THE from men, which is confirmed by God him selfe, who saith, SECOND he made them for a helpe and comfort to man. BOOKE GUAZ. What, to helpe to consume a man as the Poet saide ? Lesbia doeth sucke the purse and bodie drie, to buy love so deere is most extreeme follie. ANNIB. That is not the Conversation that wee are to speake of, and it seemed verie straunge to mee, that you beeing a Courtier shoulde professe your selfe suche an enemy to women. GUAZ. Pardon mee I pray you, I mistooke you then, for so soone as you began to speake of the Conversation of women I thought you had ment of those with whom men trie their manhood withall in amorous incounters. For I thinke that those which make profession of the life, ought to learne the meanes howe to trafike together in suche sort, that they may live long time together in love and liking. And touching women of honestie and reputation, you know well that it is my part not only to reverence them, but to maintaine and defende their honour and good name, both with word and with sword. Yea, though dutie did not constraine me to do it, yet affection should cary me to it, having been alwayes most desirous of their favour. ANNIB. We can not (saving our honour) speake of the Conversation which you meane: and in my fancy it is our partes rather to overthrow it, then to build it up, as a thing unworthy of the civil Conversation. And to the ende you remaine no longer in suspence, I woulde have you with mee thinke this, that the nature of man is inclined to nothing more then to the love of women. But that we may not bee deceived, we must know, that there is one Venus in heaven, and another in earth: the latter is the mother of wanton love, the other, of honest affection. Wanton love is nothing els but a passion, which blindeth the understanding, perverteth the minde, confoundeth the memory, wasteth the goods, weakeneth the body, withereth youth, killeth age, which is the breeder of vices, an inhabiter in THE idle and empty heads, which is a thing without reason, without order, and without any stay, a fault proper to SECOND fooles, and which is the abridger of mans libertie. GUAZ. It appeareth you are well acquainted with our Boccace, seeing you remember so well his sayings, wheretoo may be added that of the Poet, I see the thing I doe, the trueth which to my cost I know, no whit doth me deceive, yet love so rules the rost: That who so foloweth it, no vertue folow shall, for unto lewdnesse and to vice, it doeth him daily call. Next ANNIB. For conclusion, so soone as this love hath taken roote in the heart, in the same instant are lost goods, honestie, renoume, vertue, yea body and soule. And therfore al those who are folowers of this fond brutish love, are to be admitted only into the company of incontinent and naughtie women. For they are not worthie the presence and entertainment of the honest and vertuous. foloweth the heavenly love, which being inamoured with the beauties of the minde, is the cause of much good, and of many commendable effectes. For it maketh men affable, discreete, curteous, painfull, pacient, valiant, and as a brave writer hath alredie saide, It taketh from men all rude and clownishe behaviour, it maketh them familiar in companye, pleasaunte at the Table, amiable everye waye. It is the chiefe bringer in of mercy, and banisher of crueltie : it breedeth friendship, and driveth away hatred: it is it whiche maketh a man friendly, liberall, desirous to doe well, and loth to doe yll: it is a wise guide in our travayles, in our desires, and in our woordes: to conclude, it is the most perfect ornament of mans life. And truely, if you marke the order of feastes, playes, and merie meetinges of friendes, you will say, that all those assemblyes are colde and nothing delightfull, if there bee no women at them. For as men in their presence plucke up their spirites, and indevour by woordes, jestures, and all other wayes to give them to understande howe desirous they are of their favour and good will, so you ought to thinke, the object beeing out of BOOKE THE their eyes, they will become carelesse, mannerlesse, and lesse SECOND readie to commendable enterprises. To bee shorte, women BOOKE are they whiche keepe men waking and in continuall exercise: yea, I thinke there is no man so lazy and drouzy, but that he will open his eyes when hee heareth talke of women. And so soone as hee spyeth comming a farre of, her whom hee hath placed most neere to his heart, I warrant you he setteth his ruffes, hee turneth his Cappe and feather the right way, hee pulleth up his cloake about his shoulders, hee standeth a tiptoe, hee sheweth a joyfull and smyling countenaunce, and hee seemeth to be become a newe man, that hee may bee more acceptable to the sight of his mistresse, in whose presence hee chaungeth colour, and looketh pale, by reason that his heart abandoneth his bodie to followe her, beeing drawne as it were by it owne image. GUAZ. Women doe the verie same, who I warrant you would not be so fine, so trimmed and tricked up, so amiable every way, but of a desire to please men. ANNIB. You see then that this love is no lesse mutuall then honest. GUAZ. Yea, but if this love were so honest as you make it, you shoulde not see men shewe them selves more affectionate to the fayre then to the foule, to the yong then to the olde. But you see fewe take pleasure either in overworne antiquities, or unseemely deformities. By reason wherof it is easie to be knowne, that they are in love rather with the bodie then the minde: and that their love is earthly, and fleshly, which you have alreadie banished out of good companie. ANNIB. Women did the like for al the world towards men. For I knowe some of them which are very angrie in their mindes, when their chaunce is to be led in a daunce, either by a childe or an old man: whereas on the contrarie they are very glad when they have gotten a young man by the hand. GUAZ. In my opinion they have great reason in it, for that as a wise man saieth, pleasures and favours are not to bee done either to a childe or to an olde man. For the one forgetteth them, the other dyeth before he have occasion to requite them. ANNIB. That is not the occasion which moveth them to doe so. And to avoide al confusion, wee must consider that love is a desire of beautie, and that beautie is of three sortes, to wit: of the minde, of the body, and of the speech. The first is discerned by the understanding, the second by the eyes, the third by the eares. And therfore it is saide that the three graces represent those three partes. So long then as love is guided only by the eyes, the eares, and the minde, it is without question, honest, and wise lovers ought to content themselves only with the fruition of those fruites, without thinking or seeking any farther. And contrariwise, it cannot bee counted honest, or deserve the name of love, but of lust and folly, when they are moved to it by any other of their senses. Nowe wee are heere to consider, that naturally our mindes are most drawen thither, where beautie doth most abound: and therfore no mervaile if men for the most parte addresse themselves more willingly towards the faire and yong, then the foule and olde for that in the faire and young commonly those three sortes of beautie concur, of the minde, of the body, and of the speech. Whereas in the foule and the olde the beauty of the body is wanting, which in the foule fayleth by nature, and in the old by length of tyme. The same reason may serve to shewe why women in banquets and dauncing make more account of young men then of children or olde men, for that in children there is no other beautie to bee seene but that of the body: for the two other are wanting. I meane of the speeche whiche consisteth in pleasant devise, and fine filed talke, and of the minde whiche is shewed in discreete behaviour and vertuous deedes, which cannot be ripe and perfect in them. In old men is to be found only the beauty of the mind and of the speeche, for that they have not that of the body, which is worne away with time. But all the three beauties meete together for the most part in yong men. And though this inclination bee common to men and women, yet you see some men fall in THE SECOND BOOKE THE BOOKE love sooner with an olde woman then with a yong, and with SECOND a foule then with a faire: which happeneth likewise to some women, whiche beare fervent affection to some men who are altogether bereeved of the beautie of the body, and in a manner deformed, but happily indued with vertue, pleasantly conceited, and valiantly given. A man can not terme this folly or lacke of judgement. For it must bee saide that a woman casting her fancy to a man of unseemely personage, doth naturally make smal account of that outwarde beautie, and is induced to love him in respect of the other beauties of speech, and of the mind: and that a man doeth the like towardes a woman. Neither ought wee to thinke it straunge that some lovers, the older they waxe the more fervently they love one another but we ought to judge their love the more perfect. For touching the woman the more she groweth in yeres, the more ripenesse the beauty of her mind groweth to, and the older the man waxeth, the better he is able to discerne the beauties of his mistresse, whereby his love the more increaseth. But for that my chiefe purpose is not to discourse of love, but of the conversation with women, it shall suffice us to knowe, that there is no man in the worlde so blockishe, or suche a Cimon, who beeing in love, calleth not his wittes about him, and waxeth not more wise: who by honest love, and the curteous and pleasaunt company of women, feeleth not himselfe inflamed with vertuous and heavenly thoughtes, and who besides other laudable studies, is not thereby stirred up to Poetry. And thereof it commeth, that Apollo vaunting him selfe to have been the cause of the worke of a certaine Poet, fraught full of amorous devises, Venus withstoode the matter, saying, That that Poet had remained mute, if her sonne had not hit him with his golden shaft. Nowe touching the Conversation with women, all men ought to knowe this, that they ought to doe them all the honour and reverence possible, and that Romulus made a lawe whereby hee ordeined, that in assemblies men shoulde alwayes set women above them. And though everie man for the most part addresseth his service to some one above |