Selected quad for the lemma: country_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
country_n	call_v	town_n	village_n	1,428	5	9.2518	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10285	True and wonderfull A discourse relating to a strange and monstrous serpent (or dragon) lately discouered, and yet liuing, to the great annoyance and diuers slaughters both of men and cattell, by his strong and violent poyson, in Sussex two miles from Horsam, in a woode called S. Leonards Forrest, and thirtie miles from London, this present month of August. 1614. With the true generation of serpents.	A. R., fl. 1614.	1614 (1614)	STC 20569; ESTC S104584	9,158	18

Citty after which prodigie insued a great pestilence Now as these hidious creatures are hurtfull to man so also are they most inamored of man and if there be any truth or veritie to be ascribed to Histories they haue béen most passionately affected to man woman and child which showes that it is a worke of diuinitie as a iust punishment of our sinnes to turne their affable natures to a most rauenous and deuouring crueltie Elianus And to instance this with examples Elianus reports that their was one Iliaua a Thesalian Neatheard that kept Oxen in Ossa Dragons in loue with Men. hard by the Fountaine Hemonius that a Dragon fell in loue with for that his yellow haire which séemed in his amiable colour to resemble Gold and often come créeping vnto him like an amorous louer licking his haire and face so gentlie as the man professing he neuer felt the like The like is reported of Pindus the sonne of Macedo King of Emuthia who was a man of honest disposition and a great Hunter hauing lost his company in his woonted sport in a thick and vnfrequented desert met with a Dragon of great stature who came towards Pindus with the greatest part of his body except his neck lifted vp who at the first was much amazed at so horride a spectacle but after remembring himselfe of certaine birds and pieces of sacrifices which he had about him he gaue part to the dragon and so mittigated the furie of the Serpent who being smoothed with these guifts and as it were ouertaken with the liberality of Pindus was so inamoured of his liberall nature that he forsooke his desert habitation and followed Pindus like an ordinarie Spaniell There was also a Dragon the louer of Artheolis as Plutarche Plutarch writeth who came to her euery night and did her no harme but gently sliding ouer her playd with her till morning departing away assoone as light appeared least he should be discouered Moreouer it is obserued that those Serpents are so far from doing harme except by some supernaturall power destinate to our seuere punishment for our sinnes that they haue often béen the preuenting causes of sinne and instruments of preseruation of many men and women When Messalina the wife of Claudius did send certaine men to take away the life of Nero Nero saued by a Dragon who was a Riuall of Britanicus a Dragon appeared out of the earth terrifying the murderers with such furie that they ranne away and spared Neroes life Againe Suetonius reports of one Telephus Suetonius Incest preuented by a Dragon who had committed incest with his mother had not a Dragon by diuine prouidence frighted the incestudus sonne and parted them asunder Therefore saith the same Author that Draconi similis est vertus indagatrix quae diligenter omnia perscrutatur rimuturque studiocissime that perfect discretion knowledge is allegorically said to be like the Dragon because it diligently searcheth the secret crannies of all things and according to the common prouerbe thorough the smallest hole spies day light But these examples doe not conclude but that there is a secret Antipathie and enmitie betwixt Man kind these Serpentine creatures who indéed after the relapse and fal of our first Parents as a curse from God were marked out for most noisome and infectious creatures to man and the womans seed posteritie therfore I could wish that the remedy of this our home bred monster which hereafter we shall more largely expresse were purged with as much breuity as the contents of Caesars Letter to the Senate Veni vidi vici I came I sawe and I ouercame vox Dei it were the word God and not of man Many are the deplorable dangers writ with a tragicall pen of famous Historians which haue insued to the sad inhabitants of many famous places by these prodigious Monsters when the region of Heluctia began first to be purged from these noysome beasts Gellius A murderer fighting with the Dragon there was a horrible Dragon found néere a Countrey Towne called Wilfer who destroyed both men and beasts by his monstrous and insatiate hunger insomuch that that towne was called Deidwiler that is a Village of the Wildernesse for all the Inhabitants had forsaken the same and fled to other places Also there is a memorable History of a man in the same Towne which I will rehearse for the strangenesse of the accident that was banished for man-slaughter who promised for his pardon to combate with the same Dragon which being granted with much ioye he was called home and in the presence of many people went out to fight with the Dragon whome hee slewe and ouercame with diuine assistance where for ioy he lifted vp his sword imbrued in the Dragons blood in token of victorie which bloud distilled from his sword and caused him instantly to fall down dead A heauie iudgement of God to punish murder in the same kind that he who like Cyrus Cirus delighted in blood should féele the curse of Tomiris Diuine Iustice miraculouslie showne and bee choaked with bloud Strange that this man who was pardoned for killing of the Dragon was killed by the Dragon after the Dragon was slaine Thus bloud was the sinne because it brought death and death againe brought blood to bee the reuenger of the first that the bloud of man might be washed away by the bloud of man the bloud of the Dragon being vmpire betwixt that I may say truely as the Poet saith in another case Sanguine succreuit Sanguine finis erit as it grew so shall it end in bloud One example more and I will conclude this generall discodrse of Serpents and come to the particular description of our Sussexan Serpent Now to the terror of the póore Inhabitants breathing forth his noisome poysons whose Storie deserues more lamentable teares and spéedie extirpation then the flourishinges of Oratorie or Penne and Inke-horne cordiall Aristotle Philip of Maceden To note further the contagion of these Creatures by the noysome euaporation of their noysome breath In the dayes of Philip King of Macedon and father to the great Alexander whose Tutor Aristotle was there was a way into a mountaine to Armenia ouer which the King had prayed that neuer man might goe that way but hee might die Wherefore Socrates to sée the effect of the Kings praier set his Opticke Philosophicall glasse such as now a daies we vse to apprehend things farre distant plainely visible to see what was in the way and presently he perceiued two Dragons that by their breath infected the Region of the aire Thus wee set the obnoxious nature of these Serpents to Mankinde which often in our soules best meditation receiue their birth according to the saying of holie Augustine that Deus exaudit ad penam cum petunt peccatoris fomitem that our blessings are turned into cursings and our Pater-nosters to punishments when we pray fui suis and our petitions to predictions when