THE SECOND BOOK 181 



A man shall find in the wisest sort of these relations 

 which the Italians make touching conclaves, the natures 

 of the several cardinals handsomely and lively painted 

 forth. A man shall meet with in every day's con- 

 ference the denominations of sensitive, dry, formal, 

 real, humorous, certain, ' huomo di prima impressione, 

 huomo di ultima impressione,' and the like : and yet 

 nevertheless this kind of observations wandereth in 

 words, hut is not fixed in inquiry. For the distinctions 

 are found (many of them), but we conclude no precepts 

 upon them : wherein our fault is the greater ; because 

 both history, poesy, and daily experience are as goodly 

 fields where these observations grow ; whereof we 

 make a few posies to hold in our hands, but no man 

 bringeth them to the confectionary, that receipts 

 mought be made of them for use of life. 



5. Of much like kind are those impressions of nature, 

 which are imposed upon the mind by the sex, by the 

 age, by the region, by health and sickness, by beauty 

 and deformity, and the like, which are inherent and 

 not extern ; and again, those which are caused by 

 extern fortune ; as sovereignty, nobility, obscure birth, 

 riches, want, magistracy, privateness, prosperity, ad- 

 versity, constant fortune, variable fortune, rising per 

 saltum, per gradus, and the like. And therefore we 

 see that Plautus maketh it a wonder to see an old man 

 beneficent, ' benignitas hujus ut adolescentuli est.' 

 Saint Paul concludeth that severity of discipline was 

 to be used to the Cretans, ' increpa eos dure,' upon the 

 disposition of their country, ' Cretenses semper men- 

 daces, malae bestiae, ventres pigri.' Sallust noteth 

 that it is usual with kings to desire contradictories : ' Sed 

 plerumque regiae voluntates, ut vehementes sunt, sic 

 mobiles, saepeque ipsae sibi adversae.' Tacitus ob- 

 serveth how rarely raising of the fortune mendeth the 

 disposition : ' solus Vespasianus mutatus in melius.' 

 Pindarus maketh an observation, that great and sudden 

 fortune for the most part defeateth men ' qui magnam 

 felicitatem concoquere non possunt'. So the Psalm 

 showeth it is more easy to keep a measure in the enjoy- 



