Produced by David Widger
Translated by Charles Cotton
Edited by William Carew Hazilitt
1877
I. That Men by Various Ways Arrive at the Same End.
II. Of Sorrow.
III. That our affections carry themselves beyond us.
IV. That the soul discharges her passions upon false objects,
where the true are wanting.
V. Whether the governor of a place besieged ought himself to go
out to parley.
VI. That the hour of parley is dangerous.
VII. That the intention is judge of our actions.
VIII. Of idleness.
IX. Of liars.
X. Of quick or slow speech.
XI. Of prognostications.
XII. Of constancy.
The most usual way of appeasing the indignation of such as we have anyway offended, when we see them in possession of the power of revenge,and find that we absolutely lie at their mercy, is by submission, to movethem to commiseration and pity; and yet bravery, constancy, andresolution, however quite contrary means, have sometimes served toproduce the same effect.—[Florio's version begins thus: "The mostvsuall waie to appease those minds wee have offended, when revenge liesin their hands, and that we stand at their mercie, is by submission tomove them to commiseration and pity: Nevertheless, courage, constancie,and resolution (means altogether opposite) have sometimes wrought thesame effect."—] [The spelling is Florio's D.W.]
Edward, Prince of Wales [Edward, the Black Prince. D.W.] (the same whoso long governed our Guienne, a personage whose condition and fortunehave in them a great deal of the most notable and most considerable partsof grandeur), having been highly incensed by the Limousins, and takingtheir city by assault, was not, either by the cries of the people, or theprayers and tears of the women and children, abandoned to slaughter andprostrate at his feet for mercy, to be stayed from prosecuting hisrevenge; till, penetrating further into the town, he at last took noticeof three French gentlemen,—[These were Jean de Villemure, Hugh de laRoche, and Roger de Beaufort.—Froissart, i. c. 289. {The city wasLimoges. D.W.}]—who with incredible bravery alone sustained the powerof his victorious army. Then it was that consideration and respect untoso remarkable a valour first stopped the torrent of his fury, and thathis clemency, beginning with these three cavaliers, was afterwardsextended to all the remaining inhabitants of the city.
Scanderbeg, Prince of Epirus, pursuing one of his soldiers with purposeto kill him, the soldier, having in vain tried by all the ways ofhumility and supplication to appease him, resolved, as his last refuge,to face about and await him sword in hand: which behaviour of his gave asudden stop to his captain's fury, who, for seeing him assume so notablea resolution, received him into grace; an example, however, that mightsuffer another interpretation with such as have not read of theprodigious force and valour of that prince.
The Emperor Conrad III. having besieged Guelph, Duke of Bavaria,—[In1140, in Weinsberg, Upper Bavaria.]—would not be prevailed upon, whatmean and unmanly satisfactions soever were tendered to him, to condescendto milder conditions than that the ladies and gentlewomen only who werein the town with the duke might go out without violation of thei