bloud When the Cities of Greece saith Orosius would needs through too greedy a desire and ambition of reigne get every one the mastery and soveraignty of the rest they all together made shipwracke of their owne liberties by encroaching upon others as for instance the Lacedemonians how hurtfull and incommodious the desire of bringing their neighbour adjoyning Cities under their dominion was unto them the sundry discomfitures and distresses within the time of that war undertaken upon that onely cause befell them bear sufficient record Servius Tullus the son to a bondman addicted himselfe so much to the exploits of war that by prowesse he got so great credit and reputation among the Romans that he was thought â—it to be son in law of King Tarquinius by marrying one of his daughters after whose death he usurped the Crowne under colour of the Protectorship of the Kings â—oo young sonnes who when they came to age and bignesse married the daughters of their brother in law Tullus by whose exhortation and continuall provokement the elder of them which was called Tarquinius conspired against his father in law and practised to make himselfe King and to recover his rightfull inheritance and that by this meanes he watched his opportunity when the greatest part of the people were out of the City about gathering their fruit in the fields and then placing his companions in readinesse to serve his turne if need should be he marched to the palace in the royall robes garded with a company of his comederates and having called a Senate as he began to complain him of the treachery and impudency of Tullus behold Tullus himselfe came in and would have run violently upon him but Tarquinius catching him about the middle threw him headlong downe the staires and presently sent certaine of his guard to make an end of the murder which he had begun But herein the cruelty of Tullia was most monstrous that not onely first moved her husband to this bloudy practice but also made her coach to be driven over the body of her father which lay bleeding in the midst of the street scarce dead Manlius after hee had maintained the fortresse of Rome against the Gaules glorying in that action and envying the good hap and prosperity of Camillus went about to make himselfe King under pretence of restoring the people to their antient entire libertie but his practise being discovered hee was accused found guilty and by the consent of the multitude adjudged to be throwne headlong downe from the top of the same fortresse to the end that the same place which gave him great glorie might be a witnesse and a memoriall of his shame and last confusion for all his valiant deeds before done were not of so much force with the people to excuse his fault or save his life as this one crime was of weight to bring him to his death In former times there lived in Carthage one Hanno who because he had more riches than all the Common-wealth beside began to aspire to the domination of the Citie which the better to accomplish hee devised to make shew of marrying his onely daughter to the end that at the marriage feast hee might poison the chiefest men of credit and power of the City whom he knew could or would not any wayes withstand or countermand his purpose but when this devise tooke no effect by reason of the discovery thereof by certaine of his servants hee sought another meanes to effect his will Hee got together a huge number of bondslaves and servants which should at a sudden put him in possession of the city but being prevented herein also by the Citizens he seised upon a castle with a thousand men of base regard even servants for the most part whither thinking to draw the Africans and King of the Moores to his succour he was taken and first whipped next had his eyes thrust out and then his armes and legs broken in pieces and so was executed to death before all the people his carkasse being thus mangled with blowes was hanged upon a gallowes and all his kindred and children put to death that there might not one remaine of his straine either to enterprise the like deed or to revenge his death That great and fearefull warrior Iulius Caesar one of the most hardie and valiant pieces of flesh that ever was after hee had performed so many notable exploits overcome all his enemies and brought all high and haughtie purposes to their desired effect being prickt forward with the spurre of ambition and a high minde through the meanes and assistance of the mighty forces of the common-wealth which contrary to the constitution of the Senat were left in his hands hee set footing into the State and making himselfe master and Lord of the whole Romane Empire usurped a soveraigntie over them but as he attained to his dignitie by force and violence so he enjoyed it not long neither gained any great benefit by it except the losse of his life may be counted a benefit which shortly after in the open Senat was bereft him for the conspirers thereof as soone as hee was set downe in his seat compassing him about so vehemently overcharged him on all sides that notwithstanding all the resistance hee could make for his defence tossing amongst them and shifting himselfe up and downe he was overthrowne on the earth and abode for dead through the number of blowes that were given him even three and twenty wounds The Monarchie of Assyria was at one instant extinguished in Sardana palus and of Babylon in Balthasar Arbaces being the worker of the first and Darius King of Persia of the later both of them receiving the wages not of their wickednesse but also of their predecessors and great grandfathers cruelty and oppressions by whom many people and nations had been destroyed Moreover as the Babylonian Empire was overthrowne by Darius of Persia so was his Persian Kingdome in Darius the last King of that countrey his time this mans successor overturned by Alexander Again the great dominion of Alexander who survived not long after was not continued to any of his by inheritance but divided like a prey amongst his greatest captaines and from them the most part of it in short time descended to the Romanes who spreading their wings and stretching their greedie tallons farre and neere for a while ravened and preyed over all the world and enriched and bedecked themselves with the spoyles of many nations and therefore it was necessary that they also should be made a prey and that the farre fetcht Goths and Vandales should come upon them as upon the bodie of a great Whale that suffers shipwreck upon the sea shore since which time the Romane Empire went to decay and grew every day weaker than other yea and many Princes setting themselves against and above it have robbed it of the realmes and provinces which it robbed others of before And thus wee may see how all
of ours though after a corrupt and sacrilegious forme and that the Jew did not so much aime at their religion as at Christ the subject of it the Lord might shew a miracle not to establish their errour but to confound the Jews impiety especially in those young yeares of the Church In our English Chronicles are recorded many histories of the malitious practises of the Jews against Christians in hatred of Christ Jesus our Saviour whom they in contempt call our crucified God and especially this devillish practise was most frequent amongst them here in England as in Germany France and other places where they were suffered to inhabite namely every year to steale some Christian manâ— childe from the parents and on good Friday to crucifie him in despight of Christ and Christian religion Thus they served a childe at Lincolne named Hugo of nine years of age in the yeare 1255 in the reigne of Henry the third and another at Norwich about the same time having first circumcised him and detained him a whole yeare in custody In which two facts they were apprehended and at Lincolne thirty two of them put to death and at Norwich twenty But this was not all the punishment that they endured as they proceeded and increased in their malice against Christ and his religion so he proceeded in vengeance and indignation against them First therefore at the coronation of Richard the first whereas some of them presumed to enter into the Court-gate contrary to the Kings expresse commandement a great tumult arising thereupon a number of them were slaine and their houses fired in the City of London by the raging multitude and from thence the example spred into all other countries of the Land for they following the example of the Londoners havocked spoyled killed and fired as many Jewes as they could come by untill by the Kings Writs unto the Sheriffe of every County the tumult was appeased and some few of the principall authors and stirrers of this outrage punished And it is to bee noted that this yeare the Iewes held for their Iubilie but it turned to them a yeare of confusion Neither were they thus massacred onely by the Christians but they became butchers of themselves also For in the City of Yorke when as they had obtained the occupying of a certaine Castle for their preservation and afterward were not willing to restore it to the Christians againe and being ready to bee vanquished and offering much money for their lives when as that would not be accepted by the counsell of an old Jew among them every one with a sharpe rasor cut anothers throat whereby a thousand and five hundred of them were at that present destroyed At North-Hampton a number of them were burnt for enterprizing to fire the City with wilde-fire which they had prepared for that purposes besides many grievous impositions and taxes which were laid upon them At last by King Edward the first they were utterly banished this Realme of England in the yeare 1291 For which deed the Commons gave unto the King a Fifteen And about the same time also they were banished out of France for the like practices and still the wrath of God ceaseth not to punish them in all places wheresoever they inhabit But that their Impiety may bee yet more discovered I will here set downe the confession of one of their own Nation a Jew of Ratisbone converted to the Faith one very skilfull in the Hebrew tongue This man being asked many questions about their superstition and ceremonies answered very fitly and being demanded why they thirsted so after Christian mens bloud He said it was a mystery onely knowne to the Rabbines and highest persons but that this was their custome he knew when any of them was ready to dye a Rabbine anointed him with this bloud using these or such like words If hee that was promised in the Law and Prophets hath truly appeared and if this Iesus crucified bee the very Messias then let the bloud of this innocent man that diedin his Faith cleanse thee from thy sins and help thee to eternall life Nay Epiphanius affirmeth That the Jews of Tyberias did more confidently affirme it than thus for they would whisper into a dying mans eare Beleeve in Iesus of Nazareth whom our princes crucified for he shall come to judge thee in the latter day All which declareth how impious they are to goe against their owne conscience and upon how fickle ground all their Religion standeth CHAP. XII Of those that in our age have persecuted the Gospell in the person of the Faithfull AS the Religion of Christ hath beene hitherto cruelly crossed and besieged by the mightiest captaines of this world as hath been partly declared so it hath not been any better entertained by the Potentates of this age that ceased not to disturbe the quiet and pursue to death the lives of Gods children for their professions sake and to bring them utterly to ruine to addresse all the engines and subtilties of their malicious and wicked counsels without leaving any one device unthought of that their wit could imagine or their power afford they joyned craft with force and vile treason with horrible cruelty thereby to suppresse the truth and quench that faire and cleere light which God after long time of blindnesse and ignorance had caused of his infinite mercy to shine upon us There fires were kindled every where with the bones of Martyrs whilest for the space of forty yeares or thereabouts they never ceased to burne those that were followers of that way Now when they saw that all their butcheries and burnings were not able to consume this holy seed but that the more they went about to choake it the more it grew up and increased they tooke another course and raised up troubles and seditions in all quarters as if by that means they should attaine the end of their purpose Hell vomited up all her Furies of warre the whole earth was in a tumult young and old with tooth and naile were imployed to root out the Church of Christ but God stretching forth his arme against all their practises shewed himselfe not only a Conqueror but also a most sharpe revenger of all his adversaries This is most apparent in that which happened to Thomas Arondel an English man Archbishop of Canterbury an enemy and persecutor of the Truth of Christ who having put to death divers holy and upright men thinking that all he did was gain was rooted out at last himselfe by a most strange and horrible death for he that sought to stop the mouth of God in his Ministers and to hinder the passage of the Gospell had his owne tongue so swolne that it stopped his owne mouth that before his death hee could neither swallow nor speake and so through famine died in great despaire Foelix Farle of Wartemberg one of the Captaines of the Emperour Charles the fifth being at supper at Ausburg with many of
kind of treason and another ranke of traitors as pernitious as any of the former and as odious before God and man Such are they which either upon private quarrels or received injuries or hope of gaine or any other silly respect forsake their countries and take part with the enemies to fight against it or they that in time of necessity refuse to fight or dare not fight in defence of it the former sort are called fugitives the latter cowards As touching the first they havebeen alwayes in detestation in well governed Policies and also evermore severely punished The Aeginates punished them with the losse of their right hand thumbs to the end they might no more handle a speare or a sword but an oare the Mitylenians with losse of their lives the inhabitants of Samos marked them in the face with the picture of an Owle and the Romans punished them after divers fashions Fabius Maximus caused all those that had fled from the Roman succours to the enemy to lose their hands Africanus the former though gentle and mild by nature yet in this respect he borrowed from forreine cruelty for having conquered Carthage and got into his power all those Romane Rebels that tooke part against his countrey he hung the Romans as traitors to their countrey and mitigated the punishment of the Latines as but perfidious confederates Africanus the later when hee had subdued the Punicke Nation he threw all fugitives amongst wilde beasts to be devoured Lucius Paulus aftor the conquest of the King of Persia committed these fellowes to the mercy of Elephants Generally there is no Nation under the Sunne which holdeth them not in execration and therefore our English fugitives who under cloke of Religion not onely abandon their countrey their kindred and their Prince but also conspire the undoing and sweare the destruction of them are they not worthy to be handled like traitours and to have their quarters spectacles of perfidy The bridge and gates of London beare witnesse of the wofull ends that these runnagates come unto As touching cowards I meane such as preferring their lives or liberty or any other by-respects before their countries welfare and either dare not or will not stand stoutly in defence of it in time of warre and danger they deserve no lesse punishment than the former seeing that as they are open oppugners so these are close underminers of the good thereof And therefore the Romanes did sharpely chasten them in their government as may appeare by diverse examples of the same as first they were noted with this ignominy never to eat their meat but standing and hereunto they were sworne Nay they were in such hatefull account amongst them that when Annibal offered the Senate 8000 captives to be redeemed they refused his offer saying That they were not worthy to be redeemed that had rather be taken basely than die honestly and valiantly The same Senate dealt more favourably with the captives which King Pyrrhus tooke for they redeemed them but with this disgrace degrading them from their honours and places untill by a double spoile they had woon their reputation againe L. Calpurnius Piso handled Titius the captaine of his horsemen in Sicilia one who being overcharged with enemies delivered his weapons unto them on this manner he caused him to goe bare footed before the army wearing a garment without seames he forbad him society with any save such as were noted with the same fault and from a Generall over horsemen he debased him to a common souldier How did the same Senate correct the cowardise of Caius Vatienus who to the end to priviledge himselfe from the Italicke warre cut off all the fingers of his left hand even they proscribed his goods and cast him into perpetuall prison that that life which hee refused to hazard in defence of his countrey he might consume in bondage and fetters Fulgosius saith That among the Germanes it was so unhonourable a part to lose but a shield in the warre that whosover had happened to doe so was suspended both from the place of common councell and from the temples of Religion insomuch that many as he reporteth killed themselves to avoid the shame The people called Daci punished cowards on this sort they suffered them not to sleepe but with their heads to the beds feet-ward and besides by the law they made them slaves and subjects to their owne wives What viler disgrace could there be than this And yet the Lacedemonians plagued them more shamefully for with them it was a discredit to marry in the stocke of a coward any man might strike them lawfully and in their attire they went with their clothes rent and their beards halfe shaven Thus are all kind of traitors continually punished of the Lord by one meanes or other and therefore let us learne to shun treason as one of the vilest and detestablest things in the world CHAP. IIII. Of such as have murthered their Rulers or Princes ZImri Captaine of halfe the chariots of Elah King of Israel conspired against his Lord as he was in Tirza drinking till he was drunke in the house of Arze his Steward and came upon him suddenly and smote him till hee died and possessed the Kingdome in his roome Howbeit herein he was the Lords rod to punish the house of Baasha yet when the punishment was past the Lord threw the rod into the fire for he enjoyed the Crowne but seven dayes for all Israel detesting his fact made Omri King over them who besieged him in Tirza and drove him into that extremity that hee went into the palace of the Kings house and burnt himselfe and the house with fire Iozachar the sonne of Shimeah and Ieozabed the sonne of Shomer came to no better end for murthering Iehoash King of Iuda for Amaziah his sonne after the kingdome was confirmed unto him caused them both to be put to death but their children he slew not according to that which is written in the Booke of the law The fathers shall not be put to death for the children nor the children for the fathers but every man shall beare this owne sin Neither did Shallum that slew Zacharia King of Israel prosper any better for he reigned but one month in Samaria when Menahim the sonne of Gadi rebelled against him and slew him as he had done his master Amon the sonne of Manasseh was slaine by his owne servants but the Lord stirred up the people of the Land to revenge his death and to kill all them that had conspired against their King But to let passe the holy histories of the sacred Scripture wherein ever after any treason the Holy Ghost presently setteth downe the punishment of traitours as it were of purpose to signifie how the Lord hateth all such Rebels that rose up against his owne ordinance let us consider a little the consequents of these in prophane yet credible authors and apply them unto our purpose Archelaus
in the field hacked and hewed of his enemies carried on horsebacke dead his haire in despight torne and tugged like a dog besides the inward torments of his guilty conscience were more than all the rest for it is most certainly reported That after this abhominable deed hee never had quiet in his minde when he went abroad his eye whirled about his body was privily fenced his hand ever upon his dagger his countenance and manner like one alwaies ready to strike his sleep short and unquiet full of fearefull dreames insomuch that he would often suddenly start up and leap out of his bed and runne about his chamber his restlesse conscience was so continually tossed and tumbled with the tedious impression of that abhominable murther CHAP. V. Of such as rebelled against their Superiors because of Subsidies and Taxes imposed upon them AS it is not lawfull for children to rebell against their parents though they be cruell and unnaturall so also it is as unlawfull for subjects to withstand their Princes and Governors though they be somewhat grievous and burthensome unto them which we affirme not to the end that it should be licensed to them to exercise all manner of rigour and unmeasurable oppression upon their subjects as shall be declared hereafter more at large but we entreat onely here of their duties which are in subjection to the power of other men whose authority they ought in no wise to resist unlesse they oppose themselves against the ordinance of God Therefore this position is true by the word of God That no subject ought by force to shake off the yoke of subjection and obedience due unto his Prince or exempt himselfe from any taxe or contribution which by publicke authority is imposed Give saith the Apostle tribute to whom tribute belongeth custome to whom custome pertaineth feare to whom feare is due and honour to whom honour is owing And generally in all actions wherein the commodities of this life though with some oppression and grievance and not the Religion and service of God nor the conscience about the same is called into question we ought with all patience to endure whatsoever burthen or charge is laid upon us without moving any troubles or shewing any discontentments for the same for they that have otherwise behaved themselves these examples following will shew how well they have been appaied for their misdemeanors In the yeare of our Lord 1304 after that Guy Earle of Flanders having rebelled against Philip the Faire his Soveraigne was by strength of armes reduced into subjection and constrained to deliver himselfe and his two sons prisoners into his hands the Flemings made an insurrection against the Kings part because of a certain taxe which he had set upon their ships that arrived at certaine havens and upon this occasion great warre divers battels and sundry overthrowes on each side grew but so that at last the King remained conqueror and the Flemings for a reward of their rebellion lost in the battell six and thirty thousand men that were slaine beside a great number that were taken prisoners Two yeares after this Flemmish stirre there arose a great commotion and hurly burly of the rascall and basest sort of people at Paris because of the alteration of their coines who being not satisfied with the pillage and spoilage of their houses whom they supposed to be either causes of the said alteration or by counsell or other meanes any furtherers thereunto came in great troupes before the Kings Palace at his lodging in the Temple with such an hideous noise and outrage that all the day after neither the King nor any of his officers durst once stir over the threshold nay they grew to that overflow of pride and insolency that the victuals which were provided for the Kings diet and carried to him were by them shamefully throwne under feet in the dirt and trampled upon in despight and disdaine But three or foure daies after this tumult was appeased many of them for their pains were hanged before their own doores and in the city gates to the number of eight and twenty persons In the raigne of Charles the sixth the Parisians by reason of a certaine taxe which he minded to lay upon them banded themselves and conspired together against him they determined once saith Froissard to have beaten downe Loure and S. Vincents castle and all the houses of defence about Paris that they might not be offensive to them But the King though young in yeares handled them so ripe and handsomely that having taken away from them their armor the city gates and chaines of the streets and locked up their weapons in S. Vincents castle hee dealt with them as pleased him And thus their pride being quashed many of them were executed and put to death As also for the like rebellion were at Troyes Orlean Chalon Sens and Rhemes About the same time the Flandrians and especially the inhabitants of Gaunt wrought much trouble against Lewis the Earle of Flanders for divers taxes and tributes which he had layd upon them which they in no respect would yeeld unto The matter came to be decided by blowes and much bloud was shed and many losses endured on both sides as a meanes appointed of God to chastise as well the one as the other The Gaunts being no more in number than five or six thousand men overthrew the Earles army consisting of forty thousand and in pursuit of their victory tooke Bruges whither the Earle was gone for safety and lying in a poore womans house was constrained in the habit of a beggar to fly the City And thus he fared till King Charles the sixth sent an army of men to his succor for he was his subject by whose support he overcame those Rebels in a battell fought at Rose Bec to the number of forty thousand and the body of their chiefetaine Philip Artevil slaine in the throng he caused to be hanged on a tree And this was the end of that cruell Tragedy the countrey being brought againe into the obedience of their old Lord. A while before this whilest King Iohn was held prisoner in England there arose a great commotion of the common people in France against the nobility and gentry of the realme that oppressed them this tumult began but with an hundred men that were gathered together in the countrey of Beauvoisin but that small handfull grew right quickly to an armfull â—â—on to nine thousand that ranged and robbed throughout all Brie along by the river Marne to Laonoise and all about Soissons armed with great bats shod with yron an headlesse crue without Governour fully purposing to bring to ruine the whole nobility In this disorder they wrought much mischiefe broke up many houses and castles murthered many Lords so that divers Ladies and Knights as the Duchesses of Normandy Orleance were fain to fly for safegard to Meaux whither when these Rebels would needs pursue them they
enforced to shoot and shooting God so directed his shaft that the apple was hit and the childe untoucht and yet for all this he adjudged him to perpetuall prison out of which he miraculously escaping watched the tyrans approach in so fit a place that with the shaft that should have beene the death of his sonne he strooke him to the heart whose unluckie end was a luckie beginning of the Switzers deliverance from the bondage of tyrans and of the recovery of their antient freedome which ever after they wisely and constantly maintained The Emperour Albert purposing to be revenged upon them for his injury as also for slaying many more of his men and breaking downe his castles of defence which he had caused to be builded in their countrey determined to mak war upon them but he was slaine ere he could bring it hat determination to effect by one of his owne nephews from whom being his overseer and gardant for bringing up he withheld his patrimonie against all equity neither by prayers or entreatie could be perswaded to restore it These things according to Nic. Gils report in his first volume of the Chronicles of France happened about the reigne of Saint Lewis Hither may be referred the history of Richard the first King of England called Richard Coeur de Lyon though not so much a fruite of ambition in him as of filthie covetousnesse This King when as Widomarus Lord of Linionice in little Britaine having found a great substance of treasure in the ground sent him a great part thereof as chiefe Lord and Prince of the countrey refused it saying That he would either have all or none but the finder would not condiscend to that whereupon the King layed siege to a castle of his called Galuz thinking the treasure to lye there but as he with the Duke of Brabant went about viewing the Castle a souldier within stroke him with an arrow in the arme the yron whereof festering in the wound caused that the King within nine daies after died And so because he was not content with the halfe of the treasure that another man found lost all his owne treasure that he had together with his life the chiefest treasure of all CHAP. XLII Of Vsurers and their theft IF open larcenies and violent robberies and extortions are forbidden by the law of God as we have seene they are then it is no doubt but that all deceit and unjust dealings and bargains used to the dammage of others are also condemned by the same law and namely Usurie when a man exacteth such unmeasurable gaine for either his mony or other thing which hee lendeth that the poore borrower is so greatly indammaged that in stead of benefitting and providing for his affaires which he aimed at he hitteth his further losse and finall overthrow This sinne is expressely prohibited in Leviticus 25 Deuteronomy 23 and Psalme 15 where the committants thereof are held guilty before Gods judgement Seat of iniquitie and injustice and against them it is that the prophet Ezechiel denounceth this threatening That he which oppresseth or vexeth the poore and afflicted he which robbeth or giveth to usurie and receiveth the encrease into their bags shall die the death and his bloud shall bee upon his pate Neither truely doth the justice of God sleepe in this respect but taketh vengeance upon all such and punisheth them after one sort or other either in body or goods as it pleaseth him I my selfe knew a grand usurer in the countrey of Vallay that having scraped together great masses of gold and silver by these unlawfull meanes was in one night robbed of fifteene hundred crownes by theeves that broke into his house I remember also another usurer dwelling in a town called Argental nigh unto Anovay under the jurisdiction of Tholosse in high Vivaria who being in hay time in a meadowe was stung in the foot by a serpent or some other venomous beast that he died thereof an answerable punishment for his often stinging and biting many poore people with his cruell and unmercifull usurie Nay it is so contrarie to equitie and reason that all nations led by the instinct of nature have alwayes abhorred and condemned it insomuch that the conditions of theeves hath bin more easie and tollerable than usurers for theft was wont to be punished but with double restitution but usurie with quadruple and to speake truely these rich and gallant usurers do more rob the common people and purloine from them than all the publike theeves that are made publike examples of justice in the world It is to be wished that some would examine usurers bookes and make a bond-fire of their obligations as that Lacedemonian did when Agesilaus reported that hee never saw a â—leerer fire or that some Lucullus would deliver Europe from that contagion as the Romane did Asia in his time Licurgus banished this canker worme out of his Sparta Amasis punished it severely in his Aegypt Cato exiled it out of Sicilie and Solo condemned it in Athens how much more should it he held in detestation among Christians S. Chrysostome compareth it fitly to the biting of an aspe as he that is stung with an aspe falleth asleepe as it were with delectation her hand to reach it miraculously turned into a serpent and bit her so fast that by no meanes it could be loosened from her arme untill it had brought her to a woefull and miserable end Sergius Galba before hee came to be Emperor being President of Africa under Claudius when as through penurie of victuals corne and other food was very sparingly shared out and divided amongst the armie punished a certaine souldier that sould a bushell of wheat to one of his fellows for an hundred pence in â—ope to obtaine a new share himselfe in this manner he coÌ„manded the Quaestor or Treasurer to give him no more sustenance since hee preferred lucre before the necessity of his owne body and his friends welfare neither suffered he any man else to sell him any so that hee perished with famine and became a miserable example to all the army of the fruits of that foule droupsie covetousnesse And thus wee see how the Lord rained downe vengeance upon all covetous Usurers and oppressors plaguing some on this fashion and some on that and never passing any but either in this life some notable judgement overtakes them either in themselves or their off-springs for it is notoriously knowne that usurers children though left rich yet the first or second generation became alwayes beggers or in the life to come they are thrown into the pit of perdition from whence there is no redemption nor deliverance CHAP. XLIII Of Dicers and Card-players and their theft IF any recreation be allowed us as no doubt there is yet surely it is not such as whereby we should worke the damage and hurt of one another as when by gaming we draw away another mans mony with his great losse and this
under whom licence and liberty is given to every man to do what him listeth forsomuch then as this evill proceedeth from the carelesnesse and slothfulnesse of those that hold the sterne of government in their hands it cannot be but some evill must needs fall upon them for the same the truth of this may appear in the person of Philip of Macedony whom Demosthenes the Orator noteth for a treacherous and false dealing Prince after that he had subdued almost all Greece not so much by open war as by subtilty craft and surprise and that being in the top of his glory he celebrated at one time the marriage of his son Alexander whom he had lately made King of Epire and of one of his daughters with great pompe and magnificence as he was marching with all his train betwixt the two bridegroomes his own son and his son in law to see the sports and pastimes which were prepared for the solemnity of the marriage behold suddenly a young Macedonian Gentleman called Pausanias ran at him and slew him in the midst of the prease for not regarding to do him justice when he complained of an injury done unto him by one of the Peeres of the Realme Tatius the fellow King of Rome with Romulus for not doing justice in punishing certain of his friends and kinsfolkes that had robbed and murdered certain Embassadours which came to Rome and for making their impunity an example for other malefactors by deferring and protracting and disappointing their punishment was so watched by the kindred of the slain that they slew him even as he was sacrificing to his gods because they could not obtain justice at his hands What happened to the Romans for refusing to deliver an Embassadour who contrary to the law of Nations comming unto them played the part of an enemy to his own Countrey even well nigh the totall overthrow of them and their City for having by this meanes brought upon themselves the calamity of war they were at the first discomfited by the Gaules who pursuing their victory entred Rome and slew all that came in their way whether men or women infants or aged persons and after many dayes spent in the pillage and spoiling of the houses at last set fire on all and utterly destroyed the whole City Childericke King of France is notified for an extreme dullard and blockhead and such a one as had no care or regard unto his Realme but that lived idlely and slothfully without intermedling with the affaires of the Common-wealth for he laid all the charge and burden of them upon Pepin his Lieutenant Generall and therefore was by him justly deposed from his royall Dignity and mewed up in a Cloyster of Religion to become a Monke because he was unfit for any good purpose and albeit that this sudden change and mutation was very strange yet there ensued no trouble nor commotion in the Realme thereupon so odious was he become to the whole land for his drousie and idle disposition For the same cause did the Princes Electors depose Venceslaus the Emperour from the Empire and established another in his room King Richard of England among other foul faults which he was guilty of incurred greatest blame for this because he suffered many theeves and robbers to rove up and down the Land unpunished for which cause the Citizens of London commenced a high suit against him and compelled him having reigned two and twenty yeares to lay aside the Crown and resigne it to another in the presence of all the States and died prisoner in the Tower Moreover this is no small defect of justice when men of authority do not onely pardon capitall and detestable crimes but also grace and favour the doers of them and this neither ought nor can be done by a soveraigne Prince without overpassing the bounds of his limited power which can in no wayes dispence with the law of God whereunto even Kings themselves are subject for as touching the willing and considerate murderer Thou shalt plucke him from my Altar saith the Lord that he may die thy eye shall not spare him to the end it may goe well with thee which was put in practise in the death of Ioab who was slaine in the Tabernacle of God holding his hands upon the hornes of the Altar for he is no lesse abhominable before God that justifieth the wicked than he that condemneth the just and hereupon that holy King S. Lewis when he had granted pardon to a malefactor revoked it againe after better consideration of the matter saying That he would give no pardon except the case deserved pardon by the law for it was a worke of charity and pitty to punish an offendor and not to punish crimes was as much as to commit them In the yeare of our Lord 978 Egelrede the sonne of Edgare and Alphred King of England was a man of goodly outward shape and visage but wholly given to idlenesse and abhorring all Princely exercises besides he was a lover of ryot and drunkennesse and used extreame cruelty towards his subjects having his eares open to all unjust complaints in feats of armes of all men most ignorant so that his cruelty made him odious to his subjects and his cowardise encouraged strange enemies to invade his kingdome by meanes whereof England was sore afflicted with warre famine and pestilence In his time as a just plague for his negligence in Governement decayed the noble Kingdome of England and became tributary to the Danes for ever when the Danes oppressed him with warre he would hire them away with summes of money without making any resistance against them insomuch that from ten thousand pounds by the yeare the tribute arose in short space to fifty thousand wherefore he devised a new tricke and sought by treacherie to destroy them sending secret Commissioners to the Magistrates throughout the Land that upon a certaine day and houre assigned the Danes should suddenly and joyntly bee murdered Which massacre being performed turned to be the cause of greater misery for Swaine King of Denmarke hearing of the murder of his countrey-men landed with a strange army in divers parts of this Realme and so cruelly without mercy and pitty spoyled the Countrey and slew the people that the Englishmen were brought to most extreame and unspeakable misery and Egelrede the King driven to flie with his wife and children to Richard Duke of Normandie leaving the whole Kingdome to bee possessed of Swaine Edward the second of that name may well be placed in this ranke for though he was faire and well proportioned of body yet he was crooked and evill favoured in conditions for hee was so disposed to lightnesse and vanity that he refused the company of his Lords and men of honour and haunted amongst villaines and vile persons he delighted in drinking and riot and loved nothing lesse than to keep secret his owne counsailes though never so important so that he let
not respecting or beleeving there was either a God or a Devill or a hell or a Heaven and therefore he was damned there was no remedy And in this miserable case without any signe of repentance he dyed But let us come to our homebred English stories and consider the judgments of God upon the persecutors of Christs Gospell in our own countrey And first to begin with one Doctor Whittington under the raigne of King Henry the seventh who by vertue of his office being Chancellour to the Bishop had condemned most cruelly to death a certaine godly woman in a town called Chipping sadberry for the profession of the truth which the Papists then called Heresie This woman being adjudged to death by the wretched Chancellor and the time come when she should be brought to the place of her martyrdome a great concourse of people both out of towne and country was gathered to behold her end Amongst whom was also the foresaid Doctor there present to see the execution performed The godly woman and manly Martyr with great constancy gave over her life to the fire and refused no paines or torments to keep her conscience cleere and unreproveable against the day of the Lord. Now the Sacrifice being ended as the people began to returne homeward they were encountred by a mighty furious Bull which had escaped from a Butcher that was about to kill him for at the same time as they were slaying this silly Lamb at the townes end a Butcher was as busie within the towne in slaying of this Bull. But belike not so skilfull in his art of killing of beasts as the Papists be in murthering Christians the Bull broke loose as I said and ranne violently through the throng of the people without hurting either man or childe till he came to the place where the Chancellour was against whom as pricked forward with some supernaturall instinct hee ranne full butt thrusting him at the first blow through the paunch and after goaring him through and through and so killed him immediately trayling his guts with his hornes all the street over to the great admiration and wonder of all that saw it Behold here a plaine demonstration of Gods mighty power and judgement against a wretched persecutor of one of his poore flocke wherein albeit the carnall sence of man doth often impute to blinde chance that which properly pertaineth to the only power and providence of God yet none can be so dull and ignorant but must needs confesse a plaine miracle of Gods almighty power and a worke of his own finger Stephen Gardiner also was one of the grand butchers in this land what a miserable end came hee unto Even the same day that Bishop Ridley and Master Latimer were burned at Oxford he hearing newes thereof rejoyced greatly and being at dinner ate his meat merrily but ere he had eaten many bits the sudden stroke of Gods terrible hand fell upon him in such sort that immediately he was taken from the board and brought to his bed where he continued 15 dayes in intolerable anguish by reason he could not expell his urine so that his body being miserably inflamed within who had inflamed so many Godly Martyrs was brought to a wretched end with his tongue all blacke and swolne hanging out of his mouth most horribly a spectacle worthy to be beholden of all such bloudy burning persecutors Bonner Bishop of London another arch butcher though he lived long after this man and dyed also in his bed yet was it so provided of God that as he had been a persecutor of the light and a child of darknesse so his carkasse was tumbled into the earth in obscure darkenes at midnight contrary to the order of all other Christians and as he had been a most cruell murtherer so was he buried amongst theeves and murtherers a place by Gods judgement rightly appointed for him Morgan Bishop of S. Davids sitting upon the condemnation of the blessed Martyr Bishop Farrar whose roome he unjustly usurped was not long after stricken by Gods hand after such a strange sort that his meat would not go downe but rise and picke up againe sometime at his mouth sometime blowne out of his nose most horrible to behold and so continued unto his death Where note moreover that when Master Leyson being then Sheriffe at Bishop Farrars burning had fetcht away the cattell of the said Bishop from his servants house into his owne custody divers of them would never eate meat but lay bellowing and roaring and so dyed Adde unto this Bishop Morgan Iustice Morgan a Judge that sate upon the death of the Lady Iane this Iustice not long after the execution of the said Lady fell mad and being thus bereft of his wits dyed having ever in his mouth Lady Iane Lady Iane. Bishop Thornton Suffragan of Dover another grand persecutor comming upon a Saturday from the Chapter-house at Canterbury and there upon the Sunday following looking upon his men playing at bowles fell suddenly into a palsey and dyed shortly after And being exhorted to remember God in his extremity of sicknesse So I do saith he and my Lord Cardinall too c. After him succeeded another Suffragan ordained by the foresaid Cardinall and equall to his Predecessor in cruell persecuting of the Church who injoying his place but a short time fell downe a paire of staires in the Cardinals chamber at Greenwich and broke his necke and that presently let it be noted after he received the Cardinals blessing The like sudden death hapned to Doctor Dunning the bloudy and wretched Chancellour of Norwich who after he had most rigorously condemned and murthered a number of simple and faithfull servants of God was suddenly stricken with death even as he was sitting in his chaire The like also fell upon Berry Commissary of Norfolke another bloudy persecutor who foure dayes after Queene Maries death having made a great Feast whereat was present one of his concubines as he was comming home from the Church where he had ministred the Sacrament of Baptisme fell downe suddenly to the ground with a heavy groane and never stirred after thus ending his miserable life without any shew of repentance So Doctor Geffrey Chancellor of Salisbury another of the same stampe was suddenly stricken with the mighty hand of God in the midst of his buildings where he was constrained to yeeld up his life which had so little pitty of other mens lives before and it is to be noted that the day before he was thus stricken he had appointed to call before him ninety poore Christians to examine them by inquisition but the goodnesse of God and his tender providence prevented him Doctor Foxford Chancellor to Bishop Stockesley dyed also suddenly So did Iustice Lelond the persecutor of one Ieffery Hurst Alexander the Keeper of Newgate a cruell enemy to those that lay in that prison for Religion dyed very miserably being so swollen that he was more like a monster than a man and
which he had so traiterously and villanously committed towards others fell upon his owne head being himselfe also killed as he had killed others which happened in king Solomons raigne who executing the charge and commandement of his father put to death this murderer in the tabernacle of God and by the Altar whither hee was fled as to a place priviledged for safetie CHA. VII A sute of examples like unto the former LEaving the Scripture we finde in other writers notable examples of this subject As first of Astyages king of the Medes who so much swarved from humanity that he gave in strait charge that young Cyrus his own daughters sonne now ready to be borne should be made away by some sinister practise to avoid by that meanes the danger which by a dreame was signified unto him Notwithstanding the young infant finding friends to preserve him alive and growing up by meanes of the Peers favor to whom his grandfather by his cruell dealings was become odious obtained the Crowne out of his hands and dispossessing him seated himselfe in his roome This Cyrus was that mighty and awfull king of Persia whom God used as an instrument for the delivery of his people out of the captivity of Babylon as he foretold by the Prophet Isaiah who yet following kinde made cruell war in many places for the space of thirty yeares and therefore it was necessary that he should taste some fruits of his insatiable and bloud-thirsty desire as hee indeed did for after many great victories and conquests over divers countries atchieved going about to assaile Scythia also hee and his armie together were surprised overcome and slaine to the number of two hundred thousand persons and for his shame received this disgrace at a womans hand who triumphing in her victory threw his head into a sacke full of bloud with these tearmes Now glut thy selfe with bloud which thou hast thirsted after so long time Cambyses Cyrus son was also so bloudy and cruell a man that one day hee shot a noblemans sonne to the heart with an arrow for being admonished by his father of his drunkennesse to which he was very much given which he did in indignation and to shew that he was not yet so drunken but he knew how to draw his bow He caused his own brother to be murdered privily for feare he should raigne after him and slew his sister for reproving him for that deed In his voyage to Aethiopia when his armie was brought into so great penurie of victuals that they were glad to feed upon horse flesh hee was so cruell and barbarous that after their horses were spent he caused them to eat one another but at his returne from Aegypt the Susians his chiefe citizens welcommed him home with rebellion and at last as he was riding it so chanced that his sword fell out of the scabberd and himselfe upon the point of it so that it pierced him through and so he dyed After that Xerxes by his overbold enterprise had disturbed the greatest part of the world passed the sea and traversed many countries to the end to assaile Greece with innumerable forces he was overcome both by sea and by land and compelled privily to retire into his countrey with shame and discredit where he had not long beene but Artabanus the captaine of his guard killed him in his palace by night who also after that and many other mischiefes committed by him was himselfe cruelly murthered The thirty Governours which the Lacedemonians set over the Athenians by compulsion were such cruell tyrants oppressors and bloudsuckers of the people that they made away a great part of them untill they were chased away themselves violently and then being secretly dogged and pursued were all killed one after another Pyrrhus king of Epire that raigned not long after Alexander the great was naturally disposed to such a quicknes and heat of courage that he could never be quiet but when he was either doing some mischiefe to another or when another was doing some unto him ever devising some new practise of molestation for pastimes sake This his wilde and dangerous disposition began first to shew it selfe in the death of Neoptolemus who was conjoyned king with him whom having bidden to supper in his lodging under pretence of sacrifice to his gods he deceitfully slew preventing by that meanes Neoptolemus pretended purpose of poysoning him when occasion should serve After this he conquered Macedonia by armes and came into Italie to make war with the Romans in the behalfe of the Tarentines and gave them battel in the field and slew fifteen thousand of them in one day he took their camp revoked many cities from their alliance and spoyled much of their countrey even to the walls of Rome and all this in a trice without breathing Againe by Ascolie he encountred them the second time where there was a great overthrow of each side of fifteene thousand men but the Romanes had the worst and tooke their heeles When hee was intreated by the Sicilian embassadors to lend them aid to expulse the Carthaginians out of their Isle hee yeelded presently and chased them out Being recalled by the Tarentines into Italy for their succour he was conquered by the Romanes after he had made war upon them six yeres At his returne to Epire he re-entred by violence Macedonia tooke many places overcame the army of king Antigonus that resisted him had all the whole realm rendred into his hand Being intreated by Cleominus to make war upon Sparta to the end toreinstall him in his kingdome which he was deprived of forthwith he mustered his forces besieged the citie and spoyled and wasted all the whole country Afterwards there being a sedition raised in the city of Argos betweene two of the chiefest citizens one of the which sent unto him for aid he what issue soever was like to ensue whether victory or vanquishment could not abide in peace from disquieting others and himselfe but must needs go to take part in that sedition but to his cost even to his destruction For first in his way he found an evill-favoured welcome by an ambush placed of purpose to interrupt his journey amongst whom he lost his son which mishap nothing dismaied him nor abated any whit of his purpose or courage from pursuing this journey to Argos though the citizens themselves intreated him to retire and though he had no businesse there save only to looke over the townâ— being arrived by night and finding a gate left open for him to enter by by the meanes of him that had sent for him to his aid hee put his souldiers in and possessed himselfe of the towne incontinently But the city being aided by Antigonus and the King of Sparta charged and pressed him so sore that he sought meanes to retire out of the same but could not At which time being about to strike a young man of the city that had done him some hurt his mother being
Cassius near Modene all which victories and lucky proceedings did so embolden and puffe up the courage of Captain Fencer that he determined to give an alarme to Rome and to lay siege unto it but the Romanes preparing and directing all their Forces to withstand their practices gave him and his crue so sore a repulse that from Rome they were fain to flie to the uttermost parts of Italie and there seeing themselves pent in on all sides and driven to deep extremity they gave so desperate an onset on their enemies that both their Captain and they were all slain And thus the Romans made jolly pastime with their Fencers and bondslaves and more I thinke at this time than they either looked or wished for for four hundred of them being taken by the bondmen were enforced to shew them pastime at the same game whereat they had oftentimes made themselves merry at their costs and to kill one another as they had before time caused them to do How curious and desirous the people of Rome was wont to be of beholding these bloudy and mischievous games Cornelius Tacitus in the fourth book of his Annales declareth at large where he reporteth That in the City of the Fidenates in the twelfth year of the Raigne of Tiberius the people being gathered together to behold the Fencers prizes were fifty thousand of them hurt and maimed at one time by the Amphitheatre that fell upon them a cruell pastime indeed and a strange accident not comming by adventure as some suppose but by the just vengeance of God to suppresse such pernitious and uncivill sports The same story is registred by Paulus Orosius in his seventh book with this adjection That at that time were slain more than twenty thousand persons I cannot passe over in silence two notable and memorable Histories of two Lions recorded by two famous Authours Seneca the one and Auluâ— Gellius the other The first of whom reporteth That he saw on the Theatre a Lion who seeing a slave that sometimes had been his keeper throwne among the beasts to be devoured acknowledged him and defended him from their teeth and would not suffer any of them to do him hurt The second bringeth the testimony of one Appianus that affirmeth himselfe to have seen at Rome a Lion who for old acquaintance sake which he had with a condemned servant fawned upon him and cleared him in like manner from the fury of the other beasts The History was this A certain bondslave too roughly handled by his master forsook him and fled away and in his flight retiring into a desart and not knowing how to bestow himselfe took up a cave for his lodging where he had not long abode but a mighty Lion came halting to his den with a sore and bloudy leg the poor slave all forgone at this strange and ugly sight looked every minute to be devoured but the Lion in another mood came fawningly and softly towards him as if he would complain unto him of his grief whereat somewhat heartened he bethought himselfe to apply some medicine to his would and to binde up the sore as well as he could which he had no sooner done but the Lion made out for his prey and ere long returning brought home to his Host and Chirurgion certain gobbets of raw flesh which he halfe roasting upon a rocke by the Sun-beames made his daily sustenance for the time of his abode there notwithstanding at length wearied with this old and savage life and hating to abide long in that estate he for sook the desart and put himselfe again to adventure now it chanced that he was taken by his old master and carried from Aegypt to Rome to the end to be an actor in those beastly Tragoedies but by chance his old patient the Lion taken also since his departure being ready amongst other beasts to play his part knew him by and by and ran unto him fawning and making much of him the people wondring at this strange accident after enquiry made of the cause thereof gave him the Lion and caused him to lead him in a string through the City for a miracle for indeed both this and the former deserve no other name Thus God reproveth the savage inhumanity of men by the example of the wilde and furious beasts at whose teeth poor servants found more favour than at their masters hands The Emperour Constamine weighing the indignity of these and such like pastimes and knowing how far they ought to be banished from the society of men by a publike Edict abolished all such bloudy and monstrous spectacles In like manner these monomachies and single combates performed in places inclosed for the purpose wherein one at the least if not both must of necessary die ought to be abrogated in a Christian policy as by the Laterane Councell it was well enacted with this penalty That whosoever should in that manner be slain his body should be deprived of Ecclesiasticall buriall and truely most commonly it commeth to passe that they that presume most upon their owne prowesse and strength and are most forward in offering combat either lose their lives or gain discredit which is more grievous than death CHAP. XIX Of such as exercise too much rigour and severity FUrthermore we must understand that God doth not only forbid murder and bloudshed but also all tyranny and oppression therein providing for the weak against the strong the poor against the rich and bondslaves against their masters to the end that none might be trode under foot and oppressed of others under pain of his indignation Insomuch therefore as the Romans used such rigour towards their servants it came to passe by a just judgement of God that they being Lords over all the World were three sundry times driven by their servants into great extremities As first in Rome within the wals at the sametime when they also were troubled with the seditious factions of their Tribunes Secondly in Sicily where they horribly laid waste the whole Countrey the cause of which commotion was because the Romans had chained a multitude of slaves together and in that order sent them to maâ—â—ur and till the ground for a certain Syrian first assembled two thousand men of them that came next hand then breaking up the Prisons multiplied his Army to fourty thousand and with them pulled downe Castles rased up Townes and destroyed every where The third undertaken by a Shepherd who having killed his master set at liberty all the â—ondmen and prepared an Army of them wherewith he spoiled Cities Townes Castles and discomfited the Armies of Servilius and Lucullus who were pretors at that time but at last they were destroyed and rooted out by little and little and this good service got the Romans at their servants hands As every Nation hath his proper vertue and vice ascribed to it so the Spaniards for their part are noted famous for cruelty towards their subjects and vassals insomuch that as experience
be whereof all they are guilty that either make up such Marriages or give their good will or consent to them or do not hinder the cause and proceedings of them if any manner of way they can Now that this confusion and mixture of Religion in Marriages is unpleasant and noysom to God it manifestly appeareth Gen. 6. where it is said that because the sonnes of God to wit those whom God had separated for himselfe from the beginning of the world to be his peculiar ones were so evill advised as to be allured with the beauties of the daughters of men to wit of those which were not chosen of God to be his people and to marry with them corrupting themselves by this contagious acquaintance of prophane people with whom they should have had nothing to do that therefore God was incensed against them and resolved simply to revenge the wickednesse of each party without respect Beside the monstrous fruits of those prophane Marriages do sufficiently declare their odiousnesse in Gods sight for from them arose gyants of strength and stature exceeding the proportion of men who by their hugenesse did much wrong and violence in the world and gained fearfull and terrible names to themselves but God provoked by their oppressions drowned their tyrannies in the Floud and made an end of the world for their sakes In the time of the Judges in Israel the Israelites were chastised by the hand of God for this same fault for they tooke to wives the daughters of the uncircumcised and gave them their daughters also In like sort framed they themselves by this meanes to their corrupt manners and superstitions and to the service of their Idolatrous gods but the Lord of heaven raigned downe anger upon their heads and made them subject to a stranger the King of Mesopotamia whom they served the space of eight yeares Looke what hapned to King Solomon for giving his heart to strange women that were not of the houshold of Gods people he that before was replenished with such admirable wisdome that he was the wonder of the world was in his olde age deprived thereof and besotted with a kinde of dulnesse of understanding and led aside from the true knowledge of God to serve Idols and to build them Altars and Chappels for their worship and all this to please forsooth his wives humours whose acquaintance was the chiefe cause of his misery and Apostasie CHAP. XXIV Touching incestuous Marriages NOw as it is unlawfull to contract marriages with parties of contrary religion so it is as unlawfull to marry those that are neare unto us by any degree of kindred or affinity as it is inhibited not only by the law of God but also by civill and politique constitutions whereunto all nations have ever by the sole instinct of nature agreed and accorded except the Aegyptians and Persians whose abhominations were so great as to take their owne sisters and mothers to be their wives Cambyses King of Media and Persia married his owne sister but it was not long ere he put her to death a just proofe of an unjust and accursed marriage Many others there were in protract of time that in their insatiable lusts shewed themselves no lesse unstaied and unbriedled in their lawlesse affections then he One of which was Antigonus King of Judea son of Herodes sirnamed Great who blushed not to marry his sister the late wife of his deceased brother Alexander by whom she had borne two children but for this and divers other his good deeds he lost not only his goods which were confiscated but was himselfe also banished out of his countrey into a forraine place from Judea to Vienna in France Herod also the Tetrarch was so impudent and shamelesse that he tooke from his brother Philip his wife Herodias and espoused her unto himselfe which shamelesse and incestuous deed Iohn Baptist reproving in him told him plainly how unlawfull it was for him to possesse his brothers wise but the punishment which befell him for this and many other his sins we have heard in the former booke and need not here to be repeated Anton. Caracalla tooke to wife his mother in law allured thereunto by her faire enticements whose wretched and miserable end hath already been touched in the former booke The Emperour Heraclius after the decease of his first wife married his owne neece the daughter of his brother which turned mightily to his undoing for besides that that under his raigne and as it were by his occasion the Saracens entred the borders of Christendome and spoiled and destroyed his dominions under his nose to his foule and utter disgrace he was over and above smitten corporally with so grievous and irksome a disease of dropsie that he dyed thereof Thus many men run ryot by assuming to themselves too much liberty and breake the bounds of civill honesty required in all Contracts and too audaciously set themselves against the commandement of God which ought to be of such authority with all men that none be they never so great should dare to derogate one jot from them unlesse they meant wholly to oppose themselves as profest enemies to God himselfe and to turne all the good order of things into confusion All which notwithstanding some of the Romish Popes have presumed to encroach upon Gods right and to disanull by their foolish decrees the lawes of the Almighty As Alexander the sixth did who by his Bull approved the incestuous marriage of Ferdinand King of Naples with his owne Aunt his father Alphonsus sister by the fathers side which otherwise saith Cardinall Bembus had been against all law and equity and in no case to be tollerated and borne withall Henry the seventh King of England after the death of his eldest son Arthur caused by the speciall dispensation of Pope Iulius his next son named Henry to take to wife his brothers widdow called Katherine daughter to Ferdinando King of Spaine for the desire he had to have this Spanish affinity continued who succeeding his father in the Crowne after continuance of time began to advise himselfe and to consult whether this marriage with his brothers wife were lawfull or no and found it by conference both of holy and prophane lawes utterly unlawfull whereupon he sent certaine Bishops to the Queene to give her to know That the Popes dispensation was altogether unjust and of none effect to priviledge such an act to whom she answered That it was too late to call in question the Popes Bull which so long time they had allowed of The two Cardinals that were in Commission from the Pope to decide the controversie and to award judgement upon the matter were once upon point to conclude the decree which the King desired had not the Pope impeached their determination in regard of the Emperour Charles nephew to the said Queene whom he was loath to displease wherefore the King seeing himselfe frustrate of his purpose in this behalfe sent into divers
the threshold which thing turned to a great destruction and overthrow in Israel for the Levite when he arose and found his wife newly dead at the dore of his lodging he cut and dismembred her body into twelve pieces and sent them into all the countries of Israel to every tribe one to give them to understand how vile and monstrous an injurie was done unto him whereupon the whole nation assembling and consulting together when they saw how the Benjamites in whose tribe this monstrous villany was committed make no reckoning of seeing punishment executed upon those execrable wretches they tooke armes against them and made war upon them wherein though at the first conflict they lost to the number of forty thousand men yet afterward they discomfited and overthrew the Benjamites and slew of them 25000. rasing and burning downe the City Gibea where the sinne was committed with all the rest of the Cities of that Tribe in such sort that there remained alive but six hundred persons that saved their lives by flying into the desart and there hid themselves foure moneths untill such time as the Israelites taking pitty of them lest they should utterly be brought to nought gave them to wife to the end to repeople them againe foure hundred virgins of the inhabitants of Jabes Gilead reserved out of that flaughter of those people wherein man woman and childe were put to the sword for not comming forth to take part with their brethren in that late warre And forasmuch as yet there remained two hundred of them unprovided for the Antients of Israel gave them liberty to take by force two hundred of the daughters of their people which could not be but great injury and vexation unto their parents to be thus robbed of their daughters and to see them married at all adventures without their consent or liking These were the mischiefes which issued and sprang from that vile and abominable adultery of the wicked Gibeonites with the Levites wife whose first voluntary sinne was in like manner also most justly punished by this second rape and this is no new practise of our most just God to punish one sinne by another and sinners in the same kinde wherein they have offended When King David after he had overcome the most part of his enemies and made them tributaries unto him and injoyed some rest in his kingdome whilest his men of war pursuing their victory destroyed the Ammonites and were in besieging Rabba their chiefe City he was so enflamed with the beauty of Bathshabe Vriahs wife that he caused her to bee conveyed to him to lye with her to which sinne he combined another more grievous to wit when he saw her with childe by him to the end to cover his adultery he caused her husband to be slaine at the siege by putting him in the Vantgard of the battell at the assault and then thinking himselfe cocksure married Bathshabe But all this while as it was but vaine allurements no solid joy that fed his minde and his sleepe was but of sinne not of safety wherein he slumbred so the Lord awakened him right soone by afflictions and crosses to make him feele the burden of the sinne which he had committed first therefore the childe the fruit of this adultery was striken with sicknesse and dyed next his daughter Thamar Absaloms sister was ravished by Ammon one of his owne sonnes thirdly Ammon for his incest was slaine by Absalom and fourthly Absalom ambitiously aspiring after the kingdome and conspiring against him raised war upon him and defiled his Concubines and came to a wofull destruction All which things being grievous crosses to K. David were inflicted by the just hand of God to chastise and correct him for his good not to destroy him in his wickednesse neither did it want the effect in him for he was so far from swelling and hardening himselfe in his sin that contrariwise he cast downe and humbled himselfe and craved pardon and forgivenesse at the hand of God with all his heart and true repentance not like to such as grow obstinate in their sinnes and wickednesse and make themselves beleeve all things are lawfull for them although they be never so vile and dishonest This therefore that we have spoken concerning David is not to place him among the number of lewd and wicked livers but to shew by his chastisements being a man after Gods owne heart how odious and displeasant this sin of Adultery is to the Lord and what punishment all others are to expect that wallow therein since he spared not him whom he so much loved and favoured CHAP. XXVIII Other examples like unto the former THE history of the ravishment of Helene registred by so many worthy and excellent Authors and the great evils that pursued the same is not to be counted altogether an idle fable or an invention of pleasure seeing that it is sure that upon that occasion great and huge war arose betweene the Graecians and the Trojanes during the which the whole Countrey was havocked many Cities and Townes destroyed much blood shed and thousands of men discomfited among whom the ravisher and adulterer himselfe to wit Paris the chiefe mover of all those miserable tragedies escaped not the edge of the sword no nor that famous city Troy which entertained and maintained the adulterers within her walls went unpunished but at last was taken and destroyed by fire and sword In which sacking olde and gray headed King Priâ—m with all the remnant of his halfe slaine sonnes were together murdered his wife and daughters were taken prisoners and exposed to the mercy of their enemies his whole kingdome was entirely spoiled and his house quite defaced and well nigh all the Trojane Nobility extinguished and as touching the whore Helene her selfe whose disloyalty gave consent to the wicked enterprise of forsaking her husbands house and following a stranger she was not exempt from punishment for as some writers affirm she was slaine at the sacke but according to others she was at that time spared and entertained againe by Menelaus her husband but after his death she was banished in her olde age and constrained for her last refuge being both destitute of reliefe and succour and forsaken of kinsfolkes and friends to flie to Rhodes where at length contrary to her hope she was put to a shamefull death even hanging on a tree which she long time before deserved The injury and dishonour done to Lucrece the wife of Collatinus by Sextus Tarquinius son to Superbus the last King of Rome was cause of much trouble and disquietnesse in the City and elsewhere for first she not able to endure the great injurie and indignity which was done unto her pushed forward with anger and despite slew her selfe in the presence of her husband and kinsfolke notwithstanding all their desires and willingnesse to cleare her from all blame with whose death the Romanes were so stirred and provoked against Sextus
him But if he would have given all the world it could not ransome him from death wherefore when he saw there was no remedie but hee must needs die hee commended his soule to the Divell to be carried into everlasting torments which words when hee had uttered hee gave up the ghost Another Usurer being ready to die made this his last Will and Testament My soule quoth he I bequeath to the divell who is owner of it my wife likewise to the divell who induced me to this ungodly trade of life and my deacon to the divell for soothing me up and not reproving me for my faults and in this desperate persuasion he died incontinently Usury consisteth not only in lending and borowing but buying and selling also and all unjust and crafty bargaining yea and it is a kinde of usurie to detain through too much covetousnesse those commodities from the people which concerne the publike good and to hoord them up for their private gain til some scarcitie orwant arise and this also hath evermore beene most sharpely punished as by these examples may appeare About the yeare 1543. at what time a great famine and dearth of bread afflicted the world there was in Saxonie a countrey peasant that having carried his corne to the market and sold it cheaper than he looked for as he returned homewards he fell into most heavy dumpes and dolours of minde with griefe that the price of graine was abated and when his servants sang merrily for joy of that blessed cheapnesse he rebuked them most sharpely and cruelly yea and was so much the more tormented and troubled in minde by how much he more he saw any poore soule thankfull unto God for it but marke how God gave him over to a reprobate and desperate sence Whilest his servants rode before hee hung himselfe at the cart taile being past recoverie of life ere any man looked backe or perceived him A notable example for our English cormorants who joyne barne to barne and heape to heape and will not sell nor give a handful of their superfluitie to the poore when it beareth a low price but preserve it till scarcity and want come and then they sell it at their owne rate let them feare by this lest the Lord deale so or worse with them Another covetous wretch when he could not sel his cornesodear as hee desired said the mise should eat it rather than he would lessen one jot of the price thereof Which words were no sooner spoken but vengeance tooke them for all the mise in the countrey flocked to his barnes and fieldes so that they left him neither standing nor lying corne but devoured all This story was written to Martin Luther upon occasion whereof he inveying mightily against this cruell usurie of husbandmen told of three misers that in one yeare hung themselves because graine bore a lower price than they looked for adding moreover that all such cruell and muddy extortioners deserved no better a doome for their unimercifull oppression Another rich farmer whose barnes were full of graine and his stacks untouched was so covetous withall that in hope of some dearth and deerenesse of corne he would not diminish one heape but hoorded up dayly more and more and wished for a scarcity upon the earth to the end hee might enrich his coffers by other mens necessities This cruell churle rejoyced so much in his aboundance that everie day he would go into his barnes and feed his eyes with his superfluitie Now it fell out as the Lord would that having supped and drunke very largely upon a night as hee went according to his custome to view his riches with a candle in his hand behold the wine or rather the justice of God overcame his sences so that he fell downe suddenly into the mow and by his fall set on fire the corne being dry and easie to be incensed in such sort that in a moment all that which he had scraped together and preserved so charily and delighted in so unreasonably was consumed and brought to ashes and scarce he himselfe escaped with his life Another in Misnia in the yeare 1559 having great store of corne hoordedup refused to succor the necessitie of his poore halfe famished neighbours for which cause the Lord punished him with a strange and unusuall judgement for the corne which he so much cherished assumed life and became feathered fowles flying out of his barnes in such abundance that the world was astonished thereat and his barnes left emptie of all provision in most wonderfull and miraculous manner No lesse strange was that which happened in a towne of France called Stenchansen to the Governour of the towne who being requested by one of his poore subjects to sell him some corne for his money when there was none to be gotten elsewhere answered hee could spare none by reason he had scarce enough for his owne hogs which hoggish disposition the Lord requited in it owne kinde for his wife at the next litter brought forth seven pigs at one birth to increase the number of his hogs that as he had preferred filthie and ougly creatures before his poore brethren in whom the image of God in some sort shined forth so he might have of his owne getting more of that kinde to make much of since hee loved them so well Equall to all the former both in cruelty touching the person and miracle touching the judgement was that which is reported by the same authour to have happened to a rich couetous woman in Marchia who in an extreame dearth of victuals denyed not onely to relieve a poore man whose children were ready to starve with famine but also to sell him but one bushell of corne when he wanted but a penny of her price for the poore wretch making great shift to borrow that penny returned to her againe and desired her he might have the corn but as he payed her the mony the penny fell upon the ground by the providence of God which as she stretched out obeisance and vaile bonnet to the hat and in every respect shew themselves as dutifull unto it as to his owne person imagining that his greatest enemies could not endure nor finde in their hearts to do it and therefore upon this occasion he might apprehend them and discover all their close practises and conspiracies which they might brew against him now there was one a stout hearted man that passing everie day up and downe that wayes could in no wise be brought to reverence the dignitie of the worthy hat so unreasonable a thing it seemed in his eyes whereupon being taken the tyran commanded him for punishment of his open contempt to shoot at an apple laid upon the crowne of the head of his dearest childe and if he mist the apple to be put to death the poore man after many excuses and allegations and entreaties that he might not hazard his childes life in that sort was notwithstanding
gold yet after the receit thereof he traiterously caused him to be hanged contrary to both his oath and all equity and reason but this cruell perfidie of his went not long without punishment for both hee and all the rest that were any wayes accessarie or consenting to the death of this King came to a wretched end but especially his foure brethren Ferdinand Gonsal Iohn Martin of Alcantara and Diego of Almagro who as they were principall in the action so were they in the punishment the first that was punished was Iohn Pizarre who with many other Spaniards was surprised in the City of Cusco and slaine by the men of warre of Mangefrem and Artabaliba next after that there arose such a division and heart-burning betwixt the Pizarres and Almagro and their partakers that after they had robbed and wasted and shared out the great and rich Countrey of Peru they slew one another by mutuall strokes and albeit that there was by common consent an agreement accorded betwixt them for the preserving of their unity and friendship yet Francis Pizarre envying that Almagro should bee Governour of Cusco and he not interrupted all their agreements by starting from his promises and re-kindled the halfe-quenched fire of warre by his owne ambition for hee presently defied Amagro and sent his brother Ferdinand before to bid him battaile who so well behaved himselfe that hee tooke Almagro prisoner and delivered him bound to his brother Francis who caused him to bee strangled in prison secretly and after to be beheaded in publique Now Ferdinand being sent by his brother towards Spaine with a great masse of gold to cleare himselfe of the death of Almagro could not so well justifie the fact as that all his treasure could save him from the prison and what became of him afterwards knowne it is to God but not to the world A while after the fellowes and friends of Almagro whose goods the Pizarrists hath seised upon tooke counsell with Don Diego Almagro his sonne to revenge the death of his father therefore being in number but twelve with unsheathed swords they desperately burst into Francis Pizarres house then Marquesse and Governour of Peru and at the first brunt slew a Captaine that guarded the enterance of the Hall and next him Martin of Alcahtara and other more that kept the entrance of the Chamber so that hee fell dead even at his brother the Marquesses feet who albeit his men were all slaine before his eyes and himselfe left alone amiddest his enemies yet gave not over to defend himselfe stoutly and manfully untill all of them setting upon him at once hee was stabbed into the throat and so fell dead upon the ground and thus finished hee and his complices their wretched dayes answerable to their cruell deserts but their murderers though they deserved to bee thus dealt withall yet for dealing in this sort without authority were not faultlesse but received the due wages of their furious madnesse for Don Diego himselfe after he had beene a while Governour of Peru had his army overcome and discomfited by the Emperours forces and was betrayed into their hands by his owne Lieutenant of Cusco where he thought to have saved himself and right soone lost his head with the greatest Captains and favourites that hee had who were also quartered Now of the five brethren wee have heard foure of their destructions onely one remaineth namely Gonzalle Pizarre to bee spoken of who being sent for by the Conquerours to be their Chieftaine and Protector against the Viceroy that went about to make them observe the Emperours lawes and decrees touching the liberty of the Indian Nation was betrayed and forsaken by the same men that sent for him and so fell into his enemies hands that cut off his head The Generall of his army a covetous and cruell man that in short space made away above three hundred Spaniards and all as it were with his own hand was drawn up and downe at a horse tayle the space of halfe a quarter of an houre and then hanged upon the gallowes quartered in foure parts The Monke of Vauvard called Vincent who with his crosse and porteise had encouraged Pizarre and his army against Artabaliba and was for that cause created Bishop of Peru when Diego came to the governement fled into the Island Puna to escape his wrath but in seeking to avoyde him he fell into as great a snare for the Islanders assaulted him one night and knockt him to death with staves and clubs together with forty Spaniards of his fellowship that accompanied him in his flight and started not from him in his death And thus the good and holy Monke for medling with and setting forward the murder of so many poore people was for his paines and good deeds justly rewarded by the Indians of that Island Moreover after and beside all these troubles seditions and civil warres of Peru all they that returned from Spaine suffered shipwracke for the most part for their fleet had scarce attained the midst of their course when there arose so terrible a tempest that of eighteen ships thirteen so perished that they were never heard of after and of the five which remained two were tumbled backe to the coast of Saint Dominick all berent and shivered in pieces other three were driven to Spaine whereof one hitting against the bay of Portugall lost many of her men The Admirall her selfe of this fleet perished near unto Saint Lucar de Baramede with two hundred persons that were within her and but one onely of them all got safe into the haven of Calix without dammage Here we may see how mightily the hand of God was stretched forth to the revenge of those wicked deeds and villanies which were committed by the Spaniards in those quarters Peter Loys bastard son to Pope Paul the third was one that practised many horrible villanies robberies murthers adulteries incest and Sodomitries thinking that because his father was Pope therefore no wickednesse was unlawfull for him to commit He was by the report of all men one of the most notorious vilest and filthiest villaines that ever the world saw he forced the Bishop of Faence to his unnaturall lust so that the poor Bishop with meer anger and grief that he should be so abused died immediately Being made Duke of Plaisence and Parma he exercised most cruell tyranny towards many of his subjects insomuch that divers Gentlemen that could not brook nor endure his injuries conceived an inward hate against him and conspired his death and for to put in practise the same they hired certain Ruffians and Roysters to watch the opportunity of slaying him yea and they themselves oftentimes went apart with these Roysters keeping themselves upon their guards as if some private and particular quarrels had been in hand One day as the Duke went in his horse-litter out of his Castle with a great retinue to see certain Fortifications which he had prepared being advertised by his father the
that after she had once beene spared by the meanes of the Prophet Ionas who fore-told her of her destruction being returned to her former vomit againe to wit of robberies extortions wrongfull dealings and adulteries she was wholly and utterly subverted God having delivered her for a prey into the hands of many of her enemies that spoiled and pilled her to the quicke and lastly into the hands of the Medes who brought her to a finall and unrecoverable desolation as it was prophesied by the Prophet Nahum Babylon was wont to be the seat of that puissant Monarchie under Nabuchadnezzar where flourished the famous Astrologers and notable wise men of the world where the spoyles and riches of many nations and countries were set up as Trophies and kept as the remembrance of their victories where also vices reigned and all manner of excesse and villanie overflowed for by the report of Q. Curtius the Citie did so exceed in whoredome and adulteries that fathers and mothers were not ashamed to be bawdes unto their daughters no nor husbands to their wives a thing most strange and odious wherefore it could not chuse but in the end bee sacked and quite destroyed with an extreame ruine and destruction the signes and apparance whereof yet are seen in the ruine of old wals and ancient buildings that there remaine Amongst sea-bordering Cities and for renowne of merchandise Tyre in former ages was most famous for thither resorted the merchants of all Countries for traffique of Palestina Syria Aegypt Persia and Assyria they of Tarshis brought thither Iron Lead Brasse and Silver the Syrians sold their Carbuncles Purple broidered worke fine linnen corall and pearle the Jewes Hony Oyle Treacle Cassia and Calamus the Arabians traffiqued with Lambs Muttons and Goats the Sabeans brought merchandise of all exquisite spices and Apothecary stuffe with gold and precious stones by meanes whereof it being growne exceeding wealthy inriched by fraud and deceit and being lifted up to the height of pride and plunged in the depth of pleasures it was at length by the just judgement of God so sacked and ruinated that the very memory thereof at this day scarce remaineth The like judgement fell upon Sidon and upon that rich and renowned Citie of Corinth which through the commodiousnesse of the haven was the most frequented place of the world for the entercourse of Merchants out of Asia and Europe for by reason of her pride and corruption of manners but especially for her despising and abuse of the heavenly graces of Gods spirit which were sowed and planted in her she underwent this punishment to be first finally destroyed and brought into cinders by the Romans and then after her re-edification to be debased into so low and vâ—le an estate that that which remaineth is no wise comparable to her former glory Againe Athens the most flourishing and famous Citie of Greece for her faire buildings large precincts and multitude of inhabitants but especially for her Philosophie by meanes whereof recourse was made from all parts to her as the fountaine and well-spring of Arts and the Schoole and University of the whole world whose policie and manner of governement was so much esteemed by the Romanes that they drew from thence their lawes but now she lies dead and buried in forgetfulnesse not carrying any of her former proportion or apparance Carthage that noble Citie mistresse of Africa and paragon to Rome may not brag of any better issue than her fellowes for though she resisted and made her part good with Rome for many yeares yet at length by means of her owne inward and civile jarres she was utterly destroyed by them for the inhabitants not able to stand any longer in defence were constrained to yeeld themselves to the mercy of their enemies the women to the number of five and twenty thousand marching first forth and after them the men in number thirty thousand following all which poore captives were sold for bond-slaves a few onely of the principall excepted and then fire was put to the Citie which burnt seventeene dayes without ceasing even till it was cleane consumed It is true that it was re-edified after this but which lasted not long for it was againe brought to destruction that at this day there remaineth nothing but old and rotten ruines And thus fared many other Cities of which may be verified that which was spoken of Troy that fields and corne are where Cities were Numantium in Spaine being besieged by the Romans after it had borne the brunt of warre and sacking a long while made many desperate sallies upon their enemies and lastly seeing themselves consumed with famine rather than they would bow their necks to the yoke of servitude barring their gates set fire on all and so burning themselves with their whole City left the enemy nothing but ashes for his prey and triumph as the Saguntines not long before served Anniball It is a marvellous and strange thing to consider how that proud Citie hath lifted up her head above all others and usurped a tyrannie over Nations and which Lactantius Ierome and Augustine three learned fathers entituled Babylon how I say she hath beene humbled for all her pride and impoverished for all her riches and made a prey unto many Nations It was sacked and ransacked twice by the Visigothes taken once by the Herulians surprised by the Ostrogothes destroyed and rooted up by the Vandales annoyed by the Lumbards pilled and spoiled by the Graecians and whipped and chastised by many others and now 〈◊〉 Sodome and Gomorrah it is to expect no more punishment but the last blow of the most mightiest his indignation to throw it headlong into everlasting and horrible desolation CHAP. LI. Of such punishments which are common to all men in regard of their iniquities THese and such like effects of Gods wrath ought to admonish and instruct every man to looke unto himselfe for doing evill and to abhorre and detest sinne since it bringeth forth such soure and bitter fruits for albeit the wayes of the wicked seeme in their owne eyes faire and good yet it is certaine that they are full of snares and thornes to entrap and pricke them to the quicke for after that being fed with the licorous and deceitfull sweetnesse of their owne lusts they have sported themselves their fils in their pleasures and wicked affections then in stead of delights and pastimes they shall finde nothing but punishment and sadnesse their laughter joy pompe magnificence and glory shall be turned into torments and dolors weepings opprobries ignominies confusion and miserie everlasting for if God spared not great Cities Empires Monarchies and Kings in their obstinate misdeeds shall we thinke he will spare little Cities Hamlets and Villages and men of base estate when by their sinnes they provoke him to anger no it cannot be for God is alwayes of one and the same nature alwayes like unto himselfe A God executing
escape unpunished for his perfidie and impietie For first his warre-like affaires in the East prospered not then a little before the end of his life he grievously complained that he had innovated the faith in his kingdome At last in those sighings and complaints he parted this life with a grievous and violent disease The Unkle of Iulian the Apostata called also Iulianus at Antioch in the temple prophaned the holy table with pissing upon it And when Eusoius the Bishop rebuked him for it he stroke him with his fist Not long after he was taken with a grievous disease of his bowels putrifying and miserably died his excrements comming from him not by their ordinary passages but by his wicked mouth Under the Emperour Valence a wonderfull haile the stones being as big as a man could hold in his hand was sent upon Constantinople and slew many both men and beasts for that the Emperour had banished many famous men that would not communicate with Eudoxius the Arrian and for the same reason a great part of Germa a Citie of Hellespont was throwne downe by an earthquake and in Phrygia such a famine succeeded that the Inhabitants were faine to change their habitation and to â—lee to other places After the martyrdome of Gregory the Bishop of Spoleta Flacchus the Governour who was author thereof was strucke with an Angel and vomited out his entrailes at his mouth and died Under the Empire of Alexander Mammea Agrippitus fifteene yeares old because he would not sacrifice to their Idols was apprehended at Praeneste whipt with scourges and hanged up by the heeles and at last slaine with the sword in the middest of whose torments the Governour of the Citie fell from the Tribunall seat dead Bajazet a most cruell enemy of the Christians was taken by Tamerlane the Tartarian King and bound in golden chaines and carried about by him in an iron cage latised and shewne unto all being used for a stirrop unto Tamerlane when he got upon his horse Gensericus the King of the Vandales exercising grievous cruelty against the Orthodox Christians he himselfe being an Arrian was possessed of the Devill and died a miserable death in the yeare 477. Honoricus the second King of the Vandales having used inexplicable cruelty against the Orthodox Christians hanging up honest matrons and virgins naked burning their bodies with torches cutting off their dugges and armes because they would not subscribe to the Arrian heresie was surprised himselfe with the vengeance of God for his land was turned into barrennesse through an exceeding drought so that numbers of men women and beasts died with famine the pestilence also seised upon them and he himselfe was stricken with such a disease of his body that his members rotted off one after another Anastatius Dicorus a grievous persecutor of the Church of Christ being admonished in a dreame that he should perish with thunder built him an house wherein he might defend himselfe from that judgement but in vaine for in a great thunder he fled from chamber to chamber and at last was found dead blasted with lightning to the great horror of the beholders Chasroes the King of Persia a grievous enemy to Christ and Christians committed horrible outrages against them for first he slew at Jerusalem ninety thousand men with Zachariâ— the Patriarch of Jerusalem and also raged in like manner in Aegypt Lybia Aethiopia and would grant them no condition of peace unlesse they would forsake Christ and worship the Sunne he also put to death with most cruell torments Anastatius a godly Monke because he constantly confessed the faith of Christ. But God met with him to the full for his eldest sonne Syroes tooke him prisoner and handled him in most vile manner he hanged an iron weight upon his neck and imprisoned him in an high tower which he had built to keepe his treasure denying him food and bidding him eat the gold which he had gathered together then he slew all his children before his face and exposed him to the scoffes and railings of the people and lastly caused him to be shot to death and so that great terror of the world and shedder of Christian bloud breathed out his soule after a miserable manner Regnerus the King of Denmarke abrogating Christian Religion and setting up Idolatrie in his Kingdome anew the divine vengeance overtooke him for Helles whom he had cast out of the Kingdome returned upon him with an army of the Gaules and overcomming him in battell tooke him prisoner and shut him up in a filthie prison full of serpents which setting upon him with their venomous bitings and stings brought him to a most horrible end Lysius the Emperour gave Heriâ—a his daughter a virgin because she was a Christian to be trampled under foot of horses but he himselfe was sâ—ain by the byting of one of the same horses A Popish Magistrate having condemned a poore Protestant to death before his execution caused his tongue to be cut out because he should not confesse the truth in requitall whereof the next childe that was borne unto him was borne without a tongue CHAP. II. Of Perjurie Pâ—ilip King of Macedon who was a great contemner of all oathes and held the Religion thereof as a vain thing for this cause as all Writers affirme the vengeance of God followed him and his posteritie for when he had lived scarce forty and sixe yeares he himselfe was slain and all his whole house in short time in short time after utterly extinguished 〈◊〉 one of his sonnes was slaine by Olympias his wife Also another sonne which he had by Cleopatra the 〈◊〉 of Aâ—â—alus â—he tormented to death in a brazen vessell compassed about with fire The â—est of his sonnes periffied in like manner and at last the famous Alexander his sonne after great conquest atchieved by him in the middle course of his victories periffied miserably some thinke by poyson In the Countrey of Arbernum there was a certaine wicked man that used ordinarily to for sweare himselfe but at one time after he had thus sinned his tongue was tyed up that he could not speake but began to low like an oâ—e yet repenting and grieving for his sinne he found the bond of his tongue loosed and a readinesse of speech given unto him againe whereby we see both the Iustice of God in punishing them that sinne in this kinde and his mercy in pardoning when they truly repent At this day we have an example fresh and famous of a certaine maid that had stolne and pilfered many things away out of her mistresses house of which being examined she forswore them and wisht that she might rot if she ever touched them or knew of them but notwithstanding she was carried to prison and there presently began so to rot stink that they were forced to thrust her out of prison and to convey her to the Hospitall where she lies in lamentable miserie
Why he made not haste home He answered That he tarryed till it was evening being insensible both of the time and of the cold They asked him againe Whether he had received any food or no The boy answered That a certaine man brought unto him bread and cheese which hee did eate Thus without doubt the childe was preserved by an Angell and the man that brought him the bread and cheese was an Angel of God Tiburtius the Governour of Areciam a Heathen man forbad two Christian brothers Pergentinus and Laurentinus to preach Christ First he allured them by flattering speeches which when it succeeded not he caused them to be beaten with clubbes But the armes of them that beat them were so withered that they could not strike a stroke Then he went about to starve them in prison but they were nourished by an Angell of God After hee commanded them to walke bare-footed upon burning coales which they did without any sense of hurt Lastly the Image of Iupiter being brought unto them to worship they calling upon the name of Jesus the brazen Image resolved into dust whereupon many of the Heathen people forsooke their Idols and turned unto the faith of Christ. This story is written by Marullus Spalatensis lib. 1. cap. 8. In that battell wherein Iudas Machabeus overcame Timotheus five men appeared in golden Armour whereof two defended Machabeus and the other three assaulted the enemies the second of Machabees Chapter the tenth Likewise in the eleventh Chapter of the same Book it is declared how two men in goodly Armour and upon white horses fought for the Jewes against their enemies as Castor and Pollux were seene to fight for the Romans against the Tusculans at the Lake Regillum When the Locrians made warre with the Crotolians there was seen two goodly young men upon white horses fighting for the Locrians who as soone as the victory was gotten were never seene more which victory at the same instant that it was gotten was declared at Athens Lacedemon and Corinth places farre distant from Locris and Crothon When Attila the King of the Hunnes calling himselfe the scourge of God had with furious rage destroyed and wasted many Cities in Italy he came at last to Rome purposing also to destroy it But Pope Leo the Great by the commandment of Valentinian the Emperour came out unto him and by his prayers and intreaties made him so milde that presently without doing any hurt he returned into his owne Countrey Hereupon being demanded by his Nobles Why he shewed himselfe so obedient to the Romane Bishop he answered That it was not in honour of the Pope but that he saw another man standing by in Priestly garments threatning him with a naked sword in his hand unlesse hee would yeeld unto Pope Leo. This doubtlesse was an Angell protecting of the Citie of Rome from that cruell and mercilesse Enemie We reade in the lives of the Fathers how a certaine religious Christian was cast into prison by the souldiers of Iulian the Apostata whom when Apolonius another godly Christian came to visit the Centurion cast him also into prison to accompany the other and set souldiers to watch the prison lest they should escape but late in the night an Angel of God was seene in a most cleare light and broke open the prison dore which being seene the Watch fell downe before those holy men and the Centurion that night having his house sore shaken with an Earthquake and some of his servants slaine the next morning came and delivered the two holy men out of prison with great trembling and feare We reade in the lives of the Fathers of one Copres a holy man that disputed with Manichee and when hee could not put him downe in words it was agreed betweene them that the tryall of the truth of their religion should be made by fire whereupon a fire being made in the Market-place Copres went into it and stood a time in it unhurt being protected by the Angell of God then the Manichee refusing to doe the like was thrust into the middest of the fire by the people and was so scortched that he scarce escaped with his life so that the people abhorring his wicked doctrine thrust him out of the Citie saying This seducer burneth alive Baratanes the King of Persia made warre upon the Romanes against whom Narsaeus the Emperours Generall prepared an Armie and when the Constantinopolitanes were in great feare two Angels in Bythinia charged certaine men that went to Constantinople to tell the Citizens that they should give themselves to prayer and fasting and feare nothing for they were sent of God to defend the Army of the Romanes against the Persians which they did accordingly for the Persian Army was defeated by Narsaeus and the Saracens that came to helpe them in great multitudes were drowned in the river Euphrates This Socrates reporteth Lib. 7. Capitulâ— 18. But to come to examples of later memory Melancthon in his explication of the tenth Chapter of the prophesie of Daniel relateth a storie of Gryneus a famous learned and godly man who having offended the Bishop of Vienna called Faba in a disputation about Religion returned unto his sociates assembled together whereof Melancthon was one where discoursing of the disputation betweene him and the Bishop I saith Melancthon was called out of the chamber to speak with a certaine grave man of a venerable countenance and habit who told me that we should remove Gryneus out of that place presently for the Sergeants were come to apprehend him and to cast him into prison whereupon we presently conducted him through the Citie and brought him unto the rivers side where we had him conveyed over into another Jurisdiction and at our returne to the Inne found that the Sergeants had beene there Thus saith Melancthon we see that this grave old man was an Angell of God that came to protect the good man from his enemies In the yeare 1539 not farre from Sitta in Germany in the time of a great dearth and famine a certaine godly matron having two sonnes and destitute of all manner of sustenance went with her children to a certaine fountaine hard by praying unto Almighty God that he would there relieve their hunger by his infinite goodnesse as she was going a certaine man met her by the way and saluteth her kindly and asked her whither shee was going who confessed that she was going to that fountaine there hoping to be relieved by God to whom all things are possible for if he nourished the children of Israell in the desart forty yeares how is it hard for him to nourish me and my children with a draught of water and when shee had spoken these words the man which was doubtlesse an Angel of God told her that seeing her faith was so constant she should returne home and there should finde six bushels of meale for her and her children The woman returning found that true which was promised In the yeare 1558 a