3- The Life of Pericles.
[From North's " Plutarch."]
. seeing in Rome one day certaine rich and ^-" wealthy strangers, hauing litle dogs and monkies in their armes, and that they made marvellous much of them, he asked the if the women in their country had no children: wisely reprouing by this question, for that they bestowed their naturall loue and affection vpon brute beasts, which they should with all kindnesse and loue bestow vpon men. Nature in like case also, hauing planted in our minds a natural! desire to learne & vnderstand, we are in reason to reproue those that vainly abuse this good desire, fondly disposing it to learne things vaine and vn-profitable: and to cast behind them in the meane season things honest and necessarie to be learned, For as touching our outward sense, which with passion receiueth impression of the thing it seeth, peraduen-ture it will be necessarie to consider indifferently the thing seene, whether it will fall out beneficial or hurtfull vnto him : but so fareth it not with our vn-derstanding, for euery man may at his pleasure turne and dispose that to the thing he taketh delight in, the