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in the adventure; for trust me that my wish or desire of God for you shall not stand you in as much effect as I think my father's did for me. We are not all accepted of Him. Begin, therefore, betimes. Make God and goodness your foundations. Make your examples of wise and honest men; shoot at that mark; be no mocker -mocks follow them that delight therein. He shall be sure of shame that feeleth no grief in other men's shames. Have your friends in a reverence, and think unkindness to be the greatest offence, and least punished among men; but so much the more to be dreaded, for God is justiser upon that alone. Love well and agree with your wife; for where is noise and debate in the house, there is unquiet dwelling; and much more when it is in one bed. Frame well yourself to love and rule well and honestly your wife as your fellow, and she shall love and reverence you as her head. Such as you are to her, such shall she be unto you. Obey and reverence your father-in-law, as you would me; and remember that long life followeth them that reverence their fathers and elders; and the blessing of God, for good agreement between the wife and husband, is fruit of many children.

Read oft this my letter, and it shall be as though I had often written to you; and think that I have herein printed a fatherly affection to you. If I may see that I have not lost my pain, mine shall be the contentation, and yours the profit; and, upon condition that you follow my advertisement, I send you God's blessing and mine, and as well to come to honesty as to increase of years.

SIR HENRY SIDNEY TO HIS SON, PHILIP SIDNEY.*

I have received two letters from you, one written in Latin, thẻ other in French, which I take in good part, and will you to excrcise that practice of learning often; for that will stand you in most stead in that profession of life that you are born to live in. And since this is my first letter that ever I did write to you, I will not that it be all empty of some advices, which my natural care for you provoketh me to wish you to follow, as documents to you in this your tender age.

Let your first action be the lifting up of your mind to Almighty God, by hearty prayer; and feelingly digest the words you speak in prayer, with continual meditation, and thinking of Him to whom you pray, and of the matter for which you pray. And use this as an ordinary act, and at an ordinary hour; whereby the time itself

Sir Philip Sidney, to whom this letter was addressed, was then twelve years of age, at schoo at Shrewsbury.

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will put you in remembrance to do that which you are accustomed to do. In that time apply your study to such hours as your discreet master doth assign you, earnestly; and the time (I know) he will so limit, as shall be both sufficient for your learning, and safe for your health. And mark the sense and matter of all that you read, as well as the words. So shall you both enrich your tongue with words, and your wit with matter; and judgment will grow as years groweth in you. Be humble and obedient to your master; for unless you frame yourself to obey others, yea, and feel in yourself what obedience is, you shall never be able to teach others how to obey you. Be courteous of gesture, and affable to all men, with diversity of reverence, according to the dignity of the person. There is nothing that winneth so much, with so little cost. Use moderate diet, so as, after your meat, you may find your wit fresher, and not duller, and your body more lively, and not more heavy. Seldom drink wine, and yet sometimes do, lest being enforced to drink upon the sudden, you should find yourself inflamed. Use exercise of body, but such as is without peril of your joints or bones. will increase your force, and enlarge your breath. Delight to be cleanly as well in all parts of your body as in your garments. It shall make you grateful in each company; and, otherwise, loathGive yourself to be merry; for you degenerate from your father, if you find not yourself most able in will and body to do any thing when you be most merry; but let your mirth be ever void of all scurrility, and biting words to any man; for a wound given by a word is oftentimes harder to be cured, than that which is given with the sword. Be you rather a hearer and bearer away of other 'men's talk, than a beginner or procurer of speech; otherwise you shall be counted to delight to hear yourself speak. If you hear a wise sentence or an apt phrase, commit it to your memory, with respect of the circumstance when you shall speak it. Let never oath be heard to come out of your mouth, nor words of ribaldry; detest it in others, so shall custom make to yourself a law against it in yourself. Be modest in each assembly; and rather be rebuked of light fellows for a maiden-like shamefacedness, than of your sad friends for pert boldness. Think upon every word before you utter it; and remember how nature hath rampired up (as it were) the tongue with teeth, lips, yea, and hair without the lips, and all betokening reins, or bridles, for the loose use of that member. Above all things, tell no untruth-no, not in trifles. The custom of it is naughty; and let it not satisfy you, that for a time the hearers take t for a truth; for after it will be known as it is, to your shame;

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for there can not be a greater reproach to a gentleman than to be accounted a liar. Study and endeavour yourself to be virtuously occupied. So shall you make such an habit of well-doing in you, that you shall not know how to do evil, though you would. Remember, my son, the noble blood you are descended of, by your mother's side; and think, that only by virtuous life and good action you may be an ornament to that illustrious family; and otherwise, through vice and sloth, you shall be counted labes generis, one of the greatest curses that can happen to man. Well, my little Philip, this is enough for me, and too much, I fear, for you. But if I shall find that this light meal of digestion nourish any thing the weak stomach of your young capacity, I will, as I find the same grow stronger, feed it with tougher food. Your loving father, so long as you live in the fear of God.

SIR THOMAS BODLEIGH TO FRANCIS BACON.

MY GOOD COUSIN,-According to your request in your letter (dated the 19th of Oct. at Orleans) I received here the 18th of Dec., I have sent you by your merchant 307. sterling, for your present supply; and had sent you a greater sum, but that my extraordinary charge this year hath utterly unfurnished me. And now, cousin, though I will be no severe exacter of accounts, either of your money or of time, yet, for the love I bear you, I am very desirous both to satisfy myself and your friends, how you prosper in your travels, and how you find yourself bettered thereby, either in knowledge of God or of the world; the rather, because the days you have already spent abroad are now both sufficient to give you light how to fix yourself and end with counsel, and accordingly to shape your course constantly upon it. Besides, it is a vulgar scandal to travellers, that few return more religious than they went forth; wherein both my hope and request is to you, that your principal care be to hold your foundation, and to make no other use of informing yourself in the corruptions and superstitions of other nations, than only thereby to engage your own heart more firmly to the truth. You live, indeed, in a country of two several professions; and you shall return a novice, if you be not able to give an account of the ordinances, strength, and progress of each, in reputation and party, and how both are supported, balanced, and managed by the state, as being the contrary humours in the temper of predominacy, whereof the health or disease of that body doth consist. These things you will observe, not only as an Englishman, whom it may concern to know what in terest his country may expect in the consciences of their neighbours

but also as a Christian, to consider both the beauties and blemishes, the hopes and dangers, of the Church in all places. Now for the world, I know it too well to persuade you to dive into the practices thereof; rather stand upon your own guard against all that attempts you thereunto, or may practise upon you in your conscience, reputation, or your purse. Resolve no man is wise or safe but he that is honest; and let this persuasion turn your studies and observations from the compliment and impostures of the debased age, to more real grounds of wisdom, gathered out of the story of times past, and out of the government of the present state. Your guide to this is, the knowledge of the country and the people among whom you live; for the country, though you can not see all places, yet if, as you pass along, you inquire carefully, and further help youself with books that are written of the cosmography of those parts, you shall sufficiently gather the strength, riches, traffic, havens, shipping, commodities, vent, and the wants and disadvantages of all places. Wherein, also, for your own good hereafter, and for your friends, it will be fit to note their buildings, furnitures, their entertainments; all their husbandry, and ingenious inventions in whatsoever concerneth either pleasure or profit.

For the people, your traffic among them, while you learn their language, will sufficiently instruct you in their habilities, dispositions, and humours, if you a little enlarge the privacy of your own nature, to seek acquaintance with the best sort of strangers, and restrain your affections and participation for your own countrymen of whatsoever condition. In the story of France, you have a large and pleasant field in three lines of their kings,-to observe their alliances and successions, their conquests, their wars, especially with us; their councils, their treaties; and all rules and examples of experience and wisdom, which may be lights and remembrances to you hereafter, to judge of all occurrents both at home and abroad.

Lastly, for the government: your end must not be, like an intelligencer, to spend all your time in fishing after the present news, humours, graces, or disgraces of court, which happily may change before you come home; but your better and more constant ground will be, to know the consanguinities, alliances, and estates of their princes; the proportion between the nobility and magistracy; the constitutions of their courts of justice; the state of their laws, as well for the making as the execution thereof; how the sovereignty of the king infaseth itself into all acts and ordinances; how many ways they lay impositions and taxations, and gather revenues to the crown; what be the liberties and servitudes of all degrees; what

discipline and preparation for wars; what inventions for increase of traffic at home, for multiplying their commodities, encouraging arts, manufactures, or of worth in any kind; also what good establishment, to prevent the necessities and discontentment of people, to cut off suits at law, and duels, to suppress thieves, and all disorders. To be short, because my purpose is not to bring all your observations to heads, but only by these few to let you know what manner of return your friends expect from you, let me, for all these and all the rest, give you this one note, which I desire you to observe as the counsel of a friend: not to spend your spirits, and the precious time of your travel, in a captious prejudice and censuring of all things, nor in an infectious collection of base vices and fashions of men and women, or general corruption of these times, which will be of use only among humorists, for jests and table-talk; but rather strain your wits and industry soundly to instruct yourself in all things between heaven and earth which may tend to virtue, wisdom, and honour, and which may make your life more profitable to your country, and yourself more comfortable to your friends, and acceptable to God. And, to conclude, let all these riches be treasured up, not only in your memory, where time may lessen your stock; but rather in good writings, and books of account, which will keep them safe for your use hereafter. And if in this time of your liberal traffic, you will give me an advertisement of your commodities in these kinds, I will make you as liberal a return from myself and your friends here as I shall be able. And so commending all your endeavours to Him that must either wither or prosper them, I very kindly bid you farewell.

LORD STRAFFORD TO HIS SON. (Extracts.)

My dearest Will,-Be careful to take the advice of those friends which are by me desired to advise you for your education. Serve God diligently morning and evening; and recommend yourself unto Him and have Him before your eyes in all your ways. Lose not the time of your quiet, but gather those seeds of virtue and knowledge which may be of use to yourself and comfort to your friends, for the rest of your life. Attend thereto with patience and refrain yourself from anger. Suffer not sorrow to cast you down, but with cheerfulness and good courage go on the race you are to run, in all sobriety and truth. In all your duties and devotions towards God, rather perform them joyfully than pensively, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God Almighty of His infinite goodness bless you and your children's children.-[Written shortly before his execution.]

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