the Duke that they had stolne into the Emperours tents by night and viewed his power which they found to exceed his by three parts and therefore counselled him not to try the hazard of the battell but to save his souldiers lives by flight which if they tarried they were sure to loose Wherewithall the Duke mistrusting no fraud sore affrighted tooke the next occasion of flight and returned home with dishonour Now when these three traitors came to the Emperour for their compacted rewards he caused them to bee payed in counterfeit money not equivaling the summe of their bargaine by the twentieth part which although at first they discerned not yet afterwards finding how they were cousened they returned to require their due and complaine of their wrong But the Emperor looking sternely upon them answered That counterfeit money was good enough for their counterfeit service and that if they tarried long they should have a due reward of their treason Ladislaus Lerezin Governour of Alba Iulia in Hungary under Maximilian the Emperour in the yeare 1566 the City being besieged and in some danger of losing albeit hee was advertised That within two dayes he should receive some reliefe yet yeelded the City traiterously into the hands of the Turkes upon composition The cruell Turks forgetting their faith and all humanity massacred all the souldiers within the City and sent Ladislaus the traitour bound hand and foot to Selym the great Turke where he was accused for his cruell slaying of some Turkish prisoners and delivered to his accusers to be used at their pleasure who a just reward of his former treason put him into a great Pipe stickt full of long nailes and then rolled him downe from a high mountaine so as the nailes ran through him and ended his life in horrible torment Besides his sonne that was also partaker of this treason died miserably without meanes and abandoned of all men in great poverty and extremity When as the City of Rhodes was besieged by the Turke there was in it a certaine traiterous Nobleman who upon promise to have one of Solymans daughters given him in marriage did many services to the Turke in secret to the prejudice of the City The Island and towne being woon he presented himselfe to Solyman expecting the performance of his promise but hee in recompence of his treason caused him to be flayed alive saying That it was not lawfull for a Christian to marry a Turkish wife except he put off his old skinne being thus flayed they layed him upon a bed all covered with salt and so poudered him that in short space he died in unspeakable tormenes CHAP. III. More examples of the same subject WHen Manuel the Emperour of Constantinople lay about Antioch with an army prepared against the Turke one of his chiefest officers namely his Chancellour put in practise this notable piece of treason against him he waged three desperate young men with an infinite summe of money to kill him on a day appointed and then with a band of souldiers determined to possesse himselfe of the Crowne and of the City and to slay all that any way crossed his purpose But the treason being discoured secretly to the Empresse she acquainted her Lord with it who tooke the three traitours and put them all to cruell deaths and as for the Chancellour he first bored out his eyes and plucking his tongue through his throat tormented him to death with a rigorous and most miserable punishment When the Turke besieged Alba Graeca certaine souldiers conspired to betray the City into his hands for he had promised them large rewards so to doe howbe it it succeeded not with them for they were detected and apprehended by Paulus Kynifius Governour of Hungary who constrained them to eat one anothers flesh seething every dayone to feed the other withall but he that was last was faine to devour his owne body Scribonianus a captaine of the Romans in Dalmatia rebelled against the Emperor Claudius and named himselfe emperor in the army but his rebellion was miraculously punished for though the whole army favored him very much yet they could not by any meanes spread their banners or remove their standers out of their places as long as he was called by the name of Emperor with which miracle being moved they turned their loves into hatred and their liking into loathing so that whom lately they saluted as Emperor him now they murthered as a traitor To rehearse all the English traitors that have conspired against their Kings from the Conquest unto this day it is a thing unnecessary and almost impossible Howbeit that their destructions may appeare more evidently and the curse of God upon traitors be made more manifest I will briefely reckon up a catalogue of the chiefest of them In the yere 1295 Lewline Prince of Wales rebelled against King Edward the first and after much adoe was taken by Sir Roger Mortimer and his head set upon the Tower of London In like sort was David Lewline's brother served Râ—â—s and Madok escaped no better measure in stirring the Welchmen up to rebellion No more did the Scots who having of their owne accord committed the government of their kingdome to king Edward after the death of Alexander who broke his neck by a fall from an horse and lest no issue male and sworne fealty unto him yet dispensed with their oath by the Popes commission and Frenchmens incitement and rebelled divers times against King Edward for he overcame them sundry times and made slaughter of their men slaying at one time 32000 and taking divers of their Nobles prisoners In like manner they rebelled against King Edward the third who made three voyages into that land in the space of foure yeares and at every time overcame and discomfited them insomuch that well neere all the nobility of Scotland with infinite number of the common people were slaine Thus they rebelled in Henry the sixths time and also Henry the eights and divers other kings reignes ever when our English forces were busied about forraine wars invading the land on the other side most traiterously In the reigne of King Henry the fourth there rebelled at one time against him Sir Iohn Holland D. of Excester with the Dukes of Aumarle Surrey Salisbury and Gloucester and at another time Sir Thomas Percy Earle of Worcester and Henry Percy son to the Earle of Northumberland at another Sir Richard Scroope Archbishop of Yorke and divers others of the house of the Lord Moubray at another time Sir Henry Percy the father Earle of Northumberland and the Lord Bardolph and lastly Ryce ap Dee and Owen Glendour two Welchmen all which were either slaine as Sir Henry Percy the younger or beheaded as the rest of these noble Rebels or starved to death as Owen Glendour was in the mountaines of Wales after he had devoured his owne flesh In the reigne of Henry the fifth Sir Richard Earle of Cambridge Sir Richard Scroope
they say that this wretch having given himselfe to the Devill provided store of holy bread as they call it which he alwaies carried about with him thinking thereby to keep himself from his clawes but it served him to small stead as his end declared About the yeare 1437 Charles the seventh being King of France Sir Glyes of Britaine Lord of Rais and high Constable of France was accused by the report of Enguerran de Monstrelet for having murthered many infants and women with childe to the number of eightscore or more with whose bloud he either writ or caused to be written books full of conjurations hoping by that abhominable means to attaine to high matters but it happened cleane crosse and contrary to his expectation and practise for being convinced of those horrible crimes it being Gods will that such grosse and palpable sinnes should not go unpunished he was adjudged to be hanged and burned to death which was also accordingly executed at Nantes by the authority of the Duke of Britaine Iohn Francis Picus of Mirand saith That he conferred divers times with many who being inticed with a vaine hope of knowing things to come were afterwards so grievously tormented by the Devill with whom they had made some bargain that they thought themselves thrise happy if they escaped with their lives He saith moreover That there was in his time a certaine Conjurer that promised a too curious and no great wise Prince to present unto him upon a stage the siege of Troy and Achilles and Hector fighting together as they did when they were alive but he could not performe his promise for another sport and spectacle more hideous and ougly to his person for he was taken away alive by a Devill in such sort that he was never afterward heard of In our owne memory the Earle of Aspremont and his brother Lord of Orne were made famous and in every mans mouth for their strange and prodigious seats wherein they were so unreasonably dissolute and vaine-glorious that sometime they made it their sport and pastime to breake downe all the windowes about the castle Aspremont where they kept which lyeth in Lorraine two miles from Saint Michael and threw them piecemeale into a deep Well to heare them cry plumpe but this vaine excesse presaged a ruine and destruction to come as well upon their house which at this present lyeth desolate and ruinous in many respects as upon themselves that finished their daies in misery one after another as we shall now understand of the one the Lord of Orne as for the Earle how hee died shall more at large be declared elsewhere Now it chanced that as the Lord of Orne was of most wicked and cruell conditions so hee had an evill favoured looke answerable to his inclination and name to be a Conjurer the report that went of his cruelty was this That upon a time he put the Baker one of his servants whose wiâ—e he used secretly to entertaine into a â—un which he caused to be rowled from the top of a hill into the bottome sometimes as high as a pike as the place gave occasion but by the great mercy of God notwithstanding all this this poore man saved his life Furthermore it was a common report that when any Gentlemen or Lords came to see him they were entertained as they thought very honourably being served with all sort of most dainty faire and exquisite dishes as if he had not spared to make them the best cheere that might be but at their departure they that thought themselves well refreshed found their stomacke empty and almost pined for want of food having neither eaten nor drunk any thing save in imagination only and it is to be thought that their horses found no better fare than their masters It happened one day that a certaine Lord being departed from his house one of his men having left something behind returned to the Castle and entring suddenly into the hall where they dined but a little before he espied a Munky beating the master of the house that had feasted them of late very sore And there be others that say that he hath been seen through the chink of a dore lying on a table upon his belly all at length and a Munkey scourging him very strangely to whom he should say Let me alone let me alone wilt thou alwaies torment me thus And thus he continued a long time but at length after he had made away all his substance he was brought to such extremity that being destitute of maintenance and forsaken of all men he was fain for want of a better refuge to betake himselfe to the Hospitall of Paris which was his last Mansion house wherein he died See here to how pittifull and miserable an end this man fell that having been esteemed amongst the Mighties of this world for making no more account of God and for following the illusions of Satan the common enemy of mannkdi became so poore and wretched as to dye in an Hospitall among Cripples and Beggars It is not long since there was in Lorraine a certaine man called Coulen that was over much given to this cursed Art amongst whose tricks this was one to be wondred at that he would suffer harquebuses or pistols to be shot at him and catch their bullets in his hand without receiving any hurt but upon a certain time one of his servants being angry with him hot him such a knock with a pistoll notwithstanding all his great cunning that he killed him therewith Moreover it is worthy to be observed That within these two hundred yeares hitherto more Monks and Priests have been found given over to these abhominations and devillishnesses than of all other degrees of people whatsoever as it is declared in the second volume of Enguerran de Monstralet more at large where he maketh mention of a Monke that used to practise his sorceries in the top of a tower of an Abbey lying neere to Longin upon Marne where the Devils presented themselves to be at his commandement and this was in the raigne of Charles the sixth In the same booke it is recorded That in the raigne of Charles the seventh one Master William Ediline Doctor in Divinity and Prior of Saint Germaine in Lay having been an Augustine Frier gave himselfe to the Devill for his pleasure even to have his will of a certain woman he was upon a time in a place where a Synagogue of people were gathered together where to the end that he might quickly be as he himselfe confessed he took a broom and rode upon it He confessed also that he had don homage to that enemy of God the Devill who appeared unto him in the shape of a sheep and made him kisse his hinder parts as he reported For which causes hee was placed upon a scaffold and openly made to weare a paper containing his owne faults and afterwards plotted to live prisoner all the rest of his life laden with yrons in
Treasurer of England and Sir Thomas Gray were beheaded for treason No lesse was the perfidious and ungratefull treachery of Humphry Banister an Englishman towards the Duke of Buckingham his Lord and master whom the said Duke had tenderly brought up and exalted to great promotion For when as the Duke being driven into extremity by reason of the separation of his army which he had mustered together against King Richard the usurper fled to the same Banister as his trustiest friend to be kept in secret untill he could find opportunity to escape this false traitor upon hope of a thousand pounds which was promised to him that could bring forth the Duke betraied him into the hands of Iohn Mitton Shirife of Shropshire who conveied him to the city of Salisbury where King Richard kept his houshold where he was soone after put to death But as for ungratefull Banister the vengeance of God pursued him to his utter ignominy for presently after his eldest sonne became mad and died in a bores stiâ— his eldest daughter was suddenly stricken with a foule lepry his second sonne marvellously deformed of his lims and lame his youngest sonne drowned in a puddle and he himselfe in his old age arraigned and found guilty of a murther and by his Clergy saved And as for his thousand pounds King Richard gave him not a farthing saying That he which would be nutrue to so good a master must needs be false to all other To passe over the time of the residue of the Kings where in many examples of treasons and punishments upon them are extant and to come neerer unto our owne age let us consider the wonderfull providence of God in discovering the notorious treasons which have been so oftenpretended and so many against our late Soveraigne Queene Elizabeth and protecting her so fatherly from the dint of them all First therefore to begin with the chiefest the Earles of Northumberland and Westmerland in the eleventh yeare of her raigne began a rebellion in the North pretending their purpose to be sometimes to defend the Queenes person and government from the invasion of strangers and sometimes for conscience sake to seeke reformation of Religion under colour whereof they got together an army of men to the number of six thousand souldiers against whom marched the Earle of Suffex Lieutenant of the North and the Earle of Warwicke sent by the Queene to his ayde Whose approch strucke such a terrour into their hearts that the two Earles with divers of the arch Rebels fled by night into Scotland leaving the rest of their company a prey unto their enemies whereof threescore and six or thereabout were hanged at Durham As for the Earles one of them to wit of Northumberland was after taken in Scotland and beheaded at York Westmerland fled into another Countrey and left his house and family destroyed and undone by his folly A while after this what befell to Iohn Throgmorton Thomas Brooke George Redman and divers other Gentlemen at Norwich who pretended a rebellion under the color of suppressing strangers were they not discovered by one of their owne conspiracy Thomas Ket and executed at Norwich for their paines The same end came Francis Throgmorton to whose trecheries as they were abhominable and touching the Queens owne person so they were disclosed not without the especiall providence of God But above all that vile and ungratefull traitor William Parry upon whom the Queene had powred plentifully her liberality deserveth to be had in everlasting remembrance to his shame whose treasons being discovered he payed the tribute of his life in recompence thereof What shall I say of the Earle of Arundell and a second Earle of Northumberland Did not the justice of God appeare in both their ends when being attainted for treason the one slew himselfe in prison and the other died by course of nature in prison also Notorious was the conspiracy of those arch traitours Ballard Babington Savadge and Tylney c. yet the Lord brought them downe and made them spectacles to the World of his justice Even so that notorious villaine Doctor Lopez the Queenes Physitian who a long time had not onely beene an intelligencer to the Pope and King of Spaine of our English Counsells but also had poisoned many Noblemen and went about also to poyson the Queene her selfe was he not surprised in his treachery and brought to sudden destruction In summe the Lord preserved her Majesty not only from these but many other secret and privy foes and that most miraculously and contrary to all reason and spread his wings over her evermore to defend her from all her enemies and in despight of them all brought her being full of yeares in peace to her grave All these treasons had their breeding and beginning from that filthy sinke of Romish superstition from whence the poison was conveied into the hearts of these traiterous wretches by the means of those common firebrands of the Christian World the wicked Iesuites whose chiefest art is Treason and whose profession is equivocation and practise to stir up rebellion and therefore as long as they breath in the world let us looke for no better fruits from such trees And hath the reigne of our now Soveraigne King Iames beene free from these Sinons He hath as yet swayed the Scepter of this Kingdome not fully nine yeres and how many treasons have beene complotted and practised against his Majesty and the State and how miraculously hath the Lord preserved him evermore even as the apple of his eye and the signet on his right hand To omit the treason of Raleigh and Cobham and that also of Watson and Clerke that late and last divellish and damnable practise of blowing up the Parliament house with gunpowder together with the King Prince and all the Nobles and chiefe Pillars of the Land is never to be omitted nor forgotten but to be remembred as long as the Sunne and Moone endureth to the shame of their religion and the professours thereof never Nation so barbarous that ever practised the like never any religion so odious that maintained the like but such are the fruits of their so much advanced religion such the clusters of their grapes How be it the Lord prevented their malice and turned it upon their owne pates not only by a Divine and miraculous discovery of their treason the very night before it should have beene effected but also by bringing the chiefe plotters thereof unto confusion some by the ordinary proceeding of justice and some by slaughter in resistance and that which is not to bee overpast some of the principall of them being together in a chamber were so scorched by their owne powder which was in drying that they were driven to confesse the heavy judgement of God to be upon them I pray God such may ever bee the end of all traitours and that the religion which bringeth forth such horrible fruits may not onely be suspected but abhorred of all Moreover there is yet another
erecteth principalities and which maintaineth Common-wealths Kingdomes and Empires untill by the sum and weight of their iniquities they sink themselves into ruine and destruction And herein is he glorified by the execution of his most just and righteous judgements when the wicked after the long abuse of his lenety benignity and patience doe receive the wages and reward of their iniquities In this I say once again shineth out the wonderfull and incomprehensible wisedome of God when by the due ordering of things so different and so many hee commeth still to one and the same marke which hee once prescribed to wit the punishment of the world according to their demerits And this same is most manifest and apparant even in the Histories of prophane Writers albeit in their purpose it was never intended nor thought upon nor yet regarded almost of any that read the same men contenting themselves for the most part with the simple recitall of the story therein to take pleasure and passe away time without respecting any further matter Notwithstanding the true and principall use of their writings ought to be diligently to marke the effects of Gods Providence and of his justice whereby to learne to conteine our selves within the bounds of modesty and the feare of God seeing that they which have carried themselves any thing uprightly in equity temperance and other naturall vertues have been in some sort spared and the rest bearing the punishment of their iniquities have falne into destruction This consideration ought to perswade every man to turne from evill and to follow that which is good seeing that the Lord sheweth himselfe so incensed against all them which lead a wicked damnable and perverse life And this is the cause why I having noted the great and horrible punishments wherewith the Lord in most righteous judgement hath scourged the world for sin according to that which is contained as well in sacred as prophane Histories having gathered them together and sorted them one after another in their severall rooms according to the diversity of the offences and order and course of time which as neare as I could I endeavoured to sollow to the end to lay downe as it were in one Table and under one Aspect the great and fearefull judgements of God upon them that have rebelled or repugned his holy will And this I do not with purpose to comprehend them all for that were not onely difficult but impossible but to lay open the most notable remarkable ones that came to my knowledge to the end that the most wicked dissolute and disordered sinners that with loose reines runne fiercely after their lust if the manifest tokens of Gods severity presented before their eyes doe not touch them yet the cloud and multitude of examples through the sight of the inevitable anger and vengeance of God upon evill livers might terrifie and somewhat curb them Perjurers Idolaters Blasphemers and other such wicked and prophane wretches with murderers whoremongers adulterers ravishers tyrants shall here see by the mischiefe that hath falne upon their likes that which hangeth before their eyes and is ready to lay hold of them also For albeit for a time they sleep in their sins and blindnesse delighting in their pleasures and taking sport in cruelties and evill deeds yet they draw after them the line wherewith being more ensnared then they were aware they are taken and drawne to their finall destruction And this may teach and advertise both those that are not yet obstinate in their sins to bring themselves to some amendment and those that feare God already to strengthen and encourage them in the pursuit and continuance in their good course For if God shew himselfe so severe a revenger of their sinnes that take pleasure in displeasing him there is no doubt but on the contrary he will shew himselfe bountifull gracious and liberall in rewarding all them according to his promise which seeke to please him and conforme their lives unto his will Great and small young and old men and women and all other of what degree and condition soever may here learne at other mens charges how to governe themselves in duty towards God and betwixt themselves by a holy and unblameable life in mutuall peace and unity and by shunning and eschewing sin against the which God a most just Judge powreth forth his vengeance even upon the heads of them that are guilty thereof Beside here is ample matter and argument to stop the mouthes of all Epicures and Atheists of our age and to leave them confounded in their errors seeing that such and so many occurrents and punishmēts are manifest proofs that there is a God above that guideth the stern of the world and that taketh care of humane matters that is just in punishing the unjust and malicious Againe whereas so much evill and so many sins have reigned and swayed so long time and do yet reign and sway upon the earth we may behold the huge corruption and perversity of mankinde and the rotten fruits of that worme-eaten root Originall sin when we are not directed nor guided by the holy Spirit of God but lest unto our owne nature And hereby true faithfull Christians may take occasion so much the more to acknowledge the great mercy and singular favour of God toward them in that they being received to mercy are renewed to a better conversation of life then others In brief a man may here learne if he be not altogether void of judgement and understanding to have sin in hatred and detestation considering the wages and reward thereof and how the justice of God pursueth it continually even to the extreamest execution which is both sharp and rigorous Touching the word Iudgement I have imitated the language of Holy Scripture wherein as the Ordinances and Commandements of God are called Judgements because in them is contained nothing but that which is just right and equall so likewise the punishments inflicted by God upon the despisers of his Commandements are called by the same name as in Exod. 6. 6. 2 Chron. 20. 12. 22. 8. Ezech. 5. 8. 11. 9. and elsewhere because they also are as just as the former proceeding from none other fountaine save the most righteous judgement of God whereof none can complaine but unjustly The Names of the Authors from whom the most part of the Examples contained in this book are collected Moses and other sacred Writers Tertullian Cyprian Eusebius Socrates Theodoret. Sozomenes Nicephor Ruffinus Suidas Chrysostome Luther Illyricus Herodotus Thucydides Dion Halycarnasseus Diodorus Siculus Polybeus Plutarch Herodian Dyon Procopius Iornandes Agathius Aelianus Tit. Livius Salustius Suetonius Corn. Tacitus Amm. Marcellinus Iustinus Eutropius Lampridius Spartianus Flavius Vopiscus Cuspinianus Orosius Aimoinus Gregor Turonensis Anton Volscus Paulus Diaconus Luitprandus Olaus magnus Gothus Sabellicus Anton. Panormitanus Aeneus Silvius Ravisius Hieronymus Marius Alexander ab Alexandro Petrus Pramonstratensis Mich. Ritius Neapolitanus Fulgosius Fran. Picus Mirandula Bembus
all would not serve to shake the foundation of his Faith which was builded upon a Rocke hee was condemned and executed to death For being first scourged with whips then hanged up by the feet after having hot scalding water poured upon him at last hee was cast unto wilde beasts With all which torments being not terrified nor yet dispatched finally had his head cut off But behold the Judge called Antiochus that pronounced the sentence fell downe from his Throne before the face of the world even whilst the young man was in the mid'st of his torments and by his example made knowne to all men how odious such cruell persecutors are in the sight of Him that judgeth the Earth and controlleth the mightie Princes and Potentates of the same In the Empire of Iulian the Apostate the Lord sene such horrible earthquakes upon the world that what for the fall of houses and raptures of fields neither citie nor countrey was safe to abide in besides such an extreame drouth dryed up the moisture of the earth that victualls were very geason and deare These plagues Theodoret avoucheth to have fallen upon the world for the impietie of Iulian and the miserable persecution of Christians The Emperour Gallus had good successe in his affaires whil'st he abstained from shedding the bloud of the Christians but as soone as hee gave himselfe over unto that villany his prosperitie Kingdome and life diminished and decreased at once for within two yeares he and his sonne Vâ—lusianus in the warre against Aemylian were both slaine through the defection of his souldiers who in the point of necessitie forsooke him Beside the Lord in his time sent upon the Provinces of Rome a generall and contagious pestilence which lasted whole ten yeares without intermission to make satisfaction for the much innocens blood which was spilled amongst them Arnolphus the fourescor th Emperour raged like a Tyrant against all men but especially against those that professed the Religion and name of Christ Jesus for which cause the Lord stirred up a woman the wife of Guidâ— to minister unto him the dregs of his wrath in a poysoned cup by means whereof such a rottennesse possessed all his members that lice and wormes issuing out continually he dyed most miserably in Orâ—nge a city of Bavary the twelfth yeare of his raigne Bajazet the Turke to what a miserable and ludibrious end came he for his outragious hatred against all Christendome but especially against Constantinople which he had brought to so low an ebbe that they could scarce have resisted him any longer had not Tamberlaine the Tartarian revoked him from the siege and bidden him leave to assayle others and looke unto his owne And indeed he welcommed him so kindly that he soone tooke him prisoner and binding him with chaines of gold carried him up and downe in a cage for a spectacle using his backe for a foot-stoole to get upon his horse And thus God plagueth one Tyrant by another and all for the comfort of his chosen Gensericus King of the Vandales exercised cruell tyranny against the professors of the truth So did Honoricus the second also but both of them reaped their just deserts for Gensericus dyed being possessed with a Spirit and Honoricus being so rotten and putrified that one member dropped off after another Some say that he gnawned off his owne flesh with his teeth Authar is the twelfth King of Lombardy forbad children to be baptised or instructed in the Christian Faith seeking by that means to abolish and pluck downe the Kingdome of Christ but he raigned not long for ere six yeares were compleat he dyed with poyson at Pavia And so he that thought to undermine Christ Jesus was undermined himselfe most deservedly in the yeare of our Lord 593. When Arcadius the Emperonr through the perswasion of certain envious fellowes and his wife Eudoxia had banished Iohn Chrysostome Bishop of Constantinople into Bosphorus the next night there arose such a terrible earth-quake that the Empresse and the whole citie was sore affrighted therewith so that the next morrow messengers after messengers were sent without ceasing till they had brought him backe againe out of exile and his accusers were all punished for their wrongfull accusation Thus it pleased God to testifie the innocency of his servant by terrifying his enemies Smaragdus an Exarch of Italy was transported by a Devill for tyrannizing over Christians in the first yeare of the Empire of Mauritius Maâ—â—uâ—ha a Sarasen being equall to Pharoah in persecuting the Church of God God made him equall to him also in the manner of his destruction for as hee returned from the spoyle of the Monastery of Caâ—â—ime and Mossana and the Daughter of many Christians the Lord caused the sea to swallow up his whole army even an hundred ships so that few or none escaped Another time even the yeare 719 they were miraculously consumed with famine sword pestilence water and captivitie and all for their infestuous rancour and tyranny towards Christians for whom the famine spared the sword devonred whom both these touched not the pestilence ate up and they that escaped all three yet perished in the waters and ten ships that escaped the waters were taken by the Romans and the Syrians surely an egregious signe of Gods heavie wrath and displeasure To conclude there was never any that set themselves against the Church of God but God set himselfe against them by some notable judgement so that some were murthered by their subjects as Bluso King of the Vandales others by their enmies as Vdo Prince of Sclavonia others by their wives as Cruco another Sclavonian Prince others discomfited in warre as Abbas the King of Hungaria some destroyed by their owne horses as Lucius the Emperour who first cast his owne daughter because she was a Christian amongst the same horses And generally few persecutors escaped without some evident and markable destruction CHAP. XI Of the Iewes that persecuted Christ. BY how much the offence of the Iews was more hainous not onely in despising and rejecting the Lord of glory whom God had sent amongst them for their salvation but also in being so wicked as to put him to death by so much the more hath God bestowed his fearfull indignation upon them as at many other times so especially by that great calamity and desolation which they abid at their last destruction begun by Vespasian and perfected by Titus which was so great and lamentable as the like was never heard of untill this day for if the sacking and overthrow of Ierusalem then when Ieremy the Prophet made his booke of Lamentations over it was reputed more grievous than the subversion of Sodome which perished suddainly how much more then is this last destruction without all comparison by reason of those horrible and strange miseries which were there both suddainly in continuance of time committed Neither truly is there any History which
containeth a description of so many miseries as this doth as it may appeare by Iosephus record of it For after that they had been afflicted in divers countries and tossed up and downe by the Deputies a long while there were slaine at Caesarea in one day twenty thousand At Alexandria another time fifty thousand at Zabulon and Joppe eight thousand and foure hundred besides the burning of the two Towns at Damascus ten thousand that had their throats cut As for Jerusalem when it had a long time endured the brunt of the warre both within and without it was pinched with so sore a famine that the dung of Oxen served some for meat others fed upon the leather of old shooes and buckles and divers women were driven to the extiemity to boyle and eat their owne children Many thinking to save their lives by flying to the Enemy were taken and slit in pieces in hope to finde gold and silver in their guts in one night two thousand were thus piteously dealt withall and at the last the whole City was by force taken and the holy Temple conslumed by fire And this in generall was the miserable issue of that lamentable warre during which fourscore and seventeen thousand Iewes were taken Prisoners and eleven hundred thousand slaine for within the city were inclosed from the beginning to the ending all those that were assembled together from all quarters of the earth to keep the Passeover as their custome was As touching the prisouers some were carried to Rome in triumph others were here and there massacred at their conquerors wils somes lot it was to be torn in pieces and devoured of wild-beasts others were constrained to march in troops against their fellowes and kill one another as if they had been enemies All which evils came upon them for the despight and fury which they used towards the Sonne of God and our Saviour and that was the cause why he foreseeing this desolation wept over Jerusalem and said That it should be besieged on every side and rased to the ground and that not one stone should be left upon another because it knew not the time of her visitation Likewise said he to the woman that bewailed him as he was led to the Crosse That they should not weep for him but for themselves and their children because of the dayes of sorrow which were to come wherein the barren and those that had no children and the dugs that never suckled should bee counted happy So horrible and pitifull was the destruction of this people that God would not suffer any of his owne children to bee wrapped in their miseries nor to perish with this perverse and unbelieving Nation for as Eusebius reporteth they were a little before the arrivall of these mischiefes advertised from heaven by the speciall providence of God to forsake the City and retire into some far Country where none of these evils might come neer them The reliques of this wretched people that remained after this mighty tempest of Gods wrath were dispersed and scattered throughout all nations under heaven beeing subject to them with whom they sojourned without King Prince Judge or Magistrate to lead and guide them or to redresse their wrongs but were altogether at the discretion and commandement of the Lords of those Countries wherein they made their abode so that their condition and kind of life is at this day so vile and contemptible as experience sheweth that no nation in the world is halfe so miserable which is a manifest badge of Gods vengeance yet abiding upon them And yet for all this these dispersed reliques ceased not to vomit out the foame of their malice against Christ it being so deep rooted an evill and so inveterate that time nor reason could revoke them from it And no marvell seeing that God useth to punish the greatest sinnes with other sinnes as with the greatest punishment so they having shut their eyes to the light when it shined among them are now given over to a reprobate and hardened sence otherwise it were not possible they should remain so obstinate And albeit God be thanked we have many converts of them yet I dare say for the most part they remain in malitious blindnesse barking against and despighting both our Saviour himselfe and all that professe his name although their punishments have been still according to their deserts as by these examples following shall appeare The Jewes of Inmester a Towne lying betwixt Calchis and Antioch being upon a time celebrating their accustomed playes and feasts in the midst of their jollity as their use is they contumeliously reviled not only Christians but even Christ himselfe for they got a Christian childe and hung him upon a Crosse and after many mocks and taunts making themselves merry at him they whipt him to death What greater villany could there be than this Or wherein could these Devils incarnate shew forth their malice more apparently than thus not content once to have crucified Christ the Saviour of the World but by imitation to performe it againe and as it were to make knowne that if it were undone they would doe it So also handled they a boy called Simeon of two years and an halfe old in the yeare of our Lord 1476. and an another in Fretulium five years after that But above all they massacred a poore Carpenters son in Hungary in hatred of Christ whom they falsly supposed to bee a Carpenters son for they cut in two all his veines and suckt out his blóud with quills And being apprehended and tortured they confessed that they had done the like at Thirna foure yeares before and that they could not be without Christià n bloud for therewithall they anointed their Priests But at all these times they suffered just punishment for being still taken they were either hanged burned murthered or put to some other cruell death at the discretion of â—he Magistrates Moreover they would at divers times buy the Host of some Popish Priest and thrust it through with their knives and use it most despightfully This did one Bleazarus in the yeare of our Lord 1492 the 22 of October but was burnt for his labour and eight and thirty at another time for the same villanie by the Marquesse Ioachinus for the caitifes would suffer themselves to be baptised for none other end but more securely to exercise their villanies Another Jew is recorded in the yeare of our Lord 147 to have stoln the picture of Christ out of a Church to have thrust it through many times with his sword whereout when bloud miraculously issued hee amazed would have burned it but being taken in the manner the Christians stoned him to death The truth of which story though I will not stand to avow yet I doubt not but it might be true considering that either the Devill might by his cunning so foster and confirme their superstition or rather that seeing Christ is the subject of their religion as well as
not respecting or beleeving there was either a God or a Devill or a hell or a Heaven and therefore he was damned there was no remedy And in this miserable case without any signe of repentance he dyed But let us come to our homebred English stories and consider the judgments of God upon the persecutors of Christs Gospell in our own countrey And first to begin with one Doctor Whittington under the raigne of King Henry the seventh who by vertue of his office being Chancellour to the Bishop had condemned most cruelly to death a certaine godly woman in a town called Chipping sadberry for the profession of the truth which the Papists then called Heresie This woman being adjudged to death by the wretched Chancellor and the time come when she should be brought to the place of her martyrdome a great concourse of people both out of towne and country was gathered to behold her end Amongst whom was also the foresaid Doctor there present to see the execution performed The godly woman and manly Martyr with great constancy gave over her life to the fire and refused no paines or torments to keep her conscience cleere and unreproveable against the day of the Lord. Now the Sacrifice being ended as the people began to returne homeward they were encountred by a mighty furious Bull which had escaped from a Butcher that was about to kill him for at the same time as they were slaying this silly Lamb at the townes end a Butcher was as busie within the towne in slaying of this Bull. But belike not so skilfull in his art of killing of beasts as the Papists be in murthering Christians the Bull broke loose as I said and ranne violently through the throng of the people without hurting either man or childe till he came to the place where the Chancellour was against whom as pricked forward with some supernaturall instinct hee ranne full butt thrusting him at the first blow through the paunch and after goaring him through and through and so killed him immediately trayling his guts with his hornes all the street over to the great admiration and wonder of all that saw it Behold here a plaine demonstration of Gods mighty power and judgement against a wretched persecutor of one of his poore flocke wherein albeit the carnall sence of man doth often impute to blinde chance that which properly pertaineth to the only power and providence of God yet none can be so dull and ignorant but must needs confesse a plaine miracle of Gods almighty power and a worke of his own finger Stephen Gardiner also was one of the grand butchers in this land what a miserable end came hee unto Even the same day that Bishop Ridley and Master Latimer were burned at Oxford he hearing newes thereof rejoyced greatly and being at dinner ate his meat merrily but ere he had eaten many bits the sudden stroke of Gods terrible hand fell upon him in such sort that immediately he was taken from the board and brought to his bed where he continued 15 dayes in intolerable anguish by reason he could not expell his urine so that his body being miserably inflamed within who had inflamed so many Godly Martyrs was brought to a wretched end with his tongue all blacke and swolne hanging out of his mouth most horribly a spectacle worthy to be beholden of all such bloudy burning persecutors Bonner Bishop of London another arch butcher though he lived long after this man and dyed also in his bed yet was it so provided of God that as he had been a persecutor of the light and a child of darknesse so his carkasse was tumbled into the earth in obscure darkenes at midnight contrary to the order of all other Christians and as he had been a most cruell murtherer so was he buried amongst theeves and murtherers a place by Gods judgement rightly appointed for him Morgan Bishop of S. Davids sitting upon the condemnation of the blessed Martyr Bishop Farrar whose roome he unjustly usurped was not long after stricken by Gods hand after such a strange sort that his meat would not go downe but rise and picke up againe sometime at his mouth sometime blowne out of his nose most horrible to behold and so continued unto his death Where note moreover that when Master Leyson being then Sheriffe at Bishop Farrars burning had fetcht away the cattell of the said Bishop from his servants house into his owne custody divers of them would never eate meat but lay bellowing and roaring and so dyed Adde unto this Bishop Morgan Iustice Morgan a Judge that sate upon the death of the Lady Iane this Iustice not long after the execution of the said Lady fell mad and being thus bereft of his wits dyed having ever in his mouth Lady Iane Lady Iane. Bishop Thornton Suffragan of Dover another grand persecutor comming upon a Saturday from the Chapter-house at Canterbury and there upon the Sunday following looking upon his men playing at bowles fell suddenly into a palsey and dyed shortly after And being exhorted to remember God in his extremity of sicknesse So I do saith he and my Lord Cardinall too c. After him succeeded another Suffragan ordained by the foresaid Cardinall and equall to his Predecessor in cruell persecuting of the Church who injoying his place but a short time fell downe a paire of staires in the Cardinals chamber at Greenwich and broke his necke and that presently let it be noted after he received the Cardinals blessing The like sudden death hapned to Doctor Dunning the bloudy and wretched Chancellour of Norwich who after he had most rigorously condemned and murthered a number of simple and faithfull servants of God was suddenly stricken with death even as he was sitting in his chaire The like also fell upon Berry Commissary of Norfolke another bloudy persecutor who foure dayes after Queene Maries death having made a great Feast whereat was present one of his concubines as he was comming home from the Church where he had ministred the Sacrament of Baptisme fell downe suddenly to the ground with a heavy groane and never stirred after thus ending his miserable life without any shew of repentance So Doctor Geffrey Chancellor of Salisbury another of the same stampe was suddenly stricken with the mighty hand of God in the midst of his buildings where he was constrained to yeeld up his life which had so little pitty of other mens lives before and it is to be noted that the day before he was thus stricken he had appointed to call before him ninety poore Christians to examine them by inquisition but the goodnesse of God and his tender providence prevented him Doctor Foxford Chancellor to Bishop Stockesley dyed also suddenly So did Iustice Lelond the persecutor of one Ieffery Hurst Alexander the Keeper of Newgate a cruell enemy to those that lay in that prison for Religion dyed very miserably being so swollen that he was more like a monster than a man and
been a professor of the Gospell a foretime when William Woolsey Martyr whom the said Denton had first converted from the Truth sent him certaine money out of prison at Ely with his commendations That hee marvelled he tarried so long behinde him seeing he was the first that delivered him the booke of Scripture into his hand and told him that it was the truth his answer was this I confesse it is true but alas I cannot burn But he that could not burne in the cause of Christ was afterward burned against his will for in the year 1564 his house was set on fire and whilest he went to save his goods he lost his life There was also one Burton Bailiffe of Crowland in Lincoln-shire who pretending an earnest friendship to the Gospell in King Edwards time after the Kings death began lustily to set up the Popish Masse againe and would have beaten the poore Curate if he had not setled himselfe thereto but see how the Lords judgement overtook him as hee came riding from Fennebanke one day a Crow flying over his head let fall her excrements upon his face so that it ranne from the top of his nose downe to his beard the poysoned sent and savour whereof so annoyed his stomack that he never ceased vomiting untill he came home and after falling deadly sicke would never receive any meat but vomited still and complaining of that stinke cursing the Crow that had poysoned him to be short within few daies he died desperately without any token of repentance of his former life Hither may we adde the examples of one Henry Smith a Lawyer of the middle Temple and Arnoldus Bomelius a Student of Lovaine both which having professed the Truth a while and after being seduced by evill company the one of Gilford the other of Master Tileman Smith afterward hanged himselfe in his chamber in the Temple in the yeare of our Lord 1569. Bomelius murthered himselfe with his owne dagger And thus these two Apostata's felt the heavy scourge of Gods wrath for revolting from the Truth which they once professed CHAP. XVI Of those that have willingly fallen away THese kinde of Apostata's which we are now to speake of are such as without any outward compulsion threats or likelyhood of danger forsake freely Gods true Religion and give themselves over to all Idolatry Against whom there is a Decree ordained in the thirteenth of Deutronomy by the Law-giver of Heaven which is this If the inhabitants of any city have turned from the Lord to follow after strange gods let them be destroyed with the edge of their sword and their city consumed with fire that they may be utterly rased out and brought to nothing This was the sinne of Solomon King of Israel a brave and mighty kingdome in his time a man subject to none for power nor fearing any for authority yet for all this so filthily recoyling from the Truth which hee knew and had professed that in stead of serving the true God he became a setter up of false Idols and that of his owne freo will and pleasure he that had been so well brought up and instructed from his childehood in true Religion by his School master the Prophet Nathan into whose charge hee was committed and so often and earnestly admonished by his father David to observe diligently the law of God to direct his wayes thereby and whom God vouchsafed this honour to appeare twice unto and to enrich and adorne with such excellent wisedome that the Queene of Saba hearing his report came to Ierusalem to be his auditor even this Solomon in his old age when he should have been most stedfast and constant suffered himselfe to be seduced by the enticements of his strange wives and concubines to offer service unto strange gods and to forsake the God of Heaven to worship the Idols of the Gentiles And as his renowne was great and famous before for building that sumptuous and beautifull Temple at Ierusalem so was his obloquy and reproach the greater for erecting Altars and Chappels for the Idols of his wives and concubines even for every one of their Idols to the intent to flatter and please their humors it was therfore just and equall that the Lord his wrath being provoked against him raised up two strong enemies that wrought him and his people much scath Yea moreover Ieroboam one of his owne servants whilest hee yet lived was by the ordinance of God designed King over ten Tribes and so God punished him for his Idolatry and Backsliding leaving him but a small portion of the kingdome to continue to his successors which had it not been for his father Davids sake had been also taken away It is true That we read not that he ever hindred the service of the Temple or compelled or perswaded any man to worship an Idoll yet he did enough to make him culpable before God of a grievous sinne in that he being the head and Soveraigne Magistrate of the people committed such wickednes and such Apostasie in Israel beside it is a marvellous strengthning that in all his History there is not so much as any token mentioned or to be gathered of his true repentance alter this notable fall And hee that well weigheth the nature and quality of this sinne shall perceive that it somewhat resembleth that which is spoken of Heb. 6. ver 4 5 6 for Solomon was not so ignorant and destitute of the knowledge of God but rather had the treasure of wisedome in fulnesse and abundance and was endowed with the gifts and graces of Gods Spirit that he was able to instruct others and to discharge a Doctors place in the Church as he also did both by word and writing And although that the Sonne of God was nos as then yet manifested in the flesh yet the power and efficacy of his death being everlasting and from the beginning whereof the Law with the ceremonies and sacrifices thereof was as it were a Schoolemaster could not be hidden from him Therefore so soone as he addicted himselfe to his Idolatry he forthwith abandoned the holy ordinances and sacrifices of Gods Law and quitted himselfe of the promise of salvation therein contained disanulling and making of none effect as concerning himselfe the grace of the Mediator ordained from the beginning so that his downfall was terrible and perillous Yet there be that thinke that after all this he wrote the booke of Ecclesiastes as a declaration of his repentance whose opinion I purpose not to contradict Roboam his sonne succeeded him as well in the likenesse of his sinne as of his kingdome for after that the Priests and Levites forsaking the part of Ieroboam because of his Idols and leaving their houses and possessions to strangers had made repaire to him for feare of God and love of his holy service and that he had disposed and put in order his publique affaires for the ratifying and confirming of his kingdome presently he and
maintained the truth should be banished suddenly he was stroken with an inward and invisible plague which took away his life and forestalled his wicked and cruell determination from comming to the desired effect In all which examples we may see how God doth not onely punish heretiques themselves but also their favorers and supporters yea the very places and cities wherein they lived and broached their blasphemies as by the destruction of Antioch is seene which being a very sinke of hereticks was partly consumed with fire from Heaven above in the seventh yeare of Iustinus the Emperour and partly overthrowne with earth-quakes below wherein Euphrasius the Bishop and many other were destroyed Moreover besides those there were under Pope Innocent the third certaine heretickes called Albigenses or Albiani which being possessed with the same spirit of fury that the Maniches were affirmed that there were two Gods the one good and another evill they denied the Resurrection despised the Sacraments and said that the soules of men after their separation passed either into hogs oxen serpents or men according to their merits they would not spare to pollute the Temples appointed for the service of God with their excrements and other filthy actions and to defile the holy Bibles with ruine in despight and contumely This heresie like an evill weed so grew and increased that the branches thereof spread over almost all Europe a thousand cities were polluted therewith so that it was high time to cut it short by violence and the sword as it was for they were oppressed with so huge a slaughter that an hundred thousand of them were slaine partly by war partly by fire at one time Gregory of Tours hath recorded the life and death of an hereticall Monk of Bordeaux that by the help of Magicke wrought miracles and tooke upon him the name and title of Christ saying hee could cure diseases and restore those that were past help by physick unto their healths hee went attired with garments made of goats haire and an hood professing an austerity of life abroad whereas he plaid the glutton at home but at length his cousenage was discovered and he was banished the city as a man unfit for civill society In the yeare of our Lord God 1204 in the Empire of Otto the fourth there was one Almaricus also that denied the presence of Christ in the Sacrament and said that God spake as well in prophane Ovid as holy Augustine he scoffed at the doctrine of the Resurrection and esteemed heaven and hell but as an old wives fable Hee being dead his disciples were brought forth into a large field neere Paris and there in the presence of the French King degraded and burnt the dead carkasse of Almaricus being taken out of the Sepulchre and burnt amongst them it fell out that whilest they were in burning there arose so huge a tempest that heaven and earth seemed to move out of their places wherein doubtlesse the soules of these wicked men felt by experience that hell was no fable but a thing and such a thing as waited for all such Rebels against God as they were Anastasius Emperour of Constantinople being corrupted with the heresie of Eutiches published an Edict wherein all men were commanded to worship God not under three persons as a Trinity but as a Quaternity containing it in foure persons and could not by any counsell be brought from that devillish error but repelled from him divers Bishops with great reproach which came to perswade him to the contrary for which cause not long after a flash of lightning from Heaven suddenly seised upon him and so hee perished when he had raigned twenty eight yeares Iustinus the second also who after the death of Iustinian obtained the Imperiall Crowne was a man of exceeding pride and cruelty contemning poverty and murthering the Nobility for the most part In avarice his desire was so insatiate that he caused iron chests to be prepared wherein he might locke up that treasure which by unjust exactions he had extorted from the people Notwithstanding all this he prospered well enough untill he fell into the heresie of Pelagius soone after which the Lord bereft him of his wits and shortly aster of his life also when hee had raigned eleven yeares Mahomet by birth an Arabian and by profession one of the most monstrous hereticks that ever lived began his heresie in the yeare 625. His off-spring was out of a base stocke for being fatherlesse one Abdemonoples a man of the house of Ismael bought him for his slave and loved him greatly for his favour and wit for which cause he made him ruler over his merchandise and other businesse Now in the meane while one Sergius a Monk flying for heresie into Arabia instructed him in the heresie of Nestorius a while after his Master died without children and left behinde him much riches and his wife a widow of fifty yeares of age whom Mahomet married and when she died was made heire of all her riches So that now what for his wealth and cunning in Magick he was had in high honour among the people Wherefore by the counsell of Sergius hee called himselfe the great Prophet of God And shortly after when his fame was published he devised a Law and kinde of Religion called Alcaron wherein hee borrowed something almost of all the heresies that were before his time with the Sabellians he denied the Trinity with the Maniches he said there was but two persons in the Deity he denied the equality of the Father with the Sonne with Eunomius and said with Macedone that the Holy Ghost was a creature and approved the community of women with the Nicholaits he borrowed of the Jewes circumcision and of the Gentiles much superstition and somewhat he tooke of the Christian verity besides many devillish fantasies invented of his owne braine those that obeyed his Law he called Sarazins Now after he had lived in these monstrous abuses forty yeares the Lord cut him off by the falling sicknesse which he had dissembled a long time saying when he was taken therewith that the Angell Gabriel appeared unto him whose brightnesse hee could not behold but the Lord made that his destruction which be imagined would be for his honour and setting forth his Sect. Infinite be the examples of the destruction and judgement of private Heretiques in all ages and therefore we will content our selves with them that be most famous In the yeare of our Lord 1561 and the third yeare of the raigne of Queen Elizabeth there was in London one William Geffery that constantly avouched a companion of his called Iohn Moore to bee Christ our Saviour and could not bee reclaimed from this mad perswasion untill hee was whipped from Southwarke to Bedlam where the said Moore meeting him was whipped also untill they both confessed Christ to bee in Heaven and themselves to bee sinfull and wicked men But most strange it is how divers sensible and wise men
taken away yea and he burned some and punished divers otherwise that in this regard were not pliant but disobedient to his commandement After which time when Images were recalled into Greece and into Constantinople the chiefe city and seat of the East Empire it came to passe by a great and dreadfull yet just judgement of God that this famous and renowned city in the worlds eye impregnable after long siege and great and furious assaults was at length taken by the Turks who having won the breach and entred with fury drove the poore Emperour Palaeologus even till then fighting for the cities defence to that extremity that in retyring among the prease of his own souldiers he was thronged and trampled to death and his slain body being found was beheaded and his head contemptuously caried about the city upon a launce Now after the massacre of many thousand men to make up a compleat absolute cruelty they drew the Empresse with her daughters and many other ladies and gentlewomen to a banquet where after many vile and horrible wrongs and disgraces they killed and tore them in pieces in most monstrous manner In all which the execution of Gods most just wrath for Idolatry did most lively appeare which sinne accompanied with many other execrable and vile vices must needs draw after it a grievous and terrible punishment to serve for example to others that were to come neither was it a thing by chance or hap-hazzard that the Christians were made a mocking stock to them in that wofull day when in their bloudy triumphs they caused a Crucifix to be carried through the streets in contempt and throwing durt upon it cried in their Language This is the gallant god of Christians And thus did God license and permit these savage Turks to commit every day grievous outrages and to make great wasts and desolations in all Christendome till that they grew so mighty that it is to be feared lest the saying of Lactantius touching the returne of the Empire into Asia be not verified and accomplished very shortly if there be no amendment practised for we see by wofull experience that almost all the forces which Christian Princes have mustered from all quarters in pretence to resist their fury and rage have not only been bootlesse and unprofitable but also that which is worse given them further occasion by their bloudy victories and wonderfull slaughter of so many millions of men to make them more obstinate in their detestable Mahometisme Turkish Religion than they were before for they make their boasts thereof and reare up trophies of their cruelties taking no more pitty of the vanquished than the Butcher doth of a Sheep allotted to the slaughter Whereof we have a pittifull example in the overthrow of the French army which Iohn the sonne of Philip Duke of Burgondy led against the Turke Bajazet and by the treachery and cowardise of the Hungarians who in the time of battell turned their backs and fled was overcome in that this wicked and cruell Tygre expresly charged That all the prisoners in number many should be murthered one after another which was readily executed before his eyes so that saving the chiefe Captaines and certaine few Lords of the company that were spared in respect of great ransomes there escaped not one alive Besides these generall calamities the Lord hath particularly shewne forth his indignation against private persons and places for Idolatry as in Spoletium at one time there perished by an earthquake three hundred and fifty whilest they were offering sacrifice unto Idols At Rome under the Empire of Alexander Severus after that the left hand of the Image of Iupiter was miraculously melted the Priests going about to pacifie the anger of their gods with Lectisterns and sacrifices foure of them together with the Altar and Idoll were stricken in pieces with a thunderbolt and suddenly such a terrible darknesse overspread all the city that most of the inhabitants ran out into the fields all amased Moreover did not the Lord send lightning from heaven to inflame that notorious Temple of Idolatry of Apollo or rather the Devill of Delphos in the time of Iulian the wicked Apostate whilest he was exercising tortures upon one Theodorus a Christian and did it not consume the Image of Apollo to ashes The famous and rich Temple of Iupiter at Apamea how strangely did it come to ruine and destruction For when the President and Tribunes who had in charge to destroy it thought it a thing almost unpossible by reason of the strength of the wals and matter of it Marcellus the Bishop undertook the labour and found out a man that promised to shake and root up the foundation of it by fire but when he had put it in practise a blacke Devill appeared and hindred the naturall operation of the fire which when Marcellus perceived he by earnest and zealous prayer drove away the Devill and so the fire rekindled and consumed it to nothing In all which examples we may see the wonderfull indignation of God against Idoll-worshippers when by such strange and extraordinary means he bringeth them to destruction And this doubtlesse is no new course for even since the beginning of the world if we consult Histories we shall finde that well nigh all the kingdomes places persons and countries that have been any wise infected with this sinne have still come to some ruine or other and to some great overthrow and their Idolatry suppressed by some notable and strange accident Whereof Saint Hierome may be a witnesse who affirmeth That when Iesus being a childe was carried into Aegypt for feare of Herod all the Idols of Aegypt fell downe and all their miracles became mute which the Prophet Isaias foreseeing saith Behold the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud and shall come into Aegypt and the Idols of Aegypt shall melt in the midst of her Besides the generall silence of the Devill in his Oracles throughout the world presently upon Christs Incarnation is a thing known and confessed of all men Notwithstanding all which the holy Pope will still maintain his Idolatry albeit the Lord hath made manifest tokens of his indignation against it As appeareth by that which happened in the yeare 1451 being the Popes Iubile when such a concourse of people was made from all quarters of the world to honour that superstitious day for the people being upon Adrians bridge were so thrust together that two hundred men and three horses lost their lives being trampled upon and stifled to death many fell into the water over the bridge and so perished of whom an hundred and thirty were buried at Saint Celsus And these are the fruits of their Indulgences which are too much bought and sought for and of their Iubilies proceeding from the Bishop of Rome his impious and sacrilegious zeale Now to eschew these and such like misfortunes the true and onely meanes is an unfained diversion from all Idolatry and Superstition and
those Truce-breaking Varlets He had scarce ended these speeches but the Christians battell and courage began to rebate Vladislaus himselfe was slaine by the Iâ—nizaries his horse being first hurt his whole Army was discomfited and all his people put to the sword saving a few that fled amongst whom was the right reverend Embassador of the Pope who as soone as he had thrust in over the eares withdrew himselfe forsooth farre enough from blowes or danger Then followed a horrible butchery of people and a lamentable noyse of poore soules ready to be slaughtered for they spared none but haled them miserably in pieces and executed a just and rigorous judgement of God for that vile treachery and perjury which was committed CHAP. XXVIII More examples of the like subject BVt let us adde a few more examples of fresher memory as touching this ungodly Perjury And first King Philip of Macedony who never made reckoning of keeping his oathes but swore and unswore them at his pleasure and for his commodity doubtlesse it was one of the chiefest causes why he and his whole Progeny came quickly to destruction as testifieth Pausanias for hee himselfe being 46 yeeres old was slaine by one of his owne servants after which Olympias his wife made away two of his sonnes Anideus and another which he had by Cleopatra Attalus his neece whom she sod to death in a Cauldron his daughter Thessalonicaes children likewise all perished and lastly Alexander after all his great victories in the middest of his pompe was poysoned at Babylon Gregorie Tours maketh mention of a wicked Varlet in France among the people called Averni that forswearing himselfe in an unjust cause had his tongue so presently tyed that he could not speake but roare and so continued till by his earnest prayers and repentance the Lord restored to himselfe the use of that unruly member There were in old time certaine people of Italy called Aequi whereof the memory remaineth onely at this day for they were utterly destroyed by Q. Cincinnatus These having solemnely made a league with the Romanes and sworne unto it with one consent afterward chose Gracchus Cluilius for their Captaine and under his conduct spoyled the Fields and Territories of the Romanes contrary to the former league and oath Wherupon the Romans sent Q. Fabius P. Volumnius and A. Posthumius Embassadors to them to complaine of their wrongs and demand satisfaction but their Captaine so little esteemed them that he bad them deliver their message to an Oake standing thereby whilest hee attended other businesse Then one of the three turning himselfe towards the Oake spake on this manner Thou hallowed oake and whatsoever else belongeth to the gods in this place heare and beare witnes of this disloyall part and favor our iust complaints that with the assistance of the gods wee may bee revenged on this injury This done they returned home and shortly after gathering a power of men set upon and over came that truce-breaking Nation In the yeer of Rome built 317 the Fidenates revolted from the friendship and league of the Romans to Toluminus the king of the Veyans and adding cruelty to treason killed foure of their embassadours that came to know the cause of their defection which disloyalty the Romans not brooking undertooke war against them and notwithstanding all their private and forrein strength overthrew and slew them In this battell it is said that a Tribune of the souldiers seeing Toluminus bravely galloping up and down and incouraging his souldiers and the Romans trembling at his approch said Is this the breaker of leagues and violater of the law of nations If there be any holinesse on earth my sword shall sacrifice him to the soules of our slaine embassadours and therewithall setting spurres to his horse he unhorst him and fastening him to the earth with his speare cut off his perfidious head whereat his army dismaied retired and became a slaughter to the enemies Albertus Duke of Franconia having slaine Conrade the Earle of Lotharingia brother to Lewis the fourth then Emperor and finding the Emperors wrath incensed against him for the same betooke himselfe to a strong castle at Bamberg from whence the Emperour neither by force nor policie could remove him for seven yeares space untill Atto the Bishop of Mentz by trecherie delivered him into his hands This Atto under shew of friendship repaired to the castle and gave his faith unto the earle that if he would come downe to parle with the Emperor he should safely return into his hold the Earle mistrusting no fraud went out of the castle gates with the Bishop towards the Emperour but Atto as it were suddenly remembring himselfe when indeed it was his devised plot desireth to returne back and dine ere he went because it was somewhat late so they do dine and returne Now the Earle was no sooner come to the Emperor but he caused to be presently put to death notwithstanding he urged the Bishops promise and oath for his returne for it was answered that his oath was quit by returning backe to dine as he had promised And thus the Earle was wickedly betrayed though justly punished As for Atto the subtill traitor indeed he possessod himselfe by this meanes of the Earles lands but withall the justice of God seised upon him for within a while after he was stricken with a thunderbolt and as some say carried into mount Aetna with this noyse Sicpeccatalues atque ruendorues Cleomenes King of Lacedemonia making warre upon the Argives surprised them by this subtilty he tooke truce with them for seven dayes and the third night whilest they lay secure and unwarie in their truce he oppressed them with a great slaughter saying to excuse his trecherie though no excuse could cleare him from the shame thereof that the truce which he made was for seven dayes onely without any mention of nights howbeit for all this it prospered not so well with him as he wished for the Argie vwomen their husbands slaine tooke armes like Amasons Tolesilla being their captainesse and compassing the citie walls repelled Cleomenes halfe amased with the strangenesse of the sight After which he was banished into Aegypt and there miserably and desperatly slew himselfe The Pope of Rome with all his heard of Bishops opposed himselfe against the Emperor Henry the fourth for he banished him by excommunication from the society of the Catholike Church discharged his subjects from the oath of fealty and sent a crowne of gold to Rodolph king of Suevia to canonize him Emperor the crowne had this inscription Petra dedit Petro Petrus diadema Rodulpho that is The Rocke gave unto Peter and Peter gave unto Rodolph the crown Notwithstanding Rodolph remembring his oath to the Emperour and how vile a part it was to betray him whom he had sworne to obey and defend at first refused the Popes offer howbeit by the persuasion of the Bishops sophistrie he was induced to undertake the
of Alphonsus King of Arragon and Sicily in an Isle towards Africa a certain hermit called Antonius a monstrous and prophane hypocrite that had so wicked a heart to devise and so filthy a throat to belch out vile and injurious speeches against Christ Iesus and the Virgin Mary his mother but hee was strieken with a most grievous disease even to be eaten and gnawne in pieces of wormes untill he died CHAP. XXX Of those that by cursing and denying God give themselves to the Devill AS concerning those that are addicted to much cursing and as if their throats were Hell it selfe to despightings and reviling against God that is blessed for ever and are so mad as to renounce him and give themselves to the Devill truely they worthily deserve to be forsaken of God and given over to the Devill indeed to go with him into everlasting perdition which hath been visibly experienced in our time upon certaine wretched persons which have been carried away by that wicked spirit to whom they gave themselves There was upon a time in Germany a certain naughty packe of a most wicked life and so evill brought up that at every word he spake almost the Devill was at one end if walking he chanced to tread awry or to stumble presently the Devill was in his mouth whereof albeit he was many times reproved by his neighbors and exhorted to correct and amend so vile and detestable a vice yet all was in vaine continuing therefore this evill and damnable custome it happened that as he was upon a time passing over a bridge he fell downe and in his fall gave these speeches Hoist up with an hundred Devils which he had no sooner spoken bat the Devill whom he called for so oft was at his elbow to strangle him and carry him away with him A certain souldier travelling through Marchia a country of Almaigne and finding himselfe evill at ease in his journey abode in an Inne till hee might recover his health and committed to the hostesses custody certaine money which he had about him Now a while after being recovered of his sicknesse required his money againe but she having consulted with her husband denied the receit and therefore the returne thereof and accused him of wrong in demanding that which she never received The souldier on the other side fretted amaine and accused her of cousenage Which stir when the goodman of the house understood though privy to all before yet dissembling tooke his wives part and thrust the souldier out of doors who being throughly chaâ—ed with that indignity drew his sword and ran at the doore with the point hereof whereat the host began to cry Theeves theeves saying that he would have entred his house by force so that the poore souldier was taken and cast into prison and by processe of law ready to be condemned to death but the very day wherein this hard sentence was to be pronounced and executed the Devill entred into the prison and told the souldier that he was condemned to die howbeit neverthelesse if hee would giue himselfe bodie and soule unto him he would promise to deliuer him out of their hands the prisoner answering said That he had rather die being innocent and without cause than to be delivered by that meanes againe the divell replied and propounded unto him the great danger wherein he was yea and used all cunning meanes possible to perswade him but seeing that he lost his labour he at length left his suit and promised him both helpe and revenge upon his enemies and that for nothing advising him moreover when he came to judgement to plead not guiltie and to declare his innocencie and their wrong and to intreat the Iudge to grant him one in a blew cap that stood by to be his advocate now this one in a blew cap was the Divell himselfe the souldier accepting his offer being called to the barre and indicted there of Felonie presently desired to have his Atturney who was there present to plead his cause then began the fine and craftie Doctor of the lawes to plead and defend his client verie cunningly affirming him to be falsly accused and consequently unjustly condemned and that his host did withhold his mony and had offered him violence and to prove his assertion he reckoned up every circumstance in the action yea the verie place were they had hidden the mony The host on the other side stood in deniall very impudently wishing the divell might take him if he had it then the subtill lawyer in the blew cap looking for no other vantage left pleading and fell to lay hold of the host and carrying him out of the Sessions house hoisted him into the ayre so high that he was never after seen nor heard of And thus was the souldier delivered from the execution of the law most strangely to the astonishment of all the beholders that were eye witnesses of that which happened to the for sworne and cursing host In the yere of our Lord 1551 at Megalopole neer Voildstat it happened in the time of the celebration of the feast of Pentecost the people being set on drikingng and carousing that a woman in the company commonly named the Devill in her oathes till that he being so often called on came of a sudden and carried her through the gate aloft into the ayre before them all who ran out astonished to see whither he would transport her and found her a while hanging in the ayre without the towne and then falling downe upon the ground dead About the same time there lived in a City of Savoy one that was both a monstrous swearer also otherwise very vicious who put many good men to much fruitlesse paines that in regard of their charge employed themselves often to admonish and reprove his wicked behaviour to the end he might amend it but all in vaine they might as well cast stones against the wind for he would not so much as listen to their words much lesse reforme his manners Now it fell out that the Pestilence being in the City he was infected with it and therefore withdrew himselfe a part with his wife another kinswoman into a garden which he had neither yet in this extremity did the Ministers forsake him but ceased not continually to exhort him to repentance and to lay before his eyes his faults and offences to the end to bring him into the right way But he was so farre from being touched or moved with these godly admonitions that he strove rather to harden himselfe more and more in his sinnes Therefore one day hasting forward his owne mishap as hee was swearing and denying God and giving himselfe to the Devill and calling for him with vehehemency behold even the Devill indeed snatched him up suddenly and heaved him into the aire his wife and kinswoman looking on and seeing him fly over their heads Being thus swiftly transported his cap tumbled from his head and was found at Rosne
Christ Iesus When he was demanded at any time how he did he answered most usually That he was fastened of God and that it was not in man but in Gods mercy for him to be released Iohn Peter sonne in law to Alexander that cruel Keeper of Newgate being a most horrible swearer and blasphemer used commonly to say If it be not true I pray God I may rot ere I die and not in vaine for he rotted away indeed and so dyed in misery Hither we may adde a notable example of a certaine yong gallant that was a monstrous swearer who riding in the company of divers gentlemen began to sweare and most horribly blaspheme the name of God unto whom one in the company with gentle words said he should one day answer for that the Yonker taking snuffe thereat Why said he takest thou thought for me Take thought for thy winding sheet Well quoth the other amend for death giveth no warning as soone commeth a lambes skin to the market as an old sheeps Gods wounds said he care not thou for me raging still on this manner worse and worse till at length passing on their journey they came riding over a great bridge upon which this gentleman swearer spurred his horse in such sort that he sprang cleane over with the man on his backe who as hee was going cried Horse and man and all to the Divell This terrible story Bishop Ridley preached and uttered at Pauls crosse and one Haines a Minister of Cornwall the reprehender of this man was the reporter of it to Master Fox out of whom I have drawne it Let us refraine then wretches that we are our divelish tongues and leave off to provoke the wrath of God any longer against us let us forbeare all wicked and cursed speeches and acquaint our selves as well in word as in deed to praise and glorisie God CHAP. XXXII Punishments for the contempt of the Word and Sacraments and abuse of holy things NOw it is another kind of taking the Name of God in vaine to despise his Word and Sacraments for like as among earthly princes it is accounted a crime no lesse than treason either to abuse their pictures to counterfeit or deprave their seales to rent pollute or corrupt their letters patents or to use unreverently their messengers or any thing that commeth from them So with the Prince of heaven it is a fin of high degree either to abuse his Word prophanely which is the letters patents of our salvation or handle the Sacraments unreverently which are the seales of his mercy or to despise his Ministers which are his messengers untous And this he maketh knowne unto us not only by Edicts and Commandments but also by examples of his vengeance on the heads of the offendors in this case For the former look what Paul saith That for the unworthy receiving of the Sacraments many were weake and sicke among the Corinthians and many slept How much more then for the abusing and contemning the Sacraments And the Prophet David That for casting the Word of God behinde them they should have nothing to do with his Covenant How much more then for prophaning and deriding his Word And Moses when the people murmured against him and Aaron saith That their murmurings were not against them which were but Ministers but against the Lord. How much more then is the Lord enraged when they are scoffed at derided and set at naught Hence it is that the Lord denounceth a Wo to him that addeth or taketh away from the Word and calleth them dogs that abuse such precious pearles But let us come to the examples wherein the grievousnesse of this sinne willly more open than by any words can be expressed First to begin with the house of Israel which were the sole select people of the Lord whom he had chosen out of all other nations of the world to be his owne peculiar flocke and his chiefe treasure above all other people of the earth and a kingdome of Priests and a holy Nation when as they contemned and despised his Word spoken unto them by his prophets and cast his law behinde their backe he gave them over into the hands of their enemies and of Ammi made them Loammi that is of his people made them not his people and of Ruhama Loruhama that is of such as had found mercy and favour at Gods hand a nation that should obtain no mercy nor favour as the Prophet Hosea speaketh This we see plainly verified first in the ten tribes which under Ieroboam fell away from the Scepter of Iuda for after that the Lord had sundry times scourged them by many particular punishments as the famin sword and pestilence for their idolatry and rebellion to his law at the last in the ninth yere of the raign of Hoshea King of Israel he brought upon them a finall and generall destruction and delivered them into the hands of the King of Ashur who carried them away captive into Assyria and placed them in Hala and in Habor by the river of Gosan and in the cities of the Medes and in stead of them seated the men of Babel of Cuthah Ava Hamath and Sepharvaim in the cities of Samaria Thus were they utterly rooted up and spued out of the land of their inheritance and their portion given unto strangers as was threatned to them by the mouth of Moses the servant of the Lord and the cause of all this is set down by the holy Ghost 2 Kin. 17. 13. to be for that though the Lord had testified to them by al his prophets seers saying Turn from your evill wayes and keepe my commandements and my statutes according to all the Law which I commanded your fathers neverthelesse they would not obey but hardned their necks then it followeth in the 18 ver Therfore the Lord was exceeding wroth with Israel and put them out of his sight and none was left but the Tribe of Iuda onely Now though the kingdome of Iuda continued in good estate long after the desolation of the ten tribes for this hapned in the raigne of Ahaz King of Iuda yet afterward in the raigne of Zedekiah the great and famous citie Ierusalem was taken by Nabuchadnezzar the King of Babel and utterly ruined and defaced the glorious and stately temple of the Lord built by Salomon the wonder of the world was burnt down to ashes together with all the houses of Ierusalem and all other great houses in the land all the rich vessels and furniture of the temple of gold silver and brasse were carried to Babel by Nabuzaradan the chiefe steward The king himselfe was bound in chaines and after he had seen his owne sons slaine before his eyes had his owne eyes put out that he might never more take comfort of the light The priests and all the greatest and richest of the people were carried away in captivity and only the poore were left behind to dresse the vines
speedily executed Wherein the Lord made knowne unto them both how unpleasant and odious the prophanation of his Sabbath was in his sight and how seriously and carefully every one ought to observe and keepe the same Now albeit that this strict observation of the Sabbath was partly ceremoniall under the Law and that in Christ Iesus we have an accomplishment as of all other so also of this ceremony He being the true Sabbath and assured repose of our soules yet seeing we still stand in need of some time for the instruction and exercise of our Faith it is necessary that we should have at least one day in a weeke to occupy our selves in and about those holy and godly exercises which are required at our hands and what day fitter for that purpose than Sunday which was also ordained in the Apostles time for the same end and called by them Dies Dominicus that is the day of our Lord because upon that day he rose from the dead to wiâ— the morrow after the Iewes Sabbath being the first day of the weeke to which Sabbath it by common consent of the Church succeeded to the end that a difference might be put betwixt Christians and Iewes Therefore it ought now religiously to be observed as it is also commanded in the civill law with expresse prohibition not to abuse this day of holy rest in unholy sports and pastimes of evill example Neverthelesse in stead hereof we use the evill imployance abuse and disorder of it for the most part for beside the false worship and plentifull superstitions which reigne in so many places all manner of disorder and dissolutenesse is in request and beareth sway in these dayes this is the day for tipling houses and tavernes to be fullest fraught with ruffians and ribalds and for villanous and dishonest speech with lecherous and baudy songs to be most riâ—e this is the day when dicing dauncing whoring and such noysome and dishonest demeanors muster their bands and keep ranke together from whence foame out envies hatreds displeasures quarrels debates bloud sheddings and murthers as daily experience testifieth All which things are evident signes of Gods heavy displeasure upon the people where these abuses are permitted and no difference made of that day wherein God would be served but is contrarily mostdishonored by the overflow of wicked examples And that it is a thing odious and condemned of God these examples following will declare Gregory Turonensis reporteth That a husbandman who upon the Lords day went to plough his field as he cleansed his plow-share with an yron the yron stucke so fast into his hand that for two yeares hee could not be delivered from it but carried it about continually to his exceeding great paine and shame Another prophane fellow without any regard of God or his service made no conscience to convey his corne out of the field on the Lords day in Sermon time but hee was well rewarded for his godlesse covetousnesse for the same corne which with so much care he gathered together was consumed with fire from heaven with the barne and all the graine that was in it A certaine Nobleman used every Lords day to goe a hunting in the Sermon while which impiety the Lord punished with this judgement he caused his wife to bring forth a childe with a head like a dog that seeing he preferred his dogs before the service of God hee might have one of his owne getting to make much of At Kimstaâ— a towne in France there lived in the yere of our Lord 1559 a certain covetous woman who was so eager upon the world and greedy of gaine that she would neither frequent the Church to heare the word of God her selfe nor suffer any of her family to doe it but continually abode labouring and toyling about drying and pilling flax and doing other domesticall businesses neither would she be reclaimed by her neighbours who admonished and dehorted her from such untimely works One Sabbath day as they were thus busily occupied fire seemed to issue among the flax without doing any hurt the next Sabbath day it tooke fire indeed but was quickly extinct for all this she continued obstinate in her prophanenesse even the third Sabbath when the flax againe taking fire could not be quenched till it had burnt her and two of her children to death for though they were recovered out of the fire alive yet the next day they all three died And that which was most to be wondred at a young infant in the cradle was taken out of the midst of the flame without any hurt Thus God useth to exercise his judgements upon the contemners of his commandements The Centuriators of Magdeburge intreating of the manners of Christians made report out of another history that a certaine husbandman in Parochia Gemilacensi grinding corne upon the Lords day the meale began to burne Anno Dom. 1126 which though it might seeme to be a thing meere casuall yet they set it downe as a judgement of God upon him for breaking the Sabbath As also of that which they speake in the same place of one of the Kings of Denmarke who when as hee contrary to the admonition of the Priests who desired him to deferre it would needs upon the day of Pentecost make warre with his enemy died in the battell But that may be better knowne to us all which is written in the second booke of Macchabees of Nicanor the Iewes enemy who would needs set upon them on the Sabbath from which when other the Iewes that were compelled to be with him could no way disswade him he was slaine in the battell and most miserably but deservedly handled even the parts of his body shamefully dismembred as in that History you may read more at large Therefore in the Councell at Paris every one labouring to perswade unto a more religious keeping of the Sabbath day when they had justly complained that as many other things so also the observation of the Sabbath was greatly decayed through the abuse of Christian liberty in that men too much followed the delights of the world and their owne worldly pleasures both wicked and dangerous They further adde Multi nánque nostrum visu multi etiam quorundam relatu dedicimus c. For many of us have been eye-witnesses many have intelligence of it by the relation of others that some men upon this day being about their husbandry have been strucken with thunder some have been maimed and made lame some have had their bodies even bones and all burnt in a moment with visible fire and have consumed to ashes and many other judgements of God have been and are daily Whereby it is declared that God is offended with the dishonour of so high a day And our time hath not wanted examples in this kind whosoever hath observed them when sometimes in the faires upon this day the Wares have swumme in the streetes sometimes the scaffolds at Playes have falne downe
who having conspired treacherously and raised warre against his father together with the Earle of Brittaine his supporter were both vanquished and put to flight but the Earle was slaine in the pursuit The Prince himselfe also thinking to escape by sea where lay provided certaine ships ready to receive him was in the mid way overtaken together with his wife and children whom he purposed to make partakers of his fortune and were altogether by the expresse commandement of his father shut up in a little house and there burned together In this wise did Clotarius revenge the treachery and rebellion of his sonne after a more severe cruell and fierce manner than King David did who would have saved his sonne Absolons life notwithstanding all his wickednesse and malitious and furious rebellion but this man contrariwise being bereft of all fatherly affection would use no compassion towards his sonne but commanded so cruell an execution to bee performed not onely upon him but upon his daughter in law also and their children perchance altogether innocent and guiltlesse of that crime A very rare and strange example seeing it is commonly seene that grandfathers use more to cherish and cocker their childrens children than their own Therefore we must think that it was the providence of God to leave behind a notable example of his most just and righteous severity against disobedient and rebellious children to the end to amase and feare all others from enterprising the like Philip Comineus hath recorded the treacherous tragedy of a most wicked and cruell sonne called Adolphus for the world waxeth every day worse than other that came in an evening suddenly to take his father the Duke of Gilderland prisoner even as he was going to bed and would not give him so much liberty as to pull on his hose for he was bare legged but carried him away in all haste making him march on foot without breeches five long Almaine miles in a most cold weather and then clapt him up in the bottome of a deep tower where there was no light save by a little window and there kept him close prisoner six moneths together After which cruell fact he himselfe was taken prisoner in like manner and carried bound to Namur where he lay a long time untill the Gaunts reprived him forthwith and led him with them against Tournay where he was slain in the while of his imprisonment his father yeelding to nature disinherited him of all his goods for his vile ingratitude and unnaturall cruelty and left the succession of his dukedome to the Duke of Bourgondy In the yeare of our Lord 1461 in a village called Iuchi neere to Cambray there dwelt a certaine man or rather a beast that in a great rage threw his owne mother out of his doores thrice in one day and the third time told her in fury That hee had rather see his house on fire and burnt to coles than that she should abide there but one day longer It happened that the very same day according to his cursed speech his house was indeed fired but how or whence no man could judge and the fire was so fierce that it consumed to ashes not only that house but also twelve other houses adjoyning which was an evident figure of Gods just judgement in punishing so vile and unnaturall a deed by fire seeing he deserved at the least to lose his house for banishing her out of it that had borne him in her belly and nourished him with the milke of her paps In this place I may fitly insert two memorable examples of the same subject gathered by an author of credit and fame sufficient to this effect It is not long saith he since a friend of mine a man of a great spirit and worthy to be beleeved recounted to me a very strange accident which he said hapned to himselfe and proved his saying by the testimony of many witnesses which was this That being upon a time at Naples at a kinsmans and familiars house of his he heard by night the voice of a man crying in the street for aid which caused him to rise and light a candle and run out to see what the matter was being come out of the doores he perceived a cruell and ougly shaped divell striving with all his force to catch and get into his clouches a yong man that strove on the other side to defend himselfe and for feare raised that outcry which he had before heard the yong man seeing him ran to him forthwith and catching fast hold by his cloathes and pitifully crying to God would in no case let go his hold untill his cruell enemy forsooke him and being brought into the house all dismaied and beside himselfe would not let go his hold untill he came to his sences againe out of that exceeding feare The cause of which assault was he had led all his time a most wicked life and had been a contemner of God and a Rebell against his parents using vile railing and bitter speeches against them in such sort that in stead of blessing they had layd a curse upon him And this is the first example Concerning the second I will also set downe the Authors owne words as followeth Of all the strange things saith he that ever I heard report of that which happened not long since at Rome is most worthy to be remembred of a certaine yong man of Gabia borne of a base and poore family but endued with terrible and furious nature and addicted to a loose and disordinate life This gallant picking a quarrell with his owne father in his anger reviled him with most grosse and reprochfull tearmes In which mad fits as one wholly given over to the Divell he purposely departed to Rome to practise some naughty device against his father but his ghostly father the Divell met him in the way under the shape of a cruell and ougly fellow with a thicke bushie beard and haire hanging disorderly and cloathes all rent and tattered who as they walked together enquired of him why he was so sad He answered that there had passed some bitter speeches betwixt his father and him and now he devised to work him some mischiefe The Divell by and by like a crafty knave soothed him up said that he also upon the like occasion went about the same practise and desired that they might pursue both their voyage and enterprise together it was soone agreed upon betwixt them being like to like as the proverbe goeth Therefore being arrived at Rome and lodged at the same Inne one bed did serve them both where whilest the yong man securely and soundly slept the old malicious knave watching his opprtunity caught him by the throat to strangle him whereat the poore wretch awoke and cried for help to God so that the wicked spirit was constrained to forsake him without performing his purpose and to flee out at the chamber with such force and violence that the house roofe crackt and the tyles
clattered downe aboundantly The host of the house being awaked with the noyse cryed out to know what the matter was and running into the chamber where this noyse was with a candle in his hand found the poore young man all alone betwixt dead and alive of whom recovered he learnt out the whole truth as hath been told but he after this terrible accident repented him of his wicked life and was touched with the sence of his grievous sinne so nearly that ever after he led a more circumspect and honest life Thus much we finde written in that Author Henry the fifth inspired with the furies of the Pope of Rome made warre upon his father Henry the fourth vexing him with cruell and often battels and not ceasing till he had spoiled him of his Empire and till the Bishop of Mentz had proudly and insolently taken from him his Imperiall ornaments even in his presence but the Lord in recompence of his unnaturall dealing made him and his army a prey unto his enemies the Saxons and to flie before them stirring up also the Pope of Rome to be as grievous a scourge unto him as he had beene before time to his father Now as the ambition of a Kingdome was the cause of this mans ingratitude so in the example following pride and disdaine ruled and therefore he is so much the more to be condemned by how much a Kingdome is a stronger cord to draw men to vice than a mans owne affection There was saith Manlius an old man crooked with age distressed with poverty and almost pined with hunger that had a sonne rich strong and fat of whom he intreated no gold or silver or possession but food and sustenance for his belly and clothes for his backe but could not obtaine it at his hands for his proud heart exalted with prosperity thought it a shame and discredit to his house to be borne of so poore and base parentage and therefore not onely denied him reliefe but also disclaimed him from being his father and chased him away with bitter and crabbed reproaches The poore old man thus cruelly handled let teares fall as witnesse of his griefe and departed comfortlesse from his Tygre minded sonne But the Lord that gathereth up the tears of the innocent looked down from heaven in justice and sent a fury into the sences and understanding of this monstrous son that as he was void of nature and compassion so he might bevoid of reason and discretion for ever after Another not so cruell and disdainfull as the former yet cruell and disdainfull enough to plucke downe vengeace upon his head would not see his father beg indeed nor yet abjure him as the other did but yet undertaking to keepe him used him more like a slave than a father for what should be too deare for him that gives us life yet every good thing was too deare for this poore father Vpon a time a dainty morsell of meat was upon the boord to be eaten which as soone as he came in he conveied away and foisted in courser victuals in the roome But marke what his dainties turned to when the servant went to fetch it againe he found in stead of meat snakes and of sauce serpents to the great terrour of his conscience but that which is more one of the serpents leaped in his face and catching hold by his lip hung there till his dying day so that hee could never feed himselfe but he must feed the serpent withall And this badge carried he about as a cognisance of an unkinde and ungratefull sonne Moreover this is another judgment of God that commonly as children deale with their parents so doe their children deale with them and this in the law of proportion is most just and in the order of punishing most usuall for the proofe whereof as experience daily teacheth so one example or two I will subjoyne It is reported how a certaine unkind and perverse sonne beat his aged father upon a time and drew him by the haire of his head to the threshold who when hee was old was likewise beaten of his sonne and drawne also by the haire of the head not to the threshold but out of doores into the durt and how hee should say he was rightly served if he had left him at the threshold as he left his father and not dragged him into the streets which hee did not to his Thus did his owne mouth beare record of his impiety and his owne conscience condemne him before God and men Another old man being persuaded by his son that had maried a yong wise with faire and sugred promises of kindnesses and contentments to surrender his goods and lands unto him yeelded to his request and found for a space all things to his desire but when his often coughing annoyd his yong and dainty wise he first removed his lodging from a faire high chamber to a base under roome and after shewed him many other unkinde and unchildly parts and lastly when the old man as ked for cloathes he bought foure elnes of cloath two wherof he bestowed upon him and reserved the other two for himselfe Now his young sonne marking this niggardise of his father towards his grandfather hid the two elles of cloath and being asked why hee hid them whether by ingeniousnesse or instinct of God he answered To the end to reserve them for his father against he was old to be a covering for him Which answer touched his father so neere that ever after hee shewed himselfe more loving and obsequious to his father than he did before Two great faults but soone and happily amended Would it might be an example to all children if not to mitigate them yet at least to learne them to feare how to deale roughly and crookedly with their parents seeing that God punisheth sinne with sinne and sinners in their owne kinde and measureth the same measure to every man which they have measured unto others The like we read of another that provided a trough for his old decrepit unmannerly father to eat his meat in who being demanded of his sonne also to what use that trough should serve answered for his grandfather What quoth the childe and must we have the like for you when you are old Which words so abashed him that he threw it away forthwith At Millan there was an abstinate and ungodly sonne that when he was admonished by his mother of some fault which he had committed made a wry mouth and pointed his fingers at her in scorne and derision Whereat his mother being angry wished that he might make such a mouth upon the gallowes Neither was it a vaine wish for within few daies he was taken with a theft and condemned by law to be hanged and being upon the ladder was perceived to wryth his mouth in griefe after the same fashion which he had done before to his mother in derision Henry the second of that name
were there overthrown killed and hanged by troups In the yeare of our Lord 1525 there were certain husbandmen of Souabe that began to stand in resistance against the Earle of Lupsfen by reason of certaine burthens which they complained themselves to be overlaid with by him their neighbors seeing this enterprised the like against their Lords And so upon this small beginning by a certaine contagion there grew up a most dangerous and fearefull commotion that spread it selfe almost over all Almaine the sedition thus increasing in all quarters and the swaines being now full forty thousand strong making their owne liberty and the Gospels a cloake to cover their treason and rebellion and a pretence of their undertaking armes to the wonderfull griefe of all that feared God did not onely fight with the Romane Catholickes but with all other without respect as well in Souabe as in Franconia they destroyed the greater part of the Nobility sacked and burnt many castles and fortresses to the number of two hundred and put to death the Earle of Helfest in making him passe through their pikes But at length their strength was broken they discomfited and torn in pieces with a most horrible massacre of more than eighteen thousand of them During this sedition there were slaine on each side fifty thousand men The captaine of the Souabian swaines called Geismer having betaken himselfe to flight got over the mountaines of Padua where by treason he was made away In the yeare of our Lord 1517 in the Marquesdome of the Vandales the like insurrection and rebellion was of the commonalty especially the baser sort against the Nobility Spirituall and Temporall by whom they were oppressed with intolerable exactions their army was numbred of ninety thousand men all clowns and husbandmen that conspired together to redresse and reforme their owne grievances without any respect of civill Magistrate or feare of Almighty God This rascality of swaines raged and tyranized every where burning and beating down the castles and houses of Noblemen and making their ruines even with the ground Nay they handled the Noblemen themselves as many as they could attaine unto not contumeliously only but rigorously and cruelly for they tormented them to death and carried their heads upon speares in token of victory Thus they swayed a while uncontrolled for the Emperour Maximilian winked at their riots as being acquainted with what in juries they had been overcharged but when he perceived that the rude multitude did not limit their fury within reason but let it runne too lavish to the damnifying as well the innocent as the guilty he made out a small troup of mercinary souldiers together with a band of horsemen to suppresse them who comming to a city were presently so environed with such a multitude of these swaines that like locusts overspread the earth that they thought it impossible to escape with their lives wherefore feare and extremity made them to rush out to battell with them But see how the Lord prospereth a good cause for all their weak number in comparison of their enemies yet such a feare possessed their enemies hearts that they fled like troups of sheep and were slaine like dogges before them insomuch that they that escaped the sword were either hanged by flocks on trees or rosted on spits by fires or otherwise tormented to death And this end befell that wicked rebellious rout which wrought such mischiefe in that country with their monstrous villanies that the traces and steppes thereof remaine at this day to bee seene In the yeare of our Lord 1381 Richard the second being King the Commons of England and especially of Kent and Essex by meanes of a taxe that was set upon them suddenly rebelled and assembled together on Blackheath to the number of 60000 or more which rebellious rout had none but base and ignoble fellowes for their captaines as Wat Tiler Iacke Straw Tom Miller but yet they caused much trouble and disquietnesse in the Realme and chiefly about the city of London where they committed much villany in destroying many goodly places as the Savoy and others and being in Smithfield used themselves very proudly and unreverently towards the King but by the manhood and wisedome of William Walworth Major of London who arrested their chiefe captain in the midst of them that rude company was discomfited and the ringleaders of them worthily punished In like manner in the raigne of Henry the seventh a great commotion was stirred up in England by the Commons of the North by reason of a certaine taxe which was levied of the tenth peny of all mens lands and goods within the land in the which the Earle of Northumberland was slain but their rash attempt was soon broken and Chamberlain their captain with divers other hanged at Yorke for the same Howbeit their example feared not the Cornishmen from rebelling upon the like occasion of a tax under the conduct of the Lord Audley untill by woefull experience they felt the same scourge for the King met them upon Blackheath and discomfiting their troups took their captaines and ring leaders and put them to most worthy and sharp death Thus we may see the unhappy issue of all such seditious revoltings and thereby gather how unpleasant they are in the sight of God Let all the people therefore learne by these experiences to submit themselves in the feare of God to the higher powers whether they be Lords Kings Princes or any other that are set over them CHAP. VI. Of Murtherers AS touching Murther which is by the second commandement of the second Table forbidden in these words Thou shalt not kill the Lord denounceth this judgment upon it That he which striketh a man that hee dieth shall die the death And this is correspondent to that Edict which he gave to Noah presently after the universall floud to suppresse that generall cruelty which had taken root from the beginning in Cain and his posterity being carefull for mans life saying That he will require the bloud of man at the hands of either man or beast that killeth him adding moreover That whosoever sheddeth mans bloud by man also his bloud shall be shed seeing that God created him after his owne Image which he would not have to be basely accounted of but deare and precious unto us If then the bruit and unreasonable creatures are not exempted from the sentence of death pronounced in the law if they chance to kill a man how much more punishable then is man endued with will and reason when malitiously and advisedly he taketh away the life of his neighbour But the hainousnesse and greatnesse of this sinne is most lively expressed by that ordinance of God set downe in the 21 of Deutronomy where it is enjoyned That if a man be found slain in the field and it be not knowne who it was that slew him then the Elders and Iudges of the next towne assembling together should offer up an expiatory sacrifice
the Emperor Fredericke and fought with him with an armie not of men but of excommunications and cursings as their manner is and seeing that all his thundering Buls and Canons could not prevaile so farre as he desired he presently sought to bring to passe that by treason which by force he could not for he so enchanted certain of his household servants with foule bribes and faire words that when by reason of his short draught the poyson which he ministred could not hurt him he got them to strangle him to death Moreover he was chiefe sower of that warre betwixt Henry Lantgrave of Thuring whom hee created King of the Romanes and Conrade Frederickes sonne wherein he reaped a crop of discomfitures and overthrowes after which he was found slaine in his bed his body being full of blacke markes as if he had beene beaten to death with cudgels Concerning Boniface after he had by subtile and crafty meanes made his predecessor dismisse himselfe of his Papacie and enthronised himselfe therein he put him to death in prison and afterward made war upon the Gibilines and committed much cruelty wherefore also he dyed mad as we heard before But touching Popes and their punishments we shall see more in the 44 chapter following whither the examples of them are referred that exceeding in all kinde of wickednesse cannot be rightly placed in the treatise of any particular commandement CHAP. IX Other memorable examples of the same subject IF wee descend from antiquities to histories of later and fresher memory wee shall finde many things worthy report and credit as that which happened in the yeere 1405 betwixt two Gentlemen of Henault the one of which accused the other for killing a neere kinsman of his which the other utterly stedfastly denied whereon DWilliam County of Henault offered them the combat in the city of Quesney to decide the controversie when as by law it could not be ended whereunto they being come and having broken their speares in two and encountered valiantly with their swords at length he that was charged with and indeed guilty of the murder was overcome of the other and made to confesse with his mouth in open audience the truth of the fact Wherefore the Country adjudged him in the same place to be beheaded which was speedily executed and the conquerour honourably conducted to his lodging Now albeit this manner of deciding controversies be not approved of God yet we must not think it happened at all adventures but rather that the issue thereof came of the Lord of Hosts that by this meanes gave place to the execution of his most high and soveraigne justice by manifesting the murderer and bringing him to that punishment which he deserved About this very time there was a most cruell and out ragious riot practised and performed upon Lewis Duke of Orleance brother to Charles the sixth by the complot and devise of Iohn Duke of Burgundie who as hee was naturally haughtie and ambitious went about to usurpe the government of the realme of France for that the king by reason of weakenesse of his braine was not able to mannage the affaires thereof so that great trouble and uncivill warres were growne up by that occasion in every corner of the realme As therefore he affected and gaped after the rule so hee thought no meanes dishonest to attaine unto it and therefore his first enterprise was to take out of the way the Kings brother who stood betwixt him and home Having therefore provided fit champions for his purpose he found opportunity one night to cause him to come out of his lodging late by counterfeit tokens from the king as if he had sent for him about some matters of importance and being in the way to S. Pauls hostle where the kings lodging was in Paris the poore Prince suspecting nothing was suddenly set upon with eighteen roisters at once with such fury and violence that in very short space they left him dead upon the pavement by the gate Barbet his braines lying scattered about the street After this detestable and odious act committed and detected the cruell Burgundian was so farre from shaming that he vanted and boasted at it as if he had atchieved the most valorous and honourable exploit in the World so farre did his impudencie outstretch the bond of reason Neverthelesse to cast some counterfeit colour upon this rough practise he used the conscience and fidelitie of three famous Divines of Paris who openly in publike assemblies approved of this murder saying That he had greatly offended if he had left it undone About this device he imployed especially M. Iohn Petit a Sorbonist Doctor whose rashnesse and brasen-facednesse was so great as in the councel-house of the King stoutly to averre That that which was done in the death of the Duke of Orleance was a vertuous and commendable action and the author of it to be void of fault and therefore ought to be void of punishment The preface which this brave Orator used was That he was bounden in duetie to the Duke of Burgundie in regard of a goodly pension which he had received at his hands and for that cause he had prepared his poor tongue in token of gratitude to defend his cause He might better have said thus That seeing his tongue was poore and miserable and he himselfe a sencelesse creature therefore he ought not to allow or defend so obstinately such a detestable traiterous murder committed upon a Duke of Orleance and the same the Kings brother in such vile sort and that if he should doe otherwise he should approve of that which God and man apparently condemned yea the very Turkes and greatest Paynims under heaven and that he should justifie the wicked and condemne the innocent which is an abomination before God and should put darkenesse in stead of light and call that which is evill good for which the Prophet Esay in his fifth chapter denounceth the jugdements of God against false prophets and should follow the steps of Balaam which let out his tongue to hire for the wages of iniquity but none of these supposes came once into his minde But to returne to our History The Duke of Burgundy having the tongues of these brave Doctors at his commandement and the Parisians who bore themselves partially in this quarrell generally favourers of his side came to Paris in armes to justifie himselfe as he pretended and strucke such a dreadfull awe of himselfe into all mens mindes that notwithstanding all the earnest pursuit of the Dutchesse the widow of Orleance for justice he escaped unpunished untill God by other meanes tooke vengeance upon him which happened after a while after that those his complices of Paris being become lords and rulers of the citie had committed many horrible and cruell murders as of the Constable and Chancellor two head officers of the realme whose bodies fast bound together they drew naked through the streets from place to place in most
him of his gard from that he arose to be a Tribune and at last to bee Emperor which place he was no sooner in possession of but immoderate cruelty all this while buried began to shew it selfe for he made havocke of all the Nobilitie and put to death those that he suspected to be acquainted with his estate insomuch as some called him Cyclops some Bâ—siris others Aâ—teus for his cruelty Wherefore the Senate of Rome seeing his indignity proclaimed him an enemy to their commonwealth and made it lawfull for any man to procure his death Which being knowne his souldiers lying at the siege of Aquileia moved with hatred entred his tent at noone day and flew him and his sonne together Iustinian the yonger no lesse hatefull to his subjects for his cruelty than Maximinus was deposed from the empire by conspiracy and having his nosthrils slit exiled to Chersona Leontius succeeding in his place Howbeit ere long he recovered his Crowne and Scepter and returned to Constantinople exercising more cruelty at his returne than ever he had done before for he had not only put to death Leontius and Tiberius but also all that any way favored their parts It is said of him that he never blew his mangled nose but he caused one of them to be executed to death At last he was slaine by Philippicus to verifie the word of the Lord That he which striketh with the sword shall perish with the sword Albonius king of Lunbardy drinking upon a time to his wife Rosimund in a cup made of her fathers skull whom he in battell had slaine so displeased her therewith that attributing more to naturall affection than unity of marriage decreed with her selfe to hazard life and kingdome to be revenged upon this grievous injurie wherefore she thus practised A knight called Hemichild was enamoured with one of her maids him shee brought into a secret darke place by policie in shew to injoy his love but indeed to be at her command for she supplyed his loves place and then discovering her selfe put it to his choise either to kill her husband or to be accused by her of this villanie Hemichild chose the former and indeed murdered his Lord in his bed and after the deed done fled with her to Ravenna But marke how the Lord required this murder even most strangely for they both which were linkt together in the fact were linkt together also in the punishment and as they had beene joynt instruments of anothers destruction so he made them mutuall instruments of their owne for Rosimund thinking to poyson him too made him drinke halfe her medicine but hee feeling the poyson in his veines staied in the mid way and made her sup up the other halfe for her part so they died both together The Electors of the Empire disagreeing in suffrages Adolphus Duke of Nassavia and Albertus Duke of Austria tooke upon them the regiment and managing of the State whereupon grew grievous wars in all Germanie and dissention between the two State-men so that Adolphus was slaine by the Duke of Austria in battell by the citie of Spire whose death was thus notably revenged All that tooke part against him or that were accessary to the murder perished most strangely Albert Earle of Hagerloch was slaine Otto of Ochsensteme was hanged the Bishop of Mentz died suddenly of an apoplexie in his cellar the Bishop of Strasbrough was butchered by a Butcher the Earle of Leimingen died of a frensie the Duke of Austria himselfe was slaine by his nephew Iohn from whom hee had taken the government of Suevia because of his unthriftinesse generally they all came to destruction so grievous is the crie of innocent bloud against those that are guilty thereof After the death of Woldimirus King of Rhythenia his sonne Berisus succeeded in the kingdome who though hee was a vertuous and religious Prince yet could not his vertue or religion priviledge him from the malice of his brother Suadopolcus who gaping and itching for the Crowne slew his brother this good Prince as hee was sleeping in his Chamber together with his Esquire that attended upon him and not content herewith but adding murder to murder hee assaulted another of his brethren by the same impietie and brought him to the same end Whereupon the last brother Iorislaus to bee revenged on this villanie set upon him with an armie of men and killing his complices drove him to fly to Crachus king of Polonia for succour who furnishing him with a new armie sent him backe against his brother in which battell his successe being equall to the former hee lost his men and himselfe escaping the sword dyed in his flight to Polonia and was buried in a base and ignoble sepulchre fit enough for so base and ignoble a wretch And that we may see how hatefull and ungodly a thing it is to be either a protector or a saver of any murderer marke the judgement of God that fell upon this king of Polonia though not in his own person yet in his posterity for hee being dead his eldest sonne and heire Crachus was murdered by his younger brother Lechus as they were hunting so disguised and torn that every man imputed his death not to Lechus whose eyes dropt crocodiles teares but to some savage and cruell beast howbeit ere long his trechery being discovered and disseised of his kingdome hee died with extreame griefe and horrour of conscience And thus we see that Crachus his kingdome came to desolation for maintaining a murderer Iohn the high Priest of Jerusalem sonne and successor to Iudas had a brother termed Iesus to whom Bagoses the lieutenant of Artaxerxes army promised the Priesthood meaning indeed to depose Iohn and install him in his roome upon which occasion this Iesus growing insolent spared not to revile his brother and that in the temple with immodest and opprobrious speeches so that his anger being provoked he slew him in his rage a most impious part for the high Priest to pollute the holy temple with bloud and that of his owne brother and so impious that the Lord in justice could not chuse but punish the whole nation for it most severely For this cause Bagoses imposed a tribute upon them even a most grievous tribute that for every lambe they offered upon the altar they should pay fiftie groats to the king of Persia besides the prophanation of their temple with the uncircumcised Persians who entred into it at their pleasures and so polluted the Sanctuary and holy things of God this punishment continued upon them seven yeares and all for this one murder Gerhardus Earle of Holsatia after he had conquered the Danes in many and sundry battells was traiterously slaine in the citie Kanderhusen by one Nicolaus Iacobus a rich Baron so that whom the open enemy feared in the field him the privie subtile foe murdered in his chamber But the traitor and murderer albeit hee fled to the castle Schaldenburg and
grace of Gods spirit saw his Sorbonicall errors and renounced them betaking himselfe to the profession of the purer religion and the company and acquaintance of godly men amongst whom was Bucer that excellent man who sent him also to Nurnburge to oversee the printing of a booke which he was to publish Whilest Diazius lived at this Nurnburge a city scituat upon the river Dimow his brother a lawyer and judge laterall to the Inquisition by name Alphonsus came thither and by all meanes possible endevoured to dissuade him from his religion and to reduce him againe to Popery But the good man persisted in the truth notwithstanding all his perswasions and threats wherefore the subtill fox took another course and faining himselfe to be converted also to his religion exhorted him to goe with him into Italy where he might do much good or at the least to Angust but by the counsell of Bucer and his friends he was kept back otherwise willing to follow his brother Wherefore Alphonsus departed and exhorted him to constancy and perseverance giving him also fourteene crowns to defray his charges Now the wolfe had not been three dayes absent when he hired a rakehell and common butcher and with him flew again to Nurnburge in post hast and comming to his brothers lodging delivered him a letter which whilest he read the villain his confederat cleft his head in pieces with an axe leaving him dead upon the floore and so fled with all expedition Howbeit they were apprehended yet quit by the Popes justice so holy and sacred are the fruits of his Holinesse though not by the justice of God for within a while after hee hung himselfe upon his mules necke at Trent Duke Abrogastes slew Valentinian the Emperour of the West and advanced Eugenius to the crowne of the Empire but a while after the same sword which had slain his lord and master was by his owne hands turned into his owne bowels Mempricius the sonne of Madan the fourth King of England then called Britaine after Brute had a brother called Manlius betwixt whom was great strife for the soveraigne dominion but to rid himselfe of all his trouble at once he slew his brother Manlius by treason and after continued his raigne in tyranny and all unlawfull lusts the space of twenty yeeres but although vengeance all this while winked yet it slept not for at the end of this space as he was hunting he was devoured of wilde beasts In the yeare of our Lord God 745 one Sigebert was authorised king of the Saxons in Britaine a cruell and tyrannous Prince towards his subjects and one that changed the ancient Lawes and customes of his Realme after his owne pleasure and because a certaine Nobleman somewhat sharpely advertised him of his evill conditions hee maliciously caused him to bee put to death But see how the Lord revenged this murder hee caused his Nobles to deprive him of his kingly authority and at last as a desolate and forlorne person wandring alone in a wood to be slaine of a swineheard whose master he being king had wrongfully put to death About the yeare of our Lord 793 Ethelbert king of the East Angles a learned and right godly Prince came to the court of Offa the king of Mercia perswaded by the counsell of his nobles to sue for the marriage of his daughter well accompanied like a prince with a great traine of men about him whereupon Offa's Queene conceiving a false suspition of that which was never minded That Ethelbert under the pretence of this marriage was come to worke some violence against her husband and the kingdome of Mercia so perswaded with king Offa and certaine of his Councell that night that the next day following Offa caused him to be trained into his palace alone from his company by one called Guymbertus who tooke him and bound him and after strooke off his head which forthwith he presented to the king and Queene Thus was the innocent King wrongfully murdered but not without a just revenge on Gods hand for the aforesaid Queene worker of this villany lived not three moneths after and in her death was so tormented that she bit and rent her tongue in pieces with her teeth which was the instrument to set abroach that murtherous practise Offa himselfe understanding at length the innocency of the king and the hainous cruelty of his fact gave the tenth part of his goods to the Church bestowed upon the Church of Hereford in remembrance of this Ethelbert great lands builded the Abbey of S. Albons with certaine other Monasteries beside and afterward went to Rome for his penance where hee gave to the Church of S. Peter a peny through every house in his dominion which was commonly called Romeshot or Peterpence and there at length was transformed from a king to a monke Thus God punished not only him and his wife but the whole land for this vile murder One principall cause of the conquest of this land by the Normans was a vile and horrible murder committed by one Goodwin an Earle in England upon certaine Mormans that came overwith Alfred and Edward to visit their mother Emma that had beene married to King Canutus This matter thus fell out When these two came from Normandy to England to visit their mother as I have said Earle Goodwin having a daughter called Godith whom hee thought to marry to Edward and advance him to the kingdome to bring his purpose to passe used this practise that is to perswade King Hardeknout and the Lords not to suffer those Normans to bee within the Realme for jeopardy but rather to punish them for example by which meanes hee got authority to order the matter himselfe Wherefore hee met them on Guild downe and there wretchedly murdered or rather martyred the most part of the Normans killing nine and leaving the tenth alive throughout the whole company and then tything againe the said tyth he slew every tenth knight and that by cruell torment as winding their guts out of their body after a most savage manner among the rest he put out the eyes of the elder of the two brethren Alfred and sent him to an Abbey at Elie where being fed with bread and water hee ere long ended his life Now albeit hee obtained his purpose hereby and married his daughter to Edward who was after King called Edward the Confessor yet did not Gods justice sleepe to punish this horrible murder for he himselfe died not long after suddenly having forsworne himselfe and the Normanes with William their Duke ere long came into this Iland to revenge this murder as also to claime a right of inheritance bequeathed unto him by Edward his Nephew and how hee succeeded and what misery he brought this whole Nation unto who knoweth not But heere is the justice of God As the Normans comming with a naturall English Prince were most cruelly and barbarously murdered of Englishmen so afterwards the Englishmen were slaine and
conquered by the Normans comming with a forreine King being none of their naturall countrey In the yeare of our Lord sixe hundred threescore and eighteene Childerich King of France caused a Nobleman of his Realme called Bolyde to bee bound to a stake and there beaten to death without the pretence of any just crime or accusation against him For which cruelty his Lords and Commons being grievously offended conspired together and slew him and his wife as they were hunting In the raigne of Edward the second and Edward the third Sir Roger Mortimer committed many villanous outrages in shedding much humane bloud but he was also justly recompenced in the end first he murdered King Edward the second lying in Barkeley Castle to the end he might as it was supposed enjoy Isabel his wife with whom he had very suspitious familiarity Secondly he caused Edward the third to conclude a dishonorable peace with the Scots by restoring them all their ancient writings charters and patents whereby the Kings of Scotland had bound themselves to be feudaries to the Kings of England Thirdly he accused Edmund Earle of Kent uncle to King Edward of treason and caused him unjustly to bee put to death And lastly he conspi redagainst the King to worke his destruction for which and divers other things that were laid to his charge he was worthily and justly beheaded In the reigne of Henry the sixt Humfrey the good duke of Gloucester and faithfull protectour of the King by the meanes of certaine malicious persons to wit the Queene the Cardinall of Winchester and especially the Marquesse of Suffolke as it was supposed was arrested cast into hold and strangled to death in the Abbey of Bure For which cause the Lords hand of judgement was upon them all for the Marquesse was not onely banished the land for the space of five yeares but also banished out of his life for ever for as hee sailed towards France hee was met withall by a Ship of Warre and there presently beheaded and the dead corps cast up at Dover that England wherein he had committed the crime might be a witnesse of his punishment The Queene that thought by this meanes to preserve her husband in honour and her selfe in estate thereby both lost her husband and her state her husband lost his realme and the Realme lost Anjou Normandy with all other places beyond the sea Calice onely excepted As for the Cardinall who was the principall artificer of all this mischiefe he lived not long after and being on his death bed murmured and grudged against God asking wherefore hee should die having so much wealth and riches and saying That if the whole Realme would save his life he was able either by policy to get it or by riches to buy it but death would not be bribed for all his aboundant treasure he died miserably more like a Heathen than a Christian without any shew of repentence And thus was the good Dukes death revenged upon the princiall procurers thereof As the murder of a gentleman in Kent called master Arden of Feversham was most execrable so the wonderfull discovery thereof was exceeding rare This Arden being somewhat aged had to wife a young woman no lesse faire than dishonest who being in love with one Mosbie more than her husband did not onely abuse his bed but also conspired his death with this her companion for together they hired a notorious Ruffin one Blacke Will to strangle him to death with a towell as he was playing a game at tables which though secretly done yet by her owne guilty conscience and some tokens of bloud which appeared in his house was soone discovered and confessed Wherefore she her selfe was burnt at Canterbury Michael master Ardens man was hanged in chaines at Feversham Mosbie and his sister were hanged in Smithfield Greene another partner in this bloudy action was hanged in chaines in the high way against Feversham And Blacke Will the Ruffian after his first escape was apprehended and burnt on a seaffold at Flushing in Zeeland And thus all the murderers had their deserved dues in this life and what they endured in the life to come except they obtained mercy by true repentance is easie to judge CHA. XI Of the admirable discovery of Murders AS the Lord hath shewed himselfe a most just Judge in punishing most severely this horrible sinne of shedding mans bloud so hath he alwaies declared his detestation thereof and his will to have it punished by those who are in his stead upon the earth and have the sword of vengeance committed unto them by his miraculous and superhaturall detecting of such murderers from time to time who have carried their villanies so closely as the eye of man could not espy them plainely shewing thereby that the bloud of the slaine crieth to the Lord for vengeance from the earth as Abels did upon Cain and that God will have that law stand true and firme which he made almost before all other lawes He that sheddeth mans bloud by man shall his bloud be shed If I should commit to writing all the examples of this kinde which either are recorded in Authors or which dayly experience doth offer unto us it would require rather a full Booke than a short Chapter for that subject And therefore I will be content with some few and those for truth most credible and yet for strangenesse most incredible And to begin with our owne countrey About the yeare of our Lord 867 a certaine Nobleman of the Danes of the kings stock called Lothebrocus father to Inguar and Hubba entring upon a certaine time with his hawke into a cockboat alone by chance through tempest was driven with his hawke to the coast of Northfolke in England named Rodham where being found and detained he was presented to king Edmund that raigned over the East-Angles in Northfolke and Suffolke at that time The King as hee was a just and good man understanding his parentage and seeing his cause entertained him in his Court accordingly and every day more and more perceiving his activity and great dexterity in hunting and hawking bare speciall favour unto him insomuch that the Kings Faulconer bearing privy malice against him for this cause secretly as they were hunting together in a wood did murther him and threw him in a bush Lothebroke being thus murthered and shortly missed in the Kings house no tydings could be heard of him untill it pleased God to reveale the murther by his dog which continuing in the wood with the corps of his Master at sundry times came to the Court and fauned on the King so that the King suspecting some such matter at length followed the trace of the hound and was brought to the place where Lothebroke lay Whereupon inquisition being made at length by some circumstances of words and other suspitions it was knowne that he was murdered by Berikâ— the Kings Faulconer who for his punishment he was set into the same boat of Lothebroke
Cassius near Modene all which victories and lucky proceedings did so embolden and puffe up the courage of Captain Fencer that he determined to give an alarme to Rome and to lay siege unto it but the Romanes preparing and directing all their Forces to withstand their practices gave him and his crue so sore a repulse that from Rome they were fain to flie to the uttermost parts of Italie and there seeing themselves pent in on all sides and driven to deep extremity they gave so desperate an onset on their enemies that both their Captain and they were all slain And thus the Romans made jolly pastime with their Fencers and bondslaves and more I thinke at this time than they either looked or wished for for four hundred of them being taken by the bondmen were enforced to shew them pastime at the same game whereat they had oftentimes made themselves merry at their costs and to kill one another as they had before time caused them to do How curious and desirous the people of Rome was wont to be of beholding these bloudy and mischievous games Cornelius Tacitus in the fourth book of his Annales declareth at large where he reporteth That in the City of the Fidenates in the twelfth year of the Raigne of Tiberius the people being gathered together to behold the Fencers prizes were fifty thousand of them hurt and maimed at one time by the Amphitheatre that fell upon them a cruell pastime indeed and a strange accident not comming by adventure as some suppose but by the just vengeance of God to suppresse such pernitious and uncivill sports The same story is registred by Paulus Orosius in his seventh book with this adjection That at that time were slain more than twenty thousand persons I cannot passe over in silence two notable and memorable Histories of two Lions recorded by two famous Authours Seneca the one and Auluâ— Gellius the other The first of whom reporteth That he saw on the Theatre a Lion who seeing a slave that sometimes had been his keeper throwne among the beasts to be devoured acknowledged him and defended him from their teeth and would not suffer any of them to do him hurt The second bringeth the testimony of one Appianus that affirmeth himselfe to have seen at Rome a Lion who for old acquaintance sake which he had with a condemned servant fawned upon him and cleared him in like manner from the fury of the other beasts The History was this A certain bondslave too roughly handled by his master forsook him and fled away and in his flight retiring into a desart and not knowing how to bestow himselfe took up a cave for his lodging where he had not long abode but a mighty Lion came halting to his den with a sore and bloudy leg the poor slave all forgone at this strange and ugly sight looked every minute to be devoured but the Lion in another mood came fawningly and softly towards him as if he would complain unto him of his grief whereat somewhat heartened he bethought himselfe to apply some medicine to his would and to binde up the sore as well as he could which he had no sooner done but the Lion made out for his prey and ere long returning brought home to his Host and Chirurgion certain gobbets of raw flesh which he halfe roasting upon a rocke by the Sun-beames made his daily sustenance for the time of his abode there notwithstanding at length wearied with this old and savage life and hating to abide long in that estate he for sook the desart and put himselfe again to adventure now it chanced that he was taken by his old master and carried from Aegypt to Rome to the end to be an actor in those beastly Tragoedies but by chance his old patient the Lion taken also since his departure being ready amongst other beasts to play his part knew him by and by and ran unto him fawning and making much of him the people wondring at this strange accident after enquiry made of the cause thereof gave him the Lion and caused him to lead him in a string through the City for a miracle for indeed both this and the former deserve no other name Thus God reproveth the savage inhumanity of men by the example of the wilde and furious beasts at whose teeth poor servants found more favour than at their masters hands The Emperour Constamine weighing the indignity of these and such like pastimes and knowing how far they ought to be banished from the society of men by a publike Edict abolished all such bloudy and monstrous spectacles In like manner these monomachies and single combates performed in places inclosed for the purpose wherein one at the least if not both must of necessary die ought to be abrogated in a Christian policy as by the Laterane Councell it was well enacted with this penalty That whosoever should in that manner be slain his body should be deprived of Ecclesiasticall buriall and truely most commonly it commeth to passe that they that presume most upon their owne prowesse and strength and are most forward in offering combat either lose their lives or gain discredit which is more grievous than death CHAP. XIX Of such as exercise too much rigour and severity FUrthermore we must understand that God doth not only forbid murder and bloudshed but also all tyranny and oppression therein providing for the weak against the strong the poor against the rich and bondslaves against their masters to the end that none might be trode under foot and oppressed of others under pain of his indignation Insomuch therefore as the Romans used such rigour towards their servants it came to passe by a just judgement of God that they being Lords over all the World were three sundry times driven by their servants into great extremities As first in Rome within the wals at the sametime when they also were troubled with the seditious factions of their Tribunes Secondly in Sicily where they horribly laid waste the whole Countrey the cause of which commotion was because the Romans had chained a multitude of slaves together and in that order sent them to maâ—â—ur and till the ground for a certain Syrian first assembled two thousand men of them that came next hand then breaking up the Prisons multiplied his Army to fourty thousand and with them pulled downe Castles rased up Townes and destroyed every where The third undertaken by a Shepherd who having killed his master set at liberty all the â—ondmen and prepared an Army of them wherewith he spoiled Cities Townes Castles and discomfited the Armies of Servilius and Lucullus who were pretors at that time but at last they were destroyed and rooted out by little and little and this good service got the Romans at their servants hands As every Nation hath his proper vertue and vice ascribed to it so the Spaniards for their part are noted famous for cruelty towards their subjects and vassals insomuch that as experience
besieging him in his owne City took him at last prisoner and hanged him with his two sons Francis and William Diocles son of Pisistratus Tyran of Athens for ravishing a maid was slain by her brother whose death when Hippias his brother undertook to revenge and caused the maidens brother to be racked that he might discover the other conspiratours he named all the Tyrans friends which by commandment being put to death the Tyran asked whether there were any more None but onely thy selfe quoth he whom I would wish next to be hanged whereby it was perceived how abundantly he had revenged his sisters chastity by whose notable stomacke all the Athenians being put in remembrance of their liberty expelled their Tyran Hippias out of their City Mundus a young Gentleman of Rome ravished the chaste Matron Paulina in this fashion when he perceived her resolution not to yeeld unto his lust he perswaded the Priests of Isis to say that they were warned by an Oracle how that Anubius the god of Egypt desired the company of the said Paulina to whom the chaste Matron gave light credence both because she thought the Priests would not lie and also because it was accounted a great renowne to have to do with a god and thus by this meanes was Paulina abused by Mundus in the Temple of Isis under the name of Anubius Which thing being after disclosed by Mundus himselfe he was thus justly revenged the Priests were put to death the Temple beaten downe to the ground the Image of Isis throwne into Tiber and the young man banished A principall occasion of the Danes first arrivall here in England which after conquered the whole Land and exercised among the Inhabitants most horrible cruelties and outrages was a Rape committed by one Osbright a deputy King under the King of the West-Saxons in the North part This Osbright upon a time journeying by the way turned into the house of one of his Nobles called Bruer who having a wife of great beauty he being from home the King after dinner allured with her excellent beauty took her to a secret Chamber where he forcibly contrary to her will ravished her whereupon she being greatly dismayed and vexed made her mone to her husband at his returne of this violence and injury received The Nobleman forthwith studying revenge first went to the King and resigned to his hands all such services and possessions which he held of him and then took shipping and sailed into Denmarke where he had great friends and had his bringing up there making his mone to Codrinus the King desired his aid in revenging of the great villany of Osbright against him and his wife Codrinus glad to entertain any occasion of quarrell against this Land presently levied an Army and preparing all things for the same sendeth forth Inguar and Hubba two brethren with a mighty Army of Danes into England who first arriving at Holdernesse burnt up the Countrey and killed without mercy both men women and children then marching towards Yorke encountered with wicked Osbright himselfe where he with the most part of his Army was slain and discomfited a just reward for his villanous act as also one chief cause of the Conquest of the whole Land by the Danes In the year of our Lord 955. Edwine succeeding his uncle Eldred was King of England this man was so impudent that in the very day of his Coronation he suddenly withdrew himselfe from his Lords and in sight of certain persons ravished his owne kinswoman the wife of a Nobleman of his Realme and afterward slew her husband that he might have unlawfull use of her beauty for which act he became so odious to his Subjects and Nobles that they joyntly rose against him and deprived him of his Crowne when he had reigned four yeares CHAP. XXII Other examples of Gods Judgements upon Adulterers AMongst all other things this is especially to be noted how God for a greater punishment of the disordinate lust of men strucke them with a new yet filthy and stinking kinde of Disease called the French Pox though indeed the Spaniards were the first that were infected therewith by the heat which they caught among the women of the new-found lands and sowed the seeds thereof first in Spain and from thence sprinkled Italy therewith wherethe French men caught it when Charles the Eighth their King went against Naples From whence the contagion spread it selfe throughout divers places of Europe Barbary was so over-growne with it that in all their Cities the tenth part escaped not untouched nay almost not a Family but was infected From thence it ran to Aegypt Syria and the graund Cair and it may near hand truly be said that there was not a corner of the habitable world where this not onely new and strange for it was never heard of in antient ages but terrible and hideous scourge of Gods wrath stretched not it selfe They that were spotted with it and had it rooted in their bodies led a languishing life full of aches and torments and carried in their visages filthy markes of unclean behaviour as ulcers boyles and such like that greatly disfigured them And herein we see the words of Saint Paul verified That an Adulterer sinneth against his owne body Now for so much as the world is so brutishly carried into this sin as to none more the Lord therefore hath declared his anger against it in divers sorts so that divers times he hath punished it in the very act or not long after by a strange death Of which Alcibiades one of the great Captaines of Athens may stand for an example who being polluted with many great and odious vices and much given to his pleasures and subject to all uncleannesse ended his life in the midst thereof for as he was in company of a Phrygian strumpet having flowne thither to the King of Phrygia for shelter was notwithstanding set upon by certain Guards which the King induced by his enemies sent to stay him but they though in number many through the conceived opinion of his notable valour durst not apprehend him at hand but set fire to the house standing themselves in armes round about it to receive him if need were he seeing the fire leaped through the midst of it and so long defended himselfe amongst them all till strength failed in himselfe and blowes encreasing upon him constrained him to give up his life amongst them Pliny telleth of Cornelius Gallus and Q. Elerius two Roman Knights that died in the very action of filthinesse In the Irish History we finde recorded a notable judgement of God upon a notorious and cruell lecher one Turgesnis a Norwegian who having twice invaded Ireland reigned there as King for the space of thirty yeares This Tyran not onely cried havocke and spoil upon the whole Countrey abusing his victory very insolently but also spared not to abuse virgins and women at his pleasure to the satisfying
unto To this Pope and these Cardinals let us adde an Archbishop and that of Canterbury to wit Thomas Arundel upon whom the justice of God appeared no lesse manifestly than on the former For after hee had unjustly given sentence against the Lord Cobham he died himselfe before him being so striken in his tongue that he could neither swallow nor speake for a certaine space before the time of his death Hither might be adjoyned the vengeance of God upon Justice Morgan who condemned to death the innocent Lady Iane but presently after fell madde and so dyed having nothing in his mouth but Lady Iane Lady Iane. In the reigne of King Henry the eighth one Richard Long a man of armes in Calice bore false witnesse against master Smith the Curate of our Lady Parish in Calice for eating flesh in Lent which hee never did but hee escaped not vengeance for shortly after he desperately drowned himselfe A terrible example unto all such as are ready to forsweare themselves on a Booke upon malice or some other cause a thing in these dayes over rise every where and almost of most men little or nothing regarded About the same time one Gregory Bradway committed the same crime of false accusation against one Broke whom being driven thereunto by feare and constraint he accused to have robbed the Custome-house wherein hee was a Clerke of foure groats every day and to this accusation he subscribed his hand but for the same presently felt upon him the heavy hand of God for being grieved in his consciene for his deed hee first with a knife enterprised to cut his owne throâ—t but being not altogether dispatched therewith the Gaoler comming up and preventing his purpose hee fell forthwith into a furious frenzie and in that case lived long time after Hitherto we may adde the example of one William Feming who accused an honest man called Iohn Cooper of speaking trayterous words against Queene Mary and all because he would not sell him two goodly bullockes which he much desired for which cause the poore man being arraigned at Berry in Suffolke was condemned to death by reason of two false witnesses which the said Feming had suborned for that purpose whose names were White and Greenwood so this poore man was hanged drawne and quartered and his goods taken from his poore wife and nine children which are left destitute of all helpe but as for his false accusers one of them died most miserably for in harvest time being well and lusty of a sudden his bowels fell out of his body and so he perished the other two what ends they came unto it is not reported but sure the Lord hath reserved a sufficient punishment for all such as they are Many more be the examples of this sinne and judgements upon it as the Pillories at Westminster and daily experience beareth witnesse but these that we have alledged shall suffice for this purpose because this sinne is cousin Germane unto perjury of which you may read more at large in the former booke It should now follow by course of order if wee would not pretermit any thing of the law of God to speak of such as have offended against the tenth Commandement and what punishment hath ensued the same but forsomuch as all such offences for the most part are included under the former of which wee have already spoken and that there is no adultery nor fornication nor theft nor unjust warre but it is annexed to and proceedeth from the affection and the resolution of an evill and disordinate concupiscence as the effect from the cause therefore it is not necessary to make any particular recitall of them more than may well bee collected out of the former examples added hereunto that in evill concupiscence and affection of doing evill which commeth not to act though it be in the sight of God condemned to everlasting torments yet it doth not so much incurre and provoke his indignation that a man should for that onely cause be brought to apparent destruction and be made an example to others to whom the sinne is altogether darke and unknowne therefore we will proceed in our purpose without intermeddling in speciall with this last Commandement CHAP. XLVII That Kings and Princes ought to looke to the execution of Iustice for the punishment of naughty and corrupt manners NO man ought to be ignorant of this that it is the duty of a Prince not onely to hinder the course of sin from bursting into action but also to punish the doers of the Jame making both civill justice to be administred uprightly and the law of God to be regarded and observed inviolably for to this end are they ordained of God that by their meanes every one might live a quiet and peaceable life in all godlinesse and honesty to the which end the maintenance and administration of justice being most necessary they ought not so to discharge themselves of it as to translate it upon their Officers and Judges but also to looke to the execution thereof themselves as it is most needfull for if law which is the foundation of justice be as Plato saith a speechlesse and dumbe Magistrate who shall give voyce and vigor unto it if not hee that is in supreame and soveraigne authority For which cause the King is commanded in Deuteronomy To have before him alwayes the Booke of the Law to the end to doe justice and judgement to every one in the feare of God And before the creation of the Kings in Israel the chiefe Captaines and Soveraignes amongst them were renowned with no other title nor quality than of Judges In the time of Deborah the Prophetesse though she was a woman the weaker vessell yet because she had the conducting and governing of the people they came unto her to seeke judgement It is said of Samuel that he judged Israel so long till being tyred with age and not able to beare that burden any longer hee appointed his sonnes for Judges in his stead who when through covetousnesse they perverted justice and did not execute judgement like their father Samuel they gave occasion to the people to demaund a King that they might be judged and governed after the manner of other Nations which things sufficiently declared that in old time the principall charge of Kings was personally to administer justice and judgement and not as now to transferre the care thereof to others The same we read of King David of whom it is said That during his reigne he executed justice and judgement among his people and in another place That men came unto him for judgement and therefore he disdained not to heare the complaint of the woman of Tekoah shewing himselfe herein a good Prince and as the Angel of God to heare good and evill for this cause Solomon desired not riches nor long life of the Lord but a wise and discreet heart to judge his people and to discerne betwixt good and
justice and judgement upon the earth a God that loveth not iniquity â— with whom the wicked cannot dwell nor the fooles stand before his presence It is hee that huteth the workers of unrighteousnesse and that destroyeth the lyers and abhorreth all deceitfull disloyall perjurous and murdering persons as with him there is no exception of persons so none of what estate or condition soever bee they rich or poore noble or ignoble gentle or carter-like can exempt themselves from his wrath and indignation when it is kindled but a little if they delight and continue in their sinnes for as S. Paul saith Tribulation and anguish upon the soule of every man that doth evill Now according to the variety and diversity of mens offences the Lord in his most just and admirable judgement useth diversity of punishments sometimes correcting them one by one particular otherwhiles altogether in a heap sometimes by stormes and tempests both by sea and land other times by lightning haile and deluge of waters often by overflowing and breaking out of rivers and of the sea also and not seldome by remedilesse and sudden fires heaven and earth and all the elements being armed with an invincible force to take vengeance upon such as are traytors and rebels against God â— sundry times hee scourgeth the world as it well deserveth with his usuall and accustomed plagues namely of warre and famine and pestilence which are evident signes of his anger according to the threats denounced in the law tâ—â—â—hing the same and therefore if at any time hee deferre the punishment of the wicked it is for no other end but to expect the fulnesse of their sinne and to make them more inexcusable when contrary to his bountifulnesse and long suffering which inviteth and calleth them to repentance they harden themselves and grow more obstinate in their vices and rebellion drawing upon their heads the whole heape of wrath the more grievously to assaile them And thus the vengeance of God marcheth but a soft pace as saith Valerius Maximus to the end to double and aggravate the punishment for the slacknesse thereof CHAP. LII That the greatest punishments are reserved and layed up for the wicked in the world to come NOtwithstanding all which hath beene spoken and howsoever sinners are punished in this life it is certaine that the greatest and terriblest punishments are kept in store for them in another world And albeit that during this transitory pilgrimage they seeme to themselves oftentimes to live at their ease and enjoy their pleasures and pastimes to their hearts contentment yet doubtlesse it is so that they are indeed in a continuall prison and in a dungeon of darkenesse bound and chained with fetters of their owne sinne and very often turmoyled and but chered with their owne guilty conscience overcharged with the multitude of offences and fore-feeling the approach of hell And in this case many languish away with feare care and terror being toyled and tyred with uncessant and unsupportable disquietnesse and tossed and distracted with despaire untill by death they be brought unto their last irrevokable punishment which punishment is not to endure for a time and then to end but is eternall and everlastingly inherent both in body and soule I say in the body after the resurrection of the dead and in soule after the departure out of this life till all eternity for it is just and equall that they which have offended and dishonoured God in their bodies in this life should be punished also in their bodies in the world to come with endlesse torments of which torments when mention is made in the holy Scripture they are for our weake capacity sake called Gehenna or a place of torment utter darkenesse and hell fire where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth c. againe eternall fire a poole and pit of fire and brimstone which is prepared for the devill and his darlings and how miserable their estate is that fall therein our Saviour Christ giveth us to know in the person of the rich glutton who having bathed himselfe in the pleasures and delights of this world without once regarding or pittying the poore was after cast into the torments of hell and there burneth in quenchlesse flames without any ceasing or allaying of his griefes therefore whatsoever punishments the wicked suffer before they die they are not quitted by them from this other but must descend into the appointed place to receive the surplus of their payments which is due unto them For what were it for a notorious and cruell Tyran that had committed many foule and wicked deeds or had most villanously murdered many good men to have no other punishment but to be slaine and to endure in the houre of death some extraordinary paine could such a punishment ballance with his so many and great offences Whereas therefore many such wretches suffer punishment in this world we must thinke that this is but a taste and scantling of those torments and punishments which are prepared and made ready for them in the world to come And therefore it often commeth to passe that they passe out of this life most quietly without the disturbance of any crosse or punishment but it is that they might be more strangely tormented in another world Some not considering this point nor stretching the view of their understanding beyond the aspect of their carnall eyes have fallen into this foolish opinion to thinke that there is neither justice nor judgement in heaven nor respect of equity with the Highest when they see the wicked to flourish in prosperity and the good and innocent to bee overwhelmed with adversity yea and many holy men have fallen into this temptation as Iob and David did who when they considered the condition of the wicked and unjust how they lived in this world at their hearts ease compassed about with pleasures and delights and waxing old in the same were carried to their sepulchres in peace they were somewhat troubled and perplexed within themselves untill being instructed and resolved by the Word of God they marked their finall end and issue and the everlasting perdition which was prepared for them and by no means could be escaped And thus it commeth to passe saith S. Augustine that many sinnes are punished in this world that the providence of God might be more apparant and many yea most reserved to be punished in the world to come that we might know that there is yet judgement behinde CHAP. LIII How the afflictions of the godly and the punishment of the wicked differ WHich seeing it is so it is necessary that the wicked and perverse ones should feele the rigor of Gods wrath for the presumption and rebellion wherewith they daily provoke him against them and although with those that feare God and strive to keepe themselves from evill and take paines to live peaceably and quietly it oftentimes goeth worse here below than with others being laid open to millions
Chapter 6. An Angel of the Lord appeared unto Manoa and his wife who was barren promising them a sonne to be called Sampson that should deliver the Israelites out of the hands of the Philistims Iudg. 13. It was an Angell in Davids time which strooke the Israelites with the pestilence whereof died threescore and ten thousand and when David prayed put his sword up into his sheath and saved the rest the second booke of Samuel and twentie fourth Chapter Elias the Prophet was refreshed with meat and drink and in the strength thereof hee travelled fourtie dayes and fourtie nights even to Mount Horeb by the Ministerie of an Angell 1. Kings 19. Many legions of Angels environed the Prophet Elisha which his servant at his prayer his eyes being opened saw and beheld and all to defend him from the Assyrians that besieged Samaria 2. Kings 6. An Angell of the Lord slew in the campe of the Assyrians in one night an hundred fourscoure and five thousand men 2. Kings 19. Shadrach Meshach and Abednego being cast into the fierie Furnace by Nabuchadnezzar for not worshipping his golden Image were preserved alive and kept from hurt by an Angell of the Lord Daniel 3. It was an Angell that stopt the mouthes of the Lyons that they could not hurt Daniel that was cast into their Denne Daniel 10. The Angel Gabriel declared unto Zacharias that his wife should conceive with child and bring forth Iohn the Baptist in her old age Lukâ— 1. It was the same Angell that announced to the Virgine Mary that she should bring forth Iesus Christ our Saviour Luke 1. The same told the shepheards in the field of Christ his Nativitie and witnessed his resurrection and ascention into the heavens Mathew 28 Marke 16. Acts the first An Angell delivered the Apostles out of Prison Acts 5. An Angell freed Peter from his chaines Acts 12. and Paul and Silas Acts 16. An Angell comforted Paul upon the Sea and all those that were with him and delivered them from the Tempest Acts twentie seven All these Examples are out of the holy Scriptures which is of infallible truth and sheweth that to be which is spoken by the Prophet David in the foure and thirtieth Psalme That the Angell of the Lord pitcheth his tents round about them that feare him Now follow examples out of humane Writes and first to begin with a storie in Socrates lib. 6. cap. 6. and Sozomen lib. 8. cap. 4. When Arcadius was Emperour of Rome and Saint Chrysostome Bishop of Constantinople there was Gainas an Arrian and a Barbarian by profession who being powerfull and great went about to thrust Arcadius out of his Seat but the Emperour compounding with him sent him unto Constantinople with a troupe of horse and foot under the pay of the Emperour This man desired to have a peculiar Church for them of his owne Sect for the free exercising of their Religion which being denyed by the Emperour at the perswasion of Saint Chrysostome the Tyrant raised his forces in the night to spoyle and havocke the Citie But they were resisted the first and second night by the shew of a great Armie of tall and lustie men and so terrified that they durst doe nothing The third night the Tyrant himselfe thinking this to be but a fable came in his owne person with his whole Armie and found the same resistance wherewith being terrified hee fled into Tracia where hee was slaine most miserably Thus this great Citie was protected by the ministery of Angels as Hierusalem once was from the Tyran Zenacherib In the reigne of Pompilius King of Poland as the Polonian Chronicles doe report in the first booke and twelfth Chapter there came two men oâ— a venerable countenance and habit to the Court gate desiring entrance and entertainment but they were repulsed by the Porter Then they went to one Pyastus a man of excellent holinesse and charity who entertained them into his house very lovingly broached a Vessell of sweet Wine for their drinke and killed a fat Hogge for their meate which hee had prepared against the first tonsure of his sonne according to the custome of that Countrey These men or rather Angels finding this kinde entertainment caused the Vessell of sweet Wine to multiply so that the more they dranke the more still remained behinde and the Hogge also in like manner At last they wrought means that Pompilius the King being dead this good man was chosen King in his stead and then disparished and were never more seen Nicephorus in his seventeenth booke Chapter thirty five reporteth a strange storie of a Jewish childe This boy playing among other Christian children was brought into the Temple by the Priest to care the reliques of the Sacrament as the custome was who tooke it amongst his followes Which as soone as the Jew his father understood he put him into a fierie oven to be tormented to death his mother sought him up and downe the Citie not knowing what was done and at last after three dayes found him alive in the Oven from whence being taken there was no smell of fire about him Thus God protected by his Angell this poore childe Instinian the Emperour after hee knew thereof caused the boy and his mother to be baptized and the father who refused he caused to be crucified to death Under the Emperour Mauritius the Citie of Antioch was shaken with a terrible Earthquake after this manner There was a certaine Citizen so given to bountifulnesse to the Poore that hee would never suppe nor dine unlesse hee had one poore man to be with him at his Table Upon a certaine evening seeking for such a guest and finding none a grave old man met him in the Market-place cloathed in white with two companions with him whom hee entreated to suppe with him But the old man answered him That he had more need to pray against the destruction of the Citie and presently shooke his handkerchiefe against one part of the Citie and then against another and being hardly entreated forbore the rest Which hee had no sooner done but those two parts of the Citie terribly shaken with an Earthquake were throwne to the ground and thousands of men slain Which this good Citizen seeing trembled exceedingly To whom the old man in white answered and sayed By reason of charity to the poore his house and Familie were preserved And presently these three men which no question were Angels vanished out of sight This storie Sigubert in his Chron. reporteth Anne 585. Philip Melancthon reporteth That in a certaine Village neare unto the Citie Sygnea a woman sent her sonne into the wood to fetch home her Kine in the meane while such a snow fell that the boy could not returne home againe his parents the next day taking more care for the boy then for the kine went out to seeke him and within three dayes found him in the middest of the wood sitting in a faire place where no snow had fallen They demanded of him
cruell tempest raged in Thuringea beating downe houses pulling up trees by the roots and drowned by the violence of the water above forty persons men and women In this fearefull inundation of waters a notable and miraculous example of Gods protection by Angels shewed it selfe for there was a woman newly brought to bed of a childe drowned but the infant lying in a cradle was carried with the violence of the water a great way off and at last the cradle stopping at the bough of an apple-tree was fastened till the waters decreased and after divers dayes was found alive The like example of a childe miraculously preserved in the waters is described by Husanâ—â— in most elegant verses the copie whereof you may reade in the Historicall Theatre of Lonicerus pag. 196. Another childe at Friburge in Misnia falling into the river was carried violently a great space untill it came unto a Mill where it stopped and was miraculously taken up alive by Gods protection and his holy Angels The like we reade of concerning another childe miraculously preserved at Rotinberge in the yeare 1565 as Lonicerus reporteth I will adde one more of my owne knowledge concerning an Infâ—â—t 〈…〉 Towne in Cambridge-shire there was a craâ—ie Steeple ready to 〈◊〉 under which a poore man with one childe had built a little cottage and lived therein it chanced that the Steeple fell upon that little cottage the woman being in the towne and the childe in the house all men supposed the childe had beene crushed to piâ—â—es but it pleased God by the protection of his holy Angels that certaine pieces of the Bell-free fell crosse over the little cottage and kept off the stoâ—â—es from hurting of the childe which crying was heard and they removing the stones and rubbidge found the childe alive The like happened at Huntington where Saint Marâ—â—s Church having a decayed Steeple the Parishioners for 〈◊〉 to repaire it who about noone comming downe to â—hâ—ir 〈◊〉 left certaine children which were taught by the Minister playing in the body of the Church who had no sooner runne into the Chancell to their victuals but the Steeple tumbled downe into the Church beating downe a great part of the Church withall behold the wonderfull protection of God if the Steeple had fallen upon the Lords day many hundreds had beene slaine and if at any other time of the day the Masons and the children had all perished but blessed be the name of the Lord for this safe deliverance Another example was related unto me by men of good credit upon their owne knowledge how a certaine man riding between two woods in a great tempest of thundering and lightening rode under an Oake to shelter himselfe but his horse would by no meanes stay under that Oake winching and kicking and running away whether his Master would or no which his master perceiving went unto another Oake hard by where the horse stayed very quietly but they had not long staid there but the first Oake with a grievous clap of thunder and lightening was torne all to fitters and the man and horse in the other place escaped safely Oh the wonderfull protection of God and that by the ministery of his holy Angels In the yeare 1565 so great a tempest of raine and waters arose at Islebia that it bare downe houses before it it fell most violently upon the house of one Barthold Bogt so that it broke downe the fore-part of his house where lay a childe in a cradle which the father with hazard of his life brought forth and carried into his adjoyning neighbours house two other of his children endeavouring also to save hee tooke in his armes to carry forth of the house but the rage of the water hindered him so that they rested upon a beame from whence the one of his children was violently taken out of his armes and he and the other being shaken from the post were carried into the Orchard where finding footing stood up to the neck in water with the childe in his armes and looking about for his other childe he found it sitting upon a piece of timber and comming towards him which hee also tooke into his armes and got up into a high pile of wood where he rested all night none being able to afford him any helpe The next morning when the waters were decreased he came downe to looke for two other of his children which he had left in an upper part of the house whom hee found fast asleepe now he had no sooner taken them from thence but that part of the house fell downe also where we may see a visible signe of Gods protection by his holy Angels who not onely preserved all the family but also kept that part of the house from falling wherein the children lay sleeping untill they were brought forth Many more examples of this kinde might be added but these shall suffice to shew Gods great providence towards his children who as he punisheth the wicked with most severe Judgements so he protecteth those that feare him with extraordinary providence by his holy Angels to shew the truth of that which the Apostle speaketh that They are ministring Spirits sent forth to waite upon them who shall be heires of salvation Hebrewes 1. Verse 14. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Psal. 14. Isay. 14. Rom. 2. 12. Psal. 2. 11. Psal. 29. 1. Deut. 17. 15. Dial. 4. de Legib. 2. Sam. 5. Herod liâ— 3. Plutarch Dan. â— 8. Diâ—d lib. 2 c 2. Th ucyd lib. 1. Lib. 3. Annal. In Panegyr Lib. 4. tiâ— 17. Lib. 1. cod Nicol. Gil. vol. â— Chronic. Franc. Exod. 17. Num 2. 1. Num. 31. Iudg. 3. Iudg. 7. Iudg 16. 1 Sam 15. 1 Sam. 17. 1. King 20. 2 King 6. 2. King 7. 2. King 8. 2. Chron. 20. Est 17 9. Dan. 5. â— Macch. 2 6. Epimaâ—es â— Macch. 6. 1. Macch. 11. 1. Macch. 13. 2. Macch. 5. Mat. 2. This example belongeth also in regard of cruelty to the sixth commandement Lib. 2. Cap. 11. 17. Booke of the Iewish antiquity cap. 8. Luke 9. 7. This example in regard of divorce be longeth to the seventh Commandement Lib 2. cap. 29. Ioseph of the Iewish Antiquity l. 8. c. 6. Euseb. Euseb. Euseb. Eutrop. lib. 7. Tertul Niceph. 8 Commandement Calumniation Lib. 2. cap. 44. Tacit. Ann. l. 5. Suet. Refer this also to the â—4 ch of this booke Suet. Eutrop. Dion Mandat 7. l. â— c. 12. Spart Euseb. Spart Tert. â—d Scap. Oros. l. 7. c. 14. Euseb. l. 7. c. 1. Ecclesiast Hist. Pomponim Euseb. l. 7. c. 21. In the Sermon of the congregatioÌ„ of saints Euseb. Hist. Eccles l. 7. c 30. Henric. de Erford Euseb. l. 7. c. 13 Vopis Eutrop. Niceph. Ruffin Mandat 7. lib. 2. cap. 12. Euseb. Hist. Eccles 7 8. c. 16 Niceph. l. 7. c. 6. Niceph. 7. 12. Against the Gentiles Lanquet Chro. Hieron in Caâ— Theod. l. 4. c. 26. Tripartit Hist. lib. 8. cap. 4. Nicl 11. c. 25. Tâ—eod
but himselfe no man could ever after set eye on The magistrate advertised hereof came to the place where he was taken to be better informed of the truth taking the witnesse of the two women touching that which they had seene Here may wee see the strange and terrible events of Gods just vengeance upon such vile caitifes which doubtlesse are made manifest to strike a feare and terrour into the heart of every swearer and denier of God the world being but too full at this day of such wretches that are so inspired with Satan that they cannot speake but they must name him even him that is both an enemy to God and man and like a roaring lion runneth and roveth too and fro to devoure them not seeking any thing but mans destruction And yet when any paine assaileth them or any trouble disquieteth their minds or any danger threateneth to oppresse their bodies desperately they call upon him for aid when indeed it were more needfull to commend themselves to God and to pray for his grace and assistance having both a commandement so to doe and a promise adjoyned that he will help us in our necessities if we come unto him by true and hearty prayer It is not therefore without just cause that God hath propounded and laid open in this corrupt age a Theatre of his Iudgements that every man might be warned thereby CHAP. XXXI More examples of Gods Iudgements upon Cursers BVt before we goe to the next commandement wee will adjoyne a few more examples of this devillish cursing Martin Luther hath left registred unto us a notable example showne upon a popish priest that was once a professor of the sincere religion and fell away voluntarily unto Papisme whereof Adam Budissina was the reporter This man thundred out most bitter curses against Luther in the pulpit at a town called Ruthnerwald and amongst the rest wished that if Luthers doctrine were true a thunderbolt might strike him to death Now three dayes after there arose a mighty tempest with thunder and lightening whereat the cursed Priest bearing in himselfe a guilty conscience for that hee had untruly and malitiously spoken ranne hastily into the Church and there fell to his prayers before the Altar most devoutly but the vengeance of God found him out and his hypocrisie so that he was stroken dead with the lightening and albeit they recovered life in him againe yet as they led him homewards through the Church-yard another flâ—sh so set upon him that he was burnt from the crowne of the head to the sole of the foot as blacke as a shoo so that he died with a manifest marke of Gods vengeance upon him Theodorus Beza reporteth unto us two notable histories of his owne knowledge of the severity of Gods judgment upon a curser and a perjurer the tenor whereof is this I knew said he in France a man of good parts well instructed in Religion and a master of a Familie who in his anger cursing and bidding the Divell take one of his children had presently his wish for the childe was possessed immediatly with a Spirit from which though by the servent and continuall prayers of the Church he was at length released yet ere he had fully recovered his health he died The like we read to have happened to a woman whom her husband in anger devoted with bitter curses to the Divell for Sathan assaulted her persently and robbed her of her wits so that she could never be recovered Another example saith he happened not far hence even in this country upon a perjurer that forswore him selfe to the end to deceive and prejudice another thereby but he had no sooner made an end of his false oath but a grievous Apoplexy assailed him so that without speaking of any one word he dyed within few dayes In the yere of our Lord 1557 the day before good fryday at Forchenum a city in the Bishopricke of Bamburg there was a certaine crooked Priest both in body and minde through age and evill conditions that could not go but upon crutches yet would needs be lifted into the pulpit to make a Sermon his text was out of the 11 chap. of the first Epistle to the Corinthians touching the Lords Supper whereout taking occasion to defend the Papisticall errours and the Masse hee used these or such like blasphemous speeches O Paul Paul if thy doctrine touching the receiving of the Sacrament in both kinds be true and if it be a wicked thing to receive it otherwise then would the divell might take me and turning to the people if the Popes doctrine concerning this point be not true then am I the divels bondslaue neither do I feare to pawne my soule upon it These and many other blasphemous words he used till the Divell came indeed transformed into the shape of a tall man blacke and terrible sending before him such a fearefull noyse and such a wind that the people supposed that the Church would have fallen on their heads but he not able to hurt the rest tooke away the old Priest being his devoted bondslave and carried him so far that he was never heard of The bishop of Rugenstines brother hardly escaped his hands for he came back to fetch him but he defending himself with his sword wounded his owne body and very narrowly escaped with his life Beside after this there were many visions seene about the citie as armies of men ready to enter and surprise them so that well was he that could hide himselfe in a corner At another time after the like noyse was heard in the Church whilst they were baptising an infant and all this for the abhominable cursing and blasphemy of the prophane Priest In the yeare of our Lorld 1556 at S. Gallus in Helvetia a certaine man that earned his living by making cleane rough and soule linnen against the Sun entering a taverne tasted so much the grape that he vomited out terrible curses against himselfe and others amongst the rest he wished if ever he went into the fields to his old occupation that the divell might come and breake his necke but when sleepe had conquered drinke and sobriety restored his sences he went again to his trade remembring indeed his late words but regarding them not howbeit the Divell to shew his double diligence attended on him at his appointed houre in the likenesse of a big swarthy man and asked him if he remembred his promise and vow which he had made the day before and if it were not lawfull for him to breake his necke and withall stroke the poore man trembling with feare over the shoulders that his feet and his hands presently dried up so that he lay there not able to stir till by help of men he was carried home the Lord not giving the Devill so much power over him as he wished himselfe but yet permitting him to plague him on this sort for his amendment and our example Henry Earle of Schwartburg through a
corrupt custome used commonly to wish he might be drowned in a privy and as he wished so it hapned unto him for he was so served and murthered at S. Peters Monastery in Erford in the yeare of our Lord 1148. The like befell a young Courtier at Mansfield whose custome was in any earnest asseveration to say The Devill take me if it be not so the Devill indeed tooke him whilest hee slept and threw him out of a high window where albeit by the good providence of God he oâ—ught no great hurt yet he learnt by experience to bridle his tongue from all such cursed speeches this being but a tast of Gods wrath that is to fall upon such wretches as he At Oster a village in the duchy of Megalopole there chanced a most strange and fearefull example upon a woman that gave her selfe to the Devill both body and soule and used most horrible cursings and oathes both against her selfe and others which detestible manner of behaviour as at many other times so especially shee shewed at a marriage in the foresaid village upon S. Iohn Baptists day the whole people exhorting her to leave off that monstrous villany but she nothing bettered continued her course till all the company were set at dinner and very merry Then loe the Devill having got full possession of her came in person and transported her into the aire before them all with most horrible outcries and roarings and in that sort carried her round about the towne that the Inhabitants were ready to die with feare and by ct by tore her in foure pieces leaving in four severall high wayes a quarter that all that came by might be witnesses of her punishment And then returning to the marriage threw her bowels upon the table before the Major of the towne with these words Behold these dishes of meat belong to thee whom the like destruction awaiteth if thou doest not amend thy wicked life The reporters of this history were Iohn Herman the Minister of the said towne with the Major himselfe and the whole Inhabitants being desirous to have it knowne to the world for example sake In Luthers conferences there is mention made of this story following Divers noblemen were striving together at a horse race and in their course cried The Devill take the last Now the last was a horse that broke loose whom the Devill hoisted up into the aire and tooke cleane away Which teacheth us not to call for the Devill for he is ready alwayes about us uncalled and unlooked for yea many legions of them compasse us about even in our best actions to disturbe and pervert us A certaine man not far from Gorlitz provided a sumptuous supper and invited many guests unto it who at the time appointed refused to come he in anger cried Then let all the Devils in hell come Neither was his wish frivolous for a number of those hellish fiends came forthwith whom he not discerning from men came to welcome and entertaine but as he tooke them by the hands and perceiued in stead of fingers clawes all dismaied he ran out of the doores with his wife and left none in the house but a young infant with a foole sitting by the fire whom the Divels had no power to hurt neither any man else save the goodly supper which they made away withall and so departed It is notoriously knowne in Oundle a towne in Northamptonshire amongst all that were acquainted with the partie namely one Hacket of whom more hath spoken before how he used in his earnest talke to curse himselfe on this manner If it be not true then let a visible confusion come upon me Now he wanted not his wish for he came to a visible confusion indeed as hath been declared more at large in the twentieth chapter of this booke At Witeberg before Martin Luther and divers other learned men a woman whose daughter was possessed with a spirit confessed That by her curse that plague was fallen upon her for being angry at a time she bad the Divell take her and she had no sooner spoken the word but he tooke her indeed and possessed her in most strange sort No whit lesse strange and horrible is that which happened at Neoburg in Germanie to a sonne that was cursed of his mother in her anger with this curse she prayed God she might never see him returne aliue for the same day the yong man bathing himselfe in the water was drowned and never returned to his mother alive according to her ungodly wish The like judgement of God we read of to have beene executed upon another sonne that was banned and cursed by his mother in the citie of Astorga The mother in her rage cursed one of her sons with detestable maledictions betaking him to the Diuels of hell and wishing that they would fetch him out of her presence with many other horrible execrations This was about ten a clocke at night the same being very darke and obscure the boy at last through feare went out into a little court behind the house from the which hee was suddenly hoised up into the ayte by men in shew of grim countenance great stature and loathsome and horrible gesture but indeed cruell fiends of hell and that with such swiftnesse as he himselfe after confessed that it was not possible to his seeming for any bird in the world to fly so fast and lighting downe amongst certaine mountaines of bushes and briers was trailed through the thickest of them and so all torne and rent not only in his cloaths but also in his hands and face and almost his whole body At last the boy remembring God and beseeching him of helpe and assistance the cruell fiends brought him backe againe through the aire and put him in at a little window into a chamber in his fathers house where after much search and griefe for him hee was found in this pittifull plight and almost besides himselfe And thus though they had not power to deprive him of his life as they had done the former yet the Lord suffered them to afflict the parents in the sonne for the good of both parents and sonne if they belonged unto the Lord. But above all this is most strange which hapned in a town of Misina in the yeare of our Lord God 1552 the eleventh of September where a cholericke father seeing his sonne flacke about his businesse wished hee might never stirre from that place for it was no sooner said but done his sonne stucke fast in the place neither by any meanes possible could be removed no not so much as to fit or bend his body till by the praiers of the Faithfull his paines were somewhat mitigated though not remitted three yeares he continued standing with a post at his backe for his ease and foure yeares sitting at the end whereof he died nothing weakened in his understanding but professing the faith and not doubting of his salvation in