evictisque erroribus infandis inepâ—…ijs quas Prisci coluere quid quemque deceat quibus sacris quà que mente Deum colere oporteat noscitamus How much doe we owe to Christ our King Master whom we acknowledge and worship as true God by whose guidance and direction the monstrous doctrine and barbarous rites of those sauage nations being chased away and we being taught true Religion imbrace civility and the true God and the errours vnspeakeable follies which the Ancients had in honour and reverence being brought to light we know what our dutie is with what ceremonies and with what minde God is to bee worshipped which is in effect the same with that of the Apostle Thankes be to God who hath deliuered vs from the power of darkenesse and translated vs into the kingdome of his deere sonne If I were disposed to inlarge this discourse heere might easily be remembred the vnsavory tales the childish fancies and fables of the Iewish Rabbins in their Talmud and Cabal the most absard opinions and horrible practices of Ancient Heretiques in the Primitiue Church the incredible ignorance superstition among those who for the space of many ages were commonly accounted the best nay the only Christians But each of these would require a large volume and are already fully discouered by others The first by Galaâ—…inus de arcanis Catholicae veritatis and Buxdorsius in his Synagoga Iudaica the second by 〈◊〉 Philastrius Epiphanius Augustine â—…rateolus Alphonsus à Castro and others the third by the writers of the reformed Churches who haue set themselues to oppose the corruptions and abuses of the Church or rather the court of Rome And howbeit the Romanists in requitall heere of would proue their Adversaries doctrine to open a gappe to disobedience and licentiousnes yet I doubt not but the more sober minded among them finde that to proceede rather out of eagernesse and heat of disputation then from any solide reason or setled judgement since it is certaine that since Luther awakened the world the manners euen of the Romish Clergy themselues are not a little reformed CAP. 2. Touching the Lawes of the Ancient Grecians and Saxons whereof some were wicked and impious others most absurd and ridiculous SECT 1. The vnjust and absurd Lawes of Solon the Athenian Emperour AS Religion is the hinge vpon which the government of the Politicall state depends and mooues so next after it good and wholesome Laws serue much for the bettering of a Common-wealth in matter of manners Law being therefore defined by Plato to bee a reasonable Rule leading and directing men to their due end for a publique good ordaining penalties for them that transgresse rewards for them that obey And by Cicero to be the highest and chiefe reason grafted in nature commaunding those things which are to be done forbidding the contrary But by the Civilians most briefly and properly Lex est sanctio sancta jubens honesta prohibens contraria Law is an holy decree that is a decree not to be violated commaunding honest things and forbidding the contrary Now as the ancient Paynims were defectiue in points of true Religion so were they likewise in making just Lawes sometimes commaunding where they should forbid and againe forbidding where they should commaund rewarding where they should punish and punishing where they should reward I will instance onely in some particular Lawes of the Graecians and of our Predecessours the Saxons Among the Graecians foure Law-makers were most renowned Solon Lycurgus Plato and Aristotle two of which actually founded Common-weales the one the Athenian the other the Lacedemanian The other two onely framed them in Idea or speculation yet all provided Lawes for them such as they were I will begin with Solon accounted one of the seuen Sages in Greece highly commended for his great wisedome in making Lawes both by Aristotle and Plato who proposeth him and Lycurgus as patternes for all such as shall institute Common-weales and devise Lawes for them Solon then resolving for the releeuing of the poore to make a Law for the abolishing and cancelling all contracts and obligations of debts past imparting his minde therein to some of his intire friends they seeing his resolution borrowed great store of money and imployed it in the purchase of land wherevpon it followed that when Solon published his new Law they remained exceedingly inriched their Creditors defrauded and he much suspected of deceipt as to haue had secret intelligence with them part of their gaine And although it seemeth that therein he had wrong for he lost by his owne Law as some write 15 talents which were owing him yet in two things he cannot be excused the one in that he caused not his friends to restore the money which they had guilefully borrowed and the other that without examination of the particular causes and reasons of euery mans debt he ordained a generall abolition of all debts both good and bad whereby aswell those which were able to pay as the vnable were discharged and all Creditors without difference defrauded contrary to all equity justice which as Cicero saith speaking of the like case requireth aboue all things that euery man haue his owne that equall regard be had to the rich aswell as to the poore which saith he is no way observed cùm locupletes suum perdunt debitores lucrentur alienum when rich men loose their owne and debtors gaine that which belongeth to other men Another of Solons absurd Lawes was that whosoeuer in any publique sedition should be nuter 〈◊〉 take neither paâ—… should remaiâ—… euer after infamous his reason was for that hee thought it not convenient that any man should so much loue his owne ease as not to participate of the trouble of the Common-wealth whereof hee was a member which reason of his together with the Law it selfe Plutarch wisely and worthily rejecteth for that it would be an assured meanes to put as it were fire to gun-powder to set all the Common-wealth on a â—…ame without helpe of any internall remedy For saith he as in a sicke body all the hope of helpe within it selfe is to be expected from the paâ—…s that are sound and therefore when the body is wholly corrupted there is no helpe of remedy but from abroad euen so in a politique body sick with sedition all the internall remedy is to come from the whole sound parts thereof that is to say such as are Neutralls who may labour with the one side and with the other to compound the quarrell for otherwise where all is in tumult no remedy can be expected except it come from abroad therefore Plutarch holdeth it for the highest and principall point of Politique Science in any governour to know how either to prevent seditions that they neuer grow or else quickly to appease them when they are growne be they neuer so little For as the least sparke that is may fall into
sexe suck there out a certaine humour and annoint their bodies all over therewith which serues them for a defence against raine That a Woolfe if he see a man first suddenly strikes him dumb whence came the proverbe Lupus est in fabula and that of the Poet Lupi Moerim videre priores The Wolues saw Moeris first Yet Phillip Camerarius professes fabulosum esse quod vulgo creditur hominem à lupo praeuisum subitò consternari vocem amittere That it is fabulous which is commonly beleeued that a man being first seene by the Woolfe is therevpon astonished and looseth his voyce And that himselfe hath found it by experience to be a vaine opinion which Scaliger likewise affirmes vpon the same ground Vtinam tot ferulis castigarentur mendaciorum assertores isti quot à Lupis visi sumus sine jactura vocis I wish those Patrons of lies were chastised with so many blowes as at sundry times I haue beene seene of woolues without any losse of my voyce That men are somtimes transformed into Woolues and againe from Wolues into men touching the falshood wherof Pliny himselfe is thus confident homines in Lupos verti rursumque restitui sibi falsum esse confidenter existimare debemus aut credere omnia quae fabulosa tot saeculis comperimus that men are changed into Wolues and againe restored to themselues that is to the shape of men wee ought assuredly beleeue to be false or to giue credit to whatsoever wee haue found fabulous in the course of so many ages Now that which hath given occasion to this opinion might be as I suppose either an illusion of Sathan in regard of the beholders or a strong melancholy imagination in the patients or the education of men among Wolues from their very infancie For that the Devil can at his pleasure transubstantiate or transforme one substance into another I hould it no sound divinitie That the Pellican turneth her beake against her brest therewith pierceth it till the blood gush out wherewith shee nourisheth her young wheras the Pellican hath a beake broade and flat much like the slice of Apothecaries and Surgions with which they spread their plaisters no way fit to pierce as Laurentius Ioubertus Counsellour and Phisition to Henry the fourth of France in his booke of Popular errours hath obserued Lastly that the Mole hath no eyes nor the Elephant knees both which notwithstanding by dayly and manifest experience are found vntrue SECTIO 6. An Application of what hath beene sayd to the present purpose MAny more instances might bee giuen both in Divinitie Philosophy and History to shew that t' is a thing neither new nor vnjustifiable by the practise of wise men to examine and impugne receiued opinions if they be found erroneous such as I take this to be of Natures vniversall decay So that I hope it shall neither seeme vnpleasing nor vnprofitable nor yet impertinent that I haue dwelt so long vpon this point I know that of Chrysostome to be most true The hardest lesson is to vnlearne and therefore haue I harped so long vpon this string to make it cleare that men may erre specially where that falls out which Iustin in his dialogue with Tryphon hath obserued that posteriores sequntur priores securi examinis that the latter follow the former without examination Custome with most men preuailes more then Truth though Christ hath said as Tertullian rightly noteth I am Truth and not Custome yea such is the force thereof that according to the inbred notions and praeconceptions which it hath formed and imprinted in our mindes for the most part we shape the discourse of Reason it selfe Thus Pythagoras by bringing vp his Schollers in the speculatiue knowledge of numbers made their conceipts so strong that when they came to the contemplation of things naturall they imagined that in euery particular thing they euen beheld as it were with their eyes how the element of number gaue essence and being to the workes of Nature A thing in reason impossible which notwithstanding thorow their misfashioned praeconceite appeared vnto them no lesse certaine then if Nature had written it in the very foreheads of all the Creatures of God Divine is that speech of Aristotle in his Metaphysicks Quantam autem vim habeat consuetudo leges declarant in quibus fabulosae pueriles narrationes plus valent cognitione vera earum rerum propter consuetudinem What is the strange force of Custome the Lawes themselues declare in which childish and fabulous narrations are preferred before the true knowledge of the same things and that onely through custome From whence to draw neerer to our present purpose the great Lawyer Panormitan wishes that the seuerity of the ancient Canons bee not too far pressed vpon delinquents because men of latter ages saith he are no wâ—…y matchable with the Ancients as not in strength nor stature so neither in wit nor manners But I much maruell that so great a Clearke should be so easily carried away with so vaine a shew and by making men beleeue that they were not able to obserue the Canons make them vnable indeed which together with the greedy desire of gaine hath beene no doubt the ground or at least the pretence of such a multiplicity of dispensations in latter ages men choosing rather to stretch their purse-strings and to buy out a dispensation for their money then to improue their endeavours for the doing of that which the Canon requires And hence the Lenten fast duly kept with much ease by our Predecessors is with most men now adayes made so impossible notwithstanding the observation thereof conduce so much to the publique good CAP. 2. Of the Reasons inducing the Author to the writing and publishing of this Discourse SECT 1. Whereof the first is the redeeming of a captivated trueth SVch is the admirable beauty and soueraignty of Truth in it selfe and such infinite content doth it yeeld the Soule being found and embraced that had I proposed no other End to my selfe in this ensuing Treatise then the discouery and vnfolding thereof I should hold it alone a very ample recompence and sufficient reward of my labour The Greekes call it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which by an easie and vnstrained derivation implies the breath of God so that as Minerva by which is meant the Arts is fained to haue sprung from the head of Iupiter so Truth vndoubtedly flowes from the mouth of the Creator not onely that supernaturall and revealed Truth which concernes our spirituall supernaturall good but that likewise which concernes our good either morall or naturall For as euery good thing so far as it is good is from God the Author and originall cause of all goodnes so euery Truth is from the same God the Fountaine of all Truth Howbeit hee impart the diverse kinds thereof after a different manner the Truth of Experience by sense of Reason by discourse of the intellectuall power of Religion by
statutes Doe they not publickely vse all other wayes whereby the life of man is held in and kept in compasse all according to the orders and customes of the countrey in their severall nations These things therefore being so and that no noveltie hath broken in to interrupt the perpetuall tenor of things by severing and discontinuing them What is it that they say Confusion is brought vpon the world since Christian religion entred into it and discovered the misteries of hidden verity But the Gods say they exasperated with your injuries and offences bring vpon vs pestilen◅es droughts scarcity of corne lo◅usts mice haile and other hurtfull things assaulting the affaires of men Were it not follie longer to insist vpon things evident and needing no defence I would soone by vnfolding former times demonstrate that the evills yee speake of are neither vnknown nor sudden nor that these confusions brake in nor that mortall businesses began to be infested with such varietie of dangers since our Societie obtained the happines of this name to be bestowed vpon them For if we be the cause and for our demerits these p◅gues were invented whence knew antiquity these names of miseries whence gaue it signification to wars With what knowledge could it name the Pestilence ◅nd Haile or assume them into the number of thosewords wherewith they vttered their speech For if these evills be new and drawe their causes from late offences how could it be that it should forme words to those things whereof it selfe neither had experience nor had learnt that they were in any time done Scarcitie of corne and extreame dearth distresseth vs. What were the ancient and eldest ages at any time free from the like necessity Doe not the v◅ry names by which th◅se evills are called testifie and crie that never any mortall man was priviledged frō it Which were it a matter so hard to beleeue I could produce the testimonies of Authours what n◅tions how great how often haue felt horrible famine and haue beene destroted with a great desolation But stormes of Haile fall very often and light on all things And doe wee not see it registred and recorded in ancient writings that countries haue osten beene battered with showers of stones Want of raine kils vp the corne and makes the earth vnfruitfull And was antiquitie free from these evills especially seeing wee know that huge rivers haue beene dried vp to the very bottome The contagion of Pestilence vexeth Mankind Runne over the Annals written in severall tongues and yee shall learne that whole countries haue oftentimes beene made desolate and emptied of inhabitants All kind of graines are destroied and devoured by locusts by mice Passe through forraine histories they will informe you how often former times haue bin troubled with these plagues and brought to the miseries of povertie Citties shaken with mighty earthquakes totter even vnto ruine What Haue not former times seen Citties together with the Inhabitants swallowed vp in huge gaping clefts of the earth Or haue they had their e◅ate free from these casualties when was mankind destroyed with deluges of waters not before vs when was the world burnt dissolued into embers ashes not before vs whē were mightie cities overwhelmed by the seas inundation not before vs when did they make war with wild beasts and encounter with Lyons not before vs when were people plagued with ven◅mous serpents not before vs For that yee vse to object vnto vs the causes os so often warres the laying wast of Citties the irruption of Germans and Scythians I will by your good leaue and patience be bold to say that yee are so transported with desire to slander that yee know not what it is yee say That vpward of tenthousand yeares agoe a huge swarme of men should breake out of that Iland of Neptune which is called Atlantick as Plato declares and vtterly destroy and consume innumerable nations were we the cause That the Assyrians and Bactrians sometimes vnder the leading of Ninus and Zoroastres should warre one against the other not only with sword and strength but also by the hidden artes of Magick and the Chaldeans was it our envie That Helena by the direction and impulsion of the Gods was ravished and became a fatall calamitie both to her owne and future times was it attributed to the crime of our religion That the great and mighty Xerxes brought in the sea vpon the land and past over the seas on foot was it done through the injury of our name That a yong man rising out of the borders of Macedon brought the kingdome and people of the East vnder the yoke of captivity and bondage did wee procure and cause it That now the Romans should like a violent streame drowne and overwhelme all nations did wee forsooth thrust the Gods into the fury Now if no man dare to impute to our times the things that were done long since how can we be the causes of the present miseries seing there is no new thing falne out but all are ancient and not vnheard of in any antiquitie although it be not hard to proue that the warres which yee say are raised through the envie of our religion are not only not increased since Christ was heard off in the world but also for the greater part by repressing mans furiousnesse lessened For seing wee so great a multitude of men haue learned by his instructions lawes that we are not to requite evill fo◅ evill that it is farre better to suffer then to do wrong rather to shed a mans owne then to pollute his hands and conscience with the bloud of another the vngratesull world hath ere while receiued this benefit from Christ by whome the fiercenesse and wildnesse of nature is tamed and they haue begun to refra◅ne their hostile hands from the bloud of the creature Kinne vnto thē Certainely if all who know that to be men stands not in the shape of bodies but in the power of reason would listen a while vnto his wholesome and peaceable decrees and not puffed vp with arrogance and selfeconceit rather beleeue their owne opinions then his admonitions the whole world long agoe turning the vse of iron vnto milder workes should haue liued in most qu◅et tranquillity and haue met together in a firme and indissoluble league of most safe cōcord But if say they through you the state of man suffereth no disadvantage whence are t◅ese evils wherewith now a long time miserable mortality is afflicted and oppressed You aske my opinion in a matter not necessary to this businesse For the present disputation now in hand was not vndertaken by mee to this end to shew or proue vpon what causes or reasons each thing was done but to manifest that the reproch of so great a crime as wee are charged with is farre from vs which if I performe and by deeds and evident remonstrances vnfold the truth of the matter whence these evils are or out of what fountaines or principles
they proceed I care not For what if the first matter digested into the foure elements of all things containe wrapped vp in its rotations the causes of all miseries what if the motions of the starres by certaine signes parts times lines produce these evils and bring vpon things subject vnto them necessities of diverse sortes what if inset times the vicissitude of things fall out and as it is in the motions of the sea sometime there is a flow of prosperity somtime it ebbeth back againe and evils returne in the roome thereof What if the dregs of this matter which wee treade vnder our feet haue this law given vnto it to breath forth most noysome vapours wherewith this aire being corrupted should both infect the bodies and disable the endevours of men what if which indeed is nearest vnto truth whatsoever seemeth crosse vnto vs is not evill to the world it selfe and that wee perswading ourselues that all things are done for our benefits do by reason of our wicked opinions wrongfull accuse the event of nature Plato the highest top and chiefest piller of Philosophers maintaineth in his cōmentaries that those fearefull inundations and conflagrations of the world are the purging of the earth neither was that wise man affraid to call the subversion slaughter ruine destruction and funerals of mankind an innovation of things and that thereby repareing their strength they recover accrtaine youth agane Heaven saith hee raines not and wee labour of I know not of what scarcity of corne What dost thou require that the Elements serue thy necessities and to the end thou mayst liue more daintily and delicately that the times obsequiously apply themselues to thy commodities What if he that is desireous of navigation complaine in like sort that now along time there are no windes and that the blasts of heaven are ceased Must wee say there fore that such tranquillitie of the world is pernicious because it hinders the desires of Passengers What if any who hath beene accustomed to tosse himselfe in the sun and to procure drynesse to his body should in like manner complaine that the pleasure of faire and cleare weather is by very often cloudinesse taken away Must the cloudes therefore be sayd as enimies to hang and ouerspread the skie because thou canst not at thy pleasure frie thy selfe in the flames and prepare occasions for drinking All these events which come to passe and fall out vnder the cope of Heaven are to be weighed not by our petty commodities but by the reasons and orders of nature itselfe Neither if any thing happen which toucheth vs and our affaires but with vnwelcome successes is it forthwith evill and to be accounted noxious Whether the worldraine or not raine it raineth or not ratneth to itselfe and which happily thou knowest not either it consumes away the too much moysture with the fervencie of drought or temper thes drought of a very long time with the pouring out of raines It sendeth pestilences diseases famines other formes of evils threatning destruction how dost thou know whether so it take away that whichis superfluous and by itsowne losses set a measure to the riot and excesse of things Darest thou say this or that is evill in the world the originall and cause whereof thou art not able to vnfold and resolue and because happily it hinders thy pleasures of the deleights and lustes wilt thou say it is pernicious cruell what then If cold be contrary vnto thy body vse to congeale the heat of thy bloud must not winter therefore be in the World And because thou canst not endure the fervent heat of the Sun must the Summer be taken out of the yeare and nature againe be ordered by other lawes Hellebore is poison vnto men ought it not for this cause to bee brought forth The wolfe layes wait for the flocke of sheep is Nature in the fault which hath bred so troublesome a beast vnto those fleecie creatures The biting of the Serpent taket away life shall I therefore speake evill of the first beginnings of things because they haue added so cruell monsters vnto living Creatures It is too arrogant a part seeing thy selfe art not thine owne and livest in possession of another to presume to prescribe to those that are mightier then thy selfe and to require that that be done which thou desirest not that which thou findest by ancient constitutions already settled in things Wherefore if you men will haue your complaints to take place it is requisite yee first teach vs whence or what yee are whether this World be made framed for you or ye came as stranger◅ vnto it out of other Countries Which seeing you are not able to tell you cannot resolue vs for what cause you liue vnder this hollow vault of Heaueu leaue off to suppose that any thing belongeth vnto you seeing the things that are done are not alike done but are to be reckoned accounted in the summe intended in the whole By reason of Christians say they these evils are come the gods send these calamities vpon corne I demaund when ye say these things doe ye not see how desperatly with open manifest lies ye slander vs It is now three hundred yeares more or lesse since we Christians began to be beare this name in the World haue there been all these yeares continuall warrs continuall dearths hath there been no peace at all in the Earth no cheapnes no plenty of things For he that accuseth vs must first of all demonstrate that these calamities haue been perpetual continuall that mortall men haue neuer had any breathing time that without any holydayes as they say haue endured the formes of manifold dangers But do we not see in these middle yeares middle times that innumerable victories haue bin obtained over conquered enemies that the territories of the Empire haue bin inlarged Nations whose names were neuer heard of bin brought in subiection that oftentimes the yeares haue yeelded marveilous great increase such cheapnes plenty of things that there was no buying or selling at all the prices of things being so much fallen For how could things be done how could mankind continue vntill this time if fertility plenty did not supply all whatsoeuer need required But sometimes heretofore haue bin in need necessity And theyhaue bin recompenced again with abundance Again some wars haue bin waged against our will And they haue afterwards bin corrected by victories good successe What then shall we say that thegods are somtime mindfull of our miseries somtime againe vnmindfull If at what time there is Famine it be said they are angry it followeth that in time of plenty they are not aengry nor displeased so all is brought to this issue that by turnes they lightly lay aside take vp their angers by remembrance of offences returne afresh vnto them again Although what that is wbieh they say seemes to be inexplicable
of Pliny out of him that oysters and mussels and cockles and lobsters crabbs and generally all shell-fish grow fuller in the waxing of the Moon but emptier in the waning thereof Such a strong predominancie it hath euen vpon the braine of Man that Lunatikes borrow their very name from it as also doth the stone Selenites whose property as S. Augustine and Georgius Agricola record it is to increase and decrease in light with the Moone carrying alwayes the resemblance thereof in it selfe Neither can it reasonably be imagined that the other Planets and starrs and parts of Heauen are without their forcible operations vpon these lower Bodies specially considering that the very plants and hearbes of the Earth which we tread vpon haue their seueral vertues as well single by themselues as in composition with other ingredients The Physitian in opening a veine hath euer an eye to the signe then raigning The Canicular star specially in those hotter Climates was by the Ancients alwayes held a dangerous enemy to the practise of Physick and all kind of Evacuations Nay Galen himselfe the Oracle of that profession adviseth practitioners in that Art in all their Cures to haue a speciall regard to the reigning Constellations Coniunctions of the Planets But the most admirable mystery of Nature in my mind is the turning of yron touched with the loadstone toward the North-pole of which I shall haue farther occasion to intreate more largely in the Chapter touching the Comparison of the wits inventions of these times with those of former ages Neither were it hard to add much more to that which hath beene said to shew the dependance of these Elementary Bodies vpon the heauenly Almighty God hauing ordained that the higher should serue as intermediate Agents or secondary Causes betweene himselfe and the lower And as they are linked together in a chaine of order so are they likewise chained together in the order of Causes but so as in the wheeles of a Clocke though the failing in the superior cannot but cause a failing in the inferiour yet the failing of the inferiour may well argue though it cannot cause a failing in the superiour We haue great reason then as I conceiue to begin with the Examination of the state of Coelestiall bodies in as much as vpon it the conditionof the subcoelestiall wholly de-pends Wherein fiue things offer themselues to our consideration Their substance their motion their light their warmth and their influence SECT 2. Touching the pretended decay in the substance of the Heavens TO finde out whether the substance of the heavenly bodies bee decayed or no it will not be amisse a little to inquire into the nature of the matter and forme of which that substance consists that so it may appeare whether or no in a naturall course they be capable of such a supposed decay That the Heavens are endued with some kinde of matter though some Philosophers in their jangling humour haue made a doubt of it yet I thinke no sober and wise Christian will deny it But whether the matter of it bee the same with that of these inferiour bodies adhuc sub Iudice lis est it hath beene and still is a great question among Diuines The ancient Fathers and Doctors of the Primitiue Church for the most part following Plato hold that it agrees with the matter of the Elementary bodies yet so as it is compounded of the finest flower and choisest delicacy of the Elements But the Schoolemen on the other side following Aristotle adhere to his Quintessence and by no meanes will bee beaten from it since say they if the Elements and the heauens should agree in the same matter it should consequently follow that there should bee a mutuall traffique and commerce a reciprocall action and passion betweene them which would soone draw on a change and by degrees a ruine vpon those glorious bodies Now though this point will neuer I thinke bee fully and finally determined till wee come to be Inhabitants of that place whereof wee dispute for hardly doe wee guesse aright at things that are vpon earth and with labour doe wee find the things that are at hand but the things which are in heaven who hath searched out Yet for the present I should state it thus that they agree in the same originall mater and surely Moses mee thinkes seemes to favour this opinion making but one matter as farre as I can gather from the text out of which all bodily substances were created Vnus erat toto naturae vultus in orbe So as the heavens though they bee not compounded of the Elements yet are they made of the same matter that the Elements are compounded of They are not subject to the qualities of heat or cold or drought or moisture nor yet to weight or lightnes which arise from those qualities but haue a forme giuen them which differeth from the formes of all corruptible bodies so as it suffereth not nor can it suffer from any of them being so excellent and perfect in it selfe as it wholy satiateth the appetite of the matter it informeth The Coelestiall bodies then meeting with so noble a forme to actuate them are not nor cannot in the course of nature bee lyable to any generation or corruption in regard of their substance to any augmentation or diminution in regard of their quantity no nor to any destructiue alteration in respect of their qualities I am not ignorant that the controversies touching this forme what it should bee is no lesse then that touching the matter Some holding it to bee a liuing and quickning spirit nay a sensitiue and reasonable soule which opinion is stiffely maintained by many great learned Clarks both Iewes and Gentiles Christians supposing it vnreasonable that the heavens which impart life to other bodies should themselues bee destitute of life But this errour is notablely discovered and confuted by Claudius Espencaeus a famous Doctor of the Sorbone in a Treatise which hee purposely composed on this point In as much as what is denied those bodies in life in sense in reason is abundantly supplied in their constant vnchangeable duration arising from that inviolable knot indissoluble marriage betwixt the matter the forme which can never suffer any divorce but from that hand which first joyned them And howbeit it cannot be denied that not only the reasonable soule of man but the sensitiue of the least gnat that flies in the aire and the Vegetatiue of the basest plant that springs out of the earth are in that they are indued with life more divine and neerer approaching to the fountaine of life then the formes of the heavenly bodies yet as the Apostle speaking of Faith Hope and Charity concludes Charity to bee the greatest though by faith wee apprehend and apply the merits of Christ because it is more vniversall in operation and lasting in duration so though the formes of the Creatures endued
in workes of heate but the sunne burneth the mountaines three tymes more breathing out fiery vapours Neither were there wanting some among the ancient Philosophers who maintained the same opinion as Plato and Plyny and generally the whole sect of Stoicks who held that the Sunne and Starres were fed with watery vapours which they drew vp for their nourishment and that when these vapours should cease and faile the whole world should be in daunger of combustion and many things are alleaged by Balbus in Ciceroes second booke of the nature of the Gods in favour of this opinion of the Stoicks But that the Sunne and Starres are not in truth and in their owne nature fieric and hot appeares by the ground already layd touching the matter of the heavens that it is of a nature incorruptible which cannot bee if it were fiery inasmuch as thereby it should become lyable to alteration and corruption by an opposite and professed enimie Besides all fiery bodies by a naturall inclination mount vpwards so that if the starres were the cause of heat as being hot in themselues it would consequently follow that their circular motion should not bee Naturall but violent Wherevnto I may adde that the noted starres being so many in number namely one thousand twenty and two besides the Planets and in magnitude so greate that every one of those which appeare fixed in the firmament are sayd to bee much bigger then the whole Globe of the water and earth and the Sunne againe so much to exceede both that globe and the biggest of them as it may iustly bee stiled by the sonne of Syrach instrumentum admirabile a wonderfull instrument which being so were they of fyre they would doubtlesse long ere this haue turned the world into ashes there being so infinite a disproportion betweene their flame and the little quantity of matter supposed to bee prepared for their Fewell That therefore they should bee fed with vapours Aristotle deservedly laughs at it as a childish and ridiculous device in as much as the vapours ascend no higher then the middle region of the ayre and from thence distill againe vpon the water and earth from whence they were drawne vp and those vapours being vncertaine the flames likewise feeding vpon them must needes be vncertaine and dayly vary from themselues both in quantity and figure according to the proportion of their fewell SECT 2. That the heate they breed springes from their light and consequently their light being not decayed neither is the warmth arising there from THe absurdity then of this opinion beeing so foule and grosse it remaines that the Sunne and Starres infuse a warmth into these Subcaelestiall bodies not as being hot in themlselues but only as beeing ordeined by God to breed heate in matter capable thereof as they impart life to some creatures and yet themselues remaine voyd of life like the braine which imparts Sense to every member of the body and yet is it selfe vtterly voyd of all Sense But here againe some there are which attribute this effect to the motion others to the light of these glorious bodies And true indeed it is that motion causes heat by the attenuation rarefaction of the ayre But by this reason should the Moone which is neerer the Earth warme more then the Sunne which is many thousand miles farther distant the higher Regions of the Aire should be alway hotter then the lower which notwithstanding if wee compare the second with with the lowest is vndoubtedly false Moreouer the motion of the coelestiall bodies being vniforme so should the heat deriued from them in reason likewise be the motion ceasing the heat should likewise cease yet I shall neuer beleeue that when the Sun stood still at the prayer of Iosua it then ceased to warme these inferiour Bodies And we find by experience that the Sun works more powerfully vpon a body which stands still then when it moues the reason seemes to be the same in the rest or motion of a body warming or warmed that receiueth or imparteth heat The motion being thus excluded from being the cause of this effect the light must of necessitie step in and challenge it to it selfe the light then it is which is vndoubtedly the cause of coelestiall heate in part by a direct beame but more vehemently by a reflexed for which very reason it is that the middle Region of the aire is alwaies colder then the lowest and the lowest hotter in Summer then in Winter and at noone then in the morning and evening the beames being then more perpendicular and consequently in their reflexion more narrowly vnited by which reflexion and vnion they grow sometimes to that fervencie of heate that fire springs out from them as wee see in burning glasses and by this artificiall device it was that Archimedes as Galen reports it in his third booke de Temperamentis set on fire the Enemies Gallyes and Proclus a famous Mathematician practised the like at Constantinople as witnesseth Zonaras in the life of Anastasius the Emperour And very reasonable me thinkes it is that light the most Divine affection of the Coelelestiall Bodies should be the cause of warmth the most noble actiue and excellent quality of the Subcoelestiall These two like Hippocrates twinnes simul oriuntur moriuntur they are borne and dye together they increase and decrease both together the greater the light is the greater the heate and therefore the Sun as much exceedes the other starres in heate as it doth in light To driue the argument home then to our present purpose since the light of the Sun is no way diminished and the heate depends vpon the light the consequence to me seemes marvailous faire and strong which is that neither the heate arising from the light should haue suffered any decay or diminution at all SECT 3. Two obiections answered the one drawne from the present habitablenes of the Torrid Zone the other from a supposed approach of the Sun neerer the earth then in former ages NOtwithstanding the evidence of which trueth some haue not doubted to attribute the present habitablenesse of the Torride Zone to the weaknesse and old age of the Heauens in regard of former ages But they might haue remembred that the Cold Zones should thereby haue become more inhabitable by cold as also that holding as they doe an vniversall decay in all the parts of Nature men according to their opinion decaying in strength as well as the Heauens they should now in reason be as ill able to indure the present heate as the men of former ages were to indure that of the same times wherein they liued the proportion being alike betweene the weaknes as between the strength of the one and the other But this I onely touch in passing hauing a fitter occasion to consider more fully of it hereafter when we come to compare the wits and inventions of the Ancients with those of the present times That which touches
light and warmth they are no whit impaired why should wee make any doubt but that their influence is now likewise as sweet as God in his conference with Iob teameth it as benigne as gratious as favorable as ever in regard of the Elements thee Plants the beasts and man himselfe and why should we not beleeue that education reason and eeligion are now as powerfull as ever to correct and qualifie their vnlucky and maligne aspects that the hand of God is no way shartned but that he is now as able as ever to controle and check his creatures and make them worke together for the best to them that loue him As he did sometime in this very case for his chosen people they fought from heaven the starres in their courses fought against Sisera Hee that set the Sun and Moone at a stand in their walks and commanded the shadow to retire in the dyall of Ahaz he that made a dry path through the red sea musled the mouthes of thee Lyons and restrained the violence of the fire so as for a season it could not burne hath he bound himselfe to the influetce of a Starre that he cannot bind it vp or divert it or alter it at his pleasure and vpon the humble supplication of his servants no no Sanctus dominabitur astris if according to Ptolomy the great Master of Iudiciary Astrology wisedome and fore-sight ouer-rule the starres then surely much more devotion and piety If the Saints by their prayers commaund the Divels and both shut and open Heauen for raine and drought as did Elias then may they aswell by vertue of the same prayer stoppe the influences of the starres the instrumentall causes of drought raine Bee not dismaide then at the signes of heauen for the Heathen be dismaide at them And surely they in whom corrupt Nature swayes raignes haue much more reason to be dismaide at them then others in whom Grace and the sence of Godlines prevailes And whiles they feare many times they know not what by meanes of their very feare they fall into that which they stand in feare of feare being the betrayer of those succours which reason affords Much noise there is at this present touching the late great Conjunction of Saturne Iupiter many ominous conjectures are cast abroad vpon it which if perchance they proue true I should rather ascribe it to our sinnes then the starres wee need not search the cause so far off in the Booke of Heauen we may find it written neerer at home in our own bosomes And for the starres I may say as our Saviour in the Gospell doth of the Sabboth the stars were made for men and not men for the starres they were not created to governe but to serue him if he serue be governed by his Creator and if God be on our side and we on his Iupiter Saturne shal neuer hurt vs But whatsoeuer the force of the starrs be vpon the persons of private men or the states of weale-publiques I should rather advise a modest ignorance therein then a curious inquisition thereinto following the witty pithy counsel of Phavorinus the Philosopher in Gellius where he thus speakes Aut adversa eventura dicunt aut prospera si dicunt prospera fallunt miser fies frustrà expectando si adversa dicunt mentiuntur miser fies frustrà timendo si vera respondent eaque sunt non prospera jam indè ex animo miser fies antequam è fato fias si falicia promittunt eaque eventura sunt tum planè duo erunt incommoea expectatio te spe suspensum fatigabit futurum gaudij fructum spes tibi defloraverit Either they portend then bad or good luck if good they deceiue thou wilt become miserable by a vaine expectation if bad they lye thou wilt be miserable by a vaine feare if they tell thee true but vnfortunate events thou wilt be miserable in mind before thou art by destiny if they promise fortunate successe which shall indeed come to passe these two inconveniences will follow therevpon both expectation by hope will hold thee in suspence hope will deflowre devoure the fruit of thy Content His conclusion is which is also mine both for this point and this Chapter this discourse touching the Heavenly Bodies Nullo igitur pacto vtendum est istiusmodi hominibus res futuras praesagientibus we ought in no case to haue recourse to those kinde of men which vndertake the fore-telling of casuall events And so I passe from the consideration of the coelestiall bodies to the subcoelestial which by Gods ordinance depend vpon them and are made subordinate vnto them touching which the coelestiall bodies both together comparing each with other the Divine Bartas thus sweetly and truly sings Things that consist of th' Elements vniting Are euer tost with an intestiue fighting Whence springs in time their life and their deceasing Their diverse change their waxing and decreasing So that of all that is or may be seene With mortall eyes vnder Nights horned Queene Nothing reteineth the same forme and face Hardly the halfe of halfe an houres space But the Heau'ns feele not fates impartiall rigour Yeares adde not to their stature nor their vigour Vse weares them not but their greene-euer age Is all in all still like their pupillage CAP. 6. Touching the pretended decay of the Elements in generall SECT 1. That the Elements are still in number foure and still retaine the ancient places and properties HAuing thus prooued at large in the former Chapters touching the Heauens that there neither is nor in the course of Nature can be any decay either in regard of their matter their motion their light their warmth or influence but that they all continue as they were euen to this day by Gods ordinance it remaines that I now proceed to the consideration of the sublunary bodies that is such as God Nature hath placed vnder the Moone Now the state of these inferiour being guided and governed by the superiour if the superiour be vnimpaireable as hath beene shewed it is a strong presumption that the inferiour are likewise vnimpaired For as in the wheeles of a Watch or clock if the first be out of order so are the second third the rest that are moued by it so if the higher bodies were impaired it cannot bee but the lower depending vpon them should tast thereof as on the other side the one being not impaired it is more then probable that the other partake with them in the same condition Which dependance is well expressed by Boeshius where hauing spoken of the constant regularity of the heauenly bodies he thus goes on Haec concordia temperat aequis Elementa modis vt pugnantia Vicibus cedant humida siccis Iungantque fidem frigora flammis Pendulus ignis surgat in altum Terraeque graves pondere sidant Iisdem causis vere tepenti
as they did And for the strength of their Physicke let vs heere Goropius a famous Physitian and doubtles a very learned man as his workes testifie and his greatest adversaries cannot but confesse Dicunt olim medicamenta multò vehementiora data fuissâ—… quà m nunc hominum natura ferre possit They say that the Physicke which the Ancients administred was much stronger then the nature of man is now capable of to which he replies eos qui sic arbitrantur insigniter falli contendo ferunt enim corpora aequè nunc helleborum atque olim eodem vel majori pondere vt ipse in alijs meipso sum expertus Verùm inscitia eorum qui nihil Medici habent praeter titulum vestem longam impudentem arrogantiam in causa est vt sic opinentur I am confident that those who thus thinke are notablely deceiued in asmuch as our bodies can now aswell endure the like or greater quantity of Elleborum as I haue made triall in my selfe others But the ignorance of such as haue indeed nothing in them of the Physitian but the bare title a long gowne and impudent arrogancie is the cause that men so thinke And with him heerein plainely accords Leonardus Giachinus of the same profession who hauing composed a Treatise purposely to shew what damage arises to learning by preferring Authority before reason makes this the title of his first Chapter Corpora nostra eadem ferre posse auxilia quibus Veteres vsi sunt idque cum ratione tum experientia comprobari That our bodies now a dayes may well enough suffer the same helpes of Physicke which the Ancients vsed that this may be made euident aswell by reason as experience And I suppose skilfull Physitians will not deny but that the Physicke of former times agrees with ours as in the receites so for the dosis and quantity and for them who hold a generall decay in the course of Nature they are likewise forced to hold this For if plants and drugges and minerals decay in their vertue proportionablely to the body of man as is the common opinion then must it consequently follow that the same quantity hauing a lesse vertue may without daunger and with good successe be administred to our bodies though inferiour in strength Roger Bacon in his booke de erroribus medicorum tells vs that the disposition of the heavens is changed euery Centenary or thereabout and consequently that all things growing from the earth change their complexions as also doth the body of man and therevpon infers that eaedem proportiones medicinarum non sunt semper continuandae sed exigitur observantia certa secundum temporis discensum The same proportions of medicines are not still to be continued but there is required a certain quantity according to the variation of time Where by the change of the disposition of the heavens I cannot conceiue that he intends it alwayes for the worst for so should he crosse himselfe in the same booke neither for any thing I know haue we any certainty of any such change as he speakes of but this am I sure of that if together with the heauens the plants change their tempers and with the plants the body of man then needs there no alteration in the proportion of medicines in asmuch as what art should therein supply nature her selfe preuents performes But for mine own part holding a naturall decay in neither vpon that ground as I conceiue may more safely be warranted the continuance of the ancient proportions Now touching the drawing of blood I know it is said that Galen vsually drew six pounds at the opening of a veine whereas we for the most part stoppe at six ounces which is in truth a great difference if true specially in so short a time he liuing three hundred yeares or thereabout since Christ. For decision then of this point we must haue recourse to Galen himselfe who in that booke which he purposely composed of cures by letting of blood thus writes Memini quibusdam ad sex vsque libras sanguinem detractum fuisse ita vt febris extingueretur I remember that from some I haue drawne six pounds of blood which hath ridde them of their feuer yet from others he tooke but a pound and a halfe or one pound and sometimes lesse as he saw occasion neither in old time nor in these present times was the quantity euer definite or certaine but both then and now variable more or lesse according to strength the disease age or other indications and in pestilent fevers his advise is vbi valida virtus subest aetas permittit vsque ad animae defectum sanguinem mittere expedit where the strength and age of the patient will beare it it will doe well to take blood euen to a fainting or sounding and such was the case as by his owne words it appeares in which he drew so great a quantity Neither is this without example in our age Ambrose Par a French Surgeon a man expert in his profession as his bookes shew reports that he drew from a patient of his in foure dayes twenty seven pallets euery pallet of Paris containing three ounces more so that he drew from him about seven pounds allowing twelue ounces to the pound which was the account that Galen followed as appeares in his owne Treatise of weights and measures and so continues it in vse among Physitians and Apothecaries vnto this day The whole quantity of blood in a mans body of a sound constitution and middle stature was anciently estimated and so is it still at about three gallons and I haue beene informed by a Doctour of Physicke of good credit and eminent place in this Vniversity that a patient of his hath bled a gallon at nose in one day and hath done well after it which as I conceiue could not be so little as seuen or eight pounds allowing somewhat lesse then a pound to a pint in asmuch as I haue found a pint of water to weigh sixteene ounces Now what Nature hath done with tollerance of life Art may come neere vnto vpon just cause without danger And if any desire to be farther informed in this point he need goe no further then the Medicinall observations of Iohannes Shenkius de capite Humano where to his 333 observation hee prefixes this title Prodigiosae narium haemorragiae quae interdum 18 interdum 20 nonnunquam etiam 40 sanguinis librae profluxere Prodigious bleedings at the nose in which sometimes 18 sometimes 20 sometimes 40 pouÌ„ds of blood haue issued The Authors from whom he borroweth his observations are Matheus de Gradi in his commentaries vpon the 35 chapter of Rasis ad Almans Brasauolus comment ad Aphor. 23. lib. 5. Donatus lib. de variolis morbillis cap. 23. Lusitanus Curat 100. Cent. 2. And againe Curat 60 Cent. 7 his instances are of a Nunne who voided by diverse passages 18 pounds of bloud of Diana a
the authority of these three who plead for the antiquity of this Invention may be opposed thirteene and those in learning nothing inferiour who pleade against it maintaining it to haue beene an Invention of latter ages vnknowne to the Ancients as Acosta lib. 1. histor Ind. cap. 17. Mariana lib. 1. de rebus Hispaniae cap. 22. Maluenda lib. 3. de Antichristo cap. 24. Gomara tomo 1. Indicae Historiae cap. 10. Turnebus lib. 20. advers cap. 4. Pancirollus in his Nova reperta tit 11. Salmuth in his Commentaries on that place Philander in his Comment vpon Vitruvius lib. 10. cap. 14. Lilius Giraldus lib. de Navig cap. 1. Cardan de subtilitate lib. 17. Bozius de signis Ecclesiae lib. 2. Bodin in his methode of History cap. 7. Ramus in Schol. Mathemat lib. 2. and to those may be added many more were I ambitious in mustering vp of names or did the cause require it Since the writing hereof I finde that our Fuller Miscell 4. 19. thinkes it likewise very probable that the Tyrians anciently had the vse of the Compasse and that Solomon might bee the Inventor thereof but against him may be produced the reasons before pressed against Pineda not onely the authorities already alleadged but vnto them we may farther adde that of Gaspar Varrerius in his Commentary De Ophyra Regione Cujus vim nativamque lapidis in Arctos semper respectantis antiquis ignotam fuisse manifestum est It is cleere that the natiue propertie of this stone of turning alwayes to the North was to the ancients vnknowne But a greater doubt presents it selfe about the time and Author of this Invention when by whom it should first be found out set on foot Doctour Gilbert our Countreyman who hath written in Latin a large learned Discourse of the properties of this stone seemes to be of opinion that Paulus Venetus brought the Invention of the vse thereof froÌ„ the Chineses Osorius in his discourse of the acts of King Emanuel referres it to Gama and his Countreymen the Portugals who as he pretends took it from certaine barbarous Pirats roauing vpon the Sea about the Cape of good hope Goropius Becanus likewise thinkes hee hath great reason to intitle it vpon his Countreymen the Germans in as much as the 32. points of the winde vpon the Compasse borrow the names from the Dutch in all Languages But Blondus who is therein followed by Pancirollus both Italians will not haue Italy loose the praise thereof telling vs that about 300 yeares agoe it was found out at Malphis or Melpbis a Citty in the Kingdome of Naples in the Province of Campania now called Terra di Lavorador But for the Author of it the one names him not the other assures vs he is not knowne yet Salmuth out of Ciezus and Gomara confidently christens him with the name of Flavius and so doth Du Bartas in those excellent verses of his touching this subject W' are not to Ceres so much bound for bread Neither to Bacchus for his clusters red As Signior Flavio to thy witty tryall For first inventing of the Sea-mans dyall Th' vse of the needle turning in the same Divine device O admirable frame Whereby thorow th' Ocean in the darkest night Our hugest Carracks are conducted right Whereby w' are stor'd with trouâ—…h-man guide and Lampe To search all corners of the watery Campe. Whereby a ship that stormy heau'ns haue whorld Neere in one night into another world Knowes where she is and in the Card descries What degrees thence the Aequinoctiall lies It may well be then that Flavius the Meluitan was the first Inventor of guiding the ship by the turning of the needle to the North but some German afterwards added to the Compasse the 32 points of the wind in his owne language whence other Nations haue since borrowed it But surely a pitty it is that the Author of such an Invention is not both more certainlie knowne honourably esteemed He better deserving in my judgment to be inrolled and ranked among the great benefactors of the world then many who for their supposed merits of mankind were deified among the Heathen Another excellent and secret conclusion vpon this stone pretended to be found out in these latter times is that by touching two needles with the same stone they being severally set so as they may turne vpon two round tables hauing on their borders the Alphabet written circlewise if two friends agreeing vpon the time the one in Paris the other in London hauing each of them their table thus equally fitted be disposed vpon certaine dayes at certaine houres to conferre it is to bee done by turning the needle in one of the tables to the Alphabet the other by Sympathie will turne it selfe in the same manner in the other table though neuer so farre distant which conclusion if infallibly true may likewise prooue of good and great consequence howsoeuer I will set it downe as I finde it described by Famianus Strada in imitation of the stile and vaine of Lucretius Magnesi genus est lapidis mirabile cui si Corpora ferri plura stylosve admoveris inde Non modo vim motumque trahent quo semper ad vrsam Quae lucet vicina polo se vertere tentent Verumetiam mira inter se ratione modoque Quotquot eum lapidem tetigere styli simul omnes Conspirare situm motumque videbis in vnum Vt si fortè ex his altquis Romae moveatur Alter ad hunc motum quamvis sit dissitus longè Arcano se naturai foedere vertat Ergò age si quid scire voles qui distat amicum Ad quem nulla accedere possit epistola sume Planum orbem patulumque notas elementaque prima Ordine quo discunt pueri describe per or as Extremas orbis medioque repone jacentem Qui tetigit magneta stylum vt versatilis inde Litterulam quamcunque velis contingerepossit Hujus ad exemplum simili fabricaveris orbem Margine descriptum munitumque indice ferri Ferri quod motum Magnete accepit ab illo Hunc orbem dissessurus sibi portet amicus Conveniatque prius quo tempore queisve diebus Exploret stylus an trepidet quidve indice signes His ita compositis si clam cupis alloqui amicum Quem procul à Te Te terrai distinet ora Orbi adjunge manum ferrum versatile tracta Hic disposta vides elementa in margine toto Queis opus est ad verba notis hunc dirige ferrum Litterulasque modo hano modo illam cuspide tange Dum ferrum per eas iterumque iterumque rotando Componas singillatim sensa omnia mentis Mira fides longe qui distat cernit amicus Nullius impulsu trepidare volubile ferrum Nunc huc nunc illuc discurrere conscius haeret Obseruatque styli ductum sequiturque legendo Hinc atque hinc elementa quibus in verba coactis Quid sit opus sentit ferroque
strong nor bread to the wise nor riches to men of vnderstanding nor yet favour to men of skill but time and chaunce hapneth to them all The meaning is that the successe of these outward things is not alwayes carryed by desert but by chance in regard of vs though by providence in regard of God SECT 6. Secondly the Romanes hauing no right or iust title to those Nations they subdued we cannot rightly tearme their strength in conquering them fortitude SEcondly sicut non martyrem poena sic non fortem pugna sed causa facit as the torture doth not make a martyr so doth not the conquest but the justnesse of the cause make a valiant man if the Romanes then cannot shew vs by what right they conquered the world wee will neuer call their strength in conquering it Fortitude or crowne it with the name of Vertue vnlesse wâ—…hall we shall call the out-rage of robbers and cut-throats who with fire and sword spoyle and lay waste all they can Courage and Valour Remota itaque justitia quid sunt regna nisi magna latrocinia saith S. Augustine take away the justnesse of the cause and tell me what is the acquisition of Kingdomes but great robberies vnlesse we should say that the killing and robbing of one is a sinne but of many a vertue as S. Cyprian wittily speakes homicidium cùm admittunt singuli crimen est virtus vocatur cùm publicè geritur impunitatem sceleribus acquirit non innocentiae ratio sed saevitia magnitudo when one single man commits a single murther that 's a grievous offence when it is commonly and publiquely done that 's a vertue They purchase impunity not by reason of their innocencie but the greatnes of their Cruelty When a Pyrate was convented before the great Alexander for robbing vpon the Seas and demaunded what he meant so to doe or by what right he did it his answere to that Emperour was by way of recrimination by the same right sayth he as you robbe the world which was eleganter veraciter responsum they be the words of S. Augustine a trim and true answere For what was Alexander if we should tearme him aright but Faelix terrarum praedo non vtile mundo Editus exemplar A robber of the world yet prosperous And to mankinde example dangerous Or rather as the same Poet speakes Terrarum fatale malum fulmenque quod omnes Percuteret populos pariterque sydus iniquum Gentibus Earths fatall euill a thunder-bolt of warre Striking all Nations an vnluckie starre And Seneca professeth both of him and his father Philip that they were to mankinde no lesse plagues quam invndatio qua planum perfusum est quam conflagratio qua magna pars animantium exaruit then a land flood which drownes all the champian or a burning drought wherewith the greatest part of cattle perish Now that which hath been spoken of Alexander the Romans may as properly be applyed to themselues Foelix scelus virtus vocatur vnjust attempts if they be fortunate in the event are called vertues and some actions there are of that nature quae nunquam laudantur nisi peracta which are neuer commended till they are ended and surely so it was with the Romans for proofe that their attempts were indeed for the most part vnjust we need goe no farther then that of Mithridates in Salust Romani arma in omnes habent in eos acerrima quibus victis spolia maxima sunt the Romans make warre vpon all and that vpon them most fiercely from whom being conquered they hope for the greatest booty And againe Romanis cum nationibus populis Regibus cunctis vna vetus bellandi Causa est Cupido profunda imperii divitiarum The Romans haue one old and common quarrell with all Nations people kings an vnquenchable thirst of Empire and riches with whom Galgacus in Tacitus fully accords Raptores orbis postquam cnncta vastantibus defuere terrae mare scrutantur si locuples est hostis avari si pauper ambitiosi quos non oriens non occidens satiaverit Robbers of the world they are and after that they haue laid all places waste land wanting for them to spoile they search into the Sea if the enemy be rich their covetousnesse mooues them to invade him if poore their ambition so as neither East nor West can satisfie their insatiable appetite And though wee should perchaunce suspect the testimonies of Mithridates and Galgacus as being their enemies yet against that of Lactantius we cannot well accept Isti qui eversiones vrbium populorumque summam gloriam computant otium publicum non ferent rapient saevient injuriis insolenter illatis humanae societatis faedus irrumpent vt habere hostem possint quem sceleratius deleant quam lacessierint But they who account the subversion of cities and states their greatest glory will not endure the publique peace they will rob and spoyle and most insolently offering wrongs will violate the league of humane society that they may haue an enemy whom they may more injuriously vanquish then they haue injustly provoked I am not ignorant that Cicero in defence of his owne Nation tells vs noster populus socijs defendendis terrarum omniuÌ„ potitusest our people by defending their associats became Masters of the world but I would willingly be informed whether or no they did not often set their associates to coÌ„plaine without a cause or abet them in vnjust quarrels I desire that Cicero or any other Roman should tell me truely what just reason of warring they had vpon the Carthaginians in the first Punick warre I know there is a pretence coyned that it was vnder-taken in defence of the Mamertins whom the Carthagineans and Syracusians intended to chastise for their villanous treachery committed vpon Messana a City in Sicily where they lay in garrison putting to the sword all the Inhabitents dividing the spoile among themselues and Decius Campanus a Roman Prefect with his Legion consisting of 4000 Souldiers being receiued into Rhegium for the safeguard thereof against Pyrrhus by the example and assistance of the Mamertins did the like Now it is true the Romans at the instance of the people of Rhegium did justice vpon their owne Countrymen yet the Mamertins guilty of the same foule fact and that in a higher degree they tooke into their protection and made it the pretence of their first warre vpon the Carthaginians their ancient friends and allies But it is certaine that no company of Pyrats Theeues Outlawes Murderers or other such Malefactors can by any good successe of their villany obtaine the priviledge of Civil Societies to make league or truce yea or to require faire warre but are by all meanes as most pernitious vermin to be rooted out of the world Wherefore we may safely esteeme this action of the Romans so farre from being justifiable by any colour of confederacie made with them as that