therof If thou wilt not heare folow this which I say see what will ensue Thou seest that the greatest matters which these Diuinours and Prognosticaters foretell fall out flat otherwise then they say to to their perpetual shame Truely I am perswaded that it is the iudgement of God vpon them although they cannot see it who maketh them when they thinke they are moste wise to be most fooles For so the Lorde vsed the wise men and Astrologers of Chaldea as he speaketh by his Prophet Esay I am the Lord that made al things that spred out the heauens alone stretch out the earth by my self I destroy the tokens of soothsaiers make thē that coniecture fooles and turn their wise men backward make their knowledge foolishnes Doest thou then O carelesse and miserable man thinke to escape the same or greater punishment being a cause of this fault for if none desired to know what is to come none would busie themselues in that vanity Wherefore read the worde of God in the 18. of Deut. When thou shalt come sayth the spirite of God into the land which the Lorde thy God geueth thee thou shalt not learne to doe after the abhominations of those nations In the wordes following Moses numbreth 9. abhominations As 1 To make his child go throgh the fire 2 To vse witchcraft 3 To regard tims this is thy falt 4 To mark the flying of foules 5 To be a sorcerer 6 To be a charmer 7 To counsell with spirites 8 To be a soothsayer 9 To aske counsell at the dead Al these horrible abhominations being rehearsed marke what followeth For al that do such things are an abhomination vnto the Lord because of their abhominations the Lorde thy God doth cast thē out before thee now seing most of these abhominations especially the 3. is vsed of vs why should we not fear y e like iudgments vpon vs vnlesse we will repent and that with speede 1 The reasons which concerne the Prognosticatour and maye auayle to the perswading of thee not to buy any more of their vnprofitable bookes as these which follow first their vnhability in Prognosticating secondly their manifest vntruthes thirdly their impieties fourthly their tricks of deceit What can they not foretel that which is to come can they not make coniectures of that whiche is like to ensue No surely And I will vse argumentes to confirme it vnto thee The first reason of the vse and end of the Heauens THe true vse of the heauens consisteth in many pointes 1. To declare the glory of God The Heauens saith Dauid declare the glori of god the firmament sheweth the worke of his hands It is an Alphabet written in great letters in which is described the maiestie of God and that by these foure speciall poyntes First the maiestie of the worke it selfe 2. the infinite multitude of Starres 3. by the wonderfull varietie of Starres 4. by the greatnesse of the Starres Secondly it maketh sinners and wicked menne inexcusable before the iudgement seate of God For the inuisible things of him saith Paule that is his eternall power and Godhead are seen by the creation of the world being considered in his workes to the intent that they should be without excuse Thirdly they serue to the appointing of times as day night moneth yeare which are both measured and described by the course of the sonne and moone and other Starres And so the feast of the Israelites and the computation of the yeare in our Church dependeth thereupon and without them there would be great confusion both in the common wealth and Church Fourthly they serue to be signes that is to foretell things to come And they are signes either of extraordinary thinges or thinges which be ordinary Whē they are signes of extraordinary thinges then there is and appeareth in them some extraordinary work of God as appeareth in these examples which follow At the suffering of Christ not onely the vayle of the temple rent and the dead rose foorth of their graues but also the sunne was wholly eclipsed the Moone being in y e full At whiche sight Dyonisius Areopagita a good Astronomer spake these words either the frame of this world is destroied or the God of nature suffereth The Prophet Ezechiel being commaunded of God to prophecie the destruction of Egypt he first putteth downe extraordinary signes And when I wil put thee out I wil couer the heauen and make the starres therof darke I will couer the sun with a cloud and the Moone shall not giue her light All the lights of heauen wil I make darke for thee and bring darkenesse vpon the land saith the Lord. Before the second cōming of our sauiour Christ there shall be signes in the sunne and moone and in the starres Lastly the extraordinary going backe of the sunne signified the lengthning of the life of king Ezekias Secondly the starres or signes of generall things which happen ordinarily euery yeare in nature among vs. As of 1 approching and dedeclining of 1. The spring 2. Sommer 3. Haruest 4. VVinter 2 Ordinary weather in these quarters 3 Ebbing and flowing of the sea 4 Seasons of 5 Plowing 6 Sowing 7 Setting 8 Planting 9 Cutting 10 Felling 11 Reaping I say generall because the perticuler estate and affayres of menne can in no wise before signified by the stars I saye ordinary because the thinges which fall out seldome and are besides the common course of nature as plentie of all things famyne plague war euersions of kingdomes c. Doe not depende vppon the Starres For the confirming of this I haue three reasons first in the 1. of Genesis God saith that he made the lights to be signes and yet the same God in the 47. of Esay sayth he will destroy the signes of them which diuine flatly forbidding vs to vse Starres as meanes to iudge of any thing to come sauing onelie of those of which they are expresely made signes of God in the creation al which are put downe before Secondly this is manifest by the order of the creation the third day God created vpon the earth hearbs trees the earth brought forth fruites and was fertile the fourth day God commaunded lights to be made in the firmament of heauen to seperate the dai and the night and to be for signes for seasons and dayes and monethes and then it was so and then God sawe it was good Out of which I gather that it cannot be a signe causing famyne or plenty and fertilnes because fertilitie went before the creation of the host of heauen Also of wars and plagues and the particular estates of men they can bee no signes because man was not yet created and yet euen then they were signes Some will saie they were no signes of those matters in the creation but nowe they may be and are No for the woorkes which God created he now preserueth
immediatelye or wyth meanes If with meanes they cannot determine whether the Heauens or Aungelles or menne or anye other thinges bee the meanes of hys prouidence Thirdly if they were able to knowe what the Heauen woorketh naturallye yet they were neuer the better for GOD beside the power of the heauens hath in all thinges his particular workyng prouidence alteryng and framyng and bendyng aâ— waxe his instruments to his good will Truely by this consideration a Christian man will be brought to leaue of to seeke what euent the workes of God shall haue before they come to passe If a man shall come into a Ioyners shoppe can hee by knowing the vse of all his tooles tell what thinges he hath made in his shoppe No. What is the cause of that he vseth not onely his tooles in his worke but thereunto adioyneth his owne hand by which he handleth and tourneth the toole to his own pleasure and so maketh diuers kinde of workes with the same instrumentes The same may bee sayd of our Prognosticatours whiche I would to God they would somewhat consider The third Reason the want of experience IF our Prognosticators haue any means to foretell thinges to come they haue those meanes either without experieÌ„ce or with experience If they haue them without experience then must thou accompt all which they do to be foolish dreames deceite For all kinde of humaine learning whiche is profitable hath vse in the life of man is taken froÌ„ often obseruations and experience If it be sayd that they haue their directions in Prognosticating from experience and that of all tymes I will conuince them thus True experience of the causes of thinges is an often obseruing of the effectes of the same causes with this grounde that they can proceede from no other thyng The Phisician sayth Rhoubarbe doth purge choler Well how knoweth he this hee hath often tryed this and that in olde men young men children and hath found that in the bodies of all men the cause of purgyng this humor could be ascribed to nothyng els UUherefore hee may peremptorily conclude Rhoubarbe purgeth choler Our Prognosticatours in the heauens can haue no such experience For they can not obserue often the same position of starres in the heauen The order and cause of the fixed starres and Planets whiche we finde in the heauens this day the next day wil be chaunged and neuer the like agayne They will say in deede although the same position of the whole heauen neuer happen yet the same coniunctions of notable starres the same visinges and settynges and the same constellations of the chiefest stars are marked often I say agayn that when these Eclipses and great coniunctions happen the rest of the starres beyng otherwise affected then they were before hauyng new positions may either encrease and diminish their effectes or els hinder them and quite take them away As we see when the Sunne casting his beames into a chamber the light of candels and torches and fires doe make it shine dimme yet these beyng absent it will shine bright Agayne they are not able to saye that constellations whiche they haue marked are causes of those effectes whiche followe as warres diseases disteÌ„pered wether earthquakes famine c. For in those thinges which happeÌ„ together the one is not the cause of the other When Nero played vpon his harpe Rome was on fire yet Neroes playing on the harpe was no cause of the burning of Rome Also these effects may haue others causes in the heauen then those which they marke and they may come immediately froÌ„ God they may come onely from the will of man UUherfore seyng that they cannot assure themselues that those Eclipses coniunctions are the workes of such effectes vpon earth they cannot haue often obseruations of the course of heauen their rules of Predictions are feyned and supposed not built vpon true experience Let a man whiche knoweth not one hearbe take all kindes of hearbes and put them into a great vessell yet so that there be more of some hearbes and lesse of other some let him beate them all together make a compound vertue of all their vertues Can he now tell the nature and operation of euery particular hearbe Can he deuide and seuer by any helpe the vertue of one hearbe froÌ„ another No in deede The same thing may be sayd of the starres of heauen all their lightes and all their influences as they terme it are in the lower bodies more plainly euery earthly body hath in it all the secret powers workyng of euery particular starre so that they make as it were a compounde operation rising of all or of the most of their vertues ioyned together for the Astrologers hold that although the light may be hindred by the thickenes of the body yet the heauenly influence pearceth through all Therefore they are not able to seuer and learne the nature of these starres except they caÌ„ stoppe the influence of what starres they list and bring them into what coÌ„passe they will Yet thus much I will graunt them that they may haue a litle knowledge of the vertue of the Sunne and Moone and some other starres as we see those hearbes in the former coÌ„position whose vertues be the chiefest though not fully yet somewhat doe represent their nature and shew themselues aboue the rest But what is this to the purpose If I confesse the operations of the Sunne Moone If I shall graunt that Saturne is in nature cold dry Iupiter warme moyste Mars hot dry Venus cold and moiste Mercurie in nature mixt the notable fixed starres in the Zodiacke to bee of the nature of Planets and to haue manifest operations as the rising of the â—â—gg to make heate tempestuous seas the rising of Arcturus to make rayne and showers Pleiades to be of the nature of Mars the Moone c. what will all this suffice to make a Prognostication for seyng all starres haue their owne powers peraduenture also the least starres whiche we make no accompt of haue great effectes amongest vs as one grayne of muske in the Apothecaries shoppe maketh a greater smel then all other powders bee they neuer so many nothyng will the knowledge of the operation of some Starres preuaile the rest beyng not knowne and neuer regarded They will say they haue some experience but yet vnperfite I haue showed how they haue no true experience at all and their vnperfite experience maketh them perfite lyers The fourth Reason the ignoraunce of causes A Man whiche will iudge rightly of any matter by the causes must not onely consider the common causes but hee must also with them conferre the particular causes of all thinges which happen amongesâ— vs so he shall iudge a right In heauen the starres be common causes of all thinges amongest vs because they shew their vertue on euery matter one way or other The same things haue their peculiar efficientes and matters and
formes by whiche not by the heauens they are made that whatsoeuer they are These proper causes because their natures be vnknowen vnto vs I cannot see how the Prognosticatour is able to foretell any thyng to come in good and conuenient maner laying aside all deceiuyng and forgeing of vntruthes To make this more playne I wil vse this similitude Suppose an henne to sit vppon many egges some of her owne some of diuers other foules she imparteth her heate equally vnto them at the length she hatcheth and some of her chickens are cockes some hennes some crowes some patriches some doues some black some white some like and liue some dye some are killed of the kite some are rosted No man I thincke will professe so much skill as to say that he by the considering of the henne and her heate which is a common cause of the chickens and all that befalleth them is able to tell why of this egge came a partriche of that a crowe why this egge had no chicken why that had a dead chicken c. except hee doe therewith all adioyne the consideration of the particular effectts The heauen is as it were an henne fostring vnder her winges all earthly thinges imparting his vertue and heate vnto all Can our Prognosticatour by the erectyng of figures by consideryng the disposition of euery Planet in their houses and the significations of euery thyng iudge why this man is wealthy that man a begger why this noble man dyeth this yeare none the next yeare why it is nought to trauell this way good to trauaile that waye why these diseases abounde and not other why corne shalbe deare this quarter not the next why this weeke is fayre and temperate that weeke that moneth vnseasonable and tempestuous Truely it is a thing flatte impossible They must hereunto adioyne the particular nature of the countrey the particular causes both in mens myndes and bodies as education place honestie byrth bloud sicknesse health strength weaknesse meate drincke libertie of mynde learnyng c. and all other speciall circumstaunces whiche they neuer doe as we may see in their Prognostications and if they woulde doe it yet they could not Wherefore I muste needes saye this that their follie is greate in publishyng their Prognostications and thou also greatly to bee blamed whiche by thy greedie desire giuest them great occasion to be so vnprofitably occupied To shew more briefly plainly of their vnabilitie in Prognosticating although I grauÌ„t the stars haue great force yet I say they cannot iudge of thinges to come And there be 6. impedimentes The first impedimeÌ„t is imbecillicie of wit for as mans eye from the earth beholding the heauens the starres perceiueth them not in their iust quaÌ„titie but as very small lightes for in deede the Sunne is an hundred threescore sixe times bigger theÌ„ the earth Saturne 90. times Iupiter 95. Mars one and an halfe the Moone is the 39. part of the earth the biggest sixed stars containe y e earth 107. times the stars of the secoÌ„d magnitude 90 the third 70. times the fourth magnitude 54. times y e fift magnitude 35. times the sixt magnitude 18. times So the weaknes of mans vnderstanding is not able to conceiue and learne the thinges whiche the heauens do bring to passe on earth The 2. impediment y e infinite nuÌ„ber of stars which no doubt all haue great power although we do not finde it For the Prognosticator onely marketh 1028 starres of these he taketh onely heede vnto a very fewe Which is as though a man should iudge the power of an army by the powers of one or two souldiours and Captaines not by the power of the whole company The 3. impedimâ—â—t is the infinite varieties of the vertues of stars the parts of heaueÌ„ which Astrologers grauÌ„t to be yet they do not know theÌ„ As touching y e nature of the fixed stars they know nothing but by the colour which is red leady white pale c. resembling some Planet And because they know not y e vertue of all stars euery part of heaueÌ„ they are not able to iudge any thing but to their owne shame no more then the Phisitian is able to know the nature of the coÌ„pounde medicine without the knowing of euery simple The 4 impedimeÌ„t the manifold and dayly chaunge of the motions positioÌ„s and configurations of the stars for if a man could tel both the number and nature of starres yet the varietie of positions breedeth trouble hindreth right iudgement because by this meanes the powers of stars are increased diminished chauÌ„ged And these rules which serued for auncient tymes to foretell things wil not serue vs because all the fixed stars haue chaunged their places and the rest are dayly chaunged The 5. impedimeÌ„t the infinite varietie of inferior things which do hinder peruert chauÌ„ge receiue or not receiue y e vertue predictions of stars as y e nature of the soile the dispositioÌ„ naturall of ayre orders coÌ„stitutions of the coÌ„mon wealth occasions education institution kindes of meate and drinke c. The 6. impediment the will of man which freely in coÌ„mon matters chuseth this refuseth that There are many thinges which are caused without any worke of starres onely by the will of man study as we may see in Socrates Demosthenes and other c. Thus much shall suffice to shew that they cannot Prognosticate of things ensuyng now follow their manifold vntruthes and most false rules In disclosing them I will keepe the same order they vse in their Almanackes In the first or second leafe of their books thou shalt finde a picture of maÌ„s body with the 12. signes rounde about it they call it the Anatomie of mans body shewing how the 12. signes haue gouernemeÌ„t of the same for the Moone or any other significatour of any thing being in the signe they say that it is dauÌ„gerous to boxe to seare that part or to let bloud in it whiche is subiect to the dominion of that signe All these are nothyng but vayne Fables as I will manifestly proue 1. Whereas they call it an Anatomy me thincketh it is a butcherly Anatomy nay that of the butchers is far better for they ioyne head appurtenauÌ„ce together these men being sparing giue Aries the head Leo and Cancer the hart longes As for the liuer I know not which signe hath it peradueÌ„ture in old time men had no liuers At the Anatomye of a carrian crowes deale frendly for euery one hath somewhat but in the diuision of mans body signes play foule playe for Capricorne hath got nothyng but a paire of knees It is like that the signes scramblyng for their portions Capricorne beyng slowe got nothyng hereupon compassion being had there was a gathering made and Sagittarius gaue the lower part of the thighe Aquarius the higher part of the legge whiche both together make the knee But to deliuer thee out of all doubt marke
speaketh on this wise Care not theÌ„ for the morow for the morow shall care for it selfe the day hath inough with his owne griefe By this we learne that God will prouide for euery day all things necessary though we do not encrease the present grief with caryng and casting in our heades how we shall liue in the tyme to come Nowe tell me what is the cause that thou yearely doest buye a Prognostication one of those whiche tell the straungest thynges Is it because thou hast a delite to read the style of Prognostications Or because thou wouldest learne to Prognosticate Or because the pictures and Characters whiche they make delite thy mynde it were follie to be persuaded of this seyng the very cause it selfe is manifest Thy whole desire is to fil thy coffers to heape vp wealth thou art afrayde least thou shalt become poore therfore thou greedely buyest thee Prognostications and coÌ„tinually searchest all the corners of them to see the state of the yeare to come eueÌ„ thus in mynde reasoning with thy self I can neuer be quiet nor take my sleepe vntill such time as I haue knowne the state of the yeare ensuing that I may frame my busines accordingly This next yeare there will be much rayne it will rotte corne vpon the grouÌ„d it wil be spoyled I will keepe my corne vntill the next yeare following I finde that corne wil be deare about halfe a yeare hence I wil not sell my corne now but keep it that I may haue plenty of money for it and sufficient beside to maintaine my house the sea and land is calme quiet this yeare the next yeare many shipwrackes troubles in many countreys will fall now I will fraught my ships that then I may be quiet These imaginations are liuely argumentes of thy diffidence despayre in the goodnesse louing kindnes of God If thou feare God loue God put thy whole trust in God y u art content to referre thy whole preseruation vnto the handes of God now these proling and raingeing conceites of the tyme to come argue that either thou neuer thinckest on God or at the least perswadest thy selfe that either he will not or cannot helpe thee And if thou in thy couetous mind pray vnto God thou caÌ„st not pray according to the institution of Christ without hypocrisie giue vs our dayly bread this day UUherefore seyng the hauing of Prognostications commeth of so wicked causes as is the greedy desire of prosperitie wealth and argueth some kinde of diffidence in God when thou readest these my wordes examine thine own hart if thou finde my sayings true as certainely thou shalt neuer hereafter desire to know the state of the yeare before hand except it be for the seasons of the yeare which I am perswaded y u mayst know in some part without any skill euen by thine owne experience The second Reason neglect of Gods prouidence 2 COncerning the conteÌ„pt of Gods prouidence thus much I say The Prognosticatour if hee be asked whether he confesse the prouidence of God he will with all his hart confesse it but by his deedes he doth deny it for all the thinges whatsoeuer which can happen in a whole yeare he attributeth them to the starres so he publisheth his Predictions alwayes mentionyng starres neuer or very sleÌ„derly making any significatioÌ„ of the power iustice mercy and euerlastyng wisedome of God And surely euen for the very paring of thy nailes for the cuttyng of thy hayre for the puttyng on of thy shoes for taking a iourney two or three miles froÌ„ thine house for obtayning at Gods handes thy request for makyng thy bargaine with thy neighbour for all thine actions bee they neuer so small these wise men if thou wilt aske their aduise will giue thee counsell from the stars Now wheÌ„ these their irreligious predictions shalbe had in thy bosome and red of thee dayly thou being a man vnlearned worldly giuen neuer hearyng any mention of the speciall prouidence hand of God in euery thyng but long discourses of the vertues of Planets signes doest neuer thincke vpon the wonderfull and most infinite power of God working after a speciall maner in euery matter but art drawne straightwayes into an admiratioÌ„ of the Astrologer and a great feare of the constellations of heauen An experience of this I found in thee about two yeares ago A learned man yet in this case far deceiued wrote an Astrologicall discourse of the coÌ„iunctioÌ„ betwene Iupiter Saturne wherein he shewed of great alteratioÌ„ in euery thing to fall At this thou wast sore agast thy mind was incoÌ„bred with â—ettling thy goodes to set theÌ„ in order against that day thy soÌ„g for halfe a yeare was nothing els but the coÌ„iunction the coÌ„iunction the day being come what staryng was there and gazing into heauen to see the meetyng of those 2. Planets Now all this while where was Gods prouidence where was that trust and reioysing in him where was that praysing of his name for all thinges whatsoeuer should come to passe where was that meditation of his infinite vnsearcheable wisdome these thinges were neuer thought nor hard of and if they were hard of yet by reason of thine earthly affections they tooke no place in thine hart This thy dealyng is like vnto the follie of that man who hauyng a costly clocke in his bosome neuer extolleth or thinketh on the wit and inuention of the clockemaker but is continually in admiration of the spring or watch of the clocke by whose meanes all the wheeles haue their swifter or flower their backeward or forward motioÌ„s and by which the whole clocke keepeth his course Wherefore me thincketh that in a Christian common wealth those onely bookes should bee published for thine vse which might beate into thine head and make thee euery houre and momeÌ„t to thincke on the prouidence of God which being once settled in thy minde the consideration of the meanes which GOD vseth will follow it of selfe Contrarywise to tell thee the meanes whiche GOD doeth vse to thunder out the aspectes and constellations of Starres and seldome to mention of his prouidence maketh thee to feare and admire and loue the means quite forgetting the worke of God in the meanes This fault was very rife amongest the Israelites who came yearely vnto Astrologers and wise meÌ„ Wherefore that whiche is spoken by Ieremie vnto them is also spoken vnto thee Heere ye the word of the Lord that he speaketh vnto you O house of Israell Thus saith the Lord learne not the way of the heathen and bee not afrayd for the signes of heauen though the hethen be afraid of such In like sort God forbiddeth his people of England to giue credite or feare the coÌ„stellations coniunctions of starres and Planettes which haue no power of themselues but are gouerned by hym their secret motions and influences are not known to man therfore there can be no certain iudgement