Sicilia to Rome and Scypio Affrican was the first that shaued his beard in Rome It is written that Caesar the first Emperor of Rome so hated hairie heads that whersoeuer he met them he caused the hinder part of their head to be shaued that they might seeme bald because hee was bald himselfe Phillip king of Macedon vnderstanding that one of his Captaines died the haire of his head beard disgraded him from his place The like did Archidamus king of Sparta when he sawe one with coloured haire exhorting and animating the people forbad him straight to speake saying he could not haue a true tongue that had a false coloured head yet both Pirrhus and Hannibal in Italy coloured their haires but it was a stratagem to deceiue the enemies that they should not be knowne I come to speake of greater markes the markes of calling of Gods people both of the Iewes and of the Gentiles For as Abraham was the first man of the stocke of the Hebrewes that is called the Father of the faithfull so was he the first man marked amōg the Hebrewes to confesse the name of the Lord to whom the first promise was made who beeing admonished by an Oracle at 75. yeares of age to leaue the Chaldeans remoued to Carres a Citie of Mesopotamia where he buried his olde father Thare from thence Abraham remoued and went to dwell in the land of Canaan where so great a famine began that Abraham with his wife were forced to flie to Egipt where likewise he doubted that the beautie of Sarah should put him into much perill and daunger and therefore hee named her his sister and not his wife for he feared Pharao as he feared Abimelech king of Ierar saying to his wife Sarah I know thou art a faire woman and therefore they will destroy me for thy sake for I know the feare of God is not in these places But the Lorde deliuered Abraham from all this care and feare and vexed both king Pharao and Abimelech for their wicked thoughts and intention against Sarah with such terrour and feare by visions and vexations both of themselues of their people that they were warned by their owne Oracles to reuerence and to honour Abraham as a Prophet after which time Abraham continued in Egipt 3. yeares taught the Egiptians true religion and read Astronomy so long there in the which Science he being instructed in his owne Countrey among the Chaldeans the first learned Nation and Empire of the world Of this Abraham Berosus the Chaldean writer reporteth these words Post diluuium decimae aetate apud Chaldeos erat quidam iusticiae cultor Vir magnus syderalis sciētiae peritus And Damasenus also reporteth that Abraham dwelt in Damascus that at the time of Iosephus not only his name was much spoken of but also his house well knowne where hee dwelt in Damascus and therefore we will speake something of the Hebrewes of whom Abraham was the first Father of the faithful I am not ignorant that Heber was the first of the Hebrewes name before Abraham In those dayes seldom was seene any battel for the first and greatest onely battell among kings that we read of at that time was the battell at Siddim which was fought in the time of Abraham CHAP. II. Of the Battell at Siddim where foure kings were ouerthrowne by Abraham and Lot rescued IN this Battell met nine Kings togither to ioine battel foure against fiue the king of Shinaer the king of Ellasar the king of Elam and the king of the nations against the fiue kings of Pentapolis In this battell were Rephaims Emims and Horims Gyants which liued of theft and robbery in mount Seir and in other places yet in this battell the fiue kings of Pentapolis were ouerthrowne by the foure kings and fled and Lot the Nephew of Abraham was taken prisoner in this battell by the Assirian kings besides they tooke all the wealth and substance of these fiue kinges for a spoyle to the souldiers they were such kings at that time as had the whole Empire of Asia betweene them foure Abraham hearing this hard news of the ouerthrow of these kings his neighbors of Lot his nephew vsed this stratagem made strait after thē in the night time with his onely houshold seruants which were three hundred and eighteene came suddainly and set vpon them fought with them ouerthrew them and chased them to Dan where Abraham gaue them another battell recouered Lot the men the women captiues and all the wealth of the fiue Cities called Pentapolis and deliuered all the wealth to the kings of Zodom and Gomorrah the owners therof and kept no part to him nor to his souldiers This was a battell of the Lord that Abraham being but a priuate man with his houshold seruants ouerthrew foure of the greatest kings of Asia for in these battels of the Lord numbers are not respected As Gedeon marched with three hundred Souldiers against the Madianites and Amalekites who were like Grashoppers in number and like sandes of the sea in multitude yet were they ouerthrowne chased and slaine an infinite number by Gedeon and his three hundred souldiers with the like stratagem as Abraham did the Assirians So Dauid with foure hundred souldiers marched after the Amalekites after they had burned Ziclags and had taken Dauids two wiues with al the rest captiues slue ouerthrew them and rescued his wiues at Bezor with all the men women cattel wealth and all the spoyle which the Amalekites tooke away frō Ziclags But yet Dauid according to his maner wold neuer begin battel before he had consulted with the Lord commanded Abiather the Priest to bring him the Ephod and was assured thereby of the victorie ouer the Amalekites at Bezor as Gedeon was of his victorie ouer the Madianites So Abraham rescued Lot his Nephewe at the battel of Siddim where Melchisedech king of Salē for the victory therof met Abrahā entertained him his soldiers with great liberalitie Melchisedech offered gifts vnto Abrahā and sacrifice vnto the Lord with thanks for the victorie and Abraham gaue Melchisedech tythes of all the spoyles hee had by the victorie and deliuered it to the king of Zodom and the rest of the kings their wiues and all the men and women captiues which the foure kings tooke away and Abraham refused to take the worth of a shoe latchet at the king of Zodoms hand least he should say I haue made Abraham rich So that Abraham was in his own person in the first and greatest battel where nine kings met in battell after this Abraham returned to Canaan and dwelt in Hebron vntill Zodome and the rest of the fiue cities were destroied with fire from heauen in the sight of Abraham who but fewe yeares before defended Zodom from the foure kings of Assyria And at that time Abraham staied the Angels as they went to destroy Sodom vnder the oake of
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
Scypio Affrican for their victories to their countrey though they were compared to Hanibal for the harm hurt which they had done to their countrey Had Ieroboam harkned to the counsell of Abiah king of Iudah vpon mount Zemaraim he had saued fiue hundred thousand Israelites which were slaine at the battel If the Beniamites had taken counsel of their bretheren the Israelites and to yeeld vnto them the wicked mē that abused the Leuites wife the whole tribe of Beniamin had not bin destroied It was the ouerthrow of Iudas Machabaeus by Bacchides at the battell of Laisa for that he would not be perswaded by his friends to refraine the battell for that time Had the Prophet Ieremy beene heard of Zedechiah and the princes of Iudah Zedechiah had saued the liues of his owne children slaine in his sight and had likewise saued his owne eyes in his head which presently were pulled out after he saw his children slaine and himselfe caried captiue and blind vnto Babilon Ierusalem destroyed and the kingdome of Iudah subdued by Nabuchodonozer so it may be said of Saul refusing the counsell of Samuel and so of Iosias disobeying the counsell of Necho After the great victorie that Iudah had ouer Israel by Abiah king of Iudah his sonne Asa fought with Zerah king of Aethiopia an Infidel who brought an host of ten hundred thousand men three hundred chariots from Aethiope to Iudah and came to Maresha a citie of Iudah Asa the king of Iudah came with an army of fiue hundred and foure score thousand into the valley of Zephatah and both the kings set the battel in a ray But Asa began with praiers cryed vnto the Lord by praiers for the victorie putting no trust in his own power or pollicie neither fearing the strength of the multitude of his enemies so with full confidence in the Lord he set vpō the Aethiopians the Lord smote them before Asa and before Iudah that the Aethiopians fled and the army of Iudah followed and pursued them vnto Gerer for the Lord had striken the Aethiopians with such fear that there was no life in them that the slaughter was exceeding great the spoyle exceeding much of camels sheepe and cattell And Asa after the victorie which he had giuen him by the Lord returned to Ierusalem and gaue the Lord thankes who giueth all victories so as all good kings and generals ought to pray to the Lord before they enter into battell so ought they also to giue thankes after the battell for their victories This victory was a requitall and a full reuenge vpon the Aethiopians for the sacking and spoyling of Ierusalem and of the great slaughter of the people by Shesak king of Egipt In like maner as Abiah beganne with prayers before he beganne to battell so did king Asa his sonne follow his fathers rule and order in seeking helpe and aide at the Lords hand which euery King Generall or Captaine should doo So Iosaphat Asas sonne did when it was tolde him that the Moabites Ammonites Edomites came with an infinit number to fight against him he set himselfe to seeke the Lord and to aske counsell of him and all Iudah with him prayed vnto the Lorde to aide and strengthen him to fight the Lords battel wherby hee got a maruellous victorie ouer his enemies for before he went into the battell Iosaphat caused a Psalme of thankesgiuing to the Lord to be sung before the men of armes and so entred the battell and the Lord laide ambushments and shewed such stratagems against Ammon Moab and Edom that euery one helped to destroy another and the Lord turned euery mans sword to kill his fellow Where the Lorde leadeth the armie the victorie is soone gotten so Iosaphat putting his whole trust confidence in the Lord slue all his enemies that none did escape and the spoyle was such of golde of siluer and pretious Iewels that they were three dayes in gathering and in carrying the spoyle away and then they assembled together after the victorie by Iosaphats commaundement to giue the Lord thankes for the victory and called the place where they got the victory Berachab and they returned to Ierusalem with violls harpes and with trumpets These three battels of Abiah Asa and Iosaphat were battells of the Lord and as the Lord had done at that battell at Michmash to Ionathan so the Lord did now at the battell at Beracha to Iosaphat and so the Lord in all the battels of the good kings of Iudah and Israel shewed alwaies his diuine stratagems for the defence of Ierusalem as in Egipt by Moses against Pharao by Elias at the brooke Kyson against Baals prophets by Elizeus at Dothan against king Benhadads souldiers The Gentiles in like sort commence no warre enter no battell before they sing a song vnto their gods as the Lacedemonians brought vp onely in warre from seuen yeares old vsed before they went to the warres to make solemne sacrifice to the Muses to the goddesse Feare with a song to Castor Pollux The Thrasians sing a song to their god Mars and bragge much of Mars for that he was borne in Thracia Others made vowes when they went to any warres As among the Romanes their wiues their children and their friends should make vowes and cause the same to be written in tables and to be set on that gate through the which they went out of the citie to warre that vpon their return home they might see and read their vowes and performe them The three hundred Fabians which were slaine at the battell at Crimera the gate that they went through out of Rome then was euer called after that Porta Scelerata So did the Romains likewise call the field where one of the Vestal virgins called Minutia for her incest carnall fault was buried in the field was called Sceleratus Campus according to the Romain lawes made for the Vestal virgins that so offended We leaue the prophane marching of the Romanes and the Greekes and we will returne to the marching of Israel vnder king Asa and king Iosaphat his sonne who both by praiers obtained great victories as all the Israelites preuailed more by praier then by fight As by praier Ioshua made the Sun to stand stil ouer Gibeon and the Moone ouer Aialon By praier Elias made the cloudes to fall raine By praier Moses made his enemies to flie Elizeus raised the dead to life Solomon obtained wisdom So long as the Lord taketh not away thy praying so lōg he doth not take away his grace mercy from thee for a wicked man cannot pray well and he that praieth wel cannot liue wickedly And therfore praiers are compared to Sampsons haires for as Sampsons strength laie in his haires so our strength lieth in praiers Ester praied to haue that to come to proud Ammon which Ammon wished to haue done to Mardochaeus and the
poore Iewes Iudith praied at the striking and the cutting off of Holofernes head which blasphemed the Lord and wold preferre Nabuchodonozer before the God of Israel Susan praied vnto the Lord for her innocēcy against the false Iudges at Babilō that accused her of incōtinency and they were stoned to death by meanes of Daniel We read also of Iud. Machabaeus a noble captaine of the Iewes that he neuer entred into any battell before he praied yet was hee in twelue set battels and in euery one obtained victorie sauing at the last at what time some write hee praied not where hee was slaine in the field by Bacchides and his people ouerthrowne As you heard of good kings by praiers that wanne victories so also shall you heare of wicked Idolatrous kings as Achas who caused an Idolatrous Altar to be made in Iudah like the Altar at Damascus and consecrated his sonne in fire and offered him to Moloch In like sort the king of Moab supposing his Idol Chemosh to be angry with him slue and sacrificed his eldest sonne that should haue raigned next after him King and offered him as a burnt offering to his God Chemosh vpon the walles of the Towne As Achab and Manasses Kings of Iudah did sacrifice their children in the valley of Hynnon to Moloch for Achab was one of the first kings that brought the name of Baal into Israel and mainteined betweene him and his wife Iezabel foure hundred and fiftie false prophets of Baal Achas had good king Ezechias to his sonne but Achas the father walked not vprightly before the Lorde as his sonne Ezechias did but made moulten Images for Baalim and burnt Incense in the valley of Benhynnon sacrificed his sonnes and burnt them with fire and offered them vnto his god Moloch and sought helpe at the gods of Damascus at Chemosh god of the Moabites Milcombe god of the Ammonites and other straunge gods and therefore the Lord gaue him ouer and deliuered him into the hands of the king of the Aramites and he smote him and slue a great number of his soldiers brought many prisoners of Iudah with him to Damascus Againe the Lord deliuered Achas into the hand of the king of Israel Phaekah and he slue in one day six score thousand in Iudah and tooke two hundred thousand prisoners of women sonnes daughters and brought them into Samaria with all the spoyle The Edomites slue of them of Iudah a great number and carried many captiues away Marke what mischiefe happeneth where an euil king doth raigne The Philistines also inuaded the cities of Iudah and tooke Aialon Gederith and other cities of Iudah and thus were they vexed by the Aramites Edomities and Philistines and by the Israelites being their owne nation for that Achas king of Iudah forsooke the Lord and sought helpe at strange gods and not at the hands of the god of Israel After wicked Achas the good king Ezechias his sonne succeeded he was to commence a battell with Senacherib who blasphemed the Lord and threatned destruction to Ierusalem but the Prophet Esay had instructed Ezechiah that this was the Lords battell that he would be reuenged vpō the blasphemy of Senacherib for proud Ashur challenged the Lord into the field to fight with him saying what god could take Iudah out of his hand he numbred the kings and their gods which he and his fathers destroied and with horrible blasphemy perswaded the king of Iudah not to trust to his god but to yeeld vnto him but the lord did put his hooke in his nosthrils and his bridle in his lips as the Lord had told Ezechiah the king by Esayas the prophet that Senacherib with all his army should not come to Ierusalem nor shoote an arrow there for the battel is mine saith the Lord. And hee sent his Angels that night which destroyed all the princes all the captaines and all the valiant men of Ashur and all the whole army of Senacherib to the number of an hundred foure score and sixe thousand without the drawing of one sword of Iudah and Senacherib fled with tenne men with him some thinke that Nabuchodonozer was one but I thinke time will not so allow for he was at that time but a very childe But Senacherib fled to Niniuie where he was slaine in the temple praying before his Idoll Nisroch whom he preferred before the liuing God that by his two sonnes the iust iudgement of the Lord for his blasphemy to be slaine before his owne god before whom he worshipped and prayed when he was slaine by his owne sonnes and thus we see in all iust battels whē we serue the Lord trust onely in him that victories come not by man but by the Lord. Iosaphat a good king had Ioram an euil king to his son a murtherer of his bretheren Ezechias a good king in Ierusalem had Manasses to his sonne a wicked Idolater who filled all the streets of Ierusalem with bloud Iosias a good godly king had to his fonnes Ioachas and Ioachim who were taken captiues by Nabuchodonozer into Babilon for their transgressions and sins at what time Daniel was taken captiue and many other gentlēmen of Iudah euen Ierusalem whom the Lord had defended frō the sword of Senacherib and from all the kings of Egipt and Ashur yet when the sinnes of Ierusalem were ripe it was deliuered into the hand of Nabuchodonozer to be carried captiue into Babilon as Samaria was to Niniuie by Salmanasher one hundred thirtie and three years before Iudahs captiuitie After Ashur had taken the ten tribes of Israel away he brought from Bethel from Cutha from Anah and frō Amath straunge people and placed them in the cities of Samaria in stead of the children of Israel and of these people came the Samaritans of whom mention is made often in the gospel with whom the Iews would haue no societie for so the woman spake to Christ at Iacobs well that why he being a Iew should aske water of a Samaritan This time Zedechiah the king gaue no hearing to the Prophet Ieremy who forewarned the king of their destruction to be at hand for the which the Prophet was imprisoned first by Fashur high bishop of the tēple who smote Ieremy and put him in the stockes strooke him as Zedechiah the false Prophet strook Micha who was after commaunded by Achab to be imprisoned as Ieremy the Prophet was and by meanes of the nobles of Iudah to king Zedechiah Ieremy was imprisoned in a dirtie dungeon Ieremy notwithstanding spared not to tell them that they should die an horrible death and should lie as dung vpon the earth and no man to burie them wherat they were so moued saying let vs not regard his words and let vs cut out his tongue The citizens of Anathot commaunded Ieremy not to preach vnto them in the name of the Lord if thou do thou shalt
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
could bee as though he were their true and lawfull king but being brought to Rome before Caesar who found by the hardnesse of his hands and rudenesse of his behauiour that hee was not brought vp like a Kings sonne and therefore Caesar hauing found his falshood bound him all his life time as a galley slaue and commaunded all his counsellors and conspirators to bee killed with the sword This house continued vntill the last destruction of Ierusalem So that the Iewes after Christ his death beeing euery where afflicted and oppressed from Babilon were forced to flie to Zeleucia the chiefe Citie in all Syria which Zeleucus Nicanor builded a Towne where Greekes Macedonians and Syrians dwelt together there also the Greekes and the Syrians conspired together against the Iewes that there dwelt and slew trecherously of them to the number of 50000. So sedition also began between the Iewes in Alexandria and the Aegiptians in Samaria betweene the Samaritans and the Iewes and all the Iewes which dwelt in Rome in Sardinia other places of the Romaine Empire were from thence banished These Iewes had not so much as a place to rest vpon the earth but were scattered like rogues vagabounds euery where without credit or loue without Prince Priest law or religion the iust iudgement of the Lord for their blasphemy against the sonne of God saying his bloud be vpon vs and our children Thus the Iewes whom Moses Aaron brought out of Egipt to the number of six hundred thousand died all in the wildernesse for their rebellious mutinie Moses and Eleazer after Aarons death numbred the people in the wildernesse where all the other died and they found sixe hundred thousand seuenteen hundred and thirtie able and sufficient men for the warres and yet not one of them which Moses Aaron numbred in the desart of Sinai after they came out of Egipt sauing Ioshua Caleb but died in the wildernesse for disobedience and stubbernesse euer preferring the cucumbers melons oynions garlicks of Egipt before Māna quailes and sweete water which they had from euery rocke in the wildernesse where neither their cloathes were worne nor their shooes spent for fortie yeares yet Egipt which should be a hel to them was their paradice The tenne Tribes of Israel raigned in Samaria 240. yeares seuen moneths and seuen daies during which time they neither obeyed the lawes of the Lord nor heard the Prophets that forewarned them of these calamities which were to come and therfore the Lord gaue them ouer they were taken prisoners their last king Osea brought captiues by Salmanasser vnto Niniuie So the kingdome of Iudah and the house of Dauid was likewise taken by Nabuchodonozer in the eleuenth yeare of Zedechiah the last king of Iudah who was taken captiue his noble men his children slaine in his sight before his eyes were pluckt out and after led in a chaine vnto Babilon where he died in prison 133. yeares after the kingdome of Israel was destroyed by Salmanasser that was the cause of his miserable end for the contempt he had to the Prophet Ieremy disdaining either to hear him or to read his booke for before any king raigned in Israel Iudges by the Lord appointed ruled 370. yeares the kings of Iudah after Solomons death raigned 395. yeares which agreeth well with Iosephus account And so of the continuance of the Bishops or high Priests euen from the building of the temple of Solomon Sadoc being their first high Priest or Bishop were seuēteene high Priests or Bishops in Ierusalem by succession of the children after their fathers The end of the second booke The third Booke of the Stratagems of Ierusalem CHAP. I. Of the care and diligence which Kingdomes and Countries tooke in military discipline to exercise their souldiers THe Romanes most carefull in all military discipline in no wise trusted strangers but euery Romaine souldier should take a military oath by the Colonell The Persiās also were in this point like the Romains for not admitting of mercenary souldiers seldome is found any constancie or soundnesse in mercenary souldiers as by too many examples the Romanes and others found Iugurth by trechery of fewe Thracians that serued the Romanes in Affrike in the night time betraied the Romanes to Iugurth and made a great slaughter of them In like sort the Thessalians were trecherous to the Athenians whom they trusted but they forsooke the Athenians at the battel of Tanagra wherby through their falsehood and trecherie to the Athenians the victorie fell to the Lacedemonians therefore neither the Romanes nor the Persians trusted any mercenary souldiers for mercenary souldiers and strangers are not to be trusted for they doo not onely forsake their friends in any danger but ioyne with the enemy for any aduantage So did the Gaules in the warres of Carthage slew the watch of the Romanes and fled to Haniball The lawe of armes in euery countrey should holde and maintain the crowne dignity of the prince by the sword so most necessary it is that subiects should be looked vnto with great care and prouision to maintain the willing forward and good souldiers due punishmēts and sharpe corrections for euill leaud wicked disposed men carelesse of their countries good How carefull euery common-wealth hath bene of this you shall read first of euery kingdome country seueral punishments by law appointed after of the rewards honor dignities of good souldiers of which Plato saith Omnis respub paena Praemio continetur Agesilaus therefore appointed gifts and rewards to draw and encourage his souldiers to shoote to throwe the dart the sling to ride to runne and with diligence and care to keepe them seuerely from faults offences and to exercise them in martiall feates which kinde of exercise among the Greekes was most commonly vsed called Pentatlon in the games of Olympia Isthmia to honor Hercules and Thesius two protectors and principall captaines that loued souldiers Alexander the great was so seuere in martiall lawes towards his souldiers that if any souldier or captain shuld lye or be any way proued a lyer hee should be depriued frō his office and place of seruice banished from his camp for so was Antigenes though a valiant captaine otherwise yet was both casseerd banished for making of a lye Alexander after he had banished all bakers cookes brewers and such like frō his campe said that marching in their armour in the night they should prouide them a dinner a stomacke to eate theyr dinner against the next morning as for a supper he said they should not looke for wine nor flesh to sleepe after it but for bread and hee would prouide for water which is the onely foode of a souldier and the most necessary care of a generall Hereby his souldiers being brought vp by Philip king of Macedonia his father were hardned with continuall paine
change frō the names of Greeke Princes to bee named oxen of Lucania Bookes are no otherwise for in auntient time when bookes were yet rare they were fellowes and companions with Kings Princes in courts it so seemed by Alexander the great who could not sleepe before he laid Homer with his dagger vnder his pillow and by Scypio Affrican who would not frō Rome to Carthage without either Panetius or Polybius in his company and now bookes being common are so little regarded rather bought for their golden tytles which the Printer giueth them for his sale then for the matter therein by the Author written for the Revder much like to Mithridates sword whose scabbard was farre more precious and richer without then the blade within Of such bookes Plato speaketh Qui subitò vno die nati celerimè pereunt therfore seldome seene in sight are most in request The Ebaine tree which Pompey the great brought in his triumph into Rome was more wondred gazed vpon then all the braue shewes of the triumph besides So fewe wise words out of a wise mans mouth are more esteemed then heapes of wordes out of an vnwise mouth like the Abderites Embassadors more desirous to heare fewe words out of Zeno the Philosophers mouth then of all the Athenians besides and therfore Pau. Aemilius after he had subdued the king and kingdome of Macedonia wrote no more to the Senators but Victus est Perseus Caesar after he had conquered king Pharnaces wrote no more words but Veni vidi vici Like the Lacedemonians whose writings and speeches were so short and briefe that they would answer either Embassadors friends or foes by writing or by mouth in two or three words And so with the like fewe words I referre my selfe to the gentle disposition of the reader rather to excuse my trauell in curtesie then to accuse my goodwill wrongfully Lodowick Lloid The first Booke of the Stratagems of Ierusalem CAAP. I. Of diuers Battels and Combats Of seuerall markes of diuers nations vpon the good and bad Of the calling of Abraham and of his praise and trauell THe whole BIBLE is a Booke of the Battels of the Lord and the whole life of a man a militarie marching to these Battells betweene the seede of the womā the Serpent which Battel was first fought in heauē betweene Michael and his Angels and the Dragon and his angels at what time Satan was ouerthrowne and cast out of heauen with all his angels with him The second Battell was in Paradise fought betweene the seede of the woman and the seede of the Serpent where likewise Sathan was ouerthrowne for then it was promised that the seede of the woman should tread downe the Serpents head thereby perpetuall warre was publikely proclaimed in Paradise to continue betweene the seed of the woman and Sathan and therefore are the battels of the Lord innumerable in respect of number for that euery liuing man must fight in this battell in his owne person for his owne life and inuincible in respect of power and force for all battels and victories are of the Lord yea euen amongst Infidels and Pagans Which if the Hebrewes had so acknowledged it and had marched truly and faithfully in the Lords battels they should haue acknowledged this to haue bin their true Oracle that all victories come from the Lord and not from the arme of man Thē the Hebrewes might haue known that Egipt where they had bene bondmen and slaues 430. yeares was giuen to them for a pray frō the Lord by the hands of Moises and Aron and after Egipt the Canaanites Edomites Moabites Ammonites Philistines and diuers other nations were also giuen into their hands they might haue acknowledged that the ouerthrow of 39. Kings was no small bootie to such simple men as were no souldiers by education but brought vp as shepheards from Abrahams time to Moises But they forgot the great armies and legions of Frogges Flies Grashoppers and such armies which the Lord prouided to fight for them while yet they were bondmen in Egipt where they had ten victories and ten tryumphs some in the midst of the land of Egipt some in the midst of the Court of Pharao and some in the midst of the red sea to the wonder and terrour of the whole world The Hebrues might likewise haue knowne that the Chaldeans were giuē to the hands of the Assyrians the Assyrians to the Persians the Persians to the Macedonians the Macedonians to the Romanes Yet all these miraculous victories which the Lorde gaue the Hebrewes ouer so many Kings and Countries could not make them to acknowledge the author thereof but what victories soeuer the good kings of Iudah got by seruing of the Lord that the euil wicked Kings both of Iuda Israel lost by their Idolatry and contempt of the Lord vntill they themselues were rooted out of their Countrey slain and ouerthrowne and their Kings taken carried captiues the one by Salmanasser to the Assirians the other by Nabuchodonozer into Babilon of whom you shall reade more of them and of their warres hereafter And now I thinke it most conuenient to speake somewhat of diuers seuerall combats which is the strongest and onely battaile for in this battaile euery man must first ouercome himselfe and after be ready armed to fight with Sathan and his souldiers the onely enemie of man against whom all men are bounde by the vow of Cherim to fight the battels of the Lord. We are commanded to be as subtill as Serpents to preuent the subtill stratagems of Sathan with spirituall weapons who from the beginning against the Lord in heauen and against man in Paradise practised his policies this is the old Dragon which Michael threw downe out of heauen this is the serpent which the seed of the woman subdued in Paradise this is that ghostly enemy which practised his stratagem by his seruant Pharo in Egypt not onely by making a lawe and decree first to kill the Hebrewes children and after by a second decree to drowne them in Nilus least he should be deceiued in the first but also with a like stratagem by his seruant Herod to kill to the number of 14000. yong Infants in Bethelem and in Iuda among the which he sought Christ therefore we are commanded to be strong and valiant as the Lord commanded not only Ioshua Dauid and others of his owne seruants but also Nabuchodonozer and Cyrus In these kinde of battels or combats euery man must be armed with such spirituall weapons as is by Paul the Apostle appointed to resist the violence of so great an enemy who doth not only assault vs abroad but in our chambers yea in our beds we must therefore wrestle with this enemy as Iacob wrestled with the Angell for the which he was named Israel as Iob wrestled with Sathan for the which the Lord called him his seruant Iob Or as Dauid did with the Gyant Goliah for the which he was annointed King
Mambre where he feasted them and intreated them on the behalfe of Zodome that if ten godly men might be found in it the citie might be saued but none was found there but iust Lot at this verie time vnder the oake of Mambre Isaac was promised to Abraham for so the Lorde named him at that time Sarah his mother being 90. yeares old So Samuel was borne of Anna his mother so Iacob and so Ioseph his sonne were borne of barren women as Isaac was foure also were named before they were borne Ismael the sonne of Abraham by Agar Isaac Solomon and Iosias Now againe to Abraham after Lot was rescued by him Lot dwelt againe in Zodom among reprobates and wicked vngodly men being named iust Lot hard it was for Lot to liue honest or iust among such wicked Zodomites and yet in Zodom Lot saued himself but in Zoar Lot was ouerthrowne Abraham could rescue Lot at the battell at Dan from 4. kings the Angels could saue Lot from the fire brimstone in Zodom yet could not Lot saue himself from drunkennesse in Zoar so fowle a fact by so iust a man may not be much spoken off Hence grew the first beginning of the Moabites and Ammonites enemies vnto God so much may be spoken of Ismael Abrahams sonne by Agar who grew so great so mighty on earth that they would not be called Agareni from Agar the bond-woman their mother from whence they tooke their beginning but they would be called Saraceni as borne of Sarah the true wife of Abrahā as the Ammonites and Moabites were left to plague the Hebrewes as pricks in their sides and needles in their eyes so the Saracens Turkes are now left to plague the Christians with sword and fire Before the battell at Siddim no battels in a manner haue bene fought but what was by Nimrod don who liued within a hundred thirtie yeares of the flood at what time people liued not knowing the name of a king vntill Nimrod grew so mightie and so great that hee brought the people vnder subiection in such feare and awe of him that they rather worshipped him as a God then obeyed him as a king whereof Nimrod waxed so proud that it grew to a prouerbe that if any Monarke or King should waxe too insolent or proud he should be noted named hic alter Nimrod for now Nimrod hauing obtained the Monarchy into his hands without resistance he called the people together to make a Tower frō the earth vnto heauē to reuenge the iniuries of his predecessors and to defend himselfe his Empire and to resist the violence of any further deludge He for want of men to fight withal on earth made a Tower that he might ascend vp to goe fight with the host of heauen So Cyrus imitating Nimrod hauing subdued all nations and kingdomes about him went for want of men to fight against him to fight against women into Scythia Alexander also imitating Cyrus after he had subdued all men and that no king would fight against him he went vnto India to fight with Elephants Leauing Nimrod to build his Towers in the aire Cyrus to fight with women in Scythia and Alexander the great to fight with Elephants in India we come to Ninus who tooke vpon him to be the first Monarch ouer the Assirians 150. yeares after Nimrod who after hee had ioyned his force with Aricus king of Arabia hee went with his army against Babilon subdued it and brought it into Assyria led his army vnto Armenia gaue battell to the Armenians subdued them also tooke their king Barsanes and went conquering all the kingdomes about vntill he came vnto Medea where the king fought with Ninus and the battell was equally fought of both parts but after that in another battell Ninus ouerthrewe the Meades and tooke their King in the battell and hangd him his wife and his seuen children in his owne kingdome So that within seuenteene yeares Ninus subdued all Asia and became so great that if the authors write truth hee had such an armie as none is read to haue the like especially at that time when the world was not populous within 50. yeares after the flood Before Ninus the Greeke nor the Romane writers make no mention of any warre or battell who proceeded forward and marched after he had conquered Arabia Medea and Babilon vnto the Bactrians and fought with Zoroastes their king who is said to haue first found the Art of Astronomy and Magique but this Zoroastes was slain in the field by Ninus and Ninus himselfe slaine with an arrow as Orosius saith others say that hee was slaine by his wife Semyramis It is written of this Zoroastes that when all other Infants weepe at their birth he laught In Ninus time we reade of the first Idolatry in scripture and that by Ninus himselfe who set vp the Image of Belus his father in a Temple which Ninus made dedicated to his father Belus after his death in Niniuie where all the countries and people came to worship and reuerence the name of Belus which grew in such credit in Asia and the East kingdomes that there was no lawe nor religion but what by Baals Priests and Baals Prophets were allowed And at that time that Nabuchodonozer raigned in Babilon a thousand yeares after Ninus Baal was so reuerenced and honored in Babilon that if any man should speake words against Baal or not kneele to him or worship him should die for it So was Sydrach and his fellowes throwne into a hot fierie fornace to be burned So was Daniel throwne into a denne to be deuoured of Lyons but neither Lyons nor fire had power to hurt the seruants of the Lord. This Baal was the onely Idoll in the East countrey vntill Elias found out the shifts of the false Prophets of Baal in the time of Achab King of Israel who first nourished Baals prophets in Israel After Elias Daniel found out in Babilon the falshood of Baals priestes how they cousoned Nabuchodonozer for his great allowance of bread wine and meate Leauing Belus to be the first Idoll and Ninus the first Idolater after whom little mention is made of the most part of the kings of Assyria sauing a catologue of their names though the Greekes as theyr manner is speake more then needs of them for the which Berosus the Chaldean writer doth much reprehend them for it and Plato their owne countrey man called them children for that they are addicted vnto fables and not giuen to learne antiquities but letting the Assirians to sleepe in silence I will returne to the marching of the Hebrewes vnder Moses out of Egipt CHAP. III. Of the calling of Moses and Aaron to lead the children of Israel out of Egipt THe Hebrewes which were 430. years bōdmē slaues vnto Pharao in Egipt vntil they multiplied to be such in number as Pharao doubted either to let them goe
this bloudie Emperour Valerianus left no place vnsought to persecute the remnant of the Christians which his predecessors could not find with sword and fire vntil he himself was taken his army ouerthrown by Sapor King of Persia who tooke him and kept him in prison all his life time in bondage and slauery vsing him as a blocke to mount on horsebacke things hard and straunge to the Romanes to haue their Emperour in such slauish seruice to become a vassal and a blocke for Sapor King of Persia to lay his foote vpon his necke to goe on horse And was not the great Turke Pazaites ouerthrown and his Army slaine at Mount Stella by Tamberlane a rude and barbarous Scithian and himselfe taken and kept in a cage vnder his table and carried him in that cage in all his warres during Tamberlanes life so that the great Emperour of Rome died as a blocke for King Sapor in Persia and Pazaites the great Turke died in Tamberlanes cage as a captiue in Scythia So Pharao in diuers battels was ouerthrowne by Moses and vsed as a blocke and at last drawne as it were by a corde like a dogge by Moses from Egipt into the redde sea and there to dye as you shall read in the two next plagues that followe CHAP. Of the ninth and tenth plagues of the Egiptians compared with the ninth and tenth persecutions of the Christians MOses is sent from the Lord to Pharao and commanded to hold out his hand vnto heauen that there was darknesse vpon all the land of Egipt such palpable darknesse that neither fire candle torch or any light might giue thē light it was such palpable darknesse that the Egiptians might feele it and this darknesse continued three daies long that one might not see an other Yet Pharaos heart was so hardned that now in his furie and rage he commaunds Moses and Aaron to goe out of his sight threatning them with death if they came any more before him though in the last plague he requested Moses and Aaron to pray for him and to forgiue him his sinnes but then were his words full of dissimulation and his repentance full of hypocrisie hee could say I haue sinned but he could not say I haue repented and beforie for his sinnes The ninth persecution vnder Aurelianus in Rome may throughly bee likened to the ninth plague vnder Pharao in Egipt The like threatnings of speech and the like words that Pharao vsed to Moses and Aaron in Egipt the like vsed Aurelianus against the Christians in Rome but it contiued not long for he was slaine as others his predecessors were And as for the great palpable darknesse in Egipt so was it in Rome when their minde was more darke then darknesse it selfe The Egiptians hated not the Hebrews so much as the Romanes hated the Christians For Pilate the Romane presidēt in Ierusalem which gaue sentence on Christ to die and sawe many myracles done by him sent Letters to his maister Tiberius the Emperor and to the Senators recyting the myracles that Christ had done before he died saying hee was worthy to bee canonized placed among the Romane goddes which all the Senators with one consent denied though Caesar requested them first and threatned them after yet Christ was not allowed to be a Romane God Tiberius without effect of his good motion died so did that wicked Emperor Aurelianus in the midst of his cruel persecutions After whō succeeded a good valiant Emperor Flam. Claudius so valiāt that he vanquished the Gothes the Illyrians and Macedonians whereby in Rome he was so honoured that the Senators sent to him a goldē Target which afterward was set vp in the shew-place and a golden statue to stand in the Capitoll but he died too timely of a sicknesse at Sirmium After him succeeded his brother Aurel. Quintilius a good moderate Emperour equall or rather to be preferred before his brother but he was slaine within 18. daies after hee was elected Emperour by the souldiers These good Emperors onely I name for that persecutions were euer executed by cruel Kings and Emperors But these cruell Emperours as they cruelly destroyed others so cruelly were they destroyed after as some of them were killed by theyr owne handes as Nero some murthered by their owne seruants as Domitianus some suddenly slaine riding by the high way as Decius some banished died in straunge Countreys as Seuerus others died captiues in bondage and slauerie as Valerianus did in Persia others eaten with cankers wormes as Maximinius others murthered one after an other as Aurel. Tacit. and Florianus Thus were those Emperours slaine and murthered that cruelly persecuted the Christians The Lorde beeing determined now to finish his plague in Egipt and to bring his people away willed euery man and euery woman to borrow of their neighbours Iewels of gold and siluer for Moses was verie great in the land of Egipt with Pharao and with the people for before this Pharao had appointed Moses Generall of the Egiptians against the king of Aethiopia which I wrote in the Historie of Moses Yet said the Lord I will bring one plague more vpon Pharao and vpon Egipt and after that he will let you goe hence for all the first borne of the land of Egipt shall die euen from the first borne of Pharao that sitteth on his seate vntill the first borne of the maide seruant that sitteth in the mill The Lord knew at that time how to saue the Hebrewes in Gosen from all the plagues in Egipt and to saue Noah from the geneall deluge in the Arke to saue Lot from fire and brimstone in Zodome and to saue the Christians from the destruction of Ierusalem in Pella As this tenth plague was the greatest and the heauiest so the tenth persecution was the greatest and the longest vnder Dioclesian in the East parts and vnder Maximianus in the West either of them persecuting and afflicting with such slaughters of martyred Christians that for the space of tenne yeares for so long continued the tenth persecution there was nothing but the wonted bloudie persecution sword and fire by the commaundements of both these Emperours with most extremitie to bee executed and as vnder Nero the first persecution began so vnder Dioclesian it ended For the Church of God so flourished the Christians so encreased and the godly martyrs so multiplyed that these tyrants were wearie to persecute them any longer At that very time when persecution ended vnder Dioclesian then heresie began to spring vnder Sathan for when one stratagem of Sathan faileth he practiseth an other Now Arius marcheth with his Antitrinitary crew and set themselues in battell against the Lord with horrible and blasphemous weapons and as the Poets faine the Gyants set themselues in battell against the Sun the Moone and the Stars so this crew of heretikes set themselues to fight against God the Father the Sonne and the holy
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
Tarentum against Pirrhus vsed the like stratagem shewing a bloudy sword in his hand saying to his souldiers that it was the bloud of Pirrhus whom he slew with his owne hand thereby to moue the souldiers to greater courage to fight more manfully Souldiers ought not to be terrified with the multitude of enemies with slaughters of their Armies wherby Cities Townes and Countries reuolt to the enemies as at the battell at Canne the report of Varro the Consul of the ouerthrow of the Romanes caused all the citie of Capua to reuolt to Haniball Againe the report in Praeneste of the ouerthrowe of Sylla by Telesinus at the battell of Antemna and of the marching of Telesinus towards Rome with all his whole Army it so affrighted Offella one of Syllas Colonels that he at that time besieging Praeneste thought to raise his siege hearing such hard newes of Sylla the Generall Skilfull Generalls and wise Captaines vsed euer to couer and conceale the multitude of enemies as Milciades Themistocles and other Greeke captaines kept the innumerable multitude of the Persian Armies secret from the souldiers So did Mardonius conceale from Xerxes the great slaughter of the Persians in Greece The Romanes being besieged by the Gaules many of the chiefe Romanes to the number of a thousand fled into their Capitoll The Gaules hauing possessed the Cittie of Rome for seuen moneths expecting the yeelding of the Capitoll the Romanes also within the Capitoll hauing welnigh consumed their victuals vsed this stratagem to throwe loaues of bread in euery place out of the Capitoll in such abundance though at that time they wanted prouision of bread that the Gaules were amazed suspecting they had prouision inough to hold out that they presently fell to composition with the Romanes The Thracians beeing besieged on such a straight hill where their enemies could haue no accesse to come vnto them and readie to die for famine vsed this stratagem to feed certaine beasts with wheate and cheese and to let the beasts goe downe towards their enemies Camp which being takē of the enemies and killed they found wheate and cheese in the bowels of the beastes thinking thereby that the Thracians had bin well victualled and prouided remoued their siege Clearchus the Lacedemonian vnderstanding that the Thracians had caried sufficient prouision of victuals for themselues vp to the mountaines to their Campe the Thracians sent their Embassadors still expecting when Clearchus for want of victuals would remoue his siege Clearchus knowing that the Thracian Embassadors were comming vsed this stratagem commaunded one of the captiues to bee slaine to bee deuided in peeces and to be distributed betweene him and other tenne of his captains in his pauiliō in the very sight of the Thracian Embassadors the sight whereof made the Thracians so astonished and thereby to yeeld thinking that they that could feed on such foode might continue too long for the Thracians to endure it But the Sonne of God gaue himselfe to be slaine for his souldiers to bee their spirituall foode to feed them both in body and soule to wearie Satan which still continueth his siege against Ierusalem I shall haue occasion to write of more stratagems hereafter and therefore I returne to the battels of the Hebrewes against the Canaanites CHAP. XIII Of the great victorie had ouer fiue Kings in the plaine of Moab by Ioshua Of their vnthankfulnesse afterward disobedience and of their marshall punishment therefore A Great battell was fought in the plaine of Moab commaunded by the Lord vnto Moses where fiue Kings of the Madianites were slaine their names you may read in the margeant all their villages and citties burnt with fire all their people slaine with the sword the Hebrewes tooke all the spoile and all the pray both of men and beasts and Moses was angry with the Captains of the host for sparing the women as Samuel was with king Saul for sparing Agag king of the Amalekites and Elizeus with Achab for sparing Benhadad and caused all women that had knowne men carnally to be slaine with the sword and to saue those that were virgins that knew no man which were two and thirtie thousand whereby it appeared that innumerable was the slaughter of men women and children in this battell where two and thirtie thousand virgins were found and reserued to liue whereby also the spoyle and pray was very rich in this battell to the Hebrewes In this battell was not one slaine of Ioshuas souldiers All the Captains and Colonels of the Army came before Moses saying thy seruants haue taken the number of all the men of warre which are vnder our authoritie and there lacketh not a man of vs. This was a stratagem of Ierusalem in the battels of the Lord that not one man died of the army in so great a victory The Lacedemonians reioyced much that Archidamus had obtained a great victorie got great spoile and slew many of his enemies without the loosing of one of his souldiers and therfore called it Bellumsine lachrimis Yet the Hebrewes for their three former victories at Riphidim at Horma and in the plaine of Moab were vnthankfull vnto the Lord and murmured and rebelled against Moses and Aaron and after against Ioshua Caleb as at Taberah where they so murmured against Moses their Generall that the Lord was so displeased with them that he executed martiall lawes vpon them for the fire of the lande burnt them and consumed the vtmost part of theyr Army because of their disobedience Moses sister Myria for that she spake against the Generall and began to rebel in the campe martiall laws were executed vpon her she was not spared for that she was Moses sister nor Moses himselfe when he had offended the Lord at the water of Meribah shee was made leaprous and shut out of the host seuen dayes vntill shee had due punishment for her seditious mutinie and prayers made by Moses before she was receiued into the host Againe Coreh Dathan and Abiron conspired and rebelled against their Generall with two hundred and fiftie souldiers that were famous in the Congregation and men of renowme but the lawe of armes was most terribly executed the ground claue asunder vnderneath them and opened her mouth and swalowed them aliue with all their treasures and wealth and all their families Againe they murmured against Ioshua and Caleb that the whole multitude would haue stoned Ioshua Caleb so seuere was the Lord against his owne people the Hebrewes for their disobedience and murmuring that he vsed martiall lawes vpon them that all they that came out of Egipt sixe hundred thousand for their disobedience against the Lorde and rebellious mutinies from time to time from place to place at Horeb at Taberah at Massa at Riphidim at Meribah died in the wildernesse for the Lord accepteth obedience more then sacrifice And therefore Noah for that he obeyed the Lord in
the Towne to his father Though the Israelites fell to Idolatrie after Ioshuahs death who during the time of Ioshua serued the Lord and neuer forsooke him yet the Lorde at all times though they alwaies offended him deliuered them frō their enemies when they cryed vnto him for his ayde and helpe So being now vexed with their euemies the Lord sent Ehud as a Iudge and Captaine to leade them and to gouerne them as their Generall beeing a stout and a valiant Captaine who was wont to say to his souldiers follow me went boldly to Eglon king of the Moabites vsed this stratagē told the king that he had some secret from the Lord to tellhim wherevpon the chamber being auoyded and the doore shut hee out with his dagger slew Eglon the king and came out and shut the doore after him and after slew ten thousand Moabites at that time yet Ehud was left-handed and vnable to fight and therefore it was a stratagem of the Lord. Iabin king of Canaan an other enemie of the Israelites sent his generall Cisera a mightie captain with nine hundred chariots of Iron and a huge Army of souldiers to fight against Israel yet the Lord still prouided for his people and deliuered the Canaanites into the hand of Deborah a woman and Barac euen the whole Army of the Canaanites at the battell at Meroz where euen the starres in their courses from heauen fought against Cisera as Deborah confessed in her song of thanksgiuing to the Lord for the victorie For all the battels that the Lord had fought for Israell yet they sinned more and so offended the Lord that they were deliuered seuen yeares into the hands of the Madianites for their wickednesse that Israell made themselues dennes and caues in the Mountaines for feare of the Madianites and Amalekites whose tents were as thicke as Grasse-hoppers in multitude so that they their cattels and their camels were without number Yet the Lord when Israell cryed for helpe raised vp sound Iudges as Othoniel Ehud Barac and Deborah who ouercame their enemies and had many victories ouer them but still Israel offended the Lord and therefore the Lord left Sidonites Canaanites and Philistines to afflict and vex the Israelites for that they still offended the Lorde Hee left these Nations among them with their gods and Idols that should be as snares vnto Israel and as thornes in their sides and needles in their eies to trie them and to force them to call vpon the name of the Lord. The Hebrewes as they offended the Lord so were they punished by the Lord who often gaue them ouer into their enemies hands for their rebellious sedition and disobedience and therefore the Lord made choise of a wise and discreet generall whom he strengthned to rule his people sent his messenger to Gedeon a husbandman threshing his corne to bee their captaine before them who with the three hundred souldiers that laped the water by putting their hāds to their mouthes as the Lord had commaunded him by that signe and had appointed the number for him to take the Lords battel in hand to let the rest which were one and thirtie thousand and seuen hundred returne to their home which were by proclamatiō discharged The generals that the Lord made choise of to rule his people were but shepheards heardmen and husbandmen as Moses Ioshua Gedeon Saul and Dauid and of the like men he made choise for his Prophets Gedeon obeyed the message of the Lord called at the Lords hand for strength and courage to fight his battel and after deuided the three hundred men into three seuerall bands and vsed this stratagem gaue euery man a Trumpet in his hand with an emptie pitcher and lampes within the pitchers signifying by these weake meanes which the Lord vsed that the whole victorie should come from the Lord and not from man So Gedeon their generall comming to the side of the enemies with his threee bands he commaunded all the souldiers at once to sound al the trumpets together to break their pitchers and to shout crie the sword of the Lord and of Gedeon the enemies were so frighted the Lord set euery mans sword vpon his neighbour and caused the Madianites to kill one an other He made the Moabites the Ammonites Edomites in like sort one to destroy an other They tooke in that battell two Princes of the Madianites called Oreb and Zeb whom they slew and brought their heads to Gedeon from beyond Iorden as they fled from the sword of Gedeon The slaughter was an hundred and twentie thousand that were slaine with three hundred men as the Lord had commaunded Obserue the stratagem of Gedeon who commanded his three hūdred souldiers at once to sound al the trumpets together to breake their pitchers and to shout and crie the sword of the Lord and of Gedeon It so amazed the Madianites that the victory was Gedeons Ioshuah in like sort was by the Lord commaunded after he had carried the Arke round about Iericho seuen times vpon the seuenth day that the Priests should blow the rammes hornes and all the souldiers to crie aloude and to shout out all together at once that the walles of Iericho fell With a stratagem also Ioshua deceiued the king of Ai who came out of the Citie to fight with Ioshua who tooke vpon him to flye from the king but hauing laide ambushes vpon the way and about the Towne the Lord gaue both the Towne and the King to Ioshuas hand So did the Israelites deceiue the Beniamites with the like stratagems as Ioshua did who tooke vpon them to flye to draw the Beniamites from the Citie to the high wayes vntill they were compassed round about with the Israelites who destryed 25. thousand and 100. men These are diuine stratagems and to be attributed vnto the Lords doings Pericles generall of the Athenians besieging a certain Citie in Greece who vpon the sudden in the night time caused all the Trumpets to be sounded at once and all the souldiers to shout and cry as loud as they could it so terrified the Citizens within that they ranne from all parts of the Cittie vnto that place where Pericles commanded the trumpets to be sounded and that loud crye to be made thinking thereby that the enemies had entred the Citie Pericles without resistance made an entrie into the Citie in an other place Antiochus vsed the like stratagem against the Ephesians commanded certaine Rhodians which were of his Army to shout out loud and to make a sudden out crie in the dead time of the night their feare and terror was such that all went to defend that place of the Towne and left the other side of the Towne without defence to let Antiochus enter in Luc. Cornelius after he had besieged and taken many Townes in Sardinia he vsed this stratagem to take a populous strong Citie made a great number of
his souldiers to hide themselues in ambush he hauing but fewe souldiers prouoked them of the Towne to come out faining himself to flye the enemie following with great furie after Luc. Cornelius with all his hidden souldiers returned vpon the sudden with such a terrible crye that the enemies turned theyr backes and fled to the Towne and the Romanes followed after them close at the heeles and entred the Towne with them all together So Pompey the Consull Generall for the Romaine Army in Albania perceiuing the enemies both in horsmen and in footemen to be farre more in number then the Romanes practised this stratagem placed his footemen behind the horsemen being in a straight and commaunded his horsemen to couer their helmets least by the sight of the helmets they should be seene of the enemies and to take vpon them to flye to draw the enemies forwards into the midst of the Army of footemen and then the Romane horsemen to turne backe and deuide themselues and to set on both sides of the enemies By this stratagem Pompey got a great victorie ouer the Albanians Iphicrates the Athenian compared an Army in this sort the light horsemen to the hands the men of armes to the feete the battel of footemen to the stomacke and breast the captaine to the head But the Hebrewes for all the victories of Ioshuah of Iudah and of Gedeon were still vnthankful and wrought wickednesse in the sight of the Lord for all the battels that the Lord fought for them they were so well acquainted with the gods of the Gentiles yea they serued the gods of Acron the gods of Sydon the gods of Moab and the gods of the Philistines and forgat the god of Israel they serued straunge gods and attributed victories vnto their Idols and honoured them and gaue no glory vnto the Lord of Israel and therefore the Lord gaue them ouer and solde them to their enemies and were eighteene yeares sore tormented and vexed by the Ammonites and Philistines and the enemies proudly went ouer Iorden to fight against Iudah against Beniamin and against the house of Ephraim but they cryed vnto the Lorde according to theyr custome in extremitie and were aunswered by the Prophet from the Lorde Let the Gods whome you serue saue you and whom you trust vnto defend you for you waigh not me neither will I defend you and then they put away their straunge gods from among them Thus the Israelites did not onely rebell vpon the death of Ioshuah but also vpon the death of Iudah Ehud Deborah and others neither did they esteeme the victories which they got by Deborah a woman and by Gedeon a Husbandman who with three hundred souldiers slew a hundred and twentie thousand but euer forgetfull and vnthankefull to the Lord more willing to returne to Egipt to be slaues vnto Pharao then to stay in Canaan to serue the Lord. The name of Leonidas was famous among the Lacedemonians for his victorie at Thermopyle where Leonidas with three hundred ouerthrew twentie thousand of Xerxes Army being innumerable The Athenians gloried much for theyr great victorie at Marathon by Milciades and Callimachus hauing but 10000. Grecians in their army ouerthrew the generall of king Darius Army and made a great slaughter of the Persians to the number of two hundred thousand The Romanes bragge much of the victorie of Marius with fewe souldiers ouer the Cymbrians at the riuer of Xextas of Sylla ouer Mithridates at the battell of Orchomenon and of Lucullus ouer Tigranes king of Armenia being three great victories with infinite slaughter with the losse of fewe Romanes The very Schythians can boast and bragge of the ouerthrow of Cyrus hauing two hundred thousand in his Army and that by a woman which encreased the fame of the Scythians to the greatest infamy of the Persians All Nations can bragge and boast of theyr victories and be thankfull vnto their Idols and to their gods with sacrifices with vowes with games and playes with rearing of Aultars and building of Temples but the Hebrewes and the people of the Lord who had greatest cause and occasions to remember theyr victories and triumphes that they had ouer so many Kings and so many Nations before they came to the Land of Canaan by fire haile-stones thunder and great stones from heauen and though the Lords presence went before them in the Arke and the Arke among them in the midst of the campe yet were the Israelites stiffe necked people euer offensiue to the Lord seditious against theyr leaders and enuious one towardes an other so the Lord cryed out against them and said I haue nourished and brought vp children and they are fallen away from me the Oxe knoweth his Lord and the Asse his Maisters stall but Israel knoweth not me wicked children sinfull people a froward generation which are ouerladen with blasphemies Nothing could instruct them to obey the Lord neither the Arke of couenant neither the Tabernacle of Moses neither the pillar of fire where the Lord appeared vnto them and after the vse of the Tabernacle neither the Temple of Salomon nor the Prophets to whom the Lord manifested himselfe in Ierusalem yea euen in Samaria among the wicked Samaritans they had the Prophets of the Lord Elias and Elizeus to instruct them CHAP. XVIII Of Iepthas victories ouer the Ammonites and Ephraimites the ciuill warres the tyrannie of Sylla and Marius in Rome Of the slaughter of the Philistians by Sampson the reuenge of pulling out his eyes and of the battell of Saul at Mich-mash NOw after Gedeon the Lord sought out Ieptha beeing fledde and chased by his bretheren from his countrey to the Land of Tob from whence hee was called by the Lord who alwayes appointed a generall ouer Israell while they serued him to leade his people against the Ammonites which the Lord deliuered into Iepthas hand At that time Ieptha made a rash vowe to the Lorde that if hee should haue victorie ouer the Ammonites that which came out of the doores of his house when he returned home in peace shal be the Lords and he wil offer it vp a burnt offering He foolishly performed that which he rashly vowed Though some of the Rabines do excuse Ieptha that his daughter died not but was seperated to dwell by her selfe from common conuersation in a solitary place to bewaile her virginitie according to the custome and manner of the virgins of Israel to liue in prayers and to consecrate her selfe vnto the lord Yet some of 〈◊〉 best diuines as Augustine Ambrose which both were of a cōtrary opiniō that she was sacrificed according to Iepthas vow But the Lord gaue the victory to Ieptha ouer the Amonits with the ouerthrow of twentie cities and with exceeding great slaughter Ieptha againe after his first victory ouer the Ammonites had another victory ouer the Ephraimites who enuied the former victory of Ieptha most ambitiously as they before did vnto
that day the feast of the Lorde was kept the virgins of Siloth came abroad to daunce to sing and to play the Beniamites caught the maides of Siloth to the number of 200. and brought them to the land of Beniamin So the abuse of one woman the Leuites wife by the Beniamite cost sixtie foure thousand mens liues and more in Israel For by the taking away of Viriahs wife by Dauid Israel was plagued with the death of seuentie thousand men and the taking away of Menelaus wife from Greece cost the liues of many millions of men and the warres of tenne yeares betweene the Greekes and the Troians And for that the time of the taking away of Vriahs wife by Dauid agreeth with the historie of the taking away of Menelaus wife by Alexander otherwise called Paris After the death of Dauid and Salomon his sonne the kingdome of Israel was established vpon Rehoboam Salomons sonne he forsooke the law of the Lord and reiected his fathers wise and graue counsellors and followed rash young mens counsell and therefore the Lord raised Shesak king of Egipt against Israel and he came with twelue hundred chariots three score thousand horsemen and his footemen were without number for from Egipt came with him the Lybians the Troglodites and the Aethiopians he tooke the strong cities of Iudah and Ierusalem and all the treasures of the Lords house and all the treasures of the kings house and he carried away two hundred targets and three hundred shields of gold which Salomon made and returned to Egipt with a great spoile because Rehoboam forsooke the Lord and therefore was forsaken of the Lord. The temple that Salomon his father builded was spoiled by the negligence of Rehoboam Salomons sonne This was the first victorie that was had ouer Ierusalem by Shesak king of Israel and here began the first battell of the ciuill warre betweene the kings of Iudah and the kings of Israel and such ciuill warre if you consider the slaughter betweene Iudah and Israel and the continuance of their warres you must needs confesse that in one battell betweene Abiah and Ieroboam were more slaine of the Israelites then among the Romanes in fortie yeares to talke of the Romanes ciuill warres which was fortie yeares betweene Sylla and Marius betweene Caesar and Pompey and last betweene Octauius and Marc. Antonius or the ciuill warres of the Greekes called the Peloponesian warre which endured seuen and twentie yeares it was nothing in respect of the murther and bloud betweene Iudah and Israel for in the ciuill warres of the Romanes histories doo not record aboue the deaths of three hundred thousand Romanes Where in this battell being the first ciuill battell betweene Ieroboam king of Israel against Abiah king of Iudah at what time was slaine in the field fiue hundred thousand of king Ieroboams souldiers in one battell which neither Tamberlane nor Xerxes though they could match them in number yet could they neuer match thē in slaughter For as the Romanes were full fiue hundred yeares in conquering the Sabines the Latines the Vients the Fidenates the Samnites Tarentines Hetruscans others frō Romulus time to Scypio Affrican before the Romanes could be Lords of Italy The like may bee spoken of the Israelites in conquequering the Moabites Ammonites Amalekites Philistines and others from Moses time vnto Dauid welnigh fiue hundred yeares and as the Romans held their Empire so long a time as they were in winning of it frō Scypio Affrican who conquered Haniball and Italy vnto the Emperor Probus which was fiue hundred years at what time the whole Empire fell by degrees to decay So Israel as they subdued their enemies from Moses to Dauid fiue hundred yeares as you read before so after Dauid by ciuill warres of Iudah and Israel vnto Zedechias time which was fiue hundred yeares they lost both the kingdomes Iudah and Israel the one taken captiue by Salmanasser vnto Niniuie the other by Nabuchodonozer vnto Babilon so that now the land of Iudah called the land of milke and honey is become Athisme subiect to Pagans Infidels which continued from Abraham the first father of the faith vntill Titus Vespasian two thousand and odde yeares and al through disobedience and contempt of their Lord and God Euen so the Romanes which were wont to be called lords of the world whose Consuls at that time ruled and gouerned the most kingdomes of the world are now left without King Emperor or Consull and many cities in Italy at this day preferred before Rome now gouerned by the Pope a Bishop as Ierusalem is gouerned by the Turk an Infidel so that in all things the Romanes and the Hebrews may be compared for as the greatest enemie that euer Rome had was Italy and the dangerousest foes that the Romanes had were Italians for the Gaules the Cymbres the Carthaginians and the Affricans vexed not the Romans as the Italians did their own country men and next neighbors So Iudah had no enemies but the house of Israel So Israel had no enemies but Iudah for Ierusalem could not away with Samaria for their two Idols the one at Dan the other in Bethell so Samaria could not brooke Ierusalem for the great solemnitie of Salomons temple CHAP. III. The great battell betweene Abia king of Iudah and Ieroboam king of Israel where 500000. were slaine on Ieroboams side Of the victories of Asa and Iosaphat kings of Iudah ouer Zerah king of Aethiopia ouer the Edomites Ammonites and Maobites AS it seemed by the long oration which Abiah made to Ieroboam and his army vpon mount Zemaraim before the battell ioyned together to disswade them from the battell saying that the Lord had giuen the kingdome ouer Israel to Dauid and to his house but Ieroboam contemned Abiahs counsel and thought by his policie and subtill stratagem to haue ouercome the host of Iudah but he himself was deceiued to the losse of fiue hundred thousand of his souldiers that his power and force failed that he was not able during his life to preuaile against Iudah for Ieroboam had gathered to encrease his army all leaud idle and wicked vnthrifts to fight this battell against Rehoboam the sonne of Salomon like Cinna in Rome that made open proclamation that al bondmē wicked doers and banished men should come to Cinna the Consul they should be restored to their former libertie freedome and thus Cinna gathered al the leaud and wicked men within all Italy he then being Consul taking part with Cai. Marius against his other fellow Consull Octauius which helde with Sylla slaine at that time a number more of the citizens of Rome but between Sylla and Marius one reuenging vpon an other fomi◅g in their countries bloud that all the streetes of Rome anne of bloud These two Marius and Sylla began the first Romane ciuil warres as Ieroboam and Rehoboam did and yet were they both compared to
God mightie in heauē that commands to keep the Sabboth day and I am mightie on earth that comcommaunds the contrary but his head his hands and his blasphemous tongue were cut off and hanged vpon the pinacles in the temple at Ierusalem And so the blasphemy of the Scribes and Pharisies saying that Christ the Lord did not cast out diuels by his owne vertue but by the power of Belzebab but the Lord left not them vnpunished The blasphemy of Benhadad saying that the Lord was the God of the mountaines onely not God of the valleys was not he strangled by Hazael his owne seruant in his owne house and in his owne bed Yet the Syrians prepared such a number for the second battel after they had escaped hardly from the first battell that they filled all the countrie and the children of Israel were like to little flockes of Kids in respect of their number but the Lord sent his Prophet to Achab saying Because the Syrians haue said that the Lord is the God of the mountaines and not God of the valleys behold this great multitude of men and Benhadad the King himselfe withal the two and thirtie Kings besides will I deliuer to thine hand and he shall know that I am the Lord as well of the valleys as the mountaines And so the Lorde brought it to passe that in that battell an hundred thousand footemen were slaine of the Syrians and seuen and twentie thousand that fled from the field to Aphec to saue themselues were killed by the fall of a wall that crushed them to death and Benhadad the King fled to the citie from chamber to chamber and hid himselfe according to the Prophets saying vntill many of his chiefe Princes that escaped hardly from the battell came with sackcloath about their loynes and ropes about their neckes in token of submission to entreate Achab king of Israel for the life of Benhadad which he graunted contrary to that which he was by the Lord commaunded for to do as Saul did by Agag king of the Amalekites so Achab did by Benhadad but it was told Achab by the Prophet that his life should goe for his life and his people for his people This Achab a wicked and Idolatrous King had such two great victories for that the Lord alwayes would haue Israel to forsake their calfe in Bethell and their Idolatry to Baall in Samaria but sinne was written in the table of their hearts and grauen vpon the edges of their Aultars with a penne of Iron and with an Adamant clawe said the Prophet that there was nothing among them more pretious then woods thicke trees groues mountaines hills and fields for altars to serue their Idolatrous woodden goddes so greatly they offended the Lord that he asked the Heathens if any heard such horrible things as his people had done yea the Priests to whom the lawe was committed the Prophets which wanted not the word of the Lorde and the graue wise Senators So that Israel would not be instructed neither take warning by the Prophets before the finall end and suddaine destruction of Ierusalem by Nabuchodonozer king of Babilon though the Lord commaunded the Prophet Amos to strike the lintell of the doore that the postes might shake signifying the threatning of the Lorde against Israel So was Ezechiel commaunded to take a bricke and to purtray the citie of Ierusalem vpon the bricke with a sharpe knife to signifie the destructiō of the people and of the citie and the ◅ame selfe Prophet sheweth the destruction of Ierusalem by Nabuchodonozer king of Babel by a parable of a seething potte and the day was commaunded to be written by the Prophet Ierusalem the the valley of vision so named because of the Prophets which were also called seers The Lorde said that hee would bring such a plague vpon Ierusalem that the eares of them that should heare it should glowe for I wil send many fishers to take them many hunters to hunt thē from all mountaines and hilles and out of the caues of stones saith the Lord. Yet though Ierusalem was so seuerely prophesied by Amos Ezechiel and other Prophets to be destroyed yet they were comforted by the Prophet Ieremy againe that they should returne frō their captiuitie after seuentie yeares and rebuild Ierusalem And as by Ieremy by hiding of his leather girdle by the riuer Perah as the Lord had cōmaunded him signifying that by the rottēnes of the girdle Ierusalē shuld be rebuilded after seuentie yeares And by the selfesame Prophet they were assured by his buying of the field Anothot and by the hiding of his writing of possession thereof in signes and tokens of their libertie againe and that Ierusatem should be builded againe and inhabited this was but the second ouerthrow of Ierusalem by Nabuchodonozer This was like Noah that preached the destruction of the world by a deluge before the deluge and yet married a wife much like to the Prophet Ieremy that preached the destruction of Ierusalem and yet bought lands The Prophets vsed many of these signes as eye-witnesses to confirme their memory better and to expect with more faith the words of the Prophets The Prophet Ieremy proceedeth forward to denounce the ouerthrow of those proud kingdomes that reioyced much at the destructiō of Ierusalem as Egipt and Babilon and all the euill that should come vpon Babilon Ieremy wrote it in a booke sent Sheraiah with his booke to read it and when he had done reading Ieremy commaunded him to binde a stone to the booke and to cast it into the midst of the riuer Euphrates and then to say thus shall Babilon be cōfounded thus the Prophets vsed besides their prophesies to adde some action to make the words the more to be remembred So also the Prophet Ezechiel prophesied against Egipt and against their great cities saying The sword of the Lord shall come to Memphis to Pellusium and to Alexandria I will ouerthrow Memphis saith the Lord I will destroy Pellusium the strength of Egipt and I will make a great slaughter of all the men in Alexandria For as Babilon was taken Maradach ouerthrowne and Bel cōfounded so was the strength of Egipt the arme of Pharao destroyed without any recouery of their Empires againe but so was not Ierusalem Nabuchodonozer in like sort as he ouerthrew Ierusalem and made a conquest of the countrey euen so his great citie of Babilon was caried by Cyrus away into Persia within seuentie yeares after he tooke Zedechiah the last king of Iudah captiue in Babilon so Egipt was taken by the Persians and last by the Romanes But Ierusalem as you heard by Ieremy should not bee so destroyed but should be defended against all her enemies and the Lord shall destroy all nations that come against Ierusalem for the Lord hath deliuered Israel out of the fierie furnace of Egipt and from all the stratagems of the Heathens I will
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
the Romanes vpon any conditions to be performed they vowed a vow to their gods and Idols The olde Gaules hauing warres with the Romains their General Aristonicus vowed vnto Mars a rich massie chaine of gold of the spoiles of the Romans if he might win the victorie Flamminius the Consul Generall of the Romane army in the self-same war against Aristonicus vowed likewise if he should haue victory wheras Aristonicus vowed but one chaine vnto Mars Flamminius promised all the chaines that the Gaules had to put vp a trophey and to hang their swords weapons and armors vpon the trophey to honor Mars In like sort Marius Cai. Luctatius Consuls of Rom and Generals in the warres against the Cymbrians lifted vp both their hands to heauen Marius promised and vowed a solemne sacrifice vnto the gods of an hundred oxen and the other Consul Luct vowed to build a temple vnto Fortune if the Romanes might haue victorie ouer the Cymbrians At the last battell of Thrasymen Fabius vowed being Dictator elected against Hanibal and promised to sacrifice all the profits fruits that should fall the next yeare of sheep of sowes of melch kine of goates betweene the Calends of March and the Ides of May in all the mountaines champion countries riuers or meadowes of Italy also vowed to build places of musicke to haue victory ouer Hanibal such were the wicked Idolatrous vowes of the Gentiles that theyneither spared land life nor liuing to please their goddes they would haue no warres no battels without consultations with oracles or conference with sooth sayes for they thought all victories came by performing or not performing of vows The Athenians hearing of the innumerable army of Xerxes comming with such terror vnto Greece they sent to Delphos from whence they were admonished by the oracle of Appollo to erect vp an aultar to Aeolus therevpon to sacrifice with prayers and vowes to please the windes to plague the Persians to scatter and ouerthrow the infinite nauies of Xerxes The Greekes and the Romanes vsed a vowe called Haecatombae in the which they builded an hundred aultars wherevpon they offered to the gods a hundred oxen a hundred sheepe a hundred swine sometimes the Dictators Emperors of Rome the kings generals of Greece added a hundred Lions a hundred Eagles to make their vowes as they supposed of greater effect this was chiefly done for the preseruation of kings and kingdomes Emperours and Empires So Augustus Caesar would needs goe to Delphos to learne of Appollo who should raigne after him in Rome and what should become of the Empire bestowing the liberall sacrifice of Haecatombae was answered by Appollo that an Hebrue child was borne who commanded him to silence and to giue no Oracles but willed the Emperour Augustus to depart with silence from his aultar and to hold with the people his credit So Saul being reiected from the Lord for his disobediēce spake to Samuel yet honor me before the people So rebellious Absolon ro disgrace his father and to please the people wished that he were a Iudge for that the people wanted a lawe to minister vnto them iustice Many such rebellious ambitious mē are in the world which vow many things in their harts much like to Hamilcar who caused his sonne Hanibal being but a boy of eight yeares old to make a vow to take his oath to be an enemy to hold wars with the Romans during life It was the maner among the Romaines when they made choise of their Consuls to goe vp to the Capitoll and after sacrifice done there to vow building of temples of aultars and the decimation of the spoiles gotten by victories So Lucullus did promise and vow to Hercules for his victories at the riuers of Rindacus and Granicus So Pausanias general of the Lacedemonians vowed to Appollo for his victories at Marathon against Mardonius These vowes were so many and so diuers among the Gentiles that the husbandman vowed to Tellus for the seed sowne in the earth and the fruite thereof to Siluanus for their oxen and kine to Hippona for their horses and mares to Castor and Pollux for their shipwrackes for labourers to Tutanus for shepheards to Pa◅ for ◅uellers on long iournies to Hercules for theeues to steale safely to the goddesse Lauerna Thus the Gentiles serued and obeyed their Idols with vowes and sacrifices but as apes do counterfeit to imitate men so Satan would seeme to imitate the Lord. Such fond and foolish vowes were vsed among the Gentiles that if the Athenians would haue victory ouer the Thraciās Erictheus the king must sacrifice his daughter a stratagem of Satan If Agamemnon would haue sound returne from Troy to Greece he must sacrifice Iphigenia his daughter or if Marius would haue triumph ouer the Cymbrians hee mustkil sacrifice his daughter Calfurnia the very drifts and shifts of the diuell the oracles of Satan therefore in many countries they would binde their Idols with chaines and bonds So did they in Carthage binde the Image of Hercules with chaines bonds least when the Romaines made their supplications and prayers to Hercules hee should forsake Carthage and come to Rome In wicked men oftentimes the word of God is in their mouthes when the grace of God is not in theyr hearts as in Balaam who came with his full good will to Balaac to curse Israel but he was commaunded against his will to blesse Israel and therefore that which Philo saith is true of the wicked Dona dei sine deo saepe sunt in impijs for oftentimes false Prophets prophesie the truth as Balaam and Cayphas did Satan stands alwaies among the Angels before the Lord to haue licence with his present seruice to seeke whom he may deuour so that Satan is often a lying spirit in the mouth not onely of false Prophets but against the seruants of God as Iob who though Satan tooke from him his seruants his children his goods yet his malice chiefly was against Iob such stratagems he vsed before against the seruants of the Lord as Abraham Moses Dauid and others There is an other kinde of vow of the Nazarites whose vowes were but for certaine number of dayes of moneths or of yeares these Nazarites should abstaine onely from wine or from any strong drink they should let their haires grow and let no razor come on it they should not violate themselues with any mourning for the dead yet Samuel being a Nazarite mourned for Saul Ieremy being a Nazarite wept for the captiuitie of Iudah and Christ himselfe the true Nazarite wept for the citie of Ierusalem The Monasticall vowes of Monkes Benedics Franciscans and Dominics who would faine be Nazarites but that they loued wine too well and shaued theyr crownes too often for they seperated themselues from the world vowed virginitie yet had bastards vowed many things performed
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
3. cap. 37. Polycarpus The persecution of the seueÌ„ bretheren 2. Machab. cap. 7. The seuenth plague Liui. 35. Q. Curtius lib. 4. The seuenth persecution Great plagues and sicknesses vpon the Romanes The eight plague Hypocrisie of Pharao Pericles made a decree in Athens against strangers Strangers not long entertained in Carthage The eight persecution vnder valerianus Valerianus the Emperor of Rome vsed as a blocke by Sapor king of Persia. The ninth plague The dissimulatioÌ„ of Pharao The ninth persecution Christ denied among the Romanes A goldeÌ„ target sent by the Senators The euill end of cruel Emperours The tenth plague The Lord useth all things by meanes The tenth persecution When persecutioÌ„ ended heresie begaÌ„ Arrius the first of his sect Euseb. in many of his bookes especially in the fourth at large writes of these masters Saturninus The 4. generall councels Hicsos The marching of Pharao after the Hebrewes A stratagem of the Lord. The drowning of Pharao in the red sea Appins impudent lies against Moses Appolonius Thianeus This storie is reported otherwise in the life of Apollonius The education of Moses in Egipt Moses chosen captaine for Pharao Ioseph lib. 2. cap. 5. de antiq Iudaic. Moses death sought by the Priests of Egipt The victories of Moses in Aethiopia The marriage of Moses to Tharbis Ioseph lib. 2. cap. 5. Appians lies Hicsos Philo. Exod. 12. The lawe of armes The 2. lawe of armes The 3. lawe of armes Front lib. 1. cap. 11. The strata gems of Archidamus Epaminandas and Pericles Ioshua c. Castor and Pollux Cic de diuin lib. 2. Ioseph lib. 4. cap. 8. The lawe of Armes The Priests Faecials in Rome The Priests Mantes in Athens Magi in Persia. The remouing of the Arke 1. Number The nuÌ„bring and mustring of the Hebrew Army by Moses The Hebrews were left in the midst of their enemies to practise Armes 42. MansioÌ„s Stratagems of Marius and Cyrus Front lib. 1. cap. 2. 70. Gouernors chosen vnder Moses Exod. 18. The Leuites tents about the tabernacle The foure standarts of the Hebrewes The tent of Iudah on the East The standart of Ruben on the south side The standart of Ephraim on the West side The standart of Dan on the North side The marching of the Hebrew câ—…po The state of the Hebrew campe Xerxes great Army Alexander The Tabernacle placed in the midst of the camp The Tabernacle 30. cubits long and 12. broad Exod. 26. A cubit of the Greekes two foote of the Romanes a foote and a halfe Chiefe and strong forts of the Gentiles Tygranes Iugurth Mithridates The standarts of Egipt The Hebrewes named of the Egiptians Hicsos The standarts of Persia. Viget lib. 2. cap. 6. The standarts of the Romanes Athenians Thabans The old Germaines Anubis Caesar. The setting vp of the tabernacle The dedication of the altar The multitude of altars in Athens Straunge altars in Delos Diod. fic li. 3. cap. 7. The lawes of Numa Hypaethra Open Temples aboue in the toppe Temples builded of the Gentiles Cynosarges Superstitioâ—… fondnes of the Gentiles Mount Oliuet The victories of Moses ouer diuers kings The battell of Riphidim The battell at Horma The ouerthrow of the Canaanites and Arad their king by the Hebrues Psal. 56. The vowes of the Persians The vowes of the Egiptians Appian de bello punico Caesar. lib. 〈◊〉 de bello gallâ—… Plut. in Coriliano Liui lib. 1. The vowes of the Grecians The vowes of the Ro manes The feast Bendidia The first Consualio Ancyllia Tabilustria The feast Metoichia The feasts of the Greekes in memory of their captaines The feast called Agonolia Timoleon Espialls sent by Ioshua to Canaan Caleb Fearefull reports in wars are daÌ„gerous The Stratagem of Tullius Front lib. 1. cap. 12. Varro The battel of Antemna Milciades Themistocles The Romans stratagem Front lib. 3. cap. 15. Clearchus Front lib. 3 cap. 5. Reba Eui Reken Zur Hur. DisobedieÌ„ce punished Archidamus The vnthank fulnesse of the Hebrews Nomb. 11. ca. Nom. 12. Martiall punishment Nomb. ca. 16 Six hundred thousand died for disobedience in the wildernesse Gene. 6. 3. Reg. 9. Iere. 35. Obedience of the Rechabites 1. Machab. 2. Great obedience of creatures to God Psal. 148. 3. Reg. 17. Cyrus Lib. 1. Esdr. 1. cap. 3. Reg. 13. Ionas 2. The offence of Moses Aaron at the water of Meribah The martiall lawe of Egipt The martiall lawes of Persta The martiall lawe of the Romanes The martiall lawe of Lacedemonians The charge of a new armie giuen to Ioshuah Commendaâ—…n of Generalls Pirrhus forsooke Italy Elephants first seene in Rome Hannibal Front lib. 3. cap. 14. Amiraculous ouerthrow of Iericho Ioshua cap. 6. Esâ—… 10. The destruction of Ai. Signes giuen of victories The victories of Ioshuah others in the Lords battels 1. Reg. 7. cap. Mar. Aurelius Euseb. 1. Legio fulminea In. Machab. Deut. 7. The simplicitie of souldiers in olde time Homer Illiad The strange fashions of diuers natioÌ„s in their wars Veget. lib. 3. cap. 24. Pirrhus brought Elephants to Lucania in Italy Plyni lib. 8. cap. 2. 6. Veget. lib. 1. cap. 20. Plut. in Mario The account of the Hebrews for their souldiers The custome of the PersiaÌ„s for their souldiers going to wars The maner of the Romanes for their souldiers Cyrus could name all the souldiers in his armie Mithridates could speake 22. languages to his souldiers The battel of Iahaz Deut. 28. 3. The battel of Edrei Ephron destroyed Fiue kings ioined against Ioshua The victory of Ioshua at Gibeon Sapor Oros. lib. 7. cap. 22. Tamberlaâ—…nus Monarches Cratippus saying to Pompey The last battell and victorie of Ioshua ouer the Canaanites The sunne staied ouer Gibeon The Moone ouer Ailon Front lib. 3. cap. 13. Stratagems The souldiers of Asia The souldiers of the Persians The stoutnes of the Romanes The Lacedemonians Amphictions The temple of Ianus Consilium Panaetolium Panaegyris Xantippus sent from Sparta to Carthage Pirrhus Pericles Aratus Pelopidas Philopomen Agesilaus and Epaminondas Timocheres Phillips speech Byzantium now called Constantinople Conons stratagem Front lib. 4. cap. 4. Epaminondas Front lib. 3. cap. 2. The old custome of the Romrnes and the Persians in choosing their kings Alex. Neopol lib. 4. ca. 23. Saul Xerxes Agesilaus â—…ame Darius long handed Caesars baldnesse Moses tall and slender Phryg in vita Moses Ioseph Gen. 39. Elias rough and hairie 4. Reg. 2. ca. Iudah the third captain ouer Israel The battell at Beseck The tyrannie of Adonizebech Lu. Flor. li. 2. cap. 6. 5. Oros. ca. 4. A cruell act of Fabius the Romane The figne of Periander sent to Thasibulus Dyonis lib 7. cap. 4. The stratagem of Ehud Iudge and generall of Israell Iudges 3. ca. Eglon king of Moab slaine The victory of Debora ouer Cisera at Meroz What kinde of men were generals and Iudges amoÌ„g the Hebrues Gedeon choseÌ„ Iudge in Israell Gedeons stratagem Iosua 8. Iud. 20. Pericles stratagem 〈◊〉 lib. 3. cap. 9. Antiochus stratagem Front lib. 2 cap. 3.