ntrary, by vaine and deceitfull arts taking vpon
them to reueale the truth of accidents to come, which if it were so as
they surmise, are yet but sciences meerely coniecturall, and not of any
benefit to man or to the common wealth, where they be vsed or professed.
Therefore the good and exemplary things and actions of the former ages,
were reserued only to the historicall reportes of wise and graue men:
those of the present time left to the fruition and iudgement of our
sences: the future as hazards and incertaine euentes vtterly neglected and
layd aside for Magicians and mockers to get their liuings by: such manner
of men as by negligence of Magistrates and remisses of lawes euery
countrie breedeth great store of. These historical men neuerthelesse vsed
not the matter so precisely to wish that al they wrote should be accounted
true, for that was not needefull nor expedient to the purpose, namely to
be vsed either for example or for pleasure: considering that many times it
is seene a fained matter or altogether fabulous, besides that it maketh
more mirth than any other, works no lesse good conclusions for example
then the most true and veritable: but often times more, because the Poet
hath the handling of them to fashion at his pleasure, but not so of
th'other which must go according to their veritie & none otherwise without
the writers great blame. Againe as ye know mo and more excellent examples
may be fained in one day by a good wit, then many ages through mans
frailtie are able to put in vse, which made the learned and wittie men of
those times to deuise many historicall matters of no veritie at all, but
with purpose to do good and no hurt, as vsing them for a maner of
discipline and president of commendable life. Such was the common wealth
of _Plato_, and Sir _Thomas Moores Vtopia_, resting all in deuise, but
neuer put in execution, and easier to be wished then to be performed. And
you shall perceiue that histories were of three sortes, wholly true and
wholly false, and a third holding part of either, but for honest
recreation, and good example they were all of them. And this may be
apparent to vs not onely by the Poeticall histories, but also by those
that be written in prose: for as _Homer_ wrate a fabulous or mixt report
of the siege of Troy, and another of _Ulisses_ errors or wandrings, so did
_Museus_ compile a true treatise of the life & loues of _Leander_ and
_Hero_, both of them _Heroick_, and to none ill edif