A fruitfull commentarie vpon the twelue small prophets briefe, plaine, and easie, going ouer the same verse by verse, and shewing every where the method, points of doctrine, and figures of rhetoricke, to the no small profit of all godly and well disposed readers, with very necessarie fore-notes for the vnderstanding of both of these, and also all other the prophets. The text of these prophets together with that of the quotations omitted by the author, faithfully supplied by the translatour, and purged of faults in the Latine coppie almost innumerable, with a table of all the chiefe matters herein handled, and marginall notes very plentifull and profitable; so that it may in manner be counted a new booke in regard of these additions. VVritten in Latin by Lambertus Danæus, and newly turned into English by Iohn Stockwood minister and preacher at Tunbridge.

Vers. 3.

The shield of his mighty men is made red: the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots shall be as in the fire and flames in the day of his preparation, and the* 1.1 firre trees shall tremble.

* 1.2A Description of the enemies, whome before the Prophet na∣med scatterers or destroyers of Niniueh. And first of all their apparell and altogether warlike furniture is set forth. Their shield shall be coloured with red, as namely, paynted with vermilion, or some such other colour. And that the Chaldees in warres vsed shieldes and speares wee haue shewed before out of Herodotus. The Lacedemonians also when they went vnto warres, being va∣liant souldiers indeede, were delighted with red colour, as were o∣ther nations also: that their wounds which they receiued in bat∣tell might by this meanes be the more easily couered. So also did the Chaldees vse this colour in battell, as appeareth by this place. And not onely their shieldes,* 1.3 but also the apparell and garments of the men themselues, and especially of their captaines in warre was

And by (Men) I vnderstand the Captaines of their armies, their standard and ensigne bearers, who had rules of their bands, or part of them. All these the Prophet sheweth vsed and were de∣lighted with this colour also, to wit, the red colour For reason both had and also hath her colour, the which she vseth peculiarly both in warre and also in peace.* 1.4 And among armour, are hooked or yron chariots also to be numbred, which they of olde time vsed in battels long agoe, and both before the dayes of Homer, and also in his age Iosh. 17. vers. 16.2. Sam. 10.18. Horner also in his Iliads euery where, whence is that saying also of Virgil lib. 1. Aeneid:

Instabat curru cristatus Achilles.

By Stanyhurst thus:

In coach runs helmed Achilles.

In english by Phaerthus:

Here they of Troy be chased afore Achilles wilde in chare.

And these charrets of the Chaldees shall be feareful, both for their swift∣nes, and also for their brightnesse, and terror, which they shall strike into them. For they shall feare men like vnto burning torches, and shall dazell the sight of the eyes, that no Assyrian shall be able to a∣bide the brightnes and glistering of this kind of armour, when as they shall come vnto the battell, and fight, and the armies of the Chaldees shall be set in aray, and armed, and ready to giue the on∣set in battell. Thus then it appeareth that the Chaldees then ex∣celled in this kind of furniture aboue other peoples, namely in the swiftnes of hooked or yron charets, & in diligēce in arming them, and in skilfulnes in turning and driuing them. Finally when as the Ashes shal tremble, that is to say, the Ashen speares shal be shaken and tossed by them,* 1.5 the Assyrians shal take such a feare, that they shal not dare to stand against them. Therefore there is no credit to be giuē to Diodorus Siculus, who cap. 7. lib. 3. saith, that the Chal∣dees were thrise ouercome in sight by the Assyrians, when as they came in armes to besiege Niniueh. For here it appeareth that the Assyrians were foorthwith afrayd of the army of the Chaldees, & that they durst not often to go against them.

* 1.6Moreouer I translate the word (Beroschim) Ashtrees, and not Firre trees. Then by the figure Metonymia, I take Ashetrees for Ashen weapons, that is, for speares and pikes, the which Herodotus lib. 7. writeth that the Chaldees and the Babylonians vsed in bat∣taile and in fight. For that place of Herodotus sheweth what the word (Ashtrees) here meaneth. And the Ashe, as Plinius saith, is

an high tree and a tall, of a white wood, somewhat soft, and sha∣king, strong, and without knots, of which stuffe at this day notable speares and pikes are made, whereof also Homer saith that Achilles his pike was made. Therefore when as those Ashen speares or pikes shall be shaken in battaile by the Chaldees, the Assyrians shall flee, like as no nation at this day can easily abide and stand against the Heluetian armie of pike men: but all men giue place vnto it.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Or, the ashe trees.
• * 1.2

  A description of the enemies of the Assyriās. 1. Their shields red.
• * 1.3

  2. Their apparell also was red.
• * 1.4

  3. Yron chariots.
• * 1.5

  4. Their Ashen speares.
• * 1.6

  Beroschim. What the fi∣gure Metony∣mia is, See O∣seas cap 4. ver. 1.