Beautiful Truth, Great Fortune, and you the rest of my noble friends; I am come a great and long journey in the behalf of my dear friend the Duke of Newcastle; not to make more wounds, but, if it be possible, to heal those that are made already. Neither do I presume to be a deity; but my only request is, that you would be pleased to accept of my offering, I being an humble and devout supplicant; and since no offering is more acceptable to the gods, than the offering of peace; in order to that, I desire to make an agreement between Fortune, and the Duke of Newcastle.

I came not here, said she, to hear Fortune flattered, but to hear the cause decided between Fortune and the Duke; neither came I hither to speak rhetorically and eloquently, but to propound the case plainly and truly; and I’ll have you know, that the Duke, whose cause we argue, was and is my foster-son; for I Honesty bred him from his childhood, and made a perpetual friendship betwixt him and Gratitude, Charity and Generosity; and put him to school to Prudence, who taught him wisdom, and informed him in the rules of temperance, patience, justice, and the like; then I put him into the university of honour, where he learned all honourable qualities, arts, and sciences; afterward I sent him to travel through the world of actions, and made observation his governor; and in those his travels, he contracted a friendship with experience; all which, made him fit for Heaven’s blessings, and

this Duke is, that he would never flatter her; for I Honesty, did command him not to do it, or else he would be forced to follow all her inconstant ways, and obey all her unjust commands, which would cause a great reproach to him: but, on the other side, Prudence advised him not to despise Fortune’s favours, for that would be an obstruction and hindrance to his worth and merit; and he to obey both our advice and counsels, did neither flatter nor despise her; but was always humble and respectful to her so far as honour, honesty and conscience would permit: all which I refer to Truth’s judgment, and expect her final sentence.