AFter the death of Joshua who brought the Israe­lites into Canaan, the people required Phineas to inform them whom God had appointed to succeed for managing their Affairs, and carrying on the War against the Canaanites; He answered, That the Lord had commanded them to give the Government to the Tribe of Judah, thereupon they desired Simeon to join with them, who undertook the War upon this condition, That when they had utterly rooted the remainder of the Ca­naanites out of their own Tribe, they should imploy their conquering Armies to extinguish their Race out of all the rest; Mean time the Enemy incouraged by Joshuas decease, expected the Israelites with a great Host un­der Adonibezeck their King, near the City of Bezeca, with much confidence of success, but these two Tribes ingaged their numerous Forces with so much valour and success, that they slew ten thousand and put the rest to flight, taking their King Prisoner in the Fight, whose hands and feet having commanded to be cut off, he acknowledged the Divine Justice therein, confessing that he had used seventy two Kings in former time in the same manner.

The Israelites improving their Victory, over-ran the Countrey, and took divers Cities with small re­sistance in a short time; At length they Besieged Je­rusalem, and entring the lower City put all the In­habitants to the Sword, but the higher City being very well fortified with Walls and Bulwarks, toge­ther with the strength of its natural Scituation, cau­sed them not to attempt the assaulting it at present; whereupon marching to Hebron they soon became Masters thereof, and slew all therein; At this time there were still left some of the Race of the Giants, who for their Stature and Countenance were very dreadful, and their Bones which were found many hundred years after, discovered the vastness of their Limbs and Bulk; The City of Hebron was given to the Levites out of respect to them, with two thou­sand Cubits of Land, and the rest of the Countrey [Page 3]was bestowed upon Caleb, as Moses had commanded, he being one of the Spies who was sent to discover the Land of Canaan; There were likewise Lands and Possessions setled upon the Posterity of Jethro the Fa­ther-in-law of Moses, and the Tribes of Judah and Simeon taking Possession of Asealon and Azoth two Cities of the Mountainous Countrey, setled there, and after this good success discharged themselves from the Wars.

As for the Benjamites to whom Jerusalem belong­ed, they took Tribute of the Inhabitants, and agreed to live in Peace with them, so that now they all im­ploy'd themselves quietly in manuring the Coun­trey; The rest of the Tribes did the same, suffering the Canaanites to continue in peace, only the Tribe of Ephraim having Besieged the City of Bethel, and finding it difficult to gain it, had it at length deliver­ed into their hands by one of their own Citizens, whom they therefore saved alive according to their agreement, but put all the rest to the Sword; After this the Israelites behaved themselves more mildly toward the Canaanites, using their service in Husband­ing their Lands and Fruits, and thereby growing rich and at ease, they grew dissolute and negligent of the commands of God, and the policy and precepts of their Fore-fathers; whereupon the Lord was grie­vous angry for their wickedness, and that contrary to his express will they had spared the Canaanites, declaring that those whom they had thus preserved should in time exercise great cruelties against them; The Israelites little regarded these threats of the Al­mighty, but were wholly corrupted, both Magi­strates and People, which caused a dreadful mutiny and commotion among themselves upon this occa­sion.

A certain Levite who lived in the Tribe of Ephraim having married a wife of incomparable beauty, out of the City of Bethlem in Judah, he loved her intire­ly, but suspecting that she had not the same affection [Page 4]toward him, much difference arose between them, which increased so far that the woman leaving him, went and dwelt with her Father, The husband quickly followed her, and by reason of his extraor­dinary kindness to her was soon reconciled, and be­ing treated by her Parents four days with much re­spect, on the fifth he designed to return home, but proceeded not on his Journey till toward noon by reason of the unwilling farewel the Father and Mo­ther took of them; He had a Servant with him and an Ass whereon the woman rode; having travelled about 30 furlongs and approaching Jerusalem, the Servant advised him to take up his lodging there­about, lest some disaster might befall them so near an enemies Country; but he unwilling to lodge among the Canaanites, resolved to travel 20 fur­longs further to some City of the Benjamites, and accordingly came to Gibeah late in the night, where they found none to receive them, till at length an old man coming out of the Country, being an Ephrai­mite by birth but dwelling in that City, meeting him, asked him whence he came, and how he was so late without a lodging, he replied, he was a Le­vite, who having brought his wife from her Parents was returning to his house among the Ephraimites; the old man having a respect to his Tribe, entertained him into his house.

But certain young men of the City having observ­ed the woman, were even ravished with her beauty and resolved to assault the house and seize upon her; The old man earnestly requested them to depart and offer no violence to Strangers, but they furiously de­manded to have the woman delivered, or else threat­ned further mischief, neither could his alledging the worthiness of her birth and parentage, the dignity of her husband, being a Levite, nor the Villany of the Fact deter them, but they still persisted in their menaces to murther him and his Family if he did not instantly satisfy their brutality. In this extremity the [Page 5]old man thought it less inconvenient to prostitute his own daughter to their lawless desires than that his Guest should suffer any outrage; But this would not in the least content them, so that their rage in­creasing they violently seized on the woman and car­ried her away to their own lodgings, where having abused her all night, about break of day they thrust her out of doors, who being exceedingly disturbed at this horrid usage, and ashamed to appear before her husband after this unfortunate accident she fell down dead at the door of the house where he lay.

In the morning her husband finding her in that posture, imagined that she was only asleep, and endeavoured to awake and comfort her, since what had been done was without her consent, and by the brutality of those miscreants, but at length perceiving there was no life in her, he with much per­turbation of mind laid the dead Carcass upon his Ass, and carried it to his own house, where being ar­rived he divided it into twelve peices which he sent to the twelve Tribes of Israel, commanding the Mes­senger to relate the occasion, and manner of his wives death, and how horridly she had been abused. The Tribes were much disturbed at this unheard of outrage, and assembling together in Siloe before the Ark, they resolved instantly to take arms and utterly destroy the Gibeonites as their mortal and implacable Enemies; But the Elders restrained their wrath by re­presenting to them the reasonableness of first sending to demand satisfaction for this notorious abuse, which being denied they might then justly proceed to punish them with severity; Accordingly some persons were sent to require the delivery of those young men that had perpetrated this wickedness against the woman, that they might suffer the Law according to their de­merits, but the Gibeonites peremptorily deny to yield them up, since the whole Tribe of Benjamin wherein this City of Gibeah was scituated resolved to joyn with [Page 6]them in defence of these profligate Wretches.

This Report being brought to the rest of the Tribes, they solemnly bound themselves by Oath to each o­ther, that none should give their Daughters in marri­age to a Benjamite, but would mutually assist each other in the total extirpation of that Tribe, and accordingly they put themselves into arms, and in a short time brought an Army of four hundred thousand into the Field; The Host of Benjamin was about twenty six thousand, and the first Battel was fought near Gibeah wherein the Benjamites put the Israelites to flight, and slew two and twenty hundred, many escaping by the darkness of the night; The Benjamites returned joy­fully to their City, but the Israelites were very much discourag'd by this unexpected disaster; Yet hoping for better Success they renewed the fight next day, wherein the Benjamites again prevailed with the slaughter of eighteen thousand of the Israelites, who thereupon left their Camp and retired to Bethel. The day after they fasted, and humbled themselves before God, beseeching him to appease his wrath toward them, and that he would at length give them victory over their Enemies, which the Lord assured them by the mouth of Phinehas the High Priest, they should ob­tain the next day.

Hereupon they divided their Army into two parts, one whereof they laid in ambush near the City of Gi­beah, and with the other marched against the Benja­mites, who issued out with assurance of the same suc­cess as before, and the Israelites thereupon retiring, confirmed them in their error, so that proceeding with much fury they were at length drawn quite out of the City, few or none being left therein since all hoped to be sharers in the spoil and prey; when on a sudden the Israelites making a stand and falling upon them, and at the same time giving notice to the ambush to come on, who quickly appeared with a great shout, the Benjamites were instantly incompassed, and though they made the best defence they were able, [Page 7]yet in a short time were all slain, except six hundred, who desperately fought their way through the midst of their enemies, and escaped to the Mountains, all the rest being about Twenty five thousand falling that day, and the City of Gibeah was burnt and all the women and children therein killed; using the like severity against the rest of the Cities of Benja­min.

The fury of the Israelites being by this bloudy slaughter appeased, they began to consider that by their rage they had almost extinguished one of the Tribes of their Brethren, and repenting of their seve­rity they considered of some way to prevent their to­tal destruction, whereupon remembring that the men of Jabesh Gilead had refused to join with them against the Benjamites, they sent twelve thousand chosen men against them, who slew all that bore arms with the women and children, reserving only four hundred Virgins; At their return the Israelites sent Messen­gers to the Benjamites who fled into the desarts, and had secured themselves in the rock Rimmon, to de­sire them to come back to their former possessions which they had forfeited by the Just Judgment of God for their wickedness in protecting such impious offenders from condign punishment; the Benjamites by the perswasions of their brethren came and possest their inheritance, and the Israelites gave them the four hundred Virgin Captives in marriage; but be­cause two hundred yet remained without wives, and they had solemnly sworn not to give them their daughters, they concluded the Benjamites should take the advantage of seizing two hundred of the daugh­ters of the City of Shiloh who came to a Feast every year near Bethel; accordingly when the Feast ap­proached these two hundred Benjamites went and hid themselves by two and three in a company among the Vines and thickets to surprize the Damsels, who suspecting nothing, were dancing very pleasantly in the Fields, when the young men suddenly issuing out [Page 8]seized each upon a Virgin at unawares, and carried them home to their houses, and having married them they repaired their Cities and dwelt therein, whereby the Tribe of Benjamin that was near extin­guisht, began in a short time to increase and flourish as before, and thus ended this fatal War.

In this History I have followed Josephus who dif­fers in time from what is written in the Holy Scrip­tures.

After this another generation arose who forgot the works of the Lord, and disobeyed his holy Laws and Commandments, giving themselves up to all manner of Vice and Luxury, and wallowing in all the abominations and Idolatry of the Canaanites, for which cause the wrath of God was kindled, and he stirred up the Nations round about against them, de­livering them into the hands of the king of Mesopota­mia, who ruled over them eight years, taking many Prisoners, and bringing their Cities into subjection; In this their calamity they called upon the Lord who stirred up a certain man called Othniel, who was warned from Heaven to deliver the Israelites out of this their cruel bondage; he calling together some of his Companions in danger who were discontented at their present condition and desired a change, they first fell upon the Garrison that the Mesopotamians had placed over them, whom having soon discomfit­ed they thereby took courage to meet them in the open Field, and their numbers increasing by this first success they seemed equal to their Enemies, whom they therefore ingaged in battle and overcame with a very great slaughter, their King being taken Prisoner, and the liberty of the Israelites thereby restored to them; the terror of their arms after this was so great to all the Nations round about, that none durst oppose them, and Othniel for his valour received the Government from the peoples hands and exer­cised the Office of a Judge over them peaceably forty years.

After whose death the Government being void, the affairs of the Israelites began again to decline, the peo­ple neither giving due honour to God nor obedience to the Laws, whence it came to pass that Eglon K. of the Moabites observing their disorders made War and prevailed often against them, weakning their Forces, and obliging them to pay tribute, and proud of his Victories, removed his Court to Jericho, omitting no practices to vex and molest the Israelites, so that they lived in much misery under him eighteen years, when the Almighty moved with their supplications and sorrows freed them from this intolerable thral­dom by the hand of Ehud the Son of Gera, who in­sinuated himself into the favour of Eglon, and by the gifts and presents he made him was much respected by the king and all his Court; One day it happened that as Ehud carried certain presents to Eglon accom­panied by two of his houshold Servants, he privately girt a dagger under his Garments, and entring into the presence he delivered his gifts to the King who was then solacing himself in a Summer Chamber; being now by themselves Eglon having sent away his attendants, to hear the secret Message which Ehud said he had to deliver him, he suddenly stabbed the king into the belly with his dagger, and left the weapon swallowed up in his bowels, by reason Eglon was a very fat man; and then privately escaped shutting the door upon him; His Servants finding the door of the parlour locked, suspected nothing of mischief, but supposed it was upon some natural occasion, in this error they continued till toward Evening, when fearing what had happened they entred and found Eglon fallen down dead on the Earth; In this inter­val, Ehud had time to secure himself out of danger, and coming to Jericho gave them an Account of the matter, offering himself to be their Leader in reco­vering their lost liberty, who readily accepting this proposal presently took arms, and blowing a trum­pet they assembled all the people of the Countrey, [Page 10]who joining together fell upon the Moabites before they were prepared, who were so dismayed at the dismal Accident of the death of their King, that they knew not how to make any defence, insomuch that the Israelites charging fiercely upon them killed many upon the place, and the rest being about ten thousand betook themselves to flight hoping to recover their own Countrey, but the Israelites having before forti­fied the passages of Jordan, pursued and slew them all; By this means the Israelites were freed from the servitude of Moab, and continued quiet from any Invader fourscore years.

After this Shamgar the Son of Anath was Elected Governor, who slew six hundred of the Philistines with an Ox-goad and thereby in some measure de­livered them; but the Israelites not yet reclaimed by their former sufferings returned again to impiety and disobedience though they had so lately shaken off the yoke of the Moabites; So that God in just Judg­ment gave them into the hands of Jabin king of Ca­naan, who kept his residence at Hazor on the Lake of Sachonites; He had an Army of thirty thousand Foot, ten thousand Horse, and nine hundred Chariots of iron. Over these Forces Sisera was Commander in chief a great Favourite with the King, who en­countring with the Israelites reduced them into such a low condition that they accepted of servitude, and were obliged to pay tribute for twenty years; In this lamentable state, they began to reflect upon their transgressions, and provocations against the Almigh­ty, acknowledging the Justice of Heaven in punish­ing them for their ingratitude and contempt of the Divine Laws, and repaired to a certain Prophetess named Deborah, which in Hebrew signifies a Bee, be­seeching her that by her Prayers she would intreat the Lord to have mercy upon them, and free them from their bondage under the Canaanites; Hereupon God being inclined to compassion promised them deliverance, and appointed Baruc, whose name sig­nifies [Page 11] Lightning, of the Tribe of Napthali to be their Chief; to him therefore Deborah sends a message, That he should instantly raise ten thousand choice men, and lead them against their Enemies, affirming that they were sufficient with the assistance of Heaven to con­quer that mighty Host; But Baruc denying to un­dertake the War except she would join with him, and accompany him in the War, Deborah being some­what moved, Wilt thou, said she, surrender up the Dignity that God hath given thee to a Woman? well I will not refuse to go with thee, but remember that this expedition will not be for thine honour since the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a Woman.

Whereupon having levyed ten thousand Soldiers, they pitched their Tents near the Mountain Itabar, of which Sisara having notice proceeded presently by the Kings command to fall upon them, and incamp­ed near them; Baruc and the Israelites being terrified with the multitude of their Enemies were incoura­ged by Deborah who commanded them that very day to give Battel, assuring them that God would assist and certainly deliver their Adversaries into their hands. Whereupon they charged the Canaanites with much valour, who were in a short time wholly dis­comfited, and all their Host fell with the edge of the Sword; Sisera alighted from his Chariot and fled a­way afoot; Josephus relates, that in the beginning of the fight there suddenly fell a storm of rain mixed with hail, which the wind drove against the faces of the Canaanites, and took away their sight, whereby those that fought with Darts and Slings were made unserviceable, and the Targetiers had their hands so benummed with cold that they could scarce weild their Swords, but the Tempest being on the back of the Israelites was so far from disturbing them, that believing it a manifest token of the immediate favour and assistance of Heaven, they were thereby incou­raged to assault their enemies with the greater vigor, and breaking through the front of their Battel they [Page 12]made a very great slaughter of them, so that a vast number fell by the Sword, and the rest were over­run by their own Chariots and Horsemen. Sisera flying with all speed, after he saw his Army turn their backs, arrived at the Tent of a woman of Cenetis called Jael the wife of Heber, and earnestly besought her to conceal him, which she seemed ve­ry willing to do, and covered him with a Mantle, who being very dry, desired a Cup of water, when she presented him with a dish of milk; And then co­vering him again, he intreated her, That if any came to inquire she should deny she had seen him, and then fell asleep; whilst he lay buried in slumbers by reason of his extream toyl and weariness, Jael took a nail and with a hammer struck it through his temples and fastned it to the ground whereby he instantly gave up the Ghost, soon after Barue with his Soul­diers coming thither, she brought them in and shew­ed what she had done, and thus a woman according to the prediction of the worthy Prophetess Deborah, was the Author of this glorious Victory; The Army being likewise managed by the conduct of Deborah a woman, the Israelites thereby subduing their inve­terate Foes the Canaanites: And Baruc leading his Army to Hazor slew Jabin their King, who came out against them, levelling the City to the ground, and thereby freed the Land from bondage, which had rest forty years after this notable success; And that they might not seem ingrateful to the Lord for so great a deliverance, Deborah and Baruc composed the following Song of praise and thanksgiving, which they sung in the hearing of all the people. Deborah lived in the year from the creation 2641. and before the Nativity of our Saviour 1350.

THough the History of Judith is placed among the Apocryphal writings, and not allowed to be canonical Scripture, as not being delivered by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; yet it is thought by the learned that the matter thereof is true, and the worthy and reverend Arch-bishop Usher in his Scrip­ture Chronology sets it down as a matter very cer­tain, and that it happened in the year from the Crea­tion 3348. in the raign of Manasseh King of Israel, and before the birth of our Saviour about 652.

Having premised this to incourage the reading the life of this famous Heroine not as a fiction or Romance but a story full of veracity, I proceed.

Nothing feminine must be expected in this woman, all her actions were manly and full of generosity, and what was wanting in her Sex, was fully recom­penced in her Virtue and Valour; her hand was tri­umphant in destroying above an hundred thousand men, by cutting off only one head, but her eye did much more than her hand, that first conquered Holofernes, and with a little ray of its flames burnt up a whole Army. It was in the raign of Nebu­chadnezzar King of Assyria, that this female worthy lived, who being elevated by the many victories and successes he had obtained, his ambition sweld him so much that he resolved to afflict the whole earth, and to destroy all the Gods of the Lands, and oblige all Nations to worship him, and that all Tongues and people should adore him only as God; to prosecute this impious design he commanded Holofernes his Chief Captain to muster an Army of an hundred and twenty thousand foot, and twelve thousand Horse; with this mighty force this renowned General ruined all before him that made resistance, and received those to mercy who desired peace and submitted to those idolatrous terms he required of them; the mo­tions of this dreadful host brought terror to the stoutest hearts, and confusion to the weak and co­wardly; before it marches Noises, Affrights and [Page 18]Threats; after it, Weepings, Ruins, and Desola­tions.

The report of this overflowing deluge of men came to the poor Israelites at Jerusalem, which raised Sighs and Groans in the most obdurate Souls, who being sensible of this furious tempest approaching, their courage was dismaid, their hands hang down, and their tongues were silent, having no other de­fence but their tears which they poured out abun­dantly in prospect of the Funerals of their Native Countrey; At this time Manasseh was king of Jeru­salem who not foreseeing any possibility of stoping this violent torrent, or preventing the impending misery of his kingdom, abandoned himself to sorrow and desperation; but Joachim the High Priest, who likewise executed the Office of a General, used all pos­sible means to revive the drooping Spirits of this dis­consolate people; he sends Messengers to all the Ci­ties to furnish what men and provisions they were able, to stop if possible the course of this barbarous enemy, and to endeavour to take possession of the streights and narrow passages of the Mountains where a few might do great execution, and thereby prevent their descent into the Plains, where the mul­titude of their Forces would soon incompass and swallow all that opposed them. He then commands publick supplications to be made to the Almighty, and covers the Altar-of the Lord with Sackcloath, and the Priests with Haircloth, who with tears, and fast­ings (even the little children too) prostrated them­selves on the earth to implore the mercy of Heaven toward them; but knowing that prayers without en­deavours would be fruitless, he visits all the Cities in person, comforting the afflicted, strengthning the weak, and enlivening the dull, thereby giving life and vigor to all the members of the body politick.

Holofernes having advice that the Jews made pre­parations to oppose him by force was filled with rage and disdain, and called the Princes of Ammon, Moab [Page 19]and the Governors of the Sea-coasts to him, of whom he demanded, what people they were who inhabited canaan, what strength they had, and who was their King, that they presum'd to withstand them, and would not come and submit themselves as the other Nations had done. To whom Achor Prince of Am­mon thus replyed.

‘If my Lord will not be angry I will give him a full Account of those people which dwell near the Hill Countreys, without diminishing or conceal­ing any thing of the truth; Be it known to my Lord that they are originally descended from the Caldeans, but separated themselves from them by reason of their Religion, refusing to worship the Gods of their Fathers, and adoring only one God the Maker of Heaven and Earth, and de­parted into Mesopotamia, where they continued ma­ny years; but were at length commanded by their God to depart from thence and go into the Land of Canaan where they dwelt and multiplyed ex­ceedingly, increasing in Gold, Silver, Cattle, and all the blessings of this life. After this a terrible Famine happening in their Countrey they went down into Egypt to get food, where they were kept alive, and grew to a very great number inso­much that they began to be a terror to the Egyp­tians, and that King endeavoured by all means to diminish them, imposing cruel bondage upon them in making bricks, thereby to bring them low; upon which they cried to the Lord their God who revenged their wrongs by horrible plagues upon the Egyptians, so that they were for­ced to let them go whithersoever they pleased; when they were gone the King repented of what he had done, and resolved to pursue and utterly destroy them, but God dried up the Red Sea be­fore them so that they passed safely through, and the Egyptians were all drowned therein; From hence their God led them to Mount Sinai, and [Page 20]through the barren desarts of Arabia, and mira­culously nourished them there with food from Heaven, and waters out of the Rock, and caused them to be victorious over all the people of the Countreys through which they passed; Thus as long as they served their God they were invincible over all their enemies, devouring the Amorites, Jebusites, Perezites, and other Nations as fire con­sumes the chaff, and possessing their Lands and Es­tates; But when they departed from Gods worship and defiled themselves with iniquity, they were then forsaken of Heaven, defeated in many battles, and led captive into the land of their adversaries, the Temple of their God being cast down and their Cities taken from them; But they are now again returned to their former worship, and their Countrey and Temple at Jerusalem where they fortifie themselves against us; Let us therefore, my Lord, be advised before we proceed against them, for if their God be angry with them by reason of any provocation, it will be easy for us to subdue and destroy them; but if he be recon­ciled and will defend them, it will be in vain to attempt any thing, since he will certainly ruin and defeat all that shall assault them, be their strength and multitude never so great.’

Achior having thus spoken, the Commanders of the Army were extreamly incensed against him, and desired he might be slain, who had the confidence to imagine that so small a number of people as the Is­raelites were, should be able to withstand the force of the Royal Army of Nebuchadnezzar, whom they doubted not but to discomfit at their very first ap­pearance. Holofernes having quieted the tumult rai­sed among his Souldiers by this Oration, spake thus to him and his Associates.

‘Who art thou Achior, and who are you Hirelings of Ephraim that you have prophesied we should not make War with the people of Israel because [Page 21]their God will defend them, as if there were any other God but Nebuchadnezzar, whose Servants will utterly destroy them, the Mountains shall be drunk with their bloud, and their Fields covered with their dead bodies; And thou Achior shalt see my face no more till I take vengeance of these people that came out of Egypt, and in the mean time I will deliver thee into their hands.’

Accordingly some Souldiers were sent to carry Achior bound and throw him down the Hill near the walls of the City, which the Israelites perceiving came and brought him into Bethulia, and being car­ried before the Priests and Governors of the City, who inquired the meaning of this adventure, he gave them an account of all he had said to Holofernes, and what Testimony he had given of the Power and Majesty of God; whereat the people were even ra­vished for joy, and fell down crying to the Lord of Heaven to behold the pride of their enemies, and pity the low estate of his servants; And then com­forted Achior, and promised him all security and protection.

Mean time Holofernes endeavoured to surprize lit­tle Bethulia, but found it hard to be effected by rea­son of some valiant men who lay in ambush in the Mountains, and much gauled his Army in the nar­row passages; whereupon his Souldiers perswaded him not to hazard his whole Army in this dangerous attempt, but endeavour to stop the channels that carried the water from the Fountains, which would quickly oblige them to yield; This was performed accordingly, and was very like to have effected their design, for the people began to murmur and muti­ny aloud against the Priests for bringing them into this dangerous condition by their rashness, since there was little hope of prevailing against such a for­midable power as had already subdued so many Na­tions, and with one voice required them to surren­der up the Town to the Assyrians; Ozias in the ab­sence [Page 22]of Joachim endeavoured to appease the cries and tears of the people, and desired them to take courage and trust in God, and if deliverance did not come in five days he would then do as they pleased.

There was then in the City of Bethulia a great Treasure whose worth and merit was utterly un­known; It was the valiant Judith of a worthy Fami­ly of the Tribe of Reuben, whose husband was na­med Manasseh, and had been dead about three years and an half, leaving her very rich; She was exceed­ing beautiful and very religious, spending all her time in devotion, and wearing sackcloth upon her loyns, whereby she gained much reputation among the people. This worthy Lady hearing of the reso­lutions of Ozias was much disturbed at the miseries of her Countrey, and sending for Ozias and the rest of the Princes of the people she thus addrest them.

‘O ye Governors and Inhabitants of Bethulia, in my opinion you have been very rash in what you have spoken this day to the people, and in the Oath you have taken and pronounced between the Lord and them in promising to deliver up the City to the enemy if God do not send you help within five days, which is to tempt, and prescribe to him the time of his mercies, and not to de­pend upon his providence who knows best when and how to bring Salvation to those that put their trust in him; Let us therefore continue to serve the Lord according to his Laws and Command­ments, and not turn aside to worship other Gods (as our Fathers did before us, and for which they were given up to the Sword of their Adversaries) and in Gods good time which is the best, he will work out deliverance for us.’ Ozias replyed, ‘All that she had said was true and excellent, and that it was not the first time wherein she had mani­fested her wisedom and knowledge, for which she was always held in admiration, but that the ex­tream thirst of the people and the violent excla­mations [Page 23]they raised, had caused them to enter in­to an Oath which they durst not break; But (said he) since we know thee to be a religious woman and upright in thy conversation, we beseech thee to pray to God for us that he will please to send us rain and fill our Cisterns, and then we shall take courage to defend our selves.’ Hereupon Ju­dith told them, That she would perform an Act which should resound through all generations, de­firing them to leave one of the City Gates open through which she might freely pass that very night, accompanied with her Servant, since she had some good work in her heart for the benefit of her Coun­trey, which she would not yet discover, but assured them that God would save them by her hand with­in the time limited for giving up the City; Ozias and the Princes bid her go in peace, and pray'd the Lord God to be with her, and to take vengeance of their enemies. Before she undertook this mighty Action, she retired to her closet, and putting ashes on her head, and sackcloth on her loyns, prostrated her self to the earth and prayed earnestly to God in this manner.

‘O Lord the God of my Fathers to whom nothing is impossible, look down upon the Armies of Assy­ria who exalt themselves against thee, and glory in the strength and number of their Forces, and let them know that thou art the God of Battels, and the Lord of Hosts is thy name, and that thou breakest in pieces the mighty powers of the earth with one glance of thy eyes; Throw down their strength by thy Almighty arm, and lift up that hand which hath made it self renowned from all ages by so many wonders as thou hast wrought a­gainst those that have opposed thy peculiar people. Confound their pride, and suffer them not to vio­late thy Temple, pollute thy Sanctuary, nor de­stroy thy Tabernacle where thy Glorious name resteth, and is called upon by thy afflicted Ser­vants: [Page 24]Send thy wrath upon them, and deliver in­to my hand who am a weak widdow the Com­mander of their Camp, give me such eloquence and utterance that my words may prevail upon him to his destruction; And since thy strength is not in the multitude of Souldiers, nor in the va­lour of Horsemen, make it now appear that thou canst save by the most weak and unlikely means, and that thou who art the God of the distressed, the helper of the oppressed, the supporter of the most destitute, and the Protector and Saviour of those that are without hope, art able to bring down thy most haughty and presumptuous Foes even by the hand of an impotent woman. Re­member thy Covenant O Lord, give counsel to my heart, words to my mouth, and strength to my arm for the defence of thy House and People that all the Nations of the world may know there is no God like unto thee.’

Having thus armed her self with her Prayers and Confidence in the God of Heaven, she puts off her mourning and sackcloth, and washes and adorns her self with Rings and Jewels to the best advantage, so that she appeared exceeding amiable in the eyes of all, though her virtues and graces were much the greater ornament to her, and then having prepared meat and drink for her self and servant, because she would not be polluted with the dainties of the Hea­thens, she leaves her house, and goes toward the gate of Bethulia where she finds Ozias, and the Chiefs of the City Chabris and Charmis, who seemed ravished with the lustre of her heavenly beauty, yet inquired not into her design, but implored the bles­sing of God upon her, and the enterprize she had undertaken, and the gates being opened, she at­tended only by her maid, went directly toward the Camp of the Assyrians, all the people of the City looking after her as far as they could see; As she went down the Mountain at break of day the Soul­diers [Page 25]having discovered her, ran presently to seize on so lovely a prize, and were much surprized with the charms and splendor of her countenance, and having inquired of her Countrey, and present in­tentions, she told them, ‘That she was a woman of Bethulia, and that she had that night deserted the people of that miserable City, who were obstinate to procure their own destruction from the tri­umphant arms of the Assyrians, into whose hands they would at last certainly fall, but that she would have no share in their crime, hoping to escape their disasters also, and that her business was to reveal to Holofernes a certain way how to take the City and all the Countrey round about with­out loss of a man.’ The Souldiers were amazed at her comeliness and discourse, and assured her she had taken the only course to secure her life and ho­nour, and that their Lord would receive and enter­tain her with all manner of kindness and respect.

It may seem a rash attempt that a woman so handsom as Judith, should venture her self and her honour, to the rudeness of the dissolute Souldiers, who propound to themselves the ravishing of wo­men for one part of the reward of their dangers and toils in war; And we may be apt to think that an honest woman would scarce expose her chastity to so many hazards and affronts, although it were to save a City; In humane reason this conduct of hers can hardly be defended, but who dares condemn what seems to proceed from a manifest inspiration of Heaven, which kept her as safe in the midst of the greatest seeming difficulties as if immured in the strongest Castle.

She was then conducted to the Tent of Holofernes, who was leaning upon his Bed under a rich Canopy of State imbroidered with Gold, Purple, Emeralds and Jewels, who having notice of her approach came to the door of his Tent with Silver Lamps be­fore him; Judith being come into his presence, [Page 26]struck him and all his Attendants into admiration at her furprizing handsomness, and being fallen at his feet, he caused her to be instantly raised up, and to incourage her, treats her with incomparable sweet­ness, assuring her, ‘That he was not terrible to any who would submit themselves to the obedience of his great Master Nebuchadnezzar the King of all the Earth, neither would he have permitted a Sword to have been drawn against her Nation if according to their duty they had rendred their Towns to the arms of that Mighty Monarch, and therefore desi­red her to inform him upon what account she had forsaken the City, and was come to his Camp.’

Judith endeavoured to gratifie his request by this subtle Oration. My Lord, ‘I am very well satisfied that the Great Nebuchadnezzar is ordained of God to be the King of the whole world, and that all the strength of his Monarchy, and management of his warlike affairs is included in your Person, and conducted by your wisdom and policy, for the safety and protection of the good, and the chas­tisement of evil doers. The valour and prudence of the worthy Holofernes is renowned through all the Earth, who desires to be powerful only that he may be merciful, of which all the Provinces which have fallen under his conquering arm have had comfortable experience; As for the words which Achior declared to my Lord, he hath re­peated the same in the ears of the people of Be­thulia, thereby endeavouring to incourage them to defend themselves valiantly, and what he hath said is most true and certain, that the Israelites shall not be punished, neither can the Sword pre­vail against them except they sin against their God; But now their sin will overtake them, and thereby make them an easy prey to their enemies, for since their victuals and water fail them, they are resolved to kill all their Cattel, and to eat all things, even those forbidden by their Law, and [Page 27]not to spare those which were sanctified, and re­served for the use of the Priests, and service of the Temple, whereby they will provoke their God to anger; For this cause, my Lord, have I left that abominable City, and am come as a Messenger from Heaven to give you this advice; and to per­form such an act that all the earth shall be asto­nished therewith, for thy Servant is religious, and worshippeth the God of Heaven every day and night, and I will pray unto him to discover his will to me, and to shew me when they have com­mitted these sins against him, that so I may inform you of the utmost time which is determined for this miserable Town, and then you may march even to the very gates of Jerusalem, and settle your Throne there, since the people will deliver them­selves up to you as sheep without a shepherd, and a dog shall not open his mouth against you, it being very reasonable that men and beasts should submit themselves to such a formidable power as is conducted by the hand of the most High, and by the direction of his providence.’

Holofernes who was before taken by the eyes, was now charmed by the ears with the pleasantness of her discourse, and admired her above all women in the world both for her beauty and wisdom, promi­sing that her God should be his God, and that he will advance her to great dignities in the house of Nebuchadnezzar, and make her renowned through all the earth. And at the same time brings her into the Chambers of his Treasure and Magnificence, and ordered her provisions both of meat and wine dayly from his own Table, which she excused, since her Law did not permit her to eat of any other Viands but her own, which she had provided and brought along with her; ‘But what (says Holo­fernes) if your own store should be spent, how shall we supply you?’ Judith replies, ‘That she did not doubt but to accomplish the business she came [Page 26] [...] [Page 27] [...] [Page 28]about before that time;’ After this she was con­ducted into a stately Tent, where she reposed till midnight, and toward the morning watch she sent to Holofernes that he would please to permit her to go out before day to address her prayers to God, which he readily granted, commanding his Guards to let her pass freely; She went therefore in the si­lence of the night into the valley of Bethulia, where she washed her self in a Fountain of water, and then prayed earnestly to God that he would prosper her design for freeing her Countrey, and again raise up their drooping spirits.

Having continued in the Camp three days, watch­ing an opportunity to execute her intended project, behold a fit season was presented by Holofernes him­self, who would needs make a sumptuous banquet for his servants and familiars only, to which he re­solved to invite Judith as the chief Guest, hoping that when she was merry he might obtain his desire of her, since the Assyrians account it a great dishonour to a man to court a woman and not enjoy her; And therefore he ordered one of his Eunuchs to wait up­on her and impart his Masters pleasure to her, and how far she was in his favour, since he desired that very day to have her company at the magnificent Feast he had prepared, which was the greatest honour she could ever receive, and therefore ought to make no scruple of obeying, but to be pleasant and free with him who had laid so great an obligation upon her; Judith soon understood what his discourse tended to, and readily answered, ‘That she was wholly disposed to perform his Lords commands, and would have no other will but his;’ And in­stantly adorns her self in the best manner, to wound his heart with her graces and charms, and passing into his Pavilion, seats her self nigh unto him, where she eats what she had provided, and tells him she will now drink chearfully, since she had cause to count this the most happy day of her whole life.

When Holofernes saw her so near him and alone, his heart was wholly ravished with her beauty, he thought himself the most fortunate man upon earth; His passion did not permit him to speak much he was so extreamly moved; He contented himself only with inviting her to be merry, and drank large draughts to make himself so; And Judith expressing, her great content to see him in so good an humour, he to please her as he thought, drank so much more than ordinary, that he was even dead with drunken­ness and the fumes of the strong wine; The Eunuch having the word to do his Office, dismisses all the servants, and Attendants, and shuts the door upon his Master and Judith; Holofernes lay sleeping upon his bed full of wine, but Judith was never more wakeful, she contemplates the gallant General lying in his drunken sleep, and earnestly called upon God to prosper her bold undertaking for the exaltation of Israel, and going to the pillars of the bed she takes down thence the sword of Holofernes, and un­dauntedly drawing it, she takes hold of the hair of his head, and saying, Strengthen my arm O Lord God of Israel this day, she smote him twice upon the neck with all her force, and with the last blow struck off his head, throwing his body on the ground; then pulling down the Canopy from the Pillars, and giving it her Maid, with the head, she put it into her bag among the meat, and both of them pass through the Army without being questioned, the Officers having order to let them go as usually to prayers.

Having passed the Camp, they went up the Mour­tain of Bethulia, and arriving at the City gates before morning, she cryed to the Centinel afar off to open the gates with all speed, since God had done wor­ders for Israel, and had appeared in a strange man­ner for their deliverance from their enemies; The people hearing her voice, soon let her in, and ran to give notice to Ozias and the Rulers; all the inha­bitants both great and small coming together to [Page 30]hear what tidings she had brought, whom they look­ed upon as a lost woman, and like one come from the other world, and having made a great fire to give light to the Assembly, they stood round about her, who spake thus in the midst of them with a loud voice, ‘Praise God, praise ye the Lord I say, who never forsakes his own, but hath by me this day accom­plished his promise to his chosen people, and hath by me and by my hands slain the common enemy of our Nation this very night.’

She then drew out of the bag the horrible head of Holofernes, all pale and bloudy which she shewed to them all, adding, ‘Behold the head of the Capt. Gen. of the Armies of Assur, and then spreading abroad his Pavilion, Behold said she, the Canopy wherein he reposed himself in his drunkenness, and where the Lord smote him by the hand of a woman; It is the living God alone that hath preserved me from all danger in this most perillous attempt, and though my countenance hath been his ruin, yet I take that God whose Angel hath been my guard to witness, he hath not offered me the least shame nor reproach; To God be all the glory whose mer­cy and goodness endures forever.’ The people were even transported with joy at this unexpected delive­rance, and seeing the dismal head only by torch-light, were almost perswaded it was but a dream; But that the multitude which saw the same thing confirmed them their eyes were not deluded; They therefore shouted with praises to the God of Heaven the only worker of Miracles, and then turning to Judith they gave her a thousand thanks and blessings for being the instrument of so marvellous a salvation that day.

Then Ozias the Prince of the people of Israel in Bethulia spake thus to her, ‘Blessed be you O Daugh­ter, and most excellent above all the women in the Earth, and praised be the great Creator of Heaven and Earth who hath assisted your Victorious arm for the destruction of the principal of our Enemies, [Page 31]whereby you have rendred your name immortal to all ages to come, and shall be had in admiration by all that have any sense of the wonderful works of God while the world endures, since none can forget how little you valued your own life and honour, so that you might thereby free your Nation from the inevitable ruin which seemed to hang over their heads.’ After this Achior was called to whom shew­ing the head of Holofernes, and assuring him that what he had affirmed of the might & power of the God of Israel was now fully verified, since he that had vowed their total desolation was now no more, and their great Commander Holofernes was himself without a head; Achior was even astonisht at her words and action, and with the surprize fell down into a swound, but at length recovering he threw himself at her feet with so much reverence, as was near to adoration, and by her means was more confirmed in the true Religion, and he with all the people shouted, and gave glory to God with a loud voice.

Judith to perfect her Conquest advised the peo­ple to place the head upon one of the highest Towers of the City, and in the morning to make a salley out upon the Assyrians, who at the alarum would pre­sently run to the Tent of Holofernes to awake him, and finding what had happened, would be extreamly amazed and sell their lives at a cheap rate, and might be pursued and utterly destroyed out of all their Coasts with very little damage to themselves. This was put in execution, and the Captains instantly repaired to the Generals Tent to receive orders, desiring Bagoas the Eunuch to wake their Lord, since the Israelitish slaves had presumed to make a sally upon them tho to their own destruction; The Eunuch after long tarrying at last ventred in, and coming near the bed and hearing no body stir, he at length opened the curtains thinking he had still slept with Ju­dith, but instead thereof found the dead body cast on the floor and his head taken from him; At this [Page 32]fight he cryed out aloud and became so furious that he rent his cloths, and went in a rage to Judiths a­partment, threatning her with a thousand deaths; but missing her there, he sent out many frightful Schree­ches among the People, and declared aloud, That the Slaves had dealt treacherously with them, and that one He­brew woman had brought shame and confusion upon the House of Nebuchadnezzar, who had slain Holofernes and left his carcase without a head.

All ran to behold this dismal Spectacle, and the whole camp was filled with horror, astonishment, and despair; Tears and howling had taken possession of the whole Army when at the same time the head of Holofernes appeared upon one of the Towers of Bethulia, which so astonished the Assyrians, that they fled and scattered themselves round about the City, every one seeking safety in running away, and none durst trust another; The Israelites pursued with all manner of briskness and vigor, making a great noise that their number might appear considerable, though there needed no great force to vanquish run-a-ways: All the neighbouring Cities came in to take part of the spoil and to pillage their routed enemies whom they cut off with a most dreadful slaughter, and the booty in the Camp was so prodigious that the peo­ple were thirty days in dividing it. The rich move­ables of Gold, Silver, Pearls and Jewels found in Holo­fernes Tent were all presented to Judith, with the praises and acclamations of the multitude, who una­nimously applauded her as the glory of Jerusalem, the joy of Israel, the honour of her people, the gal­lant woman, the chast and valiant Princess by whose hand God had done great things in delivering his people, and whose fame should live to eternal Ages. The women of Israel likewise assembled themselves to meet and bless her, dancing before her with bran­ches of Olive in their hands, whereof they composed a Garland which they put upon her head, and then Judith leading the dance before them proceeded to­ward [Page 33]her own house, all the men of Israel following in their armour with garlands on their heads and songs in their mouths. Judith likewith made the following song of Praise and Thanksgiving, which all the people sang after her.

After this Judith dedicated to the Temple the Pa­vilion of Holofernes, and other rich habiliments given her by the People, that the memory of this glorious Action might never be forgotten, and then returning to her own house she there continued a chast wid­dow to the day of her death, being honoured and respected of all the people as their Great Deliverer; she made her servant a free woman, and lived in the house of her husband Manasseh till she was an hundred and five years old, and then dying was bu­ried in his Sepulchre, for whom all the Israelites made a deep and solemn mourning seven days with­out intermission, and the terror of this admirable success made such an impression on all the Neigh­bour Nations that none of them troubled Israel all her days nor a long time after her death.

‘How great art thou O Lord of Hosts, and how terrible is thy power thou God of Battels, a Gene­ral in the midst of an Army of an hundred thou­sand valiant Souldiers, invironed all with steel and fire, who says I will go, I will do, I will level with the ground, who decreed the firing of Cities and destruction of Countreys, behold him now conquered, slain, tumbled in his bloud by a wo­man who makes a play-game of his head, and all this by the assistance of that God who acted in her, and put courage into her soul to overthrow the mighty, and bring to confusion the Sons of pride and violence.’

IN the year from the Creation of the world 3543. and before the birth of our Saviour 521. during the Captivity of the Jews in Babylon; Cyrus (the son of Xerxes whom the Grecians called Artaxerxes) was King of Persia; in whose reign all the race of the Jews both men, women and children were in danger to have been utterly exterminated, had it not been happily prevented by the mercy of God, and the excellent conduct and admirable courage of our renowned Heroine Queen Esther.

For the better understanding hereof, we read that after Artaxerxes was setled in the Kingdom, and had established Governors over an hundred and seven and twenty Provinces from India as far as Ethiopia, in the third year of his reign he made a most Royal and Magnificient Feast for all the Grandees of his mighty Empire, wherein he display'd the opulency and grandeur of his Dominions for one hundred and fourscore days together; After which he for 7 days treated the Ambassadors of all Nations in the Palace of Shushan, sitting in a Tent, the Pillars whereof were Gold and Silver and the covering of Scarlet, of such a vast extent that thousands might be entertained under it; all the provisions were served in Vessels of Gold inriched with Jewels, and of excel­lent workmanship; The King commanded his At­tendants that none should be enforced to drink, but according to the Persian usage, each at his own dis­cretion; He also sent an Order throughout all his Countreys that they should all cease from their la­bour many days, and make Holyday in Honour of his Royalty.

At the same time Vashti his Queen made a Royal Banquet to her Ladies, and the King being merry with wine the seventh day of the Feast, sent one of his Eunuchs to cause her to come with the Crown upon her head in the most glorious manner, and her most gorgeous attire, to display her beauty to the eyes of all the people, but she being too tenacious of [Page 38]the Persian custom that count it a crime to be seen by strangers, refused to come, and though he re­newed his desires divers times, yet she persisted in her denial, upon which being extreamly displeased, he rose suddenly from the Banquet, and calling to him seven of his Councellors by whose advice he managed his affairs, and who expounded the Law to him, he desired to know what punishment they thought due to his wife who had put such an open affront and indignity upon him before that Great Assembly; one of them answered, ‘That this was a crime of State, and might occasion a general dis­order throughout the Realm, since all other wo­men following the example of the Queen might from thence take a licentious power to disobey their husbands, and every where domineer over them, thereby overthrowing the order of Nature, and cause quarrels and disturbance in all Families; His opinion therefore was, that she who had done him this publick dishonour should be divorced from the King her husband, and that a Proclama­tion should be published throughout all his Provin­ces signifying the cause thereof, and asserting the just subjection of wives to their husbands.’ The King who had an extraordinary passion for Vashti, and could hardly entertain any thoughts of a separa­tion from the dear object of his love, seemed for some time wholly abandoned to grief and sorrow, which his Nobles observing, endeavoured to remove by representing the unreasonableness of his concern­ment for such an unworthy woman who had so ex­treamly disobliged him, and that he might soon find out another who in beauty and all other Princely qualifications should far exceed her, and by whose pleasing demeanor the thoughts of Vashti might be utterly extinguished.

The King confirming the Judgment they had given against Vashti, sent abroad messengers to bring into his presence the fairest Virgins that were to be found in [Page 39]his Kingdoms; Whereupon a great number being as­sembled, there was among them a young Orphan whose parents being dead, she was educated under the tuition of her uncle Mordecai of the Tribe of Benjamin, and a principal man among the Jews, her name was Esther and was judged the most beau­tiful of all that youthful company, and for her ami­able countenance caused all Spectators to stand still and admire her; Whereupon the Eunuchs attended her with more than ordinary diligence, and she was prepared for the kings pleasure with odors and per­fumes for six months, in the company of four hun­dred other Virgins; After which the Officer judg­ing them fit to approach the Royal bed, sent one e­very night to the King, who returned her back in the morning; But when Esther came into his presence, he was so surprized with her love that he took her for his lawful wife, and setled his affections upon her above all the others; The marriage was solem­nized in the seventh year of his reign in the twelfth month called Adar, or February; And edicts were sent throughout all his kingdoms to proclaim a Feast in honour of this wedding, he himself likewise feasting the Medes, Persians, and Princes of other Nations, for a whole month upon that account.

When Esher entered the Royal Palace, the king set a Diadem of gold upon her head, and lived with her with all manner of content and satisfaction, never questioning her birth nor of what Nation she was; Her uncle Mordecai came with her from Babylon (where she was found by the Kings officers) to Shu­san the cheif City of Persia, and walked dayly before the Palace inquiring of her welfare, whom he loved as tenderly as if she had been his own; Now the king had published a Law, that no man should ap­proach his presence unless [...] sent for; In pur­suance whereof, while he sate on his Royal Throne certain Officers stood with their Axes ready to pu­nish any that should attempt to infringe this Decree; [Page 40]The king himself sate aloft, holding a golden Scepter in his hand, and when any presumed to come near without being called, if the King would save his life he touched him therewith, who thereby avoided death.

It happened about this time that Bigthan and Teresh two of the kings chamberlains had conspired against their Master, which Mordecai who was not of a drow­sy Spirit soon perceived, and narrowly observing their carriage, he discovered the whole design, which he imparted to Queen Esther, and she to the King in the name of Mordecai, who being taken and examin­ed confessed their abominable Treason and received their due reward; the king at present only returned Mordecai hearty thanks for saving his life, but com­manded him to continue in his Pallace, and ordered his name to be registred in the Chronicles of Persia with the whole process against the Malefactors.

After this Ahasuerus exalted Haman an Amalekite a­bove all his Princes and Nobles, and he became the chief Favourite, so that the king saw but with his eyes, and heard with his ears; All the Court adored this new Idol, and all knees were bowed before him, but Mordecai shewed him no reverence nor respect both because he knew the wickedness of his nature, and that the Laws of the Jews forbad him to give honour to any of the wicked race of Amalek; Haman elevated even to giddiness by the greatness he so sud­denly arrived to, had at first little regard to it, but being dayly advertised thereof by his Flatterers, who informed him that they had often in vain reproved Mordecai for his contempt, he was thereat inflamed with rage against him, and understanding he was a Jew, was much disturbed that all the Persian Nobility who were free should prostrate themselves before him, and a Jewish slave should refuse to reverence him, he therefore scorns to revenge himself on Mor­decai alone, as thinking it much below his grandeur to punish one man only, but resolves utterly to ex­terminate the whole race of the Jews, to whom he [Page 41]was a mortal enemy by nature, the Amalekites his predecessors having been destroyed by the Israelites in former ages; and revenge may be imagined thus to inflame him.

In pursuance of this hellish resolution Haman ad­dresseth himself to the King and tells him; ‘That there were a certain cursed people called Jews dis­persed through all the Provinces of his kingdom, who were divided by Religion and laws from the rest of the World, and by affection from his Person and government; That they were pernicious to his Empire, and upon all occasions ready and dis­posed to insurrections and rebellions, and that for preventing the mischiefs which might happen by them, nothing would be more secure than to cut them off all at once, and utterly to extinguish their race, so that neither Captive nor Slave should be left alive among them; And lest their destruction should prove prejudicial to his Majesties Revenue, he freely offered to pay out of his own Estate forty thousand Talents of Silver into the Exchequer, be­ing willing rather to part with so much money for the publick safety than that such a cursed generati­on of men should indanger the kingdom.’

Thus is the horrid Scene laid for the ruin of so ma­ny millions of people by the pernicious counsel of one malicious and ambitious favourite; The king is [Page 42]soon led away by this evil advice, and trusts this proud Haman with the execution thereof, as if he had committed the sheep to the protection of the Wolf; He triumphs with joy for having obtained his desire and the kings Ring; He calls the Secretaries and com­mands them in the name of Ahasuerus to write bloudy Letters to all the Provinces; ‘That the thirteenth day of the last month, (which was February) the Jews should be massacred in all the Cities and Towns within the utmost limits of the Empire and that from the least to the greatest, not sparing man, woman nor child, all should be put to the sword without remorse, & their goods to be confiscate, & exposed to pillage;’ These Letters confirmed with the Kings seal flew like lightning through the hun­dred and twenty seven provinces of the Persian Mo­narchy; The evil was universal, and the terror be­gan at the Capital City of Shushan, where the Edict hanged upon Pillars was seen and read to all the world, containing this dreadful Sentence.

Ahasuerus Rex.

This sanguinary Proclamation being published in all places, many bloudy Miscreants rejoiced at the news, and prepared themselves to execute the con­tents thereof, resolving at the day appointed utterly to destroy the Jews, and to leave no remembrance of them upon earth; The Metropolitan City of Shushan abounded with these Instruments of cruelty, though in the mean time the K. and Haman, feasted & drowned [Page 43]themselves in debauchery; Poor Mordecai foreseeing the Tempest ready to fall upon his people, cloathed himself with Sackcloth and put ashes upon his head, in which equipage he walked through the City pro­testing that his Nation had done nothing to deserve this severity designed against them, and at length ar­riving at the Palace he stood at the gate, (it being unlawful for him to enter in that dress) with many of the Jews in his company and in the same mourn­ing attire; The news hereof coming to the Queen, she was much surprized, and sent an Eunuch to bid him change his garments, which he absolutely refused till the cause of his putting them on was removed; Whereupon she again dispatcht her servant to him to know what sad occasion had induced him to put on that dispairing habit, and to pour out such lamenta­ble and incessant cries; Upon which Mordecai sent her an account of the terrible edict lately published against the Jews and proclaimed through all the pro­vinces by the Kings command, with the great Sum of money which Haman had offered to pay into the Ex­chequer, whereby he had purchased the utter desola­tion of the Jewish Nation; and herewith he deliver­ed a Copy of the Edict to the Messenger, with a strict injunction to Esther to cloth her self in the most abject fashion, and to present a petition to the king for the saving her people from the deplorable de­struction decreed against them. Esther having receiv­ed this advertisement sent again to Mordecai to tell him;

Upon this severe reprimand the Queen sends to Mordecai commanding him to call a general assembly of the Jews to Shushan, and to injoyn them to fast and pray three days for his safety and good success, assu­ring him that she & her servants would do the same, and that at the end thereof she would present her self before the king, and says she, If I perish, I perish; Mor­decai according to her direction caused the people to fast and pray for her, and he himself made earnes [...] supplication to the Almighty; ‘To have compassion on their desolate and distressed Nation, and as he had formerly preserved them, and pardoned ther offences, so he would graciously please to deliver them from that imminent destruction which now hung over their heads, since they were now con­demned to death not for any iniquity of their own but meerly because he only had incensed proud He­man against them, in refusing to pay that honour and adoration to him which was due to God alone for which he had contrived this severe revenge a­gainst the whole Nation of the Jews, to cut them all off from the face of the Earth;’ The people like­wise beseeched God to secure them from the outrage intended against them; And Esther cast her self pro­stratstrate [Page 45]on the earth clothed in Sackcloth, devoutly im­ploring the God of her Fathers to assist and defend her that when she should come before the King she might mollifie, and perswade him to have pity upon her and her distressed people.

The three days being over she threw off her mourn­ing, and adorned her self in the most majestick man­ner that was possible, and attended by her Servants went into the presence Chamber, where the king sate on his Throne, the splendor and glory whereof did at first somewhat astonish her; When Ahasuerus holding out the golden Scepter revived her fainting Spirits, and drawing near she touched the top thereof, and the King very endearingly asked her, What her request to him was; She replyed, That she only desired his Majesty to honour her with his presence at a Banquet she had prepared for him, and that his dear Friend Haman might likewise attend him. The King readily consented, and Haman joyfully came thither; Now in the midst of the Treat when the King became warm with wine, he commanded Esther to declare her suit unto him, assuring her he would deny her nothing she should demand; Esther at present declined to dis­cover her intent, but humbly beseeched the King to come again next day with Haman, and partake of another Banquet, when she would fulfil his desire. Ahasuerus promised to revisit her, and Haman went home with great joy that he onely had the great hap­piness to feast with the King and Esther, an honour which none of the Nobility of the Empire had ever arrived to; But in his return observing Mordecai at the Court gate, who would not shew him the least respect, his great heart sweld with indignation against him; Arriving at his house he called for his Freinds and his wife Zeresh, to whom he related the glory of his riches, and the greatness of his dignity, whom the K. had advanced above all the Princes of the Realm, and that Esther suffered no man but himself to come with the King to the Banquet, and that to morrow [Page 46]he was again to attend his Majesty thither to a second entertainment; Yet, ‘saith he, all this avails me nothing, nor am I in the least contented, when I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the Gate and refu­sing to rise or shew the least reverence to me;’ Ze­resh his wife being as full of revenge and pride as he, pronounced a sudden and short sentence against Mordecai, advising him; To cause a Gallows to be set up fifty foot high in his own Court, and the next day if he did but desire the King to let him hang Mor­decai thereon, no doubt but it would be granted, and then he might go and sup with the Queen with a merry heart; This counsel pleased Haman very well, and the Gallows was soon erected, but Divine Providence had prepared other business for him to dispatch, to make him know, That no body designs the ruin of another without hastning his own destruction.

The evening bofore this fatal day the K. was laid up­on his bed to repose himself, but could get no sleep all night long, without having the least appearance of care or trouble on his spirit, and to imploy himself caused his Secretary to bring & read before him the Chroni­cles of his Realm, wherein among other Transactions in the reign of his Ancestors and his own, he found it recorded that Bigthana, and Teresh two of the Kings Chamberlains had conspired to murther him, and in all probability their Treason had succeeded, but that Mordecai the Jew happily discovered the whole Conspiracy, for which the Traitors received their deserved punishment; At the recital of this passage the King was somewhat moved and asked whether there were no mention of any honour or reward be­stowed upon Mordecai as a recompence for this wor­thy service, who replyed; ‘That he found nothing set down of that kind, neither had he as yet received any reward upon that account;’ Hereupon in the morning the King demanded who was in the Court, and being told Haman was there, who came thither more early than usual to beseech the king that he [Page 47]would please to give him leave to put Mordecai to death, The K. commanded him to come into his pre­sence, to whom he said; ‘That as his faithful friend and servant he desired him to advise what honour and dignity was fit to be bestowed on that Person whom the K. had a very great favour & respect for;’ Haman who did not in the least doubt but the person designed to be thus advanced was himself, made this confident-reply; ‘The man to whom your Majesty intends so much honour as to be counted the Kings Friend and Favourite, ought to be mounted upon one of your own Horses, and to be clothed with the Royal Robes, with a Chain of Gold about his neck and the Imperial Crown upon his head, and let one of your most Worthy Princes go before him through all the streets of the City, and make pro­clamation That thus it shall be done to the man whom the King delighteth to honour;’ The King liking the proposal, commands Haman to go instantly to Mor­decai that sate at the gate and to invest him and pro­claim before him according to his own advice; Haman with a heavy heart performs the Kings Orders through the whole City, and Mordecai returned triumphant­ly to the Pallace.

Haman hastned home confounded and ashamed at what had happened, and with tears related his strange misfortune to his Wife and Friends; who all concluded, ‘That it was a very ominous accident, for Mordecai was of the seed of the Jews, and since he had begun to fall before him, it was much to be feared that it would end in his ruin, because God was with that Nation to save and defend them from their Enemies;’ While they were thus dis­coursing, a Messenger came from Esther to call Ha­man to the Banquet; The King seated at this second Entertainment, began again to be earnest with Esther to declare the petition and request she had to make to him, since he was fully resolved to gratifie her therein, yea to divide his Crown and Scepter [Page 48]with her rather than deny her suit; To whom Esthe after a sad sigh declared the danger she and her people were in, to this purpose;

The King inraged at her discourse asks who was the man that had thus conspired the destruction of her self and all the Jews, she replyed, ‘Even that wicked Haman to whom your Majesty hath given your Seal, it is that perfidious Traytor that hath caused bloudy Letters to be written (not to banish or sell us for Slaves, for then I should have held my peace, but) that we should be cut off by the Sword in the Provinces of the Empire.’

The King rose furiously from the Table, and went into the Garden; when Haman began to be­seech Esther to intercede for him, and forgive the [Page 49]offence he had committed, and being very earnest he fell down on the bed where the Queen was, when the King returning hastily back, and finding him in that posture was much more displeased than before, and cryed out; ‘O thou most cursed a­mong men,’ wilt thou ravish my Queen also? Haman was so confounded at these words that he could make no reply, and the Officers covered his face; Hereupon one of the Chamberlains stept forth and told the King, that Haman had erected a Gallows fifty foot high at his own house whereon he designed to have hanged Mordecai; whereupon Ahasuerus commanded that Haman himself should be hanged thereon, which was instantly executed accordingly.

And herein was the Justice of Heaven manifested' not only in punishing the wickedness of Haman ac­cording to his deserts, but in causing him to fall into that snare and pit he had prepared for an inno­cent person; This was the end of that great but wretched Favourite who by abusing the interest he had in the Kings breast brought woful ruin upon himself and his whole Family, his goods were given to the Queen who bestowed them on Mordecai, whom the King understanding to be her Uncle, he was called to the Pallace and had Hamans Ring given unto him, and succeeded in his dignity.

After this Esther humbly intreated the King to command Letters to be sent through all the Pro­vinces to countermand those contrived by Haman for the utter destruction of the Jews, for how (said she) can I endure to see the ruin of my Nation and [Page 50]all my Relations; This her request was thought ve­ry reasonable, and the King granted it, adding, that as he had hanged Haman because of his bloudy intentions against her people, so she her self should write on their behalf in his name and by his Autho­rity to all the Governors of his Kingdom to reverse the dreadful sentence that was gone out against them; In pursuance whereof the Secretaries of State were instantly imploy'd in that affair, and writ to all the Magistrates of the Kingdom to this purpose.

Ataxerxes the Soveraign Lord and King of all the Nations that are from India to Ethiopia, ‘To the Princes and Governors of the seven and twenty Provinces of our Empire, Greeting; Whereas ma­ny through pride abusing the goodness of their Princes, and the honours bestowed upon them, do not only oppress the people, but endeavour the ab­solute desolation of all that do not comply with their haughty and unreasonable desires, of which the late wicked Haman an Amaletite by Nation, is a fresh instance, who being a stranger from the Persian bloud, after he had been promoted by our beneficence to the second place of the kingdom hath endeavoured to cut off at once the innocent Jewish Nation, and among them our beloved Queen, and companion of our bed Esther, though we have discovered that those thus destined to death by this wicked Villain are without fault, liv­ing under excellent Laws, and are the Children of the most high, most great and everliving God by whom our Empire is given and preserved to us; We do therefore make void and disannul the Let­ters which that vild wretch directed to you in our names, whereby they were commanded to be mur­thered, he himself who was the Author of that cursed slander against them having been publickly hanged at the gate of his own Pallace, God thereby rendring to him his deserts; And we further will and command you, that the Jews who live in all [Page 51]our Provinces according to their own Laws be protected, and that you assist them in bringing their Enemies to punishment the same day that they had determined to destroy them, that so they may revenge themselves of those that shall offer any out­rage against them, and since the day of their de­struction is by the providence of the Almighty turned to their preservation; We command this day to be put in the number of the Feasts, that posterity may know what recompences we bestow on our faithful Servants and the punishment of those that oppose our will, and make attempts up­on our State.’

The commands of the King were diligently exe­cuted, and the Jews were dreaded and honoured in all places by reason of the great credit that Mordecai had with his Master, who was cloathed in a Royal habit, and adorned with a Crown of Gold and a Chain of the same about his neck; In short the Jews incou­raged by the Kings Letters slew five hundred of their Enemies in Shushan, for adhering to miserable Haman, and ten of his sons were hanged to accompany the pu­nishment of their Father, and through all the rest of the kingdom much Persian bloud was shed on the same day that had been assigned for the Massacres of the Hebrewt, so that we must acknowledge this history to be wonderfully tragical and one of the most prodigious revolutions of fortune that ever arrived to a great Favourite, and may make posterity fear the Judgments of heaven whose hand is as weighty in the chastisement of enormous crimes as his eye is quick sighted in discerning the hearts of all mor­tals.

THough this (as well as the former History) is not found in those Books of Scripture which are usually termed Canonical, yet the Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England declare, That those other books commonly called Apocrypha, the Church (as St. Jerom saith) doth read for example of life and in­struction of manners, but yet doth not apply them to estab­lish any Doctrine of Christianity, and among others, sets down this History of Susanna, which from such Au­thority may certainly claim the credibility of any Common Story, and be reckoned no unprofitable President of Chastity and Modesty and therefore pro­per for our present design.

The time when this was acted is most probable to be about 3400 from the Creation, not long after that of the preceding History of Judith, when there happened to live in Babylon a man called Joachim, who married a wife named Susanna the daughter of Chelcias brought a Captive from Judea, for the sins whereby they had provoked God to anger, to Baby­lon, who was exceeding fair, of Person, but her soul much more beautiful in that she feared the Lord

Her Parents were likewise very religious, and e­ducated their daughter in all Gods commandments according to the Law of Moses; And being rich and wealthy, they had a fair Garden adjoining to their house, and many of his Captive brethren of the Jews resorted to him as a Person of the greatest remark of their Nation; Among others two of the most re­verend among them who were appointed to the Judg­es for deciding controversies, much frequented his house and there heard all causes, and suits in Law de­pending [Page 54]between them, but instead of being upright and sincere in giving judgment, they were such as were foretold should come, Who though ancient Judg­es, yet from them should proceed wickedness and injustice, and instead of governing according to equity they should pervert the Law of God. These old Fornicators had east their amorous eyes upon the charms of Susanna, and having observed that she usually walked in this pleasant Garden, they contrived to surprize and ra­vish her there, and though they were both wound­ed alike with the love of her, yet they durst not dis­cover their passion to each other, though both watch­ed all manner of opportunities to fulfil their lust­ful desires, and having abandoned all thoughts of Religion and Conscience they made it their whole business to find some advantage against her. It hap­pened once that having taken leave of each other morder to go to dinner at noon, they parted asunder, but being intent upon the same matter, which was if possible to find Susanna alone, they both returned back at the same instant, at which they were at first a little amazed, one enquiring of the other what bu­finess he had there, and after some short discourse they perceived both came about the same errand, whereupon they soon settle a right understanding between themselves, and concluded to be joint Part­ners in this amorous prize, only waiting a conveni­ency for effecting their purpose.

During this their longing expectation a promising season seemed to fall out, for Susanna being desirous to bath her self at the Fountain in the Garden in the heat of the season, attended only by two of her waiting Women, she sent them both away to provide Oyl and Nitre in order thereto, and then unclothed her self and went into the Water; the old Letchers had watched all her proceedings having secretly hid themselves under the covert of the Trees, and when they perceived her Servants were gone and had shut the doors after them, they doubted not but the hap­py [Page 55]minute was arrived, and therefore suddenly is­suing out from their concealment they ran to her, and seizing upon this innocent and helpless Fair One, they began to discover the extraordinary passion they had for a long time retained for her, and that the doors being now shut if she would con­sent to their desires it could never be detected.

But if you refuse (say they) to comply we our selves will complain against you, and accuse you that we found a young man committing folly with you, who sent away your maids to be more private in your wickedness.

Susanna was in a great streight, and venting ma­ny bitter sighs and tears she said, ‘I am in much distress on every side, and know not which way to incline, for if I do this thing I sin against the Law of God, and ought to be cut off from my people, and if I do not I shall fall under your false accu­sation, however it is better for me to venture suf­fering under a malicious prosecution than to sin in the sight of the Lord, and provoke Divine ven­geance against me.’

The Elders finding threats had no impression on her chastity, may be supposed to use the Atheistical Arguments of the debauched wits of the present age, who have thereby endeavoured to gain their leud purposes in such strains as these,

But Susanna no way moved with this lascivious Rhetorick, still makes reflection on her honour, her conscience, and her conjugal fidelity, and find­ing all her labour to reduce them to reason utterly in vain, she as the last remedy sets up a loud cry as they began more rudely to approach her, which was heard through the whole House; And these treacherous Elders seconded it with another as loud against her; the servants at the noise running with all speed into the garden found the Elders with her, [Page 57]who impudently alleaged, that they saw her commit­ting adultery, wherewith her Attendants were much surprized & ashamed, since they always esteemed her the most virtuous woman in the World. Next day when the People were assembled before Joachim her husband these Villanous Elders full of malice and in­dignation for such an unhappy disappointment ap­peared likewise, and with much confidenee required that Susanna should be brought before the Assembly and judged and executed according to the Law; Joa­chim could not deny their earnest desire, and therefore commanded his wife Susanna to be sent for, who came accompanied with her Father, Mother, Children and all her kindred, and being exceeding beautiful these old Miscreants ordered her vail to be taken off her face, that they might in part satiate their desires by beholding her delicate form; This being an affront not usually offered to women of her quality was ye­ry grievous to her friends, who wept to see her thus abused, which forced tears also from all the Specta­tors; Then the two impious Elders stood up in the midst of the people and laying their hands on her head began to accuse her; Poor Susanna made her appeal to Heaven, humbly beseeching the Almighty Lord to vindicate her innocence when these wretches thus proceeded.

It happened as my brother and I were walking together in the Garden alone under the shady walks, we perceived this woman and two of her maids com­ing in, being entred she sent them away and shut the door. Soon after a young man who lay concealed came to her and committed folly with her; We ob­serving this wickedness ran toward them and endea­voured to seize the youth, but he being too strong for us made his escape and opening the garden door fled away with all speed; whereupon we took this wo­man & examined very strictly who the man was that had acted this iniquity, but by all our threats and per­swasions could not prevail with her to discover him, & [Page 58]therefore now desire justice against her, for her crime which we here solemnly swearwe saw her commit.

The Assembly were in much consternation to hear this sever accusation against a woman who was re­nowned for Chastity, but having the testimony of two grave Elders and Judges of the people to justify the truth thereof, they could do no other but con­demn her to death for this notorious crime; Susanna having no defence for her innocence on earth, appeals to heaven for her justification and cried out with a loud voice in the midst of the people; ‘O everlast­ing God who knowest the secrets of all hearts, and from whom nothing is concealed or hidden, for thou seest all things before they are acted, I appeal to thy just judgment against these perjured and unjust Elders; Thou-knowest O Lord that what they have witnessed against me is utterly false, and be­hold I must dye, for what I am not in the least guil­ty of, thou knowest that it is all forgery and malice against me, and that it is a conspiracy of these wick­ed Villains against my life in that which I am abso­lutely ignotant of; Vindicate my innocence O God of truth and bring shame and confusion upon these false accusers.’

It pleased divine providence to hearken to her re­quest, and therefore as she was leading to execution with a train of doleful mourners following her, the Lord stirred up the H. Spirit of a young youth whose name was Daniel who cryed out with a loud voice; I am clear from the bloud of this woman; The whole mul­titude [Page 60]were much surprized to hear such words utter­ed by a young man, and turning toward him asked what was his meaning; Upon which Daniel standing up in the midst of them with an undaunted courage proceeded thus, ‘Are you such fools ye sons of Israel that without thorough examination and proof of the truth ye have condemned a daughter of Israel? Return back into the seat of judgment and take more strict knowledge of this cause, for though you have rashly sentenced this fair Innocent to death, yet I am very certain that upon a more severe scru­tiny into the matter, you will find she as altogether faultless, and that these old perjured wretches have born false witness against her.’

Whereupon all the people being astonisht at the be­coming confidence of Daniel whom they judged to be a Prophet inspiried from above, turned back a­gain in hast, and the Judges commanded him to come and sit down among them saying, Declare to us the truth of this affair since God hath bestowed the honour upon thee to be an Elder if not in years yet in wisdom and understanding; Daniel then ordered that the two Elders should be put asunder, and then he would ex­amine them apart; which being done, he called one and said unto him; ‘O thou wicked wretch who [Page 61]art even grown old in malice and iniquity, now is the time that the villanys which thou hast former­ly committed are come to light, and thy own conscience accuses thee that thou hast pronounced false Judgment and hast wilfully condemned the innocent, and let the guilty go free, though the Lord God hath said, The innocent and righteous thou shalt not slay; And now pray under what tree was it that thou pretendest thou sawest this chast Lady commit adultery? Who answered, Under a Mastick tree; Then said Daniel; Very well, thou hast now wickedly lied, and thereby forfeited thy head to Divine Justice, and even now the Angel of God hath received commission to cut thee in two; The first being set aside, he commanded the other to be brought to whom he fiercely said; O thou seed of Cham and not of Judah, beauty hath decei­ved thee, and lust hath perverted thy heart, thus have you often done to other daughters of Israel, who for fear of your power, and malicious venge­ance have complied and been polluted by you, but the virtuous Susanna would not be frightned into wickedness, and therefore you contrived her de­struction; Under what tree I beseech you did you see the young man defile her, who answered, Un­der an Holm tree;’ ‘Well, said Daniel, thou also hast lied against thy own life, and the Angel of God waiteth with his sword to cut thee asunder and de­stroy thee.’

At this strange discovery the whole Assembly were amazed and cryed out aloud, glorifying and praising the name of that God who saves and delivers those that put their trust in him, and finding these two [Page 62]base Elders thus notoriously convicted of perjury out of their own mouths, they seized upon them, and according to the Law of Moses executed the same sentence upon them, which they maliciously and wickedly designed against this chast Lady putting them to death in the sight of the whole multitude, who adored the divine Justice in their deserved pu­nishment, which had that day so eminently appear­ed in saving innocent bloud, and punishing the guilty by the unexpected prudence of young Da­niel, who from that day was in much esteem and reputation among all the people; And Chelcias and his wife gave abundant praises to Heaven for vindi­cating their daughters honour, Joachim her husband and all her Friends joining with them in thanksgivings that there was no dishonesty nor unchastity found in her.

HAving already related the Lives and Actions of four Jewish Worthies, I now present you with a Noble Roman Lady even the chast Lucretia, who to redeem her honour ravished away by Sextus Tarquin, scorned to live any longer, and therefore sacrificed her self for saving her Coun­trey; yet I cannot commend this last and great act of her life, since the Christian Law allows none to be their own Executioners, and the prin­ciple of self preservation seems to be implanted in us by nature as well as in all other living creatures; However she may serve as an example of extraor­dinary Chastity, which she has been reckoned to be in all ages since, and to discover great Magnanimity of Soul, who rather than live with shame and dis­grace, chose not to live at all, and though her mind were absolutely innocent, yet put an end to her days with her own hands for the forcible defilement of her body.

This tragical accident happened about the year from the Creation of the World 3432. and about fix hundred years before the Birth of our Saviour; It was in the reign of Tarquinius Superbus, or Tarquin the Proud, the seventh and last King of the Romans from Romulus the first Founder of that Kingdom which afterward arrived to such immense grandeur; He was Sirnamed the Proud because he denied his Fa­ther-in-law and Predecessor Servius Tullius the com­mon rites of Burial, saying, That Romulus was never buried after his death; and killing all the Roman Sena­tors whom he thought Favourers of him, for hav­ing no pretence to the Kingdom, besides force, he endeavours to maintain his Usurpation by the same means, therefore since he could repose no trust in the love and affection of the Citizens he was resolv­ed to secure himself by fear, taking cognizance of all Capital Causes alone in Person, without the ad­vice or consent of any of the Senators, whereby he put to death, banished, or fined any whom he [Page 65]thought ill-affected to his Tyranny; He reduceth the Senators to a small number that they may be less esteemed by others, and more observant of him­self; He marrieth his daughter to the Latines to pre­vent the danger of allying her amongst his own Friends, and increases his Guards with strangers that he might Tyrannize over the Romans, and hav­ing by this marriage obtained much reputation a­mong the Latines, he desired their Nobility to meet him one day in the Florentine Wood to treat of pub­lick affairs.

But delaying his coming at the appointed time Turnus one of the Nobility with great liberty but small discretion made a severe Speech against him, intimating, ‘That the Romans might well intitle him Tarquin the Proud, since he had now put so great an affront upon such an Illustrious Assembly, and that it might well be suspected he designed to impose upon them, and usurp Dominion over their Countrey, who could put such a slight upon the whole Nobility that came so far only upon his request;’ With much more to this purpose, when in the midst of his Oration, Tarquin arrived and en­deavoured to excuse his delay, but having notice how Turnus had inveighed against him, he instantly contrived his destruction, and that very night again calling the Latin Nobles together he in a studied Ora­tion strove to possess them with the belief of a dan­gerous design laid by Turnus to kill him and all the Chief of the people, and having corrupted one of the Servants of Turnus with money to let him carry a great number of Swords into his Masters Lodgings, Tarquin told the Lords, ‘That to confirm what he had said, he could make it appear that Turnus had conveyed a great quantity of Arms into his own house, wherewith he intended with the as­sistance of his accomplices to massacre them all next day when they should come to Council;’ Desiring them to accompany him to [Page 66] Turnus his house that they might be eye-witnesses of the truth of what he had asserted; The Lords go to his house, prepared to believe all if they found that of the Arms true; Coming thither the Officers waked Turnus and stood round about him, having first secured his servants who out of love to their Master were endeavouring to make resistance, the Swords which were hid were brought forth out of every corner of the room, which with the fierce disposition of Turnus, and the Speech he had made the day before, seemed a full confirmation of this treacherous Design, which so extreamly incen­sed the Latines, that they would not suffer him to make the least defence for himself, but presently sen­tenced him to lose his life by a new kind of execution, for he was thrown into a River with an hurdle upon his head whereon stones were piled to prevent his ri­sing again, and by this means was drowned.

Tarquin having again summoned a Council of the Latin Nobles commends the revenge they had taken upon such a seditious Rebel, and desires them to re­new their League and friendship with the Romans, who were easily induced thereto, and then commanding all the armed Youth of both Nations to meet toge­ther, he out of both formed an Army, with which he makes war against the Volscians and took some Towns from them by storm with a booty to the value of four hundred Talents of Silver and Gold wherewith he designed to build a magnificent Temple to Jupiter. After this he ingaged in a War against the Gabins who inhabited a Neighbouring City which he at­tempted to gain by storm, but being beaten back with great loss, he began to despair of obtaining his end by main strength, & he solved to add policy there­to, therefore while he pretended to have laid aside all thoughts of War, and seemed imploy'd in the foun­dation of his Temple and other stately buildings in Rome he had recourse to treacheries, wherein he found none so fit to be imployed as his youngest Son Sextus [Page 67](afterward the villanous ravisher of Lucretia) to whom he thus discourst; ‘We have in vain O Sex­tus assaulted the Gabins by power, nothing now remains but craft, which is the second step to Greatness; Go then my Son to the Gabins, seem as if you fled from me, accuse me of cruelty, strive to insinuate your self into their confidence, behave your self as one of their confederates and companions, and as you succeed you shall receive from me further instructions;’ Sextus Tarquinius the wicked Son of a Tyrannical Father, was ready prepared to execute his commands though never so impious, and Tarquin found that these perfidious lessons were given to a Son who was expert in vil­lany; He obeys, flies to the Gabins, to whom he made a grievous complaint of his Fathers intolerable cruelty in words to this effect.

‘Lo here a Son O Gabins escaped from his Fa­thers Sword to shield himself under the protection of his enemies; He brought me up and then de­signed me as a sacrifice and oblation to his cruelty, if fathers thus turn unnatural enemies, I hope to find my enemies a father to me in my misfortunes; He hath now turned his pride and severity from strangers to his own family, and would willingly cause the same desolation and solitude in his own house that he has made in the Senate; He is even weary of his Children and knows not how to be a Father either of them or his Countrey; All his thirst is after bloud, he covets rule and dominion that he may kill and destroy; He desires the com­mand of Cities only that he may dispeople them, and would utterly exterminate the whole Senate because it resembles a principality; He sees he has sons, and fearing they are like himself, he dreads them because he dreads himself; The consciousness of his own misdeeds pursues him, and he is affright­ed with his own imaginations, which represent only dreadful things to his apprehension, and thinking [Page 68]to secure himself from them he commits fresh mur­thers, and the more he imbrues his hands in bloud, that he may be thereby freed from the fear of o­thers, he fears himself the more; 'Tis safer to be Tarquins enemy than his son, that being the only way to escape his private and malicious assassina­tions; Startle not O ye Gabins at my being begot by Tarquin, Children do not always resemble their Fathers, if so, there would be no variety in nature, and you shall find that I, even I will revenge so many wrongs and villanies, for notwithstanding his pretence of laying aside the War, yet he is pre­paring to surprize and ruin you with the first ad­vantage; I have escaped my Fathers Swords and Darts, and think my self no where safe but a­mong his adversaries, and if my unfortunate con­dition can find no relief from you, I will wander over all Latium, yea over all the Nations in the world, till I find out those who will protect inno­cent Children from the cruel and unjust prosecuti­ons of unnatural and bloudy Fathers, and whom I may persuade to ingage against that proud King and his barbarous Followers.’

After this florid Oration he seemed indifferent whether they would entertain him or not, pretend­ing to go instantly to some other place, which made the Gabins more ready to receive him, as they did with very great civility, telling him, ‘That it was no wonder Tarquin proved so unnatural to his children, since he had been so treacherous to his own Coun­treymen & Allies, & that they did believe he would at last offer violence to himself if he wanted a sub­ject to excercise his brutish rage upon; That Sextus his coming to them was very grateful, and they hoped by his assistance to carry the War in a short time from their own City to the very Walls of Rome.’ After this he was admitted into their publick Councils, wherein he exprest a singular modesty in referring all things to the Judgment of the most an­cient [Page 69]Counsellers, only he much approved of the con­tinuance of the War, wherein he said, he pretended to the greatest knowledge as being sensible of the strength of both people, and that the pride of Tar­quin must needs be very hateful to his subjects since his own Children were not able to endure it; By such discourses as these he provoked them to continue the War, and went with the most active Youth to for­rage the Countrey, where in several small Skirmishes he came off with so good success that he thereby gained such reputation as to be made General of their Army, in which office he still got more credit, for in all the bickerings between the Romans and Gabins he generally had the better, so that the whole peo­ple thought him sent to them as a blessing from Hea­ven; For his despising of dangers, and activity in e­very place of difficulty, but especially his freeness in distributing all the booty, gained him so much love, and ingaged the hearts of the people to him that his authority among the Gabins was no less powerful than his Father Tarquins among the Ro­mans.

Having proceeded thus far in his traiterous design, and judging himself strong enough to carry on his purpose, he sends a Messenger to his Father to signifie what he had done, and to receive further directions, since Heaven had so ordered it that he could act what he pleased among the Gabins; The Messenger being not thought faithful enough, Tarquin sent no positive answer by him, but taking him into the garden as if to consult what message to return, the King walkt silently along, and with his staff cut off the heads of the highest Poppies; The Messenger weary of expecting an answer withdrew, and hast­ned back to Sextus, telling him, ‘That whether out of anger, hatred, or natural pride he had not sent him a word in return, but only as he walkt in the garden he with a stick struck off the heads of the highest Poppies.’ Sextus quickly apprehends these [Page 70]dumb signs, and thereby understands his wicked Fa­thers mind, and soon after causes the Chief men of the City to be put to death by accusing some to the people, and stirring up others out of envy to ruin their fellow Citizens, many were executed publickly and divers against whom he could prove nothing murthered privately; Some fled their Countrey, o­thers were banished, and all their Estates, as well as those put to death, distributed among the people, who for the sweetness of the booty and the particular profit they received, lost the sense of their publick misfortunes, and were laid asleep from whence they never awaked till they were deprived both of coun­sel and power and the Gabine Liberty was at an end; The City being at length surrendred by this Subtle Stratagem to the King of Rome without the least bloud­shed or resistance.

After this Tarquin makes peace with the rest of his Neighbours, and then applies his mind to City affairs resolving to finish the Temple of Jupiter he had be­gun, which being with the help of many hands in a short time finished, he next imploys the people it some other publick works, which whilst they were intent upon a great prodigy appears, a Serpent [...] seen to come out of a Pillar of Wood; which much affrighted Tarquin and his whole Court, filling his breast with such anxious thoughts that he could not rest till he was satisfied what it did portend; There fore though in other strange accidents, he used only the judgment of his own Countrey Diviners, yet i [...] this extraordinary case, he resolved to consult the o­racle of Delphos, then the most famous upon earth▪ He therefore sends his two elder Sons, Titus and A [...] ­ron to the oracle who take with them as their com­panion Lucius Junius Brutus the son of Tarquinia h [...] Sister, whom he had not only suffered to live after having slain his brother, but as a fate permitted hi [...] to keep company with his Sons.

This young man having heard that the Chief of t [...] [Page 71]City were murdered by his Uncle, resolved to give him no occasion of fear from any designs of his, and knowing there was no greater safety under the Ty­rant, than to be scorned and neglected, since Law and Justice gave little security, he that none might covet his fortune, industriously feigned himself a fool or mad man, which was much assisted by his natural inclination to melancholly, permitting the King to dispose of his Person and Estate as he thought fit, nay did not refuse the Sirname of Brutus (that is Foo­lish or Sottish) though under this title he concealed a noble Soul which afterward discovered it self in de­livering the Roman people from slavery; At the last Scene he unmasks himself and every one then commends him when they consider him, be­cause they did not understand him till the end of the Tragedy. The Sons of Tarquin take this dull Brutus along with them to Delphos only for sport and diver­tisement, though it is said he then secretly carried a golden staff, inclosed in one of Wood, as a present to Apollo, which was a sign of his ingenuity; They come to the Oracle, and having made known their Fathers desires, the young men were very earnest to make inquiry of the succession, and to which of them the Roman kingdom should fall, whereupon, they say, a voice ascended from the bottom of the Cave saying, He among you three shall have the chief dominion in Rome who gives his Mother the first kiss; The two brothers agreed to conceal this answer from Sextus the young­est then at Rome, lest he should prevent them, and to commit it to fortune by Lot, which of them should first kiss their Mother when they arrived, but Brutus who knew the answers of oracles were seldom ve­ry cleer, but full of a thousand ambiguities, imagin­ing there might be some other meaning in it, pretend­ing to fall by chance, kissed the earth which he considered was the common Mother of all men living

They return to Rome with the answer to their Father, whom they find ingaged in War against [Page 72]the Rutilians a rich people, and besieging Ardea, with whose Spoils the Tyrant hoped to ingage the affecti­ons of the Romans, who grew very insolent and un­easy, for being made so long Carpenters and Masons. They first attacked the City by storm, but being re­pulsed, laid a formal Siege thereto, which made the Campaign more tedious than dangerous, so that the Officers had leasure enough to treat and entertain one another; The Kings Sons and kinsmen oft feasted each other, particularly one night they were drink­ing together with Sextus, where Collatinus Tarquinius the Son of Egerius being in company, there grew a contention among them concerning their wives each extolling his own above the rest, from whence a quarrel arising Collatinus said, there need no dispute in the case, since it might easily be known how far his Lucretia excelled the rest; ‘Therefore said he; It is in vain to talk, but if you have any vigor in you, let us mount our Horses and go see with our own eyes what kind of lives our wives lead in our absence, and that shall be the test of their virtue ac­cording as each man shall find her imployed at his sudden arrival.’ They were all heated with Wine and therefore cryed unanimously, Come on, it is agreed, and so galloped to Rome, and arriving toward even­ing went thence to Collatia, where they found Lucre­tia not like the rest of the Kings daughters in Law, whom they saw feasting and rioting among their companions, but fitting up late at night in the midst of her women spinning and dividing out their work; They all grant her the Victory, and with one voice commend her above their own; She received her husband and the rest very kindly, and Collatine hav­ing thus got the conquest, treated the Royal Youths with a Noble banquet; At supper a base lust surpriz­eth Sextus, and her beauty and chastity raising a furi­ous desire in him to enjoy her, he resolves to compass his wicked intent with the utmost hazard, for the look of a lascivious man is like that of a Basilisk, it [Page 73]kills Chastity with beholding it; Having ended their Juvenile pastimes for that night, the next morning they all returned to the Camp.

Not long after Sextus who could find no rest in his mind till he had fulfilled his unlawful desires, takes a full resolution to perpetrate that wicked Act, and without giving notice to any he secretly returns to Collatia, where he was received and treated with all kind of civility by the innocent Lucretia, who lit­tle imagined upon what impious design he made her that visit, but welcomed him with all manner of sweetness as the Friend and Companion of her beloved husband; After supper he was conducted to his Chamber, but so inflamed with love that sleep was the least thing he desired or intended, he revolves in his thoughts the hazard, and treachery of this dishonourable attempt, and yet sometimes seems to flatter himself with success from the free treatment of this chast soul.

At length taking courage, he rises from his un­easy bed, and having observed where Lucretia lay, he opens the doors and enters her Chamber whom he found fast asleep, and approaching the bed with his drawn Sword, he lays his hand upon her breast, and hath recourse to the instruments of hatred for his assistance in love; he who was wont to vent his angry passions against his enemies with his Sword, knows not how to lay it aside in prosecuting the most tender passion; At this rude approach the poor affrighted Lucretia awaked, and finding him in this dreadful posture and her self in so dangerous a state; [Page 74]she was extreamly amazed, when the villanous Ra­visher thus addrest her, Lucretia, said he, Hold your peace, I am Sextus Tarquin, speak not a word, for if you do this Sword shall instantly end your life; He then proceeded to declare his transcendant passion for her, and uses all manner of inducements to bring her to his will, tells her, ‘That her beauty is the cause of this misfortune, that he had considered the fatal event of it, but yet had rather endure the greatest torments, yea death it self, than not to fulfil his desire, says he,’

He speaks her fair and then intermixes threats, but seeing her readier to imbrace death than him, rather willing to lose her life than honour, he adds disgrace to fear, and tells her he would first kill her and then stab a slave and lay him naked by her, so that it should be certainly believed she was slain in the very act of adultery.

See how this villain threatens to bereave her of her honour, that he may thereby bereave her of it; Lucretia thus assaulted makes many compassio­nate pleas in defence of her chastity, upbraids him with his unreasonable and brutish lust, adjures him [Page 75]by all manner of Arguments not to use violence a­gainst a poor weak woman, but nothing she could say had the least influence upon him.

And putting his words into act he first gag'd, and then ravished her notwithstanding the utmost resist­ance she could possible use, so that she forcibly yield­ed to Sextus prevailing lust, who having obtained his will goes away over-joyed, and returns to the Camp Triumphant, while the most unhappy Lucre­tia remains overwhelmed with grief; She sends to her Father Spurius Lucretius, and her husband, that they would instantly repair to Collatia with two or three of their most assured Friends, since a most un­fortunate and grievous accident had befallen her; They make speed to come, and bring Publius Vale­rius and Lucius Junius Brutus along with them; They find Lucretia in a very desolate condition, who upon their coming into her Chamber burst out into a floud of Tears; Her husband asked her; art thou not well my Dear, ‘No said she, how can that wo­man be well who hath lost her Chastity, the signs of another man O dear Collatine are yet to be seen [Page 76]upon the bed, yet is my body only violated, my mind is still guiltless of which my death shall be an undoubted evidence, but first give me your hands and solemn promises that you will not suffer the Adulterer to go unpunished, Sextus Tarquin is the man, who like an enemy rather than a Guest came last night armed to my bed, and thence forced pleasures, which if you are men of courage may prove as fatal to him as they are like to be to me;’ They all one after another engaged to revenge the injury she had received, and endeavoured to com­fort and perswade her grieved soul that she was alto­gether innocent, and the guilt lay only upon the Ra­visher, and that her mind (not her body) could only commit the offence, and where was no consent there was no crime; ‘Do you, says she, consider what the Ravisher deserves? for though I absolve my self from the crime, yet I will not be free from the punishment; Nor shall any unchast woman ever plead hereafter that Lucretia was an Example of lendness to her. And then proceeded to this pur­pose.’

‘And what could unfortunate Lucretia do? If she had died that she might have lived Chast, you would have thought her slain for having been un­chast; O most cruel Law of Honour, which savest not the innocent! A Law never descended from Heaven but came from the deepest Abyss of Hell, I who would have my honesty proclaimed to all, have more studied glory than chastity, and whilst I was ambitious of the name of Chast, I am with infamy become unchast, I was inforced to chuse life that I might preserve my honour, and by my living I have lost it; I am resolved to dye if not for what hath already befallen me, at least for what may hereafter happen to me; But what then? If I die I shall seem to acknowledge I have done a­miss; they will say my guilty conscience kill'd me; If I live you will believe I have done so too and say [Page 77]I consented out of two much love of life, O of all others the most unfortunate Lucretia, whose inno­cence neither life nor death can justify. This Soul (O Collatine) whose delight was chastity ab­hors now that body which is polluted, and as be­ing wholly thine cannot indure to have any long­er a being since I can no more be only thine. The wicked Ravisher did never prostitute me, it was not Lucretia it was a Carcase, for the Soul is not where it consents not, sin is the off-spring of the will not of the body, where consent is not there is no sin, yet I think my self worthy of death 'cause he desired, and blame my self though fault­less because I pleased him; O Beauty perniciously coveted by our unsound minds! O frail and fading vanity of the body whereby the eternal beauty of the Soul is clouded! they which are endowed with you either sin with you, or cause others to sin by you. But what was there in me that incouraged this vile miscreant to commit so great a crime? perhaps my honesty which he thought greater than others; Most sacred Honesty art thou then become an incitement to lust? and instead of defending dost thou offend? Instead of bridling unlawful de­sires, dost thou provoke to fury and violence? His cruel heart that delights only to kill the inno­cent, is likewise a receptacle of wicked lust that covets none but the Chast; To attain what they desire is not that which the Tarquins desire, they find no pleasure where they use no force, and like lightning rend and destroy most where they meet most resistance; And whither can unfortunate Lucretia go for revenge? To the Kings Family? It is they have injur'd me; To my own Friends? It is I have injured them. O ye Gods of Hospita­lity, it is you I call upon, but to what purpose call I on you since you have permitted it? Revenge me you Infernal Powers, but why invoke I you, since you were his assistants in this horrid crime? I [Page 78]my self will revenge my self, and will by my own death take greater vengeance on this my Enemy than by living. I will dye not to lessen my own faults, but to aggravate his villany, not because I have sinned, but to shew that she did not subject her self to sense, who voluntarily deprives her self of sense. I will die that I may not live in such wretched times that make life a shame, and to be born is the greatest misfortune, my fall shall ease your thoughts, and make my revenge happy, and I who will not live an example of dishonour to Women will die an example of courage to men.’

As she uttered these last words she plunged a knife into her breast and fell down dead thereon; Her Father and Husband surprized at this sudden stroke set out a loud cry,

Collatinus her husband seconds these Lamenta­tions,

Brutus while they where full of greif drew forth the bloudy knife out of Lucretia's wound and said; ‘I swear by this bloud which was so chast before the [Page 79]wicked Ravisher stained it (and ye Gods be ye all witnesses of my vow and resolution) that I will en­deavour to extirpate Tarquin the proud, his wife, and all his Race with sword, fire or any other vio­lent means that I have power to use, nor will suffer them nor any other King to have any Authority or Dominion in Rome;’ At these words Collatine and Lucretius the husband and Father, and likewise Vale­rius, were even astonished to see the dull disposition of Brutus so soon altered, they therefore threaten no­thing but revenge, and their Laments are turned into indignation, resolving to follow the resolutions of Brutus who thus incited them to endeavour to root out the wicked Family of the Tarquins from among them.

In prosecution whereof they carried the body of the bleeding Lucretia into the Market place, where they endeavoured to inflame the people with the pre­fence of so dismal an object, which occasioned every one to exclaim against the cruelty and violence of the Tarquins, yet had not this woful sight nor the doleful cryes of her Father and husband so much effect upon them as the earnest excitations of Brutus who with all manner of eloquence and zeal perswad­ed them to act as became men, and Romans, who were sollicitous for the liberty of their Countrey, by taking Arms against their common Enemy. Up­on which the brisk young men immediately assembled ready armed and having left sufficient Guards at the Gates of Collatia to prevent any Intelligence from go­ing to Tarquin, the rest followed Brutus their Com­mander to Rome, where being arrived the people of that City were much alarm'd, and seeing such consi­derable Persons command them, thought it was no rash attempt they had undertaken; So that the mul­titude running from all parts to the Market place, the Cryer summoned them to appear before the Tri­bune, which Office Brutus himself at that time hap­pened to bear; Being assembled he made a very in­genious [Page 80]and pathetick speech to them, wherein he discovered much more sense and understanding than he had ever before pretended to, in words to this effect; ‘Most Noble Romans, will you still suffer this ravenous, cruel, lustful tyrant? To what end do you bring up your Sons? To what purpose do you give education to your daughters? Wherefore do you heap up riches? for a Cruel wretch which will kill your Sons, for a Lascivious Tyrant to debauch your daughters, for an avaritious taskmaster who will rob you of your wealth; If you bear with Tarquin or any of his Race in hopes they may a­mend, 'tis vanity; If because you fear him, 'tis mad­ness; A Tyrant is a Monster who is by nature in­tended only for a scourge to men and therefore none can be safe under him, he equally fears and hates both good and wicked men, and despiseth lukewarmness and indifferency; What is it you expect? perhaps the old kings death; Who can ima­gine the Sons will be better than the Father; Their tempers are composed of the bloud of two wicked ones; They are educated by a Tyrant, born in the proud commanding family of the Tarquins, and therefore like to be altogether as insupportable as their parents. Tarquins lust is not extinguished by Lucretias death, 'twill be more raging if it remain unpunish't, the calamities of other persons may be a lesson to you, and he who can learn by others harms though he may want experience, yet he is certainly more happy; Let your bosoms then be no more exposed to the loss of bloud, for increasing the grandeur and dominion of that City which be­longs to another; And for which you will be re­warded with nothing but bloud and wounds; Are you not aware that you conquer Nations only to reduce them under Tarquins tyranny? That by bringing others into bondage you make your own slavery the greater; No longer then suffer your hands which were formerly accustomed to noble [Page 81]deeds and to bring home glorious Triumphs for adorning your Capitol, to be basely imployed in emptying Vaults, and removing Uncleanness; Cou­rage! Noble Citizens, deceive your selves no longer through ignorance of your own power, but henceforth learn to know your own strength, delay no longer in such an enterprize wherein de­laying may be your ruin; Now you have one to lead, you need not fear to want followers, all mens wills are alike opposite to Tyrants, only few are so daring as to begin, I will be your Head to drive out Tarquin, I will be your companion in forming your liberty, I will be the first in danger and the last in happiness.’

Brutus his words make a sudden impression upon the People, and he who would have them follow him need use no other inchantment but the name of Liberty, which carries an universal influence with it though very few truly understand what it is; The in­censed multitude unanimously resolve to abrogate Tarquins power and banish him with his Wife and Children; Whilst Brutus and his youthful Volunteers went to Ardea to inflame the Army against the King, He having notice of these mutinous practices at Rome hastned thither but found the Gates shut against him, and defiance proclaimed to him and all his Fa­mily whom they declared to be banished from ever having any command in the Government for the fu­ture; Brutus mean while arrived another way at the Camp, where having fully informed them of all pas­sages he was received with extream Joy as the deli­verer of their City by expelling thence the Tyrant and his Children.

Tarquin much surprized at this unexpected turn of fortune, retires toward the Tuscans for security, and his son Sextus Tarquin the Ravisher, and unhappy cause of the ruin of his Family flyes to the Gabins where he breaths forth nothing but revenge and dis­content.

Neither were these forebodings of Sextus Tarquin vain, for though he had lost that power and reputa­tion among the Gabins which made him to be feared and esteemed, yet thinking himself rather beloved by them than only tolerated, not having lost those qua­lities which he thought desirable, he returns to them, as unto his own Kingdom, but found his reputation much sunk with his fortune, for he was soon after slain by certain Persons who resolved by his death [Page 83]to revenge the ancient quarrels he himself by slaugh­ter and rapine had been the Author of Brutus and his Companions imposed an Oath upon all the Roman People not to suffer any of the Tarquins to reign at Rome, and was so inraged against them that some time after he beheaded divers Noble Youths, among whom were fome of his own and his Sisters Sons, for conspiring to restore the Regal race again; And Tarquin himself after several unsuccessful attempts to regain his kingdom, dyed a banished man at Cu­mae after he had reigned twenty five years, the Roman People being after governed by Consuls. All this de­solation of the Tarquins, and the stupendious al­terations which followed being chiefly occasioned by the Rape of our gallant and Chast Heroine Lu­cretia.

THe next instance of Feminine Valour is a Lady of our own Nation called Voadicia Queen of Brittain in the time of the Roman Government here, the bloudy Tyrant Nero being then Emperor; But because I am willing to take all occasions to inform my Countreymen of whatever may be useful to them concerning their own Nation, I shall therefore relate what is written by some ancient Authors of the O­riginal Inhabitants of this renowned Island, of which they may have heard some imperfect account, but are ignorant of what has been recorded of them, though as to the certainty and credibility of these re­lations so far distant from us in time, every man is left to his own belief.

Though the beginning of this as well as all other Nations is doubtful, yet some writers of great Antr­quity are of opinion that this Island was formerly part of the continent and joined to France, but after­ward divided either by some mighty inundation or dreadful Earthquake, but to let this pass, John Bale our Countreyman and a diligent searcher into such obsolete Histories doth probably conjecture that this Land was inhabited and replenished with People be­fore Noahs floud, when the Scripture says, That men began to multiply upon the face of the Earth; After the floud Noah was the sole Monarch of all the world, which he divided among his sons, assigning to Shem the eldest all that part now called Asia; to his second son Cham, Africa, and to Japhet his third, Europe, with the Isles thereto belonging and ours among the rest; He is said to have died in Mauritania and by confent of the Greek and Latin writers first peopled Europe which he after left to his Children, Tubal hav­ing the Kingdom of Spain; Gomer, Italy, and Samothes Celtica, containing Germany, France and Brittain. Thus was this Nation peopled two hundred years after the Deluge, and we read in Genesis that in the time of Peieg the off-spring of Japhet inhabited the Isles of [Page 86]the Gentiles of which Brittain is one. Samothes is re­ported to excel in learning and knowledge which he imparted to his people in the Phenician Language and Letters, from whence his Followers were called Samotheans, who saith Aristotle were skillful in the Law of God and man. Magus his Son succeeded who built many Cities in Germany and Brittain, whose names then bore the addition of their Foun­der as Neomagus now Chester, Niomagus now Buck­ingham with divers others; The name is applied by the Persians to their Priests or Magicians, who were called Magi from their skill in Magick, as the Poet Mantuan intimates.

Sarron his Son was his Successor who founded certain publick places for Professors of Learning and Moral Philosophy, without whose assistance the people were taught not to sacrifice to their Gods as reckoning them skilful in divine Mysteries, and near to God, by whose intercession they expected all the good they required, and whose advice they fol­lowed both in peace and war. Druis was his Suc­cessor, both in his Dominions and Wisdom from whom proceeded the famous Sect called Druides, many of whom went hence into Gallia, now France, and other Countreys, they had their residence in the Isle of Anglesey; These saith J. Caesar in his Com­mentaries, had the office of sacrificing, of discussing points in Religion, of educating youth, determi­ning differences, with full power to exclude those from Sacrifice who disobeyed their precepts and [Page 87]sentence; To make the people valiant they strove to arm them against the fear of death by teaching, That mens Souls could not dye but passed out of one body into another; They were likewise Astrologers, and not altogether ignorant of one Eternal and Almighty God; All their Learning was written in the Greek Tongue of which the Brittish language retains many words to this day; But as all things degenerate so these Druides in time grew very barbarous, for they use to stab men to death, and by their falling, bleeding, or dismembring pretended to foretel things to come, for which and many other wicked practices this Sect was extirpated in Gallia, and long after in Brittain by King Lucius when he had recei­ved the Gospel.

Bardus the Son of Druis succeeded, and was much admired by his People for inventing Songs and Mu­sick, and such as excelled therein he constituted in­to an Order of Philosophical Poets or Heraulds, calling them by his own name Bards, and J. Caesar reports he found some of them here at his arrival; Their business was to record the noble exploits of their valiant Captains in Songs and Ditties, which they sung to their Instruments at the solemn Feasts of their Grandees, and were so highly esteemed that when two Armies were even ready to ingage if a Bard had stept between, both Parties would have held their hands (to hear his advice,) till he were out of danger, of whom Lucan thus sings,

And because these Poets were neither repugnant to the Roman civility nor the Christian Religion they alone above all other Sects were suffered to continue [Page 88]long after the birth of Christ, nay some report there are many of them to be found in Wales to this day still called Barthes, and an Island near that Countrey is named Bardsey upon that account.

After Bardus death the people neglecting the Laws of their Predecessors and falling into Luxury were easily subjected by Albion the Giant, said to be the Son of Neptune the Sea God and the same with Naph­thuim (mentioned by Moses) the Son of Cham, who had by his wife Amphitrea four Sons to each of whom he gave an Island; Albion the youngest landed in England which he quickly subdued, arriving in light Ships covered over with beasts skins, and called the Countrey by his own name, so that the race of the Samotheans being extinguished the Succession was changed from the Family of Japhet to that of cursed Cham; Having named the Isle Albion, he and his Companions were called Giants, though not as some think from their stature, which yet was much larger than now, but Gigantes or Sons of the Earth, many huge bones discovered in our age demonstra­ting that they were much taller than we are now; As Albion conquered Brittain so his Brother Berguin commanded in Ireland and the Orkneys; These two had notice that the Great Hercules their Cozen after he had subdued Spain resolved to pass into Italy a­gainst their Brother Lestrigo to revenge the murther of his Father Osyris, whom these Sons of Cham had slain, though he was their uncle, as being Brother to Neptune, and to add to their barbarity had divi­ded his carcase each preserving a piece of his flesh as a monument of their victory; Upon this account Hercules whom (Moses calls Laabin) proclaiming War against them, having first destroy'd the Tyrants Tryphon and Busiris in Egypt, Anteus in Mauritania, and the Gerions in Spain, he leads his Armies thence toward Italy, both the Brothers joined to oppose him, and near Rhodanus a terrible Battel was fought, wherein Hercules doubting of success his Souldiers [Page 89]having spent all their arrows, he commanded them to throw stones, (whereof there were plenty) at their enemies, by which they obtained an entire victory, killing Albion and Berguin in the field with most of their Forces which made the Poets feign that Jupi­ter assisted his Son Hercules by throwing down stones from Heaven.

Albion being thus slain, the people at home having no Governor fell into all kind of disorders and seem­ed to differ little from wild beasts till the arrival of the daughters of Danaus, of whom ancient Historians give this Account. Belus the son of Epaphus had two sons Danaus and Egyptus; both Kings of Egypt, Dana­us ruled the upper Region, and by divers wives had fifty daughters, and his brother Egyptus happened likewise to have 50 sons, who desiring the Dominion of the whole Countrey, earnestly required the daughters to be married to his sons; But Danaus having notice by an Oracle, That he should receive his death by a son in law, refused the proposal, where­upon his brother made War upon him and drove him out of his Kingdom, who imbarquing himself and his daughters in some small Boats, arrived in Greece, and dispossessing Gelenor King of Argos of his Realm by the assistance of his own subjects who hated him, he reigned there with so much glory that the Greeks were after called Danai from his name; Egyptus his brother vext that he should escape, sent his Sons with a great Army to pursue their uncle, with commission not to return till they had either slain Danaus, or obtained his daughters in marriage; who thereupon coming into Greece were so successful that he was forced to give them up, and married they were, but Danaus bent upon revenge, gave e­very one a dagger charging them after their husbands were asleep to kill them all, and that he would cer­tainly be the death of her who should refuse; They all obey his will but Hypermenestra, over whom love prevailed more than fear of her Fathers severity, [Page 90]who awake't her husband Lynceus, and advising him to fly back to Egypt for safety; Danaus having no­tice of the disobedience of Hypermenestra resolv­ed to have put her to death but was hindred by the Argives yet kept her close Prisoner. He then endeavoured to get husbands for his daughters, but they were so abhored for their treachery, that it was hard to procure them.

Lynceus arriving safe in Egypt, his Father was so in­censed at the murder of his other sons that he sent him back with strong Forces against his uncle, who prevailed and soon dispatcht him, setting his wife at liberty, and subduing the whole Kingdom of the Argives, and then sending for Danaus daughters he judged them not worthy to live for their cruelty, yet being his wives sisters he would not put them to death but commanded they should be put into a Ship without Sails or Oars, and so left to the mercy of the wide Ocean; Who after many dangers were at length cast happily upon this Isle of Albion, where getting ashoar, and seeking for food by hunting Deer, they met with some of the Inhabitants, who were rude and Savage Giants, living more like De­vils than men, yet finding no others they had com­merce with them, from whom proceeded a genera­tion not unlike their Parents, yet none of these Ladys were named Albina as some conjecture, so that the Island was called Albion from the Giant aforemen­tioned.

And thus you have the History of the Inhabitants of this land before Brute of which you may judge as you please; I now proceed to Brutes arrival hither, of whom we find recorded, that he was the son of Ju­lius whose Father was Aeneas of Troy; So that the Abionists being gone off the stage, the Trojans next succeeded; Brute being about twenty five years old was hunting with his Father in the Forrest whom by misfortune he killed with an arrow in shooting at a Deer, for which he was banished his Countrey of [Page 91] Italy and in the company of several young Trojans ar­rived in Greece, where they found divers of their Countreymen in slavery, who joining with them they took several Forts and Castles, and then sent a Letter to Pandrasus the King of the Countrey to this effect.

‘Brute Leader of the remnant of the Trojan people to Pandrasus King of the Greeks sends greeting; Be­cause several of the Noble bloud of Dardanus have received high affronts, and have not been treated according to their merits, therefore they have cho­sen to live freely in woods and Forrests rather than comply with the pride of ingrateful men, and have contented themselves with herbs and raw flesh to avoid the yoak of thraldom which they must o­therwise be subject to; And if this course of life offend your Highness, yet they are not to be blamed but pardoned since every Captive Slave de­sires to be restored to his former freedom and li­berty. If then you have any compassion for our con­dition, suffer us to remain quietly within these woods which we have got into our possession, and if not then suffer us quietly to depart out of your Countrey into some other place.’

Pandrasus was much furprized with their Letter and request, but considering their small number, he re­solved to root them out, before they should increase, and marching with his Forces to that purpose, as he passed neer the Town Sparatinum toward the Woods, Brute suddenly issued out thence with three thou­sand men, and assaulted them with such fury that they fled, hoping to save themselves in the adjoining River of Akalon, but were so hotly pursued that many were drowned; Antigonus the Kings brother made a stand with some Grecians hoping to renew the bat­tel, but the Trojans pressing on them, took him Prisoner slaying and dispersing the rest; After which Brute put 600 men into the Town, and return­ing to the rest in the woods was received with ex­tream [Page 92]joy; Pandrasus vext at his ill success raised an­other Army wherewith he came before the Town, in hope to have taken it by storm, but Brutes men held it very valiantly till wanting provisions they sent to him for speedy relief, who being too weak to ingage in open Field, came suddenly in the night upon the Kings Camp, being directed by a Prisoner he had taken where to make the easiest approach, so that he encountred them with much advantage and overthrow their whole Forces taking Pandrasus him­self Prisoner, whereby the War was ended and soon after an absolute peace concluded, by which ‘The King was obliged to give Brute his daughter Innogen in marriage, with a sufficient Dowry in gold and silver; To furnish him and his people with a Navy of Ships well provided of all necessarys, and Lastly, That they should freely depart the Countrey whi­ther they pleased to seek adventures;’ This being performed, Brute with his wife and people imbar­qued, and after two days sail arrived at an Island called Leogitia (now unknown to modern Geogra­phers) where they consulted with an Oracle, or Idol of Diana, Brute kneeling and holding a bowl of Wine prepared for sacrifice in his right hand, and the Bloud of a white Hind in the other, thus addrest himself to the Goddess.

After this Prayer and performing the Ceremonies of Pagan Superstition, Brute expecting an answer chanced to fall asleep; when the Goddess appearing made him this return.

Having thus Complemented the Lady, and receiv­ed this gentle answer in the same language he cour­ted her; Brute when he awak't remembred his Dream, and began to question whether it were a Vi­sion, or the real Advice of the Goddess who had thus [Page 94]spoken to him with Humane Voice; whereupon con­sulting his Companions it was unanimously conclu­ded to be the counsel of the Divine Oracle, at which there was much rejoicing, and bonefires made where­in wine, milk and other superstitious ingredients were thrown, which done they instantly went a ship-board in hope of the promised success, and sailing westward arrived at the streights of Gibarlter., where on the Spanish Coasts they met with another company of Trojans who were descended from An­tenor after his escape from the Siege of Troy; Their Captain was called Corineus a man of great wisdom and valour, with whom upon consideration of their Countrey they joined and made one entire body, these new comers adventuring their Fortunes with them; Sailing Eastward they came to the mouth of the River Loyre in France, and landed in the Domi­nions of a King called Goffarius Pictus because his people painted their faces and bodies wherein con­sisted their gallantry, and the Countrey from thence (it is thought) is called Poictou to this day (part of Scotland being named Pictland upon the same account) Goffarius having notice of their arrival sent to know how they durst presume to come into his Land with­out licence; The Messengers addrest themselves to Corineus whom they found with two hundred of his Company that came with him from the Ships, hunting Venison in a Forrest for sustaining their lives and gi [...]ng Corineus some disdainful words he endea­voured to appease them, when Imbert their Chief suddenly let fly an arrow at him, which Corineus soon returned with such force that it clave his head in sunder, whereat the rest of the Poictovins fled and brought the news to Goffarius, who instantly raised a mighty Army, wherewith he marched to encoun­ter the Trojans, between whom a sharp battel was fought, but in the end Brute by the admirable cou­rage of Corineus obtained the Victory, and Goffarius fled further up into Gallia or France endeavouring [Page 95]to incite all his Neighbour Princes to join with him in this common danger; Brute mean time marcht forward destroying all before him with Fire and Sword, and having got great booty carried it to his Ships; Goffarius and his Confederates with mighty forces resolving to revenge these injuries came sud­denly upon the Trojans, being thirty times as many, and assaulted them often in their Camp with so much fury and such inequality of numbers that they besieg­ed them therein, hoping by famine to compel them to yield to mercy.

In this extremity Corineus and Brute resolved to use some stratagem for their deliverance, and the next night Corineus drawing three thousand choice men out of the Camp into a wood that lay on the back of the enemy, in the morning Brute fell upon them furiously in the front, when at the same time Corineus assaulting them couragiously on the Reer they were so surprized and confounded that they instantly fled, whom the Trojans eagerly pursued with great slaughter, Brute lost many of his men in this battel, and among others his Nephew Turnus from whom, it is said, the City of Tours in France, which Brute built, took its name and was called Turonium, Turnus being there buried: though Brute had cause to rejoice in this victory, yet finding his forces decay every day and his enemies increase, it was resolved they should bring the riches they had got to their Ships, and all imbark once again to find out the Island the Oracle had promised; After a few daies sailing they arrived at an haven now called Totnes in Devonshire, in the year from the Creation of the World 2850. After the destruction of Troy 66. From the deliverance of the Israelites out of Babylon 397. in the eighteenth year of the reign of Tyneas King of Babylon, and the thirteenth of Melanthus King of A­thens; Before the building of Rome 368. And before the Nativity of our Saviour 1116. For as the Poet sings of Brute.

Brute having entred the Countrey he immediately went in search of it from one end to the other, and found it to abound in Woods, Grass, pleasant Springs, and fair Rivers, though in the way he was encountred by divers strong and mighty Giants, whom he at length subdued and brought the Land wholly into subjection; Among others there was one Giant of extraordinary strength and reputation called Gog­magog, with whom Brute obliged Corineus to wrestle at a place neer Dover where it happened that Gogmagog broke one of the ribs of Corineus with a fall, who be­ing therewith enraged, recovered himself, and re­doubling his courage he prevailed against the Giant and cast him down headlong from one of the Rocks now called Dover Clifts, but for many ages after re­tained the name of Gogmagogs leap, and if Tradition is to be relied on in this case, it may somewhat con­firm the truth of the foregoing History, since the two Figures placed in Guild-hall London are by some be­lieved to represent these two Giants, Gogmagog and Corineus; For this and many other valiant Atchieve­ments Brute bestowed upon Corineus the whole Coun­trey of Cornwall whose Inhabitants are still famous for wrestling, occasioned it may be from this their first governor.

I. Brute having conquered all that opposed him in the whole Island, resolved to build a City which might be the Royal Seat of his kingdom, to which purpose he chose a plat of ground on the Northside of the Thames, convenient for pleasantness, clearness of air, goodness of soil, plenty of woods, and especi­ally accommodated with a Noble River for bringing in Merchandise and all other necessaries proper for a multitude of inhabitants; He began to lay the foun­dation [Page 97]thereof in the tenth year of his reign, which he called Troynovant or New Troy in remembrance of that famous City from whence he and his people were descended, but now named London, which hav­ing finished, he by the advice of his Nobility com­manded the Isle of Albion to be called Brittain and the people Brittains, as a perpetual memorial that he was the first who brought them hither. He had by his wife three sons Locrinus, Camber & Albanack, to the el­der at his death he gave that part now called England which was long called Loegria from his name, To the second Wales named from him Cambria, and to the third all the North part of the Isle beyond the River Humber, which he called Albany, now Scotland. Hav­ing thus divided the Land Brute died in the twen­ty fourth year after his arrival, and was buried at Troynovant or London, but in what place is now un­known

II. Locrinus his eldest Son succeeded in Loegria and his brother Albanack in Albania, but Humber King of the Hunns or Scythians invading his Countrey slew him in battel, and took possession of his Land, till Locrinus with his brother Camber King of Wales join­ing their Forces to revenge their brothers death, fell upon him with such valour that they put his Army to flight, and pursued him so eagerly that he with a­bundance of his people were drowned in the River which divided Loegria from Albania, and from that K. hath ever since retained the name of the River of Humber among many others, three Virgins of excel­lent beauty were taken Prisoners, with one of whom called Estrild a Scythian Kings daughter Locrinus fell so in love, that notwithstanding a former contract be­tween him and Guendolen daughter of Corineus King of Cornwall he resolved to marry her, but by the per­swasions and threats of her Father durst not do it in his life time, and though he married Guendolen he kept Estrild as his Concubine, and after Corineus death forsook Guendolen and married her; Who being [Page 98]thus cast off by her husband went to her kindred in Cornwall whom she provoked to make War upon Locrine her husband, wherein he was slain neer the water of Stour, after he had reigned twenty years and was buried by his Father at Troynovant.

III. Madan his Son by Guendolen succeeded him, but being under age his Mother was by common consent of the Brittans made Ruler of the kingdom, wherein she administred justice and equity fifteen years till her Son came to manhood, to whom she then resigned the government, of whom little is re­corded but that he used much Tyranny over his Sub­jects forty years, after which as he was one day going on hunting he lost his company and was de­voured of Wild Beasts in the Woods, leaving two Sons Mempricius and Manlius; He is said to have built Madan Castle now Doncaster.

IV. Mempricius at the beginning of his reign had much trouble from his brother Manlius, who out of an ambitious mind of ruling provoked the Brittains to rebellion and the war was long and bloudy; But Manlius under pretence of treating being slain, he reigned more peaceably which yet produced as bad an effect, for being quiet he ran into all manner of de­bauchery, ravishing the Wives and daughters of his Subjects, and at length grew so unnatural in his lust that he forsook his wives and Concubines, and fell into the abominable sin of Sodomy; Whereby he be­came odious to God and man, and met with the fate of his Father being slain by Wolves in the forrests, af­ter twenty years reign.

V. Ebrank his Son by his lawful wife was his Suc­cessor, he had (as is said) twenty one wives on whom he begot twenty sons and thirty daughters. He built many Cities in his own kingdom and elsewhere; He sent his daughters into Italy to be married to some noble Trojans whom his sons conducted thither, and in their return conquered part of Germany, that im­peded their passage, and planted themselves there. E­brank [Page 99]built Caerbrank now York, and Maidens Castle in Scotland, now Edenburgh. After which he invaded Gallia now France, and subduing the Galles return­ed home with great riches, and having reigned forty years died and was buried at York.

VI. Brute Greenshield his Son was King after him in the year of the world 2009. Asa being then King of Judah, and Baasha of Israel. He always wore a Green Shield from whence he took his Sirname, and pro­secuted his Fathers Conquests in France, which he wholly subdued, and then dying.

VII. Leil his Son built the City of Carleil after his own name, and repaired Caerleon now Chester which was built before Brutes coming by a famous Giant named Leon Gaur; In the beginning of his reign he was very good and virtuous, but afterward degene­rated into all kind of voluptuousness, whereby he caused great divisions and disturbances among his Subjects which continued during his life; He was bu­ried at Carlisle and left the Government to his Son.

VIII. Lud or Hudibras who appeased the dissentions raised in his Fathers reign, and reduced the Realm to quietness; he built Kaerkin now Canterbury, C [...]rguent now Winchester, and Mount Palondour, now Shaftsbury; In his reign Aquila a learned man writ his Prophecies of which some fragments now remain in Latin. Hav­ing reigned thirty nine years he left his kingdom to his Son.

IX. Bladud who was famous for Astronomy and Necromancy by which means he is reported to have made those hot Baths in the City of Caerbran now cal­led Bath, and was so addicted to the study of Magick and other strange practices that he taught them to his people, and to magnify his Skill therein under­took to fly in the air, but his Skill failing he fell upon the Temple of Apollo in Troynovant now London, and was dasht to peices after he had reigned twenty years.

X. Lear his Son undertook the Government after him, a Prince of a gallant temper and ruled with [Page 100]much justice; He built the Town of Caerlier now Leicester upon the River Sore. It is related he had three daughters named Gonerilla, Regan, and Cordilla, whom he loved very tenderly especially the youngest, and growing aged without an Heir, he resolved to try the affection of his daughters, and to leave the Kingdom to her who should express most fatherly kindness to him; He therefore demanded of the first how much she loved him, who with great ear­nestness called Heaven to witness ‘That she loved him above her own life, & was very ready to lose it for preserving his;’ With which reply he was well satisfied, and askt the same question of the second, who with mighty attestations assured him, ‘That her affection was beyond expression, and that she valued him above all things in the World;’ Lastly he required Cordilla the youngest to declare what kindness she had for him, who replied, ‘Knowing the extream love and parental indulgence you have always born to me, I do solemnly and from my conscience protest I ever did, and ever shall love you as a natural Father, and no otherwise.’ Lear was much discontented at her answer, and therefore soon after married his two eldest daughters one to the Duke of Cornwall and the other to the Duke of Albany, and ordained that after his death the Kingdom should be divided between them, but re­served nothing for Cordilla; Yet it happened that Aganippus King of Gallia, now France, hearing of her beauty, wisdom and virtue, sent to her Father to desire her in marriage, who answered; ‘He might marry if he pleased without a Dowry, since all his land was already disposed to her elder sisters;’ Aganip­pus notwithstanding for her excellent qualities made her his Queen; He was one of the twelve Kings that then ruled in Gallia.

Lear was now very aged, and the two Dukes thinking it very long before they enjoyed the King­dom, taking arms deprived him of the Government, [Page 101]only allowing him a certain revenue during life, but after a while they grew weary, and much di­minished his allowance, yea his two daughters who made such zealous profession of love, now thought much of what their Father enjoyed, so that he went from the eldest to the second to whom he represent­ed the unnaturalness of her sister, who used him as ill as the other, and at last reduced him to so mean a condition that he had not one servant to wait on him. At length wearied with their affronts and abuses, he fled secretly into France to seek relief of his youngest daughter, Cordilla having notice of the arrival of her Father in so mean and wretched a state, she sent him privately some money to pro­vide necessaries, and to retain a number of servants that he might appear at Court honourably attended according to his former dignity, whither being come, he was received with all manner of respect and honour by the King and his daughter, wherewith he was exceedingly comforted, and gave them an ac­count of the bad treatment he had received from his other daughters upon which Aganippus raised a great Army and conveyed them over into Brittain in a gal­lant navy of Ships, together with King Lear for re­covering his Kingdom, who had made an agreement that Cordilla should succeed after his decease, since her sisters by their disobedience had forfeited their former right; In short time they landed in Brittain Cordilla being with them, and meeting with the two Dukes they ingaged in battel and put them to flight, the Dukes being both slain, and Lear thereupon re­stored to his Kingdom, who reigned two years after, and then died after he had ruled in all forty years, and was buried in a vault under the Chanel of the River Soar near Leicester.

XI. Cordilla being admitted Queen of the Realm reigned very happily five years, at the end of which her two Nephews Morgan and Cunegad her sisters sons disdaining to live under the government of a [Page 102]woman raised a rebellion against her, and having destroyed great part of the Countrey and defeated her Forces they took her and kept her close Prisoner, wherewith, being much disturbed, and despairing of regaining her liberty she out of Feminine valor stab'd her self to the heart and died after five years reign.

XII. After her death the two Nephews divided the Land, that part beyond Humber even as far as Caitness in Scotland falling to Morgan, and the other to Cune­gad; Having reigned jointly two years, Morgan was incited by some evil counsellors to endeavour to gain the whole to himself he being Son of the eldest daugh­ter, and was told it was a shame to be partner with a younger brother; Pride, Covetousness and Ambition soon prevailed upon him to raise an Army for effect­ing this unjust design, wherewith entring the Territo­ries of Cunegad he miserably ruined all before him, but was quickly met by his brothers Forces, who gave him battel, wherein a great number of Morgans men being slain, the rest fled and were pursued from one Countrey to another till they came into Wales, where Morgan resolved once more to try his fortune, but being too weak for a victorious army he was there slain in the Field, the Countrey being after­ward called from his name Glamorgan. After which Cunegad became sole Governor of Brittain, which he ruled peaceably thirty three years and was buried at Troynovant, He is reported to have built three Tem­ples, one dedicated to the God Mars at Perth in Scot­land, another to Mercury at Bangor, and a third to Apollo in Cornwall.

XIII. Rival his Son ruled after him in much pro­sperity. In whose time it rained bloud three days together, after which followed such a multitude of noisome and poysonous flies, that breeding a great contagion many died thereof. Rome was built about this time; He reigned forty six years and was bu­ried at York, leaving the Realm to XIV Gurgusius his Son, in the year of the world 3249. of whom little [Page 103]is related in our Brittish Chronicle, but that having reigned thirty seven years he was buried at York like­wise, XV Sysillus his Son who succeded, or his Bro­thers Son as some write has as little recorded of him, nor of XVI Jago Cozen of Gurgusius, but that he died without issue. XVII Kinmark his Brother governed after him and reigned fifty four years; XVIII Gorbodug succeeded, and after sixty three years died and was buried at London, leaving the Land to be ruled jointly by XIX Ferrex and Porrex his two Sons, who continued some years in good correspondence, but flattery and thirst of Domi­nion at length raised variance between them where­by Ferrex was forced to fly into France, and having received aid from that Prince returned in hope to conquer all for himself, but his Brother being ready to receive him, he was slain with the greatest part of his Army; The Mother of them having greater love for Ferrex than his Brother, was so inraged at his death, that she contrived to murther the Sur­vivor, which she effected with the help of her wo­men while he was asleep in the night, and then cut him into small pieces to evidence the malice of her feminine revenge; After this for fifty years the Kingdom was in great distraction, the Government being divided between five Governors, who were all at length subdued by Dunwallo Duke of Cornwall; And here ancient writers affirm the line of Brute ended, there being none of his Race left alive after the two brethren Ferrex and Porrex; The names o [...] the five Rulers are said to be, Rudacus King of Wale [...] Clotenus King of Cornwall, Pinnor King of Loegria, St [...] ­terus King of Albania, and Yewan King of Northun­berland, but Dunwallo having obtained the rule of t [...] whole Land, begun his Reign about seven hundr [...] years after Brutes arrival, who was the first Crow [...] ­ed King of Brittain, for before this the Chief Ma [...] strates of the Kingdom were indifferently cal [...] Kings, Rulers or Governors, but had not any sol [...] [Page 104]Coronation according to the custom of other Coun­tries; I shall therefore now begin a new Catalogue with a new Family, of which,

I. Malmutius Dunwallo Duke of Cornwall was the first in the year of the world 3529. and about five hundred years before our Saviours Nativity. He built in Troynovant or London, the Temple of Peace, which some think is Blackwell Hall, now used for selling cloth; He made many good Laws which were called by his name, and long after translated out of Brittish into Latin and mingled among the Statutes of King Alfred; He gave priviledges to Tem­ples, Ploughs and Cities; that whoeser fled to ei­ther in any criminal cause should be secured, and have liberty to go thence into what Countrey he pleased, he built Malmsbury and the Devizes. After he had setled the Kingdom he by the advice of his Lords caused himself to be Crowned with a Crown of Gold with all the Heathen Ceremonies of that Age, and was therefore called the first Monarch of Brittain; He ordained rules about Weights and Measures, and made strict Laws against Robbers, and after forty years reign was buried in the Temple of Peace leaving the Kingdom to be ruled by his two Sons.

II. Belinus and Brennus, the first governing Loe­gria, Wales, and Cornwall, and Belin all the Coun­trey beyond Humber; They both reigned very quiet­ly about seven years, when Brennus ambitious of gaining the whole was perswaded by some unquiet youths to sail into Norway where he married the daughter of Elsing Duke of that Countrey; Belin vext that he should marry without his advice, in his absence seiz'd all his Castles and Fortresses, and put Garrisons therein, of which Brennus having in­telligence, he was assisted by his Father-in-law with a great Fleet of Ships and a stout Army of Norwegians wherewith sailing homeward, he was encountred by the way by Guldac King of Denmark who with his [Page 105]Navy lay in wait to surprize the young Lady Brennus had married, to whom Guldac had been long a Servant but could never obtain her Fathers consent. The two Fleets meeting, a bloudy fight ensued, but at length the King of Denmark prevailed and took the Ship wherein the Lady was, whom he brought into his own Vessel Brennus making his escape; The Danes had no sooner obtained this great victory and prize when a sudden tempest arising the navy was scatter­ed, and the King in danger of being lost, but after five days he was driven by storm into Northumberland with the few Ships that remained; Belin being then in that Countrey providing defence against his bro­ther, having notice of it caused the King to be de­tained.

Mean time Brennus having again got together his dispersed Ships, and furnisht them and his Souldiers with all necessaries, sent to his brother to demand the restoring his wife, and his Countrey, both which were wrongfully detained from him; But receiving a positive denial to both, he landed his Army in Al­bany, now Scotland, and his brother coming toward him, a cruel battel was fought near a Wood called Calater wherein the Brittains at length discomfited the Norwegians with so great a slaughter that few were left alive; Brennus was forced to fly into France, where having made his addresses for Succour to se­veral Princes in vain, he was at length entertained by Seguin Duke of Savoy, or as others say of Armorica, called afterward Little Brittain.

Belin having subdued his Enemies called his Coun­cil at York to consult what to do with the King of Denmark, where at length it was agreed that he should have his liberty on condition to do homage for his kingdom to the King of England, and to pay yearly a thousand pound Tribute; Belin now sole Governor of Brittain, confirmed his Fathers Laws, and finished the four highways begun by him for the convenience of Travel; The first was called the Foss beginning at [Page 100] [...] [Page 101] [...] [Page 102] [...] [Page 103] [...] [Page 104] [...] [Page 105] [...] [Page 106] Totnes in Devonshire and passing thence through Som­merset-shire by Tutbury and Cotswald to Coventry, Lei­cester, Newark, and ending at Lincoln; The second named Watling-street which began at Dover passing through the middle of Kent over Thames neer West­minster, and thence to Saint Albans, Dunstable, Strat­ford, Worcester, Cardigan and the Irish Sea; The third was Erminstreet beginning at St. Davids in Wales and stretching to Southampton; The fourth Hicknelstreet going from Worcester to Winchcomb, Brumigam, Litch­field, Darby, Chesterfield, York, and ending at Tynmouth Castle.

Belin thus imployed in the affairs of his Realm his brother Brennus who fled into France only with ele­ven persons, being a compleat handsom Gentleman, and a Man of honour and courage, became a very great Favourite to Duke Seguin, who for his worthy qualities gave him his daughter in marriage, and de­clared, that if he dyed without issue Male, he should succeed, but if otherwise then his heir should assist Brennus in recovering his rightful inheritance from his brother Belin; These conditions being mutually assented to by the Duke & his Nobility, Brennus about a year after Seguin died, and his Dutchess not being with Child by him, the Lords of the Countrey receiv­ed Brennus for their Supream Governor; Being set­led in his Government he raises an Army wherewith he lands in Brittain to make war on his brother, who soon assembles his forces to entertain him, but being just ready to join in battel, by the intercession of their mother, who interposed between the Armies, and used all manner of tender perswasions to them not to go on thus to destroy and ruin themselves and their Subjects, she prevailed so far that a perfect agreement and friendship was confirmed between them.

After which both coming to London, they called their Peers and Councellors together, to advise about setling their Dominions where it was at length accord­ed [Page 107]between them, that both Armies should go into Gallia to subdue that Countrey, where they had such notable success that in a short time (saith Jeffery of Monmouth) they conquered most part of Gallia, Italy and Germany, and at length took the City of Rome it self (if at least these be those Commanders who led the Gauls into Italy, and made such devastations in that part of Europe) Having passed the Alpes, and arriv­ing in Tuscany they besiege the City of Clusium, which being distressed, sent to Rome for succor; the Romans thô they had no League with the Clusians, yet consider­ing it might soon be their own condition, sent Am­bassadors to the Captains of the Gauls in the name of the Senate not to molest their Neighbours, and friends, to which Brennus returned answer; ‘That they were willing to make peace with the Clusians if they would consent to let them have part of their Countrey, who had more than they could imploy, but otherwise no peace would be granted;’ The Ambassadors offended at this demand, asked; What they had to do in Tuscany; Which raising fierce disputes, they at length resolved to end the matter by arms, and the Ambassadors contrary to the Law of Nati­ons, went presently and joined themselves to the Clusians, incouraging them to hold out the City, which so inraged the Gauls that with one voice they requir­ed their Princes to raise the Siege from Clusium that they might go and take Rome itself; Brennus first sent Messengers to the Senate requiring that those who had thus broken the Laws might be punished as they deserved, but the Ambassadors were so far from being blamed that they were chosen Tribunes for their good Service.

Whereat the Gaules were so much provok'd that they instantly marched toward Rome destroying all before them. The Romans at length met them with an Army of Forty thousand, and ingaging near the River Albia about eleven miles from Rome, the Ro­mans were quickly discomfited and overthrown. [Page 108]The Gauls could hardly believe they had got the vi­ctory with so small resistance, but perceiving all had left the Field they got together the plunder, and marched directly to Rome, at whose approach the Citizens were so affrighted, that the young Senators, and all the youthful Gentry retired into the Capitol which they provided with all necessarys for a long Seige; The Ancient Fathers and Common people remained still in the City resolving to expect the fate thereof; The Gauls soon after entred by the Gate Collina and went directly to the Market place, but were much surpriz'd to observe that the Houses of the meaner sort were shut against them, but the Greater and richer stood wide open, and at first were cautious of entring for fear of Treachery, but at length some going in, found the Reverend Senators sitting in their Chairs clothed in rich Robes at if they had been in the Senate house, with so much gravity and state that the Gauls reverenced them as Gods; It happened that Marcus Papyrius struck one of the Gauls on the head with a staff for presuming to stroke his beard, wherewith being provoked he in­stantly slew Papyrius as he sate, wherewith the Slaughter being begun, all the rest of those Honoura­ble Persons were kill'd in their Chairs, the whole City without regard to age or sex suffering the like Calamity with them; And thus was Rome taken by the two brethren Belin and Brennus 265 years from the building thereof.

After this the Gauls attempted to take the Capitol in the night, and had certainly succeeded but that some Geese with their noise and crying discovered the design, by awaking the Sleeping Romans, who seasonably repulsed their enemies; Being in great distress, they resolved to recall Camillus whom they had unjustly banished, and make him Dictator, and Sole Commander over all their Lives and Estates, who forgetting the injuries done him applied himself instantly for delivering his Countrey, and raised as [Page 109]puissant an Army as the time would permit: Mean while those in the Capitol being even famished for want of Victuals treated with the Gauls, and made an agreement to give them a thousand pound weight in gold for their liberty; which being paid they were to march out of the City and all the Ro­man Territories. As the money was weighing some of the covetous Gauls threw their swords into the Scales where the weights were that they might get the more, which the Romans would not admit, and while some difference arose upon this account, Ca­millus with his Forces comes in amongst them, and commands the Gold to be carried away since no composition could be made without consent of the Dictator, and bid the Gauls prepare for battle, who having more mind to the Gold than to fight were soon defeated, many being slain, and the rest flying out of the City; Some affirm that a Peace was concluded between them, and that Brennus went af­terward into Germany and Belin returned home to Brittain imploying the rest of his reign in building Churches and beautyfying Citys and Pallaces; a­mong others he built a famous Gate at a Port in London on the top whereof was set a Vessel of Brass, wherein the ashes of his body (which was burnt according to the custom of those times) were after­ward put, which was then called Bellinus but now Billingsgate; He also built a Castle not far off which was called Bellins Castle now the Tower of London. Having reigned 26 years he left the Kingdom to his son III Gurgint, who sailed with a mighty Army into Denmark for recovering the Tribute promised to his Predecessors, where he made such devastations with fire and sword that the King of Denmark by persua­sion of his Nobles was compeil'd to continue the payment thereof. As he returned home he met with thirty Ships near the Isles of Orkney freighted with men, women and children under their Cap­tain named Bartholin, who being brought before the [Page 110]King declared, ‘They were banished out of Spain and were called Balenses, who had sailed long on the Sea in hope to find some generous Prince who would assign them a place to inhabit, and to whom they would willingly be subject, humbly beseech­ing him to commiserate their condition;’ Who with the advice of his Barons granted them Ireland for an habitation, which then lay wast; Though some writers relate that, it was peopled long before by a people called Hibernensis from Hiberus their Captain who brought them from Spain. Gurgint re­turning home made many good Laws, and admi­nistred Justice worthily nineteen years; In whose reign Cambridge and the University are said to be built by one Cantaber.

IV. Guintolin succeeded, a prudent Prince and happy in a virtuous and beautiful Queen, who after his death administred the affairs of the Kingdom du­ring the minority of her Son; After he had revived and inforced all the good old Laws and added what new were wanting, whereby he setled the Land in peace and tranquillity, he left it to his Son.

V. Sicilius, not then about seven years old, who reigned about seventeen years, most part of which his Mother Martia managed all State affairs.

VI. Kinarus his Son ruled after him, who giving himself up to Luxury and Debauchery was slain by some of his enemies as he was a hunting in the Fields.

VII. Elanius his Son, or as others write, his Bro­ther was his Successor, of whom little is recorded but his name, and that he reigned eight years, and then VIII Morindus his Son by a Concubine was ad­mitted King of Brittain, a man of much valour, and conduct, but withal so barbarously cruel that he de­lighted to inflict lingring torments upon those that offended him, yea oftentimes with his own hands he severely tortured his people. In his reign a cer­tain King of a people called Moriani landed with a [Page 111]great Army in Northumberland and made horrid ra­vage with fire and sword; Against whom Morindus having raised his Brittains marches with all expedi­tion, and in a dreadful battel defeated and pursued them to their Ships, taking a great number Pri­soners, whom to satisfie his bloudy humor he cau­sed to be executed in his presence, some being be­headed, some strangled, and others ript up alive. They were thought to come from some part of Ger­many. At length this bloudy Prince hearing there was a Monster come ashore out of the Irish Sea, re­solved to encounter therewith, but was devoured by it after he had reigned eight years, leaving five Sons, Gorbomen, Archigallo, Elidure, Vigeni­us and Peredurus.

IX. Gorbomen the eldest succeeded, and was a very religious Prince according to the devotion of that age, repairing many old Temples, and erecting di­vers new. He built the Town of Grantham and inclosed Cambridge with walls, and a strong Castle, procuring Philosophers to come thither from Athens, who instructed the youth of the Kingdom in Learning and the Liberal Sciences, he died without issue, and X Archigallo his Brother came after him who much degenerated from his Father, and caused dis­sension among his Nobility by taking away their Ho­nours and Estates illegally, and bestowing them up­on mean unworthy persons, whereby the Gen­try were reduced to beggery and misery, who there­fore conspired against him, and at length deprived him of his Royal Dignity having reigned only one year advancing XI Elidure the third Son of Morin­dus to the Throne, who was a person of such a gal­lant temper that he used all manner of means for restoring his Brother to the Crown. It happened that as he was one day hunting in a Wood near York he met Archigallo wandring to seek relief, whom he treated with all kindness, conveying him secretly to his own house; soon after he feigned himself sick, [Page 112]and sent with all speed for his Barons to attend him with whom he dealt so effectually one by one in his Privy Chamber that at length they agreed to admit his Brother again to be King, and then assembling a great Council at York he resigned his Dignity to him after he had ruled with much wisdom three years; A worthy example of fraternal love, consi­dering how ambitious all men naturally are of do­minion. Archigallo thus restored in hope of his up­right administration of justice for the future, did not disappoint his people, but became a new man, and acted with so much prudence and moderation that he was beloved of all his Subjects to the end of his life, and having reigned ten years was buried at York. After which Elidure having right by Succession as well as by the inclination of the Brittains was ac­knowledged King with general Applause, who had not sate on the Throne a year when his two Bro­thers raised a Rebellion against him, and in a pitcht Field he was taken Prisoner and committed to the Tower of London, after which XII Vigenius and Pe­redurus the two youngest Sons of Morindus divided the Kingdom between them, all the Countrey from Humber west falling to the eldest, and the other northward to Peredurus. Vigenius after seven years died, and Peredurus took possession of the whole Land, and reigned very tyrannically eight years, and then dying without issue, XIII Elidure as next Heir was the third time admitted King, having continued in Prison all this while, and during his four years reign managed all matters to the great satisfacton of his people, and being then grown ve­ry aged dyed and was buried at Carlisle. From this time to the reign of Helie there passed about one hundred and eighty years, and some ancient Au­thors have reckoned up near thirty three Kings who reigned in that space, but do not agree either in their names or number, and therefore we shall let them pass as Fairy Princes and proceed.

XIV. Helie is the next in order from whom some think the Isle of Ely is named, though others affirm it to arise from a multitude of Eels into which the married Priests were said to be transformed for re­fusing to obey St. Dunstans Order, That Priests should tive single, though the true denomination may come from Helig in Brittish a Willow with which that Isle abounds. This Helie had three Sons Lud, Cassibe­lane, and Nunnius.

XV. Lud succeeded his Father in the year of the World 3895. And before the birth of Christ seventy two. He was a very worthy Prince who repealed ma­ny old Laws and evil customs establishing better; He repaired several decayed Cities, but took particu­lar delight to beautify Troynovant now London which he enlarged with buildings and fortified with strong Walls, Towers and Gates, and among the rest Ludgate so called from him to this day; He founded a Tem­ple where it is thought St. Pauls now stands, and a Pallace not far off judged to be Baynalds Castle where­by this City became famous and full of Inhabitants a­bove any other in the Land, & the name was changed to Cair Lud, or Luds Town, and afterward London; He was successful against his enemies, bountiful in hospi­tality, and very much honoured and belov'd of all his people; and having reigned prosperously eleven years he died and was buried neer Ludgate leaving two sons Androgeus and Theomantius, who being un­der age their uncle XVI. Cassibelane was admitted to the administration of the Government, wherein he behaved himself with so much justice and upright­ness, that the Brittains had little regard to the sons of Lud; But least it might be thought he usurped their right, he assigned them an honourable mainte­nance during their nonage, Androgeus enjoying Lon­don and the County of Kent, and Theomantius the County of Cornwall while Cassibelane ruled in Brittain Julius Caesar being sent by the Senate of Rome with a mighty Army for the conquest of Gallia or France, [Page 114]after he had subjected them, resolved to try his for­tune in subduing Brittain, which the Romans knew nothing of but by report, yet had heard that great sup­plies came daily thence to assist the Gauls their Ene­mies, and though it was now towards Winter, he re­solved to attempt the discovery of their Ports, and the nature and manners of the Inhabitants of which he could receive no satisfaction from such Merchants as traded thither; Hereupon he draws his Forces toward Callice called then Itius Portus, and sent out a small vessel to survey the Coasts, and return again.

The Merchants giving notice to the Brittains of the intended Invasion, all that were able were put into arms, and several Citys, who it seems had particular Governors of their own, sent Ambassadors to offer subjection to the Romans, whom Caesar received with much kindness, and sent one of his Commanders back with them to persuade the other Citys to submit themselves likewise; But he names no King they had nor is Cassibelan mentioned till his second Voyage though the Brittish Historys say; That Caesar required Tribute of him who answered, ‘He had not yet learned to live in bondage, but with sword in hand resolved to defend the Liberty of his Countrey if the Romans blinded with covetousness and ambition should adventure to disquiet them.’ The Galley that went upon discovery returning in five days with a full account of all the Coasts on that side, Caesar imbarqued two Legions of Souldiers in several Ships, and about midnight departed from Callice arriving next day at noon upon the Brittish Shoar near Dover which he found all covered with men of War to in­intercept his landing, who observing the inconve­nience of going aland there because of the high Cliffs from whence the Brittains might annoy them with their bows and darts, he sailed seven or eight miles farther toward Deale where the shoar was more flat and level; Which the Brittains perceiving caused all their Horse and Chariots of War wherein they fought [Page 115]to march thither the rest soon following, so that Caesar much doubted of success, yet resolving to ven­ture, he brought his great Ships as near land as pos­sible from whence his Souldiers issuing, were forced to march a great way in the water loaden with their heavy armour, and were briskly assailed by the Brit­tish Horse who went into the Sea, and couragiously assaulted them with their arrows at such disadvantage that the Romans unused to this kind of fighting were ready to give ground; which Caesar perceiving ordered the Galleys to row near the shoar, and annoy the Brit­tains with their Darts and slings while their compa­nions got to land; At which the Brittains, having never seen Galleys with Oars, were much amazed, and being severely galled with the Roman Artillery they began a little to retire which a Roman Ensign­bearer observing, he cryed out, ‘Leap out now Worthy Companions in Arms if you will secure the Ensigns of your Honour from the Enemy, for I am resolved to do my duty both to the Com­mon-wealth and my General;’ And therewith throwing himself into the water he marched with his Ensign directly toward the Enemy; The Romans doubting the disgrace of losing their Ensign leapt out of their Ships with all expedition and followed their gallant Leader, but were put into some disorder, find­ing no sure footing in the water, and not able to march orderly under their own Ensigns, of which the Brittains took the advantage, and being acquain­ted with the shelves and shallows of the Water, they again feircely encountred them with their Horse, so that a multitude of them would incompass a small party of the Romans, and the numerous Darts of the Brittains from the shoar galled them exceed­ingly, which Caesar observing caused his Souldiers to go into small boats for releiving those who were most distrest, and thus new succours continually supplying the place of those that fell, the Romans at length got all to land, and putting themselves into order soon [Page 116]forced the undisciplined Brittains to fly, but could no [...] pursue them for want of their Horse, which they lef [...] behind in France, and expected long ere now, which seemed a little to cross the fortune of Caesar, who in all other enterprizes was usually exceeding success­ful.

After this the Brittains sensible of their own weakness sent Hostages to treat of Peace, and with them the Roman Ambassador that Caesar had before sent to persuade them to subjection, whom contrary to the Law of Arms they had made Prisoner, for which he reproved them severely, but at length par­doned their folly; requiring Hostages to remain with him for securing their Fidelity; Having accord­ingly received them, four days after the Romans arri­val a Peace was concluded between them, at which time the eighteen Ships on which the Horse were im­barqued approached so near the Brittish Coasts that the Romans in their Camp had sight of them, when there suddenly rose so dreadful a Tempest that they were all disperst, together with those that brought over the Foot, wherewith the Romans were much discouraged since they had no provisions for Winter, and little hope to get back again to France. The Brit­tish Commanders perceiving their disturbance, and judging by the small circuit of their Camp, their number was not considerable, resolved to assemble their Forces, and hinder any relief from coming to them, of which Caesar having intelligence, sent one of his Legions to reap Corn a good distance from the Camp, who when they had begun their work were suddenly surprized by the Brittains out of the Woods, who slew divers and disordered the rest, which Caesar by the extraordinary dust thereabout perceiving, sent another Legion to their assistance, who were very hardly beset by the Brittish Chariots which moved with great swiftness in the most dan­gerous places, but upon the approach of these fresh succours, the Brittains retreated into the Woods, and [Page 117]the Romans not knowing the Countrey, would not venture to pursue them.

Mean time the Brittains sent through all the Land to give notice that the strength of the Romans was so inconsiderable that if they would join toge­ther they might easily free themselves from servitude for ever, whereupon a multitude of Horse and Foot approacht the Roman Camp, and Caesar considering if he should repulse them they would as formerly make their escape by swiftness of foot, he placed thirty Horsemen which came from France in the Front, and then joined battel with his Legions; the Brittains unable to sustain the impression of such valiant men fled with all speed, the Roman Horse pursuing, and killing many, and burning their Houses all about, returned to their Camp; That very day they again sent Ambassadors to Caesar to sue for Peace which he gladly accepted on condition they sent over to France double the number of Ho­stages before agreed on for securing their Faith; Af­ter which having repaired his broken Vessels, he re­turned back with all his people into France; This ac­count he himself gives in his Commentaries of his first Journey hither, though the Brittish History re­lates, That Caesar being beaten in a pitcht field at the first encounter, withdrew back into Gallia, and made this Rhime upon him.

After Caesars arrival in France two Cities only sent their Hostages, whereupon resolving on an entire conquest of the Island, next Spring he landed with five Roman Legions, whom the Brittains on the Shoar [Page 118]durst not oppose, but fled for safety to the Moun­tains, the sight of eight hundred Ships great and small upon their Coasts being very terrible to them; Caesar being safely landed went in pursuit of his enemies twelve miles into the Countrey and there discovered their Camp, and assaulting them with his horse they fled into the Woods, which they secured with trees laid cross all the passages; Caesar ignorant of the Countrey, called back his forces to fortify his own Camp; Next day he had intelligence that a terrible storm had shattered a great part of his Navy, which having imployed one of his Legions ten daies in re­pairing, and sending for more Ships from France, he again advanced toward his Enemies, who giving ge­neral notice through the kingdom of the great forces wherewith Caesar was again returned, they all made Cassibelane their General, with full power to order all things as he should think meet for the common defence of their Countrey. The Horse and Chariots had divers Skirmishes with the Romans, and were oft forc't to retreat into the woods, where they cut off many of their enemies who too eagerly pursued them: This kind of fight they renewed several times, the Brittains issuing out of the Woods in small par­ties, having others to succour them, and falling sud­denly upon the Romans did them much mischief, whom their heavy armour made unfit for such kind of warfare; At length Caesar resolving to ingage in a set battel followed them to Kingston, where he in­tended to pass over with all his Forces of which Cas­sibelane and the Brittains being aware placed sharp stakes at the bottom of the Thames thereby to annoy them, standing in readiness on the other side to op­pose their coming a shoar, yet the Roman courage sur­mounted those difficulties, who passed over both Horse and Foot without inconvenience, the foot be­ing so deep in the water that nothing but their heads appeared above, and getting to the further bank as­saulted the Brittains with such violence that not able [Page 119]to sustain their force they instantly fled.

Cassibelane after this would not venture the trial of a battel, but keeping about him four thousand Cha­riots he wasted all the Champaign Countrey, and fortified himself within the thick woods and Forrests from whence he often started out in ways well known upon the Roman forragers and did them much damage; Mean time the Troynovants, which are thought to be the people of Essex and Middlesex, whose City of London had escaped the desolation which others felt, sent Ambassadors to Caesar to offer their submission and obedience who commanded them to send him forty Hostages and provisions for his Army, which being performed he took them into his protection, after whose example several other Countries submitted themselves, by whom he under­stood that the Town wherein Cassibelan resided and defended by the thickness of the Woods, was not far off, and assaulting it two ways at once, they with some loss at length prevailed, and entring the fortress found great numbers of Cattel killing and taking Prisoners many Brittains. Whereupon Cassibelane sent to the four chief Rulers in Kent to muster all their strength, and assail the Roman Camp which lay there for defence of the Ships, which they attempted accordingly, but were received with such valour by the Romans who issued out of their Camp that they were utterly de­feated; Cassibelane much discouraged at these repeat­ed losses sends Ambassadors to Caesar who intending to winter in France, took Hostages, and appointed him to pay a yearly Tribute, strictly charging him not to disturb the Londoners, and then taking all his Romans aboard his Ships he returned into Gallia.

Thus Caesar and other credible writers have related this Transaction, though the Brittish Historians differ herein, affirming, that Caesar at his second coming was repulsed and beaten as at first, and wonderfully an­noyed by piles armed with iron placed in the Thames by Cassibelane which destroyed his Ships, and that at [Page 120]his landing he was defeated by the Brittains; For joy of which victory Cassibelane made a Royal Feast at London and sacrificed to their Gods; At which time there happened a quarrel about wrestling between two young Gentlemen Herilda Nephew to Cassibelane, and Ewelyn Kinsman to Androgeus Earl of Lon­don, and a desperate fray happening thereupon by the partakers on each side, Herilda was slain and divers others kill'd and wounded, at which the King much displeased resolv'd to punish Ewelyn according to Law, who was summon'd to appear, but being countenanced by Androgeus he refused to obey and both departed the Court in great contempt of the King, who thereupon raising forces resolved to re­duce them to reason, but they sensible of their own weakness, sent Letters to Julius Caesar for his assi­stance, who joyful of the message and the variance be­tween them returns speedily with a mighty Army toward Brittain, but doubting some treachery in An­drogeus, he first takes thirty of the Nobility for Ho­stages, and then landing joins with Androgeus in a Valley neer Canterbury; Cassibelane having notice thereof comes with all the power of Brittain to give them battel, where having fought long with much courage, Androgeus fell so vigorously upon their right wing that the Brittains were utterly discomfited, and killed without mercy, yea the pursuit was so furious that Cassibelane retiring with four thousand to a place as he thought of safety, was invironed with the Roman Legions and compell'd to a composition, be­ing obliged to pay Caesar three thousand pound year­ly Tribute. Who having setled all affairs here return­ed to France with Androgeus in his company who much feared the displeasure of Cassibelane; Yet did not Caesar wholly subdue Brittain, for he never came toward the north (which several Roman Emperors af­ter him endeavoured for many years to bring into subjection) but conquered only those parts of the Island lying next France, so that he may seem rather [Page 121]to have discovered than subjected it to the Roman po­wer. This happened in the year from the creation [...]913. And before our Saviour 53.

Julius Caesar having thus made the Brittains Tribu­tants returned into Gallia, after which Cassibelane reigned seven years in all 17 and then died; It ap­pears both by Caesars Commentaries, and other au­thentick Writers that Brittain in those days was not ruled by one Supream Monarch but divided into se­veral Governments, and that Cassibelane commanded over the Counties of Oxford, Berks, Buckingham and Bedford, in which state it continued during the Roman Dominion and long after, even till it was finally sub­jected by the Saxons.

XVI. Theomantius the youngest Son of Lud succeed­ed Cassibelane, Androgeus his elder brother having ut­terly abandoned the Land, being sensible the Brittains abhorred him for his Treachery in assisting the Romans against his Uncle Cassibelane; He governed the king­dom with much justice and peace; paying constantly the Tribute his Predecessor had agreed to give the Romans, and having reigned twenty two years died and was buried at London.

XVII. Kymbeline his Son was by the Brittains ad­mitted King after him; He is said to have had his e­ducation at Rome, and was made a Knight by Augustus Caesar (Successor to Julius,) and that he served under him in his Wars, and obtained so much favour with him, that when he came to be King he left him at li­berty whether he would pay the usual Tribute or not; Thus our Brittish Historians write, though the Romans relate that Augustus designed no less than thrice to make an expedition hither and recover his rights but was as oft diverted by insurrections in divers parts of his mighty Empire. He reigned 25 years, and then left the kingdom to his eldest Son, XVIII. Ginderus who began his reign in the 17 year of our Lord, and being a man of much courage re­fused to own any homage to the Romans; Whereup­on [Page 122] Caligula the Emperor disliking the negligence (as he termed it) of his Predecessors Augustus and Tibe­rius, resolved to reduce Brittain as being the utmost bounds of the Roman Monarchy, making very great provision for this noble enterprize in the fourth year of his reign, which Ginderus having notice of, prepa­red to make the best defence possible, and dayly ex­pected his arrival, but after all this pompous shew he only came to Callice, from whence he beheld the Clifts of Brittain with much admiration, but hear­ing they were ready to receive him on the opposite Shoar, seeming nothing discouraged he went aboard a Galley, in which having passed about two bow-shots from the land, he immediately returned, and then getting up into a Pulpit purposely provided on the Sea side, he from thence by sound of Trumpet gave a signal to his Souldiers to ingage, yet not the Brittains who were for enough off, but charged every man to gather up Cockle Shells from the Shoar, which he called, The Speils of the Ocean, and gave as great re­wards to them for these trifles as if they had per­formed some notable Service in War; He carried ma­ny of these Shells to Rome boasting of this honoura­ble Voyage, and requiring to have a Triumph granted him for this rediculous expedition, which the Senate seeming unwilling to grant, he was almost resolved to have murthered them all. From the Senate he as­cended his Royal Throne in the Market place, and summoning the Common people together, told them a long story of his Adventures in conquering the O­cean, and when he perceived them to begin to shout as if they acknowledged him to be a God or a mighty Champion, to increase their cry he threw great quan­tities of Gold and Silver among them, in striving for which many were pressed to death, and others murthered with the Calthrops made of iron with three spikes standing up, which having poisoned he cast out with the mony on purpose to do mischief wherewith many in the croud were invenomed and [Page 123]died, and this was the end of the ridiculous Voyage of Caligula into Brittain.

But Claudius his successor upon a rebellion that a­rose, sent two of his Commanders Plautius and Nar­cissus hither, who coming unexpected found no re­sistance, the Brittains flying into the Woods for se­curity, so that they had more trouble to discover than subdue them, but having at length met with se­veral Parties they soon defeated them, by killing their Chariot Horses; Yet others growing very troublesome to the Romans, Plautius pursuant to his orders sent for the Emperor Claudius who soon arri­ving fell upon the Brittains incamped about the Isle of Shepey in Kent, and putting them to flight, took the City of Camalodunum now Malden in Essex, and having thus subjected part of the Brittains, he returned back to Rome six months after his departing thence, and named his son Brittanicus in memory of this Con­quest. The Brittish story says, That Claudius landing at Porchester now Portsmouth, beseiged that Town; to releive which King Ginderus came in person and giving the Romans battel prevailed, till one Hamo a Roman arming himself like a Brittain, thrust un­suspected into the midst of the Army till coming where Ginderus was, he instantly slew him, which Arviragus the Kings brother perceiving he to prevent the Brittains from being discouraged, clothed himself with the Royal habiliments, and fought with such courage that he put the Romans to the rout, Claudius returning to his Ships, and Hamo flying to the ad­joining Forrest, whom Arviragus so feircely pursued that at length he drove him toward the Sea, and there slew him before he could get to the Haven, from whence (it is said,) it obtained the name of Hamo's Haven, and after Hampton, now Southampton.

XIX. Arviragus succeeded his brother, forty six years after Christ, who after the departure of Claudius went in progress about the Realm, repairing decayed Towns and Citys and making new Laws for [Page 124]governing his people, and finding that in short time the Land begun to flourish, he was so elated that he denied to pay the Romans their accustomed Tribute, whereupon Claudius sent Vespasian (afterward Empe­ror) as his Lieutenant into Brittain, who attempting to land at Sandwich was valiantly opposed by Arvira­gus, so that sailing farther West he came ashoar at Totnes in Devonshire, and beseiged Exeter, but by the Queens means a reconciliation was made without blows; Thus write the Brittains, but Suetonius the Roman Historian relates, That Vespasian being sent with a Legion of Souldiers into Brittain fought thirty feveral battels and brought under obedience two mighty Nations, and above Twenty Towns with the Isle of Weight; Arviragus finding his strength in­sufficient to contend with the power of the Empire, in his old age made a firm League with the Romans which continued till his death, who having reigned thirty years dyed and was buried at Glocester.

In his time about fifty three years after the birth of Christ, Joseph of Arimathea being sent by Philip the Apostle, came into Brittain with several other Christians, preaching the Gospel and instructing them in the Religion of the blessed Jesus, whereby many were converted and baptized, these Holy men continued here all their lives having a place assigned them by the King near the City of Wells, where after was erected the Abbey of Glastenbury. This Arviragus was reckoned a very puissant Prince by the Romans as appears by what Juvenal Writes.

After his death the Land was many years under Roman Governors or Lieutenants; First Ostorius then Aulus Didius, and after him by Pautinus Sueto­nius, during which the Brittains made many Essays for recovering their lost liberty, wherein they some­times prevailed, and were otherwhile defeated; In the reign of that cruel Emperor Nero Successor to Claudius, the Romans received a great overthrow from the Brittains, which Paulinus endeavoured to retrieve by assaulting the Isle of Anglesey then fully inhabited with people of desperate fortunes, and having provided flat bottom'd boats to ferry over his Forces, the Brittains were ready to oppose him on the shore, the women likewise with the hair a­bout their ears, clothed in strange garments, ran about the Camp with firebrands in their hands, and a great company of Druids or Priests appeared who lifting their hands toward Heaven thundered out curses and execrations against the Romans, who were so much surprized at this unexpected treatment that they suffered themselves to be slain like senseless creatures, till by the incitation of their General, and their incouraging each other not to be daunted by a company of mad women, they came forward with so much fury that they beat down all before them, and with their own fires smothered and burnt the Brittains to ashes, taking possession of the whole Island, and cutting down their woods wherein they use to Sacrifice the Prisoners they had taken to their Gods, and by their entrails when dismembered pre­tended to Divine their future success. While Pau­linus was thus imployed, the Brittains in other parts of the Land got together and consulted how to free themselves from the insupportable slavery and misery wherein they lived, one among the rest de­ploring their wretched condition in words to this effect.

‘Dear Countreymen and Friends, the more wrongs and injuries we patiently endure from the [Page 122] [...] [Page 123] [...] [Page 124]governing his people, and finding that in short time the Land begun to flourish, he was so elated that he denied to pay the Romans their accustomed Tribute,’ whereupon Claudius sent Vespasian (afterward Empe­ror) as his Lieutenant into Brittain, who attempting to land at Sandwich was valiantly opposed by Arvira­gus, so that sailing farther West he came ashoar at Totnes in Devonshire, and beseiged Exeter, but by the Queens means a reconciliation was made without blows; Thus write the Brittains, but Suetonius the Roman Historian relates, That Vespasian being sent with a Legion of Souldiers into Brittain fought thirty several battels and brought under obedience two mighty Nations, and above Twenty Towns with the Isle of Wight; Arviragus finding his strength in­sufficient to contend with the power of the Empire, in his old age made a firm League with the Romans which continued till his death, who having reigned thirty years dyed and was buried at Glocester.

In his time about fifty three years after the birth of Christ, Joseph of Arimathea being sent by Philip the Apostle, came into Brittain with several other Christians, preaching the Gospel and instructing them in the Religion of the blessed Jesus, whereby many were converted and baptized, these Holy men continued here all their lives having a place assigned them by the King near the City of Wells, where after was erected the Abbey of Glastenbury. This Arviragus was reckoned a very puissant Prince by the Romans as appears by what Juvenal Writes.

After his death the Land was many years under Roman Governors or Lieutenants; First Ostorius then Aulus Didius, and after him by Paulinus Sueto­nius, during which the Brittains made many Essays for recovering their lost liberty, wherein they some­times prevailed, and were otherwhile defeated; In the reign of that cruel Emperor Nero Successor to Claudius, the Romans received a great overthrow from the Brittains, which Paulinus endeavoured to retrieve by assaulting the Isle of Anglesey then fully inhabited with people of desperate fortunes, and having provided flat bottom'd boats to ferry over his Forces, the Brittains were ready to oppose him on the shore, the women likewise with the hair a­bout their ears, clothed in strange garments, ran about the Camp with firebrands in their hands, and a great company of Druids or Priests appeared who lifting their hands toward Heaven thundered out curses and execrations against the Romans, who were so much surprized at this unexpected treatment that they suffered themselves to be slain like senseless creatures, till by the incitation of their General, and their incouraging each other not to be daunted by a company of made women, they came forward with so much fury that they beat down all before them, and with their own fires smothered and burnt the Brittains to ashes, taking possession of the whole Island, and cutting down their woods wherein they use to Sacrifice the Prisoners they had taken to their Gods, and by their entrails when dismembered pre­tended to Divine their future success. While Pau­tinus was thus imployed, the Brittains in other parts of the Land got together and consulted how to free themselves from the insupportable slavery and misery wherein they lived, one among the rest de­ploring their wretched condition in words to this effect.

‘Dear Countreymen and Friends, the more wrongs and injuries we patiently endure from the [Page 126] Romans, the greater pressures they lay upon us; Our Countrey had formerly but one King over it, but now we have two, the Lieutenant who with his Officers and Souldiers spills our Blood like wa­ter, and the Treasurer, or rather Thief who be­reaves us of all our Goods and Estates; so that nothing is free from their Tyranny or Covetous­ness, and the greatest Robber is counted the stout­est man, yea our Houses are commonly plundred by cowardly Rascals, who never acted in any war­like enterprize. Our Children are taken from us and we our selves pressed into Forreign Wars as if we knew not how to spend our lives in defence of our Countrey, and how many thousands of us have been transported into other Countreys upon this account none of you are insensible of; The Germans have by their valour thrown off the heavy Roman yoak, though parted from them only by a River, whereas we are defended and separated by the Main Ocean; The Brittains fight in a just cause, even the defence of their Countrey, their Parents, Wives, Children, Liberties, yea their own Lives, the Romans only out of an avaritious desire to gain by rapine what others have gathered by labour, to serve their insatiable lusts and pleasures. And if we Brittains did but exert some of that gallant courage and prowess which was found in our Ancestors when they compelled Julius Caesar to depart the Land, and not shrink or be discouraged at small losses, we might soon rid our selves of this insult­ing enemy, for Fortune always assists the bold, and the Gods seem now to take some pity on the poor Brittains by confining our Foes within the compass of a narrow Island, let us therefore take the opportunity offered, and proceed with all speed in our business, resolving rather to dye man­fully in endeavouring to regain our freedom than to suffer death tamely for thus consulting to effect the same.’

This warm Oration had such influence upon the people that they concluded to adventure all for their future security, having been sufficiently provoked by the multiplied wrongs the Romans had offered, and among others, That whereas King Arviragus had made Nero the Emperor and his two daughters his Heirs, hoping thereby to secure the Kingdom to his Family it happened otherwise, for the Land was spoiled and ruined by the Roman Captains and his Queen Voadicia beaten and abused by the Souldiers, her daughters ravished, the Nobles bereft of their Estates and the Kings Friends made slaves, together with confiscating the lands of many other Chief men whom Claudius had before pardoned, to which was added this misfortune, that Seneca having lent some of the Nobility five hundred thousand pound Ster­ling at high interest, he now required the whole sum at once with much rigor though he had forced his money upon them; Likewise the Roman Souldi­ers quartered at Camolodienum (now Maidon in Essex) expelled the Brittains out of their Houses and possessions accounting them their conquered Vassals; yea the Priests who served at the Temple built in honour of Claudius, spoiled and destroyed their neighbours goods unpurnshed. And as in times of general defection every accident is reckon­ed an encouragement, many strange Signs and Pro­digies were reported to happen which incited the Brittains to proceed; It being said that the Image of Victory in the Temple of Camolodunum fell down and turned her back upon the Romans as if she had now forsaken them; great and wonderful noises were heard in the Hall of Justice, with much laugh­ing, and disturbance in the Theater, and sometimes woful weeping, lamentation and howling, when it was certainly known no humane Creature was there. The Sea at Spring-tyde appeared like bloud, and the Tyde being gone the shapes of mens bodies were visible on the Sands; Many women as if be­reaved [Page 128]of their wits, prophecied that some tremen­dous desolation was at hand which much elevated the Brittains, and dejected the Romans. Whether these things happened from natural causes, or by illusion of the Devil or ill men, or whether the Al­mighty would hereby warn the people of approach­ing calamities, I shall not now determine, only mention them as matters of Fact. But they were chiefly provoked to an insurrection by the just complains of our Valiant Heroine Queen Vea­dicia.

And now I am at length arrived to the subject matter of my History, and have purposely made so large a Prologue, for though in a book of the same volumn called Englands Monarchs, I have given some brief account of some of these Transactions, yet I had never so pertinent an opportunity to inlarge up­on particulars as at this time, wherein I have given a succinct account of the Original Inhabitants of these famous Islands with as much truth and autho­rity as things of so great Antiquity will allow.

To proceed; Queen Voadicia made many sensible Remonstrances to the Brittains of the unsufferable wrongs had been put upon her, and because they found her earnestly bent upon revenge, and perceiv­ed her inveterate hatred to the Romans, they made use of her name and authority with the People, and chose her their Commander in chief against their Enemies, and entring into a general conspiracy, wherein the Londoners and Essexians were ingaged, they raised an Army of an hundred thousand men, and without scrupling het sex willingly submitted to her Conduct as Captain General; who ordering a place to be erected where she might be heard of all, she made a long and pertinent Oration to incourage them in this gallant undertaking; Her tall and come­ly Person, her severe countenance and Majestick voice; Her tresses of Hair hanging below her middle with her noble Apparel caused reverence and admi­ration [Page 129]in the multitude, she wore a massy Chain of Gold about her neck, and a glorious Garment of divers colours next her, over which was a Royal Robe of State, a Spear in her hand, and a Crown on her head; in which Equipage she thus addrest her self to the Army.

‘I doubt not (Dear Lovers, Friends and Compa­nions in Arms) but every one here present is very sensible how much freedom and liberty is to be va­lued before bondage and thraldom, but if hitherto any of you have been so deceived by the illusions of the Romans as not to perceive much difference, yet I hope that now you have tryed both, your judgment is better inform'd, and by the miserys you have suffered you will acknowledg your mistake and recant your former error; And if some of you have preferr'd Forreign power above the Laws and Customs of your own Countrey, I question not but you now perfectly understand that poverty with liberty is much better than riches to which servitude is entail'd. For what can possibly happen more intolerable to the nature of man, than what the Romans since their entring this Island have inflicted upon us? Are we not all deprived of our Lands and Estates? Do we not Till the ground for their advantage, and yet do we not pay all kind of Tributes, yea our very carcases are subject to their pleasures; How much better is it then to hazard all thereby to become Free indeed, than under the false name and pretext of Liberty to pay continual­ly for the worst of slaverys? How much more com­mendable is it to lose our lives in defence of our Countrey, than not to have even our own heads toll free, but to be dayly oppressed and loaden with in­numerable exactions? But why do I repeat these things, since they will not suffer Death it self to make us free, for none here is ignorant how much we are forced to pay for those that are dead; No Nations were ever under such dismal slavery but [Page 130]that by death they were always discharged from bondage, the Romans only make dead Vassals to be still alive to them, only to increase their gain and advantage; If any of us are without money (as I know not well how we should get any) then are we robb'd of all that is in our Houses, which are left desolate and we our selves remain as dead within them. And how shall we expect better usage hereafter since they already deal so cruelly with us, but to speak the truth, we our selves are the Authors of our own Calamities, who at first suffered them to set foot on our Island, and did not immediately drive them back, as we did Caesar, or kill them ere they were setled; or make them sen­sible how dangerous it was to attempt any thing against us, as we sometimes treated Agustus and Caligula; We therefore who inhabite this Island which for the largeness thereof may be called ano­ther World, incompast with the Sea; We I say, whose name and Nation have been for many ages hid from the most learned and inquiring men, are now contemned and despised by those who aim at nothing but Tyranny and the invading other mens Rights; Therefore my well-beloved Citizens, Friends and Kindred (for so are all the native Brit­tains) Let us now, even now attempt what we have too long neglected, and while the remem­brance of our ancient liberty remains with us let us unanimously join together and perform what be­comes People of renowned valour and courage, that we may at length enjoy not the name only, but freedom it self, and thereby leave examples of magnanimity to our posterity, for if we who have been brought up in freedom should utterly forget our former felicity, what will become of our suc­cessors who will be born and bred to thraldom and misery? I do not rehearse these things to provoke your dislike of your present condition being fully satisfied you already sufficiently abhor it, nor to [Page 131]frighten you with vain fears of what may hereafter come to pass, since nothing is more certain than the destruction we foresee will happen if things con­tinue in this posture; But that I may return you hearty thanks for your readiness and willingness to ingage in this Common Cause without any dread of the Roman Power; If you respect their numbers they are no greater than yours; If their strength, they are no stonger, as appears by your Armor and Weapons, and by the Walls, Ditches, and Trench­es you have made to defend your selves, and offend your Foes afar off according to the rules of martial discipline; Therefore we do far exceed them in force, our arms are stronger than their stone Walls, and our Targets far less cumbersome and more useful than their heavy armour, so that if we obtain the victory our adversaries must be all our prisoners, or if we lose the Field our escape will be easy, for we have the Marshes below to hide and the hills above to defend our selves against their fury, who being loaden with their own arms, will neither be able to pursue us if we fly, nor to escape us if themselves should be defeated, and if at any time they make Sallies upon us out of their Camp we may follow and take them as birds in a Net; In all which things as they are infe­rior to us so especially are they unable to endure hunger, thirst, cold, and heat as we can do. In their Houses and Tents likewise they cannot subsist without their baked Meats, Oyl, and Shadows from the burning heat of the Sun, if any of these fail them they either dye presently or else languish and consume with sickness, whereas to us Brittains every herb and root is food, every juice an oyl, all water pleasant, and every shady tree an House; Beside, no place of advantage in the Countrey is unknown to us for our security, whereas the Ro­mans are utterly ignorant where they march; We can with ease either clothed or naked swim over [Page 132]those deep Rivers which they with their great Ships are scarce able to perform; Let us therefore with assurance of good success fall upon them couragious­ly and make them understand that since they are no better than Hares and Foxes it will be an un­equal match to ingage against Grey-hounds and Wolves.’

At which words Voadicia lets slip a Hare she had concealed under her garments as an Omen to them of their good success and accordingly, all the people raised loud shouts of approbation and consent to what she had declared resolving unani­mously to revenge the violences offered to so magna­nimous and worthy a Princess. Then Voadicia again commanding silence proceeded in a Prayer to Adraste one of the Brittish Deities with her hands elevated, to this purpose.

‘I give thee thanks O Adraste, and call upon thee thou worthiest of women, who dost not reign over the slavish Egyptians like Nicotius, nor over their Merchants as Simiramis, for these fables we have lately learnt of the Romans; Neither dost thou rule over the people of Rome as not long since Messalina and Agrippina did, and as Nero doth now, who is called a man, but by his voice, his harp and his wo­mans attire appears of the other Sex, but I address my self to thee as the Goddess that governest the Brittains, who imploy themselves not in tilling the Fields, or mechanick Trades, but in the more no­ble Art of War, who have their Wives and Chil­dren as well as all other things in common where­by women arrive to the same audacity and boldness in battel with men; Therefore since I have obtain­ed a kingdom in so mighty and gallant a Nation, I beseech thee grant them conquest and liberty, and subdue those wicked contentious men who Tyran­nize over them, if they may be properly called men who indulge themselves with warm baths, deli­cate fare, hot Wines, sweet Oyls, soft beds and plea­sant [Page 133]Musick to gratify their outragious lusts, and who are altogether addicted to avarice and cruelty as their actions have too plainly discovered. Let not I beseech thee the Neronian tyranny any more prevail against me, or rather against thee, but make those submit to thee, whose heavy oppressions upon thy people thou hast so long been sensible of, and be thou our Protector and defender O most noble La­dy we humbly beseech thee.’

Having concluded her prayer she proceeds with all alacrity against her enemies, who were at that time without a Commander, Paulinus being then confined in the Isle of Anglesey as hath been said; The Romans in Garrison at Camoludunum sent for more aid to Ca­ius the Treasurer, who could furnish them with only two hundred ill armed men; the City was not fortifi­ed either with Ditch or Rampart they being perswad­ed by those in the Conspiracy that the able youth within were a sufficient defence, so that not suspect­ing any assault the Brittains easily overthrew all be­fore them, entring and burning the City, and slaying all they met with, the Romans being so amazed at the mighty force of the Brittains that they made very weak resistance, so that in two days the place was won, and every Soul within it slain; The Brittains in­couraged with this first success, went to encounter Petus with the ninth Legion, whom they soon van­quisht killing all the Foot, Petus with the Horse nar­rowly escaping back into the Trenches; Caius the Treasurer affrighted with this overthrow and sensible of the hatred of the Brittains toward him who by his covetousness had occasioned all these mischiefs fled over to France; But Paulinus advertised of all, with much courage broke through his enemies, and march­ed toward London, where at that time were few Ro­mans, it being full of Merchants & Merchandize; when considering the weakness of his forces, and the fate of Petus he concluded not to venture all for recover­ing one Town, and therefore retired into places of [Page 134]safety, nothing moved with the prayers and tears of his Countreymen who craved succour from him.

After this, Ver [...]lamium a famous Roman City near St. Albans ran the same fate, being utterly destroyed by the Brittains who leaving the Castles and strong Forts unassaulted pursued their Victory by plunder­ing all the Romans in the open Countrey, using their conquest with so much cruelty that it is recorded they slew above seventy thousand Romans, carrying Fire, Gibbets, and other instruments of revenge wherever they went, sparing neither age nor Sex; Some Noble Ladies they hanged up naked, cutting off their duggs and forcing them into their mouths that they might seem to feed on them, & others were impaled upon stakes, with all manner of barbarities that a people bereaved of their liberties could invent for revenge upon their oppressors. At the same time feasting and sacrificing to Andates the Goddess of Victory in the Roman Temples.

Mean while Paulinus having received a supply of ten thousand Souldiers, and finding a scarcity in his Camp, resolved to give the enemy battel, chusing an advantagious place very narrow, and backt by a thick wood; The Brittains confident in their multitude and good fortune, resolved to ingage them though at disadvantage, and Queen Voadicia conducting them, the other Ladies being placed in Chariots to see the fight) she with her daughters mounted in a lofty Chariot rid through the armed Bands, incouraging the Souldiers of divers Countreys to fight valiantly though under a womans command, it being the cus­tom of the Brittains to make no distinction of Sexes, and that she came not now among them as a person of high birth and Nobility to fight for her kingdom, but as one equal with themselves, who sought to re­gain their freedom and to revenge her self on her e­nemies for scourging her like a Vagabond, and de­flouring her daughters, whose lascivousness was in­supportable, having whipt her an ancient Lady stark [Page 135]naked to satisfy their malice, and ravisht her daugh­ters to cool their filthy lust, but (saith she) ‘The Gods are at hand to take just vengeance on their villanies; The Legion which presumed to encoun­ter us is destroyed, the rest fled into their strong Holds unable to endure the noise of our multi­tudes, if you therefore scriously consider what moved you to ingage in this War; you will cer­tainly resolve within your selves either to die with honour in battel, or to vanquish your implacable adversaries, for I though a woman have made this resolution, rather than to be ever again brought in­to bondage.’

Paulinus was not wanting to incourage his Souldi­ers by telling them, ‘there were more women than men in the Brittish Army, and many of them being without Armor and unskilled in discipline would never endure the force of the Romans who had so oft put them to flight, and though their own number were small yet would the glory be the greater to vanquish so vast a multitude with so few hands, and that they ought not to regard the spoil till they had assured the victory, which would then be certainly their own to divide at pleasure;’ The Romans much incouraged by this Oration, the onset was given in those Streights much to their advantage, who were but an handful in com­parison of their enemies, the fight at first was very obstinate and bloudy, but the Brittains unable to re­lieve each other or incompass the Romans with their numbers in that narrow place, or to sustain the vio­lence of their Foes, were constrained to retreat in disorder, and in a short time were utterly discom­fited; There were slain of the Brittains that day near fourscore thousand as Tacitus writes, for the Streights being stopt by their own Chariots the Brittains could not easily escape, and the Romans were so bent on revenge that they spared none in the heat of the Bat­tel, though they afterward took many Prisoners; [Page 136]There dyed of the Romans in this memorable Battel not above four hundred, and as many wounded; Those that escaped would have recruited and fought a second time, when Queen Voadicia who had made her escape, after she had shewed all the courage of a gallant Commander, and had made such a notable though unsuccessful attempt for redeeming he [...] Countrey from Bondage, Doubting she might at one time or other fall into the hands of her Ene­mies, (like another Lucretia) fell upon her Sword and died. This happened in the seventy third year from our Saviours Birth.

After this several other Roman Emperors com­manded here, as Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian Titus, Domitian, Nerva, Trajan, Adrian, Antonin [...], Commodus, Pertinax, Didius, Severus, Caracalla, M [...] ­crinus, Heliogabilus, and others, Theodosius being the last that had power in Brittain in 423. when the Goth who had served under the Romans twenty years, be­ing disobliged, rose against them, and caused dread­ful devastations in the Empire, forcing them to leave their Conquests, after they had commanded here 500 years; When they took their last farewel, but had levied so many Souldiers from hence for Foreign Countreys that the Land was almost unpeopled, so that the Brittains were at length obliged to call in the Saxons against their new Enemies the Picts, and having overcome them, they themselves finally made a compleat Conquest of the whole Countrey except Wales, whither the Brittains fled for safety, and continue there to this day.

ABout fifty years before the birth of our Saviour the Kingdom of Judea, which had continued through many invissitudes from the time of King Da­vid almost a thousand years, was brought into great distractions by the discord between two Brothers; The Chief Rulers over the Jews who had for many years contented themselves with the title of Gover­nors or High Priests, now aspire to the name of Kings among whom Hircanus reigned, a good man but a bad King, who had honesty and innocence, but not sufficient prudence nor courage to manage so great a charge; He being sensible of his own weakness freely resign'd the Kingdom to his brother Aristobulus, a valiant and stout though unsuccessful Prince; At which time Antipater the Father of Herod an Idumean being a wealthy desiquing person, resolved to take the opportunity of those concussions in the state to advance himself to the Throne, but found it would be very difficult to attain his ends whilst the coura­gious Aristobulus bare sway, he therefore sowes sedi­tious seeds of revolt among the People, intimating ‘That they had done very ill in removing so good a Prince and suffering him to be dethroned to promote another who was of so turbulent and vio­lent a spirit that they should soon find his ill man­agement of affairs would occasion much defolation in Palestine, but however it was not yet too late to prevent the threatned mischeifs if they would return to their Loyalty and duty and again restore Hyrcanus to the Government, whose modesty in declining advancement made him appear most worthy of having it bestowed upon him.’

The common people not reaching the depth of An­tipaters designs (who if he could again advance Hyrca­nus did not question but by the facility of his nature he might bring all into his own power, and raise up a Monarchy to himself and Heirs,) began to give ear to his Remonstrancers, especially those that loved [Page 139]change, and some out of a sense of Justice; Antipa­ter having thus begun, resolved to prosecute the bu­ [...]ess to the utmost, endeavouring to gain the good opinion of Hyrcanus by all manner of observances, and pretences of friendship which at length prevailed so much upon his easy temper, that Hyrcanus resign­ed himself and his affairs absolutely to his conduct; whereupon Antipater proceeded to represent to him his great miscarriage in suffering the Kingdom to be taken from him, and earnestly persuaded him to en­deavour to resume it; but found this motion re­ceived very cold entertainment from Hyrcanus who objected the breach of his Oath, whereby he had absolutely renounced the Soveraignty and his inabi­lity to regain it with force; to the first Antipater re­plied, ‘That the matter of the Oath was illegal, and thereby void in it self, and to the second, that he would supply him with Arabians who should inable him to recover his right;’ By such discourses he at length gained him, especially by instilling jea­lousies into his mind that Aristobulus designed to take away his life, so that Antipater having ingaged Arethas an Arabian King in the quarrel, he comes into Jude [...] [...]ith a great Army ruining all before him, and at length driving Aristobulus into Jerusalem which they besieged; At which very time the Romans am­bitious of inlarging their already immense Domini­ons sent Pompey the Great into Syria, whose Forces so far surmounted the Arabians that they durst not stand before him, but were scattered as chaff before the wind, and the whole Countrey soon reduced to their obedience; The two Brothers both plead their cause at the feet of Pompey, who seemed more incli­ned to Aristobulus, he having prepossest his mind by a Noble present of a Golden Vine, accounted one of the greatest rarities in the world; and other rich Gifts.

Antipater perceiving which way things tended and doubting his projects would miscarry endeavoured [Page 140]by all kind of aspersions and misrepresentations to render Aristobulus odious and suspected by the Ro­mans, who penetrating into his designs was so inrag­ed that he desperately ingaged against the strength of that mighty Empire, but soon found the match very unequal, Aristobulus himself was taken Prisoner and laid in fetters, and with his two Sons and as many daughters carried to Rome to heighten the glory of Pompeys Triumph, Jerusalem is brought under Tribute, and Hyrcanus (late King) now constituted High Priest but the chief authority given to Antipater, who in his name managed all affairs, and at length being sensible of the weakness of the High Priest, and his own strength, he makes his eldest Son Phaselus Governour of Jerusalem and Herod his youngest Tetrarch of Ga­lilee.

After his death the two brothers endeavour e­qually to obtain the favour of Hyrcanus making him own what either of them had done; Yet Herod seem­ed to be of the most aspiring humour, who being as politick and intreguing as his Father, gained much in­terest among the Romans by all manner of submissi­on and Services, thereby hoping at length to obtain the kingdom which yet seem'd at a great distance from him, his elder brother being alive, and ruling the greatest part of Judea, and Aristobulus who was in Chains at Rome having likewise two Sons; The eldest named Alexander Father to our excellent Mariamne and Antigonus, the youngest; Alexander who succeed­ed his Father in misfortune getting some forces toge­ther attempted the recovering his Countrey but was soon suppressed by the Romans who assisted Herod and by their Order beheaded; Antigonus and his Father A­ristobulus escaping from Rome fled to the Parhians, who ingaged to reestablish him in the kingdom, and came upon Herod so suddenly and with so much fury, though Hyrcanus and Phaselus were joined with him that they discomfited Herods Army and had almost surprized his Person, which so much astonished him [Page 141]that he was ready to have fallen upon his own Sword, Phaselus his brother unable to bear so strange a change of fortune beat out his brains against the side of a rock, and Hyrcanus by the cruel command of Antigo­nus had his ears cut off, being thereby made forever uncapable of the Office of High-priest.

Herod being a little recovered from his amazement, resolved still to throw himself upon the assistance of the Romans, imploring their help, and representing the mischiefs committed by Antigonus, and with all manner of arts so far insinuated himself into their favour, that he is declared King of Judea, and Antigo­nus at the same time proclaimed an utter enemy to the Empire, who being taken by Mark Antony was be­headed at Antioch, and Herod thereby secured in the Throne, Hyrcanus being carried Captive to the Parthi­ans, he there continued peaceably, little moved with all the horrible changes he had met with; However he was much respected by the Jews that fled thither for security from their own Countrey, who gave him as great reverence as if he were still their King, though now in Captivity in a strange Land; Herod hearing of it, and fearing the consequence, sends great gifts and earnest Letters to the Parthian King, be­seeching him to send home Hyrcanus his Father and Benefactor that he might share the Scepter with him, and have the comfort of so faithful a Friend and Counsellor; The King of Parthia sensible what inte­rest Herod had with the Romans, give Hyrcanus leave to go whither he pleased, who resolved to return to Jerusalem, though disswaded by his most faithful friends, and was there received with much seeming kindness by Herod who had now all the Royal Family of Judea in his own power.

Alexandra the daughter of Hyrcanus a woman of an imperious Spirit was Wife to Alexander afore­mentioned by whom she had two Children. Aristo­bulus, and Mariamne; This daughter was reckoned one of the greatest beauties in the World, and ad­mired [Page 142]by many Neighbour Princes, and therefore could hardly escape the observation of Herod, who required her in marriage of her Grand-father and Mother, who having neither courage nor power to deny, and hoping she might incline him to be kind to the Royal bloud, gave her to him for a Wife, though she her self were sensible that she was hereby deliver­ed into the paw of the Lyon, who might seem to take delight in her beauty but would at length destroy her. Yet perferring obedience to her Parents before her own safety she seem'd contented with their deter­mination; But though this marriage might seem somewhat to fortifie his Title to the kingdom, yet Herod was unquiet whilst so many others appear­ed to have more right thereto, and already shewed his disaffection to these his new Allies; For Hyrca­nus being uncapable of holding the High Priest-hood because of his deformity in the loss of his ears, all mens eyes were upon Aristobulus brother to Mari­amne a Person of excellent hopes and bred up in the Court whereby he was accomplished for this great Office; But Herod doubting he had already too much favour with the People designed to prefer another Jew named Ananel whom he had found out beyond Euphrates; Mariamne perceiving by this how her fa­mily was affronted, and what an indignity it would be for her brother to be deprived of that honour, which by nature and kindred he seemed designed for, being of a generous mind addressed her self to Herod telling him; ‘That her brother was the only hope of her house, which yet was so decayed that he had no reason to be suspected of attempting the Crown; If he would bestow the High Priests Office on him he would make him his Creature who was yet so young that any impression might be made upon him, and that this act would indear him in the af­fections of his Subjects to be so kind to a Grandson of Hyrcanus whose virtue they had always admired.’ Herod was perswaded by these pressing reasons from [Page 143]so sweet a Tongue and constituted young Aristobulus High Priest dismissing Ananel who at present did of­ficiate; Alexandra the mother was so transported at the news that she wept for joy and freely declared to Herod; ‘That she was ambitious of no more ad­vancement for her Son, and did absolutely renounce all pretensions to the kingdom, and could now dye very well satisfied since she was so hap­py to see her daughter a Queen and her Son High Priest.’

At the feast of Tabernacles Aristobulus then but seventeen years old entred into his Office, and was much reverenced by the Jews who had a great opini­on that he would equal if not exceed his Predecessors. They remembred that his Grandfather Hyrcanus was but like a Statue, and Aristobolus was carried in Chains to Rome like a Gally-slave, and his Father A­lexander and Uncle Antigous had lost their lives by opposing forreign Servitude, and hoped that this young Prince who had escaped so many Shipwracks was reserved for some notable Service to his Coun­trey; Herod whose jealousy never slept, observing with what affection the people received him, caused Spies to be set upon him, his Sister and Mother, so that they could not stir out of the Palace but he had notice of it; Mariamne was so discreet as not to dis­cover much resentment at this unkind usage, but her mother Alexandra not enduring this Royal confine­ment, resolved to endeavour her freedom, and there­fore writes to Cleopatra the renowned Queen of E­gypt, who upon many accounts had an aversion to Herod, complaining of the calamities she suffered from him, and intreating her assistance in order to their deliverance, or that she would afford them a sc­cure retreat into her kingdom till the storm of Herods jealousy was over-blown.

Cleopatra invited her to come with all speed into Egypt with her Son, and that she should think it her glory to be instrumental in serving so great a Prin­cess, [Page 144]whereupon she resolved secretly to depart with Aristobulus her Son, not daring to impart the secret to her daughter Mariamne least the tenderness of her Nature should divert her from so perillous an at­tempt; She then caused two Coffins to be made in which she contrived her self and Son should be carri­ed out in the night, and put into a Bark prepared for that purpose which should instantly sail into Egypt, but one of her Servants discovering the design to He­rod he took no notice thereof till it was put in exe­cution, and then seizing the Coffins surprized them both, yet seemed not much concerned but pretend­ed to pardon her out of the greatness of his Spirit, though the chief cause was the fear of disobliging Cleopatra whom he knew would highly resent it, however he inwardly resolved to make away Aristo­bulus after some time, that it might not be suspected to be any act of revenge in him.

When the Feast was over Herod went to Jericho where he was entertained at the house of Alexandra, and feigned to have buried all past actions in oblivi­on, entertaining Aristobulus with much endeared­ness, and playing like a young man with him at se­veral sports, wherewith they exercised themselves so long that being all in a great heat, they concluded to cool their bodies in the adjoining River which was shaded with Trees and pleasant Arbors; Aristo­bulus by the persuasions of Herod went in likewise, when Herods Confederates whom he had hired to commit the murther came toward him, and pre­tending to hold him in sport under water, they ne­ver left him till he was stifled therein.

The news coming to Jerusalem the whole City was drowned in tears, and the women made wo­ful lamentations over the dead body, and all thought themselves concern'd in this publick loss, but especially Alexandra the mother, who was so inraged at this unspeakable mischief, especially since she was sensible how treacherously he was destroyed; [Page 145]yet durst not discover her knowledge lest it should prevent her revenge; Mariamne who suffered in the sorrows of her mother, had not the least share in this deplorable misfortune, especially in the death of a Brother whom she loved as her own life, and though endued with extraordinary patience and discretion, could now hardly resist the impetuous violence of her passion, and approaching the Corps of her Brother, ‘I have nothing now left in this world, says she, either to fear or hope, he for whom I feared and for whom I hoped being now by a secret providence of Heaven taken from me, to whose will I desire entirely to resign my self in all things, resolving for the future to wean my soul from all temporal felicities, and place my af­fections upon more divine and sublime objects.’

Herod endeavoured to make it appear by his ex­ternal behaviour, and the magnificence of his Fune­ral whereat he shed many tears, that he was no way accessary to his death, though Alexandra who knew the truth of the business was the more inraged there­at, and resolved to bring speedy vengeance on his head for the same, and therefore sent Cleopatra a full account of the whole matter, and incited her by all means to assist her, who having long desired occasion against Herod, enjoined Mark Anthony the Roman General and her Lover to call him to account for his Villanies, who having obtained the Kingdom without any just Title imbrued his hands in the bloud of the Royal Family, Mark Anthony disliking this cruel act sent for Herod to appear and answer the accusations laid against him, who not daring to de­ny, though he much feared Cleopatra's violent pro­secution, went to Anthony committing the Govern­ment of his Kingdom in his absence to his Uncle Jo­seph with secret Orders, ‘That if any mischief should happen to him and prevent his return he should put Mariamne to death, for whom he had such an extravagant passion that he was either jealons or [Page 146]envious any should enjoy her even after his decease.’

When Herod was gone Joseph was very conversant with Mariamne, both upon account of publick affairs, and for his own private divertisement, wherein he often discourst of the extraordinary Passion Herod had for her, whom he valued above all the World, Alexandra the mother seemed to laugh and slight these pretended kindnesses of Herod to her daughter, judging them not real but upon design, when Joseph being earnest to confirm the truth of his assertions, unadvisedly replyed; ‘That nothing could be a greater evidence of his ardent love for her than that he could neither live nor die without her, since if he should miscarry in his Journey he had com­manded him to put her to death, to accompany him into the other World.’

The Ladys were much scandalized at this kind of passion, and considered it not as a demonstration of Herods good will to her, but rather a manifestation of his sanguinary and malicious nature, who at his death would have her perish with him. At this time there was a report raised by Herods enemies in Jeru­salem that M. Anthony had inflicted so great torments upon him that he died under them, whereupon all his Court were much disturbed and especially the Ladys, so that Alexandra persuaded Joseph to remove from Court, and secure themselves under the pro­tection of the Roman Legions (who were at that time quartered about the City under the command of Julius the Tribune) where they might be safe if any mischief should happen in the Kings house and have the Romans assistance, and that afterward if M. Anthony did but see her daughter Mariamne he would be so taken with her beauty that she might obtain all things at his hands, and no doubt he would restore her to her Kingdom and Royal dignity; While they were thus consulting there came Letters from Herod of his sudden return, who coming into [Page 147]the presence of M. Anthony obtained so much favour by the rich Presents he made him, that the matter being suddenly heard it was soon determined in his favour, and Anthony fully appeased and satisfied, though it were little pleasing to Cleopatra, to whom Anthony pleaded; ‘That there was no reason a King should be acountable for what he did in his own Kingdom, since he would thereby cease to be King, who with that dignity had all other Regal power and authority given to him;’ Herod at length return­ed with large Testimonials of the favour of M. An­thony, who entertained him with much kindness in several publick Feasts and Assemblies; Cleopatra likewise renounced her pretences to Judea, having received of M. Anthony, Caelosyria instead of it.

Upon his arrival his Mother and Sister Solome the wife of Joseph gave him a full account of the inten­tions of Alexandra and her Friends, accusing also her husband Joseph of two much intimacy with Mariamne (who it seems had once objected to them the mean­ness of their birth.) Herod was much disturbed at the news, but however the inflamed affection he bore toward Mariamne restrained him from that violence which his rage and jealousy suggested to him, and therefore examining her strictly what secret familia­rity had passed between her and Joseph, she by many solemn Oaths and Protestations, with all manner of Allegations of her innocency, so far appeased him that he was fully satisfied she had sufficiently cleared her self from all those slanders raised against her, so that he gave her a thousand thanks for her conju­gal fidelity and affection to him, and openly declar­ed the great esteem and love he had for her; At length as it oft happens among Lovers, both fell in­to tears and imbraced each other with a most indear­ing passion, whereupon Mariamne said covertly to him; ‘It is no great sign of such unfeigned Love that thou wast so unkind to give command if any ill should happen to thee I should instantly be put [Page 148]to death, had who never in the least offended thee, neither is it any great argument of love to a wife to desire her company in another World.’

Herod seemed thunderstruck with these words, and fell into such a monstrous rage that he cryed out and tore his hair with the greatest fury imaginable, saving, ‘He had now very evident proof that Joseph had committed Adultery with her, since he would never have discovered what he had so strictly en­joined him to keep secret unless they had put great confidence in each other, and that there were much intimacy between them;’ And in this furious jealousy he could hardly refrain from killing his wife, yet his former love at length returning, he forbore though with much inward trouble and emo­tion; However he ordered Joseph to be instantly put to death without Tryal or Justification, and com­mitted Alexandra the author of all these troubles close Prisoner.

After this Aretas the Arabian King refusing to pay Herod his accustomed Tribute, he pretends to make War against him, and coming suddenly upon the Ara­bians was in great probability of obtaining the con­quest, when Athenio who then commanded some of Cleopatra's Forces in those parts, bearing a secret grudge to Herod, stood ready to observe the event of the battel, resolving not to meddle if the Arabians overcame, but they having the worst, he sent them a fresh supply who snatched the Victory out of the hands of the Jews and made a great slaughter among them, so that they were wholly discomfited; Though Herod with some recruits made divers successful in­roads afterward into Arabia, and prevailed notably against them; Whereat being much elevated his joy was soon checked by the death of Mark Anthony his Pa­tron who was slain by Augustus Caesar in the battle of Astium, and his Army wholly overthrown; Where­with Herod was much dismay'd, not doubting but he should be severely treated for entertaining so strict [Page 149]a friendship and alliance with him as he had hither­to done; His Friends and Enemies judged him a lost man, yet having escaped so many dangers he resolves not to despair but to find out Caesar then at Rhodes and prostrate himself before him, but was loth to un­dertake this Voyage while Hyrcanus the only remainder of the Royal Line was alive, and his own friends gave a seeming pretence to effect his wicked pur­pose.

For Hyrcanus being of a very mild temper was un­willing all his life time to intermeddle in state affairs, but Alexandra his daughter a proud aspiring woman sollicited him continually no longer to suffer Herods Tyranny, who was the plague of their Family, but to endeavour to resettle himself in the Kingdom; Which motion he at first absolutely refused, but by her continual importunity was at length prevailed upon by her advice to send to the Governor of Ara­bia to assist him with some Horsemen to make his escape from Jerusalem; The Letters being intercept­ed and brought to Herod he commanded Hyrcanus to be presently put to death; After which Alexandra and Mariamne were more closely confined than before, yet the daughter endeavoured to sweeten the discon­tents of the Mother, though she her self received no comfort but from Heaven, and thus discourst with her self; ‘How unhappy am I above all women, from the time the Diadem was placed on my head, I have felt nothing but Thorns, and Royal Dig­nity hath been to me Royal slavery, but since I can find no consolation here, I must expect it in another place to which I care not how soon I remove.’

Hyrcanus being thus dispatcht the bloudy Herod ad­dresseth himself with more satisfaction to his Jour­ney to Caesar, and committed Alexandra and his wife close Prisoners, in the Castle of Alexandriam to the custody of Sohemus the Itrurian, giving him strict or­der that if any finister hap befel him he should kill [Page 150]them both, and endeavour to the utmost to retain the Kingdom in his Family; Here these poor Ladys were detained in a continual expectation of death, and every visit the Jaylor made them, expected he came to fetch them to execution, but at length Sohe­mus growing more familiar with his Royal Prisoners, Mariamne presumed to ask him, what news there was abroad, adding; ‘That though they were now in this deplorable condition yet she did not doubt but that the storm would blow over, and we (says she) may be able to reward your kindness, there­fore pray tell us why Herod has lockt us up here, and how his Affairs stand.’ Sohemus wonderfully sur­prized at these words, knew not what return to make, but at length overcome by their repeated in­treaties, he gave a full account of his Commission, ‘Well then, said the poor Princess, we must dye whatever happens, where-ever I turn me I behold the Image of death with which I now begin to be well acquainted.’

Herod all stained with bloud was now imbarqued in his Voyage to Caesar, and being admitted into his presence freely declared what service he had done to Mark Anthony, promising no less duty and service to him if he might be received into his favour; Caesar observing the resolution wherewith he made his defence, was inclined to imbrace his Friendship, and setting the Diadem on his head exhorted him to be as faithful to him as he had been to Anthony; Herod over-joyed at this Royal bounty attended Caesar to­ward Egypt, and entertained his Army by the way with all kind of Provisions, and having presented him with eight hundred Talents for his many fa­vours, returned to his own Kingdom where he found Alexandra and Mariamne much discontented, especially his wife, who could see no end of her miseries, and going to visit and give her an account of his exalted fortune, she instead of receiving sa­tisfaction therein burst forth into a floud of tears, [Page 151]which so discontented Herod that he entred into new jealousies, and was confirm'd in his mind that she had an utter hatred and aversion to him, so that he was even distracted between love and revenge, when at the same time his Sister Salome and her mother having notice of his disturbance resolved to take this opportunity to ruin her, and endeavoured to whet his anger by many vile slanders raised against her, which he seemed willing to hear, yet had not the heart to attempt any thing against his wife, who was both chast and faithful to him, but not a­ble to bear the many injuries she imagined were of­fered her, presumed so much upon the entire affecti­on he bare toward her as sometimes publickly to reproach him with his crimes.

It happened one day that the King having with­drawn into his Banquetting room sent for Mariamne, whom he entertained with all kind of pleasantness and dalliance, but found her very averse to his hu­mor, neither would she accept of his addresses, but told him severely of his cruelty to her Father and Brother; wherewith Herod extreamly moved was ready to strike her, when Salome his Sister hearing a noise within, sent the Butler (whom she had hired falsly to accuse Mariamne) into the room, com­manding him to tell the King, That his Wife had pre­pared a drink to incite and quicken him to love; and if he found him disturbed at it, and should inquire the meaning, to tell him boldly, That Mariamne having prepared a Cup of Poyson for his Majesty had been tempting him to present it; Having delivered this message Herod was much troubled, and caused one of Mariamnes most faithful Servants to be tortured and examined concerning the Poyson, judging it could not be un­dertaken without his knowledge; He in the midst of his Torments confessed nothing about the poy­soning, but told the King, That the aversion Ma­riamne discovered toward him proceeded from what Sobemus had revealed to her; He had scarce uttered [Page 152]these words, when Herod cryed out aloud, ‘That if Sohemus who had hitherto been so faithful to him and his Kingdom had declared his secret Orders to Mariamne, it was a clear evidence of a criminal familiarity between them;’ and therefore com­manded him to be instantly seized and put to death.

He then resolved to bring his wife to a publick try­al, always endeavouring to procure some colour of Justice for hiding his most exorbitant actions, and assembling his most intimate Friends, who with horror and silence expected the conclusion of this Tragedy, he brings forth the couragious Mariamne who armed with invincible constancy was little concerned, against whom the monster belches out this accusation.

‘Dear Friends, it hath pleased the Almighty to counterballance the prosperity he has given me by many piercing misfortunes, and I who have esca­ped so many dangers, and found safety in such great winds and tempests, have now met with the most deplorable storms in my own House; You are all very sensible how tenderly I have cherished the Family of Hyrcanus even in their greatest cala­mities, and yet I have taken into my bosom a Ser­pent instead of a Dove, by whom I have been of­ten stung but have as oft by patience cured my self, yet I am not so unsensible that no injuries will penetrate me, and therefore being provoked by new wrongs I can no longer suffer them; Behold the Queen my wife, who (following her mothers example) is always studying to disquiet and hin­der my repose. For after my return from so pe­rillous a Voyage when I brought her the happy news of my success, she received me and my intel­ligence with the greatest scorn and disdain, and denyed me those favours which I had right to de­mand, and she ought not to have refused to a hus­band, and not content herewith, she proceeded to [Page 153]contrive bloudy designs against me, endeavouring to have suborned one of my own servants to poy­son me; Thus I who returned with my head crowned with Laurel am made the mark of the malice and treachery of a woman whom I can neither reclaim by love nor gifts no more than if she were a Lioness; Judge you therefore whether it is not time for me to secure my self from so im­placable a creature, who can never be safe so long as she lives.’

Mariamne knowing it in vain to defend her self (though she was altogether innocent of the charge laid against her,) being sensible his violent nature would not be contradicted, made little reply, only as to the business of poysoning she appealed to all the Assembly, whether there were any probability of it since she was always more afraid of Herods love than hatred; But however she declared, ‘That her life was a burden to her having had little comfort in it, and much loss in the Court wherein she ne­ver enjoyed the least contentment, and that if false Testimonies must make her guilty, none were safe, it being very easy thereby to remove any who should be thought troublesome, and though her husband did deprive her of her head, yet it was not in his power to bereave her of the reputa­tion of a Princess of Honour, which descended to her from her Ancestors, and which she would carry to her Grave.’

There were none found bold enough to plead the cause of this Innocent, or to endeavour to mollify Herods passion, but on the contrary all seemed to ap­prove of his resolution: Yet this bloudy man began ostartle when he thought seriously of being deprived of so sweet a Companion, & commanded her only to Custody; But his Sister, the inraged Salome contin­ually alleged the danger of some sedition if he should keep her alive in Prison, so that at length he spake these bloudy words; Let her be taken away; Where­upon [Page 154]instantly an Officer was dispatcht to her with this message, Madam the King commands that you shall presently dye; She without any emotion replied, Let us then go, my Friend, it cannot be more pleasing to Herod than it is welcom to me; And to Crown her patience, Alexandra her own Mother and the Companion of her imprisonment fearing the like usage from Herod and hoping to free her self from the Suspicion of being concerned with her daughter in those crimes whereof Mariamne was accused, went out to meet her going to execution, and very undecently laying aside her for­mer magnanimity, reproached this dying Innocent, crying out, she was a wicked and ingrateful woman ‘to her husband and well deserved the punishment she was going to suffer for her vile attempt, and her ingratitude to so loving and gracious a Prince,’ yea proceeded so far in her rage that she would have dragged her on the pavement by the hair of the head had not the people prevented her, who all condemned her shameful hypocrisy; Mariamne took little notice of these horrid indignities only mildly answered, Mother, Let my Soul depart in peace which is already up­on my lips, and trouble not the repose of my death; Then passing on with a generous filence and invincible courage and unconcern to the place of execution she there put an end to all her sorrows (by having her head divided from her body) which then began in the Spectators whose eyes were full of tears and their hearts of grief to observe so much Nobility, Vir­tue, Constancy & admirable Beauty sacrificed to the jealousy of a cruel Tyrant; Who after her death be­came more powerfully inflamed in his affections to­ward her, so that he would not believe she was dead, often calling for her as if alive, but being at length recovered from this strange distraction, his grief for her death exceeded his rage when living, wherewith he was so overwhelmed that the Plays and Enter­tainments which he provided to divert his thoughts profited him nothing & a plague happening soon after [Page 155]in the City, he interpreted it as a just Judgment of God for the unjust death of his Queen; Her unnatural Mo­ther having again attempted something against Herod was put to death; Her two sons when they grew up and understood this impious act of their Father ac­counted him their mortal Enemy; whom he at length caused to be strangled; So that Caesar hearing of it said; He had rather be Herods swine than his Son; Be­cause the Jews will not kill nor eat Swine, This is that wicked King Herod of whom we read in the Holy Scriptures, in whose reign our blessed Saviour was born, and who executed that merciless butchery up­on the innocent Infants of Bethlem, and committed many other horrible massacrees for which at length the hand of God seized upon him by an horrible dis­ease being visited with a vehement pain and Ague; With an intollerable Itch over his whole body, the Collick daylytormented him; His feet and Belly were swoln with the dropsy; His privities putrified and bred worms, he had great difficulty of breathing, and a violent cough; was almost famisht with hunger yet could not eat; All which terrible afflictions made him weary of his life calling for a knife to cut his throat, and five days after died miserably having reigned thir­ty seven years.

CLovis the husband of our worthy Heroine was King of France in the year of our Lord 485. And had scarce arrived to fifteen when he was seated on the Royal Throne, a Prince of growing hopes, born to build up that Great Monarchy where of his Prede­cessors had laid the foundation having the honour to be the first king who received the Christian Religion which was the choicest Jewel in his Crown; France was at that time divided into several petty Royalties to which great priviledges were annexed, yet ac­knowledging Clovis to be their Soveraign; But this being little more than having the name and Title of King, Clovis resolved if possible to become absolute Master of this goodly Countrey, to obtain which he begins with the weakest and most obnoxious, whereby he at length attained his end getting possession of the greatest part of Gaut, and then having the Coun­ty of Burgundy in his eye, he desires Gombalt at that time Duke to let him have Clotilda (the daughter of his younger brother Chilperick whom he had barba­rously murthered) to wife, Gombalt was very averse to this alliance, yet not daring to discover the real cause alleaged that his Niece had never the ambition to aim so high as to be Queen of France, and besides there was one essential hindrance, namely the diver­sity of their Religion, it being a thing without exam­ple that a Christian Lady should marry an Heathen Prince which he could not permit to be done with­out manifest danger to her Soul and wounding his own honour to all posterity. The French Ambassador replied; ‘That since his Master had a great respect for Clotilda, he was very well pleased with her quali­ty, and that it was probable his Master by converse with a Princess of such admirable virtues and per­fections might be at length induced to imbrace Christianity.’

Gombalt said, Matters of so great consequence ought not to be left at uncertainty; And with this answer dis­mist [Page 158]the Messenger, hoping he had now utterly pre­vented the match; but Clovis transported with an entire affection to her, soon returned an answer to this objection, solemnly promising to renounce his Pagan Superstition, and imbrace Christianity; Where­at Gombalt was extreamly disturbed since he under­stood, that in case he gave a denial the King of France would proceed to arms which might be fatal to his Countrey, especially since many of the Burgundian Gentry were very conversant in the French Court and passionately desired this alliance as the greatest security and advantage to their Nation.

This business being of much importance, was not thought fit to be concluded without the general con­sent of the States of the Countrey, who being assem­bled to that purpose Gombalt endeavoured by many arguments to infuse jealousies into their minds of the great danger of being so nearly allied to so potent a Monarchy, but found his allegations had little effect upon the Burgonians, who unanimously concurred to have the marriage consummated, as the surest bond of peace, since the French were become so po­werful it was dangerous to deny them any thing, and it might therefore be feared that the entreaties of a Lover would be changed into the rage of a Conque­ror; That Clotilda whose Piety to God and love to her Countrey were both very eminent, might by her worthy demeanor to her husband prevail upon him both to imbrace Christianity, and to be very kind to her Nation.

Gombalt could not well find an answer to these convictive reasons, but at length raised another scru­ple; ‘That Clotilda had vowed Virginity to Heaven, and was resolved not to be married at all; At this the Ambassador smiled, desiring she might be cal­led that her self might give him his answer; Clotilda being asked the question replyed;’ ‘That she had never yet been so devout to make any vow of Vir­ginity, and though she were extreamly pleased with [Page 159]her present retirement, yet if her Uncle thought fit to marry her to the King of France upon condi­dition he would become a Christian, she would not be so undiscreet to refuse it.’ At these words the Ambassador and his Attendants gave a loud shout declaring the marriage was concluded; Gombalt dis­sembled his resentment fince he could not prevent the appointments of Heaven, and therefore made speedy provision for her Journey into France saying, ‘Well Neice I now find you are of the humour of most other women, and had rather be a Queen than continue with an Uncle, your affectation of glory exceeding your devotion, however I am very well satisfied with your choice and wish you all manner of content therein, having alwaies made it my endeavour to advance your family according to my power; And as for the death of your Parents I take God to witness no man was more concerned thereat than my self it being done by the advice of my Council to secure the peace and welfare of my Subjects, and now I hope though you leave your Countrey you will not forget to perform all good Offices in your power for the benefit thereof.’

After this he kissed her, and taking his leave Clo­tilda began to weep, though she had never more cause of Joy, being now delivered out of the paw of the Lion, and going to be the wife of a Great Mo­narch, who expected her at Soissons with the utmost impatience, and at her arrival was even transported at his happiness in the enjoyment of so absolute a beauty and so discreet a Princess, He imbraced her with the most tender affection and was never weary of gazing on her; She fell at his feet, and told him, She came to offer her service to him as her Lord and King, and to be subject to all his commands; He quickly takes her up, kisses her, and entertains her with the most indearing expressions of kindness; The Nobility and People adored her even almost to Idolatry, and no­thing was to be seen in the Court but Feasting Come­dies [Page 160]and all manner of diversions and demonstrations of satisfaction.

The Queen would not suffer her self to be too much elevated with these prosperities, for she had still some kind of concernment how to manage the main affair which was the Conversion of her Lord, and therefore during the preparations for solemni­zing the Nuptials, she offered divers occasions to him to discourse of Religion, which he as politickly evad­ed, but at length taking courage she resolved to dis­cover her mind, and spake thus to him; ‘I find your Majesty has so generous a soul that you bestow your bounty and liberality upon all the World, and have therefore no reason to doubt your denial of one request that I shall make to you;’ The King supposing she would ask some favour for one of her Attendants readily answered; ‘Madam, Whatever you defire cannot be denied and therefore ask con­fidently what you please and it shall be granted; Well then says she, if your Majesty has that kind­ness for me which you seem to demonstrate, I would beseech you that I might not enter the bed of a Pagan the first night of my Nuptials, but that I may imbrace a Christian for my Husband and So­veraign, than which nothing can be more desi­rable to your most obedient Wife; The King a little surprized told her,’ It was not yet time to think of that matter, though he would take the first opportunity to consider seriously of it, and act ac­cordingly, his thoughts being now too much im­ploy'd in admiring her perfections to think of any thing else, but however she need not scru­ple in the mean time to converse with a Pagan Husband, since her own Law taught her, That the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the believing wife.

Clotilda somewhat doubted whether she should imbrace his company till he had fulfill'd his pro­mise; but fearing to exasperate and make him quite reject Christianity, she resolved to render him all mar­riage [Page 161]duties, and endeavour to gain him by her prayers and good example. The King observing her discreet carriage was very much pleased, and respect­ed her the more, who finding she had an absolute Empire over his heart, used her power with all kind of sweetness and complasance, exercising her devo­tions with the greatest sincerity and constancy, so that her Apartment seemed rather like an Oratory or Chappel, than a place dedicated to vanity or pleasure, which the King having very often observed it bred in him a very great inclination and reverence to her Religion and caused him more highly to ho­nour her Person; But upon occasion he would be objecting to her some difficulties that appeared in the Christian Religion, as beleiving the Trinity and the Doctrine of a Crucified Jesus; The threats of Judg­ment and promises of mercy in another life; And therefore he thought it better to continue in his own Religion wherein he was educated, and did not doubt but God would have mercy upon him since he practi­sed to the best of his knowledg.

To this Clotilda answered; ‘That he ought not to be deterred by such seeming difficulties, fince God who created the Soul of man hath made it capable of beleiving things above the reach of human reason, and whose small understanding must submit to the Divine Wisdom, and his finite knowledge must not think to equal that which is infinite, since God alone is the immense Fountain of Goodness, Wis­dom and Knowledg; That if his Majesty should promise a Servant what to his reason might seem impossible and incredible, yet he is bound to be­leive it without any reply, as depending upon the Kings infallible word, now if one smful mortal man doth thus exact faith of another, why should you doubt says she what the Soveraign Lord of Heaven and Earth has declared to be true? Why should we not believe there are three Persons, and one only God, fince we dayly find our memory, [Page 162]understainding and will make but one Soul? Why should we scorn to adore a Crucified Man, since nothing can more confirm our believe than that Consideration, For if our blessed Saviour had come to subdue the World by Legions of Horses & Armies as your Majesty conquers Kingdoms, it would not have appeared so great a wonder, but when on­ly by sufferings and the cross he hath brought the greatest part of the World, yea many Crowned heads under the Dominion of his Laws and Pre­cepts, this makes it appear that all is done only by the Almighty power of God since so little of man is seen in it, I would therefore humbly be­seech your Majesty no longer to defer your Bap­tism, that you may be one of the most glorious Kings on earth that France ever enjoyed, and happy in Heaven to all Eternity.’

Clovis replyed, that her persuasions and arguments were unanswerable, and that his soul was convinced of the truth of what she had affirmed, but Policy and Religion being different things, he ought mature­ly to confider whether forsaking the Gods of his own Countrey who were worshipped by such a mul­titude of his Subjects might not occasion some re­bellion or disturbance among his people in defence of their Old Religion. Clotilda who found this one of the main obstacles of his Conversion briskly an­swered, ‘That his Nobility and People were alrea­dy sufficiently convinc't of the falsity of their Ido­latrous superstition, and wanted nothing but his example and incouragement to declare their be­lief of the truth of the Christian Faith, but that if it were otherwise, yet he ought to encounter all difficulties, and venture all dangers for the sal­vation of his Soul.’ These earnest sollicitations of the Queen being often renewed, the King at length began seriously to consider the reasonableness of them, and soon after Clotilda being delivered of a Son, he permitted him to receive Christian Baptism, [Page 163]but the Child dying soon after, he told her, ‘Shewas too vehement in her Religion, and that he feared the health of the Child was impaired by its being so soon Baptized.’ The Queen answered that life and death were in the hands of God, and this Infant was not so much to be lamented having now changed this vain life into that of Angels, and that God if he pleased could yet bless their Royal Bed with a nume­rous issue, and she was sure Baptism was no preju­dice to him since it was an Ordinance and Appoint­ment of Heaven, and therefore being delivered of a second Son she conferred Baptism upon it as well as on the former, which likewise dying soon after, Clovis was more offended than before, saying, He believed that that water was fatal to Children, and she should take care never to move him for the like liberty again; Clotilda with a resolved mind alledg­ed, that if God should have made her barren, he ought to have been contented, and adore the divine providence, and not to reflect upon the Baptism of Christians but upon her sins as the cause of the loss of her Children; The King was fully pacified with this prudent return, and at length became resolved to profevs Christianity, which was hastened upon this occasion.

The Swevi a People of Germany passing the Rhine under the command of several Princes, with design to root out the Gauls or French, and ruin their new erected Monarchy, Clovis with the assistance of some of his neighbours resolved to oppose their numerous Forces, and a great Battel was fought near Collen where the King commanding in chief, he was sud­denly surrounded by his Enemies and in great dan­ger of his life, and though he performed the duty both of a great Captain and a valiant Souldier, yet terror had so seized his flying Army that his affairs were in a very desperate posture, when by the per­fuasion of one of his chief Favourites he made a so­lemn Vow to God, That if he returned victorious he [Page 164]would perform his promise made to the Queen and be Bap­tized a Christian, and then calling aloud upon the God whom Clotilda worshipped for assistance and deliverance, his Forces rallied, and his Foes seemed to decline, whom he so vigorously prosecuted that the Fields were all covered with dead bodies, and this sudden discomfiture struck such terror into the other German Princes that they speedily sent to de­sire Peace, and became Tributary to him.

The Queen was very joyful at this notable suc­cess, but much more at the devout resolution of her husband, and therefore went several miles to meet him in his return accompanied by a renowned Bi­shop called Remigius, a person famous for piety in that age; Clovis no sooner approached the Queen but even ravished both with her presence and his great Victory he told her; That he had indeed tri­umpht over the Almains, but she had conquered him, and that he would now defer his Baptism no longer; The Queen extreamly pleased at the news told him, that the glory of his Conquests was only due to the God of Battels, to whom he could not make a more pleasing return than by giving up himself to his worship and service, and that she had brought an Holy person with her to perform that acceptable duty to the Almighty; Soon after he was accordingly Baptized with great Solemnity at Rhemes, and it is said, that his Children, his Sisters, and a­bove three thousand Courtiers, Gentlemen, Com­manders and Souldiers were made partakers of the like blessing at the same time; After which Clovis publishing a favourable Edict toward the Christians, almost all the French Nation were converted, and with much Zeal threw down the Idols and Altars of their former Superstition.

The Queen to prosecute this blessed work she had so happily begun, persuaded Clovis to build divers Christian Churches and endow them with considera­ble revenues, after which he subdued Burgundy and [Page 165]united it to his Kingdom together with Provence, Dauphine and Savoy, and then marches with his Victorious Army into Langudoc against the Vise­goths where he slew Alarick their king with his own hand and obtained a remarkable Victory, seeming irresistible in all his attempts and hav­ing extended his Empire from the Rhine to the Sein and from the Pyrenean Mountains to the Ocean, he at length submited to the fate of all other Mortals, and died leaving his dominions divided between his four Sons.

Clotilda was very sensibly afflicted for the loss of so indulgent an husband, and so great a Conqueror, but time having in some measure abated her sorrows, she resolved to wear out the remainder of her days in a de­vout and retired life, but however was much disturbed in this her recluse condition by hearing of the horri­ble confusions and disorders among her Sons, who not content with their Fathers allotment, raised dread­ful wars against each other, till at length after the destruction of all the rest, Clotair the third Son alone enjoyed the whole kingdom; Clotilda used her ut­most endeavours to have appeased their quarrels, and one time among the rest prevented a battel ready to begin by her prudent advice, saying; My Dear Chil­dren ‘I had great expectation that after the death of my loving Lord I should have reaped much com­fort from your mutual agreement, and never ex­pected that you could believe it a worthy matter to unpeople the World, or that you ought to violate the law of nature and brotherly love for inlarging your power, or to establish your Thrones by the bloud of each other; Return then my Children to the waies of peace which you have forsaken and be united in an indissoluble affection, do justice to your people, and live now as you expect to dye; I give you my last farewel, and pray re­member the words of your dying Mother and bury me in the Sepulcher of the King your Fa­ther [Page 166]as I have ever desired; At which words they laid by all their anger,’ and were at present made Friends; After this being sensible of her death ap­proaching she continued in sweet extasies of Soul, and praises to God for her deliverance out of this troublesom World, and about midnight ut­tering with much earnestness these words; To thee O Lord I commit my Soul; O God I have put my trust in thee therefore let me never be ashamed, She gave up the ghost; Her name and memory being in much re­verence in France to this very day.

OUr Ninth and last Feminine Worrhy I shall fetch from Spain, her name Andegona, who in the year of our Lord 486. was married to Erman­gild Son to Lenigild King of Spain an Arrian, she was one of the most accomplisht Princesses in the World, in whom virtue, grace and beauty made an admira­ble harmony; Her native Countrey was France be­ing the daughter of Sigebert grand-child of the pious Clotilda our former Heroine; At her arrival in Spain her husband Ermangild was surprized with her gra­ces and his Soul was transported with a sweet vio­lence toward a person of such extraordinary endow­ments, so that never were Nuptials more full of con­tent, nor amities more faithful than between these two endeared Lovers, which yet in a short time met with some Clouds of discontent and trou­ble.

Lenigild her Father in Law was about this time married to a second Wife an Arrian, named Gosintha, as deformed in body as mind, who notwithstanding had obtained such Soveraignty over the heart of this old King, that she had the sole management of his af­fairs, and all was acted according to her will and pleasure; However she pretended an extraordinary contentment at the consummation of this marriage, and went in Person to wait upon and entertain the Princess, seeming to overwhelm her with kind­ness and courtesy. Yet at length out of an envious or malicious disposition, she seemed much disturbed at the chast dalliances between them, especially since she saw Ermangild wholly transported with love to his excellent Lady, so that he could hardly endure her out of his fight, whereby their discourses, con­versation, and pleasures became as troublesom to Go­sintha as if she had been one of those Infernal Spirits that possess and torment poor mortals.

Though Andegona had the greatest passion in the World for her Lord, yet she durst not refuse the [Page 169]company of this troublesome Creature, whereby her husband to his great regret was deprived of it, who told her, That she ought to be satisfied with the power and interest she had in affairs of state, and not pry into nor interrupt his converse with his dear­est spouse, Gosintha repled, That the frequent Con­ferences she had with his Princess were only in order to convert her to the Arrian Faith (so called from Arrius Bishop of Alexandra the author of a wicked and blasphemous Heresy against the Divinity of our blessed Saviour denying him to be equal with God the Father) and in prosecution of this impious de­sign she spared no pains nor endeavours, using both Flattery and Threats, to induce her to comply thereto, insinuating; ‘That God might as well be worshipt in one Religion as another, and that she ought to conform her self to the usages and customs of the place wherein she was, especially since there­by she would very much oblige the King and create greater respect in him toward her: That she was not come into Spain to give but receive Laws, and to exercise obedience; That her husband could never faithfully love her if she entertained any other Sentiments, Opinions or Sacraments than himself; 'That she could never expect to reign happily over a People who were of a contrary Faith to hers; That she should not fear the reproaches of her own Countreymen who would count her very indiscreet not to comply with the times, and that if for small matters some great men would be perswaded to renounce their former Religious Observances, much more might she be excused in her conformi­ty to the Truth, when the reward thereof was no less than a Kingdom.’

With such pungent motives and arguments as these this wicked woman did continually afflict the ears of this innocent Princess, who nothing moved therewith, replyed; ‘That if she persisted in these discourses she would for the future take all occa­sions [Page 170]to avoid her company, since nothing could be less grateful to her than using so many subtil­ties to remove her from her Faith from which she was resolved never to recede during her life, yea though the utmost torments were inflicted on her to force a renunciation.’ And therewith going hastily out of her Chamber, Gosiniha was very much offended, yet concealing her anger, resolved to at­tempt her once more not without hope of prevailing, and having by a thousand protestations of kindness and affection endeavoured to make up the breach, she at length more earnestly pressed her with many urgent reasons to be again baptized after the Arrian manner, which Andegona absolutely refused prudent­ly replying; ‘That thanks be to God she was already baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and that if the water of the Arrian Baptism should be cast on her head, though she loved her hair as well as any woman need, yet she would pluck it off, yea tear the Skin along with it that had been defiled with such an abomination.’

This was the last effort Gosintha made, and judging her self extreamly affronted at this resolute reply, she left Andegona, foaming with Rage and Threats, That since she refused the Arrian Baptism, she should be baptized in another manner, which should wash her from head to foot; And returning again soon after, she barbarously dragged this poor Princess, about by the hair of the head, and then abusing her to the loss of bloud she commanded two or three of her wait­ing women to strip her stark naked, and bind her with cords, and in this posture to throw her into a pool of water in a very cold season of the year; It was a miserable spectacle to see the daughter of a King who was so lately received with such Triumphs and Rejoicings thus cruelly treated in the same place; Gosintha who stood at the brink of the Pool to be­hold this unworthy execution, ordered her to be drencht in the water by degrees that she might be [Page 171]more sensible of the peircing cold, and often repeat­ed these words, If you will confess you are an Arrian, you are safe, and shall be presently released from your mi­sery; But the couragious Princess who had not so great an apprehension of death as fear to be seen naked, cryed out aloud, I am a Christian, an Orthodox Chri­stian, take away my life if you will, yet shall neither fire nor water force me to gainsay or renounce my Profession; Gosintha finding all her attempts in vain, at length suffered her to come out and put on her garments, admiring and envying the constancy and greatness of her Soul, which no tortures could shake or disturb.

Ermangild utterly ignorant of what had passed, perceiving his Princess somewhat pale and disorder'd by this rough usage, asked whether she were dis­composed either in body or mind, which she pru­dently endeavoured to conceal as not worthy his notice, but by the manner of her discourse finding she had received some sensible affront, he made a strict scrutiny of those who were able to inform him, who soon related the cruel indignity his Mo­ther-in-law Gosintha had put upon her, which raised his passion to such an height, that he had certainly torn that wicked Queen in pieces had not the fear of God and the charming Eloquence of his wife somewhat pacified his fury; The Virtuous Andegona fell at his feet, beseeching him not to precipitate himself and her likewise into inevitable danger by any extremities, so that at length they concluded to remove from the Court to Sevil, which was given him as a Patrimony by his Father for his present subsistance; Whither being retired they fully enjoyed those delights which had been in some measure ob­structed by this ill accident, Ermangild believing him­self the happiest of all mortals in beholding so many Virtues in so great a beauty; And the modesty and piety wherewith she had managed her last disgrace made him think he could not sufficiently adore so much goodness.

Andegona observing what power she had over her husband by the repeated instances of his tender af­fection, and being now without fear of a Step-mo­ther resolved to improve this opportunity for the good of his Soul, and sollicited him seriously to re­nounce his Arrianism and imbrace true Christianity, by insisting on the falsness and unreasonableness of this opinion so derogatory to the honour of the Son of God and Saviour of the World, the author of it be­ing a wicked Priest who was made a Bishop out of mere spight, and was rejected and solemnly con­demned in a Council of three hundred and eighteen Bishops; And that it had been remarkt, that all the Arrian Kings round about had come to unhappy ends and it might be feared Spain could not escape the ven­geance of Heaven unless it were purged from these pestilent errors. Ermangild could not well resist the strength of truth and love both assaulting him at once in the same Person, and therefore took time to deli­berate; Whereupon the good Princess prevail'd with him to confer with a famous Bishop who so well ma­naged the Spirit of this gallant Prince that by divine assistance and the continual sollicitations and prayers of Andegona who moved Heaven and Earth for his conversion, he at length renounced his error, and be­came an Orthodox Christian.

Lenigild the Father having notice hereof was ex­ceedingly displeased, and Gosintha his Wife was not wanting to inflame him against his son, however not willing presently to bring things to extremity know­ing the greatness of his Spirit, and that many of the Nobility were ready to ingage in his cause; He sent Letters to him full of fair promises and invitations to return to Court, not without some sharp reflecti­ons upon the change of his Religion without his consent, and that he had put himself into a posture of War and rebellion against his own Father, which no pretence to Piety could possibly justify. Erman­gild seemed doubtful what answer to return, but his [Page 173]young Councellors too warmly alledged; That there was now no place to retire, since he had to do with a Prince who was both imperious and tur­bulent, and with a Mother in Law altogether irre­concileable and revengeful, who would never be sa­tisfied but in his utter destruction, and that if he did not now take arms to secure his life he would be chased like awild Beast, and hardly find security even in the desarts; He therefore sent back to his Father; ‘That his Religion had taught him to bear patiently the sharpness of his words to whom he was bound by immortal obligations, but that he could not think his life safe in a place where his wife, for whose sake only he lived, had received such horrible abuses, and as for his changing his Religion he ought to know; That a Father requir­eth imnatural obedience when he exacteth it of a Child against his conscience,’ and therefore humbly desired that he would suffer him to repose peace­ably at Sevil least their arms might be as shameful to the Conquerour as miserable to the vanquished.

Lenigild more exasperated now than before, espe­cially by the constant aggravations of the wicked Step-mother, resolved to reduce his son by force, and acts of Hostility were begun, till at length Ermangild was besieged in Sevil, where he had continued three years since his departure from Court; The Religious Andegona apprehending the sad effects of these im­pending distractions, besought her husband with the utmost tenderness and tears in her eyes, to reconcile himself to his Father, who unable to resist such po­tent pleaders seemed wholly changed at her motion and told her that since she desired it, he was resolved to submit to his father, but advised her, That to pre­vent falling again into the hands of the merciless Go­sintha, he should retreat to Constantinople for safety till she faw what entertainment he should meet with. An­degona was extreamly afflicted at this proposal, and wept bitterly at the thoughts of being separated from [Page 174]the chief object of her love; But however necessity compelling them Ermangild took his little Son that hung at the breast and told her, See here Madam the most precious pledge of our marriage which I recommend to your care, Let God dispose of it as he please, but you must bring it up as a King; At which redoubling her sighs they parted with violent convulsions of grief, Andego­na at her last farewel adjuring him that by no means he should lose his faith, which he assuring her to maintain to the last moment, they were then separated never to meet again in this World.

The King understanding his Son was inclined to peace rejoiced thereat, and dispatcht his younger bro­ther Ricardo to his Camp, who arriving there, and seeing his brother Ermangild cried out; O my bro­ther before I imbrace thee I desire to know whether I am come to a friend or an enemy; Ermangild im­braced him tenderly in sight of the whole Army as­suring him of the great affection he had ever born both to his Father and himself, and instantly both hasten to the Court where the Prince prostrating himself at the feet of the King, he with all kind of submission declared. That he was ready to live or dye at his feet; The King either feignedly or in earnest told him that he found he had been much misrepresented, but that this action had cleared all his suspicions, and that he was very welcom, inquiring where his wife was; Who replyed, she would speedily be at Court; Gosintha then present seemed mightily pleased shewing him all manner of kindness, upon which Ermangild banishing all suspition resolved to send for Andegona to Court; But all her pretences were only pernicious flatteries, for much doubting if he should gain his Fathers heart, her faction might be disturbed, she forged Letters and suborned witnesses to swear that all this submission of his Son was only a trick and design to bereave him of the Kingdom, which she seem­ed so clearly to demonstrate that the old doting King was in a greater fury than before, and com­manded [Page 175]him to be arrested for treason and commit­ted him close Prisoner loaden with irons and clothed in Sackcloth,

The Prince by this violent procedure per­ceiving his hour was nigh, renounced all the concernments of this World, and couragiously prepared himself for death, when the King coming to visit him, was so far transported with rage as to call him, Ingrateful wicked wretch; To whom the Prince mildly answered, that he could not possibly imagine what he was guilty of, and there­fore must dye in silence and without making any defence; His father told him his own evil con­science sufficiently accused him if he would be so just as to acknowledge his vile intentions, and of which he should be very glad to find him innocent; Hereupon Ermangild made a large Apology wherein he fully cleared himself from all things charged upon him; So that the King being convinced had nothing to charge him with but the change of his Religion, which the Prince freely acknowledged and vowed That he would dye a thousand deaths rather than reneunce that True faith which he had now imbraced. The father called him fool, and remanded him back to Prison wherewith some difficulty he writ a letter to his dear Andegona, wherein he returns her many thanks that from her he had received the true knowledge of God, and was resolved to suffer the utmost extremi­ty in defence of the same, advising her after his death, to make her escape to Constantinople.

Mean while Ricardo his younger brother was ex­treamly troubled that by being a mediator for peace he had been the occasion of this deplorable Tragedy, and seeing Ermangild covered with sackcloth and loaded with chains he stood at first mute like a sta­tue, and then breaking forth into tears said, ‘Ah brother it is I that have betrayed you, it is I who have fettered you like an ignominious slave, take therefore my dagger and revenge your wrongs [Page 176]upon my guilty head for being accessary though a­gainst my will, to your destruction.’ His brother endeavoured by gentle words to appease his passion, and told him it was no fault of his, and that he would most willingly lay down his life for his Religion which was the only charge his enemies had against him; Riccardo went to the King and by all manner of intreaties endeavoured to mollify his bloudy mind, but the Faction of Gosintha much doubting the resentment of the brothers, sounded nothing in his ears but the danger of so great an Offender, who shewed himself so insolent in his misery that nothing could be expected but his utmost vengeance in his pro­sperity; The credulity of the unfortunate Father was so far prevaild on by these discourses, that he sent an Executioner to his Son in prison with this Message; That a Sword or a Crown were now presented to his choice, that if he would renounce his Religion he should be received into favour and enjoy the Scepter after him; But if not he should be instantly beheaded in that place; Erman­gild told him; ‘That he would rather dye by a thousands torments than forsake the true faith which he had imbraced, and added; I thank thee O Al­mighty God that as thou hast given me a mortal, perishing, uncertain life from my Father, so by his means I shall now receive a glorious and happy life to all Eternity;’ And then kneeling down, and praying earnestly for his Father, Step-mother and all his enemies and persecutors, he cheerfully stretcht out his neck to the Executioner, pronouncing the name of his dear Andegona to the last moment, and at one blow had his head severed from his body.

The sad tydings of this lamentable accident arrived to Andegona who had made her escape into Africa, where she likewise received the last Letter from her husband out of Prison; Her attendants at the news began to make doleful Lamentations as if themselves had been condemned to dye; But Andegora kissing the Letter of her dear Lord, and [Page 177]then reading it cryed out, Ah noble and faithful ‘Soul, thou hast acted as a good man ought to do, thou hast fought the good fight of Faith, and hast now attained the Crown of glory, and I desire no­thing but to imitate thy constancy; Weep not then, my Servants for me, since it is this day I am a Queen indeed and esteem my self the most happy Princess on earth, who have a husband a Martyr in Heaven.’ And then taking her little Son Ermangild almost tired with hard Travel she said, ‘Go sweet babe partake of the blessings of your dear Father, God hath be­stowed great favours in you to be banished already for your Religion, go then little Innocent and re­joice with others before the Altar of the Lamb, your Mother will not stay long behind you.’ The Child dyed soon after, and the magnanimous Andegona having long combated with these Armies of afflictions at length resigned up her Soul with these words; ‘O my God the father and son are at rest, there now re­mains nothing but to take the mother, I have ended all my hopes in this World, why stayest thou O my blessed Saviour to receive my Soul which is now upon my lips.’ Her prayer was heard, for a few days after wasted with love, travel and desires, she died an exemplary death and found a Tomb in Africa.