«Анатомия меланхолии»

[3770]Si dat oluscula

Mensa minuscula

pace referta,

Ne pete grandia,

Lautaque prandia

lite repleta.

But what wantest thou, to expostulate the matter? or what hast thou not better than a rich man? [3771]“health, competent wealth, children, security, sleep, friends, liberty, diet, apparel, and what not,” or at least mayst have (the means being so obvious, easy, and well known) for as he inculcated to himself,

[3772]Vitam quae faciunt beatiorem,

Jucundissime Martialis, haec sunt;

Res non parta labore, sed relicta,

Lis nunquam, &c.

I say again thou hast, or at least mayst have it, if thou wilt thyself, and that which I am sure he wants, a merry heart. “Passing by a village in the territory of Milan,” saith [3773]St. Austin, “I saw a poor beggar that had got belike his bellyful of meat, jesting and merry; I sighed, and said to some of my friends that were then with me, what a deal of trouble, madness, pain and grief do we sustain and exaggerate unto ourselves, to get that secure happiness which this poor beggar hath prevented us of, and which we peradventure shall never have? For that which he hath now attained with the begging of some small pieces of silver, a temporal happiness, and present heart's ease, I cannot compass with all my careful windings, and running in and out,” [3774]“And surely the beggar was very merry, but I was heavy; he was secure, but I timorous. And if any man should ask me now, whether I had rather be merry, or still so solicitous and sad, I should say, merry. If he should ask me again, whether I had rather be as I am, or as this beggar was, I should sure choose to be as I am, tortured still with cares and fears; but out of peevishness, and not out of truth.” That which St. Austin said of himself here in this place, I may truly say to thee, thou discontented wretch, thou covetous niggard, thou churl, thou ambitious and swelling toad, 'tis not want but peevishness which is the cause of thy woes; settle thine affection, thou hast enough.

[3775]Denique sit finis quaerendi, quoque habeas plus,

Pauperiem metuas minus, et finire laborem

Incipias; parto, quod avebas, utere.

Make an end of scraping, purchasing this manor, this field, that house, for this and that child; thou hast enough for thyself and them:

[3776]———Quod petis hic est,

Est Ulubris, animus si te non deficit aequus.

'Tis at hand, at home already, which thou so earnestly seekest. But

———O si angulus ille

Proximus accedat, qui nunc denormat agellum,

O that I had but that one nook of ground, that field there, that pasture, O si venam argenti fors quis mihi monstret—. O that I could but find a pot of money now, to purchase, &c., to build me a new house, to marry my daughter, place my son, &c. [3777]“O if I might but live a while longer to see all things settled, some two or three years, I would pay my debts,” make all my reckonings even: but they are come and past, and thou hast more business than before. “O madness, to think to settle that in thine old age when thou hast more, which in thy youth thou canst not now compose having but a little.” [3778]Pyrrhus would first conquer Africa, and then Asia, et tum suaviter agere, and then live merrily and take his ease: but when Cyneas the orator told him he might do that already, id jam posse fieri, rested satisfied, condemning his own folly. Si parva licet componere magnis, thou mayst do the like, and therefore be composed in thy fortune. Thou hast enough: he that is wet in a bath, can be no more wet if he be flung into Tiber, or into the ocean itself: and if thou hadst all the world, or a solid mass of gold as big as the world, thou canst not have more than enough; enjoy thyself at length, and that which thou hast; the mind is all; be content, thou art not poor, but rich, and so much the richer as [3779]Censorinus well writ to Cerellius, quanto pauciora optas, non quo plura possides, in wishing less, not having more. I say then, Non adjice opes, sed minue cupiditates ('tis [3780]Epicurus' advice), add no more wealth, but diminish thy desires; and as [3781]Chrysostom well seconds him, Si vis ditari, contemne divitias; that's true plenty, not to have, but not to want riches, non habere, sed non indigere, vera abundantia: 'tis more glory to contemn, than to possess; et nihil agere, est deorum, “and to want nothing is divine.” How many deaf, dumb, halt, lame, blind, miserable persons could I reckon up that are poor, and withal distressed, in imprisonment, banishment, galley slaves, condemned to the mines, quarries, to gyves, in dungeons, perpetual thraldom, than all which thou art richer, thou art more happy, to whom thou art able to give an alms, a lord, in respect, a petty prince: [3782]be contented then I say, repine and mutter no more, “for thou art not poor indeed but in opinion.”

Да, но это весьма добрый совет, и справедливо приложимый к тем, кто имеет средства, но не хочет ими пользоваться, кто обладает компетенцией, способен трудиться и добывать себе пропитание в поте лица своего, своим ремеслом, у кого еще что-то есть; тот, у кого есть птицы, может ловить птиц; но что же делать нам, рабам по природе, немощным и неспособным помочь самим себе, сущим нищим, которые чахнут и иссыхают, у которых нет вовсе никаких средств, нет надежды на средства, нет упования на избавление или на лучший исход? Как те древние бритты жаловались своим господам и повелителям римлянам, будучи притесняемы пиктами: mare ad barbaros, barbari ad mare — варвары гнали их к морю, море гнало их обратно к варварам: наше нынешнее бедствие вынуждает нас взывать и выть, жаловаться богачам: они же отсылают нас прочь с презрительным ответом на наше несчастье и не хотят сжалиться над нами; они обычно не замечают своих бедных друзей в невзгодах; если же им случается встретить их, они добровольно забывают их и не желают знать; они не хотят, они не могут помочь нам. Вместо утешения они угрожают нам, поносят, насмехаются над нами, чтобы усугубить наше несчастье, осыпают нас бранью, а если и говорят добрые слова, то что толку в них для нашего облегчения? Согласно изречению Фалеса, Facile est alios monere; кто не может дать добрый совет? Это дешево, это ничего им не стоит. Легкое дело, когда брюхо полно, разглагольствовать против поста, Qui satur est pleno laudat jejunia ventre; «Разве ревет дикий осел, когда у него есть трава, или мычит вол, когда у него есть корм?» Иов 6:5. Neque enim populo Romano quidquam potest esse laetius, нет человека на свете более веселого, более радостного, чем народ Рима, когда у него был достаток; но когда они дошли до нужды, до голода, «ни стыд, ни законы, ни оружие, ни магистраты не могли удержать их в повиновении». Сенека горячо защищает бедность, как и те ленивые философы: но в то же время он был богат, у них было чем себя содержать; но разве кто-нибудь из бедняков превозносит ее? «Есть такие, — говорит Бернард, — которые одобряют среднее состояние, но при том условии, что сами они никогда не будут нуждаться: иные же кротки до тех пор, пока могут говорить или делать что хотят; но если представится случай, как далеки они от всякого терпения?» Я хотел бы, чтобы Бог (как он сказал) «никто не хвалил бедность, кроме того, кто сам беден», или чтобы тот, кто так сильно восхищается ею, облегчал, помогал или утешал других.

[3787]Nunc si nos audis, atque es divinus Apollo,

Dic mihi, qui nummos non habet, unde petat:

Now if thou hear'st us, and art a good man,

Tell him that wants, to get means, if you can.

But no man hears us, we are most miserably dejected, the scum of the world. [3788]Vix habet in nobis jam nova plaga locum. We can get no relief, no comfort, no succour, [3789]Et nihil inveni quod mihi ferret opem. We have tried all means, yet find no remedy: no man living can express the anguish and bitterness of our souls, but we that endure it; we are distressed, forsaken, in torture of body and mind, in another hell: and what shall we do? When [3790]Crassus the Roman consul warred against the Parthians, after an unlucky battle fought, he fled away in the night, and left four thousand men, sore, sick, and wounded in his tents, to the fury of the enemy, which, when the poor men perceived, clamoribus et ululatibus omnia complerunt, they made lamentable moan, and roared downright, as loud as Homer's Mars when he was hurt, which the noise of 10,000 men could not drown, and all for fear of present death. But our estate is far more tragical and miserable, much more to be deplored, and far greater cause have we to lament; the devil and the world persecute us, all good fortune hath forsaken us, we are left to the rage of beggary, cold, hunger, thirst, nastiness, sickness, irksomeness, to continue all torment, labour and pain, to derision and contempt, bitter enemies all, and far worse than any death; death alone we desire, death we seek, yet cannot have it, and what shall we do? Quod male fers, assuesce; feres bene —accustom thyself to it, and it will be tolerable at last. Yea, but I may not, I cannot, In me consumpsit vires fortuna nocendo, I am in the extremity of human adversity; and as a shadow leaves the body when the sun is gone, I am now left and lost, and quite forsaken of the world. Qui jacet in terra, non habet unde cadat; comfort thyself with this yet, thou art at the worst, and before it be long it will either overcome thee or thou it. If it be violent, it cannot endure, aut solvetur, aut solvet: let the devil himself and all the plagues of Egypt come upon thee at once, Ne tu cede malis, sed contra audentior ito, be of good courage; misery is virtue's whetstone.

[3791]—serpens, sitis, ardor, arenae,

Dulcia virtuti,

as Cato told his soldiers marching in the deserts of Libya, “Thirst, heat, sands, serpents, were pleasant to a valiant man;” honourable enterprises are accompanied with dangers and damages, as experience evinceth: they will make the rest of thy life relish the better. But put case they continue; thou art not so poor as thou wast born, and as some hold, much better to be pitied than envied. But be it so thou hast lost all, poor thou art, dejected, in pain of body, grief of mind, thine enemies insult over thee, thou art as bad as Job; yet tell me (saith Chrysostom) “was Job or the devil the greater conqueror? surely Job; the [3792]devil had his goods, he sat on the muck-hill and kept his good name; he lost his children, health, friends, but he kept his innocency; he lost his money, but he kept his confidence in God, which was better than any treasure.” Do thou then as Job did, triumph as Job did, [3793]and be not molested as every fool is. Sed qua ratione potero? How shall this be done? Chrysostom answers, facile si coelum cogitaveris, with great facility, if thou shalt but meditate on heaven. [3794]Hannah wept sore, and troubled in mind, could not eat; “but why weepest thou,” said Elkanah her husband, “and why eatest thou not? why is thine heart troubled? am not I better to thee than ten sons?” and she was quiet. Thou art here [3795]vexed in this world; but say to thyself, “Why art thou troubled, O my soul?” Is not God better to thee than all temporalities, and momentary pleasures of the world? be then pacified. And though thou beest now peradventure in extreme want, [3796]it may be 'tis for thy further good, to try thy patience, as it did Job's, and exercise thee in this life: trust in God, and rely upon him, and thou shalt be [3797]crowned in the end. What's this life to eternity? The world hath forsaken thee, thy friends and fortunes all are gone: yet know this, that the very hairs of thine head are numbered, that God is a spectator of all thy miseries, he sees thy wrongs, woes, and wants. [3798]“'Tis his goodwill and pleasure it should be so, and he knows better what is for thy good than thou thyself. His providence is over all, at all times; he hath set a guard of angels over us, and keeps us as the apple of his eye,” Ps. xvii. 8. Some he doth exalt, prefer, bless with worldly riches, honours, offices, and preferments, as so many glistering stars he makes to shine above the rest: some he doth miraculously protect from thieves, incursions, sword, fire, and all violent mischances, and as the [3799]poet feigns of that Lycian Pandarus, Lycaon's son, when he shot at Menelaus the Grecian with a strong arm, and deadly arrow, Pallas, as a good mother keeps flies from her child's face asleep, turned by the shaft, and made it hit on the buckle of his girdle; so some he solicitously defends, others he exposeth to danger, poverty, sickness, want, misery, he chastiseth and corrects, as to him seems best, in his deep, unsearchable and secret judgment, and all for our good. “The tyrant took the city” (saith [3800]Chrysostom), “God did not hinder it; led them away captives, so God would have it; he bound them, God yielded to it: flung them into the furnace, God permitted it: heat the oven hotter, it was granted: and when the tyrant had done his worst, God showed his power, and the children's patience; he freed them:” so can he thee, and can [3801]help in an instant, when it seems to him good. [3802] “Rejoice not against me, O my enemy; for though I fall, I shall rise: when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall lighten me.” Remember all those martyrs what they have endured, the utmost that human rage and fury could invent, with what [3803]patience they have borne, with what willingness embraced it. “Though he kill me,” saith Job, “I will trust in him.” Justus [3804]inexpugnabilis, as Chrysostom holds, a just man is impregnable, and not to be overcome. The gout may hurt his hands, lameness his feet, convulsions may torture his joints, but not rectam mentem his soul is free.

[3805]———nempe pecus, rem,

Lectos, argentum tollas licet; in manicis, et

Compedibus saevo teneas custode———

Perhaps, you mean,

My cattle, money, movables or land,

Then take them all.—But, slave, if I command,

A cruel jailor shall thy freedom seize.

[3806]“Take away his money, his treasure is in heaven: banish him his country, he is an inhabitant of that heavenly Jerusalem: cast him into bands, his conscience is free; kill his body, it shall rise again; he fights with a shadow that contends with an upright man:” he will not be moved.

———si fractus illabatur orbis,

Impavidum ferient ruinae.

Though heaven itself should fall on his head, he will not be offended. He is impenetrable, as an anvil hard, as constant as Job.

[3807]Ipse deus simul atque volet me solvet opinor.

A God shall set me free whene'er I please.

Be thou such a one; let thy misery be what it will, what it can, with patience endure it; thou mayst be restored as he was. Terris proscriptus, ad coelum propera; ab hominibus desertus, ad deum fuge. “The poor shall not always be forgotten, the patient abiding of the meek shall not perish for ever,” Psal. x. 18. ver. 9. “The Lord will be a refuge of the oppressed, and a defence in the time of trouble.”

Servus Epictetus, multilati corporis, Irus

Pauper: at haec inter charus erat superis.

Lame was Epictetus, and poor Irus,

Yet to them both God was propitious.

Lodovicus Vertomannus, that famous traveller, endured much misery, yet surely, saith Scaliger, he was vir deo charus, in that he did escape so many dangers, “God especially protected him, he was dear unto him:” Modo in egestate, tribulatione, convalle deplorationis, &c. “Thou art now in the vale of misery, in poverty, in agony,” [3808]“in temptation; rest, eternity, happiness, immortality, shall be thy reward,” as Chrysostom pleads, “if thou trust in God, and keep thine innocency.” Non si male nunc, et olim sic erit semper; a good hour may come upon a sudden; [3809] expect a little.

Да, но именно это ожидание и мучает меня тем временем; futura expectans praesentibus angor, пока трава растет, лошадь с голоду дохнет: не отчаивайся, но надейся на лучшее,

[3812]Spera Batte, tibi melius lux Crastina ducet;

Dum spiras spera———

Cheer up, I say, be not dismayed; Spes alit agricolas: “he that sows in tears, shall reap in joy,” Psal. cxxvi. 7.

Si fortune me tormente,

Esperance me contente.

Hope refresheth, as much as misery depresseth; hard beginnings have many times prosperous events, and that may happen at last which never was yet. “A desire accomplished delights the soul,” Prov. xiii. 19.

[3813]Grata superveniet quae non sperabitur hora:

Which makes m'enjoy my joys long wish'd at last,

Welcome that hour shall come when hope is past:

a lowering morning may turn to a fair afternoon, [3814]Nube solet pulsa candidus ire dies. “The hope that is deferred, is the fainting of the heart, but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life,” Prov. xiii. 12, [3815]suavissimum est voti compos fieri. Many men are both wretched and miserable at first, but afterwards most happy: and oftentimes it so falls out, as [3816]Machiavel relates of Cosmo de Medici, that fortunate and renowned citizen of Europe, “that all his youth was full of perplexity, danger, and misery, till forty years were past, and then upon a sudden the sun of his honour broke out as through a cloud.” Huniades was fetched out of prison, and Henry the Third of Portugal out of a poor monastery, to be crowned kings.

Multa cadunt inter calicem supremaque labra,

Many things happen between the cup and the lip,

beyond all hope and expectation many things fall out, and who knows what may happen? Nondum omnium dierum Soles occiderunt, as Philippus said, all the suns are not yet set, a day may come to make amends for all. “Though my father and mother forsake me, yet the Lord will gather me up,” Psal. xxvii. 10. “Wait patiently on the Lord, and hope in him,” Psal. xxxvii. 7. “Be strong, hope and trust in the Lord, and he will comfort thee, and give thee thine heart's desire,” Psal. xxvii. 14.

Sperate et vosmet rebus servate secundis.

Hope, and reserve yourself for prosperity.

Fret not thyself because thou art poor, contemned, or not so well for the present as thou wouldst be, not respected as thou oughtest to be, by birth, place, worth; or that which is a double corrosive, thou hast been happy, honourable, and rich, art now distressed and poor, a scorn of men, a burden to the world, irksome to thyself and others, thou hast lost all: Miserum est fuisse, felicem, and as Boethius calls it, Infelicissimum genus infortunii; this made Timon half mad with melancholy, to think of his former fortunes and present misfortunes: this alone makes many miserable wretches discontent. I confess it is a great misery to have been happy, the quintessence of infelicity, to have been honourable and rich, but yet easily to be endured: [3817]security succeeds, and to a judicious man a far better estate. The loss of thy goods and money is no loss; [3818] “thou hast lost them, they would otherwise have lost thee.” If thy money be gone, [3819]“thou art so much the lighter,” and as Saint Hierome persuades Rusticus the monk, to forsake all and follow Christ: “Gold and silver are too heavy metals for him to carry that seeks heaven.”

[3820]Vel nos in mare proximum,

Gemmas et lapides, aurum et inutile,

Summi materiam mali

Mittamus, scelerum si hene poenitet.

Zeno the philosopher lost all his goods by shipwreck, [3821]he might like of it, fortune had done him a good turn: Opes a me, animum auferre non potest: she can take away my means, but not my mind. He set her at defiance ever after, for she could not rob him that had nought to lose: for he was able to contemn more than they could possess or desire. Alexander sent a hundred talents of gold to Phocion of Athens for a present, because he heard he was a good man: but Phocion returned his talents back again with a permitte me in posterum virum bonum esse to be a good man still; let me be as I am: Non mi aurum posco, nec mi precium[3822]—That Theban Crates flung of his own accord his money into the sea, abite nummi, ego vos mergam, ne mergar, a vobis, I had rather drown you, than you should drown me. Can stoics and epicures thus contemn wealth, and shall not we that are Christians? It was mascula vox et praeclara, a generous speech of Cotta in [3823]Sallust, “Many miseries have happened unto me at home, and in the wars abroad, of which by the help of God some I have endured, some I have repelled, and by mine own valour overcome: courage was never wanting to my designs, nor industry to my intents: prosperity or adversity could never alter my disposition.” A wise man's mind, as Seneca holds, [3824] “is like the state of the world above the moon, ever serene.” Come then what can come, befall what may befall, infractum invictumque [3825] animum opponas: Rebus angustis animosus atque fortis appare. (Hor. Od. 11. lib. 2.) Hope and patience are two sovereign remedies for all, the surest reposals, the softest cushions to lean on in adversity:

[3826]Durum sed levius fit patientia,

Quicquid corrigere est nefas.

What can't be cured must be endured.

If it cannot be helped, or amended, [3827]make the best of it; [3828] necessitati qui se accommodat, sapit, he is wise that suits himself to the time. As at a game at tables, so do by all such inevitable accidents.

[3829]Ita vita est hominum quasi cum ludas tesseris,

Si illud quod est maxime opus jactu non cadit,

Illud quod cecidit forte, id arte ut corrigas;

If thou canst not fling what thou wouldst, play thy cast as well as thou canst. Everything, saith [3830]Epictetus, hath two handles, the one to be held by, the other not: 'tis in our choice to take and leave whether we will (all which Simplicius's Commentator hath illustrated by many examples), and 'tis in our power, as they say, to make or mar ourselves. Conform thyself then to thy present fortune, and cut thy coat according to thy cloth, [3831]Ut quimus (quod aiunt) quando quod volumus non licet, “Be contented with thy loss, state, and calling, whatsoever it is, and rest as well satisfied with thy present condition in this life:”

Este quod es; quod sunt alii, sine quamlibet esse;

Quod non es, nolis; quod potus esse, velis.

Be as thou art; and as they are, so let

Others be still; what is and may be covert.

And as he that is [3832]invited to a feast eats what is set before him, and looks for no other, enjoy that thou hast, and ask no more of God than what he thinks fit to bestow upon thee. Non cuivis contingit adire Corinthum, we may not be all gentlemen, all Catos, or Laelii, as Tully telleth us, all honourable, illustrious, and serene, all rich; but because mortal men want many things, [3833]“therefore,” saith Theodoret, “hath God diversely distributed his gifts, wealth to one, skill to another, that rich men might encourage and set poor men at work, poor men might learn several trades to the common good.” As a piece of arras is composed of several parcels, some wrought of silk, some of gold, silver, crewel of diverse colours, all to serve for the exornation of the whole: music is made of diverse discords and keys, a total sum of many small numbers, so is a commonwealth of several unequal trades and callings. [3834]If all should be Croesi and Darii, all idle, all in fortunes equal, who should till the land? As [3835]Menenius Agrippa well satisfied the tumultuous rout of Rome, in his elegant apologue of the belly and the rest of the members. Who should build houses, make our several stuffs for raiments? We should all be starved for company, as Poverty declared at large in Aristophanes' Plutus, and sue at last to be as we were at first. And therefore God hath appointed this inequality of states, orders, and degrees, a subordination, as in all other things. The earth yields nourishment to vegetables, sensible creatures feed on vegetables, both are substitutes to reasonable souls, and men are subject amongst themselves, and all to higher powers, so God would have it. All things then being rightly examined and duly considered as they ought, there is no such cause of so general discontent, 'tis not in the matter itself, but in our mind, as we moderate our passions and esteem of things. Nihil aliud necessarium ut sis miser (saith [3836]Cardan) quam ut te miserum credas, let thy fortune be what it will, 'tis thy mind alone that makes thee poor or rich, miserable or happy. Vidi ego (saith divine Seneca) in villa hilari et amaena maestos, et media solitudine occupatos; non locus, sed animus facit ad tranquillitatem. I have seen men miserably dejected in a pleasant village, and some again well occupied and at good ease in a solitary desert. 'Tis the mind not the place causeth tranquillity, and that gives true content. I will yet add a word or two for a corollary. Many rich men, I dare boldly say it, that lie on down beds, with delicacies pampered every day, in their well-furnished houses, live at less heart's ease, with more anguish, more bodily pain, and through their intemperance, more bitter hours, than many a prisoner or galley-slave; [3837]Maecenas in pluma aeque vigilat ac Regulus in dolio: those poor starved Hollanders, whom [3838]Bartison their captain left in Nova Zembla, anno 1596, or those [3839]eight miserable Englishmen that were lately left behind, to winter in a stove in Greenland, in 77 deg. of lat., 1630, so pitifully forsaken, and forced to shift for themselves in a vast, dark, and desert place, to strive and struggle with hunger, cold, desperation, and death itself. 'Tis a patient and quiet mind (I say it again and again) gives true peace and content. So for all other things, they are, as old [3840]Chremes told us, as we use them.

Parentes, patriam, amicos, genus, cognates, divitias,

Haec perinde sunt ac illius animus qui ea possidet;

Qui uti scit, ei bona; qui utitur non recte, mala.

“Parents, friends, fortunes, country, birth, alliance, &c., ebb and flow with our conceit; please or displease, as we accept and construe them, or apply them to ourselves.” Faber quisque fortunae suae, and in some sort I may truly say, prosperity and adversity are in our own hands. Nemo laeditur nisi a seipso, and which Seneca confirms out of his judgment and experience. [3841]“Every man's mind is stronger than fortune, and leads him to what side he will; a cause to himself each one is of his good or bad life.” But will we, or nill we, make the worst of it, and suppose a man in the greatest extremity, 'tis a fortune which some indefinitely prefer before prosperity; of two extremes it is the best. Luxuriant animi rebus plerumque secundis, men in [3842]prosperity forget God and themselves, they are besotted with their wealth, as birds with henbane: [3843] miserable if fortune forsake them, but more miserable if she tarry and overwhelm them: for when they come to be in great place, rich, they that were most temperate, sober, and discreet in their private fortunes, as Nero, Otho, Vitellius, Heliogabalus (optimi imperatores nisi imperassent) degenerate on a sudden into brute beasts, so prodigious in lust, such tyrannical oppressors, &c., they cannot moderate themselves, they become monsters, odious, harpies, what not? Cum triumphos, opes, honores adepti sunt, ad voluptatem et otium deinceps se convertunt: 'twas [3844]Cato's note, “they cannot contain.” For that cause belike

[3845]Eutrapilus cuicunque nocere volebat,

Vestimenta dabat pretiosa: beatus enim jam,

Cum pulchris tunicis sumet nova consilia et spes,

Dormiet in lucem scorto, postponet honestum

Officium———

Eutrapilus when he would hurt a knave,

Gave him gay clothes and wealth to make him brave:

Because now rich he would quite change his mind,

Keep whores, fly out, set honesty behind.

On the other side, in adversity many mutter and repine, despair, &c., both bad, I confess,

[3846]———ut calceus olim

Si pede major erit, subvertet: si minor, uret.

«Как башмак, слишком большой или слишком маленький: один жмет, другой кривит ногу», sed e malis minimum. Если невзгоды погубили тысячи, то процветание погубило десятки тысяч: поэтому невзгодам следует отдать предпочтение; haec froeno indiget, illa solatio: illa fallit, haec instruit: одно нуждается в узде, другое в утешении; одно обманывает, другое наставляет; одни жалко счастливы, другие счастливо жалки; и потому многие философы добровольно искали невзгод и так сильно превозносят их в своих наставлениях. Деметрий у Сенеки считал великим несчастьем, что за всю свою жизнь он не испытал ни одной беды, miserum cui nihil unquam accidisset, adversi. Невзгоды, стало быть, не следует принимать так тяжело, и нам не стоит в таких случаях так сильно изнурять себя: нет такой уж большой разницы между бедностью и богатством. Завершая словами Иеронима: «Я спрошу наших магнатов, которые строят из мрамора и тратят целое поместье на нитку, какая разница между ними и Павлом Отшельником, этим нагим старцем? Они пьют из драгоценных камней, он — из горсти: он беден и идет на небо, они богаты и идут в ад».

РАЗД. IV.

Против рабства, потери свободы, тюремного заключения, изгнания.

Рабство, потеря свободы, тюремное заключение — не такие уж великие бедствия, какими их считают: мы все, даже лучшие из нас, рабы и слуги: как мы почитаем своих господ, так и наши господа почитают своих начальников: дворяне служат вельможам, а вельможи подчиняются королям, omne sub regno graviore regnum, сами государи — слуги Божьи, reges in ipsos imperium est Jovis. Они подчинены своим собственным законам, и, подобно королям Китая, терпят более чем рабское заточение, чтобы поддерживать свое достоинство и величие, они никогда не выходят наружу. Александр был рабом страха, Цезарь — гордыни, Веспасиан — своих денег (nihil enim refert, rerum sis servus an hominum), Гелиогабал — своего чрева, и так далее. Влюбленные — рабы своих возлюбленных, богачи — своего золота, придворные в целом — похоти и честолюбия, и все мы — рабы наших страстей, как хорошо рассуждает Евангел у Макробия, и Сенека-философ, assiduam servitutem extremam et ineluctabilem называет он это, непрерывное рабство — быть так плененным пороками; и кто свободен? Почему же тогда ты ропщешь? Satis est potens, говорит Иероним, qui servire non cogitur. Ты не несешь бремени, ты не узник, не подневольный работник, а тысячи лишены той свободы, тех удовольствий, которые есть у тебя. Ты не болен, чего же ты еще хочешь? Но nitimur in vetitum, мы все должны вкусить запретный плод. Если бы нам приказали идти в такие-то места, мы бы не пошли добровольно: но будучи лишены свободы, одно это мучает нашу блуждающую душу, что мы не можем идти. Один наш горожанин, говорит Кардан, был шестидесяти лет от роду и никогда не выходил за стены города Милана; государь, услышав об этом, приказал ему не выходить; будучи теперь лишен того, чем всю жизнь пренебрегал, он страстно возжелал этого, а получив отказ, dolore confectus mortem, obiit, умер от горя. Что я сказал о рабстве, то же скажу и о тюремном заключении: все мы узники. Что есть наша жизнь, как не тюрьма? Все мы заключены на острове. Сам мир для некоторых людей — тюрьма, наши узкие моря — как рвы, и когда они обогнут земной шар, им хочется увидеть, что делается на Луне. В Московии и многих других северных краях, по всей Скандии, они полгода сидят взаперти в печах, боясь высунуться из-за холода. В Адене в Аравии они весь день сидят взаперти из-за другого крайнего проявления — жары, и торгуют по ночам. Что есть корабль, как не тюрьма? И многие города — лишь ульи пчел, муравейники; но то, что ты ненавидишь, многие ищут: женщины сидят дома всю зиму и большую часть лета, чтобы сохранить свою красоту; некоторые — из любви к учению: Демосфен сбрил бороду, чтобы отсечь все поводы для выхода из дома: сколько монахов и монахинь, отшельников покидают мир. Monachus in urbe, piscis in arido. Ты в тюрьме? Используй это правильно и умерщвляй плоть; «Где человек может созерцать лучше, чем в уединении», или учиться лучше, чем в тишине? Многие достойные люди были заключены всю свою жизнь, и это служило поводом к великой чести и славе для них, принося много общественного блага их превосходными размышлениями. Птолемей, царь Египетский, cum viribus attenuatis infirma valetudine laboraret, miro descendi studio affectus и т. д., будучи поражен тяжким недугом тела, что не мог выходить наружу, стал учеником Стратона, усердно взялся за книги и всецело предался созерцанию, и по этому случаю (как добавляет мой автор), pulcherrimum regiae opulentiae monumentum и т. д., к великой своей чести построил ту знаменитую библиотеку в Александрии, в которой было 40 000 томов. Северин Боэций никогда не писал так элегантно, как в тюрьме, Павел — так благочестиво, ибо большинство его посланий было продиктовано в оковах: «Иосиф, — говорит Августин, — получил больше признания в тюрьме, чем когда раздавал зерно и был господином дома фараона». Это возвращает на путь истинный многих распутных, буйных парней, многих бродяг это усмиряет, которые иначе были бы подобны неистовым тиграм, погубили бы себя и других. Изгнание — вовсе не горе, Omne solum forti patria, &c. et patria est ubicunque bene est, та страна человеку родина, где ему хорошо. Многие путешествуют ради удовольствия в тот город, говорит Сенека, в который ты изгнан, и какая часть граждан — чужеземцы, рожденные в других местах? Incolentibus patria, это их родина, кто в ней родился, и они сочли бы себя изгнанными, если бы отправились в то место, которое ты покидаешь и от которого так не хочешь уезжать. Нет никакого унижения в том, чтобы быть чужеземцем, или так уж тягостно быть изгнанником. «Дождь — чужестранец для земли, реки — для моря, Юпитер в Египте, солнце — для всех нас. Душа — пришелец в теле, соловей — в воздухе, ласточка в доме, и Ганимед на небесах, слон в Риме, Феникс в Индии»; и такие вещи обычно нравятся нам больше всего, которые наиболее странны и пришли издалека. Те древние евреи считали весь мир язычниками; греки всех, кроме себя, считали варварами; наши современные итальянцы считают нас тупыми трансальпийцами в качестве упрека, они презирают тебя и твою страну, которой ты так восхищаешься. Это ребяческая причуда — тосковать по дому, быть недовольным тем, что ищут другие; предпочитать, как делают низкие островитяне и норвежцы, свой собственный оборванный остров Италии или Греции, садам мира. Есть низкий народ на севере, говорит Плиний, называемый хавки, которые живут среди скал и песков у моря, питаются рыбой, пьют воду: и все же эти низкие люди считают себя рабами в сравнении, когда приходят в Рим. Ita est profecto (как он заключает) multis fortuna parcit in poenam, так оно и есть, фортуна щадит некоторых, чтобы они жили дома, к их же дальнейшему наказанию: это недостаток суждения. Все места одинаково удалены от небес, солнце светит одинаково тепло в одном городе, как и в другом, и для мудрого человека нет разницы в климатах; друзья везде есть у того, кто ведет себя хорошо, а пророк не почитается в своем отечестве. Александр, Цезарь, Траян, Адриан были подобны странникам, то на востоке, то на западе, редко дома; и Поло Венето, Лод. Вертоманн, Пинцон, Кадамуст, Колумб, Америго Веспуччи, Васко да Гама, Дрейк, Кэвендиш, Оливье ван Ноорт, Схаутен — все получили свою славу благодаря добровольным экспедициям. Но вы скажете, что путешествия таких людей добровольны; мы же принуждены, и как преступники должны уйти; однако знайте, что это изречение Платона истинно: ultori Deo summa cura peregrinus est, Бог проявляет особую заботу о странниках, «и когда у него нет друзей и союзников, он заслужит большего и найдет больше милости у Бога и людей». Помимо удовольствия от странствий, разнообразие объектов возместит все; и так много вельмож — Туллий, Аристид, Фемистокл, Тесей, Кодр и др., — которые были изгнаны, дадут достаточное тому подтверждение. Прочтите две книги Петра Альциониуса на эту тему.

РАЗД. V.

Против скорби о смерти друзей или иного, тщетного страха и т. д.

Смерть и уход друзей — вещи, как правило, прискорбные, Omnium quae in humana vita contingunt, luctus atque mors sunt acerbissima, самые суровые и горькие происшествия, которые могут случиться с человеком в этой жизни, in aeternum valedicere, расстаться навсегда, покинуть мир и всех наших друзей, это ultimum terribilium, последний и величайший ужас, наиболее тягостный и беспокойный для нас, Homo toties moritur, quoties amittit suos. И хотя мы надеемся на лучшую жизнь, вечное счастье после этих мучительных и жалких дней, все же мы не можем добровольно приготовиться к смерти; воспоминание о ней наиболее тягостно для нас, особенно для тех, кто удачлив и богат: они вздрагивают при имени смерти, как лошадь при виде гнилого столба. Говорите что хотите о том ином мире, Монтесума, тот индейский принц, Bonum est esse hic, они предпочли бы быть здесь. Более того, многие благородные души и серьезные, степенные люди в остальном настолько нежны в этом, что при потере дорогого друга они будут кричать, реветь и рвать на себе волосы, сокрушаясь еще несколько месяцев спустя, воя «О Хон», как те ирландские женщины и греки у своих могил, совершают много непристойных действий и почти теряют рассудок. Мой дорогой отец, мой милый муж, мой единственный брат умер, кому я буду жаловаться? O me miserum! Quis dabit in lachrymas fontem и т. д. Что мне делать?

[3867]Sed totum hoc studium luctu fraterna mihi mors

Abstulit, hei misero frater adempte mihi?

My brother's death my study hath undone,

Woe's me, alas my brother he is gone.

Mezentius would not live after his son:

[3868]Nunc vivo, nec adhuc homines lucemque relinquo,

Sed linquam———

And Pompey's wife cried out at the news of her husband's death,

[3869]Turpe mori post te solo non posse dolore,

Violenta luctu et nescia tolerandi,

as [3870]Tacitus of Agrippina, not able to moderate her passions. So when she heard her son was slain, she abruptly broke off her work, changed countenance and colour, tore her hair, and fell a roaring downright.

[3871]———subitus miserae color ossa reliquit,

Excussi manibus radii, revolutaque pensa:

Evolat infelix et foemineo ululatu

Scissa comam———

Another would needs run upon the sword's point after Euryalus' departure,

[3872]Figite me, si qua est pietas, in me omnia tela

Conjicite o Rutili;———

O let me die, some good man or other make an end of me. How did Achilles take on for Patroclus' departure? A black cloud of sorrows overshadowed him, saith Homer. Jacob rent his clothes, put sackcloth about his loins, sorrowed for his son a long season, and could not be comforted, but would needs go down into the grave unto his son, Gen. xxxvii. 37. Many years after, the remembrance of such friends, of such accidents, is most grievous unto us, to see or hear of it, though it concern not ourselves but others. Scaliger saith of himself, that he never read Socrates' death, in Plato's Phaedon, but he wept: [3873]Austin shed tears when he read the destruction of Troy. But howsoever this passion of sorrow be violent, bitter, and seizeth familiarly on wise, valiant, discreet men, yet it may surely be withstood, it may be diverted. For what is there in this life, that it should be so dear unto us? or that we should so much deplore the departure of a friend? The greatest pleasures are common society, to enjoy one another's presence, feasting, hawking, hunting, brooks, woods, hills, music, dancing, &c. all this is but vanity and loss of time, as I have sufficiently declared.

[3874]———dum bibimus, dum serta, unguenta, puellas

Poscimus, obrepit non intellecta senectus.

Whilst we drink, prank ourselves, with wenches dally,

Old age upon's at unawares doth sally.

As alchemists spend that small modicum they have to get gold, and never find it, we lose and neglect eternity, for a little momentary pleasure which we cannot enjoy, nor shall ever attain to in this life. We abhor death, pain, and grief, all, yet we will do nothing of that which should vindicate us from, but rather voluntarily thrust ourselves upon it. [3875] “The lascivious prefers his whore before his life, or good estate; an angry man his revenge: a parasite his gut; ambitious, honours; covetous, wealth; a thief his booty; a soldier his spoil; we abhor diseases, and yet we pull them upon us.” We are never better or freer from cares than when we sleep, and yet, which we so much avoid and lament, death is but a perpetual sleep; and why should it, as [3876]Epicurus argues, so much affright us? “When we are, death is not: but when death is, then we are not:” our life is tedious and troublesome unto him that lives best; [3877]“'tis a misery to be born, a pain to live, a trouble to die:” death makes an end of our miseries, and yet we cannot consider of it; a little before [3878]Socrates drank his portion of cicuta, he bid the citizens of Athens cheerfully farewell, and concluded his speech with this short sentence; “My time is now come to be gone, I to my death, you to live on; but which of these is best, God alone knows.” For there is no pleasure here but sorrow is annexed to it, repentance follows it. [3879]“If I feed liberally, I am likely sick or surfeit: if I live sparingly my hunger and thirst is not allayed; I am well neither full nor fasting; if I live honest, I burn in lust;” if I take my pleasure, I tire and starve myself, and do injury to my body and soul. [3880]“Of so small a quantity of mirth, how much sorrow? after so little pleasure, how great misery?” 'Tis both ways troublesome to me, to rise and go to bed, to eat and provide my meat; cares and contentions attend me all day long, fears and suspicions all my life. I am discontented, and why should I desire so much to live? But a happy death will make an end of all our woes and miseries; omnibus una meis certa medela malis; why shouldst not thou then say with old Simeon since thou art so well affected, “Lord now let thy servant depart in peace:” or with Paul, “I desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ”? Beata mors quae ad beatam vitam aditum aperit, 'tis a blessed hour that leads us to a [3881]blessed life, and blessed are they that die in the Lord. But life is sweet, and death is not so terrible in itself as the concomitants of it, a loathsome disease, pain, horror, &c. and many times the manner of it, to be hanged, to be broken on the wheel, to be burned alive. [3882]Servetus the heretic, that suffered in Geneva, when he was brought to the stake, and saw the executioner come with fire in his hand, homo viso igne tam horrendum exclamavit, ut universum populum perterrefecerit, roared so loud, that he terrified the people. An old stoic would have scorned this. It troubles some to be unburied, or so:

———non te optima mater

Condet humi, patriove onerabit membra sepulchro;

Alitibus linguere feris, et gurgite mersum

Unda feret, piscesque impasti vulnera lambent.

Thy gentle parents shall not bury thee,

Amongst thine ancestors entomb'd to be,

But feral fowl thy carcass shall devour,

Or drowned corps hungry fish maws shall scour.

As Socrates told Crito, it concerns me not what is done with me when I am dead; Facilis jactura sepulchri: I care not so long as I feel it not; let them set mine head on the pike of Tenerife, and my quarters in the four parts of the world,—pascam licet in cruce corvos, let wolves or bears devour me;—[3883]Caelo tegitur qui non habet urnam, the canopy of heaven covers him that hath no tomb. So likewise for our friends, why should their departure so much trouble us? They are better as we hope, and for what then dost thou lament, as those do whom Paul taxed in his time, 1 Thes. iv. 13. “that have no hope”? 'Tis fit there should be some solemnity.

[3884]Sed sepelire decet defunctum, pectore forti,

Constantes, unumque diem fletui indulgentes.

Job's friends said not a word to him the first seven days, but let sorrow and discontent take their course, themselves sitting sad and silent by him. When Jupiter himself wept for Sarpedon, what else did the poet insinuate, but that some sorrow is good

[3885]Quis matrem nisi mentis inops in funere nati

Flere vetat?———

who can blame a tender mother if she weep for her children? Beside, as [3886]Plutarch holds, 'tis not in our power not to lament, Indolentia non cuivis contingit, it takes away mercy and pity, not to be sad; 'tis a natural passion to weep for our friends, an irresistible passion to lament and grieve. “I know not how” (saith Seneca) “but sometimes 'tis good to be miserable in misery: and for the most part all grief evacuates itself by tears,”

[3887]———est quaedam flere voluptas,

Expletur lachrymis egeriturque dolor:

“yet after a day's mourning or two, comfort thyself for thy heaviness,” Eccles. xxxviii. 17. [3888]Non decet defunctum ignavo quaestu prosequi; 'twas Germanicus' advice of old, that we should not dwell too long upon our passions, to be desperately sad, immoderate grievers, to let them tyrannise, there's indolentiae, ars, a medium to be kept: we do not (saith [3889]Austin) forbid men to grieve, but to grieve overmuch. “I forbid not a man to be angry, but I ask for what cause he is so? Not to be sad, but why is he sad? Not to fear, but wherefore is he afraid?” I require a moderation as well as a just reason. [3890]The Romans and most civil commonwealths have set a time to such solemnities, they must not mourn after a set day, “or if in a family a child be born, a daughter or son married, some state or honour be conferred, a brother be redeemed from his bands, a friend from his enemies,” or the like, they must lament no more. And 'tis fit it should be so; to what end is all their funeral pomp, complaints, and tears? When Socrates was dying, his friends Apollodorus and Crito, with some others, were weeping by him, which he perceiving, asked them what they meant: [3891]“for that very cause he put all the women out of the room, upon which words of his they were abashed, and ceased from their tears.” Lodovicus Cortesius, a rich lawyer of Padua (as [3892] Bernardinus Scardeonius relates) commanded by his last will, and a great mulct if otherwise to his heir, that no funeral should be kept for him, no man should lament: but as at a wedding, music and minstrels to be provided; and instead of black mourners, he took order, [3893]“that twelve virgins clad in green should carry him to the church.” His will and testament was accordingly performed, and he buried in St. Sophia's church. [3894]Tully was much grieved for his daughter Tulliola's death at first, until such time that he had confirmed his mind with some philosophical precepts, [3895]“then he began to triumph over fortune and grief, and for her reception into heaven to be much more joyed than before he was troubled for her loss.” If a heathen man could so fortify himself from philosophy, what shall a Christian from divinity? Why dost thou so macerate thyself? 'Tis an inevitable chance, the first statute in Magna Charta, an everlasting Act of Parliament, all must [3896]die.

[3897]Constat aeterna positumque lege est,

Ut constet genitum nihil.

It cannot be revoked, we are all mortal, and these all commanding gods and princes “die like men:”[3898]—involvit humile pariter et celsum caput, aquatque summis infima. “O weak condition of human estate,” Sylvius exclaims: [3899]Ladislaus, king of Bohemia, eighteen years of age, in the flower of his youth, so potent, rich, fortunate and happy, in the midst of all his friends, amongst so many [3900]physicians, now ready to be [3901] married, in thirty-six hours sickened and died. We must so be gone sooner or later all, and as Calliopeius in the comedy took his leave of his spectators and auditors, Vos valete et plaudite, Calliopeius recensui, must we bid the world farewell (Exit Calliopeius), and having now played our parts, for ever be gone. Tombs and monuments have the like fate, data sunt ipsis quoque fata sepulchris, kingdoms, provinces, towns, and cities have their periods, and are consumed. In those flourishing times of Troy, Mycenae was the fairest city in Greece, Graeciae cunctae imperitabat, but it, alas, and that [3902]“Assyrian Nineveh are quite overthrown:” the like fate hath that Egyptian and Boeotian Thebes, Delos, commune Graeciae, conciliabulum, the common council-house of Greece, [3903]and Babylon, the greatest city that ever the sun shone on, hath now nothing but walls and rubbish left. [3904]Quid Pandioniae restat nisi nomen Athenae? Thus [3905]Pausanias complained in his times. And where is Troy itself now, Persepolis, Carthage, Cizicum, Sparta, Argos, and all those Grecian cities? Syracuse and Agrigentum, the fairest towns in Sicily, which had sometimes 700,000 inhabitants, are now decayed: the names of Hieron, Empedocles, &c., of those mighty numbers of people, only left. One Anacharsis is remembered amongst the Scythians; the world itself must have an end; and every part of it. Caeterae igitur urbes sunt mortales, as Peter [3906]Gillius concludes of Constantinople, haec sane quamdiu erunt homines, futura mihi videtur immortalis; but 'tis not so: nor site, nor strength, nor sea nor land, can vindicate a city, but it and all must vanish at last. And as to a traveller great mountains seem plains afar off, at last are not discerned at all; cities, men, monuments decay,—nec solidis prodest sua machina terris,[3907]the names are only left, those at length forgotten, and are involved in perpetual night.

«Возвращаясь из Азии, когда я плыл от Эгины к Мегаре, я начал» (говорит Сервий Сульпиций в своем утешительном послании к Туллию) «оглядывать окрестности. Эгина была позади меня, Мегара впереди, Пирей справа, Коринф слева, какие процветающие города прежде, ныне поверженные и разрушенные перед моими глазами? Я начал думать про себя: увы, почему мы, люди, так встревожены уходом друга, чья жизнь гораздо короче? Когда столько прекрасных городов лежат погребенными перед нами. Помни, о Сервий, ты человек; и этим я сильно укрепился и исправил себя». Исправь же и ты, и утешь себя тем, что мы неизбежно должны умереть, и все умирают, что мы воскреснем: как считал Туллий; Jucundiorque multo congressus noster futurus, quam insuavis et acerbus digressus, наша вторая встреча будет гораздо приятнее, чем наше расставание было горестным. Да, но он был моим самым дорогим и любящим другом, моим единственным другом,

[3910]Quis deciderio sit pudor aut modus

Tam chari capitis?———

And who can blame my woe?

Thou mayst be ashamed, I say with [3911]Seneca, to confess it, “in such a [3912]tempest as this to have but one anchor,” go seek another: and for his part thou dost him great injury to desire his longer life. [3913]“Wilt thou have him crazed and sickly still,” like a tired traveller that comes weary to his inn, begin his journey afresh, “or to be freed from his miseries; thou hast more need rejoice that he is gone.” Another complains of a most sweet wife, a young wife, Nondum sustulerat flavum Proserpina crinem, such a wife as no mortal man ever had, so good a wife, but she is now dead and gone, laethaeoque jacet condita sarcophago. I reply to him in Seneca's words, if such a woman at least ever was to be had, [3914]“He did either so find or make her; if he found her, he may as happily find another;” if he made her, as Critobulus in Xenophon did by his, he may as good cheap inform another, et bona tam sequitur, quam bona prima fuit; he need not despair, so long as the same master is to be had. But was she good? Had she been so tired peradventure as that Ephesian widow in Petronius, by some swaggering soldier, she might not have held out. Many a man would have been willingly rid of his: before thou wast bound, now thou art free; [3915]“and 'tis but a folly to love thy fetters though they be of gold.” Come into a third place, you shall have an aged father sighing for a son, a pretty child;

[3916]Impube pectus quale vel impia

Molliret Thracum pectora.

———He now lies asleep,

Would make an impious Thracian weep.

Or some fine daughter that died young, Nondum experta novi gaudia prima tori. Or a forlorn son for his deceased father. But why? Prior exiit, prior intravit, he came first, and he must go first. [3917]Tu frustra pius, heu, &c. What, wouldst thou have the laws of nature altered, and him to live always? Julius Caesar, Augustus, Alcibiades, Galen, Aristotle, lost their fathers young. And why on the other side shouldst thou so heavily take the death of thy little son?

[3918]Num quia nec fato, merita nec morte peribat,

Sed miser ante diem———

he died before his time, perhaps, not yet come to the solstice of his age, yet was he not mortal? Hear that divine [3919]Epictetus, “If thou covet thy wife, friends, children should live always, thou art a fool.” He was a fine child indeed, dignus Apollineis lachrymis, a sweet, a loving, a fair, a witty child, of great hope, another Eteoneus, whom Pindarus the poet and Aristides the rhetorician so much lament; but who can tell whether he would have been an honest man? He might have proved a thief, a rogue, a spendthrift, a disobedient son, vexed and galled thee more than all the world beside, he might have wrangled with thee and disagreed, or with his brothers, as Eteocles and Polynices, and broke thy heart; he is now gone to eternity, as another Ganymede, in the [3920]flower of his youth, “as if he had risen,” saith [3921]Plutarch, “from the midst of a feast” before he was drunk, “the longer he had lived, the worse he would have been,” et quo vita longior, (Ambrose thinks) culpa numerosior, more sinful, more to answer he would have had. If he was naught, thou mayst be glad he is gone; if good, be glad thou hadst such a son. Or art thou sure he was good? It may be he was an hypocrite, as many are, and howsoever he spake thee fair, peradventure he prayed, amongst the rest that Icaro Menippus heard at Jupiter's whispering place in Lucian, for his father's death, because he now kept him short, he was to inherit much goods, and many fair manors after his decease. Or put case he was very good, suppose the best, may not thy dead son expostulate with thee, as he did in the same [3922]Lucian, “why dost thou lament my death, or call me miserable that am much more happy than thyself? what misfortune is befallen me? Is it because I am not so bald, crooked, old, rotten, as thou art? What have I lost, some of your good cheer, gay clothes, music, singing, dancing, kissing, merry-meetings, thalami lubentias, &c., is that it? Is it not much better not to hunger at all than to eat: not to thirst than to drink to satisfy thirst: not to be cold than to put on clothes to drive away cold? You had more need rejoice that I am freed from diseases, agues, cares, anxieties, livor, love, covetousness, hatred, envy, malice, that I fear no more thieves, tyrants, enemies, as you do.” [3923]Ad cinerem et manes credis curare sepultos? “Do they concern us at all, think you, when we are once dead?” Condole not others then overmuch, “wish not or fear thy death.” [3924] Summum nec optes diem nec metuas; 'tis to no purpose.

Excessi e vitae aerumnis facilisque lubensque

Ne perjora ipsa morte dehinc videam.

I left this irksome life with all mine heart,

Lest worse than death should happen to my part.

[3925]Cardinal Brundusinus caused this epitaph in Rome to be inscribed on his tomb, to show his willingness to die, and tax those that were so both to depart. Weep and howl no more then, 'tis to small purpose; and as Tully adviseth us in the like case, Non quos amisimus, sed quantum lugere par sit cogitemus: think what we do, not whom we have lost. So David did, 2 Sam. xxii., “While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept; but being now dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him again? I shall go to him, but he cannot return to me.” He that doth otherwise is an intemperate, a weak, a silly, and indiscreet man. Though Aristotle deny any part of intemperance to be conversant about sorrow, I am of [3926]Seneca's mind, “he that is wise is temperate, and he that is temperate is constant, free from passion, and he that is such a one, is without sorrow,” as all wise men should be. The [3927]Thracians wept still when a child was born, feasted and made mirth when any man was buried: and so should we rather be glad for such as die well, that they are so happily freed from the miseries of this life. When Eteoneus, that noble young Greek, was so generally lamented by his friends, Pindarus the poet feigns some god saying, Silete homines, non enim miser est, &c. be quiet good folks, this young man is not so miserable as you think; he is neither gone to Styx nor Acheron, sed gloriosus et senii expers heros, he lives for ever in the Elysian fields. He now enjoys that happiness which your great kings so earnestly seek, and wears that garland for which ye contend. If our present weakness is such, we cannot moderate our passions in this behalf, we must divert them by all means, by doing something else, thinking of another subject. The Italians most part sleep away care and grief, if it unseasonably seize upon them, Danes, Dutchmen, Polanders and Bohemians drink it down, our countrymen go to plays: do something or other, let it not transpose thee, or by [3928] “premeditation make such accidents familiar,” as Ulysses that wept for his dog, but not for his wife, quod paratus esset animo obfirmato, (Plut. de anim. tranq.) “accustom thyself, and harden beforehand by seeing other men's calamities, and applying them to thy present estate;” Praevisum est levius quod fuit ante malum. I will conclude with [3929]Epictetus, “If thou lovest a pot, remember 'tis but a, pot thou lovest, and thou wilt not be troubled when 'tis broken: if thou lovest a son or wife, remember they were mortal, and thou wilt not be so impatient.” And for false fears and all other fortuitous inconveniences, mischances, calamities, to resist and prepare ourselves, not to faint is best: [3930]Stultum est timere quod vitari non potest, 'tis a folly to fear that which cannot be avoided, or to be discouraged at all.