Chap. 9.
Observations on the Holy warre; The horrible superstition therein.
WE have finished the story of the Holy warre: And now I conceive my indentures are cancelled, and I discharged from the strict service and ties of an Historian; so that it may be lawfull for me to take more libertie, and to make some observa∣tions on what hath been past.
Before I go further, I must deplore the worlds losse of that worthy work which the Lord Verulam left unfinished, con∣cerning the Holy warre; an excellent piece, and alas! it is but a piece: so that in a pardonable discontent we may almost wish that either it had been more, wholly to have satisfied our hunger, or lesse, not at all to have raised our appetite. It was begun not in an historicall but in a politick way, not reporting the Holy warre past with the Turks but advising how to ma∣nage it in the future. And no doubt if he had perfected the work, it would have proved worthy the Authour: But since, any have been deterred from finishing the same; as ashamed to add mud∣walls and a thatched roof to so fair a foundation of hewen and polished stone.
From that Authour we may borrow this distinction, That three things are necessary to make an invasive warre lawfull; the lawfullnesse of the jurisdiction, the merit of the cause, and the orderly and lawfull prosecution of the cause. Let us apply it to our present purpose in this Holy warre: For the first two, Whether the jurisdiction the Christians pretended over the Turks dominions was lawfull or not; and, Whe∣ther this warre was not onely operae but vitae pretium, worth the losing so many lives; we referre the reader to what