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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A18368	A treatise against iudicial astrologie Dedicated to the right Honorable Sir Thomas Egerton Knight, Lord Keeper of the great Seale, and one of her Maiesties most honorable priuie Councell. VVritten by Iohn Chamber, one of the prebendaries of her Maiesties free Chappell of VVindsor, and fellow of Eaton College.	Chamber, John, 1546-1604.	1601 (1601)	STC 4941; ESTC S107654	105,203	193

Christ by whose death his tyranny ouer mankind was to be abolished and dissolued neither would he be so busie in tempting and molesting the Saints of God if he knew before he should be foiled by them and so increase their glorie But what do we speake of the diuell seeing neither the Angels nor blessed soules of the faithfull who still behold God and see into the course of starres as farre as any Wisard cannot certainely know our actions before hand without some speciall reuelation from God What madnesse were it then to giue that to the diuell which is denied to Angels and Saints Againe whatsoeuer belonged to Christ or the state of his Church we see hath beene euer foretold long before by the Prophets most distinctly and plainely which things if they could haue beene foretold by the starres and starre-gazers then were the foundation of all true religion shaken Neither by this meanes is religion and Diuinitie shaken onely but also all morall doctrine and philosophie for whosoeuer is perswaded that all dependeth on heauen and therefore thinketh that all mens deeds and euents may be foreknowne and foretold by tooting vpon the starres he must needs thinke withall that the soule is mortall and the prouidence of God not to be such as our faith teacheth and that the mysteries miracles of our religion though they be indeed supernaturall yet depend vpon celestiall causes and powers How ill Christianitie and Astrologie stand together may appeare by the fact and practise of the Ephesians Act. 19. who as soone as they were conuerted by the Apostles preaching bid farewell to figure-flinging and flung their curious books into the fire The speech of S. Augustine receiuing a certaine penitent figure-flinger into the church is very notable in these words after the exposition of the 61. Psal This man being seduced by the enemy was a long time a figure-flinger being seduced himselfe and seducing others he deceiued entised spake manie lies against God who hath giuen men power to do good and not harme This man denied that his owne will committed adulterie but Venus and that his owne will committed murther but Mars and that iustice was done not by God but Iupiter and many such blasphemies did he vtter And after a few lines continuing the same speech he saith This man was lost but he hath beene sought and is now found brought home the books that would haue burnt him he bringeth with him to be burnt that they being cast into the fire himselfe may find refreshing Epiphanius in his booke de ponderibus telleth of a Bishop that was depriued for studying figure-flinging Farther all our religion faith the comming of our Sauiour the labour and paines of his Apostles and Prophets in planting the Church by this meanes should be in vaine vnlesse some perhaps will not sticke to say that the miracles of Christ with his death birth c. depend vpon constellations and aspects of starres And then wee may also go on and say that we are by destinie called to Christ and that either there is no difference betweene good and euill or that God is the authour of euil Some of them say there is such vertue in Mars wel placed in the ninth house that by our only presence we chase diuels out of possessed bodies Others by this arte thinke they can iudge of mens thoughts and consciences Maternus saith that they which are borne Saturne being in Leo shall first liue long here afterward go to heauen Albumasar saith that he that shall pray to God for any thing when the Moone and Iupiter are ioyned in the head of the Dragon shal obtaine whatsoeuer he asketh Of this Petrus Aponensis saith that he had triall in himselfe For in that coniunction when he had asked learning of God he perceiued he said that he was thereby mightily furthered yet I thinke that many haue had as much wit as he had without asking and of those that haue asked without the help of that constellation no doubt many haue far passed him for all manner of gifts Wherfore it should seeme that there be some constellations better for wit then this for himselfe it was wel that he asked in pudding time as they say for if he had not perhaps we should haue had a very wise man of him But that it hath bin alwaies pernicious and hurtfull to the Church may thence appeare because alwaies the greatest astrologers haue made religion as well as any humane or politique lawes subiect to constellations Ptolemy in the second booke of his Centiloquium ascribeth to the nature of celestiall formes starres that this motion hath one religion and that another And a certaine greeke interpreter of Ptolemy attributeth the miracle of Moses passing the red sea on foote with the people to the skil of Moses obseruing the fluxe and refluxe of the sea as if in the same water both Gods people were not saued and Pharao with his astrologers drowned as if Iosue had not passed Iordan drie foote where was not fluxe nor refluxe to yeeld to him Albumasar deriueth from heauen both our religion and the Turkes and all other lawes and his interpreter Henricus Macleuiensis found a ship in heauen by which Noe framed his arke which deuise Halliacensis admitteth with great applause Abraham Iudeus very impiously and ridiculously referreth to diuerse constellations the law of Moses the departing out of Egypt and whatsoeuer els hapned to that people Guido Bomattus also most prophanely and madlie saith that Christ vsed elected howers when he answered the Apostles desiring him not to goe into Iudea that there were twelue howers of the daie He made choise of an howre saith he in which the Iewes could not hurt him as if we did not reade in the same Gospell that he ouerthrew them and passed through the midst of them vnseene euen at none day Others thinke that when they reade in Paul of the fulnesse of time and in the Gospell now is your hower and the power of darkenesse and in an other place my howre is not yet come that by these places are meant their constellations For answer to them I would gladly know of thē whether they thinke it eating time whē they are hungry and drinking time when they are thirsty how soeuer it fareth with heauen at the same time If they be not starke staring madde they will graunt that euery thing hath a time howsoeuer heauen goeth according to the nature of the thing in hand and the oportunitie of Doing So diuine miracles haue their time but according to the purpose of God not according to the constitution of heauen The same Guido saith that the Christian religion is the religion of Iupiter and in the proems of his Theorickes against Gerardus he writeth that wee must praie deuoutly to Mercurie in choosing of a new Pope Roger Bacon saith that Christians might doe well to keepe Satterdaie holie daie with the Iewes becāse it is no good day for worke as belonging

at any time they saye true yet it is so that any man may see it was rather by hap then by skill For if any vnskilfull man not professed that way should set downe weather for euery day at all aduenture we doubt not but he would hit sometime euen as they doe But the vanitie of their trade can no way better appeare then by comparing of diuerse Almanacks together where you may see if you wil see the exceeding folly of both parts as well of them in writing as others in beleeuing Adrian Turnebus reporteth of himselfe that he was wont to make trial of their art By this meanes many times saith he to trie their art at the beginning of the yeare in a new almanacke where they write raine I write drouth where they calme I windie where they cleare I clowdie obseruing the euent and at the yeares end I gathered the sum of both our predictions found my selfe a great deale better and truer Astrologer Whereby we may see what a goodly art that is which a man may seeme to haue by scoffing and laughing at it but what will blessed Cardan himselfe say in this case In his commentaries lib. 1. cap. 2. his words be these of Astrologers they handle saith he their matters so carelesly that they make the art to be great y slaundered Since therefore their predictions are for the most part false or rather all false to speake on it is plaine they proceed not from any art or certaine obseruations but of rash and ignorant babling at all aduenture Betwene art and hap hazard is this difference the one hitteth oft and very sildome faileth the other faileth commonly and scarse euer hitteth no not one in a hundred Now what reason is there that one trueth should credit so many lies rather then so many lies shold discredit that one trueth which might haue bin a lie as well as the rest but that the blinde man sometimes hitteth the haire But since their lies are mo then their truthes why may we not thinke that they hit vppon the truth by chance for when they conclude that their art is good because sometime they hit by as good an argument will I proue that all arts be they neuer so superstitious sottish are good for there is none of them but if they be still ghessing they wil sometime hit Wherfore if Astrologers shal condēne any diuining arts as false they may be proued to speake contradictories since they may be all proued true by as good reason as they bring for their art but if againe they shall hold them all for true they shal be no lesse subiect to contradiction For suppose the Chiromancer the Astrologer and the Geomancer were al put to one question no doubt they would seeldome agree in the truth and when any of them hapned vpon the truth you should finde it there where you least looked for it either because chaunce ruleth most where there is least reason or because in the worse arts the diuell is more ready to deceiue For that of S. Augustine is most true that Astrologers by the inspiration of the diuell which they perceiue not doe sometime tell the truth which hapneth most commonly when they seeme miraculously to foretell any particular euent For Ptolemy himselfe saith that no man can foretell a particular without some diuine inspiration The Astrologers iugling in predictions and our rashnes in beleeuing seemeth Tullie to haue touched very finely lib. 2. de diuinat What needeth many words saith he since we see daily these iugling companions conuinced how many things haue I knowne them to assure Pompey Crassus and Cesar that none of them should die til he was old at home and with very good reputation and famously yet Pompey died in Egypt where he was beheaded Caesar in the Senate by stabbing Crassus among the Parthians with his whole army Wherefore I cannot but maruaile saith Tully if any liue who will beleeue them whose predictions are daily confuted by deedes and euents Seneca in his booke entitled Ludus in mortem Claudij Caesaris by the way gyrding and scoffing at these vagabond lyers maketh Mercury perswading the furies to kill Claudius to vse this reason to wit that these miserable Chaldeans may not alway lie For they were wont yeare by yeare and moneth by moneth to giue out the death of Claudius his words are these Patere istos mathematicos aliquādo verū dicere which euery yeare moneth since he came to the state haue bin burying him much like this of Claudius is that which is written of pope Alexander the sixt of that name the Astrologers of that age were wont to giue out year by yeare that he was but a dead man and cold not passe still the present year yet as it were in contempt of their predictions he liued still and held out strong and lusty But in the yeare 153. these wise artificers changing their note would now contrary blesse him with long life affirming that he should liue long in great successe and prosperitie But least they should be any whit truer in now prophesying his life then they had bin before in prophesying his death he died in the selfesame yeare See with what a full streame and maine opposition Saint Ambrose went against these liars lib. 4. in Hexaem Cap. 7. A little while agoe saithe he when there was great need of rain one said lo now the new moon will bring shortly raine and notwithstanding our great want yet I was loth that such blinde assertions should proue true Finally I was very glad that wee had no raine til it being obtained by the prayers of the church gaue sufficient proofe that we were not to rely vpon the change of the moone but vpon the prouidence and grace of the creatour By this example the vanitie of Astrology was confuted and the force of christianitie and godly prayer confirmed Albumazar referring all great chaunges to ten reuolutions of Saturne which is in 300 yeares hath counted Christ to be borne 600. yeares after Alexander the great in which computation he is about 300. yeares out But no maruell of him since he is so far out in a plainer computation of Ptolemy the mathematique making him one of the kings of Egypt which raigned after Alexander when it is well knowne to the contrary that he was no king and liued in Adrian the last time 160 yeares after those Ptolemyes that were kinges of Egypt It were infinite to lay their lies together that one of 1588. may stand for many and the rather because it hapned in our memory It were well that all of that trade had those two figures 88. seared in their foreheads that when they meet they might laugh one at another as did the Aruspices in olde time Howsoeuer they might laugh it was no laughing matter to the Catholike king and his inuincible Nauie who will be famous for that exploit till 88 come againe The Spaniards belike thought that this consummation