Against William Lily, Poem
Againſt William LI-LIE (alias) Lillie, that MOST AUDACIOUS ATHEISTICALL Rayling RABSHECA, that Impious WITCH or WIZZARD, and moſt Abhominable SORCERER, or STAR-GAZER of LONDON, and all his Odious ALMANACKS, and Others.
Written by John Viccars Schoolemaſter of Chriſt Hoſpitall, few dayes before his death, which he had prepared for the Black Munday, turned white ſince his diſſolution.
Iſaiah 47. 12, 13, 14.
Stand, now with thine Inchantments, and with the multitude of thy Sorceries, wherein thou haſt laboured from thy youth: if ſo be thou ſhalt be able to profit, if ſo be thou may'ſt prevaile: Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy Counſels; Let now the Aſtrologers, the Star-gazers, the Monethly Prognoſticators ſtand up and ſave thee, from thoſe things that ſhall come upon thee. Behold, they ſhall be as Stuble, the fire ſhall burn them, they ſhall not deliver themſelves from the power of the flame.
Acts 13. 8, 9, 10.
But, Elymas this Sorcerer, with-ſtood Paul and Barnabas, (juſt, as the Sorcerer Lilly, does all the Bleſſed, Reverend, and Religious Diſciples and Presbyterian Minniſters of Jeſus Chriſt;) Whereupon, Paul filled with the Holy-Ghoſt, ſet his eyes on him and ſaid, O, full of all Subtilty, and all Miſchief, thou Child of the Divell, thou Enemie of all Righteouſneſſe! wilt thou not ceaſe to pervert the right wayes of the Lorde?
EPIGRAMMA: In Lillium, bardum Astrologaſtrum:
LIllius eſt quid vis, est bardus; perditus, audax,
Est mendax, aſinus, Li-lius Astrologus.
Demon strat nomen, Te, mendaciſſimè Li-li,
Nomine, bis Mendax dicere, re que magis.
Iſtis, Quid levius, quibus eſt pro numine nomen
Mendacis, magis eſt qui levitate, levis.
Candida, mi Li-li non ſunt Tibi Lilia nomen;
Vix, inter vepres nomen habere potes.
HOw vain, how light, how fooliſh, & how naught,
Are all that praiſe Thee? & thy books have bought?
To call you Lille, more, it were a ſcorne,
Your Name's a Netile, Thiſtle, Bryer, or Thorn;
Your head, your Pen, your Tongue, doe pinch and ſting
More than doth Nettle, Bryer, or any-thing.
To Li-lie now, all men may well ſay, fie,
Becauſe your Name ſaies, twice, to you, you lye.
But, if you ſay, you have an L. in't more,
Then adde you fiftie-lyes to two, before;
Thus, Lies, for weeks make-up a iuſt New-year;
O brave! what Almanaker have we here?
Finis.
Aliud, in Eundem OR, The foreſaid Latine Epigram Engliſhed and Enlarged.
LIllie is ought that's naught, Dunce, Wretch, paſt ſhame,
Li-lie's an Aſſe, Star-gazer. Lyes doth frame.
Li-lie, thy Name ſhewes thee a monſtrous Lyer,
In Name, a double-one, in Deed, much higher.
What's Idler, than to idolize his Name,
Whoſe lying-ſelf's more flaſhie than a flame?
White Lilie's no fit name for Li-lies baſe,
Scarce among Thornes may we ſuch Henbane place.
Yet, thus it ever was, and is ſo ſtill,
Faire names, oft, given to things and Men, moſt ill.
Thus, Jeroboams Calves call'd worſhip fair,
Thus, that notorious hypocritick-pair;
Both Ananias and Saphira had
Two gracious names, themſelves exceeding bad.
Thus divers Popes, as Clement, Cnnocent,
Had ſpecious names, natures moſt turbulent
Thus in our dayes, that develliſh Doctor Lamb,
Favorite to the Duke of Buckingham,
And this our filthie Li-lies elder Brother
For wicked Witcherie, juſt ſuch another;
Thus Sr. John Lamb a perſecutor baſe
Of Gods deare Saints; and, little Laudes leſſe Grace
Of Canterbury; and his chirping Wren
Had, all, fine names; but monſters were of Men,
For Craft and crueltie, and wickedneſſe,
All haters of the power of Godlineſſe.
And, ſo, this filthie Lillie, Athieſt vile,
Seemes, with a prettie name, to gull, beguile
Credulous fooles, with's develliſh falſe Praedictions
Stigian Inchantments, figure-caſting fictions.
Thus, with fair vailes, O how this wretch doth wrong,
The beſt of Gods deare Saints, whom, all along,
In all his wicked works, He does beſweare,
With develliſh Lies (whoſe very ſhoes to beare
This Atheiſt is unworthie) And, with fell
And furious rage (like * Cerberus of Hell
That ſtigian Tripple-Headed Hel-Hound baſe)
Our precious morning-Sermons does diſgrace,
Calls them, jejune, rebellious, vile, and vain,
And, Presbyterian-Bag-pipes. O profane,
Accurſed Atheiſt! O incarnate Devill!
Foe to all goodneſſe, friend to infernall evill.
But, certainly, our juſt and righteous God,
In time, will make him feele with wrathfull Rod
Of juſt revenge, for all his develliſh ſpight,
Againſt his Saints; As, once, he made it light
On * Doctor Lamb, his brother; If, the Lord
Grace of repentance does not him afford.
But, ſay, beſides; what reaſon has this Wretch,
Toad-like, with Pride and Rage, to ſtrut and ſtretch
Himſelfe, in admiration of his skill
Of ſtar-gazing-Aſtrologie, moſt ill,
As he it uſes? Since (as Linguiſts know)
From th' * Ebrew-root, Aſtrologus doe grow
The Latine Sterens, Sterquilinium,
Which genuinely, doe unto thuſmuch come;
Aſtrologie is but a Dun-hill vile,
And Aſtrologians, Dung, baſe Knaves; with guile,
And lying Divinations fravght moſt full,
The mad-head Multitude to cheat and gull.
And as the Divell whom Endors Witch did call,
Inſtead of Samuel, to appeare to Saul,
Did deal with him, mixt ſeeming-piety
To check and chide Sauls ſaid impiety
In coming to the Devill, when God had left him,
And of his Grace and help had quite bereft him:
Even ſo, this filthie dreamer, Li-lie vile,
Credit to gain, and ſlylier to beguile,
With his falſe Dreames, doth ſcripture intermix▪
And thus, ſtill perſonates the Prince of Stix,
Sathan, his Maſter, All his pamphlets ore,
And, with theſe Cheates, This witch does rage and roare;
Triumphing, if his Delphick-Divinations
But once hit right, for manifold fruſtrations.
Let, therefore, Zim, Jim, all Alectoe's train,
The Satyre, Shrich-owl, vulture flock, a main,
To lying Li-lie, in a chorus round,
And dance and ſing, with hideous yelping ſound,
Let vagrant Jipſies, fortune-tellers baſe,
Come to him, likewiſe, and with brazen face,
Chaunt-out their louſie joy, and ſtygian gladneſſe
In this their lying Almanakers madneſſe
And when the dance is done, their ſport is ended,
Bring him to's place; Thus, Earth ſhall be befriended.
Finis
Exodus 22. 18. Levit. 20. 27.
Thou ſhalt not ſuffer a Man or Woman that is a Witch Wizzard, Necromancer, or one that deales with Familliar Spirits to live among you.
Printed in the Yeare when the Aſtrologers and Mountebanks loſt their Judgments, 29 March, 1652.
End of the text · John Vicars, Against William Lily (1652)