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
making the Arke saued himselfe and his family from the deluge Abraham for that he obeyed the Lord and was readie to offer and to sacrifice his sonne Isaac the whole world was blessed in his seed therefore the Lord said to Salomon If thou do all that euer I shall commaund thee thy throne shall be established for euer in Ierusalem The Lord commends the Rechabites for their obedience to Ionadab their father because Ionadab said Non bibetis vinum Mattathias his children answered Antiochus messenger saying Wee had rather obey the lawes of the Lord giuen to Moses and to our fathers then to obey the king So the seuen brethren answered that they had rather die then disobey the lawes of the Lord. The Prophet saith Fire haile snow Ise obey the commaundements of the Lord hee commaunds seas and windes and they obey the Lord he commanded rauens to feede Elias and they obeyed Cyrus King of Persia obeyed the Lorde for Cyrus confest that hee was commaunded to set forwards the Iews to build vp the temple in Ierusalem and as obedience is vnto the Lord most acceptable so is disobedience euen in the least things extreamly punished He that gathered sticks vpon the Sabboth day was stoned to death And the man of God for that he eate bread in Bethel against the Lords commaundement he was deuoured of a lyon and Ionas the Prophet for that he fled from the presence of the Lord he was throwne for his disobedience into the sea and swallowed vp of a whale And Moses the seruant of God with that rod that strooke the rocke that water gushed out with that rod which diuided the red seas that turned all the riuers and waters of Egipt to blood that turned all the dust of Egipt into Lice brought Frogs Flies Grasse-hoppers and wrought so many wonders in Egipt yet for that Moses disobeyed the Lord at the water of Meribah the Lord was so offended with Moses Aaron for their incredulitie and disobedience before the people that the Lord told them that they should not enter into the land of promise and that Moses should die in mount Nebo and Aaron his brother in mount Hor such was the exact iustice of the Lord and his seuere punishment against wilfull and disobedient people that he spared none no not Moses his owne seruant Aaron his owne Priest Ionas his owne Prophet nor Israel his owne people CHAP. XIIII Of the martiall lawes and military discipline of the Gentiles IN all Countries among all Nations where militarie discipline was not obserued there martial lawes were executed As among the Egiptians the Souldier that brake militarie rules to forsake the ranke to goe out of the campe and would disobey the chiefe magistrates officers captaines of the armie and would any waies offend the martiall lawes he should be displaced from his place were he either Serieant Lieutenant or any other officer and be placed in the meanest place of the armie and if he should bewray the counsell of his captaine or speake any thing against the generall he should haue his tongue cut off and sowed vpon his helmet Among the Persians there was a martiall law written that if any cowardly souldier should steale secretly from the campe and become a vagabound or a runnagate frō place to place he should being taken be cloathed in a womans apparell and be chained fast with an Iron manicle vpon his hands sitting with both his legs in a paire of stocks in the midst of the campe to be flouat and scoft at of all the whole armie which in like sort the Thrasians obserued and after hee should be taken for a woman and not for a man The Romanes were somewhat more seuere against disobedient souldiers especially against seditious fugitiue souldiers and against them that forsooke theyr standart and turned their backes to the enemies and from the camp to flee to the enemie these amongst the Romanes were punished with death The law in Sparta was if any soldiers of theirs should in any great and shamefull faultes in the warres offend they should be so noted and defamed that they might not borrow so much as a cup of water or a brand of fire with their next neighbors nor light a candle besides it was not lawfull for any man that met thē in the streets to speak to them These punishmēts far differ from the former punishmēt of the Lord fire frō heauen the opening of the earth the throwing into the feas deuouring by lions such of which I shall speake in another place Now to the marching of Ierusalē vnder Ioshua to whō a charge was giuen of a new army which was borne in the wildernesse after their fathers came out of Egipt to whom the Lord said Moses my seruant is dead as I was with Moses so will I be with thee and will neuer leaue thee nor forsake thee be strong and bold feare not and shewe thy selfe stout and valiant therefore obserue and do according to all the lawes which Moses my seruant commaunded thee What is spoken here to Ioshua was spoken after Ioshua to Iudah and after Iudah to Gedeon to Dauid and others so carefull was the Lord ouer his people that they should not choose them a Generall without the consultatiō of Vrim Thummim to guide and gouerne the armie to fight the battels of the Lord. So among all nations in all ages they were very carefull to haue and to choose wise stout and skilfull Generalls For as the Romane captaine Fabritius said that it was Pirrhus skil that ouercame Leuinus the Consull and not the Epirotes the Romanes and besides the straunge sight of the Elephants which the Romanes neuer sawe before that battell at Heraclea which the Romanes called Boues Lucanias Fabritius thought it a scorne that the Romanes should be ouerthrowne by any nation in the world if they had discreet valiant stout generals The like imaginatiōs the Romanes supposed that they were ouerthrowne at the battels of Trebeia Trasimen Cannes either by the subtill and deceitfull policie of Hannibal or else for that their gods were offended with them and not by the strength of the Carthagineans nor the Affricans But Pirrhus after foure yeares warres with the Romanes was constrained to forsake Italy after his ouerthrow at the battel of Arusina to leaue his Elephants behinde to beautifie Curius Dentalus tryumphe which was the first sight of Elephants in Rome for before nothing could be seene in Rome in former tryumphes but cattels of the Volscians flocks of beasts of the Sabines broken weapons and old armour of the Samnites coaches and couerings of the old Gaules Hannibal the greatest enemy that euer the Romanes had yet after seuenteene yeares warres hee was forced to retire from Italy to Carthage and there in his owne countery to be ouerthrowne at the battell of Zama by Scypio Affrican Hannibal so straightly
hee was called but Agesilaus without any surname of addition among the Grecians neither other great captaines of Greece as Milciades Themistocles Cymon and others had no such surnames by their victories as the Romanes had The Hebrues also had but proper names some had their fathers name added vnto it so our Sauiour in the Gospell named Peter Simon the sonne of Ionas so was it oftentimes spoken to Esay the Prophet Esay thou sonne of Amos so all the Iewish Rabines were named after their fathers names as Iuda the sonne of Dama Simeon the sonne of Gamaliel Ismael the sonne of Elizei but among the old Hebrewes as you heard they were so named as pleased the mothers The Egiptians vsed also Greeke additions to their names as Pto. surnamed Euergetes for his good deeds and benefites to his countrey Pto. surnamed Ceraunos that is to say lightning for his quicke dispatch Pto. surnamed Aetos an Eagle for his swiftnesse and celeritie and so Philadelphus and other kings and great men of Egipt added to their own proper names Greek surnames The surnames of the last kings of Egipt began from a souldiers name who grew so great among the Egiptians that he strengthened and established the countrey being subdued and ouerthrowne before by the Persians that the Alexandrians so hououred him after his death that all his successors the kings of Egipt were called after his name Ptholomei for as all the first kings of Egipt were called Pharaones so were the last kings of Egipt called Ptolomei So Arsaces a poore Scythian borne a great souldier with a great armie of poore banished men of the Parthians ouerthrew king Zaleucus and restored the Parthians to their libertie for the which benefites he was made king and all the kings his successors were named Arsaces after his name These men seeke name and fame on earth where they haue no citie nor place permanent but houses made of clay and forget to builde immortalitie and eternitie in heauen they make sumptuous and durable tombes for their bodies like the Egiptians which make pyramides for their dead bodies to dwel for euer Some againe like the Agrigentines which build them such strōg houses as though they shuld liue alwaies and yet eate drinke as though they should die the next day But we leaue these builders that build towers in the aire with Nimrod and Iuorie houses with Achab and would lose immortalitie with Vlisses for Ithaca his country and come to Paul who would be losed from the bodie and be with Christ and with Ioshua to fixe our triumphes and tropheys in Heauen with the euerlasting Ioshua Christ Iesus the sonne of God who purchased vnto vs eternall habitations and went in bodie before vs to prepare for vs a dwelling place to him therefore with the father and the holy Ghost be all honor glory and praise for euer FINIS A Table containing a briefe summe of the whole Booke Matters contained in the first Booke THirtie nine kings ouerthrown by Moses Ioshua page 2 Of diuers combats pa. 3 Of the vow of Cherim pa. Ead. Adam rescued by the seed of the woman pa. 5 Elizeus leadeth the army of Benhadad blinde pa. 6 They that mourned in Ierusalem were marked with the letter Tau Ead. Of diuers and seuerall markes pa. 7 The time that barbours were first seene in Rome pa. 9. Abraham the first man marked pa. Ead. Abrahaham feared Abimelech and Pharao for his wife pa. 10 Abraham read Astronomie in Egipt pa. Ead. Abraham rescued the fiue kings and Lot his nephewe pa. 11 The victory and stratagem of Gedeon ouer the Madianites pa 12 Dauids victory at Bezor in rescuing his two wiues pa. Ead. Three Angels feasted at Mambre with Abraham pa. 13. Foure named before they were borne pa. Ead. The Ismaelites would not bee called Agareni of Agar but Sarazeni of Sarah pa. 14. The Tower of Babell builded by Nimrod pa. 15 Ninus the first Monarch pa. ead Alexanders voyage to India pa. Ead. Zoroastes laughed at his birth pa. 16. The first Idolatry by Ninus pa. ead Baall the first Idoll pa. 17 The male children of the Hebrews throwne to Nilus pa. 18 The tyrannie of Pharao pa. Ead. A comparison betweene the Egiptians and the Romanes pa. 19 The armies of the Lord in Egipt vnder Moses pa. Ead. The first plague of Egipt pa. 20 The comparison of the first plague with the first persecution vnder Nero pa. 21 Nero slew himselfe pa. 22. The second miracle and triumph of Moses in Egipt pa 23 The blasphemy of Nicanor punished pa. Ead. Domitianus Image set vp in the Temple at Ierusalem pa. 24 Domitianus slain in his owne house by his seruants pa. 25 Iamnes and Iambres Phoraos soothsayers pa. ead The third persecution vnder Traiane pa. 26 Philo was not heard of Nero. pa. ead The fourth army of the Lord in Egipt was swarmes of flyes pa. 27 The fighting of the Iewes with wild beasts pa. 28 The yeelding of tyrants pa. 29 Pharao and Esau compared pa. 30 Septimus and Antiochus murthered pa. 31 The tyrannie of Antiochus against the Iewes pa. ead Antiochus cōfessed the great wrong he did to the Iewes at Ierusalem pa. 32 The fable of Manetho and others concerning Moses whom he named Osarphis pa. 33 The persecution of the seuen bretheren pa. 34 The seuenth plague of Egipt 35 The comparison of the seuenth persecution vnder Decius with the seuenth plague pa. 36 Great plagues and sicknesses vpon the Romanes pa. 37 Hipocrisie of Pharao pa. ead Pericles made a lawe in Athens against straungers pa. 38 The eight persecution vnder Valerianus pa. ead Valerianus the Emperor of Rome vsed as a blocke by Sapor king of Persia pa. 39 The ninth plague of Egipt pa. 40 The dissimulation of Pharao pa. ead The ninth persecution vnder Aurelianus pa. ead Christ denied among the Romanes pa. 41 A golden target sent by the Senators pa ead The euill end of cruell Emperors pa. ead The tenth plague of Egipt pa. 42 The tenth persecution vnder Dioclesian pa. ead When persecution ended heresie began pa. 43 Arius with diuers crewes of heretiques pa. ead The foure generall Councels pa. 44 The marching of Pharao after the Hebrewes pa. 45 The drowning of Pharao in the red sea pa. ead Appians impudent lies against Moses pa. 46 The education of Moses in Egipt pa. 47 Moses chosen captaine for Pharao pa. ead Moses death sought by the Priests of Egipt pa. ead The victories of Moses in Aethiopia pa. 48 The marriage of Moses to Tharbis the king of Aethiope his daughter pa. ead Appians lyes pa. 49 Philo his speech of the Hebrewes pa. 50 The law of Armes set downe by the Lord to Moses pa. 51 The stratagems of Archidamus Epaminondas and Pericles pa. 52 Of the lawe of Armes pa. 53 Of the Priests Mantes in Athens c. pa. 54 The remoouing of the Arke pa. ead The numbring and mustering of the Hebrew army by Moses pa. 55 The Hebrewes