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.

Of olde age. The .lxxxiii. Dialogue.

SOROWE.

I Am waxen olde.

Reason.

Thou desirest to lyue, and yet art sorie that thou hast lyued, is not this the matter?

Sorowe.

I am olde.

Reason.

Thou wentest euery day forward, and art thou amazed that thou art nowe come to thy wayes ende. It had been more strange, yf thou haddest neuer come to the place whyther thou wast alwayes goyng.

Sorow.

I am olde.

Reason.

Howe can it be otherwyfe, but that by lyuing thou must waxe olde, and by going forward thou must goe on a good way? Diddest thou thinke that thyne age woulde goe backewarde? Tyme, as it is swyft and tarreth not, so is it also irreuocable.

Sorow.

I am become an olde man very soone.

Reason.

I tolde thee that tyme passeth a way, and nowe thou begynnest to beleeue it. It is strange to heare, not onely what difference there is betweene the opinions of diuers men, but also of one man onely. The young man when he thinketh vpon his age to come, iudgeth it very long, whiche the olde man when he looketh backe in∣to it, thinketh to haue been very short. Thynges to come seeme alwayes longer then the present, beyng eyther in deede as short or shorter: whiche the nearer they drawe to an ende, the more vehement alwayes, natural motion groweth to be.

Sorowe.

I am olde.

Reason.

Thou mayest reioyce yf thou art not waxen olde among vices, or yf thou art amended nowe at the last: for then thine olde age is good and profitable, and no small argument of Gods fauour towardes thee. Thou remembrest the communication whiche Caesar had with the olde Egyptian, and prooueth by his olde age, that he had not lyued vnthankeful to the goddes.

Sorowe.

I am become an old man.

Reason.

A very fewe among many are able to say so: for of so many thousand thousandes as are borne, howe many are there that atteyne to olde age? And of them that do, howe many lyue out the lawful tyme that they may be called old?

Sorowe.

I am very olde.

Reason.

It is a myracle to meete with a verie old man, specially if a man

thinke with hym selfe, with how many dangers on steppes he hath passed to that age. The great rarenesse of olde folke, is a great argument of the manyfolde chaunces of this mortal lyfe.

Sorowe.

I am olde.

Reason.

Thou hast runne an hard and daungerous race, it were marueyle but that by this tyme, beyng weerie and desirous to rest, thou were glad to see the ende so nigh.

Sorowe.

I am soone waxen olde.

Reason.

The course of your lyfe is sometyme short, sometyme very short, neuer long, al∣wayes hard, rough and vncertayne, the last part whereof is olde age, and the ende death: what cause hast thou here to complayne alone? Art thou waxen old? By this time then thou oughtest to haue fulfilled the dueties of life, and now rest thy self, seing thou art come to the end thereof. That traueiler were worse then mad, that being weerie and weakened with his long iourney, woulde be content to goe backe agayne. There is nothyng more acceptable to them that are weerie, then their Inne.

Sorowe.

I am aged.

Reason.

The toyles of thy lyfe haue been pleasant vnto thee belike, if thou be sorie thou hast passed them.

Sorowe.

I am an olde man.

Reason.

If thou haddest a delyte to lyue, loe thou hast lyued: what needes thou must do, thou hast fulfilled. And who is so mad that wylbe sorie for the doing of that whiche he wyshed, vnlesse he perceyue that he wyshed a misse? or reioyceth not, y^t that is done alredy, that might not be left vndone, nor be done, without great trauayle? And therefore on euery side thou hast cause to reioyce, whether thou hast obteyned thy wyshed desire, or accomplyshed thy necessarie and payneful duetie.

Sorow.

I am in yeeres, and olde age hath chased away the delites of the body.

Reason.

Enioy the pleasures of the minde, which are as many, and truely more permanent, and do neuer depart but when the soule departeth, to her they cleaue, her they folowe. But bodilye pleasures, when they come they bring offence, and when they depart they leaue behinde them cause of repentance, shame and sorowe Reioyce that thou art dis∣charged and free from them, and geue thankes to thy deliuerer for bringing thee out of the handes of thine enimies, and causing thee do folowe thy duetie, which thou haddest deferred and neglected.

Sorow.

I am olde, and want mine accustomed pleasures.

Reason.

Accustome thy selfe then to new, for olde age hath it proper plea∣sures, whiche when thou hast tasted, thou wylt loath those whiche thou hast lost, & if thou mightest, euen rufe to returne vnto them.

Sorow.

I am olde, and gray headed.

Reason.

The reue∣rende hoarie heares of a vertuous olde man, carie with them not onely more aucthoritie, but also honest delite, then al the filthy pleasures of young men, neyther be thou greeued at the chang∣yng of their colour. For whose senses are so corrupted, or iudg∣ment blynded, that he woulde not rather beholde baskets ful of white Lilies, then hutches full of blacke coales? And yf he were to be transfourmed, had not rather be made a whyte swanne, then a blacke crowe?

Sorowe.

I am olde, and the filthy wrincles haue furrowed my face.

Reason.

The forrowed lande bryngeth foorth the ranker corne, and the lyfe that hath been wel instruc∣ted, yeeldeth the ryper and pleasanter fruite in olde age. If the wrincles of thy face offende thee, frame the countenance of thy minde vnto more comlinesse, whiche wyll neuer be deformed with wrincles, nor altered with yeeres, but rather encrease by continuance, and to be short, wyl do thee more honour, if thou neg∣lect it not.

Sorowe.

I am olde, and become so wrincled and euyl fauoured, that I scarce knowe my selfe.

Reason.

I tolde thee at the begynning of this: Nowe thou wylt haue lesse desire to looke in a glasse, & lesse please thine owne (perhaps) but much lesse the eyes of wanton women, whom to haue a desire to delite, I cannot easily determine whether it tast of greater vanitie, then lasciuiousnesse. But they that séeke for trustinesse, for constancie, for grauitie, for wysedome, do hope more assuredly to fynde them among these wrincles, then where the forehead and cheekes be playne, and smoath, and soft.

Sorow.

I am aged, and the swee∣test part of my lyfe haue I left behynd me.

Reason.

Nay sure∣ly the sowrest: for those thynges that are most wyshed for, are not alwayes best. Many haue desired their owne hurte, which they would not do were not the saying of the Satirike Poet true, There are but fewe that can discerne the true goodes.

Sorowe.

I am olde, and my pleasant dayes are past.

Reason.

The dayes in al tymes are muche one and lyke, but mens mindes do varie, yea one minde disagreeth from it selfe. Hereof it commeth, that

the madnesse of youth on the one side, and the impaciencie of olde age on the other, haue in such sort disturbed the iudgement of this lyfe, that that is counted good, whiche is euyl, and that most ex∣cellent, whiche is woorst of al. As for the dayes, they are of them selues al good, for asmuch as the kyng and creatour of al worldes is good. And although some dayes be hotte, and some cold, some drye, and some moyst, some cloudy, and some cleare, some trou∣blesome, and some calme, yet yf thou haue a respect vnto the beau∣tie of the whole worlde, and the course of nature, they be al good. But yf they be referred vnto you and your iudgement, they are almost al of them euyl, sorowful, doubtful, heauie, troublesome, careful, bitter, plaintile, lamentable, ful of aduersitie. Among these thou tellest me a tale of certayne pleasant ones, I knowe not what, whiche whiles they were present were heauie, and not without their complaintes, and nothing maketh them now seem: pleasant, but that they are past, and the desire thou hast that they shoulde returne, maketh them deare vnto thee, and the rather, for that perhaps they haue caried away with them some thyn∣ges whereby thou settest no small store. A foole commonly lo∣ueth nothyng but that he hath lost.

Sorowe.

I am waren old, but O that my young dayes woulde returne agayne.

Reason.

O no lesse foolyshe then vayne wyshe, as thou meanest: but yf thy vnderstandyng were of hygher matters, then were it not voyde, for it wyl surely come agayne one day, and according as it is writ∣ten. Thyne youth shalbe renewed, as is were the youth of an Eagle.

Sorowe.

I am olde, and my good tyme is past.

Reason.

As euery age is good to the good, so is it euyl to the euyll liuers, vn∣to both sure it is, but short, and very neare to the ende, when as the godly shalbe rewarded for their vertue, and the wycked puni∣shed for their sinnes. Which is then this good tyme wherof thou speakest, whiche is euermore hard and fleeting, but onely in re∣spect that it leadeth to eternitie? Otherwyse yf there were any thyng sweete in it, the swyftnesse thereof in passing away may seeme to abate it: for who can tast a thing wel as he is running? When Darius was in flyght, a draught of foule and stinking water seemed most sweete vnto hym: Thirst, as Cicero thinketh, but as I iudge, feare, had corrupted his tast. Alexander that ban∣quished

hym, folowed hard at his heeles: and swift tyme likewise pursueth you apace. The yeeres runne away, the dayes folow headlong one vpon another, the houres haue wynges, and slyt swyftly, & death standeth before your eies, neyther can ye returne when ye are staied, nor stay when ye are driuen, nor passe further when ye are preuented. Of this way then that is beset with so ma∣ny dangers, and subiect to so many terrours, what part thereof, I pray thee, can be good? But I vnderstand your meanyng: you call that a good age whiche is most apt vnto shame and licentious∣nesse: For this is your manner of speaking, to tearme that good whiche is most agreable to your affections, be those your affecti∣tions neuer so euyll. So doth the theefe cal the chaine good, which he prepareth for the trew mans necke, and the Tirant his citadel, whiche he buildeth to bereaue his subiectes of their libertie, and the witche her pestilent poysons. whiche she mingleth to infect poore innocentes, and the murtherer his blade, wherewith he en∣tendeth to commit slaughter: and so likewyse do you cal that age good, whiche is most conuenient for the thynges that you desire. And therefore, among al them that lament the losse of their fore∣passed dayes, ye shal not finde one to lament his childhood or in∣fancie, which in deede were the best parts of this lyfe, if to be best, were to be farthest from olde age: as ye holde opinion. No not the middle age, nor olde age, which beginneth but nowe, & is yet to be counted greene old age: but it is youth, youth, that ye require, the most dangerous and woorst part of al your life O say ye, the plea∣sant dayes of fyue and twentie yeeres, where are ye become? which ye speake, that your aunciēt filthinesse may be knowen vn∣to al men, how wel ye like of them without repentāce, secking for nothyng els then a conueniēt tyme for them.

Sorowe.

I am old, why should I not sigh with that king in Virgil that sayde, O that Iupiter would restore vnto me my forepassed dayes?

Reason.

But we heare not that euer Socrates, Plato, Fabius, or Cato, samen∣ted for any such matter, and yet they were old men: but I confesse that it is a more rare thing to finde a wise man, then a king. And therefore if king Enander had been a wyse king, that same sigh of his, should not be doubtlesse so cōmonly frequented of our old men now adayes. Foolish old men do sigh, & with heauinesse of minde

cal backe for their youthful dayes, but al in vayne: which they goe about to reuoke, not onely with their secrete wyshes, but also with bootelesse medicines, and cunning woorkemanshyp, to al∣ter the course of vnbridled nature. In whiche poynt Hadriane the Emperour, very pleasantly skoffed at a certayne grayheaded sire, vnto whom he had denyed a sute. And when he sawe hym come agayne to renue his former request, and in the meanewhile had dyed his hoarie haires into a blacke colour, he repelled hym with this answeare: No, goe thy wayes, quoth the Emperour, for I haue denyed the same alredie to thy father.

Sorow.

I am aged, O that I coulde waxe young agayne.

Reason.

Ere∣whyle I tolde thee, that thy youth woulde returne, and nowe I say it is returned. If thou mightest so casily obteyne thy wysh in al thynges, thou shouldest wyshe for nothyng in vayne. The poore man wysheth for ryches, the bondman for freedome, the defor∣med person for beautie, the sicke man for health, the weerie for rest, the banished, to be called home: but he that deserueth the true name of an olde man, cannot wyshe for his youth agayne, for that is a very chyldishe desire.

Sorowe.

I am waxen olde, alas why hath my pleasant youth so soone forsaken me?

Reason.

It is soone gone that is pleasant, and that commeth alwayes to quickely that is payneful. But it is a vayne thyng to wyshe for that which cannot be had, and annoye in the hauing, and would hurt if it returned agayne. Leaue of now thy sighing, for whilst thou continuest in this minde, thou mayst soone become gray∣headed, but neuer an old man: For the desire to be young man old man, what is it other then the verye chyldishnes of old age?

Sorowe.

I am old and crooked.

Reason.

Beholde the earth, and thinke from whence thou camest, and whyther thou shalt: For from thence thou camest, and thither thou must goe agayne. Nature putteth thee in minde both of thy beginning and ending. To the intent thou shouldest not goe astray, the common passage is shewed vnto thee, into which since thou art entred, looke downe vpon it diligently: the manner is, for blynde men to be lead on their way by the hand.

Sorowe.

I am soddenly waxen olde.

Reason.

Nay rather by small and smal, creepingly, slow∣ly, softly, but that whē men thinke vpon nothing, al thynges seeme

to happen sodaynly vnto them, as contrariwyse, when they mind all thynges, nothyng commeth vnlooked for. And yf olde age were a thing to be lamented, then should men lament al the dayes of their lyfe, for through them, as steppes, they trace vnto that.

Sorow.

Alas, I am olde.

Reason.

O vnconstancie of de∣syres, vnto this dyddest thou specially endeuour to attayne, vnto this dyddest thou most couet, and that thou shouldest not reache thereunto dyddest thou much feare, and now that thou art come to it, thou lamentest, which were a monstrous and incredible matter, but that it is now vsual among you. All would fayne come to olde age, but none wyl be content to be olde: but rather ye count olde age miserie, and to be called olde, an iniurie, as yf it were a re∣proch to be aged, which none may iudge so, but they that thinke it a shame to haue lyued: of which sort, I confesse, the number is not smal, from whom notwithstanding, I would haue thee exempted, to the ende thou mayest be the better for our communication. Otherwyse, good counsell can neuer sinke into the hart, although it be abundantly poured into the eares.

Sorowe.

I am waxen aged at length.

Reason.

They that haue susteined losses on the land, on the sea, in warre▪ and by gaming, immediatly perceiue their harmes: but thou onely awakest in the ende, and beginnest to complayne, when as the ende of all complain••es is at hande.

Sorowe.

I am olde.

Rea on.

It is the part of a ••oole, neuer to thynke vpon olde age, but when it is come: For truely, if thou haddest foreseene that it shoulde haue come, or perceyued it com∣myng, thou shouldest with lesse greefe behold it present.

Sorow.

Alas, I am now an ag••d wyght.

Reason.

Lament not for it: thou hast fulfilled an hard charge, thou hast passed through a rough and ragged iourney, and finished an vnpleasant Comedie. And therefore now after the maner of such actions, thou shouldest clap thy handes, and crie plaudite.

Sorowe.

I am an olde man.

Reason.

Hast thou forgotten, how that of late dayes, one that was very familiar with thee, expressed the effect hereof ex tempore, not as a new saying, but as comparable vnto any in tymes past? For when a certaine freende of his sayde vnto hym, I am sory for thee, for I perceiue thou waxest olde, I woulde thou were in as good estate as when I knewe thee fyrst: he answered suddenly,

Seeme I not vnto thee foolysh enough, but that thou must wysh me more foole then I am? Take no care for me, I pray thee, for that I am olde, but rather be sorie for me y^t euer I was young. O how much vnderstanding is there conteined in this short answere, whiche none can conceiue, but he that hath tasteth the commodi∣ties of this age, and remembreth the miseries of y^e other? Reioyce therefore in thine owne felicitie, although it be also true, that often tymes good hapneth vnto men against their wylles, and euyll vn∣wished for. Doubtlesse, vnto a good man that loueth veriue & ha∣teth fond affections, one whole day of this age, which thou misli∣kest of, is more acceptable, then an whole yeere of retchlesse youth.

Sorow.

Alas, I am aged.

Reason.

If thou continue in this mind, it may be truly sayd of thee, which is verified of y^e com∣mon people, that thou art not so much wretched now thou art old, as that thou liuedst miserable, that so fondly thou complaynest thereof, now at the very ende of thy life. Leaue of your complaints now at length, you whining generation, and willingly yeelde to the necessitie of nature, since there is nothing to be lamented, that her immoueable lawe hath determined. For what is more natu∣ral for a man that is borne, then to lyue vntyl he be old, and when he is olde to dye? But you, being forgetfull of your estate, doo es∣chew them both, and yet of necessitie you must taste of the one, or of the both. And yf ye woulde escape them both, then must you haue abstained from the third, and beleeue me, not haue ben borne at all. As soone as your bodyes are growen into yeeres, let your mindes waxe olde also, and let not the old Prouerbe be euermore verified in you, to wit, That one minde, is able to consume many bo∣dyes. Suffer without grudging your body and your mind to con∣tinue together to the ende: as they came in, so let them depart out of the worlde together, and when the one draweth forwarde, let not the other drawe backwarde. Your dallying is but in vayne, you must needes depart, and not tarrie heere, and returne no more, whiche may seeme vnto you but a small matter, in con∣sideration of the immortalitie of your soules, and resurrection of your bodyes, whiche you looke for, aboue suche as eyther looke for but the one, or for neyther. In vayne, I say, ye stryue agaynst the streame, and goe about to shake of the yoake of mans frayltie,

whiche ye vndertooke when ye were borne.

Sorowe.

I am olde, and the strength of my body is decayed.

Reason.

If the force of thy minde be encreased, it is well, and thou hast made a good exchange: For there is no man ignorant, vnlesse he lacke a minde, that greater & better exploites may be atchieued by the strength of the minde, then of the body. But yf the strength of the minde, as oftentymes it hapneth, be deminished through slouth∣fulnesse, then hast thou, I confesse, lyued vnprofitably, whiche is thine owne fault, and not thine ages.

Sorowe.

I am olde, and I cannot follow my businesse.

Reason.

Yf there be any thing to be done by the minde, by so muche the better an olde man may doo it, by howe muche he hath the more experience and knowledge in thynges, and is lesse subiect to passions, and his minde more free from all mischiefes and imperfections: as for other matters, olde men can not deale in them, neyther becom∣meth it them to busie them selues that way, who haue alredie layd all bodyly labour asyde. But yf they continue in it, and wyl not be withdrawen, then doo they renue the auncient rid: culus exam∣ple of a Romane olde man, who beyng commaunded by the Prince to surceasse from labour, for that his impotent olde age at the one syde, and his great ryches on the other, requy∣red the same, he was as heauie and sorowfull, as yf he had mour∣ned for some freende that was dead, and caused all his housholde semblably to mourne: A strange old man, that abhorred rest as a certaine resemblance of death, when as in deede there is nothyng more conuenient for an olde man, then rest, and nothyng more vnseemely, then a labouryng and carkyng olde man, whose lyfe ought to be a patterne of all quietnesse and tranquilitie. Thou mayest learne moreouer of the Philosophers, what, and howe pleasaunt a thyng it is, for vertuous olde men to lyue, as they tearme it, in the course of theyr forepassed lyfe, whiche notwithstandyng, the greatest number neuer accompli∣she••h, but dyeth before.

Sorowe.

My yeeres are quickly gone, and I am become old.

Reason.

Your beautie, health, swiftnesse, strength, yea all that euer ye haue, passeth away: but vertue re∣mayneth, neuer geuyng place to olde age nor death. In this most assured good, ye ought at the beginning to haue stayed your

selues, whiche at the ende to doo, I confesse, is more difficult, but there is no age that refuseth the studie of vertue, whiche the har∣der it is, so muche the more it is glorious. Many haue scarce lear∣n••d of long tyme, in their olde age to be wyse, and knowe them selues, and yet better late, then neuer whiche although it be but smally profitable now at the last cast of the lyfe, and at the very poynt of death, yet doo I iudge it well bestowed vppon that one houre, to be passed without horrour and fearefulnesse, yf so be it were not exerc. sed in all the whole lyfe tyme before. For neyther was he borne in vayne, that dyeth wel, nor liued vnprofitably, that ended his lyfe blessedly.

Sorowe.

I am olde, and at deathes doore.

Reason.

Death is at hand alike vnto all men, and ma∣nie tymes nearest there where he seemeth furthest of. There is none so young, but he may dye to day, none so olde, but he may lyue another yeere, yf nothing els happen vnto him, but old age.

Sorowe.

I am throughly olde.

Reason.

Thou art rather throughly rype. If Apples coulde feele and speake, woulde they complayne of theyr ripenesse? or rather, woulde they not reioyce, that they are come to the perfection for whiche they were made? As in al other thinges, so likewise in age, there is a certayne ripe∣nesse, whiche is tearmed olde age: the same that thou mayest see truely to be so, the age and death of young men is called bitter, and is bitter in deede: contrary vnto this bitternesse is ripenesse, which being commended in Apples, and al mauer fruites, is most commendable in man. Not that I am ignorant, that many fruites do wither before they waxe ripe, but that is not the fault of the age, but the peru••rsenesse of nature, not of all, but of many, I meane in men, who beyng borne to that whiche is good, doo stoutely en∣deuour to the contrarie. And therefore, yf there be any droppe of noble iuyce in thee, thou oughtest now to be ripe, and withour all feare, to attende vntyll the hand of the mower cutte thee downe to the ground. That is not death whiche thou fearest, but the ende of troubles, and begynnyng of lyfe: not death, I say, but an hard ende of lyfe, whereunto fewe arriue in a calme tyde, but all for the most part naked, weepyng, and wrecked on the sea. In the middes of thyne olde age, takyng in hand an easie vtage towardes thine ende, thou shalt be brought by a prosperous gale, through the

troublesome surges of worldly affayres, into the calme porte of securitie. Now is it tyme for thee to run a ground, and moare vp thy weerie barke vppon the shore, and whyther so euer thou tur∣nest thee, to thynke vpon thine ende. This shalt thou fynde more profitable for thee, then as fooles vse to doo, to blame good age, and nature, which is a most gracious mother.