The Garden of Wisdom Book 2, Part 4 – Part 10
¶ Sigismund Themperour.
THe emperour Sigismūd had in hys court manye yeres a seruaunte, vponupon whō he neuer bestowed any notable benefyte for all the seruice he dyd him. On a tyme as themperour rode through a water it chaunced hys horse to stale. At which thing his old seruaūt lawghed & said to hys companiōs riding with him before thēperour, yt thēperours horse had lyke propertie wt hys mayster. Themperour by chaūce hearing thys, asked what he meant, Mary, ꝙ the seruaunt. As your horse by hys stalyng addeth more water to the rywer where is already abundaunce of water, euen so doth youre Maiestye. For to suche as be welthy alreadye & flowe in ryches ye gyue more riches. Here thēperour perceyuynge he was closely touched of illiberatye, in that he neuer rewarded his olde seruaunt with any worthy benefyte, answered in thys wyse. Assuredly, I neuer wā ted a good wyll to further & auaunce my frendes and trustye seruauntes, but ye muste consyder that gyftes of princes happen not alwayes to them that hauehave deserued them, but to suche only as the fatall prouidence of God appoynteth. And this God wylling, shall I euidentlye declare vntounto the, so soone as, my busynes dyspetched, I shall hauehave gotten any opportunitie and leyser. A whyle after, leyser to his desyre obteyned, he cōmaundeth two boxes of lyke fascion and proporcion to be brought forthe, he fylleth thone with gold, thother with leade of lyke weyght, he byddeth his said seruaūt to chose whether boxe he wold. The seruaūt peysyng now this, now that boxe, stryken wyth greate perplexitie whyche he myght beste take, at laste chase that whyche conteyned the lead which when he opened & saw yt lead, thou seest now, ꝙ Themperour, that the fault is not in me that thou were not amonges other promoted of me, but in thy owne mysfortune. Declarynge herby very prudently, that the happy successe of thynges onelyonly chaū ceth vntounto men from God aboue.
Thys Emperour beynge muche prayse worthy for other thynges, in thys one thynge was excedynglye to be commended, that lyke as hys selfe loued the knowledge of tongues and of good letters, so he alwayes studied to auaunce and promote men that excelled other in learnynge. For whyche thyng whē he was blamed of certain prynces of Almayne whyche hated good letters, that he so exalted men of lowe byrth for the commendacion of learnynge: Why, ꝙ he, shulde I not louelove suche as nature wolde hauehave excell the rest of men? The Almaynes do attribute verye muche to nobilitie of bloude. But ye prudent Emperour obserued, that in learned personages was a thyng of much more worthynes & noblenes, then in stockes. They hauehave the walles of theyr houses portered with armes, with conisaunces, and wyth the ymages of theyr auncestours, lerned mē hauehave theyr minde furnyshed and decked wyth good disciplines. Wherfore, as by nature the minde is more excellent, then ye body, so the ornamētes of ye wytte be farre fayrer, then the badges of outwarde nobilitie. He that hath nothynge els, then the armes and ymages of hys auncestours, in opinion is noble rather thē in dede. But who so is adourned & decked wyth vertue, frō whens floweth also that vulgare nobilitie, hath the true and vnfayned nobilitie. The trouthe of thys mater declareth to al the world the moste noble kyng Henry the eyght, who to ye most royal nobilitie of stocke hath also ioyned the most true & veray nobilitie that is to saye renowme of lernynge, of prudence, of graue iugement mete for so noble & magnifycent a prince. Wolde god al other noble mē of byrth wolde take exemple of hys Maiestye to purchase vntounto them thys renowne.
Plotinus.
PLotinus a philosopher was desyred by a certaine paynter named Amelius yt he wolde suffre hym to porture & draw out the forme & pycture of his body. The philosopher wold in no wyse suffre hym sayenge: Is it not ynough for men to carye aboute wyth them these ymages (pointynge to theyr bodyes) but they muste also leaue behynde them to theyr ofsprynge and posteritie the ymages of theyr ymages to be loked and gased vponupon? Thys panym philosopher iuged with Pithagoras, that mans bodye is but a sheathe or case as it were of the mynde, whych after a maner it expresseth and resembleth, and that he seeth ye least part of man, whych seeth and marketh nothynge els but the bodye. Assuredlye though pyctures, as wel of the lyuynge as of the deade do offentymes sturre and moue the dulle mynde of man, yet it can not be denyed, but that pyctures or ymages of the bodye wythout recordes and monumētes of the mynd to put men in remembraunce of the noble vertues of suche as be represented by ye ymages, be much more hurtfull, then profytable. Images of sayn tes be lay mēs bokes I graūt, so that laye men be taught and instructed, what great fayth in Christe, what exemple of good lyuyng, what patience what bearing of Christes crosse, they had, that be resembled by those ymages, whyle they were conuersaunts here in earth.
¶ Cyrus the elder.
CYrus kynge of Persia was wont to say yt no man ought to take vpō him to rule other onles he were better, thē those whom he toke vponupon hym to gouerne. Meanynge, that thys is the principall offyce and function of a prince, to forse for others, and to counsell for the publyke profytes and cōmodities, but thys can not be done, oneles he surmount & excell the rest of men in wyse dome, in vigilauncie, in honestye, holy nes of mynde in godlynes. Now it is not the byrth of man that bryngeth thys to passe, but ryght institution, good letters, experience of thynges.
When ye Persians, bycause theyr countrie was hylly and rough, coueted to chaunge it wyth a champyon & more gentle soyle, theyr kyng wold not suffre them, sayeng, that euen as graftes & sedes be, so be the maners of men chaūged accordyng to the nature of the coūtrey. Meanyng hereby that he wolde hauehave hard men, paynfull and suche as shulde be gyuen to laboure. For a delicate and fyrtyle region gendreth delicate and slouthfull persones.
Cyrus absteyned hys eyes frō beholdinge of the fayre ladye Panthea. And when Araspus sayd vntounto hym, that the woman was of an excellente bewtye, and worthy for the eye syght of a prince, the kinge aūswered: Euen for thys selfe cause O Araspus we ought the rather to abstayne from lokynge vponupon her. For yf now I obeyeng thy counsayle shulde resorte vntounto her whyle I am as yet at leyser, perchaūce she mought so persuade me yt I shulde repare oftē vntounto her yea euē when I shulde hauehave no leyser, and so be fayne to sytte styll by her syde, my seriouse busynes and affayres neglected. Featly he shyfted awaye the argumente that semed lasciuiouslye to entise a kyng or ruler to louelove a bewtyfull woman, from louyng suche. Let Chrystiane magistrates and rulers take here an holsom document and lesson of a pamym prynce, sensualitie set a part, ernestly to remembre theyr functiō and offyce wherunto they be called of god almyghty, & vntounto whō for the same they shall rendre iust accomptes, be they now neuer so hault and careles.
¶ Artoxerxes.
ARtoxerxes Kynge of Persia surnamed the mindful, when a certayne pore mā presented hym wyth a verye greate apple, he receyued it excedynge thankfully, and sayde: Nowe in faythe this felowe semeth to me to be such a person that yf a man wolde commytte a citye to hys kepynge, he coulde make it of a lytle a greate one.
At an other tyme a certayne other vplandyshe man perceyuing that diuerse men brought diuerse presentes vntounto the kyng, & hauynge none other thyng to present hym wyth, he toke out of ye next ryuer bothe his handes full of water & with a cherefull countenaunce offered it vntounto the Kynge. The kyng herwith being delyted, cō maunded a potte of gold to be gyuen hym & rewarded hym furthermore with a greate summe of money. Let other nacions wonder at this Artoxerxes. English men which hauehave kyng Henry theygt to theyr Soueraigne Lord thynke thys but a tryfle to his incomparable humanitie.
When Adides Japson had rayled all at large very despitefully vponupon the kyng wyth vnfyttyng and opprobriouse wordes, ye king thus farforth reuenged hym, he pronounced by the Capitayne of his garde, that it was lefull for Japson to speake vponupon the kyng what he wolde, but agayne it was lefull for the kyng vponupon Japson bothe to speake and to do what he wolde. Truely we are very straytly charged by gods cōmaundemēt in no wise to rayle nor gest vpō our rulers forasmoch as they represent vntounto vsus the parson euen of god him self. Yea & he adourneth them wyth the honora ble title of hys own name callyng the Goddes.
Whē Artoxerxes beyng on a tyme put to flyghte, & all hys prouision of vittayles taken awey, was fayne to eate drye fygges & barley breade, O Lord, ꝙ he, frō howe great pleasure hauehave I hytherto been kepte backe? Here ye kyng proued it true that Socrates the wytty Philosopher was wont to saye. Optimum condimentum, fames, that is to saye, hungre is the best sawce. Assuredly nothyng better sauoureth meates & drynkes, than hungre and thrust, besyde that it is bothe moste holsom to the bodye and most profitable to the sowle. For surfette and dronkenes not onlye cast the bodye in to sundry maladyes and sickenesses, but also do distempere the mynd, make man no man, but worse then a brute beast, and (that is worst of all) bryng gods most terrible curse and displeasure vponupon hym.
The same Artoxerxes beyng on a tyme very sore pressed wyth thurst & in maner lost for lacke of drynke, Peribarzenes his chamberlayne sekyng about for drynk and not fynding any other, brought at last frō a shepeherd a greasye botel of water not all of the clearest. Thys water when the kyng had dronke quyte and cleane vp, beynge asked whether that drynke lyked hym well, he called God to wytnesse, yt he neuer drancke wyne more pleasaunt, then was thys water, nor neuer water, were it neuer so pure, more swete then thys semed. And afterwarde, the kynge espyenge the sheparde in hys courte, whiche hadde gyuen hym this water, made hym of a pore sheparde a ryche gentylman. Suche a thynge it is to gyue a benefyte in tyme.
¶ Orontes.
ORontes sonne in lawe to kynge Artaxerxes, whē the kyng was greuously displeased & angry agaīst him, he was not only vtterly reiected & thrust out of ye court, but also condēned. Which excedyng vnkyndnes dyd not a lytle vexe hym. At laste consyderynge the mutabilitie and vnstablenes of mens thynges in the worlde vttered these wordes to such as stode about hym. O frendes take hede of the brykylnes and slyppery chaūge offortune, trust not the flatterye of the worlde, name ly of the courte. For lyke as the fyngers of auditours when they cast accomptes can lay otherwhyles an in fynite nombre, & otherwhyles agayn but one, euen so the frendes of kinges now can do all, and nowe nothynge. Here ye shall note that in old tyme they made theyr accomptes wt theyr fyngers, as now with counters.
¶ Duke Memnon.
WHat tyme the valyaunt capitayn Memnon held warres agaynst ye great Alexander on the behalfe of Darius kynge of Persia, it chaunced that a certayne hyred sowldiour in the armie of Memnon made very moche raylynge vponupon kynge Alexander. Memnon hearynge hym, layde hym on the pate with hys speare and thus rebuketh hym. I gyue the wages, syr knaue, and meate and drynke to fyghte wyth Alexander and not to rayle vponupon hym. Let Chrysten men at lest waye take example herby, to leaue theyr fowle and detestable raylynges farre vnworthye for suche as professe Chrystes doctryne, that forbyddeth vsus to calle oure brother but fole. Some we call Pharisees, we beknaue, we defye as naughtye papistes wt other lyke opprobriouse wordes, vnmete for Chrysten mens eares, but as for to fyght agaynste theym, and to confounde them wyth pure doctryne and good lyuyng, that we woll not. Agayne other some, we beheretike, we call Lutheranes, and all that naught is, but to shew them charitably where they erre, & rightly to instructe them, we woll not.
¶ The Egyptians.
THe Kynges of Egypte, according to the custome of theyr countreye were wont to take an othe of suche as were made iudges, that althoughe the kynge hym self wold cōmaunde thē to iudge any thyng that shulde be agaynst right & equytie, they shulde not iudge it. So greatly they thought it expedient for the common wealthe, that the people shulde hauehave iuste iudges. But howe can that people hauehave iuste and incorrupte iuges, where (as is reported) ye prince selleth the offyce and power of iugyng for a great some of money.
In Englande thanked be God, in the iuges of the lawe there is as litle corruption as in any other regyon. And yf any default in this behalfe be, it is soner in inferiour courtes, where the iuges be appointed not by ye Kynges Maiestye, but by others, amonges whom if any corruption were found I wold wyshe, for ye terrible exemple of other they myght be serued as a certayn iuge of whome I shall nowe make relation.