Pallas. Apollo. ftrelly: Apollo was God of Shooting, and Author of cunning playing upon Inftruments; Pallas alfo was Lady Mistress in Wars. Whereby was nothing elfe meant, but that Learning fhould be always mingled with honeft Mirth, and comely Exercifes; and that War alfo fhould be governed by Learning, and moderated by Wifdom; as did well appear in those Captains of Athens named by me before, and also in Scipio and Cæfar, the two Diamonds of Rome. And Pallas was no more uleth both feared in wearing Agida, than fhe was War and praised for chufing Olivam; whereby fhineth the Glory of Learning, which thus was Governour and Miftrefs in the noble City of Athens, both of War and Peace. Learning Peace. The Paftimes that be fit for courtly Gentlemen. The Cock pit. Therefore to ride comely, to run fair at the Tilt, or Ring; to play at all Weapons, to fhoot fair in Bow, or furely in Gun;. to vault luftily, to run, to leap, to wrestle, to fwim; to dance comely, to fing, and play on Inftruments cunningly; to hawk, to hunt; to play at Tennis, and all Paftimes generally, which be joined with Labour, ufed in open Place, and on the Day Light, containing either fome fit Exercise for War, or fome pleasant Paftime for Peace, be not only comely and decent, but also very neceffary for a courtly Gentleman to ufe. But of all kind of Paftimes fit for a Gentleman, I will, God willing, in fitter Place more at large declare fully, in my Book of the Cockpit; which I do write to fatisfy fome, I truft with fome Reason, that be more curious in marking other Mens Doings, Doings, than careful in mending their own Faults. And fome alfo wil needs bufy themselves in marvelling, and adding thereunto unfriendly Talk, why I, a Man of good Years, and of no ill Place, I thank God and my Prince, do make choice to spend fuch Time in writing of Trifles, as the School of Shooting, the Cockpit, and this Book of the first Principles of Grammar, rather than to take fome weighty Matter in hand, either of Religion or Civil Difcipline. over great Wife Men I know, will well allow of my Choice herein; and as for fuch, who have not Wit of themselves, but muft learn of others to judge right of Mens Doings, let them read that wife Poet Horace in his Arte Poetica, who willeth Men A Book of to beware of high and lofty Titles. For a lofty Tigreat Ships require coftly Tackling, and al- tle beareth fo afterward dangerous Government: the Brag of Small Boats be neither very chargeable in a Promife. making, nor very oft in great Jeopardy; and yet they carry many times as good and coftly Ware as greater Veffels do. A mean Argument may eafily bear the light Burthen of a small Fault, and have always chufe a fit at hand a ready Excufe for ill handling; Argument and fome Praise it is, if it so chance to to write be better in deed, than a Man dare ven- upon. ture to feem. A high Title doth charge a Man with the heavy Burthen of too great a Promife; and therefore faith Horace ve- Hor in ry wittily, That that Poet was a very Fool, Arte Poethat began his Book with a goodly Verfe tica. indeed, but over proud a Promife. Fortunam The right Choice to Homer's Fortunam Priami cantabo, & nobile bellum. And after as wifely: Quanto rectius hic, qui nil molitur inepte? &c. دو meaning Homer; who within the Compafs of a small Argument of one Harlot, and of one good Wife, did utter fo much Learning in all kind of Sciences, as by the Judgement of Quintilian, be deferveth fo Wisdom in high a Praife, that no Man yet deferved to choice of fit in the fecond Degree beneath bim. And is argu- thus much out of my Way, concerning my Purpose in spending Pen, and Paper, and Time upon Trifles; and namely to anfwer, fome that have neither Wit, nor Learning to do any thing themselves, neither Will nor Honefty, to fay well of o ament. The Cor tegian, an Gentle man. ور thers. To join Learning with comely Exercifes, Conto Baldefar Castiglione in his Book Excellent Cortegiane, doth trimly teach; which Book Book for a advifedly read and diligently followed but one Year at home in England, would do a young Gentleman more good, I wifs, than three Year's Travel abroad spent in Italy. And I marvel this Book is no more read in the Court, than it is, feeing it is (*) fo well translated into English by a worthy Gentleman, Sir Th. Hobby, who was many ways well furnished with Learning, and Sir Tho. (*) This Book was soon after (and perhaps the fooner for this great Character here given it) tranflated into excellent Latin by Mr. Clerke, Fellow of King's College in Cambridge, with this Title, Balthafaris Caftilionis Comitis de Curiali, five Aulico, Libri quatuor, ex Italico Sermone in Latinum converfi. very very expert in Knowledge of divers Tongues. And befide good Precepts in Books, in all kind of Tongues, this Court alfo never lacked many fair Examples for young Gentlemen to follow: And furely one Exam- Examples ple is more valuable, both to Good and better than Ill, than twenty Precepts written in Books; Precepts. and fo Plato not in one or two, but divers Places, doth plainly teach. If King Edward had lived a little lonKing Edger, his only Example had bred fuch a ward 6th. Race of worthy learned Gentlemen, as this Realm never yet did afford. And in the fecond Degree, two noble Primroses of Nobility, the young Duke of Suffolk, and Lord Hen. Matrevers, were The young fuch two Examples to the Court for Duke of Learning, as our Time may rather wish, than look for again. Suffolk. Lord H. At Cambridge alfo, in St. John's College, vers. in my Time, I do know, that not fo much the good Statutes, as two Gentlemen of Sir John worthy Memory, Sir John Cheke, and Dr. Cheke. Redman, by their only Example of Excel- Dr. Redlency in Learning, of Godliness in liv- man. ing, of Diligence in ftudying, of Counfel in exhorting, by good Order in all things, did breed up fo many learned Men in that one College of St. John's at one Time, as I believe the whole University of Louvain in many Years was never able to afford. Prefent Examples of this present Time I lift not to touch; yet there is one Example for all the Gentlemen of this Court to follow, that may well fatisfy them, or nothing will ferve them, nor no Example move move them to Goodness and Learning. It is your Shame (I fpeak to you all, you Queen Elizabeth, young Gentlemen of England) that one Maid fhould go beyond you all in Excellency of Learning, and Knowledge of divers Tongues. Point forth fix of the beft given Gentlemen of this Court, and all they together fhew not fo much good Will, fpend not fo much Time, bestow not fo many Hours daily, orderly, and conftantly, for the Increase of Learning and Knowledge, as doth the Queen's Majefty her felf. Yea I believe, that befide her perfect Readiness in Latin, Italian, French, and Spanish, (*) fhe readeth here now at Windfor more Greek every Day, than fome Prebendary of this Church doth read Latin in a whole Week. And that which is most praife worthy of all, within the Walls of her privy Chamber, fhe hath obtained that Excellency of Learning to understand, fpeak, and write both wittily with Head, and fair with Hand, as scarce one or two rare Wits in both the Universities have in many Years reach (*) Mr. Afcham, in his Difcourfe of the Affairs of Germany, Speaking of John Frederick Duke of Saxony, Luther's great Friend and Defender, hath this Paffage not unlike what he here relates of his royal Miftrefs. 99 It is marvellous, that my Friend Joannes Sturmius doth re, port by writing, what he heard Philip Melanthon 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 Dr. Aurifaber; which two were counted in all Mens Judgements to be the greatest Readers and Writers in all the University of Wittemberg. * This I the rather add, because I have heard this Place cenfured; if Mr. Afcham had fail'd in point of Civility and good Manners, and intended a Reflection by the Comparison. ed |