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That Oracles are ceased.
TOuching oracles, which for the most part were Idols of silver, gold, wood, stones, &c. within whose bodies some say uncleane spirits hid themselves, and gave answers as some others say, that exhalations rising out of the ground; inspire their minds, whereby their priests gave out ora¦cles; so as spirits and winds rose up out of that soile, and indued those men
with the gift of prophesie of things to come, though in truth they were all devises to cousen the people, and for the profit of priests, who re∣ceived the idols answers over night, and delivered them back to the ido∣laters the next morning: you shall understand, that although it had been so as it is supposed; yet by reasons and proofes before rehearsed, they should now cease: and whatsoever hath affinity with such miraculous acti∣ons, as witehcraft, conjuration, &c. is knocked on the head, and nail∣ed on the crosse with Christ, who hath broken the power of devils, and satisfied Gods justice, who also hath troden them under his feet, and subdued them, &c. At whose coming the prophet Zacharie saith, that the Lord will cut the names of idols out of the land, and they shall be no more remembred; and he will then cause the prophets and uncle••ne spirits to depart out of the land. It is also written; I will cut off thine inchanters out of thine hand, and thou shalt have no more soothsayers▪ And indeed, the gospel of Christ hath so laid open their knavery, &c. that since the preaching thereof, their combes are cut, and ••ew that are wise regard them. And if ever these prophesies came to take effect, it must be upon the coming of Christ, whereat you see the devils were troubled and fainted, when they met him, saying, or rather exclaming upon 〈◊〉〈◊〉 on this wise, Fili Dei cur venisti nos cruciare ante tempus? O thou son of God, why comest thou to molest us (or confound us) before our tim•• appointed? Which he indeed prevented, and now remaineth he our de∣fender and keeper from his clawes. So as now you see here is no roome left for such guests.
Howbeit, you shall heare the opinion of others, that have beene •• much deceived as your selves in this matter: and yet are driven to con∣fesse, that GOD hath constituted his sonne to beat down the power•• of devils, and to satisfie Gods justice, and to heale our wound received by the fall of Adam, according to Gods promise in Genesis 3. The seed of the woman shall tread downe the serpent, or the devil. Eusebius) in his first booke De praedicatione Evangelij, the title whereof is this, that the po•••••• of devils is taken away by the coming of Christ) saith; All answers made by devils, all soothsayings and divinations of men are gone and va∣nished away. Item he ci••eth Porphyrie in his booke against christian re∣ligion, wherein these words are rehearsed; It is no marvel, though the plague be so hot in this city: for ever since Jesus hath beene wor∣shipped, we can obtaine nothing that good is at the hands of our Gods. And of this defection and ceasing of oracles writeth Cicero long before, and that to have happened also before his time. Howbeit, Chrysostome li∣ving long since Cicero, saith, that Apollo was forced to grant, that so long as any relike of a martyr was held to his nose, he could not make any an∣swer or oracle. So as one may perceive, that the heathen were wiser in this behalfe than many christians, who in times past were called Op∣pugnatores incantamentorum, as the English Princes are called Defens••••es fidei. Plutarch calleth Poeo••ia (as we call bablers) by the name of ma∣ny words, because of the multitude of oracles there, which now (saith he) are like to a spring or fountaine which is dried up. If any one re∣mained I would ride five hundred miles to see it: but in the whole world
there is not one to be seene at this hour; popish cousenages excepted.
But Plutarch saith, that the cause of this defection of oracles, was the devils death, whose life he held to be determinable and mortal, saying they died for very age; and that the divining priests were blown up with a whirle-winde, and sunke with an earthquake. Others imputed it to be the sight or the place of the planets, which when they passed over them, car∣ried away that art with them, and by revolution may returne, &c. Eusebius also citeth out of him the story of Pan, which because it is to this purpose, I will insert the same; and since it mentioneth the devils death, you may beleeve it if you list: for I will not, as being assured that he is reserved alive to punish the wicked, and such as impute unto those idols the power of Almighty God.
Thucidid. lib. 2 Cicer. de di∣vin. lib. 2.
Zach. 13.2. Mich. 5.12. Gen. 3. Euseb. lib. 5. cap. 1. Idem. Ibid. Porphyr. in lib. contra christ. relig. Cic. de divin. lib. 2. I. Chrysost. de laud. Paul. hom. 4.
Porphyr. writeth verses i•• Apollos name, of the death of Apollo cited by l. Bod. fol. 6.