ther can so well beate into the
ignorant head, as the well spoken and eloquent man. And because I am so
farre waded into this discourse of eloquence and figuratiue speaches, I
will tell you what hapned on a time my selfe being present whene certaine
Doctours of the ciuil law were heard in a litigious cause betwixt a man
and his wife: before a great Magistrat who (as they can tell that knew
him) was a man very well learned and graue, but somewhat sowre, and of no
plausible vtterance: the gentlemans chaunce, was to say: my Lord the
simple woman is not so much to blame as her lewde abbettours, who by
violent perswasions haue lead her into this wilfulnesse. Quoth the iudge,
what neede such eloquent termes in this place, the gentleman replied, doth
your Lordship mislike the terme, [_violent_] & me thinkes I speake it to
great purpose: for I am sure she would neuer haue done it, but by force of
perswasion. & if perswasions were not very violent to the minde of man it
could not haue wrought so strange an effect as we read that it did once in
_AEgypt_, & would haue told the whole tale at large, if the Magistrate had
not passed it ouer very pleasantly. Now to tell you the whole matter as
the gentleman intended, thus it was. There came into AEgypt a notable
Oratour, whose name was _Hegesias_ who inueyed so much against the
incommodities of this transitory life, & so highly commended death the
dispatcher of all euils; as a great number of his hearers destroyed
themselues, some with weapon, some with poyson, others by drowning and
hanging themselues to be rid out of this vale of misery, in so much as it
was feared least many moe of the people would haue miscaried by occasion
of his perswasions, if king _Ptolome_ had not made a publicke
proclamation, that the Oratour should auoyde the countrey, and no more be
allowed to speake in any matter. Whether now perswasions, may not be said
violent and forcible to simple myndes in speciall, I referre it to all
mens iudgements that heare the story. At least waies, I finde this
opinion, confirmed by a pretie deuise or embleme that _Lucianus_ alleageth
he saw in the pourtrait of _Hercules_ within the Citie of Marseills in
Prouence: where they had figured a lustie old man with a long chayne tyed
by one end at his tong, by the other end at the peoples eares, who stood a
farre of and seemed to be drawen to him by the force of that chayne
fastned to his tong, as who would say, by force of his perswasi