aswell as the other but is not the subiect of my Treatise There are other sortes of men or rather beastes I meane such beasts as S. Paul stroue with at Ephesus in the shape of men farre more abhominable then the other two of which so ofteÌ„ I spake I may iustly say with Eliphas Feare coÌ„meth vpon me dreade which maketh all my bones to tremble and a winde passeth before me which causeth the hayres of my head to stand vp and that I may vse the wordes of the Lord to Samuel such a wickednes as shall not be purged by sacrifice nor offering for euer Such a slaunder to States Kingdomes so offensiue to all chast religious eares that whosoeuer shall heare of it his eares shall tingle These beastes holde there is no God and they are of foure sortes The first saith in broade tearmes without blushing Non est Deus there is no God of that brood were not onely the olde Philosophers Diagoras Lucretius Epicurus and others but also since the Gospell was published to the worlde many of them haue been known of whome Theodoret an ancient Father hath written as also Prateolus and other writers of later times and especially Lilius Grigorius Giraldus Ferrariensis maketh mention of a whole Iland lately inhabited by such as deny God And I wish all Atheists were banished out of Christian States and Kingdomes and sent into that Iland that other places might not be infected by them The second doth scoffe at God and deride him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his name and make open profession of contempt against him and all Religion Such an Atheist was Holophernes which said vnto Achior Because thou hast prophefied amongst vs to day hast saide that the people of Israel is able to sight because their God will defend them and who is God but Nabuchodonozor he will send his power and destroye the face of the earth and their God shall not deliuer them Such an Atheist was Pharao which said Who is the Lord that I should heare his voyce and let the people goe I know not the Lord neither will I let Israel goe And Senacherib who said by the mouth of Rabshakah Let not Ezekias deceiue you for he shall not be able to deliuer you out of my hand neither let Ezechias make you to trust in the Lord saying The Lord will surely deliuer vs this Land shall not be giuen euer into the hand of the King of Ashur Ezechias doth deceiue you saying The Lord will deliuer vs. Who are they among all the Gods of the nations that haue deliuered their Land out of my hand that the Lord should deliuer Ierusalem out of my hand Such Atheists were Lucian which in his writings that he might be thought to confesse no God mocked all Gods Iulian the Apostata which scoffed at religion Olimpius the Arrian which as he was washing himselfe in his Bath spake blasphemy against the Trinitye Doletus which called Moses Helias and Christ the three deceiuers of the worlde And such Atheists are the swaggerers of our age which are not ashamed to call them selues The damned crue Of the saluation of such there is no hope whose God is their bellye whose glory is their shame and whose end is damnation as the Apostle speaketh Their damnation sleepeth not nay they are condemned alreadye because they speake blasphemye against the Holy Ghost Of such as offend God vpon weakenes there may be some hope that they will come to repentance because their sinne is against the Father which is strength Concerning them which offend him vpon ignorance there is also hope of their conuersion because they sinne against God the Sonne which is wisedome But as for these they mocke God in 〈◊〉 of him they sinne vpon malice therefore their blasâ—â—â—â—â—… against the Holy Ghost which is loue and charitye 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 no hope of their conuersion because our Sauiour hath already pronounced sentence of damnatioÌ„ against them saying Their sinne shall neuer be for giuen neither in this life nor in the life to come The third professe the religion which is professed in the place where they dwell so farre as lawes may not take holde of them but otherwise are of all religions which may bring them profit and are of no religion farther then to serue their turne For example whereof I cannot instance in any man better then in William Rusus King of England which professed him selfe to be a Christian for feare of the Pope the Ecclesiasticall censure because else he could not haue held his Kingdome Of him it is written that the Iewes being many in England one of them was conuerted to be a Christian and the olde Iewe his Father taking the matter greiuously desired the King to interpose his authoritye and to commaund him to renounce his Christian faith againe The King vpon consideration of 80. Markes of siluer before hand payed vnto him vndertooke the conuersion of the young man to the Iewish religion againe Whereupon the partie was conuâ—nted before the King hee gaue him charge to renounce Christ but he answered Sir you professe Christ yourselfe how then can you perswade me to be a Iewe If you be a Christian in deed you will not perswade me to renounce Christ but if your selfe professing Christ will commaund me to denye Christ you are not of any religion but an Atheist and if you be so it is fit the Popes holynes should vnderstand so much The King fearing the Popes displeasure dismissed the man but saide in great furye Get thee out of my presence else by S. Lukes face I will scratch out thine eyes The olde Iewe his Father expostulated with the King because the bargaine was not performed and required restitution of his money But the King answered holde ye contented Sir heere is halfe I will haue the other halfe for my endeauour I did the best I could Of such Atheists we haue many The fourth sorte are they which insinuate them-selues into Noble-mens houses and Princes Courts taking vpon them to be the great Polititians of the worlde and account all men fooles besides themselues They also make open profession of religion but for aduantage I meane them which haue turne 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Machiauel Their Diuinitie is policye their zeale is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and their God is the deuill These English Italiana and 〈◊〉 incarnat doe holde these damnable opinions That there was no creation of the world that there shall be no day of iudgement no resurrection no immortallitye of the soule no hell they dispute against the Bible reckon vp Genealogyes more auncient then Adam alleadge arguments to proue that the story of Noah his Arke and the Deluge were fables Finally they holde that the Scriptures were deuised by men onely for policye sake to maintaine peace in states and Kingdomes to keep subiects in obedience to lawes and loyaltie to Magistrates by thus terrifying them from enormities when their consciences
are possessed with an opinion of hell fire and alluring them to subiection by hope of eternall life that so Princes may enioy outward peace temporall prosperitie Examples of this last sorte we haue Leo the tenth of that name Bishop of Rome who when he had heard Bembus alleadge places out of the Scriptures concerning Christ said vnto him Quid mihi narras illam de Christo fabulam why dost thou tell me that fable of Christ Againe in ostentation of his riches said Vide quantum mihi profuit illa de Christo fabula See what treasure I haue scraped together by publishing to the people that same fable concerning Christ An example also is Machiauel which holdeth these principles grounds of policy Princeps qui sapientia est praeditus debet ea promissa vitare quae suis commodis contraria fore videt I am vero hominibus nunquam defuturae sunt causae quibus in violatam fidem colorem inducant A wise Prince must not regard his promise if he finde it not for his profit neither shall he at any time be destitute of such shiftes and euasions whereby he may iustify and make good the breach and falsifying of his oath Qui sagatior fuerit vt vulpinum ingenium melius exprimeret ei faelicius omnia ceciderant That he must learne to play the Fox which will haue his designes and proiects to take effect He proposeth vnto Princes the example of Pope Alexander the sixt to immitate of whome he saith Is nihil quam mortalium impostorem egit nihil quam ad omnē malitiam fraudem quo hominum genus falleret mentem suam exercuit In asseuerando autem quis magis fuerit efficax aut qui speciotius iurauit iusiurandum vicissimque qui minus praestiterit nemo vnquam fuit Nihilo secius doli nunquam ei non commode ceciderunt That is he plotted nothing more then how he might be the cosoner and deceiuer of men he set his minde vpon nothing but malice and fraude whereby men might be by him supplanted ouertaken no man promised more largely nor swore more deeply then he and no man performed lesse then he and yet not-withstanding his falshood knauery he neuer fayled of his purpose Proinde non est quod Princeps omnes eas superius descriptas virtutes ostentet sunt enim aduersus tales dissimulandae saepe numero callidèque tegendae And yet for al that falshood preuaileth better thē plaine dealing yet a Prince must not make a shewe of a large conscience but he must dissemble carry him selfe cunningly before the eyes of the worlde Quocirca ad omnem fortunae ventorum conuersionem versatile ingenium Princeps habeat necesse est ab eo quod bonum est ne discedat at si necessitas vrgeat edoctus sit et malum auertere Wherefore a Prince must frame him selfe for all times seasons as occasions may serue let him imbrace truth and doe iustice vnlesse he see cause to the contrary but if he doe let him be so wise that he do not disaduantage him selfe Princeps acram curam diligentiam adhibeat vt pietatom fidem integritatem humanitatem religionem sanctè colere videatur atqui nihil magis est quod prae se ferat quam illam virtutem fere enim homines magis specie colore rerum quam rebus ipsis permouentur iudicant Nemo non videt quid prae te feras at paucissimi sunt qui quid sis sensu percipiant Vitam princeps tueatur curetque imperium conseruare quibus autem idsiat rationibus ex modo honesti spaciem prae se ferant nunquam non honore dignae laudibusque existimabuntur Let a Prince especially take heed to him selfe that he seeme godly true honest curteous and aboue all religious because men for the most parte are caryed away with the outward shewe of religion and doe iudge all things according to outward appearance Euery man can take notice of that which you seeme to be but fewe men can sound the bottome of your heart and diue into your secret thoughts so farre as to discouer what in deed you are to conceiue what your intent meaning is Let a Prince looke especially to the defence of his owne life and state it maketh no matter by what meanes he doe it be they lawfull or vnlawefull so as they haue an outward shewe and colour of honestye Chapter 2. Of the causes of Atheisme THat I may speak somwhat of the causes of Atheisme They are many Some men are become Atheists by building vpō a false ground by misconstruing and wresting that place of Tully to their owne perdition Sunt qui negant Deos habere procurationem rerum humanarum quorum sententia falsa est quia sic omnis religio inanis esset religione autem sublata tolleretur hominū sides magna sequeretur vitae perturbatio confusio There are saith Tully some men which deny that there is a God which taketh vpon him the care of humane affaires whose opinion is euicted to be false for as much as if it were so all religion were in vayne and were it not for religion there would be no fidelitie or honestie among men nothing but disorder confusion through the whole worlde I cannot deny but religion doth maintaine ciuill gouernment and kingdomes are best gouerned where men haue the greatest feeling of religion because the feare of God hauing taken a deepe roote in mens hearts by the often preaching of the worde doth binde subiects to their Princes farre more fast then humane lawes the feare of the Princes displeasure And I must needs confesse that the King and the whole state of England are to ascribe this long peace which we haue had and yet doe inioy as also this great increase of wealth and loyaltye of the subiectes more to the diligent preaching of the Ministers then to the sincere gouernmēt of the Magistrates to Diuines then to Polititians how little soeuer now Diuines be regarded and how highly soeuer Polititians be esteemed Subiects are now more obedient to Lawes and loyall to Princes then in times past they haue bene because the Gospell is more preached among them then it was in former ages So then it is not for feare but for conscience sake not because they feare him that can kill the bodie but because they feare him that is able to destroy both bodie and soule in hell fire And yet the Prouerb in many hath bene fulfilled Filia deuorauit matrem that the daughter hath deuoured her owne mother For religion is the mother of peace and peace is the daughter of religion because the preaching of Christian religion hath brought peace into the worlde All godly Diuines preach the doctrine of St. Paul Si fieri potest quantum in vobis est cum omnibus pacem habetote if it be possible and as much as lyeth in you haue peace with all men But
of Christ for asmuch as they did yeelde benignos influxus et amica lumina as the Astrologers call them the best influences and moste fauourable Aspects vnto the natiuitie of him of whome they receaued their influences their lights their Aspects and all their heauenly vertues The wise men which came from Persia to Bethleem although they could not knowe Christ by the heauens yet the heauens gaue them two manner of wayes to vnderstand that a man shold be borne which in glorie honour vertue and pietie should farre exceede all other men For first the sixt yeare before our Sauiour was borne there was a coniunction of Iupiter and Saturne in Cancer which mooued all the Astrologers then liuing to say that shortly after there should insue a verie great change and alteration of Religion Secondly the constitution of the heauen which was at the time of our Sauiour his birth in the 42. yeare of the Empire of Augustus the 24. of December a little before midnight did testifie the same For in it the Horoscopus was the eight part of Virgo which signifieth change of Religion Saturne was in the highest part of the heauen Sol in the lowest which did shewe that such a Childe was borne which might cause the world to wonder And as Albertus Magnus citeth out of Albumasar the great Astrologer ascendi in prema facie illius signi virgo pulchra et honesta habens in manu sua duas spicas et nutrit puerum et vocat ipsum puerum quaedam gēs Ipsum et ascendit cum eastella virginis Non quod subiaceret stellarum motui qui creauit ipsas stellas sed quia quum extenderet coelum sicvt pellem formans librum vniuersitatis noluit literis eiusdem de esse ex his quae secundum prudentiam suam in libro aeternitatis sunt scriptae etiam elegantissimum illud a natura quod de virgine nasceretur et per hoc innueretur homo carnalis et verus qui non naturaliter nascebatur There arose in the first aspect of the signe Virgo a faire and chaste Virgin hauing two eares of Corne in her hand and a Childe in her armes which Childe some nations doe call Iesus not as if he that made the starres were any way subiect to the motion of the Starres but that hee which stretcheth foorth the heauens as a scrole of Parchment when hee writ the booke of nature might not want witnes out of the booke of nature of that which before was contayned in the book of aeternitie which was his secret decree that a Virgin should bring foorth a Childe and so he should be described to vs to be a natural man although not borne after a naturall manner Thus haue I proued the comming of Christ by manie witnesses of mē of deuils of stars senseles creatures cyted out of prophane stories because the Atheist wil not beleeue the testimony of God Angels in the holy Bible Yet for their better satisfactiō concerning diuers particulars I will alleage them reason so far as faith may bee made manifest by reason that if possibly it may be they may be brought to the acknowledgment of the truth They aske vs what neede there was that the Son of God should take our flesh and whether God was not able to saue vs by other meanes I answer Man offended God therfore it behoued man to make satisfaction but mā alone was not able to satisfye therefore God mā were ioyned together I proue the minor that man alone was not able to satisfie because God would not be satisfyed but by sacrifice no sacrifice vnlesse it were infinite could suffice That an infinite sacrifice was requisit I proue by these reasons An infinite offence cannot be purged but by a sacrifice answerable to the offence but mans offence was infinite in two respects first of the infinite God-head w t was offended secondly of man himself w t was the offender which although he be finite yet voluntate peccandi in infinitum rapitur hee hath an infinite wil desire to cōmit offences And againe as man alone was not sufficiēt so it was not for God alone to worke this worke of our redēption because there was no sacrifice sufficiēt to pacifie God but by death as man without God could not ouer-come death so God without man could not suffer death therefore it was required that the Sauiour of the worlde should be God incarnate and so God and man to make one Christ might be vnited together They aske how it came to passe that man offended For their satisfaction I answere God made two especiall creatures to his owne Image indued with vnderstanding Angels and men hee gaue thē two giftes wherby they might continue their happy estate knowledge to distinguish betweene good and euill freedome of will to choose one leaue the other so that they might choose whether they would fall or stand The Angelles first fell the cause of their fall was pride the obiect by which they were puffed vp the reflection of themselues vpon their own selues beholding their owne glorie and that excellencie whereunto they were created For they could not be proud without an obiect there could be no other obiect to make thē proud but themselues For God was so farre aboue them in glorie that the sight of him would make them rather to haue a meane conceite of themselues and as for man he was farre beneath them that they took no such delight in looking so stedfastlye vpon him as to compare him with themselues And therfore they beheld themselues in themselues and so being delighted with their owne glory manie of them forgot their owne selues how they were subordinate vnto God and so their seruice duetie towards God was interrupted which did consist in perfect loue sincere adoration and imitation of him And for this cause they were cast downe After their fall they enuied that man should stand and mooued him to disobedience the outward obiect which allured him to disobedience being an Apple they mooued him to take the Apple by false suggestions that so his estate should bee aduanced Now both Angells men had fallen it pleased God to restore man againe but not Angells for these two causes First the Angells being first in the praeuarication seduced man and were the cause of his fall Secondly the Angells being Spirits and not bodies were of greater perfection then man was therefore better able to withstand sinne and all manner of temptations then man was and therefore God was more highly displeased with the sinne of Angells then he was with the sinne of men And therefore hee sent his Sonne for the redemption of Man but not of Angells They aske why the Father tooke not flesh rather then the Sonne why the Sonne being incarnate had his conception of the holy Ghost without begetting how he could be borne of a Virgin and wherefore he was so borne