THE FIRST BOOK. 53 



Henry Duke of Guise, of whom it was usually said that he 

 was the greatest usurer in France, because he had turned all 

 his estate into obligations. 



(21) To conclude, therefore, as certain critics are used to 

 say hyperbolically, &quot;That if all sciences were lost they might 

 be found in Virgil,&quot; so certainly this may be said truly, there 

 are the prints and footsteps of learning in those few speeches 

 which are reported of this prince, the admiration of whom, 

 when I consider him not as Alexander the Great, but as 

 Aristotle s scholar, hath carried me too far. 



(22) As for Julius Csesar, the excellency of his learning 

 needeth not to be argued from his education, or his company, 

 or his speeches ; but in a further degree doth declare itself in 

 his writings and works : whereof some are extant and per 

 manent, and some unfortunately perished. For first, we see 

 there is left unto us that excellent history of his own wars, 

 which he entitled only a Commentary, wherein all succeeding 

 times have admired the solid weight of matter, and the real 

 passages and lively images of actions and persons, expressed in 

 the greatest propriety of words and perspicuity of narration 

 that ever was ; which that it was not the effect of a natural 

 gift, but of learning and precept, is well witnessed by that 

 work of his entitled De Analogia, being a grammatical philo 

 sophy, wherein he did labour to make this same Vox ad placitum 

 to become Vox ad licitum, and to reduce custom of speech to 

 congruity of speech ; and took as it were the pictures of words 

 from the life of reason. 



(23) So we receive from him, as a monument both of his 

 power and learning, the then reformed computation of the 

 year ; well expressing that he took it to be as great a glory to 

 himself to observe and know the law of the heavens, as to give 

 law to men upon the earth. 



(24) So likewise in that book of his, Anti-Cato, it may easily 

 appear that he did aspire as well to victory of wit as victory 

 of war : undertaking therein a conflict against the greatest 

 champion with the pen that then lived, Cicero the orator. 



(25) So, again, in his book of Apophthegms, which he col 

 lected, we see that he esteemed it more honour to make him 

 self but a pair of tables, to take the wise and pithy words of 

 others, than to have every word of his own to be made an 

 apophthegm or an oracle, as vain princes, by custom of flattery, 

 pretend to do. And yet if I should enumerate divers of his 

 speeches, as I did those of Alexander, they are truly such as 

 Solomon noteth, when he saith, Verba sapientum tanquam 

 aculei, et tanquam clavi in altum dqfixi ; whereof I will onlv 



