The country hath his recreations, the city his several gymnics and exercises, May games, feasts, wakes, and merry meetings, to solace themselves; the very being in the country; that life itself is a sufficient recreation to some men, to enjoy such pleasures, as those old patriarchs did.  Diocletian, the emperor, was so much affected with it, that he gave over his sceptre, and turned gardener.  Constantine wrote twenty books of husbandry.  Lysander, when ambassadors came to see him, bragged of nothing more than of his orchard, hi sunt ordines mei.  What shall I say of Cincinnatus, Cato, Tully, and many such? how they have been pleased with it, to prune, plant, inoculate and graft, to show so many several kinds of pears, apples, plums, peaches, &c.

[3269] “Nunc captare feras laqueo, nunc fallere visco,
        Atque etiam magnos canibus circundare saltus
        Insidias avibus moliri, incendere vepres.”

       “Sometimes with traps deceive, with line and string
        To catch wild birds and beasts, encompassing
        The grove with dogs, and out of bushes firing.”

------“et nidos aviumscrutari,” &c.

Jucundus, in his preface to Cato, Varro, Columella, &c., put out by him, confesseth of himself, that he was mightily delighted with these husbandry studies, and took extraordinary pleasure in them:  if the theory or speculation can so much affect, what shall the place and exercise itself, the practical part do?  The same confession I find in Herbastein, Porta, Camerarius, and many others, which have written of that subject.  If my testimony were aught worth, I could say as much of myself; I am vere Saturnus; no man ever took more delight in springs, woods, groves, gardens, walks, fishponds, rivers, &c.  But

[3270] “Tantalus a labris sitiens fugientia captat
        Flumina;”

And so do I; Velle licet, potiri non licet.[3271]

Every palace, every city almost hath its peculiar walks, cloisters, terraces, groves, theatres, pageants, games, and several recreations; every country, some professed gymnics to exhilarate their minds, and exercise their bodies.  The [3272]Greeks had their Olympian, Pythian, Isthmian, Nemean games, in honour of Neptune, Jupiter, Apollo; Athens hers:  some for honour, garlands, crowns; for [3273]beauty, dancing, running, leaping, like our silver games.  The [3274]Romans had their feasts, as the Athenians, and Lacedaemonians held their public banquets, in Pritanaeo, Panathenaeis, Thesperiis, Phiditiis, plays, naumachies, places for sea-fights, [3275]theatres, amphitheatres able to contain 70,000 men, wherein they had several delightsome shows to exhilarate the people; [3276] gladiators, combats of men with themselves, with wild beasts, and wild beasts one with another, like our bull-baitings, or bear-baitings (in which many countrymen and citizens amongst us so much delight and so frequently use), dancers on ropes.  Jugglers, wrestlers, comedies,