The Looking Glass of the Holy War, Chapter 4
CHAP. IIII. Of the Authority required in waging War.
THVS much having ſpoken of the equity of the cauſe, I come now to the ſecond circumſtance of the deſcription, which requireth competency of perſon. A juſt cauſe of warre doth not warrant every man to undertake warre. Eg… enim exiſtimo in ſummo imperatore quatuor has res eſſe o …ortere, ſcilicet ſcientiam rei militaris, virtutem, authoritatem &. foelicitatem. Cic. in orat de laud m…g Pomp. 1 The neceſſity of authority.Things required in warre may be reduced to theſe foure heads, authority, vertue, fitneſſe, and diſcipline; though others may reduce them to ſome other heads, yet all comes to one effect. Tully requireth in the ſupreme Commander theſe foure things, Knowledge of War, Vertue, Authority and Succeſſe. Succeſſe here required by Tully, muſt of neceſſity follow the circumſtances by me forementioned.
The firſt thing then is authority, primarily in the Magiſtrate, and from him derived to the Souldiers both Commanders and others. What the meaneſt ſouldier doth, hee muſt doe it by authority, which doth warrant him to doe many things, which otherwiſe were unlawfull; as to kill, ſack, and ſpoyl; which vvithout authority, were murther, robbery, and cruell oppreſſion. Authority then is the Key of War, vvithout the which warre is a meer Aceldema, or field of bloud, and a chaos of confuſion. Moſes, the great Commander of the Lord, had authority to fight the battels of the Lord: Like authority did he, at Gods command, Numb. 27.18, & v. 23put upon Ioſhua. Take (ſaith the Lord) Ioſhua the ſon of Nun, a man in whom is the ſpirit, and put thy hand upon him, &c. which Moſes did, as you may ſee in Numbers; by the renewing of the ſame charge, eſpecially for the warr, Moſes ſtrengthens and confirms Ioſhua; And Moſes called to Ioſ…hua, Deut. 31.7.and ſaid to him in the eyes of all Iſrael, be thou ſtrong and couragious, for thou ſhalt goe in with this people, &c. Thus the war againſt the foure Kings was undertaken at Abrahams command. That raſh and heady adventure of the Iſraelites againſt the Canaanites and Amalekites, as it was without Gods approbation, ſo it was without authority; for neither Moſes, Aaron, nor the Arke went up with them, and therfore Moſes doth call their attempt a bofty preſumption: And ſuch was their ſucceſſe; for they were ſmitten to Hormah, Numb. 14.45.a name anſwerable to the event, namely deſtruction. Such be the warres made by the man of ſinne, and the Locuſts of the bottomleſſe pit, againſt the Lord, and his annoynted. What warrant had they, even by their pretended right, to undertake warre? Did ever Aaron under the Law, or Peter under the Goſpell, levie Arms for the field? But this their practiſe is agreeable to a rule of their own, ſo it be for the good of the Church, they never look for further authority then the Popes, whom they pretend to hauehave authority, Romiſh Clergie no perſons authorized for war.over heaven, Hell and Putgatorie. And what may they not then doe on earth? But if they be preſt to ſhew lawfull authority for the taking up of Arms, I think the beſt evidence they can giuegive, is, ſome forged tranſcript from the back ſide of Conſtantines donation. I may vvell reſemble this Antichriſtian vvarfare for vvant of authority, unto the vvar of that falſe Chriſt, that aroſe in the raign of Traian the Emperour, vvhoſe name vvas Barr Chochab, that is, ſonne of the Star, falſly alluding to that place of Numbers, Numb. 24.17.where Chriſt is truely ſo called: but for his mocking of the people, and blaſpheming of God, he was ſlain in the battell, and called afterward, Of him mention is made in the Talmud.by the deluded people, Bar Coziba, that is, the ſon of falſhood. And ſuch indeed are the Ieſuites, the very Incendiaries of unlawfull warres; or if you will, you may compare them in this caſe, with that rebellious rout of the Iews, vvhichwhich called themſelus, zelators, under colour of fighting for religion and common-wealth; they chooſed for their Chiefetains the grand-captains of vvickedneſſe; they committed cruelties, outrages and impieties of all ſorts. Inſomuch that Veſpaſian, Ioſeph de bell. lud. lib. 4 ch. 5, & lib. 7.Lieftenant generall to Nero, vvas ſent to ſuppreſſe them: vvhoſe termes of peace, by the mouth of Ioſephus from him offered, they ſcorned by their going on; ſo that as Ioſephus; Veſpaſian vvas forced to proceed to vvar; vvhichwhich as it continued a long time, ſo it diſcovered theſe goodly Zealators, The Ieſuiteslike the Zelators.vvho in their extremity ſet the Temple on fire, and brought utter ruin upon themſelus, vvith the death of a million of men. Iuſt ſo; theſe Babiloniſh brattes pretend Religion, as appeareth eſpecially in their new Pſalter, or ſevenfold Pſalmody, The gunpowder pſalter.vvith the hymnes vvhereof they ſolaced themſelues in the expectation of the Cunpo…der Iubilee; but their aim indeed is, the racing out of Religion the ruin of Kingdoms, Pſal. 4.and the diſpoſing of them at their pleaſure. In one of their helliſh hymns, they tell us, that holy King Edward, and gracious Queen Elizabeth, were the curſes of the land, vvho indeed vvere great bleſſings: they ſhew vvhat fire vve hauehave deſerved, and vvhat fire in effect they had provided for us; praying heartily, that the hearts of the labourers therein may be strengthned. Another of their Hymnns is, all full of triumph, namely, how after the year of viſitation, and Ioy of Iubilie, Ieruſalem ſhould be built again, and the ſecond glory thereof ſhould be greater then he firſt. But vvhat authority had theſe fire-work-men in that tempeſtuous night (as they call it) to blow up a vvhole State, and to diſpoſe of our Kingdom at their pleaſure? A man vvould not think that they had any but from the Pope, and ſuch a devill whoſe name is Legion; yet they point in their pſalm at a Fabius and Marcellus, both in one perſon, whom they call a ſecond Cyrus, ſtirred up to confirm his Scepter for the good of his people. Who this ſhould be, except it be the Popes eldest ſonne (whom the Ieſuites hold to be the great Lord of the world) I know not: But this I am ſure of, that Tarquinius Furius, hath more fire in his boſome, and more ſnakes in his hands to devoure us, and to ſet up their Cyrus, then ever they had. The heads of Hydra increaſe, and ſuch a number of Todes come out of the brains of the Pope, and Serpents out of the raynes of the Ieſuites, that they cover the face of the earth, eſpecially of theſe Kingdoms. But we had need to awake; for if we come to the Popes diſpoſing (which the great God forbid) vvithout doubt, the Ieſuites Cyrus ſhould not vvant his double portion; for the obtaining vvhereof Viriatus vvants not his ovvn ſtratagem.