The prouerbes of the noble and woorthy souldier Sir Iames Lopez de Mendoza Marques of Santillana with the paraphrase of D. Peter Diaz of Toledo: wherin is contained whatsoeuer is necessarie to the leading of an honest and vertuous life. Translated out of Spanishe by Barnabe Googe.

The second Chapter. of Knowledge and Wisdome. (Book 2)

12

Apply thy selfe with all thy force, Some knowledge to attaine: Procure the same with studie great, With diligence and paine▪ But seeke not to be learned thou, For fonde desire of praise: But skilfully to reprehende The vnskilful sinners waies.

The Paraphrase.

THe Marques in this Prouerbe she∣weth, with what care and diligence we ought to seeke for knowledge and furthermore, to what ende wee ought to trauaile and seeke for it. For as A∣ristotle in a boke that he made of the Soule

saith: Our soule or minde at the time of our birth, is as a blanke, or a cleane peece of paper that hath nothing vpon it, but is re∣dy to receiue any perfectnesse, knowledge, or maners and therefore if it so be that: the very perfection of the soule, is knowledge. the Marques doeth to good end admonish and exhort vs to seeke for this knowledge, by al the meanes that we may. Cato saith, Seek to get knowledge or Art: For when fortune is fickle & wil faile, yet Art and science wil neuer forsake thee. And there∣fore it is written in the sixth booke of Poli∣crates, That the Emperour Octauian, as great a Prince as he was, caused his chil∣dren to be so brought vp, that if euer fortune shoulde faile them, yet they shoulde haue a meanes to get their liuing. And therefore he caused his sonnes to be trained vppe in knowledge of the warres, to learne, to runne, to leape, to swimme, to caste the dart, to throw the stone, both with the hand and with the sling, and his daughters to woorke all maner of linnen woorkes, and woollen woorkes: So that yf euer it shoulde chaunce them to fall into pouertie, they shoulde yet be able with their handes

to get their liuing, and the Prouerbe saith more, That a man ought not to seeke learning for fonde desire of prayse,* 1.1 but skilfully to reprehende the vnskilfull sinners waies. For the intentes of suche as seeke to be learned are diuers: Some, to the end they might be counted wise & great learned men, and for suche reputed and cōmended in euery place, not for any good that they meane to do to others therby: and the ende of this is vanitie: Others, not for to doe anye good withall, nor for any desire of praise, but for their owne pleasure: the ende of whiche is foolishe curiositie. Some againe seek to be learned, to come to riches and promotion: the ende whereof is coue∣tousnesse: Others seeke to attaine to know∣ledge, to profite & benefite their neighbours withall: And the ende of that is charitie: Others to be instructed and edified them selues: And the ende of that is wisedome: And these two last be they, that seeke not to be learned for vaineglory, but to be skilfull reprehenders and admonishers of others.

13.

By learning shalt thou vnderstande, What God hath doone for thee: And what he dayly bringes to passe, For all in eche degree. And howe to loue and honour him, This dreame forgotten quiet: Whereof within a litle time. Thou shalt forgoe the sight.

The Paraphrase

HEere doeth the Marques declare what profite & commoditie commeth by knowledge,* 1.2 saying, that by learning we come to knowe what GOD hath doone, and what he doeth for vs. The knowledge whereby we may knowe GOD, and what he hath doone for vs, is to be had by peru∣sing the olde and newe Testament, wherin we shall finde, how God is the creatour of al the whole worlde and how he created it only of his owne goodnesse & mercy, and how he hath giuen vs lawes and commaun∣dementes, by the which we may serue and obey him, & that though a man haue of long

time liued vertuously and godly, yet if in the ende he offende God, and die without repentance, that God wil neuer remember his righteousnesse nor good life, that went before: Againe, yf a man hath been a gree∣uous sinner all his lyfe time, and yet in the ende repent and turne vnto GOD, and die with vnfaigned repentance, the mer∣cifull Lorde will neuer lay to his charge any sinne that he hath committed: Accor∣ding as the Prophet Ezechiel from the Lordes owne mouth testifieth, We shal al∣so therein see that all the race and posteritie of man, for the offence of our first father Adam, are adiudged and condemned to e∣uerlasting damnation: And howe GOD, for the great loue that he bare to man∣kinde, hath sent his only begotten sonne Iesus Christ, to take our flesh vpon him, & to suffer most cruel death for our saluation: And to pay, as Esay saith, The price of our redemption. Also by the Scriptures wee know, what other benifites soeuer the Lord hath doone for vs. Beside, the scripture tea∣cheth vs how we ought to loue God with al our hart, with all our minde, & with all our forces, & that we ought rather to die a glo∣rious

death, then to offend him with a sin∣full life: & this he meaneth when he saith, The dreame is forgottē quite that soone thou shalt forgoe. For our life is compa∣red to a sleepe, which we shal leaue before we be aware, as Innocentius saith in a booke that he wrote of the wretchednes of the state of man, where he hath these words: Tel me my brother,* 1.3 what goodnesse doest thou finde in these worldly delights? What doeth thy glory profite thee? What doeth thy pleasures auaile thee? These be not they that can deliuer thee from death, nor defend thee from the wormes: For he that late was lustie and glorious in his Pal∣lace, lieth nowe dead and stinking in his Sepulchre: he that late was tickled with the delightes of the bed, lyeth nowe torne a sunder with the wormes in his graue What meanest thou to be proude, being but wormes meate and ashes? Why moy∣lest thou for riches, that shall shortly be di∣stributed to the poore? As the Prophet saith, They slept their sleepe, & those that were lately riche,* 1.4 haue nowe nothing in their handes. There true wisdome, knowledge of God, and skill in the scrip∣ture, bringeth vs to this vnderstandyng.

by this a man knoweth how to serue God, not regarding this transitorie life, which passeth as a sleepe or a dreame.

14.

To Gentlemen it doeth belong. To knowe the artes diuine, Where knowledge chiefly floorisheth, And learning best doeth shine. Assuredly he well deserues To haue the vpper seate, That garnished with wisedome is, And deckt with learning great.

IN this Prouerbe the Marques sheweth what maner of men ought to seeke for learning and vnderstanding, and for the better vnderstanding hereof, we must con∣sider, that there be artes Mechanicall and arts Liberal. Artes Mechanical are those, that are vsed by men of base condition, as Shoemakers, Taylours, Carpenters, Smithes and all other that are handicraf∣tesmen: Arts Liberal are those learnings, and sciences, wherunto liberal or free men, that is, noble men or Gentlemen applie

them selues, as y^e seuen Liberal sciences, & therfore they are called liberal, or free, that bestow their time in these knowledges, be∣cause they be not of base minde nor estate, neither are they subiect or bounde to anie vyle occupation: And therefore in the olde time there were none brought vp in lear∣ning, but onely the children of noblemen and Gentlemen: and therefore saith the Pro∣uerbe, To Gentlemen it doeth belong, to know the artes diuine, That is to say, to suche men as are of good estate and con∣dition. Traian (as Policrates in his sixth booke writeth) who was a Spaniarde and Emperour of Rome, in a letter that he writeth to the Frenche king, perswadeth him, to bring vp his children in the knowe∣ledge of the liberall artes, saying, that a kinge without learning, is like an Asse with a crowne, & therefore the kinges and Em∣perours in the olde time did commit their children to the best learned men, that they coulde get. Traian was brought vp with Policrates: The emperor Nero with Sene∣ca: & great Alexander with Aristotle. To whom (as Policartes in the forsaid booke saith) King Phillip vppon the birth of his

sonne Alexander wrote his letters in this sort: Phillip the king, sendeth greeting to Aristotle the Philosopher. I vnderstande that I haue a sonne borne, for which I geue thankes to the Gods, not so much for his birth, as that he hapned to be borne in thy time, by whom I trust to haue him so brought vp, that he shalbe woorthie to suc∣ceede me in my kingdome and dominions, The Prouerb saith further, That he deser∣ueth preheminence, that is garnished with wisdome and learning. And assured∣ly looke what difference there is betwixt perfection and imperfection,* 1.5 and betwixt darknesse and light, so great is the diuersity betwixt a learned man and an ignorant, & because we should vnderstande what great honour he deserueth that is beautified with learning and wisedome, both Daniel in his seconde vision, and S. Ierome in his preface to the Bible doe witnesse, that the learned and the wise shall shine, as the brightnesse of the firmament, and those that haue instructed many in godlynesse, shall glister like the starres for euer and euer. And therfore great preheminence doeth he deserue, that is garnished with

wisedome and learning.

15

The head and spring of goodnesse al, Is wisedome, that doeth shewe The meanes for to discerne the trueth, And vertue pure to knowe. Who so beginneth in his youth In vertue to delight, No doubt, but when he comes to age, Will leade his life aright.

The Paraphrase.

IN this Prouerbe the Marques sheweth that one of the principall causes of wise∣dome and knowledge, is to feare God, as Salomon in his prouerbes saith, The be∣ginning of wisdome, is the feare of God, and wisedome & knowledge the foolish doe abhorre, and therfore he saith, That wisedome is more woorth then the wea∣pons of the mightie, of greater value then precious stones, & more fine thē pure gold. For by wisedome we are able to discerne betwixt good and euill, betwixt vertue

and vice, to which ende leauing to speake of the doctrine and rules of the holy Scripture, whereby we are taught to flee from all sinne and wickednesse and to em∣brace and followe vertuousnesse) Aristotle hath written three bookes: In the one of them he entreateth of the rules and orders that are requisite for the guiding of a coun∣trey and citie, which booke is called the Politiques: In the other he sheweth howe a man ought to gouerne his house, his wife, and his children, & this booke is called the Aeconomikes. The thirde, teacheth how a man shoulde gouerne him selfe, wherein there is a medlie of rules & obseruations, by which a man may knowe the vertuous, and discerne and seuere them from the vi∣ces. And specially in this booke he shew∣eth, that all maner of vertues are gotten by vse and custome, and that a man by vsing a long time to liue vertuously, it commeth at length to bee naturall vnto him, and although a man be naturally enclined to vice, yet yf he accustome him selfe to vertue, he shall leaue his euill inclination and become vertuous. And this is it that the Prouerbe sayeth,

Who so beginneth to liue well in his youth, it is a signe that he shall not doe a∣misse in his age. But it is not one vertuous act alone, that can be called a beginning, as Aristot. saith, no more then can one swallow shew a spring. And the greatest presump∣tion by which we may cōiecture (as Ari∣stotle in the second of his Ethickes sayeth) whether a man shall proue vertuous or no, is the pleasure or the heauinesse that he taketh in his well doing. For if he be ioyfull, & take delight in the vertuous actes that he doeth, it is a token that he wil proue well in his age, and be verie vertuous. But if he goe about them, with an euill will, and seeme to take no delight therein, it is a signe that his vertues will not long endure. And therefore as the wise man sayeth: By the pleasauntnesse and heauinesse of a child in his youth, we shall easily ghesse what he will be in his age.

16.

That most renowmed Solomon for wisedome chiefely sought, Whereby his Empire and his state to order good he brought.

He gouernd of himselfe alone, and neuer did debate, Nor counsaile callde for anie thing, that longed to his state.

The Paraphrase.

AS it is written in the thirde Booke of the Kinges, Solomon the sonne of Dauid, after the death of his Fa∣ther, was chosen to be King. And the first thing that euer he did, because he would lay a good foundation, he went to a hie Moun∣taine, that was neare about him, called Ga∣baon, to offer sacrifices to the Lord. And that night the Lorde appeared to him in his sleep, and said vnto him, Aske what thou wilt, that I may giue it thee. And Solo∣mon sayd. Thou hast shewed vnto thy ser∣uant Dauid my father great mercie, in that thou hast giuen him a sonne to sit vpon his seate, and to succeede him in his king∣dome: And now, O Lord my God, it is thou that hast made thy seruant king, in stead of Dauid my father, and I am but yong, and know not how to goe out and in, and thy ser∣uant is in the middest of thy people, which

thou hast chosen, and verely the people are so manie, as can not be tolde, nor numbred for multitude: Giue therefore vnto thy ser∣uant an vnderstanding hart, to iugde thy people, that I may discerne betwixt good & bad. And this pleased the Lord well, that Solomon had desired this thing. And God said vnto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked long life, neither hast asked riches, nor the soule of thine ene∣mies, but hast asked vnderstanding and dis∣cretion in iudgement: Beholde I haue done according to thy petition, for I haue giuen thee a wise & an vnderstanding hart, so that there hath been none like thee before thee, nor after thee shall anie arise like vnto thee. This storie serueth here for this Prouerbe, that sheweth, how Solomon sought chiefly for wisedome, by which without debating of anie matters, or calling of any counsaile, hee was able sufficiently to gouerne his kingdome and dominions.

17.

If thou be eloquent, great praise thereof to thee will rise, But much more commendable it is to be discrete and wise.

For he that wisedome hath, will all his life obedient be Vnto the rules, he learned hath in sweete Philosophie.

The Paraphrase.

THe Marques here sheweth in this Prouerbe, what is the marke that a man ought specially to shoote at, and sayth, that although it be a goodly thing for a man to be eloquent, and to haue a good tongue, yet it is a great deale more worthie praise, to be wise. Eloquence is a fine and sweete kinde of speaking, by the pleasantnesse whereof, it draweth men to the opinion of the speaker: The figures, and rules where∣of are set foorth by Tullie in his Rethorike: And if this eloquence be ioyned with wise∣dome and knowledge, it is a speciall orna∣ment: but if a man haue more wordes then wit, he shall be counted a vaine iangler and a pratteler. And therefore sayeth Tullie, That farre better is wisedome voyde of eloquence, then foolish pratteling with∣out discretion. Wisedome among all the moral vertues, that Aristotle in his Ethicks

intreateth of, is the most principall vertue, or rather, as he saith, the onely vertue, mea∣ning that all the vertues are chained and linked together in one. And therefore the Philosophers commonly say, that whosoe∣uer hath one, hath al. For if he haue one ver∣tue, he must needes haue wisedome thorow∣ly, he that hath wisdome thorowly, hath all vertues: therefore hee that hath one vertue, hath all vertues. Wisedome, as the Philo∣sophers say, consisteth of three partes: the first is memorie, to remēber such things as hath passed: the second knowledge, to know such things as are present: the thirde, pro∣uidence, to foresee such thinges as are to come. And he that hath these three partes, may be counted wise, and a seruant obedi∣ent to morall Philosophie. For as I sayde before, wisedome conteineth in her selfe all morall vertue: And as Aristotle sayeth, It is a thing vnpossible for a man to bee wise, and not to be good. And therefore the Prouerbe sayeth, The wise man is all his life obedient to morall Philosophie.

18

Roboam being one that had no skill, but did assay,

In euerie thing to striue against the streame, did soone decay: For vexing and molesting of his subiects kept in thrall, Whē least he look'd for such a change, they quite forsooke him all.

The Paraphrase of the Marques.

ROboam was the sonne of Solomon, and King of Israel, who after his fa∣thers decease, did vse such tyrannie ouer his subiectes, that verie woorthily hee was de∣priued of the moste parte of his gouern∣ment.

The Doctour.

TO proue the harmes and mischiefes, that he that wanteth wisedome runneth into, the Marques here bringeth in the Storie of Roboam, the sonne of Solo∣mon: Of whom it is written in the thirde Booke of the Kinges, that after the death of Solomon, the people assembled togi∣ther to make him King, and spake vnto him, saying, Thy Father made our yoke grieuous, nowe therefore make thou the

grieuous seruice of thy father, and his hea∣uie yoke, that he put vpon vs, lighter, & we will serue thee. And hee sayde vnto them, Depart yet for the space of three dayes, and then come againe to mee. And the people departed. And King Roboam tooke counsaile with the olde men, that stoode be∣fore his Father, while hee yet liued, and sayde, What counsaile giue you, that I may haue matter to aunswere this people? And they sayde vnto him, If thou be a ser∣uant to this people this day, and folow their mindes, and answere them, & speake gently vnto them this day, they wil be thy seruants for euer. But he forsooke the counsaile that the olde men had giuen him, and called vn∣to his coūsaile yong men, that were growne vp with him, and waited on him, & said vnto thē. What coūsaile giue you, that we may answer this people? And the yong men, that were growne vp with him, answered him, saying, Thus shalt thou say vnto the peo∣ple: My little finger shall bee weightier then my fathers whole bodie, and where as my father did lade you, and put a grieuous yoke vpon you, I will make it heauier. At which words the people greatly disdaining,

ten tribes of them presently forsooke him, and chose Ieroboam for their king. Wher∣by is concluded, that Roboam, because he was not wise, nor aduised, nor carefull, to preuent such mischiefs as might happen, o∣uershooting himselfe shamefully in his foo∣lish answere, was worthily forsaken and re∣iected of his people: as is mencioned in the Prouerbe.

19.

My sonne, serue God with all thy heart, for why, his wrath from hie Doth fall, and whiske through all the worlde in twinkling of an eie. For when he list, he casteth downe such as he blessed late, And doth aduaunce the godly man to great and hie estate.

The Paraphrase.

THe Marques sheweth in this Pro∣uerbe the profite and commoditie that commeth of seruing and fearing God, and the hurtes & inconueniences that follow to such as offende him according to the dayly

lessons of the church. The soueraign power of God is shewed, in casting downe the mightie out of their seate, which are those that heape to them selues his displeasure, and in exalting the humble and the meeke, which are those that feare him. For as Da∣uid in one of his Psalmes sayth: The Lord throweth downe one, and lifteth vp an other, for the vessell is in the hand of God: And of such as serue and feare God, he sayth, I haue not seene the iust forsa∣ken, nor his seede begging their breade: And of those that offende, and fall into his displeasure, he saith, I haue seene the wic∣ked in prosperitie, and flourishing like the Cedars in Libanus, and within a while I went by the place where he was, and beholde, he was perished, and not to be seene. And therefore well saith the Pro∣uerbe, The Lord bringeth the mightie to the ground, that offendeth him, & pro∣uoketh his displeasure, & aduaunceth to honour the poore man that feareth him. And vpon this is the whole Scripture in a maner grounded: that is to wit, that God promiseth euerlasting ioy, & sufficiencie of worldly goods to all those that serue him,

and euerlasting destruction both of life and goods, to those that offend, and prouoke his wrath.

20.

Be conformable to the time, and season that dooth fall: For otherwise to be, is cause of griefe and losse of all. Abhorre presumption as a mon∣ster and an enimy To knowledge, that is onely light and lampe of magestie.

The Paraphrase.

IT is written of Dauid the King, that for feare of falling into the hands of Saule, he fled into an other countrey neere adioy∣ning, where they well vnderstood that hee was annointed king ouer Israel: And when they had taken him, and brought him be∣fore the King of the countrie, whose name was Achis, because they should not detaine him in prison, nor gratifie Saule with the deliuery of him, hee fayned him selfe to bee

mad, and wryed his mouth, as one that had been possessed with a spirite, and fomed at the mouth: & this was counted for a great wisedome and discretion in Dauid, because he framed him selfe according to the time and season, whereas if he had doone other∣wise, he had cast away him selfe. And Cato saith, That it is a great pointe of wise∣dome, to counterfaite follie in some place: and in an other place, It is good for a man to seeme half out of his wit & en∣raged, when time and reason requires. As Aristotle in his third Booke of Ethicks witnesseth, where he speaketh of Fortitude: At some time againe it shall behooue him to shew him selfe to be humble and meeke, yea and also fearefull, as Aristostle in the very same booke writeth. The like is to bee obserued in the vertues of Temperaunce, Liberalitie, and all other vertues, in know∣ledge of which circumstances, Wisedome doth chiefly consist. Againe the Prouerbe sayeth, That a man ought to abhorr pre∣sumption, as the enemy, and contrary to the cleare Lampe of Knowledge. VVherevpon Sainct Hierome in one of his Epistles writeth after this sorte.

Amongst all other things, that the Ro∣maines wisely deuised, this was one, That whensoeuer any of their Captaines retur∣ned with victory to Roome, least he shoulde be puft vp with pride and vainglory, for the worthynesse of his person, or brought into a fooles paradise, forgetting himselfe, for the great honor and triumph that was done vnto him, they thought good, that as they honoured him three maner wayes, for the ouerthrowe that hee wan: so the selfe same day, to make him remember him selfe, and to let fall his Pecockes taile, they likewise dishonored him with thre notable dispights. The honor (which was doone to all conque∣rours) that they did vnto him was in three manners: The first was, that all the people of the Citie, came out to meete and receiue him, with great ioy and gladnesse: The se∣conde, all the Prisoners that he had taken, went before his Chariot, with their hands bound behinde them. The third, they put vp∣on him a shert of the God Iupiters, and set him in a Chariot of Golde, which was drawen with foure white Horses, in which sorte they caried him to the Capitoll, with great honor, ioy, and showtes of the people.

And with these three sortes of honor, they ioyned these three reproches, to the end hee shoulde not wax proude nor insolent. The firste was, they placed by him cheeke to cheeke, a ragged and an vnseemely knaue: and thus they did to signifie, that any man though his state were neuer so base nor mi∣serable, might by vertue attaine to the like honour: The second, this beggerly compa∣nion, did nowe and then buffet him, to the ende, he should not be too proude of his ho∣nour, and euer as he strake him, badde him to remember that hee was a man, and should dye: The thirde dishonour was, that it was lawfull for euery man to giue him the shamefullest woordes they coulde de∣uise. And this the Romaines did as I saide before, to the ende the Conquerour should abhorre presumption, which is the aduersarie of the Knowledge, that clere and comfortable light.

21.

For time is it, that all things makes, and time doth all things marre: And when dame Fortune pleased is, such things as hurtfull are,

Fall out to our commoditie, and many times doe please: While such things as cōmodious are, doe turne to our disease.

The Paraphrase.

THis is the onely difference betwixt euerlasting thinges, and transitory things: The euerlasting things, endure for euer: the transitory thinges, as with time: they come, so with time they decay, & there∣fore in the proueth before, the Marques gi∣ueth vs aduice, and exhorteth vs to bee con∣formable to the time & season; And that rea∣son that maketh him so to say, is, that as a thing is in one time wrought & done, so is it in an other time vndone & destroied. For as Solomon in his Eccleastes saith, There is a time to be borne & a time to die, a time to build, & a time to pluck downe: neither ought we as y^e prouerb saith, to be offended, if things fal not out according to our desire, for when it pleaseth Fortune, such things as seeme displeasant vnto vs; shall redound to our commoditie. For the better vnderstan∣ding wherof, we must consider what is the true signification of this word (Fortune) of

which there be many & sundry opinions. For some, those y^t be heathen people, as Boetius in his first booke Of Consolation saith, will needs haue this Fortune to be a Lady, and a great goddesse, vnder whose gouernment and at whose dispositiō, are all the treasures and riches of the world: & farther they say, that shee hath all maner of persons in the, worlde vpon a wheele, & that her condition and nature (for she is a woman) is, neuer to be long of one minde, but somtime of great and honourable personages, to make poore and miserable creatures, & againe of poore & miserable caitiues, to make hye & migh∣tie Princes, stil whirling about her vnsted∣fast wheele, as pleaseth her. Aristotle hath also the like maner of speach in his Booke Of good Fortune, where he affirmeth, that there are diuerse and sundry opinions a∣boute Fortune. But all their opinions are farre differing from our Christian faith. For as Boetius in his firste Booke Of Consolation, And Saint Augustine in the fourth Booke Of the Citie of God, doe vnite, this Fortune & destinie, are no other things, then the prouidence of God, & ther∣fore to speake like a good Christian, that

which the Prouerbe heere saith: When as it pleaseth Fortune, &c. is as much to say, as when it pleaseth the prouidence of God, the thinges that bee hurtfull vnto vs, shall turne to our profit, and such things as are profitable, to our hurt and destruction. Whereof there is a very good example in the holie Scriptures, in the first Booke of Moses, where it is written, that the Chil∣dren of Iacob, for the malice that they bare to Ioseph their brother, threw him in∣to a deepe pitte, and after solde him to cer∣taine Merchants, who solde him to an offi∣cer of King Pharaoes, that vpon the vnfull accusation of his wife, kepte him a long time in Prison, from whence hee was sent for by King Pharao, and after that hee had declared the meaning of his dreame and foreshewed the comming of the deare and the barren yeares, he was made the greatest man aboute him, which was the cause that the patriarch Iacob with all his house escaped the great famine, & came to liue honourably in Aegypt and thus did it please fortune, that is to say, God, that the hurtfull things, that is, the imprisonment of Ioseph, and all the other harmes and mi∣series

that he sustained, should turne to the profite of himself, his father, and his bre∣thren. So likewise doe the things that appeare good and profitable, many times fall out to bee hurtfull and euill vnto vs, as to haue great store of monie, is a profita∣ble thing, and yet it often falleth, that their throates are cut for it, that haue it: and so do∣eth a profitable thing become hurtefull.

22.

My sonne, the wiseman and his life, still set before thy face: And speake no euill of thy Prince, in anie secret place; Looke that thy toung & iudgement both such nets do warily shun: For why, the very walles them selues, Will witnes what is doone.

The Paraphrase.

THE Marques in this Prouerbe sheweth, that if a man be not able of him selfe to rule and order his life, hee should seeke out, and set before his eyes, same wise and notable man, according to

whose doings he shuld in euery point frame his life, as Seneca writeth to Lucilius, & it is one of the chiefest lessons that hee could deuise to giue him, for the framing of his life aright. He willeth him, that he shuld alwaies imagine him selfe to bee in the presence of some good man, for example sake either Cato or Lelius, for ether of them were both vertuous & wise: and that he should frame al his thoughts, and direct all his deedes, ac∣cording to the life and vertues of them, and so should he neuer do amisse, and this is it, that is ment in y^e prouerbe, Follow the wise man and his lawe. The law of the wiseman is his discretion, for as Aristotle saieth, The iust and the vertuous man is a lawe vnto him selfe, for hee measureth the times, & disposeth his things, according as the time and reason doth require. And the Prouerbe saith more, Speake thou no euill of thy Prince: according to the do∣ctrine of the Apostle Sainct Paule, We are bound to feare God, and to honour the King. We ought to serue the King as our naturall Lorde, and wee offende God grie∣uou••ly, in dissobeying of him: In so much as some Doctors of law are of opinion, that

whosoeuer obeyeth not the Kinges com∣maundement findeth deadly, according to that is written in the second of the Kings, Hee that obeyeth not the Prince, shall dye for it. And therefore as it is a grie∣uous and greate sacriledge, to blaspheme the name of God: so is it a damnable and horrible offence to speake euill of the King: and against such as shall so offende, it is ve∣ry well prouided, bothe by the constituti∣ons of the Emperours, and by the lawes and statutes of Spaine. And the Mar∣ques sayth, That wee ought not onely to forbeare to speake euill of the Prince a∣broade and in company, whereby it may come to his eare, but also wee ought not to do it in secrete. For Solomon sayth in his Prouerbs.* 1.6 Speake no euill of the Prince iu any wise, for if thou doest, be sure the verie birdes of the ayre will disclose it. The Byrdes of the ayre, as some Doc∣toures teache, are the Spyrtes and Diuelles, according to the saying of our Lorde and Sauiour in the Gospel, where hee telleth the parable of the seede, that fell by the highe waye, and the Byrdes of the ayre deuoured it. The

The birdes of the Aire saith our Sauiour, are the lewde and wicked spirits, that take out of the heart of man the worde of God. And in this sorte is the aforesaide allegati∣on to be vnderstoode, that the birdes of the aire will discouer it, that is to say, the wic∣ked spirites, who shall reueale the treason that thou haste spoken in secret, and this is it, that the Prouerb meaneth, when it saith. The very walles will witnes beare.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Learning to what end it ought to be sought.
• * 1.2

  The commodi∣tie of learning.
• * 1.3

  The vanitie and miserie of this life.
• * 1.4

  The great good that com¦meth by rea∣ding the scrip∣tures.
• * 1.5

  The diuersitie betwixt the learned and the ignorant.
• * 1.6

  The Prince not to be euill spoken of.