He posteritee of tymes and ages, muste needes praise
the wisedome and industrie, of all soche as haue lefte
in monumentes of writyng, thynges worthie fame,
Inuentours
of al excellent
artes and sci-
ences, com-
mended to the
posteritee. what can bee more excellently set foorthe: or what deserueth
chiefer fame and glorie, then the knowledge of artes and sci-
ences, inuented by our learned, wise, and graue aūcestours:
and so moche the more thei deserue honour, and perpetuall
commendacions, because thei haue been the firste aucthours,
and beginners to soche excellencies. The posteritée praiseth
Apelles.
Parthesius.
Polucletus. and setteth forth the wittie and ingenious workes of Apelles,
Parthesius, and Polucletus, and all soche as haue artificial-
ly set forth their excellent giftes of nature. But if their praise
for fame florishe perpetuallie, and increaseth for the wor-
thines of theim, yet these thynges though moste excellent, are
The ende of
all artes, is to
godlie life. inferiour to vertue: for the ende of artes and sciences, is ver-
tue and godlines. Neither yet these thynges dissonaunt from
vertue, and not associate, are commendable onely for vertues
sake: and to the ende of vertue, the wittes of our auncestours
were incensed to inuent these thynges. But herein Polucle-
tus, Apelles, and [Perthesius] maie giue place, when greater
Esope wor-
thie moche
commendaciō[.] vertues come in place, then this my aucthour Esope, for his
godly preceptes, wise counsaill and admonicion, is chiefly to
bée praised: For, our life maie learne all goodnes, all vertue,
Philophie in
fables. of his preceptes. The Philosophers did neuer so liuely sette
forthe and teache in their scholes and audience, what vertue
Realmes
maie learne
concorde out
of Esopes
fables. and godlie life were, as Esope did in his Fables, Citees, and
common wealthes, maie learne out of his fables, godlie con-
corde and vnitee, by the whiche meanes, common wealthes
florisheth, and kingdoms are saued. Herein ample matter ri-
seth to Princes, and gouernours, to rule their subiectes in all
Preceptes to
Kynges and
Subiectes.
Preceptes to
parentes and
children. godlie lawes, in faithfull obedience: the subiectes also to loue
and serue their prince, in al his affaires and busines. The fa-
ther maie learne to bring vp, and instructe his childe thereby.
The child also to loue and obeie his parentes. The huge and
monsterous vices, are by his vertuous doctrine defaced and
extirpated: his Fables in effect contain the mightie volumes
and bookes of all Philosophers, in morall preceptes, & the in-
The content
of al Lawes. finite monumētes of lawes stablished. If I should not speake
of his commendacion, the fruictes of his vertue would shewe
his commendacions: but that praise surmounteth all fame of
A true praise
commēded by
fame it self. glory, that commendeth by fame itself, the fruictes of fame
in this one Fable, riseth to my aucthour, whiche he wrote of
the Shepeherd, and the Wolues.
¶ The Morall.
Herein Esope wittely admonisheth all menne to be-
ware and take heede, of cloked and fained frendship,
of the wicked and vngodlie, whiche vnder a pretence
and offer of frendship or of benefite, seeke the ruin, dammage,
miserie or destruccion of man, toune, citée, region, or countree.
¶ The nature of the thyng.
F all beastes to the quantitée of his bodie, the
The Wolue
moste raue-
ning & cruell. Wolue passeth in crueltee and desire of bloode,
alwaies vnsaciable of deuouryng, neuer conten-
ted with his pray. The Wolfe deuoureth and ea-
teth of his praie all in feare, and therefore oftentymes he ca-
steth his looke, to be safe from perill and daunger. And herein
his nature is straunge frō all beastes: the iyes of the Wolfe,
tourned from his praie immediatlie, the praie prostrate vnder
The Wolues
of all beastes,
moste obliui-
ous. his foote is forgotten, and forthwith he seeketh a newe praie,
so greate obliuion and debilitée of memorie, is giuen to that
beaste, who chieflie seketh to deuoure his praie by night. The
The Wolue
inferiour to
the bandogge[.] Wolues are moche inferior to the banddogges in strength, bi-
cause nature hath framed thē in the hinder parts, moche more
weaker, and as it were maimed, and therefore the bandogge
dooeth ouermatche theim, and ouercome them in fight. The
Wolues are not all so mightie of bodie as the Bandogges,
of diuers colours, of fight more sharpe, of lesse heddes: but in
The Dogge
passeth all
creatures in
smellyng. smellyng, the nature of a Dogge passeth all beastes and
creatures, whiche the historie of Plinie dooe shewe, and Ari-
stotle in his booke of the historie of beastes, therein you shall
knowe their excellente nature. The housholde wanteth not
faithfull and trustie watche nor resistaunce, in the cause of the
Plinie. maister, the Bandogge not wantyng. Plinie sheweth out of
his historie, how Bandogges haue saued their Maister, by
their resistaunce. The Dogge of all beastes sheweth moste
loue, and neuer leaueth his maister: the worthines of the bā-
dogge is soche, that by the lawe in a certaine case, he is coun-
ted accessarie of Felonie, who stealeth a Bandogge from his
maister, a robberie immediatly folowing in thesame family.
The worthi-
nes of Shepe[.] As concernyng the Shepe, for their profite and wealthe,
that riseth of theim, are for worthines, waiyng their smalle
quantitie of bodie, aboue all beastes. Their fleshe nourisheth
purely, beyng swete and pleasaunt: their skinne also serueth
The wolle of
Shepe, riche
and commo-
dious. to diuers vses, their Wolles in so large and ample maner,
commmodious, seruyng all partes of common wealthes. No
state or degrée of persone is, but that thei maie goe cladde and
adorned with their wolles. So GOD in his creatures, hath
Man a chief
creature. created and made man, beyng a chief creatour, and moste ex-
cellent of all other, all thinges to serue him: and therefore the
Stoike Phi-
losophers. Stoicke Philosophers doe herein shewe thexcellencie of man
to be greate, when all thinges vpon the yearth, and from the
yearth, doe serue the vse of man, yet emong men there is a di-
uersitee of states, and a difference of persones, in office and cō-
The office of
the shepeher-
des, are pro-
fitable and
necessarie. dicion of life. As concernyng the Shepherde, he is in his state
and condicion of life, thoughe meane, he is a righte profi-
table and necessarie member, to serue all states in the commō
wealthe, not onely to his maister whom he serueth: for by his
diligence, and warie keping of thē, not onely from rauenyng
beastes, but otherwise he is a right profitable member, to all
Wealth, pro-
fit, and riches
riseth of the
Wolles of
Shepe. partes of the common wealth. For, dailie wée féele the cōmo-
ditie, wealth and riches, that riseth of theim, but the losse wée
féele not, except flockes perishe. In the body of man God hath
created & made diuerse partes, to make vp a whole and abso-
lute man, whiche partes in office, qualitée and worthinesse,
are moche differing. The bodie of man it self, for the excellent
workemanship of God therein, & meruailous giftes of nature
Man called
of the Philo-
sophers, a lit-
tle worlde. and vertues, lodged and bestowed in thesame bodie, is called
of the Philosophers Microcosmos, a little worlde. The body
of man in all partes at cōcord, euery part executing his func-
cion & office, florisheth, and in strength prospereth, otherwise
The bodie of
man without
concord of the
partes, peri-
sheth.
The common
wealthe like
to the bodie
of manne.
Menenius. thesame bodie in partes disseuered, is feeble and weake, and
thereby falleth to ruin, and perisheth. The singuler Fable of
Esope, of the belie and handes, manifestlie sheweth thesame
and herein a florishing kingdom or common wealth, is com-
pared to the body, euery part vsing his pure vertue, strēgth &
operacion. Menenius Agrippa, at what time as the [Romai-]
were at diuision against the Senate, he vsed the Fable of E-
sope, wherewith thei were perswaded to a concorde, and vni-
The baseste
parte of the
bodie moste
necessarie. tée. The vilest parte of the bodie, and baseste is so necessarie,
that the whole bodie faileth and perisheth, thesame wantyng
although nature remoueth them from our sight, and shame
fastnes also hideth theim: take awaie the moste vilest parte of
the bodie, either in substaunce, in operacion or function, and
forthwith the principall faileth. So likewise in a kyngdome,
or common wealth, the moste meane and basest state of man
taken awaie, the more principall thereby ceaseth: So God to
The amiable
parte of the
body doe con-
siste, by the
baseste and
moste defor-
meste. a mutuall concorde, frendship, and perpetuall societie of life,
hath framed his creatures, that the moste principall faileth,
it not vnited with partes more base and inferiour, so moche
the might and force of thynges excellente, doe consiste by the
moste inferiour, other partes of the bodie more amiable and
pleasaunt to sight, doe remain by the force, vse and integritée
of the simpliest. The Prince and chief peres doe decaie, and al
the whole multitude dooe perishe: the baseste kinde of menne
The Shepe-
herdes state
necessarie. wantyng. Remoue the Shepeherdes state, what good follo-
weth, yea, what lacke and famine increaseth not: to all states
The state of
the husbande
manne, moste
necessarie. the belie ill fedde, our backes worse clad. The toilyng house-
bandman is so necessarie, that his office ceasyng vniuersallie
the whole bodie perisheth, where eche laboureth to further
and aide one an other, this a common wealth, there is pro-
sperous state of life. The wisest Prince, the richest, the migh-
tiest and moste [valianntes], had nede alwaies of the foolishe,
the weake, the base and simplest, to vpholde his kingdomes,
not onely in the affaires of his kyngdomes, but in his dome-
sticall thinges, for prouisiō of victuall, as bread, drinke, meat[,]
clothyng, and in all soche other thynges. Therefore, no office
or state of life, be it neuer so méete, seruyng in any part of the
No meane
state, to be
contempned. common wealthe, muste bée contemned, mocked, or skorned
at, for thei are so necessarie, that the whole frame of the com-
mon wealth faileth without theim: some are for their wicked
behauiour so detestable, that a common wealthe muste séeke
Rotten mem[-]
bers of the cō[-]
mon wealth. meanes to deface and extirpate theim as wéedes, and rotten
members of the bodie. These are thefes, murtherers, and ad-
ulterers, and many other mischiuous persones. These godly
Lawes, vpright and sincere Magistrates, will extirpate and
cutte of, soche the [commo wealth] lacketh not, but rather ab-
horreth as an infectiue plague and Pestilence, who in thende
through their owne wickednesse, are brought to mischief.
Plato. Read Plato in his booke, intiteled of the common wealth
who sheweth the state of the Prince, and whole Realme, to
stande and consiste by the vnitee of partes, all states of the cō-
A common
wealth doe
consiste by
vnitie of all
states. mon wealth, in office diuers, for dignitée and worthines, bea-
ring not equalitée in one consociatée and knit, doe raise a per-
fite frame, and bodie of kingdome or common wealthe.