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
out of Egipt least they ioyned with the Affricans or with the Assirians to warre vpon Egipt or else least the number of the Hebrues should be so multiplied in Egipt as they might ouerthrow Pharao in his owne kingdome and therfore Pharao kept them in slauery and bondage vexing and molesting them and withall decreed a lawe to put himselfe out of doubts and his kingdome out of danger that all the male children of the Hebrues borne in Egipt should be presently murthered after their birth with a great charge giuē that they should bee slaine his feare was such that it did not content Pharao but least hee should be deceiued with killing of them hee made another lawe that they should be drowned in the Riuer Nilus But Pharao determined and God disposed for the Lord reuenged the house of Israel vpon Pharao with ten horrible and terrible plagues and at last Pharao the king his peeres and the most part of the nobles of his land and almost all his kingdom were drowned in the red sea to an infinite number and as Orosius saith more of the Egiptians were drowned then the number of the Hebrewes that came out of Egipt yet there is no iust number written by Iosephus who ought best to know it As the Egiptians were compared to the Romains for their crueltie so were the Hebrewes compared to the Christians for their punishment the Iewish Synagogue to the Christian Church and as the Hebrewes were plagued by the Egiptians 430. yeares in Egipt so were the Christians so long afflicted and persecuted throughout all the Empire of Rome but as Pharao and all Egipt were destroied for their vexations of the Hebrewes so Rome and the Empire of Rome was plagued for their bloudie persecutions against the Christians and therefore euery seuerall plague in Egipt shall be compared to euery seuerall persecution in Rome The Lord now being armed to mannage warre with the Egiptians and to reuenge the wrong of his people the Hebrewes hee appointed his souldiers readie and diuided them into seuerall troupes and bands He hath an armie aboue in the heauens the Sun the Moone and the Starres hee hath another armie in the aire lightning thunder haile-stones and such souldiers another in the waters whales crocodiles serpents and such monstrous creatures in the seas Another in the wildernesse and woods as Lyons Beares Wolues Tygres and the like beasts Yea the Lord hath his armies in ditches lakes as Frogges and Toades and hath also his armie euen out of the dust ashes of the earth Lice Flies and vermines The Captaine that the Lord appointed ouer these armies was Moses which was but a shepheard to dant the courage of Pharao who at the commandement of the Lord marched to Egipt with these legions of souldiers to take his people from the bōdage of Pharao threatening warres vnto Pharao and yet not without conditions of peace according to the lawe of armes if Pharao would let his people peaceably depart out of Egipt with bag and baggage Moses to whome Iehouah appeared in the bush burning was commaunded to take the charge of the Hebrues and lead them from Egipt to the lande of Canaan Moses obeyed the Lords commandemēt yet accused himselfe of some imperfection he had in his speech and therefore had Aaron his brother for his Orator who hauing done the Lords commaundement in Egipt to Pharao their message was reiected and had no audience at Pharaos hand Thē was Moses cōmanded by the Lord to stretch his rod vpon Nilus and vpon all the riuers of Egipt the pooles and standing waters that they might be turned into blood so that the Egiptians were constrained to drinke of that bloodie riuer Nilus the iust iudgement of God vpon Pharao who thirsted for blood to drink blood like so Tomyris Queen of Scythia spake to Cyrus whose head she caused to be cut off being slaine in the field and to bathe it in a great tunne full of blood saying drink Cyrus of that blood which thou didst euer thirst for So Pharao in like sort was forced to drinke of that bloody riuer where before time hee commanded all the male children of the Hebrewes to be drowned and where Moses him selfe being but three months old so long his mother kept him secretly vnknowne vnto Pharao but Amri Moses father much fearing that he his wife family should die for it according to the decree that Pharao made committed him to Gods prouidence in Nilus by whose prouidence Moses was saued to bee a captain ouer his people to lead them out of Egipt to plague Pharao and to reuenge the 430. years calamities miseries of the Hebrues in Egipt vpō Pharao his kingdom with ten such terrible plagues as was neuer heard or read of before like in all points to the ten cruell persecutions which cōtinued in all the Romane Empire during the raigne and gouernmēt of ten Emperors which persecuted the Christians in Rome as Pharao plagued the Hebrues in Egipt This first plague of the Egiptians may be cōpared to the first persecution of the Christians vnder that cruel Emperor Nero at what time there was nothing in Rome nor in Italy but as in Egipt for as Nilus all the riuers of Egipt wer turned into blood so in Rome in euery street was nothing but sheading of christiās blood vnder the tiranny of Nero by whō Paul Peter diuers others of the chief members of the church were most extreamely persecuted some beheaded some hangd some burnt so that beside his vehement persecutiōs to the Christians few escaped the cruelty of Nero otherwise he spared none no not Seneca his maister nor his mother Aggrippina but Nero like his cruell vncle Caligula wished all Rome to haue but one neck that he might with one stroke cut it of for he caused Rome to be set on fire to burn 6. daies to resemble the burning of Troy where he in his tower Maecenatiā beholding the great flames of fire recited merily certain Odes of Homer touching the burning of Troy Thus from one tyrannie to another he passed all men in tirannie that as the fish that was in Nilus and al the riuers of Egipt died stank in the riuers so the Christians were murthered persecuted by Nero whose bodies likewise stanke for want of buriall but as Nero without mercy or respect slue all spared none and at last slue himselfe being proclaimed by the Senators of Rome a traytor to his Countrey thus Nero liued and ended his life with blood and for that he could kill no more hee kild himselfe in whom also ended the whole stocke and familie of Caesar. So Abimelech the base sonne of Gedeon slue his seuentie brethren to vsurpe the gouerment by destroying the lawfull sonnes of Gedeon or like proud Hamon who sought with all meanes possible to destroy Mardocheus and all the Iewes within the hundred and seuen and twentie Prouinces of Persia. So
to these Prophets now they spared not IerusaleÌ„ nor Samaria but they had their message told them by the Prophet And so much of the manner and forme of the publishing and denouncing of warre by the Lords Heraulds his Prophets And now likewise to shewe the maner and forme of the Gentiles in denouncing of warre by their Heraulds The Gentiles in olde time proclaiming their warres against their enemies in seueral sorts as the Romains by their Priests called Faecials which were first instituted by Numa Pomp. and after appointed by the Romanes to be their heraulds both for warre and peace for the law was written in these words Belli pacis faederum induciarum or atorum faeciales Iudices sunto The chiefe of theÌ„ was called Pater Patratus being crowned with a garlaÌ„d made of Verbena who went with foure of them to the coÌ„fines of the enemies reciting the iust cause of the wars which were it not by the enemies satisfied answered within 33. daies after the Faecial Priests being sent froÌ„ the Senators and Citizens of Rome should throw after the word spokeÌ„ a bloudy dart or an iron speare into the enemies lands proclaiming warre against them Iure faeciali But if the Romains had their warres farre from Rome the Faeciall Priests should goe out of the citie through the gate Carmentalis to the Temple of Mars in the which Temple there was hanging a bloudie speare vpon one of the pillars of the TeÌ„ple called Columna bellica and from that place should the Faeciall Priest throw that bloudie dart towards those natioÌ„s whom they denounced to be their enemies then after this the Consul Proconsul or Praetor should goe to the Temple of Mars and take the Targets called Ancyllia in his hande and after pricke the Image of Mars with his speare or launce and say Mars Vigila The Persians also vsed this ceremony to throwe a bloudie dart towards the confines of theyr enemies thereby denouncing warre either to haue land and water by yeelding or else to abide warre The manners and customes among the Grecians wheÌ„ they went to publish warre they vsed to send their Herauld to the confines of the enemies after the iust cause of the warre being publikely declared vnlesse they were Perius sanctum legatorum satisfied the Greekes sent a Ramme to the enemies confines to signifie that they were readie armed for their enemies for the sending of the Ramme with the Greekes did signifie as much as the throwing of the bloudie dart or Iron speare with the Romanes for the Romanes were instructed in martiall discipline by the Greekes as the Greekes were by the Persians and the Persians by the Egiptians The old Gaules vsed this manner of order that their Senators called Druydes called a councell of the chiefe men which should be all armed and therefore called among them the armed councell and after consultation had between these Priests Druydes and the armed councell that whatsoeuer was agreed vpon betweene them ther of warre or peace was established for a lawe The Scythians had strange customes in defying their enemies and in proclaiming of warre they did send by Embassadors to Darius king of Persia a bird a mouse a frogge and an arrow signifying thereby that vnlesse the enemies would flye away like a bird creepe away like a mouse or swim away like a frogge out of Scythia that an arrow should pierce them through Warres being proclaimed by the Lacedemonians warlike people the herauld should carrie in his hand a vine twig wreathed about with wooll which the enemies if they would accept and receiue vpon conditions by the herauld opened it should be a full bond of peace otherwise a denouncing of warre and withall the herauld threw the vine twigge out of his hand as in defiance The Carthagineans though they could neuer abide the Romanes yet vsed they the selfesame ceremonies Hastae proiectio as the Romanes did in pronouncing of their warres There was a strange maner and custome among some nations when they proclaimed warre they would send a herauld with a present to theyr enemies wrapped round about with the likenesse of snakes which if the present would be vpoÌ„ conditions accepted they would take away the snakes and deliuer them the present if otherwise the herauld would deliuer the enemies the snakes in defiance and bring the present away this maner of defiance against their enemies the old Corinthithians vsed with others Now that you read the maner and forme of proclaiming of warres among diuers nations you shall also obserue diuers fashions and ceremonies touching composition of peace for both proclaiming of warre and concluding of peace were in all authoritie Per viâ—…faciale but altered in ceremonies CHAP. XIII Of the maner and diuers ceremonies in concluding of peace THe concluding of peace of diuers nations was in this sort those that were sent as Heraulds to proclaime warre were againe sent as Embassadors to entreate for peace in diuers Countries for as bloud was sought by warres so by bloud peace should be reconciled For as you heard the Lord did threaten warre long before warre came to the Hebrewes the Chaldeans Assyrians and the rest by the Prophets and his Heraulds and before these nations punished the first age for their sinnes with an vniuersal deluge ouer the whole world eight persons excepted and after made a league of peace and gaue the Rainebowe as a signe in the heauens not to destroy the world any more with water and when the people againe transgressed his commaundements the Lord commaunded his Prophets to threaten the Hebrues the Chaldeans and Assyrians denouncing warre to punish them as you heard of the Egiptians the Sodomites others with a condition of peace to continue betweene him and his people which was written out in the law of Moses This league was signified confirmed also with the bloud of a lamb as the bloud of couenant between God and man the true type figure of the lambe Christ Iesus which gaue vs euerlasting peace by his bloud in the new 〈◊〉 this peace was proclaimed to the Shepheards in the field at Bethelem by legions of Angels which came downe from heauen singing glory bee to God on high on earth peace towards meÌ„ This peace Christ repeated to his disciples saying Peace be vnto you this peace he brought into the world this peace he left with his people in the world which the world caÌ„not giue for there is no peace to the wicked faith the Lord. The ceremonies of euery natioÌ„ in all countries in concluding of peace was generally by bloud and as it were confirmed by an oath in supping each others bloud or by dipping in of their swords arrowes flint-stones or wooll As the Meades drewe bloud out of theyr armes the Lydians out of their shoulders the Arabians out of their fingers that by sucking and licking of each others bloud they thought it
were instructed by the word of the Lord in the mouth of the Prophet or else they were answered at the mercy seate or counselled by Vrim and Thummim So soothsayings oracles were so had in reuerence among the Gentiles that nothing should be taken in hand neither in peace nor in warres without consulting with the soothsayers and oracles So that at any Eclipse of the Moone the Romanes would take their brazen pots pannes and beat them lifting vp many Torches and Linckes lighted and firebrandes into the aire thinking by these superstitious meanes to reclaime the Moone to her light So the Macedonians were as superstitious as the Romanes were at any Eclipse of the Moone Nothing terrified the Gentils more in their warres then the Eclipse of the Sunne and the Moone The like vsed the Thracians when it thunders they take theyr bowes and arrowes and shoote vp to the cloudes against the thunder imagining by theyr shooting to driue the thunders away Cabrias the Generall of Athens beeing readie to strike a battell on sea it suddenly lightened which 〈◊〉 terrified the souldiers that they were vnwilling to figâ—… vntill Cabrias said that now is the time to fight whâ—… Iupiter himselfe with his lightening doth shewe a sigâ—…e that he is readie to goe before vs. So Epaminondas at his going to battell it suddenly lightned that it so amazed his souldiers that Epaminondas comforted them and saide Lumen hoc Numina ostendunt by these lightnings the gods shew vs that we shall haue victories but we may better say so througâ—… our Lord and Sauiour then Epaminondas or Cabriâ—… sith we haue the great light of the Gospell to lighten vs and to goe before vs to attempt any warre or to commence any battel against Sathan and his armies whose will is euer to destroy though his power cannot Cuius semper iniqua voluntas licet nunquam iniusta potestas In Rome the Dictator the Consul the Praetor and other Magistrates were to be remoued from their offices if the soothsayer sawe any occasion by lightning thundering by remouing of starres by flying of fowles by intrailes of beasts by Eclipse of the Sun Moone So that there was a lawe in Sparta that euery ninth yeare the chiefe magistrates called Ephori would choose a bright night without Moone light in some open place to behold the starres and if they had seene any star shoot or moue from one place to another straight these Ephori accused their kings that they offended the gods and therby deposed them from their kingdome So did Lysander depose king Leonidas So likewise the Romains were perswaded that their ouerthrow at the battels of Thrasimen Trebeia and Canne by Hannibal were for that they supposed they offended the gods either in not performing their vowes or in not doing of sacrifice or else for the vnskilfulnesse of theyr Generalls So did they suppose theyr ouerthrowes by the Cymbrians to be by the vnskilfulnesse and ouersight of Quin. Scaepio their Generall but Cai. Marius afterward reuenged the ouerthrowes of the Romaines with the greatest ouerthrow that euer the Cymbrians had By these meanes the Consuls were oftentimes remoued displaced from their offices of Consulship by the Senators as Varro Mansinus Leuinus others as the kings and Generals were in Sparta by meanes of their magistrates called Ephori such sure trust and confidence they had in their soothsayers that without the counsell of soothsayers in Rome or the counsell of Magi in Persia or of the Ephori in Sparta the kings of Rome of Persia and of Sparta would attempt nothing concerning the state of the countrey And therfore the Macedonians made a decree that no monument of triumph should be made within their kingdome for that a Lyon had raised vp a pillar which was set vp in memorie of a great victory gotten they thought the gods to be offended with them and therefore the decree was made So the Romanes after Carthage was destroyed and after restored againe when the Romanes had diuided and measured their lands and limited their meeres and markes by the pole for the Romaines to inhabite there for that the marks limits were bitten gnawed with wolues the Romanes paused staied before they had consulted with Oracles The first king of Rome Romulus builded his kingdom by flying of fowles and soothsaying So Numa Pompil was chosen second king of Rome by flying of fowles So Torquinius Priscus an Eagle tooke his cappe from his head and fled vp on high to the skies and after descended and let his cappe fall on his head againe signifying thereby that he should be king of Rome Pau Aemilius Consul and Generall of the Romanes in Macedonia at what time he sacrificed vnto the gods in the citie of Amphipolis it lightned whereby he was perswaded it pretended the ouerthrow of the kingdom of Macedonia and his great victory and tryumphe of the same at Rome Swallowes followed king Cyrus going with his army from Persia to Scythia as rauens followed Alexander the great returning from India and going to Babilon but as the Magi tolde the Persians that Cyrus should die in Scythia so the Chaldean Astrologers told the Macedonians that Alexander the great their king should die in Babilon without any further warrant but by the Swallowes that followed Cyrus to Scythia and by the rauens that followed Alexander to Babilon By Swallowes also lighting vppon Pirrhus Tents and lighting vpon the mast of Mar. Antonius ship sayling after Cleopatra to Egipt the soothsayers did prognosticate that Pirrhus should be slaine at Argos in Greece and Mar. Antonius in Egipt The Arabians Carians Phrygians and Cilicians do most religiously obserue the chirping flying of birds assuring themselues good or bad euents in their warres Themistocles was assured of victory ouer king Xerxes and his huge army by crowing of a cocke going to the battell at Artemisium the day before the battell began who hauing obtained so great a victory gaue a cocke in his ensigne euer after So Iu. Caesar gaue an elephant in his ensigne after he had subdued Iuba king of Mauritania The Lydians Persians and Thracians esteeme not soothsaying by birds but by powring of wine vpon the ground vpon their cloathes with certaine superstitious praiers to their gods that their warres should haue good successe Pau. Aemilius was assured of victory ouer Persius king of Macedonia by a word pronounced by his little girle Tertia saying to her father that Persius the dog and her play-fellow was dead Aristander the soothsayer in the battell at Arbela being the last against Darius was then on horse backe hard by Alexander apparelled all in white and a crowne of golde vppon his head encouraging Alexander by the flight of an Eagle the victorie should be his ouer Darius Both the Greekes the Romaines and the Lacedemonians had theyr soothsayers hard by them in their warres Alexander the great had not