From “The Schoolmaster.”
IT is a notable tale, that old Sir Roger Chamloe, sometime Chief-Justice, would tell of himself. When he was Ancient in Inn of Court, certain young gentlemen were brought before him to be corrected for certain misorders. And one of the lustiest said: “Sir, we be young gentlemen, and wise men before us have proved all fashions, and yet those have done full well”; this they said because it was well known that Sir Roger had been a good fellow in his youth. But he answered them very wisely. “Indeed,” saith he, “in youth I was as you are now; and I had twelve fellows like unto myself, but not one of them came to a good end. And therefore follow not my example in youth, but follow my counsel in age, if ever ye think to come to this place, or to these years, that I am come unto, lest ye meet either with poverty or Tyburn on the way.”
Thus experience of all fashions in youth, being in proof always dangerous, in issue seldom lucky, is a way indeed to overmuch knowledge, yet used commonly of such men, which be either carried by some curious affection of mind, or driven by some hard necessity of life to hazard the trial of over many perilous adventures.
Erasmus, the honor of learning of all our time, said wisely that experience is the common schoolhouse of fools and ill men. Men of wit and honesty be otherwise instructed, for there be that keep them out of fire, and yet was never burned; that beware of water, and yet was never nigh drowning; that hate harlots, and was never at the stews; that abhor falsehood, and never break promises themselves.
But will ye see a fit similitude of this adventured experience? A father that doth let loose his son to all experiences is most like a fond hunter that letteth slip a whelp to the whole herd. Twenty to one he shall fall upon a rascal and let go the fair game. Men that hunt so be either ignorant persons, privy stealers, or night walkers.
Learning, therefore, ye wise fathers, and good bringing up, and not blind and dangerous experience, is the next and readiest way that must lead your children first to wisdom and then to worthiness, if ever ye purpose they shall come there.
And to say all in short, though I lack authority to give counsel, yet I lack not good-will to wish that the youth in England, especially gentlemen,—and, namely, nobility,—should be by good bringing up so grounded in judgment of learning, so founded in love of honesty, as when they should be called forth to the execution of great affairs, in service of their prince and country, they might be able to use and to order all experiences, were they good, were they bad, and that according to the square, rule, and line of wisdom, learning, and virtue.
And I do not mean by all this my talk that young gentlemen should always be poring over a book, and by using good studies should leave honest pleasure and haunt no good pastime—I mean nothing less—for it is well known that I both like and love, and have always, and do yet still use, all exercises and pastimes that be fit for my nature and ability. And beside natural disposition, in judgment also I was never either stoic in doctrine or anabaptist in religion to mislike a merry, pleasant, and playful nature, if no outrage be committed against law, measure, and good order.
Therefore I would wish that, besides some good time fitly appointed and constantly kept, to increase by reading the knowledge of the tongues and learning, young gentlemen should use and delight in all courtly exercises and gentlemanlike pastimes. And good cause why: for the selfsame noble city of Athens, justly commended of me before, did wisely and upon great consideration appoint the muses Apollo and Pallas to be patrons of learning to their youth. For the muses, besides learning, were also ladies of dancing, mirth, and minstrelsy. Apollo was god of shooting and author of cunning playing upon instruments; Pallas also was lady mistress in wars. Whereby was nothing else meant but that learning should be always mingled with honest mirth and comely exercises; and that war also should be governed by learning and moderated by wisdom, as did well appear in those captains of Athens named by me before, and also in Scipio and Cæsar, the two diamonds of Rome.
And Pallas was no more feared, in wearing Ægida, than she was praised for choosing Oliva: whereby shineth the glory of learning, which thus was governor and mistress, in the noble city of Athens, both of war and peace.
Therefore, to ride comely; to run fair at the tilt or ring; to play at all weapons; to shoot fair in bow or surely in gun; to vault lustily; to run, to leap, to wrestle, to swim; to dance comely; to sing, and play on instruments cunningly; to hawk, to hunt, to play at tennis, and all pastimes generally, which be joined with labor, used in open place, and on the daylight containing either some fit exercise for war, or some pleasant pastime for peace, be not only comely and decent, but also very necessary, for a courtly gentleman to use.
But of all kind of pastimes fit for a gentleman, I will, God willing, in fitter place, more at large, declare fully, in my book of “The Cockpit,” which I do write to satisfy some I trust, with some reason, that be more curious in marking other men’s doings than careful in mending their own faults. And some also will needs busy themselves in marveling, and adding thereunto unfriendly talk, why I, a man of good years, and of no ill place, I thank God and my prince, do make choice to spend such time in writing of trifles, as the “School of Shooting,” “The Cockpit,” and this book of the “First Principles of Grammar,” rather than to take some weighty matter in hand, either of religion or civil discipline.
Wise men, I know, will well allow of my choice herein: and as for such, who have not wit of themselves, but must learn of others, to judge right of men’s doings, let them read that wise poet Horace in his “Ars Poetica,” who willeth wise men to beware of high and lofty titles. For great ships require costly tackling, and also afterward dangerous government; small boats be neither very chargeable in making, nor very oft in great jeopardy, and yet they carry many times as good and costly ware, as greater vessels do. A mean argument may easily bear the light burden of a small fault and have always at hand a ready excuse for ill handling: and some praise it is, if it so chance, to be better in deed than a man dare venture to seem. A high title doth charge a man with the heavy burden of too great a promise; and therefore, saith Horace very wittily, that that poet was a very fool that began his book with a goodly verse indeed, but over proud a promise:—
| “Fortunam Priami cantabo et nobile bellum.” |
| “Quantò rectiùs hic, qui nil molitur ineptè,”— |
To join learning with comely exercises, Count Baldassare Castiglione, in his book, “Cortegiano,” doth trimly teach: which book advisedly read and diligently followed, but one year at home in England would do a young gentleman more good, I wist, than three years’ travel abroad spent in Italy. And I marvel this book is no more read in the court than it is, seeing it is so well translated into English by a worthy gentleman, Sir Thomas Hobbie, who was many ways well furnished with learning, and very expert in knowledge of divers tongues.
And beside good precepts in books, in all kind of tongues, this court also never lacked many fair examples for young gentlemen to follow. And surely one example is more available, both to good and ill, than twenty precepts written in books; and so Plato, not in one or two, but divers places, doth plainly teach.
If King Edward had lived a little longer, his only example had bred such a race of worthy learned gentlemen as this realm never yet did afford.
And in the second degree, two noble primroses of nobility, the young Duke of Suffolk and Lord H. Maltrevers, were two such examples to the court for learning as our time may rather wish than look for again.
At Cambridge, also, in St. John’s College, in my time, I do know that not so much the good statutes, as two gentlemen of worthy memory, Sir John Cheke and Doctor Readman, by their only example of excellency in learning, of godliness in living, of diligency in studying, of counsel in exhorting, of good order in all things, did breed up so many learned men in that one College of St. John’s at one time, as, I believe, the whole University of Louvain in many years was never able to afford.
Present examples of this present time I list not to touch; yet there is one example for all the gentlemen of this court to follow, that may well satisfy them, or nothing will serve them, nor no example move them to goodness and learning.
It is your shame (I speak to you all, you young gentlemen of England) that one maid should go beyond you all, in excellency of learning and knowledge of divers tongues. Point forth six of the best given gentlemen of this court, and all they together show not so much good-will, spend not so much time, bestow not so many hours daily, orderly and constantly, for the increase of learning and knowledge, as doth the Queen’s Majesty herself. Yea, I believe that beside her perfect readiness in Latin, Italian, French, and Spanish, she readeth here now at Windsor more Greek every day than some prebendary of this church doth read Latin in a whole week. And that which is most praiseworthy of all, within the walls of her privy chamber she hath obtained that excellency of learning, to understand, speak, and write, both wittily with head and fair with hand, as scarce one or two rare wits in both the universities have in many years reached unto. Amongst all the benefits that God hath blessed me withal, next the knowledge of Christ’s true religion, I count this the greatest, that it pleased God to call me to be one poor minister in setting forward these excellent gifts of learning in this most excellent princess; whose only example if the rest of our nobility would follow, then might England be for learning and wisdom in nobility a spectacle to all the world beside. But see the mishap of men; the best examples have never such force to move to any goodness as the bad, vain, light, and fond have to all illness.
And one example, though out of the compass of learning, yet not out of the order of good manners, was notable in this court not fully twenty-four years ago, when all the Acts of Parliament, many good proclamations, divers strait commandments, for punishment openly, special regard privately, could not do so much to take away one misorder, as the example of one big one of this court did still to keep up the same; the memory whereof doth yet remain in a common proverb of Birching Lane.
Take heed, therefore, ye great ones in the court, yea, though ye be the greatest of all, take heed what ye do, take heed how ye live. For as you great ones use to do, so all mean men love to do. You be indeed makers or marrers of all men’s manners within the realm. For though God hath placed you to be chief in making of laws, to bear greatest authority, to command all others; yet God doth order that all your laws, all your authority, all your commandments, do not half so much with mean men as doth your example and manner of living. And for example even in the greatest matter, if you yourselves do serve God gladly and orderly for conscience sake, not coldly and sometimes for manners’ sake, you carry all the court with you and the whole realm beside earnestly and orderly to do the same. If you do otherwise, you be the only authors of all misorders in religion, not only to the court, but to all England beside. Infinite (numbers) shall be made cold in religion by your example, that never were hurt by reading of books.
