this bloudie Emperour Valerianus left no place vnsought to persecute the remnant of the Christians which his predecessors could not find with sword and fire vntil he himself was taken his army ouerthrown by Sapor King of Persia who tooke him and kept him in prison all his life time in bondage and slauery vsing him as a blocke to mount on horsebacke things hard and straunge to the Romanes to haue their Emperour in such slauish seruice to become a vassal and a blocke for Sapor King of Persia to lay his foote vpon his necke to goe on horse And was not the great Turke Pazaites ouerthrown and his Army slaine at Mount Stella by Tamberlane a rude and barbarous Scithian and himselfe taken and kept in a cage vnder his table and carried him in that cage in all his warres during Tamberlanes life so that the great Emperour of Rome died as a blocke for King Sapor in Persia and Pazaites the great Turke died in Tamberlanes cage as a captiue in Scythia So Pharao in diuers battels was ouerthrowne by Moses and vsed as a blocke and at last drawne as it were by a corde like a dogge by Moses from Egipt into the redde sea and there to dye as you shall read in the two next plagues that followe CHAP. Of the ninth and tenth plagues of the Egiptians compared with the ninth and tenth persecutions of the Christians MOses is sent from the Lord to Pharao and commanded to hold out his hand vnto heauen that there was darknesse vpon all the land of Egipt such palpable darknesse that neither fire candle torch or any light might giue thē light it was such palpable darknesse that the Egiptians might feele it and this darknesse continued three daies long that one might not see an other Yet Pharaos heart was so hardned that now in his furie and rage he commaunds Moses and Aaron to goe out of his sight threatning them with death if they came any more before him though in the last plague he requested Moses and Aaron to pray for him and to forgiue him his sinnes but then were his words full of dissimulation and his repentance full of hypocrisie hee could say I haue sinned but he could not say I haue repented and beforie for his sinnes The ninth persecution vnder Aurelianus in Rome may throughly bee likened to the ninth plague vnder Pharao in Egipt The like threatnings of speech and the like words that Pharao vsed to Moses and Aaron in Egipt the like vsed Aurelianus against the Christians in Rome but it contiued not long for he was slaine as others his predecessors were And as for the great palpable darknesse in Egipt so was it in Rome when their minde was more darke then darknesse it selfe The Egiptians hated not the Hebrews so much as the Romanes hated the Christians For Pilate the Romane presidēt in Ierusalem which gaue sentence on Christ to die and sawe many myracles done by him sent Letters to his maister Tiberius the Emperor and to the Senators recyting the myracles that Christ had done before he died saying hee was worthy to bee canonized placed among the Romane goddes which all the Senators with one consent denied though Caesar requested them first and threatned them after yet Christ was not allowed to be a Romane God Tiberius without effect of his good motion died so did that wicked Emperor Aurelianus in the midst of his cruel persecutions After whō succeeded a good valiant Emperor Flam. Claudius so valiāt that he vanquished the Gothes the Illyrians and Macedonians whereby in Rome he was so honoured that the Senators sent to him a goldē Target which afterward was set vp in the shew-place and a golden statue to stand in the Capitoll but he died too timely of a sicknesse at Sirmium After him succeeded his brother Aurel. Quintilius a good moderate Emperour equall or rather to be preferred before his brother but he was slaine within 18. daies after hee was elected Emperour by the souldiers These good Emperors onely I name for that persecutions were euer executed by cruel Kings and Emperors But these cruell Emperours as they cruelly destroyed others so cruelly were they destroyed after as some of them were killed by theyr owne handes as Nero some murthered by their owne seruants as Domitianus some suddenly slaine riding by the high way as Decius some banished died in straunge Countreys as Seuerus others died captiues in bondage and slauerie as Valerianus did in Persia others eaten with cankers wormes as Maximinius others murthered one after an other as Aurel. Tacit. and Florianus Thus were those Emperours slaine and murthered that cruelly persecuted the Christians The Lorde beeing determined now to finish his plague in Egipt and to bring his people away willed euery man and euery woman to borrow of their neighbours Iewels of gold and siluer for Moses was verie great in the land of Egipt with Pharao and with the people for before this Pharao had appointed Moses Generall of the Egiptians against the king of Aethiopia which I wrote in the Historie of Moses Yet said the Lord I will bring one plague more vpon Pharao and vpon Egipt and after that he will let you goe hence for all the first borne of the land of Egipt shall die euen from the first borne of Pharao that sitteth on his seate vntill the first borne of the maide seruant that sitteth in the mill The Lord knew at that time how to saue the Hebrewes in Gosen from all the plagues in Egipt and to saue Noah from the geneall deluge in the Arke to saue Lot from fire and brimstone in Zodome and to saue the Christians from the destruction of Ierusalem in Pella As this tenth plague was the greatest and the heauiest so the tenth persecution was the greatest and the longest vnder Dioclesian in the East parts and vnder Maximianus in the West either of them persecuting and afflicting with such slaughters of martyred Christians that for the space of tenne yeares for so long continued the tenth persecution there was nothing but the wonted bloudie persecution sword and fire by the commaundements of both these Emperours with most extremitie to bee executed and as vnder Nero the first persecution began so vnder Dioclesian it ended For the Church of God so flourished the Christians so encreased and the godly martyrs so multiplyed that these tyrants were wearie to persecute them any longer At that very time when persecution ended vnder Dioclesian then heresie began to spring vnder Sathan for when one stratagem of Sathan faileth he practiseth an other Now Arius marcheth with his Antitrinitary crew and set themselues in battell against the Lord with horrible and blasphemous weapons and as the Poets faine the Gyants set themselues in battell against the Sun the Moone and the Stars so this crew of heretikes set themselues to fight against God the Father the Sonne and the holy
besieged the citie Casselina that the Romanes could by no meanes send a conuoy to relieue the souldiers the Romains deuised this stratagem to fill certaine tunnes some with flower and some with meale and to let them goe downe vpon the riuer Vulturnus but the riuer being chained ouer by Hannibal this stratagem was preuented In another stratagem the Romanes deceiued Hannibal they scattered infinite numbers of Nuttes and let them goe downe with the same selfe riuer Vulturnus which neither Hannibal himselfe nor his chaine could preuent so that the souldiers of Casselina were relieued and refreshed for a time with these Nuttes Such a stratagem vsed Hircius to relieue the poore Romane souldiers in Mutina being besieged by Mar. Antonius who wanted chiefly salt Hircius let go infinit numbers of great close bowls made like litle tuns full of salt to swim downe the riuer Saniturnus so relieued Mutina So should we vse such stratagems against Satan that if Satan shuld ouerthrow vs in the first we should arme our selues with spirituall weapons to ouerthrow him in the second Againe to Ioshua The Lord commaunded Ioshua to march forward to vanquish the Canaanites because the cōquest might not be assigned vnto man the Lord commaunded Ioshua all the strong men of warres to goe round about the walls of Iericho once a day for seuen daies and seuen priests to beare seuen trumpets of Rammes hornes before the Arke and to compasse Iericho the seuenth day seuen times and then commanded the priests to blowe the trumpets and all the men of warre without shot or sword to shout with a loud great shout and then the walles of Iericho should fall flat downe to the grounde this was the Lordes stratageme at his battell at which time Ioshua saw a man stand ouer against him with a naked sword in his hand who being asked of Ioshua what he was said I am the Prince of the Lordes host and am therefore comen now to be a Captaine of the Lordes people and Ioshua bowed himselfe worshipped him and thereby acknowledged him to be Christ the sonne of God Now Ioshua being instructed of the Lorde what to do the priests and the warriours by Ioshua the walls being fallen flat downe went vnto the citie destroied both man and woman young and old oxe and sheepe with the edge of the sword after burnt the citie with fire and Ioshua cursed that man before the Lord that would build vp Iericho again to the destruction of himselfe and both his sonnes That captaine that went before Ioshua to the battell at Iericho and was present at the fall of Ierichos wall went likewise before Cyrus as himselfe said to Cyrus I will goe before thee to Babilon and I will breake their brazen gates and crush in peeces their iron barres I wil humble the glorious people of the earth in thy presence The same captaine spake to Nabuchodonozer as hee spake to Cyrus I wil send Nabuchodonozer as the staffe of my wrath and the rod of my punishment and he shall tread my enemies downe like the myre in the streets so that all victories come from the Lord euen to all good kings and to tyrants After the ouerthrow of Iericho the Lord commaunded Ioshua to besiege the citie of Ai where hee slew all that dwelt in Ai and left not one to liue and tooke their king aliue and hangd him on a tree vntill the euening and the citie was burnt and twelue thousand slaine for the Lord said to Ioshua stretch out the speare that is in thy hand towards Ai in tokē of the victory Now mark the victories of the Lord in his battels the victory at Riphidim was had by holding vp of Moses hand the victory of Iericho by sounding of Rams hornes the victory of Ai with the lifting vp of Ioshuah speare the victory at Aphec by shooting of Ioas Eastward the victory ouer the Madianites by Gedeon with the sounding of trumpets and breaking of pitcher pots these are stratagems which are often seene in the battels of the Lord. So also the Lord strengthened many of his people to vanquish ouercome their enemies in seuerall combats one man to ouercome many as Sampson with the iaw bone of an asse slue a 1000. Philistines Samgar with an oxe goade slue 600. Philistines Dauid with his fling litle stone slue the monstrous blasphemous Gyant Golias Who knoweth not that Moses rod Ioshuahs spear Gedeons pitcher pots Sampsons iaw bone Samgars goade or Dauid with his sling litle stone had bin but weake meanes to ouerthrow so many enemies had not the Lord strengthened the meanes by the men These were battels of the lord which were not fought with swords shots nor weapons but armed with spirituall armours and fought with weapons of faith vanquished theyr enemies But such victories were onely graunted to the souldiers of the Lord the people of Israel which victories at that time were to them onely peculiar The great victorie which the Lord gaue vnto Samuel by meanes of thunderboltes lightnings and earthquakes that therby the Philistines were so amazed that Samuel vnlooked for fell vpō thē slew them ouerthrew them and chased them til they came to Cortaeos which is Bethgar such stratagems vseth the Lord against his enemies as thunderboltes lightnings and earthquakes Mar. Aurelius hauing warres with the Germains and Sarmatians his Army being like to be lost for water requested the legion of Christian souldiers to pray vnto their God for helpe and they were heard of the Lord the Emperor confessed the goodnesse of God naming him Iupiter at what time their enemies were stricken with lightning and fire that they perished and therfore these souldiers were called Legio fulminea the legion of thunder by the Emperour himselfe Cornelius a Captaine of an Italian band in Caesaria a iust and a deuout man was by an Angell warned to goe to Ioppa to bee baptised of Peter and to become from a Heathen a Christian Captaine to fight in the battels of the Lord. So likewise the Centurion which was at the death of Christ Iesus in Ierusalem seeing the myracles that were then done confessed him to bee the Lord and glorified God these two were called both to be Christian Captaines In the battell that Iudas Machabaeus had with Gorgias the gouernor of Edumea where the victorie fell to Machabaeus they found vnder the coates of them that were slaine Iewels consecrated to the Idols of the Iamnites but as the Lord commaunded the Hebrewes to burne such Idolatrous Iewels destroy their gilded Images and the gods of the Gentiles and not to take the siluer and golde that is on theyr gods as Achan did against the lawe at the Cittie of Ai and dyed for it by the lawe I will proceed for to shewe in olde time in what sort and after what manner euery Nation entered into battell I thinke it not amisse as well for varietie of
from mount Ephraim and now followed the enemies vnto Bethauen the victory was great which Saul got ouer the Philistines Saul in this battel did binde the souldiers by oath not to eate till euening and cursed him that would eate any foode till night for Ionathan tasted a little hony with the end of his rod and Saul his father would haue put him to death sauing that the souldiers rescued and deliuered him for the Lord had giuen a great victory by Ionathan ouer the Philistines CHAP. XX. Of the victorie of Saul at Iabesh Gilead and after how he was ouerthrowne by the Philistines and slew himselfe in mount Gilboa and of the reward of diuers treasons AFter the battel at Michmash Saul had an other victorie ouer the Ammonites where the Ammonites were slain at Iabesh Gilead the Lord prospered Saul and endued him with such vertues as were meete for a K. yet Saul disobeyed the Lord being commanded to destroy the Amalekites and sley both man and woman both infant and suckling both oxe and sheepe both camel and asse yet he spared Agag king of the Amalekites and the fat beasts and the lambes the sheepe and the oxen that were good against the commaundement of the Lord and therefore Samuel reproued him and tolde him that the Lord had reiected him and that his kingdome should bee giuen to an other and vpon Sauls disobedience Samuel was commaunded to annoint Dauid king ouer Israel so Saul wonne the victory but lost his kingdome and his life in the next battell Saul being forsaken of the Lord for his disobedience the Philistines preuailed against him in diuers battels for Saul was more desirous to kill Dauid the seruant of the Lord then to destroy the Philistines the enemies of the Lord. But Dauid was reserued and ordained to fight the battels of the Lord to destroy the Amalekites the Philistines the rest of the Lords enemies whom Saul spared being commanded to the contrary therfore the Lord gaue Saul to the hands of the Philistins at the battell in mount Gilboa that the Israelites fled and fell before the Philistines and the three sonnes of Saul were flaine and Saul himselfe sore wounded Such was his cruell life seeking to kill Dauid that he had a desperate death for he slew himself with his owne sword seeing the battell so sore against him his sonnes slaine his souldiers killed and all the rest of his army fled This was the end of Saul the first K. of Israel like the end of Zedechia the last king of Israel And whē the Philistins came to the spoyle of them that were slaine they found the body of Saul and his three sonnes in mount Gilboah slaine in the battel and they cut off Sauls head and stripped him out of his armour and they laid vp his armour in the Temple of their god Astaroth and hanged vp his body on the wall of Bethshan in token of victorie and triumph and they sent the head of Saul vnto the land of the Philistines that they might shew it in their cities and publish it in the Temples of their Idols among the people and after to set vp Sauls head in the Temple of Dagon This was the end of Saul whom the Lord raised from keeping his fathers asses to be a king ouer his people for not obeying the commaundement of the Lord thus euer the Lord punished disobedience in Saul in Rehoboam Achab Manasses and Zedechiah that the Lord deliuered Ierusalem and the kingdome of Iudah to the hands of Nabuchodonozer king of Babilon Saul being now slaine in mount Gilboa the Amalekite which brought to Dauid Sauls crowne and his bracelets and tolde Dauid that hee himselfe slew Saul which was a lye for Saul slew himselfe thought to haue a great reward for such good newes but Dauid commanded him to be slaine The like reward had Rechab and Banah that brought Isbosheths head vnto Dauid who disguised themselues as Marchants to buy wheate and went to Isbosheths house who slept on his bed at noone and they slew him tooke his head with them and presented it vnto Dauid at Hebron supposing they should bee better rewarded then the Amalekite was but Dauid rewarded them in this sort that their hands and their feete were cut off hanged vp ouer the poole in Hebron The recompence of such treacherous seruants were euer so rewarded as Bessus the onely chiefe captaine vnder Darius who after he fled from the battell at Arbela was slaine by Bessus and his head cut off and brought vnto Alexander who thought to be aduanced for his trecherous seruice but Alexander commaunded that he should be tyed to the tops of two young trees bending to the ground that he by the swinge and lifting vp of the trees might be torne in peeces So Septimius and Achillas commaunded by Ptolomeus king of Egipt to kill Pompey and to present his head vnto Caesar from him though Pompey before time had restored Ptolomeu his father to his kingdome in Egipt and Septimius had beene Pompey his souldier in diuers warres yet they slew him most trecherously in his boate at Pellusium and cut off his head to please Caesar but they were rewarded of Caesar as Bessus was of Alexander for the king was slaine and his kingdome giuen to Cleopatra his sister When Antigonus sawe Pirrhus head presented vnto him by his sonne though they were both enemies and in the field in armor one against an other yet he couered Pirrhus head with his hat discommending the crueltie of his sonne with such a reward that he made his bloud run about his eares saying how durst thou like a sauage beast bring Pirrhus head from his body being dead whom no prince or captaine in Asia or in Europe durst in the face meet in the field aliue Yet most men think that trecherie is allowed though traitors be not accepted I do not thinke but the head of Darius brought to Alexander by Bessus and the head of Pompey to Caesar were as gratefull as Ciceroes head was to Marc. Antonius brought by Popilius or as Marc. Crassus head sent by Surena to Horodes for thereby had Alexander the kingdome of Persia Caesar the Empire of Rome treason hath better successe then traitors haue To this effect spake Iezabell to Iehu Had Zimri peace which slew his maister Elah as though she should say can traitors haue good successe but she was rewarded by Iehu for that Naboth was stoned to death by her meanes for his vineyard as the rest were Euen cruel Sylla the Romane the enemie of Marius and all his well-willers and especiall of Sulpitius Syllas mortall foe Yet when Sulpitius seruant would haue betrayed Sulpitius his maister vnto Sylla Sylla caused him to bee throwne headlong downe from the rocke Tarpeia So much the olde Romanes hated traitors and treasons that when Viriatus an other Haniball and a great enemie of the Romanes for 14.
which stratagem he entised Tysaphernes to follow after him Agesilaus in the meane season entred into Lydia sackt cities slew many and caried much of the Kings treasure and of the wealth of Lydia into Greece Many the like stratagems vsed Agesilaus against the Persians Antigonus king of Macedonia compelling the Aetolians into a narrow straight siege readie to famish and beeing aduised that the Aetolians would come out desperately to fight and valiantly to die before they would either yeeld or be famished commanded certaine of his captaines to draw backe and to hide themselues to giue them an open passage to flie and in their flight to set vpon them Epaminondas with his Thaeban Army being ready to strike a battell with the Lacedemonians vsed this stratagem to make his souldiers beleeue that the Lacedemonians if they should haue victorie had decreed to kill and to make an end of all the Thaebans and to bring their wiues and children into seruitude and bondage to Sparta to make his Thaeban souldiers to fight more valiantly for their countrey for their wiues and for theyr children So Christ Iesus doth instruct vs to fight the battels of our saluation against Satan with all our hearts minds least he should bring vs in perpetuall seruitude not to Sparta but vnto Gehenna Marcellus vsed those souldiers that began to flye from the battell and for feare forsooke their standart Marcellus brought those at the next time and placed them in the forefront of the battell either there to die like men in the battell or else to recouer the shame and ignomie that they had sustained in the last battell before Appuis Clau. appointed those fugitiue souldiers that would first flye and turne their backs to the enemy to be brought bound before the whole army and to number them and after to take euery tenth souldier by Decimation to kill them with clubs in the open sight of the army Many Romane generals vsed this punishment according to the auntient law of Decimation Alexander the great caused two captaines that kept a castle committed to their charge by Alexander for that they fought not in their place the one was slaine with the other being bound to a poste and shot to death by captaines with arrowes Yet Alexander was of that gentle and milde nature that when he sawe one of the souldiers shaking and readie to dye for colde in the winter time and colde weather Alexander sitting in his chaire at the fire made him sit in his seat and warm him well saying If thou were borne in Persia and hadst sate in king Cyrus chaire thou shouldest die for it but not so in Macedonia to sit in Alexanders chaire The like humanitie was in Xenophon being on horsebacke who commaunded certaine of his souldiers to take a hill hard by one of the company murmured and said it is easie to command on horsebacke Xenophon presently lighted and made that base murmuring souldier to ride in his place and hee marched on foote vp the hill before his souldiers vntill the Armie was ashamed and forced him to take his horse againe from the souldier whom the souldiers reuiled and railed on beating and buffeting him Bochoris decreed a military lawe against offensiue souldiers in Egipt that would not obey theyr Captain or forsake their standart or any way were seditious they should bee remoued from the place where they serued and become againe as base souldiers as they beganne Also if there were any souldier that would betray any secrets of the Campe to the enemies hee should haue his tongue cut out of his head by the lawe of Bochoris Iuba King of Mauritania for the like offence for that certaine souldiers of his Army fied from their company to their tents caused them to be hanged vp on a gybbet in the midst of the campe The Persians thought it no greater infamy to theyr souldiers then to breake the lawe of their countrey the penaltie whereof was that the idle sloathfull and cowardly souldiers should beare on their backs a knowna strumpet or a cōmon woman through the whole camp in the sight of all the Army open faced and bareheaded because hee might bee knowne for euer after to be a defamed ignominious souldier and therfore Scypio in his warres against the Affricans and Artaxerxes in his warres in Persia forbad by the lawes made that no woman should follow the campe least souldiers should be among women out of the way when they should be in the way to fight in the field amongst men Yet Alexander the great and Alexander Seuerus the Romane Emperour allowed women to follow the campe Among the Lacedemonians the onely skilfull souldiers of Greece the Iudges called Ephori made a lawe in Sparta as the Ariopagites made in Athens or as the officers Censores did in Rome against vagabounds runnagates and idle souldiers Among the Macedonians it was not lawfull for any man that was not Miles adscriptus and had not taken a military oath to be a souldier in any warre that the Macedonians tooke in hand neither might a souldier vnsworne bee admitted to fight or draw his sword against the enemie so carefull then was olde age to keepe the order of military discipline and martiall lawes The lawe among the Syracusans was that the Generall of the horsemen did write the names of those souldiers in tables that disordered themselues or troubled others of the Army that they might be punished after the battell with such punishments as was appointed for them by the lawes of Syracusa The people called Daci had a lawe writren in theyr country that when their souldiers had not fought stoutly or manfully they should lie with their heads downward towards the beds feete without pillow or boulster and be at their wiues commaundement and theyr heads to lye at their feete if they should breake this lawe their wiues might haue an action against them in lawe Aurelianus the Emperour so seuerely charged the Tribunes Colonels that in any case they wold punish those souldiers that would either steale a lamb or pullet eyther grapes frō the vine or plucke eares frō the corne Obserue among all nations the punishments and seuerities of offences and that by the rudest nation of the world As among the barbarous Scythians Tamberlanes seueritie was such that a poore woman complained of one of his souldiers that hee tooke a peece of cheese and a little milke and after refused to pay Tamberlane caused the army to stay at the complaint of the woman and to march before the womans face vntill she found that souldier hee caused his body to bee ript and opened in the sight of all the Army and when hee saw milk and cheese in his mawe he said to the woman behold I haue made this souldier to pay well for thy cheese and milke so wil I make others that so offend An other example in Tamberlane being
could bee as though he were their true and lawfull king but being brought to Rome before Caesar who found by the hardnesse of his hands and rudenesse of his behauiour that hee was not brought vp like a Kings sonne and therefore Caesar hauing found his falshood bound him all his life time as a galley slaue and commaunded all his counsellors and conspirators to bee killed with the sword This house continued vntill the last destruction of Ierusalem So that the Iewes after Christ his death beeing euery where afflicted and oppressed from Babilon were forced to flie to Zeleucia the chiefe Citie in all Syria which Zeleucus Nicanor builded a Towne where Greekes Macedonians and Syrians dwelt together there also the Greekes and the Syrians conspired together against the Iewes that there dwelt and slew trecherously of them to the number of 50000. So sedition also began between the Iewes in Alexandria and the Aegiptians in Samaria betweene the Samaritans and the Iewes and all the Iewes which dwelt in Rome in Sardinia other places of the Romaine Empire were from thence banished These Iewes had not so much as a place to rest vpon the earth but were scattered like rogues vagabounds euery where without credit or loue without Prince Priest law or religion the iust iudgement of the Lord for their blasphemy against the sonne of God saying his bloud be vpon vs and our children Thus the Iewes whom Moses Aaron brought out of Egipt to the number of six hundred thousand died all in the wildernesse for their rebellious mutinie Moses and Eleazer after Aarons death numbred the people in the wildernesse where all the other died and they found sixe hundred thousand seuenteen hundred and thirtie able and sufficient men for the warres and yet not one of them which Moses Aaron numbred in the desart of Sinai after they came out of Egipt sauing Ioshua Caleb but died in the wildernesse for disobedience and stubbernesse euer preferring the cucumbers melons oynions garlicks of Egipt before Māna quailes and sweete water which they had from euery rocke in the wildernesse where neither their cloathes were worne nor their shooes spent for fortie yeares yet Egipt which should be a hel to them was their paradice The tenne Tribes of Israel raigned in Samaria 240. yeares seuen moneths and seuen daies during which time they neither obeyed the lawes of the Lord nor heard the Prophets that forewarned them of these calamities which were to come and therfore the Lord gaue them ouer they were taken prisoners their last king Osea brought captiues by Salmanasser vnto Niniuie So the kingdome of Iudah and the house of Dauid was likewise taken by Nabuchodonozer in the eleuenth yeare of Zedechiah the last king of Iudah who was taken captiue his noble men his children slaine in his sight before his eyes were pluckt out and after led in a chaine vnto Babilon where he died in prison 133. yeares after the kingdome of Israel was destroyed by Salmanasser that was the cause of his miserable end for the contempt he had to the Prophet Ieremy disdaining either to hear him or to read his booke for before any king raigned in Israel Iudges by the Lord appointed ruled 370. yeares the kings of Iudah after Solomons death raigned 395. yeares which agreeth well with Iosephus account And so of the continuance of the Bishops or high Priests euen from the building of the temple of Solomon Sadoc being their first high Priest or Bishop were seuēteene high Priests or Bishops in Ierusalem by succession of the children after their fathers The end of the second booke The third Booke of the Stratagems of Ierusalem CHAP. I. Of the care and diligence which Kingdomes and Countries tooke in military discipline to exercise their souldiers THe Romanes most carefull in all military discipline in no wise trusted strangers but euery Romaine souldier should take a military oath by the Colonell The Persiās also were in this point like the Romains for not admitting of mercenary souldiers seldome is found any constancie or soundnesse in mercenary souldiers as by too many examples the Romanes and others found Iugurth by trechery of fewe Thracians that serued the Romanes in Affrike in the night time betraied the Romanes to Iugurth and made a great slaughter of them In like sort the Thessalians were trecherous to the Athenians whom they trusted but they forsooke the Athenians at the battel of Tanagra wherby through their falsehood and trecherie to the Athenians the victorie fell to the Lacedemonians therefore neither the Romanes nor the Persians trusted any mercenary souldiers for mercenary souldiers and strangers are not to be trusted for they doo not onely forsake their friends in any danger but ioyne with the enemy for any aduantage So did the Gaules in the warres of Carthage slew the watch of the Romanes and fled to Haniball The lawe of armes in euery countrey should holde and maintain the crowne dignity of the prince by the sword so most necessary it is that subiects should be looked vnto with great care and prouision to maintain the willing forward and good souldiers due punishmēts and sharpe corrections for euill leaud wicked disposed men carelesse of their countries good How carefull euery common-wealth hath bene of this you shall read first of euery kingdome country seueral punishments by law appointed after of the rewards honor dignities of good souldiers of which Plato saith Omnis respub paena Praemio continetur Agesilaus therefore appointed gifts and rewards to draw and encourage his souldiers to shoote to throwe the dart the sling to ride to runne and with diligence and care to keepe them seuerely from faults offences and to exercise them in martiall feates which kinde of exercise among the Greekes was most commonly vsed called Pentatlon in the games of Olympia Isthmia to honor Hercules and Thesius two protectors and principall captaines that loued souldiers Alexander the great was so seuere in martiall lawes towards his souldiers that if any souldier or captain shuld lye or be any way proued a lyer hee should be depriued frō his office and place of seruice banished from his camp for so was Antigenes though a valiant captaine otherwise yet was both casseerd banished for making of a lye Alexander after he had banished all bakers cookes brewers and such like frō his campe said that marching in their armour in the night they should prouide them a dinner a stomacke to eate theyr dinner against the next morning as for a supper he said they should not looke for wine nor flesh to sleepe after it but for bread and hee would prouide for water which is the onely foode of a souldier and the most necessary care of a generall Hereby his souldiers being brought vp by Philip king of Macedonia his father were hardned with continuall paine