the troups of the Gaules wondering at their bold superstition they passe naked of weapons but armed with a worship of religion whilest now captiue in their owne hostile walls and victory pursuing execution on them they still reverence their conquer'd Deities whil'st from euery quarter they seeke forraine Gods and make them their owne whilest they set vp altars to vnknowne Gods and spirits and doe entertaine the sacred ceremonies of all nations they deserued their Empire This perpetuall course of religion hath hitherto remained not broken with antiquitie but increased For age vseth to giue to ceremonies and temples so much more sanctity as they haue augmentation of yeares Neither yet for I dare here yeeld to make the search and so erre with more authority did our ancestors in searching entralls ordaining rites or dedicating temples rashly spend their labour View the memory of bookes and you shall quickly finde that they did initiate themselues into the rites of all religions either to gratifie divine favour to divert imminent anger of the Gods or to asswage it being in full rage and fury Witnesse the Jdean mother which at her arrivall approu'd the chastity of a Matrone and did free the citty from hostile feare Witnesse the consecrate statues of Castor and Pollux as they shewed themselues in the lake their horses all in a heate panting and foming when they reported our victory ouer Perses the same day he was overcome Witnesse the iteration of the great playes in the Circus to reconcile the offence of Iupiter according to the dreame of a vulgar Citizen Witnes the ratified devotion of the Docians and witnesse Curtius who with leaping himselfe downe on horseback into the swallow of a prodigious deepe gulfe made it againe fill vp And more often then wee would our contempts of augurie haue made manifest the presence of the Gods Thence is the name of Allia dismall thence did Claudius and Iunins in their sea-â—ight with the Carthaginians suffer a cruell shipwrack And to make the river Thrasymene â—un high and discoloured with our blood Flaminius contemâ—ned the prediction of the â—irdes and to make vs new worke for the recovering our Ensignes from the Parthians Crassus did scorne and deserue the Priests holy imprecaâ—ions I omitte many antique memories of the birthes gifts and munificence of the Gods I neglect the Poets songs I passe ouer many destinies foretold by Oracles least antiquiâ—ie may seeme vnto you ouer-fabulous Behold the Temples â—nd statuary houses of the Gods with which the Cittie of Rome is protected and beautified they are more glorious and rich in dressing and gifts then venerable with theiâ— Deities dwelling abiding and euer ready for present helpe in them From thence Prophets full of God and participating the divine nature gather predictions of things to come forewarne evile giue cures for diseases hope to the afflicted solace in calamities case in labours also in our steep there we see the Gods wee heare them we acknowledge their presence how soon oâ— in the day we denie violate thee honours and forsweare bâ— them Therefore when in all nations there remaines a firme confession of the immortalâ— Gods although their cause and originall be vncertaine I can brooke no man who puft vp with I knowe not what bold irreligious wisedome dare attempt to dissolue and elevate this religion of ours so old so vsefull so preserving humane societie Away with Theodore of Cyrene and with Diagoras Melius before him vpon whom antiquitie puts the name of Atheist both which in their doctrine of no Gods tooke away all the reverent feare and awfulnesse â—y which mankind is governed These men in their discipline of impietie although â—hey dissemble Philosophie â—hall neuer be reputed with â—e When the Athenians did banish out of their territories Protagoras of Abdera who disputed rather indiscreetly then prophanely of Divinitie did in their assembly burne his writings you will suffer me to prosecute my vndertaken action with a free zeale must not we mourne to behold men men I say of an incurable illegall and desperate faction so to forrage vpon the Gods who with a collection of people drawen from vtter basenesse and with credulous woemen easily falling in the imbecillitie of their sexe institute a route and profane conspiracie which in their nocturnall congregations by solemne fasts and inhumane feasts things not of Sacramenâ— but expiation doe league together a lurking and light avoyding nation full of prate in Corners and dumbe in faire assemblies They dispise our Temples as graues they spit vpon the Gods and deride our sacred Ceremonies If a man may speake it these miserable creatures with pittie behold the honours of our Priests and halfe naked scorne our Purple O their wonderfull and incredible bold foolerie In feare of vncertaine future torments they dispise all present and here they feare not to die for feare of dying after death So doth feare and false hope flatter them into a comfort of living againe And now as euill things grow in greatest abundance pernicious manners creeping in these men haue gained every where in the worlde terrible assemblies of their impious combination a combination accursed and to bee plucked vp by the very rootes They know themselues by secret markes and tokens they are in loue almost before they know one another and promiscuous lust is with them a kind of religion for they are all brothers and sisters so that by intercession of so holy a name common fornication must of necessity be with them incest So doth this vaine mad superstition glory in being criminall Neither would wise discerning common fame if there were no subsistencie of truth report these horrid things of them things not to be vttered without a preface of honour to the hearers I heare that amongst all filthy beasts from what perswasion I know not they worship an Asses head like worship like manners Others report that they worship their Prelates and Priests privie members adoring the nature of their spirituall Parents Peradventure this suspition may bee false yet it well agrees with a secret nocturnall solemnitie But those which say their worship to bee a man put to death for criminall demerit and that they worship the horrid similitudes of his crosse these fit those wicked lost people with alters in a good congruitie making them adore that which they deserue Now of receiving new commers into their sect the report is not so detestable as notorious An Infant is covered ouer in meale to deceiue the Novice and set before him then is he provoked as it were with harmelesse strokes to stab into the meale and so by concealed woundes the Infant is kil'd O horridnesse this Infants blood they lick vp and divide his members amongst them with this sacrifice they are imbrued into a league and by the guilt of murder giue pledge vnto mutuall secrecie If this be sacred what is sacrilegious And the manner of their feasting is well knowne all men every where report it and it is famous
alienate with themselues so many as they can from the true service of God The Poets acknowledge these to bee cunning spirits Philosophers dispute of them Socrates was not ignorant of them who at the direction and will of one still present with him did decline or vndertake businesse The Magicians also doe not only know them but act all the sport of miracles by their helpe By their inspiration and infusion they worke impostures making those things appeare which are not and those things not apeare which are Of these Magicians Hostanes the chiefest both for speech and deed doth attribute vnto the true God his deserued maiesty and makes honourable mention of his angells that is his messengers who tremble at his word and countenance he also makes mention of those other cunning wandring terrestiall spirits enemies to mankind And Plato who thought it so great a businesse to finde out God doth easily discouer both these vnto vs and in his feasting dialogue striues to expresse their nature He will haue them to be a middle substance betwixt soule and body halfe mortall halfe immortall compounded with a mixture of terrestiall heauinesse and celestiall lightnesse He will haue them cause in us the first incentiue sparkes of loue to informe and slide into mens brests to mooue their senses fashion their affections and then powre in a fiery heate of lust Wherefore these vncleane spirits as the Magicians the Philosophers and Plato shew lurke vnder consecrat statues and images and by an inspiration doe gaine with people authority to be reputed Gods whiles they sometimes seeme to possesse their prophets to abide in temples to animate the liuers of the sacrifice to gouerne the flights of birds rule lotteries and deliuer oracles involu'd with much falshood For they are deceiud and doe deceiue as not knowing truth sincerely nor confessing that which they know to their owne perdition So doe they draw vs from heauen and call us from the true God vnto these materiall things They disorder our life trouble our dreames creepe secretly into our bodies as being thinne spirits forge diseases terrify mindes distort members that they may force us to a worship of them when after a sacrifice of beasts and feasting at their altars they seeme to be appeased and release and cure those whom they had afflicted These are also the causes of those mad men whom you see breake forth into the streetes Their owne Prophets also are sometimes possest when they are forth the temple they roule their heads and rage These spirits incite both although to a diverse purpose And from them proceede those things of which you haue before spoken when Iupiter causd a new celebration of sports according to a dreame when the little ship did follow the matrones girdle when the Castors were seene with their â—orses The most of you doe know that these spirits confesse so much of themselues as often as by vs with torments of wordes and fire of praiers they are driuen out of bodies Saturne himselfe and Serapis and Iupiter and all the the rest of your Gods whom you worship are with griefe commanded to speake what they are plainly Neither would they lye to there owne disgrace especially when many of you are present When they doe thus confesse truth of themselues then belieue from there owne witnesse that they are euill spirits when we coniure them by the only true God they hardly stay in possest bodyes and either presently leape forth 〈◊〉 vanish by degrees as the fairâ— of the patient helps or thâ— grace of Gods minister prevailes So doe they shunne the presence of Christians whom a farre of they prouoke in your rioting assemblies And therefore insinuating themselues into the affections of vndiscerning people they dare but privily incite you to a hatred of vs through feare For t is naturall to hate whom we feare and to doe all the mischiefe wee can vpon those of whom we seeme to stand in danger So doe they forestall your mindes and shut vp your breasts from right vnderstanding that men vndertake to hate vs before they know what we are least knowing they should either follow our example or leaue off to pursue our condemnation But how great a crime it is to passe sentence vpon men vnknowne vntried which you doe belieue our earnest repentance For wee were as you are and in a blinde stupidnesse wee thought as you that Christians did worship monsters devoure Infants make incestuous banquets neither would wee vnderstand that these fables were still talkt of but never searcht vnto proofe when never any was found to giue evidence herein although he was sure to haue pardon for the fact and favour for the inditement And surely this crime imputed to the Christians was so nothing as any of them brought in question of his faith did neither blush at it nor feare only repenting that hee had not beene a Christian sooner Yet wee who did vndertake to defend and preserue in iudgement persons sacrilegious incestuous and even Parricides were of minde that these Christians ought not to bee heard speake for themselues And many times as it were out of pitty did vse on them ragefull cruelty to force a deniall of their beliefe that they might not dye vsing in these things a most perverse triall not to cleare truth but to extort falshood when if any did deny himselfe a Christian through infirmity overprest and vanquished with torment wee did favour him presently as if such deniall and abiuring had made sufficient expiation for all his faults Doe you not see your owne thoughts and actions in vs When if reason had beene iudge and not the instigation of those evill spirits these men should rather haue beene vrged to confesse their incests adulteries impious ceremonies and immolation of Infants then to vnsay their Christianity For with those fables haue your spirits filled the eares of ignorant people to raise in them a horrible execration of vs But no wonder if you doe not here vrge the question since fame which is nourished by dispersion of lies perisheth at the declaration of truth Such is the businesse of your spirits they did sow they did foment this most false rumour and from thence it is that you heare our divine secrecie should bee an Asses head Who would bee so foolish as to worship this Or who is not more foole to haue this imagination of vs but that you doe all-over consecrate your selues for Asses by worshipping the Lady Epona in your stable and sacrificing the same Asses religiously to your Goddesse Isis Oxe heads also and the heads of weathers you both sacrifice and worship You dedicate Gods in shape halfe goates and halfe men halfe Lions and halfe dogges and doe you not with the Egyptians both worship and feede the heyfer Apis Neither doe you condemne their other religious rites appointed to serpents crocodiles beasts birds and fishes and if any kill a God of these hee must by the law suffer death The same Egyptians with many
sportes and so seeme to feare those Gods you deny You weaue no wreathes of flowres for your heads you honour not your body with sweete perfumes but reserue their vnction for funeralls which neverthelesse you refuse to adorne with garlands pale chivie people and deseruing pitty but the pitty of our Gods Miserable men you doe not yet rise againe to life and in the meane while you liue not Wherefore if you haue in you any wisdome or shame leaue of searching the regions of Heavens with their fatalities and secrets T is enough for you to looke before your feete especially being vnlearned vnpolisht rude and rusticke They to whome is not given power of vnderstanding civill things must of necessity bee farther disable for disquirie of things Divine Also if any of you lust after Philosophy the best of you may if he can imitate Socrates the very Prince of wisdome whose knowne answeare it is when hee was at any time demanded of celestiall matters that which is aboue vs is to vs nothing and therefore worthily did hee from the Oracle receiue the testimony of singular wisdome which he beforâ— aprehended of himselfe thaâ— hee was therefore preferred before all others not because hee had comprehended alâ— things but because hee had learned that hee knew nothing So is chiefe wisedome the confession of our owne vnskilfullnesse And from this fountaine did flow the secure ambiguity of Arcesilas Carneades much after him and of the greatest sort of the Academickes in questions of high nature and in this kind the vnlearned may safely and the learned gloriously play the Philosophers The slownesse also of the Melian Simonides is it not admirable and worthy to bee followed Who when hee was asked by the Tirant Hieron of what essence â—nd quality hee supposed the Gods to bee required first a â—ay of deliberation the next â—ay following gotte a prorogaâ—ion of two dayes more and againe a like addition to that â—nd then when at last the Tiâ—ant enquired the causes of so great delay made answeare â—he more time hee spent in the â—nquisition the more obscure did this truth appeare vnto him And in my opinion things doubtfull are to bee left as we finde them neither in a deliberation of so many and so great persons may wee without empeachment of temerity and boldnesse bring in our iudgement on either side for feare least we either destroy all religion or induce for worship old wiues superstitions Thus spake Cecilius then smiling for the fluxe of a long oration had allayed the tumour of his disdaine to these things said hee what reply dares Octavius a man of Plautus like progenie of bakers the first and the last of Philosophers I sayd forbeare to sport on him for you doe not worthily to triumph in concinnity of speech before hee hath fully ended his declaration on the other side especially when your enquiry aymes not at praise but truth And allthough your oration hath wonderfully delighted me with the subtile variety of it yet I consider deepely not only for this action but for the whole kinde and manner of disputation that many times by the ability and power of the disputants eloquence even things of cleare truth seeme to change their condition This is well knowne to happen by the easinesse of the hearers who seduced with a delicacy of words are taken off from an intention of the things assenting without examination to all that is spoken not discerning false things from right and vnwitting that truth may bee in that which seemes incredible and falsehood in the greatest appearance of truth Therefore the more often they belieue earnest assertions more frequently are they againe convinced by skilfull men and dayly beguild through their owne rashnesse transferre the fault of iudgement into a complaint of vncertainty and at last condemning all things had rather suspect any thing then put themselues to the difficulty of iudging whether things bee false or no. Wherefore wee must haue a provident care least with such wee runne into a hatred of all enquiries and at last breake forth as doe many of the more simple sort into an execration and hate of men also For these vnheedfull credulous people when they are circumuented by those whom they esteemed good men for feare of a like errour now suspecting all things distrust those as wicked also whom otherwise they could approue for persons of excellent goodnesse Since then in every matter there be who dispute on both sides and truth is most often obscure on the best on the other lurkes wonderfull subtilty which often with a copiousnesse of eloquence doth imitate the certainty of plaine evidence it behooues vs to ponder all with diligence so as we may giue subtile argumentation her due praise yet make choice of those things which are right them onely approue and entertaine You depart saith Cecilius from the office of a faire iudge For it is very iniurious for you to infringe the force of my action with interposing so graue a disputation when Octavius is yet entire and vnblemisht in what hee shall reply If that say I which you haue in your declamation made so foule can bee refuted then is this remembrance of mine brought in briefly for the common good of vs all that wee may deliuer our iudgement from an exact examination not swayed with blastes of eloquence but with the solidity of the things themselues Neither will I any longer stay our intention as you complaine since if you please to giue a faire silence you may soone heare the answeare of our Ianuarius who seemes with ioye to prepare himselfe And then Octauius I will saith he speake according to my ability and vse all my strength yet must you endeavour with me to wash of with a flood of true wordes his most bitter aspersion of contumelious reproches And without dissimulation first of all I must say that my Natalis hath not deliuered his opinion with constancy it hath erred it hath flowen out bin ready many times to slippe from it selfe For hee varies sometimes in a beliefe of the Gods sometimes in a deliberation peraduenture to the end that by the vncertainty of his proposition the intention of our reply might with the lesse certainty come home vnto him But I will haue no craft in my Natalis I doe not belieue it cunning trade wit is farre from his simplicity How then As he that knowes not the right way when hee comes where the way parts into divers turnings he stands doubtfull dares not chuse any nor approue all so hee who hath no stable iudgement of truth dissipates and scatters his doubtfull minde with infidelity of suspitions No miracle therefore if Cecilius bee also tossed tided and waved vp and downe in so many repugnant contrarieties From which to set him safe I will convince and reproue all his diversenesse with a discourse that shall accept no proofe or confirmation but from truth only hee shall no more doubt no more wander And because my
men were well in their wits if they were sound and entire of their senses they would not thus delude themselues But common errour giues herein mutuall patronage The multitude of madding people is a Topick place of defence Yet this superstition gaue Empire to the Romans it encreased them it laid them a foundation of future greatnesse raisd not so much by vertue as by this religion and piety See if you please what kind of noble famous righteousnesse the Romans had in the beginning and cradle of their empire In their first rising were they not a select band of wicked men fortifiing and encreasing themselues with terror of their immanity Their first company was collected by erecting a place of sanctuary for rogues whither resorted the desperate the criminal the incestuous brothers of the blade and traitors And Romulus their generall and commander that he might also be chiefe in villany murdered his owne brother These are the first sacraments of a religious city and then to get them wiues against all civill custome they ravish violate delude neighbour virgins already betrothd or promised and take many woemen from their bed of matrimony with the parents and kindred of these they ioyne battell and make effusion of their blood What is more irreligious more bold more presuming of safety then a confidence of wickednesse Now they begin to driue out neighbours from their possessions to overturne bordering cities with their Temples and Altars force the inhabitants to ioyne with them by other mens harmes and their owne villanies they get vp And this discipline of Romulus hath beene to their succeeding Kings and Captaines a common patterne of example All that the Romans hold that they possesse and all their colonies they owe to their shameles rapin All their Temples are built from the spoiles of warre the ruines of cities the destruction of the Gods and the slaughters of Priests Is it not illusion and insulting vpon the Gods to obserue those religions which they haue beaten and to haue them in adoration after they haue beene lead captiue in victory For to worship that which you would subdue is to consecrate sacriledge not Deities Therefore haue the Romans beene as often impious as victorious and they haue made so many spoiles of the Gods as they haue erected trophies over nations Neither are the Romans growne to greatnes with religion but by being safely sacrilegious For how should they obtaine from the Gods helpe in their warres against whom they tooke armes whom they droue out of their habitations howsoeuer after they had lead them in triumph they began to worship them Or what could these Gods doe for the Romans who had not power to preserue against their armies the people amongst whom they were aunciently worshipped And wee are not ignorant what manner of nationall Gods the Romans had There was Romulus Picus Tiberinus and Consus and Pilumnus and Picumnus Tatius both found out and did worship the privy Ladye Cloacina Hostilius found out feare and palenesse then I know not by whom the feaver had his dedication such was the superstition which was nourished in that city as they did worship diseases and indispositions of health And indeed Acca Laurentia and Flora prostitute shamelesse queanes must also be computed into the number both of their diseases and Deities And is it likely that such Gods as these should in dispight of other Gods amongst the nations dilate the Roman empire For indeed they the Thracian Mars Iupiter of Creete Iuno of Argos of Samos of Carthage or Diana of Tauris or the Idean Mother or those Egyptian rather prodigies then Deities could not defend their owne people against the Roman forces Except peraduenture amongst the Romans the chastity of their Virgins was greater and the religion of their Priests more holy when frequently many of their Virgins hauing easily made a fault with men without Vestaes notice haue had a civill revenge executed vpon their incest and the rest were more happy in wantonesse then safe in chastity And where doe your Priests more often hire fornications treat Veneries contriue adulteries then at the altars and images of the Gods And no common resorts of whoererie doe so frequently supply the businesse of lust as the cells of those who are officers and guardians of the Temples And yet before these your Priests and Virgins were heard of in the world at Gods pleasure the Assyrians had the Empire the Medes the Persians the Greekes the Egyptians when as yet they had none of your pontificall rites no brotherhood of Priests to sanctify the fields no dauncing Priests in honour of Mars no Virgins to attend the Godesse Vesta and her fire no Priests of angurie to keepe birds in coopes to divine the successe of things by their feeding or refusall of meate For now I am come to their examination which you say haue beene collected with great labour not omitted without repentance and ever obserued with happy successe Will you say that Clodius Flaminius and Jurius therefore lost their armies because they would not stay to know whether the barly falling on the ground did make an ominous leaping yet Regulus obserued this ceremony and was taken by the enemies Mancinus kept this religion and yet was forct to yeelde to a base submission and captiuity The chicken did eate for Paulus and yet at the battaile of Cannae both he and the greatest part of his army was cut downe Caius Caesar in spight of this divination forbidding him to saile into Affricke with his fleete before winter put forth and had a faire passage with victory As for your oracles how shall I pursue their history Amphiaraus after his death makes answeares concerning things to come and yet was he ignorantly betrayed to death by his wife for the loue of a gold chaine Blinde Tiresias must see things future who could not discerne any thing before him Old Ennius faines answeares of the Pithian Apollo for King Pirrhus when Apollo had long before left of to bee a poeticall Prophet Whose wary doubtfull oracle quickly ceas'd when men began to bee more civill and lesse credulous And Demosthenes knowing the imposture of such answeares did complaine that the Pythian Virgin Prophetesse was corrupted by King Philip. But you will say that these auguries and these oracles did sometimes hit on the truth Although indeed chance may sometimes seeme in many lyes to speake as it were to purpose yet I will trie to discover this fountaine of errour and wickednesse to shew whence all this disguise hath risen I will even open the very foundations and lay them to a manifest view There bee false spirits wandring vp and downe since with terrestriall corruptions and desires they lost their celestiall vertue These spirits haue foregone the puritie of their substance with a burden and deluge of vices and to comfort their calamitie being ruin'd themselues they neuer leaue to attempt the distruction of others to infuse a depravation of errour by inducing evill religions to
and horrour of execution when he erects his liberty against Kings and Princes yeelds only to God to whom he belongs When like a triumphant victor he glories over the iudge that pronounces his sentence and victory it is when a man hath atchieved that he sought for What souldier will not more boldly provoke danger vnder the eyes of the Generall For none can haue rewardes before hee hath given experiment of himselfe and yet a Generall cannot giue that which he hath not he cannot prolong life though hee can honour a souldiers worth But the souldier of God is neither forsaken in his paine nor endes his life in death and may bee thought but never found miserable You your selues doe praise calamitous men vnto the heavens amongst others Mutius Scaevola who when he had mistaken his attempt vpon the King had died amongst his enemies if he had not showne vnto them such an example of courage in the burning of his right hand And how many of our men haue endured without out-cries the burning vnto ashes not of their right hand only but their whole body when it was in their power by deniall of their beliefe to be let goe and liue freely Doe I compare the men of ours with Mucius with Aquilius with Râ—gulus The very Children and woemen among vs by an inspired patience of griefe doe despise and laugh at your crosses yâ—… torments your wilde beastes and all your contemptible terrours of punishment And you miserably will not vnderstand that no man would either without great reason vndergoe or could without Gods aide abide such torments Except that deceiue you because men not knowing God doe flow in riches flourish in honours and excell in power Vnhappy men these are raisd high that their fall may bee greater like sacrifices they are fatted vnto punishment and like beastes are crownd for slaughter Some of them are for this lifted vp vnto Empires and dominations that they may sell the dispositions of their wicked soules vnto all licentiousnesse of free power For without the knowledge of God what solid felicity can there be which passes like a dreame and slides away almost before it is possest Art thou a King Thou dost feare as thou art feared and although thou bee guarded with great retinue yet art thou but one man obnoxious to infinite dangers Art thou rich But fortune is deceitfull of trust and with great provision the short journey of life is rather burdened then instructed Dost thou glory in thy purples and ensignes of dignity T is a vaine errour of men and an empty pompe to shine in purple and be sordid in the minde Art thou descended from auncient nobility Thou dost herein but praise thy parents yet are wee all borne of equall condition and in truth only distinguished by vertue We therefore who make our estimation only by manners and modest behauiour abstaine willingly from your evill pleasures your evill pompes and spectacles the beginnings of which wee know to bee vnholy and the continuance full of damnable allurements For in your racing sports with chariots who would not detest the mad contestation of your peoples part taking In your fencers who doth not abhorre a discipline of murder In your stage sports there is no lesse fury and more obscenity for now the actor doth either dilate adulteries or present them now in a wanton manner faining loue he puts the spectators into earnest lust and then dishonours your Gods by personating their adulteries their lamentations their hatreds then with dissembled griefes vaine gestures and feares hee provokes your teares So in a lye you bewaile the deathes of men and loue to behold them in a true execution And if wee share not the reliques of your sacrificing feastes and the goblets which are first powrd forth vnto your idols this is no confession of feare but an assertion of true liberty For although every thing that growes as being the inviolable gift of God cannot by your missusance bee condemned yet we abstaine least any should thinke we did by this yeelde our selues subiect vnto your spirits or that wee were something ashamed of our owne religion And who is he that doubts whether we doe refresh our selues with the flowres of the spring when wee take the rose and the lilly and whatsoeuer else in flowres hath fairenesse of smell and colour with these loose and soft wee strowe our houses and with some bound vp wee fill our bosomes Indeed you must pardon vs if wee crowne not our heads with them For we vse to draw the ayre of a sweete flower with our nostrills not with our haire and hinder parte of our head Neither do we put garlands vpon the dead Rather in this wee wonder at you why you should giue vnto the dead who feele nothing your torches and your coronets of fâ—owres when if he be happy he now wantes them not and misery cannot reioice in flowers But we prepare our burialls in the same tranquility with which wee liue Wee put not on them a fading crowne but wee expect for them a crowne ever fresh with eternall flowres wee vse the liberality of our God with moderation and secure in the hope of future felicity we are encouragd in confidence of his Maiesty ever present with vs. So wee rise againe to happinesse and wee in a pleasing contemplation of what we shall be Wherefore let Socrates your gibing Athenian looke to it who humourd himselfe in a confession of knowing nothing howsoeuer hee be glorious in the iudgement of a most false spirit Let Arcesilas Carneades and Pyrrho and all the Academick multitude perpetually deliberate let also Simonides still put off his resolution we contemne the browes of the Philosophers whom we know to haue beene corrupters of youth and adulterous and Tyrants and ever eloquent against their owne vices Wee who pretend not wisdome by a strange habit but an integrity of minde doe not speake but liue in a great manner wee glory to haue found that which they sought with great ambition could not obtaine Why are we ingratefull Why are we envious to our selues if the true knowledge of divinity hath come to be ripely apprehended in our age Let vs enioy our blessing let vs be temperate in a right vnderstanding Let superstition be restraind impiety be expiated true religion be preserud When Octavius had ended his oration for a while wee in an amazd silence did fixe our eyes vpon him and as for my selfe I almost knew not where I was through an excesse of admiration whereas hee had with arguments examples and authorities of reading beautifully deliuered those things which it is easier to think then expresse that he had beaten downe our maleuolent adversaries with their own armor of Philosophy and had shewed truth to be not only easie but favourable Whilest I did in silence runne over these things with my selfe Cecilius broke forth and spake after this manner I thanke octauius for the tranquility in which we are now like