THE FIRST BOOK. 17 



before he was slain : for he thought there was grown behind 

 upon his shoulders a neck and a head of gold, which came ac 

 cordingly to pass in those golden times which succeeded ; of 

 which princes we will make some commemoration; wherein, 

 although the matter will be vulgar, and may be thought fitter 

 for a declamation than agreeable to a treatise infolded as this 

 is, yet, because it is pertinent to the point in hand Neque 

 semper arcum tendit Apollo and to name them only were too 

 naked and cursory, I will not omit it altogether. The first was 

 Nerva, the excellent temper of whose government is by a glance 

 in Cornelius Tacitus touched to the life : Postquam divus Nerva 

 res olim insociabiles miscuisset, imperium et libertatem. And in 

 token of his learning, the last act of his short reign left to 

 memory was a missive to his adopted son, Trajan, proceeding 

 upon some inward discontent at the ingratitude of the times, 

 comprehended in a verse of Homer s 



&quot; Telis, Phoebe, tuis, lacrymas ulciscere nostras.&quot; 



(5) Trajan, who succeeded, was for his person not learned ; 

 but if we will hearken to the speech of our Saviour, that saith, 

 &quot;He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall 

 have a prophet s reward, &quot; he deserveth to be placed amongst the 

 most learned princes ; for there was not a greater admirer of 

 learning or benefactor of learning, a founder of famous libraries, 

 a perpetual advancer of learned men to office, and a familiar 

 converser with learned professors and preceptors who were 

 noted to have then most credit in court. On the other side, 

 how much Trajan s virtue and government was admired and 

 renowned, surely no testimony of grave and faithful history 

 doth more lively set forth than that legend tale of G-regorius 

 Magnus, Bishop of Home, who was noted for the extreme envy 

 he bare towards all heathen excellency ; and yet he is reported, 

 out of the love and estimation of Trajan s moral virtues, to have 

 made unto God passionate and fervent prayers fi-r the delivery 

 of his soul out of hell, and to have obtained it, with a caveat 

 tli at he should make no more such petitions. In this prince s 

 time also the persecutions against the Christians received inter 

 mission upon the certificate of Plinius Secundus, a man of 

 excellent learning and by Trajan advanced. 



(6) Adrian, his successor, was the most curious man that 

 lived, and the most universal inquirer: insomuch as it was 

 noted for an error in his mind that he desired to comprehend 

 all things, and not to reserve himself for the worthiest things, 

 falling into the like humour that was long before noted in 



