Tricoenivm Christi in nocte proditionis suæ The threefold svpper of Christ in the night that he vvas betrayed / explained by Edvvard Kellett.

PAR. 2.

YEt let me, on the Bye, observe a fault in the great emendator of times: I will not determine at large, that quaestion, which hath exercised so many great Wits; whether the world was created in the Spring, or in the Autumne; yet I can∣not but gently censure the error, of that great Censor of times, Josephus Scaliger, who in his fift booke, de emendatione Temporum, (pag. 368.) discourseth, to this ef∣fect: the more ancient opinion was, that the world was created in Autumne; but, by a later opinion, it was made in the Vernal aequinox, or spring, because all things did then grow, bud, and encrease, which in the Autumne decrease, and wither: o∣therwise, say they, why was the earth commanded to spring, branch, and bud forth; that with the first frosts of Autumne it should be nipped, and leave growing? But, this is a vaine, fond, and foolish argument, saith Scaliger; though I was sometime of that opinion; hearken to his reason, for if this be true, saith he, when God bad the trees produce their fruite; there must needes have beene grapes, and other fruites (which are not ripe, but in Autumne) even then in the Vernall aequinox, which is most absurd. I answere.

• First, a man must not lightly change his opini∣on, if he doe, let him not censure it for an idle, babling, or uncomely opinion; but part with it fairely, without laying an aspersion of folly, on the argument, which before was prevalent with him, lest it reflect folly on himselfe, to be so simply mis∣led.
• 2. Secondly, Scaliger might have considered, Adam was created, not a child, but a perfect man.
• 3. Thirdly, that God, out of the ground formed every beast of the field, and every fowle of the ayre Gen. 2.19. And that God could easily create ripe fruite, as trees at any time whatsoever; that on every tree in Eden fruite did grow, and of every tree in the garden, man might freely eate except of the tree of

• knowledge of good and evill; Gen. 2.16. therefore there was fruite on that tree also, otherwise there needed no inhibition, and if Adam had not eaten of that forbidden fruite, we had not fallen.
• 4. Fourthly, God gave man every herbe bearing seede, or see∣ding seede, Gen. 1.29. and every greene herbe was for meate, Gen. 1.30. but because Scaliger instanceth in (grapes) he might have considered, Gen. 1.11.12. God sayd let the earth bring forth grasse; the herbe yeelding seede, and the fruite tree yeelding fruite, after his kinde; whose seede is in it selfe on the earth, and so it was: are not Grapes fruite? is not the Vine a Tree? Iudg. 9.8. The trees went forth to annoint a King over them, and the trees sayd to the Vine come thou and rule over us, ver. 12. and the Vine refused to be promoted over the Trees, verse, 13. see Ezek. 15.2. and 6.
• 5. Fiftly, the powerfull will of the infinite Creator, was as the Father; and the earth like a fruitefull wombe of a Mother, which brought forth full-growne creatures; why were not ripe Grapes created as well as other Autumnall fruites, ripe also?
• 6. Sixthly, if Adam had not fallen, it is more probable, that trees should have borne fruite all the yeare; some ripe, some halfe-ripe: some blossoming, some budding; as divers trees doe now, in divers parts of the world: as Aarons rod, Num. 17.8. was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossomes, and yel∣ded Almonds:

  Ver erat aeternum, placidique tepentibus auris, Mulcebant Zephyrinatos sine semine flores,

  saith Ovid, (Metamorph. 107. and 108. verses,) that is,

  The lovely Ver kept still in lively lustre, The fragrant vallies, smiling meades, and pasture, And Zephyre did sweete muskie sighes afford; Which breathing through the Garden of the Lord, To seedes gave vigour; verdure to the field, That verdure, flowers; those flowers, sweete savour yeeld.

  As Ioshuah Sylvester, our English Du Bartas, in his Eden, Fol. 219. hath excel∣lently translated him: I am sure, the tree of life in the Coelestiall Hierusalem, bare twelve manner of fruites; and yeeldeth her fruite every Moneth, Rev. 22.2. And the earthly Paradise was a type of the heavenly.
• 7. Seventhly, if it should be ab∣surd to say that our Autumnall fruites, were ripe and perfect, at the Creation; as the contray is most probable; yet, it is not absurdissimum; thousands of matters are more absurd; I am sorry to see Scaliger, in the superlative of Censure, for little or nothing; so that I cannot forbeare to say of him, as he sayd (pag. 568.) of Aben Ezra, En jecur Criticum, see how a Criticke may erre.

Lastly, S. Ambrose (Hexam. 1.4.) saith expressely to the maine question; In hoc principio mensium, quo Pascha, jussu Dei, celebrabant Iudaei, calum & terram fecit Deus, that is, in this beginning of Moneths, at what time the Jewes did celebrate the Passeover, according to Gods Commandement, God created the heaven, and the earth also, Athanasius (quaest. 17.) Eodem Die, quo Christus in utero virginis conceptus est, in mundi principio, Deus creavit Adam, that is, the same day on which Christ was conceived in the wombe of the Virgin, God, in the beginning of the world created Adam. Againe, Da∣mascene (de fide Orthod. 2.7.) in the spring, Deus fecit universa, God created the whole Universe. Briefely, (for I remember my promise at the beginning) of the same opinion, are Leo, (de Possi. domini. Ser. 5. and 9.) Beda, (de ratione Temporum, cap. 40.) Cyrill Hierosol. (Catech. 14.) Gaudentius, (tractat. 1. de Paschae observati∣me) and Iacobus Salianus; (in his apparatus, ad Annales Ecclesiasticos veteris Testa∣menti cap. 4.) citeth forty Authors, or thereabout, that the world was created at the Spring; and yet in my opinion, very simply, and superficially confuteth Ioseph Scaliger, viderit Lector. Now to returne to the former point; of the varietie of the yeares, and their severall beginnings and endings, with the divers accounts of divers Nations: see Alexander ab Alexandro (Gen. dier. 3.24.) and how many occasions, and some foolish triviall ones, caused some to begin their yeare, from such a Day; but I must apply my selfe to the Israelitish computation: that the Jew∣ish

account of beginning the yeare, and moneth, was different from that before established, appeareth by the expresse words, Exod. 12.2. This moneth shall be un∣to you the beginning of moneths, it shall be the first moneth of the yeare to you; as if he had said; it hath not beene so heretofore, it shall be so hereafter. But, whether the Is∣raelites in their Aegyptian captivitie, reckoned according to the old Hebrew ac∣count, or according to the Aegyptian account, may be doubted; howsoever an alte∣ration is estabished by God himselfe. And now by this meanes, you may know which is the first moneth, when Paschatizing was to be kept: that moneth whose fourteenth day or full moone, falls, either upon the Vernall aequinox, or after it, the same is the first Paschall Moneth; and hence it commeth to passe, saith Cornelius a Lapide; that the New-Moone of the first moneth, can neither be, before the eighth day of March; nor after the fifth day of Aprill: So that if it fall out that two full Moones are equally distant from the Aequinoctiall, as may be, though very seldome, not the praecedent full Moone, but the subsequent, designeth out the first Moneth: Indeede the yeare began before that time, in September, and that Moneth did runne out into our October: that moneth is called (Tisri) which signifieth in the Chal∣dee, the Beginning; and the beginning of their yeare it was. It is remarkeably sayd Exod. 28.16. Of the feast of Tabernacles, that it is the feast of in-gathering, which is in the end of the yeare. It was sayd of old, Supremum inferioris tangit in∣fimum superioris, the top of the inferiour thing toucheth the bottome of the supe∣riour; 2. Esdr as 68. Iacob's hand held from the beginning the heele of Esau; Esau is the end of the old world, and Iacob the beginning of it, that followeth ver. 9. and the end of one yeare past, toucheth the beginning of the yeare following: two minuts are not farre a sunder, the first determineth the preceding yeare, the second giveth life, motion, and account to the succeeding yeare: Ʋbi desimit Philosophus, incipit med cus; the Physician begins where the Philosopher ends, where one yeare ends, the other yeare begins; that part of time which determineth the old yeare, initia∣teth the new; The same feast of Tabernacles, which is sayd to be, Exod. 23.16 in exeundo annum, in the going out of the yeare, as the Hebrew runneth, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉,* 1.1 Beizeth Hasshânab, is said also to be (as it is in the Interlineary) in revolutione anni, Exod 34.22. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉; Tekuphath Hasshânah, at the Revolution of the yeare, as it is in the Margin of our last Translation: And though it be sayd in the body of our Bible, At the yeares end: yet the yeares end is the Revolution of the yeares beginning: the words differ more than the sense:i 1.2 Quando redeunte anni tempore cuncta conduntur, saith Hentenius in his Vulgar; and Santandreanus; which signe out not the past, but present renewed yeare: Where it is sayd, Exod. 23.16. In the end of the yeare; you must not understand the words of the Jewish yeare, which God hath newly established, but of their old computation. Septem∣ber which was termed anciently the first moneth, is now the seventh moneth, saith the Chaldee Paraphrase, on 1 King. 8.2. Where the seventh moneth is called also Ethanim; though the usuall name was Tisri; as now the first moneth here instituted is called by the Hebrewes, Abib, and in the Chaldee tongue, Nisan; and ordinarily consisteth part of March, part of Aprill; the New-moone beginneth the first day of the Moneth, as the Moneth did of the yeare. The Sacred things most of them were accounted from the Annus Sacer; and the Scripture most times accounteth by this Sa∣cred yeare, and yet we may not deny, but the yeare is truly distinguished, in vulgarē, a••t Civilem; into the vulgar or civill yeare: & Sacrū vel Ecclesiasticū, the sacred or Ec∣clesiasticall yeare: Some holy things were accounted even according to the common yeare, as the Jubilee by Gods owne appointment, Levit. 25.9. and it is generally a∣greed; the Common yeare, Quantùm adpublica negotia, & res saeculares pertinet, Moses, ut priùs erat, reliquit, saith Ribera, on Hag. 2.1.)k 1.3 and he proveth it by Iosephus, (Ant. 1.4.) The Jubilee was a sacred, most sacred feast: For though Civill things, di∣vers great Civill affaires were transacted in it: yet they were in ordine ad Religio∣nem,

and in respect of the Jubilee, which was as it were, a Sabbath of Sabbaths: and after 7 Sabbaticall yeares fully compleate, the fiftieth yeare was the great Jubilee, which was blessed of God, with extraordinary favours: for though the yeere pre∣cedent, being the 49. yeare, and the last of the 7. Sabbaticall yeares, they did not sow, nor reape: yet the corne growing in the 48. served both the remainder of the same yeare, and the whole Sabbaticall yeare of the 49. yeare; and for the yeare of Jubilee: Nor let any man wonder at the great encrease of the 48 yeare; God is able to raise up children of stones unto Abraham, Mat. 3.9. much more super-abun∣dancie of Corne out of the earth. But who doubts of Gods power? Let us see what he hath promised; let us see, what he hath done, Levit. 25.21. I will com∣mand my blessing on you, in the sixt yeare, and it shall bring forth fruite, for three yeares; was he not able to performe his promise? or, was he not as good as his word? He spake the (Word,) and it was made, He commanded, and it was created; as is divinely sayd in another case; He who made all things of nothing could easily crowne the sixt yeare, with an encrease for three yeares, and without doubt, performed it. Let us now see, what he did at another time, 2 King. 19.29. Yee shall eate, this yeare, of such things as grow of themselves, and in the second yeare, that which springeth of the same; in the third yeare, sow ye, and reape. In the first of these yeares, they gathe∣red in (as I thinke) the cadiva, or, that which grew from the fallings of the prece∣dent harvest, the selfe-sowen corne, selfe growne corne, as my Neighbours call it: the yeare also following, and the earth without tillage, manurance, or sowing, of its owne accord, brought forth sufficient corne for them; the Hebrew verily hath it, Germinatum sponte; which words may signifie, either the Cadiva of the second yeare, or corne miraculously springing up the second yeare, which I hold to be more like∣ly. The English is somewhat uncertaine, ye shall eate this yeare such things, as grow of themselves, and in the second yeare, that which springeth of the same; 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 [the same] hath not reference to the yeare; for then it must be sayd, in the same; not, of it, certaine it is, all plowing and sowed corne is excluded.

Notes

• * 1.1

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.
• i 1.2

  That is, when all things are buried at the returne of the yeere.
• k 1.3

  That is, so far as it concerned publick busines∣ses, and secular affa••res, Moses left it, as he found it.