumed thy
patrimonie, grieued thy parents, estranged thy friends, defamed thy
stocke, vndone thy kindred, and heaped mischiefe a thousand folde to
thy selfe more then can be auoided: or thus with copulation:
neither hast thou herein dealt discreetlie for thy selfe, nor respected
thy frends, nor regarded thy being, nor studied of the euill, nor cared
for the good that might happen, but leauing al at randon, thou hast
done what in thee lieth to worke all our vndoing.
Omoioteliton, or similiter cadens, when
words and sentences in one sort do finish togithers, as thus:
Weeping, wailing, and her handes, wringing, she moued all men to pitie
her. Or thus: Thou liuest maliciouslie, speakest hatefully,
and vsest thy selfe cruelly. Or thus: Wee find it much better
of wise men to be rebuked, then by filthie flatterie to be fondly
deceyued.
Prosonomasia, pleasant kind of collusion in words, in
significations diuers, only by changing, detracting, or adding a
letter or sillable in a word, as to say, No doubt he is a foole
wise man, for a full wise man, for a Doctor, a Doter, or
otherwise, thou art no bewraier, but a betraier of mens counsels.
Of one religious thou art become prodigious.
Antanaclasis, when we produce a word in a contrary
signification to that it commonlie portendeth: as to saie, For
my kindnesse you haue vsed me kindly, meaning indeede you haue vsed
mee verie badly. And I can bee contented to pray with you though you
pray not vppon me. Where this worde kindly is applied
to the worser part, which of it selfe carieth as wee see a far other
meaning: and likewise pray in one sence being to entreate,
is in another sense intended here to spoile. And as another said to a
rude fellow, you are too course to keepe course in our companie,
here is course for rudenes, and course in another
sense for good order.
Erotema or Interrogatiō, when by
interrogation we sift out anie thing somtimes by demand, as to
saie, But you sir, now frō whence I pray you, deriue you your
fancie? by asseueration, as to saie: Haue you not in this
action behaued your selfe excellent well? By commiseration, as to
saie: Alas what grounde may holde mee, what lande or shore may
possesse mee, circumuented as I am with so many euils? By vrging,
as thus,What hadst thou to intermeddle in so bad a company? How
long shall wee bee thus abused with so fained treachery? Art thou not
ashamed seeing thy purposes thus reuealed? Perceiuest thou not thy
driftes to bee all discouered? By indignation, as to saie,
Shall I yet couer thy villanies being at thy handes thus hatefully
misused? or thus, Wicked and peruerse kinde of people,
howe long will you thus hatefully deale with your fauorers? By
admiration, as to saie, Good Lord, who woulde haue thought so much
loosenesse in so chaste a countenance! But what is it that this blind
and sottish loue draweth not a man headlong into? And lastly, by
doubting, as thus: What shall I say, or what further speeches may
I vse to withdraw you from these euils? Or otherwise: Whither
shall I turne me to speake vnto you, or what wordes may I vse whereby
to withdraw you from these vanities?
Anthypophora or Subiectiō, when to a
question asked by vs, we answere of our selues in our own reasonings,
the maner whereof is accomplished three kinde of waies, as first when
wee obiect vnto our selues that which to others might be obiected, and
answere it againe. Secondlie, when we do (as it were) vrge those we
speake vnto to answere vs, and so answering, do confute their sayinges.
Thirdlie, when in a deliberatiue sort we propound diuers things, and
refute them all one after another. Example of the first maie bee
this. Is this a maner of discipline? Doe men in such sort deliuer
their instructions? Had they for this cause the authoritie of tutors
to them giuen, that in vanities and misliked pleasures, they who are
committed vnto their charge, shoulde consume their youth vnder them?
Beleeue me I am of a farre other opinion, neither do I thinke, that
the reasonable time of young men, being now fittest of all others for
anie vertuous impression, shoulde thus cautelouslie be deluded of that,
whereunto both their parents and birth do commend them. Of the
second, this: Nowe after al these proofes of the happie comming
and acknowledgement of our true and onelie Messias: Let me speake vnto
you againe, yee Iewes, enemies, and maligners of our sole and onelie
God and Sauiour Christ Iesus, with what reasons strengthned doe you
persist in your madnes? Stande ye vpon the Oracles of Prophets? Wee
haue made plaine vnto you that they are wholie for vs. Looke ye after
Moyses? It was only of our Christ, and none other that he that written.
Waite ye on Types and Figures? They all in one do agree to bee in him
fulfilled. Preferre you vnto vs miracles? Who could desire more then
by him was shewed. Bring you against vs a number of consents? Alas you
onely bring the smallest number, and lurking as it were in a corner,
are the gainsayers of trueth itselfe, sith the whole world round
about you doth witnes for vs. Doth the hope of any euent yet a little
detaine you? Beholde your temple long since subuerted: your sacrifices
quenched, your Citie rased, your people runnagate and dispersed, nor
anie hope at all left vnto you to be relieued but by the clemencie of
the Christians. Of the thirde, this. Tell mee I praie, what
or wherein is it, that a worldlie man hath such meane to glorie in?
wherein shoulde hee bee proude, or for what cause should he thus puffe
vp himselfe in vanitie? Is it for his riches? they neuer make a man
either happy or blessed, so farre off are they many times from anie
such euent, as often wee do see that they are the verie cause of their
owners destructions, they sundrie waies are meanes to inconueniences,
and in our owne sight forsake their maisters in their life times, but
seldome followe them for ought wee see to their graues. Is it for
children? The keeping of them is then of riches far more vncertaine.
Is it in respect of a wife, familie and other such like commodities?
they are vexations, cares and griefes, nothing in them stable, nor such
as may induce a man to any hoped tranquility, &c. There is also of
this sort another example, by an
immediate answere to euerie question,
as thus: Wherfore then is the law? for transgressors, wherefore
reward? for wel-doers. Or thus: Where is now their pride?
vanished. Where are their boasts? deluded. Came they to aide vs? no,
rather to suppresse vs. Came they to comfort vs? no, but to kill vs.
Antenagoge, when hauing spoken as it were in the dispraise
or mislike of a thing, we goe about to helpe the same againe with a
new colour to the matter: As to saie, It is a thing difficult to
attain learning, but yet verie commodious. It is tedious to trauell for
sundry knowledges, but vnto our liues it is a thing most necessary.
Ecphonesis or Exclamatiō, which hath
signification of griefe or indignation of a thing, as of griefe
thus, O cruell and lamentable times wherein wee liue, subiect
as wee are to so manifolde miseries! Of indignation thus. O
incredible boldnesse, or rather impudencie of a shamelesse creature:
not fit to bee suffered. Neither is this manner speaking, alwaies
framed by the Interiection O, but rather otherwise, as thus:
Vnhappie man, made vnhappie by so great a misfortune, what vnkinde
destiny droue him to so imminent a perill? Howe miserable and
vncertaine is the state and condition of man, subiect to so many and
so huge calamities? Or otherwise, What kind of people are you
to rage in so vile a madnesse? Was euer seene a multitude so fierce,
a company so carelesse, an assemblie so desperate? What inconsiderate
dealing do you vse? I shame to see you, & grieue to behold you, &c.
Insultatiō, when iniuriously, or by a contumelious reproch
we insult vpon a mans doings, as thus: Trudge on with thy
mischiefs, proceed in these thy insatiable cruelties, and he that hath
power ouer al, wil one day I hope correct thee. Or otherwise,
Pursue I pray you your glorious enterprise, you haue, no doubt, very
waightily begun, & we cannot but expect thereof a notable issue.
Aporia or Dubitatiō, when wee make staie or
doubt howe to tearme a thing, or which waie to wade in a matter,
as thus: What shoulde I say, was it anger or an inueterate
malice that led him to this mischiefe? Shall I cal him cunning as
cautelous, that procured it, and so well could shift himselfe of it?
Or otherwise thus: May hee bee said to be beloued, or rather
fortunate or blessed, to haue escaped such daungers? is it to bee
tearmed clemencie or rather piety to vse one so miserable with great
curtesie. Or thus: I am not well perswaded what course to
take in these causes, shall I begin where others haue left? or of my
selfe shall I renewe againe vnto you what you haue so often heard? &c.
Paradoxon, affined vnto that before, but with a kinde of
maruelling or woondering thereunto added, as thus: Could it
possibly bee thought that learning and place of good education might
euer haue produced such monstrous effectes? Or otherwise: I
haue great maruell that men so generous, should so quickly be diuerted
from their honest purposes. Or thus: I woulde neuer haue
beleeued that such graue and considerate counsels shoulde so easily
haue beene subuerted.
Epitropis, when by proposing a cause, wee reason what should
bee done therein, as thus: In times so troublesome and seasons
so tempestious, giue now your aduise what is fit to bee done. If the
case were your owne, what would you doe, what would you say therein,
tell me I pray you, you that conuerse in these and such like actions, I
herein appeale vnto your wisdomes, your owne consciences, shewe me but
your mindes herein. And this figure is vsed in reasoning, when as
to conclude a matter, and seeming loath to trouble the auditorie anie
further in the same, we pretend to reserue a great part thereof, which
we would refer to their iudgements.
Parresia, or libertie to speake, when by winning of curtesie
to our spéech we séek to auoid any offence thereof, as thus.
Pardon if I be tedious, the circumstance of the cause requireth it. If
my speech seeme vehement, the matter occasioning the same is vrgent.
If what I write seeme offensiue vnto you, you haue to mislike the ill
disposition of such as inforce it, and not with me to be agreeued.
Apostrophe, or Auersio, when wee turne our
speeches from one person or thing to another, as if one hauing spoken
much of the vanitie of the worlde shoulde thereupon turne and saie
vnto the worlde, O world, how sweete and pleasant are the shewes
of those things which thou producest: but in taste, how full of too
much bitternes? Or in speaking of the certaintie of death, and the
little respect thereof had, to turne a mans speach to death it selfe
and saie, O death, how bitter is thy remembrance to a man hauing
peace and plenty in his riches, &c.
Prosopopœia when to things without life wee frame an
action, spéech or person, fitting a man, as if we should saie of
vertue, as of a liuing person, that her wayes were sweet,
and replenished with all maner of delight, that she putteth her selfe
foorth to the woorthiest to be receyued, and to the most honoured to
be embraced. Or faine the ghosts from out their graues to
prescribe good examples, or to rebuke the vices of men. Or our
countrey to accuse vs of our negligent regard vnto it in these
or suchlike speeches: Vnkind people and Citizens whom I haue
ingendred in my bowels, nourished with my paps, fostered with my
delights, why doe you thus vngratefullie not onelie abstaine to tender
mee, but giue mee an open proy to my foes to suppresse mee: yea, which
is most loathsome of all others, become proper murtherers and paracides
of your owne parentage and familie, cruell destroyers of your owne
patrimonie, and wretched renders and tearers of your mothers bowels,
without all regard or pitie.
Synonymia, when we bring foorth many wordes together of
one signification, or sounding all to one purpose, as to say,
thou hast spoiled thy Countrey, destroied thy Citie, and turned the
Commonweale topsie-turuie: all which do sort but to one purpose,
for the expressing the hatefulnesse of the iniurie: or otherwise to
say, What head hadst thou to deuise such a thing, where was thy
wit when thou wentst about it, what became of thy minde in purposing
the same, whither was thy discretion caried in the prosequution?
Here is head, wit, minde and discretion, all sorting to
one thing. Also, what desirest thou, what soughtest thou, what
couldest thou wish or expect in the action. Here is desired,
sought, wish and expect, being all to one meaning.
Auxesis or Incrementum, where by degrees
we not onlie rise to the summe of euerie thing, but also sometimes
go beyond, as to say, Hee first set vpon him with reproachfull
wordes, after assayled him with his weapons, then wounded him, and
lastlie did moste miserablie murther him. Here by degrees is
passed to the last exigent. Now to the second. It is euill to
reproch, wicked to slaunder, villanous vnwarilie to strike, detestable
to murther. What shall I say to betray a man to all these. Here
is nowvltra summum, beyond all that was spoken to
the vttermost. The excellencie of this Figure is so much the more, by
howe much euerie degrée is still inforced one aboue another, and goeth
beyonde in comparison, as to say: golde, riches, honour, estate,
treasure, kingdomes, life, and all
he helde of no moment. Another
kinde of recitall pertaineth also to this figure short in repetition,
but for vehemencie wonderfull, as to say: Thou hast conspired the
death of thy Prince, and in her the subuersion of a whole kingdome,
what should I say thou hast conspired the death of thy Prince. As
who would enforce that no one thing then that could be greater:
Finallie, for inforcement of a thing, to say in reprehension of
follies. If thou hadst done or spoken this in a priuate audience,
among men of the ruder and meaner sort, among such as are lesse capable
of skill then a great many others, thy fault could not haue beene
hid: but to doe it before thy betters, in the presence of such as are
adiudged both honorable and wise, in the hearing of those of great
account of such as haue power to checke, and authoritie to compell
thee, it was too peeuish.
Sinathrismus, a heaping of words diuersly signifying
togithers, as to say, Hee was a man wholie malicious, exceedinglie
proude, vtterlie arrogant, altogither subtill, by nature cruell, and
in speeches contentious. Or otherwise thus: What should I
tell thee further of his partes, how wise, how sober, how honest, howe
courteous, howe friendly, how choicelie he liued.
Brachiologa, when in single wordes without anie coupling
togethers, we procéed in a broken kind of deliuerie, and yet hasten
forward as in the other: As to saie, loue, hate, Ielousie,
frensie, furie, drew him from pitty.
Antithesis, or Contentiō, when we amplifie by
contraries, as to say, Being in my power to vse as I listed, I
cared for thee, and did not destroy thee. Thou wast charie vnto me
whē no man regarded thee, and when my selfe also might haue despised
thee. Or otherwise: If you doe that is good, you haue the
rewarde of praise, if you prosecute badnesse, your merite is euill.
Or thus: To thy enimyes and those that maligne thee, thou art
placable: to thy friendes, inexorable. In coole matters thou art hotte:
in the hottest causes, colde: Art thou called? Thou art gone. Thy
absence required? we cannot be rid of thee.
Epanodis, carrieng a reference to the matter preceding, much
like to the figureProlepsis, but that yᵉ figure
Prolepsis, hath relation onelie to the matter, this to the
matter and tearmes therein vsed, the difference whereof you maie see in
some of mine epistles as the same is quoted in the margent where the
figure is vsed.
Comparatiō, which taketh his increase of smaller matters,
which if they may séeme great in all opinions, then that which we
séeke to amplifie must of necessitie séeme greater, sometimes also by
diminution of things great, to make the residue the greater, example
of the first may bee that saying of Cicero of Catiline,
in these wordes, Did the famous Scipio for a little ill
gouernment of the common weale, cause Tiberius Gracchus priuatelie to
bee made awaie: and shall wee preferre Catiline that goeth about to
fill the whole worlde with his slaughters? Here is Catiline
compared to Gracchus, the state of a common wealth to the
whole worlde, a small sliding to an insufferable wasting, and a priuate
man to the whole Senate. Or otherwise thus: Tell mee I praie thee,
if one had giuen thee but a small summe of money to comfort thy neede
withall, were it not humanitie to thanke him: If hee had giuen thee
possessions to liue vppon, were it not honestie to requite him: If of
a slaue hee made thee rich, shouldest thou not bee bounden vnto him?
Howe much more then to him that hath not alonelie done all these, but
farre more then these vnto thee, oughtest thou in the verie bondes of
nature and courtesie to bee both thankefull and louing? Example of
the seconde sort for diminution might bee this: What is it that
you propose vnto mee these small matters of vnkindnesse, as that the
man is ingratefull, that hee hath no good remembraunce of courtesies,
that there is in him not so much as an acknowledgement, which is a
thing farre from requitall, these I must confesse are iniuries to some,
but vnto mee they are trifles, matters of no moment, things not to bee
reckoned of: what say you to him that betrayeth his friend, seeketh his
death that hath sought his life, worketh by all possible meanes his
ouerthrow, his destruction and vndoing? And in this exaggeration
of vices, so also might there bee the like of Vertues,
as if one should exhort a man to Pietie, after hee had set
foorth all the commodities thereof, as the tranquilitie of minde,
peace of conscience, libertie of spirit, the communion with Saints,
from a bonslaue of the diuell to become the childe of God, the comfort
of the holie Ghost which the Prophet denieth may be by man conceyued:
he might lastlie adde, what thinges then these in all the
worlde could be greater, what more singular, what more happie, and yet
if they be conferred vnto that blessed heritage of immortalitie, if
to the life and ioyes to come, if to that heauenlie Ierusalem, which
certainlie remaineth for all such as are endued with such a spirit:
they are toies and things of no excellencie or moment.
Metonoia, when by a sudden restraint of spéech, wee giue
grace or mislike to a person, or thing, as to saie, worthilie
atchieued? nay rather honourablie attained, a man notable, we maie
rather saie, singular: Ah cruell man, and no man neither, but
a beast: Oh rare clemencie, or rather most admirable
patience. Hee is no thiefe, but a rauener: no murtherer, but a tyrant.
Aphorismus, a Scheme, like vnto the other, but
differing by a maner of reprehension, as to saie, What lawes bee
these, if at least wise they may be termed lawes, which beare in them
so vile customs, and not rather firebrands of the citie, and the plague
of the whole common weale. Or otherwise: your counsellers, if
such may be called counsellers, as draw vnto mischiefe, are vtterlie
vnmeete to such kinde of assemblies.
Diminutiō, when we goe about to extenuate things difficult,
to make them lesse in seeming, as to one that would shun learning,
for the tediousnesse thereof in studie: We might shew, that
besides the great necessitie thereof in the life of man, wee shall
in attaining thereof, take no other nor more laboursome course, then
others before vs haue done: that the way thereunto is verie plaine and
easie, the labour (if anie be) sweet and pleasant. And whereas in all
our ordinarie exercises of vanitie, there redoundeth for the most part
in the ende but meere trauaile, and vnprofitable charge: in this the
commoditie is as great as the delight, the gaine as ordinarie as the
practise, wherein the studie is but the least part of a mans life, but
the pleasure and commodity infinite. And like as in this, so in all
other things, conducing to good and laudable exercises, the labour is
still diminished, by proposing the worthines, pleasure, honour, profit,
and so of euils commonlie, by mitigation of the fault.
Climax, or Gradatiō, when each member in a sentence
ariseth from the other afore going, beginning with that which endeth
the former, as to say, His industrie bred him vertue: his vertue,
praise: his praise, renowne: his renowne, glorie: and his glorie enuie.
Or thus: What hope haue we of good, if what men list, they
may; and what they may they do, and what they doe they dare, and what
they dare they prosecute, and what they prosecute, they are neuer
ashamed of.
Antimetauole or Commutatiō, when a sentence
by charge is inuerted to the contrarie, as thus, We must eat to
liue, and not liue to eat: Not man for the Sabboth, but the Sabboth for
man was ordained. They are happy whose wisdome is answerable to their
fortune, and whose fortune answereth their wit.
Sinæciosis, when one contrary is attributed to another, or
when two diuerse things are in one put together, as thus. The
prodigal and couetous doe offende alike, for neither doe liue as they
ought. Pleasure it selfe is sometimes a labour, and labour also is
often a pleasure. To a couetous man is wanting as well that he hath, as
that hee hath not.
Etiologia, a figure like vnto the other beforegoing, and
much resembling to Orismus, which defineth a matter
by sorting the same into a distinguishment: but this nowe telleth
the cause or reason of that which is before auerred, and is as a
confirmation thereunto giuen for the concluding of the same, you maie
sée the examples as the figure is quoted in my Epistles.
Paralepsis, or Occupatiō, when in seeming
to ouerpasse, omit, or let slip a thing, we then chiefly speake
thereof, as thus: I will not here rehearse vnto you how slippery
and transitorie this life is, howe much laden with cares, exposed to
daungers, and attended with miseries, for we knowe it and feele it:
But I will come to speake of the perdurable ioies of the other, &c.
Or thus, for my part I haue no pleasure to laie open other
mens errors, it is inough vnto me, that by themselues they are made
apparant, and that the whole worlde may see them. I omit to report vnto
you these and such like ordinary matters, which in comparison of that
I will shew you are but trifles. I tell you not, or I talke not now of
times past. It is not the matter wherein I am now occupied. His theft,
his rapine, his spoile, and all his whole disorderlie course of life in
those daies perpetrated, I nowe omit, and onely doe come to the times
present. His counselling (I had almost said concealing) of good when
time was, if it bee well noted, was it that procured our mischiefes, &c.
Procatalepsis orPræoccupatiō, when we doe
anticipate vnto our selues that we know wil be obiected, as thus,
what do you obiect vnto me the times passed, those seasons & ours are
vtterly vnlike. But peraduenture you will say that these things are for
children fit to bee considered, nay rather meetest of old men to be
followed. You will
happely say vnto me herein, that I am too light of
credit: but I can tel you the proofe is extant, and fit to be beleeued.
Metastasis or Transitiō, when in briefe
wordes we passe from one thing to another, as thus, You haue
hearde by this what you ought to consider, heare now I pray you what
you are bounde to remember. These things you will say are pleasant,
but the rest yet vntold are far more delightfull. This already shewed
vnto you seemeth to be tolerable, that which followes is no waies to
be suffered. I haue now told you what was done in priuate, I will next
shewe you what was handled in publike: these things he did at home,
that which followeth was abroade in the fielde: whilst hee was a young
man, hee did this I told you, but the vertues of his age were far more
different. You haue vnderstood of maners, I will now speake vnto you of
learning: I will not trouble you with many things further, only this
one thing will I rehearse vnto you. But of these enough, we will now go
to the rest. I haue somthing beene caried away with these motions, but
we wil now go to the substance. But why stay we so long in trifles? I
wil go to the head of the matter: what he promised I haue deliuered,
what he performed you shall vnderstande: I haue thus shewed you how
much he was charged vnto me, you shal now heare againe how gently he
requited me.
Paramologia, where we graunt one or moe thinges meete to
be marked or alleadged, and forthwith doe infer thereupon sufficient
whereby to ouerthrow it, as thus: I deny not but I haue heretofore
vsed you in causes secret, in matters weighty and of counsell, that I
haue found you friendly, faithfull and ready: but what is all that to
the purpose, when in a thing so important, and matter neerly concerning
me, as whereon dependeth the safegard of my whole house and familie,
I haue founde you in both negligent and vntrustie. Or otherwise
thus: Be it, or suppose you haue omitted nothing in your owne
person, of a friende to be performed, that you were no partaker with
him of those euill counsels: that you abstained to accompany him in the
execution of his mischiefes, yet are you not therfore cleared. For it
is not sufficient for a man not to doe euill of himselfe, but that by
to too much lenity he become not occasion of an others mischiefe.
Dichologia, when by a colour of mitigation wee defende our
cause, as to saie: I fell, I confesse, but as a young man, I went
astray, but as one willing to be reclaimed: I forsooke my friend
indeede, but constrained by the lawes, I was a companion in their
badnesse, but forced by threatning.
Orismus, definitiō, or finitiō,
wherein we brieflie laie forth the true properties of euerie thing,
by impugning the contrarie, as thus: Men cannot be said in vertue
to exceed, for in vertue there is euer an excellency, but neuer an
excesse, sith the excesse is onely appropriate vnto vices. This cannot
be said to be care but couetousnesse, for care hath onely respect to
necessary vses, but in couetousnes, there is neuer any reasonable
suffizance.
Hypotyposis, when any thing is described in particular, or
made knowne to the viewe, as thus: Shall I tell you what maner a
one you haue preferred vnto mee, for his stature, a Dwarfe: for his
person, a trunke: for his qualities a dog: for his countenance, a foxe:
in behauiour a swine: in condition, an Ape: in sense, an Asse, and in
vsage, a beast.
Merismus or Distributiō, when that as maie
bee generallie spoken we distribute for amplification into parts: as
if in generalitie we said: He hath consumed all his substance in
riot: By distribution wee might amplifie thus: Whatsoeuer
patrimony hee had from his father, what priuate inrichment by his
deceased mother, what large assistance by friends, whereat the worlde
neuer barked, what dowry soeuer by his wife, which no doubt was very
great, all this hath he consumed by a most dissolute and wanton liuing:
mony, plate, lands, wealth, possessions and all, are gone to the deuil,
his cattel consumed, his houshold stuffe solde, his apparell spent, and
the poore miser at this instant hath not left him a farthing.
Dialisis, a separation of one thing from another, both being
absolued by a seuerall reason, in the nature of a Dilemma, as
thus: When I haue preached vnto you all I may, if you bee well
giuen it auaileth, if graceles, forth you wil not be moued. Or
thus. What should I further set forth vnto you my good will, if
you remember it, I haue said inough, if not, my words wil not prouoke you.
Dialogismus or Sermocinatiō, an imaginatiue
speach, agréeing to the quality of the person it is framed of. Whether
he be valiant cruell, young, old, or of what other condition, as if
we shoulde saie of the times present. Were the ancient Apostles
and olde Fathers of religion nowe liuing, which with great innocencie
of life, and true pietie, shined in their seasons, and should but
beholde the most corrupt and abhominable estate of our times, subiect
as they bee to all kinde of euils, would they not thinke, you straight
proclaime against vs the vniust name of Christians, and challenge vs
for the great want we haue of the true profession thereof? Would they
not rather cry out of vs that deluding ourselues onely with a vaine
title or name of Christians, we do not so much as seeke in the meane
time to followe any part thereof?
Epiphonema, or conclusion to a matter before shewed, as
thus: Of so woonderfull force was his wisdome, which was able to
compasse that in short time, which a number haue diuerslie sought for,
and could neuer hetherto obtaine. Or thus: Such is the force
of Nature which seldome wee doe see is euer chaunged by anie colours.
Much haue they forsaken that haue cast all from themselues. It is
commonlie the conclusion or making vp of a discourse or sentence by
some pithie manner of speaking. As if a man shoulde inueigh against
drunkennesse, hee might thus conclude, Hee nowe that thinketh
it parcell of humanity, by thrusting on of many cuppes to driue his
friend into drunkennesse, let him also thinke it kindnes, by a venemous
confection giuen, to driue him into madnesse.
Expeditiō, or enumeratiō, when many reasons
of auerment being numbred togethers, we make a confutation of them,
each one in particular, as thus: The goods in question beeing
alleadged to bee mine, it is requisite you prooue, either that you
had them by chance, that you haue long held or enioied them, that you
bought them with your money, or otherwise that by some gift you came
to them, or lastly, in succession that you haue obtained them. That
you had them by chance it cannot be, for they were not lost from my
keeping. Long haue you not held them, for they were alwaies till this
in mine owne possession. It is plaine you neuer bought them, for you
paide mee no mony for them. By gift you could not haue them, for the
right was in me to giue them. The succession must be void, for my selfe
am yet liuing. It remaineth then if you keep them, that liuing you doe
cast me out of mine own possession. This chiefly appertaineth to
the Iudiciall Epistles in the state Coniecturall.
Cōmoratiō, when matters diuerslie enlarged, are yet staid
vpon, and lastlie brought into one short conclusion, wherby the
reasons are made more weightie, and of the greater efficacie, as
thus. What will you make of this man, whom ye seeke in this maner
to set free, you see he is a man prodigall of his owne fame, & a lier
in waite for others credits, one full of guile, intemperate, railing,
proude and ambitious, to his parents most wicked, ingratefull to his
friends, hated of his owne kinsemen, stubborne to his superiours,
insolent with his equals, to his inferiours cruell, and finallie to all
persons whatsoeuer a creature most intolerable.
Sententia, A recitall of some graue matter by waie of a
notable saying or sentence, either by common custome admitted, or by
some authour deliuered, examples whereof are plentifullie to bee seene
in my Epistles.
Exuscitatiō, A prouocation or stirring vp of others to the
praise or mislike of a thing, as thus: What one is hee of so
slender or contemptible a spirit amongst vs, or who of all our Nation
woulde bee counted so enuious, as vpon so great and large a desert had
by a man so woorthie, woulde not willinglie render vnto him all honour
and due commendation? Likewise of the contrarie for dispraise.
Doth it not abhorre you to heare and vnderstand of a rabble of so great
and vnaccustomed lewdnesse, a man euerie way so vile, to goe thus
freelie vnpunished? Surelie I doe thinke no honest minde but would be
of this opinion, that of all creatures liuing hee were most worthie to
be extirped.
Omiosis, The figure of resemblance or similitude, whereby
wee resemble one thing to another, as thus: Like as they greatlie
do offend, who going to a publike well, whence all a whole citie hath
their water, do infect the same with a most deadly poison: Euen so do
they most wickedly merit of the common weale, who deprauing the mind
of a Prince, doe lade and frequent the same with most mischieuous
counsels. Or thus: Is it seene that men at the blast or byting
of a Viper, do shrinke, and forthwith do run for a medicine? How much
more ought they thē, for the auoiding of a most horrible shame, yᵉ
infamous sting wherof is far worse then all other poisons, to run to a
remedie?
Icon, An image or artificiall description of that we meane
to deliuer, as if in setting forth our most gratious Soueraigne, we
shoulde saie, That Goddesse like adorned with high aspectes, or
statelie grace and maiestie diuine. In Chariot deckt with Princelie
ornaments shee issued foorth, &c. Or thus, laying out the
dreadfulnes of warre, Fierce and vntamed warre with eyes sparkling
as the flaming fire, whose face caried in it selfe a terrour to the
lookers on, and his coūtenance was as it were a present death. His
gesture was as the furious assault of a Lion, and his mouth as a
deuouring pitte to swallow the bloud of multitudes. Armed hee was with
fire, with famine, and with sword, crying reuengement on the world, and
persecuting all nations with a ceaslesse dread.
Paradigma, a maner of exhorting or withdrawing by example,
as to saie, the Elephants engender not, but in places most remote,
and any that by chance do see them in that time they kill. How much
more then behooueth that betweene those of reason, a shamefastnes be
included in executing that action. Or thus. The nature of
the Dolphin is not to suffer the yong ones of her kinde to straggle
vndefenced, such care haue they of their frie: How much more beseeming
is it, that our procreation which are men, should not be suffred to
runne at random without either guide or controlment.
Pareonasis, or Digressio, a spéech beside
the matter in present spoken on, as to saie, But heere let mee
remember vnto you something of the deserts and eternized memorie of
your worthie and most vertuous Parents. Or thus: giue me leaue
a little to digresse from this purpose, to the ende that by laying out
of something yet vnspoken of, I may the better wade into the rest.
FINIS.
Onsidering
howe many woorthie and excellent men, not onely in
our present age, but in manie yeares before vs haue liued, none of
all which (though questionlesse furnished with verie great abilitie)
haue to my certaine knowledge, euer written ought in our English
tongue, touching this title: It maie seeme questionable, how I the most
disfurnished of manie others, and subiect thereby to the insight and
correction of all others, durst take vppon mee to discourse thereupon,
weighing with my selfe the subiect I take in hand, to be of speciall
qualitie, and to none so much fitting as to those that bee greatest
learned, best aduised, discreetest gouerned, and worthiest ruled,
to treate vpon. Nor doe my selfe by such presumption of mine, déem
the same to be of lesse moment then it is. Howbeit, as one tied by
a former promise, in that my first edition of this present Methode
of Epistles, haue nowe taken vpon me (as you see) to write
thereupon.
Truth is, that as I am none of those that maie vaunt my selfe of
any furniture sufficient to so speciall an end & purpose, yet haue I
not bin in some time of the yeares I haue spent, altogither excluded
from any fauour or tast therof at all. Neither haue I whollie spent the
seasons I haue caried, so vainely, but that at one time or other I haue
(not without some considerate aduerting) eyed the demeanours, issues,
and dispositions of sundrie humors, by insight whereinto, and some
proofe made of that which my selfe haue practised in place of seruice,
I am bold in this onelie discourse, to aduenture the performance of
that I haue promised.
In the discouerie whereof, my minde is not, nor shall be to
prescribe vnto any one, but to deliuer what in mine owne opinion,
I haue coniectured to be meetest in such a person. Wel regarding
the number of those who enabled by farre better skill, or guided by
experience, and their owne proper vertue, can both search and wade
further therein, then my poore abilitie may anie waies looke into. For
which my purpose is, and shall be in this present discourse, onlie to
set forth vnto such, whose vnripened yeers, or want of decernment, haue
not yet made them apt vnto so speciall a beeing, and qualitie: what in
my plaine conceit, vnto the place and office of such a one, meete and
fit to be a Secretorie, maie be thought most consonant and worthie.
To the accomplishment whereof, as the best and méetest induction
to such a matter, it shall not bee to slender purpose, to speake
first of the name thereof, and to sift out by what meane the partie
seruing in such a place, had the originall title to be called a
Secretorie. You shall then vnderstande, that as me séemeth, by
speciall reason and iudgement, this name Secretorie, importing
therein as it doth action of great consequence, doth beare in it matter
of more circumstance, then by euerie one is considered, and by howe
much the more honourable the place of attendance is, where such a
one doth serue, by so much the more beseemeth the partie called vnto
such seruice, be a man choice and of worthie estimate, habilitie and
iudgement. So then am I not of opinion of the multitude, who holde that
the praiseable endeuour or abilitie of well writing or ordering the
pen, is the matter that maketh the Secretorie, (albeit the
vse heereof is not the least part of manie other things incident to
the same office) but that carying with it selfe a purpose of
much weightier effect, the person therunto named was as a deriuatiue
from that which containeth the chiefest title of credite, and place of
greatest assurance that may be reposed, in respect of the affinitie
they both haue of trust and fidelitie, each with the other, by
great conceyte and discretion, tearmed to bee a Secretorie.
And albeit there happily maie be opinions some waies contrarying
vnto this my present deliuerie, touching the originall of
this title: yet standing directly assured that they all being laid
togithers, must of necessitie conclude on the verie Secrecie,
trust and regarde, speciallie imposed on him who beareth
the same title: I will boldlie for this cause define, that in respect
of such Secrecie, trust and assuraunce required at
the handes of him who serueth in such place, the name was first giuen
to be called a Secretorie, and that by the etymologie
of the verie word it selfe, sounding in true coniecture,
quasicustos, or conseruator secreti sibi
commissi, a keeper or conseruer of the secret vnto him
committed.
By this reason, we do call the most secrete place in the house,
appropriate vnto our owne priuate studies, and wherein wee repose and
deliberate by deepe consideration of all our waightiest affaires,
a Closet, in true intendment and meaning, a place where our
dealings of importance are shut vp, a roome proper and peculiar to our
selues. And whereas into each other place of the house, it is ordinarie
for euery néere attendant about vs to haue accesse: in this place we
doe solitarie and alone shut vp our selues, of this we keepe the key
our selues, and the vse thereof alone doe onelie appropriate vnto our
selues.
And if we should run but into the nature of things secret, and
consider by the name, what to such a matter is required, we shall find
that of it owne selfe it chalengeth so much, wherby with three things
most speciallie it is saide to be fortified, viz. with
couertnes, that it be closelie kept from the eyes, eares or
vnderstanding of others: Safetie, that securelie it be
retained, and laid vp, both with choice respect and tendering:
Assurance, that by no mistake, negligence, or defect of the partie
hauing charge of such a secrete, it may turne to a preiudice.
Thus then by the concurrence of these, it appeareth that vnto
euerie secrete there is required a Closet, and the
proper vse of that Closet, is onelie for the couertnesse,
saftie and assurance of the secrete: all which
considered, let vs nowe see, if you will, what analogie or
proportion they haue with our Secretorie.
It hath beene alreadie before alledged, that by the verie
etimologie of the worde it selfe, both Name and
Office in one, doe conclude vppon secrecie: If so, then
in respect of the couertnes, safetie and assurance
in him reposed, and not otherwise, the partie seruing in such
place may be called a Secretorie. The Closet in
euerie house, as it is a reposement of secrets, so is it
onelie (as I saide before) at the owners, and no others commaundement:
The Secretorie, as hee is a keeper and conseruer of
secrets, so is hee by his Lorde or Maister, and by none other to
bee directed. To a Closet, there belongeth properlie, a
doore, a locke, and a key: to a Secretorie,
there appertaineth incidentlie, Honestie, Care, and
Fidelitie.
And forasmuch as by the concurrence of these twaine, both Name
and Office doe seeme in vsage and account to be of so
great waightinesse, and that our Secretorie, as wel in title,
as place standeth by such declaration, ioyntlie tied vnto so district
an obseruance: let vs now a little further enter into the function and
place he beareth in such kinde of seruice, and consider that being in
one condition a seruant, he is at the pleasure and appointment
of another to be commanded: and being in a second respect as a
Friend, he is charilie to haue in estimate, the state, honor,
reputation and being of him whom he serueth.
Touching the first of these, in that he is (I meane) a
Seruant, it is to be intended, that thereunto belongeth a
Superiour, by whose absolute direction, his actions of seruice,
are to bee ordered and commaunded. And notwithstanding the reputation,
credite, and estate of beeing, to him giuen and allowed by his
Lorde or Maister, hee is yet to consider, that the weight
and summe thereof acrueth from his onelie fauor, countenance, and
good opinion, and that by howe much the more, hee liberallie and of
an honourable minde affoordeth vnto him the respectes thereof: by so
much the more seriouslie ought hee by all possible endeuours of seruice
and industrie, as farre forth as in him is, to studie to conserue and
vpholde the same.
And herein seemeth it not fruitlesse to oppose vnto such a ones
remembrance, some part of the considerations pertinent and annexed
to the state of a seruant, and what dependancie in common reckoning
resteth betwéene him, who beareth in his sway the authoritie and rule
of a Maister, and the other, who in account that he is to be commanded,
carieth a maner of subiection to that partie, who for the time of such
seruice, is at his hands to bee reuerenced and obeyed.
In regard of which, wee are to see, that by the title and
prerogatiue which euerie maister hath generallie ouer his
seruant, there is a certaine linke of dutie, wherewith each one
that serueth is strained to his obeysance. There is also by that very
name of seruant a kind of fidelitie and trust required, more
speciall then that betwéene the sonne and the father,
and that of so great efficacy, as whereon (peraduenture) may
rest not alonely this disposition of the goods, estate, & principall
affairs, but also oftentimes yᵉ life, hazard or vndoing of the
person of his said maister.
A Son cannot be saide to owe fidelitie to his
parents, for which cause there is also no breach of trust on him
to be imposed. If he deale contrarie to the condition of a son,
the bond by which he is strained proceedeth of nature, and so are
his actions accordinglie held for vnkind, or vnnaturall. But the
seruant not linked by nature, is tied in trust, and by contrarying
of such trust, or not performing thereof, is held treacherous or
vnfaithfull. Besides, so great a predomination hath this
name of fidelitie in the harts of a number, that many haue
refused to commit themselues in times of hazard to their Children,
but rather haue relied themselues wholie on the assurance of their seruants.
And howbeit, most certaine it is, that Nature
woonderfullie swaieth manie times in her proper features, yet in
this case hath she commonly lesse efficacie then in any others. For as
a currant of water loseth his power in being turned backwarde, from
his straightened course, but hath forcible passage in the waie that
it holdeth: so is Nature in this action of parentes
and children, which running forwards from issue to issue,
hath mighty operation, but when it should be returned backwarde, hath
seldome anie power at all.
Contrariwise, whether it be the honestie of the name that
leadeth it, or the common reputation that each faithfull vsage
carieth in the eares of good men, or a feruencie of affection,
linked properlie to the place where anie trust is reposed, I will
not now dispute vpon, but questionlesse, of so charie regarde hath
fidelitie alwaies beene accounted, as immediatlie vpon the name of
a seruant taken, it seemeth not alone to be vnto the selfe
title appropriate, but it is in a manner by the proper allowance
thereunto giuen, seuerelie exacted.
Now, albeit this kind of exaction and charge, seemeth in the
deliuerie thereof to bee indéed verie great, yet when hee that serueth
hath performed all that in such case is to be required: he cannot for
this or that alledge, that hee hath effected anie more then whereunto
by the verie loyalty of a seruant he was enioyned, nor can
hee rightlie or properlie affirme, that by an extraordinarie respect
more then he ought, he hath accomplished the same. For that in things
whereunto a man is bounde, there can be no gratuitie
opposed: but
where a man aboue that hee is charged hath further endeuoured, or more
worthilie attained, therein of troth, and not otherwise, shineth the
greatest praise and glorie vnto him that maie be.
For this cause then doe I saie of our Secretorie, that
as hee is in one degree in place of a seruant, so is he
in another degrée in place of a friend. A seruant
meanlie trained in some Mechanicall Science, sheweth
fidelitie to his Maister, in an vpright dealing and disposition of
his wares or goodes. Another in like sort hauing the receyte of his
Maisters reuenewes, becommeth a faithfull dispenser in his accountes
and reckonings. Some on the other side haue asmuch or the like
fidelitie in keeping of counsels. Others againe by a termed zeale
vnto their masters, haue in recognizing their fidelitie died
willinglie for their fauours.
Of all these sortes of Fidelitie, the last as I am sure
it hath lesse seeming of credence or supposition of troth in common
beléeuing then anie of the others, so is it (you will grant mee,) the
most assured and most moouing pittie, prayse and commendation, in all
reckoning aboue anie of the others. And that such are and haue beene, I
could recite vnto you sundrie remembrances, and one but of late yeares,
that in verie sufficient knowledge fell out to be effected, and thus
was the circumstance, as my vnderstanding could beare it.
When sir Iohn of Desmond in Ireland, some number of years
passed, of a rebellious and cruell minde to the state there being,
and principallie to her Maiesty, had solemnly conspired, and most
tyrannously sworne the death and destruction of all English men in
his Countrey, there happened one Henrie Dauill an English
Gentleman to lie, at that verie bloudie pretended season, in the house
of the saide Knight, and for two causes of him was thought entirelie to
bee fauoured, the one in respect that hee was his Christian Gossip, as
they there terme it (a linke strong inough to haue purchased fauour in
that Countrey, had it not beene with a most bloudie tyrant) the other,
in that hee was a Gentleman both courteous, bountifull and valiant.
This Maister Dauill had at that time onelie an Irish
boy attendant vpon him, the time conspired for this murder was at
midnight,
when all men careleslie were sleeping. About the watch
whereof, sir Iohn and his companie entring the Chamber
of maister Dauill, wakened him from sléepe, opened the
conspiracie, and willed him to prepare him to his lot, assuring him
that were it not he had without exception vowed in his heart, and sworn
the death of all English men, he could desirouslie, aswell for that he
was his Christian Gossip, as for other loue he ought him, haue suffered
his life, but all being appointed to die, he must go with the rest.
The boy hauing receiued into his eares the sound of his masters
death, and therewith sundrie menacing strokes seeing readie to bee
proffered, stirred (no question) by a most zealous Fidelitie,
clasped on his masters breast, and with such slender resistance as
hee coulde, did beare off the blowes, receyued vppon his owne bodie
diuers and sundrie wounds, and doe what they could, no one could pull
or remooue him from thence, till fretting rage kindeled in these
mercilesse creatures, made them kill the Boy vppon his maister, and his
Maister vnder the Boy, both at one instant togithers.
The memorie of this acte, as it is most pitifull in rehearsall, so
will it of a number bee thought verie strange. If anie Fidelitie,
haue by feruencie beene accounted off, this you will iudge of
anie others ought chieflie to be embraced. But yet not this, nor anie
of the residue of those partes of Fidelitie by mee alreadie
deliuered are such, as in this place I hold meete to be pursued. For
howbeit the seruice of our Secretorie is properlie by it selfe
with all assurance to be caried, yet doe wee not place him
in so meane a degree as that by corruption of coine, he might be held
for distrusted nor on the other side would we haue him of iudgement so
disfurnished, but that touching the difference of counsels, or tender
of his life, he should make a decernment.
In this Boy voluntarilie as hee did, in the verie weakenesse of
his yeares, to seeke by death his Maisters safegarde, was no doubt, a
thing woorthie to bee admired. But in manifestation of so great loue,
and testimonie of so loyall affection, had hee beene by yeares more
enabled, it would haue beene thought verie fondlie of to haue done it,
without thereby his Masters death might haue beene reuenged, or his
life preserued: Els to what end is Fidelitie applied, or what
vse at all in reckoning, remaineth there of it?
By discretion to discerne, by vertue to iudge,
and by wisdome to resolue, how and which way the efficacie
and assurance of all trust and fidelitie ought
to be caried, is a thing meetest in all reputation principallie to
be obserued. How can there otherwise appeare anie worthinesse, if
affections sort to bee equall, or what distinguishment may there be of
spirits when mens iudgementes are common.
George Castrioth, surnamed Scanderbeg, the terrour while
hee liued, and onlie man able to confound the Turkish forces,
during his infancie, hauing bin trained vp with Amurath father
to Mahomet the second Emperour of the Turkes (for
that in the conquest of Epirus by the same Amurath,
the father of Scanderbeg being slaine, and his
Signory subdued vnto the Turke, hee was then with others
led awaie into Turky a captiue.) When hee arriued to manlie
yeares, and serued with great fortune and valour the saide Amurath
in his warres: it happened that being in one great battell as
generall of the Turkish Armie against the Christians,
and fighting against Hungarie, a remorse of conscience
tooke him, in that hee being the sonne of a Christian Prince,
professed in Christianitie, and vowed to God, should so wickedlie
become the confusion of his brethren, and warre against Christ
and his kingdome.
And albeit he was neuer vnfortunate in anie fight, and at that
time likeliest of al other to attaine the victory, yet regarding the
state and maner of the conquest, he faintinglie withdrew, & with
great discouragement vnto his people, gaue power vnto the enemy to
be at that time a conquerour. Which done, himselfe with a few chiefe
and principall persons his associates, tooke themselues together in flight.
In this company, was a noble Gentleman, wise in behauiour,
faithfull in counsell, and secret in trust, at that time
Secretorie and of counsell to the great Turke. The place
of their residence seruing well to the purpose, him Scanderbeg
(being of the others assured) tooke onlie in hand to acquaint with
his enterprize. And forasmuch as his credence with the saide
Amurath was such, as in the repose of his troth, rested both
Signet, and warrant sufficient, to put forwarde whatsoeuer direction
or commaund in anie the
Turkish signories, vpon paine of
death to be obeyed, Scanderbeg declaring his wearisomnesse
of captiuitie and seruage, desire to visite his kingdome, and liking
after that to liue at liberty a christian, and therewithall
howe often the Turke had promised to restore him, and yet
still brake with him, enioyned the Secretorie to write letters
of command in the Turkes name, to the Deputie or rulers of
his fathers kingdome, that as their lawfull Prince and gouernour
they shoulde then at that instant without more delaie receiue him,
and thenceforth renounce and put from them their wonted charge and authoritie.
And albeit the power of Scanderbeg was in that place
great, and the Secretorie nothing misdoubted at all his
resolution, and therefore feared too much to contradict him in the
same, knowing also that if he assented to that demaund, hauing yet
libertie to depart, he might timely inough aduertize the Turk
to the preuention: yet vsed he neuerthelesse so manie effectuall
speeches as for the present he could, to disswade him: which not
preuailing, hee assented at last for feare, and wrote as he required him.
The Letters orderlie signed and sealed, as to the importance
belonged, Scanderbeg knowing the great wisedome, fidelitie
and counsell of the Secretorie, thought it nowe a matter of
no small worth, if by any facility he could win him also vnto his
companie, to passe in the same iourny, or otherwise if he refused, then
déemed he fit that he should not returne aliue, to carrie newes to
the Turk of his determined iourney. And therefore first with
as manie kinde entreaties and offers of all honour, fauour, estimate,
and aduauncement that could be, he assailed him, he proposed also the
expectation of his own fortune, valour, power and strength of the
euerliuing God whom he serued, that was able to defende them, and all
possible meanes that otherwise could bee deuised to mooue him. But none
of these in fine preuailing, he lastlie set before his eies, that vpon
such refusall, hee for his owne best assurance must be enforced to kill him.
Which maner of spéech, albeit mooued in the Secretorie
diuers alterations, yet chose he as the most honestest part, no
wayes to defraude the trust in him reposed, especiallie by assistance
in his owne person thereunto giuen. And seeing he could by no meanes
escape with life, aduised suddenlie rather to die in the handes
of Scanderbeg
for that he had alreadie done, then in so
manifest an action of disloyaltie, to be found a principall actor of
treason against his Lord and maister.
Great is the linke of Vertue whereby the mindes of men
singular are manie wayes bound, neither falleth it out in those of
weake spirite and capacitie to become partakers of the praise due
vnto so high and honored excellencie. To men baselie conceyted, there
is neither respect of troth, loue, honor, duty, or other matter
whatsoeuer, whereby to drawe them from a sensuall appetite or carnall
desire of their owne liuing, safetie and commoditie: But to those who
are the sworne schollers of vertue, to whom true glory is of
price, who solie haue in estimate to make choyce of things worthie: In
these it sorteth to be a shame, what others reckon for laud: to them
a preiudice, what many hold for gaine, they contemning by a sole
vertue and discréete choice of the minde, what is besides or lesse
then that which accordeth to the true honor and reputation of well
deseruing, cannot content themselues to liue where their credite dieth,
despise wealth, where honour is to be pursued, neglect reputation,
where loyaltie is not entertained, and expect no fidelitie, where
consequently the effects of an honest and woorthie mind, are not
principallie to be caried.
As then, by what vse soeuer applied, I do in al things commend
Fidelitie and Trust to be performed where by districtnesse
it is chalenged: so nowe doe I in the carriage of this our
Secretorie, sort him forth properlie from the residue by a
difference, for where in persons of lesse conceite, and lower respect,
some vsages are commendable, in him they are to bee presumed, as no
wayes to bee doubted of: neither is it to be expected, that the mould
of such a one should be so subiect to imperfections, as that in common
& mean actions he should thinke to be praised: séeing that where
any breach of those parts in men lower conceyted might be found, it
woulde in them be helde as in comparison a thing no more then might be
doubted, but in him would it turne to a most vituperable basenes with
such intendments to be spotted.
And as I thus sequester him from the ordinarie vsage of what held
to be liked, so doe I againe drawe in him a speciall choice, of things
high, and worthie beseeming, aboue others (lesse considerate) in all
things to bee carried, and wherein the summe of his fidelitie
shall
onelie be required. For seeing that by reason of the place wherein hee
standeth of imployment, by reason of his supposed education, birth,
qualitie, or other decernment, by reason of the waight, more then of
common trust, in him diuersly imposed, he séemeth to be a man euerie
way proportionate to a farre other end & purpose, then of euerie
ordinarie attendant is commonlie required, it must néeds thē be of such
a one coniectured, that by far greater skill & measure he be in euery
of his actions demeaned, yᵉ with much greater modestie, care, respect,
consideration and integritie he doe by such meanes temper all his
outward and inward behauiours, and iudgements, as beeing himselfe in
reputation a Gentleman, and conuersing among such as haue discretion to
deeme of a Gentleman, hee may least of all be touched with anie thing,
that lesseneth or il beséemeth anie part of that, which principallie
may appertaine to a Gentleman.
And whereas in any other attendant it is a matter praise worthie,
to be beautified or aduanced by some one or other speciall vertue
or qualitie, in him it is of necessitie, who by how much the more
néerer he is in frequentation of any honorable place or calling, by
so much the more néedefull is it, that he be accordinglie furnished
wherewith in séemelie and laudable sort, to enter and approch the
same. And as in the seruice of euery one whatsoeuer, it is specially
required, to be endued with all parts of dutifull attendance &
loyaltie: so is it for him to excell, and bee different, because in his
imployment, trust and otherwise, there is exacted at his hands a far
greater scope and efficacie, then wherewith anie other seemeth to be
charged by anie proportion or qualitie.
By this measure nowe of Fidelitie, trust or loyall
credit of a seruant, in which place our Secretorie, as
you see standeth bounden by the first degrée of his seruice, it
maie secondlie be coniectured, in what respectiue estate, he ought
for the residue of that which to his attendance appertaineth, bee
accounted a Friend. The limits of Friendship (as it
might bee obiected) are streight, and there can bee no Friend where
an inequalitie remaineth. Twixt the partie commaunded and him that
commaundeth, there is no societie, and therefore no Friendship
where resteth a Superioritie. But I say and affirme, that
if it bee true, that the summe of all Friendship taketh his
originall of loue, and that the true demonstration of loue
groweth by a simpathie of affections, of which affections Vertue
is said to be the whole & simple ground, then may this
simpathie of affectiōs so groūded on vertue as aforesaid,
be turned into loue, notwithstanding yᵉ inequality of estate or
condition whereby a man vertuouslie disposed, being seruant to such
a one who is honourablie inclined, may in that place of seruice in
which he continueth, be reputed in processe of time to become as a friend.
But if we shall goe to the true definition of friendship, you will
then saie, that this friendshippe so called and reputed among men, as
it is a simpathie of affections firmlie vnited togithers,
so is it such a vniting, as wherein what the one coueteth, the
other desireth, in respect whereof worlds and life, and all are not
desirable, but despised, I would not here be taken, that of any sorts
of people that run into all or a number of these like effects, without
exception of qualitie, I intend, that they therfore were also to beare
the name of friends, for so men vtterly vicious and lewdly
giuen, consorting in wickednes, and other base exercises, in which
each spendeth his life, or desperatlie dieth one for another, might be
reputed as friends, I haue no such meaning, nor is my intent
herein to so generall a purpose. But speaking of friendship, I
only deale with such, whose actions and sincere desires haue in
vertue highest preheminence, for these, not by aduenture, but by
a deliberate counsell and choise regard speciallie had, of things
valuable and worthy, do accomplish their effects by a most honourable purpose.
To this then I answer, that if the weight of friendship,
so consisteth in a simpathie of affection, vniting of
hearts, coueting anothers good, and despising all that maie be gained,
in respect of the partie befriended: whie yet maie not our
Secretorie as well as any other, merit neuerthelesse in this place
of seruice at the handes of his L. or master, the name of a
Friend? Why should he not therein aswell as anie other haue that
power in him planted, whereby to become a Friend? Touching
the equalitie of affections, though it is still laid down that therein
ought to be no difference, & the commander and the
commanded, do yet alwaies make a discordance: I maie neuerthelesse
thus much deliuer thereof, that by all common likelihood it is
assuredlie to be coniectured, that no one personage of estate, laieth
choice vpon such a one to serue so néer about him, and to be in place
of so great trust as appertaineth to a man of that reckoning,
but ere he long haue vsed him, he bindeth vnto him at least some good part of
his affection. For how can it otherwise be thought, but that our
Secretorie being one euerie waie so waightilie to be imployed as
he is, partaking as he doeth with so manie causes of importance, and
vndiscouered secrets and counsels, standing as he must vpon so neere
attendance, as hee that is almost (as occasion serueth) euerie minute
of an houre to be vsed, but that to his L. or Master, he must of
necessitie bee verie charie, and at the leastwise more particularlie
then manie others, by a great deale to be beloued.
He then thus finding in so noble a place, so honourable an account,
our Secretorie being as he ought to be, a man of vertue,
and worth, cannot chose on yᵉ other side, but frame
his vtmost thoughts correspondent in all things to those particular
fauours, his conuersing, his neerenesse and attendance, turneth then
to an affection, and this, heated by the dailie encrease of his Lord
or maisters liking towardes him, groweth thence to a feruencie, and
so each vertue kindled by the others Grace, maketh
at last a coniunction, which by the multitude of fauors rising from
the one, and a thankfull compensation alwayes procured in the other,
groweth in the end to a simpathie vnseparable, and therby by
all intendment concludeth a most perfect vniting.
Panutius, the faithfull Secretorie and counsellour to
the great Emperour and Philosopher surnamed Aurelius, for
the high wisdome, fidelitie, and counsell by him in all his
seruices continued towards the Prince during his life time, and euen
to the verie entrance of his graue, deserued before manie others,
(secrete also in aduice to the said Emperour) to be termed and called
by the name of a friend. Insomuch as he onelie daring to
speake plainlie, what in others iudgements might séeme to be offensiue,
& to perswade faithfullie, what he saw most agreeing to the present
extremitie, made the Emperour pronounce himselfe fortunate, to haue
nourished one so discreet in his Pallace, and most blessed of all, in
that when each failed him in his dying, he onely was found assured vnto
him, among all that were liuing.
In this friendlie knot of loue, and that of seruile commaund,
remaineth a most notable difference, especiallie for this matter
of trust and fidelitie, required in seruice,
for, quem metuunt odiunt, whom men feare they hate:
well may they for fashions sake please, but this sound kinde of
affection is often far from their thought. And yet that there may bee
an awed reuerence, aswel in loue as in feare, who
doubteth it, yea and that rather far more assured and effectuall
then the other. For where this grounded Loue by vertue
once staieth confirmed, the humilitie and gentlenesse of the mind
is it immediatlie that afterwards directeth the thoughtes, we then doe
gladlie honour the more, by how much the willinger we desire to serue,
and more firmlie obeie, by how much the more entirelie we stand to be
fauored. This friendlie Fidelitie, not vrged or constrained
by soueraign command, but of a zeale to weldoing voluntarily embraced;
leadeth the reputation and estimate of our Secretory to be
receiued as a friend.
As of Fidelity, besides Credit of counsell
and riches, there are sundrie other branches, and diuers
deserued partes that seriouslie may bee commended, so are there of
Friendship. The association of both twaine, combineth and knitteth
together all other perfections. Which granted, vndoubtedlie must the
partie frequenting so great a place of seruice, proue then to be a
person of right speciall commendation, of answerable vertue,
nd of noted discretion. For that in doing seruice to his Lorde or
maister, it séemeth a matter incident to his accompt, and to the better
effecting the name of a friend, that in causes vrgent and néedfull,
he be not vnpurueyed in his owne person, wherewith discreetlie, as
occasion serueth, both to aduise & counsell (the very efficient
matter wherin his enabled discretion may with greatest singularitie
be performed) the assurance whereof, by credit of most memorable
antiquities, hath not onlie framed that of loyall seruantes, such
haue bin entertained as faithfull friendes, but also hath not beene
slender occasion manie times, to the preuention of sundrie vehement and
dangerous mischiefes.
To accompanie the troubles, miseries, calamities and infortunities
of him to whom we are this waies, or that waies in our seruice linked
or beholding, or to beare willinglie, and with a sufferable mind
for his sake, whatsoeuer in declaration of our vertue seemeth to an
honest disposition, to be either incident or appertaining, no man
verely denieth, but that they are assured & notable demonstrations of
a verie exquisite performance. But what of that? the propertie
and excellencie of this vertue is not therefore alwaies in that one only
sort to bee caried, neither with the greatest estimate and commendation
that thereunto is appropriate, is the worthinesse hereof whollie to be
commended.
To preuent mischiefs sometimes, and by a warie foresight and care
had of the honor and reputation of our commander, to fence (if need be)
the same by a politicke deuise, without preiudice, from any touch of
disgrace or dishonour, to disswade or dehort faithfully, from things
impeaching or offensiue to their estates or nobility to reueale the
hurt they know not, or causes important wherunto they are nothing
priuy, to counsaile deuoid of flatterie, and to oppose the good that
least harmeth, and the euill that hath neerest remedy: these things
as in their seueral considerations, they can as sufficientlie as anie
others declare a man to be endued, both with rare knowledge, and right
excellent vertue, so who doubteth, but that the most slender of them
all, weigheth as déeply as any other in cause of Fidelity. And
yet if anie more speciall liking in one thing then other be to be
attributed, where comonly men do seem to haue generallie well deserued,
then of necessitie must the same greatlie rather insue where euils most
preiudicing are foreseene and auoided by politick wisdome, then where
vnskilfullie they are entred into, carying in their bosomes, either
extreame hazard or ineuitable vndoing.
Much is the felicitie that the maister or Lord receiueth euermore
of such a seruant, in the chary affection and regard of whom affying
himselfe assuredlie, he findeth he is not alone a commander of his
outward actions, but the disposer of his verie thoughts, yea he is the
Soueraigne of all his desires, in whose bosome hee holdeth the repose
of his safety to be far more precious, then either estate, liuing,
or aduancement, whereof men earthly minded are for the most part desirous.
Of all the abuses that haue beene or at this daie remaineth in
the attendance of honorable personages, there is no euil so secret or
pernitious, as is the venome of flatterie, the couert seating whereof,
in men of all ages, humors, qualities and complexions, hath for the
most part taken so vehement and deep impression, as it seemeth almost
irrecuperable in the greatest sortes and numbers of persons to be
auoided. The daliance of this daintie clawback is smooth, the
entrance pleasing, the progression subtill, the continuance forcible, but the
ende falleth out euermore to bee deceitfull.
Men infected with this kinde of scurrilitie, and basenesse of
condition, being in proper designments Curri-fauels of the
world, it is no maruell if hauing in common request, all shewes
possible of graffed and sound demeanours, they slide manie times
into the opinions of the most notable and worthiest, for they haue
learned by art to acquaint themselues at the first with all sorts of
humors and fashions, and being of their owne dispositions so placable
as they be in all things, it is with them a maner of sacriledge, to
bee found slacke or contrarious in anie thing, Dicunt?
saie they, Dico, aiunt? aio. Finallie, resoluing
trustilie to deale no waie, they deuise how it may be possible to frame
themselues euery way.
These and such as these impugning the plaine and simple drifts
of honest meaning, haue alwayes a face of brasse, wherwith to shooue
forward, and to forestall what by the shamefast entendment of anie
other, seemeth bashfully to bee pursued, they are still pressing on,
and euermore sliding, but if they once get handfast, or happilie be
after strained from the hope of that they would, their loue then and
attendance immediatlie thereuppon die at one instant togithers.
Iniurious me séemeth, and too perillous is the approaching
of these priuate whisperers, whose inward conuersation, as in the
verie first conceit and discouerie thereof, it appeareth vnto a man
vertuously giuen, to be altogither odious, so vnto him that intendeth
purely of himselfe, they are in the seruices of Noblemen euermore
most thwarting and malicious, insomuch as if such a one staied with
honestie, woulde neuer so faithfullie, simplie and trulie endeuour
himselfe by all parts of dutifull care and loialtie, hee shall yet
neuer want of those peruerse créepers, that by one cautelous suppose
or other, will still be before hand, wherwith if it be possible to
disgrace him vtterlie.
That these and such other actions of vilitie, commonlie handled,
as they are in honorable places, do become oftentimes barres to good
meaning, and stumbling blockes to plaine dealing, there needeth (as I
thinke) at this present verie small question. Neither would I be so
misled, as to déeme that there wanteth either
insight or iudgment
in many noble personages to discerne them, for they are discerned &,
oftentimes spurned at, I know it right well, but what of that? This
beeing also a common practise and occupation of the worlde, smoothlie
to slide through all thinges, and to meane trulie in nothing, it is no
maruell if by the too double diligence of such men, some one or other
happen now and then to be deceiued.
But forsomuch as it is of necessitie; that euerie honorable estate
must and ought to bee serued, and that where a multitude good are in
attendance, there ensueth cōmonly to be among them some few that are
euill, either of an annexed propinquitie or opposition of good and
bad, vertue and vice, emulating or rather enuieng as we see the daily
progression each of the other, or else for that the world something
addicted to peruerse manners, sendeth forth often times such imps
of her substance, as become monstrous disturbers of euery honest
endeuor. It shall notwithstanding behooue him whatsoeuer, whose end
& expectation stretcheth to yᵉ sole desert, that of euerie laudable
purpose is rightly to be attained, either in abstaining from anie
occasion of blemish to his vertue that may happen, to resolue with
himselfe neuer to serue at all, or seruing, at the least wise so to
arme his conceiptes for all maner of such like disgraces as that he
maie content himselfe in that being but trulie censured as he ought,
the ende of his determinations are certainlie to be adiudged honest,
albeit his ill hap perchance such, as therby he attain neither liking
nor preferment or if either he stand in present, or be in possibilitie
to attain fauor, then not to be discouraged in the honest prosequution
thereof, by anie practis or enuie whatsoeuer, resting in himselfe
firmly assured, that time or the true discernment of him whome hee
serueth, shall at length yéeld scope to that, whereunto by true degrees
of vertue he sought to haue aspired.
And séeing that in all causes of zeale and loue, where the mind
is tied by an entire desire and care of weldoing, to him whom once in
conceipt it seemeth to growe chary ouer, the force thereof seldom or
neuer passeth lightlie at the first, without some blocke or other laid
before it, whereby to hinder or discourage the proceedings alreadie
determined, and that so farre forth as one while a man supposing
the fidelitie of his seruice might at a time be fully effected
and discharged in the requisite deliuerie of some present aduise &
counsell, yet terrified perchance, or otherwise disswaded with the
resolution, mightinesse, or nobility of his L. or Maister, or fearing
to be argued of presumption, or else in setting downe the desire he
hath of safegard vnkindlie to be mistaken. It shall not therefore be
consonant to this our Secretories place of seruice thereupon
immediatly to become silent, or so to suffer the euill which himself
clearly séeth, to passe vnregarded, especiallie when the case is either
weightie, or neerelie otherwise concerneth his nobilitie whom he
serueth, for so should he by a kind of Pusillanimitie, become
guiltie of the verie occasion, how great soeuer the same should happen,
which somtimes lying in his credit or counsell, to haue impugned, he
of a weak disposition abstained neuerthelesse to see preuented. And
yet is it not (néeds must I saie and confesse) a matter altogether
vntried, that men vaingloriouslie minded, or arrogantlie otherwise
intending of their owne proper seruices, notoriouslie oftentimes do
fal into this vain of presumption, who pricked on with the credit and
fauour to them giuen by their L. or Maister, and foolishly conceiuing
thereof to lead their thoughts in a string, do ignorantly or péeuishlie
thereupon, take in hande manie times to direct them in their serious
affaires or counsels, and controlling in their inward thoughts
whatsoeuer is besides or contrarying to their own opinions, do of
seruants become sawcie: of men modest, malapert: of
aduisers, arrogant: and consequentlie, running into euerie
misprision of others, and what else appertaining to a regarde of other
mens actions, appeare at length so imperious, as by the sole default of
their owne misdemeanours, they are turned at the last quite forth by
the elbowes.
The defect hereof, so far discrepant as it is, from the steadie
kind of gouernment hereby throughout concluded vpon, needeth not I
thinke in the framing of this our Secretory, to be anie
further forewarned, who by shaking from his own person anie part of
the vilities that in others may seeme chieflie to be discommended, is
herein to be ascertained, that in nothing so greatly can the excellent
vertue or condition of any man shine, then in not first committing anie
action that may appeare vile, or hardlie to bee borne withall, and
next in suppressing so much as in him is, whatsoeuer
commendation or liking dulie to bee annexed to his owne proper deseruing, wherein
humility fréede from all maner of base and seruile purposes,
shall then sufficientlie instruct him, that curtesie is a
vertue, lowlinesse a thing annexed vnto gentility,
to bee proud is a vice, to be contemptuous a
filthines, simplicity is found, deceipt to be
abhorred, Loyalty a matter in estimation, Flattery to
be held abhominable. I will not here dispute how much excellent and
néedfull it were vnto their estates, that the neerest attendance of
honourable personages, were with men of such vertue and knowledge in
this sort frequented, neither carping at sundry enormities, would I
therby deuise, to draw forth vnto you a man vnmatchable in qualitie,
and whereof the worlde or anie heauen besides, scarce yéeldeth either
shadow or propertie, but proposing the worthiest partes which of euerie
one absolutelie are fittest to be acquired, I do only endeuour to laie
down no other matter or ground, then wherewith men that be speciall are
at this date helde to be endued, and such as in all ages heretofore
haue been thought meetest to be followed.
What should I lade this discourse with numbred examples vnto you
of the great estimate and regard of those, who to kéep their faiths
inuiolable to their Lordes, haue some of them beene so iealous of
their honours, as for the safegard thereof, haue by great aduisement
made a voluntarie aduenture of their dearest liues: some againe with
great loue and fauour, entertained and reputed of by their Lordes, and
not able in their seruices as they thought, during their life times
sufficiently to compense the loue and especiall zeale they beare vnto
their Honours, haue afterwards vnto their children beeing in great
disgrace with the state present, so fully effected the fruits of their
welwishing, as that by the tender accompt, reuerance and loialty to
them proposed, they haue right well declared that not vnto times alone
of estate & fortune, when little regard of such things might be at
their hands expected, their vertues haue been limitted, but chieflie in
extremity and times of want, wherin their sundry fruitions, haue bin in
most aboundant maner supplied. Others likewise charged on the death bed
with the secret affaires of their L. to be kept in speciall care and
reckoning from the knowledge of other men, could not by multitudes of
fauors, by threatnings, or other large offers whatsoeuer, bee
so far seduced, (as when the dead was quite passed and gone out of the world,
whereby they néeded not at all to haue doubted) they would yet be led
in the least iote of al, to defraud the trust in them reposed, but haue
kept the same inuiolable to their vndoubted commendation, and further
increase afterward of good liking to a far greater credit.
Infinite are the remembrances that of these, and suchlike occasions
are and haue béen dailie recorded, the multitude whereof for breuity
I do omit. Contenting my selfe that of these two chief and principall
matters of seruice, I haue thus far forth alreadie in generalitie
debated, leauing therefore what els to bee considered therein to the
known ability of others, I procéed vnto the next part that in the
continuance of this discourse was at the first intended. And forsomuch
as the exercise of these and such like peculiar vertues and qualities,
appertaineth not, as I haue partly before deliuered, vnto men that
are of meane spirit, to such as bee naturallie touched with anie bad
or vile coercement, capacities that be insensible or ignorant, such
as haue want of education, or whose demeanors are to vertue wholie
insufficient. Let vs then more particularlie if ye will see what maner
a one he ought to be touching his person, habilitie, and condition,
that to the worthines and reputation hereof séemeth a man méetest and
most allowable to be chosen a Secretory.
For the deliuerie whereof, and the better to finde our
Secretory, as neere as either may bee gessed, or framed, such
and none other indeed as in true and perfect meaning hee ought to be
reputed, we will distinguish the seuerall considerations and respectes
of such a one, in three special points sorting to his office, solie and
fullie in this place to be considered.
The first shalbe of the person, touching his education or being:
the second of his conuersation and order of liuing: the thirde of his
sufficiencie, by skill, knowledge, and abilitie wherewith to discharge
the place of his calling. Formerlie then touching the regard of his
person, it is requisite, that hee be descended of honest familie or
parents, the efficacie whereof conduceth not a little to the coniecture
of a sound and honest condition: that he haue also had good education,
whereby the minde well disposed is often times framed to verie good
purpose. That he be of shape & countenance proportianable
to those required vertues, forsomuch as commonly ensueth, that Nature
in producing of all her creatures maketh in them effects answerable
to their seuerall constitutions, as to flowers of most exquisit
proportion, she giueth the most excellent fauour; the dog is not shaped
like the lion, nor the curre as the Spaniell: the Rennet tree is not
as the Crabbe stocke, the one bearing an Apple, wholsome, delicate and
pleasing, when it commeth to be tasted: the other putting forth of the
knures, no other then the sappe of Vertuyes, when the best of it is inioyed.
By the countenance we doe further also iudge of the qualities and
disposition of men, insomuch as the verie markes of fauour haue not
too many iudgements proued weak discouerers of some peoples good or
vntoward conditions, wee haue likewise in euident testimonie, that
ill disposed nature confirmed by custom, seldome degenerates from the
kind either whence it is sprung, or wherein it hath long time beene
nourished.
To mankinde there happeneth in the bodie manie deformities, which
arising not by the defect of Nature, so much as by ill
vsage of those, who haue had charge ouer them, cannot be amended,
but being produced by Nature, doe portend some one or other
notable inconuenience: To beautifie such a shape with vertuous and
honoured actions, is vndoubtedlie praise worthie, but to accord vnto
faire lineaments, portraied with requisite and daintie fauour, a mind
corrupt, base, wretched and vile, that of all others is the most
greatest and noted deformitie.
Diogenes being of one passing by, rebuked of his preposterous
shape, and hard kinde of fauour, aunswered, I with my vertues doe
ornifie my shape, but thou with thy lewdnesse disgracest thy fauour.
Touching the iudgement of nature by the outward face, many things
might be alledged that diuerslie haue beene decerned, the matter wherof
néeding small proofe, more then our owne common experience, I surcease
to debate vpon, seeing my meaning is, but out of sundrie apparances to
drawe forth the greatest likelihoode, and thence to repose a foundation
consonant to yᵉ module or compasse of this my present intendment. Onely
let this be laid down for a certaine, that the finest ware receiueth
the fairest figure, and purest mettall the brightest colour, the
damaske Rose carieth the swéetest fauour, and the most pliable
part of vertue, is by greatest obseruance planted in the most
proportionate feature.
This being then sufficiently spoken of the person, let vs now
go to the Conuersation. This Conuersation séemeth
vnto me in three points, or speciall notes to be considered: that is,
in the Qualitie, Disposition and order of companie.
Touching his Qualitie, it is requisite, that first and
aboue all other, he be a man sequestred from all kind of pride,
arrogancie or vaine conceiuing of himselfe, for that the infection
of these, are steppes vnto all maner of disorder, contempt, malice,
and presumption whatsoeuer: that he be not litigious in argument,
as one vainlie giuen to contend: that hee bee no ordinarie scoffer,
or friuolous deluder of other mens speeches, gestures, reasons, or
conditions: that he be no quareler, lewd speaker, priuy carper,
slanderer, or sinister backbiter of other mens actions, or laudable
indeuours: but contrarie hereunto, that he be in spéech gentle, in
gesture friendlie, in lookes familiar, in talke courteous, in argument
not obstinate, but giuing place to better opinions, that gladlie of
euerie one he do suppose the best, be readie to excuse infirmities, and
to salue imperfections, that in ieasting hee become not another
Democritus,or in carping a Zoilus, that his tongue, eie,
and thoughts, be indifferentlie framed to iudge trulie and impartiallie
of euerie one: that of all thinges hee abhorre priuate quarels, and
open contentions, and as the rocks of Scylla, doe eschue
of anie one absente sinisterlie to speake, or otherwise to enforme
against them, for that in these qualities and conditions properlie,
each one carieth a decernment of that which néerest appertaineth to a Gentleman.
Now touching his disposition, it is exacted at his hands,
that hee bee not a man gluttonous, or that he bee not ouer much
subiect to drinking, for drunkennes ouercommeth the mind, dulleth the
memorie, enfeebleth the wits, maketh a man forgetfull of himself,
the reputation he beareth, and the company wherein he sitteth.
Wine saith Ouid, is the discouerer of secrets,
& maketh a man often commit, yᵉ which afterwardes turneth to his
great preiudice: in wine the regard of a mans selfe, and likewise all
others vanisheth, the respect of his credite also and place wherein he
serueth: a man giuen much to wine, hath no maisterie ouer himselfe, and
is not to be trusted with matters that be important: a man talkatiue
and one giuen to wine are both likened togither in disposition,
for in the one the strength of the liquor inforceth to speake what he ought
not, and in the other the volubility of the tongue, giueth vtterance
many times to what it should not: Speech, saith the wise man,
is a thing naturally giuen to euery man, but he that ordreth his words
by discretion, seeth the way to wisdome.
This vertue of ordring and kéeping the tongue, is vnto our
Secretorie not the least of manie other points wherewith he ought
especiallie to be charged, in him that is disposed to speake much, it
cannot but ensue that his often babbling must néedes at one time or
other, giue proofe that hee hath in himselfe as little secrecie
as silence. To preuent this inconuenience, wise men haue
obserued in nature a most notable and singular prouidence, who to the
intent that men by her verie instigation, might be commended to
silence, hath giuen vs two eares to heare, and an attentiue
conceyte, whereby generallie to debate and consider of all things,
and but one mouth to speake, giuing vs in testimonie thereby, that we
ought to heare much, to know much, to vnderstand much, and to speake
but a little. Besides, that the tongue whereby deliuerance is made,
she hath first closed in with our téeth, and them couered againe with
our lippes, forewarning still thereby, that nothing ought thence to
be discouered in hast, not without especiall regard and district
obseruance. For in this case also discréete Nature, after we
haue once receyued into our eares the sound of anie thing, she thence
preferreth it immediatelie vnto the minde, and thence to the heart to
be censured or considered vpon: and last of all vnto the tongue, to
whose lot, as last of these it befalleth to bee partaker of it, so
ought it from thence carefullie, and not without especiall cause to be deliuered.
The diuine Philosopher foreséeing in man, the manifolde
discommodities oftentimes ensuing by loosenes of the tongue, where all
others were teachers to speake wel, he only taught his scholers to
vse silence, iudging therby, that the vertue of the toung consisted
not soly in speking, but how or by what occasion to vse yᵉ same, and
vnderstanding first how to restraine the thing, that of it selfe
was plyable ynough to bee vsed without measure, they might easilier
find mean afterward to speake oftentimes to good purpose, and not to
accustome themselues as they did before, to prattle without
order or anie good or reasonable parte belonging to discretion.
For this cause Silence, as the first gard of all affaires,
beeing either secrete or important, is (vnto men seriouslie occupied
or imployed in the same) directly to be commended. Which maner of
Silence, as it fullie instructeth in causes serious and of waight,
to speake nothing more than néedeth, so conueieth it also into the
residue of our behauiours, a modest and choice kind of gouernment, in
all actions whatsoeuer, either of question or argument, to bee with
discretion pursued.
How much it importeth vnto our Secretorie, to haue notice
of the true and perfect vse hereof, who aboue al others ought rightlie
to know and discerne, how, where, when, what, and to whom hee ought
to speak, and when, and wherein, to be likewise silent: it may by the
reasons aforesaid be sufficientlie collected. For ought his speech in
troth to be so ordinarie as other mens, who for the moste part limit
themselues neither to time, place, occasion, or company, the which in
our Secretorie is, and ought to be farre otherwise. And as
touching the affaires, secrets or counsels committed to his charge:
It is in him principallie to aduert and consider that he is but the
closet, wherof another hath both the key, vse and commandement, that he
ought therein to be as a thicke plated doore, where through, without
extraordinarie violence no man may enter, but by the locke which is the
tongue, and that to be of such efficacie, as whereof no counterfeit key
shoulde bee able to make a breach, without the selfe same instrument
that by the director thereof is alwayes to be caried. By reason
whereof, he is of méere trust and fidelitie in him reposed, to become
warie of his wayes, and to take the course néedfull, whereby the least
occasion of breach thereof may preciselie be auoided.
Ouer and besides all this, it shall further appertaine to the
disposition of this our Secretorie, that in shewing himselfe
affable to all, he doe not either by reason of his birth, qualitie or
estimate that he hath of his L. or maister, goe about to abuse or wrest
the simplicitie of any one to a bad end or purpose, but rather enforce
himselfe gladlie to vnderstande the sutes of the meanest, and to giue
them aide and furtherance to his vttermost: herein shall hee not a
little aduance the honor of his L. or maister in preferring the
iust and lawfull petitions or complaints of the poore, & in helping them to
yᵉ spéedie dispatch of that, wherwith by reason of their simplicitie,
they oftentimes are greatlie incumbred. It behooueth also so much as in
him is, that he auoid all kind of intemperancie, eyther of choler or
too much furie, that hee dispose not himselfe to vile or vnbeseeming
tearmes of basenes or surquedrie, that hee with the two extreames
of couetousnes or prodigality be not touched, that naturallie he do
incline to good, and hate the badnes of any, that he abhorre flatterie
as a Toad, and giue himselfe of anie particular action, either to be
vtterlie silent, or els to speake trulie.
Lastlie now, touching the third point of these thrée, consisting in
order, appertaining to companie: Néedfull it is that our
Secretorie haue in speciall remembrance the auncient saying, that
common experience giueth to all men for approoued, which is, that
Such as a man of himselfe is, such alwayes are they with whome he
conuerseth.
If therefore of his owne mind and disposition a man endeuoureth
to bee good, and so to liue and be accounted of, him then beseemeth
chieflie to haue respect to the companie hee holdeth. For which
occasion, the Philosopher aduiseth, that men being good, doe choose
to haue familiaritie with men that are best, to the intent that by
the societie of them, their Vertue may haue encrease, and
themselues learne to become better. The corruption of young men, by
nothing so much accrueth, as by the slender respect they haue of those
with whome they do accompanie, for that it resteth assuredlie out of
doubt, that the euill example and encouragement of one vile and ill
disposed person, hurteth more a great deale oftentymes in one dayes
companie kéeping, then seuen yeares endeuour afterwards, maie release
by anie good instruction. Herein also the rather resteth vnto our
Secretorie, a most principall regard thereof to be had, forsomuch
as not the conuersation alone, wherein he is choiselie to be affected,
dependeth therupon, but the matter also of his ouerthrow and discredit,
for who séeth not in often apparance, that men simply conceited, and
of their owne proper instinct verie well giuen, are more discredited
and condemned many times, by occasion of the company wherinto
they haue aduentured, then of anie apparant euill that in their owne persons
rested publiquelie to be decerned.
Hereunto accordeth the proofe of all common societie, wherein men
onely of those that know them are iudged as they be, but in generall
reckoning, are euer censured according to the goodnesse or badnesse
of those, with whom they liue familiarlie. It followeth therefore,
that Who so will no euill doe, must doe nought that longs thereto,
for in good men it is not alwayes inough of themselues wittinglie
not to haue committed anie euill, but hee that desireth to be good
indeed, ought not so much as to become an occasion or slander of euill.
If men would but throughlie enter into the weight of their estates,
and trulie consider with themselues what of dutie appertaineth to
verie reputation indéede, they would not then think it ynough to be
in this credite, or that place, or thus countenanced, or that waie
enriched, arming themselues onelie thereby with vainglorious titles,
but therewith would also deepelie imprint, that them likewise behooued
by certaine especiall insight had into their owne wayes, so to order
and direct themselues, as therby deseruedlie they might beare the selfe
same account whole and vnblemished, which in opinion they haue caried,
the which cannot anie wayes bee, without in all their outward and
inward actions, they doe beare an especialleie to the matter of their
owne credite. And what one thing is there in the world (to him that
by true degrées of vertue endeuoureth to be aduaunced) more
charie then the account and estimate had of his name and fame? What one
good more excéeding, nay what life can be more precious? Much therefore
ought the regarde hereof be in choice vnto our Secretorie, as
that which as an action most singular I haue iudged fit to be exposed
in this place vnto him.
Hitherto haue we endeuoured in person and behauiour to find a man
méet and conuenient to the purpose hereof, wherein my intent hath béene
not to omit anie thing which to that place and calling might anie wayes
be adiudged necessarie. Now the circumstance of these procéedings
leadeth vs next to consider of our Secretories abilitie.
In this consideration, it falleth out, that for asmuch as
his Office and place, calleth him altogither,
or for the most part to the handling of deepe and weightie affaires,
wherin his capacitie shall sundrie wayes be exercised, and his wits
throughlie tryed, it behooueth he therefore be furnished with
Skill and knowledge accordinglie, whereby the better to be
adapted, vnto the ordinarie vsage and employment thereof. To this end
it befitteth that he bee well studied, especiallie in the Latine
tongue. It is likewise conuenient that herewithall he haue a ripe
and quicke conceit, aptlie to receiue, what on a sudden shall be to him
deliuered, and that he retaine with himselfe a sound and good memorie,
for the conseruation of those things that vnto his charge shall daylie
bee committed. He ought for his owne furniture and instruction to
bee a man not altogither vnexperienced, to be well languaged, to bee
sufficientlie read in Histories and antiquities of
times passed, to haue notice both by reading and conference, of the
situations, customs, maners & conditions of men, cities, countries, &
common weals, to haue familiaritie with strangers, and men of diuers
nations, whereby the better to bee ascertained of their humours,
behauiours, and dispositions: and wiselie to worke vnto himselfe a
peculiar insight into their estates, counsels and iurisdictions,
béeing there withall warie that this association with such kind of
people, worke not vnto himselfe, or the affaires wherewith he shall bee
credited anie matter of preiudice.
Now is it a matter often séene, and in common vse almost to
be found, that a great many of men otherwise discréete, learned,
experienced, and for their seueral callings questionlesse of very
good deliuerie, and euery way to be deemed sufficient, some also that
in the Greeke and Latine tongues are verie well
studied, and are also with the vse of forraine languages laudablie
indued, that notwithstanding haue not in themselues the facultie and
vse of well writing, nor can orderly, & vpon a sudden lay down without
much adoe, and that many times also in very preposterous maner when it
is done, what to anie extraordinarie purpose seemeth to bee thought
meete and conuenient. Some againe in whome there is lesse Skill,
greater Ignorance of learned knowledge, and farre meaner
application euerie waie, wherewith to bee enabled with
sufficiency, haue neuerthelesse a Conceipt so rife, and are in wit
so prompt and capable of any thing laide before them, as by and
by there wanteth not (though in truth when they haue done, they
cannot learnedly answere for it) neither inuention nor
imitation, wherewith in very commendable sort to performe what them
seemeth good, on a sodaine to deliuer in writing.
What shoulde be the cause hereof, I cannot else déeme, but onlie
a méere instinct of Nature, who seuerallie poureth her giftes in
their creation vnto euerie one, whereunto others (exempted from that
proportion) doe seldome by anie Art or Studie reach
vnto, yet is Exercise no doubt in those that haue any fauour
of learning, hereunto a great furtherance: But he that in this place
must bee applyed, how learned so euer he bee, must a little giue place
vnto his Schooles, and frame his penne and order of practise to pursue
that forme of writing, which plainest meaning and aptest speech, hath
in common deliuerie, the indeuour whereof howe difficult the same will
bee to one beeing rife in discourse, my selfe haue had some priuate
testimonie, notwithstanding Vse and continuall Practise I knowe, is
that which in time ouermaistreth all things.
To the beautifying then of this part of our Secretorie, it
is néedfull that he be somewhat therein ayded and furthered by
Nature, to the intent his inuention to euery seueral occasion, may
be the more easie and proper, and that without any often blurring or
enterlining which commonlie happeneth to those, in whom long studie
seemeth so hardly to hew out their labours, as if by a manner or kinde
of inforcement, the same from a hard rock were violently to be drawne
forth and caried, which Bluntnesse, as I maie tearme it,
of Conceite, is not in this part of seruice in anie wise to be
admitted. Neither am I for all this ignorant, how manifoldlie it often
befalleth vnto diuerse the readiest wittes, that at some one time more
then at another, they haue lesse abilitie, and much harder is their
deliuerie a great deale, in matters exquisite to be performed, then
vsuallie otherwise is by ordinarie triall vnto them accustomed: the
occasions whereof may be diuers, whereby the sences are manie wayes
dulled, as by too much replexion of meates and drinkes
excessiuelie taken, by too great studie and often musing, driuing therby into a
melancholie passion, by motions too intemperat, happening vnto the
mind: and finally, vpon sundrie other instincts and occasions, which
I cease to remember, all which being offensiue as they are, vnto the
necessarie regarde of this our Secretories attendance, it
standeth him greatly vpon by all possible meanes to represse them, to
the end that his wittes being as néere as by endeuour can be compassed,
alwaies in one self state and readinesse, he maie not in times
suddenlie requiring effectual and present dispatch, appeare any waies
disfurnished, of that which at his handes, is and must of necessitie in
this place bee required.
It is not then learning alone (as you see) that is able to make
a man meet to this kind of practice and study, but naturallie to be
besides indued both with wit, vnderstanding, and memory
whereby to lead and conueie those necessarie euents, that in this
place are dailie to be frequented, and therewith to haue likewise care
and regard, with modest and discreet maners and behauiours to preserue
and keepe the same forces, whereby he may be the more readilie prouided
(as I said before) for all times and purposes. Neuerthelesse, how much
needful it is to that place more then ordinarilie to bee learned, yea
with the greatest abilitie and perfection (if it were possible) to bee
also euerie waie adorned, I haue alreadie sufficientlie laid downe
before hande, and still do propose the waight thereof, as a respect
amongst others to be most especiallie imbraced.
In this maner haue we by sundrie degrees endeuoured to lead along
our Secretory vnto his appointed Place and
Office, wherein we haue first discoursed largelie of the function
hee beareth, respectiuelie touching his seruice: next to frame
him both in Person, Birth, Education, Qualitie, Disposition,
Conuersation, and Abilitie, a man meete for that purpose.
It now resteth, that as the finall determination of this labour we
deliuer vnto him his office. Of this then the parte especiall and
intendment most principall, consisteth, (as by experience is found) in
the vse and exercise of the Pen, the Wit and
Inuention togethers. The abilitie so exactlie before
required, and discoursed vpon, is herein nowe to be put in practise. To the
execution of this office, it is requisite the Secretory, be
for the perfection of his hand, in the varietie and neat deliuerie
of his letters in writing, singularlie to be commended, that he haue
with himselfe also therein a verie readie vse, quicke, and speedie
conueyance for dispatch, that warilie he giue heede to obserue the
order, methode and forme to him from his Lord or master deliuered:
forasmuch as in discharge hereof he is vtterlie to relinquish anie
affectation to his own doings, or leaning herein to anie priuate
iudgement or fantasie. His pen in this action is not his owne, but
anothers, and for this cause the matter to him committed are to depend
vpon the humor of his commander, and not vpon his own or any others
directions.
Hereof is he excéedingly to becom studious, and a zealous imitator
in all thinges, to the intent that knowing the effects of his Lord,
with what ends and purposes they are caried, & vnto what forme and
maner of writing he is speciallie addicted, he may the more easilie and
with better contentment discharge that part of his seruice, wherein by
continuall occurrents he shall haue occasion daily to be imploied.
He is in performance of this charge, to bee a man watchfull,
diligent, carefull, industrious, not giuen to ease, to auoid all
occasions of slouth, to the end, (as I said before) by continuall
exercise of his wits, to retain his spirits apt, & his memory fresh.
For Idlenes of it selfe is the proper nourishment of manie
other euils, the hinderer of each good purpose, and the deformed
monster of al humaine exercises. Whilest Idlenesse attacheth
the bodie, it giueth scope to ill thoughts, occasioneth distemper,
maketh vnweldie to labour, breedeth wearisomnes of vertuous exercises,
entiseth to vanities, corrupteth with pleasures, and feedeth a man with
trifles. If therefore there shall bee anie time vacant of affaires
vnto our Secretory, (as all seasons are not alike wherein
still to be occupied) the same shall he deuise, either in pleasant
recreation to bee spent or in some other honest exercise or studie,
wherein whatsoeuer is not improper vnto a gentleman, shall be to
him in speciall choise and as an action fittest of all others to be
receiued.
His office is likewise to entertaine all maner of suters vnto his
Lord, to conceiue and vnderstand of their seuerall occasions, and how
much or how little, they or anie of them do import, to answer the
dispatch of the greatest with as much facilitie as he may, and those of
lesse moment with discretion to remooue, and put backe, to the ende the
walkes and passages of his Lorde be not with the vaine and friuolous
demeanors of fond people too often encumbred.
He ought also to haue regard to times and places conuenient wherein
to mooue his Lord vpon anie speciall or vrgent occasion, or in which
he is to prefer vnto his presence or hearing, the person or cause of
any one. To see that the same returne not offensiue vnto his priuate
liking, that the furtherance thereof bee not in times when hee is
soly disposed to particular studies, or that he is otherwise busied
in matters of estate or counsell. To consider first of the qualitie
of euerie sute, and condition of the partie as neere as he maie be
informed, ere he take vpon him to acquaint his Lord with the parts
thereof, and accordinglie, if he see cause, in his owne person to
answere the same: for it is not seemelie he should trouble his Lord
vpon euerie light or ill beséeming suggestion. To be circumspect in the
dispatch of euerie thing to him deliuered, and in matters of weight and
charge, to be also prouident and wary, heedfully intending to the safe
disposing of whatsoeuer requisite, from the eyes or knowledge of anie
other, whereunto none so much as himselfe ought to become priuy.
He is likewise to auoid all maner of delaies, and not to accustome
himselfe in any wise vnto negligence, for that the vse hereof in
ouerslipping of small trifles, induceth manie times, to pretermit
things of larger circumstance, and of farre greater moment. It standeth
him vpon in the exercise of his office to bee alwaies as neere and as
readie as may bee, in his ordinarie attendance, for so much as being
vpon a sudden to bee vsed, it is needfull he be alwaies at hand,
and is intended that his absence cannot therefore anie long time be
spared. In conclusion, it is meetest in all things, that so far forth
he bee addicted vnto his present seruice, as that in respect thereof
hee become vtterlie sequestred from all priuate regarde or affection
of anie thing, sounding to his owne appetite. Finallie, being a
man fauored or entirelie reputed of in his office, hee may not for
anie friendship, corruption or gaine whatsoeuer, by anie sinister
practise, colour, or meanes, go about to abuse the countenance and
credite to him giuen, by his Lord or maister, nor couertlie thereby
suggest, or informe any thing, wherewith the good opinion of himselfe
may afterwards be hazarded, or by the graunt or assent of his Lorde
thereunto giuen, there maie iust cause acrue, whereby thereafter a
great deale lesse he may deserue to be trusted.
In these particularities haue I at last concluded, & brought to
ende the sum of all my former trauell. The Secretory is
nowe accomplished & by all respectes, circumstances, and inducements
that maie bee, confirmed both in person and office: much haue I to
require of the generall perusers hereof, that I bee not anie wayes
therein mistaken, for that passing immediatelie to the publique notice
of all, there is no doubt but the verie particularities there of,
shall speedilie be therewith censured of all. My request is, that the
skilfull and best experienced, will of their owne good conditions, not
otherwise misdeeme thereof then what in equall trueth maie bee vnto
them tendered, nor that the wise and discreetlie minded will haue other
conceipt of me, then as my weake abilitie sought herein at their hands
to haue at the first deserued.
Touching any others lesse able to speake or giue sentence in the
cause, as my will and desire is, fauourablie to be regarded of the
whole in generall, so if anie one more of selfe-liking then of
Skill, will either carpe at, or peremptorilie reiect the labour by
me vndertaken, let him first consider with himselfe, how much easier
it is to finde fault with a thing by another alreadie finished and
done, then for himselfe by priuate endeuour to accomplish the like: so
shall he find, that men at all times see not into all things at once:
and in proofe hereof become assured, that hee, as I shall sooner in
the performance of anie labor, make our selues obiects of euery common
opinion, then with such account to deliuer our trauels, as that we may
stand ascertained of their own deserts, that they may be pleasing to
all men.
And forasmuch as it resteth yet a thing doubtfull, how well or
euill, till the perusing this slender trifle of mine may of all sortes
be measured, I will in the meane time (as manie others before me haue
done) affie my selfe in the hope and expectation of the best Glad if
in the conueiance hereof, there may by my willing endeuour, arise anie
pleasure or profite to anie, which being the intention of me solie
desired, I passe foorth this (as the residue) of the best and aptest
fauourers thereof, to be entertained.
FINIS. A. D.
- Of Epistles, the commodities, and vse thereof pag. 1
- What is chiefly to be respected in framing of an Epistle. 2
- Of the habit and parts of an epistle. 8
- Of certain contēts generally incident to al maner of Epistles. 11
- Diuers orders of Greetinges, farewels and subscriptions. 13
- Of Superscriptions and Directions. 17
- The Diuisions of Letters, and vnder what titles all sorts of epistles are contained.
20
- Of epistles meerly Descriptory, & the parts thereof. 23
- An example of a Letter Descriptorie, wherein is particularly described an ancient Citie. 24
- An other example wherein the State of a countrey is solie described. 26
- An example wherein the death of a noble man is only described 27
- Of Epistles Laudatory and vituperatory. 33
- An example of a Laudatory epistle solie touching the person. 35
- An example of an Epistle Vituperatorie concerning also the person. 42
- Of epistles Deliberatiue. 46
- An example of an Epistle exhortatory to the attaining of vertue. 50
- Of Epistles Responsory. 53
- An example Responsory to the last epistle before remēbred. 54
- An example of an Epistle Hortatorie to the studie of learning. 55
- An other example Hortatorie wherein an honourable Gentleman
is egged forwardes to the profession of armes. 58
- An example Swasory, wherein a Gentlewoman is counselled to mariage. 62
- Another example of an epistle Swasorie, perswading the carefull
acceptance and regarde of one brother to another. 65
- Of Epistles Dehortatory, and disswasory. 67
- An example of an Epistle Dehortatorie, wherein a Noble gentleman
is dehorted from infidelitie or rebellion. 71
- An example of a Disswasorie Epistle wherein one is disswaded
from fruitlesse vanities, to more learned and profitable studies. 76
- An other example Disswasory wherin the party is by diuers reasons
disswaded from entring into an action in apparance daungerous. 79
- Of Epistles conciliatory. 83
- An Epistle conciliatory, written from one of good accompt
to his inferiour. 84
- An example Conciliatory frō one equall to another. ead.
- An Epistle Responsory, answering the first of these letters. 86
- A Letter Responsory answering the latter Epistle. ead.
- Of epistles Reconciliatory. 87
- An example Reconciliatorie, from one friend to another. ead.
- An Epistle Reconciliatory frō an inferiour person to his better. 89
- Of epistles Petitory. 90
- An example of an Epistle Petitory, in a cause indifferent. 93
- An example Petitory, in the nature of a reconciliatory from a
son to his displeased father. 94
- An Epistle Petitorie, wherein is craued trauell and counsell to
be assistant vpon vrgent occasion. 96
- Another of the same. 97
- A Letter Responsorie to the same. ead.
- An example Petitorie, concluding a briefe request, and curteous
remembrance of a thing before promised. 99
- An other example of the like effect. ead.
- Of Epistles Commendatory. 100
- An example Commendatorie, wherein is recommended to a noble
man from his inferiour, the conditions and behauiours of a person. 102
- A Letter Responsorie to the same. ead.
- Another epistle Commendatorie of the sort before deliuered. 103
- An example Commendatory from a noble man to his inferior,
wherein one is recommended to an office. 104
- An Epistle Commendatorie, from a noble man in referment of his seruant. 105
- Another example wherein is recommended the cause & speedie
furtherance of iustice. 106
- An example Responsory, wherin is denied, what in the formost
directions was recōmended. 107
- Another Letter Responsorie, wherin consent and allowance is
giuē to the matter required. 108
- The third Epistle Responsorie, wherein is doubfullie allowed,
what to the same was recommended. 109
- A letter Commendatorie pleasantly conceited in preferring an
vnprofitable seruant. 110
- Of Epistles Consolatorie. 112
- An example Consolatorie of the first sort, wherein a Gentlewoman
is comforted of the death of her sonne. 114
- An Epistle Consolatorie of the same, wherein one is comforted
in case of hard extremitie. 117
- A Consolatorie epistle of the third sort, wherein a Gentlewoman
is comforted of the death of her husbād slain in the wars. 119
- An example consolatory pleasauntly written to one who had
buried his old wife. 125
- A Letter responsorie to be conferred to an Epistle consolatorie. 127
- Of Epistles Monitorie and Reprehensorie.
- An example Monitorie concerning a staied and well gouerned life. 131
- An other Epistle Monitorie, touching the reformation of a couetous life. 134
- An Epistle Reprehensorie to a father, touching the lewde and ill
demeanour of his sonne. 136
- An example Reprehensorie, wherein a man of wealth sufficient
is reprehended, for marriage of his daughter to the riches of an old wealthie miser. 138
- An epistle Reprehensorie, to a young Gentleman. 141
- Of Epistles Amatorie, 143
- An example of an Epistle for the entreatie of the first good wil. 145
- An other example to that purpose. 146
- An answere to the first of these Epistles. eadem
- A replie to the same answere. 147
- An answere vnto the second letter. 148
- The Table of the second part of this Booke.
- Of Epistles Iudiciall. pag. 1
- An example of an epistle Accusatorie in the state coniecturall. 4
- An example Excusatorie returned to the effects of this Coniecturall Epistle. 6
- An example Purgatorie, from the partie chalenged, in answere
of the Epistle accusatorie before
- An example of an Epistle accusatorie in the state Iuridiciall and Coniecturall. 9
- A Letter Defensorie, aunswering by confutation al the obiections
in this former Epistle surmised. 14
- Of Epistles expostulatorie. 19
- An example of an Epistle Expostulatorie, touching certain iniuries
betweene two friends. 19
- An answere Defensorie, vnto the effects of the same epistle. 20
- A replie to the saide answere Defensorie, wherein the matter
of the Epistle is more firmelie maintained. 22
- A seconde answere to the like reasons of the Replie in further
defence of the partie. 24
- An example of an epistle Expostulatorie touching vnkindnes receiued. 25
- An example of an epistle Expostulatory for breach of promise. 26
- An example of an Epistle expostulatorie from an inferiour
Gentleman, to his farre better in degree, authoritie and calling. 27
- An example of an epistle exprobratorie touching ingratitude receiued. 30
- An epistle exprobatorie more largelie exampled. 31
- Of letters inuectiue. 34
- An example of an Epistle inuectiue from a father to his sonne. eadem
- An answere purgatorie of the sonne touching the matters Inuectiue
of the former epistle. 37
- A reply of the father confuting the allegations of the sonne, and
maintayning the causes of the former Inuectiue alledged. 42
- An example of another epistle Inuectiue pleasantlie written against
the humors and conditions of a vainglorious person. 45
- An example of another epistle Inuectiue, written in cause of
great desert agaynst two seuerall parties. 48
- Of epistles Comminatorie. 61
- An example of an epistle Cōminatorie. 52
- Another example Comminatorie containing a greater vehemencie
in the deliuerie. ead.
- Of epistles Deprecatorie. 54
- An example of an epistle Deprecatorie, where the partie is
charged in good opinion. 55
- An example of an epistle Deprecatorie, in cause of wrong supposed to be committed. 57
- An example of an epistle Deprecatorie, pleasantlie written to answer a former letter. 58
- Of Epistles familiar. 59
- A Letter Nunciatorie from a sonne to his father or friends, touching
his being in seruice. ead.
- A Letter Nunciatorie in another sort of the same matter. ead.
- An Epistle Narratorie, contayning aduertisements from one friend to another. 60
- A letter of aduertisements from a sonne to his father. 61
- A Letter from a seruant or factor to his master. 62
- Of epistles Remuneratorie. 63
- An example of an epistle Remuneratorie from an inferiour to
one farre his better, in reputation and calling. ead.
- A Letter Remuneratorie from a Gentlewoman of good sort, to a nobleman her kinsman. 64
- A Letter Remuneratorie from one friend to another. 65
- A Letter Remuneratorie from a better to his inferiour. ead.
- Of epistles Iocatorie. 66
- An epistle Gratulatorie, from one friend to another. ead.
- A Letter Gratulatorie from a wife to her husband. 67
- A letter Gratulatorie from one to his Kinsman seruing in London. ead.
- Of epistles obiurgatorie. 68
- A Letter Obiurgatorie from a maister to his seruant. 69
- Of epistles Mandatorie. ead.
- A Letter Mandatorie from a Maister to his seruant, or Factor being beyond the seas. 70
- An other Letter Mandatorie from a maister to his seruant. 71
- A Letter Mandatorie from a man to his wife. ead.
- A letter Mandatory from one friend to another. 72
- Of Figures, Tropes and Schemes. 77
- Of the parts, place, and office of a Secretorie. 101
FINIS.
Transcriber’s Notes:
- Blank pages have been removed.
- Table of contents added.
- Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Examples:
- upside down letters (n for u)
- missing letters (theunto -> therunto)
- reversed letters(hwoe -> howe, sel,f -> self,)
otherwise there were no spelling corrections.
- Spacing was tight and inconsistent, many spaced or unspaced words
were a judgement call (‘beholding’ or ‘be holding’?).
- There were many capital first letters that were italicized, I assumed these were
only due to typesetter convenience as there was no contextual reason.
- There is frequent use of vowels with macron, per Wikipedia: “In
Old English texts a macron above a letter indicates the omission of
an m or n that would normally follow that letter.”
Example: iudgmēt = iudgment.
- Part 2 chapters are misnumbered, there is no chapter 3.
- Special font used: ‘Old English Text MT’
