wherein Fuse was one of the Players plaied the part of Ilion the daughter of Kyng Priam and Catien plaied the part of Polidore the brother of Ilion Now in the Plaie Ilion should sleepe Polidore should appeare to her in a dreame and waken her and her mother Hecuba and crie mother sister And because Fuse his parte was to sleepe he victuailed hymself with good siropps and dranke his skinne full and fell so fast a sleepe that thei could not plaie so Catien that plaied Polidors parte with his criyng mother and sister neuer so loude could not once wakē Fuse out of his sleepe Yea Horace saith that if there had been a thousandes Catiens and had cryed till their hartes had aked thei could not haue wakened hym hee slept so soundly which when the people sawe thei all cried with one voice mother mother and so all the Tragedy was turned to a laughter Tobie But to what purpose doeth Horace alleadge this example Ierom. Mary to this purpose to tell of those that will runne headlōg into present danger and though men admonishe them neuer so much and cry to them to diswade them thei will no more hearken to father or mother brother or sister freende or foe then a dronkarde ouerladen with Wine whiche can no more be wakened then Catien could waken Fuse with al his criyng And thereby concludeth that the aduenturous fooles of these days are like which can not perceiue in what danger thei are nor doe more esteeme the admonition and warnyng that is giuen them then if they had not heard it or were without sence Wherefore it is muche to bee feared least it happen to vs as it did to those that were drowned with Noes floud Whose example Christe laieth before vs for the same cause or as it happened to those of Sodome and Gomorha whiche were sodainly consumed with fire from Heauen And that when we saie peace peace our ouerthrow come not sodainly on vs before wee haue leasure to ende our businesse For if our age were of Golde Siluer Brasse Iron or any other mettall it might bee molten againe and made a newe but beyng as it is I haue smal hope What thinkest thou Theophrastus Theo. If I had any hope I should rather hope that God would doe as he hath promised by his Prophets he saith he will gather together all the Golde Siluer Brasse Copper Tinne Lead Latten and all other mettals and will cast them into a furnase in the middest of Ierusalem to purge them and to trie out all the drosse and falshoode But it is very harde to doe this for the disease is incurable Ierom. Wee maie well saie with Titus Liuius that the worlde is so corrupt that wee can neither awaie with the vices nor the remedies necessarie for the same Theo. He is a very waiwarde and vnpatient patient and therefore is like an olde year then pot whiche when it is once cracked can neither be molten sowed nor mēded againe but the shardes serue either to lade out water or to fetch fire in And yet I am afraied least that happen vnto hym whiche the Lorde by his Prophets threatneth the wicked withall saiyng that he wil breake them like an year then pot and will not leaue so muche as one peece or sharde to carrie either fire or water in Or els that whiche Dauid Prophesieth of the wicked saiyng Thei shal be all pulled vp like thornes which no man handleth and if any man touche them he shall be fenced with Iron or the staffe of a speare and thei shall be wholie burnt Dauid doth rightly compare the wicked to thornes whiche euery waie doe hurte for thei doe not onely hinder the earth from bearyng fruite but also pricke and hurte thē that either come neare them or handle them Therefore the Lorde threatneth the wicked as vnruly thornes that he will not onely cut them but wholie plucke them vp and because none dare come neare them or touche thē he hath promised that their handes shal be fenced with Iron that thei maie handle them and to giue them forkes to throwe them into fire to burne and consume them to naught Tobie I once complained that menne transfigured thēselues into brute beastes But I am now more afraied least thei become worse and more furious then y e man whiche was possessed with a legiō of Deuilles whiche dwelte emong the graues and could neither be tied nor chained but he brake theim I remember an old wiues tale in our countrie that S. Barnard had the Deuill chained on the hill where his Abbey stādeth and because he went about to gnawe the the chaine a sonder to get awaie the Smithes there about euery mōdaie before thei went to worke strike thre strokes with their hammer on the Andfild to mende and repaire the chaine which he had gnawē least he should breake it in sonder and get loose If it bee so it appeares that S. Barnard tied him not sure inough or els that the Smithes did not their duetie to mende his chaine for it semeth now that he is not onely broken loose hymself but hath opened hell gates for all his companions so thei are spred ouer the whole worlde I knowe not what rule thei keepe in hell but I thinke verily that the deuils are broken loose and goe aboute to make an other hell in this worlde that thei maie haue a hell as well for quicke as for dead Theo. Thou art well seen in old wiues tales But to speake in earnest I am afraied least that Deuill that is spoken of in the Apocalips whiche was bound for a thousand yeres be let loose and haue more libertie now then euer he had And leaste that Read Dragon whiche is all embrued with the blood of Martires who with his Angels fought in the heauens against S. Michael his Angels be throwne doune from heauen that is to saie frō the churche of Iesus Christe by the power of his Gospell and that he is fallē on the earth with his Angels that is to saie into the hartes of the wicked reprobate and worldly men whom he filleth with rage and furie to ouerthrowe the whole Churche of GOD. Wherfore we maie well saie with S. Ihon Wo bee to the inhabitantes of the yearth and the sea For the Deuill is come doune emong you in greate wrathe knowyng that his time is short he is in greater rage then euer he was fearyng the losse of his kingdom It is good reason that it should happen to Christiās as our sauior Christ did foretell vnto the Iewes by the similitude of the wicked spirite whiche walked through desart and drie places to seke rest but founde none then he saied I will returne into myne house frō whence I came and when he came he founde it emptie swept and garnished then he went in and tooke vnto hym seuen other spirites worse then hymself And the ende of that man is worse then the
had iuster occasion to beseche hym yea and with great sute to intreate him to tary emongest them then to praie hym to depart For what feare and horror was all the Countrey in hauyng these twoo so daungerous furious and outragious possessed Theo. Thei shewed thē selues herein not onely ouerseen but wholy madd and hereby shewe that thei needed not to bee so greeued with the losse of their Swine for that the declared themselues to be very swine yea vile and detestable Swine For thei did set more by earth then by heauē thei estemed Swine better then their own soules For thei might well thinke what goodnesse was to be found at Christes handes in recompence of them seyng he had suche power ouer the deuil him self But seyng thei were suche filthy swine themselues Christ would shewe by the workyng of these Deuilles in the swine how he could vse suche swine as y ◠Genezariās were and all suche other as wer giuē ouer by gods iust iudgements according to their desertes Tobie Because thei were verie swine thē selues peraduenture thei were afraied least he would likewise haue vsed them so Theo. But to driue awaie Christe who hath power to driue awaie deuills is not the waie to flie frō the deuill but to receiue hym Wherefore the best waie to driue him awaie is to become the Sheepe of Iesus Christe who is come to transforme Dogges Hogges and Wolues into shepe and Lābes and to bee their shepeheard as Esaie prophesied Tobie Thou diddest aske mee now if I knewe any that were like these Genezariās I praie thee tell me thy self who be thei that be like them Theo. Although the Genezarians were greeued for the losse of their swine yet sainct Luke teacheth an other poincte that caused them to doe as thei did to Christe Tobie What saieth he Theo. Thei that were in great terror and feare seyng Christe doe as he did For if thei had been onelymoued w t the losse thei would skante haue intreated hym to departe their Countrey but would rather haue vsed commaundementes threatnynges yea and peraduenture haue laied handes on hym if God would haue permitted But thei were astonied at the power and diuine vertue whiche Iesus Christe shewed before their eyes in that coūtrey by so merueilous a worke and therefore thei flattered hym rather for feare then loue And where these desired hym to departe their Countrey the poore possessed whom he had healed offer to followe hym as his disciples whether so euer he goe Tobie Therby thei shewe y t Iesus Christ hath so deliuered them frō the power of the Deuill that thei are lesse possessed then the other of the countrey For if the Deuill had not had greate power of the Genezarians thei would rather haue yeelded to Iesus Christ and followed hym as Disciples then to haue driuen hym out of their Countrey Theo. That is certaine For it had been better for them to haue departed their countrey themselues yea to haue left wiues and Children then euer to haue suffered Iesus Christ to depart from them And therefore if we well consider the worke of Iesus Christ as well in the possessed whiche he healed as in the Genezarians we maie by them learne to knowe the diffrence that is betwene those that effectually taste of the grace of the Gospell and suche as haue not tasted thereof as thei ought These poore possessed tasted therof and therefore thei estemed nothyng in the worlde so muche as Iesus Christ but offered themselues to followe hym whatsoeuer did happen Contrariwise the Genezarians tasted not of this grace but had onely a knowledge of the diuine power whiche thei sawe in Iesus Christe whiche knowledge made theim to feare hym but taught theim not to loue hym and followe hym thereby to bee made partakers of greater goodes without cōparison then that was which thei thought he had spoiled them The moste part of men are thus disposed to Godward because thei knowe the power he hath to punish thei fear hym This feare causeth them to honour and worship hym but not hartely thei feare hym as wicked subiectes feare their Prince whō thei honour and reuerence against their willes for feare of his power And therefore all the honour and seruice that thei doe to hym is but onely fained So the greatest parte of men feare and honor God but yet thei wishe hym so farre from theim that thei might neuer heare speake of hym or haue to doe with hym All thei that haue not tasted the swetenesse of the goodnesse of GOD are lead by suche Spirite and affection towardes hym And this is the cause that so fewe receiueth the Gospell as thei might For seeyng it is hard yea impossible to followe it but that it wil bring some incommoditie bothe to the bodie and goodes of those that faithfully followe it it seemeth to bryng alwaies euill lucke followeth it Tobie Yet there is no man but will brag and saie that he followeth the Gospell Theo. That is true but the most parte would haue suche a Christe as the Genezarians desired to haue that is that thei might not lose their Swine by hym thei would also haue suche a Gospell Tobie There are some that are not onely contented that the Gospell cost them nothyng but thei would gaine and be enriched vnder colour of the same Theo. I praie thee Tobie shew me what is the cause that Popes Cardinalls Bishops Priestes and Monkes resist the Gospell so stoutly and persecute it so cruelly Tobie Thei will not tel thee that for thei saie it is thei that maintaine the Gospell and those whō thei persecute are Heretickes Theo And what causeth the doctrine of the Gospell to bee heresie to them None other thyng but that thei feare if it should bee receiued practised as it ought to be amongest Christians thei should be driuen out of their stoyes and stalles wherein thei are fed as fat as Millers Swine for thei had rather be swine to Sathan and Antichrist to be fatly fed in their Stoyes as thei are then to be sheepe of the flock of Iesus Christ or labouryng Oxen in the haruest of the Lord. Those likewise whiche are of alliaunce to them either by parentage consanguinitie or affinity or by any other meane and specially those whiche serue them and liue of their deceite set more by these fatt Swine then by Iesus Christ the true sheapheards of their soules For these Swine fatten the porredge with their fatt or at the least vnfattē them not but vnfatten inough of others to fatten their parentes affines freendes and other maintainers of their Mother holy Churche whiche Mother haue fed them so fat Wherefore it is no maruaile though thei be lothe to leaue her or to be weaned frō suche breasts There is an other sorte whiche though thei receiue no profite of suche swine yea and knowe the trothe of the Gospell neuerthelesse thei had rather be ridd of Iesus
excellent knowledge in humanitie as anye man that euer liued in his time and age yet was there alwayes in him some good seed of religiō But because hee was an heathen man borne and therefore had not from his youth beene brought vp in the woorde of God but onely in humanitie and Paganisme and in the Religion wherein he was borne hee could not rightly iudge of the true Religion whiche he knewe not And the opinion whiche hee had of himselfe did so hinder him as that he could not search after it as he ought to haue done And after that diuers but especiallye his mother Monica who was a widdowe and became a Christian before him a very good woman and one that feared GOD had exhorted and solycited him to search after the holy Scriptures those their exhortations stirred him vp to the reading of the Bible Howbeit hee read it not so reuerently as he should haue done but rather for fashions sake by reason he came not appoynted with that humilytie and modestie which afterward hee knew was meete for the disciples of the holy Ghost to come But when God had rebated this his pride with the spirite of modestie and humilitie then found he that in it which before hee knew not how to finde in it And by that meane he was somuch the more humbled Howbeit these glorious arrogant men of whome we now speake who thus glory of their knowledge and skill are euen the verye scorners and contemners of God for they neuer shew that euer they had the true feare of God before their eyes nor yet any good seede of religion in them For there is a great many of them who haue manifested them selues greater Atheists after they had once gotten some knowledge of the gospell then euer they had before and since y ◠time haue euer lesse reuerenced the worde of God For the knowledge which they receyued by the entertayning of the Gospell serued them to none other vse but to discouer the Idolatries superstitions and abuses which are in the popish Church that they might laugh at them And euer sithence that time they are growen euen vnto this that they are almost at the like poynt with the doctrine of Christian religion For as S. Paul said They iudge thereof as the Grecians and wise men of the world iudged of Iesus Christe of his Gospel who thought the preaching thereof to be foolishnesse because they were carnall men and puffed vp with an opinyon of their owne wisdomes And because the Grecians were alwaies more accounted of then any of the reste of the Nations by reason of their sharpenesse of witte and of the knowledge which they had in the artes in Philosophy and in all other Letters of humanitie S. Paule nameth them specially although hee comprehendeth vnder this name all the rest of the heathen as well appeareth by that that he opposeth them to the Iewes and seperateth them also from the Christians vnto whome as hee him selfe witnesseth Iesus Christ is the true wisdome vertue and power of God Nowe if these Libertine Epicures and Atheistes had beene heathen borne as S. Augustine was or if they had as much religion in them being Christians borne as hee had in his Paganisme they shoulde neuer haue shewed them selues to haue beene so monstrous beastes as in deed they are But although in name they are Christians born they are to be accounted of as if they had beene borne and bredde amongst Infidelles and Paganes yea euen amongst the Epicures out of whose books they haue sucked and droonke this prophan spirite of Athiesme who thus caryeth thē away For they haue yet lesse Religion in them then euer had any of the heathen who not onely did not approue their doctrine but which is more manifestly both by word and wrytinge condemned it yea and oftentimes executed thē by publick iustice namely Athens For when God giueth vs ouer so farre hee then by his iust iudgement brutisheth vs in the cause of religion And therefore that we shall not neede any more to pray vnto him to beseech him enlighten vs with his holy spirite in the knowledge of his holy word But ouer and besides that Dauid and S. Peter calleth the holy Ghost the word of the Lorde a candle and lanterne which lightneth a darke place and doth enlighten the simple yet there is one thing more in it which the Lord hath promised that he will heare as manye as shall call vppon him in trueth be neere them and graunt them his holy spirit Toby This then is the effect of thy conclusion that proud men and such as call not vpon the Lord as they ought for their instruction in the knowledge of his holye will haue no great good lyking to serue him accordingly And because they haue no such loue and lyking but contrariwise will liue as pleaseth them God in his iust iudgement giueth them ouer into a reprobate sence and leaueth them as a spoyle vnto seducers and false teachers Wherefore they alwayes receyue and allowe rather falshood and errour then the trueth of the Lord. Theo. In deede because they had no loue nor liking of the trueth but rather of leasinges the Lord by his iust vengeaunce hath giuen a mighty power of errour vnto such maisters as they haue a lyking of and such as they are best worthy of And therfore when Moses admonished the people of Israel that they shoulde beware of false Prophetes who might deceyue them hee namely sayde that the Lorde would tempt his people by false Prophetes who shoulde make great shewes of trueth and he would doe it to this end to proue whether his people feared and loued him with al their hart or not Wherein he manifestly declareth that they which had the true feare of God before them and loued him in deede would neuer receiue the false Prophetes and cast off the law word of God but alwayes continue in the doctrine which the Lord God had reuealed vnto them from heauen Toby I thank thee I now very wel vnderstand this poynt and the cause also why the deuill euery manner of way hath so great power ouer vs as he hath Moreouer although we haue already spoken of many that are haunted with Deuilles yet haue wee not all this while spoken anye whit of the Lunatique deafe dumb and blynde Demoniacques Theo. It is no great matter For we will treate of them when thou shalt thinke it best The Tytle and effect of the fift Dialogue of the world possessed with Deuils THis fifte Dialogue is called the dialogueue of Lunatique Deuilles because the chiefe matter contained therein treateth of a Lunatique Demoniacque of whom the Euangelists make mention and of such as may be compared to the same And beecause there were many accidentes which fell out vnto this Demoniacque somewhat is also sayde of deafe dumbe and blinde Demoniacques and howe Iesus Christ healed them