A forme of Christian pollicie drawne out of French by Geffray Fenton. A worke very necessary to al sorts of people generally, as wherein is contayned doctrine, both vniuersall, and special touching the institution of al Christian profession: and also conuenient perticularly for all magistrates and gouernours of common weales, for their more happy regiment according to God.

¶ Counsell of the remedies to cure and preserue common weales from miserie, Chapter. v.

IT belongs then to gouernours of a common weale, (as to good Phisiti∣ons) by the doctrine of the law both deuine and humaine, the true mede∣cine and preseruatiue of Christian soules: to kéepe and conteyne their people: and gouerning them both in generall, and perticular by this law that they fall into no daungerous sinnes and mortal diseases of the soule, they are restrained to no lesse care art and dutie to pre∣serue them, then the Phisitions corporall are bound to defend the bodies from sicknesses by iudgement & rule of good regiment: And not confounding the two estates Ecclesiastical, and pollitike or secular, from doing their perticular functions albeit in profession diffring, yet tē¦ding to one generall end to erect Gods kyngdome, let them labour to kéepe their common weale whole and sound; that, neyther in maners, nor discipline, nor tou∣ching the lawes, customes, statutes, and ordenances, there bee no error by superfluitie or want, receyuing succours by doctrine, sermons, and perticular lessons, (touching Religion) of the Churchmen, to whome they are bound to stretche and leade their hand ac∣cording to GOD, as we sée the bodie serueth the soule in that is necessary for the vse and conseruatiō of man: And if in the said bodye politike, there bee hapned any euill, of what side soeuer it be, eyther of them selues or others, eyther within or without, whether of one, or many, or all together, they ought presently to discend to the remedie, to the rooting vp of the euill if it be pos∣sible in the beginning and not suffer it to encrease by conueniencie or dissimulation. Let them not doubt but God as he is of nature mercifull, so he is greatly prouoked when he punisheth man for vice, but more angrie when he scourgeth a whole family, afflictes a towne, and visites a whole countrie: but extremly and

most of all is he stirred when he distroyeth a kingdom and generall nation: let them not thinke that then the cause of the sinne is small or simple, but in diuers sorts multiplied touching y^e nomber, & of haynous importāce concerning y^e qualitie & quantitie, yea encreased w^t y^e nomber complet, euen to an incensible grauitie: for often times God attends the fulnes of our sinnes,* 1.1 spe∣cialy afore he strike a nation or whole people, accor∣ding to the text of Genesis, that he would not punishe the Channites till their iniquities were accomplished: The best preseruatiue against all these euils, is dili∣gent prouidence of the gouernour and magistrat, who then may best restrain vices, when they prouid that y^e lawe may be vnderstand of all, with such commande∣ment to kéepe it & vnder paine of such due ponishment, that euen in the first that transgresseth against him that made it, there may be actuall iustice to the com∣mon instruction and example of others, wherein for their better helpe, and effect of this verteous pollicy they must begin to institute the litelones, & to teach the ignorant, blaming both sorts if they do not learne and obserue, and so to others, instructtng euerie one in the office and dutie of their estate, and in what sort they ought to serue the common weale: vsing herein spe∣cially for their first foundation, y^e doctrine of fayth: then the groundes of good conditions, and lastly the rules of policie, which doctrine in these thrée partes, we haue declared before: In this sort the magistrate may pre∣serue his common weale, from infinit euills, as we read Iosua and Samuell, standing vppon these reasons of gouernment, neuer were trobled with sedicious, nor any miseries hapened to them after they had purged them by penance of former offences. There hapened in the gouernment of Josua but one defalt by Achan, but imediatly after inquisition was made, he passed by ponishment, by whose example let gouernours bring

into correction what vice soeuer they find done against God. with out regard to qualifie it eyther by persone, parentage, place or other partiall, or corupt circom∣stance: for it is most cerraine that as, that vice being suffered will be the cause of the damnation of the doer, so the impunitie and example will drawe many o••hers to do euill,* 1.2 wherby the ire of God will kindle against a whole kingdome: For which cause, Abraham assone as he vnderstode that Ismaell went forth to playe with Isaac, or as some in terperet, to prouoke him to Idola∣trie, he expulsed him his howse with his mother: Mo∣ses, when he founde any fault done in his campe, speci∣ally bearing offēce to God, exercised present and sharp punishment: what iustice thundredhe vppon those that worshipped the golden Calfe? and no lesse vppon the blaspheamor and transgressor of the Sabaoth, with o∣ther offences which he foresawe might prouoke god to sentence against the doers, and to destroy him first, be¦ing gouernour for negligence of iustice, and so conse∣quently all others consenting to the vices? he was ad∣uertised of the iudgemēt of God, aswell by his expresse lawe, as by examples past, and such as stood in present experience: as in the case of whoredome he had séene 24 thousand ouerthrowne by the hands of God, with com∣maundement to him to xecute the Princes & captaines of the people, by whose wicked example the multitude ronne to their sinne of vncleanes: he knew also that for the zeale of iustice, God appeaseth his fury, as ap∣peareth by that which Phineas the sonne of Eleazer did vppon two fornicators thrusting them both thorow w^t his sword, for the which it is writtē that God ceased to make the people die: he knew by many other examples that the furie of God was terrible vpon a whole world,* 1.3 if he foūd not exercise of good iustice by correctiō: which the Israelites sought to eschew in punishing the offences done in Gabaa as hath ben sayd: And Saule (being yet a

man of grace and fearing God) when he vnderstood the people had eaten flesh with his bloud against the lawe:* 1.4 cried out saying, roole vppon me some great stone, and put me to death: Oh what sinne haue the people com∣mitied against the Lord: séeing God, hath ben offended, he will punish vs all iustly by some miserable accident, if we resort not all to penance: therefore he commaūds to make ready sacrifices, to confesse their sinnes, detest them, and aske pardon of God by prayer: whose exam¦ple, if the Magistrates of the world afore the flood, had obserued, and after, in many places of the world if go∣uernours had applied such quicke Iustice and discipline in the first beginning of vices, neyther had the vniuer∣sall ruine hapned, nor such common miserie to many generall nations: if Helie had chastised his sonnes and kept the people from corruption of Idolatrie, he nor his children had not died, nor the people suffred slaughter and destruction: If Jonathas had not transgressed the E∣dict of Kyng Saule his father, the oracle of God had not ceased, & he not runne vnder iudgement of death, which he had suffred had it not ben for the intercession of the people: if Saule had not done wrong to the Gabonites, he had not ben the cause of the famine which hapned in y^e time of Dauid,* 1.5 for the appeasing whereof, there was commaundement to execute seuen of the race of Saule: By these exemplary aduertisements, let Magistrates of the present time foresee that in their gouernements there be no vice done, or being done, that it be pursued with present punishment: other wayes let them be as∣sured that with the example of a disease in the body en∣tertained and norished, and neither preuenting it afore it happen, nor being hapned, is carefull to purge and heale it, wil breede by continuance a feuer, disquieting the head & so much vex the whole body, that in the end he shal not be able to haue any vse of his mēbers, wher∣by death doth follow. All which hapneth by the default

of the head, in whom was vnderstanding both to kéepe him selfe and the body from euill, and also to prouide remedy if it did happen: euen so, when there is either ill prouidence to preuent an euill, or worse negligence to purge and cure it, nor seeking out the cause till the effect be expressed: it is then we see plagues, & famine, with other rodds of God: wherewith yet as he doth not scourge specially a countrey or common weale, with∣out great offence (as one that will not strike with his staffe but where he finds obstinacie and resistance:* 1.6) So let vs then do as children to their father whō they haue offended (for he strikes as a father) and seeing him stād with rods in his hand ready to discipline,* 1.7 fall vpon their knées at his feete, and with teares demaund pardō, on whom, in respect of their hartie submission as he is cō∣tent to bestow but two or thrée little lashes, & presently cast the rods in the fier: so also, if their wéeping & hu∣militie had appeared afore he tooke the rods in his hād, they had not at all felt the smart: euen so deales GOD with vs, correcting vs with easie discipline as his chil∣dren, and if we crie him mercy, there is nothing more familiar with him then forgiuenes, yea he will burne his roddes, and embrase our conuersion: withall, such is his goodnes towardes vs, that afore he enter into cor¦rection, be inuites vs to submit & acknowledge, to the end he be not constrayned (being a iust iudge) to lift vp his hand and make vs feele the rod:* 1.8 conuert (sayth he by his Prophets) to me,* 1.9 and I will be conuerted to you I will kéepe no remembrance of your faultes: yea I will repent me that I went about to strike you: it is grie∣uous to him to scourge his people, and an act which be∣comes him not properly:* 1.10 his nature is to do mercy for the which he is called mercifull, long suffring, patient, and mercy it selfe: he would not punish Dauid vppon his person notwithstanding he had deserued extreame Iustice, but pardoned his sinnes, when hee asked for∣giuenes

with great contrition & griefe. Touching the rods which he holdeth in his hand and strikes not, but sheweth them as matters of feare to offenders: we sée that Josophat being threatned with such roddes which were the Moabites, Ammonites, & Sirians his enemies, withdrew himself altogether to god, published fastings through all y^e coūtrey of Juda, & assēbling all y^e people to pray to god in y^e tēple, he, in y^e middest of thē, made this oration: O Lord God which art the god of our fathers, the god of heauē, and hast dominion ouer the kingdoms of all nations, in thy hand is force and power, & there is none that can resist thée: is it not thou O Lorde that hast killed all the inhabitants of this land (being idola∣tors and pagans) before thy people of Jsraell? We haue not force to resist so great a multitude, and therfore not knowing what we should do, there restes nothing to vs but to turne our eyes to thée O Lord, as hoping in thée only for ayde and succours: And as he continued thus in prayer, (wherin there was not so meane a woman and least childe which did not pray with him in the temple, behold the prophet spake vnto him: feare not this mul∣titude, it shall not be thy warre, but the warre of God: which hapned accordingly, for all those armed enemies forsaking their purpose, fell vpon the Jdumeans, and af∣ter slaughtered one an other, without any necessitie of him to go to the battell: so happened it in the time of Io∣nas to the towne of Niniuie, where the king vnderstan∣ding the hand of God to be ready to destroy them with in xl.* 1.11 dayes, commaunded a general fast for thrée daies: yea euen little children and beastes were restrained to abstinence: and ioyning to this penance, contrition and supplication for mercy, it fell out that the Citie felt not the roddes of God otherwaies then in feare. Touching the whippes wherewith hee scourgeth for not hauing thus preuēted, and yet in correcting them selues and as∣king pardon, he forgiueth them, it is written of the Js∣raelites,

that they cryed to God when they were in tribu¦laciō, & he deliuered them from their necessities: which is amplie declared in their deliuerance from the capti∣uitie of Egypt,* 1.12 wherein they felt sharppe and smartinge roddes, yet crying mercy to God, they were heard and deliuered. Dauid, seeing the furie of the plague vppon his people, and lifting vp his eyes to heauen, where hée saw an Aungell holding a sword ouer Jerusalem in signe of the punishement which hee made of the people by plague, cryed with a lowd voyce: O Lord God, it is I y^t haue offended: punish me: afterwardes he offereth sa∣crifice to God, and the death ceased. Ezechias, (for parti∣cular example) who féeling in his persone the discipline of God by a disease whereof he must dye: after he had ac¦knowledged him selfe, and cryed to God for grace, had answer to liue yet xv. yere with the receipt of the reme∣die to heale his infirmitie. And touching the publike af∣fliction which he and his town of Ierusalem suffered by the Assirians, that had besieged y^e town & made breaches to enter, the same night by great miracle the Aungell of God slew a hundreth foure score and sixe thousand of his enemies, which brought such confusion and feare to their King Senacherib, that he fled early in the next mor∣ning. In these maibe noted (as it were by the way) that as it is said in the booke of Iudith (accordinge to the pro∣mises which God made in his lawe) when the people of Jsrael serued God well and obserued his law,* 1.13 they were not vexed of straungers, nor felt common miseries, but such as offered to oppresse them were confounded, as Pharao and his ofte in y^e chase of these people were swal¦lowed in the red sea: euen so, when the Israelites fell frō this course, and offended God, he stirred by enemies on all sides, of whom they were either ouercome & slaugh∣tered, or at least by other hurtes felt and found the cer∣tein tokens of gods wrath, whose effects thei proued w^c extréeme miserie, if they did not repent: many nations

& people were not reformed by preachings, nor threats of gods iudgements, but scorned the prophets that pro∣nounced them, calling them fooles, mad men and sedici∣ous: and deliting in their owne scornes, they saied, let the day of God come, we s••are it not, for wée haue the temple.* 1.14 Many trusted in Idolles, and others hoped for succours of Kings to be strong against their enemies: yea there were that persecuted the good Prophetes that foretold their calamities to come: and the false Pro∣phetes reassured them againe with promises of all good successe: yea when famines, diseases, or other punishe∣ments hapned, they laid the occasions to the good Pro∣phetes and catholike people:* 1.15 as some of them attributed their plagues to the starres, which were the Chaldeis, & others iudged them to be things fatall, as the Phariseis: In which confusion and hardned obstinacie, & few men finding that it was the hand of God and his word to bée true, whereby without conuersion they deserued exter∣mination:* 1.16 God willed Ieremie not to pray for y^e people: as withall Moyses and Samuel,* 1.17 fauoured of God, & their prayers so often hard: Noe, Job, and Daniel aboue others no lesse dearly beloued of him: made continuall supplica¦tions for that obstinat and peruersed people (whom hée would not he are in their prayers) not to slaughter that people & destroy their city,* 1.18 which is a furie of god irrecō¦ciliable, wherin Jeremie praieth him not to correct thē, but in iudgemēt, for there he vseth not the rod to admi∣nister discipline,* 1.19 but liftes vp the barre or rodde of yron wherewith he threateneth to breake the heades of such as obstinatly and arrogantly rebell and will not hearkē to his word: for so in y^e time of Noe he destroied y^e world with the flud, subuerted Sodome and Gomorha: and led in such displeasure the Jsraelites that were vnbeléeuing, dis¦obedient, and ••utiners, that as Dauid saith, they could not enter into y^e land of promise, because they were vn∣faithfull and held no reckoning of gods word: and after

wards, for the same abuses, suffered them by the Assiri∣ans and Romaines to be ouerthrowen, their temple bat∣tered, and their towne raised, which is a punishment of the reprobate.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Gen. 15
• * 1.2

  Gen. 2.
• * 1.3

  Psal. 105.
• * 1.4

  1. Kings. 14.
• * 1.5

  2. Kings. ••1.
• * 1.6

  Psal. 88. Pro 3.
• * 1.7

  Heb. 12.
• * 1.8

  Es. 45.
• * 1.9

  Iere. 3.3••.
• * 1.10

  Es 1.28. Exod. 3.4.
• * 1.11

  Ioell. 3.
• * 1.12

  Psal. 106.
• * 1.13

  Iudith. 5.
• * 1.14

  Iere. 7.
• * 1.15

  Ezech. 13.
• * 1.16

  Ier. 7.14.
• * 1.17

  Ier. 15.
• * 1.18

  Ezech. 14.
• * 1.19

  Psal. 2.