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THE SECOND BOOKE 353
the sweetnesse and harmony of musicke will move and
tickle; nor any soule so skittish and stubborne, that
hath not a feeling of some reverence in considering the
clowdy vastitie and gloomie canapies of our churches,
the eye-pleasing diversitie of ornaments, and orderly
order of our ceremonies, and hearing the devout ana
religious sound of our organs, the moderate, symphonicall,
and heavenly harmonie of our voices : even those
that enter into them with an obstinate will and contemning
minde have in their hearts a feeling of remorse,
of chilnesse and horrour, that puts them into a
certaiiie diffidence of their former opinions. As for
me, I distrust mine owne strength to heare with a
settled minde some of Horace or Catullus verses sung
with a sufficiently well tuned voice, uttered by and
proceeding from a faire, yong, and hart-alluring mouth.
And Zeno had reason to say that the voice was the
flower of beautie. Some have gone about to make me
beleeve that a man, who most of us French men know,
in repeating certaiiie verses he had maide, had imposed
upon me that they were not such in writing as in the
aire, and that mine eyes would judge of them otherwise
than mine eares : so much credit hath pronunciation
to give price and fashion to those workes that
passe at her mercy ; whereupon Philoxenus was not to
be blamed, when hearing one to give an ill accent to
some composition of his, he tooke in a rage some of his
pots or bricks, and breaking them, trode and trampled
them under his feet, saying unto him, ' I breake and
trample what is thine, even as thou mangiest and
marrest what is mine/ Wherefore did they (who with
an undanted resolve have procured their owne death,
because they would not see the blow or stroke comming)
turne their face away ? And those who for their healths
sake cause themselves to be cut and cauterized, why
cannot they endure the sight of the preparations,
tooles, instruments and workes of the Chirurgion, since
the sight can have no part of the paine or smart ? Are
not these fit examples to verifie the authoritie which
senses have over discourse? We may long enough
H. 2 A