THE SECOND BOOKE OF

CIVILE

CONVERSATION,

written by M. Steven Guazzo.

Wherein is discoursed, first of the manner of conversation, meete for all persons, which shal come in any companie, out of their owne houses, and then of the particular points, which ought to bee observed in companie betweene yong men, and old, gentlemen, and yomen, Princes and private persons, learned, and unlearned, citizens, and straungers, religious, and secular, men, and women.

GUAZZO.

AM not able fully to expresse (M. Annibal) howe long the time of your absence hath seemed unto mee, nor howe earnestly I have longed for the comfort of your returne, by reason of the profitable and pleasant discourses, which this day I hope for at your hands. For me thinkes I see the hand of so great a Philosopher as you are,* to cast a golden net into the large sea of morall Philosophie, to inclose therein, in short time, all the divine precepts which appertaine to our life.

ANNIB. Ñay looke not I pray you for that, for therin you shal but do as the countrie fellow did, who attended in vaine that the river should finish his course, that hee might

THE have gone over it. I neither can, neither ought in these
SECOND discourses to followe the steps of the auncient Philosophers,
BOOKE for albeit their reasons be at this day the same, that they

were a thousand yeere since, yet neither the times, the men,
nor the manners are like. I denye not but that there have
been amongst us, unjustly brought in, many corrupt cus-
tomes, repugnant to the lawes of Philosophie, but they
have by this tyme taken so deepe footing and roote, that it
is impossible to roote them out. For that the worlde is
come to this passe, that it counteth any thing to bee lawe-
full, which is delightful. Wherefore if I shoulde indevour,
by precepts and reasons, to reforme the abuse of the worlde,
and to reduce it to the vertuous and auncient custome, I
shoulde not onely loose my labour, but bee laughed at for
my labour. Nowe as there are some thinges, which by
reason of the abuse they are growen to, are not to bee
followed, though they were at first taught us by good and
wise maisters: so there are many thinges whiche of them-
selves beeing tollerable, yet either by the necessitie of the
tyme, or by the sinceritie of our Religion, they are not
to bee allowed. As for example, wee doe not any more
forbidde children wyne, before they arrive to the age of
eighteene yeeres: and the necessitie of the tyme will not
let us to let men from marrying untill they bee sixe and
thirtie yeeres olde, and maydes untill they bee eighteene :
and to fulfill Gods commaundementes, after that man and
woman are once joyned together by the bonde of marriage,
they can not any way bee loosed, or seeke divorce uppon
every light occasion, as in olde tyme they did, by the
consent of the Philosophers: who if they were living at this
day, woulde in many things refourme their wrytings, and
conforme them to the customes of the present time. And
for these reasons wee must treade out of the auncient path,
and take the way which is beaten at this day. Wherefore
you must not mervayle, nor lay it to mee as a deadly sinne,
if in the discourse of civile conversation, I intreate rather
of matters, which in my opinion are necessarie for the
present tyme, then of matters written in Bookes, and used

in tyme past, and if I speake rather lyke a meere Citizen, then a Philosopher, without taking any care to get by my discourses those prayses and tytles which you have given me, which I neyther will nor ought to accept, beeing altogether unfit for me.

GUAZZO. The humilitie which you shewe in this respect doeth exault you higher: yet I dare say this much, that you doe your selfe wrong, to debase in suche sorte, the greate learning wherewith you are indued, assuring you this, that if I were so little inferiour to you in learning, as I knowe my selfe to bee a greate deale, I shoulde exault my selfe muche more then you doe.

ANNIB. If you were so much inferiour to mee, as I knowe you to bee greater, you shoulde commit a greater fault then I, to attribute so much to your selfe. For considering that I come nothing neere to that which you thinke to bee in mee, you shall offende in arrogancie and vaineglorie.

*

GUAZ. But in my minde, making your selfe meaner then you are, you offend in a certaine abjectnesse of minde, or in a kinde of dissembling, rather courtlike, then Philosopher like. I thinke you will not commende those, who having much understanding, stande little or nothing uppon it, or beeing knowen for woorthie men, seeke to imbase themselves by bearing false witnesse against themselves.* ANNIB. Truely I cannot but blame them for to disprayse ones selfe too much, sheweth either some secret ambition, or some manifest basenesse of minde. And I count no lesse woorthie reprehension, those, who on the contrarie, exalting themselves too much, touch (as they say) the firmament with their finger. But I am sure, that in speaking at this present of my selfe, I have measured my forces, neither have I swarved one jote from the trueth.

GUAZZO. Seeing wee are fallen uppon this matter, tell mee I pray you, if you have any sure remedie, whereby a man may governe and keepe himselfe in the mid way, so that hee suffer not himselfe to be hoysed up into the ayre, like a ball full of winde, neither to fall deadly to the ground, as a body without breath.

THE

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ANNIB. To finde then the skill of Dedalus, and to keepe SECOND the mid way, you must search out the cause of the faulty BOOKE extreemes, and that being once knowen, you shall soone

have the remedie you require. Those faults then growe for the most part of solitarinesse, and for want of experience in the affaires of the world. Which causeth, that into a base mind, there entreth the distrust of his owne doings, and the feare of other mens judgement. Contrariwise, that in a noble minde there groweth an over greate presumption, which transporteth him with an over weening of himselfe, and a course account of others. And therefore if these manner of men frequented the companie of those who are wise and learned, there is no doubt but that the doings of other men woulde serve, to the one of them for a spurre, and to the other for a bridle.

GUAZ. There are some doubtles woorthy great blame and mockery, who suffer those good parts, which bee in them, to bee drowned in their cold and timorous hearts, in like sort as stones are in the water. And I coulde name certaine eloquent personages, who having to speake in the presence of many, become quite dumbe. Some others I have knowen in like case ready to fall into a sowne. Whereby I judge them mervaylous unfortunate, that cannot helpe themselves with those qualities they are indued withall, at such tyme as they stande in most need of them, and better it were in a manner to be altogether without them.

ANNIB. It cannot be denied, but that those men are infortunate, but let us nowe consider the arrogancie of those, who being full of presumption, and blinded with the love of themselves, see not their owne imperfections, and never care to knowe what opinion the worlde hath of them: Which is a signe not onely of presumpteous arrogancy, but also of sencelesse brutishnesse, whereof insue many inconveniences, for so much as according to the saying of a wise fellowe,

Great evill is caused by that ignorance,

which seemeth to it selfe sapience.

Guaz. It is a smal fault in my fancie, to desire to be THE taken to be wise, but the worst is, that we wil make our selves also beleeve that wee are so.

ANNIB. Therefore it is sayde, that it is the easiest thing of all other, for one to deceive himselfe and I remember I have read in the life of Esope, that a great personage passing thorowe a streete where were three slaves to bee solde, the one a Gramarian, the other a Musitian, and the thirde Esope: first hee asked the Gramarian what hee coulde doe, who answered, all things: then hee asked the Musitian the like question, who answered as the other did : but comming to Esope, hee asked him what hee coulde doe, who answered, nothing at all. Howe happeneth that, sayeth the Gentleman? Marie, sayth Esope, these twoo heere being able to doe all things, have left nothing for mee to doe. Whereby wee may see, that those who will not presume to bee able to doe any thing, knowe howe to doe most things, and those who take uppon them to knowe all things, are those which commonly knowe nothing at all. For so muche then as wee knowe, that for want of knowing and beeing experienced by meanes of conversation, in the natures, manners, and dooings of others, wee offende eyther by arrogancie, or by distrust, you may consequentlie perceive, that the remedie which you seeke to flye those extreemes, and to followe the meane, is civile conversation, and that chiefly which is practised out of the house, haunting many and divers persons, whereof wee have to speake this day.

GUAZ. I woulde have thought by those matters wee spoke of but nowe, that you had been farre of, from those wee are to intreate to day, but I see you have brought mee thyther before I thought of it; whereat I mervayle the more, and I am gladder of it. But before you beginne this discourse, I woulde knowe whether your meaning bee, to propose one fourme and manner of conversation, whiche all indifferently should use, or at the least to assigne divers sortes, according to the diversitie of persons.

ANNIB. As farre as I remember, I tolde you yesterday,

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