Stoa Triumphans: OR, Two ſober Paradoxes, VIZ.
Argued in two Letters by the noble and learned Marqueſſe, Virgilio Malvezzi. Now Tranſlated out of the Italian, with ſome Annotations annexed.
LONDON, Printed by J. G. 1651.
THis enſuing Tranſlation with the whole dreſſe and Equipage of it was the production of ſome ſpare time, when I was debarrd from better imployment, to witt, the exerciſe of my function and miniſtry. I found contentment in the Reading, and therefore have committed it to the preſſe for the publique uſe in a more intelligible language.
I ſend it forth upon the Reputation of the Author, which is very eminent in the Common-wealth of Learning: which will commend it to the world and your reading, without any other Buſh at the doore,
His pen upon paper is like a Prince his ſtampe upon coine, wch makes any thing current and ſterling, what ever the metal be, and how ſmall ſoever the model. Hereupon I am induced to believe that theſe Letters (which I may call the Marqueſſe his Parva Moralia) will find as good acceptance with the Judicious, as his Parva Politica did, I meane his Romulus and Tarquin, and other ſmall, but well-wrought peeces.
I have prefixt your name (Sir) before this Tract, that thoſe that ſhall chance to ſee and reade it, may alſo read my Gratitude, and the Title which you have in me, and whatſoever I can call mine; which you have purchaſed by manifold kindneſſes and ſeaſonable favours, whereof I ſhal retaine a gratefull memory while I am maſter of one.
Since the death of your honoured Brother (whoſe name is like oyntment powred forth) we find that of the Poet verified in you,
One golden bough being lopt off, another (of the ſame metal) ſucceeds in the roome of it. For his Benignity, Candor, and other Noble and vertuous Habits ſurvive in you; ſo that the loſſe of him is (in a good meaſure) recompenced in your Succeſsion.
God bleſſe you with health, and the fruition of many and happy dayes: which are the hearty wiſhes of
THeſe two Letters (gentle Reader) like thoſe two mites of the Widdow, may ſerve to increaſe thy Treaſure, if thou haſt any; or to be thy Treaſure, if thou haſt none. The one is a Philoſophicall Lecture of Patience and aequanimity, to an Exiled friend: The other is a D•fiance to all worldly Honours and Dignities. Both were written by th•Lamp of Epictetus, and doe breath that virilem Sapi•ntiamaaConſolat: ad Helviam c. 12. Stoico•um, which Seneca doth ſo much extoll, that maſculine and Heroick bravery of the Stoicks, whereby they did put off man, and tread above the ſtage of humane chances.
In both, the Authors penne drops Balme as well as Inke, ſoveraigne oyle to aſſwage inward griefs, and inviſible wounds: As the tongue, ſo the pen of a wiſe man is health, ſaith that Proverb of wiſdom Solomon, Prov. 12.18. And therefore theſe lines may be of good uſe for the Sonnes of Benoni's ſorrow in this Kingdome. For though the ſacred Scriptures are the beſt Nepenthe and Lenitifs of ſorrow (whoſe Leaves are for thebbRevel. 22.2. healing of the Nations;) Yet think it not amiſſe to uſe Exoterick writers withall, whoſe Receipts have oftentimes proved cordiall and effectuall to fortifie the weake hearts and feeble hands of ſome that would wiſely apply them.
The Author is Malvezzi, a man above his Titles Noble; whoſe Works have carried his name and fame as far as Learning hath spread her wings.
They that ſtudied him in his own Language have thought him worthy the acquaintance of more Nations than his owne, ſo that moſt of his learned Labours have been tranſlated, ſome into Latin, and ſome into Engliſh; and that by Noble hands. ddThe Earle of Monmouth and John Kruuſse a noble Suede.
And becauſe any Eſſayes and delineations of his penne are worth Volumes of ſome other writers; as Giotto's Circle (which he drew perfunctorily and in a trice) did ſurpaſſe the labour'd peeces of ſome other Artiſts; I have attir'd theſe ſmaller peeces and diverſions of his ſtudies, in Engliſh livery, that they may ſerve as Pages to wait upon his other workes in this kingdome.
His ſtyle is right Laconick, ſtrict and ſuccinct; ſo farre, that his brevity doth ſometimes cloud his ſenſe, and makes each period a Riddle to ſome capacities; ſo that I am bold (now and then) to enlarge the roome for to let in more light; for his own words doe ſcarce bring us home to his meaning: And I may ſay of him as A. Gellius ſaid of Saluſt; that he was Exquiſitiſſimus brevitatis Artifex.
But he is as rich in matter as he is frugall and parcimonious in words, as though his fullſtor'd ſoule deſired to ſtive as much good matter (as he could) in a little roome. The Raggs which are added in the margent may be uſefull for ſome Readers; And the Annotations annexed may ſerve to ſhew that ſome Paradoxes, and ſingular ſtreines that are found in the Text, are ſuitable to the doctrine of the autient Sages, especially thoſe that have Commenced in Porticu Zenonis.
The greater letters referre you to ſome Annotations at the later end; and the leſſer to the marginall Notes.
IN the Cōmonwealth of (A) Genoa, as in that of Athens of old, the device of (B) Oſtraciſme is put in practiſe. Hence it came to paſſe, that the Illuſtrious Signor John Vincent Imperiale was adjudged to baniſhment: A Cavalier of much renowne and fame in the world, no leſſe for eminencie of learning, and the glory of a great Commander, than for noble Extraction, and gentle deportement and behaviour.
The pretence was, That by an order from him a certaine Muſician was put to death, who is yet alive. The innocent and noble Gentleman refuſed not the occaſion to aprove himſelfe an obſequious Commonwealths man: For he (to give content to his deare countrey, as well by his abſence, as he had faithfully ſerv'd her by his preſence) did withdraw himſelfe (though old and infirme) into the City of Bononia; Where as he is greatly honoured by all, ſo is he dearely beloved of the Noble Marqueſſe Virgilio Malvezzi; Who out of his love and friendſhip, being mov'd to a compaſſion of ſo ſtrange an Accident, frames this Letter to his undaunted Friend, with an intention rather to expreſſe (with his penne) the Reſentments of a ſoule that honoured him, than to adminiſter Conſolation to a mind which alwayes appeares greateraaC. Marius mihi in ſecundis rebus unus ex fortunatis hominibus; in adverſis, unus ex ſummis viris videbatur. Cic. Parad. 2. in Adverſity than in Proſperity.
WHen I had the happineſs (Noble Sir) to ſee you at Bononia, and to enter my ſelfe in the number of your Servants, I conceived you Triumphant, though you told me you were an Exile: I knew you Innocent, though you cryed Guilty. I had ſcarce departed out of Bononia, but our Reverend Arch-Deacon Paleotti (I know not whether2 to comfort me, or undeceive me) did ſend me a Letter fraught with cleare and irrefragable Demonſtrations of your Innocence.
If I had not cauſe ſo much to grieve for your Nobleneſſe, I ſhould grieve for Him: Let him ſend his Remonſtrances and Apologies to thoſe that never ſaw you; your very looks and the lineaments of your Countenance are more convincing arguments to mee (than any other) of your good abeare and innocence.
He that hath eyes which can penetrate beyond the Surface and outſide, may (by diſcourſing with a man) finde that ſpeech of the Wiſeman true; A man is knowne by the eye, and the face diſcovers wiſedome:Ecclus 19.29. not that we can3 reade in thatbbVultus animi janua & tabula. Cic. de pet. Conſul. Tablet what a man ſhall be, but what he is: He ſpeakes not (ſure) of the ſuperſtitious art of Metoposcopie, he intends (perhaps) Naturall philoſphie. Man is an harmonious organ; the heart tunes and playes it, the tongue ſings, & every part & particle in it (though never ſo little) yeelds a diſtinct ſound, and varies the effect according to the varietie of affections: becauſe all the parts are ſuſtained by the ſpirits, and all the ſpirits are the Iſſue of the heart:Omnis motus animi ſuum quendam à natura habet vultum, & ſonum & geſtum: totumquecorpus hominis & ejus omnis vultus o•…eſquevoces, ut nervi in fidibus, ita ſonant, ut à motu animi ſunt pulſae. Cic de Orat. lib. 3 As this is affected with Joy, or Sorrow, love, hatred, or feare; ſo it doth ſtrike a different note or ſound: when the Heart toucheth one ſtring, and the Tongue ſings to another, the Speech and the Countenance doe not make conſort; and he that4 cannot perceive this ſoloeciſm, and obſerve this diſſonantie, muſt accuſe his ſenſes of much weakeneſſe, and fly to that unſavoury (though much ſeaſoned) maxime, written for blind men only: That it is neceſſary to eate a buſhell of ſalt with a man, before you can well underſtand him. Your Lordſhip muſt ſubſcribe to my opinion herein: for having ſeene many Provinces of the world; been made knowne to Kings and Princes; and having converſed with ſo many Cavaliers of Honour; it will be no ſmall comfort unto you to have left ſo little need of juſtifying you by other mens writings, that your veryccDominatur maxime vultus, hoc amamus, hoc odimus, hoc plurima intelligimus Quintil. Inſtit. Orator. viſage hath already excuſed and acquited you among all that have ſeene you.
I have taken (indeed) my5 pen in hand with an intent to ſolace you with a few lines, which diſcover rather my affection than your neceſſity: to write Letters conſolatory unto you were to goe to cure a man in perfect health; though it is true that healthfull men (ſometimes) have neede of Phyſick, though not to reſtore, yet to preſerve health. Yet I doe not write to ſolace you but my ſelfe: your minde hath no need of cordialls, but my heart hath. I that had a breaſt of proofe, and could beare my owne diſaſters without perturbation, doe find my heart moſt relenting and tender toward yours. (C) A Stoicall indolencie doth not well conſiſt with frienſhip: A friend that undertakes to comfort, is not like a Phyſician that undertakes6 a cure: A Phyſician cannot heale others except he be in health himſelfe; but a friend is ſo much the fitter to adminiſter Phyſick (if I may ſo ſpeak) by how much the more affected and diſeaſed he is himſelfe: I am ſenſible of your Lordſhips innocencie and baniſhment, I cannot entertaine any joy, except I ſhew my ſelfe impious; and yet I cannot be ſorry, except I ſhould wiſh you culpable: yet I am not grieved for that you are innocent; but I am ſorry for that you are baniſhed: and now ſince you are baniſhed, I am glad you are innocent. There be ſome of ſuch weake mindes that beare their troubles with the more impatience, when they know themſelves to be innocent of the crime that is laid to their7 charge; whereas (indeed) they might beare them the better, becauſe they know themſelves ſuch. Vertue is not reſtrain'd or confin'd, it hath a place or theater to ſhew it ſelfe in all fortunes: A man that is condemned, (if he be innocent, and doth not vexe) he doth exerciſe the vertue of Patience: if he be guilty and doth acknowledge himſelfe ſo, he doth co-operate with that of Juſtice. When a ſubject complaines of ſome unreaſonable preſſures and moleſtations, he is unjuſt, becauſe he would be ſo: but when he complains of juſt and deſerved puniſhment, he is not only unjuſt, becauſe he is ſo, but becauſe he grieves; And becauſe he grieves that others are not ſo too. To complaine of ſufferings8 is either to complaine of an occaſion given to merit thereby; or (at leaſt) to complaine of a puniſhment inflicted for having demerited. To grieve for the one, is weakneſſe, & not to grieve for the other is perverſneſſe: ſuch a one hath cauſe to complain, not of Fortune but of himſelfe; not for what he ſuffers, but for what he hath committed. (D) There is no evill in the world, but what is committed: that which is inflicted, rather ſeems evill than is ſo, becauſe it comes to paſſe by theddQuicquid patimur mortale genus, quicquid facimus, venit ex alto. Senec. Herc. Oeteo. will of God, which is alwayes good, and eithe permits it, or is the Author of it.
Whereas men ſhould ſtoop and ſtrike ſaile to Fortune, they revile and blaſpheme it: if there were not ſome cauſe9 to beare with their ignorance, there would be juſt cauſe to chaſtiſe their raſhneſſe: for we call that (E) Fortune, which happens, or falls out we know not how, nor why; or elſe quite without, and beyond our expectation: wherefore to complaine of Fortune, and not to blame our own ignorance, is to complaine of the D•vine providence. Such things as happen unto us, and not by us, we ſhould rather adore, than cenſure; becauſe there Gods wiſdome hath a greater ſtroke & ſhare, where ours hath the leſſer. A man ſhould take care to deſerve that which is good, though not to obtaine what he deſerves; And yet he hath (in effect) obtained it, when he hath deſerved it: For the greateſt good that we can10 have, iseeEſt quidem vera felicitas felicitate dignum videri. Plin. Paneg. ad Trajan. to deſerve that greateſt good that we can enjoy. He that ſtudies to merit that he may enjoy ſome good, makes merit become intereſt, and cannot arrive at good which is purely ſo; becauſe he hath adulterated and tainted the good, when he hath tainted the merit. Fortune hath no ſhare in meriting, it hath in obtaining: and he that hath obtained, is not now ſecure (altogether) becauſe he is not altogether in the condition of merit.
It is a high way ſaying, That we areffFaber eſt unuſquiſquefortunae ſuae Cic. in Catone Maj. Aedeplol Sapiens fingit fortunā ſibi. Terent. Architects of our own Fortune: He that ſayd ſo, ſaid not well, becauſe he meant not well: he that builds Fortune, doth demoliſh it; it cannot be wrought or fram'd but with the tools of11 Vertue; and ſo it becomes a ſtatue of Vertue, which was carvd for the ſtatue of Fortune: yet is it true that though wee be not Authors of its entitie, yet wee are of its quality; it is never that which we make, yet it is alwayes ſuch as we make it; It doth not conſiſt with merit, if it be not a ſorry one: merit-doth deſtroy it where it finds it; but where ſhe doth find merit, ſhe doth increaſe it: if ſhe be good, with moderation; if bad and wretched, with patience; ſhe would ſtand and ſtay with your Noble Lordſhip, and therefore returnes to you in your diſaſters, that ſhe may improve that merit which in your felicity ſhe did impaire.
An adverſe fortune is rather to be wiſhed (in my opinion)12 though we deſerve a proſperous one: In this vaſt Ocean men are oftener ſhipwrakt in the haven of tranquillity, than amidſt the ſurges and billowes of diſaſters: miſeries doe humble us, and therefore we hold under them, but proſperity ſwells us with pride, and therefore theyggMiſeriae tolerantur, faelicitate corrūpimur. Verba Galbae apud Tacit l. 1. Hiſtor. ſpoile us. If every man hath his Fortune, and every Fortune its wheel, how can we complaine that our wheel deſcends? ſince one part of the wheel doth not deſcend ſo much one way, but it aſcends another way: thoſe men only complain of Fortune, who have their ſouls ſo tackt to their bodies, that when one falls & praecipitates, the other doth ſo too: but thoſe who poſſeſſe one part of the wheel with their ſoules, and another13 with their bodies, doe wiſh alwaies the adverſe or contrary part of the wheel; and if they have it not, they make it ſo: becauſe one part mounts towards heaven, when the other hurries down towards hell.
A wiſe man beares his head above thehhTalis eſt ſapientis animus qualis mundi ſtatus ſupra lunaā, ſemper illic ſerenum eſt. Sen. Ep. 59. clouds: tempeſts cannot reach him, he is not ſhaken with winds nor battered with thunder: Princes and States may well be Lords of our bodies, but cannot of ouriiServitus non cadit in tot•…̄ hominem: pars melior ejus excepta eſt. Sen. de benefi•l. 3. c. 20. ſouls; or if they be of any ſoules, it is of ſuch ſoules as were (before) made by their owners, ſlaves of their bodies. He that is immerſt (both ſoule and body) in this puntilio or narrow point, ſuch as the Globe of the Earth is, doth live alwaies in the center of this point,14 both ſoule and body: when he doth (by his better part) raiſe himſelfe to higher ſpeculations, he lives happily with the body, wherever his mind enjoyes any felicity.
If all the circumference of the earth be butkkPunctū eſt in quo navigatis, in quo bellatis, in quo regna diſponitis, &c. Sen. Nat. quaeſt. l. 1. Praefat. a point of the Univerſe; If all times that were, or ſhall be, are compriz'd under one inſtant of Eternity: what thing is man, who is but one point of that circumference? And what is his life. but one moment of that eternity? Shall then your Lordſhip complaine that you are ſecluded Genoa, which (though of a good bigneſſe) is but a little little point of a little point? and that you are ſecluded for a certaine day? which is but a ſhort inſtant of that time which cannot15 be termed (wel) an inſtants?
Your Lordſhip is ſent out of your Country, not caſhierd; by the Fathers and Senators of it, not by the Judges; and that to reward, not to baniſh-you: Malefactors are uſed to be baniſhedllNeſcis exilium ſcelerum eſſe poenā? Cic. Parad.; ſo that baniſhment muſt loſe its name where it finds innocence. A man is born with an obligation to ſerve his countrey, he is borne a ſlave; and the more ſlave, by how much his countrey is the more free: but to manumiſe a ſlave is a reward, not a puniſhment; it doth teſtifie how well he hath merited by his ſervice, when it makes him a freeman.
Time hath beene, That in Republiques, baniſhment hath been (in a manner) their chiefeſt guerdon: it was often beſtowed upon (F) the16 beſt deſerving: if the Citizens be ſlaves, the Republiques could not free any of them from their ſlaverie, but they muſt fall (themſelves) unto it: But when they found a ſubject of (G) great worth, beign a ſhamend to ſee him a ſlave, and not willing to make him a ſervant, they caſhierd him; being content to ſee him a free man, though not to make him a (H) Maſter. He that ſaid that he would be either an Exile our of his Countrey, or a Conſul in it,Aut Conſul aut Exul, Some read it. did believe (perhaps) that a perſon of worth, could not conteine himſelfe in a Republique, if he did not obteine to be a Conſul in it, or did not baniſh himſelfe out of it. You have taken paines (Noble Sir) a long time, that others might take their reſt: and you could17 not betake your ſelfe to your reſt, without loſing all the glory that you have acquired by motion. He that hath perform'd brave exploites, and then retreats voluntarily, ſeems to have performed them out of heat and fury, not love; to have ſerv'd his owne ambition, not his countrey. It is not the part of a valiant man to take pains that he may take reſt, as it is not the part of a ſtout man to fight that he may live: Even plebeian Spirits will raſhly hazard their lifes, that they may not loſe it. To beſtow upon thy Countrey the prime of thy youth, and to denie it the fruit of thy age, is to ſacrifice the armes and denie the braynes: Thoſe that are weake of body are exempted from the wars, and they that are weake of18 underſtanding from the Senate: The danger of ſhortning our life by cumbring old age with buſineſſes will not ſerve for an excuſe, no more than the danger of blowes will excuſe a ſouldier from fighting: He that (being young) did expoſe himſelfe to danger by ſerving his Countrey by his armes, why ſhould not he (being old) expoſe himſelf to the like danger, by the ſervice & labour of hismmNullis annis vacationem damus canitiem galeâ premimus. Sen. de vitâ beatâ cap. 28. braines? wherefore baniſhment (Noble Sir) is a great reward beſtowed upon you: Quietneſſe, which is ever deſired by all, when it is the period of glorious motions or actions; and is not alwaies laudable, when it is voluntary, cannot be reprehended in you, when it is become neceſſary. It is a great19 felicity (no doubt) to be now at leaſure to recount with your ſelfe the honourable memorialls of former exploits, the applauſe you have received, and the honours you have deſerved: This is like Gods owne joy, to rejoice within ones ſelfe, and of himſelfe: High and noble actions that have been performed, are dainties kept in ſtore, and companions prepared for to ſolace andnnConſcientia vitae benè actae multerumquebenefactorum recordatio jucundiſſima eſt. Cic. Caſt. Maj. ſweeten old age, and make retiredneſſe a bleſſing.
But what doe I talke of baniſhment out of ones Countrey? it is true that your Lordſhip is exiled out of Genoa, but not form your Countrey: I muſt not contract the bounds of that; it hath not ſo ſmall a circumference as Genoa: Every place pretends20 to be your Countrey, and every Countrey is ambitious to be that place: But it was the Countrey that you were borne in, you may ſay: if that place be your Countrey where you were borne, it is but a ſmall plot of ground: if it be a City where this plot of ground is, why not rather theooMy City and Countrey as I am Autoninus is Rome, as a man, the whole world. Anton, de vita ſua l. 6 Civitatis noſtrae terminos cum ſole metimur. Sen. de vita beatâ, c. 31. world which containes this City? You will ſay againe that it is your Countrey becauſe your Anceſters have there inhabited; if your Anceſtors either had not beene baniſhed or had not baniſhed themſelvs from their firſt habitation where they were born, Genoa had not now been your Countrey: wherefore baniſhment doth not make you loſe your Countrey but gaine it rather: It is your Countrey (you will ſay) becauſe21 there lies your eſtate and your goods; alas! thoſe you meane are not your (I) goods: you have found them, and you muſt againe leave them: The goods of a man are his underſtanding, yea his Countrey is his underſtanding.
That man is not baniſhed, who being excluded one City, can live in anyppExilium illis terribile, quibus quaſi circumſcriptus eſt habitandi Locus; non iis qui omnem terrarum orbem unam urbē eſse ducunt. Cic. parad other climate of the habitable world: But he that cannot live in any other portion of the world, but in the circle of ſuch a Citty: to expell the other out of ſuch a Citty is not baniſhment but an enfranchiſement: But how many men doth an ambition of greatneſſe, and a deſire of lucre detaine there as Exiles, who never complaine, and yet live in a harder condition than the other? you live under a good22 common-wealth, to which by nature you ought, and by choice you doe render obedience. But thoſe men doe live under two Tyrants, AvariceqqLibido honoris, imperii, provinciarum, quam dura eſt domina, quam imperioſa? Cic. parad. and Ambition, which by nature they ought to command and not to obey. Your Lordſhip is tranſplanted from the Countrey of your Fathers into your Mother Countrey: For how can you be any other then the ſonne of this Citty, if this Citty be the mother of ſtudies and arts? ſurely you are her ſonne, and a pregnant one too, the many births and conceptions of your braine doe approve you ſo: ſend forth thoſe that are not yet publiſhed, bring them (I pray) not to the light, but to be a light to the learned world, let them come abroad both to ſolacerrQuid jucundius eſt Senectute ſtipatâ ſtudiis juventutis? Cic. Cat. Ma. your ſelfe and others.
23Though wiſe men reſide among the vulgar in this elementary world, yet they have another within them ful of various images and noble Ideas, ſpringing from the purer ſpirits of the heart, and inhabited by the nobleſt parts of the Intellect. It were a great unhappineſſe and diſparagement to mankind, if thoſe men ſhould dwell in the ſame Common-wealth, that have not the ſame braines. Ignorance is a veile that hinders us to know this truth: he that ſhould have the happineſſe to remove this veile, but for a moment, would be aſtoniſhed to ſee a ſtrange Metamorphoſis, he ſhould ſee a new heaven, and a new world: but ſince ignorance is diſpell'd but by degrees, that which is cleare in it ſelfe, doth not preſently24 appeare ſo cleare. From this Countrey your Lordſhip can never be baniſhed, in this, you can endure no trouble.
The Philoſopher hath left it recorded, That ſtones doe not make a City but bones, not walls but men: Pompey could ſay, that RomessMe exulem putas cùm omnes meo diſceſſu exulaſſe Remp. pu•ent? Cic. de ſeipſo. Parad. 1 Veios babitante Camillo illic Roma fuit. went along with him when the better part of the Citizens went. Your Lordſhip hath carried away a great part of your Countrey with you, when you carried away your ſelfe: I may ſay that you carried away all of it, not all the walls, but all the hearts therein: Who can ſay, that he is an exile that is ſo great a part of the admirable frame and building of his owne Countrey? you are not gone to baniſhment, but have left your25 Countrey in baniſhment: becauſe all thoſe remaine Exiles that have made you one. It cannot be believed that Caeſar did chaſe Pompey from Rome, but rather that Pompey did chaſe Caeſar out of it, if he carried with him the City, when he was exiled. The Inhabitants of ſeven caeleſtiall ſpheares, which convey their influence by motion and light into this nether world: which in the number of the ſecond cauſes are the firſt, or certainely next to the firſt, are never fixt in their own Countrey, but are erratick, & itinerant: they have their proper houſes (it it true) but where thy have their houſe, they have not their habitation; onely Mercury the God of wiſedome hath histtTermes of judiciary Aſtrologie. Houſe, his exaltation & his triumph in one and the ſame26 ſigne: nevertheleſſe he hath the greater force and efficacy in his unfortunate houſe, than in his owne: To ſhew that wiſdome doth then ſhew her vertues and power moſt, when ſhe is moſt unfortunate.
Let no man wonder that I make here a Panegyrick of baniſhment, I am not a little obliged unto it, it hath created me your friend, ſervant, ſlave, it is enough that I have ſaid Friend, ſince he is not a friend who is not a ſervant, yea a ſlave; though there be thoſe that are ſervants and ſlaves, that be not friends: for there are ſome in this age that name themſelves by no other ſtyle than ſlaves, who notwithſtanding know no other friendſhip than that of profit and intereſt.
27I would farther expatiate in commendation of this your baniſhment from your Countrey, if (by being not allowed ſtay at this time in my own) I were not baniſhed out of your Lordſhips ſight: otherwiſe I do ſo farre like and wiſh your baniſhment, that if I had your worth and innocence, (if this were not to wiſh my maſter guilty) I would wiſh my ſelfe baniſhed. But ſince I live under a Prince, who crownes merit with reward, and never puniſheth the innocent, ſince I cannot be an Exile, I would make my ſelfe one; and I doe not know whether I doe not make my ſelfe one at this preſent, or am not made ſo, but I am innocent, and therefore I doe make my ſelfe: I ſhould glory rather to be made one, becauſe it would be a glory28 to be made like to your Lordſhip.
When worthyneſſe doth not advance a man higher, he gaines the more favour, if it caſts him lower, than if it moved him not at all: if he be not gracious with a man, or if he be out of his favour, there is no better way to make him gracious than to beuuQuos injuriae inviſos faciunt, gratioſo, miſeriae reddunt. Val. Max. lib. 5. c. 3. disfavoured. Mens tongues run in his commendations, and their hearts melt in compaſſion of him: great worth is not without reward, even in this world: for it is found ſomtimes among men, who alwaies promiſe that it ſhall be rewarded: if thoſe men do not reward it, who are the principle debtors, thoſe men will that have any ſhare in the benefit. Payments do cancell the obligation, but he that is not payd is ſtill a29 creditor, and feeles the debt ſtill to grow, becauſe the merit ſtill increaſeth: So that rewards are then moſt ample, when they are never received.
There is nothing that manww〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. Xenoph. affects more than praiſe, and there is nothing hinders it more than envie, nor doth increaſe it more than pittie: he that deſires the one without the other, let him make himſelfe deſerving, and let him wiſh himſelfe unfortunate: merit in diſtreſſe doth produce the greater compaſſion, by how much in felicity it produceth the greater envie: we are mov'd with compaſſion, becauſe we love the worth of him who is our inferiour, and becauſe we feare the like chance, by his example, who was our equall. xxEgo Pompeii caſum deploro & meam fortunam metuo: The words of Caeſar when Pompey's head was brought unto him. Suet.
Your Lordſhip hath with30 your reſoluteneſſe of mind amidſt adverſity, united two things, which were not wont to be at great ods and diſtance before, to wit Envie and Compaſſion; and hath brought misfortunes into credit, and hath rendred them even deſirable, whilſt in the midſt of them, you have rendred your vertues even to envie glorious. It was the ſaying ofyySi vis me flere, dolendum eſt primum ipſi tibi. Hor. de arte poet. a Poet, that he that would draw teares from others, muſt ſhew his owne: I know not whether he ſpake well, becauſe I know not whether affection moves the greater compaſſion: this I know, that behaviour moves a better: whatever circumſtances are uſed to bewaile the chance, are turned to the admiration of the perſon. Some Authors believe and teach (though perhaps amiſſe)31 that the carriage and courage of a man do take away compaſſion, becauſe they take away the appearance and likelyhood of misfortunes, as though men cannot believe a diſaſter, if they doe not ſee teares; this appearance of fortitude (drawing all to the admiration of the perſon) makes the acerbity of the diſaſter to be forgotten: it doth not make it not to be truly believed, but not to be well conſidered: but admiration is not without delight, nor compaſſion without griefe: weeping proceeding (moſt commonly) from a mixture of ſorrow and delight, and behaviour uniting theſe paſſions together, will make us (perhaps) to thaw into many teares; whereas affection will rather make us to nauſeate than to weep.
32The recompence of thoſe troubles which your Lordſhip hath ſuſtained for the Republique is to be troubled by it, but I believe that the Republique is troubled more for you than by you: a few men can never make a body, they can marre it, and often doe: and I believe alſo that your noble Lordſhip is more troubled of the Republique than by it.
(K) I have heard you ſpeak ſo honourably and reſpectfully of that Senate which hath baniſhed you, and ſo affectionatly of your Countrey, that you would deſire (in a maner) to be reputed culpable, that ſhe might not be thought unjuſt: But noble Signor, he defends his Countrey, who defends his owne innocence: It is eaſier to demonſtrate33 that they have not once conſented to baniſh your Lordſhip, than to goe about to make men believe that they have beene ſo often overſeene in advancing you: as if their prudence did neither let them foreſee and know the vices of his younger years, nor direct them how to curbe thoſe of his riper age: But had ſo often entruſted the helme of their veſſell to the valour and prudence of a young man, who in the maturitie of his age muſt be caſhierd, as unworthy of thoſe favours.
Republiques do often give way to calumny that they might not take away the trade of Informers: they had rather baniſh an innocent man, than ſuffer dammage by not puniſhing a guilty man. I ſay not that the Common-wealth34 of Genoa is unjuſt, ſuch thoughts are farre from me: I am not ſo uncivill nor ſo diſreſpectfull. I honour it much: and I would be as good to ſerve it, as I am ready to reſpect it; and if I would not reſpect it for any other reaſon; I would for this, that it is your Lordſhips Countrey: otherwiſe in lieu of obtaining your love and favour, I ſhould purchaſe your hatred: I ſhould not comfort you but exaſperate you rather, ſince you that are innocent, will needs be innocent, only becauſe you are condemned & judged to be ſo.
It is no contradiction to be juſtly condemned and to be innocent: How many offenders are acquitted by juſtice without injuſtice? If that ſaying of Seneca be true, that thunder-bolts are never more35 juſt than when they are adored by him that is thunderſtruck; This moſt juſt Common-wealth was never more juſt than when it fulminated your baniſhment, who doth ſo much commend it, and with ſuch expreſſions of honour diſcourſeth of it. Thrice happy Common-wealth! were all the Cittizens like you, ſhe could never commit an errour: baniſhment ſhould never be thought unjuſt, nor the baniſhed innocent: if at any time, ſhe were not juſt, ſuch men would make her ſo, when they affirme and teach that the will of their Fathers or Senators is their Law: In Tyrannical Governments the will holds the place of Juſtice; But in a Republique where Optimacy beares ſway & rule, ſhe may well enough ſtand with Juſtice.
I Have beene at a long debate with my ſelfe, Firſt, Whether I ſhould write unto you; and then What I ſhould write; to condole you had beene dangerous; if griefe had poſſeſſ'd your mind already, it would have increaſed its ſtrength: if it had not, it would have given it a beginning: To comfort you raiſ'd theſe doubts within me: either there were reaſons for ſo doing, and then it38 would have beene ſuppoſed, that I had done it long ſine; or there were no reaſons, and then it would have beene an undertaking as unneceſſary in the one caſe, as fond and vaine in the other: you have loſt your dignities, nay you loſt none, if your vertues adhere to you; and they doe ſo, if you can deſpiſe & ſcorne that which ſticks not to you: that circle of friends, that did compaſſe you round and applaud you, were ſo many enemies; they rather beſieged you and laid wait for you: The friends of Honours ſwarme to the place where they reſide, becauſe they affect thoſe Honours: they hate thoſe that do enjoy them, becauſe they would enjoy them themſelves: He that feeles the weight of Honours, thinks39 them inſupportable, and too heavie for him, and he that feeles them not is inſupportable to them: He that is not burthen'd with them is a burthen to them: ſhould a Courſer that is dect with trappings of gold and purple, and carries a Generall in triumph to the Capitoll, take a pride in the Arches, the ſhoutes and acclamations of the people? or rather complaine of his accoutrements, which are a burthen rather than an ornament unto him; when gold as it is glorious, ſo it is ponderous too: Alas! there are few that talke with you, but with your fortune onely:aaPauci Reges non regna colunt. Sen. Herc. Oct. few that make obeyſance to you, but to the dignities which you beare, and therefore no ſhare remaines to you, no more than to the ſteede,40 but the paines and the burthen.
If by the divine goodneſſe and clemency, ambition were once quite exterminated or rooted up out of the hearts of men, it would be a greater difficulty (I doubt not) to perſwade men to beare rule, than to obey: O unhappy and wretched command then, that is thus foold by ambition, which makes men believe, that they command others when themſelves are ſlaves both to it and others. He that commands, commands onely for tobbMagna ſervitus eſt magna fortuna: ex quo Caeſar orbi terrarum dedicavit fibi eripuit. Sen. Conſol. ad Polyb. ſerve, and to ſerve thoſe which ſtoop to him only that they may command him: Behold the ſhepheard, who is an emblem of him that governes people, and tell me whether the flock ſerves him or he the flock? To ſqueeze41 their milke, and their wooll, doth not make him not to be a ſervant: it makes him not to be a free noble ſervant, but a mercenary one: if a man muſt ſeeke out dainty viands for food, if he muſt be cloathed with gold and purple, if armed with ſword or fire-brands, he hath no cauſe to complaine of nature, that ſhe hath left him (alone) among all creatures, as it were without clothes, or food, or armes: But if he would beare rule and dominion over men, he hath ſome cauſe to complaine of her, becauſe to him (alone) of all other creatures, hath ſhe aſſigned dominion and ſoveraignty over all other creatures. Have you loſt your dignities? you have not loſt them butccLaudo manentem fortunam: ſi celeres quatit pennas reſigno quae dedit. Horat od. ſurrendred them: they are the favours of42 Fortune, being ſeldome characters of merit, but of audacity: what other goodneſſe have they in them, but what he ſtamps on them, that doth enjoy them? if he be not good, they are not dignities but indignities, you have not then loſt your dignities, but they have loſt him that gave them that denomination, and made themddEpaminondas honores ita geſſit, ut ornamentum non accipere ſed dare ipſi dignitati videretur. Juſt. 1. Hiſt. dignities.
(A) Some men are borne to command, and ſome to obey. Principality ſhould be meaſured by the intellect, not by Cities and Provinces: He is not always a maſter of others, that hath others under him; it is Fortune that confounds the workes of Nature: our Lord God hath ſtampt the Character of the worthieſt man in the nobleſt and worthieſt part of man: In a play43 the Actors habits and diſguiſes may well deceive thoſe ſpectators that are below, but not thoſe that ſee them neere hand. The wiſe man was upon the ſtage to behold the Comedie, when he ſaid,eeProv. 10.7. I ſee the master walke on foote, while the ſervants Ride on horſeback. Our world here below is (for the moſt part) Antipodes or Counter to that of the Inteligences, there they argue the greateſt dignity from the greateſt meaſure of knowledge: and here he hath the greateſt dignities (often) who hath the leaſt portion of knowledge; when a man is borne in a higher degree or condition, and is inferiour in braine, he is an error or overſight of nature, a monſter: or if ſo be ſhe had an intention to make him44 ſuch, it was either to chaſtiſe, or to inſtruct, to ſhew that all that are borne in this world are not borne for the world.
Would you know what kind of things thoſe dignities were which you enjoyed? conſider what thoſe are that do enjoy them: with how many would you change conditions, if you were to change perſons withall? wherefore they are not good of themſelves, ſince they doe notffQuidquam nc Bonum eſt, quod non eum qui poſſidet, meliorem facit? Cic. parad. 1. make men good: I have ſeen them more apt to corrupt goodneſſe than to beget it: our nature is too frayle to attaine to perfection in goodneſſe: it is raſhneſſe to ſeeke an augmentation of vertue from temptation; for they doe (oftentimes) change it, but alwayes impaite it: To ſubdue our owne affection is45 a difficult task: But to vanquiſh both our owne and others too is almoſt impoſſible: what mind will bound its contentment with a little that enjoyeth much? what humility that meets with obſequiouſneſſe and homage, doth not turne to pride?
Dignity is like a purple attire which doth embelliſh dirt becauſe it hides the uglineſſe of it, but diſgraceth gold, becauſe it hides the ſplendour of it. Every thing is bright where the ſun ſhineth: but a car buncle, if you will have it glitter and ſparkle, place it in the dark: remove it out of another light, if you will ſee its owne. Vertue deſires to be naked, diſpoyld of dignities, and ſequeſtred from wealth, it is a gemme that ſhewes all its worth, when it is all diſcoverd,46 it cannot be ſo neatly enchac'd, but the beauty of that part will be conceald that is enchaced.
You are come downe from the hill, not thrown downe thence: and now ſince we are all upon the plaine, and levell, we will meaſure them together. The diſtance of the eye deceiveth it: in figures that are handſome, it perceives not all the beauty of them, and in thoſe that are miſhapen it diſcovers not all their defects: a little ſtatue becomes not greater by being placed on a hill, nay ſtatues being placed on high doe leſſen, or (at leaſt) ſeeme leſſer to the eye of him that beholds them, though not to him, who taking the baſis with the ſtatue doth meaſure both tother.
47Men are not therefore neerer heaven becauſe they are advanc'd above us: he that mounts higher hath the more need to deſcend; the way to climbe high is not to climbe: you may ſee one exalted upon the throne above others, who is far below others; the thoughts of that man who ſeemes to you to touch the Starres, are oftentimes as low as Hell: that body which you ſee is not the body of him you ſee, it is his carcaſſe,ggScito t•mortalem non eſſe, ſed corpus hoc: nec enim is es quem forma iſta declarat; ſed mens cujuſqueis eſt quiſque. Cic. In ſomn. Scipionis. there man is where his beſt part reſides, or if he be not there, he ſhall goe thither.
Heaven is made for humble men, not for the great ones; he that is ſometimes neereſt unto it, ſees it leaſt; he that ſtands on the toppe of a mountaine, ſees nothing elſe but the ſunne, whereas he that48 is in the bottome of a well, can thence number the ſtarres alſo. You may (perhaps) be agrieved that your command is taken from you: Nature which hath planted in man that moſthhCupido dominandi cunctis affectibus flagrantior. Tacit. 2. Hiſt ardent deſire of command, would have ſhewed her ſelfe an envious mother, if ſhe had not alſo given ſomething to command. There is no man but hath (B) a kingdome within himſelfe, and he is not worthy to be a king over others, that is not firſt a king over himſelfe; rejoice that you are a commander over your own affections, to ſee your paſſions ſo good ſubjects. This Harmonie brings you to hear that of the ſpheres, and to contemplate that of God himſelfe, and in this moſt delightfull Symmetrie, you ſhall taſt that peace and tranquility49 of mind, which was by ancient ſages reputed the felicity of the Bleſſed. If you may not come in place to right the oppreſſed, and doe them juſtice, yet you may procure it to be done: if you have nothing left to relieve men withall, yet you have whereby to pitty them, and that poverty which you cannot relieve, you can ſupport and beare: In all places there is a place for the exerciſe of vertue, for one that would exerciſe vertue and not ambition, and there it appeares greateſt, where the leaſt reward is expected by it.
What availes it a man to be a commander over others, if he beiiSi vis omnia tibi ſubjici, teipſum ſubjice rationi. Sen. Lib. 1. Ep. 36. Multos reges ſi ratio t•rexerit. Idem. a ſlave of his owne paſſions? what availeth it to dwell in palaces (to whoſe ſumptuous frabricke50 even the remoteſt provinces of the world are tributaries) if in the meane while the ſoul inhabits a ſordid naſty body? what harmony can recreate that man that is compoſ'd of nought but diſcord within himſelfe? and what food can nouriſh him that labours with a thouſand diſeaſes, and is upon the rack of torments? Is not this body of clay enough to preſſe downe the ſoule, except we clogge it alſo with the weight of Citties, and provinces and kingdomes? the greatneſſe of dignities is a circumſtance which doth alwayes adde weight unto our faults, but never to our ſervices, and this is ſometimes mens reward in the world, that have deſerv'd well of it. It is very true that this tranſition from a place51 of eminent command, unto a private life is not eaſilykkInfeliciſſimū infortunii genus eſt aliquando fuiſſe felicem. Boet. de conſol. l. 2. concocted, except onely by thoſe, who doe not change their intellect by changing their condition; if a painter blot out a picture that was drawne in a table, and makes a new one in its place, that table is not the ſame though it be the ſame, becauſe the table doth not give the name to the picture, but the picture to it: our underſtanding is all〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, velut tabula raſa. Ariſt. 3. de aima. ſheene tablet wherein no lines are drawne, the pictures and fantaſmes of great ones, which are imprinted in it, are not the ſame with thoſe of private men, therefore the ſame mans intellect, is not the ſame when he becomes a private man: the change of a mans condition is the death of one man, and the generation52 of another; and a good death it is, if it be the generation of a good man. Troubles, my friend, are (when we erre) the rewards of our errors, and when we doe not erre, an augmentaion of our merit, either they abate and expiate the ill, or augment the good: they are alwayes good themſelves, becauſe he is alwayes good that ſends them; if they appeare Evill, it is becauſe he is evill that ſuffers under them.
You are not unforuunate becauſe you have loſt your dignities; rather you are happy if you look not after them: he obtaines enough who obtaines this, even to deſire nothing: thoſe men are happy from whom Fortune cannot take away, not they on whom ſhe may beſtow: ſhe is not unpleaſing, but to him, who was too53 much pleas'd with her: ſhe cannot take away but from him that was her Almſman: we call her unjuſt, when we our ſelves are ſo. We complaine of her for taking that which ſhe had beſtowed, in ſtead of giving her thanks that ſhe had beſtowed it: ſhe doth not rob but reaſſume: our worldly felicities are but borrowed; when they are not reſtored back, they leave us of themſelves: Death is aminiſter ofmmHe meanes Fate or Providence. Fortune, and ſee what arreares of debts are unpayd unto this, they will be exacted of that other.
He that (in misfortunes) looſeth not the ſtring of vertue, is like an arrow which (when it looſeth not the ſtring of the bow) doth fly ſo much the more forward, by how much the more it was drawne54 backward: Fortune doth not retreate with an intention to forſake, but to prove us, and where it finds great ſpirits, there it returnes with the greater equipage. He deſerves not to entertaine Fortune at her beſt, when hee cannot beare her company at the worſt: whilſt we ſeeke her unſeaſonably before the time, we often times meete our death, and whilſt ſhe returnes to us at her own leaſure, ſhe doth often find us dead. He that hoiſeth ſailes and diſplayes them upon the ſaileyards when the ſea is rough and boiſtrous, either ſinkes the veſſell or ſplitts it: we muſt be content to keepe below when our being higher may endanger our ſinking. He that cannot obtaine a calme, and yet by all meanes55 will needes ſaile in a tempeſt, doth not ſaile, but runne a ground, and doth (many times) make himſelfe unfit to entertaine calme weather when it comes and ſmiles upon him, becauſe it finds him either already ſplitt or drownd. Adverſitie hath not the power to diſturbe much, but ſuch annQuem res plus juſto delectavêre ſecumdae, mutatae quatient. Horat. ep. l. 1. minde as was enervated by proſperity. If the Stoikes had not confounded together the paines of the body with the paſſions of the minde, they had not (perhaps) fancied an (C) impaſſibility, when they fancied an indolencie: for as in one caſe, it cannot conſiſt with a ſound mind; ſo in the other caſe it may be imputed (perhaps) to the greatneſſe of wiſdome: Diſaſters are light orooAd opinionem dolemus: tam miſer eſt quiſquequam credit. Sen. Epiſt. 78. lib. 1. heavie as we are pleaſed to make56 them; for they have no other being or exiſtence than in opinion: if they were reall things they would be alike in all. Nemo aliorum ſenſu miſer eſt. Salvian. de provid. l. 1.
Conſider in your caſe how many men there be who have not thoſe dignities which you poſſeſſe, and yet doe not complain. If you reply that they do not complaine for not having them, becauſe they have not had them; you complaine (it ſeemes) not for what you are, but for what you have beene, and ſo you grieve for good, and not for evill; nay tell me alſo how many infirme men, how may beggers other ſorts of people would deeme themſelvesppNull ā tam miſer ā nominabis domum quae non inveniat in miſeriore ſolati•m. Sen. Conſ. ad Marciam cap. 12. happy, if they were in your condition? and doe you call it an unhappineſſe to be that which ſo many men would57 account happineſſe to arrive at? if you be upon thoſe terms (which I ſcarſe believe) you are no way unhappy but that you underſtand not your owne happineſſe.
All eſtates and conditions of men in the world areqqMihi videtur rerum natura quod graviſſimum fecit, commune feciſſe: ut crudelitatem fati conſolaretur aequalitas. Sen. Conſ. ad Polyb. cap. 21. equall, if a man will not change croſſes with any other when he ſees what comes to every mans lott and ſhare: much leſſe will he change felicities with any: for thoſe alſo are equall if not in the ſcales of weight, yet (at leaſt) in the ballance of juſtice: and if (at any time) the freſhneſſe or noveltie make a difference, it is the difference but of a few dayes; aſſuefaction will preſenly produce it to a Geometricall equality. The felicities of this world are not in things themſelves, they ſubſiſt58 in opinions onely, and ſo become great or ſmall, according as they are apprehended, and they have the greateſt ſhare of them, that believe they have it: Soveraignty is like a mountaine which ſeemes to the ſubjects (who are at the foot of it) with his towring head to touch the ſkie, but to thoſe that are at the toppe, it ſeemes with his baſis to reach hell,
There is no degree or condition of man but is ſubject to ſatiety: we ever deſire what we doe not poſſeſſe; and our will (ſince it lives under thoſe ſpheres, which are in perpetuall motion) can never be at reſt; private perſons doe envy the greatneſſe of Princes, and Princes do envy the quiet repoſe ofrrSi non eſſ•m Alex and. Diogenes eſſe vellem. Plut. de Fortuna Alexand. private perſons: yet they59 will never deſcend or reduce themſelves to this ſtate of life; but rather ſtill feare what they (ſometimes) deſire; As though they are aſham'd to become ſuch as they would ſeeme to deſire to have been at firſt. Be not therefore troubled that you are arrived at that ſtate of life, which you have often envied in them that did enjoy it. There are ſome ſort of maladies incident to men that the party muſt be well beaten before he can be cur'd. What things doe men uſe to wiſh to ſoules departed, that they may be happy? not inceſſant motion I trow, but everlaſting reſt: behold you are this day inveſted in that bliſſe which you ſhall enjoy in eternity, if you can beare it well in this temporall life; Every man that hath his quietneſſe60 is not at eaſe, but as that motion is beſt, the Author and cauſe whereof is ever quiet: ſo that quietneſſe is worſt, which hath within it an active principle that loves no reſt.
Reſt you quietly my friend, under the cover of that harbour to the which that wind of Envy hath driven you, which thought to drowne you: avoid the angry and unquiet Ocean, that ſea which hath ſwallowed even (D) Palinures and expert Pilots, or when they could not break them with a ſtorme, have lulld them faſt aſleepe. You have already buried Envy under your ruines, and over them you may build Coloſſuſes, or monuments of glory; you are not fallen, you have onely layd your ſelfe downe, not by any feaver or maladie, but with a61 purpoſe to take your repoſe. Envy is left behind to waite upon thoſe dignities which you enjoyed, which are no way good if they be envied: Envy is a worme which breedes onely among corruption, it doth not flie at true worth and goodneſſe, if it doth not find it wrapt in ſecular affaires which are attended with profit and glorie.
There is no other way of goodneſſe than to be good in Gods eyes, and he that is ſuch is ſo ſecure from envy, that he oftentimes falls within the compaſſe of compaſſion. Conſider thoſe who live like wild beaſts among craggy rocks, and horrid woods, who being full of grace and celeſtiall vertues, and being ſequeſtred from men, doe mix converſation62 with the Angells in the contemplation of their Creator: and then tell me, I pray you, whether any doth envy their condition? either they are pittied or commended. Moreover let us regard thoſe vertues rather, which make a man good, than thoſe which make a man great, ſo we ſhould live ſafe from the envy of men, who meaſure goodneſſe by greatneſſe, and thinke him the better man who is the higher; leave friend theſe walls which hinder your proſpect, and contract your Horizon, theſe walls which take away the prerogative which God gave unto man, to contemplate heaven without diſcompoſing his head: what other thing doth thoſe black habits import (which at firſt entrance63 doe greet our eyes) than griefe and ſorrow, for the loſſe of liberty which unawares they are deprived of? To live in a great Citty, what is it but to live in a ſpacious priſon where men are ſo wretched, and loſt, that they know not their owne naturall neceſſities, except the ſenſeleſſe clock (which is in perpetuall motion) put them in mind of them? as though all things here depended upon the wheele of Fortune or of the clock: Leave (I ſay) my friend theſe walls which can never ſo defend you, but they (at the ſame time) may oppreſs you with their fall. Come with me under the coole ſhades of Cedars and Beech: come where no other inchantment ſhall fill your eares than the chanting of the nightinggall,64 nor any other murmurs than that of the chriſtall brooks: where all favours and benefits are expected from the bounty of heaven, not of men; Here you ſhall ſee the Philomel innocently diſplaying her wings, and freely roving in the woods from tree to tree, and with the ayre of her wings, mingle the ſweete ayre and warbling notes of her voice: not like the Citty birds which are conſtrained to make their voices mercenary, to beg their meate in tune, and earne it with a muſicke leſſon, ſo that I know not whether theſe priſoners (being alſo bewitched with theſe walls) do lament or ſing the loſſe of their owne liberty. Here the waters runne under the harmleſſe laurel with chaſt and undefiled beautie, and (ſometimes65 running gently out of their chanells leaving pearly drops upon the golden floures, and ſweetly kiſſing the enamell'd herbs, do make them teemingly fertile with their amorous embraces: There (in the Citties) you may ſee them forced from their naturall courſe, and defloured, and (being conveyed through cloſe priſons and chanells) taught to aſpire proudly towards heaven, to fall (afterwards) more violently to the earth. See how theſe matters do inſtruct us that in the Citties, men cannot (in their owne naturall ſtate) be advanced, that have not firſt loſt their native liberty; and that the end of their exaltation and mounting up is tossTolluntur in altum, t•…caſu graviore ruant. Claud. fal with the greater precipitation.
THe Learned Abbot Lancellotti in his worke called L'Hoggi dis-inganno, makes it his aime and deſigne to vindicate the preſent age from the vulgar error and imputation, that it is degenerated from the glory of antient times, and that the world (Mandrabuli more) the older it growes, the worſer it is. To encounter the torrent of popular Opinion herein, he demonſtrates both by artificiall and inartificiall arguments, that preſent times are nothing inferiour to thoſe of our Fore-fathers, either in Vertue or Arts, Learning or Manners.
For Learning, he produceth inſtances (of ſeverall kinds) to confront Antiquitie, and to beard the Zanzummims or Giant-wits of former Ages. 67Among others, he musters this learned Marqueſſe, (the Author of theſe Letters) and places him in the front and among the Primi-pili of that Learned army of pen men, which he doth array and marſhall in that work; He ſaith that the Antients need not boaſt of their Tacitus or Seneca where Malvezzi is, for thoſe two are contracted and blended into this one perſon, and he inherits the perfections of them both.
It is moſt certaine that our noble Author here, is a perſonage that deſerves all theſe Commendations, except the obſcurity of his ſtile chance to obſcure his worth, and make him leſſe valued, becauſe leſſe underſtood. Like the Cuttlefiſh, he hides himſelfe too much in his owne inke: his draughts or pictures have too much ſhadow,68 and his Tablets ſeeme like ſo many night-peeces: He is another Heraclitus, ſo darke and obſcure, that even his own Countrey men are thought witts when he is understood by them.
I have therefore (upon better thoughts) conſidered that a pedantick & ſtraight-lac'd tranſlation was not ſufficient for this peece, but that ſome paſſages (at leaſt) requir'd more light and larger Illuſtrations, which I have endeavoured to perform, and annexed them in the ſubſequent pages; which now preſent themſelves to the Readers view and Candor.
GEnoa. §.] A Free State or Common-wealth in Italie; called by the French Genes: It is governed in chief by a Duke, whoſe office is annuall, and whoſe authority (during his wardſhip) is regulated by eight Governours and ſo many Protectors, whoſe office extends to the ſpace of two yeares, as Monſ: Bodin informes me; Theſe are all choſen by the Grand Councell of foure hundred which is70 term'd the Signory. There is alſo beſides theſe, a Senate which conſiſts of a hundred ſelect perſons, who are choſen into that dignity by balls, as at Venice. So Bod. lib. 2. de Repub.
There is a ſtanding army belonging to this Republique, conſiſting of foure thouſand horſe and foote, under the Command of ſome expert Generall. In which quality this noble Signor Vincent Imperiall was, as may be eaſily gathered from the Tenor of this Letter.
section BOſtraciſme. §. This was a baniſhment uſed among the Athenians and Epheſians; which hath its name and denomination from〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉which ſignifies a ſhell: becauſe the humorous Citizens did uſe to write their votes upon71 fiſh ſhells when they had a mind to baniſh any out of their ſociety: And that was as often as any qualm of feare came over their ſtomacks; If they began to feare any mans wealth, or power, and favour with the people. In Alcibiade & Aſtide.Hoc genus Exilii civibus potentiâ & gloriâ praeſtantioribus irrogatur, non malis ant obſcuris hominibus, as Plutarch hath recorded. This baniſhment was for the ſpace of tenne yeares, and did not extend to confiſcation of goods. Hereof Ariſtotle makes mention, Polit. lib. 3. cap. 9.
Of this nature was the Petaliſmus in Siracuſe, practiſed by writing the name of the party to be baniſhed upon an Olive-leafe, without expreſſing his crime, or a reaſon of his proſcription; for it was72 frequently done without any reaſon.
section CStoicall indolencie. §. This is that Apathy, imperturbation, and conſtant tenor of mind that is imputed to the Stoicks; as though they taught that a diſcreet wiſe man ſhould be never affected either with other mens diſaſters or his owne: But they that tooke their meaning ſo, miſtooke them. They teach (indeed) that a wiſe man is ſo good a Commander of himſelfe and his own paſſions, that he is never transported by them, or (like Phaeton) hurried headlong: But his Reaſon doth ſtill poſſeſſe the throne and ſcepter, and holds the golden reigns of Soveraignety in her hand; And doth exerciſe her Iurisdiction, not by killing theſe Gibeonites,Joſua. 6.21.73 but by keeping them in obedience, and making them ſerviceable.
A wiſe man is a man as well as other mortalls: Seneca (who was germaniſſimus Stoicus, as Cicero calls him,Acad. qu. 1. a true bred Stoick) did confeſſe as much:Epiſt. 71. non educo ſapientem ex hominum numero, &c. And Antoninus ſirnam'd the Philoſopher, (who had imbided as much Stoiciſme as any other) did betray as much by the teares that the ſhed for this foſter father: and when he ſeemed to ſome ſevere gravities to lament beyond decorum, his father Antoninus Pius, ingeniouſly excuſed him: permitte illi ut homo ſit, &c. permitt him (ſaith he) to be a man: for neither Philoſophy nor Empire takes away affections.
74Seneca alſo in his conſolatory Epiſtle to PolybiusCap. 37. is ſo farre from condemning him for his ſorrowing, that he condemnes thoſe that did condemne him, and calls them durae magis quam fortis prudentiae Viros, rather hard-hearted than valiant men.
An unchangeable tenor and temper of affections is not onely above the conditions of men but of the holy angells alſo: for they have an alternation of joyes and ſorrows; as they rejoice over penitent ſinners, ſo they grieve and mourne for the fall of a holy man, or ſome bright ſtarre in the firmament of Gods Church, below.
section DThere is no evill. §. Among the writings of the Stoicks there are many ſingular ſtreins which we uſually call Paradoxes,75 and what CiceroPraefat: ad Paradoxa. calls mirabilia Stoicorum the rare and wonderfull Cabal of the Stoicks, of which kind, divers are ſcattred by the Noble Author in the preceding letters, whereof this is one: That the evill of ſinne onely, and not the evill of puniſhment; that which we doe, not that which we ſuffer, deſerves the name of evill. And this doctrine hath beene delivered from an eloquent FatherChryſoſt. from the pulpit, ſaying:Apud Sixtum Sen. 4 Bibl. Maximum fieri ex tribulationibus lucrum; & ſupplicia mortalibus a Deo immiſſa, eſſe divinae pietatis beneficia: which is as much as to ſay, that our greateſt foes are our beſt friends; that ſufferings are bleſſings, and that we often gaine by our loſſes. Theſe may ſeeme Riddles, but (upon ſerious76 deliberation) they are found ſober truths: Poverty, exile, impriſonment, bodily infirmities, and the like (which moſt men account the chiefeſt of evills) are not evill indeed, but partake more of good than evill.
subsection 1Poverty is the harbour of peace and ſecurity: where undiſturbed ſleepes and undiſſembled joyes doe dwell, fideliùs rident tuguria; ſome rich men have abandoned their wealth, and ſome great ones have degraded themſelves of their greatneſſe for to enjoy the bleſſings that attend the low eſtate of the poore: low ſhrubs are not annoyed with thunder-ſtrokes; and Envy, Cares and turmoiles doe not haunt the Cell. If a man can match his mind to his meanes, and levell his deſires with77 his fortune and make them commenſurate, he may diſpute happineſſe with the Gods, ſaith that brave Roman, Seneca. Epiſt. 23.
subsection 2For impriſonment, if it be not juſt, there is no evill in it, no diſgrace at all, ſince Socrates was priſoner at Athens: and ſince Phocion and Miltiades (the ornaments of their Countrey) died in a priſon; The very preſence of their perſons did purge away the infamy of that place, and made it ſacred, and far more honourable than the Court where their Judges ſate. 〈…〉. IA goale was made for malefactors, but if innocent and good men be thrown therein, it muſt loſe that appellation, and be rather any thing elſe than a goale: as it is true, that Cauſa non poena facit martyrem:78 ſo it is as true that cauſa non poena facit carcerem.
subsection 3Baniſhment: none need to fear it or ſtartle at it: it hath been the lot and fortune of the moſt vertuous and deſerving men that ever lived amongſt men: they that have often preſerved their Countrey from ruine have beene (by their Countrey men) driven out of it: This was the reward of M. Cicero, Qui conſervatae patriae pretium calamitate exilii tulit, as V. Paterculus ſpeakes of him. L. 2. Hiſt.And thus have many other worthy Patriots been rewarded, as will be ſhewed in another Paragraph. If ſuch noble examples will not ſerve to reconcile us to a good opinion of baniſhment, ſure this former Letter of Malvezzi will, which is a79 perſuaſive Apologie for the ſame, & is fraught with learned arguments to that effect.
subsection 4Laſtly, for bodily infirmities: they have wrought much good, by fitting ſome men for good arts and ſtudies, and others for heaven, by a pious and holy life. Thucid. l. 1. Hiſtor.Plato did ſet up his Academy in an unhealthfull ayre, in Attica; which was as barren for corne, as it was fertile in good wits and Arts: for an Athletick habit of body is not ſo uſefull for the minde; the ſtrength of the one is perfected in the weakeneſſe of the other. Imbecillitas carnis (ſaith SalvianIn Epiſt. ad Caturū.) mentis vigorem exacuit, & affectis artubus, vires corporum in virtutes transformantur animorum & multis ſanitatis genus quoddam eſſe videatur, hominem interdum non eſſe ſanum;80 this is very full and home to our buſineſſe. Eudoxius a famous orator in S. Baſils time, and who had been converted to the Chriſtian faith by that holy Father, lay long under a languiſhing ſickneſſe, but he was ſo farre from murmuring and diſcontent under it, that he made an excellent Grace or thankesgiving to God for the ſame, Gratias ago (ſaith he) tibi pater O. Conditor hominum tuorum, qùod nos (etiam invitos) rectè fingis; & per externum hominem, internum purgas; & per adverſa ad beatum nos finem producis. Baſil. Epiſt. 117.
section EFortune. §. If by this name and appellation of Fortune (ſo frequently mentioned in theſe Letters, and in the writings of Ethnicks under the notion of a Deity) is meant the ſupreme moderator of81 the Univerſe (who is capable of all names, as Seneca tells us) it may paſſe current:Cui nomen omne convenit. lib. 2. Natur. quaeſt. c. 45. otherwiſe Fortune is but filia vulgi (as one ſaith) a child of popular Fancie, an Idol or figment of mans braine. For when the Philoſophers were ignorant of the true cauſes of ſome effects and events, they devized theſe termes of Fortune and Chance to ſalve the Phaenomena of their doctrine, and their credit from the ſuſpition of Ignorance. For (indeed) there is nothing that falls out in this univerſe without a Providence, and a tru and proper cauſe, which is linked unto the firſt: from which it hath its firſt motion and impulſe, and to which it hath it laſt reſort: though all men cannot ſee the dependencie and Concatenation of the ſame. 82Some of the wayes of Providence are full of Meanders and Labirynths paſt finding out, proceeding in ſuch a crypticall and involved method that humane witt cannot trace them. And therefore Fortune (like Occult Qualities in philoſophy) is the Sanctuary of Ignorance: Propter ignorationem verarum cauſarum aut obſcuritatem Fortuna appellatur, ejuſquevocabulo utuntur philoſophi: So the Orator ingeniouſly confeſſth in the ſecond of his Acad: Queſtions. Cic.
section FBeſtowed upon the beſt deſerving. §. The Romans rewarded Rutilius and Camillus with baniſhment, and many other Worthies, to whom Rome did ow not a little of her greatneſſe and glory: ſo they dealt with the African Scipio who was Carthaginis horro,83 & cui Roma debet quòd ſemel tantùm capta eſt, as Seneca expreſſeth him:Epiſt. 91. who was the terror of Carthage, and who reſcued Rome from a ſecond Rape, that Annibal had not his will and pleaſure upon her, as the Gaules once had. Cicero and Seneca (two men that were the honour of the Gown) received the like kindneſſe, the former having by his great care and activity preſerved Rome from the fury of Catiline and his Complices: and the latter having been not only the Emperor Nero's Tutor, but was alſo (for his perſonall worth) Romani nominis magnus ſol, as Lipſius ſtyles him. In his Notes on Tacitus. The Athenians caſhierd not onely their Miltiades and Themiſtocles, who had often preſerved their lives and fortunes, but alſo their Phocion84 and Ariſtides, which are not ſo much names of men, as of Vertue and Goodneſſe. Beneficia co uſqueLaeta ſunt, dum videntur poſſe ex•…olv Tac. 4. An.Some of theſe were proſcribed, becauſe their deſerts were above requitall: and ſome others, not becauſe they had done any harme, but for feare they ſhould doe any, in regard of their power and greatneſſe. Eminent men are alwaies ſuſpected by the higher powers, whthere one or more ſit at the ſterne: for the ſame faults and Enormities are incident to popular ſtates, as are to Monarchies. Tacit.Non minus periculum ex magna fama quám ex mala: andSen. Thy. multis exitio fuit íncautus populi favor, are true maxims in both ſtates: Great merit and a high fame, are like a high wind and a large ſaile which doe often ſinke the veſſell. 85And Machiavell in his diſcourſes puts it to the queſtion, Whether the Prince or the people uſe to be more ungratefull toward their deſerving Miniſters: and he concludes them equally guilty.
section GOf great worth. §. neither Comparatives nor ſuperlatives are allowed in the Grammar rules of Democracie: A man may be good here, but not better than his fellowes, nor richer nor wiſer, nor any way better qualified; we are all Peeres here, nemo de nobis unquam excellat, ſi quis extiterit, alio loco, & apud alios ſit: ſo the levelling Epheſians decreed, when they turnd out Hermodurus. Ariſt. 3. Pol. c. 13. Cic. lib. 1. Tuſc. qu.And this is the practiſe of the Venetian ſtate at this preſent as Jovius tells us:Lib. 1. de Ven. Repub. neminem temerè ex Optimatibus, qui vel inſigni virtute86 vel ſpiritu in gerendis rebus antecellat, nimio plus creſcere, vel collecta gratiâ potentem & clarū eſſe patiuntur. In theſe popular ſtates no man may be popular, ir a minion of the people: multis exitio fuit, &c. the unwary and undiſſembled love of the multitude hath been often fatall to their Favourit, and hath coſt him his life or his liberty, as it did Petro Loredano a Senator of Venice,Mach: Diſcur. who becauſe he had more diſcretion than his fellowes, and ſo much authority as to becalme a tempeſt by land, I meane a great commotion and tumult raiſed by the Sea-men, which threatned much danger to the Citty, was ſoone after this good ſervice clapt up in priſon by the Senate, par ragion di ſtato.
87It is a fundamentall rule and maxim of ſtate in theſe kinds of Governments to ſuffer no man to grow〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉as Ariſtotle expreſſeth it,5. Polit. cap. 8. ultrà commenſurationem, beyond his line and tedder: every man here hath his bounds which he may not paſſe, and his maximum quoad ſic (for wealth and dignity) beyond which dimenſions and pitch he may not grow. The temper of theſe bodies politique are ſtated ad temperamentū, ad pondus aequale, & ſtinted to an aequiponderation by the project and deſigne of the firſt Founder: no element may predominate here; this brings all to diſorder and diſtemper.
But how agreeable this is to natures lawes, and whether this be not a dwarfing of a88 State and a damping of mens Spirits and induſtries I leave to others to determine.
He that ſaid. §. Plut.Suet.This was Jul. Caeſar, who when he ſtood in competition with Q. Catulus for the Pontificate, and his mother diſwaded him from it, told her that ere night he would be either the greateſt man in Rome, or be baniſhed out of it; he would be firſt, or none at all. So another time paſſing by a little towne in Savoy, he told the company that was with him, that he had rather be the chiefeſt man in that Towne, than the ſecond man in Rome. Of this spirit was Caeſar Borgia, as his motto diſcovered: Aut Caeſar, aut Nihil. The ſpirits of ſome men (by ſome naturall Elevation) are made for Rule;89 they are too high for the low roofes they were borne in, and therefore cannot live in the sphere of privacie and ſubjection. As Jul. Caeſar could brooke no ſuperior: ſo Pompey could beare no Peere,〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, as Dion ſpeakes of him, being very ambitious of Rule and preheminence, and of graſping all power in his own hands. Plut. in vit. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. Ariſt. Pol. 3. cap. 3.Themiſtocles was wont to ſpeake openly, that he was borne for empire and command; and Jaſon Pheraeus would ſay that he could not live a Foole, that is, a private man; and that he was hungry till he did beare rule, as Ariſtotle hath recorded of him.
Theſe men did ſweat (in a manner) within the narrow bounds that their fathers had90 left them, as Alexander did, within the compaſſe of the knowne world. Juv. Sat. 10.Aeſtuat infaelix anguſto limite mundi. They were ſtraitned and uneaſie, and therefore made way with their ſwords for more roome to breathe in.
section IAre not your goods. § This is another Inopinatum, or nice point of the Stoicks mirabilia; That the moveables of Fortune are not to be reckoned any part of our wealth, or among the number of our goods or good things: for the true goods of a man are (ſay they) immoveable and immutable; nec eripi nec ſurripi poſſunt, can neither be plundred nor ſequestred; a mans true wealth is alwaies imbarqued in the ſame bottom with himſelfe: for extrinſecall and adventitious goods, non ſimpliciter91 bona nuncupanda, ſaith Apuleius, are not ſimply good: ſed falſa & adulterina bona, as Seneca ſtyles them,Epiſt. 71. things that have the gloſſe and luſtre of good (as counterfeit gems of true ones) but are not ſo indeed. Helvid. apud Tac. 4 Hiſt.Quae extra animum ſunt, neque bonis neque malis annumeranda, ſaith another Scholar of the Stoa: they are neither good nor bad abſolutely in themſelves, but relatively,〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, according as they are uſed and imployed; bona undè benè facias, non quae bonos faciunt, inſtruments to doe good, not to make men good: for what is incident to bad men and never makes them better, and ſeparable from good men and never leaves them worſe, doth not deſerve the name of good. Cic. parad. 1Quidquamne bonum92 eſt, quod non eum qui poſſidet meliorem facit.
section KI heard you speake. § This noble Gentleman bore his baniſhment with that temper and aequanimity, as Scipio did his; who upon his departure from the Citty ſpake in this gentle ſtraine:Sen. Epiſt. 86. Ʋtere ſine me beneficio meo, patria: cauſa tuae libertatis fui, ero & argumentum; exeo, ſi plus quam tibi expedit crevi. And that good man Ariſtides being ſentenced to baniſhment, ſaid no more but this: I wiſh my Countrey no more harm than that they may never have any more need of Ariſtides. Rutilius alſo tooke his baniſhment ſo contentedly, ut ſorti ſuae gratias egit, & exilium complexus eſt, as Seneca tells us. Epiſt. 86.And Seneca himſelfe in his conſolatory Epiſtle to93 his mother Helvia, touching his owne baniſhment, doth not complaine (one word) either of his baniſhers or baniſhment, but ſeemes as well contented with Corſica as with Rome.
Theſe brave men, by this moderation and Compoſedneſſe of mind, did reare them Trophies out of their misfortunes,Conſol. ad Helviam. cap. 13. & miſerias Infularum laco babuere, wore their diſaſters like holy veſtmments and robes of honour, as Seneca ſets them out. They ſhewed that they could not onely doe, but ſuffer bravely:Et facere & pati fortia, hoc Romanum eſt. L. Flo. and that paſſive fortitude is as glorious as active valour. Theſe men that (carried ſo much intrinſique worth) thought they could live as wel without their native Countrey, as their Countrey without94 them, as Diogenes ſaid of his ſervant that ran away:Laert. in•…ita. if my man (ſaith he) can live without me, it were a ſhame if I could not live without my man.
section ABOrne to Command. § It is nature that makes ſervants and maſters ſaith Ariſtotle,1 Polit. c. 1. ſhe imprints a character of ſervitude or command on every rationall creature; which impreſſion is either outward or inward, in the body, or mind, or both: when ſhe deſignes men for rule ſhe gives them (commonly) more decent limbs and feature, & formam dignam imperio. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. Eurip.A handſom face in time of election is a letter of commendation, whoſe ſilent Rhetorick prevailes much with the people, and gaines95 their voices without canvaſſing, or any other arguments to perſwade. Omnibus Barbaris in majeſtate corporis veneratio eſt, qui magnorum operum non alios magis capaces putant quā quos eximiâ specie natura dignata eſt, ſaith that elegant Hiſtorian Q. Curt. L. 1. Hiſt.And therefore moſto nations were wont to chooſe their Rulers (as the Jſraelites did Saul) by the eye. So the Indians and Aethiopains did in Ariſtotles time:〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. 7. Polit. cap. 14. grounding their choice (perhaps) upon this account: that ſuch fair manſions ſhould have (and uſually had) Inhabiters and Gueſts ſuitable to their dwelling: Faire ſoules ſhould poſſeſſe faire bodies.
But if it falls out ſo (as many times it doth) that ingenium malè habitat, as Suetonius ſpeaks of Galba, a faire96 ſoule is lodged meanely and unſuitably; or on the contrary, then it is Natures intent (ſince Reaſon and underſtanding are of the greateſt uſe and moment in humane affaires, and matters of Government) that thoſe that had the greateſt ſhare of theſe (by Natures bounty) ſhould beare rule over them that had leſſe, and were minors in underſtanding: The foole ſhall be a ſervant to the wiſe of heart, ſaith the wiſe Solomon. Prov. 11.29.This was Diogenes his meaning,Laert. who when he was taken captive by pirats, and was to be ſold in the market-place, ſeeing a Gallant paſſe by, whom he conceived to have more wealth than wit, ſpake to the Pirats, Sirs, ſell me (I pray) to yonder Gentleman, for I believe he wants a maſter: he did not97 mean to be his ſervant (belike) but his master.
section BBut hath a kingdome. §. This poſition flowed from Zeno's ſchoole too, and the Sophies of the Stoa (quorum〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, whoſe words ſound like wonders and eracles) That every wiſe man is not only a free-man but a free-prince, a King: This doctrine hath paſſed current through many hands and pens. Qui recte faciet, non qui dominatur, erit Rex, ſaith Auſonius in his monoſyllables; He that doth well is a King, though he be not a King: and Rex eſt qui poſuit metus, &c. Saith Seneca,In Thyeſt. he that hath ſubdued his feares and perturbations, deſerves the Crowne; Regnum & diadema deferes, &c. Lib. 2. Carm. ode 2.Reach him the Crowne and Scepter ſaith Horace, and let him98 reigne, in whom no baſe covetouſneſſe reignes. But this kingdome (we ſpeake of) is an inviſible one, ſeated in the minde of man: mens bona regnum poſſidet: every body naturall is a body politicke, or a little common-wealth, where Reaſon commands in chiefe, and the Paſſions (like dutifull ſubjects) obey her check and commands: And though the territories of this little Republic ſeeme but ſmall and narrow, being bounded within the circuit of mans breaſt, yet the command and Royalty is great; imperare ſibi maximum eſt imperium ſaith Seneca,Epiſt. 113. he that can command himſelfe may command farre and wide, yea farther than He that weares the Moone for his creſt,Turke. or the other that weares the Sunne for his helmet:King of Spaine. 99 Latius regnes avidum domando ſpiritū, quā ſi Lybiā remotis Gadibus jungas, & uterquePoenus ſerviat uni. As the Lyrick poet hath divinely ſung. Car. lib. 2. od 2.
This doctrine is quadrate to that ſaying in the holy ſcripture,Revel. 1.6. That Chriſt hath made us Kings and Prieſts unto God his Father: which being underſtood in a morall and not a literall ſenſe, (as ſome fanatick ſpirits would underſtand them, who would be all Kings and Prieſts) doth aptly concur with this maxim of the Stoicks: As I have obſervd a great harmony and conformity in many points both of doctrine and diſcipline, betweene the Chriſtians and the Stoicks; and if Ariſtotle was Chriſts praecurſor in naturalibus as the Divines of Collen affirm'd, I may as boldly affirm100 and demonſtate it too, that Zeno and his ſucceſſors were his praecurſors in moralibus; whoſe teaching did enlighten much the darkneſſe of thoſe times and diſpell their ignorance; creating a glimmering light, like the dawne before the ſun-riſing, and preparing the way for the Light which enlightneth every man that commeth into the world: though Saint John (that bright Phoſphorus) did it in a higher degree & meaſure, yet theſe had a ſhare in it, and ſeaſoned their minds with previous diſpoſitions to receive the lively Oracles of Chriſt & his Preachers.
section CFancied an impoſſibility. §. This is another placitum or haereſie of the ſame ſchoole: that as no outward misfortunes can make any wound or bruiſe in the mind of a101 wiſe man: ſo neither can bodily paines make him miſerable, or bereave him of inward joy and felicity: ſi uratur ſapiens, ſi crucietur in Phalaridis tauro, dicet, quam ſuave eſt hoc? Cic. 2. Tuſc. qu. the inward peace and contentment of mind, which he enjoyes, doth ſtupifie the ſharpeſt torments, and rebate the edge and ſenſe of them. Invictus ex alto dolores ſuor ſpectat, as our Seneca tells us,Epiſt. 85. he lookes with an undaunted ſpirit upon his owne torments and tormenters, as though he were a ſpectator and not a ſpectacle; & as though his body did not belong unto him, or that were not his owne that he carried about him. Tunde Anaxarchi follem, &c. ſo Anaxarchus jeer'd him that belabourd himſelfe in tormenting his body.
102Though our noble Author ſeemes not to approve of this Paradox, concluding it under an impoſſibility, yet the great Saint Baſil, doth not ſtick to commend it: Laudo animi dexteritatem (ſaith heEpiſt. 180.) & praeſtantiam in Stoicis, qui nihil corum quae extra hominem ſunt à felicitate impedire dicunt: ſed felicem eum eſſe qui virtutis ſtudio incumbit, licet in Phalaridis tauro cremetur. And the ready willingneſſe of the primitive Chriſtians to be Martyrs, and their wonderfull conſtancie and cheerfulneſſe under thoſe witty and exquiſit torments that were inflicted on them, may acquit this doctrine of the Stoicks both from arrogancie, and from a ſeeming impoſſibility.
section DPalinures. §. Palinurus was ſhip-maſter or Pilot to103 Aeneas in his Navigations from Troy to Italy: who (one night) while he was viewing the ſtarrs and the skie from the deck of a ſhip, was by a ſtrong guſt of wind throwne overboard, and
Theſe Palinures in the Text are ſome prudent and experienced States-men and Pilots, that have ſate at the ſternes of Common-wealthes; whom the breath of the people (who are as inconſtant as the wind) hath in ſome paroxiſme and acute fitt of anger or jelouſie, which they are frequently ſubject unto, many times caſt overboard, even ſuch as have ſteer'd and guided them ſafe in all their courſes through many Civill tempeſts; and104 whom they (once) eſteemed their Dioſcuri and Tutelar gods; ſo fickle and uncertain a tenure, is the love of the vulgus — neutrum modò, mas modò vulgus. There is no Euripus ſo lunatick and unquiet, and ſo ful of reciprocations and countertydes; or ſo ſuddainly changed from a calme to a tempeſt as the populace; Nullum fretum tam procelloſum, & tantos ciet fluctus quantos multitudo motus habet ſaith Quint. Curtius, lib 10.
The people is〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉as Plutarch characters them,De Repub. gerenda a ſuspitious, humorſome and Skittiſh beaſt, that is often reſtif, and doth caſt off his rider: and a man may as ſoon ſhape a coate for the changeable Moone, as make any Government or Governours to pleaſe them long.
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