Literary and Philosophical Essays: French, German and Italian eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 544 pages of information about Literary and Philosophical Essays.

Literary and Philosophical Essays: French, German and Italian eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 544 pages of information about Literary and Philosophical Essays.
his charge, and supply his place.”  Those that first saw this testament laughed and mocked at the same; but his heires being advertised thereof, were very well pleased, and received it with singular contentment.  And Charixenus, one of them, dying five daies after Eudamidas, the substitution being declared in favour of Aretheus, he carefully and very kindly kept and maintained his mother, and of five talents that he was worth he gave two and a halfe in marriage to one only daughter he had, and the other two and a halfe to the daughter of Eudamidas, whom he married both in one day.  This example is very ample, if one thing were not, which is the multitude of friends:  For, this perfect amity I speake of, is indivisible; each man doth so wholly give himselfe unto his friend, that he hath nothing left him to divide else-where:  moreover he is grieved that he is not double, triple, or quadruple, and hath not many soules, or sundry wils, that he might conferre them all upon this subject.  Common friendships may bee divided; a man may love beauty in one, facility of behaviour in another, liberality in one, and wisdome in another, paternity in this, fraternity in that man, and so forth:  but this amitie which possesseth the soule, and swaies it in all sovereigntie, it is impossible it should be double.  If two at one instant should require helpe, to which would you run?  Should they crave contrary offices of you, what order would you follow?  Should one commit a matter to your silence, which if the other knew would greatly profit him, what course would you take?  Or how would you discharge your selfe?  A singular and principall friendship dissolveth all other duties, and freeth all other obligations.  The secret I have sworne not to reveale to another, I may without perjurie impart it unto him, who is no other but my selfe.  It is a great and strange wonder for a man to double himselfe; and those that talke of tripling know not, nor cannot reach into the height of it.  “Nothing is extreme that hath his like.”  And he who shal presuppose that of two I love the one as wel as the other, and that they enter-love [Footnote:  Love mutually.] one another, and love me as much as I love them:  he multiplied! in brotherhood, a thing most singular, and a lonely one, and than which one alone is also the rarest to be found in the world.  The remainder of this history agreeth very wel with what I said; for, Eudamidas giveth us a grace and favor to his friends to employ them in his need:  he leaveth them as his heires of his liberality, which consisteth in putting the meanes into their hands to doe him good.  And doubtlesse the force of friendship is much more richly shewen in his deed than in Aretheus.  To conclude, they are imaginable effects to him that hath not tasted them; and which makes me wonderfully to honor the answer of that young Souldier to Cyrus, who enquiring of him what he would take for a horse with which he had lately gained the prize of a race, and whether he
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Literary and Philosophical Essays: French, German and Italian from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.