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I Haue scarce escaped out of a burning fire.
Doest thou then drawe it vnto the iniurie of fortune, that thou hast escaped? Let Alcibiades be moued, who could not escape out of ye hot burning of his enimies: howbeit although thou haue preuented
the earthly, yet who is able to gainestād the burninges that come from heauen? Let the Romane kyng Tullus Hostilius, and the Romane Emprour Charus, answeare me, whereof the one was consumed with fyre from heauen in the pallace at Rome, and the other in his tentes neare vnto the ryuer Tigris, if we may credite common histories.
Hauing lost al my goodes, I haue escaped naked out of the fyre.
Whom I pray thee, would eyther Kias, as al men say, or Stilbon, as Seneca wyl haue it, haue spoken suche a woorde? who when his countrey was on fyre, being demaunded, or rather reprooued, for that he conueighed none of his goods out of ye flame, as other of his neighbours did, answeared in this manner? Al my goodes, sayd he, I carrie with me. Woorthily, truely, whether it were the one or both of them that spake it: although suche kinde of speeches do alwayes sound most excellently out of the mouth of the first aucthour of them: but omitting the aucthour, the trueth of the saying is commonly perceiued. For the true goodes in deede remayne within, and can∣not be taken from the owner whyle he lyueth, neyther when he is dead. For they cleaue fast to the soule, whyther as neyther the ryght hand of fortune, nor of death is able to reache. Thou being safe and sounde, lamentest that thou hast lost certayne thynges, whiche if they had been thine in deede, out of doubt they had been safe with thee this day. For beleeue me, true goods doo not pe∣ryshe. Golde is not more precious then vertue, nor so good as it, although it be not consumed, but purged by the fyre.
A great fire hath blasted me.
There was one Caeculus, I knowe not who, that sought the fame of diuinitie by fyre. In Virgil, a flame of fire taking hold of Iulus haire, gaue the first hope to their doubtful health. And for that Seruius head burned light with fire, it was no poetical, but an historical abodyng of a kingdome. It is wel knowen that the founders of the Empire of Rome, escaped out of the flame of Troy. To be short, the scrip∣tures declare that Helias dyed by fyre, and that the Lorde hym selfe appeared in a flame of fyre: so that it is not for nought that bonefires are a token of myrth and reioycing in your cities, whiche now is a cause of thy heauinesse.
My house is suddenly consumed with fyre.
Yea, the temple of
Diana at Ephesus was in olde tyme set on fyre, a goodlier peece of woorke then whiche, that age neuer sawe. And also the temple of Hierusalem, that was dedicated vnto the lorde of heauen, was burnt, the verie enemies pitiyng it that set it on fire: & likewise in this our age the laterane castel, for beautie the flowre of the world, was twice consumed with fire, an euident & plaine token of Gods wrath, in my iudgment: no strange matter I confesse, but ter∣ryble. And last of al, to say nothing of litle cities, fire hath often touched Saguntum, and Numantia, and Corinth, and other innumerable, yea and Rome it selfe was brought almost vnto vtter destruction: And Carthage once, and Troy was twice des∣troyed with fire. Cities haue been burned, and we beleeue that the whole worlde shalbe one day brought to nought by fire. And do∣est thou then complaine that it dare take hold on thy house, that shal consume both heauen and earth?
I had much a doo to escape out of the fyre.
Thou hast escaped then, and art thou sorie for it? vnlesse thou haddest escaped, thou haddest helde thy peace, but now being a lyue and ashes, thou la∣mentest that ashes is extinguished.