Essays vvritten in French by Michael Lord of Montaigne, Knight of the Order of S. Michael, gentleman of the French Kings chamber: done into English, according to the last French edition, by Iohn Florio reader of the Italian tongue vnto the Soueraigne Maiestie of Anna, Queene of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, &c. And one of the gentlemen of hir royall priuie chamber

The three and thirtieth Chapter.

That fortune is oftentimes met withall in pursuite of reason.

THe inconstancie of Fortunes diverse wavering, is the cause shee should present vs with all sortes of visages. Is there any action of justice more manifest then this? Caesar Bor∣•••••• Duke of Val••ntino••s, having resolved to poison Adrian Cardinall of Cornetto, with whom Pope Alexander the ••••xt, his father and he were to sup that night in Vaticane, sent certaine bottles of empoysoned wine before, and gave his Butler great charge to have a special care of it. The Pope comming thither before his sonne, and calling for some drinke; the butler supposing the Wine had been so carefully commended vnto him for the goodnesse of it, immediately presented some vnto the Pope, who whilest he was drinking, his sonne came in and never imagining his bottles had beene toucht, tooke the cup and pledged his father, so that the Pope died presently; and the sonne, after he had long time beene tormented with sicknesse, recovered to another woorse fortune. It somtimes seemeth, that when we least think on her, shee is pleased to sporte with vs. The Lord of Estree, the guidon to the Lord of Ʋand••sme, and the Lord of Liques, Lieutenant to the Duke of Ascot, both servants to the Lord of Founguesell••s sister, albeit of contrarie factions (as it happneth among neighboring bordurers) the Lord of Liques got her to wife: But even vpon his wedding day, and which is woorse, before his going to bed, the bridegroome desiring to breake a staffe in favour of his new Bride and Mistris, went out to skirmish neere to Saint Omer, where the Lord of Estree being the stronger tooke him prisoner, and to endeare his advantage, the Lady her selfe was faine,

Coni••gis ant•• ••••actan••vi dimittere collum, Quàm veniens vna atque altera rursus hyems Noctibus in longis auidum saturasset amorem,

Her new feeres necke for'st was she to forgoe, Ere winters one and two returning sloe, In long nights had ful-fil'd Her love so eager wil'd.

in courtesie, to sue vnto him for the deliverie of his prisoner, which he granted; the French Nobilitie never refusing Ladies any kindnesse. Seemeth she not to be a right artist? Con∣stantine the sonne of H••len ••ounded the Empire of Constantinople, and so, many ages after, Constantin•• the sonne of H••len ended the same. She is sometimes pleased to envie our mira∣cles: we hold an opinion, that King Clovis besieging A••goulesme, the wals by a divine favour ••e••l of themselves. And Bouchet borroweth of some author, that King Robert beleagring a Citie, and having secretly stolne away from the siege to Orleans, there to solemnize the feasts of Saint Aignan, as he was in his earnest devotion, vpon a certaine passage of the Masse, the walles of the towne besieged, without any batterie, fell flat to the ground. She did alto∣gether contrarie in our warres of Millane: For, Captaine Rens••, beleagring the Citie of

Eronna for vs, and having caused a forcible mine to be wrought vnder a great curtine of the walles, by force whereof, it being violently flowne vp from out the ground, did notwith∣standing, whole and vnbroken, fall so right into his foundation againe, that the besieged found no inconvenience at all by it. She sometimes playeth the Phisitian. Iason Therius being vtterly forsaken of all Phisitians, by reason of an impostume he had'm his breast, and desirous to be rid of it, though it were by death, as one of the forlorne hope, rusht into a battel amongst the thickest thro••g of his enemies, where he was so rightly wounded acrosse the bodie, that his impostume brake, and he was cured. Did shee not exceed the Painter Protogenes in the skill of his trade? who having perfected the image of a wearie and pan∣ting dog, and in all parts over-tired, to his content, but being vnable, as he desired, hvely to represent the drivel or slaver of his mouth vexed against his owne worke, took his spunge, and moist as it was with divers colours, thr•••• ••t at the picture, with purpose to blot and deface all hee had done: fortune did so fitly and rightly carrie the same toward the dogs chaps, that there it perfectly finished, what his arte could never attaine vnto. Doth she not sometimes addresse and correct our counsels? Isahell Queene of England, being to repasse from Zeland into her kingdome with an armie, in favour of her sonne against her husband, had vtterly beene cast away, had she come vnto the Port intended, being there expected by her enemies: But fortune against her will, brought her to another place, where shee safe∣ly landed. And that ancient fellow, who hurling a stone at a dog, misst him, and there withall hit and slew his stepdame, had she not reason to pronounce this verse,

T〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Chance of it selfe, than wee, Doth better say and see?

Fortune hath better advise then wee. Icetes had practised and subor••ed two souldiers to kill ••smole••n, then residing at Adra•••• in S••e••ly. They appointed a time to doe, as he should be assisting at some sacrifice; and scattering then selves amongst the multitude, as they were winking one vpon another, to shew how they had a verie ••t opportunitie to doe the deede: Loe heere a third man, that with a huge blow of a sword, striketh one of them over the head and fels him dead to the ground and so runnes away. His fellow suppoting himselfe dis••••∣vered, and vndone, runs to the altar, suing for sanctuarie, with promise to confesse the truth; Even as he was declaring the conspiracie, behold the third man, who had likewise beene ta∣ken, whom as a murtherer the people tugged and haled through the throng toward ••••••ole∣on and the chiefest of the assembly, where he humbly calleth for mercie, alleadging that he had justly murthered the murtherer of his father, whom his good chance was to ••••de there, averring by good witnesses, before them all, that in the Citie of the Leontines, his father had beene proditoriously slaine by him, on whom he had now revenged himselfe. In meede whereof, because he had beene so fortunate (in seeking to right his fathers vntimely death) to save the common-father of the S••cilians fro•• so imminent a danger, he had ten Attike mines awarded him. This fortune in her directions exceedeth all the rules of humane wise∣dome. But to conclude, is not an expresse application of hir favour, goodnesse, and singular pietie manifestly discovered in this action? Ignat••us the Father and the Sonne, both bani∣shed by proscription by the Triumvirs of Rome resolved on this generous act, to yeeld their lives one into anothers hands, and therby frustrate the Tyrants cruelty. They furiously with their keen rapiers drawne, ran one against another: Fortune so directed their points, that each received his mortall stroke; adding to the honor of seld-seene an amity, that they had just so much strength left them, to draw their armed and bloody hands from out their goa∣red wounds, in that plight, so fast to embrace, and so hard to claspe one another, that the hangmen were forced, at one stroke, and togither, to cut off both their heads; leaving their bodies for ever tied in so honorable a knot, and their wounds so joyned, that they lovingly drew and suckt each others blood, breath, and life.

Notes

• Catul. ••l••. 4. 81