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 THE 
 
 ENGLISH WORKS 
 
 O F 
 
 ROGER ASCHAM, 
 
 Preceptor to Queen ELIZABETH: 
 
 CONTAINING, 
 
 I. A Report of the Affairs of Germany, and the Em- 
 
 peror Charles's Court. 
 
 II. ToxoPHiLus, or the School of Shooting. 
 
 III. The Schoolmaster, orperfe6l Way of bringing up Youth, 
 
 illuftrated by the late learned Mr. Upton. 
 
 IV. Letters to Queen Elizabeth and others, now firft 
 
 publiflied from the Manufcripts. 
 
 With Notes and Observations, and the Author's Life. 
 
 By JAMES BENNET, 
 
 Mafter of the Boarding-School at Hoddesdon in Hertfordshire. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed for R. and J. Dodsley, in Pa ll-Ma!l, and J. N ewbery, in St. Paul's Church-Yard. 
 
 M,DLC,LXI.
 
 
 T O 
 
 The right HONOURABLE 
 
 ANTHONY ASHLEY COOPER, 
 
 Earl of Shaftesbury, Baron Ashley, Lord 
 Lieutenant and Gustos Rotulorum 
 of Dorsetshire, F. R. S. 
 
 My L O R D, 
 
 I"FAvmg endeavoured, by an elegant and ufcful edition, to 
 J recover the efteem of the publick to an authour unde- 
 iervcdly negleded, the only care which I now owe to his me- 
 
 A 2 mory, 
 
 i-Lb.^5'"- i:
 
 4 DEDICATION. 
 
 mory, is that of infcribing his works to a patron whofe ac- 
 knowledged eminence of charader may awaken attention, and 
 attracfl regard. 
 
 I have not fuffered the zeal of an editor fo far to take pof- 
 fcfTion of my mind, as that I fhould obtrude upon your Lord- 
 {l»p any produdions unfuitable to the dignity of your rank 
 or of your fentiments. Afcham was not only the chief orna- 
 ment of a celebrated college, but vifited foreign countries, fre- 
 quented courts, and lived in familiarity with ftatefmen and 
 princes ; not only inftruded fcholars in literature, but formed 
 Elizabeth to empire. 
 
 To propagate the works of fuch a writer will be not un- 
 worthy of your Lordfhip's patriotifni : for I know not what 
 greater benefit you can confer on your country, than that of 
 prefcrv'ing worthy names from oblivion, by joining them with 
 your own. 
 
 I am, 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Your Lordlliip's 
 Mo ft obliged, 
 
 Mofl: obedient, and 
 
 Moft humble fervant. 
 
 JAMES BENNET.
 
 A LIST of SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 A. 
 
 HIS Grace John Duke of Argyle 
 His Grace the Duke of Athol 
 Richard Allen, Efq-, Prior Park, lo 
 
 books 
 Lawrence Aikenhead, Efq-, 
 Arthur Annefley, Efq-, 
 The Rev. Mr. Philip Allen, fellow of 
 
 St. John's college, Cambridge 
 The Rev. Mr. Allen of Eaftwick 
 The Rev. Mr. Abbot, A. M. fellow of 
 
 St. John's college, Cambridge 
 The Rev. Mr. Allen 
 Mr. Barrage Angier 
 Mr. Samuel Angier 
 Mr. Thomas Attwood 
 Mr. William Atkinfon, furgeon 
 Mr. Rupert Atkinfon 
 Anonymous 
 
 B. 
 The Right Hon. Vifcount Beauchamp, 
 
 Grofvenor-ftreet 
 The Hon. Pat. Boyle, brother to the 
 
 Earl of Glafgow 
 Sir Walter Blacker, Bart. 
 
 Sir Bennet, Bart. Scotland 
 
 The Rev. Edw. Barnard, D. D. head 
 
 mailer of Eaton fchool 
 The Rev. Will. Brackenridge, D. D. 
 
 Sion college 
 The Rev, John Blair, chaplain to her 
 
 Royal Highnefs the Princefs-dowager 
 
 of Wales 
 The Rev. Mr. Samutl Bulkeley 
 T ho. Barrat, Efq; 6 bocks 
 George Byam, Efq-, 
 George Bryant, Efq; 
 William Burlton, Efq; 
 Tho. Bowdler, Efq; 
 Edward Bacon, Efq; one of the lords 
 
 commiffioners for trade and planta- 
 tions, and member for Norwich 
 
 The Rev. Mr. James Bindly 
 
 Mr. John Bindly, jun. Alderfgate-ftreet 
 
 Mr. John Belhngton, of Hochefidd in 
 
 Kent 
 Mr. Tho. Bufey, of Hothefield in Kent. 
 
 Mr. John Bladwell 
 
 Mr. Bowen 
 
 Mr. Samuel Bricl 
 
 Mr. Tho. Bromwich, Ludgat&-Hi!l 
 
 Mr. Williani Eennet 
 
 Mr. Tho. Otto Bayer 
 
 Mr. Richard Brooke 
 
 Mr. Baker, in the Strand 
 
 Tho. Blackhall, Efq; 
 
 Mrs. Anna Maria Bagnall, Hatton- 
 Garden 
 
 Mrs. Anne Byas 
 
 Mrs. Harriot Bowdler 
 
 Mr. William Bates 
 C. 
 
 The Right Hon. Earl Cowper 
 
 The Hon. Henry Seymour Conway, 
 Grofvcnor-ftreet 
 
 Henry Crcifdale, Efq; 
 
 The Right Hon. the Lord Frederick 
 Campbell 
 
 Tho. Cowflad, Efq; 
 
 Tho. Carleton, Efq; 
 
 Felix Calvert, Efq; 
 
 Grey Cooper, Efq; of the Temple 
 
 John Cooper, Efq; 
 
 Mr. Will. Cowky, jun. Mill-Bank, 
 Wcftminfler 
 
 John Cale, Efq; 2 hocks 
 
 Mr. Adam Cleghorn 
 
 Mr. Francis Caryl 
 
 Mr. Robert Cawley, of the Strand, apo- 
 thecary 
 
 Mrs. Margaret Calderwood of Polton 
 
 Mrs. Cochran 
 
 Mils Cochran 
 
 Mifs Cowper 
 
 Mrs.
 
 A LIST of S 
 Mrs. Catharine Collins, Hoddefdon 
 Mr. Jofcpli Cottcrcl, juii. 
 Archibald Cochran, Kfq-, 
 Mils Harriot Cochran 
 D. 
 The Rev. Dr. D.ilton, D. D. 
 The Rev. Mr. Drake, B. D. fellow of 
 
 St. John's college, Cxfoid 
 J.imcs Durham, E"l"q; of Largoe, North 
 
 Britain 
 Andrew Douglas, IJ'q-, 
 Mr. Richard Dakon 
 Mr. John Doughty 
 Mr. Dehulle, jun. 
 Mifs Efther Dehulle 
 E. 
 Sir Jeftery Elwes, 2 hocks 
 The Rev. Mr. F'.llillon, mafter of Sid- 
 ney Suflex college, Cambridge 
 James Egan, Efq; Queen- fquare, Or- 
 
 mondibeet 
 George t gan, Efq; Queen-fquare, Or- 
 
 mond ftreet 
 Mrs. Ewer 
 
 F. 
 The Rev. Mr. Fowler, redor of Great 
 
 Parndon in Eflex 
 Richard Falkner, Efq-, Mount Falcon, 
 
 in Ireland 
 William Frafer, Efq-, 
 Rowland Frye, Efq; 
 William Fielde, Efq; of Stanfted Bury 
 Paul Fielde, Efq; of Lincoln's- Inn 
 Mr. John Forbes, merchant 
 Mr. John Fletcher 
 Mr. George Fowler, Cornhill 
 Mr. William Frye 
 Mrs. Frye 
 
 G. 
 The Right Hon. the earl of Godolphin 
 Sir Alexander Grant, Bart. Billiter-lane 
 William Grant, M. D. 
 Edward Gardiner, Efq; of Piflioeberry, 
 
 J lertforillhi^e 
 Ch.irles Gardiner, Efq; of Ayot, Hert- 
 
 fordfliire 
 Richard Gough, Efq; 
 Thomas Gyll, Efq; 
 
 3 
 
 UBSC RISERS. 
 
 John Gwilr, Efq; 
 
 John Gilbert, Elq; 
 
 Mr. Green 
 
 Mr. Tho. Goodwin 
 
 Mr. John Gomm 
 
 Mr. George Giifcwood 
 
 Rev. Mr. Gordon 
 
 Mr. Richard Gildart, jun. 
 
 Mr. Barnard Gold 
 
 Mr. Robert Grifewood 
 
 Mr. Francis Garden, Pater nofter-row 
 
 Mrs. Gardiner 
 
 Mifs Gough 
 
 H. 
 
 Sir Tho. Harrifon, knt. chamberlain of 
 the city of London 
 
 Robert Flarper, Efq; Lincoln's-Inn 
 
 Tho. Hutchinfon, Efq; of Hatfield 
 Woodhall, Hcrtforddiire 
 
 John Hamilton, Efq; of B.irgainy, M. P. 
 
 William Harrifon, Efqv 
 
 Flenry Hatfell, Efq; 
 
 Adam Hamilton, Efqi 
 Bafil Heme, Efq; 
 John Hitch, Efq; 
 John Flatfell, Elq; 
 Will. Hammond, Efq; borough 
 Mr. Will. Humphreys, merchant 
 The Rev. Mr. Samuel Hare, B. L. rec- 
 tor of Beauchampton 
 The Rev. Mr. Hey, fellow of Sidney 
 
 Suflex college, Cambridge 
 Mr. John Hudgebout, 2 books 
 Mr. Oliver Humphreys, fenior, 5 books 
 Mr. Oliver Humphreys, junior, ^books 
 Mr. Thomas Harvey of Newcaftle 
 Mr. Nevile Henfon 
 Mr. John Hawkins 
 Mrs. Bridgett Houghton 
 Mrs. Hulberc 
 Mr. John Hoole 
 Mr. A. W. Humphreys 
 Mrs. Mary Hindc, Rome-houfc, Chat- 
 ham. 
 
 I. 
 Sir Conyers Jocelyn, Bart. 
 Charles Jennings, Efq; 
 Mr. Richard Jones, Furnival's-Inn 
 
 K.
 
 A LIST of SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 K. 
 The Rev. Mr. Kynafton 
 The Rev. Mr. Keate, redor of Hatfield 
 Mr. John Knight, merchant 
 Mrs. Frances King 
 
 L. 
 The Right Hon. the Earl of Lincoln 
 Sir Matthew Lamb, Bart. 2 books 
 Henry Lyell, Efq; Saviile-Row 
 Bibye Lake, Efq; 
 Stephen Law, Efq; Broxbourn 
 Rev. Mr. John Lehunt, 2 books 
 Capt. Archibald Lundin 
 Mr. Lucas 
 Mr. Henry Long 
 Mrs. Lehunt, 2 books 
 St. John's library, Cambridge 
 
 M. 
 The RightHon. the Earl of Macclesfield 
 The Right Hon. the Lord Monfoa 
 The Hon. Charles Monfon 
 The Right Hon. Lord Charles Grevil 
 
 Montagu 
 John Martin, Efq; 
 
 Will. Mure, Efq; of Caldwall, M. P. 
 James Mitchell, Efq; 2 books 
 James Moate, Efq; 
 Tho. March, Efq; 
 The Rev. Mr. Merrick 
 Mr. John MoncriefF 
 Mr. Frederick Maurer 
 Mr. Philip Margafs 
 Major Roger Morris 
 Mr. James Morris 
 Mr. George Mercer 
 Mr. Jofeph Mercer 
 Mr. William Mercer 
 Mr. James Mercer 
 Mr. Douglas Mercer 
 Mr. George Mercer 
 Mr. Daniel Meffman, junior 
 Mfs. Martin 
 Mifs March 
 
 N. 
 The Rev. Dr. Newcomb?, dean of Ro- 
 chtfter, and mafter of St. John's col- 
 lege, Cambridge 
 Mr. Archibald Napier of Chefhunt 
 
 Mr. Alderman Niccoll of St. Alban's 
 
 Mr. Tho. Nicholls of Drayton, Shrop- 
 (hire 
 
 The Rev. Mr. John Norcrofs, red:or of 
 Hothefield in Kent 
 
 Mr. Jofeph Nixon 
 
 Mrs. Newcome 
 
 Mifs Nixon 
 
 O. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Ofborne 
 
 Mr. Thomas Ord, St. Martin's Lc 
 Grand 
 
 P. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Powell, of St. John's, 
 Cambridge 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Paris, late mafter of Sid- 
 ney Suflex college 
 
 William Poyntz, Efq; Old Burlington 
 Street, 2 books 
 
 Philip Parfel, Efq; 
 
 Geo-i-ge Prefect, Efq; member for Stock- 
 bridge 
 
 Mr. Kenrick Peck 
 
 Mr. John Pyle 
 
 Mr. Philip Palmer, junior 
 
 Mr. Henry Paulin 
 
 Mr. Johnfon Piftor 
 
 Mr. Henry Pollard 
 
 Mr. John Prodor 
 
 Mrs. I'ollen 
 
 Mifs Pollen 
 
 R. 
 
 The Right Hon. the Marquis of Rock- 
 ingham 
 
 The Right Rev. the Lord Bifhop of Ro- 
 chefter 
 
 Nathaniel Ryder, Efq; 
 
 Mr. Samuel Richardfon, 2 books 
 
 Mr. George Ringwood 
 S. 
 
 The Right Hon. the Earl of Shaftefbuvy, 
 20 books 
 
 The Right Hon. the Earl of Scarborough 
 
 Sir Simeon Stewart, Bart. 
 
 George Lewis Scott, Efq; commilTioner 
 of excife, Lciceflcr-fquare 
 
 Alexander Stnhan, Efq; D. LL. Suf- 
 folk- ftreet 
 
 William
 
 LIST 
 
 or 
 
 S U 
 
 William Sharpe, Efq-, 
 
 John Scaranchc, h.i'q; 
 
 John Alexander Stainiby, Efq; 
 
 Julin Shelly, L'-lq-, 
 
 Henry Spencer, F.fq-, 
 
 Andrew Spankeman, Efq-, 
 
 'I homas Sheridan, Efq-, 
 
 Charles Stanhope, Efq; 
 
 Andrew Stone, Efq; 
 
 Willi.-m Seymour, Efq; of the Middle 
 
 Temple 
 John Stevens, Efq-, 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Anthony Nourfe Sanderfon 
 The Rev. Mr, George Stockwell 
 The Rev. Mr. Thomas Salt 
 The Rev. Mr. Walter Scrocold 
 The Rev. Mr. Summer, fellow of King's 
 
 college, Cambridge 
 Mr. Mofes Smith 
 The Rev. Mr. Thomas Smith 
 Mr. Jamts Searanche 
 Mr. John Sleorgin, fenior 
 Mr. John Slcorgin, junior 
 Mr. William Smiton 
 Dr. Ifaac Schomberg 
 Edward Southwell, Efq; 
 Mrs. Anne Singleton 
 Mrs. Winifred Smart 
 Mr. Scot 
 
 T. 
 The Right Hon. the Earl of Thanct 
 Lady Agnes Trelawney 
 Sir Benjamin Trucman 
 Feir.es Trotman, Efq-, 
 Rev. Mr. Taylor 
 Rev. Mr. James Trail, redor of St. 
 
 John's, Horfly-downe 
 John Turvin, Efq; 
 Mr. John Turner, 6 hoks 
 Mr. William Trinder, merchant, 2 l>ooks 
 Mrs. Parth. Traill, Hatton-Gardcn 
 Mr. Tuckfidd 
 Mr. Randolph Tooke 
 Mr. Tohn Till 
 Mr. Richard Till 
 
 BSCRIBERS. 
 
 Mr. William Tayleure 
 Mr. Charles Tricquet 
 V. 
 Francis Vernon, Efq; 
 James Vercheld, Efq; 
 James Unwin, Efq; CaflleyarJ 
 Mrs. Vickers of Hoddcfdcn 
 
 W. 
 The Right Rev. Dr. Hoadley, late Lord 
 
 Bifliop of Winchcilcr 
 The Right Rev. Dr. Thomas Lord Bi- 
 
 fhop of Winchc-fter 
 The Rev. Dr. Walker, vice-mafler of 
 
 Trinity college, Cambridge 
 The Rev. Mr. William Waterman 
 The Rev. Mr. Wife, of Harlow 
 The Rev. Mr. Willis, A. M. 
 The Right Hon. Lord Sondes 
 Charles Gregory Wade, Efq; of Dray- 
 ton in Shroplhire 
 Nathaniel Wilkes, Efq; of Lofts in Ef- 
 
 fcx, 20 tooks 
 John Weyland, Efq; 
 John Waters, Efq; 
 Tho. Wilkinfon, merchant. Crooked 
 
 Lane 
 Mr. John Welles, Bofwelj-court 
 Mr. John WalQi 
 Mr. Wigan 
 Mr. Wilfon, King's Street, Guildhall* 
 
 3 l>ooks 
 Mr. Crook Wilfon 
 Mr. John Warrington 
 Mr. Robert Woodefield 
 Mr. Whalley 
 
 Mr. John Worfeley, of Hertford 
 Mifs Rebecca Watfon, New Norfolk.- 
 
 ftreet 
 The Rev. Mr. Hugh Wyat 
 
 y. 
 
 Hon. and Rev. James Yorke 
 
 Hon. John Yorke 
 
 Mr. Edward Younge, fellow of King's 
 
 college, Cambridge 
 Mr. Tbo. Young. 
 
 T H E
 
 THE 
 
 L I F E 
 
 O F 
 
 ROGER A S C H A M. 
 
 IT often happens to writers, that they are known only by their 
 works ; the incidents of a literary life are feldom obferved, and 
 therefore feldom recounted ; but Afcham has efcaped the common 
 fate by the friendfliip of Edward Graunt, the learned mafler of We/lmin^ 
 Jler fchool, who devoted an oration to his memory, and has marked the 
 various viciflltudes of his fortune. Graunt either avoided the labour of 
 minute inquiry, or thought domeftick occurrences unworthy of his no- 
 tice • or preferring the chara6ter of an orator to that of an hiflorian, 
 northe only fuch particulars as he could bell: exprcfs, or moft happily 
 embeir v.. His narrative is therefore fcanty, and I know not by what 
 materials it can now be amplified. 
 
 Roger AJcham was born in the year 1 5 1 5, at Kirhy Wijke^ (or Kirby 
 Wlcke) a village near Northallerton in 7orkJJ.nre, of a family above the 
 vulgar. His father John Ajcham was houfe-Iteward in the family of 
 Scroop, and in that age, when the different orders of men were at a 
 greater difVance from each other, and the manners of gentlemen were 
 regularly formed by menial fervices in great houfcs, lived with a very 
 confpicuous reputation. Margaret Afchamy his wife, is faid to have 
 
 b ■ • been
 
 ii T II E L I F E O F 
 
 been allied to many confulerable families, but her maiden name is not 
 recorded. She iiad three fons, of whom Roger was the youngeftj and 
 fomc daughters ; but who can hope, that of any progeny more than one 
 ihall dclcrve to be mentioned ? They hved married fixty-feven years, 
 and at h\ll died together almoft on the fame hour of the fame day. 
 
 Roger having pafled his firft years under the care of his parents, was 
 adopted into the family of Antony WingfielJ, who maintained him, and 
 committed his eckication, with that of his own fons, to the care of one 
 Bond, a domellick tutor. He very early difcovercd an unufual fondncfs 
 for literature by an eager perufal of Englijh books, and having pafled 
 happily through the fcholallick rudiments, was put, in 1530, by his 
 patron IVingJield, to St. Johns college in Cambridge. 
 
 Afcham entered Cambridge at a time when the lafl great revolution of 
 the intellectual world was filling every academical mind with ardour or 
 anxiety. The deflrutStion of the Conjiantinopolitan empire had driven the 
 Greeks with their language into the interiour parts of Europe, the 
 art of printing had made the books eafdy attainable, and Greek now 
 began to be taught in England. The do6lrines of Luther had already 
 filled all the nations of the RomiJJo communion with controverfy and 
 diflention. New fludlcs of literature, and new tenets of religion, found 
 employment for all who were defirous of truth, or ambitious of fame. 
 Learning was at that time profecuted with that cagernefs and perfeverance 
 which in this age of indifference and diflipation it is not eafy to conceive. 
 To teach or to learn was at once the bufmefs and the plea lure " ♦•he 
 academical life ; and an emulation of fludy was raifed by CI and 
 Smith, to which even the prefent age perhaps owes many advantages, 
 without remembering or knowing its benefactors. 
 
 Afcham foon refolved to unite himfclf to thofe who were enlarging the 
 bounds of knowledge, and immediately upon his admiflion into the 
 college, applied himfclf to the fludy of Greek. Thofe who were zealous 
 for tlic new learning, were often no great friends to the old religion j 
 and Afcham, as he became a Grecian, became a proteflant. The re- 
 formation was not yet begun, difaffection to popery was confidered 
 as a crime juftly puniflied by exdufion from favour and preferment, 
 
 and
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M.' iii 
 
 and was not yet openly pi-ofefled, though fuperflition was gradually lof- 
 ing its hold upon the publick. The ftudy of Greek was reputable 
 enough, and Afcbam perfued it with diligence and fuccefs equally con- 
 fpicuous. He thought a language might be moft eafily learned by teach- 
 ing it; and when he had obtained fome proficiency in Greek, read lec- 
 tures, while he was yet a boy, to other boys who were dcfirous of in- 
 ftru6lion. His induftry was much encouraged by Petnber, a man of 
 great eminence at that time, though I know not that he has left any 
 monuments behind him, but what the gratitude of his friends and fcho- 
 lars has beftowed. He was one of the great encouragers of Greek learn- 
 ing, and particularly applauded Afcbam% ledlures, affuring him in a let- 
 ter, of which Graunt has preferved an extra<5l, that he would gain more 
 knowledge by explaining one of JEfop's fables to a boy, than by hearing 
 one of Homers poems explained by another. ^ 
 
 Afcbam took his bachelor's degree in 1534, February 18, in the eigh- 
 teenth year of his age ; a time of life at which it is more common now 
 to enter the univerfities than to take degrees, but which, according to 
 the modes of education then in ufe, had nothing of remarkable prema- 
 turity. On the 23d of March following, he was chofen fellow of the col- 
 lege ; which election he confidered as a fecond birth. Dr. Metcalf] the 
 mafter of the college, a man, as Afcbam tells us, meaiily learned himfelf, 
 but no mean encourager of learning in otbers, clandeftinely promoted his 
 ele6lion, though he openly feemed firft to oppofe it, and afterwards 
 to cenfure it, becaufe Afcbam was known to favour the new opinions; 
 and the mafter himfelf was accufed of giving an unjuft preference to the 
 northern men, one of the fadions into which this nation was divided, 
 before we could find any more important reafon of difi^ention, than that 
 fome were born on the northern and fome on the fouthern fide of Trent. 
 Any caufe is fufficient for a quarrel, and the zealots of the north and 
 fouth lived long in fuch animofity, that it was thought neceflary at Ox- 
 ford to keep them quiet by chufing one pro6lor every year from each. 
 
 He feems to have been hitherto fupported by the bounty of WingficU, 
 which his attainment of a fellowfhip now freed him from the neceflity of 
 receiving. Depcndance, though in thofe days it was more common, and 
 therefore lefs irkfome than in the prefent ftate of things, can never 
 
 b 2 have
 
 iv T H E L I F E O F 
 
 have been free from difcontent ; and therefore he that was releafed from 
 it niLift always have rejoiced. The danger is, left the joy of efcaping 
 fjom the patron may not leave fuflicient memory of the bencfaclor. Of 
 this forgetfulnefs ylfcbam cannot be accufed ; for he is recorded to have 
 prefcrved the moft grateful and affeflionate reverence for Wingjield^ and 
 to have never grown weary of recounting his benefits. 
 
 His reputation ftill increafed, and many reforted to his chamber to hear 
 the Greek writers explained. Pie was likewife eminent for other ac- 
 compliflmients. By the advice of Pember, he had learned to play on 
 mulical inftruments, and he was one of the few who excelled in the me- 
 chanical art of writing, which then began to be cultivated among us» 
 and in which we now furpafs all other nations. He not only wrote his 
 pages with neatnefs, but embelliflied them with elegant draughts and il- 
 luminations ; an art at that time fo highly valued, that it contributed 
 much both to his fame and his fortune. 
 
 He became mafter of arts in March isi7' i" '^'^ twenty-firft year; 
 and then, if not before, commenced tutor, and publickly undertook the 
 education of young men. A tutor of one and twenty, however accom- 
 pliflied with learning, however exalted by genius, would now gain littls 
 reverence or obedience ; but in thofe days of difcipline and regularity, 
 the authority of the ftatutes eafily fupplied that of the teacher; all power 
 that was lawful v^'as reverenced. Befides, young tutors had fti'll younger 
 pupils, 
 
 AJcham is faid to have courted his fcholars to ftudy by every incite- 
 ment, to have treated them with great kindnefs, and to have taken 
 care at once to inftill learning and piety, to inlighten their minds and 
 to form tlieir manners. Many of his fcholars rafe to great eminence, 
 and among them IViUtam Grindal was fo much diftinguiflied, that by 
 Cheke's recommendation he was called to court as a proper mafter o£ 
 languages for the lady Elizabetb. 
 
 There was yet no eftabliftied le6lurer of Greek; the unlverfity there- 
 fore appointed Afcham to read in the open fchools, and paid him out of the 
 publick purfc an honorary ftipend, fuch as was then reckoned fufficiently 
 
 liberal -
 
 ROGERASCHAM. v 
 
 liberal : a Ie6lure was afterwards founded by King Henry, and he then 
 quitted the fchools, but continued to explain Greek authours in his own 
 college. 
 
 He was at firft an opponent of the new pronunciation introduced, or 
 rather of the ancient reftored about this time by Cheke and Smith, and 
 made fome cautious ftruggles for the common practice, which the cre- 
 dit and dignity of his antagonifts did not permit to defend very pub- 
 lickly, or with much vehemence : nor were they long his antagonifts ; 
 for either his afFeclion for their merit, or his convi6lion of the cogency 
 of their arguments, foon changed his opinion and his practice, and he 
 adhered ever after to their method of utterance. 
 
 Of this controverfy it is not necelTary to give a circumftantlal account ; 
 fomething of it may be found in Strypes Life of Smith, and fomething 
 in Bakers Reflexions upon learning : it is fufficient to remark here, that 
 Cheke's pronunciation was that which now prevails in the fchools of 
 England. Difquifittons not only verbal, but merely literal, are too mi- 
 nute for popular narration. 
 
 rie was not lefs eminent as a writer of Latin, than as a teacher of 
 Greek. All the publick letters of the univerfity were of his compofition j 
 and as little qualifications muft often bring great abilities into notice, he 
 was recommended to this honourable employment not lefs by the neat- 
 nefs of his hand, than the elegance of his ftyle. 
 
 However great was his learning, he was not always immured in his 
 chamber ; but being valetudinary, and weak of body, thought it necellary 
 to fpend many hours in fuch exercifes as might beft relieve him after the 
 fatigue of fludy. His favourite amufement was archery, in which he 
 fpent, or, in the opinion of others, loft fo much time, that thofe whom 
 either his f?ults or virtues made his enemies, and perhaps fome whofc 
 kindnefs wiflied him always worthily employed, did not fcruple to cen- 
 fure his pra(5lice, as unfuitable to a man profefling learning, and per- 
 haps of bad example in a place of education^ 
 
 To free himfelf from this ccnfure was one of the rcalbns for which 
 he publiflied, in 1544, his Toxopbilns, or the Schole or Fanitions of 
 
 1 Shooting,.
 
 vi T H E L I F E O F 
 
 Shooting, in which he joins the praifc with the precepts of archery. 
 He defigned not only to teach the art of Hiooting, but to give an exam- 
 ple of didtion more natural and more truly Englip than was ufed by the 
 common writers of that age, whom he cenlures for mingling exotick 
 terms with their native language, and of whom he complains, that they 
 were made authours not by Ikill or education, but by arrogance and 
 temerity. 
 
 He has not failed in either of his purpofes. He has fufficiently vin- 
 dicated archery as an innocent, falutary, ufeful, and liberal diverfion ; 
 and if his precepts are of no great ufe, he has only (hown by one exam- 
 ple among many, how little the hand can derive from the mind, how 
 little intelligence can conduce to dexterity. In every art praflice is 
 much ; in arts manual pradice is almoft the whole. Precept can at 
 moll: but warn againft errour, it can never beflow excellence. 
 
 The bow lias been fo long difufed, that mofl Etiglijl:) readers have 
 forgotten its importance, though it was the weapon by which w^e gained 
 the battle of Agincourt, a weapon which when handled by EjigliJJo yeo- 
 men, no foreign troops were able to refifl. We were not only abler of 
 body than the French, and therefore fuperiour in the ufe of arms, which 
 are forcible only in proportion to the ftrength with which they are 
 handled, but the national practice of fliooting for pleafure or for prizes, 
 by which every man was inured to archery from his infancy, gave us 
 infuperable advantage, the bow requiring more practice to ikilful ufe 
 than any other initrument of offence. 
 
 Fire-arms were then in their infancy ; and though battering pieces 
 had been fome time in ufe, I know not whether any Ibldiers were arm- 
 ed with hand-guns when the Toxophilus was firfl publiflied : they were 
 foon after ufed by the SpaniJJj troops, whom other nations made hafte 
 to imitate : but how little they could yet effect, will be undpltood from 
 the account given by the ingenious authour of the exercife for the AV- 
 folk militia. 
 
 " The firft mufkets were very heavy, and could not be fired without 
 " a relt ; they had match-locks, aild barrels of a wide bore, that car- 
 
 " ried
 
 ROGERASCHAM. vii 
 
 ♦< lied a large ball and charge of powder, and did execution at a greatei' 
 •' diftance. 
 
 " The mufketeers on a march carried only their refts and ammuni- 
 " tion, and had boys to bear their mufkcts after them, for which they 
 " were allowed great additional pay. 
 
 " They were very flow in loading, not only by reafon of the un- 
 *' wieldinefs of the pieces, and becaufe they carried the powder and 
 " balls feparate, but from the time it took to prepare and adjuft the 
 " match ; fo that their fire was not near fo brill; as ours is now. Af- 
 " terwards a lighter kind of match-lock mufket came into ufe, and they 
 " carried their ammunition in bandeliers, which were broad belts that 
 ** came over the flioulder, to which were hung feveral little cafes of 
 *' wood covered with leather, each containing a charge of powder; the 
 " balls they carried loofe in a pouch ; and they had alfo a priming horn 
 
 hanging by their fide. 
 
 (< 
 
 " The old Engli/h writers call thofe large mufkets calivers : the har- 
 *' quebuze was a lighter piece, that could be fired without a rcfl:. The 
 *' match-lock was fired by a match fixed by a kind of tongs in the fer- 
 *' pentine or cock, which by pulling the trigger, was brought down 
 ■" v/ith great quicknefs upon the priming in the pan j over which there 
 *' was a Aiding cover, which was drawn back by the hand juft at the 
 *' time of firing. There was a great deal of nicety and care required 
 " to fit the match prc;,'erly to the cock, fo as to come down exa6lly true 
 *' on the priming, to blow the. aflies from the coal, and to guard the 
 " pan from the fparks that fell from it. A great deal of time was alfo 
 " loft in taking it out of the cock, and returning it between the fingers 
 " of the left hand every time that the piece was fired ; and wet weather 
 " often rendered the matches ufelefs." 
 
 "While this was the ftate of fire-arms, and this ftate continued among 
 us to the civil war with very little improvement, it is no wonder that 
 the long bow was preferred by Sir John Smithy who wrote of the choice 
 of weapons in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when the ufe of the bow 
 ftill continued, though the mufket was gradually prevailing. Sir John 
 
 Haywardf
 
 viii THE LIFE OF 
 
 UayivarJ, a writer yet later, has \\\ his hiftory of the Norman kings en- 
 deavoured to evince the luperiority of the archer to the mulketeer: 
 however, in the long peace of King James, the bow was wholly forgot- 
 ten. Guns have from that time been the weapons of the Englijh, as of 
 other nations, and as they are now improved, are certainly more effica- 
 cious. 
 
 Afcham had yet another reafon, if not for writing his book, at lead 
 for prefenting it to King Henry. England was not then what it may be 
 now juftly termed, the capital of literature, and therefore thofe who 
 afpired to fuperiour degrees of excellence thought it necelTary to travel 
 into other countries. The purfc of Afcham was not equal to the ex- 
 pence of peregrination ; and therefore he hoped to have it augmented 
 by a penfion. Nor was he wholly difappointed ; for the King rewarded 
 him with an yearly payment of ten pounds. 
 
 A penfion of ten pounds granted by a king of England to a man of 
 letters, appears to modern readers io contemptible a benefaction, that 
 it is not unworthy of enquiry what might be its value at that time, and 
 how much Afcham might be enriched by it. JNothing is more uncertain 
 than the eftimation of wealth by denominated money ; the precious me- 
 tals never retain long the fame proportion to real commodities, and 
 the fame names in different ages do not imply the fame quantity of me- 
 tal ; fo that it is equally difficult to know how much money was con- 
 tained in any nominal fum, and to find what any fuppofed quantity 
 of gold or filver would purchafc j both which are neccllary to tlie com- 
 menfuration of money, or the adjuftment of proportion between the 
 lame fums at different periods of time. 
 
 A numeral pound in King Henrys time contained, as now, twenty 
 fliillings; and therefore it muf\ be inquired what twenty fliilHngs could 
 perform. Bread-corn is the moll certain flandard of the neceffaries of 
 life. Wheat was generally fold at that time for one fliilling the bufhel : 
 if therefore we take five Ihillings the bufliel for the current price, ten 
 pounds were equivalent to fifty. But here is danger of a fallacy. It 
 may be doubted, whether wheat was the general brc..d-corn of that age ; 
 and if rye, barley, or oats, were the common food, and wheat, as I 
 
 fufpect,
 
 ROGERASCHAM. ix 
 
 fiifpe^t, only a delicacy, the value of wlieat will not regulate the piice 
 of other things. This doubt is however in favour of yjfcham ; for if 
 we raife the worth of wheat, we raifc that of his penfion. 
 
 But the value of money has another variation, which we are ftill Icfs 
 able to afcertain : the rules of cuftom or the different needs of artificial 
 life, make that revenue little at one time which is great at another. Men 
 are rich and poor, not only in proportion to what they have, but to 
 what they want. In fome ages, not only neceflaries are cheaper, but 
 fewer things are neceflary. In the age of AJcha?n, moft of the elegan- 
 cies and expences of our prefent fafliions were unknown : commerce had 
 not yet diftributed fuperfluity through the lower dalles of the people, 
 and the charaifler of a ftudent implied frugality, and required no fplen- 
 dour to fupport it. His penfion, therefore, reckoning together the 
 wants which he could fupply, and the wants from which he was ex- 
 empt, may be cflimated, in my opinion, at more than one hundred 
 pounds a-yearj which, added to the income of his fellowfliip, put 
 him far enough above diftrefs. 
 
 This was an year of good fortune to Ajcham. He was chofen orator 
 to the univerfity on the removal of Sir "John Cheke to court, where 
 he was made tutor to Prince Edward. A man once diftinguifhed 
 foon gains admirers. Afcham was now received to notice by many 
 of the nobility, and by great ladies, among whom it was then the 
 fafliion to ftudy the ancient languages. Lee archbifliop of York al- 
 lowed him an yearly penfion ; how much, we are not told. He was, 
 probably about this time, employed in teaching many illuflrious perfons 
 to write a fine hand, and among others Hairy and Charles, dukes of Suf- 
 folk, the princefs Elizabeth, and prince Edward. 
 
 Henry VIII. died two years after, and a reformation of religion being 
 now openly profecuted by King Edward and his council, Ajcham, who 
 was known to favour it, had a new grant of his penfion, and continued 
 at Cambridge, where he lived in great familiarity with Biicer, who had 
 been called from Germany to the profeflbrfliip of divinity. But his re- 
 tirement was foon at an end j for in 1548 his pu])il Grindal, the madcr 
 
 c of
 
 X THELIFEOF 
 
 of the princcfs FJ/zakib, died, and the princefs, who had aheady fome 
 acquaintance with Jfc!:am, called him from his college to diixct her 
 (Indies. He obeyed tlie fuinmons, as we may eafily believe, with 
 readincfi., and for two years inllru6led her with great diligence ; but 
 then being dilgufl-ed either by her or her domcfticks, or perhaps eager 
 for another change of life, he left her without her confent, and return- 
 ed to the univerlity. Of this precipitation he long repented ; and as 
 thofe who are not accuftomed to difrefpeifl, cannot eafily forgive it, he 
 probably fdt the effects of his imprudence to his death. 
 
 After having vifitcd Cambridge, he took a Joumey into Torkf.'ire to fee 
 his native place and his old acquaintance, and there received a letter 
 from tlie court, informing him, that he was appointed fecretary to Sir 
 Richard Morifme, who was to be difj)atched as ambafTador into Germany. 
 In his return to London he paid that memorable vifit to lady °Jane Gray, 
 in which he found iier reading the Phado in Greek, as he has related in 
 his Schoolma/ier. 
 
 In the year 1550 he attended Morifme to Germany, and wandered over 
 a great part of the country, making obfervations upon all that appeared 
 worthy of his curiofity, and contracting acquaintance with men of 
 learning. To his corrcfpondent Sturmius he paid a vifit, but Sturmiiis 
 was not at home, and thofe two illuftrious friends never faw each other. 
 During the courfe of this embady, j^Jlham undertook to improve Mori- 
 Jine in Greek, and for four days in the week explained fome pages of 
 Herodotus every morning, and more than two hundred verfes of Sophocles. 
 or Euripides every afternoon. He read with him likewife feme of the 
 orations of Demojlhenes. On the other days he compiled the letters of 
 bufind's, and in the night filled up his diary, digefted his remarks, and 
 wrote private letters to his friends in England, and particularly to thoib 
 of his college, whom he continually exhorted to perfeverance in ftudy. 
 Amidft all the plcafures of novelty, which his travels fupplied, and in 
 the dignity of his publick ftation, he preferred the tranquillity of private 
 Itudy, and the quiet of academical retirement. The icafonablencfs of 
 this choice has been always difjnited ; and in the contrariety of human 
 interefts and difpofitions, the controverfy will not eafily be decide J. 
 
 4 He
 
 ROGERASCHAM. , xi 
 
 . He made a fliort excurfion into Italy^ and mentions in his School- 
 majler with great feverity the vices oi Venice. He was dcfirous of vifit- 
 ing Trent while the council were fitting; but the fcantinefs of his purfe 
 defeated his curiofity. 
 
 In this journey he wrote his Report and Difcourfe of the Affaires in Ger- 
 many, in which he defcribes the difpofitions and interefts of the German 
 princes like a man inquiutive and judicious, and recounts many parti- 
 cularities which are loll in the mafs of general hiftory, in a ftyle which 
 to the ears of that age was undoubtedly mellifluous, and which is now 
 a very valuable fpecimen of genuine EngUjh. 
 
 By the death of King EdwarJ In 1553, the reformation was ftopped, 
 Morifine was recalled, and Afchams penfion and hopes were at an end. 
 He therefore retired to his fellowfliip in a ftate of difappointment and 
 defpair, which his biographer has endeavoured to exprefs in the deepeft 
 flrain of plaintive declamation. He was deprived of all his fupport, fays 
 Graunt, ft ripped of his pe}iJion, and cut off from the affiftance oj his Jr lends, 
 •who had 71010 loft their influence ; fo that he had nec prjemia nec pr^- 
 DiA, 7ieither penfion 7tor eftate to fupport him at Cambridge. There is no 
 credit due to a rhetorician's account either of good or evil. The truth 
 is, that Afcham ftill had in his fellowfliip all that in the early part of his 
 life had given him plenty, and might have lived like the other inhabitants 
 of the college, with the advantage of more knowledge and higher repu- 
 tation. But notwithflanding his love of academical retirement, he had 
 now too long enjoyed the pleafures and feftivities of publick life, to 
 return with a good will to academical poverty. 
 
 He had however better fortune than he expelled, and, if he lamented 
 his condition like his hillorian, better than he deferved. He had during 
 his abfence in Germany been appointed Latin fecretary to King Edrjard ; 
 and by the intereft of Gardiner bifliop of Winchefter, he was inflated in 
 the fame office under Fhilip and Mary, with a falary of twenty pounds 
 a-year. 
 
 Soon after his admiffion to his new employment, he gave an extraor- 
 dinary fpecimen of his abilities and diligence, by compofmg and tran- 
 
 c 2 fcribing
 
 3,ii T H E L I F E O F 
 
 fcribing with his ufual elegance, in three days, foity-feven letters to 
 princes and pcrlonages, of whom cardinals were tlie loweft. 
 
 How ylftbam, v/ho was known to be a proteftant, could jjreferve the 
 favour of Gardiner, and hold a place of honour and profit in Queen 
 Mary's court, it muft be veiy natural to inquire. Cheke, as is well 
 known, was compelled to a recantation ; and why ^fcham was fpared, 
 cannot now be dilcovered. Graunt, at a time when tlie tranfadlions of 
 Queen Marys reign mull have been well enough remembered, declares, 
 that Afcham always made open profeflion of the reformed religion, and 
 that ETiglt'sJiclil and others often endeavoured to incite Gardiner againfl 
 him, but found their accufations rejefled with contempt : yet he al- 
 lows, that fufpicions and charges of temporization and compliance had 
 fcmewhat fullied his reputation. The authour of the Biograpbia Bri- 
 tannica conjectures, that he owed his fafety to his innocence and ufeful- 
 nefs ; that it would have been unpopular to attack a man fo little liable 
 to cenfure, and that the lofs of his pen could not have been eafdy fup- 
 plied. But the truth is, that morality was never fufFered in the days of 
 perfecution to prote6l herefy; nor are we fure that Afcham was more 
 clear from common failings than thofe who fuffered more ; and what- 
 ever might be his abilities, they were not fo neceflary but Gardiner could 
 have eafiiy filled his place with another fecretary. Nothing is more vain, 
 than at a dillant time to examine the motives of difcrimination and par- 
 tiality ; for the inquirer having confidered intereli and policy, is obligect 
 at laft to omit more frequent and more adive motives of human con- 
 duct, caprice, accident, and private alleclions. 
 
 At that time, if fome were puniflied, many were forborn j and of 
 many why Ihcnild not Afcham happen to be one ? He feems to have 
 been calm and prudent, and content with that peace which he was fuf- 
 fered to enjoy ; a mode of behaviour that feldom fails to produce fecu- 
 rity. He had been abroad in the lafl: years of King Edivard, and had 
 at kafl given no recent offence. He was certainly, according to his own 
 (>l)inion, not much in danger ; for in the next year he refighed his fel- 
 lovvlhip, which by Gardimr's favour he had continued to hold, though 
 not rcfident ; and marrietl Margaret Hoice, a young gentlewoman of a 
 good family. 
 
 He
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. xiii 
 
 He was diftinguiflied in this reign by the notice c^Gardinal l^oole, 
 a man of great candour, learning, and gentlenefs of manners, and par- 
 ticularly eminent for his fkill in Latin, who thought highly of ^f- 
 cham's flyle ; of which it is no inconfiderable proof, that when Pocle 
 was defirous of communicating a fpeech made by himfelf as legate, in 
 parliament, to the Pope, he employed Afcham io W^niidAQ it.. 
 
 He is faid to have been not only prote6ted by the officers of flate, but 
 favoured and countenanced by the Queen herfelf ; fo that he had no rea- 
 fon of complaint in that reign of turbulence and perfecution : nor was 
 his fortune much mended, when in 1558 his pupil Elizabeth mounted- 
 the throne. He was continued in his former employment, with the 
 fame ftipend : but though he was daily admitted to the prefence of the 
 Queen, alhfted her private ftudies, and partook of her diverfions ; ibme- 
 times read to hei' in the learned languages, and fometimes played with 
 her at draughts and chefs ; he added nothing to kis twenty pounds a- 
 year ^irtflfcprebend of We/livang in the church of ITork, which was 
 give^l^to Tfie yea|i|Jbllowing. His fortune was therefore not propor- y 
 tiorj^te^R) the ranJPAVliich his offices and reputation gave him, or to the ^* 
 favour in which he feemcd to (land with his miftrefs. Of this parfimo- > 1 ' 
 nious allotment it is again a hopclefs fearch to inquire the reafon. The ■ 
 Queen was not naturally bountiful, and perhaps did not think it necef- 
 fary to diilinguifh by any prodigality of kindnefs a man who had for- 
 merly delated her, -and whom flie might ftill fufpecl of ferving rather 
 for interelt than afte6lion. Graunt exerts his rhetorical powers in praile 
 of AJchams difmtereflednefs and contempt of money ; and declares, that 
 though he was often reproached by his friends v\ith ncglccft of his own 
 intereft, he never would alk any thing, and inflexibly rcfufed all prc- 
 fents which his office or imagined intciefl; induced any to offer him. ^^^■■^. 
 
 Camden, however, imputes the narrownefs of his condition to his love C;^ 
 
 of dice and cock-fights : and Graunt forgetting himfc-lf, allows that 
 Afcham was fometimes thrown into agonies by difappointed expectations. 
 It may be eafily difcovered from his Schoohnafter, that he felt his wants, 
 though he might neglcft to fupply them -, and we are left to fufpccV, that 
 he fliewed his contempt of money only by lofmg it at play. If this was 
 his practice, we may cxcufe Elizabeth, who knew the domeftick cha- 
 rafter of her fcrvants, if flic did not give much to him who was laviii\ 
 of a little. 
 
 Howcvr 
 
 /
 
 xiv T H E L I F E O F 
 
 However he miglit fail in his oeconomy, it were indecent to treat with 
 wanton levity the memory of a man who fliared his frailties with all, 
 but whofe learning or virtues few can attain, and by whofe excellencies 
 many may be improved, while himfelf only fuftered by his faults. 
 
 In the reign of Elizabeth nothing remarkable is known to have befallen 
 him, except that, in 1563, he was invited by Sir Edward Sackville to 
 write the Scboohmiftcr, a treatife on education, upon an occafion which 
 he relates in the beginning of the book. This work, though begun 
 with alacrity, in hopes of a confiderable reward, was interrupted by the 
 death of the patron, and afterwards forrowfuliy and flowly finirtied, in 
 the gloom of dilappointment, iir.der the prellurc of didrefs. But of the 
 authour's difmclinaiion or dejection there can be found no tokens in tiie 
 work, which is conceived with great vigour, and finiflied with great 
 accuracy j and perhaps contains the belt advice that was ever given for 
 the Audy of languages. 
 
 This treatife he compleated, but did not pubUfli ; for that poverty 
 which in our days drives authours fo hallily in fuch numbers to the 
 prefs, in the time of Afcham, I believe, debarred them from it. The 
 printers gave little for a copy, and, if we may believe the tale of 
 Raleigh's hiftory, were not forward to print what was offered them for 
 notliing. ylfchanis book therefore lay unfeen in his fludy, and was at 
 lalt dedicated to Lord Cecil by his widow. 
 
 Afcham never had a robuft or vigorous body, and his excufe for fo 
 many hours of diverfion was his inability to endure a long continuance 
 of fedentary thought. In the latter part of his life he found it neceffary 
 to forbear any intcnfe application of the mind from dinner to bed-time, 
 and rofe to read and write early in the morning. He was for fome 
 years heclically feverifli ; and though he found fome alleviation of his 
 diftempei, never obtained a perfet'-f recovery of his health. The im- 
 mediate caufe of his lall: ficknefs was too clofe application to the com- 
 pofuion of a poem, which he purpofed to prefent to the Queen on the 
 day of her accefTion. To finifli this he forbore to flecp at his accuilomed 
 hours, till in December 1568 he fell fick of a kind of lingering difeafe, 
 which Graunt has not named, nor accurately dcfcribed. The mofl af- 
 flictive
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. xv 
 
 m 
 
 fli6live fymptom was want of lleep, which he endeavoured to obtain by 
 .the motion of a cradle. Growing every day weaker, he found it vain 
 to cont'-nd v/ith his diftcmper, and prepared to die with the refignation 
 and piety of a true Chriitian. He was attended on his deathbed by 
 Graved vicar of St. Sepulchre, and Dr. Noivel, the learned dean of St. 
 PauFs, who gave ample teflimony to the decency and devotion of his 
 conck)ding Ufc. He frequently teftified his defire of that diliblution 
 which he foon obtained. His funeral-fermon was preached by Dr. 
 Nowel. 
 
 Roger AJcham died in the fifty-tiiird year of his age, at a time when, 
 according to the general courfe of life, much might yet have been ex- 
 peaed from him, and when he might have hoped for much from others : 
 but his abihties and his wants were at an end together ; and who can 
 determine, whether he was cut off from advantages, or refcucd from 
 calamities ? He appears to have been not much qualified lor the im- 
 provement of his fortune. His difpofition was kind and focial ; he de- 
 lighted in the pleafureS'of converfation, and was probably not much in- 
 clined to bufinefs. This may be fufpe6led from the paucity of his wri- 
 tings. He has left little behind him, and of that little nothing was 
 publiflied by himfelf but the ToxophUiis, and the account of Germany. 
 The Schoolmajler was printed by his widow, and tiie Epiftles were col- 
 leQed by Graiait, who dedicated them to Queen Elizabeth, that he 
 might have an opportunity of recommending his fon Giles Ajcham to 
 ' her patronage. The dedication was not loll : the young man was 
 made by the Qiieen's mandate fellow of a college in Cambridge, where 
 he obtained confiderable reputation. What was the effcit of his wi- 
 dow's dedication to Cecil, is not known : it may be hoped that Ajchatns 
 works obtained for his family, after his deceafe, that fupport which he 
 did not in his life very plenteoudy procure them. 
 
 Whether he was poor by his own fault or the fault of others, cannot 
 now be decided ; but it is certain that many have been rich with lefs 
 merit. His philological learning would have gained him honour in 
 any country, and among us it may juftly call for that reverence which 
 all nations owe to thofe who firft roufc them from ignorance, and kindle 
 among them the light of literature. Of his manners nothing can be 
 
 laid
 
 xvi T H E L I F E O F, 6cc. 
 
 faid but from his own telVmiony and that of his contemporaries. Thofe 
 who mention him allow him many virtues. His courtcfy, benevolence, 
 and liberality, arc celebrated ; and of his piety we have not only the 
 telVimony of his friends, but the evidence of his writings. 
 
 That his Englijh works have been fo long neglecled, is a proof of the 
 uncertainty of literary fame. He was fcarcely known as an authour in 
 liis own language till Mr. Upton publilhed his Schoolmajkr with learned 
 notes, which are inferted in this edition. His other pieces were read 
 only by thofe few who delight in obfolete books j but as they are now 
 colledfed into one volume, with the addition of fome letters never print- 
 ed before, the publick has an opportunity of recompenfing the in- 
 jury, and zWoiixn^, AJcham the reputation due to his knowledge and his 
 eloquence. 
 
 A REPORT
 
 f 
 
 REPORT and DISCOURSE 
 
 Written by R O G E R A S C H A M, of the Affaires and State 
 of Germany and the Emperour Charles his Court, during 
 certaine Yeares while the fayd ROGER was there. 
 
 ATLONDON 
 
 Printed by J O H N D A-Y E, dwelling ouer Aldersgate. 
 
 Cum Gratia & Priuilegio Regias Maieftatis, per Decennium* 
 
 B
 
 JOHN ASTELY to R. ASCHAM. 
 
 I Now finde true by experience, which I have oft heard of others, 
 and fometymes read my felfe : that men make no fuch accompt of 
 commodities when they haue them, as when they want them. I meane 
 this by our friendly fellowfhyp together at Chejlon Chelfey, and here at 
 Hatfield her graces houfe : our pleafant ftudies in readying together Ari- 
 flotles Rhetorike, Cicero, and Liuie, our free talke mingled alwayes with 
 honeft mirth, our trimme conferences of that prefent world, and too 
 true iudgementes of the troublefome tyme that followed^ 
 
 Thefe commodities I now remember with fome grief, which we then 
 vfed with much pleafure, befides many other fruites of frendfhyp that 
 faythful good will could afFourd. And thefe thinckynges caufe me oft 
 to wilh, either you to be here with vs, or me to be there with you^: 
 but what wifliyng is nothyng els but a vayne waylyng for that which 
 will wanteth. I wil ceafe from wifhyng, and feeke the true remedy 
 for this fore : And that is whilefl we meet agayne in deede, in the 
 meane while to eafe our defires with oft writyng the one to the other. 
 I would in deede I had been partaker in your company, of that your 
 pleafaunt abfence out of your countrey : and becaufe I was not, I pray 
 you let me be partaker by your Letters of fbme fruite of tliat your 
 iourney. 
 
 We heare of great fturres in thofe parties : and how the Emperour, a 
 Prince of great wifedomeand great power, hath bene driuen to extreme 
 lliiftes, and that by the pollicie of mean men who were thought to be 
 hys frendes, and not by the puifantnes of others who were knowne to 
 be his open enemyes. 1 know you were wont in markyng diligently and 
 notyng truely all fuch great affaires: And you know lykewife how de- 
 firous I am alwayes to read any thing that you write. Write therefore 
 I pray you, that we your frendes beying at home may enioye by your 
 
 B 2 letters.
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 letters a pkafant memory of you in that tyme whilefl: you be abfent 
 abroad. Farewell in Cbrijl, from Hatjidd xiv. Oclohrh 1552. 
 
 R. A S C H A M to J O H N A S T E L Y. 
 
 SA LU T E M Pkirimam in Chrifto Jefu, That part of your Let- 
 ter from Hatfield, decimo nono Odob. renewing a mofl pleafaunt 
 memory of our frcndly fellowfliip together, and full of your wonted 
 good will towardes me : I aunfvvered immediatly from Spira by Frautices 
 theToft : whiche letter if it be not yet come to your hand, ye might 
 have heard tell of it in M. Secretary Ciccis chamber in the Court. 
 
 As concernyng the other part of your letter, for your wifli, to haue 
 bene with me, in this mine abfence from my Countrey : and for your 
 requefl:, to be made partaker by my letters of the fturre of thefe times 
 licrc in Germany. Surely I would you had your wifli: for then fliould 
 not I now nede to bungle up yours fo great a requefl, when prefently 
 you fliould haue fcne with much pleafure, which now peraduenture you 
 fliall read * with feme doubt, lefle thynges may encreafe by writyng 
 which were fo great in doyng, as I am more afrayd to leaue behind me 
 much of the matter, than to gather vp more than hath fprong of the 
 trouth. 
 
 Your requefl: conteineth it"^ wordes but comprehendeth both great 
 and diuers matters. As firlt the caufes of the open inuafion by the 
 Turke : of the fecret workying for fuch foddeyne brecheffe in Italy, and 
 Germany : of the fine fetches in the French praclifes : of the double deal- 
 yng of Rome with all partes : then more particular why Duke OSlauio^ 
 the Prince of Salerne, Marches Albert, and Duke Maurice brake fo out 
 with the Emperour, which were all fo fafl knit vnto hym as the bondes 
 of aflinitie, loyaltie, bloud, and benefites could aflinc him of them : 
 Ociauio being his Sonne in law, the Prince one of hys priuy chamber, 
 Marches Albert hys kynfman, and Duke Mc^i/r;V(? foinhamilcd with honor 
 and enriched with benetites by hym, as tiie Duke could not haue wiflied 
 greater in hope, then the Emperour performed in deede. Here is flufle 
 
 * jyiih fjtne doubt, lejft, &c.] That is, with fome doubt left I fliould have magnified in 
 my narrative things that were fo great in real adion. 
 
 plenty
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 5 
 
 j)ienty to furnifli well up a trimme hiftory if a workeman hath it in 
 handlyng. When you and I read Liuie together if you do remember, 
 after fome reafonyng we conchided both v^■hat was in our opinion to be 
 looked for at his hand that would well and aduifedly write an hiltory ; 
 P'irft point was, to write nothyng falfe : next, to be bold to fay any 
 truth, whereby is auoyded two great faultes, flattery and hatred : for 
 which two pointes Ccefar is read to hys great Prayfe, and Jonins the Iia-c, Cxfar. 
 lian to hys juft reproch. Then to marke diligently the caufcs, counfels, P- lojius. 
 a6les, and iflues in all great attemptes : And in caufes, which is iuft or 
 vniufl : in counfeles, what is propofed wifely or raflily : in a6les, what 
 is done couragioufly or fayntly : And of euery ifllie, to note fome gene- 
 rail leffon of wifcdnme and warines, for lyke matters in time to come: 
 wherin Polybius in Greeke and Phillip Cominei in French haue done the Polyl^ius- 
 duties of wyfe and worthy writers. Diligence alfo mult be vfed in kep-u^j' 
 yng truly the order of tyme : and defcribyng lyuely, both the fite of 
 places and nature of perfons, not only for the outward fliape of the 
 Body, but alfo for the inward difpofition of the Mynde as ThucydiciesThnzyAxi^s. 
 doth in many places very trimly, and Homer every where and that al- Homer, 
 wayes mofl: excellently, which obfervation is chiefly to be marked in 
 hym } and our Chaucer doth the fame, very praife woithely : marke chaucer. 
 hym well and conferre hym with any other that writeth of in our tyme 
 in their proudcfl toung whofoeuer lyfl:. Yet fometime higher and lower 
 as matters do ryfe and fall : for if proper and natural wordes, in well 
 ioyned fcntences do lyuely exprefle the matter, be it troublefome, quyet, 
 angrey or pleafant, a man flial thincke not to be readyng but prefent in 
 goyng of the fame. And herein Litcie of all other in any tounq;, by, .""^ 
 myne opmion carieth away the prayfe. 
 
 Syr Thomas More in that pamphlet of i^/VZ^^^r^ the thyrd, doth in moflTho.Morus. 
 part I beleue of all thefe pointes fo content all men, as if the refl: of our 
 ftory of England were fo done, we might well compare with France^ * 
 
 Italy^ or Germany or in that bchalfc. But fee how the pleafant reniem- 
 braunce of our old talk together hath caried me farthei- than I thought 
 to go. And as for your requefl: to know the caufe and maner of thefe 
 late flurres here ye fliall not looke for fuch jirccife order now in writyng, 
 as we talked on then. No it is not all one thing to know perfe(5>ly by 
 reading and to performe perfectly in doyng. I am not fo vnaduilcd to 
 take fo much upon me, nor you lb unfrendly to looke for fo nnich fiom 
 
 me.
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 me. But that you may know that I haue not bene altogetlier idle in this 
 my abfcnce, and that I will not come home as one that can fay notiiing 
 of that he liath fene and heard abroad : I will homely and rudely (yet 
 not altogether diforderly) part priuately vnto you fuch notes of affaires 
 as I priuately marked for my felfe : which I either felt and favv, or 
 learned in fuch place and of fuch perfons as had willes to feeke for, and 
 wavs to conic by, and wittes to way the greateft matters that were to be 
 marked in all thefe affaires. For no wieke almofl hath paft in the 
 which there hath not commonly come to my hand for the moft part of 
 the notable thynges that haue bene attempted in Turky, Hungary, Italy, 
 Fraiince, and Germany. In declaryng to you thefe thyngs I will obferue 
 onely the firfl: two pointes of our ♦vont communication : that is to my 
 writyng I will fet forward nothyng that is falfe, nor yet keepe backe 
 any thyng that is true. For I playing no part of no one fide, but fit- 
 tyng downe as indifferent looker on, neither Imferiall nor French, but 
 flat Englijlj, do purpofe with troth to report the matter, and feyng I (hall 
 lyue vnder fuch a Prince, as Kyng Edward is, and in fuch a Countrey 
 as England is (I thanke God J I fhall haue neither neede to flatter the one 
 fide for profite, nor caufe to fear the other fide for difpleafure. There- 
 fore let my purpofe of reportyng the trouth as much content you, as 
 the meane handlyng of the matter may millike you. Yet fpeakyng 
 thus much of trouth, I meane not fuch a hid trouth as was onely in the 
 brefl of Monfieur d' Arras on the Emperours fide, or in Baron Hadeck 
 on Duke Maurice fide, with whom and with on other of his counfell 
 he onely conferred all his purpofes three yeares before he brake out with 
 the Emperour : But I meane fuch a troth as by conferrence and com- 
 mon confent amongeft all the AmbafTadores and Agentes in this Court 
 and other witty and indifferent heades befide was generally conferred 
 and agreed upon. What better commoditie to know the trouth any 
 writer in Greeke, Latine, or other toung hath had, I can not perceiue, 
 except onely Xenophon, Cafar, and Phillip Comines : which two firft: wor- 
 thy writers wrote their owne a6les fo wifely, and fo without all fufpi- 
 cion of parcialitie, as no man hitherto by mine opinion hath borne 
 himfclf fo vprightly in writyng the hiftories of others : The thyrd ha- 
 uing in a manner the like oportunitie hath not deferued lyke commen- 
 dations, at leaft as I fuppofe. England hath matter and England hatlt 
 men furnilhed with all abilities to write: who if they would might 
 biyng both lyke prayfe vnto them felues, and like profite to others, as 
 
 th£f£
 
 ROGERASCHAM. y 
 
 thefe two noble men haue done. They lay for their excufe the lacke of 
 leyfure which is true in deede : But if we confider the great affaires of 
 Ccefar we may iudge hee was worthy to winne all praife that was fo wil- 
 ling and wittie to winne fuch time when his head and his handes night * 
 and day were euer moil full, would to God that thefe our men as they 
 are ready to prayfe hym were euen as willyng to follow hym, and fo to 
 Wynne like prayfe themfelues. 
 
 And to keepe you no longer with my prluate talke from the matter 
 itfelf, 1 will begyn at the fpryng of the matter from whence all thefe 
 mifchiefes dyd flow, the which now hath fo ouerflowed the moll part 
 of Chriftendome, as God onely from Heauen mufl make an end of this 
 miferable tragedie, wherein thefe two great Princes take fuch pleafure 
 flill to play. In Religion and Libertie were fayd to be of many menThecaufeof 
 the very caufes of all thefe (lurries: yet in myne opinion, and as the '^^,^""^^'" 
 matter itfelf (hall well proue it, vnkyndnefs was the very fedc, whereof Germany, 
 all thefe troubles did grow. A Knight of Engkiid of worthy memorie v„j^yndnes, 
 for wit, learnyng and experience, old Syr Thomas Wiat wrote to his fonne 
 that the greatell mifchief amonged men, and leafl puniflied is vnkynd- 
 nes : the greatell mifchief truly and lead puniflied alfo by any ordinary 
 law and fentence, yet as I haue fene here by experience, vnkyndnes 
 hath fo wrought with men, as the meane were not aftrayd to attempt 
 their reuenge, nor the Emperour able to withfland their difpleafe. Yea 
 vnkyndnes was onely the hoke, which Henry the French kyng hath vfed 
 thefe late yeares to plucke from the Emperour and djaw to hymfelfe, fo 
 many Princes and great commodities as he hath : with this hoke bayted 
 with money the bayte of all mifchief, the French kyng hath not ceafed, 
 to angle at as many harts in Italy and Germany as he knew any matter 
 of vnkyndnes to be miniflred vnto, by the Emperour. 
 
 There be few Princes in all the Empire but if I had leyfure, I could • 
 
 particulaily proue, and when I come home in our priuate talk I wil 
 fully declare that fome good big matter of vnkindnes hath bene offred 
 vnto them by the Emperour. Yea Ferdinando his brothei', Maximilian 
 his nephew and fonne in law, the Duke of Bauaric and Cleues which 
 haue married his nieces haue bene ihrc wdly touchetl therewith. Alio the 
 Papifticall Byfliops as Ment-z, Paniburge, Hcrbipolis, Saltzburgc, and diucis 
 others haue felt their part herein. Few Princes or States, Protcflantes 
 
 or 
 
 ■»
 
 $ T H E W O R K S b P 
 
 or Paplrtes, but haue bene troubled therewith. But euen as a quateme 
 in the begynnyng is a wanderyng difcafe in the Body vnknowne what 
 it will tLirnc vnto, and yet at laft it draweth to certaine daycs and houres :| 
 ^uen fo thefe grieues in the whole body of the Empire dyd firft worke 
 lecrctly and not appeare openly, vntill this melancholy vnkyndnes did 
 fo fvvell in mens ftomaches that at len^h'in Injburg/j it braft out into a 
 flirevvd ficknes, whereof the firft fit was felf to be fo daungerous, that if 
 the Eniperour and we had not more fpedely chaunged the ayre,. I am 
 atfrayed and lure I am we were wel affrayd then, the fickries would 
 haue proued alfo to vs that were prcfent with hym veiy contagious. 
 
 Well this grief growyng thus to certaine fittes, and I my felfe beyng' 
 not greatly grieued at the liart with it but had Icyfure enough with fmall 
 jeoperdy (I thanke God) to looke quietly vpon them that were ficke, be- 
 caufe I would not be idle amongfl them, I began dayly to note the wor- 
 kyng of this ficknes, and namely from the 19th of Alay 1552, when 
 we ranne from Injburgh til the firft of next January when the fiege of 
 Metz was abandoned. Neucrthclcs before I come to thefe ordinary 
 dayes I will fliortly touch how the Emperour beyng in peace with alt 
 the World 1550, when we came to his Court, had foone after fo many 
 enemyes as he knew not which way to turnehym. 
 
 ^he T U R K E. 
 
 Thebrcch 'HpH E date of Peace betwixt the Emperour and the Turke had to ex- 
 Turk J P"^ ^"* ^SS^' T'"'^ Emperour hearyng what preparation the 
 
 I'urkc had made the yearc before for Warre and fpecially by Sea, which 
 muft needes be agaynft Chriftendomc, thought it better for hym to 
 ende tlie Peace with fomc aduantage, then that the T'nrkc fliould begyn 
 the Warre with too much ftrength, and therefore in Sommer 1550, he 
 lent John de Vega Viceroy of Cicile and Andrea Dorea into Barbaria^ 
 who wan the ftrong towne of Affrlca from Dragut Raies fometyme a 
 Pirate and now the Ttirkes chief doer in all the affaires of Aj'ricke and 
 Mare Mcditcrraneo. This Court railed vp other rumors of this brech 
 with the Turke how that this enterpricc was made for Seripho fake, a 
 hethen kyng, but the Emperours friend in Barbaria to whome Dra- 
 gat Raves had done great wrong. Yet men that knew tlie troth, and' 
 
 1 are 
 
 ^J» i
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 are wont alfo to fay it, haue told me that tovvne of Affrica ftode fo fit 
 to annoy Spaytie for the I'urke when he Hft, that the Emperour was 
 compelled to feeke by all meanes to obtaine it, much fearyng, left 
 when he was abfent in Germany, the Turke would be too nigh and too 
 homely a geft with hym in Spayne whenfoever the Peace fliould be ex- 
 pired. 
 
 The whole ftory of winnyng Affrica ye may read when you lift beyng 
 wel written in Latin by a Spaniard that was prefent at it. 
 
 Affrica was earneftly required agayne by the Ttirke, and fayre pro- 
 mis'd agayne by the Emperour, but beying indeede not deliuered, the 
 Turke for a reuenge the next yeare, firft aflaulted Malta and after wan 
 ^ripoly from whence the T^urke may eafely and foddenly whenfoeuer hee 
 lift fet vpon Cicelie, Naples, or any coft of Italie or Spayne, and moft 
 commodioufly whatfoeuer the Rmperour doth hold in Barbary : fo tliat 
 the gayne of Affrica is thought nothyng comparable with the lolfe of 
 Tiripoly. 
 
 When T'ripoly was befieged by the Turkes, Monjieur Daramont was 
 fent AmbafTadour to Conjlantinople from the French kyng : and ariuyng 
 by the way at Malta, he was defired by the great mafter of the order 
 to go to T'ripoly, and for the Friendftiyp that was betwene Fraunce and 
 the Turke to treat for the Chriftians there. Daramont did fo and had 
 leaue of the Turkes generall to enter the Towne and talke with the Cap- 
 taine. And by this meanes they within yielded, on this condition to 
 part fafe with bag and baggage which was granted by the Generall. But 
 as foone as tht'Turkes entered the Towne they put old and young, man, 
 woman, child to the fword, fauing two hundred of the ftrongeft men 
 to be their Galley flaues for euer. The generall beyng alked why he 
 kept no promife made this anfwere. If the Emperour had kept faith 
 with my mafter for Affrica I would not have broken with them of 
 T'ripoly, and therefore (fayth he) with chriften men which care for no 
 trothe promifes may iuftly be broken. Tiiis Turkijlj crueltie was re- 
 uenged this laft yeare in Hungary, when lyke promife of lyfe was made, 
 and yet all put to the fword, the Chriftians biddyng the Turkes remem- 
 ber ^ripoly. To fuch beaftly crueltie the noble feates of armes be come 
 unto betwixt the Chriften men and the T'urkes. And one fa6l of either 
 
 C fide
 
 ,o T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 fide is notable to bee knovven, yet horrible to be told and fouler to be 
 followed : and it is pitie that mans nature is fuch as will commonlie 
 commend good thynges in readyng and yet will as commonlie follow ill 
 thynges in doyng. 
 
 An horrible The Bajfa of Buda tooke in a fkirmifli a gentleman of the kyng 
 of Romanes : for whofe dcliuery men for entreaty and money for his 
 ranfome were fent to Buda. The BaJfa appointed a day to giue them 
 aunfwere, and at time and place affigned, called for them and fent for 
 the gentleman likewife. And foddenly came out two hangmen bare 
 armed with great butchers kniues in theyr harides bringing with them 
 certain bandogges mulled kept hungry without meat of purpofe : the 
 Bafa bat! them do their feate : who commyng to the gentleman ilrip- 
 ped him naked, and bound him to a piller, after with their kniues 
 they cut of his Hefli by gobbets and flang it to the dogges. Thus that 
 poore gentleman fulFrcd grief gieat for the payne, but greater for the 
 fpight : nor fo tormented in feelyng his flefhe mangled with kniues, as 
 in feyng himfelf peece meale deuoured by dogges. And thus as long 
 as he felt any payne they cut him in coUops, and after they let their 
 dogges lofo upon him to eat up the refidue of him, that the grief which 
 was ended in him being dead might yet continue in his frendes look- 
 yng on. They were bad depart and tell what they faw, who ye may 
 be fure were in care enough to cary home with them fuch a cruell 
 meflage. 
 
 Not long after this, three Turkes of good eftimation and place, were 
 taken by the chrirtenmen: for whofe raunfome great fummes of gold 
 were offred. Anfwere was made to the meflenger that all the gold in 
 Turky fliould not faue them. And becaufe ye Turkes will eat no fwines 
 flelh, you fliall fee if fwine will eat any Turki/J: flefli. And fo like- 
 wife great bores were kept hungry, and in fight of the meflenger, the 
 three Turkes were cut in collops and throwne amongeft them. 
 
 For thefe foulc deedcs I am not fo angry with the Turkes that began 
 
 them as 1 am fory for the Chriften men that follow them. I talked with 
 
 a worthy gentleman this day both for his great experience and excellent 
 
 The great 'carnyng, Marc Antbonio d' Anula Amballadour of Venice with the Em- 
 
 Turkc. perour: who told me that the great T^r^r him felf (Religion excepted) 
 
 is
 
 ROGERASCHAM. ii 
 
 is a good and mercyfull, iufl: and liberall Prince, wife in makyng 
 and true in performyng any couenant, and as fore a reuenger of troth 
 not kept. He prayed God to keep him long aUue : for his eldeft fonne 
 Muftapha is cleane contrary, geuen to all mifchief cruell, falfe, gettyng Muftapha 
 he careth not how vniufHy, and fpendyng he careth not how vnthriftcly the Turkes 
 what foeuer he may lay hand on, wilye in makyng for his purpofe, ^ fonne. 
 and ready to breake for his profite all couenantes, he is wery of quiet- 
 nes and peace, a feeker of rtrife and warre, a great mocker of meane 
 men, a fore oppreflbr of poore men, openly contemnyng God, and a 
 bent enemy agaynft Chrifles name and Chriften men. 
 
 But to go forward with my purpofe. The Tin-ke beyng onefl: dif- 
 clofed an open enemy to the Emperour, many meane men began to be the 
 bolder to put out their heades to feeke fome open remedy for theyr pri- 
 uate iniuries : Fraunce beyng at euery mans elbow to harten and to help, 
 whofoeuer had caufe to beaggrieued with the Emperour. And firfb Oc- 
 tauio Duke of Paj'ma, much agreucd as nature well required witli his Brech of Ita- 
 fathers death, and, befides that, fearing the lolie not onely of his ftate, 'y- 
 but alfo of his lyfe, fell from the Emperour in the end of the yeare 
 
 Pietro Aloyfio Fnrnefio fonne to Papa Ptiido fercio Duke of Placentia: 
 father to this Duke Othmio Duke oi Parma which maried the Emperours Odauio. 
 bafe daughter, and to Horatio Duke of Cajlro who of late had maried 
 alfo the French kynges bafe daughter, and the two Cardinals Alexandra 
 and Ramu/io Farneje, was flaine men fay by the meanes olFerranto Gcn- 
 xaga gouernour of Millan, by whofe death the flatc of Placentia belong- 
 ing then to the hou'e of Famefia came into the Emperours handes. The 
 whole procefle of this mans death is at length fet out in the ftorics of 
 Italie : my purpofe is onely to touch it, becaufe hereby rofe fuch a 
 heate betwixt the whole famely of Famefia and Don Ferranto Gonzaga 
 as hath flirred vp fuch a fmoke in Italy betwixt the Emperour and 
 Fraunce as is not like to be quenched but with many a poore mans 
 bloud, as Horace notcth wittely out of Homer, faying : 
 
 " What follies fo euer great Princes make : 
 " The people therefore go to wrakc." 
 
 C 2 Odlanio
 
 ,2 THEWORKSOF 
 
 OBauto beyng forefl: greeued with his fatliers death and beyng befV 
 able to leuenge it was fo feared of Gonzaga that he thouglit hym felfe 
 neuer allured for Pctro Luis death as long as O^aiiio his fonne fliould 
 Jyue : for men neuer lone when they haue iuft caufe to feare, but mult 
 nedes iVill milbuft without all hope of reconcilyng whom they haue 
 before hurt beyond all remedy of amendes. And yet I heard a gentle- 
 man of Millan fay (who was fent hether to the Emperour by Gonzaga) 
 that OElaulo is fuch a Prince for good nature and gentle behauiour that 
 he fuppofed there was not one in Italy but did loue hym except it were 
 his maifter Gonzaga. Thefe two Princes beyng neighbours the one at 
 Millan the other at Parma fliewed fmal frendfliyp the one to the other. 
 But OSiauio was euermore wrong to the worfe by many and fundry 
 fpites, but chiefly with dayly feare of hys life by poyfoning : for the 
 which fact certain perfons in Parma were taken and layd faft. Neuer- 
 theles OSlouioi nature is fo farre from feekyng bloud and reuenge and 
 fo geuen to pitie and gentlenes, that although they went about not 
 onely to giue away his ftate by trcafon, but alfo to take away his life 
 by poyfonyng, yea, and after that the deede was proued playnly on 
 them, and fentence of death pronounced openly agaynft them, yet he 
 gaue them lyfe and liberty which would haue taken both from hym. 
 
 And when Monfieur I'hermes earneftly told him that where the euill 
 were not kept in with feare of Juftice, the good Ihould neuer lyue in 
 furctic and quictnes : his aunfwere was that he fo abhorred the fhed- 
 dyng of Bloud in others as he would neuer wafli his handes in any: 
 let his Enemies do to him the worft they could. Addyng, that he 
 thought it his mofl: honor to be vnlykefl fuch for his gentlenes, which 
 were mifliked of all men for their crueltie : wherby he hath wonne 
 that he which of good nature can hurt none, is now of right loued of 
 all and onely hated of him whom no man in Italy for his cruelty doth 
 loue. And this talk is fo true that it was told in an other language but 
 in the felf fame termes at an honorable table here in Bruxels by a Gen- 
 tleman of Millan an agent in the court, a doer for Gonzaga, who the 
 fame tyme was prifoner in Parma. 
 
 And although OBauio by good nature was harmeles in not feekyng 
 reuenge, yet he was not careles by good reafon in icekyng hys remedy 
 but made oft and great complaintes of his grieues to tlie Emperour, 
 
 which
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 13 
 
 which were not fo hotely made, but they were as coldly heard ; that at 
 length OSiauto findyng leaft comfort, where of right he looked for moft 
 ayde, and feyng that difpleafures could net be ended in Gonizaga nor 
 could not be amended by the Emperour : then he, compelled agaynft 
 his nature, turned his hate due to Gonzagato reuenge this vndeferued vn- 
 kyndnes in the Emperour, euen as Paufanias dyd with Phillip kyng of 
 Macedonie, who conqueryng with pollicie and power all outward ene- 
 myes, was flayne when and where he thought him felf mofl fare of 
 his dearefl frend, for vnkyndnes, becaufe Phillip ought and would not 
 reuenge Paufiwias on him that had done him a foule difpleafure. 
 
 OSlauio feyng what was done to his father euen when hys graundfa- 
 ther was Byfhop of Rome, thought, that now as his houfe decayed, fo 
 his ieopardy encreafed. And therefore agaynft a defperate euill began to 
 feeke for a defperate remedie, which was fet from Rome, a fhop alwayes 
 open to any mifchief as you fhall perceiue in thefe few leaues if you 
 markethem well. 
 
 O£iauio complained to Julio (era'o of the wronges of Gonzaga and of 
 the vnkindnes of the Emperour, defiryng that by his wifedome and 
 authoritie, he would now fuccor him or els not onely he fhould leefe 
 his life but alfo the Church of Rome fhould lofe her right in Parma, as 
 fhe had done before in Placentia. The Byfhop gaue good eare to this 
 talke, for he fpied that hereby fliould be offered vnto him, a fit occa- 
 fion to fet the Emperour and Fraunce together by the eares. He thought 
 the Emperour was to bigge in Italy, hauyng on the one fide of Rome, 
 Naples vnder his obedience, on the other fide Siene, Florence and Ge?ioa 
 at his connnaundement, befides Placentia, Millan, MonteferratOy and a. 
 great part of Piemoimt. 
 
 The Emj)erour beyng thus ftrong in Italy, the Byfhop thought his- 
 own flate to be his I'o long as it plcas'd the Emperour to let him haue, 
 it : and therefore if Parma were not left an entry for Fraunce to come 
 into Italy, he might ouerfoone be fhut vp in prefent miferie when all, 
 outward ayde fhould be fhut out from him. 
 
 The Popes counfel was that OBauio fliould put him felfe vnder the 
 French kynges protedion whom liee knew would moft willingly receiue 
 
 him :
 
 14. THEWORKSOF 
 
 him : Parma lying fo fit for the French kyng, when foeuer he would 
 fet vpon the entcrpi ice of Millan. This practice of the Pope Monfieur 
 de Ibcrmes the French kvnges Ambairadours dyd vtter before the con- 
 filtorie of Cardinals at Rotne : prouing that the Pope, not the kyng his 
 mafter, was the occafion of that Warre. 
 
 When Oclauio with the whole houfe of Famefia became thus French, 
 the Eniperour more fearyng the ftate of Millan then lamentyng the 
 loire of Ooiauio perfuaded on his fide the Bylhop of Rome to require 
 Parma as the Churches right, and to punilh Odlauio as the Churches 
 rebell, promifing that he hinifelf as an obedient fonne of the Church 
 would rtretch out his arme and open his purfe in that recouery of the 
 Churches right : neuertheles the Byfliop muft beare the name of the 
 warre becaul'e he might not breake peace with Fraunce. Thus Princes 
 openly countenancing quietnes and priuily brewyng debate altho they 
 got others to broch it, yet God commonly fuffreth themfelues to drinke 
 moll of the mikry thereof in the end. The Byfliop fcyng that he muft 
 either begyu the mifchief or elfe it would not on fo faft as he wifhed 
 to haue it, fet kiftely vpon it : and firft cited OSiauio, after excommu- 
 nicated him, and fhortly after befieged Parma aydcd both with men 
 Breach with and money by the Emperour : which thyng the French kyng began to 
 irauncc. {^omach, thincking that the Emperour dyd offer him both wrong and 
 difhonor in not fuffring him beyng a kyng to help a poore man that 
 fled to his ayde. And thus thefe two princes firft helpyng others be- 
 gan by litle and litle to fall out themfelues. And that the Pope dyd 
 fet thefe two Princes together, a Pafquill made at Rome and fent to this 
 Court doth well declare. And feyng that you fo well vnderftand the 
 Italian toung and that if it were turned into Rnglijl:> it would leefe the 
 whole grace thereof, I will recite it in the toung that it was made in. 
 
 Interlocutor! Pas q^u illo et Romano. 
 
 Pafq, Hanno bel gioco il Re e 1' Imperatore, 
 Per terzo il Papa, e giocano a Primiera. 
 Rom. Che v'e d'invito? Pafq. Italia tutta intera. 
 Rom. Ciii ve I'ha mefta ? Pafq. II coglion del paftore. 
 
 Rom,
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 Rom. Che tien in mano il Re? P^/jr. Punto maggiore : 
 
 II Papa ha cinquant' vno e fi difpera. 
 Rom. Cefar che Punto s'ha ? P(jjq- Si (la a Primera '; 
 
 Rom. Che gli manca ? Pofq. Danari a far favore 
 
 II Papa dice a voi, e vuol partito: 
 
 Cefar penfofo fla fopra di quefto, 
 
 Teme a fcoprir che di trovar non tenta. 
 
 II Re dice, no, no, Scoprite prefto, 
 
 Che io tengo Punto, a guadagnar I'invitOi 
 
 I'ho i danari, e Cefar fe gli afpetta, 
 
 f Tutti ftanno a vedetta. 
 Chi di lor dui guadagni. Rom. II Papa? Paf, E fuora 
 Vinca chi vuol, lui perda, in fua malora. 
 
 ^ Lo Imperatore ancora 
 Teme, tien ftretto, e fcopre pian le carte, 
 E qui la forte gioca piu che Tarte; 
 
 ^ Metta quefli in difparte. 
 Stabilito e nel Ciel quelle che elFer de, 
 Ne giova al noflro dir, queilo fara, queilo e. 
 
 The French kyng in the fbmmer, 1551, proclaimed warre againft 
 Charles kyng of Spayne, abufing that name for a fottlety to feparate the 
 whole quarrell from the Empire : when the Empcrour would not be 
 perfuaded at Augiijla that either the . Turke would, or the French kyng 
 durft make him open warre, or that any prince in Italy or Germany could 
 be entifed to break out with him. 
 
 Motijteur Mariliacke the French AmbafTadour at Augiijla enen bare the 
 Emperour in hand that fuch rumors of war were rayfed of diipleafure,. 
 and that his mafter intended nothyng fo mucli as the continuance of 
 amitie, yea this he durfldo, when many in the Emperours court knew" 
 that the warre was already proclaimed in Fraunce. 
 
 The Emperour blinded with the ouer good opinion of his own 
 
 wifedome, likyng onely what liimfclfe lilted, and contemnyng eafely 
 
 2 ail 
 
 ^5
 
 i6 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 all nduife of others (which felfe will condition doth commonly follow, and 
 as commonly doth hurt all great vvittes) dyd not onely at this tyme 
 fuffcr him felfe thus to be abufcd: but alio afterward more craftely by 
 tlie Pope for the continuaunce of warre at Parma, and more boldly by 
 Duke Maurice for his repayre to Infpruke, and not the leall of all, now 
 lately at Mctz by fome of his owne counfellours for the recouery of that 
 Towne- But Princes and great perfonages whiche will heare but what 
 and whom they lifl, at the length fayle when they would not, and 
 commonly blame whom they fliould not: But it is well done that as 
 great men may by authoritie contemne the good aduife of others j fo 
 God doth provide by right iudgement that they haue leaue in the ende 
 to bearc both the lofle and fliame therof them felues. 
 
 Thus ye fee how the Pope was both the brewer and brocher and 
 alfo bringer of ill lucke to both thefe Princes, and as it came wel to, 
 pafle dranke well of it him felfe both with expences of great treafures, 
 and with the loflb of many lyues, and fpecially of two noble Gentle- 
 men, the Prince of Macedonia and II Seign. Giovan Baptijla di Monte 
 his owne nephew : but the Popes care was neither of money nor men, 
 fo that he might fet the two Princes furely together. And therefore 
 was not onely content (as a man might fay) to hafard Parma on the 
 meyne chaunce- but to make the two Princes better fport and frefher 
 game, fet alfo euen then Mirandula on a bye chaunce that mifchief 
 enough might come together. 
 
 p^ When the Princes were well in, and the one fo lufty with good lucke 
 
 that hee had no luft to leaue, and the other fo chafed with leefyng, that 
 flill he would venture. Befides their playing in fporte for the Pope 
 Pjrma. at Parma and Mirandula, they fell to it a good them felues in Piemount, 
 Mirandula. Loraigne, Flaundcrs aiid Picardy, the French kyng robbyng by fea and 
 fpoyling by land, with calling in the Turke, and fturryng vp all Princes 
 and ilates that had any occafion to beare any grudge to the Emperour. 
 Of all their neighbours onely our noble kyng, and the wife fenate of 
 Venize would be lookers oil. 
 
 And when the Pope faw they were fo hote at it as he well knew as 
 the one would not flart in fo great good lucke, fo the other could not 
 leaue by fo much fliame of loilc. And although it did him good to fee 
 
 them
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 17 
 
 them fo luftely together j nevertheles he thought it fcarce his furety that 
 they fliould play fo neare his elbow fo earneftly, leaft if they fell to 
 farre out, and the one fhould winne to much of the other, then he 
 peraduenture would compell at length the Pope him felfe which began 
 the play to kepe him fport afterward for that that he had in Italy. 
 And therefore very craftely he gat them to play in an other place, and 
 tooke vp the game for Parma and Mirajidula, taking truce with FraunceThe Popes 
 for certain yeares, and bad them make what fport they would farther P"^^*^"^^' 
 of in Loraigne and Picardy. And that they fliould lacke neither iniurie 
 nor fpite in the Popes doynges, when the Emperour faw that, whether 
 hee would or no, the Pope would needes fall in with Fraunce, then he 
 defired the Pope that fuch baftilians and fortes of fence as were made 
 about Mirandula when it was befiged might either be deliuered to hys 
 mens handes, or els defaced, that the Frenchmen might not haue them, 
 which requefl was very reafonable, feyng the Emperour had been at all 
 the charge in makyng of them : but they were neither deliuered nor 
 defaced, nor left indifferent, but fo put into the French inens handes, that 
 Mirandula now is made very ftrong to the French fadlion by Emperours 
 money and the Popes falfehode. 
 
 This fact was very wrongfull of the Pope for the deede : but more 
 fpitefull for the tyme : even when Duke Maurice had wonne Augufta, 
 euen then the Pope gaue vp the fiege of Mirandula, and fel in with 
 Fraunce, that care enough might come vppon the Emperour together 
 both out of Germany, and out of Italy at once. And even this day, 
 25th "June 1553, when I was writyng this place, commeth nevves to 
 Bruxells, that the Pope hath of new played with the Emperour more 
 foule play at Siena, then he dyd before at Mirandula: for when the 
 Emperour had bene at paffing charges in kepyng a great hoil:, for 
 the recouery of Sic?ia, from December lafl: vnto June : the Pope would 
 needes become ftickler in that matter betwene the Emperour, the 
 French Kyng and Siena, promifmg fuch conditions to all, as neither of 
 the Princes fliould lofe honour, and yet Siena Ihould have had liberties. 
 The Emperour, good man, yet agayne trufl:yng him who fo fpightfully 
 had decciued hym before, difmiflcd hys hofle, which done Siena was 
 left fl:ill in the Frenchmen^ handes : who tiiercby haue fuch oportunitie 
 to fortlfie it, as the Emperour is not like, by force, to recoucr it. Pi- 
 ramw. Secretary to the Emperour, told this tale to Syr Phillip Hobby znd 
 
 n the
 
 i8 THEWORKSOF 
 
 the Byfliop of IVcflminjier openly at the table : which Piramus is a Papill 
 for his life. And beyng afkcd how he could excufe the Popes vnkynd- 
 nes agaynft his mafter the Emperour ? hee aunfwered fmilyng, Julius 
 tercius is a knaue, but the Pope is an honeft man, which faying is 
 common in tiiis court. And although they will vnderftand both the 
 fpight of the Pope and the Ihame of their mafter, yet are they con- 
 tent ftil to fpeake well of the Pope, though he neuertheles flil do ill to the 
 Emperour. And thus to returne to my purpofe how the Pope fet the 
 two Princes together, and fliift his owne necke a while out of the hal- 
 ter, leauyng molt vnfrendiy the Emperour when he was fartheft behynd 
 hand : and how OSlaiiio for feare of Gonzaga, and vnkyndnes of the 
 Emperour, fell with all hys famely to be French, I haue briefly pall- 
 ed ouer for the hafle I haue to come to the matters of Germany. 
 
 f The P R I N C E of S A L E R N E. 
 
 THE Emperour beyng thus fet vpon by die Turke and Fraunce 
 with open warre, and troubled by the houfe of Fernefia with fo 
 foddeyne breaches, and mofl: of all encombred with the feare of the 
 fturres in Germany which fecretly were then in workyng: the Prince of 
 Sakrnc alfo declared hym felfe an open enemy. 
 
 This Prince in this Court is much beloued for his gentlenes, and 
 openly prayfed for his wifedome, and greatly lamented for his fortune, 
 who before tyme hath done fo good and faythfull feruice to the Em- 
 perour : that I haue heard fome of this Court fay, which loue the Em- 
 perour well, and ferue him in good place, that their mafter hath done 
 the Prince fo much wrong, as he could do no lefl^e than he dyd : who 
 being fo vniuftly handled by his enemies, the Viceroy of Naples, and 
 fo vnkyndly dealt witJi all by hys mafter the Emperour, was driuen by 
 ncceftitie to feek an vnlawfull fhift. 
 
 The Viceroy Z)c/7 P/V/ro de Toledo,- \nc\c to the Duke of Alua, and 
 father in law to the Duke of Florence, vfcd him felfe with much cruelty 
 ouer the people of Naples, by exadions of money without meafure, by 
 Inquifition of mens doyngs without order, and rot onely of mens 
 doyngs, but alfo of mens outward lookyngs, anu mward thinkyngs, 
 
 vfing
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 vfmg the leaft fufpicion for a fufficient witnes to fpoyle and to kill 
 whom foeuer he lyfted. Men that had futes vnto him, had as leue bene 
 away with the loffe of their right, as haue come to his prefence to abyde 
 his lokes and taunts : and (as I heard a wife gentleman of Italy fay) 
 he gaue audience in fuch tyme and place, as he may eaflyer in this 
 Court fpeake with Monfieur d Arras then he could in Naples with the 
 Viceroyes Porter. And commonly he would not heare them whileft an 
 hundred futers fliould come at once, and then the porter let them in 
 by one and by one euen as he favoured, not as the matter required, com- 
 mandyng them to be fhort, or els they fhould come fhort in, the next 
 tyme. And fo mens futes were pulled from common law to priuate 
 will, and were heard not in places open to jullice but in priuate par- 
 lors, fhit vp to all that came not in by fauour or money. And there- 
 fore iudgements were allotted not as law appointed, but as the Viceroy 
 lifted. This fault [Cicero fayth) vndyd dejar, who drew the common 
 law into his own houfe, and fo in hauing other mens goods lofl: all 
 mens hartes, and not long after his owne lyfe : for euen thofe that dyd 
 help him pluck downe Pompey, dyd after kill him for pulling down^ 
 the lawes. So we fee that Princes not in gatheryng much money, nor 
 in bearing ouer great fwing, but in keping of frendes and good lawes, 
 lyue mofl: merely, and raigne moft furely : but fuch as gape alwayes 
 for other mens goods commonly neuer enioy the fruite of their owne : 
 for they never ceafe to win by wrong, till at length they leefe by right 
 goodes, lyfe and all. And therefore it is notable that Dio?2 in Plato 
 vi^riteth to Dionyfius the Tyraunt, how Euripides in euery tragedy bring- 
 eth for fome great vice one or other great Prince to ruine, and yet not 
 one doth complaine thus : 
 
 Out out:, alas alas, I dye for lacke of goodes. 
 
 But every one fmgeth this fong : 
 
 Out out J alas alas, I dye for lacke of frendes. 
 
 For a Prince that will take mens goods when he liflcth without 
 order, fliall want mens hartes when he needeth without pitie : but in 
 hauyng their hartes he fliall neuer lacke their goodes, as the good Kyng 
 Cyrus fayd to the rich Kyng Cn^fus. And to haue the peoples hartes, 
 
 D 2 the 
 
 19
 
 2^ THEWORKSOF 
 
 the next way is to be gentle to euery one, iull to all, and liberal! to> 
 many, and efpecialiy to fuch as either by excellency of wit or 
 good will ill true (eruice, do well deferue it. Alio to let his 
 chief ioy not on priuate pleafure, like Sardanapalus, but in com- 
 mon wealth, as we haue example of 'Titus Vefpafianm: and to 
 thinke his trcafurc greateft, not when his coffers be fullefV, as 
 Crcsjm dyd, but when his fubiedes be rich, as Cyrm dyd, and that 
 through hys wifedome and care, as all prayfe worthy Princes haue 
 euer hitherto done. And what will the peoj)le render agayn to fuch 
 a Prince : a fmall fubfidy, with a great grudge ? no, but their whole 
 hartcs to loue him, their whole goodes to ayde hym : their handes ready 
 to defend hym whenfoeucr he fliall haue nccde. A Prince that thus 
 doth lyue, and thus is loued at home, may be enuyed with much 
 prayle, and hated with fmal hurte of any power abroad. 
 
 And therefore haue I heard wifemen difcommend the gouerncment 
 in Fraunce, in makyng theyr people almoft ilaues, and from thence a. 
 common faying of fome in England^ That would haue the people 
 neither witty nor wealthy, when wit is the mcare gift of God: 
 
 ^ John ^^ ^'^^' ^° ^^'^^ "^^^ ^'^^^ "^^^ ^"^^^ \'^^^& it, is to count God 
 Gates wiib. fcarce wife that gave it. And wealth of the people, as Scripture- 
 fayth, is the glory of a Prince and furety of hys raigne. But 
 fufpition in all gouerning breedeth fuch fayingcs, when wrong doth- 
 bear fuch fwynge as ill confcience doth always wifh that men fliould 
 lack either wit to perceaue or habilitie to amend what foeuer is done 
 amifTe. But God fend fuch Ackitoplxls better end then their counfels 
 doth deferue, which would feme wife by ether mens folly, ancV 
 would be rich by other mens pouertie. 
 
 To return to the Viceroy of Naples, the common opinion of thofe 
 in this Court which have * priuate caufeto fay well on him, do fpcctke 
 it boldly and openly, that he was fuch a one as neuer could content, 
 his couetoufnes with money., nor neuer fatisfie his crueltie with bloiKl : 
 and fo by this foul mean many gentlemen in Naples haue loft fome 
 {heyr lyues, but more theyr liuynges, and almoft all theyr libertie. 
 Ar.d there be at this day as men fay here that know it, a good fort- 
 
 if 
 
 ' Perhaps it (houlJ be read, brut no frivalt tauft, 
 
 by
 
 ROGERASCHAM. zi 
 
 of thoufandes Neapolitanes, named Fon'enfuti, who beyng fpoyled at home 
 by violence, robbeJ other abroad for neede, which comber fo tlie paf- 
 fage betwixt Rome and Naples, as no man departeth commonly from. 
 Rome without company which cometh to Naples without robbyng. 
 
 The whole body of the kyngdome of Naples was fo diftempered In- 
 wardly with this miforder, with a little outward occafion it would 
 eafely have burfl: forth into afoule fore. A lefTe matter then the rauifh- 
 yng of Liic?-ece, a meaner ayde then the help of Brutus, was thought, 
 fufficient to have llirred up this inward grudge to open reuenge. But 
 fee how God prouided for the Emperour and the quyet of that king- 
 dome: for God, in takyng away one Spaniard, hath made Naples now 
 more flrong, then if the Emperour had fet 20 thoufand of the beft in. 
 Spayn there: for euen this laft Lent 1553, T)on Pietro de Toledo dyed at, 
 Florence, by whofe goyng away mens hartes m Naples be fo come agayne 
 to the Emperour, as he fliall now haue lefle neede either to care for the 
 fyne fetches oi Fraunce, or to feare the.great power of the Turke. A 
 gentleman of tliis Court a true feruant to the Emperour, fayd merely 
 in a company where I was, that his mafter the Emperour had v/on 
 more in Naples by the death of the Viceroy, then he had loil in Lor-- 
 raigne by the forgyng of Metz. 
 
 But to my purpofe. Not many yearcs agoe diuers in. Naples made, 
 their complaint to the Prince of Salerne of their griefes, who waS' 
 thought would be moft willyng for his good nature, and befl able for 
 his authoritie, to feeke fome remedie for. them by way of interccllion to 
 the Emperour. 
 
 The Prince beyng here at Bruxels, humbly bcfought hys MajelVie to 
 pitie the miferie of hys poore fubie<5Ves: who by this fute gat of the 
 Emperour, for hys cliantes, wordes without hope : and of the Vice- 
 roy for him felfe hatred without ende. The Pjince yet alwayes bare, 
 hym felfe fo wifely, that he could", not without fome fturre be thruft. 
 downc openly: and ridyng on his iourney, he was once Ihot with. 
 a, dagge fccretly. 
 
 Thus he feyng no cnde of difpleafure in the Viceroy, no hope 
 of remedy in the Emperour, when he favv the Turke on the fea, the 
 
 French
 
 22 THEWORKSOF 
 
 French Kyng in the field, Duke Maurice and the Marches vp, and a 
 good part of Italy either rilen or ready to rife, thinkyng the tyme 
 come of theyr moll hope for helpe by the Princes, and of leaft fear of 
 punifhment by the Emperour, came forth to play his part alfo amongefl 
 the reft : who when flying firft to the French Kyng, and after, by hys 
 counfeil as it is fayd, to the Turke, is compelled to uenture vppon many 
 hard fortunes. And what fucces he fhall haue either of helpe in Fraunce 
 or comfort of the Turke^ or mercy of the Emperour, I can not yet 
 write. But this laft winter he hath lyen in the He of Cio, and now I 
 heare fay this fommer he is on the fea with 63 gallyes of the Turkes 
 at his commandement ; what enterprice he will make, or what fuccefle 
 he ihall haue, when we fliall heare of the matter, I truft, I fhall, 
 either by fome priuate letter from hence, or by prefent talk at home, 
 fully fatisfie you therein. 
 
 ^ALBERT Marches of Bradenburge. 
 
 bVuboo^J" A 1-BERT Marches of Bradenburge^ in the begynnyng of his 
 and the con- XJL fturre 1 552, wrote a booke and fet it print, wherein he declared 
 tents thereof, ti^e cauft-s of hys fallyng from the Emperour, wittely alledgyng com- 
 mon mifery as a iuft pretence of hys priuate enterprife, makyng other 
 mens hurtes his remedy to heale his own fores, and common wronges 
 hys way to reuenge priuate difpleafures : fliewyng libertie to be loft, 
 and Religion to be defaced, in all Germany^ lamentyng the long cap- 
 tiuitic of the two great Princes: and all the difpofl'efiyng of hys father 
 in law Duke Otto Hcnrick: fore enueying againft the pride of the 
 Spanyariles, and the authoritie of ftraungers, which had now in their 
 Sore and juft handes the leale of the Impire, and in their fwynge the doyng of all 
 coinpiayntes. fj^ypggj^ and at their commaundement all fuch mens voyces as were to 
 be called the Impcriall Dietes : compellyng the Germanes in their owne 
 countrey to vfe ftraunge toungs for their priuate futes, wherein they 
 could fay nothyng at all, or nothyng to the purpofe: \^\ng Camera Im~ 
 pcrialh at Spirei for a common key to open all mens coffers when they 
 lifted, and thcfe were the chiefcft points in Marches booke. 
 
 The
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 23 
 
 The Marches alfo fore enueyed aga.ynft Luice de Auila for writyng, The booke 
 and agaynfl the Emperour for fuffring fuch a booke as Luice de Auila °^ .f"'^* ^^ 
 wrote : wherein the honor of Germany and the Princes therof, and 
 by name Marches Albert^ who was in the firft warres on the Empe- 
 rours fide, was fo defamed to all the world : yea the Marches was fo 
 throughly chafed with this booke, that when I was in the Empe- 
 rours Court, he otFred the combat with Liiice de Auila^ which "the 
 Emperour, for good wil and wife refpedtes, would in no cafe ad- 
 mit. 
 
 Not onely the Marches, but alfo the Princes at the Diet of Pajjan 
 this laft yeare, made a common complaint of this booke. I knew al- 
 fo the good old Prince Fredericke Paljgraiie of the Rhene, in September 
 laft when the Emperour lay at Landaw befide Spires, goyng with his 
 great army to Metz, complayned to the Emperour hym felfe, and to 
 his counfell, of a certaine fpightfull place in that booke againft him : 
 the good Prince told me this tale hym felfe at hys houfe in Heldibirge, 
 when I caried vnto him Kyng Ed'wardes letters, the Lord Ambaflk- 
 dour hym felfe beyng ficke at Spires. 
 
 And wife men fay that the Duke of Bauiere alfo is euill contented The Duke 
 for that which is written in that booke agaynft hys father, when he j^j^^jl^'* 
 deferued of the Imperials to haue bene rewarded rather with prayfe handled. 
 and thankes then with any vnkynde note of blame and difhonour : 
 of whom the Emperour in his warres agaynft the Lanfgraiie and the 
 Duke of Saxonie receiued fuch kyndnes, as no Prince in Germany for 
 all refpe6les in that cafe was able to affburde hym : as firft he had his 
 whole countrey oi Bauiere for a fure footyng place, to begyn the warre 
 in: and had alfo both men and vittaile of hym what he would, and 
 at length Ihould have had that countrey hys onely refuge, if that in 
 warx'e he had come to any vnderdele, as he was like enough to haue 
 done. But it was Gods fecret will and pleafure to haue the matter 
 then go as it did : And for that caufe men fay Duke Albert of Bauiere 
 that now is, that hath maryed the Empcrours niece, was more ftraunge 
 this laft yeare to the Emperour, when he was driuen to that extremi- 
 tie to flye away on the night from Injpiirge^ and was more familiar 
 
 with 
 
 8
 
 24 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 with Duke Maurice, and more friendly to the Princes confederate then 
 els peraduenture he would have done. 
 
 And here a writer may learne of Princes affaires a good lefTon, 
 to beware of parcialitie either in flattery, or fpight: for although 
 thereby a man may pleafe his owne Prince prefently, yet he may per- 
 chaunce as much hurt hym in the end as Luis de Auila dyd hurt the 
 Emperour his mafter in writyng of this booke. 
 
 Indeede this booke was not the chiefeft caufe of this fturre in Ger- 
 many : but fure I am that many Princes in Germany were fore agreeued 
 with it, as the Emperour wanted both theyr hartes and their handes 
 v\hen he ftode in moil nede of frendes. 
 
 Jufl: reprehenfion of all vices as folie, vniufl dealyng, cowardice, and 
 vicious liuyng, mull be frely and franckly vfed, yet fo with that mo- 
 derate dilcrellion as no purpofcd malice or bent hatred may feeme 
 to be the breeder of any falfc reproch, which humor of writyng fol- 
 loweth ib full in Pau/us Joui.us bookes, and that by that iudgement of 
 his owne fiendes, as I have heard wile and well learned men fay : that 
 his whole fludy and purpofe is fpent on thefe pointes, to deface the 
 Emperour, to flatter Fraufice, to fpite England, to belye Germany, to 
 prayfe the "turke, to keepe vp the Pope, to pull downe Chrill and 
 Chriiles Religion, as much as lyeth in him. But to my purpofe a- 
 gayne. 
 
 The matters before of me briefly rehearfed, were at large declar- 
 ed in Marches Albertes booke: yet that you may know what fecret 
 workyng went before this playne writyng and open doyng, and 
 becaufe the Marches part hath bene fo notable in all this pallime, I 
 will, by more particular circumftaunces, lead you to this generall com- 
 plaintcs. 
 
 There be at this day five Marcheifcs of Bradenhurge : Joachimus E- 
 kctoi , Joba73nes his brother, who for ciuile fcruice is Imperiall with 
 might and mayne, and yet in Religion a Chriflian iVince, with hart, 
 toung, and honefty of lyfe : Doftour Cbri(lopher Monte, both a learn- 
 ed and wife man, our Kyngcs Maieftie fcruant, and his Agent in 
 
 the
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 25 
 
 the affaires of Germany^ hath told me diners tymes that this Marches 
 yohn and the Duke of Sicaburg be two of the worthicil Princes iix 
 all the Empire, either in confidering wyfely, or executing courageouily 
 any affaire. The thyrd is Marches George, who dwelletii in Franconia, 
 not farre from Noretnberg. The fourtli Marches Albert the elder, the 
 mighty Duke of Prusia, hable, for his power, to cope with any ^^\^ °^ 
 Prince, and 15 yeares together he dyd ftoutly withfland, in continual 
 warre, the ffrength of the Kyng of Pole. He hath fo fully banillied 
 Papiftry, and fo furely eftablifhed the doctrine of the gofpell in Prusia, 
 as no where hetherto in Germany is more diligently done; he loueth 
 learnyng and honoreth learned men; and therefore, an. 1544, he founded 
 a new Univei fitie in Pru/ia, called Mo?is Regius, bryngyng thether, with 
 plentyfuU thynges, excellent learned men in all tounges and fciences. 
 He is vncle to this notable Marches Albert, and lackyng children hath 
 made hym hys heyre, and hath already inueffured hym in the duke- 
 dome of Friifia. The fift is Marches Albert, of wiiom I purpofe to 
 write on: whofe father was CaJJiinirus, defcended from the Kynges of 
 Pole; and for his noblenes agaynfl the Tiirke, called Achilles Germanicus: 
 and therefore might very well engender fuch a hoate Pirrbus. Mar- 
 ches Albert, m hys young yeares, as I haue heard wife men fay, was 
 rude in hys maners, nor dyd not Ihew any token of towardnes likely 
 to attempt any fuch affayres as in deede he hath done. It might be 
 either for the lacke of learnyng and good bringyng vp (a great and 
 common fault in great Princes of Germany) or els for his badifuU na- 
 ture in youth, which propertie Xenophon wittely fayned to be in Cyrus Xenoph. a. 
 at lyke yeares, iudgyng bafhfulnes in youth to be a great token of uer- ""f^- 
 tue in age. 
 
 Marches Albert is now at this day about 3 i yeares old ; of a good 
 flature, neither very high nor very low, thicke without grofenes : ra- 
 ther wel boned for ftrength, then oucrloded with fieOi : his face fayre, 
 bewtiful, brode, Iterne, and manly : fomcwhat refcmblyng my Lord 
 Marches of Nortbt, when he was of the fame yeares ; hys eyes great 
 and rowlyng, mnkyng hys countenance chercful when he talketh: and 
 yet when he geucth care to other, he kepeth both a faddc looke with- 
 out figne of lufpicion, and alfo a well fet eye without token of ma- 
 lice: and this behauiour I marked well in hym when I dyncd in his 
 company at the fiege of Me4z, in the County John of NaJJaus tent : hys 
 
 E voyce
 
 26 THEWORKSOF 
 
 voyce is great, nnd hys wordcs not many, more ready to here other than 
 to talke hvmfdfc. And when he talketh he fo frameth hys toung to 
 agree with hart, as fpeakyng and meanyng feemeth to be ahvayes at 
 one in hvm : and herein he may be well called the Ibnne of Achilles, 
 wliom Homer wittcly doth fayne to haue Inch a free open nature: 
 whole faying in Gn-eke is excellent, but beyng turned in the wrong Tide 
 into Englijb, it ihall lelle delight you, yet thus much it fignifieth : 
 
 Who, cither in earncft or in fport. 
 Doth frame hymfelfe after fuch fort. 
 This thyng to thinck, and that to tell, 
 My hart abhorreth as gate to hell. 
 
 Homer meanyng hereby that a Prince of noble courage fliould haue 
 hys hart, hys looke, hys toung, and hys handes fo ahvayes agrceyng 
 together, in thinkyng, pretendyng, and fpeakyng, and doyng, as no 
 one of thefe foure ihould at any tyme be at iarre with an other ; 
 which agreeyng together in theyr right tune, do make a pleafaunt me- 
 lody in all mens eares both fweeteft and loudeft, called in EtigliJJj 
 Honor, and mofl: fitly in Grecke Ti^**)?, the price and prayfc of 
 vertue. 
 
 And though the Marches be free to fay what he thinketh, yet he 
 is both fecret in purpofyng and clofe in workyng what fo euer he goeth 
 about. Now very Ikillfull to do harme to others, and as ware to 
 keepe hurte from hymfelfe, yet firft bet vnto it with his own rod : 
 for in the former warres of Germany, beyng on the Emperours fide, 
 he fell into the handes of Duke "John Fredericke of Saxony, which 
 chaunce he is charged fore withall by Luice de Auila, and that with 
 fo fpightfull and open a mouth, as moued the Marches to offer hym 
 the combat, as I fayd before. He is now moft courageous in hardefl 
 aduenturcs, mofl cherefull in prefent ieoperdy, and moft paynefull in 
 greatcft labours: hauyng no fouldier vnder hym, that can better away 
 with heate and cold, or longer fuffer hunger and thiift then he hym 
 fclfe. Hys apparel! is fouldier-lyke, better knowen by hys fearce 
 doynges then by his gay goyng: his fouldiours feare him for his flout- 
 nes, and loue him for his liberalitie : which winneth to him authoritie 
 8 fit
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 2;^ 
 
 fit foi' a ftout Captaine, and worketh in them obedience due to good 
 fouldiours. 
 
 This lafl: ycare, a litle before hys agreement with the Emperour, 
 hys fouldiours, for lacke of money and meate, fell to mutinyng, and 
 then fell the Marches fafleft to hangyng, not hidyng hym felfe for 
 feare, but comming abroad with courage, did protell that neither the 
 proudeft fliould make miforder without puniflnnent, nor yet the 
 poorefb fliould lacke as long as either he had peny in hys purfe or loafe 
 of bread in hys tent. And after this fort of outward behauiour and 
 inward condition in Marches Albert^ as I have marked his perfon my 
 felfe, and as I have learned hys doynges by fuch as by experience knew 
 them well, and for their honefty would report them right, and now how 
 he fell from the Emperour, 1 wil as briefly declare. 
 
 The Marches ferved the Emperour, as I faid before, in the former 
 warres in Germany, agaynft the Lanfgraue and the Duke of Saxotiy, 
 where he loft fome honour, and fpent much money. The Emperour 
 lliortly after came downe hether to Bruxeh, hauyng the Marches in 
 hys company, who lookyng for a great recompence of hys coftes, and 
 receiuyng litle, and feyng hys honor not onely defaced in the field pre- 
 fently when he was taken prifoner, but alfo defamed for euer by 
 writyng confirmed by the Emperours priuiledge to grow abroad in the 
 world, began to take the matter fo unkyndly, that he left commyng 
 to the Court, and kept his owne houfe : rifmg every day very early : 
 and writyng all the forenoone very diligently, yet what he dyd no man 
 knew : fo that his abfence bred a talke in the Court, and his foddein 
 and fecret fludy wrought a wonderfuU geloufy of hys doynges in the. 
 Emperours head: for he knew the Marches to have courage enough 
 to attempt matters ouer great ; and therefore fent Monfieur Grandidlle 
 vnto the Marches houfe, as of hym felfe, to grope out hys doynges, 
 who declared vnto the Marches the Emperours great goodwil towards 
 hym, fhewyng that his Maicf^ic was purpofed to make hym a great 
 perfonage, and to begyn withal, had in mynde to geuc hym a goodly 
 and profitable office in all hys mintes. 
 
 The Marches aunfwered roundly and plainly to the firft, that the 
 Emperour could not make hym greater then he was, beyng Marches 
 
 E 2 of
 
 28 THEWORKSOF 
 
 of BraJenburge : and as for the office in the niinte, he fald fmllyng, 
 he vfed not often to tell his owne money, and therefore he thought not 
 to make the accompt of others; and fo made nothing of the Empe- 
 rours offer : onely hee defired Grandeuill that the Enij)erour would geue 
 him Icaue to go home to his owne, which he obtained : and, at his 
 departure, the Emperour gaue him a patent of 4000 crownes by the 
 yeare : but the Marches was not well foure myles out of Bruxels, when 
 he fent the patent by poll: to the Emperour agayne, faying, his Maieftie 
 might better bellow on fomc that had more neede of it. And indeede 
 the Marches is as loth to receiue of hys frendes by beneuolcnce, as he 
 is ready to take from hys enemies by violence, which commeth fome- 
 what of to flout a courage. 
 
 Thus the Marches came home not befl contented, as it may well ap- 
 pear: nor faw not the Emperour after, till he met liym at the fic^e of 
 Metz. Cafmirus, his father, and the Marches hymfelfe were great Ipen- 
 ders and deepe (letters : the one for his floutnes in warre, the other for 
 hys luflines in youth. And tlierefore became quicke borrowers and 
 flow payers, which thyng brought the Marches into fiich trouble as he 
 had with the city of Norcmberge, with his neighbours the Byfliop of 
 HerbipoUs, and with his godfather the Byfhop of Famberge. 
 
 The Marches was no fooner come home, but thefe byfhops, fpying' 
 their tyme, when he had left the Emperours court, and had quite loft 
 or much lefTened hys frendfliip there, began to trouble hym with new 
 fuites for old debtes in Camera Imperiali, at Spires, where the Marches, 
 bccaufe he lacked either fauour in the Court, or experience in youngs 
 yeares, or good matter on his fide, was alwayes wrong to the worft ; 
 and to fluffe vp his ftomach with more matter of vnkyndnes againlt 
 the Emperour, it is fayd, that letters from the greates in the Em- 
 perours Court were neuer lackyng at Spires, to helpe forward proceffe 
 agaynfl the Marches. 
 
 Shortly after this tyme began the fiege of Madenbiirg, where Duke 
 Maurice, by the Emperour, was appointed generall. The Marches, ei- 
 ther weery of leefyng at home by f lites, or defirous to winne abroad 
 by warre, or els purjiofmg to praclife fome way to reuenge his difplea- 
 fures, made him ready to ferue againft Madcnburg with 500 horfc^. 
 
 And
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 29 
 
 And in the begynnyng of the Spryng of the yeare 1551, he fet forward, 
 and in his way went to vifite Ernejius, his coufin, Duke of Saxonyy 
 brother to John Fridericke, then prifoner with the Empcrour. The felfe 
 fome tyme Lazarus Swendy was fent from the Emperour as Commif- 
 fary to Duke Ernejius^ with earnsft commandement that the Duke, and 
 all his, fl:iould receive the do6lrine of the Interim. And (tliat I may 
 accomplifli my purpofe, which is to paynt out as truely as I can, by 
 writyng, the very image of fuch perfons as have played any notable 
 part in thefe affaires : and fo you, beyng abfent, fliall with fome more 
 pleafure read their doynges) this Lazarus Sivcndy is a tall and a comely La5,arus 
 perfonagc, and beyng brought vp in learnyng vnder Occolampadiiis at Swendy. 
 Bafile, makyng (as it was told me by an honeft man that was throughly 
 accjuainted with hym there) more account of his tall ftature then of 
 any bevvty of the mynde, began to be wery of learnyng, and became 
 defirous to beare fome bragge in the world : and fo made a fouldiour, 
 mard a fcholer, and becaufe he would make a lufty chaunge from 
 the fcare of God and knowledge of Ch rifts doctrine, he fell to be a 
 peruerfe and bloudy Papifl: : euer at hand in any cruel execution agaynfl 
 the poore Proteftantes, as commonly all fuch do which fo wittyngly fliake 
 of Chrift, and hys gofpell. Such a commiflary, you may be fure, would 
 cruelly enough execute his office. Duke Ernejius told the Commiflary, 
 that he, hys landcs and lyfe, were at his Maiefties commaundement ;. 
 hys Maiefty knew how quietly he bare hym fclfe alwayes, and therefore 
 hys truft was, as he willyngly ferued the Emperour with true obedi- 
 ence, fo he might as freely feme God with right confcience : for he 
 would rather leaue hys landes and goodes and all to the Empcrour, 
 and go beg with hys wyfe and children, then they would forlake the 
 way of the Gofpell, which God hath commaundcd them to fol- 
 low. 
 
 And marke how euidently God dyd declare both how much fuch a 
 commiirion fent out abroad in Germany agaynft hym and hys worde 
 dyd difplcafe hym: and alfo ho v/ much the prayers and fighyng hartes 
 of iuft men do in tyme preuayle with him : for as a man of much 
 honelly and great knowledge in all the matters of Germany dyd tell 
 me, aifoone as this commilhon was once abroad, the pra6lyfes in Ger- 
 many began to ftyrre, yet not fo openly as the T-mperour might have 
 iuii caufe to withftand them, nor fo covertly, but he had occafion 
 
 enough
 
 30 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 cnouc;h to miftruft them : and thereby he both lacked help for open 
 remedy, and wanted no dil'pleafure for inward griefe. 
 
 Duke Ernelliis, Marches Albert ^ and Lazarus Sxvendy fat at fupper to- 
 gethers : and as they were talkyng of the Interim, the Marches foddenly 
 brafl: out into a fury, faying: " What deuill, will the Emperour ne- 
 " uer leaue ftriuyng with God in defacyng true religion, and toflyng 
 " the world, in debarryng all mens liberties : addyng, that he was a 
 " Prince vnkynd to euery man, and kept touch with no man, that 
 " could forget all mens merites, and would deceiue whomfoeuer he 
 " promifed." 
 
 The Duke lyked not this hoate talke in hys houfe and at hys table, 
 but fayd : " Cofm, you fpeake but merely, and not as you thincke," 
 addyng much in the prayfe of the Emperours gentlenes flievved to many, 
 and of hys promife kept with all. " "Well, (quoth the Marches) if 
 " he had bene either kynde where men had deferued, or would haue 
 " performed that he promifed : neither fliould I at this tyme accufe 
 " hym, nor you haue fit here in this place to defend hym, for he pro- 
 " mifed to geue me this houfe, with all the landes that thereto belong:- 
 " eth: but ye be affrayd, Cofm, (quoth the Marches) left this talke 
 " be to loud, and fo heard to farre of: when indeede, if the Commif- 
 " farie here be fo honeft a man as I take hym, and fo true to hys 
 " mafter as he fliould be, he will not fayle to fay what he hath heard ; 
 *• and on the fame condition, CommifTary, I bryng the goode lucke:" 
 and drancke of vnto hym a great glafle of wine. Lazarus Swendyes 
 talke then founded gently and quietly, for he was fore aftiayed of the 
 Marches. But he was no foner at home with the Emperour, but 
 word was fent to Duke Maurice, that the Marcl.es, who was as then 
 come to Madenburg, if he would needes ferue there, fliould fcrue with- 
 out wages. 
 
 Ye may be fure the Marches was chafed a new with this newes, 
 who already had loft a great fort of hys men, and now muft leefe hys 
 whole labour thcthcr, and all hys wages there, befides the lofTe of hys 
 lionor in takyng fuch fliame of hys enemies, and reeeiuyng fuch vn- 
 kyndnes of the Emperour. 
 
 The 
 
 ^
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 The Marches was not fo giieued, but Duke Maurice was as well 
 contented with this commaundemeiit : for euen then was Duke Mau- 
 rice fecretary pra^lifyng, by Baron Hadeckes aduife, with the French 
 Kyng for the iturre which dyd follow : and therefoi'e was gladde when 
 he faw the Marches miglit be made hys fo eafely, whiche came uery 
 foone to pafle : io that tiie Marches, for the fame purpofe, in the ende 
 of the fameyeare, went into Fraunce fecretly, and was there with Sbertly 
 as a common Launce Knight, and named hymfelfe Qaptaine Paul, left 
 the Emperours fpials fliould get out hys doynges : where, by the aduife 
 of Sbertly y he praClifed with the French Kyng for the warres which fol- 
 lowed after. Tliis matter was told vnto me by 'John Mccardus, one 
 of the chief preachers in Augu/Ia, who beyng baniflicd the Empire, 
 when and how ye fliall heare after, was fayne to fiye, and was with 
 Sbertly the fame yeare in Fraunce. 
 
 The Marches came out of Fraunce in the begynnyng of the yeare 
 1552, and out of hand gathered vp men, but hys purpofe was not 
 knowne, yet the Emperour miftrufted the matter, beyng at Tnjhurg^ 
 fent Do5l. Hafius, one of hys counfell, to know what caufe he had to 
 make fuch flurre. This D06I. Hafius was once an earneft Pioteftant, 
 and wrote a booke on that fide, and was one of the Palfgraue priuy 
 counfell: but, for hope to clime higher, he was very ready to be en- 
 tifed by the Emperour to forfake firft his mafter and then God : by 
 whom the Emperour knew much of all the Princes Proteftants purpofes, 
 for he was commonly one whom they had vfed in all their dietes and 
 priuate praftifes : which thyng caufed the Emperour to feeke to haue 
 liym: that, byhysheade he miglit the eafelyer ouerthrow the Protef- 
 tantes, and with them, God and hys word in all Germany. 
 
 This man is very lyke M. Parrie, her graces cofferer, in head, face, 
 legges, and bellye. What aunfwere Hafius had I cannot tell, but fure 
 I am the Marches then botli wrote hys booke of complayntcs agaynft 
 the Emperour, and fet it out in printe. And alfo came forward with 
 baimer difplayed, and tooke Dillyng vpon Danuby, the Cardinall of 
 ^ugu/lus towne, which Cardinal, with a few Priefles, fled in pofl to the 
 Emperour at In/putg, where he found fo cold chcare, and fo litle com- 
 fort, that forthwith in all hafte, he polled to Rome, 
 
 Horfemen 
 
 31
 
 32 THEWORKSOF 
 
 Horfemen and footcmen in great companies flill gathered to tlic 
 Marches : and in tlie ende of March he marched forward to Augujla, 
 where the Duke Maurice, the young Lanfgrauc, the Duke of Mechelburg, 
 George and Albert, with William Duke of Brunficycke, and other Prin- 
 ces confederate, met together, and befieged that citie, where I will 
 leaue the Marches till I haue brought Duke Maurice and hys doynges 
 to the fame tyme, and to the fame place. 
 
 ^ DUKE MAURICE. 
 
 NOT many yeares agoe, whole Saxony was chiefly under two 
 Princes : the one Duke Jobn Fredericke, borne Eledor, who 
 yet liueth, defender of Luther, a noble fetter out, and as true a fol- 
 lower of Chrill and hys Gofpell : the other hys kynfman, DukQGeorge, 
 who is dead, Knight of the order of the Golden Fleece, a great man 
 of the Emperour, a niayntainer of Cocleus, and a notable piller of Pa- 
 piftry. 
 
 Duke John Fredericke is now 50 yeares of age, fo byg of perfonage 
 rickeDukc'ss a very l1:rong horfe is fcarce able to beare hym, and yet is he a 
 of Saxony, great deale bygger in all kynde of vertues, in wifedome, iuftice, libe- 
 ralitie, ftoutnes, temperancy in hym felfe, and humanitic towardes 
 others, in all affaires, and either fortunes vfmg a fmgular trouth and 
 {Icdfaflnes: {o \\\^X. Luice de Auila, and the Secretary of Kr/v/rf, who 
 wrote the ftory of the firft warres in Germany, and profcile to be his 
 erneft enemies both for matters of ftate and alfo of religion, were fo 
 compelled by hys worthynes to fay the trouth, as though thcyr onely 
 purpofe had bene to wryte hys prayfe- He was hue yeares prifoner in 
 this Court, where he wan fuch louc of all men, as the Spanyardes now 
 fay: They would as gladly fight to fet hym vp agaync, as euer they 
 dvd to pull hym downe: for they fee that he is wife in all his doynges, 
 iuft in all his dcalyngcs, lowly to the meaneft, princely with the biggefl, 
 and excellyng gentle to all, whom no aduerfitic could euer moue, nor 
 policy at any tyme entice, to Ihrincke from God and hys word. And 
 here I nuift netdes commend the Secretary of Fcrrore, who bevng a 
 
 Papift^
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 
 
 Piiplft, and writyng tlic liiftoiy of the late vvarres in Germany, doth 
 not kepe backe a goodly tcftimony of Duke Fredcrickcs conilancy to- 
 ward God and hys Religion. 
 
 When the Emperour had taken the Duke prlfoner, he came fliortly 
 after before the citie of Witcmberg : and beyng aduifed by fome bloudy 
 counfellours that Duke Frrderickcs death fhould, by the terrour of it, 
 turne all the Proteftantes from theyr religion, caufed a write to be 
 made for the Duke to be executed the next mornyng vppon a folemne 
 fcaffold, in the fight of his wyfe, children, and the whole citie of JVit- 
 temberg. 
 
 This write, figned with the Emperoui-s own hand, was fent ouer 
 night to the Duke, who, when the write came vnto hym, was in hys 
 tent playing at chefiTe with his cofm and fellow prifoner the Lanfgraue 
 oi Litbenberg, and readyng it aduifedly ouer, layd it downe quietly 
 befide, and made no countenance at all at the matter, but fayd, " Cofin, 
 " take good hcede to your game," and returnyng to his play as quietly 
 as though he had receiued fome priuate letter of no great importance, 
 dyd geue the Lanfgraue a trim mate. 
 
 The Emperour (I doubt not) chiefly moued by Godj fecondly of 
 his great wifedome and naturall clemency, when he vnderflode his 
 merueilous conflancie, chaunged his purpofe, and reuoked the write i 
 and euer after gaue him more honor, and fliewed him more huma- 
 nitie tlwn any Prince that euer I haue read of haue hethcrto done 
 to his prifoner. 
 
 He is alfo fuch a louer of learnyng as his librarie, furnifhed with 
 bookes of all tounges and fciences, paffeth all other libraries wiiich 
 are yet gathered in Chriilendome: for my friend feronimia JVolfms, who 
 tranflated Demojibenes out of Greeke into Lati?ie, who had fene the 
 French kynges librarie at Augujia, hath told me, that though in fix 
 monethes he was not able onely to write out the titles of the bookes in 
 the Fuggers librarie, yet was it not fo byg as Duke FreJen'ckes was 
 which he faw in Saxony. I tliinkc he vnderftandeth no ftraunge toung 
 faue the Latinc and a litle the French: and yet it is merueilous that 
 
 F my 
 
 33
 
 34 THEWORKSOF 
 
 my (i end jfobanfies Sturmius doth report by writyng, what he heard Phillip 
 Mdancthon at a tyme fay of thys noble Duke: that he thought the Duke 
 (lyd pruiately read and write more euery day tlien dyd both he and 
 JD. ylurifaber, which two wxre counted in all mens iudgment to be the 
 greatclt readers and writers in all the vniuerfitie of Wittcmbei-g. 
 
 And as he doth thus read with fuch diligence, euen fo he can re- 
 port with fuch a memory whatfoeuer he doth read, and namely hif- 
 tories, as at his table on euery new occafion he is accuftomed to re- 
 cite fome new ftory, which he doth with fuch pleafure and vtterance, 
 as men be content to leaue their meat to heare him talke: and yet he 
 him felfe is not difdaynfull to heare the meaneft, nor will ouertwhart 
 any mans reafon. He talketh without tauntyng, and is mery with- 
 out fcofiyng, deludyng no man for fport, nor nippyng no man for 
 fpight. 
 
 Two kyndes of men, as his preachers dyd tell me at Vilacho, he will 
 ncuer long fuffer to be in his houfe: the one a common mocker, who 
 for his pride thincketh fo wel of his owne wit as his moll delight is 
 to make other men fooles, and where God of his Prouidence hatli 
 geucn fmall wit, he for his fport wil make it none, and rather than he 
 fliould leefe his pleafure, he would an other fliould leefe his wit : as 
 I heare fay was once done in England^ and that by the fufferaunce of 
 fuch as I am forry, for the good wil 1 beare them, to heare fuch a repoi t : 
 the other a priuy whifperer, a pickthancke, a tale-teller, medlyng fo 
 with other mens matters, as he findeth no Icyfure to looke to his owne: 
 one fuch in a great houfe is able to turne and tofle the quietnes of all. 
 Such two kynde of men, fayeth the Duke, befides the prefent troublyng 
 of others, neucr or fcldome come to good end them felues. He 
 loueth not alfo bold and thicke Ikinned faces, wherein the meanyng of 
 the harte doth neuer appeare. Nor fuch hid talke as lyeth in wayte 
 for other mens wittes. But would, that wordes Ihould be fo framed 
 with the toung, as they be alwayes ment in the hart. 
 
 A noble And therefore the Duke him felfe thincketh nothyng whiche he dare 
 
 """^'^* not fpcak, nor fpeakcth nothyng whiche he will not do. Yet hau- 
 
 yng
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 yng thoughtes grounded vppon wifedome, his talke is al waves fo accom- 
 panyed with diCcretion, and his deedes fo attended vppon true dealyng, 
 as he neither biteth with wordes, nor wringeth witli deedes, except im- 
 pudency follow the fault, which Xenophon wittely calleth the furthefl; 
 point in al doyng, and then he vfeth to fpeake home, as he dyd to a 
 Spanyard this laft yeare at Villacho, who beyng of the Dukes garde, 
 when he was prifoner, and now preafyng to fit at his table when he 
 was at libertie, becaufe many nobles of the Court came that day to 
 dine with the Duke, the gentleman huflier gently defired the Spaiiyard 
 to fpare his rowme for that day for a great perfonage : but he, coun- 
 tenancyng a brauc Spatiifi bragge, fayd, " SeignoTy ye know me well 
 " enough," and fo fat him downe. 
 
 The Duke heard him, and preuentyng hys mans aunfwere, fayd: 
 *' In deede you be too well knowen, by the fame token the laft tyme 
 " you were here you tooke a gobblet away with you, and therefore 
 " when you have dyned you may go without farewell, and haue leaue 
 " to come agayne when ye be fent for. In the meane while an honeft 
 " man may occupy your place." But in remembiyng fo good a Prince 
 I haue gone too farre from my matter : and yet the remembraunce of 
 him is neuer out of place, whofe worthynes is neuer to be for- 
 gotten. 
 
 DukeG^cr^^ oi Saxony, a litle before he dyed, hauyng no child, dyd 
 difinherite Duke Henry his brother by his laft wil, becaufe he was a 
 Proteftant, and gaue away his whole inheritaunce to Ferdinando Kyng 
 oi Romaincs. 
 
 But Duke yohn Freden'cke, by force of armes, fet and kept his cofin 
 "Duke Henry in his right: and he dying foone after left behynd hym two 
 fonnes, Duke Maurice and Duke Auguflusy who likewifc in thcyr youth 
 were defended in theyr right by the wifedome and force of Duke 'john 
 Frcdcricke. Duke Maurice was brought vp in Duke John Frcderickes 
 houfe, as if he had bene his owne fonne, and maryed the Lanfgraues 
 daughter. 
 
 After it came to paffe that the Emperour attempted to eftablifli Pa- 
 ;piftiy in Germany with the fword, agaynft which purpofe tiie Lanfgraue 
 
 F 2 and 
 
 ZS
 
 36 TIIEWORKSOF 
 
 and Duke Jobn FreJericke armed themfelues, not to refill: the Emperour, 
 as the Papiftcs fay, but to kepe Gods rehgion vp, if any by violence 
 would pull it downe, refufing neuer, but requiryng alwayes to referre 
 them and theyr doctrine to a lawfull and free general councill, where 
 truth and religion might be fully tryed in the hearyng of euen and * e- 
 qual iudges, and that by the touchftone of Gods Canonicall Scrip- 
 tures. 
 
 Duke Maurice in the begynnyng of his warres was fufpeded neither 
 or the Lanf^raue nor of Duke Fredericke, beyng fonne in law to the 
 one and nigh kynfman to the other, and agreeyng in Religion with 
 both. Yea, he was not onely not fufpedled ; but as I heard fkilful men 
 fay, he was ready with his counfell, and promifcd his ayde to helpe for- 
 ward the enterprice, or elfe Ha?ice Fredericke, being a Prince of fuch 
 wifedome, would not haue left at home behind him an enemic of fuch 
 a force. 
 
 Francifco, Duke Maurice Agent with the Emperour, was afked, I 
 beyng by at Augufia^ how he could excufe his mafters vnkyndnes to- 
 wards John Fredericke who had bene fuch a father vnto him. He 
 graunted tiiat Duke Fredericke had bene great frend vnto him, and 
 might haue bene a greater if he had would, and then lefle flrife had fol- 
 lowed then did. " And troth it is (fayd he) as Duke Fredericke kept 
 " mymafter in his right, fo afterward he put hym from part of his right, 
 " when in his young yeares he chopped and chaunged landes with him 
 " when he lifted : which thing my mailer complaynyng, could neuer ob- 
 " taync remedy therein. Kyndnes (hould rather haue kyndly encreafed, 
 " then fo unkyndly haue decayed, fpecially when the one was trufted 
 *' with all, and the other of fuch yeares, as he had neither wit to perceiue 
 " nor power to amend if any iniury were ofFred vnto hym. Troth alfo 
 " it is that my mailer was brought vp in Dake FreJrrickes houle: but 
 " he hath more caufe to complain on them that brought hym thether, 
 " then to thanke fuch as brought him vp there, where he had alwayes 
 " plentie of drinke, and as much fcantof good teachyng to come to fuch 
 *' vertuc and learnyng as dyd belong to a Prince of his flatc." 
 
 ♦ E* iTcif x*i i[*oin(, wordcs alwayes ufcd in Thucldidis in xlecidyng common controverfies. 
 
 Now,
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 37 
 
 Now, whether this talke was altogether true, or, an ill excufe was 
 made to couer a foule facl, I cannot tell : but fure I am Francifco fayd 
 thus. I haue heard wife men fay, that it is not lyke, that for fuch a 
 priuate ftryfe Duke Maurice would have fo foiiaken not only his frend 
 and kinfman, but alfo his father in law, or would for the lolfeof a litle, 
 or rather for the chaunge of a peece, haue fo haffarded his whole cflate, 
 which was once in the firfl: wane all gone faue Lypfia, and one other 
 towne, befide the lofle of loue in whole Germany, and his good name 
 amongeft all Protellantes, in the middefl of whom all his liuyngs do 
 Jye. 
 
 Well furely there was feme great caufe that could fturre vp fo great ^^^ P"''^ 
 a ftryfe, and that was, as wyfe men and wel willyng on Duke Maurice \^^l"^eZ A ^ 
 fide, in mine opinion, haue truly iudged, the foule vice of ambition. frenJts and 
 
 fell in with 
 ,, , 111- •,/. ^^^ Empe- 
 
 O Lord ! how many worthy men hath this one vice beareft fromrour. 
 good common weales, which for all other refpecles were mofi: vnwor- a l-.- 
 thy of that end they came vnto. My hart weepes for thofe noble men 
 of England, whofe valiantnes in warre, whofe wifedome in peace, this 
 realme fhal want and wayle, and v/ifli for in tyme to come, which 
 of late, by x\\\s onely vice, haue bene taken from vs. Examples lefle 
 for our grief, and as fit for this purpofe, be plenty enough in other 
 itates. 
 
 Guer many experiences do teach vs, though a Prince be wife, flout, 
 liberall, gentle, mercyfull, and excellently learned ; though he deferue 
 all the prayfe, tliat vertue, nature, and fortune can affourd him, yea, 
 that wit it felfe can wifli for, as we read that noble Julius Ccefar had, 
 and that by the teflimony of thofe that loued him not, neuertheles if. 
 the two foule verfes of Euripides, 
 
 Do right alway, and wrong refralne. 
 Except onely for rule and ralgnc. 
 
 If thefe verfes, I fay, do not onely found well in his eare, but fincke 
 deepe alfo in his hart, furely there is neither kindred, frendfliip, lavr, 
 
 oihc.
 
 38 THEWORKSOF 
 
 othe, obedience, countrcy, God, nor his owne lyfc, but he will hafiard 
 to leefe all rather then to purfue this foule vice : for Polynices, for whom 
 this verfe was firft made in Greeke, dyd fill not onely his owne countrey 
 full of dead carcafTes, but alfo whole Greece full of weepyng widdowes. 
 And Cafary for whom the fame verfe was turned into Latiiic, dyd not 
 onely turn vpfidc down the goodlicll common wealth that euer God 
 fuhrcd to ftand vppon the caith: but alfo toflcd the whole world with 
 battayle-and llaughter, euen almoft from the funne fettyng vnto the 
 funne rifyng. And dyd not flop to bryng fouldiours to do mifchief 
 further then any man now dare iourney by land cither for pleafure or 
 profile. 
 
 But fee the fruite and end which this vngodly great growing bryngetli 
 men vnto : both thefe Princes were flaine, the one by his brother, the 
 other by his own fonne, of whom in lyfe, nature and benefites would 
 they fliould have taken moft comfort of. But men that loue to clime 
 to hye haue ahvayes lead feare, and therefore by reafon fall moft fuddenly, 
 and alfo fardeft downe ; yea, the very bowghes that helped hym vp will 
 now vvhip him in fallyng downe: for who lb in climyng trufteth when 
 he is goyng vp any bough at all ouer much, though he feeme to tread 
 neuer fo furely vppon it, yet if he once begyn to flyp, the fame fclfe 
 bough is reddieft to beat him that feemed before fureft to beare him. 
 Examples hereof be feene dayly and forgotten hereby. 
 
 An other mifchief chaunceth commonly to thefe high climers : that 
 they will heare no man fo gladly as fuch which are euer hartenyng 
 them to clime ftill. If wife and good men durft Ipeake more freely 
 then they do : great men fhould do both others and themfelues lefie 
 hf;: me then they are wont to do. He hateth him felfe, and hafteth his 
 owne hurt, that is content to heare none fo gladly as either a foole or 
 a flatterer. A wonderfuU follie in a great man himfelfe, and fome piece 
 of miferie in a whole common wealth, where fooles chiefly and flat- 
 terers may fpeake freely what they will, and wife men and good men 
 flial commonly be flient, if they fpeake what they fliould. 
 
 And how commeth this to pafle: it is the very plague of God for 
 great mens fuines, and the plaine high way to their iuft punifhment. 
 
 Acd
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. -o 
 
 And when God fuffieth them fo wilhngly to graunt freedom to fo'lie, 
 and fo gladly to geue hearyng to flattery: but fee when the great man 
 is gone and hath playd his part, fooles and flatterers be ilil vpon the 
 ftage. Such Hue in all worldes, fuch laugh in all miferies : furh Daui 
 and Getcv haue alwayes the longefl: parties : and go out who flia', they 
 tary in place fcill. I know alfo many a good Mitlo, which haue 
 played long partes, whom I pray God kepe long fl:ill vpon the flage. 
 And I trufl no man will be mifcontent with my generall faying, except 
 cOnfciencc do pricke him of his owne priuate ill doyng. 
 
 There be common wealthes where freedome in fpeakyng truth hath 
 kept great men from boldnes in doing ill : for free and frendly aduife is > 
 
 the trimmefl glafTe that any great man can vfe to fpye his owne fault in : 
 which taken away, they runne commonly fo farre in foule doyng, as 
 fome neuer flay till they pafle all remedy, faue onely to late repentaunce. 
 And as I would haue no flattery but wifli for freedome : fo in no wife 
 do I commend ouermuch boldnes, or any kynd of rayling. But that 
 libertie in fpeakyng fliould be fo mingled with good will and difcre- 
 tion, as no great perfon flrould be vnhonourably fpoken vppon, or any 
 mean man touched out of order either for fport or fpite : as fome vn- 
 quiet heades, neuer contented with any ftate, are euer procuryng either 
 fecretly with raylyng billes, or openly with tauntyng fonges, or els fome 
 fcoffing common play. 
 
 An other kynd of to bold talkers furpafle all thefe ; felly rumors, vvho 
 are called, and fo will be, common difcourfers of all Princes affaires. 
 Thefe make a great account of themfelues, and will be commonly for- 
 moft in any preafe, and luftly without blufliing flioulder backe others : 
 thefe will necdes feenie to fee further in any fecret aftayre then the bed 
 and wifeft counfellor a Prince hath. Thefe be the open flatterers and 
 priuy miflikers of all good counfellors doynges. And one common 
 note, the mod part of this brotherhode of difcourfers commonly cary 
 with them where they be bold to fpeake : to like better Tullies Offices 
 then St. Failles Epiftles : and a tale in Bocace, then a ftory of the 
 Bible, and therefore for any Religion earnefl: fetters forth of prefenttyme : 
 with conlciences confirmed with Machiauellcs do6trine to thincke, fay, 
 and do what foeuer may ferue beft for profite or pkafure. 
 
 o But
 
 40 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 Eut as concernyng flatterers and raylers to fay mine opinion whether I 
 lyke worfe, furely as I haue read few men to haue bene hurt with bitter 
 povfons: fohaue I heard of as few great men to haue bene greatly harmed 
 with fliarpe talke, L Jt are fo ware tliercin, tliat commonly they wil com- 
 jjlayne of theyr hurt before they feele harme. And flattery agayne is 
 Jo fvveete, that it pleafeth befl when it hurteth moft-, and therefore is 
 alwaycs to be feared, becaufe it alwaycs delighteth. Bat in lookyng a- 
 Tide to thefe liye climers, I haue gone out of the way of mine owne 
 matter. 
 
 To return to Diikc Maurice, he faw that Duke Frederickes fallyng 
 might be his rifyng, and perchaunce was moued with fome old in- 
 juries, but beyng of young yeares, and of nature full of dcfire and 
 courage, he was a trimme pray for old praftifers to be eafily caryed 
 away with fayre new promifes, foundyng altogether to honor and j)ro- 
 fite, and fo he forfokc his father and his frend, and became wholy 
 the Emperours till he had brought both them into prifon. Duke 
 Fredericke was taken in the field, and fo became the Emperours iiilt 
 prifoner. Yet as long as the Lanfgraue was abroad, the Emperour 
 thought his purpofe neuer atchieued, and therefore praclifcd a new 
 with Duke Maurice to get him alfo into his handes. 
 
 Duke Maurice with Jcachim Eleflor of Bradenhurge became meanes 
 betwixt the Lanjgraue and the Emperour. Conditions both of mercy 
 from the one, and of amendes from the other, were drawen out. Mau- 
 rice and the Marches bound them fclues fureties \.Q\\\t Lanfgraue i chil- 
 dren, for theyr fathers fafe returne: for amongcfl: the reft of conditions 
 this was one of the chiefeft, that he fliould come in no prifon. And 
 fo at Hala in Saxcny, he came boldly to the Emperours prefence, who 
 receiued him not very cherefully, norgaue him not his hande, which in 
 Germany is the very token of an aH'ured leconciliation. 
 
 The Duke of Alua made the Lanfgraue a fupper, and called alfo the- 
 ther Duke Maurice, and the Marches of Bradcnburge, where they had 
 great chere : but after fupper it was told Duke Maurice and the Mar- 
 ches that they might depart, for the Lanjgraue muft lodge there that 
 night. 
 
 On
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 41 
 
 On the morrow, they reafoned of the matter wholly to this purpofe, 
 that the Emperour promifed the Lanfgraues perfon ought not to be kept. 
 Aunfvvere was made that the Emperour went no further then condi- 
 tions led him, which were that he Ihould not be kept in euerlaftyng pri- 
 fon. When I was at Villacho in Carinthia I afked Duke Frederickes 
 Preacher what were the very wordes in Dutch, whereby the La?jfgraue 
 agaynft his lookyng was kept in prifon. He fayd the fallacion was very 
 pretty and notable, and tooke his penne and wrote in my booke the 
 very wordes wherein the very controverfie ftode. Duke Maurice fayd it 
 was, 
 
 Nicht in einig gefengknes. i. Not In any prifon. The Imperials fayd 
 no, but thus j 
 
 Jslicht in ewig gefengknes. i. Not in euerlaftyng prifon. And how foon 
 eij^ig may be turned into ewig^ not with fcrape of knife, but with the 
 leaft dafh of a pen, fo that it fliall neuer be perceiued, a man that 
 will proue may eafely fee. 
 
 Moreouer, huice d'Auila in his booke doth reioyce that the Lanfgraue 
 dyd fo deceaue hym felfe with his owne conditions, in makyng of which, 
 as D'Auila fayth, he was wont to efteeme his owne wit aboue all other 
 mens. Well, how fo euer it came to pafle the Lanjgraue was kept in 
 prifon. And from that hour Duke Maurice fell from the Emperour, 
 thinckyng hym felfe moft vnkyndly handled, that he, by vvhofc meanes 
 chiefly the Emperour had won fuch honor in Saxony, muft now be re- 
 warded with Ihame in all Germany, and be called a traytor to God, and 
 his countrcy, his father, and his frend. And though he was greened at 
 hart, yet he bare all thynges quietly in countenance, purpofing though 
 he had loft will yet would he not leefe his profite, and fo hidyng his 
 hurt prefently, whilcft feme fitter tyme fliould difcouer fome better re- 
 medy, he went with the Emperour to Augufla, where, accordyng to his 
 promife, he was made Eledlor. Yet the flmie night after his folemne 
 creation, two verfes fet vppon his gate might more greue hym, than 
 all that honor could delight hym, which were thefe. 
 
 G Seu
 
 42 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 Seu DuXy feu Princcps, feu tu die arts Ek^or. 
 Maurici es Patria proditor ipfe tua. 
 
 After that he had gotten that he looked for, he gat him home into 
 his countrey : from whence afterward the Empcrour with no pohcie could 
 euer br) ng him, he alvvayes alledgyng, the fcare he had of fome fturre 
 by Duke Fredericks children. 
 
 Hitherto the GermaiJies much miflyked the doynges of Duke Maurice. 
 But after that he had felt him felfe fo vnkyndly abufed as for his good 
 feruice to be made the betrayer of his father, he tooke fuch matters in 
 hand, and brought them fo to pafTe, as he recouered the loue of his 
 countrey, and purchafed fuch hate of his enemies, as the Spanyardei 
 tooke theyr difpleafure from all other, and beflowed wholly vppon the 
 Duke Maurice : and yet he bare him felfe with fuch wit and courage 
 agaynfl: them, as they had alwayes caufe to feare hym, and neuer occa- 
 fion to contemne hym : yea, if he had liued, he would fooner men 
 thincke haue driuen all Spanyardes out of Germany, then they fhould 
 haue hurt hym in Saxony, for he had ioyned vnto hym fuch ftrength, 
 and there was in hym fuch poUicie, as they durfl neuer haue come 
 vppon hym with power, nor neuer fliould haue gone beyond hym with 
 wit. He had fo difpleafed the Emperour, as he knew wel neither his 
 landes nor his lyfc could make amendes, when lo poundes of bene- 
 fites which he was able to do, could not way with one ounce of dif- 
 pleafure that he had already done : and therefore neuer after fought to 
 feeke his loue which he knew could neuer be gotten : but gaue.hym 
 felfe wholy to fet vp Maximilian, who beyng hym felfe of great power, 
 and of all other moft beloued for his worthynes in all Germany, and 
 now vfyng the head and hand of Duke Maurice and his frendes, and 
 hauyug the helpe of as many as hated the Spanyardes, that is to fay, 
 almoft all Protcftantes and Papifles to in Germany, he fliould eafely haue 
 obtained what foeuer he had gone about. But that bonde is now 
 broken : for euen this day when I was writyng this place, came word 
 to this Court, that Marches filbert and Duke Maurice had fought, where 
 the Marches had loft the field, and Duke Maurice had loft his lyfe : 
 which whole battail, becaufe it is notable, I would here at length de- 
 
 IJcrybe,
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 43 
 
 fcrybe, but that I fliould wander to farre from my pnrpofed matter: 
 and therefore I in another place, or els fome other with better oppor- 
 tunitic, fliall at large report the matter. 
 
 Ye fee the caufe why and the time when Duke Maurice fell from 
 the Emperour. And becaufc he was fo notable a Prince, 1 will defcribe 
 alfo the maner how he proceeded in all thefc doynges, as I learned a- 
 mongeft them that did not greatly loue him. And becaufe it were fmall 
 gayne to flatter hym that is gone, and great fliame to lye vppon hym 
 that is dead, for pleafyng any that be alyue, I fo will report on hym as 
 his doynges fince my commyng to this Court haue deferued. 
 
 He was now of the age of 3 2 yeares, well faced, in countenance, 
 compleclion, fauour and beard not much vnlyke to Syr Raffe Sadler, but 
 fome deale higher, and well and ftrong made to beare any labour and 
 payne. He was once (men fay) geuen to drinkyng, but now he had 
 cleane left it, contented with fmall diet and litle fleepe in this lafl yeares, 
 and therefore had a wakyng and workyng head : and became fo witty 
 and fecrct, fo hardy and ware, fo fkillfull of wayes, both to do harme 
 to others, and keepe hurt from hym felfe, as he neuer tooke enterprife in 
 hand wherein he put not his aduerfary al wayes to the worfe. And to 
 let other matter of Germany pafle, euen this lafl yeare, within the com- 
 pafie of eight monethcs, he profefledhym felfe open enemy agaynft fourc 
 the greateft powers that 1 know vppon earth ; the Turke, the Pope, 
 the Emperour, and the French kyng, and obtained his purpofe, and wan 
 prayfe agaynft them all foure : for he in perfon, and pollicie, and cou- 
 rage, difpatched the Tiirkes purpofe and power this laft yeare in Hwi' 
 gary. The Councell of T^rent, which the Pope and the Emperour went fo The Pope, 
 about to eftablilli, he onely brought to none effect : firft by open pro- 
 teftation agaynft that councell, and after by commyng with his army 
 to hijburge, he brought fuch feare to the Bifhops there gathered, that 
 they ran euery one farre away from thence, with fuch fpeed as they 
 neuer durft hetherto fpeake of meeting there agayne. And how he 
 dealt with the Emperour, both in forcyng him to flye from 7;^yZi«r§-r, The Empe- 
 and compellyng him to fuch a peace at Fajfo^ my whole Diar'mm fliall ^°^^: 
 at full inftrudl: you. 
 
 G 2 And
 
 44 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 And of all other he feruecl the French kyng beft-, who fayre pretend- 
 French y'^§ ^'^^ dcUuery of the two Prhices captiues, and the maintenaunce of 
 kyng. Rchgion and hbertie in Germany, purpofed in very decde nothyng els, 
 but the dert^ruction of the Emperour, and the houfe of Aufiria : for 
 what cared he for religion abioad, who at home not onely foUoweth 
 none hymfclfe priiiately in his lyfe, but alfo perfecuteth the trouth in 
 others openly with the Iword. But I do hyni wrong to fay he foUow- 
 eth none, who could for his purpofe be content at one time to embrace 
 all : and for to do hurt enough to the Emperor would become at once 
 by folemne league, Proteflant, Papifh, Turkifh, and deuillifli. But 
 fuch Princes that cary nothyng els but the name of bearyng vp Gods 
 word, deferue the fame prayfe and the fame end that that Prince dyd, 
 who femed fo ready to beare vp the Arke of the Lord, and yet otherwife 
 purfued Gods true Prophetes and his word. 
 
 Agayne, how much the French kyng cared for the Hbertie of Ger- 
 many he well declared inllealyng away fo vnhonorably from the Empire 
 the City of Metz. But he thinckyng to abufe Duke A/^wr/V^ for Iiis 
 ambitious purpofe, in very deede and in the end Duke Maurice vfed him 
 as he fliould : for firit he made hym pay well for the whole warres in 
 Germany, as it is faid, 200000 crownes a moneth: and after when the 
 French kyng fell to catchyng of Cities, Duke Maurice tendryng the ftate 
 of his countrey, brake of with hym, and began to parle with the good 
 kyng of Romanes at Luiz, which thyng heard when the French kyng 
 came within two myles of the Rhene, he ftraight way hyed more haltly, 
 and with more dlforder, for all his great hafte, out of Germany^ as 
 they fay that were there, then the Emperour beyng ficke without com- 
 pany, and prelTed by his enemy, dyd go from Injburge. 
 
 And fee how noble Duke Maurice dyd, which for the loue of his 
 countrey, durft fall from the French kyng before he atchieued any thyng 
 agaynfl: the Emperour. And rather then Germany fliould leefe her cities 
 fo by the French kyng, he had leuer haflard, both the lecfyng of his en- 
 terpricc, and alfo the Icauyng of his father in law ftill in prifon with 
 the Emperour. But as he had wit to take money plenty of the French 
 kyng, fo had he wit alfo to furnifh hym fclfe fo from home as he durft 
 firft fall out with the French kyng, and durft alfo after to fet vppon 
 
 the
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 45 
 
 the Emperour, till he had brought his honeft purpofe to pafTe. For 
 there is not almoft any in this Court but they will fay Duke Maurice 
 did honeftly in deliueryng his father by ftrong hand, which before left 
 no fayre meane vnproucd to do that humbly by intreaty, which after, 
 he was compelled to bryng to pafTe ftoutly by force. And I pray you 
 marke well what he dyd, and then iudge truly if any thing was done 
 that he ought not to do. 
 
 For firft he hym felfe with the Marches of Bradenhurge mofi: humbly 9^'ke Mau- 
 by priuate fute laboured for the Lajijgraues deliuery, offryng to the Em- [h^Lanf. °^ 
 perour, princely offers, and not to be refufed : as a huge fumme of grave deli- 
 money : a fayre quantitie of great ordinaunce, certaine holdes of his, ^^""y* 
 fome to be defaced, fome geuen to the Emperour: and alfo perfonall 
 pledges of great houfes, for his good haberaunce all the refidue of his 
 lyfe. 
 
 After when this fute was not regarded, they againe procured all the 
 Princes and ftates oi Germany, beyng at the Diet at Augiifta, an. 1548. 
 to be humbl-e intercefTors for hym, offryng the felfe fame conditions re- 
 hearfed before, addyng this more, to become furetics themfelues in any 
 bande to his Maieflie for his due obedience for tyme to come. 
 
 Thirdly by the Prince of Spayne Duke Maurice neuer left to entreat 
 the Emperour, yea, he was fo careful of the matter, that his Ambafla- 
 dors followed the Prince euen to his fliippyng at Gefioa : who had fpo- 
 ken often prefently before, and wrote earneftly from thence to his fa- 
 ther for the Lanfgraues deliuery, and It would not be. And wyfe men 
 may fay it was not the wyfefl deede that euer the Emperour dyd, to de- 
 ny the Prince this fute : for if the Prince had bene made the deliuerer of 
 the two Princes out ofcaptiuity, he had won thereby fuch fauour in all 
 Germany^ as without all doubt he had bene made coadiutor with the 
 K. of Romaincs his vncle, and afterward the Emperour. Which thyng 
 was luftly denyed to the Emperor by the Eleftors, though he laboured 
 in the matter i'o foie as he neuer dyd in any other before. 
 
 Fourthly this lafl yeare, a little before the open warres, Duke Maurice 
 procured once agayne, not onely all the Princes and free cflates of Ger~ 
 v^any^ but alfo the kyng of RomaineSy Ferdinand^ Maximiliaji his fonne 
 
 Kyng
 
 46 THEWORKSOF 
 
 Kyng of Boeme, the Kyng of Pole, the Kyng of Denmarke, the Kyng of 
 Sivecden, to fend alfo theyr Ambaliadours for this fuite, fo that at once 
 24 AmhafTadours came before tlie Empcrour together at Injburge. To 
 whom wiien the Emperoiir had geuen very fayre wordes in eii"e6l con- 
 teinyng a double meanyng aunfwere, and that was this : " That it dyd 
 " him good to fee fo noble an Ambaffage at once. And therefore fo 
 " many Princes fliould well vnderftand that he would make a good 
 " accompt of their fute. Neuertheles becaufe Duke Maurice was the 
 " chiefcftpartie herein, he would with fpcede fend for him, and vfe his 
 " head for the better endyng of this matter." But Duke Maurice feyng 
 that all thefe Ambaliadours went home without him, and the matter 
 was referred to his prcfent talke, who was neuer heaid in the matter 
 before, he wyfcly met with this double meanyng aunfwere of the Em- 
 perours with a double meanyng replica agayne, for he promifed the 
 Emperour to come; and at lail in dcede came fo haftly, and fo hotely, 
 as the Emperour could not abyde the heat of his breath: for when 
 Duke Maurice faw that all humble futes, all quiet meanes were fpent 
 in vayne, and had to beare hym iuft witnes therin all the Pi inces of 
 Germany : firft with clofe pollicie, after open power both wittely and 
 ftoutly, he atchieued more by force then he required by fuite : for the 
 Emperour was glad to condefcend (which furely in ai^ extreme aduer- 
 fitie was done like a wife Prince) without money, without artillery, 
 without defacyng of holdes, without receiuyng of pledges, to fend the 
 Lanl'g7-aue homt honorably accompanied with (at the Emperours char- 
 ges) the nobilitie of Brabant and Flaunders. 
 
 This lafl day I dyned with the Ambafl'adour of Vcjiice in companie 
 of many wyfe heades, where Duke Maurice was greatly prayfed of fome 
 for his wit : of others for the execution of his purpofes. " Well, fayth 
 " a lufty Italian Pried, I cannot much prayfe his wit, which might 
 " haue had the Emperour in his handes and would not." Loe fuch be 
 thefe Macbiauch heades, who thinckc no man haue fo much wit as he 
 fhould, except he do more mifchief then he neede. But 'DwVt Maurice 
 purpofyng to do no harmc to the Empcrour, but good to his father in 
 law, obtainyng the one purfued not the other. Yea I know it to be mofl 
 true when we fled from Infburge fo haflly, Duke Maurice fent a pofl: to 
 the good Kyng of Rc/tiams, and bad hym will the Emperour to make 
 
 no
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 47 
 
 no fiich fpeede, for he purpofed not to hurt his perfon, but to helpe 
 his frend, whereupon the Diet at Paffo iuimediatly folovved. 
 
 I commend rather the iudgement of 'Johii Baptift GafcalJo, the Em- John Baptift 
 perours man and the Kyng of Romanes generall in Hungary, who is -'''''^^'''°- 
 not wont to fay better, or loue any man more than he fhould, fpeci- 
 ally Germaities, and namely Proteftantes. And yet this lall: winter he 
 wrote to the Emperour that he had marked Duke Maurice well in all 
 his doynges agaynft the I'urke, and of all men that euer he had fene, he 
 had a head to forecaft the beft with pollicie and wit, and a hart to fet 
 vppon it with courage and fpeed, and alfo a difcreffion to flay moft wife- 
 ly vppon the very pricke of aduantage. 
 
 Marches Marignan told fome in this Court foure yeares ago that 
 Duke Maurice fhould become the greatefl enemy to the Emperour that 
 euer the Emperour had: whiche thing he iudged (I belieue) not of any 
 troubkfome nature which he faw in Duke Maurice, but of the great 
 wronges that were done to Duke Miurlce, knowing that he had both 
 wit to perceiue them quietly, and alio a courage not to bearc them ouer 
 long. 
 
 Some other in this Court that loued wot V>wV& Maurice, and hauyng 
 no hurt to do hym by power, went about to fay hym fome for fpight, 
 and therefore wrote thefe two fpightfuU verfes agaynft hym. 
 
 * 'Jiigurtham Mauricus prodit Mauricus vltra, 
 Henricum, Patruum, Socerum, cum Ccefare, Galium. 
 
 He that gaue me this vcrfe added thereunto this his iudgement, " Well 
 " (fayth he) he that could finde in his hart to betray his frend Duke 
 " Henry of Brunjhvicke, his nigh kinfman Duke Fredericke, his father 
 " in law the Lanfgruuc, his foueraigne Lord the Emperour, his confe- 
 " derate the French Kyng, breakyng all bondes of frcndihyp, nature, 
 " law, obedience, and othe, fhall befides all thefe deceauc all men, if 
 " at length he do not deceaue hym fclfe." Thisverfe and this fentence, 
 the one made of fpight, the other fpoken of difpleallirc, be here com- 
 
 * The former diftich was in the old edition corrupt, and ftill remains barbarous in the 
 profody : the fame defect will remain in this, though it he reformed as I believe it was written, 
 
 thus, 'Jugurtbam Aiaunis piouit, Alauricius tdlra. 
 
 mended
 
 rice 
 
 48 THEWORKSOF 
 
 Dulte Mau- mended as men be affe6lioned. For my part as I can not accufc hym 
 for all, I'o will I not excufe hym for part. And yet fmce I came to this 
 Court I lliould do hym wrong if I dyd not conlefs that which as wife 
 hcades as be in this Court haue iudged on hym, euen thofe that for 
 countrey and Religion were not his frendes, that is, to haue fliewed 
 hym felfe in all thefe affayres betwixt the Empcrour and hym : firft, 
 humble in intreatyng, diligent in purfuyng, witty in purpofing, fe- 
 cret in workyng, fearce to force by open wane, ready to parley for 
 common peace, wyfe in choyfe of conditions, and iuft in performyng 
 of couenaunts. 
 
 And I know he offended the Emperour beyond all remedy of amendes: 
 fo would I be loth to fee as I haue cnce fene, his iMaieftie fall fo agayne 
 into any enemyes handes : left peraduenture IcfTe gentlenes would be 
 found in hym then was found in Duke Maurice, who when he was moil 
 able to hurt, was moft ready to hold his hand, and that agaynft fuch 
 an enemie, as he knew well would neuer loue him, and fliould alwayes 
 be of moft power to reuenge. If Duke Maurice had had a Machiaueh 
 head or a covvardes hart, he would haue worne a bloudyer fword then 
 he dyd, which he neuer drew out in all thefe fturres, but once at the 
 Clucey and that was to faue the Emperours men. 
 
 Hitherto I haue followed the order of pei fons, whiche hath caufed 
 me fomevvhat to miforder both tyme and matter, yet where diuers great 
 affayres come together, a man Ihall wryte confufedly for the matter, 
 and vnpleafantly for the reader, if he vfe not fuch an apt kynde of 
 partition as the matter will beft affourdj, " Whiche thyng (Plato fayth) 
 " who can not do, knoweth not how to write." Herein Herodotus de- 
 ferueth in myne opinion a great deale more prayfe then Thucidides, al- 
 though he wrote of a matter more confufed for places, tyme and pcr- 
 fons, then the other dyd. 
 
 In this point alfo Appianui Akxandrinus is very commendable, and 
 not by chaunce but by fkil doth follow this order, declaryng in his 
 Prologue iuft caufes why he ftiould do fo. Our wryters in late tyme, 
 both in Liitin and other tounges, commonly confound to many matters 
 together, and fo wrytc well of no one. But fee, iMafter Aflley, I thinck- 
 yng to be in fome prefent talke with you, after our old wont, do feeme 
 to forget both my felfe and my purpofc.
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 49 
 
 For the reft that is behhid I will vfe a grofe and homely kind of talke 
 with you : for I will now, as it were, cary you out of England with 
 me, and will lead you the fame way that I went, euen to the Empe- 
 rours Court, beyng at Augu/Ia, an. 1550. And I will let you fee in 
 what cafe it ftode, and what thynges wcic in doyng when we came 
 firft thether. After, I will cary you, and that apace, hecaufe the chiefeft 
 matters be throughly touched in this my former booke, through the 
 greateft affaires of two yearcs in this Court. Yea, in order till we haue 
 brought Duke Maurice (as I promifed you) to ioyne with Marches AU 
 bert in befiegyng Aiigiijla. And then, becaufe priuy pradtifes braft out 
 into open fturres, I might better raarke thynges dayly then I could 
 before. And fo wc will depart with the Emperour from Lijburge, 
 and fee dayly what chaunces were wrought by feare and hope in this 
 Court, till hys Maieftie left the fiege of Metz, and came downe hether 
 to Bruxe/s : where then all thynges were Ihut vp into fecret pradlifes, 
 till, laft of all, they brake forth into new mifchiefcs, betwixt the Em- 
 perour and Fraunce in Picardy, and alfo betwixt Duke Maurice and the 
 Marches in hyghe Germany, which thynges, I truft, fome other fliall 
 marke and defcribe a great deale better then 1 am hable to doe. 
 
 II
 
 TOXOPHILUS, 
 
 The ScHOLE, or Partitions, of Shooting* 
 
 Contayned in II Bookes. 
 
 Written by R O G E R A S C H A M. 1544^ 
 And now newlye perufed. 
 
 Pleafaunt for all Gentlemen and Yomen of Englande. For theyr 
 paftime to reade, and profitable for theyr ufe to folowe both in warre 
 and peace. 
 
 Anno 1 571.' 
 
 Imprinted at LO N D O N, in Fletestreate, neareto Saint Dun- 
 stones Churche, by THOMAS M A R S H E. 
 
 H 2
 
 ( 53 ) 
 
 In Partltlones Saglttarias Rogeri Aschami, GuAl- 
 TERUS Haddonus Cantabrigienjis * Regius. 
 
 MITT ERE qui celeres fumma velit arte Sagittas, 
 Ars erit ex iflo fumma profe6la libro. 
 Quicquid habent arcus ligidi, nervique rotundi, 
 
 Sumere fi libet, hoc fumere fonte licet. 
 AscHAMus eit author, magnum quem fecit Apollo," 
 
 Arte fua, magnum Pallas & arte fua. 
 Docla manus dedit hunc, dedit hunc mens dofla libellum 
 
 Quae videt ars, ufus vifa parata facit. 
 Optimus haec author quia tradidit optima fcripta. 
 
 Convenit haec nobis optima velle fequi; 
 
 * of King's College. Haddon was famous for his Latin flile, of which he has here given 
 no (liining fpecimen; but the firft rude efTays of authours compared with the WOrksof their ma* 
 turer years, are ufeful to ftiew how much is in the power of diligence.
 
 \ 
 
 tr.-
 
 ( 55 ) 
 
 To all the Gentlemen and Yomcn of Englande. 
 
 IAS the wyfe man came to Crefus the riche Kinge, on a time, 
 when he was makinge newe fhippes, purpofinge to have fubdued 
 by water the out ifles lying betwixte Grecc and^/Ia Minor. " What newes 
 " nowe in Gncc?" fayth the Kinge to 5/^j-. " None other newes but thefe," 
 fayth Bias : " that the ifles of Grece have prepared a wonderful com- 
 " pany of horfemen to over-run Lydia withal." " There is nothing under 
 •' heaven, fayth the Kinge, that I would {o fcone wifli, as that they durfl 
 " be fo boldc, to meete us on the land with horfe." " And thinke you," 
 fayth Bias, " that there is any thinge which they would fooner vviflie, 
 " then that you fliould be fo fonde, to meete them on the water with 
 " fhippes r" And fo Crefus, hearing not the true newes, but perceyving 
 the wyfe mannes minde and counfell, both gave then over makinge 
 of his fliippes, and left alfo behinde him a wonderful example for al 
 common vvealthes to followe: that is, evermore to regarde and fet moil 
 by that thinge whcrunto nature hath made them mofl apt, and ufe 
 hath made them mofc fitte. 
 
 By this matter I meane the fliooting in the longe bow, for EngliJIje- 
 men: which thinge, with al my hart I do wiflie, and if I were of * au- 
 thority, I v.ould counfell a!l the gentlemen and yomen of Englande, not 
 to chaunge it with any other thinge, hovv'c good foevcr it feeme to be, 
 but that nil, according to the okle wont oi Englande, youth fliould ufe 
 it for the mofl: honcll: paflime in peace, that men might handle 
 it as a mofl fure weapon in warrc. Other -f- ftronge weapons, v^'hich 
 both experience doth prove to be good, and the wife-dome of the Kinges 
 Majefly and his counfel provides to be had, are not ordayned to take 
 
 * Authori!)' is here nfcd not for Power, but for derlit or Infiuenre. 
 
 t Fire-arms began about this time to be made, for the hand ordnance or great guns fcctn 
 to have been near a century employed in war before hand-guns were much uleJ. 
 
 4 awaye
 
 56 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 awaye fhooting : but that both, not cornpaied together, vvlictlier fliould 
 be better than the other, but fo joyned togetlier, that the one fhould 
 be alwayes an aydc and helpc for the other, might fo (hcngthen tlic 
 reahne on all fuics, that no kinde of enemyc, in any kinde of weapon, 
 might pafle and go beyonde us. 
 
 For this purpofe I, partlye provoked by thecounfell of fomc gentlemen, 
 partlye moved by the love which I have alwayes borne toward flioot- 
 inge, have wiittcn this litle treatifc ; v/heicin, if I have not fatisfycd 
 ariy man, I truft lie uill the rather be content with my doinge, becaufe 
 I am (I fuppofe) the firll, which hath laid any thinge in this mattei', 
 (and fewe beginninges b-; perfe6l, fayth \\7fe men :) and alfo becaufe, 
 if I have faide amille, I am content that any man amende it, or, if I 
 have laid to litle, any man that will to adde what him pleafeth to it. 
 
 V My minde is, in profiting and pleafing every man, to hurt or dif- 
 pleafe no man, intending none other purpofe, but that youth might be 
 \, rtirred to labour, honell paftime, and veilue, and as much as laye in 
 me, plucked from ydlenes, unthrifty games, and vice : which thinge 
 I have laboured onlye in this booke, Ihewinge howc fit fhootinge is 
 for all kindes of men ; howe honeft a paflime for the mindej howe 
 liolfomc an exercife for the bodye ; not vile for great men to ufe, 
 not coltly for poore men to fuftayne, not lurking in holes and corners 
 lor ill men at their pleafure to mifufe it, but abydinge in the open fighte 
 and face of the vvorkle, for good men if it fault by tlieyr wyfedome 
 to correct it. 
 
 And here I would defire al gentlemen and yomcn to ufe this paftinie 
 in fuch a meane, that the outragioufnefs of great gaminge fliould not 
 hurt the honeftyeof iliootingc, which, of his owne nature, is alwayes 
 joyned with honeftyc : yet for menncs faultes oftentimes blamed un- 
 worthelye, as all good thinges have bene, and evermore llial be. 
 
 If any man would blame me, cyther for takinge fuch a matter in 
 hande, or els for wrytinge it in the EiigUjle tongue, this aunfwerelmay 
 make him, that when the beft of the realme thincke it honefl: for them 
 to ule, I, one of the meaneft forte, ought not to fuppofe it vile for 
 me to wryte : and thoughe to have written it in another tongue, had 
 
 bene.
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 bene both more profitable for my ftudy, and alfo more * honeft for my 
 name, yet I can thinke my laboure well beflov/ed, if with a little hin- 
 drance of my profite and name, may come any furtherance to the 
 pleafure or commodity of the gentlemen and yomen of Englande, 
 for whofe fake I toke this matter in hand. And as for the La- 
 tine or Greeke tongue, everye thinge is fo excellentlye done in them, 
 that none can do better: In the EngUJJ.^e tongue, contrary, everye tliinge 
 in a maner fo meanlye both for the matter and handelingc, that no 
 man can do worfe. For therein the leaft learned, for the mofl: part, 
 have bene alwayes mofl readye to write. And they which had leafl: 
 hope in Latine, have bene mofl bould in EngltJJx : when furelye everye 
 man that is mofl readye to talkc, is not mofl able to write. He that 
 will write well in any tongue, muft follow this counfel of Arijhtle, to 
 fpeake as the comon people do, to thinke as wyfe men do: as fo flioulde 
 everye man underftand him, and the judgement of wyfe men alowe 
 him. Manye Englipe waiters have not done fo, but ufmge flraunge 
 vvordes, as Latine, Frenche^ and Italian, do make all thinges darke and 
 harde. Ones I communed w^ith a man which reafoned the EngUPje 
 tongue to be enriched and encreafed thereby, fayinge: " Who will not 
 " prayfe thatfeall where a man fliall drincke at a dinner both wyne, ale 
 " and beere ?" " Truly (quoth I) they be al good, everyone taken by him- 
 " felfc alone, but if you put mulvefye and facke, redde wyne and white, 
 " ale and beere, and al in one pot, you fliall make a drincke not eafye 
 " to be knowen, nor yec holfome for the bodye." Cicero, in folowing 
 Ifocrates, Plato and Demojlhenes, encreafed the Latine tongue after ano- 
 ther fort. This way, becaufe divers men that wryte, do not know, 
 they can neyther folow it, becaufe of theyr ignoraunce, nor yet will 
 prayfe it for over arrogancye, two faultes, feldome the one out of the 
 others companye. EngUjlie writers, by diverfity of time, have taken 
 dyvers matters in hand, In our fathers time no thinge was read but 
 bookes of fayned chevahie, whcrin a man by rcadinge flioulde be led 
 to none other ende, but onely to manflaughter and baudrye. If anye 
 man fuppofe they were good enougli to palTe the time with all, he is 
 deceived. For fu rely vaine wordes do worke no fmall thinge in vaine, 
 ignorant, and young mindes, efpecially if they be geven any thinge 
 - thereunto of their owne nature. Thefc bookes (as 1 have heard lay) 
 were made the mofl part in abbayes, and monafleries, a very likely and 
 fit fruitc of fuch an ydle and blind kind of lyving. In our tyme now, 
 
 ■> Honji is here ufed for honourahU, 
 
 I when 
 
 S7
 
 58 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 when every man is geven to know, much rather than to Uve wel, very 
 many do write, but after fuch a fafliion as very many do flioote. Some 
 fhooters take in hande ftronger bowes, than they be able to * maintaine. 
 This thinge maketh them fome time to over Ihoote the marke, fome time 
 to fhoote far wyde, and pcrcliaunce hurt fome that looke on. Other 
 that never learned to flioote, nor yet knoweth good fliaft nor bow, wil 
 be as bufy as the bell:, but fuche one commonlyc-f-plucketh down a fide, 
 and crafty archers which be againfl him, will be both glad of him, 
 and alfo ever redye to lay and bet with him : It were better for fuch one 
 to fit down than fhote. Other there be, which have very good bow 
 and fliafts, and good knowledge in fhootinge, but they have been 
 brought up in fuch evill favoured ihootinge, that they can neither flioote 
 J fayre nor yet nere. If any man will applyc thefe thinges together, 
 fhal not fe the one far differ from the other. And I alfo, amonges all 
 other, in wryting this litle treatife, have folowed fome yong (hooters, 
 which both wil begin to fliote, for a litle money, and alfo wil ufe to 
 flioote ones or twife about the marke for nought, afore they begin a 
 good. And therefore dyd I take this litle matter in hand, to aOay my- 
 felfe, and hereafter, by the grace of God, if iudgement of wyfe men, 
 that loke on, thinke that I can do anye good, I may perchance caft my 
 fliaft among other, for better game. Yet in writing this booke, fome 
 man wil marveile perchance, v/hy that I beyng an unperfect fliooter, fhould 
 take in hand to write of makyng a perfe6t archer : the fame man, per- 
 ■ adventure, wil marveile howe a whetftone, whiche is blunt, can make 
 the edge of a knife fharpe : I would the fame man fliould confider alfo, 
 that in going about any matter, there be four things to be confidered, 
 doing, faying, thincking, and perfednefs : Firft, there is no man that 
 doth fo well, but he can fay better, |[ or els fome men, whiche be now 
 fl:arke nought, fliould be too good : Again, no man can utter with his 
 tongue, fo wel as he is able to imagine with his minde, and yet per- 
 fe6lnes itfelfe is far above al thinkingc. Then, feyng that faying is one 
 ftep nerer perfedncs than doing, let eveiy man leave marveyling why 
 my worde flial rather cxprefle, than my dede fliall perfourme, perfect 
 fliootinge. 
 
 * To maintain is to manage. 
 
 ■f To f u.k down af:de, I believe, is to flioot on one fide into the grounJ. 
 
 % Neither (hoot gracefully nor exa(5lljr. 
 
 II This pafllige is fomewhat confufed. The meaning is, that if from what men fay we 
 could infer what they do, we might thinic many to be good, whom wc hear taiicing wel), 
 whom yet we Icnow to be bjd, becaufe they live ill. 
 
 I I
 
 ROGER A S C H A M. 
 
 I truft no man will be offended with this litle bookc, excepte it be 
 fome fletchers andbowycrs, thinkinge hereby that many that love fhoot- 
 inge fliall be taught to refufe fuch noughtye wares as they woulde utter. 
 Honcft * fletchers and bowyers do not lb, and they that be unhoneft, 
 ought rather to amende themfelves for doing ill, than be angrye with 
 me for faying well. A fletcher hath even as good a quarell to be an- 
 grye with an archer that refufeth an ill fliaft, as a blade-fmith hath to 
 a fletcher that forfaketh to bye of him a noughtye knyfe ; for as an ar- 
 cher muft be content that a fl.etcher knowe a good fliafte in every pointe 
 for the perfe6ler makyng of it j fo an honefl: fletcher will alfo be con- 
 tent that a fhooter know a good fliafte in everye pointe, for the per- 
 fe£ler ufinge of it ; becaufe the one knoweth like a fletcher howe to 
 make it, the other knoweth like an archer how to ufe it. And feinse 
 the knowledge is one in them both, yet the ende divers ; furely that flet- 
 cher is an enemy to archers and artillery, which cannot be content that 
 an archer knowe a fhaftc, as well for his ufe in fhootinge, as he him- 
 felfe fhoukl knowe a fliafte, for his advantage in fellinge. And the 
 rather, becaufe fhaftes be not made fo much to be fold, but chieflye 
 to be ufcd. And feinge that ufe and ocupyingc is the ende why a fliafte 
 is made, the makyng, as it were, a meane for ocupyinge, furelye the 
 knowledge in eveiy point of a good fliafte, is more to be required in a 
 fliooter than a fletcher. 
 
 Yet, as I fayde before, no honefl: fletcher will be angrye with me, 
 feing I do not teache howe to make a fliafte, which belongcth onlye 
 to a good fletcher, but to knowe and handle a fliafte, which belongeth 
 to an archer. And this litle booke, I truft, fliall pleafe and profit both 
 parties : for good bowes and fliaftes fliall be better knowen to the com- 
 modity of all fliooters, and good fliootinge may, perchauncc, be more 
 occupyed to the profit of all bowyers and fletchers. And tlius I praye 
 God that all fletchers, getting their lyving truly, and all archers, ufinge 
 fliootinge honeftlye, and all manner of men that favour artillei ye, maye 
 live continuallye in healthc and mcrineffe, obeying theyr Prince as they 
 flioulde, and loving God as they oughte : to whome, for all thinges, 
 be all honour and glorye for ever. Ame?i. 
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 * Fletcher is an arrow-maker. This vindication of the book againftthc fletchers is trifling 
 and fuperfluous. 
 
 I 2 T O X O- 
 
 59
 
 >!i' 
 
 t 
 
 TOXOPHILUS. 
 
 The First Booke of the SCHOLE of SHOOTINGE. 
 
 PHILOLOGUS. TOXOPHILUS. 
 
 Philolo- "TTOU ftudye to fore, I'oxophilus. Tox. I will not 
 
 Gus. X hurt myfelfe over much, I warrant you. Phi. Take 
 heede you do not, for we phyfitions faye, that it is neyther good for 
 the eyes in fo cleare a funne, nor yet holefome for the body, fo foone 
 after meate, to looke upon a mans booke. Tox. In eatinge and 
 
 ftudyinge I will never folowe any phyficke, for if I did, I am fure I 
 jfhould have fmall pleafure in the one^ and lefTe courage in the other. 
 But what news drave you hither, I pray you ? Phi. Small news, 
 
 trulye, but that as I came on walkinge, I fortuned to come with three 
 or four that went to flioote at the prickes : and when I fawe not you 
 amonges them, but at the laft efpyed you lookinge on your booke here 
 fo * fadlye, I thought to come and hold you with fome communication, 
 left your booke flioulde run away with you. For methought by your 
 waveringe pace, and earneft lookinge, your booke ledde you, not you 
 it. Tox. Indeede, as it chaunced, my minde went fafter then 
 
 my fcete, for I happened here to reade in Phedro Platonis, a place that 
 entreates wonderfuUye of the nature of foules, which place, wlicthir it 
 were for the paffinge eloquence of Plato, and the Greeke tongue; or for 
 the highe and godlye defcription of the matter, kepte my mindc fo oc- 
 cupyed, that it had no leifure to looke to my feeie. For I ^vas rcad- 
 ynge how fome foules, beinge well feathered, flew alwayes about iica- 
 ven and heavenly matters, other fome havinge their featheis mouted 
 
 * So ferioujlj, 
 
 aw--
 
 62 THEWORKSOF 
 
 awfty aiitl ilr<HijMi>gejTanGk« dow-tt€-4uto eaitlilye tillages. Pui» I 
 
 remember the place very well, and it is wondcrfuUye fayd oi Plato, 
 and now I lee it was no marveile thoughe your feete fayled you, feingc 
 your mhide flcvve fo fallc. Tux. I am glad now that you let- 
 
 \f^ me, Jt)r my ji.eade _^akes fr^h lookiiTge ,o.ji it, arid bc(feiire yoi^ 'tell 
 me fo, I am very forye that I was not v.iih thofe good fellowes you 
 fpake upon, for it is a very fayre day for a man to ftioote in. 
 Phi. And, methincke, you were a gi^-^t deale better occupycd, and in bet- 
 ter company, for it is a very fayre day for a man to go to his booke 
 in. Tox. All dayes and wethers will ferve for that purpofe, 
 
 and furely this occafion was ill loft. Phi. Yea, but cleare we- 
 
 ther maketh cleare mindcs, and it is beft, as I fuppofc, to fpendc the 
 beft time upon the bell: thinges: and me thouglit you fliottc verve well, 
 and at that marke, at whichc cverye good Icholer fhoukle moft bufilye 
 Ihote at. And I fuppofc it be a great deale more pleafure alfo to fee 
 a Ibule flye in Plato, than a fliaftc fiye at the prickes. I giaunte you, 
 Ihootinge is not the worfte thinge in the world, yet if we fliote, and 
 time lliotc, we are not like to be great winners at the lengthe. And 
 you know alfo we fcholers have more eameft and wcightye matters in 
 hande, nor v.-e be not borne to pailimc and pli^ye, as you knovve well 
 enoughe who fayeth. Tox. Yet the fame man, in the fame 
 
 bff."^'"" '" place, Philologe, by your leave, doth admitte holefome, lioneft, and 
 manerlye palliraes, to be as ncceflVye to be mingletl with fadde mat- 
 ters of the miaide, as eatinge and fleapingc is for the heoltije of the bo- 
 dye, anti yet we be borne for neyther of both. And yli-ijlotk himfclfe 
 
 r^bus To'.'a. ''^y'^^^> that althoughc it were a fonde and a chlldilhe thinge to be to 
 earneft in pallime and playe, yet doth he affirme, by the authority of 
 the olde poet EpiclMirmus, that a pian may ufe play for eaiiicfi: matters 
 
 . .- p fake. And in another place, that, as reft is for laboure, and mede- 
 
 S. 3. cines for heahhe, fo is paftime, at times, for fadde and weightye ftu- 
 
 dye. Phi. How muche in this matter is to be gevcn to the au- 
 
 thoritye cyther of Arijlotleov Tullye I can not tell, feinge fadde men may 
 well enoughe fpeake merilye for a merye matter: this I am fure, whiche 
 thinge this fayre wheate (God fave it) maketh mee remember, that thofe 
 hulhandmcn whiche ryfe earlycft, and come lateft home, andarecon- 
 tentc to have theyr dinner and other drinkynges broughte into the 
 fielde to them, for fcare of loofmge of tyme, have fatter barnes in 
 the harveft, than they which will either fleape at noone tyme of the 
 
 day 
 
 M. Cic. in 
 
 Arift.de mo- 
 
 I
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 63 
 
 day, or els make merye with theyr neighbours at the ale. And Co a 
 fcholar that purpofeth to be a good hufbande, and dtfyreth to reape 
 and enioye much fiuite of learninge, muH: till and fowe * thereafter. 
 Our befl- feede tyme, whiche be fcholers, as it is very tymely, and when 
 we be yonge : fo it endureth not over long, and therefore it may not 
 be let flippc one houre : our grounde is very harde, and full of weedes, 
 our horfe wherewith we be drawen very wilde, as Plato fayth. And In Phxdro* 
 intinire other nio lettes, which will make a thriftye fcholer take heede 
 howe he fpendfith his time in fport and playe. Tox. ThditAri/htk 
 
 and Tullye fpake earneftlye, and as they thoughte, the earnefte matter 
 whiche they entreate upon, doth plainlye prove. And, as for your huf- 
 bandrye, it was more -j- probablye tolde with apte wordes proper to the 
 thinge, than thoroughlye proved with reafons belonginge to our matter. 
 For, contrarywyfe, I heard myfelfe a good hufbande at his booke once 
 faye, that to omitte fludye fome tyme of the daye, and fome tyme of 
 the yeare, made as much for the encreafe of learnynge, as to let the 
 lande lye fome tyme falloe, maketh for the better increafe of corne. 
 This we fee, if the lande be plowed every yeare, the corne cometh 
 thinne up: the ear is fliort, the grain is fmall, and, when it is brought 
 into the barne and thrcflied, geveth very evill ^ faule. So thofe which 
 never leave poringe on theyr bookes, have oftentimes as thinne inven- 
 tion, as other poore men have, and as fmall witte and weight in it 
 as in other mens. And thus your hufbandrye, me thincke, is more like 
 the life of a covetous fnudgc that ofte very evill proves, then the labour 
 of a good hulbande that knoweth well what he doth. And furelye 
 the beft wittes to learninge muft needes have much recreation and ceaf- 
 ynge from theyr booke, or els they mane themfclvcs; when bafe and 
 dompifhe wittes can never be hurte with continual fludye, as ye fee in 
 lutinge, that a treble minikin ftringe mult alwayes be let downe, but 
 at fuch tymo as when a man mufl needes play, when the bafe and dull 
 ftringe needeth never to be moved out of his place. The fame reafon 
 I finde true in two bowes that I have, whereof the one is quicke of 
 carte, jj tricke, and trimme both for pleafure and profile : the other is a 
 lugge ilowe of cade, followingc the flringe, more fare for to lall:, then 
 pleafant for to ufe. Now, Sir, it chaunced this other night, one in my 
 chamber would needes btndc them to piuve their ftrengthe, but (I can- 
 
 * In order to it. -j- Probably is fiecicujly. 
 
 X FuiJe or Fail, is Produce. \\ Trickt ot'ir'unjy., is neat, nice, t!cgaiu. 
 
 not
 
 64 
 
 Ovid, 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 not tell hovve) they were both lefte bente till the next day after dinner : 
 and when I came to them, piirpolinge to have gone on fliootinge, I 
 founde my good bowe clcne * caft on the onefyde, and as weakc as wa- 
 ter, that iuixlye, if I were a riche man, I had rather have fpent a crowne: 
 and as for my lugge, it was not one whit the worfe, but fliotte by and 
 by as well and as farre as ever it did. And even fo, I am fure that 
 good wittes, excepte they be let downe lyke a treble ftringe, and un- 
 bente lyke a good cafling bowe, they will never laft and be able to con- 
 tinue in iludyc. And I know where I fpake this, Phil-Joge, for I would 
 not fay thus much afore younge men, for they will take foone occalion 
 to ftudye litlc ynoughe. But I faye it therefoie, becaufe I knowe, 
 as litle ftudye getteth litlc learnyng, or none at all, fo the mofl: fludye 
 getteth not the mort learninge of all. For a mans witte fore occupyed 
 in earned flLidye mutl: be as well recreated with fome honefl: pallime, 
 as the bodye fore laboured mufte berefrefhed with fleape and quictncffe, 
 or elfe it cannot endure verye longe, as the noble poete fayth : 
 
 •f- JFhat thingc ivants quiet and mcry reft, endures but afmall ivhile. 
 
 And I promife you fhootinge, by my iinlgement, is the moft honcfle 
 pal^ime of all, and fuche one, I am fure, of all other, that hindcrcth 
 learninge litle or nothinge at all, whatfoever you and fome other faye, 
 which arc a great dealc forer againft it ahvayes than you neede to 
 be. Phi. Hindcreth learninge litle or nothinge at all! that were 
 
 a marveile to me trulye, and I am fure, feinge you i'ay io, you have 
 fome reafon wherwith you can defende fhootinge with all, aiid as for 
 will, (for the love that you beare towarde fhootinge) I thincke there Ihall 
 lacke none in you. Therefore, feinge we have fo good Icyfure both, 
 and no bodye by to trouble us : and you fo willinge and able to defende 
 it, and I (o readye and glade to heare what may be laid of it, I fuppofe 
 we cannot paif-; the time better over, neyther you for the % honellye uf 
 your fliootinge, nor I for mine own nnnde fake, than to fee what can 
 be fayed v^ith it, or againll it, and fpecialye in thcfe days, when fo ma- 
 ny doth ufe it, and every man, in a maner, doth commune of it. 
 Tox. To fpeake of fliootinge, P/ji'/o/oge, trulye 1 would I vsere fo able, 
 eyther as I myfelfeam willinge, or yet as the matter defervcth ; but Hinge 
 with wilhinge we cannot have one nowe worthy, whitii fo v/orthye 
 a thinge can worthelye prayfe, and although 1 had rather have any 
 
 • C'jji is vjarped. The word is flill ufed by artificers. 
 
 t If this line was fo tranflatcd when this treatifc was iirft written in 1544, it is the olc'e.l 
 Englifh hexameter that 1 remember. 
 X Honejly is Honour. 
 
 Other
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 65 
 
 other to do It than myfdfe, yet myfelfe rather then no other, I will not 
 fayle to fay in it what I can. Wherein if I fay litle, laye that of my 
 litle habilitye, not of the matter itfelfe, which deferveth no litle thinge 
 to be fayde of it. Phi. If it deferve no litle thinge to be fayde of 
 
 it, T'oxcpbile, I marveile how it chaunceth than, that no man hither- 
 to hath written anye thinge of it: wherein you mulle graunt me, that 
 eyther the matter is nought, unwortliye, and barren to be written up- 
 on, or els fome men are to blame, which both love it and ufe it, and 
 yet coulde never finde in theyr harte, to faye one good woorde of it, 
 ftinge that verye triflinge matters hath not lacked great learned men to 
 fet them oute, as* gnattes and nuttes, and many other more like thinges, 
 wherefore eyther you may honefllye laye very great faulte upon men, 
 becaufe they never yet prayfed it, or els I may iuftlye take away no litle 
 thinge from Ihootinge, becaufe it never yet deferved it. Tox. True- 
 
 lye, herein, Philologe, you take not fo much from it, as you geve 
 to it. For great and commodious thynges are never greatlye prayfed, 
 not becaufe they be not worthye, but becaufe theyr excellency^ needeth 
 no man his prayfe, havinge all theyr commendation of themfelfe, not 
 borrowed of other men his lippes, which rather prayfe themfelfe, in 
 fpeakinge muche of a litle thinge, then that matter which they entreat 
 upon. Great and good thinges be not prayfed : " For who ever prayfed 
 " Hercules'?" (fayth the Gnvy^f proverbc.) And that no man hitherto 
 hath written anye booke of fliootinge, the faulte is not to be layed in 
 the thinge which was worthye to be written upon, but of men which 
 were neg'.igente in doinge it, and this was the caufe thereof as I fuppofe. 
 Mennc that ufed fliootinge moft and kncvvfe it beft, were not learned : 
 men that were learned, ufed litle Ihootinge, and were ignoraunt in the 
 nature of the thinge, and fo fewe men have bene that hitherto were 
 able to write upon it. Yet how long fliootinge hath continued, what 
 common vvealthes hath moft ufed it, how honeft a thinge it is for all 
 men, what kinde of lyvinge foever they folowe, whatpleafure and pro- 
 hte conimeth of it, "both in peace and warre, all maner of tongues and 
 writers, Hebrewt, Greeke, and Latiuc, hath fo plentifullye fpoken of 
 it, as of few other thinges like. So what fliootinge is, howc many 
 kindes there is of it, what goodnefle is ioyned with it, is tolde : cnilye 
 how it is to be learned and broughte to a pcrfeftnefle amonges men, is 
 not tolde. Phi. Then, I'oxopbile, if it be fo as you do faye, let 
 
 us go forwarde, and examine howe plentifullye this is done that you 
 
 * The Gnat of Fbgily and the Nut of Ov'd. 
 
 K fpeake ;
 
 66 THEWORKSOF 
 
 fpeake ; and, firft, of the invention of it, then what honeflye and profite 
 is in the ufe of it, both for wane and peace, more than in other paf- 
 timcs ; \ai\ of all howe it oughte to be learned amonges men, for the 
 encreafe of it. Which thinge if you do, not onlye I nowe, for your com- 
 munication, but many other mo, when they fliall knowc of it, for 
 your labour, and ihootinge itfelfe alfo (if it could fpeake) for your kind- 
 nefic, will con you very muche thancke. Tox, What goode thinges 
 
 men fpeake of fliootinge, and what good thinges fliootinge bringes to 
 men, as my witte and knowledge will ferve me, gladly fliall I faye my 
 minde. But howe the thinge is to be learned, I will furelye leave to 
 fome other, which, both for greater experience in it, and alfo for their 
 learnynge, can fct it out better than I. Phi. Well, as for that, 
 
 I knowe both what you can do in fliootinge, by experience, and that 
 you can alfo fpeake well ynough of fliootinge, for your learnynge : 
 but go on with the firfl: part. And I do not doubt, but what my defire, 
 what your love towardes it, the honeftye of Ihootinge, the profit that 
 may come thereby to many others, fliall get the fccond pait out of you 
 at the lall. Tox. Of the firfl finders out of fliootinge, divers 
 
 C. C'nuJi- men diverflye do wryte. Claiidiane the poete fayth, that nature geve 
 anusinHif- example of fliootinge firfl:, by the * Porpejttirie, which flioote his prickes, 
 ^"' and will hitte anye thinge that fightes with it: wherebye men learned 
 
 afterwarde did imitate the fame, in findinge out both bowe and fliaftes» 
 Plin. 7. 56. Plinie referreth it to Schythes the fonne of Jupiter. Better, and more 
 in Svmpo. noble wryters, brynge lliooting from a more noble invcntour : as 
 in hymn. Plato, CaUmachus, and Galen, from Apollo. Yet longe afore thofe days 
 ^■i? ||^i]|'^ '^ , we do read in the Bible of fliootinge cxprefllyej and alfo, if we fliall 
 Ni.de Lyra; believe Nicholas de Lyra, Lamech killed Cain with a fliafte. So this 
 great continuance of fliootinge dothe not a litlc prayfe fliootynge : nor 
 that neyther dothe not a litle fet it out, that it is referred to the inven- 
 tion of Apollo, for the whicli pointe fhootinge is highlye prayfcd of Ga- 
 cxhor. aJ ^^" • wlicrc he fayth, that meane crafces be firft founde out by men or 
 bonas aries. beafles, as weavinge by a fpider, and fuch other : but high and com- 
 mendable fciences by Goddes, as fliootinge and muficke by Apollo. And 
 thus fliootinge, for the neccllitye of it, uicd in Adams days, for the noble- 
 nefic of it referred to Apollo, hath not bene onlye commended in all 
 tongues and wryters, but alfo had in great [)rice, both in the befl com- 
 mon wcalthes, in warre time, for the defence of their countrye, and of 
 all degrees of men in peace time, both for the honellye that is ioyned 
 
 * Porcupine. 
 
 with
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 67 
 
 with it, and the profite that followeth of it. Phi. Well, as con- 
 
 cerninge the findinge out of it, litle prayfe is gotten to fliootingc there- 
 bye, feynge good wittes maye moft eafilye of all findc out a triflinge 
 matter. But whereas you faye, that moft common wealthes have 
 ufed it in vvarre tyme, and all degrees of men may verye honeftlye ufe 
 it in peace tyme: I thincke you can neythcr floew by authoritye, nor 
 yet prove by reafon. Tox. The uie of it in v\^arre tyme, I will de- 
 
 clare hereafter. And firft, howe all kindes and fortes of men (what 
 degree foever they be) hath at all tymes afore, and nowe may honeftlye 
 ufe it, the example of moft noble men very well doth proved. 
 
 Cyaxares, the Kinge of the Medees, and great grand father to Cyrus, Herod, in 
 kept a fort of Sythians with him onlye for this purpofe, to teache his ^''°- 
 iom-\^. yljlycjges to ihooiQ. Cyrus, beinge a childe, was broughteuppe inxen.inlnau 
 ftiootingej which thinge Zenophon would never have made mention on, "^y"-*' 
 excepte it had bene fitte for all Princes to have ufed : feinge that Zeno- 
 phon wrote Cyrus lyfe, (as Tullye fayth) not to fliew what Cyrus did, Ad Quint, 
 but what all maner of Princes, both in paftymes and earneft matters, ^"' '" *' 
 ought to do. 
 
 Darius, the firft of that name, and kinge of Perja, fliewed plain- 
 lye howe fitte it is for a Kinge to love and ufe fliootinge, which com- 
 maunded this fentence to be graven in his tombe, for a princelye me- 
 morye and prayle. 
 
 Darius the Kinge lyeth buried here, Strabo. 15. 
 
 That in /Jjootinge aiid rydinge had never pere, 
 
 Agayne, Domitian the Emperour was fo cunninge in fiiootinge, that Suet. 
 he coulde fliote betwixt a mans fingers ftanding afarre off, and never 
 hurte him. Commodus alfo was fo excellente, and had fo fure a hand 
 in it, that there was nothinge within his reach and fliotc, but he would^"°'^'"' ^' 
 hit in what place he would ; as beafts runninge, eyther in the head, or 
 in the harte, and never milie ; as Hcrodiane fayeth he fawe himfelfe, 
 or els he could never have believed it. Phi. Indeede you prayfe 
 
 fhootinge very well, in that you {hew that Domitian and Commodus love 
 fiiootinge, fuch an ungratious couple, I am fure, as a man fliall not 
 finde agayne, if he raked all hell for them. Tox. Well, even as I 
 
 K 2 will
 
 68 THEWORKSOF 
 
 will not commend tbeyr ilnefTe, fo ougjite not you to difprayfe theyr 
 goodncile; and indcedc, the iudgmente of //trcd'/V?;; up\^on Com mocius is 
 true of them bothe, and that was this : that befyde ftrcngthe of bodye 
 and good fliootinge, they had noprincelye thinge in them ; whiche fay- 
 inge, methincke, commendes fhootingc vvondcrfuUye, caUing it a prince- 
 lye thinge. Forthermore, howe commendable fliootinge is for Princes : 
 Themift. in I'tetniflins, the noble philofopher, fliewethe in a certaine oration made 
 to I'keodcfms the Emperour, wherein he dothe commcnde him for three 
 thinges, that he ufed of a childe : For fliootinge, for ryding of an horfe 
 well, and for feates of armcs. 
 
 Moreover, not oncly Kinges and Emperours have been broughte up 
 in fliootinge, but alfo the bell common wealthes that ever were, have 
 made goodlye acts and lawes for it, as the Perfians, whiche under Cyrui 
 
 Herod, in conquered, in a maner, all the world, had a lawe that their children 
 flioulde learne three thinges onlye from five yeares oalde unto twenty, 
 to rydcan horfe well, to flioote well, to fpeake truthe alwayes and never 
 
 Lcode flra-|yg_ ThtRomayncs (asLrothe Emperour in his book of fleightes of warrs 
 " " telkth) had a lawe that everye man flioulde ufe fliootinge in. peace tyme, 
 while he was forty yeare oulde, and that everye houfe flioulde have a 
 bov.'e, and forty fliaftes, ready for all needes ; the omittinge of which lawe 
 (fayth Leo) amonge the youthe, hathe bene the onlye occafion why ths 
 Romaynes loft a great dealc of theyr empyre. But more of this 1 will 
 fpeake when I come to the profite of fliootinge in warre. If I fhoulds 
 rehearfe the ftatutcs made of noble Princes of Englande in parliamentes, 
 for the fettinge forwarde of fliootinge, throughe this realme, and fpeci- 
 ally that acle made for fliootinge the thirde yeare of the raigne of our 
 iTiofl: dreade Soveraignc Loid Kinge Hcnrye the VIII. I coulde be verye 
 longe. But thefe fewe examples, fpeciallye of fo greate men and noble 
 common wealthes, fliall llande in fl:ecde of nianye. Phi. That 
 
 fuche Princes, and fuche common wealthes have muche regarded flioot- 
 inge, you have well declared. B.ut whye fliootinge oughte fo of itfelfe 
 to be regarded, you have fcarcelye yet proved. 
 
 Tox. Examples, I graunt, out of hifl-oryes do fliewe a thinge to be 
 fo, not prove a thinge why it flioukl be io. Yet this I fuppofe, that 
 neyther great mens qualltyes, beinge commendable, be withoute great 
 aucloritye, for other men honcftlyc to followe tliemj nor yet thofe 
 
 great
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 69 
 
 great learned men that wrote fuch thinges, lacke good reafon luftlye 
 at all tymes for anye other to approve them. Princes, beinge children, - 
 oughte to be brought uppe in (hootinge, bothe becaufe it is an exercife 
 moll holiorne, and alio a paftime molte honcft: wherein laboure pre- 
 pareth the bodye to hardnelie, the minde to couragioufnefle, fuiFeringe 
 neyther the one to be marde with tendernefie, nor yet the other to be 
 hurte with ydlenelle, as we reade howe Sardanapalus and llich other 
 were, becaufe they were not brought up with outwarde honefl painfull 
 paftimes to be men, but cockerde up with inwarde noughtye ydle wan- 
 tonnelle to be women. For howe fitte laboure is for all youthe, Jupi- 
 ter or els Minos amonges them of Greece, and Lycurgus amonge the 
 Laccdemojiians, do fliewe by theyr lawes, whiche never ordeyned anye Cic. 2. Tuf. 
 thinge for the bringinge up of youth, that was not ioyned with labour; ^' 
 and that labour whiche is in fliootinge of all other is beft, both becaufe 
 it encreafeth llrengthe, and preferveth healtlie moft, beinge not vehe- 
 ment, but moderate, not overlayinge anye one paite with wearinefle, 
 but foftlye cxercilinge everye parte with equalnelie, as the arms and 
 brealles with drawinge, the other parts witli goinge, beinge not fo pain- 
 full for the labour, as pleafaunt for the paftime, which exercife, by the Galen. 2. 
 iudgment of the befte phyfitionS; is moft alowable. By fliootinge alfo'^eSantuend, 
 is the minde honeftlye exercifed, where a man alwayes defireth to be 
 befl, (which is a word of honellye) and that by the fame way, that 
 vertue itfelfe dothe, coveting to come nigheft a mod perfitte ende, or 
 mean ftandinge betwixte tv\o extremes, elchevvinge (horte, or gone, or 
 eyther fyde wyde, for the which caufes AriJIotle himfelfe fayth, that AHflot. de 
 ihootinge and vertue be very lyke. Moreover, that fliootinge of all'^o^b. 
 other is the mofl honefi: paftyme, and that leafte occafion to naughti- 
 nede is ioyned with it, tv\'o thinges verye plainly do prove, whiche be, as 
 a man would faye, the tutors and overl'eers to (hootinge : daye light, and 
 open place where everye man dothe come, the mainieiners and kepers 
 of fhootinge, from all unhonefle doinge. If ihootinge fault at anye 
 time, it hydes it not, \i lurkes not in corners and huddermother : but 
 openlye accufeth and bewrayeth itfelfe, which is the next way to amend- 
 ment, as wyfe men do faye. And thefe thinges, I fuppofe, be fignes, 
 not of naughtinefle, for anye man to difalowe it, but rather verye 
 plaine tokens of honeftye, for every man to prayfe it. The ufe of 
 Ihootinge alfo in great mennes children fliall greatly encreafe the love 
 and ufe of fliootinge in all the refiduc of youth. For meane mennes 
 
 mindes
 
 70 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 In Nic. miii^^ss love to be like great men, as Plato and Ifocrates do faye. And 
 thateverye bodye flioulde learne to flioote, when they be younge, defence 
 of the common wcalthc doth require when they be olde, whiche thinge 
 cannot be done raightelye when they be men, excepte they learne it per- 
 fetlye when they be boyes. And therefore fhootinge of all pallymes is 
 moll fitte to be ufed in childhoode: becaufe it is an imitation of moft 
 carnelle thinges to be done in manhode. Wherefore, fliootinge is fitte 
 for great mennes children, both becaufe it ftrengtheneth the bodye with 
 holfome laboure, and pleafeth the minde with honeft paftyme, and alfo 
 cncourageth all other youthe earneftlye to foUowe the fame. And thefe 
 reafons (as I fuppole) ftirred uppe both great men to bringe uppe their 
 children in fliootinge, and alfo noble common wealthes fo flraitly to 
 commaunde fhootinge. Therefore feinge Princes, moved by honeft oc- 
 cafions, have in all common wealthes ufed fhootinge, I fuppofe there is 
 no other degree of men, neyther lowe nor hye, learned nor leude, 
 younge nor olde. * Phi. You fliail neede wade no further in this 
 
 matter, Toxophik, but if you can prove me that fcholers and men 
 geven to learnynge maye honeftlye ufe fhootinge, I will foon graunt 
 you that all other fortes of men may not onlye lawfidlye, but oughte of 
 dutye to ufe it. But I thincke you cannot prove but that all thefe exam- 
 ples of fliootinge broughte from fo long a tyrnx, ufed of fo noble Prin- 
 ces, confirmed by fo wyfe mennes lawes and iudgements, are fet afore 
 temporal men, onelye to followe them; whereby they maye the better 
 and flronglyer defende the common wealth withall j and nothinge be- 
 longeth to fcholars and learned men, which have another part of the 
 common wealthe, quiete and peaceable put to theyr cure and charge, 
 vvhofe ende, as it is diverfe from the other, fo there is no one way that 
 leadeth to them bothe. Tox. I graunt, Thilohge^ that fcholers and 
 
 layemen have divers offices and charges in the common wealthe, which 
 requires divers bringyng uppe in theyr youthe, if they fliall do them as 
 they oughte to do in theyr age. Yet as temporal men of neccffitye are 
 compelled to take fomewhat of learnynge to do theyr ofiice the better 
 withall, fo fcholars may the boldlycr borrovve fomewhat of layemcnnes 
 paftymes to maintcine theyr healthe in ftudye withal. And furelye, of 
 all other thynges, fliootinge is neceflarye for bothe fortes to learne. 
 Which thinge, when it has bene evermore ufed in Englaiide, howe 
 much good it hath done, both old men and chronicles do tell : and 
 
 • Here fecms to be forae deficicnce in the copy. 
 
 alfo
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 71 
 
 alfo onr enemies can bear us recorde. For if it be true as I have heard 
 faye, when the Kinge of Englandc hath bene in Fraunce, the Priefles at 
 home, becaufe they were archers, have bene able to overthrow all Scot- 
 lande. Againe, there is another thynge, which above all other dotke 
 move me, not onlye to love fliootinge, to prayfe Ihootinge, to exhorte 
 all other to fliootinge, but alfo to ufe iliootinge myfelfe : and that is our 
 late Kinge Henrye the eyghte his moft royal purpofe and will, whiche 
 in all his flatutes generallye dothe commaund men, and with his owne 
 mouth mofc gently did exhorte men, and by his great giftes and re- 
 wardes greatlye did encourage men, and with his moft princelye ex- 
 ample verye often did provoke all other men to the fame. But here 
 you will come with temporall man and fcholer. I tell you plainly, fcho- 
 ler or nnfcholer, yea if I were twenty fcholers, I vvoulde thincke it were 
 mye dutye, bothe with exhortinge men to flioote, and alfo with Ihoot- 
 inge myfelfe, to helpe to fet forwarde that thinge which the Kinge his 
 vi'yfedome, and his counfaile, fo greatlye laboure to have go forward : 
 which thinge furelye they did, becaufe they knew it to be, in vvarrc, the 
 defence and wall of our countreye ; in peace, an exercife moft holfome 
 for the bodye, a paftyme moft honefte for the minde, and, as I am able 
 to prove myfelfe, of all other mofte fitte and agreeable with learnynge 
 and learned men. Phi. If you can prove this thynge fo plainlye, 
 
 asyoufpeak it earneftlye, then will I not onelye thincke as you do, but 
 become a fhooter, and do as you do. But yet beware, I fay, left you, 
 for the great love you beare towarde fliootinge, blindly iudge of ihoot- 
 inge. For love, and all other too earneft aftedions, be not for noughte 
 painted blinde. Take heede (I fay) left you prefer lliooting afore 
 other paftymes, as one Balbi?jus, through blinde affedlion, preferred his 
 lover before all other women, glthough ftie was deformed with a Polyp- 
 pus in her nofe. And ahhough fliootinge may be meete fome tyme for 
 fome fcholers, and fo forth; yet the fitteft alwayes is to be preferred. 
 Therefore, if you will ncedes graunt fcholers paftyme and recreation of 
 theyr mindcs, let them ufc (as manye of them do) Mu/icke and play- 
 ingc on inftruments, thinckinge moft feemlye for all fcholers, and moft 
 regarded alwayes oi Apollo and the Mujl's. Tox. Even as I cannot denye 
 but fome Muficke is fit for Icarninge, fo I truft you cannot choofe but 
 graunt, that Ihootinge is fit alfo, as Callimaclms doth fignifye in this Cal. hym, 
 verfe : 
 
 Both
 
 72 THEWORKSOF 
 
 / 
 
 Arid. Pol. 
 
 — Both merie fongci and good JJ:ooiinge delighteth Apollo. 
 
 But as concciningc whether of them is mofl fitte for learninge, and 
 fcholers to ufc, you may faye what you will for your plcafurCj this I am 
 fure that Flato and Arijlotle bothc, in theyr bookes entreatinge of the 
 common wealthc, where they Ihewe howe youthe fhould be brought 
 uppe in four thinges, in readinge, in writinge, in exercife of bodye, and 
 finginge, do make mention of Miificke and all kyndes of it, wherein they 
 bothe agree, that Mufickc ufed amonges the Lydiaiis is very ill for young 
 men, which be ftudcntes for vertue and learnynge, for a certaine nyce, 
 fofte, and fmoothe fwetenelTe of ir, whiche would rather entice them to 
 noughtines, then Itirre them to honellye. 
 
 An other kinde oi Mu/icke, invented by the Dor/^;«, they bothe won- 
 derfully prayfe, alowinge it to be very fitte for the ftudye of vertue and 
 learninge, becaufe of a manlye, roughe and floute founde in it, whiche 
 fiiould encourage younge ftomakes to attempte manlye matters. Nowe 
 whether thefe balades and roundeSjthefe galiardes, pavanes and daunces, fo 
 nyctlye fingered, lb fweetlye tuned, be lyker the Muficke of the LydianSy 
 or the Dcrimis, you that be learned iudge. And whatfoever ye iudge, 
 this I am fure, that lutes, harpes, all maner of pypts, barbitons, fiim- 
 bukes, with other inftrumcntes every one, whiche llandeth by fine and 
 quicke fingeringe, be condemned of Ari/lotle, as not to be broughte in 
 and ufcd among them, which ftudye for learnynge and vertue. 
 
 Pallas, when flie had invented a pipe, cafle it awaye, not fo muche, 
 fayth Arijlotle, becaufe it deformed her face, but muche rather becaufe 
 fuch an inflrument belonged nothinge to learninge. Howe fuche in- 
 ftrumcntes agree with learninge, the goodlye agreement betwixt Apollo 
 God of learninge, and Marfias the Satyr, defender of pyj)inge, dothe 
 well declare, where Marfiai had his Ikinne quite pulled over his headc 
 for his laboure. 
 
 Muche Muficke marreth mcnnes mancrs, fayth Galen, althoughe 
 fome men will faye that it dothe not (o, but rather recreateth and ma- 
 keth quicke a manncs niinde, yet, methincke, by reafon it doth as honyc 
 dothc to mannes ilomackc, whiche at firll receiveth it well, but 
 
 afterward
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 afterward It maketh it unfit to abyde any good flronge nourifliinge 
 meate, or els any holfome fharpe and quicke drincke. And even fo in a 
 maner thefe inftrumentes make a manswittes fofofte and frnothe, fo ten- 
 der and quaifye, that they be leffe able to broke flronge and toughe ftudye. 
 Wittes be not fliarpened, but rather dulled and made blunt, with fuche 
 fweete foftneffe, even as good edges be blonter, whiche men whette up- 
 pon foft chalke ftones. 
 
 And thefe thinges to be true, not onlye Plato, Anftotk, and Galen, Herod, in 
 prove by authoritye of reafon, hvX ■aS'io Hcrcdotics and other writers, Ihewe^'"'* 
 by piaine and evident example j as that of Cyrus, which, after he had 
 overcome the Lydiam, and taken their king' Crefui prifoner, yet after, 
 by the meanes of one FaSlyas, a very heady man amonges the Lydiam, 
 they rebelled againft Cyrus againe ; then Cyrus had by and by brouglit 
 them to utter deftruclion, if Crcfus, beinge in good favour with Cyrus, 
 had not heartelye defyred him not to revenge PaByas fauite, in fhcd- 
 dinge their bloode. But if he would folovve his counfaile, he might 
 bringe to pafle, that theye flioulde never more rebel againft him. And 
 that was this, to make them weare long kyrtils to the foote, like wo- 
 men, and that everye one of them flioulde have a harpe or a lute, 
 and learne to playe and finge. Which thinge if you do, fayth Crcfus, 
 (as he did indeed) you fliall fee them quickly of men made women. And 
 thuslutinge and finginge take awaye a manlyeftomacke, whiche fhoulde 
 enter and pearce deepe and harde ftudye. 
 
 Even fuch another ftorye dothe Nymphodonis, an olde Greeke hlfto- Nymphod. 
 riographer, write of one Sefoftris King of Egypt, which ftorye, becaufe 
 it is fomevv^hat longe, and very like in all pointes to the other, and alfo \ 
 you do well cnoughe to remember it, feinge you redde it fo late in So- 1 
 phocks Commentaries, I will now paffe over. Therefore eyther ^/7/?5//(?9°'"'".'^"^* 
 and Plato knowe not what was good and evill for learninge and vertue, '" '"'** 
 and the example of wyfe hiftoryes be vainly fct afore us, or els the min- 
 ftrelfye of lutes, pypes, harpes, and all other that ftandeth by fuch nyce, 
 fine minikin fingeringe, (fuche as the mofte parte of fcholers whom I 
 knowe ufc, if they ufe anye) is farre more fitte for the womannilhnes 
 of it to dwel in the Courte among ladycs, than for any great thinge in 
 it, which ftioulde helpe good and faddc ftudye, to abide in the Univer- 
 fity amongc fcholers. But perhaps you know fomc great goodnefle of 
 
 ■L fuche 
 
 73
 
 y^ THEWORKSOF 
 
 fuche Mujicke and fuche inllrumentes, whcreunto Phito and Arijioile his 
 brayne coulde never attaync, and therefore I will fiiye no more a- 
 gainfl: it. 
 
 Phi. Well, Toxophile, is it not enough for you to rayle uppon Mujickcy 
 excepte you mocke me to ? but to fay the truthe, I never thoughte my- 
 felfe thefe kyndes of Muficke fittc for learninge, but that whiche I fayde 
 was rather to prove you, than to defend the matter. But yet as I 
 woulde have this forte of Mujicke decaye among fcholers, even fo do I 
 willie from tiic bottom of my hart, that the laudable cuftome of Etig- 
 landc to teache children their plaine fonge and pricke fonge, were 
 not fo decayed throughoute all the realme as it is. Whiche thinge how 
 profitable it was for all fortes of men, thofe knewe not fo well than 
 which had it molte, as they do nowc which lackc it molt. And there- 
 fore it is true that Teiicer fayth in Sophocles: 
 
 Sophocles 
 
 in A ice. * Seldotne at all good t hinges be kno'wen how good to be 
 
 Before a man fuch thinges do miffe out of his bandes. 
 
 That milke is no fitter nor more naturall for the bringlnge up of 
 children than Muficke is, both Galen provcth by aufloritye, and daily 
 ufe teacheth by experience. For even the little babes lackinge the ufe of 
 rcafon, are fcai'ce fo well ftilled in fucking their mothers pappe, as in 
 hcaringc their mother fmge : Again, how fit youth is made, by learn- 
 inge to finge, for Grammar and other fciences, both we dailye do fee, 
 and Plutarch learnedly doth prove, and PLito wyfelye did allow, which 
 received no fcholer into his fchole, that had not learned his fong before. 
 The godlye ufe of prayfinge God, by finginge in the churche, needetli 
 not my prayfe, fcinge it is fo prayfed throughe all the Scripture, there- 
 fore now I will fpeak nothing of it, rather than I fliouldc fpeake to lit- 
 tle of it. 
 
 Befyde all thefe commodities, truelye t\vo degrees of men, 
 which have the highefl: of]ices under the Kinge in all this realme, 
 iliall greatly lacke the ufe of finginge. Preachers and Lawyers, 
 becaufe they fhall not, without this,, be able to rule their breaftes 
 for everye purpofe. For where is no diftinclion in tcllinge glade 
 thinges and fearful thinges, gentlenes and cruehies, foftncs and 
 
 '* Thefe lines are written in imitation of the Stnarius. 
 
 velie*
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 vehementnes, and fuch like matters, there can be no great perfwafion. 
 For the hearers, as Tullie fayth, be much afFe6lioned, as he is that 
 fpeaketh. At his words be they drawen j if he ftand ftill in one fafliion, 
 their mindes ftande ftill with him: if he thunder, they quake: if 
 he chide, they fere : if he complaine, they forye with him: and finallye, 
 where a matter is fpoken with an apte voice for everye afFedion, the 
 hearers, for the moftpart, are moved as the fpeaker woulde. But when 
 a man is alwaye in one tune, like an humble bee, or els now in the top 
 of the churche, nowdowne that no man knoweth where to have him: 
 or piping like a reede, or roringe like a bull, as fome lawyers do, which 
 thincke they do bell, when they crye lowdefl, thefe ihall never greatly 
 move, as I have knowen manye well learned have done, becaufe theyr 
 voyce was not flayed afore, with learninge to fmge. For all voyces, 
 great and fmall, bafe and flirill, weake or foft, may be holpen and 
 brought to a good point by learning to finge. 
 
 Whether this be true or not, they that ftand moft in nede can tell 
 befle, whereof fome I have knowen, which, becaufe they learned not to 
 finge, when they were boyes, were fayne to take paine in it, when they 
 were men. If anye man flioulde heare mc, Toxophile, that woulde thincke 
 I did but fondlye to fuppofe that a voyce were fo neceffarye to be loked 
 upon, I would afke him if he thoughte nature a foole, for makinge 
 fuch goodlye inflrumentes in a man, for well uttering his wordes, or 
 els if the two noble orators DemoJlhe?ics anj^ Cicero, were not fooles, 
 whereof the one did not onlye learne to fmge of a man, but alfo was 
 not afliamed to learne how he flioulde utter his foundesaptlye of a dogge; 
 the other fetteth oute no p(»nt of Rhctoricke fo fullye in all his bookes, 
 as howe a man fhould order his voyce for all kinde of matters. 
 
 Therefore feinge men, by fpeakinge, differ and be better than beaflcs,>-' 
 by fpeakinge well better than other men, and that finginge is an helpe 
 towarde the fame, as daylyc experience dotii teache, example of wyfe 
 men doth alowe, authority of learned men doth approve, wherewith 
 the foundation of youth in all good common wealthes ahvayes hath 
 bene tempered : furely if I were one of the parliament -houfe, I woulde 
 not fayle to put up a bill for the amendmenteof thisthinge ; but becaufe 
 I am like to be none this yeare, I will fpeake no more of it at this 
 time. Tox. It were pitye truly, Philologe, that tlie thingc Ihoulde 
 
 be negle£ted, but I truft it is not as you fay. Phi. The thinge 
 
 L 2 is 
 
 7S
 
 76 THEWORKSOF 
 
 is to true, for of them that come dailye to the Univerfiiye, where one ,| 
 
 hath learned to finge, fix hath not. 'I 
 
 But now to our fliootinge, Toxophile, againe, wherein I fuppofe you 
 cannot fay fo much for fliootinge to be fitte for learninge, as you 
 have fpoken againft Mujicke for the fame. Therefore as concern- 
 inge Muficke, I can be contente to graunt you your minde: but 
 as for Ihootinge, furelye I fuppofe that you cannot pcrfvvade me, 
 by no meanes, that a man can be earneft in it, and earneft 
 at his bookc to -. but rather I thincke that a man with a bowe on 
 his backe, and fliaftes under his girdle, is more fitte to wayte upon 
 Rcbin Hoode, than upon Jpollo or the Mufes. Tox. Over earneft 
 
 fhootinge furelye I will not over carneftlye defende, for I ever thought 
 fliootinge fhoulde be a wayter upon learnynge, not a mifl:refs over learn- 
 inge. Yet this I marveile QOt a little at, that ye thincke a man with 
 a bowe on his backe is more like Robin Hoodcs fervaunte, than ApolloSy 
 Eunp. in feinge that Apollo himfelfe, in Alccjlh of Euripides, which tragedye you 
 redde openlye not longe ago, in a manner glorifyeth, fayinge this 
 verfe. 
 
 It is my ivont alivajes my bowe with me to beare. 
 
 Therefore a learned man ought not to much to be afliamed to beare 
 that fometimc which .Apollo God of learninge himfelfe was not afliamed 
 always to bear. And bccaufe ye woulde have a man wayte upon the 
 Mufes, and not at all meddle with fliootinge ; I marveile that you do 
 not remember how that the nine Mufes their felfe as foone as they were 
 borne, were put to norfe to a lady called Eupbemis, which had a fonne 
 named Erotus, with whom the nine Mufes, for his excellent fliootinge, 
 kepte evermore companye withall, and ufed dailye to flioote together 
 in the mounte Parnajfus : and at laft it chaunced this Erotus to dye, 
 whofe death the Mufes lamented greatlye, and fell all upon theyr knees 
 fore Jupiter theyr father, and, at theyr requeft, Erotus, for fliootinge 
 with \\\t Mufes on earth, was a made a figne, and called Sagittarius in 
 heaven. Therefore you fee that if jipollo and the Mufes eyther were 
 examples indeede, or onlye fayned of wyfe men to be examples of 
 learninge, lioneft fliootinge may well enoughe be companion with 
 honeft ftudyc. Phi. Well, Toxophile, if you have no ftronger de- 
 
 fence of fliootinge than poetes, 1 feare if your companions which love 
 
 fliootinge 
 
 I
 
 ROGERASCHAM. -jy 
 
 fliootinge heard you, they would thincke you made it but a triflinge 
 and fablinge matter, rather than any other man that loveth not flioot- 
 inge coulde be perfwaded by this reafon to love it. Tox. Even as 
 
 lam not fo fonde but I knowe that thefe be fables, fo I am fure you be 
 not fo ignorante, but you know what fuch noble wittcs as the pcetes ' 
 liad ment by fuch matters, which oftentimes, under the covering of 
 a fable, do hyde and wrappe in goodlye preceptes of philofophie, with 
 the true judgement of thinges. Whiche to be true fpecially in Homer 
 and EiiripideSy Plato, Arijiotk, and Gakne, plainlye do flievve : when 
 throughe all theyr workes (in a manner) they determine all cc^ntrover- 
 fies by thefe two poetes, and fuch like authorityes. Therefore if iri this 
 matter I feeme to fable, and nothing prove, I am content you judge fo 
 on me, feinge the fame judgement Ihall condemne with me Plato, 
 Ariftotk, and Gakne, whom in that errour I am v\'ell content to followe. 
 If thefe old examples prove nothinge for (hootinge, what faye you 
 to thefe ? that the beft learned and fageft men in this realme which be 
 now alive, both love Ihootinge and ufe fliootinge, as the beft learned 
 bifhops that be : amonges whom, Philologe, yourfelfe knowe four or 
 five, which as in all good learninge, veitue and fagenefle, they geve 
 other men example what thinge they fliould do, even fo by their flioot- 
 inge they plainlye fliewe what honeft paftime other men geven to 
 learninge may honeftlye ufe. That earneft ftudye muft be recreated 
 with fome paftime, fuihcientlye I have proved afore, both by reafon 
 and authoritye of the beft learned men that ever wrote. Then feinge 
 paftimes be lawfull, the moft fitteft for learninge is to be fouglit for. 
 A paftime, fayth Artflotle, muft be like a medicine. Medicines ftandeN 
 by contraryes j therefore, the nature of ftudyinge confidered, the fitteft 
 paftime fhall foon appeare. In ftudye every part of the bodye is idle, 
 which thinge caufeth groile and cold humours to gather together and 
 vexe fcholers very much, the minde is altogether bent and fctte on work; 
 a paftime then muft be had where everye part of the bodye muft be 
 laboured to feparate and leffen fuch humours withall, the minde muft 
 be unbent, to gather and fetch againe hisquicknefs withalL Tims paf- 
 times for the minde onlye, be nothinge fitte for ftudentes, becaufe the 
 bodye, which is moft hurt by ftudye, ftiouldc take no profite at all there- 
 at. This knewe Erafmus very well, when he was here in Cambrige : 
 which when he had been fore at his booke (as Garret our booke-byn- 
 der has verye oft told me) for lackc of better exercife, would take his ^ 
 
 4 hoife.
 
 78 T II E W O R K S O F 
 
 horfe, and lydc about the market hill, and come agalnc. If a fcholer 
 iliould life bowlcs or tennyes, the labour is fo vehement and unequal, 
 which is condemned of Galene-, the example very ill for other men, 
 when by fo manye ades they be made unlawfull. Runninge, leapinge, 
 and coytinge be to vile for fcholers, and not fitte by y^riy?o/'/t'j judgement: 
 walkinge alone in the field hath no token of courage in it, a paftime 
 / like a fmgle man that is neither fleflie nor fiflie. Therefore if a man 
 would have a paftime holfome and equall for every part of his bodye, 
 pleafant and full of courage for the minde, not vile and unhoneft to 
 geve ill example to laye men, not kept in gardines and corners, not 
 lurkinge on the night and in holes, but evermore in the face of men, 
 eyther to rebuke it when it doth ill, or els to teftifye on it when it 
 doth well; let him feeke chieflyeof all other for fliootinge. Phi. Such 
 common paftimcs as men commonly do ufe, I will not greatlye allowe 
 to be fitte for fcholcjs, feinge they may ufe fuch exercifes very well 
 Gal. deSan-(I fuppofe) zs Gakn himfelfe doth allow. Tox. Thefe exercifes, 
 
 tucnd. 2. I remember very well, for I redde them within thefe two dayes, of the 
 which fome be thefe : to runne up and downe an hill, to clyme up a 
 longe povvle, or a rope, and there hange a u'hile, to holclc a man by 
 his armes and wave with his heeles, muche like the paftime that boyes ufe 
 in the churche, when theyr mafter is awaye, to fwinge and totter in a 
 belrope : to make a fifte, and ftretche out both his armes, and fo Iland 
 like a roode. To go on a mans tiptoes, ftretchinge out the one of his 
 armes forward, the other backeward, whiche, if he blered out his 
 tongue alfo, might be thoughte to dance anticke verve propcrlyc. To 
 tumble over and over, to toppe over tayle : to fet backe to backe, and 
 fee who can heave an others heeles higheft, wyth other much like: 
 which exercifes furely mufte needes be naturall,becaufe they be fo child- 
 illie, and they maye be alfo holfome for the bodye, but furelye as for 
 pleafure to the minde, or honeftye in the doinge of them, they be as 
 like ftiootinge as 7^:rkc is foule Sutton. Therefore to loke on all paf- 
 times and exercifes holefome for the bodye, pleafaunt for the minde, 
 comlye for every man to do, honeft for all other to loke on, profitable 
 to be fet by of every man, worthy to be rebuked of no man, fitte for 
 all ages, perfons and places, onlye fliootinge fhall appeare, wherein all 
 tliefe commodities may be foundc. Phi. To graunt, 'Toxophiky 
 
 that ftudcntcs may at times convenient ufe fliootinge as moft holefome 
 and honeft paftime: yet to do as fome do, to flioote hourelye, dailye, 
 
 weekcly.
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 weekely, and In a manner the whole yeare, neyther I can prayfe, nor 
 any wyfe man will allowe, nor you yourfelfe can honeftly defend. 
 Tox. Surelye, Philologe, 1 am very glad to fee you come to that pohit 
 that mofl lyeth in your ftomache, and greveth you and others fo muche. 
 But I truft, after I have fayde my minde in this matter, you HkiII con- 
 feffe your felfe, that you do rebuke this thinge more than ye necde, 
 rather than you fliall finde that any man maye fpende by anye poffi- 
 bilitye, more time in fhootinge then he oughte. For firft and forraofl, 
 the hole time is divided into two partes, the daye and the nighte: 
 whereof the nighte maye be bothe occupyed in manye honed bufinefles, 
 and alfo fpcnte in much unthriftinelTe, but in no wyfe it can be appiyed 
 to fliootinge. And here you fee that halfe our time, graunted to all 
 other thinges in a manner both good and ill, is at one fvvappe quite 
 taken awaye from fliootinge. Now let us go forwarde, and fee howe 
 much of halfe this time of ours is fpent in fliootinge. The whole 
 yeare is divided into four partes, fpringe-time, fommer, faule of the 
 leafe, and winter. Whereof the winter, for the roughnefle of it, is cleane 
 taken away from fhootinge : except it be one daye amonges twenty, 
 or one yeare amonges forty. In fommer, for the fervent heate, a 
 man may faye likewife ; excepte it be fome time againft night. Nowe 
 then fpringe time and faule of the leafe, be thofe which we abufe in' 
 fhootinge. 
 
 But if we confider howe mutable and changeable the weather is in 
 thofe feafons, and howe that y^n'/Iotk himfelfe fayth, that mofl part of 
 rayne fauleth in thefe two times ; we fhall well perceive, that where a 
 man would flioote one daye, he fliall be fayne to leave of four. Nowe 
 when time itfelfe graunteth us but a little fpace to flioote in, let us fee 
 if fliootinge be not hindered amonges all kindes of men as muche 
 other wayes. 
 
 Firft, younge children ufe not ; younge men, for fear of them whom' 
 they be under, too muche dare not ; fage men, for other greater bufi- 
 nes, will not; aged men, for lacke of flrengthe, cannot; riche men, 
 for covetoufncflc fake, care not ; poorc men, for coft and charge, may 
 not ; maifters, for theyr houlhold kepinge, heede not ; fcrvauntes, kept 
 iji by theyr maifters, verye oft fliall not ; craftefmen, for gettinge of 
 theyr lyvinge, very muche leyfure have not ; and many tliere be that 
 
 ofu 
 
 79
 
 go THEWORKSOF 
 
 oft beginnes, but, for inaptnefic, proves not ; and mofl of all, which 
 when they be fliooters geve it over and lift not : So that gcnerallye men 
 everye where, for one or other confideration, much Ihootinge ufe not. 
 Therefore thcfe two thinges, ftraytneflc of time, and everye mans trade 
 of lyvinge, are the caufes that fo fewe men fliotes, as you may fee in 
 this greate tovvne, where as there be a thoufand good mennes bodyes, 
 yet fcarce ten that ufeth anye greate fhootinge. And thofe whom you 
 fee flioote the moft, with how manye thinges are they drawen, or ra- 
 ther driven, from fliootinge. For firft, as it is manye a ycare or tb.ey 
 begin to be great fliooters, even fo the great heatc of fhootinge is gone 
 within a yeare or two: as you knowe diverfe, Philologe, younelfe, 
 which were fome time the beft fliooters, and now they be the beft ftu- 
 dcntes. 
 
 CarJcs and 
 Dyfe. 
 
 If a man faule ficke, farewell fliootinge, maye fortune as longe as 
 he lyveth. If he have a wrentche, or have taken colde in his arme, 
 he maye hange uppe his bowe (I Vv'arrant you) for a fcafon. A litle 
 blayne, a fmall cutte, yea a filye poore worme in his finger, maye keepe 
 him from fliootinge well enoughe. Breakinge and ill lucke in bowes 
 I will pafTe over, with an hundred mo fere thinges, which chaunceth 
 every day to them that flioote moft, whereof the leaft of them maye 
 compell a man to leave fliootinge. And thefe thinges be fo true and 
 evident, that it is impoffiblc cytlier for me craftilye to fiiyne them, or 
 els for you juftlye to denye them. Then feeinge how manye hundred 
 thinges are required altogether to geve a man leave to flioote, and 
 any one of them denyed, a man cannot flioote ; and feeinge every one 
 of them may chaunce, and doth chaunce every daye, I marvcile any 
 wyfe man will thincke it poflible, that any great time can be fpent in 
 fhootinge at all. 
 
 Pni. If this be true that you faye, T'oxophiky and in very dede, I can 
 denyc nothinge of it, I merveile greatly how it chaunceth, that thofe 
 which ufe fliootinge be fo much niaiked of men, and oft times blam- 
 ed for it, and that in a manner as much as thofe which playe at cardes 
 and dyfc. And I fliall tell you what I heardefpoken of the fame mat- 
 ter. A man, no fliooter, (not longe ago) would defend playing at 
 cardes and dyfe, if it were honeftlye ufed, to be as honeft paftime as 
 your fliootinge : for he layed for him, that a man might playe for a 
 
 litle
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 lltle at cardes and dyfe, and alfo a man might fi:ioote away all that ever 
 he had. He fayde a payre of cardes coit not paft two pence, and 
 that they neded not fo much reparation as bowc and fliaftes, they 
 would never hurte a mans hande, nor never weare liis gere. A man 
 fliould never flea a man with fliooting wyde at the cardes. In vi'ete 
 and drye, hote and colde, they woulde never ibrfake a man, he flicwed 
 what great varietye there is in them for every mans capacity : if one 
 game were hard, he might cafily learne an other: if a man have a 
 good game, there is great pleafure in it : if he have an ill game, the 
 payne is fliort, for he may fone geve it over, and hope for a better: 
 with many other mo reafons. But at the lall he concluded, that betwixte 
 playinge and fliootinge, well ufed or ill ufed, there was no difference: 
 but that there was leffe cofte and trouble, and a great dealc more plea- 
 fure in playinge, than in fliootinge. 
 
 • Tox. I cannot denye, but fliootinge (as all other good thinges) may 
 be abufed. And good thinges ungodly ufed, are not good, fayth an 
 honourable biflioppe in an earnefl:er matter than this is: yet we mull be 
 ware that we laye not menncs faultcs upon the thinge which is not 
 worthy, for fo nothinge fliould be good. And as for fhootinge, it is 
 blamed and marked of men for that thing (as I Jiave fayd before) 
 which fliould be rather a token of honeflye to prayfe it, then anye fio-ne 
 of noughtinefle to difalpwe it, and that is bccaufe it is in everye mans 
 fight ; it feeketh no corners, it hydeth it not : if there be never fo litle 
 faulte in it, every man feeth it, it accufeth itfelfe. For one lioure fpente 
 in fhootinge is more fcene, and further talked of, than twenty nights 
 fpent in dylinge, even as a little white flone is fecne amonges three hun- 
 dred blacke. Of thefe that blame fliootinge and fliooters, I will faye 
 no more at this time but this, that bcfule that they fl:oppe and hinder 
 fliootinge, which the ftatutes would have forwarde, they be not much 
 unlike in this pointe to fVyll Sommcr tlic Kinges foole, which fmitcth 
 him that flandeth alwayes before his face, be he never fo worniipfuj! 
 a man, and never greatlye lokes for him which lurkes behinde an other 
 mans backe, that hurte him in deede. 
 
 But to him that compared gaminge with fliootinge fomewhat will 
 I aunfwere, and becaufe he wente afore me in acom])arifon : andconi- 
 pariions, fayth learned men, make plaine matters : I will furelyc followc 
 
 M ' him
 
 82 
 
 In Phedro. 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 him in the fame. Honefte thinges (fayth Plato) be k?io\vn from unho- 
 neft thinges by this difference, unhonertye hath ever prefent pleafure in 
 it, havinge ncyther good pretence goinge before, nor yet anye profite 
 follo'.vinge after : which inyinge defcrytth generallye, both the nature 
 of Ihootingc and gaminge, which is good, and which is evill, verye 
 well. 
 
 Gaminge hath joined with it a vaine prefente pleafure, but there 
 foUoweth lofl'e of name, lolfe of goods, and winninge of an hundred 
 gowtye, dropfye, difeaf.es, aS everye man can tell. Shootinge is a payn- 
 full paflime, whereof followeth health of bodye, quicknefle of witte, 
 habilitye to defende our country, as our ennemyes can bear recorde. 
 
 Lotli I am to compare thefe thinges together, and yet I do it not be- 
 caufe there is anye comparifon at all bctwixte them, but thereby a man 
 Jhall fee how good the one is, how evill the other. For I thincke 
 there is fcarce fo much contrarioufnefs betwixt hotte and cold, vertue 
 and vice, as is betwixte thefe two thinges : For whatfoever is in the 
 one, the cleane contrarye is in the other, as fliall plaiiilye appei'e, if we 
 confider both theyr beginninges, theyr encreaunges, thcyr fruites, and 
 \ theyr endes, which I will foone ridde over. 
 
 Pla.inT:m. The firft bringer into the worlde of fliootinge, was Apollo, which for 
 his Nvyfdome, and greate commodityes, broughte amonges men by him, 
 was efteemed worthye to be counted as a God in heaven. 
 
 Dyfmge furelye is a baftard borne, becaufe it is fayde to have two 
 fathers, and yet both nought : the one was an ungratious God, called 
 Theuth, which, for his noughtinefie, came never in other Goddes com- 
 panyes, and therefore Hcmcr doth defpife once to name him in all his 
 works. The other was a Lydian borne, which people for fuch games, 
 and other unthriftinefle, as bowlinge and hauntinge of tavcrnes, have 
 bene ever had in moft vile reputation in all ftoryes and writers. 
 
 PlatiiriPhv 
 dro. 
 
 Herod. 
 
 in 
 
 The fofterer of fliootinge is Labour, that companion of vertue, the 
 
 mainteyner of honertyc, the encreafe of healthe and wealthinefle, which 
 
 admitteth nothinge, in a manner, into his companye that ftandeth not 
 
 v^ith vertue and honeflye; and therefore fayth theolde Poete Epicbermus 
 
 6 • verye
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 8^ 
 
 verye pretelyein Zenophon, that God felleth vertue, and all other good Xen. de dia- 
 thinges to men for labour. The nource of dyfe and cardcs, is weri- 
 fome idlenede, enemye of vertue, the drovvner of youthe, that taryeth 
 in it, and, as Chaucer doth fay verye well in the Parfons Tale, thegrene 
 path waye to hell, havingc this thinge appropriate unto it, that whereas 
 other vices have fome clokc of honeftye, onlye idlencfs can neyther do 
 well, nor yet thincke well. Againe ; Ihootinge hath two tutours to 
 loke upon it, out of whofe companye fliootinge never flirreth, the one 
 called day-light, the other open place, which two kepe Ihootinge from 
 evill companye, and fuffer it not to have to much fwinge, but ever 
 more kepeth it under awe, that it dare do nothinge in the open face of 
 the world, but that which is good and honed. Lykewife, dyfmge and 
 cardinge have two tutours, the one named Solitarioufnelfe, which lurk- 
 eth in holes and corners, the other called Night, an ungratious cover of 
 noughtinefle, which two thinges be very inkcpcrs and receyvers of all 
 noughtinelfe and noughtye thinges, and thereto they be in a manner or- 
 dayned by nature. For, in the night time and in corners, fpirites and 
 theeves, rattes and mife, toodes and oulcs, night crowes and poalcattes, 
 foxes and * foumardes, with all other vermine, and noyfome beaftc s, ule 
 mod flyrringe ; when in the day-light, and in open places, which "-be 
 ordayned of God for honeft thinges, they dare not ones come, which 
 thinge Euripides noteth very well, fayinge, 
 
 /// thinges the night, good thinges the daye doth haunt and ufe. 
 
 r r, • . • , ,- 111 • ^V^' inTau. 
 
 Companions of Inootmge, be providentnels, good heade geving, true 
 
 meetinge, honeft comparifon, which thinges agree with vertue verye 
 
 well. Cardinge and dyfmge have a fort of good fclowes alfo, goinge 
 
 commonlye in theyr companye, as blinde fortune, ftumblinge chaunce, 
 
 fpittle lucke, falfe dealinge, craftye conveyaunce, brainlefle brawlinge, 
 
 falfe forfwearinge, which good fellowes will fone take a man by the 
 
 fleve, and caufe him take his inne, fome with beggary, fome with goute 
 
 and dropfye, fome with thefte and robbery, and feldome they will leave 
 
 a man before he come cyther to hangingc, or els fome other extreme 
 
 myferye. To make an ende, how fliootinge by all menncs lawes hath 
 
 bene alowed, cardinge and dyfmge by all menncs judgcmentes con- 
 
 dempned, I neede not fliew, the matter is fo plaine. 
 
 * Foumardsy by others called Fumarts, arc, I believe, what we new cal! more con mo.ily 
 Stoats. 
 
 M 2 Therefore,
 
 8^. THEWORKSOF 
 
 Therefore, when the Lydiam fhall invente better thinges than Apollo^ 
 when flouthe and ydlcnels fliall encreafe vertue more than laboure, when 
 the night and kiikinge corners geveth lefle occafion to unthriftuieHe, 
 than light day and opennefs, then fhall fliootinge, and fuch gaminge, 
 be in fome comparifon like. Yet even, as I do not fliewe all the good- 
 nefs which is in Pnootingc, when I prove it ftandeth by the fame thinges 
 that veitue itfell'e ftandeth by, as brought in by gods, or god-like 
 men, foftered by labour, committed to the favegarde of light and opcn- 
 nefie, accompanyed with provifion and diligence, loved and allowed by 
 everye good mans fentence : even likewife do I not open halfethe naugh- 
 tinefle which is in cardinge and dyfmge, when I Hiewe how they are 
 borne of a defperate mother, nouriflied in idlenefib, encreafed by ly- 
 cence of nighte and corners, accompanyed with fortune, chaunce, de- 
 ceyte, and craftinefle: condemned and baniihed by all lawes and judge- 
 nientes. 
 
 For if I woulde enter to defcribe the monflruoufnefle of it, I fliould 
 rather wander in it, it is fo brode, than have anye readye paflage to 
 the ende of the matter: whofe horriblenelfe is fo large, that it palled 
 Chaucer, the eloquence of our EngliJJ;e Homer to compalle it : yet becaufe I ever 
 thoughte his fayinges to have as much authoritye as eyther Sophocles 
 or Euripides in Greeke^ therefore gladlye do I remember thefe verfes 
 of his. 
 
 Hafardry is lerye mother of lefitiges. 
 
 And of deceyte, and curfed fweringes. 
 
 Blqfphefnye of Chriji, mans flaughter, and ivajle alfo ! 
 
 Of cately of tyme, of other thinges mo. 
 
 Mother of * lefnges.] True it raaye be called fo, if a man confider how- 
 many wayes and how many thinges he loleth thereby ; for firfl:, he 
 lofeth his goodes, he lofeth his time, he lofcth quicknelle of witte, and 
 all good hide toother thinges ; he lofeth honeft companye, he lofeth 
 his good name and cflimatiun, and at laft, if he leave it not, lofeth 
 God, and heaven and all: and, infteede of thefe tliinges, winneth 
 at length eyther hanginge or hell. 
 
 ♦ I doubt whether our authour has not miftaken the fenfe of Chaucer, I rather take kjingts 
 lo be lid than li/fiu 
 
 And
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 8^ 
 
 \A}id of deceyte.] I trowe, if I fhould not lye, there is not halfe fa 
 much crafte ufed in no one thinge in the world, as in this curfed thinge. 
 What falie dyfe ufe they ? As dyfe flopped with quick filver and heares, 
 dyfe of vauntage, flattes, gourdes to chop and chaunge when they lifle, 
 to let the true dyfe fall under the table, and lb take up the falfe, and if 
 they be true dyfe, what (hift will they make to fet the one of them with 
 llydingc, with cogginge, with, foyftinge, with coytinge as they call it. 
 How will they ufe thefe fhiftes, when they get a plaine man that can- 
 not fkill of them ? how will they go about, if they perceive an honefl 
 man have moneye, which lift not playe, to provoke him to playe ? 
 They will feeke his companye, they will let him pay noughte, yea, 
 and as I hearde a man ones faye that he did, they will fende for him 
 to fome houfe, and fpende pcrchaunce a crowne on him, and, at lafi-, 
 will one begin to faye: What my mafters, what fliall we do? fli all c very- 
 man playe his twelve-pence whiles an apple roile in the fyre, and then 
 we will drincke and departe: Naye, will an other faye, (as falfe as he) 
 you cannot leave when you begin, and therefore I will not playe ; 
 but if you will gage, that every man, as he hath lofl his twelve pence, 
 fhall fit downe, I am contente, for furelye I would winne no mannes 
 moneye here, but even as much as would paye for my fupper. Then 
 fpeaketh the thirde, to the honefte man that thoughte not to playe. 
 What ? will you playe your twelve-pence ? If he excufe him j Tufli ntan, 
 will the other faye, fticke not in honefte companye for twelve-pence ; I 
 will bcare your halfe, and here is my moneye. 
 
 Nowe all this is to make him to beginne, for they knowe if he be 
 ones in, and be a lofer, that he will not ftick at his twelve-pence, but 
 hopeth ever to get it againe, while perhappes he lofe all. Than everye 
 one of them fetteth his fhiftes abroache, fome with falfe dyfe, fome 
 with fettling of dyfe, fome with having outclandillie filver coynes guild- 
 ed, to put awaye at a time for good golde. Than if there come a 
 thinge in controverfye, mud you be judged by the table, and than fare- 
 well the honeft mans parte, for he is borne downe on every fyde. 
 
 Nowe, Sir, befyde all thefe thinges, they have certaine tcrmes (as a 
 man woulde faye) appropriate to theyr playinge : whereby they will 
 drawe a mannes moncyc» but paye none, which they call barres, that 
 
 furelye
 
 86 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 furelye he that knoweth them not mayc foone be debarred of all that 
 ever he hath, before he learnc them. If a plaine man iofc, as he 
 fliali do ever, or els it is a wonder, then tlie game is fo dcvllifh, that 
 In Suppli. he can never leave : for vaine hope (which hope, fayth Euripides, dcftioy- 
 eth manye a man and cittyc^ driveth him on fo farre, that he can ne- 
 ver return backe, until he be fo light that he neede feare no theeves by 
 the waye. Nowe if a hmple man happen once in his life to winne 
 oi fuch players, than will they eyther entreate him to kcepe them com- 
 panye whiles he hath loft all againe, or els they will ufe the moft devi- 
 lyflie fafliion of all, for one of the players that ftandcth next him 
 Ihall have a payre of falfe dyfe, and caft them out upon the bourde, 
 the honcft man fliall take them and caft them as he did the other, the 
 thirde fliall efpyc them to be falfe dyfe, and fhall crye oute harde, with 
 all the othes under God, that he hath falfelye wonne theyr moneye, and 
 than there is nothinge but houlde thy throte from my dagger j everyc 
 man layeth hande on the fimple man, and taketh all theyr money from 
 him, and his owne alfo, thinking himfclfe well, that he efcapeth with 
 his life. 
 
 Curfcd piverynge blafphemye of Chrijle.'\ Thefe halfe verfcs Chcucer^ 
 in another place, more at large doth well fet out, and very livelye ex- 
 prelfe, fayinge. 
 
 JLy by Gcddes precious hart ci7id his fiayles. 
 And by the blcudofChriJie, that is in Hales, 
 Seven is my chaunce, and thine is cinke and trcye, 
 Ey Goddes armes, if thou Jalfelye playe, 
 This dogger JJ^all thoroughe thine harte go, 
 T'his fruite commeth of the beched boones iivo, 
 Forfweringe, ire, faljenejfe, and homicide, &c. 
 
 Thoughe thcfe verfes be verye carneftlye written, yet they do not halfe 
 fo grifelye fet out the horiblcnell'e of blafi^hemye, which fuch gammers 
 ufe, as it is indecde, and as I have heard myfelfe. For no man can 
 write a thinge fo carneftlye, as whan it is fpoken with gcfturCt as learn- 
 ed men, you knowe, do faye. Howe will you thincke that fuche furi- 
 oufneile, with woode countcnaunce, and brenningc eyes, with ftaringe 
 and braggingc, with hart redye to Icape out of the bellye for Ivvellinge, 
 
 can
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. Sy 
 
 can be exprefTed the tenthe part, to the uttermoft. Two men I heard 
 myfelfe, whole fayinges be farre more grifelye, than Chaucers verfes. 
 One, when he had lofte his moneye, fware mc God from top to the 
 toe with one breathe, that he had loft all his mOneye for lacke of fwer- 
 inge: the other lofinge his moneye, and heapinge othes upon othes 
 one in anothers neckc, moll horrible, and not fpeakable, was rebuked 
 of an honeft man which ftoode by for fo doinge, he by and by, ftaringe 
 him in the face, and clappinge his fifte, with all his moneye he had, 
 upon the boarde, fware me by the flcflie of God, that, if fweringe 
 would heipe him but one ace, he would not leave one pece of God 
 unfworne, neyther within nor without. The remembraunce of this 
 blafphemye, Philologe, dotii make me quake at the hart, and therefore 
 I will fpeake no more of it. 
 
 And fo to conclude with fuch gaminge, I thincke there no ungrati- 
 oufnefle in all this world, that carieth a man fo farre from God, as this 
 fault doth. And if there were anye fo defperate a perlon, that would 
 begin his hell in earth, I trowe he Ihould not findc hell more hke hell 
 itfelfe, than the life of thofe men is, which daily haunt and ufe fuch 
 ungratious games. Phi. You handle this gere indeede ; and I fup- 
 
 pofe, if ye had bene a prentice at fuch games, you could not have fayd 
 more of them than you have done, and by like you have had fome- 
 what to do with them. Tox. Indcde, you may honeftlye gather 
 
 that I hate them greatly, in that I fpeak againft them : not that I have 
 ufed them greatly, in that I fpeake of them. For things be knowen 
 divers wayes, as Socrates (you know) doth prove in Alcibiades. And if 
 every man fhould be that, that -he fpeakcth or wryteth upon, then fnould 
 Homer have bene the beft captaine, moft cowarde, hardye, haftye, \\y(c 
 and woode, fage and fimple : and I'erence an oulde man and a younge, 
 an honeft man and a bawde : with fuch like. Surelye every man ought 
 to praye to God dailye, to kepe them from fuch unthriftineffe, and 
 fpeciallye all the youth of Englande : for what youth doth begin, a 
 man will folowe commonlye, even to his dying day : which thinge p . . , 
 jidrajlus, in Euripides, pretelye doth exprelie, fayinge : in Suppli. 
 
 What thing a man in tender age hath moft in ure, 
 That fame to death alwayes to kepe he JJjall be Jure. 
 
 Therefore
 
 S8 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 'Therefore in age ivko greatly Icnges good fniite to mcxc^ 
 In youth he muft himjdfe applye good f:ede to Jowe. 
 
 For the foundation of youthe well fet (as Plato doth faye) the whole 
 bodye of the common vvealthe fhall flouiiihe thereafter. If the younge 
 tjee growe croked, when it is oulde a man fliall rather breakc it than 
 ftrcight it. And I thincke there is no one thing that crokes youthe 
 more then fuch unlawful games. Nor let no man faye, if ihey be ho- 
 ncltly ufed they do no harme. For how can that paftinie which ney- 
 ther exercifeth the bodye with any honeft labour, nor yet the mindc 
 with any honeft thinckinge, have any honeftye joined with it ? Nor let 
 no man ailure himfelfe that he can ufe it honelllye: for if he ftand 
 therein, he may fortune have a faulc, the thinge is more flipperye than 
 he knoweth of. A man maye (I graunt) fit on a brante hill fule, but 
 if geve never fo little forward, he cannot ftoppe, though he would 
 never fo fayne, but he muft ncedes runne ht:ad-long, he knoweth not 
 how farre. What honeft pretences vayp^e pleafure laytth daily (as it 
 were entlfementes or baytes, to pull men forwarde witliall) Homer dotii 
 well fhewe, by the Sirejies and Circe. And amonges all in tiiat ihippe, 
 there was but one Ulyfes, and yet he had done to as the other did, if 
 a goddefle had not taughte him ; and fo likewife, I thincke, they be eafye 
 to nombcr, which pafle by playinge honeftly, except the grace of God 
 fave and keep them. Therefore they that will not go to farre in play- 
 inge, let them folovve this counfeil of the Poet : 
 
 Steppe the begintiinges. 
 
 Phi. Well, or you go any further, I praye you tell me this one thinge: 
 Doo ye fpeake againft meane mennes playinge onlye, or againft greate 
 mennes playinge to, or put you any difference betwixte them ? Tox. If 
 I ihould excule myielfe herein, and fay that I fpake of the one and 
 not of the other, 1 fear leafte 1 fiioulde as fondlye excufe myfelfe, as a 
 certaine preacher did, whom 1 heard upon a time fpeake againft many 
 abufcs, (as he faydc) and, at laft, he fpake againft candcllcs, and then, 
 he fcaringe, Icaft fome men would have bene angrye and offended with 
 him, Nnye, fayth he, you muft take me as I meane : I fpeake not a- 
 gainft greate candcUes, but againft litle candelles, for they be not all 
 
 one 
 3
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 one (quotli he) I proraife you : and fo everye man laughed him to 
 fcorne. 
 
 Indeede, as for great men, and great mennes matters, I lift not 
 greatlye to meddle. Yet this I would wiflie, that all great men in Etig- 
 lande had redde over diligently the Pardoners Tale in Chaucer^ and 
 there they flioulde perceive and fee, how muche fuch games ftande with 
 their worfliippe, how great foever they be. What great men do, be 
 it good or ill, meane men commonlye love to followe, as many learned 
 men in many places do faye, and dailye experience doth plainlye fliewe, 
 in coftlye apparell and other like matters. 
 
 Therefore, feinge that lordcs be lanternes to lead the life of meanc 
 men, by their example, either to goodnefle or badnefle, to whether fo- 
 ever they lifte : and feinge alfo they have libertye to lift what they 
 will, I praye God they have will to lift that which is good j and as 
 for their playing, I will make an ende with this fayinge of Chaucer. 
 
 hordes might Jindc them other maner of playe^ 
 Honeji ynough to dreve the daye awaye. 
 
 But to be fliort, the beft medicine for all fortes of men, both highe 
 and lowe, younge and oulde, to put away fuch unlawful games is by 
 the contrarye, likewife as all Phifitions do allowe in Phificke. So let 
 youthe, inftede of fuch unlawful games, which ftande by ydleneffe, 
 by folitarinefle, and corners, by night and darknefle, by fortune and 
 chaunce, by craft and fubtiltye, ufe fuch paftimes as ftand by labour: 
 upon the day light, in open fighte of men, havinge fuch an ende as is 
 come to by cunninge, rather than by craft : and fo fliould virtue en- 
 creafe, and vice dccaye. For contrarye paftimes, muft nedes worke 
 contrarye mindes in men, as all other contrarye thingcs do. 
 
 And thus we fee, Philologe, that Ihootinge is not onlye the moft holc- 
 fome exercife for the bodye, the moft honeft paftime for the minde, 
 and that for all fortes of men : but alfo it is a moft redye medycine, 
 to purge the whole realme of fuch peftilcnt gaminge, wherewith manye 
 times it is fore troubled, and ill at cafe. 
 
 N Phi, 
 
 89
 
 90 THEWORKSOF 
 
 Phi. The more honeftye you have proved by fliootinge, Toxophlk, 
 and the more you have perfuaded me to love it, fo much trulye the 
 I'oryer have you made me with this lade fentence of yours, whereby 
 you plainly prove that a man may not greatly ufe it. For if fliootinge 
 be a medicine (as you faye that it is) it may not be ufed very oft, 
 left a man ihould hurtc himfelfe withall, as medycines much occu- 
 pyed doo. For Ariftotle himfelfe fayth, that medycines be not meate 
 to live withall : and thus fliootinge, by the fame leafon, maye not 
 be much occupyed. Tox. You playe your olde wontes, Philologe, in 
 
 dalyinge with other mennes wittes, not fo much to prove your owne 
 matter, as to prove what other men can faye. But where you thincke 
 that I take away much ufe of fliootinge, in lykening it to a medy- 
 cine : becaufe men ufe not medycines everye daye, for fo fliould theyr 
 bodyes be hurte: I rather prove daily ufe of fliootinge thereby. For 
 although Ariftotle fayth that fome medycines be no meate to live withal, 
 which is true : yet Hippocrates fayth our dailye meatcs be medycines, 
 Hippoc. de tQ withfland evill withal, which is as true, for he maketh two kindcs 
 of medycines, one our meate that we ufe dailye, which purgeth foftlye 
 and flowlye, and in this funilitude maye fliooting be called a medycine, 
 wherewith dailye a man maye purge and take away all unlawful defires to 
 other unlawful paftimes, as I proved before. The other is a quicke purg- 
 inge medycine, and feldomer to be occupyed, except the matter be 
 greater, and I could defcribe the nature of a quicke medycine, which 
 fliould within a while purge and plucke out all the unthriftye games in 
 the rcalme, through which the common wealthe oftentimes is ficke. 
 For not onlye good quicke wittes to learninge be thereby broughtc oute 
 of frame, and quite marred, but alfo manly wittes, eyther to attempt 
 matters of high courage in warre time, or elfe to atchieve matters of 
 weight and wyfdome in peace time, be made thereby veiy quafye and 
 faynte. For loke through all hiftories written in Grecke^ Latine, or 
 other language, and you fliall never finde that reahne profper in the 
 whiche fuch ydlc paftimes are ufed. As concerninge the medycine, al- 
 thoughe fome would be mifcontent, if they heard me meddle anye 
 thinge with it : yet, betwixt you and me here alone, I maye tlie bold- 
 Iyer faye my fantafye, and the rather becaufe I will onlye wifti for it, 
 which ftandeth with honefty, not determine of it, which belongeth to 
 authoritye. The medycine is this, that would to God and the Prince, 
 
 all
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 91 
 
 all thefe unthriftye ydle paflimes, which be very bugges that the Pfalme Pfalme 90. 
 meaneth on, walking on the night and in corners, were made felonye, 
 and feme of that punifliment ordayned for them, which is appointed 
 for the forgers and falfifyers of the King's coyne. Which puniihment 
 is not by me now invented, bnt long ago, by the mode noble oratour 
 Demojlhmes, v/hich marveileth greatlye that death is appointed for fal- Demofl. 
 fifyers and forgers of the coyne, and not as greate punifhmente ordayn- contra Lep- 
 ed for them, which by their meanes forges and falfifyes the common ''"^'"' 
 wealth. And I fuppofe that there is no one thinge that changeth foner 
 the golden filver vvittes of men into copperye and brafTye wayes, then 
 dyfinge and fucli unlavvfull paltimes. 
 
 And this quicke medycine, I believe, woulde fo throwlye purge them, ~ 
 that the daily medycines, as fliootinge and other paflimes joyned with 
 honefl: labour, fhoulde eafelyer withftand them. Phi. The excel- 
 
 lent commodities of fliootinge in peace time, Toxophik, you have verye 
 well and fufficiently declared. Whereby you have fo perfuaded me, 
 that, God willinge, hereafter I will both love it the better, and alfo 
 ufe it the ofter. For as much as I can gather of all this communication of 
 ours, the tongue, thenofe, the handes, and the feetc, be no fitter members, 
 or inftrumcntes for the bodyeof a man, than is fliootinge for the hole 
 body of the realme. God hath made the partes of men which be bell 
 and mofl necellarye, to fcrve, not for one purpofe onlye, but for manyc : 
 as the tongue for fpcakingc and taflingc, the nole for finellinge, and al- 
 fo for avoydinge all execrementcs, which faule out of the head, the 
 handes for receiving of good thingcs, and for puttinge of all harnifuU 
 thinges from the bodye. So fliootinge is an cxcrcife of healthe, a paf- 
 time of honefle plealbrc, and fuch one alfo that ffoppeth and avoydeth 
 all noyfome games, gathered and encrcafed by ill rule, as nouglitye hu- 
 mours he, which hurt and corrupte fore that parte of the realme, where- 
 in they do remayne. But novve if you can fhewe but halfe fo muchc 
 profite in warre of fliootinge, as you have proved pleafure in peace, 
 then will I furelye judge that there be fcwe thingcs that have fo niani- 
 folde commodities and ufcs joyned unto them as it hatii. 
 
 Tox. The upper hand in warrc, next th.c goodnefle of God, (of wjiom Mach. 5.3. 
 all viflory commeth, as Scripture fayth) flandethchieflye in three thingcs : 
 in the wifcdomc of the Prince, iji the fleightcs and pollicicsof the caj)- 
 
 N 2 taynes,
 
 g2 THEWORKSOF" 
 
 taynes, and in the ftrengthe and cheicfull forwardneflc of the fouldiours. A 
 Prince in his haite mullt be full of meicye and peace^ a vertue moll plea- 
 launt to Chiift, moft agi eeable to mans nature, mofl profitable forriche 
 and poore J for then the riche nianenjoyeth with great pleafure the which 
 he hath: the poore may obtaine with hh labour, that which he lacketh. 
 . And althoughe there is nothinge worfe then * warrc, whereof it taketh 
 his name, throughe the which great men be in daunger, meane men 
 without fuccour; riche men in feare, becaufe they have fomewhat; poore 
 men in care, becaufe they have nothinge; and every man in doubt 
 and miferye : yet it is a civill medycine, wherewith a Prince may, from 
 the bodye of his common wealthe, put off that danger which may faule : 
 or els recover againe, whatfoever it hath lofte. And therefore, as Ifocra- 
 tes doth faye, a Prince muft be a warriour in two thinges, in cunninge 
 and knowledge of all fleightes and feates of warre, and in havinge 
 all neccfl'ary habilimentes belonginge to the fame. Which matter to 
 entreate at large, were over longe at this time to declare, and over mucli 
 for my learninge to perfourme. 
 
 After the wifedome of the Prince, are valiant captaines mofl: neccf- 
 farye in warre, whole office and dutye is to knowe all fleightes and pol- 
 licies for all kindes of warre, which they may learne two wayes, eyther 
 in dailye folowinge and hauntinge the warres, or els, becaufe wyfedome 
 boughte with flripes is manye times over coftlye, they may beftovv 
 fome time in Vegetius, which entreateth fuch matters in Latine metelye 
 well, or rather in Polyenus, and Leo the Emperour, which fettetli oute 
 all pollicies and duties of captaines in the Grceke tongue verye excel- 
 lentlye. But chieflye I would wiflie, and (if I were of authoritye) I 
 woulde counfell all the younge gentlemen of this realmc, never to laye 
 out of their hands two authors, Zmophon in Grecke, and Cafar in 
 D« Sen. Latine, wherein they fliould folow noble Scipio Africanus, as Tuilic doth 
 fay: in which two authors, befydes eloquence, a thinge mofl: neceffarye 
 of all other for a captaine, they Ihould learne the hole courle of warre, 
 which thofe two noble men did not more wifelye write for other men to 
 learne, than they did manfully cxercife in the field, for other men to 
 folowe. 
 
 • War is an oW word, flill ufcd in fome counties for w:rft, and Afcham fuppofes that 
 v;ar or hoftility is fo named becaufe it is vjar or varft than peace. 
 
 The
 
 ROGER ASCHA M. 93 
 
 The (Irengthe of warre lyeth in the fouldiour, whole chicfc prayfc Obedience, 
 and veitue is obedience towarde his captaine, fayth Plato. And Zcno- piat. leg. 12. 
 phon, being a gentyle author, moft- chriftianlye doth inye, even by ^eii.Agei". 
 thcfe wordes, that that fouldiour which firft lerveth God, and then 
 obeyeth his captaine, maye boldlye, with all courage, hope to ovcrthrowc 
 his enemye. Againe, without obedience, neyther valiant man, itout Zeu. Hipp, . 
 horfe, nor goodly harnefle, doth any good at all : which obedience of 
 the fouldiour toward the captaine, brought the hole empyre of the 
 work! into the Romaynes handes, and, when it was brought, kept it 
 longer than ever it was kept in any common wealth before or after. 
 And this to be true, Scipio Africauus, the moft noble captain that ever piutarchu- 
 ivas among the Romaynes, fliewed very plainly, what time as he went 
 into AJricke to deftroy Carthage. For he refting his hoaft by the way 
 in Sicilie, a day or two, and at a time ftandinge with a great man of 
 Sicilie, and lokinge on his foldiours how they exercifed themfelves in 
 kepinge of arraye, and other feates, the gentleman of Sicilie afked 
 Scipio, wherein laye his chief hope to overcome Carthage? He aunfvver- 
 ed. In yonder fellowes of myne whom you fee playe: And why? fayth 
 the other; Becaufe, ia.yth Scipio, that, if I commanded them to runne 
 into the top of this high caille, and cafl themfelves downe backward 
 upon thefe rockes, I am fure they would do it. Salu/l alfo doth write, Sal. in Cat; 
 that there were mo Rcrnaynes put to death of their captaynes for fet- 
 tinge on their cnemyes before they had licence, than were for run- 
 ninge away out of the field, before they had foughten. Thefe two 
 examples do prove, that amonges the Romaynes, the obedience of the 
 fouldiours was wonderfull greate, and the feveritye of the captaynes, 
 to fee the fame kept, wonderfull ftrayte. For they well perceived that 
 an hoaft full of obedience, falleth as feldome into the handes of their 
 enemycs, as that body falleth into jeopardye, the which is ruled by 
 reafon. Reafon and rulers being like in office, (for the one ruleth tlic 
 body of man, the other ruleth the body of the common wealthe) oughtc 
 to be like of conditions, and oughte to be obeyed in all maner of 
 matters. Obedience is nouriihed by fcare and love, fearc is kept in by 
 true juftyceand equityc, love is gotten by wyfedomc, joyned by liberali- 
 tye. For where a fouldiour feeth righteoufnelfc fo rule, that a man 
 can do neyther wrongc, nor yet take wronge, and that his captaine 
 for his wyfedome can maintaine him, and for his liberalitye will niain- 
 taine him, he muft needes both love him and feare him, of the which 
 
 procedeth
 
 94 THEWORKSOF 
 
 proccdeth true and unfayned obedience. After this inwarde vertue, the 
 next good point in a foukliour is to have and to handle liis weapon well, 
 whereof the one muft be at the appointment of the captaine, the other 
 lyeth in the courage and excrcife of the foukliour. Yet of all wea- 
 Inllcrc. fur. pons, the heft is, as Euripides doth faye, wherewith what leafl: daunger 
 of ourfelfe we may hurte our enemye moft. And that is (as I fuppofe) 
 artilleiie. Artillerie, now a dayes, is taken for two thinges: gunnes 
 and bowes, which, how much they do in warre, both daily experience 
 dotli tcache, and alfo Peter Nanmus, a learned man of Louayn, in a 
 certaine dialogue doth very well fet oute, wherein this is moft notable, 
 that when he hath fliewed excedinge commodities of both, and fome 
 difcommodities of gunnes, as infinite coft and charge, comherfome 
 carriage, and, if they be greate, the uncertaine levelingc, the perill of 
 them that ftand by them, the eafyer avoidinge by them that ftande farre 
 of: and, if they be litle, the lefle both fear and jeoperdye is in them, 
 hefyde all contrarye wether and winde, which hindereth them not a 
 litle; yet of all fliootinge he cannot reherfe one difcommoditye. 
 Phi. That I marveile greatly at, feinge Isannha is fo well learned, and 
 fo exercifed in the authors of both the tongues: for I myfelfe do remem- 
 ber, that fliootinge in warre is but fmallye prayfed, and that of divers 
 captaines in divers authors. For firft in Euripides^ whom you fo high- 
 lye prayfe (and verye well, for ^ullye thinketh everye verfe in him to 
 be an authoritye) what, I praye you, doth Lyciis, that overcame 'TbebcSy 
 faye as concerninge fliootinge? whofc wordes, as farre as I remember, 
 be thefe, or not much unlike. 
 
 Kurip. in What prayfe hath he at ally which never durfl abyde, 
 
 Hcrc.furcnt. j/^^ ^-^^^ ^ ^ ^^^r^; point thrujl againfl his fyde. 
 
 Nor ne'vcr bouldty buckclcr bare yet in his left hande. 
 Face to face his enemies bront fiiffelye to withjlatide. 
 But akvaye trufleth to a boiue, and to a feathered fticke, 
 Harnefje ever moft fit for him ivhiche to file is qui eke, 
 Bowe andfjqft is armoure mete ft for a cowarde 
 Which dare not ones abide the bront of battaile floarpe and hardc. 
 
 But he a man of manhode moft is mine afienf, 
 Whi^b, iviih hart and courage bould, fullie hath him bent, 
 Uis enemies loke in everye ftoure ftoutelie to abide. 
 Face to jacc, andfootetofoote, tidcwhat maye betide, 
 
 2 Againe,
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 95 
 
 Agalne, Teiicer, the befl: archer amonge all the Grecians, in Sophocles Sophoc. in 
 is called of Menelaus a bowe-man, and a fliootcr, as in villianye and^'^-^^^S- 
 reproach, to be a thinge of no price in warre. Moreover, PundaniSj 
 the befl fhooter in the worlde, whom ApcUo himfelfe taughte to Ihoote, 
 both he and his fhootinge is quite contemned in Homer, in lb much 
 that Homer (which under a made fable doth alwayes hide his judgment Uiad 5. 
 ofthinges) doth make Pandarus himfelfe crye out of fliooting, and call 
 his bowe away, and take him to a fpeare, makinge a vow, that if ever 
 he came home, he would bieake his Ihaftes, and burne his bowe, 
 lamentinge greatlye, that he v^^as fo fonde to leave at home his horfe 
 and chariot, with other weapons, for the trufl: that he had in his bow. 
 Homer fignifying thereby, that men fliould leave fnootinge out of warre, 
 and take them to other weapons more fitte and able for the fame, and- 
 I trowe Paiidarus wordes be much what after this fort. 
 
 If cbaimce ill liicke me hyther brought, 
 111 fcrtime me that day befell. 
 When Jirji my bowe from the pynne I raiightey, 
 For HeSlors fake, the, Greekes to quelL 
 
 But if that God fo for me f jape 
 That home againe 1 maye ones come, 
 Let me never cnjoye that hap. 
 Nor ever twife looke on the fonne, . 
 If bowe andJJ:aftes I do not burne. 
 Which now fo evill doth ferve my turne. 
 
 But to let pafle all poetes, what can be forer fayd againft any thinge, 
 than the judgement of Cyrus is againft fliootinge, which doth caufe his 
 Perfians, being the beft fliooters, to lay away their bowes, and take j,^^ ^, ,^ 
 them to fwordes and buckelers, fpeares and dartcs, and other like handelnft. 6. 
 weapons. The which thinge Zenophon, fo wyfe a philofopher, fo ex- 
 pert a captaine in warre himfelfe, would never have written, and fpe- 
 ciallye in that booke wherein he purpofed to fhewe, as Tullye fayth in- Epift. i. aJ 
 deede, not the true hiflorye, but the example of a perfitc wyfe Prince Q:^'"- 
 and common wealth, excepte that judgement of chaunging artillery 
 into other weapons he had alwayes thought beft to be folowed in all 
 warre. Whofe counfayle the Parthians chd folowe, when they chafed piutarch. 
 Antony e over the mountaynes of Media, which beinge the bell fhooteis M- Ant. 
 
 of
 
 96 T II E W O R K S O F 
 
 of the worlde, leftc thcyr bowes, and toke them to fpeares and mo- 
 rifpikes. And thele fevve examples, I trovve, of the belle fliooters, do 
 well prove that the bed fhootinge is not the befl: thing, as you call it, 
 in watre. Tox. As concerninge your fiift example, taken out of 
 
 EnripideSy I marveile you will bringe it for the difprayfe of fliootinge, 
 fecinge Euripides doth make thofe verfes, not becaufe he thinketh them 
 true, but becaufe he thinketh them fit for the perfon that fpake them. 
 For indede his true judgement of ihootinge, he doth cxprelTe by and 
 by after in the oration of the noble Captaine Ampbytrio againft Ly- 
 cus, wherein a m.an maye doubte, whether he hath more eloquentlye 
 confuted Lyctis fayinge, or more worthilye fet oute the prayfe of fhoot- 
 inge. And as I am advifed, his wordcs be much iiereafter as I fliall 
 faye. 
 
 Here. fur. 
 
 Againft the "wittie gift of Jhootinge in a hcwe, 
 Eurlp. in Fonde and leude loordes tfjou leudlie doeji out throive. 
 
 Which if thou loilte hcare of me a ivorde or twayne 
 ^icklie thou may ft learne ho^v fondlie thou doejl blame. 
 
 Firft be that with his harneis himfelfe doth -wall about ^ 
 That fear ce is lejt one hole through which be may pepe cut. 
 Such bond men to their harneis tofght are not hinge mete. 
 But foneft of all other are troden under fete. 
 Jf he be ftronge, hisfelowes faint, in whom he putteth his trujl. 
 So loded with his harneis he mujl nedes lie in the dufl. 
 Nor yet from death he cannot ft art, if ones his weapon breke, 
 Howe ftout, howe fl rouge, howe great, bowe longe, fo ever be fuch a freke. 
 
 But whofoever can handle a bowe, Jlurdie, ftiffc, and ftronge. 
 Wherewith like hay le manie Jhaftes he fiootcs into the thickeft thronge : 
 7his profite he takes, that Jlandinge a farre his aiemies he may fpill. 
 When he and his fullfaje fmll jiande, out of all daunger and ill. 
 And this in warre is wyfedome moft, which workes our enemies woo. 
 When we fhall be far from all fear e and jeoperdie of ourfoo. 
 
 Secondarilf, even as I do not greatly regarde what Menelaus doth 
 faye in Sophocles to Tcucer, becaufe he fpake it both in anger, and alfo 
 to him that he hated ; even fo do I remember very well in Homer, that 
 when Hc^or and the Troyans would liave fet fyre on the Greeke fhips, 
 
 Teucer,
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 'Tcticer, with his bowc, made tliem recule back againe, when Menelam 
 toke him to his feete, and lanne awaye. 
 
 97 
 
 Thirdlye, as conceininge Pandarus, Hojner doth not difprayfe the Horn. il. 5. 
 noble gift of fliootinge, but thereby everye man is taughte, that what- 
 foever, and howe good foever a weapon a man doth ufe in wane, if 
 he be himfclfe a covetous wretche, a foole without counHiile, a peace 
 breaker, as Fandariis was, at laft he fliall, throughe the punifhment of 
 God, faule into his enemies bandes, as Pandarus did, whom Dioviedes, 
 throughe the helpe of Minerva, miferablye flue. 
 
 And, becaufe you make mention of Homer, and Troye matters, what 
 can be moie prayfe for any thinge, I praye you, than that is for flioot- 
 inge, that T^roye could never be dcflroyed without the help of Hercules 
 fliaftes, which thing doth fignifye, that, although all the world were 
 gathered in an armye together, yet, without fliootinge, 'they can never 
 come to their purpole, as Ulyjfes, in Sophocles^ very plainlye doth faye 
 unto Pyrrhus, as concerning Hercules fliaftes to be carried into Troye. 
 
 Nor you without them, nor without you they do ought. 
 
 Soph. Phil. 
 
 Fourthlye, whereas Cyrwj did chaunge part of his bowmen, whereof 
 he had plenty, in other men of warre, whereof he lacked, I will not 
 greatlye difputc whether Cyrus did well in that pointe in thofe dayes or Xcn Cvri 
 no, becaufe it is plaine in Zenophon howe flronge fliootei^s the Perfians ^nilit. 6. 
 were, what bovves they had, what fliaftes and heades they occupyed, 
 what kind of warre theyr enemyes ufed. 
 
 But trulye, as for \.he Partisans, it is plaine in Plutarche, that, inPlut. inM. 
 chaunginge theyr bowes into fpeares, they broughte theyr felfe into ut- ■^"""'' 
 ter defl:ru6tion. For when they had ciiafed the Romaynes manyamylc, 
 throughe reaibn of their bowes, at the laft the Romaynes, afliamed 
 of theyr flyinge, and remembringe theyr olde noblenclle and coura^-e, 
 imagined this way, that they would kneele down on theyr knees, and 
 (b cover all theyr body with theyr Ihieldes and targcttcs, that the Par- 
 thians fliaftes might Aide over them, and do them no harme ; which 
 thing when the Parthians perceyved, thinkinge that the Romaynes weie 
 forweryed with laboure, vvatche, and hunger, they layed downe theyr 
 
 O bowes,
 
 9? THEWORKSOF 
 
 bowes, and toke fperes in theyr handes, and fo ranne upon them; 
 but the Romaynes perceyvinge them without theyr bowes, rofe up man- 
 - fullye, and flue them every mothers fonne, fave a fcwe that faved them- 
 felves with runninge awaye. And herein our archers oiEnglande farre 
 pafl'e the Partbiatis, which for fuch a purpofe, when they fliall come to 
 hand ftrokes, hath ever redye, eyther at his back hanginge, or els in 
 his next felowes hand, a leaden maule, or fuch like weapon, to beat 
 dovvne his enemies withall. Phi. Well, Toxopkile, feeinge that 
 
 thofe examples, which I had thought to have been cleane againft flioot- 
 inge, you have thus turned to the high prayfe of fhootinge : and all 
 this prayfe that you have nowe fayde on it, is rather come in by me 
 than fought for of you : let me heare, I praye you now, thofe exam- 
 ples which you have marked of fiiootinge yourfelfe : whereby you are 
 perfuaded, and thincke to perfwade other, that fhootinge is fo good in 
 warre. Tox. Examples furely I have marked very manye ; from the 
 beginninge of time had in memorye of writinge, throughout all com- 
 mon weahhes and empyres of the worlde : whereof the moft parte I 
 will pafle over, left I ihould be tedious : yet fome I will touche, be- 
 caufe they be notable, both for me to tell and you to heare. 
 
 And becaufe the ftorye of the Jewes is for the time moft auncient, 
 for the truthe moft credible, it fliali be moft fitte to begin with them. 
 And althoughe I know that God is the onelye giver of viflorye, and 
 
 Mach. I. 3. not the weapons, for all ftrengthe and vidlorye (fayth Judas Machabfus) 
 commeth from heaven : yet furclye ftrong weapons be the inftrumentes 
 wherewith God doth overcome that parte, which he will have over- 
 thrown. For God is well pleafed with wyfe and witty feates of warre : 
 as in meting of enemyes for trufe takinge, to have privilye in * a bufh- 
 mcnte harnel\ men layed for feare of treafon, as Judas Machabeiis did 
 
 Mach.2.14. with AVfflwor, Z)^wf^r/ai captaine. And to have engines of warre to 
 beat down cities withal: and to have fcout watch amongcs our enemyes 
 to know tlieyr counfayles, as the noble captaine Jonathan, brother to 
 
 l,Ur.\\. I. It. Judas Machabcus, did in \.\\c zoxxnWyQ oi Amathie, againft the mightye 
 hoaft of Demetrius. And, bcfide all this, God is pleafed to have goodlye 
 tombes for them which do noble feates in warre, and to have theyr 
 images made, and alfo theyr cote armours to be fet above theyr tombes, 
 
 * A l-jjhmcit] This word I do not remember clfewhere : perhaps it flaould be in amliSment. 
 
 7 
 
 to 

 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 09 
 
 to theyr perpetual laude and memoiye! As the valiante captaine .Si)7;zc« 
 did caufe to be made for his brethren Judas Machabeus and Jonathan^ ^^^^^ '''i- 
 when they were flaine of the Gentiles. And thus, of what authoritye 
 feates of warre, and ftronge weapons be, (hortlye and plainlye we mav 
 learne. But amonges the jcwcs, as I begin to tell, I am fure tliere wa8 
 nothinge fo occupyed, or did fo much good as bovves did; in fo much, 
 that when the Jcwes had any great upper-hand over the Gentilesy the 
 firft thinge alwayes that the captaine did, was to exhorte the people 
 to geve all the thankcs to God for the vidlorye, and not to theyr bowes, 
 wherewith they had ilaine theyr enemies : as it is plaine the noble Jo- jof. 13. 
 fue did after fo manye kinges thrufl downe by him. 
 
 God, when he promifeth helpe to xV^Jewes^ he ufeth no kind of 
 fpeakinge fo much as this, that he will bende his bowe, and die his 
 fhaftes in the Gentiles blood : whereby it is manifefl:, that eyther God Deut. 32. 
 will make the Jeives flioote flronge Ihocies to overthrowe theyr ene- 
 myes, or, at leaft, that fhootinge is a wonderfull mighty thinge in 
 warre, whereunto the high power of God is likened. David, in the pfai. 7. 6-. 
 Pfabnes, calleth bowes the veffels of death, a bitter thinge, and, in an 75- 
 other place, a mightye power, and other wayes mo, which I will let 
 paffe, becaufe eveiy man readeth them dailye : but yet one place of Scrip- 
 ture I mufl: needes remember, which is more notable for the prayfe 
 of fliootinge, than any that ever I redde in any other ftorye, and 
 that is, w'htn Sauk was flaine by the Philijlines, beinge mightye bow- ^^S"™i-3'^« 
 men, and "Jonathan his fonne with him, that was fo good a fliooter, 
 as the Scripture fayth, that he never fliote fliafte in vaine, and that the 
 kingdome, after Saulcs death, came unto David: the firft ftatute and 
 lawe that ever David made after he was Kingc, was this, that all the 
 children of Ifracll ihould learne to llioote, according to a lawe made 
 many a daye before that time, for the fetting out of fhootinge, as it 
 is written (fayth Scripture) in hihro Jujlorutn, which booke we have 
 not novve. And thus \\c fee plainly what great ufe of fliootingc,' and 
 what provifion even from the beginninge of the worlds for fliootinge 
 was amongc the Jeives. 
 
 The Ethiopia?is which inhabite the furthcft parte South in the v\orldc, 
 were wonderfull bowmen : infomuch that when Cainoyfes King oi Perfu\ 
 being in Egypt, fent certaine embafladours into Ethiope to the King 
 
 O 2 there.
 
 lOO 
 
 Herodotus 
 in Thalia. 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 there, with manye great giftes : the Khig of Ethiope^ perceyvingt 
 them to be efpyes, toke them uppe fliarpelye, and blamed Cambyjh 
 greatly for fuch unjuft enterprifes: but after that he had princelye en- 
 tertayned them, he fent for a bowe, and bente it and drewe it, and 
 then unbent it againe, and fayd unto the embaffadours, you fliall com- 
 mende me to Cambyjcs, and geve him this bowc from me, and bidde 
 him when any Ferfian can Ihoote in this bowe, let him fet upon the 
 Ethicpians : in the mean while let him geve thanckes unto God, which 
 doth not put in the Ethiopians mindes to conquere any other mans 
 lande. 
 
 Herod, in 
 
 Kntcrpe. 
 Died. Sic. : 
 
 Herod, in 
 Clio. 
 
 This bowe, when it came amonge the Per/imts, never one man in 
 fuch an infinite hoafl (as Herodotus doth faye) could ftyre the ftringe, 
 fave only Smerdis, the brother of Cambyfes, which flyred it two fingers, 
 and no further : for the which a6le Cambyfes had fuch envye at him, 
 that he afterwarde flue him : as doth appeare in the ftorye. 
 
 Sefo/Iris, the moft mightye Kinge that ever was in Egypfe, overcame 
 a great part of the world, and that by archeis : he fubdued the Arabi- 
 ans, the Jeives, the Affyrians: he went farther in Scythia than anye. 
 man els: he overcame T'hracia, even to the borders of Germanye. And, 
 in token how he overcame all men, he fet uppe in manye places great 
 images to his owne likenefle, havinge in one hand a bowe, in the other 
 a Iharpe headed fliafte: that men might knowe what weapon his hoaft 
 ufed, in conqueringe fb manye. people. 
 
 Cyrus, counted a God amonge the Gentiles, for his noblenelTe and fe- 
 licitye in warre : yet, at the laft, when he fet upon the Majfagetes, 
 (which people never- went without theyr bowe nor tlieyr quiver, neyther 
 in warre nor peace) he and all his were flaine, and that by iliootinge, 
 as appeareth in the I\orye. 
 
 Herod, in Pohcrates, the Prince of Samos, (a very litle iflc) was lord over all 
 '^'^^'' the Greekc feas, and withflode the power of the Perjians, only by the 
 
 helpe of a thoufande archers. 
 
 The people of Scythia, of all other men, loved and ufed moft 
 Ihootingc; the hole riches and houfliolde ftufic of a man in Scyihia was 
 
 a
 
 ROGERASCHAM. loi 
 
 a yoake of oxen, a ploughe, his nagge and his dogge, his bovve and his 
 quiver : which quiver was covered with the Ikin of a man, which he 
 toke or flue firft in battaile. The Scythiaiis to be invincible, by reafon 
 of theyr fliootinge, the great voyages of fo manye conquerours fpente 
 in that countrye in vaine, doth well prove: but fpeciallye that of Darius 
 the mightye King of Pcrfia, which, when he had tarryed there a great 
 fpace, and done no good, but had forwearyed his hoafl with travaile 
 and hunger; at laft the men of Scythia fent an embaffadour with four Herod, in 
 giftes, a byrde, a frogge, a moufe and five fhaftes. Darius marveyl- Mlpom. 
 inge at the Ifraungenelfe of the giftes, alked the mefienger what they 
 fignified : the mefienger aunfwered, that he had no fui ther command- 
 ment, but only to deliver his giftes, and returne againe with all fpede: 
 But I am fure (fayth he) you Perjians for your great wyfedome can foone 
 boult out what they meane. When the meffenger was gone, every 
 man began to fay his verdite. Darius judgemente was this, that the 
 Scythians gave over into the Perfians handes theyr lives, theyr hole power, ' 
 
 both by lande and fea, fignifyinge by the moufe the earth, by the frogge 
 the water, in which they both live, by the byrde theyr lives, which live 
 in the ayre, by the fliaft theyr hole power and empyre, that was main- 
 tayned alv/ays by fliootinge. Gobryas, a noble and wyfe captaine a- 
 monges thePer/ians, wasof a clean contrarye minde, fayinge, Naye, not fo, 
 but the Scythians meane thus by theyr giftes, that except we gette us 
 winges, and flye into the ayre hke byrdes, or runne into the holes of the 
 earth hke myfe, or els lye lurkinge in fennes and mariflies, like fiogges, 
 we fliall never returne home againe, before we be utterlye undone with 
 theyr fliaftcs : which fentence fanke fo fore into theyr hartes, that Da- 
 rius, with all fpeede pofiible, brake uppe his campe and gat him(clfe 
 homcwarde. Yet how much the Perjians themfelvcs fette by fliootinge, 
 whereby they encreafed their empyre fo much, doth appear by three ma- 
 nifefl: reafons: firfl: that they brought upj)e theyr youth in the fchole 
 of fhootinge unto twentye years of age, as divers noble G/w/r authours Herod in 
 do faye. Clio. 
 
 Againe, becaufe the noble Kinge Darius thought himfelfe to be ?'•'■"■ '" ^vr. 
 prayfed by nothinge fo much as to be counted a good fliootcr, as''" ■ "' 
 doth appear by his fepulchre, wherein he caufed to be written tb.i 
 fentence : 
 
 Dar. 
 
 tus 
 
 II
 
 lot T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 Darius the King heth buried here, 
 
 that infiooiinge and rydinge bad ne'-jer pere. 
 
 Str^b. 15. 
 
 n j'arch in Thlidlye, the coyne of the Perjians, both golde and filver, had the 
 Angefiia. armcs oi Perfia upon it, as is cuftomably ufed in other realmes, and 
 
 that was boweand arrowes : by the which feate they declared how much 
 
 they fet by them. 
 
 SuiJ^. The Grecians alfo, but fpeciallye the noble Athenienfes, had all theyr 
 
 flrengthe lyinge in artillerie: and, for that purpofe, the citye of 
 Athens had a thoufand men, which were only archers, in dailye wages, 
 to watch and kepe the citye from all jeopardy and fodaine daunger: 
 which archers alfo Ihould carye to prifon and warde anye mifdoer, 
 at the commaundment of the highe officers, as plainlye doth appeare 
 . in Plato. And furelye the bowmen oi Athens did wonderfuU feates in 
 
 ta-^ora. many battels, but fpeciallye when Demojlhenes, the valiant captaine, 
 flue and toke prifoners all the Lacedemonians, befyde the citye of Pyloi, 
 where Kcftcr fome time was lorde : the fhaftes went fo thicke that day, 
 
 _, ... (I'ayth ThucidjdesJ that no man could fee theyr enemyes. A Laccdemo- 
 ' nian, taken prifoner, was ^iked of one at Athens, whether they were 
 floute fellowes that weie flaine or no, of the Lacedemonians ? He an- 
 fwered nothinge els but this : Make much of thofe ftiaftes of youres, 
 for they know neyther floute nor unftoute: meaninge thereby that no 
 man (though he were never fo ftoute) came in theyr walke that efcapcd 
 without death. 
 
 Herodotus defcrybinge the mightye hoaft of Xerxes, efpeclallye doth 
 Herod, in ^larkc oute, what bovves and fliaftes they ufed, fignifyinge that therein 
 laye theyr chiefe flrengthe. And at the fame time Atojfa, mother of 
 Xerxes, wyfe to Darius, and daughter of Cyrus, doth enquire (as Aefchy~ 
 Pcrf. '" ^"•^ flieweth in a tragedye) of a certaine meflenger that came from Xer- 
 xes hoaft, what ft:ronge and fearfuU bowes the Grecians ufed : whereby 
 it is playne, that artillerye was the thinge, wherein both Europe and 
 Afia in thofe days trufted moft: upon. 
 
 The beft part of Alexanders hoaft were archers, as plainlye doth 
 appeare by Arrianus, and other that wrote his life : and thofe fo ftrong 
 archers, that they onlye, fundry times overcame theyr enemyes afore 
 
 any
 
 ROGERASCHAM. ,oj 
 
 any other needed to fighte: as was kene in the battaile which Near- 
 
 £bus, one of Alexanders captaines, had befyde the j-yver Thomeron. And 
 
 therefore, as concerninge all thefe kingdomes and common wealthes, 
 
 I maye conclude with this fentence oiPli?iye, whofe wordes be, as I fup- Plin. Jib.ifi. 
 
 pofe, thus : " If anye man would remember the Ethiopians, Egyptians, ^^P' 3&- 
 
 " Arabians, the men of Jnde, of Scythia, fo many people in the Eafle 
 
 " of the Sarmatianes, and all the kingdomes of the Parthians, he fhall 
 
 " perceive halfe the parte of the worlde to live in fubje(5lion, over- 
 
 *' come by the mighte and power of fhootinge." 
 
 In the common wealth of Rome, which exceeded all other in vertue, 
 noblenelle and dominion, little mention is made of fliootinge, notbecaufe 
 it was little ufed amonges them, but rather becaufe it was fo neceflarye 
 and common, that it was thought a thinge not neceflarye or required of 
 anye man to be fpoken upon ; as if a man fliould defcrybe a great feafi:, 
 he would not ones name breade, althoughe it be moft common and ne- 
 ceflarye of all: but furelye, if a fcafl:, being never fo great, lacked 
 breade, or had fewfl:ye and noughtye breade, all the other daintyes 
 ihould be unfaverye, and litle regarded, and then would men talke of 
 the commoditye of bread, when they lacke it, that would not ones 
 name it afore, when they had it: and even fo did the Romaynes, as 
 concerninge fhootinge. Seldome is fhootinge named, and yet it did 
 the moft good in warre, as did appeare verye plainlye in that bat- 
 taile, which Scipio Ajricanus had with the Numantines in Spaijie, whom 
 he could never overcome, before he fet bowemen amonges his hoife- 
 men, by whofe might they were cleane vanquiflied. 
 
 Againe, 'Tiberius, fightinge with Armcnius and Inquiomerus, Princes Cor. Tac. 2. 
 of Germayne, had one winge of archers on horfcbacke, an other of 
 archers on foote, by whofe might the Germaynes were ilainc downright, 
 and fo fcattercd and beate out of the fielde, that the chafe lafted ten 
 miles ; the Germaynes clame up into trees for feare, but the Romaynes did 
 fetche them downe with theyr fliaftes, as they had been birdes, in 
 which battaile the Romaynes loll few or none, as doth appeare in tlie 
 hiftoryc. 
 
 But as I beganne to faye, the Romayjies did not fo mucli prayfc tJic. 
 goodnelle of Ihootinge, when they had it, as they did lament the lackc 
 
 of 
 
 I
 
 Chckc. 
 
 404 THEWORKSOF 
 
 of it, when they wanted it, as Leo the V. the noble Empeiour, dothc 
 p'ainly tcftifye in fundrye places in thole bookes which he wrote in 
 Gtreke, of the /leightes and pollicies of ivarre. Phi. Surelye of that 
 
 bookc I have not heard before, and how came you to the fight of it ? 
 Tox. The bookc is rare trulye, but this laft yeare, when Maifter 
 Chcke fianflated the fayde booke oute of Greeke into Latine, to the Kings 
 Majeftye, Herirye the Eyght, of noble memorye, he, of his gentlenefle, 
 would have me verye oft in his chamber, and, for the familiaritye that 
 I had with him, more than manye other, would fuffer me to reade of 
 it, when I would, the which thinge to do, furelye I was verye defuous 
 and glad, becaufe of the excellent handelinge of all thinges, that ever 
 he taketh in hande. And verilye, Pbihloge, as oft as I remember the 
 Sir John dcpartinge of that man from the L/«/'w;y?/)r, (which thinge I do not 
 feldome) fo ofte do I well perceive our moft helpe and furtheraunce to 
 learninge, to ha\e gone away with him. For, by the great commodi- 
 tye that we toke in hearinge him reade privately in his chamber, all 
 Homer., Sophocles, and Eurifides, Herodotus, T^hucydides, Zencphofi, Ifocra- 
 tes, and P/cio, we feele the great dilcommodity in not hearinge of him, 
 Arijlotle and Demcjlbenes, which two authours, with all diligence, laft 
 of all, he thought to have redde unto us. And when I conlider howe 
 manye men be fuccoured with his helpe, and his ayde to abyde here 
 for learninge, and howe all men were provoked and ftyrred up, by his 
 counfayle and dailye examj^le, howe they Ihould come to learninge, 
 furelye J perceive that fentence of P/^/o to be true, which fayeth : " that 
 " there is nothinge better in anye common wealthe, than that there 
 " fliould be aKvayes one or other excellent pallinge man, whofe life 
 " and vertue Ihoulde plucke forwarde the will, diligence, laboure, and 
 " hope of all other, that, folovvinge his foot-fteppes, they might come 
 " to the fame ende, whereunto labour, learninge, and vertue, had con- 
 " veyed him before." 
 
 The great hinderaunce of learninge, in lackinge this man, greatly 
 I Hiould lament, if this difcommoditye of ours were not joyned with 
 the commodityc and wealth of the whole realme, for which purpofe our 
 noble Kingc, full of wyfedome, called uppe this excellent man, full of 
 leaininge, to tcache noble Prince Edwardc, an office full of hope, com- 
 forte, and folace, to all true hartes of Euglande : for whoni all Englande 
 dailye dotii praye, that he, pafllng his tutour in learninge and know- 
 ledge,
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 105 
 
 ledge, followinge his father in wyfedome and felicitye, accordinge to 
 that example which is fet afore his eyes, maye fo fet oute and main- 
 tayne Gods word, to the abolifhment of all papiftry, the confarion of 
 all herefyc, that thereby be feaied of his encmyts, loved of all his fub- 
 jecls, may bring to his own glorye immortal fame and memory, to 
 this realmx, wealth, honour, and felicity, to true and unfained religion 
 perpetuall peace, concord and unitye. 
 
 But to returne to flaootiiige againe, what Leo faythof fliootinge,amongcs 
 the Romaynes^ his wordes be fo much for the prayfe of fnootinge, and 
 the booke alfo fo rare to be gotten, that I learned the places by hearte, 
 which be, as I fuppofe, even this. Firil: in his iixte booke, as concern- 
 in2;e what harnefle is beft: " Let all the vouth of Rome be compelled 
 " to ufe fhootinge, eyther more or lefs, and alwayes to beare theyr bowe 
 " and theyr quiver aboute with them, untill they be eleven yeares olde." 
 For fithens fhootinge was neglected and decayed amonge the Roinaymes, 
 many a battayle and fielde hath bene loft. Agayne, in the eleventh 
 booke and fiftieth chapter, (1 call that by bookes and chapters, which 
 t\\Q'Grceke book divideth by chapters and paragraphes) " Let your Leo. ix. 50. 
 *' fouldiours have theyr weapons well appointed and trimmed, but, 
 " above all other thinges, regard mofl: ihootinge, and therefore let 
 " men, when there is no warre, ufe fliootinge at home. For the leav- 
 " inge off onelye of fliootinge, hath brought in ruine and decaye the 
 " whole cmpyre of Rome." 
 
 Afterwarde he commaundeth agayne his captaine by thefe wordes. 
 " Arme your hoafte as I have appointed you, but efpeciallye with Leo. 18.21. 
 " bowe and arrowes plentye. For fliootinge is a thinge of much 
 " miglite and power in warre, and chieflye agaynfl the Sarace?ies 
 " and Tiirkes, which people hath all theyr hope of vi6lorye in 
 " theyr bowe and fliaftes." Bcfides all this, in an other place, he 
 wryteth thus to his captayne. " Artillerye is cafy to be prepared, 
 " and, in time of great nede, a thinge moll profitable, therefore we 
 " flraitelye commaund you to make proclamation to all men under 
 " our dominion, which be eyther in wane or peace, to all cities, bor- 
 " rowes, and townes, and finally, to all maner of men, that every 
 " fere perfon have bowe and fhaftes of his owne, and cverye houle bc- 
 
 P " fides
 
 io6 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 " fides this to have a ftandinge bearinge bowe, and forty fhaftes for 
 " all nedes, and that they exercife themfelves in holts, hilles, and 
 *' dales, plaines and woods, for all maner of chaunces in warre." 
 
 How much Ihootinge was ufed among the olde Romaynes, and what 
 meanes noble captaynes and empcrours made to have it increafe a- 
 mongcs them, and what hurte came by the decaye of it, thefe vvordes 
 of Leo the Emperour, which, in a maner, I have rehearfed word for 
 word, plainly doth declare. 
 
 And yet fliootinge, althoughe they fet never fo much by it, was 
 never fo good then, as it is now in Englande-, which thinge to be true 
 , is very probable, in that Leo doth fay, " That he would have his 
 
 " fouldiours take off theyr arrow heades, and one flioote at another, 
 " for theyr exercife ;" which play if Englipo archers ufed, I thincke 
 they fhould finde fmall playe, and lefTe pleafure in it at all. 
 
 The greate upperhande maintayned alwayes in warre by artil- 
 lerye, doth appear very plainlye by this reafon alfo, that when the 
 Spaniardes, Frencbme/i, and Germay?ies, Grcekes, Macedonians, and Egyp- 
 tians, cche countrye ufinge one finguler weapon, for which they were 
 greatlye feared in warre, as the Spaniarde Lancea, the Frenchman Gefa, 
 the Germane Framea, the Grecian Machera, the Macedonian Sarijfa, yet 
 could they not efcape but be fubje6les to the empyre of Rome, when 
 the Partbians, having all theyr hope in artiilerye, gave no place to 
 Plutarch in ^^^^'^> ^"^ overcame the Romayncs ofter than the Romaynes them, and 
 Crafl. & in kept battel with them many an hundred yeare, and flue the riche Craf- 
 M. Anton, j^^^ ^^^^ j^jg fonne, with many a ftout Romayne more, with theyr bowes^ 
 * they drave Marcus Antonius over the hills of Media and Armenia, to 
 his great fliame and reproche j they flue Julianas Apojlata, and Anto- 
 jjintis Caracalla ; they held in perpetuall prifon the moft noble Empe- 
 rour Valerian, in defpyte of all the Romaynes and many other princes, 
 which wrote for his deliveraunce, as Belfolisy called King of Kinges, 
 Fa/erius Kinge of Cadufia, Arthabejdes King of Armenia, and manye 
 other Princes more, whome the Partbians, by reafon of theyr artiilerye, 
 regarded never one whitte, and thus with the Romaynes, I maye con- 
 clude, that the borders of theyr empyre were not at the funne ryfinge 
 
 and
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 107 
 
 and rnnne fettinge, as 'Tiillye fayth ; but fo fane they went, as artlllerye 
 would geve them leave. For, I thinck, all the ground that they had, 
 eyther Northward, further than the borders of Scythia, or Eaftward, 
 further than the borders oi Partbia, a man might have bought with aPauIusDia. 
 fmall deale of money, of which thinge furely ihooting was the caufe. 
 
 From the fame country of Scythia, the Gothiansy Hunncs-, and Van- 
 diiUans, came with the fame weapon of artillerye, as Paulus Diaconiis 
 doth faye, and fo bereft Rome of her empyre by fyre, fpoyle, and 
 wafte, fo that in fuch a learned city was left fcarce one man behinde, 
 that had learninge or leifure to leave in writinge to them which fhould 
 come after how fo noble an empyre, in fo Ihort a while, by a rabble 
 of baniflied bond- men, withoute all order and pollicye, fave onely p. Mela: 
 theyr naturall and dailye exercyfe in artillerye, was broughte to fuch 
 thraldome and ruine. 
 
 After them the Turkes, having another name but yet the fame people, 
 borne in Scythia, brought uppe onely in artillerye, by the faine wea- 
 pon have, fubdued and bereft from the Chriflen men all AJia and 
 Affrkke (to fpeak upon) and the moft noble countryes of Europe^ 
 to the greate demynifliing of Chriftes Religion, to the greate reproache 
 of cowardyfe of all Chriftianitye, a manifeft token of Gods high 
 wrath and difpleafure over the fmne of the worlde, but fpeciallye amonges 
 Chriften men, which be on flepe, made druncke with the fruites of the Nota. 
 flefli, as infidelitye, difobediencc to Gods word, and herefie, grudge, 
 ill will, ftrife, open battaile, and privy envye, covetoufnelie, oj}preir)on, 
 unmercifulnelie, with innumerable fortes of unfpeakable daily bavvdiye: 
 which thinges furelye, if God holde not his holye hand over us, and 
 plucke us from them, will bringe us to a more Turki/Jjucs, and more 
 beaftelyc blind barbaroufnefle, as callinge ill thinges good, and good 
 thinges ilL Contemnynge of knowledge and learninge, fettinge at nought, 
 and having for a fable, God and his hyghe providence, will bringe 
 us, I fay, to a more ungracious TurkiJJ.mes, if more T'urkiJ/.mcs can be 
 than this, than if the T'tirkes had fworne to brynge all Turkye againft 
 us. For thefe fruites furely mull: needes fprynge of fuch leede, and 
 fuch effect needes folow of fuch a caufe, if realbn, truth, and God be 
 not altered, but as they are wont to be. For furelye no Turkific 
 
 P 2 power
 
 loS THEWORKSOF 
 
 power can overthrow us, it" Turkijhe lyfe do not cafle us downe before. 
 It" God were with us, it buted not the Turke to be againft us, but our 
 unfaytht'ull fmnefullivinge which is the Turkes mother, and hath brought 
 liim uppe hitherto, mullc needcs turne God from us, becaufe finne 
 and he hath no felowlhippe together. It" we banilhed ill lyvinge oute 
 of Chrillendome, I am lure tlie ■Tiirkc lliould not oneiy not overcome 
 us, but I'carce have an hole to runne into in his owne countrye. 
 
 But Chiillcndomc now, I may tell you, Pbi/o'oge, is much like a man 
 that hath an itch on him, and lycth dronke alio in his bed, and though 
 a theefe come to the dorc, and heaveth at it, to come in and lleye him, 
 yet he lyeth in his bedde, having more pleafure to lye in a flumber and 
 fcratch himlelfe where it itcheth, even to the harde bone, than he 
 hath redinelle to rife uppe luftely, and drive him away that would 
 robbe him and fleye him. But, I trull, Chrift will fo lighten and lift 
 uppe Chriften mens eyes, that they fliall not lleepe to death, nor that 
 the Turke, Chrifls open enemy, fhall ever boafl that he hath quite over- 
 throwen us. 
 
 But, as I began to tell you, fliootinge is the chyefe thinge where- 
 with God fuliereth the Turke to punifne our noughtye lyvinge withall: 
 the youth there is broughte uppe in fhootinge, his piivy garde for his 
 own perfoune is bowmen, the might of theyr Ihootinge is well knowen 
 Cafp, de re- ^f the Spatiyardes, which at the tov/n called Newecajiley in Jllyrica, were 
 quite flaine uppe, of the Turkes arrowes : when the Spanyardes had no 
 ufe of theyr gunnes by reafon of the raine. And now, lail of all, the 
 Emperours majeftye himfelfe, at the cityc of jirgier in Affricke^ had 
 his hoaft fore handled with the Turkes arrowes, when his gunnes were 
 quite difpatched, and ftode him in no fervice becaufe of the raine that 
 fell, whereas in fucha cliaunce of raine, if he had had bowmen, furely 
 theyr fliotte mighte peradventure have bene a little hindered, but quite 
 difpatched and marde it could never have bene. But, as for the 
 Turkes, I am werye to talke of them, partlye becaufe I hate them, and 
 partlye becaufe 1 am now affeftioned even as it were a man that had 
 bene longe wanderinge in ftraunge countries, and would fayne be at 
 home to fee how well his own frendes profper and lead theyr lyfe. 
 And furelyc, me thincke, I am verye merye at my hart to remember 
 
 how 
 
 I
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 109 
 
 how I fliall finde at home in Etiglmuie, amonges EngliJJ:men, partely by 
 hiftoryes of them that have gone afore us, againe by experience of 
 them which we knowe and live witii us, as greate noble feates of warre 
 by artillerye as ever was done at anye time in any other common 
 weahlie. And here I niufl nedes remember a certaine Frenchman, cal- 
 led TextoVy that writeth a booke which he nameth OJficina, wherein Textor. 
 he weaveth up many broken ended matters, and {ettes out much rilf- 
 rafie, pelfery, trumpery, baggage, and beggery ware, clampardc up of 
 one that would fceme to be htter for a Ihop indede than t ) wryte anye 
 booke. And, amonges all other ill packed up matters, he thruftes uppe 
 in a heepe together all the good (hooters that ever hath bene in the 
 worlde, as he fayth himfelfe, and yet I trowe, Philologe, that all the ex- 
 amples which I now, by chaunce, have reherfed out of the beft authors 
 both in Greke and Latine, I'cxtor hath but two of them, which two 
 furelye, if they were to reckon againe, I would not ones name them, 
 partiye becaufe they were noughtye perfons, and fliootinge fo muche 
 the worfe, becaufe they loved it, as Domitian and Commodus, the Empe- 
 rours: partiye becaufe T'extor hath them in his booke, on whom Iloked 
 by chaunce in the booke-binders flioppe, thinckinge of no fuch mat- 
 ter. And one thinge I will faye to you, Philologe, that if I were difpo- 
 fed to do it, and you had leylure to hear it, I could fone do as T'extor 
 doth, and reckon uppe fuch a rabble of fhooters that be named here 
 and there in poetes, as would bold us talkinge whiles to-morrow : but 
 my purpofe was not to make mention of thofe which were fayned of 
 poetes for theyr pleafure, but of fuchc as were proved in hiftoryes 
 for a truthe. But why I bringc in Textor was this : at laft, when he 
 hath rekened all fliootcrs that he can, he fayth thus, Petrus Crinitus-p^Q^-^^ ., 
 wryteth, that the Scottes, which dwell beyonde Englande, be very excel- 10. 
 lent lliooters, and tlie bell bowmen in warre.. This fentence, whether 
 Crinitui wrote it more leu.llye of ignorance, or Textor confirmeth it 
 more pivifhlye of cnvye, maye be called in queflion and doubt, but this 
 furelye do I knowe verve well, that Textor hath both redde in Gaguiiius 
 the Frenche hiftorye, and alfo hath hearde has father or graunde father 
 talke (excepte per chaunce he was b>irn and bredde in a cloyfl:er) after 
 that fort of the fliootinge of Englip:)men, that Textor neded not to have 
 gone lo piviflilye beyonde Englande for fliootinge, but might very foon, 
 even into the tirfl tov/ne of Kent, have found fuch plcntye of fliootinge, 
 
 as
 
 no T II E W O R K S O F 
 
 as is not in all the real me of Scotlande againe. The Scott es furclye 
 be good men of warre in theyr owne feates as can be : but as for 
 fliootinge, they neyther can ufe it for any profite, nor yet will chalenge 
 it for any praife, althonghe Maifter T'extor, of his gcntlenefle, would 
 geve it them. Tcxtor neded not to have filled up his booke with fuch 
 John Maj. 6. lyes, if he had redde the hillorye of ScctLindc, which Jchannes Major 
 doth wr}'tc : wherein he might have learned, that when James Stewart, 
 firft Kinge of that name, at the parliamcnte holden at Saint Johns towne, 
 cr Perthie, commaundinge under paine of great forfite, that everye 
 Scotte (hould learnc to flioote : yet neyther the love of theyr countrye, 
 the feare of theyr cnemyes, the avoydinge of punifliment, nor the re- 
 ceyvinge of any profite that might come by it, could make them to 
 be good archers : which be unapte and unfitte thereunto by Gods pro- 
 vidence and nature. 
 
 Therefore the Scottes themfelves prove Textor a Iyer, both with auclo- 
 
 ritye and alfo daily experience, and by a certaine proverbe that they 
 
 have amonges theyr communication, whereby they geve the whole 
 
 I prayfe of Ihootinge honeillye to Englijl^meny fayinge thus : that Every 
 
 \ EfigllJIi archer bearctb under his girdle twenty-four Scottes. 
 
 John Major But to let Textor and the Scottes go, yet one thinge would I wifhe 
 6.Hift.Scot.£Q^. ^i^g Scottes, and that is this, that feeinge one God, one fayth, one 
 compafle of the fea, one land and countrye, one tounge in fpeakinge, 
 one maner and trade in lyvinge, like courage and ftomache in warre, 
 like quickenefife of witte to learninge, hath made Englande and Scot- 
 lande both one, they would fuffer them no longer to be two: but cleane 
 geve over the Pope, which fceketh none other thinge (as manye a noble 
 and wyfe Scottijhc man doth knowe) but to fede uppe dilTcntion and 
 parties betwixte them and us, procuringe that thinge to be two, which 
 God, nature, and reafon would have one. 
 
 How profitable fuch an * attonemente were for Scotlande, both Johan- 
 nes Major and Hcclor Boetius, which wiote the Scottes chronicles, do tell, 
 and alfo all the gentlemen of Scotlande, with the poore communaltye, 
 ^o v.cU knowe : fo that there is nothinge that ftoppcth this matter, fave 
 
 * Attcnement is Union, or the ail of felting at oat. 
 
 only
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. ju 
 
 only a fev^ fiyers, and fuch like, which, with the dregges of our Eng- 
 liJJje Papiftryc lurkinge amonges them, ftudye nothing els but to brewe 
 battaile and ftrit'e betwixt both the people : whereby onlye they hope 
 to maintaine theyr papifticall kingdome, to the deftru6lion of the noble 
 bloude of Scotlande, that then they maye with authoritye do that, which 
 neyther noble man nor poor man in Scotlandc yet doth know. And as 
 for ScottiJJ^e men and EiigUfie men be not ennemyes by nature, but by 
 cuftome; not by our good will, but by theyr own foUye : which fliould 
 take more honour in being copied to Englande, than we fiiould take pro- 
 file in beinge joyned to Scotlande. 
 
 Wales beinge headye and rebelHng many yeares againft us, laye wilde, 
 untylled, uninhabited, without lawe, jullice, civilitye and order; and 
 then was amonges them more flealinge than true dealinge, more 
 furetye for them that lludycd to be nought, than quietncfle for 
 them that laboured to be good : when nowe, thancked be God and 
 noble Englande, there is no countrye better inhabited, more civile, 
 more diligent in honeft craftes, to get both true and plentifuU livinge 
 withall. And this felicitye (my minde geveth me) fliould have chaunced 
 alfo to Scotlande, by the godlye wyfedome of the nioft noble Prince. 
 Kinge Heiirye the VIII. by whom God wrought more wonderfull thinges 
 than ever by anye Prince before : as baniihinge the biflioppe of i?^/??^ and 
 herefye, bringinge to light Gjils word and ventye, eflablifliinge fuch 
 jullice and equitye throughe everye part of this realme, as neva* was; 
 feene afore. 
 
 But Tcxtor (I bcfhrowe him) hath almoft brought us from our com- 
 munication of fhootinge. Now Sir, by my judgemcnte, the artillerye 
 of Englande farre exceedeth ail other realmes: but yet one thinge I. 
 doubt, and long have furely in that point doubted, when, or by whom, 
 fliootinge was iirfl brought into Englande ; and, for the fame purpofe, 
 as I was once in companye with Sir 'Thomas Eliot knighte, which furely 
 for his Icarninge in all kinde of knowledge, brought muche vvorHiippe 
 to all the nobilitye of Englande, I was fo bould to afke him, if he at 
 any time had marked any thinge, as concerninge the bringinge in of 
 fliootinge into Englande : he aunfwered me gentlye againe, he had a 
 worke in hand, which he nameth, De rebus mcmorabilibus uinglia, wiiich 
 6 I
 
 112 THEWORKSOF 
 
 I trufl: wc fliall fee in print fliortlye, and, for the accomplilliement of 
 that booke, he had redde and pcrufed over manye oiild monuments 
 of Englaride^ and, in feeking for that purpofe, he marked this of fhoot- 
 inge in an excedinge oldc chronicle, the which liad no name, tliat 
 what time as the Saxons came firft into this reahne, in kinge Vorfigers 
 dayes, when they had bene here a while, and at laft began to faule 
 out with the Britayues, they troubled and fubdued tlie Britapies with 
 notliinge fo much as with theyr bowe and fliaftes, which weapon be- 
 inge Ilraunge and not feene here before, was wonderful! terrible unto 
 them, and this beginninge I can thincke verye well to be true. But 
 now as concerninge many examples for the prayfe of EngUjl^e archei's 
 in wane, furelye I will not be longe in a matter that no man doubteth 
 in, and thofe fewe that I will name, faall eyther be proved by the 
 hiftoryes of our enemyes, or els done by men that now live. 
 
 King Edioarde the third, at the battaile of Crejie, againft Philip 
 the French King, as Gagidnus, the French hiftoriographer, plainlye doth 
 tell, flewe thai daye all the nobilitye of Fraunce onlye witii his arcliers. 
 
 Such like battaile alfo fought the noble black Prince Edivdrde be- 
 fide Pollers, where John the French Kinge, with his fonne, and in a 
 manner all the peres of Fraunce were taken, befides thirty thoufand 
 which that daye were flaine, and very few Eng/ijhe men, by reafon of 
 theyr bowes. 
 
 Kinge Henrye the fifte, a Prince pereleffe and moft viclorious con- 
 querour of all that ever dyed yet in this parte of the worlde, at the 
 battle of Agincourt, with feven thoufand fightii^ge men, and yet manye 
 of them ficke, being fuche archers, as the chronicle fayth, that moll 
 parte of them drevve a yarde, flewe all the chevalrye of Fraunce, to the 
 number of forty thoufand and mo, and loll not pall twenty-fix Eng- 
 lijJmicn. 
 
 The bloudye civlU warre of Englandc betwixtc the houfe of Torke 
 and Lancaflcr, where Ihaftes flewe of both fydes to the deftruftion of 
 manye a yoman of Englandc, whom foreinc battell could never have 
 fubdued, both I will pade over for the pytifulnclfe of it, and yet maye 
 
 we
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 we highlye prayfe God in the remembraunce of it, fcinge lie, of his 
 providence, hath fo knitte together thofe two noble houfcs, with fo noble 
 and pleafaunte a flowre. 
 
 The excellent Prince Thomas Howarde Duke of Norfolke, with bowe- 
 men of Englande, flewe Kinge Jamye with manye a noble Scotte, even 
 brant againft Floden hill, in which battell the ftoute archers of Chefjlyrc 
 and LancaJJyyre, for one daye beftowed to the death for theyr Prince 
 and countrye fake, hath gotten immortall name and prayfe for ever. 
 
 The feare onlye of Englifl.^e archers hath done more wondcrfull 
 thinges than ever I redde in anye hiftorye, Greke or Lati?2e, and niofl 
 wonderfull of all now of late, befyde Carlijle, betwixt Ejke and Leven, 
 at Sandyejikes, where the whole nobilitye of Scctlaiide, for feare of the 
 archers of Englande, (next the ftroke of God) as hQ\\\.EngliJ]:)e zmlScoitifie 
 men that were prefent hath tolde me, were drowned and taken prifoners. 
 
 Nor that noble acle alfo, which althoughe it be almoil loft by time, 
 cometh not behinde in worthinefie, which my fmgular good frende 
 and maifter Sir William Walgrave, and Sir George Somcrfet did, with a 
 fc'vve archers, to the number, as it is fayd, of fixtcen, at the turnpike 
 befyde Hcimmes, where they turned with fo fewe archers fo manye Jp/rwr/;- 
 me}i to flight, and turned fo manye out of theyr * jackes, which turne 
 turned all Fraiince to fliame and reproach j and thofe two noble knightes 
 to perpetuall prayfe and fame. 
 
 And thus you fee, Philologe, in all countiyes, Afia, Affricke, andl 
 Europe^ in Indi\ Ethiop. Egypt, and Jurie, Parthia, Ferf.a, Grece and 
 Italye, Scythia, Turkye, and Englande, from the beginuinge of the world 
 even to this daye, that fliootinge hath had the chiefe ftroke in 
 warre. Phi. Thefe examples furclye apte for the prayfe of 
 
 fliootinge, not fayned by poetes, but proved by true hiftoryes, diftinfl 
 by time and order, hath deiited me exceeding much, but yet mc- 
 thincke that all this prayfe belongeth to ftronge fhootinge and drawin-^e 
 of mightye bowes, not to piickinge and ncre fliootinge, for which 
 caufe you and many other doth love and ufe fliootinge. Tox. E- 
 
 vermore, Phikkge, you will have fome ovcrthwarte reafoii to ch-awe 
 
 • A Jack is a coat of mail. 
 
 Q^ forth 
 
 "3
 
 J 14 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 forth more communication withal, but, neverthelefle, you fiiall per- 
 ceyve if you will, that ufe of prickinge, and defue of nere fliootinge 
 at home, are the onlye caufes of ftronge fliootinge in warrc, and why ? 
 For you fee that the ftronge men do not draw ahvayes the ftrongefl: 
 Ihote, which thinge proveth that drawinge ftronge lyeth not fo much 
 in the ftrcngthc of man, as in the ufe of fliootinge. And experi- 
 ence teacheth the fame in other thinges, for you iliall fee a weake 
 fmithe, which will with a * lipe and turninge of his arme, take uppe 
 a barre of yron, that another man, thrife as ftronge, cannot ftirre. 
 And a ftronge man not ufed to flioote, hath his armes, breaft and 
 flioulders, and other parts wherewith he fliould drawe ftronglye, one 
 hindcringe and ftoppinge another, even as a dozen ftronge horfes not 
 ufed to the cart, lettes and troubles one another. And fo the more 
 ftronge man not ufed to fhoote, fliootes moft unhanfumlye, but yet 
 if a ftrong man with ufe of fliooting coulde apply all the partes of 
 his bodye together, to theyr mofte ftrength, then iliould he both drawe 
 ftronger than other, and alfo fhoote better than other. But nowe a 
 ftronge man not ufed to flioote, at a girde, can heve up and plucke in 
 funder many a good bowe, as wilde horfes at a brunt doth race and 
 plucke in pieces many a ftronge carte. And thus ftronge men, with- 
 out ufe, can do nothinge in fhootinge to any purpofe, neyther in warre 
 nor peace, but if they happen to flioote, yet they have done within a 
 fliote or two, when a weake man that is ufed to flioote, fhall ferve for 
 all times and purpofes, and jliall fhoote ten fliaftes againft the otl:ers 
 four, and drawe them uppe to the pointe evei-y time, and flioote them 
 to the moft advantage, drawinge and withdrawinge his fhafte when 
 he lift, marking at one man, yet letdryvinge at an other man: which 
 thinges, in a fet battaile, althoughe a man fhall not ahvayes ufe, yet in 
 bickeringes, and at overthsvart meetinges, when few archers be together, 
 they do moft good of all. 
 
 Agalne, he that is not ufed to flioote, fhall evermore with untoward- 
 nefle of houldinge his bowe, and nockinge his fhafte, not lokinge to 
 his ftringe betime, put his bowe ahvayes in jeopardye of breakinge, and 
 then he were better to be at home, moreover he fliall flioote very few 
 
 • The word L'pe I never faw, and know not whether I undcrfland it j if it be the fame as. 
 Itapi it may mean a jerk or fudden motion. 
 
 fliaftes^
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 115 
 
 fiiaftes, and thofe full unhandfumly, fome not halfe dravven, fome to 
 high and fome to low, nor he cannot drive a flioteat a time, nor ftoppe 
 a fliote at a nede, but out mult it, and very oft to evill profe. 
 
 Pni. And that is bell, I trov\'e, in warre, to let it go, and not to 
 ftoppe it. Tox. No not fo, but fome time to hould a fliaft at 
 
 the head, which, if they be but few archers, doth more good with 
 the fear of it, than it fliould do if it were fiiotte with the llroke of ' 
 it. Phi. That is a wonder to me, that the fear of a difpleafure 
 
 fliouId do more harme than the difpleafure itfelfe. Tox. Yes, ye 
 
 kr.owe that a man which feareth to be baniflied oute of his countrye, 
 can ncyther be merye, eate, drincke, nor fleepe for fcarej yet when 
 he is banillied in dede, he fleepeth and eateth as well as any other. 
 And many men, doubtinge and fearinge whether they fliould dye or 
 no, even for very fear of death, preventeth themfelfe with a more bit- 
 ter death, than the other death fhould have bene indede. And thus fear 
 is worfe than the thing feared, as is pretelye proved by the commu- 
 nication of Cyrus and Tigranes, the Kinges fonne oi yJi'menie, in Z^-Cyroped, 3. 
 mphon. 
 
 Phi. I graunt, Toxophile, that ufe of fliootinge maketh a man drawe 
 flronge, to flioote at moil advantage, to kepe his gere, which is no 
 fmall thinge in warre ; but yet methincke that the cuftomable fhootinge 
 at home, fpeciallye at buttes and prickes, make nothinge at all for 
 flronge Ihootinge, which doth moft good in warre. Therefore, I fup- 
 pofe, if men fliould ufe to go into the fieldes, and learne to flioote 
 mightye flronge fliotes, and never care for anye mark at all, they fliould 
 do much better. Tox. The tjuthe is, that fafhion much ufed would 
 
 do much good, but this is to be feared, leafl that waye could not pro- 
 voke men to ufe much fliootinge, becaufc there fliould be litle plealure 
 in it. And that in fliooting is beffe, that provoketh a man to ufe flioot- 
 ing mofl: for much ufe maketh men flioote both flronge and well, 
 which two thinges in fhooting every man doth defyre. And the 
 chiefe maintayner of ufe in anye thinge is comparifon and honefl: 
 contention. For when a man flryveth to be better than an other, 
 he will gladlyc uk that thinge, though it be never fo painful, wherein 
 he would cxcell, which thinge Arijhtle very pretelye doth note, fayinge, 
 
 0^2 " Wheie
 
 ii6 TJIE WORKS OF 
 
 " Where is comparifon, tlieie is vicloryej where is viclorye there is 
 
 Ar ft Rl.ct. '« pleafure : and where is pleafure, no man careth what labour or paine 
 
 " he taketh, becaufe of the prayfe and pleafure that he fliall have in 
 
 " doin^ better than other men." 
 
 Agayne, you knowe, Hefiodus writeth to his brother Perfes^ " that 
 HefioJ. in cc all craftefmen, by contendinge one honeftlye with another, do en- 
 r- ^' '*^- (c creafe theyr cunninge with theyr fubftance." And therefore in Lcn^ 
 do>2y and other great cityes, men ofonecrafte, mofb commonlye, dwell 
 to'^ether, bccaule in honeft ftrivinge together, who fliall do belt, everye 
 one maye waxe both cunningcr and rychcr. So llkevvyfe in fliootinge, 
 to make matches to aiiemble archers together, to contend who fliall 
 flioote bcfl, and winne the game, encreafcth the ufe of fliootinge 
 wonderfullye amonges men. Phi. Of ufc you fpeake verye muchc, 
 
 I'oxopbile, but I am ilire in all other matters ufe can do nothinge, with- 
 oute two other thinges be joyned with it, one is a naturall aptnefie to 
 a thinge, the other is a true waye or knowledge, howe to do the 
 thinge, to which two if ufe be joyned as thirde fclowe of them three, 
 procedeth perfeflnelfe and excellencye: if a man lacke the firfl: two, 
 aptnefle and cunninge, ufe can do litle good at all. 
 
 For he that would be an oratour, and is nothinge naturallye fitte for 
 it, that is to faye, lacketh a good witte and memoryc, lackcth a good 
 voyce, countenaunce and bodye, and other fuch like, yea, if he had 
 all thefe, and knowe not what, howe, where, when, nor to whom he 
 flioulde fpeake, furcly the ufe of fpeakinge would bringe oute none 
 other fruite but pbin follye and bablinge, fo that ufe is the lafl: and 
 the leafl: necefiarye of all three, yet nothinge can be done exccllentlye 
 withoute them all three ; and therefore, Toxophile, I myfelfe, becaufe 
 I never knewe whether I was apte for fliootinge or no, nor never knevve 
 waye howe 1 fliould Icarne to flioote, I have not ufed to flioote : and 
 fo, I thincke, five hundred more in Englande do bcfyde me. And 
 furclye, if 1 kncwe that I were apte, and that you would teache me 
 how to flioote, I would become an archer, and the rather becaufe of 
 the good communication, the which I have had with you this daye 
 of fliootinge. Tox. Aptnefll% knowledge, and ufe, even as you 
 
 fay, make all thinges perfede. Aptnefle is the firfl: and chiefefl: thing, 
 
 withoute
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 117 
 
 withoute which the other two do no good at alJ. Knowledge doth en- , 
 creafe all maner of aptnefle both lefle and more. Ufe, fayth Cicero, is ! 
 fane above all teaching. And thus they all three muft be had, to do | 
 any thing very well, and if any one be away, whatfoever is done, is done : 
 very nieanelye. Aptnelie is the gift of nature, knowledge is gotten by 
 the helpe of other j \.\k lyeth in our owne diligence and labour; fo that 
 aptnelfe and ufe be ours and within us, through nature and labour; 
 knowledge not ours, but comminge by other : and therefore moft dili- 
 gently of all men to be fought for. Howe thcfe three thinges ftande 
 with the artillerye of Englande, a word or two I will fay. 
 
 All EngUJIoe men, generally, be apt for fliootinge, and howe? Lyke 
 as that grounde is plentiful and fruitful, which, without any tillinge, 
 bringeth out corne ; as, for example, if a man flioulde goe to the 
 mill or market with corne, and happen to fpill fome in the waye, yet 
 it would take roote and growe,' becaufe the foyle is fo good ; fo Englande 
 may be thought very fruitful, and aptc to bringe out fhooters, where 
 children, even from the ci'addle- Jrve it, and yonge men, without any 
 teaching, fo diligently ufe it. Again, likewife, as a good ground, well 
 tylled and well huihanded, bringeth out great plenty of byg eared corne, 
 and good to the faule: fo if the youthe oi Englande, beinge apte of it- 
 felfe to flioote, were taught and learned howe to flioote, the archers 
 of Englande fiiould not be onely a great deale ranker, and mo than 
 they be; but alfoa good deale bigger and Wronger archers than they be. 
 This commodity fliould folovve alfo, if the youthe of Englande were 
 taughte to flioote, that even as plowinge of a good grounde for wheate, 
 doth not only make it meete for the kt(\Q, but alfo ryveth and plucketh 
 np by the rootes all thiftlcs, brambles and weeds, vv^hich growe of their 
 own accorde, to tlie dedruclion of both corne and grounde : Even fo 
 fhould the teachinge of youthe to flioote, not only make them flioote 
 well, but alfo plucke awaye by the rootes all other defyre to noughtye 
 paftimes, as dyfmge, cardinge, and boulingc, which, without any teach- 
 ing, are ufcd every wdiere, to the great harme of all youth of this 
 realme. And likewife, as burning of thirties, and diligenlc weeding 
 them out of the corne, doth not halfe fo much rydde them, as when 
 the ground is falloed and tilled for good grayne, as I have heard many 
 a good hufljandman faye : even fo, neither hote punifliment, nor yet 
 
 diligent 
 I
 
 iiS T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 diligent fearching out of fuch unthriftlncfle by the officers, fliall fo 
 thorowly weede thefe ungratious games out of the realme, as occupy- 
 ing and bringing up youth in Ihootingc, and other honefl paftime. 
 Thirdly, as a grounde which is apt for corne, and alfo well tilled for 
 corne; yet if a man let it lye (Vill, and do not occupy it tince or four 
 yeare; but then will fowe it, if it be wheat, fayth Columella, it will 
 turn into rye: fo if a man be never fo apt to flioote, nor never fo well 
 taughte in his youth to flioote, yet if he geve it over, and not ufe to 
 flioote, truly when he fliall be eyther compelled in warre time for his 
 countrys fake, or elfe provoked at home for his pleafure fake, to faule 
 to his bowe : he fliall become of a fayre archer, a ftarke fjuyrter and drib- 
 ber. Therefore in fliootinge, as in all other thinges, there can neither 
 be many in number, nor excellent in decde, excepte thefe three thinges, 
 aptnefle, knowledge, and ufe, go together. 
 
 Phi. Very well fayd, Toxophile, and I promife you, I agree to this 
 judgement of yours together, and therefore I cannot little marveile, 
 why EngUp^e men bringe no more hclpc to fliootinge, than nature it- 
 felfe geveth them. For you fee that even children be put to their cwn 
 fhiftes in fliootinge, havinge nothinge taughte them: but that they 
 may choofe, and chaunce to flioot ill, rather then well, unaptlye foner 
 then fitlye, untowardlye more eaiely then well favoredly, which thinge 
 caufeth many never begin to flioote, and mo to leave it off when they 
 have begun : and mofi: of all to flioote both worfe and weaker than they 
 might flioote, if they were taught. 
 
 But peradventure fome men will fay, that with ufe of fliootinge a 
 man fliall learn to flioote ; true it is, he flial) Icarne, but what fliall he 
 learne ? Mary to flioote noughtlie. For all ufe, in all thinges, if it 
 be not flayed by cunning, will very eafely bring a man to do that 
 thing, whatfoever he goeth about, with much ilfavorednefle and defor- 
 mitye. Which thinge how much harmc it doth in learninge, \io\\\CraJfin 
 excellently doth prove in Tully, and I myfelfe have experience in my 
 litle fliootinge. And therefore, Toxcphile, you mufl: needes graunt me, 
 that eyther Englijl:e men do ill, in not joyning knowledge of fhootinge 
 to ufe, or els there is no knowledge or cunning which can be gathered 
 of fliootinge. 
 
 Tox.
 
 ROGERASCHAM. JI9 
 
 Tox. Learning to flioote is little regarded in Englande^ for this con- 
 (ideration, becaufe men be fo aptc by nature they have a greate ready 
 forwardnelle and will to ufe it, although no man teache them, although 
 no man bidde them, and fo of their own courage they runne hcdlynge 
 on it, and flioote they ill, flioote they well, great heede they take not. 
 And, in verye deede, aptnefle with ufe may do fomewhat without 
 knowledge, but not the tenthe parte, if fo be they were joyned with 
 knowledge. Which three thinges be fepai'ate as you fee, not of their 
 owne kinde, but through the negligence of men which coupled thera 
 not together. And where ye doubt, whether there cai"\ be gathered any 
 knowledge or arte in fliootinge or no, furelye I thincke that a man, be- 
 ing well exercifed in it, and fomewhat honelilye learned withall, might 
 foone, with diligent obferving and marking the whole nature of flioot- 
 Lng, find out, as it w-ere, an art of it, as artes in other matters have 
 bene founde out afore, feeing that fhootinge flandeth by thofe thinges, 
 which may both be thorowlye perceyved, and perfedly knowen, and 
 fuch that never fails, but be ever certaine, belonging to one moft per- 
 fect ende, as fliooting ftraight and keeping of a lengthe bringe a man 
 to hitte the marke, tlie chiefe ende in ftiootinge, which two thinges a 
 man maye attaine unto, by dyligente ufmge and well handeling thofe 
 inftruments which belonge unto them. Therefore I cannot lee, but 
 there lyeth hidde in the nature of fhootinge an arte, which, by noting- 
 and obferving of them that is exercifed in it, if he be any thing learn- 
 ed at all, maybe taught, to the great furtheraunce of artillerye throughe 
 oute all this realme: and truely I marveile greatlye, tliat Englijhe men 
 woulde never yet fecke for the arte of fliootinge, feeinge thty be l"o 
 apt unto it, fo prayfed of their friendes, fo feared of their enemits 
 for it. Vegetius would have maifteis appointed, which fliould teache Vegetius. 
 youthe to Ihoote fayre. Leo the Emperour of Rome Ihewcth the fame Leo. 6. 
 cuftome to have been alwayes amongeft the o\(\t Rotnai/ies: which cuf- 
 tome of teachinge youth to flioote, (layth he) after it was omitted and 
 litle hede taken of, brought the whole empyre of Rome to greater 
 ruine. Schola Pcrfica^ that is, the fchole of the Per/ians, appointed to 
 bringe up youth, whiles tliey were twenty yeare olde, only in ihootinge, 
 is as notably knowne in hiftoryes as the empyre of the Perfuim: which 
 fchole, as doth appear in Cornelius Tacitus, as fone as they gave over ^°''' '^^^' ^' 
 
 and
 
 I20 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 and fell to other idle palHmes, broughte both them and the Parthians 
 under the fubjecfrion of tiie Romaines. Plato would have common maif- 
 
 Dc leg. 7. ters and Jlipcndes, for to teache youthe to Jhoote, and, for the fnne purpofe, 
 he would have a broade ficlde neare everye citie, made common for men to 
 ufe jlmtinge in. Whiche fayinge, tlie more reafonablye it is fpoken of 
 Plato the more unreafonable is their deede, which would ditche up thofe 
 lieldcs privatelye for their own profite, which lyeth open generallyc for 
 the common ufe : men by fuch goods be made richer, not honefter, 
 
 Dc Offic. :. fayth Ti/Z/vr. If men be perfuaded to have fliootinge taughte, this au- 
 thoritye which folowcth will perfwade them, or elle none, and that is, 
 as I have ones faydc before, of King David, whofe fiift acfe and ordi- 
 natlnce was, after he was Kingc, that all Judea Ihould learne to flioote. 
 -if fliootinge coidde fpcake, flie woulde actufe Englande of unkindnefle 
 and flothfulneflej of unkindnefle toward her, becaufe (he beinge left to 
 a little blind ufe, lackes her beft maintainer which is cunninge : of floth- 
 fulneflc rowarde their owne fclfe, bccaufc they are content with that 
 which aptneiic and ufe doth graunt them in Ihootingc, and will fcek 
 for no knowledge as other noble common wealthes have done: and 
 the juiilier Ihooting might make this complaint, feeinge that of fence 
 and weapons there is made an arte, a thinge in no wyfe to be compared 
 to ihootinge. For of fence, almoft in everye towne, there is not onely 
 maiflers to teach it, with his provokers, ufliers, fcholers, and other 
 names of arte and fchole, but there hath not fayled alfo, which hath 
 dihgentlye and * favouredlye written it, and is let out in printe, that 
 N^erye man maye rcade it. 
 
 What difcommoditye doth come by the lacke of knowledge, in flioot- 
 inge, it were over long to rehearfe. For manye that have been apte, 
 and loved fliootinge, becaufe they kncwe not whiche v.aye to houlde to 
 come to fliootinge, have cleane turned themfclves from fliootinge. And 
 I maye tell you, Philologc, the lacke of teachinge to flioote in Englande 
 caufeth very many men to play with the Kinges a<5les, as a man did ones, 
 eyther with the Mayor of Luu'on or York, I cannot tell whether, which 
 did commaund by proclamation, every man in the citye to hange a 
 lanterne, with a candcll, afore his dore: which thinge the man did, but 
 
 • Faiourcdl} is, I luppofe, plaufibly. 
 
 he 
 
 I
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. i2i 
 
 he did not ligkt it ; and fo many bye bowes, becaufe of the * a&c, but 
 yet they flioote not, not of evil will, but becaufe they knowe not howe 
 to flioote. But, to conclude of this matter, in fliootinge as in all oiher 
 thingts, ajitnefle is the firft: and chicfe thinge, which if it be awaye, Aptnefie. 
 neythei cuiniinge nor ufe doth any good at all, as the Scoi^s and Freticb- 
 vu'?!, with knowledge and ufe of Ihootinge, fhall become good archers, 
 when a ciuminge fnip-wright fhall make a flrong fhippe of a fallowe 
 tre^ ; or when a huihandman fliall become riche, with fowinge wheat 
 on I'^wmarkct heath. Cunninge mufi: be had, both to fet out and (-.^j^^^jj,^^ 
 amend nature, and alfo to ovcrice and correft ufe, which ufe, if it he . 
 not led, and governed with cunning, fnall foner go amiife, than 
 ftraiirht. Ufe maketh perfitnefTe in doing that thinge, whereunto na- 
 ture maketh a ma.i apt, and knowledge maketh a man cunninge be- 
 fore. So that it is not fo doubtful, which of them three hath moft ftroke 
 in fhootinge, as it isplaineand evidente, that all three muft be had in ex- 
 cellent fhootinge. Phi. For this communication, Toxcphik, I am very 
 glad, and that for mine own fake, becaufe I trufl now to become a fliooter. 
 And indede I thought afore, EngliJIx men moft apt for fliootinge, and 
 I faw them dailye ufe fliootinge, but yet I never found none, that would , 
 talke of anye knowledge vv'hereby a man might come to fliootinge. 
 Therefore I trufl: that you, by tlie ufe you have had in fliootinge, 
 have fo thorowly maikcd and noted the nature of it, that you can teache 
 me, as it were by a trade or way, how to come to it. Tox. I 
 
 graunt I have ufed fhootinge metelyc well : that I might have mark- 
 ed it well enough, if I had bene diligent. But my much fliootinge 
 hath caufed me iludye litle, fo that thereby I lacke learninge, which 
 fliould fct out the art or waye in anye thinge. And you know that I 
 was never fo well feene, in the Pojlerionms of Arijlotle, as to invent and 
 feaich out general demonflrations, fjr the fettinge forth of any new 
 fcience. Yet, by my trouth, if you will, I will go with you into the 
 fieldes at any time, and tell you as much as 1 can, or els you maye 
 fl:ande fome time at the prickes and loke on ihcm which flioote befl, and 
 fo learne. Phi. Howe litle you have loked oi Aviflotle, and howe 
 
 much learninge you have loft; by fliootinge, I cannot tell, but this I 
 would fayc, and if I loved you never fo ill, that you have been occu- 
 pyed in fome what els befyde fliootinge. But, to our purpofe, as I will 
 not require a trade in fliootinge to be taught me after the fubtiitye of 
 Ariftotky even fo do I not agree with you in this point, that you would 
 
 * The flatute. 
 
 R have
 
 izz THE WORKS OF 
 
 have me learne to fhoote with lokinge on them which fhoote beft, for 
 fo I know I fliould never come to flioote metclye; for in lliootinge, as 
 in all other thinges whicli be gotten by teachinge, there mull: be Ihewed 
 a way, and a path, which (hall leade a man to the befl and chiefeft 
 point which is in (hootinge, which you do mark yourfelfc well enough, 
 and uttered it alfo in your communication, when you fayd there lay hid 
 in the nature of fhootinge a certaine waye which, well perceyved and 
 thoroughlye known, would bring a man, vvitlaout any wanderinge, to 
 the beft ende in fliootingc, which you called hittinge of the pricke. 
 Therefore I would refer all my Ihootinge to that ende which is bell, and 
 fo fliould I come the foner to fome meane. That which is beft hath 
 no faulte, nor cannot b(f amended. So fliewe me befte rtiootinge, not 
 the befte fhooter, which if he be never fo good, yet hath he many 
 a faulte, eafilye of any man to be efpyed. And therefore marveile not 
 if I requyre to folowe that example which is without faulte, rather than 
 that which hath fo manye faultes. And this way everye wyfe man doth 
 folowe in teachinge any maner of thinge. As Arijiotle, when he teach- 
 eth a man to be good, he fettes not before him Socrates lyfe, which was 
 the beft man, but chief goodnefs itfelfe ; according to which he would 
 have a man direct his life. Tox. This way which you requyre 
 
 of me, Phllcfloge, is to harde for me, and to hye for a ftiooter to tauike 
 on, and taken, as I fuppofe, outof the middcft of Pbi/ofop/jie, tofearche 
 out the perfite ende of any thinge, the which perfite ende to finde out, 
 
 OratadBru. fayth 7'ul/ye, is the hardeft thinge in the world, the onlye occafion and 
 caufe why fo many fecles of Philofophers hath bene ahvayes in learninge. 
 And although, as Cicero fayth, a man maye imagine and dreame in his 
 minde of a perfe6t ende in any thinge, yet there is no experience nor 
 ufe of it, nor was never feene yet am.onges men ; as ahvayes to heale 
 the ficke, evermore to leade a fhippc without daunger, at all times to 
 hit the * pricke, fliall no phifitian, no fliip-maifters, no fliooter ever doj 
 Pol, and Arijiotle fayth, that in all deedes there are two points to be marked, 
 pofiibilitye and excellencye, but chieflye a wyfe man muft folowe, and 
 laye hande on poflibilitye, for feare he lofe both. Therefore, feeinge 
 that which is moft perfect and beft in fliootinge, as ahvayes to hit the 
 pncke, was never feene nor hard tell c:i yet amongcs men, but onlye 
 imagined and thought upon in a mans minde, me thincke this is the 
 wyfeft counfcll, and beft for us to folowe raiher that which a man 
 
 * The jftr/Vi, at othsf times caiJeJ the ly/jiV^ is the white fpct or pilnt in the mic]5 of 
 thc.maik». 
 
 may 
 
 Arift. 
 S. 6.
 
 R O G E R!|,A S C H A M. V, 123 
 
 may come to, than that which is unpoffible to be attayned to, left 
 juftlye that fayinge of the wyfe Ifmem in Sophocles maye be verifyed on us. 
 
 A fcole is he that takes in hande he cannot ende. Soph. Ant. 
 
 Phi. Well, if the perfite ende of other matters had bene as perfilclye 
 knowne, as the perfite ende of fliootinge is, there had never bene To 
 many fc6ts of Philcfophers as there be, for in fliootinge both man and 
 boy is of one opinion, thatalwayes to hit the pricke is the mofl perfite 
 ende that can be imagined, fo that we fliall not neede greatly contcnde 
 in this matter. But nowe. Sir, whereas you thincke that a man in 
 learninge to flioote, or anythinge els, fnould rather wyfelye folowe 
 poffibilitye, than vainly felce for perfite excellencye, furelye I will prove 
 that everye wyfe man, that wyfcly would learne any thinge, fliall chief- 
 lye go about that whereunto he knoweth well he fliall never come. 
 And you yourfelfe, I fuppofc, fliall confefTe the fame to be the befl 
 way in teaching, if you v> ill aunfwer me to thofc thinges which I will 
 afkc of you. Tox. And that I will gladlye, both becaufe I thincke 
 
 it is impofiible for you to prove it, and alfo becaufe I defire to heare what 
 you can fay in it. 
 
 Phi. The fludye of a good phifitian, Toxophile, I trowe be to 
 knowe all difeafes and all medycines fit for them. * Tox. It 
 
 is fo indeed. Phi. Becaufe, I fuppofe, he would gladly, 
 
 at all times, heale all difeafes of all men. Tox. Yea, trulye. 
 
 Phi. a good purpofe furelye, but was there ever phifition yet amonge 
 fo manye which hath laboured in this fludye, that at all times could 
 heale all difeafes ? Tox. No truly, nor, I thincke, never fhall 
 
 be. Phi. Then phifitions belike, fludy for that, which ^nonc of 
 
 them commeth unto. But in learning of fence, I pray you what is that 
 which men moft labour for ? Tox. That they may hit another, 
 
 I trowe, and never take blow their felfe. Phi. You fay trothe, 
 
 and I am lure every one of them would fayne do fo whenfoevcr he 
 playeth. But was there ever any of them fo cunninge yet, which, at 
 one time or other, hath not been touched ? Tox. The bell of 
 
 them all is glad fometimes to cicape with a blowe. Phi. Then 
 
 in fence alfo, men are taught to go about that thinge, which the bell 
 of them all knoweth he fhall never attaine unto. Moreover you that 
 
 * Here is an example of the Socratic method of difputation, which, by repeated interroga- 
 tions, confutes the opponent out of liis own anfwers. 
 
 R 2 be
 
 124. THE WORKS OF 
 
 be fliooters, I piaye you, what mcane you, when ye take fo great hcede 
 to kcpe your itaiKlinge, to flioote compalle, to loke on your marke fo 
 dihgentlye, to call uppe gralle divers times, and other thinges more you 
 know better than I. What would you do then, I praye you? 
 Tox. Hit the marke if we could. Phi. And doth every man go 
 
 about to hit the marke at every fliote ? Tox. By my trothe I 
 
 trowe fo, and, as for myfelfe, I am fure I do. Phi. But all men 
 
 do not hit it all times ? Tox. Noj triilye, for that were a won- 
 
 der. Phi. Can any man hit it at all times ? Tox. No man trulye. 
 Phi. Then bylikely to hit the pricke alvvayes is unpoflible. For that 
 is- called unpoflible which is in no mans power to do. Tox. Un- 
 
 pofiible indede. Phi. But to Ihoote wide and farre of the marke 
 
 is a thinge polfible. Tox. No man will denye that. Phi. But 
 
 yet to hit the marke alvvayes were an excellent thinge. 
 Tox. Excellent furcly. Phi. Then I am fure thofe be wyfer men 
 
 which covet to flioot wyde, than thofe which covet to hit the 
 pricke. Tox. Why fo, I praye you ? Phi. Becaufe to flioote 
 
 wyde is a thinge poflible, and therefore, as you faye yourfelfe, of every 
 vvyle man to be folovvcd. And as for hittinge the pricke, becaufe it 
 is unpoflible, it were a vain thinge to go about it in good *fadnefl'e, 
 Toxophile ; thus you fee that a man mighte go through all craft es and 
 fciences, and prove that any man in his fci.nce coveteth that which he 
 ihall never get. Tox. By my trothe (as you fay) I cannot denye 
 
 but they do fo: but why and wherefore they lliould do fo, I cannot 
 learne. Phi. I v.'illtell you. Everye crafte and fcience Ilandcth in 
 
 two thinges: in knowinge of his crafte, and workinge of his crafte: 
 for pcrfeft knowledge bringeth a man to perfedl workinge: This know 
 painters, carvers, taylors, fliomakers, and all other craftcfmcn, to be 
 true. Now, in every crafte there is a perfed exccllencye, which may 
 be better known in a mans inimle, than t'oUowed in a mans dcde. This 
 perfectnefle, becaufe it is generally layed as a brode wyde example afore 
 all men, no one particular man is able to compafle it : and, as it is gene- 
 ral to all men, lb it is perpetual for all time, which provcth it a thinge 
 for man uopollible: although not for the capacityc of our thinckiiigc, 
 which is heavenlyc, yet lurcly for the habilitye of our workinge, which 
 
 Delnven. 2.is worldly. God geveth not full perfcctncfie to one man {iviyth. 'T'ullye) 
 left if one man had all in any one fcience, there fhould benothingelcftfor 
 
 * SatlnrJJi \% ftrkufiicfi, or tarnejl, 
 
 an-
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. ,25; 
 
 another. Yet God fufFereth us to have the perfecl knowledge of it, that 
 fuch a knowledge, diligently folowed, might bri.ige forthe accordinge 
 as a man doth laboure, perfect workinge. And who is he, that, in 
 learninge to wryte, would forfake an excellent example, and foUovve 
 a worfc ? Therefore, feinge perfedtnefle itfelfe is an example for us, 
 let every man ftudye how he may come nye it, which is a point of wyfe- 
 dome, not reafon with God why he may not attaine unto it, which is 
 vaine curiofity. 
 
 Tox. Surelye this is gaily faide, Philologe, but yet this one 
 thinge I am afiaid of, leaft this perfe6lncfre which you fpeake 
 on will difcourage men to take any thinge in hand, becaufe, afore they 
 begin, they know they fliall never come to an end. And thus difpayre 
 fiiall difpatch, even at the firft entring it, many a good man his pur- 
 pofe and intent. And I think both you yourfelfe, and all other men to, 
 would counte it mere foUye for a man to tell him whom he teacheth, 
 that he fliall never obtain that which he would faynelt leai ne. And 
 therefore this fame highe and perfe6l way of teachinge let us leave it 
 to higher matters, and, as for fliootinge, it fhall be contente with a 
 meaner way well enough. Phi Whereas you faye that this hye 
 
 perfsdlnefTe will difcourage men, becaufe they knowe they fliall never 
 attaine unto it, I am fure, cleane contrarye, there is nothing in the 
 worldc fliall encourage men more than it. And why ? For where a 
 man feeth, that though another man be never fo excellent, yet it is pof- 
 fible for himfclfe to be better, what payne or labour will that man re- 
 fufe to take? If the game be once wonne, no man will fet forth his 
 foote to runne. And thus perfeclnelTe beinge fo highe a thinge tliat 
 men may looke at it, not come to it, and beinge fo plentiful! and indif- 
 ferent to every body, that the plcntifulnelfe of it may provoke all men 
 to labour, becaufe it hath enough for all men, the indifferencye of it 
 fliall encourage every one to take more payne than his fellow, becaufe 
 every man is rewarded accordinge to his nye comminge, and yet, which 
 is moft marvcile of all, the more men take of it, the more they leave 
 behinde for other, as Socrates did in wyfedom, and Cicero in eloquence, 
 whereby other hath not lacked, but hath fared a great deale the better. 
 And thus perfeclnefle itfelfe, becaufe it is never obtained, even there- 
 fore onlye dothe it caufe fo manye men to be well feene and perfect in 
 many matters, as they be. But whereas you thincke that it were fond- 
 iiefle to teache a man to flioote, in lookinge at the moll perfcctncHi 
 
 iai
 
 •126 THE WORKS OF, t?^. 
 
 In it, but rather would have a man go fome other vvaye to worke, 
 I trufl: no wyfe man will difconimend that waye, excepte he thincke 
 himfelfe wyfer than I'ullye, which doth plainlye faye, That, if he teach- 
 ed anye maner of crafte, as he did Rhetoricke, he would labour to 
 J3eOrat. 3. bringe a man to the knowledge of the moll peifeiflnefle of it, which 
 knowledge fhould evermore leade and guide a man to do that thinge 
 well which lie went about. Which waye in all manor of leaininge to 
 be bed, Plato doth alfo declare in Euthydemus, of v\'hom Tullye learned 
 it, as he did many other thingcs mo. And thus you fee, 1'oxopbile, by 
 what reafons, and by whofe authority I do require of you this way in 
 teachinge me to flioote; which waye, I praye you, without any delaye, 
 flievve me as farre fortli as you have noted and marked. Tox. You 
 call me to a thinge, PhilcIogCy which I am loth to do, and yet, if I 
 do it not, bcinge but a fmall matter as you thincke, you will lacke 
 friendfliipe in me ; if I take it in hande, and not bringe it to palTe as 
 you would have it, you might thincke greate want of wyfedome 
 in me. 
 
 But I advyfe you, feeing you will needes have it fo, the blame fliall 
 be yours, as well as myne: yours for puttinge uppon mefo* inftauntly j 
 myne for receyvinge fo fondlye a greater burthen than I am able to bear. 
 Therefore I, more willinge to fulfil your minde than hopinge to accom- 
 plifhe that which you loke for, fliall fpeake of it, not as a maif- 
 ter of fliootinge, but as one not altogether ignorant in fliootinge. And 
 one thing I am glad of, the funne drawinge down fo fail into the Weft 
 fliall compell me to drawe apace to the ende of our matter, fo that 
 his darkneffe fhall fomething cloke myne ignoraunce. 
 
 And bccaufe you knowe the orderinge of a matter better than I, aflce 
 me generallyc of it, and I fliall particularly anfv.ere to it. Phi. Very 
 gladly, Toxophile : for fo by order thofe thinges which I would know, 
 you fliall tell the better; and thofs thinges which you fliall tell, I fliall 
 remember the better. 
 
 • So importunately^ 
 
 The End of the Firft: Booke of the Scliole of Shootlnge. 
 
 T 0X0-
 
 TOXOPHILUS. 
 
 B. 
 
 TheSEcoNDE BooKE of the SCHOLE of SHOOTINGE, 
 
 TOXOPHILUS. PHILOLOGUS. 
 
 Phi. TTTHAT is the chiefe pointe in fliootinge, that every man 
 VV laboureth to, come to? Tox. To hit the marke. 
 
 Phi. How manye thinges are required to make a man evermore hit 
 the marke? Tox. Two. Phi, Which two ? Tox. Shoot- 
 
 inge flreighte, and kepinge of a lengthe. Phi. How iliould a 
 
 man fhoote ftreight, and how fliould a man keep a lengthe ? 
 Tox. In knowinge and havinge thinges belonging to fhootinge -, and 
 when they be knowen and had in well handlinge of tliem ; whereof 
 fome belonge to fliootinge flreight, fome to kepinge of a lengthe, 
 fome commonlye to them both, as fliall be tolde feverallye of tliem in 
 place convenient. 
 
 Phi. Thinges belonginge to fliootinge, which be they ? 
 
 Tox. * All thinges be outwarde; and fome be inflrumentes for every 
 -|- fere archer to bringewith him, proper for his owne ufe: other thinges 
 be general to every man, as the place and time fcrveth. Phi. Which 
 
 be inftrumentes? Tox. Bracer, Ihootingc glove, flringe, bovvc, 
 
 * The inftrumcnts of fliooting kc external, 
 f Sere is feveial or patticular. 
 
 and
 
 ia8 T H E W O R K S F 
 
 and lliafte. Phi. Which be general to all men? Tox. The 
 
 weather and the marke, yet the marke is ever under the rule of the 
 weather. Phi. Wherein rtandeth well handlingc of thinges ? 
 
 Tox. Alltogether within a man himfcire, fome iiandlinge is proper 
 to inflrumciitcs, fome to the wether, f jme to the mark'j, feme is within 
 a man himfclfc. Phi. What handlinge is proper to the inlbu- 
 
 mentcs? Tox. Standinge, nockinge, drawinge, holdinge, low- 
 
 fmge, whereby commeth fayre fhootinge, which neyther bclonge to 
 winde nor wether, nor yet to the marke, for in a raine and at no 
 marke, a man may flioote a fayre fliote. Phi. Well fayd, what 
 
 handlinge belongeth to the wether? Tox. Knowinge of his winde, 
 
 with him, againli him, fyde winde, full fyde winde, fyde winde quar- 
 ter with him, fyde winde quarter againfl him, and fo forthe. 
 Phi. Well then go to, what handlinge belongcth to the marke.? 
 Tox. To marke iiis ftandinge, to flioote compafle, to drawe evermore 
 like, to loufe evermore like, to confider the nature of the pricke, in 
 hilles and daks, in ftrayte plaines and windinge places, and alfo to 
 efpye his marke. Phi. Very well done. And what is only within 
 
 a man himfejfe ? Tox. .Good hecde gevinge, and avoydinge all 
 
 afteclions: which thinges oftentimes do marre and make all. And 
 thefe thinges fpoken of me generally and brieflye, if they be well 
 knowen, had, and handled, fliall bringe a man to fuche fliootinge, 
 as fewe or none ever yet came unto, but furely if he mifTe in anye one 
 of them, he can never hitte the marke, and in the more he doth 
 niilTe, the farther he fliooteth from his marke. But, as in all other 
 matters, the firft fleppe or flayre to be good, is to knowe a mans faulte, 
 and then to amende it, and he that will not knowe his faulte, iTiall never 
 amende it. Phi. You fpeake nowe, loxcphile, even as I woulde 
 
 have you to fpeake ; but let us returne againe unto our niatter, and 
 thofe thinges which you have packed up in (o Ihort a roume, we will 
 loufe them forth, and take every piece, as it were, in our hande, 
 and loke more narrowlye upon it, 
 
 Tox. I am content, but we will rydde them as faft as we can, be- 
 caufe the funne goeth fo faft dovvne, and yet fomewhat muft needes 
 be fayd of every one of them. Phi. Well faid, and I trovve we 
 
 beganne with thofe thinges which be inflrumentes, whereof the firfl, 
 as I fuppofe, was the bracer. 
 
 Tox.
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M.' 129 
 
 Tox. Little is to be fayd of the bracer. A * bracer ferveth for two Caccr. 
 caufcs, one to fave his arnie from the flrype of the ftringe, and his 
 doublet from wearing; and the other is, that the ftringe glidingc iharp- 
 lye and quicklye of the bracer, maye make the Iharper flioote. For 
 if the ftringe fhoulde lighte upon the bare fleve, the ftrengthe of the 
 flioote fliould ftoppe and dye there. But it is befte, by my judgmente, 
 to geve the bowe fo muche bent, that the ftringe neede never touche a 
 mans arme, and fo flioulde a man neede no bracer, as I knowe many 
 good archers which occupye none. In a bracer a man muft take hede 
 of three thinges, that it have no nayles in it, that it have no buckles, 
 that it be faft on with laces without agglettes. For the nayles will 
 iheere in funder a mans ftringe before he be ware, and fo put his bowe 
 in jeopardye : buckles and agglettes at unawares, fliall race his bowe, a 
 thinge both evill for the fighte, and perillous for freatinge. And thus 
 a bracer is only had for this purpofe, that the ftringe maye have redye 
 paflage. 
 
 Phi. In my bracer I am cunninge enoughe, but what fay you of the Shootinge 
 Ihootinge glove ? Tox. A (hootinge glove is chieflye for to fave ^ °^ ' 
 
 a mans fingers from hurtinge, that he maye be able to beare the ftiarpe 
 ftringe to the uttermofte of his ftrengthe. And when a man Ihooteth, 
 the might of his fhoote lyeth on the foremoft finger, and on the ring-^' 
 man) for the middle finger, which is the longeft, like a lubber, 'ftarteth 
 backe, and beareth no weight of the ftringe in a manner at all, there- 
 fore the two other fingers muft have thicker leather, and that muft have 
 thickeft of all, whereon a man lowfeth moft, and for furc lowfingc, 
 the formoft finger is moft apt, becaufe it holdeft beft, and for that 
 purpofe, nature hath, as a man would fay, yocked it with the thoumbe. 
 Leathei", if it be next a mans Ikinne, will fweate, waxe harde and 
 chafe, therefore fcarlct, lor the foftnelle of it and thicknelle withall, is 
 good to fcwe within a mannes glove. If that will not Jcrve, but 
 your finger hurteth, you muft take a fearing cloth, made of fine virgin 
 waxe, and dcres fewet, and put next your finger, and fo on with your 
 glove. If yet you feele your finger pinched, leave ihootinge, both be- 
 caufe then you Ihall ftiootc nought, and againe by little and little, hurt- 
 inge your finger, ye (hail inake it longe and longe to or you flioote 
 
 * Thoie who write of things well known, fcIJoin extend their cuie to time in which 
 they may be known lefs. 'I'his account of the bracer is loincwhat ybfciirc. It ftcnis to 
 have been a kind of clofe fleeve laced upon the left arm. 
 
 S againe.
 
 130 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 againc. A newe glove pluckes manye fliootes, becaufe the ftiinge go- 
 eth not frelye of, and therefore the fingers mull be cutte fliorte, and 
 trimmed with fome ointment, that the llringe maye glyde well away. 
 Some with holding in the nocke of their fnaftc harde, lubbe the Ikinne 
 of their fingeis. For this theie be two remedyes, one to have a goofe 
 quill * fpinelteil and fcwed againft the nockingc, betwixt tiie lyninge and 
 the leather, which fliall helpe the flioote much to ; the other way is to 
 have fome roule of leather fewed betwixt his fingers, at the fettinge 
 on of the fingers, which fhall kepe his fingers fo in fimder, that they 
 fliall not holdc the nocke fo fall as they did. The fhootinge glove 
 hath a puife, which Ihall ferve to put fine linen clothe~and waxe in, two 
 necellaiye thinges for a (hooter. Some men ufe gloves, or other fuch 
 like thinge on theyr bow-hand for chafinge, becaufe they hold fo hard. 
 But that Cometh commonly when a bow is not round, but fomewhat 
 fquarc ; fine waxe ihall do vcrye well in fuch a cafe to lay where a 
 man holdeth his bow: and thus much as concerninge your glove. 
 
 And thefe thinges, although they be trifles, yet becaufe yon be but 
 a yonge fhooter, I would not leave them out. Phi. And fo you 
 
 .Stringe, fiiall do me moft pleafure. The ftringc, I trowe, be the next. 
 
 Tox. The next indeedc; a thinge thoughe it be litle, yet not a litle to 
 be regarded. But herein you mufl: be content to put your truft in 
 honcil ftringcrs. And furelye ibingers ought more diligentlye to be 
 loked upon by the officers, than eyther bower or fletcher, becaufe they 
 may deccyve a fimple man the more eafelyer. An ill ftringe breaketh 
 many a good bowe, nor no other thinge halfe fo manye. In warre, 
 if a llringe breake the man is loll:, and is no man, for his weapon is 
 gone, anil altliough he have two ftringes put on at once, yet he lliall 
 have fmall leafure and Icife roume to bcnde his bowe, therefore God 
 fend us good ftringers both for warre and peace. Now what a ftringe 
 ought to be made on, whether of good hempc, as they do no we a 
 dayes, or of flaxe, or of hike, I leave that to the judgement of ftrin- 
 gers, of whom we muft buy them. Eiijiatbius, upon this vcrfe of 
 EuflMl^ius. liomer, 
 
 Diad 4. "h Tivaiig (be bcwe, md tivang the Jlring, out quicklie the JJjaft Jfue : 
 
 doth tell, that, in ouldc time, they made theyr bowe ftringes of bullox 
 
 ♦ ^pinett I is perhaps flit and opened. 
 ■\ 1 chaps this line Ihould (land thus, 
 
 ' Twang ihe bow, and twang uw/ the firing, outcjuickly the fliaft flue' 
 
 thermes. 
 
 I
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 131 
 
 * thermes, which they twined together as they do ropes, and therefore 
 
 they made a greate twange. Bow flringes alfo hath bene made of 
 
 the heare of an horfc tayle, called, for the matter of them, Hippias, 
 
 as doth appeare in manye good authois of the Grccke tongue. Great Favorinus. 
 
 ftj'inges and litlc ftringes be for divers purpofej : the great firing is more 
 
 furer for the bowe, more liable to pricke withall, but flower for the 
 
 cafl. The litle firing is cleane contrarye, not fo fure, therefore to be 
 
 taken heede of, left with longe taryinge on, it breake your bowe, more ■ 
 
 fit to flioote faiTe, than apt to pricke neare, therefore when you know 
 
 the nature of both bigge and litle, you rnuft fit your bowe accovdinge 
 
 to the occafion of your Ihootinge. In ftringinge of your bowe (though 
 
 this place belonge rather to the handlinge than to the thinge itfelfe, 
 
 yet becaufe the thinge, and the handlinge of the thinge, be fo joyned 
 
 fogcthei", I muft needes fometimes couple the one with the other) you 
 
 mufl marke the fit length of your bowe. For, if the ftringe be too 
 
 fllorte, the bendinge will geve, and at the laft flyp, and fo put the bowe 
 
 in jeopardye. If it be longe, the bendinge muft nedes be in the fmall 
 
 of the ftringe, wliich beinge fore twyned, muft needes knap in funder, 
 
 to the deftruction of manye good bowes. Moreover, you muft looke 
 
 that your bowe be well nocked, for feare the fliarpnefl^e of the home 
 
 fliere afunder the ftringe. And that chaunceth oft when in bending, 
 
 the ftringe hath but one way to ftrength it withall. You muft marke 
 
 alfo to fct your ftringe ftreighte on, or els the one ende fliall wrieth 
 
 contrarye to the other, and fo breake your bowe. When the ftringe 
 
 beginneth never fo litle to weare, truft it not, but away with it, for 
 
 it is an yll faved halfpeny, that coftes a man a crowne. Thus you fee 
 
 how many jeopardyes hangeth over the felye poore bov^-, by realbn 
 
 onlye of the ftringe. As when the ftringe is fliorte, when it is longe, 
 
 when eyther of the nockes be noughte, when it hath but one way, and 
 
 when it taryetli over longe on. 
 
 Phi. I fee well it is no marveile, thougii fo many bowcs be 
 broken. Tox. Bowes be broken twyfe as many wayes be- 
 
 fyde thefe. But againe in ftringinge your bowe,- you muft loke 
 for much bendc or litle bende, for they be cleane contrarye. The 
 litlc bende hath but one commoditye, which is in fliootinge faftcr, 
 and farther fiioote, and the caufe thereof is, becaufe the ftringe 
 Iiath fo farre a paflage, or it part with the fliaft. The great bende hath 
 
 * Thermei or thanm are guts. 
 
 S 2 many
 
 132 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 many commodities : for it maketh eafyer fhooting, the bow bcingc half 
 dravven afore. It needcth no bracer, for the ftringe iloppcth before it 
 come at the arme, I will not fo fone hit a mans lleve or other geare, 
 by the fame reafon. It hurteth not the Hiaft fether, as the low bend 
 doth. It fuffereth a man better to efpie his marke. Therefore let your 
 bowe have good bigge bende, a fliaftment and two fingers at the leafl, 
 for thefe whicii I have fpoken of. 
 
 Bowe. 
 
 Iliad. 4. 
 Pfalme 17. 
 
 Phi. The bracer, 
 come to the bowe, 
 vers countryes • and 
 of dyvers fafliions. 
 and were ufed alfo 
 fliooter amonge all 
 joyned together, 
 hand-bredes, not 
 
 glove, and flringe, be done, nowe you mufl 
 
 the chiefe inftrument of all. Tox. Dy- 
 
 tymes have ufed alvvayes dyvers bowes, and 
 
 Home bowes are ufed m fome places now, 
 
 in Homcrus dayes, for Pandann bowe, the befl: 
 
 the Troyans, was made of two goate homes 
 
 the lengthe whereof, fayth Homer, was fixteen 
 
 farre difFcringe from the lengthe of our bowes. 
 
 Scripture maketh mention of braffe bowes. Iron bowes, and fl-ele 
 bowes, have bene of longe time, and alfo now are ufed among the 
 Turkes, but yet they muft nedes be unprofitable. For if brafle, iron, 
 or Itele, have their owne ftrengthe and pithe in fhem, they be farn-e 
 above mans ftrengthe : if they be made meetc for mans ftrengthe, 
 theyr pithe is nothinge worth to flioote any flioote withall. The E- 
 
 Hcra. inPol. t'/6/c/'/Vwi had bowes of pal me tree, which fccmcd to be very ftronge, 
 but we have none experience of them. The length of them was four 
 cubites. The men of Inde had theyr bowes made of a rede, which was 
 of a great ftrength. And no marveile thoughe bowe and fliaftes were 
 
 In Thai. made thereof, for the redes be fo greate in Indc, as Herodotus fayth, that 
 of everye joynte of a rede a man may make a filhers bote. Thefe 
 
 Arrianus 8. bowes, fayth Arriamn in Alexanders life, gave fo greate a ftroke, that 
 no harnede or buckler, thoughe it were never fo ftronge, could witli- 
 ftande ft. The length of fuch a bowe was even with the length of 
 him that ufed it. The Lycians ufed bowes made of a tree, called in 
 
 InPoIym. Latine Corniis, (as concerningc the name of it m Englijhe, I can foner 
 prove that other men call it falfe, than I can tell the right name of it 
 myfclfe) this wodde is as hardo as home, and verye fitte for fhaftes, 
 
 Mctam r. ^^ ^^'' ^^ toulde after. Ovid Iheweth that Syrinx the Nymphe^ and 
 one of the niaydens of Diana, had a bowe of this wodde, whereby 
 the poet meaneth, that it was very excellent to make bowes of. 
 
 As
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 133 
 
 As for Brafell, Elme, Wych, and Afhe, experience doth prove them '-^ 
 to be but meane for bovves, and fo to conclude, Ewe of all other 
 thinges is that, whereof perfite fhootinge would have a bowe made. 
 This wodde, as it is nowe generall and common amonges RngJijhmetiy 
 fo hath it continued from long time, and had in moil price for bowes, 
 amonges the Romaines, as doth appeare in this halfe verfe of Virgill. 
 
 'Taxi torquentur in anus. Virgilius, 
 
 Ewe fit for a bowe to be made on. 
 
 Nowe, as I faye, a bowe of Ewe mull be made for perfeile fhootinge 
 at the prickes, which marke, becaufe it is certaine, and mofl certaine 
 rules may be geven of it, fliall ferve for our communication at this time. 
 A good bowe is knowen, much what as good counfayle is knowen, by 
 the ende and profite of it ; yet both a bowe and good counfayle may be 
 made both better and worfe, by well or ill handlinge of them, as often- 
 times chaunceth. And as a man both mufl and will take counfayle of 
 a wyfe and honefl man, though he fee not the ende of it; fo mufl: a 
 fhooter, of necellitye, trufl an honefl: and good bowyer for a bowe, 
 afore he knowe the proofe of it. And as a wyfe man will take plenty 
 of counfayle aforehande, vvhatfoever neede, fo a fliooter fliould have 
 alwayes three or four bowes in flore, whatfoever chaunce. Phi. But 
 if I truil bowyers alwayes, fometimes I am like to be deceyved. 
 Tox. Therefore fliall I tell you fome tokens in a bowe, that you fhall 
 be the feldomer deceyved. If you come into a flioppe, and find a bowe 
 that is fmall, longe, heavye, and flronge, lyinge flreighte, not windinge, 
 not marred with knotte gaule, winde fhake, wem, freat or pinch, bye 
 that bowe of my warrante. The belle colour of a bowe that I finde, 
 is v\ hen the backc and the bcUye in workinge be much what after one 
 maner, for fuch oftentimes in wearinge do prove like virgin waxe or 
 golde, havinge a fine longe graine, even from the one ende of the 
 bowe to the other ; the fliorte graine, although fuch prove well fome- 
 times, are for the moft part veiy brittle. Of the makinge of the bowe, 
 I will not greatly meddle, lefl I fliould fecme to enter into an other 
 mans occupation, which I cannot fkill of. Yet 1 would dcl'yre all bow- 
 yers to feafon theyr flavcs well, to work them and fynke them well, 
 
 to
 
 ,-4. THEWORKSOF 
 
 to gevethem heetes conveniente, and* tylleringes plentye. For thereby 
 they Iliould both gttte themlelves a good name, (and a good name en- 
 crealeth a mans piofite muche) and alfo do great commoditye to the 
 hole realme. If anye man do offende in this poynte, I am afraid they 
 bethofc journeymen, which laboure morefpedelye to make many bowes 
 for their moneye fake, than they work. diUgentlyc to make good bowes, 
 for the common wealth fake, not layinge before theyr eyes this wyfe 
 J proverbc, Sone cnoughe, if ivell enou^be ; wherewith every Iioiiefl: 
 handy craftcs man fhould meafure, as it were with a rule, his 
 worke withall. He that is a journeyman, and rydeth upon ano- 
 ther mans liorfc, if he ryde an honell pace, no man will difalowe 
 him : but if he make pofte hade, both lij that owneth the horfe, 
 and he peradventure alfo that afterward fhall bye the horfe, may thaunce 
 to curie him. Such haftineUe, I am afrayde, i.iay alfo be tounde 
 amonges fome of them, which throughe oute the realme, in divers pla- 
 ces, worke tlie Kinges artillerye for v.arre, thinking, if they get a bow 
 or a (lieafe of arrowes to fome falhion, they be gooJ enough for bear- 
 ing gere. And thus that weapon, which is the chiefc defence of the 
 realme, verye oft doth little fervice to him that fliould ufe it, becaufe 
 it is fo negligently wrought of him that fliould make it, when trulye 
 I fuppofe that neither the bowe can be too good and chicfe woode, nor 
 yet too well feafoned or truly made, with hctinges and tiikringes, neither 
 that fnaftc too good wodde, oi' toothorowly wrouglite, with the bell pi- 
 nion fethers that can be gotten, wherewith a man iliall ferve his Prince, 
 defende his countrye, and fave himlelfe fiom his enemye. And I trull 
 no man will be angrye with me ior fpeakinge thus, but thofe which 
 finde themfelves touched therein: which ought rather to be angrye with 
 themfelves for doinge, than to be mifcontent with me for fayinge fo. 
 And in no cafe they ought to be difpleafed with me, feeinge this is fpo- 
 ken alfo after that fort, not for the notinge of any perfon feverallye, 
 but fcr the amcndinge of everye one generallye. 
 
 But turne we againc to know a good fliootinge bowe for our purpofe. 
 Everyebow isniadeeyther of a boughe, of a plante, or of the book of the 
 tree. The boughe commonlye is very knottye, and full of pinnes, weake, 
 of fmall pithe, and ibne will folowe the Ih inge, and feldome werith to 
 anye fayre coloure, yet for children and yong beginners it may ferve well 
 
 * TylUringt is a word of art which I do not undcrfland, 
 
 enough.
 
 ROGER A S C H A M. 
 
 enough. The plant proveth many times well, if it be of a good and 
 cleane groweth, and, for the pithe of it, is quicke enoughe of cafl:, it 
 will plye and bowe farre before it breake, as all other yonge thinges do. 
 The boole of the tree is cleaned without knot or pin, having a fall: and 
 harde wodde, by reafon of his full groweth, flrong and mightye of 
 calle, and befl for a bowe, if the ftaves be even cloven, and be after- 
 wards wrought, not overthwart the woode, but as the graine and ftreight 
 growinge of the woode leadeth a man, or els, by all reafon, it muft 
 lone breake, and that in many fliivers. This mult be confidered in the 
 roughe woode, and when the bowe ftaves be over wroughte and falhi- 
 oned. For in drellinge and pykinge it up for a bowe, it is too late to 
 loke for it. 
 
 But yet in thefe pointes, as I fayde before, you muft truft an honefte 
 bov/yer, to put a good bowe in your hand, fomewhat lokinge yourfelfe 
 to thofe tokens I Ihewed you. And you muft not fticke for a grote 
 or twelve pence more than another man would geve, if it be a good 
 bowe. For a good bowe twife paid for, is better than an ill bowe once 
 broken. 
 
 Thus a fliootcr muft begin, not at the makinge of his bowe, like a 
 bowyer, but at the i yinge of his bowe, like an archer. And, when 
 his bowe is boughte and broughte home, afore he truft much upon it, 
 let him trye and trimme it after this fort. 
 
 Take your bowe into the fielde, fhoote in him, fincke him with 
 deade heavye ihaftes, looke where he cometh mofte, provide for that 
 place betimes, leaft it pinche, and fo freate: when you have thusfliotte 
 in him, and perceyved good fliootinge woode in him, you muft have 
 him againe to a good, cunninge, and trully wojkman, which fliall 
 cutte him Ihorter, and pike him and drefTe him fitter, make him come 
 round compaile every where, and whipping at the endes, but with 
 difcretion, leaft he whippe in funder, or els frcete, foner than he is 
 ware of: he muft alfo laye him ftreight, if he be cafte, or otherwife 
 ncede requyre, and if he be flatte made, gather him rounde, and fo 
 fhall he both fhoote the faftcr, for farre fhootinge, and alfo be furer 
 for near prickint^c. Phi. What if I come into a ihoppe, and fpyc 
 
 out a bowe, which fliall both then pleafc me very well when I bye him, 
 
 6 and 
 
 ^35
 
 136 T II E W O R K S O F 
 
 and be alio vei^ fitte nnd niecte for me when I flioote in him : fo that 
 he be both weak cnoughe for eaCy fhoothige, alfo qaicke and fpeedye 
 enoughe for farre calHngc, then, I would tliincke, I Ihall neede no 
 more bufinefs with him, but be content with him, and ui'c him well 
 cnoughe, and fo, by that means, avoyde both great trouble, and alio 
 fome coft, which you cunninge archers very often put yourfelves unto, 
 beinge verye ErigUjhmen, never cealinge piddeling about theyr bowe and 
 Ihaftcs, when they be well, but eyther with Ihortinge and pykinge your 
 bowes, or els with newe featheringe, peecinge and headingeyour Ihaftcs, 
 can never have done untill they be ftarke noughte. Tox. Well, 
 
 Pbilohgi', furclye if I have any judgmente at all in fliootinge, it is no 
 very great good taken in a bow, whereof nothinge when it is new and 
 frelli neede be cutte away, even as Cicero fayth of a younge mans 
 witte and ftyle, which you know better than I. For every newe 
 thinge mull alwayes have more than it needeth, or els it will not 
 waxe better and better, but ever decaye, and be worfe and vvorfe. 
 Newe ale, if it runne not over the barrel when it is newe tunned, will 
 fone Icai'e his * pithc, and his hcade afore he be longe drawen on. 
 And likewyfe as that coke, which, at the firfl takinge up, needeth 
 litle breakinge and handlinge, but is fitte and gentle enoughe for the 
 faddlc, fcldome or never proveth well: even fo that bowe, which at 
 the firll byinge, without any more proof and trimmingc, is fitte and 
 eafye to Ihoote in, Ihall neyther be profitable to lafte longe, nor yet 
 plcafant to Ihoote well. And theiefore as a young horfe full of courage, 
 with handlinge and breakinge, is brought unto a furc pace and goinge, 
 fo fliall a newe bowe, frelh and quick of carte, by finking and cutting, 
 be broughte to a Iledfart: Ihootinge. And an eafy and gentle bowe, 
 when it is newe, is not much unlike a loft fpiiited boye, when he is 
 younge. But yet, as of an unrulye boye with rightc handlinge, prov- 
 eth oftencll of all a well ordered man: fo of an unfit and ftaffiflie bowe, 
 with good trimminge, mull nedes folowe alwayes a Itedfaft iliootinge 
 bowe. And fuche a p,; f.te bowe, which never will deceive a man, cxcepte 
 a man deceyve it, n;::!! be liud for that perfecle ende, which you loke 
 for in Ihootin^jc. 
 
 'o^ 
 
 Phi. Well, 'ToxcphHc, I fee well you be cunninger in this gere 
 than I : but put the cafe that I have three or foure fuch good 
 • Pithc is flrsngth, fpritelluefj, vigour, power of aiSlion. 
 
 bowes.
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 137 
 
 bowes, pyked and dreflcd as you now fpeake of, yet I do re- 
 member that many learned men do fay, that it is eafyer to get a good 
 thinge, than to fave and kepe a good thinge, wherefore, if thou can 
 teach me as concerninge that point, you have fatisfyed me picntifullye, 
 as concerninge a bowe. 
 
 Tox. Trulye it was the next thinge that I would have come 
 unto, for fo the matter laye. When you have brought your bowe 
 to fuch a pointe, as I fpake of, then you mufi: have a harden or 
 wullen cloth waxed, wherewitli every daye you mufl: rubbe and chafe 
 your bowe, till it fliyne and glitter withall. Which thinge ihall 
 caufe it both to be cleane, well favoured, goodlye of coloure, and 
 fhall alfo bringe, as it were, a cruftc over it, that is to faye, (hall 
 make it everye where on the out fyde, fo flipperye and harde, that 
 neyther anye weete or weather can enter to hurte it, nor yet anye 
 freate, or pinche, be able to byte upon it : but that you fhall do 
 it greate wronge before you breake it. This mufl be done oftentimes, 
 but efpecially when you come from fhootinge. 
 
 Beware alfo when you fhoote of your fliafte heades, dagger, knyves, 
 or agglettes, left they race yoL;r bowe, a thinge, as I fayde before, 
 both unfemelye to loke on, and alfo daungerous for freates. Take heede 
 alfo of miflye and dankinflie dayes, which Ihall hurt a bowe more 
 than anye rayne. For then you muft eyther alwaye rubbe it, or els leave 
 fliootinge. 
 
 Your bowe cafe (this I did not promife to fpeake of, bccaufe it is Bowe cafe, 
 without the nature of fliootinge, or els I fliould trouble me with other 
 thinges infinite more: yet feinge it is a favegaixle for the bowe, fome 
 thinge I will faye of it) your bowe cafe, I laye, if you ryde foithe, mull 
 neyther be to wyde for your bowes, for fo Ihall one clappe uppon an 
 other, and hurt them, nor yet fo flrayte that I'carce they can be thrufl 
 in, for that would lay them on fyde, and wynde them. A bow cafe of 
 lether is not the bell, for that is oft times moyft, which hurteth the 
 bowes very nnich. 
 
 Therefore I have fecne good fliooters which would have for everye 
 bowe a fere cafe, made of wullen clothe, and then you maye jjutte three 
 or four of them fo cafed, into a lether cafe if you will. This wullen 
 
 T cafe
 
 138 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 cafe niall both kepe them in funder, and alfo will kepe a bowe in his 
 full rirength, that it never geve for anye weather. 
 
 At home thcfe * woodc cafes be veryegood for bowesto ftande in. But 
 take hede that your bowe llande not to nere a ftone wall, for that will 
 make him moyil and weakc, nor yet to neare anye fyre, for that will 
 make him fliorte and brittle. Ami thus much as concerninge the fa- 
 vinge and keepinge of our bowe : now you fhall heare what thingcs 
 ye muft avoyde, for fear of breakinge your bowe. 
 
 A fliootcr chaunceth to breake his bowe commonlye four wayes, by 
 the Ibinge, by the Oiaft, by drawinge to farre, and by freates. By the 
 lb inge, as I fayd afore, when the ftringe is eyther to lliort, to long, not 
 furelye put on, with one wappe, or jull: croked on, or fhorne in fun- 
 der with an evill nocke, or fulfered to tarye over long on. When the 
 flringe fayles the bowe muft necdes breake, and fpeciallye in the middes: 
 becaufe both the endes have nothinge to ftoppe them : but whippes fo 
 farre backe, that the bellye muft needes violently rife up, the which you 
 lliall well perceyve in bendinge of a bowe backewarde. Therefore a 
 bowe that foloweth the ftringe is leaft hurte with breakinge of ftringes. 
 
 By the ftiaft a bow is broken eyther when it is to Ihoit, and fo you fet 
 it in your bowe, or when the nocke breakes for litlenelle, or when the 
 ftringe flippes without the nocke for wydenefle, then you pull it to 
 your eare and lettes it go, which muft needes breake the fliaft at the 
 leaft, and put ftringe and bow and all in jcopardye, becaufe the 
 ftrength of the bowe hath nothinge in it to ftoppe the violence of it. 
 This kinde of breakinge is moft perillous for the ftanders by, for in 
 fuch a cafe you fhall fee fome time the ende of a bow flye a hoole fcoie 
 from a man, and that moft commonly, as I have marked oft, the up- 
 per ende of the bowe. 
 
 The bow is drawneto farre two wayes. Eyther when you take a longer 
 fliaft then your owne, or els when you fliift your handc to lowe or 
 to hye for ftiootinge farre. This waye pullcth the backe in funder, and 
 then the bowe flecth in many peces. 
 
 * There is no mention of wooden cafes before, therefore it fliould perhaps be wool cafeij 
 unlefs fomething be lefc out by the primer. 
 
 3 So
 
 ROGER A S C H A xM. 
 
 So when you fee a bovve broken, havinge the bellye rifen uppe both 
 wayes or to one, the flringe brake it. When it is broken in two peces, 
 ina maner even of, and fpeci^llye in the upper ende, the /haft nocke brake 
 it. When the backe is pulled afunder in many peces, to farre drawinge 
 brake it. Thefe tokens eyther alwayes be true, or els very feldome raille. 
 
 The fourthe thinge that bi-eaketh a bowe is freates, wliich make a Freates. 
 bovve redye and apt to breake by any of the three wayes afore fayde. 
 Freates be in a fliaft as well as in a bowe, and they be much like a canker, 
 creepinge and encreafinge in thofe places in a bowe, which be weaker 
 then other. And for this purpofe niufl: your bowe be well trimmed 
 and pyked of a cunninge man, that it maye come rounde in compalfe 
 everye where. For freates you muft beware, if your bow have a knot 
 in the backe, left the places which be next it, be not slowed ftronge 
 enoughe to here with the knot, or els the ftronge knot fiiall freate the 
 weake places next it. Freates be firft litle pinches, the which when 
 you perceave, pike the places about the pinches, to make them fome- 
 what weaker, and as well comminge as where it pinched, and fo the 
 pinches fliall dye, and never encreafe farther into freates. 
 
 Freates begin many times in a pinne, for there the good woode is cor- 
 rupted, that it muft nedes be wcakc, and becaufe it is weake, there- 
 fore it freates. Good bowyers therefore do raife every pinne, and alowe 
 it more woode for feare of freatinge. 
 
 Againe, bowes moft commonly freate underthe hand, not fo much as fomc 
 men fuppofe for the moiftnelie of the hand, as for the heate of the hand. 
 The nature of the heat, fayth Arijhtlc, is to loofe, and not to knitte faft, 
 and the moie loofcr the more weaker, the more weaker the redier to freate. 
 
 A bowe is not well made, which hath not woode plcntye in the 
 handc. For if the endes of the bowe be ftiffiftie, or a mans hand any 
 thinge bote, the bellye muft nedes fone frete. Remcdye for freates to 
 any purpofe I never harde tell of anye, but only to make the freated 
 place as ftrong, or ftronger, than anye othei-. To fill up the freate with 
 litle llievers of a quill and glcwe, as fome faye will do well, by reafon 
 muft be ftarkc nought. For, put the cafe the freate did ceafe then, yet 
 
 T 2 the 
 
 139
 
 I40 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 the caufe which made it fieate afoic, (and that is weaknefTe of the 
 place) becaufe it is not taken away, muft needes make it fieate againe. 
 As for ciittinge out of freates, with all maner of peecinge of bowes, 
 I will clcanc exclude from perfite fliootinge. For pecced bowes be much 
 like ould houfeu, which be more chargeable to repayre then commodi- 
 ous to dwell in. And againe, to I'wadle a bowe much about with 
 bandes, verye feldomc doth anye good, excepte it be to keepe down a 
 fpell in the backe, otherwife bandes eyther nede not, when the bowe is 
 any thing worthe, or els boote not, when it is marde and paft befl. And 
 although I know mean and poore fliooters will ufe peeced and banded 
 bowes fomctimes, becaufe they arc not able to get better when they 
 would, yet, I am fure, if they would confider it well, they fliall find 
 it both leffe charge and more pleafure, to beftowe at anytime a couple 
 of Ihillinges of a newe bowe, than to beftowe ten pence of peecing an 
 ould bowe. For better is cofte upon fomewhat worth, than fpence 
 upon nothinge worth. And this I fpeake alfo, becaufe you would have 
 me refcrre all to perfiteneire in fliootinge. 
 
 Moreover there is another thinge, which will fone caufe a bowe to 
 be broken by one of the three wayes which be firll: fpoken of, and that 
 is fliootinge in * Winter, when there is anye froft. Frofl: is wherefoever 
 is any watcriflie humour, as is in woodes, eyther more or lefle, and you 
 knowe that all thinges frofen and ifie will rather breake than bende. 
 Yet, if a man muft needes flioote at any fuch time, let him take his 
 bowe and bring it to the fire, and tiiere, by little and little, rubbe and 
 chafe it with a waxed clothe, which fliall bringe it to that point, that 
 he maye flioote fafely enough in it. This rubbing with waxe, as I fayde 
 before, is a greate fuccour againfl: all wete and moyllnefle. In the 
 fieldes alfo, in goinge betwixt the prickes, eyther with your hand, or 
 els with a cloth, you muft kepe your bowe in fuch a temper. 
 
 And thus much as concerninge your bowe, howe firll to knowe what 
 woode is bcft for a bowe, then to chofe a bowe, after to trimme a bowe, 
 ngaine to kepe it in goodnelfe, lafl of all, how to fave it from all harmc 
 aiidevilnefle. And although many men can faye more of a bowe, yetl truft 
 
 * Boyle fomewhere mentions a Palcy who related that the colu A nis countries winters 
 broke his bow. 
 
 thefe
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 141 
 
 thefe thinges be true, and almoft fufficientfor the knowledge of a perfe(5l 
 bo we. 
 
 Phi. Suielye I believe fo, and yet I could have heard you talke 
 longer on it: although I cannot fee what may be fiyd more of 
 it. Therefore, excepte you will paufe a while, you may go forwarde 
 to a fhaft. 
 
 Tox. What flaaftes were made of, in ould time, authors do not foshaftcs. 
 manifeftly fliewe, as of bowes. Herodotus doth tell, that in the floude 
 of Nilus there was a beafle, called a Water Horfe, of wliofe Ikin, after Euterp. 
 it was dryed, the Egyptiatis made fliaftes and dartes. The tree called 
 Cornus was fo common to make fliaftes of, that, in good authors of the 
 Laiine tongue, Cornus is taken for a fliafte, as in Seneca, and that place sen. Hipp. 
 of Plrgill, 
 
 Volat itala cornus. _ ir- t? ^ 
 
 Virg. tn. 9. 
 
 Yet, of all thinges that ever I marked of ould authors, eyther Greeke 
 or Latine, for fhaftes to be made of, there is nothinge (o common as 
 reedes. Herodotus, in defcribinge the mightye hoaft of Xerxes^ doth tell, 
 that three greate countryes ufed fliaftes made of a rede, the Ethiopians,\n?o\ym. 
 the Lycians, (whofe fliattes lacked fethers, whereat I marveile molt of 
 all) and the men of Inde. The fliaftes of Inde were very longe, a 
 yarde and an halfe, us Am' anus doth faye, or, at the leaft, a yarde, ^rr'anus. 8. 
 as ^ Curiius doth faye, and therefore they gave the greater ftrype, but q q^^^^ 3 
 yet, becaufe they were fo longe, they were the more unhanfome, and 
 leife profitable to the men of Inde, as Curtius doth tell. 
 
 In Crete and Italy they ufed to have theyr fliaftes of reede aifo. The 
 bed reede for fliaftes grew in 7Wf, and in Rhenus, a floud of //rf/^v.Piin. 16. 36. 
 But, becaufe fuch fliaftes be neyther eafye for Englijlcmen to get, and, 
 if they were gotten, fcarce profitable for them to ufe, I will let them 
 paffe, and fpeake of thofe fliaftes which Englifiemen, at this daye, moft: 
 commonly do approve and allowe. A fliaft hath three principall 
 parts, the flele, the fethers, and the head : whereof every one niufl 
 be feverallye fpuken of. 
 
 Steles be made of divers woodes : as, 
 
 Brafell,
 
 H« 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 Brafell, 
 
 Serviftree, 
 
 Turkie Woode, 
 
 ■ Hulder, 
 
 Fuflicke, 
 
 Blackthorne, 
 
 Sugerchefte, 
 
 Beche, 
 
 Hardbeame, 
 
 Elder, 
 
 Byichc, 
 
 Afpe, 
 
 Asflie, 
 
 Salowe. 
 
 Oake, 
 
 
 Thefe woodes, as they be moft commonly ufed, Co they be moft fit 
 to be ufed : yet ibme one fitter then an other for divers mens fhootinge, 
 as fhall be told afterward. And in this pointe, as in a bowc, you muft 
 trufte an honeft flctcher. NeverthelefTe, although I cannot teach you 
 to make a bowe or a fliaft, which belongeth to a bowyer and a 
 fletcher to come to theyr lyving, yet will I fliewe you fome tokens to 
 know a bowe and a fliafte, which pertayneth to an archer to come to 
 good fliootinge, 
 
 A ftele muft be well * feafoned for caftinge, and it muft be made as 
 the graine lyeth, and as it groweth, or els it will never flye cleane, 
 as clothe cut overthvvart, and againft the wull, can never hoofe a 
 man cleane. A knotty ftele may be fuffered in a bigge fliaft, but 
 for a little fhaft it is nothing fit, both becaufe it will never flye farre, 
 and, bcfides that, it is ever in danger of breaking, it flyeth not farre 
 becaufe the ftrength of the flioote is hindered and ftoppcd at the knot, 
 even as a ftone cart into a plaine even ftill water, will make the water 
 move a great fpace, yet, if there be any whirlingc plat in the water, the 
 moving ceafeth when it cometh at the whirling plat, which is not 
 much unlike a knot in a fhaft, if it be confidered well. So every thing 
 as it is plaine and ftraight of his own nature, fo it is fitteft for farre 
 movinge. Therefore a ftele which is harde to ftand in a bowe with- 
 oute knot, and ftreighte, (I mean not artificiallye ftreight as the flet- 
 cher doth make it, but naturallye ftreighte as it groweth in the woode) 
 is beft to make a fliaftc of, eyther to go cleane, flye farre, or ftande 
 furcly in anye weather. 
 
 Now how bigge, how fmall, how heavye, how light, how long, how 
 fliort, a fliaft ihould be particularly for every man, feeing we muft 
 
 • Seafoncd for cnjl'ing^ that is, well feafoned to hinder it from warping. 
 
 talke
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 143 
 
 taike of the general nature of fliootingc, can not be toulde no more 
 than you Rhetoricians can appoint anye one kind of wordes, of fenten- 
 ces, of figures, fit for everye mattei", but even as the man and the mat- 
 ter requyreth, fo the fitted to be ufed. Therefore, as concerninge thofe 
 contraryes in a Ihaft, everye man muft avoyde them, and drawe to the 
 meane of them, which mean is bell: in all thinges. Yet if a man hap- 
 pen to ofFende in any of the extremes, it is better to ofFende in want 
 and fcantnefle, than in to much and outragious excedinge. As it is 
 better to have a fliaft a litle to fhort than over longe, fomewhat to 
 light, than over lumpiflie, a litle to fmal, than a greate deale to big, 
 which thinge is not only truly fayde in fhootinge, but in all other 
 thinges that ever man goeth about, as in eatinge, taulkinge, and all 
 other thinges like, which matter was once excellentlye difputed upon, 
 in the fcholes, you know when. 
 
 And to offende, in thefe contraryes, commeth much, if men take not 
 heede, throughe the kinde of woode, whereof the fliaft is made j for 
 fomc woode belonges to that exceedinge part, fome to the fcant part, 
 fome to the meane, as Brafell, Turkic woode, Fufticke, Sugar chefte, 
 and fuch like, make dead, heavye, lumpifhe, hobbling fliaftes. Againe, 
 Hulder, Blacke thorne, Serveftree, Beeche, Elder, Afpe, and Salowe, 
 eyther for theyr weaknefs or lightneffe, make holow, darting, fcudding, 
 gaddinge fhaftes. But Birchc, Hardbeame, fome Oake, and fome A (he, 
 being both ftronge enoughe to ftande in a bowe, and alfo light enouglie 
 to fly farre, are beft for a meane, which is to be fought out in every 
 thinge. And although I know, that fome men flioote fo ftronge, that 
 the deade woodes be light enough for them, and other fome fo weake, 
 that the loufe woodes be likewyfe for them bigge enoughe, yetgcncraJlye, 
 for the mod part of men, the meane is the beft. And fo to conclude, 
 that is alwayes beft for a man, which is meeteft for him. Thus no 
 woode of his owne nature is eyther to light or to heavy, but as the 
 fliootcr is himfelfe which doth ufe it. For that fliaft, which one yeare 
 for a man is to lighte and fcuddingc, for the felfe lame reafon the next 
 yeare may chaunce to be heavye and hobblinge. Tliercforc cannot I 
 expreflc, except generallye, what is beft woode for a ftiafte, but let everye 
 man, when he knoweth his owne ftrengthe, and the nature of everye 
 woode, provide and fit himfelfe thereafter. Yet, as concerninge fhcaffe 
 aiTowes for war, (as I fuppofe) it were better to make them of ^ood 
 Aihe, and not of Afpe, as they be now a dayes. For of all other 
 
 woodes
 
 ■ 44 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 woodcs that ever I proved, Aflie beinge bigge is fwifteft, and againe 
 hevye to geve a great ftripe withall, which Afpe fhall not do. What 
 heavinefl'e doth in a ftripe every man by experience can tell, therefore 
 Aflie being both * fwiftcr and heavyer, is more fit for flieafe arrowes 
 than Afpe, and thus much for the beft woode for fliaftes. 
 
 Againe likevvife as no one v/oode can" be greatlyc meete for all 
 kindc of fliaftes, no more can one fafliion of the ftele be fit for every 
 iliooter. For tiiofe that be little breafted and bigge tow^arde the heade, 
 called by theyr likenelle Taper fafliion, Reliie Growne, and of fome 
 mery felowes Bobtailes, be fit for them which Ihoote under hand, be- 
 caufe they flioote with a fofte loufe, and ftreffes not a fliafte much in 
 the brefle, where the weight of the bowe lyeth, as you may perceyve 
 by the weringe of everve Ihafte. Againe, the bigge breaded lliaft is 
 fit for him which fliooteth right afore him, or els the breaft beinge 
 weake fhould never withflande that flronge pithye kinde of fliootinge ; 
 thus, the under hand muft have a fmal breft to go clene away out 
 of the bowe, the fore hand mufl: have a bigge brefle to beare the great 
 might of the bowe. The fliaft muft be made rounde, nothinge flat, 
 without gall or wemme, for this purpole. For becaufe roundnefle 
 (v.'hether you take example in heaven or in earthe) is fittcft fliappe 
 and forme both for faft movinge, and alfo for fone percinge of any 
 thinge. And therefore Arijlotle fayth, that nature hath made the 
 raine to be rounde, becaufe it fhould the eafelycr enter through the ayre. 
 
 The nocke of the fliaft is diverfely made, for fome be great and 
 full, fome handfome and Jitle ; fome wyde, fome narowe, fome deepe, 
 fome ihalowe, fome rounde, fome longe, fome with one nocke, fome 
 with double nocke, whereof every one hath his propertye. The great 
 and full nocke may be well felt, and nianye wayes they fave a fliaft 
 from breakinge. The handfome and litle nocke v/ill go cleane awaye 
 from the hand, the wyde nocke is noughte, both for breakinge of the 
 fhafte and alfo for fodaine flippinge out of the flringe, when the nar- 
 rcvve nocke doth avoyde both thofe harmes. The deepe and longe 
 nocke is good in warre for fure kcepinge in of the llringe. The Iha- 
 lowe and rounde nocke is bell for our purpofe in pricking for cleane 
 
 * This account of the qualities of the afli, which is rcprcfentcd as having fome peculiar 
 power of fwifmcfs, is ohfcurc. He probably means, that a(h is the wood which, in a quan- 
 tity proper for an arrow, has weight enough to ftrike hard, and 1 ghtncfs enough to fly iiiV. 
 
 deliverance 
 
 1
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 deliverance of a flioote. And double nocklnge is ufed for double 
 fuertye of the fliafte. And thus farre as concerninge a hoole flele. Pee- 
 cinge of a fliaft with Brafell and HoUie, or other heavye woodes, is 
 to make the ende * compafle heavye with the feathers in flyinge, for 
 the fledfafter Ihootinge. For if the ende were plumpe heavye with 
 leade and the wood next it light, the head ende would ever be down- 
 wards, and never flye flreight. Two pointes in peecinge be enough, 
 leafl the moyitnelie of the earth enter to much into the peecinge, and 
 fo loufe the glue. Therefore many pointes be more pleafaunte to the 
 eye, than profitable for the ufe. Some ufe to peece theyr fnaftes in the 
 nocke with Brafell or hollye, to counterwey with the heade, and I 
 have feene fome for the fame purpofe bore an hole a litle beneath the 
 pocke, and put leade in it. But yet none of thefe wayes be any thing 
 needfull at all, for the nature of a feather in flying, if a man mark 
 it well, is able to beare uppe a wonderful weight: and I tiiincke 
 fuch peecinge came uppe firil, thus: when a good archer hath bro- 
 ken a good fliaft, in the feathers, and for the fantafie he hath had 
 to it, he is loth to leefe it, and therefore doth he peece it. - And then 
 by and by other, either becaufe it is gaye, or els becaufe they will have 
 a fliaft like a good archer, cutteth theyr hole fliaftes, and peeceth 
 themagaine: a thinge, by my judgmente, more coftlye than nedcfull. 
 And thus have you hearde what woode, what fafliion, what nockingc, 
 what peecinge, a flele mufl: have. Now folovveth the feathcringe. 
 
 Phi. I would never have thought you could have fayde half fo much 
 of a flele, and, I thincke, as concerninge the litle feather, and the 
 playne heade, there is but litle to fayc. Tox, Litle, Yes, truly : 
 
 for there is no one thinge in all. fliootinge fo much to be looked on as 
 the feather. For, fiift, a queflion may be aflvcd: Whether any other 
 thinge befyde a feather, be fit for a fliaft or no ? If a feather only 
 befit, vihether a goofe feather onlyc or no? If a goofe feather be 
 beft, then whether there be any difference as concerning the feather 
 of an olde goofe, and a younge goofe ; a gander, or a goofe j a fenny 
 goofe, or an uplandiflie goofe ? Againc, whicli is the bell feather in any 
 goofe, the right wingc or the left v. inge, the pinion featiier, or any 
 other feather: a whyte, blackc, or greye feather? I'hirdly, in fetdng 
 on your feather, whether it is pared or drawn with a thickc rybbj, 
 or a thinne rybbe, (the rybbe is the hard quill wliieh divideth the fca- 
 
 * Compnfi heavy f*;ems to figuify prol<crtionate!y heavy. 
 
 U ' ther) 
 
 H5
 
 146 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 ther) a long feather better or a fhorte, fet on near the nocke, or far 
 from the nocke, fet on ftreight, or feme what bowinge? And whether 
 one or two feathers runne on the bowc, Fourthlye, in coulinge or 
 flieeringe, whether highe or lowe, whether fomewhat Avyne backed 
 (I mufl ufo Ihooters wordes) or fadle backed, whether rounde or fquare 
 flionie ? And whether a fliaft at any time ought to be plucked, and 
 howe to be phicked ? 
 
 Phi. Surely, Tcsopbik, I thinckc many fietchers, although day- 
 lye they have thefe thinges in ure, if they were aiked fodenly, 
 what they could fay of a fether, they could not faye fo much. 
 But I pray you let me heare you more at large exprefle thofe thinges in 
 a feather, the which you packed up in fo narrowe a i-oumc. And firft, 
 whether any other thing may be ufed for a feather or not? 
 Tox. That was the firil pointe indede, and bccaufe there foloweth many 
 after, I will hye apace over them, as one that had many a mile to i-yde. 
 Plin. 16.36. Shaftes to have had alwayes feathers, Plinius m Latino, ^nd Julius Pol- 
 J.Ppl. i.io. lux in Greke, do plainlye fhewe, yet onlye the Lyciam I reade in Hero- 
 Herod. Pol. dotus, to have ufed fliaftes without feathers. Onelye a feather is fit 
 for a Hiaft for two caufes, firft becaufe it is * leath, weake to geve place 
 to the bowe, then bccaufe it is of that nature, that it will ilarte up 
 after the bow^e. So plate,, vvoode, or home, cannot ferve, becaufe they 
 will not geve place. Againe, clothe, paper, or parchmcnte, cannot 
 ferve, becaufe they will not ryfe after the bowe, therefore a feather 
 is only meete, becaufe it only will do both. Nowe to loke on the fea- 
 thers of all maner of byrdes, you fliall fee fome fo lowe, weake and 
 fliort, fome fo courfe, flore and harde, and the ribbe fo brickie, thin 
 and narrow, that it can neither be drawen, pared, nor yet well fet on, 
 that excepte it be a fw^anne for a deade fliaft, (as I knowe fome good 
 archers have ufed) or a ducke for a flight, which lalles but one flioote, 
 there is no feather but onlycof a goofe that hath all commodities in it. 
 And trulyc at a Ihorte buttc, which fome man doth ufe, tlie peacock fea- 
 ther doth feldome kepe up the fhaft eyther right or level, it is fo rough 
 and heavye, fo that manye men, which have taken them up for gay- 
 neffe, hath layds them down agayne for protitc, thus, for our purpole, 
 the goofc is the beft feather, for the bcft Ihooter. Phi. No that 
 
 is not fo, for the beft fliooter that ever was, ufed other feathers. 
 Tox. Yea, are you fo cunnvnge in fliootingc ? I praye you who was 
 
 * Leaih is limber, flexible, cafily giving way. MlUcn calls it lithe. 
 
 1 that ?
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 147 
 
 that? Phi. Herades, which had his fliaftes feathered with eagles 
 
 feathers, as Hefiodm doth fay. Tox. Well, as for Hercules, feeing Hefiodus in 
 
 neyther water nor lande, heaven nor hell, coulde fcarce content him to Scuto. Her, 
 abyde in, it was no marveile though felye poore goofe feather couldc 
 not pleafe him to flioote withal 3 and againe, as for eagles, they flye fo 
 hye and builde fo farre of, that they be very harde to come by. Yet 
 well fare the gentle goofe, which bringeth to a man, even to his doore, ^ Goofc. 
 fo many exceeding commodities. For the goofe is mans comfort in 
 warre and in peace, flcepinge and wakinge. What prayfe foever is 
 geven to fliootinge, the goofe may challenge the beft part in it. Howe 
 well dothe fhe make a man fare at his table? Howe eafilye dothe 
 fhe make a man lye in his bedde? Howe fit even as her feathers be 
 only for fliootinge, fo be her quills fit only for wrytinge. Phi. In- 
 
 dede, 'Toxophile, that is the beft prayfe you gave to a goofe yet, and 
 furtly I would have fayde you had bene to blame, if you had over- 
 Ikipte it. 
 
 Tox.' The Romayfies, I trowe, Phihloge, not fo much becaufe a goofe 
 with crying faved their Capitolium, and heade toure, with their golden 
 Jupiter, as Propcrtius doth fay very pretely in this verfe, 
 
 Anjerii et tutiim voce fidjfe Jovem, Propertiuj. 
 
 Id eft, 
 Thevcs on a night had ftolne Jupiter, had a goofe not a kekede. 
 
 Did make a golden goofe, and fet her in the toppe of the CapitoHum, Livius r. 
 and appointed alfo xhcCenfores to allow out of the common butche yeare- Dec. 5. 
 ly ftipendes, for the findingc of certaine gcefe ; the Romayjies, did not, 
 I faye, geeve all this honour to a goofe for that good dede onely, but 
 for other infinite mo, which come daily to a man by geefe ; and furclye 
 if I fliould declame in the prayfe of any maner of beft ly vinge, I would 
 chufe a goofe. But the goofe hath made us flee to farre from our mat- 
 ter. Now, Sir, ye have heard how a feather mull be had, and that 
 a goofe feather onlye : it folovveth of a young goofe and an olde, and 
 the refidue belonginge to a feather: which thinge I will fhortlye courfe 
 over; whereof, when you knowe the properties, you may fit your 
 Ihaftes according to your fliootinge, which rule you muft obferve in 
 all other thinges to, becaufe no one falhion or quantitye can be fit for 
 every man, no more than a fliooe or a cote can be. The oklc goofe 
 
 U 2 feather
 
 ,48 T II E W O R K S O F 
 
 f.athcr is ftiffe and ftrongc, good for a wynde, and fittefl for a dead 
 Ihafi : the younge goofe feather is weake and fyne, befl: for a fwifte 
 fhafte, and it mufl: be couled at the ftrfl flieering, fomewhat hye, for 
 with fhootinge it will fattle and faule very much. The fame thing 
 (althoughe not fo much) is to be confidercd in a goofe and a gander, 
 A fenny goofe, even as her flcflie is blacker, ftoorer, unholfomer, fo 
 is her feather, for the fame caufe, courfer, floorer, and rougher, and 
 therefore I have heard very good flctchers fay, that the fecond fether in 
 fome place is better than the pinion in other fome. Betwixt the winges 
 is litle difference, but that you muft have divers fliaftes of one flight, 
 feathered with divers winges, for divers wyndes: for if the wynd and 
 the feather go both one waye, the fliafte \v\\\ be caryed to much. The 
 j)inion feathers, as it hath the firfl place in the winge, fo it hath the 
 firfl place in good fcatheringe. You may know it afore it be pared, by 
 a bought which is in it, and againe when it is couled, by the thicknefle 
 above, and the thicknelie at the grounde, and alfo by the fliffneffe and 
 fineffe which will cary a fliaft better, fader and further, even as a fine 
 fayle cloth doth a fliippe. 
 
 The coloure of the feather is leafl to be regarded, yet fomewhat to 
 
 be loked on ; for a good white you have fometimes an ill greye. Yet 
 
 furely it ftandeth with good reafon, to have the cocke feather blacke 
 
 or gieye, as it were to geve a man warninge to nocke right. The 
 
 cocke feather is called that which ftandeth above in right nockinge, 
 
 which if you do not obferve, the other feathers muft necdes runne on 
 
 ' the bowe, and fo marre your fliote. And thus farre of the goodnefle 
 
 and choyce of your feather : now foloweth the fetting on. Wherein 
 
 you muft looke that your feathers be not drawen for haftineffe, but 
 
 pared even and ftrcight with diligence. The fletcher draweth a feather 
 
 when it hath but one fwappe at it with his knife, and then playneth it 
 
 a litle, with nibbing it over his knife. He pareth it when he takcth 
 
 leyfure and heede, to make everye part of the rybbe apt to ftand ftreight 
 
 and even on upon the ftele. This thing, if a man take not hede on-, 
 
 he may chaunce liave caufe to fay fo of his fletcher, as in dreflinge 
 
 of mcate is commonlye fayde of cookes: and that is, that God fend- 
 
 eth us good feathers, but the devill noughtye fletchers. If anye flct- 
 
 \ chcrs heard me fay thus, they would not be angrye with me, excepte 
 
 they were ill fletchers : ami yet by reafon, thole fletchers too ougfvt 
 
 rather
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 149 
 
 rather to amende themfelves for doing ill, than be angiye with me 
 for faying truth. The ribbe in a ftiffe feather may be- thinner, for fo 
 it will (tande cleaner on : but in a weake feather you muft leave a 
 thicker ribbe, "or elfe if the ribbe, which is the foundation and grounde 
 wherein nature iiath fet every clefte of the feather, be taken to nere 
 the feather, it muft nedes folow, that the feather fliall fall and droup 
 down, even as any herbe doth which hath his roote to nere taken 
 on with a fpade. The length and fliortnefle of the feather ferveth for 
 divers (liaftcs, as a longe feather for a longc, heavye, or byg fliafte, 
 the fliort feather for the contrarye. Againe, the fhorte maye ftande 
 farther, the longe nerer the nocke. Your featiier muft ftand almoft 
 ftreight on, but yet after that fort, that it may turne rounde in fly- 
 inge. 
 
 And here I confider the wonderful! nature of fhooringe, which ftand- 
 eth altogether by that fafliion, which is moft apt for quicke movinge, 
 and that is by roundnefTe. For firft the bowe muft be gathered rounde, 
 in drawinge it muft come rounde compafTe, the ftringe muft be rounde, 
 the ftele muft be round, the beft nocke rounde, the feather ftiorne fome- 
 vvhat rounde, the ihaft in flyinge muft turne rounde, and, if it flye 
 far, it flycth a rounde compaile, for eyther above or beneath a rounde 
 compafle hindereth the flyinge. Moreover, both the ilctcher in niakinge 
 your fliaft, and you in nockinge your fhaft, muft take heede that two 
 feathers equally runne on the bow. For if one feather runne alone o'l 
 the bowe, it fliall quickely be worne, and fliall not be able to match 
 with the other feathers ; and againe, at the lowfe, if the fliaft be light, 
 it will ftart, if it be heavye, it will hoble. And thus as concerning kt- 
 tinge on of your feather. Now of coulinge. 
 
 To fliere a fliaft highe or lowe, muft be as the fliafte is, heivye 
 or light, great or litle, long or fliort, the fwyne backed fafliion ma- 
 keth the fliaft deader, for it gathereth more ayre than the faddje 
 backed, and therefore the faddle backe is furer for daungcr of weathej-, 
 and fitter for fmothe flyinge. Againe, to flicre a fliaft rounde, as they 
 were wont fometimes to do, or after the tryangle fafliion, wiiich is 
 muche ufed now a dayes, both be good. For roundncife is ajite for 
 flyinge of his own nature, and all maner of tryangle fafliion (the 
 Iharpe pointe goinge before) is alfo naturallye ante for quicke cntrini^e ; 
 
 and
 
 i^o T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 De Nat. and therefore fayth Cicero, that cranes, taught by nature, obferve in fly- 
 ^*°'^' inge a tryangle falhion alwayes, becaule it is lb apte to perce and go 
 through the ayre vvithall. Laft- of all, pluckinge of feathers is nought, 
 for there is no furetye in it, therefore let every archer have fuch Ihaftes, 
 that he may both know them and trufl them at every chaunge of wea- 
 ther. Yet, if they muft nedes be plucked, plucke them as litle as can 
 be, for fo fliall they be the lefie unconftant. And thus I have knit 
 up in as fhort a roumc as I could, the befl feathers, featheringe, and 
 coulinge of a fliaft. 
 
 Phi. I thincke furelye you have fo taken up the matter with you, 
 that you have left nothinge behinde you. Nowe you have broughte 
 a fliafte to the heade, which, if it were on, we had done as con- 
 cerningc all inllrumcntes belonging to fhootinge. Tox. Necef- 
 
 fitye, the inventor of all goodnefle (as all authors in a manner 
 do faye) amonges all other thinges invented a fliaft head, firfl to 
 fave the end from brcakinge, tlien it made it fliaipe to fticke better, 
 after it made it of fl:rong matter, to la ft better : lad of all, experience 
 and vvyfedome of men hath broiight it to fuch a perfitnciie, that there 
 is no one thinge fo profitable belonging to ai tillcrye, either to ftrike 
 a mans enemye forer in waire, or to (liuote nerer the marke at home, 
 than is a fitte heade for both purpoCs. For if a fliaft lacke a heade, 
 it is worth nothing for neyther uie. Therefore, fceinge heades be fo 
 neceflarye, they mufl: of ncceliitye be well loked upon. Heades for 
 vvarre, of longe time hath bene made, not onlye of divers matters, but 
 alfo of divers fafhions. The Troyans had heades of yron, as this verfe, 
 fpoken of Pandarus, flieweth : 
 
 Iliad. 4. Vp to the pappe his Jlr inge did he pull, his Jkaft to the harde yron. 
 
 The Grecians had heades of bralle, as Utyjjes fljaftes were headed, 
 when he flewc Antoninus and the other wowers of Penelope. 
 
 Odyfl". 2 1 . ^iite throiighe a dore flewe a f.^aft with a brajj'e hend. 
 
 Iliad. 4. It is playne in Plomcr, where Menelaus was wounded of Pandarus 
 fliaftcs, that the heades were notglewed on, but tyed on with a fl^ring, 
 as the commentarycs in Greke plainly tell. And therefore fliooters, at 
 that time, ufcd to carye theyr Ihaftes without heades, until they occu- 
 pyed them, and then fet on an head, as it appeareth in Ho/mr, the 
 
 twenty-
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. jji 
 
 twenty-firft booke Odyffcy, where Penelope brought XJlyJJes bow downs 
 amonges the gentlemen which came on wowhige to her, that he which 
 was able to bende it and drawe it, miglit enjoy her, and after her 
 folowed a mayde, fayth Homer, caryinge a bagge full of heades, both OJyir. 
 of yron and braile. 
 
 XI. 
 
 The men of Scythia ufed heads of brafTe. The men of Inde ufed f^^^^j q. 
 heads of yron. The Ethicpians ufed heads of hard Iharpc (tone, as Polym. 
 botli Herodotus and Pc/bx doth tell. The Germaiues, as Cornelius Tacitus 
 doth faye, had theyr fhaftes headed with bone, and manye countryes, 
 both of olde time and nowe, ufe heades of home. But, of all other, 
 yron and ftele mufl ncdes be the fitteft for heades. Julius Pollux cal- J. Pol. i.ic. 
 leth othervvyfe than we do, where the feathers be the heade, and that 
 which we call the heade, he calleth the point. 
 
 Fafliion of heades is divers, and that of olde time : two manner 
 of arrowes heades, fayth Pollux, was ufed in olde time. The one he 
 calleth oyKivog, defcribihge it thus, havinge two pointes or barbes, 
 lokinge backeward to the ftele and the feathers, which furelye we call 
 in P.nglipe a brode arrowe head, or a fwalowe tayle. The other he 
 calleth yy^^yj';-, having two pointes ftretchinge forwarde, and this Rng- 
 li/hemen do call a forke heade: both thcfe two kindes of heades were 
 ufed in Homers dayes, for Teucer ufed forked heades, fayinge thus to 
 yigamemnon. 
 
 Eight good p^aftes have IJliotfith I came, ech cne with a forke heade. lijad. 8, 
 
 Pandarus heades and IJlylJcs heades were brode arrowe heades, as a 
 man maye learne in Homer, that woutd be curious in knowinge that mat- 
 ter. Hercules ufed forked heades, but yet they had three pointes or 
 forkes, when other mens had but two. The Parthians at that great 
 battaile where they flue riche Crajfus and his fonne, ufed brOde arrowe 
 heads, whichc ftacke fo fore that the Romaynes could not pull them out °'"',^''c''"» 
 againe. Commodus the Emperour ufed forked heades, whofe fafliion 
 Herodian doth lively and naturallye defcribe, fayinge, that they were Herod, i. 
 like the fliap of a newc mone, wherewith he woulde fmite the head 
 of a birde, and never mifle j other fafliion of heades have not I reddc 
 on. Our Engliflx heades be better in warre than eythcr forked heades 
 or brode arrowe heades. For firft, the ende beinge lighter, they flee a 
 great deale the farter, and, by the fame reafon, geveth a fane forer 
 
 ft ripe.
 
 ,^2 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 flripe. Yea, and, I fuppofe, if the fame litle barbes which they have, 
 wei'e clean put awaye, they fhould be faire better. For this every man 
 doth graunt, that a fliaft, as long as it flyctli, * turnes, and u^hen it 
 kaveth turning, it Icaveth going any farther. And every thing that 
 enters by a turninge and boringc faihion, the more flatter it is, the 
 worfe it enters, as a knife, though it be (harpe, yet, becaufe of the 
 edges, will not bore fo well as a bodkin, for everye rounde thinge en- 
 ters befl ; and therefore nature, fayth Arijlotk, made the raine droppes 
 round, for quicke percinge the ayre. Thus, eyther fliaftes turne not 
 in flyinge, or elfe our flat arrow heades fl:op the (haft in entering. 
 Pni. But yet, Toxophile, to hold your communication a litlc, I fuppofe 
 the flat head is better, both becaufe it maketh a greater hole, and alfo 
 becaufe it ftickes faflrer in. Tox. Thefe two reafons, as they hz 
 
 both true, fo they be both nought. For firft, the lefie hole, if it be 
 decpe, is the worfe to heale againe : when a man fliooteth at his enemy, 
 he defvreth rather that it fhould enter farre, than fl:icke fafl. Foi 
 what remedye is it, I praye you, for him that is fmittcn with a dcepe 
 wounde, to pull out the fhaft quicklye, except it be to hall: his death 
 fpedelye ? Thus heades which make a litle hole and deep, be better in 
 warre, than thofe which make a great hole and fticke fafl: in. Julius Pol- 
 Pollux 7. /«-v maketh mention of certaine kindes of heades for warre, which 
 Pialm 7. beare fyre in them, and Scripture alfo fpeaketh fomewhat of the 
 Herod, fame. Herodotus doth tell a wonderfuU policy to be done by Xerxes, 
 X'ran. what time he befieged the great tower in Athens : He made his arch- 
 ers binde thcyr Ihaft ht.ades about with towe, and then fet it oq fyre 
 and flioote them, which thing done by many archers, fet all the place 
 on fyre, whicli were of matter to burne : and, belydcs that, dafed the 
 men within, fo that they knew not whythcr to turne them. But, to 
 make an end of all heades for warre, 1 woulde wyflie that the heade 
 makers of Englande fliould make theyr fheafe arrow heades more har- 
 der pointed than they be: for I myfelfe have fecne of late fuch heades 
 fet upon flieafe arrowes, as the officers, if they had fcene them, would 
 not have bene content withall. 
 
 Nowe as concerninge heades for prickir.ge, which is our purpofe, 
 there be divers kindes, fome be blont heades, fome lliarpe, fome both 
 
 • If it be true, as I believe it is, that a (haft turns round in flying, it is not true that 
 triangu'ar (hafts are good for piercing, as has been faid by tlie authour, nor that Coir.m^dus 
 could intercept ihc necic of a bixd between the two points of a half moon. 
 
 blonte
 
 ROGER ASCHAM, 
 
 blonte and fliarpe. The blonte headcs men ufe, becaiife tliey per- 
 ceive them to be gocxl to kcpe a lengthe withall, they kepe a good 
 lengthe, bccaufe a niaii puUeth them no further at one time than at 
 another ; for in feeiinge the plompe endc alwayes equallye, he may 
 ItJvvfcthem. - Yet, in a winde, and againfl: the winde, tiie weatlier hath 
 fo much power on the brode ende, that no man can kepe no fuie 
 leng-th with fuch a head ; thciefore a blont liead, in a caulme or 
 downe a winde, is very good, otherwil'e none worfe. Sharpe hcades 
 at the ende, without any flioiilders, (I call that t)ie flioulders in a 
 heade which a mans finger HkiU feele afore it come to the point) will 
 perch quicklye through a winde, but yet it hath two difcommodities, 
 the one that it wii] kcpe no length, it kepeth no length, becaufe no 
 man can pull it, certainly as farre at one time as at another: it is not 
 drawen certainly fo farre one time as at another, becaufe it lacketh 
 Ihoulderinge, wherewith, as with a fure token, a man might be warn- 
 ed when to loufe; and alfo becaufe men are afrayd of the fharpe pointe 
 for fetdnge it in the bowe. The fecond incommoditye is when it is 
 lighted on the grcunde, the fmall point fliall everye time be in jeo- 
 pardye of hurtinge, which thinge, of all other, will foneft make the 
 fhaft lefe the length. Nowe, when blont heades be good to kepe a 
 length withall, yet nought for a winde; flrarpe heades good to perch 
 the weather withal, yet nought for a length j certaine heade makers, 
 dweliinge in Londo?t, perceyving the commoditye of both kindes of 
 heades, joyned with a difcommoditye, invented new files and other in- 
 flrumentes, wherewith they brought heades for prickinge to fuch a perfit- 
 nefle, that all the commodityes of the two other heades fliould be put 
 in one heade, without any difcommodity at all. They made a certaine 
 kinde of heades, which inen call Hie Rigged, Creafed, or Shouldied 
 heades, or Sili^er-Spoon heades, for a certaine likencITe that fuch hcades 
 have with the knob ende of lome filver ipones. Thefe heades be good 
 both to kepe a length withall, and alfo to perche a winde withalJ. 
 To kepe a length withall, becaufe a man maye certainly pull it to the 
 fhoulderinge every fiioote, and no farther; to perch a winde withall, 
 becaufe the point, from the fhoulder forward, breaketh the weather as 
 all other Iliarpe thinges doo. So the blont flioulder ferveth for a fure 
 length kepinge, the pointe alfo is ever fit for a roughe and great weather 
 percinge. And thus much, as Ihortly as I could, as conccrninge heailes 
 both for wane and peace. Phi. But is there no cunninge as con- 
 
 X cerninge 
 
 ic 
 
 SZ
 
 154 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 cerninge fctting on of the heade. Tox. Well remembred. But 
 
 that point bclongcth to fletchcis, yet you may defyie him to fct your 
 
 hcade full on, and clofe on. Full on is when the vvoode is bet harde 
 
 up to the ende or itoppinge of the heade j clofe on, is when there is 
 
 left vvoode on everye fyde the fliaftc, enoughe to fill the head withall, 
 
 or when it is neythcr too litle nor yet too great. If there be anye 
 
 fault in any of thefe pointes, the heade, when it lighteth on an harde 
 
 Itone, or grounde, will be in jeopardye, eyther of breakinge, or els 
 
 otherwife hurtinge. Stopping of heades eyther with leade or any thinge 
 
 els, Ihall not nedc nowe, becaufe every filver fpoone, or flaouldred heade, 
 
 is ftopped of itfelfe. Shorte heades be better than longe : for firft, the 
 
 longe heade is worfe for the maker to file ftreight compafle everye waye; 
 
 againe, it is worfe for the fl-itcher to fet llraight on j thirdlye, it is al- 
 
 vvaves in more jeopardye of breakinge when it is on. And now, I trowe, 
 
 rhihhge, we have done as concerninge all inftrumentes belonging to 
 
 Ihootinge, which every fere archer ought to provide for himfJfe. And 
 
 there remayneth two thinges bchinde, which be general or common to 
 
 every man, the weather and the marke, but, becaufe they be fo knit 
 
 with Hiootinge ftraighte, or kepinge of a lengthc, I will refer them 
 
 to that place ; and now we will come (God willinge) to handle our 
 
 inftrumcntes, the thinge that every man defyreth to do well. Phi. If 
 
 you teache me fo well to handle the inftrumentes as you have defcryb- 
 
 ed them, I fuppofe I fliall be an archer good enoughe. Tox. To 
 
 learne any thinge, (as you know better than I, Philcloge) and efpeciallye 
 
 to do a tliinge with a mans handes, mull be done, if a man would 
 
 be excellent, in his youthe. Younge trees in gardens, which lacke all 
 
 fenfes, and beaftes without reafon, when they be younge, may, with 
 
 liandlinge and teachinge, be brought to' wonderfuU thinges. 
 
 And this is not onlye true In natural thinges, but in artificiall thinges 
 to, as the potter moft cunningly doth caft his pottes when his clave is 
 foft and workable, and waxe taketh print when it is vvarme, and leathie 
 weake, not when clay and waxe be harde and olde : and even fo, every 
 man in his youth, both with witte and bodye, is moft apte and pliable 
 to receive any cunning that fliould be taught him. 
 
 This communication of teachinge youth, maketh me remember the 
 jight worlhipful, and my fingular good maifler, Sir Hiimpbreye Wing-
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 JieU^, to whom, next God, I ought to referre, for his manifold bene- 
 fits beftowed on me, the pore talent of learninge which God hath lent 
 me : and for his fake do I owe my fervice to all other of the name and 
 noble houfe of the JVi?igfieUes, both in worde and deede. This worfhipful 
 man hath ever loved and ufed to have many children brought up in 
 learninge in his houfe, amonges whom I myfelfe was one. For whom 
 at terme-times he would bringe down from Londo?i both bowe and fliaftes, 
 and, when they lliould playe, he would go with them himfelfe into the 
 fielde, and fee them flioote, and he that fhotte fayreft, fliould have 
 the beft bowe and fhaftes, and he that fliottc ill favouredly, fliould be 
 mocked of his fellowes, till he fliotte better. 
 
 Would to God all Englande had ufed, or would ufe to laye the foun- 
 dation, after the example of this worfliipful man, in bringinge up chil- 
 dren in the booke and the bowe: by which two thinges the hole com- 
 mon wealthe, both in peace and warre, is chieflye ruled and defended 
 withall. 
 
 But to our purpofe, he that mull come to this high perfe(51;nefs in 
 fhootinge, which we fpeake of, muft nedes beginne to learne it in his 
 youthe, the omittinge of which thinge in England, both maketh fewer 
 fhooters, and alfo every man, tliat is a fliooter, Ihoote worfe than he 
 might if he w£re taught. Phi. Even as I knowe this is true, which 
 
 you faye, even fo, Toxophile, you have quite difcouraged me, and drawen 
 my minde cleane from fliootinge, feeinge, by this reafon, no man 
 that hath not ufed it in his youthe, can be excellent in it. And I 
 fuppofe the fame reafon would difcouiage many other mo, if they heard 
 you talk after this fort. Tox. This thinge, Philologe, fliall difcou- 
 
 rage no man that is wyfe. For I will prove that wyfedome may worke 
 the fame thinge in a man, that nature doth in a childe. 
 
 A childe by three thinges is broughte to excellencye. By aptnefle, 
 defyre, and feare: aptnelie maketh him pliable, like waxe, to be formed 
 and fafhioned, even as a man would have him.- Defyre, to be as good, 
 or better, than his fellowes: and fear of them whom he is under, will 
 caufe him take great laboure and paine with diligente heede, in learn- 
 inge any thing, whereof proceedeth, at the laft, excellencye and per- 
 te£tnefle. 
 
 X2 A\ 
 
 ^ss:
 
 156 T n E W O R K S O F 
 
 A man maye, by wyfedome in learninge of any thinge, and fpeciallye 
 to fhootc, have three like commocUtyes alfo, whereby he may, as it 
 were, become yonge agaiiie, and fo attaine to cxcellencye. For as ? 
 cliilde is apt by naturall youthe, Co a man, by ufinge at the firft weake 
 bovvcs, farre underneth liis ftrength, fliall be as pliable and rcdye to 
 be taiightc fayre fliootinge as any childe: and dailye ufe of the fame 
 fliall both keepe him in fayre fliootinge, and alio at the laft bringe hin;i 
 > to ftrongc fhootinge. 
 
 And, inftede of the fervent defyre which provokcth a child to be bet- 
 ter than his felowe, let a man be as much flirred up with Ihamefaft- 
 nes to be worfe than all other. And the fame place that feare hath in 
 a childe, to compel him to take paine, the fame hath love of fliootinge 
 ill a man, tocaufe him forfal;e no labour, without which no man nor 
 childe can be excellent. And thus, whatfoever a childe may be taught 
 by aptiielTe, defyre, and fear, the fame thinge in fliootinge may a man 
 be taught by wcake bovves, fliamefaflineile and love. 
 
 And hereby you may fee that tliat is true which Cicero iayth, tli^it a 
 man, by ufe, may be brought to a newe nature. And this I dare I>e 
 bould to fa ye, that anye man which will wifelyebeginne, and conflantly 
 perfevere in his trade of learninge to flioote, fliall aitaine to perfc6lne{^ 
 therein. Phi. This communication, Tca'c/'/vV^, doth pleafe me very 
 
 well, and now I perceive that moil: generally and chiefly youthe muft 
 be taught to Ihoote, and, fecondarilye, no man is debr^rrcd therefr.cuQi 
 except it be more throughc his own negligence, for bccaufe he v.'jJJ 
 not Icarne, than any dilabilitye becaufe he cannot Icarne. Thej-cfpre^ 
 fecinge I will be glatl to folowe yom- counfel in choflnge my bovve Aivl 
 other infvrumentes, and alfo am afliamed that I can Ihoote no ,bett?|.* 
 than I can, moreover, havinge fuch a love towarde fliootinge by your 
 good reafons to daye, that I will forfake no laboure in the exercife of 
 the fame, I befeech you imagine that we had both bow and fliaftes 
 liere, and tcachc me how I fliould handle them ; and one thinge I defyre 
 you, make me as fayre an archer as you can. 
 
 For this I am fure, in learninge all other matters, nothing is brouglit 
 to the moft profitable ufe, which is not handled after the moft comelye 
 falliion. As maiflers of fence have no flrroke fltte eyther to hitte an 
 
 othei',
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 157 
 
 otlier, or els to defende himfelfe, which is not joyned with a wonderful! 
 comlinefle. A cooke cannot choppe hjs hcrbes neytlier quickely nor 
 handfomely, excepte he kepe fuch a meafure mith his choppinge 
 knyves, as would delight a man both to fee him and heare him. 
 Eveiy handye crafteman that vvorkes befte for his owne profite, 
 workes moll femely to other mens fighte. Agayne in buildinge a houfe, 
 in makinge a fliippe, every parte, the more hanfomlye they be joyned 
 for * profite and lafte, the more comelye they be falhioned to every mans 
 fight and eye. 
 
 Nature itfelfe taught men to joyne alwayes wellfavourednefTe with profi- 
 tablenefie. As in man, that joynte or piece which is by any chaunce de- 
 prived of his comUnelle, the fame is alfo debarred of his ufe and profitable- 
 neiie. And he that is gogle eyde, and Ipkes a fquinte, hath both his coun- 
 tenaunce clene marred, and his fight fore blemiflied, and fo in all other 
 members like. Moreover, what time of the year bringeth moll pro- 
 fite with it for mans ufe, the fame alfo covereth and decketh both 
 earth and trees with moft comlineffe for mans pleafure. And that 
 time which taketh away the pleafuj-c of the grounde, caryeth with him 
 alfo the profite of the grounde, as every man by experience knoweth 
 in harde and roughe winters. Some thingcs there be which hath no 
 other endc, but only comlinefle, as payntinge and dauncing. And 
 vertue itfelfe is nothinge elfe but comlinefle, as all Phikfcphers do agree 
 in opinion ; therefore, fceinge that which is befl done in any matters, 
 is alwayes moft comlye done, as both Plato and Cicero in many places 
 do prove, daily experience doth teache in other thinges, I praye you, as 
 I faid before, teache mc to flioote as fayre, wellfavourcdHy, as you can 
 ymagen. Tox. Trulye, Philologc, as you prove very well in 
 
 other matters, the befl fhootinge is alwayes the rnpfc cpmlye fhootinge -y 
 but this you know as well as I, that CraJJus Ihcvveth in GccrOy that, as 
 comlynelle is the chiefe pointe, and mofl to be fought for in all thinges, 
 fo comlyncfTe only can never be taughte by any arte or craft ; but 
 may be perceyved well when it is done, not defcribed well how it flaould 
 be done. Yet, nevertheleffe, to come to it theie \)C ^iiany waycs, w|-iich 
 wyfe men hath allayed in other matters, as if a man would folowe, 
 in learninge to fhoote fayre, the noble paynter Zcuxes in payjitinge 
 Helena, which, to make his image beautiful, did chofc out five of the 
 
 * Projiteayid lajle, convenience and duration. 
 
 faircfl
 
 ij8 THEWORKSOF 
 
 fa'ucfl: maydcs in all t'ae countrye about, and, in beholdinge them, 
 conceyved and drue out fuch an image, that it farre exceeded all 
 other, becaufe the comlineffe of them all was brought into one moft 
 perfit comlincfTc : (o likewyfe in fliootinge, if a man would fet before 
 his eyes five or fix of the faireft: arcliers that ever he faw (hoote, and of 
 one learne to ftande, of another to drawe, of another to lowfe, and 
 fo take of every man what every man could do beft; I dare faye, he 
 fhould come to fuch a comlineire as never man came to yet. 
 
 Phi. This is very well trulye, but I pray you teache me fomewhat of 
 fhooting fayre yourfelfe. Tox. I can teache you to flioote fayre, 
 
 even as Socrates taughte a man ones to know God ; for, when he alk- 
 ed him what was God, Nay, fayth he, I can tell you better what God 
 is not, as God is not ill, God is unfj^eakable, unfearchable, and fo forth : 
 even likewyfe can I fay of fayre fliootinge, It hath not this difcommo- 
 dity with it nor that difcommodity ; and, at laft, a man may fo fliift 
 all the difcommodityes from fhootinge, that there fhall be left nothinge 
 behinde but fayre fliootinge. And to do this the better, you mufl re- 
 member how that I toulde you, when I defcrybed generallye the hole 
 nature of fhootinge, that fayre fliootinge came of thefe thinges, of 
 ftandingc, nockinge, drawinge, houldinge, and lowfinge, the which I 
 will go over as Ihortly as I can, defcribinge the difcommodities that 
 men commonly ufe in all partes of theyr bodyes, that you, if you 
 faulte in anye fuch, may know it, and fo go about to amende it. 
 Faultes in archers do exceed the nomber of archers, which come with 
 life of fliootinge withoute teachinge. Ufe and cufl:ome feperated from 
 knowledge and leaminge, doth not only hurt fliootinge, but the mofl 
 •wcightye thinges in the world befyde : and, therefore, Imarvcile much 
 at thofe people which be the niaintayners of ufes without knowledge, 
 having no other worde in theyr mouth but this ufe, ufe, cujlome, cuf- 
 tome. Such men, more wilfuU than wyfe, befyde other difcommodi- 
 tyes, take all place and occafion from all amendment. And this I fpeake 
 geneiallye of ufe and cuftome. Which thinge, if a learned man had 
 it in hand that would applye it to any one matter, he might handle 
 it wonderfully. But, as for fliooting, ufe is the only caufe of all faultes 
 in it, and therefore children, more eafely and fooner, may be taught 
 to flioote excellently than men, becaufe children may be taught to 
 
 flioote.
 
 ROGERASCHAM. ij^ 
 
 flioote well at the firflr, men have more pain to unlearne theyr ill ufcs, 
 than they have labour afterwarde to come to good fliootinge. 
 
 All the difcommodityes which ill cuftome hath grafted in archers, 
 can neyther be quickly pulled oute, nor yet foone reckoned of me, 
 there be fo many. Some fliooteth his head forvvarde, as though he 
 would byte the marke ; another ftareth with his eyes, as though they 
 fliould flye out; another winketh with one eye and loketh with the 
 other; fome make a face with wrything theyr mouth and counte- 
 naunce fo, as though they were doinge you wotte what; another 
 blereth oute his tongue ; another byteth his lippes; another holdeth his 
 necke awrye. In drawinge, fome fet fuch a compaffe, as though they 
 would turne about, and * bleffe all the field ; other heave theyr hand 
 now up now downe, that a man cannot decerne whereat they would 
 fhoote : another waggeth the upper end of his bow one way, the 
 nether ende another way. Another will ftand pointing his fhaft at 
 the marke a good while, and, by and by, he will geve him a whippe, 
 and away or a man witte. Another maketh fuch a wrcftlinge with his 
 gere, as thoughe he were able to Ihoote no more as longe as he 
 lived. Another draweth foftlye to the middes, and, by and by, it is 
 gone you cannot know howe. Another draweth his fliaft lovve 
 at the breaft, as thoughe he would flioote at a roving marke, and, by 
 and by, he lifteth his arme up pricke heyght. Another maketh a wryn- 
 chingc with his backe, as thoughe a man pinched him behindc. Ano- 
 ther coureth downe, and layetli out his buttockes, as thoughe he fhould 
 fhoote at crowes. Another fetteth forwarde his left legge, and draw- 
 eth back with heade and flioulders, as thoughe he pulled at a rope, 
 or elfe were afrayed of the mark. Another draweth his fliafc wdi, 
 untill within two fingers of the hcade, and then he ftayeth a little, to 
 loke at hiis marke, and, that done, pulleth it up to the head, and 
 lowfeth: which waye, although fome excellent fhooters do ufe, yet 
 furelye it is a fault, and good mennes faultcs are not to be folowcd. 
 Some drawe to farre, fome to fliort, fome to flowlye, forne to quick- 
 lye, fome hold over longe, fome let go over fone. Some fette theyr 
 fhafte on the grounde, and fetcheth him upwardc ; another poiiit- 
 cth up towarde the ikye, and fo bringeth him downwardes. 
 
 * This alludes to the aflioiis of the Roniidi pried in piil)liclc b^ncdidlion?. This pafljge 
 may explains very obfturc phrafe in Spenjer, who calli waving the (word in circi.s, hi'jjwg 
 the fword. 
 
 Ones
 
 i6o THEWORKSOF 
 
 Ones I fawe a man which ufecl a bracer on his cheke, or elfe he 
 had icratched all the fkinne of the one fyde of his face with his draw- 
 in 2;e-hande. Another I faw, which, at every fhote, after the loofe, hft- 
 ed up his righte legge fo far that he was ever iji jeopardye of fauUnge. 
 Some flampe forwaide, and fomc !cape backward. All thefe faultes be ey- 
 ther in the drawinge, or at the loofc ; with many other mo, which you 
 may eafelyc perceyve, and fo go about to avoyde them. 
 
 Now afterward, when the fliaft is gone, men have many faulted, 
 which evill cuftomc hath brought them to, and fpeciallye in cryinge 
 after the fliaft, and fpeaking wordes fcarce honefl for fucli an honeft 
 paftime. 
 
 Such wordes be very tokens of an ill minde, and manifeft fignes of 
 a man that is fubjecl to inmefurable affe6fions. Good mennes eares do 
 abhorre them, and an honeft man therefore will avoyde them. And 
 bcfydes thofe which mufl: needes have theyr tongue thus walkinge, 
 other men ufe other faultes, as fome will take theyr bowe and wrythe 
 and wrinche it, to pull in his fliaft, when it flyeth wy'd^e, as if he dravc a 
 cart. Some will geve two or three flrydes forwardc, daunfinge and hop- 
 pinge after his fliaft, as longe as it flyeth, as though he were a madde man. 
 Some, which feare to be to farre gone, runne backwarde, as it were to 
 pull his fliafte backe. Another runneth forwarde, when he feareth to 
 be fliorte, heavinge after his armes, as thoughe he vvoulde helpe his 
 fliafte to flye. Another wrythes, or runneth afyde, to pull in his iliafte 
 flraight. One lifteth up his heele, and fo holdeth his foote ftill, as 
 longe as his fliafte flyeth. Another caft:eth his arme backwarde after 
 the loufe. And another fwynges his bowe about him, as it were a 
 man with a fliafte to make roume in a game place. And manye o- 
 ther faultes there be, which now come not to my remembraunce. Thus, 
 as you have heardc, many archers, with marringe theyr face and coun- 
 tenaunce, with other partes of theyr bodye, as it were men that 
 fliould daunce antiques, be farre from the comely porte in fliootinge, 
 which he that would be excellent mufl: loke for. 
 
 Of thefe faultes I have very many myfclfc, but I talke not of my 
 fhootjngc, but of the general nature of fliootinge. Now ymagen an 
 
 archer
 
 ROGERASCHAM. i6i 
 
 archer that is cleane without all thefe faultes, and I am fure every 
 man would be delighted to fee him flioote. 
 
 And althoughe fuch a perfite comlynefle cannot be cxprefled with 
 any precepte of teachinge, as Cicero and other learned men do fay, 
 yet I will fpeake (according to my little knowledge) that thing in ir, 
 which if you folowe, although you fliall not be without faulte, yet your 
 faulte fliall neyther quickly be perceyved, nor yet greatly rebuked of 
 them th!it Hand by. Standing, nocking, drawing, holding, lowfnig, 
 done as they Ihould be done, make fayre fliootinge. 
 
 The firfl point is when a man fliould flioote, to take fuch footinge Standinge. 
 and fl:andinge, as fliall be both comely to the eye, and profitable to his 
 wky fetting his countenaunce and all the other partes of his bodye 
 after fuch a behaviour, and port, that both all his ftrength may be em- 
 ployed to his own moft advantage, and his fliote made and handled 
 to other mens pleafure and delyte. A man muft not go to haflely to-^ 
 it, for that is raflmefl'e, nor yet make to much to do about it, for that 
 is curiofity ; the one foote muft not ftand to far from the other, leaft 
 he ftoupe to much, which is unfemely, nor yet to nere together, leaft 
 he ftande to ftreyghte uppe, forfo a man fliall neyther ufe his ftrength 
 well, nor yet ftande ftedfaftlye. 
 
 The mean betwixt both muft be kept, a thinge more pleafaunt to 
 behold when it is done, than eafy to be taught how it fliould be 
 done. 
 
 To nocke well is the eafyeft pointe of all, and therein is no cun- Nockinge. 
 ninge, but only diligente heede gevinge, to fet his fliafte neyther to 
 hye nor to lowe, but even ftreight overwharte his bowe. Unconftant 
 nockinge maketh a man leefe his Icngthe. And befydcs that, if the 
 fliafte ende be hye, and the bowe-hand low, or contrarye, both the bowe 
 is in jeopardye of breakinge, and the fliaft, if it be little, will ftart : 
 if it be greate, it will hobble. Nockc the cockc fether upward alwayes, 
 as I toulde you when I defcrybed the fether. And be fure alwayes that 
 your ftringe flip not out of the nocke, for then all is in jeopardye of 
 breakinge. 
 
 Y Drawinge
 
 j62 t h e w o r k s o f 
 
 Drawingc. Diawinge well is the beft pait of fliootuige. Men in oulde time 
 ufed other maner of diawinge than we do. Tliey ufed to drawe 
 lowe at the breaft, to the liglit pappe, and no further ; and this to 
 be true is plaine in Homer, where he dcfcrybcth Paiidarus fliootinge. 
 
 iliad. 4. Up to the pap hisjlnnge ild be pull, hh Jhafte to the bard hade. 
 
 The noble women of Scythia ufed the fame fafliion of fliootingc 
 low€ at the breft, and, becaufe theyr left pappe hindred theyr flioot- 
 ing at the lowfe, tiiey cut it off when they were yotmg, and therefore 
 they be called, in lacking theyr pappe, Amazones. Nowe a daye, con- 
 trarywife, we drawe to the jightc care, and not to the pappe. Whe- 
 ther the old waye in drawinge lowe to the pappe, or the new way, to 
 drawe alofte to the eare, be better, an excellent wryter in Greeke, cal- 
 led Procopius, doth faye his minde, fliewinge that the olde fafliion in 
 drawinge to the pappe was noughte of no pithe, and therefore, faytli 
 Procopius, is artillery difprayfed 'mHo»ier,\\\\\c\\ calleth it ifji^xvc;, i. e. weake, 
 and able to do no good. Drawinge to the eare he prayfeth greatlyc, 
 whereby men flioote both flronger and longer : drawinge therefore to 
 J the eare is better than to drawe at the bred. And one tliinge commeth 
 into my remembraunce nowe, Phikkge, when I fpeak of drawinge, 
 that 1 never rcdde of other kinde of fnootinge, tlian drawinge with a 
 mans handecyther to the brefte or eare : this thing have I fought for in 
 
 Crofbowes. Hotiier., Herodotus, ani\ Plutarch, and. therefore I marveile how crofbowe. 
 came firft U|Ppe, of the which, I am fure, a man fhall find litle men- 
 tion made on any good author. Leo the Emperour would have his 
 fouldiours drawe quicklye in warre, for that maketh a fhaft flye a- 
 pace. In Ihootinge at the prickes, haftye and quicke drawinge is 
 neythcr fure nor yet comely. Therefore to draw e eafely and uniforme- 
 lye, that is for to fay, not wagginge our hand, now upward, now 
 downeward, but alwayes after one falliion, untillyou come to the rigge 
 or fliouldringe of the heade, is beil both for profite and feemelinef^. 
 
 HolJinge. Holdinge muft not be longe, for it both putteth a bowe in jeopardye, 
 and alfo marreth a mans fliote ; it muft be fo litle, that it maybe per- 
 ceyved better in a mans minde, when it is done, than feene with a mans 
 
 Lowfinge. eyes when it is in doinge. Lowfmge muft be much like. So quicke 
 and harde, that it be without all glides, fo foft and gentle, that the 
 fhafte flye not as it were fent out of a bowe-caie. Tlie meane betwixt 
 
 both.
 
 R O G E R A S C II A M. 163 
 
 both, which is perfite lowfinge, is not lb harde to be folowed in flioot- 
 inge as it is to be defcrybed in teachinge. For cleane lowfinge, you 
 muft take heede of hitlnge any thir.ge about you. And for the fame 
 purpofe, Leo the Emperour would iiave all archers in warre to have 
 theyr heades pouled, and theyr beardes fhaven, leaft the heere of theyr 
 heads fliould ftoppe the fighte of the eye, the heere of theyr beards 
 hinder the courfe of the ftringe. And thefe preceptes, I am fure, Phi- 
 lologe, if you folowe, in Handing, nocking, drawing, holding, and 
 lowfing, fhall bring you at the lad to excellent fayre fhootingc. 
 Phi. All thefe thinges, Toxophile, although I both now pcrceyve them 
 thoroughly e, and alfo will remember them diligently e : yet to-morrowe, 
 or fome other day when you have leyfure, we will go to the prickes, 
 and put them by litlc and litle in experience. For teachinge not folow- 
 ed, doeth even as much good as bookes never looked upon. But now, 
 I'einge you have taughte me to fhoote fayre, I pray you tell me fome- 
 what, how I fhould flioote neare, lead that proverbe might be fayde 
 JLiftlye of me fome time. He JJjootes like a ge?itkfnan fayre and farre 
 off. Tox. He that can flioote fayre, lacketh nothing but ihoot- 
 
 ing flreight, and keeping of a length, whereof commctli hittinge of 
 the marke, the endc both of fliootinge, and alfo of this our commu- 
 nication. The handling of the wether and the marke, becaufe they 
 belonge to fliootinge fl:reight, arui keping of a length, I will joyne 
 them together, fliewinge what thinges belonge to kepinge of a lengthe, 
 and what to fliootinge ilreight. 
 
 The greatefl enemye of fliooting is the winde and the weather, ^V'yndc anJ 
 whereby true kepinge a -lengthe is chieflye hindered. If this thinge 
 were not, men, by teachinge, might be brought to wonderful! neare 
 fliootinge. It is no marveile if the litle poore fliaft, beinge fcnt alone 
 fo hye in the ayre, into a great rage of wether, one winde toflinge it 
 that waye, another this wayc, it is no marveile, 1 faye, though it leefe 
 the length, and niiOe that place where the fliooter had thought to have 
 found it. Greater matters than fliootinge are under the rule and 
 will of the weather, as in faylinge on the fea. And likewyfe, as in 
 fiiylinge, the chicfc point of a good mafler is to know the tokens of 
 chaungc of wether, the courfe of the wyndes, that thereby he may the 
 better come to the haven : even fo the befl propertye of a good ihooter 
 is to knowe the nature of the windes, with him and againfl him, and 
 
 Y 2 thereby 
 
 4
 
 i64 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 thereby he maye the nerer fhoote at his marke. Wyle mayfters, when 
 tl\cy canno^vvinne the beft haven, they are glad of the next: good 
 fhooters alio, that cannot when they woulde hit the marke, will labour 
 to come as nigh as they can. All thingts in this worldc be unperfite 
 and unconrtanr, therefore let every man acknowledge his own vveak- 
 iieilc ill all matters, grcate and fmall, weightye and meryc, and glorifye 
 him, in whom onlye pertite pertiteneire is. But now. Sir, he that will 
 at all adventures ufe the feas, knowinge no more what is to be done in 
 a tempeft than in a caulme, ihall foone become a merchaunt of ele 
 Ikinncs : fo that ihooter which puttcth no difference, but Ihooteth in 
 all alike, in roughe weather and fayre, Ihall ahvaycs put his winningcs 
 in his eyes. Litle boates and thinne boordcs cannot endure the rage 
 of a tempefl:. Weake bowes, and light fliaftes cannot ftande in a 
 roughe wvnde. And likewife, as a blind man, which fliould go to 
 a place where he had never beene afore, that hath but one ftrcight 
 waye to it, and of eyther fyde hooles and pittes to faule into, now 
 fauleth into this hoole, and then into that hoole, and never cometh to 
 his journey ende, but wandereth alwayes here and there, fuither and 
 further of J fo that archer which ignorantly fhooteth, confidering ney- 
 ther fayre nor fonle, ftandinge nor nockinge, fethcr nor head, drawinge 
 nor lowfinge, nor any compaife, fliall alwayes Ihoote fliorte and gone,, 
 wyde and farre off, and never come nearc, excepte pcrchaunce he 
 ftumble fometime on the marke. For ignorance is nothing clfe but 
 Hv:re bliridnefie. 
 
 A maifrer of a fliippe firft learneth to know the comminge of a tem- 
 peft, the nature of it, and how to behave himfclfe in it, eyther with 
 chaunginge his courfe, or pulling downe his hye toppes and brode 
 fayles, being glad to efchue as much of the wether as he canj even fo 
 a good archer will firft, with diligent ufe and marking the weather, 
 learne to knowe the nature of the winde, and, with wyfedome, will 
 meafure in his minde, how much it will aher his fliote, eyther in length 
 kepinge, or elfe in ftreight Hiootinge, and fo, with chaunging his 
 ftanding, or taking another fliaft, the which he knoweth perfitdy to 
 b;; fi'.tcr for his purpofc, eyther becaufe it is lower fethered, or elfe be- 
 caufc it is of a better wynge, will fo handle with difcretion his fliote,, 
 that he fliall feera rather to have tlie wether under his rule, by good 
 
 hecda-
 
 ROGER A S C H A M. 
 
 heedc gevlnge, than the wether to rule his fhaft by any fodahic 
 chaunginge. 
 
 Therefore, in fhooting, there is as much difference betwixt an ar- ^ 
 cher that is a good wether man, and an other that knowcth and mark- 
 eth nothinge, as is betwixt a bhnde man, and he that can fee. 
 
 Thus, as concerninge the wether, a perfite archer mull: firft learne 
 to knowe the fure flighte of his fhaftes, that he may be bould alwayes 
 to trufl them, than mu(l he leaine by daily experience all maner of 
 kindes of wether, the tokens of it, when it will come, the nature of 
 it when it is come ; the diverfity and altering of it when it chaungeth, 
 the decreafe and diminifliinge of it when it ceafeth. Thirdlye, thefe 
 thinges knowen, and every Ihote diligently marked, then mufl: a man 
 compare alwayes the wether and his footingc together, and, with dif- 
 cretion, meafure them fo, that whatfoever the wether fliall take away 
 from his fhote, the fame fliall jud footinge reftore againe to his fliote. 
 This tliinge well knowen, and difcretelye handled in Ihootinge, bring- 
 eth more profite and commendation and prayfe to an archer, than any 
 other thing befydes. He that would know pcifeftly the wind and we- 
 ther, mull: put differences betwixt times. For diverfity of time caufeth 
 diveifity of wether, as in the whole yeare. Spryng time, Sommer, 
 Faule of the leafe, and Winter : like wife in one daye, morninge, noon- 
 tyde, afternoone, and eventyde, both alter the wether, and chaunge 
 a mans bow with the Itrength of a man alfo. And to knowe that 
 this is fo, is enough for a fliooter and artillerye, and not to fearche the 
 caufe why it fliould be fo : wliich belongeth to a learned man and P/'/- 
 lofophie. In confideringe the time of the year, a wyfe archer will folowc 
 a good fliipmanj in winter and roughe weather, imall boatcs and litle 
 pinkes forfake the feas : and at one time of the yeare no gallies come 
 abrode: io likewyfe weake archers, ufinge fmall and holowe fliaftes,, 
 with bowes of litle pithe, mult be content to geve place for a time. 
 And this I do not fay, eyther to difcourage any weake fliooter : for 
 likev>/ife, as there is no fliippe better than galleys be, in a loft and caulme. 
 fea, io no man fliooteth comlier, or nerer his marke, than fome weake 
 archers do, in a fayre and cleare daye. 
 
 Thus- 
 
 16^
 
 1^6 - THEWORKSOF 
 
 Thiis every Archer muft know, ncjt onlye what bowe and fhafte is 
 fitteft for him to flioote withall, but alfo what time and feafon is bed 
 for him to flioote in. And furely, in all other mattcis to, among all 
 degrees of men, there is no man wiiich doth any thinge eyther more 
 difcretelye for his commendation, or yet more profitable for his advaun- 
 tage, than he which will knowe perfitely for what matter, and for 
 what tyme he is moft apt and fitte. If men would go about matters 
 which they fliould do, and be fitte for, not fuche thinges which wil- 
 fully they defyre, and yet be unfitte for, verelye greater matters in the 
 common wealth than fhootinge fliould be in better cafe than they be. 
 This ignorancye in men which knowe not for what time, and to what 
 tiling they be fitte, caufcth fome wyflie to be riche, for whom it were 
 better a greate deale to be poore; other to be medUnge in everye mans 
 matter, for whom it were more honellye to be quiete and ftilL Some 
 to defyre to be in the court, which be borne and be fitter ratlier for the 
 carte. Some to be maifl:ers and rule other, which never yet began to rule 
 themfelves ; fome alwayes to iangle and taiilke, which rather flioulde heare 
 and kepe filence. Some to teache, which rather Ihould learne. Some 
 to be prieftes, which were fitter to be clearkes. And this perverfe judge- 
 mente of the worlde, when men meafure themfelves amifle, bringeth 
 much diforder and great unfemelinefie to the hole body of the common 
 v^'ealthe, as if a man fliould weare his hoofe upon his heade, or a 
 woman go with a fworde and a buckler, everye man woulde take it as 
 a greate uncumlinefie, although it be but a tryfle in refpede of the 
 other. 
 
 This perverfe judgement of men hindereth nothing fomuche as learninge, 
 becaufe commonly thofe that be unfitteft for learninge, be chieflye fet to 
 learninge. As if a man nowe a dayes have two fonncs, the one impotent, 
 weke, ficklye, lifpinge, flutteringe, and frameringe, or havinge anye mif- 
 fliape in his bodye; what doth the father of fuche one commonlye faye? 
 This boye is fitte for nothinge elfe, but to fet to learninge and make a 
 priefl: of, as who would fay, the outcaftes of the worlde, having neyther 
 countenance, tongue nor witte, (for of a perverfe bodye commeth 
 commonly a perverfe niinde) be good enoughe to make thofe men of, 
 which fliall be appointed to prcache Gods holy worde, and minifl:er 
 his blcffed facramentes, befydes other moft weightye matters in tiie com- 
 mon
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 167 
 
 mon weaJthe, put oft times, and worthely, to learned mennes dyfcre- 
 tion and cliarge; when rather fuch an office, fo highe in digiiitye, fo 
 godJy in adminiftration, fhould be committed to no man, which Ihould 
 not have a countenaunce full of comlinelie, to allure good men, a 
 bodye full of manly authoritye to * feare ill men, a witte apt for all 
 learninge, with tongue and voyce able to perfwade all men. And al- 
 thoughe fewe fuch men as thcfe can be founde in a common wealthe, 
 yet furelye a godlye difpofed man will both in his minde thincke fit, and 
 with all his ftadye labour to gette fuch men as I fpeake of, or rather 
 better, if better can be gotten, for fuch an hye adminillration, which 
 is mofl properly appointed to Gods own matters and bufinelFes. 
 
 This perverfe judgemente of fathers, as concernlnge the fitnelTe and 
 unfitneffe of theyr children, caufeth the common wealth have manye 
 imfit mynifters : and feinge that mynifters be, as a manne woulde fay, 
 inftrumentes wherewith the common wealth doth worke all her mat- 
 ters withall, I marveile how it chaunceth that a> poore Ihoomaker hatli 
 fo much witte, that he will prepare no inftrumente for his fcience, 
 neyther knyfe nor aule, nor nothinge eli'e which is not verye fit for him. 
 The common wealthe can be contente to take at a fonde fathers hande 
 the rifraffe of the worlde, to make thofe inftrumentes of, wherewith- 
 all flae fhoulde woorke the hieft matters under heaven. And furelye aa 
 aule of leade is not fo unprofitable in a flioo-makers flioppe, as an un- 
 fit minifter, made of groofe metell, is unfeemelye in the common 
 wealthe. Fathers in olde time, among the noble Pcrftans, might not 
 do with theyr children as they thought good, but as the judgement of 
 the common wealthe alwayes thoughte beft. This faulte of fathers 
 bringcth manye a blot with it, to the great deformitye of the common 
 wealthe: and here furely lean prayfe gentlewomen, which have alwayes 
 at hand theyr glalfes, to fee if any thinge be araifle, and fo will amende > 
 
 it, yet the common wealthe, havinge the glafie of knowledge in every 
 mans hande, doth fee fuche uncumlinelfe in it, and yet wincketh at 
 it. This fault, and many fuch like, might be foone wypcd away, if fa- 
 thers would beftowe theyr ciiildrcn on that thinge alwayes, whereuntp- 
 nature hath ordayned them moft apt and fitte. For if youth be graft- 
 ed flreighte, and not awrye, the hole common wealthe will florylhe 
 thereafter. When this is done, thenne mufte every man bcginnc to be 
 more readye to amende himfelfe, than to checkc another, meafuj"inge 
 
 * To fear is to ttrrify. 
 
 theyr
 
 i68 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 theyr matters with that wyfe pioverbc oi Apollo , Knoive thyfelfe : that is 
 to I'aye, learne to knowe what thou art able, fitte, and apte unto, and 
 folowe that. This thinge Ihould be both cumlye to the common 
 wealthe, and mufce piofitablc for everye one, as doth appeare veiye 
 well in all wyfe mennes deedes, and fpeciallye (to turne to our com- 
 munication againe) in fliootinge, where wyfe archers have alwayes theyr 
 inftrumentes titte for theyr ftrength, and wayte evermore luch time and 
 wether as is moft agreeable to theyr gere. Therefore, if the wether 
 be to fore, and unfitte for your fhootinge, leave off for that daye, and 
 wayte a better feafon. For he is a foolethat v\ill not go whom nccellitye 
 dryveth. Pm. This communication of yours pleafed me fo well, 
 
 Toxophile, that furclye I was not haftye to call you to defcrybe forth 
 the wether, but with all my hart would have fuflered you yet to 
 have ftande longer in this matter. For thefe thinges touched of you 
 by chaunce, and by the wayc, be farre above the matter itfelfe, by 
 whofc occafion the other were brought in. Tox. Weightye mat- 
 
 ters they be indeede, and fitte both in another place to be ipoken, and 
 of an other man than I am to be handled. And, becaufe meane men 
 muft meddle with meane matters, I will go forwarde in defcrybinge 
 the wether as concerninge fliootinge : and, as I toulde you before, in the 
 holeyere, Springe-time, Sommer, Faule of the leafe, and Winter: and 
 in one daye, Morninge, Noonetime, Afternoone, and Eventyde, al- 
 tereth the courfe of the wether, the pyth of the bowc, the ftrength 
 of the man. And in everye one of thefe tymes, the wether altereth, 
 as fometime v^'indy, fometime caulme, fometime cloudyc, fometime 
 clearc, fometime hot, fometime coulde, the wynde fometime moiftye 
 and thicke, fometime drye and fmoothe. A litle wynd in a moiftye 
 day ftoppeth a lliafte more than, a good whyikynge wynde in a cleare 
 daye. Yea, and I have feene when there hath bene no wynde at all, 
 the ayre fo miftye and thicke, that both the markes have bene won- 
 derful! great. And ones, when the plague was in Cambrige^ the 
 * downe wynd twelve fcore marke for the fpace of three weekes was 
 thirteen fcore and a half, and into the wynd, being not very great, a 
 great deale above fourteen fcore. 
 
 The wynde is fometime plaine up and downe, which is commonlye 
 moft ccrtaine, and requireth leaft knowledge, wherein a meane ftiooter, 
 with meane geare, if he can fhoote home, may make bcft fhift. A 
 
 • The downe winJ, &c. This pafTage I do i¥)t fully unJerftand. 
 
 fyde
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 169 
 
 fyde wynd tryeth an archer and good gere very much. Sometime it 
 bloweth aloft, fometime hard by the ground ; fometime it bloweth by 
 blaftes, and fometime it continueth all in onej fometime full fyde wynd, 
 fometime quarter with him, and more; and likewife againft him, as 
 a man with carting up light graife, or elfe, if he take good heede, ihall 
 fenfiblye learne by experience. To fee the wynd, with a mans eyes, it . 
 is unpoflible, the nature of it is fo fine, and fubtile, yet this experience 
 of the wynd had I ones myfelfe, and that was in the great fnowe that 
 fell four yeares agoo. I rode in the hye way betwixt topcliffe upon 
 Swale and Borowbridge, the way being fomewhat troden afore, by waye 
 fayringe men; the fieldes on both fides were playne, and laye almoft 
 yeard deep with fnowe, the night before had bene a litle frofte, fo that 
 the fnowe was harde, and crufted above ; that morninge the funne 
 flione bright and cleare, the wynd was whiftling aloft, and fliarpe, ac- 
 cording to the time of the yeare; the fnow in the hye-wayelaye lovvfe 
 and troden with horfe feete ; fo as the wynd blewe, it toke the lovvfe 
 fnowe with it, and made it fo ilide upon the fnowe in the fielde, which 
 "/as harde and crulled by reafon of the froft over nighte, that thereby 
 I might fee very well the hole nature of the wynde as it blewe that daye. 
 And I had a greate delyte and pleafure to marke it, which maketh me 
 nowfarre better to remember it. Sometime the wynde would be not paft 
 two yardes brode, and fo it would cary the fnow as farre as I could 
 fee. Another time the fnowe would blowe over half the fielde at ones. 
 Sometime the fnow would tomble foftlye, by and by it would fiye won- 
 derful fafl:. And this I perceyved alio, that the wynde goeth bylhcanies, 
 ajid not hole together. For I Pnould fee one ftreame within a fcore on 
 me, then the ipace of two fcorc, no fnow would flyre, but, after 
 fo much quantityc of grounde, an other ftreame of fnowe, at the fame 
 very tyme, fhould be caryed likewyfe, but not equallye, for the one 
 would ftande ftyll, when the other flew apace, and fo continue fome- 
 time fwiftlycr, fometime llowlyer, fometime bruder, fometi-ne naiiowei', 
 as far as I could fee. Nor it flewe not Ilreiglite, but fometime it crook- 
 ed this waye, fometime that waye, and fometime it ran round about in 
 a compaife. And fometime the fnowe would be Ivft cleane fiom the 
 grounde up to the ayre, and by and by it would be all clapt to the 
 ground, as though there had bene no wynd at aJl, ftrcight way it would 
 ryfe and flye againc. And that which was the mofi: marveile of all, 
 at one time two driftes of fnow fievve, the one out of tiie Weil ijuo 
 
 Z the
 
 170 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 the Eaft, the other oute of the North into the Eaft. And I fawe two 
 wyndes, by reafon of the fnow, the one croire over the other, as it had 
 been two hye wayes. And, againe, I fliould heare the winde blow in 
 the ayre, when nothing was ftyrred at the ground. And when all was 
 ftill where I rode, not verye farre from me the fnow Ihould be lifted 
 wonderfiillye. This experience made me more marveile at the nature 
 of the wynde, than it made me cunninge in the knowledge of the 
 wynde; but yet thereby I learned perfitely that it is no marveile at all 
 though men in wynde leafe theyr length in Ihootinge, fecinge fo many 
 \wayes the wynde is fo variable in blowinge. 
 
 But feeinge that a maifter of a fliyppe, be he never fo cunninge, 
 by the uncertainty of the wynde, leefeth manye tymes both lyfe and 
 goodes, furelye it is no wonder, though a right good archer, by the 
 lelfe fame wynde, fo variable in his own nature, fo infenfible to our 
 nature, leefe many a fhote and game. 
 
 The more uncertaine and deceyvable the wynde is, the more heede 
 mufl a wyfe archer geve to know the gyles of it. He that doth millrull 
 is feldome begyled. For although thereby he fliall not attayne to that 
 which is beft, yet by thefe meanes he fhall at lafl avoyde that which 
 is worft. Befyde all thefe kindes of wyndes, you mufir take heede if 
 you fee anyc cloude appeare, and gather by litle and litle againil you, 
 or elfe, if a fliovver of rayne be lyke to come upon you, for then 
 both the dryvinge of the wether and the thickinge of the ayre in- 
 creafeth the marke, when, after the fhower, all thinges are contrarye 
 cleare and caulme, and the marke, for the moft part, new to begin a- 
 gaine- You muft take heede alfo, if ever you Ihoote where one of 
 the markes, or bothe, flandcs a little fhort of a hye wall, for there you. 
 maybe eafilye begyled. If you take graile and calle it up, to fee howe 
 the wynde ftandes, many times you Ihall fuppofe to fiioote downe the 
 wynde, when you flioote cleane againft the wynde. And a good reafon 
 why. For the wynde which commeth indeed againft you, redoundeth 
 backe agayne at the waule, and whyrleth backe to the pricke, and a 
 litle farther, and then turneth agayne, even as a vehement water doth 
 againft a rocke, or an hye braye ; which example of water, as it is 
 more fenfible to a mans eyes, fo it is never a whitte the truer than this 
 of the wynde. So that the grade cafte uppe fliall flee that waye which 
 
 indeede 
 
 1
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 171 
 
 indeede is the longer marke, and deceyve quicklye a fliooter that is 
 not ware of it. 
 
 This experience had I ones myfelfe at Norivytche in the chapcll field 
 within the waules. And this way I ufed in Ihootinge at tliofe markes. 
 When I was in the mydde way betwixt the markes, vvhicli was an open 
 place, there I toke a fethere, or a lyttle lightc gralFe, and fo, as well as 
 I coulde, learned howe the v.^ynde ftoode ; that done I went to thcprickc 
 as fall as I could, and, according as I had found the wynde when I 
 was in the midde waye, fo I was fayne then to be content to make the 
 beft of my fliote that I could. Even fuch an other experience had I, 
 in a maner, at Torke, at the prickes lyinge betwixt the caftle and Oufc 
 fyde. And although you fmyle, Philologe, to heare me tell myne own 
 fondnefle; yet, feeinge you will nedes have me teache you fomewhat 
 in fhootinge, I muft nedes fometime tell you of mine owne experience. 
 And the better I may do (o, becaufe Hippocrates, in teaching phyficke, |^'?|'°'^' ^ 
 ufeth very muche the fame waye. Take heede alfo when you flioote 
 neare the fea coaft, although you be two or three myles from the fea, 
 for there diligent marking fhall efpye in the mod cleare daye wonder- 
 full chaunginge. The fame is to be confidered lykwyfe by a ryver fyde, 
 fpecially if it be ebbe and flowe, where he that taketh diligente heede 
 of the tyde and wether, fliall lightlye take awaye all that he fhootetii 
 for. And thus, of the nature of wyndes and wether, accordinge to 
 my markinge, you have hearde, Philologe : and hereafter you fliall 
 niarke farrc mo yourfelfe, if you take heede. And the wether thus 
 marked, as I tolde you afore, you muft take heede of your ftandinge, 
 that thereby you may winne as much as you fhall lofe by the wether. 
 Phi. I fee well it is no marveile though a man mi0e many times in 
 ihootinge, feeinge the wether is fo unconftant in blowinge, but yet 
 there is one thinge which many archers ufc, that Ihall caiife a man 
 have leife nedc to markc the wether, and that is ame gevinge. 
 Tox. Of gevinge ame, I cannot tell well what I fliould faye. For in 
 a ftraunge place it taketh awaye all occafion of foulegame, which is the 
 onlyc prayfe of it, yet, by my judgement, it hindereth the knowledge 
 of Ihootinge, and maketh men more negligent : the which is a dif- 
 prayib. Though ame be geven, yet take hedc, for at another mans 
 Ihootc you cannot well take ame, nor at your own neyther, becaufe the 
 vvetjier will alter, even in a minute, and at that one markc, and not at 
 
 Z 2 the
 
 172 THEWORKSOF 
 
 the other, and trouble your fhafte in the ayre, when you fliall perceive 
 no wynde at the grounde, as I myfelfe have feen (haftes tumble alofte 
 w a verve fayre daye. There may be a fault alio in drawinge or lowf- 
 ing, and manye thinges mo, which altogether are required to kcepe a 
 jull length. But, to go forewarde, the next point after the markinge 
 of your wether, is the taking of your {landing. And, in a lyde wynde, 
 you mull llande fomewhat erode into the wynde, for lo Ihall you Ihoote 
 the furer. When you have taken good footing, then muft you loke at 
 your fhaft, that no earth, nor weete, be left upon it, for fo Ihould it 
 leefe the length. You mufl: loke at the head aUb, leaft it have had any 
 flrype at the lad fliote. A lirype upon a (tone, many times will both 
 marre the head, croke the fhaft, and hurt the fether, wlicreof the leait 
 of them all will caufe a man leefe his * ftrengthe. For fucli thinges 
 which chaunce every flioote, manye archers, ufe to have fome place made 
 in theyr coate, fit for a litle fyle, a ftone, a hunfyfli fkin, and a clothe 
 to drefie the fhaft fit againe at all needes. This mud a man loke to 
 ever when he taketh uppe his lliafte. And the heade may be made to 
 fmoothe, which will caufe it flye to farrc : when your fhafte is fitte, 
 then mull you takeyoiu" bo'we even in the middes, or els you fliall both 
 leefe your length, and put your bowein jeopardye of breakmge. Nock- 
 ing jufl is next, which is much of the fame nature. Then drawe equal- 
 lye, lowfe equallye, with houldinge your hande ever of one height to 
 kepe true compalie. To loke at your fliafte heade at the lowfe is the 
 greatefl helpe to kepe a lengthe that can be, v^'hich thing yet hindcreth 
 excellcnte fhootinge, becaufe a man cannot fhoote flreight perfedlye 
 excepte he loke at his marke ; if I fliould flioote at a line, and not at 
 the marke, I would ahvayes loke at my fliafte ende : but of this thinge 
 fome what afterwarde. Nowe, if you marke the wether diligentlye, 
 kepe your flandinge juftlye, hould and nocke truely, drawe and lowfe 
 equallye, and kepe your compafle certainlyc, you fliall never mifle of 
 your lengthe. Phi. Then there is nothinge behinde to make me 
 
 hit the marke, but only fliootinge flreight. Tox. No trulye. And 
 
 firll I will tell you what fliiftes archers have founde to flioote flreight, 
 then what is the befl way to flioote flreight. As the wether belongeth 
 fpeciallye to kepe a lengthe (yet a fyde windc belongeth alio to flioote 
 flreight) even fb the nature of the pricke is to fhoote ftreightc. The 
 lengthe or fliortntfle of the marke is alwayes under the rule of the 
 wether, yet fomewhat there is in the marke, worthie to be marked of 
 
 • Perhaps it fliould be !en^i/;, 
 
 an
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 173 
 
 an archer. If the prickes ftande on a flreighte plaine grounde, they be 
 
 the befte to flioote at. If the marke ftande on a hill-fyde, or the grounde 
 
 be unequall with pittes and turninge wayes betwixt the markcs, a mans 
 
 eye ftiall thincke that to be flreighte which is crooked : the experience 
 
 of this thinge is feen in paintinge, the caufe of it is known by Icarninge : 
 
 and it is enough for an archer to marke it, and take heede of it. The 
 
 chiefe caufe whye men cannot fhoot ftrcight, is becaufe they loke at 
 
 theyr fliafte ; and this faulte commeth, becaufe a man is not taughte to 
 
 fhoote when he is younge. If he learr.e to fh.oote by himfelfe, he is 
 
 afraide to pull the Ihaft through the bowe, and therefore loketh alwayes 
 
 at his fhaft ; ill ufe confirmeth this fault as it dotii many mo. And 
 
 men continue the longer in this fault, becaufe it is fo good to kepe a 
 
 lengthe withall : and yet to flioote Itreighte, they have invented fome 
 
 wayes to efpye a tree or a hill beyond the marke, or eJs to have fome 
 
 notable thing betvv'ixt the markcs j and ones I faw a good archer which 
 
 did call ofFhis gere, and layed his quiver with it, even in the mid waye 
 
 betwixte the prickes. Some thought he did it for favegard of his gere: 
 
 I fuppofe he did it to fhoote ftreighte witliall. Other men ufe to elpye 
 
 fome marke almoft a bowe wyde of the pricke, and then go about to 
 
 kepe himfelfe on the hand that the piicke is on, whicii thinge how 
 
 much good it doth, a man will not believe, that doth not prove it. 
 
 Other, and thofe very good archers, in drawinge, loke at the marke un- 
 
 till they come almoft to the heade, then they loke at theyr fhafte, but, 
 
 at the verye lowfe, with a fecond fight, they finde theyr marke againe. 
 
 This waye, and all other afore of me reherfed, are but fhiftes, and not 
 
 to be folowed in fliootinge ftreight. For having a mans eye alwaye on 
 
 his marke, is the onelyc waye to flioote ftreighte, yea and, I fuppofe, 
 
 fo redye and eafye a waye, if it be learned in youth, and confirmed with 
 
 vife, that a man fliall never milie therein. Men doubt yet in loking at 
 
 the mark what way is beft, whether betwixt the bowe and the ftringe, 
 
 above or beneath his hande, and many wayes mo: yet it maketh no 
 
 greate matter which waye a man loke at his marke, if it be joyned with 
 
 Gomclye Ihootinge. The diverfity of mens ftanding and drawing caufeth 
 
 divers men loke at their marke divers wayes ; yet they all leadc a mans 
 
 hande to ftioote ftreight, if nothing els ftoppe. So that cumlynefle is 
 
 tlie onlye judge of beft lokinge at the maike. Some men wonder whye, 
 
 in caftinge a mans eye at the marke, the hande fliould go ftreighte : 
 
 furelye if he confidered the nature of a mans eye, he would not won- 
 
 3 dei-
 
 174 T |i E W O R K S O F 
 
 tier at it : for this I t.m certaine of, that no fervaunt to his maifter, no 
 childe to his father, is fo obedient, as everye joynte and peece of the 
 bodye is to do whatfoever the eye biddcs. The eye is the guide, the ruler 
 and the fuccourer of all the other partes. The hande, the footc, and 
 other members, dare do nothinge withoute the eye, as doth appear on 
 the night and darcke corners. The eye is the very tongue wherewith 
 wittc and reafon doth fpeake to everye parte of the bodye, and the 
 witte doth not fo foon fignifye a thinge by the eye, as every part is redye 
 to folowe, or rather prevent the biddinge of the eye. This is plaine 
 in manye thinges, but moft evident in fence and feighting, as I have 
 heaid men faye. There everye parte ftandinge in feare to have a blowe, 
 runnes to the eye for helpe, as younge childien do to the mother ; the 
 foote, the hande, and all wayteth upon the eye. If the eye bid the 
 hand eyther bear of or fmite, or the foote eyther go forward, or back- 
 ward, it doth fo ; and that which is moft wonder of all, the one man 
 lokinge ftedfaftly at the other mans eye, and not at his hand, will, even 
 as it were, rede in his eye where he purpofeth to fmyte next, for the eye 
 is nothing els but a certaine window for wit to fhoote out her 
 heade at. 
 
 This wonderfull worke of God in makinge all the members fo obedi- 
 ent to the eye, isapleafant thinge to remember and loke upon ; therefore 
 an archer may be fure, in learninge to loke at his marke when he is 
 younge, alwayes to Ihoote ftreighe. The thinges that hinder a man 
 which loketh at his marke, to fhoote ftrcight, be thefe : a fyde winde, 
 a bowe eyther to ftronge, or els to weake, an ill armc, vvhen a fether 
 runneth on the bowe to much, a bigge brefted Ihafce, for him that 
 fliootcth under hande, becaufe it will hobble; a litlc broiled fliafte for 
 him tiiat fliooteth above the hande, becau.fe it will ftartc ; a payre of 
 windinge prickes, and many other thinges mo, which you fliall marke 
 yourlclfe, and as ye know them, fo learne to amende them. If a 
 man would leave to loke at his fliaft, and learne to loke at his marke, 
 he maye ufe this wayc, which a good Ihooter told me ones that he did. 
 Let him take his bowe on the night, and flioot at two lig'.^tes, and there 
 he Ihall be compelled to looke ahvaycs at his marke, and never at his 
 Ihafte : this thinge, ones or twife ufed, will caufe him forfake loking 
 at his fliafte. Yet let him take hcedc of fetting his fliafte in the 
 bowe. 
 
 Thus,
 
 il O G E R A S C PI A M. 175 
 
 Thus, Philohge, to fhoote llrcight is the leaft maifterye of all, if a 
 mau order himfelfe thereafter in his youthe. And as for kcpinge a 
 length, I am fure, the rules which I gave you will never deceyve you ; 
 fo that there fhall lacke nothing, eyther of hittinge the marke alwayes, 
 or els verye neare rtiootinge, except the faulte be onlye in youre ownc 
 felfe, which may come two vvayes, eyther in having a fainte harte, or 
 courage, or els in fufferingeyourfelfe overmuch to be ledde with affetlion : 
 if a mans minde fayle him, the bodye, which is ruled by the minde, 
 can never do his dutye, if lacke of courage were not, men might do 
 mo maiftries than they do, as doth appeare in leapinge and vaultinge. 
 
 All affeclions, and efpeciallye anger, hurteth both minde and body. 
 The minde is blinde thereby, and, if the minde be blinde, it cannot 
 rule the bodye arighte. The bodye, both bloude and bone, as they faye, 
 is brought out of his right courfe by anger : whereby a man lacketh 
 his righte ftrength, and therefore cannot fhoote well. If thefc thingcs 
 be avoyded (whereof I will fpeake no more, both becaufe they belonge 
 not properlye to fliootinge, and alfo you can teache me better in them 
 than I you) and all the preceptes which I have given you diligentlye 
 marked, no doubte ye fhall flioote as well as ever man did yet, by the 
 grace of God. 
 
 This communication handled of me, Philohge, as I know well not 
 perfitelye, yet, as I fuppofe trulye, you mull take in good worthe, 
 wherein, if divers thinges do not altogether pleafe you, thancke your 
 felfe, which woulde have me rather faulte in mere follye, to take that 
 thinge in hande, which I was not able for to peifourme ; than by any 
 honeft fliamefaftneffe with-faye your rcqucll and minde, whicli I knowe 
 well I have not fatisfyed. But yet 1 will thinckethis labour of myne the 
 better beftowed, if to-morrowe, or fome other daye when you have 
 leyfure, you will fpende as much time with me here in this fame place, 
 in entreating the queftion De origine animcr, and the joyninge of it with 
 the bodye, that I maye knowe howe farre Plato^ AriJJotle, and the Stoy- 
 (icuii have waded in it. 
 
 Phi. Howe you have hande'ed this matter, Toxophile, I maye not well 
 tell you my felfe now, but, for your gentleneH'e and good will towardes 
 
 learninge.- 
 
 4
 
 ijS T H E W O R K S O F, ^cl 
 
 learninge and fhootinge, I will be content to fliewe you anye pleafure 
 whenfoever you will ; and nowc the funne is downe, therefore, if it 
 pleafe you, we will go home and drincke in my chamber, and there I 
 will tell you plainlye what I thincke of- this communication, and alfo 
 what daye we will appointe, at your requeft, for the other matter to 
 meete here againe. 
 
 The End of the Schole of Shootinge. 
 
 T II E
 
 C ^77 ] 
 
 The TABLE of the FIRST BOOKE 
 Of the ScHOLE of Shootinge* 
 
 Page 
 
 EARNEST bufmefle ought to be refreflied with honeft party me, 62 
 Shootinge moft honeft paftime, - - - - - 64 
 
 The invention of fhootinge, - - - - 66 
 
 Shootinge fit for Princes and great men, - - - - 67 
 
 Shootinge fit for fcholers and ftudentes, _ _ - _ yo 
 
 Shootinge fitter for ftudentes than any mufick or inftrumentes, 72 
 Youth ought to learn to finge, _-_-__ -^j 
 No maner of man dotli or can ufe to muche fliootinge, - - 79 
 Againft unlawfull games, and namely Cardes and Dyfe, - - 82 
 Shootinge in warre _-_. _ _ -91 
 
 Obedience the beft property of a fouldiour, " ~ ' 9Z 
 
 Reafons and authorityes againft fliootinge in warre, with tlie con- 
 futation of the fame, - - - ~ ' ' 9$ 
 God is pleafed with ftronge weapons and vaHante feates of warre, 9S 
 The commoditye of fhootinge in warre through the hiftories 
 
 Greeke and Lattine, and all nations, Chriften and Heathen, 100 
 
 Ufe of fliootinge at home caufeth ftrong fliootinge in warre, 116 
 Ufe of fliootinge at home, except men be apte by nature, and cun- 
 
 ninge by teachinge, doth little good at all, - - - 117 
 
 Lacke of learningc to flioote caufeth Englande lacke manye a good 
 archer, - - - - - - 120 
 
 In learninge anye thingc, a man muft covete to be beft, or els he 
 fliall never attayne to be meane, _ « _ - 125 
 
 A a The
 
 [ 
 
 178 
 
 ] 
 
 The TABLE of theSECONDE BOOKE 
 
 Of the ScoHLE of Shootinge. 
 
 Bv knowins; 
 thinges belong- 
 ing to Shoot- 
 inge, 
 
 Proper for every 
 fere mans ufe. 
 
 Bracer, 
 
 Shootinge Glove, 
 Stringe, 
 Bowe, 
 Shaftes, 
 
 General to all men. { ^^^^^^^; 
 
 Page 
 129 
 ib. 
 130 
 132 
 141 
 163 
 
 Hitting the 
 marke, by 
 
 r 
 
 Shootinge 
 ftraite. 
 
 Keeping a 
 lengthe. 
 
 Both come partlyc 
 
 By handlinge 
 thinges belong- 
 ing to fhootinge 
 
 without a man 
 
 within a man 
 
 Standinge, 
 
 Nockinge, 
 
 Drawinge, 
 
 Holdinge, 
 
 Lowfinge, 
 
 161 
 ib. 
 
 162 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 
 Bould courage, 156 
 Avcydinge all 
 affedion, jjS 
 
 DIV.E
 
 [ '79 J 
 
 *DIVM ELIZABEtHjE, 
 
 Moft Excellent Princes, &c. &c. 
 
 TH E unlearned perfons hath perfitlie learned this lefFon, tliat 
 no one matter maketh more difference betwixt man and man, 
 than doth learninge. And thoughe learninge bringe to everie Learnings 
 kinde of man (who godlie doth ufe it) the trewell pleafur, the fureft 
 profet, the greateft praife, that can be either gotten in earth, or given 
 from heaven, (heaven itfelf onelie excepted) yet is not learninge more 
 fitte and neceliarie to any other perfon, than it is to a Prince. For Learninge 
 we fubjefles are, by dew tie, and oughte to be by reafon, obcyers and'"°^"^"'' 
 folowcrs: and fo as fcholers and learners : You Princes arc, in dignitie,Princes. 
 and ought to be in worthinelTe, commanders and leaders, and therefore 
 as mafters and teachers. And how Ihall he lead an other, that can 
 not go himfelf: or what fliall he teache, that nothinge hath learned ? 
 But, how happie be we, that have a Prince who knoweth full well, 
 that that Prince is unhappie for himfelf, and all his, who knoweth no- 
 thing, but by another mans head : nor muft fee nothing, but by other 
 mens eyes : nor will hear nothing, but by other mennes eares : nor 
 can fpcak nothing, but by an other mans tongc. Such a monitor, with- 
 out hcade, eyes, ears, and tonge, were mervelus to be fcenc, more perl- 
 lus to be had, but moft perilus to be made keaper of others. And ^'^'^'^p'^- '" 
 yet was lie a vciie wife man, that made this the verie figure of an un- '*'^'''"'"''*- 
 learned, and of an unrewelie Prince. 
 
 * This letter to Qiiccn Elizalcth is now firft publiflicd from a manufcript, 
 
 A a 2 Tlic
 
 iSo T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 The deformlt'ie and liurte of ignorance, the cumHnes and good of 
 learning in a Prince, is well fet out, as your Majeftie well knovveth, in 
 Xencphon, and Ifocrates : but yet no otherwife, then like a v/ell painted 
 image, without ienfe, without life, in comparifon of that livclie voice 
 and tromp of the Holie Ghoste, founding dailie in everie goodChrif- 
 Pf- 2"- tian Princes cares, Nunc reges intclligitc : E}-tidimini qui judicatis terram ; 
 and that joyned with a terrible fore threate, Ne forte irafcatur DominuSy 
 et ferecitis de via Jujia. 
 
 Some would Some, fuppofcd wife men, would not have Princes learned: but proude 
 
 have Princes is theyr wifdum, that will nedesbe wifer then the Holie Ghoste: and 
 
 not learned. ^^^^^ j^ theyr wifdom, that would fill their owne coffers by the folie of 
 
 theyr Prince. Therefor, let no good Prince be afliamed of good learn- 
 
 inge, and namelie of Gods learninge, feeinge God himfelf doth will 
 
 them thereunto, and that by the voice of fuch a teacher, as a Prince, 
 
 be he never fo greate, never fo wife, may vvel enoughe become his fcho- 
 
 David, the ler. For this teacher, was not onlie a Kingc himfelf, but the beft Kinge, 
 
 of PHnc*^^"^ and beft learned Kinge, that ever God made Kinge upon earthe. And 
 
 he was brought up in that fchole, where the Holie Ghoste himfelfe 
 
 was mafter : and lie fuch a doer and woorkcr in that fchole, as his hand 
 
 and tongc was his Maffer's chiefeft pen, and ftyle, as he witnefTeth in 
 
 Pf- 44- plain wordcs himfelf. Lingua mca calamus fcribce velocitcr fcribentis. 
 
 This Kinge was alfo, nigheft in authoritie, and higheft in favore, with 
 
 God, Kinge of allKinges: for, what Kinge, or man el fe, hard ever fo 
 
 frendclie a worde from Gods owne mowthe, Inveni virum fecundum cor 
 
 meum : Howe oft doth God faye in Scripture, I will do fo, and I will 
 
 not do fo, for my fervant David fake ? How happie is that Prince, of 
 
 whom God will (peak fo ? but how more happie is tliat Prince and all 
 
 his too, for whom God will do fo ? And therefore, what a comfort is 
 
 it to a godlie Prince, to learne of fuch a teacher : to folowe fucii a guide: 
 
 to reade his life : to fee his aftes : to have his counfel always at hand, 
 
 not onlie for the beft civil government over his people, but for his owne 
 
 private life betwixte him and God. 
 
 The beft It is moft true that St. Hieiome fayth : that every manncs owne con- 
 
 commentaricfcience is the beft commentarie, to underftand, with moft profet, the 
 
 Pfalm«' *^ Pfahncs oi David : for benefites to give thanks: for offences to afk 
 
 pardon : for miferie to fccke comfort : for injurie to praie aid. For, 
 
 3 no 
 
 I
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. ,8i 
 
 no man can reade Davldes Pfalmes attentiflie, but he fliall fee all his 
 owne faultes, all his owne necefiities, all his outward deedcs, all his in- 
 warde thoughtes, fet before his eyes. 
 
 And yet is it as trewe, that the thoughtes and fayinges of David, be- 
 ing a Prince, cannot be neither fo properlye applied, nor fo deeplye 
 underflanded, by any other perfon, as by a Prince. For, the like Itate 
 and dignitie, the like cliarge and authoritie, do breed like thoughtes, 
 like purpoies, like counfelles, like aftes, like eventes. Private perfones 
 feele not commonlie the thoughts of Princes. Fewe fervantes in com- 
 mon families have like thougiites with the mcaneft mafters. There- 
 for, fuch as be likeft David, in life, affaires, flate, and dignitie, maye 
 have the likeft thoughtes, and ufe the likeft talke with God, that David 
 had. 
 
 A Prince, no private perfon can run thoroughlie oute, the hole courfe The race of 
 o^ Davides Yxit: as, to begin his yonse yeares in Gods feare : to nafle ^',"S^,.^^' 
 
 • vidcs life 
 
 throughe trobles and cares, periles and dangers : by injuries of greateft 
 enemies: by unkindnes of neareft frendes : by falfe furmifes : by wronge 
 imprifonmentes: by daylie thrcates, and feare of deathe into fafety of 
 life, were benefites of God to David, being a private man, common 
 alfo to many other goode private men. But, to be caryed, from fuch 
 private miferie, up to princclie ftate and felicitie, is onelie the dealing 
 of God with fuch Princes, who are fpeciallie regarded of God, as Da- 
 vid was, and commit themfelves hollie and onelie to God, as David 
 did. 
 
 And how did God deale with David when he had made him a King ? 
 Firft, he faw the fall of all his enemies : and all their ungodlie race 
 and bloodie faction rooted oute. And though God put into his hand 
 the life of all thofe that cruellie before had fought for his deathe, yet 
 not any his private revenge for private injuries, but Gods open punifh- 
 ment, brought them a!l under his feete. God gave him glorious vic- 
 tories, over all outward enemies: and fpeedie *mcetingcs with all inward 
 confpiracies : and after blelfed him with a quiet government, and gave 
 him requiem circumqitaque ab iiniverfis inimicis ejus, with hajipy dayes, 
 with an obedi.nt people: where common juftice was duely executed, and ° 
 private righte to every man defended : all craftie AcbitopheU removed -^ 
 
 * To nuU with, in the lan^^uaize of that age, was to oppofc, to countcraH, to rcprcfs. 
 
 out
 
 j82 theworksof 
 
 out of place, and good, wife, and quiet Chufaics bearing greatefl au- 
 thoritie. 
 
 Thefe blefllnges of God to King David vvcregreatc, but there folow- 
 ed far greater, both for the comtort of himfelfe, and the happinefle of 
 his fubjectes: for he heard of Gods own mouthe, Thifie owne feade Jhall 
 fit in thy fcatt\ which is the greateft comfort can come to a good 
 Prince, and the joyfuUeft felicitie that a good Prince can leave to his 
 fubjedes. 
 
 And (o David, made King by Gods goodnefs, made alfo, notonely 
 his prefent time happy, but his pofterity alfo blcllcd. And therefore 
 was David, a Prince, of himfelf moft woithy, to others moft happy : 
 whofe doinges for his poilerity, as thoufands unborne weie bound to 
 blefle, fo all that heare of it, arc driven to praife: the worthiell: ex- 
 ample for all good Princes to folowe, that ever God fet before Princes 
 eyes. 
 
 Moft noble PrincefTe, and my beft Ladie and Millres, I ofte thinking 
 of this race of Davides life J of his former mifcrics, of his later felici- 
 ties, of Gods dealing with him in all pointes, to bring happinelfe to his 
 prefent tyme, and lafety to his pofterity, have had, for many like 
 caufes, many like thoughtcs, even of the like life and ftate of your 
 Majefty. 
 
 And therefor, moved by good will, as your trewe fervant, and caricd 
 by dewtie, as a faithful fubjecf, and bound by many benefites of your 
 moft bountiful goodnes towardes me, and fpecialiie becaufe it pleafcd 
 your Highneile, this laft year, not onelie by your letters and commande- 
 ment to the Courte of the Exchequer, but alfo by your owne prefent 
 talke with my L. Archeb. of Tork, clcarlic to deliver me, fiift, frorrt the 
 miferie of thole long, careful, and coftelie trobles of the lawe : and 
 after, from the injurie, that fome would have offered me, in furprifuig 
 your Majcftyes benefite from me, I thought good to offer to your Hi-'h- 
 neffe this book, with this letter, as a trewe fervante doth in Euripides, to 
 a moft noble Queen, when he gave unto her the like token of good 
 will, for tl.e like delivery out of trobles and care: fayinge then, for no 
 jufter caufe, nor with better hart, than I do now to your Majeftje, 
 
 AM'
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 183 
 
 And to offer this book of Scripture unto your Majeflie, before any other, 
 good reaion, I fuppofe, doth move me. For though all Scripture, as 
 the Apoftle faith, is written for all mens teachinge, yet fome peece is 
 fitter to one perfon than another, to readc, for thcmfelves, by them- 
 felves, privately alone. As the Book of Wifdom, the Proverbs oj Solomon, 
 Jefus Siraclx, for all men both learned and * lewde. Leviticus, Numeri, the 
 Songes of Solomon, Daniel, \\\q Apocalips, and fuch like, chiefly for deepe 
 learned men, and not for every fonde heade, and curious fpirit. The 
 book of Judges, the Preacher of Solomon, for civil governors in common 
 offices, for maflers and fathers in private families. But the books of 
 Samuel and the reft of the Kinges, fpeciallie for all good Kinges and 
 Princes. 
 
 This volume conteneth two books : the firft, the life of Saul, the c, 1 , j u- 
 image of an ill Prmce, the deformed face of a miferable kingdom, kingdom, 
 where God and his goodnefle is forgotten, Gods voice not hard, rio-ht 
 religion perverted, trewe facrifices, either quite left off, or coldlie ob- 
 ferved, God worfhipped, as Saul lifted, not as God piefcribed, good 
 Samuel defj)ifed, his counfel derided, Baals preftes boi-ne withall, and 
 openlie authorifed, hill altars erected, fpiritual fornication with Mgypte 
 and Babylon every where ocupied. Thus Said, fiifl: halfing with God, 
 (as when God gave Amalec into his hand) then halting in religion, and 
 at lafle, quite falling from God and religion both, and fiying to Baal j. Reg. 
 and develifhe forcerie, brought his own flate to utter deilrudion, and jS^' 
 his kingdom to extreme miferie. For the contempte of God and reli- 
 gion brought his common-welthc to utter ruin, as it hath, and will do, 
 .all other kingdomes. And in what order.? or rather, by what miforder ? 
 Surelie, by thefe fteppes and degrees, all went doanward, wilful luft 
 fhut up all order of juftice; open injurie opprefTed good men. David 
 was untrewelic fufpeded, and cruellie perfecuted : vain and ill men 
 bare grcateft fwinge, good Jonathan onelie excepted, placed in courte by 
 Gods providence, for Davides and other good menncs comfort. And 
 thus, luit and vanitie fecretlie within, injulfice and mifchicf openlie a- 
 brode, went with full tydc and winde, in Saules kingdom ancl courte, 
 untill the blaft of Gods vvrathe overwhelmed all up fet downe : firft by 
 
 * Ltivil is I'')', or popular, 
 
 5 all
 
 iS4 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 all plages at home, then by a ftrange nation, theyr neybor, the old ene- 
 mie of Ifrael ; by whofe invafion and cruel Iwoide, 5W lofte his itate, 
 lol>e his life, difponcdcd his owne fcede, undid his poderitie, and left 
 his kingdom to a ftiange faniilie. This hiilorie, for the miferie, is 
 dreedfull to be hard, but for the example and warning, profitable for 
 all good Princes, dailie to reade, and advifedlie to marke, 
 
 David and The fecond booke contencth the life of David, the image of a 
 his king- good Prince, a faire pi6lure of a florifhinge ftate and happie time, 
 when God was alvvayes in mynde, and his former benefites, his former 
 deliveries from danger of deathe, never utterlie forgotten, Gods owne 
 religion maintened, Gods voice onelie hard ; Gods own facrificcs, as 
 God himfelf appointed, earneftlie obferved, good Nathan highlie reve- 
 renced, his advice never refufed, his free tonge, his hevie mefTage from 
 God, neyther then rebuked with wordes, nor after revenged with deedes, 
 • but, by and by, moil humbly aunfwered, with Ego peccavi domhio : and 
 therefore David hard joyfullie againe, Et Dominus tranjiulit peccatum 
 tutim, non vioriiris. Baal and Dagon, and all theyr preftes, were utter- 
 lie baniflied. All hill aultars fullie rooted oute, all idolatrie and fuper- 
 flition of Mgypie and Bahyhn cleane forfaken. Thus David, by fcar- 
 inge, fcrvinge, and holdinge himfelf faft by God and his religion, and 
 thoughe fometymes fallinge, yet not perverfedlie cleavinge to wilful- 
 neile, but meeklie acknowledginge his owne wickcdnefTe, not froward- 
 lie lyinge ftill, but fpcedelie ryfing up at Gods callinge, brought his 
 own ftate to hieft dignitie, and his people to greateft felicitie. And in 
 the ende, had this joyfuU bleflinge from Gods owne mouthe, by Nathans 
 mefTage, which all trewe Englijhe harts dailie do praye, that God will 
 2 Reg. fend the fame unto your Majeflis ; Excitabo femen ttium pojiea, quod egre- 
 dictur dc utero tuo, ct regnum femiitis tui perpetm firinabo. Whereimto, I 
 trufl God, your Majefly, and all good men, will mofl gladUe, with 
 hart and hand, fay all. Amen. 
 
 The image of thefe two Princes lives, the one good, the other bad, and 
 Gods prefent dealing with them both, is a marvelous picture for all men 
 to look upon, yea, thoughe they be but private perfones, and onelie 
 ftandcr^ by : but moft necefTarie for all Princes to marke and mufe 
 upon, if eythcr the dreedful feare of Gods wrathe, or the joyful hope 
 of Gods favor, do any thing touch theyr hartes. And theyr hartes, 
 
 of
 
 ROGER A S C H A M. 
 
 of all other, oughte chieflye to be touched with both : for though God 
 be Scrutator cordium omnium hominu?n, yet it is fpoken for the hie pre- 
 rogative of Princes, Corda regum in manu Dei funt : that is to iay, God 
 immediately, by himfelfe governcth, and with his prefent eye beholdeth, 
 the deedes and thoughtes of Princes. This is no opinion of philofo- 
 phie, but the trothe of Gods own dodlrine, and that fo certaine and len- 
 fible a trothe, as there is no Prince, be he never fo good, never fo bad, 
 but his owne confcience doth daily and hourlie beare good witnefie to 
 the fame. And trothe alfo it is, that, as theyr dignitie is hiefl, fo is 
 the burden of theyr charge hevieft, and therefore the care for theyr 
 accompte oughte to be greateft, and for this caufe to, a greate deale 
 the greater, becaufe no man, but God onelie, mufl be the auditor 
 thereof. 
 
 But how delt God with Saul? God gave unto Saul, an ill King, great 
 and many blefllnges, a comlie ftature of bodie : faire qualities of the 
 mynde : he hard of Samuels mouthe, ^ia Dominus tecum cjl ; and, /« 
 manu tua liberabit Deus Ifrael. And yet, at the laft, he hard again of 
 Samuel, Stultus faSlus es : and after, this fore threate, 'Jam mn erit fir- 
 mum regnum tuum: and that with the plaine caufe why, ^lia abjecifii 
 verbum Domini, Dominus abjecit te. And fo, in the ende, Gods hie giftes, 
 not thankfnllie remembered, but ungodlie ufed, turned all to Saules 
 greater deftrudtion. 
 
 On the other fide, David, a good King, v/as tolled with all miferics, 
 by danger of foreft injuries, by griefe of greateft unkindnes ; yet all 
 fuch miihaps, patientlie taken at Gods hand, and the dcliverie from them 
 by God, never forgotten by David, turned all to Davidcs greateft fcli- 
 citie. But David was wrapte in a ftranger cafe and kinde of miferie: 
 for when God had fliewed him his greateft favor, and had given hini 
 the hicft benefites that man in earth could receive, yet God fuffered 
 him to fall into the deepeft pitte of wickednes ; to committe the cruel- 
 left murder, and fliamefulleft adultrie, that ever did man upon carthe. 
 Whcreinto he did not ftumblc by ignorance, nor Hide by weakneffe, nor 
 onelie fall by wilfulncffe, but went to it advifedlic, purpofing all * practi- 
 ces, and finding out all fetches that mifchiefe could imagine, to 
 
 * Prat'.ke, in the language of our author's ngc, was commonly taken in an ill fenfe, for 
 wicked a^is, or unlauijul Jhatagctm. 
 
 B b bring 
 
 185
 
 i86 T H E W O R K S O F, &V. 
 
 bring mifchiefe to pafle. Yet though David had fliakcn fiom him 
 Gods feare, yet God had not taken from David liis grace. For, whea 
 God did knock, David did open : when Nathan faid boldUe, Tufecif- 
 ti malum coram Domino, David anfwered liumblie, IpJ'e peccavi Domino. 
 And fo, * out oi this foule matter, is gathered the faireft example, and 
 belt lelFon, both for Prince and private man, that is in all Scripture; 
 for the hied and beft, ahvayes to beware ; for the meaneft and worft 
 never to difpare; and that, with a marvelous note of King Davids fin- 
 gular good nature, who was angrie with himfelfe, for ill doinge, and 
 not with good Nathan, for trewe fpeakinge. 
 
 But your Majefly, in reading the hole courfe of this holie hiflorie, 
 fliall better judge of all thefe pointes, and many other mo, if it may 
 pleafe you to reade with all, thcfe learned commentaries of P. Martyr, 
 who befidc the exprefiing of this florie, and opening all hard doubtes 
 thereof, hath godlie and learnedlie, as a man of greate experience and 
 deepe judgement, decided many notable common places, belonglnge 
 fpeciallic to the good order of civil government, and therefore verie fittc 
 for the knowledge of all good Princes. 
 
 And therefore was I verie willinge to offer this booke to your Ma- 
 jefty, wherein, as in a faire glafTe, your Majelfy fliall fee and acknow- 
 ledge, by Gods dealinges with David, even verie many like good deal- 
 inges of God with your Majefly ; and thereby finde yourfelf bounde, 
 both daily to faye with David, Sluid retribuam Domino pro omnibus qua 
 tribuit mihi ; and alfo to promife and performe with David, Bcnedicam 
 Dominum in omni tempore, ct fcmper laus ejus in ore meo. And fo, doing 
 ■A% David did, heare from God, (\s David hard, Inveni mulierem fecun- 
 dum cor meum : and in the ende have as David had, that is, mofl: prof- 
 peritie, and fureft felicitie, for you, youres, and youre pofteritie. 
 God blefle your Majeftie with all fehcitie, and fend you, with many 
 long yeares, all harts eafe. 
 
 xxx°. OcTOB. Your Majefties 
 
 M. D. LXVl*. Mofl: bounden, and 
 
 FaithfuU Servantc, 
 
 R. A S C H A M. 
 * Tliishad been a very proper admonition after the execution of Queen Mary oi Scotland.
 
 THE 
 
 SCHOLE MASTER; 
 
 Or plaine and perfite Way of teaching Children, to under- 
 ftand, write, and fpeake, the Latin Tonge, but fpecially 
 purpofed for the private bringing up of Youth in Jentlemen 
 and Noblemens Houfes, and commodious alfo for all fuch 
 as have forgot the Latin Tonge, and would, by themfelves, 
 without a Scholemafter, in fhort Tyme, and with fmall 
 Paines, recover a fufficient Habilitie, to underftand, write, 
 and fpeake Latin. 
 
 By ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 Anno 1571. 
 
 ATLONDON, 
 Printed by JOHN DAYE, dwelling over Aldersgate. 
 
 Cum Gratia 6c Privilegio Regioe Majeftatis, per Decennium.
 
 I
 
 [ '89 ] 
 
 To the Honorable Sir WILLIAM CECILL, 
 Knight, principal Secretary to the Quenes Moft 
 Excellent Majefty. 
 
 SUNDRY and reafonable be the caufes why learned men have ufed 
 to otfer and dedicate fuch workes as they put abrode, to Tome fuch 
 perfonage as they thinke fitteft, eyther in refped: of abihtie of defenfe, 
 or fkill for judgement, or private regard of kindnefle and dutie. Every 
 one of thofe confiderations, Sir, move me of right to offer this my late 
 hulbands, M. Aschams virorke unto you. For well remembryng how 
 much all good learnyng oweth unto you for defence thereof, as the 
 Univerfitie of Cambrige, of which my faid late hufband was a member, 
 have, in chofing you theyr worthy chauncellor, acknowledged ; and how 
 happily you have fpent your time in fuch ftudies, and caried the ufe 
 thereof to the right ende, to the good fervice of the Quenes Majefty, 
 and your countrey, to all our benefites ; thyrdly, how much my fayd 
 hufband was many wayes bound unto you, and how gladly and com- 
 fortably he ufed in his life to recognife and report your goodneflb toward 
 him, leavyng with me, then his poore widow, and a great * fort of or- 
 phancs, a good comfort in the hope of your good continuance, which 
 I have truly found to me and myne, and therefore do duely and dayly 
 pray for you and yours : I could not finde any man for whofe name 
 this booke was more agreeable for hope of protection, more mete for fub- 
 milTion to judgement, nor more due for refpecl of worthincflc of your 
 part, and thankfulnc(rc of my hulbandes and myne. Good I truft it 
 Ihall do, as I am put in great hope by many very well learned that can 
 well judge thereof. Mete therefore I compt it that fuch good as my 
 hulband was able to do and leave to the common-weale, it fhould be 
 
 * Sort is train, company, numltr. 
 
 2 received
 
 i 
 
 190 T H E W O R K S O F, ©"c. * 
 
 received under your name, and that the world fliould owe thanke thereof 
 to you, to whom my hufband, the authour of it, was, for good receyved 
 of you, nioft dutifully bounden. And fo befechyng you, to take on 
 you the defence of this booke, to advance the good that may come of 
 it by your allowance and furtherance, to publicke ufe and benefite, and 
 to accept the thankful recognition of me and my poore children, truftyng 
 of the continuance of your good memorie of M. Ascham and his, and 
 dayly commending the profpcrous eftate of you and yours to God, 
 whom you ferve, and whoie you are, I reft to trouble you. 
 
 Your humble 
 
 MARGARET ASCHAM. 
 
 A PRE-
 
 [ ICI ] 
 
 A PREFACE to the READER. 
 
 W 
 
 HEN the great plage was ztLondon, the yeare 1563, the Queenes 
 Majeftie Queen Elizabeth lay at her caftle of Windfore : where, 
 upon the loth day of December *, it foituned, that, in Sir William Cicells 
 chamber, her Highnefie principal Secretarie, there dined together thefe 
 pcrfonages, M. Secretarie himCelfe, Sir William Peter, Sir "J. Mafon^, 
 D. Wotfon, Sir Richard Sackville Treafurer of the Exchequer, Sir Walter 
 Mildmaye Chauncellor of the Exchequer, M. Haddon Mafter of Requeftes, 
 M. Jobiji/lely Mafter of the Jewell-Houfe, M.Bcrnard Hampton, f M.M- 
 cafius, and I. Of which number, the moft part were of her Majefties 
 Moft Honourable Privie Counfell, and the reft ferving her in very good 
 place. I was glad then, and do rejoice yet to remember, that my chance 
 was fo happie to be there that day, in the companie of fo manie wife 
 and good men together, as hardly then could have beene piked out 
 againe out of all E?jglande befides. 
 
 M. Secretarie hath this accuftomed maner, though his head be never 
 fo full of moft weightie affaires of the realme, yet, | at dinner time he 
 doth feem to lay them always afide: and findeth ever fitte occafion to 
 taulke pleafantlie of other matters, but moft gladlie of fome matter of 
 learning : wherein he will curteflie heare the minde of the meaneft at 
 his tabic. 
 
 Not long after our fitting dounc, " I have ftrangc newes brought me, j^/j g^^j.^,. 
 " fayth M. Secretarie, this morning, that diverfe fcholers of Eaton be tarie. 
 
 * This was about five years before the author's death ; for he died the 30th of Deiein- 
 her in the year 1568, in the 53d year of his age. 
 
 f Nicafnis was a Greek of ConJianUnoplc, who came into England in the time of Queen 
 Elixabe'.h, partly to propofe an agreement between the Greeic church and that of this nation; 
 and partly to colled what charity he could for the poor diftreflcd Cliriitians of his own 
 country. 
 
 \ Thus Crn£us : " Eo autcm omni fcrmone confeflo, tantam in Craflb humanitatem 
 " fuilTe, ut cum lauti accubuiflent, tolleretur omnis ilia fuperioris triditia fcrmonis eaque 
 *' eflct in homine jucunoitas, et tantus in jocando lepos, ut dies inter cos Curia fuillc vide- 
 ♦' retur, conviviiim Tufculani." Cicero /li Orat. 
 
 8 " runne
 
 192 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 " runne away from the fchole, for feare of beating." Whereupon, M. 
 Secretarie took occafion to wilhe, that fome more difcretion were in many 
 fcholemafters, in ufmgcorredion, than commonlie there is : who many 
 times puniflie rather the weaknefs of nature, than the fault of the 
 fcholer. Whereby many fcholers, that might elfe prove well, be driven 
 to hate learning, before they knovve what learning meaneth : and fo 
 are made willing to forfake their booke, and be glad to be put to any 
 other kinde of living. 
 
 iM. Peter. M- Pe'cr, as one fomevvhat fevere of nature, faid plainlie, " That the 
 " rodde onelie was the fworde, that muft keepe the fchole in obedience, 
 
 M. Wotton." ^"^ the fcholer in good order." M. Wotton, a man miide of nature, 
 with foft voice and fewe wordes, inclined to M. Secretaries judgment, 
 
 Ludus iite- and faid,. " In mine opinion, the fchole-houfe fhould be in deede, as 
 
 rarius. cc jj- \^ called by name, "^ the houfeof play and pleafure, and not of feare 
 " and bondage: and as I do remember, fo faith -f Socrates in one place of 
 
 Rep. " Plato. And therefore, if a rodde carie the feai'e of a fworde, it is 
 
 " no marville, if thofe that be fearfuU of nature, chofe rather to for- 
 " fake the place, than to ftande alwayes within the feare of a fworde 
 
 - , -. , " in a j: fonde mans handling." M. Mafon, after his maner, was verie 
 merie with both parties, pleafantlie playing, both with the flirewde 
 touches of many curfte boyes, and with the fmall difcretion of many 
 
 M. Haddon. ** leude fcholemaflers. M. Haddon was fuUie of M. Peten opinion, and 
 faid, " That thebeft fcholemafter of our time was the|| greateft beater," 
 
 and 
 
 * Gra'p Schsla nomine diOa tji, 
 Jajia laboriferis iribuantur vt otia muf.s. Aufonius Edyl!. 4. 
 
 t The Padage, to which the Dean of Canterbury here refers, is in Plato's 7th book of 
 his Repub. not far from the end, and is afterwards cited by Mr. AJcham. I Iball here tran- 
 
 (rkf £}/a)) ii\y fJi.x^r)fxx /uflz inXUai tc» lAfuOffOi' ;^<!»i fixyixntv. Oi' f*tv yap t« (tuuxI^ 
 worn, (3ia -roiiisutvn, ^^£•-51' Ojiiv to cufji.x XTricyxl^Oiiar '{'"^X" ^' ^ixio'y ia\n luuei/ t 
 ixxirux. 'AX»;9»i, tfr. Mr} Trimv (3i'x (iTttcv) Z apift, tk? irxiixt If rcTf [Aairifjioefiif, ctM*' 
 ■7r«'i^ viae Tfi/pf, 7vx Kx] y-xXXovofo; t' kj xx^ooin if' ixxf^ ni^iitt, 
 
 J Fcn.I, is fiolijh. 
 
 •• Lewi originally fignified %, not clerical, thence unlearned, thence grofs of manners, 
 favage, laflly libidinous. 
 
 I This was Nic. Udal, mader of Eaton fchool, whom Bale fli'es El gnntl-f.mu! ommum 
 honarum tlterarum mag:Jltr, et earum felicijpmus interpies: In the appendix I have given 
 
 a
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. i93 
 
 •and named the penon. " Though," quoth I, " it was his good foi- The author 
 
 " tune to fend from his fchole unto the univerfity *one of the beft fcho- o^'hisbookc. 
 
 " iers indeede of all our time, yet wife men do thincke, that that came 
 
 ** fo to pafle, rather by the great towardnefle of the fcholer, than by 
 
 " the great beating of the mailer ; and whether this be true or no, you 
 
 *' yourfelfe are bell witneffe." I faid fomewhat further in the matter, 
 
 how and why yong children were foner allured by love, than driven 
 
 by beating, to attayne good learning: wherein I was the bolder to fay 
 
 my minde, becaufe M. Secretarie courteflie provoked me thereunto, or 
 
 elfe, in fuch a companie, and namelie in his prefence, my v^onte is, to 
 
 be more willing to ufe mine eares than to occupy my tonge. 
 
 Sir Walter Mildmaye, M. Aftely, and the reft, faid verie litle ; onelie 
 Sir Rich. Sackville faid nothing at all. After dinner I went up to read 
 with the Queenes Majeftie. We red then together in the Greeke tonge, 
 as I well remember, that noble oration of Demojlbenes againft Mfchims, 
 for his falfe dealing in his ambaflage to King Philip of Maceihiie. Sir 
 i?/V^. ^^c/'i)///? came up fone after: and finding me in her Majefties&r R. Sack- 
 privy chambei', he tooke m<e by the hand, and carying me to a windoe, ^ '"^^ ^°'^- 
 faid, " M. Afcham, I would not for a good deale of monie have been, ^j^h the au- 
 " this day, abfent from dinner. Where, though I faid nothing, yet thor of thft 
 " I gave as good eare, and do confider as well the taulke that palled, as °° - 
 
 a fpecimen of Mr. Udal's elegancy both in verfe and profe. His feverity his own fcholar, 
 Mr. Tuffir, has fufKciently proclaimed in thefe lines : 
 
 From Pauls / wait, to Eaton fcnt. 
 
 To learn J}raightways the Latin phrafe ; 
 
 Where fifty three Jhipei given t) me 
 
 At once I had : 
 For fault I'Ut/mali, or none at all, 
 It came to pafs, thus beat I was : 
 See Udal, fee the mercy of thee 
 To me poor lad. 
 
 * This was Mr. Haddon, rometime fellow of Kind's col'ege in Camhitlgi-, very much 
 complimented by ail the learned men of that age; and of whom Queen F/izaUlh, upon fonie 
 comparifon made betwixt him and Buchanan, thus gave her opinion ; Buchananum omniLu: 
 an'.epono : Haddonum nemini po/lpono. 
 
 His works are colleiSted into one volume, and publiflicd by Dr. Hatcher, to whofe care 
 and diligence we owe the catalogue of our fociety. I have thought proper to print one of 
 his fpeeches, which he made to the fcholars of Eatjn, that fomething of his great abilities may 
 be known. 
 
 C c " any
 
 194 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 *' any one did there. M. Secretarie faid very wifely, and moft trucly, that 
 " many yong vvittes be driven to hate learn inge, before they know what 
 " learningeis. 1 can be good witnefs to this myfelfe : for a fond fchole- 
 " mafter, before I was fullie fourtene yeare olde, drave me fo, with fear of 
 " beating, from all love of Icarninge, as nowe, when I know what diffe- 
 " rencc it is to have learninge, and to have little, or none at all, I feele it 
 " my greateft griefe, and find it my greateft hurte, that ever came to me, 
 " that it was my fo ill chance to light upon fo lewde a fchokmafter. But 
 " feeing it is but in vain to lament thinges paftc, and alfo wifdome to 
 " looke to thinges to come, furelie, God willing, if God lend rae hfe, I 
 " will make this my mifliap, fomeoccafion of good hap to litle * Robert 
 " Sackville, my fonnes fonne ; for whofe bringinge up I would gladlie, 
 " if it fo pleafe you, ufe fpeciallie your good advice. I heare fay, you 
 " have a fonne much of his age: we will deale thus togither. Point 
 " you out a fcholemaftcr, who, by your order, Ihall teache my fonne 
 " and yours, and for all the reft I will provide, yea though they three 
 " do coft me a couple of hundred poundes by year ; and befides you fhall 
 " find me as faft a friend to you and yours, as perchance any you have.'* 
 Which promife the worthie Gentleman furelie kept with me untill his 
 dying daye. 
 
 this buoke. 
 
 The cliitf We had then further taulke togither, of bringing up of children ; 
 
 pointes of of the nature of quicke and hard wittes : of the right choice of a good 
 witte : of fear and love in teaching children. We pafl^ed from children 
 and came to younge men, namely. Gentlemen : we taulked of their to 
 much liberty to live as they luft; of their letting loufe to fonc to over- 
 much experience of ill, contrarie to the good order of many good olde 
 common wealthes of the Perfiaiis and Grcekcs: of witte gathered, and 
 good fortune gotten by fome, onely by experience, without learninge :. 
 and laftlie, he required of me very earneftlie, to fliewe, what I thought 
 of the common goinge of EngliJJ:emcn into Italie. " But, fayth he, be- 
 " caufe this place, and this tyme, will not fuffer fo long taulke, as 
 " thefe good matters require, therefore I praye you, at my requeft, and 
 " at your leyfure, put in fome order of writing, the chiefe pointes of 
 " this our taulke, concerning the right order of teachinge, and honefty 
 
 * This great care of the treafurcr's in the education of his two grandfons, my Lord Cla- 
 rthdan has likcwife ukcn notice of in the firft book of his hiftory. 
 
 % " of
 
 ROGER A S C H A M. 
 
 " of living, for the good bringing up of children, and yong meii. And 
 
 *' furelie, befide contenting me, you fliall both pleafe and profit very 
 
 " many others." I made fome excufe by lacke of habilitie, and weake- 
 
 nefle of bodie : " Well, faith he, I am not now to learne what you 
 
 *' can do. Our dear friende, -|- good Mr. Goodrickt\ whofe judgement I 
 
 " could well believe, did once for all fatisfie me fuliie therein. Againe, 
 
 " I heard you fay, not long ago, that you may thanke Sir JohnCheke 
 
 " for all the learninge you have : and I know very well myfelfe that 
 
 " you did teach the Queene. And therefore, feeing God did fo blelFe 
 
 " you to make you the fcholer of the befl mafter, and alfo the fchole- 
 
 ** mafter of the beft fcholer, that ever were in our time, furelie you 
 
 " fhould pleafe God, benefite your countrie, and honeft your own 
 
 " name, if you would take the paines to impart to others, what you 
 
 " learned of fuch a mafter, and how ye taught fuch a fcholer. And, 
 
 " in uttering the ftuffe ye received of the one, in declaring the order 
 
 " ye tooke with the other, ye ftiall never lacke neither matter nor ma- 
 
 " ner, what to write, nor how to write, in this kind of aigument." 
 
 I beginning fome further excufe, fodainlie was called to come to the 
 Queene. The night following I flept little, my head was fo full of this 
 our former talke, and I fo mindfuU fomewhat to fatisfie the honeft re- 
 queft of fo deare a friend. I thought to prepare fome little treatife, for 
 a new years gift, that Chrijlmafs. But, as it chaunceth to bufie buiklers, 
 fo, in building this my poor fchole-houfe (the rather becaufe the form 
 of it is fomewhat new, and differing from others) the work rofe dailie 
 higher and wider, than I thought it would at the beginninge. 
 
 And though it appear now, and be in very deede, but a fmall co- 
 tage, poore for the ftufTe, and rude for the workmanfliip, yet, in go- 
 ing forward, I found the fite fo good, as I was lothe to give it over, but 
 the making fo coftlie, outreaching my habilitie, as many times I wiflied, 
 that fome one of thofe three, my deare friendes, with full purfes, Sir 
 T^homai Smithe, M. Haddon, or M. Watfon^ had had the doing of it. 
 Yet, neverthclefle, I myfelfe fpending gladly that little that I gatte at 
 home by good Sir '^ohn Cbekc, and that that I borrowed abroad of my 
 
 t Bifliop of £/)', and Lord Chancellor in King Edivard's reign. 
 
 C c 2 frend 
 
 '-9S
 
 196 THEWORKSOF 
 
 frend Sturmius, befide Ibmewhat that was left me in reverfion by my 
 okle mafters, Plato, Jri/iotle, and Cicero, I have at laft patched it up, as 
 1 could, and as you fee. If the matter be mean, and meanly handled, 
 I pray you bearcboth witii me and it : for never worke went up in worfe 
 wether, with mo Icttes and ftoppes, than this poore fchole-houfe of 
 mine. * jyc/hninfter-Halk^n bear fome witnefie, befide -|- much weaknefle of 
 bodie, but more trouble of minde by fomc fuch fores, as grieve me to 
 touche them myfelfe, and tlierefore I propofe not to open them to others. 
 And, in middes of'outvvard injuries and inward cares, to encreafe them 
 withal!, I good Sir Richard S^ck'vi/k dkth, that worthie Gentleman j that 
 eaineft favourer and furtherer of Gods true religion ; that faithful fer- 
 vitor to his Prince and countrie : a lover of learning, and all learned 
 men ; wife in all doinges ; curtefle to all perfons ; fliewing fpite to none ; 
 doing good to many; and, as I well found, to me fo faft a friend, as I 
 never loft the like before. When he was gone, my hart was dead. 
 There was not one that wore a black gown for him, who carried a hea- 
 vier hart for him than I. When he was gone, I caft this booke awaie ; 
 I could not look upon it, but with weeping eyes, in remembering him, 
 who was the onelie fetter on to do it ; and would have beene, not onJie 
 a glad commender of it, but alfo a fure and certaine comfort to me and . 
 jiiine for it. Almoft two years togither, this booke lay fcattered and 
 Sir William neglecled, and had bcene quite given over of me, if the goodnefle of one 
 Citili. ha(i not given me fome life and fpirite againe. God, the mover of 
 
 goodnefle, profper alwais him and his, as he hath many times comfort- 
 ed me and mine; and, I truft to God, fliall comfort more and more. 
 Of whom, moft juftly I may fay, and verie oft, and ahvaies gladlie, 
 
 * That he was unhappily engaged in law appears from Dr. Haddon to his friend Sir 
 'lliomos Smith, refidcnt in Frar.ce. " Scio ilium utriufque noflrum efle fludiofilTimum, et au- 
 " dio ipfum hoc tempore litibus juris permolefte exerceri." 
 
 + " Ingravefcente jam netate, a nodlurnis & pomeridianis ftudiis abhorrebat : Antelucanis 
 " & matutinis temporibu^ legobat, commentabatur, ftudcbat, fcribebat. Erat corpore im- 
 " becillis, & valetudinarius, mukis morbis fraiftuj, coiitinentibus febnbus correptus, variis 
 " segrotationibus a(fli<ftus ; qua; paucis ante mortem annis eum in heiSlicam febrim conjece- 
 " luiit." This is taicen out of Mr. Grant's excellent oration. 
 
 J Sir Richard Sackville died the fame day that Sir J^hn Mafon did, in the year 1566, and 
 in the eighth of Qiiecn HLzeb.th, two jears before Mr. Afcharn% death.
 
 ROOERASCHAM. 197 
 
 I am wont to fay, that fweet verfe of Sophocles, fpoken by * Oedipus to 
 worthy Thefeus, 
 
 "^X" y^? * "X'-^ *^"* ""^J '"*" ccKKov 0^OTUv. Soph, in 
 
 Oed. CoL 
 
 This hope hath helped me to end this booke: which, if he allowe, I 
 {hall thinke my labours well employed, and fliall not much efteme the 
 mifliking of any others. And I truft, he fhall thinke the better of it, 
 becaufe he fliall finde the beft part thereof to come out ef his fchole, 
 whom he, of all men, loved and liked beft. 
 
 Yet fome men, friendly enough of nature, but of fmall judgement in 
 learninge, do thinke I take to much paines, and fpend to much time, 
 in fettinge forth thefe childrens affairs. But thefe good men were never 
 brought up in Socrates fchole, who faith plainlie, That no man goeth . 
 about a more-{-godlie purpofe,than he that is mindful! of the good bring- 
 ing up, both of his own and other mens children. 
 
 Therefore, I truft, good and wife men will thinke well" of this my^ 
 doing. And of other, that thinke. othervvife, I will thinke myfelfe, 
 they are but men, to be pardoned for their follie, and pitied for theiiv 
 ignorance. 
 
 In writing this booke, I have had earneft refpe<51:e to three fpeciall 
 polntes, trothe of religion, honeftie in living, right order in learninge. 
 In which three waies, I praie God, my poore children may diligently 
 waulke: for whofe fake, as nature moved, and reafon required, and . 
 neceflitie alfo fOmewhat compelled,] was the wiUinger to take thefe paines. 
 
 For feeing, at my death, I am not like to leave them any great ftore of 
 living, therefore, in my life-time, I tl.ought good to bequeath unto 
 
 * Oedipus fpeaks to Thefeus in a tranfport of joy, having through his afliftance recovered his. - 
 two daughters out of the hands of Lreon. 
 
 f Plato in initit Theagls : 'AWa, u-h J'ji, Z A»),ao'J'o!£, kx\, Xiysra.! y( a-JwlSaXti Upoi/ ■ypr,u.x 
 nva,i fiTTff »i/xai aXX'/i -/irif vv tfiv itpa, xjii i.iT»i ai/ si>i zrioi nf (ru \i\jii (rjUfiHAiin. Ou -yxp 
 ir» Trt^i OTa GtiOTEfa «i/ at^awTrii^ (3H/.£U(rai'.'o, ^ Trfsi riaitTfiaf X(*» TWK «iJt», Xdsi t'xv aCr>s 
 cl>it!vv. This pafl'age is cued by the author, though not lb fully. 
 
 thcm>..
 
 198 THE WORKS O F, &c. 
 
 them, In this little booke, as in my laft will and teflament, the right 
 waie to good learninge ; which if they follovve, with the feare of God, 
 they fliall verie well come to fufficiencic of livinge. ' 
 
 I wiHie alfo, with all my heart, that yonge M. Rolf. Sackville may 
 take that fruite of this labour, that his worthie grand-father purpofed 
 he riiould have done ; and if any other do take, either proffet or plea- 
 fure thereby, they have caufe to thanke M. Robert Sackville , for whom 
 fpeclallie this my Schole-mafter was provided. 
 
 And one thing I would have the reader confider in reading this 
 booke, that, becaufe no fchole-mafter hath charge of any childe before 
 he enter into his fchole, therefore, I leaving all former care of their 
 good bringing up to wife and good parentes, as a matter not belonging 
 to the fchole-mafter, I do appoynt this my fchole-mafter, then, and 
 there to begin, where his office and charge beginneth. Which charge 
 lafteth not long, but untill the fcholer be made hable to go to the 
 Univerfitie, to procede in Logicke, Rhetoricke, and other kindcs of 
 learninge. 
 
 Yet, if my Schole-mafter, for love he beareth to his fcholer, fhall 
 teach him fomewhat for his furtherance, and better judgement in learn- 
 inge, * that may ferve him feven yeare after in the Univerfitie, he doth 
 his fcholer no more wrong, nor defer veth no worfe name thereby, than 
 he doth in London, who, felling filke or cloth unto his friend, doth 
 give him better meafure than either his promife or bargaine was. 
 
 Farewell in Ckrijl. 
 
 * Mr. Afcham feems in this place to oppofe ^intHian, and that with good reafon. " Tenuit 
 *' confuetudo, quas quotidie magis invalefcit, ut praeceptoribus eloquentiae, Latinis quidem 
 •' femper, fed etiam Graecis interim, difcipuli ferius quam ratio poflulat, traderentur. — — 
 *' Itaque quod eft maxime ridiculum, ron ante ad deciamandi magiftrum mittendus vide- 
 
 turpuer, quam declamare jam fciat. Nos fuum cuique prof effioni mod urn demus." Initio 
 libri fecundi. 
 
 The
 
 r 199 I 
 
 The FIRST BOOKE for the YOUTH. 
 
 AFTER the chllde hath learned perfitlie the eight partes of fpeach,, 
 let him then learne the right joyning togither of fubftantives with 
 adjectives, the nowne with the verbe, the relative with the antecedent. 
 And, in learninge further his fyntaxis, by mine advice, he fliall not ufe 
 the common order in common fcholes, for making of Latines : whereby 
 the childe commonly learneth, firfl, an evill choice of wordes, (and 
 •' * Right choice of wordes, faith Cafar, is the foundation of eloquence}") 
 then a wrong placing of wordes ; and, laftlie, an ill framing of the 
 fentence, with a perverfe judgement, both of wordes and fentences. 
 Thefe faultes, taking once roote in youth, be never, or hardlie, pluckt 
 away in age. Moreover, there is no one thing, that hath more, either Making of 
 dulled the wittes, or taken awaye the will of children from learninge, Latinesmar- 
 than the care they have to fatisfie their mafters in making of Latitjes, ^^^^^ ^^^^' 
 
 For the fcholer is commonlie beat for the makinge, when the maf- 
 ter were more worthie to be beat for the mending, or rather marring of 
 the fame : the mafter many times being as ignorant as the childe, what 
 to faie properlie and fitlie to the matter. 
 
 Two fcholemafters have fet forth in print, either of them a booke 
 of fuch kinde of Latines, -f- Horman and Whittingtoji %, A childe fliall 
 
 * Cutro de darn Orat. Se£i. 72. " Quinetiam in maxitnis occupationibus cum ad te 
 " ipfum (inquit ad me intuens) de ratione Latine loqueiidi accuratifTime fciipferit ; primoquc 
 " in Jibro dixerit, Verborum dekSium-, orig nem ejj',. tloqientla." 
 
 •f- Mr. IVtUlam Horman, born at Sal/bury, was fomctime matter of Eaton fchool. As to^ 
 bis performance, though it is here cenfured, and perliaps not ur.juftly, as of little ufe to 
 promote learning; yet it is highly recommended by that learned gentleman, Mr. Robert- 
 Jldrich of Eaton, (whom Erajmus mentions with great refpeit) in a very long and eleganC. 
 epiftlci and Mr. Lily has exprcfleU his opinion of it in this following epigram : 
 
 jtufonlts ^rntis I'mguamfi qua i , et optas 
 
 Piiljd burbfri,: rlo'tius ^re loqui ; 
 Ho' opui Ihrmanni difas puc', u.'i/e munuSy 
 Et ve erum refer em au. ea diSia pairum. 
 See more of him in the fecond book. 
 
 % U'h'ittingt n was born at Lichfield, or n: ai it. He wrote many grammatical books^ which-. 
 Lilly % work drove out of the Lhools. He called himfclt Archipo.ta jin^lne. ** 
 
 learnc
 
 20O T II E W O R K S O F 
 
 'learne of the better of them, that, which an other daie, if he be 
 wife and come to judgement, he mull: be faine to unlearnc 
 againe. 
 
 There is a vvaie, touched in the* firft booke oi Cicero d'f Or^/o/v, whicli, 
 vvifeJie brought into fcholes, truely taught, and conftantly ufed, would 
 not only take wholly away this butcherlie feai-e of making of Latino, 
 but would alfo, with eafe and pleafure, and in fliort time, as I know 
 by good experience, worke a true choice and placing of wordes, a 
 right ordering of fentences, an eafy underflanding of thetonge, a readi- 
 nefie to fpeake, a facilitie to write, a true judgement, both of hisowne, 
 and other mens doinges, what tonge foever he doth ufe. 
 
 The wale is this. After the three concordances learned, as I touched 
 before, let the mafter read unto him the Epiftles of Cicero, gathered 
 togither and chofen out by Sturmiui, for the capacitie of children. 
 
 The order Firfl, let him teach the chikle, cherefullle and plainlie, the caufe and 
 of teaching, j^^-^^^gj. ^^ j-he letter: then let him conftrue it into Etiglijhc (o oft, as 
 the childe may eafelie carrie awaie the underflanding of it: lafHie, 
 parfe it over perfitelie. This done thus, let the childe, by and by, both 
 conftrue and parfe it over againe : fo that it may appear, that the childe 
 doubteth in nothins; that his mafter tauchte him before. After this, 
 the childe muft take a paper booke, and, fitting in fome place, where 
 no man fliall prompe him, by himfelf, let him tranOate into Englijhe 
 Two paper his former leflbn. Then fhewing it to his mafter, let the mafter take 
 from him his Latin booke, and, paufmg an houre at the leaft, then let 
 the childe tranflate his own Ejiglijhe into Latine againe, in an other 
 paper booke. When the childe bringcth it, turned into Latin, the maf- 
 ter muft compare it with Tullies booke, and laie them both togither : 
 and where the childe doth well, cither in chofing, or true placing of 
 Tullies wordes, let the mafter praife him, and faie " Here ye do well." For, 
 
 * The paflage here referred to is inTu/Iy's firft book De Oratore. " Poftea mihi placuit, 
 *' coque fjtn ufus adolefcens, ut fummoruai oratorum Graecas orationes cxplicarem. Quibus 
 ♦' leclis hoc afllquebar, ut, cum ca, qux Icgerem Graece, Laiinc rcdderem, non folum op- 
 " timis verbis merer, & tamcn ufitatis, fed etiam cxprimcrcm qua;dam verba imitandoo 
 *' quae nova noflris efl'ent, dummodo eflent idonea." 
 
 I 
 
 bookcs.
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 201 
 
 I aflure you, there is no fuch whetftone, to fliaipen a good witte, and children 
 
 encourage a will to iearninge, as is praife. ■ Itame by 
 
 praifc. 
 
 But if the childe miffe, either in forgetting a worde, or in chaunging 
 a good with a vvorfe, or mifordering the fentence, I would not have 
 the mafter either frowne or chide with him, if the childe have done his 
 diligence, and ufed no trowandHiip therein. For I know, by good ex- GentlenelTe 
 perience, that a childe fliall take more profit of two faultes gentlie '" teaching, 
 warned of, than of four thinges rightlie hitte. For then the mailer 
 fhall have good occafion to faie unto him, 'Tul/ie would have ufed 
 fuch a wottde, not this : T'uIIie would have placed this worde here, not 
 there : would have ufed this cafe, t!iis number, this perlbn, tliis degree, 
 this gender: he would have ufed this moode, this tenfe, this fimple, 
 rather than this compound: this adverbe here, not there: he would 
 have ended the fentence with this verbe, not with that nowne or par- 
 ticiple, &c. 
 
 In thefe few lines I have wrapped up the moft tedious part of Gram- 
 mar, and alfo the ground of almoft all the rules that are fo bufilie 
 taught by the mafter, and fo hardlie learned by the fcholer, in all com- 
 mon fcholesj which, after this fort, the mafter fhall teach without all 
 error, and the fcholer fliall learne without great paine, the mafler 
 being led by fo fure a guide, and the fcholer being brought into foplaine 
 and eafy a waie. And therefore we do not contemne rules, but we 
 gladlie teache rules; and teach them more plainlie, fenfiblic, and or^ 
 derlie, than they be commonlie taught in common fcholes. P"or when 
 the mafler fhall compare T'ullies booke with his fcholers tranflation, let 
 the mafler, at the firfl, lead and teach his fcholer 'to joine the rules 
 of his grammar booke with the examples of his prefent leflbn, untill 
 the fcholer, by himfclfe, be able to fetch out of his grammar every 
 rule for every example ; fo as the grammar booke be ever in the fcho- 
 lers hand, and alfo ufed of him as a didlionarie for every prefent ufe. 
 This is a lively ai:;d perfite waie of teaching of rules; where the com- 
 mon waie, ufed in common fcholes, to read the grammar alone by it- 
 felfe, is tedious for the mafler, liard for the fcholer, colde and uncom- 
 fortable for them both. 
 
 Dd Let
 
 202 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 Let your fcholer be never afraid to aflc you any doubt, but ufe dif- 
 cretelie the beft allurementes ye can, to encourage him to the fame, left 
 his over much fearinge of you drive him to feeke fome miforderlis fliifte ; 
 as to feeke to be helped by fome other booke, or to be prompted by fome 
 other fcholer, and fo go about to beguile you much, and himfelfe 
 more. 
 
 With this waie, of good underftanding the matter, plaine conftru- 
 inge, diligent parfinge, dailie tranflatinge, cheerfull admonilliinge, and 
 heedefull amendinge of faultes ; never leaving behinde jufte praife for 
 well doinge, I would have the fcholer brought up withall, till he had 
 red and tranllated over the firft booke of Epiftles chofen out by Sturmius^ 
 with a good piece of a comedie of Terence alfo. 
 
 Latin fpeak- All this while, by mine advife, the childe fliall ufe to fpeake no La- 
 inge. tin: for, as Cicero faith in like mater, with like wordes, Loquendo^ 
 
 G Budsus. ^'^^^ %"^" d^fi^"^- And that excellent learned man, ^ G. Buda^us, in his 
 Greeke commentaries, fore complaineth, that, when he began to learnethe 
 Latin tonge, ufe of I'peaking Latifi at the table, and elfewhere, unadvif- 
 edlie, did bring him to fuch an evill choice of wordes, to fuch a crooked 
 framing of fentences, that no one thing did hurte or hinder him more, 
 all the days of his life afterward, both for readinefle in fpeaking, and 
 alfo good judgement in writinge. 
 
 In very deede, if children were brought up in fuch a houfe -f-, or fuch 
 a fchole, where the Latin tonge were properlie and perfitlie fpoken, 
 as Tiberius and Caiui Graccbi were brought up, in their mother Cornelias 
 
 * *' Id Laurentio (Valla) non aliis accidit, quam ex prava loquentium confuetudine, 
 *' quibus aut legcndis aut audLendis Lnviii errcuis contagionem contraKimus, fimul ex fermone 
 " extemporali ct negleiTto, cui inter familiares aflutfcimus, prjcfcrtiin purs Latinitatis ig- 
 '* naros : Qua noxa fit inturdum, ut qusedam imprudentibus excida't; id quod aliquando 
 ♦' expcrti fumus in A^tographis noftris, ita ut flagitiolbe culpae nos perpuderct." Budaui. ■ 
 
 •t " Magni intereft, quos qulTiiue audiat quotidie domi, qiiibufcum loquatur a puero; 
 " quemadmodum paires, p.i'dag<5i;i, matrcs etiam Icquantur. Ltgimus cpifiolas Corneliae, 
 •^ matris Gracchorum ; Apparct filios non tam in gremio educa.os, quam in iermonc ma- 
 " tris." Clc. de clariiOrat. And again in the fan:e book: " Fuit Gracchus diiigentia 
 " L'grnclise aiatxis a puero dodus, & GfaeciB literis eruditus." 
 
 houfe.
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 203 
 
 houfe, furelie then the daihe ufe of fpeakmge were the beft and readicfl: 
 waie to learne the Latin tonge. But now, commonhe, in the bell; fcholes 
 in England, for wordes, right choice is fmallie regarded, true propriety 
 wholly negle61:ed, confufion is brought in, barbaroufnefle is bied up 
 fo in young wittes, as afterward they be, not onehe mai'red for fpeak- 
 inge, but aifo corrupted in judgement : as with much adoe, or never 
 at all, they be brought to right frame againe. 
 
 Yet all men covet to have their children fpeake Latin : and fo do I 
 verie earneftlie too. We bothe have one purpofe : we agree in defire, 
 we wifhe one end, but we differ fomewhat in order and waie, that 
 leadeth rightlie to that end. Other would have tiiem fpeake * at all ad- 
 ventures; and, fo they be fpeakinge, to fpeake, the mafter careth not, 
 the fcholer knoweth not, what. This is, to feeme, and not to bej ex- 
 cepte it be, to be bolde without fhamc, raflie without Ikill, full of 
 wordes without witte. I wifhe to have them fpeake fo, as it may well 
 appeare, that the braine doth governe the tongue, and that reafon 
 leadeth forth the taulke. -j- Socrates do<?trine is true in Plato, and well 
 marked, and truely uttered by Horace in Ai-te Poetica, that, wherefo- 
 ever knowledge doth accompanie the witte, there beft utterance doth Much writ- 
 alwaies awaite upon the tongue. For good underftanding mufl firfl: be '"S brcedeth 
 bred in the childe, which, being nourilhed with fkill and ufe of writ- \^„ ^ ^'^^ 
 inge (as I will teach more largelie hereafter) is the onlie waie to bringe 
 
 * Here it is plain, Mr. Afcham had Tully in his view. " Plerique in hoc vocem modo, 
 " neque earn fcienter, & vires exercent fuas, & lingu:e celeritatcm incitant, verborumquc 
 " frequentia deledtantur. In quo fallit eos, quod audierent, D'unido homines, ut dicuni^ejfficert 
 '■^ pUre. Vere enim etiam illud dicitur, Pirverfe dicere, homines pervcrfe dicendo, facihime 
 " co'ifequi. Quamobreni in iflis ipfis exercitationibus, etfi utile eft, etiam fubito fxpe dicere, 
 " tamen illud utilius, (umpto fpatio ad cogitandum, paratius atque accuratius dicere. Ca- 
 " put autcm eft, quod (ut verc dicam) niinime facimus (cfl: eiiini magni laboris, qucm 
 *' plerique fugimus) quam plurimum fcribere." Ciiero de Oral, 
 
 + Plato in Phaedro : T«j Je 0|«.«io'T>i]a;; a/It (Jirj'xOojWti/, oVi •a■a^7a;^5 o Tr^v ctXnSsiai/ sliui, 
 x;t>.Xir« iTTiValai {ueiVitfiK. Idem in Phadone : 'Av>ip £Vl^«'/x£^@J, srsp] m fViVoIai £';^«i oit 
 SHvM Xoyot/, ri 5 ; tloKXri dvdyxn {iipr,) w £wxf oltf. I his dodrine of Socrates here menti- 
 oned, Crajfus fcems modellly to contradiiSl, in Tu//y's firft book De Oratore, calling it rarhcr 
 probable, than true. " Atque illud eft probabilius, iiequc tamcn verum, quod Socrates 
 " dicere folebat, Omnes in eo qmdfcirent, fatis tjfe eloquentes." The vcrles in Horace, whicU 
 he commends, are well known : 
 
 Scrihmdi reffe, fapere fji (sf principium, isf fans. 
 
 Rem tibi Socratica poterunt o/iendere charta : 
 
 I'trl/aque provijam rem non invito Jequentur, 
 
 D d 2 him
 
 204 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 liim to judgement and readineffe in fpeakinge: and that in farre fliort- 
 cr time (if he followe conftantlie the * trade of this lefTon) than lie Ihall 
 do, by common teachinge of tlie common fcholcs in England. 
 
 But, to go forv^ard, as you perceive your fcholer to goc better and 
 better on awaie, firft, with underftanding his leflbn more quicklie, with 
 parfing more readiUe, with tranflating more fpedelie and perfitHe then 
 he was wonte ; after, give him longer leflbns to tranflate, and, withall, 
 begin to teach him, both in nownes and verbes, what is Proprium, and 
 what is Trarjlatum ; what Synonymunu, what Di-vcrftim ; which be Con- 
 traria, and which be moft notable Phrafes in all liis lc>5ture. As, 
 
 _. . r Rex fepultus ell 
 
 Proprmm. < -' '^ .^ ^ 
 
 •* {_ magnijice. 
 
 Cum iUoprincipc, 
 Tranftatum. \ Jipulta ejl et gloria, 
 et Jalus reipublicce. 
 
 r Bnfn, gladius 
 
 \ y J ' 1 T .nuA/irp ■hro'i 
 
 Dherfa. 
 
 (_ Laudare, pradicarc, 
 
 f % Diligere, amare. 
 
 "{ Calere, exardifcere, 
 
 t. Inimicus, hojlis. 
 
 ^ , . f Acerb iwi et lu6iuofum bellum. 
 
 Lontraria. ■< t^ , ■ , 
 
 L Diilcis et lata pax. 
 
 •Du r ^ Dare "jerba. 
 
 Phrafes. -{ n .,■■ , ,• • 
 
 L Ij Abjicere obedienttam.. 
 
 * Trade is praiJice. *• 
 
 ■)■ Synsnyma are very rare in any language. Laudart is fimpiy t» pra'ife, pra^carty tO' 
 
 praiji publickly. ** 
 
 J " Quis erat, qui putaret ad eum amorem, quern erga te habebam, pofTe aliquid acce- 
 ♦' dere r Tantum tamcn acceflit, ut mihi nunc denique amare viJear, antea dilexifTe.'' Cicero 
 ad Dclabellam. Videtur Scaligero diligere a deligendo diftum, quod tanquam initium 
 fit amandi. 
 
 If This is Tully'i expreflion ; which I therefore mention, becaufe I have known fomc 
 queftion the authority of it. Cic. lib. \. Ojfftc. " Rclinquunt enim, & abjiciunt obedientiam, 
 * nee ratione parent." And near the end of the fame book; " Non ilia omnia relinquat, 
 *' atquc abjiciat ?" The ailufion feems to ba^jl/cldier quitting his poji^ andiafling away bii arrm, 
 
 Mjecii chpeum, kcoque tnctus 
 
 Neiiit, qua valeat trahi, catenam. Boctius, 
 
 Yo«r
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 205 
 
 Your fcholer then muft have the thu'd paper booke: in the which, -j-j^^ ^i^l^j 
 after he hath done his double tranflation, let him write, after this fort, paper booke. 
 four of thefe forenamed fix, diligentlie marked out of every lellbn. 
 
 Propria, 
 'Tranjlata, 
 -, ^ j Synofiyma, 
 
 I Diverja, 
 
 K 
 
 Contraria, 
 Phrafes. 
 
 Or elfe three, or two, if there be no moe : and, if there be none of 
 thefe at all in fome ledlure, yet not omitte the order, but write thefe : 
 
 r Diverfa nulla, 
 
 L Contraria nulla, &c. 
 
 This diligent tranflating, joined with this heedefull marking, in the 
 forefaid epiftles, and afterwarde in fome plaine oration of Tullie, as 
 Pro lege Manil. Pro Archia Poeta, or in thofe * three ^i C.G?/. fhall 
 worke fuch a right choice of wordes, fo flreight a framing of Senten- 
 ces, fuch a true judgement, both to write fl<ilfullic, and fpeake wittelie, 
 as wife men fliall both praife and niarvell at. 
 
 If your fcholer do mifle fometimes, in marking rightlie thefe fore- GcntlenefTe 
 faid fix thinges, chide not haftelie, for that fhall both dull his witte, '" t^^^*^'"g' 
 and difcorage his diligence, but monifh him gentelie ; which fliall 
 make him both willing to amende, and glad to go forward in love and 
 hope of learning. 
 
 I have now wiflied twifc or thrife this gentle nature to be in a fchole- 
 mafter : and tjiat I have done fo, neither by chance, nor without fome 
 reafon, 1 will now declare at large, why, in mine opinion, love is Love. 
 
 * There are but two Orations properly arf C. Cafarem, viz. fro ^Ligar'to, Uf rege Dejotaro : 
 the third is eafily underftooJ to be that pro M. Marcdio, 
 
 fitter 
 4»
 
 «o6 
 
 Fecre. 
 
 Coinmon 
 
 fcholc-. 
 
 Sharpe 
 ifcholemaf- 
 .tcrs. 
 
 "Nature pu- 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 filter than feare, gcntlcnclle better than bcathig, to bring up a chllde 
 righthe in learning. 
 
 With the common ufe of teaching and beating in common fcholes 
 of England, I will not greatlie contend; which, if I did, it were but a 
 fmall grammatical controverfie, neither belonging to herefie nor treafon, 
 nor greatly touching God nor the Prince; although in very decde, in 
 the end, the good or ill bringing up of children doth as much ferve 
 to the good or ill fervice of God, our Prince, and our whole countrie, 
 as any one thing doth befide. 
 
 I do gladlie agree with all good fcholemafters in thefe pointes; to 
 Jiave children brought to good perfitncHc in learning, to all honeftie 
 in manners, to have all faultes rightlie amended, to have everie vice 
 feverelie corrected; but for the order and waie that leadeth rightlie to 
 thefe pointes, we fomewhat differ. For commonlie many fcholemaf- 
 tcrs, fome as I have feen, moe as I have heard tell, be of fo crooked a 
 nature, as, when they meete with a harde witted fcholer, they rather 
 breakc him than bowe him, rather marre him than mend him. For 
 when the fcholemafl:er is angrie with fome other matter, then will he 
 foneft faul to beate his fcholer ; and though he himfelfe fliould be pu- 
 ni filed for his folic, yet muft he beat fome fcholer for his plcafurc, 
 though there be no caufe for him to do fo, nor yet fault in the fcho- 
 ler to dcferve fo. Thefe, ye will fay, be fond fcholemaffers, and fewe 
 -they be that be found to be fuch. They be fond indeede, but furelie 
 over many fuch be found everie where. But this will I fay, that even 
 the wifefl of your great beaters, do as oft punifh nature, as they do cor- 
 rede faultes. Yea, many times, the better nature is fore punifhed; 
 for, if one, by quicknefle of wittc, take his lefibn rcadelie, an other, 
 by hardneUe of witte, taketh it not fo fpedelie, the firfl is alwaies com- 
 mended, the other is commonlie puniflicd ; when a wife fcholemafter, 
 fliould rather difcretlie confider the right difpofition of both their na- 
 tures, and not fo much weigh what either of them is able to do now, 
 as what citiicr of them is likelie to do hereafter. For this I know, not 
 onlie by reading of bookcs in my fludie, but alfo by experience of life 
 abrode in the world, that thofe, which be commonlie the wifefl, the 
 
 beft
 
 ROGERASCHAM, 207 
 
 beft learned, and befl men alio, when they be okle *, were never com- Qu'tke 
 
 wittes fo 
 learniiiM. 
 
 monlie the quickefl: of witte, when they were yonge. The caufes why, j^'"" °'^ 
 
 amongft other, which be many, that move me thus to thinke, be thefe 
 fewe which I will reckon. Quicke wittes conimonlie be apte to take, 
 unapte to keepe : -f- foone bote and defirous of this and that, as colde, and 
 fone wery of the fame againe; more quicke to enter fp^delie, than hable 
 to pearfe farre ; even like over-fliarpe tooles, whofe edges be verie 
 foone turned. Such wittes delite themfelves in eafie and pleafant ftudies, 
 and never palTe forward in hie and hard fciences. And therefore the 
 quicketl: wittes commonlie may prove the belt poetes, but not the wifeft 
 orators: readie of tongue to fpeake boldlie, not deep of judgement, ei- 
 ther for good counfell or wife writing. Alfo for manners and life, quicke Qyicke 
 wittes commonhe be, in defue new fangled, in purpofe unconftant, lieht ^"""^ ^"'" , 
 
 . - ° 1-1 II n ' ^ manners an J 
 
 to promife any thmg, ready to forget every thmg, both benente and in- life. 
 jurie: and thereby neither faft to frend, nor fearfuU to foe: inqui- 
 fitive of eveiy trifle, not fecret in greatefl affaires; bokle, with any perlon, 
 bufie in every matter ; fothing fuch as be prefent, nipping any that is 
 abfent ; of nature alfo, alvvais flattering their betters, envying their 
 equals, defpifing their inferiors ; and, by quickneffe of witte, verie 
 quicke and readie to like none fo well as themfelves. 
 
 Moreover, commonlie, men verie quicke of witte be alfo verie light 
 of :{: conditions ; and, thereby, very readie of difpofition, to be carried 
 over quicklie by any light companie, to any riot and unthriftinefle when 
 they be yonge, and therefore feldome either honeft of life, or riche in 
 living, when they be olde. For quicke in witte, and light in manners, 
 be either feldome troubled, or veiie foon wery, in carying a verie hevie 
 purfe. Quicke wittes alfo be, in moft part of all their doinges, over 
 quicke, haftie, rafhc, headie, and brain-ficke.- Thefe two lafl: wordes, 
 Headie and Erain-ficke, be fitte and proper wordes, rihng naturally of 
 the matter, and tearmed aptlie by the condition of over much quick- 
 
 * This was remarkably the charjtStcr of Calo t}}i Younger, as he is defcribcd by Pluiarch,. 
 See bis Life. 
 
 f Thus Ari/htl-., moft admirably dcfcribing the nature of youth : V.iy.i\x^o\ot- JJ, kJ 
 Ux'p^i -apis Tit? ETrifiuut'a? k) (T^oSpa, f/.iv t7r»6ujLt?(ri, t«j^u it tsocuoHm. o^uxi yocf ul 
 Atj'ffiif, <cj «' f*!}'«Aa», us'TTto ul T'SJn xauv6'^(i>ii Ji'4/ai k^ srcTtxi. Rhet, 2. cap, 12. 
 
 X C««v////tfni are q^ualities of n)iiid, temper, difpofition. ** 
 
 nefl^
 
 2oS T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 neile of witte. In youthe alfo they be rcadie fcoffers, piivie mockers, 
 and ever over light and mery ; in age fone teftie, very vvafpiflie, and 
 alwaies over miferable. And yet fevve of them come to any gieate age, 
 by reafon of their mifordered life when they were yongc, but a great 
 dcale fewer of them come to ihewe any great countenance, or beare any 
 great authoritie abrode in the world, but cither live obfcureiy, men 
 know not how, or dye obfcureiy, men maike not when. 
 
 They be like trees, I that fliewe forth faire blofToms and broad leaves in 
 Spring time, but bring out fmall and not long lading fruit in Harvell 
 time; and that only fuch as fall and rotte before they be ripe, and fo ne- 
 ver, or feldome, come to any good at all. For this ye Ihall finde moft 
 true by experience, that, amongeft a number of quicke wittes in youthe, 
 fewe be found, in the end, either verie fortunate for themfelves, or verie 
 profitable to ferve the common wealth, but decay and vanilh, men know 
 not which way, except a very few, to whom, pcradventure, blood and iiap- 
 py parentage may perchance purchafe along itanding upon the llage. The 
 which felicity, becaufe it cometh by others procuring, not by their owne 
 defervinge, and ftand by other mens feete, and not by their own, 
 what owtward brag foever is borne by them, is indeed, of itfelfe, and 
 in wife mens eyes, of no great cftimation. 
 
 Some fcien- Some wittes, moderate enough by nature, be many times marde by 
 ceshurtmens over much ftudie and ufe of Ibme fciences, namelie, muficke, arith- 
 wittes, and lyjetjcke, and geometric. Thefe fciences, as they fliarpen mens wittes 
 
 marre mens ' ^ ■ ^■' . '^ 
 
 maancrs. over much, fo they change mens manners over lore, if they be not mo- 
 derately mingled, and wifely applied to fome good ufe of life. Marke 
 Mathemati- ai[ * mathematical hcades, which be only and wholy bent to thole 
 fciences, how folitary they be themfelves, how unfit to live with others, 
 and how unapte to ferve in the world. This is not onelie knowen 
 now by common experience, but uttered long before by wife mens 
 Galen, judgement and fentence. Galcne fayth, much mufick marreth mens 
 Plato. manners : and Plato hath a notable place of the fame thing in his bookes 
 De Rep. well marked alio, and excellentlie tranflated by Tiillie himfelf. 
 
 \ " IlIuJ ingeniorum velut pra?cox genus, non tcmcre unquam pervcnit ad frugem." ^uint, 
 lib. I. " Non enim poteft in co efle fuccus diuturnus, quod nimis celeriter eft m'aturita- 
 " tern afll'Cutum." Cicero de Orat. lib. I. 
 
 * This cenfure of mathematicians is confirmed by 5w//>, in Guliiver's Travels. ** 
 
 Of
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 209 
 
 Of this matter I wrote once more at large, twenty yeare ago, in my 
 * booke of Shootwge : now I thought but to touch it, to prove, that over 
 much quickneffe of witte, either given by nature, or fliarpened by flu- 
 die, doth not commonlie bring forth, eyther greateft learning, beft 
 maners, or happieft life in the end. 
 
 Contrariewife, a witte in youth that is not over dulle, heavie, jf^ard wittes 
 knottie and lumpiflie, but hard, tough, and though fomewhat fl:af-'"''^""'"o' 
 fifhe, (as T'ulh'e wiflieth, otium, quietum non languidiwi : and ?tegotium cum 
 laborey non cum pericuh) fuch a witte, I fay, if it be, at the firfl, well 
 handled by the mother, and rightlie fmothed and wrought as it fliould, 
 not overwartlie, and againfl the wood, by the fcholemafter, both for 
 learning and hole courfe of living, proveth alwaies the beft. In woode 
 and ftone, not the fofteft, but hardeft, be alwaies apteft for portraiture, 
 both faireft for pleafure, and moft durable for profit. Hard wittes be 
 hard to receive, but fure to keepe; painfull without wearienefTe, hede- 
 fuil without wavering, conftant without newfanglenefle ; bearing 
 heavie thinges, though not lightlie, yet willinglie; entring hard thinges, 
 though not eafelie yet depelie ; and fo come to that perfitnefle of learn- 
 ing in the ende, that quicke wittes feeme in hope, but do not in dede, 
 or elfe vcrie feldome, ever attaine unto. Alfo, for manners and life, hard Hard wittes 
 wittes, commonlie, are hardlie caried, either to defire everie new thine, '" manners 
 
 ® 1 1 f 
 
 or elfe to marvt'U at every ftrange thinge: and therefore tliey be carefull^" ^ ^' 
 and diligent in their own matters, not curious and bufey in other 
 mens aftaircs, and fo they become wife themftlves, and alfo are counted 
 honeft by others. They be grave, ftedfaft, filent of tong, fcciet of hart. 
 Not haftie in making, but conftant in keping any promife. Not raihe 
 in uttering, but ware in confidering every matter : and thereby, not 
 quicke in fpeaking, but deepe of judgement, whether they write or give 
 counfell in all weightie aftairs. And theis be the men that become, iit 
 the end, both moft happie for themfelves, and alwaifc beft eftemed 
 abrode in the world. 
 
 I have bene longer in defcriblng the nature, the good, or ill fucceffe, 
 of the quicke and hard witte, than perchance fome will tiiinkc this place 
 and matter doth require. But my purpofe was hereby plainlie to uttir, 
 
 * Sec page 72. 
 
 E e what
 
 2 10 
 
 THE WORKS O F 
 
 Thebefl what injuiie is offered to all learninge, and to the common wealtlx 
 wittes dri- jjij-Q e^^a bv the fond father in chofiiig, but chieflie by the lewd * fchole- 
 
 ven from ^-t- ,.•• ii^^ c i 
 
 Jcarnvng to mafter in beatmg and dnvnig away the belt natures from learninge. 
 
 other livyng. ^ childe that is ftill, filent, conftant, and fomewhat hard of witte, is 
 either never chofen by the father to be made a fcholer, or clfe, when he 
 Cometh to the fchole, he is fmally regarded, little looked unto, he lack- 
 eth teaching, he lackcth coraging, he lacketh all thinges, onelie he ne- 
 ver lacketh beating, nor any word that may move him to hate learn- 
 inge, nor any deed that may drive him from learninge, or any other 
 kinde of living. 
 
 Hard wittes And when tliis fadde natured, and hard witted childe is bette from 
 
 ever^ k^nd'" ^^^ booke, and becommeth after, eyther ftudent of the common lawe, 
 
 •f life. or page in the court, or ferving man, or bound prentice to a merchant, 
 
 or to fome handiecrafte, he proveth, in the ende, wifer, happier, and 
 
 many times honefter too, than many of theis quicke wittes do by their. 
 
 learninge. 
 
 Learninge is both hindred and injured to, by the ill choice of them: 
 that fend young fcholers to the univerfities ; of whom mufl nedes come 
 all oure divines, lawyers, and phyficians^ 
 
 TheiU 
 choice of 
 wittes for 
 learninge. 
 
 Thefe young fcholers be chofen commonlie -f- as young apples be cho- 
 fen by children, in a faire garden about St. James tyde : a childe will 
 chofe a fweeting, becaufe it is prefentlie faire and pleafant, and refufe 
 a runnet, becaufe it is then greene, hard and fowre, when the one, if 
 it be eaten, doth breed both wormes and ill humours : the other, if 
 it ftand his tyme, be ordered and kept as it ftiould, is holfome of it- 
 felf, and helpeth to the good digeftion of other meates: fweetinges 
 
 * A^pctlrif, qui fibi ipfe cum nequeat Imperarc, incontinentes ftatim alteri injicit manus. 
 
 f »♦ Iia eft, inquit Accius, uti dicis. Neque id fane me pcenitet : meliora enim fore fpcro,. 
 "* quae deinceps fcribam. Nam quod in pomis eft, itidem, inquit, cfTe aiunt in ingeniis : 
 " quae dura et acerba nafcuntur, poft fiunt mitia & jucunda. Sed qua gignuntur ftatim vieta 
 " ct mollia, atque in principio funt urida, non matura mox fiunt, fed putria. , Relinquen- 
 " dum ijitur vifum eft in ingenio, q.uod dies atque aetas mitficet." yf. GeU'iMS, lib. i j. 
 tap. Z. 
 
 will
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M; «ii 
 
 will receive wormes, rotte, and dye on the tree, and never, or feldome, 
 come to the gathering for good and lafting ftore. 
 
 For verie greafe of herte I will not applic the fimilitude : but here- 
 by is piainlie feen, how learning is robbed of her beft wittes, firft, by 
 the greate beating, and after by the ill chofing of fcholers to go to the 
 univerfities : whereof commeth, partlie, that lewde and fpitefuU pro- 
 verbe, founding to the greate hurte of learning, and fliame of learn- 
 ed men, that " the greateft clerkes be not the wifeft men." 
 
 And though I, in all this difcourfe, feem piainlie to prefer hard and 
 rough wittes before quicke and light wittes, both for learning and 
 manners, yet am I not ignorant that fome quicknefie of witte is a An- 
 gular gift of God, and fo moft rare amonges men j and namelie, fuch' 
 a witte as is quicke without lightnefle, fliarp without brittlenefle, de- 
 firous of good thinges without new fangleneffe, diligent in painfull 
 thinges without werifomneffe, and conftant in good will to do all thinges 
 well ; as I know was in Sir "John Chcke, and is in fome that yet live, 
 in whom all thefe faire qualities of wiite are fullie mette together. 
 
 But it is notable and trewe, that Socrates fayth in Plato to his frende piato in 
 Thado, that " * that number of men is feweft, which farre excede, Ph«<Jone. . 
 " either in good or ill, in wifedom or folie; but the meane betwixt ^^^'^ g°o^» 
 " both be the greateft number:" which he proveth trewe in diverfe men, be few- 
 other thinges ; as in grey houndes, amonges v/hich fewe are found ex-eftinnum- 
 ceding greate, or exceding little, exceding fwift, or exceding Howe. And 
 therefore, fpeaking of quick and hard wittes, I meant the common num- 
 ber of quick and hard wittes ; amonges the which, for the moft parte, the 
 hard witte proveth manie times the better learned, wifcr and honeftcr man : 
 and therefore do I the more lament that fuch wittes commonly be eyther 
 kepte from learning by fond fathers, or bet from learninge by lewdfe 
 fcholemafters. 
 
 * P/iJ/o's words are thefe : aurwy «i/ ^yn<rxilo, ri(uti/ %p»iri(f xj zrovn^^i ^ipoS^x oxiym 
 
 f7vai i-Atxli^sV t»j S\ /xsla^u, wAfi'rxf. Ylui hiyaq ; r]v S' iyio. "iia-rrt^ (n i"o() zyipi twd 
 €(poo^cc fj.ixoojv jtj (i,iydxav, om ti (nromiurtpov Jivat, rj (r<p6Spoi, fjt^iyav r! orcpoSpx <ri/.i)ifiiV 
 i^[\>^t7v an^puTTOi ; ri x\lvx, n xXXo o]m; ^ au t»;^u\, r[ ^caSw ; » xosAoi', jf aiVjffoV, n 
 /^fuxoi', n jAiXxvoc ; H mx rSo-Gnirai, on xnoivliAiv twi/ toik'twk to, /x(k aHex raf iV^^aTo.'^, cirxvix 
 ^ ix'yx, rx Si fAtlxj^v, a(p9oi/« k, tsoXXoi. ^y a iniftake of nicmory , Crito was twice men- 
 tioned by Mr. Aj\.ham inftead of Phccdo. 
 
 E e 2 And,
 
 2ia T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 Horfcmcn And, fpcaking thus much of the wittcs of children for learning, 
 
 know'ied'e *-'^ opportunitie of the place, and goodncHe of the matter, might re- 
 
 ofagod quire to have here declared the mod fpeciall notes of a good witte for 
 
 coltc than ig^j.^ing in a childe ; after the manner and cuftom of a good horfeman, 
 
 Icholemal- . , ■ - ,, i i i - - 
 
 ters be in who IS IkiltuU to Kuow, and hable to tell others, how, by certam lure 
 knowledge fignes, a man may choife a colte, that is like to prove an other day ex- 
 wiuc?°° cellcnt for the faddle. And it is pitie, that coinmonlie more care is had, 
 
 yea, and that amonges verie wife men, to find out rather a cunnynge 
 A good rider ^^^ f^j. ^.j^g^. j-jorfe, than a cunnynge man for their children. They 
 warded than fay nay in worde, but they do fo in dcede. For, to the one they will 
 a good gladlie give a ftipend of 200 crotmes by yeare, and loth to offer to 
 fcholemaf- ^j^^ ^^j^^^. ^ ^^^ fliiUinges. God, that fitteth in heaven, laugheth their 
 Horfe well choicc to Ikornc, and rewardeth their liberalitie as it Ihould; for he {i\£~ 
 ^wvd"' ... fereth them to have tame, and well ordered horfe, but wilde and un- 
 taught, fortunate children} and therefore, in the ende, they finde more ploa- 
 
 fure in their horfe then comforte in their children. 
 
 But concerning the trewe notes of the beft wittes for learning in a 
 
 childe, I will reporte, not mync own opinion, but the very judgement 
 
 of him that was counted the beft teacher and wifeft man that learning 
 
 Pl»to in 7. maketh mention of, and that is Socrates in Plaio -f, who expreffeth or- 
 
 de Rep. derlie thefe feven plaine notes, to chofe a good witte in a childe for 
 
 learninge. 
 
 I. Ey^u^.. 
 
 * Has inter fumptus, ffjhrtia ^int'diario 
 Ut mitlium, duo fufficient : ns nulla minoris 
 Conftabit patii, quum fiiius. Juven. Sat. 7. 
 
 To thefe we Ihall fubjoin the verfes of Crates the philofophcr, mentioned by Laertius : 
 Ti'Sfi nAaffi'fiw juvaj JiV, Ixr^u i^x)(jj.-nv, 
 
 IIopv*l TaiX«i/1o^, (piXovd^j ToiwooAoD. 
 
 f It may not be amifs, to prefent the reader with the whole paflage ouit of Ph.to, though 
 fomewhat long ; fmce not only the notes, and charafters themfclves, but the explanation of 
 them, are in Ibme mcafurc thence taken by our author. 
 
 Api,<*UTriT«, i5 (^axa'pif, (f^riK) Si7 avToTi Trpo; ra [AX^nfJiXTX Cttocc^hv, xai ju.»i ^ocXcirui 
 ("Aai/fiavfiv. TroXu ya.'p toi f-ciXXov aVoJtiXiwa"! iJa;;^*! tv iVj^vpoK f/.x(lriiji.a(Tn/, ri Iv yvfxvavton. 
 • ixfioTffi©' yaf) auTocT; irai/^, tii^, ocX^ x xoivof uti fxiTu t« a-ujjLCCT©'. 'A\n()n, f(p»l. 
 Kai fMiiu-ovoc it, H; xxpxTOV, xxl TraxT* (piXoirnoi/ ^titjiteok. v tji/i reeVu o'lt roi re tv (ra- 
 /w.aT^ i^OraiiJ T»va diaTroy(7v, j^ roTd'oTt" /^ta'fllff'ii' t{ x«1 fnOiTiw IihtiXm; OlSvix, r J'"of, 
 itct ni Te»\iTXTr'cc(nv ij f J^vti'f . 
 
 Ti
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 21, 
 
 1. Eu(p.^V. 5- <I"XW«?- Trewenotc. 
 
 2. Mfijjitwv. 6. Z?;T»;T»';^^of. of a good 
 
 3. <PiXoi4,x9y]g. y. ^tXsTroiivog. wifte. 
 
 And becaufe I write Englijhe, and to Etiglijbetnen, I will plainlie de- 
 clare, in Englijl.^e, both what thefe wordes of Flato meane, and how 
 aptlie they be linked, and how orderlie they follow one another. 
 
 Is he, that is apte by goodnefTe of witte, and appliable by readi- Witte. 
 
 nefle of will, to learning, having all other qualities of the minde wiii. 
 
 and partes of the bodie, that muft an other day ferve learning ; not 
 
 trobled, mangled, and halfed, but founde, whole, full, and hable to 
 
 do their office: as, a toung not flamering, or over hardlie drawinff-r-u 
 
 r 1 It 1 • J J- 11-1 • /- . . , ^ The toung. 
 
 forth wordes, but plaine and redieto deliver the meannig of the minde; 
 
 a voice not fofte, weake, piping, womaniflie, but audible, ftronge, The voice. 
 
 and manlike ; a countenance not weriflie and crabbed, but faire and 
 
 comelie ; a perfonage not wretched and deformed, but taule and good- ^^'^^■ 
 
 lie : for furelie, * a comlie countenance, with a goodlie ftature, geveth LeaniinT 
 
 credit to learning, and authoritie to the perfon ; otherwife, commonlie, joyned witb 
 
 either open contempte, or privie disfavour doth hurte, or hinder, both 
 
 a comiie 
 perfonage. 
 
 To yiv vuc a,i/.y.fxrt}j.oi. (/iw ^ Ij/u) xoci »' xniMoi, ^tXo(To^iX Six TauT« 7reo<ririTr\u)tev ( o xai 
 
 TTfOTtflOV ItTTOf/.tl') OTt i HUT U^lxH X\JTr,i XTrloMTXl. Oj yXp Vo'9iif iSn XTrllhxi, XXXx yv»l(7l'i(f. 
 
 Tlui ', E^"' O/JMTWV //.h/, UTTov, ^(\o7rona X p^oiAoi* ie7 £ii/xt roi/ «i|/o,<*£Doi/. tx [aIi/ riuiirex 
 (piXitrovov ovTx, rd St riiMirix, onrovov. Er» Si tkt9, oTaK Tif ^iXoyjiAUxrri? fj-lv, xj fiAo'9»)- 
 ((^ n, tat'i ■a!x\fTx to. Six tk o-w'juaTi^ ^iXonoi/vi. (piXoy.a^ri; Si fji-n, f^y)Si tpiXi^xo^^, [xriSi 
 ^»)1)l1i>co?. «AA' sv wairi riroK |u,i(ro7rovJi. j^wAof Si, it, o txvxvIix tvtis (Ailx^iQ\niiui rriv 
 
 tplXOTTOMlXV. 
 
 The reader will obferve, the lad note ^lAETraiui^ is not here cxprefled ; and I queftion very 
 much, whether there be any fuch word in the Greei language. In this fenft;, ipiAoTj|U©* is 
 generally ufed J as in J:^/?c/'/j. fpeaking of Cyrus, ipiA0jU.a8tV«T«c li, ^uAoIi/^ioTisilof ; and in ano- 
 ther place, o^af i'? ipiAo'Ti|Uof £4-i> "tj iXiv^i^i^ : or elfe a Periphrafis, as itrxiv^ £p«f>?f,- 
 ifiyojJ^if©^, iipu'/xfkof, or fomc fueh like. 
 
 * Th[iS Xnophon \n h\s Injiituiion o( C)rus, defigning rather, as 7a//y fuppofes, a model 
 of a jufi: and complete government, than a true relation of things performed, has dcfcribed 
 his pnnce with all thefe happy endowments both of mind and body. 
 
 $i)fai Si KUf'^ Xiyilat, >C, ciSslxi in xj vZv uVo ruv ^x^Qxouv, iTSoi //.iv x«AAir©J. 
 \L\jyy\v Si tpiXxv^puTTOTOci^, k, (piXofAx^iToPiOi; x^ (fiXorii/.oral'^, uci uccvra /j-iv zrovov xvotlxn- 
 ,^1, -sraVIa Si nivSvi/ov vTrofAiTuxt t5 £7raii/£?(r6ai ivmx. And again in the fame book: "Ert oi 
 xai Six TO ipiAopafirf? tii/xi, tz'oXXx y-tif auVof ».'(» T»f -csx^cvlxi mvi^utx, o-wf 'i^ovlx wyVolMty 
 X., iV* WUTOJ i/7r' xXXuv i^utuito, Six tiJ ccf^mni itvxi, tx^'j oiTrjxjiviio. . 
 
 perfon
 
 21^ THEWORKSOF 
 
 perfon and learning. And even as * a faire ftone requheth to be fette 
 ill the fined gold, with the beft workmanfliip, or elfe it lefeth much of 
 the grace and price, even fo excellencye in learning, and namely divi- 
 nitie, joined with a comelie perfonage, is a mer\^elous jewell in the 
 world. And how can a curalie bodie be better employed, than to ferve 
 the fairelt exercife of Goddes greateft gifte, and that is learning. But 
 commonlie the faireft bodies are beftowed on the fouled purpofes. I 
 would it were not fo ; and with examples herein, I will not medle : 
 vet I wiflie, that thofc fhould both mynde it and medle with it, which 
 ila^«e moil occafion to looke to it, as good and wife fathers fhould do ; 
 and greated authoritie to amend it, as good and wife magidrates ought 
 to do : and yet I will not let openlie to lament the unfortunate cafe 
 of learning herein. 
 
 Deformed For, if a father have four fonnes, three falre and well formed, both 
 
 creatures nivndc and bodie, the fourth wretched, lame, and deformed, 4- his choice 
 
 commonlie -' , n ^ • 111 
 
 fet to learn- fhall be, to put the word to learnmg, as one good enough to become 
 
 '"S* a fcholer. I have fpent the mod parte of my life in the univerfitie, and 
 
 therefore I can bear good witnefle that many fathers commonlie do 
 
 thus : whereof I have hard many wife, learned, and as good men 
 
 as ever I knew, make great and oft complainte. A good horfeman will 
 
 chofe no fuch colte, neither for his own, nor yet for his maders fadle. 
 
 And thus much of the fird note. 
 
 2. MvTti^uVf 
 
 Memorie. Good of memorie : a fpeciall parte of the fird note tvp/rg, and a 
 mere benefite of nature ; yet it is fo ncceflarie for learning, as P/ato 
 maketh it a feparate and perfite note of itfelfe, and that fo principal a 
 note, as, without it, all other giftes of nature do fmall fervice to learn- 
 
 • J^ttoA maniiS addunt ebni decus,, aut vbi fiavo 
 Argtntum^ Pariufve lapis circumdatur auro. Virgil. lib. i. v. 596. 
 
 + The fame complaint we have in Ludov. Fivei, in his book De tradendls dijciplini!, 
 •' Quidam, quo nihil eft magis ridiculum, ineptos mercaturae aut militis, aut aliis civilibui 
 " muniis, ad fcholas mittunt, atquc initiari jubent ; quodque eft grande nefas, Deo facrant 
 ** foetum defpicati/fimum atque inutiliflimum ; et putant ad xes tantas fatis habiturum judicij 
 * ac mentij, qui ad minimas et Icviflimaa non habet." 
 
 H' 
 4
 
 I 
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 215 
 
 irtg. y^f ramus, * that olde Latin poete, makcth Meraorie the nu»th«r of 
 learning and wifdome, faying thus: Aul. Gel. 
 
 U/iis me genuity mater peperit Memorla. 
 
 And though it be the mere gift of nature, yet is memorie well pre- 
 served by ufe, and much encreafed by order, as our fcholer mufl: learne 
 an other day in the univerfitie : but, in a childe, a good memorie is Three fure 
 well known by three properties : that is, if it be quicke in receyving, fignes of a 
 fiare in keping, and redie in delivering forthe againe. ^°° memo- 
 
 Given to love learning: for though a chiW have all the giftes of na- 
 ture at wiflie, and perfection of memorie at will, yet if he have not a 
 Ipeciall love to learninge, he fliall never attain to much learning. And 
 therefore IfocrateSj-jf one of the nobleft fcholemafters that is in memorie 
 of learning, who taught Kinges and Princes, as Halicarna[[eui writeth -y. 
 and out of whofe fchole, as T^ullie faith, came forth % "^^ noble cap- 
 tanes, mo wife councelors, than did out of Epeius horfe at 'Troie: 
 This Ifocrates, I fay, did caufe to be written at the entrie of his 
 fchole, in golden letters, this golden fentence, || 'Eav ^j <ptXo[Atx.dvg, 'Un 
 
 * Aul. Gel!, lib. 13. cap. 8. Verfus Afranii funt in togata, cui Sells nomen eft : 
 Ufus me genuit, mater peperit Memorla : 
 Sophiam vacant me Graji, vos Sapient iam, 
 
 ■f Dionyfius in his treatife of the ancient Greek orators, gives us this great charafler of 
 
 Tfocrates. ETTKpxvirix.r©' ii yivofAcv^ ruv Hxloc tou ocvtov oi><-'J.a,<rdC\uv ^^ovov, x^ rtif x^anrs? 
 
 TfcjK 'A9n'v«(ri' T£ K^ h T« aAAtj EAAa'Ji v/ai/ Vroctitua-xi. . K«i rJi? ^A^nvoltuv ■sroMw; uy-oix 
 
 •STOiriiTai tw txvris Sj^oAri/ Kara t«J awotKixi tuv \dyuv. 
 
 And fo eminent for learning and wifdom were his fcholars, that, as Dionyftus informs us, 
 Hennippus thought fit to write their hiftory : otb; 'la-oxpatTijj jAot^riTcii avaj^fajv!-*; "Efi'-'-i'nrc;. 
 
 % " Ecce tibi exortus eft ^rra/w, magifter iftorum omnium, cujus e ludo, tanquam ex 
 *' equo Trojano, innumeri principes exierunt : fed eorum partim in pompa, partim in acie 
 " iliuftres e/Tc voluerunt." Cic, de Orat. Jib. 2. Virg. Et ipfe doli fabricator Epeui. 
 "Ittttoi; ixpccTcoi. Hence I fhall take occafion to corre£t a verfe, which we meet with in ^- 
 pha/iitn, pag- 60. 
 
 AspahuT £p »7rxu kxtx fxiv ppifji.vy.tvoi. 
 So I read it, inftead of Ax'^aTo? iV tip I'TrTru, which Lucretius thus expreifcs : 
 A^*^ dam durateus Trrjdi Perfama partu 
 Inflammajfet equus no£Iurnt> Grajugenamm. 
 
 I This fentence is lilcewife in his Partenefn to Diiiwmut,
 
 2i6 THEWORKSOF 
 
 •aroXv/^a^; : which excellentlie faid in Greeke, is thus rudelie in Ettg' 
 lijhc, If thou lo'veji learning, thou Jl:alt attayne to much learning. 
 
 Is he that hath a luft to labor, and a will to take paines. For if 
 a childe have all the benefites of nature, with perfection of memoric, 
 love, like, and praife learning never fo much, yet if he be not of 
 himfelfe painfull, he Ihall never attayne unto it. And yet, where 
 love is prefent, labor is feldom abfent, and namelie in ftudie of learn- 
 ing, and matters of the niyixle: and therefore did Ifocrates rightlie 
 judge, that if his fcholcr were (piXof^aSr,?, he cared for no more. 
 Ariftotle, * varying from Ifocrates in private affaires of life, but agreeing 
 with Ifocrates in common judgement of learning, for love and labor in 
 learning, is of the fame opinion, uttered in thefe wordes, in his Rhe- 
 toricke <zi I'heodeSlen ; " -f- Libertie kindleth love; love refufech no la- 
 '' hour; andlabor obtayneth whatfoever it feeketh." And yet, never- 
 thelefle, goodnelle of nature may do litle good j perfeflion of me- 
 morie may ferve to fmall ufe ; all love may, be employed in vayne; 
 and labor may be fone gravaled, if a man truft alwaies to his own 
 fuigular witte, and will not be glad fometyme to heare, take advife, 
 and learnc of an other : and therefore doth Socrates very notablie adde 
 the fiftli note : 
 
 * This emulation between If-craies and Arijlitle, is mentioned by Tully more than once. 
 *' Ipfe Ariftoteles cum florere Ifocratem nobiiitate difcipulorum \ idertt, quod ipfe fuas dilpu- 
 « tationes acaufis forenfibus 5c civilibus ad inanem fermonis elegantiam tranftulrffct, mutavit 
 *' repente totam formam prope difciplinje fuae, vcrfumquc qucncam de Philo(£lcta paulo fecus 
 •' dixit. Hie enim turpe fibi ait efle tacere, cum barbaros ; hie autem, cum Ilocratem 
 " pateretur dicere." De Orat. lib. 3. 
 
 The Parody he ufed, though ingenious, was too fevere on fo great a man : 
 
 Inverting this vcrfe of Euripides, 
 
 Ai(r%poi' (TtonrSv, jSajfajaf t' i£v Xeyuv, 
 
 You meet with the fame verfe in the third booic of ^uinti/ian, but not fo corre£l. In La- 
 trtiui it is, IfccxjaTJi J" lav xiyuii. 
 
 f See the beginning of the fecond book, whiere this pafTage out of Arijlotle is repeated. 
 
 4 5. <Pi\r,y.sog,
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 He that is glad to heare and learne of another. For, othervvife, he 
 fliall flicke with great treble, where he might go eafelie forwarder and 
 alfo catche hardlie a verie litle by his own toyle, when he might gather 
 quicklie a good deale, by another mans teaching. But now there be 
 fome that have great love to learning, good luft to labor, be willing to 
 leaine of others, yet, eyther of a fonde fliamefa fine fie, or elfe of a 
 proude folie, they dare not, or will not, go to learne of another : 
 and tiiei'efore doth Socrates wifelie adde the fixte note of a good witte 
 in a childe for learninge, and that is, 
 
 6. ZyiTrjTiKoi;, 
 He that is naturallie bolde to alke any queftion, defirous to fearche 
 out any doubte j not afliamed to learne of the meaneft, nor affraide to 
 go to the greateft, untill he be perfitlie taught, and fullie fatisfied. 
 The feventh and lafl: poynte is, 
 
 7. ^tXiTTUlVO;, 
 
 He that loveth to be praifed for well doing, at his father or mailers 
 hand. A childe of this nature will earneftlie love learninge, gladlie 
 labor for learninge, willinglie learne of other, boldlie alk any doubte. 
 
 And thus, by Socrates judgement, a good father, and a wife fchole- 
 maller, fliould chofc a childe to make a fcholer of, that hath, by nature, 
 the forefaid perfite qualities, and cumlie furniture, both of minde and 
 bodie: hath memorie, quicke to receyve, fure to kepe, and readie to 
 deliver ; hath love to learning ; hath luft to labor ; hath defire to learn* 
 of others ; hath boldnefle to alke any qucftion ; hath minde holie 
 bent to wynne praife by well doing. 
 
 The two firft pointes be fpeciallbenefites of nature ; which, neverthe- 
 lefTe, be well preferved, and much encreafed by good order. But, as 
 for the five laft, love, labor, gladnelTe to learne of others, boldnefle to 
 afke doubtes, and will to wynne praife, be wonne and maintcned by 
 the onclic wifedome and difcrction of the fcholemaftcr. Which five 
 poyntes, whether a fcholemaftcr fliall worke foner in a childe by fear- 
 full beating, or curtefc handling, you that be wife, judge. 
 
 F f Yet 
 
 217
 
 2i8 T H E \V O R K S O !• 
 
 Yet fome men, wife in decde, but, in this matter, more by fcveritic 
 of nature than any wifedomc at all, do laugh at us, when we thus 
 wilhe and reafon, that young children fhould rather be allured to 
 learning by jentlenelTe and love, than compelled to learning by beating 
 and fcare: they fay " our reafons ferve onlie to breede forth taulke, and 
 " palTe awaie time, but we never faw good fcholcmafters do fo, nor ne- 
 " ver red of wife men that thought fo." 
 
 Yes, forfothe : as wife as they be, either in other mens opinions, or 
 in their own conceite; I will bring the contrarie judgement of him, 
 who, they themfelves fhall confefle, was as wife as they are, or elfe they 
 may be juftlie thought to have fmall witte at all ; and that is Socrates,. 
 Plato in 7. whofe judgement in Plato is plainlie this, in thefc wordes ; which, be- 
 ^^' caufe they be verie notable, I will recite them in his own toung;- 
 * Ovllv fx,cc9ii;f^K {/.(joi douXe«af tov iXiv9efov xfV [^oci/Gxyiiv. 0; [/.iv yap tou (ru[/,KTOg 
 •TTOvot Qi'cc. Trovovf^Bvoiy %erpoi' ovaev ro (Tui^a, a.TTi^ya.[^ovrcx.i' ^'^X''} " ^lociov oiiSev 
 i[zi/.evov fixSrjixce,. In E ng I ijjji' ihus ; " No learning ought to be learned with 
 " bondage : for bodily labours, wrought by compuifion, hurt not the 
 " bodie ; but any learning learned by compuifion, taricth not long in 
 " the mynde," And why? For whatfoever the mynde doth learne un- 
 willinglie with feare, the fame it doth quicklie forget without care. 
 And left proude wittes, that love not to be contraryed, but have luft to 
 wrangle and trifle away troth, will fay, that Socrates meaneth not this 
 of childrens teaching, but of fome other higher karninge ; hear 
 what Socrates, in the fame place, doth more plainlie fay: M?? roivw £/a, 
 u a^ire, TOV? TTu'ida.g iv to7; fioiSi^fictcriv, dxXcc rrxi^ovTug Tpe(pe' That is tO fav ;. 
 " And therefore, my deare friend, bryng not up your children in learn- 
 " inge by compuifion and feare, but by playing and plcafure." And 
 
 '^adin^'^f ^°" ^'^^^ ^^^ ^^^^' ^''^^° ^^ y^ fliold, do well perceyvc, that thefe be no 
 Plato! ° qucftions alked by Socrates as doubtes, but they be fentences, firft affirm- 
 ed by Socrates, as mere trothes, and after given forth by Socrates as 
 right rules ; moft neceflarie to be marked, and fitte to be folowcd of all 
 them, that would have children taughte as they fhould. And, in this 
 counfell, judgement, and authority of Socrates, I will repofe myfelfe, 
 untill I meete with a man of the contrarie mynde, whom I may jufilie 
 
 * Sec the prefacCk . 
 
 take
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 219 
 
 take to be wifer than I thinke Socrates was. Fonde fcholcmafters nei- Yongejen- 
 ther can underftand, nor will folow, this good counlell of Socrates; hi\t^^^^^^^^^ 
 wife ryders, in their office, can, and will do both ; which is the onelie taught to 
 caufe, that commonlie the yong jentlemen of England go fo unwilling- ''^'^^''^'J^'"" 
 lie to fchole, and run fo fall: to the ftable : for, in very deede, fond than to * 
 fcholemafters, by feare, do beate into them the hatred of learning; and'^^''"^ ^7 
 wife ryders, by jentle allurementes, do breed up in them the love of f°|^[^^"f. 
 ryding. They finde feare and bondage in fcholes, they feele libertieand ters. 
 freedome in ftables j which caufeth them utterlic to abhorre the one, 
 and moft gladlie to haunt the other. And I do not write this, that, in 
 exhorting to the one, I would dilTuade yonge jentlemen from the other ; 
 yea I am forry, with all my harte, that they be given no more to ryd- 
 ing than they be ; for, of all outward qualities, to ride fa ire is moft Ryding. 
 cumlie for himfelfe, moft neccflarie for his countrie ; and the greater 
 he is in blood, the greater is his praife, the more he doth excede all 
 other therein. It was one of the three excellent praifes amongeft the 
 noble jentlemen, the old Perfians; " Alwaife to fay troth, to ride faire, 
 " and fliote well :" and fo it was engraven -f upon Darius tumbe, as Strabo ly, 
 Strabo beareth witneftc : 
 
 Darius the King lieth buried heare. 
 Who in ryding and jhoting had never peare. 
 
 But to our purpofe : yonge men, by any meanes leefing the love 
 of learning, when by tyme they cum to their ownerule, they carie com- 
 monlie from the fchole with them, a perpetuall hatred of their mafter, 
 and a continual contempt of learninge. If ten jentlemen be afked, 
 Why they forgot fo fone in court, that which they were learning fo long 
 in fchole ? eight of them, or let me be blamed, will laie the fault on 
 their ill handling by their fcholemafters. 
 
 Cufpinian doth report, that that noble Emperour Maxitnilian would 
 lament verie oft his || misfortune herein. Yet 
 
 + This infcription is twice mentioned in his Toxophllus : Sirabo's words are thefe : Mf/xmlai 
 J' 'C*»i(n'xjaIof kJ to etti tk Axpein raipw ypiic[AiJ.ix. roSc 
 
 i>l AOi riu -roit (fiXoic iTTTriuf ^ rc^OTVt a'f ifof iyinofAnv, avvnyuu ixpxTisv, iroiilx ■ai>n~i 
 
 II This is the paflage he alludes to in Cufpinian. " Ubi habilis per aetatem ad literas addif- 
 " cendas fuit, magiftro Petro, qui poftea Novs Civitatis Antiftcs crat, traditus, aliquot an- 
 
 F f 2 " nit
 
 220 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 Paftimc. Yet fomc will fay, that children, of nature, love paftime, and mif- 
 Lcarnyng. like learning ; becaufe, in their kinde, the one is eafie and plcafant, 
 the other hard and werifome. Which is an opinion not lb true, as fome 
 men weene. For, the matter lieth not fo much in the difpofition of 
 them that be yong, as in the order and maner of bringing up, by 
 them that be old ; nor yet in the ditference of learninge and pailime. 
 For, beate a child if he daunce not well, and cherifh him though he 
 learne not well, ye fhall have him unwilling to go to daunce, and glad 
 to go to his booke : knocke him alwaies when he draweth his fhafte ill, 
 and favour him againe though he fault at his booke, ye (hall have him 
 verie loth to be in the field, and verie willing to be in the fchole. Yea, 
 I I'aie more, and not of myfelfe, but by the judgement of thofe, from 
 whom few wife men will gladlie diflent; that it ever the nature of man 
 be given at any time, more than other, to receive goodnefTe, it is in 
 innocencie of yonge yeares, before that experience of evill have taken 
 roote in him. For the pure cleane witte of a fweete yonge babe is like 
 the newert w^ax, moft hable to receive the beft and faireft printing j 
 and, like a new bright lilver diflie never occupied, to receive, and kepe 
 cleane, any good thyng that is put into it. 
 
 children. 
 
 Will and And thus will in children, wlfelie wrought withall, maie eafelie be 
 YL"*^ '" ^^°" ^° ^^ vtnt well willing to learne. " And witte in children, by na- 
 " ture, namclie memorie, * the onely keie and keper of all learning, is 
 " readieft to receive, and fureft to kepe anie maner of tiling that is learn - 
 
 " nis cum nobilium quorundam filiis contubcrnalibus Latinas didicit literas. Sed cum ejus 
 •* praeceptor folis DialetSticis argutis do£<us, Sophifmata illi inculcare veilet, ad qusecapeflen- 
 «< da aptus non erat, faepius atrociter verhcratus ab eo, magis ipfe verberandus, (cum verbera 
 " fervos deceant, non liberos) tandem cfFccit, ut literas magis odio haberct, quam diligeret. 
 " Quod tamen prsecipiium ell'e debet addifcenti literas, quemadmodum omnes docent boni 
 *' prscccptores. 
 
 " Audivi ex ore divi Maximiliani hoc vcrbum, quod nunquam e memoria mea excidet, 
 '• quod jam Romanorum rex fad\us, in menfa, ut folebatde variis loqui, mult s abftantibus, 
 " dixerat. 5/', inquit, hodie praceptor 7neus viverel Petru;, quariquam multa praceptonlus de- 
 " beamus, effiarem, ut fe in/lituijfe me paeniteret. ^wm mulia enm bonis praceptoribus^ qui 
 " re^le inJJituunt pueros, dcbitnus, tain multii plagis Junt onerandi itidoiii pa-dagogi, qui preti- 
 " cfjfimum atatis tempus pcrdunt, bf la dxent^ qua dedifccre multo labore ntceJJ'e ejl." 
 
 ♦ " Quid dicam de thefauro rerum omnium Memoria, qure nifi cuftos inventis, cogitaiifque 
 ** rebus, & verbis adhibeatur, intelligimus omnia, ctiamfi prsclariflima fuerint, in oiatore 
 •*■ pcritura ?" Ctc. dt Oral, lib. i. 
 
 " ed
 
 R O G E I^' A S C H A M. 221 
 
 " ed in youth." This, lewdeand learned, by common experience, know 
 to be moft trewe. For we remember nothyng lb well when we be olcle, 
 as thofe thinges which we learned when we were yonge : And this is 
 not ftraunge, but common in all natures workes. Every man fees (as Yonge yean 
 I fayd before) new wax is bell: for printing; new claie fitteit for work- ^P'^^^ for 
 ing; new lliorn woU apteft for fone and fureft dying; new frefli flelh ^^^'^''^"°* 
 for good and durable falting. And this hmilitude is not rude, nor bor- 
 rowed of the larder-houle, but out of his fchole-houfe, of whom the 
 wifell of England nede not be alhamed to learne. Yonge graftes grow 
 not onlie foneft, but alfo faireft, and bring always forth the beft and 
 fweetell: fruite ; yonge whelpes learne eafdie to carie ; yonge popingeis 
 learne qiiicklie to fpeake : and io, to be fliort, if in all other thinges, 
 though they lacke reafon, fens, and life, the fimilitude of youth is 
 fittell to all goodnelle; furelie nature, in mankinde, is moll beneficiall 
 and efFecluall in this behalfe. 
 
 Therefore, if to the goodneffe of nature be joyned the wifedome of 
 the teacher, in leading yonge wiltes into a right and plain way of learn- 
 ing, furelie children, kept up in Gods feare, and governed by his grace, 
 male moft eafilie be brought well to ferve God and thcyr contrey, both 
 by vertue and wifedome. 
 
 But if will and witte, by farder age, be once allured from inno- 
 cencie, delited in vaine fightes, filled with foull taulke, crooked with 
 wilfulnelfe, hardened with ftubburnefle, and let loufe to difobcdience ; 
 furelie it is hard with jentlenelTe, but unpolTible with fevere crucltie, to 
 call them backe to good frame againe. For where the one, perchance, 
 maie bend it, the other fliall furelie breake it ; and fo, infteade of 
 fome hope, leave an aflurcd defperation, and *£liamele(re contempt of all 
 goodnefle ; the fardeft pointe in all mifchief, as Zenophon doth moft trew- 
 
 Zcn. r. 
 
 lie and moft wittelie marke. Cyri Pcd 
 
 * This is the pafTage, I fuppofc : "E-mv^xi Js SoY.t7 (Ua'Xij-* t« d^xcifla, ri »vcn(r)(vv\lK. K(*»' 
 
 Therefore,
 
 ZZ2 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 Therefore, to love or to hate, to like or contemne, to pile this waie 
 or that waie, to good or to bad, ye fliall have as ye ufe a childe in his 
 youth. 
 
 And one example, whether love or feare doth worke more in a childe 
 for vertue and learninge, I will gladlie report ; which male be hard 
 with fome plealure, and folowed with more profit. Before I went into 
 Germanie, -j- 1 came to Brodegate in Leicejierjl.nre, to take my leave of that 
 r J T noble Lady Jane Grey, to whom I was exceeding much beholdinge. Her 
 Grey. parentes, the Duke and the Duches, with all the houlhould, gentlemen 
 
 and gentlewomen, were hunting in the parke. I found her in her 
 chamber, readinge Phcedon Platonis in Greeke, and that with as much 
 delite, as fome jcntlemen would read a merie tale in Bocafe. After falu- 
 tation, and devvtie done, with fome other taulke, I alked her, why fhe 
 would leefe fuch paftimc in the parke ? Smiling, flie anfwered me j "I 
 " wilTc, all their fport in the parke is but a fhadoe to that pleafure that 
 " I find in Plato. Alas ! good foike, they never felt what trewe plea- 
 " fure mcnt." " And how^e came you, Madame, quoth I, to this 
 " deepe knowledge of pleafure ? And what did chieflie allure you unto 
 " it, feeinge not many women, but verie fewe men, have attained 
 " thereunto." " I will tell you, quoth flie, and tell you a truth, which 
 " perchance ye will marvell at. One of the greatell benefites that ever 
 " God gave me, is, that he fent me fo fliarpe and fevere parentes, and 
 *' fo jentle a fcholemafler. For when I am in prefence eyther of father 
 " or mother ; whether I fpcake, kepe filence, " fit, fland, or go, eate, 
 " drinke, be merie, or fad, be fowyng, playing, dauncing, or doing 
 " anie thing elfe, I muft do it, as it were, in fuch weight, meafure, 
 " and number, even fo pcrfitche as God made the world, or clfe I am 
 
 "I" This difcourfe with this excellent lady, he thus exprefles in a letter to his friend Sturmlus. 
 " Hac fupcriorea-ftatc, cum amicos mcos in agro Eboracenfi vifcrem, & inde literis 'Joannis 
 " Chcc'i in Aulam, ut hue proficifcercr, accitus fum, in via deflexi Leiceftriam, ubi Jara 
 •' Graja cum patrc habitaret. Statim admifTus fum in cubiculum : inveni nobilem puellam, 
 " Dii boni ! legentcm Gra-cc Phaedonem Platonis ; quern fic intelligit, ut mihi ipfi fummam 
 " admirationem injiccrct. Sic loquitur, & fcribit Grxcu, ut vera referent! vix fides adhiberi 
 " poflit. Na(3a eft 'pixcc'ciOTi.m'Joanntm Elnuium, utiiufque lingux valde peritum ; prop- 
 *' ter humanitatem, prudcntiam, ufum, redlam rcligionem, & alia mulca re<3iflimae amicitix 
 *' vincula, mihi conjundliOimum."
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M, 2*3 
 
 '* fo fharplie taunted, fo cruellie threatened, yea prefentlic, ibmetimes, 
 •^ with pinches, nippes, and bobbcs, and other waies, which I will not 
 " name for the honor I bear them, fo without meafure mifordered, that 
 '* I thincke myfelfe in hell, till time come that I muftgo to iVTr. Elmer; 
 " who teacheth me fo jentlie, fo pleafantlie, with fuch fair allurementes 
 " to learninge, that I thinke all the time nothing whiles I am with 
 " him. And when I am called from him, I fall on weeping, becaufe 
 " whatfoever I do els, but learninge, is full of grief, trouble, feare, 
 " and whole mifliking unto rtie. And thus my booke hath been fo 
 " much my pleafure, and bringeth dayly to me more pleafure and 
 " more, that, in refped of it, all other pleafures, in very deede, be 
 " but trifles and troubles unto me." 
 
 I remember this taulk gladly, both becaufe it is fo worthie of memorle, 
 and becaufe alfo it was the laft taulke that ever I had, and the laft 
 tyme that ever I faw that noble and wortiiie ladie. 
 
 I could be over long, both in fliewinge Juft caufes, and in recitinge 
 ti^ewe. examples, why learning fliould be taught rather by love than 
 feare. He that would fee a perfite difcourfe of it, let him read that 
 learned treatile which my friende Joan. Sturmius wrote, De Injlitutionc inmt!"princ! 
 Principis^ to the Duke of C/eves. 
 
 The gotllie counfels of Sclomon and JeJIis the fonne of Sirach, for Qui parcit 
 fiiarpe keping in, and bridlinge of youthe, are ment rather for fatherlie rl''^^' °'^" 
 correction, than mafterlie beating ; rather for maners, than for learn- 
 inge ; for other places, than for fcholes. For God forbid, but all evill 
 touches, wantonnes, lyinge, pickinge, llouthe, will, flubbornnefle, and 
 difobedience, fhould be, with Iharpe chaflifement, daily cut away. 
 
 This difcipline was well known, and diligentlie ufed, among the 
 Grecians and old Romanes ; as doth appeare in Ariftophancs, Ifocrates, 
 and Plato^ and alfo in the comedies of Plautus ; where we fee that chil- 
 dren were under the rule of three perfones, Praceptore, Padagogo, ^' '*''^^"'^* 
 Parente. The fcholemafter taught him learninge with all jcntlenefle ; the 2. Govc'r- 
 govcrnour corre6led his maners with much fliarpnefle : the father """"■• 
 
 heia^-'"'"'
 
 224- T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 held the fteine of his whole obedience. And fo, he that ufed to teachc, 
 did not commonlie ufe to beate, but remitted that over to another 
 mans charge. But what fhall we faie, when now, in our dayes, the 
 fcholem after is ufed both for Praceptor in Icarninge, and Padagogus in 
 inaners. Surely I would he fliould not confound their offices, but dif- 
 cretelie ufe the dewtie of both; fo that neither ill touches fliould be left 
 unpuniftied, nor jentlenefle in teachinge anie wife omitted. And he 
 fhall well do both, if wifelie he do appointe diverfitie of time, and fe- 
 perate place, for either purpofe ; ufmg alwaies fuch difcrete modera- 
 
 The fchole-tion, as the fchole-houfe ihould be counted a fancluarie againft feare; 
 
 koufc. ai-j(j verie well learninge, a common pardon for ill doing, if the fault 
 of itfclfe be not over heinous. 
 
 And thus the children, kept up in Gods feare, and preferved by his 
 grace, finding paine in all ill doing, and pleafure in well ftudying, Ihold 
 eafelie be brought to honeftie of life, and perfitnefle of learning ; the 
 onlie marke, that good and wife fathers do wilhe and labour, that 
 their children fliold moft bufilie and carefuUie fliot at. 
 
 Youth of There- is another difcommoditie befides crueltie in fcholemafters in 
 
 Englande beating away the love of learning from children ; which hindreth learn- 
 
 \vith°too"'' ^"S^ ^'^^^ vertue, and good bringing up of youth, and namelie young 
 
 muchlibeitiejentlemen, verie much in Englande. This fault is clcane contrary to the 
 
 firft:. I wilhed before, to have love of learning bred up in children : 
 
 I wiflie as much now, to have young men brought up in good order of 
 
 living, and in fome more fevere difciplinc, than commonlie they be. 
 
 We have lacke in Enghwde of fuch good order, as the old noble Perfi- 
 
 ans fo carefuUie lifed j whofe children, to the age of twenty-one yeares, 
 
 Xen. I. were brought up in learning, and exercifes of labor) * and that in fuch 
 
 C>^ri Ped. place, where they fliold neither fee that was uncumlie, nor hear that 
 
 was unhoneft. Yea, a yong jentleman was never free to go where he 
 
 would, and do what he Hfte himfelf ; but under the kepe, and by the 
 
 *"'Erii' aJrorf 'E^.rjSfja 'A)/oea JtaXs^at'K*!, ti/fia rd ri ^uvlxnx iC, t<z xWot, do^iToc uivoiri- 
 T«». iiiTt\>9iu T» (/.(v ((.HO!, xx\ 01 oiyextit K.) ai tb'twi' (pui/xt, Xj cnrsiponxXixi aVfAriAairai tU 
 fc^^ol' TOTToi/ ut |i*i y-iyvvriTKi n tk'twv TVB^n T>i Tcoi' ■anro.iSivu.ivui' (\iKo<ry.ix. I fee no dift'crence 
 between this college in Pvfta, and one here in England, excepting that theirs was joined to 
 the court, and fo was more ia the eye of their fujperiors and chitf magiftratcs. 
 
 counfcll,
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 225 
 
 counfell, of fome grave governour, until he was either married, or 
 called to bear fome office in the common-wealth. 
 
 And fee the great obedience that was ufed in old time to fathers and 
 governours. No fonne, were he never fo olde of years, never fo great 
 of birth, though he were a kinges fonne, might not marry, but by his 
 fathers and mothers alfo confent. Cyrus the Great, after he had con- 
 quered Babylon, and fubdewcd riche king Craj'us, with whole Afia-mitior, 
 cummyng tryumphantlie home, his uncle Cyaxeris offered him his 
 daughter to wife. Cyrus thanked his uncle, and praifcd the maide ; but 
 for marriage, he anfwered him with thies wife and fweete wordes, as 
 they be uttered by Xenophon ; 'Axx\ u Kua^a'p??, to, ts ytv^ Ivottvu, j^ Xen. 8. 
 Tyjv srctT^x, >^ ouftx. (3iiXo[x,oii Si, iiprj, (ruv tv tS •araxpoV •yvuiA.ri k, t^ t^j [/,ij- ^^^^ ^ *"• 
 Tpog TccvTce. crot (rvvai/ea-ui, &c. That is to fay, " Uncle Cyaxeris, I com- 
 " mend the ftocke, I like the maide, and I allow well the dowrie, but ^ 
 " (fayth he) by the counfell and confent of my father and mother, I 
 " will determine farther of thies matters." 
 
 Strong Sam/on alfo in Scripture faw a maide that liked him ; but he 
 fpake not to her, but went home to his father and his mother, and de- 
 fired * both father and mother to make the marriage for him. Doth 
 this modeftie, doth this obedience, that was in great king Cyrus, and 
 floute Samjbfi, remaine in our young men at this dale ? No furelie : for 
 we live not longer after them by tyme, than we live farre different 
 from them by good order. Our tyme is fo farre from that old dilci- 
 pline and obedience, as now, not onlie young jentlemen, but even ve- 
 rie girles dare, without all feare, though not without open fhame, 
 where they lift, and how they lift, marric themfelves in fpite of father, 
 
 * The fame dutiful regard Homer takes care to make AchilUi exprefs in his fpcech to the 
 legates fent by Agamemnon, Iliad. I. 393. 
 
 "Hk yip Sin (J-i (TOMfl"! S'Eoi, >^ oi'xao I'xw/xai, 
 ITjiAfJ; ^riv 1J1.H iTTiilx •yivxTnoi 'yxjj.i(y(ri]xi auKSf. 
 
 " Nam, ut niquit Grctius, fi in omnibus rebus filii reverciuiam parcntibus dcbent, certe pra:- 
 " cipue earn debent in co negotio, quod ad gentem tocam pertinet, quale funt nuptix." So 
 Hermicne in Euripides, though I think her character none of the bcl^, makes this reply to 
 Orejhs: 
 
 M£fiji*k«K £^n, XBX t'l'ASk xfiViiv Taj's, Andromache, v. 987. 
 
 G g mother,
 
 ^1 
 
 2 26 T H E \V O R K S O F 
 
 mother, God, good order, and all. The caufe of this evill is, that 
 youth is leail looked unto, when they fland moll neede of good kepe 
 and regaril. It availeth not, to fee them well taught in yong yeares, 
 and after when they come to luft and youthfuU dayes, to give them li- 
 cence to live as they luft themfelves. For if ye fuffer the eye of a yong 
 jentleman once to be entangled with vaine fightes, and the eare to be 
 corrupted with fond or filthie taulke, the mynde Ihall qu^icklie fall 
 fick, and fone vomit, and caft up all the holefome doctrine, that he 
 received in childhoode, though he were never fo well brought up be- 
 fore. And being ones inglutted with vanitie, he will ftreightway lothe 
 all learning, and all good counfell to the fame ; and the parentes, for 
 all their great coft and charge, reape onelie in the end the fruite of 
 grief and care. 
 
 Great mens fiij^ gviU is not common to poore men, as God will have it, but 
 brou'^ht up. proper to riche and great mens children, as they deferve it. Indecdc 
 from feven to feventeene, young jentlemen commonlie be carefullie 
 enough brought up; " but from feventeene to feven and twentie (* the 
 " moil dangerous tyme of all mans life, and moft flipperie to ftay 
 " well in) they have commonlie the reine of all licens in their owne 
 " hand, and efpeciallie foch as do live in the court." And that which 
 Wife men jg nioft to be marveled at, commonlie the wil'eft and alfo beft men, be 
 ■ found the fondeft fathers in this behalfc. And if fome good father 
 would leik fome remedie herein, yet the mother (if the houfe hold of 
 our lady) had rather, yea and will to, have her fonne cunnyng and 
 bold, in making him to live trimlic when he is young, than by learn- 
 ing and travell, to be able to ferve his prince and his countrie, both 
 wilelie in peace, and ftoutelie in warre, when he is old. 
 
 Meanemens The fault IS in vourfelves, ye noble mens fonnes, and therefore ye 
 to""reat°r! dcfervc the greater blame, that commonlie the meaner mens children 
 ihoritie. come to be the wifeil councillors, and greateft doers, in the weightie 
 affaires of this realmc. And why ? for God will have it fo of his pro- 
 vidence, bccaufe yc will have it no otherwife by your negligence. 
 
 * So fays Xenophon in his firft book of the Inftitution of Cyrus.: Aoxi? yd^ ot'irr, n d'Aixj* 
 
 And
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 227 
 
 And God is a good God, and wifefl: in all his doinges, that will 
 place vertue, and difplace vice, in thofe kingdomes where he doth go- 
 verne. " For he knoweth, that nobilitie without vertue and wifdomc, Nobilitic 
 " is bloud indeed, but bloud trewelie without bones and finewes; and^'^'^o"' ^'f- 
 " fo of it felfe, without the other, verie weake to beare the burden of °'"^' 
 " weightie affaires." 
 
 The greateft (hippe indeede commonlie carieth the greateft burden, 
 but yet alwayes with the greateft jeoperdie, not onlie for the perfons 
 and goodes committed unto it, but even for the lliippe itfelfe, except it 
 be governed with the greater wifdome. 
 
 But nobilitie, governed by learning and wifdome, is indeed, moft Nobilitie 
 like a faire fliippe, havyng tide and winde at will, under the ruele of a T^^ ^''" 
 ikilfull mafter : when contrariewife, a fliippe caried, yea with the hi- -^y-j. 
 eft tide and greateft winde, lacking a fkilfull mafter, moft commonlie wifdome. 
 doth either fink itfelfe upon fandes, or breake itfelfe upon rockes. And 
 even fo, how manie have been either drowned in vaine pleafure, or Vaine plea- 
 overwhelmed by ftout wilfulnefs, the hiftories oi England he able to'^^''^' ^"^ 
 affourde over many examples unto us. Therefore, ye great and no- ^tk, two 
 blemens children, if ye will have rightfullie that praife, and enjoie greateft ene- 
 furelie that place, which your fathers have, and elders had, and leftj^l^stonobi- 
 unto you, ye muft kepe it as they gat it ; and that is, by the onlie 
 vvaie of vertue, wifdome, and worthinefle. 
 
 For wifdome and virtue, there be manie faire examples in this court 
 for young jentlemen to follow ; but they be like faire markes in the 
 field, out of a mans reach, to far of to fliote at well. The beft and 
 worthieft men, indeede, be fometimes feen, but feldom taulked with- 
 all. A young jentleman may fometime knele to their perfon, but fmallie 
 ufe their companie for their better inftru6lion. 
 
 But young jentlemen are faine commonlie to do in the Court, as 
 young archers do in the field ; that is, take foch markes as be nie them, 
 although they be never fo foule to fliootc at : I meane, they be driven 111 companie 
 to kepe companie with the worfte: and what force ill companie hath '"^"^''^ 
 to corrupt good wittes, the wifeft men know beft. ^°" 
 
 G g 2 And
 
 228 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 The court And not ill coinpanie onlie, but the ill opinion alfo of the moft 
 worft'of theP'^''- ^^^^^ nioch liarme ; and namelic of thofc which fliold be wife in 
 beft natures the trcwc dccypliiing, of the good difpofition of nature, of comlinelle 
 in youth, jj^ couitlic manners, and all right doingcs of men. 
 
 But errour, and phantafic, do commonlic occupie the place of troth 
 and judgement. For, if a yong jentleman be demure and ilill of na- 
 ture, they fay he is fimple, and lacketh witte ; if he be baflifull, and 
 will foone bluflie, they call him a babiflie and ill brought up thynge; 
 Xen. 1. when Xefiophon dotli precifelie note in Cyrus, that " * his baflifulnefle in 
 Cjri Pacd. ^^ youth, was the verie trcwe figne of his vertue and floutnes after." 
 If he be innocent and ignorant of ill, they fay he is rude, and hath no 
 grace : fo ungraciouflie do fome gi aceleffe men mifufe the faire and 
 godlie word Grace ! 
 
 Thegracein But if ye would know what grace they meene, go and looke, and 
 learne amonges them, and ye fliall fee that it is, 
 
 court 
 
 Firft-, to blufli at nothing. " And blufhing in youth," fayth y^ri- 
 
 JJotle, -f- " is nothing elfe but feare to do ill :" which feare beyng once luf- 
 
 tely fraid away from youth, then foUoweth to dare do any mifchiefj to 
 
 Grace of contemne ftoutly any goodnefle ; to be bufie in every matter; to be fkil- 
 
 tourt. |-^j[j -^^ every thing ; to acknowledge no ignorance at all. To do thus 
 
 in court, is counted of fome the chief and greateft grace of all ; and 
 
 termed by the name of a vertue, called courage and boldneife ; when 
 
 Qc.de Orat. (7;.^^^^ ill C/Vrr& teacheth the cleane contrarie, and that mofl: wittelie, 
 
 ^■,. favins; thus ; Atidcre, aim bonis etiam rebus coniunSfum, per fcipfum eli 
 
 Boldnes,vea ' ^ r ■ , ,• i • ,• ^^ , i , . • . 
 
 in a good magnopcre fugiendum : which is to lay, " To be bold, yea in a good 
 matter, not cc njatter, is for itfelf greatlie to be efchewed." 
 
 to be praifed. 
 
 More grace Moreover, where the fwing goeth, there to follow, fawne, flatter, 
 of court. laugh, and lie lufttlie at otlier mens liking; to face, ftand fore molt, 
 
 * 'n? St TSMr.Kiii X^iiy©' auTon (Tuv tj ixiyiiti h? u?av t« zrco<rriSoii ycnio'ixi, iv t»tu 
 
 iCf i'cu9iaini9*t, oVoTf a-.j^-A'xa.voi Tor? zr^Krt'jli^oi;. 
 
 ■\ AtVp^-JvJi, fo'So; J'lKJu's -^lays. Ar'ijl. Magn. Aloral. Menandtr, 'Ejufioiicv Tr^f X^rsii 
 lOiM uoi So-AiH. Ttrtuce'i cxprellion is well known : Erubult : faha res tjh " 
 
 fhove
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 229 
 
 fliovebacke; and to the meaner man, or unknown In the court, to 
 
 feeme fomewhat foliime, coye, big, and dangerous of looke, taulk, and 
 
 anfwere : to think well of himfelfe, to be luftie in contemning of 
 
 others, to have fome trim grace in a privie mock : and in greater pre- 
 
 fens, to beare a brave looke ; to be warlike, though he never looked 
 
 enimie in the face in warre ; yet fome warlike figne muft be ufed, either 
 
 a flovinglie bulking, or an overftaring frounced hed, as though out of 
 
 everie haeres toppe fhould fuddenlie ftart out a good big othe, when 
 
 nede requireth. Yet, praifed be God, England hath at this time manie Men of 
 
 worthie captaines and good fouldiours ; which be indeede fo honeft of warre bed of 
 
 behaviour, fo cumlie of conditions, fo milde of maners, as they may ^°"<^'"°"'' 
 
 be examples of good order, to a good fort of others, which never came 
 
 in warre. 
 
 But to returne where I left : In place alfo to be able to raife taulke, 
 and make difcourfe of everie riflie ; to have a verie good will to hear 
 himfelfe fpeake ; to be feen in palmiftrie, whereby to conveie to chaft Palmiflrie. 
 eares, fome fond or filthie taulke. And if fome St}2ithfield ruffian take 
 up fome flrange going, fome new mowing with the mouth, fome 
 wrinching with the flioulders, fome brave proverbe, fome frefh new 
 othe, that is not ftale, but will rin round in the mouth ; fome new 
 difguifed garment, or defperate hat, fond in facion, or gaurifli in co- 
 lour, whatfoever it cofl-, how fmall foever his living be, by what fliift 
 foever it be gotten, gotten muft it be, and ufed with the firft, or elfe 
 the grace of it is ftale and gone. Some part of this graceleffe grace 
 was difcribed by me in a little rude vejile long ago. 
 
 To Iciughe, to lie, to flatter, to face; 
 
 Voure ivaies in court to ivin men griice. : 
 
 Jf thou be thrall to none of tbiefc, 
 
 Aivay good Peekgooje, hem yohn Cheefe. 
 
 Marke ivell my word, and inarke their dedcy. 
 
 And thinke this verfe part of thy crede- 
 
 Would to God this taulke were not trcvve, and that Ibme mens do- 
 ings were not thus. I write not to hurtc any, but to proht fome ; to ac- 
 cufe none, but to monifli foch who, allured by ill counfell, and folovv- 
 
 inir
 
 2^0 THEWORKSOF 
 
 I'l councell j^g iU examples, contrarie to their good bringyng up, and againft their 
 
 and ill com- ^^^^^ good nature, ycld over moch to thies folies and faultes : I know 
 
 many ferving men, of good order, and well flaide : and againe, I heare 
 
 ocrvingmen. faie, there be fome ferving men do but ill fervice to their yong maf- 
 
 Terentius. tcrs. Yea, rede Terence and Plautus advifcdlie over, and ye fliall finde 
 
 Plautus. in thofe two wife writers, almoft in every comedic, no unthriftie yong 
 
 Servicorrup- man, that is not brought thereunto by the fotle inticemcnt of fome lewd 
 
 tclae juve- fgivant. And even now in our dayes, Geta, and Davi, Gnathos, and 
 
 num. ,._,,. , - . . 
 
 Multi Getr n^ani^ t)olci bawdic Pbormtos to, be prealmg \\\ to pratle on everie 
 pauci Par- ftage, to meddle in everie matter ; when honeft Parmems fliall not be 
 mcnoncs. heard, but beare fmall fwing with their mafters. Their companie, 
 their taulke, their over great experience in mifchief, doth eafelie cor- 
 rupt the belt natures, and beft brought up wittes. 
 
 But I mervele the lelle that thies miforders be amonges fome in 
 
 Miforders In the court ; for commonlic in the contrie alfo everie where, innocencie 
 
 the counuie. j^ gone, baflifulnefle is vaniflied ; moch prefumption in youthe, fmall 
 
 authoritie in aige ; reverence is neglected, dewties be confounded j 
 
 and, to be fliorte, difobedience doth overflow the banks of good order, 
 
 almofte in everie place, almoftc in everie degree of man. 
 
 Meane men have eies to fee, and caufe to lament, and occafio]! to 
 complaine of thies miferies ; but others have authoritie to remedie them, 
 and will do fo to, when God fliall think time fitte. For all thies mif- 
 orders be Goddes jufl:e plages, by his fufferance brought jufl:lie upon 
 us, for our fmnes, which be infinite in nomber, and horrible in deede; 
 but namelie, for the greate abhominable fin of unkindneflc. But what 
 unkindnefle ? Even fuch unkindneffe as was in the Jcwes, in contemn- 
 Contempt of "ig Goddcs voice, in flirinking from his worde, in wilhing backe 
 Gods trewe againe for Egypt, in committing aduoultrie and hordom, not with the 
 religion. vvomen, but with the doctrine of Babylon ; did biing all the 
 plages, deltructions, and captivities, that fell fo ofte and horrible upon 
 Jfrael. 
 
 We have caufe alfo in England to beware of unkindnefle, who have 
 had, in fo fewe yeares, the candel of Goddes worde fo oft lightned, fo 
 
 oft 
 4
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 231 
 
 oft put out ; and yet will venture, by our unthankfulnefle in do£lrine Doflrina, 
 and rinfnll life, to leefe againe lighte, candle, candleflicke and all. Mores. 
 
 God kepe in us his feare ; God grafte in us the 'trewe knowledge of 
 his worde, with a forward will to follow it, and fo to bryng forth the 
 fweete fruites of it ; and then fliall he preferve us by his grace, from 
 all manner of terrible dayes. 
 
 The remedie of this, doth not fland onelie in making good common P"l>''C3e Ic- 
 lawes for the hole realme, but alfo (and perchance chieflie) in obferv- If^' n- 
 ing private difcipline, everie man carefullie in his own houfe; and difciplina. 
 namelie if fpecial regard be had to youth j and that, not fo much in Cognitio bo- 
 teaching them what is good, as in keeping them from that that ?'' 
 IS ill. n°ali. 
 
 Therefore, if wife fathers be not as well aware in weedeing from 
 their children ill things and ill companie, as they were before in graft- 
 inge in them learning, and providing for them good fcholemafters, 
 what frute they Ihail reape of all their cofte and care, common experi- 
 ence doth tell. 
 
 Here is the place, in youth is the time when fome ignorance is as Some igno- 
 necefTarie, as moch knowledge ; and not in matters of our dewtie to- ""'^^ ^^ 
 wardes God, as fome wilful wittes willinglie againft their owne know- knowlcXe 
 ledge, pernicioufly againft their owne confcience, have of late openlie 
 taught. Indeede St. Cbryfoflome, that noble and eloquent doctor, * in a Chryfoft. dc 
 fermon " contra Fatum, and the curious ferching of nativities," doth '^^'*^- 
 wifely faie, that " ignorance therein, is better tJian knowledge." But 
 to wring this fentence, to wrefte thereby out of meiib handes the know- 
 ledge of Goddes doftrine, is without all reafon, againft comtnun fenfc, 
 
 * The pafTage here pointed to, is in St. ChryfoJIomi's fifth Difcourfc Trtal Elfji.xciji.ii,r,;. 
 ■A) rTfOko'iaf . A capliojs qucllion being put, Hnv ernes one mnn to be rich, an J another hur ? 
 he anfwcrs, " Though we were never fo ignorant of the reafons of thefe things, yet 'tis far bct- 
 " ter to continue in our ignorance, than tt) admit of .iny impious tenet or opinion. BiXriov yxo 
 dyiiofTf xaXwf, « ilSii/xi xxxu;' to ,utv yx^ «x tp^ti axlnyopixv, to S\ XTrtriprrxi <rvyy\/u>ULYi(. 
 lorn. 6. pag. 878. edit. Savil. To this I (hall fubjoin, what wc meet with in Aifchylui^ 
 Siyij.oc 'ETrixsptisf, as tlie fcholiaft calls it : 
 
 To /All /x«9«i'i/ iroi xft~a'<rov, ri fAx^t^u recti. 
 
 contrarie
 
 232 THEWORKSOF 
 
 contrarie to the judgement alfo of tlicm, which be the difcreteft men, 
 Julianas A- and beft learned, on their own fide. I know * yulianus Apojlata did fo ; 
 poftata. but I never hard or red, that any auncyent father of the primitive church, 
 
 either thought or wrote fo. 
 
 Innocencie But this ignorance in youthe, which I fpake on, or rather this fim- 
 
 ifl youth, piicitic, or moll trcwlie, this innocencie, is that, which the noble Per- 
 
 Jians, as wife Xenophon dotli teftifie, were fo careful to breede up their 
 
 youthe in. But chriftian fathers commonlie do not fo. And I will 
 
 tell you a tale, as moch to be mifliked, as the Ferfiam example is to 
 
 be folowed. 
 
 A child ill This lall Somer I was in a jentlemans houfe, where a young childe, 
 
 brought up. fomewhat paft four yeare olde, could in no wife frame his tonge, to 
 faie a little fhorte grace ; and yet he could roundly rap out fo manie 
 uglie othes, and thofe of the neweft facion, as fome good man of four- 
 fcore year olde hath never hard named before. And that which was 
 
 LI pjr^nts. moft deteftable of all, his father and mother would laughe at it. I 
 moche doubte what comforte an other daie this childe fhall bring unto 
 them. This childe ufinge moch the company of fervingmen, and gev- 
 inge good eare to their taulke, did eafilie learne, which he fliall hard- 
 lie forget all the dales of his life hereafter. So likewife in the courte, 
 if a yong jentleman will venture himfelfe into the companie of ruffi- 
 ans, it is over great a jeopardie, left their facions, maners, thoughts, 
 
 111 companie. taulke, and deedes, will verie fone be over like. " The confounding 
 " of companies, breedeth confufion of good maners, both in the courte 
 " and everie where elfe." 
 
 And it maie be a great wonder, but a greater fliame, to us chriftian 
 Ifocrates. men, to undeiftand what a heithen writer, IJlcrates, doth leave in 
 
 * Julian put forth a feverc ediiSt, whereby he forbad the Chriftians publickiy in the fcholes 
 either to teach, or ftudy humane literature. For which Grtgo'y Ka:cianzenc thus warmly in- 
 veighs againft him, though playing too much with the word xiy'^. Kaxiivif TrpsVjjir* Si'uri, 
 Xiyj xoAa'^5(rSa» UTrJp rr; fi'f Xdym Trxpxv9y.tai. wv xoimuv oiTxv Xflj/ixoK aTrxiri, cJj IStuv 
 «Jt», Xpifiakcif tfSonKTfv, a.?.oy'tcTOCTX Tript Xdyuy itxnonvm o ttmuv, ui t^'fro, Aoyiw'ral^. 
 IrrX. ai. fag. 4. idit. Eton. '• Illud autem inclemens, obrucndum perenni filentio, quod 
 •' arccbat docere magiftros rhetoricos & grammaticos ritus Chriftiani cultorcs," Ammianui 
 Alarcellinuh lib. 21. 
 
 memori?
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 memorie of writing, concerning the care that the noble citie of Athens 
 had, to bring up their youthe in honeft companie, and vertuous difci- 
 pline ; whofe taulke in Greke^ is to this efFe6l in Engli/}:e. 
 
 ^h 
 
 *' The citie was not more careful! to fee their children well taughte, in Orat. 
 '' than to fee their young men well governed ; which they brought to Ariopag. 
 <* pafle, not fo much by common lawe, as by private difcipline. For 
 " they had more regard, that their youthe by good order fliould not 
 *' offend, than hov\', by lawe, they might be puniihed ; and if offenfe 
 " were committed, there was neither waie to hide it, nor hope of 
 " pardon for it. Good natures were not fo moch openly praifed, as 
 " they were fecretlie marked, and watchfullie regarded, left they Ihould 
 " leafe the goodnes they had. Therefore, in flioles of fmging and 
 " dancing, and other honeft exercifes, governours were appointed, 
 " more diligent to overfee their good maners, than their mafters were 
 " to teach them anie learning. It was fome (hame to a young man 
 " to be feen in the open market ; and if for bufinefie he palfed through 
 " it, he did it with a marvelous modeftie, and bafliefull facion. To 
 " eate or drinke in a taverne, was not onlie a (hame, but alfo punifli- 
 " able, in a yong man. To contrarie, or to ftand in termes with an 
 " olde man, was more henious, * than in fome place to rebuke and 
 " fcholde with his owne father." With manie other mo good orders, 
 and faire difciplines, which I referre to their reading, that have luft to 
 looke upon the defcription of foch a worthie common wealthe. 
 
 And to know what worthie frute did fpring of foch worthie fedc, Good Cede 
 I will ttll you the moft mcrvell of all, and yet foch a trothe, as no worthie fiute 
 
 * In this citation out of I/ocr^ites, Mr. Jfcbam has rather given the feiife of feveral pafl*,jgcs, 
 than a (Iridt trandaiion of his author : and perhaps he might trull to his nienior)', U'ithout con- 
 fukiiig the original; which is no uncommon thing with learned men. \V hat is huecx- 
 preffcd, than in jonw place, is in the (ireek, ri vjm : which is not a comparifon between Jt'cnsy 
 and fome other Ifate, in point of flrii5l difcipline and regularity of ma/)iicrs, but a ccimplaint 
 of a decay herein, and oi a degeneracy in the prcfent age from the good tondutSl of iornicr 
 times. 
 
 The latter part, where he keeps fomewhat cloftr to the original, I fliall tranfcrihc : 
 
 o^ "■ ■ " " '■ " ■" 
 
 
 H h man
 
 234 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 man fliall denie it, except foch as be ignorant in knowledge of the beft 
 
 ftories. 
 
 Athens. Athens, by this difcipline and good ordering of youthe, did breede up, 
 within the circute of that one citie, within the compas of one hondred 
 yeares, within the memorie of one mans Hfe, fo manie notable captaines 
 in warre, for worthinefl'e, wifdome and learning, as be fcarce matchable, 
 
 Rome, no not in the ftate of Rome, in the compas of thofe leveu liondred yeares, 
 when it flouriflied mofte. 
 
 And becaufe 1 will not onlie faie it, but alio prove it, the names of 
 
 The noble them be thefe : Miltiades, Ihemijlocles, Xantippm, Pericles, Cymotj, Aky- 
 
 optaines o ^/^^^^^ Thrafybulus, Cotion, Iphicrates, Xenophon, Timotheus, Iheopompus, 
 
 Devietrius, and div-ers other mo : of which everie one, maie juftlie be 
 
 fpoken that worthie praife, which was geven to Scipio Africanus, who 
 
 Cicero douteth, " whether he were more noble captaine in warre, or 
 
 " more eloquent and wife councelor in peace." And if ye believe not 
 
 ^mll. Pro- me, read diligentlie * Mmilius Probus in Latin, and Plutarche in Greeke ; 
 
 ^\\ r hu which two had no caufe either to flatter or lie upon any of thofe 
 
 which I have recited. 
 
 The learned And befides nobilitie in wane, for excellent and matchlefs maflers in 
 men of A- ^W maner of learninge, in that one citie, in memorie of one age, were 
 mo learned men, and that m a manner altogether, than all tyme doth 
 remember, than all place doth affourde, than all other tonges do con- 
 teine. And I do not meanc of thofe authors, which, by injurie of tyme, 
 by negligence of men, by crueltie of fier and fworde, be lofl ; but even 
 of thofe, which by Goddes grace, are left yet unto us ; of which, I thank 
 God, even my poore fludie lacketh not one. As in philofophie, Plato, 
 Arijhtle, Xenophon, Euclide, and Theophraft : in eloquence and civill lawe, 
 Demoflhenes, Mfchines, Lycurgus, Diriarchus, Demades, Ifocrates, Ifaus, 
 Lyfias, Antiftbenes, Andocides : in hiftorie, Herodotus, Thucydides, Xeno- 
 plxn, and which we lacke, to our great lofl'e, T^heopompus and Epborus : 
 
 • Corrullus Nepos, whofe works by a miflake have gone under the name oi Mmillus Pra~ 
 tks ; who Teems to have no other title to them, than as he took care to have them copied out 
 for the ufe of the Emperor Tbudc/iuj. 
 
 ^ in
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 235 
 
 in poetrie, Mfchylus, Sophocles, Euripides^ Arijlophanes, and fomewhat 
 of Menander, Demojlhenes fifter fonne. 
 
 Now let Italian, and Latin itfelf, Spanijl^e, French, Doiich, and Eng- Learning 
 liJJ:>e, brina; forth their learnine, and recite their authors, Cicero onlie '^'^.'^"'^ '^""" 
 excepted, and one or two moe \n Latin, they be all patched cloutes and Greke, and 
 ragges, in comparifon of faire woven broade clothes ; and trewlie, if '" "o other 
 there be any good in them, it is either lerned, borrowed, or ftolne, ° ^ * 
 from fome of thofe worthie wittes of Athens. 
 
 The remembrance of foch a common welthe, ufing foch difcipline and 
 order for youthe, and thereby bringing forth to their praife, and leav- 
 ing to us for our example, foch capitaines for warre, foch councellors 
 for peace, and matchles mafters for all kinde of learninge, is pleafant 
 for me to recite, and not irkfum, I trufl, for others to heare, except it 
 be foch, as make neither counte of virtue nor learninge. 
 
 And whether there te anie foch, or no, I cannot well tell ; yet I heare Contemners 
 faie, fome yonge jentlemen of oures, count it their lliame to be count- °^ '^^"'"'"S* 
 ed learned ; and perchance they count it their fliame, to be counted ho- 
 neft alfo ; for I heare faie, they meddle as little with the one, as with 
 the otiier. A mervelous cafe, that jentlemen fliould fo be adiamed of 
 good learning, and never a whit afliamed of ill manners ! Soch do faie 
 for them, that the jentlemen of France Ao fo; which is a lie, as God 
 will have it. Langceiis, and Bellaus that be dead, and the noble Vidam Gentlemen 
 oi Chartres, that is alive, and infinite mo m France, which I heare tell °^ ^'''^"^'^'1 
 of, prove this to be moft falfe. And though fome in Fra/ice, which will 
 nedes be jentlemen, whether men will or no, and have more jentle- 
 Ihippe in their hat, than in their head, be at deadlie fcude, with both 
 learning and honeftie ; yet I believe, if* that noble prince. King Fran- Francifcus i; 
 CIS the firfl:, were alive, they Ihould have neither place in his courte, "^j.^^^^" j.^""" 
 nor penfion in his warres, if he had knowledge of them. Tliis opi- 
 nion is not French, but piaine l'urkiJJ:)e, fiom whcns fome Frcnche fetche 
 moe faultes than this ; which, I praie God, kepe out of England, and 
 
 * Erafmu!, whofe fricndftiip this excellent prince courted very much, gives us this account 
 of him : " Magis habet ftudio, ut regnum luuin optiniis iegibus, incorruptis moribiis, ho- 
 " iitftiflimis Itudiis locupletct, exoraet, illuftret, quim ut ditionis fua: ponioeria proferat." 
 
 H h 2 fend
 
 256 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 fend alfo thofe of cures better mindes, which bend themfelves againfte 
 vertue and learninge, to the contempte of God, diflionor of their con- 
 trie, to the hurt of manie others, and at lengthe, to the greatefl harme 
 and utter deibuclion of themfeh'es. 
 
 Experience 
 
 without 
 
 learning. 
 
 Learning. 
 Experience, 
 
 Some other, having better nature, but lefle witte, (for ill commonHc 
 have over much witte) do not utterlie difpraife learning, but they faie, 
 that without learning, common experience, knov/ledge of all facions, 
 and haunting all companies, fliall worke in youthe both wifdome, and 
 abilitie, to execute anie weightie affaire. Surelie long experience doth 
 protfet much, but mofte, and almoft onelie to him (if we meane honefl: 
 affaires) that is diligentlie before intruded with preceptes of well do- 
 inge. For good preceptes of learning be the eyes of the minde, to 
 looke wifelie before a man, which waie to go right, and which not. 
 
 Learning teacheth more in one yeare, than experience in twentie ; 
 and learning teacheth fafelie, when experience maketh mo miferable 
 than wife. He hafardeth lore, that waxeth wife by experience. An 
 unhappy mailer he is, that is made cunning by manie fliippewrakes ; a 
 miferable merchant, that is neither riche nor wife, but after fome bank- 
 routes. It is cofflie wifdom that is bought by experience. We know 
 by experience itfeife, that it is a marvelous paine, to find out but a 
 fhort waie by long wandering. And furelie, he that would prove wife 
 by experience, he maie be wittie indeede, but even like a fwift runner, 
 that runneth faft out of his waie, and upon the night, he knoweth not 
 whither. And verelie they be fcwefl in number that be happie or wife 
 by unlearned experience. And looke well upon the former life of thofe 
 fcwe, whether your example be old or yonge, who without learning 
 have gathered, by long experience, a little wifdome, and fome happi- 
 nefs ; and when you do confuier, what mifchiefe they have committed, 
 what dangers they have efcapcd, (and yet twentie for one do periflie in 
 the adventure) then thinke well with your felfe, whether ye wold that 
 your owne fon fliould come to wifdome and happines by the waie of 
 fuch experience, or no. 
 
 Svr Roger ^^ i^ a notable tale, that old Syr Roger Chamloe, fometime chiefe 
 tiianiiyc. juflice, wold tell of himfeife. When he was Auncient in inn of court, 
 
 certains
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 237 
 
 certaine yong Jentlemen were brought before him to be corre6led for 
 certaine miforders ; and one of the lurtieft faide, " Syr, we be yong jen- 
 " tlemen ; and wife men before us have proved all facions, and yet thofe 
 " have done full well." This they faid, becaufe it was well known, Syr 
 Roger had bene a good felloe in his youth. But he anfwered them verie 
 wifelle : " Indeede, faith he, in youthe I was as you are now : and I had 
 twelve felloes like unto rnyfelf, but not one of them came to a good 
 ende. And therefore, folow not my example in youth, but folow my 
 counceli in aigc, if ever ye thinke to come to this place, or to thies 
 yeares, that I am come unto j lefl'e ye meete either with povertie or Ti- 
 burn in the way." 
 
 Thus, experience of all facions in youthe, beinge in profe alwaife Experience, 
 dangerous, in ifhue feldom luckie, is a waie indeede to over moch 
 knowledge -, yet iifed commonlie of foch men, which be either caried 
 by fome curious affection of mynde, or driven by fome hard neceffitie 
 of life, to hafard the triall of over manie perilous adventures. 
 
 Erafmus^ the honor of learning of all oure time, faide wifelie, " that Erafmus. 
 " experience is the common fcholehoufe of fooles, and ill men. Men Experience 
 " of witte and honeftie, be otherwife inftrudled. For there be, thatj^Q^fg ^f ' 
 " kepe them out of fier, and yet was never burned j that be ware of fooles and ill 
 " water, and yet was never nie drowninge ; that hate harlottes, and '"^"' 
 *' was never at the flewes -, that abhorre falflioode, and never brake 
 " promis themfelves." 
 
 But will ye fee a fit fimilitude of this adventured experience ? A fa- 
 ther that doth let loufe his fon to all experiences, is mofl like a fond 
 hunter, that letteth flippe a whejpe to the hole herde: twentie to 
 one, he fhall fall upon a rafcall, and let go the faire game. Men that 
 hunt fo, be either ignorant perfones, privie Healers, or night walkers. 
 
 Learning therefore, ye wife fathers, and good bringing up, and not 
 blinde and dangerous experience, is the next and readieft waie, that 
 muft lede your children, firft to wifdom, and then to wcrthinelTc, if 
 ever ye purpofe they fliall come there. 
 
 And
 
 238 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 How expc- And to faie all in flioite, though I lacke authorltie to give counfell, 
 rience may ygt J jack HOt good Will to wiflic, that the youthe in England, fpecial- 
 proifit. j.^ jentlemen, and namelie nobilitie, fhold be by good bringing up fo 
 grounded in judgement of learninge, fo founded in love of honeflie, as 
 when they fliould be called forthc to the execution of great affaires, 
 in fervice of their prince and contrie, they might be hable to ufe, and 
 to order all experiences, were they good, were they bad, and that ac- 
 cording to the fquare, rule, and line, of wifdom, learning and vertue. 
 
 Diligent And I do not meene, by all this my taulke, that yong Jentlemen 
 
 learning f]^ould alwaies be poring on a booke, and by ufing good ftudies, fhold 
 
 ought to be . * ° , J /I.- T 
 
 joyned with leafe houeft plealure, and haunt no good paltime ; 1 meane nothmg 
 pieafant pa- jeffg . iov \t is well knowne, that I bothe like and love, and have al- 
 namdie in a waies, and do yet ftill ufe all exercifes and paflimes, that be fitte for 
 jentleman. niy nature and habilitie. And befide naturall difpofition, in judgement 
 alfo I was never, either ftoick in dodrine, or anabaptift in religion, to 
 millike a merie, pieafant, and plaifuU nature ; if no outrage be com- 
 mitted againft lawe, meafure, and good order. 
 
 Therefore I would wifhe, that befide fome good time, fitlie appoint- 
 ed, and coiirtantlie kepte, to encreafe by reading the knowledge of the 
 tongues, and learning ; yong jentlemen fhold ufe, and delite in all 
 Learning couitlie exeicifes, and jentlemanlike paltimes. And good c«ufe why ; 
 joyned with for the icif fame noble citie of Athetis, julllie commended of me before, 
 partimes. ^jjj wifelie, and upon great conlideration, appoint the Mufes, Apollo, 
 Mufae. and Pallas, to be patrones of learning to their youthe. For the mufes, 
 befides learning, were alfo ladies of dauncinge, mirthe and minftrelfie : 
 Apollo. Apollo was god of fhooting, and author of cunning playing upon in- 
 Pallas. jtrumcntes ; Pallas alfo was ladie millrcs in wanes. Wheicbie was no- 
 thing elfe ment, but that learning Ihould be alwaife mingled with ho- 
 nefl: mirthe, and comlie exerci.^cs ; and that wane alfo fliold be govern- 
 ed by learning, and moderated by wifdom ; as did well appeare in thofe 
 captaines of Athcfis named by me before, and alio in Scipio and Cafor, 
 the two diamondes of Rome. And Pallas was no more feared in we.r- 
 Learnini jng Mglda, than file was praifed for chofing Olham; whereby fliinetii 
 "alrr^anr ^^^ g^^^'y of learning, which thus was governor and mirtres, in the no- 
 peace, ble citie of Athens, both of vvarre and peace. 
 
 Therefore
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 239 
 
 Therefore to ride comlie, to run faire at the tilte or ring ; to plaie J^e pa- 
 at all weapones, to fliote faire in bow, or furelie in gun -, to vant hifte- ^g fitte for 
 ly J to runne, to leape, to wrefllc, to fwimme ; to daunce comhe, courtlie jen- 
 to fing, and play on inftrumentes cunnyngly ; to hawke, to hunte ; to "^'"^"• 
 playe at tennes, and all pafcunes generally, which be joyned with la- 
 bor, ufcd in open place, and on the day light, contcining either fome 
 fitte exercife for warre, or fome pleafant paftime for peace, be not on- 
 lie comhe and decent, but alio verie neceffarie for a courtlie jentleman 
 to ufe. 
 
 But of all klnde of paftimes, fitte for a jentleman, I will, God will- 
 ing, in fitter place more at large declare fullie, in my " book of the 
 " Cockpitte i" which 1 do write to fatisfie fome, I truft with fome rea- '^'j^ ^°'^''"" 
 fon, that be more curious in marking other mens doinges, than care- 
 full in mendyng their own faultes. And fome alfo will nedes bufie them- 
 felves in merveling, and adding thereunto unfrendlie taulke ; why I, a 
 man of good yeares, and of no ill place, I thanke God and my prince, 
 do make choife to fpend foch tyme in writyng of trifles; as " the Schole 
 " of Shooting, the Cockpitte, and this booke of the firfl principles of 
 *' Grammar," rather than to take fome weightie matter in hand, either 
 of religion, or civill difcipline. 
 
 Wife men, I know, will well allow of my choife herein ; and as for 
 foch, who have not witte of themfelves, but mufl learne of others to 
 judge right of mens doynges, let them read that wife poet Horace, in A booke of a 
 his Arte Poetica, who willeth men to be ware of hie and loftie j,° ^J.^^ J" ^^^^^ 
 titles. For great fhippes require coftlie tackling, and alfo afterward brag of over 
 dangerous government : fmall boates be neither verie chargeable in ma- g''"'^^ pro- 
 kyng, nor verie oft in great jeopardie ; and yet they carry many tymes 
 as good and coftlie ware as greater veliels do. A meane argument may 'V^^ ""'S''' 
 eafilie beare the light burden of a fmall faute, and have alwaife at hand choofe a fitte 
 a ready excufe for ill handling ; and fome praife it is, if it fo chaunce argument to 
 to be better in deede than a man dare venture to feeme. A Jiie title ^"^"^ "***'"' 
 doth charge a man with the heavie burden of too great a promife ; and 
 therefore fayth Horace verie wittelic, that that pocte was a very foole Hor. in Arte 
 that began hys booke with a good verfe indeede, but over proude a pro- ^^°''"'' 
 mife : 
 
 For-
 
 240 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 Fortunam Priami cantabo, & jiobile helium: 
 
 And after as wifelie ; 
 
 ^anto reSlius hie, qui nil molitur inepte ? &c. 
 
 meaning Homer; who, within the compafle of a fmall argument of one 
 
 harlot, and of one good wife, did utter fo moch learning in all 
 
 Homers wif- ^^"^ of fciences *, as, by the judgement oi ^intilian, " he deferveth (o 
 
 dom in '« hie a praife, that no man yet deferved to fit in the fecond degree 
 
 choice of his „ jjej^g^ii Jiim." And thus much out of my vvaie, concernim^ my pur- 
 argument. . . ^ .. , , ■' -fli 
 
 pole m fpendmg penne, and paper, and tyme, upon trifles j and name- 
 lie to aunfwere fome, that have neither witte nor learning to do any 
 thvng themfelves, neither will nor honeftie, to fay well of others. 
 
 The Corte- To joine learning with comlie exercifes, Co/ifo Baldefar Ca/liglione, in 
 
 gian, an ex- j^jg booke Cortegia?ie, doth trimlie tcachc : which booke, advifedlie 
 
 ^^^ *"'jg°°;g! read, and diligentlie followed, but one yeare at home in Efjglu?iJe, 
 
 man. would do a yong jentleman more good, I wifTe, than three yeares tra- 
 
 vell abrode fpent in Italie. And I mervell this booke is no more read 
 
 in the court than it is ; feeing it is -f- fo well tranflated into Erigli/?:e 
 
 Svr The, ^y ^ worthie jentleman, Syr Tbo. Hobble, who was many wayes well 
 
 Hobbie. furniihed with learning, and very expert in knowledge of divers 
 
 tonges. 
 
 And befide good preccptes in bookes, in all kind of tonges, this court 
 Examples alfo never lacked many faire examples for yong jcntlcmen to follow, 
 better than ^j^j fiirclie one example is more valuable, both to good and ill, than 
 
 twentie preccptes written in bookes ; and fo Plato, not in one or two, 
 
 but diverfe places, doth plainlie teach. 
 
 • ^mntilianus, ////. x. '* Utar verbi?, quae ex Afro Domitio juvenis accepi : qui mihi in- 
 " terroganti, quern Homero credcret maxinic accederej fe:w:dus, inquit, ejl Virgiliui ; fra- 
 " pier tatnm primo, quam tertio." 
 
 t This book was foon after (and perhaps the fooner for this |;reat charafler here given j 
 tranflated into excellent Latin by Mr. Gierke, Fellow of King's College in Cambridge, with 
 this title ; Ba'th.^faris Cajlilionis amitis de curijl', five A:dics, liiri quauicr, ex Italico Jtrm-Jie 
 in Laiinum cenvetfi. 
 
 If 
 
 preccptes.
 
 ROGER ASCHA M. 241 
 
 If Kyng Edicard had lived a little longer, his oncly example had bred King Ed. 6. 
 foch a race of worthie learned jentlemen, as this realme never yet did 
 affourde. 
 
 And in the fecond degree, two noble primerofes of nobilitie, * the The yong 
 yong Duke of Stiffolke, and -f- Lord Hen. Matravers, were foch two ex- , ^^ '^*'*^" " 
 amples to the court for learnyng, as our tyme may rather wiflie than Lord H. Ma- 
 look for agayne. travers. 
 
 At Cambridge alfo, in St. Johns college, in my tyme, I do know, 
 that not fo much the good ftatutes, as two jentlemen of worthie me- 
 morie, Syr John Cheke, and Dr. Readman, by their only example of Syr John 
 excellency in learnyng, of godlynes in livyng, of diligence in rtudying, !^'^''n^' . 
 of councell in exhorting, by good order in all thyngs, did breed up fo man. 
 many learned men in that one college of St. John's, at one tyme, as I 
 believe the whole univerlitie of Lovahie in many yeares, was never able 
 to afFourd. 
 
 Prefent examples of this prefent tyme I lift not to touch ; yet there is 
 one example for all the jentlemen of this court to follow, that may well 
 fatisfie them, or nothing will ferve them, nor no example move them 
 to goodnes and learnyng. 
 
 * The moft noble Henry Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, with his brother Charles, were both 
 carried off by the fweating ficknefs at the fame time. Their death Dr. Haddon laments in an 
 elegant oration very afteitionateiy : " Poftquam inundantes, & in Cantabrigiani efFer- 
 " vefcentes asllivi fudores, illud prseftans & aureolum par SufJblcienfium fratrum, tum qui- 
 <' dem peregrinatum a nobis, fed tamen plane noflrum, obruerunt ; fic ingemuimus, ut in- 
 
 " finitus dolor, vix ullam tanti mali levationem invenire pallet. Dux ipfc, licet nondum 
 
 " plane vir, tamen & annis ad juventutem paene adoleverat, & ingenio ad omnes res geren- 
 " das ita ematurucrat, ut ex his omnibus nihil illi abefTet, quibus illuftrcm pcrfonam vel or- 
 *' nari deceret, vel inftitui conveniret. Gravis erat fine fuperbia, comis fine levitate ; doci- 
 *' litate (umma, minimo ut ftudio efTet opus, diligentia tamen cjufmodi, quae naturam poflet 
 " etiam ex tarditate incitare." 
 
 t This young nobleman, of the Aawrfc/ family, being fent in quality of envoy to the Em- 
 peror by Queen Mary, having over-heated his blood by the fpeed he made, fell into a fever, 
 and died the laft of 'July, in the nineteenth year of his age, as we learn from the above- men- 
 tion'd author : 
 
 ^latuor u lujlris uniim fi denipferis annum, 
 
 Hac Matravcrfi mcricnth bahch'ttur tttas ; 
 
 ^10 po/i Edvardum majut nil Anglia vidit. 
 
 I i It
 
 242 THEWORKSOF 
 
 Queene Eli- It is your iTiamc, (I fpeak to you all, you yong jentlcmeii of Eng- 
 fabeth. Uinde) that one mayd fhould go beyond you all in excellencie of leain- 
 yng, and knowledge of divers tonges. Pointe forth fix of the befl; given 
 jentlemen of this court, and all they together fliew not fo much good 
 will, fpend not fo much tyme, beftow not fo many houres dayly, or- 
 derly, and conftantly, for the increafe of learnyng and knowledge, as 
 doth the Qiieenes Majeflie herfelfc. Yea I believe, that befide her per- 
 fit readines in Latins Italian^ French, and Spanijh, * fhe readeth here 
 now at Windjore more Grceke every day, than fome prebendarie of this 
 church doth read Latin in a whole weeke. And that which is moft 
 praife-worthie of all, within the walls of her privie chamber, Ihe hath 
 obteyncd that excellencie of learnyng, to underftand, fpeake, and write 
 both wittely with head, and faire with hand, as fcarfe one or two rare 
 wittes in both the univerfities have in many yeares reached unto. A- 
 mongelf all the benefites that God hath blefled me witiiall, next the 
 knowledge of Chriftes true religion, I counte this the greateft, that it 
 pleafed God to call me to be one poore minifter in fettyng forward thefe 
 excellent giftes of learnyng in this moft excellent prince ; whofe only 
 example if the reft of our nobilitie would follow, then might Englande 
 be, for learnyng and wifedome in nobilitie, a fpedacle to all the world 
 III examples j^g^j^P^ jg^^ j-^g ^^ mifliap of men ; the beft examples have never fuch 
 
 have more \ i i i • i- i j r i , 
 
 force than foife to m.ove to any goodnes, as the bad, vame, hgnt and fond, have 
 good exam- to all illnes. 
 
 pJes. 
 
 And one example, though out of the compas of learnyng, yet not out 
 of the order of good maners, was notable in this court not fullie twentie 
 foure yeares ago j when all the aisles of parliament, many good proclama- 
 tions, diverfe ftrait commandementes, fore punifliments openlie, fpecial 
 regarde privatelie, could not do fo moch to take away one miforder, as 
 
 * Mr. jifcham, in his Difcourfe of the affairs of Germany, fpealcing of yohn Frederick Duke 
 of Saxcny, Luther's grejt friend and defender, hath this paflage not unlike what he here relates 
 of his royal milhefs. 
 
 " It IS marvellous, that my friend yoannes Sturmius doth report by writing, what he heard 
 " PhiUp Mtlanilhon at a time fay of this noble Duke, that he thought the Duke did privately 
 " read and write more every day, than did both he and \^x. Aur.fjler ; which two were 
 " counted in all mens judgments to be the greateft readers and writers in all the univerfity of 
 " IVitUmberg" 
 
 This 1 the rather add, becaufe I have heard this place cenfured ; as if Mr. Afcham had failed 
 Li point of civility and good manners, and intended a reflection by the comparilbn. 
 
 the 
 
 I
 
 / 
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 243 
 
 the example of one big one of this courte did, ftill to keep up the fame : 
 the memory whereof doth yet remaine in a common proverb oi Birch- 
 ing Lane. 
 
 Take hede therefore, ye great ones in tlie court, yea though ye be Great men 
 the greateft of all, take hede what ye do ; take hede how ye live : for '" court by 
 as you great ones ufe to do, fo all nieane men love to do. You be in- pie' make"or 
 deed makers, or marrers, of all mens maners within the realme. For marre all o- 
 though God hath placed you to be chief in making of lawes, to beare '"^'^ 
 
 o L J o ' mailers. 
 
 greateft authoritie, to command all others; yet God doth order, that 
 all your lawes, all your authoritie, all your commandementes, do not 
 halfe fo moch with meane men, as doth your example and maner of 
 livinge. And for example, even in the greateft matter, if you your- Example in 
 felves do ferve God gladlie and orderlie for conicience fake, not coldlic, religion. 
 and fomtyme for maner fake, you carie all the court with you, and 
 the whole realme befide, earneftlie and orderlie to do the fame. If 
 you do otherwife, you be the onlie authors of all miforders in religion, 
 not onlie to the courte, but to all Englande befide. Infinite lliail be 
 made cold in religion by your example, that never were hurt by read- 
 ing of books. 
 
 And in meaner matters, if three or foure great ones In courte will Example m 
 nedes outrage in apparell, in huge hofe, hi monftrous hattes, in gaur- ^ppaf^"- 
 iflie colours ; let the prince proclame, make lawes, order, puniflie, com- 
 maunde everie gate in London dailie to be watched ; let all good men 
 befide do everie where what they can ; furelie the miforder of apparell 
 in mean men abrode fliall never be amended, except the greateft in 
 courte will order and mend themfelves firft. I know fome grcate and 
 good ones in courte were authors, that honeft citizens of London fliould 
 watch at everie gate to take mifordered perfones in apparell : I know 
 that honeft Londoners did fo -, and I fawe (which I fawe then, and re- 
 porte now with fome griefe) that fome courtelie men were oftcnded 
 with thefe good miCn oiLoi^don: and that which greved me moft of all, 
 I fawe the verie fame tyme, for all thefe good orders commaunded from 
 the courte, and executed in London ; I fawe, I fay, come out of London, Mafters,ufh- 
 even unto the prefcnce of the prince, a 2:reat rable of mean and jjHit ^isand icho- , 
 
 r ■ n y- • ,1 1 r I • • n 1 lers ot fence. 
 
 peifones, ni Cipparcll, lor matter againft lawc, lor making againlr order, 
 
 I i 2 for
 
 244 THE WORKS OF 
 
 for facion, namelle hofe, lb without all order, as he thought himfelfe 
 moft brave, that durft do nioft in breaking order, and was moft mon- 
 flerous in miforder. And for all the great commandcnientes that came 
 out of the courte, yet this bold miforder was winked at, and borne 
 withall in the courte, I thought it was not well, that fome great ones 
 of the court durft declare themfclves offended with good men of Lon- 
 don, for doing their dewtie j and the good ones of the courte would not 
 (hew themfelves offended with ill men of Lotidon, for breaking good 
 order. I found thereby a fayinge of Socrates to be moft trewe, " that 
 " ill men be more haftie, than good men be forwarde, to profecute 
 " their purpofes ■" even as Chrift himfelfe faith of the children of light 
 and darkncfs. 
 
 Befide apparell, in all other thinges too, not fo moch good lawes and 
 
 ftrait commandementes, as the example and maner of living of great 
 
 men, doth carrie all meane men everie where to like, and love, and 
 
 do, as they do. For if but two or three noble men in the court wold 
 
 Example inbut beginne to flioote, all young jentlemen, the whole court, all Lon- 
 
 fljoouiig. ^^^,^ jj^j, whole realme, wold ftraightwaie exercife fliooting. 
 
 What praife fliold they wynne to themfelves, what commoditie fhold 
 they bring to their contrie, that would thus deferve to be pointed atj 
 " * Behold there goeth the author of good order, the guide of good 
 " men ?" 1 could fay more, and yet not over moch. But perchance 
 fome will fay, I have ftepte to farre out of my fchole into the common 
 welthe J from teaching a yong fcholer, to moniflie great and noble 
 
 * Men of true worth and excellency, as they juftly challenge all due refpefl, fo they draw 
 the eyes of the world after them, wherever they go. Dimojihenei never appeared in publick. 
 
 This Horace expreflcs with fome fatisfadlion, as being his own cafe : 
 
 Totum muneris hoc tui eft, 
 
 ^lod monjhor d'lglto prater euntlum^ 
 Romana fidicen lyres. 
 
 So Pliry, in his letter to Ma>imui : " An fi Demoflhenes jure laetatus efl-, quod ilium 
 " anus Attica iia demojiflravit, OZto's tfi A*),Me(r3'£i'>iJ, ego celebtitate nominis mei gaudero 
 " non debeo ?" 
 
 men :
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 245 
 
 for 
 
 men : yet I truft good and wife men will thinke and judge of me, that Written not 
 my minde was not fo much to be bufie and bold with them, that be^°'' S'''^^' 
 great now, as to give trewe advice to them, that may be great hereaf ^^eat mens 
 ter J who if they do, as I wiflie them to do, how great foever they bechildren. 
 now by blood, and other mens meanes, they fliall become a great deale 
 greater hereafter, by learninge, vertue, and their ovnie defertes ; 
 " which is tjevve praife, right worthinefs, and verie nobilitie indeede." 
 Yet if fome will needes prefle me, that I am to bold with great men, 
 and ftray to farre from my matter, I will anfwere them with St. Faul, Ad Philip. 
 Sive per contentionem^ five quocunque modo^ modb Chriflus pradicetur^ &c. 
 Evenfo, whether in place, orout of place, with my matter, or befide my 
 matter, if I can hereby either provoke the good, or flaye the ill, I ihall 
 think my writing herein well imployed. 
 
 But to come downe from greate men, and hier matters, to my little 
 children, and poore fchole-houfe againe ; I will, God willing, go for- 
 ward orderlie, as I purpofed, to inftrufte children, and yong men, both 
 for learnyng and maners. 
 
 Hitherto I have fhewed, what harme over moch feare bringeth to 
 children ; and what huite ill companie, and over moch libertie, breed- 
 cth in youthe ; meaning thereby, that from feven yeare olde to feven- 
 teene, love is the befl allurement to learnyng ; from feventeene to fcven 
 and twentie, that wife men fliold carefullie fee the fteppes of youthe 
 furelie ftaide by good order, in that moft flipperie tyme j and Ipecial- 
 lie in the courte, a place moll dangerous for youthe to live in, without 
 great grace, good regarde, and diligent looking to. 
 
 Syr Richard Sackvilk, that worthie jentleman of worthie memorie, as 
 I fayd in the begynnynge, in the queenes privie ciiamber at Windjbre, 
 after he had talked with mt for tlie right choice of a good witte in a 
 childe for learnyng, and of the trewe difference betwixt quicke and hard 
 wittesj of alluring yong children by jentlenes to love learnyng, and 
 of the fpeciall care that was to be had, to keepe yong men from licen- 
 tious livyng ; he was moft earneft with me, to have me fay my mynde 
 alfo, what I thought concernyng the fanfie that many yong jcntlemen 
 of En^lande have to travell abroad, and namely to lead a long life in 
 
 Italic.
 
 246 THEWORKSOF 
 
 Traveling Jtalie. His rcqueft, both for his authoritie, and good will toward mc, 
 into taie. ^^^^^ ^ fufficient commaundcment unto me, to fatisfie his pleafure with 
 utteryng plainlie my opinion in that matter. " Syr, quoth I, I take 
 " goyng- thither, and living there, for a yonge jentleman, that doth 
 " notgoe under the kepe and garde of fuch a man, as both by wife- 
 " dome can, and authoritie dare rewle him, to be marvelous danger- 
 " ous." 
 
 And why I faid fo then, I will declare at large now, which I fald 
 then privatelie, and write now openlie : not becaufe I do contemne ei- 
 ther the knowledge of ftrange and diverfe tonges, and namelie the Ita~ 
 The Italian //^^; tonge, (which next the Greek and Latin tonge, I like and love 
 " ' above all other) or elfe becaufe I do defpifc the learnyng that is gotten, 
 
 or the experience that is gathered in ftrange countries ; or for any pri- 
 Italia. vate malice that I beare to Italie; which contrie, and in it, namelie 
 Roma. Rome, I have alwayes fpeciallie honored : becaufe tyme was, when Ita- 
 lie and Rome have bene to the greate good of us that now live, the 
 beft breeders and bringers up of the worthiefl men, not onlie for wife 
 fpeakinge, but alfo for well doing, in all civill affaires, that ever was 
 in the worlde. But now that tyme is gone, and though the place re- 
 mayne, yet the olde and prefent maners do differ as farre, as blacke 
 and white, as virtue and vice. 
 
 Virtue once made that countric miftrefs over all the world ; vice 
 now maketh that contrie flave to them, that before were glad to ferve 
 it. All men fee it; they themfelves confcfle it, namelie foch as be 
 beft and wifeft amongeft them. For finne, by luft and vanitie, hath, 
 and doth breed up every where, common contempt of Gods word, pri- 
 vate contention in many families, open faiflions in every citiej and fo 
 making themfelves bonde to vanitie and vice at home, they are content 
 to beare the yoke of ferving ftrangers abroad. Italie now, is not that 
 Italie, tliat it was wont to be ; and therefore now not fo fitte a place 
 as fome do counte it, for yong men to fetch either wifedomc or ho- 
 neftie from thence. For furelie they will make others but bad fcholers, 
 that be fo ill mafters to themfelves. Yet, if a jentleman will nedes tra- 
 vel into Italie, he fliall do well to looke to the life of the Vi'ifeft tra- 
 veler that ever traveled thither, fet out by the wifeft writer that ever 
 
 fpake
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 247 
 
 fpake with tonge, Gods dodlrine onelk excepted ; and that is TJlyjfes in uiyfles. 
 
 Homere, Homere. 
 
 Ulyjfcs, and his travel, I wiflie our travellers to looke upon ; not fo 
 much to feare them with the great daungers that he many times fuftered, 
 as to inftruct them with his excellent wifedome, which he alwayes, and 
 every where ufed. Yea even thofe that be learned and wittie travellers, 
 when they be dilpofed to praife traveling, as a great commendation, and 
 the beft fcripture they have for it, they gladlie recite the * third verfe of 'OJ'scra-. «. 
 Homere, in his firil booke of Odyffea, conteyning a great praife of Ulyjfes, 
 for the witte he gathered, and wifdome he ufed, in his traveling. 
 
 Which verfe, becaufe, in mine opinion, it was not made at the firflr . 
 more naturally in Greke by Homere,. nor after turned more aptelie into 
 Latin by Horace^ than it was a good while ago, in Cambridge^ tranflated 
 into EngliJJ), both plainlie for the fenfe, and roundlie for the verfe, -j- by 
 one of the beft fcholers that ever St. Joh?is college bred, M. IFatfon, Mr. Tho- 
 myne old friend, fometime bifliop of Lincolne ; therefore, for their fake masWatfon. 
 that have luft to fee how our EngUjJi tonge, in avoidyng barbarous 
 rhyming, may as well receive right quantitie of fillables, and trewe order 
 of verfifying, (of which matter more at large hereafter) as either Gi-eke 
 or Latin, if a cunning man have it in handling ; I will fet forth that 
 one verfe in all three tonges, for an example to good wittes that fliall 
 delite in like learned exercife. 
 
 IloAXwi/ cci/9^UTTuv loev us'lot, tc, voov eyvu. Homer 
 
 ^i mores hominum multorum vidit, & iirbes. Horace. 
 
 All travellers do gladly report great prayfe of Uiyfles, 
 
 For that he knew many mens maners, and Jaw many cities^ Mr.Watfon. 
 
 * The three firft verfes of Homer's Odyff". 
 
 "AvSed jJ.01 iviiSTre M«(7iz Trc},tjT^07rov, c? f/.cr'Xx voXXu 
 
 IToXXaJu J dv^euTTUv \Siv ds'ix, xj noov iyvu. 
 
 f This learned gentleman has left nothing behind him, that ! know of, but a copy of La- 
 tin verfes, to recomineiid Mr Selon's logick to the publicki as Mr. C/jde wrote excellently 
 well in Greek upon the fame fubjcft 
 
 And
 
 248 THEWORKSOF 
 
 UKfT. And yet is not Vlyjfes commended fo much, nor fo oft in Howere, be- 
 
 nixSr^ozro;. caufe he was noXurpoTrof, that is, " fkilfuU in many mens maners and 
 Ulyff. facions;" as becaufe he was noXu^itijTj ?, that is, " wife in all purpofes, 
 
 no?iu>>iI':,'. ct and ware in all places." Which wifcdome and warenes will not ferve 
 Pallas from never a traveller, except Pallas be alvvayes at his elbow ; that is Gods 
 Heaven. fpecial grace from Heaven, to kepe him in Gods feare in all his do- 
 ings, in all his journeye. For he fliall not allwaies in his abfence out 
 Alcynous. of Englande, light upon a jentle Alcynous, and walke in his fair gar- 
 o<f- 1'- dens, full of all harmelefs pleafures ; but he fliall fometymes fall either 
 Cyclops. into the handes of fome cruell Cyclops, or into the lappe of fome wan- 
 oS. :. tQn and dallying dame, Calypfo; and fo fufFer the danger of many a dead- 
 
 os^^l.^' li^ dcinie, not fo full of perils to deftroy the body, as full of vayne 
 Sirenes. pleafures to poyfon the minde. Some Sireri fliall fmg him a fong, 
 o^. ,<A. fweete in tune, but fownding in the cnde to his utter deftruflion. If 
 Scylla.Oo.u. Scylki drowne him not, Charybdis may fortune to fwalow him. Some 
 Cliarvbdis. dfcg >\x3\\ make him, of a plaine E^iglifirnan, a right Italian : and at 
 Circ& o^. X. length to Hell, or fome hellifli place, is he likelie to go ; from whence 
 OS. K. is hard returning, although one Ulyfcs, and that by Pallas ayde, and 
 good counfell of 'Tire/ias, once cfcaped that horible den of deadly dark- 
 
 nes. 
 
 Therefore, if wife men will ncdes fend their fonnes into Italie, let 
 them do it wifelie, under the kepe and garde of him, who, by his 
 wifedome and honeftie, by his example and authoritie, may be hable 
 to kepe them fafe and found in the feare of God, in Chriftes trewe re- 
 ligion, in good order, and honeflie of livyng; except they will have 
 them run headlong into over many jeoperdies, as UlyJ'es had done ma- 
 O^. u.. iiy tymes, if Pallas had not alwaies governed him ; if he had not ufed 
 OS. X. to ftop his eares with wax, to bind himfelfe to the mafl: of his flivp, 
 MolyHerba.to feed dayiy upon that fweet herb Moly*, with the black roote and 
 white flovvere given unto hym by Mercuric, to avoide all the enchant- 
 mentes of Ciice. Wherby the divine poete Homcre ment covertlie (as wife 
 
 * Odyrr. K. ver. 304. 
 
 'Pi'^r jtxtv jjib.xit £5"X£, yxXxxli 31 etxcXov anBti. 
 MuX'j Si [iin xxXiniTi S^fot'. p^aXfsrov Si t oc-jtchi/ 
 'AvSpxvt yl ^vnTQtfft. 6fot Si tz trx^x SJixHTZi. 
 
 and
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 249 
 
 and godlie men do judge) that love of Jioneftie, and hatred of ill, which 
 
 David more plainly doth call " the fear of God," the onely remcdie pf. xxxiii, 
 
 againfl: all inchantmentes of fmne. 
 
 I know diverfe noble perfonages, and many worthie jentlemen of 
 E7iglandey whome all the Siren fonges of Italie could never untwine from 
 the mafte of Gods word ; nor no inchantment of vanitie overturn 
 them from the feare of God, and love of honeftie. 
 
 But I know as many, or mo, and fome, fometyme my deare frendes, 
 (for whofe fake I hate going into that contrey the more) who parting 
 out of Englande fervent in the love of Chriftes do6lrine, and well fur- 
 nifhed with the feare of God, returned out of Italie worfe transform- 
 ed than ever was any in Circes court. 1 know diverfe, that went out 
 of Englande men of innocent life, men of excellent learnyng, who re- 
 turned out of Italie, not only with worfe maners, but alfo with lefle 
 learnyng j neither fo willing to live orderlie, nor yet fo hable to fpeake 
 learnedlie, as they were at home, before they went abroad. And why ? 
 Plato-, that wife writer, and worthy traveler himfelfe, telleth the caufe 
 why he went into Sicilia -, a countrey no nigher Italy by fite of place, 
 than Italie, that is now, is like Sicilia, that was then, in all corrupt 
 maners and licentioufnes of life. Plato found in Sicilia, every citie full 
 of vanitie, full of fa6lions, even as Italie is now. And as Homere, like 
 a learned poete, doth fayne that Circe, by pleafant inchantmentes, 
 did turne men into beads, fome into fwine, fome into alfes, fome into 
 foxes, fome into wolves, &c. even fo * Plato, like a wife philofopher, pjat. ad Dio- 
 doth plainly declare, that pleafure by licentious vanitie, that fweete and nyfium, e- 
 
 perilous ^'^" 2- 
 
 * Plato feems to infift upon a nicety, in the beginning of this letter to Dionyftus, Twas 
 ufual to greet their friends in this form, Xai'^tiu xj' eJ n^olr-rmi ; that is, wiOi 'em joy, and true 
 felicity, founded upon good condu£i. Plato, though he obferves that Dionyfius had chofe the 
 former, to carcfs and compHment the Delphian god, befpeaking him in this vcrfc, 
 
 Xaiff, xj YiSofAinov (3t'oroi/ Jia'trw^t TvpdnfS, 
 
 yet he himfelf approves only of the latter ; which he conftantly ufed to his friends, and that, 
 for thcfe rcafons, whercunto our author alludes ;
 
 250 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 perilous poyfon of all youth, cloth ingender in all thofe that yield up 
 themfelves to her, foure notorious properties : 
 
 The fruites J 2, Av^f^ocBt'ocv. 
 
 of vayne | 3, 'Appoiruvriv. 
 
 pleafure. j^4, "T/3p(V. 
 
 Caufes why The firft, forgetfulnefs of all good thinges learned before; the fe- 
 men returnccond, dulncs to receyvc either learnyng or honeftie ever after ; the third, 
 lefTe^learne'd ^ "ly^t^c embracing lightlie the worfe opinion, and baren of difcretion 
 and worfe to make trcwe difference betwixt good and ill, betwixt troth and vani- 
 manercd. jjg . jj^^ fourth, a proude difdainfulneg of other good men in all ho- 
 neft matters. 
 
 Homere and Homere and Flato have both one meanyng, look both to one end. 
 ed^'and^ex- ^^'^ ^^ ^ "^^'^ inglutte himfelfe with vanitie, or waiter in filthines like 
 pounded. a fwyne, all learnyng, all goodnefs, is fone forgotten. Then quick- 
 A fwyne. jjg jQ^^ll he bccomc a dull alle, to underftand either learnyng or honef- 
 A"foxe. ^'^ ' ^"'^ y^* ^"siSS. he be as fubtle as a foxe, in breeding of mifchief, in 
 bringing in miforder with a bufie head, a difcourfmg tonge, and a fac- 
 tious harte, in every private affaire, in all matters of ftate; with this 
 'Afi^ofl-Ji-r!, pi'cttie propertie, alwayes glad to commend the worfe partie, and ever 
 quid & unde. ready to defend the falfer opinion. And why-? For where will is given 
 from goodnes to vanitie, the mynde is fone caryed from right judge- 
 ment to any fond opinion in religion, in philofophy, or any other 
 kynde of learnyng. The fourth fruite of vaine pleafure, hy Homere and 
 "TjSfij. Platos judgement, is pride in themfelves, contempt of others, the very 
 badge of all thofe that ferve in Circes court. The trewe meanyng of 
 both Homere and Plato, is plainlie declared in one flioi t fentence of the 
 holy prophet of God Hiercmie, crying out of the vaine and vicious life 
 
 'Eyu Si iSi auSfwirw xA^o'ti, y,r\ on Sn tju, wajaiXfXfura/urii/ «i/ Sc^v tJto. QiZ ujii, 
 en TTxeoi ^vciv TTpofirTotfA a,V (TToppu yoip r\Sovr\(; "S'purxi >Cf AuVjif to itTov) dv^furrui iJI, 
 eT» rd woAAa ^Aa'fjiK nioyri xj ?\\jnriv yivuS.) Swft.x'iixv, t^ A»)9>ik, ?tj dfpoTvvnv, x^ u^pty 
 rMuffu, in TV 'i'^XV'
 
 f^ R O G E R A S C H A M. 251 
 
 of the Ifraelites : " This people (faytli he) be fooles and dulhedes toHicremias, 
 " all goodnes, but fotle, cunnmg, and bolde in any mifchiefe," &c. ^^^- '^• 
 
 The trewe medicine againft the inchantmentes of Circe, the vanitie 
 of licentious pleafure, the inticementes of all finne, is in Homere the 
 htvht Moly, with the blacke roote, and white flowere, fower at the firfl, 
 but fweete in the end ; which Hefwdui termeth * the fludy of vertue, Hefiodus da 
 hard and irkfome in the beginning, but in the end eafie and pleafant. virtutc. 
 And that which is molt to be marveled at, the divine poete Homere ]\omtxw%,^\. 
 fayth plainlie, that this medicine againft fmne and vanitie, is not found ^'""^ poeta, 
 out by man, but given and tauglit by God. And for fome ones fake, 
 that will have delite to read that fweet and godlie verfe, I will recite 
 the very wordes of Homere^ and aUb turne them into rude Englijlje 
 metre : 
 
 XxXe-srov Ob t cpuVTEiv 
 
 OSn 
 
 In EngUJhe thus ; 
 
 No mortall man, with fweat of brcwe, or toile of minde^ 
 But o?iely God, who can do all, that her be dothfinde. 
 
 Plato alfo, that divine philofopher, hath many godly medicines 
 againft the poyfon of vayne pleafure, in many places, bat fpecially in 
 his epiftle to Dionyfius, the tyrant of Sicilie. Yet againft thofe that will P^at-adDio- 
 nedes become beaftes with ferving of Circe, the prophet David cvkth 
 moft loud ; Nolite fieri, ficiit equus, & mulus -, and by and by giveth the P'al'Xxxii.g. 
 right medicine, the trewe herbe Moly, In camo & frano inaxillas eorum 
 confiringe : that is to fay, " Let Gods grace be the bitte, let Gods feare 
 
 • The place in Hefiod, which he points to, is this, "E^j/wu x^'Hjt/itf. ver. 289. 
 
 'AflaValoj. f*«Hjo; Si }^ 2«9i®' o7;ixo? tV «Jt^i», 
 K«i Tfltij^u? TO ■n-^uTov. iTTtfV $ tU ax^ou IKriM, 
 VtiSln Si iTrura TsiXuy ^KXtTrri tti^ Sirct. 
 
 Thefe verfes Lucian, in his 'Hi-x.vofj.xiltlx, calls volvSr,u,ot ittji, famous and celebrated ver/et. 
 So Arijlotle, Teij itKxSiixi e'jd T»r f\v pi'^*? uvx\ Trtxfafj y\vxttV Si TBf noi^Tnii, Laertim. 
 
 K k 2 " be
 
 252 THEWORKSOF 
 
 " be the bridle, to Hay them from lunnyng headlong into vice, and to 
 " turne them into the right way agayne." David, in the fecond 
 
 Pfal. xxxiv. pfalme after, giveth the fame medicine, but in thefe plainer wordes, 
 
 ^'^' Diverte a malo, ^ Jac bonum. 
 
 But I am afraide, that over many of our travelers into ItaVie do not 
 cfchewe the way to Crces court, but go, and ryde, and runne, and 
 flie thither j they make great hafte to come to her ; they make great 
 luite to ferve her ; yea, I could point out fome with my finger, that 
 never had gone out of Englaude, but onelie to fer\'e Circe in Italic. Va- 
 nitie and vice, and any licence to ill livying in Etiglande, was counted 
 A trcwcpic- fi:ale and rude unto them. And fo, being mules and horfes before they 
 '"■'5/'*^ f went, returne very fvvyne and afles home againe ; yet everie where 
 Circes court, veric foxes with fubtile and bufie heades -, and where they may, verie 
 wolves, with cruel malicious hearts. A marvelous monfter, whych, 
 for filthinefs of living, for dulnefs to learnyng himfelfe, for wilinefs in 
 dealing with others, for malice in hurting without caufe, fhould carie 
 at once, in one bodie, the bellie of a fwyne, the head of an afle, the 
 braine of a foxe, the wombe of a wolfe. If you thinke we judge 
 The Italians ^^^'^^y ^"^ vvrite to fore againfl you, heare what the Italian fayth of 
 judgement of the Englijhman ; what the mafter reporteth of the fcholer, who utter- 
 JEnghfhmen ^j-j^ plainlie what is taught by him, and what is learned by you, fay- 
 in Italic. ing, Englefe Italianato, e un Diabolo incarnato : that is to fay, " You re- 
 " maine men in fliape and facion, but become devils in life and con- 
 «' dition." 
 
 The Italian ^^'^^ is not the opinion of one, for fome private fpite, but the judge- 
 
 d ffameth mcnt of all in a common proverbe, which rifeth of that learnyng; 
 
 himfelfe, to ^^^ ^.j^^^^ maners, which you gather in Italic ; a good fchole-houfe oF 
 
 Engiifh- wholefojne dodrine, and worthy mailers of commendable fcholersj 
 
 wan. where the mailer had rather disfame hymfdfe for hys teaching, than 
 
 not fliame his fcholer for his learnyng. A good nature of the mailer, 
 
 and faire conditions of the fcholers ! And now cliofe you, you Italian 
 
 Englijlmcn, w hethcr you will be angrye with us, for calling you mon- 
 
 iters, or with the lialia/ics, for callyng you devils y or elie witli your own. 
 
 feWes, that take fo much paines, and go fo farre, to make yourfelves. 
 
 both. If fome do not well underftand, what is an Englijhmoji Italianat- 
 
 ed. 
 
 i
 
 R p G E R A S C H A M. 253 
 
 ed, I will plainlle tell him : " He that by living, and traveling in An Englifh- 
 
 " Italic, bringeth home into Englande, out of Italie, the religion, the '"^^ Jtahan- 
 
 " learnyng, the pollicie, the experience, the maners of Italic." That is ^, 
 
 to fay, for religion, papiftrie, or vvorfe ; for learnyng, lefle commonly gion, 2. the 
 
 than they caried out with them ; for pollicie, a fadrtious hart, a dif- '^^'■")ngi 3- 
 
 courfmg head, a mynde to medle in all mens matters; for experience, ,'^{ifg°g^pg' 
 
 plentie of new mifchieves never known in Englande before ; for maners, rience, and, 
 
 varietie of vanities, and chaunge of filthielvvin^. •5* ^"^ '"^* 
 
 = ' ^ ners, gotten 
 
 in Italic. 
 
 Thefe be the inchantmentes of Circe, brought out of Italic, to marre 
 mens maners in Englande-, much by example of ill life, but more by 
 precepts of fond books, of late tranflated out of Italian into E?iglijhe, Italian 
 fold in every fhop in London ; commended by honell titles, the foner bookestranf- 
 to corrupt honeft maners ; dedicated over boldlie to vertuous and ho- £n2iifh"'° 
 nourable perfonages, the eafilier to beguile fimple and innocent wittes. 
 " It is pitie, that thofe which have authoritie and charge, to allow and 
 " difallow bookes to be printed, be no more circumfpecl herein than 
 ** they are." Ten fermons at Paides CroJJ'c do not fo moch good ,■ 
 for movyng men to trewe do6lrine, as one of thofe bookes do harme, 
 with inticing men to ill living. Yea, I fay fardcr, thofe bookes tend not 
 fo moch to corrupt honeft livying, as they do to fubvert trewe religion. 
 Mo Papiftes be made by your mery bookes of Italic, than by your ear- 
 neft bookes of Loiivain. And bicaufe our great phyficians do winke at 
 the matter, and make no count of this fore, I, though not admitted 
 one of their fellowfliyp, yet havyng bene many yeares a ])rentice to 
 Gods trewe religion, and truft to continewe a poore journeyman there- 
 in all dayes of my life; for the dewtie I owe, and love I beare, both to 
 trewe dod:rine, and honeft living, though I have no authoritie to 
 amend the fore myfelfe, yet I will declare my good will, to difcovet 
 the fore to others. 
 
 St. PW faith, "that feels and ill opinions be the workes of theEpift. ad 
 " flefh, and fruites of fmne." This is Ipokea no more trewlie for the^'^'^-v- 19. 
 dodrine, than fenfible for the reafon. And why ? " For ill doinges Voluntas rc- 
 " breed ill thinkingcs ; and of corrupted maners, fpryng perverted '''"•" ^°' 
 " judgementes." And how ? There be in man two fpcciall thingcs ; ivic's refpi- 
 mans will, mans mynde. Whcie will inclincth to goodncfs, the mynde cit vcium,. 
 
 is
 
 d'Arthure. 
 
 254 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 is bent to troth : where will is canled from goodnes to vanitic, the 
 minde is lone drawn from troth to falle opinion. And fo, the readieft 
 way to entangle the mynde with falfe doclrine, is firil to intice the will 
 to wanton livyng. Therefore, when the bufie and open Papilies 
 abroad, could not, by their contentious bookes, turne men in England^ 
 faft enough from troth and right judgement in doclrine, then the fubtle 
 and lecrete Papilles at home, procured bawdie bookes to be tranflated 
 out of the Italian tonge, whereby over many young willes and witt€S 
 allured to wantonnes, do now boldly contenuie all fevere bookes that 
 founde to honeftie and godlines. 
 
 In our forefathers tyme, when papiftrie, as a ftandyng poole, covered 
 and overflowed all Englande, fewe bookes were read in our tonge, favyng 
 certaine bookes of chevalrie, as they faid for paflime and pleafure ; 
 which, as fome fay,* were made in monafteries by idle monks, or 
 Ia Mrrte wanton chanons. As one for example, -f- LaMorte dArtbure; the whole 
 pleafure of which booke ilandeth in two fpeciall poyntes, in open man- 
 flaughtcr, and bold bawdrye : in which booke they be counted the no- 
 bleft knightes that do kill moft men without any quarrell, and com- 
 mit fowleft adoulteries by futleft fliiftes j as Sir Launcelote, with the 
 wife of king Arthure his mafter j Sir I'rifiram, with the wife of king 
 Marke his uncle j Sir Lamerocke, with the wife of king Lote, that was 
 his own aunte. This is good fluffe for wife men to laughe at, or ho- 
 ned men to take pleafure at : yet I know, when Gods Bible was ba- 
 niflied the court, and La Morte d'Arthure received into the princes 
 chamber. 
 
 * He hath much the fame in his preface to his Toxophilus. '« In our fathers time, nothinge 
 *' was read but bookes of fayned chivalrie ; wherein a man by reading Ihould be led to none 
 " other end, but only to manflaughter and bawdrye. If any man fuppofe they were good 
 «' enout^h to pafle the time withall, he is deceived. For furely vain wordes do work no fmal! 
 " thingein vaine, ignorant, and young minds, efpecially if they be given any thinge thereunto 
 *' of their own nature. Thefe bookes, as I have heard fay, were made the moft part in ab- 
 " beys and monafteries : a very likely and fit fruite offuch an idle and blind kind of living." 
 See Huetius de Origine Fabularum Ritnanenjium. 
 
 t La Mort d'Arthure : fo the book is intitied, tho' it treats of the birth, life, and a£ls of 
 the faid King Arthure, and of his noble knights of the Round Table, and their marvailous 
 conqucfts and adventures. I find it was reprinted at Lcndon in 1634. 
 
 What
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 25^ 
 
 What toyes the dayly readyng of fuch a booke may worke in the 
 will of a yong jeuleman, or a yong mayde, that liveth welthelie and 
 idlelie, wife men can judge, and honeft men do pitie. And yet ten 
 La Morte d'Arthures do not the tenth parte fo much harme, as one of 
 thefe bookes made in Italic, and tianflated in Ejiglande. They open, 
 not fond and common wayes to vice, but fuch futle, cunnyng, new, 
 and diverfe fliiftes, to carry yong willes to vanitie, and yong wittes to 
 mifchief, to teach old bawdes new fchole poyntes, as the fimple head of 
 an EngUp^man is not hable to invent, nor never was heard of in Rng- 
 lande before, yea when papiftrie overflowed all. Suffer thefe bookes to 
 be read, and they fliall foone difplace all bookes of godly learning. 
 " For they, carrying the will to vanitie, and marryng good maners, 
 " fhall eafily corrupt the mynde with ill opinions, and falfe judgement 
 " in doclrine ; firft, to think ill of all trewe religion, and at laft to 
 " thinke nothing of God hymfelfe -. one fpeciall pointe that is to be 
 *• learned in Italic, and Italian bookes." And that which is Jnoft to 
 be lamented, and therefore more nedefuU to be looked to, there be 
 moe of thefe ungratious bookes fet out in printe within thefe fewe 
 monethes, than have been fene in Englande many fcore yeares before. 
 And bicaufe our EngHfmien made Italians cannot hurt but certaine per- 
 fons, and in certaine places, therefore thefe Italian bookes are made Eng- 
 lijhe, to bryng mifchief enough openly and boldly, to all ftates, great 
 and meane, yong and old, every where. 
 
 And thus you fee, how will intifed to wantonnes, doth eafilie allure 
 the mynde to falfe opinions; and how corrupt maners in livinge, breede 
 falfe judgement in do6lrine; how fmne and flefhlines bring forth fedles 
 and herefies : and therefore fuffer not vaine bookes to breede vanitie 
 in mens willes, if you would have Goddes trothe take roote in mens 
 myndes. 
 
 That Italian, that firfl invented the Italian proverbe againll our Efig- The Italian 
 lijhmen Italianated, ment no more their vanitie in livyng, than their Pfo^'crbe ex- 
 lewd opinion in religion. For in calhng them deviles, he carrieth them 
 cleane from God ; and yet he carrieth them no farder, than they will- 
 inglie go thcmfelves ; that is, where they may freely fay their mindes 
 2 to
 
 256 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 to the open contemptc of God, and all godlinefs, both in living and 
 do«Stiine. 
 
 And how ? I will exprefTc how ; not by a fable of Homcre, nor by 
 the philofophie of Plato, but by a plaine troth of Goddes worde, fenfi- 
 blie uttered by David thus: thies men, abominabilcs faSli injhidiis fuis, 
 thinke verilie and finge gladlie the verfe before, Dixit infipiem in corde 
 Pial. xiv. i-fuo, non ejl Dem : that is to fay, they giving themfelves up to vanitie, 
 fliakinge of the motions of grace, driving from them the fcare of God, 
 and running headlong into all finne, firlt luftclie contemn God, then 
 fcornfullie mocke his worde, and alfo fpitefullie hate and hurte all well 
 willers thereof. " Then they have in more reverence the triumphes 
 " oi Petrarcbe, than the Genefis of Mo/t-i ; they make more accounte 
 *' of 'Tuliies Offices, than of St. Pauks epiftles ; of a tale in Bccace, than 
 " a ftorie of the Bible. Then they counte as fables, the holie mifte- 
 " ries of chriftian religion. They make Chrifl and his Gofpell onlie 
 « ferve civill poUicie." Then neyther religion cometh amifle to them. 
 In tyme they be promoters of both openlie i in place againe mockers of 
 both privilie, as I wrote once in a rude ryme ; 
 
 Now new, now olde, now both, now neither j 
 
 To ferve the worldes courfe, they care not with whether. 
 
 For where they dare, in companie where they like, tlicy boldlie laugh 
 
 to fcorne both Proteftant and Papift. They care for no Scripture ; they 
 
 make no counte of generall councels ; they contemne the confent of the 
 
 cliurch ; they pafs for no doflores } they mock the Pope, they raile on 
 
 Luther ; they allow neyther fide ; they like none, but onelie themfelves. 
 
 The marke they Ihote at, the ende they looke for, the heaven they de- 
 
 fire, is onelie their own prefent pleafure, and private profite ; whereby 
 
 they plainlie declare of whofe fchole, of what religion they be ; that is, 
 
 «' Epicures in living, and "A9eoi in doilrine," This laft worde is no 
 
 more unknownc now to plaine EngliJ];mcn, than the perfon was un- 
 
 knowne feme tyme in Englande, untill fome EngliJJman took paines to 
 
 The Italian fetche that deviliftie opinion out of Italic. Thies men thus Italianated 
 
 church in abioad, cannot abide our godlie Italian church at home > they be not of 
 London. . ^, 
 
 4 that
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 257 
 
 that parifli; they be not of that felowfliip j they Hke not that preacher j 
 they heare not his fermons, excepte fomtymes for companie ; they come 
 thither to hear the Italian tonge naturally fpoken, not to heare Gods 
 doctrine trevvly preached. - 
 
 And yet thies men, in matters of divinitie, openlie pretend a great 
 knowledge, and have privatelie to themfelvcs a very compendious un- 
 derftanding of all ; which neverthelefs they will utter, when and where 
 they lifte : and that is this ; All the mifteries of Mofes, the whole lawe 
 and ceremonies, the Pfalmes and prophets j Chrift and his Gofpell, God 
 and the Devil, heaven and hell, faith, confcience, finne, death, and all, 
 they (hortlie wrap up, they quicklie expounde, with this one half verfe 
 of Horace ; 
 
 Credat yudc?us Apella. Lib. r. fat. 5. 
 
 Yet though in Italie they may freely be of no religion, as they are in 
 Englaiide in verie deede to ; neverthelefs returning home into Englande^ 
 they mull countenance the profefllon of the one or the other, howfo- 
 ever inwardlie they laugh to fcorne both. And though, for their pri- 
 vate matters, they can follow, fawne, and flatter noble perfonages, 
 contrarie to them in all refpecls ; yet commonlie they allie themfelves 
 with the worfl Papiftes, to whom they be wedded, and do well agree 
 together in three proper opinions ; in open contempte of Goddes vvorde, p -n - 
 in a fecret fecuritie of finne, and in a bloodie defire to have all taken impiety agree 
 awaie by fword, or burninge, that be not of their faction. They that *". ''"^^ ^pi- 
 do read with an indiirtitnt judgement * Fighiia, and Machiavel, two in- ' p. ', . 
 
 . ' ° , . ^ righius. 
 
 different patnarches of thies two religions, do know full v»ell that I fay Machiave 
 trewe. "^• 
 
 Ye fee what manners and dodrine our ErigliJJjtncn fetch out of Italie : 
 for finding no other there, they can bring no other hither. And there- 
 
 * Alkrtui Pighius, a famous champion for the R'.mijh caufe, and one of L'lthir's anta- 
 gonifts. " Meminerit Cardinalem Campegium, Albertum Pighium, aliofque complurcs funs 
 " docuifle, faccrdotem ilium multo fan£tius & caftius vivere, qui alat concubinam, quam 
 " qui uxorem hiibeat in matrimonio." JuJa Jpol. 
 
 L 1 fore
 
 ijS T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 Wife and forc manic godlic and excellent learned EvgUpmen^ not manic yeares 
 
 honcft tra- ^rrQ JiJ mal;c a better choice; when open crueltie drave them out of 
 
 Germanic, this contrie, to place themfclves there, where Chnftes dodrinc, the 
 
 feare of God, punifliment of finne, and difcipline of honeftie, were had 
 
 in fpecial regard. 
 
 't 
 
 I was once in Italls myfelfe ; but I thanke God, my abode there was ;• 
 
 Venice, but nine dayes ; and yet I fawe in that litle tyme, in one citie, more ;. 
 
 London, libertie to finne, than ever I heard tell of in our noble citie of London in ^ 
 
 nine yeare. I fawe, it was there as free to finne, not onelie without \^ 
 
 all puniihment, but alfo without any mans marking, as it is free in the ;/ 
 
 citie of London, to chofe without all blame, whether a man lufl: to a 
 
 wcare flioo, or pantocle. And good caufe why : for being unlike in troth n 
 
 of religion, they rnuft: nedes be unlike in honeftie of living. For, blef- " 
 
 Service of |-gj ^^ Chrift, in our citie of London, commonlie the commandementes 
 
 lande." "°" of God be more diligentlie taught, and the fervice of God more reve- .i 
 
 rentlie ufed, and that daylie in many private mens houfcs, than they 
 Service of be in I/t^Z/V oncc a weeke in their common churches; where mafking 
 Godinltalic. ceiemonies, to delite the eye, and vaine foundes, to pleafe the eare, do 
 quite thruft out of the cluirches all fervice of God in fpirit and troth. 
 The lord Yea, the lord maior oi London, being but a civill officer, is commonlie 
 Lon°don°'' ^'^^' ^'^"^^ tyme, more diligent in punifliing finne, the bent enemie againfl: 
 God and good order, than all the bloodie inquifitors in Italie be in 
 tors'^inTtalie'. ^^ven yeare. For their care and charge is, not to puniflie finne, not to 
 amend manners, not to purge doctrine, but onlie to watch and over- 
 fee that Chriftes trewe religion fet no fure footing, where the Pope hath 
 anie jurifdiclion. 
 
 An ungodlie I leamcd, when I was at Venice, that there it is counted good polli- 
 polhtic. ^-^^ when there be four or five bretheren of one famiiie, one onelie to 
 marrie, and all the refl, to waulter, with as little fliame, in open lech- 
 crie, as fwyne do here in the common myre. Yea, there be as fayre 
 houfes of religion, as great provifion, as diligent officers, to kepe up this 
 mifbrder, as Bridewell is, and all tiie mafters there, to kepe downe mif- 
 
 order.
 
 R O G E R A S C H A xVr. 259 
 
 order. And therefore, * if the Pope himfelfe do not onelie grant' par- 
 dons to furder thics wicked purpofes abrode in Itnlle, but alfo (although 
 this prefent Pope, in the beginning, made fome fliewe of mifliking 
 thereof) affigne both meede and merite to the maintenance of flewes and 
 brothel houfes at home in Rcme; then ]et wife men thinke Itcilie a fafe 
 place for holfome do6lrine, and godlie manners, and a fitte fchole for 
 yong jentlemen of Englande to be brought up in. 
 
 Oui" Iialians bring home with them other faultes from Italie, though 
 not fo greate as this of reHgion ; yet a great deal greater than many 
 good men can well beare. For commonlie they come home, common 
 cpntemners of mariage, and readie perfuaders of all others to the fame ; Contempt of 
 not becaufe they love virginitie, nor yet becaufe they hate prettie yong mariage. 
 virgines, but being free in Italie to go whitlier fo ever lull will carry 
 them, they do not like, that lawe and honeftie fliould be foch a barre 
 to their libertie at home in Englande. And yet they be the greateft 
 makers of love, the daylie dalliers with fuch pleafant wordes, with fuch 
 fmilyng and fecret countenances, with fuch llgnes, tokens, wagers, 
 purpofed to be loft, before they were purpofed to be made, with bar- 
 gains of wearing colours, floures, and herbes, to breede occafion of 
 ofter meeting of him and her, and bolder talking of this and that, &c. 
 And although I have feene fome, innocent of all ill, and flayde in all 
 honeftie, that have ufcd tiiefe things without all harme, without all 
 fufpicion of harme ; yet thefe knacks were brought firft into Englande hy 
 them, that learned them before in Italie in Circes court ; and how court- 
 lie courtefies fo ever they be counted now, yet if the meaning and man- 
 ners of fome that do ufe them, were fomewhat amended, it were no 
 great hurt, neither to themfelves, nor to others. 
 
 Another propertic of thies our EngliJJj Italians is, to be marvelous fin- 
 gular in all their matters j fingular in knowledge, ignorant of nothing) 
 fo fingular in wifdom6 (in their owne opinion) as fcarce they count the 
 beft councellor the prince hath, comparable with them : common dif- 
 
 * Nondum ille, fpero, oblitus cfl-, multa efTe Rom;« publicarum mcretricum millia, & fe 
 ex illis in fingulos annos, vccHgalis nomine, coliigcrc ad triginta millia ducatorum. Obli- 
 vifci non potcll, fc Uoma; Lenocinium publicc cxcrcerc, & dvfxdjflima merccdc fsede ac ne- 
 quitcr delitiari. Judli Jpol, 
 
 L 1 2 courfers
 
 26o T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 courfcrs of all matters, bufie feaichers of moft feciet affaires, open flat- 
 terers of great men, privie millikcrs of good men, faire fpeakers with 
 fmiling countenances, and much courtefie openlie to all men ; ready 
 backbiters, fore nippers, and fpitefull reporters privilie of good men. 
 And beyng brought up in Italic in fome free citie, as all cities be 
 there; where a man may freely difcourfe againil: what he will, againft 
 whom he luft, againfl: any prince, agaynfl: any government, yea againft 
 God himfelfe, and his whole religion ; where he mull be cither * Guelphe 
 or Gibiline ; either French or Spanifi ; and alwayes compelled to be 
 of fome partie, of fome faction, he fhall never be compelled to be of 
 any religion- And if he meddle not over much with Chriftes true re- 
 ligion, he fliall have free libertie to embrace all. religions, and become 
 if he lull, at once, without any let or punilhment, JewiJJj, TurkiJIj, 
 Papifli, and Deviliifli. 
 
 A yong jentleman, thus bred up in this goodly fchole, to learne the 
 next and rcadie way to finne, to have a bufie head, a factious heart, 
 a talkative tongc, fed with difcourfing of factions, led to contemne 
 God and his religion, fliall come home into Englande but verie ill 
 taught, either to be an honeft man hymfelfe, a quiet fubje6l to his 
 prince, or wlllyng to fcrve God, under the obedience of trewe do6lrine, 
 or withhi the order of honcll living. 
 
 I know, none will be offended with this my generall writing, but 
 onelie fuch, as finde themfclves guiltie privately therein; who fhall 
 have good leave to be otfended with me, untill they begin to 
 amende themfclves. I touch not them that be good; and 1 fay 
 to litle of them that be naught. And fo, though not enough for 
 their dcferving, yet fufficlentlie for this time, and more els-when, if 
 occafion fo require. 
 
 And thus farre have I wandered from my firft purpofe of teaching 
 a child, yet not altogetlier out of the way, bicaufe this whole taulke 
 hath tended to the onelie advaunccment of trothe in religion, and 
 
 * Two fa(5iions in Itahy which their hiftorians frequently mention. See Alachlavd's ac- 
 count of their original. 
 
 honeftie 
 
 I 
 
 \
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 261 
 
 honeftie of living ; and hath bene whollie within the compafle of learn- 
 yng and good manners, the fpeciall pointes belonging to the right 
 brynging up of youth. 
 
 But to my matter : as I began plainlie and fimplie with my yong 
 fcholer, fo will I not leave him, God willing, untill I have brought 
 him a perfite fcholer out of the fchole, and placed him in the univerfi- 
 tie, to become a fitte fludent for logicke and rhetoricke j and fo after to 
 phyficke, law, or divinitie, as aptnes of nature, advife of frendes, and 
 Gods difpofition jQiall lead him. 
 
 The Ende of the F I R S T B O O K E. 
 
 THE
 
 THE 
 
 SECOND BOOKE. 
 
 Teachyng the ready Way 
 
 To the L A T I N T O N G E. 
 
 AFTER that your fcholer, as I fayd before, fhall come indeedc, 
 firil: to a readie perfitnes in tranflating, then to a ripe and fkil- 
 luli choice in marking out hys fixe pointes i as, 
 "i. Proprium. 
 
 2. 'Tranjlatum. 
 
 3. Synotiymum. 
 
 4. Contrarium. 
 
 5. Diverfum. 
 
 6. Phrafes. 
 
 Then take this order with him : Read dayly unto him fome booke of 
 Tullie ; as the third booke of epiftlcs chofen out by Sturmius ; de Ainici- Cicero. 
 tia, de SetieSttite, or that excellent epiftlc, containyng almoft the whole 
 firft booke, ad ^ Fratrem ; fome comedie of Tereiice, or Plautus. But in ^11^^^^" 
 PJaittus, fkilfull choice muft be ufed by the mafter, to traine his fcho- 
 ler to a judgment, . in cutting out perfitelie over old and unproper 
 wordes. Cajars Commentaries are to be read with all curiofitie, wherein JuK Csfar. 
 fpecially (without all exception to be made either by friend or foe) is 
 feene the unfpotted proprietie of the Lati7i tonge, even when it was, as 
 the Grecians fay, in ajcjitri, that is, at the highefl pitch of all peifite- 
 nefle ; or fome orations of 'T. Livius, fuch as be both longelt and T. Livius. 
 plainell. 
 
 * 
 
 Thefe bookes I would have him read now a good deale at every lec- 
 ture J for he lliall not now ufe dailie tranflation, but only conllrue 
 againe, and parfc, where ye fufpedt is any nede : yet let him not omitte 
 in thefe bookes his former exercife, in marking diligentlie, and writyng 
 ordcrlie out his fix pointes : and for tranflating, ufe you yourfclfe, every 
 
 6 fccond
 
 264 T H E W O K K S O F 
 
 fecond or thyrd day, to chofe out fome epiftle ad Atticwn ; feme not- 
 able common place out of his orations, or fome other part of Tiillie, h^ 
 your difcretion, which your fcholer may not know where to find ; and 
 tranllatc it you your felfc, into plaine naturall ILngUJJi ; and then give it 
 him to tranllate into Latin againe, allowyng him good fpace and tyme, 
 to do it both with diligent heedc, and good advifcment. 
 
 Here his witte dial be new fet on worke ; his judgement, for right 
 choice, trewiie tried ; his memorie, for fure reteyning, better exercif- 
 ed, tlian by learnyng any thing without the booke ; and here, how 
 much lie hath profited, fliall plainlie appeare. When he bringeth it 
 tranflated unto you, bring you forth the place of Tullie ; lay them to- 
 gether, compare tlie one with the other ; commend his good choice, 
 and right placing of wordes ; fliew his faultes jently, but blame them 
 not over lliarply ; for of fuch mifllngs, jentlie admonifhed of, proceed- 
 eth glad and good heed taking ; of good heed taking, fpringeth chiefly 
 knowledge, which after groweth to perfitnefle, if this order be diligent- 
 lie ufed by the fcholer, and jently handled by the mafler. For here 
 fhall all the hard pointes of grammar, both eafelie and furelie be learn- 
 ed up ; which fcholers in common fcholes, by making of Latines, be 
 groping at, with care and feare, and yet in many yeares they fcarce can 
 reach unto them. 
 
 I remember, when I was yong, in the I^Jorth they went to the 
 grammar fchole little children ; they came from thence great lubbers, 
 alwayes learnyng, and little profiting ; learnyng without booke, eve- 
 ry thing, underftanding within the booke little or nothing. Their 
 whole knowledge, by learnyng without the booke, was tied only to their 
 tonge and lips, and never afcended up to the brain and head ; and there- 
 fore was fone fpitte out of the mouth againe. They were as men al- 
 wayes going, but ever out of the way. And u hy ? For their whole 
 labour, or rather great toile without order, was even vaine idlenefle 
 ^ without profit. Indeede they took great paynes about learnyng, but 
 employed fmall labour in learnyng ; when by this way prefcribed in 
 this booke, being ftraight, plaine, and eafie, the fcholer is alwayes la- 
 boring with pleafure, and ever going right on forward with proffit. 
 Alwayes laboring 1 fay; for, or he have conftrucd, parced, twife tranf- 
 lated
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 265 
 
 lated over by good advifcment, marked out his fix pointes by fkilfull 
 
 judgement, he fliall have neceflary occafiou, to read over every lecture 
 
 a dozen tymes at the leaft. Which becaufe he Ihall do alwayes in order, 
 
 he Ihall do it alwayes -with pleafure : " and pleafure allureth love, 
 
 " love hath luft to labor, labor alwayes obtaineth his purj)ole ," as 
 
 moll trevvly both Arifto'k in his Rhetoricke, and Oedipus * in Sophocles ^'^^'' 2. 
 
 do teach, faying, ttuv ya.^ ey.7rovovy,ivov ccKiTy^E, [^c. And this oft read- Xyr. ''' 
 
 ing, is the verie right following of that good counfell, ■f which P//;;/V Lib.7. ep. 9: 
 
 doth give to his frendc Fufcus, laying, Multiim^ non inulta. But to my 
 
 purpofe againe. 
 
 When by this diligent and fpedie reading over thofe forenamed 
 good bookcs of TuUie, T'ereiice, Gefar, and Livie, and by this fecond 
 kinde of tranflating out of your Englijh, tyme Ihall breedc Ikill, and 
 ufe fliall bring perfeclion : then ye may trie, if ye will, your fcholer 
 with the third kinde of tranllation : although the two firft vvaycs, by 
 mine opinion, be not onlie fufficient of themfelves, but alfo furer, both 
 for the mafters teaching, and fcholers learnyng, than this third way is ; 
 which is thus : 
 
 Write you in EngUp fome letter, as it were from him to his father, 
 or to fome other frende, naturallie, according to the difpofition of the 
 child ; or fome tale, or fable, or plane narration, according as Jphtho- 
 nius bcginneth his exercifes of learnyng ; and let him tranllate it into 
 Latin againe, abiding in foch place where no other fcholer may prompt 
 him. But yet, ufe you your felfc foch difcretion for choice therein, as 
 the matter may be within the compas, both for wordcs and fentences, 
 of his former learnyng and reading. And now take heede, left your 
 
 * What paflage he means in Sophocles, I know not. The following fentence Creon fpeaks 
 to Ocd'ipu!, after his return from the oracle : 
 
 ■ To Si ^riT^' f.e\iov 
 
 There is nothing elfe in that excellent play that has the leaft relation hereunto. 
 
 f The fentence in Pliny^s cpiftles here referred to, is this : " Tu memincris, fui cujufquc 
 *' generis auftores diligenter eligcre. Aiunt enim, multum Ugendwn ejje, ndu niulta" 
 
 M m fcholer
 
 266 THEWORKSOF 
 
 fcholer do not better in fome point than you yourfelfe, except ye have 
 bene diligentlie exeixiJld in thele kindes of tranflating before. 
 
 I had once a profe hereof, tried by good experience, by a deare 
 frende of myne, when I came firft from Cambrige to ferve tlie queens 
 majeftie, than ladie Elizabeth, lying at worthic Syr Antony Dcnys in 
 Cheflon. "John Whitney^ a yong jentleman, was my bed felloe ; who 
 willyng by good nature, and provoked by mine advife, began to 
 learn the Latin tonge after the order declared in this booke- We be- 
 gan after Chrijlmas : I read unto him 'Tu/Iie de Amicitia, which he did 
 every day twife tranflaie, out of Latin into Englijh, and out of Efiglijh 
 into Latin againe. About St. Laurence tide after, to prove how he 
 profitted, I did chofe out Torqiiatus taulke de Amicitia, in the later end 
 of the firfl booke de Finibus ; bicaufe that place was the fame in matter, 
 like in wordes and phrafes, nigh to the form and facion of lenten- 
 ces, as he had learned before in de Amicitia. I did tranflate it myfelfe 
 into plaine Englijh, and gave it him to turn into Latin -, which he did 
 fo choiflie, fo ordcrlie, fo without any great mille in the hardeft pointes 
 of grammar, that fome, in feven yeare in grammar fcholes, yea, and 
 fome in the univerfities to, cannot do halfe fo well. This worthie 
 yong jentleman, to my greatefl grief, to the great lamentation of that 
 whole houfe, and fpeciallie to that noble ladie, now queene Elizabeth 
 herfelfe, departed within few days out of this world. 
 
 And if in any caufe, a man may without offence to God fpeake 
 ibmevvhat ungodlie, furely it was fome grief unto me, to fee him hie 
 fo haftelie to God, as he did. A court, full of foch yong gentlemen, 
 were rather a Paradife than a court upon earth. And though I had ne- 
 ver poeticall head, to make any verfe in any tonge ; yet either love, or 
 forow, or both, did wring out of me then, certaine careful thoughtes 
 of my good will towards him j which in my mourning for him, fell 
 forth more by chance, than either by fkill or ufc, into this kinde of 
 miforderlie meter. 
 
 Myne own John Whitney, mw farewell, now death doth parte ui iwaine : 
 No death, but partyng for awhile, whom life Jljall joy ne agayne. 
 
 3 therefore
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 267 
 
 Therefore my heart ceafe Jighes and fobbes, ceafe foroives feede to foiv; 
 
 Whereof no gaine, but greater grief and hurtful I care may grow. 
 
 Tetivhen I thinke upon foch giftcs of grace, as God him lent, 
 
 My loffe, his gaijie, I mufl a 'while, 'with joyfull ieares lament. 
 
 Tong ye ares to yielde foch frute in court y 'where feede of 'vice is fo'wnCj 
 
 Is fome time read, in fame place fee ne, amongfl us feldome knowne. 
 
 His life he ledde, Chrijles lore to lear?ie, 'with 'will to 'worke the fame; 
 
 He read to kno'w, arid kne'w to live, and livd to praife his name. 
 
 Sofajl a frende, fo foe to few, fo good to every ivight, 
 
 I may 'well wifie, but fcarcelie hope, againe to have in fight. 
 
 'The greater joy e his life to me, his death the greater payne : 
 
 His life in Chri/l fofureliefet, doth glad my harte againe: 
 
 His life fo good, his death better, do mingle mirth 'with care. 
 
 My fpirit with joye, my flefJ: with grief, fo dcare a frend to fpare; 
 
 Thus God the good, while they be good, doth take, and leave us ill, 
 
 That wejhould tnend our finjull life, in life to tary flill. 
 
 Thus we well left, he better reft, in heaven to take his place. 
 
 That by like life, and death, at lajl, we may obtaine like grace. 
 
 My fie owne John Whitney, agayne farewell, a while thus parte in twaine ', 
 
 Whom payne doth part in earth, in heaven great joye f jail jey tie agayne. 
 
 In this place, or I precede farder, I will now declare, by whofe au- 
 thoritie I am led, and by what reafon I am moved, to thinke, that this 
 way of double tranOatipn out of one tonge into another, in either one- 
 lie, or at leaft chiefly to be exercifed, fpeciallie of youth, for the ready 
 and fure obtaining of any tonge. 
 
 There be fix wayes appointed by the beft learned men, for the learn- 
 yng of tonges, and encreafe of eloquence j as, 
 
 r ; . Tranflatio linguarum. 
 
 2. Paraphrafis. 
 
 3. Metaphrafis. 
 
 4. Epitome. 
 
 5. Imitatio. ' 
 j_6. Dcclamatio. 
 
 M m 2 All 
 
 <
 
 268 T n E W O R K S O F 
 
 All theis be ufed, and commended, but in order, and for refpeflcs, 
 as perfon, habiiitie, place, and tyme fliall require. The fi\c lalt be 
 fitter for the- mafter tiian the fcholer ; for men, than for children ; for 
 the univerfitics, rather than for grammar fcholes. Yet never the lelie, 
 which is fitted in mine opinion for our fchole, and which is either 
 wlioUe to be refufed, or partlie to be ufed for our purpoie 3 I will, by 
 good authoritie, and fume reafon I tiufl, particularlie of everie one, 
 and largelie enough of them all, declare orderlie unto you. 
 
 Translatio Lingua ru ^i. 
 
 Tranflationis eafie in the beginning for the fcholcr, and biingeth alfo 
 moch learning and great judgement to the mafler. It is moft common, 
 and mod commendable of all other exercifes for youth : mod common ; 
 for all your condrudions in grammar fcholes, be nothing els but tranf- 
 lations : but bccaufe they be not double tranflations, as I do require, 
 they bring forth but fimple and fingle commoditie; and becaufe alfo 
 they lacke the daily ufe of writing, which is the onely thing that brecd- 
 eth deepe roote, both in the witte, for good underdanding, and in 
 the memorie, for fure keeping of all that is learned : mod commend- 
 able alfo, and that by the judgement of all authors, which intreate of 
 De Orat. ^heis exercifes. 7iillie in the perfon of L. CraJJits, (whom he maketh his 
 example of eloquence and trewe judgement in learnyng) doth not one- 
 ly praife fpccially, and chofe this way of tranflation for a yong man ; 
 bLrt doth alfo* difcommend and refufe his owne former wontc, in cx- 
 crcifmg Paruphrajin, & Mrtdpbrafin. Farapbrafis is, to take fome elo- 
 quent oration, or fome notable common place in Latin, and exprelle it 
 with other wordes : Mctaphraps is, to take fome notable place out of 
 a good poete, and turn the fame lenfe into meter, or into other wordes 
 in profe. CraJJ'us, or rather Tullie, doth millike both thefe wayes ; bi- 
 caufe the author, either oiator or pocte, had chofen out before the 
 fitted wordes, and apted compofition foi- that matter ; and fo he, in 
 fceking other, was driven to ufe the worfe. 
 
 • Thefe are Crajfus's reafons againft this fort of excrcife : " Scd poll animadverti, hoc cfTe 
 " in hoc vitii, quod ea verba, qu.-e maximi lujufque rci propria, quKquc eflent ornatiflima 
 «' atque optimn, occupafTct aut Ennius, fi ad ejus verfus me excrccrem, aut Gracchus, fi ejus 
 " orationem mihi foric propofuificm : ita, ii iifdem verbis uterer, nihil prodefle ; fi aiiis, 
 " ctiam obelle, ciim minus idoneis uti confuefccrcm." Dt Orat. lib. J. 
 
 4 ^lintilian 
 
 lib. 1.
 
 1 
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 269 
 
 §>uintirian alfo preferreth tranflation * before all other exeicifes ; yet Qulntil. de 
 having a luft to diHent from Tuilie (as he cloth in very many places,'.'''^'- ^"^• 
 if a man read his Rhetoricke over advifcdiie ; and that rather of an en- 
 vious minde, than of any jull caufe) doth greathe commend Paraphra- 
 Jis, -f crofhng fpitefidlie TuHies judgement in lefufing the fame: and fo 
 do Ramus and Talceus even at this day in France to. But fuch fingula- 
 ritie in diHcnting from the b;fl: mens judgementcs, in liking onclie 
 their owne opinions, is moch mifliked of ail them, that joyne with 
 learnyng, dii'cretion and wifdome. -For he, that can neither like yf/v- 
 -J}ot!c in logieke and philofophie, nor TuUie in rhetoricke and eloquence, 
 '.vill^ from thefe fteppes, likelie enough, prefume by like pride, to 
 mount hier, to the milhking of greater matters ; that is, either in re- 
 ligion, to have a diflentious head, or in the common v.-ealth, to have 
 a factious hart : as I knew one, a ftudcnt in Cambrige, who, for a fin- 
 gularitie, began firrt to dillent in the fcholes from Arifiotk^ and fone 
 after became a perverfe Arian, again ft Chrift and all trewe religion ; 
 and ftudied diligentlie Origene, Bajiliiis, and S. Hierome, onclie to glcane 
 out of their vvorkes, the pernicious herefies of Celfus, Eunomius, and Hel- 
 lidius, whereby the church of Chrift was fo poyfoned withall. , 
 
 But to leave thefe hye pointes of divinitie : furelie in this quiete and 
 harmlefs controverfie, for the liking or miHiking of Parapbrajis for a 
 yong fcholer ; even as far as T'ullie goeth beyond ^lintiliaji. Ramus, and 
 Tafausy in perfect eloquence, even fo moch, by mine opinion, come they 
 beyonde Tuilie, for trewe judgement in teaching the fanic. 
 
 Plimus Secu?i(lus, a wife fenator of great experience, exccllentlic 
 learned himfelfe, % a hberall patrone of learned men, and the pureft 
 
 writer, 
 
 * ^/iniUian docs not feem heartilv to recommend this way of tranflating owt o^ Greek into 
 Latin ; but rather t^ives us the opini 'H and judgment of the old oiators al'.out it, adding, that 
 it was much pradliled by CruJJiis, (.'iccro, and iVhjJila. His words arc, " Vtrterc Graeca in 
 " Latinum veteres noftri oratorcs optimum judicabant." 
 
 •j- " Scd & ilia ex Latinis convcrfio, multiim h ipfa contulcrit. Idci'quc ab iliis 
 
 " difltntio, qui vertcre oraliones Latinas vetant, quia optimis oecupaiis, quicquid aiitcr dixc- 
 " rimus, necclTe fit efTe deterius. Nam ncquc femper eft defperandum, aliquid illis, qux 
 " di(?la fuiit, melius pofle reperiri ; ncque adco jejuuam ac paupercm natura eloqiientiam 
 " fecit, ut una de re bene did, nifi fcmel non poifit." De In/fit. Oral. lib. lo. 
 
 t He writes thus to ^uintilian, being about to marry his daughter tu Nonius C Irr : " I'ar- 
 " tern oncris tui mihi vindico, ct tanquam parens alter puells ngllrs, confero quiiiquaginta 
 
 '^ niillia 
 
 I
 
 i ,o THEWORKSOF 
 
 Plinius Si- writer, in myne opinion, of all his age -f (I except not Suefom'us, his 
 cunJus dedit ^.^^ fchoiemafters ^lintilian and Tacitus, nor yet his moft excellent 
 pracept'orT learned uncle, the elder Plinius) doth exprelTe in an epiflle to his frende 
 fuo, in ma- fufcus, many good wayes for order in lludie ; but he beginneth with 
 Si^rjcooo tranilation, and prefeneth it to all the reft. And bicaufe * his wordes 
 rummos. be not able, I will recite them. 
 
 Kpift. lib. 6. 
 ep. 3ir. 
 
 Utile in primis, ut vmlti pracipiunt, ex Graco in Latirium, & ex Latino 
 vertere in Grcecum : quo genere exercitationis, proprietas Jplcndorque 'verbo- 
 rum, apta jlruBura fententiarumy Jigurarum copia ^ explicandi ws colligi- 
 tur, Praterea, imitatione optimorum, facultus fimilia iyiveniendi para- 
 tur : & qua Icgentevi, fefellijjent, transferentem fugere non pofunt. Intelli- 
 gent i a ex hoc, & judicium acquiritur. 
 
 Ye perceive how Plinie teacheth, that by this exercife of double 
 tranflating, is learned eafcly, fenfiblie, by little and little, not onelie 
 all the hard congruities of grammar, the choice of apteft wordes, the 
 right framing of wordes and fcntences, comlines of figures, and formes 
 fitte for everie matter, and proper for cverie tonge : but that which is 
 greater alio, in marking dayly, and folowing diligentlie thus the fteppes 
 
 *' mJllia nummCm ; plus collaturus, nifi a vcrccundia tua fola mediocritate munufculi, im- 
 " pctrari pofle confiderem, ne recufares." Epjfl. lib. 6. 
 
 t Many have condemned the whole age wherein Pliny wrote. " Optaret alius, ut orato- 
 •*' rem Plinium faperem, quod hujus et maturitas et difciplina laudatur. Ego contra totum 
 " illud aCpirnari me dicam Plinii feculum." Ancdus Politianus, epijl. i. 
 
 * There is fo great a difference in this citation out oi Pliny from the pri.Tted copies, that 
 I'm fatisfi;.d Mr. Ajcham (as I have obferv'd before) trufted to his memory only, without ever 
 looking into his author. This will appear plain enough to any one, that fhal! compare this 
 paflage, as it flands here, with Piin/s text, which I (hall give the reader out of Dixhornius's 
 edition, printed by Elzevir. 
 
 " Utile imprimis, & multi prscipiunt, vel ex Grasco in Latinum, vel ex Latirio vertere 
 ♦' in Ciracum : quo genere exercitationis proprietas fplendorque verborum, copia figurariim, 
 •• vis explicandi ; pr.Tterea imitatione optimorum fimilia invtnicndi facultas paratur : fimul 
 " q -as legentem fcfelllficnt, transferentem fugere non pofTunt. Inttll gentia ex hoc &judi- 
 " cium acquiritur." Lib. -. 
 
 Now left any (hould wo; der at this ftrange inaccuracy (for fo it fcems to be) in a perfon of 
 Mr. /1lihjm% learning and judgment ; I (hail tranfcribe what Cafaubon, in his notes on Theo- 
 iriiui, has remark'd on the like occalion. " Veterum grammaticorum mos c(t in proferendis 
 »' auflorum loci% id unicum, cujus gratia eos laudant, fpeftare, negleda interim fcntentia. 
 " Ex eo eft, quod multa fsepc apud eos alitcr fcrfpta inveniuntur, quam in ipfts audofibus 
 " habentur.*' 
 
 of
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 271 
 
 of the beft authors, like invention of argumentcs, like order in difpo- 
 fuion, like utterance in elocution, is eafilic gathered up ; whereby your 
 fcholer fjiall be brought not onlie to like eloquence, but alfo, to 
 all trewe underrtanding, and right judgement, both for writing and 
 fpeaking. 
 
 And where DIonyfius Halicarnajfcnn hath written two excellent bookes, 
 the * one de DelcBu optimorum Vcrboriim, (the which, I fcare, is loft) the 
 other, of the right framing of wordes and fentences, which doth re- 
 maine yet in Greeke, to the great profit of all them that trewlie ftudie 
 for eloquence : yet this waie of doable tranflating, fhall bring the 
 whole proffet of both thefe bookes to a diligent fcholer, and that eafelie 
 and pleafantlie, both for fitte choice of wordes, and apt compofition of 
 fentences. 
 
 And by theis authorities and reafons, am I moved to thinke this 
 waie of double tranflating, either onelie, or chieflie, to be fitteft for the 
 fpeedy and perfit attayning of any tonge. And for fpeedy atteyning, I 
 durft venture a good wager, if a fcholer, in whom is aptnes, love, di- 
 ligence, and conftancie, would but tranflate, after this forte, one little 
 booke in Tullie, (as de Sene5lute, with two epiftles, the firft ad ^fra- 
 trejn, the other ad Lentulum, the laft fave one in the firft booke) that 
 fcholer, I fay, fhould come to a better knowledge in the Latin tonge, 
 than the moft part do, that fpend foure or five yeares in tofhng all the 
 rules of grammar in common fcholcs. Indeede this one booke, with 
 thefe two epiftles, is not fufiicient to afFourde all Latin wordes, (which 
 is not neceffary for a young fcholer to know) but it is able to furnifhe 
 him fully, for all pointes of grammar, with the right placing, ordering, 
 and ufe of wordes, in all kinde of matter. And why not ? For it is 
 read, that Dion Prua£usy that wife philofopher, and excellent ora i- 
 
 • Dionyftus, in the beginning of his excellent treatife iri^) SuvOfVtuj oi/o/^arw;-, acquaints 
 young Rufus Melitius, he defigned him another prefciu tlie year following, on his next en- 
 fuing birth-day ; which fhould be a treatife, concerning the right choke of wirdi. But whe- 
 ther he ever performed what he there promifcs, is uncertain. 'Ea> St lyya-l^a.l poi (r;^oA»), 
 yi, tzi^i TJiJ ExAoyrif tuv ovofAocTUV ITi^ccv i^oKTia <TOi yoa^ylti, 'I'vx rov AtXTixou r^Troy TiXtiuf 
 f^[t^ya(r[/.ii/ov fJC"?* '"£''""' f^t" S" t))1» sr^oiyiAixldtii/ ti's viulei tJclMv u^xn T»7i a.\jTci.7s 
 
 tour
 
 3/2 THE W O R K S F 
 
 tour * of all his tyme, did come to the great leapiyng and utterance that 
 was in him, by reading and following onlie two bookes, Phadon Pla- 
 tonis, and Dcmojlhcnes moft notable oration, ■srs^* Ua^a.7r^i<rp.iixg. 
 
 And a better and nearer, example herein may be, our moft noble 
 queen Elizahethy who never toke yet Greekc nor Latiji grammar in her 
 hand, after the firft dechning of a nowne and a verbe ; but only by 
 this double tranilating of Deinofthenes and Ifocrates dailie, without mif- 
 fing every forenone, andiikevvife fome part of 7/<///V every afternone, for 
 the fpace of a yeare or two, hath atteyned to foch a perlit underftand- 
 ing in both the tonges, and to fuch a readie utterance of the Latin^ 
 and that with fuch a judgement, -f- as they be fewe in nomber in both 
 the univerfities, or els where in Englaiide, that be, in both tonges, com- 
 parable with her majeftie. And to conclude in a fliort rov/me the 
 commodities of double tranflation ; furelie the minde by dailie marking, 
 firft, the caufe and matter ; then the wordcs and phrafes ; next, the 
 order and compofition ; after, the rcafon and argumentes ; then the 
 formes and figures of both the tonges ; laftlie, the meafure and compas 
 of everie fentence, muft needes, by little and little, draw unto it the 
 like fliape of eloquence, as the author doth ufe, which is read. And 
 thus much for double tranflation. 
 
 P A R A P H R A S I S. 
 
 Paraphrafis, the fecond point, is not onelie J to exprefle at large with 
 De Inftit. more wordes, but to ftrive and contend (as ^inti/ia/i fayth) to tranf- 
 late the beft Laiin authors into other Latin wordes, as many, or there- 
 aboute. 
 
 This waie of exercife j{ was ufed firft by C. Carbo, and taken up for 
 a .while by L. CraJJia^ but fone after, upon due profe thereof, reje(5fed 
 
 juftiie 
 
 * He lived in Trajan's time, and in great favour and tftecm with the Emperor, 
 f See the character Sir Henry Savil gives of this incomparahie queen, in his oration print- 
 ed at the end of this book. 
 
 I " Ncquc ego nafa'p;«ff-iv cfle intcrpretationem tantum volo, fed circa eofdem fenfus 
 " certamen atque semulationem." ^ui'.tr/. 
 
 II " In quotidianis autcm cogitationibus cquidem mihi adolefccntulus proponere folebam 
 *' illam cxercitationcm maxime, qua C. Carbonem aoftrum ilium inimicum folitum effe uti 
 
 fciebam.
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 273 
 
 juftlie by Crajfus and Cicero ; yet allowed, and made fterling agayne, 
 by M. ^iintilian : neverthelefs fliortUe after, by better adaye, difal- 
 lowed of ills owne fcholcr, Plinius Seamdus, who termeth it rightlie 
 thus, * atida^ conUntio. It is a bold comparifon indeede, to think to lay 
 better, than that is belV. Such turning of the beft into vvorfe, is much 
 like the turning of good wine, out of a faire fvveete flagon of filver, into 
 a foule muftic bottle of ledder j or to turne pure gold and filver into 
 foule brafie and copper. 
 
 Soch kinde of Paraphrafis, in turning, chopping, and changing the 
 beft to vvorfe, either in the mynte or fcholes, (though M. Brokke and 
 ^intilian both fay the contrary) is moch mifliked of the beil and wiieii 
 men. I can better allow an other kinde of Paraphrajls, to turne rude 
 and barbarous, into proper and eloquent : which neverthelefs is an ex- 
 ercife not fitte for a fcholer, but for a perfitc mafter -, who in plentie 
 hath good choice, in copie hath right judgement, and grounded Ikill ; 
 as did appearc to be in Sebajiian Cqjiolio, in tranflating Kenippes booke 
 de Imitando Chrijlo, 
 
 But to follow ^lintilianm advife for Pciraphrafis, were even to take 
 paine, to feeke the worfe and fowler way, when the plaine and fairer 
 is occupied before your eyes. 
 
 The olde and beft authors that ever wrote, were content if occalion 
 required to fpeake twife of one matter, not to change the wordes, but 
 gijrw;, that is, worde for v/orde to exprefle it againe. For they thought 
 that a matter, well expreiled with fitte wordes and apt con)pofition, 
 was not to be altered, but liking it well their fclves, they thought it 
 would alio be well allowed of others. 
 
 *' fdcbam, ut aut verfibus propofltis quani maximc gravibus, aut oratione aliqua lefla ad eum 
 ■«' finem, quern nicmoria poflem comprelienderc, earn rem ipfam, quam legHlem, verbis a'iis 
 •• quiim maximc poflem leflis pronunciarcm." Cic. de Orat, lib. i. i 
 
 * «' Liceblt interdum & notiflima cligcrc, & certare cum cle(5tis. Audax hcec, iion ta- 
 " men improba, quia fecreta, contentio; quanquam multos viJemus cjufmodi certamina fibi 
 <' cum multa laudc fumpfilTc, quofque fubfcqui fatis habcbant, duin iion defpcraiii, aiite- 
 " ccflKTc." Pliny, in the liime cpiftle. 
 
 N n A
 
 274 
 
 Homer. Ili- 
 ad. 2. & 9. 
 
 Xenophon. 
 
 Demofthc- 
 nes. 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 A Icholemaller, foch a one as I require, knoweth that I fay trewe. 
 He readeth in Horner^ alnioft in everie booke, and fpeciallie in Jecwidoy. 
 & nono Iliados, not onlie fome verfes, but whole leaves, not to be alter- 
 ed with new, but to be uttered with the old feife fame wordes. He 
 knoweth that Xenophon^ writing twife of Agefilaus, once in his life, 
 againe in the hiftorie of the Grcekes, in one matter, kepcth alwayes 
 the felfc fame wordes. He doth the like, fpeaking of Socrates, both in 
 the beginning of his apologie, and in the lalt ende of 'A-sroi/,vr:y,ovBijf4.uTuv, 
 
 Derr.ojlhenes alfo, in the fourth Philippica, doth borow his owne 
 wordes, uttered before in his oration de Cherfoncfo. He doth ^he like, 
 and that more at large, in his orations againft Andration, and 7/>«o- 
 crates. 
 
 Cicero. ^^ Latin alfo, Cicero in fome places, and Virgil in mo, do repeate 
 Virgil, one matter with the felfe fame wordes. Thies excellent authors did 
 thus, not for lacke of wordes, but by judgement and fkill, whatfo- 
 ever others, more curious, and lefle fkilfull, do thinke, write, and do. 
 
 Paraphrafis neverthelefle hath good place in learnyng, but not, by 
 myne opinion, for any fcholer ; but is onelie to be left to a perfite maf- 
 ter, eyther to expound openlie a good author withall, or to compare 
 privatclie, for his owne exercife, how fome notable place of an excel- 
 lent author may be uttered with other fitte wordes. But if ye alter 
 alfo the compofition, forme, and order, then that is not Paraphrafis, 
 but Imitatio, as I will fullie declare in fitter place. 
 
 The fcholer fliall winnc nothing by Paraphrafis, but onellc, if wc 
 may believe Tk///>, to choofe worfe wordes, to place them out of or- 
 der, to feare overmoch the judgement of the mafter, to miflike over- 
 moch the hardnefs of learnyng ; and by ufe to gather up faultes, which 
 hardhe will be left of againe. 
 
 The mafter in teaching it, fhall rather encreafe hys owne labour, than 
 his fcholers proffet. For when the fcholer fliall bring unto his mafter 
 a piece of iulUc, or Gejlir, turned into other Latin, then muft the 
 
 2 mafter
 
 ROGERASCHAM. »7^ 
 
 mafler come to ^dfitih'ams goodlie ledon Je Etnendatione; " \ivhich (as 
 
 " he fayeth) is * the moft profitable part of teaching;" but not inorat. lib. r. 
 
 niyne opinion, and namehe for youth in grammcr fcholes. For the 
 
 mafler nowetaketh double pains j ti>ft, to marke what is amide; againe, 
 
 to invent what may be fayd better. And here perchance, a verie good 
 
 mafter may eafilie both deceive himfelfe, and lead his fcholer into 
 
 error. 
 
 It requireth greater learnyng, and deeper judgement, than is to bo 
 hoped for at any fcholemafters hand j that is, to be able alwaies learn- 
 edlie, and perfitelie, 
 
 {Mutare, -j- guod ineptum ejl : 
 I Tranfmutare, quod perverfum ejl : 
 < Rep/ere, quod deejl : 
 
 Detrahere, quod obefi : 
 [^Expungere, quod inane eji. 
 
 And that which requireth more fkill, and deeper con fide ration, 
 
 [Premere tumentia : 
 J Extollere humilia : 
 ! A/lmigere luxurantia : 
 \Componere dijjoluta. 
 
 The mafter may here onlie ftumble, and perchance faull in teaching, 
 to the marring and mayming of the fcholer in learnyng ; when it is a 
 matter of moch readyng, of great learnyng, and tried judgement, to 
 make trewe difference betwixt 
 
 * " Sequltur emendatio, parsftudiorum longe utiliflima. Nequc enim fine caufa creditum 
 «' eft, Stilum nen minus agerty cum delet." ^int. 
 
 f Thefe direflions for emendation are taken from ^tintilian. " Hujus autcm open's eft, 
 «» adjicere, detrahere, mutare. Sed facilius in his finipliciufquc judicium, quje rcplcnda, 
 *' vel dejicienda funt : premere vero tumentia, humilia extollere, luxuriantia aftringcrc, 
 *•• inordinata digerere, foluta componere, exultantia coercerc, duplicis opera:." 
 
 N n a Sublime,
 
 276 THEWORKSOF | 
 
 ^Sublime, Csf tnmidum: 
 I Grande, & immodiaim : 
 I Decorum, & inept urn : 
 \_PerJeBum, & nimiutn. 
 
 Some men of our time counted perfite niafters of eloquence *, in 
 their owne opinion the befl, in other mens judgcmcntes very good; (as 
 Omphalim evcric where, Saiiolctus in many j)laccs ; yea alfo my friende 
 Oforiusy namelie in his epiftle to the queene, and in his whole booke 
 de Juflicia) have fo over reached themfelves in making trevve differ- 
 ence in the poyntes afore rehearfed, as though they had been brought 
 up -}- in fome fchole in Afia, to learne to dechne, rather than in Athens 
 with Plato, Arijlotle, and Demofihenes, (from whence "TuUie fetched his 
 eloquence) to underlland, what in everie matter to be fpoken, or writ- 
 ten on, is, in verie deede, Nimitim, Satis, Parum; tliat is for to fay, to 
 all confiderations. Decorum: which as it is the hardcil point in all Icarn- 
 yng, fo is it the faireft and onlie marke that fcholers, in all their ftudie, 
 mufi: alwayes fliote at, if they purpofe an other day, to be either founde 
 in religion, or wife and difcrete in any vocation of the common wealth. 
 
 Agayne, in the lowed degree, it is no low point of learnyng and 
 judgement, for a fcholemafter to make trevve difference betwixt 
 
 ' Humile, & dcprejfum : 
 
 Lene, Gf remijfum : 
 < Siccum, (2 aridum : ■ 
 
 Exile, & macrum : 
 \lnaffeclatumy & jiegle&um. 
 
 * " Famfliaris nofter M. Bucculejus, homo neque meo judicio flultus, et fuo valde la- 
 " piens." Cicero de Oral, lib, I. 
 
 t What fort of oratory the Aftatics generally affeded, is eafiiy ken in Tully. A paiTagc 
 or two to this purpofe, I (liall cite out of his book de claris Orat. " Genera autem Afiatic^ 
 "- didionis, duo funt : ununi fententiofum, & argutum, fententiis non tarn gravibus, & fe- 
 " veris, quam conciiinis & venuftis. Aliud autem genus el!, non tani fententiis frequenta- 
 *' turn, quam verbis volucre, atquc incitatuni ; quali eft nunc Alia tota, nee flumine folum 
 " orationis, fed etiam cxornato, hi faceto genere vcrborum." And in the fame book, 
 " Hinc Afiatici oratores non contcmnendi quidem nee edentate, nee copia, fed parum prcffi, 
 *' & nimis redundantes. Rhodii faniores, & Atticorum fimiliores." 
 
 Jn
 
 ROGERASCHA.M; 277 
 
 In thefe poyntes, fome loving MelanBhon well, as he was well wor- 
 thie, but yet not confidering well, nor wifelie, how he of nature, and 
 all his life and fludie by judgement, was whoUie fpent in Genere difcipli- 
 nnbili ; that is, in teaching, reading, and expounding plainlie and apt- 
 lie fchole matters ; and therefore imployed thereunto a fitte, fenfible, 
 and caulme kinde of fpeaking and writing : fome, I fay, with very well 
 liking, but not vs^ith verie well weying MelatiBhones doinges, do 
 frame themfelves a ftyle, cold, leane, and weake, though the matter be 
 never fo warme and earnefj- ; not moch unlike unto one, that had a 
 pleafure, in a rough, raynie, winter day, to clothe himfclfe with no- 
 thing els * but a demie buckram calibck, plaine without plaites, and 
 fingle without lyning'; which will neither beare of winde nor wether, 
 nor yet kepe out the funne in any bote day. 
 
 Some fuppofe, and that by good reafon, that Mclandlhon hlmfelfeparaphrafis 
 came to this low kinde of writyng, by ufing over moch Faraphrafis in in ufe of 
 readinsr. For ftudyina; therebie to make everie thing ft:rais;ht and eafie, I^^l'^'?^' 
 m fmothmg and playnnig all thmgs to much, never leaveth, whiles theMeiana- 
 fenfe it felfe be left both lowfe and leafie. And fome of thofe Para-^^^^^ ftile in 
 phrofes of MelanSlhon be fet out in printe, as. Fro Archia Poeta^ & Mar- " '"^' 
 CO Marcello : but a fcholer, by myne opinion, is better occupied in play- 
 ing or fleping, than in fpending tyme, not onlie vainlie, but alfo harme- 
 fullie, in foch a kinde of exercife. 
 
 If a mailer would have a perfitte example to folow, how in Genere 
 fublimiy to avoidc Nimiu?n; or in Mediocri, to atteyne Satis ; or in Humi- 
 li, to efchew Parum; let him read diligently for the fixik, Jecimdain Phi- 
 llppicam; forthemeane, de Natiira Deorum; and for the lovvell. Parti- Cicero. 
 tionei. Or if in another tonge ye looke for like example, in like perfec- 
 tion, for all thofe three degrees, read Pro Ctefipbonte, ad Lcptinem, ^Demoflhc-- 
 Contra OIyw/>iodonim ; and what v,'itle, arte, and diligence is hable tones, 
 affoiirde, ye ihall plainlie fee. 
 
 For our tyme, the odde man to performe all three perfitlie, wliat- 
 foever he doth, and to know the way to do them Ikilfuilie, whenfo- 
 
 * Horace, " Campeftre nlvalibus auris.'' 
 
 3 ever
 
 Sturuiius. 
 
 278 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 Joannes ever he lifl:, is, in my pooie opinion, Joannes Sturmius. He alfo coun- 
 cellcth all fcholcrs to be ware of Faraphrafn, except it be from wprie to 
 better ; from rude and barbarous, to proper and pure Latin \ and yet 
 no man to exercife that neyther, except foch one, as is aheadie fur- 
 iiiflied with plentie of learnyng, and grounded with ftedfaft judgement 
 before. 
 
 All theis faultes, that thus manie wife men do finde with the exer- 
 cife of Paraphrafis, in turning the beft Latin into other, as good as 
 they can ; that is, ye may be iure, into a great deale worfe, than it was, 
 both in right choife for projnietie, and trewe placing for good order, 
 are committed alfo commonlie in all common fcholcs by the fchole- 
 mafters, in tofilng and trobling yong wittes (as I fayd * in the begin- 
 ning) with that butcherlie feare in making of Latins. 
 
 Therefore, in place of Latins for yong fcholers, and of Faraphrafis 
 for the mafters, I would have double tranllation fpecially ufed. For 
 in double tranflating a perfitc j)iece of Tullie, or Cafar, ireyther the 
 fcholer in learnyng, nor the mafter in teaching can erre. A true toch- 
 llone, a fure mete-wand licth before both their eyes. For all right con- 
 gruity, propriety of worc^es, order in fentences ; the right imitation to 
 invent good matter, to difpofe it in good order, to confirme it with 
 good reafon, to exprefle any purpofe fitlie and orderlie, is learned thus 
 both eafilie and perfitlie. Yea, to mille fomctyme in this kinde of 
 tranllation, bringeth more proffet than to hit right either in Parapbra- 
 Jis, or making of Latins. For though ye fay well in a Latin making, 
 or in a Paraphrafis, yet you being but in doute, and uncertayne, whe- 
 ther ye faie well, or no, ye gather and lay up in memorie no fure frute 
 of learnyng thereby ; but if ye fault in tranllation, ye are eafelie taught, 
 how perfitlie to amende it, and fo well warned, how after to elchew 
 all foch faultes againe. 
 
 Paraphrafis therefore, by myne opinion, is not meete for grammar 
 fcholes ; nor yet verie fitte for yong men in the univerfitie, untill fludic 
 and tyme have bred in them perfite learnyng, and ftedfafl: judgement. 
 
 * See page r 99. 
 
 There
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 279 
 
 There is a kinde of Paraplirafis, which may be ufed without all hurt, 
 to moch profit ; but it ferveth onely the Greeke, and not the Latin, nor 
 no other tonge ; as to alter linguam Ionic am ^ aiit Doricamy into meram At- 
 ticam. A notable example there is left unto us by a notable learned 
 man, Dion^iis Halicarnajfeus ; who, * in his booke Trsp* EuvSea-iug'Ovo- 
 ^ctTuv, doth tranflate the goodlie ftorie of Candaules, and Gyges, in the 
 firfl booke of Herodotus, out of lonica lingua, into Atticatn. Read the 
 place, and ye (hall take both pleafurc and proffet in conference of it. 
 A man that is exercifed in reading Thiicydides, Xenophon, Plato, and 
 Demofthenes, in ufing to turne like places of Herodotus, after like forte, 
 fliould fhortlie come to foch a knowledge in underflanding, fpeaking, and 
 writing the Gretke tonge, as fewe or none have yet atteyned in Englande. 
 The like exercife out of Dorica lingua may be alfo ufed, if a man take 
 -|-that litle booke of Plato, Timceiis Locrus, de Anima mundi, & Natura, which 
 is written Dorice, and turne it into foch Greeke as Plato ufeth in otiier 
 workes. The booke is but two leaves, and the labor would be but 
 two weekes ; but furelie the proffet, for eafie underflanding, and trewe 
 writing the Greeke tonge, would countervaile wyth the toile that fome 
 men take in otherwife coldlie reading that tonge two yeares. 
 
 And yet for the Latin tonge, and for the exercife of Paraphrafis in 
 thofe places of Latin, that cannot be bettered, if fome yong man, ex- 
 cellent of witte, couragious in will, luflie of nature, and dcfuous to 
 contend even with the beft Latin, to better it, if he can ; furelie I com- 
 mend his forwardnefle : and for his better inftrudtion therein, I will fet 
 before him as notable an example of Paraphrafis, as is in record of 
 learnyng. Cicero himfelfe doth contend, in two fondrie places, to ex- 
 prefie one matter with divers wordes ; and that is Paraphrafis, faith 
 ^iintilian. The matter, I fuppofe, is taken out of Paiiatius; and there- 
 fore being tranflated out of Greeke at divers times, is uttered for his 
 purpofe, with divers wordes and formes J which kinde of exercife, for 
 perfite learned men, is verie profitable. 
 
 * I have here given the true title of Dionyfius's book. 'Twas at firft printed, irtoi Eijvla'^f©-', 
 «jaafiTii,aaI» /AV»)/*oi/i>ca. The ftory of Candaules and Gyges is pag. 24. of the Lmdon edition 
 of Dlonyfiui. 
 
 \ One would imagine from thefe words, Mr. Afcham believed Plato to be the author of 
 that treatife. The tide of it is, T«f*«i'w tu Aoxju ttej i \J/up^«f KeVjUw, ^ 4>wV»ef. 
 
 De
 
 2^0 T H E W O R K S O r 
 
 De Finibus, Lib. fee. 
 
 Homines etiim, * etfi aliis jntdtis, tamen hoc una a bejiiis plurimum differ^ 
 jmt, quod rationem habeant a natura datam, mentemque Q" acrem ©* vigai- 
 t€?>}, celerrimeque multa fimul agitantetn, &, ut ita dicam, fagacem : qua 
 & caufas rerum, & confecutiones -cideat, & fimilitudines tramferat^ & d/f- 
 jtmSfa conjutigat, & cum prafciitibus Jutura copulet^ omncmque compkSlatur 
 "jit a conjcqucntisjlatum. Eadcmque ratio Jecit bominem hominum appeten- 
 tm, cumque his natura, ^ Jcrmone, & ufu congruentem ; ut profeSius a cari^ 
 tate domcjiicorum, ac fuorum, Jerpat longius, (Sjf fe implicet primum civium, 
 deinde omnium mortalium focietate : atque, ut ad Archytam fcripftt Plato, 
 uon Jibi fe Joli natum meminerit, fed pat rice, fed fuis, ut perexigua pars ipfi 
 relinquatur. Et quoniam eadem natura cupiditatem ingenuit bomini veri in- 
 •veniendi, quod facillime apparet, cum vacui ciiris, etiam quid ifi cxlo fiat^ 
 fcirc avemus : &c. 
 
 De OfRciis, Lib. pri. 
 
 Homo autem, quod raticnis eft particeps, per quam confequcntta cernit, cau- 
 fas rerum vidct, earumque progrejus, & quafi anteceffiones non iguorat., fimi- 
 litudines comparat, & rebus prafentibus adjungit, atque anticSfit futuras : fa- 
 cile totius fita curfum videt, ad eamque degendam praparat res neceffarias. 
 Eademque natura vi rationis hominem conciliat homini, G? ad orationis, ^ 
 ad vita fcictatem : ingencratque ii/primis pracipuum quendam amor em in 
 eos, qui procreati fimt -, impelUtque, ut hominum cactus, C cclebr at tones ejfe, 
 & afe obiri I'elit ; ob eafque caufas ftudeat par are ea, qua fnppeditent ©' ad 
 cultum, & ad viSlum -, nee f.bi foil, fed ccnjugi, liberis, cceterifquf, quos 
 chcros haheat, tuerique debeat. ^a cura exfufcita't etiam animos, ^ majo- 
 res ad rem gercndam facit. Inprimifquc hominis eft propria wri inquifitio, 
 atque inveftigatio. Itaque ciim fumus nccefjariis ncgotiis, cur if que vacui, turn 
 avemus nliquid videre, audire, addifcere ; cognitionemque rerum ant occulta" 
 rum, aut admirabiliim, ad beat^ vivendum neceffariam ducimus. 
 
 The conference of thefe two plnces, conteyning i'o excellent n piece 
 of learnyng, as this is, exprcfled by fo worthy a witte, as Tullics waa, 
 
 ♦ Thefe citations, which were very imperfefl before, arc now carefully corrc^ed from tho 
 printed editions of Tu;ly. And here I can't but obfcrvc, that this book hai ui)Jergoiio the 
 • common fate of all orphans, anJ fufTercd very much fur ita parent's untimely death. 
 
 muft
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 281 
 
 mufl: needes bring great pleafure and proffit to him, that maketh trewe 
 counte of learnyng and honefly. But if we had the Greek author, the 
 firfl paterne of all, and thereby to fee how Tullies witte did worke at 
 diverfe times ; how, out of one excellent image might be framed two 
 other, one in face and favour, but fomewhat differing in forme, figure, 
 and colour; furely fuch a piece of workemanlhip, compared with the 
 paterne itfelfe, would better pleafe the eies of honeft, wife, and learn- 
 ed myndes, than two of the faireft Venujfes that ever Apelles made. 
 
 And thus moch for all kinde of Paraphrafts, fitte or unfitte, for fcho- 
 lers or other, as I am led to thinke, not onlye by myne owne experi- 
 ence, but chiefly by the authoritie and judgement of thofe, whom I 
 myfelfe would gladlyeft folow, and do counfell all myne to do the 
 fame ; not contendyng with any other, that will otherwife either thinke, 
 or do. \ 
 
 Metaphrasis. 
 
 This kinde of exercife is all one with Paraphrafis, fave it is out of 
 verfe, either into profe, or into fome other kinde of meter j or elfe out 
 of profe into verfe, which was Socrates exercife and paftime (as Plato re- 
 porteth) when he was * in prifon, to tranllate JEfopes Fabules into verfe. PlatoinPha- 
 ^imtilicin doth greatlie praife -f- alfo this exercife : but bicaufe T'ullie '^°"^- 
 doth difalow it in yong men, by myne opinion, it were not well to ufe 
 it in grammer fcholes, even for the felfe fame caufes that be recited 
 againft Paraphrafis. And therefore, for the ufe, and mifufe of it, the 
 fame is to be thought that is fpoken of Paraphrafis before. This was 
 Sulpitius exercife ; and he gathering up thereby a poeticall kinde of 
 
 WoiyiTxi a,VTCc, TrfoTipov ^Tiv iswkoti -ziroiricra; 
 
 f " Sed & ilia ex Latinis converfio, multum & ipfa contulerit. Ac de carminibus quidcm 
 •' neminem credo dubitare, quo folo genere exercitationis dicitur uius ti'ic Sulpicius. Nam 
 " & fublimis fpiritus attollere orationem potcft ; & verba poetica libcrcatc audaciora, prx'- 
 " fumunt eanilem propric dicendi facultatem. Sed & ipfis fentcntiis adjicerc licet oratoriuin 
 " robur, & omifTa fupplerc, ct cfFufa fubitringcre." ^uinl. Lb. lo. 
 
 O o taike.
 
 282 T H E VV O R K S O F 
 
 talke, is juftlie named of Cicero, -f grandis & fraglcus crator : which 
 I think is fpokcn, not for his praife, but for other mens warning, to 
 efchevv the Hke fauhe. Yet neverthelefs, if our fcholemafter, for his 
 owne inftruclion, be defnous to fee a perfit example hereof, I will re- 
 cite one, which I thinke, no man is fo bold to fay, that he can amend 
 it J and that is Chrifes the prieftes oration to the Greckes, m the begin- 
 ning of Homers Ilias, turned excellentlie into profe by Socrates himfelfe, 
 and that advifedlie and purpofclie for others to folow. And therefore he 
 calletli this excrcife * in the fame place, M('n*?jo-;;, that is, Jmkatio; wliich 
 is moll trew : but in this booke, for teachyng fake, I will name it Me- 
 tapbrafn, reteinyng the word that all teachers in this cafe do ufc. 
 
 'O ya,^ 7Jx6b Boccg £7rt njaj 'A%a<w^, 
 Autroy,Bi/cg ts Gvyccjpu, <pe^uv t ocTTS^iKTi wnoivot, 
 
 Xav(reu uvd crjc'/jTr/pw' )^ eXltrcTEJo "STotvlug 'A;^«(5U?, 
 ATfjiloct Sa f^uXis-a, cuu }cotrf4.riTOpe Xctuv. 
 
 'ATpelacci rs, y^ uXXot tvxvrifiioig ' A-)(,o^io]y 
 
 'TfJiTv fJLiV Bsoi So'kv, 'OXVf^TTIOi dUflCtT i^'^VTig, 
 
 'ExTTSpcrxt YJoixf^Loio TiroXiv, el/ a oiKsto ly.BcrBoct. 
 Haiioc Si f^ot Xu<rutTS <piXr,v, tu S' uttoivo, ¥bxb(tBb^ 
 'A^cfievot Aiog Ciov, ezr,^oXov AttoXXuvx, 
 
 E^6' ccXXoi [ity iirciijig i7Tt\}YX^T,(Tuv 'A%a(c<, 
 AiOB'icrBoil S iBDr,(x, j^ uyXux cixfioci aTroca. 
 AXX' UK ArpBtov Ayx^BjjLvovi rjvouvB Bufict), 
 AXXx KXKug aflit, hooctbocv ^' ett* fiudcv btbXXb. 
 
 t " Fuit cnim Sulpicius vcl maxime omnium, quos quidem audiverim, grandis, &, ut ita 
 •' dicam, tragicus orator. Vox cum magna, turn fuavis & fplendida : gertus & motus cor- 
 " poris ita veuuftus, ut tamen ad forum, non ad fcenam inflitutus rideretur. Incitata & 
 " volubilis, nee ea rcdundans tamen, nee circumfluens oratio." C/V. ^le clarit Orat. fag. 181. 
 
 From this charafler here given by Tiill)., Sulpicius fccms to be called grand'u (J tragicus, 
 rather from his theatrical management of himfelf in his delivery, than from his ftiJe and me- 
 thod of expreflion. 
 
 * OuxKK T^ yc op-oiiv fftUToi/ wAXm, J xaT« ^«n)u, 5 Mud (Txri/Mx, /*»jU{iVS'«»' fs-iv txenev 
 u av Tij oy.<>Ki7 ; Ti' ju»'i/ ; Ek Sn tm toistu (to; loixiti) xraf ti x, 01 aXAoi ■Brcir.rai Six 
 f.turi<nui TTiV S'li^yKtrm sroiavraj. TIccvm /Aiv >s-j. Ei Si yt jAriSoctAH taurtV aiVoxf-jTrloilo 
 — ouiTrt, sxao:. £11 «'jT« aiifJ [AifiriiTeui tJ ■ffoinO'tS t£ k, jj itxyriO'ii ytynwia, t1r\, Plata, 
 di Rep. lib. 3. 
 
 !}f:
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 M'/j HJ TCI a ^auKTUTt (mviTflpcVf yl fiuux BeoTo. 
 
 tifytBTe^u evi oikcc, eu Apyn ttiXcUi "srocTpi^g 
 'iS'ov e7roi^of/.evyiv, y^ i^A-ov Ae;^©- avjtouiruv. 
 'AXX i&t, f/,yi fA. eoiSi^B, (tkutso©-' ug kb viyiai. 
 
 'rig i<par y tdosicrBv o o yspuv, ic, eTTBidsjo f^uSu. 
 B>j o oiKecov "urKDcn B'lvcc ■arcXv£!Xoia'l2ciO BuXacrcrr^g.' 
 HoXXci a eTTSiT ocirccvivQi kmv vipud^ 6 yspaiog 
 
 AtTOXXuIH UVUkJi, TOV ^'{jKOfA.®^ TBKS AyjTU. 
 
 KXvSi y,Bv, 'A^yv^oTO^ , og X^va-rjv cl[A.piCeS'^KOcg, 
 KiXXdv T£ ^aSsfiv, Tbvb^'oio tb i<pt uvxira-Big, 
 'LfAiuSBW sittoJb rot -^ocoibvt bit] vtjov EoeiJ/a, 
 
 H £» C'/j WOTB TCI KXTOi •SnOVOC ^flPt BKXOi 
 
 Taupuv, ^0 atyuv, toob [aoi kovji/ivov bbXouo' 
 T/cre<«y Aavuot e^a Sax-pvcc o-olcrt P>\iXB(r(riv. 
 
 Socrates, in Plato s third book de Republica, faith thus : f^^ua-u Se uvbv 
 f/,BTf<i' z yoc.^ BifAk "srotriTiKog. 
 
 '^HXfiev X^vtri^g Tr,g tb BuyxT^og Xvt^x (Pbpuiv, j^ iKtT-^g tuv 'A^oiiuv, 
 fjt,oiXis-a Se Tuiv l2ac-iXeuv' y^ bu^bJo BKBivoig [jlbv Tiig Beig SoZvut IXovTug tijV 
 Tooiocv, avT^g ob (rcoSyivoci, ttjv ob BvyxTB^x cl uvtu Xiicrai, OB^KfABVug ocTrotvoi, 
 iCf TOV Bbov ulSBarBBvjcug. Toixutoc <5e Bt-rrov]'^ uutS, ol y.Bv aXXot B(rB^ovlo v^ 
 cw^vouv' OB AyxiA,Bixvuv riyfiixiVBv, bvtbXXoijlbv^ vZv tb UTTiBuxi, Hj audig 
 ^tij IxdBi'v, fAyj xuria to, tb (Tx.Tj'n'Tfov, k^ tx tS BbS g-B^fjuxTx i-A B7rx^x.B(rot. 
 •arpji/ Sb XvS^vxi kuth top BvyxJBfx, bv A^yst £(^57 y/i^xiTBiv fA,fjx S. ocTfiBvxt os 
 bkbXbvb, y^ jt4^ BfiQi^Btv, I'l/x (Tcog o'IkkSb bX9oi. 'O ob ■u!-pBtrCuT'/;g ocKHTxg, BOBtcre 
 TB y^ xTT-rjci ciyr,. xTO^cof^'^irxg S' bk tk g-fxTOTTBoa, TiroXXx tu 'AttoXXuvi bv^bto, 
 
 TXg TB BTTUVVfilXg TH Bb5 XVOiXXXuv, it) V7r0fA,lfJiVy]<T)CUV >^ CtTTXijctlU, BlTt •STU'ffoje 
 ^ BV VXUV olKO^OIArjcBTlV, ^ BV iBpUV BuCTixTg >C£%«p<(r|W£V(31/ 0Ufifl(rXlT0, Sv 0/; X'^f" 
 
 KXTBUX^° TjVa; T»V 'A^xi'dg tx x oxk^vx To7g BKBiya (^bXbo".. 
 
 2h 
 
 To compare * Homer and Plato together, two wonders of nature and 
 arte, for witte and eloquence, is mofl: plcafant and profitable for a 
 
 man 
 
 * Plato himfelf, (if we may believe L'n^i>w<) as well as the reft (f the Grecian writers, 
 owes not a little to Hoi'ier, their common matter ; tho' he wa^ lo ungratelul, as to fuibid him 
 
 O o 2 his
 
 >84 
 
 J 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 man of ripe judgement. Platos turning of Homer in this place doth 
 not ride aloft in poetical termes, but goeth low and foft on foote, as 
 profe and pede/lris oratio fhould do. If Stilpitius had had * Plaios confider- 
 ation in right ufing this exercife, he had not deferved the name of tra- 
 gicus orator j who ihould rather have ftudied to cxprefie v/w Devioflhe- 
 Ill's, than J'lirorem poeia, how good foever he was, whom he did folow. 
 
 And therefore would I have our fcholemafter wey well together Ho- 
 ttier and Plato, and marke diligentlie thefe foure pointes ; " what is 
 " kept, what is added, what is left out, what is changed, either in 
 " choife of wordes, or forme of fcntcnces." Which foure pointes be » 
 
 the right tooles, to handle like a workeman this kinde of worke ; as 
 our fcholer fliall better underftand, when he hath bene a good while in 
 the univerfitie : to which tyme and place, I chiefly remitte this kinde 
 of exercife. 
 
 And bicaufe I ever thought examples to be the bcft kinde of teach- 
 ing, I will recite a golden fcntence out of that poete, which is next un- 
 to Homer, not only in tyme, but alfo in worthinefs ; which hath been a 
 patcrne for many worthie wittes to follow by this kind of Metaphra. 
 Jis. But I will content myfelfe with foure workemen, two in Greke, 
 and two in Lat't?:, foch as, in both the tonges, wifer and worthier can- 
 not be looked for. Surelie no ftone fet in gold by moft cunning worke- 
 men, is in deed, if right counte be made, more worthie the looking on, 
 
 his Republiclc. Oa ycto [/.iv^ 'H^oSot^ 'Oji*»)^j)C4>T«icf syivc.o. 'Lrnffi^o^ot ht TfoVfcoB, 
 
 a,<jrQv [/.uciui oToii vxco^cotx; «Toj^£T*ura'jufv^. Se^. 13. 
 
 * Altho' in this inftance, and moftly elfewhere, Plato flows along in a foft and gentl« 
 ftream, ^v-ju-xli tih aij/o^iTi fnuv, as Lon^iiius fpeaks ; yet he has his fublimities too, and 
 bold flight... And fome paflages there are to be found in his writings, not eniircly clear of 
 the fdme cenfure, which is by Tu/.'y caft up.m Sutplcius. And this perhaps miglit be occa- 
 fioned likewife by his paflionate artisdlion lor the mufcs, and ftudy of poetry in his youthful 
 day.".. Who can r-ad this fentcnce, and not be offended, which L'tiginu: cites out of his 
 ninth book de R-ipuhlica ? Kai ti-txa t?; rarav ■cj-XtiUi^i'aj Xaxli^owtf, vJ >fjciTlc>l£; aAXr'Xas 
 e-iJiiooTf xiix(ji, . oTr>.a.7<;, aVcxli^vaiiff-i i^i' a.TT}.rsia.v. i'or fuch harfli and metaphorical cx- 
 prellions as thefe, and for his poeiical and figurative fchemcs, (s-j^nuao-i' t£ -sreiriTixcK £V;^a'Tr,D 
 Trf(wj3«'AAi«r»k a'n'Vav) Plato is fomewhat fevercly handled \>y Dionyfiu:, in his letter to C/;. 
 / ompej, 
 
 4 thaa
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 285 
 
 than this golden fentence, diverflie wrought upon by foch foure ex- 
 cellent mafters. 
 
 Hefiodus, "Epy. >tf 'H;tt£'p, d. 
 
 OuTO? fitv voivocfi^^, og uurog •sroivju vor;erei, 
 ti>fx(rcra.ix(v®^, to. y. iTTSiju K) eg TgX©' r(nv uf^eivu. 
 'Etr^Xof <)' ecu ycdy.uv^, og eO ii7rov]i sriOTiJoci. 
 O? 0£ y.e fJi.yiT uurog vobv, fii/jT uXXa ocy-aaiv 
 'Ev Bujiu l2ocXXi^cit, ci' «0r' «;^fij<©j a'njp. 
 
 Thus rudelie turned into bafe Eng/ijh : 
 
 'That man in wifedome pajfeth all, 
 
 To know the be ft, who hath a head: 
 And meet elie wife eeke counted JImU, 
 
 Who yielded himfelfe to wife mens read. 
 Who hath no witte, nor none will heare, 
 
 Amonge aitfooles the bell may beare. 
 
 Sophocles in Antigone. 
 
 rvuf^T] yap E» Tig kcItt' if^i vemTt^a 
 npco"£g"/, ^ijjM, eycoye, ■srf>£(r^eueiv •sroXxj 
 fPvvixt Tov ccv^fict uravT tTng-rtfjirig ■wXiu. 
 E» a hvv, {jptXiT yap tZto ^jlvi tocvtv ^ettc/v) 
 K«« TbJv XtyovTuiv eu, kkXov to fjt.xvdcivtiv. 
 
 Marke the wifedome of Sophocles in leavyng out the laft fentence, 
 bicaufe it was not comlie * for the fonne to ufe it to his father. 
 
 St. Bafil, in his Exhortation to Y'oiith. 
 
 MEjttvijtrSe -f" T^ 'HtnoSa, og (py;Ti' "Afng-ov fJiXv ilvui tov wap' scuvtS toL Sicvra 
 ^woauvjcc, icrbXov de kcckbIvov, tcv To'ig •urup eTifuv viirooei^aeTcriv eTTouivov' tov 
 ^l •arpof ^ieTffov e-TrtTT^Saovy u^^tTov tn/ui Ts-^og aTravjx. 
 
 M. 
 
 * Ha:mon fpeaks to his father Creon : I have added the fitft vcrfc, in this edition, from 
 Sophocles. 
 
 f This is taken from the beginning of St. Bafil's d'lfc.urfe to theymng fludents, direilttig them 
 how t> rtnii the Gicci&n wriltrs with advantage. El j^*l^ «*• 7r^oSu'|wws ii^oKrQi tx Xtyofj^cvx,
 
 286 T H E W O K K S O F 
 
 M. Cicero pro A. Clucntio. 
 
 SapicntiJJimum ejfe dlcunt eum, ad quod opus fit, ipfi vcniat in mcniem : 
 proxime accedcrc ilium, qui alterim bene inventis obtemperet. In Jlultitia con- 
 tra efl. Minus enitn Jlultus e/l is, cui nihil in mentem venit, quam Hie, qui 
 quod Jlulte alteri "ocnit in mentem, comprobat. 
 
 Cicero doth not plainlie exprefle the laH: fentence, but doth invent it 
 fitlie for his purpole, to taunt the foliie and fimplicitie in his adverfarie 
 A5lius, not weying wifelie the lutle doynges of Chryfogonus, and Sta- 
 knus. 
 
 Tit. Livius in orat. Minucii, Hb. 22. 
 
 Scepe ego audivi, milites, cum primum e[fe virum, qui ipfe confulat, quid 
 in rem fit ; Jecundum eum, qui bene monenti obediat : qui nee ipfe confulerey 
 nee alteri par ere fcit, eum extremi efje ingenii. 
 
 Now which of all thefe foure, Sophocles, St. Bafil, Cicero, or Livie, * 
 hath exprefled Hcfiodus beft, the judgement is as hard, as the work- 
 nianfliip of everie one is moft excellent indcede. 
 
 Another example out of the Latin tonge alfo I will i-eclte, for the 
 worthines of the workman thereof, and that is Horace j who hatli fo 
 turned the begynning of 'Terences Eunuchus, as doth worke in me a plea- 
 fant admiration, as oft fo ever as I compare thofc two places together.- 
 And though everie mafler, and everie good fcholer to, do know the 
 places both in Terence and Horace; yet will I fet them here in one 
 place together, that with more pleafure they may be compared to- 
 gether. 
 
 * To thcfc paffages already cited by our author, I (hall add another from Plutarch, who 
 
 infcrtcd 
 
 Terentius
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 Terentius in Eunucho. 
 
 ^id igittir faciam ? non cam ? ne nunc qiiidem 
 Cum accerfor ultra ? an potius ita me comparem, 
 Non pcrpeti jneretricum contiimelia^ ? 
 Exchifit, revocat ; redeam '? non fi me obfecrcf. 
 
 Farmeno a little after: 
 
 Here, qiics res infe neque confiUnm neqiie modum 
 Habei idbim, earn confiUo regere non potes. 
 In amore bac omnia infunt vitia j injurice, 
 Sujpiciones, inimickia, viducia, 
 Bellum, pax rurfum, Tncerta hcec fi iu pojluks 
 Rat tone certa facer e, nihilo plus agas, 
 ^amfi des operam, ut cum rations infanias. 
 
 HoratiuSj ferm. lib. 2. fat. 3. 
 
 Nee nunc, cum me vocet ultra, 
 Accedam ? an potius inediter finire dolor es ? 
 Exclu/it, rccocat ; redeam ? non, fi ohfecrct. Ecce 
 Servus ticn paulo fapicntior : O here, quce res 
 Nee modum babet, neque confiUum, ratione modoque, 
 I'raSiari non vult. In amore bcec Junt mala, bellum. 
 Pax rurfum. bac fi quis tempeftatis prope ritu 
 Mobilia, & cacd fiuitantia forte, laboret 
 Reddere ccrta fibi, Jiibilo plus cxpUcet, ac fi 
 Infanire paret cert a ratione, modoque. 
 
 This cxercife may bring moch profite to ripe heades, and flayd 
 judgementes ; bicaufe in traveling in it, the mynde muft needes be ve-- 
 rie attentive, and bufilie occupied in turning and tofTrng itfelfe many 
 waycs, and conferryng with great pleafurc, the varietie of worthie 
 wittes and judgementes together. But this harme may fone come there- 
 by, and namelie to yong fcholers, left in fecking other vvordes, and 
 newe forme of fentences, they chance upon the worfe : for the which 
 onelie caufe, Cicero thinketh this exercifc not to be fit for yong men. 
 
 E r 1- 
 
 2^7
 
 288 THEWORKSOF 
 
 Epitome. 
 
 This is a way of fludie belonging rather to matter than to wordes ; 
 to memorie, than to utterance -, to thofe that be learned alreadie, and 
 hath fmall place at all amongcs yong fcholers in grammar fcholes. It 
 may proffit privately fome learned men, but it hath hurt generallie 
 learnyng itfelfe very moch. For by it we have loft whole I'rcgus, the 
 beft part of T. Lhius, the goodly diftionarie of * Pompeius Feftus, a great 
 deale of the civille law, and other many notable bookes : for the which 
 caufe, I do the more miflike this exercife both in old and yong. 
 
 Epitome is good privatelie for himfelfe that doth worke it, but ill 
 commonlie for all others, that ufe other mens labor therein. A fillie poore 
 kinde of ftudie, not unlike to the doing of thofe poore folke, which 
 neither till, nor fowe, nor reape themfelves, but gleane by ftealth upon 
 other mens groundes. Soch have empty barnes for deare yeares. 
 
 Grammar fcholes have fewe Epitomes to hurt them, except Epitheta 
 lextoris, and fuch beggarlie gatheringes, as -j- Horman, % iVhittington, 
 and other like Vulgares for makmg of Latines. Yea 1 tlo wiflie, that 
 
 * This diflionary of Ftjiu^ as it was a learned, Co was it a voluminous work : for it con- 
 tained no lefs than twenty large books, as we may fee from Paultn Dlaccnui's words, who 
 epitomiz'd it. " Feftus Pompejus Romanis ftudiis afratim eruditus, tarn fermonum abdito- 
 " rum, quam etiam quarundam caufarum origines aperiens, opus fuum ad viginti ufque pro- 
 " lixa volumina extendit." 
 
 t He is mentioned before. The title of his book 15, Vulgarla Fir! doliijfiml Gul. H:r- 
 manni Cafarijburgenfis. And 'tis dedicated to his friend and patron, JVilliam Ativaier Bifliop 
 of Linco.n. It confifts of fmgle fentcnces in Englijh and Latin, without cither order or con- 
 nection, excepting that they are ranged under certain general heads : one of which, being in 
 honour of our royal founder, (who was defign'd to have been canoniz'd, had not the charges 
 at Ritne prov'd exceflive) 1 fhall give the reader as a fpecimen : 
 
 King Htnry doth many divers miracles. 
 
 Divus Hcnricui non una miraculorutn fpecie inclarcfdt. 
 
 X Rob. If'hiithigton was educated in Oxford. He was thought by fome little inferior to 
 the ableft fchole-mafters of the age, not excepting even LUy ; with whom, and Horman, he 
 could not agree : they refentiiig the title of Proto-vates Anglic^, which lyUttington had vainly 
 aflumed. He publifhed a great deal ; and amongft the reft, his /^j//^flr/(j likewife : to which 
 titles Mr. Ajcham alludes in the next words ; md ether like Vulgarsjor making cf Latins. 
 
 all
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 289 
 
 all rules for yong fcholers were fliorter than they be. For without 
 doute, Grammatica itfelfe is fooner and furer learned by examples of 
 good authors, than by the naked rules of Grammarians. Epitome hurt- 
 eth more in the univerfities, and fludie of philofophie; but moft of all 
 in divinitie itfelfe. 
 
 Indeede bookes of common places be verle neceffary to induce a 
 man into an orderlie general knowledge, how to referre orderlie, all that 
 he readeth, ad certa rerum capita, and not wander in ftudie. And to 
 that end did Pet. Lombardus, the mafter of fentences, and Phil. Melanc- 
 thon in our daies, write two notable bookes of common places. 
 
 But to dwell in Epitomes, and bookes of common places, and not to 
 binde himfelfe dailie by orderlie fludie, to reade with all diligence 
 principallie the holyeft Scripture, and withall the befl doctors, and fo to 
 learne to make trewe difference betwixt the authoritie of the one, and 
 the councell of the other, maketh fo many feeming, and funburnt mi- 
 niflers, as we have ; whofe learning is gotten in a fommer heat, and 
 wafhed away with a Chrijlmas fnow againe : who neverthelefle are lefTe 
 to be blamed, than thofe blind buflardes, who in late yeares, of wil- 
 ful! malicioufnes, would neyther learne themfelves, nor could teach 
 others any thing at all. 
 
 Paraphrajis hath done lefTe hurt to learnyng, than Epitome : for no 
 Paraphrajis, though there be many, fliall ever take away Davids Pfal- 
 ter. Erafmus Paraphrafis, being never fo good, fliall never banifh the 
 New Teflament. And in another fchole, the Paraphrafis of Bocardus, 
 or Satnbucus, fliall never take Arijlotles Rhetoricke, nor Horace de Arte 
 Poetica, out of learned mens handes. 
 
 But as concerning a fchole Epitome, he that would have an example 
 of it, let him read * Lucian -sre^l Ka'xxou?, which is the verie Epitome of 
 
 * Ludan's E'ix.ov£i; is here pointed at; ia which treatife P<J«//;ca, the Smyrna beauty, ig 
 defcribed with fo much oftentation of wit and learning. Triv Si vte) KaAXaj n*/ ISixv 
 Aaxiavo; f^ty-'na-aa-^oa ■nr^a.yfi.a.T'ncx.v iTTiy^nDWx<;., i ^\\i xaTw«9wJt£v«i SontT 1-0?? xpHixulipoii 
 rZv <piXi)(rop^vlav. " Partem de pulchritudinc, peculiar! opere Lucianus aemulatus eft, co- 
 " natu majore, fi doftis credimus, quam fucceflj." Fide Argumentum IVolfii in IficratU He- 
 lena Laudationem. 
 
 P p Jfocrates
 
 290 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 Ifocrates oration de Laudibus Helena : whereby he may learne, at tlic 
 leaft, this wife leiron, " that a man ought to beware, to be overbold in 
 " aherins: an excellent mans worke." 
 
 '& 
 
 Nevertheles, fome kinde of Epiiome may be ufed by men of Ikillful 
 judgement, to the great proffct alfo of others. As if a wife man would 
 take * Halles Chronicle, where moch good matter is quite marred with 
 indenture EngliJJ:e : and firft, change Grange and inkhorne tcrmcs into 
 proper and commonlie ufed wordcs ; next, fpecially to wede out that, 
 that is fuperfluous and idle, not onlie where wordes be vainlie heaped one 
 upon another, but alfo where many fentences of one meaning, be fo 
 clouted up together, as though M. Hall had bene, not writing the fto- 
 rie of England, but varying a fentence in Hitching fchole. Surelie a 
 wife learned man, by this way of Epitome, in cutting away wordes and 
 fentences, and diminifiiing nothing at all of the matter, ihold leave to 
 mens ufe a ftorie, half as moch as it was in quantitie, but twife as 
 good as it was, both for pleafure, and alfo commoditie. 
 
 Another kinde of Epitome may be ufed likewife very well to moch 
 proffet. Some man either by luftines of nature, or brought by ill 
 teaching to a wrong judgement, is over full of wordes, fentences, and 
 matter : and yet all his wordes be proper, apt, and well chofcn ; all his 
 fentences be rownd, and trimlie framed ; his whole mattei- grounded 
 upon good reafbn, and ihiffcd with full argumentes for his intent and 
 purpofe : Yet when his talke fhall be heard, or his writing be red of 
 fuch one, as is either of my two deareft frendes, M. Haddou at home, 
 or John Sturmius in Germanic ; that Nimii/m in him, which foolcs and 
 unlearned will moft commend, fhall eyther of thcis two bite his lippe, 
 or Ihake his head at it. 
 
 This fulne&, as it is not to be mifliked -f in a yong man, fo in furder 
 ai"-e, in greater Ikill, and weightier affaires, is to be temperated ; or elfe 
 
 difcretion; 
 
 * Mr. EJw. Hall was counfelior at law, anJ writ his Chronicle of the union of the two 
 houf-s of y'rk and Lanc^ijler in the time ol Edward VI. B^. Bwr.eJ, in the preface to his 
 hiftory, ftiles him a fupt<fic al writer. 
 
 + This fulnefs, and exuberancy, is what both Tully and ^intilian defire in youth. 
 " Audeat hsec setas plura, & inveniat, & invcDlis gaudcat, fint licet ilia non fatis interim 
 
 " ficca
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 291 
 
 diicretion and judgement fliall feeme to be wanting in him. But if his 
 ftile be ftill over rancke and luftie j as fome men being never fo old, and 
 fpent by yeares, will flill be full of youthfull conditions j (as was * Sir 
 Fra7ich Bryan, and evermore would have bene) foch a rancke and full 
 writer muft ufe, if he will do wifelie, the exercife of a veriegood kinde 
 of Epitome, and do, as certaine wife men do, that be over fat, and 
 flefliie : who, leaving their owne full and plentiful! table, go to fojorne 
 abrode from home for a while, at the temperate diet of fome fober 
 man : and fo by little and little, cut away the groffenefs that is in 
 them. 
 
 As for an example ; if Ofcrias would leave of his luflines in ftriving 
 againfl St. Au/lin, and his over rancke rayling againft poor Luther^ 
 and the troth of Gqds doctrine j and give his whole ftudie, not to write 
 any thing of his owne for a while, but to tranflate Demo/lhc?ies with fo 
 flraite, fafl, and temperate a flyle in Latin, as he is in Greke; he would 
 become fo perfed and pure a writer, 1 believe, as hath been fevve or 
 none fince Cicerocs AdJvQS. And fo by doing himfelf, and all learned men, 
 moch good, do others lefle harme, and Chriiles doftrine lelfe injury, 
 than he doth : and withall, wyn unto himfelfe many worthy frendes, 
 who agreeing with him gladly in the love and liking of excellent learn- 
 yng, are forrie to fee fo worthie a witte, fo rare eloquence wholie fpent, 
 and confumed, in ftriving with God and good men. 
 
 Amonges the refl, no man doth lament him more than I ; not onclie 
 for the excellent learnyng that I fee in him, but alfo bicaule there hath 
 pafled privatelie betwixt him and me, furc tokens of moch good will, 
 and friendlie opinion, the one toward the other. And furelie the dif- 
 
 " ficca & fevera. Facile remcdium eft ubcrtatis, fterilia nul!o labore vincuntur. Ilia mihi 
 ♦' in pueris natiira minimum fpei dabit, in qua ingtnium judicio prrefumittur. Materiam cfle 
 
 " primiim volo vel abundantiorem, atque ultra quam oporteat fufam. Quod u-.c de 
 
 •' his astatibus fentire minus mirabitur, qui apud Ciccroncni legcrit, Fo!o eniin je ejj'erat in 
 »« adolefcente facundi'as." i^uint. de Inji. Oral. lib. 2. 
 
 This fentence is taken by i^iintilian out of Tully's fccond book de Oraure. " Volo enim 
 " fe efferat in adolefcente faecunditas. Nam facilius, ficut in \ itibus, revocantur ca, qux 
 *''ftfe nimium profuderunt, quam fi nihil valet materies, nova farmeiita cultura excitantur : 
 *« ita volo eflc in adolefcente, unde aliquid amputcm. Non enim potcfl in co effc fuccus 
 ♦' diuturnus, quod nimis celeriter eft maturitatcm afTccutum." 
 
 * Ambaflador at the court of Rome for King Henry VIII, , . 
 
 P p 2 tance
 
 292 THEWORKSOF 
 
 tance betwixt London and L)Jhon, fliould not ftoppe any kinde of frend- 
 lie dewtie, that I could eyther fliew to him, or do to his, if the greateft 
 matter of all did not in certeyne pointes feparate our myndes. 
 
 And yet for my parte, both toward him, and diverfe others here at 
 home, for like caufe of excellent learnyng, great wifdome, and gentle 
 humanitie, which I have feene in them, and felt at their handes my- 
 felfe; where the matter of difference is mere confcience in a quiet minde 
 inwardlie, and not contentious malice with fpitefull rayling openlie, I 
 can be content to follow this rewle, " in mifliking fome one thing, not 
 *' to hate for anie thing els." 
 
 But as for all the bloodie beaftes, as that " fat boore of the wood, 
 *' or thofe brauling bulls of Bafan, or any lurking Dor/nus," blinde not 
 by nature, but by malice, and as may be gathered of their owne tefti- 
 monie, given over to blindnefs, for giving over God and ins word : 
 or * foch as be fo luftie runagates, as firft runne from God, and his 
 trewe dodlrine ; then from their lords, maifters, and all dewtie j next, 
 from themfelves, and out of their wittes; laftly, from their prince, con- 
 trey, and all due allegence ; whether they ought rather to be pittied of 
 good men for their miferie, or contemned of wife men for their mali- 
 cious follie, let good and wife men determine. 
 
 And to returne to Epitome agayne. Some will judge moch boldnes in 
 me, thus to judge of Oforius ftyle j but wife men do know, that meane 
 lookers on may trewlie fay, for a well made piflure ; " This face had 
 " been more comlie, if that hie redde in the checke were fomwhat more 
 " pure fanguin than it h •" and yet the ftander by cannot amend it 
 himfelfe by any way. 
 
 And this is not written to the difpraife, but to the great commen- 
 dation of Oforius : becaufe Ttdlie himfelfe had the fame fulnefs in him, 
 and therefore w^nt to Rhodes to cut it away ; -f and faith himfelfe, Rc- 
 
 cepi 
 
 * Our author feems, in my opinion, to point to N. Sanden, amongft fome others. 
 
 f Here again we have only part of a fentence (as it came into our author's memory) taken 
 cut of Tully de darts Oratorihus, near the end. I fhall tranfcribe the whole, fince it will bring 
 feme light to the argument in hand. 
 
 " Quibus
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 cepi me domum prope mutattis ; nam quaji referirrat jam oratio. Which 
 was brought to paffe I believe, not onelie by the teaching of Molo Apo- 
 lonius, but alfo by a good way of Epitctne, in binding himfclfe to tranf- 
 late meros Atticos oratores -, and fo to bi'ing his ftyle from all lovvfe grof- 
 neffe, to foch firme faftnes in Latin, as is in Demojlhenes in Greke. And 
 this to be moft trevv, may eafilie be gathered, * not onlie of L. Craf- 
 fus talke in de Oratore ; but fpeciallie of Ciceroes owne deede -j- in tranf- 
 lating Demojlhenes and Mfchines orations ■stj^I Srefpav^, to that verie 
 ende and purpofe. 
 
 And although a man growndlle learned alreadie, may take moch 
 profFet himfelfe in ufing, by Epitome, to draw other mens workes for 
 his owne memorie fake into fliorter rowme ; (as Canterus hath done ve- 
 rie well the whole Metamorphofn of Ovid^ and David Cythrceiis a great 
 deale better, the 7iine Mufes of Herodotus -, and MelanSlhon, in myne opi- 
 nion, far beft of all, the whole ftorie of time, not onelie to his owne 
 ufe, but to other mens profFet, and hys great praife) yet Epitome is 
 moft neceflarie of all in a mans owne writing, as we learne of that 
 
 «• Quibus non contentus, Rhodum veni, mequc ad eundem, quern Roms audiveram, 
 " Molonem applicavi, cum adorem in veris caufis, fcriptoremque prajftantem, turn in no- 
 " tandis, animadvertendifque vitiis, & inftitucndo, docendoque prudentiflimum. Is dedit 
 *' operam (fi modo id coni'equi potuitj ut nimis redundantes nos, & fuperfluentes juvenili 
 " quadam dicendi impunitate & licentia, reprimeret, & quafi extra ripas diffluentes coer- 
 " ceret. Ita reccpi me biennio poft non modo exercitatior, fed prope mutatus. Nam & 
 •' contentio nimia vocis reciderat, & quafi referverat oratio, latcribufque vires, & corporis 
 " mediocris habitus accefierat." 
 
 * See Crajfus's words, cited in the notes, pag. 200. 
 
 f Tho' 'tis certdin enough, that Tully did tranflate thefe two orations ; yet I'm apt to think 
 from his own words, that he did it rather as an example to encourage young ftudents to take 
 pains that way, than with any defign to improve himfelf ; his own ftile much earlier being 
 brought to its full perfeflion. 
 
 " Sed cum in eo magnus error eflet, quale eflet id dicendi genus ; putavi mihi fufcipien- 
 " dum laborcm, utilem ftudiofis, mihi quidem ipfi non neceflarium. Converti enim ex 
 " Atticis, duorum eloquentiflimorum nobiliffimas orationes inter fe contrarias, ^Ichinis 
 " Demofthenifque : nee converti, ut interpres, fed ut orator, fcntentiis iifdem, & earum 
 *' formis, tanquam figuris, verbis ad noftram confuetudincm aptis : in quibus non verbum 
 " pro vcrbo necefle habui reddere, fed genus omnium vcrborum, vimquc fervavi. Non 
 •' enim ea me annumerarc leflori putavi oportere, fed tanquam appendere." 
 
 This opinion of mine will ftill appear more probable, from the lift words of this introduc- 
 tion to thefe two orations : " Erit regula, ad quam eorum dirigantur orationes, qui Attice 
 «• volunt dicere." 
 
 noble 
 
 293
 
 294 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 noble poet Virgil; who, if Donatus * fay trewe, in writing that perfite 
 worke ot" the Georgickes, ufed dailie, when he had wiitten forty or fifty 
 verfes, not to ceafe cutting, paring, and polifhing of them, till he had 
 brought them to the nombcr of ten or twelve. 
 
 And this excrcife is nut more ncdefullie done in a great worke, than 
 wifelie done in our common dailie writing, either of letter, or other 
 thing elfe ; that is to fay, to perufe diligentlie, and fee and fpie wifehe, 
 what is alwaies more than ncdeth. For twentie to one, ofi'end more in 
 writing to moch, than to little : even as twenty to one, fall into fick- 
 nclTe, rather by over moch fulnes, than by any lacke or cmptineiTe. 
 And therefore is he alwaies the belt EngHjh phyfician, that befl: can give 
 a purgation J that is, by way oi Epitome to cut all over-much away. 
 And furelie mens bodies be not more full of ill humors, than common- 
 lie mens myndes (if they be yong, luftie, proude, like and love them- 
 felves well, as moft men do) be full of fantafies, opinions, errors, and 
 faultes, not onlie in inward invention, but alfo in all their utterance, 
 either by pen or talke. 
 
 And of all other men, even thofe that have the inventivefi: heades for 
 all purpofes, and roundeft tonges in all matters and places (except they 
 learne and ufe this good lelTon of Epitome) commit commonlie greater 
 faultes, than dull, Having, filent men do. For quick inventors, and 
 faire readie fpeakers, being boldned with their prefent habiiite to fay 
 more, and perchance better to, at the foden for that prefent, than any 
 other can do ; ufe lefle helpe of diligence and fludie than they ought to 
 do ; and fo have in them commonlie lefle learnyng, and weaker judge- 
 ment for all deepe confiderations, than fome duller heades, and flo\\er 
 tonges have. 
 
 • The pafiage alluded to in Virgil's life is this : " Cum Georgica fcriberet, traditur quo- 
 " tidie meditatos mane plurimos verfus diflare folitus, ac per totum diem retraflando ad 
 " paucifTimos redigere : non abfurdc, carmen fe urfx more parcre dicens, & hmbendo de- 
 '• mum effingere." 
 
 The fame is reported of our countryman, Mr. Milton, whom we may juflly match with 
 Virgil; that ufually every morning, as he lay in bed, he tumbled over in his thoughts the 
 verfes he had made the day before, and never ceafed altering and changing of them, till he 
 had rcduc'd them with inimitable exadtncfs to a far lefs njmbcr. 
 
 And
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 And therefore readie fpeakers generallie be not the beft, playneft, 
 and wil'ell writers, nor yet the deepeft jiidgers in weightie affaires : be- 
 caufe they do not tarry to weye and judge all thinges as they fliould j 
 but having their heads over full of matter, be like penncs over full of 
 inke, which will fooner blotte, than make any fair letter at all. Tyme 
 was, when I had experience of two ambafladors in one place ; the one 
 of a bote head to invent, and of a haftie hand to write ; the other, 
 cold and ilayd in both ; but what difference of their doinges was made 
 by wife men, is not unknown to fome perfons. The billiop of JVin- 
 chejlcr, * Steph. Gardiner^ had a quicke head, and a readie tonge, and 
 yet was not the beft writer in Englande. Cicero, in Brutus, doth wife- 
 lie -f- note the hmt in aSV^^. Galba, and ^ Hortenjius ; wlio were both 
 bote, lurtie, and plaine fpeakers, but colde, lowfe, and rough writers. 
 And Tullie telleth the caufe why ; faying, when they fpake, their tonge 
 was naturally carried with full tyde and wynde of their witte j when 
 they wrote, their head was folitarie, dull, and caulme ; and fo their ftyle 
 was blonte, and their writing colde. ^lod vitium, faith Cicero, peringe^ 
 niofis hominibus, neqiic fafis do6lis, plerumque accidit. 
 
 And therefore all quicke inventors, and readie faire fpeakers, muft 
 be carefull, that, to their goodnefs of nature, they adde alfo in any 
 
 * Bifhop i'/<'«(^/, in his charafler of him, fays, he had a go- d ftUe In Latin, and undcrfiood 
 the Greek well. Something of his abilities may be fecn in that famous controveify, about the 
 true pronunciation of the G'r^^- tongue ; which was managed liy him, as Chancellor, and by 
 l\Ir. Chekc, and fome other learned gentlemen of Camlridgc, at that time. 
 
 \ " Qiiid igitur, inquit, eft caufa", Brutus, fi tanta virtus in oratore Galba fuit, cur ca 
 " nulla in orationibus ejuh appareat ? " l"o this queflion oi Biutus, ainongft other things, 
 Tully makes this reply : 
 
 " Nee enim eft cadem, inquam. Brute, caufa non fcribendi, & non tarn bene fcribeniH, 
 " qiiiim dix rint. Nam videmus alios oratores inertia nihil fcripiiU'c, ne domtfticus etiam 
 ♦' labor acccderet ad forcnfem, picii'quc enim fcribuntur orationes habita jam, non ut ha- 
 
 *' beantur. alios, quo'i meliis putent dicere fe pofle, quamfciiberc: q'tcd pti ingt- 
 
 " iiiof.s L'miiii'us, ncqiie Jntis d.ilis, pli'rum^u conti^it, ut ifji Gall/a: 
 
 " Quern foitafli^ vis non ingcnii folum, fed etiam animi, & naturalis quidam dolor dicen- 
 *■' tern inccndtbat, efficitbatque, ut & incitata, & gravis, & vehemens c/let oratio : dcin ciim 
 «' otiofus ftilum prehendtrat, motufque omnis animi, tanquam ventus, hoinincm dcfeccrat, 
 «* fiaccefll-bat oratio : quod iis, qui limatius dicendi confectantur genus accidcre non folct, 
 " propterea quod prudentia nunquam deficit oratorem q a ille utens codcni modo poflit t*\: 
 <' dicere k fcfibere. Ardor animi non fcmper adfft, ifque cum confedit, omnis ilia vis, & 
 '•■ quah flamma oratoris cxtinguitur. Hanc igiiur ob cnufam vidttur L.rlii mens fpirarcetiain 
 «* iji kriptis, Galbse autem vis occidiflc." Cic. de claiii Orat. 
 
 4 wife 
 
 295
 
 296 T n E W O R K S O F 
 
 wife ftudie, labor, leafure, learnyng, and judgement; and then they 
 fliall in deede paflTc all other, (as 1 know fome do, in whome all thofe 
 qualities are fullie planted) or elfe, if they give over moch to their 
 witte, and over little to their labor and learnyng, they will iboneil over 
 reach in talke, and fardeft come behinde in writing, whatfoever they take 
 in hand. The method of Epitome is moft neceli'arie for foch kinde of 
 men. And thus much concerning the ufe, or mifufe, of all kinde of 
 Epitomes in matters of learnyng. 
 
 I M 1 T A T I o. i 
 
 Imitation * is a facultie to exprefTe livelie and perfitelie that example, 
 which ye go about to folow. And of itfelfe it is large and wide ; for 
 all the works of nature, in a manner, be examples for arte to folow. 
 
 But to our purpofe : All languages, both learned, and mother tonges, 
 be gotten, and gotten onlie by Imitation. For as ye ufe to heare, fo ye 
 learne to fpeake. If ye heare no other, ye fpeake not your felfe -, and 
 whom ye onlie heare, of them ye onlie learne. 
 
 And therefore, if ye would fpeake as the beft and wifefl do, ye muft 
 be converfant where the beft and wifeft are : but if you be borne, or 
 brought up in a rude contrie, ye fliall not chofe but fpeak rudelle. 
 The rudeft man of all knoweth this to be trewe. 
 
 Yet neverthelelTe, the rudenes of common and mother tonges is no 
 bar for wife fpeaking. For in the rudeft contrie, and moft barbarous 
 mother language, many be founde that can fpeake verie wifelie : but in 
 the Grckc and Latin tonges, the two onelie learned tonges, which be kept 
 not in common taulke, but in private bookes ; we find alwaies wifdom 
 and eloquence, good matter and good utterance, never, or feldom afon- 
 der. For all fuch authors as be fulleft of good matter, and right judge- 
 ment in dodlrine, be likewife alwaies moft proper in wordes, moft apt 
 in fentence, moft plaine and pure in uttering the fame. 
 
 * " Imitatio eft, qua impcUimur cum diligent! racione, ut aliquonun fiiniles in dicend« 
 ** velimus effe." Auiiar oi Htrermlum. 
 
 2 And
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 And contrariwife, in thofe two tonges, all writers, either in religion, 
 oranie k6t of philofophie, whofoever be found fonde in judgement of 
 matter, be commonlie found as rude in uttering their myndes. For 
 iloickes, anabaptifts, and friers, with epicures, libertines, and monkes, 
 being moft like in learnyng and life, are no fonder and pernicious in 
 their opinions, than they be rude and barbarous in their vvritingcs. 
 They be not wife therefore that fay, " What care I for a mans wordcs 
 " and utterance, if his matter and reafons be good ?" Soch men fay 
 fo, not fo much of ignorance, as eyther of fome fingular pride in them- 
 felves, or fome fpeciall malice of others, or fome private and pai-ciaii 
 matter, either in religion, or other kind of learnyng. For good and 
 choice meates be no more requifite for healthie bodies, than proper and 
 apte wordes be for good matters ; and alfo plaine and fenfible utterance 
 for the beft and deepeft reafons : " in which two pointes ftandeth per- 
 " fite eloquence, one of the faireft and rareft giftes that God doth give 
 " to man." 
 
 Ye know not what hurte ye do to learnyng, that care not for wordes, 
 but for matter ; and fo make a divorfe betwixt the tonge and the hart. 
 For mark all ages, looke upon the whole courfe of both the Gre/:e and 
 Latin tonges, and ye fhall furelie finde, that, when apte and good 
 wordes began to be negledled, and properties of thofe two tonges to be 
 confounded, then alfo began ill deedes tofpring; llrange maners to op- 
 prefle good orders j newe and fonde opinions to Ibive with old and trewe 
 do6ti-ine, firft in philofophie, and after in religion ; right judgement 
 of all thinges to be perverted, and {o vertue with learnyng is contemn- 
 ed, and ftudie left off. " Of ill thoughtes commeth perverfe judge- 
 " ment ; of ill deedes fprlngeth lewde taulke." Which fower mifor- 
 ders, as they mar mans life, fo dcftroy they good learnyng withall. 
 
 But beholde the goodnefie of Gods providence for learnyng : all okle 
 authors, and fe6ts of philofophie, which were fondeft in opinion, and 
 ludeft in utterance, as ftoickes, and epicures, firfl contemned of v/ife 
 men, and after forgotten of all men, be * fo confumcd by tyme, as 
 
 they 
 
 * This remark of Mr. Afcham's muft neccflarily be reftraincd and limited to the Grecian 
 writers, and to thofe only who flouriflied when their language was brought to its grcatcfl pcr- 
 
 297
 
 ,98 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 they be now not onlle out of ufe, but alfo out of memoile of man. 
 Which thing, I furelie thinke, will flioitelie chance to the whole doc- 
 trine and all the bookes of phantaflical anabaptifles and friers, and of 
 the beaftlie libertines and monkes. 
 
 Againe, behold on the other Tide, how Gods wifdome hath wrought, 
 that of Academici and Peripatefici, thole that were wifefl: in judgement 
 of matters, and purelt in uttering their myndes, the firfl and cliiefel!:, 
 that wrote mofi: and beft in either tonge, (as Plato and Ariftotle in 
 Greeke, and Tullie in Latin) be fo either wholie, or fufficientlie left un- 
 to us, " as I never knew yet fcholer, that gave himfelfc to like, and 
 " love, and folow chieflie thofe three authors, but he proved both 
 " learned, wife, and alio an honeft man; if he joyned withall the trewe 
 " doctrine of Gods holie Bible ; without the which, the other three 
 " be but fine edge tools in a fools or mad mans hand." 
 
 But to returne to Imitation againe : there be three kindes of it in mat- 
 ters of learnyng. 
 
 The whole * doclrine of comedies and tragedies, is a perfite Imita- 
 tiofj, or faire livelie painted picture of the life of everie degree of man. 
 Of this Imitation writeth PJato at large, in his third booke Je Republican 
 but it doth not moch belong at this time to our purpofe. 
 
 The fecond kind of Imitation, is to folow, for learnyng of tonges and 
 fciences, the beft authors. Here rifeth anionges proude and envious 
 
 feftion. For Anton'mui in the Greek tongue, and Lucretius and Seneca in the luitin, (au:hors 
 thot juHIy deferve our notice) are ftill perfedt and entire. But that thefe lefts were nnoft re- 
 markably carelefs in their ftile and language, is plain enough from the conflant teftimony of 
 all the ancients, who have had occafion to mention thefe things. 
 
 f 
 
 TBTU 
 
 lent 
 ueatife, with refped to the Epicurean tribe; 'E7ri>mf£i'ti'i. S\ yjt^lv, cTj iS\y ixiKsi tvtuv, tsa.foi.i- 
 
 w.«{i n«j)i1txr?, ftaiim ab loitiij. 
 
 I wittes 
 
 \
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 wittes a great controveiTie ; whether one, or many are to be folowed : 
 and if one, who is that one ; Seneca, Cicero, Saluji, or Ccefar, and fo 
 forth, in Greeke and Latin. 
 
 The third kinde of Imitation belongeth to the fecond ; as when you 
 be determined, whether ye will folow one, or mo, to know perfitlie, 
 and which way, to folow that one ; in what place ; by what meane and 
 order ; by what tooles and inftrumentes ye ihall do it ; by what fkill 
 and judgement ye fliall trewlie difcerne, whether ye folow rightlie or no. 
 
 This Imitatio is diffimilis materiei fimilis traStako ; and alfo, fimilis ma~ 
 teriei diffi/nilis traSiatio ; as Virgil folowed Homer : but the argument to 
 the one was Ul)]/fes ; to the other, /Eneas. Tullie perfecuted Antonie with 
 the fame wepons of eloquence, that Demojihenes ufed before againft 
 Philippe. 
 
 Horace foloweth Pindar, but either of them his owne argument and 
 perfon : as the one, Hiero king of Sicilie -, the other, Auguftus the em- 
 peror : and yet both for like refpedles ; that is, for their coragious 
 ftoutnes in warre, and juft government in peace. 
 
 One of the beft examples for right Imitation, we lacke, and that is 
 Menander ; whom our Terence, as the matter required, in like aigu- 
 ment, in the fame pcrfons, with equal eloquence, foote by foote did 
 folow. Some peeces remaine, * like broken jewelles, whereby men may 
 rightlie efteeme, and juillie lament, the lofle of the whole, 
 
 Erafmus, the ornament of learnyng in our tyme, doth wifli that 
 fome man of learnyng and diligence, •+• would take the like paines in De^ 
 mojlhenci and Tullie, that Macrobiiis hath done in Homer and Virgil ; that 
 
 * A colleflion of thefe remains have been fometime fince publiftied, together with thofe of 
 PhiUmon, by Mr. Le Chrk,', who amidft his great learning, did not think \m beneath his care. 
 
 f *' F.Iegans interim fuerit excrcitatio, quod a vcteribus nonnullis factum eft in Hcnuro ac 
 " Virgiiio, fiquis idem faciat in Dcwjlheiie et M. Tullio, ut ex collatione locorum deptehendar, 
 " quid hie ab iilofit mutuatu', &ubi iioftcr fit G'aco par, ubi fupcrior, ubi ab cxcmplari non- 
 ** nihil degenerct imitatio. Vixaliares a?que conducit ad parandum juditium," Erafwui, Li!'. 
 28. Ep. 26. 
 
 CJ^q 2 is. 
 
 299
 
 3DO T H E VV O R K S O F 
 
 is, to write out and joyne together, where the one cloth imitate the 
 other. Erajtnus wiflie is good; but fureUe it is not good enough. For 
 Macrobhis gatherings for the Mneodos, out of Hotiier, and Eabaiiui HeJ- 
 fus more diHgent gatherings for the Bticolikes, out of Theocritus, as they 
 be not fulhc taken out of the whole heape, as they fliould be, but even 
 as though they had not fought for them of purpofe, but found them 
 fcattered here and there by chance in their way ; even fo, onelie to point 
 out, and nakedlie to joine together their fentenccs, with no furder de- 
 claring the maner and way how the one doth folow the other, were 
 but a colde helpe to the encreafe of learnyng. 
 
 But if a man would take this palnes alfo, when he hath layd two 
 places of Homer and Virgil, or of Dcmojlbenes and Tullie together, to 
 teach plainlie withall, after this fort : 
 
 1. Tullie reteyneth thus mocli of the matter, thies fentences, thies 
 wordes. 
 
 2. This, and that he leaveth out ; which he doth wittllie to this end 
 and purpofe. 
 
 3. This he addeth here : 
 
 4. This he diminifheth there : 
 
 5. This he ordereth thus, with placing that here, not there: 
 
 6. This he altereth and changeth, either in propertie of wordes, in 
 forme of fentence, in fubftance of the matter, or in one, or other con- 
 venient circumftance of the authors prefent purpofe. 
 
 In thies fewe rude Englif) wordes, are wrapt up all the nccelTarie tooles 
 and inftrumentcs, wherewith trewe Imitation is rightlie wrought withall 
 in any tonge. Which tooles, I oj^enlie confefl'e, be not of myne owne 
 forging, but partlie left unto me by the cunningcfl mailer, and one of 
 the worthieft jentlemen, that ever Englande bred, Syr John Cheke ; part- 
 lie borowed by me out of the flioppe of the dearefl frende I have out 
 
 o£
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. -^oi 
 
 cf Englaude, Job. Sturmius. And therefore I am the bolder to borow of 
 liim, ami here to leave them to others, and namelie to my children. 
 Which tooles, if it pleafe God, that another day they may be able to 
 ufe rightlie, as I do vviflie, and daylic pray they may do, I fliall be 
 more glad, than if I were able to leave them a gieat quantitic of land. 
 
 This forefaide order and do6lrine of Imitation, would bring forth 
 more learnyng, and bi'eed up trewer judgement, than any other exer- 
 cife that can be ufed; but not for yong beginners, bicaufe they fliall not 
 be able to confider dulie thereof. And trewlie it may be a Ihame to 
 good ftudentes, who having fo faire examples to folow, as Flato and 
 T^iilliey do not ufe fo wife wayes in folowing them for the obteyning of 
 wifdome and learnyng, as rude ignorant artificers do for gayning a 
 fmall commoditie. For furelie the meaneft painter ufcth more witte, 
 better arte, greater diligence in his flioppe, in folowing the pidlure of 
 any meane mans face, than commonhe the befl ftudents do, even in the 
 univerlitie, for the atteyning of learnyng itfelfe. 
 
 Some ignorant, unlearned, and idle fludent, or fome bufie looker 
 uppn this litle poore booke ; that hath neither will to do good himfelfe, 
 nor (kill to judge right of others, but can luftelie contemne, by pride 
 and ignorance, all painful diligence, and right order in ftudy j * will 
 perchance fay, that I am to precife, to curious in marking and pid- 
 ling thus about the Imitation of others ; and that tlie old and worthie au- 
 thors did not buHe their heades and wittes, in folowing fo precifelie 
 either the matter, what other men wrote, or els the maner, how other 
 men wrote. They will fay, '• It were a plain flaverie, and injurie to, 
 " to Ihakkle and tye a good witte, and hinder the courfe of a mans 
 *• good nature with fuch bondes of fervitudc, in folowing others." Ex- 
 cept foch men thinke themfclves wifer than Cicero for teaching of elo- 
 quence, they muil be content to turne a new leafe. 
 
 The befl: booke that ever Tullie wrote, by all mens judgement, and 
 
 * See what Dionyfius Halic. fays on the like occafion : 'Tipo^Z/^at riva, irco; roi^iTu x:tT;e- 
 Jfof*>?i' dv^pto-rruv, Tti? fMV lyxvxXiis TttiiSiixq xiriiouv, to it txyoftitov r/jf PwTOf ix.»!{ i*=p^ ISi 
 ti ^tti'xv-fti pc'^f'f tViTJi^euo'i'lwi'. De Strait ura Oratioiiis pag. 240. 
 
 by 
 
 J'
 
 J 
 
 02 THEWORKSOF 
 
 by his owne teftimonie to, in writing whereof he employed moft care, 
 ftudie, learnyng, and judgement, is his booke ^(? Oratore ad ^Fra- 
 trem. Now let us fee, what he did for the matter, and aifo for tlie 
 maner of writing thereof. For the whole booke confifteth in thefe two 
 pointes onelic; in good matter, and good handling of the matter. And 
 firft, for the matter; it is whole Arijiotles, whatfoever Antonie in the fe- 
 cond, and Crajfus in the third, doth teach. Truft not me, but believe 
 Tullie himfelfe, who writeth fo ; firll:, in that * goodlie long epiftle ad 
 Pub. Letitidum; and after in diverfe places ad Atticum. And in the 
 verie booke itfelfe, TuUic will not have it hidden ; but both Catulus and 
 Crajfus do oft, and pleafantly lay that ftelth to Antonim charge. Now 
 for the handling of the matter ; was ^uliie io prccifo and curious, ra- 
 ther to follow another mans paterne, than to invent Ibme new fhape 
 himfelfe, namclie in that booke, wherein he purpofed to leave to pofte- 
 ritie the glorie of his witte ? Yea forfooth, that he did. And this is not 
 my gcirnig and gathering; nor onelie performed by "^iillie in very deed, 
 but uttci ed aUb by T'uUie in plaine wordes ; to teach other men there- 
 by, what they fhould do, in taking like matter in hand. 
 
 And that which is fpecially to be marked, T!ulUe doth utter plainlie 
 his conceit and purpofe therein, by the mouth of the wifeit man in all 
 that companie : for -j- fayth Scavola himfelfe, Cur non imitamur Crajp, 
 Socratem ilium, qui ejl in Phadro Platoms ? &c. 
 
 And furder to underfland, that T'uUie did not obiter, and by chance, 
 but purpofelie and mindfullie bend himfelfe to a precife and curious imi- 
 tation of Plato, concernyng the fliape and forme of thofe bookes ; marke, 
 
 * " Qiiod rofras, ut rnea tibifcripta mittam,quaepoft difceffum tuum fcripferim : funtorati- 
 " ones qusedam, quas Menocrito dabo : neque ita multas ; ne pertimcfcas. Scripfi etiam (nam 
 " ab orationibus dijungo me fere, referoquc ad manfuetiores Mufas : quae me maxime, ficutjam 
 " a primaadolefcentiadeledarunt)fcripfi igiiur Ariftoteleomore, quemadmodum quidem volui, 
 " trcs libros in difputatione acdialogo de Orctore, quos arbitror Lentulo tuo non fore inutilcs. 
 " Abhorent enim acommunibus pr.eceptis : ac omnem aniiquorum, h Ariltotelcam, & Ifocra- 
 " team rationcm oratoriam complctfluntur." Ep'Ji. Fam. Lib. i. Ep. 9. 
 
 f " Poftero autem die, cum iili majores natu fatis quiefTent, & in ambulationem ventum cf- 
 " fet ; dicebat turn Scaevolam duobus fpatiis tribufve fadis, dixLlle, Cur non imitamur," &c. 
 Dc Oral. Lib. I. 
 
 I I
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 
 
 I pray you, how curious Tullie is to utter his purpofe, and doyng there- 
 in, writing % thus to Atticus : 
 
 ^lod in it's Oratoriis libris, quos laiidas, perfonam defideras Scavolce ; twn 
 earn temere dimovi : fed feci idem, quod in UoXijitx deus ilk 7iofler Plato. 
 Cum in Piraeum Socrates venijfet ad Cephalum, locupletem & feftivum fenem ; 
 quoad primus ille fermo haberetur, adefl in difputando jenex : deinde cum ipfc 
 quoque commodifjime lociitus ejfet, ad rem divinam dicit fe velle difcedere ; ne- 
 que poflea reiertitur. Credo Platonem vix putajje Jatis confoinun fore, fi ho~ 
 mijiem id at at is in tarn longo fermone diutiiis retiniiifjet. Multo ego fat i us hoc 
 mihi cavendu7n ptitavi in Sccevola : qui & atate, & valitudine erat ea, qua ef~ 
 fe meminifti j & iis honoribus, ut vix fatis decorum videretur, eum plures 
 dies effe in Craji Tufculano. Et erat primi libri fermo non aliejius a Scavo- 
 lce jiudi is : reliqui libri Ts^voXoyixv ha bent, ut fcis. Huic joculatoria dif- 
 putationi fenem ilium, ut noras, interefj'e Jane nolui. 
 
 If Cicero had not opened himfelfe, and declared hys owne thought 
 and doynges herein, men that be idle, and ignorant, and envious of 
 other mens diligence, and well doinges, would have fworne, that Tullie 
 had never mynded any foch thing ; but that, of a precife curiofitie, we 
 fayne and forge, and father foch thinges of Tullie, as he never ment 
 indeed. I write this not for nought : for I have heard fome, both well 
 learned, and otherwayes verie wife, that by their luftie mifliking of foch 
 diligence, have drawen back the forwardnes of verie good wittes. But 
 even as foch men themfelves do fometymes ftumble upon doing well 
 by chance, and benefite of good witte ; fo would I have our fcholer al- 
 wayes able to do well by order of learnyng, and right Ikill of judge- 
 ment. 
 
 Concernyng Imitation, many learned men have written, with moch 
 diverfitie for the matterj and therefore with great contrarietie, and fome 
 flomacke amongeft themfelves. I have read as many as I could get» 
 diligentlie; and what I thinke of everie one of them, I will freely fay 
 my mynde. With which freedome I truft good men will beare, be- 
 caufe it fhall tend to neither fpitefull nor harmefuU controverfie. 
 
 303 
 
 X This citation is taken out of Tw/Z/s fourth book of Epiftles to /itt'uus, Ep; i6v 
 
 la
 
 304 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 Cicero. In ITh/Z/V it is well touched, fhortlie taught, * not fulilc declared by 
 Antoniia in the fecond booke dc Oratore •. and afterward in Oratore ad 
 Brulum, for the liking and mifliking oi IJhcrates : and thecontrarie judge- 
 ment of Tiillie againil Calvus, Brutus, and Calidius, de genere dicendi At- 
 iico & Afiatico. 
 
 Dionyfius Diofiv/ius Halicdrtiaffcus tte^) Muxr^rsug, -j- 1 feare is loft ; which author 
 Halicarnair. ^^^^^ Jri/htk, Plato, and Tiillie, of all others that write of eloquence, by 
 
 tiie judgement of them that be beft learned, dcfaveth the next prayfe 
 
 and place. 
 
 Quintllian. ^nntilian % writeth of it fliortlie, and coldlie for tlic matter, yet hot- 
 lie and fpitefuUic enough agaynft the imitation of 'TuHie. 
 
 * " Ergo hoc fit primum in praeccptis riieis, ut demonftremus, quern imitetur; atque ita, 
 " ut, quae maximc excellant in eo quern imitabitur, ea diligentiffime perfequatur : turn ac- 
 " cedat exercitatio, qua ilium, quern ante delegcrit, imitando effingat, atque ita exprimat, 
 " non ut multos imitatores fepe cognovi, qui aut ea, qux facilia fur.t, aut etiam ilia, qua: 
 " infifnia, ac paene vitiofa, confeflantur imitando." De Orat. lib. z. 
 
 " Atticos, inquit, volo imitari. quos ? nee enim eft unum gerius. Nam quid eft tam 
 " dilTimilc, quam Demofthcnes & Lyfias ? quani idem, & Hyperidcs ? qujm omnium ho- 
 •' rum iEfchincs ? Quern igitur imitaris ? Si aliquem, caeteri ergo Attice non dicebant fi 
 " omnes; qui potes, cum fint ipfi diflimillimi inter fe ?" Cic. de darn Orat. 
 
 t This book of imitation Dionyfius divided into three parts : the firfte contained the whole 
 queftion concerning imitation ; the fecond, what authors in poetry, piiilofophy, hiftory, and 
 oratory, were to be imitated ; the third, how this imitation was to be performed : which laft 
 boolc, he tells us, he had not finifhed at the time he gives us this account of it. 
 
 Dion\j'ius's words are thefe, though corrupt enough, in his epiftle to Cn. Pomfey, p. 206. 
 of the learned Dr. Hudjon'i edition. I fhall cite them as I think they ought to be read. 
 Hi-JoirrAx S\ >^ T»To h TUi TT^o; Ar.atfr^isi/ •jTrcy.nriiAXTia-u.oTi tteji \Uixn<rsu:f. Tistu,/ fji,iv 
 -rrcir^, ocvriu moiiiXr.pi rriv xio] rvi {J-xi'.TnTt'jii; C,r,Ti:mv Si SijTi^o<;, rrt^i tk, TiWf av^oxi 
 f/.ilt.ii(rxi Sii, irojwTa'f t£ iC, (pt\o<ropvi, ifo^toy^x^m x^ friToooii ii tji't^, ttij j tb, iru( ieT 
 /ji.iiji.tTaS'in. Jfi Si »T©^ flcTfAji'y. 
 
 J ♦' Ante omnia igitur imitatio per fc ipfa non fufficit ; vel quia pigri efl ingenii, conten- 
 " tum efle iis, quae funt ab aliis inventa. Quid Ciiim futurum erat temporibus iKis, quae fine 
 *' exemplo fuerunt, li homines nihil nifi quod jam cognoviirfiit, faciendum fibi au; cogitan- 
 " dum putaflent ? ncmpc nihil fuiflet invcntum 
 
 " Itaque ne hoc quidem fuaferim, uni fe alicui propric, qucm per omnia fequatur, addi- 
 ♦' cere. Longe perfeiSliflimus Graecorum Demofthenes, aliquld tamcn aliquo in loco melius 
 ♦' alii. Plurima ille : fed non qui maxime imitandus, etiam folus imitandus eft. Quid er- 
 " go I non eft fati? omnia fic dicerc, quomodo Marcus Tullius dixit ? niihi quidem fatis cf- 
 ♦' let, fi omnia confequi poll'em. Quid tamen noccr, vim Caefaris, afperitatem Caclii, dili- 
 ♦' gentiam Pollionis, judicium Calvi, quibuUani in locis affumere.'" ^tint, de InJ}. Orat. 
 lib. 10. 
 
 4 ' Erafmus,
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 305 
 
 Eraftnus, beyng more occupied in fpying other mens faultes, than Erafmus. 
 declaryng his ovvne advife, is miftaken of many, to the great hurt of 
 ftudie for his authoritie fake. For he writeth righthe, righthe under- 
 handed ; * he and Longolim onehe differing in this, tliat the one feem- 
 eth to give overmoch, the other over litle, to him, whom they both 
 befl loved, and chiefly allowed of all others. 
 
 Budaus in his commentaries roughlie and obfcurelie, after his kinde Budsus. 
 of writyng : and for the matter, caiyed fomewhat out of the way in 
 overmuch mifliking the imitation of Tullie. 
 
 Philip MelanBhon, learnedlie and trewlie. Phil. Me- 
 
 landlhon. 
 
 Joach. Camerarius largely with a learned judgement, but fomewhat joa. Camer. 
 confufedly, and with over rough a ftile. 
 
 Sambucus largely, -f- with a right judgement, but fomewhat a crooked Sambucus, 
 ftile. 
 
 * Erafmus in his epiftles frequently mentions LongoUus, who was a Hollander by birth, and 
 one who in his writings applied himfelf with utmoft care and induftry, to the imitation of 
 Tully. " Quid hie commemorem Longoiium, qui totus in hoc incubuit, ut Ciceronem ex- 
 " primeret ; nee infeliciter ceflit conatus ?" Lib.zy. r/>. 38. He 6\ed &t Padua about the 
 age of thirty. 
 
 Of the difference that happened betwixt himfelf and LongoUus, Erafmus gives us fome ac- 
 count in his letter to Alciatus, lib. 2x. ep. 38. wherein he has this fevere remark upon thofc 
 flavifh imitators, the Ciceroniani/ls of that age. 
 
 " Exorta eft nova fedla Ciccronlanorum quae mihi videtur non minus fervere iftic, quam 
 ' apud nos Lutheranorum. Pofthae non licebit Epifcopos appellare Patres reverendos, nee in 
 ' calce literarum fcribere annum a Chrijlo nato, quod id nufquam faciat Cicero. Quid au- 
 ' tem ineptius, quam toto feculo novato, religione, imperiis, magiftratibus, locorum voca- 
 * bulls, sedificiis, cultu, moribus, non aliter audere loqui, quam locutus eft Cicero .' Si 
 ' revivifcerit ipfe Cicero, rideret hoe Ciceronianorum genus." 
 
 And in his letter to Francifcus Fergtray he thus expreffes himfelf: •' Hjcc, mi Francifce, 
 ' non eo fpeflant, ut alius fit magis proponendus eloquemix candidatis, quam Cicero ; fed 
 ' iftos ut rideam fimios, quibus nihil pulchsum, nifi quod Ciceronem refert ; quum nulla 
 ' fuerit unquam forma tarn felix, in qua nihil defideres. Ut formae piftor, ita didtionis rhe- 
 ' tor, abfolutum exemplum a multis petal oportct." 
 
 •j- " Sambucus tres dialogos confcripfit de Imitationc a Cicerone pctcnda." Concerning 
 CorlefiuSf fee the eighth book of Politian's epiftles. 
 
 R r Others
 
 3o6 THEWORKSOF 
 
 Cortefius. Otlicrs havc written alfo, as Cortefms to PoUtian, and that verie well : 
 P. Bembus. ^tfubiis ad Piciim, a great deale better ; but Joan. Sturmius, de Nohilitate 
 m.us. literata, & de Amijja dicendi ratione, farre beft of all, in myne opinion, 
 
 that ever tooke this matter in hand. For all the reft declare chieflie 
 this point, whether one, or many, or all, are to be followed : but Sinr- 
 mitn onelie hath moft learnedlie declared, " Who is to be followed j what 
 " is to be followed ; and the beft point of all, by what way and order 
 •' trew Imitation is rightlie to be exercifed." And althougli Sturmius 
 herein doth farre paiie all other ; yet hath he not fo fullie and perfitlic 
 done it, as I do wiflie he had, and as I know he could. For though 
 he hath done it perfitlie for precept, yet he hath not done it perfitlie 
 enough for example. Which he did, neither for lacke of Ikill, nor by 
 negligence, but of purpofe, contented with one or two examples ; bi- 
 caufe he was mynded in thofe two bookes, to write of it both fhortlie, 
 and alfo had to touch other matters. 
 
 BartM. Riccius Ferrarienjis alfo * hath written learnedlie, diligentlie, 
 and verie largelie of this matter j even as he did before very well, de yip- 
 paratu Latina Lccutionis, He writeth the better in myne opinion, bicaufe 
 his whole doftrine, judgement, and order, femeth to be borrowed out 
 of Joan. Sturnjius bookes. He addeth alfo examples, the beft kinde of 
 teaching ; wherein he doth well, but not well enough : indeede he 
 committeth no fault, but yet deferveth fmall praife. He is content 
 with the meane, and followetii not the beft : as a man, that would feede 
 -j- upon acornes, when he may eate, as good cheape, the fineft wheat 
 bread. 
 
 He teacheth fof example, where, and how, two or three late Italian 
 poetes do follow Virgil; and how Virgil himfelfe in the ftorie of Dido, 
 doth whoUie imitate Catullus in the hke matter of Ariadne. Wherein I 
 like better his diligence, and order of teaching, than his judgement in 
 choice of examples for Imitation, But if he had done thusi if he had 
 
 * This wvrlc Ritcius publilhed under this title, De Imltatiom Libri tris 
 
 + The fame proverbial exprcffion we meet with a littk after in this book. The commen>- 
 tators feem very fond of it : " Port fruges inventas vefci glandibus : oti/S^ti ^a^avn^a.yot, 
 •*■ £t lumftUgineui dsmi fit pants, anendiuitofurfure magis vefcimwr." Ang. Politianus. 
 
 4 declared.
 
 ROGER ASCHA M.- 307 
 
 declared, where, and how ; how oft, and how manjr wayes, Firgi/ doth 
 io\ovj Homer; as for example, the coming of UlyJJ'es to Alcynousy and 
 Calypfo, with the coming of Mncas to Carthage, and Dido : likewife the 
 games, running, wreftling, and ihooting, that AcbilL's maketh in Homer, 
 with the felfe fame games that Mncas maketh in Virgil : the harnefTe of 
 Achilles, with tlie harnefTe of Mneas -, and the manner of making them 
 both by Vulcam : the notable combate betwixt Achilles and Hector, with 
 as notable a combate betwixt Mneas and Tumus : the going downe to 
 hell of Ulyjfes in Homer, with the going downe to hell oi Mneas in Vir- 
 gil; and other places infinite mo, as hmilitudes, narrations, mefTages, 
 defcriptions of perfones, places, battles, tempefts, fliip wrackes, and 
 common places for divers purpofes ; which be as precifely taken out of 
 Homer, as ever did painter in London follow the picture of any faire 
 perfonage. And when thies places had been gathered together by tliis 
 way of diligence, then to have conferred them together by this order of 
 teaching; " as diligently to marke what is kept and ufed in either 
 " author, in wordes, in fentences, in matter; what is added ; what is 
 " left out ;• what ordered otherwife, either praponendo, interponendo, or 
 " pofiponendo; and what is altered for any refpeft, in worde, phrafe, 
 " fentence, figure, reafon, argument, or by any way of circumftance." 
 If Riccius had done this, he had not onlie bene well liked for his dili- 
 gence in teaching, but alfo juftlie commended for his right judgement 
 in right choice of examples for the belt Imitation. 
 
 Riccius alfo for Imitation of profe declareth, where, and how, Longo- 
 lius ck)th folow Tiillie : but as for Longolius, I would not have him the 
 patern of our Imitation. Indeede in Longolius fhoppe, be proper and 
 faire fliewing colors ; but as for (hape, figure, and natural! comlinefs, 
 by the judgement of beft judging artificers, he is rather allowed as one 
 to be borne withall, than fpeciallie commended, as one chieflie to be 
 folowed. 
 
 If Riccius had taken for his examples, where Tullie himfelfc folovvctk 
 either Plato or Demojihenes, he had Ihot then at the right markc. But 
 to excufe Riccius fomwhat, though I cannot fullie defend him, it may 
 be fayd, his purpofe was, to teach onelie the Lati'n tonge ; when thys way 
 that I do wifhe, to joyne Virgil with Homer, to ic^^i Tullie with Demcjt- 
 
 R r 2 henes
 
 3o8 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 bene! and Plafo, requireth n cunning and perfite mafter in both the 
 tonges. It is my wiOie indcede, and that by good reafon : for who- 
 focver will write well of any matter, ranft labor to exprefs that, that 
 is perfite ; and not to ftay and content himfelfe with the meane : yea, 
 1 fay farder, though it be not unpoffible, yet it is verie rare, and mar- 
 velous hard, to prove excellent in the Latin tonge, for him that is not 
 alfo well feene in the Greeke tong;. Tidlie himfelfe, mod excellent of 
 nature, moft diligent in labor, brought up from his cradle in that 
 place, and in that tyme, where and when the Latin tonge moft flour- 
 iflied naturallie in every mans mouth ; yet was not his owne tonge able 
 itfelfe to make him fo cunning in his owne tonge, as he was indeede ; 
 but the knowledge, and Imitation of the Greeke tonge withall. This he 
 confeffeth himfelfe ; this he uttereth in many places, as thofe can tell 
 beft, that ufe to read him moft. 
 
 Therefore thou, that fhooteft at perfedion in the Latin tonge, thinke 
 not thy fclfe wifer than Tidlie was, in choice of the way that leadeth right- 
 lie to the fame : thinke not thy witte better than Tiillies was, as though 
 that may ferve thee, that was not fufficient for him. For even as a 
 hauke flieth not hie with one wing, even fo a man reacheth not to ex- 
 cellency with one tonge. 
 
 I have bene a looker on in the cockpit of learnyng thies many yeares; 
 and one cock onelie have I knowne, which with one wing, even at 
 this day, doth paffe all other, in myne opinion, that ever I faw in any 
 pitte in Englande, though they had two winges. Yet neverthelefle, to 
 flie well with one wing, * to runne faft with one leg, be rather rare 
 mafteries moch to be marvelled at, than fure examples fafeHe to be fol- 
 lowed. A bufliop that now liveth, a good man, whofe judgement in 
 religion 1 better like, than his opinion in perfitnefs in other learnvng, 
 faid once unto me ; " We have no nede now of the Greeke tonge, when 
 " all thinges be tranflated into Latin." But the good man underftood 
 not, that even the beft tranflation, is for mere neceflitie but an evill 
 imped wing to flie withall, or a heavie ftompe leg of wood to go with- 
 
 • Habeas licebit altirum fedem Leda^ 
 Intptty frujlra crurc ligneo curres, MartiaJ, lib. x epigr. 8a. 
 
 all.
 
 309 
 
 ima ra- 
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 all. Such, the hler they flie, the fooner they falter and fail: the faftcr 
 they runne, the ofter they ftumble, and forer they fall. Soch as will 
 nedes fo flie, may flie at a pye, and catch a dawc : and foch runners, 
 as commonlie they, fliove, and iholder, to ftand formoft, yet in the 
 end they come behind others, and defcrve but the hopfhakles, if the 
 mailers of the game be right judgers. 
 
 Therefore in perufing thus fo many diverfe bookes for Imifation, it Opi\r^ 
 came into my head, that a verie profitable booke might be made de Lnita- ''° 'mitatio- 
 tione, after another fort, than ever yet was attempted of that matter, con- "'^' 
 teyning a certeyne fewe fitte preceptes, unto which fliould be gathered and 
 applied plentie of examples, out of the choiceft authors of both the 
 tonges. This worke would fland rather in good diligence for the ga- 
 thering, and right judgement for the apte applying of thofe examples, 
 than any great learnyng, or utterance at all. 
 
 The doing thereof would be m.ore pleafant than painfull, and would 
 bring alfo moch profFet to all that fliold read it, and great praife to 
 him that would take it in hand, with jufl defert of thankes. 
 
 ErafimiSy giving himfelfe * to read over all authors Greke and Latin, Erafmus 
 feemeth to have prefcribed to himfelfe this order of reading ; that is, to °'^^^ '" l^'J 
 note out by the way three fpecial pointes, all adagies, all fimilitudes, "^^ 
 and all wittie fayinges of moll notable perfonages. And fo, by one la- 
 bor, he left to pofberitie three notable bookes, and namelie two, his 
 Chiliades, Apophthegmata, and Similia. Likewife, if a good ftudent would 
 bend himfelfe to read diligentlie over Tidlie, and with him alfo at the Cicero, 
 fame tyme, as diligentlie Plato, and Xemphon, with his bookes of philo- P'^'o- 
 fophie ; IJbcrates, and Demojlhenes with his orations, and Ariftotk with i(baatc°s"' 
 his Rhetorickcs, (which five of all otlicrs, be thofe whom TulUc beft lov- Demofthc- 
 ed, and fpccially followed) and would markc diligentlie in Tullie,^^]' .^ 
 where he doth exprimere, or e/Jingere (which be the verie proj^er wordes 
 of Imitation) either copiam P/atonis, or venujlatem Xenopbontis, fuavita^ 
 tern Jfocratis, or vim Dcmojlhcnis, prcpriam & puram fubtilitatem Arijhtc- 
 
 * '^ IWc (Era/mm) genus omne perluftrans autoriim, AJagia Vetera, pcene tot a-nigmafutrj' 
 " fpeciem rcdclentia, ct graves le6lorilius ofi'uiidcntia tcncbias, iiidu(tii.i miritic;i, vdut alter 
 " Oedipus, ftudiofis cnarravit." Icnjiulli epijhla ad Huilaum. 
 
 lis,
 
 310 THEWORKSOF 
 
 lis ; and not onelle write out the places diligentlie, and lay them toge- 
 ther orderlie, but alfo conferre them with ikilfull judgement by thofe 
 few rules, which I have exprefled now twice before : if that diligence 
 were taken, if that order were ufcd, what perfite knowledge of both 
 the tonges, what readie and pithie utterance in all matters, what right 
 and deepe judgement in all kinde of learnyng would follow, is fcarce 
 credible to be believed. 
 
 Thcfe bookes be not many, nor long, nor rude in fpeech, nor meane 
 in matter ; but next the majeftie of Gods holie word, moft worthie for 
 a man, the lover of learnyng and honelfie, to fpcnd his life in. Yea, 
 I have heard worthie M. Cheke many times fay ; '' I would have a 
 " good fludent patle and jorney through all authors both Greke and 
 " Latin." But he that will dwell in thefe few bookes onelie ; firft, in 
 Gods Holic Bible, and then join with it Tullie in Latin, Plato, Ariftotle, 
 Xcnophon, Jfccratcs, and Detuofihenes, in Greke, mult nedes prove an ex- 
 cellent man. 
 
 Perionius.' Some men alreadic in our dayes, have put to their helping handes 
 
 p^Vfl^''-'' ^° *'^'^ worke of Imitation -, as Perionius, Hen. Stephanus in diElionario 
 
 ' Ciccroniaw, and Pet. ViSlorim moft praife worthie of all, in that his 
 
 learned worke conteynyng twentie five bookes de Vai-ia LeBione ; in 
 
 which bookes be joyned diligentlie together, the beft authors of both 
 
 the tonges, where one doth leeme to imitate another. 
 
 But all thefe, with Macrobius, Hejfus, and other, be no more but 
 common porters, caryers, and bringers of matter and ftuffe together. 
 They order nothing ; they lay before you what is done ; they do not 
 teach you how it is done. They bufie not themfelves with forme of 
 building ; they do not declare this ftuffe is thus framed by Demojlhcncs, 
 and thus and thus by 'tullie ; and fo likewife in Xefiophon, Plato, and 
 Ifocrates, and Arijlotle. For joyning Virgil with Homer, I have fuffici- 
 entlie declared before. 
 
 Pindar. The Hke diligence I would willie to be taken in Pindar and HoracCy 
 Horace, ^j^ gqual match for all refpectes. 
 
 In
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 3H 
 
 In tragedies, (the goodliefl: argumente of all, and for the ufe ei- 
 ther of a learned preacher, or a civill jentleman, * more profitable than 
 Homer, Pindar, Virgil znA Horace ; yea comparable in myne opinion, 
 with the doctrine of Ariflotle, Plato, and Xenophon) the Grecians, So- 
 phocles and Euripides, far over match our Seneca in Latin, namely in Sophocles. 
 OIkovojjlIcc & Dccoro : although Senecas elocution and verfe be verie com- Euripides, 
 mendable -f for his tyme. And for the matters of Hercules, T'hebais, ^''"^'^^^ 
 Hippolytus, and Troas, his imitation is to be gathered into the fame booke, 
 and to be tryed by the fame toucliftone, as is fpoken before. 
 
 In hiftories, and namelie In Livie, the like diligence of imitation^ 
 could bring excellent learnyng, and breede flayde judgement in taking 
 any like matter in hand. 
 
 Onely Lii'ie were a fufficient tafke for one mans ftudle, to compare T^.'t- ^^'^- 
 him, firft with his fellow for all refpe6les, Dionyfius Halicarnajfaus ; who ii£.'a"J ' 
 both lived in one tyme, took both one hiftorie in hand to write, de- 
 ferved both like prayfe of learnyng and eloquence : then with Polybi- Pokblus, 
 us, that wife writer, whom Livie profefleth to folow ; and if he would 
 denie it, yet it is plaine, that the beft part of the third decade in Livie, 
 is in a manner tranflated out of the thyrd, and reft of Polybius : laftlie 
 with Thucydides, to whofe imitation Li'-cie is curioufly bent ; as may Thucydides; 
 well appeare by that one oration of thofe of Campania, alking aide of \ Decad. 
 
 • Our author feems to have borrow'd this obfervation from Alelaniihon. Sec his admi- 
 rable epiftle de legendis Trageediis ct comcediii ; lib. i™° epift. 
 
 " Hanc fententiam tragcedia volunt omnium animis infigere, c(^q alicjuam mentem atcr- 
 *' nam, quse Temper atrocia fcelera infignibus exemplis punit, moderatis verb et juftis plcrum- 
 *' que dat tranquiliiorem curfum. 
 
 " Quare tragoediarum ledtionera valde utilem adolefcentibus efTe non dubium eft, cum ad 
 " commonefaciendos animos de multis vitje ofHciis, ct de frsenandis immoderatis cupiditati- 
 " bus, turn verb ctiam ad eloquentiam." 
 
 + There are many conjeftures made by learned men, concerning the time when thefe tra- 
 gedies were writ, and who their author was. Mr. Afcham, by tiiis exprclfion, fcems to bring 
 them lower than moft do. We have Erajmus's opinion in thefc words. " Tacitus commc- 
 " morat illius (ScnecEp) poemata, de quibus fentiens, incertum. Nam tragoediarum opus 
 t' eruditi quidam matunt Senecae filio tribuere, qu^m huic : Cunt, qui fratri Senccx adfcri- 
 *' bant, hx prima tragoedia verfus aliquot rcfert. Due me parens, fummique dominator pfliy. 
 »( &C. Quanquam mihi vijdetuc opus hoc tragccdtarjm non eilc unius hominis." Lib. 28, 
 ep. 12. 
 
 the
 
 312 THEWORKSOF 
 
 the Romanes againft the Samnites -, * which is wholle taken, fentence, 
 Thucyd, reafon, argument, and order, out of the oration of CcrcyrUy alking Uke 
 aide of the Athenlcnfcs againft them oi Corinth. If feme diligent ftudent 
 would take paynes to compare the:n together, he fliould eafilie per- 
 ceive, that I do fay trew. 
 
 A bookc thus wholie filled v^lth examples of imitation, firft out of 
 Ti///;V, compared with Plato, Xenophon, IJocrates, Demollhents, and Ari' 
 flotk ; then out of Virgil and Horace, with Homer and Pindar ; next out 
 of Seneca, with Sophocles and Euripides ; laftlie out of Livie, with Thu- 
 cydides, Polyhius, and Halicarnajfaus, gathered with good diligence, and 
 compared with right order, as I have exprelTed before, were another 
 maner of worke for all kinde of learnyng, and namelie for eloquence, 
 than be thofe cold gatherings of Macrobius, Hefus, Pieronius, Stepha- 
 miSy and Vi5loriiis; \vhich may be ufed (as I fayd before) in this cafe, as 
 porters and caryers, deferving like prayfe, as foch men do wages ; but 
 onely Sturmius is he, out of whom the trew furvey, and whole worke- 
 manfhip, is fpeciallie to be learned. 
 
 I truft, this my writing fhall give fome good ftudent occafion to take 
 
 , -f fome piece in hand of this worke of imitation. And as I had rather 
 
 ta imitandi have any do it, than myfelfe, yet furelie myfelfe rather than none at 
 
 tatione. all. And by Gods grace, if God do lend me life, with health, free 
 
 leyfure and libertie, with good liking, and a merrie hart, I will turne 
 
 the beft part of my ftudie and tyme, to toyle in one or other piece of 
 
 this worke of imitation. 
 
 This diligence to gather examples, to give light and underftanding 
 to good precepts, is no new invention, but fpeciallie ufed of the beft 
 
 * " Petltio Campanorum exprefla eft ex lib. i. Thucydidis, quo in loco Corcvrzi auxili- 
 " urn ab Athcnienlibus petunt. Quod quifque intelliget, qui utrafque orationes comparabit." 
 Sigonius. 
 
 + Something of this nature has fince been done by 'Jacobus ToUlus, in his Gujlus Critharum 
 Animadverfsonum ad Lcngiiium : where he has with good judgment compared Pindar with Ho- 
 raa, Theocrltui with Virgil, and ApoUonius with Ovid; and fome few more befide. But had 
 Mr. Afcham liv'd, we fliould certainly have fcen a far more excellent performance on the fub- 
 jea. 
 
 authors
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 313 
 
 authors and oldefl: writers. For Ariftotlc himfclfe, as Diogenes Laertius ^^j^^ j 
 declareth, when he had written that goodUe booke of the Topickes, did 
 gather out of hiflorians and orators, fo many examples as filled fifteene 
 bookes, onelie to exprelle the rules of his Topickes. Thefe were the 
 commentaries that Ariftotk thought fit for his Topickes. And therefore, ^y\G^^^\\ 
 to fpeake as I thinke, I never faw yet any commentarie upon Arijlotks Latini in di- 
 logicke, either in Greke or Lalin, that ever I lyked ; bicaufe tiiey be ^'f.'^" A"^°" 
 rather fpent in declaring fchole poynt rules, than in gathering fitte ex- 
 amples for ufe and utterance, either by pen or talke. For precepts in 
 all authors, and namelie in AriJIotle, without applying unto them the 
 imitation of examples, be hard, drie, and cold, and therefore barrayn, 
 unfruitfull, and unpleafant. But Ariftotle, namelie in his Topickes, and 
 ElencheSt fliould be, not onelie fruitfull, but alfo pleafant to, if ex- 
 amples out of Plato, and other good authors, were diligentlie gathered, 
 and aptlie applied unto his mofl: perfit preceptes there. 
 
 And it is notable, that my frlende Stitnnius writeth herein, that there Prscepta in 
 is no precepte in Ari/iotles Topickes, whereof plentie of examples be not Anftouie: 
 nianifeft in Platos workes. And I heare fay, that an excellent learned ^at^ne! '" 
 man, Tomitanus in Italie, hath exprefled everie fallacion in Ariftotle, 
 with diverfe examples out of Plato. Would to God, I might once fee 
 fome worthie fludent of Arijlotle and Plato, in Cambridge, that would 
 joyne in one booke, the preceptes of the one, with the examples of the 
 other. For fuch a labor were one fpeciall peece of that worke of imi- 
 tation, which I do wiflie were gathered together in one volume. 
 
 Cambridge, at my firft comming thithei-, but not at my going away, 
 committed this faulte in reading the preceptes of Arijlotle without the 
 examples of other authors. But herein, in my tymc, ■*thies men of wor- 
 thie 
 
 * " Eo tempore Cantabrigiam vcnit, quo litcrae h Grascs, & Latinae cfflorefcere, & pr:t- 
 " clara ftudia in ea academia hcibcfcerc, ^ ad fummum hujus regni oniamcntum maturefccrc 
 " coeperunt. Ea astatc poftea floruit, qua Georgius Dajus, Jean. Re^lncinnus, Rob. Panluru:, 
 *' Tho. Smithus, Joan. Chetus, \'!c. Ridtaus, Edm. Grhidallus, Tbo, jyatfoinn, Gualtifus Had- 
 *< donus, Ja^cb. Pilkintonus, R. Hornus, Jran. Cbri/h[hiijoniis, Tho. Uilf.nui, "Joan.Setonus, 
 '' hi infiniti alii excellcnti doiSirina prjcditi, & pirCped^a vitx moruniquc probitiue ornati, 
 " magna acadcmix CO tempore lumina, maxima polka totius rcipublica: oinamcnta, viguc- 
 " rum. 
 
 S f "Hi
 
 3H 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 thie memorie, M. Redman, M. Cheke, M. Smith, M. Haddon, M. Wat- 
 fon, put fo to their helping handes, as that univerfitie, and all ftudents 
 there, as long as leainyng (hall lall, lliall be bound unto them ; if that 
 trade in ftudie be trewlie folowed, which thole men left behind them 
 there. 
 
 By this fmall mention of Cambridge, I am caryed Into three imagina- 
 tions : firft, into a fvveete remembrance of my tyme fpent there ; then, 
 into fome carefidl thoughts for the grevous alteration that folowed 
 fone after ; laftlie, into much joy, lo heare tell of the good recoverie, 
 and earneft forward nes in all good learnyng there agayne. 
 
 To utter theis my thoughts fomwhat more largelie, were fomwhat 
 befide my matter, yet not veiy farre out of the way ; becaufe it (hall 
 wholy tend to the good encoragement and right confideration of learn- 
 yng, which is my full purppfe in writyng this little booke : whereby al- 
 fo ihall well appeare this fentence to be moil trewe, " That onelie good 
 " men, by their government and example, make happy tymes in everie 
 " degree and flate." 
 
 Dr. Nicolas Dr. Nicolos Mcdcalfe, that honorable father, was mafler of S. Johnes 
 
 "^ *^^ ^' colledge when I came thither ; a man meanelie learned himfelfe, but 
 
 not meanely affe6lioned to fct forward learnyng in others. He found 
 
 that colledge fpending fcarfe two hundred markes by theyeare : he left it 
 
 fpending a thoufand markes, and more. Which he procured, not with 
 
 his money, but by his wifdome ; not chargeabhe bought by him, but 
 
 Uberallie given by others by his meane, for the zeal and honor they 
 
 bore to learnyng. And that which is worthy of memorie, all theis 
 
 givers were almoil northern men ; who, being liberallie rewarded in the 
 
 fervice of their prince, beftowed it as liberallie for the good of their con- 
 
 The partia- trie. Some men thought therefore, that Dr. Medcalfe was partial to 
 
 htie of northern men : but fure I am of this, that northern men were paitial in 
 
 " Hi enim, & ex his praecipue Tho, Smithus, acadcmiae fplendor, & yoan. Chccus, Canta- 
 ♦' brigiae decus, fua cxempio, eruditione, diligentia, coiiftantia, confilio, non fludendi fo- 
 *' lum, fed recie Vivendi ordi lie, ad przclara fludia omnes adduxerunt, & concitarunt, qui ab 
 " eo tempore ad hunc ufque diem in Cantabrigia fuccreverunt, & ad eininentem aliquam 
 " do<Srijiam furrexerunt." Edv, Grant, 
 
 I doing^
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 315 
 
 doing more good, and giving more landes to the foiderance of learn- men in St, 
 yng, than any other contriemen, in thoie daies, did : which deede J^^^"" ^ol- 
 fhould have been rather an example of goodnes for others to followe, ^ ^^" 
 than matter of maUce for anie to envie, as fome there were that did. 
 
 Trewly, Dr. Medcalfe was partiall to none, but indifferent to all ; a 
 mafter for the whole, a father to everie one in that colledge. There 
 was none fo poore, if he had either will to goodnes, or wit to learnyng, 
 that could lack being there, or fliotdd depart from thence for any need. 
 I am witnes myfelfe, that mony many times was brought into yong 
 mens ftudies by ftrangers whom they knew not. In which doing, this 
 worthy Nkolaiis folowed the fteppes * of good olde S. Nicolaus, that 
 learned bifhop. He was a Papifte indeede ; but would to God, amonge 
 all us Proteftants I might once fee but one, that would winne like 
 praife, in doing like good, for the advancement of learnyng and ver- 
 tue. And yet, though he were a Papift, if any yong man, geven to new 
 learnyng, (as they termed it) went beyond his fellowes, in witte, la- 
 bour, and towardnefs; even the fame neither lacked open praife to en- 
 courage him, nor private exhibition to mainteyne him ; as worthy Sir 
 y. Cheke, if he were alive, would beare good witnefs, and fo can many 
 mo. I myfelfe, one of the meaneft of a great number in that colledge, 
 becaufe there appeared in me fome fmall fliew of towardnes and dili- 
 gence, lacked not his favor to forder me in learnyng. 
 
 And being a boy, new batchelor of artes, I chanced amonges my 
 companions to fpeake againfl: the Pope ; which matter was then in 
 every mans mouth, bycaufe Dr. Haines and Dr. Skippe were come from 
 the court, to debate the fame matter by preaching, and difputation in 
 the univerfitie. This hapened the fame time when I ftoode to be fe- 
 low there. My taulke came to Dr. Medcaljes eare : I was called before 
 him and the feniorcs ; and after grevious rebuke, and fome puniHi- 
 ment, open warning was given to all the felowes, none to be io hardic 
 as to give me his voice at that election. And yet, for all thofe open 
 threats, the good father himfelfe privilie procured, that I fliould even 
 then be chofen fellow ; but the eledtion being done, he made counti- 
 
 * Sec his life wrote by Platlna, who ftiles him, in omni gentrt virtutis unicl viri exemplar. 
 
 S f 2 nance 
 
 1 
 
 \
 
 316 THEWORKSOF 
 
 nance of great difcontentation thereat. This good mans goodnefs, and 
 fatherlie dilcretion, ufed towards me that one day, fliall never out of 
 my remembrance all the dayes of my life. And for the famecaufe have 
 I put it here, in this fmall record of learnyng. For next Gods provi- 
 dence, furely that day was, by tliat good fathers meancs, dies natalis 
 to me, for the whole foundation of the poore learnyng I have, and of 
 all the furderance that hitherto clfewhere I have obteyned. 
 
 This his goodnes ftood not flill in one or two, but flowed abundantlie 
 over all that coUedge, and brake out alfo to norifliegood vvittes in every 
 part of that univerfitie : whereby, at his departing thence, he left foch 
 a companie of felowes and fcholers in St. Johnes colledge, as can fcarfe 
 be found now in fome whole univerfitie ; which, either for divinitie, on 
 the one fide or other, or for civill fervice to their prince and contrie, 
 have bene, and are yet to this day, notable ornaments to this whole 
 realme. Yea St. JoLvies did then fo flourifh, as 'Tritniie colledge, that 
 princely houfe now, at the firft ere6lion, was but colonia dcduBa out of 
 St. Jchttes, not onelie for their mafter, fellowes, and fcholers, but al- 
 fo, which is more, for their whole both order of learnyng, and difci- 
 pline of manners. And yet to this day, it never tooke mafter but foch 
 as was bred up before in St. Johnes ; doing the dewtie of a good colonia 
 to her metropolis -, as the auncient cities in Greece, and fome yet in Italic 
 at this day, are accuftomed ta do. 
 
 S. Johnes ftoode in this ftate, untill thofe hevie tymes, and that gre- 
 
 vous change, * that chanced amio 1553 ; when mo perfite fcholers were 
 
 difperfed from thence in one month, than many yeares can reare irp 
 
 Apcr de Syl- againe. For when Jlper de Syha had pafled the feas, and faftened his 
 
 ^3. foote againe in Engla?ide, not onelie the two faire groves of learnyng in 
 
 a . XXX. £^^j^fj^^ ^,ej.g eyther cut up by the roote, or troden downe to tlie 
 
 ground, and vvholie went to wracke ; but the yong fpring there, and 
 
 everie where elfe, was pitifullie nipt and over-troden by very beaftesj 
 
 and alfo the faireft ftanders of all were rooted up, and cad into the fire, 
 
 * " Anno 1553, & Julii 6to, nobiliflimus princeps, Edvmclus Sextm, immatura morte,, 
 " ad huius regni maximum detrimentum, ail piorum omnium ingentcm dolorcm, ad omni- 
 " um Angloram immcnfum malum, & Rageri /i/chami magoam calamitatem diem obiit."' 
 Edv. Grant. 
 
 to 
 
 13
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 317 
 
 to the great weakning even at this day of Chillies church in Enghnde, 
 both for religion and learnyng. 
 
 And what good could chance then to the unlverfities, when fome of 
 the greateil:, though not of the wifefl, nor beft learned, nor beft men . 
 neyther of that fide, did labor to perfuade, -f- " that ignorance was 
 " better than knowledge ?" which they ment, not for the laitie onelie, 
 but alfo for the gieatell rable of their fpiritualtie, what other pretenfe 
 openlie foever they made. And therefore did fome of them at Cambridge ' 
 (whom I will not name openlie) caufe hedge prielies fette out of the 
 contrie, to be made fellowes in the univerfitie ; faying in their talke 
 privilie, and declaring by their deedes openlie, " that he was felow 
 " good enough for their tyme, if he could weaie a gowne and a tipet 
 " comlie, and have hys crowne fhorne faire and roundlie j and could 
 " turne his portelie and * pie readilie." Which I fpeake, not to reprove 
 any order either of apparell, or other dewtie, that may be well and in- 
 differentlie ufed ; but to note the miferie of that time, when the bene- 
 fites provided for learnyng were fo fowlie raifufed. 
 
 Aiid what was the fruite of this feade ? Verely, judgement in doc- 
 trine was vvholy altered j order in difcipline very fore changed ; the love 
 of good learnyng began fodenly to wax cold ; the knowledge of the 
 tonges (in fpite of fome that therein had floriflicd) was manifeftly con- 
 temned : and fo, the way of right lludy purpofely perverted ; the choice 
 of good authors, of malice confounded ; olde (bphifbie, I fay not well, 
 not olde, but that new rotten fophifliic, began to beard, and /holder 
 logicke in her owne tonge : yea, I know that heades were call together, 
 and counfell devifed, that Duns, with all tiie rable of barbarous que- 
 flioniftes, fhould have difpoliefled of their place and rowme, Ariftotle, Arinotlc, 
 Flato, Tullie, and Demojlhenes. ; when good M. Redman, and thofe two ro'^'Dcm ft- 
 worthy ilarres of that univerfitie, M. Cheke and M. Smith, with their htnes. 
 
 f See this fentence taken out of St. ChryfoJIoine, cited before. 
 
 * Some form the word />/'.■ from ■st/kz^, or z:t\)ocKi$iov, a table of order, how things fhould 
 be digcfteJ ; but the Lothi is fica, from a mark, 1 fiippuCc nut unlike the coronis, often placed 
 in the end of books, and fometimes clf.wherc. Others derive it from litem ptcatei, a great 
 black letter, at the beginning of fome new order. The "printers have Aill in i-fe the Fita 
 
 fcholcrs.
 
 J 
 
 i8 - T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 fcholers, had brought to floriflie as notably in Cambridge, as ever they 
 (lid in Grece and mltalie ; and for the doctrine of thofe fowre, thefowre 
 pillers of learnyng, Cambridge then giving no place to no univerfitie, nei- 
 ther \x\ France, Spaine, Germanic, wov Italie. Alfo, in outward behavior, 
 then began fimplicity in apparell to be laid afide, courtlie galantnes to be 
 taken up ; frugalitie in diet was privatelie milliked, townc-going to 
 good cheare openly ufed ; honeft paftimes, joyned with labor, left off 
 Shootin<»e. in tlic fieldes ; untiiriftie and idle games, haunted corners-, and occupied 
 the nightes : contention in youth no where for learnyng } factions in the 
 elders every where for trifles. 
 
 All which miferies at length, by Gods providence, had their end* i6th 
 Novemb. iSS^- Since which tyme, the yong fpring hath fliot up fo 
 faire, as now there be in Cambridge againe many goodly plantes, (as 
 did well appeare at the Qiieenes Majcfties late being there) which are 
 like to grow to mightie great timber, to the honor of learnyng, and 
 great good of their countrie ; if they may ftand tlieir tyme, as the heft 
 plantes there were wont to do ; and if fomc old dotterell trees, with 
 ifanding over nie them, and dropping upon them, do not either hin- 
 der, or crooke their growing : wherein my feare is the lefle, feeing -f- fo 
 worthie a juftice of an oyre hath the prefent overfight of that whole 
 chace : who was himfelfe fomtyme in the faireft fpring that ever was 
 there of learnyng, one of the forwardeft yong plantes in all that wor- 
 thy college of S. Johnes : who now by grace is growne to foch great- 
 nelfe, as, in the temperate and quiet fliade of his wifdome, (next the 
 providence of God, and goodnes of one) in thies our daies, religio for 
 fmceritie, litera for order and advancement, refpub. for happie and 
 quiet government, have, to the great rejoyfing of all good men, fpeciallie 
 repofed themfelves. 
 
 Now to return to that queftion, " Whether one, a icw, many, or 
 " all, are to be folowed?" My aunfwere fliall be fliort : All, for him 
 that is defirous to know all ; yea, the worfl: of all, as queftionifles, 
 
 * The day of Queen EHfalctb's happy acccflion to the throne ; tho' our hiftorians fix it on 
 the fcvcntecnth. 
 
 t Sir IViUiam Cedlj principal fecretary of ftate, and chancellor of the univerfity of Cam- 
 brid^t, 
 
 and 
 
 i
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 and all the barbarous nation of fchole-men, heipe for one or other 
 confideration. But in everie feparate kinde of learnyng, and ftudic 
 by itfclf, ye mufl folow chofeiie a few, and chiefly fome one, and that 
 nameUe in our fchole of eloquence, either for penne or talke. And as 
 in portraiture, and paintyng, wife men chofe not that workman, that 
 can onclie -f- make a faire hand, or a well facioned legge ; but foch a 
 one, as can furnifh up fulUe all the fetures of the whole body of a man, 
 woman, and child ; and withall is able to, by good fkill, to give to 
 every one of thefe three, in their proper kinde, the right forme, the 
 trewe figure, the naturall color, that is fit and due to the dignity of a 
 man, to the bewtie of a woman, to the fweetnes of a yong babe : even 
 likewife do we feeke foch an one in our fchole to folow ; who is able al- 
 ways, in all matters, to teache plainlie, to delite pleafantlie, and to cary 
 away by force of wife talke, all that fliall heare or read him j and is fo 
 excellent in deed, as witte is able, or wifhe can hope, to attayne unto : 
 and this not onelie to ferve in the Latin or Greke tonge, but alfo in our 
 own E}ig!iJJx' language. But yet, becaufe the providence of God hath 
 left unto us in no other tonge, fave onelie in the Greke and Latin tonge, 
 the trew precepts, and perfite examples of eloquence; therefore muft we 
 feeke in the authors onelie of thofe two tonges, the trewe patcrne of 
 eloquence, if in any other mother tonge -we looke to attaine, either to 
 perfit utterance of it ourfeives, or fkilfull judgement of it in others. 
 
 And now to know, what author doth meddle onlie with fome one 
 piece and member of eloquence, and who doth pcrfitlie make up the 
 whole bodie, 1 will declare; as I can call to remembiance the goodlic 
 talke that I liave had oftentimes of the trewe difference of authors, 
 with that jentleman of worthie memorie, my dearcft friend, and teach- 
 er of all the little poor learnyng I have, Syr John Cheke. 
 
 The trew difference of authors is beft knowne, per diverfa genera 
 dicendi, that everie one ufed : and therefore here I will divide genui 
 
 •f /EmUium circa ludum faber imus, (f ungues 
 Exprimet, ei molles irmtaLitur are capillos ; 
 Jnfelix opetis fumma : quia pomre totum 
 Nefc'ut. H9race de Arte I'octica, 
 
 dicendif 
 
 3^9
 
 320 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 dicendi, not into thefe three, Tcnue, mediocre, Gf grande, but as the 
 matter of everie author requireth ; as, 
 
 ^Poeticum. 
 -. ; Htftoncumy 
 
 \_Oratonum. 
 
 Thefe dlfFerre one from another in choice of wordes, in framyng of 
 fentences, in handling of argumentes, and ufe of right forme, figure, 
 and number, proper and fitte for everie matter: and everie one of thefe 
 is diverfe alfo in itfelfe ; as firil, 
 
 ^ Com! aim, 
 
 „ , . • ; Trag-'icum, 
 
 Poeticum, ins ^ 9 
 
 j Epicum, 
 
 iMelicum. 
 
 And here, who foever hath bene diHgent to read advifedlie over Te- 
 re/ice, Saieca, Virgil, Horace, or els Arijiophanus, Sophocles, Homer, and 
 Pindar; and ftiall diligentlie marke the difference they ufe, in proprie- 
 tie of wordes, in forme of fentence, in handlyng of their matter ; he 
 fliall eafelie perceive what is fitte and decorum in everie one, to the 
 trew ufe of perfite imitation. 
 
 When M. Watfon in St. 'johm college at Cambridge, wrote his excellent 
 tragcdie of Abfahn ; M. Chcke, he, and I, for that part of trew imitation, 
 had many pkafant talkes together, in comparing the preceptes of Ari~ 
 ftotle, and Horace de Arte Poetica, with the examples of Euripides, Sopho- 
 cles, and Seneca. Few men, in writyng of tragedies in our dayes, have 
 fliot at this marke. Some in Pnglande, moe in France, Germanic, and Italic 
 alfo, have written tragedies in our tyme : of uhich, not one, I am 
 fure, is able to abyde the trew touch of Ariftotles preceptes, and Euri- 
 pides examples, favc onely two, that ever I favv, M. Watfins Abfalon, 
 and Georgius Buchananus 'Jephthe, 
 
 One
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 321 
 
 One man in Cambridge, * well liked of many, but befl: liked of him- 
 felfe, was many tymes bold and bufie to biyng matters upon ftages, 
 which he called tragedies. In one, whereby he looked to wynne his 
 fpurres, and whereat many ignorant felowes faft clapped their handes, 
 •f- he began the Protafn with Trochais oElonariis : which kinde of verfe, as 
 it is but feldome and rare in tragedies, fo is it never ufed, fave onelie 
 mEpitaJi; when the tragedie is hleft and hoteft, and full of greateft 
 troubles. I remember full well what M. Watfon merelie fayd unto me 
 of his blindenefle and boldnes in that behalfe j although otherwife there 
 pafied much frendfliip between them. M. Watfon had another maner 
 of care of perfection, with a feare and reverence of the judgement of 
 the befl: learned ; who to this day would never fuffer yet his Abjahn to go 
 abroad, and that onelie % bicaufe in locis paribus Anapceftus is twife or 
 thrife ufed infl:ead of Iambus. A fmal faulte, and fuch a one as per- 
 chance would never be marked, no neither in Ilalie, nor France. This 
 I write, not fo much to note the firfl, or praife the laft, as to leave in 
 memorie of writing, for good example to pofl:eritie, what perfection in 
 any time, was mofl diligentlie fought for in like maner in all kinde of 
 learnyng, in that mofl: worthie college of St. Johnes in Cambridge. 
 
 * Who he means I know not : but he feems to have had St. Hterome before him, when he 
 wrote this paflage. " Unus quidam, poeta nominatus, liomo perlitteratus, cujus funt ilia 
 " colloqiila poetarum ac phiiofophorum, quam facit Euripidem et Menandrum inter fe, et 
 " alio loco Socratem atque Epicurum diflerentes, quorum astates non annis, fed feculis fcimus 
 *' efTe disjunif^as j quantos is plaufus et clamores movct ? Multos enim condifcipulos habct in 
 " theatro, qui fimul literas non didicerunt." Epijl. ad Nepit. 
 
 t " Dividitur nova comoedia in quatuor partes : prologum, protafin, cpitafin, catafiro- 
 ♦' phen." 
 
 X What is here aflign'd, could never be the true reafon of Mr. IVatfon's refufmg to publifli 
 his tragedy, fo accurately compofed, as to be put in competition with Buchanan's jepthe. For 
 why did he not correct what he judged amifs ? a thing fo very cafy for him to do. Tho' 
 what it we fay, there was no fault in this refpert committed, nor any need of alteration ? 
 for excepting the fixth place, the Anapeji has free liberty to fland where it pleafes ; and that 
 for this reafon, efpccially with the comedians, as Hephctjlion has obferved. 
 
 'EveiffXtlcA Si zrapd, to7? Kujohx-gk (TUi/fJ^wj o 'Ai/aV.zir©^. rw yxp (iian Zrn /i*i/a((U£kii, 
 S'jAolo-j Soxi7v SixXi'K'jfj.ivuq SixXiyitr^Xi, >tj f^ri E^fAtlfoof. o Si 'AvaTrasir®' SixXiXvfxtitr.v zj-oitT 
 
 Tri\l ippx<m. Six TO TpiVjlfAOV. 
 
 I fuppofe the true reafon hereof was, either an unwillingncfs to appear in print, or a difl'a- 
 tisfaflion with the times, he being one of the cjedcd bilhops. 
 
 T t Hip-
 
 322 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 rjn- • J Annalesy 
 
 Hijtoricum, ;« < _ . 
 
 •^ I CommentanoSt 
 
 [^Juftam hiftoriam. 
 
 For what proprietle in woides, fimplicitie in fentences, plainnefle and 
 light, is comlie for thefe kindes, Cafar and Livie, for the two laft, are 
 perfite examples of imitation. And for the two firil, *the old paterns be 
 loft } and as for fome that be prefent, and of late tyme, they be fitter to 
 be read once for fome pleafure, than oft to be perufed, for any good 
 imitation of them. 
 
 {Sermonem ; as Officia Ciceroni's, & Etbica Ariji. 
 Contentionem ; as, the Dialogues of Flato, XemphoUy 
 and Cicero. 
 
 Of which kinde of learnyng, and right imitation thereof, Carolns 
 Sigonius hath written of late both learnedlie and eloquentlie ; but beft 
 of all, my frende Joan. Sturmius, in hys commentaries upon Gorgias 
 Platonis ; which booke I have in writyng, and is not yet fet out in print. 
 
 fHumikt 
 Oratorium, in < Mediocre j 
 {.Sublime. 
 
 Examples of thefe three in the Greke tonge, be plentifull and perfite, 
 as Lycias, Ifocrates, and Demojlhenes : and all three, in onlie Demojlbe- 
 nes in diverfe orations ; as contra Olympiodorum, in Leptinem, and pro Ctefi^ 
 phcnte. And trew it is, that Hei-mogenes writeth of Detnojibenes, -f- " that 
 " all formes of eloquence be perfite in him." In Ciceroes orations. 
 Medium & Sublime, be moil excellentlie handled -, but Humile in his 
 
 • " Atqui ne noftros contemnas, inquit Antonius; Grasci ipfi fic initio fcriptitarunt, ut 
 «• nofterCato, ut Pidtor, ut Fifo. Erat enim hiftoria nihil aliud, nifi annalium confedio." 
 Ciciro de Oral. lib. 2. 
 
 t See Hertnogftits's firft book di Formis Orathnii, <ap. i . I have not the Greek by me, 
 and the Latin is not worth citing. 
 
 orations
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 orations is feldome feen : yet nevcrthelefle, in other bookes, as in feme 
 parte of his Offices, and fpecially in Partitionibus, he is comparable in 
 hoc humili, & difciplinabili genere, even with tiie beft that ever wrote in 
 Greke. But of Cicero more fullie in fitter place. 
 
 And thus the trew difference of ftiles in everie author, and everie 
 kinde of learnyng, may eafily be knowne by this divifion, 
 
 f Poeticum, 
 , ^ I Hiftoricum, 
 
 j rhilojopbictimt 
 [^ Oratorium. 
 
 Which I thought in this place to touch onelie, not to profecute at 
 large ; bicaufe, God willing, in the Latin tonge, I will fullie handle it 
 in my booke de Imitatione, 
 
 Now to touch more particularlie, v^'hich of thofe authors, that be 
 now mofl: commonlie in mens handes, will fone afFourd you fome piece 
 of eloquence ; and what manner a piece of eloquence ; and what is to 
 be liked and folowed ; and what to be mifliked, and efchewed in them; 
 and how fome agayne will furniflie you fully withall, rightly and wife- 
 ly confidered, fomewhat I will write, as I have heard Syr "^ohn Cheke 
 many times fay. 
 
 The Latin tonge, concerning any part of purenefs of it, from the 
 fpring to the decay of the fame, did not endure moch longer, * than 
 is the life of a well aged man ; fcarfe one hundred years from the tyme 
 of the lafl: Scipio Ajricanm and Lalius, to the empire of Augtijlus. And 
 it is notable, that Vellcim Pater cuius \ writeth of T«///V, •' how that the 
 
 " per- 
 
 * " Ipfe ego in Britannia vidi fenem, qui fe feteretur et piigna: interfuifle, qua Caefarem 
 «« inferentem arma Britanniae, arceie iitoribus, ct pellerc aggrcfli funt. Ita ft eum, qui arma- 
 " tus C. Casfari reftitit, vcl captivitas, vel voluntas, vel fatum aliquod in Urbem pertraxiflct, 
 " idem Cafarem ipfum et Ciceronem audirc potuit, et noflris quoque aflionibus iniercfll*." 
 Diakgus de Oratoribus, 
 
 \ " Hiftoricos (ut Livium quoque priorum setati adftruas) praetcr Catoncm, & quofJam 
 " vctercs & obfcuros, minus LXXX annis circumdatuni aevuin tulit ; ut ncc poctarum in 
 
 T t Z *' antiquius 
 
 323
 
 3-4 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 " peifeclion of eloquence did fo reraayne onelie in him, and in his time, 
 " as before him were few which might moch delight a man, or after 
 " him, any worthy admiration, but fuch as Tullie might have feene, 
 " and fuch as might have feene TulUe" And good caufe why ; for no 
 perfe6lion is durable. Encreafe hath a time, and decay likewife ; but 
 all perfit rij^enefle remaineth but a moment : as is plainly feen infruites, 
 plummes, and cherries; but more fenfibly in flowers, as rofes, and fuch 
 like J and yet as trewlie in all greater matters. For what naturallie 
 * can go no hier, muft naturallie yield and floupe againe. 
 
 Of this fliort tyme of pureneflc of the Latin tonge, for the firft 
 fortie yearcs of it, and all the tyme before, we have no piece of learn- 
 yng left, fave PLmtiis and Terence, -f- with a little rude unperfit pam- 
 flet of the elder Cato. And as for Plaiitns, except the fcholemaller be 
 - able to make wife and warie choice, firft, in proprietie of wordes, then 
 in framing of phrafes and fentences, and chieflie in choice of honeftie 
 of matter; your fcholer were better to play, than learne all that is in 
 him. But furelie, if judgement for the tonge, and direction for the 
 manners, be wifely joined with the diligent reading of Plautus, then 
 trewlie Plcuitns, for that purenefle of the Latin tonge in Rome, when 
 Rome did moft florifh in well doing, and fo thereby in well fpeaking 
 alfo, is foch a plentiful! ftore-houfe for common eloquence in meane 
 matters, and all private mens affaires, as the Latin tonge, for that re- 
 fpe6l, hath not the like againe. When I remember the worthy tyme 
 of Rome, wherein Plautus did live, I muft nedes honor the talke of that 
 tyme, which we fee Plautus doth ufe. 
 
 " antiquius citeriufve proccfTit ubertas. At oratio, ac vis forenfi?, perfe£lumque profe elo- 
 
 " quentiae decus, ut idem feparetur Cato, (pace P. Crafli, Scipionifque & Ljelii & Graccho- 
 
 *' rum, & Fannii, & Ser. Gaiba dixerim) ita univerfa fub principe operis fui erupit TuUio ; 
 
 " ut deleiSari ante cum pauciffimis, mirari vero neminem poffis, nifi aut ab illo vifum, aut 
 
 *» qui ilium viderit." Paterculus. 
 
 * *' Alit aemulatio ingenia : & nunc invidia, nunc admiratio incitationcm accendit. Ma- 
 *' ture quoque, (fo I think it Jhould be read) quod fummo ftudio petitum eft, afcendit in fum- 
 " mum : difficilifque in perfefto mora eft ; naturaliterque quod procedere non poteft, recedit." 
 Idem. 
 
 t One would imagine, Mr. Ajcham had never feen Fi^oriui's edition of Cato, de ReRuflica : 
 fmce he here calls it a little rude imperfed pamphlet. And yet 'twas printed by R'ib. Stephens^ 
 «nno 1543- . 
 
 'Terence
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 325 
 
 Terence is alfo a flore-houfe of the fame tonge, for another tyme, fol- 
 lowing foone after; and although he be not fo full and plentyful as 
 Plautus is, for multitude of matters, and diverfitie of wordes ; yet his 
 wordes be chofen fo purelie, placed fo orderlie, and all his ftufFe fo 
 ncatlie packed up, and wittely compafled in every place, as, by all wife 
 mens judgement, " he is counted the cunninger workman, and to have 
 " his fhop, for the rowme that is in it, more finely appointed, and 
 " trimlier ordered, than Plautus is." 
 
 Three things chiefly, both in Plautus and Terence^ are to be fpecially 
 confidered ; the matter, the utterance, the wordes, the meter. The 
 matter in both, is altogether within the compafTe of the meanefl mens 
 maners, and doth not ftretch to any thing of any great weight at all : 
 but ftandeth chiefly *' in utteryng the thoughtes and conditions of hard 
 fathers, fSoIifli mothers, unthrifty young men, craftie fervantes, Ibtle 
 bawdes, and wilie harlots ; and fo is moch fpent in finding out fine 
 fetches, and packing up pelting matters, foch as in London commonlie 
 come to the hearing of the mafters of Bridewell. Here is bafe ftuffe for 
 that fcholer, that Ihould become hereafter either a good minifter in re- 
 ligion, or a civill jentleman in fervice of his prince and contrie ; (except 
 the preacher do know foch matters to confute them) when ignorance 
 furelie in all foch thinges, were better for a civill jentleman, than know- 
 ledge. " And thus for matter, both Plautus and Terence be like meane 
 " painters, that worke by halfes , and be cunning onelie in making the 
 " worft part of the pidure : as if one were fkiifiiU in painting the bodie ' 
 " of a naked perlbn from thenavell downward, but nothing elfe." 
 
 For word and fpeach, Plautus is more plentifull, and Teraicc moie 
 pure and proper. And for uuc iCipLC>, Terence is to be embraced above 
 all that ever wrote in thyskinde of argument : bicaufe it is well known^ 
 
 * In this is chiefly contained the fiiHjedl- matter of all comedies ; which Ovid has ingc- 
 nioufly compriz'd in two verfes ; 
 
 Dum failax fervui. ■.< 'a Una, 
 
 Vnent, dum VLCret) u.nJios er'tt. 
 
 And fo has Terence before him wiUi n'- m'-thc prologue to his Eunuchus. 
 
 by
 
 326 THEWORKSOF 
 
 by good recorde of learnyng, and that by * Ciceroes owne witnes, that 
 
 fome comedies bearing Terence name, were written by worthy Scipio, and 
 
 wii'eLcelius; and nzmely Heaufontimorumems and ^Je/pbi. And therefore, 
 
 as oft as I read thofc comedies, fo oft doth found in myne eare the pure 
 
 finetaulke of Rome, which was ufed by the floure of the worthieft nobili- 
 
 tie that ever Rome bred. Let the wifeft man, and beil: learned that liveth, 
 
 I'ead advifedlie over the firfl fcene of Heantontimorumenos^ and the firft 
 
 fcene oiAJclpbi ; and let him confiderately judge, whether it is the talke 
 
 of a fervile ftranger borne, or rather even that milde eloquent wife fpeach, 
 
 which Cicefo ■\ in Brutus doth fo lively exprefie in La/ius. And yet 
 
 neverthelefle, in all this good proprietie of wordes, and pureneffe of 
 
 phrafes, which be in Terence, ye muft not follow him alwayes in placing 
 
 of them ; bicaufe for the meter fake, fome wordes in him fomtyme 
 
 be driven awrie, which require ^ ftraighter placing in plaine prole, if 
 
 ye will forme, as I would ye fliould do, your fpeach and writing to 
 
 that excellent perHtnelFe, which was onely in Tu//ie, or onelic in Tul~ 
 
 lies tyme. 
 
 The meter and verfe of Plautus and Terence be verie meane, and not 
 to be followed : which is not their reproach, % but the fault of the tyme, 
 wherein they wrote, when no kinde of poetrie, in the Latin tonge, 
 was brought to perfeclion ; as doth well appeare in the fragmentes of 
 Ennius, Cacilius, and others, and evidentlie in P/tfi//«i, zwd Terence; if 
 thies in Latin be compared with right fkil with Homer, Euripides, Ari- 
 
 * " Secutut fum, non dico Caecilium, Mane ut ex pctu in Piraeum ; (malus enim auflor 
 *< Latinitatis eft) fed Terentium, cujus fabellae propter elegantiam fermonis, putabantur a 
 *' C. Laelio fcribi : Here aliquot adolefcentuli coimus in Piraeum." Cic. lib. 7. epiji. ad Attic. 
 
 f " De ipfius Laelii & Scipionis ingenio, quanquatn ea jam eft opinio, ut plurimum tri- 
 
 " buatur ambobus ; dicendi tamen laus eft in Laelio iiluftrior. Nam ut ex bellica 
 
 " laude adfpirare ad Africanum nemo poteft, in qua ipfa egregium \'iriati bello reperimus 
 •' fuifle Ljelium : fic ingenii, literarum, eloquentije, fapientia; denique etfi utrique primas, 
 " priores tamen libentcr deferunt Lselio," Cic. de claris Oraur. In which place, he has 
 drawn a full comparifon betwixt La:Uus and Galla. 
 
 J In Icngum tamcn avum 
 
 Manfe'unt, hsdieque nianent Vtjiigia ruris. 
 Scrus enim Gracis admovit acumina chartis ; 
 Et pcji Punica hel'a quietus, quterere ccepit, 
 
 ^id Sophocles, ct Thefpis, et /Efchj/lus utile ferrtnt. Horace, ep. i. lib. 1 r, 
 
 Jiophanes,
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 JlophaneSy and other in Greke of like fort. Cicero himfelfe * doth com- 
 plaine of this unperfitnes ; but more plainly ^intilian, faying, f In Co- 
 mcedia maxiine claudicamus; ^, vix levem confequimur umbram : and mofl 
 earneftly of all, Horace in de Arte Poetica. Which he doth namely propter 
 carmen lambicum ; and referreth all good fludents herein to the imita- 
 tion of the Greke tonge, faying ; 
 
 Vos exemplaria Graca 
 tloSlurnd verfate manu, verfate diurnd. 
 
 This matter maketh me gladly remember my fweete tyme fpent at 
 Catnbnge, and the pleafant talke which I had oft with M. Cheke, and 
 M. Watfon^ of this fault, not onely in the olde Latin poets, but alfo in 
 our new Englipj rymers at this day. They wiflied, as Hrgil and Ho- 
 race were not wedded to follow the faultes of former fathers, (a flirewd 
 marriage in greater matters) but by right Imitation of the peifit Greci- 
 ans, had brought poetry to perfitnelfe alfo in the Latin tonge j that we 
 Englijhmen like wife would acknowledge and underftand rightfullic our 
 rude beggarly ryming, brought firft into Italic by Gothes and HunneSy 
 when all good verfes, and all good learnyng to, were dcftroyed by 
 them ; and after caryed into France and Germanicy and at lall: receyv- 
 ed mloEjigLmde by men of excellent wit indeede, but of fmall learnyng, 
 and lefie judgement in that behalfe. 
 
 But now, when men know the difference, and have the examples 
 both of the beft, and of the worftj furelie to follow rather the Goibes in 
 ryming, than the Greekes in trew verifying, were even to eate acornes 
 with fwyne, when we may freely eate wheate bread amonges men. In- 
 
 • " Comicorum fenarios propter fimilitudinem fcrmonis fic fscpe abjt(5ios e/Te, ut nonnurj- 
 •« quam in his numerus ct verfus vix intelligi pofiit." hi Onit. ad Briituni. Horaa'i judg- 
 ment is much the fame, more particulaily With refpefl to Plautus. 
 
 f " In comoedia maxime claudicamus : licet Varro dicat, MufaSy iEiii Stolonis f, ntentia, 
 *« Plautlm ft-mne l';ciitwasfiii£.-, ft Latin} loqui velUnt ; licet Caecilium vctcrcs laudibus fe- 
 *' rant ; licet Terentii fcripta ad tJcipionem Afncanum rtfcrantur . qu* tamen (uiit in hoc 
 «' genere elcgantinima, h plus adhuc habitura gratia, fi intra vcrCui tiimttros (tctiflent. 
 «' Vix levem confequimur umbram : adco ut niihi fcrmo ipfc Romauus noii reciperc vidcatur 
 " illam folis concelfam Atticis Vencrcm, quandocam ne Grseci quidem in alio genere liiigusc 
 «' obtinuerint," ^int. de Injlit, 0:at. lib. lo. cap. i, 
 
 I decde 
 
 327
 
 328 T H E W O R K S O F j 
 
 deede Chaujer, * 1th. Norton of Briftol, -f- my -rord of Surrey, M. JViat, 
 X Th. Phaer, and other jentlemen, in tranOating Ovide, FalingeniiiSy 
 and Seneca, have gone as farrc to their great praife, as the copie they 
 followed could cary them. But if foch go. d wittes, and forward dili- 
 gence, had bene direded to folow the beft examples, and not have bene 
 caryed by tyme and ciirtome, to content themfclves with that barbarous 
 and rude ryming i amonges their other v/orthy praifes, which they 
 havejurtly deferved, this had not bene the leail, to be counted amonges 
 men of learnyng and ikill, more li!:e unto the Grecians, than unto 
 the Gothiam, in handlyng of then- verle. 
 
 Indeede our EngliJJj tonge, having in ufe chiefly wordcs of one fyl- 
 lable, which commonly be long, doth not well receive the nature of 
 Carmen Hcroicum : bicaufe Da£ly!us, the aptcil foote for that verfe, con- 
 teining one long, and two iliort, is feldom therefore found in Englijh ; 
 and doth alfo rather ftumble, than fland upon Monofyllabis. ^uin.-itian, 
 in hys learned chapter || dc Compofttione, giveth this leflbn di' Monolyllabis 
 before me ; and in the fame place doth juiVlie invey againlt all ryming; 
 that if there be anie who be angry with rnc for mifliking of ryniing, 
 they may be angry for company too with Sluintihan alio, for the I'ume 
 thing : and yet ^intilian had not fo juft caufe to miilike of it then, 
 as men have at this day. 
 
 * Thomas Norton, born in Brijiol, an alchymift, flouriflied in the reign of Edward IV. 
 
 t " In the latter end of the reign of Hemy the eighth, fprung up a new company of courtly 
 
 " poets, of whom Sir Thomas IFiat the elder, and H.my Earl of Surrey, were the two chief- 
 
 " tains ; who having travelled into Italy, and there tafted the fweet and ftateiy meafures and 
 
 " ftile of the Italian poefy, as novices newly crept out of the fcholes oi Dane, Atiojlo, and 
 
 " Pelrarch, they greatly polifhed our rude and homely mar.ner of vulgar poefy from that it 
 
 " had been before : and for that caufe may juftly be faid the firft reformers of our En^li/h 
 
 «' metre and ftile." The Art of Y.n^\{h Poefy; an anonymous writer in Qiieen£//zdi^/^'s reign. 
 
 X " In Queen Marie's time flouriflied above any other Doiflor Phatr; one that was well 
 " learned, and excellently well tranflated into Englifh \a{& heroical, certain books of Virgir% 
 " Mneis." The fame author. 
 
 II " F.tiam monofyllaba, fi plura funt, male continuabuntur, quia necefle eft, compofitio 
 "■ multis claufulis concifa fubfultet. Ideoque etiam brevium verborum ac nommum vitanda 
 " continuatio, & ex diverfo quoque longorum : aflerunt enim quandam dicendi tarditatem. 
 " Ilia quoque vitia funt ejufdem loci, fi cadcntia fimiliter & fimiliter dcfuientia, & eodem 
 " modo dedinata, multa jungantur." Idem, lib. 9. cap. 4. 
 
 And
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 And although Carmen Exametrum doth rather trotte and hoble, than 
 run fmorhly, in our Englijh tonge ; yet I am fure our Eiiglijh tonge * will 
 receive Carmen lamhicum as natuiaUie as either Greekc or Latin. But 
 for ignorance men cannot like, and for idlenes men vvill not labor, to 
 come to any perfitnes at all. For as the worthy poets in Athens and 
 Rome were more carefull to fatisfie the judgement -f of one learned, 
 than raflie in pleafing the humor of a rude multitude ; even fo, if men 
 in Englande now had the like reverend regard to learnyng, ikill, and 
 judgement, and durfl: not prefume to write, except they came with the 
 like learnyng; and alfo did ufe like diligence in fearchyng out, not onelie 
 juft meafure in everie meter (as everie ignorant perfon may eafielie do) 
 but alfo trew quantitie in every foote and fillable, (as onelie the learned 
 fhall be able to do, and as the Grekes and Romans were wont to do) 
 furelie then raflie ignorant heades, which now can eafily reckon 
 up fourten fyllables, and eafilie ftumble on every ryme, either 
 durft not, for lacke of fuch learnyng, or els would not, in avoyd- 
 ing fuch labor, be fo bufie, as everie where they be ; and fhoppes in 
 London fliould not be fo full of lewd and rude rymes, as commonlie they 
 are. But now the ripefl: of tonge be readieft to write. " And many 
 " daily in fetting out bookes, and balettes, make great fliew of bloflbms 
 " and buddes ; in whom is neither roote of learnyng, nor fruit of wif- 
 " dome at all." 
 
 * This our incomparable Milton^ not inferior to any of the ancients, well underftood ; as 
 indeed he did every thing elfe, worth knowing, in the whole compafs of learning. He that 
 reads him with right judgment, will eafily obferve, what ufe he makes of the Inmbic, and \\ovf 
 frequently in the fecond place, to give ftrength and firmnefs to his verfe. As for inftaiice, 
 in thefe, which I never read without the greateft admiration : 
 
 Part on the plain, or in the air fuhlime 
 Upon the liing, or infwift race cniend. 
 As at th' Olympian games, or Py thhn Relets. 
 
 And a little after, in this fweet verfe, where all the feet, excepting the fourth, are Iambics. 
 
 For eloquence the foul, fong charms the fcnfc. 
 
 This excellency almoft peculiar to himfejf in our lanpuage, as alfo his fetting afide rhyme, 
 as no true orn nicnt of verfe, I qucftion not but Mr. Milton owes in a great meafure (next to 
 his own natural genius) to the authority and rcafon of this wife and ingenious writer. 'Tis 
 certain, he had the memory of Sir John Cheke in great veneration : and to me he fcems, in 
 the fliort account of his verfe, printed before his poem, to have had our author in his eye. 
 
 \ Satis eft equitem mihi plaudere, ut attdax, 
 
 Ctntimptis aliis, explofa Arbufcula dixit. Horace. 
 
 U u Some, 
 
 329
 
 330 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 Some, tliat make * Chaucer in Englijh, ami Petrarch in Italian, tiielr 
 gods in veifes, and yet be not able to make trewe difference, what is a 
 fault, and what is a jurt: praifc, in tliofe two woithie wittes, will moch mif- 
 like this my wryting. But fuch men be even like followers of Chaucer 
 and Petrarch, as one heie in Englande did folow Syr Tho. More ; who, 
 being moft unlike unto him in wit and Icarnyng, neveithclcfs, in wear- 
 ing his gowne -f awrye upon one flioulder, as Syr Tho. Mere was 
 wont to do, would ncdcs be counted lyke unto him. 
 
 This miflikyng of ryming beginneth not now of any new fangle fin- 
 gularitie, but hath bene long milliked of many, and that of men of 
 greateft learnyng, and deepeft judgement. And foch that defend it, do- 
 lb, either for lackc of knowledge, what is btfl} or els of verie envic, 
 that any fliould performe that in learnyng, whereunto they, as I fayd 
 before, either for ignorance cannot, or for idlenes will not labor to at- 
 tain unto. 
 
 And you that praife this ryming, bicaufe you neither have reafon why 
 to like it, nor can fliew learnyng to defend it ; yet I will helpe you 
 with the authoritie of the oldeft and learnedeft tyme. In Greece, when 
 poctrie was even at the hieft pitch of perfitnefs, one Simmias Rhodius, of 
 a certain Angularity, wrote a book in ryming Greeke verfes, naming it 
 'riov, conteyning the fable, how Jupiter, in likenes of a fwan, gat that 
 egge upon Lcda, whereof came Ca/ior, Pollux, and faire Elena. Tliis 
 bookc was fo liked, that it had few to read it, but none to folow it : 
 but wMs prefentlie contemned -, and foon after, both author and booke 
 
 * y''ff'''y Chaucer, born at TVoodJIcci, father of our Engl'ijh poef;, lived in the time of ^/-■ 
 ihard 11. who gave him the maiiour of Newholme in Oxfi^rdJInre. He died in 1440. 
 
 ■\ Of this lidiculous and fervile imitation, wife men have always complain'd. Horace \& 
 fjl] of it ; and fo is b^iinul'ian, and Martial. But none fo appofite as Tully, in his fecond 
 hook de Ora ore : 
 
 " Nihil eft facilius, quam amiflum imitari alicujus, aut ftatum, aut motum. Si rero 
 " etiam vitiofe aliquid eft, id fumere, I'f in eo vitiofum efle, non magnum eft : ut ille, qui 
 " nuivc etiam amiffa voce furit in republica Fufius, nervos in dicendo C. Fimbriae, quos ta- 
 " men habuit ille, non aftlquitur; oris prav tatem, & verborum latitudinem imitatur." 
 
 Erafmiis, in his account of Sir T/umjs A-toore, has thcfe words : " Dexter humerus pau!o 
 «' videtur emincntor Ixvo, priefertim cum inccdit ; id quod illi non accidit natura, fed alTue- 
 ** tudinc, qualia pcrmulta nobis fulent adhserere." /// I^piji. ad Ulricum Huttenura,
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 331 
 
 fo forgotten by men, and confumed by tyme, as fcarfe the name of ei- 
 ther is kept in memorie of learnyng. And the hke folic was never folow- 
 ed of any many hondred years after, until the Hunnes and Gothiatis, 
 and other barbarous nations of ignorance and rude fingularitie, did re- 
 vive the fame folic agayne. 
 
 The noble lord Henry * Earleof Surrey, firfl: of all Englijljtneny in tranf- TheEarleof 
 lating the fourth hooks, oi Virgil ; and ■fGonfaho Peris:, that excellent p"^^: 
 learned man, and fecretarie to king Philip of Spaine, in tranllating the Periz. 
 UliJJ'es of Homer out of Greke into Spanijhe, have both, by good judge- 
 ment, avoyded the fault of ryming : yet neither of them hath fullie hit 
 perfite and trew verfifying. Indeede they obferve juft number, and 
 even feete : but here is the fault, that their feete be feete without jointes, 
 that is to fay, not diftindl: by trew quantitie of fillablcs. And fo foch 
 feete be but benummed feete; and be even asunfittefor averfeto turne, 
 and runne roundly withall, as feete of brafle or wood be unwieldie to 
 go well withall. And as a foote of wood is a plaine ihew of a mani- 
 f'efl mairie : even fo feete in our Englijlo verfifying without quantitie 
 and jointes, be fure fignes, that the verfe is either borne deformed, un- 
 natural, or lame J and fo verie unfeemlie to looke upon, except to 
 jnen that be gogle eyed themfelves. 
 
 The fpying of this fault now, is not the curiofitie of EngliJJj eyes, 
 
 but even the good judgement alfo of the beft that write in thefe daycs 
 
 in Italie, and namelie of that worthie Senefe Felice Figliucci', whofSenefe Feli- 
 ce Figliucci. 
 
 * By a miftake, it was printed till now, Thomas Earl of Surrey. The title of his poems 
 is, Songs and S-Ainets, written by the Right Honourable Lord Henry Howard, la'.e Eail of Sur- 
 rey. CJf him, and Sir Thomai IFiat, I find this charafter in the author above mentioned. 
 
 " 1 repute them, between whom I find little difference, for the two chief lanterns of light 
 " to all others, that have fince employed their pens upon EngUJ}) poefy. Their conceits were 
 " lofty, their ftiles flatcly, their conveyance cleanly, their terms proper, their metre fweet 
 " and well proportioned, in all imitating very naturally and fludioufly their mafter Francis 
 " Petrarch." 
 
 t Among Mr. Afcham'i letters, there is one to this learned Spaniard, wherein he recom- 
 mends the ambaflador Sir TFilliam Cecil to his acquaintance and friendfliip. The fuperfcrip- 
 tion of the letter is, CI irijjimo viri, D. Gjnfalvo Petifio, Regis Calhelici Secretario primariof 
 is" Confdiario intimi, Amico meo carijjimo, 
 
 f The title of this ItaUan book is, Filofifia Morale fopra il lo lihri d'Ethica d' Arijlotilt. 
 
 U u 2 writing
 
 •> O '> 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 writing upon Ariftotki Etbickes fo excellcntlie in Italiati, as never did 
 yet any one in myne opinion, either in Greke or Latin ; amongefl other 
 thynges, doth moft earnefthe invey againft the rude ryming of verfcs in 
 that tonge. And when Ibever he exprefleth Ariftotlcs precepts with any 
 example out of Homer or Euripides, he tranilateth them, not after tlie 
 rymes of Petrarch, but into fuch kind of perfite verfe, with hke feete 
 and quantitie of fillables, as he found them before in the Greke tonge : 
 exhorting earnefthe all the Italian nation, to leave of their rude bar- 
 barioufneffe in ryming, and folow diligently the excellent Greke and 
 Latin examples in trew verfifying. 
 
 And you, that be able to underftand no more than you finde in the 
 Italian tonge j and never went farder than the fchole of Petrarch and 
 Arioftui abroad, or els oi Chaucer at home; though you have pleafure to 
 wander blindlie ftill in your foule wrong way, envie not others that 
 feeke, as wife men have done before them, the faireft and rightcft way : 
 or els, befide the juft reproach of malice, wife men Ihall trewlie judge, 
 that you do fo, as I have fayd, and fay yet againe unto you, bicaufe 
 either for idlenes ye will not, or for ignorance ye camiot, come by no 
 better yourfelves. 
 
 And therefore, even as Virgil and Horace deferve moft worthie praife, 
 that they fpyng the unperfitnefs in Ejinius and Plauttis, by trew imi- 
 tation of Homer and Euripides, brought poetry to the fame perfitnefs 
 in Latin^ as it was in Greke ; even fo thofe, that by the fame way 
 would benefite their tonge and contrey, deferve rather thankes than dif- 
 prayfe in that bchalfe. 
 
 And I rejoice, that even poore Knglande prevented Italie, firft in fpy- 
 ing out, then in feeking to amend this fault in learnyng. 
 
 And here, for my pleafure, I purpofe a little by the way, to play 
 and fporte with my mafter Tally ; from whom commoniie I am never 
 wont to diflent. He himfelfe, for this point of learnyng, in his verfesJ 
 doth halt a little by his leave : he could not denie it, if he were alive j 
 nor thofe defend him now that love him beft. This fault I lay to his 
 chaigc ; bicaufe once it pleafed him, though fomwhat mereHe, yet over- 
 
 i un-
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 33^ 
 
 iincurteflie, to rayle upon poore Englande, objecling both extreme beg- 
 gaiie, and mere barbaiioufnes unto it, writyng thus unto * liis frend J""i« fay- 
 Alticiis : " There is not one fcruple of filver in that whole ifle j or any £„ i^de""* 
 " one that knoweth either learnyng or letter." 
 
 But now, mafter Cicero^ blelTed be God, and his fonne Jefus Chrift-, 
 whom you never knew, except it were as it pleafed him to lighten you 
 by fome fliadow ; as covertlie in one place ye confefTe, faying, -j- Veri- OiEc 
 tath tantiim iimbram conJeSlamiir, as your mafter Flato did before you : 
 blefTed be God, I fay, that fixten hundred yeare after you were dead 
 and gone, it may trewly be fayd, that for filver, there is more com- 
 lie plate in one citie of Enghmde, than is in four of the proudeft cities 
 in all Italie, and take Rome for one of them : and for learnyng, be- 
 fide the knowledge of all learned tonges and liberal fciences, even your 
 owne bookes, Cicero, be as well read, and your excellent eloquence is as 
 well liked and loved, and as trewlie folowed in Englande at this day, as 
 it is now, or ever was fince your own tyme, in any place of Italie, 
 either at Arpinum, where you was borne, or els at Rome, where you was 
 brought up. And a little to brag with you, Cicero, where you your- 
 felfe, by your leave, halted in fonie point of learnyng in your own tonge, 
 many in Englande at this day go ftreight up, both in trewe fkill, and 
 right doing therein. 
 
 This I write, not to reprehend Tullie, whom above all other I like 
 and love beft j but to excufe Terence, becaufe in- hys tyme, and a good 
 while after, poetiie was never perfited in Latin, untill by tiew Imita- 
 tion of the Grecians, it was at length brought to perfe£lion : and alfo 
 
 * " Britannici belli exkus exfpe£latur ; conftat cnim aditus infulae cfTe munifos mirificis- 
 ♦' molibus. Etiam illud jam cognitum eft, nequc argcnti fcrupiiliim cfTc ullum in ilia infula, 
 " ncqiie ullam fpem pradx, nifi ex mantipiis : ex quibus nullos puto tc Uteris, aut muficis 
 " eruditos exfpedare." Cic. lib. 4. Epijl. ad Attu. ep. 16^ The fame thing he mentions 
 toTrebatiui, Iil>. 7. Fam. EpiJl. " In Britannia nihil effe audio neque auri, neque argcnti. 
 « Id ft ita eft, efledum aliquod fuadeo capias, et ad nos- quamprimum recurras." But 7a- 
 citiis, in the life of Julius Jgricola, affirms the contrary. " Fcrt Britannia aurum ct argen- 
 "■ turn, et alia meialla, pretium vidloriae." 
 
 ■f- "Nos veri juris, germanoequc juftitiae folidam ct cxprcfTam cffigicm nullam tcncmus : 
 " umbra et imaginibus utimur : cas ipfas utinam fcqucremur I fcruntur cnim ex optimis na- 
 "• turse ct verltatis exemplis." Cic. (Jfflc. lib. 3. cap. 17. 
 
 tJicre-
 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 theieby to exhoite the goodlie wittes of Englande, wlilche apt by nature, 
 and willing by defire, give themfelves to poetrie ; that they rightly un- 
 derftanding the barbarous bringing in of rymes, would labor, as Vir- 
 gil and Horace did in Latiti, to make perfit alio tiiis point of iearnyng, 
 in our Englifi tonge. And thus much for Plauins and Terence, for 
 matter, tonge, and meter; what is to be followed, and what to be ef- 
 chewed in them. 
 
 After Plaiitus and Terence, no writyng rcmayneth untill Tullia tyme, 
 •except a few fliort fragmentes of L. Crafus excellent wit, heic and there 
 * recited of Cicero for example fake : whereby the lovers of Iearnyng 
 may the more lament the loffe of foch a worthie witte. And although 
 thcLaiin tonge did faire bloome and blolTome in L. Crajfus, and M. An- 
 tonius; yet in Tullies tyme onely, and in Tullie himfelfe chieflie, was the 
 Latin tonge fuUie ripe, and growne to the hieft pitch of all perfetftion. 
 And yet in the fame tyme, it began to fade and ftoupe, as Tullie him- 
 felfe, in Brutus de claris Oratoribm, -f- with weeping wordes doth wit- 
 nefle. 
 
 And bicaufe amonges them of that tyme there was fome difference, 
 good reafon is, that of them of that tyme fliould be made right choice 
 alfo. And yet let the beft Ciceronian in Jtalie read Tullies familiar epiflles 
 
 * In the firft book de Oratore, Antonius recites this paflage out of Crajfu>'s oration to the 
 commons of Rome : " Eripite nos ex miferiis ; eripite nos ex faucibus eorum, quorum cru- 
 " delitas noftro fanguine non poteft expleri : nolite finere nos cuiquam fervire, nifi vobis uni- 
 '' verfis, quibus & poiTumus, & debemus." 
 
 And in hij introdudion to the third, Tu'/y produces this (hort, but admirable fragment, 
 out of his fpeech, delivered in the fenate-houfe againft the Conful P/.':lif> : " An tu, cum 
 " omnem authoritatem univerfi ordinis pro pignore putaris, eamq^e in confpecftu populi Ro- 
 " mani concideris ; me his pignorlbus exiftimas pofle terreri ? Non tibi ilia funt csedenda, 
 " fi CrafTum vis coercere. Hac tibi eft excidenda lingua: qua vel evulfa, fpiritu ipfo libi- 
 •' dinem tuam libertas mea refutabit." 
 
 + «' Etenim fi viveret Q^ Hortenfius, caetera fortafle defideraret una cum reliquis bons, 
 " et fortibus civibus ; hunc autem & prseter caeteros, aut cum paucis fuflineret dolorcm, 
 " cum forum populi Romani, quod fuiflet quafi theatrum il'ius iiigenii, voce erudita, & Ro- 
 " manis Grscifque auribus digna, fpoliatum, atque orbatum videret. 
 
 " Nam mihi. Brute, in te intuenti cfebro in mentem venit vereri, ccquodnam curriculum 
 " aliquando fit habitura tua et natura admirabiiis, & exquifita do<£lrina, & fingularis induftria. 
 " Ciim enim in maximis caufis verfatus efles, & cum tibi aetas noflra jam cedcrct, fafcefque 
 " fubmitteret, fubito in civirate ciim alia ceciderunt, turn etiam ea ipfa, de qua dilputare 
 " ordimur, eloquentia obmutuit." Cie. dt claris Oral. 
 
 advif-
 
 ROGER ASCHAM. 
 
 advlfecUy over, and I believe he iliall finde fmall difference for the Latin 
 tonge, either in proprietie of wordes, or framing of the llile, betwixt 
 I'ullie, and thofe that write unto him : as Ser. Snlpitius, A. Cechia, M. 
 Calius^ M. & D. Briiti, A. Pollio, L. Plancus, and diverfo other. Read 
 the epiftles of L. Flanciis in the tenth book ; and for an afTay, that epiflle 
 namely to the confuls, and whole ftnate, the eighth epiftle in number; and 
 what could be either more eloquentlic, or more vvifelie written, yea by 
 T^iillie himfelfe, a man may juftlie doubt, Thies men and Tullie hved 
 all in one tyme ; were like in authority, not unlike in learnyng and 
 lludie ; which might be juft caufes of this their equalitie in writing. 
 And yet fuielie, they neither were in deede, nor yet were counted in 
 mens opinions, equal with 'TuUie in that facultic. 
 
 And how is the difference hid in his epiftles ? Verelie, as the cunning. 
 of an expert feaman, in a faire calme frefli river, doth little differ 
 from the doing of a meaner workman therein -, even fo, in thefliortcut 
 of a private letter, where matter is common, wordes eafie, and or- 
 der not moch diverfe, fmall fliew of difference can appeare. But where 
 T«///V doth fet up his faile of eloquence in fome broad deep argument^ 
 carried with full tydc and wynde of his witte and learnyng ; all other 
 may rather Hand and looke after him, than hope to overtake him, 
 what courfe foever he hold, either in faire or foule. 
 
 Foure men only when the Latin tonge was full ripe, be left unto us» 
 who in that time did flouiifh, and did leave to pofteritie the fruit of 
 their witte and learnyng ; VarrOy Baluft^ Cafar, and Cicero. When I 
 fay thefe foure only, I am not ignorant, that even in the fame tyme 
 moft excellent poetcs, deferving well of the Latin tonge, as Lucretius^ 
 Catullus, Virgil, and Horace, did write. But bicaufe in this httle booke 
 I purpofe to teach a yong fcholer to go, not to dauncej tofpeake, not 
 to fmg; (when poetes indeede, namely £/>/£•/ and Lyrici, as tliefe be, 
 are fine dauncers, antl trim fingers) but Oratores and Hijlorici be thofe 
 comlie goers, and faire and wife fpeakers, of whom I wiflie my fcho- 
 ler to wayte upon firfl: ; and after in good order, and due tyme, to be 
 brought forth to the finging and dauncing fchole. And for tiiis con- 
 fideration I do meane thefe foure, to be the onlic writers of that tym«.. 
 
 4^ V A R R o.. 

 
 336 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 V A R R O. 
 
 Varro. Varro, in his bookes de Lingua Latina, G? Analogia, as thefe be left 
 mangled and patched unto us, doth not enter there into any great 
 depth of eloquence ; but as one carried in a fmall low veflcl himfelfe 
 verie nigh the common fhore, not much unlike the fiflier men of Rye., 
 and hering men of Yarmouth, who delerve by common mens opinion, 
 fmall commendation for any cunning failing at all. Yet nevertliclefs 
 in thofe bookes of Varro, good and neceffarie ftuffe for that mcane 
 kinde of argument, is verie well and learnedlie gathered together. 
 
 DeReRufti- His bookcs of hufljandrie are moch to be regarded, and diligentlic to 
 ^^' be read, not onelie for the proprietie, but alfo for the plentic of good 
 
 wordes in all contrey and hulbandmens atfaires ; which cannot be had 
 by fo good authoritie out of any other author, either of fo good a 
 tyme, or of fo great learnyng, as out of Varro. And yet, bicaufe * he 
 was foure fcore year olde when he wrote thofe bookes, the forme of 
 his ftyle there compared with T'ullies writyng, is but even the talke of 
 a fpent old. man: whofe wordes commonlie fall out of ^ his mouth, 
 though verie wifelie, yet hardly and coldlie, and more heavelie alfo, 
 than fome eares can well beare, except onelie for age, and authorities 
 fake ; and perchance, in a rude and contrey argument, of purpofe and 
 judgement he rather ufcd the fpeach of the contrey, than the talke of the 
 citie. 
 
 And fo, for matter fake, his wordes fometyme be fomewhat rudej 
 and by the imitation of the elder Caio, old and out of ufe. And being 
 deepe ftept in age, by negligence fome wordes do fo fcape and fall 
 from him in thofe bookes, as be not worth the taking up by him 
 that is carefull to fpeake or write trew Latin ; -f- as tliat fentence in him, 
 
 * For this wc have Farro's own words, in the beginning of his firft book of Country Affairs : 
 " Otium fi elTcm confccutus, Fundania, commodius tibi hrcc fcribercm, quse nunc, ut po- 
 " tcro, exponam, cogitans cfTc properandum : quod, ut dicitur, fi eft homo bulla, eo magis 
 " fenex. Annus enim orf^ogefimus admonet mc, ut farcinas colligam antcquam proiicifcar 
 " e vita." 
 
 t This citation I have corrected from ViSioriuis edition. The whole fentence is this : 
 " Itaque non fine caufa majores noftri ex urbe in agris rcdigebant fuos cives, quod & in pace 
 " a rufticis Romanis alebantur, & in bcllo ab his tuebantur." 
 
 Et
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 337 
 
 Et in pace a rufticis Romanii alebanfur, & in hello ab his tuebantur. A 
 good fludent muft be therefore careful and diligent, to read with judge- 
 ment over even thofe authors, which did write in the moft perfite tyme. 
 And let him not be afFrayd to try them, both in proprietieof wordes, and 
 forme of flile, by the touch ftone of Cafar and Cicero \ whofe puntie 
 was never foiled, no not by the fcntence of thofe, that loved them 
 worft. 
 
 All lovers of learnyng may fore lament the lofs of thofe bookes of The lofs of 
 Varro, which he wrote in his yong and luftie yeares, with good leifure, ^'^^"°" 
 and great * learnyng, of all parts of piiilofophie ; of the goodliefl: argu- 
 mentes perteyning both to the common wealth, and private life of 
 man -, as, de Ratio)ie Sttidii & de Liberis Educandii -, which booke is oft recited, 
 and moch prayfed, in the fragmentes of Nonius, even for authoritie 
 fake. He wrote moft diligentlie and largelie alfo the whole hiftorie of 
 the ftate of Rome ; the myfteries of their whole religion ; their laws, 
 cuftoms, and government in peace ; their maners, and whole difcipline 
 in warre. And this is not my gueffing, as one indeed that never faw thofe 
 bookes ; but even the verie judgement, and plaine teftimonie of T«///V 
 himfelfe, who knew and read thefe bookes, -f-in thefe wordes: Tu ^/^-Acad. 
 tern patria ; tii dejcriptiones temporum ; tu Jacrorum jura j tu facerdotum j Qyaeft. 
 iu domefticam, tu bellicam difciplinam ; tu fedem regionum, locorum ; tu om- 
 ?iiu?n divinarum hwnanar unique rcrum nomina, genera, o^cia, caufas aper- 
 uijli, &c. 
 
 But this great lofle of Varro, is a little recompenfed by the t happy 
 coming of Dionyfna HalicarnaJ'aus to Rome in Augufius dayes : who 
 
 getting 
 
 * ^Iniilian's charafler and judgment of this learned writer, we have in his tenth boolc 
 de !n/l. Oral. " Altcrum illud eft, & prius Satyrae genus, quod non Tola carminum varietatc 
 " miftum condidit Terentius Varro, vir Romaiiorum eruditiffimus. Plurimos hie libros, 
 " & dodtiffimus compofuit, peritiffimus linguse Latina;, & omnis antiquitatis, & rerum Grre- 
 •' carum noftrarumque ; plus taincn fcientia; culiaturus, quani eloqucntis." 
 
 f This paflagc taken out of Ti/l'y's fiift book of his A.adcmlial ^lejihns, St. Augujltne has 
 ahb cited fomewhat more fully in his fixth book de Civhatc Da, 
 
 \ 'E^w KxlxTrXtJiTC.i lU 'iTxXiy.v, xjAX rZ Hx\xXuVr,\ixi rov 'Ef/.ifu'Aiji' TzoXtaoti Ciro rt 
 "Li^xia ]s.xi<rx^^. This account he gives of himfclf in the introdudUon to his hiftory ; and 
 
 X X ill
 
 338 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 getting the pofleflion of Varros librarie, out of that treafure houfe of 
 Icarnyng did leave unto us Ibme fiute of Varros witte and diligence ; 
 I meane, his goodlic bookes de Antiquitatibui Romanis. Varro was fo 
 elkemed for his excellent learnyng, as Ttillie himfclfe had a reverence 
 Cic. ai Att. to his judgement in all doutes of learnyng. And ylnioyiius Triumvir, 
 his enemie, and of a contrarie faction, who had power to kill and ba- 
 nifli whom he lifted ; * when Varros name amongeil others, was 
 brought in a fchedule unto Jiini, to be noted to death, he tooke his 
 penne, and wrote his warrant of favegard, with thefe mofl: goodhe 
 wordcs, Vhat Varro, I'ir doclijjimus. In later tyme, no man knew bet- 
 ter, nor liked nor loved niore Varros learnyng, than did St. Auguftine ; 
 as they do well underlland, that have diligcntlie read over his learned 
 bookes dc Chitate Dei : where he hath this moft notable -f- fentence j 
 " When I fee how much Varro wrote, I marvell much, that ever he 
 " had any leafuie to read : and when I perceive how many thinges he 
 " read, I marvell more, that ever he had any leafure to write." 
 
 in his fecond book, he makes this honourable mention of Varrt : Aiyj Si £ T£j;ni'^ O-jaffu? 
 tv ^Ac^aioXoytxi; £y«av{/£», avro rici/ xaliX rrj X'^r^v riXixixv dyiu.xcx''lvv zyoX-J-rrti^orxi^. 
 The iofs alfo of fo many of Di:nyj!Ui^s books we may juftly lament : for had they been pre- 
 ferv'd entire, we fhould much lefs have perceiv'd the want o( Tano's learning and diligence : 
 or to ufe Ba!thafar Bon'ifa.iui'% words, " Si hiftoria Dionyfii integra exftaret, nihil cflet, cur 
 " Varronis Thefauros qua2reremus." 
 
 * Whence our author had this account, I know not : the margin directs to Cic. ai Attic. 
 \)ut I find no fuch pafTage. It feems to be a miftake of memory. Appian. in his 4th book of 
 the Civil Wars, giies a very different relation. ^jAoTiasui'vav Si xitlv vwoiij^xitxi txv 
 yjutiuai/, >^ Scoti^ovluv It aXAJiAaf, KxXmot i^iVMr.Ti, j-J eiX*'' ^'' i'^«'iJ^«', "fi^s 'Aut'jh^, 
 on SioSfSii, nxTriyilo, >^ tok O'Ja'fp'i.'i'a cJJ'ti; ivSo\i lilx iyi^y.yi SfsaVwv, »t£ x-Its OCxffi>iv^y 
 Ste KxXnfv- See the fecond Philip, near the end. 
 
 t The fecond chapter of St. Augufiine'& fixth book, is wholly fpent in admiration of Varrci'% 
 learning and induftry ; where this following palFage is, to which Mr. Ajcham alludes : 
 
 '• Ifte igitur vir, tarn infignis excellentifque peritije, & quod de illo etiain Terentianus 
 " elegantiifinio verficulo breviier ait ; 
 
 Vir d.nijfmui undecunqut Varro : 
 
 *' qui tarn multa legit, ut aliquid ei fcriberc vacafib niiremur : tarn muha fcripfit, quam mulca 
 '' vix quenquam legere potuiflc arb ttor." 
 
 The number of his works is almoft incredible. Au'.us Gei/ius relates from Vam's own 
 words, that in his y4th year, he had writ four hundred and ninety books : but that his library 
 havin<' been plundered during his profcription, feveral of thtm were afterwards niilT;n<^. 
 ♦' 'lum ibi <iddit, fe quoque jam duodecimam annorum hebdomadam ingrefl'um cfle, & ad 
 «* eum diem feptuaginta hcbdomadas librorum confcripfilTe : ex quibus aliouam multo?, 
 ♦' quum profcriptus cfTet, direptls b.bliothecis fuis, non ccmparuiffe." 
 
 5 And
 
 ROGERASCHAM. 339 
 
 And furelie, if Varros bookes had remained to pofteritie, as by Gods 
 providence the moft part of Tullie did, then trewhe the Latin tonge 
 might have made good comparifon v\'ith the Greke. 
 
 S A L u s T. 
 
 Salu/l is a wife and worth ie writer ; but he requireth a learned read- 
 er, and a right confiderer of him. My deareft frend, and bell; maf- 
 ter that ever I had, or heard in learnyng, Syr J. Cheke, (foch a man, as 
 if I fliould Hve to fee Englande breed tlie hke againe, I feare, I fliould 
 live over long) did once give me a lefTon for SaluJ}, which, as I Ihall ^'f" J°''" 
 never forget myfelfe, fo is it worthie to be remembred of all thofe that judgement, 
 would come to perfite judgement of the Latin tonge. He faid, that Sa- ^"^ counfel 
 hiji was not very fitte for young men to learne out of him the puritieo7sai^uft'"^ 
 of the Latin tonge ; becaufe he was not the pureft in the proprietie of 
 wordes, nor choifefl in aptnes of phrafes, nor the beft in framing of 
 fentences ; and therefore is his writing, fayd he, neyther plaine for the 
 matter, nor fenfible for mens underftanding. 
 
 " And what is the caufe thereof, Syr?" quoth I. " Verelie, faid he, bi- 
 " caufe in Salujies writing, is more arte than nature, and more labor 
 " than arte : and in his labor alfo to moch toylc ; as it were, with an 
 " uncontented care to write better than he could ; a fault common to 
 " verie many men. And therefore he doth not exprefle the mattar 
 " lively and naturally with common fpeach, as ye fee Xenophon doth in 
 •' Grcke ; but it is carried and driven forth artificiallie after to learned 
 " a forte, as Thucydides doth in his orations." 
 
 " And how cometh it to pafTe, faid I, that Ccrfar and Ciceroes talkc 
 " is fo natural and plaine, and Salu/ls writing fo artificial and darke j 
 " when all they three lived in one tyme ?" " I will freely tell you my 
 " fanfie herein," faid he. 
 
 " Surely Cctfar and Cicero, befide a fmgular prerogative of natural 
 " eloquence, given unto them by God j both two by ufe of life were 
 «' daylie orators amonges the common people, and grcatcft: counccUors 
 " in the fenate houfe : and tlierefore gave themfelves to ufe focli fpeech, 
 
 X X 2 "as
 
 34° 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 " as the meaneft fliould well underftand, and the wifeft bed allow : 
 *' folowing caiet'ullie that good counfell of yf/7/?c*//f, Loquendum, ut mul- 
 
 " ti ; fapiendiun, iit paiici. 
 
 " Sahi/l was no foch man, neyther for will to goodncfs, nor (kill by 
 
 " learnyng; but ill given by nature, and made worfe by bringing up; 
 
 " * fpent the moft part of his youth very miforderly in riot and leach- 
 
 *' ery, in the company of foch, who never giving their minde to 
 
 <* honefl doyng, could never inure their tonge to wife fpeaking. But at 
 
 " lad coming to better years, and buying witte at the deareft hand, 
 
 •' (that is, by long experience of the hurt and Ihame that cometh of 
 
 " niifchief) moved by the counfell of them that were wife, and carried 
 
 " by the example of foch as were good ; he firft fell to honeftie of life, 
 
 " and after to the love of ftudie and learnyng : and fo became fo new a 
 
 " man, that Cafar being didator, made him praetor in Numidia j where 
 
 " he, abfent from his contrie, and not inured with the common talke 
 
 " of Rome, but fliut up in his ftudie, and bent wholie upon reading, did 
 
 •' write the ftorie of the Rowans. And for the better accomplifhing of 
 
 " the fame, he read Caia and Pijb in Latin, for gathering of matter and 
 
 " troth J and Tfjucydides in Greke, for the order of his ftorie, and fur- 
 
 " nifliing of his ftyle. 
 
 " Cato (as his tymc required) had more troth for the matter, than 
 
 " eloquence for the flyle. And fo Saluft, -f by gathering troth out of 
 
 " Cato, fmelleth moch of the roughnes of his ftyle : even as a man 
 
 " that eateth garlike for helth, fhali cary away with him the favor of 
 
 " it alfo, whether he will or not. And yet the ufe of old wordes, is 
 
 " not the greatefl caufe of Salujles roughnes and darkenefle. There be 
 
 * " Hrec oftendunt, inquit Ger. FoJ/ius, vitam Salluftii laudari a nemine pofle. Nempe 
 " omnis ejus gloria a praeclaris fcriptis proficifcitur." 
 
 -f- His extreme afFc£lation, and fondnefs for Colons language, is feverely ccnfured in an old 
 epigram, made by no (riend, as it appears, of Sa/lujWs, and mentioned by ^intUiaru 
 *' Nee minus noto Salluftius epigrammatc inccilitur, 
 
 Et verba antiqul mult urn fur ate Catcn'ts 
 Crijpe, Jugurthina conditor hijloria.
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 341 
 
 In Sahijl * fome old vvordcs indeed, as patrare helium^ du5lare exerci- 
 tian, well noted by ^lintilian, and verie much niifliked of him. .\rA 
 •\ fupplic'mm for lupplicatio; a word fmelling of an older llore than the 
 other two, fo miiliked by ^IntUian. And yet is that word aifo in 
 
 " Varro, fpeaking of oxen thus, jid viBimas farciimt, alqne ad Deo- 
 
 " rum fervant fuppUcia : and a few old wordes mo, 
 
 " Read Sahiji and Tu/Zie advifedlie together, and in vvordcs you fliall 
 " finde fmall difference : yea Sa/ujl is more given to new wordes than 
 " to olde, though fome writers fay the contrarie : as J cidritudo, 
 " for gloria; 4- cxaffe, iot perJeSfe ; ^facwidia for eloquentia. Thefe two 
 
 " lall: 
 
 tc 
 
 * " Ni multitudo togatorum fuifleti quae Numidas infequentes prohibuit, uno die inter 
 
 duos reges coeptum atque patratum foret beilum :" \r\\\\%jugurthinevi-Ai. And again, in 
 the fame hiftory ; " Tamen fpepatrandi belli." So likewife, " Dudlare exercitum," in his 
 Cathinarlan confpiracy ; " Quia Cn. Pompcius invifus ipfi, magnum exercitum dudabat." 
 And in his hiftory of Jugurlha ; " Ipfe quafi vitabundus, per faltuofa loca, & tramites excr- 
 " citum du(3are." 
 
 Thefe expreffions in Sallujfe, ^intillan does indeed take notice of ; but not fo much to 
 find fault with the hiftorian for ufmg them, as with the age wherein he lived, and fome idle 
 wits, who {trained the fignification of thefe words to a loofe and wanton meaning, quite con- 
 trary to the hiftorian's intention and defign. 
 
 " Vel hoc vitium fit, quod >c«xo'^a]o^ vocatur : five mala confuetudine in obfcasnum in- 
 " telledum fermo detortus eft, ut, duiiare exercitum^ &, patrare beilum, apud Salluftium 
 " di(3a fanfle & antique, ridentur a nobis, fi diis placet: quam culpam non fcribentium 
 *' quidem judico, fed legentium : tamen vitanda, quatenus verba honefta moribus perdidi- 
 " mus, & evincentibus etiam vitiis cedendum eft." 
 
 t " Itaqic fenatus ob ea feiiciter afla, Diis immortalibus fuppiicia decernere." Bello Ju' 
 gutbiiw. The following paflage is in Varro% fecond book cU Re Ruflica, cap. 5. but ill print- 
 ed in the firft edition. '* Tametfi quidam de Italicis, quos propter amplitudinem prxftare 
 " dicunt, ad viftimas farciunt, atque ad Deorum fervant fuppiicia." And in his Catil. 
 *' In fuppliciis Deorum magnifici, domi parci." 
 
 X " Cum prasfertim tarn multae variaeque fint artes animi, quibus fumma claritudo paratur:" 
 in his preface to the Jugurthine war. And a little after, fpeaking of Jnguriha ; " In tantam 
 " claritudinem brevi pervenerat, uii noftris vchementer carus, Numaiuinis maximo terror! 
 " efll't." 
 
 4- In Horace we have the participle exa^is. 
 
 — — Sed emcndala vtdtrl, 
 Pulchraq'C. et exailis minimum dijtaniia, miror. 
 
 II " Facundia Gixcos, gloria belli Gallos ante Romanos fuifle." Bcllo Cafil. And in his 
 fug'^'ib-uj ■ " Sed, quoniam ca temperate Romae Mtmmii facundia clara pollenfquc tuit." 
 Novv vhatevcr Tulip's reafons were for refufing this word, yet Horace, it is very certain, and 
 Ovid, were neit.ier of them fo nice in this rtfptdt. The former ufes it at leaft four times ; 
 
 and
 
 342 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 " laft vvordes, exa&e and focundia, now in every mans mouth, bene- 
 
 " ver, as I do remember, ufed of Tullic; and therefore I thinke tliey be 
 
 " not good. For furely TuUie^ fpeaking every where fo much of the 
 
 " matter of eloquence, would not fo precifely have abfleyned from the 
 
 " vjoxAz facwidia^ if it had been good; that is, proper for the tonge, 
 
 " and common for mens ufe. 
 
 The caufe " ^ could be long in reciting many foch like, both olde and new 
 why Saiuft " vvordes in Saliifl : but in verie deed, neyther oldnes nor newnes of 
 Tu'ilie''''^ " ^'"f^^es, maketh the greateft difference betwixt Sahijl and Tullie : but 
 " firfl:, ftrange phrafes, made of good Latin wordcs, but framed after 
 " the Grecke tonge ; which be ncythcr choifely borrowed of them, nor 
 " properly ufed by him : then a hard compofition, and crooked fram- 
 " ing of his wordes and fcntences j as a man would fay, Englifj talke 
 " placed and framed outlandilli-like. As for example iiril in phrafes: 
 
 " N'ltftius and animus, be two ufed wordes : yet * bomo nimius animi, is 
 " an unufed phrafe. Fulgus, and amat, zmX fieri, be as common and well 
 " known wordes as may be in the Latin tonge : yet -f- id quod i-tdgo 
 
 and V.yjfei's fpeech is well known. And what is more to the purpofe, Terence has it in his 
 prologue to Heautsnt. But here we muft obfervc, words that will fuit with poetry will not do 
 fo with oratory, as TuHy himfelf declares in his book di Oralore. 
 
 * This phrafe, as I remember, is only in his P'ra^ments : " Impotens, & nimius animi eft." 
 In the fame fcnfe is that of H race, " Nimium niero Hylseum." 
 
 t If I miftake not, this expreflion is no where to be found in Sal'ujie ; but is formed by 
 Mr. Afcham in imitation of his ftile in other places. ^■inuUan, in his ninth book, has a paf- 
 fage not unlike it : " Ex Grxco vero tranflata vel Salluftii plurima : <juale cff, I'ulgus amat 
 " fieri." And in his Jugurthine war : " Tametfi multitudo, quae in concione adcrat, ve- 
 " hementer accenfa, ternbat cum clamore, vultu, fsepe imp:tu, atque aliis omnibus, qua: 
 " ira fieri amat, vicit tamen impudentia." 
 
 In thi;. place, we have amat either uftd as an imperfonal, or clfe (what is ftill more harfh, 
 and repun-nant to the La:in conftruftion) in imitation of the Grefk tongue, joined to a nomi- 
 native plural : in which language f lAt? is frequent enough in this fenfe ; and fo are olit, 
 iTTifcclxi TTiipjXE, but more efpecially among the poets. 
 
 As to the word itfelf, whatever objeflions it may be liable to in profe, where every thing 
 {hould be plain and eafy ; yet I fee no rcafon why it fhould be excluded poetry. Horace, 
 I'm furc, had no fuch fcruple againft it, as appears from thefe lines, fecurc of any cenfure. 
 
 Aurum pir medies ire fatelliles 
 Et firrunipere amat faxa, fotenliuj 
 • ■ iBu fulimneo. 
 
 *' amat
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 343 
 
 " amat fieri ^ iox Jolet fieri, is but a ftrange and Grekifij kind of wiit- 
 " ing. Ingens and vires, be proper wordes j yet * vir ingem viriutn, is an 
 " unproper kinde of fpeakiiig. And fo be likewife ager confilii, promp- 
 " ti/Jimus belli, territus anitni, and many fuch like phrafes in Salufi, 
 " borowed, as I fayd, not choifly out of Greke, and ufed therefore un- 
 " proper! ie in Latin. 
 
 " Againe, in whole fentences, where the matter is good, the wordes 
 " proper and plaine, yet the fenfe is hard and darke j and namely in 
 " his prefaces and orations, wherein he ufed mofl labor. Which fault is 
 " likewife in Thucydides in Greke, of whom Salufi hath taken the great- 
 " eft part of his darkneffe. For 'Tljucydides likewife wrote his ftorie, 
 " not at home in Grece, but abroad in Italie; and therefore fmelleth of 
 " a certaine outlandifh kinde of talke, ftrange to them oi Athens, and 
 " diverfe from their writing that lived in Athens and Greece, and wrote 
 " the fame time that Thucydides did : as Lyfias, Xenophcn, Plato, and IJocra- 
 " tes, the pureft and playneft writers that ever wrote in any tonge, 
 " and beft examples for any man to follow, whether he write Latin^ 
 " Italian, French, or Englifi}. Thucydides alfo femeth in his writing, 
 " not fo much benefited by nature, as holpen by arte, and cariied forth 
 " by defire, ftudie, labor, toyle, and over great curiofitie: who fpent 
 " twenty feven yeares in writing his eight bookes of his hiftory. Sa- 
 " luft likewife wrote out of his contrie, and followed the faultes of 
 " Thucydides to much ; and boroweth of him fome kinde of writing, 
 " which the Latin tonge can not well beare ; as •fcafus nominativus in di- 
 
 " verfe 
 
 * This expreflion is only to be met with in the Fragments : " Ingens ipfe virium, atque 
 " aninii." tKt\^ 'iox'i ConfuU ager : and likewife this I'entence, " Nequc virgines nuptum a 
 •' pareiitibus mittebantur, fed ipfae belli promptiflimos delegebant." And laftly, " 'retrar- 
 " chas regefque territos animi firmavit." 
 
 f Here, for want of better copies, thefe two learned gentlemen were led afide to a wrong 
 cenfureof their author. For this paiTage, Heyond all difpuie, (a. later editions have fettled it^ 
 is thus to be read ; " Itaquc ab inipcratorc facile, qua; pctebant, adcpti. Miflie funt co co- 
 " hoitts Ligurum quatuor, & C. Annius praefedius." ' I'is a fhort fchemc of fpecch, fami- 
 liar to Saltujie, and other writers ; wherein the auxiliary verb ^unt is i-legantiy left out. Ju 
 the fame manner, Livy fpeaking of Tullus Hojliliits : " Imperitabat turn C. Cluilius Albx. 
 " ut'inque Ic^ati fere fub idem tempus ad res repetcndat miiTi." 
 
 And is not this a der.ioiirtration of the neceflity of corrtdl and act urate editions ? Will not 
 this alfo teach fome men of IcHcrs civility, and good manners ? Will not this oblige tJicm to 
 
 nicdcfty.
 
 344- 
 
 THE WORKS OF 
 
 " vcrfe places abjohite pofitus ; as in that place of his Jtigurthine war, fpeak- 
 " ing de Leptitanis : It ague ab imperatore facile qu.-e petebant, adcpti, mijfce 
 " junt eo cohortes Ligurum qtiatuor. This thing in participles, ufed fo oft 
 " in T^hucydides, and other Grecke authors to, may better be borne with- 
 " all } but Sahift ufeth the fame more flrangelie and boldlie, as * in 
 " thies wordes ; Multis fibi quifque imperium petentibus. I believe, the 
 " beft grammarian in Englande can fcarce give a good rule, why qui/que 
 " the nominative cafe, without any verbe, is fo thruft up amongell fo 
 " many oblique cafes." 
 
 Some man perchance will fmile, and laugh to fcorne this my writ- 
 ing, and call it idle curiofitie, thus to bufie myfelfe in picking about 
 tliefe fmall pointes of grammer ; not fitte for my age, place and cal- 
 ling, to trifle in. I trull that man, be he never fo great in authoritie, 
 never fo wife and learned, either by other mens judgement, or his own 
 opinion, will yet thinke, that he is not greater in Englande, than TulUe 
 was at Rome ; nor yet wifer, nor better learned, than T^ullie was him- 
 
 modeny, if they chance to fee a little better than others in the fame argument, and difcover a 
 miftake, that has efcnped the obfcnation of fuch as have gone before? VVili any one pro- 
 nounce his ftllow-fludcnt ignorant and illiterate, for fome little omiflion or inadvertency, 
 wiien he fees two fuch champions in all polite learning, foiled for want only of on-.- fingie 
 point fixed in its right place ? So liable to error is human frailty! fo fhort-fighted is the 
 keeneft eye ! and fo narrow and confin'd is the moft comprehenfive underftanding ! 
 
 * " Sed poftquam in Hifpania Hercules, ficut Afri putant, interiit : exercitus ejus com- 
 " pofitus ex gentibus variis, amiflb duce, ac padim multis fibi quifque imperium petentibus, 
 " brevi dilabitur." 
 
 This is the fmtencc .-it length : and I perceive learned men have given thcmfcKes no fnall 
 trouble, tho' indeed to little purpofe, in reconciling it to the rules of common fyntax. And 
 yet what can be more eafy, if we thus fupply what is certainly to be underftood ? Multis 
 (fibi qui/que fciiiccl petebat) imperium pdentihus. This I take to be the right way to account 
 for it. One fentence, wherein flronger affirmation is made, refpeding each individual, in a 
 {hort fuccinft form of fpcaking, is included in another. 
 
 But if this be thought fo difficult a queftion, as to have the ableft grammarian in England 
 called upon to clear it ; what (hall we fay to this conftrudlion in Livy, Rapiim quihus quifque 
 pAirat elntis; which I take to be much more knotty and intricate ? 'Tis in his firft book, 
 where he is defcribing the ruins of ^//■a. Here, if I miftake not, we have a ^ux&Jltck 
 idiom brought to Rtiie ; the relative and antecedent being joined in the fame cafe. In plain 
 language fully expredcd, it ought to have been, Raftim its, qua quifque poierct efftrrt, tlalis. 
 
 Thefe conftrufliuns I look upon as pleafmg irregularities, or fond innovations, what the 
 Gre ks call <Ty^r,^-^a. xxivoz-^nrua;, at firft forwardly introduced, and afterwards by ufe and 
 cuftom eftabliOied. (Jf this nature are, Cui nom-n Jul;, and La£iea rumen erat, and luch like^ 
 thought, no quellion, to be beauties, like mo.'es in-a fair t.jce. 
 
 4 felfe :
 
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 345 
 
 felfe : who, at the pitch of tlireefcore yeaies, in the middes of the broyle 
 betwixt Cafar and Pompei, when he knew not whither to fend wife 
 and children, which way to go, where to hide himfclfe ; yet in an ear- 
 neft letter, amongeft his earneft councels for thofe heavie tynies, 
 concerning both the common Hate of his contrey, and his own private 
 affaires, he was neither unmyndfull, nor afnamed to reafon at large, 
 and learne gladlie of Atlicus^ a leOe point of grammer, than thefe be, 
 noted of me in Sahifte : * as whether he (lionld write ad Piraea, in Pi- 
 raea, or, in Piraeufn, or, Pirceeum, fine Prcvpof.tione. And in thofe heavie 
 tymes he was fo carefull to know this fmall point of grammar, that 
 he addeth theie wordes, Si hoc mihi ^■^ttj^x pajolveris^ magna mc mokftia 
 liberdris. 
 
 If Tiillie, at that age, in that authoritie, in that care for his contrey, 
 in that jeopaidie for himfelfe, and extreme neceflitie of hys deareft 
 frendes, being alio the prince of eloquence hymfelfe, was not afliamed 
 to defcend to thefe low pointes of grammer in his owns naturall tonge ; 
 what fliould fcholers do ? yea what fliould any man do, if he do think 
 well doyng better than ill doyng, and had rather be perfite than meane, 
 fure than doutcfull; to be what he fliould be, in deed ; and not feem what 
 he is not, in opinion ? He that maketh perfitncs in the Latin tonge his 
 marke, muft come to it by choice and certain knowledge, not flumble 
 upon it by chance and doutfuU ignorance. And the right fteppes to 
 reach unto it be thefe, linked thus orderlie together, aptnes of nature, 
 love of learnyng, diligence in right order, conftancie with pleafant mo- 
 deration, and alwayes to learne of them that be befl ; and fo fliall you 
 judge as they that be wifeft. And thefe be thofe rules which worthie 
 
 * " Venio ad Pirxea, in quo magis reprehendendus fum, quod homo Romanus Pirisra 
 *' fcripferim, non Piraehtn, (ilc enini omnes noftri locuti funt) quani quod in addiderim. 
 " Non enim hoc ut oppido pra.-pofui, fed ut loco : & tanicn Dion)rius nolicr, qui eft nobif- 
 " cum, & Nicias Cous non rebatur, oppidum cfle Pirasea, fed de re videro. Noftrum qui- 
 " dem fi eft peccatum, in eo eft, quod non, ut de oppido locutus fum, fed ut dc loco ; (e- 
 " cutufque fum, non dico Cascilium, Mane ut (x pcrtu in Phaeiim ; (malus enim auctor La- 
 '< tinitatis eft) fed Terentium, cujus fabella: propter elegantiam putabanrur :i C. Lx-lio fcribi : 
 " Heri aliquot adolcfcenluli coiimus in Piraeum." ('Tis much better in the editions of Trntice, 
 in Piraseo) " & idem, Mercator hoc aildebat, captain e Sunio. Qiiod fi J'jijuxj oppida cfl'c 
 " volumus ; tarn eft oppidum Sunium, qu;\m Pir.x-eus. Sed, quoniam grammaticus cs, fi 
 " hoc mihi C,iiTr)u,» perfolveris, magna me moleftia libcriiris." 
 
 Y y Mr.
 
 ,46 T H E W O R K S O F 
 
 Mr. Cheke dycl Impart unto me concerning Salup, and the right judge- 
 ment of the Latin tonge. 
 
 C M 
 
 A R. 
 
 Cafar, for that little of him, that is left unto us, * is like the halfe 
 face of a Venus, the other part of the head being hidden, the bodie and 
 the reft of the members unbegun ; yet fo exccllentlie done by Apelles, 
 as all men may ftand ftill to maze and mufe upon it j and no man 
 flep forth with any hope to pcrforme the like. 
 
 His feven bookes de Bclb Galileo, and three de Bella Chili, be written 
 fo wifelie for the matter, fo eloqucntlie for the tonge, that neither his 
 greateft enemies could ever finde the leaft note of parcialitie in him, (a 
 marvelous wifdom of a man, namely wryting of his own doynges) nor 
 yet the beft judgers of the Latin tonge, nor the moft envious lookers 
 upon other mens wrytinges, can fay any other, but all thingcs be moil 
 perfitlie done by him. 
 
 Brutus, Cahus, and CaliJius, -f who found fault with Tullies fulnes in 
 v^ordes and matter, and that rightlie ; for Tullie did both confelle it, 
 and mend it : yet in Ccefar they neither did, nor could finde the like, 
 or any other faulte. 
 
 And therefore thus Juftlie I may conclude of Ccefar, that whereas in all 
 other, the beft that ever wrote in any tyme, or in any tonge, in Greke 
 or Latin, (I except neither Plato, Dcmojthenes, nor lullie) ibme fault is 
 juftlie noted j in Cafar onelie could never yet fault be found. 
 
 * " Accedit eodem tcftis locuplcs Poficlonius, qui etiam fcribit in quadam epiftolj. Pub. 
 " Rutillum Rufum dicere (olerc, qui Pan«tium audicrat, ut nemo pidlor efiet inventus, qui 
 ••' Co^ Veneris earn partem, quam Apelies inchoatam reliquiiFct, abfolveret : (oris enim 
 " pulchritude reliqui corporis imitandi fpem aufercbat) fie ea, qua? Paiirctius pra-nermififlet, 
 " 3c non peifcciflet, propter eorum, qua; pcrfeciiret, praeftantiam, nemincm cflc perfecutum." 
 CA(. de Offic. lib. 3. 
 
 + *' Satis conftat nc Ciceroni qniilcm obtrcilatorcs defulfTe, quibus inflatus et tumens, 
 " nee fatls prc(]"us, fupra moduni cxultans et fupcrfiuens et parum Atticus vidcretur." Dia.- 
 UgUi de Oratotibus. 
 
 Yet
 
 R O G E R A S C H A M. 347 
 
 Yet neverthelefle, for all this perfite excellencie in him, yet it is but 
 one member of eloquence, and that but of one fide neither ; when 
 we muft looke for that example to follow, which hath a perfite head, 
 a whole bodie, forward and backward, armes and legges and all. 
 
 Thus are we come to the end of what is left us on this fubje£t, by this truly learned and in- 
 genious writer j whofe excellent judgment and abilities fccm little inferiour to the ableft mafters 
 of antiquity : and had he lived to have perfecSled, what is here but a rough draught, at bcft, 
 an unfinifhed work; I muih queftion, whether any rhetorician, either Greek or Roman, would 
 h-.vebeen of more ufe in the ftudy of oratory, or deferved greater cfteem of learned men. 
 But here I muft add his own fimilittide, and compare him, as he did Cafar, to the inimitable 
 face of the dan Venus, drawn by the hand of Apcllcs ; unha;ipily left imperfefl, and ever fo 
 to remain, for want of an able artift of equal (kill, to give it its juft beauty, and to add fome 
 little colouring, and ornament, which feem defeflive. 
 
 In order to make the piece complete, as I think, a full and diftir.ft charaiSler of Tulh, to- 
 gether with a whole chapter about Declamation, or the conftant exertife and practice of in- 
 vention, is ftill wanting. Tally by our author is joined with Farro, Sallujh, and Cafar, as 
 the moft unexceptionable writers of the pureft age, and befl patterns for imitation. And 
 how comes he, whom Mr. Afcham chiefly admires, when the other three are fo largely de- 
 fcribed, to be pafTed over in filence ? And yet this he feems to promife, p. 323, in thefe words: 
 But of Cicero more fully in fitter place : unlefs we fay, he referved this for his Lat'tn work ; 
 which doth not feem probable. Again, p. 267, Mr. Afcham tells us, there are fix ways ap- 
 pointed for the learning of tongues, and increafe of eloquence, which he defigns particularly to 
 treat of. Declamation is the laft there mentioned, and yet we have not one word about it. 
 
 But if any one is not yet fatisfied with what I fay, Mr. Afcham\ letter to his friend Stur- 
 viius of Strafburgh, printed at the end of this treatife, wherein he gives a full account of his 
 Schole-mafter, will fufficiently convince him. In one place, he modeftly defires leave of his 
 friend, to make ufe of the fame inftjnce out of TuUy, for a farther illuftration of the argu- 
 ment in hand, as he had done before him. And afterwards, near the end of the fame letter, 
 he earneftly entreats Sturmius to fend him with all fpeed v/hat he had lately writ on the fame 
 fubjefl ; that his Schole-maftcr, as yet almoft naked and unfightly, might thence receive 
 fome belter drefs, before he appeared in publick. But thefe pafl'ages being no where to be 
 found in this treatife before us, prove beyond exception, that as excellent as this work is, yet 
 it was defigned for farther improvements, and greater perfedfion, had the author enjoyed a 
 longer life. 
 
 This is what I thought neceflary to acquaint the reader with, before I took my leave of 
 him ; not doubting in the leaU of his candour and ingenuity, either towards the author, or 
 myftlf : n r have I any thing more to add, but an earncft recommendation (if that is ftill 
 necefTary) of this little work, in itfelf almoft invaluable, to the careful perufal and ftudy of 
 all young gentlemen, for wliofc ufe it was at firft deiigncd, and is now publiftied. 
 
 The E N D E of the S C II O L E MASTER.
 
 C 349 3 
 
 CAMBDENUS. 
 
 Penultimus * hujus anni dies (DigrefTiunculas In boni viri memorlaru 
 ignofcite) ultimus erat Rogero Afchamo, qui in Eboracenfi Comitatu 
 natus, et Cantabrigiae educatus, inter primos noftras nationis, literas La- 
 tlnas et Graecas, flilique puritatem cum eloquentias laude, cxcoluit : 
 Elizabethae ftudiis aliquamdiu praefuit, eidemque regins ab epiflolis erat 
 Latinis. Cum tamen alea et Aleftryomachia plus nimio obledlaretur, 
 re tenui vixit et obiit, relidis duobus libris, elegantiffimis ingenii monu- 
 mentis lingua vernacula, quorum alterum Toxophilum, alterum Scholar' 
 tham infcripfit. 
 
 » 
 
 1568. 
 
 ROGERO ASCHAMO ANGLO, 
 G. B U C H A N A N U S. 
 
 Afchamum extindum patriiE Graj aequo Camenac, 
 
 Et Latiae vera cum pietate dolent. 
 Principibus vixit carus, jucundus amicis. 
 
 Re modica, in mores dicere fama nequit. 
 
 JOAN
 
 [ 350 ] 
 
 JOANNI STURMIO 
 
 ROGER US ASCHAMUS 
 
 S. p. D. 
 
 C"^ Ratum eft, mi Slurmi, & mihi perjucundum, quod fcribls de Imitatione Or(!ti>ia, tuis 
 -m- lioc tempore a te ditflata. An iiiihi placitura fit, q.xri)? \]itte qu.xfo, 5c quan 
 -' primum mittc, qvx dictata funt : polliceris eniin, & ipfa reprEefentati.ne nihil exop- 
 tatius, nihil longius mihi exiftit. Meum judicium praECognofccre vis. Non roihi tantum 
 fumo, mi Sturm':, nee confilium libenter interpono. Sed meam de imitandi ratiotu, five 
 opinionem, qus levis eft, five defidcratlonem, quae permagna eft, fatis quidern fuse, nimis' 
 fortafle audadter, aperiam. Et hjec mihi cogitanti fubindc occurrit, quam verum illud fit, 
 quod dicitur, Am'uorum omnia effe cojtimunia ; r.oii tarn commodorum ac fortunas, ut ego in- 
 telligo, mutua munera, quam animorum & voluntatis eadem ftudia. Nee magis ilia huma- 
 nitatis & officiorum, quam noftra base doiRrinas 5c literarum. 
 
 Scribis tu de Imitatione ; & ego nonnihil coglto de eodem argumento : fed tu abfolute eru- 
 ditisjam, ac viris ; ego inchoate, rudibus adhuc, 5c pucris : 6c hoc quidem confilio. Sunt 
 mihi duo filii, /Egidius, 5c Dutlla-us Jfchami. nam Stum.ius Afchamus, vivit ille quidem, fed 
 minquam moriturus. Cum his meis filiis non illuftrem fortunas fplendorem promittere pof- 
 fum, aliqiiem ccrte docStrinae cultum illis relinquere ipfe cupio. Paro igitur illis Prctaftcrcrn., 
 non ilium foris fumptuofa mercedc conducenduni, fed rudi a me ftilo domi jam delineatum. 
 Formam ejus in duos includo libellos : prior magnam partem jJSixo? eft ; alter difciplinabilis. 
 Et quia meus hie Praceptor non e G/xcia, non ex Itlilia accerfitus, fed in hac barbara in- 
 fula natus, 5c domi intra parietes meos altus eft ; propterea barbare, hoe eft Anglicc, loqui- 
 tur. Sic enim fcrmo ejus convenienter quidem, 5c propior 5c proprior horum noftra; gtntis 
 morum eft f'uturus ; 5c noftris, nonaiienis; Anglis, non exteris fcribo. Praeieiea officio, 
 quod patri.-E, quod litcris, utriufque in me merito, jure quidem debeo, aliqua ex parte de- 
 funilus fuero ; fi hoc nieo ftudio, ftudium in parcntibus liberaliter fovcndi, in eorum liberis 
 alacriter difcendi litera?, poftit nonnihil excitari. 
 
 Sed eft Piauptor he meus non Cantabrigienfis, fed V'indcforius : Aulicus, non Academi- 
 cus. Ideoque non illuftr.orem aliquam oftcmat doiiirinani ; fed inediocrcm, 5c noniiullum, 
 quoad poteff, oftendit ufum. Neque tamcn ipfe fum tam nciftra linguae inlm cus, quiii fcn- 
 tiam illam omnium ornamentorum, ciim didiionis, tum fententiarum admodum eife capa- 
 cem ; & cfTe item hoc argumentum non tam aridum, 5c exile, quin Anglice etiam av6»ieo- 
 yea^iTiT^cA poffit ; fi in artificem aliquem, qualis fuit Checus noller, 5c funt adhuc apud nos, 
 bmithus, 5c Haddonus, incidiflet. At fi quid fortafie boni in hoc tamen libello incrit, illud 
 omne tibi, mi Sturmi, acceptum eft referendum, qua* enim fcribo, ftudui certc ut effent omnia 
 Sturmiana. Et vole quidem, ut filii mei, per hoc a patre rudi more congeftum, et perquam 
 humilc veftibulum, in illuftre illud, 5c omni artificio perpolitum, Sturmii Gymnafium ingrc- 
 dianiur. Exftabit tamcn aliquid, 5c emincns erit, in hoc meo Z;/!!A«r')fi';-, perpetuum ni- 
 mirum perpetui mei 5c in tc amoris, & de te judicii teftimonium. 
 
 Praaptor igitur hie meus fatis habet, fi viam redle muniat, 5c quafi per ccrtos gradus, fa- 
 fcilcm paret aulccjifum ad fublimiores illas rite aperiendas fores Academix Sturmianaf. Gra- 
 
 dus
 
 dus funt hi : primus, LinguaPitn Vcrfio ; non dico fimplicem explicationem ignotae finguic 
 qu.-B in fcholis quotidiana eft, Sc ore prxceptoris folum traditur : fed itcratam, & quafi reel- 
 procaiitem duarum linguarum, utriufque utrobique vertendarum rationem. Nimirum ut Grse- 
 ca Latins, & turn ut eadem ipfa Latina Grsce denuo convertantur ; jufta commentatione, & 
 diligcnti Scriptione cum proprio, non alieno ftilo, femper adhibita. £t fic ego intcjligo utile 
 illud imprimij, & prudens confilium ciim L. Crafli in prima de Ornto- e, turn Plinii Secundi 
 ad ("uum Fufcum in feptimo. Atque vix credibile eft, ad qunm excellentem cum Latine turn 
 Grasce intelligendi facultatem, ipfe Divam noftram Elizabetham, hac geminatae converfionis 
 rationc, (cripto Temper reddita, brevi tempore peiduxi. 
 
 Sequuntur rcliqui gradus ; Parcifhrnfis, AJetaphraJis, Ep'iiome, Imitatio, Commentatio, Saip- 
 tioy isf Dtclcunatio. Per hos gradus PiKccptor meus cautiiis h timidius, porrc<na fua nonnun- 
 quarn manu, difcipulos fuos dcducit. Sunt enim hi grad.s nonnihil lubrici ; ^- facilis in illls 
 eft prolapfio, ni cauiio & judicium adhibeatur. At quo feror ? Nx' ego temere nimis, qui, 
 ci;m faciem taiitum Praceptirii m i tibi cllcndere volui ; non folum caetera membra aperio & 
 explico, fed interiora ilia ejus confilia & fenfus omnes, nee prudenter, nee pudenter efFero. 
 Sed quid, ni plane ac palam omnia ad te ? Accipe igitur, quod diccre infti ui eiiam de Imi- 
 tatione. 
 
 In loco de Imitatione longiufculus eft Praccftor meus. Fatetur fe omnes fere & veteres & 
 recentes, qui de Imitatione fcripfere, cupidc perlegilTe. Pre bare fe multos, admirari vero 
 neminem, pra-ter unum Sturmium. Aiiqui certc recte, qui fint imitandi ; fed quomodo in- 
 flituenda fit ipfa imitandi ratio, folus docet Sturmius. Itaque, fi cum ilia perfeflione pra^cep- 
 torum, quje in Literata tua Nobi'Jtaie, & AmiJJa dicendi Rationc, plenilTime tradita funt, co- 
 piam etijm exemplorum conjunxiftes ; quid pr.-etcrea requirendum eflct amplius, non video. 
 Namque, ut in vitae & morum, fic in doibina; & fludiorum ratione omni, longe plus pollent 
 exempla, quam praecepta. In illarum veto rerum five arte, five facultate, qua; lola imitatione 
 perfici videntur ; praecepta, aut nullum, aut perexiguum habent locum ; ciim exempla ifthic 
 vel folitaria plane regnant. Pidores, fculptores, fcriptores hoc, & prudenter intelligunt, & 
 perfedte pra-ftant. 
 
 Atque ut Oratores etiam in horum numero collocem, movet nonnulla ratio ; jubet, quae 
 ilia eft Q^iiniS^iliani auiEloritas ; qui dicit, Ciceronem, (nee Cicero de fe hoc ipfe tacet) ju- 
 cunditatcm Ifocratis, copiam Platonis, vim Demollhenis effinxifle. & effii^ere, in imitatione 
 nee ne propriam ftdcm habeat, omnes vident. Veruin enimvero oftendere, & judicare fo- 
 lum, ubi hoc facit Cicero, mcdiocris diligcntis, vulgaris & quotidiani eft laboris. Hoc i^c- 
 rionius, Viftorius, Stephanus, & alii in Cicerone : hoc Macrobius, Hefliis, & nuper diligcn- 
 tiflime omnium Fulvius Urfinus, in Virgilio : hoc accurate etiam Cienuns Alcxandrinus, 
 quinto Stow^uiztwk in veteribus Graecis fcriptoribus attentavit. Sed hi omnes pcrinde funt,. 
 ut operarii & bajuli ; qui, cum comporteiit materinm, deefTe certe in opere faciundo non pof- 
 funt, mercedem tamen ipfi pcrexigu<:m, & laudem quideni non maximam promercntur. 
 
 Atqui docere perfpicue & ptriecte, qua ratiune Cicero vel Dcmofthenem, vel PJatoncm 
 imitatur, fingularis, fateor, doiRrina;, fummi juditii, tmx laudis exiftit. Sed hxc laus ad- 
 huc pracceptionis tota propria eft. Aliud volo, plus requiro. Opifex nobis, & ArchiteiSlus 
 opus eft, qui fcparata conjungere, rudia pcrpolirc, & toium opus conftiucre, artiliciofa rati- 
 one no\erit. Ft illud, mea certe opinione, hoc modo : "• Uinc Demoftncnis locum, illinc 
 " Ciceronis produci cupio. Turn, digito Artificis me primum duci volo ad ca, quae in 
 " utroque funt aut eadem, aut firnillima. Dciniic, quae funt in hoc addita, & quo confiiio ; 
 •' turn, quae funt ablata, & quo judicio. Poftremo, qu,e lunt canimutata ; & ((uo, ac quani 
 " vario artificio : five id in verborum dclciiiu, five in fenteniiarum forma, five in nicmbro- 
 " rum circuindu£lione, five in argumentorum ratione confilfar. Nee uno, aut altero ex- 
 " emplo contentus ero. Numero multa, genere varia, ex Platone, ex Ifucratc, & Demoft- 
 " hene ; & ex Ariftotele in libris Rhetoricis exempla expcto." 
 
 Patior Pracep>toraii parcum efic in pr;eccptorum tiaditione, modo llbiTalcm fe, 5: lar(;um 
 rn exemplorum non folum pr(>d»(Stione, quod laboris clt 5c diiigenti,!-. veruin etiam traiita- 
 tione, quod eft doflrinas et judicii, oftendat. Horum volumen, illorum paginam ipfe re- 
 
 quira«
 
 [ 332 ] 
 fluiro. Nec mihi moleAum etit, fi eadem via & ratione, CrL-farem cum Xenophontc, Sal- 
 lutlium cum Thucydide, Livium cu;ii Polybio, Virgilium cuni Homcro, Horaiiuni cum Pin- 
 daro, & ijcnecam ctiani cum Soplioc'.e, ^' EuripiJe conjungat. nifi forfan fatius erit facerc, 
 quod hi prudenter faciunt, qui pcrfeiSlc fcriberc volunt. Hserunt eniin hi, 5: defigunt fe lotos 
 in uno, & eo pcrtectiifimo, exemplo. Ncc <c, vei diftrahi ad varia, vcl deduci ad dctcriora 
 cxcmpia libenter patiuntur. Tamen fi carmen pangere vellem ; nihil \'irgilio divinius, nihil 
 Horatio dodius mihi pollum proponere. Sed ad diccndi facultatem, ipfum Ciceronem fi non 
 lolum, certe potiflimum volo. Et dari mihi exemplum cupio Ciceronem Imitatorem, nou 
 Imitatorcm Ciccronis. 
 
 hquidem ampleiflor unicc Ciccronis imitationem : fed cam dice & primam ordine, & pra- 
 cipuam dionitate, qua Cicero ipfe Grjccos ; non qua Laclantius olini, Omphalius nuper, aut 
 qua mulio telicius quidam Ita i, Galli, Lufuani, Sc Angli Ciceronem funtftcuti. Nam quil- 
 quis fuerit non folum diligens, fed ctiam cum peritus doclrina, turn prudens juJicia obfetva- 
 tor, quibus veftigiis infillit, 5i quos gradus facit ipfe Cicero, dum Grarcos ftquitur, aflequi- 
 tur, aut prxcurrit ; 5<: fcienter aniniadvcrtit, quibus in Iocs, & qua ratione hie nofler ipfis 
 GrKcis plcrumque par, f^pillime (uperior cvadit ; is demum tuto, & re(£la via ad imitandum 
 ipfum Ciceronem perveniet. Qui enim ii^telligcnter videt, quomodo Cicero fecutus eft alios, 
 perfpicitt il'.e longcfcliciflime, quomodo ipfe Cicero fit fequendus. Et propterea, non poflum 
 . probare confilium Bartholomaei Riccii Ferrarienfis, do<Sliflimi licet viri. qui, ciim fic fcripferit 
 tie re<5ta imitandi ratione, ut, cum a Sturmio difceileris, ceteris omnibus, mea certe opinione, 
 anteponendus fit ; (prsecepta enim ejus omnia funt Sturmiana, (X ex tuis fontibus haufta, at- 
 que derivata) exempia tamen maluit Longolii ex Cicerone, quam Ciccronis ex Platone fibi 
 proponere; & Virgilii ex Catullo, qu;im \'irgilii ex Homero producere. Hoc ille, bene qui- 
 dem, fed non optimii; ad aliquem fruclum, non ad eximiam laudem ; ad nonnullam medio- 
 critatem, non ad fummam peifectionem inftituit. 
 
 Si vcro optarem ipfe fieri alter Cicero, (& optare quidem nefas non eft) ut fierem, & qua 
 ratione fierem, ijuem potius ad confilium mihi adhiberem, quam ipfum Ciceronem ? Et, fi 
 ipfe cuperem c6 reda ire, quo Ciceto ante fel ciffime pervenit, qua meliore via, quam ipfis 
 ipfius Ciccronis veftigiis infifterem ? Habuit ille quidem Romse Gracchos, Craflbs, Anto- 
 nios, rariflima ad imitandum exempia ; fed exempia alia ipfe alias quaeric. Proprietatem Ro- 
 manae lingua; fimul cum lafte Romas, putiffima a;tate, ex ipfoLatinitatis IxtilLmo flore hauiit. 
 Ille tamen fermonem ilium Latinum fuum divinum, fupcrioribus non cognitum, pofleris tam 
 admirabilem, aliunde fumpfit ; & alio modo quam Latino ufu, quam Latina inftitutione, & 
 auxit, & aluit. Ille enim fermo non in Italia natus eft, fed e Graecorum difciplina in Italiam 
 tradudus. Nec fatis habuit Cicero, ut hngua ejus proprietate domeftica carta effet, & or- 
 nata ; nifi mens ctiam Grscorum eruditlone prudens efficeretur, & docla. Unde evenit, ut 
 fola Ciccronis oratio inter reliquos omnes Romanes, qui illi aetate aut fuperiores, aut aequales, 
 aut fuppares fuere, non colore folum vernaculo pure tincla, fed raro & cranfmarir.o quodam 
 plene imbuta, tam admirabiliter refplendefceret. 
 
 Itaque, cum ipfa lingua Latina, feliciflimo fuo tempore, in ipfa Roma, in ipfo Cicerone, 
 ad fun)mam perfectionem fine Grxca lingua non pervenit ; cur quifquam in fo!a Latina qua;- 
 rit, quod Cicero ipfe abfque Grxca non invenit? Et, cum nos lumus nec feliciores ingenio, 
 nec prudentiores judicio, quam ipfe Cicero fuit ; cur temere fperamus aflequi, quod ihe non 
 potuit ? Cur imprudenter contendimus earn viam inire, qua ipfe infiftere noluit ? praefertim 
 cum hunc folum, aut hunc potilTimum, tanquam fummum ducem, fequendum efle ducimus. 
 Et in re literaria, fiim Ciccronis imprimis probamus judicium, cur ejus repudiaremus con- 
 filium ? Cum prudenter ilium de hac re femper dixifle, cur ilium in eadem re recte fecifle 
 non ingenue fateamur? Nifi forfan Cicero ipfe, judicio quidem prudens, aliis tamen & inuti- 
 lis confiiio, & ineptus exemplo plane elfc videatur. 
 
 Itaque quemadmodum perfpicue cognofcimus, quid Cicero de hac re prudenter faepe (latuit, 
 conftanter femper docuit : ita nos libenter fequamur, quod ipfe in eadem re feliciffime fecit. 
 CHias igitur Cicero linguas fibi re ipfa utiliter, aliis exemplo prudenter conjunxit : abfit, ut 
 nos vel feparemus illas, quod cfl rudis imperitix ; vel repudiemus alteram, quod eft fuperbz 
 
 imprudentia. 
 
 4
 
 [ 353 ] 
 imprudcntix. Nam in hac florere fine ilia, cum fumma aiiqua laude, tam facile continget, 
 quam faepe ufu eveniet, ut avis una ala cum peinicitate volare, aut vir uno pedc cum veloci- 
 tate currere poffit. Ex omni enim feculorum memoria, five ex lc6lione, five ex auJitione, 
 five ex notitia, commemorare habeo foium unum aut aherum, qui abfquc Gra-cis literi<, ad 
 eximiam eloquentis laudem, in Latina lingua pervenerunt. Sed quemadmtjdum par eft, ut 
 hos homines admiremur, iti tutum non eft, ut eofJcin imitcmur. Eos ex ammo lulpicin, et 
 illis lihcnter gratulor banc fuam raram felicitatem. Sed aliis non fum audtor, ut vcl panm 
 (perent laudem, vel eandem fequantur rationem. Si non alio, hoc certc nomine, quod Cicero 
 hac via infiflere, aut prudenter ipfe noluit, aut fruftra cum multis teitare non fit aufus. 
 " Sed ait quis, Redte quidem Cicero ; nam ante eum, nemo fuit praeter Gracos, ad imita- 
 " tionem proponendus. Sed nunc habemus ipfijm Ciccronem, cum quidem, cum univerfa 
 " Grxcia, & cum fingulo quoque Grascorum, in ea eloquentiae laude qua niaxime quilque 
 " floruit, comparandum. Cur igitur non Ciceronem folum mihi, vaiiis il'is Gracis rclidtis, 
 " ad iiritandum proponerem r" 
 
 Aliquid eft, quod dicis. Jpfe enim Ciceronem pracipue imitandum volo ; fed tuta via, 
 fed reiSta ratione, fuo ordine, fuo loco. Et rationem meam, cur hoc volo, & quomodo hoc 
 volo, aperte oftendam. Primum, fi optarem ipfe, alter fieri Cicero, quod ante dixi, qua ra- 
 tione potius fierem, quam ea ipfa, qua ipfe Cicero fadus eft Cicero r Hanc viam, certam, 
 cognitam, & expeditam eile, optimus teftis eft ipfe Cicero. Itaque cum grefTus noftri refle 
 Si folide firmati erunt, in hac ipfa via, qua pr^ivit Cicero ad alios ; fie, ut omnes ejus & 
 abditos recefllis, & varia diverticula, & djfnciles anfrailus, perfect e cognofcam us ; turn tuto 
 quidem, Sc feliciler etiam, duce ipfa Minerva, noftram ad Ciceronem viam muniemus. Et 
 hoc quidem modo, ut ante dixi, fi illuftriora excmpla, numero multa, genere varia, e Cice- 
 rone felefl a, ubi ille optimos Graecos imitatur, per infignem aliquem artificem non folum, ut 
 quidam faciunt, diligenter indicata, fed, ut Sturmius docet, erudite explicata fuerint. 
 
 Et haec eft ilia via, mea certe opinione, qua ad Ciceronis imitationem redd pergendum eft. 
 Non, quomcido Riccius oftendit Longolium fecilTe, (hoc eft, ut ipfe putat, excellent! ratione ; 
 ut ego exiflimo, valde laudabiliter ; ut multi fentiunt, mcdiocriter, & tolerabilitcr ; ut * Eraf- 
 mus, Si Paulus Manutius judicant, inepte, frigide, & pueriliter) fed qua ratione Sturmius 
 Ciceronem imitandum efli;, & prseceptis in Literata Nobilitatc perfede docet, & exemplis in 
 ^iii£}iana Exfl laticne infigniter oftendit. 
 
 Et hoc in loco, opportune mihi in mentem venit infignis ille in Quinfliana locus ; nimi- 
 rum, t Etniim fivtriiaU cmicitia, fide JoAetas., Sic. Qux fen'tentia bis eft a tc, mi Sturmi, 
 mirabili imitationis artifirio exprefla, primum, in /Imiffa di.endi Ratione : poftea, in ipfa 
 Explicatione ^iin£liana. In utroque loco eandem orationis formam, diverfis quidem in rcbu3, 
 fed varia traflatione elegantiftimc effinxifti. " Praceptor mtus a me petit timide quidem & 
 " verecunde, rogem ut ipfe te, tua pace, ut illi liceat, in fuo Commentariolo, liac duplici 
 " tua unius loci Ciceronis infigni imitatione, pro cxemplo abuti. Et fpondco ipfe pro eo, 
 " ilium hoc cuni honorifica de te. Si amabili mentione fadlurum." 
 
 Sed quorfum tantopere, mi Sturmi, laboramus de imitatione? ciim non defunt, qui do£li 
 Si prudentcs videri volunt, qui imitationem, vel nullam eife putant, vel nihil prorfus asfti- 
 mant, vel omncm temere permifccnt, vel eam totam, quascunque fit, cujufcunque fit, ut fer- 
 vilem & puerilem repudiant. Sed hi funt Si inertes, & impcriti, laborcm fugiunt, artem 
 nefciunt. Qui ciim natur.x- omnia falfo judicio tribuunt ; eandem tamen, optimis fuis prre- 
 fidiis iniquo confilio fpoliant ; Si res fcmper coiijungendas, magna temcritate, cxtrcma im- 
 prudentia diftrahunt. Artls enim & natura; diftidium faciunt, quicunque cafu, non delcftu, 
 fortuito non obfervatione, in literarum ftudiis verfantur. Ifti idem fentiunt de eleganti ilia 
 cloqucnti.'e parte, quae in numerorum ratione collocata eft. illani enim aut nullam efle volunt, 
 aut inanem omnem judicant. Et aurium fenfum cum aitificiofo 5c intelligcnti aiiimi judicio, 
 
 • ViJe Erafmi Ciccror.ianum. 
 
 + Etcniin fi vfritalc amicitia, fide focietas, pict.ite prop!nqu'it.is coliliir ; nccclTc eft, qui amicum, rucium, Kflincm, 
 tiioa »c foituois fpoliarc conatus eft, vinum fc, et perfidiofum, ct impium cflc fatcatur. Oral, fro P. y^iriio, fe.l. 6. 
 
 Z 2 nihil
 
 [ 354 ] 
 nihil ci mmercii iiabere exiftimant. Quern tamcn doflrinae locum, (id quod ifti aut imperitc 
 nclciimt, aut fuperbi contcmnunt) principcs illi in omni doftrina viri, Ariftoteles, Demetrius, 
 Halicaniafieu?, Hcriiiogencs, Cicero, Quin(ftilianus, Sturmius tanto iludio perpoliverunt, ut 
 in nulla alia re accuratius elaborafle videantur. 
 
 Sed iilcs in fua, five imperita dcfidia, five fupeiba imprudentia, relinquamus : et hos alteros 
 nos amemus, atque fequamur. Qui cum fuerint optima natura ornati, efle item voluerc fic 
 doitrina exculti, ut ipii noii magis natura: bencficio adjuti, quam artis prasfidio muniti ; nee 
 ma: is ingenio f'cliccs, quam judicio prudcnte<, femper habiti fint. 
 
 Et hsEC miiii de imitandi ratione cogitanti gravis fepe fubit dolor, ob amiflbs ilfos libros 
 Dionyfii Halicarnafei, quos doftiflime & fufiffime fcripfit de Imitatione & Oratoria, & Hifto- 
 Tica. Qiios libros ipfc Dionyfius in co Commcntario, quo fuum judicium de univerfa hiftoria 
 'Jhucydidij, quid in ea vel tuto imitandum, vel caute declinandum fit, erudite, prudenter, ic 
 plcnc expiicat, ceteris fuis libris omnibus anteponit. Sed interim omnes do(Si plurimum de- 
 bent cum Andreas Dudithio Pannonio, turn tuo Paulo Manutio, qucd nuper hunc eruditunv 
 Commcntarium, alter Latine do>Slifllme vertit, (Grasca enim non vidi) alter typis elegantif- 
 fime excudit. Nam in eo libro fic omnes Thucydidis virtutes & vitia, & diligenter coliegit, 
 & libere cxpofuit ; ut quicquid in eo, iive in verborum deledlu, five in fcntenliarum forma it 
 conf!ru£tione, five in rerum judicio & traiilatione, vel pra;dicabile ad ejus laudem, vel vitu- 
 perabile ad (iniilium dcvitationem fcriptum eft ; id omne & plane & plene ab Halicarnafleo- 
 denionftretur. Tanta enim ejus eft in fin^uia congerendo diligentla, in confiderando doiftri* 
 na, in pondcrando iudicium ; ut fi ipfe jam revivifceret Thucydides, credo equidem, non fe- 
 ipfe melius nofccre, non de fe aut redlius, aut aequius ftatuere potuerit. De imi:atione Hifto- 
 rica do<Sius, aut accuratius quicquam, credo nondum exftitit. 
 
 Et quoties ego hunc lego Commcntarium, (quod faepe quidem & libenter facio) toties in 
 banc fententiam adducor, ut plane ipfe exiftimem, neminem, nee Craecum, nee Latinum 
 inajori facultate ad fcribendam hiftoriam unquam veniffe, quam Dionyfium Halicarnafteum :. 
 prElertim, fi ad tantam diligentise, & judicii prseftantiam acceffit etiam, Augufti beneficio, 
 totus & tantus ille 1 hefaurus Bibliothecx M. Varronis. Si forfan hunc librum, mi Sturmi, 
 Halicarnafiei de hiftoria Thucydidis, aiiis rebus occupatus nondum legeris, rogo ut meo ro- 
 gatu legas. Et fcribas quxfo, an fenfus tuus cum mea opinione de hoc libro confentiat, necne, 
 i'atetur etiam ipfe in eodem libro, fe pari ratione de Imitatione Demofthenica, & alteram li- 
 brum de civili Philofophia fcripfifle. Utinam illi exftarent libri ; mente enim quafi jam prae- 
 cipio, talcs libros a tanto vito fcriptos, omnibus eruditionis & prudentise prjeceptis, quantum-, 
 ad civilem cognitionem attinet, plene abundavifle. 
 
 Has cogitationes de Imitatione, & ilia mentio ante fafla a me de Chriftophoro Longolio, 
 qui voluit ipfe effe, & aliis etiam vifus eft, infignis Ciceronis imitator, nonnihil me movent, 
 ut quid ipfe de ejus facultate, & aliorum de eo opinione fentiam, tibi aperiam. Qui bene de 
 Longolio fentiunt, habent me non repugnantem : quanquam habeo & foris ?i domi, quos illi 
 anteponam. Budaeus amicum immerentem ingrata invidia> in quadam ad Erafmum epiftola, 
 iiimis acerbc premit. Erafmus apertius infectatur ; & ilium inepti;, furaciter, fervili & puerili 
 more, nihil pi ster centones ex Cicerone confuere arguit. id quod ipfe credo Erafmum aliquo- 
 potius fcripfifle ftomacho, quam ccrto fuo ftatullTe juJicio. nam fcio, ubi Longolio jam mor- 
 luo, non fingularem aliquam, fed fummam eloquentis laudem tribuit. Miror ipfe magis 
 quidem, * quid tuo Paulo Manutio in mentem venerit, homini, ut audio, natura humanifTi- 
 mo, ^■, ut video, dodlrina excultifllmo ; ut is Longolium, vivus mrrtuum, bonus non ma- 
 lum, eruditus non indc(3um, Italus Italorum delicias, in literis fuis ad Stephanum Saulium, 
 etiam in lucem editis, tarn acri ftilo pungcret. 
 
 Quo cnfilio hoc fecit, nefcio : parum humaniter quidem, fcio, & an vero judicio, plane 
 dubito. Dicit enim Longolium efle exilem in fententiis, non luculentum in verbis, inopenv 
 a Laiina lingua, efie prorfus nullum. Ineo & judicium requirit, Sc ftultitiam notat. Quan- 
 to tu, mi Sturmi, modcraiius, humanius, atque prudentius olim ad Ducem JuliacenCum ? 
 
 • Wit ?)uli M.ru .1 Hjiflolim ad Stcpb. Saulium EpUl, lib, i. cp. ^i 
 
 Ubi,.
 
 [ 355 ] 
 Ubi, cum de Erafmo & Longolio, Sc eorum tota coniroverfia giaviflimum jutiicium dcdciij, 
 laudem neutri adimis; fed fuam utrique ingenue tribuifti. Atque in eodem loco, ubi Alanu- 
 tius Longolium eoufque dcjicere tantopeie laborar, non nihil ipfe, mea opinione, labitur. 
 Nam cum eximiam illam fuam, & ei, ut ipfe fcribit, cum paucis communem, augciidx lin- 
 guae Latinae rationem, fingulari prsconio efTerat ; nimirum, quod exquifitas fententias de Ci- 
 cerone excerptas, aliis verbis, quam poterat lecSiffimis, ornare confucverat ; an non plane 
 oftendir, fe malle cum Cn. Carbone in errores abduci, quam cum L. Craflb re£la via iniiltere ; 
 et opinioncm QuinifliJiani, judicio Ciccronis anteponere ? Crafius enim & Cicero, non folum 
 majori auiforitate pugnant, fed mcliori ratione vincunt, inutilem efle laborem, malo confilio 
 aucupari dctcriora, cum re£lo judicio optima funt prscepta j & Cemere capCare vulgaria, cum 
 feledtiflima fcienter funt occupata. 
 
 Gaudco Praceptorem nuum loqui Anglice ; ne, cum tarn liberc diflentit hac in re a Ma- 
 nutio, tantum hominem ofFenderet ; tamen Manutium non nominat. Nam cum dilTentit ab 
 aliquo, hoc tacite ; cum laudat qucnquam, illud aperte facit. Quanquam fi ipfe Manutius 
 has literas legeret, non eft cur ofienderetur. Nemo enim melius, quam iile novit, Mufas 
 ipfas effe non folum Candidas, fed etiam prudentes : qu.-e inter literarum cultores aliquam non- 
 nunquam opinionum diflenfionem, & ferunt p.itienter, & ferunt ipfe aliquando non inutiliter : 
 omnem vero animorum diftiaiStionem & fieri femper vetant, & efi'e diu non patiuntur. Itaque 
 Paulum tuum Manutium, meum quoque efle volo : nee Hnam, ut eum tu plus diligas, quam 
 ipfe amem. Et quanquam tu loci opportunitate illi propior es, benevolentias tamen fludio, 
 & officii etiam reprsefentatione, cum ufus ferret, ut fis conjuniSlior, profedlo non permittam. 
 
 Idem cogito de aliis in Italia clariffiniis viris, de Pctro Vidorio, de Jovit a Rapicio, qui 
 erudite & eleganter de Numero Oratorio fcripfit : de Carolo Sigonio, de Joanne Baptilia Pig- 
 na Ferrarienfi, de Petro Bargso Pifano. Nam quantum Carolo Sigonio omnes doiti debent, 
 pro utraque utriufque urLis republica, tantadiligentia, tanta doilliina, tanto orationis lumine 
 expiicata ; & imperitus, qui non clare videt, h invidus, qui non ingenue fatetur, habendus 
 eft. Rara vero ilia doflrina, & grave etiam illud judicium, quo Baptifla Pigna aureolum 
 Horatii librum de Arte Poetica fufifTimc explicuit, magno me commovit defidcrio videndi 
 etiam ea, quae in tres libros Rhctoricos Ariftotelis pari ratione confcripfit. in quibus, ut ille 
 ipfe fcribit, ad artis oratoriae, ab intelligendi principe optime traditx, perfedliflima prajcepta, 
 ex Graecorum & Latinorum dicendi principum orationibus, ex Ethicis item, Politici?, & Hiflo- 
 ricis, omnis generis exempla adjunxit. Et quale opus hoc fit, quanquam oculis nondum vidi, 
 animo tamen quam prasclarum illud fit, cum magna voluptate jam praicepi. 
 
 Scripfit idem Baptifta Pigna, ut ipfe teflatur, alterum librum, ^lajiionei Sipbodem : ubi 
 de tota doflrina Tragica, de Scnccae vitiis, de Grcecorum Tragicorum virtutibus fuse tra<Ela- 
 vit. Nee minori hujus libri videndi defiderio teneor, mi Sturmi : quoniam Sophocles & Eu- 
 ripides, mea certc opinione, cum Platone & Xenophonte in omni civilis cognitionis explica- 
 tione, conferri polTunt : praefcrtim quod attinet ad corum mores, confilia, inflituta, h cven- 
 ta, qui in fplendore Aulico vitam fuam traducunt. 
 
 Petrus Angelus Bargseus Pifanus, carmine divino Kumj/frixa complexus efl ; nee minus 
 excellit dicendi facultate. Is Scripfit, ut ex ejus fcripto, &' iManutii tcliimonio intelligo, 
 dodtiffimos etiam Commentarios in cruditum ilKim Demetiii hbcllum de Elocutionc. An hie 
 liber, & illi, quos commemoravi Joannis Baptiflx Pignx-, in lucem prodiere, aut fint prodi- 
 turi, admodum aveo fcire. Si homo es, mi Sturmi, hoc nuo rogatu, per literas tu.is co^nofce 
 primo quoque tempore, a Paulo Manutio, qui omnium opiimc illud intcllijjit. Et quid ille 
 refpondet, ad me quamprimum perfcribas : nihil eiiiin mlhi gratius facfurus cs. Et Manibus 
 Longolii ifternam felicitatem exopto, qui mihi hoc a tc poilulandi occ.illonL-m dcdlt. " Et 
 *' tibi, mi Sturmi, gratias ingentes ago, quoJ de Imitatione Oratiiria fcribis ; quod mihi 
 " mittere polliccris, qua didtata funt." Nlittc igitur, & quamprimum niitte : ut Prcccef.tor 
 tmus, qui nunc eft fere nudus, & plane dcfoimis, ifline aliqucm elegantiorem nuituans amic- 
 tum, nonnihll cultius veftitus, & inde fuperbior fadlus, in lucem audacius proJeat. 
 
 Interim vero cupio a le fcire, an Imitatio hoc loco tani late patcre dcbeat, ut cam ctiain 
 exercJtationem compledaiur, quam nos Melafihro/in noniinamus. Qux Mlfji.r,<rir lamcn u 
 
 Z z 2 Platoi.c
 
 . . . f . 356 ] 
 
 Platone in tertio de Republica dicitur : ubi ipfe Socrates orationcm Chryfc faccrJotls ex a, lAi- 
 ft'Jo?, Ibero fermone elegantiffimc difTolvit. Et cur non appellctur Imitatio, non video; ciini 
 videam in eo loco & quxdam prudtnter abhta, h multa ingcniosc commutata. Idem I'entio 
 de pari confilio Lucretii Latiniflimi poetae ; qui, diverfa rationc infignem illam Thucydidis 
 explicationem Pedis, crudito & clcganti carmine illigavit. 
 
 At quid facis, mi Al'chame, inquis ; quod tii non literas, fed libellum hoc tempore ad me? 
 Quod lacio, facie libcnter, ^Si cum voluptatc, mi bturmi ; prxferrim in hacdulci h domeftica 
 niea, ab omni Aulico negotio otlofa hoc tempore, & libera celLtione ; dum Princeps mca 
 nunc longius ab Urbe, non in Mufarum facrario Paliadi, (quod reJiquo toto anno facit) fed 
 inter filvas Diana?, de more hoc tempore ferviat. 
 
 Et hac prolixitas mca, mihi quidem non eft molcfta, & tibi item fpero, non admodum erit 
 inarata. Cum enim mihi nullum in fcribendo txdium aitulcrit, ne tibi magnum in legenda 
 faitidium fit paritura, non valdc pertimefco. Et fi nihil aliud, hoc certe cfficiam ; ut tu cer- 
 te intelligas, hoc longo filentio meo, meum crp;a tc amorcm minimii e/lc diminutum. Intel- 
 liges praeterea, quod adhuc etiam de Hterarum Itudiis noftrarum in me rcfideat eadcm co^ita- 
 tio, licet non par facultas, quas turn fuit, ciim ego primum, D. Buceri hottaiu, literas illas 
 prolixas ad te dederim : quas tu peramice quidem, amoris noftri mutui publicas teftes eflb 
 voluifti. 
 
 Nunc vero fruflus ille otii noftri Academic!, qui tibi ajiquis fum vifus eil, ita jam omnis 
 in hoc negotio Aulico quotidie languefcit, & eo indies, tanquam vinum fugiens, paulatim 
 decidit ; ut plane verear, tuo ne judicio prorfus exaruilTe videatur. Itaque peropportuna eft 
 mihi dulcis ilia & perambilis tua mecum expoftulatio ; cum me vocas, feftivc tu quidem, fed 
 nimis vere, hominem defidiofum : & cum amanter poftulas, ut nos ipfi noftram multorum 
 annorum intermiflam fcriptionem revocemus, & nos inter nos mutuis crebro iiteris falutemus, 
 atque confolemur. 
 
 De mea vero iliutina taciturnitatc, nihil dico; nee veniam valde peto, nee excufationetn^ 
 admodum quaere : quam licet juftam & probabilem adferre poITim, uti tamen ilia nolo; ne 
 ipfa cffet mihi quidem molefta, & tibi non litabilis. Verum ne tu in hoc meo defidiofo 
 filentio nimium triumphes ; quanquam ipfe in hoc fcribendi officio commendatienem tibi 
 magnam libenter tribuo, mihi vero nullam fumo ; tamen fic tecum jure pofl'um contendere. 
 Tu literarum multarum numero, ego unius magnitudine : tu variis fchedulis, ego hoc velu- 
 mine : tu fententiarum pondere, ego verberum cumulo : tu erudita brevitate, ego loquacitate 
 rudi : tu amoris crcbra dcclaratione, ego benivolenti;e perpetuo ftudio : fic uterque nitimur, 
 ut tu me, an ego te, in hac contentione fuperem, non multum quidem laborem. 
 
 Nicolai Udalli carmen hendecafyllahum ad libellum fuum, 
 
 SI certum eft tibi, pertinax libellc. 
 In multas hominum manus venire, 
 Doflorumque libet fubire nafum, 
 Sannas, vcrbera, jurgium, cachinnosj 
 Per me fit tibi liberum vagari. 
 I, quocunque voles, tuo periclo. 
 Securus poteras domi latere, 
 Et mecum poteras manere tutus. 
 Nunc es publicus, haud meus libellus; 
 Nee poflum tibi jam patrocinari. 
 Nee SufFragia, gratiamque vulgi, 
 Aut vitam geniumquc polliceri. 
 Orbis fed tibi, multitudinifque 
 V Staadum judicio, vel eft cadendum. 
 
 Epifto-
 
 [ 357 J 
 
 Epiftola nuncupatoria. 
 
 Nicolaus UdaJIus fuavijfinio difcipulorum fuoriim gregt falutem 
 
 plurimam dicit. 
 
 QUanquam initio quidem, ut ingenue fatcar, non mea voluntate ad banc docendi pro- 
 vinciam capefTeiuiam induiilus, Ted partim afliduis cifdcnique importiiniflimis amicorunr 
 quorund.iin (olicitatioii.bus efRa^itationibufque Cdmpulfus, partim ntffin quo meo fato pro- 
 tiufijs videri poteram ; nunc tainen, poilquam egre^ia quorundam vi-flrum indoles luculen- 
 tam fane mininitque dubitatam fpem oflendit, fore aliquando, ut ad indcnem aliquam erudi- 
 rionem evadatis, tantum abcft, ut me inflituti cneptique pa-nitcat, ut nihil profedlo hodie pri- 
 us habeam, aut antiquius. Quapropter, quam Jorte naSliis fum Spartnm, ana> e (prout Gra?- 
 corum proverbium admonet) mihi propofui, plantq'ie conftitutum habeo, fupcris bene juvan- 
 tibus, in banc gnaviter curam incumbtre, infigniterque in eo elaborare, ut vos ex immanifli- 
 mis barbarici faucibus quamprimum eripiam, atque ex tenebrofa abftrufaque infcitis caligine 
 rindicem, ad politioris iitcraturas puritatem, luceni, claritudinem. 
 
 Nee dici me herculc poteft, quanto defiderio flagrem, quantaque quum omnium, qui Uteris 
 funt dediti, turn veftris, duntaxat honeftis et reflis, ftudiis proficiendi, cupiditate ardeam.. 
 Jam indeenim ab eo tempore, quo in meam vos Scholam et difclplinam recepi, parentis erga 
 vos animum induifle mefateor; femperque exiftimafTe in eorundem me locum luccedcre, a 
 qiiibus traditi mihi ad inflituendum elUs. Quod cum ita fit, ut eft, quam mihi rem "ratam 
 et jucundam, quam porro Ixtabilem et glorioCam putatis fore; fi vos .iliquando ad eas in difci- 
 plina vires accrefcere,- et pervenire videro, ut exuperatis evicTlifque iftis grammaticarum prse- 
 ceptionum, et rudimentorum difficultatibus, ac velut falebris, ad jucundiffimam, eandemque 
 multo uberrimi frudus Latinorum authorum ledllonem fludium transferre valeatis. 
 
 Ad haiic autcm maturitatem ci;m animadverterem non alia dcmum ratione perveniri pofle, 
 nifi fi quis in promptu jam- ante, et ad manum habeat bonam atque adeo divitcni Latini fer- 
 monis fuppelleiSlilem ; fedulo equidem mihi faciendum putavi, ne vobis decfTet, unde ca po- 
 tiffime facultas parari poflit, et Latini fermonis copia, puritas, nitor, elcgantia nullo, aut 
 certe quam minimo negoiio perdifcr 
 
 Scripfi itaque vobis, fuaviffimi tyrunculi, quafdam Latine loquendi formulas, ad quotidian! 
 fermonis ufum et copiam fane quam accommodatifTimas. Eas vero ex Puhli'i Taitttii potifli- 
 mum comcediis delegimus ; quod is fcriptor ad informandam inftruendamque linguam pucri- 
 lem maxime omnium idoneus, citraque controverfiam facile princeps \ideatur; utpote per 
 quem, ipfum Ciceronem, fummum alioqui Latinitatis magiftrum, ad tantum cloquenti.-t fafti- 
 gium profecifTc cuiflet : id quod quum ipfemet dc fe fatetur alicubi, imo potius gloriatur, 
 turn fcripta ejus ubique tantum non clamant. Porro Latina ipfc Anglicc interprctatus fum, 
 quo vos quoque Latina vernacu'e, aut c contrario Latine vcrnacula abfque molclfia vcl ncgo- 
 tio, et cum aliqua ratione ac gratia, ncc interim ineptis prorfus atque abfurdis, quod plcrique 
 faciunt, fed appofids et accommodata verbis reddere addifcatis. 
 
 Ncque verb putetis velim, nullum efle oper?e pretium, fi quis Latina aptc in maternum 
 vertcre fernioncm callcat. Nam fi Cicero quxdam ex Gixcis tam poeiis, quam oratoribus,. 
 ac philofophis Latino interpretando. qux in fucs referrct libros, operas pietium cxilliniarc fe 
 fecifie non nufquam gloriatur ; fi Terentius pus fibi laudis ftatuit, majoremque gloiiam pofuic 
 in vertendis Graecorum antiquis fabulis, qu;\m iiivenierdis fuls novis ; fi idem Terctitius rem 
 iiibilo minus ingeniofam arbitratus eft, ex bonis Grxcis bona Latina faccrc, quam fi ipfc de 
 fuo nova excogitafiet, qux fcriberct, et pofleris Icgenda tradcret ; fi dcnique ingenii argumcn- 
 turn, et non poftrcmse laudis opus cxirtimatur, bona vernacula fie verbis Latinis mutarc, ut 
 
 interim*
 
 [ 358 ] 
 interim fervetur ntriufque linguse idiotifmus et gratia; qui minus id quoque ediverfo maxima: 
 laudi dari par fit, et vel fummi artificis opus haberi conveniat, ex bonis Latinis fcilicet reddere 
 bona vernacula ? 
 
 Verum ut redeam, quo coeai tendere, nee judo diutius in his haream, imo confiiii vobis 
 faflique mei rationem compendio expediam ; addidi, ficubi opus id e(ie videbatur, quaedam 
 velut Scholia, qaibus turn fenfus poets explicetur, turn verba ipfa non paulo declarentur apcr- 
 tius. Si qua infignis aut elegans incidic Metaphora, indicavi : fi qua figura occurrit, admo- 
 nui : fi qua fabula intervenit, non fum gravatus altiufcule repetitam narrare : fi quid, quod 
 ad Latinitatem egregie faceret, fefe obtulit, non commifi, uc praeteriretur filentio : fi quid ad 
 rationem gramma'icam pertinere vifum eft, non piguit enucleare : fi quid proverbii interfper- 
 I'um eft, expofui : fi quod vocabulum obfcurius judicatum eft, illoftravi : fi qua formula a 
 conimuni vulgarique et ufitata Latine loquendi ratione paulo alienior apparuit, rationem red- 
 didi, citatis, ubi res pofceret, atque adhibitis, ex optimis quibufque et probatifSmis authori- 
 bus, exeniplis ac teftimoniis. Dsnique, ut finem tandem faciam, quicquid ufquam objei^um 
 eft, quod puetile ingenium judiciumve retardate in legendo pofls videretur, quantumvis id hu- 
 mile t'oret aut leve, fedulo adnotavi ; veftris fcilicet ftudiis quam optime confultum cupiens, 
 omnibufque omnium veftrum commodis nufquam non libentiflime deferviens. 
 
 Proindc hsc quidem, quse commemoravi omnia, pingui, quod dicitur, craflaque ac rudi 
 Minerva tradidi, et vercor, ne quorundam opinione, judicio fententiaque, nimis etiamnum 
 anxic, nimis fcrupulolc, nimis denique, ut ita loquar, fruftulatim perfecutus fim, utique dum 
 fingula ad judicii veftri immaturitatem, et capitis teneritudinem attempero. Sed nimis quam 
 mihi, in hoc duntaxat negotio, placuit illud, quod dici folet, indo^iui modo apertius ; prafer- 
 rim cum fcitcm qu'^m maxime opus eftet, nil, nifi re'ut prasmanfum, vobis in os inferi. 
 
 Porro ipfum opufculum Fl'^res Terentii libuit infcribere, quoniam hns formulae, quas vobi» 
 jam nuncupamus, ex ejus poetie lepidiffimis juxta atque elegantillimis comoediis, quafi horto 
 cuodam fragrantiflimo, et ad miracuium vario, amoenoque topiario, ordine omnes feleclae 
 I'unt et excerptae. His igitur laborum noftrorum quafi primitiis fruimini, tanquam arrhabone 
 ac pignore turn noftri erga vos fummi amoris, turn officii ac fidei. 
 
 Quod fi prodeile hsec, conduceteque veftris ftudiis intellexerimus, alia, favente Chrifto, 
 dabimus propediem altiora atque majora. V^eftrae autem partes erunt, fuaviftimi tyrones, 
 omni, quod aiunt, pede ^i:t, omnibus ingenli nervis contendere, ac modis omnibus curare, 
 r.e noftros fudores laborefque fruftremini, neve noftrum hoc tantum oleum et operam eludatis, 
 f^ potius ut concepts de vobis tum fpei, turn expeflationi, poffitis per omnia refpondere. 
 V aie'.e. 
 
 Londini ex coenobio Monachorum ordinis Divi Auguftini pridie calendas Martias, 
 anno pjft natum Chxiftum 1534. 
 
 C. GU AL-
 
 [ 359 3 
 
 D. GUALTERI HADDONI 
 
 O R A T I O 
 
 ad pueros ^tonenfes. 
 
 MAgnam locus admonitionis vim habet, fuaviffimi pueri : Nam haec ipfa cernens, quon- 
 dam mea, nunc vellra ftudiorum incunabula, communium memini veftrarum litcra- 
 rum, et vos amo tenentes ilium vitas curfum, in quo vos ipfe fum antegreflus. Quales enim 
 vos nunc eftis, tales nos olim pueri fuimus ; et quales nos jam efle cernitis, tales vos dies 
 viros efficiet. Quapropter fi nonnullis in perfonis, magna vobis occurrunt et memorabilia 
 Scientiarum et morum ornamenta, primiim cognofcite, principiis ilks eifdem eflc profeiSos, 
 qulbus veftrx jam setates fundatae funt ; deinde colloborate, llmilis ut progrefTus vefter, et 
 par ad extremum exitus elTe polBt. Etenim hoc valde fane verfimiliter affirmare licet, quod 
 ilia, qu£e funt in aliis maxima, nunquam in vobis erunt magna, nifi teneris hi his annis veftris 
 coeperint efle aliqua. 
 
 Cur autem ad principatum quendam laudis ab hac florentiflima Schola contendendum fit, . 
 paucula proponam nota familiariter. Jucundior enim domefticarum rerum fermo vobis erit, . 
 et facilius in memoriis veftris infidebit. Priraum auteni et fummum efl) quod difciplinam ■ 
 habetis perfeftiflimam, et defcriptiflimam, per omnes literarum et morum vefti'orum partes 
 permeantem. Etenim fne libris occupamini, five jucunditati vos datis, five foras progredi- 
 mini, five domi vos tenetis, five precamini, five vefcimini, five quid aliud agitis, vitas cufto- 
 des omnibus in locis difpofitos habetis. Omnino vos commovere non poteftis, quin ftatim in 
 aliquam cenfurae particulam veftigium ponatis. Omnes loci pleni vobis officiorum veftrorum 
 occurrunt ; omnia tempora, imo vero fmgula temporum momenta, cartam habent vel fruftu* 
 ofi ftudii rationem, vel honeftae voluptatis obledtationem. 
 
 Magna laus et plane fumma majorum veftrorum, qui veftrae juventutis exercitationes tarn ■ 
 fapienter difpertiverunt. Vos elaborate debetis, ne fruilra tarn egregia difciplinarum et virtu- 
 tum adjumcnta provifa fint. Quam ad rem crefcct in animis veftris ardor et alacritas, fi dili- 
 genter & attente recordemini, qui, et unde fiti?, qua fpe et expedlatione hie collocati, queni - 
 ad finem refervati. Nimirum Regales ii coetus veltri funt. Regale femen eftis, Regalis fami- 
 lia ; quapropter grandes et ubercs fruflus ferre debetis. Kegalibus ftipcndiis omnes militatis: . 
 itaque fingularis et excellens in vobis difcendi fit alFiduitas, ut quantum fuit in munificentia 
 principum admirabilitatis ct prneftanti^, tantum in Uteris veftris cfl'c poffit l.aidis & induftris. 
 
 Nee fruftra vobis laborer erunt fufcepti. Quot etenim refpublica dignitatum gradus habet, . 
 tot vobis pr;rmia ftudiorum veftrorum pra;parata funt. Kt fi vobis magnum videtur, aurum 
 & purpuram intueri, fcrvorum greges, inftratos cquos, poiTefliones etiam & fundos, & cstera 
 vita; f artim adjumenta, partim ornamenta ; Icitote veftris (cientiis & virtutibus ifta, quotcun- 
 que funt, & quantacuiujue (unt, dcberi fane omnia. Certc quidem in ipfis iftis puerilibus 
 I'ubfellii-s Decanos, Collcgiorum Prx-fe6los, Jureconfultos, Medicos, Judiccs, Kpifcopos 
 etiam & Senatores video. Nunc hiborare vos aliquanidin non poeniteat, puulo poft bcneficiis 
 & emolumeniis, honoribus & ornamentis non ("oluni explebimini, fed etiam accumuiabiinini. 
 
 Si dubitatis, hate ipfa contcmplamini praefcnlia tempora, qua; majorem veftris ftudiis hono- 
 rem exhibuerunt, quam unquam optare aufi eftis. Primum cxccllentiftima Regina (qua nun- 
 quam fol quicquam in terris vidit fpcciofius, aut omni gtnere decorum et ornamentorum il- 
 luminatius) ciim vix adhuc in palatio fuo conlUtiUlt, poctam ad fc vtfttuni admilit, pocma 
 3 fulcepit, «
 
 [ 3^o ] 
 
 fufccpit, & Iionorario luculento fluJia veftra cohoneftavit. Deinde Senatus & nobilitatis flos, 
 hicc litcrarum vcftrarum curricula benigiiiflimc vilitavit, & indoles veftras, quantum tempus 
 fciebat, deguftavit : ad extremum pramiis vos & laudibus beneficentiffime dimifit. Si capita 
 vos, & lumina reipublicx, tantum in hac astatula, propter fpcm iiterarum nonnullam, dili- 
 <;uiit ; quantum litcras ipfas in vobis enatas & efflorefcentes amabunt, ciim viri critis, & fm- 
 liuli fiiigulis in reipublicse partibus collocabimini ? 
 
 SeJ fortafli; tcnipus hoc longe vobis abeile videtur. Non profc(n6 ; fed adeft, aut props 
 efl : volat eiiim artas. Interim diCciplinis veftris tot reperietis fautores, & viitutibus, quot in 
 Anglia do(5ti rcp:riuntur & boiii. Scparatim autem & prscipuii vos curabit indulgentifljmus 
 vefler prjefeftus, qui vos amat non (ecus quam pater filios, qui vedras commoditates putat 
 I'uas ; qui nc vivere quidtrm deinceps ipfe velit, nifi vos ut eruditifllmos vidcat 5c optimos. 
 Adllat autcm ante oculos fraceptor lane laudabilis, qui ve^ras pueritias informat, ipfe juve- 
 nis, in quo magnum vobis (blatium propuKtum eft. Etenim iple, cum adolcveritis, ad ali- 
 orum gubcriiationcm adhibebimini. Poftremo me videtis, familiarem veftrum, & alumnum 
 hujus Scliola;. Qiia!H|Uam autem me mei valde potnitet, nee quicquam in me pofitum efle 
 fciam, quo magnopere poffitis uti ; tamen totum hoc, nefcio quid nihiii, quod in mc eft, 
 commoditatibus veftris et opportunitatibus do dediccque. Nee enim quicquam in vita niihi 
 poteft optabilius accidcre, quam ut hfec nobiliffima Iiterarum fedes plurimos lubminiftrct egre- 
 gios, & principi fervos, & reipubiicE civcs. 
 
 Atque haec lunt ilia paucula, qux in hoc tempore volui attingerc: cum a^ias fc veftra cor- 
 roboraverit, & ematuruerint animi, plura vobis, fi opus erit, & graviora proferam. Interim 
 vivite, valete & crefcite, ut Deo gloriae, reipublicae honori, & vobifmet ipfis emolumento 
 efle poflitis. 
 
 An ExtraEi out of Mr, Richard Mulcaftcr'j- Bock of Educa- 
 tio7i^ printed in the year 1 5 8 i . 
 
 " TT^OR ^^ credit of thefe mathematical fciences, I muft needs ufe one authority of great 
 " _£/ and well-dcfcrved countenance among us ; and fo much the rather, becaufc his judg- 
 " ment is fo often and fo plaufibly vouched by the courteous M after Afcham in his book, 
 " which I wifli he had not himfelf, neither any for him, intitied the Siholenmfler ; becaufe 
 " myfelf dealing in that argument, muft needs fometimes diflent too far from him, with 
 " fome hazard of mine own credit, feeing his is hallowed 
 
 " '1 he worthy and well-learned gentleman. Sir 'John Ch.ke, in the midft of all his great 
 " learning, his rare eloquence, his found judgment, his grave modefty, feared the blame of a 
 " mathematical head fo little in himfelf, and thought the profeflion to be fo far from any fuch 
 " taint, being foundly and fadly ftudied by others, as he bewraied his great aftedlion to- 
 ♦' wards them moft evidently in this his doing. Being himfelf provoft of the King's college 
 " in Cambridge, in the time of his moft honoured prince, and his beft hoped pupil, the "ood 
 " King Eduard, brother to our gracious fovereign Queen Elizabeth, he fent down from the 
 " court one M after ^ttc.</t',, fumetime fellow of the faid college, and very well ftudicJ in 
 " the mathematicals, to read arithmetick and geometry to the youth of the college ; and for 
 " the better encouraging of them to that ftudy, gave them a number of Euc'.ida of his own coft. 
 
 " Mafter Buckley had drawn the rules of arithmetick into verfes, and gave the copies abroad 
 " to his hearers. Myfelf am to honour the memory of that learned knight, being part.iker 
 " myfelf of his liberal diftribution of thof« EucUdes, with whom he joined Xenopkon; which 
 " book he w fhed and caufeJ to be read in the fame houfc, and gave them to the ftudents, 
 " to encourage them as well to the Gieek tongue, as he did to the mathematicks. He did, 
 " I take it, as much for the ftudents in St. "Johns college, whofe pupil he had once been, 
 " as he did for us of the King's college, whofc provoft he then was. 
 
 4 D. H E N-
 
 D. HENRI CI SAVILII, 
 
 Equitis aurati, & G)ll. Mertonenfi^ Cuftodis digniffimi, 
 
 O R A T I O, 
 
 C OR A M 
 
 REGINA ELIZABETHA 
 
 Oxonii habita, anno 1592, Scptemb. 23. 
 
 3 A
 
 i j^i rj, vii ^ J. .G 
 
 . . } 
 
 p--}ff;n ^< 
 
 A ^ C 
 
 /
 
 1^ 3^3 ] 
 
 D. HENRICI SAVILII 
 
 O R A T I O. 
 
 THESES. 
 
 I. Rei Militarist (J Philofophi^ fiudia pojfe in Repuhlica tinci vigeri. 
 
 II. Afirologiam judicic.riam i civitate bene morata ejfe exterminandam. 
 
 COrpus humanum, Sereniffima Princeps, nifi vis aut morbus impulerit, tribus quafi gra- 
 dibus tendit ad mortem ; adolefceniiae, maturitatis & fenedtae : Sic refpublica, non 
 bellis externis opprefla, non civilibus ante tempus lacerata, naturali cete decurfu habet 
 incrementum, ftatum, & declinationem. Nam & omnia orta occidwit, & maturata defluunti en •„%•- 1.-11; 
 
 . iirn T i'*-,^ ' oaii. initio bCiU ■ 
 
 & tempore corroborata, tempore labefadtantur. Jam artes aliae funt nectiiitatis, ali;e liberalisjugurth. 
 otii, alije eruditt luxiis. Neceflitatis. ut ad depetlendam famem agricuitura, pecuaria ; ad 
 arcendum frigus, architeflura, veftiaria ; ad vim propulfandam, ars militaris : Otii Jiberalis, 
 ut gymnaftica, mufica, & haec ipfa mater artium Philofophia : J^uxus, ut pidlura, ftatuaria, 
 cuiinariae, fucatoriae artes, aliseque, in quas magno corporum, majore animorum damrio, 
 fumus ingeniofi. 
 
 Nee in omnibus reipublicae temporibus vigent iftae omnes, nee tamen ullum eft tempus, in 
 quo non aliqua. Sic enim natura comparatum e(t, ut ncceffitatis inventa tempore prima fint, 
 otii media, extrema luxuriae : fintque ilia nafcentis fere, crefccntifque reipublicae, vigentis al- 
 tera, tertia rucntis. In conftitueiitibus rempublicam, in bella gerentibus pro capite & falute, 
 nafci literarum ftudia non folent, non pofFunt. Otium eft paccmque nadtje, vel pro gloria 
 tantum dimicantis, civitatis alumna Philofophia. Contra, rei militaris fcicntia iis reipublica 
 temp iribus non utilis modo, fed pernecefTaria. Ut enim generate, natura; nobilius, eoque 
 diiEcilius eft opus, quam augere, quam confervare : fic majoris animi, iiigenii, artis, virtutis, . 
 imperium fundarc, quam lueri; * ciim novam, in meJio crefcentem msLm odtrint etiam lon-> 
 ginque nationes, fibi ac poftcris fuis metuant vicinas. 
 
 Secundum eft tempus reipublics jam conftituta vigcntifque, in quo cmicant ilia, qua- dixi, 
 omnia obleclatioiiis, ^i otii liberalis, florente etiamnum lei militaris fcientia. Quod fi idem 
 ardor animorum manerct, i.Ieni armorum ftudium, labor, induftria, vigilantia ; nempe id, 
 in quo Deos omnes Iruftra vol:s f^itigamus, jamdiu manibuj ttx)eremus, inimortalcm civita-. 
 tern. + Faiili: enim imperium iis art-bus retiintur, quibui initio faftum.r/h Sed nimirum cum 
 nemo jam hoftis, nifi quern nos facimus, nulla gens inimica, nifi propter ncftras injurias ; 
 cefTante ncceflitate, armorum, qux ncceifit.itis caufa prinu'im fumpta funt, acicm patiinur he- 
 befccrc. Labente dein paulatim difciplina, cum ex fuptrioruni tcmpoium virtute nihil reftitj 
 prseter opes virtute congcftas, U inftrunitnta iuxuriie ; fprtta jacct res miliuiis, afflidla di-. 
 
 • Nufinam bcnignc Icgatio audita eft : adco fiitiul fperncbar.t, fiir.ul tanfam in medio crefcentcm molcm fibi ac poftcris- 
 fills mctnebant. Li-vrui /;/-. I, 
 
 ■J- Nam iinperiuBi fn.ilc iis urtibns rclinetur, quibus initio partiim elk Stllujl'm) BtU. Caul. 
 
 1 A 2 vinae
 
 [ 364 ] 
 ' vina particula mentis, virtutls tmperatoria : eodemque labefailata motu, concldunt literarum 
 fludia, feu prxjfidio militari deflituta, feu commercii vitiorum voluptatumque pertsfa : ut ne- 
 mini dubium eflc qucat, ea ftudia poflc una vigere, qua; non pofiunt ivifi una perire. 
 
 Prima aetate a Roma condita ufque ad Aniiibalcno Italia Africaque ejeflum, • Tel/iiur, ut 
 ait Ennius, e fmdio fapientia, vi gcritur res : Spcrnitur orator bonus, horridu' miles amatur. 
 Indcad Auguftum maturitatem pono : in qu:i eluxerunt ilia literarum lumina, Gracchi, Scae- 
 volas, Tubcroncs, CrafTi, Hortenfii, Cicerones, Varrones. Huic astati, ingeniorum fera- 
 cidimse, dcbcmus Livium, Salluftium, Plautum, Lucretium, Virgilium : nee miniis raacnos 
 imperatores, Mummium, Marium, Syliam, Fompejum, Agrippam ; & in caelum ferendos 
 propter fummam in utroquc genere prsftantiam, M. Catonem, P. Africanum, & C. Caefa- 
 jcm. Qiias tamen xtas ita rudis fuit artium ad luxum pertinentium, ita parum intclligens 
 Graecarum dcliciarum ; ut Mummius, magnus, ut dixi, imperator, capta Corintho, cum 
 maximojum artificum manibus perfedtas tabuias, ac ftatuas in Italiam portandas locaret, ju- 
 beret prxdici conducentibus, fi eas perdidijjent., novas eos redditiiros. 
 
 Port Auguftum, deflorefcente jam penitus bellica laude, ftanteque republica non vi fua, 
 fed rerum prius geftarum gloria ; ex domitis nationibus peregrinis haufta, infufaque in mo- 
 res civitatis percgrinitas, ut eadeir ftudia, quafi progreflu quodam natural!, idem ubique exi- 
 tus manerct. Ita dominante luxurie, cum homines beati & locupletes, voluptatibus immerfi, 
 literarum fludia ad Graculos fervos rejicerent, dum putarcnt fe fcire, quod quifquam in do- 
 mo fua fciret ;. a fcrvilibus ingcniis artes liberales corruptas, emortuam jam ante rem mili- 
 tarem baud longo intervallo confecutae funt ; nifi quod fub Trajano principe, f cum iterum 
 moveret lacertos impcrium, reddita quafi juventute, bona quoque literas cfflor'jerunt. Teftes 
 fero e Gracis Plutarchum, Lucianum : e iioftris Plinium, Tacitum. Et dubitamus adhuc 
 cas artes pofle conjungi, quse in civitate, omnium gentium principe, fimul flortrernnt, fimul 
 perierunt, fimuhiue renatae funt ? 
 
 Num apud Grscos fecus ? I'rima aetas ufque ad Mcdica tempora, armis exercitatiflima 
 literarum penc rudis. Inde ad PhiJippum Demetrii altera, literis armifque florens, in qua Ci- 
 mon, Alcibiad«s, Philippus Amynt:p, Alexander, Seleucus, Demetrius, fummi imperatores : 
 & in omni philofophia priiicipes, Socrates, Anaxagotas, Plato, Ariftoteles, Chryfippus. 
 Non eft neceire do fingulis ; ncfas tamen fueiit de Pericle, Thucydide, Xenophontc Socratico 
 Dione Platonico, qui in utroquc genere cxcelluerunt, fiicre. Ne in noftra quidem republica 
 factum eft illud, quod plerique putant, literarum & armorum divortium ; cum iis rpfis tempo- 
 ribus, quibus maiores tui, Aunuftillinia Regina, terrorem nominis fui in Galliam, Hifpaniam 
 Siciliam, Cyprum, Afiam, it^gyptum intuliftent, elucerent domi ilia hujus Academiae orna- 
 tneiita, Europae lumina, Rogerus Bacon, Walterus Burley, Scotus, Occhamu'?, Wicievus : 
 quos, cum ab omnibus cum ingenii, turn dodhinae fubfidiis fuerint inftrusftiflimi, ifto oratio- 
 nis flore, quo nunc fere folum, ccrtc fiimium gloriamur, asquiffimo animo patior carere. 
 
 Quid, quod nc alterum quidem fmc altero horum ftudiorum potcft cfte perfedum ? Liters 
 ab Imperatore praefidium mutuanViir ic luttlam, id eft, fpiritum & vitam : reddunt miilta 
 magnaque & adjumenta belli, & ornamenta victoria : Hiftoria: veteris notitiam, id eft, ma- 
 xime certam brevemque, maxime multipliccm, minimeque periculofam rerum gerendarum ex 
 geftis fcientiam. Do L. LucuUum, qui Roma perfeftus rei militaris rudis, rebus geftis Iccen- 
 tlis in Afiam venit fadtus imperator : P. Africanum, qui Cyri Difciplinam a Xenophontc fcrip- 
 tam, nunquam folebat ponere de manibus iilis gloriofis, quibus Numantia & Carthago, dus 
 urbcs Romani armulae faftigii, excifae funt. Addo ex philofophia fapientibus fententtis, ^ravi- 
 bufque verbis ornatam orationem ; qua militum animos poflit jacentes erigere, ferocientes re- 
 primere, inflammatos reftinguere : Addo temperamentum morum, & ftdationem perturbatio- 
 num : nequid in bello irate, in vi£toria fupcrbe, in pace ultra civilem modum j neu csdibus 
 ti rapinis aftueta mens, immanitatc cfFeretur. 
 
 • Vide Cicer. Orationem pro L. Mureni : ct Gellii, lib. xx. cap. g. 
 
 •f- A Caefarc AuguOo in fcculum noftium baud multo minus anni duccnti ; quibus inertia C.efarum quafi confenuit at- 
 que decoxit : niC quod fub Tiajaao f riocipc movct Uccrtos, Sc pneccr ff cm omnium^ ii;nc£lus imperii, quili icddita ju. 
 »eatulc, rcvircciit. llinu, 
 
 3 Quid
 
 r 3^5 1 
 
 Quid Ilia abflrufiora ? Aftronomia, inquit Plato, Imperatcfi future neceflarla eft ad tempo- 
 rum viciffitudines nofcendas : Arithmetica ad acies inftruendas : Geometria ad oUra nia- 
 tanda, ioca capienda, figuraiidos exercitus : hinc urbium munieiidarum peritia ; hinc bcllico- 
 rum tormentorum, operumque machinatrix. Ab hac dilciplina profcflus Archimedes, legi- 
 onum & claffium impetum folus pcrlevi momcnto luto ludificatus eft : contrli, Philippus Deme- 
 trii fcaiarum brevitate, id eft, ignoratione Geometriae, a Mclitascnfium oppido rcj dius ; Ni- 
 cias fuperftitione lunaris defedlus, id eft, ignoratione Aftronomice, cum cxercitu cxCus in Si- 
 cilia. Idem cum * Sulpitius Gallus in bello cum Pcrfa provideret ; pracdicerctque niilitibus, 
 ne id pro portento acciperent, quod ordine natural!, ftatis temporibus fiat; magnum momen- 
 tam ad debellendam Macedoniam, id eft, ad Romanum imperium conftituendum, vifus eft 
 attulille. Quare ciim his tot, ac tantis admiiiiculis perficiatur ars Imperatoria ; nequc aliunde 
 fint ea, quam ex media deprompta philofophia ; concedamus fane, ea ftudia fimul efTe pofte, 
 quas nift fimul, non poftunt efte abfoluta. 
 
 Neque tamen non eft aliquid, quod contra afFertur, Philofophiam avocare animum a fenfi- 
 bus, & contemplation! tradere rerum, dii boni ! maxlmarum, fed ab hac confuetudine popu- 
 lar! abhorrentium : quarum illecebris, quafi quodam Circaeo poculo delinita mens, ad rem- 
 publicam tradfandam, ad res manu gerendas, nolit accedere, ne poilit quidem. " Nam dun 
 " ratura, ut ait philofophus, faciat urtuin ad unum, d[fficil:q'ie fii fluribus in rebus eutidem ex- 
 " cellere;" turn certe difficillimum, in tam diffidentibus, & natura difparatis. Ex humoribus, 
 quibus conftamus, aptiflima ad Philofophiam melancholia, ad arma bilis, ad voluptates fan- 
 guis ; quartus ille pituita gravis, ne ad mala quidem bonus. Plato tres anims partes ponit, 
 fedibus difclufas : rationalem in capite, irafclblem in cortie, concupifcibilem in jecore. A«l 
 rationalem pertinet philofophia, aa irafcibilem ars miiitaris, voluptuari* ad tertiuni genus. 
 
 Quod fi poflent illi humores ita commifceri, aut iftae five partes anima?, five facultates, ita 
 conjungl, ut altera vim alterius non infringeret, non debilitaret : haberemus, iJ quod quas- 
 rimus, in milite philofophum. Aut fi hoc difficile eft, cum ob alia, turn quia utriulque iiu- 
 dii eadem paene aetate, mulr.o fudore, multifque vigiliis facienda funt tyrocinia ; fecernamus, 
 fi placet, a milite totum hoc phdofophari ; relinquamus impcratori, ut contemplativis medio- 
 criter tinctus fit ; morali vero civilique philofophia, & politiore literatura penitu'* imbutus. 
 Atque ut demus vera efte, quae funt ab ornatifTimis magiftris allata -, tamen earn vim habent 
 pleraque, non ut in una republica fimul efte non poflint, fed ut ne in uno homine : ne nos 
 quidem civitatem ex philofophis conftare volumus. quid enim ad vim arcendam foret ineptius ? 
 neque ex militibus totam : nam quid turbulentius ^ Refpublica nimirum debet efte unita, non 
 una. Cujus dignitas falufque non una laude, fed uno omnium rerum laudand^rum tempera- 
 mento continetur. 
 
 Sequitur Aftrologia, quam evcntis fallacem, ufu fupcrftitiofam, a barbaris nationibus im- 
 portatam, bonis temporibus Grsecia? ignotam, etiam mails Roma puH'am, tot fenatufconful- 
 tis, tot principum refcriptis damnatam, fufFragantibus omnium aetatum philofophis, (plcbeios 
 quofdam excipio) politicifque, e republica exterminamus : artem, (quod in arte turpifTimum 
 eft) nullis textam principiis, nulla fubni^:am demonftratione, nuUo conftantem fyllogifmo. 
 Verum eft, cceluni in ha:c inferiora luce, motu, virtute agcre : ifta omnia fovere, animare ; 
 Obliquum circulum caufam efte onus & interitiis ; a fole h homine ijenerari hominem j fed 
 ab homine, ut caufa propinqua propriaque, qux matcriam fuppeditet ; a fole, ut inter efH- 
 cientes coadjuvante, remotaque, & general! : qui uno & eodem ca'ore, & femcn Aconiti ani- 
 mal ad venenum, h Brafficae ad alimentum, & Rhabarbar! ad mcdicinam ; non naturam all- 
 quam inferendo, fed ea in aflum, in lucem, producendo, quae prius in materia; potentiis deli- 
 tefcebant. 
 
 Itaque fanus, an morbofus fim ; acutus an hebes t, albus nn atcr, nihil ad caelum ftellafquc : 
 quae eodem luraine, codem cceli fitu, eodem momento, omnibus iifdcm agentia, & ex mate- 
 ria fane difpofita fanum producunt infantem, h ex morbosc morbofum. Qiiid ilia externa ? 
 pauper an dives, honoribus clarus, an fecus .'' qua; rerum fortuitarum tcmerario intcrcurfu, 
 noftraque voluntatis libcro motu, infinitis mcdis variata, nullum habent cum culIq commcr- 
 ciumi Sed de Aftrologia facilius eft tacerc, quam pauca diccfc. 
 
 * Ab aliit Ciius C alius appdUtur. \ii% Cinrnncti J4 StitSiHi. 
 
 Reliquic
 
 N 
 
 [ 366 ] 
 
 REiiquae I'uiir, Auguftiir.ma Rcgina, partes officii noflri, maximis tui's immortalibufque in 
 no5, in rempublicam, in orbem Chrillianum, meritis debitae, atquc confecrat*. Pa- 
 teie igitur, uc id unus pro omnibus dicam, quod illi omncs de tua Majeflate taciti fentiunt. 
 Fatere, tuam in obtinendo imperio telicitatem, in conftituendo fapientiam, in tuendo fortiiu- 
 dmem, in adminiftrando conftantiam, caeteras vircutes tuas, qua; omnium gentium literis, ^ 
 linguis commemoratx funt, tuorum quoque, ad quos tantaruni virtutum frudtus propiiis per- 
 tinct, voce celebrari. Ciim tlll-nt omnia, fato quodam fupciiorum temporum, plena, fufpic- 
 oiium domi, foris bcllum certum, aut pax infiJa : cum in oculis, in vifceribus nolfris hareret, 
 ex illo infelici coiijugio contractum, pertinax malum, Hilpanorum dominatio : ciim efrufum 
 eflet zrarium, imniinuti fines imperii, praefidia milite, arces tormentis denudata: ; in his toe 
 tantifque difficultatibus eluxit tua fingularis, ac vere divina fapientia, diviniflima Princeps. 
 
 G!adium, in ilia rerum mutaiione ac tranfitu, vagina vacuum Anglia non vidit : vidit 
 pUufus, c'amores, exultationes omnium ordinum, aetatum, hominum, nifi quibus expediret 
 efle malum principem, hoc eft, quam diflimlllimum tui, Tu Hifpanos a capite, acervicibus 
 noftris, aut invitos dcpulifti, aut remififti volentes. Tu publicam fidem, anguftiis jerarii va- 
 cillantem, prasdiorum tuorum, rerumque pretiofiflimarum venditione levaiJi. Tu oppida 
 amifla, pa(flis conventis, quod in te fuit, recepifti : obfidum fuga, & quorundam perfidia, 
 quod prxftare non poteras, perdidifti. Cumque tuas caftiflimae puriflimaeque menti nihil pia* >, 
 
 ccrct fallax, nihil fucatum ; 'I"u, nummis adulterinis fublatis, commercia revocalli, fidem 
 rcftituifti. Tu religionem, majorum incuria coilapfam, aut ipfo tempore defidentem, incrc- > 
 
 dibili animi fortitudine renovafti, communeque Afyium omnibus gentibus aperuifti : neque a 
 
 dul-)itafti nova princeps, turn omnes propinqux nationes propter veteres inimicitias elTent in- f" 
 
 fer.fe, longinquarum quoque odium hac novitate provocare. H 
 
 Ab his initiis profedla, fedifti deinceps belli pacifque arbitra, inter regts Chriftianos Regi-» j 
 
 na : qui 3 faiSiofis civibus vexati, aut potentiorum injuriis per vim pulfi, in tuo confilio, ar- J 
 
 m;s, opibus acquiefcunt, Teftis Valefiorum familia, quorum infantiam confiliis tuis rexifti, >■ 
 
 fsrociam milig fti i dcmumque ruentem, quantum in te fuit, fuftinuifti. Tcflis illaftriiTima. 
 haec Borboniorum, qui tuis unius freti armis, nixi pecuniis, non alia re magis, quam Majef- 
 tate nominis tui ftantes, Te parentem agnofcunt, Te deam venerantur. Teflis Lufitania^ 
 cujus regem extorrem ejeflumque liberaliilimo hofpitio accepifti. Teftis Germania, Dania, 
 tiuetia; qux tuo nutu arnia fumunt, ponuntque. Quid Chriftianos dico ? cum ipfi Turca- -^ 
 
 rum impcraiores, quibu», ante hujus bcatiffimi fcculi lumen, ne nomen quidem hujus infulie 
 uitquam fando auditum, tui revercntia nominis arma a':jecerint, pacemquc Polonis jam ad uIt 
 tifna redaiSlis, Te interveniente, concefierint. 
 
 Dixi de ftngulis fere partibus ; nunc de univerfo orbe Chriftiano. Cujus cum maxima pars, 
 aut haereditate relifta, aut affinitatibus comprehenfa, aut armis devifla Unius jufl'u regeretur j 
 cum Galliam per eniifiaiios, Turciam per mercenaries obtineret ; cum Germania partibus, 
 Polunia btllis dcflineretur ; cum omnes omnium gentium principes, proceres, aut focordii 
 negligerent, aui tiniore abfcedercnt, aut avaratia inclinarent, qua, jundfis nuper Orientis & 
 OcciJentij opibus, aurum pra'ponderebat ; ciim aucia, ut ht, ex profperis cupidiiate, animus 
 hand obfcure adje^us efTet ad imperium univcrfi, omniaque nemine impcdiente, in Unius- 
 f.num cafura vidcrenttir ; hie tua divina virtus enituit, hie inviifum animi robur, cum f.;pien- 
 t;a fingulaii. Qu«, oppreflis prinum domefticorum inlidiis, {^:.od dii priui omen in ipjum) 
 rupto fccdcft BurgunJico, quod Ipfe, immiilo in tuam provinciam latrocinio, prius ruperar^ 
 I'jcepiii in focietaiem Belgis, anipliaufquc imperii hii bus tot urbium acccflioiie, bellum terra. 
 n;iriquc, pro falute omnium fufccptuni, fola gefTifli. Quod cujus manibus adminlftratum fit, 
 tion quxro, cum videam tuis aul'piciis, tuis conlilils provincias adjuncfas, uibes captas, naves 
 (iireptas, clafTes dcprefTas i non hoftium fines, fed utbem, fedem imperii, tuis fign s appciiiam,. 
 o'jkiTam, oppugnatam. Tuis coiifiliis Indiae, quanta lerrac totius pars, quantula tuorum ma- 
 im, quam increuibili ci.lcrit<itc vicloriis peiagraiat ! Tuis, tuis (intelligo, quid dicam) confi- 
 bis, tabulis armifquc completa omnis ha;c Occani ora, conllrata cadaveribus littora. T.uis 
 aufpiciis Hifpania Ait^'um Qon vidit, nifi vidfoicm, aut viclorise immortuum ; Anglia Hi>pa-. 
 6 num.
 
 [ 36; ] 
 
 num, nifi captivum. Itaque flant tuorum objecSlu armorum, tuorum oppofitu laterum, quot 
 funt in Europa rcgna, principatus : ipfique adeo Pontifici, nominis tui infenfiffimo hofti, una 
 cum caeteris, abfque tuis armis, vel ferviendum fuit, vcl percundum. 
 
 Bonitateni, clementiam, juftitiam, aequitatem, (ifta pervulgata, ac prope decantata) in 
 tanta principe referre, regiarum & heroicarum virtutum, quae inMajeftate tua elucent, injuria 
 fuerit. Ne id quidem attingam, quse mala quam conftanti animo privata pertuleris ; qu.-e 
 tamen & gratiorem prsfentis felicitatis fenfum attulerunt tibi, tuifque civibus certiflimam fa- 
 lutem, principem habere, quae & femper cogitet, crebrifque fermonibus ufurpet, quid aut no- 
 Juerit Tub alio principe, aut voluerit. Ilia commemorabo, quae vulgo minus nota, non minus 
 certe mirabilia ad laudem : Te, cum tot literis legendis, tot diflandis, tot manu tua (criben- 
 dis fufficias ; ciim confiliariorum tuorum, in minimis etiam rebus, iententias dijudices ; cum 
 privatorum precibus, principum legationibus per te refpondeas, de fubditorum quoque privatis 
 controverfiis fepiffime cognofcas ; in ifta tamen diftriiSiflima vita, non principum, (quorum 
 alias funt noftris moribus artes) fed pxne mortalium doflifliinam evafifTe : Te magnam diet 
 partem in graviilimorum autorum fcriptis legendis, audiendifque ponere : nemiiiem nifi fu:i 
 Jingua tecum loqui : Te cum nemine nifi ipforum, aut omnium communibus Latina, Grae- 
 caque. 
 
 Omitto plebcios philofophos, quos raro in manus fumis. Quoties divinum Platonem ani- 
 madverti tuis interpretationibus diviniorem efFe£lum ! quoties Ariftoteiis obfcuritates, princi- 
 pis philofophorum, a principe foeminarum evolutas, atque explicatas ! l^iccrcm liberc, ne- 
 niini unquam ad facratiflimam Mujeftatem tuam aditum patuifle femidoflo, qui non ex tuis 
 fermonibus difcefTerit docStiflimus ; nifi meae vehementer me poeniteret tarditatis, qui in tarn 
 iiluftri fchola tarn pariim profecerim. 
 
 Itaque literas, literatiflima Princeps, tuere ac protege : id eft, nobis, qui hic vivimus, 
 noftra privilegia ; iliis, quos emifimus fuam dignitatem, fua praemia in Republica, in EccJe- 
 fia, quod facis, conferva. Academiam utramque novis immunitatibus munire, novis legibus 
 fundare perge. Utraque a te ornata, in te ornanda certabit, caeteroqui omni genere iaudis 
 pares ; hoc noftra felicior, quod tuos vultus iterum intuetur, in cujus oculis habitant Gratiae, 
 in fronte Benignitas, in ore Majeftas, in peflore Sapientia, in manibus Liberalitas, in toto 
 corpore Pulchritudo & Venuftas, digna principe, digna tantis prognata principibus, digna im- 
 perio : ut tecum jam prope, parens Natura, redeamus in gratiam ; qus, cum parem, eft'ufis 
 hic viribus, procreare non pofles, ncminem voluifti ex tanta principe difparcm fuperefle. 
 
 LETTERS
 
 i
 
 [ 3«9 ] 
 
 LETT E R S* 
 
 O F 
 
 Mr. ROGER A S C H A M, 
 
 Tranfcribed by the Reverend Mr. Thomas Baker^ B. D. of 
 St. John\ College, Cambridge, from the Originals, indorf- 
 ed by the hand of William Lord Burghley^ Lord High 
 Treafurer in the reign of Queen Elizabeth^ and formerly 
 in the cuftody of the Reverend Mr. ^ohn Strype. 
 
 To Mr. Raven, fellow of St. yohnh college, 
 
 in Cambridge, 
 
 S. p. in Chriji Jefu. 
 
 OU R journey out of England to Maclyn (a) m Brabant y I wrote 
 unto you from Colen. Obferve this — to write unto me how 
 many letters you receive from me ; what day they be written, 
 and from what place. I wrote unto you four letters from Gravefend (b)y 
 from Calato, from Antwerp (c), from Colen (d) ; and this is the firit 
 from Augujla (e). 
 
 As I wrote in my laft letter, 3d 06i. we came to Maclyn. I told you 
 at large both of the abbey with 1600 nuns, and alfo the laatfgiave,(y^, 
 
 * Thcfc letters are unfkilfully tranfcribed, fo that proper names are not always recoverable. 
 
 (a) Mechlin. (b) 21 Sept. 1551. Roger /Ifchami Epijl. lib. -i. (c) Oa.i. ibid, 
 
 (d) 0£i, 12. ibid. (e) Augjhurg. (f) ci Hejfe. Sze yfjchain's letter to Edward 
 
 Raverty ubi fupra, p. 212. edit. Lond. 1590. 
 
 •; B whom
 
 [ 37« ] 
 whom we faw prifoner. He is lufty, well-favoured, fomethlng like 
 Mr. Hcbilthrout in the face ; hafty, inconftant ; and to get himlelf out 
 of prifon, would fight, if the Emperor would bid him, with Tur;:, 
 French, England, God, and the Devil. The Emperor perceiving his bufy 
 head without conflancy, handles him thereafter: his own Germar.o, as it 
 is faid, being well content that he is forthcoming. 
 
 John-Frederick is clear contrary, noble, courageous, conftant, one 
 in all fortunes, defired of his friends, reverenced of bis foes, favoured 
 of his Emperor, loved of all. He hath been proffered of late, it is faid, 
 by the Emperor, tliat if he will fubfcribe to his proceedings, to go at 
 large, to have all his dignities and honour again, and more too. His 
 anfwer was from the firft one, and is flill, that he will take the Emperor 
 for his gracious fovercign lord : but to forfake God and his doflrine, he 
 will never do, let the Emperor do with his body what he will. 
 
 At Maclyn we faw a ftrange bird. The Emperor doth allow it 8 d. 
 a-day. It is milk-white, greater than a fwan, with a bill fomewhat 
 like a fliovel, and having a throat well able to fwallow, without grief 
 or touch of creft *, a white penny-loaf of Englatid, except your bread be 
 bigger than your bread-mafter of St. Johns is wont willingly to make it. 
 The eyes are as red as fire, and, as they fay, an hundred years old. It 
 was wont in Maximilians days to fly with him whitherfoever he went. 
 
 4 O^ob. we went to Bruxelles, twelve miles. In the mid- way is a 
 town called Fil/orl, with a notable ftrong hold of the Emperoi's in it. 
 Traitors and condemned perfons lie there. At the town's end is a not- 
 able ftrong place of execution, where worthy frill. Tyndall was un- 
 worthily put to death. Ye can match Bruxelles in England but with 
 London. 
 
 At afternoon I went about the town. I came to the frier Carmelites 
 houfe, where Edivard Billick was warden ; not prefent there, but being 
 then at Colen, in another houfe of his, I heard their even-fong : after I 
 defired to fee the library. A frier was fent to me, and led me into it. 
 
 * Touch of creft I do not underftand j perhaps it may be without touch of crujfy without 
 breaking the cruft. 
 
 There 
 
 f
 
 [ 371 ] 
 There was not one good book but Lyra. The frier was learned, fpoke 
 Latin readily, entered into d-eck, having a very good wit, and a greater 
 defire to leaining. He was gentle, and honeft i and being a papill, 
 and knowing me to be a proteftant, yet fliewed me all gentlenefs, and 
 would needs give me a new book in verfe, titled, De Rufiicitate Mo- 
 rum. 
 
 6 O£lob. from Bruxelles to Louvain, twelve miles. We came hitiier at 
 eleven, and went away before two; and there to feaft mine eyes and 
 ears, I was content to lofe my dinner. I went ftrait to Mr. BranJbiF% 
 houfe, {landing againft the grey-friers door. He was not at home, but 
 was ridden to Antwerp , to have conveyed my lord Ambaflador to Lou- 
 vat7i. He left word, that if he milled my lord by the way, that I in 
 any cafe ftiouid lie and ufe his houfe as my own, in his abfence. His 
 houfe is trim. I wrote a letter to him with his own ink and paper. He 
 is loved of all, and regarded with the befl: ; nor doth not ufe the com- 
 pany of J. Clement, and Ba/ially who, to fee a mafs freely in Flatjders^ 
 are content to forfake, like their country. As we entered 
 
 into our inn, the vice-chancellor, with his bedels, came out of our inn, 
 the vice-chancellor being more like in apparel and porte to our prieft of 
 Hornyngjhire, than to the coraelinefs of Mr. Dr. Parker, and the bedels 
 more like Harry Barber, and than Mr. Adams and Mr. Meyres. 
 
 I went to P. Nannius^ chamber, to have talked with him ; but he was 
 either drunken at home, or drinking abroad ; for he was making merry, 
 and could not be feen, as an Englijli boy, his pupil, told me. He 
 reads Tully% Oi'ations at nine of the clock : at one of the clock, Theodo- 
 rm. Laudius read (whom I heard) Oed. Sophocle Grace. He read that 
 chiding place betwixt Oedipus and Cr£0?7, beginning »x hS\ &c. reading 
 twenty- one verfes. His hearers, being about eighty, did knock him out 
 with fuch a noife, as I have not heard. This college is called Tri/ingue 
 and Rujlidianum, where he reads it. Lowoain's, as far as I could mark, 
 were compared with Cambridge, T^rilingue with St. John's, or Trinity 
 college, Tbeod. Laudius with Mr. Car. Ouis do far excel. The reader, 
 in o:, followed our pronunciation. I tarried fo long at his Ie6lures, 
 that my lord was ridden out of the town ; and as I ported after my lord, 
 fo do I HOW poft out of Louvain to Tilemont, nine miles off. 
 
 3 B 2 The
 
 [ 372 ] 
 Tlie town is walled, and fo is every town we lay in betwixt Dover 
 and Augufia. There I faw nuns and papifts dance at a bridal. Thefe 
 be news to you, but olds to that country, where it is lawful in that Ba- 
 bylonical papiftry to ferve Bacchm^ and what unhonelly they will, fo 
 they meddle not witli Chrift, and his word : Nam qua communio tenebris 
 cum luce '= 
 
 We were drawn wp the Ahine by horfes. The grapes grow on tlie 
 brant rocks fo wonderfully, that ye will marvell how men dare climb 
 up to them, and vet fo plentifully, that it is not only a marvell where 
 men be found to labour it, but alfo where men dwell that drink it. 
 Seven or eight days journey ye cannot caft your fight over the compafs 
 of vines. And furely this wine of Rhine is fo good and natural, fo 
 temperate, fo very like itfelf, as can be wifhed for man's ufe. I was 
 afraid when I came out of England to mifs beer -, but I anv/nore afraid 
 when I fliall come to England, that I cannot lack this wine. 
 
 19 OSlob. to JFormes. The great church of this city appears all the 
 way like King's college cradell. The city is great and fair ; but becaufe 
 the plague was in it, I kept me in my inn. 
 
 20 OBob. to Spira, a good city. Here I firft faw Sturmius de periodis. 
 I found alfo here Ajax, Ele&ra, and Antigojie of Sophocles, excellently, 
 by my judgment, tranflated into verfc, and fair printed this fummer by 
 Gryphiiis. Your ftationers do ill, that at leall not provide you the re- 
 gifter of all books, efpecially of old authors. Here, at Spires, we were 
 a day's journey and a half from Argentine. My lord was willing to go 
 thither ; and whether I was or no, you, Edward Ravai, can guefs : 
 but word came from Mr. Bobbie, I befhrew him, to halie our journey j 
 or elfe I had talked with Sturmius, to whom I wrote, and fent Mr. Bu- 
 ^•fr's letters ; and he wrote again to me zt Augujla, feuding me the copy, 
 which Mrs. Bucer brought to me to Cambridge. One fentence Sturmius 
 wrote to me in his lafl letter, which fome of you will be glad to hear. 
 The fentence is this : Regis non memini prajatione, ut nunc loqimntur, ad 
 D. Elizabetham. Ejus Majejiati locus deflinatur in Arijiotelicis meis diak' 
 gis, in quibus Jlyhm meum cotidie acuo, ut fiquid po/fit contra barbariem, in 
 beis oftendat quantulum Jii, quod in ed conjiciendd pcjit. 
 
 23 OSiob,
 
 [ 373 J 
 
 23 OSiob. we rode thro' the duke of Vihbergland, thro' which runs the 
 goodly river called Neccarus. We met with a noble lady, which is the 
 dutchefs of Milan and Lorraine, daughter to tiie king of Denmark. She 
 fhould once have been married to king Henry the VIII. before my lady 
 Anne of Cleve. She had been with the Emperor, and, as fome thought, 
 fhe went a-wooing to the prince of Spain. She had in her company 
 about 300 horfes, moft part great horfes, and Gennets, herfelf having 
 fixteen ladies following her on palfreys. She had thirty-fix mules laded 
 with her chamber-fluff, befides a great number of waggons laded with 
 other fluff. A great number of rafcals belonging to her kitchen and 
 flable came drabbling in the dirt on foot. 
 
 I never faw lady of her porte in my life. 
 
 Some of you will jefl at my diligence in feeking old monuments ; but 
 I do it for the remembrance Veteris & amici & pr^cepioris, Mr. Pern- 
 ber, whom I do not forget, and I know would hold me excufed, becaufe 
 I write not to him, if he knew what bufmefs I have, I pray you, Mr. 
 Raveny make him partaker of this my trifling talk. 
 
 But friends is content with all things. I pray you, Mr. Raven, ufe 
 Mr. Pember as you would ufe me ; commend me to him, Mr. Raven, 
 and defire him, which, I know, he doth, to learn Chrifl out of Chrifl's 
 own gofpcl ; and let that confenfta ecclefice alone, which deceives many 
 worthy and learned wits in Cambridge, which is nothing elfe indeed but 
 a privy fink to convey the dregs of papiflry into all places. Papillry 
 here do ufe it to confirm the primacy of Rome. 
 
 28 O&ob. We rode towards Aiigiifla, a mile on this fide the city. Sir 
 Philip Hobbie, with a great number of horfes, where was I'kotnas Hobbie, 
 and George Wheatly, mine old friend, which did convey us honourably 
 to our lodgings, which is the abbey of St. George. Ye may fee it in- 
 defcription. And thus ye may bid me welcome to Aii^ 
 giiflct. And if I fliould bid you farewell alfo, ye would now give me 
 leave, becaufe I am fure ye are weary of my long talk : but becaufe I 
 think fome of you would glad hear how we have done fince we came, 
 I will yet a little mo trouble you. 
 
 I
 
 [ 374 1 
 I thank God, and my lord AmbaHador, I lack no moneys, which is 
 the heft comfort in a ftrange country ; only I lack leifure to write to 
 my friends when 1 would, and to learn the tongues here is. I could 
 wilh I had wrote part of this letter three months ago ; and now it is 
 the 3d oi Jatmary. Five days in the week my lord and I continually 
 do ftudy the Greek tongue, that I am alway either looking for my lord's 
 le<5lures, or elfe with my lord : two days I write my lord's letters into 
 'England y To that I never fo much as go into the town, but only on 
 I'liefdays, to deliver our letters to the poft. If I had leifure to mark 
 things, and write things, I trow I would come as well furnifhcd home 
 as moil part of EngUjhnen do. And that thing which I thought fliould 
 have been the caufe, why I fhould have fent you many news, doth in a 
 manner forbid me to fend any ; and that is, bccaufc I know fo much ; 
 and being in tliis room that I am, I muft needs keep them clofe, be- 
 caufe they be credit unto me ; and though I knew them otherwife, yet 
 I muft and will let them alone. Vahan hath a better lite than either 
 my lord or I. He lacks nothing ; he fares well ; he lives well ; he may 
 do what he lifts ; ftudy what thing he lift j go to the Emperor's court, 
 or elfewhere, when he lift. If he do not come home well fuinillied 
 with much knowledge, he Httle confider what God doth call him to by 
 this journey. If I were any man's man, as Vahan is mine, 1 would wifh 
 no better felicity abroad. Thofe that ftopped S. Wright from this oc- 
 cafion, ftiall never be able to make him amends } for in lacking nothing 
 he ftiould have ftudied, and feen what he had lift. There can be a 
 greater commodity to an Englijhman abroad. If JVrigbti had ten fellow- 
 £hips of St. Johns, it would not counter-weigh with the lofs of this oc- 
 cafion : for befides Dutch, French, and Italian, which he ftiould have 
 learned, in a manner, whether he would or no, he might have learned 
 as much Greek and Latin, and perhaps more, than in St. Jobji's. I 
 am almoft an Italian myfelf, and never look on it. 
 
 If I ftiould tell you nothing of Augujla, I ftiould do fuch a noble city 
 much wrong. At a few things, guefs the reft. There be five mer- 
 chants in this town, thought able to dift)urfe as much ready money as 
 five of the greateft kings in Chriftendom. The Emperor would have 
 borrowed money of one of them. The merchant faid, he might fpare 
 him ten hundred thoufand guilders, and the Emperor would have had 
 
 eighteen -,
 
 C Z7S J 
 eighteen ; a guilder is 3 i. 6 d. Thefe merchants be three brethren, 
 Tuccurs, two brethren, Bamgartner. One of the Tuccurs doth lodge, 
 and hath done all the year, in his houfe, the Emperor, the king of the 
 Romans, the prince of Spain, and the queen of Hungary, regent of Flan- 
 ders, which is here, befides his family and children. His houfe is co- 
 vered with copper : there be a number of houfes in this town, which 
 fet in Cheapfide, would over-look and over-brag the whole flreet. 
 
 There comes to this town commonly every market-day, three and 
 twenty hundred waggons loaded with things to fell, ZSc, 
 
 I have {t^n the Emperor twice, firft fick in his privy chamber, at our 
 firfl coming. He looked fomevvhat like the parlbn of Epurjlone. He 
 had on a gown of black tafFety, and a furred night-cap on his head, 
 Dutch-\\^z, having a feam over the crown, like a great cod-piece. I 
 faw him alfo on St. Andrews day, fitting at dinner at the feafl of Golden. 
 Fleece ; he and Ferd'niando both under one clolh of eflate ; then the 
 prince of Spain ; all of one fide, as the knights of the Garter do in£/2g-- 
 land ; after orderly, Mr. BiiJJie, mafter of the horfe, duke dAlva, a Spa^ 
 niard, Dux Bavaria, the prince of Piedmont, the count of Hardenburgh. 
 
 I ftootl hard by the Emperor's table. He had four courfes ; he had 
 fed beef very good, roafl: mutton, baked hare : thefe be no fervice in 
 England. The Emj^eror hath a good face, a conftant look : he fed well 
 of a capon. 1 have had a better from mine holiefs Barnes many times 
 in my chamber. He and Fcrdinando eat together very handfomely, carv- 
 ing themfelves where they lift, without any curiofity. The Emperor 
 drank the beft that ever I fawj he had his head in the glafs five times 
 as long as any of us, and never drank lefs than a good quart at once of 
 RhcniJ}} wine. His chapel lung wonderful cunningly all the dinner- 
 while. Ferdinando is a very homely man j gentle to be fpoken to of any 
 man, and now of great power and riches. 
 
 The prince of Spain, I think, is not all in fo wife as his father. Maxi- 
 tnilian, Ferdinando s fon, now king of Boeme, is a worthy gentleman, 
 karned, wife, liberalj gentle, loved and praifed of all. 
 
 The
 
 [ 376 ] 
 The general council fliall begin at Trident the firfl: of next May: Car- 
 dinal Pool fhall be prefidcnt there, as it is commonly faid. I have feen 
 the Pope's bull already for it. 
 
 If Mr. Cheke would get a living of the king, ray lord AmbafTador 
 would fend me to fee all Italy, and other countries. So I believe I 
 would report the manner of the general council, and mark the feat of 
 the world, as well as fome other. I would truft to have the letters of 
 mofl ambafladors to their cities, that I might more freely fee things 
 than commonly EngHp^men do, that go into Italy. My lord hath pro- 
 mifed me to write to Mr. Cheke and others for tiic fame purpofe: and 
 I do not doubt but m.y -|- lady's grace, my milirefs, when Ihe Ihall con- 
 fider the honeft and true fervice that I did her, will help alfo the lame. 
 
 God's doclrine is fo earneft in this town, as I never faw. The church- 
 es be made like theatra, one feat higher than another, and round about 
 be ftages, as it is at the King's College buttery-door ; and in Chriflmas 
 the pulpit in the midft. 
 
 The table of the Lord ftands comely in the higher end. On Chrift- 
 mas-day I did communicate amongft them. There was above 1500 
 that did communicate that day. 
 
 Ye fee, good fellows and friends, how glad I am to talk with you, 
 remembering you always, wifliing oft to be amongft you, where is the 
 njoft pleafant life in the world. I lliall not take pleafure at things heie, 
 if I did not remember how gladly I fliall talk of them amongft you. 
 He that is able to maintain his life in learning at Camhridgey knoweth 
 not what a felicity he hath. I pray God I may meet with you there, 
 whom I left at St, Johns. I do falute you all : I name none, bccaufe 
 I would leave out none, and becaufe I love all. I do make you weary. 
 And thus fare you well all in the Lord, and pray for me. 
 
 AiiguJlaVindeUcorum, 20 yanuaiHi, 1551. 
 
 R. A.* 
 
 f The lady (afterwards queen) Elizabeth. 
 
 * This letter being very long, feveral little particulars are left out; but nothing that alters 
 or interrupts the fenfc. The reft are given entire. Mr. Baker. 
 
 2 Cariffimo
 
 [ 377 ] 
 CarlJJimo Amico fuo Edwardo Ravem, Socio Collegii Johannis. 
 
 I Am much beholden to my lord and my lady. I was yet, tliankcd 
 be God, never fick. This Rbenifi wine is fo gentle a drink, I can- 
 not tell how to do when I come home. 
 
 News ye look for, and few I dare write; Whether the Emperor go 
 againft the Tm-k, into Italy, into Spain, againil Magdeburgh, or come 
 down into Flanders, it is not yet certain. We will go with him whither- 
 foever he go, except he go to the Devil. The T^urk cometh with a great 
 power againft Himgary. Ferdinando, within thefe two days, departs 
 hence to meet the Turk aforehand, with his two noble fons, Maximilian 
 king of Boeme, and Ferdinando archduke of Aiiftria. Maximilian is a 
 prince peerlefs, except the king our mafter. He is twenty-three years 
 old, lufty, courageous, wife, hardy, liberal, gentle, learned, virtuous, 
 godly. He can fpeak eight tongues perfe6lly. I pray God he may give 
 the Turk an overthrow. He carrieth with him the hearts, good wills, 
 and prayers of rich and poor, and the commendation of all that is wife. 
 
 Fra. George, a ftout frier, and a bifhop of Tranfylvania, (look your 
 maps) gave the Turks an overthrow this winter. I faw Fra. Georges 
 letter written to the palatine of Rhine, requiring aid of the princes of 
 Germany. The letter was dated 1 2 January 1 55 1. If we go into Tiirky, 
 (I pray God we may) we lliall fail goodly down by noble Danubizo. 
 
 Pope Julie is a very king. He hath made a boy of his kitchen, an 
 upper keeper *, Cardinal de Monte, whereof he was cardinal himfclf. 
 Men fay now, Parturiant montes ; nafcetur Jimia turpis. 
 
 The Emperor laft Saturday in his chapel, within Tuccar's houfe, gcive 
 warning to all the electors and dates to be at the general council at Tri- 
 dent 1° Mali, where they fay Cardinal Pole ihall be prefident. But all 
 wife men think there will be no council at ail ; for the Pope purpofing 
 neither to amend his life, nor redrefs his do6lrine, may lofe more than 
 win thereby. The Germans were never more llouter in God's caiifc. 
 The Emperor is too wife and forecafting a prince, either to fall out wiui 
 
 * This I do not underftand. 
 
 3 C Germany
 
 [ 37S ] 
 Germany or the Pope ; for by a general council, he is like!y either to 
 make the Pope, of an uncertain friend, a ftedfaft enemy ; or elle the 
 Germans, of fecret rapines, open foes. Madcnburge be rtout perfons. 
 The duke of Mechcnburg, who they took prifoncr, is dead, as men fay ; 
 and it is even now reported, that Mauritius hath raifed his fiege, and 
 Madcnburge ftrongly furnilhed for two or three years. The Emperors 
 have made war againft that town, and have left their bodies buried in 
 Madenburge for monuments, and the town as a maid undefikd. Well ! 
 God fend quietncfs to his church. Men think there will be bufmefs 
 about Picmont and Milan fliortly. 
 
 England rxttd fear no outward enemies. The lufty lads verily be in 
 England. I have feen on a Sunday more likely men \\alking in St. Paul's 
 church than I ever faw yet in Augujla, where lieth an Emperor with a 
 garrifon, three kings, a queen, three princes, a number of dukes, ^c. 
 
 Here was juftes fince Candlemas. The tilt was in a flreet before the 
 Emperor's lodging. The houfes be eight or nine ftories high, that a 
 wonderful number of people may look out of windows. Their fpears 
 were fmall, their deckings were above meafure. The prince of Spain 
 jufted gently ; for he neither hurt himfelf, his horfe, his fpear, nor him 
 that he ran with. Noble Maximilian ran not. 
 
 If Vahan were an hone ft fellow, he might write at large of any thing ; 
 for he hath good leifure. 
 
 Well, to bid you farewell : The Turk is fet upon wai', the Pope upon 
 mifchief, the Emperor upon wifdom and policy, the Germans upon God's 
 do6lrine ; and the Staniards alio be the people of God, for all the world 
 hates them. 
 
 I ftudy Greek apace, but no other tongue j for I cannot. I truft to 
 fee England fliortly, God willing. I am forry that I hear no word from 
 Ireland. Commendations to all, becaufe I would leave out none; to 
 Dr. Haddon, father Bucer, John Scarlett, mine hoftefs Barnes. If ye 
 
 will fee Tuccars library, look on Mr. Pember's letter. From AugupOy 
 
 23 Feb. 1551. 
 
 I never yet received letter out of England, 
 
 To
 
 [ 379 ] 
 
 "To my ajfured and efpecial friend Mr. Edward Raven, fellcw in St. John'j 
 
 College, S. P. 
 
 I Cannot think, my good Edward Raven, that becaufe ye either for- 
 get me, or negle6l me, ye write nothing unto me. I fuppofe ye 
 know not how to lend. Send to Mr. Ela?id, and he may deliver them 
 at the White-Friers to Mr. Stephen Hales, and he can and will fend them 
 to me as fitly as you may fend to London. My good Thomas Leaver hath 
 not deceived me, but written a large letter unto me. I marvel that Mr. 
 Henry Stiland writes not. None of you lacks matter ; and your longeft 
 letters be mofl looked for. Write how good Dr. Maden doth, and all 
 his. If I might have had a flroke in biflioprics, I wifli, &c. and I 
 would I had been at home in England at that time. Commend me to 
 Mrs. Maden, and our Col. D. Maden. If he and I live together, he Ihall 
 befure of a Itedfaft loving friend. I alk nothing fo much as good-will ; 
 for all other goods I trufl to provide well enough myfelf. 
 
 Now, Edward, I pray you as him, whom I truft and love as myfelf, 
 mark the manner, towardnefs, and bringing up, z^c. and whether Dr. 
 Maden would be very glad thereof, or no ; and whether he is plain in 
 the matter, or double and wavering ; for if, &c. Ye perceive what I 
 mean, and add what ye lift ; for in this matter, or in any other, I truft 
 you as myfelf. Let no man read this letter, or fee it j be fecret and 
 clofe; and fo bid Dr. Maden. But I need not write this to you. As 
 you fend me word of the matter, fo fliall you hear from me : for as I 
 iliall know your affcdlions, fo then I will enter into the matter myfelf 
 more plainly. Ye need not let Dr. Maden fee this part of my letter ; 
 for now I would only prove by you what this part would think of the 
 matter, if it fhould be. I do not doubt but ye will both do it friendly, 
 and can handle it wifely ; for your counfcll, Edivard, and advice in that 
 mattei', furely I will follow. When you write, feal your letters fo, that 
 they may not be opened, cjfr. 
 
 Keep my chamber well : I heard fay fomc was in it ; I know not. 
 What you do I am content, and well content. If the mafter meddle 
 
 3 C 2 ill
 
 [ 38o ] 
 ill my Interefl:, I am not content ; and he had as good no. Be ftout. 
 Edward, and doubt not but I will and fhall be able to bear you out. 
 
 Purpofe, my Edivard, to live in godlinefs, and learning ; for that is 
 life only. I fee Emperors, kings, princes, &c. live not, but play their 
 lives upon ftages. Sufpicion, care, fear, need, and a dioufand miferies 
 and aVop/a, turn and tofs their lives. 
 
 Edivard, I purpofe, God willing, that you and I will live together, 
 and look and laugh at the world. I truft to you to provide for us both i 
 and that little that I fhall have, take it, and ufc it as your own. 
 
 I am very well, thanked be God, and in great favour with my lord 
 and lady. My lord furely is a v^'itty man, and ferves his God, his king, 
 and his country, nobly here. If you hear any thing to the contrary, be 
 bold, Edivard, of my word to reprove it. Yeftcrday we received letters 
 from the king's council, full of thanks and gentlenefs. 
 
 Write how my money is received there, and make mine account well -, 
 and think not that 20 /. is my debt to you, Edivard, but all that ever I 
 have. Write of Bucer, and what my friend Haddoii on him ; but that 
 I commit it to my Henry Ailand, to write at large of Bucer, becaufe you 
 fnall write of other matters. I truft. Will. 'Taylor, Jolon Bee, and Tho- 
 mas Wilfon, will not be behind. I pray God I may find thefe good fel- 
 lows at Cambridge ; for there is the life that no man knows, but he that 
 hath fometimes lacked it, and efpecially if one be able to live plentifully 
 there. 
 
 Will. Ireland and R. Calibret, in Eafter week, departed from Venice 
 towards England through France. I beflirew them they came not this 
 way ; and fo tell my good Ireland. And I truft, when he cometh home, 
 ye two will take any thing that I have as your own. I write not this 
 fo oft, Edivard, as I mean it faithfully, and from my heart j which 
 doth caufe me fo oft to repeat it. 
 
 I know ye will anfwer all my letters with one long one. Make one 
 packet of all your letters together, if any other will write, and fo fend 
 them. 
 
 Some
 
 [ 38i ] 
 Some news I muft needs write. 
 
 The 'Turk's armies entered Tranfylvania. The great king of 'Tariary 
 is the TurJiS flandard-bearer ; and the Turk hath made a league with 
 the Sopliy, which is king of Perfia. We fliall have hot war in Hungary ; 
 and would to God the Emperor would go thither. Ferdinmido, with his 
 noble fon king Maximilian^ were almoft both drowned of late in Danu- 
 hius, going to Vienna. 
 
 The Turk's preparation is very great per mare Mediterraneum, and the 
 Vejjetians of late have fent a great force into Corcyra. The prince An- 
 drew Doria hath chafed one of the Tiirkip captains, called Dragunt Bois, 
 into fuch a Hate upon Afric fliore, not far from the ifle of Zerbic, that 
 he is like to be taken, with all his fliips. 
 
 The matters of Parma and Italy, Ireland lliall tell you. Some of the 
 Pope's bifhops hath been at Tridentiim at the beginning of May, and 
 have deferred the council ad calendar Septemhris : but I believe it be ad 
 calendas Gracas. 
 
 Madebiirg be vengeable fellows : they have almoft marred all duke 
 Maurices men \ and yet they be as ilrong as ever they were. 
 
 This I wrote the i oth of May ; but this 1 2° Maii news are come, that 
 Andrew Doria is cither taken by the Turks, or at leafl his whole navy 
 loft. The certainty ye fliall fliortly know : and this day I hear fay, that 
 the ficge of Madehurg is quite difpatched. The French king fits upon 
 the realm of Na'varre. So many irons, and fo hot, be ill to handle. 
 
 I hear from Sturmius every week. 
 
 Hieronimus Wolfius, that tranflated Demojlhenet and Ifocrates, is in this 
 town. I am well acquainted with him, and have brought him twice to 
 my lord's to dinner. He looks very fimple. He tclleth me, that 
 one Bcrrheiis, that hath written well upon Ariftot. priorim, (sc. even 
 now is printing goodly commentaries upon Ari/lotle's Rhetoric. But 
 Sturmius will obfcure them all. 
 
 I 'Joachimus
 
 [ 382 ] 
 Joachimus Camerariiis hath two goodly books in printing at Bafil, 
 which he has been in hand withall many years. The one is commen- 
 taries upon Plautus : the other is called De Hominc ; a lexicon for all 
 things Greek and Latin belonging ad res humanus. 
 
 The godlinefs, and conftancy, and difcipline of this town, is incre- 
 dible. Three or four thoufand fmging at one church at a time, is but 
 a trifle. If a papiflical church have a dozen, it is well furnillied. Up- 
 on Shrove-Thurfday, at night, a wonderful * fort of Spaniards did whip 
 themfelvcs naked through the ftreets, deep with forrow. 
 
 Ye write not to me ; therefore I have no courage to do as I would, 
 or elfe I would write many things to you. 
 
 There was many companies, ^c. of the Emperor's houfc, 113, which 
 went at nine of the clock at night, accompanied with 800 torches. 
 No fmall fools bore torches that night, but very many great lords, in 
 gowns of crimfon and purple velvet, full of aggletts of gold. 
 
 The prince of Piedmont^ the duke oi Aha, one of the Emperor's coun- 
 cil, bore torches that night ; a wonderful 'E9i>^od^riTy.la. to live fo abo- 
 minable all the year j and then will needs make amends with God whe- 
 ther he will or not. 
 
 I could declare to you, as I wrote it to my lady of TVariaick : but I 
 cannot tell what to fay to you, ye be fo unkind : I have called Fa/jan 
 L. K. many times, that having fo much leifure, he never writes. But 
 I now judge him wifer than I. I know, Ed-ward, there is no fault in 
 you. 
 
 If ye will know how I do, I think I fliall forget all tongues but the 
 Greek afore I come home. I have read to my lord fince I came to Au- 
 gufla, whole Herodotus, five tragedies, three orations of Ifocrafes, {t\Q.\\- 
 teen orations of Demojihenes. For undcrftanding of the Italian, I am 
 meet well ; but llirely I drink Dutch better than I fpeak Dutch. Tell 
 Mr. D. Maden, I will drink with him now a caroufe of wine ; and 
 would to God he had a velfel of Rhenijh wine, on condition that I paid 
 
 • That is, a wonderfully numerous company. 
 
 40 J.
 
 [ 3^3 ] 
 40 s, for it : and perchance, when I come to Cambridge^ I will fo pro- 
 vide here, that every year I will have a little piece of Rbenijh wine. 
 
 I would fain hear from my good coufin Corners, We have word now, 
 that the Emperor cometh down into Flanders the 29th of May, 
 
 If I can get leave of my lord Ambaflador, furely, Edward, I will come 
 home at Michaelmas, 
 
 Commend me to all Joannenfes, and leave none out ; Mr. Pembery Mr. 
 Barivich, good Mr. D. Haddon, John Scarlett and his wife, and my good 
 hoflefs Barnes, whom I cannot forget : to all at Wittane. 
 
 I write this letter by piece-meals ; and this is the firft letter you have 
 
 had from me fince Candlemas. Burn this letter. Valete in Chrifto. 
 
 Yvom Augiifi a, i a. Mail, 155 1. R. A. 
 
 P. S. Bccaufe this paper is void, I cannot leave talking with you. 
 
 Madeburge, as it is faid, hath given within thefe thirteen days a great 
 overthrow and Daughter to Mauritius. 
 
 They fay that the marquis of Brandenburg^ planta pedis is fmitten off 
 with a gun by them of Madeburge, 
 
 They have gotten into the town many waggons laden with vi6luals. 
 They have ploughed up all the gardens, and Ibvvn wheat in them : they 
 have taken up the ftones in the ftreets throughout all the town, and 
 fown wheat in the ftreets, leaving only a little fpace to pafs from houfc 
 to houfe; and it is faid there is as goodly wheat in the city as ever grew. 
 This will be both a great help, but chiefly it keepeth the people from 
 idlenefs. I hear alfo, that Conjules Madcburgenfes be defuxd by Mauritius 
 to come to Wltenburge, to talk of conditions of peace. God fend peace, 
 but peace in Chrifl. 
 
 I would be glad to have a letter from Mr. D. Maden, and fo tell him. 
 Tell Henry Stlla?id, that I am well acquainted with Andreas Vefallus, that 
 
 noble
 
 [ 384 ] 
 
 noble phyfician, and, as Vahan faith, the beft phyfician in the world, 
 becaufe he give him pitcher-meat enough. I was never fick, thanked 
 be God, fince I came out of England. I pray you make Dr. Blithe par- 
 taker of this news of AndreiD Dorcas and Madeuurge, for he is a man 
 whom I always elleemed. 
 
 If my lady of Stifolk be at Cambridge, know if my lord AmbafTador's 
 foil, little Mr. Charles Mori fin, be there j and let not Edivard but go 
 and fee him ; and I pray you write diligently to me of him : and- if he 
 were not fo young, I would ye fliould bring him to my chamber, and 
 fhew the child fome pleafure ; at leaft often to do it for my fake, &c. 
 Write of his growing, of his wit, of his colour, &c. ; for it is a good 
 thing to pleaf^ another well. 
 
 Keep thefc letters fecret ; fhew them but by piece-meals : yet, Ed- 
 ivard, inquire of liim wifely, left my lady of Suffolk fufpeft it is done 
 to prove how he is handled ; and therefore write to me accordingly to 
 this purpofe of the child. But I need not warn you : ye can do me no 
 greater pleafure, for divers caufes. 
 
 Ye fee, Edward, how that with many pens, and divers inks, and fun- 
 dry times, I write this letter. I truft my will to write fliall match the 
 marrs I make in it. I fliall be forry if I hear tell Wajloington is gone from 
 Cambridge, and glad to hear tell that S. Wright, by diUgence, come to 
 that pricke *, whereunto his goodly vv'it doth call him. I fend my letters 
 to my brother and coufin Conicn open to you, that ye may both fee news, 
 and largely told, and alfo learn to lap up a letter. 
 
 The French fecretary told me this day, that there are news that duke 
 Maurice himfelf is fmitten with a gun : but there is no certainty. 
 
 Ye fee, Edward, how glad I am to talk with you, and loth to depart 
 from you, and therefore how confufedly ku\ « ^/ ofMvonUg I chop in 
 things as they come. 
 
 Good Thomas Leaver only hath not deceived me, but written to me 
 diligently. I will requite him, God willing. 
 
 * Priik, is 7nork, the point aimed at. 
 
 Seal
 
 [ 385 ] 
 
 Seal your letters up well, Edward, or elfe they will be read many 
 times ere they come hither. Make your packet of letters like a pack of 
 cards ; but keep the fame proportion as I do in my letters. 
 
 At the clofing up of this letter, word was brought, that the prince 
 of Spain (whereas to-morrow I fhould have gone into Italy, and fo 
 per mare Mediter. into Spain) is this day fallen fore fick of a phrenefis j 
 that he was twice this day let blood. Yeflerday my lord was with, and 
 bade him farewell ; and then I faw him in his privy chamber. 
 
 I purpofe within thefe kv&n days by the next poft to write again to 
 you, God willing. Now I bid you farewell in Chrifl, good Edward; 
 for my paper is fpent, and it is almoft midnight, and to-morrow I write 
 all day to the council. Saluta ottines. Shew Edward Cuntrell fome of 
 
 this news. From Augufta, 18 Maiiy ijji* 
 
 R. A. 
 
 Ti? my efpecial friends Mr. Edward Raven, ajid Mr. William Ireland, 
 
 fellows of St. John'i. 
 
 »S. P. in Chrijle fefus. 
 
 My good Mr. Raven and Ireland, 
 
 I Marvel not a little the caufe of your filence, and that fo many let- 
 ters cannot deferve one word again. I have written, that Mr. »S/t'- 
 phen Hales, in the White Eriers in London, can readily convey your let- 
 ters. I would fain know the (late of Cambridge, and my affairs there, 
 and efpecially how my friends do. I cannot think fo on you, that you 
 have forgot me. I meafure your good-will towards me by mine towards 
 you. I would hear of all, and namely of Mr. Madcn and his houfe, 
 Mr. P ember, Mr. Haddon, Mr. Barnwick, &c. 
 
 The Turk is in Hungary with two hofts ; the one of one fide Danubius, 
 the other of the other fide j 3000 horfcmen in either : his navy of gal- 
 leys at Mileta Infula, where St. Paul was caft up, 28, 
 
 3 D The
 
 [ 3S6 ] 
 The French give the bifliop of Rome's men great overthrows at Tarma 
 and Mirandola, 
 
 The Emperor, 27 Augufll, hath banifhed the preachers proteftant of 
 Augitjla the whole empue. They were ten preachers, that all went hence 
 the 28th of Augujh This day fchoolmafters are called before the council. 
 
 I have written at large to Mr. Leaver^ for he only hath written to 
 me ; and .yet I would have written at large to you, if I had leifure ; for 
 I neither can nor will forget you, whatfoever unkindnefs I find in you. 
 Yet I do not think it unkindnefs, but rather fome juft ftop that ye have. 
 As for you, Ireland, ye have been but a little while at home ; and I 
 know ye be flow to write of old ; therefore I can better excufe you. 
 As for my Edward Raveji, I know there is juft occafion, or elfe I had 
 had letters ere this. 
 
 My lord is merry, and one that doth God and his prince as good fer- 
 vice as ever did ambaflador. Mr. Wotton cometh home, and we tarry ; 
 and methinks 1 know what your Papifls at home have talked of that 
 matter. 
 
 I befeech you, leave not Cambridge for none occafion. I never loved 
 it fo well as I do at this day. I am a great man in DemoJlbeueSy and I 
 truft to make him better acquainted with Cambridge than he is there yet. 
 
 Keep my chamber, books, and fluff well. I would gladly hear that 
 Richard Ajkky did well. Faiewell in Chrift. With hafte, the laft of 
 Augii/f, 1551. 
 
 I'o my ajjured friends the fellows of St. John'i college. 
 S. P. in Chrijlo Jcju. 
 
 IF I fliould as often have written to you, as I have remembered that 
 good fcllowlhip and my duty boundcn, and my good-will bent to 
 every one of you, ye fliould receive every day letters from me. 
 
 Of
 
 [ 3^7 ] 
 
 Of my journey I wrote plentifully unto you all, and fince oft to Mr- 
 Raven of matters here, and alfo to Mr, Leaver, which ye read, as I guefs, 
 in Sturbridge fair time. That honefl company and quiet aboding I daily 
 remember, and wifli me often among you, and if it were but a problem 
 fire-time ; not becaufe I wifli me from hence, being witii fo good a lord 
 and lady, but for the good-will I owe to the houfe, to you all and every 
 one. I take pleafure in writing this letter, that is, in talking with you, 
 in being at home for a while in St. Jolms, from whence my heart can 
 never be abfent. How glad I would be of two words from any of that 
 houfe, none of you doth feel, that hath not been in like place. I never 
 heard from Cambridge yet. I am content to put the fault on carriage, 
 and do not miftruft your friendfliips. 
 
 Mr. Leaver, of all the refl, either is more friendly, or more happy 
 to me. I have two long letters from him. 
 
 Becaufe the Emperor goeth from Augnfta this next week towards In- 
 fpruck, called in Latin Oenopons, at the foot of the Alps, and after, we 
 think, to Milan, and fo perchance to Naples and Sicily, if the French do 
 not trouble our journey j therefore I thought to write in few woids, as 
 leifure, which is little, will give me leave. 
 
 The Turkip cometh in with might and main by land and fea. His 
 quarrel by land into Hmigary is this. Being three kings in Hungary, 
 the Turk chief, nhxt Ferdinando, the third Joannes Vaivoda, king of Tran- 
 fylvania, which is tributary to the T^urk. Joannes Vaivoda is dead, leav- 
 ing a young prince to be ruled by the queen his mother, and two go- 
 vernors. The one is called Fra. George, a frier, a bifiiop, a papill:, and 
 therefore this laft day made a cardinal. He is wife in council, and hardy 
 in war. The other is called Petrovitz, a count, a wife and worthy gen- 
 tleman, and one that favoureth God's word truly. Fra. George hath 
 laboured fecretly this twelvemonth to make Ferdinando king of Tranfyha- 
 nia ; fo that the young prince Vaivoda be provided for honourably in 
 another place, eaher for him to maintain. The queen and cownt Petrovitz 
 did not incline at the firft to Ferdinand, loth to fall out with the 'Turk, 
 which doth keep his promife moft (irmly wjiere he doth make it, and 
 doth revenge molt cruelly him that doth break it. The Turk perceives 
 
 3 I^ 2 this
 
 [ 388 ] 
 this piacllce all this year, and therefore laboured the queen not to break 
 with him, promifuig her aid and help, as to his tributary, againll: all 
 perfons that would do the young king wrong. At the laft, Fra. George 
 hath brought the queen and count Peirovitz to Ferdinands mind, and 
 came nil three to the king with all their power. This done, foldicrs were 
 o-athered on both fides. The bafia of Biuia (look where Buda ftands in 
 your map of Danube) was the TurKs general for a while. He came 
 this fummer within fix Dutch miles of Vienna, and gave the Hungarians 
 a foul overthrow. He killed a great fort ; for of five enfigns that went 
 from home with Ferdinand's, there returned home but fifty perfons ; 
 and he carried into T'urkey with him 7000 Chriftian fouls, men, wo- 
 men, and children ; for they bid no better booty than to carry men away : 
 they ranfom few, but kill or carry away all. Ferdinando's fide, after 
 this, gave the Turks an overthrow ; fo that moft cruelty hath been ufed 
 on both fides. A noble gentleman of Ferdinando's court, which hath 
 ferved floutly againfl: the Turks, was taken and brought to the bafia of 
 Buda. Great ranfom was proffered, but none received. Certain great 
 dogs were kept hungry, and after many fpites and villanics done to the 
 gentleman in prifon, he was brought forth, and tormenters appointed 
 did caft gobbets fo cut to the dogs, that eat them in the gentleman's 
 fight. When fo many gobbets were cut off, and caft to the dogs, as 
 life would afford, then the dogs were let loofe, and fo tore him all in 
 pieces. After this the Hungarians took three lords of Turkey : 6000 du- 
 cats were ofi^ered for their ranfom ; but word was fent to the bafia, that 
 if he himfelf came to their hands, as they trufled he fhould, all the gold 
 in Turkey fliould not fave him : and becaufe no Turks will eat fwines 
 flefli, they would prove if fwine would eat Turks fiefli ; and fo kept up 
 fwine from meat, which very cruelly devoured the Turks up. But now 
 Beglierbeglie Mahomet, that hath married the Turk's daughter, and is 
 general ruler of all the Tirk's dominions in Europe, whole Thrace, Mace^ 
 donia, and Greece, is come into Hungary with tu o main hofts, of either 
 fide Danubius one. He hath written fliarp letters to Fra. George, accuf- 
 ing him for the ftir of this war : and even yefterday came word to this 
 city, that Beglierbeglie hath won a great city from Ferdinando, and hath 
 cut in pieces all the ChrilVian folk in it, and cometh on, bringing great 
 terror to all Hungary and Anftria, and efpccially to Fra. George, that he 
 knoweth not which way to turn him ; infomuch that many that came 
 
 to
 
 [ 3S9 ] 
 
 to the king, be gone to the Turk's fide. All Chriftendom ought to pray 
 to God, as a moft merciful Father, to caft the rod in the fire : for even 
 thus flands the cafe of Hungary. 
 
 Maximilian, the king of Boeuie, Ferdinandds eldefl: fon, is much mifled 
 in this war, being now in Spain to fetch home his wife : for an Hunga- 
 rian told me, where his father fliould have one foldier for his monev, he 
 fiiould have three for his love and good-v\'ill owing him. The Hun^a- 
 riatis hope it fliall be Maximilian that fliall drive the Turk out of Hun- 
 gary : and it may well be fo ; for he is, as I wrote once, I trow, to Mr. 
 Raven, a goodly perfon of ftature and favour, liberal, gentle, wife, 
 learned, fpeaking eight tongues, hardy, painful, loved of all, exxcpt 
 where envy repines ; pleafant without wildnefs, grave without pride, 
 lowly to every one, and reverenced of all, and one whom all Germany^ 
 proteftants and others, love and commend. 
 
 The Turk's quarrel by fea is this, ylndrew Dorea took the city of 
 AlgierSy which ftandeth in jifric, from Dragunt Rais, a Turk, anno 
 1550. The great Turk required this city again. Whether a promife of 
 the delivery was either not made or not kept, I cannot tell ; but the 
 Turk's navy is come fo big, that they and the French rule all Jtiare Medi- 
 terraneum. When they were once part Fubcea, and the point of fum- 
 mum promontorium, we had letters every week from Venice of tliem. 
 They are 132 great gallies, befides a huge galleot, full of wonderful 
 great ordnance, wherein, as one that was in it faid, there was in it 
 4000 faddles of men of arms. This great navy brought fuch terror 
 with it, that the Venetians were fain afrefli to double man and victual 
 Corcyra. Sicilia was afraid, Naples was afraid, Rome was afraid, Genoa 
 was afraid, all mare Mcditerrafieum did tremble, whither this great navy 
 would go. At laft they light upon St. Paul's ifle of Melita, now Malta, 
 kept by the knights of Rhodes. Whether they would not or could not 
 then win it, from thence they departed and came to Tripoli, a Chriftian 
 city in Africa, over-againft Sicilia, kept by many knights of Rhodes, 
 and well manned and vidlualled. The Turks gave cruel alfaults, that 
 the gun-lhot was heard to Malta. They within aflced rclpite for cer- 
 tain days, and if aid came not from Malta, then to deliver tlie city. 
 Refpite was granted, and in this while they conveyed out of Tripoli 
 
 2000
 
 [ 39^ ] 
 200O of old men, women, and chiklren, which came all Into the Turk's 
 hands. After that the city could not hold out ; they gave up upon con- 
 dition to have their lives. The Turk came in, and thirty knights of 
 Rhodes, mofl part Frenchmen, were fent to Malta : 200 of the flrongeft 
 foidiers were put in galleys, and all the reft, young and old, were killed 
 without mercy. The Turk's promife was laid unto him, and he bid him 
 lay the blame on thofe that had taught Turh to break promife. Thus 
 was Tripoli won this laft Augujl j fuch a haven as fcarce is like /;; mare 
 Mcditerran. which will receive 300 fliips. 
 
 Tripoli may keep Africa from vifluals, and is like to be an ill neigh- 
 bour to Sicilia and Italy. The thirty knights of Rhodes went to Malta ; 
 but the great mafter caUing a chapter, hath baniflied them, as both 
 falfe and French. They failed from thence, and by rage of water was 
 driven upon Sicilia, and by the viceroy are taken every man, and caft 
 into prifon. 
 
 We looked that the Turk would ftraitway have fet upon Malta; but 
 the whole navy is gone over into Sinum Ambracium, where Augujlus gave 
 Anthony the overthrow ; and there, as we hear fay, have taken up their 
 lodging for this winter. News were brought hither, that many of the 
 Turk's galleys were drowned by over-thwarting the feas ; feme faid for- 
 ty, fome fixteen, fome nine : but the ambaflador of Venice faith, that he 
 heard in no letter that any fliip took harm. And thus much of the 
 Turk's ftirs botk by fea and land, as is moft credibly known and con- 
 firmed to be true in this town and court. 
 
 Now lAr.vtv uith '^sa, the pope is in a wonderful chafe : he abhors Ger- 
 many ; he is thruft out of France -, he miftrufts the Emperor ; and yet 
 the Emperor hath more caufc to miftruft him : the houfe of Farnefe have 
 robbed him of his treafure ; the ficge of Parma is given up, and Miran- 
 dolo cares not for him ; his own houfliold wax Lutherans ; none' will 
 come to his confpiracy at Trc7it but fuch as are fworn tliat no good fliall 
 be done there ; and if he do not hang himfclf before O^lobcr is paft, he 
 comcth to Bcnonia ; arid if we go into Italy, and happen to meet with 
 him, as we are hkely, I will defcribe him to you from top to toe. 
 
 Now
 
 o 
 
 [ 391 ] 
 
 Now to come to qidcquid delirant reges, ^ vivre Ss Xeco? : I befhj'cw 
 their hearts, cither becauic they begin now, or elfe becaufe they begin 
 no fooner, whilft the weather was warmer ; for now we mufl: over the 
 cold ^Ips, even now full of fnow. The Emperor doth little yet ; but 
 the French be a great deal aforehand. 
 
 Of fliips taken in thofe feas towards you, ye know ; and the prior of 
 Capua the fame time came to Barcelona in Spain, and ufing the cloak of 
 the Emperor's arms, came quietly into the haven, and took away with 
 him, in fight of the Spaniards, feven goodly galleys. The French have 
 a great hoft in Piedmont, and have won divers cities, towns, and caftles, 
 and have well manned them, as St. Damian Circufco, Cbeir, &c. This 
 Cheir is bigger than Norwich, as they lay that have feen it. The Emperor 
 took a foul injury in it ; for the citizens oj)ened the gates to the French, 
 and they will keep the gates the fafter dole againft the imperials, left 
 they drink for this treachery. We look that all the war will be in Pied- 
 mont, and that the Emperor and French king will be both there in per- 
 fon. We imperials crack France out of meafure, that it fliall be beat 
 down of all fides with one mighty army out of Spain, one other out of 
 Flanders, the third out of Italy. If I have convenient time and carriage, 
 I will not fail to let you know the caufe of all thefe flirsj and will be 
 very glad to mark them, and as ready to write them unto you. The 
 Emperor hath many irons in the fire, and every one able alone to keep 
 him work enough j the T'urk by land and fea j the French fitting on his 
 Ikirts on all fides, belidcs Madcburge, C^c. 
 
 The Emperor is wife enough, and it ftands him in hand even now to 
 be fo. The Ti/rk nor the French can either be weak enemies, or fure 
 friends: and therefore as [tol Madenburg, the duke oi Saxony, and the 
 landgrave, there is even this day fredi talk, that the Emperor will ufe tlie- 
 gentler choice of thofe two which the father gave to Pontius his fon. Ye 
 know the ftory in Livy -, for that way is not to be taken, qua nequc arnicas 
 parat, neque inimicos tollit : ar.d then fore ambafiadors from AkxYq Maurice, 
 the marquis of Brandenburg, Breme, and other fea-cities, from the kings 
 of Denmark and Pole, are within fix miles of this town ; and, as men think, 
 they are come not without the Emperor's means. If I Ihoukl talk of 
 
 Madcburg^
 
 [ 392 ] 
 Madchurg at length, it fliould require more than a letter. They arc 
 tliought more flrong and (tout than they were this day twelvemonth. 
 It is laid the Emperor required three perfons of Madcbiirg, their chief 
 cai)tain, the count of Munsfelt, their chief preacher, FlaJus Illyricus^ 
 and another : but the town would not lofe one hair of their heads j and 
 fo they fay all are forgiven. In this matter of Madeburg, and the two 
 princes captives, I cannot as yet afllire you the truth ; for the matters 
 be now in brewing : but, God willing, ye Hiall know fliortly. 
 
 How the good preachers were baniflied this town the 26th of Augujl 
 laft, I wrote at lai ge to Mr. Leaicr. This bufinefs, if it were to do, 
 it fliould not be done now. The Emperor's council lay the doing to the 
 heads of the town ; and they lay it again to the bifliop of Arras, the 
 Emperor's chief counfellor. The papills churches be as defolate as ever 
 they were ; and yet here be more layers than hearers of mafs. The 
 proteftants conftantly will come to neither. They have obtained to 
 chrirten in Dutch as they did, and do marry without mafs. Every one 
 in his own houfe, morning and evening, fee their whole houfliold kneel 
 down, and fing pfalms, and the good man doth read a chapter of Scrip- 
 ture. Now proteftant preachers are fought for -, but none dare come, 
 for fear of the former handling. 
 
 Ye are weary, I am fure, of my long talk : therefore I bid you all 
 farewell, and I pray you pray for me. Commend me to all my friends 
 in the town. I count good Mr. Maden, Mr. Pembcr, and Mr. Zone, St. 
 John's men. Commend me to Mr. Redman, Mr. Haddon, Mr. Blythcy 
 Mr. Sanders, Mr. Car, Mr. Barivick, &c. ; for if I fliould name all that 
 I would, my paper would not ferve. I would I were at your problem- 
 fire when you read this letter ; then I would defirc Mr. Downes, and Mr. 
 LeBor, to remit the fcholars a day of noule and punifliment, that they 
 misht remember me, that can forget none of that houfe, praying God 
 to make them all virtuous and learned, and cfpecially in the Greek tongue. 
 Fare ye well in Chrift. From Augufla^ 12 October, 1551. 
 
 Yours, R. A. 
 
 6 ChariJJimis
 
 [ 393 ] 
 
 Cbanffimh amlch meis Edwardo Raveno, et GuUelmo Irelando, focies collegii 
 
 Dhi yoannis Rvang. 
 
 Y good Raven and Ireland^ I leave chiding you, but I will not 
 leave loving you, wi'ite you or write you not. I will be your 
 friend, and you Ihall be mine, whether you will or not. 
 
 By Mr. Leai:ers letters you fliall know how all things fland here, of 
 the "Tjirks, of the imperials, of the French, and of Germany. I have not 
 leifure to write twice of one matter ; therefore I will him to communi- 
 cate to you, and then you may do fo to other my friends, as Mr. Maden, 
 Mr. Blytlx, Mr. Haddon, &c'. 
 
 Stur?nius goeth forward in Rhetor. Arijlot. The firft book is fent to 
 Mr. Cheke, which was puipofed to me, but I had rather it fliould be fent 
 to him. Mr. John Hales, my fmgular friend, fent me a piece of his 
 rhetoric this week. I never faw any thing more to be compared with 
 antiquity, and lo I truO; Mr. Haddon will judge. Vahan is writing it out 
 a-pace : if he finifli it before the poft go, ye do receive it ; if not now, 
 ye fhall have it ihortly. Stur?nius is in hand v^ith Analyfis Ciceron. fucli 
 a book as I believe was never fet out in our time. Nobili/Jmi Worterl 
 fratres do give him to find him writers 4000 crowns a-year, for four 
 years. Stiirmius telleth Mr. Hales, that a better and more plentiful ana- 
 lyfis might be made of the Greek tongue ; and he would make it, if he 
 had help towards the cofbs. Mr. Hales will write to many of the nobles 
 in it, as he writes unto me; but I wrote unto him, that temporal lords 
 will rather win this praife, than bifliops be brought to bear the charges. 
 It were a fliame if England lack this honour, and all learning this profit. 
 
 Ye muft either content ye for news with Mr. Leavers letters, or feed 
 ye with the hope of my next to come. 
 
 I am forry Mr. Langdak is gone from that college, although he did 
 diflent from us in religion ; yet we know that God calkth men at div^ers 
 liours at his pleafure. 
 
 3 E Commend
 
 *l 
 
 I 394 ] 
 Commend me to good Mr. Pewbcr, and tell him I truft he received 
 my letter in Lent. Tell him alfo, that yefterday I favv a new coin, 
 which I would he had, for all the old he hath. It was made in this 
 houfe where we lie, at Jnfprtick. It is very like a great Suffolk cheefe as 
 any cometh to Sturbridge fair, but fomewhat thicker. It is even (o 
 heavy as two men can bear. There was molten for it, of fine filver, 
 (for I faw the making of it) 6400 guilders : every guilder is worth 5 s. 
 Englip and more, except our money be well amended. 
 
 Noble Maximilian and his wife be come out of Spait:, and be in Italy 
 coming hitherward. This country of Tyrol, where we be, which is un- 
 der Fenlinando, doth prclent this goodly coin to queen Mary, Maximi' 
 Hans wife, which is the emperor's daughter, becaufe flie was never in 
 Germany afore. This rich gift is given for Maximiliaiis fake, whom all 
 men love above meafure. There is of one fide of this coin all the arms 
 belonging lo Maximilian and his wife ; on the other flands queen Mary 
 his wife's face, mofl lively printed, as the old antiquities be. Above 
 her image be.thefe words in Latin: Serenijf. Duci Regince Boemice, ex 
 familid Rcgitm Hijpania, et Archidiiciim Aujiria progenita jamprimum in 
 Germaniam venienti 'T'yrolietifium munus, 1551. And although I favour 
 Maximilian, yet I would Mr. Pember had it in his chamber. Tell Mr. 
 Pember alfo, I do not forget old coins. I have the fairell: now that 
 ever he faw in filver, and Domitian aim anchor d Aldi, the Fuggeri 
 have pecks of them. There is a worthy merchant called Mr. Rem, 
 v;hich ha<l me into his houfe, and let me fee a wonderful fight Greek and 
 Latin. He gave me four at my coming from Augufta : the firft was 
 Sulla Ccf.; on the other fide, C. Pompcius Riifus F. Co/.: the fecond 
 had on the one fide, Fafces Imperii -, on the other fide, an elephant, and 
 under his feet Qcfar : the third had on the one fide, Cajar. Imp. Pont. 
 Max. III. i'ir. : the fourth, a goodly face, and about it M. Brutus Imp. ; 
 on the other fide, two daggers, and in the midft a thing like a bell, ha- 
 ving written underneath, Id Martis. 1 bought alfo at Auguffa a ftrange 
 old face, with long hair ; on the other fide, in Greek, nrPPOT BAZI- 
 AEOj:. Mr. Rem Ihewed me alfo a coin, with a rude face in filver, 
 thick, and about it, in Greek, (piXiTTTrou. 1 
 
 Commend
 
 [ 395 ] 
 
 Commend me to good Mr. Pemher, and all my friends, beeaufe I 
 will leave out none. Commend me to my hoftefs Barnes, Dr. Maden, 
 &c. to all at Witt am. I tell you once again, Mr. Stephen Hales at Lo?i- 
 
 don can convey your letters. Farewell. My lord calls. From In- 
 
 fpriick, the lyxh oi November, 1551. R. A. 
 
 I am glad Vahan writes to you. By him you fhall know more. Gen- 
 tle Raven and Ireland, look to my duties for the Greek tongue and my 
 oratorfliip. I would be loth but to hear tell the fcholers went forward 
 therein. 
 
 N I S.
 
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