coming one day to queen Elizabeth, she said to him; Now, Mr. Speaker, what hath passed in the com"mons' house?" He answered," If it please your majesty, seven weeks."

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251. Themistocles in his lower fortune was in love with a young gentleman who scorned him; but when he grew to his greatness, which was soon after, he sought him: Themistocles said, "We are both grown "wise, but too late."

252. Bion was sailing, and there fell out a great tempest; and the mariners, that were wicked and dissolute fellows, called upon the gods; but Bion said to them, "Peace, let them not know you are here.”

253. The Turks made an expedition into Persia; and because of the strait jaws of the mountains of Armenia, the bashaws consulted which way they should get in. One that heard the debate said, "Here is "much ado how you shall get in; but I hear no body "take care how you should get out."

254. Philip king of Macedon maintained arguments with a musician in points of his art, somewhat peremptorily; but the musician said to him, "God "forbid, Sir, your fortune were so hard, that you "should know these things better than myself."

255. Antalcidas, when an Athenian said to him, "Ye Spartans are unlearned;" said again, "True, for "we have learned no evil nor vice of you."

256. Pace, the bitter fool, was not suffered to come at queen Elizabeth, because of his bitter humour. Yet at one time, some persuaded the queen that he should come to her; undertaking for him, that he should keep within compass: so he was brought to her, and the queen said; "Come on, Pace; now we shall "hear of our faults." Saith Pace; 66 I do not use to "talk of that that all the town talks of."

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257. Bishop Latimer said, in a sermon at court, "That he heard great speech that the king was poor; and many ways were propounded to make him rich: for his part he had thought of one way, "which was, that they should help the king to some good office, for all his officers were rich."

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258. After the defeat of Cyrus the younger, Falinus was sent by the king to the Grecians, who had for their part rather victory than otherwise, to command them to yield their arms; which when it was denied, Falinus said to Clearchus; "Well then, the king lets you know, that if you remove from the place "where you are now encamped, it is war: if you stay, it is truce. What shall I say you will do?" Clearchus answered, "It pleaseth us, as it pleaseth "the king." "How is that?" saith Falinus. Saith Clearchus, "If we remove, war: if we stay, truce:" and so would not disclose his purpose.

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259. Alcibiades came to Pericles, and stayed a while ere he was admitted. When he came in, Pericles civilly excused it, and said; "I was studying how to give mine account." But Alcibiades said to him, "If you will be ruled by me, study rather how "to give no account."

260. Mendoza that was vice-roy of Peru, was wont to say, "That the government of Peru was the "best place that the king of Spain gave, save that it was somewhat too near Madrid."

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261. When Vespasian passed from Jewry to take upon him the empire, he went by Alexandria, where remained two famous philosophers, Apollonius and Euphrates. The emperor heard the discourse, touching matter of state, in the presence of many. And when he was weary of them, he brake off, and in a secret derision, finding their discourses but speculative, and not to be put in practice, said; "O that I "might govern wise men, and wise men govern me."

262. Cardinal Ximenes, upon a muster, which was taken against the Moors, was spoken to by a servant of his to stand a little out of the smoke of the harquebuss; but he said again, "That that was his in

66 cense."

263. Nero was wont to say of his master Seneca, "That his stile was like mortar without lime."

264 Augustus Cæsar, out of great indignation against his two daughters, and Posthumus Agrippa, his grandchild; whereof the two first were infamous,

and the last otherwise unworthy; would say, "That they were not his seed, but some imposthumes that "had broken from him."

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265. A seaman coming before the judges of the admiralty for admittance into an office of a ship bound for the Indies, was by one of the judges much slighted, as an insufficient person for that office he sought to obtain; the judge telling him, " that he believed he "could not say the points of his compass." The seaman answered; "that he could say them, under "favour, better than he could say his Pater-noster." The judge replied; "that he would wager twenty shillings with him upon that." The seaman taking him up, it came to trial: and the seaman began, and said all the points of his compass very exactly: the judge likewise said his Pater-noster: and when he had finished it, he required the wager according to agreement; because the seaman was to say his compass better than he his Pater-noster, which he had not performed. Nay, I pray, Sir, hold," quoth the seaman, "the wager is not finished; for I have but "half done:" and so he immediately said his compass backward yery exactly; which the judge failing of in his Pater-noster, the seaman carried away the prize.

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266. There was a conspiracy, against the emperor Claudius by Scribonianus, examined in the senate; where Claudius sat in his chair, and one of his freed servants stood at the back of his chair. In the examination, that freed servant, who had much power with Claudius, very saucily, had almost all the words: and amongst other things, he asked in scorn one of the examinates, who was likewise a freed servant of Scribonianus; "I pray, Sir, if Scribonianus had been emperor, what would you have done?" He answered; "I would have stood behind his chair and held my peace."

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267. One was saying that his great grandfather, and grandfather, and father, died at sea; said another that heard him, " And I were as you, I would 66 never come at sea." Why," saith he, "where did your great grandfather, and grandfather, and

"father die?" He answered; "Where but in their "beds?" He answered; " And I were as you, I "would never come in bed."

268. There was a dispute, whether great heads or little heads had the better wit? And one said, "It "must needs be the little; for that it is a maxim, "Omne majus continet in se minus.”

269. Sir Thomas More, when the counsel of the party pressed him for a longer day to perform the decree, said; "Take saint Barnaby's day, which is "the longest day in the year." Now saint Barnaby's day was within few days following.

270.. One of the fathers saith, "That there is but "this difference between the death of old men and young men; that old men go to death, and death comes to young men."

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271. Cassius, after the defeat of Crassus by the Parthians, whose weapons were chiefly arrows, fled to the city of Charras, where he durst not stay any time, doubting to be pursued and besieged; he had with him an astrologer, who said to him, "Sir, I "would not have you go hence, while the moon is in the sign of Scorpio." Cassius answered, "I am "more afraid of that of Sagittarius."

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272. Jason the Thessalian was wont to say, "that some things must be done unjustly, that many "things may be done justly."

273. Demetrius king of Macedon would at times retire himself from business, and give himself wholly to pleasures. One of those his retirings, giving out that he was sick, his father Antigonus came on the sudden to visit him; and met a fair dainty youth coming out of his chamber. When Antigonus came in, Demetrius said; "Sir, the fever left me right "now." Antigonus replied, "I think it was he that "I met at the door."

274. Cato Major would say, "That wise men "learned more by fools, than fools by wise men." 275. When it was said to Anaxagoras; "The Athenians have condemned you to die;" he said again, "And nature them."

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276. Alexander, when his father wished him to run for the prize of the race at the Olympian games, for he was very swift, answered; "He would, if he "might run with kings."

277. Antigonus used often to go disguised, and to listen at the tents of his soldiers; and at a time heard some that spoke very ill of him. Whereupon he opened the tent a little, and said to them; "If you "would speak ill of me, you should go a little farther "off."

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278. Aristippus said; "That those that studied particular sciences, and neglected philosophy, were "like Penelope's wooers, that made love to the wait"ing woman.”

279. The ambassadors of Asia Minor came to Antonius, after he had imposed upon them a double tax, and said plainly to him; "That if he would have "two tributes in one year, he must give them two "seed-times and two harvests."

280. An orator of Athens said to Demosthenes; "The Athenians will kill you if they wax mad." Demosthenes replied, "And they will kill you if they be in good sense."

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281. Epictetus used to say; "That one of the vul"gar, in any ill that happens to him, blames others; " a novice in philosophy blames himself; and a phi"losopher blames neither the one nor the other."

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282. Cæsar, in his book that he made against Cato, which is lost, did write, to shew the force of opinion and reverence of a man that had once obtained a popular reputation; "That there were some that found "Cato drunk, and were ashamed instead of Cato."

283. There was a nobleman said of a great counsellor, "that he would have made the worst farrier "in the world; for he never shod horse but he cloyed "him: for he never commended any man to the king "for service, or upon occasion of suit, or otherwise, "but that he would come in, in the end, with a but, "and drive in a nail to his disadvantage."

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284. Diogenes called an ill physician, Cock. Why?" saith he. Diogenes answered; "Because "when you crow, men use to rise."