they were both left bente tyll the nexte daye at after dyner : and when I came to them, purposing to haue gone on shoting, I found my good bowe clene cast on the one side, and as weake as water, that surelie (if I were a riche man) I had rather haue spent a crowne: and as for my lugge, it was not one whyt the worse: but shotte by and by as wel and as farre as euer it dyd. And euen so I am sure that good wittes, except they be let downe like a treble string, and vnbent like a good casting bowe, they wil neuer last and be able to cötinue in studie. And I know where I speake this Philologe, for I wolde not saye thus moche afore yong men, for they wil take soone occasion to studie litle ynough. But I saye it therfore bicause I knowe, as litle studie getteth litle learninge or none at all, so the moost studie getteth not ye moost learning of all. For a mans witte sore occupied in ernest studie, must be as wel recreated with some honest pastime, as the body sore laboured, must be refreshed with slepe and quietnesse, or els it can not endure very longe, as the noble poete sayeth. Ouid. What thig wāts quiet & meri rest endures but a smal while. And I promise you shoting by my iudgement, is ye moost B honest pastime of al, & suche one I am sure, of all other, that hindreth learning litle or nothing at all, whatsoeuer you & some other saye, whiche are a gret dele sorer against it alwaies tha you nede to be. PHI.. Hindereth learninge litle or nothinge at all? that were a meruayle to me truelie, and I am sure seing you saye so, you haue some reason wherewith you can defende shooting wtall, and as for wyl (for the loue that you beare towarde shotinge) I thinke there shall lacke none in you. Therfore seinge we haue so good leysure bothe, and no bodie by to trouble vs: and you so willinge & able to defende it, and I so redy and glad to heare what may be sayde of it I suppose we canne not passe the tyme better ouer, neyther you for ye honestie of your shoting, nor I for myne owne mindsake, than to se what can be sayed with it, or agaynste it, and speciallie in these dayes, whan so many doeth vse it, and euerie man in a maner doeth common of it. TOX. To speake of shootinge Philologe, trulye I woulde I were so able, either as I my selfe am willing or yet as the matter deserueth, but seing with wisshing we can not haue one nowe worthie, whiche so worthie a thinge can worthilie praise, and although I had rather haue anie other to do it than my selfe, yet my selfe rather then no other. I wil not fail to saye in it what I can wherin if I saye litle, laye that of my litle habilitie, not of the matter it selfe whiche deserueth no lyttle thinge to be sayde of it. PHI. If it deserue no little thinge to be sayde of it Toxophile, I maruell howe it chaunceth than, that no man hitherto, hath written any thinge of it: wherin you must graunte me, that eyther the matter is noughte, vnworthye, and barren to be written vppon, or els some men are to blame, whiche_both loue it and vse it, and yet could neuer finde in theyr heart, to saye one good woorde of it, seinge that very triflinge matters hath not lacked great learned men to sette them out, as gnattes and nuttes, & many other mo like thinges, wherfore eyther you may honestlie laye verie great faut vpo men bycause they neuer yet praysed it, or els I may iustlie take awaye no litle thinge from shooting, bycause it neuer yet deserued it. TOX. Trulye herein Philologe, you take not so muche from it, as you giue to it. For great and commodious thynges are neuer greatlie praysed, not bycause they be not worthie, but bicause their excellencie nedeth no man hys prayse, hauinge all theyr comendation of them selfe not borowed of other men his lippes, which rather prayse them selfe, in spekynge much of a litle thynge than that matter whiche they entreat vpon. Great & good thinges be not praysed. For who euer praysed Hercules (sayeth the Greke prouerbe) And that no man hitherto hath written any booke of shoting the fault is not to be layed in the thyng whiche was worthie to be written vpon, but of men which were negligent in doyng it, and this was the cause therof as I suppose. Menne that vsed shootyng moste and knewe it best, were not learned: men that were lerned, vsed litle shooting, and were ignorant in the nature of the thynge, and so fewe menne hath bene that hitherto were able to wryte vpon it. Yet howe longe shotying hath continued, what common wealthes hath moste vsed it, howe honeste a thynge it is for all men, what kynde of liuing so euer they folow, what pleasure and profit cometh of it, both in peace and warre, all maner of tongues & writers, Hebrue, Greke and Latine, hath so plentifullie spoken of it, as of fewe other thinges like. The So what shooting is howe many kindes there is of it, C what goodnesse is ioyned with it, is tolde: onelye howe it is to be learned and brought to a perfectnesse amonges men, is not toulde. PHI. Than Toxophile, if it be so as you do saye, let vs go forwarde and examin howe plentifullie this is done that you speke, and firste of the inuention of it, than what honestie & profit is in the vse of it, bothe for warre & peace, more than in other pastimes, laste of all howe it ought to be learned amonges men for the encrease of it, whiche thinge if you do, not onelye I nowe for youre comunication but many other mo, when they shall knowe of it, for your labour, & shotying it selfe also (if it coulde speke) for your kyndnesse, wyll can you very moche thanke. TOXOPH. What good thynges mē speake of shoting & what good thinges shooting bringes to men as my wit & knowlege will serue me, gladly shall I say my mind. But how the thing is to be learned I will surely leue to some other which bothe for greater experience in it, & also for their lerninge, can set it out better than I. PHI. Well as for that I knowe both what you can do in shooting by experience, & yt you cã also speke well ynough of shooting, for youre learning, but go on with the first part. And I do not doubt, but what my desyre, what your loue toward it, the honestie of shoting, the profite that may come therby to many other, shall get the seconde parte out of you at the last. TOXOPH. Of the first finders out of shoting, diuers Claudianus in histri. and will Plin. 7. 56. men diuerslye doo wryte. Claudiane the poete sayth that nature gaue example of shotyng first, by the Porpentine, whiche doth shote his prickes, hitte any thinge that fightes with it: whereby men learned afterwarde to immitate the same in findyng out both bowe and shaftes. Plinie referreth it to Schythes the sonne of Iupiter. Better and more noble wryters bringe shoting from a more noble inuentour: as Plato, Calimachus, and Galene from Apollo. Yet longe afore those dayes do we reade in the bible of shotinge expreslye. And also if we shall beleue Nicholas de Lyra, Lamech killed Cain Nic. de lyra. with a shafte. So this great continuaunce of shoting doth not a lytle praise shotinge: nor that neither doth not a litle set it oute, that it is referred to thinuention of Apollo, for the which poynt shoting is highlye praised of In sympo. In hym. Apoll. Galen in ex hor. ad bo nas artes. Galene where he sayth, yt mean craftes be first foūd out by men or beastes, as weauing by a spider, and suche other: but high and cōmendable sciences by goddes, as shotinge and musicke by Apollo. And thus shotynge for the necessitie of it vsed in Adams dayes, for the noblenesse of it referred to Apollo, hath not ben onelie cōmended in all tunges and writers, but also had in greate price, both in the best comune wealthes in warre tyme for the defece of their countrie, and of all degrees of men in peace tyme, bothe for the honestie that is ioyned with it, and the profyte that foloweth of it. PHILOL. Well, as concerning the fyndinge oute of it, litle prayse is gotten to shotinge therby, seinge good wittes maye mooste easelye of all fynde oute a trifelynge matter. But where as you saye that mooste commune wealthes haue vsed it in warre tyme, and all degrees of men maye verye honestlye vse it in peace tyme: I thynke you can neither shewe by authoritie, nor yet proue by reason. TOXOPHI. The vse of it in warre tyme, I wyll declare hereafter. And firste howe all kindes and sortes of men (what degree soeuer they be) hath at all tymes afore, and nowe maye honestlye vse it: the example of mooste noble men verye well doeth proue. Cyaxares the kynge of the Medees, and greate graundefather to Cyrus, kepte a sorte of Sythians with him onely for this purpose, to teache his sonne Astyages to shote. Cyr being a childe was brought vp in shoting, which thinge Xenophon wolde neuer haue made mention on, except it had ben fitte for all princes to haue vsed: seing that Xenopho wrote Cyrus lyfe (as Tullie sayth) not what Cyrus did, but what all maner of princes both in pastimes and ernest matters ought to do. Herod. i clio. Xen. in insti. to shewe Ad. Quint. Fra. I. I. Darius the first of that name, and king of Persie shewed plainly howe fit it is for a kinge to loue and vse shotynge, whiche commaunded this sentence to be grauen in his tombe, for a Princelie memorie and prayse. Darius the King lieth buried here Strabo. 15. cũning in Tranq. suet. fingers standing afarre of, and neuer hurt him. Comodus also was so excellent, and had so sure a hande in it, Herodia. I. that there was nothing within his retche & shote, but he wolde hit it in what place he wolde: as beastes runninge, either in the heed, or in the herte, and neuer mysse, as Herodiane sayeth he sawe him selfe, or els he coulde neuer haue beleued it. PHI. In dede you praise shoting very wel, in yt you shewe that Domitian and Commodus loue shotinge, suche an vngracious couple I am sure as a man shall not fynde agayne, if he raked all hell for them. TOXOPH. Wel euen as I wyll not commende their ilnesse, so ought not you to dispraise their goodnesse, and in dede, the iudgement of Herodian vpon Commodus is true of them bothe, and that was this: that beside strength of bodie and good shotinge, they hadde no princelie thing in them, which saying me thinke commendes shoting wonderfullie, callinge it a princelie thinge. Furthermore howe commendable shotinge is for princes: Themist. in ora. 6. Themistius the noble philosopher sheweth in a certayne oration made to Theodosius themperoure, wherein he doeth commende him for .iii. thinges, For shotinge, for rydinge of an horse that he vsed of a childe. well, and for feates of armes. Herod. i clio. Leo de stratag. 20. Moreouer, not onelye kinges and emperours haue ben brought vp in shoting, but also the best comune wealthes that euer were, haue made goodlie actes & lawes for it, as the Persians which vnder Cyrus cōquered in a maner all the worlde, had a lawe that their children shulde learn thre thinges onelie, from v. yeare oulde vnto .xx. to ryde an horse well, to shote well, to speake truthe alwayes & neuer lye. The Romaines (as Leo themperour in his boke of sleightes of warre telleth) had a lawe that euery man shoulde vse shoting in peace tyme, while he was .xl. yere olde and that euerye house shoulde haue a bowe, and .xl. shaftes ready for all nedes, the omittinge of whiche lawe (sayth Leo) amonges the youthe, hath ben the onely occasion why the Romaynes lost a great dele of their empire. But more of this I wil speake whe I come to the profite of shoting in warre. If I shuld rehearse the statutes made of noble princes of Englande in parliamentes for the settyng forwarde of shoting, through this realme, and specially that acte made for shoting |