his great show of zeal and ostentation of uprightnesse of heart in the execution of it Come see saith he to Iehonadab my zeale for the Lord but selfe-respect marred all for he wrought for himselfe and not for God he looked more at the Kingdom then Gods command and therfore he who saw the thoughts and hollownesse of his heart requites him in his kind Hee avenged the bloud of â—ezrel upon the house of Iehu Hos 1.4 They who now and then can affoord their hand and tongue to lend Gods cause a lift for their own advantage will discover themselues when their own ends are served yea God will uncase them walk as closely as they can As I often cast mine eyes upon the over-clowded estate or defaced beauty of the Scottish Church I was occasioned to call to mind the prompt indeavour of the great Ones to ruin Babel and to rear up Ierusalem It was a good work indeed if it were well done but as they made the Ministers coat too short their own too side so I fear that the sweetness that they found in Gods bread as one called it and Babels spoyles made them stand so stoutly to it but these being raked out of their budgets by the long-necked-crains that are come from the Egiptian-lake the most of them looks upon the cause now as though they had lost their purses And last of all to giue a touch upon our English Plantators in Virginia I advise them especially to examine the ends and the means for all knows the issue is worse and worse and like to proue starke naughts therfore both the end and the means stands need of rectifying The Lord himselfe giveth a good direction to this same effect that such as had planted vinyards and maried wiues they should not goe to War the reason is given because the thougths and cares of these things should not intangle them and hinder them from fighting of the Lords battells in the field by leaving their hearts at home 2 Tim. 2.4 No man that warreth intangleth himselfe with the affaires of this life that he may please him who hath chosen him for a souldier As the speciall end of War is peace Bellum ita sustipiatur ut nihil aliud nisi pax quaesita videatur l. 1. Offi. Deâ—ertanduÌ„ manu est Ibid. so as Tully saith War must be so taken in hand that it may appeare that nothing is so much sought for as peace It is true as the same Author hath it when necessitie requireth as I said that men must fight and prefer death it selfe to slavery or basenesse And this was the end and ayme I am perswaded of his Majestie to preserve in peace the people of God and the practise of religion as appeareth both by his declaration and his omitting to take his enemies at advantage in the beginning for which they haue given him a cruell requitall yet as his ground was good so his end was good Let them talk of peace what they will they haue no such end except they giue all the conditions and then that peace is no better then slavery Look but to the Spanish practise Is he not like a Moule once in never out if he can chuse And if the fox be unkennelled he leaveth ever an evill smell behind him yea and litters of cobs that pesters the Nation or he is like the winding-Ivye which sheweth a naturall appetite to help it selfe by cleaving to other things but it undoes all other things wherunto it cleaveth Great Brittain had best look to her Vine Private gain and by-respect was one of the three Romish plagues I pray God rid our land of it Thus far I haue ingaged my poor labours in the troublesome warr of this present time desiring God who sitteth aboue as Iudge and Moderator of all mens actions and seeth and heares the teares and prayers of his distressed people that he would awake us all to repentance finish the afflictions of his children and fling the rod in the fire AMEN Errata LET me intreat thee â—ourreous Reader to bear with errours from the presse as some literall faults defects of Accents or Points misplacing or wanting of a word Three Greek words in the Margine hath likewise faults in them In the Epistle to the Reader pag. 2. line 1. for treatise reade this treatise Pag. 49 Marg. for alumoniam reade alimoniam Ibid. for virtus reade victus pag. 87 l. ult for that like r. that it is like pag. 159 l. 13 for ebary r. chair pag. 186. l 20 for for r. far Ibid. l. 32 for 1180 r. 11800 pag. 208. l. 18 for the better r. to the better FINIS
evil qualities of the wicked man this is reckoned as the chiefe Ps 140.1.2 that he is prone to war Release thou me Iehovah from the evill man from the man of wrong c. Every day they gather warres Yea in this the wicked man discovers the image of his father the devill Rev. 20.8.9 who being let loose after the thousand yeares expired goeth out to deceiue the people and to gather them together to battell Warre the wages of sin And for the second that it is the wages of sin and that the speciall it is as cleare as the first from plaine places of Scripture from Gods order in his proceeding and Davids avoyding of this when God gave him his choyce of the punishment For the first the Lord threatning to harden himselfe against his people in punishment as they had hardened themselves against him in sin Lev. 26.25 saith thus I will bring upon you a sword that shall avenge the quarrell or vengeance of my covenant It appeareth also in the order of Gods proceeding by comparing of places of Scripture together as the first and second Chap. of the prophesie of Ioel. The Lord having plagued his people with famine by the which they were not moved to repentance he coÌ„mandeth the Trumpet of war to be sounded telleth them that he would bring a fierce and cruell people against them whose mercilesse monstrons tyranny he compareth to the devouring of fire and for the fiercenesse of their consuming wrath he calleth that plague The day of the Lord a day of darkenes a day of blacknes Thirdly and lastly David delivereth thus much in choosing rather the plague Warre the cause of sin Rara fides pietasque viris qui castra sequuntur Lucan then the prevayling hand of the enemye 3. Warre is likewise the cause of much sin as pregnant testimonies and woefull experience teacheth The proverbe is as true as common That faith and pietie are rare in armes Wee may iustlie now with Erasm that great Maister in Arts take up the complaint made by him of his time Wee war continually Nation against Nation Kingdom against Kingdom Citie against Citie Prince against Prince People against People friend against friend kinsman against kinsmaÌ„ brother against brother yea son against the father which the very Heathen held impious and barbarous yea that which is most detestable of all Christian against Christian and yet there be saith he that commend and applaud this hellish practise for a holy course instigating the inflamed fury of Princes by adding oile to the flame as they say till all be consumed And what is come of this I may answer What evill is not come of it I may justly apply that of Aristophanes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which Lypsius applyeth to the troubles of his time That God the heaven and earth hath set on fire In war renown honor wealth chastity life wiues and children yea and religion it selfe lyeth at the stake nothing so sacred no sex so tender no age so impotent which the barbarous souldier will not contaminate defloure and kill It is the souldiers sport as one saith truely to ruin houses to ravish Virgins to spoit Churches Iocus ludas in militia c. Ludo. vives in epist ad Henr. 8. Angl. reg Silent leges inter arma to consume Cities and Towns to ashes with sire yea these be the ornaments of war to profit none to hurt every one to respect neither sex nor age yea nor God himselfe for his in warr are neglected and the lawes of peace and war contemned All laws in Armes are silenc't by the sword The world for the proofe of this affoords a world of woefull experience both from sacred and profane Writ To omit the examples of ages past let us view with compassion the instances of our own times and as God usually doth commemorate his latest mercies to leade men to repentance and his latest judgements to terrifie men from their sinnes so let us look upon the latest warres in France Bohemia and the Palatinate Is it not with Gods people every where as it was with them in Asa his time There is no peace to him that goeth out or commeth in but great vexations are upon all the inhabitants of the Countries 2 Chron. 15.6 7. and Nation is destroyed of Nation And though my heart doth quake while I remember Et quanquaÌ„ animus meminisse horret Phil. 2.1 Yet to use the words of the Apostle If there be any confolation in Christ any comfort of loue any fellowship of the spirit any compassion and mercie behold all you that passe by your mournfull sisters Bohemia and the Palatinate with their torn hair about their eyes their vail taken away their crown fallen their sanctuaries defaced their people flain their land laid wast yong old Priest and people exposed to the immane and bloudy cruelty the beastly filthinesse and Ismaelitish mockerie of the cruell enemy In a word was there ever sorrows like to theirs Yea I may safely say the old Threns of Ieremy hath got a new subject And what is the immediate cause of all this evill of sin and punishment Tu bellum causa malorum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Even bloudy warre thou art the cause of all It is the part therfore of wise men saith one if they be not the more provoked to be quiet yea of good men if they be provoked to change peace into warre but so that they change war againe into peace with all possible conveniencie Men disposed to unnecessary warre are compared by some vnto two Gamsters whereof the one is undone and the other is never a whit the richer Plin. l. 8.2 for all the gain is in the box Compared also they may be fitly to the Elephant and the Dragon Plin. l. 8. c. 12. which in their cruel conflict are each killed by other The Dragon as it is written sucketh out the bloud of the Elephant and being drunke therewith the weight of the falling Elephant oppresseth the Dragon and crusheth out the bloud which some calleth but falsly sanguis Draconis but they both perish And so it often falleth out with the unadvised undertakers of warr Vpon this ensuing evill the wise and learned haue taken occasion to check the humors of Princes so disposed as Lodovic Vives to Pope Adrian and in his epistle to Henry the 8 King of England there his motiues and counsels against unnecessary warre are to be seen at large The proverbe is true indeed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sub melle venenunclâ—tet That warre is very sweet to those that never tasted it but those that taste it shall be forced to confesse that there is poyson under the honey This Hannibal the honour of Carthage knew very well when the Roman Embassadours came from Rome to treat of the continuance of peace one Gisco as great a coward as a vain-glorious bragger without either the practick or
used in sallying out upon the enemie so Furius the Roman consul brake out by the gate called Decumana and did the assailant great hurt So Cesar in the French-war telleth us how he served the enemie Sic nostros contempsere lib. 5. slighting us saith he they fell to their worke some to cut trenches some to fill up ditches Cesar in the meane time sallyeth out at all the gates put the enemie to flight The like did Labienus Hircius upon Pompey Harlem made many brave Sallies upon Duke Alvaes forces and not onely killed many with small losse to themselves but also carryed divers ensignes out of their trenches nayling some peeces of their batterie Without further example it is an usuall thing A meere Lyon couchant or a Serpent dormient though they hâ—ue both courage and wit yet not imploying it to offence are not fit to keepe a hold The third thing required is cunning Cunning. for the art and cunning of the assailant must be opposed and cut off with the like Stratagems in defence are of exceeding great use neyther is it sin by those to deceive a deceiver for this is but to take him in his owne net As there be many examples of this kind well knowen to men of reading and experience so I will shew you but two or three examples for instance In the besieging of Rhodes the enemie made an Ambulatorie or walking-Tower an engine then of great use not unlike it may be though of greater quantitie to the moving wooden sconces used at the siege of Harlam This over-topt all the Towers of the citie to cut off the use hereof the enginers caused to digg through the walls and in the night to make the way hollow by the which they did convey it which the enemie not perceiving being covered with earth as it came that way it sunke downe with the owne waight so they lost their engine and all their labour and the citie was delivered There were many prettie Stratagems used in the defence of Harlam amongst the rest this one put Duk de Alva from working any more that way The defendant preceiving that the enemie meant to lodge in a new battered bulwarke they left rampering against it and fell to the mining of their owne bulwarke wherein they put barrels of powder casting many trenches round about it the enimie offering to enter they quit the bulwarke As a multitude of the enemie pursued and were come to Push of Pike at the barrier of a trench they fired the mine blew up kild and tooke to the number of 1600 and sallying backe to their owne trenches recovered the ground of their bulwark which againe they re-intrenched and kept One more of excellent note related by Vitruvius in the siege of Apolonia Trypho Alexandrinus did mine through the wall in sundry places till he brought his mines a flights shot without the gate in all which he hung up vessells of brasse so sone as ever the enemie began to mine towards the citie by the sound of the vessells they understood where he wrought whereupon they countermined the enemie by penetrating their owne and powred vessells of hot boyling water urin boyled sand and such like upon the heads of their enemies lib. 10. cap. ult whereby they plagued them Not unlike to this was he practize of a carpenter at the besieging of Berca by the Persians who carrying a brasen shield about within the walls and laying it to the ground Herodot in Melpemone by the sound of the same discovered the working of the enemie In our time it is usuall to set basins full of beanes or peason upon the ground which rebounding at the strokes of the miners discovereth the enemies workes There were never more Miners or Enginers under Zions walls then now there be Pharao hath said to the Egiptians come let us worke wisely with them that is craftilie for so the word signifieth It is not unworthy our observation when that Typicall Pharaâ— began this undermining of Israel euen then when they began to corrupt their religion to commit whoredomes with the Idols of Egipt That this is true looke in Ezech. and sundry other places of Gods booke the Lord sheweth what direction he gaue them namely to cast away the EgyptiaÌ„ Idolls wherewith they were defiled Eze. 20.7.8 23.8 Iâ—s 24.14 but they rebelled against me saith the Lord they did not every man cast away the abhommation of his eyes neyther did they forsake the Idolls of Egipt then I said I will powre out my fury â—pon them to accomplish mine anger against them in the middest of the land of Egipt Ps 105 25. Then saith the Psalmist he turned the hearts of the Egiptians to hate his people to deale craftilie with his seruants You see when his peoples sinnes provoke God the enemies wit beginneth to worke against them being guided thereto by the overuling hand of God So standeth the case betweene us and Pharao his Antitype Wee haue hugged the gods of Rome so long and kept in the strange fire of their sacrifice so carefullie that we are become as some call us a Nation of deviâ—s for reasons and conspiracies by this meanes many are infected others growne lukewarme the most part key cold for which the Lord hath increased the hatred of forreyne and of our homebred Egiptians against us sharpeneth their wit that they may deale craftly with us not that God is the author of the evill of sin but of the action as it is a just plague and punishment to us With their craft they haue undermined our wit they haue undermined our State and which is worst of all the haue undermined yea and almost blow en up the power of our religion they haue made Israel naked and Iuda contemptible and bare Wee stand in neede then that wit should awake and some Trypho should discover their undermining for wee see but a litle But vessels of brasse or tinckling cymbals will not serue but some silver Trumpet must giue Israel the alarum and awake them out of sleep that they may hast to the breach We had more then need of some cunning Archimedes to countermine the Romans for keeping of our Syracusa It is likewise a part of cunning to meet with the enemy in his own cunning Anti-cunning in feigning a regresse or raysing of the siege for that as I shewed is a speciall Stratagem in oppugnation to withdraw themselues that the besieged may be secure and they may return with the greater advantage It shall be their care therefore to make use of that time as occasion shall be affoorded Our enemies seeme to withdraw themselues from the work about which they are Application Astu se subtrahunt ut ex insperato nos opprimant as though they had given it over Vpon the Parliaments proceeding some seems to turn that they may overturn us the frogs keeps a croaking at the proclamation the nymphs of Babel seems to mourn that
affected vvhen they heard these evill tydings They mourned and no man put on him his ornaments Where observe as by the force of the reason the threatning concerneth us so it standeth us upon to be affected and humbled by the threatning as they vvere Though the Lord had promised to send his Angell to cast out the nations before them to giue them the good land yet all this vvithout Gods familiar presence vvould not content them Oh that this mind vvere in us and that vvee could mourne as they did he vvould be intreated to goe vvith us as he went still vvith them at Moses entreatie If vvee vvill but looke upon the practise of the heathens in this particular Si dii voluerint Expeditio in Dei nomine Sacra fecere ante egressionem Herodian lib. 6. it may make us ashamed of our neglect Hauing prepared their forces their Edicts for setting forth vvere given out in the name of their gods to vvhom before they vvent forth they preformed all religious services yea they had such an esteeme of the tutelar gods of nations that they held them invincible except their gods should forsake them which made all the foolish nations exceeding carefull to keepe and please their foolish gods and their enemies as diligent to inveigle them As it is reported of Diomedes and Vlisses who inticed out the Troyan Palladium So the Talmudists and Cabalists fable of Moses that he should overcome Amonino the God or intelligence for so they call nationall gods of the Epgytiās Beatū esse hominem Deo fruentem sicut oeulus luce Lib 8. de Civit. Dei. The Platonists could say as Austin witnesseth that that man was happy who inioyed God as the eye doth the light If thus the blind heathens did toyle themselves to please their mouldy gods or rather devills heaping sorrow on their own soules and if Rome yet take so much paines with her Bellona for the successe of warre how should wee labor to haue his presence with us who is the God of all the world who needs not our keeping save onely by faith but he will keepe us and make the hearts of the Caneanits to melt yea the joints of every Balshazzer that is drunke with the whoores cup to tremble and shake Therefore let us never cease nor giue the Lord rest till wee haue his familiar presence with us CHAP. XII Of depriving the Enimy of all Means THVS an Army having got his presence may go on with Iosuah and be couragious yet vvithall no secondary mean must be neglected And first of all a people must look to maintayne what they haue already in possession Omnem alumoniam virtus intra muros debent studiosissime conlocare Veget. lib. 4. cap. 7. Qui frumētum nō habet vincitur sine ferre Caesar sexto bello gallice that especially by fortifying all places of strength vvhereunto they may bring all their victuals and other substance And that for tvvo causes as Vegetius vvel observes The first that if they be beseiged they may want no necessaries The second that the beseiger may eyther be forced to fight with disadvantage or to returne home with disgrace This the Romanes gaue in charge to their subjects and appointed officers to see it done Caesar gaue the like charge upon the same grounds to the Vbij G. Marius as Plutarch reporteth put this also in practise The Walles of Bisantium and Saguntum vvere very strong as vvee reade in Dio and Livi yet the Lacedomians held it a point of vvorth to haue no vvalls but the citticens valour and so they did inhabite unvvalled citties as Plutarch in Apotheg Divers are the judgements of Philosophers in this point Aristoile refuteth this opinion of the Lacedomians vvith Plato his defence of the same Lib. 7. de optima reip as very incommodious to a common-vvealth And so it is indeed for vvhy should men expose themselves and theirs to more danger then needs or presume so much upon their ovvne valour as to neglect so good meanes vvhich indeed saveth often a great deale of bloud that otherwise should be shed Yet this much I will say except valour maintayn the Walles and sin be cast ouer the Walles and God watch the cittie a wall of brasse is but a vaine thing To this effect speaketh the Comic Plaut Si incolae bene sint morati pulchre munitam arbitror at nisi invidia avaritia ambitio c. Exulent centuplex murus parum est Et quae opportari nequierint exurenda Veget. Yea whatsoever cannot be got or contayned within the strength is to be consumed with fire that it may not serue the enemy Such was Sampsons practise in burning of the corne Yea the townes themselves as warriours relate haue been by the defendents set on fire As for instance twenty of the Bituriges that they should not come into the enemies hands As for the raysing of the trenches with their dimensions of depth and bredth together with other workes for holding themselves and annoyance of the enemy I leaue them to their present occasions the particular Masters in that Art CHAP. XIII War must be as well Offensiue as Defensiue FVrther when they haue thus fitted themselues for defence they must alwayes know that the nature of war requireth that it be as well offensiue as defensiue and that diversion of forces doth often helpe where direct opposition prevayleth not A war meerly defensiue where they may offend is worse then yeelding at the first for it inureth the assailant to cunning and courage and it driveth the defendant from good opportunities to desperate conditions Neyther doth it a whit abate the crueltie of the enemy in whose heart is the roote of bitternesse and in whose eare the trumpet of destruction is ever sounding this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Revenge thy selfe upon thine enemies Yea barely to defend without laying hold on every opportunitie of offence is against the rules of the Art militarie the nature of war and the practise of good souldiers It is a main rule in warre whatsoever doth advantage the enemy it hurteth thee Quod illū luvat tibi semper officit Veget. lib. 3. cap. 26 Therefore thou shouldest doe all that may advantage thy selfe and hurt him Againe the body of vvar requireth as much offence to accompany defence as the naturall body requireth for its actions a right hand and a left or as the right hand and the left require in sight a sword and buckler To the which Tully alludeth speaking of Marcus Coelius Bonā dextram inquit sed malam sinistram babet who could accuse well but defend meanly He hath a good right hand saith he but a naughty left hand So he that faileth in offending of his enemy and cleaveth close to his own defence hath a good left hand and a naughty right hand Yea the very words of Military Art doth joyn these two inseparably together with them the word defend