The works of the Reverend and learned John Lightfoot D. D., late Master of Katherine Hall in Cambridge such as were, and such as never before were printed : in two volumes : with the authors life and large and useful tables to each volume : also three maps : one of the temple drawn by the author himself, the others of Jervsalem and the Holy Land drawn according to the author's chorography, with a description collected out of his writings.

PART II. The ROMAN Story.

§ 1. Caius still cruel.

THE beginning of this year Caius was Consul, but held that place only for a month or thereabouts, and then resigned for six months more to his partner Apronius, and after those six months Sabinius Maximus took the place. A poli∣cy above his reach, howsoever he came to it, to shake the chief Magistracy by so often changes, that his own power might stand the surer. Both in his Consulship, and after it, he behaved himself after his wonted manner of barbarousness and cruelty, but that now he began to add one vice more to his cruelty in bloodiness, namely intolerable covetousness and oppression. Now, saith Dion, was nothing but slaughter: For many of the Nobles were condemned, many perished by the Sword-playes, and many imprisoned by the late Emperor Tiberius, were drawn to execution. Now did he bend him∣self to cross the people, and the people being thorowly incensed began to cross him. The main causes of this his displeasure (guess how weighty) were such as these: Because they came not to the Plays and Shews so constantly, and at such constant times as he had appointed: because sometimes when they came, they liked such sports as he liked not, & contra: And because they once extolling him, called him by the title of young Au∣gustus. For such occasions as these (behold the madness of a man self-willed) he brake out into all cruelty, slaying many at the Theater for the one fault, and many as they went home for the other, and many at their own homes, or otherwhere for a third. And now was his rage grown so high, that he wished that all the City had but one head, that he might strike it off at one blow; and bewailed his times, for that they had not been enfamoused with some notable misery of the Roman State, as was the reign of Au∣gustus with the overthrow of Varus and his Army in Germany; and the reign of Tiberius with the slaughter of above twenty thousand men by the fall of an Amphitheater at Fi∣denae. And that we may take a full view of his cruel words and actions here together, (the Reader I hope will not be punctual in expecting an exact order of time in this disorder of conditions) his common resolution against the people always was, Let them hate me and spare not, so that they fear me. But what was his anger think you, when his very feasts and imbraces of his minions were mixed with cruelty? he used to have men tortured in his presence as he sate at meat, mingling his sauce as it were with in∣nocents blood. At a great feast to which he had invited the two Consuls, he suddenly fell out into an extream laughter, and upon demand of his reason, his answer was, Be∣cause he had power to take away their two heads whensoever he pleased. And whensoever he was kissing the neck of his wife or paramour, he would constantly add these words, but cruelly amorous, This neck, as fair as it is, when I command shall be cut off. Such was his jesting; and as for his eranest, I suppose you will easily believe, that it was pro∣portionable. Whereas hitherto, he had been very free and lavish of his tongue in dis∣praising Tiberius, and not only had not checked, but also countenanced, and taken de∣light in those that spake ill of him, as well as he; he now turneth his tune, and breaketh out as fluently into his commendations: pleading that he himself had liberty to say what he list, but accusing those that had assumed the like liberty, when as no such thing belong∣ed to them. Then did he cause a list or catalogue to be read of those that had been ex∣ecuted and put to death under Tiberius; laying withall the death of the most of them to the charge of the Senate, and accused some for accusing them, others for witnessing against them, and all, for condemning them. These things he alledged out of those books which in the beginning of his reign and in the time of his seeming goodness, he professed that he had burnt: and after a most bitter and terrible speech now made among them in the Senate, and reviving an act of treason for speaking against the Prince, he suddainly departed out of the Senate and the City. In what case the Senate and the people were, that were guilty of either words or actions, that he had charged them with all, it is readily guessed, but how they shall come off, and what they shall do to escape, is not easily to be resolved. Their presentest help is to fawn and speak fair, and that course they take, praising him infinitely at their next meeting, for his justice and piousness, and giving him as infinite thanks that he suffered them to live, and decreeing that sacri∣fices

should be offered annually to his clemency on that very day that those charges were published against so many, seeking to appease his senseless and foolish anger by as sense∣less and foolish a pacification. But how little they could sacrifice, or pray or praise him into any better mind than he hath been in hitherto, you shall see by the sequel.

§ 2. An inhuman Cruelty.

Among the many cruelties of this monster, the murder of Esius Proculus may bear some bell, because he slew him for nothing but only for this, for that he was such an one as God had made him. This man was the goodliest man of person and shape in all the City, insomuch that he was commonly called Colosseros, for his extraordinary properness and stature: One day as he sate a spectator upon the scaffolds, of the bloody sports below, Caius commanded him suddainly to be put down among the combatants, and there to fight for his life. When he had had a tryal with two several men and came off victorious, the inhuman Tyrant caused him speedily to be bound, and arraied in tatters and rags to be led about the City, shewed to the women, and then slain. So much of beast had this monster in him that he could not indure the goodliness of a man.

§ 3. Caius his Luxury, Lavishness and prodigality.

Thus bestial was he towards men, and no less was he in another kind towards women. This appeared in the deflouring of his own sisters, and adulterating the most of the noble Ladies of the City. He was his own Pimp, and purveyer for his lust, with this open and hideous way of brothelry. He would invite the great men and their Ladies to supper, and as the women passed by him in way of salutation he would earnestly and leasurely view them, mercantium more, saith my Author, as they do that are to buy any thing, and if any matron for modesty held down her head, he would lift it up, that he might have his full survey: she that pleased him, he took into a retiring room and adul∣terated: and presently would he bring her forth again, and tell openly whether she had given him content or no. Nor was he content with this choice and variety of women neither, but that he might be beastly in every kind, he abstained not from the abomina∣tion of Sodomie with men. But let us stay no longer upon him in this his filthiness, but trace him a little in his more tolerable vices of fantastickness and prodigality. He seemed to affect a singularity in these three things, singing, working and spending, ac∣cording to the uncontroledness of his will, the vastness of his command, and the hugeness of his revenue. He invented new manner of bathings, and prodigious kinds of meats and feasts; he would disolve most rich and precious Jewels in Vinegar, and then drink them off. And because he doubted, as it seemeth, that he could not wast his treasure fast enough with such tricks as these, he would stand upon a Tower divers days to∣gether, and fling great sums of mony among the people. To all which ways of lavish∣ing and expensiveness, he joyned monstrous works and machinations, which shewed at once, his folly in their undertaking, and the vastness of his power in their perfor∣mance: As levelling mountains to even the plain, and in other places filling up the plain to equal mountains; sometimes causing rocks of flint to be cut through, to make a pas∣sage: and sometimes foundations of houses or walls to be laid in the bottom of the Sea, bringing soil and rubbish to fill up the place and to make it firm ground: ambitious to bring to pass seeming impossibilities, and cruelly hasty in the accomplishing of what he undertook, punishing the slacking of the work with certain death.

§ 4. His strange Bridge and Ships.

In the list of these his vanities, and ungodly ways of spending, let his bridge between Puteoli and Bauli, come in the first place, or else you do it some injury. These two places were about three miles and a half distant, an arm of the Sea of that breath, se∣vering them, and lying between. The ambition of the vain Emperour was to ride on horseback and in his chariot between these two places: What his fancy or Phrenzy

rather, was, that stirred up such a humor in him, is diversly related, and it is no great matter to inquire after it. Some say it was, that he might terrifie Germany and Bri∣tain against whom he intended hostility, with the very rumor of so great a work: others, that he might intimate, or rather excel Xerxes, who made a bridge of Ships over the Hellespont. But the rumor of it at Court, where his mind was likeliest to be best known, was, that he did it in confutation of a prediction of Thrasillus, who had told Tiberius, that Caius should no more rule then ride over the bay of Baiae on hoseback. Dion guesseth this to have been his reason, that whereas the Senate upon their fear and fawning men∣tioned before, had decreed an Ovation for him, or a kind of triumphant riding on horse∣back, he thought it too poor a thing to ride so by land, and therefore invented this trick of his own vain head, to ride so by Sea. For this purpose, all the ships that could be got were sent for in, and when they were not enough, others were made and so they all were set two and two linked together till they made a bridge of that three miles and an half long: Then caused he an infinite number of workmen to carry on earth, and make a causey like the Apion road over all those ships from the continent to the Island. (If this were not a Pontifex Romanus with a witness, let all men judge.) When his dear bought way was thus prepared, he prepares for it and for his Phantastick journey over it: His garb in which he would ride was this: He put a breast plate on, which he said had been Alexanders, and over that a rich purple robe, then his sword and buckler, and an oaken garland about his head: and having sacrificed to Neptune and to the other Gods, and even to the Deity Envy, lest the bridge should miscarry, he sets forth on horseback with a great troop of armed men attending him, and takes his strange and idle voyage. When he had ridden thus one day on horseback, he returns the next day in his Chariot, with an infinite train of his freinds in Coaches, of Souldiers in arms, and of the common people lookers on, and among others of state Darius an hostage of Parthia attended his Chariot; when he had done this great exploit, of walking, riding and coaching so many miles upon the Sea, he getteth up into a Desk, which was made upon this new-found bridge on purpose, and there maketh a solemn speech in commendation of this his great attempt, and of the souldiers and workmens pains and care about it; And when he had done he bestowed a large munificence among them. And the rest of that day and the night that followed, he spent in feasting and banqueting in banqueting houses that he had made purposely upon his bridge, because he would make the Sea a perfect road. Into these houses he had brought fresh water in Pipes from the shore to serve the occasions of this nights feast, if he will suffer one to call it night: For he that had turned the Sea into a Coach-way, was ambitious also to turn night into day; that in him might be shewed at once both how foolish he may prove that hath once let go the reines of reason, and how boundless that folly is when it is backed with power. The ships that made the bridge were set in manner of a crescent, and so went the rode: upon it he caused a great num∣ber of fires to be made, and so upon the mountains all about, that what had been his Coach-way by day was now at night become his Amphitheater. But it is strange that we hear of no murder of all this while among all this madness, for if Caius be not cruel he is not Caligula. After this his entertainment of his friends and of the company, he sud∣dainly ••ast a great multitude of them into the Sea, and when they laid hold of rudders or any thing that might succor and save their lives, he caused them to be thrust away and so they perished.

Answerable to the vanities of this his bridge, had he also Ships and Frigots to sail in for his own recreation, in which were baths, vineyards and orchards that sailed with him, that is upon his bridge he went over the Sea by land, so in his ships when he went by Sea, the land went with him.

§ 5. His Covetousness.

It is not so much wonder that these courses wasted the Emperours treasures, as it is how they have held out so long: And now that all his wealth is emptied, and gone, he can find as strange and unheard of means to fetch in more as he had found out to con∣sume the old. He now began to accuse, condemn and execute apace, that he might be dealing with their goods in confiscation. So died Clavisius, Sabinus, Titius Rusus, and Junius Priscus, for no other real fault but only for being rich. But why should I reckon them by one and one, when at one clap he condemned forty men together, and when he came into his Chamber he bragged to Caesonia his darling Lemman, Behold how

much I have done in the time that thou art taking a nap at noon! but this feat of con∣demning would not bring in mony fast enough, therefore as there were more ways of spending than one, so must there also be of getting. He inventeth new taxes and pay∣ments, strange exactions and imposts, suffering nothing to pass in common use, but it must bring some tribute unto his treasures. He sate a rate to be paid him out of all meat that was eaten, a rate out of every sute or action for debt, a rate out of the porters gains, nay a rate out the whores hire. He made men that were already free of the City to buy their freedom again, and many that had named him for their heir when they should die, he poisoned, that he might inherit their estate sooner: And these his exploits he used not only in Rome, but when mony was scarce there, he went into France and Spain and set up the same trade of polling there: He sold the Jewels, the goods, and the very servants of his condemned sisters; nay the very Jewels of the Crown, as the royal robes and ornaments of Antony, Augustus, Julia, Antonia, and others of the princely bloody. And to conclude all in one, he set up a stews in his own Pa∣lace, and had women there of all sorts and sizes, and his panders went about to fetch in whoremaster customers: and all this was done, because it was for the Emperours profit. He also made the Palace a common dicing house, and himself was the master gaimster; cogging, cheating, lying, forswearing, and doing any thing to make himself a gainer. Having once left another to play his game, and being gone down into the court of the place, he saw two rich Knights passing by, and caused them suddainly to be apprehended, and their goods to be confiscated, and returned to his game again, bragging that he had had an exceeding good throw. Another time at play, wanting mony to maintain his stake, he went down and caused divers rich Nobles to be slain, and returned presently again▪ saying, You sit here playing for a few pence, and I since I went, have gotten six hundred thousand sesterces.

As he thus cruelly murdered many, only for their goods, so also did he many others upon other spleens: as Lentulus Getulicus, because he was beloved of the Souldiers: Lepidus because he had adulterated his sisters, when he had done with them himself, and he caused Agrippina one of them to carry his bones in an urn in her bosome to Rome. A poor serving man for filching a silver plate off the cubboard, he caused to have his hands cut off, and hung about his neck, and to be led up and down with a Crier before him proclaiming his offence. Seneca was condemned by him for being too eloquent, or more eloquent than himself, (for that he could not indure in any) but he escaped through the intreaty of one of Caius his Lemmans. But Domitius Afer deserved to scape indeed who overcame him with silence, and mastered the Tyrant by being mastered. For being a man of renowned and incomparable eloquence, and now under accusation, Caius had strained the utmost of his own Rhetorick to frame a speech to confound him, both in his cause and in his Oratory. Domitius (when the Emperour looked that he would have answered him with the same height of Rhetorick again, and had he done so, it had cost him his life) sate mute, and took upon him to be amazed at so admirable and infinite fluency, and instead of pleading his own cause, he reher∣sed his Oration word by word, seeming to be so ravished with that eloquence that he forgot and neglected his own life. And then cast he himself at the Tyrants feet, and begged for mercy, avowing that he dreaded him more as an Orator than as Caesar. The Lion grows mild upon this fawning, and turnes his malice and spleen into pride and vain glory, rejoycing that he had so overcome Domitius in eloquence, whereas Do∣mitius had more cause to rejoyce that he had so overcome him by silence.