Itinerarium totius Sacræ Scripturæ. Or, the trauels of the holy patriarchs, prophets, iudges, kings, our sauiour Christ, and his Apostles, as they are related in the Old and New Testaments. With a description of the townes and places to which they trauelled, and how many English miles they stood from Ierusalem. Also a short treatise of the weights, monies, and measures mentioned in the Scriptures, reduced to our English valuations, quantitie, and weight. Collected out of the workes of Henry Bunting, and done into English by R.B.

Of Smyrna.

THis is the second city to which Iohn dedicated his Reuelati∣on. It was scituated in Ionia in Asia minor, 540 miles from Ierusalem Northwestward. This was a very faire city, beautified with many goodly buildings, and of good account in Grecia. It was at first but a Colony, transplanted from another city in that country. But Theseus that great prince beeing then King thereof, that he might adde some grace to that which hee had begun, hee called it after his wiues name Smyrna, signifying Myrrh. Herod. saith that Homer was born here (but not blind) and called by the name of Melisigines: but after the Cumaenians called him (of his blindnesse) Homer. Strab. li. 14. Geogr. saith, That the inhabitants take vpon them to shew his picture standing there, & also a tem∣ple built in his honour. During his life he was a man of small or no reputation, or rather contemned than honored, as Herod saith. But after his death his works beginning to grow famous, the Ci∣ties of Greece contended who should patronise him. The Colo∣phonians claim a part in him, because he was in that towne, and there made some of his Odysses. They of Chios say he belonged to them, because he liued there a long time, and taught schoole. But for ought that can bee found by Authours, the Smyrnians haue most interest in him. Neuerthelesse I leaue him to them that please to patronise him, since it is not certainly found where hee liued. He liued about 900 yeares before Christ.

Eusebius saith, Hist. Eccles. lib. 4. cap. 14. that in after times this city grew very famous, and was so much inlarged that it became a Bishops See, whereof Polycarpus a very godly and religious man was Bishop. He gouerned the Church in that place at such time as Iohn the Evangelist wrot his Reuelation, and by him, cap. 2. is cal∣led the Angell of the Church of Smyrna. This man after he had faithfully preached the Gospell for the space of 86 yeares, was by the inhabitants thereof condemned to death for the profession of Christ, Anno 170. But the towne of Smyrna because of the vn∣thankfulnesse and crueltie of the inhabitants was grieuously pu∣nished, for within ten yeares it was cast downe by an earthquake, since which time it was hardly rebuilt again. The riuer Pactolus which beginneth in Lydia, runneth by this town of Smyrna. But the inhabitants, because of the golden veins that are found there∣in, call it Crysorrhoas, Plin. lib. 5. cap. 29. A little after that, there was such an extreme plague hapned in Rome, that they were con∣strained to carry out the dead bodies in carts. Thus God turneth the aire and the earth to the confusion of those that persecute his Church.