Here is co[n]teyned the lyfe of Iohan Picus erle of Myrandula a grete lorde of Italy an excellent connynge man in all sciences, [and] verteous of lyuynge with dyuers epystles [and] other werkes of ye sayd Iohan Picus full of grete science vertue [and] wysedome, whose lyfe [and] werkes bene worthy [and] dygne to be redde and often to be had in memorye.

Iohan Picus erle of Mirandula to Iohan Fraunsces his neuew by his brother helth in hym that is very helth.

THat thou hast had many euyll occasyons af∣ter thy departynge which trouble the & stonde agaynst the vertuouse purpose that thou hast taken there is no cause my sone why y^u sholdest eyther mer∣uayle therof / be sory therfore / or drede hit / but rather how grete a wondre were this yf onely to y^• amonge mortall men y^• way laye open to heuen with out swet as thought y^• now at erst / the disceytfull worlde & the cursed deuyll fayled / & as thoughe thou were not yet in y^• flesshe: which coueyteth agaynst the spyrite: and which false flessh (but yf we watche & loke wel to our¦self) shal make vs dronke in y^e cuppes of circes & so de∣forme vs in to monstrous shappes of brutyssh & vn¦reasonable beestes. Remembre also that of this euyll occasyons the holy apostle saynt Iames sayth y^u hast cause to be glad writynge in this wyse. •• aude••e fra∣tres qm̄ in temptationes varias in cideritis. Be glad sayth he my brethren whan ye fall in dyuers tempta¦cions / and not causeles for what hope is there of glo∣rye yf there be none hope of victorye: or what place is there for victory where there is no batayl: he is called to the crowne & triūphe whiche is {pro}uoked to the con¦flycte & namely to that conflyct: in which no man may be ouercom against his will / & in which we nede none other strength to vaynquyssh but y^• we lyst our selfe to vaynquissh. Uery happy is a christen mā syth y^• y^• vi∣ctory

is bothe put in his owne frewyll: & the rewarde of the vyctory shal be farre greter than we can eyther hope or wysshe. Tell me I praye y^• my moost dere sone if ther be ought in this life of all those thingis: y^• de∣lite wherof so vexeth and tossith these erthly myndes Is ther I say oni of those trif••es: ī y^• getīg of which a man must not suffre many labours many displea∣surs & many miseries or he get hit. The marchaunt thīkith him selfe well serued if after .x. yeres sailing / after a.m. incōmoditees / after a.m. Ieopardyes of his lyfe he may at last haue a litle the more gadered to gyther. Of the court & seruyce of this worlde there is nothyng y^• I nede to wryte vnto the / the wretched¦nes wherof the experience hit selfe hath taught the & dayly techeth. In obtaynyng y^• fauour of y^• prynces / in purchasynge the frendshyp of y^• company in ambi∣cyouse labour for offyces & honoures. What an hepe of heuynes there is: how grete anguissh: how moche besynes & trouble. I may rather lerne of the then te∣che y^• / which holdynge my self cō••ent with my bokes & reste / of a chylde haue lerned to lyue within my de∣gree & as moche as I maye dwellynge with my selfe nothynge out of my self labour for / or longe for. Now then these erthly thynges slyper / vncertayne / vyle & cōmune / also to vs and bruyte beest: swetynge & pan∣tynge we shall vnneth obtayne: and loke we than to heuenly thynges & goodly (whiche neyther eye hath seen nor ere hath herde nor herte hath thought) to be drawen slūbry & slepyng magrey our teth: as though neyther god myght reygne nor those heuēly citezyns lyue without vs. Certaynely of this worldly felicite

were goten to vs with ydelnes and ease than myght some man that shrynketh frome labour: rather chese to serue y^• worlde then god. But now yf we be for la∣bored in the waye of synne as moche as in the way of god and moche more (wherof the dampned wretches crye out. •• assatisum{us} in via iniquitatis. we be we∣ryed in the waye of wyckednes) then must it nedes be apoynte of extreme madnes yf we had not leuer la∣bour there where we go from labour to rewarde then where we go from labour to payne. I passe ouer how grete peace & felycite hit is to the mynde whan a man hath nothinge that grudgeth his cōscience nor is not appaled with the secrete twiche of ony preuye cryme•• this pleasure vndoubtedly farre excelleth all y^• plea∣surs y^• in this lyfe may be obteyned or desyred: what thyng is there to be desyred amonge y^• delytes of this worlde? which in y^• sekynge wery vs / in y^• hauynge blyndeth vs / in y^• lesyng payneth bs. Doubtest y^• my sone whether the myndes of wycked men be vexed or not w^t cōtynuall thought and torment: hit is y^• worde of god whiche neyther maye deceyue nor be deceyuer Cor impij quasi mare feruens quod quicscere nō po∣test. The wycked mannes herte is lyke a stormy see y^• maye not rest / there is to hȳ nothynge sure / nothyng peseable but all thynge ferefull / all thynge sorowfull / all thyng deedly. Shall we then enuye these mē: shall we folow them: & forgetynge our owne coūtre heuen / & our owne heuēly father where we were / free borne: shall we wylfully make our selfe theyr bondemen: & with them wretchedly lyuyng: more wretchedly dye. And at y^• last moost wretchedly in euerlastyng fyre be

punisshed. O the derke myndes of men. O the blynde hertes. Who seyth not more clere than lyght that all these thynges be (as they say) truer than trueth hit self / & yet do we not that y^• we knowe is to be done. In vayne we wolde pluk our fote out of the clay but we styk styll. There shall come to the my sone doubte hit not (in these places namely where thou art cōuer∣saūt innumerable impedimentes euery hour: which myght fere the frome the purpose of good and vertu∣ouse lyuynge (& but yf thou be ware) shall throwe the downe hedlynge. But amonge all thynges the very deedly pestylence is this: to be conuersaunt daye and nyght among them whose lyfe is not onely on euery syde an allectyue to synne: but ouer that all set in the expugnaciō of vertue / vnder theyr capitayne the de∣uyll / vnder the banayre of deth / vnder the stipende of hell / fightynge agaynst heuen / agaynst our lorde god and agaynst his chyrch. But crye thou therfore with y^• prophete. Dirū pamus vincula corum & proijcia∣mus a nobis iugum ipso{rum}. Let vs breke the bandes of them aud let vs cast of the yooke of them. These be they whom (as y^• gloriouse apostle saynt Paule seith) our lorde hath delyuered in to the passyons of rebuke and to a reprouable sense to do those thynges that are not conuenyente / full of all iniquite / full of enuye / manslaughter / contenton / gyle / & malice / backbiters odiouse to god ••tumeliouse proude / stately / fynders of euell thynges / folysshe / dissolute / without affecion without couenaunt / w^tout merry whiche whan they dayely the iustice of god / yet vnderstonde they not

y^• suche as these thynges cōmytte: are worthy deth / not onely they y^• do suche thȳges: but also they which consent to y^• doynge: wherfore my chylde go thou ne∣uer about to please them: whome vertue displeaseth / but euermore let these wordes of y^• apostyll be before thyn eyen. O porter magis deo placere {quod} hoīb{us}. We must rather please god then men / and rembēbre these wordes of saynt Paule also. Sihominibus placerem ••eru{us} christi non essem If I sholde please men I were not christes seruaunt. Let entre to thyn herte an ho¦ly pryde & haue dysdayne to take them for maysters of thy lyuynge whiche haue more nede to take y^• for a maister of theyrs. Hit were farre more semȳge y^• they sholde with y^• by good lyuynge begyn to be men then thou sholdest with them by y^e leuynge of the good pur¦pose shamfully begyn to be a best. There holdeth me somtyme by almyghty god as hit were euen a swone and 〈◊〉〈◊〉 insensibilite for wondre when I begyn in my selfe: I wot neuer whether I shall sey: to remembre or to sorowe / to meruayule or to bewayle the apetytes of men / or yf I shall more playnly speke: y^• very mad∣nes not to beleue the gospell whose trouthe the blode of marters cryeth / y^• voyce of apostles sowneth / mira¦cles proueth / reason cōfermeth / y^• worlde testifyeth / y^• elementes speketh / deuylles confesseth. But a ferre gr•••••••• madness is hit yf thou doubt not but that the gospell is true: to lyue then as though thou doubtest not but that hit were false. For yf these wordes of the wordes of the gospell be true / that hit is very harde for 〈…〉〈…〉 kyngedome of heuen why do we dayly th•••• gape after the hepynge vp of riches.

And yf this be true that we sholde seke for the glorye and prayse not that cometh of men / but that cometh of god / why do we then euer hange vpon the iuge∣ment & opinyon of men and no man rekketh whether god lyke hym or not. And yf we surely beleue y^• ones the tyme shall come in whiche our lorde shall saye go ye cursed people in to eueuerlastynge fyre / & agayne come ye my blessed chyldren possede ye the kyngdome y^• hath ben prepared for you from y^• fourmynge of the world / why is there nothyng then y^• we lesse fere then hell or y^• we lesse hope for then the kyngedome of god. What shall we say elles but y^• there be many chrysten men in name but fewe in dede. But thou my sone en∣force thy selfe to entre by the streygh gate y^• ledeth to heuen & take no hede what thynge many men do: but what thyng y^• verey law of nature / what thyng very reason what thynge our lorde hȳ selfe sheweth y^• to be done for neyther thy glory shal be lesse yf y^• be happy w^t fewe nor thy payne more easy yf y^• be wretched with many. Thou shalt hour .ij. specyally effectuall reme∣dyes agaynst y^• worlde & the deuyll with whiche two as w^t .ij. whynges: thou shalt out of this vale of mise∣rye be lyfte vp in heuen / that is to saye almes dede & prayer / what maye we do without the helpe of god or how shall he helpe vs yf he be not called vpon.

But ouer that certaynely he shall not here the whan thou callest on hym yf thou here not fyrst y^• pore man whai. he calleth vpon y^• and verely hit is accordynge that god sholde despyse the beynge a man whan thou beynge a man despysest a man. For hit is wryten in what mesure y^• ye mete: hit shall be mete you agayne

And in an other place of y^• gospell hit is sayd blyssed be mercyfull men for they shall gete mercy / whan I styre the to prayer I styre y^• not to y^• prayer whiche stō¦deth in many wordes but to that prayer whiche in y^• secrete chambre of the mynde / in the preuy closet of y^• soule with very affecte speketh to god and in y^• moost lyghtsome darkenes of contemplacion not onely pre∣senteth the mynde to the father: but also vnteth hit w^t him by inspekable wayes which onely they knowe y^• haue assayed. Nor I care not how longe or how short thy prayer be / but how effectuall how ardente and ra¦ther interrupted & broken betwene with sighes then drawen on length with a contynuall rowe & nombre of wordes / yf thou loue thyne helth yf thou desyre to be sure from y^• grennes of y^• deuyll / frome the stormes of this worlde / frome thawayte of thyn enemyes yf y^• long to be acceptable to god yf thou coueyte to be hap¦py at the last: let no day passe the but thou ones at the lestwise present thy selfe to god by prayer and fallyng downe before hym flat to y^• grounde with an humble affecte of deuout mynde not frome y^• extremyte of thy lippes but out of y^• inwardnes of thyn herte cry these wordes of y^• prophete. Delicta iuuētutis mee igno¦rātias meas ne meminer••s sed secūdum misericordiā tuā memento mei {pro}pter bonitatē tuā dn̄e. The effen∣ces of my youth and myn ignoraunces remembre not good lorde / but after thy mercy lorde for thy goodnes remembre me. whan y^• shalt in thy prayer axe of god: both y^• holy spyryte which prayeth for vs & eke thyn owne necessyte shall euery houre put in thy mynde / & also what thou shalte praye for: y^u shall fynde mater

ynough in y^• redynge of holy scrypture which y^• thou woldest now (settynge poetes fables & tryfles a syde) take euer in thyn hand I hartly pray y^•. Thou mayst do not hynge more pleasaunte to god nothynge more profitable to thy selfe: then yf thyn hāde cease not day nor nyght to turne and rede the volumes of holy scry∣pture. There lyeth pryuely in them a certayn heuēly strength quyk and effectual with a merueylous power transfourmeth & chaūgeth y^• reders mynde in to the loue of god yf they be clene and lowly entreated. But I haue passed nowe y^• boundes of lettre / y^• ma∣ter drawynge me forth & the grete loue y^• I haue had to the / bothe euer before: & specyally: syth y^• houre in which I haue had fyrst knowledge of thy moost holy purpose. Now to make an ende with this one thynge I warne y^• (of which whan we were last togyther I often talked with y^•) that y^• neuer forget these .ij. thyn∣ges / y^• both y^• sone of god dyed for y^• & y^• thou shalt also thy selfe dye shortly lyue y^• neuer so longe / with these twayne as with two spurres y^• one of fere y^• other of loue: spurre forthe thyn hors thorugh y^• shorte way of this momentarye lyfe to y^• rewarde of eternall felicy∣te syth we neyther ought nor maye prefexe our selfe onye other ende than the endles fruycion of y^• infinite goodnes bothe to soule & body in euerlastynge peace. Fare well and fere god.