THE SECOND BOOK 319 



state which followed : so the culture and manurance of 

 minds in youth hath such a forcible (though unseen) 

 operation, as hardly any length of time or contention of 

 labour can countervail it afterwards. And it is not amiss 

 to observe also how small and mean faculties gotten by 

 education, yet when they fall into great men or great 

 matters, do work great and important effects ; whereof 

 we see a notable example in Tacitus of two stage-players, 

 Percennius and Vibulenus, who by their faculty of playing 

 put the Pannonian armies into an extreme tumult and 

 combustion. For there arising a mutiny amongst them 

 upon the death of Augustus Caesar, Blaesus the lieutenant 

 had committed some of the mutiners; which were suddenly 

 rescued ; whereupon Vibulenus got to be heard speak, 

 which he did in this manner : ( These poor innocent 

 wretches, appointed to cruel death, you have restored to 

 behold the light. But who shall restore my brother to 

 me, or life unto my brother ? that was sent hither in 

 message from the legions of Germany to treat of the 

 common cause, and he hath murdered him this last night 

 by some of his fencers and ruffians, that he hath about 

 him for his executioners upon soldiers. Answer, Blaesus, 

 what is done with his body? The mortalest enemies do 

 not deny burial. When I have performed my last duties 

 to the corpse with kisses, with tears, command me to be 

 slain besides him ; so that these my fellows, for our good 

 meaning and our true hearts to the legions, may have 

 leave to bury us/ With which speech he put the army 

 into an infinite fury and uproar ; whereas truth was he had 

 no brother, neither was there any such matter, but he 

 played it merely as if he had been upon the stage. 



But to return: we are now come to a period of Rational 

 Knowledges; wherein if I have made the divisions other 

 than those that are received, yet would I not be thought 

 to disallow all those divisions which I do not use. For 

 there is a double necessity imposed upon me of altering 

 the divisions. The one, because it difFereth in end and 

 purpose, to sort together those things which are next in 

 nature, and those things which are next in use. For if a 



