The first part of this Booke teaching the knowledge of our selues.

WISDOME,Wisdom in generall di­stinguished (howsoeuer wee vnder­stand it) is a singular and more than ordinary qua­litie or habit of the mind. And the word is diuersly taken; first Ʋulgarely, [Page 2] (though sometimes im­properly) for an extraor­dinary measure of suffi­ciency in whatsoeuer, be it good or euill. And in this sense a man may be said to bee wise as well in those things that are wic­ked & diuellish, as those that are honest and lau­dable.

Secondly it is taken Morally (& indeed more properly) for a discreete gouernment of the en­tire man in things that are good, honest, and profitable.

Thirdly, it is taken The­ologically, for the know­ledge of heauenly things, or for a supernaturall gift of grace infused by the [Page 3] Spirit of GOD.

So that from hence wee may easily perceiue three sorts of Wisdome, Diuine, Humane, and Mundane, correspon­dent to GOD, Nature pure and entire, Nature vitiated and corrupted.

But (to omit the wis­dome which is Diuine & Metaphysicall, as also that which is Mundane and worldly; the one as too high and aboue the sphaere of Morality; the other as too base and vn­worthy to fil vp the room in this little Treatise) the only subiect of this Tract is that which is Humane, and teacheth the know­ledge and gouernment [Page 4] of our selues as wee are men in our humane con­dition.

Humane wisdome described. 1. negatiue­ly.And it is not (as some suppose) an ad [...]ised cari­age and discretion in our affaires & conuersation, for this is onely outward and in action, and may be without essentiall ho­nesty or piety: nor (ac­cording to others) a sin­gular, strict and Stoicall austerity in opinions, words, manners, and fa­shion of life; for this is rather extrauagancy and madnesse:2. positiue­ly. But (in a word) it is a sweet and regular managing of the soule by the law of rea­son; or an exact and pro­fitable rule by which a [Page 5] man is able to direct and guide his thoughts, words, and actions with integrity, decency, and order.

And it may be attay­ned by two meanes;How it is attained. the first is Naturall, consist­ing in the good tempera­ture of the seede of the Parents, the milke of the Nurse, and the first edu­cation. The second is acquired by industry and the study of good books, and conferring with ho­nest, iudicious, and wise men.

NOw this Humane wisdome (which is the subiect of this tract,The diuisiō of the sub­iect. and the excellency of [Page 6] man as he is man) con­teineth two parts; the first is Theorike, shewing the knowledge of our selues, both of the inward and outward man: the second Practike, for the well ordering of our selues after this know­ledge, by following or flying that which is good or euill.

Man two waies con­sidered.For the better know­ledge of our selues wee may consider man two waies; first Naturally, by the composition of his partes, by his difference from other creatures, and by his life. Secondly Morally, by his humours and conditions, and by the difference of one [Page 7] man from an other.

IN the consideration of man by the composi­tion of his parts it is easie to vnderstand that euery man is composed of a body and a soule;The first naturall cōsideratiō of man. there­fore it is necessary and in some sort conducible to wisdome to haue (at the least) a generall know­ledge of our bodies, be­cause the inclinations of the minde (according to philosophy) most com­monly follow the tem­perature of the body.

But (not to stand vpon the long connexion of the inward and outward parts of the body, being more pertinent to Phy­sicke and Anatomy then [Page 8] this present discourse) the braine is the chiefest part that makes for our purpose, and most need­full to be knowne, be­cause from hence procee­deth the whole wracke or welfare of a man accor­ding to the good or ill temperature thereof.

The braine.For this soueraigne part nature hath careful­ly prouided as the quein­test peece of her work­manship; and therefore it is curiously inclosed within two skinnes, the one dura mater, some­thing hard and thicke; the other pia mater, very thinne and soft; within which is the braine com­posed of an oily matter [Page 9] delicate & subtle, where­in if the heate and cold, dryth and moisture bee well and proportionably mixt, that man is admi­rably temperd, and (ac­cording to nature) hap­pily borne, strong, heal­thy, wise, and iudicious: therefore as soone as the body becomes organi­call, the soule makes choice of this part for her cheifest mansion, where she may best exercise her faculties, which are espe­cially three, a vegetatiue, The faculties of the soule. sensitiue, & intellectiue fa­culty.

The Ʋegetatiue hath a threefold virtue,The vege­tatiue fa­culty. Nutri­ [...]iue for the attraction, concoction, & digestion [Page 10] of the victuals, retayning the good and expelling the superfluous: Exten­siue for the proportiona­ble enlarging and exten­ding of all the parts of the body; and Generatiue for the conseruation of the kinde.

The sensi­tiue.The Sensitiue (accord­ing to the number of the senses) hath a fiuefold virtue, whereby euery sense by his organ and in­strument distinguisheth and iudgeth of his owne proper obiect, as the sight of colours, the hea­ring of sounds, the smell of odours, the taste of sa­uours, the touch of wha [...] soeuer is tangible.

The facul­ties of the intellectiue of humane soule.The Intellectiue (which [Page 11] is onely proper to man) hath three principall fa­culties seated in three closets of the braine, where (according to the most embraced opinion) they exercise their opera­tions not distinctly and apart, but in common all three together; the Ima­gination seruing to con­ceiue and apprehend the images of things; the Vn­derstanding to examine & try by the touchstone of reason the verity & quality of the thing concei­ued; the Memory to re­tayne and keepe whatso­euer wee heare, see, or read.

The Imagination is com­mōlyThe imagi­nation. strongest in young [Page 12] men, by reason of the feruent heat of the braine wherby the humours are rarified and purified; the Vnderstanding ripest in old men,Vnderstan­ding. which commonly excell in maturity of iudgement by reason of the drynes of the braine;Memory. the Memory is most re­tentiue in children, by reason of the abundance of moisture and oily sub­stance fit for impression and retention.

The order and causes of the pas­sions.Now from these facul­ties of the soule proceed all the stormy tempests or quiet calmes in the whole life of man; either wee saile securely by the iudiciall sterne of the vn­derstanding, or else wee [Page 13] are caried headlong into the turbulent sea of passi­ons by the furious windes of our rash imagination and inconsiderate will. For when the imaginatiō is corrupted, either by the misse conceit of the senses that conceiue not things aright as they are but as they seeme to bee, or by a presumptuous and preiudicate opinion grounded vpon the er­roneous report of the vulgar, the will is present­ly possest with a rash reso­lution, and begins to act and put in practise what­soeuer the imagination vpon the information of the senses hath conceiued to be good or euill; and [Page 14] so (either not taking counsell of the iudgment and vnderstanding at all, or else deceiuing it with a superficiall apparance of good or euill) it beginnes presently to moue the power concupiscible and irascible, causing vs to loue, hate, feare, hope, despaire, and the like; so that all our passions arise immediately from the will, being moued with an outward apparance and opinion of good or euill.

The will.Now the will is sharp­ned and dulled by diffi­culty and fascility, rarity and abundance, absence and present fruition: and when it is moued with [Page 15] the semblance of good,The diuisiō of the pas­sions. this passion is Loue; and if it be present, it is Plea­sure and Ioy; if to come Desire, and stirreth vp in our hearts Hope & Dis­paire: but if the will be moued by the semblance of euill, this passion is Hate; and if it be present in our selues it is Sorrow and Greife, in others Pitty and Compassion; and if it be to come it is Feare, & & stirreth vp in our hearts Choler, Enuy, Iealousie, Reuenge, Cruelty.

LOue (which is the first & most naturall pas­sion) is either the loue of greatnesse and honour,Loue in ge­nerall di­uided. which is Ambition; or of [Page 16] riches, which is Couetous­nesse; or of carnall plea­sure, which is Concupis­c [...]nce.

Ambition. Ambition is a thirsty & gluttonous desire of ho­nour and preferment, yet naturall by reason of the insatiability of our na­ture, which is imperissem­per auida, alwaies greedy of authority, and it is most commonly lodged in ge­nerous spirits that are au­dacious to vndertake high and difficult at­tempts.

Couetous­nes. Couetousnesse is an im­moderate care of heap­ing vp riches, not respe­cting the honesty or lau­dablenesse of the meanes whereby they are gotten; [Page 17] for lucri bonus est odor ex [...]e qualibet, the sent of gaine is sweet though it come from a Iakes. This passion is commonly inthroned in vulgar & degenerous mindes, that feare pouer­ty as a serpent, and adore riches as a God; & there­fore they make haste by all possible meanes to be wealthy, by extortion, vsury, bribery, and what not? rather seruing their riches than enioying them, and are alwaies poore in heaps of gold.

Carnall Loue or Con­cupiscence is terminated [...]n the mutuall pleasure of both Sexes,Concupis­cence. a thing naturall and indifferent [...]n all, and neither in it [Page 18] selfe nor in the action vi­tious nor ignominious, but in the vnchaste and immoderate vse thereof, and the bad meanes of obteyning it: sic mod [...] magis quam re ipsâ labora mus, the way to attaine i [...] doth more trouble vs the [...] the thing it selfe.

Passions a­rising from an appea­ring good.And these are the thre [...] branches of the tree o [...] Loue, which are formed vpon the obiect of a [...] appearing good: Now if we haue the thing be­loued in our present possession wee are wonderfully glad and reioyce [...] and then this passion i [...] called Ioy, Joy. which is an excessiue pleasure arisin [...] from the delight we tak [...] [Page 19] in the thing obteyned, making vs commonly merry and iocund: But if it be not in our present possession (being a thing in our conceipt simply good) we endeuour by all meanes possible to at­cheiue it; this is Desire, Desire. which is an eager care to obteine the thing that seemeth good vnto vs, making vs commonly diligent and painefull in the pursuit thereof; so that if we see any likely­hood of obteyning the thing desired, wee com­fort on our selues with a continuall expectation of the fruition thereof; and this is Hope, Hope. which is nothing but a credulous [Page 20] assurance of enioying our desire: But if we see no probabilitie of getting that which we seeke for, wee begin presently to droope in our affections, and desist to seeke any farther meanes for the obteyning thereof; and this is Despaire, Dispaire. which is a distrustfull opinion grounded vpon the im­possibility of obteyning our desire.

Passions a­rising from an appea­ring euill estate.But contrarily when any thing presents it selfe vnto vs which seemeth or appeareth to be euill, wee presently loath and contemne it; and then this passion is called Hate, which is a disdain­full conceipt of an ap­pearing [Page 21] euill; so that when vpon the appea­rance of it we conceiue it to be euill (and therfore hate it) we happily stand in doubt that it may sometime come vpon vs; this is Feare, Feare. which is a timorous apprehension of an euill to come, cau­sing vs to endeuour to shun and auoide it; and if wee finde this euill in our selues which wee so much hate and feare, we are much perplexed and afflicted; and this is Greife, Griefe. which is a deepe impression of the great­nes of the euill that tor­ments vs, vpon the con­ceipt whereof the heart is presently surprized and [Page 22] deiected, and the spirit dulled and infeebled, so that we can doe nothing for the present but blub­ber our faces, hang downe our heads, and fixe our eyes vpon the ground: sometimes it is more violent, and be­reaueth vs of the vse of discourse, reason, vnder­standing, and quite ex­tinguisheth the faculties of the soule, and some­times life it selfe. But when we see any euill be­fall an other wee are not so violently afflicted, but are moued with a kinde of passionate remorse, & this is called Pitty: Pitty. which is an effeminate fellow-feeling of the euills that [Page 23] befall an other.

THE other bitter streames of this trou­bled fountaine of Hate are these, Choler, Enuy, Iealousie, Reuenge, Cru­elty.

Choler is a furious mo­tion of the minde,Choler. arising sometimes from lightnes in beleeuing, a tender nicenesse of nature, ouer-precise curiosity, or a loue of trifles; but most commonly from an opi­nion of contempt or a­buse either in word, deed or countenance. This passion is most incident to children, sicke persons, and old folkes by reason of the weaknesse of their [Page 24] spirit, for invalidum omne naturâ querulum est, euery thing that is weake is sub­iect to disquiet.

Enuy. Enuy is an effect of Hate, causing vs to thinke euery thing too much or too good, that an other whom we hate, doth en­ioy; hinc vicinum pecus grandius vber habet,

Iealousie. Iealousie is a doubting opinion or a mistrustfull conceipt that an other enioyeth that which wee feare or desire, and there­fore wee alwaies lay in garison with a continuall [Page 25] and euer-watchfull care to finde and preuent it.

Reuenge is a thirsty de­sire of satisfaction for a wrong done to a mans person or reputation in word or deede,Reuenge. arising commonly from greife or choler by a conceipt of the greatnes of the iniu­rie that is offer'd: for so tender we are of a wrong, that we esteeme reuenge sweeter then life it selfe, and therefore wee seeke it amidst a thousand dan­gers.

Cruelty is a thing base & inhumane,Cruelty. and therefore by the Latines fitly cal­led feritas, because it makes vs forget all hu­mane mercy & compas­sion, [Page 26] and taketh delight in bloud and murder, not respecting the weak­nesse or vnworthinesse of the enemie, nor the e­quity of the cause.

The second naturall considera­tion of man.IN the second naturall consideration of man (which is by his diffe­rence from other crea­tures) wee may note his worthines and excellen­cie; first because man is the image of GOD, formed vpright, and al­waies looking vp to hea­uen, as the onely place and hauen of his rest and happinesse: Secondly because hee is the perfe­ction and quintessense o [...] nature, being all naked, [Page 27] and (by reason of the thinne and delicate tem­per of the humours) most beautifull; which beautie is inthroned es­pecially in the face or visage, the incendiary of loue, the seate of laugh­ter and kissing, and the looking-glasse of the soule, because it is ap to declare our inward mo­tions and passions, as ioy when we looke cheerful, greife and anger when we looke dull and frow­ning, shame when wee blush, feare when wee waxe pale, and the like. Thirdly wee may see the excellence of man by the praerogatiue supremacy that God hath giuen him [Page 28] ouer the fowles of the aire, the fish of the sea, and the beasts of the field; wherefore he is in­dued with reason, vnder­standing, and iudgement to gouerne both himselfe and them: So that man being a demi-God aboue other creatures, it should be a shame for him to be taught by them to mo­derate his appetite and pleasure in eating, drink­ing, and carnall copula­tion, for euen in these & many other things the very beasts excell vs.

The third naturall considera­tion of man.IN the third naturall consideration of man (which is by his life) we should take notice first of [Page 29] the shortnesse thereof, being in the course of nature but thirty or for­ [...]y yeeres at the most by reason of the halfe that is spent in sleepe. Se­condly of the vices wee are naturally prone vnto; in our youth vnto teme­rity, vnbridled liberty, and an vnsatiable desire of pleasure naturally pro­ceeding from the strong and vigorous heate of the bloud; and in olde age to proteruitie pro­ceeding from infirmity, superstition from curio­sitie, a conceite of much knowledge from long experience, a sottish aua­rice from the feare of po­uerty, a contempt or [Page 30] feare of death from the loue of the world. There­fore since these vices are naturally incident vnto vs, we should study to preuent them before they come vpon vs, and take care to spend our life well, because it is short, because it is vncer­taine.

The morall considera­tion of man. TO attaine yet to a more per­fect knowledg of our selues wee must consider man morally, first by his hu­mours and conditions, secondly by the diffe­rence of one man from an other.

In the consideration of man by his humours and conditions wee may note his vanity, weaknes, inconstancy, miserie, pre­sumption.

The vanity of man we may see first imaginarily in his thoughts;Vanity. one plotteth how hee may make himselfe famous, an other how hee would liue if hee were a great man, an other what kind of gesture doth best be­come him, another mu­seth how men will speake of him when he is dead, with what pompe they will celebrate his obse­quies, and the like. Se­condly wee may see the vanity of man really in [Page 32] his actions if wee marke how some torment and vex themselues in triuiall matters that are vnwor­thy of their care, how vi­olent they are for the ill flying of a hawke, the running of a dogge, or if they be any way crost in their sports; or if wee consider what an age of time some men consume in learning to sing, to daunce, to manage a horse, and the like, neuer seeking that which is sol­lid and more necessary how to liue well and commodiously, but like Aesops dogge omitting the substanc for a shad­dow. Thirdly wee may see the vanity of man in [Page 33] the tickling pleasure and felicitie that some men take in things collaterall and impertinent, that are [...]n themselues neither vi­cious nor much com­mendable; as some, if they can but complement with a grace, speak mouingly, and court their Mistresse with a plausible facility, O they are men aboue the Moone, and as proud as Alexanders horse of his golden trappings.

The weaknesse or im­becility of man wee may perceiue first in our de­sires,Weaknesse. either not being a­ble to desire and chuse that which is best, or disliking that wee haue [Page 34] chosen; Secondly in the vse of things, being not able to make the best of them, because wee know not their true and simple nature; Thirdly in our best actions, quod non bo­num benè facimus, in that we doe not the good we doe after a good manner; Fourthly in the nice kind of life that some men addict themselues vnto; they mue vp themselues at home, and neuer see the face of a publike as­sembly, but liue as it were in a well or a bottle, and therefore are vnfit to be employed for the com­mon wealth, because they see nothing clerely, but a far off and through [Page 35] a hole, and vnderstand onely by tradition and report. Fiftly in the selfe­disabling fashion of most men that enthrall their iudgement and vnder­standing vnder the ban­ner of authoritie, and approue of nothing without Aristotle & Plato or an ipse dixit for their opinion.

The Inconstancie of man we may easily see if wee note how wauering we are in all our actions,Inconstan­cie. wee desire what we reie­cted, and reiect what we lately desired; we chuse, & we dislike our choice; wee loue, and presently we hate what we loued, euery houre wee change [Page 36] our decree; so that in this respect man may well be said to be prorsus aliud à se ipso, quite different or an other thing from him­selfe.

Misery.The miserie of man wee may note first out­wardly, in our shamefull cōming into the world, the feeblenesse of our in­fancy, the infinite com­pany of diseases wee are subiect to in our youth, especially hotte and bur­ning maladies, by reason of the inflāmation of the bloud; and deliration and dottage in our olde age, by reason of the lan­guishment of the spirits; Secondly inwardly, in the imagination that [Page 37] with continuall expecta­tion praeoccupateth euils [...]o come; in the vnder­standing that is dull and [...]ncapable of high and weighty affaires, & blind in discerning the veritie of opinions; in the me­mory that continually retaineth the euills that annoy vs; in the will that is headlong and rash to execute any thing with­out pondering whether it be good or euill.

The presumption or arrogancy of man wee may note first in respect of other creatures,Presump­tion. in that we vilifie and debase them too much as if they were not the workeman­ship of God; Secondly in [Page 38] respect of man our asso­ciate and companion, in that we scorne to learne one of another, euery man thinkes hee can see farre into a milstone, and therefore we perempto­rily beleiue or misbeleiue that which at the first sight seemeth true or false vnto vs, whereupon we presently beginne to condemne or approue whatsoeuer wee haue be­leeued or misbeleeued, and go about to per­swade others either to re­ceiue it as a maxime, or reiect it as absurd. Third­ly in respect of God and Nature, in that in the prosperous successe of our worldly affaires wee [Page 39] attribute nothing wholly to the free gift and good­nesse of God, but to our owne endeauours and worthinesse, and the ne­cessitie of Nature; wee thinke the Sunne must needes shine, the raine fall, and the earth of ne­cessitie yeeld her increase onely for vs; So that al­though man in his whole life be nothing but a bun­dell of vanitie, weake­nesse, inconstancy, mise­rie, and a world of infir­mities, yet hee is most proudly presumptuous, and presumptuouslie proud, like a beggar that glories in his stinking ragges, & lyce that con­tinually annoy him.

The second morall con­sideration of man.SEcondly (to know [...] our humane estate the better) we must con­sider man by the difference of one man from an other.Difference of men in respect of the climate First in respec [...] of the climate wher [...] they liue which is powerfull both in the outwar [...] complexion, and the in­ward nature and dispo­sition; Some men are in colour sanguine and phlegmatike, of body strong, of stature bigge and tall, but weake in minde, blockish and stu­pid, as commonly those in the Northerne parts of the world, by reason of the inward naturall heate which in them is most [Page 41] feruent because the cold­nesse of the circumstant [...]aire incloseth the heate and driues it to the in­ward parts, and produ­ceth these effects; con­trarily others are blacke & melancholike, lesse of stature, but more inge­nious and wise, as those in the Southerne & hot­ter parts of the world where the vigour of the externall heate doth re­laxe and open the pores, and dissipate and exhale [...]he inward heate, and causeth the diuersitie. Therfore as Plato thank­ [...]d God that he was an A­ [...]henian and not a Theban, [...]ecause the aire was [...]here more thinne and [Page 42] delicat, and therefore the men more dexterious and witty, so wee haue great cause to praise him, first that hee hath made vs Christians and not Infidells. Secondly that he hath plac'd vs in Eng­land in a temperate cli­mate and fertile soyle, where we haue all things in plenty and abun­dance.

Difference of men in respect of capacity & vnderstan­ding.Secondly we may see the difference of men in respect of their capacity and vnderstanding, and so wee may note three sorts of people in euery nation and common-wealth; the first are but the lees and dregs of the people, vulgar and abiect [Page 43] spirits borne onely to serue and obey. The se­cond are a kinde of men of an indifferent vnder­standing, but common­ly seduced by tradition, and the custome of the place where they liue; the third are men of a quicke spirit and an acute iudgement, not besotted with the common opini­ons of the world, but of themselues able to dis­cerne the verity and cau­ses of things.

Thirdly we may note this difference in respect of superiority and infe­riority,Difference of men in respect of superiority and infe­riority. which is either publike or priuate; the publike is for the com­modious gouernment of [Page 44] the State either immedi­ate betweene the Prince himselfe & his subiects, or subordinate betweene the subiects and the offi­cers that represent the person of the Prince, as perticular Lords, Iudges, Iustices, Mayors and o­ther inferiour Officers; the Priuate is for the de­cent managing of rurall and domesticall affaires betweene the Husband and the Wife, Parents & Children, Masters and Seruants; and in these three cases a man must obserue this decorum, to vse his wife neither as his Mistresse nor his seruant, his seruant not as his slaue nor his fellow; his [Page 45] childe neither as his ser­uant, his fellow, nor his master.

Fourthly wee may see the difference of one man from an other by the diuersitie of their profession and kinde of life:Difference of men in respect of profession and kinde of life. Some men affect a solitary and retired life, to sequester themselues from company and the troubles both of dome­sticall and publike af­faires; others delight in a more sociable life, to talke, to reason, to dis­course, to make vse of a Companion; others make choice of the countrey for the vicinity of the fields, the woods, the riuers, for hawking [Page 46] hunting, fishing, fowling, and other sports and re­creations: others shut vp themselues in Citties and Townes, and spend their time in visitation, enter­tainement and company keeping: others are en­couraged with the sound of the trumpet, the noise of the drumme and fife, and delight in stratagems and warlike discipline: others delight in trauell, to see the conditions of the men, the diuersitie of their manners, the fashi­on of the Countrey, and the politick gouernment of the State; and briefly vt mens cuiusque sic est quisque, Euery man as hee affects so hee liues, so that [Page 47] in euery man wee may note three kinds of liues, the first inward to a mans selfe in his thoughts and imaginations, the second domesticall in his pri­uate affaires, the third publike to the view of the world.

Lastly we may see the difference of men by the diuersity of the fauours and disfauours of nature and Fortune. 1.Difference of men in respect of nature & fortune. In re­spect of Nobilitie and Honour, which is either naturall by discent, or ac­quired by desert; Some by bloud are noble, some by their owne vertues, some by both, some by neither of these. 2. In respect of Science and [Page 48] knowledge both theo­ricke and practicke, some are good in the one, some in the other, some in nei­ther. 3. In respect of riches and pouerty; some are endowed with great possessions, lands, li­uings, and all the fauours of Fortune, others haue scarce a house to defend them from the iniurie of the raine and winde. 4. In respect of liberty, which is either internall of the minde, or externall of the body; as for the first, wee see some are en­thralled by their passi­ons, others cary them­selues quietly in all things without distem­per; as for the second, [Page 49] we see some men liue (as their fancie leades them) now in one place, now in another, and haue li­bertie to expatiate the whole earth, while others are confined within the narrow walles of a darke and vncom­fortable pri­son.

The second part of this Booke, conteyning the generall instructions of Wisdome which re­spect all men alike.

NOw wee haue attayned by the naturall & mo­rall considerati­on of man to a breife knowledge of our selues (which is the first and Theorike part of Wis­dome) it behooueth vs to make vse of this know­ledge, to order our selues wisely and discreetly by [Page 51] [...], which is the second [...] Practicke part of Wis­ [...]ome; for a man is not herefore honest or vir­ [...]ous, because he knowes what is virtuous or ho­nest, but because he doth [...]he things that are so; Virtutis omnis in hoc laus [...]est, the praise of virtue consists in the action.

But for the more re­guler ordering of our selues according to WISDOME there are rules and praescriptions both generall for all men alike, and particular for seuerall persons in their peculiar calling.

The generall instru­ctions of Wisdome haue respect to the Praepara­tiues, [Page 52] the foundations, t [...] offices, and the fruits of wi [...] dome.

The first praepara­tiue vnto wisdome.The Praeparatiues vnto wisdome are two; th [...] first is to exempt & fre [...] a mans selfe both outwardly from popular & multitudinary errors & opinions, and inwardly from passions: the first may be auoided by fly­ing the vulgar rabble & their headlong designe­ments, and by frequent­ing the company of the more iudicious; the se­cond by a discussiue prae­caution or praemeditati­on whereby a man flyeth or extinguisheth whatso­euer might kindle or en­flame his passions, and by a constant resolution [Page 53] of minde, whereby a man (foreseeing the euent) is forearmed to beare with­out passion or distemper whatsoeuer happeneth.

The second Prepara­tiue vnto Wisdome,The second prepara­tiue vnto Wisdome. is for a man to maintaine him­selfe in a free and gene­rous libertie of minde: which libertie is twofold, of the iudgement and the will; the libertie of the iudgement is to iudge indifferently of al things, without resolution or peremptorie affirmation or condemnation of any thing, and not to bee so foole-hardie to binde or wedde a mans selfe to any opinion, but that vp­on sounder reason hee [Page 54] may bee ready to enter­taine that which is more true, honest, profitable, accommodating him­selfe outwardly to that which is de facto, but ap­prouing inwardly of that which is de iure. The li­bertie of the will consists in managing our affecti­ons mildly and discreetly with reason and iudge­ment, and without vio­lence and passion.

The first foundation of WisdomeThe foundations of Wisdome are likewise two: the first is a true, es­sentiall, and inward ho­nestie, which is a firme and strong disposition of the will to follow the counsell of reason in that which is honest and iust; [Page 55] not for formalitie sake, (according to the fashion of the world) nor for the maintenance of a mans honour, credit, reputati­on; nor for feare of the law, magistrate, punish­ment, displeasure, or any such casuall or sinister re­spect, for this is onely a bare outward action, and no inward probitie, but this honest wise man must both bee and ar­dently desire to bee an honest man in his heart and minde, & p [...]tiùs eum esse quàm videri.

The second foundati­on of Wisdome is to haue a certaine end and forme of life, that is,The second foundation of Wisdome for a man to make choice of [Page 56] such a calling whereunto his particular nature is most inclinable, for illud quemque decet quod suum est maximè, that becomes euery man best, to which he is naturally most addicted, therefore it behoues eue­ry man to know two things, first his owne in­ward disposition, his ca­pacitie and abilitie, to what he is most prone, and for what he is vnapt; secondly the nature of the profession hee hath proposed to himselfe, comparing them toge­ther, to the end hee may see how his nature agrees with his professi­on, and carry himselfe in his vocation with fa­cilitie [Page 57] and delight.

The offices of Wis­dome are six;The first office of Wisdome. the first is to studie true religion and pietie, which princi­pally consists in the rela­tiue knowledge of God and our selues, of God for his honour and glory, of our selues for our owne saluation. Now this Re­ligion must not bee for fashion sake, to goe with a Bible vnder the arme, as dogges goe to Church for company; nor yet ce­remoniall, for so a man may be religious and wicked, and bee (according to the prouerbe) a Saint at Church, and a Deuill at home; nor only in word and beleefe, for so one [Page 58] may be more then a man by confession, and wors [...] then a swine in his life: but this Religion must be maried to an essentiall honestie, causing a man to bee honestly religious and religiously honest, both inwardly in sinceri­tie and truth, and out­wardly in life and con­uersation.

The second office of Wisdome.The second office of Wisdome is discreetly to gouerne our desires and pleasures; not wholly re­nouncing them after the opinion of the preciser sort, that endeuour si­lently to slide through this life like a fish in the water, and hold their breath at all honest re­creations, [Page 59] as if they were in a place of infection; wee must rather manage our desires and pleasures well, and learne to make vse and benefit of the world, and not enioy it; and this we shal the more easily attaine if wee desire but a little, naturally, mo­derately, and by relation: 1. a little, that is, to pull in the raynes of our ap­petite, and to restraine our selues from abun­dance and delicacie; and this is the neerest way to content, nihil enim inter­est [...]n habeas, an non concu­piscas, not to desire and to enioy is one. 2. Naturally, that is, to desire not things superfluous, arti­ficiall [Page 60] and pleasing to th [...] fantasie (for these are pas­sions, and beyond na­ture) but things necessa­rie and most expedient both for our bodies and our humane condition 3. Moderately and with­out excesse, both in re­spect of another, without his scandall, losse, preiu­dice, and in respect of our selues, without the losse or hindrance of our health, leasure, functions, affaires, reputation, duty. 4. By relation, that is, to propose vnto our selues a certaine end of our de­sires and pleasures, and to terminate them in our selues.

The third office of Wisdome.The third office of wis­dome [Page 61] is with an equall, manly, and settled coun­tenance to beare the smiles and frownes of prosperous and aduerse fortune; hoc enim est benè sustinere, & abstinere benè, this is well to sustaine the euill of aduersitie, and well to abstaine from the sugred baits of pleasure and prospe­ritie: not like the vulgar, that thinke there is no surfetting with hony, no rockes able to split the floating ship of prosperi­tie; wee must rather fol­low the aduice of the wi­ser, & ne (que) in secundis con­fidere, nec in aduersis defi­cere, sed semper erigere animum supra minas & promissa fortunae; wee must [Page 62] neither presume in prosperi­tie, nor despaire in aduersi­tie, but alwayes eleuate our spirit aboue the threats and promises of fortune. Wee shall the better carry our selues in prosperitie, if we consider well the nature of it, first that riches, ho­nours, and the fauours of fortune are improperly called goods, since they are common as well to the bad as the good, and neither make the one better, nor reforme the other; secondly that pro­speritie is like a honied poison, and therefore we should bee then most carefull and learne to mortifie our presumpti­on, to bridle our affecti­ons, [Page 63] and retaine our de­sires. And for Aduersitie, quoniam ipsa vita est fortu­ [...]iae ludibrium, & omnia ad quae gemimus, quae expaue­scimus, tributa vitae sunt; since our life is but the play-game of fortune, and all things that grieue and afflict vs are but the tributes of life, and incident to our hu­mane condition, we should therefore make a virtue of necessitie, and arme our selues with patience quietly to endure them: and the more easily wee may doe it if we consider well the nature and cau­ses of aduersities and af­flictions, whether they be true and naturall, as sick­nesse, pouertie, and the [Page 64] like, or imaginarie and fantasticall. In respect of the nature of aduersitie wee may easily endure it, 1. because it is in it selfe no euill, but in the opi­nion of the vulgar; 2. be­cause it is common to all, though after a diuers manner, to the wise and godly as matter of good and instruction, to fooles and reprobates as occasi­on of euill and despaire; 3. because it toucheth but the lesser and outward part of man, and cannot make him vicious, nor rob him of his probitie and virtue, though it make him poore, sicke, and afflicted. In respect of the cause of aduersitie [Page 65] we must consider that it is either our owne sinne, the iustice and anger of God, or the policie of the world. And now the face of aduersitie is thus vn­masked, it will appeare with a more gentle aspect, and we may auoid or mitigate it by these two meanes, first by be­ing honest and vertuous, (for such a man is more peaceable in aduersitie then a wicked man in prosperitie) secondly by premeditation and pre­supposing the worst, that so we may be fore-armed to beare with patience any thing that may hap­pen; nam quae alij diu pati­endo leuia faciunt, sapiens [Page 66] leuia facit diu cogitando, that which others make light by long suffering, a wise man maketh easie by long cogitation.

The fourth office of Wisdome.The fourth office of Wisdome is to obserue the lawes, customes, and ceremonies of the coun­trey; first authoritie, be­cause it is a messenger from heauen, whether it bee soueraigne in the Prince, or subalterne in his lawes and ordinances; secondly ceremonie and the custome of the coun­trey, because by vse, ap­probation or toleration it is growne to be a law; therefore obey the Magi­strate and the law, but not seruilely; obserue ce­remonies, [Page 67] but not super­stitiously; and (if thou canst with a safe consci­ence) conforme thy selfe outwardly to that which is in practise, though thou condemne it in thy iudgement, and lend, but not giue thy selfe to the world.

The fift office of Wis­dome is well and plausi­bly to carry our selues in company,The fift office of Wisdome. whether it be generally with strangers in the ordinary com­merce of the world, or more particularly in affe­cted company; such as we embrace for profit, plea­sure, or some other re­spect; and herein a man must a little temporize [Page 68] with the world, and not wholly captiuate him­selfe to his peculiar incli­nations, sed vbicun (que) opus sit animum flectere, bend his minde as occasion shall require. In our common conuersation wee shall the better cary our selues if we obserue these rules, 1. for a man to speake lit­tle and modestly; 2. not to bee too scrupulous in applying himselfe to the fashion of the company; 3. not to bee too forward to put out himselfe and shew all that is in him; 4. to be honestly curious in enquiring of al things, iudging soundly of them, so to make vse and profit by them; 5. not to con­test [Page 69] with any, especially not our superiours be­cause wee owe them respect, not our inferiours because the match is vn­equall; 6. not to speake resolutely or perempto­rily in any discourse: so by this meanes a man shall carry himselfe well and debonarily towards all, and yet haue his minde secret, and keepe himselfe to himselfe, ac­cording to the old pre­cept, frons aperta, lingua parca, mens clausa, nulli fidere. In our particular and more priuate con­uersation it will be expe­dient to obserue these rules, 1. for our associ­ates to make choice of [Page 70] such as are honest, wise, and dexterious; 2. not to be amazed at the opini­on of others though it oppose ours, but to iudge soundly of it, and if there be cause of contradicti­on, not to bee bold, ob­stinate, nor bitter; 3. not to bee troubled with the vnciuill behauiour or rude speeches of any, but to beare them manfully, and not answer a foole in his follie; 4. in disputati­on and controuersie to be briefe and methodi­call, and to ayme alwaies at the truth, not vsing all the meanes a man may haue, but the best and most pressing; 5. in a iest to take the present occa­sion [Page 71] by the locke, and to be facete without scur­rilitie, and touch no mans person nor reputa­tion, for it is a bad ex­change to sell a friend for a iest:

The sixt and last office of Wisdome is for a man to carry himselfe wisely in his affaires;The last office of Wisdome. and for introduction hereunto it is necessary to know well in what ranke to place the goods spirituall and temporall, which are principally eight, where­of soure respect the bo­dy, health, beautie, nobili­tie, riches, and foure the soule, honestie, wisdome, abilitie, science, and these are correspondent one to [Page 72] the other, so that health, beautie, nobilitie and ri­ches in the body are the same that honestie, wis­dome, sufficiencie or abi­litie, and science in the soule; and in vaine shall a man studie the precepts of a good life, vnlesse he know well how to iudge and esteeme of these. Now the rules and best helpes to this wise carri­age in our affaires are these; 1. To know the nature and humour of the person with whom a man hath to deale, that so he may turne his saile to the winde, and also the nature of the businesse he hath in hand, not su­perficially, but the quint­essence [Page 73] of it; 2. to know the true worth and value of things, iudging of them not like the com­mon sort by their nouel­tie, strangenesse, difficul­tie, or report, but estima­ting all things (after the manner of the wise) first inwardly by their true and naturall value, then outwardly by their profit and commoditie; 3 to chuse well, which choice consists either in good things, to chuse the most honest & commodious, or in euil to flie the most iniust, dishonest, incon­uenient: 4 to consult and take the aduice of a friend, who must be first honest and faithfull, then [Page 74] discreet and sufficient: 5. To ballance a mans selfe betweene distrust and assurance, not to bee too confident in any man, yet making no shew of distrust, but fearing to be deceiued: 6. To make vse of all occasions, and herein a man must auoid two things, precipitation and rashnesse in appre­hending, moresitie and slacknesse for ouer-slipping the occasion, and take it neither when it is greene, nor too ripe, but iust when it is offered: 7. To doe nothing with­out a good reason: 8. To be industrious, not rely­ing vpon fortune, nor contemning it, in all our [Page 75] actions making vertue the captaine, fortune the follower, virtute duce, co­mite fortunâ.

The fruits of Wise­dome are two;The first fruit of Wisdome. the first is to keepe a mans selfe al­wayes ready for death; tam vtiliter viuendum est, vt non nesciamus foelicitèr desistere, wee must liue so profitably, that wee may know how to die happily, esteeming of death not like the common people that she it as an euill, nor as some that contemne it as a thing of no impor­tance, nor as others that seeke and desire it, vitam habentes in patientiâ, mor­tem in desiderio, enduring life, and coueting death; [Page 76] wee must follow the wise, and neither feare nor de­sire death, but attend it cheerefully as a thing na­turall, because it is the or­der of the whole Vni­uerse; ineuitable, quia om­nes eodem cogimur, because wee are all compeld to die; profitable, quia dies mor­tis aeterninatalis est, because the day of our death is the birth-day of eternitie, and the consummation of our la­bours. Now the meanes to make our selues ready for death are these, 1. in all our actions to dis­charge a good consci­ence, 2. euery night to cast vp our accounts, and to repent earnestly for the misdeeds of that day; [Page 77] and so (our sinnes being dead before our selues) we shal haue nothing else to doe at the houre of our death but to die.

The last fruit and crowne of Wisdome is to maintaine our selues in a true tranquillitie of spirit,The second fruit of Wisdome. which is not (as some suppose) a vacancie from all affaires, nor a de­lightfull solitarinesse, or a profound carelesnesse, but a sweet, firme, and pleasant estate of the soule, which no occasion, businesse, good nor ill accidents can any way al­ter, trouble, or depresse. This is that whereby a wise man possesses and enioyes himselfe, liues [Page 78] alwayes rich, full of ioy, of peace, of comfort, and content in himselfe. Not besotted with vulgar opi­nions, nor enthralled with the tyrannie of passions, not rash in iudging, not violent, not vnreaso­nable in willing; honest in his life, delighted in his vocation, liuing truly religious; rectifying his desires, moderating his pleasures: not swollen in prosperitie, not deiected in aduersitie; conforming himselfe to the lawes and customes of his country; carrying himselfe wisely with others, & discreetly in his worldly affaires; neither hugging his life, nor fearing nor desiring [Page 79] his death. Now this tran­quillitie is that morall fe­licitie which is acquired by many habits: the meanes to attaine it are the eleuen last handled, and the meanes to pre­serue it are two; 1. Inno­cencie and a good con­science, quibus tanquam in publico & teste coelo viui­mus, whereby we liue as it were in publike, and haue God for a witnesse to all our actions, 2. Alacritie and a couragious constancie, whereby a man solaceth himselfe, and raiseth his spirit aboue all chances that may happen, with­out perturbation or feare.

The third part of this Booke, containing the particular instructions of Wisdome, which re­spect particular persons in their seuerall cal­lings, affaires and accidents.

IT remai­neth now that wee proceede to the last part of Wisdome, which re­specteth euery mans par­ticular; and the shortest way to attaine it is to guide our selues by the [Page 81] foure Morall or Cardi­nall vertues, for these haue respect to all our humane condition, Pru­dence to the whole course of our life, but especially to the Affaires wherein it is busied, Iu­stice to the Persons, For­titude and Temperance to the Accidents.

Prudence (which is Auriga virtutum, Prudence in generall described. the Queene and guide of the other vertues) is the ele­ction & choice of things that are to bee desired or fled, and consisteth in consulting and delibera­ting well, in iudging and resoluing well, in accomplishing and executing well. And it is diuersly [Page 82] distinguisht; first in re­spect of the Persons, and so it is either priuate in vnico indiuiduo, or socia­ble and oeconomicall a­mong a few, or publike and politike among ma­ny: secondly it is distin­guisht in respect of the af­faires, which are either ordinary and easie, or dif­ficult and extraordinary.

Politike prudence distingui­shed.Of all the rest the po­litike Prudence is most difficult, and therefore most excellent, and it is either publike or priuate; the publike concerneth the office of a Prince, which is either Prepara­tiue concerning his pro­uision for the State, or Actiue for his action and [Page 83] gouernment. The pri­uate Prudence respecteth the carriage both of the Prince and of priuate men in difficult affaires and accidents.

The preparatiue of­fice of a Prince concer­ning the preparation of prouision for a State (ac­cording to the Writers of best note and choice,The prae­paratiue office of a Prince. whom I haue especially followed in this Tract) consisteth principally in seuen points, knowledge of the State, Virtue, Carriage, Councell, Treasure, Forces and Armes, Alliances.

The knowledge of the State consisteth in two things,The first head of prouision for a State to know the na­ture of the people and of [Page 84] the State, the forme, esta­blishment, and birth thereof, whether it bee old or new, fallen by suc­cession or election, ob­tained by Lawes or Armes, of what extent it is, what neighbours, meanes, power it hath; for according to these a Prince must diuersly ma­nage the Scepter.

The second head of prouision.The second head of prouision is the virtue of the Prince, which should be liuely and ex­emplary, because hee is most eminent and in the eye of all, and because his actions are a law to the people. Now these vir­tues are principally re­quisite in a Prince, Pietie, [Page 85] Iustice, Valour, Clemencie, Liberalitie, Magnanimitie.

The Pietie of the Prince is to maintaine Religion, and to depresse all innouations and con­trouersies therein.

The Iustice of a Prince respecteth first himselfe, to be (as neere as may be) the same in his life that hee is in his lawes; se­condly his subiects, to cause his lawes to bee iustly executed towards all, without partialitie and protraction of suits. But in the Iustice of a Prince we must not bee too strict; for (in as much as it is a matter of no small moment well to gouerne a State) it is ex­pedient [Page 86] for a Prince en­terchangeably to assume the skinne of the Foxe▪ and the Lion, and to doe that for the good and safetie of himselfe and the weale-publike, which in priuate persons were vicious and vnlawfull: therefore the Politicians haue thought these eight things expedient in a Prince, although some question the lawfulnesse; 1. Distrust, to bee vigi­lant, to beleeue none, to take heed of all, ne aditum nocendi perfido praestet fi­des, left too much credulitie make a Traitor. 2. Dissi­mulation, both in time of warre with the enemie, and in peace with his sub­iects. [Page 87] 3. By secret practi­ses and intelligences to draw vnto him the hearts and seruices of the offi­cers and trustiest friends of forraine Princes and Lords, and of his owne subiects at home; and this is wrought either by perswasion, or presents and pensions. 4. Sub­tletie, to obtaine his pur­pose by equiuocation, circumuention, Letters, embassages, and to doe that closely which hee may not doe openly. 5. To clip the wings of any one that is like to soare too high in the State. 6. In a time of ne­cessitie and pouertie of the State to take by au­thoritie [Page 88] the wealth of the richest. 7. To cancell the lawes or priuiledges that are any way preiudiciall to the authoritie of the Prince. 8. To possesse himselfe by preuention of a Citie or Prouince commodious for the State, rather then to suf­fer another dangerous neighbour to take it.

His Valour is a mili­tarie and couragious wis­dome, which is required in him for the defence of himselfe and the State.

The Clemencie of a Prince is a sweet kinde of lenitie, and required in him to moderate the ri­gour of Iustice, and to make him more beloued [Page 89] then feared of his Sub­iects.

The Liberalitie of a Prince consisteth pro­perly in gifts bestowed, wherein are to bee consi­dered two things, first the person, who should be a man of desert, or one that hath done good ser­uice to the common-weale; secondly the man­ner of the gift, which must not be excessiue, nor at once.

The Magnanimitie re­quired in a Prince is a ge­nerositie or greatnesse of courage, non leuiter irasci, sed iniurias despicere in­dignas Caesaris irâ, not to bee easily moued, but to despise iniuries that are [Page 90] vnworthy the anger of a Prince.

The third head of prouision.The third head of prouision is the Carriage of the Prince, which re­specteth 1. his person, wherein should bee a ma­iesticall and venerable grauitie marching be­twixt feare and loue; 2. his residence, which should bee in some glori­ous and eminent place, and (if it may be) in the midst of the State; 3. his conuersation and com­pany, which should bee rare, quia maiestati ma­ior ex longinquo reueren­tia, because the rarenesse of a Princes presence pro­cures the greater reue­rence.

The fourth head of prouision is Councell,The fourth head of prouision. wherein a Prince should make vse 1. of such as are honest and faithfull, 2. such as are ancient, ripe, and well experien­ced in the State; 3. such as are free from flatterie, ne cum fortunâ Principis potiùs loquantur quàm cum ipso; 4. such as are con­stant, without opinatiue obstinacie or yeelding to the humour of another; 5. such as are secret. And these Counsellers must be chosen either by the iudgement and know­ledge of the Prince, or by their publike esteeme and reputation.

The fift head of pro­uisionThe fift head of Prouision. [Page 92] is Treasure the si­newes of the State, which consisteth in three points, the foundation, emploiment, reseruation thereof.

For the foundation of the Treasurie these are the meanes, 1. not to alienate the publike re­uenew of the State; 2. to employ well the spoiles made vpon the enemie; 3. presents, tributes, and donations of friends, Al­lies, and subiects; 4. Im­posts vpon merchandise in Dockes and Hauen Townes, prouided first that there bee no trans­portation of things ne­cessary for life, nor of vn­wrought wares, that the [Page 93] Subiects may be furnish­ed and set on worke, se­condly that the stranger bee more charged then the Subiect. And these are the meanes for in­creasing the Treasurie most iust and approued; there are also other meanes, but not so vsuall, as the emploiment of the Exchequer coine to some small profit, and subsidies and loanes of subiects in a time of ne­cessitie; which loanes must be leuied vpon the goods, and not the heads of men, and equally vp­on all, for it is iniustice that some should pay all, and others bee dis­charged.

Concerning the em­ploiment of the Treasu­rie, it should bee for the maintenance of the Kings house, the pay of men of warre, the wages of Officers, the reward of such as deserue well of the Common-wealth, the succour of poore, repai­ring of Cities, fortifying the Frontiers, mending high-wayes, establishing Colledges and publike houses.

For the reseruation of the Treasurie against a time of necessitie, the most profitable and secu­rest way is to lend the coine (as is aforesaid) with some small profit to particular persons vp­on [Page 95] good securitie, and that for a threefold rea­son; because it increaseth the Treasurie, it giues meanes to particular per­sons to traffike, and saues the publike treasure from the pawes of the insinua­ting Courtiers.

The sixt head of pro­uision is an armed pow­er,The sixt head of prouision for a State. which is either ordi­nary or extraordinary; the ordinary is of two sorts, the one for the guard of the Kings per­son, the other certaine companies maintained in a readinesse for such sudden occurrences as may happen: the extra ordinary power is in a time of warre, and con­sisteth [Page 96] in forces & armes, or a certaine number of people well experienced in the warres, to represse a sudden rebellion or commotion, either with­in or without the State.

The last head of prouision for a State.The seuenth and last head of prouision consi­steth in Alliances or Leagues, which are either perpetuall, or limited for a certaine time, or for commerce and traffike only, or else for amitie, to be sworne friends and coadiutors one to the other; and herein it is needfull for a Prince to ioyne in alliance with those that are neighbors and puissant, and not to make the league perpe­tuall, [Page 97] but for certaine yeares, that so he may ei­ther take away or adde to the Articles, or wholly forsake them, or else re­new the league before it be expired, as need shall require.

THe Actiue office of a Prince concerning his gouernment of the State consisteth in the ac­quisition of the loue of the subiects,The actiue office of a Prince. and in au­thoritie; the first is attai­ned by gentlenesse and clemencie in comman­ding, beneficence in pro­uiding plentie of come and victuall for the suste­nance of the meaner people, and liberalitie al­ready [Page 98] handled in the vir­tues of a Prince, which is most needfull in the en­trance to a new State. The second (which is autho­ritie) is attained not by a tyrannicall crueltie, for the Prince to make his will a law, employing all to his owne profit or pleasure, not respecting the publike good, (for this breedeth hatred and contempt, which both proceed from rigour in punishing, or from aua­rice either in exacting too much or giuing too little) but this authoritie is attained and preserued 1. by a discreet seueritie, whereby a good Prince in some cases may doe [Page 99] that which beareth a shew of tyrannie, & crudelis esse medicus in laethali vul­nere; 2. by a couragious constancie or a staied re­solution, enforcing the obseruation of the anci­ent lawes and customes; 3. by holding the sterne of the State, the honour and power of comman­ding, in his owne hand, not referring all to his Councell.

Now this Actiue of­fice of a Prince is either Peaceable or Militarie;The peace­able office of a Prince the Peaceable (by reason of the multiplicitie of af­faires) cannot wholly bee prescribed, but it consist­eth partly in auscultati­on, to be well aduertised [Page 100] of all things by such as are faithfull, wise, and se­cret about him, especi­ally of his honour and duty, his defects, & what is done in the State and among the bordering neighbours; and partly in action, 1. to haue a memoriall of the affaires of the State, of the most worthy and best deser­uing personage, and of the gifts bestowed, to whom, wherefore, and how much; 2. to appoint rewards & punishments, the one must bee done immediately by the Prince, the other subor­dinately by his officers.The mili­tarie acti­on of a Prince.

The Militarie Action of a Prince consisteth in [Page 101] enterprising, making and finishing warre.

To make an enterprize iust,Rules in en­terprising. three things are re­quired: first that it be de­nounced & vndertaken by the Prince: Second­ly, that it bee for a iust cause, whether defensiue for the defence of his life, liberty, country, Allies and confederates: or of­fensiue, proceeding from some former iniury. Thirdly, that it be for a good end, as peace, and quietnesse, or the like.

To make warre,Rules in making warre. three things are required, Mu­nition, Men, and Rules of warre. The principall munitions of warre are Money, Victualls,Munition. and [Page 102] Armes; both defensiue, and offensiue.Men. The men are to assaile and defend, and are eyther Souldiers or Leaders: The Souldi­ers are diuided into foot­men and horse, naturall and strangers, ordinary and subsidiary; and these must be first chosen, then disciplined. In the choice of Souldiers fiue things are to be considered: first that they betaken out of hard places, and accusto­med to all manner of la­bor: secondly, that they be young & lusty: third­ly, of an able body and sufficient stature: fourth­ly, of a bold and resolute spirit: fiftly (if it may be) of an honest condition.

In the discipline of Souldiers two ends are to be proposed, Valour and Manners, to make the Souldiers valiant & ho­nest; to Valour 3. things are needfull. First, daily exercise in Armes, with­out intermission: Se­condly, trauell & paines, to learne to digge, to plant a Pallaside, to order a Barricado, to carry hea­uie burthens, and the like. Thirdly, Order: 1. in the distribution of the troopes into Battali­ons, Regiments, Ensigns Camerads: 2. in the si­tuation of the Campe, diuiding it proportiona­bly into quarters, hauing the places, entries, issues, [Page 104] and lodgings fitted both for horsemen and foote, whereby it may bee easie for euery man to find his quarter and place: 3. in the March in the field a­gainst the enemy, that e­uery one keepe his ranke and bee equally distant one from an other: And this order is most need­full for securing the Ar­mie, and for the facillity of the remoues and com­mands of the Captaines.

To Manners (the se­cond part of warlike dis­cipline) three things are required: 1 Continency, to depresse gluttony, drunkennesse, whoore­dome, and all loose sen­suality in the Souldiers: [Page 105] 2. Modesty in words, to shun all ostentation and brauery of speech: 3. Ab­stinence to keepe their hands from violence, pil­lage and robbery.

This of the Souldiers. The Captains are of two sorts, the Generall, who must be either the Prince himselfe or his deputy; and the Subalterne Lea­ders of Companies. In the Generall this is requi­site: 1. that hee be wise, and well experienced in the Art military: 2. that hee be cold and stayed, free from precipitation and temerity: 3. that hee bee vigilant and actiue, teaching by his owne ex­ample.

The rules of war (be­ing the third thing requi­red to make warre) by reason of the diuers oc­currences cannot be per­petuall and certaine: but the generall aduisements respect eyther the whole time of warre, the fight, the ranged battailes, or the battalles beeing ioy­ned.

Rules of warre.The rules of the whole time of warre are these: 1. carefully to meete the occasions, and to inter­cept the enemy in his: 2. To make profit of ru­mours that flye abroad, but not to bee troubled with them to alter a reso­lution grounded vppon good reason: 3. For ney­ther [Page 107] side to be too confi­dent in his own strength, nor to presume vpon the weaknesse of his enemy, for this breedeth neglect and carelesnesse: 4. To enquire carefully of the enemy; of the nature, capacity, and designe­ments of the Chieftaine; of the nature, manners, and kinde of life of the enemies; of the situati­on of the places, and the nature of the Country.

Touching the fight these circumstances are to be obserued: 1. The time, which must be sel­dome, and in necessity, the viands or treasure fai­ling, the men beginning to distast the wars, or the [Page 108] like: 2. The place, not within his owne territo­ries, vnlesse the enemy be already entered, and then he must not hazard the battell till he haue an other army in supply: and for the field, it must bee considered whether it be fitter for himselfe or the enemy, as the Champion is best for the Caualary, streight and narrow pla­ces set with piles, full of ditches and trees for the Infantery. 3. The man­ner of the fight is to bee considered, and heere the most aduantagious is the best, whether it be by surprize, subtlety, strata­gems, close and convert, fayning to feare, so to en­snare [Page 109] the enemy, or by watching his ouersights, the better to preuaile a­gainst him.

For Ranges of Battailes, these things are required: 1. A comely ordering of the men: 2 A hidden supply alwaies in a readi­nesse to astonish the ene­my vnawares: 3. To be first in the field and ran­ged in battell aray: 4. A cheerefull countenance of the Generall and the Captaines: 5. An orati­on to encourage the souldiers, laying open the honour of valour, and the iustice of their cause.

The Battailes beeing ioyned, if the Army wa­uer, [Page 110] the Generall must a­nimate them by his own example, and discharge the duety of a resolute Leader, and if the fielde be his, hee must stay his Souldiers, least in pursuit of the enemy, they dis­band and scatter them­selues, and so the vanqui­shed gather head and o­uercome them. If he be vanquished, he must not be astonished, but renew his forces, make a new Leuie, put good garri­sons in his strongest pla­ces, and hope to better his fortunes.

The third head of the military action of a Prince.The third head of this Military action is to fi­nish Warre by Peace, which must bee conclu­ded [Page 111] vpon good and ho­nest conditions, & with­out fraud and hypocri­sie; otherwaies it were better to die in the bedde of honour then to serue dishonourably.

The rules heerein re­spect first the vanquished who should continue ar­med and make shew of security and resolution: Secondly, the vanquish­ers, who ought not to be ouer-hardly perswaded to peace: 1. Because an old enemy groweth cun­ning & dangerous: 2. be­cause the continuance of warre is burthensome to the state: 3. Quia tutior certa pax speratâ victoriâ Because a certaine Peace is [Page 112] better then a hoped for vi­ctory.

Prudence required in difficult af­faires and ill accidēts.THe second part of Prudence is Priuate, which respecteth the car­riage both of the Prince, and of priuate men in difficult affaires and acci­dēts, & these affairs & ac­cidents are either publike or priuate, whereof some are to come and threaten vs, and are doubtfull and ambiguous: other present and pressing vs, and are difficult & dangerous.

Ill accidēts to come.In those euils that are to come and threaten vs; the best way to oppose a mans self strongly against the accident, so to breake the necke of it by his vigilancy [Page 113] before it come, or else to resolue with himself patiently to beare whatsoeuer happeneth.

In those that are pre­sent and presse vs (whe­ther it bee some present vnlucky accident,Jll acci­dents pre­sent. or the remembrance of any that is past, or some vio­lent passion that troub­leth) the best way is to diuert a mans thoughts to some other obiect, so hee may lessen, if not ex­tinguish his griefe.

In ambiguous affaire (as in the choice of two things that seeme equally good or euill,Ambigu­ [...]us af­faires. so that the inability to choose the best breedeth anxiety & perplexity) the safest way [Page 114] is to leane to that part that hath most honestie and iustice, as a traueller doubting of the neerest way must take the strai­test.

Dangerous affaires.In difficult and daun­gerous affaires, a man must be both wise to know the nature, and to foresee the euent of the accident, and couragious to auoide it by industrie or aide.

Now of those acci­dents that are difficult and dangerous, some are secret and hidden, others manifest and open: those that are hidden and most dangerous are two,Coni [...]ra­tion. Con­iuration, which is a con­spiracie of one, or many [Page 115] against the person of the Prince, and Treason,Treason. which is a conspiracy or enterprize against a place or company, although we commonly call them Traytors that pretend it to the crowne. Now a Prince must endeuour to preuent these two daun­gerous accidents by these meanes: 1. By Innocen­cie (for this is the best safe-guard of a Prince:) 2. By a subordinate vigi­lancie, that is, by the se­cret enquiry of such as are discreet and faithfull about him, who are his eyes and eares: 3 By ma­king no shew of distrust­ing their plots, but at­tending the euent with­out [Page 116] astonishment: 4. By the rigorous punishment of the cōspirators, which punishments must bee sometimes sudden, if the number bee small and knowne, sometimes dila­tory, to seeke by tortures to know the confede­rates.

Popular commoti­ons.Of those dangerous accidents that are mani­fest, and open, the com­motions of the People are the greatest, and these are of many sorts; when the insurrection is be­tweene themselues, it is eyther a sudden tumult or a faction; when it is against the Prince, th [...] State or Magistrate, it i [...] eyther Sedition, Rebe [...] lion, [Page 117] or ciuill warre.

Sudden Tumults are nothing but commoti­ons of the people raised in a heate,Sudden tumults. and in this case the best way to as­swage the people is to procure some eminent man, reuerenc't for his grauity, place, and repu­tation to speake to the people, first in the smooth calme of mildnesse and perswasion, then (if that preuaile not) in the thun­der of authority.

Faction or Confede­racy is a complot or as­sociation of one against an other among the sub­iects;Faction. arising commonly from ambition or hatred; and in this case (if it bee [Page 118] betweene great houses, cities, or communities) the Prince himselfe must endeuour to make Peace betweene them, eyther by gentle entreaties or threatning, or else ap­point his arbitrators; and if the faction be between great multitudes that wil [...] not bee appeased by iu­stice, the Prince must employ his force to ex­tinguish it.

Sedition.Sedition is a violent commotion of a multi­tude against a Prince or Magistrate, arising com­monly from oppression, [...] feare eyther of oppres­sion or punishment for some hainous offence; sometimes from a licen­tious [Page 119] liberty, sometimes from want and necessity. Now the best meanes to appease this seditious rout are these; first (as it was aduised concerning sudden tumults) to cause men of authority to shew themselues and speak vn­to them, who must ende­uour to dissolue them by hope and feare, drawing vnto them (if that helpe not) some few of them vnder hand by secret re­wards and promises, so to haue intelligence of their carriages and purposes, yeelding to the rest in doubtfull termes some part of their demaund, which may afterwards iustly bee reuoked. Se­condly [Page 120] to astonish them with the sight of an ar­med power, but not to depresse them so, vnlesse necessity compell.

Rebellion.Rebellion is an insur­rection of the people a­gainst the Prince because of his tyrannie, eyther in his wrongfull vsurpation of the Crowne, or his vn­iust and violent domina­tion and gouernment a­gainst the Lawes and cu­stomes, though somtimes but supposed. Now if a Prince feare rebellion, the best remedy is to shun the cause: therefore let him bee wise as a Ser­pent, but innocent as a Doue.

Ciuill war.Ciuill warre is a presse [Page 121] or conduct of Armes by the subiects, arising from one of these popular publique commotions, which hath now fortified it selfe, and gotten an or­dinarie trayne and forme of war; And it hath two causes, the one secret and vnknowne, the other the generall corruption of manners, whereby men of base and dissolute con­dition care not to ouer whelm themselues in the ruine of the State. Now to extinguish this fire­brand of a State, there are but two meanes, agree­ment, and victory; the latter is dangerous: And the other is not alwaies safe as without great cau­tion. [Page 122] This is of the carri­age of the Prince in these dangerous commotions of the people.How par­ticular persons should car­ry them­selues in these pub­like diui­sions. Now pri­uate persons in these po­pular and publike com­motions and insurrections may carrie them­selues after a twofolde manner, eyther as par­takers, and then (if they bee men of publike charge and credit) they ought to ioyn themselues to the better part; or else they may carrie them­selues as no partakers, and then (if they be pri­uate men of a lower de­gree) the best way is to retire themselues to some peaceable and secure place during the diuisi­on, [Page 123] carrying themselues eyther as commons, in their wordes and actions beeing offensiue to ney­ther part; or as Media­tors arbitrating friendly and indifferentlie be­tween them: And in this case a man must be ney­ther a Neuter nor a Pro­thee.

Now in Priuate dissen­tions betweene man and man,How in priuate dissentions. it is easie for one to carry himselfe loyallie, if hee ingage not himselfe more to one then the o­ther, and report nothing but things indifferent, that may serue in com­mon to both parts.

Iustice.THE second virtue whereby wee must guide our selues is Iustice, which teacheth how to giue to euery one his due; this respecteth the Persons, and compriseth our duty towards God, our selues, and our neigh­bour. Our duty towards God I haue already tou­ched in the tract of pietie.The duty of man towards himselfe. Our duty towards our selues is contained tho­rowout this whole booke; in the first part shewing the knowledge of our selues; in the se­cond prescribing the ge­nerall rules of wisdome; and more particularly in this last part, especially [Page 125] in the subsequent virtues of Fortitude and Tempe­rance. But more exactly the duty of man towards himselfe consisteth in gouerning his Spirit, his Body, his Goods. The motions of the spirit are reduced to two, to thinke and desire, proceeding from the iudgement and the will: therefore wee must be carefull to go­uerne these two well. First the vnderstanding, kee­ping it from sottishnesse and childish vanities, and from fantasticall and ab­surd opinions; secondly the will, subduing it to the nod of reason, not suffering it to be led by opinion, passion, sense.

For the Body (in as much as the Spirit is to it as the husband to the wife) wee owe it our care and assistance; wee must therefore nourish, not pamper it, making the Spirit Lord ouer it, not a Tyrant, not a Seruant.

Concerning Goods or riches, wee ought to ga­ther, to keepe, to employ them well; 1. desiring, not louing them; 2. see­king them, but not by bad meanes or the dam­mage of another; 3. not reiecting them entring at an honest gate, but recei­uing them willingly into our houses, not our Tem­ples; 4. employing them honestly and discreetly [Page 127] to the good of our selues and others; 5. not grie­uing if they bee lost or stollen, but suffering them to depart by them­selues, not with our hearts.

Our duty towards our neighbour is either gene­rall containing the com­mon duties of all towards all,The duty of man towards man. or particular contai­ning the particular duties of seuerall persons by speciall obligation.Common duties. The generall duty of all to­wards al comprehendeth Amitie and Friendship, and the offices thereof, which are Faith and Fi­delitie, Veritie and free Admonition, Benefits and Thankfulnesse.

Amitie & friendship.Amitie or Friendship by the Ancients is distin­guished into naturall, so­ciable, hospitall, and vene­reous; by the Modernes otherwayes, first in re­spect of the causes of it, which are Nature, Vir­tue, Profit, Pleasure; se­condly in respect of the persons, and that in three kindes; either in a direct line betweene Superiours and Inferiours, as be­tweene Parents and Chil­dren, Princes and Sub­iects, Tutors and Pupils, Masters and Seruants, which cannot properly be called Friendship, be­cause of the disparitie and obligation betweene them, which hindereth [Page 129] familiar communication and inwardnesse; or in a collaterall line betweene equals, which is either Naturall, betweene bro­thers, sisters, and cousins, (which is likewise imper­fect by reason of the bond of nature) or Vo­luntarie betweene friends and companions, and this is truly friendship. Or else it is mixt and matri­moniall, which is partly in a direct line because of the superioritie of the husband and the inferio­ritie of the wife, and partly in a collaterall line, being both compa­nions and equals; and this is also imperfect, both by reason of the ne­cessitie [Page 130] and constraint of the bond after mariage, and the weaknesse of the wife, who is no way corre­spondent in conference and communication, of thoughts & iudgements. Thirdly Friendship is di­stinguished in respect of the degrees and intenti­on of it, and so there is a Common and a Perfect Friendship; the Com­mon is quickly attained, the Perfect in a long time; that may bee be­tweene many, this onely betweene two: the one is capable of restraints and exceptions, according to their presence, absence, merits, good deeds, and the like; the other is al­wayes [Page 131] the same; the first is attained (as some haue obserued) by speaking things pleasant and do­ing things profitable, the latter onely by a liuely and reciprocall virtue: so that Common Friend­ship is nothing but fami­liaritie or a priuate ac­quaintance, but the true and Perfect consisteth in a sympathie of humours and wils, with one onely who is another selfe, and betweene two that are but one. And it is a free and vniuersall confusion of two soules: the words are emphaticall; 1. a confu­sion of foules, importing the inseparabilitie of the vnion betwixt them, [Page 132] 2. free and voluntarie, built vpon the pure choice of the will, with­out any other obligati­on; 3. vniuersall, with­out exception of goods, honours, iudgements, thoughts, wils, and life it selfe.

Faith and Fidelitie.Now follow the offi­ces of Friendship; the first is Fidelitie or Faith, which is a closet of the secrets of another; and it respecteth first the per­sons, both him that gi­ueth faith, of whom is re­quired that he haue pow­er to doe it either of him­selfe or by the leaue and approbation of his ma­ster, and also him to whom it is giuen, who [Page 133] must carefully keepe it [...]nlesse he receiue it not, or the other breake first: [...]econdly the subiect of this faith is to be conside­red, which must bee of things iust and possible; thirdly the manner of gi­uing and receiuing it, which must be volunta­rily and freely, and with­out fraud, treacherie, or surprise.

The second office of Friendship is a true and free Admonition,Veritie and free admo­nition. where­in are to bee considered the time, place, and man­ner of admonishing; 1. the time, not in a time of mirth, for this were to trouble, nor of griefe and aduersitie, for this [Page 134] were to heape sorrow vp­on affliction, frangere, non emendare; 2. the place, which must be in secret, not before com­pany; 3. the manner of admonishing, which must be 1. without passi­on, 2. without flatterie and dissimulation, out of an honest carelesse na­ture and freedome of heart; 3. vsing generall tearmes, and compre­hending a mans selfe in the same fault; 4. expres­sing the fault in better words then the nature of the offence doth require; 5. to beginne with com­mendations, and end with profers of seruice and helpe, and not to be [Page 135] gone as soone as the ad­monition is ended, but to stay and fall into some common and pleasant discourse.

The third office of Friendship consisteth in benefits, obligation,Benefits & thankeful­nesse. and thankfulnesse; these three are linkt one in the other, and may well bee comprised in this word Obligation, which com­prehendeth liberalitie, friendship, almesdeedes, and whatsoeuer is chari­table and humane. For there is an Actiue and a Passiue obligation; the Actiue bindeth Parents, Princes, and Superiours (either by law or nature) to doe good to them that [Page 136] are committed to their charge, and generally those that haue meanes to helpe them that are in want. Now there is a two-fold manner of be­nefiting or doing good; by profiting, and by plea­sing; so are there two sorts of good turnes, the one duties proceeding from this naturall or lawfull obligation, the other free and voluntarie good deeds done out of pure affection: and of these benefits or good turnes such are most wel­come as proceed either from one whom a man is inclined to loue without this occasion, or such as come from one that is [Page 137] bound to the receiuer, o [...] such as may bee easily re­quited. Now in doing a good turne these rules are to be obserued, 1. to doe it willingly and from a heartie affection; 2. wisely, without ostentati­on, without the offence of another; 3. speedily, when there is neede; 4. without hope of restitu­tion; 5. according to the intent of the receiuer, and then if it bee to succour his want, weaknesse, shame, or necessitie, it must be done priuately; 6. not to repent of his good deed; 7. not to ob­iect it to the receiuer, not to twit him or hit him in the teeth with it, as [Page 138] the vulgar speake.

The other part of an obligation is Passiue, which is nothing but a thankfulnesse for a bene­fit receiued; and herein a man must obserue foure things; 1. to receive the benefit cheerefully, 2. al­wayes to remember it, 3. to publish it, 4. to make a recompence; which must bee done 1. willing­ly, 2. not too speedily, but vpon some good oc­casion; 3. with vsurie, sur­passing the benefit recei­ued, yet alwayes acknow­ledging a mans selfe in­debted; 4. if a man bee vnable to requite, to shew alwayes testimonies of his thankfulnesse.

The second part of our duty towards our Neigh­bour is speciall,Speciall duties. including the particular duties re­quired betweene seuerall persons by speciall obli­gation; and these duties are either Priuate or Publike, the Priuate re­spect the iustice obserued [...]n Families betweene the Husband and the Wife, Parents and Children, Masters and Seruants.

The duties betweene [...]he man and the wife are [...]ither common & equall [...]o both,The duty of maried folkes. consisting in an [...]ntire loyaltie, fidelitie, [...]ommunitie, care and au­thoritie ouer their fa­milie and the goods of [...]e house, and communi­cation [Page 140] of all things, on Particular, respecting first themselues, secondly their domesticall hus­bandrie.

The hus­bands dutyFirst of the husband this is required, to in­struct his wife in those things that concerne he [...] duty, her honour, he [...] good; to loue, to nourish to cloath her, to cohabi [...] with her.The wifes duty. Secondly, o [...] the wife this is required to honour her husban [...] as her Lord, to humou [...] him, to bee obedient i [...] things iust and lawfull, t [...] keepe the house, to employ her time in the practise of huswifery, and t [...] be silent, that is, not ta [...] katiue, but to learne ho [...] [Page 141] and when to speake. Thirdly in domesticall or houshold husbandrie this is expedient,Houshold husbandry. 1. to buy and sell all things at the best times and sea­sons; 2. to prouide first for necessitie, cleanlines, order; 3. to take care that the goods of the house be not spoiled nor lost; 4. to learne to make a good shew with a little cost; 5. for a man to know pre­cisely the value of his meanes, and to liue vnder his estate; 6. to haue an eye and care ouer all, for the eye of the Master sats the horse and the land.

The duty of Parents and Children is recipro­cally naturall,The duty of parents. and hath [Page 142] respect first to the Pa­rents, secondly to the Children. The duty o [...] Parents respecteth 1 [...] their Infancie, 2. their Youth, 3. their Carriage towards them at mens and womens estate.

In the Infancie of the childe this must bee ob­serued, 1. the nurse must bee either the mother (which is most naturall) or a woman that is young and of a hot and dri [...] complexion; 2. it mus [...] be fed with creame so [...] with hony and a little salt; 3. it must bee accu­stomed by little and little to the aire, to heat and cold.

In the Youth of the [Page 143] childe, as soone as it is able to goe and speake, and the faculties of the minde are awakened, (which beginne about the fourth or fift yeare) it is the duty of the Pa­rent to instruct it well, and to season this new vessell with a good and wholesome tincture. Now these instructions are either Common or Particular; the Com­mon are these, 1. carefully to guard the eyes and eares of the childe, that none speake or doe any thing that is euill in his sight or hearing; 2. to procure good Tutors or Instructors, who must bee fuller of wisdome [Page 144] then Pedanticall science, and such as accord in opinion and their man­ner of proceeding, teach­ing mildly without seue­ritie and rigour. Now there is no better way of instruction then often to examine the scholler, and to make him giue his opinion, and after­wards a reason of his opi­nion: and touching the bookes to bee read, they must be of noble and se­rious matters teaching the knowledge of our humane condition, and such as reforme the will and direct the iudge­ment, teaching the dif­ference betweene passi­on and virtue, what to [Page 145] flie, what to desire.

The Particular instru­ctions of youth consist in the forming of the spirit, the ordering of the body, the ruling of the manners. In forming the spirit of the childe a man must aime both at the End and the Meanes of instruction. The end of instruction is to build vp the minde in knowledge, honestie, virtue, wise­dome; and the aduise­ments in this point are two, first not to endeuour so much to inflame the imagination and stuffe the memorie, as to con­forme the iudgement and the will; but to studie more for wisdome then [Page 146] science, because wisdome is farre better then sci­ence, and because these two are much different, especially by reason of the contrarietie of their temperatures, for science is in the memorie, which requireth a moist temper of the braine, wisdome in the vnderstanding which requireth it to bee drie: so that science is nothing but an accumulation of an acquired good, or a collection of what is seene, heard, read; but wisdome is the rule of the soule, the guide of our thoughts, desires, opini­ons, words, actions. The second aduice in this point is this; not to ga­ther [Page 147] the opinions and knowledge of other men for ostentation or report, but for profit, to make them his owne, as the Bee extracts the hony from the flower; and in reading other mens writings not to taske the memorie to retaine the leafe, the place, the chapter, but the summe and marrow of the booke. Now of Sciences the best are the Naturall that shew what wee are, and the Morall that shew what we should bee, vnder which are con­tained the Oeconomickes, Politickes, Histories.

The Meanes of in­struction (which is the second thing to be consi­dered [Page 148] in forming the minde of the scholler) is two fold, the one by word of mouth, and that either by precepts or conference; the other by example, both from the good by imitation, and from the bad by dissen­ting from them in opini­on and life. And these two wayes of profiting by speech and example are drawne either from the liuing by discourse and frequentation of their company, or from the dead by reading their bookes.

In ordering the Body these are the rules, 1. to keepe the childe from pride and delicacy in ap­parell; [Page 149] 2. to vse him to a moderation in sleeping, eating and drinking; 3. to accustome him to heate and cold, labour and paines.

In ruling the Manners a man must take care to rate vp in his child those things that are euill, cor­recting in him first all swearing, lying, sottish shame, hiding the face, houlding downe the head, blushing at euery question, and weeping at euery sharpe worde: Se­condly all affectation in habit, speech, gate, and gesture: Thirdly all ob­stinate sullennesse, that the childe neuer haue his will by froward or per­uerse [Page 150] meanes.

And as a man must ex­tinguish the euill, so hee must endeuour to kindle in his childe the sparkes of goodnesse, ingrafting in his heart, first the feare of God, by making him reuerence his name, and admire his wisdome, his power, his workes; se­condly ingenuity & in­tegrity, teaching him to bee honest for the loue of vertue, and not for any sinister respect; thirdly, modesty in behauiour towards all, whether they bee his su­periours, equals, or infe­riours eyther in conditi­on or sufficiencie; fourth­ly, affability in company [Page 151] to carry himselfe courte­ously towards all, yet let him know euen the most licentious behauiors, but teach him to abstaine, not for want of courage, but will.

In the carriage of Pa­rents toward their chil­dren at mens & womens estate (which is the fourth and last point of their du­ty) it behooues them to receiue their children (if they bee discreet and ca­pable) into their society and part of their goods, and to admitt them into their councell, their opi­nions, thoughts, design­ments, & the knowledge of their worldly affaires; not practising the austere [Page 152] fashion of some parents, that alwaies keepe their children vnder their gir­dle; they carry them­selues seuerely towards them, restraine them of liberty, pinch them in al­lowance, and vpon euery displeasing occasion euer fright, them with the bug beare of a small annuity after their decease, so to keepe them in awe and subiection: But this is the way for a man to bee feared, not loued of his children, and to shew himselfe a Tyrant, not a Father.

The duty of chi [...]dren.Now the duty of chil­dren towards their Parents consisteth princi­pallie in 5. points, 1. To [Page 153] reuerence them both out­wardly in speech, coun­tenance, and gesture, and inwardly in opinion and estimation: 2. To obey them in all commands that are iust and honest; 3. To succour them in want, sicknesse, age, and impotency if neede shall require; 4. To attempt nothing in marriage, or any other matter of im­portance without their consent and aduise; 5. To beare with their testie hu­mours & imperfections, & to endure gently thei [...] seuerity and rigour.

The duties of Masters and Seruants are these,The duty of masters. 1. the Master must seeke to be more beloued then [Page 154] feared of his seruants; 2. to haue an eye ouer them; 3. to instruct them in matters of religion; 4. to vse them gently, not cruelly; and yet it is needfull for a Master of a family sometimes to bee angry with his seruants obseruing these conditi­ons; 1. that it bee not of­ten, nor vpon slight oc­casions; 2. that it be not in a murmuring or ray­ling manner behind their backes, nor vpon vncer­tainties; 3. that it be spee­dily in the nicke of the offence, and serious with­out commixture of laughter, that so it may bee a profitable chastisement for what is past, & a war­ning [Page 155] for what is to come. And for Seruants,The duty of seruants. their duty is; 1. to honour and feare their Masters; 2. to bee industrious and pro­uident for their good; 3. to be faithfull and tru­stie; 4. not to reply and multiply words.

THis of the priuate iu­stice required in Fa­milies, between the Hus­band and the Wife, Pa­rents and Children, Ma­sters and Seruants: The other is Publike in a Common-weale, con­cerning the duty of Prin­ces and Subiects, of Ma­gistrates, Great and Smal.

The duety of a Prince is already sufficiently [Page 156] handled in the tract of politick Prudence, shew­ing his office both Praeparatiue and Actiue.The duty of subiects. The duty of Subiects consist­eth principally in three points, 1. to honour their Prince as Gods vice-ge­rent; 2. to obey his au­thority, to go to the wars to pay tributes and im­posts, and to conforme themselues to all things that are iustly required by the lawes & customes; 3. to pray for the preser­uation of his person, his prosperity and happines.

The duty of Magi­strates.The duety of Magi­strates followeth, in whom is required both honesty, to keepe them from auarice, bribes, and [Page 157] respect of persons, and courage to withstand the commands of great men, the entreaties of friends, and the teares of the di­stressed: Their duety re­specteth the Prince and priuate men: their duty towards the Prince con­sisteth in obeying his e­dicts and commands, ey­ther readily, slowly, or not at all. In those com­mands that are iust and indifferēt in themselues, or those that giue to the Magistrate acknowledg­ment and allowance with a warrātable clause, there the Magistrate is to obey readily. In those that in­clude a clause derogato­rie, where the Prince by [Page 158] his authority doth dero­gate from the law, there hee must also obey, but not so readily. In those that haue no derogatory clause, but are wholly preiudiciall to the Com­monwealth, hee ought to resist once or twice, and not obey before the se­cond or third command. But in those that are re­pugnant to the Lawes of God and nature, he must not obey at all, but rather leaue his office, then ship­wracke his conscience.

The duety of Magi­strates▪ towards priuate men is this; to be alwaies at hand, to be of easie ac­cesse, to heare al indiffe­rently as well poore as [Page 159] rich, and to be impartiall in the execution of iu­stice.

The duty of great and small,The duty of the great respecteth first the Great or Superiours, se­condly the small or infe­riours. The duty of the great is to spend their bloud and ability for the defence of Piety, Iustice, the Prince, the State, and Weale-publike, and to protect the poor and op­pressed against the vio­lence of the wicked, for this maketh them both beloued and adored.

The duty of inferiors consisteth in this;The duty of the small first to reuerence their superiors, both ceremonially in outward shew (which is [Page 160] done as well to the bad as the good) and inwardly in loue and affection; and so they ought to reue­rence only them that de­serue well of the comon­wealth: secondly, it is the duty, or rather the wisdome of Inferiours to insinuate by honest meanes into the fauour of great men, for the pro­uerbe, saith well, A friend in Court is worth a penny in purse.

THe two last vertues whereby wee must guide our selues are For­titude and Temperance, these haue respect to the Accidents, Fortitude to [Page 161] the euill accidents of ad­uersity, gouerning the irascible part of our soule, and Temperance to the seeming good of prospe­rity, ruling the concupis­cible part.

Fortitude is not (as some suppose) a loue of dangers,Fortitude described. or a desire of dreadfull things (for this is temerity) neither doth it consist in the bignesse of lookes or words, nor in Art and cunning, nor the strength of the limbs (for so a swaggering Braggadochio, a Fencer, a horse might be valiant) but in the resolute cou­rage of the heart & will, presupposing the know­ledge of all difficulties [Page 162] and dangers, as well mi­litary as other, and as wel the danger of the action and the discretion of the execution as the iustice of the cause. So that Forti­tude is a strong resoluti­on of the minde against all dolorous, difficult, and dangerous accidents whatsoeuer, grounded vpon the honesty and iu­stice of the enterprise.

Fortitude in out­ward euilsNow the ill accidents about which Fortitude is busied, are eyther Exter­nall, which are aduersi­ties, afflictions, iniuries, or internall, which are Passions. The externa [...]l or outward euils must be considered in their cau­ses, in their effects, and [Page 163] distinctly in themselues. The causes of them are eyther the iustice and an­ger of God, or the act of an other: Those that pro­ceed immediately from the hand of God are commonly generall con­cerning many at the same instant, as pesti­lence, famine, tyranny, and the like; these are the yron scourges of the Al­mighty, therefore I omit them as comming from a supernaturall cause; But the best aduise in these e­uils is to turne to God by speedy and harty repen­tance, and to cease our wickednesse, that he may cease his plagues. Those euils that proceede from [Page 164] from the Act of an other are eyther such as crosse a mans affaires, or wrong his Person, eyther in word or deede. And the best aduice in this point is to respect first our selues, to carry ourselues honestly, wisely, & with­out passion, that we giue an other no aduantage a­gainst vs; Secondly, the person that offends vs; and then (if it be a foole) it's wisdome not to con­tend with him, but to leaue him to his folly; if it be a man of discretion, wee must consider whe­ther hee doth it out of malice or ignorance, and vse him accordingly.

Secondly, wee must [Page 165] consider these outward euils in their effects, which are eyther gene­rall or particular: their generall effects are for the publike good, as pesti­lence and famine are like a purge or a bloud letting in a corrupted body for the preseruation of the whole; Their particular effects are diuers accor­ding to the diuersity of spirits vpon whom they fall: to the good they are a schoole of instruction; to the penitent a fatherly rodde, a bridle to keepe them from falling; to the reprobate a sickle to cut them of, confusion and perdition.

Thirdly, these out­ward [Page 166] euils must be consi­dered distinctly in them­selues, and so wee may note seuen kindes of ac­cidents which the world tearmeth principally e­uill, sicknesse, captiuity, bannishment, pouerty, lesse of friends, infamy, death.

Sicknesse.Sicknesse is a priuati­on of health; and heerein the best remedy is to en­dure it patiently, 1. be­cause it is naturall and in­cident to our humane weakenes; 2. because it is eyther short if it bee vio­lent, and then it is quick­ly ended; or the paine but moderate if it bee long, and then it may be easily endured: 3. be­cause it is but the body [Page 167] that suffereth.

Captiuity:Captiuitie. imprison­ment is a priuation of liberty, and heerein a man must likewise remembe [...] that it is but the body, the clogge and prison of the soule that is impriso­ned, the spirit remaining alwaies free and at li­berty.

Banishment or exile is a priuation of home-dwelling,Banishmēt. this a man may easily indure if hee consider first that it is but a change of the place, et omne solum sapi­enti patria, euery place to a wise man is his owne coun­try; Secondly, that in ex­ile a man leaues behinde him but the goods of [Page 168] fortune, not those of the minde nor body: now a wise man carrieth all his goods with him, his ver­tue, honesty, wisedome, sufficiency; these are properly a mans owne, from which he cannot be banished.

Pouertie.Pouerty is the want of meanes or maintenance; now there is a twofold want, the one of things necessary for nature, which befalleth v [...]y few (for nature is [...]tent with a little) the o [...]er of superfluities, for p [...]mpe, pleasure, delicacy; And in this want of pouerty, the best way is to be con­tent with that which ne­cessity constraineth, li­benter [Page 169] velle quod ipsa cogit; and this a man may the better doe if he consider first that hee came poore into the world (& there­fore. it is iniustice to grudge if hee depart so) secondly that pouerty is a secure estate, being free from the affaires, cares, incumbrances that ac­company riches.

Infamy is the impeach­ment of a mans honour,Infamie. worth [...] good name; and in this case it is best to conte [...]ne the bad cen­sure of the people, be­cause enuy neuer speakes well, and because it is the companion of vertue.

Losse of friends is aLosse of friends. priuation of the society [Page 170] of Parents, wife, children or any that are neere and deere vnto vs. And in this case it behooues vs not to grieue excessiuely for the losse of any, first because our plaints, our greefe, our teares are vn­effectuall; secondly be­cause we may gaine new friends by our honesty and vertue: for hee that hath these, neuer wants friends.

Death.Death is nothing but a priuation of life, whereof I haue spoken sufficient­ly in the frst fruite of wis­dome.

Fortitude in inward euils.THis of outward e­uils: the other about which Fortitude is busi­ed [Page 171] are inward euils ari­sing from the former; these are passions; feare, griefe, effeminate pitty, cho­lor, enuy, reuenge, iealousie.

Against Feare the best remedies are these: first,Against feare. not to looke for the euil, nor to looke for it before it come because it is but a casuall accident, & there­fore vncertaine to come, or not to come vpon vs: secondly, to arme our selues to endure it stout­ly if it come: and the better to doe this, a man must often giue vnto himselfe the false allarum of a worse supposed dan­ger, and thinke how hee could beare it, and how others haue borne more [Page 172] difficult and grieuous e­uils.

Against Griefe.Against Griefe we must practise this, first to con­temne the occasion of it as a thing vnworthy to molest vs, secondly ab­ducere animum, to leade the minde out of the way, & to diuert our thoughts from the cause of our griefe to some other ob­iect.

Against Pittie.Against Pittie or effe­minate compassion wee must learne to respect both the person and the cause that should moue vs to pittie; secondly (if there bee neede) to suc­cour him, but not to suf­fer with him, not to trou­ble our selues with the [Page 173] care, the griefe, the mise­rie of another.

Against Choler the re­medies are three;Against Choler. first to shunne the causes and oc­casions thereof, especi­ally these, tendernesse and delicatenesse, curio­sitie, lightnesse of beleefe, and a conceit of being slighted, contemned, or abused by another: se­condly to employ the meanes against the occa­sion of choler when it is offered; that is, to keepe our bodies in a cold tem­per, our selues silent and solitarie, and to vse delay in beleeuing, and iudge­ment in resoluing: third­ly to consider the grace­fulnesse of mildnesse and [Page 174] clemencie in others, and the hatefull inconueni­ence of the actions of them that are in choler.

Against Hatred & Enuie.Against Hatred and Enuie (for these are of affinitie) we must consi­der well what it is that we hate or enuie in another, and learne to turne our hate into pittie, our enuy into reioycing; because what wee hate in another we would be sorry for in our selues, and what wee enuie in other, in our selues we would willingly embrace.

Against ReuengeAgainst Reuenge there are two remedies, the first is to haue recourse vnto Clemencie to learne how to pardon, the second is [Page 175] a hardy and couragious insensibilitie of suffering wrongs; which wee may shew either by doing good to the offender, or by scorning him and the offence as vnworthy to vrge vs to impatience, to reuenge.

Against Iealousie that proceeds from a mans wife the best remedies are these,Against Iealousie. first for a man to be honest himselfe, lest he giue his wife a iust cause to requite him; se­condly not to be distrust­full of her, vnlesse hee know her disloyall; thirdly (if he know it) to seeme to the world to take no notice of it, but to endure it patiently, be­cause [Page 176] it is a common in­firmitie, and his wifes fault, not his owne.

Temperāce described.THe last virtue where­by wee must guide our selues is. Tempe­rance, which is a discreet moderation and gouern­ment of our selues in things that please and de­light: this virtue teach­eth how to carry our selues well in prosperitie, pleasure, eating and drin­king, apparell, carnall copu­lation, glory, speech.

Rules in prosperitie and plea­sure.Of Prosperitie and Pleasure I haue already spoken in the second and third offices of wisdome: all that I here desire to [Page 177] inculcate is this; In pro­speritie not to forget our selues, not to bee puffed vp, not to presume; and concerning pleasure, to vse it like physicke, and to take it as men doe ho­ny, with the tip of the finger, not with a full hand; that is, not immo­derately, not enthralling our selues to our plea­sures, not making of plea­sure an occupation, not of sport and recreation a toile or necessitie.

In eating and drinking the aduisements are these,Eating & drinking. first to vse no curious di­et, but mirth at meales instead of delicates and iuncats, sine arte mensa, & plus salis quàm sumptus; [Page 178] secondly to eat & drinke moderately, not to bee suffocated, stuffed, nor filled with meats and drinkes; because nature is sufficed with a little, because a full panch makes a man vnapt for any good worke, and be­cause the excesse in eat­ing and drinking (especi­ally in the latter) con­founds the memorie, duls the vnderstanding, dis­tempers the body, and is the capitall cause of ma­ny diseases.

Apparell.Concerning apparell, it behoues vs to vse it as a couering for our na­kednesse, and a shelter against the rigour of the weather, not for pride, [Page 179] and in a word nec faciles & vsitatas negligere mun­ditias, nec appetere delica­tas; we must neither neg­lect vsuall and frugall neatnesse, nor follow the pompe, delicacie, curi­ositie, nor the fantasticall extrauagancie of the fa­shion.

In Carnall pleasure or copulation (which is a thing most naturall,Carnall co­pulation. and therefore hard to bee re­strained) the best aduise­ments are these, first to keepe our selues from the alluring baits of beautie, for this is a good helpe both to a virgin and a coniugall continencie; secondly to attaine this pleasure by good and [Page 180] honest meanes; thirdly to vse it moderately and chastely, for a man may commit adulterie with his wife.

Glory and ambition.Concerning Glory or Ambition (which is cal­car virtutis, the pricke and spurre of virtue) the best precept is this; To vnder­take no good, beautifull, or honourable attempt, so much for glory as for the loue of virtue; for our owne conscience is a bet­ter witnesse of our acti­ons then the opinion of the people; and virtue in it selfe is worthy and rich enough, and brings re­ward sufficient with it selfe.

Speech.Last of all, in our [Page 181] speech it will be expedi­ent to obserue these rules; first to speake lit­tle, and that truly, mo­destly, and without affe­ctation and passion; se­condly to speake seri­ously, not of friuolous things, not of things la­sciuious, not of our owne actions; thirdly to speake plausibly, without of­fence, without detracti­on, without mockerie; fourthly to haue the tongue in the heart, not the heart in the tongue.