horned hares, saddled ducks, flying goats, thiller
harts, and other such-like counterfeited pictures
at discretion, to excite people unto laughter, as
Silenus himself, who was the foster-father of good
Bacchus, was wont to do; but within those capricious
caskets were carefully preserved and kept many rich
jewels and fine drugs, such as balm, ambergris, amomon,
musk, civet, with several kinds of precious stones,
and other things of great price. Just such another
thing was Socrates. For to have eyed his outside,
and esteemed of him by his exterior appearance, you
would not have given the peel of an onion for him,
so deformed he was in body, and ridiculous in his
gesture. He had a sharp pointed nose, with the
look of a bull, and countenance of a fool: he
was in his carriage simple, boorish in his apparel,
in fortune poor, unhappy in his wives, unfit for all
offices in the commonwealth, always laughing, tippling,
and merrily carousing to everyone, with continual
gibes and jeers, the better by those means to conceal
his divine knowledge. Now, opening this box
you would have found within it a heavenly and inestimable
drug, a more than human understanding, an admirable
virtue, matchless learning, invincible courage, unimitable
sobriety, certain contentment of mind, perfect assurance,
and an incredible misregard of all that for which
men commonly do so much watch, run, sail, fight, travel,
toil and turmoil themselves.
Whereunto (in your opinion) doth this little flourish
of a preamble tend? For so much as you, my good
disciples, and some other jolly fools of ease and
leisure, reading the pleasant titles of some books
of our invention, as Gargantua, Pantagruel, Whippot
(Fessepinte.), the Dignity of Codpieces, of Pease
and Bacon with a Commentary, &c., are too ready to
judge that there is nothing in them but jests, mockeries,
lascivious discourse, and recreative lies; because
the outside (which is the title) is usually, without
any farther inquiry, entertained with scoffing and
derision. But truly it is very unbeseeming to
make so slight account of the works of men, seeing
yourselves avouch that it is not the habit makes the
monk, many being monasterially accoutred, who inwardly
are nothing less than monachal, and that there are
of those that wear Spanish capes, who have but little
of the valour of Spaniards in them. Therefore
is it, that you must open the book, and seriously
consider of the matter treated in it. Then shall
you find that it containeth things of far higher value
than the box did promise; that is to say, that the
subject thereof is not so foolish as by the title
at the first sight it would appear to be.