lusty, accompanied with a fayre wyfe and goodly
Children, lyuinge in great mirth and ioylity, this wicked Lady
Fortune, the deuourer of all our contentations, depriueth from
the inestimable treasure of health, causeth the fayre Wyfe to
loue an other better than hir husbande, and with hir venomous
Tooth biteth the children, that in short space myserable death
catcheth them al within his dreadfull Clouches whereby he is
defrauded of those children, whom after his death he purposed to
leaue for hys Heyres. But what meane I to consume tyme and words
in declaration of Fortune's vnsteady stay, which is more cleare
than the beams of the Sunne, of whom dayly a Thousande thousande
examples be manifest: all histories be full of theym. The mighty
countrey of Graecia doth render ample witnesse wherein so many
excellent men were bred and brought vp: who desirous with their
finger to touch the highest heauen, were in a moment throwen
downe: and so many famous Cities, which gouerned numbers of
people, now at this present day we see to be thrall and obedient
to thy City of Rome. Of these hurtfull and perillous mutations
(O noble Pompeius) thy Romane City may be a most cleare glasse
and Spectacle, and a multitude of thy noble Citizens in tyme
past and present, may geeue plentifull witnesse. But to come to
the cause of this my death, I say, that fyndyng myself to haue
liued these many yeares (by what chaunce I can not tell) in very
great prosperity, in al which tyme I neuer did suffer any one
myssehappe, but styll from good to better, haue passed my time
vntil thys daye: nowe fearyng the frownynge of Ladye Fortune's
face, and that she will repente hir long continued fauour,
I feare, I say, least the same Fortune should chaung hir stile,
and begynne in the middest of my pleasaunt life to sprinckle hir
poysoned bitternesse, and make mee the Receptacle and Quiuer of
hir sharpe and noysome arrowes. Wherefore I am nowe determined
by good aduyse, to rid my selfe from the captivity of hir force,
from all hir misfortunes, and from the noysom and grieuous
infirmities, which miserably be incident to vs mortall
Creatures: and beleeue me (Pompeius) that many in theyr aged
dayes haue left their life with little honour, who had they bene
gone in their youth, had dyed Famous for euer. Wherefore
(my lord Pompeius) that I may not be tedious vnto thee, or
hinder thyne affayres by long discourse, I besech thee to geeue
me leaue to follow my deliberate d