them Whereby all men maye learne to feare the Lorde knowing that hee is iust and holie immutable and not as man is to bee pleased with a faire worde but euen amongst his chosen children hee sendeth his deuouring sworde to cut of the roote of their sinnes and not to them onely but to their children and childrens children Concerning this wee haue a cleare example in Achab king of Israell who when hee could not entreat poore Naboth to depart vnto him his vineyard and the inheritance of his forefathers hee lay down on his bed all sick with griefe turning his face from the companie towards the wall he sighed sorrowfully but the phisition was at his elbow For there was a commission presently sent forth a court called witnesses examined Naboth condemned brought forth executed When Achab heard of this he rose from his bed he descended and tooke possession But the Lord he sounded forth his trompet of defiance against him by the mouth of Helias saying hast thou killed and taken possession behold in the same place where the dogges licked the bloud of Naboth they shall also licke thy bloud and I will cut of the line of thy posteritie so that I will destroy from Achab euery one that maketh water against the wall Achab hearing this was wonderfullie sorie and vexed in his hart so that he rent his garment fasting and praying in sackcloth and ashes Therefore the Lord had an eie to his penitent sorrow and recomforted him by the mouth of Helias saying Because thou hast humbled thy selfe at my voice this euill shall not come in thy daies but in thy sonnes daies and yet not one iot of the word of the Lord failed concerning his death For after three years there arose great wars betwixt Israel and the Assâ—â—ians in which king Achab being sore wouÌ„ded vnder the side with an arrow the bloud ran down into the chariot and he died and they washed the Chariot in the poole of Samaria and the dogs licked his bloud in the selfe same place where hee spilt the bloud of the innocent Naboth His eldest sonne Ioram was partaker of this punishment sent from God for hee was shot betwixt the shoulders by the handes of Iehu being cast out of his chariot into the fielde of Naboth Also his wife Iesabel the deuiser of this sinne shee was cast out of her window downe vpon the pauement where her brains dasht out against the stones her bloud sprent vpoÌ„ the walles her body bruised against the ground When she should haue bin taken vp there was nothing found remaining saue onely her handes her feet and her scawpe as it was spoken by the mouth of Helias Dogges shall eate the flesh of Iesabel in the fieldes of Iesraell Lastly that wee may behold the seuere iudgement of the Lord against those which take away other mens possessions though Achab left great store of Children behind him euen 70. sonnes in Samaria so that it seemed verie likely in the eie of man that hee should neuer want issue to sitte vppon his seat yet the Lord in one day by the hand of Iehu destroyed them all their heads were cut of at his commaundement and laid on heapes by the citie gate to the end that all posteritie might learne hereby not to trust in the multitude of their landes authoritie and riches or to hope too much in the succession of their carnal bodie but to way the seuere iudgementes of the Lord against all those which neglect his honour and which through a greedie desire of earthly possession with the hasard of their owne soules willingly vndoo their poore neighbours and bretheren for whom the Lord Iesu the God of heauen and earth hath shed his most pretious bloud O that carnall men would consider wisely and way this conclusion truly in their hart that if the Lord did so seuerely punish Achab and yet not the thousand part which hee deserued for the taking away of one of his subiectes vineyardes which lay verie commodiouslie for him that hee died vnfortunately in the battaile his Queene was eaten with dogges his children euen 70. be headed all in one day what grieuous punishment hath hee prepared for those which take the house vineyards of his beloued spouse which impouerish his children of whom he hath said hee which hurteth you hee toucheth the apple of mine eye which eate her bread from her and make her barren of her best beloued children Which place all their studie and delight in hording vp corruptible riches not remembring how litle it auaileth a man if he win the whole world and loose his owne soule Nay not considering the exceeding great blessings which the Lord continuallie powreth on them that mainteine his holie temple and the extraordinarie curses wherewith hee cutteth of the desire and posteritie of all those which either decay his holy church or diminish the deuine worship of his holy name Me thinks our eies should not be so dim in this cleare light that wee should not see nor our hearts so fleshlie that wee should not vnderstand and the will of the Lord and his great iudgements against those which maintaine themselues by the goods of the church being none of those which do seruice or haue any special functioÌ„ in the same Though we wil not vnderstaÌ„d the feareful examples which the Lord hath shewed heretofore Yet let vs so incline our owne hartes and waies that of our selues we may be ready rather to giue with the blessed than to take away with the cursed Let vs consider with reason that man is created for the glory of God not for his owne glory for the seruice of God not for his owne seruice for the saluation of the whole man euen body soule not for a litle vaine delight whilest he liueth herein y â— flesh Herein let him know by the rules of nature of reason of ciuil lawes holy institutioÌ„ that the goods of the church came to vs by the right of successioÌ„ by the same right they are entailed to our posteritie succession of our place calling for euer If this bee so theÌ„ the sequel is most plaine true the goods of the church they are none of ours to giue but whilest we possesse theÌ„ nor theirs to take we offend in giuing they offend in taking away that which is neither theirs nor ours But as Naboths vineyard the inheritance giuen by our forefathers to vs our succession We gaue you them say some we may take them away Not so though the antecedent halt yet suppose it were true the coÌ„sequent is altogether maimed Though you had giueÌ„ that which you would faine take away though those good deuout soules your auncestors which so charitably prouided both for you vs liued at this day whose life would be to them a double death if their eies did see that which we see yet that which thou hast once giuen into mine hand willingly wittingly
secrete polling and vndermining the Church of Iesu Christ. And if it be a great punishment sent from God vpon thee thy wife thy children thy house or family thy countrie or people though thou haue not sinned lately notoriouslie yet remember what thou hast done long since thinke that long since thou inclosedst such a fielde from thy poore neighbours that that thou tookest the goodes lands and priuiledges from such a Church there giuen to maintaine the worshippe of the Lorde therewith remember that though it were long since yet with the Lord a thousand yeares is but as one day and therefore now hee punisheth thee euen with as perfect iustice as if the deede were nowe in dooing before his face Would to God that men woulde hereby learne to feare the Lord and to tremble at his secrete iudgement that they woulde cast off the loue of this wicked worlde which corrupteth their consciences and poisoneth their owne soules that they woulde leaue this fained kinde of repenting in worde onelie and repent in deede which is restoring with Zacheus foure folde and vndooing that which they haue done to the vttermost of their power If the loue of the Lords blessinges will not incite them to good life yet let the fcare of his heauie iudgementes deterre them from sinne Let vs not looke on those great and grieuous examples which I haue nowe rehearsed thinking those were long since in times past and that in forraine nations beyond the seas for if we looke well we shall see that as many plagues pestilences and other contagious diseases of the bodie haue beene brought ouer sea into this fortunate Iland so also this most contagious and deadly maladie of bodie and soule came ouer and rooted it selfe in this lande long since Wee haue store of examples at home and one shall serue for the perfecting of this period William Rufus the third sonne of the Conquerour after hee had ouercome his enemies and their resistance diuers times beeing returned out of Fraunce and quietly enioying the Scepter of this land afterward hee liued in ioy and triumph and for the more suppliance of his pleasure and pastime he to inlarge his Forrest pulled downe foure Abbeies seauenteene parish Churches and all the Townes belonging to the same Quo quisque peccat eodem saepe plectitur modo Oft times a man is punished the same way by which hee offendeth and so was hee for in the same Forrest where these Churches stood which hee pulled downe and in the same disport or pastime for which he dissolued them he was slaine by the glauncing of an arrow shot at a Deare by a Knight so that hee fell downe therewith on the grounde giuing onelie one grone Some write that in the same place where he fell downe and died in olde time there had beene a faire Church which with others in his Fathers time were dissolued for the enlarging of the said Forrest in which Forrest also a litle before the Kings Nephew was slaine by the like chaunce This Kings Father and he both minded to haue made this a fâ—ire goodly Forrest fit for the disport and hunting of a king but the Churche of Christe and the houses of his poore Subiects stood in his waie His officers and sycophants considering what would come rouling into their purses that way said it was very meete it should be so so it was But alas it proued a small pleasure of the father which ended with the deadlie groning of his sonne a simple pastime for the king to haue his bodie wounded with the piercing arrow to the death Pleasure bought with griefe is seldome kindly and gaine procured with the displeasure of the Almighty doth neuer profite The hearts of the wicked lust after their owne bane and wanton pleasure poisoneth hir owne Nurse The flower of flesh florisheth not an houre and the fall thereof is griefe to the eie The wisedome of this world compoundeth cares and the height of their deuises want successe Most mens fancie wearieth the spirite and their welthiest wish is perfect disquietnes He which magnifieth himself seeketh his owne decaie because the chaire of pride is placed on slipperie ice Hee which gathereth vnrighteous goodes for his children pierceth the heart of his owne flesh and who so taketh away his neigbours possession he diggeth vp the roote of his owne posteritie Hee which neglecteth his maker choketh his soule and hee which taketh from the Church shall not prosper vppon earth his bodie shall decaâ—e without his bloud shall drie vp within his marowe shall consume within his bones his musicke shall bee groning daie and night his feeding shall be loathsomnes of meate his wish shal be O that I were as yonder poore man his comfort that his good daies bee past his recreation one pang vpon an other his glad tidings the death of his children his consolation the loathing of his friends his hope the feare of death and vnlesse hee repent his ende shall bee despairre of eternall life Who so mindeth to liue with Iesus Christ eternally in heauen aboue and in this life mindeth to see good daies let him walke the way of the righteous and marke the fruitlesse paths of the wicked Frst of all let him keepe his hands from violating holie things and behold the miserable ende of those which doe the contrarie Let him reade the holie Gospell of Saint Mathewe and in reading let him marke diligentlie in marking diligentlie let him vnderstand truelie what our Sauiour Christ meaneth when hee saith yee fooles whether is the golde holie or the Temple which sanctifieth the golde and whether is the gift holie or the Altar which sanctifieth the gift If the Temple make the ornaments holie then the walles the woode the stone of the which the Temple doth consist is holie if the Altar doe sanctifie the gift then that which belongeth to the maintaining of the Altar is sanctified they which minister ther at are to be reputed holy If by our sauior Christ his speach those things be true then they be holie men which build vp the Lords house and they be wicked which pull downe the same according to that old verse Ecclesias Christi quas fundauêrâ— parentes Heu malè diripiunt gnati pietate carentes The godlie Fathers builded vp the Churches of Christ and the vngodlie children haue pulled them downe But marke the end of all those which walked this way and learne to keepe thy conscience cleare from this gracelesse fact The Lord inflicted manie plagues on them whilest they liued here and when they were once deade their honour vanished like smoake and was buried with them in the graue As their bodies consumed in the earth euen so their infamie did spring vp out of the ground their goods wasted like waxe in the fire and like snow before the Sunne their posteritie became like the grasse growing on the house top which withereth before it â—ee ripe Nether was this only the
field Though thy number bee three to one and thou assure thy selfe to haue the daie yet if the forbidden Babilonish garment bee hidden in the tent rather then thou shouldest prosper therewith the starres in heauen euen the starres shall fight in order from heauen against thee as they did against Sisera the Riuers shall swell against thy comming which if thou enter they shall strike of the wheâ—es and carrie thine iron charrets cleane away The stones in the walles shall fight against thee at home and the foules of the ayre abroad thine enemie shall stand vpon the shore with his banner displaied whilest thou liest drowning in the deepe He shall march vnto the toppes of the highest hilles without losse of men or shedding of his bloud hee shall display his banner with triumphe hee shal descend in peace and refound his trumpet in his tente most courragiouslie Therefore let all true christians muse and meditate more wisely on the will of the Lord let them knowe that it is better to trust in the Lord alone then in any power of man that it is better to depend vpon the seruice of the Lord and the loue of his holie name then to put any confidence in Princes in power in authoritie in riches Let the trueth of the Lord be theyr light and let his looue be the way his holy Prophets their guiders in the same Let theÌ„ fight cheefely for the glory of the Lord and not theyr owne glory for his church and not their own possessions for their soueraigne and not their owne primacie for the realme and not for reuenge of priuate quarels or hope of higher rule Let their departurebe in peace vnfayned loue vnto the spouse of Iesu Christ at theyr going foorth let them not say that theyr garmentes theyr furniture theyr money their coine came from the church but let them looke backe into the lande and beholde the church from whence they sprang Let them pitty theyr mother in their hart and let them say with the sons of God peace bee with thee and sweete prosperitie O thou house and Citty of the Lord let their watch word be Domus dei and theyr great allarum Vincat veritas But let them not be christians onelie in word let not all their religion dwell in their mouth and nothing in their hartes and deedes let them not goe foorth laughing and leaue manie weeping eyes behinde them let them not bragge that they fight for the Church abroad whilest they are full of deadlie sinne within and weaken the foundation of the Church at home Can wee looue our father and yet spoile our elder brethren Can wee tender our mother and yet presse her teates so sore that in steede of sweete milke they droppe bloude Can wee cherishe the sucking childe and yet empoision the teate of the Nurâ—e which giueth it sucke Dooth hee looue his freende who while hee is gone into a farre countrie taketh his little childrens bread out of their handes their cloathes from their backes their houses ouer their heades If this question knocke at the doore by which wee would faine enter into the Church of Iesu Christ and the answere to the same bee the key which openeth the waie and sheweth vs the light of trueth whose beames shine cleerely from the sonne of God why shutte wee vp the fleshlie windowes of our heart with custome of this great sinne aboue the rest So that that the cleere beames of the sonne of God the bountie of his mercie the brightnesse of his glorie cannot once open our earthlie intralles or mooue our sinfull bowels to haue compassion on our tender nurse and most loouing mother if this be farre from your perswasion and you doubt of the same then open your eares and incline your hartes to the voyce of health and saluation lifte vp your eye liddes O yee worthies of the earth and comprehend the light which shineth in darknesse O yee Princes open your gates and yee the elect of the Lorde open your eternall doores and the true light of the God of glorie shall enter in Which when thou hast once beheld with thy mortall eye hauing therewith reade this small treatise rudelie written in hast with a posting pen aske no more the question is this true or shall I aunswer for goods thus taken or is it a blessed thing to giue vnto the Church and a cursed thing to take there fro In this conceite bee not highe minded but feare and tremble before the Lord looke how high the lord sitteth aboue all heauens and howe lowe thou art here on the earth Way that thou art in the earth a worme and no man that thy daies are but a spanne long and that one spanne is a continuall warefare hereunto applie this processe that when thou camest first into this world and werte verie young thy spirituall enemies were olde and subtill that they haue rather wonne then lost euer sithence and holde the same vantage of thee at this daie that they haue wounded thee sore and so sore that thou art not able to stand vpright in the way of life Therefore though thou be mightie and puissant yet in that thou art sore wounded refuse not the holesome oyle of the simple Samaritane which he powreth in thy woundes denye not his suppliant paines in binding them vp in setting thee on his horse which will bring thee to thy Inne and place of rest where thou wouldest be If he doe the best he can and laie out the finest coyne in his purse for thee though it be but two pence yet sith all this is doone for the bringing thee into the way from the which thou wert wandered the deliuering thee from euill and the sauing of thy life confesse the trueth which thou canst not denie the oyle is holesome the binding coÌ„fortable the man deuoute his dooing good his sayings true blessed bee the God of trueth Which because thy dooings shewe thou yet doubtest lesten but a little whilest I open before thine eyes the highe fountaine from whence the trueth of sure perswasion most gentlie floweth together with the plaine examples of auncient times which shewe most clerely in a glasse the true countenaunce of the well disposed minde the good life and happy death of all those which heretofore haue looued founded inriched nourished freede priuiledged adorned the church and contrarie the vglie shape the tirannous life and miserable death of those which persecuted the Christians pulling downe theyr temples pilling and powling the liuinges and freedomes of the Church of Iesu Christ here on earth Concerning this kinde of catterpillers Celsus of Verona had written plainely vnto the Duke and Senate of Venece In which short treatise sith we may euidently beholde the great deformitie of our age Sith his leaues be fewe his examples many his appliaunce plaine his conclusion true sithe it is nowe translated and set open before our eyes shewing vs this foule spot in
the name of that Disciple whom the Lord so loued that he let him leane vpon his breast 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For whose sake we loue another him we loue much more And surelie this most vertuons princes loued our Lord Iesu with a perfect loue which so honoured the name of that disciple whom the Lord loued so much neither did her worthie deuotion conteine it selfe within these walles but proceded like the pleasant flowing riuer which giueth moisture to the pastures round about it In that shee founded a diuinitie lecture to be read publiquely in Cambridge and an other in Oxford with many other gratious deeds elsewhere To these good fruits which this worthie tree of the Lords vineyard did send forth plentifully vnder whose shadow many of vs pore soules are shrowded from the nipping cold in Winter and the scorching heat of Summer at this daie the Lord distilled the heauenlie deaw of his blessing vnto her heart giuiâ—g her a most deuout and heauenlie minde here vppon earth to which all the treasure in the world is nothing comparable with pefect honor true heartie loue of al good Christians To which hee added a faithfull and louing promise made vnto the iust setting her most princely sonne vppon the seat of the kingdome whilest she liued And after her death his childrens children which wee see with our eies at this day to our great ioy peace and comfort most heartily praying God to graunt her a long and prosperous reigne in this world and in the world to come euerlasting felicity Amen Amen is already said my prayer to God shal be amen But thend period is not yet sith in the field of the Lord there is good seede and tares holesome hearbes and weedes sweet roses and stingingnettles We haue now shewed plainly the fruitful seede of this garden and the sweete fragrant flowers growing in the same which daily send vp a most sweete smell into the nostrils of the Lord much like the odoriferous smell of Iacobs garmentes which greatlie delighted the senses of his olde father Isaac or lyke the pretious oyntment powred on the head of Aaron running downe his beard euen to the hemme of his garment Amongst the which good trees now named as there are many passing pleasaunt flowers springing out of many and sundry soiles so the peareles pearle the flower of flowers the rose of England being ioyned with the rest doth make the nosegay full faire and sweet whose pleasant smel because it is so holesome to the head and comfortable to the heart because the oyle thereof doeth comforte the brused sinewes lowseth the dried iointes and mittigateth swelling paines through the whole bodie The Lord hold his holie hand ouer this flower and preserue it to his glory according to the tenor of that old verse Haecrosa virtutis de coelo missa sereno Eternum florens regia sceptra tenet This rose of true vertue euen sent from heauen holding the kingly scepter of this lande shall flourish for euer And good cause why Sith the roote thereof is firmely fixed on the south-east side of this orchyard Ouer which the sunne of heauen hath spred his blessed beames so plentifully that the ground thereof is fresh and greene the flowers faire the smell sweete the fruit most plentiful and verie wholesom Which because it yeeldeth the first and sweetest taste vnto the spowse of Iesu Christ hee hath blessed it as yee haue heard and it shall be blessed And though I bee the vnworthiest of many thousandes to walke thorow this orchard of the Lorde Yet if it shall please you of your curtesie to accompany mee vnto the of ther side ye shall see by the way that wee must decline from euill and doe good that on this side of the orchyard bee many faire and large trees whose bowes be faire the leaues be greene the fruit is well seeming but yet it hangeth so high that it will not come downe the bowes are so stiffe and the trees so vntractable that they will not once bend themselues vnto the hande of the most louing spowse of Iesus Christ. And therefore as the Lord of his mercie hath blessed those abundantly which loue his spouse nourish his children so on the contrary hee maketh those trees barren which yeeld him no fruite He taketh the iuice from them so that their bowes wither their leaues fall from them the bodie dieth the tree is cut downe with his sharpe axe or else with great force pulled vp by the roote and cast into consuming fire But if the ranke root of the euill tree be so full of naturall corruption and venimous posion that it sucke out the iuice from the good trees neere adioining thereto which yeelde wholesome fruites vnto all his saints then the Lorde he sendeth forth his spirite of mighty force and tempest which breaketh the bowes and rendeth the tree in sunder Hee prepareth most exquisite tormentes and vntollerable dolours for all those which impouerish his Church which disgrace the shepheardes of his flocke which treade downe the sides of his simple folde and deuoure his poore lambs thorow the gredie and heathenish desire which they haue to the the goods of this world From this corrupt fountain springeth the vncertaine and the wretched cares of mans life in that euery one is set on fire with the sparks of infinite desires Beeing once tottered in the chariot of this vncertaintie man walketh in a vayne shadow disquieteth himselfe in vaine His hart is set on vanitie and all his purchase is the sorrowfull fruits of the flesh Though honor and riches haue no stabilitie though the strength of man is like a brused reede which we bteake in sunder with our fingers though the whole world be a sea of troubles all the prosperities therof waues of perpetuall disquietnes yet man sinful man presumptuous disobedient vnsatiable man though his eies be weake and dim yet will he aduenture to looke against the radiant sunne though he be blind yet will he walke though he bee weake yet wil he striue against the strongest stream though he be naked yet will he offer himselfe to the stroke of death though the drinke be deadly poison yet because the colour is good the cup pleasant the first tast therof sweet he wil drinke a large draught till the tast of his toong empoyson his owne hart till his pleasure breake out with roaring paine till his bodie be dried vp and til his soule all consumed with sinne cry out with Iob Tedet animam meam vit ae meae it irketh me of this wicked life Though this bee thus and daily example of those which descend before our eyes into the graue dooth tell vs all this plainely yet wee daily carke and care for this carkasse of ours knowing well it is but dust wee desire sweete meates which empoison the soule wee reuerence we feare most seruilely wee admire worldly honour which
lawfully thou canst not take to thee againe Who presenteth a noble man with a saire horse or a goodly dogge after the acceptance of the same with hartie thanks challengeth his gift again for his owne If his manners faile thus farre yet is it right or reason so to doe But if wee giue vnto the Lorde and that freely as we ought to doe if wee confirme the same with worde and deede with witnes hande and seale and willing deliuerie shal we be so shameles that before the Lordes face and in the sight of all his saints we will say giue me my goodes or these be my landes or as the Priestes boy saide if you will not giue me I wil take it this is thus or at the least I so suppose sith thou which lately didest walke belowe in order with thy brethren art now well fatted and they still leane thou hast taken a higher flight and aymest at a richer praye thou hast seene greate wars with the straunge deuise of forraine sleights thou breakest that which will not bend leauing the good country simplicitie entring the vsual course of this flattering worlde forgetting the plaine honest dealing of a true Englishman thou art thereby wel instructed to liue and so full soone thou becommest very well learned thou canst the rule to catch on all sides and to hold fast till death doth loose the knot In practise of this generall thou reapest where thou sowest not thou findest that which earst was neuer lost thou receiuest from the church that which when thy conâ—cience seeth it within thy gates it blusheth red as a rose and burneth within thy hart like the flame of fire That this flame may not onelie appeare without but also consume within euen the heart the life and the soule thou powrest oyle into it ioining house to house and land to land turning poore mens commons into thine owne priuate pasture With these two wings of violence of a sodain thou risest from the earth and with the helpe of the puffing winde thou mountest swiftly so high that the highest temples and mightiest mountaines to which before thou durst scarce lift vp thine eyes least thy head should dazell nowe are farre below thy slight and through great despoile almost out of viewe In this thy height remember that thou wert lowe before and that thou must descend down into the earth from whence thou camest The arrowe shotte vpright out of the bow when it is at the highest it turneth backe and swiftly falleth downe to the place from whence it came The soaring fowle which flyeth most swifte and high when mowlting time by kinde and course comes in ofttimes dooth cast her fayrest feathers Those on whome this worlde dooth laugh most pleasauntly which haue the fawning of outwarde fortune at their owne pleasure pleasing themselues in the high throne of honour and rule let them consider that the higher they climbe the lower will be their fall and that which is the corsey of their pompe the highest boughes be most weake and brittle This is the vaine hope of sinfull man What auaileth it to attaine the highest boughes sith on the same dooth hang the fruite of our perdition Canst thou sit surer and faster on the highest boughes aboue than olde Ely did on his Cell belowe from which hee fell downe backeward and brake his necke Flatter your selues still if you wil O yee which distraine your mothers teate so harde that it droppeth bloud withall and feed your selues with the doubtfull pleasure of this sinne and when you haue satisfyed your thirst with the taste of that which yee drinke too much then assure your selues if God bee God euen the God of Gods if he be iust euen iustice it selfe if he bee the same he was as saith the Apostle the same yesterday to daye and for euer if hee bee true which is the way the the life and the truth most true most holy most eternall that waye which you seeke to saue your life yee shall loose it that meanes by which ye desire to rayse your selues shall cast you downe those goodes which you laie vp in store for the maintaining of your children shall cutte off the line of their life and cleane blot out all thy name and memorie from off the earth and that which you studyed to make your honour shall bee your vtter confusion If the glasse nowe set before your face bee true and if your sight bee good why doe you not behold this spotte of earth wherewith your face is so besprented But if your blindnesse bee the same with his which will not see behold yet I will set the glasse nearer to your face and if I can I will so rubbe it that the spotte of your disgrace maye more easily appeare lothsome vnto your eies Hee which receiueth you receiueth mee saith our sauiour Christ and which honoureth you he honoureth mee Now doe ye but beholde a little what reward what countenance what place or credite a poore learned man hath amongst vs in this worlde and then marke if the spot be not fowle and great If he bee in the Court away good peake goose hence Iohn Cheese If in the country hee is of no wealth what call you for his witnesse wheresoeuer he commeth Pauper vbique iacet euerie wans verdict is this generall pitie alas poore scholler And thus he liueth The Lorde hath decked the barren earth with store of goodly flowers the trees he hath laden with leaues and the waters he hath replenished with fishes The cuntriman hath his house his cattell his plough his ground whereby he liueth the lawyer his pen and toong with which in few yeares he purchaseth hundreds the merchant his returning gain the courrier more than I can tel the secretary his secret coÌ„mings in which make him glitter in his gold abroad And is the learned man without house or home without money in his purse or good apparell to his backe without a cogging face and shiâ—ting lookes hath the Lorde prouided no such thing for him alas poore scholler Had hee neuer cretaine liuing of his owne hath he none or can he haue none Habui filium saith the olde man Nos quondam floruimus saith the Troiane And so do we it may be we had some certaintie and nowe it may well bee but the conduit pipe by which the water flowed from the spring into our bosomes is waxen so full of riftes that the sweete spring water runneth out on euerie side into strange groundes adioyning to the same There be liuinges good store saith one if the learned wil seek let theÌ„ assure themselues they shal finde Seeking is a ready way if it were so plaine as it seemeth short But what if the best hownd in the whole kennell bee not the best seeker who shall goe away with the Hare yet let him follow and at the length hee shall come to the view of the wished gaine It is true euen as
and holy things dedicated to God almightie which impietie beleeue me will not helpe you one whit in these your great daungers and extreame necessitie And although peraduenture it seeme not so to many yet without all doubt as a most fierce piercing poyson which with the deadlie contagion thereof is woont to infect and poison all things which come neere it Euen so your great strength and preparation to warre by your former impietie towardes the Church is like which God forbid to bee cleane vanquished and destroyed Iulius Caesar would neuer haue admitted such wicked councel though he were an heathen who as it is apparant in his life wheÌ„ he entred by chaunce into Aruernia the meÌ„ of that countrie pointed to the sword of Caesar hanging in their Church as it were a spoile got from the Emperour by force of armes Caesar entring the Church seeing the sword he smiled to him selfe saying nothing and when his frendes willed that it should bee pulled downe Caesar in any wise would not suffer it Out of question hee did both wisely and religiously for hee accounted the sword and all thinges else dedicated to holy vse to bee sacred thinges therefore he thought it vnlawfull to touch them any more with carnal hands or to haue them in any wise employed in humaine affairs Also your auncestors would neuer haue done so they would neuer haue imagined any such thing Those ancient rulers much renowmed for their great wisedome which being free from all danger from aduersitie from all extremitie they would neuer haue hearkened to such counsell nor haue accepted of any such subsidie And that most wisely for they knew full well that the best kinde of gouerment by which a common wealth is preserued augmented and encreased be two especially Religion and Iustice. Which when they are maintained the common wealth is safe and sure but if they faile it must needes also decay With these kinde of artes and orders rather then by force of armes they obtained this ample dominion which is enlarged by sea and land But so soon as these excellent artes began to waxe out of vse forthwith rhe Empire it selfe began to decay and come to ruine Which thinges if you will consider aright ought to forewarne and stirre you vp into a greater deuotion and more dutifull obseruation of Religion and holy thinges Neither ought these examples of your owne countrie affaires which haue fallen out vnluckily onelie bee a warning vnto you but also that great care and dutifull deuotion which your auncestors continuallie and plentifâ—lly yeelded vnto diuine thinges and vnto them whose function was to attend vppon the same Amongest the Aegyptians as Diodorus affirmeth all the yearly reuenues of the land were deuided equallie into three partes The first part the Priestes did challenge to themselues who were of such auctoritie amongest them that al things were gouerned by their councell and wise foresight being free from al burdens taxes they had the second place of the rule and dignitie next the king Also the Indians diuiding the whole common wealth into seauen tribes constituted the tribe of the priests in the first place free from all burthen seruice yeelding them great honor reuerence But yet in mine opinion concerning worship and dutie towards God the Aethiopians did farre excell all others For with them the priestes and keepers of their temples were in such great honour that they onely were the men whom they thought eligible to bee their kinges and that which seemeth vncredible they were of such auctoritie and credit amongest them that when they thought good they gaue notice to the kinges that they should die affirming that it was the sentence of their gods which was the cause that al their Kinges til the time of Ptolomy the second obeyed the edict of the priestes and willingly tooke their death at their appointment not constrained but euen by old custome being loth to alter the superstition Wherefore they boast that they haue reaped this fruit and reward for that their great pietie towardes their goddes that the inuasions of all their enemies and that crueltie could neuer do them any harme and that they were neuer conquered or subiect to any forraine nation For Cambyses that most mightie king of the Persians wheÌ„ he once assaulted them with a most dreadfull armie most of his souldiers being destroied with great ignominie he lost almost his whole armie Hercules and Dionisius hauing trauailed through the whole world would not once trouble the Aethiopians in respect that they were so religious The same thing also appeareth in the holy Bible For in the booke of Genesis we read that in the dayes of old there was so great so strange a famin through the whole world that corne and victuals were scarcelie to be had in any place The fiercenes of this famine was especially in Aegypt pinched them sorer than other nations insomuch that the inhabitants of the lande were compelled to sell their farmes their possessions and their houses nay their houshold stuffe for victuals Which when they began to faile them through the long and harde famine at length least through hunger they should die straungely most miserably they gaue themselues also into the kings hands Wherefore that religious steward of the king hauing laid vp exceeding great store of prouision euen of purpose He bought the whole land of Aegypt the possessions of the Priests excepted and their countries into the hands of king Pharao From which time vntill Moses as the scripture witnesseth the fift part of the increase of Aegypt was paid vnto the king But those thinges which appertained to the priests and the keepers of the temples they were safe from this lawe for Pharao did not onely giue them faire and large possessions but also hee appointed that they should be duly fed and nourished all the time of the famine by the common store and prouision which was the cause that they sold not their possessions and goods as the other people did What should I heere make mention of the Romans did not they appoint a most solemne priesthood to the ministers of holie thinges did they not alwaies imploie their greatest studies and paines in preseruing and increasing religion For as Valerius Maximus saith that citie preserued religion aboue all other things whatsoeuer so that the highest and chiefest magistrates did willingly yeeld themselues and their seruice vnto holy rites hoping assuredly that they should attaine the chiefe rule and magistracie of the worlde if they humbled themselues deuoutly vnto the heauenly power But to what end doe I shewe these things sith all bookes that euer was written either diuine or prophane are full of these examples and cleare monuments and therefore read you those books and peruse them diligently Neither thinke you that the priests and ministers of God as some talke should now be poore physitions as they were somtimes But on the
contrarie you shall easilie see that in no age in no time past they were vsed so beggerlie and so vnworthilie But if in auncient time men were so religious in their errour howe deuout thinke you they would haue bene in the sincere worship of the true euer liuing God Such manner of men ought we to be which doe not worship fained idols or diuels as they did but that great creator the maker of heauen earth all things therein Wherefore I desire O most noble prince I desire most earnestly euen for that great goodwill which I beare to you your commonwelth that you and those which be of your opinion would alter your minds and take better councell concerning the church the clergie the landes and goodes once dedicated to the same Although you are not moued with those examples of your ancestors yet at the least let your late losses present calamites ioined with ill successe be a sufficient warning vnto you For I doubt of my truth am sore afraid least if you go on with the same mind and purpose as you haue begun you shal suffer greater aduersities euen as those which are of a farre better disposition haue plainly foreshewed vnto you In like manner as it is recorded it hath fallen out very daungerously to others in times past for S. Augustine writeth in his booke intituled De ciuitate Dei there was a great plague in Rome both of women and of beastes so that through the huge number of those which died they doubted that all liuing creatures would finallie perish and further also that winter was so exceeding colde that the snowe which was extraordinarie laye of a great deapth euen in the market place for the space of fortie daies and Tyber was frozen ouer verie harde and thicke Then they saie it was aunswered that the cause of the plague was in that many priuate men possessed and dwelt in manie religious houses which being shortlie after restored to their true vse foorthwith that great and wonderfull plague ceased Qu. Fuluius Flaccus as Valerius writeth left a notable example behind him euen an example to all posteritie concerning the contempt of religion For this man though he were the controler of the citie yet he scaped not vnpunished in that while he was in office he tooke the marble pillers of Iunoes temple in the citie Locrine and wickedly placed them in that house which he built at Rome For immediately after this fact he fel into a phrensie and was starke madde euer after with fierce mad passions still consuming till at the length hee hearing that of his two sonnes which were soldiers in Ilirium the one was dead the other most grieuously sicke he died most miserably By which great daunger the Senate and people of Rome not a little mooued decreed presently that the marble pillers should bee carried to Iunoes temple from whence they came that thereby the impious fact of the Censour might be corrected and by that excellent example they might note vnto their posterity that whatsoeuer is once dedicated to the immortall God cannot without great impietie be altered in anie wise though it bee imployed to some other honest and very good vses And if anie should bee so wicked and irreligious that they should attempt to violate prophane holie thinges yet they should vnderstand that the Senate would take it greeuously that they would be fully reuenged of theÌ„ for the same euen vnto death On the contrarie Xenophon writeth finely and excellently concerning Agesilaus that famous Emperour that hee alwaies with great diligence and studie did seeke to reuerence the temples of his enemies thinking it reason that the immortall God ought to bee trulie worshipped aswell amongst his enemies as amongst his friendes And likewise the religious and deuout persons euen amongest his enemies he would not suffer them in any wise to bee molested for he said it was vnreasonable and a most barbarous crueltie to take any one thing from the Temples and holy Churches or that the priestes should bee at any charges or losse in any respect Wherefore hee hated such wicked church-robbers euen vnto the death hoping thereby to vanquish his enemies and to strengthen his owne power the which conclusion prooued true as appeareth by that which is excellently written of Mithridates in the life of Lucullus translated out of Greeke into Latine by Leonard Iustinian that noble conncellor and father of your common wealth for whilest hee assaulted the citie of the Ciziceâ—anes being tributorie to the people of Rome and that with an exceeding great power both by sea and lande by and by a sodaine tempest rising and his victualles failing hee was vtterlie vanquished by Lucullus the greatest part of his armie being spoiled and destroied in the fight Afterward when he thought to saue his life only by flying againe hee was so afflicted with a straunge sodayne tempest that leauing the ship in which hee was which through the outragiousnesse of the tempest was almost readie to sincke hee was constrained to yeelde himselfe into the handes of pirats They report that Diana worthily afflicted him with that great ouerthrowe and calamitie which they accounted a goddesse because most iniuriouslie and irreligiouslie euen with wicked handes hee spoiled her temple and presumed to take her ymage from thence No lesse horrible chaunce there was amongest the Romane armie euen on the like occasion For when Carthage a professed enemie to the Romanes at length was woon of them by force of armes a certaine Romane Souldier contemning Religion in the spoiling of the Citie was not afraide to committe sacriledge taking away the goulden vesture from Apollo who was woorshipped as a GOD of all men but he escaped not long vnpunished for that wicked fact in that the most righteous God of his iust iudgement brought it so to passe that the handes of this church-robber were found cutte off amongest the peeces of the vesture wherby other afterwardes might bee taught how carefully wee ought to keepe our handes from violating holie thinges Wee may alledge manie such like examples out of holie Scriptures especiallie as it is written in the booke of the Machabees Antiochus that wicked king yeeldeth vs a plaine example which vaunted himselfe so prowdlie and so arrogantlie aboue all measure that hee seemed to himselfe as though hee could commaund the flowing of the seas and reach the heauens with his finger This man contemning the holie religion of the true and eternall God was not afraide with wicked and prophane handes to spoile that faire and famous Temple of the Iewes Though hee hoped to escape the vengeance of God yet he escaped not long for of a sodaine hee was stricken with so daungerous horrible plague that out of his bodie there issued abundance of woormes and with most horrible torment to him they issued out of his flesh hee yet liuing Hee beeing woonderfully mooued with this plaine and manifest punishment sent from