A treatise against iudicial astrologie Dedicated to the right Honorable Sir Thomas Egerton Knight, Lord Keeper of the great Seale, and one of her Maiesties most honorable priuie Councell. VVritten by Iohn Chamber, one of the prebendaries of her Maiesties free Chappell of VVindsor, and fellow of Eaton College.

CHAP. VII.

Of an euasion which they vse, when they are vrged with the examples of beasts, plants and such like.

As was said before, a great question might be moued, whether for men the conception, or natiuitie were to be taken, & for other things the same doubt is greater. For example, in a chicken are three notable times, the hatching, the laying of the egge, and the first concep∣tion of it. If a figure-flinger should be asked the desti∣ny of an hen, whether shee were to die at shrouetide, or by the foxe, or to be thrashed to death: to answer the question which of these three times would he take for setting his figure? Againe, the hen hatching all her young ones at once, let him answere whether they must all haue the same fortune; how many of them should flye away with the kite, how many die of the pip or otherwise. In sowing of corne, though it all fall into the ground at once, in the same position of heauē:

yet you shall see it proue diuersly: of some will come good wheate: of some, darnell, of some smutty geare: and of some, that which we call solders, which could not be, if the figure of heauen preuailed. Farther I haue heard of some husbandmen, that one and the selfe same graine shooting out from his roote diuerse eares, will yeelde some of them good wheate, & other some smut∣ty. To these and such like obiections they are wont to answer, that their art extēdeth no farther then men, it doth not reach to cattes, wormes, flies, herbes, and such like. To this their answer we may well reply that of S. August. lib. 2. de Gen. ad lit. cap. 17. Quid autem insulsius, et hebetius, quam cum istis rebus conuincuntur, dicere ad solos homines sibi subijciendos fatalem stellarum pertinere rationem? What can be more senslesse, or sot∣tish, then, when they are vrged with these things, to say, the starres haue power onely ouer men, to rule them? Phauorinus in the 14. of Gel. cap. 1. saith, Nulla ra∣tio videtur, cur ea syderum vis in hominibus valeret, si de∣ficeret in caeteris, It were no reason to say that the starres had power ouer men, if they had none in other things. But will you see the brauery of imprudency? They that now restraine their art to men only, denying it in bea∣stes, are wont, when it pleaseth them, to extend it e∣uen to citties, houses and such like, as if by constella∣tions they could tell vs what should become of these things. The story of Taruntius Firmanus, is reported by Tull. lib. 2. de diuinatione, who at the request of Varro cast the natiuitie of the citie of Rome. Quidam Lucius Firmanus familiaris noster inprimis Chaldaicis rationibus eruditus, vrbis etiam nostrae natalem diem repetebat abijs Parilibus, quibus eam a Romulo conditam accepimus, Romā∣que

in iugo quum esset Luna, natamesse dicebat, nec eius fa∣ta canere dubitabat. O vim maximam erroris, etiam ne vr∣bis natalis dies, ad vim stellarum, & lunae pertinebit? Fac in puero referre, ex qua affectione coeli primum spiritum duxerit, num hoc in latere, aut in coemento, ex quibus vrbs effecta est, potuit valere: One Lucius Firmanus an acquain∣tance of mine, a very odde fellow for mathematiques, was wont to fetch the pedigree of our cittie from that feast, wherein it is thought to haue been builded by Romulus. Farther he added, that the moone at that time was in Libra, not sticking also to reade the destiny of it. O the force of ignorance, must the foundation euen of a citie be drawne too within the compasse of Moone & stars? Admit it were of some moment in a child, how the heauens were affected when it was borne, must therefore the like needs bee graunted in bricke and mortar, wherof the city was made? In Merton Colledge in Oxford in the Wardens lodging, a window there hath the figure of heauen, when the first stone was laid with these verses adioyned:

Cubice sume decem & vndena bis accipe quadrae, Summis sex & septem iungas tempora Christi, Tunc surgunt domus haec condita quando fuit, Richardi impensis Fitziames Praesidis aedis, Sedi & Roffensi Praesulis eximij. Do take the cube of ten, and eke of twentie two the square, To which adde sixe and seuen, and so of Christ wil come the yeare, When the first stone here was laid.

[illustration]

Pisces. 5. Mercurius. 27 Luna. 1.

Aquarius. 16. Venus. 15.

Capricor. 28

Capricor. 10.

Sagit. 2. Iupiter. 11 Scorpio 11

Libra. 19

Virgo. 5.

Leo. 16.

Cancer. 28.

Cancer. 10.

Taurus 5 Mars 5 Gem. 2.

Aries. 19. Sol. 2. Saturn. 1

Figura coeli in primi∣lapidis iactura, an∣no Christi, 1497. 12. die Martij. hora 10. minuto 20. ante meridiem: dies erat Sabathi: hora verò Veneris.