Chapter 4

¶ And what is that that properly belongeth vnto man? Verelye to lyue according to reason, and for that is called a reasonable creature, and diuided frõ those that cã not speake And what is most destrucciõ to mã? Folyshenes. He wyll therfore be taught nothyng soner then vertue, and abhorre from nothynge sooner then folyshenesse, if so be the diligence of the parentes wyll incontinent set aworke the nature whyle it is emty. But we here meruelous complantes of the common people, howe readye the nature of chyldr[en] is to fal to vyce, & how hard it is to drawe them to the loue of honesty. They accuse nature wrongfullye. The greatest parte of thys euyll is thorowe oure owne faute, whyche mar the wittes w^t vyces, before we teache them vertues. And it is no maruell if we haue them not verye apte to learne honestye, seyng they are nowe already taught to myschiefe. And who is ignoraunt, that the labour to vnteache, is both harder, and also goth before teachyng. Also the common sorte of men do amysse in thys pointe thre maner of wayes: eyther because they vtterlye neglecte the bryngynge vp of chyldren, or because they begynne to fashion their myndes to knoweledge to late, or because they putte them to those men of whome they maye learne that that muste be vnlerned agayne. Wee haue shewed those fyrst maner of men vnworthi to be called fathers, and that they very litle differ from suche as sette theyr infantes out abrode to be destroyed, and that they oughte worthely to be punyshed by the lawe, which doth prescribe this also diligentlye by what meanes chyldren shuld be brought vp, & afterwards youth. The second sorte be very manye, wyth whom nowe I specially entend to striue. The thyrd doth amysse two wayes, partly thorowe ignoraunce, partly thorowe retchlesnes. And syth it is a rare thynge and a shame to be ignoraunte to whome thou shuldest put oute thy horse, or thy grounde to be kepte, howe muche more shamefull is it not to knowe whom thou shuldeste put thy chylde in truste wythal, beynge the dearest part of thy possessions? Ther thou beginnest to lerne that, that thou canst not skyll well of thy selfe, thou axest counsell of the beste seene: here thou thynkeste it maketh no matter to whom thou committest thy sonne. Thou assignest to thy seruantes, eueri man his office that is metest for hym. Thou tryest whom thou mayest make ouersear of thy husbandrie, whome to appoint to the kitchen, and who shulde ouersee thy housholde. And it there be any good for nothynge, a slug, a dulhead, a foole, a waster, to hym we cõmit oure childe to be taught: and that thynge whych requireth the cunningest man of all, is put to y^e worst of our seruauntes. What is vntoward, if here menne haue not an vntoward mind? Ther be some whych for theyr couetous mynd be afeard to hyre a good master, and geue more to an horskeper then a teacher of the chyld. And yet for al that they spare no costly feastes, nyght & day thei playe at dice, and bestowe moch vpon houndes & fooles. In thys thynge onely they be sparers and nigardes, for whose cause sparinge in other thynges myght be excused. I wold ther wer fewer whych bestowe more vpon a rotten whore, then vpon bringyng vp of their chylde. Nothyng sayth the Satir writer stãdeth the father in lesse cost then the sonne. Peraduenture it wyll not be much amisse here to speake of y^e day dyet, which longe ago was muche spok[en] of in y^e name of Crates. They report it after thys fashion. Alow to thy coke .x. po[un]d, to thy physicion a grote, to thy flatterer .v. tal[en]ts, to thy co[un]seller smoke, to thy harlot a talent, to thy philosospher .iii. halfp[en]s. What lacketh to this preposterous count, but to put to it y^t the teacher haue .iii. farthings: Howbeit I thinke y^t the master is meant vnder y^e name of philosopher. Wh[en] one that was riche in money, but nedy of wit axed Aristippus what wages he wold axe for teching his son, & he answered .v.C. grotes. You axe quod he to great a s[um]me: for w^t this much money a man maye bye a seruaunte. ¶ Then the philosopher very properly againe: but now, quod he, for one thou shalt haue two: a sonne mete to do the seruice, and a philosopher to teache thy sonne. Further if a man shulde bee axed, whether he wold haue hys onlye sonne dead to wynne an hundred horses, if he had any crumme of wysedome, he wold answer (I thinke:) in no wyse. Whi geuest thou then more for thi horse? why is he more dilig[en]tly tak[en] hede to then thy sonne? why geuest thou more for a fole, then for the bringyng vp of thy chylde? Be frugall and sparynge in other thynges, in thys poynt to be thryfty, is no sparynge but a madnes. There be other agayn that take good heede in chosyng a master, but that is at the desyre of their friendes. They lette passe a meete and cunninge man to teache chyldren, and take one that can no skyll, for none other cause, but that he is set forwardes at the desyres of their friendes. Thou mad man, what meanest thou? In saylynge thou regardest not the affeccion of th[em] y^t speake good wordes for a man, but thou setteste hym to the helme, whych can beste skyll to gouerne the shyp: in the sonne, wh[en] not only he hymself is in ieopardy, but the father and mother and all the housholde, yea and the common wealth it selfe, wylte thou not vse like iudgement? Thy horse is sicke, whether wilt thou sende for a leche at the good word of thy friend, or for his c[un]ning in lechcraft. What? Is thy sonne of lesse price vnto the then thi horse? Yea settest thou lesse by thy selfe then by thy horse? This beyng a foule thynge in meane citizens, how much more shamefull is it in great menne? At one supper a dashynge agaynst the mischeuous rocke of dice, and so hauynge shypwrake, thei lose two hundred po[un]d, and yet they saye they be at coste, if vpon theyr son they bestowe aboue .xx. pounde. No man can geue nature, eyther to himselfe, or to other: howbeit in this poynte also the dilig[en]ce of the par[en]tes helpeth much. The fyrst poynt is, that a mã chose to hym selfe a wyfe that is good, come of a good kynred, and well broughte vp, also of an healthfull bodie. For seyng the kynred of the body and mynde is very straytlye knytte, it can not be but that the one thynge eyther muste be holpen or hurte of the other. The nexte is, that when the husbande dothe hys duetye to get chyldren, he do it neither beyng moued wyth anger, nor yet drunken, for these affeccions go into the chylde by a secrete infeccion. A certen philosopher seemed to haue marked that thyng properly, whyche seynge a yonge man behauinge hym selfe not verye soberlie, it is meruell quod he, but if thy father begat the wh[en] he was dronke. Verily I thynke this also maketh greatli to the matter, if the mother at all times, but specially at y^e time of concepcion and byrthe, haue her mynde free from all crimes, and be of a good cõscience. For ther can be nothyng eyther more quiet or more merye then such a mynd. The thyrd point is y^t the mother noryshe with her own brestes her infãt, or if ther hap any necessitie that it maye not so be, let be chos[en] a nurse, of a wholsome body, of pure mylke, good condicions, nether drunk[en], not brauler, nor lecherous. For the vices that be tak[en] euen in y^e very beginninges of lyfe, both of the bodye and of the mynd, abyde fast vntyl we be olde. Some men also write y^t it skilleth muche who be his sucking felowes & who be his playfelowes. Fourthlye that in due season he be set to a chosen scholemaster alowed by all mens witnes, and many waies tryed. You must be dilig[en]t in chosyng, and after go thorowe with it. Homer disaloweth wher many beare rule: and after the olde prouerbe of the grekes. The multitude of captaines dyd lose Caria. And the oft[en] chaunginge of physicions hath destroyed manye. There is nothynge more vnprofitable, then often to chaunge y^e master. For by that meanes the web of Penelopes is wou[en] and vnwouen. But I haue knowen childr[en], whych before they wer .xii. yere old, had more th[en] .xii. masters, and that thorowe the rechelesnesse of their par[en]tes. And yet after this is done must the par[en]tes be dilig[en]t. They shall take heede bothe to the master & to the sonne, neither shall they so caste away al care from th[em] as they are wonte to laye all the charge of the doughter vpon the spouse, but the father shall oftentyme looke vpon them, and marke whether he profite, remembrynge those thynges whych the olde men spake both sagely and wittely, that the forehead is set before the hynder part of the head: and that nothyng sooner fatteth the horse then the masters eye, nor that no dunge maketh the ground more fruitfull then the masters footyng. I speake of yonge ons. For as for the elders it is meete sometyme that they be sente far out of oure syght, whiche thing as it were a graffing, is inespecially wont to tame yonge mens wyttes. Emonge the excellent vertues of Paulus Emilius, this also is praised, that as oft[en] as he might for his busines in the cõmon welth he wolde be at the exercises of hys sõnes. And Plinie the nepheu was contente nowe and then to go into the schole for his friendes sonnes sake, whom he had taken vpon him to brynge vp in good learnynge. ¶ Furthermore, that that wee haue spoken of nature is not to be vnderstand one wayes. For there is a nature of a common kinde, as the nature of a man in to vse reason. But ther is a nature peculier, eyther to hym or him, that properly belõgeth either to thys man or that, as if a man wolde saye some menne to be borne to disciplines mathematical some to diuinitie, some to rethorike some to poetrie, and some to war. So myghtely disposed they be and pulled to these studies, that by no meanes they canne be discoraged from them, or so greatly they abhor them, that they wyl sooner go into the fyre, then apply their mynde to a science that they hate. I knewe one familierlye whych was verye well seene both in greke and latin, and well learned in all liberall sciences, when an archbyshop by whõ he was found, had sende hither by hys letters, that he shulde begynne to heare the readers of the lawe agaynst hys nature. After he had cõplayned of this to me (for we laye both together) I exhorted hym to be ruled by his patron, saying that it wold wexe more easily, that at the beginning was harde, and that at the least waye he shulde geue some part of hys tyme to that study. After he had brought oute certen places wonderfull folyshe, which yet those professours halfe goddes dyd teache their hearers wyth greate authoritie, I answered, he shuld set light by them, & take out that whyche they taught well: and after I had preased vpon hym wyth many argumentes, I am quod he so minded, that as often as I turne my selfe to these studies, me thinketh a swerde runneth thorowe my hert. Menne that bee thus naturallye borne, I thynke they be not to bee compelled against their nature, lest after the common saying we shuld leade an Oxe to wreastlynge, or an Asse to the harpe. Peraduenture of this inclinacion you may perceiue certen markes in lytle ons. There be that can pronosticate such thynges by the houre of hys birthe, to whose iudgemente howe muche ought to be geuen, I leaue it to euerye mans estimacion. It wolde yet muche profite to haue espyed the same assoone as can be, because we learne those thynges most easelie, to the which nature hath made vs. I thinke it not a very vayne thing to coniecture by y^e figure of the face and the behaueour of the rest of the bodie, what disposicion a man is of. Certes Aristotle so greate a philosopher vouchsaued to put oute a booke of phisiognonomye verye cunnynge and well laboured. As saylyng is more pleasaunt when wee haue borne the wynd and the tyde, so be we soner taught those things to the whych we be inclined by redines of wyt. Virgyll hath shewed markes wherby a man may know an oxe good for y^e plough, or a cowe meete for generacion & encrease of cattell. Beste is y^t oxe that looketh grimly. He techeth by what tok[en]s you may espie a yong colt mete for iusting. Straight waye the colt of a lusty courage trãpleth garlic in the fieldes .&c. for you know the verses. They are deceyued whyche beleue that nature hathe geuen vnto man no markes, whereby hys disposiciõ maye bee gathered, and they do amisse, that do not marke them thar be geuen. Albeit in my iudgemente there is scante anye discipline, but that the wyt of man is apt to lerne it, if we continue in preceptes and exercise. For what may not a man learne, when an Eliphant maye be taught to walke vpõ a corde, a bear to daunse, and an asse to playe the foole. As nature therefore is in no mannes owne hande, so wee haue taught wherin by some meanes we maye helpe nature. But good orderynge and exercise is altogether of our own witte and diligence. How much the waye to teach doth helpe, thys specially declareth, that we se daylye, burdens to be lyft vp by engins and arte, whiche otherwyse coulde bee moued by no strength. ¶ And how greatly exercise auaileth that notable saying of the old wise man, inespeciallye proueth, that he ascribeth all thynges to diligence and study. But labour, say they, is not meete for a tender age, & what readines to lerne can be in children whych yet scarse knowe that they are men: I wyll answere to bothe these thinges in few wordes. How agreeth it that that age shulde bee counted vnmeete for learnynge, whych is nowe apte to learne good maners? But as there be rudimentes of verture, so be there also of sciences. Philosophy hath his infancie, hys youthe, and rype age. An horsecolt, which forthwyth sheweth his gentle kynd, is not straight way forced wyth the bytte to cary on his backe an armed manne, but wyth easy exercises he learneth the fashion of warre. The calfe that is appoynted to the plowghe, is not strayght wayes laden wyth werye yockes, nor prycked wyth sharpe godes, but as Virgyl hath elegantlye taught: Fyrst they knyt aboute his necke circles made of tender twygges, and after when his free necke hathe bene accustumed to do seruice, they make rounde hoopes mete, & when they be wryth[en], ioyne a payre of meete ons together, and so cause the yonge heyfers to gooe forwardes, and often tymes they make them to draw an empty cart, and sleightly go awaye, but afterwards they set on a great heauy axeltree of beeche, and make them to draw a great plough beame of yrõ. Plowmen can skyll howe to handell oxen in youthe, and attemper their exercises after their strength muche more diligently ought this to be done in bringing vp our children. Furthermore the prouid[en]ce of nature hath geuen vnto litle ons a certen mete habilitte. An infant is not yet meete to whome thou shuldest reade y^e offices of Cicero, or the Ethickes of Aristotle, or the moral bokes of Seneca or Plutarche, or the epistles of Paule, I confesse, but yet if he do any thyng vncomly at the table, he is monyshed, and when he is monyshed, he fashioneth hym selfe to do as he is taught. He is brought into the temple, he lerneth to bowe his kne, to holde hys handes manerly, to put of hys cap, and to fashion all the behaueour of hys bodie to worshyp God, he is cõmaunded to holde hys peace when misteries be in doyng, and to turne hys eyes to the alter. These rudimentes of modestye and vertue the childe lerneth before he can speake, which because they sticke fast vntil he be elder, they profit somwhat to true religiõ. There is no differ[en]ce to a chyld when he is first borne, betwene his par[en]ntes & straungers. Anon after he learneth to knowe his mother, & after his father. He learneth by litle & litle to reuer[en]ce th[em], he learneth to obey them, & to loue th[em]. He vnlerneth to be angrye, to be au[en]ged, & when he is bidd[en] kysse th[em] that he is ãgry withal, he doth it, & vnlerneth to bable out of measure. He lerneth to rise vp, & geue reuerence to an old mã, & to put of his cap at y^e image of the crucifix. Thei that thinke y^t these lytle rudim[en]tes help nothing to vertue, in my mind be greatly deceiued, A cert[en] yonge man wh[en] he was rebuked of Plato because he had plaied at dice cõplained y^t he was so bitterly chidd[en], for so litle harme. Th[en] quod Plato, although it be but smal hurt to play at dice, yet is it great hurt to vse it. As it is therefore a greate euyll to accustume thy selfe to euyl, so to vse thy selfe to small good thynges is a greate good. And that tender age is so muche the more apte to learne these thyngs, because of it selfe it is plyaunt vnto all fashions, because it is not yet occupyed wyth vyce, and is glad to folowe, if you shewe it to do any thinge. And as cõmonlye it accustumeth it selfe to vyce, or euer it vnderstand what vyce is, so wyth lyke easynes maye it be accustumed to vertue. And it is beste to vse best thinges euen at the fyrst. That fashion wyll endure longe, to the which you make the empty and tender mynde. Horace wrote that if you thruste oute nature wyth a forke, yet wyll it styll come againe. He wrot it and that very truly, but he wrote it of an olde tre. Therefore the wise husband man wil straight waye fashion the plante after that maner whyche he wyll haue tarye for euer when it is a tree. It wyll soone turne in to nature, that you powre in fyrste of all. Claye if it be to moyste wyl not kepe the fashion that is prynted in it: the waxe may be so softe that nothynge can bee made of it. But scarse is there any age so tender that is not able to receyue learnyng. No age sayth Seneca, is to late to learne: whether that be true or no I wot not, surely elderly age is very harde to learne some thyngs. This is doutles, that no age is so yonge but it is apte to be taught, inespecially those thynges vnto the whych nature hathe made vs, for as I sayd: for thys purpose she hath geuen a certen peculier desyre of folowyng, that what so euer they haue herde or seene, they desyre to do the lyke, and reioyse when they thynke they can do any thyng: a man wolde saye they wer apes. And of thys ryseth the fyrste coniecture of their wyt and aptnes to be taughte. Therefore assone as the man chyld is borne, anone he is apte to lerne maners. After wh[en] he hath begon to speake, he is mete to be taught letters. Of what thynge regarde is fyrste to be had, a readines by & by is geuen to lerne it. For learnyng although it haue infinite commodities, yet excepte it wayte vpon vertue, it bryngeth more harme then good. Worthilye was refused of wyse menne theire sentence, which thought that children vnder seuen yere olde shulde not be set to lernyng: and of thys sayinge many beleued Hesiodus to be the author, albeit Aristophanes the gramarian sayd, that those morall preceptes in the whych worke it was written, were not made by Hesiodus. Yet nedes must be some excell[en]t wryter, which put forth such a booke that euen learned menne thought it to be of Hesiodus doing. But in case it were Hesiodus, without doute yet no mans authoritie oughte to be of suche force vnto vs, that we shulde not folowe the better if it be shewed vs. Howebeit who soeuer wer of thys mynd, they meant not thys, that all thys time vntyll seuen yeres shulde bee quite voyde of teachyng, but that before that tyme chyldren shulde not bee troubled wyth the laboure of studies, in the whych certeine tediousnes muste bee deuoured, as of cannyng wythout booke, sayinge the lesson agayn, and wyth wrytinge it, for scant maye a man fynde anye that hathe so apte a wytte to bee taught, so tractable and that so wil folowe, whyche wyll accustume it selfe to these thynges wythout prickyng forward. Chrisippus apoynted thre yeres to the nourses, not that in the meane space there shuld be no teachynge of manners, and speach, but that the infante shulde be prepared by fayr meanes to lern vertue and letters, ether of the nurses, or of the parentes, whose maners wythout peradu[en]ture do help very much to the good fashionynge of chyldren. And because the fyrste teachyng of chyldren is, to speake playnly and wythout faute, in this afore tyme the nourses and the parentes helpe not a lytle. Thys begynnyng, not only very muche profiteth to eloqu[en]ce, but also to iudgement, and to the knowledge of all disciplines: for the ignoraunce of tonges, eyther hath marred all the sciences, or greatly hurt th[em], eu[en] diuinitie it selfe also, phisicke & law. The eloquence of the Gracchians was muche merueyled at in tyme paste, but for the most they myghte thanke theyr mother Cornelia for it, as Tullie iudgeth. It apeareth sayth he, that the chyldren wer not so much brought vp in the mothers lappe, as in the mothers cõmunicacion. So theyr fyrste scholyng was to them the mothers lap. Lelia also expressed in her goodly talke the eloquence of her father Caius. And what marueile. While she was yet yonge she was dyed wyth her fathers communicacion, euen when she was borne in his armes. The same happened to the two sisters, Mucia and Licinia, neeces vnto Caius. Specially is praysed the elegaunce of Licinia in speakyng, whiche was the daughter of Lucius Crassus, one Scipios wyfe as I weene. What nedes many words? All the house and all the kynred euen to the nepheus, and their cosyns dyd often expresse elegance of their fore fathers in artificiall and cunnyng speakyng. The daughter of Quintus Hortencius so expressed her fathers eloquence, that ther was longe ago an oracion of hers to se, that she made before the officers called Triumuiri, not only (as Fabius sayth) to the prayse of womankynd. To speake without faut no litle helpe brynge also the nourses, tutors, and playefelowes. For as touching the tonges, so great is the readines of that age to learne them, that within a few monethes a chylde of Germany maye learne Frenche, and that whyle he dothe other thinges also: neyther dothe that thynge come euer better to passe then in rude and verye yonge yeres. And if this come to passe in a barbarous and vnruled tonge, whych wryteth other wyse then it speaketh, and the whych hathe hys schriches and wordes scarse of a man, howe muche more easely wyl it be done in the Greeke or Latine tonge? Kyng Mithridates is read to haue perfitly knowen .xxii. tonges, so that he could plead the lawe to euery nacion in their owne tonges wythoute anye interpreter. ¶ Themistocles within a yeres space lerned perfitely the Persians tong because he wolde the better cõmen wyth the kyng. If s[um]what old age can do that, what is to be hoped for of a chylde? And all this businesse standeth specially in two thynges, memorye and imitacion. We haue shewed before alredy that there is a certein naturall greate desyre in chyldren to folowe other, and very wyse men wryte that memorie in chyldren is verye sure in holdinge faste: and if we distrust there authoritie, experience it selfe wyll proue it vnto vs. Those thynges that we haue seene beying chyldren, they so abide in our mindes, as thou we had sene them yesterdaie. Thinges that we read today wh[en] we be old, wythin two daies after if we read th[em] agayn they seme newe vnto vs. Furthermore howe fewe haue we seene whych haue had good successe in lernynge the tonges when they were olde? And if some haue wel spedde them in knowledge, yet the right sound and pronunciacion hath chaunsed either to none, or to very few. For rare examples be no common rules. Neyther for thys muste we call chyldren to lerne the tonges after sixtene yere olde, because that the elder Cato lerned latine, and Greeke, when he was thre score and ten yeres olde. But Cato of Vtica muche better lerned then the other and more eloquent, when he was a chylde was continuallye wyth hys master Sarpedo. And h[en]ce we ought so much the more to take heede, because that yonge age led rather by sense then iudgem[en]t, wyll assone or peraduenture soner lerne leudnes & things y^t be naught. Yea we forget soner good thinges th[en] naught. Gentile philosophers espyed that, & merueyled at it, and could not search out the cause, whiche christ[en] philosophers haue shewed vnto vs: which telleth y^t this redines to mischiefe is setteled in vs of Adam the first father of mãkind. Thys thynge as it can not be false, so is it very true, that the greateste parte of this euyll cõmeth of leude and naughty bryngyng vp, inespeciallye of tender youthe, whyche is plyeable to euerye thynge.