The Essayes of Michael Lord of Montaigne (Volume 2) (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III A CUSTOME OP THE ILE OF CEA If, as some say, to philosophate be to doubt; with much more reason to rave and fantastiquize, as I doe, must necessarily be to doubt: For, to enquire and debate belongeth to a scholler, and to resolve apper- taines to a cathedrall master. But know, my cathedrall, it is the authoritie of Gods divine will, that without any contradiction doth sway us, and hath her ranke beyond these humane and vaine contestations. Philip being with an armed hand entred the countrie of Peloponnesus, some one told Damidas the Lacedemonians were like to endure much if they sought not to reobtaine his lost favour. 'Oh varlet as thou art (answered he). And what can they suffer who have no feare at all of death ?' Agis being demanded, how a man might do to live free, answered; ' Despising and contemning to die.' These and a thousand like propositions, which concurre in this purpose, do evidently inferre some thing beyond the patient expecting of death it selfe, to be suffered in this life: witnesse the Lacedemonian child, taken by Antigonus, and sold for a slave, who urged by his master to perform some abject service; ' Thou shalt see (said he) whom thou hast bought, for it were a shame for me to serve, having libertie so neere at hand;' and there- withall threw himselfe headlong downe from the top of the house. Antipater, sharply threatniug the Lacedemonians, to make them yeeld to a certaine request of his; they answered, shouldest thou menace us worse than death, we will rather die. And to Philip, who having written unto them that he would hinder all their enterprises; ' What ? (say they) wilt thou alsohinder us from dying?' That is the reason why some say that the wiseman liveth as long as he ought, and not so long as he can. And that the favourablest g...