Phisicke against fortune, aswell prosperous, as aduerse conteyned in two bookes. Whereby men are instructed, with lyke indifferencie to remedie theyr affections, aswell in tyme of the bryght shynyng sunne of prosperitie, as also of the foule lowryng stormes of aduersitie. Expedient for all men, but most necessary for such as be subiect to any notable insult of eyther extremitie. Written in Latine by Frauncis Petrarch, a most famous poet, and oratour. And now first Englished by Thomas Twyne.

❧ The Epistolare Preface of Fran∣cis Petrarch, a most famous Poet and Oratour, written vnto Azo, con∣cerning the Phisicke and remedies of both Fortunes, aswell aduerse, as prosperous.

WHEN I thinke vpon the affayres, and for∣tunes of men, their vncertaine and sudden chaunces and changes, truely I finde no∣thyng almost more fraile, nothing more vn∣quiet, then the lyfe of man. For I perceiue howe nature hath prouided well for all other liuing creatures, by a woonderful kind of re∣medie, to wit, a certaine ignorance of them selues: but in vs only she hath conuerted our memorie, vnderstanding, prouidence, and moreouer the diuine giftes of our minde, vnto our owne toyle and destruction. For being alwayes subiect not onely vnto vayne and superfluous, but also hurtfull and pestiferous cares, we are both greeued with the present time, and also vexed with the time past, and that is to come: so that we seeme to feare nothyng so muche, as not to seeme at all tymes to be in miserie. Our studie is so great, whereby we heape together causes of miseries, and nouryshmentes of sorowes, whereby we make our lyfe, whiche yf it were wel gouerned, were the most happie & pleasaunt thyng that we possesse, a wretched and wofull toyle, whose entraunce is blindnesse, going forwarde toyle, ende sorowe, and the whole course errour: Whiche he shall fynde to be so, whosoeuer with diligent eye consydereth the whole race of his owne lyfe. What day doo we passe ouer in rest and quietnesse? or rather doo we not finde more painefull and troublesome then other? What mornyng haue we euer passed so merie and pleasaunt, that hath not been surprised with sorowe and heauinesse before night? Of whiche euyll, although a great cause doo rest in the thinges them selues, neuerthelesse vnlesse our selfeloue deceyue vs, a greater cause, or to confesse the trueth, the whole cause consisteth

in our selues: and to let passe all other thinges whereby we are troubled on euery syde, what war, and how perpetuall is it which we maintayne agaynst Fortune, wherein Vertue only can make vs conquerours? But willingly, & wittingly we reuolt from her. We only being weaklinges & vnarmed, encounter a most fierce foe in vnequall fight: whom she againe, as lightly as thinges of nought, tosseth vs vp, and throweth vs downe, & turneth vs round about, and plaieth with vs, so that it were better for vs to be quite ouercome, then continually to be had in skorne. And what is the cause hereof, but only our owne lightnes & daintines: for we seeme to be good for nothing els, but to be tossed hither & thither like a Tennise bal, being creatures of very short life, of infinite careful∣nesse, & yet ignorant vnto what shoare to fal with our shyp, or vn∣to what resolution to apply our mindes, whose determination is al∣wayes to hang in doubt: and besides the present euil, alwayes to haue somewhat to greeue vs behind our backe, & before our eyes to make vs afeard. Which thing hapneth vnto no creature besides man, for vnto all other it is most perfect securitie to haue escaped that which is present. But we, in respect of our wit, and the vnder∣standing of our minde, are in continual wrastling & strife with an enemie, as it were a three headed Cerberus. So that it had ben al∣most better for vs to haue wanted reason, since we turne the force of our heauenly nature against our selues: for it were now an hard matter to resist & subdue this euil, being so deepely rooted through age & custome. Notwithstanding, we must endeuour to doo what we may, vnto which purpose besides the industrie of a couragious minde, to whom nothing is hard, nothing inexpugnable, it were most conuenient to adioyne the sundrie speeches of wyse men, al∣though this kinde be now also very rare, and especially continual and diligent reading of the woorkes and monumentes of good auctours, so that there want not in vs a willing minde to consent vnto their holsome instructions, which I may boldly tearme in earth to be the only & liuely fountaine of good and fruitfull aduice. Wherfore, since we know that meane writers somtime are com∣mended for their bare affection, or for that they haue seemed to haue broken the Ice vnto those that haue followed them: howe greatly are we beholden vnto the great and famous writers, who

being conuersant many hundred yeeres before vs here vpon the earth, in their diuine wittes, and most godly ordinances, doo yet lyue, dwel, and talke with vs? And among the perpetuall surges of our mindes, like so many bright shining Starres fixed in the firmament of Trueth, like so many sweete and pleasant gales of winde, like so many industrious and expert saylers, do both point vs to the hauen, and direct the flittering sayles of our barkes thi∣ther, and guyde the sterne of our flitting minde, vntyll such tyme as our consultations, which haue ben tost and driuen to and fro by tempestes, doo stay their course, and qualifie their motions. And this is the true Philosophie, not which is lifted vp with deceipt∣full winges, and vainely casteth about, most proudly boasting it selfe in vnprofitable disputations, but that by assured and modest degrees leadeth the rediest way vnto safetie. To exhort thee vnto this studie perhaps it were freendly done, but truely it is not ne∣cessarie: For Fortune hath made thee greedie to reade much, and to knowe many thynges, who, as they say, beareth a great stroke in the worlde, exposing thee to be tossed in the troublesome and deepe sea of cares and troubles. Howbeit, as she hath taken from thee the leasure to reade, so hath she not the desire to knowe, but that beyng delighted alwayes in the frendshyppe and familiaritie of learned men, and vpon the most busiest dayes, as often as op∣portunitie shall serue to steale idle houres, thou myghtest haue a wyll to be euery day better instructed, and learned in most excellent matters: wherein I am a witnesse that thou hast often vsed thy memorie, wherein thou art inferiour to none, in steede of bookes. Wherevnto yf thou were prone enough in thyne youth, thou art nowe to be deemed so muche the more proner: as the wayfaryng man that settech foorth late, may seeme to be fresher and redier to trauayle, then he that set foorth in the mornyng, forasmuche as this is a common complaint among them, that the way waxeth longer, and the day decreaseth: the whiche thing hapneth vnto vs in this course of our lyfe, whilest we trauayle towardes the euenyng, and see that we haue yet a long way to walke. I neede not therefore to exhorte thee to doo that, whiche thou hast alwayes

doone most greedily of thine owne accorde: It shall suffice me to haue admonished thee, that thou bende thy minde in such sort, that no care of humane and worldly affayres remoue thee, which in the very finishing of great and most excellent workes, haue tur∣ned many away, after their woorthie and commendable traueiles begun. Adding this moreouer, that seeing it is impossible for thee to reade, or here, or remember all thinges at once, thou repose thy selfe vpon the most profitable, and, for that breuitie is freend to Me∣morie, y^e most briefest of them. Not that I perswade thee to neg∣lect the more busie and great conclusions and resolutions of wise∣dome, whereby thou mayst defende thy selfe in the ordinarie con∣flict with Fortune, but that thou mightest be lightly furnished in the meane while with these short and precise sentences, as it were with certaine light and continual armour, against al assaultes and sudden inuasions hapning on any side whatsoeuer. For we wage double war with Fortune, and in both there is in a manner equal danger: wherof there is but one part cōmonly knowē by y^t name, to wit, y^t which is called Aduersitie. The Philosophers although they knew both, yet they iudged this to be the harder. And therfore y^e saying of Aristotle in his boke of Ethikes is receiued as true, wherein he thus defineth, concerning this matter: saying, That it is an harder matter to endure aduersitie, then to abstaine from pleasures. Whom Seneca following, and writing to Lucillus: It is a greater matter, sayth he, to passe ouer difficult matters, then to moderate the prosperous. What shall I say? May I presume to gaggle among such woorthie men? It is an hard matter, & breedeth no smal sus∣pition of rashnes, for a new man to medle wi••h olde matters. And therfore on the one side I am moued by auctoritie, on the other by antiquitie. But there commeth vnto my mind, the auctoritie of an other great & auncient man: For it cannot be otherwise, but that euery man conceiue an opinion of a thing, according as it appea∣reth vnto him. They are the woordes of Marcus Brutus, writing vnto Atticus, which I suppose to be so true, that nothyng can be more true. For what can I iudge of any thyng, otherwyse then I thynke? vnlesse perhappes I be constrayned to iudge by other mennes iudgementes, whiche who so dooeth, he iudgeth not of hym selfe, but reporteth the iudgementes of other.

I therefore thus with reuerence passing ouer the iudgementes of suche notable men, beyng in suche manner affectioned, if I woulde say any thyng concernyng myne owne iudgement, I knowe wel that some haue diuersly disputed otherwyse of the vertues, and that the preheminence is not alwayes geuen to the most difficult, neyther that it hapned by chaunce that modestie, or whether thou had rather cal it temperance, possessed the last place. But as touchyng our purpose whereof we entreate, I suppose it an harder matter to gouerne prosperitie, then ad∣uersitie: and I playnely professe, that in mine opinion, and al∣so in mine experience, flatteryng fortune is more to be feared, and farre more perilous, then threatnyng fortune: vnto whiche opinion, it is not the fame of writers, nor the subtiltie of woords, nor the false sillogismes of sophisters, but true experience it selfe, and the dayly examples of this lyfe, and the scarcitie, whiche is a great argument of the difficultie, whiche enforceth me. For why? I haue seene many that haue indifferently susteyned losses, pouertie, exile, imprisonment, punyshment, death, and great sickenesses that are more greeuous then death: but that could wel beare ryches, honoures, and power, I neuer yet sawe a∣ny. For oftentymes, euen in my sight, those that haue stoode inuincible agaynst al violence of aduerse fortune, prosperous fortune hath ouerthrowen with smal force, and her flatteries haue ouercome that valiencie of mans minde, whiche her threat∣nynges could not subdue. It commeth to passe, I wot not how, that so soone as fortune waxeth more milde, the softned mindes of men beginne lykewyse to growe proud, and by enioying pros∣peritie, to conceyue forgetfulnesse of their owne condition. Neyther is it spoken without cause, and vsed nowe among our countrey men as a prouerbe, that it is an harde matter to beare prosperitie. Neyther was it spoken by Horace vnaduised∣ly, Learne to beare wel good fortune: For he iudged it to be an hard matter, and not knowen without diligent studie. But Sene∣ca very breefely discoursed of that part of fortune, which seemed vnto hym to be most difficult, and is doubtlesse at the first sight the more rough and hard of the twayne. Whiche booke is com∣monly abrode in mens handes, whereunto it is not my meaning

to adde or detract any thyng at al, both for that the woorke, being wrytten by so great a wit, disdayneth to come vnder our censure, & also being busied about mine owne affayres, am not purposed to correcte or carpe other mens doinges. But forasmuche as Vertue and Trueth are publique thinges, there is no reason that the studie of antiquitie shoulde be any hindrance to the industrie of posteritie, for whose cause we knowe that it was vndertaken, to the ende we should thereby be styrred vp and holpen. And ther∣fore I purpose to entreate with thee somewhat concernyng the same matter, that that whiche he dyd then for his freende Gal∣lio, I may nowe do in lyke sort for my freende Azo, whiche I am determined so farre foorth to accomplishe, as shal lye in this my busied and werie wyt to do: and ouer and besides also, to touche the other part, whiche eyther of forgetfulnesse or purpose was by hym pretermitted. I haue moreouer of set purpose mingled a fewe matters, not touchyng the defectes of any for∣tune, but the excellencie of vertues or vices: whiche although they be besides the purpose, yet are not vnlyke in effect, & seeme to be suche as are able to make mens mindes glad or sorowfull. Wherein how I haue behaued my selfe, thou shalt be iudge, be∣ing mindeful of my businesse and the shortnesse of the tyme, who with great admiration sawest the whole woorke begunne and en∣ded in a very fewe dayes, I only am iudge of the credite. I haue endeuoured not to set downe whatsoeuer seemed best lykyng to my selfe, but that myght be most profitable vnto thee and others, whosoeuer els haply hath touched the same. To be short, the ende whiche I alwayes proposed to my selfe in this kynde of studie, was not so muche the commendation of the wryter, as the com∣moditie of the reader, yf so be there may be any hoped for or re∣ceiued by me, hauing a speciall respect hereunto, that it should not be needeful for thee to tosse and turne ouer thy whole armorie at euery alarme and doubt of the enemie: but rather to the entent thou myghtest haue in a redinesse agaynst euer mischeefe, and hurtful good, & eyther fortune, a short medicine, but freendly con∣fected for a double disease: so that thou mayest alwayes haue at hande, as they say, in al places, & at al times, as it were, an effectu∣al remedie conteyned in a litle boxe. For as I haue said, both For∣tunes

faces are to be feared, but notwithstandyng both must be endured, whereof the one hath neede of a bridle, the other of com∣fort: in the one, the pride of the minde of men is to be repressed: in the other, their werinesse and greefe to be succoured and relie∣ued. Wherefore, when I thought vpon this varietie, and purpo∣sed with my selfe to wryte somewhat concernyng this argument, not only thou camest into my minde woorthie of that gyft, which both of vs may vse indifferently, as sayeth Cicero, but alonely moouedst me to wryte it, not onely in woordes, as beyng priuie of al mine enterprises whatsoeuer, but also in deedes, being of suf∣ficient ••bilitie to perfourme them both. For we knowe how that Fortune hath tormented many vpon the racke, & many she hath lulled asleepe in delites, and many she hath swinged vp & downe in her wheele: neyther want we examples of such as clymbe, nor of some that fal, neyther am I ignorant that some haue been throwen downe from the top of high dignitie. Howe many Em∣perours of Rome, how many forren Princes, being plucked out of their regal thrones, eyther by their owne handes, or the handes of their enimies, haue been depriued both of their lyues & Empires at one instant? Shal we borowe al our examples of antiquitie, since we our selues haue seene of late dayes some kyn∣ges taken prisoners, and some slaine in battayl, and some behea∣ded at home, and (which is most extreame of al) some hanged by the necke, & some most shamefully mangled in peeces? Thou art one vnto whom Nature hath geuen a princely hart, but Fortune hath not geuen a kyngdome, nor yet taken it away: yet whom in other respectes she hath more diuersly tossed and turmoyled, I suppose there is none to be found in our age. For being some∣tyme in excellent good health, and enioying very great strength of body, it is strange to recount howe not many yeeres since, to the great wonder of al that know thee, being thrice geuen ouer by the Phisitions, thrice thou reposedst thy life & safetie in the onely helpe of the heauenly Phisition, & at the length wast by hym re∣stored to thy former health, but in such wise, that thou hast vtterly lost thine accustomed strength of body, with no lesse wonder of thy excellent dexteritie, & rare grauitie: y^t thou who before time had∣dest most strōg & valiant legges, & feete almost as hard as brasse.

art nowe growen so weake, that thou must be lyfted vp to thy horse backe by thy seruantes, or leanyng vpon their shoulders, art scarcely able to tread vpon the ground. Thy countrey al∣most at one tyme sawe thee both a lord, and a banyshed man: but so notwithstandyng, that thou seemedst to be nothyng at all blemished by thy banishment. There was neuer any almost of our countreymen, that stoode in lyke fauour of noble men and princes, and neuer any that susteyned lyke iniurie. And whereas not long before they striued in shewyng thee tokens of curtesie, afterward the same men consented in nothyng so muche, as in conspyring and laying their heades together howe to procure thy destruction. Of whom some sought meanes to take away thy lyfe, who before tyme had honoured thee the space of many yeeres with golde and precious stones, and many other large giftes, duryng the tyme of thy prosperous and fauourable for∣tune, and, whiche is most greeuous of al, to spoyle thee of thy freendes and clientes, and thy whole familie, by afflictyng them with sundry greeuous tormentes, and strange kyndes of death. But such as were of the more curteous sort, inuaded thy great patrimony, thy landes, thy people, thy houses, thy townes: inso∣much as they that sawe thee not long before, and perceyued how suddeinely thou wast fallen from great wealth into extreame po∣uertie, wondred as it had been at some strange miracle of fortune. Some of thy freendes, as I haue said, are perished, & in those that remaine, their faith is decaied, & the goodwil of men, as y^t cōmon maner is, flyeth away with prosperitie: so that thou art brought into a doubt which to bewaile first, either the death of thy freends that are peryshed, or the losse of their assurednesse that are liuing. Now in the middest of these troubles there happened vnto thee a most desperate and dangerous sickenesse, wherein thou wast brought so neare vnto death, that when euery man supposed thou couldest not escape, it was generally reported that thou wast dead. Which sickenesse, which pouertie, which heape of troubles, in that thou wast driuen out of thine owne countrey, and farre from thine owne house in a strange lande, and warre rounde about thee, and thou on euerye syde oppressed, gaue occasyon that in the meane whyle thou couldest haue no enter∣course,

eyther of letters, or conference with those thy frendes, whiche eyther thy vertue had purchased, or fortune had reserued. There was no extremitie wantyng, sauing imprisonment, and death: although we cannot say neyther, that thou wast quite free from imprisonment, whilest thy most faythful wyfe, and al thy sonnes, beyng part of thy bowelles, and thy daughters al∣so were taken prisoners by thine enimies, and there was no com∣fort remayning vnto thee of so many chyldren: N••yther yet from death, whilst thou thy selfe striuedst euery day with death, and at that tyme also one of thy sonnes gaue vp his tender and giltlesse ghost in prison. To be shorte, we haue seene that ful∣filled in thee, whiche we reade of two most excellent personagies, Caius Marius, and the great Pompeius, to wit, that fortune hath seuerally expressed in thee, and thy chyldren, what good and euyl she is able to do, and neuer mingle any prosperttie with aduersitie: whose flatteries in tymes past, although theu hast not casted so plentifully as many happie men haue done, notwith∣standyng thou hast abidden her threates and force of late dayes, with so couragious and inuincible a mynde, that in this respect thou hast geuen occasion vnto many, who before hated thy name, to loue thee, and woonder at thee. For vertue hath this proper∣tie, that it stirreth vp good men to loue it, and astunnisheth the euyl. Whiche propertie as it is common to euery vertue, so is it peculier especially to fortitude, whose tranquilitie and vpright∣nesse is the more acceptable, and lyght more conspicable among the troublesome turmoyles of fortune, and darkenesse of terrible thinges. For vnto me thou hast not onely heaped vp much new good wyl, vpon the auntient loue whiche I bare towardes thee, whiche I thought to haue been impossible, but hast also conuer∣ted my quill, whiche made hast towardes another matter, to wryte this woorke in tyme not purposed, both that thou migh∣test beholde the countenance of thy mynde in my wrytinges, as it were in a lookyng glasse: and also if herein there were any thyng that seemed vnto thee nothyng fine, but rather rude and barbarous, and whiche in deede dyd not lyke thee, that in this manner thou order and take it: that yf it shal chaunce that for∣tune hereafter varrie with thee in any strange manner or de∣uice,

whereof she hath great plentie, yea innumerable in store, that thou be not troubled at al with any hope. But being pro∣uided for al chaunces, and redye for what soeuer may happen, thou mayest despyse both the sweete, and the sower, crying out most confidently these verses of Virgil agaynst them, O virgin, there is no newe or suddeyne shewe of troubles can aryse vnto me, I haue forethought vpon al matters, and forecast them alredie in my mynde. Neyther am I ignorant, that as in the bodyes of men, so also in their mindes that are affected with sundry passions, the medicines of woordes wyl seeme vnto many to be without effect. Notwithstandyng I knowe wel enough, that as the diseases of the minde are inuisible, so are there remedies inuisible also: For they that are seduced by false opinions, must be remedied by true perswasions, that they that fel by hearyng, may also ryse by hearyng. Moreouer, who so wyllingly offereth vnto his freende, beyng in neede, that whiche he hath to releeue hym withal, howe smal soeuer it be, he hath fulfilled the duetie of perfect freendshyp. For freendshyp weigheth the mynde, and not the thing, whiche though it be but smal, yet may it be an argument of great good wyl. For my part, as I wyshe vnto thee al honour, so haue I nothyng at this present more conue∣nient to geue thee: whiche yf thou thinke to be of any force, the commoditie of it, whiche maketh euery thyng to be regarded, shal sufficiently commend it. But if thou perceyue it to be of no force, notwithstandyng thy good wyl towardes me shal ex∣cuse it. And thou shalt come to reade it, as though those foure most famous and coosinne passions of the mynde, to wyt, hope, or desire and ioy, feare and sorowe, whiche the two sisters prosperitie and aduersitie brought foorth at equal byrthes, lay on eyther side most fiercely assaultyng the minde of man: howebeit reason, whiche gouerneth the cheefe castle, maketh answere vnto them al, and beyng furnished with her shielde and head peece, by her meanes and proper force, but special∣ly being assisted with most myghtie power from heauen, de∣fendeth of the weapons of the throngyng enimies. But I con∣ceyue suche hope of thy wysedome, that thou canst soone iudge whiche part wyl haue the victorie. I wyl nowe holde thee

no longer, but to the ende thou mightest vnderstand my pur∣pose, it was needeful for me to wryte this epistle, as it were an argument to the booke: whiche yf thou cause to be set be∣fore the woorke, consyder thou of these both, that an o∣uerlong preface trouble not a short booke, none otherwyse then an ouer great head bur∣deneth a lytle body: For there is no∣thing wel fauoured, without due measure and proportion of the partes.