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 Tarsus or Tharsus.

THis was the Metropolis of Cilicia, scituated vpon the riuer of Cydnus, which beginning at Mount Taurus, runs thence through this towne into the Mediterranean sea. It was first built by Perseus King of the Persians, (whom the Poëts faigne to bee the sonne of Iupiter and Danaë) & called Tharsus, of the Hyacinth stone, which, as it seemeth, is found thereabouts. It was distant from Ierusalem 304 miles towards the North; in antient time a goodly city; but through the injurie of the time, and inuasion of the enemy, much impaired, & lay almost ruined, til (as Strab. saith, li. 14.) it was repaired by Sardanapalus that effeminat K. of the As∣sirians; of whom Tully remembreth this Epitaph, lib. 5. Tuscula:

Haec habeo quae aedi, quae{que} exaturata libido, Hausit, at illa jacent multa & praeclara relicta.

What things I eat or spend in sport and play; Those I enjoy, the rest I cast away.

From his time, vntill the raigne of Darius the last king of the Per∣sians, it continued in great prosperity, and was become a maruel∣lous stately citie, the inhabitants therof being growne very weal∣thy: but then Alexander the Great, making warre vpon that Prince, amongst others, brought his Army against this citie: but the citisens hearing of his notable exployts, durst not abide his

comming: therefore they fired the citie, left hee should make a prey of their riches, and fled: which when Alexander perceiued, he gaue order to Parmenio with all possible speed to quench the fire, and saue the citie. In the meane time the King (being prest with an extraordinary thirst, by reason of the extreame heate that was in that country, the dust, and his long journie) put off his roi∣all garments, and cast himselfe into the riuer Cydnus, which be∣ing a cold water comming out of the North, stroke the heat pre∣sently inward, and so benummed his sinewes, that had it not been for the present helpe of his souldiers, and the extraordinarie dili∣gence and care of Philip his Phisitian, he had died immediately; notwithstanding, by the great prouidence of God, and the care∣fulnesse of his physitian, hee recouered his dangerous sickenesse beyond the expectation of man; and after ouercame Darius in a sharpe and cruell warre, neere to a place called Issa, as you may reade before, See Plutarch in vita Alexand. and Quintus Curtius. From that time forward this citie grew to be very famous, and daily increased in statelinesse and faire buildings. And to adde more dignitie to it, there was a famous Academie, in which were many learned and rare Philosophers; in so much that they of Tharsus exceeded the Philosophers of Athens and Alexandria for learning and knowleged, though indeed for number of scho∣lers and common resort they exceeded Tharsus.

Saint Paul was borne and brought vp in this Towne, and here learned the knowledge of the tongues, Philosophie, and other good arts. Hee also perused the writings of Aratus, Epimenides; Menander, and other learned men, whose sayings are here and there dispersed through his Epistles. From thence he was sent to Ierusalem, where hee liued and was brought vp at the feet of Ga∣maliel, who was Prouost of that Academy: and after, was conuer∣ted to be an Apostle of Christ Iesus, as appeareth Acts 22. This towne at this day is subject to the Empire of the Turkes, and called by the name of Terassa; beeing neither so famous nor so faire a citie, as in the time when the Roman Empire flourished; for then, because of the extraordinary vertue of the citizens, it was indowed with the libertie and freedome of Rome.