, orators? It troubles many that are poor, they
account of it as a great plague, curse, a sign of God's hatred, _ipsum
scelus_, damned villainy itself, a disgrace, shame and reproach; but to
whom, or why? [3720]"If fortune hath envied me wealth, thieves have robbed
me, my father have not left me such revenues as others have," that I am a
younger brother, basely born,--_cui sine luce genus, surdumque
parentum--nomen_, of mean parentage, a dirt-dauber's son, am I therefore to
be blamed? "an eagle, a bull, a lion is not rejected for his poverty, and
why should a man?" 'Tis [3721]_fortunae telum, non culpae_, fortune's
fault, not mine. "Good Sir, I am a servant," (to use [3722]Seneca's words)
"howsoever your poor friend; a servant, and yet your chamber-fellow, and if
you consider better of it, your fellow-servant." I am thy drudge in the
world's eyes, yet in God's sight peradventure thy better, my soul is more
precious, and I dearer unto him. _Etiam servi diis curae sunt_, as
Evangelus at large proves in Macrobius, the meanest servant is most
precious in his sight. Thou art an epicure, I am a good Christian; thou art
many parasangs before me in means, favour, wealth, honour, Claudius's
Narcissus, Nero's Massa, Domitian's Parthenius, a favourite, a golden
slave; thou coverest thy floors with marble, thy roofs with gold, thy walls
with statues, fine pictures, curious hangings, &c., what of all this?
_calcas opes_, &c., what's all this to true happiness? I live and breathe
under that glorious heaven, that august capitol of nature, enjoy the
brightness of stars, that clear light of sun and moon, those infinite
creatures, plants, birds, beasts, fishes, herbs, all that sea and land
afford, far surpassing all that art and _opulentia_ can give. I am free,
and which [3723]Seneca said of Rome, _culmen liberos texit, sub marmore et
auro postea servitus habitavit_, thou hast _Amaltheae cornu_, plenty,
pleasure, the world at will, I am despicable and poor; but a word overshot,
a blow in choler, a game at tables, a loss at sea, a sudden fire, the
prince's dislike, a little sickness, &c., may make us equal in an instant;
howsoever take thy time, triumph and insult awhile, _cinis aequat_, as
[3724]Alphonsus said, death will equalise us all at last. I live sparingly,
in the mean time, am clad homely, fare hardly; is this a reproach? am I the
worse for it? am I contemptible for it? am I to be reprehended? A learned
man in [3725] Nevisanus was t