The Looking Glass of the Holy War, Chapter 1
CHAPTER I. The Evill of Wars.
A Certaine Theſſalian being demanded who were at moſt eaſe, foreign.anſwered they who ceaſed from warre. True it is indeed: for war is the fruit of ſin, the wages of ſin, and the cauſe of ſin; yea evē on the one part it is ſin it ſelfe. Warre is the friut of ſin. Gen 4.All theſe are evident from the Scriptures. The firſt from that firſt war betwixt the two Bretheren Cain & Abel, wherein Cain killed Abel; the ground whereof was his wrath; Jam. 4.1.from whence are warres (ſaith S. Iames) and contentions among you, are they not hence euen of your owne luſtes, that fight in your members? Had there never been ſin in the world, wee ſhould hauehave had no war; for by ſin wee made war with God; and God, and all the Creatures at war with us: which war continueth betweene God and all thoſe that are not reconciled to him in Chriſt Ieſus. It is with all thoſe as it was with Amalecke, Ex. 17.16.with whom the Lord ſware that he would hauehave warre from one generation to another: Yea, Eſa. 57.17.there is no peace to the wicked ſaith my God, neither externall, internall or eternall; neyther at peace with God, with others, nor with themſelves. Amongſt the evil qualities of the wicked man, this is reckoned as the chiefe, Pſ. 140.1.2that he is prone to war; Releaſe thou me Iehovah from the evill man, from the man of wrong &c. Every day they gather warres. Yea in this the wicked man diſcovers the image of his father the devill, Rev. 20.8.9.who being let looſe after the thouſand yeares expired, goeth out to deceiue the people, and to gather them together to battell.Warre the wages of ſin.
And for the ſecond, that it is the wages of ſin, and that the ſpeciall; it is as cleare as the firſt, from plaine places of Scripture, from Gods order in his proceeding, and Davids avoyding of this, when God gave him his choyce of the puniſhment. For the firſt, the Lord threatning to harden himſelfe againſt his people in puniſhment, as they had hardened themſelves againſt him in ſin, Lev. 26.25ſaith thus: I will bring upon you a ſword that shall avenge the quarrell or vengeance of my covenant.
It appeareth alſo in the order of Gods proceeding, by comparing of places of Scripture together, as the firſt and ſecond Chap. of the propheſie of Ioel. The Lord having plagued his people with famine, by the which they were not moved to repentance; he cōmandeth the Trumpet of war to be ſounded, & telleth them that he would bring a fierce and cruell people againſt them, whoſe mercileſſe & monſtrons tyranny he compareth to the devouring of fire; and for the fierceneſſe of their conſuming wrath, he calleth that plague, The day of the Lord, a day of darkenes, a day of blacknes. Thirdly, and laſtly, David delivereth thus much in chooſing rather the plague, Warre the cauſe of ſin. Rara fides pietaſque viris qui caſtra ſequuntur. Lucan.then the prevayling hand of the enemye.
3. Warre is likewiſe the cauſe of much ſin, as pregnant teſtimonies, and woefull experience teacheth. The proverbe is as true as common, That faith and pietie are rare in armes.
Wee may iuſtlie now with Eraſm: that great Maiſter in Arts take up the complaint made by him of his time. Wee war continually, Nation againſt Nation, Kingdom againſt Kingdom, Citie againſt Citie, Prince againſt Prince, People againſt People; friend againſt friend, kinſman againſt kinſmā, brother againſt brother, yea, ſon againſt the father, which the very Heathen held impious and barbarous: yea, that which is moſt deteſtable of all; Chriſtian againſt Chriſtian: and yet there be (ſaith he) that commend and applaud this helliſh practiſe for a holy courſe, inſtigating the inflamed fury of Princes by adding oile to the flame (as they ſay) till all be conſumed. And what is come of this? I may anſwer, What evill is not come of it? I may juſtly apply that of Aristophanes, foreign.which Lypſius applyeth to the troubles of his time.
That God, the heaven and earth hath ſet on fire.
In war, renown, honor, wealth, chaſtity, life, wiues and children; yea, and religion it ſelfe, lyeth at the ſtake: nothing ſo ſacred; no ſex ſo tender, no age ſo impotent, which the barbarous ſouldier will not contaminate, defloure and kill. It is the ſouldiers ſport, as one ſaith truely, to ruin houſes, to raviſh Virgins, to ſpoit Churches, Iocus & ludas in militia &c. Ludo. vives in epiſt. ad Henr. 8. Angl. reg. Silent leges inter arma.to conſume Cities and Towns to aſhes with ſire: yea, theſe be the ornaments of war; to profit none, to hurt every one, to reſpect neither ſex nor age; yea nor God himſelfe; for his, in warr, are neglected, and the lawes of peace and war contemned.
All laws in Armes are ſilenc't by the ſword.
The world for the proofe of this affoords a world of woefull experience, both from ſacred and profane Writ. To omit the examples of ages paſt, let us view, with compaſſion, the inſtances of our own times: and as God uſually doth commemorate his lateſt mercies to leade men to repentance, and his lateſt judgements to terrifie men from their ſinnes; ſo let us look upon the lateſt warres in France, Bohemia, and the Palatinate. Is it not with Gods people every where, as it was with them in Aſa his time; There is no peace to him that goeth out or commeth in; but great vexations are upon all the inhabitants of the Countries, 2 Chron. 15.6 7.and Nation is deſtroyed of Nation.
And though my heart doth quake while I remember:Et quanquā animus meminiſſe horret. Phil. 2.1.
Yet to uſe the words of the Apoſtle; If there be any confolation in Chriſt, any comfort of louelove, any fellowſhip of the ſpirit, any compaſsion and merciemercy; behold all you that paſſe by, your mournfull ſiſters Bohemia, and the Palatinate, with their torn hair about their eyes, their vail taken away, their crown fallen, their ſanctuaries defaced, their people flain, their land laid waſt; yong, old, Prieſt, and people, expoſed to the immane and bloudy cruelty, the beaſtly filthineſſe, and Iſmaelitiſh mockerie of the cruell enemy. In a word, was there ever ſorrows like to theirs? Yea, I may ſafely ſay, the old Threns of Ieremy hath got a new ſubject. And what is the immediate cauſe of all this evill of ſin and puniſhment?Tu bellum cauſa malorum. foreign.
Even bloudy warre, thou art the cauſe of all.
It is the part therfore of wiſe men (ſaith one) if they be not the more provoked, to be quiet; yea, of good men, if they be provoked, to change peace into warre: but ſo that they change war againe into peace with all poſſible conveniencie. Men diſpoſed to unneceſſary warre, are compared by ſome vntounto two Gamſters, whereof the one is undone, and the other is never a whit the richer; Plin. l. 8.2.for all the gain is in the box. Compared alſo they may be fitly to the Elephant, and the Dragon, Plin. l. 8. c. 12.which in their cruel conflict are each killed by other. The Dragon (as it is written) ſucketh out the bloud of the Elephant, and being drunke therewith, the weight of the falling Elephant oppreſſeth the Dragon, and cruſheth out the bloud, which ſome calleth (but falſly) ſanguis Draconis; but they both periſh. And ſo it often falleth out with the unadviſed undertakers of warr. VponUpon this enſuing evill, the wiſe and learned hauehave taken occaſion to check the humors of Princes ſo diſpoſed: as Lodovic. Vives to Pope Adrian; and in his epiſtle to Henry the 8, King of England; there his motiues and counſels againſt unneceſſary warre, are to be ſeen at large. The proverbe is true indeed, foreign. Sub melle venenuncl… tet.That warre is very ſweet to thoſe that never taſted it; but thoſe that taſte it ſhall be forced to confeſſe, that there is poyſon under the honey. This Hannibal (the honour of Carthage) knew very well, when the Roman Embaſſadours came from Rome to treat of the continuance of peace; one Giſco, as great a coward as a vainglorious bragger, without either the practick or true theorick of Arms, getteth him up in a pulpit, and taketh upon him to perſwade the Carthaginians to giuegive up with the Romans, and to renew their warre; Hannibal perceiving the foole to be out of his element, pulled him out of the Pulpit, and went up himſelfe, where he perſwaded the people, with impregnable reaſons, to continue their peace, and ſo prevailed. He knew, by experience, it was not ſo eaſie to manage warre, as to talk of warre, and therefore bleſſed are the peace …akers, who make ſuch peace indeed as ſtandeth with Gods honor and the publique good: otherwiſe, as authors averre, and experience teacheth, A juſt war is to be preferred to an unjuſt peace: Melchizedech was King of peace and King of righteouſneſſe. Peace and righteouſneſſe kiſſe each other. Austin in Pſal 48.No man can injoy (ſaith Auſtin) the one without the other. Sauls making peace with Agag brake his peace for ever with God; therefore one ſaid well, Melior eſt illa pugnaque …eo proximum facit, quen… pax illa qui ſeperat a Deo. Nazianz. in Apol. Warr, how it is ſin.That warre is better that maketh a man neerer to God, then that peace that ſeparateth him from God.
Now for the laſt thing; that warre it ſelfe unlawfully undertaken is ſin, it appeareth from that quarrell that God for ever had with the Amalakites, who were the firſt that made war with the people of God, when they took their journy. It appeareth likewiſe from the ground of vvar, vvhichwhich is alwaies naught (at leaſt, either on the invaders part, or on the defendors) ariſing as one obſerveth well, from malice, or injuſtice, and ſo, by conſequence, it is either on the one part, or the other, from the inſtigation of the devill; becauſe of all thoſe evils of warr, the ancient Latines derived the name of vvar from an unruly beaſt, Bellum a bellua dictum quidē volunt.as becomming beaſts better then men: and therefore, as farre as is poſſible, it is to be avoided.