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Of Domage sustayned. The .ix. Dialogue.
CRuell Fortune hath bereft me of all my ryches.
Shee hath done thee no iniurie, for she hath taken but her owne: but this is an auncient and common vnthankeful∣nesse, to forget what was geuen you, and to remember what is taken away. And therefore your thankes are fewe and colde, and your complaintes many and feruent.
Fierce For∣tune hath taken also away the things that are necessary for liuing.
No man can take away the thyngs that are necessarie, forasmuche as nothyng is cruely to be called necessarie, without whiche a man may lyue wel. I say, lyue wel, not voluptuously, not insolently, or gorgiously, but wysely, but soberly, but honestly: wherein Fortune, be she neuer so proud, shal confesse that she hath no right. And truely, although desire of hauing, is not satisfied with al the golde that is in the worlde, and all the pompe of preci∣ous stones, and plentie of all maner of thinges, notwithstanding, natural necessitie is contented with verie litle, that may be gotten by some lyght meanes of the tongue, or exercise of the hand: thus vertue is pleased with a verie litle, & vice with nothing.
Couetous Fortune denyeth me necessarie foode and apparrell.
Thou must get it then some where els. Vertue is more liberal then Fortune, for she denieth a man nothyng, but whiche wyll hurt yf it be graunted, and doo good, yf it be forbydden: shee taketh away nothyng, but which wyl hurt to haue it, and is pro∣fitable to loose it: shee deferreth nothyng, shee commaundeth no∣thyng, shee plucketh not backe her hande, shee frowneth not, shee looketh not strangly, shee despiseth no man, she forsaketh no man, shee deceyueth no man, shee chafeth not, shee rageth not, shee changeth not, shee is alwayes one, and euery where, but that the more she is tasted of, the sweeter shee seemeth, and the neerer shee is beholden, the fayrer euery day then other shee appeareth. That thou mayest therefore be ryche in deede, let nothyng carrie thee away from this affliction, or repell thee, although it doo exer∣cise and molest thee: the fyrst entraunce vnto it is harde, as for the residue, it is redie, pleasant, and easie. For when thou art once