guilty of the like Crime nor the hand of God which was gone out against the Common People destroying those by a burning Plague who just before were burning in their Lusts but in the very heat of God's Anger and while the Congregation were all in Tears for their Sins and Judgments as if he would out brave the wrath of God and insult over the Calamities of the people he brought his Midiantish Whore in the sight of Moses and all the Congregation into his Tent and as he made himself thus a Remarkable Sinner the Lord did pursue him with as Remarkable a Judgment by sturring up Phinehas to go beyond the ordinary bounds of his Vocation and become Executioner of his Justice upon this Lustfull Gallant whom together with his Whore he thrust througâ— with his Javelin so that instead of sending a Priest to give him absolution God Commissioned a Priest to be the Messenger of dispatching him to everlasting flame in the very mids of his own Impure flames and while not only the names of Common Sinners but even those of other Great meâ— who were hanged for the same Crimes are buried in oblivion the Name of this Prince and his Tribe are conveyed dowâ— to Posterity to perpetuate the Memory of hiâ— Infamy and this Remarkable Zeal of Phinehas was so well pleasing to God that the Plague amongst the People did immediately cease upon it It 's an observation naturally deducible from this passage that the Chief Magistrate ought to punish Great Men in aâ— Exemplary manner for such Great and Heinous Crimes as Whoredom and Idolatrâ— Here the great ones are hung up before the Sun while Sinners of a lower rank are suffered to rot by a Common Contagion From hence also we may observe Thâ—â— then a Reformation may have prospect oâ— Success when Ministers and Magistrates concur in it as here Phinehas did with Moses The horrid advice of Balaam before mentioned puts me in mind of the Counsel which Cardinal Mazarine is generally charged with as to England viz. That the best way to make us Papists was to debauch our Morals particularly by Whoredom We find by the Instance just now related that Uncleanness is a strong attractive to Idolatry and whether the Lewd Example of the Court which overspread the Nation with Debauchery did not very much promote the Popish Interest in former Reigns and likewise lay the Foundation for that Atheism Deism and Socinianism which doth so much abound in this now that the Debauchees cannot find their Account in Popery let Experience testify If the Advocates of Lechery should object that the punishments abovementioned were inflicted upon the People because of their Idolatry and not upon the Account of their Infamous Commerce with the Daughters of Midian it is easie to answer them that they were punish'd for both in Conjunction and the Apostle in the first of Corinthians 10. and 8. assigns their Fornication as the Cause of their Judgments it being indeed the Original Cause and as has been said already Whoredom and Idolatry have a Natural Tendency to one another and therefore Cardinal Mazarine's Receipt abovementioned for perverting Protestants to be Papists may very well pass with a probatumest There 's one thing more to be taken notice of in this Instance and that is the Judgments which this Whoredom brought upon the Midianites as well as upon the Children of Israel It is well enough known that Corrupt Nature is prone enough to Revenge and there 's little reason to doubt but the Israelites were incens'd enough against those of Midian for this Great Injury they had done them yet the Almighty thought fit to whett their Revenge and Commanded them to Vex the Midianites and Smite them because they vexed them with their Wiles and beguil'd them in the matter of Peor and Cozbi that is by enticing them to Idolatry and Whoredom Peor being the Mountain where the Midianitish Baal was worshipped for Baal was an Appellative Name to Heathen Idols as Mary is to the Popish ones but distinguish'd by the places where the most Famous Statues or Pictures of 'em were worshiped as our Lady of Loretto Lady of Prague c. now a days So that here 's a War declared against Midian with as good Authority and for as great and weighty Causes as ever any War was declared under Heav'n The Execution of which we have an account of in the 31. Chap. where it 's recommended unto Moses as the last Military Exploit that ever he was to perform to Avenge the Lord and the Children of Israel of the Midianites which was accordingly done by an Army Contemptible for Number viz. 12000 Men who destroyed a Numerous People Governed by 5 Kings put all their Males to the edge of the Sword their Kings not excepted and amongst the rest Balaam the false Prophet was slain as a just reward for his pernicious Council and so the Riches which he acquir'd and was so covetous of that for the Lucre of 'em he would act contrary to God's Express Command became a prey to the Israelites against whom he had given such Hellish advice It is also observable that Phinehas who had formerly signalized his Zeal is sent along with the Troops which was both a great Honour to him and an Encouragement to them as fighting under the Auspices of Heaven and had it been otherwise they could never possibly have Conquer'd such a great People as the Midianites appear to have been 3 by the Number of the Women saved that had never known Man viz. 32000 their Sheep which were 675,000 their Beeves 72,000 and Asses 61,000 so that God powred Contempt upon that Effeminate Whoring Nation in destroying them by such an Inconsiderable Number of men It 's also to be observed that Moses was very Angry with the Captains for having saved all the Women and the reason given for it is this Because they had enticed the Children of Israel first to Whoredom and then to Idolatry and therefore he Commanded every Woman who had known a Man to be destroyed and thus those Women who thought to have sav'd their Country by Prostituting themselves did thereby accelerate the destruction of themselves and their Country too and the Midianitisls Men who consented to this Hellish Stratagem of exposing their Wives to save themselves did thereby procure the ruin of both and their Virgins became a prey to the Conquerors The just hatred of God against this Impure Nation appears likewise in this that their Furniture Gold Silver c. was not to be made use of by the Israelites 'till purisied by Fire and Water according to the nature of the thing so abominable in the Eyes of God are all those things spoâ—ted with the Flesh There are some who make an exception to the truth of this History of the Total destruction of the Midianites because they afterwards invaded Israel in great Multitudes in Gideon's time but the solution is easie by the Total destruction may be meant that of the
of his own as well as of Mithridates's Folly and to those that laugh'd at him for the same he said There was no such Wonder in this but rather that he did not throw Stones at all he met he was so much beside himself with Joy Another Piece of Vengeance that pursued Pompey and wherein he might read his Crime in his Punishment was That his Wife Mutia during his absence had dishonour'd his Bed at which he was so nettl'd that he sent her a Bill of Divorce Pompey in pursuit of his Amorous Inclination did likewise commit a piece of notorious Injustice in marrying Julia Daughter to Caesar who had been affianced before and was to be married within a few days to Caepio and to appease Caepio's Anger married his own Daughter to him who had formerly been espoused to Faustus the Son of Sylla Pompey was so much besotted with his Love to Julia that he created abundance of Envy to himself by committing the Government of his Provinces and Legions into the Hands of his Friends as his Lieutenants whilst he himself wantonly rambl'd up and down caressing his Wife throughout all the Delicacies of Italy but he was soon depriv'd of her for she dy'd in Child-bed her Daughter not outliving her many days He afterwards married Cornelia Daughter to Metellius Scipio and Relict of Publius the Son of Crassus a young Lady of great Quality Beauty and Education but this Marriage was very unpleasing to some People who thought that she was a Match more agreeable to his Son and were angry that the Affairs of the City lay neglected while he from whom they expected a Cure to their Distractions went crown'd with Garlands and was revelling in his Nuptial Feasts It 's observable that at the very last his Fondness towards this young Lady and his Fear that her Beauty might expose her to some Dishonour amongst the Parthians was the chief Argument that prevail'd with him not to have recourse thither where in all probability he might have been able to renew the War and recover his Glory after his Defeat in the Pharsalian Plains so that resolving to sail for Egypt and intrust himself with Ptolomy he was by Advice of that young King's Council barbarously and inhumanly murder'd as going ashore in a Boat in order as he thought to a favourable Reception the distressed Cornelia and his Friends beholding this lamentable Tragedy from on board the Vessels where they were Thus fell this Great Man to which it cannot be denied that his Amorous and Sensual Temper did highly contribute Not that I would be understood positively to assert that Uncleanness was the sole procuring Cause of those Tragical Disasters that befel the great Man and others whom I have mention'd or shall mention in the course of this History it being enough for my Design to prove that it was always one of the visible Causes and that it makes good the Assertion of the Wise Man in the Proverbs where speaking of the Harlot or strange Woman in general he says That many strong Men have been slain by her of which there is not a more speaking and demonstrable Instance than this of Pompey who had triumph'd over Asia Africa and Europe and yet was himself a Captive and Subject of Triumph to his own Lusts In the Life of Cato the younger who was not only a great Pretender to Virtue but compar'd with his Contemporaries a glorious Mirror of it We find that he had no true Notions of the Honour of the Marriage Bed nor any just Idea of Chastity as is apparent from the following Instance Quintus Hortensius whom Plutarch calls a Man of singular Worth and approved Virtue propos'd to Cato That his Daughter Porcia who was already married to Bibulus and had already born him two Children might be given to him as a fruitful Field from which he might raise an Offspring For said he tho' this in the Opinion of Men may seem strange yet in Nature it would be honest and profitable for the Publick that a Woman in the prime of her Youth should not lye useless and lose the Fruit of her Womb Nor on the other side would it be convenient she should burthen and impoverish one Man by bringing him too many Children Also by this Communication of Families among worthy Men Virtue would encrease and be diffus'd thro' their Posterity and the Commonwealth would be united and cemented by their Alliances Yet if Bibulus would not part with his Wife altogether he would restore her as soon as she had brought him a Child whereby he might be united to both their Families Cato answer'd That he lov'd Hortensius very well and did much approve of uniting their Houses but he thought it very strange to speak of marrying his Daughter who was already given to another Then Hortensius turning the Discourse acknowledg'd that ' t was Cato ' s own Wife which he desir'd for she was young and fruitful and he had already Children enough To which Cato agreed with the Consent of his Wife Martia and her Father Philip and after the Death of Hortensius took her again for which Caesar reproach'd him as having a mercenary design in his Marriage saying If Cato had need of a Wife why did he part with her And if he had not why did he take her again unless he gave her only as a Bait to Hortensius and lent her when she was young to have her again when she was rich It 's plain from this Instance that Cato was guilty of countenancing Impurity in others if he was not actually guilty of it himself and seeing he was unwilling to take his Daughter from Bibulus and yet as willing to gratifie Hortensius by parting with his own Wife it would argue that he was weary of her and that he would make no Scruple to use other Women seeing he allow'd her to give up her self into the Embraces of another Man But now it remains that we should take notice of the Judgments which pursued this great Man of which without breach of Charity we may look upon this Crime amongst others to have been one of the procuring Causes It 's known to every one that he follow'd Pompâ—y and adher'd to him against Caesar and that after Pompey's Defeat he retir'd to Vtica where having no hopes of retrieving his desperate Affairs he deliberately murder'd himself from which Design all the Endeavours of his Friends were not able to divert him And thus the Divine Vengeance made him the Executioner of Justice upon himself which he ought to have suffer'd by the hands of others for that brutish and unnatural Carriage to his Wife In the Life of Demetrius Poliorcetes we have an account that when this great Prince laid Siege to Megara he was so far transported with a Lustful Passion for Cratesipoliâ— the Widow of Poliperchon a Lady of greater Beauty than Virtue that leaving his Army he went to make her a Visit with two or three of his Intimates but when he came
A Flaming Whip for Lechery OR THE Whoremasters SPECULUM CONTAINING A fearful Historical RELATION of such Wicked unclean Persons as have been made Publick and Private Examples of GOD'S Divine Vengeance for polluting themselves and others with such Abomination and Defilements Taken out of Sacred and Prophane History ALSO Some dreadful Examples of GOD'S Righteous Judgment not Recorded in either with curious Remarks by way of a fuller Explanation of the most eminent Sins of this kind particularly those mentioned in Holy Writ much Enlightening the several Texts thereto referring drawing from thence good Councel and Advice With timely Warning and serious Admonitions to Amendment of Life and speedy Reformation of Manners IN ORDER To prevent GOD'S heavy Judgments hanging over this sinful Land LONDON Printed for ELIZ. HARRIS at the Harrow in Little-Britain 1700. THE PREFACE THE Design of the following Essay is not to minister Fuel to those Impure Flames which have consum'd so many particular Persons Families and Nations but is intended as a Caveat and Warning to all those who are guilty of that reigning Sin of Vncleanness to repent and reform lest their Practices bring as great or greater Judgments upon themselves and the Nations wherein they live as those they will find here related We have begun at the Creation and trac'd this Sin from its original thro' all the most remarkable Instances of it from Lamech the first whom we find upon Record to have broken the divine Institution of Marriage betwixt one Man and one Woman to the time of Augustulus the last of the Roman Emperors properly so call'd who died about the Year of Christ 476 so that according to the vulgar Account we have run thro' the most observable Instances that happen'd of this nature for the space of 5190 Years In the first place we have taken all the Instances of the Old and New Testament with the Notes of Commentators upon the Crimes and Punishments and have now and then intermix'd some Observations of our own It 's not doubted but this part will be pleasant and edifying to all Men of sober Minds and may be of great use to be put into the Hands of Youth as a good Monitor to beware of Youthful Lusts against which they will see here that GOD hath all-along testified so much Wrath and been as good as his Word if we may make use of that familiar Expression in punishing Whoremongers and Adulterers It may be also of use to confirm and strengthen them against the Blasphemers of our Age who cry down the Divine Authority of the Scriptures for here they will find Proofs from Prophane History that those Threatnings denounced in the Holy Scriptures against Empires Kingdoms and Cities for Vncleanness and other Sins were exactly fulfill'd as will appear by the destruction of the Assyrian Babylonian and Persian Empires the several Captivities of the Jews and the Destructions of the Cities of Babylon Nineveh and Jerusalem They will here also meet with Solomon's Character of Whoredom Whoremongers and Whores collected from the several Chapters of the Proverbs where he treats of that Sin than which nothing can be more abominable and odious and such as if any Man should give to the Beaux and Debauchees of this present Age he would run a hazard of being whipp'd through the Lungs with a Damn him for a canting foul-mouth'd Coxcomb so much do those Men hate their own Picture though drawn to the life by an infallible Hand And therefore it is no Wonder that they do as much as in them lies to break the Glass which shews them their own deformed Aspect that is cry down the Divine Authority of the Bible which describes them as graphically as if it had been writ in our own Days Their Rampant Malice against the Gospel and the Godhead of our Saviour proceeds from the same Cause The divine Lawgiver by his Commentaries upon his own Text hath abridg'd corrupt Mankind of that Liberty which they assum'd to themselves under the Law and for which they pleaded Prescription and hath not only forbid Polygamy and Concubinage but declar'd Lustful Thoughts to be Criminal and that Whoremongers and Adulterers shall be excluded the Kingdom of Heaven No Wonder then that such Persons as live in open Rebellion to his Dictates and have bid Defiance to his Threats do all they can to perswade themselves and others that it is not GOD but Man that they fight against It were to be wish'd that most of those who embrace and countenance Deism and Socinianism would answer from their own Consciences whether a loose Conversation and Love to an uncontroulable pursuit of their Sensual Pleasures did not at first beget in them a good Opinion of those newly reviv'd yet old and stinking Heresies But whether they do it or not it 's observable enough that the most of their Proselites in these Nations smell rank of Goatish Lust and therefore it 's but natural that they should declare War against his Godhead who is to be their Judge at the last day and will assign them their Place then on his Left Hand amongst the Goats if Repentance don't prevent it And would to God that those Men would but seriously consider with themselves whether they have not reason to look upon the dissolute Lives of most of their Fraternity as a just Judgment upon them from God for growing vain in their Imaginations and rejecting all those Principles of Religion which they cannot fathom with their shallow and corrupted Reason according to that of the 1st of the Romans Because they glorified him not as God neither were thankful but became vain in their Imaginations their foolish Heart was darken'd and professing themselves to be wise they became fools Wherefore God also gave them up to vile Affections and Vncleanness thro' the Lusts of their own Hearts to dishonour their own Bodies of which they will meet with dreadful Instances in this Treatise amongst the Grecians and Romans in their Eleusina Sacra Bacchanalia Ludi Florales c. tho' they called themselves as indeed they were the wisest and most polite Nations in the World If it be objected That the denying the Godhead of Jesus Christ has no tendency to encourage Men in the practice of Uncleanness it may be readily answer'd That seeing it was Jesus Christ who recall'd Marriage to its first Institution and took away that Liberty of Poligamy and Concubinage which the holiest Men under the Old Testament and some of them Prophets too as Abraham and David thought lawful the denying of our Saviour's Godhead overthrows his Authority in this and all other things that he hath taught us inasmuch as it makes him a Liar for that he asserted his own Godhead and was cut off by the Jews for making himself Equal with God appears plainly from the History of that Matter left us by the Evangelists but if it be so that he is not only not God but died for asserting a Lie that he was so then certainly the Practise