his souldiers to hide themselues in ambush he hauing but fewe souldiers prouoked them of the Towne to come out faining himself to flye the enemie following with great furie after Luc. Cornelius with all his hidden souldiers returned vpon the sudden with such a terrible crye that the enemies turned theyr backes and fled to the Towne and the Romanes followed after them close at the heeles and entred the Towne with them all together So Pompey the Consull Generall for the Romaine Army in Albania perceiuing the enemies both in horsmen and in footemen to be farre more in number then the Romanes practised this stratagem placed his footemen behind the horsemen being in a straight and commaunded his horsemen to couer their helmets least by the sight of the helmets they should be seene of the enemies and to take vpon them to flye to draw the enemies forwards into the midst of the Army of footemen and then the Romane horsemen to turne backe and deuide themselues and to set on both sides of the enemies By this stratagem Pompey got a great victorie ouer the Albanians Iphicrates the Athenian compared an Army in this sort the light horsemen to the hands the men of armes to the feete the battel of footemen to the stomacke and breast the captaine to the head But the Hebrewes for all the victories of Ioshuah of Iudah and of Gedeon were still vnthankful and wrought wickednesse in the sight of the Lord for all the battels that the Lord fought for them they were so well acquainted with the gods of the Gentiles yea they serued the gods of Acron the gods of Sydon the gods of Moab and the gods of the Philistines and forgat the god of Israel they serued straunge gods and attributed victories vnto their Idols and honoured them and gaue no glory vnto the Lord of Israel and therefore the Lord gaue them ouer and solde them to their enemies and were eighteene yeares sore tormented and vexed by the Ammonites and Philistines and the enemies proudly went ouer Iorden to fight against Iudah against Beniamin and against the house of Ephraim but they cryed vnto the Lorde according to theyr custome in extremitie and were aunswered by the Prophet from the Lorde Let the Gods whome you serue saue you and whom you trust vnto defend you for you waigh not me neither will I defend you and then they put away their straunge gods from among them Thus the Israelites did not onely rebell vpon the death of Ioshuah but also vpon the death of Iudah Ehud Deborah and others neither did they esteeme the victories which they got by Deborah a woman and by Gedeon a Husbandman who with three hundred souldiers slew a hundred and twentie thousand but euer forgetfull and vnthankefull to the Lord more willing to returne to Egipt to be slaues vnto Pharao then to stay in Canaan to serue the Lord. The name of Leonidas was famous among the Lacedemonians for his victorie at Thermopyle where Leonidas with three hundred ouerthrew twentie thousand of Xerxes Army being innumerable The Athenians gloried much for theyr great victorie at Marathon by Milciades and Callimachus hauing but 10000. Grecians in their army ouerthrew the generall of king Darius Army and made a great slaughter of the Persians to the number of two hundred thousand The Romanes bragge much of the victorie of Marius with fewe souldiers ouer the Cymbrians at the riuer of Xextas of Sylla ouer Mithridates at the battell of Orchomenon and of Lucullus ouer Tigranes king of Armenia being three great victories with infinite slaughter with the losse of fewe Romanes The very Schythians can boast and bragge of the ouerthrow of Cyrus hauing two hundred thousand in his Army and that by a woman which encreased the fame of the Scythians to the greatest infamy of the Persians All Nations can bragge and boast of theyr victories and be thankfull vnto their Idols and to their gods with sacrifices with vowes with games and playes with rearing of Aultars and building of Temples but the Hebrewes and the people of the Lord who had greatest cause and occasions to remember theyr victories and triumphes that they had ouer so many Kings and so many Nations before they came to the Land of Canaan by fire haile-stones thunder and great stones from heauen and though the Lords presence went before them in the Arke and the Arke among them in the midst of the campe yet were the Israelites stiffe necked people euer offensiue to the Lord seditious against theyr leaders and enuious one towardes an other so the Lord cryed out against them and said I haue nourished and brought vp children and they are fallen away from me the Oxe knoweth his Lord and the Asse his Maisters stall but Israel knoweth not me wicked children sinfull people a froward generation which are ouerladen with blasphemies Nothing could instruct them to obey the Lord neither the Arke of couenant neither the Tabernacle of Moses neither the pillar of fire where the Lord appeared vnto them and after the vse of the Tabernacle neither the Temple of Salomon nor the Prophets to whom the Lord manifested himselfe in Ierusalem yea euen in Samaria among the wicked Samaritans they had the Prophets of the Lord Elias and Elizeus to instruct them CHAP. XVIII Of Iepthas victories ouer the Ammonites and Ephraimites the ciuill warres the tyrannie of Sylla and Marius in Rome Of the slaughter of the Philistians by Sampson the reuenge of pulling out his eyes and of the battell of Saul at Mich-mash NOw after Gedeon the Lord sought out Ieptha beeing fledde and chased by his bretheren from his countrey to the Land of Tob from whence hee was called by the Lord who alwayes appointed a generall ouer Israell while they serued him to leade his people against the Ammonites which the Lord deliuered into Iepthas hand At that time Ieptha made a rash vowe to the Lorde that if hee should haue victorie ouer the Ammonites that which came out of the doores of his house when he returned home in peace shal be the Lords and he wil offer it vp a burnt offering He foolishly performed that which he rashly vowed Though some of the Rabines do excuse Ieptha that his daughter died not but was seperated to dwell by her selfe from common conuersation in a solitary place to bewaile her virginitie according to the custome and manner of the virgins of Israel to liue in prayers and to consecrate her selfe vnto the lord Yet some of 〈◊〉 best diuines as Augustine Ambrose which both were of a cōtrary opiniō that she was sacrificed according to Iepthas vow But the Lord gaue the victory to Ieptha ouer the Amonits with the ouerthrow of twentie cities and with exceeding great slaughter Ieptha againe after his first victory ouer the Ammonites had another victory ouer the Ephraimites who enuied the former victory of Ieptha most ambitiously as they before did vnto
matters to please the reader as also of their diuers and straunge fashions of their coming into battell being then not acquainted with so many sundry shots with such Armors of proofe but with the sword and shield the speare and launce yet euery Nation deuised stratagems and straunge meanes to terrifie the enemies and to obtaine victories The auntient Greeks vsed in their warres the skins of sea dogges for theyr helmets and for great plumes of feathers which souldiers vse now to weare they vsed the manes and tailes of horses The Affricans came to the battel with leopards horse skins The Aethiopians the Scythians with Foxe skins The Troglodites with Serpents skinnes The Cydones with Goate skinnes The Massagets with barkes of trees The people called Geloni with the skinnes of the slaine enemies in the field The old Troians came to the battel with hornes of oxen and eares of horses on their heads and all to terrifie the enemie The olde Brytaines vsed to paint their faces to looke grim and terrible vppon the enemie and to seeme cruell and fierce souldiers in the battell The Thracians vsed Foxe skinnes for their helmets and painted their faces with such markes as might make them seeme terrible to the enemies like the olde Brytaines The people of Mauritania came vnto the countries of their enemies with Elephants Lyons skins so the Arabians vpon camels and the Indians vpon Elephants came vnto the wars which before Alexanders time were not seene in Asia neither before Pirrhus time in Rome which the Romans at the first sight thought strange but after they had subdued Affrica these strange beasts elephants camels lyons such were in Rome as in India or in Affrike and vsed in Rome so familiarly and commonly vpō the Theaters to fight with other beasts with men And yet Pirrhus as I said before was the first captaine that brought Elephants to Lucania in Italy where being ouerthrowne in his last battell at Arusnia by Curius the Consul at what time foure Elephants were brought to Rome which were so straunge among the Romains that they called them Boues Lucanias the great oxen of Lucania but within fiftie two yeares after Metellus in his victorie at the battell at Panormus sent to Rome 104. Elephants or as Plyni saith a hundred fortie and two The auntient kings of Egipt were wont to weare on their helmets the likenesse of diuers kindes of heads of beasts either the head of a Lyon of a Bull of a Dragon or such which the Grecians imitated and after them the Romanes In many Countreys they vsed to weare on their helmets the likenesse of Lyons Wolues Harts Dragons Dogs Eagles and other such beasts and fowles as pleased the Generalls or Captaines to weare for a terrour to the enemie For in the Cymbrian warres against Marius it is written in Plutarch that the Cymbrian horsemen ware on their helmets the likenesse of monstrous and terrible beats wide gaping and open mouthed thinking thereby to feare their enemie And what enemie soeuer he slew in the field might by the law of Armes take the Swords Targets Helmets and all other weapons of the enemie and hang them vp as Tropheys at the doores and gates of his house the rather to moue others by the sight thereof with greater desire to armes as the Belgeans were wont sometime to cut off the head of the slaine enemie and to take off his bloudie garments and to hang them vpon postes and trees as trophies of victories Now after the old and auncient maners and strange habites of diuers nations going into wars as you haue read of the Affricans Arabians and Indians so also in numbring their souldiers you shall read the manner of diuers natiōs when they sent their souldiers to any battell and first of the Hebrewes who brought account to Ioshua of the souldiers slaine and not slaine in battell The custome among the Persians was that the souldiers that went to the wars should euery one take a shaft out of his quiuer and write his name theron and throw the same vnto great chests before the chiefe magistrates and that the souldiers that returned from the wars again aliue shuld take their arrows frō the chest that the Persians therby might know the nūber of their lost souldiers In like sort the Romans recorded the names of their souldiers in writing tables that they might know at their returne from the wars by their names written how many were slaine in the warres For among the Romanes there could be no greater reproach to the General then to be ignorant of the names of all his captaines officers and magistrates of the field and also not to be acquainted with the name of any well deserued souldier Cyrus therefore King of Persia and Mithridates King of Pontus were both much honoured and much esteemed of their souldiers Cyrus for his skill and art of memorie for he could name all the souldiers in his Army And Mithridates for his knowledge of tongues for hee could speake two and twentie languages to all those nations that serued vnder him CHAP. XV. Of diuers battels and victories which Ioshua had at Iahaz at Edrei and ouer fiue Kings at the battell at Gibeon THe Hebrewes proceeded forwards in their warres against the Canaanites for the Lord said to Moses Goe to Sehon king of Amorites prouoke him to battell and conquer his land for that he denied passage to Moses Army to goe through his land to the land of Canaan and therefore the Lord gaue Sehon King of the Amorites vnto Moses hands at the battel at Iahaz And the Army of Israel destroyed all the Cities of the Amorites with their King men and women from the Riuer of Arnon vnto Gilead there was not one Citie that escaped the Lord had cursed Canaan and therefore he commanded to spare none In like sort in the battell at Edrei the Lord deliuered Og King of Basan the Giant into Moses hands as he did Sehon King of the Amorites and the Hebrewes smote the king and all his people destroyed three score strong walled and fenced Cities the Hebrewes destroyed all the Countrey of Argob and all the kingdome of Og in Basan which was called the land of the Giants and possessed from the Biuer of Arnon to mount Hermon Og king of Basan remained onely of the Giants for the Lord said vnto Moses I will send the feare and dread of thee vpon all the Nations vnder heauen so that when they heare of thee they shall tremble and quake for feare of thee As Sehon king of Hesbon denied passage to Moses to goe through his land to the land of Canaan so the Cittizens of Ephron denied Iudas Machabaeus passage through their Countrey though he sent with peaceable words vnto them as Moses did to Sehon king of Hesbon before that he might passe through their land doing no harm but they denied him his request
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
brothers head was cut off at the battailes of Trebeia Thrasymen and Canne with the losse of three hundred Romaine Consuls Senators heads for Hanibal sent at that time after the victory of Canne to Carthage three bushels of gold rings which were had from the slaine Romaines in the field After that Hannibal was ouerthrowne by Scipio at the battell at Zama he fled to Antiochus the great whom hee perswaded with all meanes possible to take warres against the Romanes being so weakened and brought lowe by Hannibal at which time Antiochus beganne a new warre vpon the Romains whom they feared at the first beginning as much as they did Hannibal for before he had warres with the Romanes hee had conquered and subdued the most part of Asia and all which Zeleucus had subdued before him And Antiochus waxed so strong that he subdued many barbarous and warlike nations that therby he was called Antiochus the great and became so proud that by Hannibals meanes hee must needs war with the Romanes by whom hee lost diuers victories and lost all that he wanne before was quite subdued by the Romanes in the battell at Magnesia and driuen to be well contented to liue with very small territories without kingdomes or countries within the precincts of Mount Taurus Of this Antiochus might well be spoken what Antigonus spake of Pirrhus who compared him to a dice player who will not giue ouer vntill hee loose all his winning Hannibal after hee fled from Affricke being ouerthrowne by Scipio went to Antiochus the great whom he perswaded to take warres against the Romanes to whom Hannibal taught many stratagemes among the which hee taught him to throw little vessels full of Adders and Vipers into the Romane nauies on sea battels to hinder not only the souldiers from their fighting but also the saylers from their businesse The same selfe stratagem did Hannibal shew to Prusias king of Bythinia to whom he fled after Antiochus the great was ouerthrowne by the Romanes This Hannibal and his brother Asdrubal the one in Italy the other in Hispaine so afflicted and plagued the Romanes but it was well requited by the two Romane brethren Scipio Affrican and his brother Scypio Asiaticus both vpon Affrica and vpon Asia Scipio Asiaticus in Lydia in a battell against Antiochus the great after great tempest and raine which continued a whole day and a night together that both man and beast seemed weary was counselled by his brother Pub. Scipio Affrican the next morning to strike a battell against Antiochus though it was by the Romane lawes a day forbidden to fight and by his brothers counsell Scipio Asiaticus obtained a great victorie ouer Antiochus the great which was the first king among the Syrians called Antiochus the great and thereby Scipio was surnamed Asiaticus after the ouerthrow of Antiochus as his brother Scipio was surnamed Affricanus after the great ouerthrowe of Hannibal So Cn. Pompeius was called Pompey the great after the ouerthrowe of Sertorius and his complices in Hispaine So Alexander was called Alexander the great after hee ouerthrew Darius and obtained the Empire of Persia. This good successe of these victories had by the Romanes onely by the meanes of Scipio Affrican who draue Hannibal out of Italy into Affrica and out of Affrica into Asia and brought all the Citties of Italy vnder the obeysance of the Romaines neither Scipio would giue Affrica or Carthaginians ouer before he sawe Carthage burnt before his face yet all the Captaines of Carthage when nothing did profit them after the matrons and women of the Citie had shaued all their heads and brought their haires vnto the captaines as the Massilians and the Rhodians did the like to make Gables for theyr Nauies and Match for theyr shottes and yet when they sawe it would not holde then all the Towne lockt theyr gates and brought all theyr goods and treasure to the midst of the Towne and burned them and themselues before they would yeeld to the Romanes in the sight of Scipio who with teares bewayled the vnfortunate estate and lamentable ende of Carthage burning before his face for the space of seuenteene dayes saying to Polybius Veniet illa dies qua Troia nostra peribit After all this seruice of Scipio hee dyed bannished out of Rome as Hannibal died out of Affrica In Rome after Scipio beganne Marius to be great and so great that he was chosen seuen seuerall times Consull of Rome vnder this Marius serued Lu. Sylla a young gallant Captaine and grew by degrees in Rome so great that he went against fifteene Generalls of his enemies who had foure hundred and fiftie Ensignes of footemen well armed in the field against him as Sylla himselfe reporteth it in his Commentaries written to Lucullus but he wanne the victorie This time said Carbo the head and chiefe of all Marius faction the onely enemie of Sylla that Sylla was lyke a Foxe to deceiue his enemies and like a Lyon to fight with his enemies Sylla fought with captaines of greatest power and ouercame them What king liuing then in the East was of such power as Mithridates of such courage as Lamponius of such stoutnesse as Telestinus the Samnite This Sylla after the ouerthrow of these three by force of arms got many victories in Asia and in Greece and became as great as Marius was in Rome and they both grewe so great that one could not abide the name of the other hence grew factions and partakings in Rome betweene Sylla and Marius by ciuill warres That as the Giliadites suffered not one Ephraimite to passe ouer Iorden that could not pronounce Shchiboleth so none might liue in Rome but those whom Sylla either spake vnto or Marius reacht his hand vnto Such was the hatred betweene them both that Rome could not containe Sylla and Marius together at one time no more then Rome could endure Pompey and Caesar and yet in the midst of their ciuil wars Marius saued Syllas life against Sulpitius minde but Marius and his sonne were after ouerthrowne by Sylla So Caesar saued Brutus life in the battell of Pharsalia against Mar. Antonius will but Brutus was one of the chiefe conspirators that kild Caesar in the Senate house So Brutus saued Mar. Antonius life at that time when Caesar was slaine in the Senate against Cassius will But Mar. Antonius neuer gaue Brutus ouer vntill he slue him at the battell of Philippus And thus Marius was ouerthrowne by Sylla whose life he saued So was Caesar slain by Brutus whose life Caesar saued and Brutus by Mar. Antonius whose life Brutus saued But after Sylla Marius rage was past Pompey which Sertorius called Syllas boye when Pompey was a young captaine vnder Sylla in Affrica this young captain Syllas boy subdued all Sertorius captaines Marius Carinna Caelius and Brutus After them Pompey ouerthrew Scypio the Consul and after Scypio Carbo who had bene three times Consul in Rome After
that Pompey had subdued all Sertorius captains and at last Sertorius himselfe he tooke king Iarbas who fought on Domitius side one of Sertorius captaines and brought him prisoner to Rome in his triumph So that within fortie dayes Pompey ouercame all the Marians which tooke Marius part which were enemies to Sylla subdued Affrike and established all the affaires of all the kings and kingdomes of all that country that Sylla named him Pompey the great Yet Sylla sawe Pompeys greatnesse growe on so fast that he went about to hinder Pompeys triumphes which Pompey spake to Syllas face that men honour more the sunne rising then the sunne setting Pompey hauing bene neither Praetor Consul or Senator had his triumph granted him against the lawe when he was but 24. yeares of age Pompey gaue an other ouerthrow to Sertorius captaines at a set battel hard by the citie of Valentia slew ten thousand men of Sertorius souldiers and at that battell Pompey slew Herennius and Perpenna both notable souldiers and Sertorius Lieftenants and so obtained the victorie and ended all this warre for the most part of Sertorius captaines were slaine in the field at that battell Yet had Pompey his hands full with Sertorius at the battell of Lauron a noble and valiant captaine on Marius side and one that galled Pompey more then all the rest for Pompey could do no good though hee sawe the citie of Lauron burnt before his face where Sertorius shewed himselfe a most skilfull and valiant captaine In like sort at the battell hard by the Riuer Sucron Pompey had his hands full with Sertorius where Pompey was forced to take his horse and driuen from his horse to flye and in his flight to forsake his horse to take his feete and to leaue his horse for a pray to Sertorius Affricans souldiers being so rich a spoile to stay the enemies who fought for the horse and let Pompey goe The Gaules hauing a great battell to fight with Attalus king of Asia deliuered all their gold and siluer to be kept that if they were driuen to flye they should scatter the gold and siluer vpon the way that by staying the enemies to gather vp the gold siluer so dispersed they themselues might escape The like stratagem vsed Mithridates king of Pontus to saue himselfe who fled from the enemies that followed hard after him who left a Mule laden with golde and siluer a bootie which Mithridates knew would please the Romanes to stay them and to saue himselfe from Lucullus souldiers So did Triphon king of Syria to escape from king Antiochus horsemen scattered money euery where on the way to stay Antiochus souldiers that Triphon might escape so did Alaricus king of the Goates and others saue themselues by the like policies Fewe great captaines hardly escaped with their liues from diuers dangers and perils Sylla hardly escaped from Telesinus at the battell of Antemna and Caesar himselfe after he had lost 32. Ensignes a thousand of his best souldiers escaped hardly the hand of Pompey at Dirachium and after in the battell at Munda in Affrica from the Pompeyans CHAP. V. Of Pirrhus warre against the Romanes of diuers stratagems of the marchings of diuers nations of the ouerthrow of Torquine last king ouer the Romanes of the praise of Porsenna and Mutius Scaeuola PIrrhus the great captaine in the battell hard by the riuer Siris after he had giuen to Leuinus the Consull a great ouerthrow before and made vp a trophey in the temple at Tarentum to Iupiter yeelding thanks for his victories being demaunded of the Tarentines to haue one battell more with the Romanes sith he had subdued the Romanes in two battels before he answered If I stay to giue the third battell to the Romanes I shal haue neuer a souldier to return from Italy to Epyre. Thus Pompey vnder Sylla Sylla vnder Marius Marius vnder Scypio and Scypio vnder his father whom hee rescued in the battell at Canne from the Affricans as Alexander the great rescued his father Philip at the battell at Cheronea being but eighteene yeares of age as Scypio was when he rescued his father at Canne While Pompey flourished in Rome after Syllas death that all the Romane Empire rung out Pompeys fame Caesar practised among the Gaules his secret ambitiō which was such that he went as a Romane captain with his army far from Rome to practise his stratagems where he conquered the Gaules with the weapons of the Romanes and wonne the Romanes with money of the Gaules fewe in Rome knew this but such as he fed with money in Rome to be his friends Hence grew the malice and enuie betwneene Pompey and Caesar for Pompey could not abide his equall in Rome nor Caesar his superiour Caesar was suspected to be confederate with Cateline in his conspiracie not onely to ouerthrow the state of the Common-wealth but also to destroy the whole Empire of Rome for the which cause Cato and Piso fell out with Cicero for that hee then beeing Consull had not bewrayed Caesar when Cicero well might haue done it for many sawe the greatnesse of Caesar farre from Rome before hee came to Rome they sawe his courage and minde to bee inuincible his martiall skill to bee singular that such was his conquests ouer the Gaules in tenne yeares that hee tooke aboue eight hundred Townes and hauing such an infinite number of enemies of thirtie hundred thousand souldiers Gaules Germaines Teutons and diuers others he slew of them at seuerall times aboue tenne hundred thousand So that Caesars praise his warres his battels his victories and conquests had excelled all the strongest kings and princes of Europe had he not onely shewed himselfe an enemie to his Countrey in the battell at Pharsalia where Pompey the great the Senators and the most part of the noble men of Rome were slain ouerthrowne and taken Had Caesar bene in the time of Hanibal of whom Scypio demanded who had bene and were the greatest captaines of the world to whom he answered Alexander was the first Pirrhus the second and Hanibal himselfe the third Then Scypio demaunded of Hanibal what if Hanibal had subdued Scypio Hee aunswered that then Hanibal should not haue bene the second nor the third but the first For what Pirrhus could not bring to passe in foure yeares nor Hannibal in seuēteen yeares that could Caesar bring to passe within threescore dayes he was Lord of all Italy Emperour of Rome and conquerour of all the Romane Empire and therefore worthily to be preferred before Pirrhus or Hannibal had he spared his countrey Such was the celeritie of Caesars victories ouer Pharnaces king of Pontus at the battell by the citie of Zela that hee wrote but three words to his friend Anitus to Rome from Pontus Veni vidi vici Againe he tooke three campes in one day and slue fiftie thousand of his enemies and lost but fiftie of his
the Gyants who challenged Iupiter and the rest of the gods to battell but though this be fabulous cōcerning the Gyants yet the building of Babel is written by Moses that Babel was builded so high by Nimrod both to auoyd a second deludge and to reuenge his stock and family destroyed in the first but the Lord saw their folly confounded their workes by a confusion of one language into many Philo might aske a questiō aswell now why the Lord did not ouerthrow the tower of Babel with winde tempest and thunderbolts as he did aske why the Lord did not destroy Egipt with Lyons Tygres Beares and such But as Philo answered his owne question that it was to fright them with Frogges Flies Grashoppers and suche simple vermines to shewe his mercie and to saue them to repentance and not to destroy them with wilde beasts And so with the like reason Philo or any man for Philo may now answere that the Lord would not destroy the Tower of Babel with tempest and wind to destroy the people but by diuiding of one tongue into many that they might acknowledge the Lord to be God and to confesse their owne folly If Nimrod had confessed his sinne and said I haue sinned as Dauid spake to Nathan the Prophet or with Daniel who said Peccauimus iniquitatē fecimus or with Nehemias who said I and my fathers house haue sinned to whom the Lord shewed mercy Wicked Pharao also said to Moses I haue sinned against the Lord and the Lord is iust I and my people are wicked Saul said I haue sinned and haue done foolishly So Iudas the traytor said I haue sinned in betraying innocent blood but the Lord accepteth not the fained confession of wicked men CHAP. XIII Of securitie of Generalls in warres Of celetitie in victories Of diuers dreames and names giuen TWo much securitie was in Pompey his souldiers after he had giuen two repulses to Caesars souldiers at Dyrachium as Caesar said himself the victory might haue bene Pompeys if he had followed his good fortune So againe if Pompey had followed his good lucke and had not staied the Romane youthes being fierce to goe forwards at the battell at Pharsalia he had put Caesar to greater daunger then he was at Dyrachium So Hannibal was toucht with that fault by Hamilcar the Affrican that if he had gone forwards and brought his armie after the battell at Canne before Rome as Scipio after his ouerthrow of Hannibal brought his force before Curthage Rome might haue bene in as great a daunger as Carthage was Nothing abused Pompey so much as his owne captaines flattering him and calling him the great Agamemnon king of kings by Domitius Scypio Spinther and others after the victory at Dyrachium assuring themselues soone to ouerthrow Caesars armie and contending in brauery for offices at their return to Rome drawing lots who should be Consuls Praetors Quaestors or high Bishop which Caesar himselfe was at that time It should seeme that Pompey and his captaines made no doubt of the victory for when his campe was taken his tents and pauilions were full of nosegaies and garlands of mirtle and their coaches all couered with flowers their tables full of bowles of wine as men more readie to doo sacrifice for ioy before the victorie then armed and prepared to fight for the victory At Fortuna vitrea cum splendet frangitur So also Tigranes king of Armenia was flattered with his Leiftenants Captaines and other Parasites who scoffed and flowted the Romanes they sported and made a May game of Lucullus army some deuiding the spoile and drawing lots before the battell began much like to the Cherussians the Sueuians and the Sycambrians who gathered themselues together in a great army they likewise like the Armenians little esteeming the Romaines deuided the Romane spoiles betweene them before they fought for it the Cherussians would haue all the Romane horses the Sueuians would haue all the gold siluer of the Romanes the Sycambrians all the Romain captiues taken prisoners in the wars Thus had they fully concluded before the battel began but it fell out otherwise for Drusus the Romaine Captaine ouerthrew them that their horses their cattels their chaines their gold and siluer and they themselues were a spoile and a pray to the Romanes Incerti exitus pugnarum Mars communis said Cicero it was euer found in all warres that Nimia fiducia semper noxia The like victorie had Lucullus ouer Tigranes king of Armenia whose captaines before scoffed and flowted Lucullus army deuiding the Romane spoyles before the battell beganne but they were ouerthrowne by Lucullus to the slaughter of a hundred thousand footemen and the most part of the horsemen slaine and the king himselfe hardly escaped and for that so many were slaine of the enemies and so fewe of the Romans Plutarch saith that the Sun saw not the like ouerthrow that such varietie of shews were seen of Chariots Coaches and of infinite number of Cartes that carried the spoiles of Armours of Ensignes of battering peeces besides twentie cupbords full of siluer plate thirtie cupboords full of golden vessels eight Moiles laden with golde a hundred and seuen Moiles loaden with siluer coine Crassus at the sight of this Lucullus triumph was afterwards when he was Consul with Pompey the great so beyond all measure most desirous with all celeritie to take his iourney against the Parthians with more haste then good speed In like sort the sight of Milciades triumphe mooued Themistocles in his youth to say that he could not sleepe in his bed before he had obtained the like triumph and so he proued among so many great captaines in Greece one of the greatest for he was being but a young youth at the battell at Plataea being the first battell and the first victorie that the Grecians had ouer the Persians Hee was also at the battell at Marathon with more commendatiō then he had at Plataea but in the battels at Salamina and Artemisium all Greece gaue him the honour and fame the one by sea the other by land he did all thinges with such celeritie that Themistocles himselfe would say that whatsoeuer hapned to him well hapned by celeritie But it seemed that Themistocles with all celeritie missed to borrowe money in the I le of Andria though he brought two great and mightie gods with him from Athens the one called the God of Loue the other the God of Force requesting the Andrians to lend some money to please to satisfie the want of their Gods But he was answered by the people of Andria that there were two as great goddesses with them in Andria as there were in Athens the which commaunded the Andrians neither to lend nor to giue any money to Themistocles gods saying our goddesse of Pouerty weigheth not for loue neither doth the goddesse of Impossibilitie weigh for force The Lacedemonians were not so religious as