THE FIRST BOOK 13 



Grecia, and Rome, the same times that are most 

 renowned for arms, are likewise most admired for 

 learning ; so that the greatest authors and philosophers 

 and the greatest captains and governors have lived in 

 the same ages. Neither can it otherwise be : for as in 

 man the ripeness of strength of the body and mind 

 cometh much about an age, save that the strength of 

 the body cometh somewhat the more early, so in states, 

 arms and learning, whereof the one correspondeth to 

 the body, the other to the soul of man, have a con 

 currence or near sequence in times. 



3. And for matter of policy and government, that 

 learning should rather hurt, than enable thereunto, is 

 a thing very improbable : we see it is accounted an 

 error to commit a natural body to empiric physicians, 

 which commonly have a few pleasing receipts where 

 upon they are confident and adventurous, but know 

 neither the cause of diseases, nor the complexions of 

 patients, nor peril of accidents, nor the true method of 

 cures : we see it is a like error to rely upon advocates 

 or lawyers, which are only men of practice and not 

 grounded in their books, who are many times easily 

 surprised when matter falleth out besides their ex 

 perience, to the prejudice of the causes they handle : 

 so by like reason it cannot be but a matter of doubtful 

 consequence if states be managed by empiric states 

 men, not well mingled with men grounded in learning. 

 But contrariwise, it is almost without instance con 

 tradictory that ever any government was disastrous 

 that was in the hands of learned governors. For 

 howsoever it hath been ordinary with politique men 

 to extenuate and disable learned men by the names of 

 pedantes ; yet in the records of time it appeareth in 

 many particulars that the governments of princes in 

 minority (notwithstanding the infinite disadvantage of 

 that kind of state) have nevertheless excelled the 

 government of princes of mature age, even for that 

 reason which they seek to traduce, which is, that by 

 that occasion the state hath been in the hands of 

 pedantes : for so was the state of Rome for the first five 



