Daily Sermons Upon Jonah, To the reader
❧Baxters complaint, with an admonition to the Reader.
TO ſée the Doue of Architas, being all of woodde to flie,
To heare Albertus brazen head to ſpeake effectuallie.
To view with aegiptian Arnuphus, with wings the clowds to pierce
To ſée a Rocke fall from the Sunne; as Plinie doth rehearſe,
To ſée a deadly Corps, by man calde out of griezely graue,
To ſée theſe things or …yke to theſe, howe many ſhoulde we hauehave.
In thronging troupes of each eſtate, with winged féete to haſte,
In pompous pride on earthly ſights, their golden tymes to waſte?
What youthful dame, what man, what chyld, doth ſtick ye path to tread?
Which vntounto pleaſures flattering ſightes; the ready way doth leade?
But to thy ſacred ſhrine to flie, O louelove celeſtial king,
What ſlouthful ſteps, what lingering haſte, what lazy waltering wing
What drouſie ſleepe doth cloſe the eyes of men of each degree,
What long delaies theſe dayes are made, when men ſhould com to thée?
What farmes are bought & muſt be ſéene, what wiues are maried eke,
What lets almoſt in al men are, when they thy grace ſhould ſéeke?
O ſoueraigne God, thou knoweſt how men in earthly things dyd toyle,
To finde out Artes and handycraftes, with paine in eueryevery ſoyle.
For Menno he firſt Letters founde, among Th'Egiptians,
And Rhadamanthus dyd the lyke among Th'Aſſyrians.
And Letters for the Romanes, firſt Nicoſtrata dyd finde,
And Phaenices the lyke for Gréekes fyrſt founde by ſtudious minde:
And Grammer firſt that royal arte, by learned Crate was ſhowne,
Eke Poetrie by Homer firſt, and Heſiod were knowne:
And Zenophon that worthy wight, firſt wrote an Hyſſorie,
And Rhetorike that glyttering Dame, was founde by Mercurie:
Yea gladſome Muſicks ſoueraigne founde, that Hebrew Iubal brought,
And treaſures of Philoſophie, were firſt by Vulcan ſought.
Eke Atlas and Prometheus firſt founde Aſtrologie,
In Phiſicke eke Apollo ſhyned, and Aeſculap in Surgerie:
Thus ganne the worlde, though for a tyme as in a noueltie,
The troublous gulfes of artes and ſkylles, to ſéeke with ardencie.
So that Pythagoras and Democritus, theſe iourneyes tooke in hande,
From Greece to ſayle to Egipt and to Perſea, and Calde Lande:
To knowe ſome worthy ſtrataugem, to ſearche the ſecrete ſkyll,
Of learned artes, whereof they had their long deſired fyll:
Th' Athenians they firſt planted Trees, the Phrigians Chariots made,
Ariſteus, Oyle and H…nny founde, Phaenicians Croſbowe trade,
The Samian Theodor firſt founde keyes, and Iaſon Shyps to ſayle,
By Ericthonius Syluer firſt was founde for mans auayle:
And Golde was founde by Cadmus firſt, and Copper, Leade, and Braſſe,
By learned wytte of Cinira (…ee) firſt inuented was.
Yea Danaus firſt digged Welles, and Bacehus founde out Wine,
And Corne firſt Ceres fought to ſowe, to ſtop the hungerie pine.
With painefull toyle thus men founde out, theſe thinges Terreſtriall,
But ignoraunce dyd blinde their eyes, in thinges Celeſtiall.
For we doo ſée,
Diagoras and Theodor denyed God to bée:
The Sunne and Moone, and Starres, were Gods as iudged Aleine,
Parmenides thought God to be as cyrcle all of lyght,
Calde Stephanen, Cleanthes thought God was an ayrie ſpright,
Criſippus termeth God to be Diuine Neceſsitie,
And Ariſtotle calleth God Mental Diuinitie.
And as they er'de concerning God in definition,
So erred they as touching God in conſtitution.
For loe:
When mortall men dyd once offende, by originall corruption,
They thought by Sacrifice to Diuels to get remiſſion:
VntoUnto Mineru an Owle they gaue, an Hart vntounto Dian,
A Sowe to Ceres offered they, to Venus eke a Swan.
The wakefull Cocke they ſacrifizde to Aeſculap…as,
To Fannus Goates, to Neptune Bulles, the Aſſe to Priapus.
To Mars the Pye they ſacrifizde, the Phaenix to the Sunne,
To Iuno, Pluto, Pallas, and to others lyke was doune.
And hoped by their ſacrifice, the direfull furious rage,
Of Gods conceyude againſt their ſinne, to mitigate and …age.
No God, no Chriſte, no death of Chriſt for mans redemption,
No wayes but ſuch knewe they, to purge their vyle corruption:
In ſacred ſinke of dreadfull death, all plunged in myſerie,
In gulfe of hell, in mornefull plaint, in pinching penurie:
O wofull wights therefore they diuell, with …ndes in da…ued ſtate,
With wayling teares and gnaſhing teeth, to morne their …full fate.
O mortall wights in theſe our dayes, that made this ruſticke verſe,
With dilligence attende vntounto, the wordes which I rehearſe.
Conſider well,
That learning wanted not in the…, if thereby they might knowe,
Whence mercy grace and pardon for offences all did flowe,
But mighty louelove had …loſde their … & would not graūt there grace,
With penitence to vewe themſelues and ſée their ſinfull caſe.
And ſo with fixed myndes hould faſt our Chriſt th'appointed meane.
Who by his preciouſe death hath made repentaunt ſinners cleane:
Againe behould your ioyfull tyme how Chriſt to you is ſhowne,
Who vntounto the Philoſophers was vtterly vnknowne.
For if he had bene knowne to them: ſyth they ſuch labour tooke,
With paynefull toyle to trauayle farre to reade eache humaine booke,
Which treated of Philoſophie and morall vertues …aught.
And fram'de their lyues accordingly, would they hauehave ſet at naught.
That preciouſe geme and Iewell ritche of lyfe celeſtiall?
They woulde hauehave made it certainely their ioye continual.
They would hauehave tooke it thankefully: yet we contemne the ſame,
And ſpende our time in tryfling toyes, to our perpetuall ſhame:
We doo delight in Matcheuile his cruell pollecie,
And reade the booke of Arthurs knights being full of Papiſtrye.
And Guy of Warwicke, Scoggins geſts, and Gargantua,
The court of Venus, Howleglaſſe, Legenda Aurea:
And watſoeuer booke com'th foorth of lyes or tales prophane,
(Yea though it teache méere blaſphemy the name of God to ſtaine)
By mortall mans inuention, if it once printed be,
The ſame moſte men of eache eſtate deſirouſe are to ſée:
O: this they lyke, they prayſe his witte that firſt this fable fram'de,
They lyke his ſtyle, commende his vaine, A Poet he is nam'de,
They paynte his prayſe in ſiluered leafe, eache man his booke will buye,
They ſaye: Loe here a famous worke croun'de with eternitye,
But if to wryte ſome ſacred booke ſome one … bends his euyll.
Tuſhe (ſayth the world) we her…eache daye in Church of this our …ll,
We …a…e not … theſe …er… uſe workes, ha'…e and hiſtorie,
New … bookes, pleaſaunt conceyts, or any Poetrie.
Wel, wel, … graunt … to ſée what booke is beſt to reade,
That we to perpetuity ſhe … way may treade.
Leaue of to craue the ſight of bookes which leade to vanitie,
Séeke how to bring your ſinful ſoules to immortality:
This, Caluin ſheweth in Ionas here tranſlated for your ſake,
It is but ſmall: the ſooner then to made it vndertake.
FINIS.
Marſilius.
¶Beate viuere eſt …erum intelligere conſultare bene, velle bonum, agere bona.