_Plato_[63] in his twelfth booke of lawes, seemeth to rule the case of trauelling, which moueth this controuersie. Where he alloweth both the sending out of his countrymen, into forreine landes, and the receiuing of forreine people into his countrey. For to medle neither with forreine actions, nor forreine agentes might sauour of disdaine, and to suffer good home orders to be corrupted by our forreine trauellers, or their forreine trafficquers might smell of small discretion. Wherfore both to build vpon discretion to preuent harme at home, and to banish disdaine to be thought well on abroad: he taketh this order both for such as shall trauell abroad into forreine countries from his, and for such as shall repare, from forreine countries vnto his. For his owne trauellers he enacteth first. That none vnder fourtie yeares in any case trauell abroad. Then restraining still all priuate occasions, for the which he will not dispense with his lawe, neither graunt any trauelling at all: he alloweth the state in publike to send abroad, embassadours, messagers, obseruers, for so I turne _Plato_ his θεωροὺς.
Such as are sent abroad to warre for the countrie, though foorth of the countrie, he holdes for no trauellers, as being still of, and in the state: the cause of their absence continuing their presence, and the place of their abyding, not altering the nature of their being. And the like rekening he maketh of those solemne embassadors, which they sent to communicate in sacrifice with their neighbours, at _Delphi_, to _Apollo_, in _Olympus_, to _Iupiter_, at _Nemea_ to _Hercules_, in _Isthmos_ to _Neptune_: where he appointed the pacificque, and friendly Embassages to be furnished out of the most, the best, and brauest citisens, which with their port, their presence, their magnificence, might honest, and honour their countrie most: as to the contrary he requireth in his martiall lieuetenant, which in the camp, and fielde shall represent the state of his country, credit, estimation, honour, purchased before by vertue and valure. His obseruer, whom he alloweth to go abroad to see fashions: he will haue not to be aboue threescore, nor vnder fiftie yeares old, and such a one, as shall be of good credit in his countrie, for great dealinges, both in warre and peace. For the occasion of his trauell pretending to see the manners of men abroad, to marke what is well and them that are good, which be most times there, where the place is least likely: and not to be marred by that which is ill, and them that are naught, which be there oftest, where good orders be rifest: to correct his countrie lawes by the better forreine: or to confirme them by the worse: how can he iudge of any of these thinges, which hath not dealt in great affaires, and shewed himselfe there to be a man of iudgement? or how is he able to auoide the euill, and cleaue to the good, whom yeares haue not stayed and giuen reason the raine, to bridle all desires, that might turne him awry? Such a man, of such a credit, of so many yeares, but no man yonger doth _Plato_ send abroad, to learne in forreine countries, and to see forreine fashions, so many of those ten yeares betwene fiftie and sixtie, as shall please him selfe best. But what must this trauellour do at his returne? There is a counsell appointed of the grauest diuines for religion, of ten iustices for law, of the new and old ouerseers for education, whereof ech one taketh with him one younger man, aboue thirtie and vnder fourtie. This counsell hath commission to deale in matters of lawe, either to make new, or to mend the olde: to consider of education and learning, what is good and quickneth, what is ill and darckeneth. And what the elder men determine that the yonger must execute. If any of these young men behaue himselfe not well, the elder that brought him into the parlament, beareth blame of the whole house: those that behaue themselues well, are made honorable presidentes to their countrey to behold: as they are most dishonored if they proue worse then other. Where by the waye I note these three thinges. 1. First the care they had to education, and learning euen in their cheife parlament. 2. Secondly the reason they had to traine, and vse young men in their parlament. 3. Thirdly their three speciall pointes of gouernement, according to the three kindes of persons, which were present in the parlament, _religion_, _lawe_, _education_. How to traine before _lawe_, how to rule by _lawe_, how to temper both traine, and _lawe_ by _diuinitie_, and _religion_.