A TRVE AND PLAINE GENEALOGY OR PEDIGREE OF ANTICHRIST, WHEREIN IS CLEERLY DISCOVERED THAT HEE IS LINEALLY DESCENDED FROM THE DIVELL.
WHo so thou art that dost desire to know,
The stock whereof proud Antichrist did grow▪
Whom IESVS CHRIST did long before fore-tell,
Should in the Church against the Church rebell,
Making her mourne with pittifull complaints,
And being drunken with blood of her Saints,
Should tyrannizing ouer her remayne,
Vntill his pride be deeply dide in graine;
And then both he and's Kingdome downe should fall
Without redresse or any helpe at all:
Whose comming should not be with claps of Thunders,
But signes and miracles and lying wonders.
My rusticke Muse declares his very name,
His pedigree, and of what house he came.
There was a braue heroicke Gentleman,
As ancient as since the world began,
Whose industry and policy was such,
That all the world besides had not so much;
His Engines, Stratagems, and feats of Warre,
Made his dominions to extend as farre
As Alexanders, that's sirnam'd the Great,
Such was his prowesse by the Martiall feate,
Conquering his trade, Apollyon his name,
Of that grand worthy, this great worthy came,
One deadly-Darkenesse was his eldest sonne;
And thus (in truth) this royall race begun▪
And then that Darknesse did beget by chance,
A son, an heire, and cald him Ignorance;
Of his true byrth ther's no man need enquire,
You see the sonne is fully like the Sire.
This Ignorance liued a while, and then
He begot Error and his bretheren,
Error begot Freewill and Selfe-conceit,
Freewill got Merit, that deceiuing bait,
Merit begot Forgetfullnesse of Grace;
And then his sonne Trangression tooke his place:
And that Transgression did beget Distrust,
Who deeming God lesse mercifull then Iust:
Maugre his justice to maintaine his action,
Begot a sonne and call'd him Satisfaction.
This Satisfaction, e're his father dide,
Being excessiuely possest with pride,
Reiected quite Christs bloody sacrifice,
Which once for all he offered in such wise
That he for all his peoples sinnes thereby,
Did Gods pure justice fully satisfie.
The cause why Satisfaction did this thing,
Was, that thereby he might to credit bring
His onely sonne, the sacrifice o'th Masse,
As proud a Knaue as e're his father was:
For if to him come any one or other,
Desiring helpe for some deceased brother:
Vpon condition of a golden fee,
Hee'l contradict the mighty Gods decree,
And disanull his judgements past also,
And bring to weale whom God hath plac'd in woe,
For if you'll trust him, this man doth excell,
Hee'l hunt the place where all the Furies dwell,
And search the Lymboes: nay, hee'l not be sory
To search throughout the furious Purgatory,
And euery nooke and secret corner there,
Bee't in the Fier, Water, Earth or Aire,
(For though that he hath fetched thousands thence,
And did withall their deadly sinnes dispence,
Has quite forgot, his wits are so decay'd,
Whereof, wherein, and when that place was made,)
But hauing found him, then he will surpasse,
And bring the man from where he neuer was,
Vnto a place of myrth and melody:
Where, if he were not, he can neuer be.
The Priests annoynting his successor was,
And Superstition thereon came to passe.
This Superstition was a royall thing,
For he begot Hypocrisie the King.
Hypocrisie got Gaine by offering,
And of that Gaine did Purgatory spring,
Then Purgatory passing reasons bounder,
Was certainely, Anniuersaries founder:
He by a stranger without Matrimony,
Did then beget the Churches Patrimony,
Then Mammon, of Iniquity his sonne,
Begot a Child, as his Father had done:
A worthy sparke, Abundance was his name,
And of Abundance, Ease, (a gallant) came.
Ease begot Cruelty, and he Dominion;
Dominion, Pompe; and Pompe, Ambition:
And of this man old Simony did grow,
A bribing Knaue, how cleere soeuer he show,
This man of issue was not without hope,
For why? he liu'd to see his sonne the Pope;
Who in this world doth beare a great renowne,
And on his head doth weare a triple Crowne,
Whose charity if it were to his power,
He could clense Purgatory in an hower;
And send the soules that in that place do dwell,
Straight vp to Heaven from that smoky Cell.
He thinkes perhaps his power hereon is grounded
The former place his predecessors founded:
And for the latter none can him withstand,
He beares the Keyes of heauen in his hand.
But here's a griefe that to a mischiefe grew,
Because his Holinesse let in so few,
Or else iust none, which is a grieuous thing,
His Keyes haue lost theyr vse of opening.
And as the Keyes oth' Pharisees his brothers
Shut heauens gate against themselues and others.
So he by his doth now nought else but shut
That gate gainst all that in him credit put;
And yet he vaunts himselfe to be Christs Vicar,
I wonder much his wit should be no quicker,
For Vicars haue not (that were too too bad)
A greater power then e're theyr Parsons had:
Now Christ his Parson, openly did show
His Kingdome was not of this world below.
But Pope his Vicar commands all estates,
Kings, Emperors, and greatest Potentates,
And turnes his power to furious tyranny,
Against that Christ and all his company:
And by his rage they now abide affliction,
He's Antichrist without all contradiction.
Thus TRVETH (A GEM) hath here disco [...]ered [...]
Which many a man hath long time wondered at▪
If thou aright these Roman letters frame:
Inquire no more, thou hast the Authors name.