men forwarde withall) Homer doeth well shewe, by the Sirenes, and Circes. And amonges all in that shyp there was but one Vlysses, and yet he hadde done to as the other dyd, yf a goddesse had not taught hym: And so lykewyse I thinke, they be easye to numbre, whiche passe by playing honestlye, excepte the grace of God saue and kepe them. Therfore they that wyll not go to farre in playing, let them folowe this cousell of the Poete.

Stoppe the begynninges.

PHILOLO. Well, or you go any further, I pray you tell me this one thing: Doo ye speake agaynste meane mennes playinge onelye, or agaynste greate mennes playinge to, or put you anye difference betwixte them? TOXOPHI. If I shulde excuse my selfe herein, and saye that I spake of the one, and not of the other, I feare leaste I shoulde as fondlye excuse my selfe, as a cerɩayne preacher dyd, whome I hearde vpon a tyme speake agaynste manye abuses, (as he sayde) and at last he spake agaynst candelles, and then he fearynge, least some men woulde haue bene angrye and offended with him, naye sayeth he, you must take me as I meane: I speake not agaynst greate candelles, but agaynst lytle candels, for they be not all one (q he) I promyse you: And so euerye man laughed him to scorne.

In dede as for greate men, and greate mennes matters, I lyst not greatlye to meddle. Yet this I woulde wysshe that all great men in Englande had red ouer diligentlye the Pardoners tale in Chaucer, and there they shoulde perceyue and se, howe moche suche games stande with theyr worshyppe, howe great soeuer they be. What great men do, be it good or yll, meane men communelye loue to followe, as many learned men in many places do saye, and daylye experience doth playnelye shewe, in costlye apparell and other lyke matters.

Therfore, seing that Lordes be lanternes to leade the lyfe of meane men, by their example, eyther to goodnesse or badnesse, to whether soeuer they liste: and seinge also they haue libertie to lyste what they will, I pray God they haue will to list that which is good, and as for their playing, I wyll make an ende with this saying of Chaucer.

Lordes might finde them other maner of pleye
Honest ynough to driue the daye awaye.

But to be shorte, the best medicine for all sortes of men both high and lowe, yonge and oulde, to put awaye suche vnlawfull games is by the contrarye, lykewyse as all physicions do alowe in physike. So let youthe in steade of suche vnlefull games, whiche stande by ydlenesse, by solitarinesse, and corners, by night and darkenesse, by fortune & chaunce, by crafte and subtiltie, vse suche pastimes as stand by labour: vpon the daye light, in open syght of men, hauynge suche an ende as is come to by cōning, rather then by crafte: and so shulde vertue encrease, and vice decaye. For contrarye pastimes, must nedes worke contrary mindes in men, as all other contrary thinges doo.

And thus we se Philologe, that shoting is not onely the moost holesome exercise for the bodye, the moost honest pastime for the mynde, and that for all sortes of men: But also it is a moost redy medicine, to purge the hole realme of suche pestilent gamning, wherwt many tymes it is sore troubled and ill at

ease.

PHI. The more honestie you haue proued by shoting Toxophile, and the more you haue perswaded me to loue it, so moche truly the soryer haue you made me with this last sentence of yours, wherby you plainly proue that a man maye not greatly vse it. For if shoting be a medicine (as you saye that it is) it maye not be vsed very oft, lest a man shuld hurt him selfe with all, as medicines moche occupyed doo. For Aristotle him selfe sayeth, that medicines be no meate to lyue withall: and thus shoting by the same reason, maye not be moche occupyed. TOX. You playe your oulde wontes Philologe, in dalying with other mens wittes, not so moche to proue youre owne matter, as to proue what other mẽ can say. But where you thinke that I take awaye moche vse of shoting, in lykening it to a medicine: bycause men vse not medicines euery daye, for so shoulde their bodyes be hurt: I rather proue daylye vse of shoting therby. For although Aristotle sayeth that some medicines be no meate to lyue withall, whiche is true: Yet Hippocrates sayth that our daylye meates be medicines, to withstande euyll withall, whiche is as true. For he maketh two kyndes of medicines, one our meate that we vse dailye, whiche purgeth softlye and slowlye, and in this similitude maye shoting be called a medicine,

Hippo. de med. purg.

wherwith dayly a man maye purge and take away al vnlefull desyres to other vnlefull pastymes, as I proued before. The other is a quicke purging medicine, and seldomer to be occupyed, excepte the matter be greater, and I coulde describe the nature of a quicke medicine, which shoulde within a whyle purge and plucke oute all the vnthriftie games in the Realme, through which the commune wealth oftentymes is sycke. For not onely good quicke wittes to learnyng be thereby brought out of frame, and quite marred: but also manlye wittes, either to attempt matters of high courage in warre tyme, or els to atcheue matters of weyght and wisdome in peace tyme, be made therby very quaisie and faynt. For loke throughoute all histories written in Greke, Latyne, or other language, and you shal neuer finde that realme prosper in the whiche suche ydle pastymes are vsed. As concerning the medicyne, although some wolde be miscontent, if they hearde me meddle anye thynge with it: Yet betwixte you and me here alone, I maye the boldlyer saye my fantasie, and the rather bycause I wyll onelye wysh for it, whiche standeth with honestie, not determyne of it which belongeth to authoritie. The medicine is this, that wolde to God and the kynge, all these vnthriftie ydle pastymes, whiche be very bugges, that the Psalme meaneth on, walking on the nyght and in Psalm. 90. corners, were made felonye, and some of that punyshment ordeyned for them, which is appoynted for the forgers and falsifyers of the kynges coyne. Which punishment is not by me now inuented, but longe agoo, by the mooste noble oratour Demosthenes: which meruayleth greatly that deathe is appoynted for falsifyers and forgers of the coyne, and not as greate punyshmente ordeyned for them, whiche by theyr meanes forges and falsifyes the commune wealthe. And I suppose that there is no one thyng that chaungeth sooner the golden and syluer wyttes of men into copperye & brassye wayes then dising and suche vnlefull pastymes.

Demost. cō

tra Leptině.

And this quicke medicine I beleue wolde so throwlye pourge them, that the daylye medicines, as shoting and other pastymes ioyned with honest labour shoulde easelyer withstande them. PHIL. The excellent commodityes of shotynge in peace tyme, Toxophile, you haue very wel and sufficiently declared. Wherby you haue so persuaded me, that God wyllyng hereafter I wyll

both loue it the better, and also vse it the ofter. For as moche as I can gather of all this communication of ours, the tunge, the nose, the handes and the feete be no fytter membres, or instrumentes for the body of a man, then is shotinge for the hole bodye of the realme. God hath made the partes of men which be best and moost neccessarye, to serue, not for one purpose onelye, but for manye: as the tungue for speaking and tasting, the nose for smelling, and also for auoyding of all excremetes, which faule oute of the heed, the handes for receyuynge of good thinges, and for puttyng of all harmefull thinges, from the bodye. So shotinge is an exercyse of healthe, a pastyme of honest pleasure, and suche one also that stoppeth or auoydeth all noysome games gathered and encreased by ill rule, as noughtye humours be, whiche hurte and corrupte sore that parte of the realme, wherin they do remayne.

But now if you can shewe but halfe so moche profyte in warre of shotynge, as you haue proued pleasure in peace, then wyll I surelye iudge that there be fewe thinges that haue so manifolde commodities, and vses ioyned vnto them as it hath.

Mach. 1. 3.

G TOX. The vpperhande in warre, nexte the goodnesse of God (of whome al victorie commeth, as scripture sayth) standeth chefelye in thre thinges in the wysedome of the Prince, in the sleyghtes and pollicies of the capitaynes, and in the strength and cherefull forwardnesse of the souldyers. A Prince in his herte must be full of mercy and peace, a vertue moost pleasaunt to Christ, moost agreable to mans nature, moost profytable for ryche and poore.

For tha the riche man enioyeth with great pleasure that which he hath: the poore may obtayne with his labour, that which he lacketh. And although there is nothing worse then war, wherof it taketh his name, through the which great men be in daunger, meane men without succoure, ryche men in feare, bycause they haue somwhat: poore men in care, bycause they haue nothing: And so euery man in thought and miserie : Yet it is a ciuill medicine, wherewith a prince maye from the bodye of his commune wealth, put of that daunger whiche maye faule: or elles recouer agayne, whatsoeuer it hath lost. And therfore as Isocrates doth saye, a prince must be a warriour in two thinges, in conninge and know

Ad Nico.

ledge of all sleyghtes and feates of warre, and in hauing al necessarye habilimentes belongyng to the same. Whiche matter to entreate at large, were ouerlonge at this tyme to declare, & ouermoche for my learning to perfourme.

After the wisdome of the prince, are valiaunt capitaynes moost necessary in warre, whose office and dutye is to knowe all sleightes and pollicies for all kyndes of warre, which they maye learne .ii. wayes, either in daylye folowing and haunting the warres or els bicause wisdome bought with strypes, is many tymes ouercostlye: they maye bestowe some tyme in Vegetius, which entreateth suche matters in Latin metelye well, or rather in Polyęnus, and Leo the Emperour, which setteth out al pollicies and duties of capitaynes in the Greke tunge very excellentlye. But chefely I wolde wisshe and (if I were of authoritie) I wolde counsel al the yong gentlemen of this realme, neuer to lay out of theyr handes .ii. authors Xenophon in Greke, and Cesar in Latyn, where in they shulde folowe noble Scipio Africanus, as Tullie doeth saye: In whiche .ii. authours, besydes eloquence a thing moste necessary of all other, for a captayne, they shulde learne the hole course of warre, whiche those .ii. noble menne dyd not more wyselye wryte for other men to learne, than they dyd manfully excercise in the fyelde, for other men to folowe.

De Sen.

Obedience.
Plat. leg. 12.
Xen. Ages.

boldelie

The strengthe of war lyeth in the souldier, whose chyefe prayse and vertue, is obedience towarde his captayne, sayth Plato. And Xenophon being a gentyle authour, moste christianlye doeth saye, euen by these woordes, that that souldyer whiche firste serueth god, & than obeyeth hys captayne, maye with all courage, hope to ouerthrowe his enemy. Agayne, wtout obedience, neither valiant man, stout horse, nor Xen. Hippar. goodly harnes doth any good at al. Which obedience of ye souldier toward his captane, brought the hole empyre of ye worlde, into the Romanes hādes, & whan it was brought, kepte it lenger, than euer it was kept in any comon welth before or after.

And this to be true, Scipio Africanus, the moste noble captayne that euer was amonge the Romaynes, shewed very playnly, what tyme as he went in to

Plutarchus

Afryke, to destroye Cartage. For he restinge hys hooste by