assembly, where the company shalbe desirous to heare of old aduentures &
valiaunces of noble knights in times past, as are those of king _Arthur_
and his knights of the round table, Sir _Beuys_ of _Southampton_, _Guy_ of
_Warwicke_ and others like. Such as haue not premonition hereof, and
consideration of the causes alledged, would peraduenture reproue and
disgrace euery _Romance_, or short historicall ditty for that they be not
written in long meeters or verses _Alexandrins_, according to the nature &
stile of large histories, wherin they should do wrong for they be sundry
formes of poems and not all one.




_CHAP. XX._

_In what forme of Poesie vertue in the inferiour sort was commended._


In euerie degree and sort of men vertue is commendable, but not egally:
not onely because mens estates are vnegall, but for that also vertue it
selfe is not in euery respect of egall value and estimation. For
continence in a king is of greater merit, than in a carter, th'one hauing
all opportunities to allure him to lusts, and abilitie to serue his
appetites, th'other partly, for the basenesse of his estate wanting such
meanes and occasions, partly by dread of lawes more inhibited, and not so
vehemently caried away with vnbridled affections, and therefore deserue
not in th'one and th'other like praise nor equall reward, by the very
ordinarie course of distributiue iustice. Euen so parsimonie and
illiberalitie are greater vices in a Prince then in a priuate person, and
pusillanimitie and iniustice likewise: for to th'one, fortune hath