proceed into opinions fo far divided from reafon, as to think of immortality after the fall of Adam, or conceit a man in these later times fhould out-live our fathers in the firft, although it feem very ftrange, yet is it not incredible. For the credulity of men hath been deluded into the like conceits; and as Ireneus and Tertullian mention, one Menander a Samaritan obtained belief in this very point; whofe doctrine it was,that death fhould have no power on his difciples, and fuch as received his baptifin fhould receive immortality therewith. Twas furely an apprehenfion very ftrange; nor ufually falling either from the abfurdities of Melancholy or vanities of ambition. Some indeed have been fo affectedly vain, as to counterfeit Immortality, and have ftoln their death,in a hope to be efteemed immortal, and others have conceived themfelves dead;but furely few or none have fallen upon fo bold an errour, as not to think that they could die at all. The reafon of thofe mighty ones, whofe ambition could fuffer them to be called gods, would never be flattered into immortality: but the proudelt thereof have by the daily dictates of corruption convinced the impropriety of that appellation. And furely although delufion may run high, and poffible it is that for a while a man may forget his nature, yet cannot this be durable. For the inconcealable imperfections of our felves, or their daily examples in others, will hourly prompt us our corruption, and loudly tell us we are the fons of earth. CHAP. XI. More compendiously of fome others. Many Any others there are which we refign unto Divinity, and perhaps deferve not controverfie. Whether David were punifhed only for pride of heart in numbering the people,as moft do hold, or whether as fofephus and many maintain, he fuffered alfo for not performing the Commandment of God concerning capitation, that when the people were numbred, for every head they fhould pay unto God a fhekell, we fhall not here contend. Surely, if it Exod.30. were not the occafion of this plague, we must acknowledge the omiffion thereof was threatned with that punishment, according to the words of the Law. When thou takeft the fum of the children of Ifrael, then fhall they give every mana ranfom for his foul unto the Lord, that there be no plague amongst them. Now how deeply hereby God was defrauded in the time of David,and opulent State of Ifracl, will eafily appear by the fums of former luftrations For in the firft, the filver of them that were numbred was an hundred Talents, an da Exod. 38. thousand feven hundred threefcore and fifteen (hekels, a Bekah for every man, that is,balfa fhekel,after the fhekel of the fanctuary; for every one from twen ty years old and upwards, for fix hundred thousand,and three thousand and five hundred and fifty men. Anfwerable whereto we read in fofephus, Vefpafian ordered that every man of the fews fhould bring into the Capitol two dragms which amounts unto fifeeen pence,or a quarter of an ounce of filver with us: and is equivalent unto a Bekah,or half a fhekel of the Sanctuary. Por an At tick dragm is feven pence half-peny or a quarter of a fhekel, and á didrachmum or double dragm, is the word ufed for Tribute money, or halfa fhekel, and flater the money found in the fishes mouth was two Didrachmums,or an whole fhekel,and tribute fufficient for our Saviour and for Peter. a We will not question the Metamorphofis of Los wife, or whether the were transformed into a real ftatua of Salt: though fome' conceive that expreffion Metaphorical, and no more thereby then a lafting and durable column, according to the nature of Salt, which admitteth no corruption; in which sense Sf the What the At- drachmum and How Iudas might die. Strangulat in clufus dolor. the Covenant of God is termed a Covenant of Salt;and it is also faid, God gave the Kingdom unto David for ever,or by a Covenant of Salt. That Abfalom was hanged by the hair of the head,and not caught up by the neck, as fofephus conceiveth, and the common argument against long hair affirmeth, we are not ready to deny. Although I confefs a great and learned party there are of another opinion; although if he had his Morion or Helmet on, I could not well conceive it, although the tranflation of ferom or Tremelius do not prove it, and our own feems rather to overthrow it. That fudas hanged himself,much more, that he perifhd thereby,we shall not raise a doubt. Although fanfenius difcourfing the point, produceth the teftimo. ny of Theophylact and Euthymius, that he died not by the Gallows,but under a cart wheel, and Baronius alio delivereth,this was the opinion of the Greeks, and derived as high as Papias, one of the Difciples of fohn. Although how hardly the expreffion of Matthew is reconcilable unto that of Peter,and that he plainly hanged himself, with that, that falling head-long he burft afunder in the midft, with many other, the learned Grotius plainly doth acknowledge. And lafely, Although as he alfo urgeth, the word amygaloin Matthew, doth not only fignifie fufpenfion or pendulous illaqueation, as the common picture difcribeth it, but alfo fuffocation, ftrangulation or interception of breath, which may arise from grief, defpair, and deep dejection of fpirit, in which fenfe it is ufed in the Hiftory of Tobit concerning Sara, brumin spódeg åge andy Eude. Ita tristata eft ut ftrangulatione premeretur, faith Junius; and fo might it happen from the horrour of mind unto fadas. So do many of the Hebrews affirm, that Achitophel was alfo ftrangled, that is, not from the rope,but paffion. For the Hebrew and Arabick word in the Text, not only fignifies fufpenfion, but indignation,as Grotius hath alfo obferved. Many more there are of indifferent truths,whofe dubious expofitions, worthy Divines and Preachers do often draw into wholefome and fober ufes, whereof we thall not speak; with industry we decline fuch Paradoxes, and peaceably fubmit unto their received acceptions. CHAP. XII. of the Cefation of Oracles. THat Oracles ceafed or grew mute at the coming of Chrift, is beft understood in a qualified fenfe, and not without all latitude, as though precifely there were none after,nor any decay before. For (what we must confefs unto relations of Antiquity) fome pre-decay is obfervable from that of Cicero,urged by Baronius; Cur ifto modo jam oracula Delphis non eduntur,non modo noftra atate, fed jam din,ut nihil poffit effe contemptius. That during his life they were not altogether dumb, is deduceable from Suetonius in the life of Tiberius, who attempting to fubvert the Oracles adjoyning unto Rome, was deterred by the Lots or chances which were delivered at Preneste. After his death we meet with many; Suetonius reports, that the Oracle of Antium forewarned Caligula to beware of Caffius, who was one that confpired his death. Plutarch enquiring why the Oracles of Greece ceafed,excepteth that of Lebadia:and in the fame place Demetrius affirmeth the Oracles of Mopfus and Amphilochus were much frequented in his days. In brief, Hiftories are frequent in examples, and there want not fome even to the reign of Julian. What therefore may confift with history, by ceffation of Oracles with Montacutius we may understand their intercifion, not abfciffion or confummate defolation; their rare delivery,not total dereliction, and yet in regard of divers Oracles, Oracles, we may speak strictly,and say there was a proper ceffation. Thus may Me puer Hebreus Divos Deus ipfe gubernans A Refolufion e're from hence implore. A fecond recorded by Plutarch,of a voice that was heard to cry unto Mariners at the fea,Great Pan is dead, which is a relation very remarkable, & may be read in his defect of Oracles. A third reported by Eufebius in the life of his magnified Conftantine, that about that time Apollo mourned, declaring his Oracles were falfe,& that the righteous upon earth did hinder him from fpeaking truth. And a fourth related by Theodoret, & delivered by Apollo Daphneus unto fulian upon his Perfian expedition,that he fhould remove the bodies about him before he could return an answer; & not long after his Temple was burnt with lightning. All which were evident and convincing acknowledgements of that Power which fhut his lips, and restrained that delufion which had reigned fo many Centuries. But as his malice is vigilant, and the fins of men do ftill continue a toleration of his mischiefs,he refteth not,nor will he ever cease to circumvent the fons of the firft deceived. And therefore expelled from Oracles and folemn Temples of delufion, he runs into corners, exercising minor trumperies, and acting his deceits in Witches, Magicians, Diviners, and fuch inferiour seducers. And yet (what is deplorable) while we apply our felves thereto,and affirming that God hath left to fpeak by his Prophets,expect in doubtfull matters a refolution from such spirits, while we say the devil is mute, yet confefs that these can fpeak; while we deny the fubftance, yet practise the effect and in the denied folemnity maintain the equivalent efficacy,in vain we cry that Oracles are down; Apollos Altar ftill doth fmoak; nor is the fire of Delphos out unto this day. Impertinent it is unto our intention to speak in general of Oracles, and many have well performed it. The plaineft of others was that recorded by Herodotus, and delivered unto Crafus; who as a trial of his omniscience sent unto diftant Oracles; and fo contrived with the Meffengers, that though in several places, yet at the fame time they should demand what Crefus was then a doing. Among all others the Oracle of Delphes only hit it, returning anfwer, he was boyling a Lamb with a Tortoife, in a brazen veffel, with a cover of the fame metal. The ftile is haughty in Greek, though fomewhat lower in Latine. Equoris eft fpatium & numerus mihi notus arena, I know the space of Sea, the number of the fand, A tender Lamb joined with Tortoife flesh, Hereby The devils retreat when expelled the Oracles. Hereby indeed he acquired much wealth and more honour,and was reputed by Crafus as a Diety: and yet not long after,by a vulgar fallacy he deceived his favourite and greatest friend of Oracles into an irreparable overthrow by CJrus. And furely the fame fuccefs are likely all to have that rely or depend upon him. 'Twas the firft play he practifed on mortality; and as time hath rendred him more perfect in the Art, fo hath the inveteratnefs of his malice more ready in the execution. 'Tis therefore the foveraign degree of folly, and a crime not only against God,but also our own reafons, to expect a favour from the devil, whofe mercies are more cruel then thofe of Polyphemus; for he devours his favourites first, and the nearer a man approacheth, the fooner he is fcorched by Moloch. In brief, his favours are deceitfull and double-headed, he doth apparent good, for real and convincing evil after it; and exalteth us up to the top of the Temple,but to tumble us down from it. CHAP. XIII. of the death of Aristotle. Hat Ariftotle drowned himself in Euripus,as despairing to refolve the caufe mination, Si quidem ego non capio te, tu capies me,was the affertion of Procopius, Nazianzen Juftin Martyr and is generally believed amongst us. Wherein,becaufe we perceive men have but an imperfect knowledge, fome conceiving Euripus to be a River, others not knowing where or in what part to place it; we first advertise, it generally fignifieth any ftrait, fret, or channel of the Sea, ripus is gene-running between two fhoars, as Julius Pollux hath defined it; as we read of rally. Euripus Hellefpontiacus, Pyrrhaus, and this whereof we treat, Euripus Euboicus or Chalcidicus, that is, a narrow paffage of Sea dividing Attica, and the Ifland of Eubea, now called Golfo de Negroponte, from the name of the Ifland and chief City thereof; famous in the wars of Antiochus, and taken from the Venetians by Mahomet the Great. What an EL- ́ Now that in this Euripe or fret of Negropont, and upon the occafion mentioned, Ariftotle drowned himself,as many affirm, and almost all believe, we have Touching the fome room to doubt. For without any mention of this, we find two ways dedeath of Ari-livered of his death by Diogenes Laertius, who exprefly treateth thereof; the flotle. one from Eumolns and Phavorinus, that being accufed of impiety for compofing an Hymn unto Hermias (upon whofe Concubine he begat his fon Nicho machus)he withdrew into Chalcis, where drinking poifon he died. the Hymn is extant in Laertius,and the fifteenth book of Athenans. Another by Apollodorus,that he died at Chalcis of a natural death and languishment of ftomack, in his fixty three,or great Climacterical year,and answerable hereto is the account of Suidas and Cenforinus. And if that were clearly made out, which Rabbi Ben Jofeph affirmeth, he found in an Egyptian book of Abraham Sapiens Perizol;that Ariftotle acknowledged all that was written in the Law of Mofes, quetis,epift. and became at last a Profelyte, it would alfo make improbable this received way of his death. Licetus de Again, Befide the negative of Authority, it is alfo deniable by reason; nor will it be eafie to obtrude fuch defperate attempts upon Ariftotle, from unfatisfaction of reason, who so often acknowledged the imbicility thereof. Who in matters of difficulty, and fuch which were not without abftrufities, conceived it fufficient to deliver conjecturalities. And furely he that could fometimes fit down with high improbabilities, that could content himself, and think to satisfie others, that the variegation of Birds was from their living in the Sun, or erection made by deliberation of the Tefticles; would not have been dejected unto death with this. He that was fo well acquainted with TI, and OT utrum,and An Quia, as we obferve in the Queries of his Problems with isws and rou, fortaffe and plerumque, as is obfervable through all his Works: had certainly refted with probabilities, and glancing conjectures in this: Nor would his refolutions have ever run into that mortal Antanaclafis,and defperate piece of Rhetorick,to be compriz'd in that he could not comprehend.Nor is it indeed to be made out he ever endeavoured the particular of Euripus, or fo much as to refolve the ebb and flow of the Sea. For, as Vicomercatus and others obferve, he hath made no mention hereof in his Works, although the occafion prefent it felf in his Meteors: wherein he difputeth the affections of the Sea: nor yet in his Problems, although in the twenty third Section, there be no lefs then one and forty Queries of the Sea. Some mention there is indeed in a Work of the propriety of Elements, afcribed unto Ariftotle which notwithstanding is not reputed genuine, and was perhaps the fame whence this was urged by Plutarch. Laftly,the the thing it felf whereon the opinion dependeth, that is, the variety of the flux and the reflux of Euripus, or whether the fame do ebb and flow feven times a day, is not incontrovertible: For though Pomponius Mela, and after him Salinus and Pliny have affirmed it, yet 1 obferve Thucydides, who fpeaketh often of Eubea, hath omitted it. Paufanins an ancient Writer, who hath left an exact defcription of Greece, and in as particular a way as Leandro of Italy, or Cambden of great Britain, defcribing not only the Countrey Towns, and Rivers, but hils, fprings and houses, hath left no mention hereof. Afchines in Ctesiphon only alludeth unto it;and Strabo that accurate Geographer speaks warity of it, that is, s paci,and as men commonly reported. And fo doch alfo Maginus, Velocis ac varii fluctus eft mare, ubi quater in die, aut fepties, ut ali dicunt, reciprocantur aftus. Botero more plainly,Il mar crefce e cala con un impeto mirabile quatra volte il di, ben che communimente fi dica fette volte, &c. This fea with wondrous impetuoficy ebbeth and floweth four times a day, although it be commonly faid feven times,and generally opinioned, that Ariftotle defpairing the reafon, drowned himself therein. In which description by four times a day, it exceeds not in number the motion of other Seas,taking the words properly, that is,twice ebbing and twice flowing in four and twenty hours. And is no more then what Thomafo Porrchacchi affirmeth in his description of famous Islands, that twice a day it hath fuch an impetuous flood, as is not without wonder, Livy speaks more particularly, Hand facile infeftior classi ftatio eft & fretum ipfum Euripi, non fepties die (ficut fama fert) temporibus certis reciprocat, fed temere in modum venti, nunc huc nunc illuc verfo mari, velut mente præcipiti devolutus torrens rapitur. There is hardly a worfe harbour,the fret or channell of Euripus not certainly ebbing or flowing seven times a day,according to common report: but being uncertainly,& in the manner of a wind carried hither and thither,is whirled away as a torrent down a hill. But the experimental testimony of Gillius is moft confiderable of any: who having beheld the courfe thereof, and made enquiry of Millers that dwelt upon its shore, received anfwer, that it ebbed and flowed four times a day,that is, every fix hours,according to the Law of the Ocean: but that indeed fometimes it obferved not that certain courfe. And this irregularity, though feldom happening, together with its unruly and tumultuous motion, might afford a beginning unto the common opinion. Thus may the expreffion in Ctfiphon be made out: And by this may Ariftotle be interpreted, when in his Problems he feems to borrow a Metaphor from Euripus: while in the five and twenti eth Section he enquireth, why in the upper parts of houfes the air doth Euripize,that is, is whirled hither and thither. Now that which gave life unto the affertion, might be his death at Chalcis, De placitis rum. the |