A NARRATIVE Of the PROCEEDINGS Of a great Councel of JEWS Assembled in the Plain of Ageda in Hungaria about 30 Leagues distant from Buda to examine the Scriptures concerning Christ on the 12th of October 1650. By Samuel Brett there present Also A RELATION Of some other OSERVATIONS in his Travels beyond the Seas and particularly in Aegypt Macedonia Dalmatia Calabria Apuleia Cicilia Assyria Sclavonia France Spain and Portugal the Islands of Cyprus Candia Pathmos Delphos the Cities of Carthage Corinth Troy Constantinople Venice Naples Leighorn Florence Millaine Rome Bottonia Mantua Genoa Paris c. Printed at LONDON for Richard Moon at the seven Stars in Paul's Church-yard neer the great North-door 1655. To the READER THere was nothing I more desired then to travel beyond the Seas and to know the various manners of the Nations of the World for which through God's providence I had an opportunity offered me to my great satisfaction being Chirurgeon of an English Ship in the Streights where for a cure that I did for Orlando de Spina of Gollipulo an eminent man in those parts I was by him preferred to be Captain of a Ship of Malta which was set out by the said Orlando and committed to my command against the Turks in the Arches in assistance to the Venetian service in the which service I spent about nine monthes till the tempestuous season of the yeer enforced me to return into Harbour again And in this time of employment I made five fights at Sea and two at Land being chosen by lot to invade the Turk's Country with a certain company of Souldiers collected out of our Fleet to do some execution upon the borders of the Enemy and to get some provision for our relief in all which fights although very perillous God gave me the Victory The whole time I spent beyond the Seas before and after this employment was almost four yeers not staying long in any one place But first I traveled to all the Sea-towns of note for Merchandizing to know the Trade of the places and the conveniency of their Harbours that I might be able to do some profitable service in Merchant affairs Also I travelled into several Countries and the most eminent Cities and Towns therein viz. Aegypt Macedonia Dalmatia Calabria Apuleia Cicilia Assyria Sclavonia some parts of Spain and Portugal to the Islands of Cyprus Candia Pathmos Delphos to Carthage Corinth Troy Constantinople besides many other Towns and Places but my longest abode was in Italy and therein at Venice Naples Leighorne Florence Millaine Rome Bottonia Mantua Genoa c. And at last looking homeward I came into France taking a brief veiw of many eminent places in that Kingdom And at Paris I found many of my Country-men of which though some be persons of great quality yet God knoweth they are in a low condition And now I shall give a brief account of some of my Observations during the time of my abode beyond the Seas Some OBSERVATIONS in my Travels beyond the Seas AT Paris our Country-men live peaceably and enjoy our Religion without disturbance There is a place allowed them with necessary accommodations for the exercise of Religion Doctor Steward did often preach to them and for their form of worship it is the same that was formerly in England with the Book of Common-Prayer and the Rites therein used and also they continue the Innovations that were practised by many of our Clergy as Bowing at the Name of Jesus towards the Altar c. which I know giveth offence to the good French Protestants who to me did often condemn those Innovations for Romish Superstitions doubtless they would do our Church and our Religion more credit there if they did use less Ceremony As for the French-Papists truely they are more civil to them then was expected for the Opinion of the World where I have been is but mean of that Nation And I believe the Italian may be their Cousen-German for both of them are false and faithless enough And this consideration God having taken away Orlando my noble Friend who did alwayes much countenance me did lessen my affection to continue in that service for my Souldiers were all Italians except a few Greeks and I never saw much cause to be confident in their fidelity but it was chiefly for fear of him that they were so tractable to me As for Religion in most parts where I have been it is generally the same with the Church of Rome but for the Grecians for amongst them I was they are neither pure Protestants nor pure Papists I mean neither onely Protestants nor onely Papists but their Religion is a mixture of both for though they hold some Fundamentals with us yet they follow many of the Romish Superstitions and according to my observation they follow more the Religion of Rome then the Protestant Church and they are much poysoned with Heresies But of all Nations according to my observation none are more zealous for the Religion of Rome then the Spaniards who I think for this are more Romanists then the Romans themselves for with them there is an Inquisition and in Rome I never heard of the same dangerous snare there I had as much freedom as I could desire and more courtesie then I could expect without any temptation to apostate from my Religion As for the Occurrences that I met with they were many but these four were the most considerable First The strangling of the great Turk by the Janizaries at which time there was great fear and trouble in Constantinople but they enthroned his Son and this brought a peaceable settlement and with him there were cut off divers Basha's heads all whose heads excepting the great Turk's lay three dayes in Chargers before the Palace Gate for the publick view of the people which they say is the custome for the Noblemen that are beheaded The next thing is The flowing of the River Nylus in Aegypt the manner whereof is this it beginneth to flow about the fifteenth of Iune every yeer the people know the time thereof and expect it accordingly and this is after their Harvest which is usually ended about the beginning of May As for Rain there seldome falleth any in Aegypt During the time the River is up all the Country appeareth like Islands Their Towns are seated upon Hills and their lower Grounds are all covered with Waters and the Inhabitants use small Boats to pass from place to place about their affairs and because they know the yeerly flowing of Nylus they provide for the safety of their Cattel till the Waters are wasted away again There are also certain Pillars of Stone set up with divers marks upon them by which they know the degrees of the rising and the usual heighth that the Waters do ascend unto and if the Waters do ascend above the highest mark they do expect some strange consequence thereof But the greatest wonder is the present cessation of the Plague upon the flowing of this River
the Assembly did first meet they spent some time in their mutual salutations and as their manner is they kiss'd one the other's cheek expressing much joy for their happy meeting and all things being provided for their accommodation they considered of the Iews that were to be admitted Members of this Councel and they were onely allowed to be Members which could by Record prove themselves to be native Iews and for defect herein I observed above five hundred refused though doubtless they were true-born Iews yet they could not by Record prove themselves so to be and for this they were not admitted to be Members of the Councel but they did abide without the Rail with the strangers that were there and the number of them that were accepted to be Members was about three hundred Iews And this was all that was done the first day On the second day the Assembly being full the Propounder stood up and made his speech concerning the end of their meeting And This said he is to examine the Scriptures concerning Christ whether he be already come or whether we are yet to expect his coming In examining this question they searched the old Testament with great care and labour to be resolved of the Truth thereof having many Bibles with them there for this end And about this Point there were great Disputes amongst them The major part were of Opinion That he was not come and some inclined to think that he was come being moved thereunto by their great Judgement that hath continued now this 1600 years upon them I remember very well one of the Councel in his conference with me seemed to be very apprehensive of the great and long desolation of their Nation ever since their destruction by the Roman Emperours and he imputed this their affiction to their impenitency and comparing their present Judgement with their other Judgements they had suffered before The same he ingenuously confessed that he did conceive it was for some great wickedness and that their Nation was guilty of the blood of the Prophets sent from God to their Nation and the many Massacres that had been committed by the several Sects and Factions amongst them For said he we are no Idolaters neither do I think we were guilty of Idolatry since our captivity in Babylon and therefore said he I do impute this our calamity and present judgement to the forenamed causes And this was the sum of that which was disputed amongst them the second day of their meeting and so they adjourned till the next morning which was the third day of their meeting When being assembled together again the point that was chiefly agitated was concerning the manner of Christ his coming And This some said shall be like a mighty Prince in the full power and authority of a King yea in greater power then ever any King had that he will deliver their Nation out of the power of their Enemies and their Temple shall be rebuilt again and that the Nations shall be of their Religion and worship God after their manner For they hold That the Messiah will not alter their Religion whensoever he cometh And further concerning his Parentage they did agree in this that he should be born of a Virgin according to the prediction of the Prophets and they agreed also that he may be born of such a Virgin which might be of mean note amongst their Nation as was the Virgin Mary And here some of them seemed to me to incline to think that Christ was come Therefore when they came together again the next day the Propounder demanded of them if Christ were already come and who they thought he was and to this demand they gave this answer That they thought Eliah was he if he were come because he came with great power which he declared by slaying the Priests of Baal and for the fulfilling of the Scripture he was oppressed by Ahab and Iezabel yet they esteemed him to be more then a mortal man because he so strangely ascended up into heaven And because this opinion was contradicted by others the day following they tooke into examination the same question to answer them that said Eliah was not the Messiah They of the contrary opinion did urge the care and love of Eliah for the good of their Nation in that he left them Elisha his disciple to teach and instruct the people which they expect to be the care of their Messiah These were the chief Arguments they had to defend their opinion and the same day towards night it came into question amongst them What he then was that said he was the son of God and was crucified by their Ancestors And because this was the great question amongst them they deferred the further consideration thereof untill the next day When meetting again the Pharisees for some of this Sect were amongst them that were always the enemies of Christ they first began to answer this last nights question and these by no meanes would yeeld that he was the Christ and these reasons they gave for their opinion First because said they he came into the world like an ordinary and inferior man not with his scepter nor Royal power wherewith they affirmed the coming of Christ should be Glorious 2. They pleaded against him the meanness of his birth in that his father was a Carpenter and this they said was a dishonor that Christ should not be capable of 3. They accused him to be an enemy to Moses law in suffering his disciples and in doing workes himself that were prohibited on the Sabbath day for they believe that the Messiah will punctually and exactly keep the law of Moses and where the Gospel doth testifie of Christ that he did fulfill the law they reject the Testimony thereof because they do not own the Gospel But I observed these reasons of the Pharisees did not satisfie all that heard them but there still remained some doubt in some of them concerning Christ for there stood up one Rabbie called Abraham and objected against the Pharisees the miracles that Christ wrought whil'st he was upon earth as his raising of the dead to life again his making the lame to walk the blind to see and the dumb to speake And the same Abraham demanded of the Pharisees by what power he did these Miracles The answer the Pharisees returned to him was to his purpose They said he was an Impostor and a Magitian and Blasphemously traduced him of doing all his Miracles by Magicke thus said they he first caused them to be blinde to be dumb to be lame and then by taking away his Magical Charme they were restored to their former condition Nevertheless this answer gave little Satisfaction to the said Abraham but thus he replyed that he could not charme those that were borne in that condition as blind c. and borne also before Christ himself was borne as it appeareth some of them were this seemed to him an absurd paradox and truely the
There died some thousands of the Plague the day before the flowing of Nylus in Grandcairo as they certified me a day or two after not one person more died of the Infection This I observed that the Land is full of unhealthy fogs mists and vapours which cause the disease and it seems the Waters of Nylus do purifie it again In the Kingdom of Grandcairo alias Pharaoh's Town is the City and it is greater then any elsewhere I did behold but Memphis is the neater City and being there I went to see the Land of Goshen where the Israelites did inhabit this is a very pleasant and fruitful Land for Pasture such as I have nowhere seen the like At this time also I had an opportunity to see the Red-sea and the place where as they enformed me the Israelites did enter their Journey through the same there also they shewed me the great Mountains that inclosed them when Pharaoh pursued them with his great Army and the Hills where the two Armies lay in sight one of another and there I found the true reason why it is called the Red-Sea not because the Water is red naturally but because the Sand is red and this was clear to me by plain demonstration for I put some of the Water into a clean vessel and there I did see it had the same colour of other Water but the Sand is reddish and giveth the same colour to the Water I shall omit many other things concerning Aegypt onely this it is under the Turk's Dominion and the Natives are his miserable slaves Thirdly You may expect some news from Rome where also I was and did behold their great Solemnity it being then the Anno Sancto as they there call it that is the yeer of Jubilee There I beheld the Pope in his glory and how in great state he was carried about the City the streets were thronged with the people and as he passed by they made them even to ring with acclamations and rejoycings he was carried by some eminent men having a rich Canopy over him He made his Crosses in the Air with his fingers and threw his blessings amongst them And truly these delusions were so prevailing with the people that poor souls they seemed to me to rejoyce as if Christ himself had been come to Rome and brought them down the foelicities of Heaven At one time I beheld in Naples perhaps it will seem strange but it is true about eight thousand Pilgrims going to Rome for their absolution all which the Vice-Roy of Naples maintained three dayes at his own charge and on the fourth day they did present themselves before him at his Palace in Prilgrim Weeds viz. with leaden Pictures of Saints in their Hats with leather Collers about their Necks which fell down half way over their Arms and their Staves in their Hands and thus they marched away from Naples in the posture of an Army towards Rome and so farewel Rome Vidi satis est vidisse I omit to recite many other occurrences which by conferrence I shall willingly communicate to my Friends they being too many to commit to writing onely now the fourth remarkable thing remaineth to present you withal and that is The proceedings of a great Councel of Iews assembled in the Plain of Ageda in Hungaria about thirty Leagues distant from Buda to examine the Scriptures concerning Christ on the twelfth of October 1650. It hath been much desired by many honest Christians that this Narrative of the Iews Councel should be published which I did intend only to communicate to private friends the chief Argument by which they have perswaded me to do it is because they do conceive it to be a preparative and hopeful sign of the Iew Conversion and that it will be glad tidings to the Church of Christ and therefore I have yielded to satisfie their desires therein And thus it was At the place abovenamed there assembled about three hundred Rabbies called together from several parts of the World to examine the Scriptures concerning Christ and it seems this place was thought most convenient for this Councel in regard that part of the Country was not much inhabited because of the continual wars between the Turk and the King of Hungaria where as I was informed they had fought two bloody Battels yet both Princes notwithstanding their own differences did give leave to the Iews to hold their Councel there And for their accommodation there the Iews did make divers Tents for their repose and had plenty of provision brought them from other parts of the Country during the time of their sitting there There was also one large Tent built onely for the Councel to sit in made almost foursquare the North and the South part of it being not altogether so large as the East and West part thereof It had but one Door and that opened to the East and in the middle thereof stood a little Table and a Stool for the Propounder to sit on with his Face towards the Door of the Tent The said Propounder was of the Tribe of Levi and was named Zacharias and within this Tent round about were placed divers forms for the Consulters to sit on It was also inclosed with a Rail that stood a distance from it to prevent entrance to all strangers and to all such Iews as could not prove themselves to be Iews by Record or could not dispute in the Hebrew-tongue which many had forgotten which lived in such Countries where they are not allowed their Synagogues as in France Spain and those parts of Italy that do belong to the King of Spain viz. the Kingdom of Naples with the Province of Calabria and Apuleia the Kingdom of Cicilia and Sardania in which places if a Iew be found and he deny the Popish Religion he is in danger to be condemned and executed for it and yet profit and benefit allureth them to dwell in those Countries notwithstanding their fears and dangers and themselves are willing to forget and so neglect to teach their Children their native Language rather then they will lose their opportunity of profit and some have burned the ancient Records of their Tribe and Family that they might not be discovered by searching or otherwise And for this defect that they could not prove their Tribe or Family they were not permitted to come within the Rail but were commanded to remain without with the strangers that remained there to see the issue of their proceeding which were above 3000 persons and they were for the most part of them Germans Almaines Dalmatians and Hungarians with some Greeks but few Italians and not one English man that I could hear of besides my self I was informed that the King of Hungaria not favouring the reformed Religion did give no encouragement to any Protestant Churches to send any Divines thither but he did allow that some Assistants should be sent from Rome and their coming thither did prove a great unhappiness to this hopeful Councel When