small that hee that discerneth them as they flie must haue a sharpe eye but when they alight vpon the body they will soone make them-selues knowne to his feeling though his sight discerne them not Super Exod. By this creature Origen vnderstands logick which enters the mind with such stings of vndiscerned subtlety that the party deceiued neuer perceiueth till he be fetched ouer But the Latines nor the Greekes euer vsed either Cynipes or Snipes nor is it in the seauentie eyther but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gnat-like creatures saith Suidas and such as eate holes in wood Psal. 104. The Hebrew and Chaldee Paraphrase read lice for this word as Iosephus doth also d Horse-flyes Or Dogge-flies the vulgar readeth flyes onely e Grashoppers The fields plague much endamaging that part of Africa that bordereth vpon Egipt Pliny saith they are held notes of Gods wrath where they exceed thus f Groned vnder Perfracti perfractus is throughly tamed praefractus obstinate g Passe-ouer Phase is a passing ouer because the Angel of death passed ouer the Israelites houses smote them not hence arose the paschall feast Hieron in Mich. lib. 2. not of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to suffer as if it had beene from the passion In Matth. h Whose name In Hebrew Iosuah and Iesus seemes all one both are saluation and Iesus the sonne of Iosedech in Esdras is called Iosuah i Whose sonne Mat. 1. an 〈◊〉 all the course of the Gospell Christ is especially called the sonne of two Abraham or Dauid for to them was hee chiefly promised k à non fando And therefore great fellowes that cannot speake are some-times called infants and such also as stammer 〈◊〉 their language and such like-wise as being expresse dolts and sottes in matter of learning will challenge the names of great Artists Philosophers and Diuines Finis lib. 16. THE CONTENTS OF THE seauenteenth booke of the City of God 1. Of the times of the Prophets 2. At what time Gods promise concerning 〈◊〉 Land of Canaan was fulfilled and Israell â—…ed it to dwell in and possesse 3. The Prophets three meanings of earthly â—…lem of heauenly Ierusalem and of both 4. The change of the kingdome of Israel Anâ—…â—…uels mother a prophetesse and a type 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Church what she prophecied 5. The Prophets words vnto Heli the priest â—…g the taking away of Aarons priestâ—… 6. The promise of the priest-hood of the 〈◊〉 and their kingdome to stand eternally â—…ed in that sort that other promises of 〈◊〉 â—…nded nature are 〈◊〉 kingdome of Israell rent prefiguring â—…all diuision betweene the spirituall â—…ll Israel 〈◊〉 â—…ises made to Dauid concerning his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fulfilled in Salomon but in Christ. 〈◊〉 â—…phecy of Christ in the 88. psalme 〈◊〉 â—…s of Nathan in the booke of Kings 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 diuers actions done in the earthly Ieâ—… 〈◊〉 the kingdome differing from Gods 〈◊〉 to shew that the truth of his word conâ—…â—…he glory of an other kingdome and anâ—…â—…g 11. The substance of the people of God who 〈◊〉 Christ in the flesh who only had power to 〈◊〉 â—…e soule of man from hell 12. â—…her verse of the former psalme and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to whom it belongeth 13. Whether the truth of the promised peace may be ascribed vnto Salomons time 14. Of Dauids endeauors in composing of the psalmes 15. Whether all things concerning Christ his church in the psalmes be to bee rehearsed in this worke 16. Of the forty fiue psalme the tropes and truths therein concerning Christ and the church 17. Of the references of the hundreth and tenth psalme vnto Christs priest-hood and the two and twentith vnto his passion 18. Christs death and resurrection prophecied in psalme 3. et 40. 15. et 67. 19. The obstinate infidelity of the Iewes declared in the 69. psalme 20. Dauids kingdome his merrit his sonne Salomon his prophecies of Christ in Salomons bookes and in bookes that are annexed vnto them 21. Of the Kings of Israel and Iudah after Salomon 22. How Hieroboam infected his subiects with Idolatry yet did God neuer failed them in Prophets nor in keeping many from that infection 23. The state of Israel and Iudah vnto both their captiuities which befell at different times diuersly altered Iudah vnited to Israell and lastly both vnto Rome 24. Of the last Prophets of the Iewes about the time that Christ was borne FINIS THE SEVENTEENTH BOOKE OF THE CITTIE OF GOD Written by Saint Augustine Bishop of Hippo vnto Marcellinus Of the times of the Prophets CHAP. 1. THus haue we attained the vnderstanding of Gods promises made vnto Abraham and due vnto Israel his seed in the flesh and to all the Nations of earth as his seed in the spirit how they were fulfilled the progresse of the Cittie of God in those times did manifest Now because our last booke ended at the reigne of Dauid let vs in this booke proceed with the same reigne as farre as is requisite All the time therefore betweene Samuels first prophecy and the returning of Israel from seauenty yeares captiuity in Babilon to repaire the Temple as Hieremy had prophecied all this is called the time of the Prophets For although that the Patriarch Noah in whose time the vniuersall deluge befel and diuers others liuing before there were Kings in Israel for some holy and heauenly predictions of theirs may not vndeseruedly be called a Prophets especially seeing wee see Abraham and Moses chiefly called by those names and more expressly then the rest yet the daies wherein Samuel beganne to prophecy were called peculiarly the Prophets times Samuel anoynted Saul first and afterwards he beeing reiected hee anoynted Dauid for King by Gods expresse command and from Dauids loines was all the bloud royall to descend during that Kingdomes continuance But if I should rehearse all that the Prophets each in his time successiuely presaged of Christ during all this time that the Cittie of God continued in those times and members of his I should neuer make an end First because the scriptures though they seeme but a bare relation of the successiue deeds of each King in his time yet being considered with the assistance of Gods spirit will prooue either more or as fully prophecies of things to come as histories of things past And how laborious it were to stand vpon each peculiar hereof and how huge a worke it would amount vnto who knoweth not that hath any insight herein Secondly because the prophecies concerning Christ and his Kingdome the Cittie of God are so many in multitude that the disputations arising hereof would not be contained in a farre bigger volume then is necessary for mine intent So that as I will restraine my penne as neare as I can from all superfluous relations in this worke so will I not ommit any thing that shall be really pertinent vnto our purpose L. VIVES CAlled a Prophets The Hebrewes called them Seers because they saw the Lord in his predictions or prefigurations of any thing with
the eyes of the spirit though not of the dull flesh hence it is that scriptures call a prophecy a vision and Nathan is called the Seer 1. Kings The Greekes some-times vse the name of Prophet for their priests poets or teachers Adam was the first man and the first Prophet who saw the mistery of Christ and his church in his sleepe Then followeth Enoch Noah Abraham Isaac Iacob and his children Moyses c. Yet are not these reckned amongst the prophets for none of them left any bookes of the visions but Moyses whose bookes concerned ceremonies sacrifices and ciuill orders also But these were all figures of future things nor were those the propheticall times as those from Samuel were wherein there neuer were prophets wanting whereas before God spake but seldome and his visions were not so manifest as they were from the first King vnto the captiuity wherein were foure great bookes of prophecies written and twelue of the small At what time Gods promise concerning the Land of Canaan was fulfilled and Israell receiued it to dwell in and possesse CHAP. 2. VVEE said in the last booke that God promised two things vnto Abraham one was the possession of the Land of Canaan for his seed in these words Goe into the Land that I will shew thee and I will make thee a great nation c. The other of farre more excellence not concerning the carnall but the spirituall seed nor Israell onely but all the beleeuing nations of the world in these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shall all nations of the earth be blessed c. This we confirmed by many testiâ—… Now therefore was Abrahams carnall seed that is the Israelites in the 〈◊〉 promise now had they townes citties yea and Kings therein and Gods 〈◊〉 were performed vnto them in great measure not onely those that hee 〈◊〉 signes or by word of mouth vnto Abraham Isaac and Iacob but euen 〈◊〉 â—…so that Moyses who brought them out of the Egyptian bondage or any 〈◊〉 him vnto this instant had promised them from God But the proâ—…â—…cerning the land of Canaan that Israel should reigne ouer it from the 〈◊〉 Egipt vnto the great Euphrates was neither fulfilled by Iosuah that worâ—… of them into the Land of promise and hee that diuided the whole aâ—… the twelue tribes nor by any other of the Iudges in all the time after 〈◊〉 was there any more prophecies that it was to come but at this instant 〈◊〉 â—…ected And by a Dauid and his son Salomon it was fulfilled indeed and 〈◊〉 â—…gdome enlarged as farre as was promised for these two made all 〈◊〉 â—…ations their seruants and tributaries Thus then was Abrahams seed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so settled in this land of Canaan by these Kings that now no part of 〈◊〉 â—…ly promise was left vnfulfilled but that the Hebrewes obeying Gods â—…ements might continue their dominion therein without all disturâ—… in all security and happinesse of estate But God knowing they would 〈◊〉 vsed some temporall afflictions to excercise the few faithfull therein 〈◊〉 â—…ad left and by them to giue warning to all his seruants that the nations 〈◊〉 â—…erwards to containe who were to bee warned by those as in whom hee 〈◊〉 â—…llfill his other promise by opening the New Testament in the death of 〈◊〉 L. VIVES Bâ—…â—…id Hierome epist. ad Dardan sheweth that the Iewes possessed not all the lands 〈◊〉 promised theÌ„ for in the booke of Numbers it is sayd to be bounded on the South by the salt sea and the wildernesse of sinne vnto that riuer of Egypt that ranne into the sea by Rhinocorura on the west by the sea of Palestina Phaenicia Coele Syria and Cylicia on the North by Mount Taurus and Zephyrius as farre as Emath or Epiphania in Syria on the East by Antioch and the Lake Genesareth called now Tabarie and by Iordan that runneth into the salt sea called now The dead sea Beyond Iordan halfe of the land of the tribes of Ruben Gad lay and halfe of the tribe of Manasses Thus much Hierome But Dauid possessed not all these but onely that within the bounds of Rhinocorura and Euphrates wherein the Israelites still kept themselues The Prophets three meanings of earthly Ierusalem of heauenly Ierusalem and of both CHAP. 3. WHerefore as those prophecies spoken to Abraham Isaac Iacob or any other in the times before the Kings so likewise all that the Prophets spoke afterwards had their double refereÌ„ce partly to Abraháms seed in the flesh partly to that wherein al the nations of the earth are blessed in him being made Co-heires with Christ in the glory and kingdome of heauen by this New Testament So then they concerne partly the bond-woman bringing forth vnto bondage that is the earthly Ierusalem which serueth with her sonnes and partly to the free Citty of God the true Ierusalem eternall and heauenly whose children are pilgrims vpon earth in the way of Gods word And there are some that belong vnto both properly to the bond-woman and figuratiuely vnto the free woman for the Prophets haue a triple meaning in their prophecies some concerning the earthly Ierusalem some the heauenly and some both as for example The Prophet a Nathan was sent to tell Dauid of his sinne and to fortell him the euills that should ensue thereof Now who doubteth that these words concerned the temporall City whether they were spoken publikely for the peoples generall good or priuately for some mans knowledge for some temporall vse in the life present But now whereas wee read Behold the daies come saith the LORD that I will make a new couenant with the house of Israell and the house of Iudah not according to the couenant that I made with their fathers when I tooke them by the hand to bring them out of the Land of Egipt which couenant they brake although I was an husband vnto them saith the Lord but this is the couenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those daies saith the LORD I will put my law in their mindes and write it in their hearts and I wil be their GOD and they shal be my people This without aâ—…l doubt is a prophecy of the celestiall Ierusalem to whom God himselfe stands as a reward and vnto which the enioying of him is the perfection of good Yet belongeth it vnto them both in that the earthly Ierusalem was called Gods Cittie and his house promised to bee therein which seemed to be fulfilled in Salomons building of that magnificent temple These things were both relations of things acted on earth and figures of things concerning heauen which kinde of prophecy compounded of both is of great efficacy in the canonicall scriptures of the Old Testament and doth exercise the readers of scripture very laudably in seeking how the things that are spoken of Abrahams carnall seed are allegorically fulfilled in his seed by faith In b so much that some held that there was nothing in the scriptures fore-told and effected or
Greece but that the Barbarians as Egypt for example had their peculier doctrines before Moyses time which they called their wisdome Otherwise our scripture would not haue said that Moyses was learned in al the wisdome of the Egyptians for there was hee borne adopted and brought vp worthily 〈◊〉 by the daughter of Pharao But their wisdome could not bee before our prophets for Abraham him-selfe was a prophet And what wisdome could there be in Egypt before Isis their supposed goddesse taught them letters This Isis was daughter to Inachus King of Argos who raigned in the times of Abrahams Grandchildren L. VIVES IN our a prophets Here Augustine prooues the Old Testament ancienter then all the philosophy of the greekes This question Iosephus handleth worthily against Apâ—…on so doth Euseb. prep euang and Iustin. Martyr Ad Gentes The case is plaine inough by our allegations vpon other chapters of this booke b Pythagoras Tully saith he liued in his progenitor Seruius Tullus his time and so saith Liuy lib. 1. True in his later yeares and in the whole time of Cyrus the Persian for hee flourished Olympiade sixty wherein Tarquin the proud beganne his 〈◊〉 He died according to Eusebius Olymp. 70. after the Iewes were freed from captiuity and liued quietly at Ierusalem c Socrates He liued Olymp. 77. saith Apollodorus almost forty â—…res after Darius sent the Iewes to the reparation of the temple d Sonne after was In the eighty eight Olympiad Apollod e By the daughter Maenis the daughter of Chenephres King 〈◊〉 Egipt hauing no children adopted a Iewish child called in hebrew Moyses in greeke Muâ—… This Eusebius lib. 9. praep citeth out of Artapanus Of some scriptures too ancient for the Church to allow because that might procure suspect that they are rather counterfeit then true CHAP. 38. NOw if I should goe any higher there is the Patriarch Noah before the great deluge we may very well cal him a prophet for his very Arke and his escape in that floud were propheticall references vnto these our times What was Enoch the seauenth from Adam Doth not the Canonicall Epistle of Iude sâ—…y that hee prophecied The reason that wee haue not their writings nor the Iewes neither is their to great antiquity which may procure a suspect that they are rather feigned to bee theirs then theirs indeed For many that beleeue aâ—… they like and speake as they list defend themselues with quotations from bookes But the cannon neither permitteth that such holy mens authority should be reiected nor that it should be abused by counterfeit pamphlets Nor is it any maruell that such antiquity is to be suspected when as we read in the histories of the Kings of Iuda and Israel which we hold canonicall of many things touched at there which are not there explaned but are said a to bee found in other bookes of the prophets who are sometimes named yet those workes wee haue not in our Canon nor the Iewes in theirs I know not the reason of this only I thinke that those prophets whom it pleased the holy spirrit to inspire wrote â—…e-things historically as men and other things prophetically as from the â—…outh of God and that these workes were really distinct some being held their own as they were men and some the Lords as speaking out of their bosomes so that the first might belong to the bettring of knowledge and the later to the conâ—…ming of religion to which the Canon onely hath respect besides which if there be any workes going vnder prophets names they are not of authority to better the knowledge because it is a doubt whether they are the workes of those prophets or no therefore wee may not trust them especially when they make against the canonical truth wheein they proue themselues directly false birthes L. VIVES TO bee found in a other For we read Concerning the deedes of Dauid c. they are written in the booke of Samuel the Seer and in the booke of Nathan the prophet and of Gad c. Chron. 1. 29. 29. so likewise of Salomons Chron. 29. 29. And of Iosaphats Chronic. 2. â—…0 34. That the Hebrew letters haue beene euer continued in that language CHAP. 39. VVEE may not therefore thinke as some doe that the hebrew tongue onely was deriued from Heber to Abraham that a Moyses first gaue the hebrew letters with the law no that tongue was deriued from man to man successiuely by letters aswell as language For Moyses appointed men to teach them before the law was giuen These the scriptures call b Grammaton Isagogos that is introductors of letters because they did as it were bring them into the hearts of men or rather their hearts into them So then no nation can ouer-poise our Prophets and Patriarches in antiquity of wisdome for they had diuine inspirations the Egyptians themselues that vse to giue out such extreame and palpable lies of their learnings are prooued short of time in comparison with our Patriarches For none of them dare say that they had any excellence of vnderstanding before they had letters that is before Isis came and taught them And what was their goodly wisdome thinke you Truely nothing but c Astronomy and such other sciences as rather seemed to exercise the wit then to eleuate the knowledge For as for morality it stirred not in Egypt vntill Trismegistus his time who was indeed long before d the sages and Philosophers of Greece but after Abraham Isaac Iacob Ioseph vea Moyses also for at the time when Moyses was borne was Atlas Prometheus his brother a great Astronomer lyuing and hee was grand-father by the mother-side to the elder Mercury who begot the father of this Trismegistus L. VIVES MOyses a first gaue It is the common opinion both of the Iewes Christians that Moyses did giue the first letters to that language Eupolemus Artapanus many other prophane authors affirme it also and that the Phaenicians had their letters thence Artapanus thinketh that Moyses gaue letters to the Egyptians also and that he was that Mercury whom all affirme did first make the Egyptian language literate If any one aske then in what letter that wisdome of Egipt that Moyses learned was contained hee shal be answered it went partly by tradition and partly was recorded by Hierogâ—…yphicks Philo the Iew saith Abraham inuented the Hebrew letters But that they were long before Abraham it seemes by Iosephus who saith that the sonnes of Seth erected two pillers one of stone and another of brick whereon the artes that they had inuented were ingrauen and that the stone piller was to bee seene in Syria in his time Antiq. lib. 1. These Augustine seemeth here to take for the Hebrew letters b Grammato isagogos Hierome translateth it Doctors and Maysters and Scribes They taught onely the letter of the scriptures and declined not from it an inch but the greater professors were the Pharises of Phares diuision for they seuered
taken and the Temple destroied 26. The Romaines were freed from their Kings and Israell from captiuity both at one time 27. Of the times of the Prophets whose bookes wee haue how they prophecied some of them of the calling of the nation in the declyning of the Assirrian Monarchy and the Romanes erecting 28. Prophecies concerning the Ghospell in Osee and Amos. 29. Esay his prophecies concerning Christ. 30. Prophecies of Micheas Ionas and Ioel correspondent vnto the New Testament 31. Prophecies of Abdi Nahum and Abacuc concerning the worlds saluation in Christ. 32. The prophecy contained in the song and praier of Abacuc 33. Prophecies of Hieremy and Zephany concerning the former theames 34. Daniels and Ezechiells prophecies concerning Christ and his church 35. Of the three prophecies of Agge Zachary and Malachi 36. Of the bookes of Esdras and the Machabees 37. The Prophets more ancient then any of the Gentile philosophers 38. Of some scriptures too ancient for the church to allow because that might procure a suspect that they are rather counterfit then truâ—… 39. That the Hebrew letters haue bin euer continued in that language 40. The Egiptians 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 claime their wisdome the age of 10000 〈◊〉 41. The dissention of Philosophers 〈◊〉 concord of canonicall scriptures 42. Of the translations of the Old 〈◊〉 out of Hebrew into Greeke by the ordinance 〈◊〉 God for the benefit of the nations 43. That the translation of the 〈◊〉 most authenticall next vnto the Hebrew 44. Of the destruction of Niniuy which the Hebrew prefixeth forty daies vnto and the â—…tuagints but three 45. The Iewes wanted Prophets euer after the repairing of the Temple and were afflicted euen from thence vntill Christ came to 〈◊〉 that the Prophets spake of the building of the other Temple 46. Of the words Becomming Flesh 〈◊〉 Sauiours Birth and the dispersion of the Ieweâ—… 47. Whether any but Israelites before Christ time belonged to the City of God 48. Aggeis prophecy of the glory of 〈◊〉 house fulfilled in the church not in the Temple 49. The churches increase vncertaine because of the commixtion of Elect and reprobate in this world 50. The Ghospell preached and gloriousâ—… confirmed by the bloud of the preachers 51. That the church is confirmed euen by the schismes of heresies 52. Whether the opinion of some be credible that their shal be no more persecutions after ten ten past but the eleauenth which is that of Aâ—…techristes 53. Of the vnknowne time of the last pâ—…secution 54. The Pagans foolishnesse in affirâ—… that christianity should last but three hundreth sixty fiue yeares FINIS THE EIGHTEENTH BOOKE OF THE CITTIE OF GOD Written by Saint Augustine Bishop of Hippo vnto Marcellinus Arecapitulation of the seauenteene bookes past concerning the two Citties continuing vnto the time of Christs birth the Sauiour of the world CHAP. 1. IN my confutations of the peruerse contemners of Christ in respect of their Idols and the enâ—…ious enemies of christianity which was all that I did in my first ten bookes I promised to continue my discourse through the originall progresse limmites of the two Citties Gods and the Worldâ—… as far as should concerne the generation of mankinde Of this my triplet promise one part the originalls of the citties haue I declared in the next foure bookes part of the second the progresse from Adam to the deluge in the fifteenth booke and so from thence vnto Abraham I followed downe all the times as they lay But whereas from Abrahams fathers time vntill the Kingdome of the Israelites where I ended the sixteenth booke and from thence vnto our Sauiours birth where I ended the seauenteenth I haue onely caried the Citty of God along with my pen whereas both the Citties ran on together in the generations of mankinde this was my reason I desired first to manifest the descent of those great and manifold promises of God from the beginning vntill Hee in whom they all were bounded and to be fulfilled were come to be borne of the Virgin without any interposition of ought done in the Worldly citty during the meane space to make the Citty of God more apparent although that all this while vntill the reuelation of the New Testament it did but lie inuolued in figures Now therefore mâ—…st I beginne where I left and bring along the Earthly Citty from Abrahams time vnto this point where I must now leaue the heauenly that hauing brought both their times to one quantity their comparison may shew them both with greater euidence Viues his Preface vnto his commentaries vpon the eighteenth booke of Saint Augustine his Citty of God IN this eighteenth booke wee were to passe many darke waies and often-times to feele for our passage daring not fixe one foote vntill wee first groped where to place it as one must doe in darke and dangerous places Here wee cannot tarry all day at Rome but must abroade into the worlds farthest corner into linages long since lost and countries worne quite out of memory pedegrees long agoe laid in the depth of obliuion must wee fetch out into 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 like Cerberus and spread them openly Wee must into Assyria that old Monarchy 〈◊〉 once named by the Greekes And Sycionia which the very Princes therof sought to suppresse from memory themselues debarring their very fathers from hauing their names set on their tombes as Pausanias relateth and thence to Argos which being held the most antique state of Greece is all enfolded in fables then Athens whose nimble wits ayming all at their countries honour haue left truth sicke at the heart they haue so cloied it with eloquence and wrapped it vp in cloudes Nor is Augustine content with this but here and there casteth in hard walnuts and almonds for vs to crack which puts vs to shrewd trouble ere wee can get out the kernell of truth their shells are so thicke And then commeth the latine gests all hackt in peeces by the discord of authors And thence to the Romanes nor are the Greeke wise-men omitted It is fruitlesse to complaine least some should thinke I doe it causelesse And here and there the Hebrew runneth like veines in the body to shew the full course of the Two Citties the Heauenly and the Earthly If any one trauelling through those countries and learning his way of the cunningest should for all that misse his way some times is not he pardonable I pray you tho and will any one thinke him the lesse diligent in his trauell none I thinke What then if chance or ignorance lead me astray out of the sight of diuers meane villages that I should haue gone by my way lying through deserts and vntracted woods and seldome or neuer finding any to aske the right way of am I not to bee borne with I hope yes Uarro's Antiquities are all lost And the life of Rome None but Eusebius helped mee in Assyria but that Diodorus Siculus and some others set mee in once or twise I had a booke by mee called Berosus
his time were the Israelites freed and in the beginning of his reigne the seauen sages flourished g Solon born in Salaminia vnder the dominion of Athens son of Exestides one descended from the bloud-royall of Codrus the â—…lified Draco his bloudy lawes gaue the Athenians better for Draco wrote his with bloud not with inke as Demades said al crimes great and smal yea euen idlenes it selfe was 〈◊〉 of death Solon hated his cousin Pisistrates his affectation of a Kingdom who attaining it 〈◊〉 got him into Aegipt from thence to Craesus King of Lydia then to Cilicia where hee 〈◊〉 Solos afterwards called Pompeiopolis because there Pompey ouercame the pâ—…rates thence to Cyprus and there he died being 70. yeares old He was Archon of Athens Olymp. 46. in the third yeare therof For they elected now euery yeare not euery tenth yeare as they had done before The Athenians offered him their Kingdom which he stoutly refused exhorted them earnestly to stand in their liberty Laertius and Plutarch recite some of his lawes which the Romans put into their twelue tables h Chilo His fathers name was Damagetes he was one of the Ephori Magistrates much like the Romaine Tribunes for he first ordained the â—…yning of the Ephori with the Kings he was a man of few words and briefe in phraze as the Lâ—…ans were naturally Hee dyed at Pisa imbracing his sonne comming victor from the Olympicks He had an epigram vnder his statue that called him the wisest of the seauen i i Periander I see no reason he should haue this honor for hee was a tyrant most furious vicious couetous and abhominably incestuous These are no parts of wisdome therefore many do put him out of this number But Sotion and Heraclitus say that the wise Periander was not hee of Corynth but an Ambracian borne Aristot saith hee was borne at Corinth and â—…-germaine to the Tyrant Plato saith no. k Cleobulus Borne at Lindus in Rhodes some say in Caria Duâ—…is His father was called Euagoras the most beautious and valorous person of his time Hee learnt his knowledge in Egypt his daughter Cleobulâ—…a was a famous prophetesse c. l Bias. His fathers name was Teutaâ—…us Prieâ—…ia is in Ionia To him they say the golden Tripos was brought and hee sent it vnto Hercules of Thebes Hee freed his country from the great warre of Craesus the Lydian his was that phrase Omnia â—…ea meâ—… porto Myne owne and all mine owne I beare about me Cic. Paradox I wonder the Greekes make no mention of this in his life They speake not of Prienes taking in all his whole life Tully I beleeue was deceiued in this nor is this his onely errour Seneca seemes to giue it more truely to Stilpo of Megara for Demetrius as then tooke Megaâ—…a Bias died sweetly with his head in the lap of his grand child by his daughter The Prienmans built a chapell to him Satyrus preferreth him before all the other Sages m Better discipline They were not learned nor Philosophers saith Dicaearchus but they were hardy men and good politiâ—…s And so saith Tully De Amicit. n good instructions We haue Greeke sentences vnder there names Ausonius hath made some of them into verse Thales his motto was Nosce te know thy selfe Pittacus his Nosce occasionem take time while time is Solons Nihil nimis the meane is the best Chilons Sponsioni non deest iactura Bargaines and losses are inseparable or he that wil aduenture must loose Perianders Stipandus Imperator dediturus non est armis sed beneâ—…lentia loue and not armes guard him that would rule Cleobulus caâ—… iâ—…micorum insidias aâ—…corum inuidias beware of your foes emnity and your friends enuy Bias Plureâ—… mali The worse are the more So agree Augustine and Eusebius who saith that their inuentions were nothing but short sentences tending to the instituting of honest disciplines into mens hearts Prep Euang. liber 10. o No records Yet Solon and Bias they say left some verses The Romaines were freed from their Kings and Israel from captiuity both at one time CHAP. 26. AT the same time a Cyrus King of Persia Caldaea and Assyria gaue the Iewes a kinde of release for hee sent 50000. of them to re-edifie the Temple and these onely built the Altar and layd the foundations for their foes troubled them with so often incursions that the building was left of vntill Darius his time b The story of Iudith fell out also in the same times which they say the Iewes receiue not into their cannon The seauenty yeares therefore being expired in Darius his reigne the time that Hieremy c had prefixed The â—…ewes had their full freedome Tarquin the proud being the seauenth King of Rome whom the Romaines expelled and neuer would be subiect to any more Kings Vntill this time had Israell prophets in great numbers but indeed we haue but few of their Prophecies cannonicaly recorded Of these I said in ending my last booke that I would make some mention in this and here it is fittest L. VIVES CYrus a King Sonne to Mandanes Astiaeges his daughter the Median King and Cambyses one of obscure birth hee was called Cyrus after the riuer Cyrus in Persia nere to which he was brought vp Hee foyled his grandfather in warre and tooke the Monarchy from the Medes placing it in persia He conquered Chaldaea also For the Meâ—… hauing gotten the Monarchy to them-selues after Sardanapalus his death had their Kings all crowned at Babilon and Nabuchodrosor was their most royall ruler his exploytes they extoll aboue the Chaldean Hercules actes saying that hee had a conquering aâ—…mye as farre as the Gades Strabo ex Megasthene Megasthenes sayth Alphaeus affirmes that Nabuchodrosor was a stouter soldier then Hercules and that hee conquered all Libya and Asia as farre as Armenia and returning to his home he cryed out in manner of prophecying O Babilonians I presage that a great misfortune shall befall you which neither Bâ—…lus nor any of the gods can resist The Mule of Persia shall come to make slaues of you all Hauiâ—…g thus sayd presently hee vanished away Milina Rudocus his sonne succeeded him and was slaine by Iglisares who reigned in his place and left the crowne to his sonne Babaso Arascus who was slaine by treason Nabiuidocus was made King Him did Cyrus taking Babilon make Prince of Carmania Thus farre Alphaeus Alexander Polyhistor differeth somewhat from this but not much Iosephus sayth there were two Nabuchodrosors and that it was the sonne that Megasthenes preâ—…erres before Hercules and the father that tooke Babâ—…lon The sonne dying left his crowne to Amilmadapak or Abimatadok and he freed Iechonias and made him one of his Courtiers Amilmadapak dyed hauing reigned eighteene yeares and left his son Agressarius to inherâ—…te who reigned fourty yeares and his sonne Labosordak succeeded him who dyed at the end of nine monthes and Balthazar otherwise called
and in my selfe avowed Moreouer as they tell that haue tryed you are open-handed hearted to such kind of presents then which scarse any may be more welcome to you For who should offer you gold filuer or gems garments horses or armoâ—… should power water into the sea and bring trees to the wood And truely as in all other thinges so in this you do most wisely to thinke that glory beseeming your vertue and deserts is purchased with al posterity by bookes monumeÌ„ts of learned men if not by mine or those like me yet surely by shewing your selfe affable and gratious to learned men you shall light vpon some one by whose stile as a most conning pencill the picture of that excellent and al-surmounting minde purtraied and polished may be commended to eternity not to bee couered with the rust of obliuion nor corrupted by iniury of after ages but that posterity an vncorrupted witnesse of vertues should not be silent of what is worthy to bee spoken of both to the glory of your selfe when you are restored to heauen though that be the best and best to be regarded and also which is principall and most to be aspired to the example of them that shall then liue Besides all this this worke is most agreeable to your disposition and studies wherein Saint AVGVSTINE hath collected as in a treasury the best part of those readings which hee had selected in the ancient authors as ready to dispute with sharpest wits best furnished with choisest eloquence and learning Whereby it is fallne out that he intending another point hath preserued the reliques of some the best things whose natiue seate and dwelling where they vsed to be fet and found was fouly ouerturned And therfore some great men of this later age haue bin much holpen by these writings of AVGVSTINE for VARRO SALVST LIVY and TVLLIE de republica as HERMOLAVS POLITIANVS BLONDVS BEROALDVS all which you shal so read not as they were new or vnheard-of but recognize them as of old Adde herevnto that you and Saint AVGVSTINES point and purpose in writing seeme almost to intend attaine the same end For as you wrote for that better Rome against Babylon so Saint AVGVSTINE against Babylon defended that ancient christian and holier Rome This worke not mine but Saint AVGVSTINES by whom I am protected is also sutable vnto your greatnesse whether the author bee respected or the matter of the worke The author is AVGVSTINE good GOD how holy how learned a man what a light what a leane to the christian common-wealth on whom onely it rested for many rites many statutes customes holy and venerable ceremonies and not without cause For in that man was most plentifull study most exact knowledge of holy writ a sharpe and cleare iudgement a wit admirably quick and piercing He was a most diligent defender of vndefiled piety of most sweet behauior composed and conformed to the charity of the Gospell renowned and honored for his integrity and holinesse of life all which a man might hardly prosecute in a full volume much lesse in an Epistle It is well I speake of a writer knowne of all and familiar to you Now the worke is not concerning the children of Niobe or the gates of Thebes or mending cloathes or preparing pleasures or manuring grounds which yet haue beene arguments presented euen to Kings but concerning both Citties of the World and GOD wherein Angells deuills and all men are contained how they were borne how bred how growne whether they tend and what they shall doe when they come to their worke which to vnfold hee hath omitted no prophane nor sacred learning which hee doth not both touch and explane as the exploites of the Romanes their gods and ceremonies the Philosophers opinions the originall of heauen and earth of Angells deuills and men from what grounds Gods people grew and how thence brought along to our LORD CHRIST Then are the Two Citties compared of GOD and the World and the Assyrian Sicyonian Argiue Attick Latine and Persian gouernments induced Next what the Prophets both Heathenish and Iewish did foretell of CHRIST Then speaking of true felicity he refuteth and refelleth the opinions of the ancient Philosophers concerning it Afterwards how CHRIST shall come the iudge of quick and dead to sentence good and euill Moreouer of the torments of the damned Lastly of the ioyes and eternally felicity of Godly men And all this with a wonderfull wit exceeding sharpenesse most neate learning a cleare and polisht stile such as became an author trauersed and exercised in all kinde of learning and writings and as beseemed those great and excellent matters and fitted those with whom hee disputed Him therefore shall you read most famous and best minded King at such houres as you with-draw from the mighty affaires and turmoiles of your kingdome to employ on learning and ornaments of the minde and withall take a taste of our Commentaries whereof let mee say as Ouid sayd of his bookes de Faestis when he presented them to GERMANICVS CaeSAR A learned Princes iudgement t' vnder goe As sent to reade to Phaebus our leaues goe Which if I shall finde they dislike not you I shall not feare the allowance of others for who will be so impudent as not to bee ashamed to dissent from so exact a iudgement which if any dare doe your euen silent authority shall yet protect me Farewell worthiest King and recon VIVES most deuoted to you in any place so he be reconed one of yours From Louaine the seauenth of Iuly M. D. XXII AN ADVERTISMENT OF IOANNES LODOVICVS VIVES Of Ualentia DECLARING VVHAT Manner of people the Gothes were and how they toooke Rome WHERE AS AVGVSTINE TOOKE OCcasion by the captiuity of the Romaines to write of the Cittie of GOD to answer them which iniuriouslie slaundered the Christian Religion as the cause of those enormities and miseries which befell them It shall not be lost labour for vs sounding the depth of the matter to relate from the Originall what kinde of people the Gothes were how they came into Italie and surprized the Cittie of Rome ¶ First it is cleare and euident that the former age named those Getes whome the succeeding age named Gothes because this age adulterated and corrupted many of the ancient wordes For those two Poets to wit RVTILVS and CLAVDIAN when-soeuer they speake of the Gothes doe alwaies name Getes OROSIVS also in his Historie sayth the Getes who now are named Goths departing out of their Countrie with bagge and baggage leauing their houses emptie entred safely into the Romaine Prouinces with all their forces being such a people as ALEXANDER said were to be auoided PYRRHVS abhorred and CaeSAR shunned HIEROME vpon Genesis testifieth that the Gothes were named Getes of the learned in former time Also they were Getes which inhabited about the Riuer Ister as STRABO MELA PLINIE and others auerre possessing the Region adiacent a great part of it lying waste and vnmanured being
owne shame he shamed at the filthinesse that was committed vppon hir though it were l without her consent and m being a Romain and coueteous of glory she feared that n if she liued stil that which shee had indured by violence should be thought to haue been suffered with willingnesse And therfore she thought good to shew this punishment to the eies of men as a testimony of hir mind vnto whome shee could not shew her minde indeed Blushing to be held a partaker in the fact which beeing by another committed so filthyly she had indured so vnwillingly Now this course the Christian women did not take they liue still howsoeuer violated neither for all this reuenge they the ruines of others vppon them-selues least they should make an addition of their owne guilt vnto the others if they should go and murder them-selues barbarously because their enemies had forst them so beastially For howsoeuer they haue the glory of their chastity stil within them o being the restimony of their conscience this they haue before the eies of their God and this is all they care for hauing no more to looke to but to do wel that they decline not from the authority of the law diuine in any finister indeauour to auoid the offence of mortall mans suspition L. VIVES a LVcretia This history of Lucretia is common though Dionisius relate it some-what differing from Liuie they agree in the summe of the matter b Reuenge so sayth Liuie in his person But giue me your right hands and faiths to inflict iust reuenge vppon the adulterer and they all in order gaue her their faiths c One declaming Who this was I haue not yet read One Glosse saith it was Virgil as hee found recorded by a great scholler and one that had read much But Uirgil neuer was declamer nor euer pleaded in cause but one and that but once perhaps that great reader imagined that one to bee this which indeed was neuer extant Which he might the better doe becasue he had read such store of histories and better yet if he were Licentiat or Doctor d He was chased Tarquin the King and all his ofspring were chased out of the Cittie of this in the third book e The offender Cicero saith that touching a Romains life there was a decree that no Iudgement should passe vpon it without the assent of the whole people in the great Comitia or Parliaments called Centuriata The forme and manner of which iudgement he sets down in his oration for his house and so doth Plutarch in the Gracchi f Lucretia her selfe which aggrauats the fact done by Lucretia a noble and worthy matron of the Citty g Placed amongst these Uirgil in the 6. of his Aeneads diuides Hell into nine circles and of the third hee speaketh thus Proxima deinde tenent maesti loca qui sibi lethum Insontes peperere manu lucemque perosi Proiecere animas quam vellent athere in alto Nunc pauperiem durâ—…s perferre labores Fata obstant tristique palus innabilis vnda Alligat nouies Styx interfusa coercet In english thus In the succeeding round of woe they dwell That guiltlesse spoild them-selues through blacke despight And cast their soules away through hate of light O now they wish they might returne t' abide Extremest need and sharpest toile beside But fate and deepes forbid their passage thence And Styx that nine times cuttes those groundlesse fennes h Which none could know For who can tell whether shee gaue consent by the touch of some incited pleasure i Hir learned defenders * It is better to read her learned defenders or her not vnlearned defenders then her vnlearned defenders as some copies haue it k Is there any way It is a Dilemma If shee were an adulteresse why is she commended if chaste why murdered The old Rethoricians vsed to dissolue this kinde of Argument either by ouerthrowing one of the parts or by retorting it called in greeke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a conuersion or retortion Examples there are diuers in Cicero de Rethorica Now Augustine saith that this conclusion is inextricable vnavoidable by either way l Without her consent For shee abhorred to consent vnto this act of lust m A Romaine The Romaine Nation were alwaies most greedy of glory of whom it is said Vincet amor patriae laudumque immensa cupido Their countries loue boundles this of glory And Ouid saith of Lucrece in his Fasti Succubuit famae victa puella metu Conquer'd with feare to loose her fame she fell n If she liued after this vncleanesse committed vpon hir o Being the testimony for our glory is this saith Saint Paul 2. Cor. I. 12. the testimony of our consciences And this the Stoikes and all the heathenish wise men haue euer taught That there is no authority which allowes Christians to be their owne deaths in what cause soeuer CHAP. 19. FOr it is not for nothing that wee neuer finde it commended in the holy canonicall Scriptures or but allowed that either for attaining of immortalitie or auoyding of calamitie wee should bee our owne destructions we are forbidden it in the law Thou shalt not kill especially because it addes not Thy neighbour as it doth in the pohibition of false witnesse Thou shalt not beare false witnesse against thy neighbour Yet let no man thinke that he is free of this later crime if he beare false witnesse against him-selfe because hee that loues his neighbour begins his loue from him-selfe Seeing it is written Thou shalt loue thy neighbour as thy selfe Now if hee bee no lesse guiltlesse of false witnesse that testifieth falsely against him-selfe then hee that doth so against his neighbour since that in that commandement wherein false witnesse is forbidden it is forbidden to be practised against ones neighbor whence misvnderstanding conceits may suppose that it is not forbiddeÌ„ to beare false witnesse against ones selfe how much plainer is it to bee vnderstood that a man may not kill him-selfe seeing that vnto the commandement Thou shalt not kil nothing being added excludes al exception both of others of him to whom the command is giuen And therefore some would extend the intent of this precept euen vnto beasts and cattell and would haue it vnlawfull to kill any of them But why not vnto hearbes also and all things that grow and are nourished by the earth for though these kindes cannot bee said to haue a sence or feeling yet they are said to be liuing and therfore they may die and consequently by violent vsage be killed VVherfore the Apostle speaking of these kinde of seedes saith thus Foole that which thou sowest is not quickened except first it die And the Psalmist saith He destrored their vines with baile but what Shall wee therefore thinke it sinne to cutte vp a twigge because the commandement sayes thou shalt not kill and so involue our selues in the foule error of the
togither held they almost continuall warre with the Veientes Liuius lib. 5. Plutarche in Camillus his life This Camillus being said to haue dealt vniustly in sharing the Veientane spoils amongst the people L. Apuleius cited him to a day of hearing But hee to auoide their enuie though innocent of that he was charged with got him away to liue at Ardea in exile This fell out two years before the Galles tooke Rome i ten thousand Liuy saith he was fined in his absence at 15000. Assis grauis Plutarch at 15000. Assium Aes And Assis graue was al one as my Budeus proues k being soone after The Galles hauing taken Rome Camillus hauing gathered an army together of the remainder of the Allian ouerthrow was released of his exile in a counsell Curiaté made Dictator by them that were besieged in the Capitoll At first hee expelled the Galles out of the Cittie and afterwards in the roade way to Gabii eight miles from the Citty hee gaue them a sore ouer-throw Liu. lib. 5 Thus this worthy man choose rather to remember his countries affliction then his owne priuate wronge beeing therefore stiled another Romulus l the great ones These mischieues were still on foote for very neere fiue hundred yeares after the expelling of their kings the Patritians and the Plebeyans were in continuall seditions and hatreds one against another and both contending for soueraignty which ambition was kindeled in the people by a few turbulent Tribunes and in the nobles by a sort of ambitious Senatours and hereof doth Lucan sing that which followeth Et 〈◊〉 consulibuâ—… turbantes iura Tribuni Tribunes and Consulls troubling right at once What the history of Saluste reports of the Romains conditions both in their times of daunger and those of security CHAP. 18. THerefore I will keepe a meane and stand rather vnto the testimony of Salust himselfe who spoke this in the Romaines Praise whereof we but now discoursed that iustice and honesty preuailed as much with them by nature as by lawe extolling those times wherein the citty after the casting out of her kings grew vp to such a height in so small a space Notwithstanding al this this same author confesseth in a the very beginning of the first booke of his history that when the sway of the state was taken from the Kings and giuen to the Consuls b within a very little while after the citty grew to be greatly troubled with the oppressing power of the great ones and c the deuision of the people from the fathers vpon that cause and diuers other daungerous dissentions for hauing recorded how honestly and in what good concord the Romaines liued together d betwixt the second warre of Africa and the last and hauing showed that it was not the loue of goodnesse but the feare and distrust of the Carthaginians might and perâ—…ideousnesse that was cause of this good order and therfore that vpon this Nasica would haue Carthage stand stil vndemolished as a fit meane to debarre the entrance of iniquity into Rome and to keepe in integrity by feare he addeth presently vpon this these words e But discord auarice ambition and all such mischiefes as prosperity is midwife vnto grew vnto their full light after the destruction of Charthage intimating herein that they were sowne continued amongst the Romains before which he proues in his following reason For as for the violent offensiuenesse of the greater persons saith he and the diuision betwixt the Patricians and the Plebeians thence arising those were mischiefes amongst vs from the beginning nor was there any longer respect of equity or moderation amongst vs then whilest the kings were in expelling and the citty and state quit of Tarquin and the f great war of Hetruria Thus you see how that euen in that little space wherein after the expulsion of their Kings they embraced integrity it was onely feare that forced them to do so because they stood in dread of the warres which Tarquin vpon his expulsion being combined with the Hetrurians waged against them Now obserue what Salust addeth for after that quoth he the Senators bgan to make slaues of the people to iudge of heades g shoulders as bloudily imperiously h as the â—…ings did to chase men from their possessions only they of the whole crue of factions 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—…rial sway of al With which outrages chiefely with their extreame taxes and â—…tions the people being sore oppressed maintaining both soldiours in continuall armes and paying tribute also besides at length they stept out tooke vp armes and drew to 〈◊〉 head vpon Mount Auentine and Mount Sacer. And then they elected them 〈◊〉 and set downe other lawes but the second warre of Africa gaue end to these 〈◊〉 on both sides Thus you see in how little a while so soone after the expelling of their Kings the Romaines were become such as hee hath described them of whom notwithstanding he had affirmed that Iustice and honestie preuailed as much with them by nature as by lawe Now if those times were found to haue beene so depraued wherein the Romaine estate is reported to haue beene most vncorrupt and absolute what shall wee imagine may then bee spoken or thought of the succeeding ages which by a graduall alteration to vse the authors owne words of an honest and honorable citie became most dishonest and dishonorable namely after the dissolution of Carthage as hee himselfe relateth How he discourseth and describeth these times you may at full behold in his historie and what progresse this corruption of manners made through the midst of the Cities prosperitie euen k vntill the time of the ciuill warres But from that time forward as hee reporteth the manners of the better sort did no more fall to decay by little and little but ranne head-long to ruine like a swift torrent such excesse of luxurie and auarice entring vpon the manners of the youth that it was fitly said of Rome that she brought forth such l as would neither keepe goods them-selues nor suffer others to keepe theirs Then Salust proceeds in a discourse of Sylla's villanies and of other barbarous blemishes in the common-wealth and to his relation in this do all other writers agree in substance though m they bee all farre behinde him in phrase But here you see and so I hope doe all men that whosoeuer will obserue but this shall easilie discouer the large gulfe of damnable viciousnesse into which this Citty was fallen long before the comming of our heauenly King For these things came to passe not onely before that euer Christ our Sauiour taught in the flesh but euen before he was borne of the Virgin or tooke flesh at all Seeing therefore that they dare not impute vnto their owne gods those so many and so great mischiefes eyther the tolerable ones which they suffered before or the fouler ones which they incurred after the destruction of Carthage howsoeuer their gods are the engraffers of such maligne opinions in
king domes to good and to bad not rashly nor casually but as the time is appointed which is well knowne to him though hidden for vs vnto which appointment not-with-standing hee doth not serue but as a Lord swayeth it neuer giuing true felicitie but to the good For this both a subiects and Kings may eyther haue or wante and yet bee as they are seruants and gouernours The fulnesse indeed of it shall bee in that life where b no man shall serue And therefore here on earth hee giueth kingdomes to the bad as well as to the good least his seruants that are but yet proselites should affect them as great maâ—…ters And this is the mysterie of his olde Testament wherein the new was included that c there all the gifts and promises were of this world and of the world to come also to those that vnderstood them though the eternall good that was meant by those temporall ones were not as yet manifested nor in whâ—… gifts of God the true felicitie was resident L. VIVES SUbiects a and Stoicisme A slaue wise is a free man a King foolish a 〈◊〉 b No man shall serue Some bookes wante the whole sentence which followeâ—… And therefore c. c There all The rewards promised to the kâ—…pers of the law in the old Testament were all temporall how be it they were misticall types of the Celestiall Of the Iewes kingdome which one God alone kept vnmoued as long as they kept the truth of religion CHAP. 34. TO shew therefore that all those temporall goods which those men gape after that can dreame of no better are in Gods hands alone and in none of their Idolls therefore multiplied he his people in Aegipt from a a very few and then deliuered them from thence by miraculous wounders Their women neuer called vpon Lucina when their children multiplied vpon them incredibly and when he preserued them from the b Aegiptians that persecuted them and would haue killed all their children They suckt without Ruminas helpe slept without Cunina eate and dranke without Educa and Potica and were brought vp without any of these puppy-gods helpes married without the Nuptiall gods begot children without Priapus crossed through the diuided sea without calling vpon Neptune and left al their foes drowned behind them They dedicated no Goddesse Mannia when heauen had rained Manna for them nor worshipped the Nymphes when the rocke was cleft and the waters flowed out they vsed no Mars nor Bellona in their warres and conquered not without Victory but without making Victory a goddesse They had corne oxen hony apples without Segetia Bobona Mella or Pomona And to conclude all things that the Romaines begged of so many false gods they receiued of one true God in far happier measure had they not persisted 〈◊〉 their impious curiosity in running after strange gods as if they had beene enchaunted and lastly in killing of Christ in the same kingdome had they liued happily still if not in a larger And that they are now dispersed ouer the whole earth is gods especiall prouidence that what Alters Groues Woods and Temples of the false gods he reproueth and what sacrifices he forbiddeth might all be discerned by their bookes as their fall it selfe was foretold them by their pâ—…phets And this least the Pagans reading them with ours might thinke wee had fâ—…igned them But now to our next booke to make an end of this tedious one L. VIVES FRom a very few The Sonnes of Israell that went into Aegipt were 70. Gen. 49. b Aegiptians Here is a diuersity of reading but all one sence and so is there often else-where which I forbeare to particularize or to note all such occurences Finis lib. 4. THE CONTENTS OF THE fifth booke of the City of God 1. That neither the Romaine Empire nor any other Kingdome had any establishment from the powre of Fortune nor from the starres chapter 1. 2. Of the mutuall Sympathie and dssimillitude of the health of body and many other accidents in twinnes of one birth 3. Of Nigidius the astrologians argument in this question of the twinnes drawne from the potters wheele 4. Of Esau and Iacob two twinnes and of the diuersity of their conditions and quallities 5. How the Mathematicians may bee conuicted of professing direct vanity 6. Of twinnes of different sexes 7. Of the election of daies of marriage of planting and of sowing 8. Of their opinion that giue not the name of Fate the position of the starres but vnto the dependance of causes vpon the will of God 9. Of Gods fore-knowledge and mans freedome of election against the opinon of Cicero 10. Whether Necessity haue any dominion ouer the will of man 11. Of Gods vniuersall prouidence ruling all and comprising all 12. How the ancient Romaines obtained this encrease of their Kingdome at the true Gods hand beeing that they neuer worshipped him 13. Of ambition which beeing a vice is notwithstanding herein held a vertue that it doth restraine vices of worse natures 14. That we are to auoide this desire of humaine honour the glory of the righteous beeing wholy in God 15. Of the tempor all rewardes that God bestowed vpon the Romaines vertues and good conditions 16. Of the reward of the eternall Cittizens of heauen to whome the examples of the Romaines vertues were of good vse 17. The fruites of the Romaines warres both to themselues and to those with whom they warred 18. How farre the Christians should bee from boasting of their deedes for their eternall country the Romaines hauing done so much for their temporall city and for humaine glory 19. The difference betweene the desire of glory and the desire of rule 20. That vertue is as much disgraced in seruing humaine glory as in obeying the pleasures of the body 21. That the true God in whose hand and prouidence all the state of the world consisteth did order and dispose of the Monarchy of the Romaines 22. That the Originalls and conclusions of warres are all at Gods dispose 23. Of the battaile wherein Radagaisus an idolatrous King of the Gothes was slaine with all his army 24. The state and truth of a christian Emperors felicity 25. Of the prosperous estate that God bestowed vpon Constantine a christian Emperor 26. Of the faith and deuotion of Theodosius Emperor 27. Augustines invectiue against such as wrote against the bookes already published FINIS THE FIFTH BOOKE OF THE CITTIE OF GOD Written by Saint Augustine Bishop of Hippo vnto Marcellinus That neither the Romaine Empire nor any other Kingdome had any establishment from the power of fortune or from the starres CHAP. 1. WHereas it is apparant to all mens discretion that felicity is the hope of al humane desires and that she is no goddesse but merely the gift of a god and consequently that there is no god worthy of worshippe but he in whose power it lieth to bestow this felicity vpon men so that if shee were a goddesse herselfe the worship of al the
Terminus is already heard But the causes that Ioue swayeth are not effects but efficients nor can the facts begun or ended be before them for the agent is alwayes before the acte Wherefore let Ianus haue sway in beginnings of acts Ioue yet hath dominion in things before his For nothing is either ended or begun without a precedent efficient cause Now as for this great natures maister and cause-disposing God if the vulgar call him Ioue and adore him with such horrible imputations of villanie as they doe they had better and with lesse sacriledge beleeue no God at all They had better call any one Ioue that were worthy of these horred and hatefull horrors or set a stocke before them and call it Ioue with intent to blaspheme him as Saturne had a stone laide him to deuoure in his sonnes stead then to call him both thunderer and letcher the worlds ruler and the womens rauisher the giuer of all good causes to nature and the receiuer of all bad in himselfe Againe if Iaâ—…s bee the world I aske where Ioues seate is is our author hath said that the true Gods are but parts of the worlds soule and the soule it selfe well then hee that is not such is no true God How then Is Ioue the worlds soule and Ianus the body this visible world If it be so Ianus is no god for the worlds body is none but the soule and his parts onely witnesse them-selues So Varro saith plainly hee holds that God is the worlds soule and this soule is god But as a wise man hath body and soule and yet his name of â—…ise is onely in respect of his soule So the world hath soule and body yet is called God onely in reference to the soule So then the worlds body alone is no god but the soule either seperate or combined with the body yet so that the god-head rest onely in it selfe if Iâ—… then be the world and a god how can Ioue be a part of Ianus onely and yet so great a god for they giue more to Ioue then Ianus Iouis omnia plena all is full of Ioâ—…e say they Therefore if Ioue be a god the king of gods they cannot make any but him to bee the world because hee must reigne ouer the rest as ouer his owne parts To this purpose Varro in his booke of the worship of the gods which he published seuerall from these other set downe a distich of Valerius c Sorâ—…nus his making it is this Iupiter omnipotens regum rex ipse deusque Progenitor genitrixque deum deus vâ—…us omnis High Ioue Kings King and Parent Generall To all the gods God onely and God all These verses Varro expâ—…undeth and calling the giuer of seed the male and the receiuer the female accounted Ioue the world that both giueth all seed it selfe and receiueth it into it selfe And therefore Soranus saith hee called Ioue Progenitor genitrixque father and mother Full Parent generall to all c. and by the same reason is it that he was called one and the same all for the f world is one and all things are in that one L. VIVES IOue a or Iupiter For they are both declinable nominatiues Genetiuo Iouis and Iupâ—…ris though wee vse the nominatiue onely of the later and the other cases of the first as the Greekes doe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 b Uirgils Georgic 2. calling the inuestigators of causes happy as the Philosophers did of the Peripatetiques and Academikes Arist. Ethic. 10. Cicero de finib 5. c Soranus Mentioned by Cicero de Oratore 1. Plin. lib. 3. Solin Polihist Plut. Probl. Macrob. Saturn Seru. in Georg. 1. Hee was a learned Latine counted the best scholler of the Gowned professors Cic. de orat 1. Varro was so held also but Soranus before him as Ennius the best Poet before Uirgill Hee had honors at Rome and the tribuneship for one and because hee spoake the secret name of Rome which no man might vtter hee lost his life Pliâ—… Solin Macrob. and Plutarch though in Pompeyes life Plutarch saith that Q. Valeriâ—… the Philosopher which most vnderstood to be Soranus was put to death by Pompey But this is but at the second hand saith he from Oppius let vs beware how wee trust a friend to Caesar in a storiâ—… of Pompey Some say hee died suddenly Others that hee was crucified Seru. d Iupiter The old copies read Iupiter omnipotens regum rerumque deumque for the first verse e Gâ—…uer of seede Orph. Hymn 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. God as a man begets as woman breedes f World is So held all the best Philosophers against Anaximander Anaximenes Aristarchus Xenophanâ—…s Diogenes Leucippus Democritus and Epicurus all which held many worlds Whether Ianus and Ioue be rightly distinguished or no. CHAP. 10. WHerefore Ianus being the world and Ioue the world also and yet the world but one why then are not Ianus and Ioue one Why haue the seuerall Temples seuerall altars rites and statues all seuerall Because the originall is one thing and the cause another and therefore their names and natures are distinct herein Why how can this bee If one man haue two authorities or two sciences because they are distinct is he therefore two officers or two tradesmen So then if one GOD haue two powers ouer causes and ouer originalls must hee needs therefore be two Gods because they are two things If this may bee faith then let Ioue be as many gods as he hath surnames for his seuerall authorities for all his powers whence they are deriued are truly distinct let vs looke in a few of them and see if this be not true Of Ioues surnames referred all vnto him as one god not as to many CHAP. 11. THey called him a Victor Inâ—…incible Helper Impulsor Stator b Hundred footeâ—… the Râ—…fter c the Nourisher Ruminus and inunmerable other names too long d to rehearse All the names they gaue one God for diuers respect and powers yet did they not make him a god for each peculiar because he conquered was vnconquered helped the needy had power to inforce to stay to establish to ouerturne because he bore vp the world like a e rafter because he nourished all and as it were gaue all the world suck Marke these powers conferred with the epithites Some are of worth some idle yet one gods worke they are f all as they say I thinke there is more neerenesse of nature betweene the causes and the beginnings of things for which they make one world two gods Ianus and Ioue who they say both contayneth all and yet giueth creatures sucke yet for these two works of such different qualities is not Ioue compelled to become two gods but playeth the one part as he is Tigillus The Rafter and the other as he in Ruminus the Dugg-bearer I will not say that it were fitter for Iuno to suckle the words creatures then Iupiter especially hauing power to make a
for what pride those wicked fiendes had their fall Hence arose those routes of gods whereof partly wee haue spoken and others of other nations as well as those wee now are in hand with the Senate of selected gods selected indeed but for villany not for vertue Whose rites Varro seeking by reason to reduce to nature and to couer turpitude with an honest cloake can by no meanes make them square together because indeed the causes that hee held or would haue others hold for their worship are no such as he takes them nor causes of their worship For if they or their like were so though they should not concerne the true God nor life eternall which true religion must affoord yet their colour of reason would be some mitigation for the absurd actes of Ignorance which Varro did endeuour to bring about in diuers their theater-fables or temple-mysteries wherein hee freed not the theaters for their correspondence with the temples but condemned the temples for their correspondence with the theaters yet endeuouring with naturall reasons to wipe away the filthy shapes that those presentments imprinted in the sences Of Numa his bookes which the Senate for keeping their mysteries in secret did command should be burned CHAP. 34. BVt contrarywise we do finde as Varro himselfe said of Numa his bookes that these naturall reasons giuen for these ceremonies could no way be allowed of nor worthy of their priests reading no not so much as their secret reseruing For now I will tell yee what I promised in my third booke to relate in conuenient place One a Terentius as Varro hath it in his booke de Cultu deorum had some ground neare to mount Ianiculus and his seruants plowing neare to Nâ—… his tombe the plough turned vp some bookes conteining the ceremonies institutions b Terentius brought them into the citty to the Praetor who hauing looked in them brought this so weighty an affaire before the Senate where hauing read some of the first causes why hee had instituted this and that in their religion The Senate agreed with dead Numa and like c religious fathers gaue order to the Praetor for the burning of them Euery one here may beleeue as he list nay let any contentious mad patron of absurd vanity say here what he list Sufficeth it I shew that the causes that Nâ—… their King gaue for his owne institutions ought neither to bee shewed to people senate no nor to the Priests them-selues and that Numa by his vnlawfull 〈◊〉 came to the knowledge of such deuillish secrets as he was worthy to be 〈◊〉 â—…ded for writing of Yet though hee were a King that feared no man hee duâ—… for all that either publish them or abolish them publish them he would noâ—…â—…are of teaching wickednesse burne them he durst not for feare of offendiâ—… deuils so he buried them where he thought they would be safe d not 〈◊〉 â—…he turning vp of his graue by a plough But the Senate fearing to reâ—… their ancestors religion and so agreeing with Numa's doctrine yet held 〈◊〉 â—…kes too pernicious either to bee buried againe least mens madder cuâ—… should seeke them out or to bee put to any vse but burning to the end 〈◊〉 seeiâ—…g they must needs stick to their old superstition they might doe it with â—…ame by concealing the causes of it whose knowledge would haue disturâ—… whole cittie L. VIVES 〈◊〉 Terentius The storie is written by Liuy Ualerius Plutarch and Lactantius Liuy 〈◊〉 â—…erius his ordinary follower say that Q. Petilius found the bookes Pliny out of 〈◊〉 that Gn. Terentius found them in one chest not two Liuy calles that yeares 〈◊〉 C. Bebius Pamphilus and M. Amilius Lepidus for whom Hemina putteth P. Corâ—…â—…gus after Numa his reigne DXXXV of the bookes the seuerall opinions are 〈◊〉 13. cap. 13. b Terentius Petilius they sayd some say he desired the Pretor they 〈◊〉 â—…ead others that he brought a Scriuener to read them The historie in Liuy lib. 40. 〈◊〉 and Plinie lib. 1. 'T is sufficient to shew the places He saith he brought them inâ—… for though Numa's tombe were in the cittie namely in the foureteenth region 〈◊〉 yet being beyond Tyber such as came to the Senate house seemed to come out 〈◊〉 â—…bes or countrie c Religious fathers as touched with feare that religion should 〈◊〉 by the publication of those bookes Some read religious in reference vnto bookes 〈◊〉 â—…ng scruples of religion in mens mindes for that is the signification of the Latine 〈◊〉 any man will read it irreligious d Not fearing It was a great and religious 〈◊〉 â—…as had ouer Sepulchers of old none might violate or pull them downe it was a 〈◊〉 twelue tables and also one of Solons and Numa's of most old law-giuers Greekes â—…es belonging rather to their religion then their ciuill law for they held Sepulchers 〈◊〉 â—…les of th' Infernall gods and therefore they wrote vpon them these letters D. M. S. 〈◊〉 â—…anibus sacrum A place sacred to the gods of Hell and their sollemnities were 〈◊〉 â—…cia Cicero de legib lib. 2. Of Hydromancie whereby Numa was mocked with apparitions CHAP. 35. 〈◊〉 Nâ—…ma him-selfe being not instructed by any Prophet or Angell of God 〈◊〉 faine to fall to d Hydromancie making his gods or rather his deuills to 〈◊〉 in water and instruct him in his religious institutions Which kinde of 〈◊〉 â—…n saith Varro came from Persia and was vsed by Numa and afterwards 〈◊〉 â—…thagoras wherein they vsed bloud also and called forth spirits infernall 〈◊〉 â—…ncie the greekes call it but Necromancie or Hydromancie whether ye like 〈◊〉 it is that the dead seeme to speake How they doe these things looke they 〈◊〉 for I will not say that their lawes prohibited the vse of such things in 〈◊〉 cities before the comming of our Sauiour I doe not say so perhaps they 〈◊〉 allowed it But hence did Numa learne his ordinances which he published 〈◊〉 publishing their causes so afraide was he of that which he had learned 〈◊〉 which afterward the Senate burned But why then doth Varro giue them such a sort of other naturall reasons which had they beene in Numa's bookes they had 〈◊〉 beene burned or else Varro's that were dedicated to c Caesar the priest should haue beene burned for company So that Numa's hauing nymph a â—…ia to his wife was as Varro saith nothing but his vse of water in Hydromâ—…cy For so vse actions to bee spiced with falshood and turned into fables So by that Hydromancy did this curious King learne his religious lawes that hee gaue the Romaines and which the Priests haue in their bookes marry for their causes them hee learned also but kept to himselfe and after a sort entoumbed them in death with himselfe such was his desire to conceale them from the world So then either were these bookes filled with the deuills best all desires and thereby all the politique Theology that presenteth them such filthynesses made
and Phoronis the first they picture with Erected priuities for hauing beheld Proserpina the later the Laebadians worshippe in a caue and cal him Trophonius n Trismegistus As the French say trespuissant and we thrice mighty But the latter wrot not Trismegistus but his grand-father did yet both were called Hermes Trismegistus The first Theut was a great king a great Priest a Philosopher Thus it pleaseth some to describe his greatnesse o Isis. Isis Osiris do much good saith Hermes his booke p In both their natures Hermes had it without nature extra naturam q Adored The Egyptians had innumerable things to their gods Garlike and Onions by which they swore as Pliny saith and many creatures after whome they named their citties Crocodilopolâ—…s Lycopolis Leontopolls and Lâ—…polis vpon the crocodyle the wolfe the lion and the place-fish So Apis first instituting the adoration of the Oxe was adored himselfe in an oxes shape Mercury in a dogs Isis in a cowes Diodorus writeâ—…h that their leaders wore such crests on their helmets Anubis a dog Alexander the great a wolfe c. whence the reuerence of those creatures first arose and therevpon those Princes being dead they ordained them diuine worships in those shapes This is that which Mercury saith their soules were adored that in their liues had ordayned honor to those creatures as indeed the Princes wearing them on their helmes and sheelds made them venerable and respected and the simple people thought that much of their victories came from them and so set them vp as deities Of the Honor that Christians giue to the Martires CHAP. 27. YEt we erect no temples alters nor sacrifices to the martirs because not they but their god is our God wee honor their memories as Gods Saints standing till death for the truth that the true religion might be propagated and all Idolatry demolished whereas if any others had beleeued right before them yet feare forbad them confesse it And who hath euer heard the Priest at the altar that was built vp in gods honor and the martires memories say ouer the body I offer vnto thee Peter or vnto thee Paul or a Cyprian hee offers to God in the places of their memorialls whome God had made men and martirs and aduanced them into the society of his Angells in heauen that wee at that sollemnity may both giue thanks to God for their victories and bee incouraged to endeuor the attainement of such crownes and glories as they haue already attained still inuocating him at their memorialls wherefore all the religious performances done there at the martires sollemnities are ornaments of their memories but no sacrifices to the dead as vnto gods and b those that bring banquets thether which notwithstanding the better Christians do not not is this custome obserued in most places yet such as do so setting them downe praying ouer them and so taking them away to eate or bestow on those that neede all this they do onely with a desire that these meates might be sanctified by the martirs in the god of martirs name But hee that knoweth the onely sacrifices that the Christians offer to God c knoweth also that these are no sacrifices to the Martires wherefore we neither worshippe our Martires with Gods honors nor mens crimes neither offer them sacrifices nor turne their d disgraces into any religion of theirs As for Isis Osiris his wife and the Aegyptian goddesse and her parents that haue beene recorded to haue beene all mortall to whome she sacrificing e found three graines of barley and shewed it vnto her husband and Hermes her counsellour and so they will haue her to be Ceres also what grosse absurdities are hereof recorded not by Potes but their own Priests as Leon shewed to Alexander and he to his mother Olimpia let them read that list and remember that haue read and then but consider vnto what dead persones and dead persons workes their diuinest honors were exhibited God forbid they should in the least respect compare them with our Martirs whome neuerthelesse wee account no gods wee make no priests to sacrifice vnto them it is vnlawfull vndecent and Gods proper due neither do wee please them with their owne crimes or obscaene spectacles whereas they celebrate both the guilt that there gods incurred who were men and the fayned pleasures of such of them as were flat deuills If Socrates had had a god he should not haue bin of this sort But such perhaps as loued to excell in this damnable art of making gods thrust such an one vpon him being an inocent honest man and vnskilfull in this their pernicious practise What need wee more none that hath his wits about him will now hold that these spirits are to be adored for the attainement of eternall blisse in the life to come Perhaps they will say that all the gods are good but of these spirits some are good and some badde and that by those that are good wee may come to eternity and therefore ought to adore them well to rip vp this question the next booke shall serue the turne L. VIVES OR a Cyprian Bishoppe of Carthage most learned as wittnesse his holy works Heâ—… receiued the crowne of Martirdome vnder Ualerian so Pontius his Deacon writeth b Thâ—…se A great custome in Afrike Aug. confess lib. 6. where he saith that his mother at Millaine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—…otage and bread and wine to the Martirs shrines and gaue them to the porter Bâ—… Ambrose forbad her both for that it might bee an occasion of gluttony and for the resemblance it had with paganisme c Knoweth also Many Christians offend in not distinguishing betweene their worship of God and the Saints nor doth their opinion of the Saints want much of that the Pagans beleeued of their gods yet impious was Uigilantius to bar the Martirs all honor and fond was Eunomius to forbeare the Churches least hee should bee compelled to adore the dead The Martyres are to be reuerenced but not adored as god is Hieron câ—…tra vigilant d Disgraces But now euen at the celebration of Christs passion and our redemption it is a custome to present plaies almost as vile as the old stage-games should I be â—…lent the very absurdity of such shewes in so reuerend a matter would condemne it sufficiently There Iudas plaieth the most ridiculous Mimike euen then when he betraies Christ. There the Apostles run away and the soldiors follow and all resounds with laughter Then comes Peter and cuttes off Malchus care and then all rings with applause as if Christs betraying were now reuenged And by and by this great fighter comes and for feare of a girle denies his Maister all the people laughing at her question and hissing at his deniall and in all these reuells and ridiculous stirres Christ onely is serious and seuere but seeking to mooue passion and 〈◊〉 in the audience hee is so farre from that that hee is cold euen in the diuinest matters to the
set vp vpon a pole herein beeing both a present helpe for the hurt and a type of the future destruction of death by death in the passion of Christ crucified The brazen serpent beeing for this memory reserued and afterward by the seduced people adored as an Idol Ezechias a religious King to his great praise brake in peeces L. VIVES IN a the same This Augustine Retract lib. 2. recanteth In the tenth booke saith he speaking of this worke the falling of the fire from heauen betweene Abrahams diuided sacrifices is to bee held no miracle For it was reuealed him in a vision Thus farre he Indeed it was 〈◊〉 miracle because Abraham woudered not at it because he knew it would come so to passe and so it was no nouelty to him Of vnlawfull artes concerning the deuils worship whereof Porphyry approoueth some and disalloweth others CHAP. 9. THese and multitudes more were done to commend the worship of one God vnto vs and to prohibite all other And they were done by pure faith and confident piety not by charmes and coniuration trickes of damned curiosity by Magike or which is in name worse by a Goetia or to call it more honorably b Theurgie which who so seekes to distinguish which none can they say that the damnable practises of all such as wee call witches belong to the Goetie mary the effects of Theurgy they hold lawdable But indeede they are both damnable and bound to the obseruations of false filthy deuills in stead of Angells Porphyry indeed promiseth a certaine purging of the soule to be done by Theurgy but he d fâ—…ers and is ashamed of his text hee denies vtterly that one may haue any recourse to God by this arte thus floteth he betweene the surges of sacrilegious curiosity and honest Philosophy For now he condemneth it as doubtfull perilous prohibited and giues vs warning of it and by and by giuing way to the praisers of it hee saith it is vsefull in purging the soule not in the intellectuall part that apprehendeth the truth of intelligibilities abstracted from all bodily formes but the e spirituall that apprehendeth all from corporall obiects This hee saith may be prepared by certaine Theurgike consecrations called f Teletae to receiue a spirit or Angell by which it may see the gods Yet confesseth hee that these Theurgike Teletae profit not the intellectuall part a iot to see the owne God and receiue apprehensions of truth Consequently we see what sweete apparitions of the gods these Teletae can cause when there can bee no truth discerned in these visions Finally he saith the reasonable soule or as he liketh better to say the intellectuall may mount aloft though the spirituall part haue no Thâ—…ke preparation and if the spirituall doe attaine such preparation yet it is thereby made capable of eternity For though he distinguish Angells and Daemones placing these in the ayre and those in the g skie and giue vs counsell to get the amity of a Daemon whereby to mount from the earth after death professing no other meanes for one to attaine the society of the Angells yet doth hee in manner openly professe that a Daemons company is dangerous saying that the soule beeing plagued for it after death abhorres to adore the Daemones that deceiued it Nor can he deny that this Theurgy which hee maketh as the league betweene the Gods and Angells dealeth with those deuillish powers which either enuy the soules purgation or els are seruile to them that enuy it A Chaldaean saith he a good man complained that all his endeuour to purge his soule was frustrate by reason a great Artyst enuying him this goodnesse a diured the powers hee was to deale with by holy inuocations and bound them from granting him any of his requests So hee bound them saith hee and this other could not loose them Here now is a plaine proofe that Theurgie is an arte effecting euill as well as good both with the gods and men and that the gods are wrought vpon by the same passions and perturbations that Apuleius laies vpon the deuills and men alike who notwithstanding following Plato in that acquits the gods from all such matters by their hight of place being celestiall L. VIVES BY a Goetia It is enchantment a kinde of witch-craft Goetia Magia and Pharmacia saith Suidas are diuers kindes inuented all in Persia. Magike is the inuocation of deuills but those to good endes as Apollonius Tyaneus vsed in his presages Goetie worketh vpon the dead by inuocation so called of the noyse that the practisers hereof make about graues Pharmacia worketh all by charmed potions thereby procuring death Magike and Astrology Magusis they say inuented And the Persian Mages had that name from their countrimen and so had they the name of Magusii Thus farre Suidas b Theurgy It calleth out the superior gods wherein when wee erre saith Iamblichus then doe not the good gods appeare but badde ones in their places So that a most diligent care must bee had in this operation to obserue the priests old tradition to a haires bredth c Witches Many hold that witches and charmes neuer can hurt a man but it is his owne conceite that doth it Bodies may hurt bodies naturally saith Plato de leg lib. 11. and those that goe about any such mischiefe with magicall enchantments or bondes as they call them thinke they can hurt others and that others by art Goetique may hurt them But how this may bee in nature is neither easie to know not make others know though men haue a great opinion of the power of Images and therefore let this stand for a lawe If any one doe hurt another by empoysoning though not deadly nor any of his house or family but his cattell or his bees if hee hurt them howsoeuer beeing a Phisition and conuict of the guilt let him die the death if hee did it ignorantly let the iudges fine or punish him at their pleasures If any one bee conuicted of doing such hurt by charmes or incantations if hee bee a priest or a sooth-saier let him die the death but if any one doe it that is ignorant of these artes let him bee punishable as the law pleaseth in equity Thus farre Plato de legib lib 11. Porphyry saith that the euill Daemones are euermore the effectors of witch-crafts and that they are chiefly to bee adored that ouerthrow them These deuills haue all shapes to take that they please and are most cunning and couzening in their prodigious shewes these also worke in these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 those vnfortunate loues all intemperancy couetice and ambition doe these supplie men with and especially with deceipt for their propriety most especiall is lying De animal abst lib. 2. d Falters As seeing the deuills trickes in these workes selling themselues to vs by those illusiue operations But Iamblichus beeing initiate and as hee thought more religious held that the arte was not wholy reproueable beeing of that industrie
that both the world and the gods made by that great GOD in the world had a beginning but shall haue no end but by the will of the creator endure for euer But they haue a b meaning for this they say this beginning concerned not time but substitution for c euen as the foote say they if it had stood eternally in the dust the foote-step should haue beene eternall also yet no man but can say some foote made this step nor should the one be before the other though one were made by the other So the world and the God there-in haue beene euer coeternall with the creators eternitie though by him created Well then put case the soule bee and hath beene eternall hath the soules misery beene so also Truly if there be some-thing in the soule that had a temporall beginning why might not the soule it selfe haue a beginning also And then the beatitude being firmer by triall of euill and to endure for euer questionlesse had a beginning though it shall neuer haue end So then the position that nothing can be endlesse that had a temporall beginning is quite ouer-throwne For the blessednesse of the soule hath a beginning but it shall neuer haue end Let our weaknesse therefore yeeld vnto the diuine authoritie and vs trust those holy immortalls in matter of religion who desire no worship to them-selues as knowing all is peculiar to their and our God nor command vs to sacrifice but vnto him to whom as I said often and must so still they and wee both are a sacrifice to be offered by that priest that tooke our manhood and in that this priesthood vpon him and sacrificed himselfe euen to the death for vs. L. VIVES ANd a necessary Plato subiects the soule both in the body and without the body vnto the power of the fates that after the reuolution of life death must come and after the purification of the soule life againe making our time in the body vncertaine but freeing vs from the body a 1000. years This reuolution they held necessary because God creating but a seâ—…nuÌ„ber of soules in the beginning the world should otherwise want men to inhabite it it being so 〈◊〉 and we so mortall This Virgill more expresly calls a wheele which being once turned about restores the life that it abridged and another turning taking it away againe both brâ—… things to one course This from death to death that from life to life but that worketh by death and this by life b A meaning It is well knowne that Plato held that God created the world But the question is whether it began temporally some yeares ago or had no temâ—…ll beginning Plutarch Atticus and Seuerus held that Plato's world had a beginning â—…porall but was neuer to haue end But Crantor Plotine Porphyry Iamblichus Proculus and 〈◊〉 all Platonists thought that it neuer beganne nor neuer should haue end So doth 〈◊〉 adioyning this and Pythagoras his opinion in one for Plato Pythagorized in all naâ—… questions This Cicero Iustine Martir and Boetius doe subscribe vnto also Plato â—…th Apuleius de deo Socrat. held all these gods to bee true incorporeall liuing and eternall 〈◊〉 neither beginning nor end Yet Apuleius in his Dogma Platonis affirmes that Plaâ—… taught vncertainely concerning the worlds beginning saying one while it had an origiâ—… and another while it had none c Euen as Our Philosophers disputing of an 〈◊〉 that is coequall in time and beeing with the cause compare them to the Sunne and the 〈◊〉 light Of the vniuersall way of the soules freedome which Porphyry sought amisse and therefore found not that onely Christ hath declared it CHAP. 32. THis is the religion that containes the vniuersall way of the soules freedome â—…or no where els is it found but herein This is the a Kings high way that leads to the eternall dangerlesse Kingdome to no temporall or transitory one And â—…reas Porphyry saith in the end of his first booke De regressu animae that there 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one sect yet either truely Philosophicall b Indian or Chaldaean that teachetâ—… this vniuersall way and that hee hath not had so much as any historicall reaâ—… of it yet hee confesseth that such an one there is but what it is hee knoweth 〈◊〉 So insufficient was all that hee had learnt to direct him to the soules true â—…me and all that himselfe held or others thought him hold for he obserâ—… want of an authority fit for him to follow But whereas hee saith that 〈◊〉 of the true Philosophy euer had notice of the vniuersall way of the soules 〈◊〉 he shewes plaine that either his owne Phylosophy was not true or els 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 wanted the knowledge of this way and then still how could it be true for 〈◊〉 vniuersall way of freeing the soules is there but that which freeth all soules 〈◊〉 coÌ„nsequently without which none is freed But whereas he addeth Indian or Chaldaean he giues a cleare testimony that neither of their doctrines contaiâ—… this way of the soules freedome yet could not he coâ—…ceale but is stil a telling 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from the Chaldaeans had hee the diuine oracles What vniuersall way 〈◊〉 doth hee meane that is neither receiued in Philosophy nor into those Paâ—… disciplines that had such a stroke with him in matters of diuinity because 〈◊〉 with them did the curious fond superstition inuocation of all Angells 〈◊〉 which he neuer had so much as read of What is that vniuersall way not peculiar to euery perticuler nation but common to c all the world and giuen to it by the power of God Yet this witty Philosopher knew that some such way thers was For hee beleeues not that Gods prouidence would leaue man-kinde without a meane of the soules freedome He saith not there is no such but that so great and good an helpe is not yet knowne to vs nor vnto him no meruell for Prophyry was yet all d for the world when that vniuersall way of the soules freedome christianity was suffered to be opposed by the deuills and their seruants earthly powers to make vp the holy number of Martires e that is witnesses of the truth who might shew that all corporall tortures were to be endured for aduancement of the truth of piety This Porphyry saw and thinking persecution would soone extinguish this way therefore held not this the vniuersall not conceiuing that that which he stucke at and feared to endure in his choice belonged to his greater commendation and confirmation This therefore is that vniuersal way of the soules freedome that is granted vnto all nations out of Gods mercy the knowledge whereof commeth and is to come vnto all men wee may not nor any hereafter say why f commeth it so soone or why so late for his wisdome that doth send it is vnsearcheable vnto man Which he well perceiued when he sayd it was not yet receiued or knowne vnto him he denied not the truth thereof because he as yet had it
saith they did eâ—…e flesh n Wee see many creatures Dogges Crowes and Foxes when they want flesh will eate fruites Figges and Chest-nuts especially and liue as well with them as with all the flesh in the world Finis lib. 15. THE CONTENTS OF THE sixteenth booke of the City of God 1. Whether there be any families of Gods citiâ—…ns named betweene Noah and Abraham 2. What prophetique misteries were in the sâ—…es of Noah 3. Of the generations of the three sonnes of Noah 4. Of the confusion of tongues and the building of Babilon 5. Of Gods comming downe to confound the language of those Tower-builders 6. The manner how GOD speaketh to his Angells 7. Whether the remote Iles were supplied with the beasts of al sorts that were saued in the Arke 8. Whether Adams or Noaths sonnes begot any monstrous kindes of men 9. Whether their bee any inhabitants of the 〈◊〉 called the Antipodes 10. Of the generation of Sem in which the City of God lyeth downe vnto Abraham 11. That the Hebrew tongue so called afterâ—… of Heber was the first language vpon 〈◊〉 and remayned in his family when that great confusion was 12. Of that point of time wherein the Citty 〈◊〉 GOD began a new order of succession in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Why there is no mention of Nachor Thaâ—… 〈◊〉 in his departure from Caldea into Meâ—…ia 14. Of the age of Thara who liued in Charra vntill his dyinge day 15. Of the time wherein Abraham receiued the promise from God departed from Charra 16. The order and quality of Gods promises made vnto Abraham 17. Of the three most eminent kingdomes of 〈◊〉 world the cheefe of which in Abrahams 〈◊〉 â—…as most excellent of all 18. Of Gods second promise to Abraham that 〈◊〉 his seed should possesse the land of Canaan 19. How God preserued Saras chastity in Egipt when Abraham would not be knowne that she was his wife but his sister 20. Of the seperation of Lot and Abraham without breach of charity or loue betweene 〈◊〉 21. Of Gods third promse of the land of Caâ—… to Abraham and his seede for euer 22. How Abraham ouerthrew the enemies of 〈◊〉 â—…mits freed Lot from captiuity and was â—…ed by Melchisedech the Priest 23. Of Gods promise to Abraham that hee would make his seed as the starres of heauen and that he was iustified by faith before his circumsision 24. Of the signification of the sacrifice which Abraham was commanded to offer when he desired to be confirmed in the thâ—…gs he beleeued 25. Of Agar Saras bondwoman whome shee gaue as concâ—…e vnto Abraham 26. Of Gods promise vnto Abraham that Sara though she were olâ—… should haue a son that should be the father of the â—…tion and how this promise was sealed in the mistery of circumsision 27. Of the man-child that if it were not circumsised the eighâ—… day it perished for breaking of Gods couenant 28. Of the changing of Abrahams and Saras names who being the one to barrâ—… and both too old to haue children yet by Gods bounty were both made fruitfull 29. Of the three men or Angells wkerin God appeared to Abraham in the plaine of mambrâ—… 30. Lots deliuerance Sodomes distruction Abimaleches lust and Sarahs chastity 31. Of Isaac borne the time prefixed and named so because of his parents laughter 32. Abrahams faith and obedience proued in his intent to offer his sonne Sarahs death 33. Of Rebecca Nachers neece whom Isaac married 34. Abrahams marrying Keturah after Sarahs death and the meaning thereof 35. The appointment of God concerning the two twins in Rebeca's woombe 36. Of a promise and blessing receiued by Isaac in the manner that Abraham had receiued his 37. Of Esau and Iacob and the misteries included in them both 38. Of Iacobs iourny into Mesopotamia for a wife his vision in the night as he went his returne with foure women whereas hee went but for one 39. Iacob enstiled Israel The reason of this change 40. Iacobs departure into Egipt with seuenty fiue soules how to bee taken seeing some of them were borne afterwards 41. Iacobs blessing vnto his sonne Iudah 42. Of Iacobs changing of his hands from the heads of Iosephs sons when he blessed them 43 Of Moyses his times â—…osua the Iudges the Kings Sâ—…ule the first 〈◊〉 Dauid the cheefe both in merrit and in misticall reference FINIS THE SIXTEENTH BOOKE OF THE CITTIE OF GOD Written by Saint Augustine Bishop of Hippo vnto Marcellinus Whether there be any families of Gods cittizens named betweene Noah and Abraham CHAP. 1. TO finde in the euidences of holy writ whether the Glorious Citty of GOD continued on in a good course after the deluged or through the second inundation of impiety was so interrupted as Gods religion lay wholy vnrespected is a very difficult matter because that in all the canonicall scriptures after that Noah and his three sonnes with his and their wiues were saued by the Arke from their deluge we cannot finde any one person vntill Abrahams time euidently commended for his piety only Noahs propheticall blessing of his two sonnes Sem and Iaphet wee doe see and know that he knew what was to follow along time after Wherevpon he cursed his middlemost sonne who had offended him not in himselfe hee layd not I say the curse vpon himselfe but vpon his grand-child saying Cursed be Canaan a seruant of seruants shall hee be vnto his brethren This Canaan was Chams sonne his that did not couer but rather discouer his fathers nakednesse a And then did he second this with a blessing vpon his eldest sonnes saying blessed be the Lord God of Sem and let Canaan be his seruant The Lord make Iaphet reioyce b that he may dwell in the tents of Sem all which together with Noahs planting a vine-yeard beeing drunken with the wine and vncouered in his sleepe all those circumstances haue their propheticall interpretations and mysticall references L. VIVES ANd a then A diuersity of reading the best lies before you b That he may dwel Hierome saith it is meant of the Christians who expelling the Iewes doe dwell and inioye the light of the holy scriptures What prophetique misteries were in the sonnes of Noah CHAP. 2. BVt their true euent hath now cleared their former obscurity for what diligent obseruer sees them not all in Christ Sem of whose seed Christs humâ—…nity came is interpreted Named And who is more named then Christ whose name is now so fragrant that the propheticall Canticle compareth it to an 〈◊〉 powred out in whose houses that is in whose churches the diffused nations shall inhabite For Iaphet is diffused But Cham who is interpreted hotte Noaâ—…s middle sonne beeing as distinct from both and remayning betweene both beeing neither of the first fruites of Israell nor of the fullnesse of the nations what is hee but a type of our hotte heretiques not hotte in the spirit of wisdome but of a turne-coate suttletie that burneth in their hearts to the
LORD shall weaken his aduersaries and make them be conquered by those whom Hee the most Holy hath made holy also i and therefore let not the wise glory in his wisdome the mighty in his might nor the ritch in his ritches but let their glory be to know God and to execute his iudgements and iustice vpon earth Hee is a good proficient in the knowledge of God that knoweth that God must giue him the meanes to know God For what hast thou saith the Apostle which thou hast not receiued that is what hast thou of thine owne to boast of Now hee that doth right executeth iudgement and iustice and hee that liueth in Gods obedience and the end of the command namely in a pure loue a good conscience and an vnfained faith But this loue as the Apostle Iohn saith is of God Then to do iudgement and iustice is of God but what is on the earth might it not haue beene left out and it haue only bin said to do iudgement and iustice the precept would bee more common both to men of land and sea but least any should thinke that after this life there were a time elsewhere to doe iustice and iudgement in and so to auoide the great iudgement for not doing them in the flesh therefore in the earth is added to confine those acts within this life for each man beareth his earth about with him in this world and when hee dieth bequeaths it to the great earth that must returne him it at the resurrection In this earth therefore in this fleshly body must we doe iustice and iudgement to doe our selues good hereafter by when euery one shall receiue according to his works done in the body good or bad in the body that is in the time that the body liued for if a man blaspheme in heart though he do no â—…urt with any bodily meÌ„ber yet shal not he be vnguilty because though he did it not in his body yet hee did it in the time wherein hee was in the body And so many we vnderstand that of the Psalme The Lord our King hath wrought 〈◊〉 in the midest of the earth before the beginning of the world that is the Lord Iesus our God before the beginning for he made the beginning hath wrought saluation in the midst of the earth namely then when the word became flesh and 〈◊〉 corporally amongst vs. But on Annah hauing shewen how each man ought to glory viz. not in himselfe but in God for the reward that followeth the great iudgement proceedeth thus l The Lord went vp vnto heauen and hath thundred he shall iudge the ends of the worlds and shall giue the power vnto our Kings and exalt the horne of his annoynted This is the plaine faith of a Christian. Hee 〈◊〉 into heauen and thence hee shall come to iudge the quicke and dead for who is â—…ded saith the Apostle but he who first descended into the inferiour parts of the earth Hee thundred in the clouds which hee filled with his holy spirit in his â—…ntion from which clouds he threatned Hierusalem that vngratefull vine to 〈◊〉 no rayne vpon it Now it is said Hee shall iudge the ends of the world that is the ends of men for he shall iudge no reall part of earth but onely all the men thereof nor iudgeth hee them that are changed into good or bad in the meane 〈◊〉 but m as euery man endeth so shall he beiudged wherevpon the scripture 〈◊〉 He that commeth vnto the end shall be safe hee therefore that doth iâ—…ce in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the earth shall not be condemned when the ends of the earth are 〈◊〉 And shall giue power vnto our Kings that is in not condemning them by â—…gement hee giueth them power because they rule ouer the flesh like Kings 〈◊〉 â—…quer the world in him who shed his blood for them And shall exalt the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his anoynted How shall Christ the annoynted exalt the horne of his anâ—… It is of Christ that those sayings The Lord went vp to heauen c. are all 〈◊〉 so is this same last of exalting the horne of his annoynted Christ thereâ—… exalt the horne of his annoynted that is of euery faithfull seruant of his as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 first my horne is exalted in the Lord for all that haue receiued the vncâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 grace may wel be called his annoynted al which with their head make 〈◊〉 annoynted This Anna prophisied holy Samuels mother in whome the 〈◊〉 of ancient priesthood was prefigured and now fulfilled when as the woâ—… 〈◊〉 many sonnes was enfeebled that the barren which brougt forth seuen 〈◊〉 â—…eceiue the new priesthood in Christ. L. VIVES SHâ—… that a had Multa in filiis b Nor had she The first booke of Samuel agreeth with 〈◊〉 but Iosephus vnlesse the booke be falty saith she had sixe three sons and three 〈◊〉 after Samuel but the Hebrewes recken Samuels two sonnes for Annahs also being 〈◊〉 â—…dchildren and Phamuahs seauen children died seuerally as Annahs and her sonne 〈◊〉 â—…ere borne c And my horne Some read mine heart but falsely the greeke is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 preachers there are Or nor in such as are bound by calling to bee his preachers the 〈◊〉 â—…py readeth but in his called prechers e No man knoweth Both in his foreknowledge 〈◊〉 â—…owlege of the secrets of mans heart f Are hired out The seauenty read it are 〈◊〉 g For the begger It seemes to be a word of more indigence then poore the latine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—…ops or helpelesse hauing no reference in many places to want of mony but of 〈◊〉 Gâ—…rg 1. Terent. Adelpe Act. 2. scena 1. Pauper saith Uarro is quasi paulus lar c. 〈◊〉 â—…gens h The Greeke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is both his and his owne the Greekes do not distinâ—… two as we doe i Let not the. This is not the vulgar translation of the Kings but 〈◊〉 cha 9. the 70. put it in them both but with some alteration It is an vtter subuersion 〈◊〉 God respects not wit power or wealth those are the fuell of mans vaine glory but let 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—…th as Paule saith glory in the Lord and by a modest and equall thought of himselfe continually For so shall he neuer be pride-swollen for the knowledge of God that charity seasoneth neuer puffeth vp if we consider his mercies and his iudgements his loue and his wrath togither with his maiesty k And to doe iudgement The seauenty read this one way in the booke of Samuel and another way in Hieremy attributing in the first vnto the man that glorieth and in the later vnto God l The Lord went vp This is not in the vulgar vntill you come vnto this and he shall iudge Augustine followed the LXX and so did all that age almost in all the churches m As euery man As I finde thee so will I iudge thee The Prophets words vnto Heli the priest signifying the taking
The words of the Lord are pure words as sil â—…ied in the fire what is his words now that boweth to this Gods Priest and 〈◊〉 â—…od and Priest place me in some of fice about the Priest-hood that I may eate a morâ—… bread I will not haue my fathers honours they are nothing but place me any 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thy Priest-hood I would faine be a dore keeper or any thing in thy seruice and 〈◊〉 thy people for Priest-hood is put heere for the people to whom Christ the â—…or is the high Priest which people the Apostle called an holy nation and a royall Priest-hood Some read k Sacrifice in the former place for Priest-hood all is one both signifie the christian flocke Whereof S. Paul saith Being many 〈◊〉 are all one bread and one body and againe l Giue vp your bodies a liuing sacrifice So then the addition that I may eate a morsel of bread is a direct expression of the sacrifice whereof the Priest himselfe saith the bread which I will giue is my flesh c. This is the sacrifice not after the order of Aaron but of Melchisedech hee that readeth let him vnderstand So then these words Place me in some office about thy priest-hood that I may eate a morsell of bread are a direct and succinct confession of the faith this is the halfe penny of siluer because it is briefe and it is Gods word that dwelleth in the house of the beleeuer for hauing said before that hee had giuen Aarons house meate of the offring of the house of Israel which were the sacrifices of the Iewes in the Old Testament therefore addeth hee the eating of bread in this conclusion which is the sacrifice of the New Testament L. VIVES HIs a name It was Phinees â—…ay the Iewes or Helias Hierome b An Ephod Of this read Hierome Ad Marcellam Contra Iouinian Ad Fabiolam The Greekes called it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ioseph de Antiq. Iud. lib. 3. So do the LXX Ruffinus translateth it Superhumerale and it was open at the sides from the arme-pits downe-wards The high Priest onely wore such an one and it was embrothered with gold and silke of diuers collours The Leuits had a garment like it but that was of linnen Such an one did Anna make for Samuel and such an one did Dauid dance in before the Arke And herevpon I thinke our Rabbines or most Doctor-like sort of Friers haue got the tricke of wearing such â—…esture hanging loose from the shoulders as a badge of their super-eminent knowledg and then your Ciuilian and Pâ—…isitian in emulation of them got vp the like But the Seauenty call it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c Honorest So was it in the time when the Iewes priests grew wealthy and so is it now with vs for who seeketh into the priest-hood for Godlinesse rather then gaine as the world goeth now and what sonne is perswaded by the father vnto an ecclesiasticall habite but onely in hope of ritches what â—…est thinketh he doth not well to sit and spend the churches goods as they call them frankly with his sonnes if he haue them and haue them hee will vnlesse he bee an Eunuch his brethren his sisters and his cousins let the poore goe shift where they can Thus thus will it bee whilest ritches rule in the hearts of men d To blesse The vulgar is not so read it each one hath the bookes I must proceed e An old man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an high priest saith Hierome f Romaines A diuersity of reading but nihil ad rem g Though Samuel His father was a leuite Chron. 1. 6. his mother of the tribe of Iudah This place Augustine recalleth thus whereas I said hee was not of the sons of Aaron I should haue said hee was none of the priests sonnes And they most commonly succeeded their fathers in the Priest-hood but Samuels father was of Aarons seede but he was no Priest nor of his seed otherwise then all the Iewes were the seed of Iacob Retractation lib. 2. h Prophecy and history And though these words seemed to another purpose yet aimed they at Christ. i We should thinke So thought by the Anthropomorphites k Sacrifiâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is both but rather Priest-hood l Giue vp This is not in some copies yet is it befitting this place The promise of the Priest-hood of the Iewes and their kingdome to stand eternally not fulfilled in that sort that other promises of that vnbounded nature are CHAP. 6. ALthough these things were theÌ„ as deeply prophecied as they now are plainly fulfilled yet some may put this doubt how shall we expect all the eueâ—… therein presaged when as this that the Lord said thine house and thy fathers 〈◊〉 shall walke before me for euer can bee no way now effected the priest-hood being now quite abolished nor any way expected because that eternity is promised to the priest-hood that succeded it hee that obiecteth this conceiueâ—… not that Aarons priesthood was but a type shadow of the others future priesthood and therfore that the eternity promised to the shaddow was due but vnto the substance onely and that the change was prophecyed to auoyde this supposition of the shadowes eternity for so the kingdome of Saul the reprobate was a shadow of the kingdome of eternity to come the oyle where-with he was annoynted was a great and reuerend mistery which Dauid so honored that when hee was hid in the darke caue into which Saule came to ease himselfe of the burden of nature he was affraid and onely cut off a peece of his skirt to haue a token whereby to shew him how causelesse he supected him and persecuted him hee feared I say for doing thus much least he had wronged the mistery of Sauls being annoynted Hee was touched in heart saith the Scripture for cutting off the a skirt of his rayment b His men that were with him perswaded him to take his time Saul was now in his hands strike sure The Lord kepe me saith he from doing so vnto my maister the Lords annoynted to lay mine hands on him for he is the annointed of the Lord. Thus honored hee this figure not for it selfe but for the thing it shaddowed And therefore these words of Samuel vnto Saule The Lord had prepared thee a kingdome for euer in Israel but now it shal not remaine vnto thee because thou hast not obayed his voyce therefore will he seeke him a man according to his heart c. are not to be taken as if Saul himselfe shold haue reygned for euermore and then that his sinne made God breake his promise afterwards for hee knew that he would sinne when hee did prepare him this kingdome but this hee prepared for a figure of that kingdome that shall remaine for euer-more and therefore he added it shall not remaine vnto thee it remaineth and euer shall in the signification but not vnto him for neither he nor his progeny
was a village called Abrahams house But Chanaan being plagued with famine hee went into Egypt and consorting him-selfe with the Priests there helped their knowledge their piety and their policy very much Histor. lib. 4. Alexander saith hee liued a while at Heliopoiis not professing the inuention of Astronomy but teaching it as Eâ—…och had taught him it who had it from his fore-fathers Artapanus saith that they were called Hebrewes of Abraham that hee was twenty yeares in Egypt and taught King Pharetates Astronomy and went from thence into Syria Melo in his booke against the Iewes troubleth the truth of this history very much for he maketh but three generations from the deluge vnto Abraham giuing him two wiues an Egyptian and a Chaldaean of which Egyptian hee begot twelue children all Princes of Arabia and that of the Chaldaean he had but Isaac onely who had twelue children also whereof Moyscs was the eldest and Ioseph the youngest But in this case the Scriptures are most true as they are most diuine c Athens was Their estate was greater in time then power for in their greatest souerainety they ruled onely the sea cost by reason of their nauy from the inmost Bosphorus about by the seas of Aegeum and Pamphylia and that they held not aboue seauenty yeares as Lysias signifieth in his Epitaph d All Asia Dionisius Alexandrinus sayth that the Assirian Monarchy ruled but a very small portion of Asia e Onely the Indians India is bounded on the East with the East sea Mar del Zur on the South with the Indian sea Golfo di Bengala on the West with the riuer Indus the greatest of the world saith Diodorus excepting Nilus and on the North with mount Emodus that confineth vpon Scythia There are some people called Indoscythians Ptolomy diuideth India into two the India without Ganges and the India within Of India many haue written Herodotus Diodorus Strabo Mela Stephanus Pliny Solinus Ptolomy and others that wrot the Acts of Alexander the great who led an army ouer most of them parts discouering more then euer traueller did beside But our mariners of late yeares haue made a more certaine discouery of it all Diodorus and Strabo write much of the happy fertility of it in all things both of them borrowing of Eratosthenes and Megasthenes who soiourned with Sadrocotus King of India and recorded these things f Semiramis warred She had two battells against them one at the riuer Indus and wanne the field the other farther in and lost it and was beaten home Diodor. lib. 3. Megastenes in Strabo saith the Indians neuer sent army forth of their country nor any euer got into theirs but those of Hercules and Bacchus Neither Sesostris the Egyptian nor Tharcon the Ethiopian though they came to Hercules his pillers through Europe nor Norbogodrosor whome the Chaldeans in some sort prefer before Hercules and who came also to these pillers euer came into India Idantyrsus also got into Egypt but neuer into India Semiramis indeed came into it a little but perished ere shee goe out Cyrus conquered the Massagetes onely but medled not with India g But because wâ—… know In the Kings of Sicyonia wee follow Eusebius and Pausanias both Greekes for the bookes of Uarro and all the Latines concerning them are now lost Nor do these two gâ—… any Further then the names of those Kings because indeed the Sycionians neuer set any Epitaphs but onely the names of the dead vpon their tombes as Pausanias declareth Vâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nor can any Latine author further vs in the affaires of Assiria they medle not with them The Greekes take a leape almost from Ninus to Sardanapalus from the first Assirian Monarch to the last Some name a few betweene them but they do but name them for this old monarchy they thrust into the fabulous times as Dionisius doth in his first booke â—…deed it brought no famous matter to passe for Ninus hauing founded it and Semiramis hauing confirmed it all their successors fell to sloth and easefull delights liuing close in their huge palaces and taking their pleasures without any controll that made Ctesias that old writer both to record all their names and the yeares of their reignes But of the other Kings Greekes and Latines wee shall haue better store to choose in h Europe The Sycionians faith Pausanias bordering vpon Corynthe say that Aegialeus was their first King that he came out of that part of Peloponesus that is called Aegialos after him and dwelt first in the Câ—…y Aegialia where the tower stood then where the temple of Minerua is now This is Aegialia in Sicyonia on the sea coast there is Aegialia in Paphlagonia also and else-where Some say that Peloponesus was first called Aegialia of this King and then Apia of Apis then Argos of that famous citty and lastly Peloponesus of Pelops But their opinion that 〈◊〉 Aegialia to be a sea-coasting citty is better This king they say begot Europs he Telchinâ—…her â—…her to Apis who grew so rich and mighty that before Pelops came to Olympia all the country within Isthmus was called Apias after him Hee begot Telexion and he Egyrus Egyrus Thurimachus and hee Leucippus who had no sonne but a daughter called Calchinia vpon whome Neptune begot Peratos whome Leucippus brought vp and left as King He begot Plemnaeus and all Plemnaeus his children as soone as euer they were borne and cryed â—…ed presently vntill Ceres helped this mis-fortune for shee comming into Aegialia was inâ—…ayned by Plemnaeus and brought vp a child of his called Orthopolis who afterwards had a daughter called Charysorthe who had Cornus by Apollo as it is sayd and he had two sonnes Câ—…ax and Laomedon Corax dying â—…ssulesse Epopeus came out of Thessaly iust at that time and got his kingdome and in his time they say warres were first set on foote peace hauing swayed all the time before Thus farre Pausanias Europs raigned fourty yeares and in the twenty two 〈◊〉 of his reigne was Abraham borne i Aegialeus The sonne of Inachus the riuer of 〈◊〉 and Melia Oceanus his daughter Thus say same Greekes k After his mother Seâ—…is Diodorus saith much of her lib. 3. She was the daughter saith hee of nymph Dâ—…to by an vnknowne man hir mother drowned her-selfe in the lake Ascalon because shee 〈◊〉 lost her mayden-head and left Semiramis her child amongst the rockes where the wild 〈◊〉 fed her with their milke and that her mother was counted a goddesse with a womans 〈◊〉 and a fishes body nor would the Sirians touch the fish of that lake but held them sacred 〈◊〉 goddesse Derceto Now Symnas the Kings sheppard found Semiramis and brought her 〈◊〉 â—…d being very beautifull Memnon a noble man maried her and then she came acquainted 〈◊〉 King Ninus and taught him how to subdue the Bactrians and how to take the citty Bacâ—… which then he beseged so Ninus admiring her wit and beauty maried her and dying left 〈◊〉
Empresse of Asia vntill her yong sonne Ninus came at age so shee vndertoke the gouerâ—… and kept it fourty two yeares This now some say but the Athenians and Dion after 〈◊〉 affirme that shee begged the sway of the power imperiall of her husband for fiue daies 〈◊〉 which hee granting she caused him to be killed or as others say to bee perpetually â—…oned l They say he slew She was held wounderous lustfull after men and that she still murâ—… him whome she medled with that shee tempted her sonne who therefore slew her 〈◊〉 for feare to fare as the others had or else in abhomination of so beastly an act The 〈◊〉 say shee died not but went quicke vp to heauen 〈◊〉 â—…lt Babilon Babilon is both a country in Assyria and a Citie therein built by Semiâ—… as Diodorus Strabo Iustine and all the ancient Greekes and Latines held But Ioseâ—… Ensebius Marcellinus and others both Christians and Iewes say that it was built by 〈◊〉 â—…genie of Noah and onely repaired and fortified by Semiramis who walled it about 〈◊〉 such walles as are the worlds wonders This Ouid signifieth saying Coctilibus muris cinxisse Semiramis vrbem Semiramis guirt it with walles of Brick And this verse Hierome citeth to confirme this In Ose. Some hold that Belus her father in law built it Some that hee laide the foundations onely So holdes Diodorus out of the Egiptian monuments Alexander saith that the first Belus whome the Greekes call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 reigned in Babilon and that Belus the second and Chanaan were his two sonnes But hee followeth Eupolemus in allotting the building of Babilon to those that remained after the deluge Eus. de pr. Euang. lib. 8. Chaldaea was all ouer with water saith Abydenus in Eusebium de praep Euang. li. 10. And Belus dreined it drye and built Babilon the walles whereof being ruined by flouds Nabocodronosor repaired and those remained vnto the time of the Macedonian Monarchie and then hee reckoneth the state of this King impertinent vnto this place Augustine maketh Nemrod the builder of Babilon as you read before Heare what Plinie saith lib. 6. Babilon the chiefe Citty of Chaldaea and long famous in the world and a great part of the country of Assyria was called Babilonia after it the walles were two hundred foote high and fifty foote brode euery foote being three fingers larger then ours Euphrates ranne through the midst of it c. There was another Babilon in Egipt built by those whome Sesostris brought from Babilon in Assyria into Egipt to worke vpon those madde workes of his the Piramides n This sonne His mother brought him vp tenderly amongst her Ladyes and so hee liued a quiet Prince and came seldome abroade wherevpon the other Kings his successors got vp an vse to talke with few in person but by an interpretour and to rule all by deputies Diodor. Iustin. o Ninus Some call him Zameis sonne to Ninus as Iosephus and Eusebius and some Ninius p Telexion In the translated Eusebius it is Selchis whome hee saith reigned twenty yeares In some of Augustines olde copies it is Telxion and in some Thalasion but it must be Telexion for so it is in Pausanias What Kings reigned in Assyria and Sicyonia in the hundreth yeare of Abrahams age when Isaac was borne according to the promise or at the birth of Iacob and Esau. CHAP. 3. IN his time also did Sara being old barren and past hope of children bring forth Isaac vnto Abraham according to the promise of God And then reigned a Aralius the fift King of Assyria And Isaac being three score yeares of age had b Esau and Iacob both at one birth of Rebecca Abraham his father being yet liuing and of the age of one hundred and sixtie yeares who liued fifteene yeares longer and then dyed c Xerxes the older called also Balaeus reigning the seauenth King of Assyria d and Thuriachus called by some Thurimachus the seauenth of Sicyon Now the kingdome of the Argiues began with the time of these sonnes of Isaac and Inachus was the first King there But this wee may not forget out of Varro that the Sycionians vsed to offer sacrifices at the tombe of the seauenth King Thurimachus But e Armamitres being the eight King of Assyria and Leucippus of Sycionia and f Inachus the first King of Argos God promised the land of Chanaan vnto Isaac for his seede as hee had done vnto Abraham before and the vniuersall blessing of the nations therein also and this promise was thirdly made vnto Iacob afterwards called Israel Abrahams grand-child in the time of Belocus the ninth Assyrian monarch and Phoroneus Inachus his sonne the second King of the Argiues Leucippus reigning as yet in Sycione In this Phoroneus his time Greece grew famous for diuerse good lawes and ordinances but yet his brother Phegous after his death built a temple ouer his tombe and made him to be worshipped as a God caused oxen to be sacrificed vnto him holding him worthy of this honour I thinke because in that part of the kingdome which he held for their father diuided the whole betweene them hee set vp oratories to worship the gods in and taught the true course and obseruation of moneths and yeares which the rude people admiring in him thought that at his death hee was become a God or else would haue it to bee thought so For so they say f that Io was the daughter of Inachus shee that afterwards was called g Isis and honored for a great goddesse in Egipt though some write that h shee came out of Ethiopia to bee Queene of Egipt and because shee was mighty and gratious in her reigne and taught her subiects many good Artes they gaue her this honour after her death and that with such diligent respect that it was death to say shee had euer beene mortall L. VIVES ARalius a In the old copies Argius in Eusebius Analius sonne to Arrius the last King before him hee reigned fortie yeares The sonne in Assyria euer more succeeded the father Uelleius b Esau and Iacob Of Iacob Theodotus a gentile hath written an elegant poem and of the Hebrew actes And Artapanus and one Philo not the Iew but another Alexander Polyhistor also who followeth the Scriptures all those wrote of Iacob c Xerxes the elder Aralius his sonne hee reigned forty yeares There were two more Xerxes but those were Persian Kings the first Darius Hidaspis his sonne and the second successor to Artaxerxes Long-hand reigning but a few moneths The first of those sent the huge armies into Greece Xerxes in the Persian tongue is a warriour and Artaxerxes a great warriour Herodot in Erato The booke that beareth Berosus his name saith that the eight King of Babilon was called Xerxes surnamed Balaus and reigned thirty yeares that they called him Xerxes Victor for that hee wone twise as many nations to his Empire as Aralius ruled for hee was a stoute and fortunate souldiour and enlarged his kingdome
the Greekes going to Troye that they should conquer and that Homer should write lyes But the common opinion is shee liued before the siege of Troy yet Eusebius drawes him to Romulus his time Indeede Strabo maketh more then one Erythream Sibyll saying there was one ancient one and another later called Athenais liuing in Alexanders time Lactantius saith Sibylla Erythraea was borne at Babilon and chose to bee called Erythraea The sixt was a Samian Eratosth saith hee found mention of her in the Samian Annales shee was called Phito the seauenth a Cumane called Amalthea and by other Herophile or Demophile Suidas calleth her Hierophile and saith shee brought nine bookes to King Tarquinius Priscus and asked him three hundred angels for them which hee denying and laughing at her shee burnt three of them before his face and asked him the whole summe for the rest Hee thinking shee was madde or drunke indeed scoffed at her againe shee burned other three and asked still the whole summe for the three remaining then the King was mooued in minde and gaue it her This is recorded by Pliny Dionys. Solin Gellius and Seruius concerning Tarquin the proud not the other Pliny saith shee had but three bookes burning two and sauing the third Suidas saith she had nine bookes of priuate oracles and burnt but two of them her tombe saith Solinus may be seene yet in Sicilia But he calleth her not Eriphile for that hee giues to the Erythraean Sybill who was more ancient then the Cumane Eusebius thinks that Hierophile was neither the Erythrean nor Cumane but the Samian that she liued in Numa's time Lâ—…ocrates being Archon of Athens The wife of Amphiaraus was called Eriphile also The eight was of Hellespont borne at Marmissum neare Troy liuing in the time of Solon and Cyrus Heracl Pontic The ninth was a Phrygian and prophecied at Aucyra The tenth a Tyburtine called Albumea worshipped at Tybur as a goddesse on the banke of the riuer Anienes in whose channell her Image was found with a booke in the hand of it These are Varro's Sybills There are others named also as Lampusia Calchas his daughter of Colophon whose prophecies were whilom extant in verse and Sybilla Elyssas also with them Cassandra also Priams daughter who prophecied her countries ruine was counted for a Sybill there was also Sybill of Epirus and Mantâ—… Tyresias daughter and lastly Carmentis Euanders mother and Fatua Faunus his wife all called Sybills Didiâ—…s Grammaticus is in doubt whether Sapho were a Sybill or no. Sâ—… de stud liberal Yet some in this place read Publica for Sybilla But which Sybill it was that wrote the verses conteyning the Romanes fate Varro him-selfe they sâ—…y could not tell Some sayd it was Sybilla Cumana as Virgill doth calling her Deiphobe daughter to Glaucus who was a Prophet and taught Apollo the art vnlesse you had rather read it 〈◊〉 for she as some say brought the bookes to Tarquin Priscus who hid them in the Capitol She liued in Rome sayth Solinus in the fifteenth Olympiad If that be so it was Tarqum Priscus not the Proud that bought her bookes For Priscus dyed and Seruius Tullus began his raigne the fourth yeare of the fifteenth Olympiade Epitelides of Laâ—…aedemon beeing victor in the Games and Archestratides beeing Archon of Athens That therefore is likelier that Uâ—…rro and Suidas affirme of Priscus then that which others sayd of Superbus if Solinus his Account bee true Her Chappell was to bee seene at Cumae but Varro thinketh it vnlikely that the Sybill that Aeneas talked with should liue vnto the fist King of Romes time and therefore hee thinketh it was Erythraea that sung the Romaines destinies Yet Dionys. sayth it was to her that Aeneas went lib. 4. Varro hath this further ground that when Apolloes Temple at Erythraea was burnt those very verses were found there Euen this is shee whome Uirgill calleth Cumaea for shee prophecyed at Cumae in Italy sayth Capella and so thinke I There is Cumae in Ionia by Erythrea but Aristotle sayth directly there is a Caue in Cumae a Citty of Italy in which Sybilla dwelt Shee whome others called Erythraea the Cumaeans for glory of their country call Cumaea Otherwise they meane some other For it was not Virgils Sybill that Cumane Sybilla that sold Tarquin the bookes Nor sayth Uirgill nor thinke wee that there were no verses in those bookes but of One Sybils This Tacitus sheweth saying of Augustus that whereas there were many fables spred vnder the Sybils names hee sent into Samos Erythrea Ilium Africke and to all the Italian Colonyes to bee at Rome with their verses at a day appoynted where a iudgement was past by the Quindecimuers and a censure vppon all that should haue of these verses in priuate Antiquity hauing decreed against it before And the Capitoll beeing repayred sayth Lactantius out of Varro they came thether from all places and cheefly from Erythraea with Sybills verses This also Feâ—…estella a dilligent Author recordeth and that P. Gabinius M. Octacilius and Luc. Valeriuâ—… went to Erythraea purposely about it and brought about a thousand verses to Rome which priuate men had copyed forth Thus farre Lactantius Stilico Honorius his step-father deâ—…ring to mooue the people against his sonne in law made away all the Sybills bookes Of which fact Claudian writeth thus Nec tantum Geticis grassatus proditor armis Ante Sybillinae fata cremauit opis Nor onely rag'd the Traytor in Gothes armes But burnt the fates of Sybils helpe from harmes And thus much of the Sybills b Sybill of Erythraea Lactantius citeth some of those verses from another Sybill it is no matter indeed which Sybills they are One Sybils they are sure to be and because shee was the most famous to her they assigne them c The first letter That the Sybils put misteries in their verses heads Tully can testifie Their Poems sayth he prooâ—…h them not mad for there is more cunning then turbulency in them beeing all conueyed into Acrosticks as Ennius also had done in some Shewing a minde rather 〈◊〉 then 〈◊〉 De diuinat lib. 2. Virgill also Aegl 4. Ultima Cumaei venit iam carminis aetas The Sybils prophecies draw to an end Nâ—…ly the time that shee included in her propheticall Acrosticks d Those verses The Greeke verses in Eusebius are these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
the small of some of whom I now spake He prophecied vnder Iosia King of Iuda Ancus Martius being King of Rome hard before Israels captiuity vnto the fifth month of which hee prophecied as his owne booke prooueth Zephany b a small prophet was also in his time and prophecied in Iosias time also as himselfe saith but how long he saith not Hieremies time lasted all Ancus Martius his and part of Tarquinius Priscus his reigne the fift Romaine King For in the beginning of his reigne the Iewes were captiued This prophecie of Christ wee read in Hieremy The breath of our mouth the annoynted our Lord was taken in our sinnes Heere hee 〈◊〉 brieflie both Christ his deity and his sufferance for vs. Againe This is 〈◊〉 Gâ—…d nor is there any besides him he hath found all the wayes of wisdome taught 〈◊〉 to his seruant Iacob and to Israel his beloued Afterwards was hee seene vpon earth and hee conuersed with men This some say is not Hieremyes but d Baruchs his transcribers But the most hold it Hieremies Hee saith further Behold the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 come saith the Lord that I will raise vnto Dauid a iust branch which shall 〈◊〉 as King and be wise and shall exetute iustice and iudgement vpon the earth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dayes shall Iudah be saued and Israell shall dwell safely and this is the name that they shall call him The Lord our righteousnesse Of the calling of the Gentiles which we see now fullfilled he saith thus O Lord my God and refuge in the day of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thee shall the Gentiles come from the ends oâ—… the world and shall say Our fatherâ—… haue adored false Images wherein there was no profit And because the Iewes would noâ—… acknowledge Christ but should kill him the Prophet saith e The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in all things he is a man and who shall know him His was the testimoâ—… 〈◊〉 of the New Testament and Christ the mediatour which I recited in my 〈◊〉 Booke for hee saith Behold the dayes come that I will make a new couenant 〈◊〉 the house of Israel c. Now Zephany that was of this time also hath this of 〈◊〉 Wayte vpon me saith the Lord in the day of my resurrection wherein my â—…dgement shall gather the nations and againe The Lord will bee terrible vnto 〈◊〉 hee will consume all the gods of the earth euery man shall adore him from his 〈◊〉 â—…en all the Iles of the Heathen and a little after Then will I turne to the peoâ—… pure language that they may all call vpon the Lord and serue him with one conâ—… and from beyond the riuers of Ethiopia shall they bring mee offerings In that day 〈◊〉 thâ—… not bee ashamed for all thy workes wherein thou hast offended mee for then 〈◊〉 â—…use thee of the wicked that haue wronged thee and thou shalt no more bee proud of mine holie mountaine and I will leaue a meeke and lowly people in the mindes of thee and the remnant of Israell shall reuerence the name of the Lord. This is the remnant that is prophecied of else-where and that the Apostle mentioneth saying there is a remnant at this present time through the election of grace For a remnant of that nation beleeued in Christ. L. VIVES HIeremy a Of him already b Zephany Hee was a prophet and father to prophets and had prophets to his grand-father and great grand-father say the Hebrewes Chusi was his father who was sonne to Godolias the sonne of Amariaâ—… the son of Ezechias all prophets for al the prophets progeny named in their titles were prophets say the Hebrew doctors c The annointed There are many anointed many Lords but that breath of our mouth this annoynted is none but CHRIST our SAVIOVR the SON of GOD by whom we breath we moue and haue our being who if he leaue vs leaueth vs lesse life then if we lackt our soules d Baruchâ—… Hee was Hieremies seruant as Hieremies prophecy sheweth and wrote a little prophecy allowed by the Church because it much concerned Christ and those later times e Thâ—… heart This is the Septuagints interpretation Hierome hath it otherwise from the hebrew Daniels and Ezechiels prophecies concerning Christ and his Church CHAP. 34. NOw in the captiuity it selfe a Daniel and b Ezechiel two of the greater prophets prophecied first Daniel fore-told the very number of yeares vntill the comming of Christ and his passion It is too tedious to perticularize and others haue done it before vs. But of his power and glorie this he sayd I beheld a vision by night and behold the sonne of man came in the cloudes of heauen and approached vnto the ancient of daies and they brought him before him and hee gaue him dominion and honor and a Kingdome that all people nations and languages should serue him his dominion is an euerlasting dominion and shall neuer bee tane away his Kingdome shall neuer be destroied Ezechiel also prefiguring Christ by Dauid as the prophets vse because Christ tooke his flesh and the forme of a seruant from Dauids seed in the person of GOD the Father doth thus prophecy of him I will set vppe a sheapheard ouer my sheepe and hee shall feed them euen my seruant Dauid hee shall feed them and be their sheapheard I the Lord wil be their God and my seruant Dauid shal be Prince amongst them I the LORD haue spoaken it And againe One King shal be King to them all they shal be no more two peoples nor bee deuided from thence-forth into two Kingdomes nor shall they bee any more polluted in their Idols nor with their abhominations nor with all their transgressions but I will saue them out of all their dwelling places wherein they haue sinned and will cleanse them they shal be my people and I wil be their GOD and Dauid my seruant shal be King ouer them and they all shall haue one sheapheard L. VIVES DAniel a Hee was one of the captiâ—…ed sonnes of Iudah and so Daniel was named Balthazar by the Kings Eunuch that had charge of the children His wisdome made him highly esteemed of Balthazar the last King of Babilon and after that of Darius the Monarch of Media as Daniel himselfe and Iosephus lib. 10. doe testifie Methodius Apollinaris and Eusebius Pamphilus defended this prophet against the callumnies of Porphiry b Ezechiel A priest and one of the captiuity with Daniell as his writings doe record Of the three prophecies of Aggee Zachary and Malachy CHAP. 35. THre of the small prophets a Aggee b Zachary and c Malachy all prophecying in the end of this captiuity remaine still Aggee prophecyeth of Christ and his church thus diuersly and plainely Yet a little while and I will shake the heauens and the earth and the sea and the dry land and I will mooue all nations and the desire of all nations shall come saith the Lord of hostes This prophecie is partly come to effect and partly to bee effected
of Iuda kiiled Cbr. 2. 34. 21. he whome Christ said was killed betweene the Temple and the Altar Mat. 23. 35. b Malachi His name interpreted is His Angell and so the seauenty called him where-vpon Origen vpon this prophet saith that hee thinketh it was an Angell that prophecyed this prophecy if we may beleeue Hieromes testimony herein Others call him Malachi for indeed names are not to be altered in any translation No man calleth Plato Broade Or Aristotle good perfection or Iosuah the Sauiour or Athens Minerua Names are to be set downe in the proper Idiome other-wise the names of famous men being translated into seuerall tongues should obscure their persons fame by being the more dispersed which makes me wonder at those that will wring the Greeke names c. vnto their seuerall Idiomes wherein their owne conceit doth them grosse wrong Caesar was wise to deale plainely in giuing the french Germaine each his contries names only making them declinable by the Latine But to Malachi Some by concordance of their stides say that he was Esdras and prophecied vnder Darius the sonne of Histaspis Of Esdras in the next chapter c Reioyce greatly This whole quotation and the rest differ much from our vulgar translation d Upon a colt The Euangelist S. Mathew readeth it vpon a colt and the fole of an asse â—…sed to the yoke cha 21. ver 5. The Iewes that were yoaked vnder so many ceremonies were prefigured herein But the free and yong colt as the seauenty do translate it was the type of the Gentiles take which you will God sitteth vpon both to cure both from corruption and to bring both saluation e Shalbe incense offred The seauenty read it is offred because the Prophets often speake of things to come as if they were present yea and some-times as if they were past The translation of the seauenty is some-what altred in the following quotation Of the bookes of Esdras and the Machabees CHAP. 36. AFter Agee Zachary Malachy the three last Prophets in the time of the said captiuity a Esdras wrote but he is rather held an Historiographer then a Prophet As the booke of b Hester is also contayning accidents about those times all tending to the glory of God It may bee said that Esdras prophecied in this that when the question arose amongst the young men what thing was most powerfull one answering Kings the next wine and the third women for they often command Kings c yet did the third adde more and said that truth conquered althings Now Christ in the Gospell is found to bee the truth From this time after the temple was re-edified the Iewes had no more kings but princes vnto d Aristobulus his time The account of which times wee haue not in 〈◊〉 canonicall scriptures but in the others e amongst which the bookes of the Machabees are also which the church indeed holdeth for canonicall f because of the vehement and wonderfull suffrings of some Martires for the law of God before the comming of Christ. Such there were that endured intollerable â—…ments yet these bookes are but Apocryphall to the Iewes L. VIVES 〈◊〉 a A most skilfull scribe of the law he was Hierom saith he was that Iosedech whose 〈◊〉 Iesus was priest He they say restored the law which yâ— Chaldaees had burnt not without 〈◊〉 assistance changed the hebrew letters to distinguish theÌ„ froÌ„ the Samaritanes Gentiles which then filled Iudea Euseb. The Iewes afterwards vsed his letters only their accents differed from the Samaritans which were the old ones that Moyses gaue them b Hester 〈◊〉 â—…tory fell out saith Iosephus in the time of Artaxerxes other-wise called Cyrus for Xerxes was the sonne of Darius Histaspis and Artaxerxes surnamed Long-hand was sonne to him in whose time the Iewes were in such danger by meanes of Haman because of Mardochee Hesters vncle as there booke sheweth This Nicephorus holdeth also But Eusebius saith this could not bee that the Iewes should bee in so memorable a perill and yet Esdras who wrot their fortunes vnder Artaxerxes neuer once mention it So that hee maketh this accident to fall out long after in the time of Artaxerxes Mnemon bastard sonne to Darius and him the Hebrewes called Assuerus saith hee Indeed Bede is of this minde also But I feare Eusebius his accompt is not so sure as Iosephus but in this wee recite opinions onely leauing the iudgement c Yet did the third This was Zarobabel that said truth was about all Esd. 33. los. Ant. lib. 11. but the third and fourth booke of Esdras are Apocryphall Hierome reiecteth them as dreames d Aristobulus Sonne to Ionathas both King and Priest he wore the first diademe in Iudaea foure hundred eighty and foure yeares after the captiuity vnder Nabucadonosor e Machabees Hierome saw the first of those bookes in Hebrew the latter hee knew to bee penned first in Greeke by the stile Iosephus wrot the history of the Machabees as Hierome saith Contra Pellagian I cannot tell whether hee meane the bookes that we haue for scripture or another Greeke booke that is set forth seuerall and called Iosephâ—…ad Machabeos There is a third booke of the Machabees as yet vntranslated into Latine that I know of that I thinke the Church hath not receiued for canonicall f Because of â—…or there were seuen brethren who rather then they woold breake the law endured together with their mother to be flayed quicke rather then to obey that foule command of Antiochus against God The Prophets more ancient then any of the Gentile Philosophers CHAP. 37. IN our a Prophets time whose workes are now so farre diuulged there were no Philosophers stirring as yet for the first of them arose from b Pithagoras of Samos who began to bee famous at the end of the captiuity So that all other Philosophers must needes bee much later c for Socrates of Athens the chiefe Moralist of his time liued after Esdras as the Chronicles record And â—…o one after was Plato borne the most excellent of all his scholers To whom if we ad also the former seauen who were called sages not Philosophers and the Naturalists that followed Thales his study to wit Anaximander Anaximenes Anaxagoras and others before Pythagoras professed Philosophy not one of these was before the Prophets for Thales the most ancient of them all liued in Romulus his time when this Propheticall doctrine flowed from the fountaine of Israell to be deriued vnto all the world Onely therefore the Theologicall Poets Orpheus Linus Musaeus and the others if there were anymore were before our canonicall prophets But they were not more ancient then our true diuine Moyses who taught them one true God and whose bookes are in the front of our Canon and therfore though the learning of Greece warmeth the world at this day yet neede they not boast of their wisdome being neither so ancient nor so excellent as our diuine religion and the true wisdome we confesse not that
oppressed and such like as these Oh who can stand to collect or recount them These now albeit they kept this seemingly absurd order continually that in 〈◊〉 whole life wherein as the Prophet saith in the Psalme Man is like to 〈◊〉 and his daies like a shadow that vanisheth the wicked alone should posâ—… those temporall goods and the good onelie suffer euills yet might this 〈◊〉 referred to GODS iust iudgements yea euen to his mercies that such 〈◊〉 â—…ught not for eternall felicitie might either for their malice bee iustly 〈◊〉 by this transitory happinesse or by GODS mercie bee a comfort vnto the good and that they beeing not to loose the blisse eternall might for 〈◊〉 while bee excercised by crosses temporall either for the correction of 〈◊〉 or a augmentation of their vertues 〈◊〉 now seeing that not onely the good are afflicted and the badde exâ—… which seemes iniustice but the good also often enioy good and the 〈◊〉 euill this prooues GODS iudgements more inscrutable and his 〈◊〉 more vnsearcheable Although then wee see no cause why GOD â—…ld doe thus or thus hee in whome is all wisdome and iustice and no â—…nesse nor rashnesse nor iniustice yet heere wee learne that wee may 〈◊〉 esteeme much of those goods or misfortunes which wee see the badde share with the righteous But to seeke the good peculiar to the one and to aâ—… the euill reserued for the other And when we come to that great iudgement properly called the day of doome 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 consummation of time there we shall not onely see all things apparant but â—…ledge all the iudgements of GOD from the first to the last to bee firmeâ—…â—…ded vpon iustice And there wee shall learne and know this also why 〈◊〉 iudgements are generally incomprehensible vnto vs and how iust his â—…nts are in that point also although already indeede it is manifest vnto â—…full that wee are iustly as yet ignorant in them all or at least in the 〈◊〉 them L. VIVES 〈◊〉 augmentation That vertue might haue meanes to exercise her powers for shee 〈◊〉 â—…ction and leauing that shee languisheth nay euen perisheth as fire doth which 〈◊〉 â—…ell to worke vpon dieth But practise her vpon obiects of aduerse fortune and she 〈◊〉 out her owne perfection Salomons disputation in Ecclesiastes concerning those goods which both the iust and the vniust doe share in CHAP. 3. 〈◊〉 the wisest King that euer reigned ouer Israel beginneth his booke calâ—… a Ecclesiastes which the Iewes themselues hold for Canonicall in this 〈◊〉 b Vanity of Vanities all is vanity What remaineth vnto man of all â—…uells which hee suffereth vnder the Sunne Vnto which hee annexâ—… tormentes and tribulations of this declining worlde and the short â—…ift courses of time wherein nothing is firme nothing constant 〈◊〉 vanitie of althings vnder the Sunne hee bewayleth this also 〈◊〉 that seeing c There is more profitte in wisdome then in follie 〈◊〉 light is more excellent then darkenesse and seeing the wise-mans eyes are in his head when the foole wallketh in darkenesse yet that one condition one estate should befall them both as touching this vaine and transitory life meaning hereby that they were both a like exposed to those euills that good men and bad do some-times both a like endure Hee saith further that the good shall suffer as the bad do and the bad shall enioy goods as the good do in these words There is a vanity which is done vpon the earth that there bee righteous men to whome it commeth according to the worke of the wicked and there bee wicked men to whome it commeth according to the worke of the iust I thought also that this is vanity In discouery of this vanity the wise man wrote al this whole worke for no other cause but that wee might discerne that life which is not vanity vnder the sunne but truth vnder him that made the sunne But as d touching this worldly vanity is it not Gods iust iudgement that man being made like it should vanish also like it yet in these his daies of vanity there is much betweene the obeying and the opposing of truth and betweene partaking and neglecting of Godlinesse and goodnesse but this is not in respect of attayning or auoyding any terrestriall goods or euills but of the great future iudgment which shall distribute goods to the good and euils to the euil to remaine with them for euer Finally the said wise King concludeth his booke thus feare God and keepe his commandements for this is the whole duty of man for GOD will bring euery worke vnto iudgment e of euery dispisedman be it good or be it euill how can wee haue an instruction more briefe more true or more wholesome feare God saith he and keepe his commandements for this is the whole duty of man for he that doth this is full man and he that doth it not is in accompt nothing because he is not reformed according to the Image of truth but sticketh still in the shape of vanity for God will bring euery worke that is euery act of man in this life vnto iudgement be it good or euill yea the workes of euery dispised man of euery contemptible person that seemeth not tâ—… be noted at all God seeth him and despiseth him not neither ouer-passeth him in his iudgement L. VIVES ECclesiastes a Or the Preacher Many of the Hebrewes say that Salomon wrot this in the time of his repentance for the wicked course that he had runne Others say that he fore-saw the diuision of his kingdome vnder his sonne Rehoboam and therefore wrote it in contempt of the worlds vnstable vanity b Uanity of So the seauenty read it but other read it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 smoke of fumes Hierome c There is more Wisdome and folly are as much opposed as light and darkenesse d Touching this But that GOD instructeth our vnderstanding in this vanity it would vanish away and come to nought conceyuing falshood for truth and lying all consumed with putrifiing sinne at length like a fume it would exhale a way vnto che second death e Of euery despised man Our translations read it with euery secret thing Hierome hath it Pro omni errato The authors resolution in this discourse of the iudgement to produce the testimonies of the New-Testament first and then of the old CHAP. 4. THe testimonies of holy Scriptures by which I meane to proue this last iudgement of God must bee first of all taken out of the New-Testament and then out of the Old For though the later bee the more ancient yet the former are more worthie as beeing the true contents of the later The former then shall proceed first and they shal be backt by the later These that is the old ones the law and the prophets afford vs the former the new ones the Gospells and the writings of the Apostles Now the Apostle saith By the law commeth the knowledge of sinne But now
some that is from the b South signifyeth the heate of charity and the light of truth The thicke darke mountaine may bee taken diuersly but I rather choose to hold it meant of the depth of the holy scriptures prophecying Christ for therein are many depths for the industrious to excercise themselues in and which they finde out when they find him whom they concerne His glory couereth the heauens and the earth is full of his praise that is iust as the psalme saith Exalt thy selfe O GOD aboue the heauens and let thy glorie bee aboue all the earth His brightnesse was as the light His glorie shall enlighten the nations Hee had hornes comming out of his hands that was his extension on the crosse there was the hiding of his power this is plaine Before him went the word and followed him into the field that is hee was prophecied ere hee came and preached after his departure hee stood and the earth mooued hee stood to saue and earth was mooued with beleeuing in him He beheld the nations and they were dissolued that is hee pitied and they repented Hee brake the mountaines with violence that is his miracles amazed the proude the eternall his did bow the people were temporally humbled to bee eternally glorified For my paines I saw his goings in that is I had the reward of eternity for my labours in charity the tents of Ethiope trembled and so did they of Madian that is euen those nations that were neuer vnder Rome by the terror of thy name and power preached shall become subiect to Christ. Was the Lord angry against the riuers or waâ—… thine anger against the sea this implieth that he came not to iudge the world but to saue it thou rodest vpon horses and thy Chariot brought saluatiâ—… The Euangelists are his horses for hee ruleth them and the Gospell his Chariot saluation to all beleeuers thou shalt bend thy bowe aboue scepters thy iudgement shall restraine euen the Kings of the earth thou shalt cleaue the earth with riuers that is thine abundant doctrine shall open the hearts of men to beleeue them vnto such it is sayd Rend your hearts and not your garments The people shall see thee and tremble thou shall spread the â—…aters as thou goest thy preachers shall power out the streames of thy doctrine on all sides The deepe made anoise the depth of mans heart expressed what it saw the hight of his phantasie that is the deepe gaue out the voice expressing as I sayd what it saw This phantasie was a vision which hee conceiled not but proclaimed at full The Sunne was extolled and the Moone kept her place Christ was assumed into heauen and by him is the church ruled thine arrowes flew in the light Thy word was openly taught and by the brightnesse of thy shining armeâ—… thine arrowes flew For Christ himselfe had said What I tell you in darkenesse that speake in the light Thou shalt tread downe the land in anger thou shalt humble high spirits by afflicting them Thou shalt thresh the heathen in displeasure that is thou shalt quell the ambitious by thy iudgements thou wentest forth to saue thy people and thine annointed thou laidest death vpon the heads of the wicked all this is plaine thou hast cut them off with amazement thou hast cut downe bad and set vppe good in wonderfull manner the mighty shall crowne their heads which maruell at this they shall gape after thee as a poore man eating secretly For so diuers great men of the Iewes beeing hungry after the bread of life came to eate secretly fearing the Iewes as the Gospell sheweth thou puâ—…test thine horses into the sea who troubled the waters that is the people for vnlesse all were troubled some should not become fearefull conuertes and others furious persecutors I marked it and my body trembled at the sound of my lippes feare came into my bones and I was altogether troubled in my selfe See the hight of his praier and his prescience of those great euents amazed euen himselfe and hee is troubled with those seas to see the imminent persecutions of the church whereof hee lastly avoucheth himselfe a member saying I will rest in the daâ—…e of trouble as if hee were one of the hopefull sufferers and patient reioycers that I may goe vppe to the people of my pilgrimage leauing his carnall kinred that wander after nothing but worldly matters neuer caring for their supernall countrie â—…or the fig-tree shall not fructifie nor shall fruite bee in the vines the oliue shall faâ—…le and the fields shal be fruitlesse The sheepe haue left their meate and the oxen are not in their stalles Here hee seeth the nation that crucified CHRIST depriued of all spirituall goods prefigured in those corporall fertilities and because the countries ignorance of God had caused these plagues forsaking Gods righteousnesse through their owne pride hee addeth this I will reioyce in the Lord and ioy in God my Sauiour the Lord my God is my strength he will establish my feete hee will set mee vpon high places that I may bee victorious in his song What song euen such as the psalmist speaketh of hee hath set my feete vpon the rocke and ordered my goings and hath put into my mouth a new song of praise vnto GOD. In such a song and not in one of his owne praise doth Ahâ—…cuc conquer glorying in the Lord his God Some bookes read this place better 〈◊〉 I 〈◊〉 ioy in my LORD IESVS But the translators had not the name it selfe in Latine other-wise wee like the word a great deale better L. VIVES FRom a Theman Aquila Symmachus and the fifth edition saith Hierome put the very word so Onely Tâ—…tion expresseth it from the South c. Theman is â—…nder Edoâ—… in the land of Gâ—…bal named so by Theman sonne to Elyphaz the sonne of Esau and it holdeth the name vnto this day lying fiue miles from Petra where the Romaine garrison lyeth and where Eliphaz King of the Thebans was borne One also of the sonnes of Isaacs was called Theman Indeed the Hebrews call euery Southerne Prouince Theman Hieron loc Hebraic b Sâ—…th Such is that place also in the Canticles c The thick darke mountaine Sâ—… say the LXX but the Hebrewes from mount Paran which is a towne on the farre side of Arabia ioyning to the Sarazens The Israelites went by it when they left Sina The LXX rather expressed the adiacents then the place it selfe d Neuer vnder Rome India Persia and the new sound lands e I will ioy So doth the Hebrew read it indeed Iesus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Sauiour are all one In Tullyes time they had not the Latine word Saluator Act. 〈◊〉 in Verr. but Lactantius Auâ—… and many good Latinists doe vse it since Read Hierome of this verse if you would know further Prophecies of Hieromie and Zephany concerning the former themes CHAP. 33. HIeremy a is one of the greater Prophets so is Isayâ—… not of