The common places of the most famous and renowmed diuine Doctor Peter Martyr diuided into foure principall parts: with a large addition of manie theologicall and necessarie discourses, some neuer extant before. Translated and partlie gathered by Anthonie Marten, one of the sewers of hir Maiesties most honourable chamber.

Of Crueltie.

50 And as concerning crueltie, * 1.1 we may ea∣silie gather by the punishment doone vnto Ado∣nibezeck, that too much crueltie displeaseth God: and thereof I thinke it came to passe, that as well by Gods lawes, as mans lawes (of those I meane which are accounted iust and honest) there haue béene certeine punishments prescri∣bed for crimes, according to the gréeuousnesse of them; to the intent that iudges might haue the lesse libertie to exercise crueltie. Yea and law∣iers haue added this rule, that punishments should rather be diminished by iudges, than aug∣mented: which neuerthelesse must be vnderstood so farre foorth as the nature of the fault and vti∣litie of the Common-weale will suffer. Which I therefore speake, bicause otherwhile those condi∣tions, which commonlie they call circumstan∣ces, doo make the crime so odious and horrible, that the iudges must there of necessitie augment the punishment, which hath béene prescribed by the lawes; to the intent they may terrifie others frō so great & detestable offenses. And so Dauid, * 1.2 when Nathan the prophet had set before him an execrable and horrible thing, decréed a more gréeuous punishment against him that was guiltie, than the lawe had prouided against com∣mon théeues, and stealers of cattell.

I haue therefore made mention of these, * 1.3 bi∣cause there were in the law thrée kinds of death appointed for euill dooers; I meane, hanging, stoning, and burning: wherevnto some of the Hebrues adde a fourth; namelie, the punish∣ment of the sword. But bicause there is not (as farre as I knowe) anie mention thereof in the lawe, I haue therefore passed it ouer. We read that Adonias, Ioab, and Agag king of Amalech, were thrust thorough with swords; but we find it not prescribed by anie lawe or precept, that the guiltie should be put to death. Séeing there∣fore the matter is so, yet we perceiue, * 1.4 that the children of Israel vsed in their tents a certeine extraordinarie kind of punishment against king Adonibezek. Neither will I beléeue, that they did this without the instinct of GOD: for God would punish the crueltie of this tyrant, with an exquisite punishment, which neuerthe∣lesse

was a rendering like for like. Which kind of horrible dooing, to the intent we may the easi∣lier auoid, it shall not be gréeuous vnto vs to speake somewhat thereof.

* 1.5 51 This word crueltie, is deriued either of this Latine word Cruor, which signifieth Bloud, wherein cruell men like wild beasts doo delite; or else of Crudae carnes, which signifieth Rawe flesh, which barbarous and beastlie people doo sometimes eate: and it may be defined to be an euill habit, by the which we are inclined vnto sharpe and hard things aboue reason. And som∣times it happeneth, that crueltie is counted for a pleasure: with which wicked affection or habit, how some wicked tyrants haue somtime béene infected, it is euidentlie to be perceiued by ma∣nie examples. For the holie historie setteth be∣fore our eies Adonibezek: and the euangelicall historie maketh mention of Herod. * 1.6 The Eth∣nike poets haue made report of the crueltie of Atreus and Thiestes. And the most cruell fact of Xerxes king of the Persians is set foorth by Se∣neca in his third booke De ira, * 1.7 the 17. chapter. When a certeine man named Pythius, who had well deserued at his hands, came vnto him, and desired of him to spare him one of his fiue sons from the wars, he cōmanded him, as though he would grant him his request, to choose which of them he would haue to tarrie at home from the wars. And he did as he was bidden. But this most cruell tyrant commanded, that the yoong man, whom he had chosen, should be drawne one side of him one waie, and the other side of him another waie, vntill at the length he was torne in sunder: the one part whereof he com∣manded to be fastened in one corner of the waie, by the which the soldiers should passe; and the other in another corner: saieng, that by this meanes he purged his armie. Howbeit, not long after, he being most shamefullie ouercome and beaten by the Graecians, was constreined to flie awaie through the ouerthrowes and dead carcases of his owne soldiers.

* 1.8 Sylla banished an innumerable companie of the citizens of Rome: but at the length he was most horriblie eaten vp of lice. Euen after the like sort died that most cruell Herod, as it is most manifestlie declared by Iosephus. Contra∣rie to this excéeding great wickednes and most heinous mischéefe is clemencie, which as a sin∣gular vertue dooth verie well become princes, and is an excellent ornament of christian men. Augustine in his third booke of Questions, que∣stion 31. defineth the same after this maner; * 1.9 It is an habit, whereby men being stirred vp to ha∣tred against anie man, are through goodnesse kept backe. * 1.10 This vertue is a meane betwéene crueltie and foolish mercie. I call it foolish mer∣cie, whereby our mind is so mooued with other mens miseries, that it declineth from sound counsell and iust reason. And for this cause are we ouercome of this affect, bicause we would neuer suffer such things, as we sée others iustlie and deseruedlie afflicted withall: and bicause we our selues indeuour to auoid the same, there∣fore we cease to punish the wicked.

52 Dauid, hauing ouercome his enimies, * 1.11 did gréeuouslie punish them; he led the Ammonites foorth of the citie, and slue them, not after a vul∣gar maner, but he had sawes, wherwith he saw∣ed them in sunder. And this is also shewed to haue happened vnto Esaie. And in the eleuenth chapter to the Hebrues, it is said of the saints, * 1.12 that they were hewen in sunder. This kind of punishment perhaps was vsuall in those parts. Moreouer, he brought foorth chariots and sleds, that they should be drawne vpon them; and he also hewed them in sunder with axes and hat∣chets, he threw them into the kils of bricke or tile: all which are cruell things. * 1.13 Dauid perhaps in these punishments, might séeme to haue de∣generated from his owne nature: for he was méeke and gentle; but these séeme to be parts of excéeding great crueltie. What did he become another Phalaris? No: but if we will iudge by things, as they were doone, manie of them may séeme in the holie scriptures to haue béene cruell. * 1.14 For the Iewes so punished king Adoni∣besek, as they cut off the thumbes of his hands, and of his féet. Iosua brought foorth the kings, * 1.15 which had hidden themselues in a caue; and they being prostrated vpon the earth, he would haue them to be troden vpon by the children of Is∣rael, in such wise, that they should tread with their féet vpon euerie one of their necks: and af∣terward he hanged them vpon fiue trées. * 1.16 Ge∣deon, in the eight chapter of the booke of Iudges, slue the elders of Succoth with thornes and bri∣ers. Saules sonnes, * 1.17 by the will and commande∣ment of the Lord, were hanged vp. These things séeme at the first sight to be cruell; but they be not so. Which that it may appéere, doo but consi∣der this; that about the executing of punish∣ments, there be found in the minds of men, ha∣bits of vertue, and of vices.

Clemencie causeth minds to be bent vnto the mitigation of punishments, according vnto right reason. The vice that is in defect, is a cer∣teine remissenesse and slacknesse in punishing: for we may sée manie, which doo not once touch heinous crimes. And on the other part, there is a certeine habit of fiercenesse and crueltie, that passeth measure. Those be called cruell (if we giue credit to Seneca, in his second booke De clementia) which excéed a measure in punishing offenders. And, as we bréeflie touched, cruell men are so called either of Cruor, that is, Bloud: as who should saie, they be delited therewith; or

else of Cruditas, that is, Rawnesse. For euen as those things, which be sodden, haue a pleasant taste; so haue rawe things an vnpleasantnesse ioined with them, togither with a certeine taste that is horrible. Those be sauage and cruell, which doo torment without a cause, as though they were delited with the torments of other men; euen as beasts that knowe not goodnesse and honestie, but haue onelie respect vnto swéetnesse and commoditie: either for that the sight of bloud is delitefull, or else bicause they will be fed with flesh. Now, since crueltie consisteth in this, that therein is a going beyond the measure of right reason; let vs sée, whether Dauid and others haue passed the bounds of reason. Cer∣tes, they followed a mediocritie; and those things, which they did, belonged vnto punishing iustice: for those were woorthie of the greatest punishments. Dauid followed reason, but yet a diuine reason; the which reason alone is called good. God stirred him vp vnto these things, not without a cause. And it was necessarie for him, since he was a grand capteine, to followe that reason, which God had shewed vnto him.

53 That the Ammonites were most wicked men, we may knowe it by manie causes. First of all, they against the lawe of nations, shamed the ambassadors of Dauid, in cutting short their beards and garments. They gaue an ill iudge∣ment of the most godlie king Dauid; namelie, that he had sent that ambassage with a feigned hart, not to comfort the sonne of the king of the Ammonites, which was dead, but to destroie him. Againe, when the head citie was besieged, and that they had slaine Vrias, and other valiant men, they also vaunted against God. This did Nathan declare; * 1.18 Bicause thou hast prouoked mine enimies (saith he) to speake euill of me, the child, which is borne of thee, shall be slaine. If God slue the child of Dauid, bicause Dauid had giuen an occasion of blaspheming God; how much more gréeuouslie were they to be punish∣ed, which did this thing? And further, wheras they had doone iniuries vnto Dauid, yet did they first mooue war against him. And neither would they onelie hurt Dauid, but they also solicited others of his subiects and tributaries to forsake him. They disquieted all those regions of Syria and Mesopotamia: and that (which is most of all) they burned their sonnes and daughters for their idoll sake, which they worshipped. And what maruell was it, if they were throwne into the same fornaces, * 1.19 wherein they threw their owne children? This was a punishment of like for like.

And alwaies in those punishments, which are not reprooued in the scriptures, we must flie vn∣to this; namelie, that God gouerned those fa∣thers. Some, to make these punishments the lesse, saie that all were not so handled; but the seigniors and princes onelie, which were as the staie and succour of the people. But Iosephus saith, that they were all rid out of the waie. And the scriptures also séeme to make it a generall punishment. Howbeit, I would thinke that some were excepted: for in the 17. chapter of the second booke of Samuel, we read, * 1.20 that Sobi the sonne of king Nahas, did helpe Dauid, when he was driuen out of the kingdome by Absolom. Wherevpon it is gathered, that the one sonne of king Nahas was slaine, and that the other was by Dauid made ruler of the countrie. These things are not so much to be woondered at in him, séeing he was a figure of the true Dauid, which at the last daie shall saie vnto all men; Go ye curssed into euerlasting fire, which is prepared for the diuell and his angels. Those punishments which God shall laie vpon the wicked in hell, are not cruell. They shall be as it were intollerable punishments, but yet they procéed of a right pu∣nishing iustice. He saith in the Gospell; * 1.21 Bring ye vnto me all them, which would not haue me reigne ouer them, and slaie them in my sight. Here let magistrates learne to haue a regard vnto right reason, when the guiltie are deliue∣red to them to be punished. It must not gréeue their mind to execute those punishments, which are iust, and commanded to be doone.

Notes

• * 1.1

  In Iud. 1.
• * 1.2

  2. Sam. 12, 5
• * 1.3

  Three kinds of death in the lawe of God.
• * 1.4

  An extraor∣dinarie pu∣nishment of the He∣brues.
• * 1.5

  The defini∣tion of cru∣eltie.
• * 1.6

  Matt. 2, 16.
• * 1.7

  The cruel∣tie of Xer∣xes.
• * 1.8

  The mise∣rable end of Sylla.
• * 1.9

  Clemencie defined.
• * 1.10

  A foolish kind of mercie.
• * 1.11

  In 2. Sam. 12, verse. 31.
• * 1.12

  Heb. 11, 37.
• * 1.13

  Whether Dauid were cruell.
• * 1.14

  Iudg. 1, 6.
• * 1.15

  Iosua. 10, 27
• * 1.16

  Iudg. 8, 16.
• * 1.17

  2. Sam. 21, 9
• * 1.18

  2. Sa. 12, 14.
• * 1.19

  The punish∣ment of like for like.
• * 1.20

  2. Sa. 17, 37.
• * 1.21

  Matt. 25. 41.