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A valiant Prince.
IT is a great incouragement for a Prince to be valiant, and have courage, for it makes obedience in subjects, and keeps forraigners from intruding; for let a king have many vices, if he have but that one vertue; he shall be powerful at home, and fa∣mous abroad, and it is not onely esteemed in princes; but in pri∣vate men, for a valiant man shall rest quietly, without con∣trolment, when a coward shall be troubled with continual af∣fronts; but I mean not a Tyrant; for tyranny is the childe of fear, not of courage; for fear makes suspition, and suspition makes false suggestions, and that brings cruelty; yet a soft na∣ture is in a degree of a coward in the worlds esteem; for though he hath courage to fight, yet the easinesse of his nature makes him quickly forgive, and so perhaps to put up a wrong, and the world conceives not so much the goodnesse of the nature, as apt to condemn it, for a defect of his valour; but a soft and ten∣der nature shall suffer with much patience, which sheweth a greater courage then a stronger nature, which gains him much pitty, and a great deal of love, but it is onely in affliction, for there his courage is most seen, so passive courage gets love in affliction, and active courage gets praises in prosperity, it is observable, that often times a very wise man begets a fool, and a very valiant man a coward; when an indifferency shall con∣tinue in a race for many descentsit seems as if nature were limited, or had equal proportion of good and bad, that when she hath been prodigal to one, makes her necessitated to another, but nature is wise, for shee doth not make her favour common, because she would leave them esteemable.