change frō the names of Greeke Princes to bee named oxen of Lucania Bookes are no otherwise for in auntient time when bookes were yet rare they were fellowes and companions with Kings Princes in courts it so seemed by Alexander the great who could not sleepe before he laid Homer with his dagger vnder his pillow and by Scypio Affrican who would not frō Rome to Carthage without either Panetius or Polybius in his company and now bookes being common are so little regarded rather bought for their golden tytles which the Printer giueth them for his sale then for the matter therein by the Author written for the Revder much like to Mithridates sword whose scabbard was farre more precious and richer without then the blade within Of such bookes Plato speaketh Qui subitò vno die nati celerimè pereunt therfore seldome seene in sight are most in request The Ebaine tree which Pompey the great brought in his triumph into Rome was more wondred gazed vpon then all the braue shewes of the triumph besides So fewe wise words out of a wise mans mouth are more esteemed then heapes of wordes out of an vnwise mouth like the Abderites Embassadors more desirous to heare fewe words out of Zeno the Philosophers mouth then of all the Athenians besides and therfore Pau. Aemilius after he had subdued the king and kingdome of Macedonia wrote no more to the Senators but Victus est Perseus Caesar after he had conquered king Pharnaces wrote no more words but Veni vidi vici Like the Lacedemonians whose writings and speeches were so short and briefe that they would answer either Embassadors friends or foes by writing or by mouth in two or three words And so with the like fewe words I referre my selfe to the gentle disposition of the reader rather to excuse my trauell in curtesie then to accuse my goodwill wrongfully Lodowick Lloid The first Booke of the Stratagems of Ierusalem CAAP. I. Of diuers Battels and Combats Of seuerall markes of diuers nations vpon the good and bad Of the calling of Abraham and of his praise and trauell THe whole BIBLE is a Booke of the Battels of the Lord and the whole life of a man a militarie marching to these Battells betweene the seede of the womā the Serpent which Battel was first fought in heauē betweene Michael and his Angels and the Dragon and his angels at what time Satan was ouerthrowne and cast out of heauen with all his angels with him The second Battell was in Paradise fought betweene the seede of the woman and the seede of the Serpent where likewise Sathan was ouerthrowne for then it was promised that the seede of the woman should tread downe the Serpents head thereby perpetuall warre was publikely proclaimed in Paradise to continue betweene the seed of the woman and Sathan and therefore are the battels of the Lord innumerable in respect of number for that euery liuing man must fight in this battell in his owne person for his owne life and inuincible in respect of power and force for all battels and victories are of the Lord yea euen amongst Infidels and Pagans Which if the Hebrewes had so acknowledged it and had marched truly and faithfully in the Lords battels they should haue acknowledged this to haue bin their true Oracle that all victories come from the Lord and not from the arme of man Thē the Hebrewes might haue known that Egipt where they had bene bondmen and slaues 430. yeares was giuen to them for a pray frō the Lord by the hands of Moises and Aron and after Egipt the Canaanites Edomites Moabites Ammonites Philistines and diuers other nations were also giuen into their hands they might haue acknowledged that the ouerthrow of 39. Kings was no small bootie to such simple men as were no souldiers by education but brought vp as shepheards from Abrahams time to Moises But they forgot the great armies and legions of Frogges Flies Grashoppers and such armies which the Lord prouided to fight for them while yet they were bondmen in Egipt where they had ten victories and ten tryumphs some in the midst of the land of Egipt some in the midst of the Court of Pharao and some in the midst of the red sea to the wonder and terrour of the whole world The Hebrues might likewise haue knowne that the Chaldeans were giuē to the hands of the Assyrians the Assyrians to the Persians the Persians to the Macedonians the Macedonians to the Romanes Yet all these miraculous victories which the Lorde gaue the Hebrewes ouer so many Kings and Countries could not make them to acknowledge the author thereof but what victories soeuer the good kings of Iudah got by seruing of the Lord that the euil wicked Kings both of Iuda Israel lost by their Idolatry and contempt of the Lord vntill they themselues were rooted out of their Countrey slain and ouerthrowne and their Kings taken carried captiues the one by Salmanasser to the Assirians the other by Nabuchodonozer into Babilon of whom you shall reade more of them and of their warres hereafter And now I thinke it most conuenient to speake somewhat of diuers seuerall combats which is the strongest and onely battaile for in this battaile euery man must first ouercome himselfe and after be ready armed to fight with Sathan and his souldiers the onely enemie of man against whom all men are bounde by the vow of Cherim to fight the battels of the Lord. We are commanded to be as subtill as Serpents to preuent the subtill stratagems of Sathan with spirituall weapons who from the beginning against the Lord in heauen and against man in Paradise practised his policies this is the old Dragon which Michael threw downe out of heauen this is the serpent which the seed of the woman subdued in Paradise this is that ghostly enemy which practised his stratagem by his seruant Pharo in Egypt not onely by making a lawe and decree first to kill the Hebrewes children and after by a second decree to drowne them in Nilus least he should be deceiued in the first but also with a like stratagem by his seruant Herod to kill to the number of 14000. yong Infants in Bethelem and in Iuda among the which he sought Christ therefore we are commanded to be strong and valiant as the Lord commanded not only Ioshua Dauid and others of his owne seruants but also Nabuchodonozer and Cyrus In these kinde of battels or combats euery man must be armed with such spirituall weapons as is by Paul the Apostle appointed to resist the violence of so great an enemy who doth not only assault vs abroad but in our chambers yea in our beds we must therefore wrestle with this enemy as Iacob wrestled with the Angell for the which he was named Israel as Iob wrestled with Sathan for the which the Lord called him his seruant Iob Or as Dauid did with the Gyant Goliah for the which he was annointed King
Scypio Affrican for their victories to their countrey though they were compared to Hanibal for the harm hurt which they had done to their countrey Had Ieroboam harkned to the counsell of Abiah king of Iudah vpon mount Zemaraim he had saued fiue hundred thousand Israelites which were slaine at the battel If the Beniamites had taken counsel of their bretheren the Israelites and to yeeld vnto them the wicked mē that abused the Leuites wife the whole tribe of Beniamin had not bin destroied It was the ouerthrow of Iudas Machabaeus by Bacchides at the battell of Laisa for that he would not be perswaded by his friends to refraine the battell for that time Had the Prophet Ieremy beene heard of Zedechiah and the princes of Iudah Zedechiah had saued the liues of his owne children slaine in his sight and had likewise saued his owne eyes in his head which presently were pulled out after he saw his children slaine and himselfe caried captiue and blind vnto Babilon Ierusalem destroyed and the kingdome of Iudah subdued by Nabuchodonozer so it may be said of Saul refusing the counsell of Samuel and so of Iosias disobeying the counsell of Necho After the great victorie that Iudah had ouer Israel by Abiah king of Iudah his sonne Asa fought with Zerah king of Aethiopia an Infidel who brought an host of ten hundred thousand men three hundred chariots from Aethiope to Iudah and came to Maresha a citie of Iudah Asa the king of Iudah came with an army of fiue hundred and foure score thousand into the valley of Zephatah and both the kings set the battel in a ray But Asa began with praiers cryed vnto the Lord by praiers for the victorie putting no trust in his own power or pollicie neither fearing the strength of the multitude of his enemies so with full confidence in the Lord he set vpō the Aethiopians the Lord smote them before Asa and before Iudah that the Aethiopians fled and the army of Iudah followed and pursued them vnto Gerer for the Lord had striken the Aethiopians with such fear that there was no life in them that the slaughter was exceeding great the spoyle exceeding much of camels sheepe and cattell And Asa after the victorie which he had giuen him by the Lord returned to Ierusalem and gaue the Lord thankes who giueth all victories so as all good kings and generals ought to pray to the Lord before they enter into battell so ought they also to giue thankes after the battell for their victories This victory was a requitall and a full reuenge vpon the Aethiopians for the sacking and spoyling of Ierusalem and of the great slaughter of the people by Shesak king of Egipt In like maner as Abiah beganne with prayers before he beganne to battell so did king Asa his sonne follow his fathers rule and order in seeking helpe and aide at the Lords hand which euery King Generall or Captaine should doo So Iosaphat Asas sonne did when it was tolde him that the Moabites Ammonites Edomites came with an infinit number to fight against him he set himselfe to seeke the Lord and to aske counsell of him and all Iudah with him prayed vnto the Lorde to aide and strengthen him to fight the Lords battel wherby hee got a maruellous victorie ouer his enemies for before he went into the battell Iosaphat caused a Psalme of thankesgiuing to the Lord to be sung before the men of armes and so entred the battell and the Lord laide ambushments and shewed such stratagems against Ammon Moab and Edom that euery one helped to destroy another and the Lord turned euery mans sword to kill his fellow Where the Lorde leadeth the armie the victorie is soone gotten so Iosaphat putting his whole trust confidence in the Lord slue all his enemies that none did escape and the spoyle was such of golde of siluer and pretious Iewels that they were three dayes in gathering and in carrying the spoyle away and then they assembled together after the victorie by Iosaphats commaundement to giue the Lord thankes for the victory and called the place where they got the victory Berachab and they returned to Ierusalem with violls harpes and with trumpets These three battels of Abiah Asa and Iosaphat were battells of the Lord and as the Lord had done at that battell at Michmash to Ionathan so the Lord did now at the battell at Beracha to Iosaphat and so the Lord in all the battels of the good kings of Iudah and Israel shewed alwaies his diuine stratagems for the defence of Ierusalem as in Egipt by Moses against Pharao by Elias at the brooke Kyson against Baals prophets by Elizeus at Dothan against king Benhadads souldiers The Gentiles in like sort commence no warre enter no battell before they sing a song vnto their gods as the Lacedemonians brought vp onely in warre from seuen yeares old vsed before they went to the warres to make solemne sacrifice to the Muses to the goddesse Feare with a song to Castor Pollux The Thrasians sing a song to their god Mars and bragge much of Mars for that he was borne in Thracia Others made vowes when they went to any warres As among the Romanes their wiues their children and their friends should make vowes and cause the same to be written in tables and to be set on that gate through the which they went out of the citie to warre that vpon their return home they might see and read their vowes and performe them The three hundred Fabians which were slaine at the battell at Crimera the gate that they went through out of Rome then was euer called after that Porta Scelerata So did the Romains likewise call the field where one of the Vestal virgins called Minutia for her incest carnall fault was buried in the field was called Sceleratus Campus according to the Romain lawes made for the Vestal virgins that so offended We leaue the prophane marching of the Romanes and the Greekes and we will returne to the marching of Israel vnder king Asa and king Iosaphat his sonne who both by praiers obtained great victories as all the Israelites preuailed more by praier then by fight As by praier Ioshua made the Sun to stand stil ouer Gibeon and the Moone ouer Aialon By praier Elias made the cloudes to fall raine By praier Moses made his enemies to flie Elizeus raised the dead to life Solomon obtained wisdom So long as the Lord taketh not away thy praying so lōg he doth not take away his grace mercy from thee for a wicked man cannot pray well and he that praieth wel cannot liue wickedly And therfore praiers are compared to Sampsons haires for as Sampsons strength laie in his haires so our strength lieth in praiers Ester praied to haue that to come to proud Ammon which Ammon wished to haue done to Mardochaeus and the
poore Iewes Iudith praied at the striking and the cutting off of Holofernes head which blasphemed the Lord and wold preferre Nabuchodonozer before the God of Israel Susan praied vnto the Lord for her innocēcy against the false Iudges at Babilō that accused her of incōtinency and they were stoned to death by meanes of Daniel We read also of Iud. Machabaeus a noble captaine of the Iewes that he neuer entred into any battell before he praied yet was hee in twelue set battels and in euery one obtained victorie sauing at the last at what time some write hee praied not where hee was slaine in the field by Bacchides and his people ouerthrowne As you heard of good kings by praiers that wanne victories so also shall you heare of wicked Idolatrous kings as Achas who caused an Idolatrous Altar to be made in Iudah like the Altar at Damascus and consecrated his sonne in fire and offered him to Moloch In like sort the king of Moab supposing his Idol Chemosh to be angry with him slue and sacrificed his eldest sonne that should haue raigned next after him King and offered him as a burnt offering to his God Chemosh vpon the walles of the Towne As Achab and Manasses Kings of Iudah did sacrifice their children in the valley of Hynnon to Moloch for Achab was one of the first kings that brought the name of Baal into Israel and mainteined betweene him and his wife Iezabel foure hundred and fiftie false prophets of Baal Achas had good king Ezechias to his sonne but Achas the father walked not vprightly before the Lorde as his sonne Ezechias did but made moulten Images for Baalim and burnt Incense in the valley of Benhynnon sacrificed his sonnes and burnt them with fire and offered them vnto his god Moloch and sought helpe at the gods of Damascus at Chemosh god of the Moabites Milcombe god of the Ammonites and other straunge gods and therefore the Lord gaue him ouer and deliuered him into the hands of the king of the Aramites and he smote him and slue a great number of his soldiers brought many prisoners of Iudah with him to Damascus Againe the Lord deliuered Achas into the hand of the king of Israel Phaekah and he slue in one day six score thousand in Iudah and tooke two hundred thousand prisoners of women sonnes daughters and brought them into Samaria with all the spoyle The Edomites slue of them of Iudah a great number and carried many captiues away Marke what mischiefe happeneth where an euil king doth raigne The Philistines also inuaded the cities of Iudah and tooke Aialon Gederith and other cities of Iudah and thus were they vexed by the Aramites Edomities and Philistines and by the Israelites being their owne nation for that Achas king of Iudah forsooke the Lord and sought helpe at strange gods and not at the hands of the god of Israel After wicked Achas the good king Ezechias his sonne succeeded he was to commence a battell with Senacherib who blasphemed the Lord and threatned destruction to Ierusalem but the Prophet Esay had instructed Ezechiah that this was the Lords battell that he would be reuenged vpō the blasphemy of Senacherib for proud Ashur challenged the Lord into the field to fight with him saying what god could take Iudah out of his hand he numbred the kings and their gods which he and his fathers destroied and with horrible blasphemy perswaded the king of Iudah not to trust to his god but to yeeld vnto him but the lord did put his hooke in his nosthrils and his bridle in his lips as the Lord had told Ezechiah the king by Esayas the prophet that Senacherib with all his army should not come to Ierusalem nor shoote an arrow there for the battel is mine saith the Lord. And hee sent his Angels that night which destroyed all the princes all the captaines and all the valiant men of Ashur and all the whole army of Senacherib to the number of an hundred foure score and sixe thousand without the drawing of one sword of Iudah and Senacherib fled with tenne men with him some thinke that Nabuchodonozer was one but I thinke time will not so allow for he was at that time but a very childe But Senacherib fled to Niniuie where he was slaine in the temple praying before his Idoll Nisroch whom he preferred before the liuing God that by his two sonnes the iust iudgement of the Lord for his blasphemy to be slaine before his owne god before whom he worshipped and prayed when he was slaine by his owne sonnes and thus we see in all iust battels whē we serue the Lord trust onely in him that victories come not by man but by the Lord. Iosaphat a good king had Ioram an euil king to his son a murtherer of his bretheren Ezechias a good king in Ierusalem had Manasses to his sonne a wicked Idolater who filled all the streets of Ierusalem with bloud Iosias a good godly king had to his fonnes Ioachas and Ioachim who were taken captiues by Nabuchodonozer into Babilon for their transgressions and sins at what time Daniel was taken captiue and many other gentlēmen of Iudah euen Ierusalem whom the Lord had defended frō the sword of Senacherib and from all the kings of Egipt and Ashur yet when the sinnes of Ierusalem were ripe it was deliuered into the hand of Nabuchodonozer to be carried captiue into Babilon as Samaria was to Niniuie by Salmanasher one hundred thirtie and three years before Iudahs captiuitie After Ashur had taken the ten tribes of Israel away he brought from Bethel from Cutha from Anah and frō Amath straunge people and placed them in the cities of Samaria in stead of the children of Israel and of these people came the Samaritans of whom mention is made often in the gospel with whom the Iews would haue no societie for so the woman spake to Christ at Iacobs well that why he being a Iew should aske water of a Samaritan This time Zedechiah the king gaue no hearing to the Prophet Ieremy who forewarned the king of their destruction to be at hand for the which the Prophet was imprisoned first by Fashur high bishop of the tēple who smote Ieremy and put him in the stockes strooke him as Zedechiah the false Prophet strook Micha who was after commaunded by Achab to be imprisoned as Ieremy the Prophet was and by meanes of the nobles of Iudah to king Zedechiah Ieremy was imprisoned in a dirtie dungeon Ieremy notwithstanding spared not to tell them that they should die an horrible death and should lie as dung vpon the earth and no man to burie them wherat they were so moued saying let vs not regard his words and let vs cut out his tongue The citizens of Anathot commaunded Ieremy not to preach vnto them in the name of the Lord if thou do thou shalt
this bloudie Emperour Valerianus left no place vnsought to persecute the remnant of the Christians which his predecessors could not find with sword and fire vntil he himself was taken his army ouerthrown by Sapor King of Persia who tooke him and kept him in prison all his life time in bondage and slauery vsing him as a blocke to mount on horsebacke things hard and straunge to the Romanes to haue their Emperour in such slauish seruice to become a vassal and a blocke for Sapor King of Persia to lay his foote vpon his necke to goe on horse And was not the great Turke Pazaites ouerthrown and his Army slaine at Mount Stella by Tamberlane a rude and barbarous Scithian and himselfe taken and kept in a cage vnder his table and carried him in that cage in all his warres during Tamberlanes life so that the great Emperour of Rome died as a blocke for King Sapor in Persia and Pazaites the great Turke died in Tamberlanes cage as a captiue in Scythia So Pharao in diuers battels was ouerthrowne by Moses and vsed as a blocke and at last drawne as it were by a corde like a dogge by Moses from Egipt into the redde sea and there to dye as you shall read in the two next plagues that followe CHAP. Of the ninth and tenth plagues of the Egiptians compared with the ninth and tenth persecutions of the Christians MOses is sent from the Lord to Pharao and commanded to hold out his hand vnto heauen that there was darknesse vpon all the land of Egipt such palpable darknesse that neither fire candle torch or any light might giue thē light it was such palpable darknesse that the Egiptians might feele it and this darknesse continued three daies long that one might not see an other Yet Pharaos heart was so hardned that now in his furie and rage he commaunds Moses and Aaron to goe out of his sight threatning them with death if they came any more before him though in the last plague he requested Moses and Aaron to pray for him and to forgiue him his sinnes but then were his words full of dissimulation and his repentance full of hypocrisie hee could say I haue sinned but he could not say I haue repented and beforie for his sinnes The ninth persecution vnder Aurelianus in Rome may throughly bee likened to the ninth plague vnder Pharao in Egipt The like threatnings of speech and the like words that Pharao vsed to Moses and Aaron in Egipt the like vsed Aurelianus against the Christians in Rome but it contiued not long for he was slaine as others his predecessors were And as for the great palpable darknesse in Egipt so was it in Rome when their minde was more darke then darknesse it selfe The Egiptians hated not the Hebrews so much as the Romanes hated the Christians For Pilate the Romane presidēt in Ierusalem which gaue sentence on Christ to die and sawe many myracles done by him sent Letters to his maister Tiberius the Emperor and to the Senators recyting the myracles that Christ had done before he died saying hee was worthy to bee canonized placed among the Romane goddes which all the Senators with one consent denied though Caesar requested them first and threatned them after yet Christ was not allowed to be a Romane God Tiberius without effect of his good motion died so did that wicked Emperor Aurelianus in the midst of his cruel persecutions After whō succeeded a good valiant Emperor Flam. Claudius so valiāt that he vanquished the Gothes the Illyrians and Macedonians whereby in Rome he was so honoured that the Senators sent to him a goldē Target which afterward was set vp in the shew-place and a golden statue to stand in the Capitoll but he died too timely of a sicknesse at Sirmium After him succeeded his brother Aurel. Quintilius a good moderate Emperour equall or rather to be preferred before his brother but he was slaine within 18. daies after hee was elected Emperour by the souldiers These good Emperors onely I name for that persecutions were euer executed by cruel Kings and Emperors But these cruell Emperours as they cruelly destroyed others so cruelly were they destroyed after as some of them were killed by theyr owne handes as Nero some murthered by their owne seruants as Domitianus some suddenly slaine riding by the high way as Decius some banished died in straunge Countreys as Seuerus others died captiues in bondage and slauerie as Valerianus did in Persia others eaten with cankers wormes as Maximinius others murthered one after an other as Aurel. Tacit. and Florianus Thus were those Emperours slaine and murthered that cruelly persecuted the Christians The Lorde beeing determined now to finish his plague in Egipt and to bring his people away willed euery man and euery woman to borrow of their neighbours Iewels of gold and siluer for Moses was verie great in the land of Egipt with Pharao and with the people for before this Pharao had appointed Moses Generall of the Egiptians against the king of Aethiopia which I wrote in the Historie of Moses Yet said the Lord I will bring one plague more vpon Pharao and vpon Egipt and after that he will let you goe hence for all the first borne of the land of Egipt shall die euen from the first borne of Pharao that sitteth on his seate vntill the first borne of the maide seruant that sitteth in the mill The Lord knew at that time how to saue the Hebrewes in Gosen from all the plagues in Egipt and to saue Noah from the geneall deluge in the Arke to saue Lot from fire and brimstone in Zodome and to saue the Christians from the destruction of Ierusalem in Pella As this tenth plague was the greatest and the heauiest so the tenth persecution was the greatest and the longest vnder Dioclesian in the East parts and vnder Maximianus in the West either of them persecuting and afflicting with such slaughters of martyred Christians that for the space of tenne yeares for so long continued the tenth persecution there was nothing but the wonted bloudie persecution sword and fire by the commaundements of both these Emperours with most extremitie to bee executed and as vnder Nero the first persecution began so vnder Dioclesian it ended For the Church of God so flourished the Christians so encreased and the godly martyrs so multiplyed that these tyrants were wearie to persecute them any longer At that very time when persecution ended vnder Dioclesian then heresie began to spring vnder Sathan for when one stratagem of Sathan faileth he practiseth an other Now Arius marcheth with his Antitrinitary crew and set themselues in battell against the Lord with horrible and blasphemous weapons and as the Poets faine the Gyants set themselues in battell against the Sun the Moone and the Stars so this crew of heretikes set themselues to fight against God the Father the Sonne and the holy
in Athens to lust another to shame They had also straunge kinde of altars in Delos one to Apollo made onely of the right hornes of all kinde of beastes and an other altar made of the ashes of the sacrificed men and beasts like Belesus who raised vp a promontorie in Babilon of the ashes of the citie of Niniuie destroyed to giue light to passengers that sayled by Babilon on Euphrates in the which ashes Belesus carried secretly all the wealth gold siluer and all other rich mettals melted of Niniuie into Babilon Numa Pomp. a verie prophane religious king put vp a temple to Faith another to Terminus and decreed a law for that Terminus was the god of peace and a Iudge of meares and markes betweene neighbours that whosoeuer would plough any of his neighbors markes and meares both hee and his oxen should be sacrificed and slaine to god Terminus vpon the very meare where the offence was done This temple which king Numa builded to Terminus was made vncouered and open aboue as the Greekes did vse to build their temple to Iupiter and to Anfidius which the Greeks called Hypaethra both the Romanes and the Greekes thought it not fit that that these gods should be honored and serued in close couered temples and vpon their altars no sacrifice of blood should be offered but according to Pythagoras lawes fruits cakes hony flowers and such because they were gods of peace Againe the Romanes the Greekes and the Egiptians vsed in olde time to build temples out of the cities to those gods that should watch guard the cities from the enemies And therefore Romulus builded a temple to Vulcan out of the walles of the citie of Rome so his successor king Numa builded two temples the one to Bellona the other to Mars foure miles from the gate Caâ—…ena out of Rome The Athenians to that purpose as the Romains did builded a temple to Hercules out of Athens named Cynosarges Neither would the Egiptians allow the temple of Esculapius to be in any city of theirs neither wold they allow any temple to Saturne or to Serapis within the citie supposing by their watching garding abroad they might liue more safe and sure from the enemies So among other Gentiles temples were builded to the gods of feare of pouertie and of olde age because they might pray to these gods to escape the wants and miserie of pouertie and old age and thus the Gentiles tooke patterne of the Iewes who had so many Synagogues and but one Temple for the Iewes afterwards became so Idolatrous as the Gentiles that as Ieremy said euery citie in Iudah had a god euery where in groues and hils were seuerall altars that mount Oliuet thereby was called the mount of corruption because they had made altars vnder euery groue and vnder euery greene tree to honour their Idols But now let vs returne to the Hebrues vnder Moses in the wildernesse Moses leading the armie of the Hebrewes in the wildernesse from Egipt marched with sixe hundred thousand and hauing diuers battels giuen him by the king of Arabia by Arad king of the Canaanites by Zeon king of the Ammorites and Og the king of Basan after them hauing battel with the king of Madianites and the king of Moabites whom hee conquered before Ioshua had charge of the armie and because the battels of the Lord were most miraculous in Egipt gotten by a white rod by the which Moses obtained ten victories and ten tryumphs ouer the Egiptians in Egipt So Moses in the wildernesse had the like successe not by deuised stratagems of their owne heads but by following the commandements of the Lord which are the onely stratagems of all victories After that Moses had brought the Hebrues out of Egipt into the wildernesse as to a schoole to instruct them in military discipline and to be acquainted with martiall lawes to arme themselues ready souldiers to fight the Lords battels at Ioshuahs commaundement who in the battell at Riphidim was against the Amalekites at what time Moses Aaron and Hur went vp to the top of mount Horeb and Moses held vp the rod of the Lord in his hand and praied for victorie for the battell continued vntill Sun setting and when Moses hand was weary Aaron and Hur held vp Moses hand betweene them and Ioshua preuailed ouerthrew Amelech and all his army wanne a great victorie for Moses praiers and Ioshuahs sword were both meanes by the Lords appointment to obtaine the victory for while Moses hand was vp the Hebrewes preuailed and when hee let downe his hand Amelech preuailed this great victorie was commanded by the Lord to Moses to be written in the booke of the lawe for a remembrance of so great a victorie And all other victories which they had aswell against Pharao before they came out of Egipt and against the Canaanites before they passed ouer Iorden were obtained by stratagems of the Lord in the behalfe of his people which the Lord had determined to place in Canaan King Arad hearing of the great ouerthrow that the Hebrues gaue the Amalekites their friends and neighbours came with a great army and fought against the Hebrues and for that the Hebrues serued not the Lord and were thanklesse for the last victorie king Arad preuailed slue and tooke of them many prisoners When the Hebrues cried vnto the Lord and made a vow to destroy the Canaanites if they might haue the victory the Lord vpon their promise vow deliuered the Canaanites their king Arad their cities and townes and the people vnto the hands of the Hebrues that the Canaanites were slain vtterly destroied this was the battel of the Lord for the Hebrues vanquished king Arad and the Canaanites according to their vowes which they made to the Lord. These were lawfull vowes to destroy the enemies of the Lorde by the vow of Cherim of which vowe the Lord himselfe is the author the Lord himselfe determined and commaunded the Hebrues to destroy the Canaanites as his enemies So the Prophet published a commaundement saying Vow vnto the Lord performe it the same Prophet saith Thy vowes are vpon me ô Lord I will render praise vnto thee hauing that which I required I am bound to pay my vowes of thansgiuing as I promised thee ô Lord. CHAP. XII Of the vowes and feasts of the Gentiles Of espialls sent to the land of Canaan by Ioshua with diuers other Stratagems IN all Countreys of the world as well the Gentiles as the Iewes were wont to make vowes vnto their Gods with praiers and promise to performe those things which they vowed if their gods would graunt victories in warres against their enemies or health to their Kings and Princes or to remooue any plague or sicknes from the people The Persians when they vowed any thing to the Sunne the King with his councel called Magi ascended vpon a high hill or mountaine where
matters to please the reader as also of their diuers and straunge fashions of their coming into battell being then not acquainted with so many sundry shots with such Armors of proofe but with the sword and shield the speare and launce yet euery Nation deuised stratagems and straunge meanes to terrifie the enemies and to obtaine victories The auntient Greeks vsed in their warres the skins of sea dogges for theyr helmets and for great plumes of feathers which souldiers vse now to weare they vsed the manes and tailes of horses The Affricans came to the battel with leopards horse skins The Aethiopians the Scythians with Foxe skins The Troglodites with Serpents skinnes The Cydones with Goate skinnes The Massagets with barkes of trees The people called Geloni with the skinnes of the slaine enemies in the field The old Troians came to the battel with hornes of oxen and eares of horses on their heads and all to terrifie the enemie The olde Brytaines vsed to paint their faces to looke grim and terrible vppon the enemie and to seeme cruell and fierce souldiers in the battell The Thracians vsed Foxe skinnes for their helmets and painted their faces with such markes as might make them seeme terrible to the enemies like the olde Brytaines The people of Mauritania came vnto the countries of their enemies with Elephants Lyons skins so the Arabians vpon camels and the Indians vpon Elephants came vnto the wars which before Alexanders time were not seene in Asia neither before Pirrhus time in Rome which the Romans at the first sight thought strange but after they had subdued Affrica these strange beasts elephants camels lyons such were in Rome as in India or in Affrike and vsed in Rome so familiarly and commonly vpō the Theaters to fight with other beasts with men And yet Pirrhus as I said before was the first captaine that brought Elephants to Lucania in Italy where being ouerthrowne in his last battell at Arusnia by Curius the Consul at what time foure Elephants were brought to Rome which were so straunge among the Romains that they called them Boues Lucanias the great oxen of Lucania but within fiftie two yeares after Metellus in his victorie at the battell at Panormus sent to Rome 104. Elephants or as Plyni saith a hundred fortie and two The auntient kings of Egipt were wont to weare on their helmets the likenesse of diuers kindes of heads of beasts either the head of a Lyon of a Bull of a Dragon or such which the Grecians imitated and after them the Romanes In many Countreys they vsed to weare on their helmets the likenesse of Lyons Wolues Harts Dragons Dogs Eagles and other such beasts and fowles as pleased the Generalls or Captaines to weare for a terrour to the enemie For in the Cymbrian warres against Marius it is written in Plutarch that the Cymbrian horsemen ware on their helmets the likenesse of monstrous and terrible beats wide gaping and open mouthed thinking thereby to feare their enemie And what enemie soeuer he slew in the field might by the law of Armes take the Swords Targets Helmets and all other weapons of the enemie and hang them vp as Tropheys at the doores and gates of his house the rather to moue others by the sight thereof with greater desire to armes as the Belgeans were wont sometime to cut off the head of the slaine enemie and to take off his bloudie garments and to hang them vpon postes and trees as trophies of victories Now after the old and auncient maners and strange habites of diuers nations going into wars as you haue read of the Affricans Arabians and Indians so also in numbring their souldiers you shall read the manner of diuers natiōs when they sent their souldiers to any battell and first of the Hebrewes who brought account to Ioshua of the souldiers slaine and not slaine in battell The custome among the Persians was that the souldiers that went to the wars should euery one take a shaft out of his quiuer and write his name theron and throw the same vnto great chests before the chiefe magistrates and that the souldiers that returned from the wars again aliue shuld take their arrows frō the chest that the Persians therby might know the nūber of their lost souldiers In like sort the Romans recorded the names of their souldiers in writing tables that they might know at their returne from the wars by their names written how many were slaine in the warres For among the Romanes there could be no greater reproach to the General then to be ignorant of the names of all his captaines officers and magistrates of the field and also not to be acquainted with the name of any well deserued souldier Cyrus therefore King of Persia and Mithridates King of Pontus were both much honoured and much esteemed of their souldiers Cyrus for his skill and art of memorie for he could name all the souldiers in his Army And Mithridates for his knowledge of tongues for hee could speake two and twentie languages to all those nations that serued vnder him CHAP. XV. Of diuers battels and victories which Ioshua had at Iahaz at Edrei and ouer fiue Kings at the battell at Gibeon THe Hebrewes proceeded forwards in their warres against the Canaanites for the Lord said to Moses Goe to Sehon king of Amorites prouoke him to battell and conquer his land for that he denied passage to Moses Army to goe through his land to the land of Canaan and therefore the Lord gaue Sehon King of the Amorites vnto Moses hands at the battel at Iahaz And the Army of Israel destroyed all the Cities of the Amorites with their King men and women from the Riuer of Arnon vnto Gilead there was not one Citie that escaped the Lord had cursed Canaan and therefore he commanded to spare none In like sort in the battell at Edrei the Lord deliuered Og King of Basan the Giant into Moses hands as he did Sehon King of the Amorites and the Hebrewes smote the king and all his people destroyed three score strong walled and fenced Cities the Hebrewes destroyed all the Countrey of Argob and all the kingdome of Og in Basan which was called the land of the Giants and possessed from the Biuer of Arnon to mount Hermon Og king of Basan remained onely of the Giants for the Lord said vnto Moses I will send the feare and dread of thee vpon all the Nations vnder heauen so that when they heare of thee they shall tremble and quake for feare of thee As Sehon king of Hesbon denied passage to Moses to goe through his land to the land of Canaan so the Cittizens of Ephron denied Iudas Machabaeus passage through their Countrey though he sent with peaceable words vnto them as Moses did to Sehon king of Hesbon before that he might passe through their land doing no harm but they denied him his request
wherevpon he besieged Ephron tooke it destroied it and spoiled it and slew as many as were males within the Citie Diuers kings assembled themselues against Ioshua hearing how Ioshua and the Hebrewes had conquered two great Cities Iericho and Ai fiue kings came together to fight against Ioshua at Gibeon for they feared exceedingly the report of the great battels and wonders that Moses before Ioshua had done vnto the Arabians Madianites Amalekites others for the Lord promised to send the feare and dread of the Hebrews vpon all people vnder heauen and all the Nations of the world should tremble and quake at the fame and great glorie of the Hebrewes and therfore came these fiue kings with all their Armies most strongly against Ioshua but it was the battell of the Lord for the Lord discomfited them before the Hebrewes and slew them at Gibeon with a great slaughter and the Hebrewes chaced them from Gibeon to Bethoron and the fiue kings fled with the rest that were vnslaine but the Lord cast great stones downe from heauen vpon them that more of them died by the stones that fell from heaue◅ then the Hebrues slew with the sword in the field and the fiue kings that fled into a caue in Makedah were brought before Ioshuah and he called the captaines and chiefe men of the Army and commaunded them to set their feete vpon the necks of these kings signifying vnto them that they should so ouercome all nations and vanquish all their enemies in the battels of the Lord. This Ioshuah did to encourage his captains in the setting of their feet vpon the fiue kings necks that conquerors may do what please them of kings conquered So did Sapor king of Persia vse Valerianus the Romane Emperour as a blocke to lay his foote vpon his necke to mount on horsebacke The like did Tamberlane to the great Turk Pazaites at mount Stella where he ouerthrew him and tooke him prifoner There also Pompey the great ouerthrew Mithridates K. of Pontus before where Tamberlane gaue the ouerthrow to the great Turke tooke him and kept him in a cage vnder his table and carried him about with him to his warres Obserue how the kings of the Canaanites Edomites Maobites Ammonites and Philistines knit themselues together against the Hebrewes feeling in themselues such inward fear of them as the Macedonians the Persians and all Asia were fearfull of the Romanes as you read before of Mithridates king of Pontus Tygranes king of Armenia and Iugurth king of Numidia and yet preuailed not for the Lord had determined to take the Monarchie out of the Macedonians hands giue it to the Romanes as he gaue it before from the Persians to the Macedonians Cratippus the Philosopher could say so much to Pom-Pey the great after he was ouerthrowne by Caesar at the battell of Pharsalia Pompey being desirous to know what should happen of the Empire of Rome Cratippus answered that all Kingdomes and Empires are fatall And as Sirach saith Regnum non trasferetur nisi ob in iustitiam regni regis so the kingdomes monarchies of the world passed one vnto another by the Lord appointed Now Ioshua proceedeth forward to his last battell at the waters of Merom where diuers and sundrie kings gathered together with all the force and power they had to fight with Ioshuah with as many people as the sand that is on the sea shore for multitude of men horses and chariots for in this battel al the kings ioyned their force and power together against Ioshuah at the waters of Merom for to fight against the Hebrewes but the Lord gaue them into Ioshuahs hands for they were so slaine that they fell before Ioshua and fled before the Hebrewes vnto Sidon and vnto the valley of Mispech Such a great victorie did the Lord giue vnto Ioshuah ouer these kings that the Sunne stayed ouer Gibeon and the Moone ouer Aialon vntill Ioshuah had full victorie ouer the Canaanites hauing subdued one and thirtie Kings These are the stratagems of the Lord in the behalfe of Ierusalem What stratagems hath not the Lord vsed to saue his people from their enemies enuironed with so many nations against them in the wildernesse and readie to bee deuoured of so many Kings about them in Canaan for the Canaanites thought it more straunge that Ioshua should come into the land of Canaan with his poore Hebrew Army called Hicsos in scorne among the Egyptians then the Babylonians thought of Cyrus to come to Babilon with his most inuincible Persian Armye or the Carthagenians of Scypio to come to Carthage and Affrica with his Romane armie Both Cyrus Scipio vsed stratagems to winne these victories Decius Brutus being so straightly besieged by Mar. Antonius at the citie Mutina to whom Hircius the Cōsull deuised a stratagem to write certaine letters vpon lead and to send them tied about souldiers neckes that swam down the riuer Scultenna to Mutina by the which he was certified of the Consuls minde Another stratagem of Hircius who tied certaine letters about tame Doues neckes which hee kept to that purpose hungry without meate and in darknesse which were sent by some of his souldiers in the night time as nigh as they could to the citie Mutina and then to let them flie the Pigeons being hungry fled straight to the Towers and high buildings of the towne which were brought to Brutus Brutus being now instructed with this stratagem of Hircius vsed the like himselfe to feede Pigeons within the citie Mutina and to let them flee which were for a time carriers of letters betweene Hircius the Consull and Brutus It is not read that the Hebrues reuolted during the whole time of Ioshuah the Hebrues needed not to doubt of victories if they would serue the Lorde hauing the Arke in the midst of their campe where the Lord presented himselfe to giue them Oracles and therfore they might boldly commence warre or enter any battell being imboldned by the Lord as hee promised to Moses and to Ioshua that hee would goe before them with such miraculous stratagems some in the seas as against Pharao some in the Sunne Moone as against the Canaanites some with fire from heauen as against Baals false prophets and priests Some with the opening of the earth in swallowing rebellious Iewes And other such stratagems with stones lightning and thunderbolts to destroy the enemies of Ierusalem CHAP. XVI Of the order and manner of the Gentiles how they brought their wiues and concubines how they ware their best apparell and how they brought the dearest and preciousest Iewels they had in the sight of the campe before they entred into any battell because they should more manfully and couragiously fight THe kings of Asia souldiers whē they went to fight any great battel they brought into the field their most dearest things and preciousest Iewelles which they ware about them to signifie how willing glad they
manner of the Gentiles aswell in choosing their Generals as you heard as also in choosing their former auncient kings some by flying of fowles as the old Romains choosed Numa Pomp. some by neying of a horse as the Persians choosed Darius others by swiftnes and agilitie of the body as in Lybia others by strength qualities comelinesse of person as among the Meades So the Aethiopians if they wanted one of the kings stock his name they made a choise as the Meades did of one to bee theyr king of a most comely personage that excelled in strength in qualities So because the Israelites wold haue a king and were weary of those gouernours that the Lord set ouer them the Lord cōmanded Samuel to annoint Saul to be their king who was the tallest and the goodliest man in all Israel from his shoulders vpwardes And so Xerxes though an Infidel among ten hundred thousand men which hee brought in his army from Persia against the Greeks was the only tallest and goodliest man of all his hoste and so in many countries among diuers nations they made such choise of their generals of their kings that they should be such men as should haue Bonum animi and bonum corporis fit and apt qualities both in mind and body to rule and gouerne an army But so did neither the Grecians nor the Romanes for Agesilaus was lame and had one leg shorter then the other Darius king of Persia had one hand longer then another Hanibal for two eyes had but one Caesar for his baldnes was fain to couer it with a garland oflawrel yet lame Agesilaus for his many victories 〈◊〉 warlike know ledge was called Agesilaus the great Hanibal with his one eye was the only captain of his time of all men reputed called Hostis Romanis Caesar though bald yet had not his peere nor his equal in martial exploits captains that farre excelled these goodly and tall kings Saul Xerxes and farre exceeded those comely tall captains whom the Meades the Aethiopians the Lybians were wont in old time to choose to be their kings And as the Lord is indifferent in bestowing his good gifts vpon the simplest meanest that serue him aswell as vpon the comeliest and goodliest men for the Lord hath no respect to the personage of men as we reade in sacred scripture Moses was goodly tall faire of complection and of yealow haire and a seruant of the Lord. Absolon the comeliest best made man from the crown of his head to his toe and yet the seruant of Sathan Ioseph the sonne of Iacob the fairest best fauored in Egipt a godly seruant of the Lord. Saul the tallest man in all Israel frō his shoulders vpwards yet serued not the Lord. So the gifts of nature appeare vpō the good the bad as you heard So may it be said of Elias a Prophet of the Lord being rough and hairy so we read of him of Esau rough hairy like Elias but a reprobate of the Lord for so the Lord said Iacob haue I loued and Esau haue I hated In fine Elizeus was bald for so was he mocked and called baldpate but a bear came out of the wood deuoured 42. childrē in Bethel for calling the prophet bald pate Dauid the least of his brethren not able to carry Sauls armour to fight with Golias and yet valiant inough to kill Golias and to bring his head to Saul Zachaeus so litle a fellow that he could not see Christ among the presse of the people but climbed a figge tree where Christ saw him bad him quickly come down This day wil I dine in thy house said the Lord to Zacheus So that Dauid being but of litle stature Elias rough and hairy and Flizeus bald yet three chosen Prophets of the Lord. Now to the marching of Ierusalam CHAP. XVII How Iudah was elected to be the third Iudge of Israel by Vrim and Thummim of his battell at Besecke Of Ehud Deborah Gedeon with their victories togither with certaine stratagems as well of the Iewes as of the Gentiles AFter Ioshua died Iudah was appointed the third captaine ouer the Israelites by the iudgement of Vrim and Thummim elected chosen to be the leader of the whole army of Israel the Lord from the beginning had appointed iudges and gouernors to lead his people frō Egipt to the land of Canaan as Moses Ioshuah after Ioshuah Iudah now the third captaine who fought the battell of the Lord in Bezeck and slew ten thousand of the Canaanites and the Perezites and tooke Adonizebech not a king but a tirant This king was by the iust iudgement of the Lord vsed in like sort as he vsed other kings for the thumbes of his hands and of his feete were cut off as he most cruelly cut off the thumbes of the handes of the feete of seuentie kings which he kept and fed with the crummes that fell from his table for so he confessed himselfe that as he had done so the Lord rewarded him for hee was brought to Ierusalem and there died Hannibal well nigh plaied the like part who vsed the poore captiue Romanes in like sort being weak wearied he cut off their thumbes pared the soales of the feete of a great number and so left them that they could neither stand nor goe Fabius Seruilianus equall or rather before these tyrants in tyrannie after he had vanquished a great number of the barbarous people of Scythia and had taken captiues Iure deditionis very many yet contrary to the faith and nature of the auncient Romanes hee cut off both the hands of fiue hundred of the principallest souldiers of them and left the poore Scythians without hands as Hannibal left the Romains without feete Thrasibulus being a tyrant for his tyrannie sent one of his chiefe men to Periander another tyrant to consult and to be aduised by him how he might liue without feare and daunger he being a tyrant among the Milesians Periander brought the messenger of Thrasibulus to a ripe corne field where with the staffe he had in his hand he did beat the eares of the corne and turnd to Thrasibulus messenger and said no more but commend me to thy maister Thrasibulus after he heard what Periander did knew his meaning was that he should destroy kill all the chiefe men citizens in Milesia if he would liue in safetie That tyrant must needs fear some of whom all men stand in feare This was such a dumbe stratagem which Periander taught Thrasibulus as Torquine the proud taught his son Sextus by a seruant which he sent to his father whom Torquine brought vnto a garden where with his staffe he beate the head of poppies This was a dumbe stratagem which Torquine sent to his sonne wherby he knew his fathers minde slew the chiefe Citizens and betrayed
die Ieremies speech was performed to the ouerthrow of the whole kingdome of Iudah neither could it be otherwise considering they sinned still against the Lord and the long ciuill warres betweene themselues which continued so long from Ieroboams time who caused Israel first to sinne vnto the last king of Israel Elias after he had destroied two captains one after another with their 50. souldiers seuerally with fire froÌ„ heauen after he had subdued 450. of Baals Prophets after all these great conquests and many other such he feared so much one woman that for very feare hee fled from place to place from her being wearie of his life he lay vnder a Iuniper tree wishing to die and prayed to God that hee might die complaining vnto the Lord that there was none left of the Prophets of the Lord but himselfe but hee was aunswered by the the spirite of God that there was seuen thousand more in Israel that yet neuer once bended theer knees vnto Baall The like may bee spoken of Ionas beeing like Elias wearie of his life hee sought meanes to forsake his Countrey and to flye by sea to other Countreys but the sea could not brooke him but deliuered him to be deuoured of a whâ—… and the whale could not keepe him but was compelled to vomit him vp from the bottome oâ—… his bâ—…y to goe to preach to Niniuie so that Elias 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 die vnder the Iuniper tree and Ionas would 〈◊〉 be throwne and drowned in the Sea â—…leane contrary to the purpose and prouidence of the Lord. Eâ—… 〈◊〉 â—…ly of his life to see the Prophets of the Lord so destroyed and Ionas to see his labour in preaching profit nothing that he should be â—…pured a false Prophet the Lord not destroying the Citie after fortie daies according to his word but sparing it in mercie as he did pittie the gourd in mercy After the Lord had giuen great victories to many of the kings of Iudah to Asa ouer Zerah king of Aethiope to Iosaphat ouer Shesak king of Egipt to Ezechiah ouer Senacherib yet Iudah still forsooke the Lord though Ieâ—…emy tolde them from the mouth of the Lord their destruction when they rather threatned then beleeued But neither Ioachim nor Zedechias would neither heare nor beleeue the Prophet and therefore the Lord deliuered them both into Nabuchodonozers hands the one was slaine in Ierusalem and his body commaunded to be cast out of the citie and to be left vnburied like an asse the other Nabucho tooke prisoner and caused his owne children all his chiefe friends to be slaine in his sight and after hee sawe this tragicall sight with his eyes Nabuchodonozer being then in Rebla before whom Zedechia was brought after he reprehended him for his periurie and trecherie and accused him for his falsehood caused his eyes to be put out and so bound in a chaine and carried prisoner to Babilon where hee lay and dyed in prison being the last king of the line of Dauid and the twentieth king after Saul There was a mightie king in Damascus ouer the Syrians called Adad who after many great battels with Dauid was subdued in a great battell at Euphrates This Adad was so great for his great victories among the Syrians that they named euery king after his name Adad to the number of tenne and the tenth king was that Benhadad which besieged Samaria in the time of the Prophet Elizeus whom this king Adad could no better fauour then Adad his predecessor could fauour Dauid or king Achab did Elias After this great victorie Dauid imposed tributes vpon the Syrians as he did before vpon the Idumeans Moabites and others hee returned to Ierusalem dedicated and consecrated as a trophey of his victorie the armours and rich spoile of Adad king of the Syrians in Ierusalem to the Lord. So the Philistines vsed the body of Saul slaine in mount Gilboa after they had sent his head to the Land of the Philistines and hanged his body on the wall of Bethshan they would be sure to lay vp his Armour in the temple of their god Ashtaroth according to the customes and manners of the Gentiles for they vsed to hang the armors and spoiles of their victories in their Temples to their Gods CHAP. IIII. How Achab though a wicked king had two great victories against Benhadad king of Syria who had 32. kings in his armies Of diuers great blasphemers punished Of the Idolatry of Israel And of the prophecying against Ierusalem BEnhadad king of Aram assembled an army against the Lorde hauing two and thirtie kings which were gouernours and rulers of prouinces with horses and chariots without number came and fought against Achab king of Israel a most wicked king And yet the Lord seeking to winne this wicked king as well by victories now as by myracles before sent a Prophet to Achab promising him ouer Benhadad king of Aram a great victorie For the army of the Syrians were so many that Benhadad sent a Herald vnto Achab commaunding him to deliuer vp to his hand Samaria and all the cities of Israel or else hee would come with such an armie that the dust of Samaria should not be inough for euery souldier a handfull much like Xerxes king of Persia for his vaunts and bragges who doubted that the sea Hellespont had not roome ynough for his nauies nor Greece had land inough for his armies nor the aire wide inough for his shottes but Xerxes was answered by Demarathus the Philosopher as Benhadad was by Achab Let him not brag that putteth on his harnesse as he that puts it off but the king of Syria bragged as Xerxes did before he wan the victory for the Lord gaue the victory to Achab and such a victory by slaughter by chasing by taking of men horses and chariots that the king of Syria fled and escaped narrowly with fewe horsemen that were his guard and said that the gods of Israel were the gods of the mountains therfore they ouercame vs chalenged a battel with Israel in the valleys where they assured themselues of victory thus they blasphemed the Lord in their furie but to their losse great ouerthrow The blasphemy of Rabsacis of his maister Senacherib king of the Assirians saying to king Ezechiah let not thy god deceiue thee in whom thou hopest and puttest thy trust was not he slaine praying before his god Nesroch in Niniuie by his owne two sonnes The blasphemy of Nabuchodonozer saying What God is hee that is able to take you out of my hands was not he punished with the losse of his kingdome and to liue among beasts like a beast and not like a king vntil he acknowledged the Lord The blasphemy of Holofcrnus saying there was no god but his maister Nabuchodonozer was not his head cut off by Iudith a womaÌ„ put vpoÌ„ the wals of Bethulia And likewise the blasphemy of Nicanor which said is there a
the king of Iudahs side by the king of Israel that two hundred thousand of womē and children were taken prisoners in Samaria so that they wasted and spoyled one another in such sort that frō a happy populous people by forsaking their Lord and God they became a most miserable Idolatrous people to serue strange gods For during the time of Dauid which was 40. yeares the kingdome of Israel was the most famous renowned kingdome of the world For so the Lord spake I will make the Princes of Iudah like coales of fire among the wood and like a fire-brand in the sheafe and they shal deuour all people round about them So Dauid brought all the kings nations about subiect tributary vnto Israel whose happie whole gouernment was such that at his death hee left a hundred thousand talents to his sonne Solomon to build a temple to the Lord which he himself had determined to build but that the Prophet Nathā warned him from the Lord that he should not for that he was a man of blood but that Solomon his sonne should build him a house This kingdom of Israel being so happy as you heard in king Dauids time and in Solomons time so glorious a temple builded and so richly furnished vnto the Lord that in Solomons time such plentie was in Ierusalē mony was no more esteemed thē stones in the streets yet presently vpō Solomons death in the time of Rehoboham his sonne the state of Ierusalem was so obscured altered that the citie was sackt and the temple robd with great slaughter of people by Shesac king of Egipt so that the wealth and treasure of Ierusalem and of the temple was carried by Shesac into Egipt Againe the kings of Israel became so Idolatrous that there were no gods among the Heathens but they were as gods worshipped in Israel so that they were far worse then the Grecians or the Romans who would allow no strange gods to raigne neither in Athens nor in Rome and therefore for that they forsooke the Lord the Lord forsooke them and gaue them ouer and their kingdome to the Assirians by the hand of Salmanasser and so Samaria and other townes in Israel were inhabited by strangers So the kings of Iudah after Israel within 133. yeares after were carried captiues into Babilon by Nabuchodonozer yet the Lord gaue them not ouer but brought them within 70. yeares after againe to Ierusalem stirred vp Cyrus Darius and Artaxerxes three great kings of Persia to fauour and to aide them with license to returne to their countrey to inhabit Ierusalem with money and much treasure to build vp the Temple redeliuering vnto them all the rich vessels of gold and siluer which Salomon left in the Temple at his death and which Nabuchodonozer tooke away from the Temple and brought to Babilon After Cyrus and these kings of Persia the Lord stirred vp a great Heathen Prince Alexander the great who when he came to Ierusalem lighted off his horse and came to meet the high Priest and reuerenced him with great obeysance where were read vnto him the prophesies of Daniel where it was found that a Grecian Prince should subdue the Persian kingdome which Alexander acknowledged to be himselfe and therefore went into the temple sacrificed to the God of Israel and not only freely granted to the high Priest whatsoeuer he would aske but commaunded him to aske what he would haue him do the high Priest asked nothing but that the Iewes that dwelt in Babilon in Medea and in other countreys about vnder his gouernment might enioy and liue according to the lawes of their countrey which Alexander graunted besides his great and liberall gifts which he bestowed vpon the Priest the temple Nabuchodonozer vsed himselfe otherwise then Alexander did against Iudah for he commanded Holofernus to spare no people no kingdome saying Non Parcet oculus tuus vlliregno The terror of Holofernus army therby was such that they came out of euery citie crowned with crownes on their heads and lamps in their hands to receiue him with all kind of musicke and with dauncing songs to please him yet could they not mittigate the fiercenesse of his fury After Alexander the Lord stirred vp Pthol Philadelphus so to fauour the Israelits to loue their lawes that he had the lawes of Israel written in the Greeke tongue in Alexandria and released many prisoners and captiues of the Iews to the number of 120000. which Ptol. Lagus his precessor had brought from Iudah to Egipt with as great bountifull rewards gifts as Alexander did So Zeleucus shewed such fauour to the Iewes dwelling in Antioch in Ionia in Ephesus that he graunted to them the liberties lawes of their countrey After Zeleucus the Lord stirred vp Antiochus the great being before a great enemy of the Iewes after Antiochus many of the kings of Asia so to fauour them that all the cities of Asia where the Iewes dwelt should suffer them to liue according to the laws of their country and to enioy the benefites of the same and though many of the Assirian kings troubled and molested them with great warres which ioyned themselues with the Samaritans to subdue the kingdome of Iudah Yet the Lord raised vp the house of Assamonias Mattathias to resist the violence of the Assyrians and after him his sonne Iu. Machabaeus who slew of the enemies Edumeans and Assyrians that sought the ouerthrowe of his countrey two hundred thirtie sixe thousand and seuen hundred in the defence of Ierusalem and after him his other foure bretheren forsooke not the lawes of the Lord for all the tyrannie of the Romane Emperors and the Assyrian Kings But the Iewes from time to time so reuoulted from the Lord that Aristobulus the sonne of Hircanus made himselfe a King 481. yeares after the returne of the captiuitie of the Iewes from Babilon but hee enioyed his kingdome but one yeare after he famished his mother and killed his brother for in Iudah their kings had no better succession then the kings of Rome had though in both the kingdomes they made great meanes to become kings After this Aristobulus there was no king among the Iewes vntill Herod who was made by the Senators of Rome with the consent of Augustus Caesar and Mar. Antonius both Emperours of Rome vnder whom Iudah was a Prouince Yet one false Alexander a Iew most subtilly adopted himselfe being very like to Herod to be of the stock and family of Herod and brother to Aristobulus and thereby claimed to bee king of Iudah saying that he was Herods sonne as false Philip faigned himselfe in Macedonia to be Persius sonne king Philips brother and as the common people there reuerenced false Philippe in Macedonia so likewise in all parts of Iurie was this false Alexander carried in coach from Cittie to Cittie with all the reuerence and honour that
nothing These were superstitious orders of Franciscans and not the vowes of Nazarites The Ethnicks likewise suffered their haires to grow because they might dedicate it either to Iupiter to Appollo to Mars or to some of their gods So did Thesius dedicate his haire vnto Appollo vpon his father Aegaeus graue So Achilles dedicated his haire vpō the tombe of his deare friend Patroclus So did Orestes consecrate his haire vpon the tombe of his father in lawe Agamemnon after he had killed him with the consent of his wife Clytemnestra So Euripides was of Archelaus king of Macedonia so honoured that hee lamented Euripides death in mourning apparell and with a shauen head and beard After the vowes of Iacob of Dauid of Asa and such godly men after the vowes of the Nazarites and of the Rechabites which was commanded from Ionadab the father vnto his children and to their posteritie was kept vnuiolated three hundred yeares These vowes were of the Lord accepted but for Heathen vowes which wilfully offer sacrifice their seruants their childrē thēselues to Moloch to satisfie the oracles of diuels speaking in dumbe Idols as vnto Curtius that rode sacrificing of a quick man which made Curtius on horseback in armor to ride into an open wide gulfe in Rome and Codrus king of Athens likewise in beggers apparell to sacrifice themselues to satisfie the oracles Yet Heliodorus was better aduised and more to be commended being sent by Seleucus king of Syria to rob and spoile the Temple of Ierusalem after he was scourged on both sides with many stripes by some diuine power hauing recouered his life by the prayer of Onias the high Priest Heliodorus offered sacrifice vnto God and made his vowes vnto the Lord which had graunted to him his life and thanked Onias confessing the name of the Lord to be great in Ierusalem Antiochus after his flight frō Persepolis in Persia thought to reuenge his wrath vpon Ierusalem aduancing himself that he would make Ierusalem a graue of all the Iewes but he was striken of the Lord that hee promised and vowed that whereas hee had spoiled the holy temple before now to garnish it with gifts to encrease the holy ornaments to become a Iew himselfe and to preach the power of the Lord through euery place of the world So Artaxerxes king of Persia so fauoured the Iewes through the goodnesse of the Lord that hee called Esdras the Priest and reader of the lawe of the Lord and willed him with all the Iewes that would goe with him to goe to Ierusalem allowed them golde and siluer and cattell to sacrifice vnto the Lord and to performe the vowes which they vowed vnto the Lord. So Nabuchodonozer Cyrus and Darius were moued by the Lord to fauour his people Israell And therefore olde Homer said that the sacrifices and oblations with all their vowes and ceremonies which the Troians offered to Iupiter were nothing of him accepted for that Iupiter rather esteemed the vowes and sacrifice of Agamemnon and the oblations of the Greckes before king Priamus and his Troians So the oracle of Ammon answered the Athenians that the gods esteemed more the vowes and prayers of the Lacedemonians with the sacrifice of milke honey frankincense cakes and wine according to Pythagoras rule then the rich spoiles and great gifts of the Athenians with the great sacrifice of Haecatombae So the Prophet answered the Iewes from the mouth of the Lord I abhorre your incense I cannot away with your new moones your sabbothes and solemne dayes I detest your ceremonies and fastings I hate although you make many praiers and offer many oblations yet do I neither heare your prayers nor accept your oblations CHAP. VII Of Oracles and soothsayings as well of the Iewes as of the Gentiles THe Lord commaunded in the lawes of Moses that no soothsaying should be among the Israelites yet things conteining of necessary causes are not forbidden for signes were asked of the Israelites and giuen vnto them of victories by the Lord. Ionathas desired a signe of the Lord and he had by the spirit of the Lord a token that if the Philistins would say vnto Ionathas come ye hither vnto vs Ionathas by that signe knew he should haue victorie The like signe was giuen to Gedeon of his victorie by a fleece of wooll that should be so full with deawe that the deawe therof filled a bowle with water and drie vpon all the earth besides Elizeus bad Ioas shoote eastward in token of his good successe in Aphec And againe hee bad Ioas smite the ground and hee smote the ground thrise so many great victories against the Syrians he had Samuel caught the lap of Sauls coate and rent it saying Thus shall God rent the kingdome out of thy hand and giue it to an other So did Ahiah the Prophet take the garment of Ieroboam and rent it into twelue peeces saying So shall the Lord rent the kingdome out of Salomons hand and giue tenne of the twelue Tribes vnto thee These were signes giuen before hand by the Prophets from the Lord. A prophet of Iudah came to Bethel and cried against the Aultar of Bethel and gaue them a signe that Iosias which was borne three hundred yeares after should offer Priests of the hill altars and burne mens bones vpon the altar and this shall be a signe the altar presently shall rent and the ashes that are in it shall fall out The being of Ionas in the Whales belly three dayes was a signe as Christ himselfe saide that the sonne of man should be three dayes in the belly of the earth It was lawfull for the Israelites to call for the Arke which was the presence of God the figure of Christ they would call for the Ephod they would consult with Vrim and Thummim before they tooke any battell in hand The Iewes required a signe the Grecians sought after wisdome but Christ crucified vnto the Iewes was euen a stumbling blocke and vnto the Grecians foolishnesse For the Greekes Persians went for Oracles to Delphos the Egiptians and Affricans to Ammon but the Hebrewes were taught to come to the doore of the Tabernacle and after the vse of the Tabernacle to consult with Vrim and Thummim to come to the Temple of Salomon or to the Prophets and there to be instructed what to doo The Hebrues tooke no warres in hand vnlesse they ◅ame to the Priest first who would stand with his Ephod◅rment ◅rment before the Arke of the Lorde and there to be ◅ught what to do So Ioshuah Generall of the Israelites vsed to stand b◅re Eleazar the Priest to take his instruction by Vrim and Thummim So Iudah the successor of Ioshua was chosen by Vrim and Thummim to be a Generall of the Hebrue army So did Samuel stand before the high Priest to receiue he Oracle of Vrim and Thummim The Hebrewes
the Athenians were for Agesilaus tooke another course thē Themistocles did when he wanted money he went to the confines of Persia to spoile and to plague the Persians for the Persians euer feared the greatnesse of Agesilaus and yet was he but a litle lame man of stature that hee was satisfied with golde and siluer to returne to his countrey that Agesilaus would often iest and say that thirtie thousand Archers did driue him out of Asia which was the Persian coine that was stampt with the print of an Archer with these Archers the Persians caused oftentimes Agesilaus to returne frō Persia into Greece againe The like iest did Gilippus seruant he told the Ephories of Sparta that his maister Gilippus had vnder the roofe of his house more Owles then all Athens for the coine of Athens was stampt with the print of an Owle as the Persians was with the print of an Archer for Gilippus had taken from his maister Lysander much money and hidden them vnder the shield of his house and so by his seruant was in a iest betraied Thus leauing Agesilaus with his Archers and Gilippus seruant with his Owles I will returne to Themistocles to whom Marcellus shall be compared in celeritie of whom Hannibal said that Marcellus could not be quiet neither with good fortune nor bad neither victor nor conuicted Scypio Affrican with such celeritie after he had conquered Hannibal at the battell at Zama soone subdued Carthage Pau. Aemilius with great celeritie subuerted the whole Empire of Macedonia and brought their king Persius and Gentius king of the Illyrians both prisoners vnto Rome in his tryumphe Pompey the great vsed such celeritie that within fortie daies he vanquished all the Pyrates who had a thousand ships on the seas and taken aboue foure hundred townes they robd and spoyld all marchant venturers rifled and destroyed all the Ilands and townes vpon the sea coast and destroyed many Temples they feared no force neither weighed for kings nor subiects and grew so strong that they ruled both land sea without lawe But Pompey had such victory ouer them that after the great slaughter in the battell at the citie Coracesium he tooke twentie thousand persons prisoners and thus in lesse then three moneths Pompey ended and quite vanquished the Pyrates Caesar in all his warres excelled all men in expedition and celeritie in the which he had such wonderfull good successe against Pompey in Pharsalia against his sonne in Affrica against Affranius in Hispaine against Cato in Vtica with such expedition that he became as you read being one that was denied to be Consul to be Perpetuus Dictator and the first Emperour of Rome Clau. Nero the Consul considering that Italy was plagued by Hannibal in Lucania and by Asdrubal his brother in Vmbria made such secret great hast that before Hannibal knew he went out of his campe in Lucania he was in Vmbria and before Asdrubal knew he was in Vmbria he was with his fellow Consul at the battell of Metaurus where Asdrubal was slaine his armie ouerthrowne and his head sent to his brother Hanibal in Lucania so that by one Romane stratagem the two great Romane enemies Hanibal and Asdrubal were ouerthrowne the one slaine at the Riuer Metaurus and the other driuen from Italy into Affrike Celeritie vpon deliberation is most necessarie at all times therefore the chiefe guard about Romulus person were called Celeres for their quicknesse and celeritie in executing Romulus commaundement Dauid king of Iudah had such resolute men called Cerethites about his person readie with such celeritie to effect any thing the king would commaund them that when they heard the king longing for some water out of the well of Bethelem they presently ventured theyr liues through the campe of the enemies and brought water to the king from Bethelem before the king missed them but Dauid sacrificed the water vnto the Lord and would not drinke of it because his men offered theyr liues for it Caleb vsed such expedition after he had viewed and trauelled all the land of Canaan that he returned within fortie dayes to the Hebrew campe with a full resolution perswading Ioshua to take the warres in hand Ehud one of the Iudges of Israel who was wont to say to his souldiers follow mee went fully resolued to Eglon king of Moab an enemie of the Lord and therefore slew him in his chamber Many souldiers of the Lord are resolued through faith to effect many things with celeritie and zeale so Phineas slew Zimri the Israelite Cosbi a Lords daughter of the Madianites for that they offended the Lord in the campe and therfore Phineas thrust them through both with his speare Iehu though a wicked man yet much commended for his resolute zeale for that he ouerthrew Achabs house slew Baals prophets and destroyed Baals temple and his aultars The great kings of the world are resolued to hazard theyr liues to winne fame and glory eyther by parasites or flatterers moued therevnto or by oracles of theyr Idols or by visions and dreames especially as Astiages king of the Meades dreamed that his daughter Mandanes which was Cyrus mother made water that ouerflowed all Asia Astiages dreamed the second time that a vine grew out of his daughters wombe whose braunches couered all Asia therefore hee called all his wise men and soothsayers of his kingdome together to interpret him these two dreames who tolde him that his daughter should haue a sonne that should bee such a king that hee should rule ouer all Asia which made Cyrus so ambitious and proud that he could not be content with all the kingdomes of Asia but must goe to be slaine in Scythia The like dreame sawe Xerxes before his voyage in to Greece that in his dreame hee thought hee sawe an Oliue tree crowned whose boughes and braunches couered the whole earth and withall suddenly vanished away The same Author writeth that Iulius Caesar dreamed that he lay with his mother and by these meanes he was flattered by his soothsayers that hee should subdue the whole earth Euen so Hamilcar Generall of the Carthagineans thought hee heard in his sleepe a voyce that hee should the next night suppe in Syracusa but he was so glad of his speech that he was deceiued of his hope and yet he supt in Syracusa not as a conqueror but as a prisoner but was deceiued as Xerxes was by the hope of his crowned Oliue or as Caesar was by his mother Hannibal after the taking of Saguntum dreamed that Iupiter should call him into councell with the goddes where hee was commaunded to take warres in hand against the Romanes there hee seemed that Iupiter had giuen him a captaine to goe before him euen from the councell house one of the company of the gods and looking behinde him hee thought he sawe a terrible monstrous Serpent which Hannibal in his sleepe asked Iupiter what monster that was
THE STRATAGEMS of Ierusalem With the martiall lawes and militarie discipline as well of the Iewes as of the Gentiles By Lodowick LLoyd Esquier one of her Maiesties Serieants at Armes Sap. 7. Candor lucis aeternae est sapientia LONDON Printed by Thomas Creede 1602. TO THE RIGHT Honourable Syr Robert Cecill Knight Principall Secretary to the Queenes most excellent Maiestie Maister of the Court of Wardes and Liueries One of her Highnesse most Honourable priuie Councell and Chauncellour of the Vniuersitie of Cambridge ALexander the great right Honorable thought long to write the straunge sights hee sawe in India to Aristotle the philosopher in Macedonia Caesar made haste to write the celeritie of his victorie in Pontus to his friend Anitus at Rome The like desire is in my selfe with no lesse longing to make my labour knowne to such honourable friends as will both accept and defend my trauaile herein Of whom I made choice of your honour to dedicate the Stratagems of Ierusalem as vnto one that is furnished with stratagems wisedome and knowledge of whoÌ„ I may say as Plato spake of such like Consilium eius est qui rei cuiusque peritus Such wise and graue councellors the Lord euer prouided to attend on godly and vertuous Princes as eyes and eares to preuent both home and forraigne stratagemes of enemies as Chusai with Dauid to preuent the wicked purpose of Absalon and Nathan with Salomon to finde out the trecherous intention of Adonias The Lord left not the wicked Samaritans vnprouided of Prophets councellors yea euen amoÌ„g Infidels and Pagans the Lord stirred vp Daniel to counsel Nabuchodonozer in BabiloÌ„ Ioseph to counsell Pharao in Egipt that they might confesse acknowledge God to be the Lord therfore wel said Solon Non quae suauissima sed quae optima sunt coÌ„sulenda It is not the coÌ„sultatioÌ„ of the Romains with their soothsaiers that made their Empire so to florish nor of the Persians with their Magi that got the Monarchy of the Assyrians to Persia. All stratagems victories good counsell commeth from the Lord so wisdom saith I dwel with Princes in councell and am among them that seek wisdom knowledge Plato the Philosopher could so say Omnis consultatio quiddam sacrum est and Aristotle his scholler called councell of Princes Diuinissimum consilium The kings of Persia when they admitted any into councell tooke their fignet laid it on their mouths as a seale of sileÌ„ce saying Anima coÌ„silij secretuÌ„ so AlexaÌ„ did to his councellor EphestioÌ„ Neither could any be of councel in Persia but such as were in couÌ„cell most secret in gouernmeÌ„t most wise prudent The cause why Demosthenes was so esteemed amoÌ„ng the AtheniaÌ„s was his wisdoÌ„ policie often to preuent the force stratagems of Phillip of Macedon The cause why Vlixes was iudged more worthy of Achilles armor then Aiax was his experience and councell to Agamemnon in the Grecian warres So it may be well spoken of Nestor who was preferred before all other Greeke Captaines for the like cause Multitudo enim sapientuÌ„ sanitas orbis terraruÌ„ est saith wisdom It was not the counsel of the Nimph Egeria to Numa which was ridiculous but the wisedome policie of Numa therby to establish his lawes much commeÌ„ded Neither the counsell of Iupiter in the Capitoll to Scypio which was foolish but the policie practise of Scypio therby to animate his soldiers much extolled But no councell no policie against the Lord no wisdom nor Stratagem to ouerthrow a king or a kingdom but the sins of the king the kingdome So could Cratippus the Philosopher to that effect answere Pompey the great Fata per causas agunt So could Phaetenissa the Witch answere Saul at Endor Fatum pietatis appendix So could the Idoll of Apollo aunswere Augustus Caesar at Delphos the one willing to know what should become of the kingdome of Israel the other of the Empire of Rome But such busie ambitious braines like Cornel Lentulus that dreamed he should be the third Cornelius that should gouern the Empire were banished out of Athens by the law Ostracismus such might not come in Rome in gownes or in long cloakes into the Senate house by the law of Cincius Many haue Iocobs voice but they haue Esaus hands like Balaam Qui vocem non mentem mutant These dissembling Gibeonites were found out by Ioshuah these bragging Ephraimites were tried by pronouncing the letter Schiboleth None can resist the set purpose of the Lorde who could hinder Moses of his triumph in the midst of the sea or let Ioshuah to set his trophey in the middest of the heauens euen he that commaunded the seas to be diuided and commanded the Sun to stand ouer Gibeon and the Moone ouer Aialon to whom iustly belong all stratagems victories tropheys and tryumphes Your Honors alwayes readie at commandement Lodowick Lloyd To the courteous Reader ALphonsus king of Cicile gentle Reader was euer wont to say Optimos consiliarios esse mortuos meaning wise and profitable bookes both at home and abroad Lucullus one of the greatest captaines among the Romaines and PhilopomeÌ„ of no lesse fame among the Grecians the one by reading Euangelus bookes the other by reading Xenophon became excellent souldiers In so much that Cicero wondred that Epaminondas being such a singular Philosopher should become so famous a Captaine A great staine in M. Corilianus and in C. Marius though otherwise stout and valiant not to be learned Caesars Commentaries are at this time as much esteemed among the Turkes as Homers Illiads were in auntient time among the Grecians If these Polymarchies and Campmaisters confesse that by holding a penne in the one hand do profit as much as by holding a sword in the other or rather more If Fabius weakned Hanibal more by delayes then Marcellus did by the sword If Fabritius wearied Pirrhus more by counsell then all Rome could do by their warres then it is truly said that Plura auspicijs concilijs quam telis manibus geruntur So that sometimes that saying of Cicero is true Cedantarma togae an other time the saying of Lysander is as true Sileant leges inter arma So all Empires ought to be Non â—…olùm armis decorata verumetiam legibus ornata Therefore Alexander Seuerus vsed both the sword and the penne as well in decreeing of his lawes at home as in mannaging of his warres abroad Consilijs togae militiae literatos adhibere I speak not of such bookes which Plato compareth Adonijs hortis fresh and full of sauour in the morning and withered and decayed at night like the Elephants of India at their first sight in Asia were so wondred at that Antiochus the great hauing but two named the one Aiax the other Patroclus the names of two Princes but when these Elephants became so common in Rome and in Asia that they were in euery CoÌ„suls triumph they were called but Boues Lucanias a great
out of Egipt least they ioyned with the Affricans or with the Assirians to warre vpon Egipt or else least the number of the Hebrues should be so multiplied in Egipt as they might ouerthrow Pharao in his owne kingdome and therfore Pharao kept them in slauery and bondage vexing and molesting them and withall decreed a lawe to put himselfe out of doubts and his kingdome out of danger that all the male children of the Hebrues borne in Egipt should be presently murthered after their birth with a great charge giuē that they should bee slaine his feare was such that it did not content Pharao but least hee should be deceiued with killing of them hee made another lawe that they should be drowned in the Riuer Nilus But Pharao determined and God disposed for the Lord reuenged the house of Israel vpon Pharao with ten horrible and terrible plagues and at last Pharao the king his peeres and the most part of the nobles of his land and almost all his kingdom were drowned in the red sea to an infinite number and as Orosius saith more of the Egiptians were drowned then the number of the Hebrewes that came out of Egipt yet there is no iust number written by Iosephus who ought best to know it As the Egiptians were compared to the Romains for their crueltie so were the Hebrewes compared to the Christians for their punishment the Iewish Synagogue to the Christian Church and as the Hebrewes were plagued by the Egiptians 430. yeares in Egipt so were the Christians so long afflicted and persecuted throughout all the Empire of Rome but as Pharao and all Egipt were destroied for their vexations of the Hebrewes so Rome and the Empire of Rome was plagued for their bloudie persecutions against the Christians and therefore euery seuerall plague in Egipt shall be compared to euery seuerall persecution in Rome The Lord now being armed to mannage warre with the Egiptians and to reuenge the wrong of his people the Hebrewes hee appointed his souldiers readie and diuided them into seuerall troupes and bands He hath an armie aboue in the heauens the Sun the Moone and the Starres hee hath another armie in the aire lightning thunder haile-stones and such souldiers another in the waters whales crocodiles serpents and such monstrous creatures in the seas Another in the wildernesse and woods as Lyons Beares Wolues Tygres and the like beasts Yea the Lord hath his armies in ditches lakes as Frogges and Toades and hath also his armie euen out of the dust ashes of the earth Lice Flies and vermines The Captaine that the Lord appointed ouer these armies was Moses which was but a shepheard to dant the courage of Pharao who at the commandement of the Lord marched to Egipt with these legions of souldiers to take his people from the bōdage of Pharao threatening warres vnto Pharao and yet not without conditions of peace according to the lawe of armes if Pharao would let his people peaceably depart out of Egipt with bag and baggage Moses to whome Iehouah appeared in the bush burning was commaunded to take the charge of the Hebrues and lead them from Egipt to the lande of Canaan Moses obeyed the Lords commandemēt yet accused himselfe of some imperfection he had in his speech and therefore had Aaron his brother for his Orator who hauing done the Lords commaundement in Egipt to Pharao their message was reiected and had no audience at Pharaos hand Thē was Moses cōmanded by the Lord to stretch his rod vpon Nilus and vpon all the riuers of Egipt the pooles and standing waters that they might be turned into blood so that the Egiptians were constrained to drinke of that bloodie riuer Nilus the iust iudgement of God vpon Pharao who thirsted for blood to drink blood like so Tomyris Queen of Scythia spake to Cyrus whose head she caused to be cut off being slaine in the field and to bathe it in a great tunne full of blood saying drink Cyrus of that blood which thou didst euer thirst for So Pharao in like sort was forced to drinke of that bloody riuer where before time hee commanded all the male children of the Hebrewes to be drowned and where Moses him selfe being but three months old so long his mother kept him secretly vnknowne vnto Pharao but Amri Moses father much fearing that he his wife family should die for it according to the decree that Pharao made committed him to Gods prouidence in Nilus by whose prouidence Moses was saued to bee a captain ouer his people to lead them out of Egipt to plague Pharao and to reuenge the 430. years calamities miseries of the Hebrues in Egipt vpō Pharao his kingdom with ten such terrible plagues as was neuer heard or read of before like in all points to the ten cruell persecutions which cōtinued in all the Romane Empire during the raigne and gouernmēt of ten Emperors which persecuted the Christians in Rome as Pharao plagued the Hebrues in Egipt This first plague of the Egiptians may be cōpared to the first persecution of the Christians vnder that cruel Emperor Nero at what time there was nothing in Rome nor in Italy but as in Egipt for as Nilus all the riuers of Egipt wer turned into blood so in Rome in euery street was nothing but sheading of christiās blood vnder the tiranny of Nero by whō Paul Peter diuers others of the chief members of the church were most extreamely persecuted some beheaded some hangd some burnt so that beside his vehement persecutiōs to the Christians few escaped the cruelty of Nero otherwise he spared none no not Seneca his maister nor his mother Aggrippina but Nero like his cruell vncle Caligula wished all Rome to haue but one neck that he might with one stroke cut it of for he caused Rome to be set on fire to burn 6. daies to resemble the burning of Troy where he in his tower Maecenatiā beholding the great flames of fire recited merily certain Odes of Homer touching the burning of Troy Thus from one tyrannie to another he passed all men in tirannie that as the fish that was in Nilus and al the riuers of Egipt died stank in the riuers so the Christians were murthered persecuted by Nero whose bodies likewise stanke for want of buriall but as Nero without mercy or respect slue all spared none and at last slue himselfe being proclaimed by the Senators of Rome a traytor to his Countrey thus Nero liued and ended his life with blood and for that he could kill no more hee kild himselfe in whom also ended the whole stocke and familie of Caesar. So Abimelech the base sonne of Gedeon slue his seuentie brethren to vsurpe the gouerment by destroying the lawfull sonnes of Gedeon or like proud Hamon who sought with all meanes possible to destroy Mardocheus and all the Iewes within the hundred and seuen and twentie Prouinces of Persia. So
Nero sought the destruction of the Christians within all the Empire of Rome Achab was not so greedie to haue his wrath and anger satisfied vpon the Prophet Micheas nor Iezabel vpon the Prophet Elias as Nero was to haue Paul the Apostle and Peter slaine in Rome who fild all the streets of Rome with the blood of Christians as Manasses king of Iuda filled all the streets of Ierusalem with innocent blood so that Nero could not be satisfied vntill he had ended his tragedie killing his mother his wiues his sisters and after himself as Mithridates king of Pontus had done before him The second message of Moses was to command Pharao to let the Hebrues depart out of Egipt which being refused denied the Lord vsed a stratagem began to vexe them with a second plague with an vgly armie of Frogges which assaulted Pharao and his country so fiercely that all the Riuers and all the land of Egipt were couered ouer with loathsome Frogges Pharaos Court his priuie chamber his victuals vpon euery man these Frogges scrawled climbed vpon Pharao his Peeres his States and vpon all his people without respect of persons they spared none that all the force strength of Egipt could not resist the force violence of these simple creatures but were constrained to forsake their houses their beds and to seeke to escape these filthy Frogs who left no secret place vnsought but the Hebrews in the land of Gosen were free from these plagues Pharao being dismaied and fearefull to see such vgly sights terrible stratagems was forced to yeeld himselfe to Moses the Captaine and leader of this armie at what time Moses had his second tryumph in the midst of Egipt This was the second victorie and tryumph which the Hebrewes had in Egipt by an armie of Frogs weake souldiers of themselues but there is nothing so weak that the Lord cannot cause to ouercome the greatest power of man Yet Pharaos heart was so hardned that hee answered Moses message from the Lord Quis est dominus Who is the Lord saith Pharao most blasphemously much like to the blasphemy of Nicanor who doubted of the Lord being in heauen and demaunded of Iudas Machabaeus Is there a Lord in heauen that can commaund you to keepe the Sabboth day But I haue power on earth to execute the kings commaundement Nabuchodonozer besides him there is no Lord in heauen nor in earth that can defend you out of Nabuchodonozers hand but that tongue which blasphemed the Lord was cut off and cast to the sowles of the aire to be eaten the head and the hand that fought against the Lord were cut off he being slain in the battell by Iudas Machabeus and hangd vpon the Temple in Ierusalem This secōd plague may be well resembled to the second persecution vnder Domitianus the Emperor who with no lesse crueltie persecuted the Christians in Rome then Pharao did the Hebrewes in Egipt or as Nero his predecessor did in Italy but as in Egipt all men fled from their houses their beddes their tables to seeke some rest from the Frogges so in Rome and in Italy the poore Christians fled euery where frō place to place to hide themselues in secret caues and dennes to escape the cruell sword of this swelling toade Domitianus who excelled Pharao in tyrannie Pharao saide Quis est dominus Who is the Lord I know not the Lord. But Domitianus named himselfe Lord and god Domitianus and by a decree commanded so to be named of all mē in Rome and throughout the Empire of Rome and therwithall caused his Image to be set vp in the Temple at Ierusalem This cruell and blasphemous Emperour Domitianus so persecuted the Christians and so vexed the whole Empire that not only the Citizens of Rome but also all Italy sought other places in other countries as banished men to seeke to auoyd the sword of this bloodie Emperor who passed Pharao in blasphemy and Nero in tyrannie but his end was no better then Neroes for as Nero slue himself with his own hand so was Domitianus in his owne house murthered slain by his owne seruants for he that killeth many must of some be kild and so Domitianus was for blood is reuenged with blood and is one of those foure sinnes that crieth vp to heauen for vengeance but Rome was euer full of blood betweene their forrein warres abroad and their ciuill warres at home CHAP. IIII. Of the third and fourth plagues of the Egiptians compared with the third and fourth persecutions of the Christians MOyses againe after two denialls marcheth with his armie against Pharao to his third battell which was with more simple and weake souldiers then the second battell was for the Lord commaunded Moses to smite the dust of the earth with his rod that all the dust of the earth became Lice throughout all the land of Egipt and these were the armies of the Lord the which crept vpon euery man and vpon euery beast and went as in battell raie and well instructed souldiers vpon Pharao his Lords and his Courtiers and ouer all the land of Egipt this armie spared no place feared no man but the land of Gosen and the Hebrewes there dwelling To this were Iamnes and Iambres and all Soothsayers and Charmers of Egipt publikely forced to say that it was digitus dei the finger of God and Pharao after them was as afore twise now the third time constraited to yeeld to Moses but still without grace or repentance Thus euery victorie had his triumph and euerie triumph was solemnized without either a stroak giuen or a sword drawne but with a white rod in Moses hand so that it seemed rather a combat betweeene Moses and Pharao then a set battell betweene the Hebrewes and the Egiptians The third persecution vnder Traiane in Rome in all points is to be likened to the third plague vnder Pharao in Egipt for the bloud of the Christians in Rome and the plague of the Hebrewes in Egipt crie for equal vengeance and iustice vpon wicked Tyrants and murtherers vnto heauen Though Traiane was wrote vnto by Pliny the second to admonish him to mittigate the vehement persecutidus of the Christians certifying Traiane that the Christians liued soberly and quietly not offending the Romane lawes but by professing their religigion and the name of Christ. Notwithstanding Pliny could do litle good with his Letters to Traiane the Emperour in the behalfe of the Christians at Rome no more then Philo could do with his perswasions to Nero for the Iewes in Alexandria though Philo himselfe being learned and graue and of great authoritie with the Iewes spake in person to Nero and yet Appian the Egiptian being but a schoolemaister in Alexandria a man of no reputation had audience of Nero which was denied to Philo so much Rome hated the Christians Egipt the Hebrews that their plagues
persecutiōs may well bee compared together for still persecution encreased in Rome in so much that the Christians that were dispersed scattered in euery place for feare were so persecuted that vnder Traiane and vnder Sapor King of Persia infinite slaughter was made of the Christians and euery where where the Romane Emperours ruled th◅ was but sword and fire but the more the Christians were persecuted the more they were encreased the more they were hanged slaine and burned the more were they multiplied and encouraged through faith to esteeme little or nothing these tyrants or theyr tyrannie which might moue the Romanes as well to say that it was Digitus dei in the third persecution as the Egiptians did confesse in their third plague For if the Egiptians had obserued how the Hebrews in the land of Gosen had neuer heard or seene or felt any plague being in one Countrey and at one time nor so much as a dogge among the Hebrewes miscarried or if the Romanes had but considered the workes of the Lord how hee encreased the Christians to surmount the slaughters of the persecutions and strengthened the Christians to conquer the crueltie of these Tyrants that as the Hebrews multiplied in Egipt to the ouerthrow of Egipt in spite of Pharaos killing drowning so the Christians multiplyed in all the Romane Empire for all theyr slaughter and destroying of the Christians But no amendment appeared in Pharao by the three former plagues then marcheth Moses forward with his fourth Army commaunding with one message still thus saith the Lorde Let my people goe or else to bee afflicted with the fourth plague with the like simple Army of souldiers as before in the second and the third for great swarmes of flyes came into the Court of Pharao and into all the lande of Egipt so that all Egipt was corrupted by this infinite multitude of flyes but in the lande of Gosen to the great wonder of Pharao and his people were none of these souldiers seene for the Lord had seperated the lande of Gosen where his people the Hebrewes dwelt that they should not bee touched either with Frogs Flies or Lice Pharao and all his kingdome of Egipt man and beast were so bitten and infected with these swarmes of Flies and wearied with these souldiers that Pharao againe yeelded to Moses and requested Moses to do sacrifice for him vnto the Lord and promised Moses that Israel should goe out of Egipt Notwithstanding he kept no promise but still hardened his heart and prouoked the Lord to plague him his court and his kingdome It seemed the Egiptians hated the Hebrewes mortally being thus persecuted with such horrible plagues that they still yeelded but neuer repēted But no plague no calamitie could moue Pharao to yeeld obedience to the lord neither acknowledge his name but still saying Nescio dominum but by meanes made to Moses to remooue these plagues from him yeelding euer the victory to Moses but neuer yeelding his heart to the Lord. In Rome in Antioch in Alexandria in Caesaria and euery where else where the Romanes had any gouernment the Iewes were giuen to be deuoured of wild and fierce beasts as Lyons Elephants and Tygres and to fight vpon publike theaters to solemnize the tryumphs of Vespasian Titus And therefore were the Hebrues well compared to the Christians for their manifolde plagues and miseries and the Egiptians to the Romains for their tyrannie Yet the Hebrewes had some oddes more then the Christians had for they might fight on publike shewes vpō theaters with Lyons Elephants and wild beasts which Titus sent frō Ierusalem to Rome to beautifie his father Vespasians triumph to the number of 16000. Iewes but the Christians with present death with all the tortures that could be inuented executed vpon them I may not forget Pharao in Egipt for his well deserued plagues the violence whereof he could not resist nor defend himselfe frō these armies in his priuy chamber For that it was the Lords battell as Iamnes and Iambres and the charmes of Egipt before did confesse So Nabuchodonozer cōfessed after he was taken from the throne of his kingdome in Babilon to liue among beasts in the field So Manasses cōfessed after he was taken captiue from his kingdome in Iudah to become from a king a bondman in Babilon So Iulian the Apostata was constrained after he threw into the aire a handfull of his heart blood to say Vicisti Galile and so all blasphemers and tyrants confesse that the Lord is God when they are punished and plagued and cannot resist it and yet Pharao in Egipt would not confesse that it was the finger of God as Iamnes Iambres did neither acknowledging the Lord to be God as Nabuchodonozer and Manasses did neither yeelding the conquest vnto the Lord as Iulian the Apostata did and therefore Moses is sent vnto Pharao to denounce vnto him the fift plague and to giue Pharao the space of a whole day to think on it assuring Pharao the next morning it should come to passe vnlesse hee would let his people goe CAAP. V. Of the fift and sixt plagues of the Egiptians compared with the fift and sixt persecutions of the Christians BEhold the fift plague by the hand of the Lord vpon Pharao and vpon his cattell his Horses Asses Camels Oxen and Sheepe with a mightie great morraine so that all the cattel of Egipt died and of the cattell of the Hebrues died not one Pharao being with this astonished more fearefull of these plagues and losses then carefull to auoyd punishments or mindfull of repentance not acknowledging God to be the Lorde sent to the lande of Gosen to know whether any of these plagues happened among the Hebrewes being instructed and certified that there was nothing in the lande of Gosen but loue mirth and ioy none of their cattell nor of their beasts died It is the nature of wicked men to enuie vertue and godlines in good men Yet Pharao reuolted from the Lord and refused his mercies often offered though afore-hand he knew and Moses told him that the next day the Lord should bring this fift plague to passe And so before the waters were turned into blood before the Frogges the Lice and the Flies who like armed souldiers Phalanges wise assaulted Pharao of the which hee was warned before by Moses but yet it mooued not Pharao for all this to repentance though Pharao was often astonished and mooued to yeeld victorie yet not to embrace penitencie far worse then Esau who would haue repented but could not though he sought it with teares This fift plague may fitly and well be compared to the fift persecution vnder Sept. Seuerus for as in Egipt both man and beast died of the morraine so vnder this cruell Emperour as well by bloodie persecution as ciuil warres euery where blood was shead beside the Romane legions of souldiers were slain that the slaughter was infinite For like
Ghost some denying Christ by nature to bee Cod but onely of accidentall participation of diuine properties as Arius Some affirming that Christ tooke his beginning of the Virgin Mary denying the diuine nature of Christ as Samosatenus and Photinus Others imagined that Christ had not a true and natural body borne of the Virgin Mary as the Marcionites and Manichees The Ebionites affirmed Christ to be naturally born of a woman gotten by man I will omit to speake of Simon Magus and his disciple Menander of Cerdon and his disciple Marcion and of Saturninus and a number more of this crewe who denie one Article or other of our Christian faith confounding the diuine nature of the Trinitie These heretikes possessing diuers seates as Arius in Alexandria Saturninus in Antioch Photinus in Lions and so of the rest which beeing the verie blast and breath of Sathan haue brought into their heresie many kings and princes of Asia and Europe but all these heretikes were by generall councell confuted and condemned The Nicene councell condemned Arius and his partners which denied the deitie and diuine nature of Christ this councell held vnder the Emperour Constantine where 318. Bishops met together to confute Arius and his heresie The second councell at Constantinople vnder Gratianus the Emperour against Eudoxius and Macedonius denying the holy Ghost to be God The third councell at Ephesus vnder Theodosius the great against Nestorius affirming two sonnes the one of God the other of man denying the mistery of the incarnation of Christ. The fourth councell at Calcedon vnder Martianus against Eutiches who confounded the natures in Christ for the vnity of the three persons CHAP. VIII Of the marching of the Hebrewes from Egipt vnder Moses and Aaron toward the land of Canaan Of the life of Moses in Egipt and of his victories against the Aethiopians NOw Moses and the Hebrewes beeing discharged out of Egipt where they had bin in bondage and miseries many yeares and were called Hicsos now they march like souldiers of the Lord vnder Moses and Aaron towardes the lande of Canaan but marke the hardnesse of Pharaos heart for while the Hebrewes were in Egipt beeing extreame enemies vnto Pharao yet Pharao endured tenne horrible and terrible plagues before he would let the Hebrewes goe out of Egipt vntill hee was brideled and hooked by the nosthrils as Senacharib was and compelled to let the Hebrewes goe Yet Pharao with his wonted hardened heart with all the power and force of Egipt followed after beeing two hundreth thousand footemen fiftie thousand horsemen sixe hundreth chosen chariots of the kings owne army a sufficient armie against weaponlesse and vnarmed men Notwithstanding he had infinite number of footemen horsemen and chariots out of all parts of Egipt assuring himselfe by this multitude he would make a full end of the Hebrewes hauing this aduantage the sea being before the Hebrues the mountaines on either side them and Pharao with all the force of Egipt at their back a narrower straight as Pharao supposed then the Greeks had against the Persians at Thermopyla and there Pharao thought to ende his long desired tyrannie vpon the Hebrewes It was to be wondred that after ten great victories in Egipt gotten against Pharao by no other weapon then with a rod in Moses hand durst not looke Moses in the face after these victories in Egipt durst follow Moses hauing sixe hundred thousand Hebrewes marching in his campe this was the time appointed of the Lord to do with Pharao that which Pharao thought to do to the Hebrewes for the Lord commaunded Moses to hold vp his rod and to stretch out his hand vpon the sea and to diuide the seas to let the Hebrues goe through on drie ground and to suffer the Egiptians to follow after vntil the Lord commaunded Moses againe to stretch out his hand vpon the sea a diuine straragem of the Lord to let the waters turnevpon the Egiptians ouerwhelme them So the Lord by water saued the Hebrewes his people and by water drowned the Egiptians his enemies Yet Appian most impudently affirmed Moses to haue done what hee did by Magicke whom the common people in Egipt named Tisithes and Ioshuah Peresephes Appian alleageth Manetho and Cheremon two Egiptian writers to proue his fond assertions Pliny also held that opinion that Moses was a great Magician and did many miracles in Egipt through Magick yet it is more lawfull for Pliny that wrote of so many thinges to lie in some thinges then for Manetho a poore schoole-maister in Alexandria or for Cheremon two fabulous writers of the Egiptian history onely The best Magician that helped himselfe at need was Appollonius Thianeus who beeing accused of capitall crimes before Domitianus the Emperour being demanded by the Emperour what helpe hee could do now to himselfe by his Magick nothing said he but this and vanished away out of the Emperours sight so much could not Iamnes and Iambres do to saue themselues from the botches blaines which as they say was done by Moses Magicke in Egipt And therefore I thinke it best to set downe the true history of Moses before yet he was called by the Lord to leade the Hebrewes out of the lande of Egipt into Canaan Moses the sonne of Amri was of the tribe of Leui and the seuenth from Abraham borne in Egipt brought vp by Thermutes king Pharaos daughter and heire in this childe Moses shee delighted so much being brought vp in all the learning and knowledge of the Egiptians that Moses pleased Thermutes so well that she moued her father hauing no male childe but her selfe that it might please the king to make Moses her adopted sonne least Thermutes also should be barren and want an heire to possesse the crowne This being agreed vpon betweene Pharao and his daughter Moses grew great in Egipt fauoured and well beloued amongst all the Aegiptians It happened at that time that the Aethiopians had warre with the king of Egipt hauing wonne two great victories ouer the Egiptians spoyled and wasted Egipt vnto the verie citie of Memphis The Priests of Egipt being instructed by the Oracles of Ammon to choose an Hebrew captaine to lead their armie against the Aethiopians the king being informed of this Oracle spake faire to his daughter Thermuthes through the perswasion of the Priests who vsed the like pollicie to haue Moses slaine among the Aethiopians as Saul vsed to haue Dauid slaine among the Philistines Thermutes perceiuing the daunger of her fathers kingdome which fell vnto her by succession would knowe of Moses secretly his minde therein Moses being therewith contented the kings daughter brought Moses before her father and the Priests to whom Thermutes in this sort spake Is Moyses the man whome before this time you founde by Oracles shoulde destroy Egipt and now you finde by the same Oracles to haue that man to be your captaine to saue Egipt But the Priests forgat
and how he should gouerne the Army for the custome of the Hebrewes was to run to the Arke as to their onely Oracle where the presence of the Lord was to crie and to call for help at the Lords hand in their most danger and greatest calamitie As the Arke was made by Noah to saue himself from the deluge in such forme fashion as the Lord had cōmanded the lēgth the breadth the height so was the Tabernacle made by Moses in which the Arke was placed in such proportion as the Lord commanded Moses that the tabernacle shuld be 30. cubits long 12. broad the Arke 2. cubits a half long a cubit a half broad After the vse of the Tabernacle the Temple was appointed where Salomon and the Priests were instructed to manifest the word of the Lord vnto his people The Gentiles also ranne in any danger or doubt as to Iupiter in Hammon to Apollo in Delphos to Baall and other such Oracles where their woodden Idols and gods gaue false answeres And where the Hebrewes as I said before had no prouisions for their wars either in towns or Cities nor any place to flie vnto but the Tabernacle where the Romanes in any danger might defend themselues in the Capitall The Carthagineans to their strōg fort Byrsa The Thaebans to their Castle Cadmea And so the Argiues to their strong fort Larissa And the Syracusans to the Castle Acradina These were the forts of the Gentiles Besides the Gentiles had theyr treasures and theyr money laid vp in strong holds and forts As Tygranes king of Armenia kept his treasure in Bambinsa Olena two strong castles to warre with the Romanes Iugurth king of Numidia kept his mony in two of his strongest cities called Capsa and Thola to warre with the Romanes So likewise Mithridates king of Pontus kept his treasure in Ptera to war against the Romanes So the kings of Macedonia and all the kings of Asia had their treasures and store houses to warre against the Romanes The Hebrewes had no such store houses prepared nor mony laid vp nor prouisions readie but their foode was such from the Lord that they wanted nothing and yet they conquered more kings and subdued more countries then all they CHAP. XI Of the maner and order of the Gentiles and of their principall standards Of the setting vp of the Tabernacle and the dedication of the altar by Moses HAuing spoken something of the Hebrew camp of their seueral marching vnder their standards I thinke it not amisse to set downe the orders maners of the marching of some of the Gentiles in their campes for varietie of matters and for that men may see and vnderstand how farre inferiour were all the nations of the world to the poore Hicsos the Hebrews And first of the Egiptians who carried in their proper standard into any battel the Image of that Idoll which they worshipped in that citie as in Heliopolis an oxe in Memphis a bull in Arsinoe a crocodile and so in other cities cattes calues serpents such as they worshipped in the temples such they carried as their ensignes to the field The Persians carried in the first and principall standart the Image of the Sunne which the Persians call Mithra In their second standart they carried the picture of the eternall sacred fire which they call Orimasdes In their third standart they carried a golden spread-Eagle The old Romanes when their Empire grew strong had fiue principall standarts which were carried before their military legions The first standart before the legion was an Eagle this was chiefe in the second was carried the picture of a Wolfe in the third the picture of Minotaurus in the fourth the picture of a horse in the fift the picture of a boare The Athenians carried in their standart the Image of an Owle which was likewise printed on their coyne with the face of Minerua The Thaebans caried in their standart the picture of Sphinx into any battell The Cymbrians caried before their armies in their standart vnto the field the picture of a brazē bull so did they in the Cymbrian wars against Marius the Romane Consull The old Germains vsed to carry the picture of lightnings to lead their armies into the field in their standart Sometimes great kings for their proper standarts in their warres carried the pictures of diuers and sundrie beasts and fowles as Osiris the first king of Egipt a dog Cyrus also the great king of Persia gaue in his ensigne a cocke as Themistocles did for the day before Themistocles had battell with Xerxes by the crowing of a cocke he was sure of victorie Iulius Caesar gaue in his ensigne an Elephant for that he vanquished Iuba king of Mauritania who bare an Elephant in his ensigne and so Porus king of India bare in his ensignes the picture of Hercules The Hebrues might better haue claimed the Sunne in their ensignes then the Persians as Ioshua for that the Sun staied ouer Gibeon and the Moone ouer Aialon at Ioshuaes commandement vntill he had full victorie ouer the Amalekites and therefore he might aswell haue the Image of the Sun in his ensigne being aliue as he had it set on his graue being dead So might Iudah Gedeon Dauid and others which had the sonne of God the starre of Iacob the liō of Iudah in their standarts ensignes Because we may omit nothing that the Lord commaunded Moses concerning the setting vp of the tabernacle and the dedicatiō of the altar the twelue Princes of the Tribes of Israel at the setting vp of the tabernacle after the tabernacle was anointed sanctified brought their offerings before the Lord sixe chariots couered ouer and twelue oxen one chariot for two Princes and for euery one of the Princes an oxe which they before the tabernacle offred to the lord which were deliuered to the Leuites So for the dedication of the altar after it was annointed sanctified these twelue Princes offred their offerings before the altar euery prince offered a siluer chargior of an handreth thirtie shickels weight a siluer bowle of seuentie shekels a cup of gold full of Incense a yong bullock a ramme a lambe of a yeare olde and a hee goate This was the maner of the setting vp of the tabernacle and dedication of the altar Hence grew the building of temples the dedica◅on of altars oblations and ceremonies among the Gentiles and Heathens to dumbe Idolls woodden gods It was euer the propertie of Sathan like an Ape to counterfeit and seeme to imitate the lawes of the Lord. There was nothing so rife among the Gentiles as temples and altars which made Paul full of anger to see so many altars in Athens and especially one dedicated Ignoto deo to an vnknowne God Athens excelled all Greece for the nomber of theyr gods and of their altars for they had an altar
besieged the citie Casselina that the Romanes could by no meanes send a conuoy to relieue the souldiers the Romains deuised this stratagem to fill certaine tunnes some with flower and some with meale and to let them goe downe vpon the riuer Vulturnus but the riuer being chained ouer by Hannibal this stratagem was preuented In another stratagem the Romanes deceiued Hannibal they scattered infinite numbers of Nuttes and let them goe downe with the same selfe riuer Vulturnus which neither Hannibal himselfe nor his chaine could preuent so that the souldiers of Casselina were relieued and refreshed for a time with these Nuttes Such a stratagem vsed Hircius to relieue the poore Romane souldiers in Mutina being besieged by Mar. Antonius who wanted chiefly salt Hircius let go infinit numbers of great close bowls made like litle tuns full of salt to swim downe the riuer Saniturnus so relieued Mutina So should we vse such stratagems against Satan that if Satan shuld ouerthrow vs in the first we should arme our selues with spirituall weapons to ouerthrow him in the second Againe to Ioshua The Lord commaunded Ioshua to march forward to vanquish the Canaanites because the cōquest might not be assigned vnto man the Lord commaunded Ioshua all the strong men of warres to goe round about the walls of Iericho once a day for seuen daies and seuen priests to beare seuen trumpets of Rammes hornes before the Arke and to compasse Iericho the seuenth day seuen times and then commanded the priests to blowe the trumpets and all the men of warre without shot or sword to shout with a loud great shout and then the walles of Iericho should fall flat downe to the grounde this was the Lordes stratageme at his battell at which time Ioshua saw a man stand ouer against him with a naked sword in his hand who being asked of Ioshua what he was said I am the Prince of the Lordes host and am therefore comen now to be a Captaine of the Lordes people and Ioshua bowed himselfe worshipped him and thereby acknowledged him to be Christ the sonne of God Now Ioshua being instructed of the Lorde what to do the priests and the warriours by Ioshua the walls being fallen flat downe went vnto the citie destroied both man and woman young and old oxe and sheepe with the edge of the sword after burnt the citie with fire and Ioshua cursed that man before the Lord that would build vp Iericho again to the destruction of himselfe and both his sonnes That captaine that went before Ioshua to the battell at Iericho and was present at the fall of Ierichos wall went likewise before Cyrus as himselfe said to Cyrus I will goe before thee to Babilon and I will breake their brazen gates and crush in peeces their iron barres I wil humble the glorious people of the earth in thy presence The same captaine spake to Nabuchodonozer as hee spake to Cyrus I wil send Nabuchodonozer as the staffe of my wrath and the rod of my punishment and he shall tread my enemies downe like the myre in the streets so that all victories come from the Lord euen to all good kings and to tyrants After the ouerthrow of Iericho the Lord commaunded Ioshua to besiege the citie of Ai where hee slew all that dwelt in Ai and left not one to liue and tooke their king aliue and hangd him on a tree vntill the euening and the citie was burnt and twelue thousand slaine for the Lord said to Ioshua stretch out the speare that is in thy hand towards Ai in tokē of the victory Now mark the victories of the Lord in his battels the victory at Riphidim was had by holding vp of Moses hand the victory of Iericho by sounding of Rams hornes the victory of Ai with the lifting vp of Ioshuah speare the victory at Aphec by shooting of Ioas Eastward the victory ouer the Madianites by Gedeon with the sounding of trumpets and breaking of pitcher pots these are stratagems which are often seene in the battels of the Lord. So also the Lord strengthened many of his people to vanquish ouercome their enemies in seuerall combats one man to ouercome many as Sampson with the iaw bone of an asse slue a 1000. Philistines Samgar with an oxe goade slue 600. Philistines Dauid with his fling litle stone slue the monstrous blasphemous Gyant Golias Who knoweth not that Moses rod Ioshuahs spear Gedeons pitcher pots Sampsons iaw bone Samgars goade or Dauid with his sling litle stone had bin but weake meanes to ouerthrow so many enemies had not the Lord strengthened the meanes by the men These were battels of the lord which were not fought with swords shots nor weapons but armed with spirituall armours and fought with weapons of faith vanquished theyr enemies But such victories were onely graunted to the souldiers of the Lord the people of Israel which victories at that time were to them onely peculiar The great victorie which the Lord gaue vnto Samuel by meanes of thunderboltes lightnings and earthquakes that therby the Philistines were so amazed that Samuel vnlooked for fell vpō thē slew them ouerthrew them and chased them til they came to Cortaeos which is Bethgar such stratagems vseth the Lord against his enemies as thunderboltes lightnings and earthquakes Mar. Aurelius hauing warres with the Germains and Sarmatians his Army being like to be lost for water requested the legion of Christian souldiers to pray vnto their God for helpe and they were heard of the Lord the Emperor confessed the goodnesse of God naming him Iupiter at what time their enemies were stricken with lightning and fire that they perished and therfore these souldiers were called Legio fulminea the legion of thunder by the Emperour himselfe Cornelius a Captaine of an Italian band in Caesaria a iust and a deuout man was by an Angell warned to goe to Ioppa to bee baptised of Peter and to become from a Heathen a Christian Captaine to fight in the battels of the Lord. So likewise the Centurion which was at the death of Christ Iesus in Ierusalem seeing the myracles that were then done confessed him to bee the Lord and glorified God these two were called both to be Christian Captaines In the battell that Iudas Machabaeus had with Gorgias the gouernor of Edumea where the victorie fell to Machabaeus they found vnder the coates of them that were slaine Iewels consecrated to the Idols of the Iamnites but as the Lord commaunded the Hebrewes to burne such Idolatrous Iewels destroy their gilded Images and the gods of the Gentiles and not to take the siluer and golde that is on theyr gods as Achan did against the lawe at the Cittie of Ai and dyed for it by the lawe I will proceed for to shewe in olde time in what sort and after what manner euery Nation entered into battell I thinke it not amisse as well for varietie of
the Towne to his father Though the Israelites fell to Idolatrie after Ioshuahs death who during the time of Ioshua serued the Lord and neuer forsooke him yet the Lorde at all times though they alwaies offended him deliuered them frō their enemies when they cryed vnto him for his ayde and helpe So being now vexed with their euemies the Lord sent Ehud as a Iudge and Captaine to leade them and to gouerne them as their Generall beeing a stout and a valiant Captaine who was wont to say to his souldiers follow me went boldly to Eglon king of the Moabites vsed this stratagē told the king that he had some secret from the Lord to tellhim wherevpon the chamber being auoyded and the doore shut hee out with his dagger slew Eglon the king and came out and shut the doore after him and after slew ten thousand Moabites at that time yet Ehud was left-handed and vnable to fight and therefore it was a stratagem of the Lord. Iabin king of Canaan an other enemie of the Israelites sent his generall Cisera a mightie captain with nine hundred chariots of Iron and a huge Army of souldiers to fight against Israel yet the Lord still prouided for his people and deliuered the Canaanites into the hand of Deborah a woman and Barac euen the whole Army of the Canaanites at the battell at Meroz where euen the starres in their courses from heauen fought against Cisera as Deborah confessed in her song of thanksgiuing to the Lord for the victorie For all the battels that the Lord had fought for Israell yet they sinned more and so offended the Lord that they were deliuered seuen yeares into the hands of the Madianites for their wickednesse that Israell made themselues dennes and caues in the Mountaines for feare of the Madianites and Amalekites whose tents were as thicke as Grasse-hoppers in multitude so that they their cattels and their camels were without number Yet the Lord when Israell cryed for helpe raised vp sound Iudges as Othoniel Ehud Barac and Deborah who ouercame their enemies and had many victories ouer them but still Israel offended the Lord and therefore the Lord left Sidonites Canaanites and Philistines to afflict and vex the Israelites for that they still offended the Lorde Hee left these Nations among them with their gods and Idols that should be as snares vnto Israel and as thornes in their sides and needles in their eies to trie them and to force them to call vpon the name of the Lord. The Hebrewes as they offended the Lord so were they punished by the Lord who often gaue them ouer into their enemies hands for their rebellious sedition and disobedience and therefore the Lord made choise of a wise and discreet generall whom he strengthned to rule his people sent his messenger to Gedeon a husbandman threshing his corne to bee their captaine before them who with the three hundred souldiers that laped the water by putting their hāds to their mouthes as the Lord had commaunded him by that signe and had appointed the number for him to take the Lords battel in hand to let the rest which were one and thirtie thousand and seuen hundred returne to their home which were by proclamatiō discharged The generals that the Lord made choise of to rule his people were but shepheards heardmen and husbandmen as Moses Ioshua Gedeon Saul and Dauid and of the like men he made choise for his Prophets Gedeon obeyed the message of the Lord called at the Lords hand for strength and courage to fight his battel and after deuided the three hundred men into three seuerall bands and vsed this stratagem gaue euery man a Trumpet in his hand with an emptie pitcher and lampes within the pitchers signifying by these weake meanes which the Lord vsed that the whole victorie should come from the Lord and not from man So Gedeon their generall comming to the side of the enemies with his threee bands he commaunded all the souldiers at once to sound al the trumpets together to break their pitchers and to shout crie the sword of the Lord and of Gedeon the enemies were so frighted the Lord set euery mans sword vpon his neighbour and caused the Madianites to kill one an other He made the Moabites the Ammonites Edomites in like sort one to destroy an other They tooke in that battell two Princes of the Madianites called Oreb and Zeb whom they slew and brought their heads to Gedeon from beyond Iorden as they fled from the sword of Gedeon The slaughter was an hundred and twentie thousand that were slaine with three hundred men as the Lord had commaunded Obserue the stratagem of Gedeon who commanded his three hūdred souldiers at once to sound al the trumpets together to breake their pitchers and to shout and crie the sword of the Lord and of Gedeon It so amazed the Madianites that the victory was Gedeons Ioshuah in like sort was by the Lord commaunded after he had carried the Arke round about Iericho seuen times vpon the seuenth day that the Priests should blow the rammes hornes and all the souldiers to crie aloude and to shout out all together at once that the walles of Iericho fell With a stratagem also Ioshua deceiued the king of Ai who came out of the Citie to fight with Ioshua who tooke vpon him to flye from the king but hauing laide ambushes vpon the way and about the Towne the Lord gaue both the Towne and the King to Ioshuas hand So did the Israelites deceiue the Beniamites with the like stratagems as Ioshua did who tooke vpon them to flye to draw the Beniamites from the Citie to the high wayes vntill they were compassed round about with the Israelites who destryed 25. thousand and 100. men These are diuine stratagems and to be attributed vnto the Lords doings Pericles generall of the Athenians besieging a certain Citie in Greece who vpon the sudden in the night time caused all the Trumpets to be sounded at once and all the souldiers to shout and cry as loud as they could it so terrified the Citizens within that they ranne from all parts of the Cittie vnto that place where Pericles commanded the trumpets to be sounded and that loud crye to be made thinking thereby that the enemies had entred the Citie Pericles without resistance made an entrie into the Citie in an other place Antiochus vsed the like stratagem against the Ephesians commanded certaine Rhodians which were of his Army to shout out loud and to make a sudden out crie in the dead time of the night their feare and terror was such that all went to defend that place of the Towne and left the other side of the Towne without defence to let Antiochus enter in Luc. Cornelius after he had besieged and taken many Townes in Sardinia he vsed this stratagem to take a populous strong Citie made a great number of
his souldiers to hide themselues in ambush he hauing but fewe souldiers prouoked them of the Towne to come out faining himself to flye the enemie following with great furie after Luc. Cornelius with all his hidden souldiers returned vpon the sudden with such a terrible crye that the enemies turned theyr backes and fled to the Towne and the Romanes followed after them close at the heeles and entred the Towne with them all together So Pompey the Consull Generall for the Romaine Army in Albania perceiuing the enemies both in horsmen and in footemen to be farre more in number then the Romanes practised this stratagem placed his footemen behind the horsemen being in a straight and commaunded his horsemen to couer their helmets least by the sight of the helmets they should be seene of the enemies and to take vpon them to flye to draw the enemies forwards into the midst of the Army of footemen and then the Romane horsemen to turne backe and deuide themselues and to set on both sides of the enemies By this stratagem Pompey got a great victorie ouer the Albanians Iphicrates the Athenian compared an Army in this sort the light horsemen to the hands the men of armes to the feete the battel of footemen to the stomacke and breast the captaine to the head But the Hebrewes for all the victories of Ioshuah of Iudah and of Gedeon were still vnthankful and wrought wickednesse in the sight of the Lord for all the battels that the Lord fought for them they were so well acquainted with the gods of the Gentiles yea they serued the gods of Acron the gods of Sydon the gods of Moab and the gods of the Philistines and forgat the god of Israel they serued straunge gods and attributed victories vnto their Idols and honoured them and gaue no glory vnto the Lord of Israel and therefore the Lord gaue them ouer and solde them to their enemies and were eighteene yeares sore tormented and vexed by the Ammonites and Philistines and the enemies proudly went ouer Iorden to fight against Iudah against Beniamin and against the house of Ephraim but they cryed vnto the Lorde according to theyr custome in extremitie and were aunswered by the Prophet from the Lorde Let the Gods whome you serue saue you and whom you trust vnto defend you for you waigh not me neither will I defend you and then they put away their straunge gods from among them Thus the Israelites did not onely rebell vpon the death of Ioshuah but also vpon the death of Iudah Ehud Deborah and others neither did they esteeme the victories which they got by Deborah a woman and by Gedeon a Husbandman who with three hundred souldiers slew a hundred and twentie thousand but euer forgetfull and vnthankefull to the Lord more willing to returne to Egipt to be slaues vnto Pharao then to stay in Canaan to serue the Lord. The name of Leonidas was famous among the Lacedemonians for his victorie at Thermopyle where Leonidas with three hundred ouerthrew twentie thousand of Xerxes Army being innumerable The Athenians gloried much for theyr great victorie at Marathon by Milciades and Callimachus hauing but 10000. Grecians in their army ouerthrew the generall of king Darius Army and made a great slaughter of the Persians to the number of two hundred thousand The Romanes bragge much of the victorie of Marius with fewe souldiers ouer the Cymbrians at the riuer of Xextas of Sylla ouer Mithridates at the battell of Orchomenon and of Lucullus ouer Tigranes king of Armenia being three great victories with infinite slaughter with the losse of fewe Romanes The very Schythians can boast and bragge of the ouerthrow of Cyrus hauing two hundred thousand in his Army and that by a woman which encreased the fame of the Scythians to the greatest infamy of the Persians All Nations can bragge and boast of theyr victories and be thankfull vnto their Idols and to their gods with sacrifices with vowes with games and playes with rearing of Aultars and building of Temples but the Hebrewes and the people of the Lord who had greatest cause and occasions to remember theyr victories and triumphes that they had ouer so many Kings and so many Nations before they came to the Land of Canaan by fire haile-stones thunder and great stones from heauen and though the Lords presence went before them in the Arke and the Arke among them in the midst of the campe yet were the Israelites stiffe necked people euer offensiue to the Lord seditious against theyr leaders and enuious one towardes an other so the Lord cryed out against them and said I haue nourished and brought vp children and they are fallen away from me the Oxe knoweth his Lord and the Asse his Maisters stall but Israel knoweth not me wicked children sinfull people a froward generation which are ouerladen with blasphemies Nothing could instruct them to obey the Lord neither the Arke of couenant neither the Tabernacle of Moses neither the pillar of fire where the Lord appeared vnto them and after the vse of the Tabernacle neither the Temple of Salomon nor the Prophets to whom the Lord manifested himselfe in Ierusalem yea euen in Samaria among the wicked Samaritans they had the Prophets of the Lord Elias and Elizeus to instruct them CHAP. XVIII Of Iepthas victories ouer the Ammonites and Ephraimites the ciuill warres the tyrannie of Sylla and Marius in Rome Of the slaughter of the Philistians by Sampson the reuenge of pulling out his eyes and of the battell of Saul at Mich-mash NOw after Gedeon the Lord sought out Ieptha beeing fledde and chased by his bretheren from his countrey to the Land of Tob from whence hee was called by the Lord who alwayes appointed a generall ouer Israell while they serued him to leade his people against the Ammonites which the Lord deliuered into Iepthas hand At that time Ieptha made a rash vowe to the Lorde that if hee should haue victorie ouer the Ammonites that which came out of the doores of his house when he returned home in peace shal be the Lords and he wil offer it vp a burnt offering He foolishly performed that which he rashly vowed Though some of the Rabines do excuse Ieptha that his daughter died not but was seperated to dwell by her selfe from common conuersation in a solitary place to bewaile her virginitie according to the custome and manner of the virgins of Israel to liue in prayers and to consecrate her selfe vnto the lord Yet some of 〈◊〉 best diuines as Augustine Ambrose which both were of a cōtrary opiniō that she was sacrificed according to Iepthas vow But the Lord gaue the victory to Ieptha ouer the Amonits with the ouerthrow of twentie cities and with exceeding great slaughter Ieptha againe after his first victory ouer the Ammonites had another victory ouer the Ephraimites who enuied the former victory of Ieptha most ambitiously as they before did vnto
king and his battell at Michmash AFter Sampson the last Iudge in Israel died Eli was appointed high Priest to gouerne them who though a godly man himselfe yet brought not vp his sonnes in vertue in the fear of God therefore the Lorde rebuked Eli and said to Samuel I haue sworne that the wickednesse of Eli his house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for euer for the Lord tooke away the priesthood from Eli and from his house for the transgression of his children Likewise the Prophet Samuels sonnes for that they followed not their fathers steps but looked after lucre and tooke rewards were reprehended for corruption and bribery For Samuel being olde not able for age to execute his office he appointed both his sonnes to be Iudges in Bersabe but they loued rewards and bribes and therefore the people complained to Samuel of his sonnes refusing to be gouerned by them but would be gouerned by a king as other nations were Therefore was the Priesthood taken away from the house of Eli for the wickednesse of his children Ophnes and Phineis So was the gouernment taken from Samuel and from his house for euer through the corruption and briberie of his sonnes Ioell and Abiah Who would thinke that so good a King as Dauid should haue so wicked a sonne as Absolon that kild his brother Ammon in his owne house and sought the crowne of Iudah euen from his fathers head a murtherer of his Brother and a notable Traytour to his Father Who would thinke that good king Ezechiah should haue so wicked a sonne as Manasses to succeed him that sawed the prophet Esay in the midst and filled the streets of Ierusalem with blood And againe who would iudge but Salomon being the onely wisest king of the world hauing a thousand Queenes and concubines yet had but one sonne Rhehoboham that he was so brought vp to offend the people that ten of the twelue Tribes forsooke him and went to Ieroboam his fathers seruant Such was the care of kings among all nations that Philip king of Macedonia was glad to haue a sonne born in Aristotles time by whom hee might learne to knowe how to be a king and of whome Alexander the great himselfe was wont to say that he was as much bound to Aristotle his maister for his learning as he was to Philip his father for his birth And therefore Cyrus commaunded his sonne Cambises at his going to warres to Scithia to followe the counsell of Craesus to be ruled and gouerned by him For Cyrus knew Craesus to be so wise that by naming of Solons name he saued his owne life In like sort king Antigonus commaunded his sonne Helenus to be aduised and counselled by Aratus whom he knew to be a great learned man a noble captaine for that he was chosen to be seuenteene times Generall ouer the Achaians The cares of the kings of Persia was such for their children that they made choise of foure principall men in all knowledge to instruct them and to bring them vp The first schoole-maister should teach them the seruice of the gods with their sacrifice and ceremonies The second should instruct their children in the auncient lawes and customes of the kings of Persia. The third should bring them vp in sobrietie temperancy to vanquish lust and incontinency And the fourth should learn them to be valiant and hardy and to be acquainted with military discipline And therfore Alexander the great brought vp three thousand Persian youthes in the martiall discipline of the Macedonians And so Sertorius brought vp all the noble mens sonnes in Hispaine in martiall discipline of the Romanes This much I thought good to write of the good bringing vp and education of children for by the wickednesse of Eli his sonnes and corruption of Samuels sonnes the Priesthood was taken from the one and the gouernment taken from the other and therefore Israel cried for a king therat Samuel was much displeased but the Lord said vnto him heare the voyce of the people they haue not cast thee away but me that I should not raigne ouer them yet saith the Lord Tell them the nature of a king that he will take their sonnes to runne before his chariots to eare his ground to gather in his haruest and the king wil take their daughters and make them dressers of his oyntments his cookes and bakers the king shall take the best of their fields of their vineyards and of their oliue trees and giue them to his seruants he shall take the tenth of their seed and of theyr vines the best of their men seruants and maid seruants their young men and their asses to doo his worke yet though Samuel told al this to Israel from the Lord they would haue a king much like the fable of the frogs The frogs would haue a king being refused of many they came to the storke and would haue him to be their king which he accepted he got him a block as a seate to sit on to heare their causes and to giue iudgement but when the frogs came before their king to complaine he began with his bill to pricke them and after to wound thē that some were wounded some slain some made hast away So Samuel spake to the Israelites to that effect as they found in Saul Ieroboam Achab Manasses others such wicked kings The Apology of Iothan may be now well mentioned who spake in a parable to the Sychemites that the trees would haue a king but the vine the figge and the oliue trees refused to be their king then would the trees haue a bush or a gorsse to be their king who did accept of it This bush or gorsse would easily take fire and burne all the Sychemites in Sychem and did not Abimelech so after hee killed 70. sonnes of Gedeon his bretheren he destroyed Sychem and slew all the Sychemites and sowed salt in that place to make it barren for euer for salt as Pliny saith makes ground barren and vnapt to bring any thing When the Philistines heard that Israel had a king they gathered themselues together to fight against Israel thirtie thousand chariots six thousand horsemen and the footemen were like the sand by the sea side in multitude and they pitched their camp in Michmash and the Philistines seemed so many vnto the Israelites that the Israelites hid themselues in holtes in towers caues rockes and pits and many of them fled ouer Iorden yet the Lord deliuered the Philistines into Ionathans hand Sauls sonne that Israel might know that victorie consists not in multitude nor armour of men but onely in the arme of the Lord and therfore Ionathan smote the Philistines and the Lord turned euery mans sword vpon his fellow so that there was a very great ouerthrow and the battell continued vntill they came that fled for feare of the Philistines
God mightie in heauē that commands to keep the Sabboth day and I am mightie on earth that comcommaunds the contrary but his head his hands and his blasphemous tongue were cut off and hanged vpon the pinacles in the temple at Ierusalem And so the blasphemy of the Scribes and Pharisies saying that Christ the Lord did not cast out diuels by his owne vertue but by the power of Belzebab but the Lord left not them vnpunished The blasphemy of Benhadad saying that the Lord was the God of the mountaines onely not God of the valleys was not he strangled by Hazael his owne seruant in his owne house and in his owne bed Yet the Syrians prepared such a number for the second battel after they had escaped hardly from the first battell that they filled all the countrie and the children of Israel were like to little flockes of Kids in respect of their number but the Lord sent his Prophet to Achab saying Because the Syrians haue said that the Lord is the God of the mountaines and not God of the valleys behold this great multitude of men and Benhadad the King himselfe withal the two and thirtie Kings besides will I deliuer to thine hand and he shall know that I am the Lord as well of the valleys as the mountaines And so the Lorde brought it to passe that in that battell an hundred thousand footemen were slaine of the Syrians and seuen and twentie thousand that fled from the field to Aphec to saue themselues were killed by the fall of a wall that crushed them to death and Benhadad the King fled to the citie from chamber to chamber and hid himselfe according to the Prophets saying vntill many of his chiefe Princes that escaped hardly from the battell came with sackcloath about their loynes and ropes about their neckes in token of submission to entreate Achab king of Israel for the life of Benhadad which he graunted contrary to that which he was by the Lord commaunded for to do as Saul did by Agag king of the Amalekites so Achab did by Benhadad but it was told Achab by the Prophet that his life should goe for his life and his people for his people This Achab a wicked and Idolatrous King had such two great victories for that the Lord alwayes would haue Israel to forsake their calfe in Bethell and their Idolatry to Baall in Samaria but sinne was written in the table of their hearts and grauen vpon the edges of their Aultars with a penne of Iron and with an Adamant clawe said the Prophet that there was nothing among them more pretious then woods thicke trees groues mountaines hills and fields for altars to serue their Idolatrous woodden goddes so greatly they offended the Lord that he asked the Heathens if any heard such horrible things as his people had done yea the Priests to whom the lawe was committed the Prophets which wanted not the word of the Lorde and the graue wise Senators So that Israel would not be instructed neither take warning by the Prophets before the finall end and suddaine destruction of Ierusalem by Nabuchodonozer king of Babilon though the Lord commaunded the Prophet Amos to strike the lintell of the doore that the postes might shake signifying the threatning of the Lorde against Israel So was Ezechiel commaunded to take a bricke and to purtray the citie of Ierusalem vpon the bricke with a sharpe knife to signifie the destructiō of the people and of the citie and the ◅ame selfe Prophet sheweth the destruction of Ierusalem by Nabuchodonozer king of Babel by a parable of a seething potte and the day was commaunded to be written by the Prophet Ierusalem the the valley of vision so named because of the Prophets which were also called seers The Lorde said that hee would bring such a plague vpon Ierusalem that the eares of them that should heare it should glowe for I wil send many fishers to take them many hunters to hunt thē from all mountaines and hilles and out of the caues of stones saith the Lord. Yet though Ierusalem was so seuerely prophesied by Amos Ezechiel and other Prophets to be destroyed yet they were comforted by the Prophet Ieremy againe that they should returne frō their captiuitie after seuentie yeares and rebuild Ierusalem And as by Ieremy by hiding of his leather girdle by the riuer Perah as the Lord had cōmaunded him signifying that by the rottēnes of the girdle Ierusalē shuld be rebuilded after seuentie yeares And by the selfesame Prophet they were assured by his buying of the field Anothot and by the hiding of his writing of possession thereof in signes and tokens of their libertie againe and that Ierusatem should be builded againe and inhabited this was but the second ouerthrow of Ierusalem by Nabuchodonozer This was like Noah that preached the destruction of the world by a deluge before the deluge and yet married a wife much like to the Prophet Ieremy that preached the destruction of Ierusalem and yet bought lands The Prophets vsed many of these signes as eye-witnesses to confirme their memory better and to expect with more faith the words of the Prophets The Prophet Ieremy proceedeth forward to denounce the ouerthrow of those proud kingdomes that reioyced much at the destructiō of Ierusalem as Egipt and Babilon and all the euill that should come vpon Babilon Ieremy wrote it in a booke sent Sheraiah with his booke to read it and when he had done reading Ieremy commaunded him to binde a stone to the booke and to cast it into the midst of the riuer Euphrates and then to say thus shall Babilon be cōfounded thus the Prophets vsed besides their prophesies to adde some action to make the words the more to be remembred So also the Prophet Ezechiel prophesied against Egipt and against their great cities saying The sword of the Lord shall come to Memphis to Pellusium and to Alexandria I will ouerthrow Memphis saith the Lord I will destroy Pellusium the strength of Egipt and I will make a great slaughter of all the men in Alexandria For as Babilon was taken Maradach ouerthrowne and Bel cōfounded so was the strength of Egipt the arme of Pharao destroyed without any recouery of their Empires againe but so was not Ierusalem Nabuchodonozer in like sort as he ouerthrew Ierusalem and made a conquest of the countrey euen so his great citie of Babilon was caried by Cyrus away into Persia within seuentie yeares after he tooke Zedechiah the last king of Iudah captiue in Babilon so Egipt was taken by the Persians and last by the Romanes But Ierusalem as you heard by Ieremy should not bee so destroyed but should be defended against all her enemies and the Lord shall destroy all nations that come against Ierusalem for the Lord hath deliuered Israel out of the fierie furnace of Egipt and from all the stratagems of the Heathens I will
he had bene a Captaine or a leader of the band called Agema In all countries the honor of armes was aduanced and the skilfull souldiers so esteemed that one nation practised how to excell another in feats of armes As among the nations called Auctyles people of Lybia who practised to fight in the darke with their enemies to excell others they became so prompt readie that they made no difference betweene night and day either to fight on horse or on foote The people called Arij dwelling in Russia delighted so much to fight in the darke with blacke shields and blacke apparell for that one should not see the other So we reade of the Lacedemonians because they would excell others they would in the darke night goe to the field and learne to fight in the darke one with the other to excell others in martiall knowledge Iugurth when hee would enter battell with the Romanes hee would make choyce of his time in the euening that if his souldiers should be ouerthrowne they might better escape and hide themselues in the night time then in the day time So Mithridates kings of Pontus fled from Pompey the great in the night time to saue himselfe but 40000. of his souldiers were slaine The souldiers notwithstanding of Athens might not by the law of Solon go out of their chamber in the night time without light such differing of military discipline was betweene Athens and Sparta for the busie-headed Orators at Athens often troubled and mooued the best captaines to seditions and therfore Solons lawe was obserued so that no captain might goe abroad in the night without light In like sort the Parthians as the Athenians were by lawe commaunded not to fight in the darke The Persian king had besides the souldiers called Homotimi others which were tenne thousand chosen souldiers of the best and chiefest men in all Persia named Turmae immortales the immortall band a thousand of these were elected to be the kings chiefe guard called Mellephori these had chaines bracelets ringes and girdles of gold and onely commaunded to attend vpon the kings person and were such souldiers in Persia as the guard of Romulus called Celeres were with the Romanes With the Lacedemonians their chiefe and strongest souldiers called Neodomadae which Sparta euer kept in store as their onely staie in any great battell against the Persians these plagued the Persians and therefore called of the Persians Gardates The Turke hath in his principall band called Ianizari one thousande two hundred chosen men of the greatest skill and longest experience in warre which is among the Turkes called Robur Medu◅la Turcici excercitus instituted by Amurates the second of that name and resembling much the Macedonian Armie called Phalanges for the Turke imitateth the Macedonians as the patterne of their military discipline in all martiall exployts For as that litle kingdome was much renowned by the fame fortune of Alexāder the great who brought the Empire from Persia to Macedonia so was that kingdome and other kingdomes by ciuill warres betweene his captaines destroyed within fewe yeares after Alexander Now it followeth after we haue spoken of the honour and tryumphes of nobles captaines and skilfull souldiers and after the gifts and rewards of good souldiers to speake of the punishments due to such idle insolent souldiers that were seditious rebellious within their campe CHAP. IX Of seuerall military punishments by martiall lawes both of the Iewes and of the Gentiles in diuers kingdomes and countries DIuers punishments by diuers great notable captains were inflicted vpon rebellious seditious and cowardly souldiers As first of the punishment of the Hebrewes as Chore Dathan and Abiron were so punished for their disobedience that the earth swallowed them vp aliue and many of their complices to the number of two hundred and fiftie Achan for stealing of the Babilonian garment at the citie of Ai hee his wife his children and all his family was burnt to death at the commaundement of Ioshua so seuere the lawe of the Lord was against disobedient souldiers in diuers places of the wildernesse as at Massa Riphidim and Meribah that it spared not Moses Generall of the armie and the seruant of the Lord it farre excelled the punishment of the Gentiles besides in the wildernesse they were stung and bitten with serpents and venemous beastes as also they were left among the Canaanites Amalekites and others that should be as prickes in their sides and needles in theyr eyes to punish them So the souldiers that obeyed Moses Ioshua and others were rewarded with all good blessings with Manna and Quailes from heauen and drunke of euerie rocke Besides Moses was commaunded to lift vp a brazen Serpent in the wildernesse that those that were stung bitten and daungerously hurt by Serpents by looking on the brazen serpent should be healed Thus were the Hebrewes fortie yeares in the wildernesse where their shooes were not worne theyr apparell nor theyr garments chaunged and thus were the souldiers of Moses both punished for theyr faultes and rewarded for their seruice Now to the punishment militarie of the Gentiles The Romanes which excelled all Nations for their liberalitie in rewarding good souldiers and for theyr seueritie in punishing euill souldiers had such cruell seuerall lawes to inflict punishment as farre exceeded all people As Fabius Maximus was so seuere for his military punishment that he would cut off the right hand of any mutinous or seditious souldier within the campe Aufidius Cassius being Consull and Generall in the field would cut off both the hands the feete of those souldiers that so offended saying that they should haue no hands to fight with the enemies nor feete to goe to the enemies Euen so Scipio Affrican commaunded those souldiers that were seditious to be deuoured of beastes and Paul Aemilius commaunded them to feed Elephants So Iul. Caesar thought no punishment sufficient for those that were seditious among their fellowes in the campe and fled from the campe to the enemies The Romanes woulde not suffer the least offence in a souldier vnpunished It was Caesars rule and order that his souldiers should come as braue to the field as himselfe that no man knew the difference betwixt Caesar and his souldiers It was not so with Agesilaus as great a captaine accepted among the Grecians as Caesar was among the Romanes and as much feared of the Persians and of all Asia as Caesar was feared among the Gaules and all Europe Agesilaus went as simple among his souldiers as the basest souldier he had Many great captaines imitated Agesilaus in all his discipline military who onely among the Greekes for his victories and greatnesse of minde was called great Agesilaus whose stratagems were notable for that noble captaine and great souldier Agesilaus hauing warres with Tysaphernes the king of Persia his generall faigned himselfe to remoue his campe and to go to Caria by
sum of money to betray the citie Tarentū Eoneus vsed this stratagem by the counsel of Hannibal to go out a hunting in the night time for feare of the enemies and to bring to Liuius the gouernour of Tarentum buckes boares and such other wilde beasts as Hannibal himselfe deliuered vnto him who taught him the stratageme Hannibal seeing that Eoneus was nothing suspected for that he vsed hunting caused Affrican souldiers of his to be cloathed like these hunters and to enter with these hunters into Tarentum who assoone as they entered into the Towne kilde the watch and opened the gates to Hannibal to come in Lysimachus king of Macedonia vsed the like stratagem laying siege to Ephesus the chiefe citie of the Ephesians hauing corrupted one Mandro an arch pyrate for money who often vsed to come to Ephesus with a shippe loaden with praie to relieue the Ephesians and by his often comming being not suspected brought certaine Macedonian souldiers fast bound to his shippe as Captiues taken to please the Ephesians which afterward betrayed and deliuered the towne to Lysimachus So did Marcellus take the citie Syracusa by solliciting of one Sosistratus a Syracusan whom hee wanne with money to be his friend who counselled him to be readie and to come vnder intreatie of peace vpon the Syracusans feast day called Epicides by this meanes through the counsell of Sosistratus Marcellus obtained Syracusa This great Romane enemy Mithridates king of Pontus so hated the Romanes that hee gathered together all the poore banished Romains scattered euery where in Asia Romain marchants others busied about their traffiques caused them to be slaine to the number of 50000. in one day to satisfie his wrath vpō the Romains Lucullus had also two of the most famous and renowned victories ouer two of the most mightiest greatest princes of Asia Tigranes king of Armenia Mithridates king of Pontus at mount Taurus for Tigranes armie as Lucullus himselfe wrote vnto the Senate was two hundred three score thousand men of the which number aboue a hundred thousand footemen were slaine and fewe of all the horsemen were saued and the king driuen in his flight to throwe his Diademe to some of his friends who was taken with the Diademe and brought to Lucullus It is written by Plutarche that the Sunne sawe not the like ouerthrow So Lucullus reuenged the great spite of Tigranes king of Armenia and Mithridates king of Pontus for the spite and hatred they bare to the Romanes as Cai. Marius reuenged vpon the Cymbrians and Almaines and as Camillus reuenged vpon the Gaules Ca. Marius reuenge was such and that in time for that the Cymbrians Teutons Ambrons Tygurins and Germanes had conspired and ioyned their force together after the ouerthrow of both the Consuls to the slaughter of fourescore thousand Romanes that they ioyntly marched together towards Rome at what time Cai. Marius and Luctatius his fellow Consull gaue them such a meeting that two hundred thousande of them were slain foure score thousand taken prisoners Lugius Boiorex two kings slain in the battell besides innumerable that fled from the battell hangd themselues on trees and for want of trees they tyed slipping halters about their neckes vnto the hornes and feete of their oxen and prickt them forwards with goades that they might tread trample them vnder their feete vntil they were killed besides the horrible crueltie of the womē which was most terrible in strangling their young babes with their owne handes they cast them vnder their Cartes wheeles and betweene the horses legges and at last slue themselues At what time Marius for his great fortune victories and seruice was called Pater patriae the father of the countrey After Marius had bene seuen times Consull in Rome and called the father of the counrey which was so great a name among the Romaines that none but Romulus Cicero and himselfe had it and had shewed himselfe a valiant noble captaine in diuers and sundry great battels and wanne many victories besides the victories ouer the Cymbrians Teutons and the rest ouer the Spaniards Numantines and Affricans open proclamation was made by the Senate throughout all Italy that they should apprehend Marius and either kill him wheresoeuer they found him or to bring him before the Senators of Rome aliue This was the ende of Marius marching which if you compare him with Sylla you shall finde them both firebrands to their countrey for the harme they haue done to their countrey and yet both great benefactors to their countrey before their ciuill warres For Sylla was either another Hannibal in doing harme to his countrey or another Scypio in doing good to his countrey And as concerning Marius Scypio himselfe spake that he was the only next man that should do great good or great harme to the Romains after Scypio The like words spake king Antigonus of Pirrhus that if Pirrhus should liue till he were an old man he should proue so great a captaine that he should be feared of all nations CHAP. XII Of the maners and forme of warres denounced by the Prophets of the Lord against the Canaanites and other nations which were enemies to the Hebrewes THe order and manner of the Prophets by the Lord cōmaunded to denounce warres to the Canaanites Edomites Ammonites Philistines and all other natiōs that were enemies to Israel was in this sort The Lord commaunded the Prophets as his heraulds to denounce warre after this manner Set thy face against the Idumeans and say behold ô mount Seir I come against thee and will stretch my hand out against thee I wil make thee desolate and wast all Idumea And so against the Egiptians Ezechiel was commanded as an herauld from the Lord to set his face against that dragon Pharao to publish warre and to say I will water with thy bloud all the land of Egypt and as Nilus ouerfloweth Egipt with water so will I make the bloud of thy Army to ouerflowe Nilus Against Tyre in like sort Ezechiel was commaunded with the like words Set thy face against Tyre say behold ô mount Tyre I will come vpon thee and will bring Nabuchodonozer king of kings against thee and wil make thee a desolate citie So likewise as the Prophet Ezechiel was commanded by the Lord to publish warre against the Idumeans the Egiptians and against Tyre so against Gog and Magog the Prophet was sent with the like words for it was the charge and commaundement of the Lord to all his prophets being his Heraulds to proclaime warre against the great monarches and Polymarchies of the earth enemies to his church and to his people as to the Chaldeans the Assirians Egiptians Affricans Lybians and Persians shewing vnto them their destruction before the sword of the Lord came vpon them So the Lord sent Moses his first Prophet and his Herauld long before this time to Pharao in Egipt with the like words as he did
and famine an hundred thousand solde publikely as slaues and sixteene thousand were sent to Rome to beautifie his fathers triumph as Iosephus an eye-witnesse doth report The Iewes looked not for their destruction so nigh at hand they obserued by tradition of some of their Rabines that their Messias should come about the time of Augustus as a magnificent mighty king not as a poore man the sonne of a Carpenter whom the Iewes whipt and scourged for that he tooke vpō him to be the sonne of God made himself Messias the Iewes litle thought that he was the Messas when they cryed to Pilate to haue him crucified in Golgotha saying his bloud be vpon vs and vpon our children The greedie desire and expectation of the people was such that many tooke vpon them to call themselues the Messias as Iudas Galileus and an other called Atonges a shepheard but aboue them all one Barcozba had diuers followers was receiued for their Messas thirtie yeares but when they saw that he could not defend them from the Romanes they would no longer accept him for their Messias but slew him Titus proceedeth forward to destroy the Iewes but especially the Priests the Scribes Pharisies on whom he had no mercie saying that they chiefly ought to dye with the sword sithence the temple was burnt with fire they onely being rebellious and seditious and the cause of the destruction of the citie Titus spared none of the stocke of Herod In this warres of Titus were ten of the learned Rabbines slaine whose names I thought good to write as I found them written in Genebrardus Chronicles Rabbi Simeon ben Gamaliel Rabbi Ismael ben Elizei Rabbi Hanina ben Tedarion Rabbi Husiphith Rabbi Eleazer ben Samaa Rabbi Iuda ben Dama Rabbi Isbak Scribam Rabbi Iuda ben Hachinas Rabbi Iuda ben Baba Rabbi Askiba These tenne Rabbines were slaine by Titus which the Iewes record in theyr latter Talmud for tenne martyrs and after Ierusalem was thus destroied Titus appointed Rabbi Iohanan ben Zachai gouernour ouer the remnant of the Iewes in Ahua Byther Oza other pla◅es as Nabuchodonozer did appoint Godoliah gouernor of the rest of the Iewes when he destroyed Ierusalem in the time of Zedechia the king Titus also left Bonia a younger brother of Fla. Iosephus to gouerne other places in Iudah and he returned with his prisoners and captiues which he brought with him to Rome to beautifie his fathers triumphes and his This was the fift and last ouerthrow of the Iewes destruction of Ierusalem First by Shesac King of Egipt in the time of Rehoboam secondly by Nabuchodonozer in the time of Zedechias the last King of Iudah thirdly by Antiochus fourthly by Pompey the great and fiftly and last by Titus and Vespasian Thus the Iewes that subdued all natiōs before them and conquered all the Kings about them that in the time of Ioshua Dauid all the earth trembled at the naming of the Iewes whose gouernment continued from Abraham to Vespasian two thousand yeares and more though for a time while they were in Egipt 430. yeares litle spoken of vntil the Lord raised them so strengthned thē vnder Moses and Ioshua that first they ouerthrew Pharao and his kingdome after subdued the Canaanites Edomites Moabites Ammonites Philistines and the Syrians which of the Hebrewes were called Aromites the strongest nation vpon the earth at that time which were subdued notwithstanding by Dauid Thus the Iewes which were as famous and feared as much in those dayes as the Romanes were in the time of their Consuls are now so destroyed and their country subdued like wandring banished mē without king lawe or countrey The cause wherof was the sinne of Ierusalem which would neuer acknowledge the goodnesse of God towards them nor his myracles and his mercy wrought amongst them they refused his grace offered and persecuted him most violently to death Yet Dionisius Areopagita and his fellow Appollonius in the citie of Eliopolis in Egipt they both obserued by the Eclipse of the Sun at the verie houre the sonne of God suffered more then the rebellious Iewes did for all the blessings and mercies which they had receiued they cried out still vnto Pilate crucifie him his blood be vpon vs and vpon our children These learned Heathens openly confessed in Egipt that either the sonne of God did suffer death or else the frame of the whole worlde should be dissolued these two Heathens confessed and named him to bee the sonne of God but the vngratefull Iewes called and named him the sonne of Ioseph the Carpenter in contempt of him and therefore it is conuenient to set forth the great goodnesse of the Lorde in a briefe and a short catalogue what the Lord hath done to Israel since he brought them out of the furnace of Egipt where they were bond-slaues vnder Pharao 430. yeares euen from the first comming of Abraham into Egipt vntill Moses brought them out of Egipt For after Esau Iacob had diuided their fathers possession Esau went to dwell in Edumea and Iacob tooke for his part Canaan where he dwelt and his childrē vntil Iacob went to Egipt with all his family to his sonne Ioseph which was 215. yeares after the being of Abraham in Egipt and 215. yeares before Moses brought the childrē of Israel out of Egipt into the land of Canaan at what time the law was written giuen to Moses in mount Sinai to gouern the people and after the lawe was giuen the Tabernacle was commaunded by Moses to be made in the wildernesse which should stand to them for a Temple to serue the Lord and after the Tabernacle the Arke was made where the tables of the lawe were commaunded by Moses at his death to be kept where Moses gouerned the whole army of the Hebrues fortie yeares before they went ouer Iorden And Moyses before he died he deliuered the army of the Hebrewes into the hands of Ioshua with a charge from the Lord vnder whom they passed into the lande of Canaan after whose death they began to be rebellious seditious Yet the Lord fauoured thē sent thē stout and wise gouernors as Iudah Ehud Barac Iephtha Gedeō and Sampson yet stil rebelled they like Idolatrous people against the Lord that they were weary of that gouernment and reiected Samuel his gouernmēt and would haue a king the Lord denied them nothing and they had kings to rule them during which time of kings Idolatry presently crept in that the lord his lawes were forsaken and Baal with his prophets priests accepted Hence grew ciuil warres between the 12. Tribes ten against two that of one kingdom they made two so that there was nothing but slaughter and blood betweene the house of Israel the house of Iudah and that straight after Solomons death 500. thousand were slain in mount Zemaraim of the king of Israels side by the king of Iudah Againe such a slaughter of
that Pompey had subdued all Sertorius captains and at last Sertorius himselfe he tooke king Iarbas who fought on Domitius side one of Sertorius captaines and brought him prisoner to Rome in his triumph So that within fortie dayes Pompey ouercame all the Marians which tooke Marius part which were enemies to Sylla subdued Affrike and established all the affaires of all the kings and kingdomes of all that country that Sylla named him Pompey the great Yet Sylla sawe Pompeys greatnesse growe on so fast that he went about to hinder Pompeys triumphes which Pompey spake to Syllas face that men honour more the sunne rising then the sunne setting Pompey hauing bene neither Praetor Consul or Senator had his triumph granted him against the lawe when he was but 24. yeares of age Pompey gaue an other ouerthrow to Sertorius captaines at a set battel hard by the citie of Valentia slew ten thousand men of Sertorius souldiers and at that battell Pompey slew Herennius and Perpenna both notable souldiers and Sertorius Lieftenants and so obtained the victorie and ended all this warre for the most part of Sertorius captaines were slaine in the field at that battell Yet had Pompey his hands full with Sertorius at the battell of Lauron a noble and valiant captaine on Marius side and one that galled Pompey more then all the rest for Pompey could do no good though hee sawe the citie of Lauron burnt before his face where Sertorius shewed himselfe a most skilfull and valiant captaine In like sort at the battell hard by the Riuer Sucron Pompey had his hands full with Sertorius where Pompey was forced to take his horse and driuen from his horse to flye and in his flight to forsake his horse to take his feete and to leaue his horse for a pray to Sertorius Affricans souldiers being so rich a spoile to stay the enemies who fought for the horse and let Pompey goe The Gaules hauing a great battell to fight with Attalus king of Asia deliuered all their gold and siluer to be kept that if they were driuen to flye they should scatter the gold and siluer vpon the way that by staying the enemies to gather vp the gold siluer so dispersed they themselues might escape The like stratagem vsed Mithridates king of Pontus to saue himselfe who fled from the enemies that followed hard after him who left a Mule laden with golde and siluer a bootie which Mithridates knew would please the Romanes to stay them and to saue himselfe from Lucullus souldiers So did Triphon king of Syria to escape from king Antiochus horsemen scattered money euery where on the way to stay Antiochus souldiers that Triphon might escape so did Alaricus king of the Goates and others saue themselues by the like policies Fewe great captaines hardly escaped with their liues from diuers dangers and perils Sylla hardly escaped from Telesinus at the battell of Antemna and Caesar himselfe after he had lost 32. Ensignes a thousand of his best souldiers escaped hardly the hand of Pompey at Dirachium and after in the battell at Munda in Affrica from the Pompeyans CHAP. V. Of Pirrhus warre against the Romanes of diuers stratagems of the marchings of diuers nations of the ouerthrow of Torquine last king ouer the Romanes of the praise of Porsenna and Mutius Scaeuola PIrrhus the great captaine in the battell hard by the riuer Siris after he had giuen to Leuinus the Consull a great ouerthrow before and made vp a trophey in the temple at Tarentum to Iupiter yeelding thanks for his victories being demaunded of the Tarentines to haue one battell more with the Romanes sith he had subdued the Romanes in two battels before he answered If I stay to giue the third battell to the Romanes I shal haue neuer a souldier to return from Italy to Epyre. Thus Pompey vnder Sylla Sylla vnder Marius Marius vnder Scypio and Scypio vnder his father whom hee rescued in the battell at Canne from the Affricans as Alexander the great rescued his father Philip at the battell at Cheronea being but eighteene yeares of age as Scypio was when he rescued his father at Canne While Pompey flourished in Rome after Syllas death that all the Romane Empire rung out Pompeys fame Caesar practised among the Gaules his secret ambitiō which was such that he went as a Romane captain with his army far from Rome to practise his stratagems where he conquered the Gaules with the weapons of the Romanes and wonne the Romanes with money of the Gaules fewe in Rome knew this but such as he fed with money in Rome to be his friends Hence grew the malice and enuie betwneene Pompey and Caesar for Pompey could not abide his equall in Rome nor Caesar his superiour Caesar was suspected to be confederate with Cateline in his conspiracie not onely to ouerthrow the state of the Common-wealth but also to destroy the whole Empire of Rome for the which cause Cato and Piso fell out with Cicero for that hee then beeing Consull had not bewrayed Caesar when Cicero well might haue done it for many sawe the greatnesse of Caesar farre from Rome before hee came to Rome they sawe his courage and minde to bee inuincible his martiall skill to bee singular that such was his conquests ouer the Gaules in tenne yeares that hee tooke aboue eight hundred Townes and hauing such an infinite number of enemies of thirtie hundred thousand souldiers Gaules Germaines Teutons and diuers others he slew of them at seuerall times aboue tenne hundred thousand So that Caesars praise his warres his battels his victories and conquests had excelled all the strongest kings and princes of Europe had he not onely shewed himselfe an enemie to his Countrey in the battell at Pharsalia where Pompey the great the Senators and the most part of the noble men of Rome were slain ouerthrowne and taken Had Caesar bene in the time of Hanibal of whom Scypio demanded who had bene and were the greatest captaines of the world to whom he answered Alexander was the first Pirrhus the second and Hanibal himselfe the third Then Scypio demaunded of Hanibal what if Hanibal had subdued Scypio Hee aunswered that then Hanibal should not haue bene the second nor the third but the first For what Pirrhus could not bring to passe in foure yeares nor Hannibal in seuēteen yeares that could Caesar bring to passe within threescore dayes he was Lord of all Italy Emperour of Rome and conquerour of all the Romane Empire and therefore worthily to be preferred before Pirrhus or Hannibal had he spared his countrey Such was the celeritie of Caesars victories ouer Pharnaces king of Pontus at the battell by the citie of Zela that hee wrote but three words to his friend Anitus to Rome from Pontus Veni vidi vici Againe he tooke three campes in one day and slue fiftie thousand of his enemies and lost but fiftie of his
losse of many countries prouinces and cities so the Turkes marched vpon the Romanes as the Romanes marched vpon others Cyrus the great king of Persia hauing an hundred and seuen and twentie prouinces after his conquest of many kingdomes and nations marched with two hundred thousand Persians to be slaine in Scythia and that by a woman so Cyrus lost Persia seeking to winne Scythia and lost his life to get more landes Zerxes marching into Greece with such an innumerable armie that they dranke and dried vp many riuers as Scamander in Thessalia the riuer Simois in Phrygia Clidorus in Beotia Lysus in Samothracia the riuer Menalia by Hellespont yet he came from Greece home to be murthered by Mardonius his seruant in his owne kingdom Alexander the great hauing subdued the most parts of the world he also for want of men marched to India to fight with Elephants and returned from India to Babilon where he was poysoned by his owne seruants Many such crooked marchings were as well among the Iewes as among the Gentiles Saul the first king of Israel marched not as he ought to haue done against Agag king of the Amalekites and therefore was he slaine with his three sonnes in the battell at mount Gilboa by the Philistines Ieroboam marched not rightly to the battel in mount Zemaraim against Abiah king of Iudah and therfore fiue hundred thousand Israelites were slaine of his soldiers The most part of the kings of Israel because I need not to name as Acha◅ Manasses Zedechiah the rest many of the kings of Iudah for that they marched not in the path of the Lord but followed Ieroboā which made Israel to sinne and therefore marched with Ieroboa◅ to their destruction These marched not with Moses who said to the God of Israel We will not goe hence if thou goe not before vs. Nor with king Dauid who would take no warre in hand before he had consulted with the Lord. Nor with Gedeon who would not goe to any battell vnlesse the Lord had giuen him a signe before he went so the captaines of the Lorde marched no where attempted no warre or battell without consulting with the Lorde by Vrim Thummim or with some Prophet of the Lord. The Gentiles likewise would take no warre in hand without consulting with their Oracles as the Romains besought the gods of Carthage promising them Temples Altars sacrifices feasts if they would forsake Carthage and come to Rome and therfore the Gentiles were so superstitious and blinde that in many countries they would binde the Images of Hercules and Mars lest they should forsake them and goe to other nations their enemies for no doubt it should seeme that either they read or heard of Moses bookes how the Lord forsooke the Israelites and gaue them ouer to the Canaanites Philistines and other nations about them and how the Arke was taken frō them by the Philistines Here hence grew the blindnesse of the Gentiles that the Arke being taken away from Israel they feared also lest their gods should be either allured by faire promises or taken away by strength of victories CHAP. VI. Of the maner and forme of vowes as well of the Iewes as of the Gentiles for their victories in warres A Bigail Nabals wife vsed a policie to please Dauid fearing least Dauid would be reuenged vpon her husband for his churlish deniall of reliefe to him and to his company went after Dauid with victualls gifts and rewards and pleased him with faire words as Iacob pleased his brother Esau who vsed the like stratagem to win his brother Esau to send him gifts and rewards to please his brother whom he much feared for Esau promised to kill his brother Iacob when his father should die For Iacob the Patriarke made a vow when he went to Mesopotamia after his vision in Luz which thē Iacob named Bethel and said If God be with me and helpe me this iourney and will giue me bread to eate and cloaths to put on he vowed of all things that the Lord would giue him that he would giue the tenth vnto the Lord. Iacobs vow is farre more godly then Absolons vow for Iacob sought but bread to eate and cloaths to put on and safe reture againe from Mesopotamia ouer Iorden but rebellious Absolon sought the kingdome of Israel from his father Dauid by a dissembling vowe saying I will goe and performe my vowes which I vowed vnto the Lorde in Hebron which vowe he made his father the king beleeue that hee vowed in Ieshur in Syria that if the Lord would bring him to Ierusalem he would performe his vowes in Hebron this is a rebellious vow like to the wicked vowes of the Iewes which vowed before they would either eate or drinke to kill Paul The Israelites after they were ouerthrowne in a great battell by Arad king of the Canaanites they vowed vnto the Lorde that if the Lorde would giue Arad and the Canaanites into theyr handes that they would truely ferue the Lorde and destroy the Canaanites theyr landes and theyr cities They bound the Lord to so many conditions that if they should obtaine victories they promised him true seruice and to fight manfully against the Cananites And againe for another victory that the Lord gaue them against the Canaanites they vowed the tenth and performed their vowe the Hebrewes wanted no victories vpon their obedience dutiful seruice to the Lord. Iephtha in his war◅es against the Ammonites vowed vnto the Lord if he should haue victory ouer the Ammonites that whatsoeuer first met him at his returne from his victory comming out of his house should be a sacrifice vnto the Lord. Asa king of Iudah vowed vnto the Lord as Abiah his father did when Shesac king of Egipt came with an infinite number Asa and all Iudah made a couenant to seeke the Lord promised sware that they that sought ◅ot the Lord small or great man or woman should die this with an oath he vowed that Iudah reioyced for the victory they had ouer Zerah king of Aethiope with all his army of tenne hundred thousand Ionas a Prophet of the Lord when he fled from Niniuie to Tharsis being in danger of shipwracke he tolde the Marriners that he was the cause of the perillous tempest and willed the Marriners to throwe him into the sea confessing the lot fell iustly vpon him saying I will performe the vow which I promised vnto the Lord. So Anna vowed vnto the Lord and said that if the Lord would bestowe a man childe vpon her she would giue him vnto the Lord and she vowed that neither razor or sheares should come vpon his head and so performed her vow and brought Samuel her sonne before the Lord. There was nothing so common among the Gentiles also as vows as you heard of the Hebrues of their vows to the gods of Israel so likewise among the Greekes and
reioyced in his great victorie ouer Darius at Arbela and his conquests ouer kingdomes and countries had hee knowne hee should haue bene poysoned in Babilon Caesar had neuer taken the ciuill warres in hand against Pompey the great had hee knowne that hee should haue beene murthered before Pompeys Image in Rome Priamus had hee knowne the slaughter of himselfe his wife his children the last destructiō of Troy his citie had not resisted the Greeks nor denied their lawfull request in restoring Helen and therefore saide Cicero Multò melius est nescire futura quam scire Ignorance is better then knowledge of thinges to come but these had no Ephod no Vrim Thummim nor prophet to tel them of things to come as Ioshua Dauid Gedeon and others had and yet Alexander had his soothsayer Aristander Caesar had Spurina Priamus was warned by his daughter Cassandra but euer when they escaped one danger they fell into another as Iob said Fugiet impius armaferrca irruet in arcum aereum So superstitious grew the Gentils with such abhominable Idolatry that in Persia by a cock in Egipt by a bull in Aethiope by a dog they tooke soothsaying in Beotia by a beech tree in Epyre by an oake in Delos by a dragō in Lycia by a wolfe in Ammon by a ramme they receiued their oracles as their warrant to commence any warre to enter any battell or to attempt any enterprise And therfore Alexander the great went to the oracle at Ammon to know the successe of his warres in India And Licurgus went to Delphos to be instructed to make lawes in in Sparta Some went to the graue of Amphiraus sacrificed a Ramme and couered the graue of Amphiraus with that Ramme skinne and sleeping vpon the same skinne all night all things should be shewed to them by oracles But to such men as come to dead mens graues to seek helpe might be spoken that which Semyramis spake to Darius king of Persia. For Semyramis had written vpon her graue that what Prince soeuer had wanted money or golde should open her tombe and be satisfied Darius being greedie of money opened her tombe and found this sentence written vpon a table O couetous wretch vnlesse thou hadst bin an vnsatiable Prince thou wouldst neuer haue opened the graue of the dead for money The like was spokē to Xerxes that opened Belus graue and found nothing but an emptie glasse with this writing on a pillar If any would open Belus graue and not fill the emptie glasse with oyle he should be vnfortunate Which being read of Xerxes he willed straight to fil the glasse with oyle which would hold oyle no more then Belides buckets held water Xerxes departed sad therefore imagining some ill lucke to come thereby as within a while after it came to passe that he was slaine in his owne pallace at Persepolis by Artabanus The Prophets of the Lorde Esai Ieremy and the rest tooke no oracles from flying of fowles from starres and such but from the mouth of the Lord saying Thus saith the Lorde giuing more certaine oracles to the Israelites then the Persians Egiptians and Grecians had by Swallowes Rauens Eagles and Cockes The Prophet Dauids manner was when he went to any battell to know of the Lord whether hee should goe or no against the Philistines Canaanites and other enemies of the Lord. So the Israelites would take no warre in hand against the Beniamites before they asked counsell of the Lord. When the Moabites denied Ioshua and his army passage through the land Ioshua was commaunded by Moses to muster a thousand of euery Tribe and to giue them battell For it was lawfull in iust warres to vse any policies stratagems and snares against the enemie as Abraham did in rescuing Lot made after the foure kings fought with them ouerthrew them and brought Lot backe againe to his owne house where he dwelt in Zodom And so Gedeon did to the men of Sucoth and to the men of Phanuel for that they denied to giue some bread to relieue his three hundred faintie souldiers at his returne from the victorie hee tare the flesh of threescore and seuenteene Elders and chiefe men of Sucoth with briers and thornes and brake downe the Tower of Phanuel and slew the men of the Towne according to his promise before tolde But let vs returne to the oracles and soothsayings aswell of the Gentiles as of the Iewes The Athenians in euery publike counsell that they tooke in hand without their Priests called Mantes were present in place to sacrifice and to offer oblations vnto their Idols nothing should be done among the Athenians Among the Lacedemonians in like manner the authoritie of soothsaying was such that in all consultations among the Senators they would conclude vpon nothing in matters of doubts without warrant frō their soothsayers The credite and existimation of soothsayers was such among the Romanes that they could dispossesse any Senator from the Senate any Consull or Praetor from their offices as is said before for the soothsayers were called in Rome Nuntij interpetres Iouis the messengers of Iupiter and his interpreters So the latter Iewes serued and sacrificed to the Idols of the Gentiles neither would they attempt any thing without oracles from Chemosh the Idoll of the Moabites from Nesroch the Idoll of the Assyrians and from Dagan the Idoll of the Philistines yet Senacherib was slaine praying in the Temple before his owne god Nesroch by his owne sonnes and the fiue Lords of the Philistines at the great feast which they made to their god Dagon were slaine by the fall of the house where they feasted Yet Israel would take no example thereby but forgat the lawe of the Lord which they obeyed vnder Ioshuah Iudah Gedeon and others but they would haue new kings new lawes to gouerne them an other forme of a common-wealth then the Lord had appointed and a new kinde of religion to serue straunge gods otherwise then the Lord had commanded them and to seeke helpe and aide of other nations which the Lord forbad them saying The strength of Pharao shall bee your shame and your trust to the shadowe of Egipt shall deceiue you neither the gods whom you serue shall saue you neither the nations whom you trust vnto shall defend you As the Ethnikes vsed dreames lots prophesies oracles soothsayings and charmes to instruct them in their warres so Nabuchodonozer consulted with his oracles asked counsel of the soothsayers and obserued the liuer of a beast for the destruction of Ierusalem but they are cursed in Gods booke that would vse sorcery or seeke helpe by any other meanes then by the Lord for what haue the faithfull to do with Infidels which were forbidden to goe to Iupiter at Hammon or to Appollo at Delphos where the Gentiles came to offer gold pearles iewels chaines crownes shields targets and Images to hang there in the temple of Appollo that
Philip king of Macedonia at the spoile thereof had as great a pray as Alexander his sonne had of Babilon or Nabuchodonozer of Ierusalem CHAP. VIII Of sanctuaries allowed to the Hebrewes and of the multitude of sanctuaries among the Gentiles SAnctuaries were priuiledged among all Nations not onely for souldiers that fled from the warres and seruants that fled from their maisters but also for those that by chance kild any man or had committed such capitall crimes without proofe these might bee succoured in sanctuaries vntill the truth were knowne and proued and therefore the Hebrewes had sixe citties of refuge by the lawe of Moses where if any man had slaine vnwittingly or vnwillingly a man he might flee to any of these sixe Cities as to a sanctuary of refuge but they that had killed a man willingly and had committed any capitall crime purposely should not onely be taken away from the sanctuarie but bee pluckt away from the aultar as Ioab was for killing of Abner and Adonias though hee pretended treason before against Salomon yet had hee the priuiledge of the sanctuarie for that fault by Salomon but when hee sought to haue Abizaig to his wife he was pluckt from the Aultar as Ioab was Those that were lawfully succoured by Moses lawe in the sanctuary it was not lawfull for them that fled thither to returne home vnlesse it were at the death of the high Priest which was a shadow of the death of Christ by whose death the regenerate turne to their eternall home The Gentiles imitating the Hebrewes had too many licentious sanctuaries with the like libertie and priuiledge in so much that in continuance of time it grew that Temples Aultars Images of Emperours and Kings and graues of dead men were allowed for sanctuaries as if any that would flye vnto the Temple of Diana at Ephesus and claimed by the right of a sanctuarie to be defended hee was made free and had his libertie graunted vnto him and that continued a sanctuarie from the time of Alexander the great who amplyfied the Temple of Diana the quantitie of a furlong which temple was burnt before by Herostratus vpon the very day that Alexander was borne vntill the time of Augustus Caesar three hundred yeares after Alexander by whom the wickednesse of that sanctuary was was abrogated and quite taken away Cadmus as some write at the building of Thaebes was the first in Greece that gaue any priuiledge to sanctuaries Others thinke that some of the posteritie of Hercules erected vp in Athens the temple of mercie where euery man might flee for succour fearing least they should be punished and plagued for the iniuries that Hercules their predecessor did to others and the Athenians made a decree that none that fled to the aultar of mercie should be pulled away Romulus imitating Cadmus at the building of Rome for the encrease of his citie graunted impunitie to all such wicked men that came to Rome whose example all other Gentiles followed after in so much that kings and kings sonnes fled vnto sanctuaries so great was the priuiledge of sanctuaries that king Pausanias fled to the Temple of Minerua in Sparta and king Cleombrotus fled to the Temple of Neptune in Taenero and Adonias King Dauids sonne fled to the Temple in Ierusalem Likewise a souldier taken in the warre if he had fled from thence to the statue of any King Emperour or great captaine he was to haue his libertie The liberties and abuse of sanctuaries grew so great among all nations that where sanctuaries were allowed chiefly first for those that slew any man by chaunce against their will for captiue souldiers that fled from prison for poore distressed seruants that were abused by their maisters in time it became dens for theeues stewes for wicked men and leawd women that whatsoeuer was done if they came to the Temple of Osiris in Egipt or to the Temple of Diana in Thracia or to the Temple of Venus in Pâ—…hos they were freed might there take their libertie but poore Demosthenes was taken from the Temple of Neptune by the tyrant Archyas and brought to Athens before his onely enemy Antipater Sanctuaries grew so common that not onely souldiers but also any offenders might fleee from theyr liberties especially in Greece to the graues of Achilles Thesius and Aiax in other places to the graue of Hercules In other places the offender if he had fallen downe at the feete of Iupiters Priest of Mars or of Vulcan at the gates of their temples he should goe free Though the old auntient Romanes could not abide a souldier taken in the wars they would neither redeem him nor allow him sanctuarie yet Agesilaus king of the Lacedemonians allowed any temple of their gods to be a sanctuary for souldiers that fled for succour So did Cyrus proclaime sanctuaries for all banished bond men in Greece in all Asia leuied therby a huge army to fight against his brother Artaxerxes So did Sertorius one of Marius sect proclaime sanctuaries to all the Romaine fugitiues in Hispaine in Affrike that he as much harmed Rome being a Romaine borne and now out of his countrey as eyther Sylla or Marius did in their countrey Hauing sufficiently spoken of these kinde of sanctuaries of theyr too much libertie that grew thereby in all kingdomes as among the Hebrewes by Ieroboam in the battell at Mount Zemaraim among the Persians by Cyrus at the battell at Conauxa among the Romanes by Cinna and among the Affricans by Scotorius who all proclaimed sanctuaries and liberties to all fugitiue and banished souldiers we leaue sanctuaries which were appointed as a refuge for those that fled thither for succour and helpe vntill the truth were knowne and speake not of those that abused sanctuaries as a cloake of their tirannie and wickednesse You heard before how Adonias and Ioab were taken from the Aultar for they had abused the sanctuary for the Lord commaunded that his lawes should be seuerely kept and that no part thereof should be broken for King Oza vsurping the Leuites office against the lawe was striken with sudden death for the vnreuerent handling of the Arke which was the Leuites office Ozias the King was striken with leprosie for burning incense against the lawe which was the Priestes office Abihu and Nadab Aarons sonnes for that they both tooke Censors in their hands put fire therevpon and incense therein offered straunge fire before the Lord contrarie to the Lords commaundement fire from heauen destroyed them for the priests were commaunded to take no fire but from the aultar neither might they offer vncleane bread vpon the Lords table nor sowe cockles for corne in the Lords fields for the Lord will be more sanctified in his ministers then others and therfore he spared not Oza for handling the Arke nor Ozias for burning incense though they were both kings for transgressing one iot of his lawes
gaue audience out of the citie to any forraine Embassador especially in matters of peace and after they would conduct the Embassadors to shipping to preuent practises and pollicies vnder colours of peace The Romanes in this imitated the Athenians who entertained the Embassadors of the Lacedemonians in like sort but Rome and Athens were much deceiued for the cities of Italy often rebelled against Rome and the cities of Greece against Athens Much murther and slaughter was euer found in the breach of faith and much mischiefe committed vnder colour of peace Godolias being made gouernour by Nabuchodonozer ouer the rest of Iudea after Ierusalem was destroyed was deceiued by the faire words of Ismael who came with ten men with him that were sworne to him to do what he would haue them to do in Mazphah to the house of Godoliah where he was well entertained but Ismael slew Godoliah all the Iewes and all the Chaldeys that Ismael found waighting on Godoliah and the next day after that Ismael had slaine Godolias certaine men came from Sychem from Siloh and from Samaria to the number of fourescore which had shaued their beards and rent their cloathes with meate offering and incense to offer in the house of the Lord. And Ismael went weeping out of Mazphah to meete them and said Come and goe to Mazphah to see Godoliah the Gouernour where Ismael slue them in the midst of Mazphah as hee did Godoliah in the one he deceiued Godolias with faire words in the other hee deceiued them with teares to come to Mazphah to see Godoliah whom he slue all sauing tenne and threw their bodies into one pit Triphon one of Ismaels broode after he had taken Ionathan by deceit he sent him to Ptolomeu where hee tooke Ionathans children for hostage and money for his redemption So Triphon promised to deliuer Ionathan but Triphon killed Ionathan and his children against his faith and promise and the law of armes of all nations Alexander king of Syria fled to Arabia to be defended from Ptolomeu his father in lawe king of Egipt but Zabdiel the Arabian slue him most treacherously and sent his head to Egipt to Ptolomeu Bacchides and Alcinus Gouernors vnder the most cruell king Demetrius slue threescore Assideans that came to entreat Antiochus for peace against the lawe of armes In like sort Nicanor thought to deceiue Machabaeus as Antiochus did vnder colour and pretence to seeke peace Met. Suffetius Generall of the Albaines promising by oath his faith and truth to the Romanes and that his friendship should not faile to be readie at the Romaines commaundement yet breaking his oath in the same practising his treachery against the Romane armie he was bound to two toppes of trees both hands and feete and terribly pulled in peeces by the trees The breach of faith by the lawe of armes set downe was euer among the Romaines most seuerely punished in so much that the Romaine souldiers stoned Posthumius for that he denied the spoile which he promised to the souldiers The like is read that the Embassadors of the Lacedemonians being sent to the king of Persia to haue his aide against the Athenians being in league with the Lacedemonians were taken and brought to Athens and by the Athenians slaine The Embassadors of Carthage and Macedonia because they did conspire against the Romaines contrary to their league were taken and by the law of armes iustly slaine Diuers Embassadors were slaine for breaking theyr leagues against the lawe of armes as the Embassadors of the Romanes were slaine by the Illyrians the Embassadors of the Athenians by the Persians the Embassadors of the Persians by the Macedonians the Embassadors of Dauid king of Iudah by the Ammonites not slain but ignominiously abused for Dauid sent his Embassadors to Ammō the king to comfort him for the death of his father in kindnes of good will but they had halfe their beards shaued and their garments cut off at their buttocks thus were they turned back in reproach without thankes to Dauid So were the Embassadors of the Romanes without cause against the lawe of armes most iniuriously slaine by the Illyrians who were gouerned vnder a woman to the great reproach of the Romaines but the Romane Embassadors being thus slain had their statues put vp in the Oratory and their names written vpon their Images P. Iunius T. Coruncanus but the Romanes reuenged it to the losse of their kingdome Thus euery where trechery and murther was committed in all countreys vnder colour of leagues and lawes broken and most time without eyther lawe or league but with violence and trecherie practised by many false stratagems among all nations As Zopyrus practised by a dissembling stratagem to bring the Persians into the hands of Cyrus though some say it was Darius by cutting deforming his face and mangling his body in this pittiful sort cōming to Babilō saigning and dissembling that he had hardly escaped frō Cyrus army promised the Babilonians to do them great seruice to reuenge his wrong if they would vse his seruice By these subtill and craftie meanes he brought Cyrus to be king of Babilon of this Zopirus Cyrus was wont to say that he wished as many friends like Zopirus as a Pomegranate had kernels The like stratagem vsed the Grecian Sinon for Agamemnon in the warres of Troy therefore Agamemnon said he had rather haue tenne Nestors or tenne Vlixes then tenne Achilles or tenne Aiax for more doth counsell and pollicie profit in warre then force or courage and therefore when Achilles dyed Aiax made claime to his armour as one that might claime it best by the lawe of Armes clayming a combat if any one would say the contrary Aiax being warned by his olde father Telamon when he went with Agamemnon from Greece to Troy to fight valiantly to aske at the gods hands good successe and fauour but Aiax more proud then wise answered his father that slouthfull men and cowards seeke helpe at Gods handes but said hee could ouercome without Gods helpe Vlixes also made claime to Achilles armour saying that his pollicie and counsell did profit more the Grecians in the warres at Troy then the sword of Aiax Agamemnon knowing how much pollicie and wise counsell auailed in wars gaue to Vlixes the armor of Achilles for Agamemnon said had he had but ten such councellors as Nestor was he doubted not but soone to subdue Troy So Cyrus spake of Zopirus and so Pirrhus spake of Romane souldiers Plus praestant senes consilio quam inuenes armis Thus the Polymarchies of the earth seeke to cōquer another world like Alexander being not cōtented with one and couer all the seas with their sailes like Xerxes and to build castles high vnto the heauens like Nimrod who wold build Babel to reach vp to heauen to reuenge the iniury done to his predecessors by the vniuersall deludge resembling much the battell of