A View of the Romish Hydra, Sermon 2

A View of the Romish Hydra · Sermon 2

p. 281. SAM. 26.

And Dauid ſaid to Abiſhai, Deſtroy him not: for who can laie his hand on the Lords annointed, and bee guiltleſſe, &c.

THE SECOND SERMON.

HERODIAN an Hiſtoriographer cō plaineth that it was an old diſeaſe amōg y^e Graeciās, Lib. 3.that they were alwaies amōg them-ſelues at diſcorde, and were willing to deſtroy thoſe that ſeemed to excel others, and ſo in the end cōſumed Greece. A fatal matter, a mortal ſin is ſedition, reckoned woorthily among the works of the fleſh, tied and chained altogether as it were with a lincke in the Epiſtle to the Galathians: The woorks of the fleſh are hatred & debate, Cap. 5.wrath, contentions, diſſenſions, ſects, enuy, murders, al of one cognation and kinred. This ſedition is, and euer hath bin not only in Greece, but by ſundry makebates at al times and in al places, by Abiſhai in Iury as you lately heard cōſpiring againſt King p. 29Saul, and by others againſt Dauid himſelfe as he thus lamenteth:Pſal. 71.Ps 71 Mine enemies ſpeake againſt me, & they that lay wait for my ſoul, take their counſail together ſaying: God hath forſakē him, perſecute & take him, for ther is none to deliuer him. I hauehave alſo declared that the Romaniſts & their Prelats hauehave bin Graecians in this behalfe, conſenting with Abiſhai againſt Saul, nay Dauid, and made much trouble in the common-weal & Chriſtiā churches, foreign & they hauehave waſted our Greece, moſt parts in chriſtendom, abſoluing al eccleſiaſtical & laymen frō their othes made to their lawful Princes, and preſenting abroad their Roſes, their bāners, their ſwords conſecrated or rather execrated to ſuch, as ſhuld betray & perſecute the good. This cruel deuiſe of betraieng godly gouernors was here of Abiſhai, but not of him alone, but an inuentiō of the diuel himſelf, who ſeing Gods work to go forward, euer laboreth to diſturb, and to throw it down: Semper Diabolus bono operi imminet, vbi que gradientibus ponit laqueos. Hieran. Jereman the pr…ſsu… of his 4. books.He is ſtil peering into the good works of the godly, he is ready to hinder the courſe of the goſpel, and laieth ſnares againſt them that walke in the way of the Lord.

You remember the Sermon of Abiſhai, I neede not repeate it: nowe the ſecond p. 30perſon muſt be produced, namelie Dauid replying to Abiſhai.

This aunſwere conteineth theſe three ſub-diuiſions,A diuiſion general of Dauids Replie. his Prohibition, Proteſtation, and Policie. The Prohibition forbidding Abiſhai. The Proteſtation of him-ſelfe deteſting the fact. His Policie in taking away the ſpeare and the cuppe as a ſigne of his faithfulnes, who might as eaſily hauehave takē away his heade as his helmet, or thoſe things whatſoeuer that were by him then ſleeping.

At this tyme onelyonly of the firſt, and ſo farre as I may for the time,A ſpeciall Diuiſion. in the ninth verſe ſtanding vponupon theſe two points: A propoſition forbidding, and a reaſon proouing the ſame.

The firſt in theſe words,1 Propoſition againſt murder. Deſtroy him not: and this was alwaies the opinion of Dauid to be good to the bad, to bee a friende to his enemies, as in the caſe of Shimei who railed and curſed him, and called him a man of blood, and a man of Belial, a murtherer and wicked man. And here againe the ſame Abiſhai the ſonne of Zeruiah folowing his hoat ſpirit,2. Sam. cap. 16.2 Sam 16 termed this Shimei a dead dog, and would hauehave faine cut off his head, but King Dauid then reprooued and reſtrained Abiſhai, and ſaide that no man ſhould die that day in Iſrael, Cap. 19.and ſware to Shimei he ſhould liue.Cap. 24. And in the twenty fourth Chapter of this booke Dauid found Saul in a p. 31caue, and though his ſeruants and frinds told him that the Lorde had deliuered his enemie into his hand, he ſpared his body, and only for a token cut off the lap of his garment priuilie, and euen for that hee was touched and ſtriken in heart.1. Sam. 24.1 Sam 24 So in this place hee would not hauehave that forward or rather froward man Abiſhai to take that aduantage: & vſed this argument, For who can lay his hand vponupon the Lordes annointed, and be guiltleſſe? Saul is the annointed of the Lord,2. The explication of the Reaſon. therefore no man can lay hands on him without puniſhment, which reaſon I minde to open to you and proſecute.

In the perſon of the Prince are to be conſidered two things, his māhood, & Princehood. Aliter Rex ſeruit, quia homo eſt, Auguſt. Epiſt. 50.aliter quia etiā Rex eſt: one way a King ſerueth becauſe he is a man, another way alſo becauſe he is a King: ſo y^t he beareth & repreſenteth a double perſon.1 As man, he muſt …o… bee killed o… man. As man, if there were nothing els, he may not be ſpoiled by any priuat man. Who ſo ſheddeth mans blood, by man ſhall his blood be ſhed, Gen. 9.Gen 9for in the Image of God hath he made him. Moſes hath made a Law general: Thou maiſt not kil. And yet not ſo general,Exod. 20.Exod 20 but that it hath an interpretatiō & limitation. It is not ment, ſaith Auſtine, of cutting or as it were of killing of ſhrubs, trees, or ſuch like which hauehave no ſenſe in them, neyther is it meant of vnreaſonable p. 32creatures flying,Whether is be lawful to kil a man, and howe. ſwymming, walking, creeping: it remaineth therefore that we vnderſtand it onelyonly of men, that we ſhould not kill any man, & therefore not our ſelues. This generall alſo hath another exception,Auſtin. l. 1. de ciuitate Dei cap. 20. for it is lawful to kil a man, as in lawfull wars, Deo auctore, by the warrant of God, nay a ſouldior lawfully conſtituted, if he do not kil, he is guilty of contempt, imperij deſerti at que contempti, as the ſaide Auguſtine teacheth in another place of the ſame City of GOD.Li. 1. c. 26. Againe it is lawful for a Magiſtrate to put to death a malefactour, or for ſuch as bear the perſon of publicke power by the Lawes of God, or of any which is mooued certainely and called therevnto by a ſpecial inſpiration of the holy Ghoſt, or for that authority which did chooſe and ordaine that gouernour, or in any ſuch like caſe and cauſe. Otherwiſe no ſpirite, no reaſon, no friend, no carnall reſpect may authorize any man of his owne heade, or his priuate affection to draw weapon againſt any man, much les againſt a double and compound perſon, as the Prince eſtabliſhed by lawful and publique authority.

What if Abraham ſhould hauehave killed his owne ſonne Iſaac? Gen. 21.Gen 21Is it therefore lawful for al parents to doe the like: The commaundement of God for the killing was onelyonly to trie p. 33his faith, but the ſauing of Iſaac by God was a ſecret commaundement to all fathers, to commit no ſuch thing againſt their children. Of this example Auguſtin alſo writeth in his firſt book De C. Dei, cap. 16. Though Moſes killed the Aegyptian, Exod. 2 Num 25. 1 Sam. 15. Acts. 5.Exod 2Num 251 Sam 15Acts 5and Phinehas the fornicatours, and Samuel Agag, and Peter Ananias and Saphira without ſword, with a worde, yet the ſpecialties are not generall rules for priuate men againſt men: according to the ſayeng, Priuilegium non eſt lex: A priuilege is no law: It is ſaid of the Magiſtrates rightly, by Hierom vponupon Ieremy: Lib. 4, c. 22.To puniſh murderers, Church-robbers, poiſoners, is not ſhedding of bloud, but the miniſterie of Lawes. It is ſaide to Magiſtrates, and to priuate men by Ieremy in the ſame Chapter, ſpeaking to the King of Iuda: Cap. 22.Doe no violence, nor ſhedde innocent bloode in this place. Theſe wordes, as Hierom expoundeth them, forbid not only the Kings court, but Epiſcopos, & ſocios eorum preſbyteros: al Biſhops, and their fellowes the Miniſters, Deacons, and all the order Eccleſiaſticall, or elſe they leeſe their dignity. What ſhal we ſaie then of the Byſhoppe of Byſhoppes, that draweth his ſword as the foole dooth his wodden dagger againſt eueryevery body, and for eueryevery trifle? No man, publique, or priuate, ſecular, or Eccleſiaſtical, p. 34inferiour or ſuperiour, ought without crime, or cauſe, to put to death any man. It is ſaid to Peter, and to Peters ſucceſſour the Pope, Ioan. 18.John 18(as they wil hauehave him) Put vppe thy ſworde into his ſheath, for all that take the ſword, ſhal periſh with the ſword. If Peter did il in cutting off an eare of a ſeruant, how much more doe they offend that cutte off the head? And if the ſeruant may not bee ſtriken by Peter, howe can they eſcape that ſtrike the Maſter, the Lord, or Lady of the land? And if Chriſt found fault with his ſeruaunt fighting in his owne quarel, how much more wil he be angry with them that take weapon againſt his Annointed Prince, his lieuetenaunt in the earth, nay, againſt himſelfe in defenſe of his aduerſary and Antichriſt?

For nowe conſider with mee the reaſon of Dauid, 2 Perſon. No man ought to be ſlain of priuate men, Ergo much les a Prince of a ſubiect.and the ſecond qualification of Saul, that he is not only created a man, but alſo annointed King. For what doe theſe Nephilim Giantes, and tyrantes of the world think? Or what do they eſteem of the blood of a Prince? Or what doe they imagine of the ordinaunce or inſtitution of Princes? Are they vpſtartes by themſelues, or able to riſe and ſtand of thē ſelues? No, that was the phreneſie of madde Aiax, That Cowardes did get the victorie by God, he would winne whether GOD p. 35would or no. Or is it a matter of force or fortune? No, that was the deſperate ſaying of Antiochus foreign Let him take the kingdome, to whome fortune, or the ſword ſhal giuegive it. Or dooth policy and gouernement of the world, or the worlde it ſelfe conſiſt of the Sunne beames: That might be the fantaſie of Democritus, that ſcoffed at all things. Or is it the ordinaunce of Iupiter or any heathen God: No, for ſo dreamed Homer, Illud. …that termed Kings, Nurſed vp and foſtered by Iupiter: and Heſiod, that wrote,In ope… Dier. lib. …. ſome to be noble, and ſome to be baſe, by the wil of great Iupiter. So Iulian the Apoſtata thought, who cauſed in al his publique and popular images,So… … 5. cap. 17. Iupiter to be painted, as appearing from heauen and reaching to him the crowne, and the purple, enſignes of the Empire. No: it is only the ordinaunce of our liuing God, the gift of Chriſt, who hath that written in his garment, and in his thigh, the King of Kings, Apoc. 1….Rev 1the Lord of Lordes. So is the Prince deſined of Saint Paul to the Romanes: and by Iohn Salisberg lib. 4. Polycrat. A Prince is a publike power, Ro…. 13.& in earth a certain image of the diuine power. Therefore as before I proued him to bee a double perſon, ſo is he now a double Image of God, for hee was made after the Image of God, and by office repreſenteth God may: further, p. 36he is a God himſelfe. God is God by nature, the Prince by name, God by propriety, the Prince by grace: So God himſelfe ſaith, Yee are Gods, Pſal. 82.Ps 82and the children of the higheſt: And the ſame Dauid in the ſame place, God ſtandeth in the congregatiō of Gods: he iudgeth among Gods, quia ipſe eſt ſolus qui Deos faciat: It is he alone that maketh Gods, as Tertullian expoundeth, aduerſus Hermogenem.

Euen Saul himſelfe is named here the annointed of the Lorde, and ſo are all other Potentates that are by their vices euil men, yet by office the ordinance of God:Prou. 8. Iob. 34. Cap. 13.Prov 8Job 34 By me Rulers raigne: The hypocrits rule not without him: And God himſelfe ſaith in Oſc, I gaue thee a King in myne anger, and tooke him awaie in my wrath. Iohn. 19.John 19Chriſt told Pilate that he could hauehave no power at all, except it had bin giuen him frō aboue.Rom. 13.Rom 13 There is no power but of God, and the powers that be, are ordeined of God. The Fathers if need were might be brought for the ſame,Lib. 3. as Optatus: Paul teacheth (ſaith he) not without cauſe, that we muſt pray for Kings, and powers, although the Emperour were ſuch a one as liued heatheniſhly. And Auguſtine: Wee call them happy Princes, Lib. 5. de cimitate Dei, cap. 24.if they commaund iuſt thinges &c. And if they make their power as a ſeruaunt and p. 37hand-maid to his maieſty, eſpecially in ſetting forth his honour. And in another Chapiter,Cap. 21. Let vsus not giuegive the power of beſtowing kingdomes, and Empires to any, but onelyonly to the true God: He that gaue authority to Marius, gaue it to Caius Caeſar: He that gaue it to Auguſtus, gaue it to Nero: He that gaue it to the Veſpaſians, either the Father, or the Sonne, moſt ſweete and milde Emperours, hee gaue it alſo to Domitian, à moſt cruell man. And leaſt I ſhould paſſe through al, he that gaue it to Conſtantine the Chriſtian, gaue it vntounto Iulian the Renigate. And why are the bad as wel as the good aduanced? The fame Auſtine againſt the Manichees giueth two reaſons hereof:De Na…t. Bon…. c…. 3…. It is not vniuſt that wicked men receaue power to hurt, both that the patience of the good may be tried, and the wickednes of the euil puniſhed.

Heereby the Prince and the people may learne theſe notes. In that the Princes are called Gods, they muſt ſerue God,Pſal. …. 2. Ch. c 19. and not exerciſe their owne iudgement: Againe they muſt gather a good hart vntounto them,A notefo… Princes. and conceiue a cōfort of this doctrin: becauſe they are ſet vp by God, they cannot fall, but by God, and if they ſerue their lord,Lib. Nat. hiſtor. 16. cap. 39. the Lord wil ſerue and ſaue them. Pliny ſaith that the Cedar tree and the Iuniper, if they bee annointed with p. 38oyle, they feele neither moth nor rotting: euen ſo the Prince & gouernor being annointed not only outwardly, but alſo inwardely with oyle of the holy Ghoſt (for the holy Ghoſt is called an oile or annointing) they neede not fear the moths of the common-weal,2 Iohn. 2.2 John 1:2 that ſeek by fretting and eating to conſume both Kingdome, and King: And ſo may I woorthily cal them as Licinius did, Tineas, ſoriceſ que palatij, the moothes and rats of the court,In vita Conſtant. as Sextus Aurelius Victor teſtifieth in his Epitome. This comfort gaue Bernard both to King, and to Pope: to Lewes the King of Fraunce, thus: The Kingdoms of the earth, Epiſt. 255.& the Laws of Kingdomes do then indeed ſtand ſound, & ſtable to their Lordes, if they doe not withſtand the ordinaunces and decrees of God. To the Pope Eugenius thus: I hauehave read in à wiſe man, Epiſt. 256.that hee is not a valiaunt man, whoſe courage & ſpirit doth not encreaſe, when his caſe is moſt hard: but I ſay, a faithful man muſt more truſt when the ſcourges hang ouer him. Therefore the Gods of the earth, if they wil be preſerued by God, with al trembling and feare muſt ſerue God:Pſal. 2.Ps 2 if not, they muſt hear, be they Popes, be they Princes, what the ſame Bernard ſaith to them in the ſame Epiſtle: Quale eſt hoc, principatum tenere, & miniſterium declinare? What maner of p. 39thing is this, to hold the principality, and to ſhunne the ſeruice? But the good Gods muſt conceiue hope, and hauehave a boldnes with Dauid that feared not, becauſe God was with him, and becauſe God wil defend him whom he annointeth.

Now let vsus conſider beeing inferiours our note,D… ſub… T… touching vsus in the concluſion of Dauids argument. Theſe be men, and woorthy men, made after the ſimilitude and image of God, therefore they ought not to bee oppreſſed, or made away by priuat men: nay, they are Gods and Chriſts, the annointed of God, therefore you Abiſhai his ofſpring, deſtroy not Saul: If not Saul, much-leſſe Dauid, much-leſſe your good and gracious Prince. Touch not mine annointed, my Chriſtes, ſaith God.Pſal. 10.Ps 10 Man is to be loued and helped becauſe he is man, the image of God: therefore the man that is God, and by God a Prince, muſt be honoured, and ſpared, not ſpoiled, and butchered: for hee is in two reſpectes the image of God. He that defaceth this image, defaceth God, and God taketh his quarell vponupon himſelfe, and thinketh the vilany to be done to himſelfe: They hauehave not caſt away thee, but me, 1. Sam. …that I ſhould not raigne ouer them, ſaith God to Samuel.

Although this might ſuffice for the vnfoulding & opening of the Text, & of the reaſon of p. 40Dauid againſt ſuch Abiſhais, The method and order of proceeding.yet I purpoſe further to confirme the ſame by Lawes and practiſes among the heathen, and all naturall creatures, among Iewes in the oulde Teſtament, & alſo in the new Teſtament by Scriptures, and after Chriſt by Chriſtian fathers, by Princes, by Ciuil conſtitutions, and Canonical decrees, by Laws and examples abroad and at home, as time and leaſure will ſerue, and in ſuch order and method as I may: to this ende, and purpoſe, that in all theſe, obedience may appeare fully proued, and al kind of diſobedience vtterly diſproued.

The Law of nature might inſtruct natural citizens,1 The Lawe of nature teacheth kindnes and obedience. and countrimen to louelove, honour & obey their natural Soueraigne. Shall I begin to our ſhame with the kindnes of vnreaſonable beaſts towards their maſters & feeders? The Oxe knoweth his owner, and the Aſſe his maſters crib: Eſ. 1.Isa 1and ſhal not Iſrael, I ſay, ſhal not England acknowledge their dutifulneſſe towarde their Soueraigne? What ſhoulde I ſpeak of theſe two both ſimple and vile creatures, and yet kind, patient and obedient vntounto maſter-ſhip? There is none but obſerue the firſt ordinaunce of God, which is the acknowledgement of ſuperiority. The firſt Lawe is, that man ſhould hauehave dominion ouer the fiſh of the Sea, ouer the foule of heauen, ouer the p. 41beaſtes in earth:Geneſ. 1.Gen 1 and is not this commaundement by them towardes man obſerued? Chryſoſtome hath, that among brute beaſts, Bees,Rom. 13.Rom 13 Cranes, Heardes, and flockes of Cattle this order is kept, and alſo in the Sea this diſcipline is reteined, that many kinds of fiſhes are ruled, & as it were wage warre vnderunder one. Of the fearfulnes and awe of fiſhes we may read Baſil, Hexaem. Hom. 10. howe according to this firſt creation, they acknowledge at the ſight of man, his dominion euer them: And the Dolphin, though he be a moſt regal & Princely fiſh, vbi hominem prope eſſe conspexerit, reueretur: when he ſeeth man neere, hee ſheweth reuerence as to his Lord. Cyprian likewiſe confirmeth the ſame of Bees,Epiſt. l. 4. epiſt. 9. Apes habent Regem, & Iudicem, & ei fidē ſeruant: The Bees alſo, ſaith he, hauehave their Praepoſitum, their prouoſt and Rector, whom they honour and fear. It is ſtraunge that Plinie recordeth of the faithfulnes of Dogs towards their Maſter.Lib. 8. c. 40. A Dog hath fought againſt theeues for his Maſter, and neuer departed from the dead corps, though he were wounded: and being not able to faue him, yet draue away birdes and wilde beaſts from tearing, and eating of him. A dog in Epirus did know the man that ſtrooke and killed his maſter, and neuer left barking, and byting of him, vntil he made him confeſſe the p. 42murder. Two hundred dogges brought from baniſhment Garamantus the King, praeliati contra reſiſtentes, as it were, warring againſt thoſe that withſtoode him. The dogs alone know their Maſter, and a ſtraunger if he come ſodainly: they alone know their owne names, and the voice of any of the howſe. I referre you to Ambroſe in his Hexaemer. Lib. 6. c. 4.reporting of a dogge, that kept in the night his maſters corps at Antiochia ſlaine by a ſouldier: and afterward in the troupe caught the malefactour with his teeth, and neuer left him, vntill by the barking of that dogge, and of his owne conſcience he confeſſed the murther. I omitte the dogs of Sabinus, Iaſon, Lyſimachus the King, and Hieron, neuer forſaking their Maſters liuing or deade: you may find them in Bap. Fulgoſus. As alſo of an horſe of king Antiochus ſlaine by Centaretrus Gallata, Lib. 5. cap. 2who perceiuing that his maſters enemy had got vp on his back, neuer left running vntill hee caſt himſelfe and the horſeman headlong from an high rock.

In the time of nature, I meane before the Law of Moſes, although there was much violence & tyrannie by Cain, Nimrod, & others, yet naturallie there was a deteſtacion of this ſhedding of bloude. Some of the brethren of Ioſeph enuied his parti-coloured coate,Geneſ. 37Gen 37 and p. 43would hauehave ſlaine him: but Reuben deliuered him out of their handes and ſaid: Let vsus not kill him: ſhedde not bloude, put him into a pitte in the wildernes, lay no handes vppon him, minding to reſtore him to his father againe: Iudas although he was a right Iudas, predeceſſor to Iudas the trayterous ſcholer of Chriſt, gaue a ſentence meete for Iudas, but better then others his brethren gaue, that he ſhould be ſold to the Iſmaelites: for, He is our brother, and our fleſhe, and ſo agreed to ſell him to the Midianites. The brethren by a ly colouring the matter, coloured Ioſephes coat and dipped it in the blood of a goat, which Iacob ſeeing and thinking it to be Ioſephs coat, and that he was torn in peeces by a wild beaſt, rent his clothes, put on ſackcloth, not abyding the ſight of blood.Plutarch. The father with the ſonnes Reuben, and Iudas in this time before Moſes abhorre bloud. As Iulia the wife of Pompeie, ſeeing the gown of her husband bloody, by the touch of others blood, more afraid than hurt, fel downe halfe dead, and in this agony was deliuered before her time.

What were the Magiſtrates in the time of Peter and Paul, but heathen, and tyrants, as Nero and ſuch other? And yet Paul exhorteth eueryevery ſoule to be ſubiect to the higher powers: and whoſoeuer reſiſteth the power, p. 44reſiſteth the ordinance of God. Rom. 13.Rom 13Whereunto Bernard alluding, declareth his owne iudgement in this queſtion very wiſely to the King of Fraunce: Epiſt. 170.If al the worlde ſhould coniure againſt me, and ſweare mee to attempt anie thing againſt the Maieſty of the King, yet would I feare God, neither durſt I raſhlie offend the King ordained by him, neither am I ignoraunt where I hauehave read, He that reſiſteth the power, reſiſteth the ordinance of God. 1. Peter. 2.1 Pet 2Peter exhorteth to bee ſubiect to all maner of ordinaunce of man in the Lord: and Paul, eſpecially aboue all, beſeecheth vsus to make ſupplications,A reaſon in nature drawen from commoditie of obediēce. praiers, interceſſions, & giuing of thanks for Kings, and for al that are in authority: and al this is proued to bee profitable for common tranquillity, to obey Nero, and ſuch like: although they were heathen men in profeſſion and conuerſation. The commodity of that heatheniſh gouernment is thus ſet foorth: Hee is the miniſter of God for thy good: Rom. 13.1. Tim. 2.1. Pet. 2.Rom 131 Tim 21 Pet 2we may lead a quiet and a peaceable life vnderunder them in al godlines and honeſty: Gouernours are ſent for the puniſhment of euill doers: and for the praiſe of them that doe wel. Chryſoſtome ſheweth the commodities of this politicke gouernment: In that there are principalities, in that ſome commaund and ſome obey, Ad Ro. 13.Rom 13and in that al things p. 45are not turned vpſide downe by fortune and chaunce, and the people are not toſted hither and thither, I affirm it to be the work of the wiſedome of God. And hee ſaith, it is for the auoiding of diſcordes and diſſenſions in theſe words: Becauſe the equality of honour and ſtate bringeth in commonly fighting and braules, God hath ordeined many principalities and many ſubiections, namely of the huſband and the wife, of the ſonne and of the father, of the ould man and the young, of the ſeruant and of the free, of the Prince and the ſubiect, of the ſchoole-maiſter and the ſcholer: he concludeth thus: Innumera bona &c. Infinite commodities come to cities by Magiſtrates, which if you take away, al things wil come to wreck. Now let vsus recount with our ſelues: if this be the bleſſednes of gouernment vnderunder the heathen, how much more are we bound to God for a Chriſtian and godly regiment? Euen Nabuchadonezer a tyraunt and infidel was to be praied for: And the Iewes are willed to pray for him, & for Babylon: and to ſeeke the peace of that City where they were captiues: for thus ſaith Ieremie, Ierem. 29.Jer 29In the peace thereof ſhal you hauehave peace: This is the office and duty of the Iewes, though ſtraungers, toward the Babylonians, notwithſtanding their ſtraunge, and p. 46idolatrous religion. O that our great ſoiourner receiued in England with fauour,Q. of Scots. entertained with honour, vſed with al liberal liberty, pardoned many times by mercy, woulde hauehave ſought the peace of the land where ſhee harboured, or at leaſt had not ſought the diſquietnes of the ſtate, the diſturbaunce of the realme, the hauocke and vndooing of manie Gentlemen, the perill of the perſon of the Prince of the land, ſo gratiouſly affected towarde her, beeing but a Queene quondam, a Queene without a Kingdome, and onelyonly in name. Such ſoiournours hauehave been here not a few: What ſhal I ſay, a Snakiſh and Serpentine generation? I might ſo. Thomas Walſingham remembreth in his Chronicle of three vnkind gueſts, a Mouſe in a wallet, a Serpent in ones boſome, and fier in the lap: Nay I might ſay woorſe: They paſſe ſome Serpents. In Aegypt an Aſpis or Serpent by nature learned this, to ſhew friendſhip to a friend, and an hoſt: for beeing brought vp in a poor mans houſe, & deliuered of young-ones, and perceiuing that one of that brood had with byting and ſtinging killed the good mans Sonne, ſhee did ſley al her children, and was neuer after ſeen in that houſe. O admiranda Dei virtus, ſaith Baptiſta Fulgoſus: O wounderful power and vertue of God! A cruel Serpent p. 47towards her hoſt would ſhewe her ſelfe thankfull, euen with the death of her younglings, and with her own diſcommodity: and a man,Ful. l. 5. c. 7. a reaſonable creature oftentimes more cruell than the Aſpis, will deſtroy man and hoſt: Doubtles a great and groſſe ingratitude. But now what reward either forreiners, or domeſtical practiſers, and traytours hauehave had from time to time among theſe heathen vnderunder the Law of nature: giuegive me leaue by exampls ſomewhat to make manifeſt vntounto you. Great Pompeie flying for ſuccour into Aegypt, and requeſting to ſoiourne vnderunder Ptolomeie a young King, a Councell was called about it, and whereas one thought him to hee admitted, another to be repelled: Theodotus Chius Schoole-maſter to Ptolomeie in the Art of Rhetorik, agreed to neither of them: For if they receiued him, they ſhould hauehave Caeſar an enemy: if they ſhould refuſe him, it woulde turne to ſome reproch to them, and bee offenſiue to Pompeie. Wherefore the beſt is (quoth he) to diſpatch him, adding (as Plutarch ſaith) merily, foreign: Dead men bite not: J…i…e Pom….and yet here was no preſent practiſe by Pompeie, but a fear of ſome troubles and treacheries by him. Among the Romanes it hath bin ſeuerely puniſhed, whenſoeuer any ſuch trayterous prancke hath beene diſplaied, either againſt p. 48their country, either againſt their frindes or foes.Lib. Offic. Ambroſe commendeth highly Fabritius the Romane, who perceiuing that a Phyſitian offred to poyſon Pyrrhus his Kingſent the traitour backe againe to his Maſter, to ſuffer condigne puniſhment for it. Metius Suffetius keeping touch neither with the Albanes, nor with the Romans, as he was double, and trayterous in heart, ſo with wild horſes his body was rent, and diuided: where Tullus cōfeſſeth, that there is no war greater, or more perilous than cum proditione & perſidia ſociorum: Liui. decad. 1. lib. 1.when there is falſhoode in fellowſhip. Tarpeia the daughter of the Lieuetenaunt of the tower or Capitolium, in the battell betwixt the Romanes and the Sabines, corrupted,In vita Romul. either by bracelettes, as Plutarch writeth, or for gold, as Liuie telleth, betraieth the tower vntounto Tatius, and had rewarde, but ſuch as choked her. Maximinus killed men as it were beaſts, againſt whom when the Oſdroens bowmen had made a faction, and commotion, and choſen a newe Emperour, one Macedonius did ſlay him, and brought his heade to Maximinus, who thanked him with courteous woordes, but afterward in ſeuere maner as a traytour put him to death. What ſhould I repeat the traiterous Schoolmaſter of the Faliſcians, who bringing out of the city, p. 49his ſcholers, as the maner was for their recreation, now cōmeth into the camp of Camillus, and deliuered Principum liberos, Noble mens children vntounto him, ioyning with his wicked act more wicked ſpeach, that the Valerians did yeelde themſelues into the hands of the Romanes, in that he yeelded into their power thoſe children, whoſe parents were the heads and chiefeſt there: but Camillus eſpyeng the treachery, after his ſharpe aunſwere to him, ſtript him naked, tyed his hands behinde his back, committed him to the boies, with rods in their hands, to whip the traitor into the city againe: whereby Camillus got thankes, and renowme of the enemies, and of his countrymen, declaring to the worlde the auncient iuſtice of the Romanes, not to win by fraude, but by vertue and manhoode, virtute, opere, Decad. 1. l. …armis vincere, as Liuie alleadgeth his words. The ſame Liuie telleth how Papirius Curſor handled certaine traitours, or reuoulters,Lib. 9. firſt beating them with rods, then beheading them with an axe. Theſe be ſome examples of Romanes. In the wars betwixt Alexander and Darius, the like ſeuerity againſt like offenders is to be found. Ariobarzanes promiſed to kill his father Darius, but Darius vnderſtanding of it, ſtrook off his head. Barſanetes a Prince perceiuing Darius to be ouercome by Alexander, p. 50killed him, but he for his pains or rather perfidiouſneſſe by Alexander was requited by death: ſo writeth Bruſonius. Paulus Oroſius ſaith,Oroſius. l. 3. that Alexander found Darius bound with golden fetters, and afterward in his iourney left all alone, ſtricken with many wounds, and ready to yeeld vp the ghoſt: and Alexander pitieng him, when hee was dead honourably buried him. Carion writeth of another traitour Beſſus, captaine of Darius, who ſeeing his maſter fly, wounded him: and Alexander comming, and finding him halfe dead, promiſed him, that that notorious treachery of Beſſus againſt his owne Lord, ſhould not be vnpuniſhed: and ſo tooke him and commaunded him to be hound between two trees, and pluckt in peeces,Lib. 2. and rent. O worthy execution of a trayterous ſubiect, and that by an enimy for an enemy!

I paſſe ouer many others that attempting the death of tyrauntes, eſcaped not the iudgement of God, Zeno Eleates was diuers waies tormented by Nearchus Myſius, Dion by Dionyſius, Raph. Volat in philol. lib. 30.& Apollonius Tyaneus a great learned Philoſopher was impriſoned by Domitiā. What then deſerue ſuch as commit this heynous act againſt their milde and mercifull Prince? Surely no mercy, being mercileſſe themſelues, yea more cruel than Tygres. I p. 51will adde in the number of theſe heathen one Turk. There was in Conſtantinople a great rich citizen, who taking ſnuffe againſt his Emperour, came priuily to Mahomet, then intending to beſiege the city, & made this bargaine with him, that if hee would let him hauehave one of his Daughters to bee his wife, with a large dowry, one of the gates of the city ſhould be at his commaundement. The Turkiſh tyrant agreeth, the gate is opened, and after the cruell maſſacre, hee demaundeth his reward. Meruiſti (quoth the tyrant) you hauehave wel deſerued it, and commaundeth a great maſſe of gould to be brought to giuegive him: but becauſe thou dooſt aske my Daughter with a dowry, being thy ſelfe a Chriſtian, thou muſt firſt put off this ſkin, and leaue this life: and forthwith commaundeth the officer to flea him from top to toe, and caſteth on hote aſhes with ſalt,Cuſpinia in Conſtant. 8. and laieth him, and couereth him in a bed, that a new ſkin might grow vponupon him, that he might be the more apt to receiue the new ſpouſe of a new ſect.

Here we may ſee as in a glaſſe the working of nature in brute beaſts, in naturall men and others before the Law of Moſes, and in very Pagans, and Turkes, howe they reuerenced their maſters, and ſuperiours: how they hated, and plagued this horrible ſinne of treachery p. 52againſt them: I ſhould proceede in the reſt, but I muſt differre it. God grant that we Chriſtians, may not be found more vngrateful, more vnthankful, and more brutiſh, than the beaſtes and beaſtly men. God open our eies to ſee that old ſaieng to be true, foreign, Traiſon is euil: euil to the Prince, euil to the country, euil to the woorkers themſelues.

GOD preſerue her Maieſty, the whole Realme, & vsus all from theſe practiſes in theſe daungerous, and doubtfull daies: To him be praiſe &c.