GOd almyghty saue our kynge / & the glory of all his frendes / and cōferme his realme in the faythe of god. And cause hym to rey­gne in thexaltacyon / prayse / and honour of his people. I whiche am seruaunt to the kynge haue put in execution the werke of his cōmaū dement / in getynge a boke of good maners to his go­uernaūce. The whiche boke is called the secrete of se­cretes / made by the prince of phylosophres Arystotle the sone of Mahonnet of Macedony / to his dysciple y ^e emperour Alexander sone of Phylyp kynge of Mace­dony the which Alexandre had two crownes. This sayd boke Arystotle cōpyled in the oldenesse of his bo­dy / bycause, that he might no more trauayle nor ryde to do suche besynesses as Alexander had put into his charge. For Alexādre had made hym gouernour and mayster aboue all other bycause he was a man of veray good councell / of grete clergy / and subtyll vnder­standyng. And incessantly studyed good & gracyous maners / & scyences spyrytuall / contemplatiues / and charytables. He was a wyse man / & meke / louynge reason and Iustyce / & euer reported ryght wysnesse & trouthe. And therfore many phylosophres r [...]pute hȳ of the nombre of prophetes. And say y ^t they had foūde dyuers bokes of the grekes which god had sent hym by his moost excellent aūgell / saynge to hym. I shall make y ^e to be called in y ^e worlde more an aungell than a man. And wyte ye y ^t Arystotle dyde in his lyfe ma­ny sygnes whiche were straunge in workes & mer­uayles / [Page] whiche were to longe to be accōpted. Before his dethe he dyde many straunge werkes [...] wherfore a relygyon & cōpany peryadyc sayd & helde opynion that he had ben in heuē in lykenesse of a douue of fyre And as longe as he lyued Alexander ouercame all y ^• worlde through his coūcell. And all landes by the fa­me of hym / were put vnder the imperyall cōmaūde­mēt & in lykewyse they of Perce / & Araby. and there was none y ^t durst gaynsay Alexāder / in worde nor dede. And y ^• sayd arystotle made many goodly epystles for y ^e loue y ^t he had to Alexander / & for to cause hym to knowe all y ^• secretes [...] he made an epystle here vnder wryten / y ^• which he sent to Alexander. And whā Ale­xander had ouercome y ^• realme of Perce / & set y ^• moost of them in his prysōs / he sent an epystle to Arystotle whiche foloweth.

DOctour of Iustyce & right noble phylosopher we sygnyfy to thy hygh wysdome / y ^• we ha­ue sent in y ^• realme of Perce many mē / whiche haboū de gretly in reason / & vnderstōdyng / subtyl & pen [...]tra [...]yfe [...] wherfore al we haue intencyō to put thē to deth. Howbert as thou semest best sygnyfy vs by thy let­tres.

YF thou can moeue & chaūge the ayre frome y ^• erth [...] & water / & y ^e ordynaūce of thy cytees to [...]cōplysshe thy pleasure [...] yf thou can do it ceas of / & [Page] do it not / but gouerne thē in thy goodnesse / and exal [...] thē in benygnyte. And yf thou do thus I hope with the grace of god that they all shall be thy frendes to all thy good pleasures and commaundemētes. And for the loue that they shall haue in the / thou shalt peasybly reygne ouer thē in grete vyctory. ¶And whan Alexander had red this epystle / he dyde after his coū cell / and they of Perce were more obedyent to hym than to any other nacyon.

PHyly [...] that translated this boke in [...]o latyn was a chylde of Parys / & was a veray wyse interp̄tour & vnderstander of languages / & he sayd [...]hus. I haue not knowē nor seen ty [...]e that the phylosophers haue ho [...]ē / or haue ben acustomed to helpe or to make all weckes or all secretes but that I haue sought / nor haue knowē by no mā by whome I kne­we that he had knowlegyng of y ^e scryptures of Phylosophers / but I haue vysited hym vnto y ^• tyme y ^• I came to y ^e knowlege of councell / y ^t whiche was Estulapideus / & a man solytary & of grete abstynēce [...] and veray wyse in phylosophy / to whom I meked me dylygently / requyrynge hym that he wolde shewe to me the scryptures of the knowlege of the sonne / the whiche he gaue vnto me / with a ryght good wy [...] [Page] And surely I foūde as moche as I desyred / & all that I had ben about a hole yere / & wherfore I had longe tyme trauayled. And I thus hauynge my desyre re­torned home with grete ioye / yeldyng thākes to god my creatour. ¶And than at the request of the moost noble kynge with grete study & labour I translated this boke out of Greke lāguage into Caldees tongue & syth in to the speche of Araby. The which boke the moost wyseman Arystotle made / whiche answered alwayes to all the requestes of kynge Alexandre / as more playnly appereth in this present boke.

RYght glorious sone and ryght wyse / god cō serue the in the walke of knowlegyng the wayes of trouthe & vertues / and w ^tdrawe thy carnall and beestly desyres / & conferme his realme to his seruyce / & to thy honour. Letynge the wyte deere sone y ^t I haue receyued thyn epystle reuerently & honourably as it apperteyneth / and playnly haue vnderstāde the grete desyre that y ^• hast that I were personally with the. Meruaylyng how I can absteyne me fro the. Reprouynge me of y ^t I care but lytel for thy besynesses. For y ^• which cause I haue ordeyned & hasted me to make a boke for the / the which shall weye & conteyne all my werkes / supplyenge myn absence & defautes [...] and shall be to the a ryght certayne rule & doctryne in all thynges y ^• thou wyllest. The whiche I wyll shewe as I were pre­sently with the. Dere sone thou ought not to repreue nor blame me / for thou knowest well y ^t for nothyng of [Page] the worlde / but that I wolde go to the. And yf were not y ^t I am so sore greued / and ladē with aege & wey­kenesse of my persone / wherby in no wyse I cā go to the. And wyte thou / that y ^e thynge which thou hast demaunded of me / and that thou so moche desyrest to knowe & haue is y ^e secretes that nature humaynes thought scantly can compryse nor susteyne. How thā may in the hert of mortall man be wryten or vnder­stande that thynge that he ought not to knowe. And that thyng that is not behouefull nor couenable to be spoken of. Howbeit I am bounde by veray duety to answere to that / that thou demaundest. I shall ne­uer other thȳge shewe the / but that whiche is wry­ten in this boke. For yf thou rede it dylygently / and vnderstande it playnly / and that thou mayst knowe y ^t is cōteyned in it / without doubt thou shalt haue all that that thou desyrest. For god shal gyue y ^e suche grace / suche vnderstandynge / and subtylte of grete wyt and scyence / and also by the doctryne y ^t I haue gyuē the afore tyme / that by thy selfe thou mayst knowe & cōceyue that whiche thou desyrest. And y ^e cause why that I haue opened and related my secretes fygura­tyuely & somwhat derkly / & that I haue put obserue exāples / and by fygures / is that I doubt & feare moche that this boke sholde come to the handes of intect persones / & in the power of arrogant & euyll folkes / which myght knowe y ^e secretes of god. And god kno­weth wel that they be not worthy. Certaynly I make grete doubt y ^t I in this trespace not y ^e wyll and y ^• grace of god. I do relate & dyscouer this thynge / as it hath bē reuelate of god (or now) vnto y ^e. wy [...]e thou then ryght dere sone that I haue dyscouered to y ^e the [Page] thynges that bē to be hyd. And yf thou dyscouer the­se secretes / thou shalt haue shortly euyl fortunes / and mayst not be sure frome grete harmes that shall be comynge towarde the. But almyghty god kepe the & me from suche thynges / & from all dyshonest thyn­ges. And after all these thynges haue in thy mynde this noble & prouffytable doctryne / y ^e I make redy to the / & intēde to expose thy noble hert / to informe it to thy grete solace / as myrour of helth yf thou wylt apply y ^• ther [...] Moost dere sone it behoueth euery kyng [...]o haue ow [...] thȳges to susteyne hym & his royalme. But he maye not stedfastely haue it / but yf he haue good & grete gouernaūce of thē that ought to gouer­ne. And he y ^t reygneth so is obeyed of his subgectes. And his subgectes egally w ^t one courage / & by one selfe forme shalbe obedyēt to y ^e lorde. For by y ^• dysobedy­ence of y ^e subgectes y ^• power of y ^e lorde is gretly [...]eblysshed. And yf y ^• subgectes reygne / y ^e gouernaūce may nothyng do. And I shall shewe the / y ^e cause wherfore y ^e subgectes be styred & couraged to obey theyr lorde. two thynges ther is. The one is outwarde & y ^e other inwarde. It is not lōgelyth I declared to the y ^• that is outwarde. That is to wyte / whan y ^e lorde spēdeth wysely his rychesse amonge his subgectest / and y ^• he in them worke lyberalyte / & y ^t he gyue to echone as they be worthy. And therw ^t y ^e kynge behoueth to ha­ue a wyle / wherof I shall make mencyon in y ^e chapytre of vyces & helpes. That is to wyte that y ^• kynge ought to enforce hym to get y ^e he [...]es of his subgectes by good werkes. And this is y ^• fyrst degre & foūdacy­on in doyng of his dedes by .ii. thȳges. One inward & y ^• other outwarde. The cause outwarde is y ^• y ^• kyn­ge [Page] do & mayntene Iustyce / y ^• possessyons & rychesses of his subgectes / & y ^• he be pyteous a mercyfull. The cause inwarde is y ^t he honoure grete lerned men / & y ^t he haue thē for recōmēded. For god hath recōmēded thē theyr scyēce. And I recōmēde y ^• this secrete pr [...] ­cypally w ^t dyuers other / whiche thou shalt fynde in other chapytres of this boke / wher [...] thou shalt fynde grete wysdome & doctryne / & y ^• cōtent of y ^• fynal cause wherby thou shalt fynde thy prȳcypall purpose. [...]n it thou shalte lerne y ^e sygnyfycacyons / of y ^• wordes & obscurytees of y ^e examples. Thā thou shalt [...] & ꝑfytely haue that y ^t thou desyrest. wherfore pray to god moost wyse & gloryous kynge y ^• he wyll lyghten thy reason & vnderstandynge to the [...]de y ^t thou [...] knowe & ꝑceyue y ^e secretes of this seyēce. And [...] me thou mayst be myn heyre & successour / & y ^• he wyt graūt y ^• largenesse of goodes / to gyue haboūdaūce to y ^• lyuyng of wyse mē & studyēres / w ^t grace to knowe y ^t whiche is dyfficyle / & w ^tout the same nothyng can be done.

THere be .iiii. maner of kynges. There is a kynge y ^t is lyberall to hym selfe / & lyberall to his subgectes. There is a kynge y ^• is ly­b [...]rall to hym selfe & hauyng to his subge­ctes. The ytalyens say y ^• it is no vyce to a kynge y ^• is hauynge to hymselfe / & lyberal to his subgectes The I [...]oyes say y ^t y ^e kyng is good y ^• is hauȳg to hymself / to his subgectes. The Percyēs say y ^e cō trary & bē / of [...] y ^t y ^e kyng is not worthy y ^t is not large to hȳselfe & hauȳg to his subgectes. But amōg [Page] all y ^• kynges aboue sayd he is the worst / & ought in no thynge to be praysed y ^t is not lyberall to hym selfe & to his subgectis. For he y ^t is hauynge to hym selfe & to his subgectis / his realme shall be clene destroyed. Thā it behoueth vs to enquere of y ^e vertues & vyces aboue sayd / & to shew what thȳg largesse is & wher in the errour of largesse lyeth / & what harmes come for lacke of largesse. It is euydent that the qualytees bē to be reproued whā they go fro y ^• meaue / & be aua­rycyous [...] folysshe lyberall. But yf thou wyll enque­re or seke largesse / regarde & consyder thy power / and y ^• tyme of the necessyte / & y ^e merytes of mē. And than thou ought to gyue as thy power wyll (by measu­re) to them y ^t haue nede / & be worthy of it. For he y ^• gyueth otherwyse he breketh y ^e rule of largesse & syn̄eth And he that gyueth his goodes to hym that hath no nede / he getteth no thākes. And al y ^t he gyueth to thē y ^• be not worthy / is lost. And he y ^• spendeth his good [...] outragyously / shall soone come to y ^• wylde brymmes of pouerte / & is lyke hym y ^• gyueth victory to his enemyes ouer hym. But a kynge y ^t gyueth his goodes mesurably to thē y ^t haue nede / is lyberall to hym selfe and his subgectes And his realme shal come to grete ꝓsperyte / & his cōmaūdemēt shalbe fulfylled. And he y ^• spēdeth y ^• good of his realme w ^tout ordre / & gyueth to thē y ^• be not worthy / & to thē y ^• haue no nede / such a kynge destroyeth his people / & y ^• comyn welthe / & is not worthy to reygne as a kyng. And y ^e name of auaryce is an ouer foule name to a kyng / & to moche harme cometh to his regall mageste. Therfore yf a kyng wyl reygne honourably / hym behoueth not to haue y ^• one nor the other of these vyces / y ^• is to wyte / that [Page] he be not to lyberall / nor to coueytous. And yf y ^e kyng wyl be coūceyled / he ought w ^t grete dylygēce to pouruey hym of a wyse mā / whiche shall be chosē amōge all other / to whome he shall cōmyt his doynges of y ^• realme / & the gouernaūce of the rychesses of the same as they ought to be spent.

KYnge Alexander moost dere sone I tell the certaynly that yf on [...]y make greter expen­ce thā his realme [...] a [...]susteyne / that he en­clyneth to folysshe largesse & auaryce. Su­che a kynge without doubt shalbe dyst [...]o­yed. But yf he inclyne to lyberalyte / he shal haue perpetuall glory of his realme / yf he drawe hym fro ta­kynge y ^e goodes & possessyons of his subgectes. And wyte thou dere sone that I fynde wryten of a grece doctour named Hermogynes whiche sayth that the gretest & souerayne goodnesse / bryghtnesse of vnder­standyng / & plente of lawe / scyēce & perfeceyō of a kynge is y ^• it behoueth to kepe hym fro takynge of the goodes and possessyons of his subgectes. It hath ben y ^e vndoynge of many realmes. For dyuers kyn­ges haue made greter & outragyous expences thā y ^• stynt of theyr realmes coude extende / wherfore they toke the goodes and landes of theyr subgectes. For y ^• whiche iniuryes doynge y ^e people cryed to god / whi­che sent vengeaūce on the sayd kynges. In suche wyce that theyr people rebelled agaynst them & put thē to destrucey [...]. And w ^tout the grete mercy of god that [Page] susteyned thē / y ^• realmes shold haue bē vtterly dystroyed w ^t y ^e people. Thou thē oughtest to absteyne y ^e frō outragyous expēces / & ought to kepe tēperasice in lyberalyte. And gete not the derke secretnesse & repro­ches that thou shalt haue / for [...]belon [...]eth not to thē that be good.

THe substaūce of all vertuo [...] reygnyng is to gyue to thē y ^t be good / & ꝑdon iniuryes / honoure & bere reuerēce to thē y ^t be worthy / & haue mynde of thē y ^t he meke / & amēde y ^t de fawtes of them y ^t be symple / & w ^t good wyl saue y ^e people / & kepe y ^• fro to moche spekyng / let imuryes passe tyll thouse the tyme of defence y ^t thou kno­we not y ^e foly of roles. Dere soue I haue taught y ^e & shal teche y ^• many thynges y ^e whiche thou shalt kepe in thy hert. And I ensure y ^e y ^t y ^e sayd rechynges shall always be there in al thy doȳges & weckes. Bryght & suffycyēt scyence of physyke shortely cōprysed thou shalt haue. And I wolde neuer haue shewed the on [...]y thynge / but y ^t y ^• sayd scyence w ^t y ^t techynges y ^t folowe ought to suffyse the & thy werkes in this worlde and in the other.

DEre sone knowe thou y ^t y ^e vnderstādynge is y ^e chyef of y ^e gouernaūce of mā / & helth of the soule / keper of vertues / & of vyces. For in y ^e sayd vnderstādynge we beholde the thynges y ^t be to be chosen. It is y ^e key [Page] of vertues / & the rote of all laudable goodes. And the best instrumēt therof is to haue good fame. And yf it be contraryly done / it shal be cōfounded at the last by yll fame. A kynge ought pryncypally seke to haue a good fame. More for the gouernȳge of his reame thā for hym selfe.

FOr the begynnynge of largesse that a kynge ought to haue / is to haue good fame / wher­by the grete realmes & grete lordysshyppes be gotē. And yf thou desyrest to get realmes or lordysshyppes / yf it be not by good fame / thou shalt gete none other thynge but enuy. And enuy bredeth lesynges / whiche is mater and rote of all vyces. En­uy bredeth yll speche / yll speche bredeth hate: hate bredeth vniustyce / vniustyce bredeth batayle / batayle breketh all lawe / dystroyeth cytees / and is cōtrary to nature. Than thynke dere sone & set thy desyre to get good fame / and thou shalt haue in the crouth and all thynges laudable / for it is cause of al welth. For it is cōtrary to lesynges / whiche is mater of all vyces / as it is sayd. And trouth engendreth the desyre of Iustyce. Iustyce engendreth good saythe. Good faythe en­gēdreth famylyaryte. Famylyaryte engēdreth frendshyp. Frendshyp engendreth councel and helpe. And for this cause all the worlde was ordeyned / & the la­wes made which be conenable to reason and nature. It appereth than that the desyre to haue good fame is honourable and perdurable lyfe.

[Page] ALexander fayre sone leue thy beestly desy­res of thy flesshly appetyte / for they be corruptibles. The flesshely desyres draweth thy hert to beestly corrupcyō of y ^• soule w ^t out ony dyscrcyon / & dryeth y ^• body of mā wotest thou what flesshely loue bredeth? It bre­deth auaryce / auaryce bredeth desyre / desyre bredeth rychesse and maketh a man w ^tout care / to be a prou­de man / without lawe / and a thefe. Theft bryngeth a man to shame / and fynall destruccyon of his body.

IT is behouefull & ryght that y ^• good fame of a kynge / be in honourable scyence and wor­thynesse (thoroughout al realmes) to be shed frome his realme / and haue cōmunycacyon of theyr wyse councel with his. And therby he shall be praysed / honoured / & doubted of his sub­gectes / whan theyse y ^• he speketh and doth his werkes wysely. For easely is perceyued the wysdome or foly of a kynge / for whā he gouerneth hym in worthynesse towarde his subgectes / he is worthy to reygne honourably. But he that putteth his realme in seruytude or thraldom / of euyll customes / he breketh the way of veryte. And dyspyseth the good way and lawe of god. And at y ^• last be dyspraysed of all folkes / as he hath deser [...]ed.

[Page] ANd yet agayne well beloued sone I tell y ^• that the phylosophres haue spoken and sayd. It behoueth that y ^e royall mageste be gouerned by ryghtwysnesse / & not by faynt apparence / but in dede / to thende y ^• euery man may se and knowe clerely the goodnesse of the kynge / and that he feare god. And wyll be go­uerned in godly wayes / than shall he be honoured & doubted. And yf he shewe hym selfe faynynge to be good / and is nought to his subgectes / his yll wer­kes can not be hyd / nor it may not be but his people shall knowe it He shall be dyspysed of god & shamed in the worlde. And his dedes shalbe lessed / & the ho­noure of the crowne of his realme shall fayle. what shall I tell y ^e more? there is no treasure in this world to good fame. And moreouer dere [...]one / it besemeth y ^• thou worshyp clerkes / and pouerte of good men of relygyon / and exalt wyse mē and speke oft with thē. And questyon often of doubtes with them. And de­maunde many thynges of them. And answer wyse­ly theyr questyōs. And honoure noble men as eche of them is worthy.

IT behoueth that a wyse kynge thynke oftē of thynges to come that he may prouyde for suche thynges as be contrary to hym. And y ^• he may the easiyer bere the aduersytees and contrary aduētures. And the kyng ought to be wysely hyd & refreyned / to thende that without [Page] delyberacyon he come not to the dede that he purpo­sed in his anger. And he ought reasonably knowlege his anger and errour / and appease hym selfe easely. For the moost souerayne wysdome and vertue that a kynge maye haue / is to rule hym selfe wysely. And whan he seeth ony thynge that is good and prouffy­table for hym to be done / he sholde do it with grete dylygēce / & dyseceeyō bycause y ^• people shal not say y ^• he hath done his besynesse folysshely / or to neglygētly.

IT besemeth well to y ^• mageste royall that y ^• kynge be clothed honourably. And that he shewe hymselfe alway in fayre and ryall clo­thes. And ought in beaute of robbes to sur­mount all other clothynge. Also he ought w [...] grete prerogatyf & dygnyte vse fayre / deere / & straunge vestures. For therby is his dygnyte more excellēt and his myght more exalted. And more reuerence is made to hym. And also it besemeth a kynge to be fayre spoken / with softe and kynde wordes / specyally in tyme of warre.

Swete sone Alexander it is a goodly thyng precyous / and honourable whā y ^• kynge speketh but lytell. But yf ouer grete nede requyre it. It is better y ^• y ^e eeres of y ^• peo­ple be wyllyng to here y ^• wordes of a kynge / thā to be wery of his to moche spekyng. For whā [Page] y ^• eeres be glutted w ^t the kynges speche theyr hertes be wery to se hym. And also y ^• kynge ought not to she we hymselfe to often to his people / nor haunt to mo­che y ^• cōpany of his subgectes / & specyall of vylayns. And therfore the yndyens haue a good custome in y ^• ordynaunce of theyr realme. For theyr maner is that theyr kynge sheweth hymselfe but ones in the yere. And thā he is clothed in vesture royall. And all y ^• ba­rōs & knyghtes of his realme bē rychely armed and arayed about hym. And he is set vpō a stede [...] ceptr [...] in his hande armed w ^t ryche armures royalles and all his people a good way before y ^• barōs & other no­ble mē. And ther they shew y ^• dyuers perylles & aduē tures y ^• be passed. And how y ^• he & his coūcelles w [...] ordred. And y ^• kynge as thā is wōte to pardon gre [...] offēces to some of thē. And whā y ^• parlyamēt is ēded y ^• kynge setteth hym in a chayre & anoue [...]yseth one of y ^e moost wysest mē & speketh to y ^• people / praysyng & cōmēdyng y ^• wyt & good gouernaunce of y ^• kynge. In yeldynge thākes to god y ^• hath so well ruled and mayntened y ^e yndyēs kynge / & y ^• they are pourueyed of so wyse & honourable a kyng to reygne & guyde thē And thā he cōfermeth y ^• sayd people in one wyl & cou­rage to y ^• obedyēce of y ^• kynge. And thē he cōmendeth y ^• people & aloweth thē gretly of theyr good maners & cōdicyons which be reporteth to thē. And sheweth thē goodly wordes & exāples / y ^• better to put them in grace & obeysaunce / w [...] mekenesse in the good wyll of the kynge. And whan this wyse prynce hath thus spoken / the people enforce them to exalte the pray­synges / and commendacyons / and good maners of this sayd kynge / in prayenge god hertely for hym. [Page] And by this meane by theyr good maners / and wysdome of theyr kyng they cause countrees and cytees to be obedyent to them. And thus ben the chyldren brought vp in theyr youth / & taught in the honoure and reuerence of the kynge. And the good fame of the kyng secretly and manyfestly is spredde and knowē And the ryche and poore ben thereby susteyned tho­roughout the realme of ynde. And the kynges possessyons and trybures encreaseth therby.

A kynge ought to ordre hym soo that he do no wronge / nor harme to marchauntes / but ought to cherysshe them. For they go thoroughout all the worlde / and by them is reported the good and all renownes of fordes / & prynces. And a kynge ought by veray Iu­styce to yelde euery man his. And so his landes and cytees shal be garnysshed with all welthes. And the kynges werkes shall multyply to his honoure and glory / and shal be the more redoubted of his foes / and shall lyue & reygne at his wyl & desyre in quyetnesse.

ALexander ryght worthy sone / coueyt not alwayes wordly thynges / for they be corruptyble. And thynke that thou must leaue all. Demaūde than suche thynges as cannot be corrupte. That is the lyce that [Page] cannot chaunge and the realme perdurable. And reyse thy thoughtes in goodnesse / and therin kepe y ^• [...]strō ge & gloryous. And leaue the lyfe of bestes y ^• alwaye lyue in theyr fylthynesse. Beleue not lyghtly al thynge that is tolde to the. And be not enclyned to pardon them / agaynst whome thou hast had vyctory. And thynke on the tyme & of thynges that may happen. For thou knowest what is to come. And set not thy desyres in meates & drynkes / in [...]echery / nor to moche slepe / nor in carnall desyres.

SOuerayne Emperour enclyne not to [...]ry of wom [...] / for it is a swy [...]ysshe lyfe. And no glory shall be to the yf thou gouerne the after y ^e lyuynge of bestes without reason. Dere sone beleue me / for without doubt it chery is destruccyon of the body / the abregement [...] corrupcyon of all vertues / the deth of a man self and maketh the man feminyne. And at the last bryngeth hym to all euylies.

SOthly it is besemynge to a kynge to take his pastyme and sporte with his prynces and lordes. And that he haue many and dyuers maners of mynstrylles / and syn­dry instrumētes / daūces and songes. For the humayne creature naturally anoyeth. And in suche instrumentes and pastymes nature desyreth / & [Page] the body taketh force & vygoure. Than yf thou wylt delyte in suche chȳges / do it y ^• moost honestly & secretly that thou mayst. And whā thou arte in thy pasty­mes beware for drynkynge of wyne. And let y ^• other sporte thē as longe as they lust. And thā thou shalte haue many secretes dysclosed. ¶And make not this pastyme oftē / but twyse or thryse in y ^• yere. Also it be­houeth y ^• to haue nyghe to the some of thy famylyer seruaūtes that shal tel and reporte to y ^• what is sayd in y ^• realme. And whā thou arte amonge thy barons & subgectes / honoure wyse mē & bere reuerēce to eue­ry ma as they be worthy. And euery man in his estate / mayntene & let thē ete with y ^• somtyme / one after another. And gyue gownes somtyme to one & somty me to another / after theyr estate / and as they be worthy. And in ony wyse se y ^• there be none of thy knygh­tes & famylyers / but y ^• he fele of thy lyberalyte & of thy grace. And thus ouerall shall appere thy largesse & gretnesse of thy courage and honour.

MOost worthy sone it is good that a kynge haue lyberalyte / goodly gesture / and coū tenaunce & that he laughe not to moche. For ouermoche laughyng causeth many to be lesse set by / and to be lesse honoured. And fynably ouermoch laughyng maketh a persone to seme older than he is. Also a kynge ought to loue his people in his courte and of his councel more than in other partyes. And yf ony do vylany to another / be ought to punysshe hym as he hath deserued / that [Page] other may take exāple therby / and eschewe thē from yll doynge. And in y ^• punysshynge thou ought to re­garde y ^• ꝑsone y ^• hath done amysse. For elles sholde a hyghe & noble man be punysshed as another. And yf thou do so thou shalt not be alowed of y ^• people. And it is good somtyme to do rygorous & straye Iustyce / & somtyme not / to thende not y ^• dyfference of y ^• ꝑsones be knowē. For it is wrytē in the boke of Machabe [...]s that a kynge ought to be praysed [...] loued / yf he be lyke y ^• eygle / which hath lorshyp ouer all fowles. And not as he whiche wyll be lyke another foule y ^• is sub­gecte to the eygle. Wherfore yf ony do vylany to ony other in the presence of y ^• kynges mageste tought to be regarded & cōsydered yf y ^• offence were done in game or for to cause the kyng to laugh / or to make hym or other glad of it / or yf he dyde it in despyte / & shame of the mageste royall. For y ^• fyrst dede he ought to be correcte / and for the seconde to suffre dethe.

WOrthy kynge Alexander dere sone the obedyēce to a kynge cometh by iiij. thȳges. That is for y ^• vertuoꝰ lyuynge of the kynge. Bycause he maketh hym to be beloued of his subgectes. Bycause he is curteys. And for the honoure and reuerence / that he dothe to them that be moost worthy of it. My dere sone do so moch that thou mayst drawe to the y ^• courages of thy subgectes / and auenge thē of all wronges & iniutyes done to thē. And beware that thou gyue not [...] thy subgectes cause and mater to speke agaynst th [...] [Page] For speche of people many tymes may do hurt Thā haue in thy mynde suche wyse that nothyng may be sayd agaynst the. And so thou shal eschue the yll wyl and dedes of thē that had yll wyll agaynst the. And forsoth the largenesse of the glory of thy dygnyte and reuerence / and exaltacyon or thy realme / and that reboūdeth moost to thy honoure is to haue the hertes of thy subgectes. It is founde in holy scryptures / y ^• the kyng is ouer a realme as the rayne is ouer y ^• erth which is the grace of god and blyssynge of the heuēs and cometh on the erthe / and all lyuynge creatures. For the rayne is called the way of marchaūtes / and helpe of buylders. How be it that in the rayne falleth somtyme thondre and lyght [...]ynge? swellynge of the see and floodes with tēpestes and many other euyls cometh therby / wherwith medowes and verdures hath perysshed. For god made it so of his gre [...]e good­nesse / benygnyte / and grace. The whiche selfe example ye may fynde in wynter and somer. In the whi­che the souerayne largesse gyueth and ordeyneth coldenesse and heate / engendrynge and encreasynge of all newe thynges. How be it many euyle & perylles cometh by the rygour of grete coldnesse of wynter / & grete heates of somer. Iulyke wyse dere sone is it of a kynge. For many tymes the kynge doth many grefes and euylles to his subgectes / and maketh the to beare grete herte agaynst hym. But whan the peo­ple seeth that by the grace and good gouernaunce of y ^• kynge they be in peas and well ruled they forgete the aboue sayd euylles / and thāke the gloryous god that hath pourueyed them of so wyse a kynge.

I Requyre y ^• swete sone that thou of thy good­nesse thynke and inquyre oftētymes of thy poore subgectes / and knowe theyr necessy­tees. And set amonge them suche mē as be vertuous and that loueth god and Iustyce and that knoweth theyr maners / and vnderstādeth theyr speches / and can gouerne them peasybly and in loue. And yf thou do thus / thou shalt do the pleasure of thy creatoure. And it shall be saufegarde to thy realme / and gladnesse of the and thy people.

DEre sone I councell the that thou make grete prouysyō of corne and vytayles in suche wyse that thy countrees may ha­ue haboundaunce / in eschew [...]nge (as it chaunceth often) to haue scarcyte [...] and famyn. In so moche that by the grete prudence thou mayst saue and maynteyne thy subgectes And thou ought to haue thy garuers stuffed / and to preclayme thrughout all thy realme and cytees / how thou hast gadred and stored the of greynes and other vytayles And that thou kepest thē to the prouysyon of thy real me / and to vtter them with plente to the saluacyon of thy subgectes. The which doynge wyll cause thy people to be coragyous to do thy cōmaundementes. And so thou shalt prospere / and euery man wyll mer­uayle of thy grete lyberalyte / & of y ^• prouydence afo­re hande in thy besynesses. And they wyll repute the [Page] as holy and lawde and magnyfye thy worthynesse. And euery man wyll feare to dysplease the.

MY dere sone Alexander / I admonysshe [...] and also praye the to kepe my doctrynes and thou shalt come to thy purpose. And thy realme shall be durable and in good estate. That is to wyte / aboue all thyn­ge that thou kepe the frome shedynge of mannes blo­de. For it belongeth onely to god / whiche knoweth the secretes of men. Than take not on the / the offyce that belongeth onely to almyghty god / wherfore as moche as thou mayst withdrawe thy hande the [...]fro For the doctour Hermogenes sayth. That who that sleeth the creature lyke vnto hym / all the sterres of the skye ceaseth not to crye to the mageste of god / lor­de / lorde thy seruaunt wyll belyke vnto the. For su­rely god wyll take vengeaunce on hym that sleeth a man / and specyally without reasonable cause. For god answereth to the vertues of heuen saynge. Lea­ue ye / for in me lyeth the vengeaunce / and I can yel­de it. And wy [...]e thou that the vertues of heuē with­out cease do present before the face of god / the dethe and blode of hym that is deed / tyll that god hath ta­ken vengeaunce for it.

[Page] O Moost louynge sone / of all suche paynes with the knowlege / therof wyte thou [...]hat I haue sene moche harme / and ma­ny euylles oftentymes come therby. Do [...]oo that thou mayst haue in thy mynde the dedes or werkes of poetes. And thynke how they haue ly­ued. And therby thou mayst se and lerne many good­ly examples. And theyre thoughtes shall gyue the grete documētes in tyme comynge. And also I pray the my dere sone / that thou greue nor dysprays [...] [...] ­ne lesser than thou. For it happeneth often that the small estate ryseth tyght soone in to grete rychesses and honoures / and may be so myghty that [...]e [...] endomage the. Many exāples therof hath ben seen as phylosophres reherse.

ABoue all thynge (dere sone) beware that that thou breke not thy faythe and othe that thou hast made. For it is belongynge to strompettes / and also to people that [...]epe not / nor do not care for theyre faythe and othe. wherfore kepe thy faythe that thou hast promysed / for and yf that thou do otherwyse & wyll come to an euyll ende at the last. And yf by aduentu­re or fortune / it chaunceth that ony welthe com [...]th by faythe brekynge / the trust therof sholde not be good / but veray euyll & reprouable / and suche a man [Page] is put in the nombres of them that be nought. wyte thou than that by kepynge of faythe is made y ^• goodly assemblynge of men. Cytees ben inhabyted with comyns / and [...] is the good sygnouryes of kynges. By kepynge of [...]ayth castelles ben holden and kepte in lordshyps. And yf thou breke thy fayth thou shalt be reputed of euery man as a chylde or a brute beest than beware therof. And kepe also the othes / and alyaunces that thou hast made / though that they be greuous and domageable to the. Wotest thou not y ^• thou hast two spyrytes alwaye with the / one on the [...]yght syde and the other on the lyft syde / whiche knowe and kepe all thy workes. And reporte to thy creatoure al that thou hast done. Of a trouth thou ought onely to a [...]steyne y ^• frome all dyshonest workes. And constrey [...]e none to swere / but yf ouer grete nede re­quyre it. A kynge ought not to swere but he be moche requyred and prayed. And yf thou wy [...]t wyfe what was the destruccyon of Nubye / and of the assyryēs. I certyfye the that theyr kynge made othes gyleful­ly / to deceyue the men and [...]y ezēs next by. And bra­ke his alyaunces and [...]romysses that he had made / bycause they were profytable to his realme. And also to his subgectes he made many fals othes to destroy theyr next neyghboures. The ryghtwyse Iuge coude susteyne nor suffre them no longer. Moost dere sone I wyll that thou knowe / that for the gouernynge and ordynaunce of thy realme I haue made the some new doctrynes / the whiche specyally is for the pro­fyte of thyn owne famylyers and the. But as yet it is not tyme to gyue thē to the. I w [...]ll gyue the them in a certayne place of this boke shortly abreged. The [Page] whiche yf thou kepe for thy selfe prouffytably / with the helpe of god thou shalt haue prosperyte / and that that thou desyrest. Swete sone repente y ^• not of thynges that be passed / for that belongeth to wom [...] / whi­che ben weyke of condycyon. Let thy goodnesse / thy faythfulnesse / and cons [...]yence be all hoo [...]e / and many­fest. And they shall be saufegarde o [...] thy realme and destruccyon of thyn enemyes.

TAke hede that thou haue studyes and [...] les in thy cytees. And cause all [...]hy people to lerne theyr chyldren lettres and [...] scyences / and vse them to studye. For [...] ought to helpe and socoure the gouern [...] le of studyens and poore scolers. And gyue auaunta­ges and prerogatyues to good studyentes that p [...]e [...] fyte to theyr lernynge / and this wyse thou shalt gr [...]ue an exāple to thē that be laye / exalte theyr prayers and receyue theyr wrytynge mekely / prayse them y ^• ought to be worshypped. Gyue thy goodes to them that be worthy. Cherysshe clerkes and styre them to prayse the. And put the and thy werkes in goodly wrytynges / which by them shalbe ꝑpetually pray­sed.

MOost beloued sone kynge Alexandre / trust [...]ot in women / nor in theyr werkes / nor seruyces / and company not with them. [Page] And yf necessyte were that thou must haue cōpany of a woman. [...]o so that thou mayst knowe that she is true to the / and holsome of her bodye. For whan thy persone is betwene the armes of a woman / thou arte as a Iew [...] / put / and restynge in the handes of a marchau [...] [...]at careth not to whome it is [...]ol­de. And beynge betwene her handes / is the poyson of thy welfare / and also the destruccyon of thy body. Beware therfore dere sone / of suche w [...]men / for they be venymous and deedly. For it is no newe thynge to knowe that by theyr venym many mē haue dyed. Thou knowest well that many kynges haue for [...]he­red and shortened theyr lyues and haue dyed by poyson. Also dere sone Alexander beware that thou put not thy trust in one physycyen onely. For one physy­cyen maye hurte the / and shor [...]ely do to the mothe harme And therfore yt thou mayst / do so that thou haue many physycyēs. And that they be of one agre­ment. And yf thou wylt haue ony medycyn / take it not but by the councell of them all. And that they be such as knoweth the qualyte and nature of the thynges that ben put / and necessary in the medycyne.

And that it be of a certayne weyght and measure / as the medycyne requyreth it. For by equall porcyōs of weyght and measure the arte of physyke is com­pownded. ¶And thynke on dere sone that whan thou was in the parties ofynde / many people ma­de to the grete presentes and fayre. Amonge the whiche was s [...]nte a fayre mayden whiche in her chyld­heed had be nourysshed with venym of serpentes / wherby her nature was conuerted in to the nature of serpentes. And than yf I had not wysely beholden [Page] her and by my artes and wyt knowen her / bycau­se that cōtynually / and without shamefastnesse euer she loked in the faces of the people / I perceyued that with ones bytynge she wolde haue put a mā to deth as sythen thou hast seen the experyence before [...]he.

And yf I had not knowen her nature / at the fyrst tyme that thou had medled with the sayd m [...]yde thou haddest ben deed without remedy. Fayre sone kepe thy noble soule / whiche is gyuen to the and [...]ent fro [...] the company of aungelles the whiche is takē to the of god for to kepe. Not that thou soyle & [...]arre it but y ^• it be put amonge the wyse & gloryfyed spyry [...]s.

ALexander fayre sone / I praye the / that yf thou may [...]t do it / that thou ry [...]e [...] nor eate / nor drynke / nor do ony other thȳ ge / but by the councell of some that kno­weth and hath the scy [...] ̄ce in knowlegy [...] ­ge the sterres and astronomye. And thou shalte wy­te my dere sone that almyghty god hath made no­thynge without cause / but hath done euery thynge reasonably. And by certayne scyences and wayes / the wyse phylozopher Platon sought and felte the operacyons of all thynges composed of the foure ele­mentes / and the humoures contraryes. And hadde also the knowlege of the thynges created and formed And also my dere sone Alexander I praye the beleue not such fooles which say y ^• y ^• scyēce of y ^• pla [...]s is so harde to be knowē / & that none maye come therto. Surely they be fooles and wo [...]e not what they say. [Page] It is a noble thyng to knowe thynges whiche be to come. yf thou knowest the thynges whiche be to co­me / thou and other ꝑsones may put remedy by good prayers. And requyre the creatoure that hath ordey­ned them to retourne theyr malyce / & ordeyne them otherwyse. Thynke not dere sone that god hath or­deyned & predestynate such thynges / but that by his power he may chaunge them otherwyse whan he pleaseth. Wyte thou dere sone y ^• y ^• good people pray to our creatoure w ^t orysons & deuout petycyons / by fa­stynge & sacrefyces / by almesse & other maner / axyng of pardon of theyr synnes / & doynge penaunce / y ^• our lorde may retorne & remēbre suche predestynacyons whiche other do feare so moche. ¶Retorne we dere sone to our fyrst purpose / wyte thou y ^• astronomye is deuy [...]ed in .iiii. ꝑtes. That is to wyte in ordynaunce ofsterres. In y ^• dysposycyon of sygnes / & of theyr elongacyons. Of the moeuynge of the son̄e. And this partye is called scyence of astronomy: The other parte is of y ^• knowlege of the moeuynge of the skyes & of the mone. And this partye is called astronomy. And is y ^• worthyest / of sterres / planettes / & sygnes. And there is .M.xxviii. planettes sygned / and formed / of y ^• whiche we shall speke more playnly.

HElthe amonge all thynges is to be gotē and hath more than ony myght of ry­chesses. For y ^• kepyng of helth is by vsynge of equal thynges comoyned to the body / as by attemperaunce of humoures. [Page] For the gloryous god hath ordeyned thē / and gyuen dyuers remedyes to the attemperaūce of the humoures to the kepyng of helth. And hath shewed it to his holy men and prophetes / & to many other Iust men whiche he dyde chuse and en [...]umyned with the holy goost / in his sapyence dyuyne / and myghty. And hath gyuen them the gyftes of the scyence / of these thynges here after folowynge. These phylosophers put the begynnyng of it. That is to wyte they of yu­de / of Grece / and of Athenes. whiche phylosophres were Iust and perfyte / and theyr wrytynges were the begȳnynge of scyēce & secretes. For in theyr w [...]y tynges is nothynge founde to be reproued nor [...] / but approued of all wy [...]e men.

ALl wyse and naturall phylosophres say y ^• man is made and composed of foure con­trary humours / the which haue alway nede to be susteyned with meate and drȳ ke The substaunce wherof beheueth to yssue and be corrupte yf ony do alway ca [...]e and dryn­ke / and he sholde waxe weyke and fall in grete dyseases / and haue many inconuenyences. But yf he eate and drynke tēperatly and reasonably / he shall fynde helpe of lyfe / strength of body / and helth of all the mē bres. The wyse phylosophres saye that yf any man [...]respace the god of nature / and the good maner of lyuynge be it in to moche eatynge and drynkynge / or to moche slepynge / or wakynge / in to moche walkȳg or restynge / beynge to laxatyfe or to moche let ynge [Page] of blode or to lytell / it can not be but he must fall in many dyseases / and greues. Of the whiche dyseases I haue bryefly founde / and therin wyll I shewe the my councell / & remedye for the same. All wyse phylo­sophres accordeth in one sayeng. who so kepeth hym fro ouermoche eatynge & drynkyng / & frome y ^• exces­ses aforesayd & kepeth temperaūce / he shal be helth­full of his bodye / & lyue longe. For I can fynde no mā but he is of this opynyon / & wyll saye y ^• all delectable thynges of the worlde / be it in pleasure of y ^• body / it is but for to lyue y ^• longer in them. But for a more se­crete ye ought to enforce you to do suche thynges as ben belongynge to longe lyfe / & not to folowe the ap­petyte / y ^• is to wyte / not to put lye meate vpō meat. And dere sone I haue herde often spoken of ypocras which kept many tymes dyete to thēde y ^• he myght lyue & endure the longer. Not for to lyue and endure for y ^• meate & drynke. Also dere sone it is grete holsom­nesse to be purged of superfluytees & euyll humours whiche ben in y ^• body.

GOod sone I praye the haue in thy mynde stedfastly these certayne instruceyōs and kepe thē. Knowe thou that helth is chyefly in two thynges. The fyrst is lete a mā vse suche meates & drynkes as he hath bē nourysshed with. The seconde that he purge hym of yll humours that be corrupte & greue hym. For y ^e bo­dy of man is fedde w ^t meates & drynkes whiche nourysshe [Page] it by naturall heate that dryeth / nouryssheth and fedeth y ^e moystnesse therof.

WHā y ^e body is fat & full of vapours grosse meates is good for it. & of y ^e nourysshȳg of suche a body / y ^e dygestyō is grosse / & of grece quātyte for y ^e great heate / & va­pours of y ^e body. And whā the bodye is sklneder & drye / subtyll & moyste meates be good for it. And y ^e dygestiō therof is of smal quātyte for y ^e streytnesses of y ^e cōduytes. And it is grete wysdome & scyence for a man to vse suche meates as ben good & apper­tenēt to his cōplex yō / that is to wyte yf he fede hym w ^t hote meates tēperatly. But yf the heare be to gre­uous & brēnynge w ^tin the body by ouer stronge wy­nes & hote meates / or other accydentes / thā cōtrary meates & drynkes wyl do grete ease & prouffyte y ^t is to wyte suche as ben colde. ¶Of the stomake.

¶Yf thy stomake be to hote thā hote & cours meates be good. For such a stomake is lyke a myghty fyre for to brēne gret weyght of logges. But whā y ^e stomake is colde & feble thā it is good to haue lyght & subtyle meates. ¶The sygnes to knowlege y ^e stomake.

¶The sygnes of a stomake y ^t is of an yll & weyke dygestyō is whā y ^e body is vnlusty / heuy / & slouthful / y ^e face is swollē / & he yaneth oftē / & hath payne in his eyē / & bolketh often & rudely / & y ^e bolkyng is lowre & vnsauery / watry & stynkīg / & therby is bredde wyndes & swellynge of the bely & y ^e appetyte of mea [...] is marde. Therfore swete sone beware of meates and drynkes y ^t may hurte or be contrary to thy helth.

MOost dere sone Alexāder sythe it is so that the body of man is corruptyble by dyuer­syte of cōplexyon / & of contrary humours that ben in it / wherby oftē there cometh corrupcyō to it / I thought to delyuer the some thyng y ^• shall be necessary & prouffytable to the. In the whiche I wyll treate of the secretes of physyke whiche shall please the. For certayne dyseases co­me to a kynge whiche be not honest to shewe to phy­sycyens. And yf thou wylt obserue this lesson / thou shalt haue no nede of physycyens / except in causes y ^• may come in batayle / the whiche may be exchewed. Alexander fayre sone / whan thou rysest frome thy slepe / walke and stretche thy membres egally and combe thy heed / for stretchyng of the lymmes gyueth for­ce / and combynge reyseth the vapoures that ben co­me in slepynge and putteth them frome the stomake In somer wasshe thy heed in colde water / whiche shall yelde the naturall heate / and shall because of appetyte to meate. Than clothe the with goodly and ryche apparell. For the hert of man delyteth in the be­holdyng of precyous meates & clothȳg. Than rubbe thy tethe with some cours lynnyn / or other thynge that is note and drye of cōplexcyon / and swete of smell for it is holsom for the tethe / and kepeth them clene / clenseth the stenche of the mouth / and clereth the voyce / and gyueth appetyte to eare. And rubbe thy heed often in the same wyse for it openeth the claustres of the brayne / and thycketh the necke and other mem­bres / and clenseth the face and the syght / and prolon­geth stowpynge of aege / and amendeth the blode.

[Page]Also anoynt the somtyme with swete smellynge oyntementes / as the tyme requyreth / for in suche swete­nesse thy hert taketh grete pleasure / & is nourysshed therby. And y ^e spyryt of lyfe taketh refeccyon in good odoures: and the blode reneth meryly thrugh y ^• vay­nes of the body. After that take somtyme an electua­ry of a wood called Aloes / and of Bubarbe whiche is a precyous thynge / to the pryce of foure pens. Which thou shalte fynde wryten in the boke of physyke / and this shall do the moche good / for it voydeth the heate of the mouth of the stomake / and warmeth the body and wasteth wyndes / and maketh good taste and sa­uoure. After this I coūcell y ^• that thou be often with thy noble and wyse men of thy realme / & speke to the of thy besynesses that thou hast to do. And gouerne them sadly accordynge to theyr good customes.

OR euer thou eate or thyn appetyte co­meth at thyn houre accustomed do som trauayle / that is to wyte walke or ty­de a lytell / or do some other worke / for it helpeth y ^• body moche / it voydeth all ventosytees / and maketh the body lyghter stronger and lustyeth the stomake / and wasted euyll humou­res of the body and maketh the flewme or the stomake descende. ¶Of the maner of eatynge.

¶Fayre sone whā thy meate is set afore the / eate of suche as thou desyrest moost / resonably / with well leuayned breed. And eate of such as ought to be fyrst eaten. For there be two maners of dygestyō of meat [Page] in a man that is to wyte / softe / & harde. For in the botō is moost heat for to make meat / bycause it is moost flesshly / and nyghest the heat of the lyuer wherwith the meate is soden and dygested.

WHā thou eatest / eate by leasure / though thou haue grete appetyte to eate. For yf thou eate gredely noughty humou­res do multyply / the stomake is laden the bodye is greued / the hert is hurte / and the meate remayneth in the stomakes botome vndygested.

ALso beware dere sone that ye drynke no pure water / specyally whan thou haste eaten meate. But yf thou be wont ther­to. For as soone as the water is vpon the meat / it coleth y ^• stomake / and quencheth the heate of the dygest you and comforte of the meat. It letteth dygestyon and greueth the body. Yf thou must nede drynke water alone / take it the moost temperatly and as lytell as thou mayst.

WHan thou hast taken thy refeccyon and hast iuste to slepe / lye downe on a softe bedde and slepe temperatly. Aud fyrst lye downe on the lyfte syde / and slepe theron a reasonable space / for the lyfte syde is colde and hath nede to be warmeth. And yf thou fele ony payn in thy bely or in thy stomake / thā [Page] lay therto a souerayne medytyne / that is a warme lynnen cloth layde theron. Wyte y ^u dere sone that tra­uayle is good / and gyueth heate to the stomake. But after dyner it is a noughty thynge / for the meat aby­deth vndygested in the botome of the stomake / and therof be bredde many dyseases. And slepe before fe­dynge is not good / for it maketh the body leaue and dryeth the humoures. But slepynge after fedynge is good / for it fulfylleth y ^• body & gyueth force / & [...]no [...] yf shyng therto. For whā y ^• body of mā resteth / thā y ^• natural heat draweth y ^• heat y ^t was spredde in all y ^• mē bres in to y ^• botō of y ^• stomake / & gyueth strēgth ther­to vpō y ^• refeccyō of y ^• meat. And heat requyreth rest. Therfore some phylosophres haue sayd y ^• it is better & holsomer to eat at nyght than in the mornyng / for the eatyng in y ^• mornynge bycause of y ^• heat of y ^• day greueth y ^• stomake / & y ^• body is more trauayled ther­w ^t. And moreouer y ^• ꝑsone chauffeth ī trauaylyng do­ynge his besynesse / in goyng & spekȳg / & many other thȳges y ^• belōgeth to y ^• body of mā / by y ^• which heat y ^• is outwarde towarde none / y ^e naturall heat y ^• is in warde is weyked & appeyred / & y ^• meate is harde to dygest. But at nyght it is more easy & lesse greued w ^t y ^• heat of traueyle. And y ^• hert & mēbres of mā bē more in quyet by y ^• coldnesse of y ^e nyght / that gyueth naturall heat to the stomake.

THou shalt vnderstande my dere sone that he that is wonte to eate but one meale of­tē is dyseased / for y ^• stomake is w ^tout dygestyō & y ^e body hath [...] nourysshȳg. And he y ^• is acustomed to eate at one time o [...]s [Page] another tyme twyse he shallyghtly perceyue that it doth hym harme / for custome chargeth nature.

ANd yf nede constreyne the to chaūge thy custome / do it wysely / that is to wyte by lytel and lytell. And so by the grace of god thy chaungynge shall be good. But abo­ue al thynges beware that thou eate not tyl thou rele thy stomake empty and that it hath made good dygest yon of the fyrst meale. And this thou mayst knowe by y ^• desyre that thou shalt haue to thy meate: and by thy spa [...]e that tornyth subtylly in thy mouthe. And yf thou eate without nede or appetyte the heate of thy stomake shall be made colde as yse. And yf necessyte be y ^• thou must eate / & haue an appetyte therto y ^• kynde heate of thy stomake wyll be as hote as fyre / & of good dygest yō. And beware y ^• whā thy appetyte cometh that thou eate not forth w ^t / for it wyll gadre yll humours of thy body in to thy stoma­ke / whiche wyll hurte thy brayne. And yf thou tary ouer lōge or thou eate / it wyl feble thy stomake / & the meate wyll do thy body no good. And yf so be y ^• thou mayst not eate as soone as thy appetyte requyreth / and y ^• thy stomake be ful of yll humours / do so y ^• thou mayst vomyte or thou [...]a [...]e / & after y ^• vomyte take an [...]lectuary / and eate surely.

[Page] OUr intencyon is to treat in this boke of y ^• foure seasons of the yere / with the qualyte / propryete / contraryte / and dyfferen­ce of eche of them. And they ben certayne seasons of the yere deuyded as foloweth. That is to wyte prymtyme or vere begynneth whan the sonne eurreth in the sygne or Artes / and lasteth foure score & xiij. dayes / and .xviij. houres / & the fourthe parte of an houre. That is to wyte frome y ^• .x. day in y ^• ende of Marche / to y ^• foure and twenty day of Iune. And in this season the dayes & nyghtes beneg all of length The wether is fayre. The warme wether cometh. The snowes melte / ryuers renne swyft and clere / & waxe warme / the moystnesse of the erthe ryseth to y ^• heyght of trees / and causeth them to smel swete. Medowes and graynes sprowte and corne groweth / & all floures take coloure / byrdes b [...]n clothed with ne­we robes / and enforce them to synge. Trees ben dec­ked with leues and floures / and the landes with se­des. Beestes engendre and all people take strength & lust. The erthe is arayed goodly / & is as a fayre bry­de clothed with Iewelles of dyuers coloures bycause she sholde seme the fayrer at her weddynge.

THe prymtyme is hote & moyst temperatly as the ayre. This season y ^• blode moeueth and spredeth to all the membres of the bo­dy / and the body is parfyte in temperate complexyon. In this season chekyns / kyddes / and peched [...]gges ought to he eaten / with letu­ses [Page] & gotes mylke in these thre monethes. Prymety­me begynneth whan the sonne entreth the sygne of Aryes and lasteth .xci [...]. dayes / an houre and a halfe fro the .x. day of Marche to y ^• .x. day of Iune. In this season is the best letyng of blode of ony tyme. And thā is good to trauayle and to be laxatyfe. And to be ba­thed. And to eate suche thynges as wyll purge y ^• bely. For all dyseases that cometh / eyther by purgyng or bledynge retorneth anone in this prymetyme.

SOmer begynneth whā the sonne entreth y ^• fyrst poynt of the creuyce / & lasteth .xcii. days / & an houre & a half That is to wyte fro y ^• .x. day of Iune to y ^e .x. day of septēber In this seasō y ^• days belōge & y ^• nyghtes short. And ī al regyōs ēcreaseth & abateth theyr heate & y ^• see is calme / & y ^• ayre meke & fayre. The f [...]ours wyther & serpētes encrease & shed theyr venym / & sprede theyr strēgth. The myghtes of mānes body be forty­fyed. And all y ^e world is ful of welth / as y ^• fayre bryde y ^• is goodly stature & in ꝑfyte aege. The seasō of somer hote & drye / & thā coler is moeued. And ī this seas [...] is good to beware of all thȳges y ^• be hote & drye of cōple xyō. And take hede of to moche eatyng or drynkynge for therby is y ^• kyndly heate quenched. In this seasō eate meates of colde & moyst cōplexyō / as veale / mylkew vyneygre / & potages made w ^t barly meale. Ea­te fruyt of eygre sauour / as pōmegarnets / & drynke small wynes / & vse not the cōpany of womē. In this season lete the not blode / but yf grete nede cōpell the. Use lytell trauayle / & seldome bathynge.

[Page] HEruest entreth whā y ^• sonne cometh in to y ^• fyrst degre of the balaunce & lasteth xci. dayes & an houre & a halfe. That is to wyte fro the .x. daye of Septēbre to y ^e x. daye of Decembre. In this season the day & nyght be of one length. And thā y ^• dayes waxe short & y ^• nyghtes longe. The ayre is derke [...] & y ^• wyn­des entre the northen regyons or [...]p [...]ētryō. The we­ther chaūgeth / & y ^• ryuers & spr [...]ges waxe le [...]. The orcheyardes & feuytes wydreth. The beaute of er [...]he fadeth. Byrdes cease theyr syngyng. Serpētes seke theyr holes wher they assembled theyr syuyng in somer for y ^• tyme of wynter. The erthe is as an o [...]de naked woman y ^• gooth fro youth to aege. This season of heruest is colde & drye / this tyme blacke coler is mo­ued. In this seasō is good to eate meates y ^e be hote [...] moyst as chekȳs / lambe / & drynke olde wynes / eate swete reasyns. And kepe y ^e from all thynges y ^• b [...]de blacke coler / as lyenge w ^t womē more than in somer / nor bath y ^e not but yf grete nede requyre it to be done. In this season yf a man haue nede of vomytynge / do it at none in the hotest of y ^• day. For at y ^• tyme a [...] y ^• suꝑ­fluytees of mannes body gadreth togyder A [...] o [...] is good to purge y ^• bely w ^t a medyeyn ordeyned therfore & other thȳges y ^• bē to expul [...]e blacke coler & to retrayne humoures.

Wynter cometh whā y ^• [...]on̄e ētreth y ^• fyrst degre of y ^• sygne of Caprycorne & lasteth lxx. dayes / & an houre & a halfe. And be gȳneth y ^• .x. day of Decembre / and cōtynueth to y ^• .x. daye of Marche. In this [Page] seasō y ^• nyghtes be lōge & y ^• days short / it is veray colde. The wynes be in y ^• presse / & y ^• leues fall / & herbes leeseth all theyr strength / or the moost parte. All be­stes hydeth them in caues and pyttes of hylles. The ayre and the wether is darke. And the erthe is lyke an olde decrypyte persone / that by grete aege is na­ked and nygh to the deth. wynter is veray colde and moyst / & than behoueth the vse hote meates as che­kyns / hennes / motton and other hote & fatte flesshe eate fygges / nuttes / and drynke grene wynes. And beware of to moche lare and bledynge / & eschewe cō ­pany of women / for it wyll feble thy stomake / and baches be good. And for the grete colde the natural heate entreth in to the body / and therfore the dygestiō is better in wynter thā in somer. And in heruest the bely is colde / and than the poores ben open by heate of the season / and reproueth the naturall heate of all the partes of y ^• body. And therfore the stomake hath but lytel heate / wherby the dygestyon is febled / and the humours assemble there.

SOne Alexāder I pray y ^• kepe the kyndly heate of thy body / and thou shalt haue sō ge helth. For the body of man dyeth in .ij. maners. One is by grete aege the which ouercometh the body and dystroyeth it. The other is accydentally / as by wepen / sykenesse. or other aduenture.

[Page] Ryght dere sone these ben thynges that fat­teth the body. That is to wyte ease of the body and fyllynge it w ^t deynty meates and drynkes / & mylke / and thā to slepe on a soft bed. All swete smellynge floures in theyr season / and bathynge in fresshe waters. But yf thou bathe the / tary not longe in it / and haue swete [...]ne [...] ­lynge thȳges in y ^• bath. And neuer drynke wyne but it be well tempered w ^t water. And specyally in wyn­ter make water of floures calleb Assyn [...]n [...] and put it in to thy wyne / for it is hote or nature. And in somer vse vyolettes and floures of malowes & other thyn­ges that be colde / & vse to vomyte ones in a moneth specyally. For vomytes wassheth the body and pur­geth it of wycked humoures and st [...]nke that is in it. And yf there be but few [...] humoures in the stomake / it conforteth the na [...]urall heate. And whan thou hast vomyte wyllyngly / the body wyll fyll it with good humydyte and be of good dyspo [...]ycyon to dygest. And yf thou gouerne the thus / thou shalt be mery at thy hert / lusty with reasonable helth and good vnderstā dyng / glory & honour / & ouer al thyn enemyes vyctory. Also I wyll that thou delyte in the beholdyng o [...] goodly persones / or in redynge of delectable bokes [...] or in weryng of precyous garmētes and goodly Ie­welles / as the tyme requyreth.

THese ben the thynges that maketh the body to be leane / weyke / and drye / to moche eatynge / to moche trauelynge to moche walkynge in the [Page] son̄e / to moche goyng / to moche slepyng afore noone melancoly / feare / to bathe in water of the nature of brymstone / eatynge salt meates / to moche drynkyn­ge of olde wyne / to be to laxe / and ouer moche letynge of blode. For ypocras sayth that he y ^t batheth him w ^t a full bely / or lyeth with a womā shal haue sykenesse in his entrayles. And also to rēne / or to ryde / or to moche trauayle after meat bredeth a grete dysease cal­led palsey. And moche eatyng of fysshe / or mylke and wyne togyder ypocras sayth it wyl make one lazar

OF y ^e .iiij. partes of y ^e body the heed is y ^e fyrst. For in y ^e heed gadreth all suꝑfluytees / and euyll humoures / whiche thou shalt fele and knowe by these sygnes folowyng. The eyes bē troubled / the heryng is thycked & y ^s nosestrylles bē stopped / yf thou fele suche a dysease take an herbe called worm wood / and sethe it in swete wyne tyll the halfe be wasted / thā holde it in thy mouth & wasshe it many tymes therwith tyl thou fele y ^t it dooth y ^e good / & eate whyte mustard sede powdred w ^t thy meate. And yf thou do not thus thou mayst happē to haue som dysease / & specyally in thyn eyes / in thy brayn / & in other ꝑtes of thy body.

THe seconde parte of the body is the bulke / yf dysease come there thou shalt knowe it by these sygnes folowynge The tōgue is lette / y ^e mouthe is salt / bytter / & vnsauery The mouth of the stomake is sowre with [Page] grefe in all thy mēbres. It behoueth y ^• to eate but ly­tel & to vomyte / thā eate a lytel sugre of roses w ^t aloes & take good cōfortyng spyces & eate an elec [...]uary na­med Dionisiū. And yf thou do not thꝰ / thou mayst fal in dysease of y ^• syde / of y ^• raynes / & feuers / & specyally of y ^• tōgue wherby y ^• shalt not ꝓperly speke / & dyuers other maladyes. Decoccyon of ysope is good.

THe thyrde parte of the body is the wōbe / yf it be cōbred w ^t euyll humoures y ^• shalt knowe it by these sygnes. The bely wyll swell w ^t payne & styf­nesse in y ^e knees goynge a slowe pa [...]e. It behoueth to vse some subtyle & lyght meates / as is sayd before w ^t the gouernynge. And yf y ^• do not thus there wyl folo we ache in the hyppes / in the mylte / in the back and other ioyntes / and in the lyuer / wyll dygest yon.

THe fourth ꝑte of the body bē y ^• genytours. yf super fluyte & noughty humoures gadre in thē y ^• shalt knowe it by these sygnes. The appetyte wyl waxe colde / & reednesse wyll appere vpō thē & vpō y ^• share. Thā must y ^• take a sede called Apu w ^t fenell sede & y ^e rote of mugwort / & of another called Achā & atracies. And w ^t these herbes put y ^• rotes in good whyte wyne / & drȳke a quātyte of it euery mornyng w ^t a ly­tell water & hony & eate not moche after it. And yf y ^• do not thꝰ y ^• shalt haue payne in y ^• bladder / & lyu [...] [...] & shalte not pysse / & shalt haue grefe in y ^• intra [...]s and lunges with brekynge of the stone. Swete sone Alexander I haue rede also the hystoryes of a myghty kynge / whiche assembled all the best phylosophres [Page] that were in ynde and Grece. And cōmaunded them to make a medyeyne so prouffytable that he sholde nede none other for his helth. The Grekes sayd he that drynketh euery mornȳg twyse his mouthfull of warme water shall haue a good ende / and shall nede none other medyeyne. The physycyens of ynde sayd thar it is good to eate euery day [...]astyng a quātyte of greynes of whyte hony. And me semeth that who so ta­keth one of these sayd medycynes / by reason shall not haue payne in his wombe / nor ought not to feare palsey / nor gowte / nor a [...]he in his Ioyntes. And who [...]o eateth euery mornynge .vij. oragmas of clustres of swete wyne grapes / shall not feare y ^• dysease of flew me / and it wyll amende his mynde / and claryfy his vnderstandynge / and he nedeth not to to doubt feuer [...]uartaynes. And who so eateth in [...]the mornynge a fygge with nuttes and a quantyte of leues ofrue / y ^• [...]ay shall not nede to feare venym.

¶Moost myghty kynge I requyre the to study the maner to kepe the naturall heat of thy body / with y ^e moysture therof / in the whiche two thynges lyeth the helthe of thy persone. And knowe thou that the destruccyon of the body cometh in two thynges / one is naturall / and the other agaynst nature. And for y ^e contraryte of the complexyon of man / and whan ae­ge surmounteth y ^• body it behoueth for to dye. Other wyse vnnaturally by aduēture / as by wepen / or sto­nes / or by sykenesse and lacke of helpe / or by venym / and other chaunces.

¶Forthermore it is good that thou knowe the nature [Page] of meates / for some bē grosse / or cours / & some ben lyght & subtyle. The subtyle bredeth thyn̄e blode / & good / as pure wheate / chekyns / & new layde egges Grosse meates ben good for suche as ben of hote hu­mours / labourers / fastyng / and y ^• slepe after meales. Meane meates bredeth no hote nor superfluous hu­mours / as the flesshe of lambes / yōge porke / & other that bē hote and moyste / but suche meates chaunge often in rostynge to hardnesse / to heate / and dryenesse And they ought to be eaten forth with after the rostȳ ge / and ben good yf they be so taken w ^t good spyces. Some meates brede melancoly / as befe / cowes fles­she / and all flesshe that is cours and drye Other that brede and fede in moyst and warry / & shadowy pla­ces ben more subtyle / better and holsomest.

Fysshes that ben of small substan̄ce / & thynne skynnes / [...]asy of eatynge / bredde in rennynge waters nyghe the see bē better & lyghter than they that bredde in y ^• see or fresshe ry­ners. But fysshe that bredeth in y ^• see is holsomer thā fresshe ryuer fysshe. Therfore beware of fysshe of gre­te substaunce w ^t harde skynnes for suche bē comynly venemous.

THou ought to knowe y ^• clere rēnynge waters that ben nyghe to cytees in pure grounde as small brokes be the best and lyghtest. water that co­meth [Page] out of stony erthe where as is moche fumosy­tees is heuy / cōtagyous / & noysom. water of puddles or fenne full of frogges / addres / and other venymous wormes be vnholsom. The sygnes of good water is to be clere / lyght / & of good colour / y ^t lyghtly dooth se the and lyghtly coole. In suche waters nature delyteth salt. water of y ^e see is fumysshe and laxeth y ^• wō ­be / & water of y ^e see is hote and heuy bycause it moe­ueth not / & the sonne is dayly ouer it / and it bredeth coler / and creaseth the mylt and the sunges. The drȳ kynge of waters with a colde stomake fastynge afo­re dyner greueth the body / and quencheth the heate of the stomake. But drynkynge of water after dyner warmeth the stomake and bredeth flewme. And moche of it corrupteth the meate in the stomake. Thou oughtest to drynke colde water in somer and warme water in wynter / and not cōtrary wyse. For warme water in somer molly fyeth and weyketh the stoma­ke / and wasteth the appetyte. And in wynter colde water quēcheth the heate / and destroyeth the instrumentes of the brest / it noyeth the lyghtes and lūges and bredeth many greues.

THe nature of wyne that groweth on moū taynes nygh to y ^• sonne is dryer thā that / that groweth on the playne grounde / in moyst places / & shadowes wyne is good for aeged people / and suche as be moyst & slewmy. And enoyeth them that be yonge and hote. And wyne warmeth & delyuereth colde and cours [Page] superfluytees. The reeder and thycker that wyne is the more it bredeth blode. But yf it be strōge and bytter / thā it is called the fyrst blode and the fyrst nourysshyng / and hath the nature of drynke and medycyne And often droukē it noyeth the body and nouryssheth it not. And whā wyne is naturally swete / it noyeth the stomake with smellynges and wyndes but such wyne is comynly swete of cōplexyon / and suche as groweth in large feeldes stretchynge towarde the mountaynes and valees hauynge swete clustres / [...] & rype / and be not gathred tyll the myght of the sub­staunce of the bery is gone with the moystnesse / and y ^• the vyne and the grape be somwhat wydred. And thou shalt knowe that wyne ought to be of an eygte taste sharpe and pleasaunt / and haue thyeke lyes on the botome of the vessell / and fayre and clere aboue / & whan thou hast fayre and good wyne drynke temperatly therof to y ^e ease of thy body / as the tyme requy­reth. For it strēgtheth the stomake and the heates of y ^• body / and helpeth dygestyon and kepeth frome corrupcyon / and typeth the meate in the membres / pu­ryfyeng it / & worketh in thē tyll it be cōiun [...]t in good blode / & nourysshynge / and trauayleth & reyseth the heat of the body temperately. And kepeth a man sure of wycked humours / it gladdeth the hert / & maketh fresshe colour in the face. It [...]uyckeneth the mynde & soupleth the tōgue / & destroyeth all melancoly / & ma­ke a man bolde / & to haue good courage & appetyte. And hath many other good propryetees. But yf wyne be outrageously takē many inconuenyences come therby. It troubleth y ^e brayne / y ^e mynde / y ^t wyttes / y ^e vnderstondynge. It maketh the vertue of natural [Page] [...]eate wylde / & causeth forgetfulnesse. It cōbreth the [...]ōgue & weyketh all y ^• synewes & lymmes of y ^e body. It maketh the eyes reed & blered. It chaūgeth y ^e co­lour / & destroyeth y ^e body / & maketh cours & noughty blode. It marreth dygestyon. It causeth to many wordes / & to moche slepe. It maketh y ^e mouthe styn­kynge. It letteth y ^e goynge / & dystroyeth y ^• sede of mā & bredeth lepry. Beware therfore y ^t thou drynke not wyne outrageously / but moeue & chaunge y ^e nature therof w ^t rewbarbe whiche causeth y ^e lyuer to lyue. And wyne w ^t Rubarbe hath many vertues as is foū de playnly in bokes of physyke. Howbeit Rubarbe & wyne be bothe deedly ven [...] yf they be outragyously takē. And surely all euyls cometh of wyne vnmeasurably dronken.

NOble kynge Alexāder / forgete not to ta­ke tarte syropes in y ^e mornyng fastynge whan flewmatyke humours haboūde to moch. For it is proufytable & wasteth thē moche. Also I meruayle y ^• ony man may dye or be seke that eateth breed of clene and good wheat / holsome & good flesshe / & drynketh good wy­ne of grapes temꝑatly. And yf he kepe hym fro to mo­che drynkyng / eatyng & trauayle. yf sykenesse ouer come such a man he must be healed as a dronkē man. That is to wyte he must be wasshed w ^t warme wa­ter / and thā set ouer a rēnyng water betwene .ii. grene wylowes / & his stomake anoynted w ^t an oȳtemēt of sandres / or sandalles / & haue a fumy gacyō of frākē sēce: & other swete spyces / & it wyl do hym moch good And yf ony mā wyll forsake holly y ^e drynkyng of wyne [Page] / he ought not to leaue it sodeynly at ones but lytel & lytell / & to mēgle it euery day w ^t water more & mo­ve / tyll at the last there be nothynge but clere water. And so he may kepe his helth & good cōplexyon. Thꝰ gouerne thy body yf thou wyll lyue longe. And kepe my doctrynes / & consydre these thynges folowynge wherin nature conforteth gretely. That is to wyte. Goodly pastymes / syght of grete rychesses / grete [...]e­uerence / vyctory ouer enemyes / fedyng on good meates / noyse of mynstralsy / syght of precyous garmen­tes / often herynge of good tydynges / speche or wyse men to enquere of thynges past and to come / and cō munycacyon with fayre gentyl women.

O Moost dyscrete kynge Iustyce cā not be praysed to moche / for it is of meruaylous sharpe nature / lyke to the moost gloryoꝰ god. And he ordeyned it ouer his aūgels ouer his werkes / & ouer al realmes. And thou ought to kepe Iustyce / and defende the wyttes / the ryches­ses / & possessyons of thy subgectes and all theyr wer­kes / for so dooth almyghty god. And ony lorde doyng in lyke case is lyke to god. For by mayntey [...]rg of Iustyce he foloweth god / and thou ought to folow hym in all nedefull werkes. And this is the fourme of vn­derstandynge the whiche god created / and graun­ted to his creatures. By Iustyce the erche was ma­de / and kynges ordeyned to kepe and maynteyne Iu­styce for it maketh subgectes meke and obedyent / prowde men lowly / and kepeth all persones in saufe fro wronges and domages. And therfore they of yn­de saye that the Iustyce of a good lorde is better to [Page] good subgectes than the plentyousnesse of the erthe. And also they say that the Iust and reasonable lorde is better thā the rayne that falleth in the euenyng. And there was ones founde wryten in a stone in the speche of Caldee that wyse kynges ben bretheren hauyyge nede eche of other / and one maye not be with­out the other. For all the kynges of the worlde be to rule / and maynteyne Iustyce / whiche is the helthe of Iustyce. Therfore yf thou hast ony thyng for to do aske councell / for thou arte but one man. And shewe not all thy courage to thy councelers nor lete thē not knowe what is in thy wyll to do. For yf y ^• shew thy mynde at y ^e begynnynge y ^u shalt be dyspraysed. Thā attempre thyn herte / and thy wyll / but here councel fyrst. And manyfeste not that / that lyeth at thy herte tyll thou come to put it in effecte. Consydre well the councell of euery man. And whiche of them hath Iuged thy mater and counceled y ^e best for the / and with the best loue that he hath towarde y ^t. And whā thou hast thus recorded thy councell / put thy mynde in effecte without delay. For the gretest destruccyon that may come to a kyng is to bestowe in his werkes & to lese tyme. And yf so be that a yonge man of small estate gyue the good councell / dyspyse it not / for it is pos­syble that a man may be borne in suche cōstellacyō y ^• naturally he shall haue wysdome. ¶Example.

¶There was vpon a tyme a chylde borne in the partyes of ynde. In the hous where this chylde was borne were certayne wyse men lodged / whiche founde that the sayd chylde was borne vnder suche a con­stellacyon / planet / and sygne that he sholde be wyse / meke / courteys / amyable / fresshe of wytte / and shol­de [Page] be loued of kynges & grete lordes. whiche thynge they wolde not shew to y ^e fader which was a weuer. whā y ^e chyld came to aege y ^e fader & moderset hym to theyr occupaciō / but he coude neuer lerne for ony beatyng nor chastysemēt. At y ^e last they lete him do as he lyst / & he set his mynde to lerne scyēces / & y ^e moeuyn­ges of y ^e skyes / & of all thȳges aboue nature. Also he lerned good cōdycyōs & maners to y ^e gouernaunce of prynces & kynges. And fynally by his wytte & wys­dome he was ruler of all y ^e coūtre. Another example. ¶In y ^e realme of ynde were .ii. chyldrē / whā one of thē came to aege y ^e kyng set hȳ to scole for to lerne seyece & all y ^e studyes of ynde & had y ^e best techers in all y ^• ꝓuynces for to teche hym in all y ^• spede y ^• coude [...]e possyble as to a kynges sone belonged. But all the dylygēces of his fader and other techers auayled nothynge nor coude make hym enclyne neyther by his mayster nor by his nature to lerne ony seyēce nor arte but onely forgynge or smythes crafte / wherof the kynge merueyled / and sore troubled sent for all the wysest of his realme / and demaunded of thē how it myght be that his sone wolde lerne nothynge but onely smy­thes craft. And they answered that the kynde of the chylde was of suche complexyon / and that he was inclyned to that arte and to none other. Therfore de­re sone Alexander dyspyse no man of lowe byrthe nor of small stature yf thou se ony scyence or ony wysdo­me in hym / and that he haue also good condycyons and maners in hym / and booth exchewe vyces. Suche one so wel manered is wrothy to be loued of prynces and kynges. And thou ought for to do nothynge without coūcell. And I pray the dere sone that thou [Page] loue hym y ^• loueth trouthe & y ^• coūceleth y ^• faythfully & [...]tyme cōtrary to thyn opynyon. For suche a mā is stedfast of courage / faythfull & Iust to y ^e & thy sub­gectes. And y ^e coūcel of such a man is good to y ^e gouernayle of y ^e kynge & of his realme. For [...]hermore lette not thy besynesses y ^• sholde be fyrst done be y ^• last. &c. But do euery thynge by coūcell & ordre For coūcell is y ^e shewer of al thynges to come. It is behoueful ther­fore y ^• y ^• do all thy werkes by coūcell of faythfull & se­crete coūcelers. For thy wysdō by y ^e coūcell of thē shall encrease / as the see ēcreaseth by y ^e ryuers & floodes y ^• fall in to it. And y ^e better y ^u mayst wynne by y ^e myght of warryours. It is foūde wrytē y ^• a grete wyse mā of ynde wrote lettres to his sone in this wyse ¶My well beloued sone / it is behouefull y ^• y ^u beleue coūcell in all thy besynesses / for y ^u arte but one mā. Take coū cel therfore of suche as y ^u knowest can gyue the good. And aboue all thȳges spare not thy enmy / but whā y ^u mayst shew thy vyctory ouer hȳ And euer beware of y ^• power of thy ēmy. Trust not in thy owne wytte nor ī y ^• grete heyght of thyn estate / but euer take coū cel of other / which yf thou seme good & prouffytable accepte it / & elles not. And also I admonest y ^e & coūcell y ^e chefely y ^• thou neuer make none of thy offycers thy lyeftenaūt onely nor gyue hȳ thy myght / for his coū may destroy y ^e / thy realme / & thy subgectes. And seke alway to his own prouffyt & thy vndoyng. But thou ought to haue dyuers offycers / & yf y ^u wyll assay and proue ony of thē thou must fayne y ^• y ^u hast grete nede of money. And yf he councel the to take of thy treasu­re & Iewelles for to spede he loueth y ^e and is faythful to y ^•. And yf he coūcel the to take y ^e money of thy subgetes [Page] to make thē poore he is corrupte & hateth the mo­che. But yf he be such one that wyl off [...]e the his own goodes and say. Syr by the gyfte and grace of god I haue goten some goodes I gyue them to the / suche ought to be praysed and loued best / as he which had leuer to gyue his goodes awaye than the poore sub­gectes sholde be taxed and destroyed. Proue also thy offycers and yf thou se that ony of them dooth his of­fyce dylygently and more for thyn honoure than he is cōmycted / thou ought gretly to trust in hym. And yf there be ony that delyteth in takyng of gyftes and gapeth for promocyō / & to gadre treasure / put not thy trust in hym. For suche a mā is lyke a hurle pytte w ^t ­out botome / for the more that he hath the more he co­ueyteth to haue. And suche one is the destruccyon of a realme many wayes. For ꝑaduenture the brennynge desyre that he hath to gete rychesses maye moeue hym to do many euylles / and maye chaunce the pro­curacyon of thy deth. yf thou perceyue suche an offy­cer / lete hym not be ferre frome thy presence. And suf­fre hym not to make treaty with straunge lordes nor prynces / nor wryte no newes to them. And yf thou doubt that he dooth the cōtrary chaūge hym with­out ony delay. For the courage of many men be soone chaunged / and lyghtly inclyned to do contrary thynges. ¶Also dere sone thou ought to cherysshe y ^e offycer that loueth & moeueth thy subgectes to loue the. And that putteth his persone and good [...]s to thyn honoure / and that hath these propryetees folowynge. that is to wyte that he be parfyt in his lymmes for to trauayle in his offyce that he is chosen to. That he be courteys / lowly / and eloquent / and that his wor­de [Page] accorde with his hert. That he be a clerke wyse & well condycyoned / laborous & sober of mouthe in ea­tynge and drynkynge / not lecherous / nor player at dyce and other dysordynate games. That he be har­dy / & set not his mynde on golde nor syluer / nor other thynge of the worlde / but that / y ^• belongeth to the go­uernaunce of the / and the realme. That he loue the welth of his neyghbours as of thē that be [...]erre. And that he hate all wronges / and by Iustyce yelde eue­ry man his owne. That he be angry with thē that do iniuryes & extorcyons / & that he greue no mā wrō gefully. And that he be perseueraun [...] & stedfast in his purpose which is behouefull. That he be w ^tout feare and in good wyll. That he knowe the stynce of his expences. And that he prolonge nothynge that may be prouffytable to the realme. And y ^• gyueth not thy subgectes cause to cōplayne of hym in doynge agaynst y ^• comȳ wele. That he be not ful of wordes / nor a grete laugher. That none be refused comȳg to his hous And that he be dylygent to here & enquere of newes and tydynges That he cōfort the subgectes and cor­rect theyr werkes / & helpe thē in theyr aduersytees.

DEre sone it behoueth to chuse the a secre­tary for to wryte & knowe thy secretes / he must be a man of grete wysdome and well lerned / for to vnderstande thy myn­de. He ought to be trusty and eloquēt and that can speke dyuers languages for to put thy besy­nesses in goodly ordynaūce and semely speche. For as [Page] a fayre garmēt honoureth y ^• body of a kynge / so good­ly speche arayeth and indeweth a lettre. And also he must be trusty to hyde & kepe close thy doynges. And y ^• he suff [...]e none to come to y ^• place where thy wrytynges be & y ^e none se thē. Swete sone such ꝑsones ought to be cherysshed & well rewarded for theyr seruyces. And exalte thē in suche wyse y ^• they be alwayes dylygent in thy necessytees & nedes. For in thē is contey­ned thy glory and honour / or thy lyfe & destruccyon.

MYghty emperour y ^e messagers alway she­weth the wysoome of hym y ^• sendeth thē. They ben y ^e eyes y ^e eeres / & the mouthe of theyr lord It behoueth for thy messagers or ābassadours to chuse suche as bē moost suffycyēt / of clere vnderstādyng / wyse / honourable / & trusty / which loueth thy honour / & hateth thy dyshonour. (For in thy court y ^u mayst finde thē bothe). And yf y ^u fynde suche discouer & shewe thy courage to thē. And yf y ^u fynde none suche or better / fynde one y ^• wyll trustely bere thy lettres / & brynge the an answere of them. And yf y ^u fynde y ^• thy messager be coueytous to do his owne prouffyte & to gete gyftes / truste not in hym / but ētyerly forsake hym. And also make no mā thy messager y ^• wyll be drōke / for by suche one it shall be sayd & knowē y ^• y ^e lorde is not wyse. And ferthermore make not thy messager of thy gretest offycer / & lete hym not be ferre from the / for it may well be the vn­doyng of the & y ^• realme. And yf y ^u sende messagers by whome ony treason come to the / I tel the not y ^• measure of payne y ^• they ought to suffre but do therin as [Page] thou semest best.

FAyre sone thou knowest y ^• thy people & sub­gectes bē y ^e hous of thy mynde / & y ^• treasure wherby thy realme is cōforted. For thy realme & subgectes bē as an orchyarde wherin bē dyuers trees berynge fruyte / the which trees haue dyuers rotes & sedes for to bere / growe / & multy­ply y ^e fruyte / & be y ^• defēce & durable treasoure to thy realme / & of thy myght. It behoueth than that thy subgectes be well gouerned & y ^• thou take thought and care to that / that is nedefull for thē / and to beware that no vyolēce nor wronges be done to them / and after theyr condycyons and wontes to ordre them. Than gyue to them a good offycer that intēdeth not to theyr vndoynge / but that intendeth to rule them well / Iustly and in quyete. And se that suche an offycer be wyse / full of good maners / well condycyoned / and pacyent. For yf he be not suche one / wyte thou y ^• the wyse men that were good before / wyll become euyll and rebell agaynst the. Also se that thou haue good and dyscrete Iuges and y ^• shall be worshyp to the / and encrease of thy court / and of thy reame. And that the sayde Iuges be not corrupte with gyftes and mede / and that they haue good notaryous sery­bes / and egall sollycitours & aduocates y ^• wyll not take brybes as it happeneth seldom. Dere sone I pray the and admonest the that thou put thy selfe often in batayle / and take oftentymes the councell of them of thy court. But put the not with thē that onely by en­uy and couetyse entreth presumptuously in batayle. And blame not nor dyspyse thy mē of warre / but vse [Page] fayre wordes amonge them / and often promyse thē gyftes and honours. And in no wyse put thy selfe in batayle tyll thou be pourueyed of al necessary armes and other thynges therto belongynge. And whan y ^• seest thyn enmy renue sodaynly vpon hym / and not slowly / and euer haue good outryders and watches about thyn hoost. And lodge the alwayes as nyghe as thou mayst to hylles / woodes and waters. And haue alway more haboūdaūce of vytayle thā nedeth And aboue al thynges grete quantyte of trompettes [...]abours and other mynstrelles. For they gyue force myght / and reioyce them that be with the / and make dyuysyō & feare to thyn enemyes. And be not alway armed ī one harneys / but with dyuers. And be well stored with archers & handgōnes. And ordeyne some of thy men to renne / and other to stande stedfastly in thy ba [...]ayles. Conforte thy men with fayre wordes and gyue them courage / & herty them to fyght. And aboue all thynges dere sone beware of treason with all thy power / and haue euer good knyghtes about the well & swyftely horsed that yf chaūce happē that thou must nedes flee / that by them thou mayst saue thy persone. But yf thou see ony of thyn enemyes fle haste the not to chase thē but kepe thy folke alway to­gyder the moost that thou mayst. And yf thou wylt assawte castelles or townes haue grete quantyte of gynnes / and artyllery for to breke the walles. And pouruey the of connynge myners / and grete nōbre of archers and crosbowes. And do soo that thou mayst take away the water from them of the fortresse. And euer kepe some of thy enmyes for to knowe theyr do­ynges within. And yf thou can not haue it but by batayle [Page] doo it. For alway the last ende of theyr werkes ought to be batayle. And this ought to be done whā thou can not haue them otherwyse. And doo all thy werkes by councell and not hastely.

AMonge all other thynges of this worlde I wyll that thou knowe a noble and meruaylous s [...]yēce that is called physonomy by the which thou shalt knowe the natu­re and condycyō of people. And it was foū ­de by a phylosophre named Physonomyas / the whiche sought the qualytees of the nature of creatures ¶In the tyme of the sayde Physonomyas reygned the moost wyse physycyē y ^• pocras. And bycause the fame of physonomyas and his wysdome was so gretely spreddde / the dyscyples and seruauntes of ypo­cras toke his fygure secretly / and bare it to Physonomyas to here how he wolde Iuge and say by y ^e sayd fygure of ypocras. And bade hym say and tel the qualyte therof. whan Physonomyas had well beholden it / he sayd. This man is a wrangeler lecherous and rude. This herynge the dyscyples of ypocras / they wolde haue flayne Physonomyas / and sayd to hym. A [...] fole this is the fygure of the best man of the worl­de. whā Physononomyas sawe them thus moeued / he appeased them the best waye that he coude with fayre wordes saynge. I knowe well that this is the fygure of the wyse mā ypocras. And I haue shewed you by scyence as I knowe. whan the dyscyples were come to ypocras they tolde hym what Physono­myas [Page] had sayd. And ypocras sayd. Truely Physo­nomyas hath tolde you the trouthe / and hath left no thynge of my complexyon in the whiche ben all my vyces. But reason that is in me ouercometh and ru­leth the vyces of my complexyon. ¶Dere sone I ha­ue shortely abreged to the / the rules of this scyence of Physonomy / the whiche shall infourme the gre­tely. ¶yf thou se a man with salowe coloure / flee his company / for he is inclyned to the synne of lechery / and to many euylles. yf thou seest a man that smy­leth lyghtly / and whan thou beholdest hym he wyll loke shamfastly and wyl blusshe in his face and sygh with teeres in his eyes yf thou blame hym for ony thynge / surely he feareth the and loueth thy persone Beware of hym as thy enmy that is tokened in his face / and of hym also that is mysshapen. The best cō ­plexyon that is / is he that is of meane coloure with browne eyes & heere and his vysage betwene why and reed / with an vpryght body / with a heed of me­tely bygnesse / and that speketh not but of nede be / w ^t a softe voyce / suche a complexyon is good / and suche men haue about the. ¶yf the heeres be playne and smothe the man is curteys and meke / and his bray­ne is colde. Harde heere and curled is a token of foly & lewdnesse. Moche heere on the brest and on the bely betokeneth very yll or very good complexyō natural­ly and is very amerous / and kepeth in his herte the iniuryes y ^• hath bē done to hym. Blacke heere betoke [...]eth to loue reason & Iustyce. ¶Duskysshe eyes be­tokeneth fooly / & lyghtly to be angry. Gray eyes be­tokeneth honeste / & louȳge peas. Bygge eyes betoke [...]eth to bē enuyoꝰ / vnshamefast / slowe & vnobedyet. [Page] Eyes meane betwene blacke and yelowe is of good vnderstandyng / curteys / and trusty. wyde retch yn­ge eyes and a longe face betokeneth a mā malycyoꝰ and yll. Eyes lyke an asse alway lokyng downe is of harde nature and nought. waueryng eyes with a lō face betokeneth gyle / rennynge mynde and vntrusty Reed eyes betokeneth to be strōge and of a grete cou [...]age. He that hath spekles about his eyes / whyte / blacke / or reed / is the worst of all other men. Thycke heered eye lyddes is an yll speker / he that hath them haugynge longe to his eyes / is neyther true nor cle­ne. He that hath heere ynough bytwene his two browes and be thyn̄e and not to longe / is of a good and grete vnderstandyng. ¶Asklendre nosed man is soone angry. A longe nose hawked to the mouthe / is a tokē of honeste and hardynesse A snytted nose is a to­ken to be soone vexed. wyde nosethrylles in a man is slouth and boystousnesse and soone angered. A brode nose in the myddes is a grete speker / and a lyer. But y ^• best is he that is meane neyther to wyde nor to clo­se. The vysage that is ful & flat / and that is not swollen nor to bygge is a token of an yll persone / enuyoꝰ / iniuryous / and a wrāgeler. But he that hath a meane vysage of fourme of chekes and eyes / neyther to fat nor to leane / he is trusty / louynge / and of grete vnderstandynge / wyse and full of seruyce and wytte. ¶He that hath a wyde mouthe loueth batayle and is hardy. He y ^• hath thycke lyppes is folysshe. And he that hath a wrynkled face is a lyer / and careth not of many debates. He that hath a sklender face is of gre­te reason. He that hath a lytell vysage and yelowe of colour is a deceyuer / dronken / and [...]uyll. Full eyes & [Page] smothe chekes is soone angry. ¶Small eeres beto­keneth foly / and l [...]chery. ¶He that hath a small voyce & speketh thycke loueth feyghtynge. He that hath a meane voyce / neyther to bygge / nor to lytell / is fo­lysshe and vnreasonable. And he that speketh to mo­che with a sklender voyce / is not ouer honest / and of smal care. He that hath a femynyne voyce is soone angry / and of yl nature. A softe voyced man is often an­gry and ēuyous. He that hath a fayre voyce / is folys­she / and of hyghe courage. He that speketh lyghtly / lyeth often / and is a deceyuer. And he that speketh w ^t out moeuynge his handes / is of grete wysdome and honeste. ¶He that hath a sklender necke / is hote / pe­ceytfull / and folysshe. He y ^• hath a grete bely is prou­de / lecherous / and vnwyse. ¶He that hath a large brest / thycke sholdres / and bygge fyngers / is hardy / wyse / gentyll / and of good wytte. He with a sklender backe agreeth neuer with ony other. He y ^• hath his brest & backe egall / is a token of honeste. Hye reysed sholdres / is a tokē of lytell fydelyte / nought / and sharpe. He that hath longe armes rechynge to the knee / is of grete boldenesse / sadnesse / & lyberalyte. Shorte armes betoken that he loueth socour / and is folysshe. ¶Longe palmed handes with longe fyngers / is or­deyned to lerne many scyēces / and artes / and specyal handy craftes / and be of good gouernaūce. Fyngers short and thycke / betoken foly. ¶Shorte thycke fete and flesshy / betokeneth to be folysshe / and full of iniu­ry. A lytell lyght fote / is a man of smal vnderstandynge. A sklender fote sheweth a man to be symple / and of small knowlege. He that hath a thycke fote is har­dy and folysshe. ¶The length of y ^• legges / & the heles [Page] betoken strength of the body. A thycke flesshy kne / is soft and weyke. ¶A man that gooth a grete pace / is wyllynge in all thynges / and to hasty. ¶He is of a good nature and complexyon / that hath softe flesshe and moyst / meanely smothe and rough / and that is kyndly betwene reed and whyte. ¶He that hath a smothe contenaunce / softe heere & playne / with mea­ne eyes of bygnesse / with a well proporcyoned heed / a good necke and suffycyent in length / with sholders somdele lowe / and his legges and knees metely fles­shed his voyce competent clere / y ^• palmes of his handes and fyngers longe and not thycke / and that he laughe but lytell / and that is no mocker / with a smylyng chere and mery / is of good cōplexyon. Howbeit dere sone I commaunde the not to Iuge al vpon one sygne / but consydre all the tokens of a man whiche moost habounde and sheweth y ^• foly in hym / and holde the to the best and moost prouffytable party.

¶Here folowe certayne reasons of the grete phylosophre Sydrac to the kynge Boctus / whiche I haue translated out of the Pycardes speche / thynkynge it necessary in this sayd treatyse.