if thou doest de­sire our welfare, and art friend to vs and [Page 7] our Officer and Lieutenant Generall of our forces which we will send. But thou hast long since broken and falsified our friendship, and yet art neither readie nor fit to wage warre or fight battell against vs. But thou hast some secret aduise and intelligence with other confederate Kings, and their Counsellors, to deliuer thee out of our hands and our vicegerents power, wherein thou hast done very vn­aduisedly and vndiscreetly. If therefore thou thus perseuere to oppose thy selfe a­gainst vs, then feare, for thy death and the death of all thy people is determined. We tell thee we will ouercome thee from the rising of the Sunne, to the going down thereof, and wee will shew our Maie­stie in our owne person and sight vnto the vttermost parts of the earth. Our verie thoughts shalbe a terror vnto thee, that [Page 8] we will performe all that which we haue heerein denounced. And we will make knowne vnto thee the powerfulnesse of our dominions. And thou, o King, which puttest thy trust in strong forts & Castles shalt haue experience of my might and power. I will root out all together, and thou shalt behold this with thine owne eies. Wherefore expect now no more friendship at my hands; put not thy hope in the strength of thy walles, with thy owne forces and people. J will ruinate thee without any resistance. J will de­stroy thy Craccawe in signe of triumph. J will leaue there my bloody sword, that euerie one shall take notice thereof, and my beleefe shalbe spread abroad thorow­out all thy Dominions, and I will vt­terly root out the very remembrance of thy crucified God. Let thy God be an­grie, [Page 9] J care not, he may then helpe thee. Thy annointed (the Priests) I will surely put to the plague. Wild beasts & wolues shall sucke the breasts of thy wo­men. Thou shalt leaue and forsake thy Religion which thou hast. That which remaineth of all things shalbe consumed with fire. Heerewith rest thou satisfied. I doe not tell thee now what I will doe, or meane to doe with thee, vnderstand it if thou wilt or canst.

From our residence Constantinople most strongly garded.

We haue receiued thy Letter fraught with threats, and swolen with im­pieties against the Maiestie of the high GOD, whereunto wee had not vouchsafed answere, but that wee were perswaded, that our si­lence would haue beene a meanes, to cause thee flatter thy selfe so much the more, else had we neg­lected thee like an arch-enemie of God as thou art. VVe haue there­fore thought fit in some sort, to re­gard the saluation of thy soule, letting thee know, that thou art no other but a meere man, in thy [Page 13] person more weake than many of thy followers, which should cause thee to remember, that if it had not pleased God, to en­graue in the front of such as rule a kind of awfull Maiestie wher­by their subiects are kept in o­bedience, the good by reward, the euill and peruerse by rigo­rous lawes, and both the one and the other by authoritie, it were impossible they should continue eminent aboue o­thers. Thou then, who in thy selfe art but as other men, must know, that there is a supreame power of more might than thine, which doth vphold thine estate, causing thee to bee re­spected [Page 14] of thy followers. This power proceeds from God most good, most iust, most strong, preseruing it so long as Prin­ces humble themselues before him, but being once transpor­ted with presumption & pride, it easily abateth their furie. I will offer no other example to thy consideration than that of Baiaseth the Second, one of thy predecessours, who thinking to scale heauen with his armie, (which in the iudgement of man was vnresistable, but in Gods sight most contemptible) liued to see himselfe vanquish­ed, taken, and imprisoned, coopt vp in an iron cage (wherein [Page 15] he was in triumph drawne after the victorious Conquerour) seruing him for no better than a footstoole, & hauing no other food than such as was cast him (like a dogge) from his TableA iust guer­don for his pride.. Thinke then with thy selfe, that he that was so great, so puissant, and so fearefull may happily by right of succession haue left vn­to thee (as being descēded from him) the like, or a worse for­tune, if thou doest dare to con­tinue thy blasphemies against God, and his beloued sonne Ie­sus Christ crucified. Thou doest mistake in thinking to lay an aspersion vpon vs, by re­proching vnto vs the Crosse: [Page 16] for wee account it our chiefest honour and glorie; by vertue whereof as the Emperour Con­stantine quelled his enemies, we hope and assure our selues to be defended against thy fury. Thy proud and thundering words dismay vs not, our courage is more masculine and generous than so to bee outbraued: For know that wee regard not thy threats, but with all scorn tram­ple vpon thy pride, and deride thy terrours. And in stead of thanking thee for aduertising vs before thy comming, wee bidde thee come when thou wilt: Thou shalt bee receiued contrary to thy expectation. [Page 17] Wee haue steepe mountaines and impregnable rockes, that shal barre thee from entring in­to our lands. Thou shalt finde our Cities and Castles wel fur­nished with munition, our Ca­non mouthes breathing furi­ous fires, our courages inuinci­ble, our blades eager & sharpe, our armes impenetrable, our bodies apt to sustaine the vio­lence of all seasons, our mindes promising nothing but victory. And to dazell thine eies, the royall Standard of the blessed Crosse shall goe before vs. But aboue all, the crucified Sonne of the great God shall cause his Angels to conduct vs and [Page 18] giue vs the victorie. Hee it is that shall be our Leader, vnder whose protection wee will not feare to braue thee at thy gates. Thy miscreant troopes shall be trodden vnder foot, and their bellies trampled on, and by a happie victorie (if thou chance to scape our conquering arme) thou shalt find thy selfe pursu­ed vnto the most secret dennes of thy abominable Seraglio. Thou shalt see thy Mosquees laied leuel with the ground, thy Mophti and other the execra­ble Priests of thy perfidious Mahomet made Galley-slaues, all those traiterous runnagates whom thou doest harbor, shalt [Page 19] thou see put to exquisite tor­ments: of all which be most as­sured. And then shall bee set free all those poore and misera­ble Christians, who now lie groaning vnder the burden of thy tyrannous yoke, whose wofull cries being mounted to heauen, haue iustly excited the vengeance of God vpon thee, who hath permitted thee to rise to this height of pride, that thy ruine and destruction may bee the more exemplar vnto after ages. To conclude, thou shalt see the seruice of God reesta­blished in Grecia and Asia, which thou doest now vniustly vsurpe. But if it happen thee [Page 20] to end thy miserable life in bat­tell (as wee hope that God will grant) be confident that all the aforesaid vengeance shall ensue vpon thy death, and whilest thy wretched soule shall lie broiling in the quenchlesse flames of hel, we will lift vp our cheerfull voi­ces, and for the victorie obtai­ned ouer thee and thine, sing praises vnto our God, to whom be glorie for euer.

Know then, O Infidell, that we feare thee not at all: and if thou beest not bent to run head­long vnto thine owne destru­ction, be aduised. Content and containe thy selfe within those bounds thou doest at this pre­sent [Page 21] vsurpe. And if thou hast any beleefe at all, that thy thrice reuerenced Prophet Mahomet could tell a truth, or foretell fu­ture euents, then call to minde that of those 1000. yeeres which he prescribed for the continu­ing of thy Sect, there remaines not aboue 6. or 7. yeeres. This then is the time that the yet vn­sheathed swords of the Christi­ans affoords for thy amend­ment, that thou maist come to the knowledge of the most true God, to worship him in his Son Iesus Christ. VVhereunto we once more exhort thee, omit­ting all other salutation and re­commendation.