Part of Du Bartas English and French, and in his owne kinde of verse, so neare the French Englished, as may teach an English-man French, or a French-man English. With the commentary of S.G. S. By William L'Isle of Wilburgham, Esquier for the Kings body.

Annotations vpon the first Booke of Noe, called the Arke.

1 DIvine verse. He complaines of the miseries of our time, of his bodies crasinesse, and care of houshold affaires, which hinder his bold designes, and make his Muse fall (as it were) from heauen to earth. He calls the verse diuine because of the subiect matter which he handleth; acknowledging withall, that, as Ouid saith, Carmina proueniunt anime deducta sereno: and this serenitie or quiet∣nesse of spirit, which is all in all for a Christian Poem, is a gift from Heauen. And therefore this our Poet, In stead of calling vpon his Muse (which is but himselfe, or helpe of profane inuentions) looketh vp rather vnto that power, from whence commeth euery good and perfect gift, that is the father of light.

2 Oh rid me. This is a zealous inuocation, and well beseeming the Authors intent: which also is enriched with a daintie comparison. For verily the chiefe grace of a Poem is, that the Poet begin not in a straine ouer high to continue, and so grow worse and worse to the end: but rather that he increase and aduance himselfe by little and little, as Virgil among the Latin Poets most happily hath done. Horace also willeth a good wri∣ter, in a long-winded worke, ex sumo dare lucem, that is, to goe-on and fi∣nish more happily then he began. Who so doth otherwise, like is to the blustring wind, which the longer it continues, growes lesse and lesse by de∣grees: but the wise Poet will follow rather the example of Riuers, which from a small spring, the farther they run grow on still to more and more streame and greatnesse.

3 As our foresire foretold. Saint Peter in his 2. chapt. of his 2. Ep. calls Noe the Herault or Preacher of righteousnesse; and in the eleauenth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrewes, it is said that Noe, being aduertised from God of things not yet seene, conceined a reuerent seare; and built the Arch for safegard of his familie: through the which Arch he condemned the world, and was made heire of the righteousnesse, which is by sa••th. By these places may be gathered, that Noe laying hold on the truth of Gods threats and promises (as Moses also sheweth in the sixt of Gen.) prepared materials for the Arch; and in building the same, did, as well by worke, as word of a Prea∣cher, condemne the impiety and wickednesse of men; warning them of

the iudgement which hung ouer their heads; which also was put in exe∣cution at the very time appointed by the Almighty.

4 When all were once i'th' Arke. This historie of the Deluge our Poet had before touched in the end of the second day of his first weeke; which passage I the Translator thought good here to insert, that the description might be the fuller. These verses, and the rest to the end of this booke, shew vs the fearefull iudgement of God vpon the sinnes of that former world; set downe first by Moses in the 6.7. and 8. chapters of Genesis. Were I to write a full commentary thereof, I should discourse of Noes Arke, and diuers questions which present themselues concerning that rare sub∣iect, with the precedents, consequents and coincidents: but I touch lightly these things, to draw the Readers care, and make still more and more knowne vnto him, the great learning and Art shewed in this diuine Poem. To see how our Author is his crafts-master, let a man conferre this decription with that of Ouid in the first booke of his Metam: concer∣ning the Deluge of Deucalion. Some of his verses I thought good here to set downe, for encouragement of such as haue leysure, more neerely to consider, and compare the French with the Latine.

Protinus Aeolijs Aquilonem claudit in antris, Et quaecunque fugant inductas flamina nubes; Ennttit{que} Notum; madidis Notus euolat alis, Terribilem piceá tectus caligine vultum; Barba grauts nimbis; canis fluit vnda capillis; Fronte sedent nobulae, rorant pennae{que} sinusque; Vtqué manu latè pendentia nubila pressit, Fit fragor, & densi sunduntur ab aethere nimbi.

Then speaking of the land and out-let of Riuers, thus:

Intremuit motuque vias patesecit aquarum, Eupatiata ruunt per apertos slumina campos, Cwnque satis arbusla trabunt, pecudesque, virosque, Tectaque; cumque sais rapiunt penetralia sacris.

See the rest of Ouid; who hath not so exactly described these things, as our Poet.

5 Nereus. By this word he means the Sea, which at the Deluge ouer∣flowed the whole Earth; because it was not then held within the proper bounds thereof by the powerfull goodnesse and prouidence of the Crea∣tor. Ouid expresseth it thus; Omnia pontus erant; deerant quoquelittora ponto. Virgil, thus; Spumeus atque imo Nereus ciet aequora sundo. Natalis Comes in his Mythologie, lib. 8. cap. 6. hath much of Nereus and the Ne∣reides: where also he giues a reason why the Poets so call the Sea.

6 The Sea-Calues. So I translate [le Manat] for the Veal-like flesh there∣of; though this be indeed a great Sea-fish described by Rondeletius in the 18. chapter of his sixt booke. He is also like a young Bull with a broad backe, and a very thicke skin: they say he weigheth more then two oxen are well able to draw. His flesh (as I said before) commeth neere the taste of Yeale, but it is fatter, and not so well relished: he will be made as tame

as a dog; but hath a shrewd remembrance of such as hurt him. P. Marlyr of Millaine, in the 8. booke of his 3. Decade, tels great wonders of one that was tamed and made so familiar with a certaine Cassike or Lord of India: that he would play and make sport like an Ape; and sometimo would carry ten Indians at once on his backe, and passe or ferry them in that wise from one side of a great Lake there to the other. And for as much as hauing foure feet like a Sea-dog, he liued on the land as well as in the water: he would now and then wrestle with Indians, and take meat at their hand; but would in no wise be reconciled vnto the Christians there, because one of them (whom he knew, it seems, very strangely, by his face and clothes) had once strooke him with a lance, though hurt him not, by reason of his hard and thicke hyde. Ouiede, in the 13. booke and 10. chap. f his History, describes one, but not as a creature liuing both at Sea and Land; nor yet foure-footed. Howbeit he saith the name of Manat is giuen to this fish by the Spaniards, because he hath (as t'were) manus duas, two hands neere his head, which doe serue him for fynnes to swim withall: he tels further many things of singular note, and that this Manat or Sea∣bullocke is found about the Isle of Hispaniola. As for other fishes here men∣tioned, they shall be handled in another place hereafter; but who so de∣sires to know more of the history and nature of them, let him reade Gesner, Rondeletius, & Bellon. So much out of the second day of the first weeke: Now let vs goe on with this booke of the Arke.

7 Good Noe. In the history of Moses, Gen. 7. there are certaine points worthy noting, to proue that the faithfull and holy Patriarck Noes heart failed him not, though he saw then the Arke tossed vp and downe the boundlesse waters of this generall Flood; though all the fountaines of the great deepe broke forth, and the flood-gates of Heauen were opened, so as the raine fell amaine and without ceasing vpon the face of the earth forty daies and forty nights together; and the water swelled fiftie cubits aboue the highest of all hills. The first is, that he entred the Arke him∣selfe with his wife and children, and their wiues also, at the commandement of God. The second is, that, after all the beasts, paire by paire, were also come in, God himselfe shut the doore vpon them. For this shewes that the holy Patriarke with a liuely faith obeyed the voice of God, and vpon his only wise prouidence wholly rested. And therefore good reason had the Poet to set downe such holy exercises, as were likely to be vsed by Noe, being now close prisoner (as it were) for the space of a whole yeare and ten daies: as may be gathered by the 11. and 13. verses of the seauenth chapter of Genesis; and by the 13. and 14. verses of the chapter following. The summe of his discourse is grounded vpon consideration of the great mercy of God, who neuer forgetteth his children and such as feare him and rest vpon his goodnesse. This goodnesse and mercy well shewed it selfe vnto Noe and his, among so many fearefull shapes of death; while in the Arke they were so preserued aliue from the Deluge, together with the whole seminarie of the world next to ensue. The Almighty now held all crea∣tures obedient vnto the Patriarke, as he had before disposed them to come

and range themselues by couples into the Arke, where they were, during this imprisonment, to be fed and kept cleane. Let the Reader duely con∣sider how many wayes the faith, patience, and constancie of Noe was exer∣cised in so waighty a charge; and how needfull it was, that God, who had shut vp his seruant in this prison of wood, should be there also with him from time to time, to strengthen and make him rich in faith, as hee was; whereby he onercame all these dangers. God therefore doubtlesse was the Patron of his ship; the sterne, Load starre, Ancor and Hauen of this Arke, sloating amid the waters now hurried after a strange manner. To this purpose saith a learned Father: Noah iactatur procellis, nec meigitur; serpentibus & beslijs sociatur, nec terretur; ei serae colla submittunt, & alites famulantur. It was the great mercy of God toward Noe, that hee gaue him the skill and knowledge how to fit the seuerall places in the Arke for the creatures and their food: as also, that vnder one man, and so few more as were saued with him, he held in obedience so many beasts, and (for the most part) one contrary to another; that the men were not cho••ked vp with this close ayre, and ill sauour of excrements: that amid so many feare∣full apprehensions they were able to keepe life and soule together. But the blessing of God is the stay and sure hold of all his children.

8 But Cham. I will not speake here now of the questions arising about the time when began, or how long continued the Flood; nor curiously examine the Hebrew words; lest these Annotations grow too long. And the Poet hath chosen matter of more importance to be considered. I haue said else-where, that it graceth much a Poem, where the certame truth ap∣peares not, there to stand vpon likelyhoods. Cham shewed himselfe a pro∣fane wretch and a scosser straight after the Flood; whereupon both he and his posteritie were accursed. The Poet therefore with great probabilitie supposeth he could not long conceale and hold-in the poyson whereof his heart was full: but began to vent and vomit it euen in the Arke: Noe then, a man endued with the feare of God, was (surely) not silent the space of a whole yeare and ten dayes; and his care was not employed alto∣gether vpon the beast: it must needs be therefore that he spent some time in teaching and comforting his familie. Cham was certainly gracelesse, and had no feeling of the Spirit; and fitly then doth the Poet personate in him all that are profane striuers against the iudgements of God. For whatsoeuer is here imputed vnto Cham, may be gathered for likely, by that which he and his posteritie did after the Deluge. Noe who liued yet three hund••ed and fiftie yeares longer, returned (it seemes) from the Armenian hills, where the Arke staid, into his own former habitation, about Damas∣cus, where his fore-fathers were buried. It is held for certaine that Sem also came againe thither; and that his issue peopled the lands thence reaching toward the East & the South; Cham drew to the South & West; Iaphet to the North and West; whereof reade yee the 10. chap. of Genesis. Cham had one sonne called Cus, whose posteritie inhabited a part of Arabia, and that of Ethiopia which is vnder Egypt: another called Mitsraim, of whom came the Egyptians; and another called Canaan, father of the Ca∣nanites.

He had also Put, a fourth sonne; but of his posteritie Moses hath not a word. Iosephus, in the sixt chapter of his first booke of Antiquities, saith he peopled Lybia. And it was indeed in the sandie deserts thereof that the children of Cham held the Temple and Oracle of Iupiter Hammon, or Chammon. For the doctrine of truth by little and little being corrupted, and at last quite abolished amongst them (as among the Cananites the Scripture shewes Idolaters, Magitians, and persons euery way debauched and profane) these now blind and ignorant of the true God, make to them∣selues a God; and giue him a double name: one drawne from the name of the true God Ichoua, turned into Jupiter; and the other from their great Auncestor Cham. After this, the Deuill plaid terrible pranks in this Temple; and it became the most renowmed among the Gentiles; as you may reade in the second booke of Herodotus. And it is not vnlikely that Cham, euen at the time of the Floud, was plotting in his heart for such ho∣nours, to be done him by his posteritie, preiudiciall to the glory of Almighty God. As for his obiections here, they tend all (as all Chamites or Atheists reasons doe) first to controll the wise and vnblameable prouidence of the All good and Almighty God. Secondly, to shake the foundation of deuout humilitie in his Church. Thirdly, to censure both the mercy and iustice of the Lord. Fourthly, to make the order of Nature his buckler, to keepe off all apprehension of the vengeance of God; whose wayes, though the wicked thinke to follow them with naturall reason, are all past finding out, as witnesseth the Prophet Isay and S. Paul.

9. Fie Father. I come now to set downe in briefe the reproches, and foule speeches vttered here by Cham, whereof I need say but little, because the Reader may very easily distinguish them; sithence there is nothing in the Poets words, but easie to be vnderstood. The chiefe point is to con∣sider well of Noes answers; which I haue one by one obserued as they stand in the Text.

10. By this the father gauld. After he hath witnessed his griefe in pre∣face, hee bestowes vpon this scoffer such titles as he deserued; and then layes open the well-head of Atheisme; which is, for man to trust ouermuch in himselfe, and little regard what is taught by the Spirit of God: then foretelling the miserable end of all Atheists, he answers the obiections of Cham very punctually; enriching and beautifying his discourse with de∣scriptions, comparisons, inductions and proofes necessarie; which well considered, afford much instruction, and comfort vnto men of an vpright heart. The two last answers are very remarkable; whereunto the Pa∣triarke most fitly adioynes the calling on the name of God; of purpose to shew, vnto whom the faithfull ought to flie in all their troubles and tenta∣tions. I will not adde hereunto what Iosephus hath in the first of his An∣tiquities, because there are many things little to the purpose, and such as sort not with the state and maiestie of that sacred historie set downe by Moses. Something it is that Philo Iudaeus hath written of Moses and the Deluge in his second booke of the life of Moses toward the end. Vpon this historie of the Flood haue the Heathen people forged that fable of Deucalion, described by Ouid in the first of his Metamorphosis. But in these answers, by our Author put vpon Noc, the Reader may finde wherewithall to stop the mouth of all Atheists & Epicures, which are so bold to censure all that the holy Scripture saith, as well of the Essence and Nature of God, as of his workes; whether they concerne the creation and preseruation of the world, with the redemption of Mankinde; or his iust iudgements vpon the profane and reprobate vnbeleeuers.