BEfore all thinges / seing it lyeth not in the power of man to drawe the harte of any one vnto the faith of one god although any mā shulde passe in persuading Pericies / but it lyeth only in god the hea­uenly father / who doth drawe vs vnto him. And yet nothwythstandyng / ac­cording vnto the saying of the Apostle / faith is by hearing (so that the hearing be the worde of God) not truly that the preaching of the worde is of so great force / ex­cept the spirite working in vs / g ue vs ad­uertisement vnto the same. And therfore faith must be instilled with moost pure wordes / and moost vsed to procede from the mouth of God / And prayers ioyned [Page] vnto the same must be made vnto hym / who onely doth make the faithfull / that whome we teache with worde / he maie il­luminate the same with his spirit.

And perchaunce it shall not be alienate from the purpose of Christe / if we bring the same into the knowledge of God / yea / by thinges that are visible. As if we call before oure eyes / the ingent of the vniuer­sall worlde / declarīg or shewing with our finger / that all thinges are subiect vnto alteration / but it is necessary that he be im­mutable / and not moued / the which hath cōciled all thīgs / (seing they be so diuerse) in so firme ande marvailous a concorde. Ande againe it ought not to be suspected that he that hath disposed al thinges with so great a prouidence / will he after neglect his owne handy worke / for as moch as a­mongest mortall men / it is imputed as a vice or blame / if any man be not diligēt or carefull in the thing that apparteineth vnto his house.

Of this / the same our dearlīg shall lear­ne the pouidence of God / who careth for all thinges / disposeth all thinges and pre­serueth [Page] all thinges. For of the two sparrowes that are bought for a farthīge / the o­ne falleth not vppō the grounde vnto vs / without his counsell. Who also hath nō ­bred the heares of oure heades / nothinge vtterly is left out of this care. Wherby it is manifest that the same doth determine [...] not onely of thīges wherof the soule hath nede / but also the body / seing we see the Rookes so liberally to be entre [...]eined by the same / ande the lilies also so gally to be [...]ladde.

Hitherto / the minde being rightly fur­nisshed or instructed of the prouidence of god / it cā not be that it may be at any time carefull / or oute of ordre stryken with co­uetuousnes. The whiche affect if in our tendre age we cut from vs than [...]a [...]e we delyuered the minde from a great daūge­rous and hurtefull plage.

He shall knowe truly that God is not onely a lorde / but also a father of all those that beleue in him / that is / of those that trust in him and that he desyreth that we shall come with as moch haste vnto hym / to craue for helpe / as vnto the parent or [Page] father that hath begotten vs / ande with his propre wordes hath promised helpe / because certeynly he loueth to be prayed.

Wherfore if the sycknes eyther of min­de or of body do vexe or greue the / the re­medye must be obteyned from him / if thy ennemy do trouble the / if envie do oppres­se the / thou must runne vnto hym. If we covet wisdome or learnīg we must wowe him for them / yea bothe wife and children are also to be desired at his hand.

If the increase of goodes ād honoures come a litle to plentyfully vnto vs / we must desyre of hym / that he wyll not suf­fer our mynd to be made to tendre wyth them or effemyna [...]e / ande so to be brought oute of the right waye.

What nede many wordes? generally / he shall knowe that all thinges are to be asked of him and he shall thinke it a wrōg / to aske any thinge of him / that shall not be condecent for him to parforme / ād fynal­ly he shalbe a shamed eyther to couet or to haue any thyng the which by hym is not laufull / and he shall onely get and laye vp in treasure those thinges that maketh mē [Page] truly happie.

He shall vnderstand the mistery of the Gospell this waies / he shall knowe befo­re all other thinges the state of the fyrst manne / that is to saye / howe he through death is deade againe / howe after that he had trāsgressed the precept of God / he in­fected by his transgresse all his posterite. For the dead can not beget the lyuysh / nei­ther haue we euer sene a blacke morian borne amōgest Inglishmē. Wherby / this our frende shall know also his disease.

Also by this he doth knowe / if he do vn­derstand howe we do all thinges by the motions of our affectes / howe God truly is farre of from them. Wherby it follo­weth vndoubtedly / that we also shulde be moost clere without all affectes if we shal desire to dwell with God. For like as eue­ry innocent / hath nothing to do with tho­se that are moost geuen vnto myschefe / ād cōtrary the wicked can not abide the iust. For as those that are of the nature of Ne­ro do bidde and commaund other like vn­to Seneca to be handeled / euen so of the contrarie / the same tumbe doth hyde or couer [Page] the Emyans with the S [...]pians / so none other shall inhabit with God / than he that is wythout spot ande holy / as God hym self is holy / ande indued with the purenes of harte. For blessed are the pure in harte because they shall see God. But howe shall we get so great an Inno­cency / the which are nedged round [...] abou­te with moost impure affectes? we being here [...] betwixt the hammer and the stithe for so moch as God doth require so great an innocencie / we beyng corrupted / can of our selues do nothīg but vice / whether we will or not we are compelled to yelde vnto God and to permit all thinges vnto his grace. Here springeth the light of the Gospell.

When we are inclosed wyth these stra­yghtes / Christ doth take vs oute / the whi­che hath deliuered vs farre better / than a­ny great God of the Gentyles that was thought to preserue them / aboue all thin­ges / erecting the conscience nere vnto des­peration / ande sone after when by moost assured hope he hath ioyned the same vnto hym / makyng it fortunate. For seyng he [Page] is most clere without all blotte of all cor­rupted affectes conceiued truly of the ho­lighoost / and borne of a pure virgin. First to deliuer vs he did sett forth this his in­nocency for vs. For truly he suffered oure labours and paynes / ande afterwarde he maketh those which vndoubtedly beleue thys / blessed.

For he that shall beleue this lyberall pardon / graunted of God by Christ / vnto the miserable kinde of mortall mā / he shal­be saued / ande beyng made the coheyre of Christ / he shalbe in ioye with the father e­uerlastinge. For he wyll that where hym selfe is / there also his minister shalbe

The innocency of Christ that was put in daunger for those that were gylte / yea for the dampned / hath absolued vs / and hath made vs worthy vnto God for this cause specially / because he was able to ful­fyll the maner and measure of the dyuine iustice. For he was moost clere without all corrupted affectiō. And where as he is soche and so great of him self / that is to sa­ye God / yet was he made oures. Wherof it followeth / that his iustice (the whych [Page] onely thinge we [...]acke) was also made ou­res. For he was made vnto vs from god [...] wisdome / iustice / holines and redemptiō.

Nowe / by him we haue an entraunce vnto God. For he is oures the pledge of the grace of God / our Aduocate / oure su­fere oure head / intercessour ande media­tour. He is our whole trust and affiaun­ce both fyrst and last.

Those that hetherto vnderstand the mistery of the Gospell ād trust vppon the same / are borne of God for the capacite of mannes weakenes can not attaine vnto so profounde a coūsell of the grace of god.

Out of this it commeth / that those that are borne a newe of the Gospell / can not synne. For euery soch one as is borne of God doth not synne. But he that bele­ueth the Gospell / is borne of God / wher­fore they do not synne that are borne ne­we of the Gospell. That is to saie / the sin­nes are not impu [...]ed vnto them vnto dāpna [...]ion and death because Chryst hath re­demed them with the price of his death. For albeyt that we (as longe as we are in this body trauaylyng as it were in pilgri­mage [Page] from God) cannot be wythout af­fectes / ād so by that means also / not wy­thout synne. Ye [...] Chryst notwythstandīg because he is ours / doth supply or amend all this our impotēcye or weakenes. For seīg he is god aeternal ād a spirite / he is more precyous to redeme the sines of all mē / than they them selues are able to deserue.

For Ood trulye as he is a substanciall forme or power that turneth and moueth all thynges in it selfe / not beynge moued / wyll not suffer hī also / whose hart he hath drawen vnto him / to be slouthful or ydle. The which sentence truly is not knowen by probaciōs but by vse. For onelye those that are faythfull haue in experience how Chryste geueth no ydlenes at all vnto hys servauntes / and wyth howe glad a spirite and wyth howe moche ioye they travayle and are exercised in thys busynes.

Wherfore / who so ever vnderstandeth the misterie of the Gospel / he goeth about to liue wel. Wherfore that must be taught as moche as maye be very purely ād dily­gently.

And thys also must as the tyme requi­reth [Page] he taught / by what kynde of meanes speciallye we maye deserue the fauoure of God / by those things certeynly / whych he him selfe vseth alwayes towardes vs / by iustice / fayth and mercy. For seing God is a spirite / he can no otherwyse be worship­ped rightly with any other sacrifice / than wyth the spirituall sacrifice of an humble mynd. Wherfore let our derling or yoūg­man bende his intente to this ende / howe with all maturite he maye be a good man; howe he maye be innocent / ād as nere ly­ke vnto God as maye be.

He doth good vnto all menne / he doth hurte no man / except a man fyrst hurte hī selfe. So he that doth studie to do good vnto all men / and to be euery thinge vnto all men / ād doth abstaine vtterly his han­de from all iniurie / he is moost like vnto God. These thīges are harde / if thou ha­ue an eye vnto oure owne strength / but vnto him that beleueth / all thinges are pos­syble.

After that the minde / whyche must be appointed vnto substanciall vertue / shal­be rightly instructed by faith / the next thī ­ge is / that he decke ande furnish him selfe all wholy within purely. For if with hym selfe all thinges be in a right ordre / than shall he very sone gyue good counsell vn­to other.

And he can not more lightly sett his mī ­de in due order / than if he haue in hand / ād labour both night ande daye in the wor­de of God. The whiche thinge he shall do very well / if he vnderstande the hebrue and greke toūgues rightly / because with­out the one of them / the olde Testament / and without the other / the newe can not without difficulte purely be knowen.

And for as moch as we haue taken vp­pō vs to teache those / that haue nowe pas­sed ouer the trauaile of their first rudimē ­tes. And the Latin tongue being had in vse amongest all men / yet do we not think it mete vtterly to leaue it. For albeit that it do conduce lesse vnto the vnderstan­ding of holy scriptures / then eyther the Greke or Hebrue tongue / yet for the [Page] rest vse of our life it proficeth very mothe [...] and sometimes it cometh to passe / that we haue to do in the busynes of Christ amō ­gest those that are onely latyn men. But to abuse the tongues for againe / that tru­ly ought to be farre of frō a Christen mā. For truly the tongues are the gifte of the spyryte of God.

The next vnto this / vnto whome we shall giue our diligence / shalbe the Greke tongue / because of the newe Testaments as it is saide (for speaking the thinge / that I thinke offending no man wyllingly) The doctryne of Christe euen from the beginning (not as the thinge required) so rightly to haue bene handled of the latin men / as of the grekes. Wherfore this our dearling must be sent vnto the fyrst foun­taynes.

Albeit this in them both is to be obser­ued / that the same haue his harte strongly walled aboute with faith ande innocency. For there are many thinges that wolde be learned not withoute daunger / wa [...]t [...] ­nes / the desyre of Empire ād to liue in cō ­tention of battaill / intertaine froward­nes [Page] / vaine Philosophy ād suche like thin­ges. All the which thinges / a minde being monisshed of them before / may passe ouer not touchīg them / like vnto Vlisses. Whē at the fyrst voice or hearing of thē / he hath thus monisshed him selfe / These thinges thou hearest to beware and not to be entā ­gled with them / or to take them. We giue the last place to the hebrue tongue for this cause specially / because as we haue said a litle before / the latin tongue is growen in knowledge amongest all men. And the Greke tōgue shall moost cōueniently fol­lowe the same or elles wolde we of iust right haue geuen the first place vnto the hebrue tongue / because without the phra­se of that tongue / yea in the greke tongue he shall sweate who soeuer will vnderstād or searche out the right sence of the scripture. But to speake of the vtilité of the ton­gues to the full / it aparteyneth not to this purpose.

Who soeuer commeth with an humble and thursty minde / with these armours / he maye breake into this heauenly wisdo­me vnto whome no wisdome of mā maye [Page] be compared / nor yet of right matched.

Vnto the which / when he hath broken in / he shall finde all kindes of formes to liue well / that is to witte Christ him selfe the moost absolute exemple of all vertue / whome / when by worde and dede he shall assuredly or plainly knowe / he shal so em­brace / that in euery acte or counsell / he shal endeuour to expresse some parte of his vertues / as moch as by right the tenuy­té or weakenes of man wyll suffre to be done.

He shal learne of him as the oportunité of time shall require both to speake and to holde his peace. It shalbe a shame for him to tymely to speake of those thinges why­che require none but soche as are come to a parfectripenes / because he may see Christe to haue layde vp this scātly at the lēgth in the thurtieth yere of his age. Albeit that he did giue some experiment of him selfe vnto the doctours of the lawe also when he was twelue yeares olde. By the whych exēple we are not so moch taught to come forth in tyme / as we are to ende­uoure euen from our tender age thynges [Page] that are great / but worthy vnto God.

For like as the greatest ornament or commendacion vnto a woman through oute all her life is scylence. So nothing doth make a yongman more cōmendable thā the study of scilēce for a c [...]r [...]eine time / vntyll the mynde and the tonge as well a parte / as amongest them selues can agre well. And we require not here the Pytha­goricall scylence / but we do onely suppres­se the desyre to speake. Ande except the yongman shall speake tymely / we do for­byd him to speake at all.

Whyles he studieth the preceptes of e­loquence / beyng vnder hys masters / he shall not deforme or bring it oute of fas­shyon / because he wyll followe theyr ex­emple if it haue any faute. Ande let no man thinke this precept to be of a lyght force. For it is to be learned by the olde auncient histories / that certayne Audi­tours or learners haue not onely follo­wed by imitations the vices or fautes of theyr teachers tongue / but also of theyr bodyes.

The fautes of the tōgue / maye be sone [Page] knowe vnto euery body. For truly the forme of an Oratiō besydes the worckman­ship or ha [...]oe [...]ing of it / is corrupted / if the same be spoken to fast or to slowly. If the accēt or pronoūcing of it / be to base or fai­re / or to vehement / as if in euery cause / and in euery kinde of thinge there be but one forme of countenannce / ande one maner of gesture / or faming as mē do call it / that is done with insolencie.

It is obserued / that Elephātes / whē they are alone / are carefull ande studious to call to minde those thinges / for the whiche they haue bene beaten. So a yongmā shall often study with him selfe / howe to compose his tonge or countenaūce / howe to vse his handes / like vnto one that may where nede shall require / with cōuenient shame fastnes be as a loadesman / shewīg thinges vnto other / ande to procede ande not to rowe backe againe. And all these thinges he shal so moderate / that they ma­ye serue the truth / and not to serue in flat­terie vnto other. For the cōdicions or ma­ners of some that are like vnto the condi­cions of an harlot howe can they be in­dured [Page] or suffred of a Christiā harte? Wherfore by this exercise that we do here requi­re / we do intēd none other thing / thā that euery man maye learne with him selfe / to rule the exteriour vices / the which are the moost certeine tokens of a corrupte min­de. Wherfore it is fyrst necessarie that the minde of it selfe be parfect / the which / if it so be / shall sone moderate the raging tem­pest of the exteriour membres / that we do not frowne to moche / or alter our mouth or contenaunce / or shake our heade / or cast abroade our handes / but that we tempre all these thinges / with a certeine modesté / not affected / but plaine and ful of symply­cité. These thinges are of the Oration or speakyng / and of scilence.

He shall flye the saturité or fulnes of wine / as moch as he wolde homlocke. Forlike as it doth driue this tender bodie or yonge Carcas (the which of his owne nature is prone vnto vehemency) vnto madnes / euē so doth it (without doubte) corrupt our olde age / that as yet tarieth for vs / euen in the first springing of vs. Wherby it commeth to passe / that when [Page] by chaunce we come vnto it / we finde in­firmité and sicknes / and no rest. For it cā no otherwise be / but those that haue to busily vsed to wasshe them selues with wine / but that they must fall into some greuous and daungerous sickenes / as the fallinge sickenes / a palsie / a dropsie / the leprie / ande soch other. Wherfore couet not to sone to be an olde man / if thou wilt be an olde mā longe.

Let the rest of his diet be soch thinges as may be sone gottē. For what doth it cō ­duce to a yong mā (whose stomake by na­ture is prōpte ād redy to parfect disgestiō) to desire to fede vppō partrig [...]s thrusshes deintie byrdes / Capōs / of Roobuckes ād soch other deintie disshes? Let him laie vp those in store / tyll age come vppon hym / when his tethe shalbe dull or blunte / ande the palate of his mouth tendre or worne / and his throte / with longe continuaunce of time / growen to a certeine hardnes / ande his Stomake not beinge q [...]ycke or able to digeste / ande his bodye half dead. For what hope shalbe to nourish the olde [Page] age yf the wanton youth / by intemperate dyet / hath made soch thynges lothsome / whiche the olde age shuld moost desyre?

Hunger in the meane tyme / is onely to be conuinced or ouercome / ande not to be put awaye. For men saye that Galen ly­ued hundreth and twenty yeres / because he neuer departed full from the table. And I do not here require / that thou shuldest punish thy self with famyn / but that thou shuldest not serue the insatiable vo­racité or rauening / more than the vse of the lyfe doth requyre. For I am not so ig­noraunt but that I knowe / that a man maye offend in both partes. If that in rauenyng we make our selues lyke vnto wolues / or by famine / make our selues vnproffytable or not able to do any good.

I suppose nothing to be more folysh / than to covet to be taken as a gentelman / because of ryche and gaye apparell. For by that meanes / the Bysshoppes Mules maye chalēge nobilitié / ād be moch bruted. [Page] For they / for as moch as they be stronges are able to cary more gold and syluer / and more pretious stones / than euer any Mi­lo coulde. And who can not be ashamed of his proude apparell / that heareth the sōne of God / borne of a vyrgyne / to ligh crying in an oxe stalle? being wrapped aboute o­nely with so many bandes / as the virgin / not being prepared to her deliuerie / bare wyth her?

Those that daily do fynde oute straunge ande newe shapes of garmentes / do de­clare / a moost certaine token of an incon­staunt (or if that be to moche) of an ef­feminate or tender minde. Those are not of Christe / for they suffer the poore in the meane whyle to perish wyth colde ande hunger. Wherfore a man must as moche abstaine from the superfluité of garmen­tes or apparell / as of any other kynde of evell.

While the yongman beginneth to be in loue / he must exhibit some beginninge of exercise of his minde. And while other do trie their armes / where a tumulte is / with strength and armours / this our dearling [Page] shall cōuert all his strēgth to this purpo­se / that he maye defend him selfe from the madnes of loue. And when he shall par­ceaue vtterly that he must loue in dede / to beware that he doate not / ād to chose soche a one to his loue / whose cōdicions he tru­steth to be able to endure in perpetuall matrymonie / and so vndefyledly or chastly to kepe their congresse or meting to gether / vntill the time of Mariage / that besydes her / amongest all the numbre or multitu­de of women ād virgines he knowe none.

For what purpose or nede / doth it serue in this case to forbidde the desire of money and glory / when euen amōgest the Gen­tiles / this kynde of mischefe / is euell spokē of? And this our dearling ought not to be taken hereafter as a Christian / yf he shall become seruaunt vnto that / the whiche hath troden vnder foote / not one or two / but hath subuerted the moost florysshyng kyngdomes / hath destroyed the myghtye stronge Cities / and what soeuer publyke weale it hath inuaded / it hath vtterly vn­done the same. This when it hath in pos­sessyon the pryncypall towre of mannes [Page] mynde or soule / it permytteth nothyng to be well done / ande is the moost hurtefull plage of all the woorlde / but / alas / it is of a great power / which we shall kyll or des­troye by Chryst alone / if we shalbe the dy­lygent or busy followers of hī. For what other thynge dyd he here elles / than to re­medy thys evell?

We thynke the Mathematicall discy­plines / vnto the which also / men do num­bre Musike / not lyghtly to be touched / al­beit not dwellyng longe in them. For lyke as they beyng knowē are very moche fru­tefull or necessarye / ande beyng not regar­ded / are no small impediment / euen so if a man shall spend all his time in them / evē to his old age / he shall haue none other frute by it / then those haue / whiche / because they wyll not be ydle / walkinge vp ande downe / chaunge nowe ande than theyr place.

The exercyse of contencyon or of ar­mours / we do not so moche condempne / as wyllyng notwithstanding to pronoū ­ce otherwise in this matter / yf we did not [Page] see certeyne great ryche men constauntly to abhorre from that labour / which doth helpe the commone lyfe. Yet shall it be the parte of a christian man vtterly to ab­stayne from weapons as moche as maye be laufull by the state and tranquillyté of the publike weale. For GOD / who brought home Dauid as a conqurour / being rude in the handelinge of weapons / goying forthwith his slinge agaynst Co­liath / and preserued the Israelites / bryng vnarmed from their present ennemy / will preserue vs also vndoubtedlye / ande if it shall otherwyse please him. He shall har­nas ande make stronge oure handes / He trulie doth teach our handes vnto the conflict or fight. But if it be Vtterly deter­mined / to put in experience / this exercise of weapons / let this onely be the chefe in­tent of it / that we will defend our natiue contrey ande those whome GOD com­maundeth to be defended.

I wolde therfore every man (ande chefely / not withstandinge those that are to be appointed vnto the office of the worde of GOD) to thīke no otherwise than [Page] that howe they may attayne vnto the on­ly Citie / ad in that alone / of the olde [...]as­sylyans the whiche dyd accompte no [...]e to be in the nombre of theyr Cytezens, that knewe no crafte howe to gett his liuyng. For by that meanes / it shuld come to passe that ydlenes (the cause or mainteyner of al dissolute behaueour) or wātōnes / shuld be bannished / and our bodies shuld moch longer be preserued in health shuld lyve longer and br of greater strength.

Fyrst of all this shall the ingenious mī ­de thīke with himselfe / Christ hath giuen him selfe for vs ande is made oures and so is it necessarye that thou be geuen vnto a [...]men not to thynke thy felt to be thyn [...] owne man but to be for other. For trulye we are not borne vnto our selues / but th­at we shuld be all thinges vnto all men.

Wherfore from hys tender age he shall must vppō these things alone vppon ius­tyce fayth and constauntye by the which he maye do good vnto the chrystyan pu­blyke [Page] weale and vnto his natiue coutrey ande particulerly also vnto all men. For those are speke and feble mindes / that only do regard this thyng / howe they maye ha­ue or come by a quiet lyuing / ande are not so lyke vnto God / as those are / that euen with their owne perill do studie how to do good vnto all men.

Ande here notwithstanding this must he warelye taken hede of least the purpose that is takē or intēded to the glory of God of our natiue countrey ande the proffit of all men / be not defiled or corrupted by the deuell or the loue of our selues / and finally that we take not the thing vnto our selues the whiche we will appeare to haue done; for the cause of other men. For why? we maye see many which in the first beginnīg go happely in the ryght trade / and wythin a lytle after / through vayne glory (whiche is the pestilence of all godly intentes) they are driuen out of the ryght path.

In the prosperite ande aduersité of o­ther men / he shall euen like behaue him self as though they had for [...]ned vnto his ow­ne parson. Yf good fortune shall come vn­to [Page] an other / he shall thinke th [...] is hath fortuned vnto him self as well a [...] it had [...]o [...]e aduersite. For why the shall [...]t none pu­blike weale lyke vnto one house and fami­lye Yea one bodye in the wyth the mem­bres are so glad together and do sorrowe ande the one helpeth the other that what soeuer shal fortune to one shalbe thought to happen to all.

After this sort / he shalbe glad with the ioyfull and shall wipe with those that do wepe / for why [...]? he shall thinke the chu [...] ­ches of euery man to be his owne. Adde vnto this that accordyng vnto the saying of Senica / the thinge maye happen vnto every man that doth fortune vnto any [...] ­ne. And we do not teache that these afflic­tes ioye ande sorrowe muste be so vsed as the comone custome is. For we wyll not that we shall make myrth and ioie in pros­perit [...] and despayr in aduersite. But for as moche / as we are never wythout these [...]d other affectes / so if wi [...] wise we must tempre them / that in no cas [...] admitte any inconueniente / or do the thing that is not comely / Wherfore we s [...]athe as moche [Page] of the prosperitie as other [...] out [...] other wil [...] shall we be sep [...] / tha [...] to say / we shal take al things [...]th [...]am [...]ra [...]ion.

From these conuenticles or company­es where as men mete / many together or commely soche as are the mariages of ki­ [...]ds ( [...]āditates that are yerely kepte ād ho­lidates. I make no great restrainte becau­se [...] christ in times past hath been [...] vnkīdly part of maryages. [...] mooste alowe / that if the [...] [...]st nedes be done be done in so [...] place or opēly rather then in [...] houses / because the multitude of witnesses / doth more vehement­ [...] [...] thā their owne propre mīd. For he shal wāt all grace / that is not asha­med [...] openly o [...] comunely to do the thynge that is dishonest or vncomely.

From the comune conuenticles or [...]e­tynges together of men / he shall alwayes [...] to thīg away som goodnes / least [...]ke as Socrates was accustomed to cō ­plaine returne home alwaes worke. He shal marke of any mā be haue hīselfe abrode [Page] with honest shame fastnes / and shall follo­we it. And of the contrarie without shame he shall refuse it or despise it.

But for as moche as those that are full rype of one conscātly do this / mine advise is that they mete together in publyke con­venticles as seldome as maye be. But if of necessite sometimes madnes muste be had in companye sone after let vs come home agayne to our selves / a sone reason may be pretended why we haue forsaken our sel­ues / vnto the which / those must be agrea­ble that do knowe that we are geuen al­wayes vnto vertuous or good studyes.

In things that are paynefull / our bry­dilles must be lowsed for vs to runne. For [...]n this case it is accounted a noble thinge to be fyrst and last. In this shuld we stre­atch our sinnewes forth the evell to be cō ­sydered / to be hādeled to be amoued or put awaye / and counsell to be geven.

And it is vsed even amongest the infi­delles / that our parentes next vnto the immortal God are moost to be left by. Wherfore we must gyve place vnto them every where. Ande if at any tyme they behave [Page] not them shoes after the minde of Chryst / the which is also dures / we maye not due of season stryue against them / but what so­ever ought to be sayde or done / that must be proponed or purposed with al medenes the which thinge if they wyll not receave / they are rather to be forsaken than to be handeled contumelyously.

The naturall Philosophers do testifie [...] / that Ire dranger commeth of a hote cau­se / wherfore this yong age is moost h [...]re [...] we must dilygently beware of it that we do not saye any thinge by the compulsyon therof / what soeuer cōmeth into the mīde. When this after it is hoate in the / it ought to be suspected.

Sclaūder / if we cānot vtterly / becau­se of the bitternes of it / digest it downe / it must be referred vnto some iudge or ma­gistrate. For why? to render agayne one the eke for ā other or to fēd ouer againe the sclaunder or contumely vnto him that ga­ve it / it is no other / thā to be like vnto hym or such one as he is whome thou doest dis­alowe.

Games with theyr equalles we do per­ [...]i [...] [Page] to ha [...]e vp did [...] [...]och [...] of / learnīg ande profitable [...] the exerr [...] [...] thē bodye. The games of learning [...] contend with aua [...]re [...] a [...] Ari [...]h [...]h [...] tike doth reach / or vyse [...]tyng of places the which thing the / draught [...]s and pauses of the chestes and theyr stacions als [...] and healinges in watch do declare. For that ga [...] aboue all other doth teach / that noth [...]e ought to be [...]one rashlye or vnaduis [...]dlye [...] And yet in the meane tyme the [...] be [...] meane kept in it. For them have and s [...] me / which / settīg their serious busines a parte / haue geue thē selues to that onely. We permit onely these thinges to be done in / by times / or in the tymes of leasure frō other thinges. And the games of dice and cardes (as men call them) we count ande send them backe agayn vnto the crowes / as the Prouerbe saith.

The body shalbe exercised with run [...] leaping / coyting with the exercyse of wea­pōs / with wrastlīg (the which is [...] seldō to be vsed / because oftē times it euen [...]h [...] ­ed earnest (and with so [...] pastimes [...]as a­ [...]e almoost generally in all [...]a [...]ō spe­cially [Page] [...] as haue bene vsed moost amō ­gest [...]r forefathers the Zwytsers beinge verye proffitable for dyuers chaunces. I see that swīming is proffitable to very fe­we albeit sōtyme it is a pleasure to swīme in the water or ryver lyke vnto a fish / ā it hath serued sōtimes for chaūces not with out proffit. He came swīmyng out of the Capitolhouse that shuld declare vnto Ca­millos the miserable state of Auarous Rome. Ch [...]lia [...]owīg with her owne propre [...] ̄bres returned agayne vnto hers.

Let all the cōuersation and talke also / be soche that may delight those with who­me we do lyue.

And if thou must nedes chyde an other mā / do it with so good a harte ād so drily / and let it be done so pretily ād so aduysed­ly / that we maye put awaye the vice ande wynne the man / ād ioyne him wyth more hart [...]e or entyre love vnto vs.

The studye of trouth must be so con­staūt ande alone that alwayes we muste p [...]rp [...]d and cōsyder so / both our owne talke ād the tale or cōmunicatiō of other / [Page] that no craft or rayning be mixed in it. And a good minde ought to be w [...]th no [...] thing more displeased with hym self tha [...] yf he perceaue any lye come from him [...] though it be against his wyll. I will no [...] saye here howe moch he ought to be a sha­med if he make them him self or tell them when they are made of others. For euery man is commaunded to speake the truth [...] which his neighbour. Christ is the [...] the. Wherfore it becommeth a Christian man to [...]owe and kepe most diligently the [...] that [...] in mynde or in [...] in all his wayes. Nothing can be assuredly [...] to hym that [...] this t [...]ue [...] [...]o is the [...] of the [...] wherfor [...] if that be vai [...] lying ande inconstant all is a moost certaine token that the harte i [...] worsse a great deale. Adde vnto this that a lye maye be for [...] tyme hydden / but [...] for euer. Wherfore it shal be a very folysh thinge / to nourish or comforte the domes [...] [...]all noughty [...]achte in hope that it shal be hydden / or not knowen.

Loke what I haue saide of the studie of [Page] the tru [...]h the same must be obserued in all doinges / that we do nothīg fainedly / that our browe or eyes dissēble no other thing / than the harte [...]ese [...] meaneth / the whiche is the fountaine of all doinges.

The going also that is made or forged / doth giue a sufficient argument / what the man is the which doth go otherwise than his nature requireth / that is to saye / full of vanité / and an harlot in minde.

But what nedeth many wordes? To this purpose all studie must be hasted / that the yongman maye with all purenes suc­ke into him Christe / who) when he hath dronken or tasted of him) he shalbe a rule vnto him. He shal neuer fall from well [...]ing [...]lly [...] shall neuer be prowde or extol­ted / he shall encrease dailie / but he shall ap­peare to him self alwaies to decrease. He shall go forward / but he shall accoūte hym selfe to be lust of all men. He shall do good towardes all men / but he shall embroide nothinge. For so truly Christe hath done. Wherfore he shalbe absolute that shal pu [...] pose onely to followe Christ.

These [...]e the thynges (moost [...]le [...]a [...]t [Page] Gerolde) whyche we haue thought to be proffytable or to conduce to bring vp in­genious y [...]ngmen / howe be it they be so confusely taught that of it ther sacketh no declaration. For why? the thinge is ma­nyfestly open vnto the eyes of all mē. But for thy parte remembre these thinges of­ten with thy selfe ād loke what thou sees [...] here written with a rude style / expresse it in thy maners. And so it shal come to pas­se tha [...] the thīges that are poured oute he­re all moost without any ordre / thou thy selfe by thy actes / shalte bringe them into a very goodly ordre. Ande shalt be of this forme of teachyng a brething hore [...]de lyuely example. And to speake more [...] stauntly / it can not other wilt be [...] after thou shalt be more absolute than we are able to expresse with wordes of [...]nstaūtly thou emploie / all thy indeuoure. The which thinge shalbe aboue measure prof­fitable for the expellīg of Idelnes. Wher­by some wythout all shame / of a mische­uous receaued custome / are growē to su­che stouth / euen in the very fyrst entraūce of theyr life / that they appeare to couet to [Page] be [...] thinge then dr [...]nes / ande the puddles of all vices. But thou truly (as he saith) must vse discretly thy ag [...]. For ty­me o [...] age glideth away with a swifte foo­te. And not so good followeth as the fyrst wa [...]. It is the parte of a Christian man / not to speake lordly of opinions / but al­wayes to do thynges that are hard ande great with God. Procede therfore (thou Gentle yongman) to increase wyth the [...]ru [...] seruauntes of nobilite / thy kynred or stocke thy goodly forme ād thy patrimo­ [...]e or in heritaūce / the which all hath for­tuned honourably vnto the (I haue not sayde well) I shulde haue sayde to thynke onely these to be the ornamentes / ande to [...]nowe the other thinges to be the giftes of fortune. The moost greatest and mightie lorde being thy guyde. Who preserue the in pros­perous estate. So be it.