,,essays ,,of ,,michel ,,de ,,montaigne 
,translated by ,charles ,cotton  ,edited
 by ,william ,carew ,hazilitt  #ahgg    
,,contents ,,of ,,volume #ab4  ,,xviii4 
,of giving the lie4 ,,xix4      ,of     
liberty of conscience4 ,,xx4       ,that
 we taste nothing pure4 ,,xxi4          
,against idleness4 ,,xxii4     ,of      
,posting4 ,,xxiii4    ,of ill means     
employed to a good end4 ,,xxiv4     ,of 
the ,roman grandeur4 ,,xxv4      ,not to
 counterfeit being sick4 ,,xxvi4     ,of
 thumbs4 ,,xxvii4    ,cowardice the     
mother of cruelty4 ,,xxviii4   ,all     
things have their season4 ,,xxix4       
,of virtue4 ,,xxx4      ,of a monstrous 
child4 ,,xxxi4     ,of anger4           
,,chapter ,,xviii  ,,of ,,giving ,,the  
,,lie  ,well1 but some one will say to  
me1 this design of making a man's self  
the subject of his writing1 were indeed 
excusable in rare and famous men1 who by
 their reputation had given others a    
curiosity to be fully informed of them4 
,it is most true1 ,i confess and know   

very well1 that a mechanic will scarce  
lift his eyes from his work to look at  
an ordinary man1 whereas a man will     
forsake his business and his shop to    
stare at an eminent person when he comes
 into a town4  ,it misbecomes any other 
to give his own character1 but him who  
has qualities worthy of imitation1 and  
whose life and opinions may serve for   
example3 ,caesar and ,xenophon had a    
just and solid foundation whereon to    
found their narrations1 the greatness of
 their own performances2 and were to be 
wished that we had the journals of      
,alexander the ,great1 the commentaries 
that ,augustus1 ,cato1 ,sylla1 ,brutus1 
and others left of their actions2 of    
such persons men love and contemplate   
the very statues even in copper and     
marble4 ,this remonstrance is very true2
 but it very little concerns me3        
,non recito cuiquam1 nisi amicis1 idque 
coactus2           ,non ubivis1 coramve 
quibuslibet1 in medio qui               
,scripta foro recitant1 sunt multi1     

quique lavantes4       ,i repeat my     
poems only to my friends1 and when bound
 to do so2      not before every one and
 everywhere2 there are plenty of        
reciters      in the open market-place  
and at the baths4--,horace1 sat4 i4 #d1 
#gc4  ,i do not here form a statue to   
erect in the great square of a city1 in 
a church1 or any public place3          
,non equidem hoc studeo1 bullatis ut    
mihi nugis1           ,pagina           
turgescat444444           ,secreti      
loquimur3       ,i study not to make my 
pages swell with empty trifles2      you
 and ,i are talking in                  
private4--,persius1 ,sat41 v4 #ai4  'tis
 for some corner of a library1 or to    
entertain a neighbour1 a kinsman1 a     
friend1 who has a mind to renew his     
acquaintance and familiarity with me in 
this image of myself4  ,others have been
 encouraged to speak of themselves1     
because they found the subject worthy   
and rich2 ,i1 on the contrary1 am the   
bolder1 by reason the subject is so poor

 and sterile that ,i cannot be suspected
 of ostentation4  ,i judge freely of the
 actions of others2 ,i give little of my
 own to judge of1 because they are      
nothing3 ,i do not find so much good in 
myself1 that ,i cannot tell it without  
blushing4  ,what contentment would it   
not be to me to hear any one thus relate
 to me the manners1 faces1 countenances1
 the ordinary words and fortunes of my  
ancestors8 how attentively should ,i    
listen to it6  ,in earnest1 it would be 
evil nature to despise so much as the   
pictures of our friends and             
predecessors1 the fashion of their      
clothes and arms4  ,i preserve their    
writing1 seal1 and a particular sword   
they wore1 and have not thrown the long 
staves my father used to carry in his   
hand1 out of my closet4                 
,paterna vestis1 et annulus1 tanto      
charior est           posteris1 quanto  
erga parentes major affectus4       ,a  
father's garment and ring is by so much 
dearer to his posterity1      as there  

is the greater affection towards        
parents4      --,st4 ,aug41 ,de ,civat4 
,dei1 i4 #ac4  ,if my posterity1        
nevertheless1 shall be of another mind1 
,i shall be avenged on them2 for they   
cannot care less for me than ,i shall   
then do for them4  ,all the traffic that
 ,i have in this with the public is1    
that ,i borrow their utensils of        
writing1 which are more easy and most at
 hand2 and in recompense shall1         
peradventure1 keep a pound of butter in 
the market from melting in the          
sun3--,montaigne semi-seriously         
speculates on the possibility of his    
,,ms4 being used to wrap up butter4     
,ne toga cordyllis1 ne penula desit     
olivis2                ,et laxas        
scombris saepe dabo tunicas2       ,let 
not wrappers be wanting to tunny-fish1  
nor olives2      and ,i shall supply    
loose coverings to mackerel4            
--,martial1 xiii4  ,i1 ,i4  ,and though 
nobody should read me1 have ,i wasted   
time in entertaining myself so many idle

 hours in so pleasing and useful        
thoughts8  ,in moulding this figure upon
 myself1 ,i have been so often          
constrained to temper and compose myself
 in a right posture1 that the copy is   
truly taken1 and has in some sort formed
 itself2 painting myself for others1 ,i 
represent myself in a better colouring  
than my own natural complexion4 ,i have 
no more made my book than my book has   
made me3 'tis a book consubstantial with
 the author1 of a peculiar design1 a    
parcel of my life1 and whose business is
 not designed for others1 as that of all
 other books is4  ,in giving myself so  
continual and so exact an account of    
myself1 have ,i lost my time8  ,for they
 who sometimes cursorily survey         
themselves only1 do not so strictly     
examine themselves1 nor penetrate so    
deep1 as he who makes it his business1  
his study1 and his employment1 who      
intends a lasting record1 with all his  
fidelity1 and with all his force3 ,the  
most delicious pleasures digested       

within1 avoid leaving any trace of      
themselves1 and avoid the sight not only
 of the people1 but of any other person4
  ,how often has this work diverted me  
from troublesome thoughts8 and all that 
are frivolous should be reputed so4     
,nature has presented us with a large   
faculty of entertaining ourselves alone2
 and often calls us to it1 to teach us  
that we owe ourselves in part to        
society1 but chiefly and mostly to      
ourselves4  ,that ,i may habituate my   
fancy even to meditate in some method   
and to some end1 and to keep it from    
losing itself and roving at random1 'tis
 but to give to body and to record all  
the little thoughts that present        
themselves to it4  ,i give ear to my    
whimsies1 because ,i am to record them4 
,it often falls out1 that being         
displeased at some action that civility 
and reason will not permit me openly to 
reprove1 ,i here disgorge myself1 not   
without design of public instruction3   
and also these poetical lashes1         

,zon zur l'oeil1 ion sur le groin1      
,zon zur le dos du ,sagoin1       ,a    
slap on his eye1 a slap on his snout1 a 
slap on ,sagoin's      back4--,marot4   
,fripelippes1 ,valet de ,marot a        
,sagoin4   imprint themselves better    
upon paper than upon the flesh4  ,what  
if ,i listen to books a little more     
attentively than ordinary1 since ,i     
watch if ,i can purloin anything that   
may adorn or support my own8  ,i have   
not at all studied to make a book2 but  
,i have in some sort studied because ,i 
had made it2 if it be studying to       
scratch and pinch now one author1 and   
then another1 either by the head or     
foot1 not with any design to form       
opinions from them1 but to assist1      
second1 and fortify those ,i already    
have embraced4 ,but whom shall we       
believe in the report he makes of       
himself in so corrupt an age8           
considering there are so few1 if1 any at
 all1 whom we can believe when speaking 
of others1 where there is less interest 

to lie4 ,the first thing done in the    
corruption of manners is banishing      
truth2 for1 as ,pindar says1 to be true 
is the beginning of a great virtue1 and 
the first article that ,plato requires  
in the governor of his ,republic4 ,the  
truth of these days is not that which   
really is1 but what every man persuades 
another man to believe2 as we generally 
give the name of money not only to      
pieces of the dust alloy1 but even to   
the false also1 if they will pass4  ,our
 nation has long been reproached with   
this vice2 for ,salvianus of            
,marseilles1 who lived in the time of   
the ,emperor ,valentinian1 says that    
lying and forswearing themselves is with
 the ,french not a vice1 but a way of   
speaking4  ,he who would enhance this   
testimony1 might say that it is now a   
virtue in them2 men form and fashion    
themselves to it as to an exercise of   
honour2 for dissimulation is one of the 
most notable qualities of this age4  ,i 
have often considered whence this custom

 that we so religiously observe should  
spring1 of being more highly offended   
with the reproach of a vice so familiar 
to us than with any other1 and that it  
should be the highest insult that can in
 words be done us to reproach us with a 
lie4  ,upon examination1 ,i find that it
 is natural most to defend the defects  
with which we are most tainted4  ,it    
seems as if by resenting and being moved
 at the accusation1 we in some sort     
acquit ourselves of the fault2 though we
 have it in effect1 we condemn it in    
outward appearance4  ,may it not also be
 that this reproach seems to imply      
cowardice and feebleness of heart8 of   
which can there be a more manifest sign 
than to eat a man's own words--nay1 to  
lie against a man's own knowledge8      
,lying is a base vice2 a vice that one  
of the ancients portrays in the most    
odious colours when he says1 that it is 
to manifest a contempt of ,god1 and     
withal a fear of men4  ,it is not       
possible more fully to represent the    

horror1 baseness1 and irregularity of   
it2 for what can a man imagine more     
hateful and contemptible than to be a   
coward towards men1 and valiant against 
his ,maker8  ,our intelligence being by 
no other way communicable to one another
 but by a particular word1 he who       
falsifies that betrays public society4  
',tis the only way by which we          
communicate our thoughts and wills2 'tis
 the interpreter of the soul1 and if it 
deceive us1 we no longer know nor have  
further tie upon one another2 if that   
deceive us1 it breaks all our           
correspondence1 and dissolves all the   
ties of government4 ,certain nations of 
the newly discovered ,indies 7,i need   
not give them names1 seeing they are no 
more2 for1 by wonderful and unheardof   
example1 the desolation of that conquest
 has extended to the utter abolition of 
names and the ancient knowledge of      
places7 offered to their gods human     
blood1 but only such as was drawn from  
the tongue and ears1 to expiate for the 

sin of lying1 as well heard as          
pronounced4  ,that good fellow of       
,greece--,plutarch1 ,life of ,lysander1 
c4 #d4--said that children are amused   
with toys and men with words4  ,as to   
our diverse usages of giving the lie1   
and the laws of honour in that case1 and
 the alteration they have received1 ,i  
defer saying what ,i know of them to    
another time1 and shall learn1 if ,i    
can1 in the meanwhile1 at what time the 
custom took beginning of so exactly     
weighing and measuring words1 and of    
making our honour interested in them2   
for it is easy to judge that it was not 
anciently amongst the ,romans and       
,greeks4 ,and it has often seemed to me 
strange to see them rail at and give one
 another the lie without any quarrel4   
,their laws of duty steered some other  
course than ours4  ,caesar is sometimes 
called thief1 and sometimes drunkard1 to
 his teeth4  ,we see the liberty of     
invective they practised upon one       
another1 ,i mean the greatest chiefs of 

war of both nations1 where words are    
only revenged with words1 and do not    
proceed any farther4     ,,chapter ,,xix
  ,,of ,,liberty ,,of ,,conscience      
',tis usual to see good intentions1 if  
carried on without moderation1 push men 
on to very vicious effects4  ,in this   
dispute which has at this time engaged  
,france in a civil war1 the better and  
the soundest cause no doubt is that     
which maintains the ancient religion and
 government of the kingdom4             
,nevertheless1 amongst the good men of  
that party 7for ,i do not speak of those
 who only make a pretence of it1 either 
to execute their own particular revenges
 or to gratify their avarice1 or to     
conciliate the favour of princes1 but of
 those who engage in the quarrel out of 
true zeal to religion and a holy desire 
to maintain the peace and government of 
their country71 of these1 ,i say1 we see
 many whom passion transports beyond the
 bounds of reason1 and sometimes        
inspires with counsels that are unjust  

and violent1 and1 moreover1 rash4  ,it  
is certain that in those first times1   
when our religion began to gain         
authority with the laws1 zeal armed many
 against all sorts of pagan books1 by   
which the learned suffered an exceeding 
great loss1 a disorder that ,i conceive 
to have done more prejudice to letters  
than all the flames of the barbarians4  
,of this ,cornelius ,tacitus is a very  
good testimony2 for though the ,emperor 
,tacitus1 his kinsman1 had1 by express  
order1 furnished all the libraries in   
the world with it1 nevertheless one     
entire copy could not escape the curious
 examination of those who desired to    
abolish it for only five or six idle    
clauses that were contrary to our       
belief4  ,they had also the trick easily
 to lend undue praises to all the       
emperors who made for us1 and           
universally to condemn all the actions  
of those who were adversaries1 as is    
evidently manifest in the ,emperor      
,julian1 surnamed the ,apostate1        

,the character of the ,emperor ,julian  
was censured1 when ,montaigne      was  
at ,rome in #aeha1 by the ,master of the
 ,sacred ,palace1 who1      however1 as 
,montaigne tells us in his journal 7ii4 
#ce71 referred it      to his conscience
 to alter what he should think in bad   
taste4  ,this      ,montaigne did not   
do1 and this chapter supplied ,voltaire 
with the      greater part of the       
praises he bestowed upon the            
,emperor4--,leclerc4  who was1 in truth1
 a very great and rare man1 a man in    
whose soul philosophy was imprinted in  
the best characters1 by which he        
professed to govern all his actions2    
and1 in truth1 there is no sort of      
virtue of which he has not left behind  
him very notable examples3 in chastity  
7of which the whole of his life gave    
manifest proof7 we read the same of him 
that was said of ,alexander and ,scipio1
 that being in the flower of his age1   
for he was slain by the ,parthians at   
one-and-thirty1 of a great many very    

beautiful captives1 he would not so much
 as look upon one4  ,as to his justice1 
he took himself the pains to hear the   
parties1 and although he would out of   
curiosity inquire what religion they    
were of1 nevertheless1 the antipathy he 
had to ours never gave any counterpoise 
to the balance4  ,he made himself       
several good laws1 and repealed a great 
part of the subsidies and taxes levied  
by his predecessors4  ,we have two good 
historians who were eyewitnesses of his 
actions3 one of whom1 ,marcellinus1 in  
several places of his history sharply   
reproves an edict of his whereby he     
interdicted all ,christian rhetoricians 
and grammarians to keep school or to    
teach1 and says he could wish that act  
of his had been buried in silence3 it is
 probable that had he done any more     
severe thing against us1 he1 so         
affectionate as he was to our party1    
would not have passed it over in        
silence4  ,he was indeed sharp against  
us1 but yet no cruel enemy2 for our own 

people tell this story of him1 that one 
day1 walking about the city of          
,chalcedon1 ,maris1 bishop of the place2
 was so bold as to tell him that he was 
impious1 and an enemy to ,christ1 at    
which1 they say1 he was no further moved
 than to reply1 ,go1 poor wretch1 and   
lament the loss of thy eyes1 to which   
the bishop replied again1 ,i thank      
,jesus ,christ for taking away my sight1
 that ,i may not see thy impudent       
visage1 affecting in that1 they say1 a  
philosophical patience4  ,but this      
action of his bears no comparison to the
 cruelty that he is said to have        
exercised against us4  ,he was1 says    
,eutropius1  my other witness1 an enemy 
to ,christianity1  but without putting  
his hand to blood4  ,and1 to return to  
his justice1 there is nothing in that   
whereof he can be accused1 the severity 
excepted he practised in the beginning  
of his reign against those who had      
followed the party of ,constantius1 his 
predecessor4  ,as to his sobriety1 he   

lived always a soldier-like life2 and   
observed a diet and routine1 like one   
that prepared and inured himself to the 
austerities of war4  ,his vigilance was 
such1 that he divided the night into    
three or four parts1 of which the least 
was dedicated to sleep2 the rest was    
spent either in visiting the state of   
his army and guards in person1 or in    
study2 for amongst other rare qualities1
 he was very excellent in all sorts of  
learning4  ',tis said of ,alexander the 
,great1 that being in bed1 for fear lest
 sleep should divert him from his       
thoughts and studies1 he had always a   
basin set by his bedside1 and held one  
of his hands out with a ball of copper  
in it1 to the end1 that1 beginning to   
fall asleep1 and his fingers leaving    
their hold1 the ball by falling into the
 basin1 might awake him4 ,but the other 
had his soul so bent upon what he had a 
mind to do1 and so little disturbed with
 fumes by reason of his singular        
abstinence1 that he had no need of any  

such invention4  ,as to his military    
experience1 he was excellent in all the 
qualities of a great captain1 as it was 
likely he should1 being almost all his  
life in a continual exercise of war1 and
 most of that time with us in ,france1  
against the ,germans and ,franks3 we    
hardly read of any man who ever saw more
 dangers1 or who made more frequent     
proofs of his personal valour4  ,his    
death has something in it parallel with 
that of ,epaminondas1 for he was wounded
 with an arrow1 and tried to pull it    
out1 and had done so1 but that1 being   
edged1 it cut and disabled his hand4    
,he incessantly called out that they    
should carry him again into the heat of 
the battle1 to encourage his soldiers1  
who very bravely disputed the fight     
without him1 till night parted the      
armies4  ,he stood obliged to his       
philosophy for the singular contempt he 
had for his life and all human things4  
,he had a firm belief of the immortality
 of souls4  ,in matter of religion he   

was wrong throughout1 and was surnamed  
the ,apostate for having relinquished   
ours3 nevertheless1 the opinion seems to
 me more probable1 that he had never    
thoroughly embraced it1 but had         
dissembled out of obedience to the laws1
 till he came to the empire4 ,he was in 
his own so superstitious1 that he was   
laughed at for it by those of his own   
time1 of the same opinion1 who jeeringly
 said1 that had he got the victory over 
the ,parthians1 he had destroyed the    
breed of oxen in the world to supply his
 sacrifices4  ,he was1 moreover1        
besotted with the art of divination1 and
 gave authority to all sorts of         
predictions4 ,he said1 amongst other    
things at his death1 that he was obliged
 to the gods1 and thanked them1 in that 
they would not cut him off by surprise1 
having long before advertised him of the
 place and hour of his death1 nor by a  
mean and unmanly death1 more becoming   
lazy and delicate people2 nor by a death
 that was languishing1 long1 and        

painful2 and that they had thought him  
worthy to die after that noble manner1  
in the progress of his victories1 in the
 flower of his glory4  ,he had a vision 
like that of ,marcus ,brutus1 that first
 threatened him in ,gaul1 and afterward 
appeared to him in ,persia just before  
his death4  ,these words that some make 
him say when he felt himself wounded3   
,thou hast overcome1 ,nazarene2 or as   
others1 ,content thyself1 ,nazarene2    
would hardly have been omitted1 had they
 been believed1 by my witnesses1 who1   
being present in the army1 have set down
 to the least motions and words of his  
end2 no more than certain other miracles
 that are reported about it4  ,and to   
return to my subject1 he long nourished1
 says ,marcellinus1 paganism in his     
heart2 but all his army being           
,christians1 he durst not own it4  ,but 
in the end1 seeing himself strong enough
 to dare to discover himself1 he caused 
the temples of the gods to be thrown    
open1 and did his uttermost to set on   

foot and to encourage idolatry4  ,which 
the better to effect1 having at         
,constantinople found the people        
disunited1 and also the prelates of the 
church divided amongst themselves1      
having convened them all before him1 he 
earnestly admonished them to calm those 
civil dissensions1 and that every one   
might freely1 and without fear1 follow  
his own religion4  ,which he the more   
sedulously solicited1 in hope that this 
licence would augment the schisms and   
factions of their division1 and hinder  
the people from reuniting1 and          
consequently fortifying themselves      
against him by their unanimous          
intelligence and concord2 having        
experienced by the cruelty of some      
,christians1 that there is no beast in  
the world so much to be feared by man as
 man2 these are very nearly his words4  
,wherein this is very worthy of         
consideration1 that the ,emperor ,julian
 made use of the same receipt of liberty
 of conscience to inflame the civil     

dissensions that our kings do to        
extinguish them4  ,so that a man may say
 on one side1 that to give the people   
the reins to entertain every man his own
 opinion1 is to scatter and sow         
division1 and1 as it were1 to lend a    
hand to augment it1 there being no legal
 impediment or restraint to stop or     
hinder their career2 but1 on the other  
side1 a man may also say1 that to give  
the people the reins to entertain every 
man his own opinion1 is to mollify and  
appease them by facility and toleration1
 and to dull the point which is whetted 
and made sharper by singularity1        
novelty1 and difficulty3 and ,i think it
 is better for the honour of the        
devotion of our kings1 that not having  
been able to do what they would1 they   
have made a show of being willing to do 
what they could4     ,,chapter ,,xx     
,,that ,,we ,,taste ,,nothing ,,pure    
,the feebleness of our condition is such
 that things cannot1 in their natural   
simplicity and purity1 fall into our    

use2 the elements that we enjoy are     
changed1 and so 'tis with metals2 and   
gold must be debased with some other    
matter to fit it for our service4       
,neither has virtue1 so simple as that  
which ,aristo1 ,pyrrho1 and also the    
,stoics1 made the end of life2 nor the  
,cyrenaic and ,aristippic pleasure1 been
 without mixture useful to it4  ,of the 
pleasure and goods that we enjoy1 there 
is not one exempt from some mixture of  
ill and inconvenience3                  
,medio de fonte leporum1                
,surgit amari aliquid1 quod in ipsis    
fioribus angat4       ,from the very    
fountain of our pleasure1 something     
rises that is      bitter1 which even in
 flowers destroys4--,lucretius1 iv4     
#aacj4  ,our extremest pleasure has some
 sort of groaning and complaining in it2
 would you not say that it is dying of  
pain8  ,nay1 when we frame the image of 
it in its full excellence1 we stuff it  
with sickly and painful epithets and    
qualities1 languor1 softness1           

feebleness1 faintness1 'morbidezza'3 a  
great testimony of their consanguinity  
and consubstantiality4  ,the most       
profound joy has more of severity than  
gaiety1 in it4  ,the highest and fullest
 contentment offers more of the grave   
than of the merry3                 ,ipsa
 felicitas1 se nisi temperat1 premit4   
,even felicity1 unless it moderate      
itself1 oppresses8           --,seneca1 
,ep4 #gd4  ,pleasure chews and grinds   
us2 according to the old ,greek verse1  
which says that the gods sell us all the
 goods they give us2 that is to say1    
that they give us nothing pure and      
perfect1 and that we do not purchase but
 at the price of some evil4  ,labour and
 pleasure1 very unlike in nature1       
associate1 nevertheless1 by ,i know not 
what natural conjunction4  ,socrates    
says1 that some god tried to mix in one 
mass and to confound pain and pleasure1 
but not being able to do it2 he         
bethought him at least to couple them by
 the tail4 ,metrodorus said1 that in    

sorrow there is some mixture of         
pleasure4  ,i know not whether or no he 
intended anything else by that saying2  
but for my part1 ,i am of opinion that  
there is design1 consent1 and           
complacency in giving a man's self up to
 melancholy4 ,i say1 that besides       
ambition1 which may also have a stroke  
in the business1 there is some shadow of
 delight and delicacy which smiles upon 
and flatters us even in the very lap of 
melancholy4  ,are there not some        
constitutions that feed upon it8        
,est quaedam flere voluptas2            
',tis a certain kind of pleasure to     
weep4                --,ovid1 ,trist41  
iv4  #c1 #bg4  and one ,attalus in      
,seneca says1 that the memory of our    
lost friends is as grateful to us1 as   
bitterness in wine1 when too old1 is to 
the palate3                             
,minister vetuli1 puer1 ,falerni        
,inger' mi calices amariores--          
,boy1 when you pour out old ,falernian  
wine1 the bitterest put      into my    

bowl4--,catullus1 xxvii4 ,i4  and as    
apples that have a sweet tartness4      
,nature discovers this confusion to us2 
painters hold that the same motions and 
grimaces of the face that serve for     
weeping2 serve for laughter too2 and    
indeed1 before the one or the other be  
finished1 do but observe the painter's  
manner of handling1 and you will be in  
doubt to which of the two the design    
tends2 and the extreme of laughter does 
at last bring tears3                    
,nullum sine auctoramento malum est4    
,no evil is without its                 
compensation4--,seneca1 ,ep41 #fi4      
,when ,i imagine man abounding with all 
the conveniences that are to be desired 
7let us put the case that all his       
members were always seized with a       
pleasure like that of generation1 in its
 most excessive height7 ,i feel him     
melting under the weight of his delight1
 and see him utterly unable to support  
so pure1 so continual1 and so universal 
a pleasure4  ,indeed1 he is running away

 whilst he is there1 and naturally makes
 haste to escape1 as from a place where 
he cannot stand firm1 and where he is   
afraid of sinking4  ,when ,i religiously
 confess myself to myself1 ,i find that 
the best virtue ,i have has in it some  
tincture of vice2 and ,i am afraid that 
,plato1 in his purest virtue 7,i1 who am
 as sincere and loyal a lover of virtue 
of that stamp as any other whatever71 if
 he had listened and laid his ear close 
to himself and he did so no doubt--would
 have heard some jarring note of human  
mixture1 but faint and only perceptible 
to himself4  ,man is wholly and         
throughout but patch and motley4  ,even 
the laws of justice themselves cannot   
subsist without mixture of injustice2   
insomuch that ,plato says1 they         
undertake to cut off the hydra's head1  
who pretend to clear the law of all     
inconveniences3            ,omne magnum 
exemplum habet aliquid ex iniquo1       
quod contra singulos utilitate publics  
rependitur1       ,every great example  

has in it some mixture of injustice1    
which      recompenses the wrong done to
 particular men by the public utility4  
--,annals1 xiv4 #dd4  says ,tacitus4    
,it is likewise true1 that for the use  
of life and the service of public       
commerce1 there may be some excesses in 
the purity and perspicacity of our      
minds2 that penetrating light has in it 
too much of subtlety and curiosity3 we  
must a little stupefy and blunt them to 
render them more obedient to example and
 practice1 and a little veil and obscure
 them1 the better to proportion them to 
this dark and earthly life4  ,and       
therefore common and less speculative   
souls are found to be more proper for   
and more successful in the management of
 affairs1 and the elevated and exquisite
 opinions of philosophy unfit for       
business4  ,this sharp vivacity of soul1
 and the supple and restless volubility 
attending it1 disturb our negotiations4 
,we are to manage human enterprises more
 superficially and roughly1 and leave a 

great part to fortune2 it is not        
necessary to examine affairs with so    
much subtlety and so deep3 a man loses  
himself in the consideration of many    
contrary lustres1 and so many various   
forms3       ,volutantibus res inter se 
pugnantes1 obtorpuerunt4444 animi4      
,whilst they considered of things so    
indifferent in themselves1      they    
were astonished1 and knew not what to   
do4--,livy1 xxxii4 #bj4  ',tis what the 
ancients say of ,simonides1 that by     
reason his imagination suggested to him1
 upon the question ,king ,hiero had put 
to him--,what ,god was4--,cicero1 ,de   
,nat4  ,deor41 i4  #bb4--7to answer     
which he had had many days for thought71
 several sharp and subtle               
considerations1 whilst he doubted which 
was the most likely1 he totally         
despaired of the truth4  ,he who dives  
into and in his inquisition comprehends 
all circumstances and consequences1     
hinders his election3 a little engine   
well handled is sufficient for          

executions1 whether of less or greater  
weight4  ,the best managers are those   
who can worst give account how they are 
so2 while the greatest talkers1 for the 
most part1 do nothing to purpose2 ,i    
know one of this sort of men1 and a most
 excellent discourser upon all sorts of 
good husbandry1 who has miserably let a 
hundred thousand livres yearly revenue  
slip through his hands2 ,i know another 
who talks1 who better advises than any  
man of his counsel1 and there is not in 
the world a fairer show of soul and     
understanding than he has2 nevertheless1
 when he comes to the test1 his servants
 find him quite another thing2 not to   
make any mention of his misfortunes4    
,,chapter ,,xxi  ,,against ,,idleness   
,the ,emperor ,vespasian1 being sick of 
the disease whereof he died1 did not for
 all that neglect to inquire after the  
state of the empire1 and even in bed    
continually despatched very many affairs
 of great consequence2 for which1 being 
reproved by his physician1 as a thing   

prejudicial to his health1 ,an emperor1 
said he1 must die standing4  ,a fine    
saying1 in my opinion1 and worthy a     
great prince4  ,the ,emperor ,adrian    
since made use of the same words1 and   
kings should be often put in mind of    
them1 to make them know that the great  
office conferred upon them of the       
command of so many men1 is not an       
employment of ease2 and that there is   
nothing can so justly disgust a subject1
 and make him unwilling to expose       
himself to labour and danger for the    
service of his prince1 than to see him1 
in the meantime1 devoted to his ease and
 frivolous amusement1 and to be         
solicitous of his preservation who so   
much neglects that of his people4       
,whoever will take upon him to maintain 
that 'tis better for a prince to carry  
on his wars by others1 than in his own  
person1 fortune will furnish him with   
examples enough of those whose          
lieutenants have brought great          
enterprises to a happy issue1 and of    

those also whose presence has done more 
hurt than good3 but no virtuous and     
valiant prince can with patience endure 
so dishonourable councils4  ,under      
colour of saving his head1 like the     
statue of a saint1 for the happiness of 
his kingdom1 they degrade him from and  
declare him incapable of his office1    
which is military throughout3 ,i know   
one--,probably ,henry ,,iv4--who had    
much rather be beaten1 than to sleep    
whilst another fights for him2 and who  
never without jealousy heard of any     
brave thing done even by his own        
officers in his absence4  ,and ,soliman 
,i4 said1 with very good reason1 in my  
opinion1 that victories obtained without
 the master were never complete4 ,much  
more would he have said that that master
 ought to blush for shame1 to pretend to
 any share in the honour1 having        
contributed nothing to the work1 but his
 voice and thought2 nor even so much as 
these1 considering that in such work as 
that1 the direction and command that    

deserve honour are only such as are     
given upon the spot1 and in the heat of 
the business4  ,no pilot performs his   
office by standing still4  ,the princes 
of the ,ottoman family1 the chiefest in 
the world in military fortune1 have     
warmly embraced this opinion1 and       
,bajazet ,,ii41 with his son1 who       
swerved from it1 spending their time in 
science and other retired employments1  
gave great blows to their empire2 and   
,amurath ,,iii41 now reigning1 following
 their example1 begins to find the same4
  ,was it not ,edward ,,iii41 ,king of  
,england1 who said this of our ,charles 
,v43 ,there never was king who so seldom
 put on his armour1 and yet never king  
who gave me so much to do4  ,he had     
reason to think it strange1 as an effect
 of chance more than of reason4  ,and   
let those seek out some other to join   
with them than me1 who will reckon the  
,kings of ,castile and ,portugal amongst
 the warlike and magnanimous conquerors1
 because at the distance of twelve      

hundred leagues from their lazy abode1  
by the conduct of their captains1 they  
made themselves masters of both ,indies2
 of which it has to be known if they    
would have had even the courage to go   
and in person enjoy them4  ,the ,emperor
 ,julian said yet further1 that a       
philosopher and a brave man ought not so
 much as to breathe2 that is to say1 not
 to allow any more to bodily necessities
 than what we cannot refuse2 keeping the
 soul and body still intent and busy    
about honourable1 great1 and virtuous   
things4  ,he was ashamed if any one in  
public saw him spit1 or sweat 7which is 
said by some1 also1 of the              
,lacedaemonian young men1 and which     
,xenophon says of the ,persian71        
forasmuch as he conceived that exercise1
 continual labour1 and sobriety1 ought  
to have dried up all those              
superfluities4  ,what ,seneca says will 
not be unfit for this place2 which is1  
that the ancient ,romans kept their     
youth always standing1 and taught them  

nothing that they were to learn sitting4
  ',tis a generous desire to wish to die
 usefully and like a man1 but the effect
 lies not so much in our resolution as  
in our good fortune2 a thousand have    
proposed to themselves in battle1 either
 to overcome or to die1 who have failed 
both in the one and the other1 wounds   
and imprisonment crossing their design  
and compelling them to live against     
their will4  ,there are diseases that   
overthrow even our desires1 and our     
knowledge4  ,fortune ought not to second
 the vanity of the ,roman legions1 who  
bound themselves by oath1 either to     
overcome or die3       ,victor1 ,marce  
,fabi1 revertar ex acie3 si fallo1      
,jovem patrem1      ,gradivumque ,martem
 aliosque iratos invoco deos4       ,i  
will return1 ,marcus ,fabius1 a         
conqueror1 from the fight3      and if  
,i fail1 ,i invoke ,father ,jove1 ,mars 
,gradivus1 and the      other angry     
gods4--,livy1 ii4 #de4  ,the ,portuguese
 say that in a certain place of their   

conquest of the ,indies1 they met with  
soldiers who had condemned themselves1  
with horrible execrations1 to enter into
 no other composition but either to     
cause themselves to be slain1 or to     
remain victorious2 and had their heads  
and beards shaved in token of this vow4 
',tis to much purpose for us to hazard  
ourselves and to be obstinate3 it seems 
as if blows avoided those who present   
themselves too briskly to them1 and do  
not willingly fall upon those who too   
willingly seek them1 and so defeat them 
of their design4  ,such there have been1
 who1 after having tried all ways1 not  
having been able with all their         
endeavour to obtain the favour of dying 
by the hand of the enemy1 have been     
constrained1 to make good their         
resolution of bringing home the honour  
of victory or of losing their lives1 to 
kill themselves even in the heat of     
battle4  ,of which there are other      
examples1 but this is one3 ,philistus1  
general of the naval army of ,dionysius 

the younger against the ,syracusans1    
presented them battle which was sharply 
disputed1 their forces being equal3 in  
this engagement1 he had the better at   
the first1 through his own valour3 but  
the ,syracusans drawing about his gally 
to environ him1 after having done great 
things in his own person to disengage   
himself and hoping for no relief1 with  
his own hand he took away the life he   
had so liberally1 and in vain1 exposed  
to the enemy4  ,mule ,moloch1 king of   
,fez1 who lately won against ,sebastian1
 king of ,portugal1 the battle so famous
 for the death of three kings1 and for  
the transmission of that great kingdom  
to the crown of ,castile1 was extremely 
sick when the ,portuguese entered in an 
hostile manner into his dominions2 and  
from that day forward grew worse and    
worse1 still drawing nearer to and      
foreseeing his end2 yet never did man   
better employ his own sufficiency more  
vigorously and bravely than he did upon 
this occasion4 ,he found himself too    

weak to undergo the pomp and ceremony of
 entering4 into his camp1 which after   
their manner is very magnificent1 and   
therefore resigned that honour to his   
brother2 but this was all of the office 
of a general that he resigned2 all the  
rest of greatest utility and necessity  
he most1 exactly and gloriously         
performed in his own person2 his body   
lying upon a couch1 but his judgment and
 courage upright and firm to his last   
gasp1 and in some sort beyond it4  ,he  
might have wasted his enemy1            
indiscreetly advanced into his          
dominions1 without striking a blow2 and 
it was a very unhappy occurrence1 that  
for want of a little life or somebody to
 substitute in the conduct of this war  
and the affairs of a troubled state1 he 
was compelled to seek a doubtful and    
bloody victory1 having another by a     
better and surer way already in his     
hands4  ,notwithstanding1 he wonderfully
 managed the continuance of his sickness
 in consuming the enemy1 and in drawing 

them far from the assistance of the navy
 and the ports they had on the coast of 
,africa1 even till the last day of his  
life1 which he designedly reserved for  
this great battle4  ,he arranged his    
battalions in a circular form1          
environing the ,portuguese army on every
 side1 which round circle coming to     
close in and to draw up close together1 
not only hindered them in the conflict  
7which was very sharp through the valour
 of the young invading king71           
considering that they had every way to  
present a front1 but prevented their    
flight after the defeat1 so that finding
 all passages possessed and shut up by  
the enemy1 they were constrained to     
close up together again3                
,coacerventurque non solum caede1 sed   
etiam fuga1            ,piled up not    
only in slaughter but in flight4  and   
there they were slain in heaps upon one 
another1 leaving to the conqueror a very
 bloody and entire victory4  ,dying1 he 
caused himself to be carried and hurried

 from place to place where most need    
was1 and passing along the files1       
encouraged the captains and soldiers one
 after another2 but a corner of his main
 battalions being broken1 he was not to 
be held from mounting on horseback with 
his sword in his hand2 he did his utmost
 to break from those about him1 and to  
rush into the thickest of the battle1   
they all the while withholding him1 some
 by the bridle1 some by his robe1 and   
others by his stirrups4  ,this last     
effort totally overwhelmed the little   
life he had left2 they again laid him   
upon his bed2 but coming to himself1 and
 starting as it were out of his swoon1  
all other faculties failing1 to give his
 people notice that they were to conceal
 his death the most necessary command he
 had then to give1 that his soldiers    
might not be discouraged 7with the news7
 he expired with his finger upon his    
mouth1 the ordinary sign of keeping     
silence4  ,who ever lived so long and so
 far into death8 whoever died so erect1 

or more like a man8  ,the most extreme  
degree of courageously treating death1  
and the most natural1 is to look upon it
 not only without astonishment but      
without care1 continuing the wonted     
course of life even into it1 as ,cato   
did1 who entertained himself in study1  
and went to sleep1 having a violent and 
bloody death in his heart1 and the      
weapon in his hand with which he was    
resolved to despatch himself4           
,,chapter ,,xxii  ,,of ,,posting  ,i    
have been none of the least able in this
 exercise1 which is proper for men of my
 pitch1 well-knit and short2 but ,i give
 it over2 it shakes us too much to      
continue it long4  ,i was at this moment
 reading1  that ,king ,cyrus1 the better
 to have news brought him from all parts
 of the empire1 which was of a vast     
extent1 caused it to be tried how far a 
horse could go in a day without baiting1
 and at that distance appointed men1    
whose business it was to have horses    
always in readiness1 to mount those who 

were despatched to him2 and some say1   
that this swift way of posting is equal 
to that of the flight of cranes4        
,caesar says1 that ,lucius ,vibullius   
,rufus1 being in great haste to carry   
intelligence to ,pompey1 rode night and 
day1 still taking fresh horses for the  
greater diligence and speed2 and he     
himself1 as ,suetonius reports1         
travelled a hundred miles a day in a    
hired coach2 but he was a furious       
courier1 for where the rivers stopped   
his way he passed them by swimming1     
without turning out of his way to look  
for either bridge or ford4 ,tiberius    
,nero1 going to see his brother ,drusus1
 who was sick in ,germany1 travelled two
 hundred miles in four-and-twenty hours1
 having three coaches4  ,in the war of  
the ,romans against ,king ,antiochus1   
,t4 ,sempronius ,gracchus1 says ,livy3  
,per dispositos equos prope incredibili 
celeritate           ab ,amphissa tertio
 die ,pellam pervenit4       ,by        
pre-arranged relays of horses1 he1 with 

an almost incredible      speed1 rode in
 three days from ,amphissa to ,pella4   
--,livy1 xxxvii4 #g4  ,and it appears   
that they were established posts1 and   
not horses purposely laid in upon this  
occasion4  ,cecina's invention to send  
back news to his family was much more   
quick1 for he took swallows along with  
him from home1 and turned them out      
towards their nests when he would send  
back any news2 setting a mark of some   
colour upon them to signify his meaning1
 according to what he and his people had
 before agreed upon4  ,at the theatre at
 ,rome masters of families carried      
pigeons in their bosoms to which they   
tied letters when they had a mind to    
send any orders to their people at home2
 and the pigeons were trained up to     
bring back an answer4  ,d4 ,brutus made 
use of the same device when besieged in 
,modena1 and others elsewhere have done 
the same4  ,in ,peru they rode post upon
 men1 who took them upon their shoulders
 in a certain kind of litters made for  

that purpose1 and ran with such agility 
that1 in their full speed1 the first    
couriers transferred their load to the  
second without making any stop4  ,i     
understand that the ,wallachians1 the   
grand ,signior's couriers1 perform      
wonderful journeys1 by reason they have 
liberty to dismount the first person    
they meet upon the road1 giving him     
their own tired horses2 and that to     
preserve themselves from being weary1   
they gird themselves straight about the 
middle with a broad girdle2  but ,i     
could never find any benefit from this4 
,,chapter ,,xxiii  ,,of ,,ill ,,means   
,,employed ,,to ,a ,,good ,,end  ,there 
is wonderful relation and correspondence
 in this universal government of the    
works of nature1 which very well makes  
it appear that it is neither accidental 
nor carried on by divers masters4  ,the 
diseases and conditions of our bodies   
are1 in like manner1 manifest in states 
and governments2 kingdoms and republics 
are founded1 flourish1 and decay with   

age as we do4  ,we are subject to a     
repletion of humours1 useless and       
dangerous3 whether of those that are    
good 7for even those the physicians are 
afraid of2 and seeing we have nothing in
 us that is stable1 they say that a too 
brisk and vigorous perfection of health 
must be abated by art1 lest our nature1 
unable to rest in any certain condition1
 and not having whither to rise to mend 
itself1 make too sudden and too         
disorderly a retreat2 and therefore     
prescribe wrestlers to purge and bleed1 
to qualify that superabundant health71  
or else a repletion of evil humours1    
which is the ordinary cause of sickness4
  ,states are very often sick of the    
like repletion1 and various sorts of    
purgations have commonly been applied4  
,some times a great multitude of        
families are turned out to clear the    
country1 who seek out new abodes        
elsewhere and encroach upon others4     
,after this manner our ancient ,franks  
came from the remotest part of ,germany 

to seize upon ,gaul1 and to drive thence
 the first inhabitants2 so was that     
infinite deluge of men made up who came 
into ,italy under the conduct of        
,brennus and others2 so the ,goths and  
,vandals1 and also the people who now   
possess ,greece1 left their native      
country to go settle elsewhere1 where   
they might have more room2 and there are
 scarce two or three little corners in  
the world that have not felt the effect 
of such removals4  ,the ,romans by this 
means erected their colonies2 for1      
perceiving their city to grow           
immeasurably populous1 they eased it of 
the most unnecessary people1 and sent   
them to inhabit and cultivate the lands 
conquered by them2 sometimes also they  
purposely maintained wars with some of  
their enemies1 not only to keep their   
own men in action1 for fear lest        
idleness1 the mother of corruption1     
should bring upon them some worse       
inconvenience3                ,et       
patimur longae pacis mala2 saevior armis

                ,luxuria incumbit4      
,and we suffer the ills of a long peace2
 luxury is more pernicious      than    
war4--,juvenal1 vi4 #bia4  but also to  
serve for a blood-letting to their      
,republic1 and a little to evaporate the
 too vehement heat of their youth1 to   
prune and clear the branches from the   
stock too luxuriant in wood2 and to this
 end it was that they maintained so long
 a war with ,carthage4  ,in the treaty  
of ,bretigny1 ,edward ,,iii41 king of   
,england1 would not1 in the general     
peace he then made with our king1       
comprehend the controversy about the    
,duchy of ,brittany1 that he might have 
a place wherein to discharge himself of 
his soldiers1 and that the vast number  
of ,english he had brought over to serve
 him in his expedition here might not   
return back into ,england4  ,and this   
also was one reason why our ,king       
,philip consented to send his son ,john 
upon a foreign expedition1 that he might
 take along with him a great number of  

hot young men who were then in his pay4 
,there--are many in our times who talk  
at this rate1 wishing that this hot     
emotion that is now amongst us might    
discharge itself in some neighbouring   
war1 for fear lest all the peccant      
humours that now reign in this politic  
body of ours may diffuse themselves     
farther1 keep the fever still in the    
height1 and at last cause our total     
ruin2 and1 in truth1 a foreign is much  
more supportable than a civil war1 but  
,i do not believe that ,god will favour 
so unjust a design as to offend and     
quarrel with others for our own         
advantage3                ,nil mihi tam 
valde placeat1 ,rhamnusia virgo1        
,quod temere invitis suscipiatur heris4 
,rhamnusian virgin1 let nothing ever so 
greatly please me which is      taken   
without justice from the unwilling      
owners      --,catullus1 lxviii4 #gg4   
,and yet the weakness of our condition  
often pushes us upon the necessity of   
making use of ill means to a good end4  

,lycurgus1 the most perfect legislator  
that ever was1 virtuous and invented    
this very unjust practice of making the 
helots1 who were their slaves1 drunk by 
force1 to the end that the ,spartans1   
seeing them so lost and buried in wine1 
might abhor the excess of this vice4    
,and yet those were still more to blame 
who of old gave leave that criminals1 to
 what sort of death soever condemned1   
should be cut up alive by the           
physicians1 that they might make a true 
discovery of our inward parts1 and build
 their art upon greater certainty2 for1 
if we must run into excesses1 it is more
 excusable to do it for the health of   
the soul than that of the body2 as the  
,romans trained up the people to valour 
and the contempt of dangers and death by
 those furious spectacles of gladiators 
and fencers1 who1 having to fight it out
 to the last1 cut1 mangled1 and killed  
one another in their presence3          
,quid vesani aliud sibi vult ars impia  
ludi1           ,quid mortes juvenum1   

quid sanguine pasta voluptas8           
,what other end does the impious art of 
the gladiators propose to      itself1  
what the slaughter of young men1 what   
pleasure fed with                       
blood4--,prudentius1 ,contra ,symmachum1
 ii4 #fdc4  and this custom continued   
till the ,emperor ,theodosius' time3    
,arripe dilatam tua1 dux1 in tempora    
famam1           ,quodque patris        
superest1 successor laudis habeto       
,nullus in urbe cadat1 cujus sit poena  
voluptas4444           ,jam solis       
contenta feris1 infamis arena           
,nulla cruentatis homicidia ludat in    
armis4       ,prince1 take the honours  
delayed for thy reign1 and be successor 
to thy fathers2 henceforth let none at  
,rome be slain for sport4  ,let         
beasts' blood stain the infamous arena1 
and no more homicides be      there     
acted4--,prudentius1 ,contra ,symmachum1
 ii4 #fdc4  ,it was1 in truth1 a        
wonderful example1 and of great         
advantage for the training up the       

people1 to see every day before their   
eyes a hundred2 two hundred1 nay1 a     
thousand couples of men armed against   
one another1 cut one another to pieces  
with so great a constancy of courage1   
that they were never heard to utter so  
much as one syllable of weakness or     
commiseration2 never seen to turn their 
backs1 nor so much as to make one       
cowardly step to evade a blow1 but      
rather exposed their necks to the       
adversary's sword and presented         
themselves to receive the stroke2 and   
many of them1 when wounded to death1    
have sent to ask the spectators if they 
were satisfied with their behaviour1    
before they lay down to die upon the    
place4  ,it was not enough for them to  
fight and to die bravely1 but cheerfully
 too2 insomuch that they were hissed and
 cursed if they made any hesitation     
about receiving their death4  ,the very 
girls themselves set them on3           
,consurgit ad ictus1                ,et1
 quoties victor ferrum jugulo inserit1  

illa                ,delicias ait esse  
suas1 pectusque jacentis                
,virgo modesta jubet converso pollice   
rumpi4       ,the modest virgin is so   
delighted with the sport1 that she      
applauds the blow1 and when the victor  
bathes his sword in his      fellow's   
throat1 she says it is her pleasure1 and
 with turned thumb      orders him to   
rip up the bosom of the prostrate       
victim4      --,prudentius1 ,contra     
,symmachum1 ii4 #fag4  ,the first       
,romans only condemned criminals to this
 example3 but they afterwards employed  
innocent slaves in the work1 and even   
freemen too1 who sold themselves to this
 purpose1 nay1 moreover1 senators and   
knights of ,rome1 and also women3       
,nunc caput in mortem vendunt1 et funus 
arena1           ,atque hostem sibi     
quisque parat1 cum bella quiescunt4     
,they sell themselves to death and the  
circus1 and1 since the wars      are    
ceased1 each for himself a foe prepares4
      --,manilius1 ,astron41 iv4 #bbe4  

,hos inter fremitus novosque lusus4444  
,stat sexus rudis insciusque ferri1     
,et pugnas capit improbus viriles2      
,amidst these tumults and new sports1   
the tender sex1 unskilled in      arms1 
immodestly engaged in manly fights4     
--,statius1 ,sylv41 i4 #f1 #ea4  which  
,i should think strange and incredible1 
if we were not accustomed every day to  
see in our own wars many thousands of   
men of other nations1 for money to stake
 their blood and their lives in quarrels
 wherein they have no manner of concern4
     ,,chapter ,,xxiv  ,,of ,,the       
,,roman ,,grandeur  ,i will only say a  
word or two of this infinite argument1  
to show the simplicity of those who     
compare the pitiful greatness of these  
times with that of ,rome4  ,in the      
seventh book of ,cicero's ,familiar     
,epistles 7and let the grammarians put  
out that surname of familiar if they    
please1 for in truth it is not very     
suitable2 and they who1 instead of      
familiar1 have substituted ad           

,familiares1 may gather something to    
justify them for so doing out of what   
,suetonius says in the ,life of ,caesar1
 that there was a volume of letters of  
his ad ,familiares 7 there is one       
directed to ,caesar1 then in ,gaul1     
wherein ,cicero repeats these words1    
which were in the end of another letter 
that ,caesar had written to him3 ,as to 
what concerns ,marcus ,furius1 whom you 
have recommended to me1 ,i will make him
 king of ,gaul1 and if you would have me
 advance any other friend of yours send 
him to me4  ,it was no new thing for a  
simple citizen of ,rome1 as ,caesar then
 was1 to dispose of kingdoms1 for he    
took away that of ,king ,deiotarus from 
him to give it to a gentleman of the    
city of ,pergamus1 called ,mithridates2 
and they who wrote his ,life record     
several cities sold by him2 and         
,suetonius says1 that he had once from  
,king ,ptolemy three millions and six   
hundred thousand crowns1 which was very 
like selling him his own kingdom3       

,tot ,galatae1 tot ,pontus1 tot ,lydia1 
nummis4            ,so much for         
,galatia1 so much for ,pontus1          
so much for ,lydia4--,claudius in       
,eutrop41 i4 #bjc4  ,marcus ,antonius   
said1 that the greatness of the people  
of ,rome was not so much seen in what   
they took1 as in what they gave2 and1   
indeed1 some ages before ,antonius1 they
 had dethroned one amongst the rest with
 so wonderful authority1 that in all the
 ,roman history ,i have not observed    
anything that more denotes the height of
 their power4  ,antiochus possessed all 
,egypt1 and was1 moreover1 ready to     
conquer ,cyprus and other appendages of 
that empire3 when being upon the        
progress of his victories1 ,c4 ,popilius
 came to him from the ,senate1 and at   
their first meeting refused to take him 
by the hand1 till he had first read his 
letters1 which after the king had read1 
and told him he would consider of them1 
,popilius made a circle about him with  
his cane1 saying3--,return me an answer1

 that ,i may carry it back to the       
,senate1 before thou stirrest out of    
this circle4   ,antiochus1 astonished at
 the roughness of so positive a command1
 after a little pause1 replied1 ,i will 
obey the ,senate's command4  ,then      
,popilius saluted him as friend of the  
,roman people4 ,to have renounced claim 
to so great a monarchy1 and a course of 
such successful fortune1 from the       
effects of three lines in writing6      
,truly he had reason1 as he afterwards  
did1 to send the ,senate word by his    
ambassadors1 that he had received their 
order with the same respect as if it had
 come from the immortal gods4  ,all the 
kingdoms that ,augustus gained by the   
right of war1 he either restored to     
those who had lost them or presented    
them to strangers4  ,and ,tacitus1 in   
reference to this1 speaking of          
,cogidunus1 king of ,england1 gives us1 
by a marvellous touch1 an instance of   
that infinite power3 the ,romans1 says  
he1 were from all antiquity accustomed  

to leave the kings they had subdued in  
possession of their kingdoms under their
 authority4            ,ut haberent     
instruments servitutis et reges4        
,that they might have even kings to be  
their slaves4      --,livy1 xlv4 #ac4   
',tis probable that ,solyman1 whom we   
have seen make a gift of ,hungary and   
other principalities1 had therein more  
respect to this consideration than to   
that he was wont to allege1 viz41 that  
he was glutted and overcharged with so  
many monarchies and so much dominion1 as
 his own valour and that of his         
ancestors had acquired4     ,,chapter   
,,xxv  ,,not ,,to ,,counterfeit ,,being 
,,sick  ,there is an epigram in         
,martial1 and one of the very good      
ones--for he has of all sorts--where he 
pleasantly tells the story of ,caelius1 
who1 to avoid making his court to some  
great men of ,rome1 to wait their       
rising1 and to attend them abroad1      
pretended to have the gout2 and the     
better to colour this anointed his legs1

 and had them lapped up in a great many 
swathings1 and perfectly counterfeited  
both the gesture and countenance of a   
gouty person2 till in the end1 ,fortune 
did him the kindness to make him one    
indeed3                ,quantum curs    
potest et ars doloris                   
,desiit fingere ,caelius podagram4      
,how great is the power of              
counterfeiting pain3 ,caelius has ceased
      to feign the gout2 he has got     
it4--,martial1 ,ep41 vii4 #ci1 #h4  ,i  
think ,i have read somewhere in ,appian 
a story like this1 of one who to escape 
the proscriptions of the triumvirs of   
,rome1 and the better to be concealed   
from the discovery of those who pursued 
him1 having hidden himself in a         
disguise1 would yet add this invention1 
to counterfeit having but one eye2 but  
when he came to have a little more      
liberty1 and went to take off the       
plaster he had a great while worn over  
his eye1 he found he had totally lost   
the sight of it indeed1 and that it was 

absolutely gone4  ',tis possible that   
the action of sight was dulled from     
having been so long without exercise1   
and that the optic power was wholly     
retired into the other eye3 for we      
evidently perceive that the eye we keep 
shut sends some part of its virtue to   
its fellow1 so that it will swell and   
grow bigger2 and so inaction1 with the  
heat of ligatures and1 plasters1 might  
very well have brought some gouty humour
 upon the counterfeiter in ,martial4    
,reading in ,froissart the vow of a     
troop of young ,english gentlemen1 to   
keep their left eyes bound up till they 
had arrived in ,france and performed    
some notable exploit upon us1 ,i have   
often been tickled with this thought1   
that it might have befallen them as it  
did those others1 and they might have   
returned with but an eye a-piece to     
their mistresses1 for whose sakes they  
had made this ridiculous vow4  ,mothers 
have reason to rebuke their children    
when they counterfeit having but one    

eye1 squinting1 lameness1 or any other  
personal defect2 for1 besides that their
 bodies being then so tender1 may be    
subject to take an ill bent1 fortune1 ,i
 know not how1 sometimes seems to       
delight in taking us at our word2 and ,i
 have heard several examples related of 
people who have become really sick1 by  
only feigning to be so4  ,i have always 
used1 whether on horseback or on foot1  
to carry a stick in my hand1 and even to
 affect doing it with an elegant air2   
many have threatened that this fancy    
would one day be turned into necessity3 
if so1 ,i should be the first of my     
family to have the gout4  ,but let us a 
little lengthen this chapter1 and add   
another anecdote concerning blindness4  
,pliny reports of one who1 dreaming he  
was blind1 found himself so indeed in   
the morning without any preceding       
infirmity in his eyes4  ,the force of   
imagination might assist in this case1  
as ,i have said elsewhere1 and ,pliny   
seems to be of the same opinion2 but it 

is more likely that the motions which   
the body felt within1 of which          
physicians1 if they please1 may find out
 the cause1 taking away his sight1 were 
the occasion of his dream4  ,let us add 
another story1 not very improper for    
this subject1 which ,seneca relates in  
one of his epistles3 ,you know1 says he1
 writing to ,lucilius1 that ,harpaste1  
my wife's fool1 is thrown upon me as an 
hereditary charge1 for ,i have naturally
 an aversion to those monsters2 and if  
,i have a mind to laugh at a fool1 ,i   
need not seek him far2 ,i can laugh at  
myself4  ,this fool has suddenly lost   
her sight3 ,i tell you a strange1 but a 
very true thing she is not sensible that
 she is blind1 but eternally importunes 
her keeper to take her abroad1 because  
she says the house is dark4  ,that what 
we laugh at in her1 ,i pray you to      
believe1 happens to every one of us3 no 
one knows himself to be avaricious or   
grasping2 and1 again1 the blind call for
 a guide1 while we stray of our own     

accord4  ,i am not ambitious1 we say2   
but a man cannot live otherwise at      
,rome2 ,i am not wasteful1 but the city 
requires a great outlay2 'tis not my    
fault if ,i am choleric--if ,i have not 
yet established any certain course of   
life3 'tis the fault of youth4  ,let us 
not seek our disease out of ourselves2  
'tis in us1 and planted in our bowels2  
and the mere fact that we do not        
perceive ourselves to be sick1 renders  
us more hard to be cured4  ,if we do not
 betimes begin to see to ourselves1 when
 shall we have provided for so many     
wounds and evils wherewith we abound8   
,and yet we have a most sweet and       
charming medicine in philosophy2 for of 
all the rest we are sensible of no      
pleasure till after the cure3 this      
pleases and heals at once4  ,this is    
what ,seneca says1 that has carried me  
from my subject1 but there is advantage 
in the change4     ,,chapter ,,xxvi     
,,of ,,thumbs  ,tacitus reports1 that   
amongst certain barbarian kings their   

manner was1 when they would make a firm 
obligation1 to join their right hands   
close to one another1 and intertwist    
their thumbs2 and when1 by force of     
straining the blood1 it appeared in the 
ends1 they lightly pricked them with    
some sharp instrument1 and mutually     
sucked them4  ,physicians say that the  
thumbs are the master fingers of the    
hand1 and that their ,latin etymology is
 derived from pollere4 ,the ,greeks     
called them ',avtixeip'1 as who should  
say1 another hand4  ,and it seems that  
the ,latins also sometimes take it in   
this sense for the whole hand3          
,sed nec vocibus excitata blandis1      
,molli pollici nec rogata1 surgit4      
,neither to be excited by soft words or 
by the thumb4           --,mart41 xii4  
#ih1 #h4  ,it was at ,rome a            
signification of favour to depress and  
turn in the thumbs3            ,fautor  
utroque tuum laudabit pollice ludum3    
,thy patron will applaud thy sport with 
both thumbs           --,horace4  and of

 disfavour to elevate and thrust them   
outward3                                
,converso pollice vulgi1                
,quemlibet occidunt populariter4        
,the populace1 with inverted thumbs1    
kill all that           come before     
them4--,juvenal1 iii4 #cf  ,the ,romans 
exempted from war all such as were      
maimed in the thumbs1 as having no more 
sufficient strength to hold their       
weapons4  ,augustus confiscated the     
estate of a ,roman knight who had       
maliciously cut off the thumbs of two   
young children he had1 to excuse them   
from going into the armies2 and1 before 
him1 the ,senate1 in the time of the    
,italic war1 had condemned ,caius       
,vatienus to perpetual imprisonment1 and
 confiscated all his goods1 for having  
purposely cut off the thumb of his left 
hand1 to exempt himself from that       
expedition4  ,some one1 ,i have         
forgotten who1 having won a naval       
battle1 cut off the thumbs of all his   
vanquished enemies1 to render them      

incapable of fighting and of handling   
the oar4 ,the ,athenians also caused the
 thumbs of the ,a,eginatans to be cut   
off1 to deprive them of the superiority 
in the art of navigation4  ,in          
,lacedaemon1 pedagogues chastised their 
scholars by biting their thumbs4        
,,chapter ,,xxvii  ,,cowardice ,,the    
,,mother ,,of ,,cruelty  ,i have often  
heard it said that cowardice is the     
mother of cruelty2 and ,i have found by 
experience that malicious and inhuman   
animosity and fierceness are usually    
accompanied with feminine weakness4  ,i 
have seen the most cruel people1 and    
upon frivolous occasions1 apt to cry4   
,alexander1 the tyrant of ,pheres1 durst
 not be a spectator of tragedies in the 
theatre1 for fear lest his citizens     
should see him weep at the misfortunes  
of ,hecuba and ,andromache1 who himself 
without pity caused so many people every
 day to be murdered4  ,is it not        
meanness of spirit that renders them so 
pliable to all extremities8  ,valour1   

whose effect is only to be exercised    
against resistance--            ,nec    
nisi bellantis gaudet cervice juvenci-- 
,nor delights in killing a bull unless  
he resists4           --,claudius1 ,ep4 
ad ,hadrianum1 v4 #ci4  stops when it   
sees the enemy at its mercy2 but        
pusillanimity1 to say that it was also  
in the game1 not having dared to meddle 
in the first act of danger1 takes as its
 part the second1 of blood and massacre4
  ,the murders in victories are commonly
 performed by the rascality and         
hangers-on of an army1 and that which   
causes so many unheard of cruelties in  
domestic wars is1 that this canaille    
makes war in imbruing itself up to the  
elbows in blood1 and ripping up a body  
that lies prostrate at its feet1 having 
no sense of any other valour3           
,et lupus1 et turpes instant morientibus
 ursi1           ,et quaecunque minor   
nobilitate fera est3       ,wolves and  
the filthy bears1 and all the baser     
beasts1      fall upon the              

dying4--,ovid1 ,trist41 iii4 #e1 #ce4   
like cowardly dogs1 that in the house   
worry and tear the skins of wild beasts1
 they durst not come near in the field4 
,what is it in these times of ours that 
makes our quarrels mortal2 and that1    
whereas our fathers had some degrees of 
revenge1 we now begin with the last in  
ours1 and at the first meeting nothing  
is to be said but1 kill8  ,what is this 
but cowardice8  ,every one is sensible  
that there is more bravery and disdain  
in subduing an enemy1 than in cutting1  
his throat2 and in making him yield1    
than in putting him to the sword3       
besides that the appetite of revenge is 
better satisfied and pleased because its
 only aim is to make itself felt3 ,and  
this is the reason why we do not fall   
upon a beast or a stone when they hurt  
us1 because they are not capable of     
being sensible of our revenge2 and to   
kill a man is to save him from the      
injury and offence we intend him4  ,and 
as ,bias cried out to a wicked fellow1  

,i know that sooner or later thou wilt  
have thy reward1 but ,i am afraid ,i    
shall not see it2 --,plutarch1 on the   
,delay in ,divine ,justice1 c4 #b4--;and
 pitied the ,orchomenians that the      
penitence of ,lyciscus for the treason  
committed against them1 came at a season
 when there was no one remaining alive  
of those who had been interested in the 
offence1 and whom the pleasure of this  
penitence should affect3 so revenge is  
to be pitied1 when the person on whom it
 is executed is deprived of means of    
suffering under it3 for as the avenger  
will look on to enjoy the pleasure of   
his revenge1 so the person on whom he   
takes revenge should be a spectator too1
 to be afflicted and to repent4  ,he    
will repent it1 we say1 and because we  
have given him a pistol-shot through the
 head1 do we imagine he will repent8    
,on the contrary1 if we but observe1 we 
shall find1 that he makes mouths at us  
in falling1 and is so far from          
penitency1 that he does not so much as  

repine at us2 and we do him the kindest 
office of life1 which is to make him die
 insensibly1 and soon3 we are afterwards
 to hide ourselves1 and to shift and fly
 from the officers of justice1 who      
pursue us1 whilst he is at rest4        
,killing is good to frustrate an offence
 to come1 not to revenge one that is    
already past2 and more an act of fear   
than of bravery2 of precaution than of  
courage2 of defence than of enterprise4 
,it is manifest that by it we lose both 
the true end of revenge and the care of 
our reputation2 we are afraid1 if he    
lives he will do us another injury as   
great as the first2 'tis not out of     
animosity to him1 but care of thyself1  
that thou gettest rid of him4  ,in the  
kingdom of ,narsingah this expedient    
would be useless to us1 where not only  
soldiers1 but tradesmen also1 end their 
differences by the sword4  ,the king    
never denies the field to any who wish  
to fight2 and when they are persons of  
quality2 he looks on1 rewarding the     

victor with a chain of gold1--for which 
any one who pleases may fight with him  
again1 so that1 by having come off from 
one combat1 he has engaged himself in   
many4  ,if we thought by virtue to be   
always masters of our enemies1 and to   
triumph over them at pleasure1 we should
 be sorry they should escape from us as 
they do1 by dying3 but we have a mind to
 conquer1 more with safety than honour1 
and1 in our quarrel1 more pursue the end
 than the glory4  ,asnius ,pollio1 who1 
as being a worthy man1 was the less to  
be excused1 committed a like1 error1    
when1 having written a libel against    
,plancus1 he forbore to publish it till 
he was dead2 which is to bite one's     
thumb at a blind man1 to rail at one who
 is deaf1 to wound a man who has no     
feeling1 rather than to run the hazard  
of his resentment4  ,and it was also    
said of him that it was only for        
hobgoblins to wrestle with the dead4    
,he who stays to see the author die1    
whose writings he intends to question1  

what does he say but that he is weak in 
his aggressiveness8 ,it was told to     
,aristotle that some one had spoken ill 
of him3 ,let him do more1 said he2 let  
him whip me too1 provided ,i am not     
there4  ,our fathers contented          
themselves with revenging an insult with
 the lie1 the lie with a box of the ear1
 and so forward2 they were valiant      
enough not to fear their adversaries1   
living and provoked we tremble for fear 
so soon as we see them on foot4  ,and   
that this is so1 does not our noble     
practice of these days1 equally to      
prosecute to death both him that has    
offended us and him we have offended1   
make it out8  ',tis also a kind of      
cowardice that has introduced the custom
 of having seconds1 thirds1 and fourths 
in our duels2 they were formerly duels2 
they are now skirmishes1 rencontres1 and
 battles4  ,solitude was1 doubtless1    
terrible to those who were the first    
inventors of this practice3             
,quum in se cuique minimum fiduciae     

esset1  for naturally any company       
whatever is consolatory in danger4      
,third persons were formerly called in  
to prevent disorder and foul play only1 
and to be witness of the fortune of the 
combat2 but now they have brought it to 
this pass that the witnesses themselves 
engage2 whoever is invited cannot       
handsomely stand by as an idle          
spectator1 for fear of being suspected  
either of want of affection or of       
courage4  ,besides the injustice and    
unworthiness of such an action1 of      
engaging other strength and valour in   
the protection of your honour than your 
own1 ,i conceive it a disadvantage to a 
brave man1 and who wholly relies upon   
himself1 to shuffle his fortune with    
that of a second2 every one runs hazard 
enough himself without hazarding for    
another1 and has enough to do to assure 
himself in his own valour for the       
defence of his life1 without intrusting 
a thing so dear in a third man's hand4  
,for1 if it be not expressly agreed upon

 before to the contrary1 'tis a combined
 party of all four1 and if your second  
be killed1 you have two to deal withal1 
with good reason2 and to say that it is 
foul play1 it is so indeed1 as it is1   
well armed1 to attack a man who has but 
the hilt of a broken sword in his hand1 
or1 clear and untouched1 a man who is   
desperately wounded3 but if these be    
advantages you have got by fighting1 you
 may make use of them without reproach4 
,the disparity and inequality are only  
weighed and considered from the         
condition of the combatants when they   
began2 as to the rest1 you must take    
your chance3 and though you had1 alone1 
three enemies upon you at once1 your two
 companions being killed1 you have no   
more wrong done you1 than ,i should do  
in a battle1 by running a man through   
whom ,i should see engaged with one of  
our own men1 with the like advantage4   
,the nature of society will have it so  
that where there is troop against troop1
 as where our ,duke of ,orleans         

challenged ,henry1 king of ,england1 a  
hundred against a hundred2 three hundred
 against as many1 as the ,argians       
against the ,lacedaemonians2 three to   
three1 as the ,horatii against the      
,curiatii1 the multitude on either side 
is considered but as one single man3 the
 hazard1 wherever there is company1     
being confused and mixed4  ,i have a    
domestic interest in this discourse2 for
 my brother1 the ,sieur de ,mattecoulom1
 was at ,rome asked by a gentleman with 
whom he had no great acquaintance1 and  
who was a defendant challenged by       
another1 to be his second2 in this duel 
he found himself matched with a         
gentleman much better known to him4  7,i
 would fain have an explanation of these
 rules of honour1 which so often shock  
and confound those of reason47  ,after  
having despatched his man1 seeing the   
two principals still on foot and sound1 
he ran in to disengage his friend4      
,what could he do less8 should he have  
stood still1 and if chance would have   

ordered it so1 have seen him he was come
 thither to defend killed before his    
face8 what he had hitherto done helped  
not the business2 the quarrel was yet   
undecided4  ,the courtesy that you can1 
and certainly ought to shew to your     
enemy1 when you have reduced him to an  
ill condition and have a great advantage
 over him1 ,i do not see how you can do 
it1 where the interest of another is    
concerned1 where you are only called in 
as an assistant1 and the quarrel is none
 of yours3 he could neither be just nor 
courteous1 at the hazard of him he was  
there to serve4  ,and he was therefore  
enlarged from the prisons of ,italy at  
the speedy and solemn request of our    
king4  ,indiscreet nation6 we are not   
content to make our vices and follies   
known to the world by report only1 but  
we must go into foreign countries1 there
 to show them what fools we are4  ,put  
three ,frenchmen into the deserts of    
,libya1 they will not live a month      
together without fighting2 so that you  

would say this peregrination were a     
thing purposely designed to give        
foreigners the pleasure of our          
tragedies1 and1 for the most part1 to   
such as rejoice and laugh at our        
miseries4  ,we go into ,italy to learn  
to fence1 and exercise the art at the   
expense of our lives before we have     
learned it2 and yet1 by the rule of     
discipline1 we should put the theory    
before the practice4 ,we discover       
ourselves to be but learners3           
,primitae juvenum miserae1 bellique     
futuri                ,dura rudimenta4  
,wretched the elementary trials of      
youth1 and hard the      rudiments of   
approaching war4--,virgil1 ,a,eneid1 xi4
 #aef4  ,i know that fencing is an art  
very useful to its end 7in a duel       
betwixt two princes1 cousin-germans1 in 
,spain1 the elder1 says ,livy1 by his   
skill and dexterity in arms1 easily     
overcoming the greater and more awkward 
strength of the younger71 and of which  
the knowledge1 as ,i experimentally     

know1 has inspired some with courage    
above their natural measure2 but this is
 not properly valour1 because it        
supports itself upon address1 and is    
founded upon something besides itself4  
,the honour of combat consists in the   
jealousy of courage1 and not of skill2  
and therefore ,i have known a friend of 
mine1 famed as a great master in this   
exercise1 in his quarrels make choice of
 such arms as might deprive him of this 
advantage and that wholly depended upon 
fortune and assurance1 that they might  
not attribute his victory rather to his 
skill in fencing than his valour4 ,when 
,i was young1 gentlemen avoided the     
reputation of good fencers as injurious 
to them1 and learned to fence with all  
imaginable privacy as a trade of        
subtlety1 derogating from true and      
natural valour3                ,non     
schivar non parar1 non ritirarsi1       
,voglion costor1 ne qui destrezza ha    
parte2                ,non danno i colpi
 or finti1 or pieni1 or scarsi6         

,toglie l'ira a il furor l'uso de       
l'arte4                ,odi le spade    
orribilmente utarsi                ,a   
mezzo il ferro2 il pie d'orma non parte1
                ,sempre a il pie fermo1 
a la man sempre in moto2                
,ne scende taglio in van1 ne punta a    
voto4            ,they neither shrank1  
nor vantage sought of ground1           
,they travers'd not1 nor skipt from part
 to part1           ,their blows were   
neither false1 nor feigned found3       
,in fight1 their rage would let them use
 no art4           ,their swords        
together clash with dreadful sound1     
,their feet stand fast1 and neither stir
 nor start1           ,they move their  
hands1 steadfast their feet remain4     
,nor blow nor foin they strook1 or      
thrust in vain4           --,tasso1     
,gierus4  ,lib41 c4 #ab1 st4 #ee1       
,fairfax's translation4  ,butts1        
tilting1 and barriers1 the feint of     
warlike fights1 were the exercises of   
our forefathers3 this other exercise is 

so much the less noble1 as it only      
respects a private end2 that teaches us 
to destroy one another against law and  
justice1 and that every way always      
produces very ill effects4  ,it is much 
more worthy and more becoming to        
exercise ourselves in things that       
strengthen than that weaken our         
government and that tend to the public  
safety and common glory4  ,the consul1  
,publius ,rutilius1  was the first who  
taught the soldiers to handle their arms
 with skill1 and joined art with valour1
 not for the rise of private quarrel1   
but for war and the quarrels of the     
people of ,rome2 a popular and civil    
defence4  ,and besides the example of   
,caesar1  who commanded his men to shoot
 chiefly at the face of ,pompey's       
soldiers in the battle of ,pharsalia1 a 
thousand other commanders have also     
bethought them to invent new forms of   
weapons and new ways of striking and    
defending1 according as occasion should 
require4  ,but as ,philopoemen condemned

 wrestling1 wherein he excelled1 because
 the preparatives that were therein     
employed were differing from those that 
appertain to military discipline1 to    
which alone he conceived men of honour  
ought wholly to apply themselves2 so it 
seems to me that this address to which  
we form our limbs1 those writhings and  
motions young men are taught in this new
 school1 are not only of no use1 but    
rather contrary and hurtful to the      
practice of fight in battle2 and also   
our people commonly make use of         
particular weapons1 and peculiarly      
designed for duel2 and ,i have seen1    
when it has been disapproved1 that a    
gentleman challenged to fight with      
rapier and poignard appeared in the     
array of a man-at-arms1 and that another
 should take his cloak instead of his   
poignard4  ,it is worthy of             
consideration that ,laches in ,plato1   
speaking of learning to fence after our 
manner1 says that he never knew any     
great soldier come out of that school1  

especially the masters of it3 and1      
indeed1 as to them1 our experience tells
 as much4  ,as to the rest1 we may at   
least conclude that they are qualities  
of no relation or correspondence2 and in
 the education of the children of his   
government1 ,plato interdicts the art of
 boxing1 introduced by ,amycus and      
,epeius1 and that of wrestling1 by      
,antaeus and ,cercyo1 because they have 
another end than to render youth fit for
 the service of war and contribute      
nothing to it4  ,but ,i see that ,i have
 somewhat strayed from my theme4  ,the  
,emperor ,mauricius1 being advertised by
 dreams and several prognostics1 that   
one ,phocas1 an obscure soldier1 should 
kill him1 questioned his son-in-law1    
,philip1 who this ,phocas was1 and what 
were his nature1 qualities1 and manners2
 and so soon as ,philip1 amongst other  
things1 had told him that he was        
cowardly and timorous1 the emperor      
immediately concluded then that he was a
 murderer and cruel4  ,what is it that  

makes tyrants so sanguinary8  ',tis only
 the solicitude for their own safety1   
and that their faint hearts can furnish 
them with no other means of securing    
themselves than in exterminating those  
who may hurt them1 even so much as      
women1 for fear of a scratch3           
,cuncta ferit1 dum cuncta timer4        
,he strikes at all who fears all4       
--,claudius1 in ,eutrop41 i4 #ahb4  ,the
 first cruelties are exercised for      
themselves thence springs the fear of a 
just revenge1 which afterwards produces 
a series of new cruelties1 to obliterate
 one another4  ,philip1 king of         
,macedon1 who had so much to do with the
 people of ,rome1 agitated with the     
horror of so many murders committed by  
his order1 and doubting of being able to
 keep himself secure from so many       
families1 at divers times mortally      
injured and offended by him1 resolved to
 seize all the children of those he had 
caused to be slain1 to despatch them    
daily one after another1 and so to      

establish his own repose4  ,fine matter 
is never impertinent1 however placed2   
and therefore ,i1 who more consider the 
weight and utility of what ,i deliver   
than its order and connection1 need not 
fear in this place to bring in an       
excellent story1 though it be a little  
by-the-by2 for when they are rich in    
their own native beauty1 and are able to
 justify themselves1 the least end of a 
hair will serve to draw them into my    
discourse4  ,amongst others condemned by
 ,philip1 had been one ,herodicus1      
prince of ,thessaly2 he had1 moreover1  
after him caused his two sons-in-law to 
be put to death1 each leaving a son very
 young behind him4  ,theoxena and ,archo
 were their two widows4  ,theoxena1     
though highly courted to it1 could not  
be persuaded to marry again3 ,archo     
married ,poris1 the greatest man among  
the ,a,enians1 and by him had a great   
many children1 whom she1 dying1 left at 
a very tender age4  ,theoxena1 moved    
with a maternal charity towards her     

nephews1 that she might have them under 
her own eyes and in her own protection1 
married ,poris3 when presently comes a  
proclamation of the king's edict4  ,this
 brave-spirited mother1 suspecting the  
cruelty of ,philip1 and afraid of the   
insolence of the soldiers towards these 
charming and tender children was so bold
 as to declare hat she would rather kill
 them with her own hands than deliver   
them4  ,poris1 startled at this         
protestation1 promised her to steal them
 away1 and to transport them to ,athens1
 and there commit them to the custody of
 some faithful friends of his4  ,they   
took1 therefore1 the opportunity of an  
annual feast which was celebrated at    
,a,enia in honour of ,a,eneas1 and      
thither they went4  ,having appeared by 
day at the public ceremonies and        
banquet1 they stole the night following 
into a vessel laid ready for the        
purpose1 to escape away by sea4  ,the   
wind proved contrary1 and finding       
themselves in the morning within sight  

of the land whence they had launched    
overnight1 and being pursued by the     
guards of the port1 ,poris perceiving   
this1 laboured all he could to make the 
mariners do their utmost to escape from 
the pursuers4  ,but ,theoxena1 frantic  
with affection and revenge1 in pursuance
 of her former resolution1 prepared both
 weapons and poison1 and exposing them  
before them2 ,go to1 my children1 said  
she1 death is now the only means of your
 defence and liberty1 and shall         
administer occasion to the gods to      
exercise their sacred justice3 these    
sharp swords1 and these full cups1 will 
open you the way into it2 courage1 fear 
nothing6  ,and thou1 my son1 who art the
 eldest1 take this steel into thy hand1 
that thou mayest the more bravely die4  
,the children having on one side so     
powerful a counsellor1 and the enemy at 
their throats on the other1 run all of  
them eagerly upon what was next to hand2
 and1 half dead1 were thrown into the   
sea4  ,theoxena1 proud of having so     

gloriously provided for the safety of   
her children1 clasping her arms with    
great affection about her husband's     
neck4  ,let us1 my friend1 said she1    
follow these boys1 and enjoy the same   
sepulchre they do2 and so1 having       
embraced1 they threw themselves headlong
 into the sea2 so that the ship was     
carried--back without the owners into   
the harbour4  ,tyrants1 at once both to 
kill and to make their anger felt1 have 
employed their capacity to invent the   
most lingering deaths4  ,they will have 
their enemies despatched1 but not so    
fast that they may not have leisure to  
taste their vengeance4  ,and therein    
they are mightily perplexed2 for if the 
torments they inflict are violent1 they 
are short2 if long1 they are not then so
 painful as they desire2 and thus plague
 themselves in choice of the greatest   
cruelty4  ,of this we have a thousand   
examples in antiquity1 and ,i know not  
whether we1 unawares1 do not retain some
 traces of this barbarity4  ,all that   

exceeds a simple death appears to me    
absolute cruelty4  ,our justice cannot  
expect that he1 whom the fear of dying  
by being beheaded or hanged will not    
restrain1 should be any more awed by the
 imagination of a languishing fire1     
pincers1 or the wheel4  ,and ,i know    
not1 in the meantime1 whether we do not 
throw them into despair2 for in what    
condition can be the soul of a man1     
expecting four-and-twenty hours together
 to be broken upon a wheel1 or after the
 old way1 nailed to a cross8  ,josephus 
relates that in the time of the war the 
,romans made in ,judaea1 happening to   
pass by where they had three days before
 crucified certain ,jews1 he amongst    
them knew three of his own friends1 and 
obtained the favour of having them taken
 down1 of whom two1 he says1 died2 the  
third lived a great while after4        
,chalcondylas1 a writer of good credit1 
in the records he has left behind him of
 things that happened in his time1 and  
near him1 tells us1 as of the most      

excessive torment1 of that the ,emperor 
,mohammed very often practised1 of      
cutting off men in the middle by the    
diaphragm with one blow of a scimitar1  
whence it followed that they died as it 
were two deaths at once2 and both the   
one part1 says he1 and the other1 were  
seen to stir and strive a great while   
after in very great torment4  ,i do not 
think there was any great suffering in  
this motion the torments that are the   
most dreadful to look on are not always 
the greatest to endure2 and ,i find     
those that other historians relate to   
have been practised by him upon the     
,epirot lords1 are more horrid and      
cruel1 where they were condemned to be  
flayed alive piecemeal1 after so        
malicious a manner that they continued  
fifteen days in that misery4  ,and these
 other two3 ,croesus1 having caused a   
gentleman1 the favourite of his brother 
,pantaleon1 to be seized1 carried him   
into a fuller's shop1 where he caused   
him to be scratched and carded with the 

cards and combs belonging to that trade1
 till he died4  ,george ,sechel1 chief  
commander of the peasants of ,poland1   
who committed so many mischiefs under   
the title of the ,crusade1 being        
defeated in battle and taken bu the     
,vayvode of ,transylvania1 was three    
days bound naked upon the rack exposed  
to all sorts of torments that any one   
could contrive against him3 during which
 time many other prisoners were kept    
fasting2 in the end1 he living and      
looking on1 they made his beloved       
brother ,lucat1 for whom alone he       
entreated1 taking on himself the blame  
of all their evil actions drink his     
blood1 and caused twenty of his most    
favoured captains to feed upon him1     
tearing his flesh in pieces with their  
teeth1 and swallowing the morsels4  ,the
 remainder of his body and his bowels1  
so soon as he was dead1 were boiled1 and
 others of his followers compelled to   
eat them4     ,,chapter ,,xxviii  ,,all 
,,things ,,have ,,their ,,season  ,such 

as compare ,cato the ,censor with the   
younger ,cato1 who killed himself1      
compare two beautiful natures1 much     
resembling one another4 ,the first      
acquired his reputation several ways1   
and excels in military exploits and the 
utility of his public employments2 but  
the virtue of the younger1 besides that 
it were blasphemy to compare any to it  
in vigour1 was much more pure and       
unblemished4  ,for who could absolve    
that of the ,censor from envy and       
ambition1 having dared to attack the    
honour of ,scipio1 a man in goodness and
 all other excellent qualities          
infinitely beyond him or any other of   
his time8  ,that which they1 report of  
him1 amongst other things1 that in his  
extreme old age he put himself upon     
learning the ,greek tongue with so      
greedy an appetite1 as if to quench a   
long thirst1 does not seem to me to make
 much for his honour2 it being properly 
what we call falling into second        
childhood4  ,all things have their      

seasons1 even good ones1 and ,i may say 
my ,paternoster out of time2 as they    
accused ,t4 ,quintus ,flaminius1 that   
being general of an army1 he was seen   
praying apart in the time of a battle   
that he won4            ,imponit finem  
sapiens et rebus honestis4       ,the   
wise man limits even honest             
things4--,juvenal1 vi4 #ddd             
,eudemonidas1 seeing ,xenocrates when   
very old1 still very intent upon his    
school lectures3 ,when will this man be 
wise1 said he1 if he is yet learning8   
,and ,philopaemen1 to those who extolled
 ,king ,ptolemy for every day inuring   
his person to the exercise of arms3 ,it 
is not1 said he1 commendable in a king  
of his age to exercise himself in these 
things2 he ought now really to employ   
them4  ,the young are to make their     
preparations1 the old to enjoy them1 say
 the sages3 and the greatest vice they  
observe in us is that our desires       
incessantly grow young again2 we are    
always re-beginning to live4  ,our      

studies and desires should sometime be  
sensible of age2 yet we have one foot in
 the grave and still our appetites and  
pursuits spring every day anew within   
us3                     ,tu secanda     
marmora                     ,locas sub  
ipsum funus1 et1 sepulcri               
,immemor1 struis domos4       ,you      
against the time of death have marble   
cut for use1 and1      forgetful of the 
tomb1 build houses4--,horace1 ,od41 ii4 
#ah1 #ag4  ,the longest of my designs is
 not of above a year's extent2 ,i think 
of nothing now but ending2 rid myself of
 all new hopes and enterprises2 take my 
last leave of every place ,i depart     
from1 and every day dispossess myself of
 what ,i have4            ,olim jam nec 
perit quicquam mihi1 nec acquiritur4444 
plus superest viatici quam viae4        
,henceforward ,i will neither lose1 nor 
expect to get3 ,i have more             
wherewith to defray my journey1 than ,i 
have way to go4  7,or73      ,hitherto  
nothing of me has been lost or gained2  

more remains to pay      the way than   
there is way4--,seneca1 ,ep41 #gg4      
7,the sense seems to      be that so far
 he had met his expenses1 but that for  
the future he      was likely to have   
more than he required47                 
,vixi1 et1 quem dederat cursum fortuna1 
peregi4       ,i have lived and finished
 the career ,fortune placed before me4  
--,a,eneid1 iv4 #fec4  ',tis indeed the 
only comfort ,i find in my old age1 that
 it mortifies in me several cares and   
desires wherewith my life has been      
disturbed2 the care how the world goes1 
the care of riches1 of grandeur1 of     
knowledge1 of health1 of myself4  ,there
 are men who are learning to speak at a 
time when they should learn to be silent
 for ever4  ,a man may always study1 but
 he must not always go to school what a 
contemptible thing is an old            
,abecedarian6--,seneca1 ,ep4 #cf        
,diversos diversa juvant2 non omnibus   
annis                ,omnia conveniunt4 
,various things delight various men2 all

 things are not           for all       
ages4--,gall41 ,eleg41 i4 #ajd4  ,if we 
must study1 let us study what is        
suitable to our present condition1 that 
we may answer as he did1 who being asked
 to what end he studied in his decrepit 
age1 that ,i may go out better1 said he1
 and at greater ease4  ,such a study was
 that of the younger ,cato1 feeling his 
end approach1 and which he met with in  
,plato's ,discourse of the ,eternity of 
the ,soul3 not1 as we are to believe1   
that he was not long before furnished   
with all sorts of provision for such a  
departure2 for of assurance1 an         
established will and instruction1 he had
 more than ,plato had in all his        
writings2 his knowledge and courage were
 in this respect above philosophy2 he   
applied himself to this study1 not for  
the service of his death2 but1 as a man 
whose sleeps were never disturbed in the
 importance of such a deliberation1 he  
also1 without choice or change1         
continued his studies with the other    

accustomary actions of his life4 ,the   
night that he was denied the praetorship
 he spent in play2 that wherein he was  
to die he spent in reading4  ,the loss  
either of life or of office was all one 
to him4     ,,chapter ,,xxix  ,,of      
,,virtue  ,i find by experience1 that   
there is a good deal to be said betwixt 
the flights and emotions of the soul or 
a resolute and constant habit2 and very 
well perceive that there is nothing we  
may not do1 nay1 even to the surpassing 
the ,divinity itself1 says a certain    
person1 forasmuch as it is more to      
render a man's self impassible by his   
own study and industry1 than to be so by
 his natural condition2 and even to be  
able to conjoin to man's imbecility and 
frailty a ,god-like resolution and      
assurance2 but it is by fits and starts2
 and in the lives of those heroes of    
times past there are sometimes          
miraculous impulses1 and that seem      
infinitely to exceed our natural force2 
but they are indeed only impulses3 and  

'tis hard to believe1 that these so     
elevated qualities in a man can so      
thoroughly tinct and imbue the soul that
 they should become ordinary1 and1 as it
 were1 natural in him4  ,it accidentally
 happens even to us1 who are but        
abortive births of men1 sometimes to    
launch our souls1 when roused by the    
discourses or examples of others1 much  
beyond their ordinary stretch2 but 'tis 
a kind of passion which pushes and      
agitates them1 and in some sort ravishes
 them from themselves3 but1 this        
perturbation once overcome1 we see that 
they insensibly flag and slacken of     
themselves1 if not to the lowest degree1
 at least so as to be no more the same2 
insomuch as that upon every trivial     
occasion1 the losing of a bird1 or the  
breaking1 of a glass1 we suffer         
ourselves to be moved little less than  
one of the common people4  ,i am of     
opinion1 that order1 moderation1 and    
constancy excepted1 all things are to be
 done by a man that is very imperfect   

and defective in general4  ,therefore it
 is1 say the ,sages1 that to make a     
right judgment of a man1 you are chiefly
 to pry into his common actions1 and    
surprise him in his everyday habit4     
,pyrrho1 he who erected so pleasant a   
knowledge upon ignorance1 endeavoured1  
as all the rest who were really         
philosophers did1 to make his life      
correspond with his doctrine4  ,and     
because he maintained the imbecility of 
human judgment to be so extreme as to be
 incapable of any choice or inclination1
 and would have it perpetually wavering 
and suspended1 considering and receiving
 all things as indifferent1 'tis said1  
that he always comforted himself after  
the same manner and countenance3 if he  
had begun a discourse1 he would always  
end what he had to say1 though the      
person he was speaking to had gone away3
 if he walked1 he never stopped for any 
impediment that stood in his way1 being 
preserved from precipices1 collision    
with carts1 and other like accidents1 by

 the care of his friends3 for1 to fear  
or to avoid anything1 had been to shock 
his own propositions1 which deprived the
 senses themselves of all election and  
certainty4  ,sometimes he suffered      
incision and cauteries with so great    
constancy as never to be seen so much as
 to wince4  ',tis something to bring the
 soul to these imaginations2 'tis more  
to join the effects1 and yet not        
impossible2 but to conjoin them with    
such perseverance and constancy as to   
make them habitual1 is certainly1 in    
attempts so remote from the common      
usage1 almost incredible to be done4    
,therefore it was1 that being sometime  
taken in his house sharply scolding with
 his sister1 and being reproached that  
he therein transgressed his own rules of
 indifference3 ,what6 said he1 must this
 bit of a woman also serve for a        
testimony to my rules8  ,another time1  
being seen to defend himself against a  
dog3 ,it is1 said he1 very hard totally 
to put off man2 and we must endeavour   

and force ourselves to resist and       
encounter things1 first by effects1 but 
at least by reason and argument4  ,about
 seven or eight years since1 a          
husbandman yet living1 but two leagues  
from my house1 having long been         
tormented with his wife's jealousy1     
coming one day home from his work1 and  
she welcoming him with her accustomed   
railing1 entered into so great fury that
 with a sickle he had yet in his hand1  
he totally cut off all those parts that 
she was jealous of and threw them in her
 face4  ,and1 'tis said that a young    
gentleman of our nation1 brisk and      
amorous1 having by his perseverance at  
last mollified the heart of a fair      
mistress1 enraged1 that upon the point  
of fruition he found himself unable to  
perform1 and that1                      
,nec viriliter           ,iners senile  
penis extulit caput4       7,the #aith  
or #bjth century translators leave this 
phrase      untranslated and with no    
explanation4 ,d4,w47      --,tibullus1  

,priap4  ,carm41 #hd4  as soon as ever  
he came home he deprived himself of the 
rebellious member1 and sent it to his   
mistress1 a cruel and bloody victim for 
the expiation of his offence4  ,if this 
had been done upon mature consideration1
 and upon the account of religion1 as   
the priests of ,cybele did1 what should 
we say of so high an action8  ,a few    
days since1 at ,bergerac1 five leagues  
from my house1 up the river ,dordogne1 a
 woman having overnight been beaten and 
abused by her husband1 a choleric       
ill-conditioned fellow1 resolved to     
escape from his ill-usage at the price  
of her life2 and going so soon as she   
was up the next morning to visit her    
neighbours1 as she was wont to do1 and  
having let some words fall in           
recommendation of her affairs1 she took 
a sister of hers by the hand1 and led   
her to the bridge2 whither being come1  
and having taken leave of her1 in jest  
as it were1 without any manner of       
alteration in her countenance1 she threw

 herself headlong from the top into the 
river1 and was there drowned4  ,that    
which is the most remarkable in this is1
 that this resolution was a whole night 
forming in her head4  ,it is quite      
another thing with the ,indian women for
 it being the custom there for the men  
to have many wives1 and the best beloved
 of them to kill herself at her         
husband's decease1 every one of them    
makes it the business of her whole life 
to obtain this privilege and gain this  
advantage over her companions2 and the  
good offices they do their husbands aim 
at no other recompense but to be        
preferred in accompanying him in death3 
,ubi mortifero jacta est fax ultima     
lecto1                ,uxorum fusis stat
 pia turba comis                ,et     
certamen habent lethi1 quae viva        
sequatur                ,conjugium3     
pudor est non licuisse mori4            
,ardent victrices1 et flammae pectora   
praebent1                ,imponuntque   
suis ora perusta viris4       ,for when 

they threw the torch on the funeral bed1
 the pious wives      with hair         
dishevelled1 stand around striving1     
which1 living1 shall      accompany her 
spouse2 and are ashamed that they may   
not die2 they      who are preferred    
expose their breasts to the flame1 and  
they lay      their scorched lips on    
those of their husbands4                
--,propertius1 iii4 #ac1 #ag4  ,a       
certain author of our times reports that
 he has seen in those ,oriental nations 
this custom in practice1 that not only  
the wives bury themselves with their    
husbands1 but even the slaves he has    
enjoyed also2 which is done after this  
manner3 ,the husband being dead1 the    
widow may if she will 7but few will7    
demand two or three months' respite     
wherein to order her affairs4  ,the day 
being come1 she mounts on horseback1    
dressed as fine as at her wedding1 and  
with a cheerful countenance says she is 
going to sleep with her spouse1 holding 
a looking-glass in her left hand and an 

arrow in the other4  ,being thus        
conducted in pomp1 accompanied with her 
kindred and friends and a great         
concourse of people in great joy1 she is
 at last brought to the public place    
appointed for such spectacles3 this is a
 great space1 in the midst of which is a
 pit full of wood1 and adjoining to it a
 mount raised four or five steps1 upon  
which she is brought and served with a  
magnificent repast2 which being done1   
she falls to dancing and singing1 and   
gives order1 when she thinks fit1 to    
kindle the fire4  ,this being done1 she 
descends1 and taking the nearest of her 
husband's relations by the hand1 they   
walk to the river close by1 where she   
strips herself stark naked1 and having  
distributed her clothes and jewels to   
her friends1 plunges herself into the   
water1 as if there to cleanse herself   
from her sins2 coming out thence1 she   
wraps herself in a yellow linen of      
five-and-twenty ells long1 and again    
giving her hand to this kinsman of her  

husband's1 they return back to the      
mount1 where she makes a speech to the  
people1 and recommends her children to  
them1 if she have any4  ,betwixt the pit
 and the mount there is commonly a      
curtain drawn to screen the burning     
furnace from their sight1 which some of 
them1 to manifest the greater courage1  
forbid4  ,having ended what she has to  
say1 a woman presents her with a vessel 
of oil1 wherewith to anoint her head and
 her whole body1 which when done with   
she throws into the fire1 and in an     
instant precipitates herself after4     
,immediately1 the people throw a good   
many billets and logs upon her that she 
may not be long in dying1 and convert   
all their joy into sorrow and mourning4 
,if they are persons of meaner          
condition1 the body of the defunct is   
carried to the place of sepulture1 and  
there placed sitting1 the widow kneeling
 before him1 embracing the dead body2   
and they continue in this posture whilst
 the people build a wall about them1    

which so soon as it is raised to the    
height of the woman's shoulders1 one of 
her relations comes behind her1 and     
taking hold of her head1 twists her     
neck2 so soon as she is dead1 the wall  
is presently raised up1 and closed1 and 
there they remain entombed4  ,there was1
 in this same country1 something like   
this in their gymnosophists2 for not by 
constraint of others nor by the         
impetuosity of a sudden humour1 but by  
the express profession of their order1  
their custom was1 as soon as they       
arrived at a certain age1 or that they  
saw themselves threatened by any        
disease1 to cause a funeral pile to be  
erected for them1 and on the top a      
stately bed1 where1 after having        
joyfully feasted their friends and      
acquaintance1 they laid them down with  
so great resolution1 that fire being    
applied to it1 they were never seen to  
stir either hand or foot2 and after this
 manner1 one of them1 ,calanus by name2 
expired in the presence of the whole    

army of ,alexander the ,great4  ,and he 
was neither reputed holy nor happy      
amongst them who did not thus destroy   
himself1 dismissing his soul purged and 
purified by the fire1 after having      
consumed all that was earthly and       
mortal4  ,this constant premeditation of
 the whole life is that which makes the 
wonder4  ,amongst our other             
controversies1 that of ',fatum' has also
 crept in2 and to tie things to come1   
and even our own wills1 to a certain and
 inevitable necessity1 we are yet upon  
this argument of time past3 ,since ,god 
foresees that all things shall so fall  
out1 as doubtless ,he does1 it must then
 necessarily follow1 that they must so  
fall out3 to which our masters reply3   
that the seeing anything come to pass1  
as we do1 and as ,god ,himself also does
 7for all things being present with him1
 ,he rather sees1 than foresees71 is not
 to compel an event3 that is1 we see    
because things do fall out1 but things  
do not fall out because we see3 events  

cause knowledge1 but knowledge does not 
cause events4  ,that which we see       
happen1 does happen2 but it might have  
happened otherwise3 and ,god1 in the    
catalogue of the causes of events which 
,he has in ,his prescience1 has also    
those which we call accidental and      
voluntary1 depending upon the liberty4  
,he has given our free will1 and knows  
that we do amiss because we would do so4
  ,i have seen a great many commanders  
encourage their soldiers with this fatal
 necessity2 for if our time be limited  
to a certain hour1 neither the enemies' 
shot nor our own boldness1 nor our      
flight and cowardice1 can either shorten
 or prolong our lives4  ,this is easily 
said1 but see who will be so easily     
persuaded2 and if it be so that a strong
 and lively faith draws along with it   
actions of the same kind1 certainly this
 faith we so much brag of1 is very light
 in this age of ours1 unless the        
contempt it has of works makes it       
disdain their company4  ,so it is1 that 

to this very purpose the ,sire de       
,joinville1 as credible a witness as any
 other whatever1 tells us of the        
,bedouins1 a nation amongst the         
,saracens1 with whom the king ,st4      
,louis had to do in the ,holy ,land1    
that they1 in their religion1 so firmly 
believed the number of every man's days 
to be from all eternity prefixed and set
 down by an inevitable decree1 that they
 went naked to the wars1 excepting a    
,turkish sword1 and their bodies only   
covered with a white linen cloth3 and   
for the greatest curse they could invent
 when they were angry1 this was always  
in their mouths3 ,accursed be thou1 as  
he that arms himself for fear of death4 
,this is a testimony of faith very much 
beyond ours4  ,and of this sort is that 
also that two friars of ,florence gave  
in our fathers' days4  ,being engaged in
 some controversy of learning1 they     
agreed to go both of them into the fire 
in the sight of all the people1 each for
 the verification of his argument1 and  

all things were already prepared1 and   
the thing just upon the point of        
execution1 when it was interrupted by an
 unexpected accident4--#gth ,april      
#adih4  ,savonarola issued the          
challenge4  ,after many delays from     
demands and counter-demands by each side
 as to the details of the fire1 both    
parties found that they had important   
business to transact in another         
county--both just barely escaped        
assassination at the hands of the       
disappointed spectators4  ,d4,w4  ,a    
young ,turkish lord1 having performed a 
notable exploit in his own person in the
 sight of both armies1 that of ,amurath 
and that of ,huniades1 ready to join    
battle1 being asked by ,amurath1 what in
 such tender and inexperienced years    
7for it was his first sally into arms7  
had inspired him with so brave a        
courage1 replied1 that his chief tutor  
for valour was a hare4  ,for being1 said
 he1 one day a hunting1 ,i found a hare 
sitting1 and though ,i had a brace of   

excellent greyhounds with me1 yet       
methought it would be best for sureness 
to make use of my bow2 for she sat very 
fair4  ,i then fell to letting fly my   
arrows1 and shot forty that ,i had in my
 quiver1 not only without hurting1 but  
without starting her from her form4  ,at
 last ,i slipped my dogs after her1 but 
to no more purpose than ,i had shot3 by 
which ,i understood that she had been   
secured by her destiny2 and1 that       
neither darts nor swords can wound      
without the permission of fate1 which we
 can neither hasten nor defer4  ,this   
story may serve1 by the way1 to let us  
see how flexible our reason is to all   
sorts of images4  ,a person of great    
years1 name1 dignity1 and learning      
boasted to me that he had been induced  
to a certain very important change in   
his faith by a strange and whimsical    
incitation1 and one otherwise so        
inadequate1 that ,i thought it much     
stronger1 taken the contrary way3 he    
called it a miracle1 and so ,i look upon

 it1 but in a different sense4  ,the    
,turkish historians say1 that the       
persuasion those of their nation have   
imprinted in them of the fatal and      
unalterable prescription of their days1 
manifestly conduces to the giving them  
great assurance in dangers4  ,and ,i    
know a great prince who makes very      
fortunate use of it1 whether it be that 
he really believes it1 or that he makes 
it his excuse for so wonderfully        
hazarding himself3 let us hope ,fortune 
may not be too soon weary of her favour 
to him4  ,there has not happened in our 
memory a more admirable effect of       
resolution than in those two who        
conspired the death of the ,prince of   
,orange4       ,the first of these was  
,jehan de ,jaureguy1 who wounded the    
,prince      #ahth ,march #aehb2 the    
second1 by whom the ,prince was killed  
#ajth ,july      #aehd41 was ,balthazar 
,gerard4  ',tis marvellous how the      
second who executed it1 could ever be   
persuaded into an attempt1 wherein his  

companion1 who had done his utmost1 had 
had so ill success2 and after the same  
method1 and with the same arms1 to go   
attack a lord1 armed with so recent a   
late lesson of distrust1 powerful in    
followers and bodily strength1 in his   
own hall1 amidst his guards1 and in a   
city wholly at his devotion4            
,assuredly1 he employed a very resolute 
arm and a courage enflamed with furious 
passion4  ,a poignard is surer for      
striking home2 but by reason that more  
motion and force of hand is required    
than with a pistol1 the blow is more    
subject to be put by or hindered4  ,that
 this man did not run to a certain      
death1 ,i make no great doubt2 for the  
hopes any one could flatter him withal1 
could not find place in any sober       
understanding1 and the conduct of his   
exploit sufficiently manifests that he  
had no want of that1 no more than of    
courage4  ,the motives of so powerful a 
persuasion may be diverse1 for our fancy
 does what it will1 both with itself and

 us4  ,the execution that was done near 
,orleans--,the murder of the ,duke of   
,guise by ,poltrot4--was nothing like   
this2 there was in this more of chance  
than vigour2 the wound was not mortal1  
if fortune had not made it so1 and to   
attempt to shoot on horseback1 and at a 
great distance1 by one whose body was in
 motion from the motion of his horse1   
was the attempt of a man who had rather 
miss his blow than fail of saving       
himself4  ,this was apparent from what  
followed2 for he was so astonished and  
stupefied with the thought of so high an
 execution1 that he totally lost his    
judgment both to find his way to flight 
and to govern his tongue4  ,what needed 
he to have done more than to fly back to
 his friends across the river8  ',tis   
what ,i have done in less dangers1 and  
that ,i think of very little hazard1 how
 broad soever the river may be1 provided
 your horse have easy going in1 and that
 you see on the other side easy landing 
according to the stream4  ,the other1   

--,balthazar ,gerard4--when they        
pronounced his dreadful sentence1 ,i was
 prepared for this1 said he1 beforehand1
 and ,i will make you wonder at my      
patience4  ,the ,assassins1 a nation    
bordering upon ,phoenicia1       ,or in 
,egypt1 ,syria1 and ,persia4            
,derivation of 'assassin' is from       
,hassan-ben-,saba1 one of their early   
leaders1 and they had an      existence 
for some centuries4  ,they are classed  
among the secret      societies of the  
,middle ,ages4  ,d4,w4  are reputed     
amongst the ,mohammedans a people of    
very great devotion and purity of       
manners4  ,they hold that the nearest   
way to gain ,paradise is to kill some   
one of a contrary religion2 which is the
 reason they have often been seen1 being
 but one or two1 and without armour1 to 
attempt against powerful enemies1 at the
 price of a certain death and without   
any consideration of their own danger4  
,so was our ,raymond1 ,count of         
,tripoli1 assassinated 7which word is   

derived from their name7 in the heart of
 his city1--in #aaea--;during our       
enterprises of the ,holy ,war3 and      
likewise ,conrad1 ,marquis of           
,monteferrat1 the murderers at their    
execution bearing themselves with great 
pride and glory that they had performed 
so brave an exploit4     ,,chapter      
,,xxx4  ,,of ,a ,,monstrous ,,child     
,this story shall go by itself2 for ,i  
will leave it to physicians to discourse
 of4  ,two days ago ,i saw a child that 
two men and a nurse1 who said they were 
the father1 the uncle1 and the aunt of  
it1 carried about to get money by       
showing it1 by reason it was so strange 
a creature4  ,it was1 as to all the     
rest1 of a common form1 and could stand 
upon its feet2 could go and gabble much 
like other children of the same age2 it 
had never as yet taken any other        
nourishment but from the nurse's        
breasts1 and what1 in my presence1 they 
tried to put into the mouth of it1 it   
only chewed a little and spat it out    

again without swallowing2 the cry of it 
seemed indeed a little odd and          
particular1 and it was just fourteen    
months old4  ,under the breast it was   
joined to another child1 but without a  
head1 and which had the spine of the    
back without motion1 the rest entire2   
for though it had one arm shorter than  
the other1 it had been broken by        
accident at their birth2 they were      
joined breast to breast1 and as if a    
lesser child sought to throw its arms   
about the neck of one something bigger4 
,the juncture and thickness of the place
 where they were conjoined was not above
 four fingers1 or thereabouts1 so that  
if you thrust up the imperfect child you
 might see the navel of the other below 
it1 and the joining was betwixt the paps
 and the navel4  ,the navel of the      
imperfect child could not be seen1 but  
all the rest of the belly1 so that all  
that was not joined of the imperfect    
one1 as arms1 buttocks1 thighs1 and     
legs1 hung dangling upon the other1 and 

might reach to the mid-leg4 ,the nurse1 
moreover1 told us that it urined at both
 bodies1 and that the members of the    
other were nourished1 sensible1 and in  
the same plight with that she gave suck 
to1 excepting that they were shorter and
 less4 ,this double body and several    
limbs relating to one head might be     
interpreted a favourable prognostic to  
the king1--,henry ,,iii4--of maintaining
 these various parts of our state under 
the union of his laws2 but lest the     
event should prove otherwise1 'tis      
better to let it alone1 for in things   
already past there needs no divination1 
,ut quum facts sunt1 tum ad conjecturam 
aliqui interpretatione revocentur2      
,so as when they are come to pass1 they 
may then by some      interpretation be 
recalled to conjecture      --,cicero1  
,de ,divin41 ii4 #ca4  as 'tis said of  
,epimenides1 that he always prophesied  
backward4  ,i have just seen a herdsman 
in ,medoc1 of about thirty years of age1
 who has no sign of any genital parts2  

he has three holes by which he          
incessantly voids his water2 he is      
bearded1 has desire1 and seeks contact  
with women4  ,those that we call        
monsters are not so to ,god1 who sees in
 the immensity of ,his work the infinite
 forms that ,he has comprehended        
therein2 and it is to be believed that  
this figure which astonishes us has     
relation to some other figure of the    
same kind unknown to man4  ,from ,his   
all wisdom nothing but good1 common2 and
 regular proceeds2 but we do not discern
 the disposition and relation3          
,quod crebro videt1 non miratur1        
etiamsi1           cur fiat1 nescit4    
,quod ante non vidit1 id1           si  
evenerit1 ostentum esse censet4         
,what he often sees he does not admire1 
though he be ignorant how      it comes 
to pass4  ,when a thing happens he never
 saw before1 he      thinks that it is a
 portent4--,cicero1 ,de ,divin41 ii4    
#bb4  ,whatever falls out contrary to   
custom we say is contrary to nature1 but

 nothing1 whatever it be1 is contrary to
 her4  ,let1 therefore1 this universal  
and natural reason expel the error and  
astonishment that novelty brings along  
with it4     ,,chapter ,,xxxi  ,,of     
,,anger  ,plutarch is admirable         
throughout1 but especially where he     
judges of human actions4  ,what fine    
things does he say in the comparison of 
,lycurgus and ,numa upon the subject of 
our great folly in abandoning children  
to the care and government of their     
fathers8  ,the most of our civil        
governments1 as ,aristotle says1 leave1 
after the manner of the ,cyclopes1 to   
every one the ordering of their wives   
and children1 according to their own    
foolish and indiscreet fancy2 and the   
,lacedaemonian and ,cretan are almost   
the only governments that have committed
 the education of children to the laws4 
,who does not see that in a state all   
depends upon their nurture and bringing 
up8 and yet they are left to the mercy  
of parents1 let them be as foolish and  

ill-conditioned as they may1 without any
 manner of discretion4  ,amongst other  
things1 how often have ,i1 as ,i have   
passed along our streets1 had a good    
mind to get up a farce1 to revenge the  
poor boys whom ,i have seen hided1      
knocked down1 and miserably beaten by   
some father or mother1 when in their    
fury and mad with rage8  ,you shall see 
them come out with fire and fury        
sparkling in their eyes3                
,rabie jecur incendente1 feruntur1      
,praecipites2 ut saxa jugis abrupta1    
quibus mons                ,subtrahitur1
 clivoque latus pendente recedit1       
,they are headlong borne with burning   
fury as great stones torn      from the 
mountains1 by which the steep sides are 
left naked and      bare4--,juvenal1    
,sat41 vi4 #fdg4  7and according to     
,hippocrates1 the most dangerous        
maladies are they that disfigure the    
countenance71 with a roaring and        
terrible voice1 very often against those
 that are but newly come from nurse1 and

 there they are lamed and spoiled with  
blows1 whilst our justice takes no      
cognisance of it1 as if these maims and 
dislocations were not executed upon     
members of our commonwealth3            
,gratum est1 quod patria2 civem         
populoque dedisti1           ,si facis1 
ut patrix sit idoneus1 utilis agris1    
,utilis et bellorum et pacis rebus      
agendis4       ,it is well when to thy  
country and the people thou hast given a
      citizen1 provided thou make fit   
for his country's service2 useful to    
till the earth1 useful in affairs of war
 and peace      --,juvenal1 ,sat41 xiv4 
#gj4  ,there is no passion that so much 
transports men from their right judgment
 as anger4  ,no one would demur upon    
punishing a judge with death who should 
condemn a criminal on the account of his
 own choler2 why1 then1 should fathers  
and pedagogues be any more allowed to   
whip and chastise children in their     
anger8  ',tis then no longer correction1
 but revenge4 ,chastisement is instead  

of physic to children2 and would we     
endure a physician who should be        
animated against and enraged at his     
patient8  ,we ourselves1 to do well1    
should never lay a hand upon our        
servants whilst our anger lasts4  ,when 
the pulse beats1 and we feel emotion in 
ourselves1 let us defer the business2   
things will indeed appear otherwise to  
us when we are calm and cool4  ',tis    
passion that then commands1 'tis passion
 that speaks1 and not we4  ,faults seen 
through passion appear much greater to  
us than they really are1 as bodies do   
when seen through a mist4  ,he who is   
hungry uses meat2 but he who will make  
use of chastisement should have neither 
hunger nor thirst to it4  ,and1         
moreover1 chastisements that are        
inflicted with weight and discretion are
 much better received and with greater  
benefit by him who suffers2 otherwise1  
he will not think himself justly        
condemned by a man transported with     
anger and fury1 and will allege his     

master's excessive passion1 his inflamed
 countenance1 his unwonted oaths1 his   
emotion and precipitous rashness1 for   
his own justification3                  
,ora tument ira1 nigrescunt sanguine    
venae1                ,lumina ,gorgoneo 
saevius igne micant4       ,their faces 
swell1 their veins grow black with rage1
 and their      eyes sparkle with       
,gorgonian fire4--,ovid1 ,de ,art4      
,amandi1 iii4 #ejc4  ,suetonius reports 
that ,caius ,rabirius having been       
condemned by ,caesar1 the thing that    
most prevailed upon the people 7to whom 
he had appealed7 to determine the cause 
in his favour1 was the animosity and    
vehemence that ,caesar had manifested in
 that sentence4  ,saying is a different 
thing from doing2 we are to consider the
 sermon apart and the preacher apart4   
,these men lent themselves to a pretty  
business who in our times have attempted
 to shake the truth of our ,church by   
the vices of her ministers2 she extracts
 her testimony elsewhere2 'tis a foolish

 way of arguing and that would throw all
 things into confusion4 ,a man whose    
morals are good may have false opinions1
 and a wicked man may preach truth1 even
 though he believe it not himself4      
',tis doubtless a fine harmony when     
doing and saying go together2 and ,i    
will not deny but that saying1 when the 
actions follow1 is not of greater       
authority and efficacy1 as ,eudamidas   
said1 hearing a philosopher talk of     
military affairs3 ,these things are     
finely said1 but he who speaks them is  
not to be believed for his ears have    
never been used to the sound of the     
trumpet4  ,and ,cleomenes1 hearing an   
orator declaiming upon valour1 burst out
 into laughter1 at which the other being
 angry2 ,i should1 said he to him1 do   
the same if it were a swallow that spoke
 of this subject2 but if it were an     
eagle ,i should willingly hear him4  ,i 
perceive1 methinks1 in the writings of  
the ancients1 that he who speaks what he
 thinks1 strikes much more home than he 

who only feigns4  ,hear ,cicero speak of
 the love of liberty3 hear ,brutus speak
 of it1 the mere written words of this  
man sound as if he would purchase it at 
the price of his life4  ,let ,cicero1   
the father of eloquence1 treat of the   
contempt of death2 let ,seneca do the   
same3 the first languishingly drawls it 
out so you perceive he would make you   
resolve upon a thing on which he is not 
resolved himself2 he inspires you not   
with courage1 for he himself has none2  
the other animates and inflames you4  ,i
 never read an author1 even of those who
 treat of virtue and of actions1 that ,i
 do not curiously inquire what kind of a
 man he was himself2 for the ,ephori at 
,sparta1 seeing a dissolute fellow      
propose a wholesome advice to the       
people1 commanded him to hold his peace1
 and entreated a virtuous man to        
attribute to himself the invention1 and 
to propose it4  ,plutarch's writings1 if
 well understood1 sufficiently bespeak  
their author1 and so that ,i think ,i   

know him even into his soul2 and yet ,i 
could wish that we had some fuller      
account of his life4  ,and ,i am thus   
far wandered from my subject1 upon the  
account of the obligation ,i have to    
,aulus ,gellius1 for having left us in  
writing this story of his manners1 that 
brings me back to my subject of anger4  
,a slave of his1 a vicious1             
ill-conditioned fellow1 but who had the 
precepts of philosophy often ringing in 
his ears1 having for some offence of his
 been stript by ,plutarch's command1    
whilst he was being whipped1 muttered at
 first1 that it was without cause and   
that he had done nothing to deserve it2 
but at last falling in good earnest to  
exclaim against and rail at his master1 
he reproached him that he was no        
philosopher1 as he had boasted himself  
to be3 that he had often heard him say  
it was indecent to be angry1 nay1 had   
written a book to that purpose2 and that
 the causing him to be so cruelly       
beaten1 in the height of his rage1      

totally gave the lie to all his         
writings2 to which ,plutarch calmly and 
coldly answered1 ,how1 ruffian1 said he1
 by what dost thou judge that ,i am now 
angry8  ,does either my face1 my colour1
 or my voice give any manifestation of  
my being moved8  ,i do not think my eyes
 look fierce1 that my countenance       
appears troubled1 or that my voice is   
dreadful3 am ,i red1 do ,i foam1 does   
any word escape my lips ,i ought to     
repent8  ,do ,i start8  ,do ,i tremble  
with fury8  ,for those1 ,i tell thee1   
are the true signs of anger4  ,and so1  
turning to the fellow that was whipping 
him1 ,ply on thy work1 said he1 whilst  
this gentleman and ,i dispute4  ,this is
 his story4  ,archytas ,tarentinus1     
returning from a war wherein he had been
 captain-general1 found all things in   
his house in very great disorder1 and   
his lands quite out of tillage1 through 
the ill husbandry of his receiver1 and  
having caused him to be called to him2  
,go1 said he1 if ,i were not in anger ,i

 would soundly drub your sides4  ,plato 
likewise1 being highly offended with one
 of his slaves1 gave ,speusippus order  
to chastise him1 excusing himself from  
doing it because he was in anger4 ,and  
,carillus1 a ,lacedaemonian1 to a       
,helot1 who carried himself insolently  
towards him3 ,by the gods1 said he1 if  
,i was not angry1 ,i would immediately  
cause thee to be put to death4  ',tis a 
passion that is pleased with and        
flatters itself4  ,how often1 being     
moved under a false cause1 if the person
 offending makes a good defence and     
presents us with a just excuse1 are we  
angry against truth and innocence       
itself8  ,in proof of which1 ,i remember
 a marvellous example of antiquity4     
,piso1 otherwise a man of very eminent  
virtue1 being moved against a soldier of
 his1 for that returning alone from     
forage he could give him no account     
where he had left a companion of his1   
took it for granted that he had killed  
him1 and presently condemned him to     

death4  ,he was no sooner mounted upon  
the gibbet1 but1 behold1 his wandering  
companion arrives1 at which all the army
 were exceedingly glad1 and after many  
embraces of the two comrades1 the       
hangman carried both the one and the    
other into ,piso's presence1 all those  
present believing it would be a great   
pleasure even to himself2 but it proved 
quite contrary2 for through shame and   
spite1 his fury1 which was not yet cool1
 redoubled2 and by a subtlety which his 
passion suddenly suggested to him1 he   
made three criminals for having found   
one innocent1 and caused them all to be 
despatched3 the first soldier1 because  
sentence had passed upon him2 the       
second1 who had lost his way1 because he
 was the cause of his companion's death2
 and the hangman1 for not having obeyed 
the order which had been given him4     
,such as have had to do with testy and  
obstinate women1 may have experimented  
into what a rage it puts them to oppose 
silence and coldness to their fury1 and 

that a man disdains to nourish their    
anger4  ,the orator ,celius was         
wonderfully choleric by nature2 and to  
one who supped in his company1 a man of 
a gentle and sweet conversation1 and    
who1 that he might not move him1        
approved and consented to all he said2  
he1 impatient that his ill-humour should
 thus spend itself without aliment3 ,for
 the love of the gods deny me something1
 said he1 that we may be two4  ,women1  
in like manner1 are only angry that     
others may be angry again1 in imitation 
of the laws of love4  ,phocion1 to one  
who interrupted his speaking by         
injurious and very opprobrious words1   
made no other return than silence1 and  
to give him full liberty and leisure to 
vent his spleen2 which he having        
accordingly done1 and the storm blown   
over1 without any mention of this       
disturbance1 he proceeded in his        
discourse where he had left off before4 
,no answer can nettle a man like such a 
contempt4  ,of the most choleric man in 

,france 7anger is always an             
imperfection1 but more excusable in1 a  
soldier1 for in that trade it cannot    
sometimes be avoided7 ,i often say1 that
 he is the most patient man that ,i     
know1 and the most discreet in bridling 
his passions2 which rise in him with so 
great violence and fury1                
,magno veluti cum flamma sonore         
,virgea suggeritur costis undantis ahem1
           ,exsultantque aatu latices1  
furit intus aquae vis4                  
,fumidus atque alte spumis exuberat     
amnis1           ,nec jam se capit unda2
 volat vapor ater ad auras2       ,when 
with loud crackling noise1 a fire of    
sticks is applied to the      boiling   
caldron's side1 by the heat in frisky   
bells the liquor      dances2 within the
 water rages1 and high the smoky fluid  
in foam      overflows4  ,nor can the   
wave now contain itself2 the black steam
      flies all abroad4--,a,eneid1 vii4 
#dfb4   that he must of necessity       
cruelly constrain himself to moderate   

it4  ,and for my part1 ,i know no       
passion which ,i could with so much     
violence to myself attempt to cover and 
conceal2 ,i would not set wisdom at so  
high a price2 and do not so much        
consider what a man does1 as how much it
 costs him to do no worse4  ,another    
boasted himself to me of the regularity 
and gentleness of his manners1 which are
 to truth very singular2 to whom ,i     
replied1 that it was indeed something1  
especially m persons of so eminent a    
quality as himself1 upon whom every one 
had their eyes1 to present himself      
always well-tempered to the world2 but  
that the principal thing was to make    
provision for within and for himself2   
and that it was not in my opinion very  
well to order his business outwardly    
well1 and to grate himself within1 which
 ,i was afraid he did1 in putting on and
 maintaining this mask and external     
appearance4  ,a man incorporates anger  
by concealing it1 as ,diogenes told     
,demosthenes1 who1 for fear of being    

seen in a tavern1 withdrew himself the  
more retiredly into it3 ,the more you   
retire backward1 the farther you enter  
in4  ,i would rather advise that a man  
should give his servant a box of the ear
 a little unseasonably1 than rack his   
fancy to present this grave and composed
 countenance2 and had rather discover my
 passions than brood over them at my own
 expense2 they grow less inventing and  
manifesting themselves2 and 'tis much   
better their point should wound others  
without1 than be turned towards         
ourselves within3       ,omnia vitia in 
aperto leviora sunt3 et tunc            
perniciosissima1      quum simulata     
sanitate subsident4       ,all vices are
 less dangerous when open to be seen1   
and then most      pernicious when they 
lurk under a dissembled good nature4    
--,seneca1 ,ep4 #ef  ,i admonish all    
those who have authority to be angry in 
my family1 in the first place to manage 
their anger and not to lavish it upon   
every occasion1 for that both lessens   

the value and hinders the effect3 rash  
and incessant scolding runs into custom1
 and renders itself despised2 and what  
you lay out upon a servant for a theft  
is not felt1 because it is the same he  
has seen you a hundred times employ     
against him for having ill washed a     
glass1 or set a stool out of place4     
,secondly1 that they be not angry to no 
purpose1 but make sure that their       
reprehension reach him with whom they   
are offended2 for1 ordinarily1 they rail
 and bawl before he comes into their    
presence1 and continue scolding an age  
after he is gone3                 ,et   
secum petulans amentia certat3          
,and petulant madness contends with     
itself4           --,claudian in        
,eutrop41 i4 #bcg4  they attack his     
shadow1 and drive the storm in a place  
where no one is either chastised or     
concerned1 but in the clamour of their  
voice4 ,i likewise in quarrels condemn  
those who huff and vapour without an    
enemy3 those rhodomontades should be    

reserved to discharge upon the offending
 party3           ,mugitus veluti cum   
prima in praelia taurus                 
,terrificos ciet1 atque irasci in cornua
 tentat1           ,arboris obnixus     
trunco1 ventospue lacessit              
,ictibus1 et sparsa ad pugnum proludit  
arena4       ,as when a bull to usher in
 the fight1 makes dreadful bellowings1  
and whets his horns against the trunk of
 a tree2 with blows he beats      the   
air1 and rehearses the fight by         
scattering the sand4      --,a,eneid1   
xii4 #ajc4  ,when ,i am angry1 my anger 
is very sharp but withal very short1 and
 as private as ,i can2 ,i lose myself   
indeed in promptness and violence1 but  
not in trouble2 so that ,i throw out all
 sorts of injurious words at random1 and
 without choice1 and never consider     
pertinently to dart my language where ,i
 think it will deepest wound1 for ,i    
commonly make use of no other weapon    
than my tongue4  ,my servants have a    
better bargain of me in great occasions 

than in little2 the little ones surprise
 me2 and the misfortune is1 that when   
you are once upon the precipice1 'tis no
 matter who gave you the push1 you      
always go to the bottom2 the fall urges1
 moves1 and makes haste of itself4  ,in 
great occasions this satisfies me1 that 
they are so just every one expects a    
reasonable indignation1 and then ,i     
glorify myself in deceiving their       
expectation2 against these1 ,i fortify  
and prepare myself2 they disturb my     
head1 and threaten to transport me very 
far1 should ,i follow them4  ,i can     
easily contain myself from entering into
 one of these passions1 and am strong   
enough1 when ,i expect them1 to repel   
their violence1 be the cause never so   
great2 but if a passion once prepossess 
and seize me1 it carries me away1 be the
 cause never so small4  ,i bargain thus 
with those who may contend with me when 
you see me moved first1 let me alone1   
right or wrong2 ,i'll do the same for   
you4  ,the storm is only begot by a     

concurrence of angers1 which easily     
spring from one another1 and are not    
born together4  ,let every one have his 
own way1 and we shall be always at      
peace4  ,a profitable advice1 but hard  
to execute4  ,sometimes also it falls   
out that ,i put on a seeming anger1 for 
the better governing of my house1       
without any real emotion4  ,as age      
renders my humours more sharp1 ,i study 
to oppose them1 and will1 if ,i can1    
order it so1 that for the future ,i may 
be so much the less peevish and hard to 
please1 as ,i have more excuse and      
inclination to be so1 although ,i have  
heretofore been reckoned amongst those  
who have the greatest patience4  ,a word
 more to conclude this argument4        
,aristotle says1 that anger sometimes   
serves for arms to virtue and valour4   
,that is probable2 nevertheless1 they   
who contradict him  pleasantly answer1  
that 'tis a weapon of novel use1 for we 
move all other arms1 this moves us2 our 
hand guides it not1 'tis it that guides 

our hand2 it holds us1 we hold not it4  
,,etext ,,editor',s ,,bookmarks3        
,a man may always study1 but he must not
 always go to school      ,accursed be  
thou1 as he that arms himself for fear  
of death      ,all things have their    
seasons1 even good ones      ,all those 
who have authority to be angry in my    
family      ,an emperor1 said he1 must  
die standing      ,ancient ,romans kept 
their youth always standing at school   
,and we suffer the ills of a long peace 
,be not angry to no purpose      ,best  
virtue ,i have has in it some tincture  
of vice      ,by resenting the lie we   
acquit ourselves of the fault      ,by  
the gods1 said he1 if ,i was not angry1 
,i would execute you      ,children are 
amused with toys and men with words     
,consent1 and complacency in giving a   
man's self up to melancholy      ,defend
 most the defects with which we are most
 tainted      ,emperor ,julian1 surnamed
 the ,apostate      ,fortune sometimes  
seems to delight in taking us at our    

word      ,greatest talkers1 for the    
most part1 do nothing to purpose        
,have more wherewith to defray my       
journey1 than ,i have way to go         
,hearing a philosopher talk of military 
affairs      ,how much it costs him to  
do no worse      ,i need not seek a fool
 from afar2 ,i can laugh at myself      
,idleness1 the mother of corruption     
,if a passion once prepossess and seize 
me1 it carries me away      ,in sorrow  
there is some mixture of pleasure       
,killing is good to frustrate an offence
 to come1 not to revenge      ,laws     
cannot subsist without mixture of       
injustice      ,least end of a hair will
 serve to draw them into my discourse   
,let us not seek our disease out of     
ourselves2 'tis in us      ,look on     
death not only without astonishment but 
without care      ,melancholy3 ,are     
there not some constitutions that feed  
upon it8      ,most cruel people1 and   
upon frivolous occasions1 apt to cry4   
,no beast in the world so much to be    

feared by man as man      ,our extremest
 pleasure has some sort of groaning     
,our fancy does what it will1 both with 
itself and us      ,owe ourselves       
chiefly and mostly to ourselves         
,petulant madness contends with itself  
,rage it puts them to oppose silence and
 coldness to their fury      ,rash and  
incessant scolding runs into custom     
,revenge1 which afterwards produces a   
series of new cruelties      ,see how   
flexible our reason is      ,seeming    
anger1 for the better governing of my   
house      ,shake the truth of our      
,church by the vices of her ministers   
,take my last leave of every place ,i   
depart from      ,the gods sell us all  
the goods they give us      ,the storm  
is only begot by a concurrence of angers
      ,though nobody should read me1    
have ,i wasted time      ,tis said of   
,epimenides1 that he always prophesied  
backward      ,tis then no longer       
correction1 but revenge      ,upon the  
precipice1 'tis no matter who gave you  

the push      ,when will this man be    
wise1 said he1 if he is yet learning8   
,when you see me moved first1 let me    
alone1 right or wrong      ,young are to
 make their preparations1 the old to    
enjoy them