Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	great_a	life_n	live_v	12,000	5	5.3253	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A18368	A treatise against iudicial astrologie Dedicated to the right Honorable Sir Thomas Egerton Knight, Lord Keeper of the great Seale, and one of her Maiesties most honorable priuie Councell. VVritten by Iohn Chamber, one of the prebendaries of her Maiesties free Chappell of VVindsor, and fellow of Eaton College.	Chamber, John, 1546-1604.	1601 (1601)	STC 4941; ESTC S107654	105,203	193

at any time they saye true yet it is so that any man may see it was rather by hap then by skill For if any vnskilfull man not professed that way should set downe weather for euery day at all aduenture we doubt not but he would hit sometime euen as they doe But the vanitie of their trade can no way better appeare then by comparing of diuerse Almanacks together where you may see if you wil see the exceeding folly of both parts as well of them in writing as others in beleeuing Adrian Turnebus reporteth of himselfe that he was wont to make trial of their art By this meanes many times saith he to trie their art at the beginning of the yeare in a new almanacke where they write raine I write drouth where they calme I windie where they cleare I clowdie obseruing the euent and at the yeares end I gathered the sum of both our predictions found my selfe a great deale better and truer Astrologer Whereby we may see what a goodly art that is which a man may seeme to haue by scoffing and laughing at it but what will blessed Cardan himselfe say in this case In his commentaries lib. 1. cap. 2. his words be these of Astrologers they handle saith he their matters so carelesly that they make the art to be great y slaundered Since therefore their predictions are for the most part false or rather all false to speake on it is plaine they proceed not from any art or certaine obseruations but of rash and ignorant babling at all aduenture Betwene art and hap hazard is this difference the one hitteth oft and very sildome faileth the other faileth commonly and scarse euer hitteth no not one in a hundred Now what reason is there that one trueth should credit so many lies rather then so many lies shold discredit that one trueth which might haue bin a lie as well as the rest but that the blinde man sometimes hitteth the haire But since their lies are mo then their truthes why may we not thinke that they hit vppon the truth by chance for when they conclude that their art is good because sometime they hit by as good an argument will I proue that all arts be they neuer so superstitious sottish are good for there is none of them but if they be still ghessing they wil sometime hit Wherfore if Astrologers shal condēne any diuining arts as false they may be proued to speake contradictories since they may be all proued true by as good reason as they bring for their art but if againe they shall hold them all for true they shal be no lesse subiect to contradiction For suppose the Chiromancer the Astrologer and the Geomancer were al put to one question no doubt they would seeldome agree in the truth and when any of them hapned vpon the truth you should finde it there where you least looked for it either because chaunce ruleth most where there is least reason or because in the worse arts the diuell is more ready to deceiue For that of S. Augustine is most true that Astrologers by the inspiration of the diuell which they perceiue not doe sometime tell the truth which hapneth most commonly when they seeme miraculously to foretell any particular euent For Ptolemy himselfe saith that no man can foretell a particular without some diuine inspiration The Astrologers iugling in predictions and our rashnes in beleeuing seemeth Tullie to haue touched very finely lib. 2. de diuinat What needeth many words saith he since we see daily these iugling companions conuinced how many things haue I knowne them to assure Pompey Crassus and Cesar that none of them should die til he was old at home and with very good reputation and famously yet Pompey died in Egypt where he was beheaded Caesar in the Senate by stabbing Crassus among the Parthians with his whole army Wherefore I cannot but maruaile saith Tully if any liue who will beleeue them whose predictions are daily confuted by deedes and euents Seneca in his booke entitled Ludus in mortem Claudij Caesaris by the way gyrding and scoffing at these vagabond lyers maketh Mercury perswading the furies to kill Claudius to vse this reason to wit that these miserable Chaldeans may not alway lie For they were wont yeare by yeare and moneth by moneth to giue out the death of Claudius his words are these Patere istos mathematicos aliquādo verū dicere which euery yeare moneth since he came to the state haue bin burying him much like this of Claudius is that which is written of pope Alexander the sixt of that name the Astrologers of that age were wont to giue out year by yeare that he was but a dead man and cold not passe still the present year yet as it were in contempt of their predictions he liued still and held out strong and lusty But in the yeare 153. these wise artificers changing their note would now contrary blesse him with long life affirming that he should liue long in great successe and prosperitie But least they should be any whit truer in now prophesying his life then they had bin before in prophesying his death he died in the selfesame yeare See with what a full streame and maine opposition Saint Ambrose went against these liars lib. 4. in Hexaem Cap. 7. A little while agoe saithe he when there was great need of rain one said lo now the new moon will bring shortly raine and notwithstanding our great want yet I was loth that such blinde assertions should proue true Finally I was very glad that wee had no raine til it being obtained by the prayers of the church gaue sufficient proofe that we were not to rely vpon the change of the moone but vpon the prouidence and grace of the creatour By this example the vanitie of Astrology was confuted and the force of christianitie and godly prayer confirmed Albumazar referring all great chaunges to ten reuolutions of Saturne which is in 300 yeares hath counted Christ to be borne 600. yeares after Alexander the great in which computation he is about 300. yeares out But no maruell of him since he is so far out in a plainer computation of Ptolemy the mathematique making him one of the kings of Egypt which raigned after Alexander when it is well knowne to the contrary that he was no king and liued in Adrian the last time 160 yeares after those Ptolemyes that were kinges of Egypt It were infinite to lay their lies together that one of 1588. may stand for many and the rather because it hapned in our memory It were well that all of that trade had those two figures 88. seared in their foreheads that when they meet they might laugh one at another as did the Aruspices in olde time Howsoeuer they might laugh it was no laughing matter to the Catholike king and his inuincible Nauie who will be famous for that exploit till 88 come againe The Spaniards belike thought that this consummation

which they vse when they are vrged with the examples of beasts plants and such like As was said before a great question might be moued whether for men the conception or natiuitie were to be taken for other things the same doubt is greater For example in a chicken are three notable times the hatching the laying of the egge and the first conception of it If a figure-flinger should be asked the destiny of an hen whether shee were to die at shrouetide or by the foxe or to be thrashed to death to answer the question which of these three times would he take for setting his figure Againe the hen hatching all her young ones at once let him answere whether they must all haue the same fortune how many of them should flye away with the kite how many die of the pip or otherwise In sowing of corne though it all fall into the ground at once in the same position of heauē yet you shall see it proue diuersly of some will come good wheate of some darnell of some smutty geare and of some that which we call solders which could not be if the figure of heauen preuailed Farther I haue heard of some husbandmen that one and the selfe same graine shooting out from his roote diuerse eares will yeelde some of them good wheate other some smutty To these and such like obiections they are wont to answer that their art extēdeth no farther then men it doth not reach to cattes wormes flies herbes and such like To this their answer we may well reply that of S. August lib. 2. de Gen. ad lit cap. 17. Quid autem insulsius et hebetius quam cum istis rebus conuincuntur dicere ad solos homines sibi subijciendos fatalem stellarum pertinere rationem What can be more senslesse or sottish then when they are vrged with these things to say the starres haue power onely ouer men to rule them Phauorinus in the 14. of Gel. cap. 1. saith Nulla ratio videtur cur ea syderum vis in hominibus valeret si deficeret in caeteris It were no reason to say that the starres had power ouer men if they had none in other things But will you see the brauery of imprudency They that now restraine their art to men only denying it in beastes are wont when it pleaseth them to extend it euen to citties houses and such like as if by constellations they could tell vs what should become of these things The story of Taruntius Firmanus is reported by Tull. lib. 2. de diuinatione who at the request of Varro cast the natiuitie of the citie of Rome Quidam Lucius Firmanus familiaris noster inprimis Chaldaicis rationibus eruditus vrbis etiam nostrae natalem diem repetebat abijs Parilibus quibus eam a Romulo conditam accepimus Romāque in iugo quum esset Luna natamesse dicebat nec eius fata canere dubitabat O vim maximam erroris etiam ne vrbis natalis dies ad vim stellarum lunae pertinebit Fac in puero referre ex qua affectione coeli primum spiritum duxerit num hoc in latere aut in coemento ex quibus vrbs effecta est potuit valere One Lucius Firmanus an acquaintance of mine a very odde fellow for mathematiques was wont to fetch the pedigree of our cittie from that feast wherein it is thought to haue been builded by Romulus Farther he added that the moone at that time was in Libra not sticking also to reade the destiny of it O the force of ignorance must the foundation euen of a citie be drawne too within the compasse of Moone stars Admit it were of some moment in a child how the heauens were affected when it was borne must therefore the like needs bee graunted in bricke and mortar wherof the city was made In Merton Colledge in Oxford in the Wardens lodging a window there hath the figure of heauen when the first stone was laid with these verses adioyned Cubice sume decem vndena bis accipe quadrae Summis sex septem iungas tempora Christi Tunc surgunt domus haec condita quando fuit Richardi impensis Fitziames Praesidis aedis Sedi Roffensi Praesulis eximij Do take the cube of ten and eke of twentie two the square To which adde sixe and seuen and so of Christ wil come the yeare When the first stone here was laid Pisces 5. Mercurius 27 Luna 1. Aquarius 16. Venus 15. Capricor 28 Capricor 10. Sagit 2. Iupiter 11 Scorpio 11 Libra 19 Virgo 5. Leo. 16. Cancer 28. Cancer 10. Taurus 5 Mars 5 Gem. 2. Aries 19. Sol. 2. Saturn 1 Figura coeli in primilapidis iactura anno Christi 1497. 12. die Martij hora 10. minuto 20. ante meridiem dies erat Sabathi hora verò Veneris CHAP. VIII Of the vncertaintie and falshood of their Predictions BVut to grant them which is more then needs that there is somwhat in their predictions yet it is no more then we see was of old in Apollos Oracles such as that Aio te Aeacida Romanos vincere posse Aeacida the Romans stout Shall ouercome there is no doubt Or that Croesus Halim penetrans magnam peruertet opū vim Croesus by passing Halis floud Shall be the bane of mickle good For some in steed of a man will describe vnto you a dawe or such like One missing a siluer spoone which was hidden by a Cornish Chogh which hee had in his house and going to the figure-flinger to know what was become of his spoone the figure-flinger answered the party which had it had long legs went in a blacke coate with a paire of red stockings he had a beake nose was borne westward from that place he might seeme to be a gentleman by his high birth but he thought no Englishmā by reason of his strange tongue Now the Chogh indeed had long legges red shanks blacke feathers a beake was borne westward and high and in steed of speach chattereth With this blind description many were called into suspition but the poore Chogh in the end was found to haue hid the spoone This tale goeth for good with many but I am out of doubt that they cannot ghesse so well If they will get any credit to their ghesses let thē ghesse at somewhat that shall happen to morrow or shortly after the euent whereof we are like to see and as they carry themselues in that so trust them in the rest If in these and such like they shall faile shall we bee such puppies as to beleeue them in the rest As if they colde say true in nothing but where they could not be controlled If we were not too much besotted that which they say about windes and weather as snowe raine frost drouth and such others might sufficiently put vs in minde how to credit them in the rest and that there is no art in their predictions How commonly doe they say false in these And if