e or thrice ouer while they might haue leasure
to applaud him. A third wauerd and wagled his head, like a proud horse
playing with his bridle, or as I haue seene some fantasticall swimmer,
at euerie stroke, traine his chin sidelong ouer his left shoulder. A
fourth swet and foamed at the mouth, for verie anger his aduersarie
had denied that part of his sillogisme which he was not prepared to
aunswere. A fifth spread his armes like an vsher that goes before to
make roome, and thript with his finger & his thumbe when he thought he
had tickled it with a conclusion. A sixt hung downe his countenance lyke
a sheepe, and stutted and slauered verie pittifully when his inuention
was stept aside out of the waie. A seuenth gaspt and gapt for winde,
and groned in his pronunciation as if he were hard bound in some bad
argument. Grosse plodders they were all, that had some learning and
reading, but no wit to make vse of it They imagined the Duke tooke the
greatest pleasure and contentment vnder heauen to heare them speak.
Latine, and as long as they talkt nothing but _Tully_ he was bound to
attend them. A most vaine thing it is in many vniuersities at this daye,
that they count him excellent eloquent, who stealeth not whole phrases
but whole pages out of _Tully_. If of a number of shreds of his
sentences he can shape an oration, from all the world hee carries
it awaie, although in truth it be no more than a fooles coat of many
coulours. No inuention or matter haue they of theyr owne, but tacke vp
a stile of his stale galimafries. The leaden headed Germanes first began
this, and we Englishmen haue surfetted of their absurd imitation. I
pittie _Nizolius_ that had nothing to doe, but picke thrids ends out of
an olde ouerworne garment. This is but by the waie, we must looke backe
to our disputants. One amongst the rest thinking to be more conceited
than his fellowes, seeing the Duke haue a dog hee loued well, which sate
by him on the tarras, conuerted all his oration to him, and not a haire
of his taile but he kembd out with comparisons. So to haue courted
him if he were a bitch had bin verie suspitious. Another commented
& descanted on the Dukes staffe, new tipping it with many queint
epithites. Some cast his natiuitie, and promised him he should not
die till the daie of Judgement Omitting further superfluities of this
stampe, in this general assembly we found intermixed that abundant
scholler _Cornelius Agrippa_. At that time he bare the