Be not ashamed of thy birth then, thou art a gentleman all the world over, and shalt be honoured, when as he, strip him of his fine clothes, dispossess him of his wealth, is a funge (which Polynices in his banishment found true by experience, Gentry was not esteemed) like a piece of coin in another countrey, that no man will take, and shall be contemned.

Once more, though thou be a Barbarian, born at Tontonteac, a villain, a slave, a Saldanian Negro, or a rude Virginian in Dasamonquepeuc, he a French monseur, a Spanish don, a senior of Italy, I care not how descended, of what family, of what order, baron, count, prince, if thou be well qualified, and he not, but a degenerate Neoptolemus, I tell thee in a word, thou art a man, and he is a beast.

Let no terra filius, or upstart, insult at this which I have said, no worthy Gentleman take offence. I speak it not to detract from such as are well deserving, truely vertuous and noble: I do much respect and honour true Gentry and Nobility; I was born of worshipful parents my self, in an ancient family, but I am a younger brother, it concernes me not:

or had I been some great heir, richly endowed, so minded as I am, I should not have been elevated at all, but so esteemed of it, as of all other humane happiness, honours, &c. they have their period, are brittle and unconstant.

As he said of that great river Danubius, it riseth from a small fountain, a little brook at first, sometimes broad, sometimes narrow, now slow, then swift, increased at last to an incredible greatness, by the confluence of 60 navigable rivers, it vanisheth in conclusion, loseth his name, and is suddenly swallowed up of the Euxine sea: I may say of our greatest families, they were mean at first, augmented by rich marriages, purchases, offices, they continue for some ages, with some little alteration of circumstances, fortunes, places, &c. by some prodigal son, for some default, or for want of issue, they are defaced in an instant, and their memory blotted outs.

So much in the mean time I do attribute to Gentility, that if he be well descended of worshipful or noble parentage, he will express it in his conditions.

—— nec enim feroces Progenerant aquilæ columbas.

And although the nobility of our times be much like our coins, more in number and value, but less in waight and goodnes, with finer stamps, cuts, or outsides, then of old: yet if he retain those ancient characters of true Gentry, he will be more affable, courteous, gently disposed, of fairer carriage, better temper, or a more magnanimous, heroicall & generous spirit, then that vulgus hominum, those ordinary boores & pesants, qui adeo improbi, agrestes, & inculti plerumque sunt, ne dicam malitiosi, ut nemini ullum humanitatis officium præstent, ne ipsi Deo si advenerit, as one observes of them, a rude brutish, uncivil, wilde, a currish generation, cruel and malicious, uncapable of discipline, and such as have scarce common sense.

And it may be generally spoken of all, which Lemnius the Physitian said of his travel into England, the common people were silly, sullen, dogged clowns, sed mitior nobilitas, ad omne humanitatis officium paratissima, the gentlemen were courteous and civil.

If it so fall out (as often it doth) that such pesants are preferred by reason of their wealth, chance, errour, &c. or otherwise, yet as the cat in the fable, when she was turned to a fair maid, would play with mice; a cur will be a cur, a clown will be a clown, he will likely savor of the stock whence he came, and that innate rusticity can hardly be shaken off.

Licet superbus ambulet pecuniâ, Fortuna non mutat genus.

And though by their education, such men may be better qualified, and more refined; yet there be many symptomes, by which they may likely be descryed, an affected phantastical carriage, a tailor-like spruceness, a peculiar garb in all their proceedings; choicer then ordinary in his diet, and as Hierome well describes such a one to his Nepotian; An upstart born in a base cottage that scarce at first had course bread to fill his hungry guts, must now feed on kickshoes and made dishes, will have all variety of flesh and fish, the best oysters, &c.

A beggers brat will be commonly more scornful, imperious, insulting, insolent, then another man of his rank: Nothing so intolerable as a fortunate fool, as Tully found long since out of his experience;

Asperius nihil est humili cum surgit in altum,

set a begger on horseback, and he will ride a gallop a gallop, &c.

—— desævit in omnes Dum se posse putat, nec bellua sævior ulla est, Quam servi rabies in libera colla furentis;

he forgets what he was, domineers, &c. and many such other symptomes he hath, by which you may know him from a true Gentleman. Many errours and obliquities are on both sides, noble, ignoble, factis, natis; yet still in all callings, as some degenerate, some are well deserving, and most worthy of their honours.

And as Busbequius said of Solyman the magnificent, he was tanto dignus imperio, worthy of that great Empire: Many meanly descended, are most worthy of their honour, politicè nobiles, and well deserve it. Many of our Nobility so born (which one said of Hephæstion, Ptolemeus, Seleucus, Antigonus, &c. and the rest of Alexanders followers, they were all worthy to be Monarchs and Generals of Armies) deserve to be Princes.

And I am so far forth of Sesellius his mind, that they ought to be preferred (if capable) before others, As being nobly born, ingenuously brought up, and from their infancy trained to all manner of civility. For learning and vertue in a Noble-man is more eminent, and as a Jewel set in gold, is more precious, and much to be respected, such a man deserves better then others, and is as great an honour to his family as his Noble family to him.

In a word, many Noblemen are an ornament to their order: many poor mens sons are singularly well endowed, most eminent, and well deserving for their worth, wisdome, learning, vertue, valour, integrity; excellent members & pillers of a Common-wealth. And therefore to conclude that which first I intended, to be base by birth, meanly born, is no such disparagement. Et sic demonstratur, quod erat demonstrandum.