De co[n]temptu mundi The dispisyng of the worlde / co[m]piled in Latyn by Erasmus Rot. ; and translated in to Englyshe by Thomas Paynell ...

¶ Theodorike Har∣leme to Ioyce his most cunnyng nephewe / sendeth gretyng.

CErtainly my most dere and welbeloued Ioyce / I ha¦ue had of long tyme / a right great desyre to write vnto y^e: but hyderto I haue kept sy∣lēce / more for shamefastnesse than neglygence: for I drad leest whan I prepared my selfe / I that am nat moche elder than thou / but in other thinges far vnder the / to exhorte the that arte a man of sin∣guler prudence and erudition / shuld be seen and reputed to take in hande / a laboure that neded nat / as one wolde caste water in to the see: nat for that I haue any doubte / that thou (whiche arte so excedynge good and gentyll) woldest nat after the beste maner accepte myn exhortation / but leest I shuld seme to take vpon me the office of an immodest or an vnshamefaste persone / to presume to gyue the admonicion / where it were more conuenyent that I shulde be exhorted and monyshed of the. Therfore what shall I do? Shall I wryte or no? Shamefastenes forbyd∣deth me to wryte: but than on the other syde / the loue that I beare to y^e Ioyce wyll nat suffre

it. Shall my mynde than be euermore in doute and wauerynge? Loue on the tone parte coun∣sayleth me to wryte / and shamefastnesse on the other syde moueth me to y^e contrary. And there is welnere nothynge more greuous or peynfull than a doutfull mynde. But at the laste / it that of ryghte oughte to ouercome shall haue place? Shamefastnes shal obey vnto loue. For I shuld rather esteme thy profytte / yea thy soule helth / than what men wyll saye by me. If that this myn enterprise shall be more applyed to pryde than wysedome / trewely myn offence shulde so moche the sooner be forgyuen / in as moche as it procedeth of loue. For vndouted / I had leauer wrytynge louyngly / do boldely / than wysely ke∣pynge sylence / to do more wysely. Nor I doubte nat, but by this patron and aduocate (I meane our loue) I shalbe absolued and quited. For our loue is nat symple or of the common sorte / but very entier / trusty and sure. The causes of our twos frendshyp be ryght great and manyfolde: our bryngynge vp together of chyldren / y^e mar∣uaylous agrement of our two myndes / one ma∣ner of study in mooste noble scyences / the innu∣merable pleasures that thou haste done for me / the singular beneuolēce and speciall good minde of the and of thyne borne alwaye towarde me. And also to these causes / is ioyned alyaunce of blode. What thynge canne be more gluynge or claspyng than this our frendeshyp / the whiche

as it were with a double theyne / is bounde and knyt fast together / on the one syde with kynred / and on the other syde with fyxed charite or enty∣erly louynge myndes. Therfore Ioyce I wolde thou shuldest thynke and surely trust that neuer mā loued hym selfe more hartily than I loue y^e. And seyng that I loue the as moche as my selfe or more / I muste nedes care as moche for thy soule helth as for myn owne. Yea and true loue constraynethe vs (I wote nat by what meane) to sorowe more greuously our frendes incōmo∣dyte and hurte than our owne / and more to de∣syre our frendes welfare than our owne. And brefely to speake / trewe loue causeth one man to loue an other more tenderlye than hym selfe. Whiche thynge in the I nede nat to mystruste / but on my parte I maye surely affyrme hit. This thynge hath so moche enbolded and enco∣raged me / that I laied shamefastnes aparte for the tyme / and wrote vnto the this letter of exor∣tation / by y^e whiche my mynde is to withdrawe the from the hurly burly / and busynesse of the worlde / and brynge the to a lyfe monastycke / that is to saye / solytary and quyete. This is no small thynge / nor a thynge that may soone be perswaded to the common people: but bycause thy lyfe is of suche perfytenes all redy / that ex∣cepte the habite or clothyng of a lay man (wher∣of I am very glad) the worlde welnere can chal∣lenge no properte in the. I fullye truste that

this myne exhortation shall take effecte / seinge that both the corage of thy passyng good minde and my oration leade the to the same thynge. Who wolde doubte that shyp to saile pleasantly / that hathe bothe wynde and wether at wyll: And all be hit that thy good and commendable lyfe stereth me to hope well / yet shall I neuer be out of feare and drede / vntyll suche tyme that thou clene forsake this vnhappy & britel worlde: and entre in to some Monastery / as in to an ha∣uen moost sure. For truste me / as often as I re∣uolue and consydre in my mynde the perils and dangers, amonge the whiche thou arte conuer∣sante (Whervpon I thynke welnere alwaye) so ofte the tender loue that I beare to the warde / maketh me very heuy and sorowfull. For I am none other wyse affectioned or mynded towarde the / than a good kynde mother is to her onely and mooste dere chylde / the whiche is on the see saylynge by some daungerous place / where as shyppes often tymes go to wracke and peryshe / Whiche whan she seeth or heareth the vyolente hurle wynde ryse ruggedly alofte / she wayleth / she waxeth pale / and trēbleth for drede: In her slepe her mynde rounneth / and she dreameth of her sonne: and euer she dredeth the worste / and more than is true or nede to be feared. But wold to god y^t I neded nat to drede lesse perils thā be. But I knowe / I knowe good Ioice / what trou∣bles be in the see of this worlde / in what danger

the lyfe standeth / and what dyuers kyndes of deth there be: out of the whiche but late swym∣myng naked on a lytel borde / vnneth I escaped. But perauenture thou being in a folyshe surete of thy selfe / and callynge me tymerous or fear∣full / wylte byd me to be careles: but yet if thou so do, thou canst nat driue feare out of my mȳde: for thou arte so farre wyde to drawe me frome drede / that thou almost bryngest all my hope to naught. Trewely thou arte so moche the more in the danger of perils / in howe moche lesse that thou perceiuest them: or if thou dost vnderstāde and perceyue them / and wylte nat beware and eschewe them / what thynge can be more mys∣chiefull or more madde than suche a confydence. I praye the tell me / who is more foolysshe than that shipman / the whiche amōge the spuminge or fomynge rockes / the furious syrtes / the rage∣yng goulfes of the see / in a great and hydous tē∣peste / and therto his shyppe feeble and weake / doth feare no maner perill / but lyenge vp ryght by the helme he syngeth / yea / and forbyddeth those that sayle with hym vnder his tuition / to be afrayde or carefull? What man wyll nat ab∣horre the foly and madnes of suche a felowe / and drede to scape safely? Nor I good Ioyce / shall neuer be rydde of care so longe as thou foolehar∣dely doste sayle forth in this moste vnquyete see of the worlde. Thou wylte perauenture saye / this is a foolysshe comparison: Howe dothe the

worlde and the see agree / seynge that nothynge is more blādyshyng or faunyng thā the worlde / and nothynge is more horryble than the see? Yea but I knowe no feter comparison / if thou consydre hit well. Thynkest thou that the yll melodye and swete honygalle tunes of the Sy∣rens / the whiche brynge the passagers forby fyrst in a slombre / and after drowne them: dothe nat well expresse the shrewde blandishynge / and lewde delites of this worlde? wolde to god thou coudest se what snares / what desceytes / & what nettes / they laye pryuyly to attrappe thy youth with. Loke therfore that thou flye from the bākes or see coostes where these Syrens be. For flyghte in this behalfe is the surest waye. Nor thou shuldest nat folehardely truste to sayle sure and safely that waye / where as thou seest kyng Dauyd / Solomon / and many other / and no∣bler thā are to be spoken of here / wēt to wracke. And brefely to speke: no man scaped but he that fledde. Homer reherseth that Ulyxes / the whi∣che representeth the persone of a perfecte wyse man / with greatte studye and dylygence coude scarsly scape the swete honygalle songe of these Syrens / & yet he stopped his eares with waxe / and boūde hym selfe to the shyppe maste. Than what hope haste thou to escape them? Seynge y^t so many haue cōspired together to distroy the / as wāton youth / ēticyng beautifulnesse / riches lycence / libertee / the dayly and nightly ditees of

these (Helas) to swete monsters. Nor I thinke nat / but that these hie apperyng sharpe rockis / I meane the hyghnesse of secular dygnytees / are as moche to be dredde of the: amonge the whiche if thou be driuen by any coole of wynde / thou shalte thynke it goth with the ryght well / if swymmynge on a small bourde / the storme cast the on lande in some vnknowen place. What thynkeste thou by the vnsacyable deuowrynge Carybdes? the whiche / as good authours re∣herse / whan a shyppe swyftely saylynge cometh within the daūger therof / is wont to resyst / and oftentymes to whyrle it about / and swalowe in the same shyppe. Is this an vnlykely fygure and comparyson vnto couetousnes? the whiche tourneth a mans mynde to vnsaciable desyre / and wyll nat suffre hym in quyete / vntyl it hath drowned hym in helle. And by the furious Syr∣tes thou mayste vnderstande the insuperable mocion of angre / and the more the same offence is / the more copyous or abundaunt the matter therof is. Do nat the wyndes playnely expresse as well the pestilēt wordes of flaterers as of de∣tractours and bacbyters? and though it forceth nat from whens these wyndes blowe / yet they are euer to be feared. For if thou be dryuen a∣monge the craggy rough rockes / whether it be by wyndes of prosperite or aduersite / yet neuer the lesse thou shalte be dryuen vpon Syrtes. And what supposest thou by the terrible altera∣tions

and surgynges of the wawes / some tyme rysynge vp as hyghe as the sterres / and an one fallynge downe in to them selfe agayne. Howe cōueniently do they sygnify the mutabilite and varyablenesse of fortune? Wherwith a broken mynde is for y^e more {per}t brought out of paciēce / for he that was nowe ryche and in hygh prospe∣rite / can nat beare pacyently sodeyne calamyte. I ouer passe here the tempestes and stormes / I speake nat of the nyghtes errours / nor of the desceyuable planettes: Nor I reherse nat the manifolde / and diuers kyndes of monsters / the whiche are bredde and noryshed in the see / these thou shalte by thyne owne wysedome call vnto thy mynde / and more better interpretate what they meane. Nor thou shuldest nat truste the see whan hit semeth smothe and caulme / nor whan the clere glassy stormes be swaged and layde / nor whan the ayre is fayre and clere: for all this is done to thende that the sodain tempest might fynde the vnprouyded and a slepe. And therfore I doubte greatly / whether there be any thynge more contrary / more hurtfull / or more foe vnto vertue than prosperite. For as scrypture dothe witnes. Calamite & misfortune breaketh many a one: but good fortune and prosperite dissolueth or mollyfyeth many mo. Therfore be thou wyse and wel ware / and trust nat the smiling worlde: lest whan thy shyp is ron to wracke and broken (whiche god forbyd) I shuld be fayne to lamēt

the with these verses of the poet.

O Palynure, O gouernour and chefe guyde Of Aeneas shippe, vvherin that prince dyd sayle For all thy great cunnyng, thou coudest nat preuyde The daunger of the see, that the dyd assayle The castynge of thy compas dyd lytell preuayle Trustynge to moche caulme vvedder and fayre skyes Vpon the see sande, deed naked vvhan thou lyes.