That the true God in whose hand and prouidence all the state of the world consisteth, did order and dispose of the Monarchie of the Romaines. CHAP. 21.
THis being thus, the true God (a) that giueth the heauenly kingdome onely to the godly, but the earthly ones both to good and bad, as himselfe liketh, whose pleasure is all iustice; he is to haue all power of giuing or taking away soue∣raignty, ascribed vnto himselfe alone, and no other, for though we haue shewen somethings that he pleased to manifest vnto vs, yet far, far is it beyond our pow∣ers to penetrate into mens merits, or scan the deserts of kingdoms aright. This one God therefore, that neither staieth from iudging, nor fauouring of man-kinde, when his pleasure was, and whilest it was his pleasure, let Rome haue soueraignty: so did he with Assyria & Persia (b) who (as their bookes say) worshipped onely two gods, a good & a bad.) to omit the Hebrews, of whom (I thinke) sufficient is already spoken, both of their worship of one God, & of their kingdome. But he that gaue Persia corne without Sigetia's helpe, and so many gifts of the earth, without any of those many gods (that had each one a share in them, o•…•… rather were three or foure to a share,) he also gaue them their kingdom, without their helpes, by whose ado∣ration they thought they kept their kingdome. And so for the men: he that gaue (c) Marius rule, gaue Caesar rule, he that gaue Augustus it, gaue Nero it: he that gaue Vespatian rule or Titus his sonne (d) both sweet natured men, gaue it also to Do∣mitian, that cruell blood-sucker. And to be briefe, he that gaue it to Constantine the Christian, gaue it also to Iulian (e) the Apostata, whose worthy towardnesse was wholy blinded by sacriligious curiosity, and all through the desire of rule: whose heart wandered after the vanity of false oracles, as hee found, when vpon their promise of victory he burned all his ships that victualed his armie: and then being slaine in one of his many rash aduentures, hee left his poore armie in the •…•…awes of their enemies, without all meanes of escape, but that God Terminus (of whom we spake before) was faine to yeeld, and to remoue the bounds of the Em∣pire. Thus did he giue place to necessity that would not giue place to Iupiter. All these did the True, sacred and only God dispose and direct as hee pleased, & if the causes be vnkowne why he did thus, or thus, is he therefore vniust?
L. VIVES.
GOd that (a) giueth] Here is a diuersity of reading in the text: but all comes to one sence. (b) Who as their] The Persian Magi (whose chiefe Zoroafter was) held two beginnings * 1.1 a good and a bad: that the God of heauen•…•…, this the god of hell. This they called Pluto and A∣ri•…•…anius, the euill Daemon: that Ioue and Horosmades, the good Daemon, Hermipp. Eudox. Theo∣•…•…p. apud * 1.2 Laert. Those Plato seemes to follow (de leg. l. 10.) putting two sorts of soules in the world, originalls of good and originall of bad: vnlesse he do rather Pythagorize: who held, that the vnity was God, the minde, the nature, and the good of euery thing: the number of two, infinite, materiall, multiplicable, the Genius and euill. The Manichees also (Aug. de heres.) held two beginnings, contrary, and coeternall: and two natures and substances of good and of euil: wherein they followed the old heretikes. (c) Marius] He coupleth a good and a bad together. Marius most cruell, Caesar most courteous, Augustus the best Emperor, Nero ye worst that could be. (d) Both sweetly] T. Vespatian had two sonnes, Titus & Domitian. Their father was conceited and full of delicate mirth: and Titus the sonne so gentle, and indeed so full a man, that hee was * 1.3