The stratagems of Ierusalem vvith the martiall lavves and militarie discipline, as well of the Iewes, as of the Gentiles. By Lodowick LLoyd Esquier, one of her Maiesties serieants at armes.

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Title
The stratagems of Ierusalem vvith the martiall lavves and militarie discipline, as well of the Iewes, as of the Gentiles. By Lodowick LLoyd Esquier, one of her Maiesties serieants at armes.
Author
Lloyd, Lodowick, fl. 1573-1610.
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London :: Printed by Thomas Creede,
1602.
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Subject terms
Military art and science -- Early works to 1800.
Jews -- History -- Early works to 1800.
Military history, Ancient -- Early works to 1800.
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http://name.umdl.umich.edu/A06143.0001.001
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"The stratagems of Ierusalem vvith the martiall lavves and militarie discipline, as well of the Iewes, as of the Gentiles. By Lodowick LLoyd Esquier, one of her Maiesties serieants at armes." In the digital collection Early English Books Online. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A06143.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 16, 2024.

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Page 123

The second Booke of the Stratagems of Ierusalem. (Book 2)

CHAP. I.

Of Dauid the second King of Israel, and his great victo∣ries and good successe which hee had in all his warres a∣gainst the Canaanites, Edomites, Moabites, Ammo∣nites, Philistines, and others.

DAuid a man whom the Lord found to his owne heart, a second Ioshuah of Is∣rael, hee fought many battels of the Lorde, and wonne many victories: for when the Philistines heard that Saul was dead, they sought for Dauid to fight with him, and Dauid asked counsell of the Lord before hee would take any battel in hand, which made his victories so many, and himselfe so famous, that all his enemies feared him. So should all Kings, Generalls, and Captaines, hold that rule for a principall part of theyr charge, and not to commence warre without a iust cause, and lawful meanes to be exe∣cuted.

Iosias had no good cause to fight with Necho king of Egipt, who commaunded his souldiers not to fight with * 1.1 Iosias, but against Charchemish, a citie of the Assirians.

So the King of Syria charged his souldiers to fight

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with none but with Achab king of Israel, at what time Iosaphat king of Iudah was spared, and therefore retur∣ned safe and sound to Ierusalem, by the counsell of the king of Syria.

Had Iosias followed the counsell of Necho king of E∣gipt, as Iosaphat followed the counsell of the king of Sy∣ria, Iosias had saued his life as Iosophat did.

Dauid fought with the Philistines, smote, scattered them, and slew them, that they fled before Dauids face * 1.2 in the valley of Gyants, which is, the plaine of diuision, because of their victories, and there they left their Ima∣ges and Idols, and Dauid burned them, much like to the Iamnites, who carried the Images of their Idols in theyr bosomes to the battell, and tyed them about * 1.3 theyr neckes, for they were so found after the Iam∣nites were slaine: as in auntient time the Egiptians carried their gods and their Idols, painted on their En∣signes and Banners into the field, as their standarts.

Againe, the Philistines gathered their force against * 1.4 Dauid at Rephaim, which is called the valley of Gyants, and Dauid ouerthrew the host of the Philistines, & cha∣sed them from Geba vnto Gazar.

An other battell of the Lord against the Philistines fought by Dauid, and he againe subdued them, & tooke the strong citie of Gath, which they called the bridle of bondage, out of the hands of the Philistines. This citie * 1.5 kept the countrey round about in subiection and bon∣dage. Thus all wise and skilfull generals ought to imi∣tate Dauid herein, to seize by all warlike policie vpon those strong citties and fortes that can commaund the countrey.

So Hanibal thought himself sure of Rome, hauing gottē Capua and Tarentum, two of the strongest citties in Italy

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into his hand. So the Romanes hauing gotten Syracusa, * 1.6 doubted not to take Carthage: and hauing Carthage in their hands, they soone cōquered all Affrike: and hauing Affricke, they made no account to win Asia: for at that verie time the best souldiers of the worlde were in the West kingdomes. For Antiochus the great, the greatest * 1.7 king at that time in all Asia, was soone ouerthrowne by a Consull of Rome.

So Dauid went forward in his victories, after he had gotten the strong citie of Gath, he smote Moab, and mea∣sured them with a cord, he slue them & cast them down to the ground, he ouercame whom he would, and saued whom hee listed, so that the Moabites became Dauids seruants, and brought him gifts and presents, that the Lord made Dauid famous throughout all the world.

During the time of Dauids warres against the Ca∣naanites, and other nations their associates, there was no great warre then among the Syrians, neither in any part of Asia, and especially in Europe, which was scant * 1.8 throughly inhabited in Dauids time, and therfore there was no such warre to be written of, as was thē between the Israelites and the Canaanites, in the time of Dauid. For as Ioshua slue the Canaanites, and gaue the possessi∣on of the land vnto Israel, so Dauid rooted them out, slue their gyants, and brought all the land tributary vnto Sa∣lomon his sonne, who gouerned Israel fortie yeares in peace and quietnesse without warre.

Hadarezer king of Zobah, hearing of the name and * 1.9 fame of Dauid, went to establish his borders by the ri∣uer Euphrates, with a great army with him, where Da∣uid gaue him battell, fought with him, ouerthrew him, and tooke from him a thousand chariots, seuen thou∣sand horsmen, and twentie thousand footemen. Dauid

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destroyed all the chariots, and hought all the horses, * 1.10 but reserued an hundred chariots for himselfe, so that the Lorde was with Dauid wheresoeuer he went, and whatsoeuer he tooke in hand.

The Aramites hearing what great ouerthrow Ha∣darezer king of Zobah had by Dauid, came from Damas∣cus with a very great army to succor the king of Zobah: for they knitted themselues against Israel with all theyr force and power, but they had the like welcome, as the Philistines, the Moabites, and the king of Zobah had. Da∣uid slue of the Aramites two & twenty thousand, & Da∣uid * 1.11 put a garrison in that part of Syria where Damascus was, and the Aramites became Dauids seruants, and brought him presents & gifts. Dauid so plagued the A∣ramites, which are also named Siriās, that they bare such mortall hatred to Iudah, for they euer ioyned them∣selues after with the Ephraimites against' the Tribe of Iudah.

Obserue the martiall proceedings of the Israelites, to put garrison in euery strong Citie and fort where they had subdued. So by these meanes Dauid and Io∣shua before him, brought the Moabites, the Edomites, and the Philistines, and all theyr enemies round about to be vnder their gouernment. So after Dauid all na∣tions did the like (a principall point in all good Gene∣ralls to strengthen themselues with garrison in strong places.)

Herein the Remanes excelled all nations, that wher∣soeuer, or whosoeuer they subdued, there they placed * 1.12 Romane Magistrates to gouerne. As Scypio and Pom∣pey the great did in Asia, Titus and Sylla in Greece: this made the Romanes to be feared and dreaded among all nations of the worde. For after the Romaines had sub∣dued

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the Carthagineans, they made Carthage a pro∣uince to bee gouerned vnder a Proconsull of Rome.

After they had subdued Numidia and Lybia, they were made prouinces, and gouerned vnder a Consul of Rome.

So Egipt and Mauritania, were in like sort gouer∣ned vnder Romane Presidents.

So Sardinia, Cicilia, Achaia, and many others, were made Praetorian prouinces, and gouerned vnder the Romanes.

But wee will proceede forward with the warres of Dauid, euery where vnder his Generall Abishai, Ioabs * 1.13 brother, who slue eighteene thousand of the Edomites in the salt valley: and he put garrion in Edom and all the * 1.14 Edomites became Dauids seruants, so that Dauids en∣terprises and his battels, which hee fought against the enemies of the Lord, had (wheresoeuer he went) good * 1.15 successe. Dauid euer vsed martiall lawes vpon the Lords enemies, when Rabbah was taken by Ioab, he was pre∣sently commaunded by Dauid the king, to put all the people to cruell death, and for that they were malicious enemies vnto the Lord, he put them to such tortures, as vnder sawes, Iron harrowes, Iron axes, and cast them * 1.16 into the tylekilne, so cruell and greeuous were the pu∣nishments of the Lord vpon the cities of the Ammo∣nites.

The fame of Dauid grew so great, that all the kings about him enuied him much, that Hamnon king of the Ammonites prepared an army against Dauid, vnder∣standing that Dauid would reuenge the iniury hee did vnto his Embassadors, whome Dauid sent to Ham∣non of meere kindnesse and courtesie, the cause was that Dauids Embassadours, by the King of Ammon,

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and the counsell of his Princes and Lords, had the halfe of their beards shaued, and their garments cut off in the middle euen vnto their buttockes, and so sent them a∣way, which among the Israelites was the greatest re∣proach * 1.17 that might be. Thus the Embassadors of Dauid against the law of armes were disfigured, to make them odious vnto others, but they were commaunded by Dauid to stay in Iericho, to auoid the obloquy of so fowle a fact vntill they were prouided for.

Alcibiades Generall ouer the Athenians, laying siege to the chiefe citie of the Aggregentines, which was so strongly euery way defended with forts and trenches, that Alcibiades deuised a new stratageme, and thereby sought meanes to haue a conuenient place of parley to talk with them before he would lay siege to the towne, which being graunted, Alcibiades appointed certaine captaines, while hee held the Aggrentines in parley of peace, to take the citie. * 1.18

Ionathan after that Iud. Machabaeus his brother was slaine in the field by Bacchides, and after that the chil∣dren of Amri tooke Iohn, Ionathans brother, he vsed this pollicie to reuenge his brother vpon the mariage day of a daughter of one of the noblest Princes of Canaan. Ionathan & his men hid themselues, and laie in ambush * 1.19 vnder the couert of a mountain, that when the children of Amri came out of Medeba, with tymbrels, Instrumēts of musicke and great pompe, Ionathan set vpon them, slue the most part, and the rest fled, so that their mariage was turned into mourning, and the noyse of their me∣lodie to lamentation: thus Ionathan reuenged his bro∣ther at Medeba.

Cymon the sonne of Milciades, a noble Greeke Cap∣taine, * 1.20 at the besieging of a citie in Caria, vsed this strata∣gem

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to burne the temple of Diana, which goddesse the * 1.21 Carians most religiously worshipped, the temple be∣ing builded without the walles of the towne, all the ci∣tie ranne to defend Dianaes temple from burning, Cy∣mon with his Athenian armie, entered and obtained the citie, while they were busie about the temple.

The like policie vsed Demetrius to deceiue Ionathan, who hearing that Ionathan came in the night time with his men armed, Demetrius and all his armie feared and * 1.22 trembled in their hearts, and kindled great fires in theyr Tents, and fled away, which Ionathan suspected not that they fled, because they saw the fire burning in the tents, and so Demetrius by this strageme of fire passed ouer the * 1.23 flood Eleutherus, and escaped from Ionathan.

Many such stratagems haue bene vsed by fire to de∣ceiue the enemie, as Hannibal by fire tyed to Oxens hornes in the night time against the Romaines: Samp∣son by tying of firebrands to Foxes tayles to burne the corne of the Philistines. So Absolon vsed the like stra∣tagem against Ioab, with many such.

Now hauing heard that Ioabs chiefe captains came in, & that Dauid was comē ouer the riuer Iorden, fiue kings came against Ioab, and pitched their tents before Mede∣ba, * 1.24 a citie of the Tribe of Ruben, but when the battell ioyned together, the Ammonites and the Aramites fled and fell before Israel, so that the victorie was Ioabs, and yet had they two and thirtie thousand chariottes, and fiue kings set in battell-raie to fight against Dauid, but it was the Lords battell, and therefore too fewe if they had had tenne times as many. And therefore the Ara∣mites & the Ammonites were sore greeued at the good successe of Dauid, that they gathered their whole force and power together; and sent messengers beyond Ior∣den,

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to draw all the enemies of Israel to fight another battell against Dauid, and Dauid hearing of their great armies, came ouer Iorden to Hel•…•…, and fought with * 1.25 them, and the Aramites fled before him, and Dauid de∣stroyed of the Aramites seuen hundred chariots, fortie thousand footemen, and killed Sophach Generall of the hoste.

Dauid at length made a generall conquest of the Phi∣listines, destroyed the Ammonites and theyr chiefe ci∣tie Rabbah, slue their King and Princes, and cut the peo∣ple in peeces with sawes, with harrowes of Iron, and with axes, and Dauid requited fully the spitefull & ma∣licious wrong they did vnto his Embassadors. And as Ioshua brought them ouer Iorden, and placed them in * 1.26 Canaan, and destroyed their enemies before them, and gaue the Hebrewes the possession of Canaan, so Dauid rooted these nations out, and made a full conquest of them, and left Israel in peace and quiet to his sonne So∣lomon, and Salomon to his sonne Rehoboam, so that the * 1.27 Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites, became Dauids seruants, and paied tribute vnto Solomon, during his whole life.

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CHAP. II.

Of tributes paide to the kings of Egipt. And what manner of tributes the old Romanes and Persians receiued. The re∣wards of adultery.

SO Ioseph made a lawe in Egipt, that the first part of all the land of Egipt should be as a yearely tribute paide vnto Pha∣rao, so that Ioseph enriched Pharao by meanes of the yearely tribute, and sa∣ued * 1.28 Pharaos life and all Egipt by Gods prouidence and his wisedome, that at that time hee was called in Egipt, Pater patriae, but soone forgotten in Egipt, as was seene after in the ty∣rannie of the Egiptians towards Iosephs children, and the whole stocke of the Hebrewes.

Victories and ouerthrowes by warres gotten, im∣posed * 1.29 such tribute as pleased the cōquerer. For among the Romanes before their Empire grew great, the Lu∣canians payed for their tribute but swine, the Brusians oxen; the Frizians the skinnes of oxen: others paid di∣uers kindes of wine, others waxe, others fish, and such like.

And as the olde Romanes tributes were but cattell, * 1.30 corne, wine, fish, and such, so were their tryumphes had ouer the Samnites, the Volscians, Sabines, Ta∣rentines, and olde Gaules, but the weapons, armors, coaches, garments, cattells, and such like of the ene∣mies.

To the Persians, while yet the Monarchie was in Persia, the Aethiopians payed but Ebanye, Iuo∣ry, Elephantes teethe, Frankencense, and certaine

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measures of base gold euery third yeare. So the Capa∣docians payed to the Persians for yearely tribute fiue hundred Horse, two thousand Moyles. So likewise the Townes and small Villages about Babilon, were to prouide and feede the dogges of the king of Persia. But * 1.31 the Citie of Babilon it selfe, paide for tribute to the king of Persia, Artabas plenas argento certaine accounts of mony euery day.

The Arabians likewise paide to the King of Persia certaine measures of such sweete odours, as the coun∣try did abound, as Frankincense and such like.

These were but small tributes, as swine, oxen, corne, wine, fish, in former time which the Romanes had, in respect of their tributes had ouer Asia, Affricke, and Eu∣rope afterwards, which commaunded not only corne, nauies, horses, souldiers and armours, but also after this, a farre greater tribute beganne in the time of Paul: Aemilius, who after he had subdued the Macedonians, and Persius their king, the Illyrians and their king Gen∣tius, hee imposed vppon the Macedonians and Illyri∣ans halfe the tribute which they were wont to paie to their former kings.

So Scypio Affrican after hee had conquered Hanibal at Zama, and brought the Carthagineans to such com∣position * 1.32 as pleased himselfe, to paie two hundred ta∣lents yearely for fiftie yeares, with such conditions that the Carthagineans should depart from Sardinia and Cicilia, to restore the Romane souldiers which Hanni∣ball brought captiue with him out of Italy, and to de∣liuer * 1.33 vp their Elephants and all their nauies (tenne ex∣cepted).

To such greatnesse grewe the tributes of the Ro∣manes by their victories, that Hispaine and Carthage

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were to pay yearely stipendary tributes, not onely in * 1.34 money, but also horses, corne, nauies & armours, and to maintaine stipendary souldiers. And among all other conquered nations by them, they had in their cities and townes places called Cripta, for corne and prouisions * 1.35 for souldiers, but especially in Egipt, which was for their prouisions called the storehouse or barne of Rome.

But now to the victories of Dauid againe, which af∣ter hee had raigned twentie yeares king quietly in Ieru∣salem, he lost two great battels, in the one he lost seuen∣tie thousand, and in the other battell hee had welnigh lost both himselfe and his kingdome: in the first battell Dauid committed great faults in setting out his power, his glorie, his victories, and his greatnesse, and most am∣bitiously to commaund Ioab to number all Israel from Berseba euen vnto Dan, as though power, strength, and victorie came from him, and not from the Lord. Here Dauid consulted not with the iudgement of Vrim and Thummim, and therefore he lost the victory, and Sathan gaue him a buffet.

Dauid againe in the second battel was ouerthrowne by prouokemēt of the former enemie, not only to looke * 1.36 vpon the beauty of Bethseba from the roofe of his house, but also to send for her, and lie with her, and to hide the first wicked great fault, he committed a greater, he sent Letters to Ioab his captaine, to put Vriah, Bethsebas hus∣band in the front of the battell to bee slaine: in this battell also Dauid did not call for the Ephod, nor asked counsell of the Lord, as he was wont to do, therefore Sathan gaue two such great buffets to Dauid, that he lost the field and two victories one after an other: of these buffets and stratagems Paul speakes, that he was buffet∣ted of Sathan, least he should glory too much by reue∣lation

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shewed vnto him. Moses also had a buffet of Sa∣than at the water of Meribah, for his incredulitie, that the Lord said vnto him, that hee should not enter into the land of Canaan, but dye in mount Nebo. Iob also had a buffet in the land of Huz. Sathan vseth many such stratagems, whereby hee giueth many such buf∣fets.

If Moses, Iob, Dauid, Paul, and others, were thus buf∣feted by Sathan, who can thinke himselfe free from the stratagems of Sathan? wee must therefore watch, if wee will not bee deceiued, and wee must fight if we thinke to haue victorie, our battell is not against flesh * 1.37 and bloud, but against power and states of heauens, against the prince and ruler of darknesse, and against spi∣rituall enenemies.

But the Prophet Nathan was sent to Dauid, to open vnto him the rewards of adultery and murther, & that the sword should not go from Dauids house, the banish∣ment, the punishment and miserie that should fall vpon * 1.38 him for offending the Lord. First his sonne died gotten in adultery by Bethseba; the rauishment of his women by his owne sonne Absolon; the incest of his daughter Thamar by her brother Ammon; the murthering of Da∣uids eldest sonne Ammon, by his brother Absolon; and * 1.39 the rebellion of his sonne Absolon against his father the King.

Thus Dauid sawe the iust iudgement of the Lord, and the tragicall end of his children, for offending the Lord. Euen Dauid that subdued so many nations, that got so many victories, that fought with a beare, with a lyon, and with a gyant, and subdued them, is now sub∣dued by a woman; had Dauid after these victories so much temperance and chastitie at the sight of Bethseba,

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as hee had faith and courage at his combat with Golias; hee had conquered both alike; but the Lord punished * 1.40 Dauid and his house.

The sonne of Emor for that he violately abused Dina Iacobs daughter, her bretheren tooke at it such a spite, that Simeon and Leui, Iacobs sonnes, went and slew Si∣chem * 1.41 and his father Emor, and all the men within Si∣chem, and tooke Dina theyr sister away with them. * 1.42 Thus the gadding abroad of Dina to Sichem, to see the manner and fashion of the Sichemites, was the cause of the ouerthrowe of Sichem and the Siche∣mites.

The going of the Sabine virgins to the feast of Con∣sus, to see playes in Rome, were rauished and taken by * 1.43 the Romanes, to the number of six hundred, were the onely cause of the warres between the Sabines and the Romanes.

In Siloth likewise on that day the feast of the Lorde was kept, the virgins of Siloth came abroad to daunce, to * 1.44 sing, and to play, the Beniamites caught the maides of Siloth, to the number of 200. and brought them to the land of Beniamin. So the abuse of one woman, the Le∣uites wife, by the Beniamite, cost sixtie foure thousand mens liues and more, in Israel.

For by the taking away of Viriahs wife by Dauid, Is∣rael was plagued with the death of seuentie thousand men, and the taking away of Menelaus wife from Greece, cost the liues of many millions of men, and the warres of tenne yeares betweene the Greekes and the Troians.

And for that the time of the taking away of Vriahs wife by Dauid, agreeth with the historie of the taking

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away of Menelaus wife by Alexander, otherwise called Paris.

After the death of Dauid, and Salomon his sonne, the kingdome of Israel was established vpon Rehoboam Salo∣mons sonne, he forsooke the law of the Lord, and reiec∣ted his fathers wise and graue counsellors, and followed * 1.45 rash young mens counsell, and therefore the Lord rai∣sed Shesak king of Egipt against Israel, and he came with twelue hundred chariots, three score thousand horse∣men, and his footemen were without number: for from Egipt came with him the Lybians, the Troglodites, and * 1.46 the Aethiopians, he tooke the strong cities of Iudah and Ierusalem, and all the treasures of the Lords house, and all the treasures of the kings house, and he carried away two hundred targets and three hundred shields of gold, which Salomon made, and returned to Egipt with a great spoile, because Rehoboam forsooke the Lord, and there∣fore was forsaken of the Lord. The temple that Salomon his father builded, was spoiled by the negligence of Re∣hoboam, Salomons sonne.

This was the first victorie that was had ouer Ierusa∣lem by Shesak king of Israel: and here began the first bat∣tell of the ciuill warre betweene the kings of Iudah, and the kings of Israel: and such ciuill warre if you consider * 1.47 the slaughter betweene Iudah and Israel, and the conti∣nuance of their warres, you must needs confesse that in one battell betweene Abiah and Ieroboam, were more slaine of the Israelites, then among the Romanes in for∣tie yeares: to talke of the Romanes ciuill warres, which was fortie yeares betweene Sylla and Marius, betweene Caesar and Pompey, and last betweene Octauius and Marc. Antonius: or the ciuill warres of the Greekes, called the Peloponesian warre, which endured seuen and twentie

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yeares, it was nothing in respect of the murther and bloud betweene Iudah and Israel, for in the ciuill warres of the Romanes, histories doo not record aboue the * 1.48 deaths of three hundred thousand Romanes. Where in this battell, being the first ciuill battell betweene Ierobo∣am king of Israel, against Abiah king of Iudah, at what * 1.49 time was slaine in the field fiue hundred thousand of king Ieroboams souldiers in one battell; which neither Tamberlane nor Xerxes (though they could match them in number, yet could they neuer match thē in slaughter.

For as the Romanes were full fiue hundred yeares in conquering the Sabines, the Latines, the Vients, the Fi∣denates, the Samnites, Tarentines, Hetruscans & others, frō Romulus time to Scypio Affrican, before the Romanes could be Lords of Italy.

The like may bee spoken of the Israelites in conque∣quering the Moabites, Ammonites, Amalekites, Phili∣stines, and others, from Moses time vnto Dauid, welnigh fiue hundred yeares, and as the Romans held their Em∣pire, so long a time as they were in winning of it frō Scy∣pio Affrican, who conquered Haniball and Italy, vnto the Emperor Probus, which was fiue hundred years, at what time the whole Empire fell by degrees to decay.

So Israel as they subdued their enemies, from Moses to Dauid, fiue hundred yeares, as you read before: so after * 1.50 Dauid by ciuill warres of Iudah and Israel, vnto Zedechias time, which was fiue hundred yeares, they lost both the kingdomes Iudah and Israel; the one taken captiue by Salmanasser vnto Niniuie: the other by Nabuchodonozer vnto Babilon: so that now the land of Iudah called the land of milke and honey, is become Athisme, subiect to Pagans & Infidels, which continued from Abraham the * 1.51 first father of the faith, vntill Titus Vespasian, two thou∣sand

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and odde yeares, and al through disobedience and contempt of their Lord and God.

Euen so the Romanes which were wont to be cal∣led lords of the world, whose Consuls at that time ruled and gouerned the most kingdomes of the world, are now left without King, Emperor, or Consull, and many cities in Italy at this day preferred before Rome, now go∣uerned by the Pope a Bishop, as Ierusalem is gouerned by the Turk an Infidel: so that in all things the Romanes * 1.52 and the Hebrews may be compared: for as the greatest enemie that euer Rome had, was Italy, and the dange∣rousest foes that the Romanes had were Italians: for the Gaules, the Cymbres, the Carthaginians, and the Affri∣cans, * 1.53 vexed not the Romans as the Italians did, their own country men and next neighbors. So Iudah had no enemies but the house of Israel. So Israel had no enemies but Iudah, for Ierusalem could not away with Samaria for their two Idols, the one at Dan, the other in Bethell, so Samaria could not brooke Ierusalem for the great so∣lemnitie of Salomons temple.

CHAP. III.

The great battell betweene Abia king of Iudah, and Ierobo∣am king of Israel, where 500000. were slaine on Ieroboams side. Of the victories of Asa and Iosaphat kings of Iudah, ouer Zerah king of Aethiopia, & ouer the Edomites, Am∣monites, and Maobites.

AS it seemed by the long oration which * 1.54 Abiah made to Ieroboam and his army vpon mount Zemaraim, before the bat∣tell ioyned together, to disswade them from the battell, saying: that the Lord had giuen the kingdome ouer Israel to Dauid, and to his house, but Ieroboam

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contemned Abiahs counsel, and thought by his policie and subtill stratagem to haue ouercome the host of Iu∣dah, but he himself was deceiued, to the losse of fiue hun∣dred thousand of his souldiers, that his power and force failed, that he was not able during his life to preuaile a∣gainst Iudah; for Ieroboam had gathered to encrease his army, all leaud, idle, and wicked vnthrifts, to fight this battell against Rehoboam the sonne of Salomon, like Cinna in Rome, that made open proclamation, that al bondmē, * 1.55 wicked doers, and banished men, should come to Cinna the Consul, & they should be restored to their former li∣bertie * 1.56 & freedome, and thus Cinna gathered al the leaud and wicked men within all Italy: he then being Consul, taking part with Cai. Marius, against his other fellow Consull Octauius, which helde with Sylla, slaine at that time, & a number more of the citizens of Rome, but * 1.57 between Sylla and Marius, one reuenging vpon an other fomi•…•…g in their countries bloud, that all the streetes of Rome. anne of bloud. These two Marius and Sylla began the first Romane ciuil warres (as Ieroboam and Rehoboam did) and yet were they both compared to Scypio Affri∣can, for their victories to their countrey, though they were compared to Hanibal for the harm & hurt which * 1.58 they had done to their countrey.

Had Ieroboam harkned to the counsell of Abiah king of Iudah, vpon mount Zemaraim, he had saued fiue hun∣dred thousand Israelites which were slaine at the battel.

If the Beniamites had taken counsel of their brethe∣ren the Israelites, and to yeeld vnto them the wicked mē * 1.59 that abused the Leuites wife, the whole tribe of Benia∣min had not bin destroied. It was the ouerthrow of Iudas * 1.60 Machabaeus by Bacchides at the battell of Laisa, for that he would not be perswaded by his friends to refraine the battell for that time.

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Had the Prophet Ieremy beene heard of Zedechiah and the princes of Iudah, Zedechiah had saued the liues of his owne children slaine in his sight, and had likewise saued his owne eyes in his head, which presently were pulled out, after he saw his children slaine, and himselfe caried captiue and blind vnto Babilon, Ierusalem destroy∣ed, and the kingdome of Iudah subdued by Nabuchodo∣nozer: so it may be said of Saul refusing the counsell of Samuel, and so of Iosias disobeying the counsell of Necho.

After the great victorie that Iudah had ouer Israel, by Abiah king of Iudah, his sonne Asa fought with Zerah, king of Aethiopia, an Infidel, who brought an host of ten hundred thousand men, & three hundred chariots from Aethiope to Iudah, and came to Maresha a citie of Iudah; * 1.61 & Asa the king of Iudah came with an army of fiue hun∣dred and foure score thousand into the valley of Zepha∣tah, and both the kings set the battel in a ray.

But Asa began with praiers, & cryed vnto the Lord by praiers for ye victorie, putting no trust in his own power, or pollicie, neither fearing the strength of the multitude of his enemies, & so with full confidence in the Lord, he set vpō the Aethiopians, & the Lord smote them before Asa and before Iudah, that the Aethiopians fled, and the army of Iudah followed, and pursued them vnto Gerer, for the Lord had striken the Aethiopians with such fear, that there was no life in them, that the slaughter was ex∣ceeding great, & the spoyle exceeding much, of camels, sheepe, and cattell. And Asa after the victorie which he had giuen him by the Lord, returned to Ierusalem, and gaue the Lord thankes, who giueth all victories, so as all good kings and generals ought to pray to the Lord be∣fore they enter into battell, so ought they also to giue thankes after the battell, for their victories.

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This victory was a requitall and a full reuenge vpon the Aethiopians, for the sacking and spoyling of Ierusalem, and of the great slaughter of the people by Shesak king of Egipt.

In like maner as Abiah beganne with prayers before he beganne to battell, so did king Asa his sonne follow his fathers rule and order in seeking helpe and aide at the Lords hand, which euery King, Generall, or Cap∣taine should doo. So Iosaphat Asas sonne did when it was tolde him that the Moabites, Ammonites & Edo∣mites * 1.62 came with an infinit number to fight against him, he set himselfe to seeke the Lord, and to aske counsell of him, and all Iudah with him prayed vnto the Lorde, to aide and strengthen him to fight the Lords battel, wher∣by hee got a maruellous victorie ouer his enemies, for * 1.63 before he went into the battell, Iosaphat caused a Psalme of thankesgiuing to the Lord to be sung before the men of armes, and so entred the battell, and the Lord laide ambushments and shewed such stratagems against Am∣mon, Moab and Edom, that euery one helped to destroy another, and the Lord turned euery mans sword to kill his fellow.

Where the Lorde leadeth the armie the victorie is soone gotten, so Iosaphat putting his whole trust & con∣fidence in the Lord, slue all his enemies that none did escape, and the spoyle was such of golde, of siluer, and pretious Iewels, that they were three dayes in gathe∣ring and in carrying the spoyle away, and then they as∣sembled together after the victorie by Iosaphats com∣maundement to giue the Lord thankes for the victory, and called the place where they got the victory Bera∣chab, * 1.64 and they returned to Ierusalem with violls, harpes, and with trumpets.

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These three battels of Abiah, Asa, and Iosaphat, were battells of the Lord, and as the Lord had done at that battell at Michmash to Ionathan, so the Lord did now at the battell at Beracha to Iosaphat, and so the Lord in all the battels of the good kings of Iudah and Israel shewed alwaies his diuine stratagems for the defence of Ierusa∣lem, as in Egipt by Moses against Pharao, by Elias at the brooke Kyson against Baals prophets: by Elizeus at Do∣than, against king Benhadads souldiers.

The Gentiles in like sort, commence no warre, en∣ter * 1.65 no battell before they sing a song vnto their gods: as the Lacedemonians brought vp onely in warre from seuen yeares old, vsed before they went to the warres, to * 1.66 make solemne sacrifice to the Muses & to the goddesse Feare, with a song to Castor & Pollux. The Thrasians sing a song to their god Mars, and bragge much of Mars for that he was borne in Thracia.

Others made vowes when they went to any warres. As among the Romanes, their wiues, their children, and * 1.67 their friends, should make vowes, and cause the same to be written in tables, and to be set on that gate, through the which they went out of the citie to warre, that vpon their return home they might see and read their vowes and performe them.

The three hundred Fabians, which were slaine at the * 1.68 battell at Crimera, the gate that they went through out of Rome then, was euer called after that Porta Scelerata. So did the Romains likewise call the field, where one of the Vestal virgins called Minutia, for her incest & carnall * 1.69 fault, was buried in the field was called Sceleratus Cam∣pus, according to the Romain lawes made for the Vestal virgins that so offended.

We leaue the prophane marching of the Romanes

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and the Greekes, and we will returne to the marching of Israel vnder king Asa and king Iosaphat his sonne, who both by praiers obtained great victories, as all the Israe∣lites preuailed more by praier then by fight. As by prai∣er Ioshua made the Sun to stand stil ouer Gibeon, and the * 1.70 Moone ouer Aialon. By praier Elias made the cloudes to fall & raine. By praier Moses made his enemies to flie. E∣lizeus raised the dead to life. Solomon obtained wisdom. So long as the Lord taketh not away thy praying, so lōg he doth not take away his grace & mercy from thee, for a wicked man cannot pray well, and he that praieth wel cannot liue wickedly. And therfore praiers are com∣pared to Sampsons haires, for as Sampsons strength laie in his haires, so our strength lieth in praiers.

Ester praied to haue that to come to proud Ammon, * 1.71 which Ammon wished to haue done to Mardochaeus, and the poore Iewes.

Iudith praied at the striking, and the cutting off, of * 1.72 Holofernes head, which blasphemed the Lord, and wold preferre Nabuchodonozer before the God of Israel.

Susan praied vnto the Lord for her innocēcy against * 1.73 the false Iudges at Babilō, that accused her of incōtinen∣cy, and they were stoned to death by meanes of Daniel.

We read also of Iud. Machabaeus, a noble captaine of * 1.74 the Iewes, that he neuer entred into any battell before he praied, yet was hee in twelue set battels, and in euery one obtained victorie sauing at the last, at what time some write hee praied not, where hee was slaine in the field by Bacchides, and his people ouerthrowne.

As you heard of good kings by praiers that wanne victories, so also shall you heare of wicked & Idolatrous kings, as Achas who caused an Idolatrous Altar to be * 1.75 made in Iudah, like the Altar at Damascus, and consecra∣ted his sonne in fire, and offered him to Moloch.

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In like sort the king of Moab supposing his Idol Che∣mosh to be angry with him, slue and sacrificed his eldest sonne, that should haue raigned next after him King, and offered him as a burnt offering to his God Chemosh vpon the walles of the Towne. As Achab and Manasses Kings of Iudah did sacrifice their children in the valley of Hynnon to Moloch: for Achab was one of the first kings that brought the name of Baal into Israel; and maintei∣ned betweene him and his wife Iezabel, foure hundred and fiftie false prophets of Baal.

Achas had good king Ezechias to his sonne, but A∣chas the father walked not vprightly before the Lorde, * 1.76 as his sonne Ezechias did, but made moulten Images for Baalim, and burnt Incense in the valley of Benhynnon, sa∣crificed his sonnes and burnt them with fire, and offered them vnto his god Moloch, and sought helpe at the gods of Damascus, at Chemosh god of the Moabites, Milcombe god of the Ammonites, and other straunge gods: and therefore the Lord gaue him ouer, and deliuered him into the hands of the king of the Aramites, and he smote him, and slue a great number of his soldiers, & brought many prisoners of Iudah with him to Damascus.

Againe, the Lord deliuered Achas into the hand of * 1.77 the king of Israel Phaekah, and he slue in one day six score thousand in Iudah; and tooke two hundred thousand prisoners of women, sonnes & daughters, and brought them into Samaria with all the spoyle. The Edomites slue of them of Iudah, a great number, and carried ma∣ny captiues away: Marke what mischiefe happeneth where an euil king doth raigne. The Philistines also in∣uaded the cities of Iudah, and tooke Aialon & Gederith, and other cities of Iudah, and thus were they vexed by * 1.78 the Aramites, Edomities, and Philistines, and by the

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Israelites being their owne nation; for that Achas king of Iudah forsooke the Lord, and sought helpe at strange gods, and not at the hands of the god of Israel.

After wicked Achas, the good king Ezechias his sonne succeeded, he was to commence a battell with Senache∣rib, who blasphemed the Lord, and threatned destructi∣on to Ierusalem, but the Prophet Esay had instructed E∣zechiah, that this was the Lords battell, & that he would be reuenged vpō the blasphemy of Senacherib, for proud Ashur challenged the Lord into the field to fight with him, saying, what god could take Iudah out of his hand? he numbred the kings and their gods which he and his fathers destroied, and with horrible blasphemy perswa∣ded the king of Iudah not to trust to his god, but to yeeld vnto him; but the lord did put his hooke in his nosthrils, and his bridle in his lips, as the Lord had told Ezechiah * 1.79 the king, by Esayas the prophet, that Senacherib with all his army should not come to Ierusalem, nor shoote an ar∣row there, for the battel is mine saith the Lord. And hee sent his Angels that night which destroyed all the * 1.80 princes, all the captaines, and all the valiant men of A∣shur, and all the whole army of Senacherib, to the num∣ber of an hundred, foure score and sixe thousand, with∣out the drawing of one sword of Iudah, and Senacherib fled with tenne men with him, some thinke that Nabu∣chodonozer was one, but I thinke time will not so allow, for he was at that time but a very childe. But Senacherib fled to Niniuie, where he was slaine in the temple, pray∣ing before his Idoll Nisroch, whom he preferred before the liuing God, & that by his two sonnes (the iust iudge∣ment * 1.81 of the Lord for his blasphemy) to be slaine, before his owne god, before whom he worshipped and pray∣ed when he was slaine by his owne sonnes; and thus we

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see in all iust battels whē we serue the Lord, & trust one∣ly in him, that victories come not by man, but by ye Lord.

Iosaphat a good king had Ioram an euil king to his son, * 1.82 a murtherer of his bretheren.

Ezechias a good king in Ierusalem, had Manasses to his * 1.83 sonne, a wicked Idolater, who filled all the streets of Ie∣rusalem with bloud.

Iosias a good godly king, had to his fonnes Ioachas and Ioachim, who were taken captiues by Nabuchodonozer in∣to * 1.84 Babilon, for their transgressions and sins, at what time Daniel was taken captiue, and many other gentlēmen of Iudah; euen Ierusalem whom the Lord had defended frō * 1.85 the sword of Senacherib, and from all the kings of Egipt and Ashur: yet when the sinnes of Ierusalem were ripe, it was deliuered into the hand of Nabuchodonozer, to be carried captiue into Babilon, as Samaria was to Niniuie by Salmanasher, one hundred thirtie and three years before Iudahs captiuitie.

After Ashur had taken the ten tribes of Israel away, he brought from Bethel, from Cutha, from Anah, and frō A∣math, straunge people, and placed them in the cities of Samaria, in stead of the children of Israel, and of these * 1.86 people came the Samaritans, of whom mention is made often in the gospel, with whom the Iews would haue no societie, for so the woman spake to Christ at Iacobs well, that why he being a Iew, should aske water of a Sama∣ritan.

This time Zedechiah the king gaue no hearing to the Prophet Ieremy, who forewarned the king of their de∣struction * 1.87 to be at hand, for the which the Prophet was imprisoned, first by Fashur high bishop of the tēple, who smote Ieremy and put him in the stockes, strooke him as Zedechiah the false Prophet strook Micha, who was after * 1.88

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commaunded by Achab to be imprisoned as Ieremy the * 1.89 Prophet was, and by meanes of the nobles of Iudah to king Zedechiah. Ieremy was imprisoned in a dirtie dunge∣on, Ieremy notwithstanding spared not to tell them, that they should die an horrible death, and should lie as dung vpon the earth, and no man to burie them; wherat they were so moued saying, let vs not regard his words, and let vs cut out his tongue.

The citizens of Anathot commaunded Ieremy not to preach vnto them in the name of the Lord, & if thou do thou shalt die.

Ieremies speech was performed to the ouerthrow of * 1.90 the whole kingdome of Iudah, neither could it be other∣wise, considering they sinned still against the Lord, and the long ciuill warres betweene themselues, which con∣tinued so long from Ieroboams time, who caused Israel first to sinne, vnto the last king of Israel.

Elias after he had destroied two captains one after ano∣ther, with their 50. souldiers seuerally with fire frō hea∣uen, & after he had subdued 450. of Baals Prophets, after all these great conquests, and many other such, he fea∣red so much one woman, that for very feare hee fled * 1.91 from place to place from her, & being wearie of his life, he lay vnder a Iuniper tree, wishing to die, and prayed to God that hee might die, complaining vnto the Lord that there was none left of the Prophets of the Lord but himselfe, but hee was aunswered by the the spi∣rite of God, that there was seuen thousand more in Israel that yet neuer once bended theer knees vnto Baall.

The like may bee spoken of Ionas, beeing like E∣lias * 1.92 wearie of his life, hee sought meanes to forsake his Countrey, and to flye by sea to other Countreys,

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but the sea could not brooke him, but deliuered him to be deuoured of a wh•…•…, and the whale could not keepe him, but was compelled to vomit him vp from the bot∣tome o•…•… his b•…•…y to goe to preach to Niniuie, so that E∣lias 〈◊〉〈◊〉 〈◊〉〈◊〉 die vnder the Iuniper tree, and Ionas would 〈◊〉〈◊〉 be throwne and drowned in the Sea, •…•…leane contrary to the purpose and prouidence of the Lord.

E•…•… 〈◊〉〈◊〉 •…•…ly of his life to see the Prophets of the Lord so destroyed and Ionas to see his labour in prea∣ching profit nothing, that he should be •…•…pured a false Prophet, the Lord not destroying the Citie after fortie daies according to his word, but sparing it in mercie as he did pittie the gourd in mercy.

After the Lord had giuen great victories to many of * 1.93 the kings of Iudah. to Asa ouer Zerah king of Aethiope; to Iosaphat ouer Shesak king of Egipt; to Ezechiah ouer * 1.94 Senacherib, yet Iudah still forsooke the Lord, though Ie∣•…•…emy tolde them from the mouth of the Lord their de∣struction, when they rather threatned then beleeued.

But neither Ioachim, nor Zedechias, would neither heare, nor beleeue the Prophet, and therefore the Lord deliuered them both into Nabuchodonozers hands, the one was slaine in Ierusalem, and his body commaunded to be cast out of the citie, and to be left vnburied like an asse: the other Nabucho. tooke prisoner, and caused his owne children & all his chiefe friends to be slaine in his sight, and after hee sawe this tragicall sight with his eyes, Nabuchodonozer being then in Rebla, before whom Zedechia was brought, after he reprehended him for his periurie and trecherie, and accused him for his false∣hood, caused his eyes to be put out, and so bound in a chaine and carried prisoner to Babilon, where hee lay

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and dyed in prison, being the last king of the line of Da∣uid, and the twentieth king after Saul.

There was a mightie king in Damascus ouer the Sy∣rians called Adad, who after many great battels with Dauid, was subdued in a great battell at Euphrates. This Adad was so great for his great victories among the Syrians, that they named euery king after his name A∣dad, to the number of tenne, and the tenth king was that Benhadad which besieged Samaria in the time of the Prophet Elizeus, whom this king Adad could no better fauour, then Adad his predecessor could fauour Dauid, or king Achab did Elias.

After this great victorie Dauid imposed tributes vpon the Syrians, as he did before vpon the Idumeans, * 1.95 Moabites, and others, hee returned to Ierusalem, de∣dicated and consecrated as a trophey of his victorie, the armours and rich spoile of Adad, king of the Syrians, in Ierusalem to the Lord.

So the Philistines vsed the body of Saul, slaine in mount Gilboa, after they had sent his head to the Land of the Philistines, and hanged his body on the wall of Bethshan, they would be sure to lay vp his Armour in the temple of their god Ashtaroth, according to the customes and manners of the Gentiles: for they vsed to hang the armors and spoiles of their victories in their Temples to their Gods.

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CHAP. IIII.

How Achab though a wicked king had two great victories a∣gainst Benhadad king of Syria, who had 32. kings in his armies. Of diuers great blasphemers punished. Of the Idolatry of Israel. And of the prophecying against Ieru∣salem.

BEnhadad king of Aram, assembled an army against the Lorde, hauing two * 1.96 and thirtie kings, which were gouer∣nours and rulers of prouinces, with horses and chariots without number, came and fought against Achab king of Israel, a most wicked king. And yet the Lord seeking to winne this wicked king, as well by victories now, as by myracles before, sent a Prophet to * 1.97 Achab; promising him ouer Benhadad king of Aram a great victorie. For the army of the Syrians were so ma∣ny, that Benhadad sent a Herald vnto Achab, commaun∣ding him to deliuer vp to his hand Samaria, and all the cities of Israel, or else hee would come with such an ar∣mie, that the dust of Samaria should not be inough for euery souldier a handfull; much like Xerxes king of Per∣sia for his vaunts and bragges, who doubted that the sea Hellespont had not roome ynough for his nauies, nor Greece had land inough for his armies, nor the aire wide inough for his shottes, but Xerxes was answered by De∣marathus * 1.98 the Philosopher, as Benhadad was by Achab: Let him not brag that putteth on his harnesse, as he that puts it off, but the king of Syria bragged as Xerxes did be∣fore he wan the victory, for the Lord gaue the victory to Achab, and such a victory by slaughter, by chasing, by ta∣king of men, horses and chariots, that the king of Syria

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fled and escaped narrowly with fewe horsemen that were his guard, and said that the gods of Israel were the gods of the mountains, & therfore they ouercame vs, & chalenged a battel with Israel in the valleys, where they assured themselues of victory; thus they blasphemed the Lord in their furie, but to their losse & great ouerthrow.

The blasphemy of Rabsacis, & of his maister Senache∣rib king of the Assirians, saying to king Ezechiah, let not thy god deceiue thee in whom thou hopest and puttest thy trust; was not he slaine praying before his god Nes∣roch in Niniuie, by his owne two sonnes?

The blasphemy of Nabuchodonozer, saying: What God is hee that is able to take you out of my hands? was not he punished with the losse of his kingdome, and to liue among beasts like a beast, and not like a king, vntil he ac∣knowledged the Lord?

The blasphemy of Holofcrnus, saying there was no god but his maister Nabuchodonozer, was not his head * 1.99 cut off by Iudith a womā, & put vpō the wals of Bethulia?

And likewise the blasphemy of Nicanor, which said: is there a God mightie in heauē that commands to keep the Sabboth day, and I am mightie on earth that com∣commaunds the contrary? but his head, his hands, and his blasphemous tongue were cut off, and hanged vpon the pinacles in the temple at Ierusalem.

And so the blasphemy of the Scribes and Pharisies, saying, that Christ the Lord did not cast out diuels by his owne vertue, but by the power of Belzebab, but the Lord left not them vnpunished.

The blasphemy of Benhadad, saying, that the Lord was the God of the mountaines onely, not God of the val∣leys: * 1.100 was not he strangled by Hazael his owne seruant, in his owne house, and in his owne bed?

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Yet the Syrians prepared such a number for the se∣cond battel, after they had escaped hardly from the first battell, that they filled all the countrie, and the children of Israel were like to little flockes of Kids in respect of their number: but the Lord sent his Prophet to Achab, saying: Because the Syrians haue said that the Lord is * 1.101 the God of the mountaines, and not God of the valleys, behold, this great multitude of men, and Benhadad the King himselfe, withal the two and thirtie Kings besides, will I deliuer to thine hand, and he shall know that I am the Lord as well of the valleys as the mountaines.

And so the Lorde brought it to passe, that in that battell an hundred thousand footemen were slaine of the Syrians, and seuen and twentie thousand that fled from the field to Aphec to saue themselues, were killed by the fall of a wall that crushed them to death, and Benhadad the King fled to the citie, from chamber, to * 1.102 chamber, and hid himselfe, according to the Prophets saying, vntill many of his chiefe Princes that escaped hardly from the battell, came with sackcloath about their loynes, and ropes about their neckes in token of submission, to entreate Achab king of Israel for the life of Benhadad, which he graunted, contrary to that which he was by the Lord commaunded for to do as Saul did by Agag king of the Amalekites, so Achab did by Benhadad, but it was told Achab by the Prophet, that his life should goe for his life, and his people for his people.

This Achab a wicked and Idolatrous King had such two great victories for that the Lord alwayes would haue Israel to forsake their calfe in Bethell, and their Ido∣latry to Baall in Samaria, but sinne was written in the * 1.103 table of their hearts, and grauen vpon the edges of their Aultars, with a penne of Iron, and with an Adamant

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clawe said the Prophet, that there was nothing among * 1.104 them more pretious then woods thicke trees, groues, mountaines, hills and fields, for altars to serue their Ido∣latrous * 1.105 woodden goddes, so greatly they offended the Lord that he asked the Heathens, if any heard such hor∣rible * 1.106 things as his people had done, yea the Priests to whom the lawe was committed, the Prophets which wanted not the word of the Lorde, and the graue wise Senators.

So that Israel would not be instructed, neither take warning by the Prophets, before the finall end and sud∣daine destruction of Ierusalem by Nabuchodonozer king of Babilon, though the Lord commaunded the Prophet Amos to strike the lintell of the doore, that the postes * 1.107 might shake, signifying the threatning of the Lorde a∣gainst Israel.

So was Ezechiel commaunded to take a bricke and to purtray the citie of Ierusalem vpon the bricke with a sharpe knife, to signifie the destructiō of the people and of the citie; and the •…•…ame selfe Prophet sheweth the de∣struction * 1.108 of Ierusalem by Nabuchodonozer king of Babel, by a parable of a seething potte, and the day was com∣maunded to be written by the Prophet. Ierusalem the the valley of vision, so named, because of the Prophets * 1.109 which were also called seers. The Lorde said that hee would bring such a plague vpon Ierusalem, that the eares of them that should heare it should glowe, for I wil send many fishers to take them, & many hunters to hunt thē from all mountaines and hilles, and out of the caues of stones saith the Lord.

Yet though Ierusalem was so seuerely prophesied * 1.110 by Amos, Ezechiel, and other Prophets, to be destroyed, yet they were comforted by the Prophet Ieremy againe, * 1.111

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that they should returne frō their captiuitie after seuen∣tie yeares, and rebuild Ierusalem.

And as by Ieremy by hiding of his leather girdle by the riuer Perah, as the Lord had cōmaunded him, signifying * 1.112 that by the rottēnes of the girdle Ierusalē shuld be rebuil∣ded after seuentie yeares. And by the selfesame Prophet they were assured by his buying of the field Anothot, and by the hiding of his writing of possession thereof, in signes and tokens of their libertie againe, and that Ieru∣satem should be builded againe, and inhabited: this was but the second ouerthrow of Ierusalem by Nabuchodono∣zer.

This was like Noah that preached the destruction of the world by a deluge, before the deluge, and yet marri∣ed * 1.113 a wife, much like to the Prophet Ieremy that preached the destruction of Ierusalem, and yet bought lands.

The Prophets vsed many of these signes as eye-wit∣nesses to confirme their memory better, and to expect with more faith the words of the Prophets.

The Prophet Ieremy proceedeth forward to denounce the ouerthrow of those proud kingdomes, that reioy∣ced * 1.114 much at the destructiō of Ierusalem, as Egipt and Ba∣bilon, and all the euill that should come vpon Babilon, Ie∣remy wrote it in a booke, & sent Sheraiah with his booke to read it, and when he had done reading, Ieremy com∣maunded him to binde a stone to the booke, and to cast it into the midst of the riuer Euphrates, and then to say, thus shall Babilon be cōfounded; thus the Prophets vsed besides their prophesies to adde some action to make the words the more to be remembred.

So also the Prophet Ezechiel prophesied against Egipt, and against their great cities, saying: The sword of the Lord shall come to Memphis, to Pellusium, and to Alexan∣dria,

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I will ouerthrow Memphis saith the Lord, I will de∣stroy * 1.115 Pellusium the strength of Egipt, and I will make a great slaughter of all the men in Alexandria.

For as Babilon was taken, Maradach ouerthrowne, and Bel cōfounded, so was the strength of Egipt, & the arme of Pharao destroyed without any recouery of their Em∣pires againe, but so was not Ierusalem.

Nabuchodonozer in like sort as he ouerthrew Ierusa∣lem, and made a conquest of the countrey, euen so his great citie of Babilon was caried by Cyrus away into Per∣sia, within seuentie yeares after he tooke Zedechiah the last king of Iudah captiue in Babilon: so Egipt was taken by the Persians, and last by the Romanes.

But Ierusalem as you heard by Ieremy, should not bee so destroyed, but should be defended against all her ene∣mies, and the Lord shall destroy all nations that come against Ierusalem, for the Lord hath deliuered Israel out of the fierie furnace of Egipt, and from all the stratagems of the Heathens. I will make the Princes of Iudah like * 1.116 coales of fire among the wood, and like a firebrand in the sheffe, and they shall deuour all people round about them, saith the Lord.

The foure hornes which Zachary saw, which scatte∣red Ierusalem, Iudah, and Israel, but the Lord appoints * 1.117 Carpenters and Smiths, with mallets and hammers, to breake the hornes of those enemies, for Iacob the Patri∣arke prophesied that the scepter should not depart from Iudah vntill Siloh should come, so that after the destructi∣on of Ierusalē vnder Nabuchodonozer, to the last destruc∣tion of the same vnder Titus, Ierusalem cōtinued her go∣uernment, according to the prophesie of Iacob, so that neither force, power, nor strrtagems could preuaile a∣gainst Ierusalem.

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CHAP. V.

Of Semiramis stratagems in India, and of Tomiris in Sci∣thia. Of the victories of Alexander the great. Of Pyr∣rhus warres in Italy, and of the ouerthrow of Xerxes armie in Greece, by Leonidas at Thermopyles, and by Themistocles at Salamina.

THe stratagems which Ierusalem vsed in the battells of the Lord, were nothing like to the stratagemes of the great Monarchies and Polymarchies of the world, who re∣posed their trust in their dumbe Idolles and woodden gods, and in multitude of men and beastes, as Semyramis did, a woman of great fame and report in histories, willing to excell men in martiall actions, tooke her voyage into India, with such innumerable armies, that Staurobates king of India was so frighted with the report thereof, that he caused all his Elephants to be brought and to be set in the most shewe to terrifie the Assirians, that it made the Assirian armie more willing to returne backe, then to goe for∣wards.

Semyramis perceiuing that the Assirians were afrigh∣ted and amazed, at the sight of so many Elephants, and that the king did purposely set his Elephants in sight to amaze the Assirians, which was the order of the Indiās to terrifie all Princes with the sight of their Elephants: * 1.118 she vsed this stratageme, caused 300. thousand great oxen to be slaine, and their skinnes to be stuffed & fil∣led with heye, and to be framed in forme and fashion like Elephants: in euery one of these she put in a Ca∣mell, and a man vpon his backe, which she placed in the

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forefront of the battell to terrifie the Indians, and their king Staurobates, for (as Semyramis thought) the Indians supposed that all the world could not bring more Ele∣phants into the field then the Indians could.

After these fained elephants, she placed such an infinit number of camels behind the armie, that the sight ther∣of much terrified Staurobates & his army, that Semyramis by this stratagem got two great victories in India. But after these fained elephants were betraied by one of Se∣myramis Captaines taken in the warres, who by torture confessed the secresie of Semyramis stratageme, that she was glad to leaue India, and to returne to her Coun∣try.

Euen so Tomyris Queene of Scythia, to requite Cyrus stratageme, by a banquet which he made purposely to deceiue the Scythians, fained to flie for feare, and left his tents full of wine and good cheare, and sodainly re∣turning, found the Scythians banquetting and feasting, and so charged with wine, that they were more readie * 1.119 to sleep then to fight; whereby Cyrus slue Sargapises To∣myris sonne, with two hundred thousand Scythians.

The like stratagem vsed the Lorde against the Ara∣mites, when an Asse head was solde in Samaria for fif∣tie sickles, that such plentie was in Samaria as Elizeus said before, that the Aramites left their Tents with all prouisions, and fled without any shewe or likenesse to bee done against them, but this was a diuine strata∣gem by the Lord.

Tomyris after her great losse which she had by Cyrus of her sonne and her people, caused trenches, deepe dit∣ches, and sharpe stakes to be made secretly, and placed * 1.120 armed souldiers in the same, being in narrow & straight places, dissembling that she was not able to giue a secōd

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battell to Cyrus, but faigned her selfe to flie, and al her ar∣my * 1.121 with her, to draw the Persians after her, vntill shee brought thē vnto these trenches, ditches, & narrow pla∣ces, where she had set in wait an innumerable multitude of armed Scythiās round about Cyrus & hisarmy, which vpon the sudden fel vpon the Persians, & slew two hun∣dred thousand of them, that there was not one left aliue to bring tidings vnto Persia of Cyrus death; & thus Cyrus the great king of Persia was ouerthrowne with all his ar∣my by Tomyris Queen of Scythia, a woman, with the like stratagem as he ouerthrew Tomyris before.

Sampson who ouerthrew 6000. of the Philistines at one time by ye fall of a house, at an other time slew 1000. * 1.122 of them with a Iawe bone of an asse, who burned theyr rickes and their corne, destroyed their vines, & plagued them euery way. Yet this Sampson was taken, bound, his eyes pulled out, solde and deliuered to the Philistins his enemies, by a stratagem of a woman, Dalyla his wife.

Moses being chosen general ouer the Egiptians against the Aethiopians, hearing by reports of the dangerous pas∣sage through the wildernesse frō Egipt vnto Aethiope, de∣uised a stratagem to passe through the wildernesse full of * 1.123 noisome serpēts, where Moses must needs passe through, he made certain chests of bull-rushes, & caried out of E∣gipt with him a number of the birds called Ibes, which bird to kill in Egipt was a capitall crime by law made, for that they were so beneficiall to Egipt, whose naturall ha∣tred is such against serpents, that when serpents assaulted Moses in the wildernesse, he would let out his birds Ibes who assaulted them, chased them, & slew them, that Mo∣ses by this means passed safe through the wildernesse, to the wonder of both the Egiptians & Aethiopians, and therby had two victories ouer the Aethiopians.

Alexander the great, twelue hundred yeares af∣ter Semyramis taking his iourney with his Armye into

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India, where, when his army sawe so many Elephants set in battell raie, along vpon the riuer of Ganges side, it so amazed the Macedonian army, that they told Alex∣ander that they came not to fight with beasts but with mē, so fearfull at the sight of the Elephants, that the Ma∣cedonians would goe no further: Alexander being of inuincible courage that nothing could feare him, with∣out stratagems, but of meere magnanimitie, requested the Macedonians & the Persians that were in his army, not to leaue him their king to such shamefull reports, as the sight of a few Elephants might terrifie Alexander the great and his inuincible army.

The Argyraspides his principall souldiers, hauing per∣swaded the most part of the army to auoyd shame & in∣famy, and to stick to their captain Alexander, whose only request was to haue them altogither at once to shoote at * 1.124 Porus King of India, which being perswaded hardly thervnto, were forced for shame to perform the request which Alexander sought at their hands, which they per∣formed, that so many shots lighted vpō the king at once that he fell to the ground from his Elephant, and the In∣dians fled, supposing their king to haue bene slaine.

Thus Alexander got the first victory in India, made a great slaughter, tooke their king, being sore wounded, & deliuered him to his generals & captains to cure: and Porus was substituted a king vnder Alexander in India.

Alexander had not such a booty in India by taking king Porus, as he had by Darius in Persia: the greatest treasure which Alexander brought from India were a fewe Ele∣phants, which were not before Alexanders time seene in Asia: Alexander had such treasure in Susa, being but one citie in Persia, that he found aboue 40. thousand tal∣lents of gold & siluer in the kings treasury at Susa vncoi∣ned: * 1.125 he found besides, nine thousand tallents of gold in Dariks, which were with Darius name stamped on it. A-

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Alexander also found in Persepolis the chiefe citie of Persia, twelue hundred thousand talents of golde & sil∣uer, * 1.126 which were from Cyrus time, ready alwaies kept for the warres, for the yearly reuenewes of Persia were kept in Persepolis.

It is written that Alexander the great founde such a maruellous treasure in Persia, that he loaded ten thou∣sand Moyles, and three thousand Camels, with the gold and siluer of Persia onely, and the kings warderobes. At what time he was requested by one Thais a Curtizan of Athens, of singular beautie, that the great pallace of king Xerxes might be destroyed and burned, to reuenge the * 1.127 burning of Athens, and the iniuries which Xerxes did in Greece, that it might be said afterwards that a woman of Athens, requited the wrong which Xerxes did to Athens, with the burning and destroying of great king Xerxes pallace in Persepolis. Yet got Alexander more fame by the Elephants he brought out of India into Asia, by the ouerthrow of king Porus, then by all the wealth he had * 1.128 in Persia by subduing of Darius, for as Elephants were the only strength of the Indians against Alexander with his Macedonian and Persian army, and of the Affricans against Scypio, and others of the Romane armies.

So in Asia in many places Camels were their onely force in field. So Mithridates furnished his warres a∣gainst Lucullus with Camels. So did Antiochus the great against Scipio. So also it is written of Craesus, that the sight of his Camels was such, that the horses ouerthrew their ryders, that Craesus wanne by his Camels great vic∣torie.

All the Arabian kings vsed Camels in their warres, * 1.129 as the Indians & Affricans vsed Elephants, for Camels were as plentifull in Arabia, as Elephants were in India.

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After Alrxander the great, Antigonus vsed Elephants, after Antigonus Pirrhus, who grew so great a souldier af∣ter he had vanquished Demetrius king Antigonus sonne, that hee brought from Epyre to Lucania in Italy twentie Elephants, to fight with the Tarentines against the Ro∣manes, at what time Elephants were first sent in Rome, as I said before: but in Hanibals time after Affrica was subdu∣ed by the Romanes, Affrican Elephants were as cōmon at Rome in a maner as horses (though not so cruel in fight as the Indian Elephants were) yet seldome vsed by the Romanes in any of their warres, but rather vsed in tri∣umphes.

Leauing these Elephants, & a litle to speak of Thais, a Curtizā of Athens, who was no lesse desirous to become famous vpon some conquest ouer the Persians, then was Semyramis Queene of Babylon ouer the Indians.

If the desire of fame be thus in women found, how much more in men? and therfore Scypio Affrican would * 1.130 haue the picture of Ennius the Poet put vp in the Capi∣toll, for that Ennius wrote that while Affrica was subiect to the Romanes, and as long as the Romane Empire should flourish, so long the name of Scypio should flou∣rish.

Pompey the great gaue to Theophenes a whole citie because hee wrote much of the name and fame of Pom∣pey, and Alexander the great thought Achilles to be most happie, for that his warres and victories were aduanced * 1.131 by Homer, and the same Alexander (hearing Anaxar∣chus alledging a place of Democritus his maister, that there were many worlds) wept, for that hee had not wonne halfe a world; thus great men sought euer to haue their name aduanced on earth.

Haniball being called from Italy into Affrick, after his

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brother Asdrubal was slaine, to resist Scipio Affrican Ge∣nerall ouer the Romane army at Carthage, Hannibal be∣fore he returned from Italy, caused tryumphant arches and pillers to be set vp to aduance his fame, in many pla∣ces of Italy, in the which hee caused to be ingrauen his * 1.132 great victories, and the number of all the Senators, Cō∣suls, Proconsuls, Praetors, Romane knights & captains, which he vanquished and slue at the foure great battels, Tisinum, Trebeia, Thrasimen and Canne, which were set in Greeke & Punike letters, for a memoriall of his being in Italy.

Pirrhus, after that he had giuen two ouerthrowes to the Romanes in the behalfe of the Tarentines, had the third ouerthrow himselfe, and such an ouerthrow, that of twentie Elephants which he brought with him from Greece to Italy, he brought none backe from Italy againe vnto Greece.

Yet Pirrhus caused an Epilogue of his victories and fame to be writtē & set vp in the temple of Iupiter at Ta∣rentum, * 1.133 in these words; Qui antehac inuicti fuere hos vici, victus{que} sum ab ijsdem, the stout Romanes which were by none before ouerthrowne, I ouerthrew, and was a∣gaine by the Romains ouerthrowne, but being blamed by his chiefe captaines that he confessed himselfe to be ouerthrowne, said; I so ouerthrew the Romanes, that I dare not answere them another battel, lest I should haue no more men come out of Italy, then I haue Elephants.

The Romanes in the warres against Pirrhus in Italy, * 1.134 were once or twise ouerthrowne by meanes of Pirrhus Elephants, but the Romaines thus annoyed in the first and second battel by the Elephants, inuented this strata∣gem, to fling downe bundels of broom-stalks or hemp, besmeared with pitch, tarre, and brimstone, being set on * 1.135 fire from the walles vpon the Elephants and the souldi∣ers in the Turrets.

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Vpon these Elephants were strong Towers made of wood, vpō euery tower was 32. men placed that fought in them, besides the Indians that ruled them, but by the foresaid stratageme they were all ouerthrowne, sauing * 1.136 foure which were brought to Rome from Lucania, to set forth Curius his tryumph, but in the time of Hannibal to prouoke these Elephants to fight, they vsed to shewe them the blood of grapes & mulberies. So did Antiochus * 1.137 in his warres against the Iewes.

In Italy, betweene the Tarentines and the Lucans a great battell was appointed to be fought, in the which battel Archidamus king of Lacedemonia, taking part with the Tarentines was slain in the field by the Lucanians. * 1.138

This Archidamus was the son of great Agesilaus, he had gottē diuers victories in Greece his own country, & that victory especially ouer the Arcadians called the teareles * 1.139 battell, and yet this king died in Italy, being called from Greece to aide the Tarentines.

So Pirrhus in the like, was almost taken by the Ro∣manes, but he was driuen to forsake Tarentum, and glad to his losse to flie from the Romanes, though he was the most renowned warriour in the world at that time, and to say that the Romanes had their Pirrhus, as Hannibal said after 17. yeares warres with the Romanes, that the Romanes had also their Hannibal, and that Rome could hardly be subdued but by Romanes, for both Pirrhus and after him Hannibal, found the Romanes to be an in∣uincible nation.

For after that Cineas Pirrhus Embassador had retur∣ned from Rome, being demaunded of Pirrhus of what state the Romaines were in Rome, what rules, what lawes, and what kinde of gouernment the Romanes had.

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Cineas answered that the Senate of Rome appeared to him a counsell house of many Kings, and euery man seemed to him in Rome to be such as King Pirrhus was in Epyre.

At that time Pirrhus said to Cineas, were I king of Rome, or had I Romane souldiers, I should soone be an * 1.140 other Alexander. For Pirrhus was by Hanibal adiudged to be the second souldier at that time in the world after Alexander.

Pirrhus was a man so full of courage and valour, that when he was chalenged into a combat by a Generall of the Army, and though hee was wounded in the bat∣tell, yet bloudie as hee was, hee could not endure the challenge, but aunswered his challenger, and killed him.

Marc. Seruilius for priuate challenges in combats ex∣celled all, who had bene a Consul, and had fought in his owne person 23. challenged combats of life and death, and slew as many as he fought withall.

For among the olde Romanes and the Grecians, (when two armies met together) they vsed to chalenge * 1.141 combats to saue bloud, betweene one and one, as Mar∣cellus and Britomarus: betweene three and three, as the Horatians and Curatians, betweene three hundred and three hundred, as the Lacedemonians and the Ar∣giues.

For-at the great battell betweene Marcellus the Ro∣mane Consull, and Britomarus King of the Gaules, who challenged Marcellus to fight a combate be∣tweene them both in the battell at Chastidium to spare bloud, and to yeeld the conquest where the victorie fell.

The combat being performed, and the king slaine by

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Marcellus in the field, both the armies ioined their forces * 1.142 together, and fought it out, that foure score thousand were slaine of the Gaules, and their King, which honor happened to none of the Romans besides, but to Romu∣lus, who killed Acron King of the Caeninians in the like combat, and also to Cornel. Cossus, who slew Tolumnus generall of the Thuscanes.

The Romanes were so ioyfull of this victorie of Mar∣cellus, that they caused a massie cup of gold to bee made of the spoile, and to be sent to Appollo Pythian in Del∣phos.

So did Xerxes the great king of Persia, in his voyage against the Grecians, dranke a cup of wine to Neptune, and after his draught threw the cup into the middest of the sea, as a sacrifice to please Neptune, yet had not hee such good successe as Romulus and Marcellus had, for at * 1.143 that time Xerxes leuied so great an army into Greece, that sixe hundred thousand bushels of corne was daily spent in Xerxes Army, thinking to conquer all Greece with ter∣rour and feare of such an Army, for that Greece at that time was busie in setting forth their Olympicall feast. He came to Thermopyla, where hee was met by Leoni∣das * 1.144 a noble Greeke, with sixe hundred Grecians, and * 1.145 was put to flight with the losse of twentie thousand Per∣sians.

This was one of the most samous victories and rarest battels that euer the Grecians had ouer the Per∣sians, though the battell at Artemisium and Salamina, by Themistocles, and the battell at Marathon by Milciades, were farre greater battailes, with such slaughters as Xerxes lost three hundred thousand Persians, yet none was fought with such a resolute courage, as noble Leo∣nidas did to the last man at Thermopyla.

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Such was the courage of Leonidas, that when it was tolde him, that the Army of the Persians were innume∣rable, * 1.146 and so many that they couered the Sunne as it were with a cloude with the multitude of theyr Ar∣chers, we shall fight the better said Leonidas, in the sha∣dowe.

Xerxes Armie beeing ouerthrowne first by Leoni∣das at Thermopyla, and after by Themistocles at Arte∣mesium, after much slaughter of the Persians, Themi∣stocles souldiers thought to take away the bridge, to pre∣uent * 1.147 those Persian souldiers, that sought by flight to escape through the bridge.

But Themistocles forbad the contrary, saying, I had rather haue the Persians willing to depart out of Greece, then to force them desperately to fight in Greece against their wills: this time vsed Themistocles a subtill strata∣gem, he sent to Xerxes a secret messenger, and faigned himselfe to be Xerxes friend by the messenger, and tolde him what danger he was in, vnlesse he would make hast out of Greece.

Many vsed these kinde of stratagems, as Caesar did a∣gainst the Germains, and Agesilaus against the Thaebans, * 1.148 for it was one of Pirrhus precepts left to his souldiers in writing, not to resist the violence of the enemy, being desperately vrged to fight.

The like stratagem vsed Lu. Martius, Generall ouer the Romane army against the Affricans, hauing com∣passed round about the army of the Affricans, that ey∣ther they must fight valiantly, or die. Martius knowing well that all men will fight desperately in extremities, commanded his souldiers to giue them way inough for passage, and to hide themselues out of sight, and present∣ly to fall vpon them in their flight disordered, so that the

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poore Affricans being glad to flie, were miserably slaine of the Romans, without any slaughter of the Romans.

Clau. Nero after he ouerthrew the Affrican army, and their generall Asdrabal, comming to Italy to aide Hani∣ball his brother, but being preuented, his army was ouer∣throwne and slaine, and his head cut off and sent to his brother Haniball on a pole for a present, which so daun∣ted Hanibals courage and his army, that he had no lon∣ger * 1.149 list to stay in Italy, then Xerxes had to stay in Greece.

So Lu. Sylla sent the heads of Marius captaines which were slain in the field, vpon poles to discourage his ene∣mies, being besieged by Syllas captaines at Praeneste.

The very like did Arminius generall of the Germains, * 1.150 caused the heads of those souldiers that he slew in ye field, to be sent & cast in the trenches or rampiers of the ene∣mies, strange sights, and strange reports, doth much dis∣courage the enemies: for Q. Sertorius stabd a souldier, for that he said that Herculeus one of his great captaines was slaine in the field, least hee should discourage the souldi∣ers: these are kind of stratagems which great captaines vse, to terrifie the enemies, and to encourage their owne souldiers.

So Iugurth said that he killed Cai, Marius with his owne hand in the warres of Numidia. And Leuinus said, that he killed Pirrhus with his owne hand in the warres at Tarentum: but these were words to encourage their souldiers, but it fel out otherwise, that Iugurth was taken by Marius, and sent to Rome prisoner from Numidia, and Leuinus the Consul ouerthrowne by Pirrhus at the citie Heraclea, by the riuer Cyris.

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CHAP. VI.

Of military discipline and reward of souldiers among diuers nations.

IN all nations military discipline was so taught, and martiall lawes so obser∣ued, that if they deserued by theyr good seruice any preferment, though hee were but a meane souldier, hee should not loose the honour and dig∣nitie of his aduancement, to rise by degrees from the lowest souldier vnto the highest cap∣taine, and so in like sort by faults and offences commit∣ted, they should be disgraded and casseerd from their gouernment and regiment, and bee punished further by the lawes military for them therin appointed, which I will intreat of, when I come to speake of euery seuerall country, of their warres, battels, and victories, then you shall finde the seuerall military discipline agreeable to the skilfulnesse of the captaine, the greatnesse of the vic∣tory, and the nature of the place.

It should seem that all nations of the world had their first instruction from the Hebrewes, as well their mili∣tary * 1.151 discipline, as martiall lawes, for the Lord comman∣ded Moses first in the wildernes to muster the people frō twentie yeares vpwards, and likewise Moses commaun∣ded Ioshuah to muster the Hebrewes to fight against the Moabites, for that the Moabites denied them passage through their countrey into the land of Canaan.

Among the Persians imitating the Hebrewes, their youthes from twentie to fiftie should be brought vp in warres, and no longer by the Persian lawe might they

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continue in warres, but had their maintenance and pre∣ferment * 1.152 after to liue at rest, & to teach the yong youthes of Persia military discipline, hauing after their long ser∣uice golden girdles giuen them by the king, to shewe their good seruice to their countrey, and their credite with the king of Persia.

The like lawe among the Scythians was duly ob∣serued and carefully examined, that no souldier past fit∣tie sixe yeares old should be chosen a fit souldier for the warres, though both in Persia and in Scythia, two nati∣ons * 1.153 euer in warres one with the other, their captaines and officers were men of knowledge, counsell & autho∣ritie, to instruct the army by whom they should be go∣uerned.

So also the later Romanes being Polymarchies, and camp-maisters of the world, hauing brought all king∣domes & countries vnder their gouernment, were not ignorant of all forraine, externall martiall lawes, and military discipline, but followed the Persians and the Scythians in instructing of their soldiers, making choise of the fittest, and yongest men, from twentie to fiftie, to serue the common-wealth. Though Camillus in his * 1.154 warres against the Latines and the Volscians, and Alex∣ander the great in his warres against the Grecians and the Persians made choyce of skilfull and olde souldiers, which were brought vp in warres before with Philip of Macedon his father; to be in his Campe. So likewise did Caesar honour much his old souldiers.

In later time the kings of Syria vsed to send collers of gold, robes of purple, and to be called the kings friends, to the chiefe captaines of the Iewes, so the Iewes were wont to send to the Romanes, and to the Lacedemoni∣ans, targets & crownes of gold to be in league & fauour * 1.155

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with the Romains, so that all nations sought fauour and friendship at the Romanes. So the Carthagineans sent to the Romans gifts & rewards for captains & generals.

The Romane souldiers that were of courage, and knowne as Praetorian, legionarie or manupular souldi∣ers, were rewarded with such gifts and presents, as they were in all countries preferred and aduanced from one office to another, esteemed & extolled, with sūdry kinds of gifts & rewards, as crownes & garlands, some crowns * 1.156 made of Lawrell, some made of mirtle, some of Popley, some of Oliue, and some of Pine, some made of Oaken boughes, for those that had saued cities or citizens.

There were in the later time of the Emperours, new * 1.157 kinds of crownes inuented, by the Emperour Caligula, made, some like the Sunne, others like the starres, called Exploratoriae coronae, Tribunes and great Captaines had bracelets and golden ringes.

The Romains wanted no varietie of crownes & gar∣lands, beside mony, lands, and other gifts. Besides there were certain speciall crownes & garlands called Murales coronae, made like the walls of a citie, for those that scaled * 1.158 walles, as Cicinnanus; for others that besieged fortes, as Corilianus, crowns were made of green grasse, called Co∣ronae graminea: for those that saued cities, or by sea fight, crowns made like a ship, called Coronae nauales wer giuē, as to Lu. Varro, by Pompey the great, in his warres against the Pyrates. Such crownes & rewards were chiefly by the generall appointed by the law of armes, to be giuen * 1.159 to such souldiers that had either scaled walles, besieged forts, saued cities, or by sea fight. For euen as the Con∣suls & Generals might claime a tryumph by their victo∣ries, so might the Collonels, Captains, and gallant soul∣diers, claime their garlāds, & military rewards for them for their seruice apointed. It was lawful for any Roman

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knight to come with his horse in his hād before the Cē∣sors * 1.160 of Rome, declaring euery captaine vnder whō he ser∣ued, what countries he had bin in, and hauing declared an account of his victtories and seruice, requesting to be dispenst with for going any lōger to the wars, according to the custome of the knights of Rome, he might with li∣cence of the Censors take his ease according to the law.

So Lucullus gaue ouer after he had gotten many vic∣tories & triumphs, and much enriched Rome & himself, tooke his rest & quietnesse according to the lawe of the Romans, though after he was in scoffe called by Pompey the great, the Romain Xerxes, for his great fare, and idle * 1.161 life in Rome, yet he escaped thereby the tragicall ende of Pompey, whom Lucullus called the great Agamemnon, to requite the name of Xerxes by Pompey giuē vnto him, he also escaped the tragical end of Caesar, who wold not take his rest before he became Perpetuus Dictator, to be slaine in the Senate. So also of Crassus, who could not stay in Rome being the wealthiest man in Rome, and thought no man wealthy, but hee that could keepe an army of his owne charge, but would goe seek for more wealth into Asia, to be slain in Parthia, & to haue gold melted in his mouth, being dead among the Parthians in reproach of his auarice, as Cyrus had his head bathed in blood in Sci∣thia, in reproach of his tiranny.

Had Scipio when he had ioyned Numantia vnto Car∣thage, and vanquished Hanibal, followed Lucullus in ta∣king his ease, after his great victories. Had Cicero him∣selfe * 1.162 after he had quenched Catelines cōspiracy, quieted himselfe, no doubt his head had not bin brought by Po∣pilius to Mar. Antonius. Had M. Crassus bene not moued with the sight of Lucullus triumph, staied in Rome, & takē his rest as Lucullus did, his head had not bin sent to Hero∣des by Surena. But I wil return to military rewards of the Persians, among whom diuers military gifts were ap∣pointed for souldiers.

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The king gaue them a golden girdle, and rings of gold that had either by pollicie or manhood gained fame by seruice, whereby they were knowne to be in the kings fauour, and therfore to be accepted and reputed among the Persians as gallant souldiers, in any prouince of the Persians.

Among the Romanes and the old Gaules, as among * 1.163 the Persians, the greatest honour that they could giue their souldier, was to giue them girdles, and the greatest infamy and dishonour that might be, was to loose their girdles from them, which was as great a dishonour, as to take their speares out of their hands, or their horse from vnder them.

The Kings of Persia herein followed the Hebrewes, for in the time of Absolon in his warres against his father in the wood of Ephraim, where he hanged by the haire * 1.164 of his head between two oakes, at what time Ioab would haue giuen the messenger that brought these tidings, * 1.165 tenne sickles of siluer and a souldiers girdle, if hee had killed Absolon; and therefore girdles were giuen to soul∣diers among the Hebrews, in the time of the kings of Is∣rael, before the kings of Persia.

Among the Hebrewes before the time of the kings, after they came to the land of Canaan from Egipt, the souldiers had lands, townes, cities, countreys, and what spoile soeuer they gained by the sword, for all that they wonne in the land of Canaan, and other countreys, was equally diuided between the Hebrew soudiers and the twelue tribes.

The Kings of Asia so esteemed the olde and chiefe souldiers of Alexander the great, called Argyraspides, that * 1.166 they sate in counsell with the kings of Asia, as Iudges o∣uer other souldiers, to direct and instruct them in mili∣tary

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discipline, and after if occasion required, to correct them for military faults, and martiall offences, hauing their allowance out of the kings treasury: for these cap∣taines after the death of Alexander the great, contemned to serue vnder Antigonus, Seleucus, Demetrius, or Lysima∣chus, which during the time of Alexander, were named but Argyraspides themselues.

In Egipt the chiefe and auntient souldiers called Ca∣lasiries, had after good seruice done, besides their marti∣all * 1.167 allowance, a certaine proportion of bread and flesh, and a measure of wine, by the king appointed in seuerall cities and garrisons of warre in Egipt, to instruct the E∣giptian youthes in martiall affaires.

Euen so the Aethiopian kings, imitating the manner * 1.168 of the Egiptians, obserued the like law, their old & chief souldiers being bruised and broken in the warres, called Hermothibij, with a certaine proportion of allowance of bread and flesh.

The Grecians very carefull to maintaine their good * 1.169 souldiers, they met together at the temple of Neptune in Isthmos, and there the Iudges of Greece, called Amphicti∣ons did consult, & with iudgement discerne, & through∣ly examine the deserts and seruice of euery well deser∣ued souldier, with such rewards & gifts as were appoin∣ted for them accordingly by martiall law. The Amphi∣ctions as you heard, were wont twise a yeare, in March and September to meete, the one in Isthmos, the other in Trozaena, wherein the one seuen cities appeared, and in the other twelue, to consult of martiall causes.

So that it was not lawfull among the barbarous Scy∣thians, that any souldier should claime or challenge any * 1.170 martiall reward by the law of Scythia, vnlesse hee had brought an enemies head slaine by himselfe in the field,

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vpon his speare vnto the campe, and presented it before his captaine, he might not be partaker of any bootie or pray among other souldiers, without some exploit done worthy of it.

CHAP. VII.

Of prouisions and maintenance of souldiers. Of the honourable burials of them that were slaine in the field, and of diuers Monuments.

AMong all Nations of the world, the greatest care they had was to prouide meanes to maintaine souldiers, that Solon made a lawe in Athens, that the * 1.171 rewards due vnto those valiant soul∣diers that died in the warres, should bee distributed vnto their children, be∣ing aliue, and those gallant Captaines that died in the field, should be honourably buried, with pillars and ar∣ches set vpon their graues, and their names written vpō them in Ceramicus and such other places.

This law of Solon was reuiued two hundred and three score yeares after by Alexander the great, who so * 1.172 much honoured and aduanced the worthinesse of mar∣tiall men, that he caused to be buried in the field Adra∣steis, one hundred and twentie knights, that died valiant∣ly in the field, and caused strong arches, and pillars of marble to be made ouer their graues, with their statues and Images, and their names written vpon them, with their due commendation as an honourable monument of their perpetuall fame.

Licurgus lawe was, that no dead man should put his

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name in brasse, in Iuorie, or otherwise vpon his Tombe, * 1.173 vnlesse hee had bene slaine in the field like a valiant soul∣dier, fighting for his countrey.

These Funerall monuments were vsed long time before the Greekes among the Hebrewes, who vsed to set vp pillars and monuments on the graues of the dead, the auntient Fathers did it to testifie the hope they had of the resurrection, not as the Gentiles did it, for pompe and pride of their triumphes and victories, but as monu∣ments and vertuous visions.

Iacob after his vision had in his dreame, tooke the * 1.174 stone that he had laid vnder his head, set it vp, and made a pillar of stones in that place, and after hee had an∣nointed the same with oyle, which was the first an∣nointing * 1.175 wee read of in scripture, hee named it Be∣thel, which was Luz before, which name continued * 1.176 vntill Ieroboams time, 784. yeares, at what time Iero∣boam erected a golden calfe to be worshipped, and ther∣fore was named Bethauen, as mount Olyuet, for that it * 1.177 was full of Images, Idolls, and Aultars in the time of the Kings of Iudah, was named the mount of cor∣ruption.

After this, Iacob when his wife Rachel dyed at the birth of her sonne whom she named Benoni, which Ia∣cob * 1.178 after his wiues death called Beniamin, on whose graue hee pitched vp a pillar of stones, as Ioshua had the picture of the Sunne on his graue.

So Samuel tooke a stone and pitched it betweene Mazphah and Sene, and called the name thereof the stone of help, as a marke and a trophey of victory which * 1.179 the Israelites had ouer the Philistines. Yet Absolon fol∣lowing the Gentiles, of very pompe and pride reared vp a pillar, saying: I haue no male childe, and there∣fore * 1.180

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I will pitch vp a pillar as a monument to haue my name in remembrance, and he called it after his owne name Absolons pillar, to haue his name great.

There was euer care in former age of holy mens buri∣als, long before Ceramicus in Athens, or the field of Mars * 1.181 in Rome, these places were appointed, where Greek and Romane captaines were buried with their pompe and * 1.182 pride together.

Abraham the Patriarke had care for the buriall of the faithfull, and bought a field therefore in Hebron for the * 1.183 burial of him, his wife Sarah, his children, and poste∣ritie.

So Iacob did commaund his sonne Ioseph to bring his body from Egipt to Hebron. The like charge gaue Ioseph to his children when he died.

We read of certain kings of the Gentiles, who had such care of their buriall, as Menedes king of Egipt, imitating Abraham, appointed a place of burial for himselfe & the kings of Egipt that lineally succeeded him, of his name and stocke, which continued the raigne of 17. kings suc∣cessiuely after king Menedes.

In like manner Perdica king of Macedonia, shewed to his sonne Argaeus a place, where he himselfe and his po∣steritie * 1.184 after him should be buried, for he was instructed by an Oracle, that as long as they buried the kings of Macedonia in that place, the kings should continue in one stocke and family, which continued three hundred and three score yeares, vntill the time of Alexander the great, who died in Babilon out of Macedonia, and was bu∣ried in Alexandria in Egipt.

This much I wrote to proue the Hebrewes to be fa∣thers of all antiquities; and now to Athens, and to theyr souldiers, where with such care they were looked vnto

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after any victory that their haires should be curled, and * 1.185 trimmed vp with siluer fillets, others were crowned with a knot like the rowle that women weare on theyr heads, others were decked with garlands of mirtle. In this the Athenians seemed equall to the Romanes, that they brought all the Images and statues of their gods, and all the whole state of Athens with such solemnitie & pomp, came crowned with Oliues, Mirtle, and Iuye, to meet the cōqueror at their gates with the song of Paeana, at what time the Orators & Poets contended vpon thea∣ters to excell one an other in the praise of the conqueror and his captains, as they did of Demetrius, and others.

For amōg the Grecians diuers places of exercise were appointed for Orators & Poets, as at Thesius graue, & at Helicon, where some in Comedies & some in Tragedies, contended for victories, where Sophocles was iudged to bee victor in his Tragedies ouer Aeschylus, for the which he was rewarded with a Bucke Goate.

Againe in the second games and playes the Poets met in the Citie of Elis, where Menander was ouerthrowne by Philomene in the contention of Comedies, for the which Philomene had in reward a Bull.

So Theopompus, Isocrates scholler, had the garland gi∣uen him by consent of all the Iudges.

Hesiodus in verses cōtended with Homer, & had at that time onely the garland giuen him, for the victory therof Hesiodus wrote an Epigram vpon a pillar, in memorie of his victorie ouer Homer in Helicon.

Among all these Poets & Orators, there was one wo∣man * 1.186 called Corinna, so excellent in verse, that shee was named Musca Lirica, and contended with Pindarus the Poet in Thaebes in verses, & had 5. seueral victories, for the which victories she was 5. times crowned with garlāds.

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And because Corinna shall not be alone without fel∣lows, Arete, Aristippus the Philosophers daughter, shalbe the second, who after her fathers death ruled and gouer∣ned * 1.187 Aristippus schollers, & read philosophie in Athens.

So Leonitum as a third fellow, though light, yet so lear∣ned, that she durst write & that in Atticall phrase against that great Philosopher Theophrastus.

Agamemnon Generall of all Greece in the warres of Troy, so rewarded Aiax for a combat that he fought with Hector hand to hand, with the sacrificing of an oxe with gilt hornes; and rewarded Achilles for that he killed Hec∣tor * 1.188 in the field, with tenne talents of gold, twelue horses, and seuen faire women of Lesbia, that was the olde cu∣stome * 1.189 and manner of auntient time in that countrey to reward such champions.

So Themistocles was crowned with a crowne of the sa∣cred Oliue tree, and gratified with a rich triumphant * 1.190 chariot by the Lacedemoniās, for the deliuery of Greece at the battell of Marathon, from the inuasion of the Per∣sians.

Horatius Cocles had a statue of marble to him erected in the pallace of common meetings, for that hee resisted the army of the Hetruscans, being but himselfe, standing on a bridge of wood ouer Tiber.

The reward of souldiers among the Scythians was, to drinke out of the Kings cup, as oft as they had brought * 1.191 an enemies head to the campe, and might by the law of Scythia make claime to drinke of the kings cup, as oft as any souldier slew an enemy in the field, and brought his head to his captaines tent.

It was the maner and custome among the Scythians, that the kings cup should be carried vp & downe in the field to honor those noble captaines that had wel deser∣ued by seruice to drink out of it.

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So among the Indians the souldier that had brought the head of an enemy to his captain, should haue for his reward, a black horse, & a blacke bull, which colour was farre more esteemed in India then any colour else.

CHAP. VIII.

Of triumphes, tropheys, and victories, and of military lawes, and aduancing of souldiers.

NO victorie was gotten in Rome, without feasts, sacrifices, and triumphes made, to annimate the generalls, captaines, and souldiers, valiantly to stand in the face of their enemies. For Pompey the * 1.192 great in his three triumphes ouer Af∣frica, Asia, and Europe, carried captiue three hundred, thirtie, and nine kings, kings children, princes, peeres, and noble men, brought as prisoners and pledges with him to Rome. In this Pompey was compared by Plutarch to Alexander the great, for his triumphes ouer three quarters and parts of the world.

Others brought in their triumphs withall pomp and solemnitie, crowned with Lawrell and with Oliue gar∣lands, the formes, likenesses, and pictures of mountains, hills, woods, cities, townes, and riuers, scituated in those regions whom they conquered.

Lu. Cornel. Scypio, after he had put Antiochus the great * 1.193 to flight, he carried into Rome in his triumphe, the like∣nesse & form of an hundred and thirtie cities & townes which he conquered in Asia, and therefore was surna∣med Asiaticus.

Luc. Sylla in like manner carried in his triumphe * 1.194 all the Citties of Greece, which were set out very liuely

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in large ensignes, and painted brauely in banners and flags.

So did Marcellus carrie the citie of Syracusa in his tri∣umph set out on long tables.

So did Caesar carrie the likenesse and forme of the ri∣uer Nilus, and the riuer of Rien in long tables painted, * 1.195 with the picture of Scypio and Cato.

Pau. Aemilius triumphed ouer Persius king of Mace∣donia, and his children, whom hee conquered, and brought them captiues and prisoners into Rome. In this triumph Aemilius brought all the olde auntient mo∣numents * 1.196 of the Kings of Macedonia, and the greatnesse of Alexanders Empire, which was brought by Alexan∣der from Persia to Macedonia, was troden vnder foote in one or two victories, and the Empire carried by Aemili∣lius, from Macedonia to Rome.

In this triumph of Pau. Aemilius, the rich armours of all the Macedonian and Illyrian kings, then al the plate, cubbords, and Iewels of the auntient kings of Macedo∣nia, were carried in charriots, after followed foure hun∣dred princely crownes of golde, which the cities of Greece sent to honour Aemilius victorie, and to beautifie his triumph, in the which triumph such wealth and treasure was brought to Rome by Pau. Aemilius, as farre exceeded the triumph of Scypio Asiaticus, who carried in his triumphes the pictures of Townes and Citties of Asia painted in tables, or the triumphes of Caesar, who brought but the likenesse of hilles, mountains, and ri∣uers: or of Pompey the great, who brought in his seuerall triumphes 339. kings, kings children, princes, peeres & noblemen, yet none of these were equall to Pau. Aemi∣lius, in respect of the wealth he brought in one triumph to Rome, who brought all the treasure & wealth of two

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kingdomes, Macedonia and Illyria, not in shewe, but in substance.

Others brought in their tryumphes, the Images and statues of the kings which were slaine, or otherwise di∣ed before they could bee taken captiues, as Lucullus brought the statue or picture of Mithridates, set out and painted very liuely in ensignes.

Scipio carried in his tryumphe at Carthage, the Image * 1.197 of Asdrubal, Hannibals brother.

So Augustus Caesar brought the Image of Cleopatra to Rome in his tryumphe, after shee slue her selfe to beare * 1.198 company with her friend Mar. Antonius.

Others brought in their tryumphes kings aliue, as * 1.199 Iul. Caesar brought king Iuba and his sonne with all their treasures of Mauritania, in great tryumphe and pompe into Rome.

Marius brought in his tryumphe Iugurth, with all * 1.200 spoyles and wealth of Numidia, with all the solemnitie that could be.

Yet in the infancie of Rome, before Rome grew to any greatnesse, the first kings tryumphed on foote into the citie, as Romulus, who though he tryumphed ouer king Acron whom hee slue in a combat challenged, yet he being a king carried vpō his shoulders the rich spoyls * 1.201 of the same king, being set in order vpon a young green bough of an oake, as trophies of tryumphes, without either horse, coach, Elephant, or braue shewes, and yet his tryumphe was for two kingdomes.

So did Corneli. Cossus, who slue fighting in the field hand to hand, Tolumnus Generall of the Thuscans.

And so did Marcellus, who likewise slue with his owne hand Britomarus, king of the old Gaules, before they were called Frenchmen, this honour happened to

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none of the Romaines besides, but to these three, for Rome yet was scant heard of out of Italy.

Vechoris king of Egipt, by Herodot called Sesostris, for examples sake of courage & fortitude of souldiers, and to kindle their mindes to attempt great exploits in wars, hee vsed when hee had ouerthrowne a valiant Armie, and manly souldiers, he would set vp a marble pillar, * 1.202 and vppon it the picture of a man in brasse, with a na∣ked swoord in his hande, as a trophey in tryumph of his victorie ouer hardie men: and if hee had vanqui∣shed but a cowardly company and timerous souldiers, hee would cause to bee put vp the picture of a naked woman with a Glasse in her hand and a combe, to dis∣grace the souldiers which hee had conquered, signi∣fying they were timerous, cowardly and womanish souldiers.

For honour and rewarde of military discipline of all kingdomes and countreys, were inuented by wit, and by lawe confirmed, to set vp monuments of fame to great conquerers and noble Captaines, to stirre vp young men to embrace Armes, and to exercise marti∣all feates.

As Pericles in Athens had nine seuerall trophies for * 1.203 nine seuerall victories, and vpon euery one his name written.

So Sylla for his victorie against Archelaus had a tro∣phey * 1.204 set vp, and his name written with these words, Victoria & Sylla.

Domitius Aenobarbus, and Fabius Maximus, for their victories against the Allobroges, were the first among * 1.205 the Romanes that builded vp high towers of stone and pillars of wood, and hangd the enemies armors & wea∣pons theron, as trophies & monumēts of their victories.

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Sicinius Dentatus, to signifie his singular commen∣dations, * 1.206 had for his noble exploites in diuers warres, eight golden crownes, foure ciuill crownes, three sca∣ling crownes called Murales coronae, foure score & three chaines, eighteen pure speares, and had a hundred three score bracelets giuē him in rewards & gifts, for his braue seruice in seuerall battels.

The like praise had Manlius Capitolinus, who besides foure ciuil crownes, had twentie sixe military rewards: and before he was seuenteen years old, wanne two rich spoyles of the enemy. So forward to winne fame and become famous were the old Romanes.

The old Romanes vsed to honour them that saued a citizens life with a garland of oaken boughes, for so was Corilianus by the Dictator Titus Largius, at the last * 1.207 battell of Torquine the proud, crowned with a garland of oaken boughes.

Besides these crownes, garlands, chaines, bracelets, rings, and armour, giuen by the Generall, they had cer∣taine military garments, and certaine acres of ground, * 1.208 diuided betweene worthy and well deserued souldiers by the lawe Agraria, appointed to encourage the soul∣diers to hardinesse.

Alexander the great so esteemed the Tribune of the souldiers, that he would admit none in the place vnder three score yeares old, vnlesse he had bene of great skill, long experience, and a man of good and long seruice, * 1.209 to whome Alexander the great admitted to weare gol∣den rings, as a reward of a military honour, neither was it lawfull to any Romaine citizen, vnlesse hee were a Senator, or of the order of knighthood, to weare gol∣den ringes in auncient time.

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This officer called Tribunus militum with the Ro∣manes, was named with the Lacedemonians Harmostes, an officer of the care and charge of seruice, as the Tri∣bune * 1.210 or the Collonell of souldiers, and might not con∣tinue in that office past sixe moneths, as long as the Dic∣tator of Rome was to enioy his office.

And when the Emperor, Prince or Generall, would allow and commend the office & place of the Tribune to a graue skilful Captaine, he would put a naked sword * 1.211 in his hand, signifying his authoritie ouer the souldiers, repeating the wordes of the lawe of armes before the whole armie, set downe in these words; Milites quibus iussierunt, Parento, eorumque Tribuni sunto.

The same forme vsed Traiane the Emperour in his time, when he appointed Zura a Tribune ouer the Prae∣torian souldiers, giuing a sword in his hand saying; Accipe gladium, quem prome &c. If I vse this gouern∣ment * 1.212 well, vse it for mee, If I do euil, vse it to destroy mee.

None might be with the Romanes admitted to be Tribunes of the souldiers, vnlesse he had bene before a leader of the band called Cohortes, neither might any man be taken Harmostes among the Lacedemonians, vnlesse he had bene a Captaine, or a leader of the band called Agema. * 1.213

In all countries the honor of armes was aduanced, and the skilfull souldiers so esteemed, that one nation practised how to excell another in feats of armes.

As among the nations called Auctyles, people of Ly∣bia, * 1.214 who practised to fight in the darke with their ene∣mies, to excell others, they became so prompt & readie, that they made no difference betweene night and day, either to fight on horse or on foote.

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The people called Arij dwelling in Russia, delighted * 1.215 so much to fight in the darke with blacke shields, and blacke apparell, for that one should not see the other.

So we reade of the Lacedemonians, because they would excell others, they would in the darke night goe to the field, and learne to fight in the darke one with the other, to excell others in martiall knowledge.

Iugurth when hee would enter battell with the Ro∣manes, hee would make choyce of his time in the eue∣ning, * 1.216 that if his souldiers should be ouerthrowne, they might better escape, and hide themselues in the night time, then in the day time.

So Mithridates kings of Pontus, fled from Pompey the great in the night time to saue himselfe, but 40000. of his souldiers were slaine.

The souldiers notwithstanding of Athens, might not by the law of Solon go out of their chamber in the night * 1.217 time without light, such differing of military discipline was betweene Athens and Sparta, for the busie-headed Orators at Athens, often troubled and mooued the best captaines to seditions, and therfore Solons lawe was ob∣serued, so that no captain might goe abroad in the night without light.

In like sort the Parthians (as the Athenians) were by * 1.218 lawe commaunded not to fight in the darke.

The Persian king had besides the souldiers called Homotimi, others which were tenne thousand chosen souldiers, of the best and chiefest men in all Persia, na∣med Turmae immortales, the immortall band, a thousand of these were elected to be the kings chiefe guard, cal∣led * 1.219 Mellephori, these had chaines, bracelets, ringes, and girdles of gold, and onely commaunded to attend vp∣on the kings person, and were such souldiers in Persia,

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as the guard of Romulus called Celeres, were with the Ro∣manes.

With the Lacedemonians their chiefe and stron∣gest souldiers called Neodomadae, which Sparta euer kept * 1.220 in store, as their onely staie in any great battell, against the Persians, these plagued the Persians, and therefore called of the Persians Gardates.

The Turke hath in his principall band called Iani∣zari, one thousande, two hundred chosen men of the * 1.221 greatest skill, and longest experience in warre, which is among the Turkes, called Robur & Medu•…•…la Turcici ex∣cercitus, instituted by Amurates, the second of that name, and resembling much the Macedonian Armie called Phalanges, for the Turke imitateth the Macedonians, as the patterne of their military discipline in all martiall ex∣ployts.

For as that litle kingdome was much renowned by the fame & fortune of Alexāder the great, who brought the Empire from Persia to Macedonia, so was that king∣dome and other kingdomes, by ciuill warres betweene his captaines destroyed within fewe yeares after Alex∣ander.

Now it followeth after we haue spoken of the ho∣nour and tryumphes of nobles, captaines, and skilfull souldiers, and after the gifts and rewards of good soul∣diers, to speake of the punishments due to such idle in∣solent souldiers, that were seditious & rebellious with∣in their campe.

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CHAP. IX.

Of seuerall military punishments by martiall lawes, both of the Iewes and of the Gentiles, in diuers kingdomes and countries.

DIuers punishments by diuers great no∣table captains were inflicted vpon re∣bellious, seditious and cowardly soul∣diers, As first of the punishment of the Hebrewes, as Chore, Dathan, and Abi∣ron, * 1.222 were so punished for their disobe∣dience, that the earth swallowed them vp aliue, and many of their complices, to the number of two hundred and fiftie.

Achan for stealing of the Babilonian garment at the * 1.223 citie of Ai, hee, his wife; his children, and all his fami∣ly, was burnt to death at the commaundement of Io∣shua, so seuere the lawe of the Lord was against disobe∣dient souldiers in diuers places of the wildernesse, as at Massa, Riphidim, and Meribah, that it spared not Moses Generall of the armie, and the seruant of the Lord, it farre excelled the punishment of the Gentiles, besides in the wildernesse they were stung and bitten with ser∣pents, and venemous beastes, as also they were left a∣mong the Canaanites, Amalekites, and others, that should be as prickes in their sides, and needles in theyr eyes, to punish them.

So the souldiers that obeyed Moses, Ioshua, and o∣thers, were rewarded with all good blessings, with Man∣na and Quailes from heauen, and drunke of euerie rocke.

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Besides, Moses was commaunded to lift vp a brazen Serpent in the wildernesse, that those that were stung, bitten, and daungerously hurt by Serpents, by looking on the brazen serpent should be healed. Thus were the Hebrewes fortie yeares in the wildernesse, where their * 1.224 shooes were not worne, theyr apparell, nor theyr gar∣ments chaunged, and thus were the souldiers of Moses both punished for theyr faultes, and rewarded for their seruice. Now to the punishment militarie of the Gen∣tiles.

The Romanes which excelled all Nations for their liberalitie in rewarding good souldiers, and for theyr seueritie in punishing euill souldiers, had such cruell se∣uerall lawes to inflict punishment, as farre exceeded all people.

As Fabius Maximus, was so seuere for his military punishment, that he would cut off the right hand of any mutinous or seditious souldier within the campe.

Aufidius Cassius, being Consull and Generall in the field, would cut off both the hands & the feete of those souldiers that so offended, saying, that they should haue no hands to fight with the enemies, nor feete to goe to the enemies.

Euen so Scipio Affrican commaunded those souldi∣ers that were seditious, to be deuoured of beastes, and * 1.225 Paul. Aemilius commaunded them to feed Elephants.

So Iul. Caesar thought no punishment sufficient for those that were seditious among their fellowes in the campe, and fled from the campe to the enemies. The Romanes woulde not suffer the least offence in a soul∣dier vnpunished. It was Caesars rule and order that his souldiers should come as braue to the field as himselfe, that no man knew the difference betwixt Caesar and his

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souldiers. It was not so with Agesilaus, as great a captaine * 1.226 accepted among the Grecians, as Caesar was among the Romanes, and as much feared of the Persians and of all Asia, as Caesar was feared among the Gaules and all Eu∣rope.

Agesilaus went as simple among his souldiers, as the basest souldier he had. Many great captaines imitated Agesilaus in all his discipline military, who onely among the Greekes for his victories and greatnesse of minde, was called great Agesilaus, whose stratagems were nota∣ble; for that noble captaine and great souldier Agesilaus hauing warres with Tysaphernes, the king of Persia his * 1.227 generall, faigned himselfe to remoue his campe, and to go to Caria, by which stratagem he entised Tysapher∣nes to follow after him, Agesilaus in the meane season en∣tred into Lydia, sackt cities, slew many, and caried much of the Kings treasure, and of the wealth of Lydia, into * 1.228 Greece. Many the like stratagems vsed Agesilaus against the Persians.

Antigonus king of Macedonia, compelling the Aeto∣lians into a narrow straight siege, readie to famish, and beeing aduised that the Aetolians would come out des∣perately * 1.229 to fight, and valiantly to die, before they would either yeeld or be famished, commanded certaine of his captaines to draw backe, and to hide themselues, to giue them an open passage to flie, and in their flight to set vp∣on them.

Epaminondas with his Thaeban Army, being ready to strike a battell with the Lacedemonians, vsed this stra∣tagem, to make his souldiers beleeue, that the Lacede∣monians, * 1.230 if they should haue victorie, had decreed to kill, and to make an end of all the Thaebans, and to bring their wiues and children into seruitude and bondage to

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Sparta, to make his Thaeban souldiers to fight more va∣liantly for their countrey, for their wiues, and for theyr children.

So Christ Iesus doth instruct vs to fight the battels of our saluation against Satan, with all our hearts & minds, least he should bring vs in perpetuall seruitude, not to Sparta, but vnto Gehenna.

Marcellus vsed those souldiers that began to flye from the battell, and for feare forsooke their standart. Mar∣cellus brought those at the next time, and placed them * 1.231 in the forefront of the battell, either there to die like men in the battell, or else to recouer the shame and ig∣nomie that they had sustained in the last battell be∣fore.

Appuis Clau. appointed those fugitiue souldiers that would first flye, and turne their backs to the enemy, to be brought bound before the whole army, and to num∣ber * 1.232 them, and after to take euery tenth souldier by Deci∣mation, & to kill them with clubs in the open sight of the army. Many Romane generals vsed this punishment ac∣cording to the auntient law of Decimation.

Alexander the great caused two captaines that kept a castle, committed to their charge by Alexander, for that they fought not in their place, the one was slaine with the other being bound to a poste, and shot to death by * 1.233 captaines with arrowes. Yet Alexander was of that gen∣tle and milde nature, that when he sawe one of the soul∣diers shaking, and readie to dye for colde in the win∣ter time, and colde weather, Alexander sitting in his chaire at the fire, made him sit in his seat and warm him well, saying: If thou were borne in Persia, and hadst sate in king Cyrus chaire, thou shouldest die for it, but not so in Macedonia, to sit in Alexanders chaire.

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The like humanitie was in Xenophon, being on horse∣backe, who commaunded certaine of his souldiers, to take a hill hard by, one of the company murmured, * 1.234 and said, it is easie to command on horsebacke, Xeno∣phon presently lighted, and made that base murmuring souldier to ride in his place, and hee marched on foote vp the hill before his souldiers, vntill the Ar∣mie was ashamed, and forced him to take his horse againe from the souldier, whom the souldiers reuiled and railed on, beating and buffeting him.

Bochoris decreed a military lawe against offensiue * 1.235 souldiers in Egipt, that would not obey theyr Cap∣tain or forsake their standart, or any way were seditious, they should bee remoued from the place where they serued, and become againe as base souldiers as they be∣ganne. * 1.236

Also if there were any souldier that would betray any secrets of the Campe to the enemies, hee should haue his tongue cut out of his head by the lawe of Bo∣choris.

Iuba King of Mauritania, for the like offence, for that certaine souldiers of his Army fied from their company to their tents, caused them to be hanged vp on a gybbet, in the midst of the campe.

The Persians thought it no greater infamy to theyr souldiers, then to breake the lawe of their countrey, the * 1.237 penaltie whereof was, that the idle, sloathfull, and co∣wardly souldiers, should beare on their backs a knowna strumpet, or a cōmon woman, through the whole camp in the sight of all the Army, open faced and barehea∣ded, because hee might bee knowne for euer after to be a defamed ignominious souldier, and therfore Scypio in his warres against the Affricans, and Artaxerxes in

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his warres in Persia, forbad by the lawes made, that no woman should follow the campe, least souldiers should * 1.238 be among women out of the way, when they should be in the way to fight in the field amongst men. Yet Alex∣ander the great, and Alexander Seuerus the Romane Emperour, allowed women to follow the campe.

Among the Lacedemonians, the onely skilfull soul∣diers of Greece, the Iudges called Ephori, made a lawe in * 1.239 Sparta, as the Ariopagites made in Athens, or as the offi∣cers Censores did in Rome, against vagabounds, runna∣gates, and idle souldiers. * 1.240

Among the Macedonians it was not lawfull for any man that was not Miles adscriptus, and had not taken a military oath to be a souldier in any warre that the Ma∣cedonians tooke in hand: neither might a souldier vn∣sworne bee admitted to fight or draw his sword against the enemie, so carefull then was olde age to keepe the order of military discipline, and martiall lawes.

The lawe among the Syracusans was, that the Ge∣nerall of the horsemen did write the names of those souldiers in tables that disordered themselues, or trou∣bled * 1.241 others of the Army, that they might be punished after the battell, with such punishments as was appoin∣ted for them by the lawes of Syracusa.

The people called Daci, had a lawe writren in theyr country, that when their souldiers had not fought stout∣ly * 1.242 or manfully, they should lie with their heads down∣ward, towards the beds feete, without pillow or boul∣ster, and be at their wiues commaundement, and theyr heads to lye at their feete, if they should breake this lawe, their wiues might haue an action against them in lawe.

Aurelianus the Emperour so seuerely charged the

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Tribunes & Colonels, that in any case they wold punish those souldiers, that would either steale a lamb, or pullet, eyther grapes frō the vine, or plucke eares frō the corne.

Obserue among all nations, the punishments and seuerities of offences, and that by the rudest nation of the world. As among the barbarous Scythians, Tamber∣lanes seueritie was such, that a poore woman complai∣ned of one of his souldiers, that hee tooke a peece of cheese and a little milke, and after refused to pay, Tam∣berlane * 1.243 caused the army to stay at the complaint of the woman, and to march before the womans face, vntill she found that souldier, hee caused his body to bee ript, and opened in the sight of all the Army, and when hee saw milk and cheese in his mawe, he said to the woman, behold, I haue made this souldier to pay well for thy cheese and milke, & so wil I make others that so offend.

An other example in Tamberlane, being presented by a poore husbandman with great treasure which he found in a vessel as he was digging in his owne ground, Tamberlane demaunded whether his fathers name and Image were vpon thē, causing the superscription of the money to be read; being answered that it was Caesars the Romain Emperors, he said, thē they be not Tamberlanes, and commanded that none of the souldiers should rob or spoile the poore man of the benefits of his good luck by his trauell.

This was that great Scythian Tamberlane, that had six hundred thousand footmen, & foure hundred thousand horse against Pazaites the Turke, and gaue him battell at mount Stella, a place more famous, for that there Pompey * 1.244 the great ouercame Mithridates king of Pontus: there Tamberlane ouerthrew the Turks, & tooke Pazaites their Emperor, kept him, & fed him in a cage vnder his table,

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whom hee carried afterwards in a cage euery where in his warres. The like infamy hapned to one of the Empe∣rors of Rome, by Sapor king of Persia, who kept him al the dayes of his life as a blocke to mount on horse. * 1.245

But Sesostris king of Egipt, did farre passe the Scythian * 1.246 and the Persian kings in his victories, for he caried those kings and princes whom hee subdued, bound round a∣bout his coach from countrey to countrey, from region to region, as in a great triumph, wherein Sesostris gloried much.

And yet all these three came short to Adonizebech, who kept seuentie kings vnder his table, whose toes and thumbes he cut off. Thus cruell tyrants haue the like punishment oftentimes, as others were by them puni∣shed.

CHAP. X.

Of certaine noble Romane Captaines, compared with Greeke Captaines. Of the force of eloquence, the commendations of diuers great Captaines, and their stratagems.

PLato saith, that from great minds, great vertues, or great vices do proceed, and so it seemed in many noble and heroi∣call men, as well of the Greekes, as of the Romanes, as Alcibiades might well bee compared to Lu. Sylla, and Deme∣trius with Mar. Antonius, al alike giuen to vertue and vice, friendes and foes to theyr Coun∣treys, and yet all foure valiaunt and wise, whose fortune seemed not much vnlike in all theyr victo∣ries.

Plutarch therefore very fitly compareth some Cap∣taines

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of the Greekes with the Romanes, as Lucullus compared with Cymon the Athenian, both of equall for∣tune * 1.247 in great victories, the one in Asia, the other Persia. Mar. Cato, surnamed the Demosthenes of Rome, compared with Aristides surnamed the Iust in Athens.

So Hanibal is well compared to Philip of Macedon, for false, subtil, deceitfull, & craftie stratagems, they weyed * 1.248 not how they conquered, so they might conquer, they were in no wise to be trusted vnto either, by their pro∣mise, or by their oathes: so farre differed Philip from his sonne Alexander, that what Alexander wonne, he wonne it onely by magnanimitie, and Philip by fraud.

Demetrius after many victories of Ptolomeu king of E∣gipt, and an other victory by sea in the Ile of Cyprus ouer the same king: the third victory against Cassander king of Macedonia at Thermopyle in Greece, this Demetrius grew so fortunate and great, that Seleucus, Ptolomeus, Lysimachus and Pirrhus, foure mightie kings, enuying Demetrius greatnesse, conspired against him, and ioyned their force together, for they all feared and doubted his courage, and enuied the greatnesse of his fortune.

Demetrius marching on with a great army to besiege Athens, Crates a Philosopher, carefull of his Countrey, and fearefull of Demetrius least hee should destroy A∣thens, the schoole of learning, and the eye of Greece, * 1.249 met Demetrius vpon the way with his Army, whom he so entreated with sweet perswasions, & eloquent words, that the fury of Demetrius was mitigated by Crates the * 1.250 Philosopher, that he raised his siege, and departed from Athens.

So Demades the Orator in like sort did perswade Alex∣ander the great, readie with his army to plague and to * 1.251 destroy all the cities of Greece.

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So did Arius the Philosopher perswade Augustus Ca∣sar to spare the citie of Alexandria. * 1.252

So had Cicero welnigh perswaded Caesar from the bat∣tel * 1.253 at Pharsalia, with such pithie force of eloquence, with such vehement words, that Caesars countenance chaun∣ged, and his body so shooke, that the booke which hee held fell out of his hand.

Cyrus spared Craesus for Solons sake; and Alexander spa∣red Thaebes for Pindarus sake; the force therefore of elo∣quence is such, that Philip king of Macedon euer doub∣ted the tongue of Demosthenes more then the strength of the Athenians. But againe to returne to Demetrius, whose greatnesse grew so great in Macedonia, in Asia, and in Greece, that in sumptuous building of ships, fra∣ming of all sorts of engines of batterie, this Demetrius excelled all Kings of his time: For Aeropus King of Macedonia, delighted onely to make fine tables and lampes: Arsaces King of Parthia, in making their ar∣rowes heads keene and sharpe: Attalus King of Asia, in planting of phisicall hearbes: but Demetrius might bee * 1.254 compared for his engines of batteries, and his princely practise, to Archimedes himselfe, being the onely Geo∣metrer of the world at that time, whose death Marcellus lamented more, then he reioyced for the winning of Sy∣racusa.

For when Archimides was slaine in his studie, and Syracusa taken by Marcellus souldiers, hee sought no longer time to liue, but till hee had ended certaine Geo∣metricall * 1.255 conclusions which he had inuented, for Mar∣cellus that noble Romane feared more the Geometricall engines of Archimedes, then all the force of Syracusa, and therfore Pythagoras whē he found any new skill in Geo∣metry, he straight offered sacrifice to the Muses.

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Demetrius grew so great in Greece, that at a generall assembly of the states in Greece, hee was chosen Lieute∣nant generall of all the Grecians, where none were but foure before him. Philip king of Macedon, and his sonne Alexander the great: before them, none but Agesilaus and Agamemnon, and yet died Demetrius a yeelded prisoner to Seleucus, whom Demetrius in his greatnesse was wont to call but keeper of the Elephants.

Demetrius laughed them to scorne which called any other prince king, but Antigonus his father, and himself. The orators in Athēs cōtended in orations who shuld exceed in preferring new titles of honors to Demetrius. In so much they decreed that the moneth Munichian * 1.256 which is Ianuary, should be called Demetrion, and their feast Dyonisia, should be called Demetria, and that De∣metrius and his father king Antigonus, should haue their pictures carried with the pictures of Iupiter and Minerua in the tryumphe of Peplon, in the holy banner of Athens. This was the marching of Demetrius greatnesse to die a prisoner.

CHAP. XI.

Of the war like marching of diuers noble Captaines, with their famous victories and stratagems. Of the crueltie of Mi∣thridates against the Romanes. Of Marius, and his re∣uenge ouer the Cymbrians.

TWo other great marchings of Epaminon∣das & Agesilaus, the emulation betweene these two Captaines, was the cause of the ouerthrow of Sparta, in the battell at Leu∣ctres, by Epaminondas: at which battell Cleombrotus the king, with all his captains and chiefest of the Lacedemonians was slaine, and that

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noble Greeke Cleomenes, was slaine at the kinges foote, with a thousand of the most valiāt Spartans about him, at that time there was a great feast at Sparta, when this newes came to the Ephories of the victorie of the Thae∣bans. This battel was thirtie yeares after the ouerthrow of Athens by Lysander the Lacedemonian, and now the ouerthrowe of Sparta by Epaminondas the Thae∣ban. * 1.257

These two cities were named the two eyes & the two legges of Greece: and yet Sparta could not abide Athens, nor Athens abide Sparta: there was neuer such a victory heard of in Greece, that the stout Lacedemonians, the most skilfull souldiers & warlikest people of all the Gre∣cians, should haue their king slaine in the field, and the chiefe captaines and citizens of Sparta.

In this battell Pelopidas being neither Generall nor gouernour, but Captaine of the holy band, deserued as much honour and glorie of this victorie as Epami∣nondas * 1.258 did, being then Generall of the whole armie, and gouernor of Baeotia, & this great ouerthrow of the La∣cedemonians, fel iustly through the malice & enuy that Agesilaus their king bare to the Thaebans, being there∣vnto mooued by the stout answere of that most noble Captaine Epaminondas, giuing no place to king Age∣silaus greatnesse, nor to his stout Lacedemonians.

Pelopidas the Thaeban, laying siege to two great ci∣ties of Greece at one time, wrought this stratageme, cau∣sed foure Captaines to come all crowned with garlands of mirtle on their heads, hauing brought some of their owne souldiers, as fained captiues to Pelopidas, and withall caused a whole wood, which was betweene the two cities to be burnt, as though it had bene that citie * 1.259 which they besieged, which so terrified the towne, that

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vpon the sight of that fire, they yeelded to Pelopi∣das.

Epaminondas being readie to enter battell with the Lacedemonians, his seate where he sate, after he rose * 1.260 vp, fell downe, which the souldiers tooke for no good signe, which he perceiued, and said; We are forbidden to sit going about to win victorie. We must watch and * 1.261 pray, we must not be idle, for Satan is most busie, when we thinke our selues most sure: We must say as Epami∣nondas saide to his souldiers, Vetamur sedere, so Christ speakes vnto vs, Videat qui stat nè cadat, You that stand, take heed lest you fall.

Another famous victorie at Mantinea the chiefe ci∣tie of Arcadia, the glorie thereof fell to the Thaebans, by the prowesse and courage of Epaminondas their Ge∣neral, and yet died he of a wound he had in that battell.

When Epaminondas died, died the honor and glory * 1.262 of the Thaebans, for before him no great fame was heard of Baeotia, and after him nothing esteemed, so litle he weighed glorie, as hee weighed wealth, and so little he esteemed wealth, that when Epaminondas died, hee wanted mony to burie him. In so much that Cicero said, * 1.263 that he wondred that so great a Philosopher and so sin∣gularly learned, should become so noble a captain that all Greece preferred him for both.

Many sought to imitate Epaminondas, for Philopo∣men * 1.264 followed Epaminondas steppes in all his actions, but chiefly in three things: hee followed his hardinesse to enterprise any thing: hee followed Epaminondas wise∣dome to execute all great matters; and followed his in∣tegritie from corruption, bribery, and taking of money, hereby came Philopomen to be the most renowned cap∣taine of all Greece in his time.

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Philopomen was eight times Generall of the Achai∣ans, being then seuentie yeares olde, for Philopomen de∣lighted from his youth in warre and martiall exercise, and loued alwaies souldiers and armes, for he was in his time one of the best, and one of the last Captaines of Greece, and therfore reputed a better Captaine for war, then a wise gouernour for peace. For at the battell by the riuer of Larissus, Philopomen being Generall of the Achalans against the Aetolians, where hee slue Demo∣phantus Generall of the Aetolians, in a combat fought betweene them both in the sight of the armie, and after ouerthrew the whole hoste.

Philopomen grew so great in Greece, that the name of Philopomen made the Baeotians to flie for feare from the siege of Maegara, and made the Spartans after he had ra∣sed the towne to forsake Licurgus lawe, and compelled the Lacedemonians to follow the Achaians maner and customes. The Grecians so loued and so esteemed this * 1.265 Philopomen, that Titus Flaminius, enuyed him for his fame and greatnesse in Greece, beeing then Consull of Rome, and had restored all Greece to her former liber∣tie.

Philopomen turned all curiositie and daintie fare, to * 1.266 braue and rich armour, to gallant and warlike horses. Philopomen was the last famous man of the Grecians, af∣ter whose death Greece decaied. Hee was wont in his youth to reade Homers Illiads, and especially Euangelus bookes of the discipline of warres, for by reading and talking he became an excellent souldier.

So Lucullus by talking with souldiers, by reading of bookes, and by exercising of military discipline, be∣came one of the noblest Captaines that the Romaines had: for at the battell at the riuer of Rindacus, hee gaue

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the ouerthrow to Mithridates souldiers, that fortie thou∣sand were slain in the field, fifteene thousand taken, and * 1.267 sixe thousand horse of seruice, besides an infinit number of beasts for carriage, the ouerthrow was such, that they which came frō the citie Appolonia, had as great a spoyle * 1.268 while both armies were a fighting, as Lucullus and his souldiers had after the victory was gotten.

Lucullus fought with Mithridates another battell at the riuer Granicus, where Alexander the great gaue the first battell to Darius king of Persia. Here also Lucullus in a very great battell fought with his Romane armie so * 1.269 fiercely and with such courage, that both the riuer of Granicus and the riuer of Asapus ranne all of blood: and the number that were slaine of Mithridates souldiers as mentions are made, were welnigh three hundred thou∣sand men of all sorts of people.

This Mithridates was the greatest enemy that the Romanes had after Hannibal, and yet Hannibal and all Affrica was subdued within seuenteene yeares by the Romanes, and that most noble captaine Pirrhus, who fought with the Tarentines, Samnites & others, against the Romanes, hee was driuen out of Italy within foure yeares, but Mithridates endured the fury of the Romans fortie yeares, vntill he was weakened by Sylla, wearied by Lucullus, and at last subdued by Pompey the great.

Mithridates king of Pontus, fearing much the power and pollicies of the Romanes, frequented hunting, that he vsed no house in towne or country for seuen yeares, that thereby he was able to endure any labour and to preuent any stratagem of his enemies.

So did Sertorius, with many other Romane & Greek * 1.270 captaines, that Xenophon maketh a catologue of theyr names that became noble souldiers by hunting.

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Hannibal laying siege to Tarentum, beeing agreed with one Eoneus a Tarentine for a certain sum of money to betray the citie Tarentū, Eoneus vsed this stratagem by the counsel of Hannibal, to go out a hunting in the night time, for feare of the enemies, and to bring to Liuius * 1.271 the gouernour of Tarentum, buckes, boares, and such other wilde beasts, as Hannibal himselfe deliuered vnto him, who taught him the stratageme. Hannibal seeing that Eoneus was nothing suspected, for that he vsed hun∣ting, caused Affrican souldiers of his to be cloathed like these hunters, and to enter with these hunters into Ta∣rentum, who assoone as they entered into the Towne, kilde the watch, and opened the gates to Hannibal to come in.

Lysimachus king of Macedonia vsed the like stratagem, * 1.272 laying siege to Ephesus the chiefe citie of the Ephesians, hauing corrupted one Mandro an arch pyrate for mo∣ney, who often vsed to come to Ephesus with a shippe loaden with praie to relieue the Ephesians, and by his often comming, being not suspected, brought cer∣taine Macedonian souldiers fast bound to his shippe, as Captiues taken to please the Ephesians, which af∣terward betrayed and deliuered the towne to Lysima∣chus.

So did Marcellus take the citie Syracusa, by sollici∣ting * 1.273 of one Sosistratus a Syracusan, whom hee wanne with money to be his friend, who counselled him to be readie, and to come vnder intreatie of peace vpon the Syracusans feast day called Epicides, by this meanes through the counsell of Sosistratus, Marcellus obtained Syracusa.

This great Romane enemy Mithridates king of Pon∣tus, so hated the Romanes, that hee gathered together

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all the poore banished Romains, scattered euery where * 1.274 in Asia, Romain marchants & others, busied about their traffiques, & caused them to be slaine, to the number of 50000. in one day, to satisfie his wrath vpō the Romains.

Lucullus had also two of the most famous and renow∣ned victories ouer two of the most mightiest & greatest * 1.275 princes of Asia, Tigranes king of Armenia, & Mithridates king of Pontus, at mount Taurus: for Tigranes armie as Lucullus himselfe wrote vnto the Senate, was two hun∣dred three score thousand men; of the which number aboue a hundred thousand footemen were slaine, and fewe of all the horsemen were saued, and the king dri∣uen in his flight to throwe his Diademe to some of his friends, who was taken with the Diademe and brought to Lucullus. It is written by Plutarche that the Sunne sawe not the like ouerthrow.

So Lucullus reuenged the great spite of Tigranes king of Armenia: and Mithridates king of Pontus, for the spite and hatred they bare to the Romanes, as Cai. Marius re∣uenged vpon the Cymbrians, and Almaines, and as Ca∣millus reuenged vpon the Gaules.

Ca. Marius reuenge was such and that in time, for that the Cymbrians, Teutons, Ambrons, Tygurins, and Ger∣manes, * 1.276 had conspired and ioyned their force together, after the ouerthrow of both the Consuls, to the slaugh∣ter of fourescore thousand Romanes, that they ioyntly marched together towards Rome, at what time Cai. Ma∣rius and Luctatius his fellow Consull gaue them such a meeting, that two hundred thousande of them were slain, foure score thousand taken prisoners, Lugius & Bo∣iorex two kings slain in the battell, besides innumerable that fled from the battell, & hangd themselues on trees, and for want of trees, they tyed slipping halters about

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their neckes, vnto the hornes and feete of their oxen, and prickt them forwards with goades, that they might tread & trample them vnder their feete vntil they were killed, besides the horrible crueltie of the womē, which was most terrible, in strangling their young babes with their owne handes, they cast them vnder their Cartes wheeles, and betweene the horses legges, and at last slue themselues. At what time Marius for his great fortune, victories and seruice, was called Pater patriae, the father of the countrey.

After Marius had bene seuen times Consull in Rome, * 1.277 and called the father of the counrey, which was so great a name among the Romaines, that none but Romulus, Cicero, and himselfe had it, and had shewed himselfe a valiant noble captaine, in diuers and sundry great bat∣tels, and wanne many victories, besides the victories o∣uer the Cymbrians, Teutons, and the rest, ouer the Spa∣niards, Numantines and Affricans, open proclamation was made by the Senate throughout all Italy; that they should apprehend Marius, and either kill him whereso∣euer they found him, or to bring him before the Sena∣tors of Rome aliue. This was the ende of Marius mar∣ching, which if you compare him with Sylla, you shall finde them both firebrands to their countrey, for the harme they haue done to their countrey, and yet both great benefactors to their countrey before their ciuill warres. For Sylla was either another Hannibal in doing harme to his countrey, or another Scypio in doing good to his countrey And as concerning Marius, Scypio him∣selfe spake, that he was the only next man that should do great good, or great harme to the Romains after Scypio.

The like words spake king Antigonus of Pirrhus, that if Pirrhus should liue till he were an old man, he should proue so great a captaine, that he should be feared of all nations.

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CHAP. XII.

Of the maners and forme of warres, denounced by the Prophets of the Lord, against the Canaanites and other nations which were enemies to the Hebrewes.

THe order and manner of the Prophets by the Lord cōmaunded to denounce warres to the Canaanites, Edomites, Ammonites, Philistines, and all other natiōs that were enemies to Israel, was in this sort.

The Lord commaunded the Pro∣phets as his heraulds, to denounce warre after this man∣ner: * 1.278 Set thy face against the Idumeans, and say, behold (ô mount Seir) I come against thee, and will stretch my hand out against thee, I wil make thee desolate, and wast all Idumea.

And so against the Egiptians, Ezechiel was comman∣ded as an herauld from the Lord, to set his face against that dragon Pharao, to publish warre, and to say, I will * 1.279 water with thy bloud all the land of Egypt, and as Nilus ouerfloweth Egipt with water, so will I make the bloud * 1.280 of thy Army to ouerflowe Nilus.

Against Tyre in like sort Ezechiel was commaunded with the like words: Set thy face against Tyre, & say, be∣hold (ô mount Tyre) I will come vpon thee, and will bring Nabuchodonozer king of kings against thee, and wil make thee a desolate citie. * 1.281

So likewise as the Prophet Ezechiel was commanded by the Lord to publish warre against the Idumeans, the Egiptians, and against Tyre, so against Gog and Magog the Prophet was sent with the like words, for it was the

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charge and commaundement of the Lord to all his pro∣phets, being his Heraulds, to proclaime warre against the great monarches, and Polymarchies of the earth, enemies to his church and to his people, as to the Chal∣deans, the Assirians, Egiptians, Affricans, Lybians, and Persians, shewing vnto them their destruction before the sword of the Lord came vpon them.

So the Lord sent Moses his first Prophet and his He∣rauld, long before this time, to Pharao in Egipt with the like words as he did to these Prophets now, they spared not Ierusalē nor Samaria, but they had their message told them by the Prophet. And so much of the manner and forme of the publishing and denouncing of warre by the Lords Heraulds, his Prophets. And now likewise to shewe the maner and forme of the Gentiles in denoun∣cing of warre by their Heraulds.

The Gentiles in olde time proclaiming their warres against their enemies in seueral sorts, as the Romains by * 1.282 their Priests called Faecials, which were first instituted by Numa Pomp. and after appointed by the Romanes to be their heraulds, both for warre and peace: for the law was written in these words. Belli pacis, faederum inducia∣rum, or atorum faeciales Iudices sunto. The chiefe of thē was called Pater Patratus, being crowned with a garlād made * 1.283 of Verbena; who went with foure of them to the cōfines of the enemies, reciting the iust cause of the wars, which were it not by the enemies satisfied & answered within 33. daies after, the Faecial Priests being sent frō the Sena∣tors and Citizens of Rome, should throw after the word spokē, a bloudy dart or an iron speare, into the enemies lands, proclaiming warre against them (Iure faeciali).

But if the Romains had their warres farre from Rome, the Faeciall Priests should goe out of the citie through

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the gate Carmentalis, to the Temple of Mars, in the which Temple there was hanging a bloudie speare vp∣on one of the pillars of the Tēple, called Columna bellica, and from that place should the Faeciall Priest throw that * 1.284 bloudie dart towards those natiōs whom they denoun∣ced to be their enemies: then after this, the Consul, Pro∣consul, * 1.285 or Praetor, should goe to the Temple of Mars, and take the Targets called Ancyllia in his hande, and after pricke the Image of Mars with his speare or launce, and say, Mars Vigila.

The Persians also vsed this ceremony, to throwe a * 1.286 bloudie dart towards the confines of theyr enemies, thereby denouncing warre, either to haue land and wa∣ter * 1.287 by yeelding, or else to abide warre.

The manners and customes among the Grecians, whē they went to publish warre, they vsed to send their * 1.288 Herauld to the confines of the enemies, & after the iust cause of the warre being publikely declared, vnlesse they were Perius sanctum legatorum, satisfied, the Greekes sent a Ramme to the enemies confines, to signifie that they were readie armed for their enemies; for the sending of the Ramme with the Greekes, did signifie as much as the throwing of the bloudie dart, or Iron speare with the Romanes, for the Romanes were instructed in mar∣tiall discipline by the Greekes, as the Greekes were by the Persians, and the Persians by the Egiptians.

The old Gaules vsed this manner of order, that their Senators called Druydes, called a councell of the chiefe * 1.289 men, which should be all armed, and therefore called a∣mong them the armed councell, and after consultation had between these Priests Druydes, and the armed coun∣cell, that whatsoeuer was agreed vpon betweene them, ther of warre or peace, was established for a lawe.

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The Scythians had strange customes in defying their enemies, and in proclaiming of warre, they did send by Embassadors to Darius king of Persia, a bird, a mouse, a * 1.290 frogge, and an arrow, signifying thereby, that vnlesse the enemies would flye away like a bird, creepe away like a * 1.291 mouse, or swim away like a frogge out of Scythia, that an arrow should pierce them through.

Warres being proclaimed by the Lacedemonians, warlike people, the herauld should carrie in his hand a vine twig, wreathed about with wooll, which the ene∣mies, * 1.292 if they would accept and receiue vpon conditions by the herauld opened, it should be a full bond of peace, otherwise a denouncing of warre, and withall, the he∣rauld threw the vine twigge out of his hand, as in defi∣ance.

The Carthagineans though they could neuer abide the Romanes, yet vsed they the selfesame ceremonies, (Hastae proiectio) as the Romanes did in pronouncing * 1.293 of their warres.

There was a strange maner and custome among some nations, when they proclaimed warre, they would send a herauld with a present to theyr enemies, wrapped round about with the likenesse of snakes, which if the present would be vpō conditions accepted, they would take away the snakes, and deliuer them the present: if o∣therwise, the herauld would deliuer the enemies the * 1.294 snakes in defiance, and bring the present away: this ma∣ner of defiance against their enemies, the old Corinthi∣thians vsed, with others.

Now that you read the maner and forme of proclai∣ming of warres among diuers nations, you shall also ob∣serue diuers fashions and ceremonies touching compo∣sition of peace, for both proclaiming of warre, and con∣cluding

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of peace were in all authoritie, Per vi•…•…faciale, but altered in ceremonies.

CHAP. XIII.

Of the maner, and diuers ceremonies in con∣cluding of peace.

THe concluding of peace of diuers na∣tions, was in this sort, those that were sent as Heraulds to proclaime warre, were againe sent as Embassadors to en∣treate for peace in diuers Countries, for as bloud was sought by warres, so by bloud peace should be reconciled.

For as you heard the Lord did threaten warre long before warre came, to the Hebrewes, the Chaldeans, Assyrians, and the rest, by the Prophets and his He∣raulds, and before these nations punished the first age for their sinnes with an vniuersal deluge ouer the whole world (eight persons excepted) and after made a league of peace, and gaue the Rainebowe as a signe in the hea∣uens, * 1.295 not to destroy the world any more with water, and when the people againe transgressed his commaun∣dements, the Lord commaunded his Prophets to threa∣ten the Hebrues, the Chaldeans, and Assyrians, denoun∣cing warre to punish them, as you heard of the Egipti∣ans, the Sodomites, & others, with a condition of peace to continue betweene him and his people, which was written out in the law of Moses.

This league was signified & confirmed also with the bloud of a lamb, as the bloud of couenant between God and man, the true type & figure of the lambe Christ Ie∣sus, which gaue vs euerlasting peace by his bloud in the

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new 〈◊〉〈◊〉: this peace was proclaimed to the Shep∣heards in the field at Bethelem by legions of Angels, which came downe from heauen singing, glory bee to * 1.296 God on high, & on earth peace towards mē. This peace Christ repeated to his disciples, saying, Peace be vnto you, this peace he brought into the world, this peace he left with his people in the world, which the world cānot giue, for there is no peace to the wicked faith the Lord.

The ceremonies of euery natiō in all countries in con∣cluding of peace, was generally by bloud, and as it were confirmed by an oath in supping each others bloud, or by dipping in of their swords, arrowes, flint-stones or wooll. * 1.297

As the Meades drewe bloud out of theyr armes, the Lydians out of their shoulders, the Arabians out of their fingers: that by sucking and licking of each others bloud they thought it the soundest and surest testimony of peace and friendship that could be.

The Armenians vsed to draw bloud, euery man out of his thumbe, & that euery man should licke an others * 1.298 bloud, in witnesse that all should liue in peace and loue therafter: so did Radamistus king of Hiberia, with Mitra∣tes king of Armenia.

But in the place where the Scythians concluded peace, they had a great bowle of wine before them, and * 1.299 there euery man letting a vaine to bleed into the bowle of wine, & then dipping a sword and an arrow into this bowle, dranke one to another this mingled wine and bloud, in token of peace and friendship between them.

In like maner the Carmanes, people in Persia, when * 1.300 they met together at a banquet, they would strike a vain in their forehead to draw bloud, to mingle their bloud with wine, & to drinke that one to an other, which was

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among them the greatest oath, & the surest bond of loue that could be.

The ceremonies of the Arabians, whē they were to be agreed with their enemies, they would drawbloud with * 1.301 a sharp flintstone out of their fingers into a dish, & ther∣in dip white wooll, & certain small thin stones, with the which stones & wooll, they would rub and die their gar∣ments, to continue as a perpetuall league of peace be∣tweene them.

The old and auntient manner of the Persians was, to bring their wiues, their children, & their dearest friends, * 1.302 and at their banquets, calling their hospitall gods to bee their witnesses, and their friends then present, to bee as pawnes, and pledges of their faith & peace, by drinking one to an other.

The Thracians and the Egiptians also had their cere∣monies in contracting conditiōs of peace, which was, to * 1.303 drink wine out of an oxe horn one to an other, being an old ceremoniall custome among them of great antiqui∣tie: for without drinking out of that oxe horne, no com∣position of peace could be taken in Egipt, or in Thracia, for the horne was an auntient monument reserued for that purpose.

Clearchus generall of the Lacedemonians, at what time the Persians and the Greekes were at composition * 1.304 of peace, Clearchus sacrificed a bull, a wolfe, a boare, and a ramme, and in the bloud of these sacrified beasts, the Greekes dipt their swords, & the Persians their launces, as a full record before the gods of peace and amitie.

Aristides labouring much for vniuersall peace a∣mong * 1.305 the Greekes, after long ciuill warres, at the concluding of the peace, hee threw hotte fierie Iron bowles into the sea, praying vnto the gods, that as those

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fiery bowels were extinguished by water; euen so they that would breake this league of peace, and liue in Greece with all their friends and confederates, should be rooted out of Greece, or quite destroyed in Greece.

Had Agesilaus bene so willing as Aristides was with E∣paminondas, when all Greece came to Lacedemon, to * 1.306 make a generall peace, Sparta had not bene so plagued at the battell of Leuctres, where King Cleombrotus was slaine, and a thousand of the best souldiers and citizens of Sparta.

Fabius Max. being sent by the Romanes, as an Em∣bassador * 1.307 to the Carthagineans, vsed these words: I bring you here in the lap of my gowne, warre or peace, wher∣of you must make present choise.

The like embassage the Romane Popilius carried frō Rome to Antiochus Epiphanis, opening the whole cause * 1.308 of his embassage. Antiochus seeming to cast off time with delayes, Popilius made a circuite with his rod round a∣bout him, saying: you must answere the Senators of Rome before you goe out of this round circuite, whether you will haue warre or peace: so valiant and stout the Romanes euer were, that they offered peace and warre together, and the enemies to make the choise.

Now hauing opened the maner & order of denoun∣eing warres, and concluding of peace, before I proceed forward to military discipline taught in all countreys, and among all nations, I will set downe the maner and order how diuers nations were wont in olde time to yeeld and to seeke peace at their enemies, being in the enemies hands without hope of life, and readie to be o∣uerthrowne.

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CHAP. XIIII.

The manner of yeelding among all nations. Of diuers battels and victories, and how the Romanes and the Greekes estee∣med their weapons.

THe maner of yeelding of diuers nations in old time was, either in the field to their enemies, or else by entreaty of peace, * 1.309 they should come in base and simple ap∣parell to offer theyr lands, their waters, their liuings, their cattels, their Temples, and their Cit∣ties.

So the Egiptians came with poore simple garments, without weapons, to seeke peace at the enemies, and to yeeld themselues, their Priests carrying their gods be∣fore them with sacrifice.

So the cittizens of Alexandria came to yeeld them∣selues to Caesar.

So the Iewes came out of Ierusalem with theyr high Priest, to meete Alexander the great, yeelding vnto him * 1.310 all dignitie and honour, submitting themselues vnto him.

So the Gibeonites came to Ioshua, faigned them∣selues * 1.311 Embassadors, tooke olde sackes vpon their asses, and olde clowted shooes vpon their feete, and said vnto Ioshua, we be thy seruants, we be come from a far coun∣trey; so Ioshua consented vnto peace, made a league with them, and suffered them to liue.

So the Sabine Embassadors when they came to yeeld themselues to the old Roman kings, were demanded by Torquin: Do you & your people come to yeeld your sel∣ues * 1.312 to me & my people at Rome, your lands, your waters, your cities, your temples, your wealth, your liberties, and all that you haue? the Embassadors answered wee

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do, and I king Torquine accept and receiue your yeel∣ding.

The Greekes likewise came as the Egiptians did, in sad mourning apparell, and offered boughes of Oliues, * 1.313 and branches of Lawrell to the enemies, as signes and tokens of submission, in yeelding and in seeking of peace.

The Persians maner was to offer land and water to the conquerour, as a signe of yeelding, for so the Persi∣ans * 1.314 sought of others, when they tooke warres in hand, before they conquered, which was their pride & brag. But the Athenians according to the lawe of armes put the Persian Embassadors to death; for that they sought land & water, before any warre was denounced, or bat∣tell giuen.

The Assirians also according to their wonted man∣ner, * 1.315 when they come to yeeld themselues, their Priests come with their labels, miters, and holy ornaments, to seeke peace at the enemy.

The Syrians came to yeeld themselues with halters about their necks to Achab to entreat for peace for Ben∣hadad their king, who said a litle before that the dust of Samaria was too little for euery one of his souldiers to haue a handfull.

With the Frenchmen and Spaniards, it was their custome and maner to yeeld to their enemies in shew∣ing their hands and armes naked to the enemy.

The Lacedemonians, when they sought peace and yeeded to the enemies, they threw their shields away * 1.316 from them, and tooke the enemies by the hand, saying Herbando, a word of yeelding.

For in all military discipline amōg all nations, and by martial lawes of all countries, those that were forced to

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seeke peace & yeeld themselues to the conqueror were to be accepted (Iure deditionis). Yet the Romanes could * 1.317 scant away with yeelding souldiers, for those Romane souldiers that yeelded themselues to Pirrhus, were not redeemed by the Romains, especially soldiers that yeel∣ded * 1.318 in armour, were neuer after accepted as Romaines, and the souldiers that fled back from the enemies to his fellowes in the campe, should be met by the way and slaine by their owne fellowes, so that the Romaines would neuer grace a yeelded souldier.

So Philopomen said, hearing certaine Grecians much commending a valiant captaine for his courage and po∣licie; Can you said Philopomen, so commend a valiant * 1.319 captaine that yeelded himselfe, and was contented to be takē prisoner aliue? I like the Romanes said Philopomen, that would neuer pay raunsome for a Romane captaine taken aliue in battell, and yet they would raunsome the body of a captaine slaine in the field to bury him.

Yet at the battell of Pharsalia, after Pompey and his captaines fled, and his army scattered, the rest yeelded to Caesar, holding their targets on their heads, and deliue∣ring their weapons to Caesar.

So much the Romanes esteemed their targets, that laying them vpon their heades, though they yeelded their swords, their speares and other weapons to Caesar, yet would they not yeelde their targets but together with their heads.

So did the Greekes esteeme their targets, that the * 1.320 Lacedemonians mad•…•… lawe, that that captaine or that souldier that had lost his shield in the battell, should loose his life after the battell.

And therfore the womē of Lacedemonia commanded their childrē whē they went to warres, holding vp, and

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shewing a Target in one of their hands, saying: Aut cuns hoc redeas, aut super hoc moriaris: eyther to dye vpon their shields and targets in the field, or to bring with thē their targets from the field.

So odious were coward souldiers in Lacedemonia, that the women of Sparta would meet their sonnes that * 1.321 fled from the battell, and hold vp their clothes, saying: where will you flye you cowards? will you creep again into your mothers belley?

Of all nations, onely the Lacedemonians and the old Germans, were so seuere against those that lost their shields in the battell, that among the Germaines they should not be allowed to come to any publike councell, * 1.322 nor bee admitted to come to the Temples, or to the Church, to heare seruice.

Though there was punishment appointed for soul∣diers that lost speare, launce, or any other military wea∣pon, yet not capitall punishment, which was onely by law appointed to those souldiers that lost their shields, * 1.323 for that both the Greekes and the Romane captaines had their names written within theyr shieldes, and therefore they thought it moste ignominious, that * 1.324 their shelds should be lost, least their shields should bragge of their names, which made that worthy Cap∣taine Epaminondas, beeing wounded to death at the battell at Mantinea, to enquire if his Target were safe, which beeing deliuered vnto him, hee tooke it and kissed it, and saide: now Epaminondas dyeth not, * 1.325 but beginneth to liue, for I haue two daughters of mine, Mantinea and Leuctres, to celebrate the fame of Epaminondas, which subdued the stout Lacedemo∣dians, subiect vnto the Thaebans.

Scypio Affricanus looking on a souldiers target which

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was most braue and most richly adorned, said I much * 1.326 commend thee to make most of that which defendeth and saueth thy life most often.

So Marius and Catulus both Gonsuls of Rome, in their warres against the Cymbrians, their souldiers, each one had his captaines name, and his owne name written on his shield and other military weapons, that by looking on their captaines name they might do the greater ser∣uice to honour their captaines.

So auncient was the fame and honour in olde time giuen to targets and shields among the Grecians & the Troians, that the name of Neptune was written in the shields of the Grecians, and the name of Minerua on the shields of the Troians.

I will therefore speake something of the Grecian warres against the Persians, before I intreat of military discipline, and I will mention but foure principall spe∣ciall victories, which the Grecians had ouer the great kings of Persia, for that the Grecians may not be thoght to esteeme their targets for nothing.

The first and most renowned victorie of the Greci∣ans * 1.327 ouer the Persians, at the battell of Plataea, where of sixe hundred thousand fighting men, which Mardonius Generall of the Persians had in his campe, there was * 1.328 slaine two hundred thousand Persians, and Mardonius himselfe slaine by a Spartan souldier vnder Pausanias.

In memory of this victory, there is a common assem∣bly * 1.329 of all the states of Greece at Plataea, where the Platae∣ans make a solemne sacrifice vnto Iupiter protector of their libertie, for those noble Grecians that were slaine at Plataea, with chariots laden with braunches of firre trees, with nosegaies & garlands of triumphs, then fol∣lowed a black bull, and some young noble gentlemen,

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that carried great bowles full of wine, and others carried pots full of milk to powre upon the graues of those dead noble captaines that died for their countrey, others car∣ried oyles, perfumes, and sweete odours in glasses. After this followed the Generall, holding a funerall pot in the one hand, & a naked sword in the other, vnto the graues * 1.330 where these noble captaines & gentlemen were buried, that were slain in that battell, and there the General wa∣shed the pillars, arches & Images of those noble valiant Greeks that were wrought vpon them: then annointed them with oyles, sweet sauours, & after beautified them with sweet flowers & nosegaies, & crowned them with seueral kinds of garlands. In this solemne sort the Gene∣rall tooke a great bowle of wine, holding out his hād to∣wards the graues, saying; I drinke to you noble captains and valiant gentlemē that died in the defence of Greece.

Alexander the great vpon the graue of Achilles, vsed a funeral sacrifice, not altogether vnlike the Grecians ma∣ner, caused himselfe with diuers of his company to be * 1.331 washed, and after to be annointed with ointments, with garlands of mirtle vpō their heads, and in solemne pro∣cession to goe round about Achilles graue, all naked, sixe hundred yeares after Achilles death.

So Traiane the Emperour in Alexandria vsed the like funerall sacrifice vpon Alexanders graue 400. yeares after Alexanders death, after the Romane maners & custome, with garlands & crowns made of flowers vpō his graue, with sacrifice of frankincense & other sweet odours, in the very same house in Alexandria, where Alexander dwelt, for he died at Babilon, & was buried in Alexādria his owne towne.

They vsed the like funerall ceremonies in the feast * 1.332 called Parentalia in Rome, which was celebrated with beanes, pulses, wafers and drie figges, laide vpon a bare

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flint stone, on the graue of their dead parents, or their great friends and next kinsmen, which graue they deckt with flowers, nosegaies, and all kinde of sweet hearbes, * 1.333 and garlands, going about it naked, and after sitting a∣bout the graue of the dead banketting & feasting, much like to the feast called Lemuralia, where among the Gre∣cians they drinke to the soules of the dead.

The Iewes held an anuall feast called Purym, in me∣morie of their deliuerance from the malice of Ammon, * 1.334 who had obtained frō king Ashuerus lycence to destroy all the Iewes dwelling in 127. prouinces in Persia, vpon that very day that Ammon thought to kill the Iewes and hang Mardocheus vpon a gallows which he made of ten cubits high, was Ammon himself withhis ten sonshāgd vpon the same gallows which he made for Mardocheus.

But to return to the victory at Marathon, for the which victory strife grew between the Lacedemonians & the Athenians, at what time Milciades was Generall for the Athenians, & Pausanias for the Lacedemonians, but the victory was by Aristides & by all men giuē to the Platae∣ans * 1.335 to end the strife. This battel of Marathon was in the morning, and in the euening of the same day was the battel and victory at Mycala, though some hold opinion there was some distance of time betweene them.

Vpon the very day that Lu. Crassus was slaine by the Parthians at Carras, and his Romain army ouerthrown: * 1.336 vpon that very day fewe yeares after were the Parthiās ouerthrown by Pub. Ventidius, which so reuēged Crassus with such a slaughter of ye Parthians ye Pachorus the eldest son of the king was slain. And vpō the very day that the Cymbrians gaue the ouerthrow to the Romain Cōsull Caepio, and his army, vpō that very fame day Marius after∣wards with terrible slaughter of ye Cimbriās requited it.

Again the secōd victory which the Greciās had ouer

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the Persian nauy by sea at Salamina, at what time armed men were seen in the aire that did reach out their hands from the Ile of Aegina towards the Grecian galleys, also songs were heard in the aire in the praise of Bacchus, and flames of fire were seen in the Element, with many moe wonders which appeared towardes the Citie Eleusina, this was one of the most glorious and greatest victories that euer the Greekes had, chiefly gotten by the pol∣licie and cunning of Themistocles the Athenian.

Artemidord, Queene of Alicarnassus, came to aide * 1.337 the Persians against the Grecians, as Pentheselia Queen of the Amazons came to aide the Troians in their wars against the Grecians, but the one died in Greece taking part with the Persians, and the other died in Troy in the quarrell of the Troians: yet some writers affirme that Artemisia was not slaine in Greece.

In this battell Xerxes king of Persia had a thousand shippes of warres, of the which he lost eight hundred of * 1.338 them, and his Admirall called Ariames taken, the wis∣dome and foresight of Themistocles in this battell was honoured of all the Grecians, for it was equall to the famous battell at Plataea, for renowne and fame, though not so great a victorie, and yet Themistocles being but a young man, at the battell at Plataea vnder Callimachus and Milciades, two noble captaines of Athens, shewed himselfe so valiant that all Greece much commended his courage. Themistocles was euer wont to say in his youth, that the fame of Milciades victories & triumphs, would not suffer Themistocles to sleep, nor to rest in his bed.

So likewise was Themistocles the cause of the most renowned victory of the Greekes ouer the Persians, by sea at Artimisium, where Xerxes with all his whole nauie was ouerthrowne.

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This victory made Themistocles to be so honoured of the Grecians, that the Captaines after sacrifice done, gaue him an Oliue braunch in token of victorie, and * 1.339 they sent three hundred of their lustie youthes to ac∣company Themistocles. His renowne grew such by this victory, that when Themistocles came to the next feast of the Olympicall games, all the people cast their eyes vp∣on him, clapping their hands, and shewing him vnto * 1.340 straungers that knew him not, but Themistocles onely at Artemisium, was the originall cause of the sauing of all Greece, and did then most aduance the honour and glo∣ry of the Athenians, and was after battell done honou∣red aboue all the Grecians, and also all the Grecian cap∣taines, hauing vpon the Aultar of their sacrifice, sworne that Themistocles best deserued the glorie of that victory, yet was hee banished from Athens, though his victories were so great ouer the Persians, as Hanibals victories were ouer the Romanes.

CHAP. XV.

Of straunge apparitions in the ayre, and prodigious myracles. Of seuen signes seene before the ouerthrow of Ierusalem, with the last destruction thereof. Of diuers great Captains by the Lord appointed to fauour Ierusalem and the Iewes.

MAny strange apparitions were seene in the ayre in many places of Greece, be∣fore the victories which the Grecians had ouer the Persians, and before the victories which the Affricans had o∣uer the Romanes. And first at the bat∣tell of Salamina, as you read before, where flames of fire were seene in the element, songs

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were heard in the ayre in the praise of Bacchus, and ar∣med men were seene in the aire, as you read before, that did reach out their hands from the Ile of Aegina, towards * 1.341 the Grecian galleys.

So at the battell at Thrasymen, at Arpos, the likenesse of bucklers were seene in the heauens, and the Sunne seemed to fight with the Moone at Carpena; and two Targets sweat bloud at Sardinia; and at the very battell it selfe, such earthquakes hapned, that townes and rocks fell to the earth, mountaines were carried frō one place to an other, and the riuers ranne backwards, yet in the battell it selfe it was neither knowne nor felt of the Ro∣mans, nor of the Affricans: for among the Romanes seldome happened any earth-quakes without great losse or harme, either by ouerthrowning of towns and cities, * 1.342 or losse of victories, as the Romanes supposed; and yet in the second Affrican war, 57. earthquakes hapned amōg the Romains in one yeare; also an oxe spake, & said, Caue tibi Roma. In Piceno it raigned stones. In Cicilia two Tar∣gets sweat bloud.

At the citie Antium in Italy, bloud flowed out of the eares of corne, & many such prodigious signes, and yet not so many as were equall to the Romanes calamities, during the time of the second punike warre, but it was euer the greatnes of the Romanes to be most valiant in their greatest afflictiō. And as in the second Punike war an oxe spake, so in the time of Torquine ye proud after his ouerthrows in 2. battels, a dog spake, & a serpēt barked.

At the destructiō of Cōstantinople by the Turks, a great * 1.343 multitude of dogs were seen in the aire, after which fol∣lowed a great nūber of diuers kinds of beasts, in maner and form of light armed souldiers; after them followed an other cōpany of beasts with spears & targets; another

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company of beasts deuided in troups on horse; after thē followed a mightie monstrous man, of a terrible stature, riding vpō a terrible horse, which appeared 3. houres o∣uer the citie Comū, & vanished away a litle before night.

Strange apparitions & meteors haue bin in many bat∣tels seen in ye aire, eclipses of sun & moone, earthquakes & such, besides many visiōs seen, & many voices yelded. Pub. Vatinius a Roman Praetor, late walking out of Rome, there met him Castor and Pollux, vnknowne to Vatinius, * 1.344 like two goodly yong gentlemen on white horses, who told him that the Consul Aemilius had taken Persius K. of Macedonia, & ouerthrown his whole force, the selfesame day. Vatinius reciting the same to the Senate, was presēt∣ly cōmitted to prisō, vntil letters came frō Pau. Aemil. vn∣to Rome frō Macedonia, certifying ye Senators of their vic∣tories, & taking of Persius the same day ye Vatinius told thē.

In the wars that the Lucaniās had against the Romans, the likenes to a mā of exceeding great stature, appeared to the Romans, & spake these words, Gradus victoriae fac∣tus, * 1.345 & after these words passed through the midst of the enemies, & vanished away; at that time the Romans got the victory, slew 20. thousand, & tooke 23. ensignes.

Camillus in his warres against the Vients, after the peo∣ple were destroyed & the towne takē, the general Camil∣lus commanded the souldiers to carry the Image of Iuno * 1.346 from Veients to Rome, and being demanded of one of the souldiers in a ieast whether she willingly would remoue from Vients, and come to Rome, the Image suddenly an∣swered I wil: which words so amazed the Romans, that they with all honor brought her to Rome, and builded a temple to Iuno in mount Auentine, where she was hono∣red as one of their chiefe gods among the Romanes.

Thus the Romanes imagined that all their victories were had by means of their gods, & therfore brought as

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many gods as they could to Rome, and yet when Pilate wrote from Ierusalem to Rome, to his Lord and maister Tiberius the Emperor, to haue Christ allowed to be one * 1.347 of the Romane gods, Pilate was flatly denied, though the Emperour himselfe perswaded the Senators, of ma∣ny myracles that Iesus had done in Ierusalem, but the Senate would not allow Iesus to come to Rome among their gods.

Iosephus writes, that at the destruction of Ierusalem, there were many signes seene in the ayre, and voyces heard in the earth, before the Citie was destroyed, and the Temple burned, signifying the calamitie which was at hand.

The first signe was a Comet, like a sword, hanging in the ayre ouer the Cittie of Ierusalem, which conti∣nued a whole tweluemoneth, contrarie to the nature of a Comet, which was not seene to continue past six mo∣neths.

The second signe was a lightning that shined in the night time, about the Temple, and about the Aultar, as light as day, & this light continued the space of halfe an houre, of the which some iudged well, some other∣wise.

The third straunge sight was, that an oxe beeing brought vp on the feast day to bee sacrificed, brought * 1.348 forth a lambe, which terrified the people, & made them much amazed.

The fourth myracle was, that the great brazen gate on the East side of the Temple, being lockt and strongly barred, opened of it selfe, which could scarce bee shut with the force of twentie men.

The fift signe was, that after the feast dayes, a little before Sunne setting, were seene Iron Charriots, and

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an host of armed men houering round about the citie in the cloudes.

The sixt vpon the feast of Penticost, when the Priests went according to their maners, into the temple to ce∣lebrate diuine seruice, they heard as it were some noise or stirring, and after they heard a voyce that said, Migre∣mus hinc, Let vs remoue from this place.

The seuenth and last, and the straungest signe of all, one Iesus a simple man, seuen yeares before Ierusalē was * 1.349 destroied, cried out, Vox ab oriente, a voyce from the east, a voyce from the west, a voyce from the foure windes, a voyce against Ierusalem, and against the Temple, and a voyce against all this people.

Thus went hee still through all the streetes of Ierusa∣lē, with these words in his mouth, Vae Ierosolymis, though hee was whipt and scourged, and brought before the Romane President Albinus, yet hee vsed all one words, woe to the Cittie, woe to the Temple, and woe to the people; thus hee cryed out for seuen yeares and fiue moneths, and at the last words which he spake, Vaeautem mihi, a stone came from the wall and killed him.

This is written of Iosephus, who was a Tetrarch in Galiley, and fought many battels with his countrey a∣gainst the Romanes vntill he was taken by Titus, and brought with him to Rome, where he wrote of the anti∣quitie of the Iewes twentie bookes in Greeke, & wrote seuen bookes of the Iewish warres, and was as much esteemed in Rome, as Berosus the Chaldean was in A∣thens; but the Iewes little esteemed Nabuchodonozer in the last destruction by Ieremy and Ezechiel before pro∣phesied, they following the counsell of such false Pro∣phets that both prophesied and promised victorie to Achab, when he was slaine, and his army ouerthrowne:

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so they said that the Babilonians should not come with∣in Ierusalem, and they were beleeued, and Ieremy impri∣soned; so now for all these signes seene, and for all that Christ prophesied the destruction of Ierusalem, & wept vpon mount Olyuet for the same, yet the Iewes belee∣ued no prophesie, weighed not the Romanes, no more then they weighed before the Babilonians.

The like prophesie was found in Cataldus booke, Bi∣shop of Tarentum, being long time before dead, who ap∣peared in a vision to a Priest in Naples, and willed the * 1.350 Priest to dig in such a secret place and to bring a booke written by Cataldus, being so found in a table of lead nai∣led, and to shewe it to the king, where he found the ca∣lamities and eminent destruction of Neapolis.

In the twelfth yeare of Nero the Emperour, Vespasian was sēt with an army to subdue the Iewes, which could not be quiet, but rebelled euer against the Romanes, whom the Iewes mortally hated, though the Romanes had so many Presidents vnder them to gouerne the Iewes, as Pilate, Petronius, Festus, Albinus, and last of all, Florus.

Yet they would not be brought to subiectiō. And after Vespasiā had cōquered all Galiley, where Fla. Iosephus was appointed Tetrarch, who was taken in this warre, and all the whole Country beyond Iorden, as Gadara, Macherun∣ta, Hiericho, and other cities, Ierusalem hee gaue to his sonne Titus to lay siege to it, and Vespasian went to Alex∣andria, and from thence to Rome; leauing Titus to subdue * 1.351 the Iewes at Ierusalem. For vpon the very day that Christ dyed vpon the Crosse in mount Golgotha, on the same very day eight and thirtie yeares after, was Ierusalem ta∣ken, and destroyed quite to the ground by Titus, the Temple burnt, eleuen hundred thousand slain with the

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sword and famine, an hundred thousand solde publike∣ly as slaues, and sixteene thousand were sent to Rome, to beautifie his fathers triumph, as Iosephus an eye-witnesse doth report.

The Iewes looked not for their destruction so nigh at hand, they obserued by tradition of some of their Ra∣bines, that their Messias should come about the time of Augustus, as a magnificent mighty king, & not as a poore man, the sonne of a Carpenter, whom the Iewes whipt and scourged, for that he tooke vpō him to be the sonne of God, & made himself Messias, the Iewes litle thought that he was the Messas, when they cryed to Pilate to haue him crucified in Golgotha, saying: his bloud be vpon vs, and vpon our children.

The greedie desire and expectation of the people was such, that many tooke vpon them to call themselues the * 1.352 Messias, as Iudas Galileus, and an other called Atonges a shepheard: but aboue them all, one Barcozba had diuers followers, & was receiued for their Messas thirtie yeares, but when they saw that he could not defend them from the Romanes, they would no longer accept him for their Messias, but slew him.

Titus proceedeth forward to destroy the Iewes, but especially the Priests, the Scribes, & Pharisies, on whom he had no mercie, saying, that they chiefly ought to dye with the sword, sithence the temple was burnt with fire, they onely being rebellious and seditious, and the cause of the destruction of the citie. Titus spared none of the stocke of Herod.

In this warres of Titus were ten of the learned Rab∣bines slaine, whose names I thought good to write, as I found them written in Genebrardus Chronicles.

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  • Rabbi Simeon ben Gamaliel.
  • Rabbi Ismael ben Elizei.
  • Rabbi Hanina ben Tedarion. * 1.353
  • Rabbi Husiphith.
  • Rabbi Eleazer ben Samaa.
  • Rabbi Iuda ben Dama,
  • Rabbi Isbak Scribam.
  • Rabbi Iuda ben Hachinas.
  • Rabbi Iuda ben Baba.
  • Rabbi Askiba.

These tenne Rabbines were slaine by Titus, which the Iewes record in theyr latter Talmud for tenne martyrs and after Ierusalem was thus destroied, Titus ap∣pointed Rabbi Iohanan ben Zachai, gouernour ouer the remnant of the Iewes in Ahua, Byther, Oza, & other pla∣•…•…es as Nabuchodonozer did appoint Godoliah gouernor of the rest of the Iewes when he destroyed Ierusalem, in the time of Zedechia the king.

Titus also left Bonia, a younger brother of Fla. Iose∣phus, to gouerne other places in Iudah, and he returned with his prisoners and captiues which he brought with him to Rome, to beautifie his fathers triumphes and his. This was the fift and last ouerthrow of the Iewes, & de∣struction of Ierusalem.

First by Shesac King of Egipt, in the time of Rehoboam; secondly by Nabuchodonozer, in the time of Zedechias, * 1.354 the last King of Iudah: thirdly by Antiochus: fourthly by Pompey the great: and fiftly and last, by Titus and Ves∣pasian.

Thus the Iewes that subdued all natiōs before them, and conquered all the Kings about them, that in the time of Ioshua & Dauid, all the earth trembled at the na∣ming of the Iewes, whose gouernment continued from Abraham to Vespasian, two thousand yeares and more, though for a time, while they were in Egipt 430. yeares, litle spoken of, vntil the Lord raised them, & so strength∣ned thē vnder Moses and Ioshua, that first they ouerthrew

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Pharao and his kingdome, & after subdued the Canaa∣nites, Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites, Philistines, and the Syrians, which of the Hebrewes were called Aro∣mites, the strongest nation vpon the earth at that time, which were subdued notwithstanding by Dauid.

Thus the Iewes which were as famous, and feared as much in those dayes, as the Romanes were in the time of their Consuls, are now so destroyed, and their coun∣try subdued like wandring banished mē, without king, lawe, or countrey.

The cause wherof was the sinne of Ierusalem, which would neuer acknowledge the goodnesse of God to∣wards them, nor his myracles and his mercy wrought amongst them, they refused his grace offered, and perse∣cuted him most violently to death. Yet Dionisius Areo∣pagita and his fellow Appollonius, in the citie of Eliopolis in Egipt, they both obserued by the Eclipse of the Sun, at the verie houre the sonne of God suffered, more then the rebellious Iewes did, for all the blessings and mer∣cies which they had receiued, they cried out still vnto Pilate, crucifie him, his blood be vpon vs, and vpon our children.

These learned Heathens openly confessed in Egipt, that either the sonne of God did suffer death, or else the * 1.355 frame of the whole worlde should be dissolued, these two Heathens confessed and named him to bee the sonne of God, but the vngratefull Iewes called and named him the sonne of Ioseph the Carpenter, in con∣tempt of him, and therefore it is conuenient to set forth the great goodnesse of the Lorde in a briefe and a short catalogue, what the Lord hath done to Israel, since he brought them out of the furnace of Egipt, where they were bond-slaues vnder Pharao, 430. yeares, euen from

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the first comming of Abraham into Egipt, vntill Moses brought them out of Egipt.

For after Esau & Iacob had diuided their fathers pos∣session, Esau went to dwell in Edumea, and Iacob tooke for his part Canaan, where he dwelt and his childrē, vntil Iacob went to Egipt with all his family to his sonne Io∣seph, which was 215. yeares after the being of Abraham in Egipt, and 215. yeares before Moses brought the chil∣drē of Israel out of Egipt into the land of Canaan, at what time the law was written & giuen to Moses in mount Si∣nai, to gouern the people; and after the lawe was giuen, * 1.356 the Tabernacle was commaunded by Moses to be made in the wildernesse, which should stand to them for a Temple to serue the Lord, and after the Tabernacle, the Arke was made, where the tables of the lawe were com∣maunded by Moses at his death to be kept, where Moses gouerned the whole army of the Hebrues fortie yeares before they went ouer Iorden.

And Moyses before he died, he deliuered the army of the Hebrewes into the hands of Ioshua, with a charge from the Lord, vnder whom they passed into the lande of Canaan, after whose death they began to be rebellious & seditious. Yet the Lord fauoured thē, & sent thē stout * 1.357 and wise gouernors, as Iudah, Ehud, Barac, Iephtha, Gedeō, and Sampson, yet stil rebelled they like Idolatrous people against the Lord, that they were weary of that gouern∣ment, and reiected Samuel & his gouernmēt, and would haue a king: the Lord denied them nothing, and they had kings to rule them: during which time of kings, I∣dolatry presently crept in, that the lord & his lawes were forsaken, and Baal with his prophets & priests accepted. Hence grew ciuil warres between the 12. Tribes, ten a∣gainst two, that of one kingdom they made two; so that

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there was nothing but slaughter and blood, betweene the house of Israel & the house of Iudah: and that straight after Solomons death 500. thousand were slain in mount Zemaraim of the king of Israels side, by the king of Iudah.

Againe such a slaughter of the king of Iudahs side by the king of Israel, that two hundred thousand of womē and children were taken prisoners in Samaria, so that they wasted and spoyled one another in such sort, that frō a happy & populous people, by forsaking their Lord and God, they became a most miserable & Idolatrous people to serue strange gods. For during the time of Da∣uid which was 40. yeares, the kingdome of Israel was the most famous & renowned kingdome of the world. For so the Lord spake, I will make the Princes of Iudah, like coales of fire among the wood, and like a fire-brand in the sheafe, and they shal deuour all people round about them. So Dauid brought all the kings & nations about, subiect & tributary vnto Israel, whose happie whole go∣uernment was such, that at his death hee left a hundred * 1.358 thousand talents to his sonne Solomon to build a temple to the Lord, which he himself had determined to build, but that the Prophet Nathā warned him from the Lord that he should not, for that he was a man of blood, but that Solomon his sonne should build him a house.

This kingdom of Israel being so happy (as you heard) in king Dauids time, and in Solomons time, so glorious a temple builded, and so richly furnished vnto the Lord, that in Solomons time, such plentie was in Ierusalē, mony was no more esteemed thē stones in the streets, yet pre∣sently vpō Solomons death in the time of Rehoboham his sonne, the state of Ierusalem was so obscured & altered, * 1.359 that the citie was sackt, and the temple robd, with great slaughter of people by Shesac king of Egipt, so that the wealth and treasure of Ierusalem and of the temple, was carried by Shesac into Egipt.

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Againe the kings of Israel became so Idolatrous, that there were no gods among the Heathens, but they were as gods worshipped in Israel, so that they were far worse then the Grecians or the Romans, who would allow no * 1.360 strange gods to raigne neither in Athens nor in Rome, and therefore for that they forsooke the Lord, the Lord for∣sooke them, and gaue them ouer, and their kingdome to the Assirians, by the hand of Salmanasser, and so Samaria and other townes in Israel were inhabited by strangers.

So the kings of Iudah after Israel within 133. yeares after, were carried captiues into Babilon by Nabuchodo∣nozer, yet the Lord gaue them not ouer, but brought * 1.361 them within 70. yeares after againe to Ierusalem, & stir∣red vp Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, three great kings of Persia, to fauour and to aide them with license to returne to their countrey, to inhabit Ierusalem with money and much treasure, to build vp the Temple, redeliuering vn∣to them all the rich vessels of gold and siluer, which Sa∣lomon left in the Temple at his death, and which Nabu∣chodonozer tooke away from the Temple, and brought to Babilon.

After Cyrus and these kings of Persia, the Lord stirred vp a great Heathen Prince Alexander the great, who * 1.362 when he came to Ierusalem, lighted off his horse, and came to meet the high Priest, and reuerenced him with great obeysance, where were read vnto him the pro∣phesies of Daniel, where it was found that a Grecian * 1.363 Prince should subdue the Persian kingdome, which Alexander acknowledged to be himselfe, and therefore went into the temple & sacrificed to the God of Israel, and not only freely granted to the high Priest whatsoe∣uer he would aske, but commaunded him to aske what he would haue him do, & the high Priest asked nothing

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but that the Iewes that dwelt in Babilon, in Medea, and in other countreys about vnder his gouernment, might enioy and liue according to the lawes of their countrey, which Alexander graunted, besides his great and liberall gifts which he bestowed vpon the Priest & the temple.

Nabuchodonozer vsed himselfe otherwise then Alex∣ander did against Iudah, for he commanded Holofernus, to spare no people, no kingdome, saying, Non Parcet oculus tuus vlliregno. The terror of Holofernus army ther∣by * 1.364 was such, that they came out of euery citie crowned with crownes on their heads, and lamps in their hands, to receiue him with all kind of musicke, and with daun∣cing & songs to please him, yet could they not mittigate the fiercenesse of his fury.

After Alexander the Lord stirred vp Pthol. Philadel∣phus, so to fauour the Israelits, & to loue their lawes, that * 1.365 he had the lawes of Israel written in the Greeke tongue in Alexandria, and released many prisoners and captiues of the Iews, to the number of 120000. (which Ptol. Lagus his precessor had brought from Iudah to Egipt,) with as great bountifull rewards & gifts, as Alexander did.

So Zeleucus shewed such fauour to the Iewes dwel∣ling in Antioch, in Ionia, & in Ephesus, that he graunted to them the liberties & lawes of their countrey.

After Zeleucus the Lord stirred vp Antiochus the great, being before a great enemy of the Iewes; & after Antio∣chus many of the kings of Asia, so to fauour them, that all the cities of Asia where the Iewes dwelt, should suffer them to liue according to the laws of their country, and * 1.366 to enioy the benefites of the same, and though many of the Assirian kings troubled and molested them with great warres, which ioyned themselues with the Sama∣ritans to subdue the kingdome of Iudah.

Yet the Lord raised vp the house of Assamonias, Matta∣thias

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to resist the violence of the Assyrians, and after him his sonne Iu. Machabaeus, who slew of the enemies, Edumeans and Assyrians, that sought the ouerthrowe * 1.367 of his countrey, two hundred, thirtie sixe thousand, and seuen hundred, in the defence of Ierusalem, and after * 1.368 him his other foure bretheren forsooke not the lawes of the Lord for all the tyrannie of the Romane Empe∣rors and the Assyrian Kings.

But the Iewes from time to time so reuoulted from the Lord, that Aristobulus the sonne of Hircanus, made * 1.369 himselfe a King 481. yeares after the returne of the cap∣tiuitie of the Iewes from Babilon, but hee enioyed his kingdome but one yeare after he famished his mother and killed his brother, for in Iudah their kings had no better succession then the kings of Rome had, though in both the kingdomes, they made great meanes to be∣come kings. After this Aristobulus, there was no king a∣mong the Iewes vntill Herod, who was made by the Se∣nators * 1.370 of Rome, with the consent of Augustus Caesar, and Mar. Antonius, both Emperours of Rome, vnder whom Iudah was a Prouince.

Yet one false Alexander a Iew, most subtilly adopted himselfe, being very like to Herod, to be of the stock and family of Herod, and brother to Aristobulus, and thereby * 1.371 claimed to bee king of Iudah, saying, that he was Herods sonne, as false Philip faigned himselfe in Macedonia, * 1.372 to be Persius sonne king Philips brother, and as the com∣mon people there reuerenced false Philippe in Mace∣donia, so likewise in all parts of Iurie was this false A∣lexander * 1.373 carried in coach from Cittie to Cittie, with all the reuerence and honour that could bee, as though he were their true and lawfull king, but being brought to Rome before Caesar, who found by the hardnesse of

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his hands, and rudenesse of his behauiour, that hee was not brought vp like a Kings sonne, and therefore Caesar hauing found his falshood, bound him all his life time as a galley slaue, and commaunded all his counsellors and conspirators to bee killed with the sword.

This house continued vntill the last destruction of Ierusalem.

So that the Iewes after Christ his death, beeing e∣uery where afflicted and oppressed, from Babilon were forced to flie to Zeleucia, the chiefe Citie in all Syria, * 1.374 which Zeleucus Nicanor builded; a Towne where Greekes, Macedonians and Syrians dwelt together: there also the Greekes and the Syrians conspired toge∣ther against the Iewes that there dwelt, and slew treche∣rously of them to the number of 50000.

So sedition also began between the Iewes in Alexan∣dria, and the Aegiptians: in Samaria betweene the Sa∣maritans and the Iewes, and all the Iewes which dwelt * 1.375 in Rome, in Sardinia, & other places of the Romaine Em∣pire, were from thence banished.

These Iewes had not so much as a place to rest vpon the earth, but were scattered like rogues & vagabounds euery where, without credit or loue, without Prince, Priest, law or religion, (the iust iudgement of the Lord) for their blasphemy against the sonne of God, saying: his bloud be vpon vs and our children. Thus the Iewes whom Moses & Aaron brought out of Egipt, to the num∣ber of six hundred thousand, died all in the wildernesse, for their rebellious mutinie.

Moses and Eleazer (after Aarons death) numbred * 1.376 the people in the wildernesse, where all the other died, and they found sixe hundred thousand, seuenteen hun∣dred and thirtie able and sufficient men for the warres, and yet not one of them which Moses & Aaron numbred

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in the desart of Sinai after they came out of Egipt, sa∣uing * 1.377 Ioshua & Caleb, but died in the wildernesse, for diso∣bedience and stubbernesse, euer preferring the cucum∣bers, melons, oynions & garlicks of Egipt, before Māna, quailes, and sweete water which they had from euery rocke in the wildernesse, where neither their cloathes were worne, nor their shooes spent for fortie yeares, yet Egipt which should be a hel to them, was their paradice.

The tenne Tribes of Israel raigned in Samaria 240. yeares, seuen moneths, and seuen daies, during which time they neither obeyed the lawes of the Lord, nor heard the Prophets that forewarned them of these cala∣mities which were to come, and therfore the Lord gaue them ouer, & they were taken prisoners, & their last king Osea, & brought captiues by Salmanasser vnto Niniuie.

So the kingdome of Iudah and the house of Da∣uid was likewise taken by Nabuchodonozer in the ele∣uenth yeare of Zedechiah, the last king of Iudah, who was * 1.378 taken captiue, his noble men & his children slaine in his sight, before his eyes were pluckt out, and after led in a chaine vnto Babilon, where he died in prison 133. yeares * 1.379 after the kingdome of Israel was destroyed by Salmanas∣ser, that was the cause of his miserable end, for the con∣tempt he had to the Prophet Ieremy, disdaining either to hear him, or to read his booke, for before any king raig∣ned in Israel Iudges by the Lord appointed, ruled 370. yeares, the kings of Iudah after Solomons death raigned 395. yeares, which agreeth well with Iosephus account.

And so of the continuance of the Bishops or high Priests, euen from the building of the temple of Solomon (Sadoc being their first high Priest or Bishop) were seuē∣teene high Priests or Bishops in Ierusalem, by succession of the children after their fathers.

The end of the second booke.

Notes

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