of Lucullus triumph staied in Rome takē his rest as Lucullus did his head had not bin sent to Herodes by Surena But I wil return to military rewards of the Persians among whom diuers military gifts were appointed for souldiers The king gaue them a golden girdle and rings of gold that had either by pollicie or manhood gained fame by seruice whereby they were knowne to be in the kings fauour and therfore to be accepted and reputed among the Persians as gallant souldiers in any prouince of the Persians Among the Romanes and the old Gaules as among the Persians the greatest honour that they could giue their souldier was to giue them girdles and the greatest infamy and dishonour that might be was to loose their girdles from them which was as great a dishonour as to take their speares out of their hands or their horse from vnder them The Kings of Persia herein followed the Hebrewes for in the time of Absolon in his warres against his father in the wood of Ephraim where he hanged by the haire of his head between two oakes at what time Ioab would haue giuen the messenger that brought these tidings tenne sickles of siluer and a souldiers girdle if hee had killed Absolon and therefore girdles were giuen to souldiers among the Hebrews in the time of the kings of Israel before the kings of Persia. Among the Hebrewes before the time of the kings after they came to the land of Canaan from Egipt the souldiers had lands townes cities countreys and what spoile soeuer they gained by the sword for all that they wonne in the land of Canaan and other countreys was equally diuided between the Hebrew soudiers and the twelue tribes The Kings of Asia so esteemed the olde and chiefe souldiers of Alexander the great called Argyraspides that they sate in counsell with the kings of Asia as Iudges ouer other souldiers to direct and instruct them in military discipline and after if occasion required to correct them for military faults and martiall offences hauing their allowance out of the kings treasury for these captaines after the death of Alexander the great contemned to serue vnder Antigonus Seleucus Demetrius or Lysimachus which during the time of Alexander were named but Argyraspides themselues In Egipt the chiefe and auntient souldiers called Calasiries had after good seruice done besides their martiall allowance a certaine proportion of bread and flesh and a measure of wine by the king appointed in seuerall cities and garrisons of warre in Egipt to instruct the Egiptian youthes in martiall affaires Euen so the Aethiopian kings imitating the manner of the Egiptians obserued the like law their old chief souldiers being bruised and broken in the warres called Hermothibij with a certaine proportion of allowance of bread and flesh The Grecians very carefull to maintaine their good souldiers they met together at the temple of Neptune in Isthmos and there the Iudges of Greece called Amphictions did consult with iudgement discerne throughly examine the deserts and seruice of euery well deserued souldier with such rewards gifts as were appointed for them accordingly by martiall law The Amphictions as you heard were wont twise a yeare in March and September to meete the one in Isthmos the other in Trozaena wherein the one seuen cities appeared and in the other twelue to consult of martiall causes So that it was not lawfull among the barbarous Scythians that any souldier should claime or challenge any martiall reward by the law of Scythia vnlesse hee had brought an enemies head slaine by himselfe in the field vpon his speare vnto the campe and presented it before his captaine he might not be partaker of any bootie or pray among other souldiers without some exploit done worthy of it CHAP. VII Of prouisions and maintenance of souldiers Of the honourable burials of them that were slaine in the field and of diuers Monuments AMong all Nations of the world the greatest care they had was to prouide meanes to maintaine souldiers that Solon made a lawe in Athens that the rewards due vnto those valiant souldiers that died in the warres should bee distributed vnto their children being aliue and those gallant Captaines that died in the field should be honourably buried with pillars and arches set vpon their graues and their names written vpō them in Ceramicus and such other places This law of Solon was reuiued two hundred and three score yeares after by Alexander the great who so much honoured and aduanced the worthinesse of martiall men that he caused to be buried in the field Adrasteis one hundred and twentie knights that died valiantly in the field and caused strong arches and pillars of marble to be made ouer their graues with their statues and Images and their names written vpon them with their due commendation as an honourable monument of their perpetuall fame Licurgus lawe was that no dead man should put his name in brasse in Iuorie or otherwise vpon his Tombe vnlesse hee had bene slaine in the field like a valiant souldier fighting for his countrey These Funerall monuments were vsed long time before the Greekes among the Hebrewes who vsed to set vp pillars and monuments on the graues of the dead the auntient Fathers did it to testifie the hope they had of the resurrection not as the Gentiles did it for pompe and pride of their triumphes and victories but as monuments and vertuous visions Iacob after his vision had in his dreame tooke the stone that he had laid vnder his head set it vp and made a pillar of stones in that place and after hee had annointed the same with oyle which was the first annointing wee read of in scripture hee named it Bethel which was Luz before which name continued vntill Ieroboams time 784. yeares at what time Ieroboam erected a golden calfe to be worshipped and therfore was named Bethauen as mount Olyuet for that it was full of Images Idolls and Aultars in the time of the Kings of Iudah was named the mount of corruption After this Iacob when his wife Rachel dyed at the birth of her sonne whom she named Benoni which Iacob after his wiues death called Beniamin on whose graue hee pitched vp a pillar of stones as Ioshua had the picture of the Sunne on his graue So Samuel tooke a stone and pitched it betweene Mazphah and Sene and called the name thereof the stone of help as a marke and a trophey of victory which the Israelites had ouer the Philistines Yet Absolon following the Gentiles of very pompe and pride reared vp a pillar saying I haue no male childe and therefore I will pitch vp a pillar as a monument to haue my name in remembrance and he called it after his owne name Absolons pillar to haue his name great There was euer care in former age of holy mens burials long before Ceramicus in Athens
enemies by the hand saying Herbando a word of yeelding For in all military discipline amōg all nations and by martial lawes of all countries those that were forced to seeke peace yeeld themselues to the conqueror were to be accepted Iure deditionis Yet the Romanes could scant away with yeelding souldiers for those Romane souldiers that yeelded themselues to Pirrhus were not redeemed by the Romains especially soldiers that yeelded in armour were neuer after accepted as Romaines and the souldiers that fled back from the enemies to his fellowes in the campe should be met by the way and slaine by their owne fellowes so that the Romaines would neuer grace a yeelded souldier So Philopomen said hearing certaine Grecians much commending a valiant captaine for his courage and policie Can you said Philopomen so commend a valiant captaine that yeelded himselfe and was contented to be takē prisoner aliue I like the Romanes said Philopomen that would neuer pay raunsome for a Romane captaine taken aliue in battell and yet they would raunsome the body of a captaine slaine in the field to bury him Yet at the battell of Pharsalia after Pompey and his captaines fled and his army scattered the rest yeelded to Caesar holding their targets on their heads and deliuering their weapons to Caesar. So much the Romanes esteemed their targets that laying them vpon their heades though they yeelded their swords their speares and other weapons to Caesar yet would they not yeelde their targets but together with their heads So did the Greekes esteeme their targets that the Lacedemonians mad◅ lawe that that captaine or that souldier that had lost his shield in the battell should loose his life after the battell And therfore the womē of Lacedemonia commanded their childrē whē they went to warres holding vp and shewing a Target in one of their hands saying Aut cuns hoc redeas aut super hoc moriaris eyther to dye vpon their shields and targets in the field or to bring with thē their targets from the field So odious were coward souldiers in Lacedemonia that the women of Sparta would meet their sonnes that fled from the battell and hold vp their clothes saying where will you flye you cowards will you creep again into your mothers belley Of all nations onely the Lacedemonians and the old Germans were so seuere against those that lost their shields in the battell that among the Germaines they should not be allowed to come to any publike councell nor bee admitted to come to the Temples or to the Church to heare seruice Though there was punishment appointed for souldiers that lost speare launce or any other military weapon yet not capitall punishment which was onely by law appointed to those souldiers that lost their shields for that both the Greekes and the Romane captaines had their names written within theyr shieldes and therefore they thought it moste ignominious that their shelds should be lost least their shields should bragge of their names which made that worthy Captaine Epaminondas beeing wounded to death at the battell at Mantinea to enquire if his Target were safe which beeing deliuered vnto him hee tooke it and kissed it and saide now Epaminondas dyeth not but beginneth to liue for I haue two daughters of mine Mantinea and Leuctres to celebrate the fame of Epaminondas which subdued the stout Lacedemodians subiect vnto the Thaebans Scypio Affricanus looking on a souldiers target which was most braue and most richly adorned said I much commend thee to make most of that which defendeth and saueth thy life most often So Marius and Catulus both Gonsuls of Rome in their warres against the Cymbrians their souldiers each one had his captaines name and his owne name written on his shield and other military weapons that by looking on their captaines name they might do the greater seruice to honour their captaines So auncient was the fame and honour in olde time giuen to targets and shields among the Grecians the Troians that the name of Neptune was written in the shields of the Grecians and the name of Minerua on the shields of the Troians I will therefore speake something of the Grecian warres against the Persians before I intreat of military discipline and I will mention but foure principall speciall victories which the Grecians had ouer the great kings of Persia for that the Grecians may not be thoght to esteeme their targets for nothing The first and most renowned victorie of the Grecians ouer the Persians at the battell of Plataea where of sixe hundred thousand fighting men which Mardonius Generall of the Persians had in his campe there was slaine two hundred thousand Persians and Mardonius himselfe slaine by a Spartan souldier vnder Pausanias In memory of this victory there is a common assembly of all the states of Greece at Plataea where the Plataeans make a solemne sacrifice vnto Iupiter protector of their libertie for those noble Grecians that were slaine at Plataea with chariots laden with braunches of firre trees with nosegaies garlands of triumphs then followed a black bull and some young noble gentlemen that carried great bowles full of wine and others carried pots full of milk to powre upon the graues of those dead noble captaines that died for their countrey others carried oyles perfumes and sweete odours in glasses After this followed the Generall holding a funerall pot in the one hand a naked sword in the other vnto the graues where these noble captaines gentlemen were buried that were slain in that battell and there the General washed the pillars arches Images of those noble valiant Greeks that were wrought vpon them then annointed them with oyles sweet sauours after beautified them with sweet flowers nosegaies crowned them with seueral kinds of garlands In this solemne sort the Generall tooke a great bowle of wine holding out his hād towards the graues saying I drinke to you noble captains and valiant gentlemē that died in the defence of Greece Alexander the great vpon the graue of Achilles vsed a funeral sacrifice not altogether vnlike the Grecians maner caused himselfe with diuers of his company to be washed and after to be annointed with ointments with garlands of mirtle vpō their heads and in solemne procession to goe round about Achilles graue all naked sixe hundred yeares after Achilles death So Traiane the Emperour in Alexandria vsed the like funerall sacrifice vpon Alexanders graue 400. yeares after Alexanders death after the Romane maners custome with garlands crowns made of flowers vpō his graue with sacrifice of frankincense other sweet odours in the very same house in Alexandria where Alexander dwelt for he died at Babilon was buried in Alexādria his owne towne They vsed the like funerall ceremonies in the feast called Parentalia in Rome which was celebrated with beanes pulses wafers and drie figges laide vpon a bare flint stone on
as in Egipt their horses asses oxen camels and sheepe and all their beasts were slaine with a mightie great morraine so the Romane generals their collonels captaines and all kind of souldiers were slain as wel in Rome and Italy as euery where throughout the Romane Empire as well with wars as with diuers sicknesses diseases yet not ceasing to persecute the Christians according to their custome but the martyrs of the Lord the souldiers of God increased still in number in euery country Such euer was the prouidence of the Lord that Septimius the like were either murdered slaine in their country or else banished died out of their country as this Septimius did or as the great Antiochus Epiphanis did being the only enemies of Gods people tyrannizing against Iudah forcing them with sword fire to forsake God their religion lawes strangling men hanging some womē with their childrē about their necks other women they cast downe headlong ouer the walls with their babes hanging at their breasts making search for the bookes of Moses and burning all that he could finde written of the law of Moses prophaned the temple sacrificed swines flesh against the law of the Iews compelled the Iews to eate swines flesh to forsake circumcisiō and to adore his gods his tyrannie was such that the Samaritans sent vnto him messengers for very feare denying themselues to be Iewes but a people comming out of the Meades and Persians therin they said the truth for they were not true Iewes requesting Antiochus that the Temple which they builded in Mount Garisim should be named the Temple of Iupiter and that they would bee gouerned by Appolonius and Nichanor his Lieftenants and become Antiochus seruants Yet the Lord raised those in Iudah that esteemed not his threatnings waighed not his commaundements feared not his tortures for so the Lord said to Elias that he reserued 7000. that neuer bowed nor bended knee to Baall which kept the lawes of the Lord as Mattathias and his fiue sonnes in Modin and diuers other in Iudah not weighing Antiochus nor his Lieftenants When this cursed and cruell Antiochus sawe how little the Iewes weighed his threatnings and how they stil increased in number and how forward they were in their religion he thereby fell sicke and confessed that the euill that he did to the Temple of Ierusalem and to the inhabitants of Iudah was the cause that he must die in a straunge land for before Antiochus had proudly promised to make Ierusalē a graue for al the Iewes burial we leaue Antiochus dead out of his Countrey in Persia and turne to Moses in Egipt This was euer the commaundement of the Lord to Moses rise and stand vp before Pharao and say thy wonted message thus saith the Lord let my people goe Yet nothing moued Pharao but as a sworne enemy against the Lord stiffe necked and hard hatred refused al graces and mercies offred and therfore Moses was commanded to take the ashes out of the furnace to sprinkle it vp into the aire before Pharaos face strait out of the same ashes there brake out sores with blaines botches swellings both in man beast so that Iamnes and Iambres all the Sorcerers of Egipt could not stand before Moses forthey thēselues were plagued with botches biles which Manetho an Egiptiā historiographer falsly fained a fable that these blaines and botches which the Egiptians had to be a leprousie on the Hebrues naming Moses Osarphis a Priest a law-giuer ouer the Hebrues Yet Cheremon named him Tisithes one contrary to another and both cōtrary to the truth and as Iosephus saith both Manetho and Cheremon affirmed that what Moses had done concerning the myracles in Egipt to be done by Magicke So Pliny held the like opinion that Moses was a great Magitian and did all those myracles before Pharao in Egipt by Magicke Pliny had no cause so to say for Nero the Emperour which was instructed with the best Magicians of all the East kingdomes which Tiridates king of Armenia brought with him to Rome yet it helped not Nero at his need neither the Emperor Iulianus Apostata being well learned and throughly instructed in Magick It could do him no good no more then Iamnes and Iambres to Pharao And therefore I will set downe the true History of Moses written by Iosephus a graue a learned Iew and a gouernour of all the countrey of Galiley farre to be preferred before Appian an Egiptian Schoolmaister in Alexandria Who after their fabulous lies most impudently blasphemed their Temple affirming an Asse head all of gold by the Iewes most religiously worshipped and honoured in their temple which was found in the time of Antiochus Epiphanis when he sacked Ierusalem spoyled the temple We wil passe ouer these false Egiptiās writers come to Moses This sixt plague is likened to the sixt persecution vnder Maximinus a most cruell Emperor being puffed vp with pride insolency and wearied with vulgar persecutions proceeded forward to persecute Bishops Doctors and other learned Christians that professed the name of Christ as Polycarpus Bishop of Smyrna Ignatius and such he spared no degrees within the Romain prouinces but as the Egiptians were plagued with soares botches blaines and biles so hee vexed the Christians with sword fire and extreame tortures And as nothing could moue Pharao in Egipt to acknowledge the Lorde to be God so nothing could moue this tyger Maximinus to acknowledge Christ to be the Lord but without mercy and compassion persecuted afflicted the Christians Thus not only the Emperors of Rome tyrannized against Christians but also the kings of Syria little inferiour to the Romans in tyrannie against whom the Lord did not only stirre men but women children to contemne their threatnings and to despise their crueltie as Antiochus king of Syria commanded caudrons brazen pots to be heated straitly charging that he that spake but a word with Moses law should haue his tongue cut out this could not terrifie a woman with her seuen sonnes who one after another denied the eating sacrificing of swines flesh the defiling of their temple with Images refusing to forsake the lawes of Moses and in this to liue and die The king straight commanded that the tongue of the eldest brother should be cut out to pull the skin ouer his head to pare off the edges of his hands feete and after these tortures while yet there was any life in him to be fried in the hote caudron and that in the sight of his mother and his other sixe brethren assuring them that they should suffer the like torments one after another vnlesse they would forsake the religion lawes of the Iewes eat swines flesh and offer sacrifice of swines flesh vnto Iupiter vpon the altars at Ierusalem Samaria but they esteemed the least iot of their lawe more then the greatest tortures that
stratagem against the Arcadians commaunded secretly in the night time certaine horses to goe round about his campe and in the morning hee shewed his souldiers the steps of the horses saying that it was Castor Pollux that would be readie in the next battell to take their parts and to fight with them against the Arcadians So did Epaminandas he caused the armor which did hang in the temples and were dedicated to their Gods secretly to be taken downe by this stratagem he perswaded his souldiers that the gods promised to be in those armors themselues to fight in the battell Pericles Generall for the Athenians vsed the like policie caused a comely tall man of great stature all in purple to sit on a high stately chariot drawne with goodly white horses standing in a thicke wood consecrated to Pluto where both the armies might behold him vntill the signe of the battell were giuen then he called to Pericles and willed him to goe forwards and said that the gods of Athens were at hand by this stratagem Pericles got a great victory for the enemies fled before the battell began The Gentiles the Heathens beleeued confessed that all victories good successe came to them by seruing of their gods and all their ouerthrowes calamities fell vpon them by offending their gods so much stood the Heathens in awe and feare of their gods And like as Ioshua Iosaphat Dauid returned to giue thankes to the Lord with violls harpes trumpets for their victories so the Lacedemonians with trumpets and flutes crowned with garlands made of all kinde of flowers and with a song to Castor Pollux for any victories which they had obtained The Romanes also and the Grecians not only with building of Temples and Aultars but with the great sacrifice Haecatombae did please their Gods for theyr victories In Hercules Temple in Sparta the Armours that were hanged vp and consecrated to Hercules seemed to make a sound and and a noise and at Thebes in the Temple of the same Hercules the gates of the Temple being shut were suddenly of themselues opened and the shields and the targets that were hanged vp in the roofe of the Temple dedicated to Hercules fel downe were found vpon the ground which foreshewed to the soothsayers the destruction both of Sparta and Thebes Now to the Hebrewes The Lord commaunded that hee that buildeth a new house and had not possessed it a yeare should be spared from warre Hee that planted a vineyard and not receiued the fruites thereof should also be spared from warre And he that betrothed himselfe to a wife and had not married her might in like case be spared from war After the Priest had ended his exhortation to the souldiers the Generall of the Army proclaimed that if any timerous or fainthearted souldier were within the Army hee should returne home least hee through his cowardlinesse should disanimate or discourage the rest of his Army Hence the Gentiles had the first instruction to vse the like long after this time for the lawe of Armes which the Lord gaue vnto his people the Hebrewes in the wildernesse were in all countries of the Gentiles afterwards imitated in all their warres As among the Romaines the Priestes Faeciales in like sort as the Hebrewes exhorted and encouraged the Romanes manfully to fight for their Countrey repeating the lawe of Armes of the Hebrewes So the Athenians before they cōmenced any battel their Priests called Mantes stood before the army made a speech to the souldiers of the iust cause of theyr wars and would bee further instructed by their Oracles to know of their victories The Persians likewise would take no warre nor battell in hand before they had consulted with their soothsayers which were their wise men called Magi. CHAP. X. Of the camp of the Hebrews of their exercise in the wildernesse and of the whole Army deuided vnder foure principal standarts and of placing of the Arke in the midst of the Camp THe Lord commaunded at the setting out of the Army vnto the battell that the Arke should be carried by the Leuites which Ark signified the presence of God the figure of Christ at what time Moses vsed alwaies these words at the lifting vp of the Ark rise vp Lord let thy enemies be scattered and let them that hate thee flee before thee And when the Arke rested Moses alwaies said these words Returne ô Lord to thee many thousands when the Arke was caried a cloude couered the Arke and where the cloud stayed there the Arke would rest and when the cloud remoued the Arke was also to be remoued for by the remouing of the cloud the Arke was also to be remoued The Lord commanded in the wildernesse of Sinai to Moses and Aaron with the twelue Princes of the Tribes of Israel to take muster to number thē that were able to goe to the wars frō twentie yeares vpward hence frō the Hebrewes the Gentiles tooke their instructions in numbring and mustring their souldiers Moses numbred the people and found six hundred three thousand fiue hundred fiftie able men to go to wars in the camp of the Hebrews beside the Leuites which were appointed to attend the Tabernacle For the Leuites were numbred three seuerall times the first time they were numbred at a moneth old when they were consecrated vnto the Lord The second time at 25. yeares olde when they were appointed to serue in the Tabernacle The third time at 30. yeares old to bear the burthens of the Tabernacle and to serue in the Tabernacle vntill 50. yeares and then to cease from bearing such heauie burthens and painful seruice But after that they should minister in the Tabernacle singing hymnes Psalmes instructing counselling keeping of things in order After that Moses had brought the Hebrews frō Egipt instructed them with military discipline giuen them martiall lawes then the Lord would not haue Moses to bring his people straight way to the land of Canaan but to lead them too and fro in the wildernesse to keep thē in cōtinual exercise to teach them military discipline by the law of Arms appointed for they might within 3. daies as Philo writeth haue passed frō Egipt to the lād of Canaan but that the Lord would haue thē to endure labour to be exercised in martiall discipline to become good souldiers therfore suffred the Amalekites Moabites Edomites the Philistines to be with thē as needles in their eies thornes in their sides being their professed enemies to warre to fight and to keepe them still in practise and exercise of armes The Lord suffered the Camp of the people to wander too and fro in the wildernesse backward forward to learne to endure cold and heate and all kind of hardnesse remouing their campe too and fro 42. mansions before they came to the land of Canaan Cai. Marius perceiuing his
making the Arke saued himselfe and his family from the deluge Abraham for that he obeyed the Lord and was readie to offer and to sacrifice his sonne Isaac the whole world was blessed in his seed therefore the Lord said to Salomon If thou do all that euer I shall commaund thee thy throne shall be established for euer in Ierusalem The Lord commends the Rechabites for their obedience to Ionadab their father because Ionadab said Non bibetis vinum Mattathias his children answered Antiochus messenger saying Wee had rather obey the lawes of the Lord giuen to Moses and to our fathers then to obey the king So the seuen brethren answered that they had rather die then disobey the lawes of the Lord. The Prophet saith Fire haile snow Ise obey the commaundements of the Lord hee commaunds seas and windes and they obey the Lord he commanded rauens to feede Elias and they obeyed Cyrus King of Persia obeyed the Lorde for Cyrus confest that hee was commaunded to set forwards the Iews to build vp the temple in Ierusalem and as obedience is vnto the Lord most acceptable so is disobedience euen in the least things extreamly punished He that gathered sticks vpon the Sabboth day was stoned to death And the man of God for that he eate bread in Bethel against the Lords commaundement he was deuoured of a lyon and Ionas the Prophet for that he fled from the presence of the Lord he was throwne for his disobedience into the sea and swallowed vp of a whale And Moses the seruant of God with that rod that strooke the rocke that water gushed out with that rod which diuided the red seas that turned all the riuers and waters of Egipt to blood that turned all the dust of Egipt into Lice brought Frogs Flies Grasse-hoppers and wrought so many wonders in Egipt yet for that Moses disobeyed the Lord at the water of Meribah the Lord was so offended with Moses Aaron for their incredulitie and disobedience before the people that the Lord told them that they should not enter into the land of promise and that Moses should die in mount Nebo and Aaron his brother in mount Hor such was the exact iustice of the Lord and his seuere punishment against wilfull and disobedient people that he spared none no not Moses his owne seruant Aaron his owne Priest Ionas his owne Prophet nor Israel his owne people CHAP. XIIII Of the martiall lawes and military discipline of the Gentiles IN all Countries among all Nations where militarie discipline was not obserued there martial lawes were executed As among the Egiptians the Souldier that brake militarie rules to forsake the ranke to goe out of the campe and would disobey the chiefe magistrates officers captaines of the armie and would any waies offend the martiall lawes he should be displaced from his place were he either Serieant Lieutenant or any other officer and be placed in the meanest place of the armie and if he should bewray the counsell of his captaine or speake any thing against the generall he should haue his tongue cut off and sowed vpon his helmet Among the Persians there was a martiall law written that if any cowardly souldier should steale secretly from the campe and become a vagabound or a runnagate frō place to place he should being taken be cloathed in a womans apparell and be chained fast with an Iron manicle vpon his hands sitting with both his legs in a paire of stocks in the midst of the campe to be flouat and scoft at of all the whole armie which in like sort the Thrasians obserued and after hee should be taken for a woman and not for a man The Romanes were somewhat more seuere against disobedient souldiers especially against seditious fugitiue souldiers and against them that forsooke theyr standart and turned their backes to the enemies and from the camp to flee to the enemie these amongst the Romanes were punished with death The law in Sparta was if any soldiers of theirs should in any great and shamefull faultes in the warres offend they should be so noted and defamed that they might not borrow so much as a cup of water or a brand of fire with their next neighbors nor light a candle besides it was not lawfull for any man that met thē in the streets to speak to them These punishmēts far differ from the former punishmēt of the Lord fire frō heauen the opening of the earth the throwing into the feas deuouring by lions such of which I shall speake in another place Now to the marching of Ierusalē vnder Ioshua to whō a charge was giuen of a new army which was borne in the wildernesse after their fathers came out of Egipt to whom the Lord said Moses my seruant is dead as I was with Moses so will I be with thee and will neuer leaue thee nor forsake thee be strong and bold feare not and shewe thy selfe stout and valiant therefore obserue and do according to all the lawes which Moses my seruant commaunded thee What is spoken here to Ioshua was spoken after Ioshua to Iudah and after Iudah to Gedeon to Dauid and others so carefull was the Lord ouer his people that they should not choose them a Generall without the consultatiō of Vrim Thummim to guide and gouerne the armie to fight the battels of the Lord. So among all nations in all ages they were very carefull to haue and to choose wise stout and skilfull Generalls For as the Romane captaine Fabritius said that it was Pirrhus skil that ouercame Leuinus the Consull and not the Epirotes the Romanes and besides the straunge sight of the Elephants which the Romanes neuer sawe before that battell at Heraclea which the Romanes called Boues Lucanias Fabritius thought it a scorne that the Romanes should be ouerthrowne by any nation in the world if they had discreet valiant stout generals The like imaginatiōs the Romanes supposed that they were ouerthrowne at the battels of Trebeia Trasimen Cannes either by the subtill and deceitfull policie of Hannibal or else for that their gods were offended with them and not by the strength of the Carthagineans nor the Affricans But Pirrhus after foure yeares warres with the Romanes was constrained to forsake Italy after his ouerthrow at the battel of Arusina to leaue his Elephants behinde to beautifie Curius Dentalus tryumphe which was the first sight of Elephants in Rome for before nothing could be seene in Rome in former tryumphes but cattels of the Volscians flocks of beasts of the Sabines broken weapons and old armour of the Samnites coaches and couerings of the old Gaules Hannibal the greatest enemy that euer the Romanes had yet after seuenteene yeares warres hee was forced to retire from Italy to Carthage and there in his owne countery to be ouerthrowne at the battell of Zama by Scypio Affrican Hannibal so straightly
but these were words to encourage their souldiers but it fel out otherwise that Iugurth was taken by Marius and sent to Rome prisoner from Numidia and Leuinus the Consul ouerthrowne by Pirrhus at the citie Heraclea by the riuer Cyris CHAP. VI. Of military discipline and reward of souldiers among diuers nations IN all nations military discipline was so taught and martiall lawes so obserued that if they deserued by theyr good seruice any preferment though hee were but a meane souldier hee should not loose the honour and dignitie of his aduancement to rise by degrees from the lowest souldier vnto the highest captaine and so in like sort by faults and offences committed they should be disgraded and casseerd from their gouernment and regiment and bee punished further by the lawes military for them therin appointed which I will intreat of when I come to speake of euery seuerall country of their warres battels and victories then you shall finde the seuerall military discipline agreeable to the skilfulnesse of the captaine the greatnesse of the victory and the nature of the place It should seem that all nations of the world had their first instruction from the Hebrewes as well their military discipline as martiall lawes for the Lord commanded Moses first in the wildernes to muster the people frō twentie yeares vpwards and likewise Moses commaunded Ioshuah to muster the Hebrewes to fight against the Moabites for that the Moabites denied them passage through their countrey into the land of Canaan Among the Persians imitating the Hebrewes their youthes from twentie to fiftie should be brought vp in warres and no longer by the Persian lawe might they continue in warres but had their maintenance and preferment after to liue at rest to teach the yong youthes of Persia military discipline hauing after their long seruice golden girdles giuen them by the king to shewe their good seruice to their countrey and their credite with the king of Persia. The like lawe among the Scythians was duly obserued and carefully examined that no souldier past fittie sixe yeares old should be chosen a fit souldier for the warres though both in Persia and in Scythia two nations euer in warres one with the other their captaines and officers were men of knowledge counsell authoritie to instruct the army by whom they should be gouerned So also the later Romanes being Polymarchies and camp-maisters of the world hauing brought all kingdomes countries vnder their gouernment were not ignorant of all forraine externall martiall lawes and military discipline but followed the Persians and the Scythians in instructing of their soldiers making choise of the fittest and yongest men from twentie to fiftie to serue the common-wealth Though Camillus in his warres against the Latines and the Volscians and Alexander the great in his warres against the Grecians and the Persians made choyce of skilfull and olde souldiers which were brought vp in warres before with Philip of Macedon his father to be in his Campe. So likewise did Caesar honour much his old souldiers In later time the kings of Syria vsed to send collers of gold robes of purple and to be called the kings friends to the chiefe captaines of the Iewes so the Iewes were wont to send to the Romanes and to the Lacedemonians targets crownes of gold to be in league fauour with the Romains so that all nations sought fauour and friendship at the Romanes So the Carthagineans sent to the Romans gifts rewards for captains generals The Romane souldiers that were of courage and knowne as Praetorian legionarie or manupular souldiers were rewarded with such gifts and presents as they were in all countries preferred and aduanced from one office to another esteemed extolled with sūdry kinds of gifts rewards as crownes garlands some crowns made of Lawrell some made of mirtle some of Popley some of Oliue and some of Pine some made of Oaken boughes for those that had saued cities or citizens There were in the later time of the Emperours new kinds of crownes inuented by the Emperour Caligula made some like the Sunne others like the starres called Exploratoriae coronae Tribunes and great Captaines had bracelets and golden ringes The Romains wanted no varietie of crownes garlands beside mony lands and other gifts Besides there were certain speciall crownes garlands called Murales coronae made like the walls of a citie for those that scaled walles as Cicinnanus for others that besieged fortes as Corilianus crowns were made of green grasse called Coronae graminea for those that saued cities or by sea fight crowns made like a ship called Coronae nauales wer giuē as to Lu. Varro by Pompey the great in his warres against the Pyrates Such crownes rewards were chiefly by the generall appointed by the law of armes to be giuen to such souldiers that had either scaled walles besieged forts saued cities or by sea fight For euen as the Consuls Generals might claime a tryumph by their victories so might the Collonels Captains and gallant souldiers claime their garlāds military rewards for them for their seruice apointed It was lawful for any Roman knight to come with his horse in his hād before the Cēsors of Rome declaring euery captaine vnder whō he serued what countries he had bin in and hauing declared an account of his victtories and seruice requesting to be dispenst with for going any lōger to the wars according to the custome of the knights of Rome he might with licence of the Censors take his ease according to the law So Lucullus gaue ouer after he had gotten many victories triumphs and much enriched Rome himself tooke his rest quietnesse according to the lawe of the Romans though after he was in scoffe called by Pompey the great the Romain Xerxes for his great fare and idle life in Rome yet he escaped thereby the tragicall ende of Pompey whom Lucullus called the great Agamemnon to requite the name of Xerxes by Pompey giuē vnto him he also escaped the tragical end of Caesar who wold not take his rest before he became Perpetuus Dictator to be slaine in the Senate So also of Crassus who could not stay in Rome being the wealthiest man in Rome and thought no man wealthy but hee that could keepe an army of his owne charge but would goe seek for more wealth into Asia to be slain in Parthia to haue gold melted in his mouth being dead among the Parthians in reproach of his auarice as Cyrus had his head bathed in blood in Scithia in reproach of his tiranny Had Scipio when he had ioyned Numantia vnto Carthage and vanquished Hanibal followed Lucullus in taking his ease after his great victories Had Cicero himselfe after he had quenched Catelines cōspiracy quieted himselfe no doubt his head had not bin brought by Popilius to Mar. Antonius Had M. Crassus bene not moued with the sight
Alexander from Persia to Macedonia was troden vnder foote in one or two victories and the Empire carried by Aemililius from Macedonia to Rome In this triumph of Pau. Aemilius the rich armours of all the Macedonian and Illyrian kings then al the plate cubbords and Iewels of the auntient kings of Macedonia were carried in charriots after followed foure hundred princely crownes of golde which the cities of Greece sent to honour Aemilius victorie and to beautifie his triumph in the which triumph such wealth and treasure was brought to Rome by Pau. Aemilius as farre exceeded the triumph of Scypio Asiaticus who carried in his triumphes the pictures of Townes and Citties of Asia painted in tables or the triumphes of Caesar who brought but the likenesse of hilles mountains and riuers or of Pompey the great who brought in his seuerall triumphes 339. kings kings children princes peeres noblemen yet none of these were equall to Pau. Aemilius in respect of the wealth he brought in one triumph to Rome who brought all the treasure wealth of two kingdomes Macedonia and Illyria not in shewe but in substance Others brought in their tryumphes the Images and statues of the kings which were slaine or otherwise died before they could bee taken captiues as Lucullus brought the statue or picture of Mithridates set out and painted very liuely in ensignes Scipio carried in his tryumphe at Carthage the Image of Asdrubal Hannibals brother So Augustus Caesar brought the Image of Cleopatra to Rome in his tryumphe after shee slue her selfe to beare company with her friend Mar. Antonius Others brought in their tryumphes kings aliue as Iul. Caesar brought king Iuba and his sonne with all their treasures of Mauritania in great tryumphe and pompe into Rome Marius brought in his tryumphe Iugurth with all spoyles and wealth of Numidia with all the solemnitie that could be Yet in the infancie of Rome before Rome grew to any greatnesse the first kings tryumphed on foote into the citie as Romulus who though he tryumphed ouer king Acron whom hee slue in a combat challenged yet he being a king carried vpō his shoulders the rich spoyls of the same king being set in order vpon a young green bough of an oake as trophies of tryumphes without either horse coach Elephant or braue shewes and yet his tryumphe was for two kingdomes So did Corneli Cossus who slue fighting in the field hand to hand Tolumnus Generall of the Thuscans And so did Marcellus who likewise slue with his owne hand Britomarus king of the old Gaules before they were called Frenchmen this honour happened to none of the Romaines besides but to these three for Rome yet was scant heard of out of Italy Vechoris king of Egipt by Herodot called Sesostris for examples sake of courage fortitude of souldiers and to kindle their mindes to attempt great exploits in wars hee vsed when hee had ouerthrowne a valiant Armie and manly souldiers he would set vp a marble pillar and vppon it the picture of a man in brasse with a naked swoord in his hande as a trophey in tryumph of his victorie ouer hardie men and if hee had vanquished but a cowardly company and timerous souldiers hee would cause to bee put vp the picture of a naked woman with a Glasse in her hand and a combe to disgrace the souldiers which hee had conquered signifying they were timerous cowardly and womanish souldiers For honour and rewarde of military discipline of all kingdomes and countreys were inuented by wit and by lawe confirmed to set vp monuments of fame to great conquerers and noble Captaines to stirre vp young men to embrace Armes and to exercise martiall feates As Pericles in Athens had nine seuerall trophies for nine seuerall victories and vpon euery one his name written So Sylla for his victorie against Archelaus had a trophey set vp and his name written with these words Victoria Sylla Domitius Aenobarbus and Fabius Maximus for their victories against the Allobroges were the first among the Romanes that builded vp high towers of stone and pillars of wood and hangd the enemies armors weapons theron as trophies monumēts of their victories Sicinius Dentatus to signifie his singular commendations had for his noble exploites in diuers warres eight golden crownes foure ciuill crownes three scaling crownes called Murales coronae foure score three chaines eighteen pure speares and had a hundred three score bracelets giuē him in rewards gifts for his braue seruice in seuerall battels The like praise had Manlius Capitolinus who besides foure ciuil crownes had twentie sixe military rewards and before he was seuenteen years old wanne two rich spoyles of the enemy So forward to winne fame and become famous were the old Romanes The old Romanes vsed to honour them that saued a citizens life with a garland of oaken boughes for so was Corilianus by the Dictator Titus Largius at the last battell of Torquine the proud crowned with a garland of oaken boughes Besides these crownes garlands chaines bracelets rings and armour giuen by the Generall they had certaine military garments and certaine acres of ground diuided betweene worthy and well deserued souldiers by the lawe Agraria appointed to encourage the souldiers to hardinesse Alexander the great so esteemed the Tribune of the souldiers that he would admit none in the place vnder three score yeares old vnlesse he had bene of great skill long experience and a man of good and long seruice to whome Alexander the great admitted to weare golden rings as a reward of a military honour neither was it lawfull to any Romaine citizen vnlesse hee were a Senator or of the order of knighthood to weare golden ringes in auncient time This officer called Tribunus militum with the Romanes was named with the Lacedemonians Harmostes an officer of the care and charge of seruice as the Tribune or the Collonell of souldiers and might not continue in that office past sixe moneths as long as the Dictator of Rome was to enioy his office And when the Emperor Prince or Generall would allow and commend the office place of the Tribune to a graue skilful Captaine he would put a naked sword in his hand signifying his authoritie ouer the souldiers repeating the wordes of the lawe of armes before the whole armie set downe in these words Milites quibus iussierunt Parento eorumque Tribuni sunto The same forme vsed Traiane the Emperour in his time when he appointed Zura a Tribune ouer the Praetorian souldiers giuing a sword in his hand saying Accipe gladium quem prome c. If I vse this gouernment well vse it for mee If I do euil vse it to destroy mee None might be with the Romanes admitted to be Tribunes of the souldiers vnlesse he had bene before a leader of the band called Cohortes neither might any man be taken Harmostes among the Lacedemonians vnlesse
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
to these Prophets now they spared not IerusaleÌ„ nor Samaria but they had their message told them by the Prophet And so much of the manner and forme of the publishing and denouncing of warre by the Lords Heraulds his Prophets And now likewise to shewe the maner and forme of the Gentiles in denouncing of warre by their Heraulds The Gentiles in olde time proclaiming their warres against their enemies in seueral sorts as the Romains by their Priests called Faecials which were first instituted by Numa Pomp. and after appointed by the Romanes to be their heraulds both for warre and peace for the law was written in these words Belli pacis faederum induciarum or atorum faeciales Iudices sunto The chiefe of theÌ„ was called Pater Patratus being crowned with a garlaÌ„d made of Verbena who went with foure of them to the coÌ„fines of the enemies reciting the iust cause of the wars which were it not by the enemies satisfied answered within 33. daies after the Faecial Priests being sent froÌ„ the Senators and Citizens of Rome should throw after the word spokeÌ„ a bloudy dart or an iron speare into the enemies lands proclaiming warre against them Iure faeciali But if the Romains had their warres farre from Rome the Faeciall Priests should goe out of the citie through the gate Carmentalis to the Temple of Mars in the which Temple there was hanging a bloudie speare vpon one of the pillars of the TeÌ„ple called Columna bellica and from that place should the Faeciall Priest throw that bloudie dart towards those natioÌ„s whom they denounced to be their enemies then after this the Consul Proconsul or Praetor should goe to the Temple of Mars and take the Targets called Ancyllia in his hande and after pricke the Image of Mars with his speare or launce and say Mars Vigila The Persians also vsed this ceremony to throwe a bloudie dart towards the confines of theyr enemies thereby denouncing warre either to haue land and water by yeelding or else to abide warre The manners and customes among the Grecians wheÌ„ they went to publish warre they vsed to send their Herauld to the confines of the enemies after the iust cause of the warre being publikely declared vnlesse they were Perius sanctum legatorum satisfied the Greekes sent a Ramme to the enemies confines to signifie that they were readie armed for their enemies for the sending of the Ramme with the Greekes did signifie as much as the throwing of the bloudie dart or Iron speare with the Romanes for the Romanes were instructed in martiall discipline by the Greekes as the Greekes were by the Persians and the Persians by the Egiptians The old Gaules vsed this manner of order that their Senators called Druydes called a councell of the chiefe men which should be all armed and therefore called among them the armed councell and after consultation had between these Priests Druydes and the armed councell that whatsoeuer was agreed vpon betweene them ther of warre or peace was established for a lawe The Scythians had strange customes in defying their enemies and in proclaiming of warre they did send by Embassadors to Darius king of Persia a bird a mouse a frogge and an arrow signifying thereby that vnlesse the enemies would flye away like a bird creepe away like a mouse or swim away like a frogge out of Scythia that an arrow should pierce them through Warres being proclaimed by the Lacedemonians warlike people the herauld should carrie in his hand a vine twig wreathed about with wooll which the enemies if they would accept and receiue vpon conditions by the herauld opened it should be a full bond of peace otherwise a denouncing of warre and withall the herauld threw the vine twigge out of his hand as in defiance The Carthagineans though they could neuer abide the Romanes yet vsed they the selfesame ceremonies Hastae proiectio as the Romanes did in pronouncing of their warres There was a strange maner and custome among some nations when they proclaimed warre they would send a herauld with a present to theyr enemies wrapped round about with the likenesse of snakes which if the present would be vpoÌ„ conditions accepted they would take away the snakes and deliuer them the present if otherwise the herauld would deliuer the enemies the snakes in defiance and bring the present away this maner of defiance against their enemies the old Corinthithians vsed with others Now that you read the maner and forme of proclaiming of warres among diuers nations you shall also obserue diuers fashions and ceremonies touching composition of peace for both proclaiming of warre and concluding of peace were in all authoritie Per viâ—…faciale but altered in ceremonies CHAP. XIII Of the maner and diuers ceremonies in concluding of peace THe concluding of peace of diuers nations was in this sort those that were sent as Heraulds to proclaime warre were againe sent as Embassadors to entreate for peace in diuers Countries for as bloud was sought by warres so by bloud peace should be reconciled For as you heard the Lord did threaten warre long before warre came to the Hebrewes the Chaldeans Assyrians and the rest by the Prophets and his Heraulds and before these nations punished the first age for their sinnes with an vniuersal deluge ouer the whole world eight persons excepted and after made a league of peace and gaue the Rainebowe as a signe in the heauens not to destroy the world any more with water and when the people againe transgressed his commaundements the Lord commaunded his Prophets to threaten the Hebrues the Chaldeans and Assyrians denouncing warre to punish them as you heard of the Egiptians the Sodomites others with a condition of peace to continue betweene him and his people which was written out in the law of Moses This league was signified confirmed also with the bloud of a lamb as the bloud of couenant between God and man the true type figure of the lambe Christ Iesus which gaue vs euerlasting peace by his bloud in the new 〈◊〉 this peace was proclaimed to the Shepheards in the field at Bethelem by legions of Angels which came downe from heauen singing glory bee to God on high on earth peace towards meÌ„ This peace Christ repeated to his disciples saying Peace be vnto you this peace he brought into the world this peace he left with his people in the world which the world caÌ„not giue for there is no peace to the wicked faith the Lord. The ceremonies of euery natioÌ„ in all countries in concluding of peace was generally by bloud and as it were confirmed by an oath in supping each others bloud or by dipping in of their swords arrowes flint-stones or wooll As the Meades drewe bloud out of theyr armes the Lydians out of their shoulders the Arabians out of their fingers that by sucking and licking of each others bloud they thought it
and famine an hundred thousand solde publikely as slaues and sixteene thousand were sent to Rome to beautifie his fathers triumph as Iosephus an eye-witnesse doth report The Iewes looked not for their destruction so nigh at hand they obserued by tradition of some of their Rabines that their Messias should come about the time of Augustus as a magnificent mighty king not as a poore man the sonne of a Carpenter whom the Iewes whipt and scourged for that he tooke vpō him to be the sonne of God made himself Messias the Iewes litle thought that he was the Messas when they cryed to Pilate to haue him crucified in Golgotha saying his bloud be vpon vs and vpon our children The greedie desire and expectation of the people was such that many tooke vpon them to call themselues the Messias as Iudas Galileus and an other called Atonges a shepheard but aboue them all one Barcozba had diuers followers was receiued for their Messas thirtie yeares but when they saw that he could not defend them from the Romanes they would no longer accept him for their Messias but slew him Titus proceedeth forward to destroy the Iewes but especially the Priests the Scribes Pharisies on whom he had no mercie saying that they chiefly ought to dye with the sword sithence the temple was burnt with fire they onely being rebellious and seditious and the cause of the destruction of the citie Titus spared none of the stocke of Herod In this warres of Titus were ten of the learned Rabbines slaine whose names I thought good to write as I found them written in Genebrardus Chronicles Rabbi Simeon ben Gamaliel Rabbi Ismael ben Elizei Rabbi Hanina ben Tedarion Rabbi Husiphith Rabbi Eleazer ben Samaa Rabbi Iuda ben Dama Rabbi Isbak Scribam Rabbi Iuda ben Hachinas Rabbi Iuda ben Baba Rabbi Askiba These tenne Rabbines were slaine by Titus which the Iewes record in theyr latter Talmud for tenne martyrs and after Ierusalem was thus destroied Titus appointed Rabbi Iohanan ben Zachai gouernour ouer the remnant of the Iewes in Ahua Byther Oza other pla◅es as Nabuchodonozer did appoint Godoliah gouernor of the rest of the Iewes when he destroyed Ierusalem in the time of Zedechia the king Titus also left Bonia a younger brother of Fla. Iosephus to gouerne other places in Iudah and he returned with his prisoners and captiues which he brought with him to Rome to beautifie his fathers triumphes and his This was the fift and last ouerthrow of the Iewes destruction of Ierusalem First by Shesac King of Egipt in the time of Rehoboam secondly by Nabuchodonozer in the time of Zedechias the last King of Iudah thirdly by Antiochus fourthly by Pompey the great and fiftly and last by Titus and Vespasian Thus the Iewes that subdued all natiōs before them and conquered all the Kings about them that in the time of Ioshua Dauid all the earth trembled at the naming of the Iewes whose gouernment continued from Abraham to Vespasian two thousand yeares and more though for a time while they were in Egipt 430. yeares litle spoken of vntil the Lord raised them so strengthned thē vnder Moses and Ioshua that first they ouerthrew Pharao and his kingdome after subdued the Canaanites Edomites Moabites Ammonites Philistines and the Syrians which of the Hebrewes were called Aromites the strongest nation vpon the earth at that time which were subdued notwithstanding by Dauid Thus the Iewes which were as famous and feared as much in those dayes as the Romanes were in the time of their Consuls are now so destroyed and their country subdued like wandring banished mē without king lawe or countrey The cause wherof was the sinne of Ierusalem which would neuer acknowledge the goodnesse of God towards them nor his myracles and his mercy wrought amongst them they refused his grace offered and persecuted him most violently to death Yet Dionisius Areopagita and his fellow Appollonius in the citie of Eliopolis in Egipt they both obserued by the Eclipse of the Sun at the verie houre the sonne of God suffered more then the rebellious Iewes did for all the blessings and mercies which they had receiued they cried out still vnto Pilate crucifie him his blood be vpon vs and vpon our children These learned Heathens openly confessed in Egipt that either the sonne of God did suffer death or else the frame of the whole worlde should be dissolued these two Heathens confessed and named him to bee the sonne of God but the vngratefull Iewes called and named him the sonne of Ioseph the Carpenter in contempt of him and therefore it is conuenient to set forth the great goodnesse of the Lorde in a briefe and a short catalogue what the Lord hath done to Israel since he brought them out of the furnace of Egipt where they were bond-slaues vnder Pharao 430. yeares euen from the first comming of Abraham into Egipt vntill Moses brought them out of Egipt For after Esau Iacob had diuided their fathers possession Esau went to dwell in Edumea and Iacob tooke for his part Canaan where he dwelt and his childrē vntil Iacob went to Egipt with all his family to his sonne Ioseph which was 215. yeares after the being of Abraham in Egipt and 215. yeares before Moses brought the childrē of Israel out of Egipt into the land of Canaan at what time the law was written giuen to Moses in mount Sinai to gouern the people and after the lawe was giuen the Tabernacle was commaunded by Moses to be made in the wildernesse which should stand to them for a Temple to serue the Lord and after the Tabernacle the Arke was made where the tables of the lawe were commaunded by Moses at his death to be kept where Moses gouerned the whole army of the Hebrues fortie yeares before they went ouer Iorden And Moyses before he died he deliuered the army of the Hebrewes into the hands of Ioshua with a charge from the Lord vnder whom they passed into the lande of Canaan after whose death they began to be rebellious seditious Yet the Lord fauoured thē sent thē stout and wise gouernors as Iudah Ehud Barac Iephtha Gedeō and Sampson yet stil rebelled they like Idolatrous people against the Lord that they were weary of that gouernment and reiected Samuel his gouernmēt and would haue a king the Lord denied them nothing and they had kings to rule them during which time of kings Idolatry presently crept in that the lord his lawes were forsaken and Baal with his prophets priests accepted Hence grew ciuil warres between the 12. Tribes ten against two that of one kingdom they made two so that there was nothing but slaughter and blood betweene the house of Israel the house of Iudah and that straight after Solomons death 500. thousand were slain in mount Zemaraim of the king of Israels side by the king of Iudah Againe such a slaughter of
the king of Iudahs side by the king of Israel that two hundred thousand of womē and children were taken prisoners in Samaria so that they wasted and spoyled one another in such sort that frō a happy populous people by forsaking their Lord and God they became a most miserable Idolatrous people to serue strange gods For during the time of Dauid which was 40. yeares the kingdome of Israel was the most famous renowned kingdome of the world For so the Lord spake I will make the Princes of Iudah like coales of fire among the wood and like a fire-brand in the sheafe and they shal deuour all people round about them So Dauid brought all the kings nations about subiect tributary vnto Israel whose happie whole gouernment was such that at his death hee left a hundred thousand talents to his sonne Solomon to build a temple to the Lord which he himself had determined to build but that the Prophet Nathā warned him from the Lord that he should not for that he was a man of blood but that Solomon his sonne should build him a house This kingdom of Israel being so happy as you heard in king Dauids time and in Solomons time so glorious a temple builded and so richly furnished vnto the Lord that in Solomons time such plentie was in Ierusalē mony was no more esteemed thē stones in the streets yet presently vpō Solomons death in the time of Rehoboham his sonne the state of Ierusalem was so obscured altered that the citie was sackt and the temple robd with great slaughter of people by Shesac king of Egipt so that the wealth and treasure of Ierusalem and of the temple was carried by Shesac into Egipt Againe the kings of Israel became so Idolatrous that there were no gods among the Heathens but they were as gods worshipped in Israel so that they were far worse then the Grecians or the Romans who would allow no strange gods to raigne neither in Athens nor in Rome and therefore for that they forsooke the Lord the Lord forsooke them and gaue them ouer and their kingdome to the Assirians by the hand of Salmanasser and so Samaria and other townes in Israel were inhabited by strangers So the kings of Iudah after Israel within 133. yeares after were carried captiues into Babilon by Nabuchodonozer yet the Lord gaue them not ouer but brought them within 70. yeares after againe to Ierusalem stirred vp Cyrus Darius and Artaxerxes three great kings of Persia to fauour and to aide them with license to returne to their countrey to inhabit Ierusalem with money and much treasure to build vp the Temple redeliuering vnto them all the rich vessels of gold and siluer which Salomon left in the Temple at his death and which Nabuchodonozer tooke away from the Temple and brought to Babilon After Cyrus and these kings of Persia the Lord stirred vp a great Heathen Prince Alexander the great who when he came to Ierusalem lighted off his horse and came to meet the high Priest and reuerenced him with great obeysance where were read vnto him the prophesies of Daniel where it was found that a Grecian Prince should subdue the Persian kingdome which Alexander acknowledged to be himselfe and therefore went into the temple sacrificed to the God of Israel and not only freely granted to the high Priest whatsoeuer he would aske but commaunded him to aske what he would haue him do the high Priest asked nothing but that the Iewes that dwelt in Babilon in Medea and in other countreys about vnder his gouernment might enioy and liue according to the lawes of their countrey which Alexander graunted besides his great and liberall gifts which he bestowed vpon the Priest the temple Nabuchodonozer vsed himselfe otherwise then Alexander did against Iudah for he commanded Holofernus to spare no people no kingdome saying Non Parcet oculus tuus vlliregno The terror of Holofernus army therby was such that they came out of euery citie crowned with crownes on their heads and lamps in their hands to receiue him with all kind of musicke and with dauncing songs to please him yet could they not mittigate the fiercenesse of his fury After Alexander the Lord stirred vp Pthol Philadelphus so to fauour the Israelits to loue their lawes that he had the lawes of Israel written in the Greeke tongue in Alexandria and released many prisoners and captiues of the Iews to the number of 120000. which Ptol. Lagus his precessor had brought from Iudah to Egipt with as great bountifull rewards gifts as Alexander did So Zeleucus shewed such fauour to the Iewes dwelling in Antioch in Ionia in Ephesus that he graunted to them the liberties lawes of their countrey After Zeleucus the Lord stirred vp Antiochus the great being before a great enemy of the Iewes after Antiochus many of the kings of Asia so to fauour them that all the cities of Asia where the Iewes dwelt should suffer them to liue according to the laws of their country and to enioy the benefites of the same and though many of the Assirian kings troubled and molested them with great warres which ioyned themselues with the Samaritans to subdue the kingdome of Iudah Yet the Lord raised vp the house of Assamonias Mattathias to resist the violence of the Assyrians and after him his sonne Iu. Machabaeus who slew of the enemies Edumeans and Assyrians that sought the ouerthrowe of his countrey two hundred thirtie sixe thousand and seuen hundred in the defence of Ierusalem and after him his other foure bretheren forsooke not the lawes of the Lord for all the tyrannie of the Romane Emperors and the Assyrian Kings But the Iewes from time to time so reuoulted from the Lord that Aristobulus the sonne of Hircanus made himselfe a King 481. yeares after the returne of the captiuitie of the Iewes from Babilon but hee enioyed his kingdome but one yeare after he famished his mother and killed his brother for in Iudah their kings had no better succession then the kings of Rome had though in both the kingdomes they made great meanes to become kings After this Aristobulus there was no king among the Iewes vntill Herod who was made by the Senators of Rome with the consent of Augustus Caesar and Mar. Antonius both Emperours of Rome vnder whom Iudah was a Prouince Yet one false Alexander a Iew most subtilly adopted himselfe being very like to Herod to be of the stock and family of Herod and brother to Aristobulus and thereby claimed to bee king of Iudah saying that he was Herods sonne as false Philip faigned himselfe in Macedonia to be Persius sonne king Philips brother and as the common people there reuerenced false Philippe in Macedonia so likewise in all parts of Iurie was this false Alexander carried in coach from Cittie to Cittie with all the reuerence and honour that
nothing These were superstitious orders of Franciscans and not the vowes of Nazarites The Ethnicks likewise suffered their haires to grow because they might dedicate it either to Iupiter to Appollo to Mars or to some of their gods So did Thesius dedicate his haire vnto Appollo vpon his father Aegaeus graue So Achilles dedicated his haire vpō the tombe of his deare friend Patroclus So did Orestes consecrate his haire vpon the tombe of his father in lawe Agamemnon after he had killed him with the consent of his wife Clytemnestra So Euripides was of Archelaus king of Macedonia so honoured that hee lamented Euripides death in mourning apparell and with a shauen head and beard After the vowes of Iacob of Dauid of Asa and such godly men after the vowes of the Nazarites and of the Rechabites which was commanded from Ionadab the father vnto his children and to their posteritie was kept vnuiolated three hundred yeares These vowes were of the Lord accepted but for Heathen vowes which wilfully offer sacrifice their seruants their childrē thēselues to Moloch to satisfie the oracles of diuels speaking in dumbe Idols as vnto Curtius that rode sacrificing of a quick man which made Curtius on horseback in armor to ride into an open wide gulfe in Rome and Codrus king of Athens likewise in beggers apparell to sacrifice themselues to satisfie the oracles Yet Heliodorus was better aduised and more to be commended being sent by Seleucus king of Syria to rob and spoile the Temple of Ierusalem after he was scourged on both sides with many stripes by some diuine power hauing recouered his life by the prayer of Onias the high Priest Heliodorus offered sacrifice vnto God and made his vowes vnto the Lord which had graunted to him his life and thanked Onias confessing the name of the Lord to be great in Ierusalem Antiochus after his flight frō Persepolis in Persia thought to reuenge his wrath vpon Ierusalem aduancing himself that he would make Ierusalem a graue of all the Iewes but he was striken of the Lord that hee promised and vowed that whereas hee had spoiled the holy temple before now to garnish it with gifts to encrease the holy ornaments to become a Iew himselfe and to preach the power of the Lord through euery place of the world So Artaxerxes king of Persia so fauoured the Iewes through the goodnesse of the Lord that hee called Esdras the Priest and reader of the lawe of the Lord and willed him with all the Iewes that would goe with him to goe to Ierusalem allowed them golde and siluer and cattell to sacrifice vnto the Lord and to performe the vowes which they vowed vnto the Lord. So Nabuchodonozer Cyrus and Darius were moued by the Lord to fauour his people Israell And therefore olde Homer said that the sacrifices and oblations with all their vowes and ceremonies which the Troians offered to Iupiter were nothing of him accepted for that Iupiter rather esteemed the vowes and sacrifice of Agamemnon and the oblations of the Greckes before king Priamus and his Troians So the oracle of Ammon answered the Athenians that the gods esteemed more the vowes and prayers of the Lacedemonians with the sacrifice of milke honey frankincense cakes and wine according to Pythagoras rule then the rich spoiles and great gifts of the Athenians with the great sacrifice of Haecatombae So the Prophet answered the Iewes from the mouth of the Lord I abhorre your incense I cannot away with your new moones your sabbothes and solemne dayes I detest your ceremonies and fastings I hate although you make many praiers and offer many oblations yet do I neither heare your prayers nor accept your oblations CHAP. VII Of Oracles and soothsayings as well of the Iewes as of the Gentiles THe Lord commaunded in the lawes of Moses that no soothsaying should be among the Israelites yet things conteining of necessary causes are not forbidden for signes were asked of the Israelites and giuen vnto them of victories by the Lord. Ionathas desired a signe of the Lord and he had by the spirit of the Lord a token that if the Philistins would say vnto Ionathas come ye hither vnto vs Ionathas by that signe knew he should haue victorie The like signe was giuen to Gedeon of his victorie by a fleece of wooll that should be so full with deawe that the deawe therof filled a bowle with water and drie vpon all the earth besides Elizeus bad Ioas shoote eastward in token of his good successe in Aphec And againe hee bad Ioas smite the ground and hee smote the ground thrise so many great victories against the Syrians he had Samuel caught the lap of Sauls coate and rent it saying Thus shall God rent the kingdome out of thy hand and giue it to an other So did Ahiah the Prophet take the garment of Ieroboam and rent it into twelue peeces saying So shall the Lord rent the kingdome out of Salomons hand and giue tenne of the twelue Tribes vnto thee These were signes giuen before hand by the Prophets from the Lord. A prophet of Iudah came to Bethel and cried against the Aultar of Bethel and gaue them a signe that Iosias which was borne three hundred yeares after should offer Priests of the hill altars and burne mens bones vpon the altar and this shall be a signe the altar presently shall rent and the ashes that are in it shall fall out The being of Ionas in the Whales belly three dayes was a signe as Christ himselfe saide that the sonne of man should be three dayes in the belly of the earth It was lawfull for the Israelites to call for the Arke which was the presence of God the figure of Christ they would call for the Ephod they would consult with Vrim and Thummim before they tooke any battell in hand The Iewes required a signe the Grecians sought after wisdome but Christ crucified vnto the Iewes was euen a stumbling blocke and vnto the Grecians foolishnesse For the Greekes Persians went for Oracles to Delphos the Egiptians and Affricans to Ammon but the Hebrewes were taught to come to the doore of the Tabernacle and after the vse of the Tabernacle to consult with Vrim and Thummim to come to the Temple of Salomon or to the Prophets and there to be instructed what to doo The Hebrues tooke no warres in hand vnlesse they ◅ame to the Priest first who would stand with his Ephod◅rment ◅rment before the Arke of the Lorde and there to be ◅ught what to do So Ioshuah Generall of the Israelites vsed to stand b◅re Eleazar the Priest to take his instruction by Vrim and Thummim So Iudah the successor of Ioshua was chosen by Vrim and Thummim to be a Generall of the Hebrue army So did Samuel stand before the high Priest to receiue he Oracle of Vrim and Thummim The Hebrewes
a lawe was made against ambitious men that if any sought singularitie either by his wisedome or by his wealth or by fauour of the people hee should be banished by the lawe Ostracismus out of Athens as Themistocles was So ambitious men in Rome to get loue and fauour of the people by the lawe called Lex agraria were not onely banished out of Rome as Themistocles was out of Athens but sometimes slaine in Rome as both Tiberius and Cai. Gracchus were And therfore Platoes opiniō was that he which began to be ambitious by any secret practise with the enemies to hurt his country or made meanes to make warres of his owne head should be deliuered into the enemies hand and therefore Asdrubal did counsell the Carthagineans to giue Hannibal into the Romanes hands because Hannibal hated the Romans because he made war of his owne priuate head without the authoritie of the Senators of Carthage And so Cato Marcellus and others perswaded the Senators of Rome to deliuer Caesar vnto the Gaules for the like cause for that they suspected Caesar with Cateline and euer found him ambitious and desirous of warre in Rome and out of Rome and therefore ambitious Generalls and Captaines are euer most dangerous and most necessary to be lookt vnto The ambition of the Israelites is not to bee passed ouer as Absolon through ambition vnder pretence of iustice went about to take away the hearts of the people from his father the king saying often Oh that I were a Iudge of the land that I might do iustice to them that haue matters in the lawe and when any man came to do him obeysance he tooke him by the hand and kissed him and thus by degrees stole the hearts of the men of Israel from his father Likewise Adoniah Absolons brother through ambition also exalted himselfe and wanne all his bretheren the kings sonnes and all the men of Iudah the kings seruants that through ambition hee occupied the kingdome vnwitting to his father the king Hammon the Macedonian was so ambitious in Persia the kings court that he could not abide the sight of Mardochaeus because he wold not bend bowe his knee vnto him Abimelech went to Sychem and communed with his mothers kinred for that hee was a bastard to Gedeon saying in the eares of the people that it were better for them to haue one then to let the seuentie sonnes of Gedeon to raigne ouer them for I am your bones and your flesh so ambitious was Abimelech that hee went secretly to Ephrah and slew the 70. sonnes of Gedeon vpon a stone Antipater was so ambitious in Athens that he could not suffer the Orators to liue in Greece no more then Hamon could suffer the Iewes to liue in Persia but sent diuers to seeke and to search for them that when Hiperides was found he was commaunded by Antipater to be punished with all tortures to haue him to reueale the secrets of Athens and to confesse the faults of Lycurgus Demosthenes Isocrates and others Demosthenes and Isocrates hearing of Hiperides great tortures and thereby his death and of the victory at the battell of Cranon vnder that cruel king Antipater which after marched with his army towards Athens the one famished himselfe the other poisoned himselfe the rather for that the tyrant Archias should not bring Demosthenes aliue to Antipater who made great search for him so Antipater most cruelly tirannized with secret ambition against the poore Orators in Athens Not onely the Orators in Athens but also diuers Philosophers as Cleanthes Zeno Empedocles and others who in like sort to auoyd Antipaters tyrannie slew themselnes for very griefe to see Athens the schoole and nurse of learning at that time so oppressed through ambition The ambition of Sylla was such towards Marius and Marius towards Sylla that it ouerthrew welnigh the Empire of Rome betweene them and their confederates that Sertorius Carbo and other Romane Captaines carried flames of ambition from Rome to Hispaine and Affrica after whom warre followed so fast that Sertorius could scarse settle himselfe to gather an army either in Hispaine or in Affrike but three Romane captaines one after an other followed him at the heeles Cotta to whom Sertorius gaue battell and ouerthrew him by sea after Cotta Phidius whose army Sertorius ouerthrew and caused Phidius to flye after Phidius Toranius whom he slew and the most part of his army the fourth Metellus who was driuen by Sertorius to such a pinch that had not Pompey the great comne from Rome he had fared litle better then the rest who for a time both Pompey and Metellus had both their hands full to do with Sertorius This is that Metellus which caused Scypio Affrican to sweare that he would not forsake neither Rome nor Italy his countrey which he thought to do with many Romanes more after the great ouerthrow of the Romanes by Haniball at the battel of Canne This Metellus is that old woman of which Sertorius said that he had whipt Pompey Syllas boy had not that olde woman Metellus comne which being told Pompey he answered I had rather be Syllas boy then Syllas fugitiue as Sertorius is Pompey himselfe within 34. yeares after was forced to follow Sertorius steppes and to flye from Caesar as Sertorius fled from Sylla for Caesar followed Pompey from the field Pharsalia to Egipt where Pompey was slaine as Pompey followed Sertorius from Rome to Affrike where Sertorius likewise was slaine Ambition therefore the secret serpent in euery common-wealth as you heard before among the Grecians among the Israelites and among the Romanes and yet in Athens there was one Aristides that resisted the ambition of Themistocles and in Rome one Cato that reprehended the ambition of Caesar and in Israel one Iothan that accused the ambition of Abimelech But as the Philosopher said the whole world is a common-wealth of contention that if strife and contention had no place in nature the generation of all things should be at a stay and therefore ambition and contention was allowed among the Lacedemonians by Licurgus lawe as a spurre to prick them forward to martiall actions Among the Athenians they thought it great pollicie to keepe men of state in equall authorities least any should excell either in greatnesse wealth wisedome honour or credit among the people and therefore Aristides was ioyned in all authorities with Themistocles and Phocion with Alcibiades for Themistocles and Alcibiades were noted ambitious men in Athens and Aristides and Phocion knowne to be found and iust and if any seemed to seeke singularitie through ambition or otherwise among the Athenians he should be banished out of Athens by the lawe of Ostracismus So likewise among the Romanes as among the Greekes nothing was so common as banishment as in Athens Aristides for his iustice Milciades for his victories Phocion for his good life Socrates for his vertues Solon for his sound
gaue audience out of the citie to any forraine Embassador especially in matters of peace and after they would conduct the Embassadors to shipping to preuent practises and pollicies vnder colours of peace The Romanes in this imitated the Athenians who entertained the Embassadors of the Lacedemonians in like sort but Rome and Athens were much deceiued for the cities of Italy often rebelled against Rome and the cities of Greece against Athens Much murther and slaughter was euer found in the breach of faith and much mischiefe committed vnder colour of peace Godolias being made gouernour by Nabuchodonozer ouer the rest of Iudea after Ierusalem was destroyed was deceiued by the faire words of Ismael who came with ten men with him that were sworne to him to do what he would haue them to do in Mazphah to the house of Godoliah where he was well entertained but Ismael slew Godoliah all the Iewes and all the Chaldeys that Ismael found waighting on Godoliah and the next day after that Ismael had slaine Godolias certaine men came from Sychem from Siloh and from Samaria to the number of fourescore which had shaued their beards and rent their cloathes with meate offering and incense to offer in the house of the Lord. And Ismael went weeping out of Mazphah to meete them and said Come and goe to Mazphah to see Godoliah the Gouernour where Ismael slue them in the midst of Mazphah as hee did Godoliah in the one he deceiued Godolias with faire words in the other hee deceiued them with teares to come to Mazphah to see Godoliah whom he slue all sauing tenne and threw their bodies into one pit Triphon one of Ismaels broode after he had taken Ionathan by deceit he sent him to Ptolomeu where hee tooke Ionathans children for hostage and money for his redemption So Triphon promised to deliuer Ionathan but Triphon killed Ionathan and his children against his faith and promise and the law of armes of all nations Alexander king of Syria fled to Arabia to be defended from Ptolomeu his father in lawe king of Egipt but Zabdiel the Arabian slue him most treacherously and sent his head to Egipt to Ptolomeu Bacchides and Alcinus Gouernors vnder the most cruell king Demetrius slue threescore Assideans that came to entreat Antiochus for peace against the lawe of armes In like sort Nicanor thought to deceiue Machabaeus as Antiochus did vnder colour and pretence to seeke peace Met. Suffetius Generall of the Albaines promising by oath his faith and truth to the Romanes and that his friendship should not faile to be readie at the Romaines commaundement yet breaking his oath in the same practising his treachery against the Romane armie he was bound to two toppes of trees both hands and feete and terribly pulled in peeces by the trees The breach of faith by the lawe of armes set downe was euer among the Romaines most seuerely punished in so much that the Romaine souldiers stoned Posthumius for that he denied the spoile which he promised to the souldiers The like is read that the Embassadors of the Lacedemonians being sent to the king of Persia to haue his aide against the Athenians being in league with the Lacedemonians were taken and brought to Athens and by the Athenians slaine The Embassadors of Carthage and Macedonia because they did conspire against the Romaines contrary to their league were taken and by the law of armes iustly slaine Diuers Embassadors were slaine for breaking theyr leagues against the lawe of armes as the Embassadors of the Romanes were slaine by the Illyrians the Embassadors of the Athenians by the Persians the Embassadors of the Persians by the Macedonians the Embassadors of Dauid king of Iudah by the Ammonites not slain but ignominiously abused for Dauid sent his Embassadors to Ammō the king to comfort him for the death of his father in kindnes of good will but they had halfe their beards shaued and their garments cut off at their buttocks thus were they turned back in reproach without thankes to Dauid So were the Embassadors of the Romanes without cause against the lawe of armes most iniuriously slaine by the Illyrians who were gouerned vnder a woman to the great reproach of the Romaines but the Romane Embassadors being thus slain had their statues put vp in the Oratory and their names written vpon their Images P. Iunius T. Coruncanus but the Romanes reuenged it to the losse of their kingdome Thus euery where trechery and murther was committed in all countreys vnder colour of leagues and lawes broken and most time without eyther lawe or league but with violence and trecherie practised by many false stratagems among all nations As Zopyrus practised by a dissembling stratagem to bring the Persians into the hands of Cyrus though some say it was Darius by cutting deforming his face and mangling his body in this pittiful sort cōming to Babilō saigning and dissembling that he had hardly escaped frō Cyrus army promised the Babilonians to do them great seruice to reuenge his wrong if they would vse his seruice By these subtill and craftie meanes he brought Cyrus to be king of Babilon of this Zopirus Cyrus was wont to say that he wished as many friends like Zopirus as a Pomegranate had kernels The like stratagem vsed the Grecian Sinon for Agamemnon in the warres of Troy therefore Agamemnon said he had rather haue tenne Nestors or tenne Vlixes then tenne Achilles or tenne Aiax for more doth counsell and pollicie profit in warre then force or courage and therefore when Achilles dyed Aiax made claime to his armour as one that might claime it best by the lawe of Armes clayming a combat if any one would say the contrary Aiax being warned by his olde father Telamon when he went with Agamemnon from Greece to Troy to fight valiantly to aske at the gods hands good successe and fauour but Aiax more proud then wise answered his father that slouthfull men and cowards seeke helpe at Gods handes but said hee could ouercome without Gods helpe Vlixes also made claime to Achilles armour saying that his pollicie and counsell did profit more the Grecians in the warres at Troy then the sword of Aiax Agamemnon knowing how much pollicie and wise counsell auailed in wars gaue to Vlixes the armor of Achilles for Agamemnon said had he had but ten such councellors as Nestor was he doubted not but soone to subdue Troy So Cyrus spake of Zopirus and so Pirrhus spake of Romane souldiers Plus praestant senes consilio quam inuenes armis Thus the Polymarchies of the earth seeke to cōquer another world like Alexander being not cōtented with one and couer all the seas with their sailes like Xerxes and to build castles high vnto the heauens like Nimrod who wold build Babel to reach vp to heauen to reuenge the iniury done to his predecessors by the vniuersall deludge resembling much the battell of