so luckie hand begun he determineth by the grace of God to follow foorth so excellent a worke and in a second wéeke to set out the state of the world from Adam to the latter day adioyning thereunto euen a liuely descriptiō of th' euerlasting Saboth so now he giueth vs the two first daies to each of them allotting foure bookes The first day may be called Adam and representeth the state of the first man before and after the fall euen to his death and of his posteritie to the flood The second day may be called Noe and containeth the state of the world after the flood to the time of Abraham so that here we haue a learned and holy paraphrase vpon a part of the first booke of Moses to wit from the middle of the second chapter of Genesis vnto th' end of th' eleuenth his stile is enriched with all maner of beauties and graces méete for a poeme perfect and worthie to be honored of all men of good iudgement so much of the worke in generall Foure books of the first day Now let vs sée what the bookes of these two first daies containe in particular After his méete prefaces and entrance proper to his matter he placeth the first man in the garden of Eden painteth out the garden 1. Eden answereth diuers questions commonly thereabout arising as of the trée of life and th'excellencie therof likewise of the trée of knowledge of good and euill and here he sheweth what was the knowledge of man before sinne wherefore he was placed in Paradise what was his exercise there what was his happines before the fall as namely that he had familiar communication with God whereunto is properly adioyned the discourse of Visions traunces and Reuelations this done he toucheth the commandement of GOD to Adam concerning the forbidden fruit the promise of our first father the great pleasures he enioied so long as he continued obedient vpon this occasion he describeth poynt deuise the beauties of this garden yet with such a stay of himselfe that he cutteth off many curious demaunds and hauing answered certaine obiections endeth his first booke In the beginning of the second he setteth downe th' enuie and drift of the diuel against man 2. L'imposture why he tempted outwardly what moued him to take a body rather than present himselfe the bodie of a serpent rather than to change himselfe into an Angell of light Hereout are handled opinions diuers the conclusion of all is this that the serpent was the diuels instrument to misleade our first mother This draweth the Poet to speake of the power of Satan So he returning to his former intent discouereth all the wiles and assaults of th' enimie how he brought Eue to destruction and Adam by meanes of hir whence haue ensued effects most gréeuous to behold These miserable sinners examined charged with sinne and condemned therefore as well by remorse of their owne conscience as by the fearful voice of their creator who pronounceth doome against the serpent and them Wherunto is added a sound and full answere to all such wicked and profane spirits as murmur against the fall of Man as it is set downe in holy scripture to shut vp the booke Adam and Eue are chased out of Paradise and an Angell with a firie sword there placed to kéepe them out Now the better to set forth the miserie of man 3. Furies and the confusions which sinne hath brought in among vs the Poet hauing in the beginning of his third booke mentioned againe and set before our eies the blessed estate of the whole world and the perfect vnion that was among all creatures before the backsliding of Adam the cause as he sheweth by diuers examples of all their disunion he mustereth and leadeth forth an armie of all other creatures to war against man then comming to the euils that afflict this poore guiltie creature both within and without he bringeth in the furies called out of hell to come and torment mankind These then are the plagues wherewith they chastise the bodie to wit famine war infinite sort of diseases whereof the chiefe are named and ranged into foure squadrons The first laieth siege to the head the second encountreth the chiefe instruments of life the third assaulteth the naturall powers the fourth setteth on the outward parts of Man They are distinguished againe into maladies particularly belonging vnto certaine peoples and climats proper to the seuerall ages of man speciall to diuers seasons of the yéere contagious hereditarie new obstinate and vncurable To increase the more this heape of miserie he proueth that beasts are in this regard in better case than man Then entreth into consideration of the most dangerous diseases of all which are those of the mind and namely foure principall kindes which vnder them containe all other sadnes ioy feare and fond desire these with their traine and effects are without comparison more to be feared than all the most cruell diseases of the body as by fit examples is proued and so the Poet concludeth with an holy wish and profitable exhortation to the Frenchmen 4. Artifices Hereupon hauing in the entrie of the fourth booke saluted peace and shewed the commodities thereof he falleth fitly to his purpose and decifereth vnto vs the miserable estate of Adam and Eue being now foorth of the garden what hard shift they made to liue whereon they fed how they were clothed and what paines Eue tooke to weaue a garment for hir husband their furniture against the cold their place of abode and first buildings the inuention of fire the beginning of housholds and how the land was peopled the exercise of Caine and Abel their sacrifices the wicked mind of Caine who slue his brother and after thinking somewhat to ease his soule of the gnawing torments of conscience built a towne and began to ride horses which the Poet handleth in kinde and from thence falleth into discourse of th' inuention and vse of Iron and instruments of Musick But as Caine and his followers busie themselues with affaires of the worlde meane-while Adam and his true children take after godlines and iustice and search out the sacrets of nature Among other Seth is supposed to aske his father concerning th' estate of the worlde from the beginning vnto th' end which Adam excusing himself at first refuseth to do but suddenly mooued with the holie spirit héere distinguished from the furies of men possessed of the diuell he speaketh of all the worlds ages and sheweth what shall befall euen to the flood the discourse and consideration whereof ouercommeth his hart with griefe depriueth him of spéech and endeth the fourth booke and so by consequent the first daies historie Foure bookes of the second day 1. L' Arche Beginning the first booke of the second day with a new inuocation he entreth into th' Arch recounteth the holie exercises of Noe which Cham gainsaieth and diuers waies striueth against the prouidence of
God but Noe with many liuely and forcible arguments withstandeth him meanewhile the flood is abated the Arch staied the Rauen and the Doue are sent foorth Noe commeth out of the Arch the measure and burden whereof is in a few words plainly prooued Then this good Patriarch hauing sacrificed receiueth diuers lawes and promises of God especially that there shall be neuer more any vniuersall flood for token whereof the Rainbow is ordained then Noe betaketh himselfe to till the earth planteth a vine is droonke with the wine thereof and sléepeth on the ground in a shamefull maner Cham maketh a iest of it but Sem and Iaphet couer modestly the shame of their father who now awakened out of his dronkennes and much grieued thereat curseth Cham his posteritie 2. BABILON so the Poet endeth his first booke And to make way to the life of Nimrod he beginneth the second with consideration of the peoples happines that are gouerned by good wise princes and the bad estate of such as are slaues to tyrants beseeching God to withhold from vs such confusions as he liuely painteth out in the discouering of Nimrods policies who from his childhood setteth himselfe a worke to get the soueraigntie ouer men sheweth his naturall bent among his play-fellowes and for that behoofe spareth not his owne bodie he beginneth to deale with wilde beastes and mastereth some particulars by reason whereof he winneth the peoples harts and is made gouernour then he laieth himselfe open and to maintaine his tyrannie putteth into the peoples heads to build a towne and a mightie tower to withstand the force of another Deluge This obtaineth so good liking with the people that they presently set themselues on worke But the Lord prouoked to anger with their bold attempt confoundeth the language of the builders so as they are constrained to let all alone not vnderstanding one another by reason of their different speech the roote of many inconueniences whose contrarie commodities are declared and so the Poet falleth into discourse of the beginning of toongs and of th' aduantage that herein mankind hath aboue all other creatures and proueth by many reasons that the Hebrue toong is the most ancient that it continued by descent from Adam vnto Nimrod and remained last in the familie of Heber Concerning other toongs parted as they are sundrie waies mention is made of their alterations as also of their force and vigour much relying vpon vse which hath brought the Hebrue Greeke and Latine into request Here the Poet breathing awhile casteth into a new treatise where he faineth a vision and in the same the dwelling place and image of Eloquence represented vnto him and about this image the toongs Hebrue Greeke Latine Italian Arabian Dutch Spanish English and French togither with the names of certaine personages that in some one of them haue excelled and after due reuerence done vnto them he closeth vp his vision and booke withall Then in his third booke 3. Colonies taking againe in hand the astonished builders of Babel after he hath giuen a reason why God would not haue them stay in the plaine of Sennaar he leadeth the children of Sem towards the east of Cham to the south of Iaphet to the north and west but he chooseth rather to stay himselfe than enter into the dark corners of Antiquitie shewing how much they deceiue themselues and others who venter too far that way then describeth he the diuers remooues of sundrie nations as of the Bretons Lumbards Alans and Vandals reckoneth the causes why they shifted their abode and baulking the vnknowen iourneyes of some nations treateth of the voyages of certaine warlike people chiefly of the Gothes Lumbards and Gaules There againe staying he saith to be short that the posteritie of Noes thrée children peopled the world not all at once but by little and little and as it were yéere after yéere with increase of children which also was th' occasion why the first Monarchie was planted in Assyria néere to the plaine of Sennaar rather than elsewhere in any countrey not so soone inhabited so the Hebrues and other neighbour peoples haue had the Arts riches and ornaments of delight before those of the north and west knew what the world meant Herupon is noted first how Sem in the east then how Iaphet in the west and lastly how C ham in the south replenished the world with people it rested that he should speake of the new world discouered in our time concerning the same he sheweth how so huge a countrey was first inhabited why not so soone as other parts of the world and whereby it appéereth to haue bin yet a long time possessed he propoundeth here certaine of his owne coniectures touching the processe of this new worlds inhabitants nameth diuers parts and reckoneth vp certaine wonders thereof then answereth fitly to this obiection How it could be that Noe and his children should haue so much increased and there taketh occasion to intreat of the wonderfull works of God in the diuers temper and complexion of nations shewing how the northren differ from the southren people and euen those of Europe among themselues especially the French Dutch Italian and Spanish Further he sheweth why God would haue the children of Noe be so disparkled ouer the face of the earth which is compared vnto a great citie where men haue much to do one with another then refuteth he the godlesse crew prouing to their confusion that whatsoeuer they suppose created in vaine and to serue to no vse standeth vs oftentimes in greatest stead as witnes the wildernes the mountaines and the sea But now being wéerie as it were with so long sailing he landeth in France singeth swéetly the praise therof cōcluding that it wanteth nothing saue only a sound peace which he craueth at the hands of him that is able to giue it 4. Colonnies In the beginning of the fourth and last booke he calleth on God againe being to enter into discourse of a new matter hautie and very hard to handle to wit the Mathematikes and the better to performe his drift he supposeth Phaleg to haue found two ancient pillers and to aske of his father Heber what they meane whereunto Heber answereth and openeth the doore of one of them and sheweth his sonne foure images there inclosed the first of them is Arithmetike set out in hir proper attire with numbers the second is Geometrie with hir tooles works and excellent crafts particularly set downe the third is Astronomie holding in hir right hand the Earth-globe whereon the land the sea and the ten circles of heauen are painted and in hir left hand the sphere of heauen bedecked with figures and images noting forth all the principall stars that are séene betwixt the two Poles In this place is yéelded a reason of the names that are giuen to the twelue signes of the Zodiacke and Heber himselfe is made to hold opinion that the chiefe stars of the globe which
in vaine Each one the more he striues the lesse appeeres his paine Another excellent comparison declaring how neither counsell art force diligence nor multitude is able to resist God And shortly as the men that altogither stood To build in channell deepe of some great rau'ning flood High arches of a bridge marking from hils descend A hundred sudden streames and now far to extend The mountaine-hating waues leaue off without aduise Scudding some here some there their goodly enterprise Right so these Architects feeling the stormie smart Of Gods displeasure rise had neither strength nor hart But there they left their worke and with hands malcontent Rules mallets plummets lines all down the Towre they sent 4. Now he enthroned is This is the exposition of the words mighty hunter before the Lord to wit that Nimrod Chams nephew did proudly lift himselfe vp against God and man His buildings and the beginning of his raigne could not haue béene such without offring violence to the peace and libertie of diuers families ouer whom he bare rule and there is no shew to the contrarie but that by diuers practises from time to time he got the soueraigntie The holy Scripture oftentimes by the names of hunters and chasers meaneth Gods enimies and the persecutors of his church Psalme 91. 124. Ezech. 32. Lamentations 3. The seauentie Interpreters translate th' Hebrue text after this maner This Nimrod began to be a Gyant on the earth and a huntesman or leader of houndes before the Lorde God By the hounds of Nimrod may be vnderstood his guardes and the fauorers of his tyrannie Moses calleth him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gibor tsaid that is lusty strong or great and mightie chaser Which noteth not onely the stature and height of bodie but also might and authoritie ioyned with violence in all those that want the feare of God Now although Moses in the 11. Chapter of Genesis where he speaketh of the citie towre of Babel make no mention of Nimrod yet hath the Poet aptly gathered out of the chapter aforegoing that Nimrod was the author and promoter of those buildings in as much as Babel is called the beginning of his raigne who could not any waies raigne without some habitations for himselfe and his subiects and considering that Moses in the selfe same place affirmeth that the cities founded by Nimrod were in the countrey of Sennaar and that in the 12. verse of the 11. chapter he saith that these builders of Babel dwelt on a plaine in the countrey of Sennaar by good reason the inuention and beginning thereof is héere ascribed to Nimrod who by this meanes sought to set his state on foote Also this Monarchie of Babylon was one of the first and with it that of Niniuie as may be gathered out of the wordes of Moses But the more particular discourse of these matters and diuerse other questions concerning Nimrod and his outrages require a larger commentarie 5. Like as the Vulcan weake The Poet saith that as a small deale of fire let fall by some shepheards among the drie leaues of a great forest setting it selfe and hatching as it were the heate awhile at length with helpe of the winde groweth to so great a flame that it taketh the whole forest and leaueth not a Driad that is not a trée in his proper or naturall barke So the words first vttered by Nimrod the blowne with the bellowes of his mynions fauorites set so the harts of the people on fire that he soon obtained his purpose This is it that Moses noteth in the 11. chap. of Gen. the 3. and 4. vers They saide one to another the chiefe men hauing put it in their heads Come let vs make bricke and burne it well in the fire so had they bricke instéed of stone and slime had they in steade of morter Then said they go let vs build vs a citie and a tower whose top may reach vnto the heauens that we may get vs a name least we be scattered vpon the whole earth The Poet in his verse discourseth vpon this deuise It is thought that this proud building was begun about a hundred and fiftie yéeres after the flood The good patriarch Noe that liued yet long time after saw his posteritie confounded and scattered for so it was the Lords will to exercise the patient faith of his seruant to whom in recompence he shewed the effect of his blessings in the familie of Sem where still remained the Hebrue toong togither with the doctrine and discipline of the true church Now out of this historie of Moses touching the building of the towne and the confusion of the builders is sprong as it séemeth the fabulous discourse of the Poets set downe by Quid in his first booke of Metamorphosis touching the Gyants that heaped hils one vpon another to scale heauen and dispossesse Iupiter of his throne Thus hath Satan endeuoured to falsifie the truth of sacred histories Well this arrogant building sheweth vs how vaine are the imaginations of worldly men namely to set at naught the true renowme of heauenly life and séeke after the false on earth Carnall men haue no care at all to worship and reuerence the name of the true God they regarde onely to be accounted of themselues and so to write their names in the dust Against th' attempts of the men of Babel and all their successors let vs oppose these sentences the 18. and 21. of Prouerbs The name of the Lord is a strong towre thither shall the iust repaire and be exalted There is no wisedome nor vnderstanding nor force can preuaile against the Lord and that which is written Psal the 127. Except the Lord do buylde the house the builders labour but in vaine 6. God seeing this Moses in the 5. and 6. verses of the 11. chapter saith Then the Lord came downe to sée the citie and Towre which the sonnes of men had built And the Lorde saide Behold the people is one and they all haue one language and this they begin to do neither can they now be stopped from whatsoeuer they haue imagined to do come on let vs go downe and there confound their language that they vnderstand not one another Then he addeth the execution of the sentence saying So the Lorde scattered them from thence vpon all the earth and they left off to build the citie Therefore the name of it was called Babel bicause the Lord did there confounde the language of all the earth and scattered them from thence ouer all the world God that is all in all neuer changeth his place he goeth neither vpwarde nor downwarde but the Scripture saith he goeth downe then whē he worketh any thing on earth which falling out beyond and against the ordinarie course of nature witnesseth his particular presence Vnder these few words of Moses a many things are to be considered chiefly he noteth the great sinnes of the builders in that he bringeth in the Lord iudge of the
whole world vouchsaufing to bow downe his eies particularly vpon that foolish people For it is not without cause that the great God of heauen and earth shoulde arise from his throne and if I durst so say leaue the palace of his glorie to come and view the durt-dawbers or morter-makers By this manner of spéech Moses sheweth and giueth vs to vnderstand that long time before these Babylonians had built in their harts most woonderfull high and stately towers and that long ago they had bak'd in the fire of their concupiscence some maruellous brickes to wit they had much counsailed one with an other and discoursed of meanes to get renowme and found no better way to attaine their purpose than to raise a tower vp to the heauens to rauish with astonishment all those that shoulde beholde it So Moses saith that this pride and frowarde selfe-trust deserued a gréeuous punishment but as God is parfaitly iust so layeth he vpon the builders a chastisement proportionable vnto their offence 7. Thus had he said and straight In God it is all one to will and to do And further he sendeth not lightning winde nor tempest against the tower but contenteth himself to strike the proud and puffed vp braines of the builders and so the building founded vpon their follie was ouerthrowne by their foolish iangling that God mingled with their language and the vain-glorious masons in stéed of their imagined renowme haue gottē themselues euerlasting shame Who would haue thought that God had had so readie such kinde of rods to punish mankinde withall But let the Reader consider whether the world at this day be not full of Babel-towers Marke what a number of men do in euery kind of vocation Sith I do not take vpon me but to write bare Annotations I leaue it to the Readers consideration who may sée now more then euer that the world continueth the building of Babel that is men madly gainset their owne wisedome and power against the wisedome and power of God who treading as it were with woollen féete and stealing on softly is able with an arme of Iron to surprise and seize vpon these builders and turne by diuers means their vaine purposes and weake endeuours to naught The Poet hath vsed many verie fit comparisons to represent the confusion of these workmen The first is taken from that which we sée fall out in a great rabblement of Pesants ouerruled by the Launce or Mace of Bacchus that is such as haue the Wine in their heads and are dronken for among such people is commonly heard a strange confused noise iangling as the Churhales and Wakes and other such passe-times do now and then declare The second is taken from the chirping of Birdes in voice and song diuers The third from Masons constrained by the sodaine rage of a land-flood to leaue off the begun worke of a Bridge And héere is a liuely description of Gods iudgements togither with their degrées and consequences namely in the confusion of vnderstandings first then of spéech and lastly of the whole company which being vnable longer to continue was quickly so scattered that as Moses saith they ceassed to builde the Citie The harmes that men suffer by the confusion of speech O proud rebellion O traiterous impietie Marke in what maner sort by thy speeches varietie God hath thee punished alas that pleasant toong That holy bond of townes of anger bridle strong Strong glue of amitie once one now doth wayfare In hundred riuers drie this gould so richly rare Wroth-taming charming-care men-drawing hart-intāgling Both colour waight and sound hath lost by mingle-mangling This gift corrupted is and from the North to South Babels confused fall sounds yet in eu'ry mouth The cold Finlanders once might visit Africans The Spanish Indians th' English Americans Without interpreters but now the compas small That doth our cities bound our language bounds withall And if we from our home but ne're so little went Dombe should we be and rest of reasons instrument Or if we speake at least vnto our neybour nations T is by a borrow'd toong or by strange animations Without schoole without paines sucking our mothers brest We might haue learn'd the tong that all mens minds exprest And after seu'n yeeres old vpon small glistring sand Begun to draw with skill the shape of sea and land To part and multiplie and so from skill to skill We might haue climbed soone the ridge of that high hill Where Arts perfection in signe of their victorie Crowneth hir Fauorites with euerlasting glorie Now infants we alwaies soone as we learne to sound The Latine Hebrue Greeke are going to the ground We learne but prittle-prattle and for the deepe inseeing Of natures secresies and of that onely Being That makes all things to be we labour neuer staying Well to decline a Verbe or find some prety saying Of letters and syllabs to way the quantitie Old knowing naught without masters auctoritie Who teach vs how to read and put into our pawes Some little Chriscrosrow in stead of ciuill lawes And for Hippocrates and for that holy wrighting Where God himselfe reueales to Readers there delighting 8. O proud rebellion A fine description of euils ensuing this confusion of spéech First the acquaintance of all mankinde togither the knot and loue-bond of nations is so loosened and broke that scarre is there founde any remedie for it some of them not thinking on or not at all caring for others Secondly that onely one language which decked and embellished the acquaintance and fellowship of men that kept them in peace and temper such as it was that made them all well appaide that mooued each one to his dutie was much regarded of all hath lost all this by this change and in a word hath neither shew nor grace of a language insomuch as euen at this day the fall of the Tower of Babel is heard from North to South from East to West That is to say in the diuerse languages of so many nations we may obserue almost nothing else but a kinde of chattering and confused sounde neither fit nor comely nor expressing at all the nature of things At least one people so iudgeth of anothers toong For I pray you what pleasure taketh a Frenchman to heare a Moscouite or a Mexican speake And euen the toongs that we vnderstand and speake as we thinke reasonable well what are they vnto vs in respect of our mother toong or the principall toongs Thirdly whereas the nations dwelling farthest asunder might easily haue come togither béen acquainted and traffiked one with another Now a man is no sooner gone out of his owne doores but he hath much adoo to vnderstand those that he méeteth withall and if he set foote in any far country he néedeth interpretours or must haue spent a long time before to learne the toong or else must speake by signes or alwaies hold his peace and liue like a domb creature Fourthly to amplifie further this
Citie and Tower afterward called Babel all the earth was one lāguage one spéech which I vnderstand not onely of those that dwelt in the plaine of Sennaar but of all people then liuing in the world It is likely that they that came out of the East countries and setled themselues in Sennaar were a great number They spake Hebrue but when confusion befell their toong some drew one way others another way and by continuance of time their Hebrue varying by meanes of their separation was embased and euery seuerall people had their language apart As for such as were not mingled in this disorder namely the families of Sem or the most part of them they kept the originall and primitiue toong wherof Heber was the chiefe professour at the confusion of Babel and thence it commeth as it is thought that the toong was called Hebrue and the people Hebrues as Abraham in whose family that spéech remained is surnamed an Hebrue The Poet with some interpretours leaues it in doubt whether Heber was among the builders of Babel or dwelt apart I thinke with some others that he was not of the number but hearing how the Tower-builders were scattered he gaue the name of Peleg that is Diuision to his sonne that then was borne bicause saith Moses Genes 10.25 that in his time the earth was diuided Thus much of the Hebrue toong which was after preserued by Moses and the high Priests the Iudges Kings and Prophets Now let vs consider what the Poet saith further as touching those other toongs that first arising of the Hebrue were after the confusion a hundred thousand waies altered and disguised by the nations liuing asunder who themselues inuented and carried new words and language each to the place of their abode The first languages deriued from the Hebrue are each of them againe diuided into diuers others 17 But softly-sliding Age that enuious all doth wast Those ancient languages soone eu'ry one defac'd That in the thundring sound of masons clattring hands By Tygris banks deuis'd had ouerspred the lands And that the world might be more out of order left Into a many toongs the least of them hath cleft Whence commeth the alteration of a toong 18 Each language altereth beit for that marchandise Imparting vnto vs the treasures of great prise From azur'd Amphitrite and sending ours aboord Bould with a good successe oft changeth word for word Or that the learned man ingenuously endighting With guilt and curled words tricks vp his wanton writing And hunting after praise some stampe nere seene before Sets both on deeds and things or doth at least restore Disclaimed words to vse and makes againe be borne Those that with ouer-age with rot and mould were worne With them it falleth out as with leaues in a wood One fals another growes the words that once were good And like faire Lillie floures in greenest medow strew'd Quite through the lerned speech their glittring beuty shew'd Now are not in request but sith Court them exiles Asham'd they shrowd themselues vnder base cottage tiles And those that long-ago were censur'd curiously For base and counterfait now passe on currantly 19 A courage bould led with discretion fortunate May licence words to passe although they but of late Were forged in his shop among plants naturall May graffe some forraine imps his language therewithall Enriching more and more and with a diuers glose Enameling his talke his Muses taske or prose Some language hath no law but Vse head-strong and blinde That runneth wheresoere the people light as winde Goes headlong driuing it another closely running Within the bounds of Art hir phrases frames with cunning Some one straight waxing old assoone as it is borne The cradle hath to graue another is not worne With file of many yeeres some liueth ill bested Within a straight precinct for euer prisoned Another bouldly doth from Alexanders altar Among the learned stretch vnto the mount Gibraltar Such now the Hebrue toong the Greeke and Latine be Hebrue Greeke and Latine the best of all toongs Hebrue for still she holds and by hir hand hold we The Word the sacred Word of God thrise-eternall And was of Lawes diuine the true originall The Greeke as one that hath within hir learned writ Plainly comprised all the knowledge of mans wit And valiant Latine eke bicause hir eloquence By sword was planted through the worlds circumference 17. But softly-sliding Age. The Poet héere entreth into consideration of other toongs beside the Hebrue and saith these first toongs that begun in Babel being all as it were Meslins of Hebrue by tract of time are so worne out that each one of them hath engendred a many others as a man may quickly vnderstand if he consider the great varietie of ancient people that were before the Gréekes and Latines It shall suffise at this present thus to haue pointed hereat in a word Who-so is desirous of more let him cast his eie vpon the thrée first and principall Monarchies and all the diuers nations subiect vnto them and mentioned in the Chronicles of the worlde the Abridgement of all is to be found in the first Volume of the Historicall librarie of N. Vignier 18. Each language altereth He sheweth by diuers reasons whence commeth the change of toongs First the trafficke that one countrey people hath with another as well by sea which he calleth Th'azur'd Amphitrite as also by land is cause why we learne some new words as if we made no lesse exchange of words than of wares Secondly a writer that dares venter and is desirous to enrich his mother-toong decketh it boldly with that which he borroweth of others setteth forgotten words on foote againe inuenteth new words colouring and fashioning them according Thirdly time altereth a spéech as we sée it doth all things else that we might be forced thereby daily more and more to sée and confesse that nothing is sure and stedfast vnder heauen and to beate downe also the vanitie of mans conceit who commonly vaunteth himselfe and taketh pride in such things as haue nothing constant in them but their owne vnconstancie 19. A courage bold This commeth too néere the seconde reason to be counted a fourth The French Commentar must pardon me I thinke rather the Poet hauing spoken of Writers Marchandise and Time the right and onely means wherby new words and phrases are first brought into a language here he sheweth vs how they are accepted for as before he touched in a worde that the Courts dislike of old words bred their disuse so héere he telleth vs plainly that the authoritie of him that deuiseth or vseth new words is cause of their acceptance which is afterward confirmed by vse Quem penes arbitrium est vis norma loquendi as Horace writeth But forasmuch as vse without Art draweth a language head-long into Barbarisme and so out of request and Art without authoritie of Empire shutteth it vp in a narrow compasse he saith that