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