Of Riches and Poverty.
Necessity and poverty teacheth to dissemble, flatter, and shark for their advantage, and lively-hood: and long custom makes it a habit, and habit is a second nature; for what Poverty breeds many times proveth base, and unworthy, being necessitated to quit honour or life, where most commonly life is chosen first; besides, poverty wants means to learn what is best; for the poorer sort generally never standeth upon the honour of speaking the truth, or keeping their word; for they lie at the watch, to steal what they can get; when a rich-man vaving no wants to necessitate him, but lives at plenty, which keeps him not onely from that which is base, but perswades to things that are Noble. Riches make a man ambitious of Honourable Fame, which desires make them rule their Acti∣ons, to the length of good opinions but poverty is ambitious of nothing but riches, and thinks it no dishonour to come to it any any way. Thus poverty is ambitious of riches, and riches of ho∣nours. Riches, as a Golden father beget a bastard gentry, and poverty is the death and burial of it; but the pure and true born gentry comes from merit, from whence proceeds all no∣ble and Heroick Actions, it is nourished in the Court of Fame, taught in the schooles of honour, lives in the monarchical Go∣verment of justice.