Historie & policie re-viewed, in the heroick transactions of His Most Serene Highnesse, Oliver, late Lord Protector; from his cradle, to his tomb: declaring his steps to princely perfection; as they are drawn in lively parallels to the ascents of the great patriarch Moses, in thirty degrees, to the height of honour. / By H.D. Esq. H. D. (Henry Dawbeny) 1659 Approx. 485 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 171 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2009-03 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A82001 Wing D448 Thomason E1799_2 ESTC R21310 99871403 99871403 170384

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Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A82001) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 170384) Images scanned from microfilm: (Thomason Tracts ; 224:E1799[2]) Historie & policie re-viewed, in the heroick transactions of His Most Serene Highnesse, Oliver, late Lord Protector; from his cradle, to his tomb: declaring his steps to princely perfection; as they are drawn in lively parallels to the ascents of the great patriarch Moses, in thirty degrees, to the height of honour. / By H.D. Esq. H. D. (Henry Dawbeny) [30], 306, [4] p. Printed for Nathaniel Brook, at the Angel in Cornhill., London, : 1659. Preliminary matter signed: H. Dawbeny. With two final advertisement leaves. Annotation on Thomason copy: "Aprill". Reproduction of the original in the British Library.

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eng Cromwell, Oliver, 1599-1658 -- Early works to 1800. 2007-12 Assigned for keying and markup 2008-02 Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2008-03 Sampled and proofread 2008-03 Text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 Batch review (QC) and XML conversion

Hiſtorie & Policie RE-VIEWED, In The Heroick Tranſactions of his Moſt Serene Highneſſe, OLIVER, Late LORD PROTECTOR; From his CRADLE, to his TOMB: Declaring his ſteps to Princely Perfection; as they are drawn in lively Parallels to the Aſcents of the Great Patriarch Moſes, in thirty Degrees, to the Height of Honour. By H. D. Eſq.

Claud. de Theodoſ. Solus meruit regnare rogatus.

LONDON, Printed for Nathaniel Brook, at the Angel in Cornhill. 1659.

To the Moſt Serene HIGHNESSE, OF RICHARD By the Grace of God, LORD PROTECTOR, Of England, Scotland, and Ireland, &c. Chara Dei ſoboles, magnum Jovis Incrementum.

PArdon, Great Sir, the compellation; for though it be a piece of an Aenead (ſome will think of flattery) yet it is very manifeſtly, your moſt Serene Highneſſe his Birth-Right, and plain prophetick truth,Third Tranſcend. Aſcent, p. 271. as is made more clearly to appear in one of thoſe Parallels, that treat of your happy Promotion and Succeſſion to the Throne, where you now ſit.

As for the imputation of flattery, it is known, that I have ever ſo much abhorred from all that, and thoſe ſubtile Artiſts of Fortune, who make a Trade of it, that whilſt I have been converſant in the Courts of ſome great Princes, and particularly known to many of their perſons, I have been alwayes moſt ſeverely taxt, of too much of the other extreme: much leſſe ſhould I dare to offer any thing of that now, to your moſt Serene Highneſſe, who are known to hold ſo much of the vertue, of your moſt Renowned Father in you, as to be better pleaſed to meet with an enemy, in open field, than a flattering friend in your Privy Chamber. Inſomuch, that I am afraid to tell your Highneſſe, ſome notorious truths; how all we your people, look upon you, as our ſecond Joſhua, in the place of our ſecond Moſes, as full of the ſpirit of Wiſdom, Courage, and Piety, as he was, and that we cannot at all doubt, but your ſucceſſes will be likewiſe moſt proportionable to his; how Walls, and Cities, ſhall fall before you, Gyants wax pale, Rivers retire back, the Sun it ſelf ſtand ſtill, and as many Kings will undergoe your yoke.

I am afraid to tell you Sir, how we, that are your people, are all of us employ'd, in planting more Bayes, and Laurel in our Gardens, to en-garland your Victorious browes, before you come to a Battle. In fine, I am afraid to tell you, how all our hearts, like Roſes, withered upon the death of your glorious Father, now begin again to bloom afreſh, and newly to open our ſelves, at the benigne, gentle, & glorious, Princely Aſpect, of your moſt Serene Highneſſe: No, I know to tell your goodneſſe any thing of this, would be but to offend it, and to commit a ſacriledge upon your moſt precious time: So Ile forbear, and onely proſecute my petitions for more pardons ſtill; and Princes upon their firſt inaugurations, ſeldome deny any, whoſe crimes carry not ſome extraordinary atrocity with them; much leſſe can I doubt of indulgence, from your moſt Serene Highneſſe, who are a Perſon ſo compoſed of Grace, and Clemency it ſelf.

Your pardon therefore gracious Sir again, that I preſume to addreſs theſe poor unpoliſht papers, to ſo great a Patronage as yours. Indeed, mighty Sir, if that the tranſcendency of the Subject, treated on in theſe Diſcourſes, had not given me great encouragement, I ſhould never have dared to offer this Piece to your view, much leſſe to your protection: but it being conſcious to it ſelf, that it contains nothing, but meer Commentaries upon your glorious Fathers Words and Actions, it humbly conceives, that your Highneſſe has ſo great a propriety in it, and that it has ſo near a Relation to your Highneſſe, that it boldly begins to challenge, your moſt Serene Candour, and particular Protection: and would argue me of an extreme inſolence, to go about to ſeek for its Birth, under any other favour. For may it pleaſe your Highneſſe to take it as a little Hiſtory, of your moſt Renowned Father; who ſhould it come to for Licence, Approbation, Countenance, and Priviledge, but your Sacred ſelf, who are the Compendium of his incomparable Life, and the living Epitome of all his Perfections, and are growing up very ſpeedily, to be as great a Volume.

May it pleaſe your Highneſſe, to take it as a piece of Architecture, or Moſaick Work (as it is) erected upon the Memory of your deceaſed Father; whom ſhould it have recourſe to, for its Pillar, and ſupport, but onely your Highneſſe, who are the moving Model of all his Great Actions? And may your Highneſſe pleaſe to take it, as a Table or Picture, of your Princely Father; Who is more concerned in it, than your Gracious ſelf, that are as much the lively Image of his Vertues, as of the Majeſty of his Perſon.

Thus then, for the ſcope and buſineſſe of the Book, I dare affirm it to be without exception, great and good, and ſo I dare preſent it boldly to your moſt Serene Highneſſe, and avouch it equal to any Kings Cabinet whatſoever in the World; though truly for the ruſticity of its dreſſe, which is meerly my fault, it may not be, for ought I know, admitted by the over-curious. The plain truth is, and I am not aſhamed to acknowledge it to your Highneſſe, that I have been ſo intent upon the maine matter, that it may be I have neglected ſomething of the form, or to give it the due dreſſe and ornament of Language; and to word it truly as it ſhould have been, would have required no leſſe than the pen of a Seraphim: but my comfort is, that your Highneſſe, like your great Father, in that as well as all his other Excellencies, has been ever a moſt declared enemy to that kind of pitiful oſtentation of words, as well as cloathes, and knows how to make a value of a pure Oriental Pearle, though covered with a courſe ſhell, and how to accept of a precious ſweet Perfume, though ſhut up within an abject Box. So I hope it ſhall not offend your Highneſſe, and that will ſuffice me, not to have imitated thoſe that preſerve Oranges and Limons, who neglecting the rich juice, and inſide of the fruit, do candy and preſerve the meer Rine, and outſide onely.

But yet I have another pardon to beg of your moſt Serene Highneſſe, which muſt be granted, after all this, or I am eternally ruined, and that is, for dareing to undertake, or touch with my rude hands, this moſt curious piece of Moſaick Work, which ſhould ſerve for a Monument upon your immortal Fathers Memory, well knowing, that no tongue which has not expreſſions equal to his Expeditions, or a pen that cannot parallel his Sword, is capable to deliver any juſt Character of him.

What Language, Pen, or Penſil, can poſſibly delineate, that moſt invincible Spirit of his, that encountered Men and Devils, and aſſociating the Kingdom of his Vertues, to the force of his Armes, broke through all obſtacles, to Crown his inſpired purpoſes? how he in the hurry of War, and glory of Peace, bearing thunder and olive branches, throughout theſe Kingdomes, now bleſt under your moſt Gracious Protection, has happily rendered himſelf amiable at one time, and terrible at another, and yet ever proſperous, and aweful in both?

No, it is impoſſible for any Mortal to do it, His own Acts onely can ſpeak for him, and for ever will do more, than all the Panegyricks in the World can: For the Roſe we know, is ſufficiently beautified with its leaves, and the Sun with its Rayes, and no more can our praiſes arrive at his perfections, than humane Arts can reach thoſe of Nature.

But this piece of infinite inſolence, I ſtand now guilty of before your Highneſſe, and unleſſe your Gracious Serenity be pleaſed to pardon me, I muſt periſh, even in the Haven of Hope.

And Mighty Sir, to make ſome ſatisfaction, for my preſent audacious attempt, I will hereafter ſtrive, better to reſemble thoſe devout adorers of the Sun, who not being able to affixe Crowns, and Garlands, upon the head of his Statue, burnt Flowers alwayes in ſacrifice to it, to make their odour mount to the Heavens: So, ſince I can never be able to Crown his deceaſed Highneſſe his Merits, with my weake humane praiſes, I will humbly offer up to Heaven my prayers and vows, for your eternall proſperities, who preſerve ſtill, the Idaea of his late Highneſſe his Authority, and Majeſty, as well as that of his Sacred Perſon, here amongſt us; and that Ile do conſtantly, with all ſubmiſſion, due to your moſt Serene Highneſſe his moſt Heroick, Sublime, and true Princely Qualities, as becomes,

Moſt Gracious Sir, Your Highneſſe his moſt devoted, obedient, faithful, and loyal ſubject, H. Dawbeny.
THE EPISTLE To the ſeveral ſorts of READERS.

REaders, if you are Perſons any way pre-ingaged, or tyed to any preſent Factions, or Parties of the Times, I am bold to tell you beforehand, that I will neither ask nor expect a kindneſſe from you, no not ſo much as ordinary candour: and I pray you pardon me, that I ſalute you ſo plurally; for I preſume, there will be whole Junto's, and Cabales of you, ſoon bundled together, to ſit in Judgement upon, cenſure, and condemne, this little Infant, upon its firſt peeping into the World; And this I cannot but conclude, from the over-forwardneſſe of ſome of you, to aſperſe its innocency, when lying in its firſt bed, and looſe ſheets in the Print-houſe; nay, while ſome part of it, remained yet in the womb of the Preſſe, ſo could not be ſwadled up into a Volume.

Howſoever, I ſhall now adviſe you, (for your own good, more than mine) for take it how you pleaſe, I am indifferent) to ſuſpend at leaſt, ſo much of your partiality, as may otherwiſe offer violence to your reaſon, till you have heard all the Evidence read, which this little Booke will exhibite in its own behalf, and that you have found the Warpe, and the Woof, then cenſure on, and paſſe your judgements how you pleaſe.

In the mean time give me leave, as moſt concerned, to advocate in my own Childs behalf; to obviate ſome, of your objections, that you have bolted out already.

And the firſt is from you, O you envenom'd Party, that ſhoote out your Arrows, even bitter words, againſt the precious Memory of his late Moſaical Highneſſe, and ſtriveing to trample on his aſhes, are pleaſed to think too much of Panegyrick ſaid of him, in the very Title-page.

I ſhall not now ſtain paper, with any of your impure language: but refer you for your further confutation, to the proceſſe of our Parallels, where you will finde him to be a Perſon as much above your malice, as he has ever eſteemed you, below his anger.

It ſhall ſuffice me to conſider, that if men will be now adayes ſo curious as to vaunt to ſee ſpots in the Moon, where will they not finde a fault? and if baſe envy will go about to ſhave an egg, what will it not do in a Meadow? It is notorious, that the Almighty handy-work, the Creation it ſelf, could not ſcape the carping of a ridiculous Momus, who would needs undertake to correct the Divine Artifice, and perſwade the World, that the All-wiſe Creator, was very much overſeen, in planting the hornes of the ſavage Bull, and other Beaſts ſo armed, over their eyes, and that it had been much more accommodation for thoſe Creatures, if their eyes had been ſet over their hornes. I ſhould deſire likewiſe, that theſe our venemous Momus's, would ſet their hornes for ſpectacles under their eyes, and try whether they can better ſpy out their exceptions againſt our Moſaick Parallels.

The next ſort of enemies that I hear this little Infant has encountered, are indeed ſomething more modeſt, but as I take it, they are, too, a little more nice than wiſe, (as our Proverb hath it) the very method forſooth, of this Diſcourſe, giving great ſcandal to their tender conſciences, and they are ſo deeply offended at it, that they cry out upon it, phy, a Parallel, or Compariſon with Moſes? O abominable prophanation! Truly, I ſhould be very unwilling to ſcandalize any weake Brother, and more troubled, not to be able to ſatisfie his ſcruple, if he pleaſe to be ſatisfied: and certainly, this Piece is not the firſt that has gone that way, we have very ſufficient preſidents, and authority too, to warrant us. Have we not ſeen a compleate Parallel, between Elias and Dr. Luther, even to the Chariots of Iſrael, and the Horſemen thereof? and another betwixt his Succeſſor Eliſha, and Mr. Calvin, to the double portion of his ſpirit, and many of our Modern Doctors, put in ſcale with ſome of the Apoſtles themſelves? Nor has this way of compariſon, been taken up onely by Divines, in honour of their own Function; but many Parallels we finde in Print, between ſome of our late Kings, how well deſerving, I ſay not; and ſome of thoſe holy Princes, and Prophets of Gods own people, as David, Solomon, Joſiah, Hezekiah, &c. and one very expreſſe Parallel, between Queen Elizabeth of famous Memory, and that great Princeſſe and Propheteſſe Deborah. Then why ſhould not our late incomparable Prince, and Protector ſtand as well placed in line Parallel, with that glorious Patriarch Moſes?

But now I hear of a third expedition prepared againſt us, another body of enemies, much more numerous, but leſſe dangerous far, than the former, and yet they march furiouſly, and come to ſtorme our little Work for a meer counterſcarp of flattery; but they will finde it by their approaches, to be a ſolid Breſtwork of truth, able to endure all their battery, and that too ſo well lined with vertues truely flankerd, and well furniſhed with regular redoubts, and redoubted truths, that they muſt be beaten of with loſſe of honour, if not of themſelves.

There is no man ſure lives, that dare deny the ground-work of all our Moſaical Aſcents, and Staires to Princely perfections, to be the indubitable dictate of the Spirit of God himſelf: and that all the foundations of our preſent Parallels, are moſt unqueſtionable truths, we have as much certainty, as any humane authority, experimental knowledge, or ocular evidence, can poſſibly make out. Now I would fain know, how two ſuch mortal enemies, as truth and flattery are, can poſſibly ſquat in the ſame Form? Beſides, it is certain, that no beatified thing, as our ſecond Moſes is now without diſpute, can be a ſubject capable of flattery; but let his late Highneſſe be reduced again, to his humane condition, and conſider his due deſervings, then tell me, whether all our grateful acknowledgements, and moſt extended Panegyricks, can poſſibly reach his, tranſcendent merits? Much leſſe then ſure can any man over-reach ſo far, as to have his commendations reputed flattery, unleſſe he ſhould fall into prophanation, or flat blaſphemy, which I hope the moſt malitious eyes in the World, ſhall never be able to finde out upon us here.

He was indeed more truly that, which Pliny ſaid of his Emperour, Vir hoc ſaeculo major, & dignus fabulantium miraculis vatum, qui tantum ſuper omnes poſterioris aevi Principes emine bat, quantum a privatis caeteri principes receſſerunt: He was ſo much above the preſent pitch of men, that nothing but Romance can reach his Actions; and he as far ſurpaſſed all other princes of this later Age as any of thoſe Princes, have out-ſtript private perſons. What panegyrick then, can be too great for ſuch a prince? what humane praiſe can ever amount to flattery? I muſt in the mean time acknowledge ſomething of obligation to this ſort of enemies, who are pleaſed to think my poor pen ſo capable to reach that, as to over-reach it ſo, which is a Subject onely fit for the pens of Angels, and whoſe praiſes, ought truly to be written with a ſtile of fire, or point of Adamant, and ſo engraven upon the gates of the Temple of Eternity.

Now though I have pretty well, as I hope, got my ſelf clear of a poſſibility of flattery, yet I am now caſt upon another exception of my neareſt friends, whoſe kind pity treats me more rigourouſly, than all the enemies cruelty, and I muſt cry out with the Poet, Pol me occidiſtis amici, indeed at once they both pity and perſecute me, for undertaking ſo difficult, if not impoſſible a task, as to carve ſuch an Illiad in a Nut-ſhell, or to go about to bind up in ſuch little skins, ſo voluminous an Argument as to give the World an account of this incomparable perſon, from his Cradle, to his Grave, a thing more equal to large Hiſtory, than a Paneygerical one, and of which, as the Evangeliſt tells us, of our Saviours Words and Works, that the whole World would not be able to contain the Books, that might be written.

Indeed Gentlemen, it will not be denied by any (ſhall be more confeſt by me, though parcel guilty of the ſame crime) that he who ſhall take preſumptious pen in hand, or dare any other way undertake, to give the World an exact Survey, of all the particular great diſpenſations, and Divine indulgencies, vouchſafed to this high Favorite of Heaven, will quickly find himſelf overſet in a Sea of Bliſſe. It is not therefore my Deſign at preſent, to ſail in, much leſſe to fathom, that Abyſs, or delineate the whole Series of the Almighty providence, over his moſt precious Perſon, in every particular circumſtance, from the firſt ſpan that Nature meaſured out to him, to that immenſity, which he afterwards ſo happily arrived at: it being no leſſe than impoſſible, as the curious in that Art inform us, to poliſh ſo much as the nailes of pieces of ſo great a Perfection. Nor indeed is it more impoſſible than impertinent, to go about to prove, that there is, and has been ever, from the firſt minute to the laſt of his life, a moſt gracious and indulgent providence, over his late moſt Serene Highneſſe, his perſon, and proceedings, by all the ſingular foot-ſteps of it; it being to light a Candle to the Sun, to dilucidate that which is already more clear to all that do not wilfully ſhut their eyes, than if it had been written with the Rayes of it. I ſhall therefore ſatisfie my ſelf, and I hope all ingenuous Readers, at preſent, to pick up ſome of the moſt remarkable particulars, that we may beſt moralize to our own inſtruction, and all impudent gainſayers, greater confuſion: and that we may learn to make this uſe of it above all uſes, that is to march out of all our old animoſities, and ſubmit our ſelves to the gracious power that is now over us, and acknowledge it to be the clear reſplendent Ray, reflected upon us, from the infallible foundations of the eternall Law.

This is the uttermoſt of my deſign at preſent, and ſo I will be bold to begin at the foot of the Moſaick Mount, and ſhew you his late moſt Serene Highneſſe tracing the ſteps of the great Patriarch Moſes, to the ſacred ſummity of the Mount it ſelf, and higheſt pitch of all princely perfection; and make good the parallel from their very Births, to their Triumphant entries into their bleſſed Tabernacle of Repoſe, and there to the happy expiration of their purified Souls upon the top of Piſgah, from thence to their glorious Graves, and from thence to the Magnificent Memorials, and Eternal Monuments, which they have erected in the hearts of all men: The Aſcents which theſe two great Perſonages ſtand parallel in, amounting in all to thirty Degrees of Glory.

So friends farewel, and enemies much good do it you, if you pleaſe, fall to and welcome, if you like it not you may leave it; and though you curſe me for my cookery, yet I ſhall continue, with the Apoſtle to pray for you, That the Lord would give you underſtanding in all things, and me his grace, in whatſoever ſtate I am, therewith to be content; and that we may all meet, in the unity of the Spirit, and bond of perfectneſſe; which holy conſpiracy that we may all happily agree in, we muſt all reſolve to lay by all ſpleens and diſtaſts whatſoever, and let them paſſe away with the old year, and think upon nothing now, but to take up new thoughts and better affections, with this new one coming in: we muſt forget all old grudges againſt, and ungrateful miſpriſions of our old departed Prince, and good Protector, (who though he was an incomparable Perſon, yet no wonder if he could not pleaſe all men; for that is more (they ſay) than God himſelf can do, raining, or ſhining) and diſpoſe our ſelves to the cordial and ſincere ſervice of this our gracious new one, who is now ſet over us by God, and his own Divine vertues, and has nothing in him but celeſtial ſweetneſſe, and is truly to be called, if ever Mortal was, the Delight of all Mankind; which Great and Gracious New-Years-Gift, that we may all receive, from the bountiful hands of Heaven, ſhall be the conſtant, as it is the inſtant prayer of,

Your humble ſervant, H. Dawbeny.
The Firſt ASCENT.

MOſes was Nobly Born,Exod. 2.1. extracted from an extraordinary Race, the moſt ſacred Tribe, and Principal Family in Iſrael, Exod. the Houſe of Levi. A moſt Noble Houſe indeed, of which the Lord himſelf had ſo high and honourable an eſteem,Deut. 18.2 Exod. 28. that he made it as it were, his own Impropriation and Inheritance; entailing upon it, all his own Menial Attendancies.Levit. 8. O moſt unvalueable Priviledges, and Prerogatives of a Family!Num. 4. Num. 8. not onely to be made the ſole Houſhold ſervants of the Living God; but to be ſet apart,Levit. 29. to eat at his own Table, feed on his proper Sacrifices, and to have, as it were,Num. 18. Num. 3. Num. 1.50, 51. the Monopoly of Altars, and all holy things. O thrice happy honours of a Houſe! not onely to be (as it were) of the Lord of Hoſts own Life-guard,Deut. 10.8 and have the ſole charge of the ſacred Arke of the Covenant committed to them;Num. 3. Num. 18. but alſo to be adopted into the very Cabinet-counſells of Heaven, by the judgement of Ʋrim and Thummim, Exod. 28.30. and to be alone permitted to have a free and frequent ingreſſe, into the Sanctum Sanctorum it ſelf. This was in ſhort, the ſacred Family, ſelected by the Almighty Jehovah himſelf, to be, as it were, his Princes, Peers, and onely Familiars, here below, the onely Grandees and Favourits of his moſt Magnificent Court upon Earth, which was to be eſtabliſht in his moſt holy, glorious, and coſtly Temple at Jeruſalem: as is to be ſeen more at large in the whole courſe of ſacred Scripture; to which holy leaves, I humbly refer every ingenuous Reader, for a further ſatisfaction in all theſe Particulars.

The Parallel.

Indeed, when we ſhall have duely conſidered, the great care, and holy caution, the ſacred Scripture it ſelf ha's taken throughout, in the recommendation of the Nobility of divers perſons, we may very well conclude with the Heathen Orator, (what may be too as good Divinity as Philoſophy) Deorum Immortalium munus, Plin. in Paneg. Conſtantin. & primum videri & maximum, in lucem ſtatim foelicem venire. Nobility of birth, is the firſt and greateſt gift of God. I ſay, the firſt and greateſt temporal diſpenſation of Heaven, is, to be born Noble, and ſo ſoon to be within the liſts of felicity, as of nature; why elſe ſhould we find ſuch an exact account of the Nobility of this our great Prototype Moſes, of the three valiant Children, held in the Captivity of Babylon, and that of the moſt valiant and renowned Eleazar, and divers other perſons ſince the univerſal Deluge? which particulars are now too long to be inſiſted on. Nay, that Nobility of blood was in the like eſteem both with God and man too; before the Flood, in the very firſt Age and Infancy of the World, will be quickly made appear, by the delineation of the Genealogy of Noe, Geneſ. 5. which the holy Spirit is pleaſed to deliver to us, as if it intended, as it were, to act the part of a Herald, in giving to us the large Series of all his Generations: it ſeeming not onely to make way through all the Patriarchs, from whom he was deſcended; but to give a punctual rehearſal to us of all their Titles, and Signiories, of all their ſingular Acts and Atchievements, and then concludes in the next Chapter, Hae ſunt generationes Noe,Geneſ. 6. vir juſtus erat atque perfectus: This is the Genealogy of Noe, he was a juſt man and a perfect. If then Nobility of birth be a bleſſing ſo conſiderable in the eyes of the Lord, and inferr'd by his holy Spirit, to be of no little avail to us in the way of vertue, and an apparent ſtep to Piety and Sanctity it ſelf; It will not be, I hope, thought incongruous, to bring our glorious ſecond Moſes, to encounter the firſt, upon this his firſt Aſcent; and, as in all the reſt, we ſhall find them ſweetly kiſſing and embracing each the other. And yet I cannot ſay, his late Highneſſe was extracted from ſo Prieſtly a Family, but altogether as Princely, being lineally deſcended from the loynes of our moſt Antient Brittiſh Princes, and ty'd in near alliances to the blood of our later Kings, as by that thrice Noble Family of the Barringtons, and divers others; which to make a Petigree of, would take up more paper, than we intend for our Volume, and make me appear more a Herald, than an Hiſtorian. Nay, indeed, ſhould I but go about to prove, his Highneſſe moſt illuſtrious Houſe Noble, I ſhould commit a ſacriledge in the Temple of Honour, and onely violate his moſt glorious Family, with a more ſolemn infamy.

His Highneſſe is unqueſtionably known to have deſcended from ſuch a ſtem of Princely Anteceſſors, that whole Ages, which waſt Rocks, and wear out Elements, have never altered to leſſen, but rather advance the honour of his great Houſe. He was derived from ſuch a Family, that we may better ſay of it, than what was of the other, ex qua neſcit aliquid Mediocre naſci, from whence nothing ordinary can proceed; as is likewiſe made notoriouſly evident, in thoſe other moſteminent perſons of Honour, now living, who are bleſt with a ſhare of his incomparable blood: who have ſpread their glory abroad, ſo well as at home, and built themſelves ſuch Trophies, in the hearts of their very enemies, that eternity it ſelf muſt celebrate; ſo no time can ever be able to demoliſh, or reduce into oblivion.

And that I may not be thought to flatter ſo great a truth, I will be bold to haſten, and abruptly conclude this firſt point of our Moſaical Parallel; with ſaying onely, that this ſublime Perſon, his late moſt Serene Highneſſe, our ſecond, as the firſt great Moſes, came into the World, like a Princely Pearl, and made it appear, by the quality of his Orient, that if Nature pleaſed to equal his birth, to the beſt of Noble-men upon Earth, he would equal his vertues to his extraction; as we ſhall ſee more plainly, when we mount a little higher, upon our Moſaical Aſcents, and Parallels.

The ſecond Aſcent.

MOſes was from his Cradle bleſt with a very beautiful body,Exod. 2.2. for which he was moſt remarkable, in his infancy, ſo the ſacred text tells us, that he was a fair and goodly child. Now, that bodily beauty is an indubitable bleſſing, and a Ray of the Divinity it ſelf; none ſure but a monſtrous Therſites, or a Mopſus will diſpute, and none, but an errant Apoſtate from Chriſtianity, a meer perfidious and profane Manichee, dare deny. Does not the Lord himſelf proclaim, as he is the God of Nature, that beauty and graceful comlineſſe of body is entirely his gift? Nay, ha's he not often imployed this his own glorious diſpenſation, to be an inſtrument of his mighty wonders, a lightning flaſh of his power, and as a reſplendent Torch of his greateſt Victories? which his All-Wiſe Providence would never have done, did he not only approve the nature of, but intend to give the greateſt honour to,Ibid. that his own diſpenſation. Thus was the Lord pleaſed, to make the beauty of our little Moſes the cauſe of his miraculous preſervation, by affecting the heart of Pharaoh's daughter. And therefore we find it to be expreſly ſaid of Judith likewiſe; Dominus hanc in illam pulchritudinem ampliavit, Judg. 10.4 ut incomparabili decore omnium oculis appareret, The Lord ſo amplified her beauty, that ſhe ſhould appear incomparable lovely, and allure the eyes of all that ſhould behold her: So God, purpoſing to ſtay the violent ſtreams of Holofernes his arms, though he could with his omnipotent hand, have buried that vaſt Army, in the bowels of the earth, as he did Corah and his Complices, or have call'd out, from the center it ſelf, millions of arm'd men in Cadmean equipage (equal to the Poets fancy) to have deſtroyed them,Chron 2.2 or might have (by an expedition of Angels) diſpatcht the buſineſſe again, as he once did upon the hoſt of Senacherib, under the command of inſolent Rabſheketh, their proud Captain General: Yet he was pleaſed, without ſtretching of his hand forth, to any other miracle, to raiſe the beauty onely of a gracious widow, to triumph over all thoſe dreadful Legions, and to wage war with the moſt puiſſant Monarch of the world. Nay, it is expreſly ſaid, that God himſelf added a certain air, mine, or garb of attractive parts in Judith, to ſurprize the Cittadel, the heart, of that barbarous Commander; that he, being made more drunk with love, then with wine, might be more eaſily taken in the ſnare of her eyes, and ſacrifice his unhallowed head, to her fair hands. Nay,Eſther 8. the Lord fought with the ſelf-ſame weapon again, and raiſed onely the ſame arms againſt, the proud and imperious Haman, to confound him with that lovely Engin onely. For when he was upon the point to command, the throats of infinite numbers to be cut, of Gods own people, as ſheep mark't out for the ſlaughter: The omnipotent then, onely oppos'd a poor frail female beauty againſt him, which tumbled him from the top of Fortunes wheel, and made him to ſwing under an elevated gibbet; God ſo turning in an inſtant, by the power of an excellent beauty onely, the heart of a ſavage, Prince, from a Lion to a Lamb; and making Aſſuerus, clean contrary to his great Favorites deſign, to preſerve the lives, and confirm the ſafety and liberty of his people: Nor is this high verity remarkable, onely in feminine, but alſo maſculine beauty,1 Sam. 10.23, 24. which, beſides the inſtance of our Moſes, God himſelf ſeems to confirm in his election of Saul, to the government of his own people, of whom the greateſt commendation we find written, is, that he was a very proper man, and when he ſtood amongſt the people, he was higher then any other, from the ſhoulders upwards, and that there was none like him, for beauty of perſon, amongſt all the people. I could be infinite in particulars, to dilucidate this divine diſpenſation, and tell you, how the All-wiſe God thought fit to confer that extraordinary favour, on all his principal ſervants, as David, Solomon, with all the reſt of the Princes and Prophets of his people, not any one of which do we finde mark't out with any deformity, a thing in it ſelf ſo unpleaſing to God, that he has, by poſitive Law, baniſht all ſuch perſons, not only from ſerving at his holy, Altars,Deut. 23. but from a capacity to bear any civil charge: But I muſt haſten to our beloved Parallel, ſo ſhall conclude this Aſcent with ſome remarks upon the perſon of our bleſſed Saviour himſelf, whom all antiquity ha's delivered to us, to have had a moſt excellent humane beauty; and that doctrine of theirs, is not only grounded upon thoſe many myſtical, and indeed incomparable, beauties attributed to him in the Canticles, but more poſitively and clearly collected, out of that moſt remarkable paſſage of the Pſalmiſt, Specioſus forma prae filiis hominum, Pſal. 45. Thou art fairer then the children of men, from whence, I ſay, all the ancient Doctors of the Church, do unanimouſly conclude and aſſure us, that our bleſſed Lord and Saviour, expreſly ſelected for himſelf, a moſt excellent beauty of body, and an extraordinary ſupream grace of ſpeech. Nay,Niceph. l. 1. Nicephorus goes about to deſcribe to us certain lineaments of his body, his exact ſtature, colour, and perfect proportion of parts, which he pretends to draw out of all antiquity, and delivers them in all to be moſt gracious, lovely, and ſpecious: from whence we may draw this moſt excellent uſe, to teach us [that ſince the Lord was pleaſed voluntarily to diſpoil himſelf of all Honours, Riches, and worldly greatneſſe, to give us an example of his high humility: yet would, notwithſtanding, conſecrate this thing called Beauty, in his own moſt illuſtrious perſon, and that of his bleſſed Mother] what value we ought to ſet upon ſo heavenly a gift, and how careful we ſhould be, never to prophane it; So I paſſe to the Parallel.

The Parallel.

We have ſeen in our Aſcent the beauty of our Moſes, and divers other perſons, beſides that of our Saviours, celebrated in holy Scripture; and truly, I muſt be bold to adde; not without a great deal of reaſon; for, the more admirable ſure the piece of workmanſhip is, when it duely examines and contemplates it ſelf, ought more to incite a man, and raiſe him to a higher love, and greater praiſe of the workman, which is (if the word may be pardoned) God himſelf, and he that has the faireſt preparation, in his bodily Fabrick or Structure; reaſon juſtly requires of him, that he ſhould order his manners proportionably, and, according to the perfection of his ſoul, endeavour to make her appear more fair, being lodged in ſo compleat and well-proportion'd a body: And they that ſhall abuſe this fair and ineſtimable gift of Heaven, to any impious, fond, carnal prophanation, by devoting that, and themſelves to any ſenſual, ſordid, bruitiſh life, do plainly drag the gift of heaven, and Divinity it ſelf in the duſt. Nay, they are guilty of a more barbarous ingratitude, than they that ſteal Silver and Gold from the Tabernacle, to make Altars to Baal or Aſhteroth; or, that light their Lamps at the Altar-fire of the Omnipotent, to make pillage afterwards of his Temple; or, that take bread from the Maſter of the houſe with one hand, and ſtabb him with the other.

Well then, it may be granted, that a beautiful and well proportioned body, is an indubitable gift of God, and that the Lord confers it ordinarily, upon his deareſt Saints and Servants. And I hope it will no more be doubted, whether the ſame All-wiſe Providence, has dealt leſſe graciouſly, in favour of his deceaſed Highneſſe, our ſecond Moſes, than he has done with the former, and other his dear favourits upon Earth. Indeed but barely to queſtion it, were not onely to argue a ſimple or malitious blindneſſe in the Asker, but would convince him guilty of a perilous prophanation, in the neglect of ſo much divinity inſtamped upon his ſacred Perſon; nay would make him appear, impiouſly to traduce the Almighty Providence it ſelf, to have been leſſe careful, of our glorious departed Protectors moſt incomparable ſoul, than it ſhould have been, in not preparing for it, an equal body to lodge in, who, with his body, and his ſoul, was pre-ordained, to ſerve, as an inſtrument of Divine wonders, equally with his Grand Archetype Moſes, that Prince of Patriarchs.

Now, that we may the better accompliſh our happy Parallel, in this beautiful Aſcent, it would not be amiſſe to exmine, what kind of beauty, the old Rabbins, and more ancient paintings, do deliver of that great Moſes, and what is agreed upon all ſides to be a beauty, moſt proportionable to a Prince. As to the former, we find by many ancient Pens, as well as Penſils, Moſes drawn forth to us, with a goodly, large, and illuſtrious countenance, a cheerful, fair, and exporrected forehead, (ſuch a one, as Juſtinian wiſht his greateſt Judges and Generals to have) a ſevere, but graceful Aſpect; a gallant, no gigantick ſtature, a robuſtious, yet well proportioned body, and in the carriage, as well as ſhape, of every limb, a gracious and moſt becoming Majeſty.

Now I appeal again to all but blind men, or malitious, whether this, be not his late Highneſſe Picture too? As for the next Quaere, what is the moſt amiable beauty in a Prince, I ſhall extract it, out of a moſt excellent Modern Author.Fred. de Marſel. Forma Principis, non tam venuſtas eſt muliebris, quàm dignitas, quae in obtutu geſtibuſque conſiſtit, &, quemadmodum Tyrius ait, occulto & potenti introitu, hominum animis illabitur, & Majeſtas nuncupatur, conſiſtit autem, in decorae magnitudine, in proportione membrorum, in line amentis aptis, in colore & ſucco, &c. Deformat hanc ſpectei dignitatem, quicquid nimis exquiſitum eſt, de Pixide aut ſpeculo comptum, & infrae virum. A Princely form, ſaith he, carries nothing of effeminate beauty in it, but a prerogative planted in the forehead, which conſiſts in looks and geſtures, and (as Maxim. Tyrius tells us) with a cloſe and powerful entry, ſurprizeth mens ſouls, and is called Majeſty. And this again conſiſts in a comely largeneſſe, in proportion of members, in apt lineaments, in colour, moiſture, &c. This dignity of Princely beauty, is deformed, by any over-curioſity of tricking, or taking any thing out of the box, or borrowing too much from Barber or Looking-glaſſe, all that, is below a man.

Let any, again, but his Highneſſe's moſt malitious enemies, ſay, whether this was not the late Protectors very Picture, and Character too? With this true Maſculine beauty it was, that the great Marius, though proſcribed, ſtrook him to the heart, that was employed to have ſtab'd him: and made him flee from him, that with ſo much trouble and difficulty, had hunted and ſought out for him. With this glorious perſtringent aſpect it was, that Octavianus Caeſar, aſſaulted the Aſaſſinate, and with the vigour (almoſt celeſtial) of his Majeſtick eyes, thunder-ſtrook the villaine, that was otherwiſe reſolved, to have tumbled him down from ſome Alpine Precipice. This is the true, virile, Princely beauty, which our ſecond Moſes had, in its perfection, equal to the former Moſes, or either of thoſe great Romans, by which he has frequently, confounded Traitours, daſht all aſaſſinates, diſſolv'd conſpiracies, and rendered himſelf the wonder of the Age.Idem. Adeo tanquam cum virtute ipſa, certamen haberet, haec naturae, ſive dignitas, ſive majeſtas, etiam ab iis, honoris, obſequiique tributa exprimit, qui adverſus virtutem ipſam conſpiraſſe videntur, ſayes the ſame Moderne Author; So as if this ſame Majeſty of Princely beauty, would claime priority of virtue it ſelf, exacting the tribute of honour and obedience, from the very haters themſelves of, and conſpirators againſt, virtue. I ſhall cloſe up all this, with what a brave Orator, in a Panegyrick, ſaid to Conſtantine the Great, our Countryman,Plin. in Panegyr. Con. and one of the goodlieſt, brave Princes that ever lived upon Earth. Te cùm milites vident, admirantur & diligunt, ſequuntur oculis, animo tenent: Deo ſe obſequi putant, cujus tàm pulchra forma eſt, quàm certa divinitas: that Nature was ſent, on purpoſe, by God, as a gallant Harbinger, to compoſe a body for him, ſuitable to his great ſpirit, as a ſtately houſe for a beautiful Lady to live in, and that onely this exteriour form of his, made him to be beloved and eſteemed of all the World, as a certain divinity, or God deſcended from Heaven.

This I am ſure, (though malice it may be will not) ought every one of this Nation with as much juſtice and reaſon, ſay, of his late moſt Serene Highneſſe, our ſecond Moſes, and Lord Protector, who, as the former, was, from his Cradle, known to be a moſt goodly Child, and during thoſe his firſt, ſweet, and tender years, kept ſtill a very gallant Stature, tall, and ſtreight, as a Palm-tree, and radiant, as a Star; and, as the excellent Caſſiodorus well expreſſeth it,Caſſiod. he was in all things ſo accompliſht, ut ne de aſpectu Principis poſſit errari. Every man might read a Prince in his Countenance.

Thus beauty of body, we ſee, is not a little deſireable in a Prince; but if the houſe anſwer not to the Frontiſpiece, what may we elſe ſay, but that Nature hath built up a goodly glorious Manſion, to lodge therein a great, though handſome Beaſt? It ſhall be, therefore, our endeavour in our ſucceeding higher Aſcents, to make the internal Moſes, in him, appear equal to the external, that ſo, foul-faced malice it ſelf, may not have power to deny, the Parallel to be moſt Compleat.

The third Aſcent.

MOſes was a high Favourite of Heaven, from his very Infancy, being then miraculouſly delivered, from the danger of the waters, upon which he was expoſed (as Scripture teacheth us) in an Arke of Bulruſhes. O the inſcrutable paths of the Almighty!Exod. 2.3. O the Heights! O the Depths of Divine Providence! Here we muſt pauſe a little, and conſider the great Salvations of the Lord, before we can proceed to accompliſh our Parallel.

Lo, here we find a little Infant, our great Moſes, expoſed to the mercy of Nilus, in a ſtrange bottome, a boat made of Bulruſhes,Ibid. or floating Cradle of Reeds. The poor tender Mother is wholly become heartleſſe, and abandoneth her Childe to death, to ſave him from the Savage cruelty of men, ſet on work, to deſtroy innocents, by the direful rigour of a ſterne Tyrant. The Aunt, not altogether ſo hopeleſſe, but a little bolder, dares to follow the forlorne Infant, at ſome diſtance, ſo as to keep it within the compaſſe of her eye, endeavouring to ſee (if ſhe could) what would become of the Child; but her weakneſſe, alas, could do nothing to warrant him from the imminent danger: Almighty God, in the mean ſpace, is pleaſed to become the Pilot of this little Barke; he beares it upon the waves, and conducts it without Sails, without Rudder, without Oares, or any other help, of ſtream or tyde, beſides that, of his own eternal, and immenſe goodneſs, and ſo makes it arrive, beyond all humane expectation, in a moſt happy Haven, and there to diſcharge its lading in the arms of a Princeſſe, with ſafety and comfort: A Royal Harbour for ſuch a poor weather-beaten boat, after ſo perilous a paſſage.

Now the little Infant is drawn forth by the pity of the Tyrants Daughter, and he who was expoſed as a victim to Pharaohs cruelty, muſt be thus, by the Tyrants own Daughter, (his own fleſh and blood) preſerved to be a God of Pharaohs, and to live to bury them, or their poſterity, in the bottom of the Red Sea,Exod. 4.16. who would have drown'd him in his infancy, in the River Nilus.

The Parallel.

I take it for a verity unqueſtionable, that great ſpirits ſet apart and pre-ordained by Divine Providence, for the performance of future wonders, have moſt particular tutelar Angels aſſigned to them for their protection, from their very infancy; and thoſe very perſons, from their Cradles, are frequently pointed out to us, by the finger of God himſelf, in their moſt miraculous preſervations. So we ſee in Hiſtories, how the little King Mithridates, (that was to prove one of the greateſt, and moſt puiſſant Monarchs of the whole Earth) being involved in lightning flaſhes, whilſt he innocently ſlept in his infant-cradle, the flames conſuming his very ſwadling-cloaths and linnens, yet he remained untoucht in his body.

In like manner, we finde another Prodigy of Divine providence, ſo loudly proclaimed in the Greek Anthology, how a father and an innocent ſon, were equally ſurprized with a ſad ſhipwrack, which took away the life of the father, and gave the ſon leave to arrive in a ſafe Harbour, having no other veſſel or plank to carry him aſhore, but the very corps of his deceaſed father, who ſo afforded him a ſecond life by his death: and this very child thus wonderfully delivered, grew up to be one of the braveſt men in Greece.

I cannot paſſe by one other effect of Divine providence, no leſſe ſtupendious than the former, that fell out not long ſince in the Country of Apulia, where happened an Earthquake, the laſt day of July 1627. and ſo prodigious a one, that (as I have heard, and ſeen written) in the City of St. Severin alone, more than ten thouſand ſouls, were taken out of the World; and yet in the horror of ſuch infinite ruines, and ſepulchre of ſo many mortals, a great Bell fell ſo fitly over a little child, that it not onely did him no hurt, but miraculouſly incloſing him, made it ſelf a Bulwark and defence for him againſt the danger of all the other ruines: and this Child is now grown up (as I am informed) to be one of the moſt conſiderable perſons in all Italy.

Thus little Romulus, like our Infant Moſes, being expoſed to the ſame mercileſſe element, was moſt ſtrangely preſerved to be the Founder of the greateſt City, Monarchy, State, and Empire, of the univerſal World. I ſhould be infinite if I ſhould run through the whole Series of ſacred Providence, in the particular miraculous preſervations, that have been ſhewed upon ſuch principal perſons, from their very infancies. Yet, truly, if there were no other inſtances of Divine providence left us, but onely theſe two, of our firſt and ſecond Moſes, we needed not alledge more arguments to prove the ſingular care, the Lord takes over the perſons of good Princes.

We have ſeen on the one ſide, a little Infant floating on the waters of Nilus, in a cradle built of Bulruſhes, and lying juſt like a worm hidden in ſtraw, and whoſe afflicted friends, meaſured his Tombe with their eyes, in every billow of that faithleſſe element; yet was preſerved at length from danger, by the very blood of Pharaoh, to turn his Diadem into duſt, and to bury him and his whole army, in the dreadful gulph of the Red Sea.

They that have ſeen his late Highneſſe, our ſacred ſecond Moſes, in the like former imminent perills, and the great actions he has ſince, moſt gloriouſly arrived at, can beſt make a Parallel of the Providence. No Nurſe or tender Mother whatſoever, could be half ſo carefull to drive a fly from the face of her little Infant, whilſt it ſlept, as the Providence of our gracious Lord, has ever ſhewed its ſelf affectionate, in the conſervation of his Highneſſe his moſt elevated ſoul: and, though I cannot ſay he was expoſed upon, yet, as I have heard, he has been in equal dangers, by, the water, as his firſt Matter Moſes was: and a great deal more by fire; tumbling from Precipices, falls from Coaches, Horſes, and Houſes too, and what not? inſomuch that it is ſaid, the imminency of thoſe his Infant dangers, has ſtruck the very hearts, and chil'd the blood, in the veins, of all beholders.

Thus then we ſee a very parallel providence, over theſe two great perſons, their very Cradles kiſſing, and, as it were, conſpiring to rock each other: and truly, not without a great deal of reaſon, that they ſhould run parallel in their childhood-deliverances, (as we have ſeen) who were in their riper years, to ſerve equally, as inſpired inſtruments of Divine wonders: and all the World, methinkes, if it had not been wilfully blind, muſt needs have diſcerned, in his Highneſſe his Infancy, that he was then, pointed out, by the Almighty Providence, to be the ſame perſon, which he has ſince, ſo gloriouſly approved himſelf to be. Thoſe who had the honour to know his Highneſſe, in thoſe dayes, can tell us, how he was born, a Thaumaturgus, and like another Hercules Alexicacus, fill'd his cradle with no leſſe wonder, than he has done the field ſince, and afterwards the Throne. Thoſe his early wonders, yet, were but as the flaſhing ſtreakes of a Cloud, to be ſo inſtantly turned into lightning; as we ſhall ſee more at large, in his diligent, and faithful imitation of his great Maſter, and Prototype Moſes, in all his higher Aſcents.

The fourth Aſcent.

MOſes was very liberally bred, and had all the advantages of a Noble and Princely education; being brought up, as the Text tells us, in all the learning of the Egyptians. Thus the All-wiſe God,Acts 7, 12. having ſelected him, to be Conductor, and Captain General of a hundred and ſix thouſand men at arms, to have, as it were, a Regency over the very Elements, and a power to repleniſh the whole World with Prodigies; provided likewiſe a breeding, equal to ſo high a Calling, to frame and fit him, for ſo ſupereminent a condition, and to accompliſh him with all heroick vertues. He ſuffered him not to be trained up, as other Hebrew children were, in fear, and bondage, which often overwhelm the braveſt diſpoſitions; but brought him to the Court of Pharaoh, cauſed him to be nouriſhed in all the exerciſes of Nobility, and to ſwallow all the learning of the Egyptians, who then had the reputation of the wiſeſt, and the knowingeſt men of the whole World.

How ſimple, in the mean time, abſurd, and and contrary to expreſſe Scripture, is that opinion of ſome, which ſay, that Moſes had no Egyptian learning at all, nor more letters, than what he received from Abraham and Enoch, or, what he heard from the mouth of God, by Oracles daily delivered to him?

To confute this folly, though Scripture it ſelf were ſufficient, I ſhall produce further evidence.Philo de vita Moſes. Firſt Philo the Jew, in his Book of the Life of Moſes, gives us the exact Hiſtory of his education, and aſſures us, that he learned of Egyptian Maſters, Arithmetick, Geometry, Muſick, both Theorical, and Practick; together, with all ſorts of Philoſophy, and the Secrets of Hieroglyphicks. In all which pieces of learning, he grew to ſuch perfection, that he was acknowledged for a Maſter, by the very Egyptians themſelves: inſomuch, that when Pythagoras and Plato, came to learn the Sciences in Egypt, Pythagoras. Plato. they would firſt of all, ſtudy the Doctrine of Moſes: whoſe name, in thoſe times, as we find by them, was in great admiration through all Egypt: and it is more than probable, that from his Books, they did conceive all that Divinity, which they have delivered, and the reaſon of God, which they declare, under the notion of the firſt cauſe.

After them Numenius, the famous Pythagorean, wrote many things, concerning Moſaical Doctrine, as Baſil the great reſtifies;Baſil. and Numenius addes, that Plato himſelf, was no other, then Moſes ſpeaking in Greek. Nay, Clemens Alexandrinus, and Euſebius, both ſay,Clem. Alex. Euſebius. that the Gentiles received all the very myſteries of their Religion, from the Books of Moſes; though enfolding them, in ſome odd fables; and Orpheus himſelf, confeſſeth,Orpheus. that he learned divers things from the Doctrine of Moſes; eſpecially, in the Book which he made of the Sacred Word, that he ſayes himſelf, he took out of the Moſaical Tables: as alſo, that which he ſang concerning God, known to the onely Chaldean Moſes; which Verſes of his,Fran. George in lib. de haerm Mund. one Francis George, has reduced into Latine, in his Book of the Harmony of the World. Nemo illum niſi Chaldaeo de ſanguine quidam Progenitus vidit. Now, ſome have been of opinion, that Orpheus meant by this Chaldean, Noath, and others Enoch, and the Platoniſts took him for Zoroaſtres, who was the ſon of Cham; but the following words convince, it could be no body elſe, but Moſes. Priſcorum nos haec docuerunt omnia voces, Quae binis tabulis, Deus olim tradidit illis; Now, to none of them, were the Tables of the Commandments given, but to Moſes onely. Thus we ſee, he was not onely a perfectly well bred Schollar, but the very Fountain of all our Learning. A moſt excellent Natural Philoſopher, he muſt needs be; for that learning then flouriſht moſt there: and beſides, ſure he muſt needs know, the true cauſes of all things, that was ſo well acquainted with all the Almighties Counſels of Creation: then for his skill in Moral and Politick Philoſophy, it muſt be altogether as undeniable, being intruſted with the ſupream, Civil, and Military power, over Gods own people, for ſo many years, and holding forth to us ſtill, ſuch Moral & Political Laws, and Conſtitutions, that will never be matcht, by any Legiſlator in the World. Then, for his Divinity, there need be ſure as little doubt, who had the conſtant converſation with God himſelf, and did by particular direction from him, couch, all the ſacred Myſteries of Religion,Exod. Num. Levit. Deut. in the ſeveral joynts and pieces of the Tabernacle, and the very hems of Aarons garments; as may appear more at large, in his laſt four Books.

The Parallel.

We have hitherto convers't, in the Moſaical out-works onely, and ſeen theſe two high Favourits of Heaven, our firſt and ſecond Moſes, marching hand in hand together, in moſt amicable Parallel, through ſome remarkable Aſcents of their Infancy: We are now happily entering into the Inner Moſes, and to reflect ſomething upon the diſpoſitions of their Adoleſcency, which there is no doubt, but we ſhall find, very agreeable to their Births. And, indeed, one of the greateſt benefits, which youth can receive at the hands of God, is the favourable bleſſing of a good education; it is that, which poliſheth and purifieth humane Nature, as one would do a precious Stone, obſcured with earth, or baſe ordure; it is that, which as a late Doctor tells us, makes of men, (as it were) Angels: and, without it, doubtleſſe the goodlieſt, and moſt precious natures, would perpetually dwell in a ſad brutiſhneſſe: But above all others, Princes ought to have an extraordinary advantage of Learning; for it is highly neceſſary, ſure, that their ſouls ſhould be fulleſt of lights, and flames, which are to ſerve others, for ſo great guides, and to be moſt exquiſitly adorned with good letters, who know (as doubtleſſe our ſecond Moſes did, from his Cradle) that they are to be ſet aloft upon pinacles, to change their words into Laws, and lives into examples. And he that was to be Supream Magiſtrate of ſo many Nations, ought, ſure, with inceſſant ſtudy, read, unite, and incorperate in his ſole ſelf, the vertues, and faculties of many others. And ſo our glorious ſecond Moſes did, who was no leſſe remarkable, for his true Liberal, Noble, & Princely education, than the former. And, truly, for this we muſt acknowledge eternal obligations to his Highneſſe, his moſt honourable Parents, who had a principal care, to perfect the natural endowments of their Child, with thoſe of Art; to the ſhame of many fathers, and mothers, at this day, who too much reſemble Oſtriches, who lay their eggs in the open way, without hatching them, abandoning their children to become a prey to miſery, ignorance, and impiety: But his Highneſſe, moſt illuſtrious Parents, deſirous to live in the honour, of their incomparable Child, and to give him a breeding equal to his Nobility, Beauty, and Ingeny, and to thoſe miraculous preſervations, by which he was pointed out by Providence, to be a future Inſtrument of Divine wonders, as the former Moſes was, would give him an education equal to his. And it is notorious, that he ſuckt in, a very great proportion of Philoſophy, with the firſt milk, that he drew from his Mother Univerſity; as alſo, he devoured many other Pieces of prophane learning, which, may be, were ſupererrogatory in a Prince; yet, by that means, he merited to be then as much thought the glory of the Gown, as he has ſince, prov'd himſelf the honour of the Sword; for, he attained to ſo ſtupendious a pitch of Learning, in ſo few years, that all that knew him then, thought it rather came, (which was ſuſpected upon the former Moſes too) by inſpiration, than acquiſition: and who could then but admire, thoſe fair bloſſomes, of which we have ſeen ſince, ſuch excellent fruits, Nor can there be leſſe doubt of his perfection in Political knowledge, made by any man, that will but look upon his moſt Serene Highneſſe, his Government, either Civil, or Military, over us, or the Laws that he has eſtabliſht, for the eternal ſafety, and comfort, of theſe Nations. And, as for Divinity, I mean, that of the heart, that Grand Cardinal Piece, and moſt principal part of Royal Learning, we all know, that was bred and born with him: a Divinity, I ſay, not lodg'd in the Schools, that is too knotty ſure for Princes heads; but that which is repoſed in godly hearts, and that is the true fear of the Lord, which is acknowledged by Scripture it ſelf, to be the beginning of all Wiſdom: and, though we dare not aſſert, for it is unknown, what perſonal diſcourſes he has had with the Almighty, yet we may affirm, that all his inſpirations were Divine; and his converſation was ever ſo celeſtical, as if he lay, in the very boſome of the Deity. Upon the whole, then, as his firſt Maſter Moſes, was bred up in all the Learning of the Egyptians, ſo was his moſt Serene Highneſſe, diſpoſed to conſecrate his hopeful youth, to the ſtudy of the Arts, in one of our Univerſities; wherein he came to ſo much perfection, that he was pleaſed do deſcend to a degree, by which he made that, more than himſelf, Laureat, for ſo he was without it. Then, that the other moſt famous Siſter, ſhould not be dejected, he was pleaſed to crown her, with the acceptance of her higheſt degree of Honour, and to lay a further obligation upon her, and the whole Commonwealth of Learning, he has been pleaſed ſince to own himſelf, her Patron, Chancellor, and moſt particular Protector; and ſince his Highneſſe his greater occaſions, have hindered his attendance on that Charge, he has yet added to her obligations, by bequeathing that care, to his moſt excellent ſon, and Princely Succeſſor, his now moſt Serene Highneſſe, whom we may ſo juſtly entitle to be, Chara Dei ſoboles, magnum Jovis Incrementum: and can no more doubt that he will trace the ſteps of his renowned father, than he, our ſecond, has ſhewed himſelf to be a perfect imitator of his great Maſter the firſt Moſes; as we ſhall ſtill find his Highneſſe, mounting after him, in the ſucceeding Aſcents.

The fifth Aſcent.

MOſes lived a long retired life in his youth, contemning the pomp and greatneſſe, of Pharaohs Court, and all the World beſides: chooſing rather to paſſe as a private Shepherd in a Deſert, and to keep his father in Law Jethro's Flocks,Exod. 3. than to be made a Companion of Kings. Now, here I muſt be bold to aſſert, that none but high bred, as well as high born, ſouls, are capable of underſtanding, much leſſe of undergoing, ſuch a bleſſed ſolitude, as this our old Maſter Moſes did. In this he ſhewed himſelf, to have attained to the very higheſt pitch of Philoſophy, and all Learning, in ſo diſcreet a contempt of all the profits, pleaſures, glories, and vanities, of the World.

Here, then, behold, and admire, (all you pittiful plaiſtered Puppits of the World) this grand Maſter of Honour, and Learning, Moſes; who, though enriched, with all the fair perfections of mind, and body, requiſite to the accompliſhment of a Courtier, could not be brought, by all the powerful allurements of Pharaohs Daughter; no, nor yet by the ſolicitations, of his poor brethren, then in bondage, who ſtood in no little need, (God knows) of ſuch a helper, lying then, under a moſt Tyrannical oppreſſion: or, could be perſwaded, to accept the charge, of any publick employments; but, choſe rather for a great while, to retire himſelf, and to live a free, and harmleſſe Shephered, in a Deſert, than to embroil his celeſtial ſoul, in any mundane matters, or to idolize his ſinful captivity, in a Court.

This is the higheſt point of Philoſophy in the World, for a man, eſpecially in his youth, to know how to make himſelf his own, to ſet light by, and trample under-foot, all that is without him; to look on all the pomps, and pleaſures, of this World, as the old Egyptians did, upon thoſe dangerous theeves, whom they then termed Philiſtas, that were wont to tickle, fawn upon, and embrace, whom they had a purpoſe to ſtrangle. And truly, if the headach, ſhould ſeize upon us, before drunkenneſſe, we ſhould all beware of too much drinking; but ſordid ſenſuality, the better to entrap us, makes her apparent pleaſures, to march ſtill before us, and hides perpetualy, her too rugged, and repentant track from us. If we can arrive at ſo happy a knowledge, as to ſee into thoſe miſerable conſequences beforehand, it muſt be onely, by the pure help of Philoſophy, or the immediate grace of God. And this was that, which our Patriarch Moſes did ſee, and accordingly practice; not making, neither, ſuch a ſad, and valedictory retreat, as ſome Princes, and great Perſons have done, to quit, and forſake the World, when either they have been weary of it, or that has been of them: but a true Moſaical retreat, a retreat of improvement, a retreat, to bring us on afterwards (as at a jump) with greater advantage, a retreat to cultivate, and enrich a ſoul: This was that, I ſay, our Moſes did, who, when he had devoured all the learning of the Egyptians, he would retire himſelf a while, to diſgeſt it in the Land of Midian: when he had ſuckt in all the ſeeds of good literature from the Schools, he withdrew a while, to improve the growth of them in the fields; ſo avoiding all commixture of weeds, which many times, does ſtrangle the beſt and moſt ſublime parts in men: And, to conclude all this, our great Maſter Moſes, choſe to avoid all thoſe peſtilences, that uſually attend upon Courts, and moſt Companies, to go to fructify in the Deſert.

The Parallel.

Now, as we have ſeen our firſt Moſes, makeing his rich retreat, and preferring it before all the delicacies of Pharaohs Court; ſo we ſhall ſee our glorious ſecond, making haſt after him, whoſe inſpired wiſdom, knew full well, even in thoſe his youthful years, how to ſet a juſt value, upon all thoſe empty nothings, pomps, pleaſures, and glories, of the World, and look upon the Court then, no otherwiſe, than as his grand Maſter Moſes before him had done, as the neſt of envy, and ambition; and as a late Writer moſt excellently extracts out of divers ancient Authors, that it was a meer den of darkneſſe, where the heavens and ſtars, are ſcarcely to be ſeen, but through a little crevis: As a Mill, alwayes skreaking with perpetual clatter, where men inchained like beaſts of labour, are condemned to turn the ſtones: As a priſon of ſlaves, who are all ty'd in the golden gyves of a ſpecious ſervitude; yet, in all that glitter, ſuffer themſelves to be gnaw'd upon, by the vermin of baſe abominable paſſions. As a liſt, where all the Combatants are ſtark mad, that enter, their arms nothing but fury, their prize ſmoak, their career glaſſe, or ice, and utmoſt bounds, but precipices. As the houſe of Circe, where reaſonable creatures, are transformed into ſavage beaſts, where Bulls gore, Lions roare, Dogs bark, and worry one another; Vipers hiſs, and Baſilisks carry death in their looks. To conclude, as the Houſe of winds, a perpetual tempeſt on the firm land, ſhipwrack without water, where veſſels are ſplit, even in the haven of hope: In fine, as a moſt miſerable place, where vice reigns by nature, miſery by neceſſity; and if any vertue be found there, it muſt be by miracle:Greg. in Job. 20. So that we may fitly apply to thoſe old Courtiers, that paſſage in Job, ſo much inſiſted on, by the great Gregory; Gigantes gemunt ſub aquis, the Gyants or great Men of the Earth, do groan under the waters, that is, being drawn into a little diſgrace, by a furious torrent of envy, they ſigh and mourne, as overwhelm'd in an ocean of calamities. One frown of their Prince, is more formidable to them, than the look of a Baſilisk, and more terrible than the crack of Canon, or thunder it ſelf. Beſides, what more baſe, abject, ſervil ſort of men, is there in the World? they will bend, and bow, like a fiſhers angle, they muſt ſtoop, turn, and wheel about, to all purpoſes, that they may arrive, at their pretenſions? They buy all their honour, at the price of pitifull ſubmiſſions, their Scarlet, at the rate of ſordid ambition, and glory, with the coin of ſlavery, as is moſt excellently illuſtrated by eloquent Cyprian thus,Cyprian ad Donatum. Qui amictu clariore conſpicuus, fulgere ſibi videtur in Purpura, &c. Quibus hic ſordibus emit ut fulgeat? quot arrogantium faſtus prius pertulit? quas ſuperbas fores matutinus ſalutator obſedit? quot tumentium contumelioſa veſtigia ante praeceſſit, un ipſum etiam ſalutantium comes poſtmodum turba praecederet? This ſilly Courtier, ſaith he, gazeth upon himſelf in Scarlet, but how many baſe ſubmiſſions has the luſter of thoſe cloths coſt him? how many ſcorns, contempts, and repulſes, has he ſwallowed from ſome more arrogant than himſelf? how many proud gates has he beſieged every day, to perform his complements? and how many times hath he made himſelf a ſtirrup-holder, or foot-boy, for the ſervice of ſome diſdainful Prince, to gain this train, that now attends upon himſelf.

Indeed, ſuch a condition, is more to be pitied, than envyed; ſo it was well anſwered of an old Courtier, when askt, How he could continue ſo long in Court? Injurias accipiendo, ſaith he, & gratias agendo, by receiving injuries thankfully. Thus ſome men will fatten with affronts, and diſgraces, as ſlaviſh dogs with baſtenado's. My Lords High Moſaick prudence, in the mean time, more feared, than envyed, that courſe of life, and choſe rather to lie hidden for many years, in his little privacy of a ſafe and ſweet retreat, and a learned ſolitude, like a true Princely Pearle, under the waves, then to be worn about the necks of Monarchs.

Marc. Aur. Ant. de vit. ſua, l. 4. One of the greateſt wits, as well as Princes, and the moſt vertuous man of a Pagan, that ever was under heaven, the Emperour Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, in his Book, that he writ of his own Life, ſo much commends this kind of retirement, which a wiſe man makes within himſelf; that he aſſures us, that in all the Palaces, Gardens, Orchards, and Delicacies, of all the Kings of the World, there is nothing ſo delightful as it. In which kind of life it is, that a vertuous and knowing ſoul, involves it ſelf, in its little ſhell, and withdrawing it ſelf out of the ſaltwaters of the World, lives purely with the dew of heaven. There it is where the ſoul, which is ſcattered in an overwhelming multitude of affairs, foldes it ſelf within it ſelf: there it is, where it begins truly to ſuck in its own ſap: there it is, where it accommodates, and prepares its hive, like a buſie Bee, and endeavours to gather its honey, to communicate to all the World. There it is, and onely there, where it enters into a new world, an intelligible world, a peaceable world, a world ſmiling with ſweet ſerenity of air, and radiant lights, as becomes ſuch a bleſſed ſolititude, a true Temple of repoſe. This was the Noble rich retirement, that our glorious ſecond Moſes choſe to place his ſoul in, winding him elf up in his private receſſes, as within his own bottom, after the example of his great Prototype; nor could he ever fear to faint, or droop, through any ted ous mind-tiring idleneſſe, (the conſequent of moſt ſolitarineſſes) having ſuch a ſtock of ſoul to improve, as he had, his Highneſſe knew as well as that Scipio, nunquam minus ſolus eſſe quàm cum ſolus: and, ut in ſolis ſit ſibi turba locis, never to be leſs alone, then when he was alone, and to ſupply himſelf with company of himſelf, as we ſhall ſee by the great profit he reaped, by his learned ſolitude; which will more clearly appear, in the proceſſe of our following Parallels.

The ſixth Aſcent.

MOſes was moſt miraculouſly called by God from his retirement, to undertake the deliverance, care, and conduct, of his people, the Lord appearing to him in a flame of fire out of the midſt of a buſh. This Aſcent,Exod. 3.1. truly, of our great Patriarch, and Prototype Moſes, is ſo Prodigious, and purely Divine, that I cannot paſſe it, without rendering a relation of the particular circumſtances. As our retired Moſes was in the midſt of his beloved ſolitude, in the innocent ſociety of his father-in-laws ſheep;Ibid. v. 2. and as he was leading his flock to the back ſide of the Deſert, and came to the mountain of God,V. 3. even to Horeb. The Angel of the Lord appeared unto him, in a flame of fire, out of the midſt of a buſh, and he looked,V. 4. and behold the buſh burnt with fire,V. 5. and was not conſumed, And Moſes ſaid, I will now turn aſide, and ſee this great fight,V. 6. why the buſh is not burnt; And when the Lord ſaw that he turned aſide to ſee, God called unto him out of the midſt of the Buſh, and ſaid, Moſes, Moſes, and he ſaid, Here am I and he ſaid, Draw not nigh hither, put off the ſhooes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou ſtandeſt, is holy ground. Moreover he ſaid, &c.

The Parallel.

Out of this miraculous Call, and Commiſſion given to our firſt Moſes, we may clearly collect, as a moſt remarkable Corollary, that the Lord Amighty, has not onely a moſt particular providence over the eſtates and governments of Princes; but alſo a moſt extraordinary reſpect unto their perſons, vouchſafeing them frequently, the favour, and familiarity, of his own diſcourſes: and that either by his own perſonal calling upon them, as hear to our firſt Moſes, young Samuel, and divers others, as ſtupendious Stories; or by the miſſion of Angels, as to Abraham, Loth, and divers other Princes, and Prophets of his people; or elſe by dreams and viſions, as to Abimelech, King of Gerar, to forwarn him of Abrahams wife, and the like: So, not onely the preſent text of our Aſcent; but the whole current of Scripture, is conſenting to our Corollary. Nay, this Divine favour, was not onely wont to be conferred, upon the Princes of Gods own people onely, but to meer ſtranger Kings, and ſometimes Infidels.

As firſt, to a former Pharaoh, God ſent a dream, (which Joſeph afterwards interpreted) by which the King prevented his own ruine, and the deſtruction of his people, by a diſmal dearth. So was the like favour vouchſafed to Alexander the Great, as Quintus Curtius tells us, whilſt that victorious Prince maintained the ſiege of the City of Tyre; by which means, he was made ſoon Maſter of the place, which but ſome few hours before, he deſpaired of, and reſolved to riſe from before it.

We find likewiſe in Roman Story, that Calphurnia, wife to the adopted father of Julius Caeſar, gave him timely notice of a dream of hers, concerning him, which he deſpiſing, and going fearleſſe to the Senate-houſe, found her dream to ſort to a woful effect: But his wiſe Succeſſour, Auguſtus, who was to be Revenger of his blood, upon the Conſpirators, made better uſe of anothers dream, that was Antonius his Phyſitian; adviſing him, though he was ſick, yet he ſhould not fail to be preſent in the Battle, which was the next day to be given, by Brutus and Caſſius, and by no means to ſtay in his Tent, which he would have done, had not Antonius uſed his moſt preſſing perſwaſions to the contrary, which was the ſaying of his life; for the enemy won the Tents, and would have undoubtedly deſtroyed him, had they found him there. So by this means, he won the day, and the world together, and became the ſole peaceable Monarch of the Roman Empire; that under his Reign, our Prince of Peace, and Glorious Redeemer, ſhould be born, as he was.

Now, God forbid, that we ſhould think the Almighty Providence leſſe ſolicitous, over the perſons of Chriſtian Princes, and their pious proceedings: no, he has, abundantly ſhewed, that no Mother, or Nurſe, had ſo much tender affection, and care over their ſucklings, as his goodneſſe has ſhewed it ſelf careful in their pre-cautions and admonitions of dangers, and moſt frequent conſervations, which all Chriſtian Hiſtories are full of: But indeed, we need go no further, than to the Hiſtories of the holy War, written by Paulus Aemilius, and Gulielmus Tyrius, how often he has vouchſafed miſſions of Angels, and alſo holy Dreams, and Viſions, to direct thoſe pious Princes. Nay, the Lord kept the very birds of the air, in pay under Godfry of Bouillon; for who can be but aſtoniſht, to hear it told, how, when he beſieged Jeruſalem, the Sultan having taught pigeons, to carry meſſages, diſpatched one of them with a Letter, which ſhe bore under her wings, to give ſome advice to the beſieged; but Providence would have it, that a Hawk ſeizing on her, juſt over the Chriſtian Army, took her, and made her bring her information to the Chriſtians, touching the enemies deſign. But as for Dreams, the three laſt Harry's of France, are undoubtedly the greateſt examples, who all were divinely admoniſht of their approaching danger of death, by their Queens, and other Princes of their blood; but they with over-confidence would run on heedleſſe, and headlong, to their own deſtruction. Nay, the middlemoſt of the three, beſides the admonitions, he receiv'd from the Dreams of others, ſaw himſelf, in a Dream, how all his Royal ornaments, viz. his Linnen Veſture, Sandalls, Dalmatian Robe, Mantle of Azure Sattin, the great and leſſer Crowns, Scepter, and hand of Juſtice, Sword, and Guilt-Spurs, all bloody, and fouled with peoples feet, and that he himſelf was very angry with the Sexton of St. Denis, about it; and though he wanted not good counſel, according to the danger of his Dream, to ſtand ſecurely upon his guard, and make uſe of the fair pre-monition of heaven; yet would, forſooth, out of his gallantry, expoſe his perſon to the malice of thoſe, who kept a fatal blow in ſtore for him.

I cannot ſtand here to diſpute with the learned Volaterranus, whether all men in general, going to Bed, not cloy'd with bad affections, nor any ſuperfluities of meat or drink, but being throughout vertuouſly and healthfully diſpoſed, their ſouls in ſleeping, may not foreſee things to come: for I muſt haſten to accompliſh our Parallel: and it is indeed, as much as concerns our preſent purpoſe, to ſay, that we are very certainly ſure, of ſo much, (as by ſome inſtances has been ſhewed already, and might be by many more) that the Dreams of Kings, and Princes, Prophets, Generals of Armies, Magiſtrates, and all Publick Perſons, that hold any Eminent Degree, either in Church, or State, are commonly prophetical, and monitory, of things to come, or to be done: This I ſay, by grace eſpecial and Divine, not Natural, as may more plainly appear in this our precious Parallel. And indeed, to ſay, that our moſt gracious Lord, had not an equal care, of his late ſacred Highneſſe, our ſecond Moſes, as he had of the former, of an Alexander, a Julius, or Auguſtus Caeſar (who was to be as glorious in his Victories, and a greater Inſtrument of Divine wonders, than any, except this his happy Parallel,) would be an infidelity greater as theirs, that oppugne Divine Providence it ſelf.

I dare not yet boldly affirm, that our ſecond Moſes in his retirement, met with any flaming Buſh, and the Lord ſpeaking to him out of it; or that he has had any ſuch perſonal diſcourſes, with the Almighty: if his late Highneſſe has had any of thoſe, they were onely then known, as I believe, to the Lord, and to his own ſacred ſelf. But this I have moſt certainly been informed, that his Highneſſe had many Revelations, and Divine Dreams, to the ſame purpoſe, admoniſhing him, what he ſhould do, and foretelling him what he ſhould arrive at: which that I may not prejudice, by my rude relation, I hold better to paſſe by with ſilence, till ſome that his moſt Serene Highneſſe was pleaſed to make knowing of them, ſhall do the World the favour, as to make the diſcovery. But ſo much is notorious to all theſe Nations, that as our ſecond Moſes was retired like the former, and near the backſide of the Deſert too, but ſtill near the Mountain of God: the Lord found him out there, and called him; for who can hide, what the Lord will bring to light? Sed quis te Cyllarus, aut Arion poſſet cripere, quem ſequebatur imperium? as was moſt excellently ſaid by Eumenius. What Horſe or Dolphin is ſo ſwift, that can ſteal from mortal eyes, a perſon whom the Providence of God purſueth with Empire in hand? A burning, and a ſpeaking Buſh, muſt call the firſt Moſes from his retirement, to deliver and conduct his brethren out of bondage; and no leſſe, I am ſure, than three Kingdoms all in a flame, with the united cries of ſo many millions, and in them too, the voice of God, for ſo is vox populi, could move our incomparable late Protector, to ingulph himſelf, in the Ocean of Publick imployment. We have ſeen, that extraordinary Perſons, muſt have extraordinary Calls, and our ſecond Moſes his firſt Call, from his dear, divine ſolitude, was a publick Parliamentary Call, and there too, when he was moſt violently perſwaded to appear; how long was it, before he could induce his moſt ſetled and ſerene Soul, to be capable of the ſollicitudes of State? but for divers years ſate in Parliament, and Committees, upon all the Common-wealths occaſions, as the Birds of Baruch, upon white thorns, and as the Gyants of holy Job, before ſpoken of, which mourn'd under the waters: and this we ſhall ſee more plainly appear, in the proceſſe of our ſucceeding Aſcents, and Parallels.

The ſeventh Aſcent.

MOſes being in his own judgement, and in all outward appearance, unfit for ſo great a Charge, was very unwillingly perſwaded by God, to undertake it; inſomuch,Exod. 3.11. as it came to a very high expoſtulation between them. Was there ever ſuch a diſpute with the Almighty? Or was there ever ſeen ſuch a difficulty in man, to be perſwaded to ſo high a point of preferment? Behold what arguments he raiſeth againſt the Lord, and his own ſelf. And his firſt refuſal ſeems to proceed, from a vice of over-modeſty; for the ſacred Text tells us, That Moſes ſaid unto God, Who am I, that I ſhould go unto Pharaoh,Ibid v. 12. and that I ſhould bring the children of Iſrael out of Egypt? which the Lord was pleaſed graciouſly to anſwer, and ſatisfie with an aſſurance, that he world be with him, &c. Then he proceeds to ſomething of a double diffidence; firſt objecting, Behold when I come unto the children of Iſrael, and ſhall ſay unto them, V. 13. the God of your fathers hath ſent me unto you, and they ſhall ſay unto me, What is his name? What ſhall I ſay unto them? To which the Lord was pleaſed to reply, by condeſcending to give him his Name,V. 14. I am that I am, and commanded him to ſay, to the children of Iſrael, that I am had ſent him unto them, and ſo furniſht him with a large Commiſſion, and inſtructions. But yet our Moſes will be doubtful ſtill of the force and effect of his Almighty Commiſſion; for he anſwered and ſaid, But behold they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice;Exod. 4.1. for they will ſay, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee. Now this redoubled doubt, and diffidence of poor Moſes, the moſt gracious Lord pleaſed to reform with two ſtupendious miracles, and ſo to frighten him into a better obedience:V. 2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9. Firſt with his own Rod turned into a Serpent, and returned into a Rod again; and then with his own hand, made Leprous, and whole again, all in a moment; ſo drawing, as it were, its contagion, and cure from his own boſome. Nay, further, to fortifie his faith, and credit his Commiſſion, with the children of Iſrael, the Lord aſſures him, that he ſhall have the power to turn the water of the River into blood upon the dry Land.

Now after all this, was it poſſible that there ſhould be any more evaſion found out, by our too modeſt Moſes? Yes ſurely, and to ſomething ſavouring of a very high infidelity: For Moſes replied unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, V. 10. neither heretofore, nor ſince thou haſt ſpoken unto thy ſervant; but I am ſlow of ſpeech, and of an impedited tongue: But yet behold the benignity of our gracious God, who is pleaſed ſtill to confute him, without any takeing of offence: onely asking him the queſtion,V. 11.12. Who made mans mouth, or who maketh the dumb or the deaf, or the ſeeing, or the blind? Have not I the Lord? then aſſuring him, that he will be with his mouth, and teach him what he ſhall ſay. What could be expected after this, but a ready aſſent? yet inſtead of that, behold he flies out to a flat denial; to all this over-modeſty, diffidence, and almoſt infidelity, he will yet adde obſtinacy, and a diſmal diſobedience, as ever was heard of, and plainly bid the Lord ſend whom he would.13. Then the anger of the Lord was kindled againſt Moſes; yet ſo mercifully, as to be pleaſed to reconcile himſelf to him inſtantly again, and by further aſſurances of his Almighty favours, with the promiſed aſſiſtencie of his brother Aaron, ſo to convince his doubting ſervant,14. and to convert him to a more reſolute faith, and active obedience.

Thus then, the buſineſſe now ſtands agreed on, our poor, modeſt, diffident, and fearful, Moſes, is now become a faithful, and a ſtout one; and the Lord who full well knew before, his capacities to diſcharge, is now pleaſed to pardon his long unwillingneſſe to perform, his ſo great, and weighty Commands.

The Parallel.

Now truly our ſecond Moſes, cannot appear leſſe Parallel to the firſt, in this his unwillingneſſe to accept of all publick Charges, than he has done in all his accompliſhments of parts, or any of the paſt Aſcents. And yet this unwillingneſs of his, never proceeded from any diffidence of, or diſobedience to, any Divine Commands, which was indeed, the fault of our former Moſes: but partly from his own humility, over-modeſty, and high contempt of all earthly things. His ſanctified ſpirit lookt upon all thoſe flattering flouriſhes, of this worlds greatneſſe, no otherwiſe, than as the true gardens of Adonis, which in the beginning make a fair ſhew of ſome ſi ly flowers, but in concluſion, afford nothing but thorns. He alwayes reckoned, that the Careers of the greateſt honours here below, were but of ice, and moſt commonly bounded with headlong ruins. He found in his younger judgement, as we have ſeen, (though certainly it was an inſpired piece of prudence) that all the pitiful felicities of this life, were onely floating Iſlands, which recoil backwards, when a man thinks for to touch them, with his fingers; or as the Feaſts of Heliogabalus, where were fair invitations, many reverences, and many ſervices; but in the end, nothing but a Table appears, ſet out with a Banquet made of wax, which melts before the fire, and from whence a man muſt return, more hungry than he came: Or yet, more like the inchanted egg of Oromazes, wherein the impudent Magician, boaſted to have incloſed all the happineſſe of the Univerſe; but when it was opened, there was found, nothing but wind.

Theſe were the ſolitary conſiderations that moved his late moſt Serene Highneſſe, to his ſo long and cloſe concealment of himſelf. And indeed, the heavenly Providence over this great Perſon, (if we look well throughout him) can never be otherwiſe read, then (as letters written with the juice of Limon) by the help of fire, or flame of a burning Buſh, as before, which muſt not onely flame neither, but muſt conſume even to his own door, may be ready to involve all in a general conflagration, before he would at all think himſelf to be concerned, or buſily beſtirre himſelf to quench it: or before he would undertake (the unhappy neceſſities of State then requiring a war) any part of his incomparable Moſaical conduct. So that we may at laſt affirm, and conclude of him, as Claudian does of his brave Emperour Theodoſius, that Solus meruit regnare rogatus, there is none worthy of a Crown, but he that muſt be importun'd to it.

Now ſome we know there have been, that have had an moſt enraged deſire to Empire, and yet would feign themſelves to have all the averſions in the world againſt it; and ſo have cauſed themſelves, to be carryed to their Thrones, like unwilling beaſts to the ſlaughter. The truth of it is, the heart of man, as the Scripture tells us, is inſcrutable above all things, and more eſpecially ſo, in point of ambition; and I have often conſidered thoſe three difficult queſtions which the Angel propoſed to Eſdras, to weigh the fire, to meaſure the wind, and to number the veins of the Abyſs, and really I find, the intricacy of an exorbitant ambition, to be all that. Ambition is a devouring fire, who can poiſe it? It is a moſt robuſtious violent wind, who can hold, or fathom it? It is a bottomleſſe Abyſs, who can count the iſſues, and the ſources of it? The middle of the Earth, hath been found, the depth of the Sea hath been ſounded, the height of the Alpes, and Riphaean Hills, themſelves has be taken, and meaſured, the remoteſt limits of the hollow caverns of Caucaſus, have been dived into; the head-ſpring of Nilus it ſelf, hath not eſcaped the diſcovery: onely, in the hearts of men, we cannot find the bounds of deſire of commanding.

This (I ſay) is too true, in the community of men; but his Moſaical Highneſſe, has ever given ſuch viſible and apparent proofes, of his divine ſelf-denying ſpirit, and ſuch irrefragable arguments, of his reall reluctancies, againſt all offers whatſoever, of wordly greatneſſe, that malice it ſelf, cannot object, the leaſt ſpot of ambition to have poſſeſt his inſpired boſom. For firſt, we have ſeen, how long he was pleaſed to conceal himſelf, like his dear Maſter Moſes, in the backſide of the Deſart, near to the Mountain of God, where he could have no converſation, but with him, and his own ſoul; and we all know how unwilling he was, to forſake that his beloved humble retreat, which ſure he had never done, if he had not ſtudied moſt thoroughly the beſt of Poets, ſo often repeated, Sic vos, non vobis: and been more divinely taught, that all which is moſt excellent in creatures, is not for the creatures, which poſſeſſe it; as light is not in the Sun, for the Sun it ſelf, nor waters are in the Ocean, for the Ocean it ſelf. The great God of the Univerſe, who gave Brightneſſe to the one, and Rivers to the other, would, that both ſhould tend to the publick commodity of men, and has thereby ordained them, to paſſe on to the glory of the Soveraign Being.

His inſpired Highneſſe, full well knew, that Kingdoms were not made ſo much for Kings, as Kings for their Kingdoms; for they are made ſo, and ſet over them, to this end onely, to do them, not themſelves, good, and to protect them, and preſerve them, as the goods of God himſelf. His Highneſſe likewiſe conſidered, that ſo ſoon as a man is born with, and bred up to, fair and worthy parts, he is to employ himſelf, and them, for the publick good; and he who would retain to himſelf, what Divine Providence gave in common, commits a ſacriledge in the great Temple of the God of Nature; and he that perpetually reflects on himſelf in all things, and draws, as it were, all to himſelf, as if he were ſo made, onely for himſelf, oppoſeth his Creator, and Judge, and makes himſelf corrival with the Soveraign Majeſty of Heaven.

Now after that our ſecond Moſes, had, upon theſe Divine conſiderations, been drawn to put himſelf forth upon publick Services, we all know, how unwilling he has been to receive the dues of his own honours, and how deſirous he was rather to wrap himſelf up, nay, to bury himſelf, if he could have done it, in his firſt colours, than to proceed to higher Commands, which being ſtill enforced upon him by his own Moſaical merits, we have ſeen likewiſe with what humility, and great candor of ſpirit, he has ever managed them. And when the preſſing neceſſities of State required, that one ſingle perſon ſhould ſit at the Helme, and that he was pointed out, both by God and man, for that purpoſe; how unwilling was he to accept the Charge? inſomuch, that when the Protector at of theſe Nations, was ſo violently preſſed upon him, by the then wearied Parliament; who knows not, with what ſighs, and groans, not to be uttered, and ſad regrets, leſſe to be underſtood, he was at length pleaſed to undergo the Charge? Nay, yet further, Is it not moſt evident, how to his very laſt day, he has with an incomparable conſtancy, and magnanimity of ſpirit, refuſed and reſiſted, all thoſe urgent importunities of Parliament, and People, Council, and Army, preſſing the Crown, and the Title of King upon him? And in all this, has he not moſt perfectly proved himſelf, the follower of his pattern, and great Maſter Moſes? who was not onely unwilling to receive the honour of Captain General over his Brethren, but refuſed and contemned the whole Court, and Kingdom of Pharaoh.

Thus our bleſſed Saviour, the Pattern of all patterns, to convince the World, that he was the Example of all perfection, would appear onely great in refuſing of a whole world, which the Devil did, as it were, unfold to him, before his feet. So, doubtleſſe, it was his Divine will likewiſe, that the vertue of the greateſt men, ſhould appear clearly in the refuſal of the greateſt honours, when as, by his Spirit, the bleſſed Baptiſt, refuſed the greateſt of all Titles, which was to own the high honour, and name of the Meſſiah. Indeed, it is a moſt particular grace, and favour afforded by God; to make a man to open his eyes upon himſelf, to know himſelf as he ought, to meaſure himſelf, and to ſet limits upon his own deſires.

Now this eſpecial grace, we ſee the Lord has largely beſtowed upon theſe his two extraordinary Servants, our firſt and ſecond Moſes. And indeed, my Lord alwayes lookt upon thoſe ſpirits with pity, who outragiouſly mad after greatneſſe, purſue it with all manner of toil, and ſiniſter practices, and never counted them to be otherwiſe, than as bubbles, that riſe on the water in the time of a Tempeſt, which both encreaſe, and crack in a moment. That wretched ſordid ambition it was, which made the great Roman Emperours of old, to ſit ſo ſlippery upon their Thrones, and to live, indeed, but the age of flowers, ſtill driving one another out, as nailes do; or as the waves that are ſtill beating one another, to be broken againſt Rocks. No, our glorious ſecond Moſes, like the firſt, was ever elevated to ſo high a pitch of Holy, and Divine contemplations, that he lookt upon all the greedy Great ones of the World, but as ſo many pitiful Ants, furiouſly contending for a poor ſimple grain of earth: and truly, the vaſt diſtance of his high ſpirit, from all ſublunary things, made the whole Globe of the World, appear to him no otherwiſe, than as a little point, and that almoſt imperceptible: good reaſon therefore had his Moſaical prudence, to be unwilling, to trouble himſelf at all about it; but enough has been ſaid as to that, ſo we'l haſten, from the unwillingneſſe of theſe our two Grand Maſters to accept, to celebrate their promptneſſe, fidelity, and activity, in the glorious execution, of their ſeveral Charges: which will abundantly appear in our after Aſcents, and Parallels.

The eighth Aſcent.

MOſes found the Lord faithful, in the performance of all his promiſed aſſiſtance to him: by which means,Exod. 7. he wrought ſtupendious miracles in Egypt, and by thoſe, ſo quickly brought to a confuſion, all the Learning, Policy, Sorcery, and Malice, of the Egyptians. And indeed, to go about to prove, that there is fidelity in the Lord of Heaven and Earth, towards his ſervants here below, would be altogether as impertinent, as to demonſtrate water to be in the Sea, or light in the Sun: eſpecially when he (that is the eternal Truth) has ſaid it, that he is righteous, in all his wayes, and faithful, in all his words and works.

Our Moſes is now to meet with men, and devils; but the Lord will enable him, as he promiſed, to withſtand, and ſubdue all their malitious and magical oppoſitions.

Firſt Pharaoh, upon our Moſes his coming to Court, and receiving his firſt ſummons, (inſtead of being obedient to the Lords commands, and giving the people their deſired liberty to go and ſerve him) calls his Cabinet-Council about him,Exod. 5. and by their politick advices, encreaſeth preſently the Iſraelites Taskes, on purpoſe to inflame them to a mutiny, and make them murder thoſe that came about to deliver them.Exod. 6. But the Lord, who ſtills the roaring of the waves, and the madneſſe of the people, is pleaſed quickly to pacifie them, and make them comfortably to ſubmit, to their barbarous burdens, and peaceably and patiently to expect the day of their deſired Redemption.

When this ſubtile piece of king-craft, would not ſerve proud Pharaohs turn, and all his politick Junto, were at a ſtand, the Devil muſt be preſently employed, and all the Magicians of the Land, ſent for, that they, forſooth, may beard this great Embaſſadour of God, and vye with their diabolical enchantments,Exod. 7. divine Miracles: So Moſes could no ſooner caſt his Rod down upon the ground, to become a Serpent; but thoſe deviliſh Sorceres, would do as much, though all theirs, were to be devoured by the Divine Rod. Nay, Rivers turned into blood, and producing of innumerable Frogs, could not out-do their cheating inchantments. But when the ſacred Rod was to be ſtretcht forth again, and the duſt of the earth ſmitten into lice,Exod. 8. then, Ars tua Typhe jacet, the Magicians are all at a gaze, there their Sorcery is quite confounded, and they are conſtrained to confeſſe, that the Devil, their good Lord and Maſter, hath a power limited; for ſilly lice, of which man is naturally a creator, areIbid v. 19. enough to confound theſe great Negromancers, and make them acknowledge, and adore the finger of God.

Now, after all this, when malice, and Magick, could do no more, yet the Tyrant will be ſtiff ſtill, till his Court and Kingdom too be infeſted, and invaded, with huge Armies of flies, whoſe grievous ſwarms, boldly ſtormed the Royal Chamber of Pharaoh; then he begun to be inclined to let the children of Iſrael go: but he had no ſooner got from under the Rod, but he relapſeth into his old diſobedience, obſtinacy, and hardneſſe of heart, neither would he let the people go. Then followed the miraculous Murrain upon beaſts,Exod. 9. with the plague of boiles, and blaines, upon the more beaſtly, and brute men, with the moſt ſtupendious ſtorm of fire, and water, mingled together, that ever the earth felt before or ſince, before Pharaoh would be brought to incline, to our Moſes, and his peoples requeſt: But he had no ſooner got once more a reſpit from thoſe plagues, but he ſtood at a defiance with God Almighty again, and his Embaſſadour too. Then muſt millions of Locuſts be ſent for, to make his hard heart relent, which he did again ſoon, for a little time,Exod. 10 but returned preſently to his inſolence, and Tyranny. Then prodigious palpable darkneſſe muſt be ſent, a darkneſſe thick enough to be felt; yet proud Pharaoh himſelf, had no feeling, longer than he remained under the importunity of the plague: ſtill relapſing into his old obduration of heart, till the Lord was pleaſed, at midnight, to ſmite all the firſt-born of the Land of Egypt, from the firſt-born of Pharaoh, that ſate on the Throne, to the firſt-born of the captive lying in the dungeon, and all the firſt-born of cattel. Then was the Tyrant throughly ſtartled; he roſe up in the night, he and all his ſervants, and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a houſe, where there was not one dead.

This was a blow indeed, that reacht to the very heart of Pharaoh, and all his people; who now,Exod. 12. with tears in their eyes, are turned from being Tyrants, to be ſuppliants, and do humbly beſeech their Petitioners, to be maſters of their own deſires; nor onely ſo, but offer to accommodate them for their journey, with all neceſſaries, lend them all their Jewels of Silver, and Jewels of Gold, and Rayment, and to give all ſuch things as they required. O wonderful converſion! but yet Tantae molis erat, &c. So great difficulties had our great Patriarch Moſes to encounter, before he could arrive to be a Captain-General. And now he has begun his moſt miraculous March, with a Pillar of a Cloud before him, for his Quita ſol by day, and a Pillar of fire for his Torch by night;Exod. 14. Yet Pharaoh will have another fling at him, and thinks now by force of arms, to deſtroy thoſe abroad, whom he could not ſecurely keep at home, in quiet bondage, by all his arts and policies: But behold the Prodigy of all Prodigies; The Red Sea is cut into a Royal high-way, for the Iſraelites, and made a dreadful grave for the Egyptians: Thoſe mighty waters ſtand all on heaps, and congeale themſelves into walls, as it were of braſſe, for the defence, and ſafe paſſage, of the people of God; but diſſolve themſelves into liquid floods, for the overthrow of Pharaoh, and all his Chariots: who were no ſooner entred, than overwhelmed; and ſo they ſunk down as lead, in thoſe mighty waters; as our great Moſes himſelf expreſſeth it, in his Song of thankſgiving to God, for that ſtupendious Deliverance.

I ſhould be infinite, if I went about to relate, the Myriads of wonders, that our Moſes ſhewed afterwards in the Deſart, in the conduct of this choſen Army; which quickly becoming faithleſſe, and mutinous, yet by the prayers, and for the ſake, of our moſt admirable Moſes, was the Almighty pleaſed never to forſake them; but to feed them conſtantly with miracles, ſhowring Quailes upon them for fleſh, and the Bread of Heaven for them to eat; and gave them continual Prodigies to drink, from the very firſt bitter waters at Marah, which he turned to be ſweet, to the ſtrange tapping of the Rock in Horeb. So happy are the people, who have the Lord for their God, and ſo dear and dutiful a ſervant of his, for their Leader, as this our firſt Moſes was, and our ſecond cannot but appear to be.

The Parallel.

I believe, truly, that there is no intelligent Perſon living, that looks upon this long Story, of our preſent Aſcent, but would take the particulars of the children of Iſraels Deliverance, to be throughout Typical of ours, and all the circumſtances of effecting it by the firſt Moſes, as plainly to apply themſelves, to our glorious ſecond. Can any ſay, that his late Highneſſe has done leſſe wonders for us, and our Deliverance, or found the Lord leſſe aſſiſtant to him, in his miraculous undertakings, than the former? If any ſuch there be, we ſhall very eaſily convince them.

True it is, we cannot ſay literally, that his Highneſſe was enforced to bring ſo many miraculous plagues upon our Egyptians; but we all, as well the people of God, as their Task-maſters, lay under the perfect moral of all thoſe plagues, before he, like another Hercules Alexicacus, did riſe up in our Iſrael, and undertake, our ſo great and wonderful Delivery: and ſo we will now look upon him, marching in a perfect line Parallel, with all thoſe very actions and ſingular circumſtances; I ſay ſtill in the moral, and will dare to equal him here too, with the former mighty Moſes, even in thoſe his moſt ſtupendious paſſages.

And firſt we may ſee, how our ſecond Moſes, had no ſooner caſt his ſacred Rod upon the ground, here in England, that is, did vote in open Parliament, to undertake ſo juſt and honourable a War, as that for the redemption of this people, out of their Captivity, then more than Egyptian, but the Magicians of England likewiſe, that is, the pretended Prelats, and their party, would endeavour to do the like, and, in effect, did ſo; for they turned their crooked Croziers, into frery Serpents too, raiſing of men, and arms, to reſiſt our Moſaical Reformation; but the ſacred Rod, of our ſecond Moſes, as that of the former, has manifeſtly devoured all their bloody and ſerpentine endeavours. Nay, when rivers of blood, were made to run upon Engliſh ground, in our juſt defence, they would needs, likewiſe, by their Negromantick malice, make thoſe Rivers to overflow with blood too, for the ſupport of their Tyrannical and uſurped power: which that they might the better do too, they would raiſe their ſwarms, and infinities of Frogs to follow them, I mean, thoſe croaking and skipping Church-men, that were the trueſt Trumpets of the War, whoſe Religion onely was intereſt, and God their gain, ſo made it their buſineſſe, to cover their pernicious prelatical deſigns, with the cloak of the Goſpel, not careing, ſo they might, by preaching, infuſe their malice into others, to become Caſt-awayes themſelves; as the Apoſtle forwarns us of them, and our bleſſed Saviour too, terming them Wolves in Sheeps cloathing. But yet, when our glorious ſecond Moſes, was pleaſed to ſtretch forth his Divine Rod again, and ſmite the duſt of the earth into Lice (ſit verbo venia) that is, when he raiſed from the duſt of the earth, thoſe poor, humble, ſelf-denying creatures, that were as much nothing in their own, as in the worlds eye, I mean thoſe incomparable Perſons, as they have ſince proved themſelves, whom he then new modell'd into an Army; Then thoſe, all the pretended Great ones, were at a gaze; their malice nor magick could do no more.

But yet further, let us obſerve, and remember how poor We, ſuffered under the moral, of all thoſe other plagues of Egypt too, until our ſacred ſecond Moſes, undertook that mighty Work, has Terris & Templis avertere peſtes: Were we not oppreſt in like manner, with thoſe innumerable armies of Flies, thoſe inſolent animals, ſtrange ſwarms of buzzing Courtiers, that were ſtill begging of their eaſie Maſter, ſome private Boon, or other, to the prejudice of the Publick, putting their fingers in every diſh, and picking ſomething out of every mans pocket, or property; and has not our ſecond Moſes delivered us likewiſe from all thoſe? Then for the miraculous plague of Boiles and Blaines, had we not enough of thoſe too, by the malice of our Monopoliſts, Projectors, and other Encroachers, upon the poor ſubjects liberties, and properties, which have been truly called in all Ages Ʋlcera Rei Publicae: the Ulcers and Impoſthumes of the Common-wealth? And has not his Highneſſe, our ſecond Moſes, his ſacred Rod, that is, his Sword, moſt happily, and timely, lanced thoſe ſores, and given us a ſure and perfect Cure? Then, as for thoſe horrid ſtorms of Hail, Thunder, and Fire mingled with water, of which the Earth never ſaw the like, as the Text tells us; What did they emblematize to us, but thoſe dire ebullitions of Tyranny, over our Religions, liberties and properties, which went not onely about to deſtroy our preſent fruits, but to take away all our Natural, and Eternal Rights in them? And has not our glorious ſecond Moſes, given us a bleſſed delivery from all that miſchief too? Then for thoſe millions of Locuſts, that invaded the Land of Egypt; what legions of lewd Lawyers had we, that ſwarmed amongſt us like to Caterpillers indeed, from the unjuſt Judge, to the ſordid Advocate, and from him, to the meaneſt Clarke? a ſort of men, that could accommodate their Laws, like a noſe of wax, to all intents and purpoſes whatſoever, making the ſacred Seat of Juſtice, it ſelf, a ſtalking-horſe to Tyranny; Law to countenance oppreſſion, and Truth it ſelf to lye? And has not our ſecond Moſes, pretty well delivered us from all thoſe petty-fogging plagues too? Then was there ever any more prodigious darkneſſe, over the face of a whole Land? ſo groſſe an ignorance of Religion? all Divinity, forſooth, and ſaving knowledge, being bound up, and rooſting it ſelf in a pitiful, lazy, luxurious, Biſhops Rotchet, as in its onely Sanctuary; I am ſure the whole light of the Goſpel, was concealed under the ridiculous covering of their Canonical coats, as they call them, and we kept in more than Egyptian Darkneſſe, till by the flaming Sword, of our ſecond Moſes, we were reſtored to that wonderful light, which we lately have, and do ſtill enjoy, under his late Highneſſe his, and his Princely ſons, Government. Then, for the laſt plague of all, which was the ſmiting of the firſt-born, what can be more parallel to it, than the ſavage cruelty, formerly exerciſed by the Court of Wards, over the heirs of all the Principal Houſes of England? who were there doubly ſmitten, both in their perſons, and eſtates; Their lands pillaged by every poleing Guardian, and themſelves ſold like ſlaves, or horſes in a Market, and condemned to what is commonly worſe than death, to a wife of another mans election. From all theſe Plagues, and Diabolical inchantments, has not our ſecond Moſes moſt happily freed us too? and, to crown all his glories, as the former Moſes did, Has he not ſeen a Pharaoh and his Armies drencht in a Red Sea of their own blood?

Now, how impoſſible it is to conceive, that all this could be brought about, without the miraculous aſſiſtance of the Almighty, they can beſt judge, who have been the witneſſes of his great Actions, and know how remarkable his proceedings have been, from the very firſt undertaking of theſe Nations Deliverance: For, firſt he began but with one poor ſingle Troop, which how inſtantly grew into a Regiment, and that into an Army, and that Army to give Laws, as it were, to all the World, no man can believe, that has not ſeen it, or elſe been taught faith enough, to underſtand the Cloud, that Elias ſaw no bigger than a hand, which in a moment, overſpread the whole heavens; or that Fountain of Mardochaeus, which, in the beginning, crept on with little noiſe, through the Meadows, and in an inſtant, turned into a great River, & that River into Light, & this Light into a Sun, and ſuch a Sun which afforded both luſter, and water, to all the World. The plain truth is, that the acceſſion of his Highneſſes Forces, as his ſucceſſes, have been ſo miraculous, that they appear more like viſions, than realities; and, as antiquity can find nothing in the like kind, (unleſſe this preſident of our firſt Moſes) for to equal them: ſo Poſterity will be as much puzled to believe them, as we ſhall ſee more at large, in our future Aſcents, which treate of the invincible Valour, matchleſſe Prudence, and incomparable Greatneſſe of Military Conduct, in theſe two our Moſaical Maſters.

The ninth Aſcent.

MOſes was moſt miſerably diſturbed, and injuriouſly perſecuted, with the frequent miſprizions, malitious repinings, and ungrateful murmurings, of the common people: And, indeed, it is not a little wonderful, to obſerve, how our Patriarch, has no ſooner eſcaped from the face of Pharaoh, and malice of his Magicians, but, he is brought to a terrible trial of his patience, with his own people: who find themſelves, no ſooner out of bondage, by his means, but they muſt preſently ſet their tongues at liberty, to raile againſt their glorious Captain, and Deliverer.

Now, firſt they begin their game, upon the ſight of Pharaohs purſuite of them; flying upon him thus. Becauſe there were no graves in Egypt, Eod. 14.1. haſt thou taken us away to die in the Wilderneſſe? &c. Nor were they ſooner delivered from that danger, being led dry-foot through the middle of the Ocean, which had ſwallowed up the fury of Pharaoh, and all his Hoſt: but coming on the other ſide of the Sea, they muſt murmur again,Exod. 15.24. againſt poor Moſes, becauſe the waters there, were ſomething bitter, and ſo he was conſtrained to deal a double Miracle, the one to ſweeten the waters, the other them; ſo the people were for the preſent pacified.

Now their thirſt was no ſooner quenched, but they muſt be murmuring again, for want of bread, and upbraid their Redeemer, for their very Deliverance, telling him in plain terms, to his face, that he might have done well to have let them alone, when they ſate by the fleſh-pots of Egypt, and did eat bread to their full, taxing him of a deſign, to ſtarve them in the Wilderneſſe.Exod. 16.3. Then was bread moſt wonderfully rained down from Heaven, to ſtop their mutinous mouths, and yet that moſt miraculous, and celeſtial food, could not content them; for at the very next turn, they muſt make as fierce an out-cry for a little water. Nay, the Text tells us, that they were ſo inſolent, as to chide with Moſes for it,Exod. 17.2. and the place was called Maſſah, and Meribah, becauſe of the chiding of the children of Iſrael: Yet the Lord being pleaſed to appeaſe ſo perverſe a people,V. 7. made Moſes whom the murmured at, to beſtow another miracle upon them, and to broach a Rock, to afford them drink.

And yet after ſo many ſtupendious ſupplies of their wants, and more miraculous forbearances, to puniſh their repining ſpirits, the Devil of diſobedience, and ſedition, will not ſo be ſatisfied, but this rebellious people, muſt be ſtill grumbling again againſt Moſes, till the fire of Heaven, had almoſt conſumed them all;Num. 11. and yet at the importunity of good Moſes, that all was no ſooner quenched, but they muſt nauſeat, and loath, the very bread of Heaven; and cry out, forſooth, for fleſh. Nothing we know can ſatisfie irregular appetites, yet that luſt of theirs muſt be ſatiated too, by ſuch a ſhower of Quailes, as never the earth ſaw, though there, that meat was made a mortal poiſon to the mutineers. Nay, yet, after all theſe fair warnings, ſo many miraculous ſupplies, and ſo much long-ſuffering of the Lords, and his ſervant Moſes with them, they muſt pick a quarrel with him ſtill; nay, go about to make a general revolt, and to depoſe him from his Charge, and all, forſooth, becauſe they ſaw before them, the huge bugbear Gyants of the ſons of Anack:Num. 14. for they ſaid unto one another, We are brought hither, to fall by the Sword; Come let us chuſe another Captain, and let us return into Egypt.

This was a diſmal mutiny indeed, and for that, the Lord would have extirpated them all, but for the importunate prayer of our injured Moſes: Though it was ſo contrary to his own intereſt too; for the Lord offered him, to make of himſelf a people, mightier, and a greater Nation, than they were: but the gracious Lord was ſo taken off from his vengeance, and our Clement Moſes was content to continue the Charge, and ſtill charitably to conduct ſo rebellious, and diſobedient a people, though their many after mutinies, and baſe murmurings, drew more and more plagues upon them, as that of the terrible fiery Serpents, and divers others, too tedious now to relate, being called to haſten to our precious Parallel.

The Parallel.

No other treatment than this, can all good Princes,Jud. 8. and Governours expect from the rude Populace, qui ipſam dominationem ſpernunt, & majeſtatem blaſphemant, who are alwayes addicted to deſpiſe Dominion, and blaſpheme Majeſty it ſelf, as the Apoſtle tells us; They are never better pleaſed, then when they can, as Auſtin well expreſſeth it, in Principes petulantem ingenii ſui libidinem procacitur exercere:Auguſt. ſpend the luſt of their petulant tongues upon their Princes. The ſame humour was not amiſſe remarkt, by the acute Hiſtorian in his time, Loquax ſane & ingenioſus, Tacitus. in contumeliam Praefectorum, populus; inter quos qui vitaverit culpam, non effugit infamiam: The people, ſaith he, are naturally talkative, and love to ſhew their little wits, in caſting of contumelies againſt their Governours, none of whom, can carry themſelves ſo well, as to be clear from blame, though they are free from fault: and the Philoſopher gives ſome reaſon for it,Seneca. Male de illis loquuntur Nequam homines, quia bene loqui neſciunt, faciunt non quod merentur illi, ſed quod ſolent ipſi: wicked people, ſaith he, ſpeak ill of their Princes, becauſe they know not how to ſpeak well; and ſo what they do, is according to their own cuſtom, not the others deſerving.

Indeed, we full well know, that this great Beaſt, the people, is a monſter of many heads, and thoſe heads, have as many horns, to gore, and gall, their Governours. Since then this miſchievous humour has prevailed in all Ages, and amongſt all Nations, and is become now perfectly cuſtomary to the mad multitude, from whom, neither the Crowns of Kings, nor Miters of the greateſt Prelates, can be ſecure; Why ſhould our ſecond Moſes, his late Highneſſe, trouble himſelf more about it, than his great Pattern, and Prototype, the former Moſes did? They both knew full well, that ſuch wicked, ill-natured, depraved, and perverſe people, there would be ſtill in the World, and that by Gods eſpecial permiſſion too, for the exerciſe of his ſervants vertues. Vinegar is ſaid to be very neceſſary, for the purifying, and poliſhing of ſome precious Stones, which have their fire (as it were) frozen over, and their luſter eclipſed, by ſome dark ſubſtance, or earthy interpoſition: So great ſpirits, ought to have ſome little touch or taſte of Acerbities, to enlighten their valours, and illuſtrate all their other vertues: And ſo I doubt not, but that we ſhall without much difficulty, in this particular, accompliſh our happy Parallel.

Has our glorious ſecond Moſes been leſſe injured by venemous tongues? leſſe perſecuted with the miſprizions, repinings, and malitious murmurings, of theſe mutinous Nations, than our firſt Moſes has been, with his ſtiff-necked Iſraelites? Or, has his Highneſſe ſhewed leſſe patience in bearing, or greater magnanimity in contemning thoſe curſed contumelies, with which ſome Diabolical creatures have attempted to aſperſe his Divine vertues, than that his firſt Pattern or Prototype has done? No, his moſt Serene Highneſſe, could never be diſturbed with thoſe petit clouds of vulgar ignominies, no more, than the Supream Sphere of the celeſtial Bodies, can be moved, by any diſtempers here below.

His Sacred Highneſſe, likewiſe knew, that he had a greater example, than that of his Maſter Moſes too, to follow, in that grand point of temper, towards his people, and that is the Almighty Lord of Heaven himſelf. Who has borne more injuries from the wicked mouths of men, than his Divine Majeſty has done? inſomuch, as old Tertullian tells us,Tertul. That to bear an injury gallantly, is a true ray of the Divinity it ſelf: and Cyprian, Cyprian: de patientia. as elegantly as he, in his Treatiſe that he compoſed of patience, confirms to us, That this brave bearing of injuries, is not onely the proper vertue of true Nobility, but a moſt glorious property of the Deity. Eſt nobis (ſaith he) cum Deo virtus communis, inde patientia incipit, inde Claritas ejus & dignitas caput ſumit; So he is bold to make it not onely to be the very Eſſence of God, but the Clarity, and Dignity of his Nature. And indeed, when we deeply conſider, the great long-ſuffering of our good God, for ſo many Ages, how he has permitted to ſtand ſo many Temples of abominable Idols, that were erected to the very contempt of his holy Name, and in the defiance of his Power: How he has been pleaſed ſtill to ſuffer dayes and times to circumvolve, rivers to glide, winds to blow, the Spring to put on a green, and the Autumn a ſaffron Robe, grapes and corn to ripen, the Elements to ſerve, and hold univerſal Nature in breath, to ſupply a thouſand millions of Sacrifices, every day offered to Hell it ſelf; How he has ſtill continued to caſt even flowers from Heaven, with a bountiful and free hand upon the audacious heads of his moſt contumacious enemies, who better deſerved to have received ſo many ſtroaks, of his angry Thunder-bolts.

So, when we conſider, the great long animity, and patience, of our ever bleſſed Saviour, in bearing the curſed contumelies, and inſolencies of the perfidious Jews, which were ſo horrid, that total Nature it ſelf groaned under them, the Sun could not behold them, but be eclipſed, nor the Stars attend, but in their ſad and mourning weeds, and the whole frame of the Univerſe, ſuffer a moſt ſharp convulſion, both above, and below his Croſſe; and yet he in the mean time, as unconcerned in his own ſufferings, was pleaſed to remain upon it quietly, though bloodily affixt to it, and undiſturbed as in a chair of State, without any the leaſt emotion.

Who would not now ſuffer himſelf to be carryed away, with the ſtudy of this moſt glorious vertue, of Magnanimous longanimity, and ſuffering unworthy injuries? And ſure, next to this un-imitable pattern of the Almighties, which we have ſeen, that of our firſt great Maſter Moſes, is moſt conſiderable, whoſe ſteps, in this too, our moſt pious ſecond, has ſo clearly traced, that they may be more truly called the very ſame, than Parallel: Onely here's the difference remaining,; our firſt Moſes couragiouſly and kindly ſuffered the reproaches, frequent murmurings, and mutinous diſtempers of a company, of poor, wandering and hunger-ſtarved Jews, in a Deſart; and our glorious ſecond, has been ever graciouſly pleaſed to paſſe by the more malitious railings, and revilings, of our own too high-fed, pampered, inebriated, brutiſh people.

I ſhould be infinite, to enumerate the infamous abuſive libells, they have caſt out againſt his goodneſs, with the particular Calumnies & diſgraces, they have endeavoured to aſperſe his Highneſſes Serene Perſon and Government withal; and indeed the foulneſſe of them, would ſtain through the cleaneſt language, that I could wrap them in, I ſhall therefore paſſe them by without reciting, as he has done without taking notice of, or revenging them: For he, juſt as the Royal Prophet David, did chuſe to bear thoſe honourable wounds, which the envenomed tongues of ſuch as Shimei, had thrown upon his reputation, and ſo was to mount to the Throne of Saul, by his ſteps of patience; witneſſed in ſuffering Saul.

So I will be bold to conclude, that his late Highneſſe, like a perfect true man of honour, did no more trouble himſelf with thoſe injurious dealings of the wicked World, and receiving thoſe ill returns, from his moſt unfaithful, and unworthy back-biters, than does the Sun in the firmament, to behold the Clouds, which he himſelf had drawn, from the mire and fens of the earth, to make himſelf a Skarf of. He knew very well, that he ſhould, as he could not chooſe, but for ever have the upper hand of them, and though they might darken his aſpect ſomething, for a time, and malitiouſly hinder themſelves from the enjoyment of his moſt excellent vertues; yet they could never deprive him, of his proper light, or other ſober, well-tempered, and more thankful ſouls, from receiving the favour of his better influences; as we ſhall continue to prove in the proceſſe of our ſucceeding Aſcents, and happy Parallels

The tenth Aſcent.

MOſes was moſt malignantly lookt upon likewiſe,Num. 16. Num. 12. by ſome of the Elders themſelves, and a dangerous head of Rebellion was made againſt him, by ſome of the Princes of the people; nay, he was aſſaulted nearer home, with an unnatural ſedition in his own Family. So true it is, as the Pſalmiſt tells us, Many are the troubles of the righteous, but the Lord will deliver him out of all. Now is our Moſes come to the Teſt, indeed; for, all that was ſaid before, was but a meer flea-biting to this fiery trial.

The plague of popular tongues, is indeed ſomething tollerable; but the unkind conſpiracies of Princes, and ſuch as ſhould be perſons of honour, and have better underſtanding of their obligations, cannot but cut to the heart of any Captain-General: yet this very ſad diſaſter, befel our glorious Patriarch, in the Rebellion of Corah, Dathan, and Abyram, Num. 16. who roſe up before Moſes, with two hundred and fifty more Princes of the Aſſembly, famous in the Congregation, and men of Renown; and they gathered themſelves together againſt Moſes, and againſt Aaron, and ſaid unto them;V. 2. V. 3. Ye take too much upon you, ſeeing that all of the Congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is alſo amongſt them; wherefore then do you lift up your ſelves, above the Congregation of the Lord? This, when our dear Moſes heard, he fell on his face, to ſhew his great humility, and replied onely, You take too much upon you, you ſons of Levi; ſpeaking onely then to Korah, and his company; but when Dathan and Abiram were ſent for, they tell him plainly,V. 12. V. 13. that they will not come up to him, and expoſtulate the matter thus by meſſage with him, Is it a ſmall thing, that thou haſt brought us up out of a Land, that floweth with milke and honey, to kill us in the Wilderneſſe? but thou muſt altogether make thy ſelf a Prince over us? Then Moſes, to ſhew his magnanimity, the Text ſayes, was very wroth, and ſaid unto the Lord, Reſpect not thou their offerings, &c. Here it is to be obſerved, that Korah was of the ſame Tribe with Moſes too. Nay,Num. 12. yet the Lord would bring a nearer trial to his dear ſervant Moſes, & permit his own right hand, and onely helper appointed to him by God, and one Brother in blood, to revolt againſt him, and joyn himſelf with a ſilly woman, to raiſe a ſedition againſt him, in his own Family; but that buſineſſe was quickly quaſht by Moſes his moſt Clement proceedings with them: by whoſe powerful interceſſions to the Lord, Aaron eſcaped onely with a bare rebuke, and Miriam was chaſtiſed with a Leproſie, for ſeven dayes. Theſe muſt of neceſſity be very heart-breaking blows, to our poor Patriarch; but he that had an aſſured ſafe retreat in his own heart, and the ſweet repoſe of a clear and a quiet conſcience, is no more moved with thoſe unkindneſſes of kindred, and unfaithfulneſſes of friends, than the firmament it ſelf, and ſerene Empyrean heaven, uſed to be, with all the clatter, and combuſtion, fury, and confuſion of the inferiour Orbs.

The Parallel.

Of all the cruel unkindneſſes in the World, there are none that pierce ſo to the quick, or are ſo deeply ſenſible to a Noble nature, as thoſe which it receives from perſons whom it has obliged.

Indeed, we find that thoſe ungrateful returns of injuries, for favours received, do bring aſtoniſhment even to the gates of Heaven it ſelf; which cauſed the Almighty Father, to ſigh out thoſe lamentable complaints, by the mouth of the Prophet Hieremy:Hieremy. How comes it to paſſe, that my beloved hath committed ſo many outrages, ſo many miſdemeanours in my houſe? as much as to ſay, Have I then, O my beloved, lodged thee in my Temple, have I nouriſhed and bred thee up from thy Cradle, with my Fatherly hand, and cheriſht thee in my boſome; now to betray my honour, and thus to defile the glory of my Altars? David. So the Royal Prophet tells us, that he could have born any thing from an enemy, or a ſtranger; but from one that he truſted, or from an intimate familiar, and boſom-friend, to receive an injury, or unworthy return, was beyond his power to bear with patience: and the truth is, it were enough to ſtagger the greateſt Saint: Yet this was our firſt Moſes his miſerable condition, as we have ſeen, and ſhall find it fully parallel'd in our ſecond.

Now it is manifeſt, that it is our Heavenly Fathers conſtant courſe, to put his children to the full proof and exerciſe of their vertues, to inſtruct them to the higheſt pitch, to be as near imitators, as they may be, of his own Divine vertues; who does nothing but good to ungrateful man, and receives nothing but ill from him; as we ſhewed at large in our laſt Aſcent. And ſuch trials as thoſe, are queſtionleſſe very neceſſary for his ſervants; for it is undoubted, that his moſt practiſed ſervants, a very Moſes himſelf, would putrifie in long proſperities, as in a dead Sea, which produceth nothing: ſo that the All-wiſe God, out of great kindneſſe, to his moſt dear ſervants, does ſometimes ſtrike ſuch blows as theſe, that they, as Jonathan, may have their eyes ſtill open, and ſuck in honey from the very end of the Rod, that ſcourgeth them, and in the ſevere chaſtiſement of a father, finde the conſolation of true children. O what a goodly Theater, is a good conſcience! and what a beautiful Arcenal it is, to have the Armes of vertue ſtill in a readineſſe, as our firſt and ſecond Moſes have had againſt all eſſayes? whom no unkindneſſe of unthankful friends, or conſpiracies of ungracious enemies, could ever ſtartle from their ſweet, and ſerene repoſe.

Now, that we may make good our Parallel, we muſt reflect a little upon the barbarous ingratitude, that his late Highneſſe has met withall, from Perſons of other obligations, and Princes too of our Aſſembly. And truly, who would not have thought, after ſo many wonderful Deliverances, by the hand of our ſecond Moſes, as we have ſeen, and the beating down of all open oppoſitions, to the deſtruction of the common enemy; but that our miſeries ſhould have had an end, and our glorious Captain-General ſome reſt? But yet I muſt ſay, with a ſigh, and to the eternal exprobration of ſome perſons, late in power, that we found no other, but aliud ex alio malum, one miſchief to follow upon the very heels of another. How many malignant parties of our own have gone about to diſturb that happy peace, purchaſed with the price of ſo much blood? and no ſtone left unſtirred, to throw us into a ſecond, and a third, and (may be) into more confuſions, and greater than the former, and that by ſome of our Elders too, as I have ſaid, and Princes of the Aſſembly? Nay, our religious brethren of Scotland too, muſt be ſet on foot again by them, to make their Covenant a ſtalking-horſe for Rebellion, and to renew a war in all probability, more cruentous and dangerous, than the former: But our moſt Renowned ſecond Moſes, being born upon the wings of that Providence, which never failed him, made a moſt happy, and quick diſpatch, of that work; putting an end to all thoſe Kirk enchantments, both here, and there, for the preſent, and I hope for ever. And yet after all this, that by the gracious providence of God, and his Highneſſes great care and prudence, all means of making head, and imbodying themſelves again, was taken from them: I ſhould be infinite to tell, how often thoſe of that leven, have ſhewed their venemous teeth, againſt his Highneſſe, his happy, and moſt godly deſigns, to diſturb him again, and our peace. Nay, ſome of thoſe, that have had the greateſt ſhare in his Highneſſe his Succeſſes, I mean, ſome of thoſe Elders, and Princes, of the Aſſembly, moſt ungrateful, undutiful perſons, that durſt with the Atlantes of old, ſhute their malitious arrows againſt the Sun, and caſt ſtones at him, that gave them bread: nay, ſome of them too, when they could not bow Heaven to their purpoſes, would endeavour to ſtir up Hell againſt him, confound elements, and mingle ſtars with the duſt of the earth, to come to the end of their moſt exorbitant pretenſions: But the Lord, who alwayes took him to his moſt eſpecial care, ſet him ſo far above theirs, and the Divels malice, that hurt him they could not, though themſelves they might, like the Baſilisk, with the repercuſſion of their own poiſon: The fagot ſmoaks onely when it begins to burn, but when the flame has once got the upper hand, there will be then no ſmoak at all.

Natural Philoſophy informes us, that the Rain-bow in the Heavens, is not eaſily to be form'd at Noon, in the heats of Summer; becauſe the Sun being then vigorus in his altitude, diſſipates and waſtes thoſe Clouds: So our ſecond Moſes, being mounted, as he was, to the higheſt pitch of Heroick vertue, diſpelled all oppoſition. Malice it ſelf could neither find Bow nor Arrow to reach him; but burſt it ſelf with its own venemous intention: ſo did all calumny crack it ſelf before the truth of his vertue, which darted reſplendent flaſhes into all eyes. We know it's ſaid of old, that felicitatis umbra invidia, There are no ſhadows without light, nor is there any envy without ſome gift of God. No man thinks it ſtrange that Cantharides ſhould fix themſelves upon Roſes; it is certain, that vermin will not be ſatisfied, but with the faireſt and the ſweeteſt flowers. But that which ſeems moſt ſtrange to me, and truly it is not a little admirable, that men heretofore ſo honoured for wiſdom, and good affections to the Publick, ſhould run ſo ſtark mad with malice, as to go about ſo extravagant a buſineſſe, as to ſwim againſt the ſtream with the ſilly frog, hoping to ſtop the flood, and conſtant current of the Rhodanus or Danubius; or with the fooliſh fly, ſoare up to Heaven, to fix her feet upon, and ſtay the courſe of the primum mobile: but by this time, I believe, they are all more amazed than bridled geeſe, and look as ghaſtly as dead men, four dayes after their Funerals, taken from their graves: and indeed, our ſecond Moſes, never made more reckoning of ſuch as thoſe, than of ſo many angry hens, that have indeed the eyes of dogs, but the hearts of hares. It would be an endleſſe piece of work, to enumerate the infinite plots, conſpiracies, treaſons, and aſaſſinats, contrived and practiced upon his ſacred Perſon; but he ſecurely ſlept in the arms of the ever-waking providence, and could not but be confident in ſpite of all the malice of men and Devils, but he that had ſo raiſed him to, would ſtill preſerve him in, his moſt illuſtrious ſtate and condition.

I ſhall onely take leave to expoſtulate a little with thoſe perſons, and ſo conclude this Parallel. Are you not aſhamed yet of your ingratitude, you children of the Scottiſh Belial? Had you had one drop of true Engliſh blood in your bodies, you would have been readier to ſpend that for him, than to take his from him. What, you would be all Kings? we remember indeed, too lately, that you were ſo; and you would have a perpetual ſeat in Parliament too, as you once thought you had got? and truly, it is great pity, but it were ſo again, especially being ſo good Patriots as you have been? I wonder truly, that then you did not vote your ſelves to be immortal too. Let any temperate and knowing man in England now be Judge, whether when you ſate ſo, with all your power and ſplendor about you, ſo loudly proclaiming your ſelves ſuch Magnifical members, you did not ſtink in the noſtrils of all the people? Who generally lookt upon you then, but as buſie Apes upon a houſe top? and as a ſmoke in the ſocket of a greaſy candleſtick?Bern. lib. 1. de Conſid. cap. 7. for ſuch (as the Learned Bernard tells us) are all dignified perſons without merit: and ſo accordingly, his Highneſſe ſacred wiſdom, ſpied you out, and amongſt the reſt of his moſt incomparable Heroick Actions, which he has engraven with a Pen of Adamant, to conſecrate to all Poſterity, he then ſent you out in your own ſnuff, the ſtench whereof, is not yet, nor will be, I believe, in the next Age, extinguiſht.

Thus we ſee, the Moon may ſeem for a time to darken the Sun, when it is eclipſed; but yet ſhe daily renders the tribute of her light: So all the malice in the World, that has made a ſhew to darken his Highneſſe for ſome time, cannot at all obſcure, but muſt encreaſe his praiſes, by its ſlanders, as it did advance his repoſe by its oppoſitions, and augment his Crowns by his humiliation. Nay, my Lord being of nothing ſo ambitious, as to be like his Great Maſter Moſes, has traced the ſteps of that his great Archetype, to the very height of all charity, towards theſe his moſt violent, and undeſerved adverſaries, and all their Complices. Have we not ſeen him, like that his firſt Maſter, frequently proſtrating himſelf at the foot of the Tabernacle, praying, and almoſt binding up the hands of God, to ſtay the courſe of his vengeance, againſt thoſe that perſecuted him even to the Tabernacle; nay, would take into himſelf likewiſe, a piece of Reverend Aaron for his Pattern, ſtanding in the Majeſty of his Prieſtly habit, with the Incenſory and Sacrifice in hand, to appeaſe the anger of God againſt his perſecutors, when Heaven was all on fire over their heads, and the Earth became a devouring gulph under their feet, to ſwallow them up. Our moſt Renowned Lord Protector, could never be leſſe than a Moſes to them, though they did continue never ſo much to be a Corah, Dathan, and Abiram, unto him: So we ſhall proceed from thoſe wretched injuries, he received from ungrateful men, to thoſe Noble, Princely, and high exaltations, that he alwayes found within his Moſaick ſelf.

The eleventh Aſcent.

MOſes was a Perſon of a very high courage, himſelf, and every way accompliſht with parts requiſite to a good Souldier; and he was no leſſe curious in the choice of thoſe whom he was to receive to ſerve under him as ſouldiers.Exod. 2.11, 12. For his own perſonal Courage it ſufficiently appeared in his minority, when he ſlew an Egyptian, that was abuſing of an Hebrew, one of his brethren: which was improved highly in his maturity, and was moſt viſible, in his embracing ſo many difficulties; as his frequent confrontings of Pharaoh, and all the fury of the Egyptians, and over-paſſing all the perverſe oppoſitions of his own people. He was no leſſe choiſe in the election, and approbation, of ſuch as were to be made ſouldiers; as is to be ſeen in the rule that he gave for thoſe which were to go to war: ordering, that thoſe which were to go out with the Hoſt againſt the enemy,Deut. 23.9. ſhould keep themſelves clear from all wickedneſſe, nor ſo much as be ſtained with any uncleanneſſe, &c.

The Parallel.

Nor leſſe doubt can there be ſure of the perſonal Valour, of our ſecond Moſes, who though he ſlew no man, that ever I could hear of, in any private quarrel, yet was known to be alwayes ready to draw his Sword upon a good occaſion.

His Highneſſe was never of the temper of thoſe ſpirits, that upon the miſconſtruction of a word, or a cold countenance, muſt presently deſire to ſee a man with his ſword in his hand, and ſwear that they will evict reparation from him, ſealed with his blood. No, it cannot be but an argument of a baſe ſpirit, and of ignoble extraction, to ſeek out occaſions of quarrelling, and Duelling; for by that ſure, they muſt have ſome deſign, to blot out ſome ignominy of their births, or other unworthineſſe. Heretofore truly, none but ſlaves, lackies, butchers, gladiators, or ſuch kind of fellows, did uſe that trade of Duells; but now forſooth, the opinion of ſome fooles, will make it fit for Gentlemen: But our firſt, and ſecond Moſes, ever had ſuch pitiful Hectors in extream contempt, who go about by that means, to purchaſe glory out of vice, gain hell by their execrable carriage, and but acquire on earth, the qualities of a Clown. They have taught us, that we are not to make our ſelves like Fierabras, nor the Knight of the burning-ſword, in matter of valour: and I dare aver, that if there were a hundred ſuch like Rodomonts, brayed, and ſtamped to powder in a Morter, they would not be able to make up one half ounce of true fortitude. Nay, I have ſeen ſome of thoſe moſt importunate fellows, to fight Duells, when they come to bear arms in a good cauſe, where they ought to ſhew true valour, and an undaunted reſolution, they have been the firſt that have moſt deſperately run away; they have paſſed over hills, without being ſenſible of the aſcents, through woods, without ſeeing of a tree before them, and meaſured many miles without caſting one look behind them; nay, ſometime whole flocks of them together, that will run away like ſheep, with the very appreſion of a fear, that the noiſe of their own feet gives them.

Our firſt and ſecond Moſes, were as little given to make diſcourſes of their own Valour; Thoſe who brave it moſt in words, are moſt commonly found moſt failing in performance. When Homer makes his braveſt Captains to march, he gives them alwayes ſilence for a guide; contrariwiſe, he makes cowards to babble, and chatter like Cranes. The firſt paſſe along like great Rivers, letting their ſtreams glide ſoftly with a ſilent majeſty; but the ſecond keep a murmuring, and bubling, like little Brooks: Indeed, the world is too full of theſe Rodomonts, now called Hectors, who are tranſported with od, arrogant, and ſudden furies, like Rabſheketh in Scripture, and yet will tremble at the Lancet of a Surgeon, and cry out for a little pain, more than a woman in Labour: in ſhort, the true ſign of not being valiant, is to ſtrive to ſeem to be ſo.

Our ſecond Moſes was known to be none of all this Swaſh-buckler brood, ſprung from the race of Cadmus, derived from the teeth of Serpents; and yet never more ready to eat, than to fight, upon a good occaſion, nay, a Duel out too, if there were a cauſe for it; that is, either in the Head of an Army, by publick conſent, againſt ſome Goliah, to defend the honour of his Nation, and ſo to end ſome notable War, and ſtay a greater effuſion of blood: or elſe, if juſtly called to it, in his own, or any dear friends vindication; not upon ſome ſilly Chymera of ſpirit, upon the interpretation of ſome ambiguous words, or, which is worſe, for the love of ſome unchaſt woman, who will not be otherwiſe propitiated, but with the ſacrifice of humane blood. No, this is no part of our Moſaical courage: The men of this make, were always thoſe that his Highneſſe fought againſt, and proved upon them in the end, that, to be a true compleat Chriſtian Souldier, was not to become a braving Cyclop, without any feeling of God, or ſenſe of Religion, but ſuch a one as his Maſter Moſes would have him to be, that goes into the field; that is, clear from all wickedneſſe, and uncleanneſſe: and ſo accordingly did our ſecond Moſes, alwayes make his ſacred choiſe of men. His inſpired wiſdom, knew full well, that none are fitter to go to War, than thoſe, who had made their peace with God, nor can there be any more valourous, than he that has a true fear of the Lord before him: for firſt, ſuch a mans ſoul is a Fort impregnable, which cannot be ſcaled with ladders, for it reacheth up to Heaven, nor be broken with batteries, for it is walled with braſſe, nor undermined by Pioneers, for he is founded upon a rock, nor betrayed by treaſon, for faith it ſelf has the keeping of it, nor be burnt with granado's, for that can quench the fiery darts of the Devil, nor yet be forced by famine, for a good conſcience is a continual feaſt.

It was not for nothing then, that theſe two great ſouls of honour, our firſt and ſecond Moſes, would not onely be ſo provided themſelves, but have all that followed them, be ſo likewiſe, and to carry about them, the whole armour of St. Paul; for undoubtedly there is nothing ſo ſtrong, nothing ſo invincible, and triumphant, as a valour, which marcheth bravely under the Rules of true Chriſtian Religion: Whatſoever Mr. Machiavel would perſwade us, that Devotion and Piety, are the greateſt weakners of courage, and warlike diſpoſitions, and that honeſty and vertue, do but expoſe a Prince to dangers; the truth of it is, of a Prince as he has propoſed him, he has made little better, than a wilde beaſt, and yet would perſwade us, tis a man, and none I preſume, will believe it, but ſuch as carry their eyes in their heels.

The brave Belizarius, ſure was of another opinion, who was one of the moſt excellent Captains in the World, being to put ſome lewd ſouldiers to death, for ſome military crimes, declared his mind ſo freely to his Army, in theſe Terms,Procop. lib. 1. de Bello Vandal. that Procopius recites: Know ye (ſaith he) that I am come to fight with the arms of Religion, and Juſtice, without which, we can expect neither Victory nor Happineſſe; I deſire my Souldiers ſhould have their hands clean to kill an enemy. Never will I ſuffer any man in my Army, that hath fingers crooked or bloody, were he in arms as terrible, as lightning: force is of no worth, if it have not equity and conſcience for companions. This now, methinks, was ſpoken like a Souldier indeed, like the very ſpirit of our Moſes.

And this is moſt certain, that no man can looſe his courage, but he that never had it, and no man can have it, if that he beg it not of the true Lord of Hoſts. Where is light to be ſought for, but from the Sun? or water, but in Rivers? and heat, but in Fire? and where think you to find true Strength, but in the God of the ſtrong? I mean, not that ſtrength of body, that Milo had to carry a heavy beaſt, but the ſtrength of ſoul and courage, to carry a man through all extremities; which hath its root in reaſon, its encreaſe in piety, and its Crown in true glory: and this courage our ſecond Moſes had to the full, and that I hope, there is no man but will grant, is ſo far from being leſſened, that it is onely heightened by Religion, and godlineſs. His ſacred Highneſſe therefore choſe for his Companions in arms, none of thoſe roaring, ranting fellows, that think there is no way to be eſteemed valiant, but to dare to be impious, to make the pillars of heaven, to tremble with their blaſphemies, and have nothing of ſouldiers in them, but to pill, and ravage, in their Quarters, like Harpyes, and to feed themſelves with humane blood; and in a word, have but this one ſhame left to them, that is, not to be ſhameleſſe. What a ridiculous thing is it, in the mean time, for people to live like Cyclopes, that they may be accounted valiant, and act the part of Turks, to gain the reputation of good Chriſtian ſouldiers? But here his Highneſſe his pious wiſdom, moſt eminently, after the example of his Great Maſter Moſes, has ever ſhewed it ſelf, and made us to know ſuch perſons well enough: his inſpired judgement, could never be ſubject to ſo much fallacy, as to take chaff for Gold, hemlock for Parſly, or an Ape for a Man; and he has plainly taught, and proved to us, that all their pretended courage, is nothing elſe but deſpair and rage, boiling in their paſſionate breaſts, and counterfeiting vertue. So I hope we ſhall have no more ſuch falſe ſpectacles clapt over our eyes, by that ſpirit of lyes forged in the ſhop of Hell, to make us take that glaſs for Diamond, and thoſe Keſtrells for Faulcons; indeed, fitter for Stallions, than War-horſes; all their courage is nothing but a boiling fury in their hearts, like to that of ſome Lunaticks, or poſſeſt with an evil ſpirit, which makes very children, and women, to be ſometimes ſtronger, than many men; But ſuch as theſe, were none of our ſecond Moſes his election; for he being to go on God Almighties errand, would have no aſſociats, but ſuch as the Lord ſhould approve of, and were free from all manner of uncleanneſſe, as that Great Maſter of War, and his incomparable Preſident, both preſcribed, and practiſed.

The twelfth Aſcent.

MOſes was well entered into years, but retained a ſtrong ſenſe ſtill and underſtanding, before he was called out upon Publick Employment; he was a moſt vigilant, faithful, and skilful Officer in the field: For his age, we find it was not over-great, conſidering how men lived about that time, but his vigour was very extraordinary; for the Text tells us, that he was a hundred and twenty years old when he died,Deut. 34.7. yet his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. Now by all the computations of Chronologers, he was above fourſcore years old, when he was called out upon this great Action, of Delivering the Lords own people out of bondage, and by conſequence, he muſt have been then, of a much more vigorous conſtitution, than afterwards: For his vigilancy, there is none ſure will doubt,Exod. Levit. that pleaſeth to peruſe the ſacred Text, where he is to be found alwayes watching, and praying for his people, and either pleading ſomething for them to God, or for God to them; for his care and fidelity, the Lords own acknowledgement likewiſe may ſerve turn, who has expreſſely teſtified of him,Num. 12.7. that he was faithful in all his houſe.

The Parallel.

By equal calculation of our Modern Naturaliſts, as well as Chronologers, we do finde, that God indulg'd double the life to men, before the Flood, to that he has done ſince the very next Age after; and yet to them too, vouchſafed twice ſo much time of living, as he has done to us: So that if thoſe great Secretaries of Nature, and Antiquity do not deceive us, our ſecond Moſes, his forty years and upwards, may appear parallel to the former's fourſcore, at, or about, which times, they both were preſt forth into Publick employment. By which we may obſerve, How the Lord is pleaſed to honour a well-ſeaſoned age; for, as the late Learned Philoſopher tells us,Fred. de Marſel. Prudentiae mater, & adjutrix eſt experientia, quam aetate provectiores, multorum obſervato curriculo temporum, negotiorum, exemplorum, comprobatam magis habere poſſunt: quippe quam dies dat, qui ut poſterior prioris fit diſcipulus, & ſeris venit uſus ab annis. The Mother and Nurſe of Prudence, is experience, which the more ancient, by the obſervation of a larger courſe of times, practices of buſineſſes, and preſidents, muſt of neceſſity, have in a greater proportion; This skill, dayes, are commonly the Donors of; for we find the following day is ſtill the Scholler of the former, and as the Poet tells us, True experience is not got without proceſſe of time. Thus we find the beſt incenſe alwayes comes from old Trees, and Torches, made of Aromatick wood, caſt out their beſt, and moſt odoriferous exhalations, when they are almoſt waſted. O that I had never ſaid that word, my tongue falters to ſpeak, my pen is palſie-ſtrook to write, and my heart trembles to think, that our ſecond Moſes, his dayes were ſo ſoon to have an end; for we had no temporal good thing more to pray for, in order to the State, or our ſelves, but that the bleſſedneſſe we enjoyed under his late Highneſſe, might be eternal, and that we might perpetually live and flouriſh under the comfortable and pleaſant ſhadow of his Palms; but we have too lately ſeen, that he, as a Moſes, is gone as he came, and left us nothing, but our own peace, and his precious memory behind him. But I muſt paſſe by this paſſion, leſt it make me guilty of too great a digreſſion, it being a diſcourſe more proper for the cloſe of our Parallels. And indeed, however we finde our ſecond Moſes Parallel to the firſt for number of years, That I cannot ſo certainly determine, as I can for the vigour of his ſoul, and acuteneſſe of his ſenſe, no one of which, to the very laſt Scene of his life, was any whit dulled or diminiſhed, more than the eye of his Great Maſter Moſes was; an extraordinary bleſſing doubtleſſe, vouchſafed by the Divine goodneſſe, to his dear ſervants, to get youth by years, and beauty it ſelf by time; as we have ſeen perfectly proved, in the perſon of his late moſt Serene Highneſſe, our ſecond Moſes, as has been recorded of that our firſt Great Patriarch his Prototype.

Then for his great diligence, fidelity, care, and skill, in diſcharging all Truſts committed to his Charge, no man can at all diſpute, that has either ſeen, or heard, of the indefatigable labours of his Life. His Highneſſe knew that idleneſſe was a meer moth of Noble mindes, and iron it ſelf ſure, if it had the reaſon to diſcourſe, underſtanding to chuſe its one commodity, would cry out to us, that it better loved to be kept in conſtant uſe, and exerciſe, than to lie ruſting, and conſuming in the corner of a horſe: Wherefore we ſee, that God does not ordinarily entertain great ſouls, in the pleaſures of an idle life, but in the rigid exerciſes of vertue; for we know that there are many moſt excellent fiſhes that will die in ſtanding waters, and are delighted in the moſt bubbling ſluces, and turbulent ſeas, and rivers; and the beſt birds, will alwayes be abroad in the moſt troubled air. Our glorious Eagle therefore, was alwayes ſeeking out for action, and never to be found lazing, or beating of his wings in the lower Regiment of the air, but ſoaring alwayes aloft, amongſt the furies of Lightnings, Tempeſts, and Whirle-winds, playing with Thunderclaps and ever having his eye, where the day was to break. His painful vigilancies were ſo great in Court, as well as Camp, City, and Field, that we may ſay of him, as was once of the Great Conſtantine, Plin. Tam aſſiduus in actione ſua conſtitit, ut vel labore refici ac reparari videretur, He was ſo converſant in action, that it ſeemed to be nothing, but his continual recreation, Gaudent ſiquidem, ſaith the ſame Author, divina perpetuo motu, & jugi agitatione ſe vegetat aeternitas, His conſtitution was ſo ſtrenuous, that it muſt needs have been akin, to thoſe celeſtial bodies, that refreſh themſelves with their own motion, and perpetual agitation. So true it is,Seneca. what Seneca tells us, Contempta res eſt home, niſi ſupra humana ſe erexit; A man is a very pitiful, vile, and contemptible thing, unleſſe he be ambitious to raiſe himſelf above all the ordinary courſes of the World: but that ſaying is to be verified in no ſort of men ſo much, as the Noble Souldier, whoſe honour depending upon the moſt ſuperlative degree of vertue, muſt ſeek out, and purſue, wayes beyond all equality: and ſuch a perſon, is ſure of attaining his end; for Polyaenus has aſſured him,Polyaenus. that Voluntas ad laborem propenſa cuncta vincere & ſuperare conſuevit, A propenſe will, or a ſoul prone to labour, has been ever wont to conquer, and overcome all difficulties. And Appian gives the like encouragement,Appian. de bell. Hiſpan. when he proclaims, Nihil tam arduum quod induſtria & animi fortitudine ſuperari non poſſit; Nothing ſo high, or hard, but is to be compaſſed and overcome by induſtry, and a willing valiant mind: What theſe, and all the Philoſophers, Poets, Orators, or Hiſtorians, have ſaid, or could preſcribe, his late moſt Serene Highneſſe, has alwayes fully underſtood, and moſt perfectly practiſed, as no one of the Army that has ſerved under him, but muſt bear him witneſſe; how preſent he would be upon all Guards and Watches, as if he were ubiquitary; how inceſſant in all his Actions, and Labours, as if he were impaſſible; how alwayes taking order for, and moving about his body, as if he were immortal. Indeed, this laborious vertue, which is no ſmall one in an officer, his Highneſſe was more Maſter of, than any that I ever heard, or read of: If any Work were to be raiſed, his hand muſt be in it firſt, if any duty to be done, his preſident muſt be ſtill the foremoſt; ſo by rare skill mingling the Captain, and the common Souldier together, he did both intend the diligence of others, from whom he might, though not ſo effectually, have exacted it; and eaſe the burden of their labour, by making himſelf a companion and partaker of their pains and travel: But of this, and his other great pieces of Conduct, we ſhall ſay more in our next Aſcent, where we ſhall repreſent him a moſt compleat Captain-General.

The thirteenth Aſcent.

WE have found our Moſes a moſt valiant and vertuous Souldier, and a moſt vigilant, skilful, and careful Officer; but that he might be all, and yet not fit to command in Cheif, and a ſhepherd, is not very likely to make a great General; fitter he muſt be ſure in the opinion of moſt, to lead his flocks, than to conduct an Army of men: Yes, we ſhall find him a moſt glorious and accompliſht Captain-General,Exod. 3. &c. Levit. Num. eut. Num. 11.12. otherwiſe he would never have been ſelected ſure by the Divine Wiſdom, to conduct, and command, ſo great and troubleſome a body, as that of the moſt mutinous, perverſe, and rebellious people in the World, and to carry them in his boſom, as a Nurſe beareth her ſucking child; or if there could be yet any danger of doubt in any of this, I would refer that doubting perſon, to the whole current of holy Scripture, where he ſhall find by the exact diſcipline obſerved in his Army, the ordering of his ſeveral Marchings, and Encampings; the Election of his ableſt Officers, as well as Souldiers, and the fighting of his Battels, his extraordinary and incomparable skill in Military Conduct.

The Parallel.

Good Souldiers get honour to their Captains and Officers, and all together being gallant men, muſt of neceſſity, make a glorious General. It highly concerns him therefore, who is to Command in Cheif, to let his prime and principal care be placed in the Election of his inferiour officers, as our firſt and ſecond Moſes have ſo exemplarily done; for this is the firſt ſtep of all Military Conduct, wherein I am ſure, he has out-done all the Generals that ever were before him, unleſſe this, to which he is ſo parallel. Is it not plain, that his Highneſſe found ſuch horrid abuſes in all the former Armies, that he was faine to new modell this, to bring about thoſe his great, and mighty workes, that he has done? And what ſort of Officers were they that he choſe, and inſtruments that his inſpired wiſdom pickt out, and fitted for his purpoſe? even ſuch as his Souldiers were, before ſpoken of, men of clean hands, and purer hearts, that were to fight the Lords Battels. He rejected ever thoſe gay gawdy outſides of the world, thoſe petit ſpirits of the Abyſs, before ſpoken of, ſprung from the race of Cadmus; I mean thoſe ſilly fencing fellows, ſwaggering ſwaſhbucklers, and Hectors aforeſaid, who appear like Comets of fire and blood, to bring murder, peſtilence, and poiſon, into houſes; who (as I ſaid) make the Pillars of Heaven to tremble with their blaſphemies, & have nothing elſe of ſouldiers in them, but to pill and ravage in their Quarters like Harpies, and feed themſelves with humane blood, who are ever readier to ſhew their valour, for a cold countenance, an extravagant word, or a Caprichio of ſpirit, than they would either be, for God, their Country, or the whole World. A moſt wretched and abominable ſort of men, that never think of, or look up to Heaven, but to blaſpheme it; indeed, more like Centaurs, than men, and have their hearts all ſpotted over like the skin of a Panther. No, theſe were the pitiful things, as we have ſaid before, that his Highneſſe alwayes fought againſt, and proved in the end, that to be a true compleat Chriſtian Captain, or Souldier was not to become a meer Cyplop, without any feeling of God, or ſenſe of Religion, and that the Lord who has pulled down the mighty from their Seats, and does exalt the humble and meek, will alwayes bleſſe the endeavours of ſuch as thoſe. Poverty therefore may be ſaid to reſemble the Iſle of Ithaca, which (as Archeſilas tells us, though rough and buſhy, failed not to breed the braveſt men of Greece; and has not our great Ʋliſſes proved the ſame in England? and herein his Highneſſe has not onely ſhewed, an eſpecial piece of his incomparable Conduct; but proved himſelf to be likewiſe full of the Divine wiſdom, which hides alwayes its moſt precious Treaſures under the bark, and mantle of perſons, baſe, and abject in appearance, as we read in Scripture, Quae ſtulta ſunt mundi elegit Deus, God choſe the fooliſh things of the world to confound the wiſe:1 Cor. 1. For ſimple Fiſhermen, almoſt as dumb and mute as the very fiſhes themſelves, are ſet apart, and choſen to catch in their Nets Philoſophers, Kings, Cities, Provinces, and Empires: and thus in the old Law, the Maſter Stateſman, and Captain of the World, our Patriarch Moſes, being but a poor ſtammering Shepherd in ſhew, is choſen out to carry the Word, to a moſt puiſſant Monarch, to ſhake and to overturn with a poor wand, the Pillars of his Empire, to divide Seas, to calme Billowes, to open the bowels of Rocks, to command all the Elements, and fill the World with wonders. So did he make a like Election of his Officers, and Souldiers, and do the workes of Gyants, with the reputed Pygmies of the world: I hope I have not hitherto undeſervedly brought him for my late Lord Protectors pattern,d Indeed, this is the ordinary cuſtom of Almighty God, to keep his richeſt Pearls in ſhells, and moſt precious perfumes in poor boxes.

Men of this World, we know, do quite contrary, as we ſaw manifeſtly proved by the other party, where moved the old Magadepies of the Church, and Butter-flies of the Court, with ſome other great things, called Lords, who becauſe they had (it may be) a gallant valiant man forſooth, for the Grandfather, thought that they might, very ſecurely, be Cowards, ſo ſpending ſtill upon the ſtock of their great Anteceſſors (though to be doubted, whether they were lawfully begot, or not) ruined their own ſelves. Theſe pretty gawdy things, lived in the world juſt like Snailes, keeping their glorious houſes over their heads, and in their grave Majeſtick courſes, (almoſt as ſlow as theirs too) made very fine long ſilver traces, but were nothing elſe indeed within, but meer froth. They had alwayes their backs like Cuſhions, covered with Velvet, Sattin, and what not, but their inwards we ſee, were nothing but hay, or ſtraw. They made a glorious oſtent of leaves to the World, and a fair verdure, like an over-grown wood; but are within repleniſht with nothing but Serpents.

Theſe perſons ſure, having nothing at all praiſe-worthy in them, would dignifie their perſons with apparel, ſhewing us plainly, that they had like Peacocks, little heads, leſſe brains, beautiful feathers, and a long taile; which yet it ſeems, by their ſtrutting about the ſtreets, are non clypt ſhort enough, with ſome of them, though in good time, I doubt not but they will be. So I paſſe from theſe pitiful nothings, (whom his Highneſſe, inſpired prudence, and skilful conduct, would never admit to ſerve under his Enſignes) to ſome other more worthy piece of his Moſaical Conduct, and the next ſhall be the exact Diſcipline our ſecond Moſes alwayes obſerved, which is indeed, the very ſoul of an Army, and without which, they would march, as the Hiſtorian tells us, Multi homines, pauci viri, Many bodies, but a few men, or indeed, more like Salvages, than Chriſtians. From the neglect of this it is, that we have ſeen in time of War, ſo many Caniballs in arms, that caſt nothing but fire, and blood from their throats, Menaces alwayes marching before them into Quarters, and ruine and deſolation bringing up the Reare: Barbarous villains, that think becauſe they have a ſword by their ſide, they are therefore to be Maſters of the lives, and eſtates of other men. It is moſt certain, great courage is neceſſary to make a true Martial Diſcipline be obſerved; but yet it is to be done, as we ſee in this very Army of our late Lord Protector, that he has left behind him, to be in truth, a mirrour of Armies, and never yet was equalled, no not by that which Alexander Severus commanded, as Lampridius relates,Lamprid. all whoſe ſouldiers, marched to the Perſian War like Senators, and the Country Peaſants loved them as their Brothers, and honoured their Emperour, as a god:Marcus Scaurus. Nor yet by that which Marcus Scaurus writes of, whoſe Regiments encamped round about a great Tree laden with fruit, and yet the ſouldiers were kept in ſuch order, as not to dare, though they were to depart the next morning, to take one apple from the Maſter of the place. In this very manner, did our glorious ſecond Moſes alwayes conduct his men,Vopiſc. in Aurel. giving them that Admirable Leſſon, which the moſt pious Emperour Aurelian gave to ſome of his Officers: My friends, ſaid he, if you will be Captains, nay, if you will live, contain your ſouldiers in their duties: I will not that a Peaſant ſo much as complain, that he has been wronged in the value of a chicken, nor that any has taken a grape from his Vine, without his permiſſion. I will have an account of every grain of ſalt, or drop of oil, unjuſtly exacted. I deſire my ſouldiers ſhould grow rich with the ſpoiles of enemies, and not by the teares of my Subjects. I would have them carry their riches on their ſwords, not into their Hutts, or Cabbins. I would have them chaſt in the houſes of their Hoſts, and not any the leaſt quarrel or diſorder heard of amongſt them, &c. If Heathens could teach us ſuch Leſſons of civil deportment in armes, what a ſhame is it then for ſome Chriſtians, to march as we ſee them do, more like Scythians and Arabians? and that men who are made we know, for the ſupport of men, and who are not ſtrong, but for the defence of the feeble, ſhould be more pernicious one to another, than Wolves and Beares, nay, than fire, hail, ſerpents, inundations, and famins? By this means it is, that warfare, otherwiſe a moſt honourable profeſſion, is made a deteſtable trade, and the Commanders of thoſe unruly Armies, are likely the firſt that ſuffer by them, themſelves, and all the countenancers of ſuch debaucht doings, muſt find the cup of Divine anger mingled with gall, and the poiſon, of Dragons poured forth upon their guilty heads.

All this his late moſt Serene Highneſſe, alwayes abhorred, and prevented; for which reaſon it was ſure, that all the hearts of the poor people, of this Nation, which ſo much ſighed under the former miſcarriages of our Civil War, being indeed reduced, to almoſt a periſhing condition, by the ill conduct of former Captains, freely bloomed, and newly opened themſelves, as Roſes, at the benigne, gentle, and yet ſevere brave aſpect, of this incomparable perſon, our ſecond Moſes, when he came into general Command; for which reaſon it was ſure, that God ſo bleſt him in all his Battels Aſſault, and warlike Enterpriſes, that he was ſucceſſeful in them all; for Plunderers we know, never fight well, and beſides, tis certain, that the juſt God tyes a ſecret vertue to thoſe Standards which march for his glory, and are not beſmeared with the blood of innocents.

Cic pro leg. Manil.But I muſt haſten to accompliſh our Captain-General, and, as Tully tells us, In ſummo Imperatore quatuor hae virtutes ineſſe debent, ſcientia rei militaris, virtus, Authoritas, & felicitas, There are requiſite to a General, theſe four qualities, To have knowledge of the ſouldiers trade, To be valiant, To have his Army in good awe, And to be alwayes followed with good ſucceſſe; of the three firſt requiſites, we have ſufficiently diſcourſt already, ſo the laſt onely remains to be produced, for the accompliſhment of our ſecond Moſes, in his glorious Captain-General-ſhip: or elſe if we look upon the four moſt remarkable properties in Julius Caeſar, who was the Phoenix of all warlike Princes in thoſe Ages, we ſhall find them all improved to the higheſt pitch, in this our late Great Protector: Labor in negotio, fortitudo in periculo, induſtria in agendo, celeritas in conficiendo, Labour about buſineſſe, invincible valour in point of danger, a thorough induſtry in all actions, and a quick diſpatch in all expeditions: there remains none but the laſt of theſe four Caeſarean properties, unapplyed to our happy Parallel; So I ſhall endeavour to celebrate thoſe his glorious diſpatches, and ſucceſſes, in our next moſt ſublime Aſcent and Parallel, that may concern his Highneſſe, in any of his warlike Relations.

The fourteenth Aſcent.

MOſes was by the extraordinary indulgence and favour of Heaven, attended with a glorious felicity, in all his undertakings. All his Actions were Crowned with ſucceſſe, and his Battels with Victory: All which is ſufficently cleared, by the ſacred Text,Exod. 14. in his miraculous Deliverance of the Iſraelites, and overthrow of the Egyptians, the diſcomfiting of the Amalekits, Num. 21. and defeating of King Arad, and his Canaanits, with Sihon King of the Amorits, Deut. 2. & 3. and Og the King of Baſhan, and Conquering in one pitcht Battel, five Kings of Midian. Num. 31. So true likewiſe is that piece of Apocrypha, which tells us: And Moſes the beloved of God and men, brought he forth,Eccleſ. 45.1, 2, 3. whoſe remembrance is bleſſed; he made him like to the glorious Saints, and magnified him by the fear of his enemies; by his words he cauſed the wonders to ceaſe, and he made him glorious in the ſight of Kings, &c.

The Parallel.

Though it be very true,Dio. Halicar. lib. 1. what Dionyſius Halicarnaſſeus tells us, that Virtus eſt felicitatis menſura, non fortuna, Vertue is the ell by which we are to meaſure felicity, not fortune: and what Paterculus affirms of Mithridates, that he was Vir virtute eximius, aliquando fortunâ, Patere. ſemper animo maximus: So every vertuous and valiant ſpirit, though not alwayes great by the favour of fortune, yet muſt be ſo in his own courage; for to judge things onely by event, is to turn the wrong end of the book upwards. Yet it is as true, what the judicious Orator aſſures us,Plin. that Exercituum Imperatores, niſi proſpero, & Martiali quodam aſtro nati, frruſtra fortes ſtrenuique ſunt, fruſtra virtute bellicá inſtructi; Generals of Armies, if not born under ſome happy, and martial Conſtellation, do exerciſe their vertue and skill in Military matters, to little or no purpoſe; Et de unius fato ducis, militum victoria perſaepe pendet; The Valour and Victory of Souldiers, is ſometimes loſt by an unlucky Captain.

It has been therefore the practice of moſt Princes, to adopt into their cheifeſt Commands, onely ſuch as have been ſucceſſefull Captains, and have received no foile at all from fortune. Now the greateſt favourit of fortune, or properly ſpeaking, the deareſt Darling of Divine Providence, that ever the Chriſtian World produced, was this moſt excellent perſon, his late moſt Serene Highneſſe. His ſucceſſes were ſo conſtant, that we may ſay, he had ſtruck a naile in Fortunes wheele, that ſhe ſhould never be able to turn it again. He has not onely that Lady for his Guide, as ſome have boaſted to have her, or his companion, as others; but the Lord made for him a foot-ſtoole of Fortune, and gave him Victory for his Hand-maid: and as the ſame Orator ſayes of Conſtantine the Great, Nuſquam pedem ſuum extulit, quin ubique eum gloria quaſi umbra comitata, ſit; He never ſet his foot forth of doors, but glory attended him as his ſhadow; and what was ſaid of the Great Alexander, likewiſe might more truly be verified in him, Quod plures prope victoriam reportârit quàm pugnas inierit, plures urbes ceperit, quàm obſederit, plures hoſtes fuderit, quàm noverit: He gained more Victories than he fought Battels, he reduced more Cities, than he beleagured, and routed more enemies, than he ever met withal. But now here, before I proceed any further, I muſt be bold to make a ſtand, and ſadly intermix the water of my eyes, with my ſorrowful inke, and with a mourning pen, deplore the madneſſe of thoſe men, who engaged us in our late unnatural Wars. Ah poor England, Paradiſe of the Earth, Eye of the World, Pearle of all Beauties, How many times by the means of thoſe infernal ſpirits, haſt thou ſeen thy fruitful boſome, heretofore Crowned with ears of Corn, and Guilded with Harveſts, all briſtled over with Batalias? How many times haſt thou ſeen, thy land covered with Swords, and thy Seas with Ships? How may times haſt thou felt the arms of thy children encountering within thy proper entrails? How many times haſt thou ſeen flames of brothers hoſtility flying through thy fat and fragrant fields? when haſt thou not ſweat in all the parts of thy beautiful body? when have not rivers of blood been drawn from thy veins, and ſuch blood as would have cimented the beſt Bullwarkes for thy defence againſt all forreign enemies whatſoever, and if well employed, had made the great Enemy of Chriſtendom, the Turk, ere this to tremble at thy Standards, and have re-planted again, the plains of Paleſtine? But all has been ſacrificed to Furies: But I forbear, leaſt that I loſe my ſelf in my provoked Paſſion; and indeed, I would willingly paſſe over this diſcourſe with ſilence, as over coales covered with aſhes, were it not, that as it was fit to expoſe maſſacred bodies to view, thereby to cure the madneſſe of the Mileſian Maides, ſo we are bound to diſcover the bloody effects of this unnatural war, to raiſe a horrour in all good ſouls, againſt the unhappy cauſes of it. And yet truely, we have no little reaſon to rejoyce in thoſe very ſufferings, & congratulate with our ſelves, the blood-ſhed it ſelf of thoſe barbarous Wars, if we could at no cheaper rate, have aquired the enjoyment of thoſe moſt ineſtimable bleſſings, and benefits, which we have ſince received; and above all the reſt, the ſoveraign influence of that moſt precious perſon, our late Lord Protector, and ſecond Moſes.

Thrice bleſſed England, in ſuch a purchaſe, though with ſo much coſt and paines. O happy voice of Thunder, which made this Hinde bring forth ſo glorious a birth, after ſo many terrible throws, and ſuch direful agitations of many years. And for the happy cloſe of all this, we may again remarke another piece of Heavens eſpecial Providence, and quiet all the diſtempers of our ſouls, with an humble acknowledgement of that mercy, and ſubmiſſion to the Divine Juſtice, which in ſhort, amounts to this. When the Lord is pleaſed to purge a Kingdom, or Nation, defiled with ſin, he chooſeth alwayes a people more righteous and religious than they were, it being forever moſt juſt, and reaſonable, that they ſhould enjoy their goods, who will have no ſhare in their vices. So our Moſes, and his Iſraelites, pillaged and overthrew the wicked Egyptians; So Arbaces vanquiſht the debauched Sardanapalus;Salvian. So Alexander conquered the effeminate Perſians; And ſo the Goths gained the Empire of Rome, as holy Salvian, more at large illuſtrates: So to return to our late great Generals ſucceſſes, and diſpatches, which as it is notorious, have been ſo ſtupendous, that the preſent ſpectators of them, did take them, as aforeſaid, more for viſions, than realities. The celerity of his Expeditions was ſo great, a vertue ſo much commended in Julius Caeſar, that he alwayes as far out-went his veni, vidi, vici, as ever he did, the Cunctator Fabius. Jebu, a man of an active ſpirit, was employed againſt the houſe of Ahab, to bring it to a quick confuſion; for God Almighty, when he means to ſhave clear, alwayes chooſeth a Razor with a ſharp edge, and never ſends a ſlug upon a meſſage that requires haſt; So our great Oliver, we ſee when he came into General command, diſpatcht more work in one year, than all the Armies of England, had done in three, or four, before.

This it was to have one of the Lords own election to command over us, and ſo much according to his own heart, that we ſee he has conſtantly tyed, as aforeſaid, a ſecret vertue to his Standards, making winds and tempeſts, to fight under his Enſignes, opening for him lands inacceſſible, calming ſtormy Seas, makeing him with petit handfuls of men, to diſcomfit huge Royal Armies, to take in Towns impregnable, cleave Rocks, and hew through Mountains; nay, to do the works of Gyants, as aforeſaid, with the reputed Pigmies of the World, and find facility in all that humane reaſon conceived impoſſible; So that we may count more Victories of his, than Encounters, his Palmes being perpetually verdant as well in the frozen ice of Winter, as in the ſcorching heats of Summer. Nor was England alone the Scene of his great Actions, but the very miſts and foggs of Scotland, as well as the woods and boggs of Ireland, will all come in to atteſt his glories; for the barrenneſſe of the one, nor the barbariſme of the other, could ſet a period to his proceedings, or give a foile to his fortune.

Now to ſumme up all his Souldier-like Excellencies; (for I muſt haſten out of this large Field, leaſt I be loſt in't) if we may by the moſt eminent qualities of inferiour creatures, be capable to conceive his matchleſſe perfections. The moſt exquiſite character of a compleat Captain, or Man at Armes, is by ſeveral Authors delivered to us thus; That is one, who has the aſſault of the wild Bull, the defence of the wilde Boare, the flight of the Wolfe, the courage of a Lion, and the craft of a Fox: This ſtrange compoſition, his Highneſſe had to its higheſt perfection, as he has been ſufficiently ſeen in all poſtures; but above all, what a ſpectacle it was, ſometimes to behold him in his Lion-like poſture, and almoſt covered over with blood and duſt, amongſt the ranks of his afrighted men, and performing both the office of a great Captain, and moſt Couragious Souldier, and ſo by that means, reſtoring a Day in danger to be loſt. Then ſometimes again, to ſee him, leading his well Diſciplin'd Army, into enemies Quarters, and by his meer Conduct, conquering vaſt Armies, and reducing their ſtrongſt Garriſons, without one drop of blood; and ſuch dry Victories, were alwayes his deareſt delight: as indeed they are alwayes moſt honourable. Ingens victoriae decus, citra domeſticum ſanguinem bellanti, ſaith Tacitus, The greateſt glory of a Victory, is that which a Captain gaines by the leaſt expenſe of home-bred blood: And this was his Highneſſe his conſtant ſtudy to do; nay, his endeavour likewiſe was, to ſave as much as he could of his very enemies blood. He never ſought to purchaſe fame, by ſuch a cruel vanity, as Pompey the Great did, who building a Temple to Minerva, cauſed to be engraven over the Gate of it, how he had taken, routed, and ſlain, two millions one hundred fourſcore and three thouſand men; pillaged, and ſunk, eight hundred forty ſix Ships: made deſolate one thouſand five hundred thirty eight Cities, and Towns. If this be the way to glory, his late Highneſſe ſure has ſteered a clean contrary courſe; for he has written, and engraven by his Actions, on the Gate of the Temple of Eternity, the Men, Ships, Cities, and Towns, that he has preſerved. Haec divina potentia eſt, gregatim, & publicè ſervare, Senec. de Clem. l. 1. c. 26. ſaith the moſt excellent Seneca; It is a piece of Divine power, to ſave publickly, and by Troops. By the other way, it may be, his Highneſſe might have rendred himſelf more remarkable and terrible, like a dreadful Comet, by the ruine of the World; but our glorious Protector, knew, nothing could be ſo honourable as to ſave: So we never ſaw his Highneſſe put up his ſword, but his anger too, ever holding with Nicetus, Nicetus. that Naturae injuriam facit, & humanitatis legem violat, qui ultra victoriam, iracundiae indulget: He offers an injury to nature, and violates a law of common humanity, that can continue his anger after a Victory: Nay, I'le be bold to add, that it is a moſt unpolitick proceeding likewiſe; for which his Highneſſe onely may be ſufficient witneſſe, who after his moſt bloody Battels, alwayes Conquered as much with ſweetneſſe, as he had done before with the Sword: which has been, under God, the moſt happy cauſe, that after ſo fierce and quick a War, we have not ſcarce a foot-ſteep to be ſeen of it, not a Town fired, and very hardly now, a man miſt: our cattel as plentiful as ever, our fields no leſſe fertil, and fragrant; nor yet our hillocks are leſſe filled with ears of corn, all which we muſt needs attribute, to his Highneſſe his pious preſervation, in whoſe power it was, for our ingratitude, to have thrown all into a deſerved deſolation: by which means, he has built himſelf a Monument in the hearts of all honeſt people, in which he will live more honourable a thouſand times, and ſo be repreſented to after-ages, than all the greateſt Monarchs of Egypt, in their rich Marbles, Pyramids, and Obelisks. Thus craving pardon for our too long inſiſting upon theſe Military excellencies, of our two great Generals, our firſt and ſecond Moſes, I ſhall haſten in our ſucceeding diſcourſe to give the World ſome taſt likewiſe of their moſt extraordinary State perfections.

The fifteenth Aſcent.

MOſes was a moſt abſolute great Stateſman, a perfect Maſter of the Politick Science; which, though it may be ſufficiently argued, by all the advantages which he had of breeding within the Tropicks of Pharaohs Court;Exod. 2. ſo muſt of neceſſity have ſuckt in the very quinteſſence of all State influencies, as alſo being trained up in all the Learning of the Egyptians,Acts 7.12. then the moſt knowing people in the World, as we have already ſeen: Yet, is made more clear, by the Lords own deſignation of him, to the Civil,Exod. Levit. Num. Deut. as well as Military Government, of his people, by his prudent managery of Affairs, and by the moſt excellent Laws and Ordinances that he made for their Government, in peace as well as war; which proves irrefragably, that he underſtood how to command Towns, as well as Armies, and to conduct Citizens, as well as Souldiers; but above all, he appeared a moſt perfect Polititian, in ſticking cloſe to the intreſts of God, not ſwerving in the leaſt from his Divine Will; and for that we have the Lords own atteſtation,Num. 12.7. that he was faithful in all his houſe, and that muſt of neceſſity be the higheſt point of Policy.

The Parallel.

Xenoph. l. 1. de inſtit. Cypri. Ingens ſanè, & arduum opus eſt, recte imperare, ſaith Xenophon, It is the higheſt, and the hardeſt thing in the World, to command well, who, as he gave us, Effigiem juſti imperii, as Cicero deſcribes him, the Portraiture of a juſt Empire, under the name of Cyrus, muſt of neceſſity mean, that of the Civil, as well as Martial Government. And doubtleſſe this Politick vertue, which is to conſtitute a true, and excellent Stateſman, is the moſt rare, and ſublimated Piece, and as it were, the very creame, and moſt purified part of humane wiſdom, and of which, great and Noble ſpirits, are onely capable.Tit. Liv. lib. 2. Dec. And therefore, Titus Livius, tells us, that Ars quâ civem regant, (That art of Policy, or good Government, was ever more as honourable, if not more, than that) Quâ hoſtem ſuperent, the art of War it ſelf: and the ſame Livius gives the reaſon in another place, Parare & quaerere arduum, lib. 37. tueri vero difficilius; from whence the Poet ſeems to have borrowed, O faciles dare ſumma Deos, eademque tueri, Difficiles;Lucan. It is much eaſier to attain the ends of high deſires, than to keep them being got; and better is the aſſurance of ſeeking, than of poſſeſſing any thing. For to be great, and of a large proportion, doth not at all take away the caſualties of inconveniencies, nor can any greatneſſe give priviledge to free things from diſtemperature; Tall men, we ſee, are as ſubject to Fevers, as others of leſſe ſtature; and great Empires are as eaſily diſturbed, as the States of petit Princes. Beſides, an excellent Author tells us, Tueri quaeſita, difficilius eſt quàm acquirere, quoniam in acquirendo, ignavia poſſidentis ſaepe plus confert, quam propria virtus, tueri autem quaeſita, ſine propria virtute nemo poteſt. It is harder to hold, than to Conquer; for the ſloth and negligence of the Poſſeſſor, may more conduce to the acquiring of any thing, than the vertue of the Conquerour; but hold what is ſo acquired, none can, but by eſpecial vertue.

Now both theſe pieces of incomparable Prudence, had our moſt Renowned Lord Protector, our ſecond Moſes; and I dare ſay, in equal proportion with the former, he governed the War it ſelf, like a compleat Stateſman, and managed peace, like a prudent Captain. He knew as well as Caeſar did,Caeſar Comment. 6. belli gall. that Non minus eſt Imperatoris, conſilio ſuperare, quam gladio, A good General will Conquer more by his Counſel, than Sword: And as applicable to his Highneſſe, was that which King Antigonus ſaid of himſelf, That his warfare, was rather of times and ſeaſons, than of Armes, and no leſſe did we ſee made good by his Highneſſe upon all occaſions, what Polybius tells us, that the leaſt things which are done in war, are thoſe which are handled with ſword and violence; but the moſt eminent of all, are executed by the knowledge, how fitly to manage an opportunity. If this piece of warlike, as well as State prudence, were ever verified in any Perſon, it has been moſt remarkably made good in all our ſecond Moſes his State diſpatches, as well as Warlike Expeditions: for had he not in the very nick of time, cruſht ſeveral eggs, of curſed Cockatrices, that had been laid againſt him, he muſt have hatched them in his own boſome, that would have deſtroyed both him, and us.

Are you not yet aſhamed of your ingratitude, you viperous brood of Rebells? that have ſo often endeavoured to eat through the heart, and bowels of him, that has given you ſo often a life? Do you not know, that when one Star riſeth, the oppoſite muſt fall? Be no longer like ungrateful Prentiſes, who uſually when they are at liberty, ſpurne at their Guides, and are not onely content to ſet up Shops for themſelves; but ſeek by all means they can, to diſcredit their Maſters.

By this time, methinks, you ſhould be ſenſible, that you have too long oppoſed your ſelves, againſt his late Highneſſe, moſt pious, and prudent intentions, who with ſword in one hand, and trowel in the other, that is, armes, and policy, as a Stateſman, and a Souldier, at once did defend, and build the walls of our Jeruſalem.

It is time for you ſure to give over buſying your ſelves about your Babylon, and its building, which when you have done all you can, will appear to be but like a City, which I have ſeen in ancient painting, built upon ruines, in a land of Quickſilver, cimented with blood, and overthrown with frequent Earthquakes, and outragious windes: You ſee by your own ſad experience, if you pleaſe to make uſe of it, that if the arm of the Lord ſuſtain not an Affaire, the more advancement it receives, the deeper ruines it findes; and that all Maxims of State, that depend not on the Maxims of God, are but the meer effects of carnal prudence, and ſo muſt conſequently end in fleſh, and faile like it: And all Councils of State whatſoever, that depend not, and reſt themſelves upon him, who with three fingers ſupporteth the Globe of the Univerſe, rather purſue the way of precipice, than path of exaltation; Give over, I ſay, in time your Antichriſtian contentions, leſt you be found to fight againſt God. Imitate, now at laſt, this bleſſed and moſt worthy Piece of our Moſaical wiſdom, which our Great Prototype, and his Typified Parallel, have ſo cloſely purſued, that is, in the firſt place to ſeek the intereſts of God, and then all other things will be added, as we have ſeen proved upon both them, a conſtant ſucceſſe attending all their undertakings. On the other ſide, we finde whatſoever Machiavel may object to the contrary, that God Almighty is pleaſed, ſometimes, to ſtupifie the moſt practiſed Statiſts in the world, that are the greateſt profeſſors too of Policy, and Knowledge, and make them ſo drink of the cup of errour, that we coming afterwards, to diſcourſe upon their judgements, find they have committed ſome groſſer faults, in the governments of Kingdoms, and Commonwealths, than the ſimpleſt, and moſt illiterate Peaſants would have done, in the direction of their own houſes; all which we have ſeen moſt particularly made good upon the late King and his Counſellours, and to be foretold likewiſe by the Spirit of God himſelf, dictating to the perſon of the Prophet Iſaiah, who ſpeaking of the wicked Counſellours of Pharaoh, Iſa. 19. ſayes, The Princes of Tanais, are become fooles, the Princes of Memphis are withered away, they have deceived Egypt with all the ſtrength, and beauty of her people: God hath ſent amongſt them, the ſpirit of giddineſſe, and made them reel up and down, in all their actions, like drunken men. Job. 12. No leſſe doth holy Job tell us, in theſe terms; God ſuffereth the wiſe Counſellours to fall into the hazards of ſenſeleſſe men; God makes the Judges ſtupid, takes away the ſword and belt from Kings, to engird their reines with a cord; God maketh the Prieſts to appear infamous, ſupplanteth the principal of the people, changeth the lips of truth ſpeakers, takes away the doctrine of old men, and poureth out contempt upon Princes, &c.

There is no man, that has either been Actor, or Spectator, in our troubles, but will take, I preſume, thoſe Scriptures, to be directly pointed at our times, and to be an exact propheſie, of part of our late Wars: ſo will neither require any more comment, application, or parallel. It is a moſt certain truth, and that his late Highneſſe knew full well, and as frequently declared, that no wiſdom or policy, meerly humane, can be perfect: ſuch as forſake God, in the curioſities of their Counſells, ſhall be forſaken by him, and ſhall finde each where, a long web of perplexities, and a rowling wheel of immortal troubles.

When a man goes on in the right way, he is probable to finde an end, but if he wander acroſſe the fields, he makes ſteps without number, runs into errours without meaſure, and falls into miſeries without remedy. Let all the Politicians of the World take example by our ſecond Moſes, and take into their ſerious conſideration, as his Highneſſe did, that the greatneſſe of a Stateſman, conſiſts not in treaſuring up the Common-wealth of Plato, and Xenophon, in his imagination, nor in amaſſing together a huge heape of politick Precepts, nor in being acquainted with all the Cabales, and Myſteries of the World, nor in the profeſſion of great ſubtilties, and ſtratagems; for we have ſeen by the experience of all Ages, that in affairs, there is a certain ſtroak of the Divine Providence, which dazleth all the worldly wiſe, diſarmes the ſtrong, and blindeth all the moſt Politick, with their own lights: for ſwimming up and down, as they do, in the vaſt Ocean of buſineſſe, and the infinities of reaſons of their proper inventions, they reſemble bodies over-charged with abundance of blood, who through that great and extravagant exceſſe, finde death, in the very treaſure of life. Then ſeeking to withdraw themſelves, from the road of common underſtandings, they figure to themſelves ſtrange ſubtilties, and chymera's, which are but as the Towers of the Lamiae, that Tertullian ſpeakes of, which no wiſe man did ever really believe, or will; which is the true cauſe that their ſpirits floating ſtill in ſuch a great tyde of thoughts, ſeldom meet with a happy diſpatch of affairs. Not unlike the Sun, that ſometimes draws up ſuch a great quantity of vapours, that he cannot diſſipate; ſo theſe undertaking Politicians, do but lay up together, a vaſt lump of buſineſſe in their braines, which their judgements can never diſſolve into any ſucceſſeful expedition.

He that will take the pains to read the lives of Otho, Vitellius, Galba, Piſo, Balbinus, Florianus, Baſilius, Silvianus, Tacitus, Quintilius, Maximus, and Michael Colophates: or behold the falls of Parmenio, under Alexander, Sejanus under Tiberius, Cleander under Commodus, Ablavius under Conſtantine, Eutropius under Arcadius, Vignius under Frederick, Brocas under Philip, Cabreca under Peter, and others of the like kind, muſt find, or be wholly inſenſible, that to raiſe a State, and build Fortune, as well as to conſerve it, we are to proceed, as his late Highneſſe did, ſecurely therein, with a principal eye upon the Maxims of Faith, Religion, and Honeſty, unleſſe that we will expect, in the courſe of an uncertain life, a moſt certain ruin.

It will manifeſtly, I ſay, appear, out of all Hiſtories, as well ſacred as prophane, how (contrary to Machiavillian doctrine) all they, who diſunited from the Eternal Wiſdom, thought to play the Politicks and proſper in Governments, Honours, and worldly Affairs, have proved but as ſo many Icarus's, that counterfeit birds, with waxen wings, with which they may ſoare aloft indeed, for ſome little time; but the leaſt ray proceeding from the Throne of the Lamb, will ſure diſſolve them to nothing, and make their heights, which they ſo fooliſhly flye at, ſerve them for no other uſe, but to render their falls, the more remarkable.

I ſhall now onely adde, for the further confuſion of all Machiavillians, and ſatisfaction of good men, one excellent obſervation, out of Paulus Oroſius, who, in his Book of Hiſtory,Paulus Oroſius, lib. 1. cap. 18. dedicated to the great Auguſtin, remarkes, that the very tracks of our proud and politick Pharaohs Chariots, after his moſt deteſtable death, and the deſtruction of his whole Army, remained a long time, on the ſands of the Red Sea, to be a preaching example to all Poſterity, to inform them, how dangerous a thing it is, to go about, as he did, by any State-tricks, and deviliſh ſubtilties, to fight againſt God. Let then our Maſter Machiavillians, march on ſtill, if they think fit, amongſt ſo many ſhelves, and precipices, not ſo much as once opening their eyes to behold the Abyſſe, they have under their feet: So many heads cruſht in pieces, under the Dvine vengeance, which lie like broken maſts, and ſhivers of a ſhipwrack, advanced upon the promontories of Rocks, to give notice of their deplorable events, whoſe ſteps they ſtill purſue. Let them look on ſtill, I ſay, with arms acroſſe, and dally with thoſe dangers, like wanton Victims, that leape and skip, between the ax and the knife, whilſt we the happy people of England, and all good Chriſtians, ſhall fully ſatisfie our ſelves, in following the examples of our two Moſaical Maſters, who uſed no other line of Policy, but ſuch as they derived from Heaven, alwayes managing their great Charges, and Government of others, by their own duties, and obedience to Almighty God: and that is the higheſt point of State-Wiſdom, which our ſecond Moſes had in its perfection: As we ſhall ſee more in the 21. Aſcent.

The ſixteenth Aſcent.

MOſes was moſt faithful, and careful, in providing able and honeſt Officers for the Civil Government,Exod. 18.14. as well Miniſters of State, as Juſtice. For his father-in law Jethro, coming to ſee him, and finding him to ſit alone, to Judge the people, which ſtood about him from the morning until evening, was much troubled at it, and gave him a true fatherly counſel indeed; which was to divide the burden of the Government, between ſome ſufficient perſons, amongſt the people,Ver. 19. that were accompliſht for ſo great a work: So Moſes choſe out Men of Courage, fearing God, men dealing truly, hating covetouſneſſe,Ver. 22. and appointed them to be Rulers over Thouſands, and over Hundreds, and over Fifties, and over Tens. Then upon thoſe whom he appointed Judges, he preſſeth the point of incorruption, thus; Wreſt not the Law, nor reſpect any perſon, neither take reward;Deut. 16.19. for reward blindeth the eyes of the wiſe, and perverteth the words of the juſt: That which is juſt and right ſhalt thou follow, that thou mayſt live, and poſſeſſe the Land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee. So our Moſes cannot but be acknowledged as careful a Father of his people, as he was a faithful Deliverer, and glorious Conductor, or Captain-General.

The Parallel.

This was a Noble Aſcent indeed, and not onely becoming a man of State, but ſo highly neceſſary, that our Maſter Moſes himſelf, ſtood in need of an Admonitor to it, and probably had not mounted it, but by the ſage advice of his good father-in-law Jethro, as we have ſeen in the Aſcent: which as in all the reſt, our ſecond Moſes, his late Highneſſe, has ſo exactly pattern'd, that he is to be drawn into example by all ſucceeding Princes, and his prudence to be adored by all Poſterity, as well as the preſent Age,

There is none, I believe, will doubt, but that it is a Soveraign and Supreme Piece of Politick vertue, to make diligent ſearch, and inquiry into the abilities, and integrities, of all ſuch as are to be employed, as Miniſters of State, or Juſtice; and this, I ſay, concerns not onely the Chief, but all inferiour Magiſtrates; for let the perſon in government be never ſo great, and abſolute a Maſter in all State matters himſelf, if he be diſſerved by thoſe, whom he does employ, his vertues will be but betrayed by the crimes of others, and expoſe the people to multiplied injuries. This point therefore of Politick prudence, in a Prince, is much beyond any other perſonal perfections,Tho. Aquin. 2.2. q. 58. that may be called accompliſhments in a Stateſman, as the Learned Aquinas tells us, and gives the reaſon, Quia bonum commune praeeminet omni bono ſingulari; This politick vertue exceeds all others, as much as the publick good ſurpaſſeth any particular; for he that it contented to draw himſelf within the guard of his own vertues onely, and neglect the looking into the manners of others, that are to be his inſtruments of State, will of neceſſity be enſnared in his own goodneſſe, and will ſignifie no more to the publick benefit, than thoſe fooliſh Muſicians, that made all their harmony within themſelves, and were content to ſee all the World beſides out of Tune.

This horrid negligence, has made many good Kings odious to their Subjects, and though excellent perſons in themſelves, yet tamely ſuffering themſelves to be lead by their Favourites, have fallen not onely into the reputation, but ruin of Tyrants, and ſtink ſtill in the noſtrils of the people. Some great Secretaries of Nature, as Theophraſtus de Plantis, and that excellent Naturaliſt, Joannes Roellus, Theoph. de Plantis. Jo. Roellins. aſſure us, That there is a very goodly, and profitable Plant, called Affodil, or Scepter-Royal, which breeds very bad little worms about it, that gnaw out the very heart, and periſh the whole, ſubſtance of it, hiding themſelves under the leaves, and ſhadow of it, till ſuch time, that getting wing, they become a kind of Butter-flie, all ſpeckled over with gay flowers, and brave it over men in the air, whom they durſt hardly not long before, behold upon the earth. Juſt ſo, do careleſſe Kings and Princes, like this pitiful, though Rbyal Plant, cover under their fair verdure, creatures which gnaw like worms in the beginning, upon the ſubſtance of their Maſter, and afterwards frame themſelves wings, all enamell'd with glory, at the charge of the Publick, to take their flights over the heads of ſo many Mortals, whom they look upon as ſcornfully as if they had forgot the earth that bore them; but ſometime, they meet with a fall, proportionable to their flight, and their Royal Maſters and Makers, are alwayes involved in inevitable ruin.

Our firſt, and ſecond Moſes, we ſee, full-well underſtood that danger, and have taken courſe accordingly, to prevent it, by employing none in Publick Charges, but men of piety, as well as parts, known integrity, as well as ability; knowing nothing to be ſo perillous to Princely greatneſſe, as wicked Miniſters, and that good Officers, muſt make great Stateſmen, as well as Captain-Generals. Has not, I ſay, our ſecond Moſes, made out his Parallel in this, to its perfection? Was there ever ſuch a choice, ſince that of the firſt Moſes, as he has made of men of Courage, fearing God, dealing truly, and hating covetouſneſſe, whom he has adopted into all the Offices about his Perſon, Eſtate, Army, or Juſtice? Look back upon his Highneſſe ſitting in his Family, and then, how can you but phanſie, the beautiful Roſe ſurrounded with the fair attendance of its elegant leaves, all in a Livery? Conſider him in his Council, what can you ſay leſſe of him, than that he was a Princely Palme, encompaſt with moſt ſtately Cedars, and but reflect upon him, in his warlike equipage, and with his Martial men about him; he will then ſhine forth like the Sun, when glorified with his moſt illuſtrious rayes. And laſt of all, if we but look upon him in his power repreſentative, and Courts of Judicature, there is not a Poet ſure, but would ſay, that his Highneſſe had Courted, Reconciled, and Reduced, Aſtraea to the earth again. Philoſtratus tells us, in Vita Herodis Attici, Philoſt. in vita Herod. Att. how that Athenian Herod, appointed four and twenty Pages for his ſon, every one of whom, bore the Title of a Greek letter, which was written on their breaſts, that ſo he might ſoon learn his Alphabet, by onely calling of his ſervants. But our Princely Protector, and ſecond Moſes, would have all his Officers, and Inſtruments about him, to appear to his people, like thoſe ancient Statues of Polycletes, Phydias, and Siſippus, of which there was not a Lineament, but was ſaid to ſpeak. But I am too general in the application of this Parallel, and may be pardoned, I hope, if I ſhall reduce it nearer home, by particulars: though I am ſure to incur the cenſure of flattery, for it amongſt fools: And Ile begin, with his chief Miniſter, or Secretary of State, the intelligence of his Counſels, and as it were, the Angel-Guardian of his Government, who was ſo preſent with his great Maſter, our ſecond Moſes, in all his actions, counſells, intereſts, and deſigns, as certain flowers are ſaid to wait on the Sun, and penetrated to the very Center of his great Soul; ſo could not but contract many of his moſt Moſaical perfections: He is certainly known to be, what his name renders him by Anagramm, a True Holy one, that is, a Stateſman after Moſes his manner: viz. fearing God, and dealing truly, &c. a perſon of moſt incomparable piety and parts; Prudent as a Serpent, and yet pure as a Seraphim, vertues ſo rare in a Stateſman, that we may juſtly call him, the true holy Phoenix Polititian of the Age.

I have not time, nor paper to inſiſt ſo particularly, upon every one of his Highneſſe moſt honourable Privy Council; but this I can affirm, that never was a more compleat body of Council, or more exquiſite compoſition, of ſo many excellent Tempers together in the World; inſomuch, that we ſee notoriouſly in every dayes diſpatches, how they are that perfectly, what the old Hiſtorian Velleius ſayes of Sejanus flatteringly, That he was, Actu otioſis ſimillimus, (in earneſt, a moſt excellent character, howſoever of a Stateſman) that he ſeemed in the middeſt of his greatſt employments, as if he were idle. My Lords likewiſe of his Highneſſe Council, are ſo exactly knowing in affairs, that it was never heard, that any of thoſe ſix common obſtacles, did ever obſtruct their diſpatches, which are, diſorder, confuſion, paſſion, ſollicitude, irreſolution, and precipitation, ſo they have done all things warily, fully, and peaceably, without ſhewing the leaſt anxiety. They have by their great piety and prudence, kept this State ſo well united within the bands of concord, and charity, that it cannot but appear to forreigners themſelves, as it were a little Temple of Peace, though in the very heat and hurry of War, embracing all affairs, & governing them, with that ſweet temper, and equality of ſpirit, that they reſemble thoſe active ſpirits, which move the whole Heavens, not uſing in themſelves, the leaſt agitation.

Amber-Greece is nothing ſo ſweet, in it ſelf, as when it is compounded with other things, ſo theſe Godly, Wiſe, Couragious, and, every way, Excellent Counſellours: improve themſelves by the communication of their counſells together, and do, (even as Flintſtones, which by their proximity, do make their ſparkles to flie) by a holy emulation which they uſe, in the purſuite of God, not onely enlighten others, but enkindle in each others hearts, a more ſenſible, and pious apprehenſion of God, and all good things, by a mutual reverberation: But I muſt haſten; for when I have ſaid all, that can Be ſaid, it will fall ſhort of their moſt Moſaical merits; So I ſhall conclude with them, in ſaying onely, that they are all perſons, compoſed according to Jethro's character, and that when our ſecond Moſes adopted them into his ſecret counſells, we could none of us deny, nor can yet, but that it ſeemed his late Highneſſe had drawn ſo many Angels from Heaven, to fix them at the ſtern of his Eſtate; for they are all of them, as unlike their Predeceſſors, as all the World can wiſh them. Then, if we but conſider a little, the excellent choice, his Highneſſe has made of Commiſſioners, and Keepers of his Great Seal, we cannot but acknowledge that they are perſons, without any exception, fitted, for ſo great a work, that carry a conſtant Court of Chancery engraven in their breaſts, and bear, jus aequum & bonum, written in their very foreheads.

For the Lords Commiſſioners of his Highneſſe Treaſury, they cannot be queſtioned to be of as exact a choice, and equal diſpoſition for the great Truſt, ſtill men of our Moſaical temper, fearing God, and dealing-truly; and ſo we may ſafely affirm, that our ſecond Moſes, ſelected Perſons for that employment, as well as other, to whom he might as ſafely have repoſed his conſcience, as he did his purſe: Men all as honourable in their breedings, as Noble by their births, of as profound Learning, and ability in the Laws, as of ſublime honeſty and fidelity to their Country; and of a moſt unſpotted integrity, both towards God, and his Highneſſe, their late Moſaical Maſter.

I ſhould be infinite, to inſiſt upon all the particular men of Honour, employed by his Highneſſe: So I ſhall ſpeak onely ſomething to our Parallel of Moſaical Judges, to which our preſent Aſcent naturally leads us, and leave the reſt, to be made out, by ingenuous Readers themſelves.

And firſt, for that incomparable pair of my Lords the Chief Juſtices, with the ſeveral Sets of ingenious and godly Judges, Attorny, and Solicitor-General, all his Highneſſe's Council at Law, with other Officers, and Appendices, to each Court: They are all ſuch ſelect and eminent Perſons, and indeed, the plurality of Lawyers, from the Purple, to the Sable Robe, of this preſent Age, ſo accomppliſht with piety, and parts, that the Divine Themis her ſelf, will not be aſhamed to call her ſelf a proſtitute in former Ages, and acknowledge this production of hers, to be onely genuin, and their generation onely own to be Legitimate; and all this we muſt attribute to his late Highneſſe his moſt Moſaical influence. Their Lordſhips, I mean, thoſe excellent perſons in ſupreme Judicature, are known to live the Laws, as well as to ſee them put in execution: Evecti in excelſum, inde magis vitia deſpiciunt, as the wiſe Caſſiodorus well expreſſeth it: They know that God, and his Highneſſe,Caſſiod. have ſet them on high, for no other cauſe, but to behold vices beneath them, which whoſoever does exalt, will find himſelf quickly trampled underfoot, by them, and made to drink the greateſt part of the poiſon, which he mingles for others, and he that breakes down the hedge,Eccleſ. 10.8. as the Scripture threatens, the Snake ſhall ſting him firſt. Their Lordſhips, I ſay, have given ſufficient evidence to the World, that they know all this, and practice the contrary courſe; They know themſelves to be lookt upon, as Stars in the firmament; and Philoſophy tells us, that the more light a body has, the more it ought to have of participation, and favourable influences, for objects, that are in a lower degree than it. Nihil vile, Caſſ. nihil cupidum, judices decet, claras ſuas maculas reddunt, ſi illi ad quos multi reſpiciunt, aliquâ reprehenſione ſordeſcant, ſayes the ſame excellent Caſſiodorus, Nothing vile or covetous, becomes Judges; the ſpots of perſons in power, are quickly ſpyed; for they being aloft, every eye dwells upon them. We have ſeen in forreign parts, and heretofore here in England, Judges enough neglectful of their duty, and Courts of Juſtice reſembling rather old Cyclopean Cavernes, than Temples of peace; for which we have ſeen the very fields themſelves weeping; nay, filled with large pools, and ſtanding waters, gathered together from the teares of Orphans, and Widows, and an infinity of other perſons, under oppreſſion; and this by the wickedneſſe of ſome, who take delight to ſtretch out ſuites of Law with their tongues, as Shooe-makers do their leather, with their teeth; which made holy Cyprian cry out,Cyprian. Epiſt. ad Donatum. Inter leges ipſas delinquitur, inter jura peccatur. Innocency is ſeldom ſo ill treated any where, as in thoſe places, where profeſſion is moſt made to defend it: The Serpents of the Deſart, have leſſe gall and ſpleen, than ſuch Serpents that make the houſe of Juſtice to eccho with their clamours, loud as the waves, which are heard to roare, upon the ſhore of the Aegean Sea, and flouriſh in the World, as Cato tells us,Cato. like Princely Theives, Fures privatorum furtorunt in compendibus, Publici in auro vitam agunt, ſaith he, Gibbits, nay Wheels and Racks, are prepared for ſome miſerable Criminals, becauſe they were yet but little Theives, who had they grown to be greater, it may be their Crimes had rather been Crowned, than chaſtiſed.

Plutarch very aptly compares thoſe Courts,Plut. de Curioſit. and Cities, where theſe raging injuſtices are committed, to the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , thoſe nefaſt and fatal Portals, ill boading Doors, whereof Hiſtories make mention, that were never opened, but to paſſe away bodies of condemned perſons, all villany, carrion, and ſtinking ordure. How much are we indebted in the mean time, to his late Highneſſe his pious care, and Princely proviſion for us, to advance onely to his Tribunals, ſuch glorious Judges, who are themſelves, ſpeaking Laws, and do more right to the Publick, by their words, and examples, that all the written Labells in the World could propagate? Men ſo much of Moſes his make, Couragious, fearing God, dealing truly, and hating covetouſneſſe, not wreſting the Law, nor reſpecting perſons, neither taking reward; that we may boldly affirm, that they have already put on incorruption, bearing alwayes in their minds, That great Dignities are oblgations of conſcience, binding more than the chains of Medea to give a perfect luſter of Divinity: Happy are the people who have the Lord for their God, and ſuch Judges and Governours ſet over them: and this happineſſe we owe to his late Highneſſe, his moſt Moſaical care over us, placing over us ſuch perſons in power, that he might as well anſwer for, to God, as for himſelf; by which means we muſt needs be ſenſible how he has left us a government ſo ſweetly ſtill eſtabliſht, that we can compare it more properly to nothing, than to the Halcyons neſt, which calmes the browe of Heaven.

I ſhall conclude this Parallel therefore, with an exclamation of a moſt ingenuous Scotchman, Parcl. Arg. againſt a ſort of Kings, meaning, it may be, ſome of his own Country: 0 ſtrange and ſilly providence of Princes, ſaith he, to keep then but a few Hawks, to have their ſtables full of Capreoling Horſes, as in an army of Sybarits, or not ſpeedily to repair the loſſe of a Hound, if a wild Boar happen to kill one of them! Theſe things, I ſay, not more for the uſe, and pleaſure of Princes, than for meer oſtentation and ſhew of Majeſty, they hold a ſin to be omitted; nay, they can waſte their Gold, and ſpend their whole Treaſure, upon pitiful and baſe fellows: But O, it is too too chargeable, to have a choice of brave mindes about them, here their Parſimony is remembred, here their Exchecquer fails: and ſo very judiciouſly proceeds to ſhew, what choice of brave men ſhould be about the Perſon of a Prince, and indeed very congruous to our Moſaical character, which our great ſecond Moſes has ſo ſtrictly obſerved, in thoſe brave ſpirits, which he has pickt out, and preferred to have power over us; that we may ſafely ſay, he has by that, as by any other of his glorious Actions, outgone the condition of mortal men; by that, he ſees himſelf alive ſtill, and in health, much better than by perfumes, and an Eagle eſcaping from his Funeral Pile, does he ſee himſelf likewiſe to be deified: By this, he ſhall triumph over time, with the applauſe of all men; Theſe Perſons likewiſe ſhall be his Pageants to all eternity; theſe his rich ſpoiles of Nations, of whoſe flowers, as it were, he has ſo made himſelf a glorious Garland.

The ſeventeenth Aſcent.

MOſes was not onely curious in the choice of his Officers; but continued ſtill his own conſtant care over his people, and above all things, rendred himſelf moſt remarkable, by the clemency, and mildneſſe, of his Government, tempering alwayes his ſeverity with ſweetneſſe, and carrying his people, (like an indulgent father) as ſucking children in his arms,Num. 11.12. and boſome, not trampling them like ſlaves, under his feet, and interpoſing frequently between the wrath of God, and them, to ſave them from deſtruction. Nay to the heighth of that, he offered himſelf to be blotted out of the Book of Life, to ſave them,

The Parallel.

We have already ſeen in our former Aſcents, the firſt Moſes his promptneſſe to pardon all private injuries, and offences, how great ſoever againſt himſelf: nor ſhall we find his great goodneſſe leſſe unwilling to proceed to puniſhment of publick tranſgreſſions themſelves; inſomuch, that we find him frequently deſiring himſelf to ſuffer for his ſubjects faults: alwayes carrying them in his boſome, like children, and never impoſing any hard tax or burden on them, &c.

A moſt pious clement Prince he was indeed, and no leſſe vigorouſly followed in this, than in his other Sovereign vertues, by our glorious ſecond Moſes. Did ever any Prince in the World go more obliging wayes in his Government; than his late moſt Serene Highneſſe has done? Has he not ever ſhewed a greater affection to ſway the Scepter over us, than to brandiſh the Sword? and to govern us more by Laws, than Arms? Nay, when the Laws themſelves (as in many things they are moſt cruel) were likely to bring a legal injury, and a ruin upon any man; how has he alwayes endeavoured to ſweeten the rigour of them? and that not onely to do good to the innocent, but by pardoning the culpable themſelves; for very little indeed, is that Clemency to be eſteemed, which does onely abſtain to ſtrike thoſe who give no offence: No, my Lord did ever conſider, that mercy was made onely for the miſerable, and knew that in puniſhing or revenging injuries, he could onely do like the men of the earth, but by gracious clemency, and practiſe of pardoning, he was to ſhare in glory with the great Monarch of Heaven, who daily makes his Sun to ſhine on criminal heads, as well as the moſt innocent. Nay, his eminent mercy was uſed to extend it ſelf, not onely to common Malefactors, but to his moſt malitious enemies themſelves, as we have fully ſeen: and indeed, a moſt pretious goodly ſight it is, and as the holy Father calls it, the moſt glorious ſpectacle in the World,Ambroſ. and able to attract Angels to the Gates of Heaven to behold: It is not Theaters, nor Amphi-Theaters, Pyramids, or the like great worldly wonders, but ſuch a man, as knows how to do well, and bear ill, and to vindicate himſelf from ill, by doing well. This very Angelical ſpectacle, muſt my Lord be acknowledged to have been, by all that knew him. So throughly has his Highneſſe practiſed that true, and Princely, though very tickliſh rule of the good Father Auguſtin, uguſtin. Diſce diligere inimicum, ſi vis cavere inimicum, The means to preſerve from enemies, is to love them, which agrees with the Poets policy too, who cries, Ʋt ameris, ama, It is onely love, that makes to be beloved; and that our ſecond Moſes has ever taken for the ſureſt guard of his Princely greatneſſe: Nor was that the courſe of his Civil, and peaceable proceedings onely; but of his very Martial.

How often have we ſeen him, even in the very hurry of a Victory, and heat of execution, ſounding a retreat to himſelf, and ſheathing his ſword in clemency, which drawn, threatned nothing but deſtruction, and a whole deluge of blood. His well complexioned ſoul, could never underſtand the temper of that Tyrant,Dio. Halic. l. 5. of whom the Hiſtorian complains; Cum victor extiterit, lictor protinus evaſit, After his Victory made himſelf, as it were, a Hangman, but alwayes ſupported the opinion aforeſaid, quoted out of Nicetus, that naturae injuriam facit, Nicetus. & humanitatis legem violat, qui ultra victoriam iracundiae indulget: He is a violater of all humanity, and injurious to very Nature it ſelf, that can be angry beyond his Victory: but upon this we have enlarged already, ſo I ſhall paſſe over it now, with ſaying onely, that as the gracious Lord of Heaven, was pleaſed to eſtabliſh his Highneſſe his Throne in mercy, ſo he alwayes guarded it ſecure to himſelf, by his Clemency; for by that, he commanded hearts, which he knew to be of much more force, than to be a Maſter of men. Omnia vicit qui animum expugnavit; To conquer affections, is the greateſt piece of victory, and that can never be obtained, but by the armes of love and ſweetneſſe; and by thoſe armes likewiſe we ſee offenders are oftener reformed, than by all the violence, and ſeverity of rigour: Monendo certius quàm minando, cedendo quàm caedendo ſcelera interdùm coercentur, and this accorded ſo well, with that old piece of Ariſtotelian Policy, Praeſtat mille nocentes abſolvere, quàm innocentem opprimere vel unum, Better let a thouſand guilty perſons paſſe unpuniſht, than to injure one onely innocent; that his Highneſſe has alwayes taken it for the ſureſt ground-work of his happy government: and for this, he had not onely the example of his Maſter Moſes, but the very precept, and practice of God himſelf: for did not he command our firſt Moſes to carry the people in his boſome, and is it not his common practiſe to govern the World by his mercy? of which if any ſhould be of ſo reprobate a judgement as to doubt, let him conſult the Prophet, who tells us, that God meaſures the waters with his fiſt, and poiſeth the heavens in the palme of his hand; which ſignifies, (according to the beſt Interpreters) that the Lord goes with a cloſe ſhut and contracted hand to puniſhments, intimated by waters, but proceeds with the whole extent of his goodneſſe to reward, that is repreſented by the heavens.

The Rainbow, which the Lord has taken for the ſymbol of his reconciliation with man, and environeth the Throne of the Almighty, as we find in the Apocalypſe, it is Arcus carens ſagittâ, as holy Ambroſe obſerves, Qui terrere magis vult, quàm ferire, A bow without arrows, that is bent, more to terrifie, than to ſtrike. Nay, the Lord makes it ſo great a matter to pardon an offender, that he will rather permit his whole Eſſence to be toucht, than his Clemency to be ſo much as queſtioned: his very Title of Godhead to be invaded, rather than his glory of pardon. And yet our bold-faced Florentine, will go about to teach his Prince,Mach. Princ. cap. 17. to eſtabliſh himſelf by cruelty; as if no government ſhould be, or could poſſibly be made ſecure, that was not built on the bloodſhed of ſubjects; and this he goes about to prove, by the examples of Caeſar Borgia, and the ſtern Emperour Severus, &c. And then he proceeds to affirm it, for a fundamentall Maxim of State; That it is better for a Prince to be feared, than loved; for men, ſaith this wiſe Secretary, do love as it pleaſeth them, but do fear as it pleaſeth the Prince; and therefore infers, that a wiſe Prince, will found himſelf ſooner, and rely ſurer on that way, which depends on himſelf, than upon that which depends upon another.

A very ſubtile inference indeed, if it were poſſible for a Prince to keep his people, ſo perpetually under ſtill, as to make them alwayes ſtoope to kiſſe the yoke for fear: but experience plainly proves the contrary, that no Tyrant in the World, be he never ſo terrible, could, or can, ſo keep his people under the laſh, but they will ſometimes get looſe, and unyoking themſelves, make the effects of their forced fear, felt by the Authors of it. And this is apparent by the iſſues, that moſt Tyrants have found of their cruelties; as Nero, Caligula, Otho, Vitellius, and Domitian: as alſo Julianus, Heliogabalus, Gallienus, Maxentius, Philippus, Pocas, Carinus, Zeno, and divers others, who did all finiſh their lives, and Empires together, moſt tragically by the ſword. And truly reaſon it ſelf, ſeems clearly to me to prove, it muſt be ſo.

Does not Philoſophy aſſure us, that no violence can endure long; but this kind of cruel government by fear onely, is ſet upon the higheſt pitch of violence; therefore impoſſible to be of any conſiderable continuance. And truly this politick Theſis of Nicholas Machiavells, ſeems ſo abſurd to himſelf, that preſently after he has aſſerted it, he begins to recant, and temper it thus; I grant, ſaith he, that Prince to do beſt, who can joyn to be feared, and loved together; but that being a thing very difficult, if not impoſſible, to be compaſſed, as he ſayes, he counſels to procure fear, rather than love. Juſt ſo, he tells us, in another place, that piety is a thing impoſſible to be in a wiſe Prince: Thus does our Politick Secretary ſerve us, like a lewd ignorant Phyſitian, who is pleaſed to make the ſick party to diſpair of health, becauſe he cannot tell how to cure him. This miſcheivous Maxim of his, he drew doubtleſſe, from the mouths of two of the greateſt monſters of Tyranny that ever were in the World,Sueton. in. Calig. cap. 30. and they were Caligula, who, as Suetonius tells us, did frequently uſurp that impious Proverb, Oderint dum metuant, and Tiberius, who would ſeem to mitigate the malice of it, by ſaying, Oderint dum probent, the one ſaying, Let them hate, ſo they fear, the other, Let them hate, ſo they allow: But I am ſo much of Machiavels mind, that the ſeeming Moderator in this point, is in the greateſt extreme; for certainly, his eyes were never matches, that could ſee hatred, and approbation, march in couples together: and I ſhall willingly grant ſo much more to our Machiavillian Politicks, that ſome mixture of fear with love, does make the moſt excellent compoſition in Government: for though the ſtrongeſt Citadel, or Caſtle, that a King can have, be his ſubjects affection, and their hearts his beſt Treaſury or Exchecquer: yet it cannot be denyed, that love without fear, quickly turns to ſcorn, and fear without love, as ſoon converts to hatred, both equally dangerous to any Prince his eſtate.

Now, though Machiavel, and his crew, did never know how to be ſo good Apothecaries of State: yet our prudent Patriarch, and his Parallel, our late Protector, we ſee underſtood full well, how to make that admirable mixture; for though they were great Juſticers alwayes, yet never forgot to be moſt loving Fathers of their people, and in that ſacred compoſition, reſts, not onely the myſtery, but the luſter of a true Stateſman,Greg. in Job. 27. as the Great Gregory aſſures us; who ſayes, that in every good Government, there muſt be ſuch a mixture made of oil and wine, that the wounds of men, may be healed in ſuch ſort, that their minds may not be ulcerated with too much ſeverity, nor yet grow too remiſſe, by an exceſſe or indulgence and lenity; the rod muſt be uſed to touch, and the ſtaff to ſupport, and then they will both be comfortable to us, as the Pſalmiſt tells us: The ſcale of Juſtice muſt be ſo equally carried, that neither love ſhould too much ſoften, nor over-great rigour tranſport people into a deſpair.

This right Princely temper, I ſay, was perfectly underſtood by our gracious Patriarch Moſes, the firſt and greateſt Stateſman in the World, and no leſſe by our glorious ſecond Moſes, his Parallel. Behold them both burning inwardly with the fire of charity towards their people, and outwardly wholly enkindled with the flames of the zeal of Juſtice: as loving Fathers, they have offered their ſouls to God, even to the wiſh To be blotted out of the Book of Life, to ſave their people; and as glorious Judges, they took the Sword in hand, and bathed it in the blood of wicked men. They have ſhewed themſelves in all things, ſuch accompliſht Captains, as became couragious Magiſtrates, and Embaſſadours from God, and admirable Mediators to him; pleading before him, the cauſe of their people, with prayers, and before the people, the cauſe of God, with their ſwords: and though there is none which can deny, but our ſecond Moſes his zeal to Juſtice was very great, a Divine vertue in him; yet we muſt acknowledge that his benignity, manſuetude, and clemency were vertues more naturall, and agreeable to him, which he alwayes improved too, both by the pattern of his Maſter Moſes, and God himſelf, who as the Scripture tells us, Etiam iratus, miſericordiae recordatur, In his very wroth remembers mercy, and ſhews his anger to us more often, by Thunder, Lightning, fiery Comets, blazing Stars, Storms, and Tempeſts, and the like, than he makes us to feel it; nor yet ſends them ſo often as we deſerve; which the Pagan Poet could obſerve, when he told us, Si quoties peccent homines, &c. If Jupiter ſhould ſpend his angry Thunderbolts ſo often as men deſerve them, he would very ſuddenly diſarme himſelf; but, Chriſtianly indeed, we may ſay thus, That if his Divine Majeſty ſhould diſarme it ſelf of mercy, we ſhould quickly be reduced to miſery; and therefore it was, that he commanded our Moſes, to follow his example, and carry the people in his boſome, like ſucking children, and loudly proclaims in his Word, that Miſericordia & veritas cuſtodiunt Regem, & roboratur clementiâ Thronus ejus, Mercy and Truth, are the greateſt guard for Kings, and Clemency is the greateſt ſupport of their Thrones. All this, I ſay, our ſecond Moſes has ſufficiently ſhewed himſelf to know and follow, and yet his Clemency has never expoſed him to thoſe extremes before ſpoken of, to render his goodneſſe contemptible; no, he happily arrived at the bleſſed mixture, and ſweet compoſition, that we have remarkt in our firſt Moſes; and alwayes ruled us according to the holy Rule given by an ancient Father, Eâ, qui praeeſt, menſurâ, ſe moderetur, quatenus & arridens timeri, & iratus amari debeat, He that is ſet over men to govern them, ought to carry himſelf with that moderation, ſo as to be feared, when he is pleaſed, and to be amiable in his very diſpleaſure.

This was the very Moſaical temper of our late precious Lord Protector, who had ſo much of that Divine Art of compounding his ſweetneſſe with ſeverity, that we may ſafely ſay for truth, though a very prodigious one, that his Juſtice, and his Love, (though both they are ſaid to be blind) did yet lend one another eyes; he ſo ſweetned his Sword with his Love, and ſo ſharpened his Love with his Sword, that his very ſeverity might ſeem to proceed from his love, and his puniſhments themſelves, put on the face of obligations. Caſtigavit, non quod odio habuit, ſed quod amavit; As he reformed alwayes by his favours, ſo were his chaſtiſements ſtill turned into true fatherly corrections.

The eighteenth Aſcent.

MOſes was not only an accompliſht Prince, in all kinds of Pity and Piety, towards the perſons of his People: but he did extend it likewiſe, towards their very Purſes: reſtraining frequently, their abundancies of love, in all their contributions,

Exod. 36.6.

Levit. 25.35, 36.

and very liberalities, not onely towards himſelf, but to God. In ſhort, he kept not the courſe of common Policy, which renders Princes little better than Publicans; he exacted nothing, but love from his ſubjects, nor impoſed any thing upon them, but their own happineſſe.

The Parallel.

We have ſeen at large, in our laſt Aſcent, as well by the practiſe of our two Moſaical Maſters, as divers other elucent arguments, that ſingular Axiom made good, which tells us, That dinturni magiſter officii metus eſſe nequit, Fear alone, can never contain men in a laſting duty: for otherwiſe the Devils policy would have more influence upon the hearts of men, than that of God himſelf. It is the part of every petit Miniſter of Juſtice, to uſe cruelty and ſeverity, but the practiſe of pity and clemency, (though it becomes all men) does moſt properly belong to Kings, and Supreme Magiſtrates. Regia crede mihi res eſt ſuccurrere Lapſis, Non alia major quaeritur arte Favor, Pity, and Clemency, are Princes priviledges, and parts of their prerogative; Juſtice it ſelf, can be but their duty, at moſt, but the onely art of Government conſiſts in the excellent mixture before ſpoken of, in our laſt Aſcent: And therefore Alexander, being askt who was the greateſt Prince upon earth? anſwered, Qui amicos donis retinet, & inimicos beneficiis amicos facit: He that holds his friends faſt by curteſies, and converts enemies into friends, by benefits: So dealt Auguſtus with Cinna, and made of a Traytor, a true Friend: And this has alwayes been the wiſeſt Kings Royal high-way; as moſt particularly, of our late great Prince, and Protector, of whoſe moſt obliging wayes of Government, we have been all made ſo ſenſible, that we may cry out,Bernard. as holy Bernard did upon the like occaſion. O ſuaves nexus, queis, animi, obſequiis quaſi compedibus illigantur, & tanquam beneficiorum cumulis inſepeliuntur: O ſweeteſt tyes of obligations, with which ſouls are faſt bound as with fetters, and as it were, buried in heapes of benefits. His late moſt Serene Highneſſe, like that his moſt exemplary Maſter, the former Moſes, full well conſidered all this, and collected, that if this were the true way to glory, for all great Ones to go in, to oblige ſubjects by beneficence, as we have hitherto ſeen it is; how ignominious and ugly a thing it muſt needs be, in thoſe, that go about to pillage, ſpoile, and prey, upon their people, with unjuſt Taxes, and impoſitions, as ſome ill tutored Tyrants have done, who have been, it may be, contented to ſpare, nay, to complement the perſons of their people, whilſt they have moſt theeviſhly pickt and oppreſt their purſes, ſerving them, as Proſpero Colunna did his Gooſe, who was ſtill plucking the old feathers, that the new ones, as he ſaid, might grow the better; and ſo continue to milke their people, till they draw blood from their very hearts; for they have pretty tricks, as they ſay, when the Cow ſlacks, to preſſe her nipples too. And however this was ſaid to be the practiſe of a very great Politician, late in France, I muſt be bold, (according to our Moſaical Rule) to paſſe my cenſure on, and condemn it, as utterly unchriſtian, and a very unprofitable policy. Notwithſtanding, as I have heard, he was uſed to boaſt. That La France eſt un beau Pre, qu' on tondoit trois fois la'nnee; France was a very fair Meadow, and fit to be mow'd at leaſt thrice a year. He alwayes laught at that pious Principle, which called the peoples hearts, the Kings beſt Exchecquer; but reflected oftener on that Maxim, Populus aut humiliter ſervit, aut ſuperbè dominatur, The common people either muſt ſerve ſlaviſhly, or will rule inſolently; and that they were like fire and water, Good Servants, but the worſt Maſters; therefore he would take a courſe to keep them under, by perpetual impoſitions, and a pitiful poverty, and ſo, upon the matter, made them worſe than Aſſes, to become meer Dromedaries, who not onely ſubmit to bear their heavy burdens, but humbly kneel down, to receive them: yet, by his good leave, he might have reflected ſomething upon what that grave, learned,Boetius. and eminent Stateſman, Boetius told his Gothick King Theodorick, that the common people, did participate much of the nature of the herb called Baſil, which rendreth a good pleaſant and wholeſome ſavour, as Naturaliſts informe us, if gently handled, but turns to be poiſonous and creates Scorpions themſelves when rudely chafed.

Quint. Curt. Alexander, I am ſure, was commended by Quintus Curtius, and all Wiſe men, that have written of him, for making his ſubjects the keepers of his Treaſure. Then Sextus Aurelius Victor, Sext. Aurel Vict. tells us, that Fiſcus eſt Reipub. lien, quo creſcente artus reliqui tabeſcunt; The Fisk or Exchecquer is the ſpleen of the Common-wealth, the over-encreaſe, or ſwelling of which, makes all the other members to conſume;Claud. and Claudian gives the Emperour Honorius this great Elogy, Nec tua privatis creſcunt aeraria damnis, That his coffers did never encreaſe, by any private mans loſſes.

Baſilius often adviſed his officers,Baſilius. that the money, which they were to raiſe for him, ſhould not be at any time dipped either in the teares, or blood of his ſubjects:Cic. l. 2. de Offi. and Cicero in his Offices, wiſely premoniſheth all Stateſmen in thoſe occaſions, Ʋt omnes intelligant, ſi ſalvi eſſe velint, neceſſitati eſſe parendum: That the peoples private purſes, were but ſo to be opened, as to keep them ſhut, and ſafe from thoſe enemies, that might otherwiſe-ſeize upon, and conſume all.

I might be infinite, to ſumme up all that has been ſaid, by the graveſt and moſt judicious men of the whole World, upon this point, and to oppoſe them againſt that French Politician, but I am obliged not to digreſſe too far from our Parallel, whoſe Moſaical example onely, were enough to confute ſo heretical a piece of policy. He ſufficiently knew all that ſtuff, to be but a clear chip of the old block of Machiavel, and certainly in his own pious opinion, did very much blame, and would as willingly have redreſt, if he could, thoſe grievances of our neighbour-nation, as he did our own; and certainly thoſe counſels are as unlikely to prove ſucceſſeful to France, as they have done to other Princes, and Provinces, where they have been practiſed. I am ſure, that Kingdom has ſmarted for them, pretty well already, and they are in a fair way to be cauſes of greater confuſions.

His Moſaical Highneſſe, in the mean time, was contented to follow his old Maſter Moſes, rather than Mr. Machiavel, and frequently has been heard to honour the judgement of that moſt excellent Perſon, and pious Politician, Boetius, Boetius. before ſpoken of, who was uſed very often, to inculcate to his King Theodorick, better Principles; and once in a moſt elegant Oration, after this manner, That Kings were but Gods Shepherds, and ſo permitted to ſheare their Flocks; not to ſtay them. That a body over-charged, could not but ſinke to the ground, and that there was no Tribute comparable to the precious commodities, derived from the love of ſubjects. That a King was made to reign over men, not as a man, but as the Law; to bear his ſubjects in his boſome, and not to trample them under his feet; to teach by his example, and not conſtrain by force; to be a father of Citizens, and not a maſter of Slaves: That Kings were given by Heaven, for the uſe, and benefit of the people, and that they ought not to have ſo much regard to the extent of their power, as not to conſider the ſtint, and meaſure of their own obligations; and to handle the matter ſo on all occaſions, that the greatneſſe of their Majeſty, ſhould appear in its goodneſſe onely; and then concludes his ſanctified counſels, with a moſt pious and politick Maxim, That a good Prince, ought to fear nothing ſo much, as to be too much feared. And all this, I am ſure, was the Moſaical policy of his late Highneſſe, who never impoſed Taxes upon, or drew blood from his people, but when driven by the greateſt neceſſities in the world, after the pattern of his Great Prototype, our tranſcending Patriarch; and that truly, I ſhould humbly conceive to be enough (without reſpect to the precepts or practiſes of any other, though the godlieſt, graveſt, and wiſeſt, perſons, in all Ages, as we have ſeen) to convince, any phanatical Florentine, or French Politician whatſoever, under whoſe depraved Policies, we find all Cities, and Countries, that are ſubjected to them, ſtill pitifully complaining, the rigourous concuſſions, that they yet feel, to ſatisfie with their ſweat and blood, the avarice of ſome curſt particular Officers, who are notwithſtanding as greedy as fire, and more inſatiable than the Abyſs, or Hell it ſelf.

But I ſhall forbear at preſent, to proſecute this diſpute any further; for I conceive by what is already ſaid, there is no ſober Chriſtian, but will conceive, that Cyclopaean piece of policy, is ſo far from being Moſaical, profitable to, or becoming the dignity of, a Chriſtian Prince, that it muſt be abſolutely contrary, and deſtructive, both to Prince and people; nay, fitter to be ſtiled Barbariſme, than a Civil Government. So I hope, we may now ſecurely proceed, to the concluſion of our precious, and happy Parallel. And as for this great point of Piety, in not preſſing upon the peoples purſes, or ſqueezing their eſtates, ſo remarkable in our former Moſes, there is no man ſure, ſo perverſe, as to deny our ſecond, to be his perfect Parallel; for though, Bella ſuſtent antur pecuniarum abundantiâ, as Dionyſius Halicarnaſſaeus tells us, The ſupport of all Wars,Dion. Ha icar. lib. 6. Tacit. Annal. 13. is from a great treaſure, and plenty of money; and what Tacitus obſerves, is moſt certain, that Diſſolvitur imperium, ſi fructus quibus Res-Pub. ſuſtinetur, diminuantur, There is no State or Kingdom can continue long, without a certain, and a large revenue; yet his late Moſaical Highneſſe, has been ever ſo tender of intrenching upon the particular purſes of his people, to ſupply thoſe publick occaſions of State, that he has been almoſt guilty of tranſgreſſing in the other extreme, by permitting the General good to be neglected, at leaſt, to ſuffer ſome prejudice for want of it. Much leſſe ſure, can any ſuch thing as unjuſt coveting, or craving of other mens eſtates for himſelf, be objected to him, which moſt of his malitious adverſaries, before mentioned, have been guilty of, in the higheſt degree. Their fingers were like Talons, and Claws of Harpies, to ſcratch and ſcrape what they could for themſelves: His hand and heart were alwayes open to do good to others, as appeared by his manifold charities, in the relief of the poor, eſpecially ſuch as were made ſo by the ſad diſtreſſe of War; and I dare ſay, his expenſe that way, has been far greater, than all the ſharers of the Church and Kingdoms ſpoiles put together, have diſburſt.

There was a notable Inſcription upon one Gillias, as Valerius Maximus tells us.Val. Max. l. 4. c. 8. Quod Gillias poſſidebat, omnium quaſi commune patrimonium erat, hic ipſius liberalitatis praecordioe habuit, & domus ejus quaſi quaedam munificentiae officina fuit: What Gillias had, was the poſſeſſion of all mankind; this man had his heart, and entrails, compoſed even of charity it ſelf, his houſe was a ſhop of bounty; and all this ſure, was never more applicable to any perſon, than to his late Moſaical Highneſſe, whoſe hands were kiſt by millions, when he was alive, in acknowledgement that they were the gracious diſtributors of ſo many bleſſings, and his grave, now he is dead, will be ſprinkled with as many flowers, in gratitude for the preſervation of ſo many lives. His bounty, I ſay, was a moſt eminent vertue in him, ever holding with Caſſiodorus, Caſſiod. l. 1. Ep. 19. Idem. l. 1. Ep. 16. that Periculoſiſſima res eſt in imperante tenuitas, That narrowneſſe of ſoul, and griping hands, were the moſt perillous qualities that could appear in a Prince; and with the ſame excellent Writer concluded likewiſe, that Regnantis facultas fit ditior, cum remittit, & acquirit nobiles theſauros famae, neglecta utilitate pecuniae, A Kings Treaſure is encreaſed by giving, and forgiving, and the leſſe money he plucks into his Exchecquer, the more glory he carries about his Court.

Did his moſt Serene Highneſſe ever draw any thing from private men, but in order to their own preſervation? He never deſired, or ſtudied, any thing more, than that we ſhould be ſafe, nor never ſought ours, but us. He never accounted himſelf rich, but when his people were ſo, making their hearts, as that great Alexander did, his beſt Exchecquer.

In fine, what was once ſaid of Hadrianus Caeſar, muſt be acknowledged to be his Highneſſe his moſt eſpecial Character, Sic ſuum ſemper geſſit Principatum, ut res ſit Populi tota, non ſua, Whatſoever he has done in his Government, has been more for our advantage, than his own; he has not onely forborne to burden us himſelf, but has moſt mercifully releaſed us, from many of the heavy Taxes, that were impoſed upon us, by our terrible Taskmaſters of the long Parliament, and like a true Soul of Honour, never ſought for any other recompenſe of his great Actions, than the glory of doing well, and the private ſatisfaction of his own conſcience. Thus are hearts gained here, and Crowns of immortality hereafter. Thus truly is Heaven it ſelf obliged, and Earth made tributary to vertue: for by that means, he has rendred himſelf to be truly that, which was ſaid of Octavianus Caeſar, Deliciae humani generis, The love and delight of all mankind, which cannot but more and more appear to us, as we proceed to mount higher upon our Moſaical Aſcents and Parallels.

The ninteenth Aſcent.

MOſes was a moſt exemplary perſon, in all manner of Piety towards God; a duty moſt becoming a great Prince, to be highly zealous for the true honour, and Divine worſhip of his Almighty Maker, the Lord of Heaven and Earth. And this plainly appeared, not onely in his frequent ſpreading of his hands, and ſometimes falling down upon his face before the Lord;Exod. Levit. Num. Deut. and proſtration we know, is the higheſt part of Religious worſhip; but alſo in his moſt indefatigable pains, ſpeedy care, and expedition, in preparing of the Tabernacle, with all its appertinencies, and providing offerings for it.

Then in his punctual and preciſe care,Exod. 25. for the ordering of the particular Ceremonies,Exod. 28. and Circumſtances of Divine Service, to the very Garments of Aaron, the Ʋrim, and the Thummim, and the Conſecration of Prieſts.Exod. 29.

Then in the conſtitution of many moſt coſtly and reverent Sacrifices,Lev. 2. as the continual Burnt-offering, the Meat-offering,Lev. 3.4, 5. the Peace-offering, the Sin-offering, &c.

Exod. 30.Then in his erection of the Altar of Incenſe, his appointment of the courſe, for the ranſom of Souls, for the making of the holy annointing Oil, the manner of making, with the ingredients, for the compoſition, of the holy Perfume.

Then in taking order, for an infinity of other Rights, Ceremonies, and holy Feaſts; as the Feaſt of Paſſeover, the Feaſt of Weeks, the Feaſt of Trumpets, and the Feaſt of Tabernacles, &c. Finally, giving the people ſuch a Law, ſo ſolemn, and ſo ſtrict, in the Service of the Lord, as if they ſhould have nothing almoſt elſe to do, but to render their duty to the Omnipotent, and ſpend all their time,Levit. Num. Deut. in paying him the honours of a glorious Service, as is to be ſeen at large, throughout his Sacred Writings.

The Parallel.

If we look upon the Piety of this our Great Patriarch, or his happy Parallel, our late Lord Protector, in the largeſt extent of it, we ſhould find it, as boundleſſe as the Sea, and our ſelves ſwallowed up, in the contemplation of it; So we have reſtrained our ſelves, to the diſcourſe of that part of their piety onely, which has relation to God-ward, and a true zeal to his holy Worſhip: And firſt we find our Patriarch ſo ſevere and punctual in all his performances, that he would have the leaſt omiſſion of a puntillo of them, to be a mortal, at leaſt a capital ſin, the offender being to be cut off from the World, or from communion with the people: and ſo ſumptuous he was in his appointed worſhip, that all the World might ſee, that he thought nothing too coſtly for a bare ceremony of Divine Service, and that the people ſhould take notice, that, the All they had, was from the Lord, to whom they were to pay back ſo large a proportion in Sacrifice. A moſt Royal, Stately, and Magnificent, manner of Worſhip it was,Levit. Num. Deut. which every man muſt acknowledge that reads the ſeveral ſolemnities inſtituted by him in thoſe bleſſed Books, and worthy of the ſpirit of ſo great a Prince, Prophet, and Patriarch, as our great Moſes was.

Now, has our glorious ſecond Moſes, ſhewed leſſe Religious zeal, or true Princely piety towards God? or leſſe extraordinary care, and pious curioſity, in providing for the honour, ſplendour, worſhip, and ſervice of his Holy Name? No his Moſaic Highneſſe, full well knew, that if all the mountains of the World, were amaſſed into one, and all the woods of the Earth made into one Libanus, and were ſet on fire, and all the beaſts of a thouſand fields and forreſts were turned into victims, for his Sacrifices, they would be all as nothing in value, in reſpect of his heavenly Majeſty: and if all the voices of men were tuned into one, and that one voice, ſo muſically made, could ſpeak like Thunder, and be heard loudly to proclaim from Pole to Pole, the glory of the Almighty, it could not be ſufficient ſo reſound his holy praiſes.

To this purpoſe it was, that his Highneſſe, was pleaſed frequently to approve that worthy and ingenious fancy of Philo that great and Learned Jew, Philo Judaeus in Planta Noe. who has a Story, though in it, may be, nothing at all of verity, yet I am ſure, the morality of it, is very excellent.

This great man, in a Book of his called Noe's Plant, relates as a certain tradition of the Sages of his Nation, from the very beginning of the World; That God the Creator, after that he had formed this goodly Globe of the Ʋniverſe, and compoſed it as a glorious Scutcheon of his own immenſe Greatneſſe, a compendium or contracted table of his chiefeſt Titles, and a perfect Mirrour, of his Divine Wiſdom and Power: demanded of thoſe bleſſed Spirits about him, which were the Angels (it may be then in glory) what they thought, of that great piece of Work? upon which, one amongſt the heavenly throng, after he had very highly commended, the curious Architecture of the Ʋniverſe, acknowledging it to be a moſt compleat Fabrick in all things, but one, and that one thing, he ſaid, was wanting to the perfection of ſo goodly a Frame, which he required as a noble Seal, to ſet upon ſo incomparable a Piece. What is that, ſaid the Eternal Father? I would deſire, replyed the holy Spirit, That there might be a ſtrong, powerful, and penetrating harmonious voice, which borne upon the wings of the winds, & Coaches of the clouds, and Charioted thorough the air, might repleniſh all the parts of the World, with an applauſe of ſo accompliſht a Piece of Work, and inceſſantly to eccho forth both night and day, the glories of God, with praiſes and thanksgivings for his Divine Majeſties moſt ineſtimable benefits.

This Story truly may paſſe very well, for a pretty invention at leaſt, and not unworthy of an Angelical ſpirit, that was zealous for the honour and glory of the Lord, his Maſter and Creator. Yet by the leave of this good ſpirit, I muſt be bold to ſay, that his exception, if we take it as ſo, was in ſomething very frivolous; or his Complement, if we take it as ſo, was over-officious. For firſt, the Almighty had ſufficiently provided, againſt that pretended defect, in compoſing the World, in the frame chat we behold, as a fair large Clock; and then proportionably giving to man the place, which this celeſtial and critical ſpirit ſeemed to require. Now, that this great Clock of the Univerſe, ſhould be alwayes in tune, to his ſervice, and Divine diſpoſition, he has laid his particular commands and orders upon each wheel, and pin, to do their parts. The firſt wheel of this grand Clock, is that primum mobile, which we find in Philoſophy, the continual motion, and the ſecret influencies of antipathies, and ſympathies, which lie, as it were hidden, in the bowels of Nature. The hand of this univerſal Horologe, is that goodly embowed piece of checkerwork, and frettizing of the heavenly Orbes, which we behold with our eyes. The twelve Signs in the Zodiack, ſerve, as it were, for diſtinctions of the twelve hours of the day. The Sun it ſelf, exerciſeth the office of the ſteel, and gnomon, to point out time to us, and in its abſence the Moon: the other Lights and Stars, contribute thereto, their luſtrous brightneſſe. The Sea gives in the azure of its waves for ornament; as alſo the Earth produceth its varieties of herbs, flowers, and fruits, for enamel of the outſide, and its whole body, for a perfect counter-poiſe: its ſtony Quarries, Mettals, and Minerals, for to exerciſe the wiſeſt, and learnedſt Naturaliſts, in the ſearch and knowledge of this great Creator: The leſſer and inferiour animals, are the ſmall chimes; and Man himſelf, is the great Clock, which is to ſtrike, the ſeveral hours, and ſo perpetually to render thanks, honour, glory, praiſe, ſervice, and worſhip, to this Almighty Maker.

And the moſt vocal Clock to celebrate the praiſes of his Creator, (that theſe later Ages have produced) was this Man of men, our moſt pious late Lord Protector.

All this, I ſay, his Highneſſe knew full well, as our great Patriarch, his Prototype did, and the neceſſity too, that there was on the peoples parts, to give the moſt gracious Lord of Heaven and Earth all adoration due to him; wherefore we find, how he enjoyned ſuch ſolemne obſervancies upon them, which though but barely typical, and ceremonial; yet were hugely neceſſary to ſtrike a reverend dread of the Divine Majeſty, into ſo rebellious a people.

Our Princely Patriarch therefore, and his Parallel, our late Lord Protector, knowing themſelves (as all other Rulers, and perſons in power are) to be ſet upon Pinacles, to change their words into Laws, and lives into Examples, were the firſt and foremoſt always, in the practiſe of this, and all other piety. The lives of Princes (they knew) are more read, than their laws, and generally more practiſed; yea, their examples paſſe altogether as current as their coin, and what they do, they ſeem to command to be done; cracks in glaſſes, though paſt mending, are no great matters, but the leaſt flaw in a Diamond, is hugely conſiderable; yea, their perſonal faults, become National injuries. It is held by the Learnedſt amongſt the Ancients, that when the Sun ſtood ſtill in the time of Joſhua, the very Moon, and all the Stars, did make the like pauſe; ſo all Princes, and Governours, whoſe ſpirit is the firſt wheel, whereunto all the other are faſtned, it is neceſſary ſhould give a good and godly motion.

Our ſacred ſecond Moſes, therefore found himſelf (as his Princely Archetype before him did) obliged to be exemplary to his people, in all kindes of piety, propoſing no Highneſſe to himſelf, equal to that, which he enjoyed in his humiliation before his God: he never found himſelf well at eaſe, but when he was paying thoſe duties of piety, praiſe, honour, and glory, reverend ſervice, and worſhip, to his Divine Majeſty. Inſomuch, that we may more truly ſay of him, that which the Pagan Orator ſaid of his Emperour,Plin. Sanctiores effecit ipſos Deos, exemplo ſuae venerationis; He made the gods themſelves more holy, by the example of his pious worſhip: that is, he gave a reverence extraordinary to Religion, by his manner of ſerving it. The verity of this is evident, for we find that he has ſo happily inflamed all his people about him, and ſuch as well ſtudied him, to ſo high a pitch of piety, by his moſt exemplary good words, and works, that we can eſteem them no otherwiſe, than as Thunder-claps to Hindes, for the powerful production of Salvation.

His Highneſſe was unqueſtionably one of the greateſt patterns of Princely piety that ever the World produced, ſince that of our firſt Moſes. He had ſo great a fear of the Lord, that he apprehended the leaſt ſhadow of ſin, as death. Then he had a love ſo tender towards his God, that his heart was alwayes as a flaming lamp, that burnt perpetually before the Sanctuary of the living Lord. His faith had a boſome as large, as that of eternity, his hope was as the bow of Heaven, ail furniſht with Emralds, which can never looſe its force, more than they their luſter, and ſo his piety muſt of neceſſity have been an eternal ſource of bleſſings. His care to gather, together ſo many living-ſtones, for the edification of Gods houſe, (that is to ſay, ſo many good, godly, and religious men) has been more than all theirs, that have heapt together ſo many dead ones, in ſtately piles of Temples. Finally, his whole heart, we know, was perpetually towards God; his feet were ever walking towards the Church, or his other devout retirements: his armes were perpetually employed in all manly and pious exerciſes, and works of charity; and his whole body, was moſt dutifully diſpoſed to the ſacrifices and victims of his ſoul; and both his ſoul, and body, with all his faculties, were a conſtant Holocauſt to the Lord: Inſomuch, that neither all the cares and confuſions of this World, nor multiplicity of affairs, that he has been ever involved in, have been at all able to withdraw any part, or parcel of him, from the courſe of true piety; but he has alwayes appeared in the midſt of all thoſe encombrances, as thoſe ſweet Fountains (which we read of) that are found in the ſalt-ſea, or thoſe happy fiſhes, that do ſtill preſerve their plump white ſubſtance, freſh and free from the infection of all the brackiſh waters that they live in: his pious ſpirit could be never ſo much diſturbed, as to be extinguiſht, or taken off, from the refreſhment of his devotions; as we ſhall ſee more at large in our next Aſcent, and happy Parallel.

The twentieth Aſcent.

MOſes was endowed by God, with a moſt ſingular gift, and ſpirit of prayer, by which he was extraordinary powerful with the Lord, and prevailed with him, almoſt how he pleaſed. We find in the ſacred Text, that he had ſo great a familiarity with the Lord, that he was called the friend of God: it is no wonder then, that he ſhould be endowed with ſo extraordinary a ſpirit of prayer, the onely means to communicate with the Almighty, and violently perſwade him to divert his indignation from his people.

Exod. 8. Exod 9. Exod. 10.Firſt let us ſee, how by the power of our Moſes his prayers, and by the frequent ſpreading of his hands, before, and crying unto, the Lord, all the plagues that were inflicted upon hard-hearted Pharaoh himſelf, and his perverſe people, were graciouſly removed.

By the ſame powerful means, does he appeaſe the great anger of the Lord, kindled againſt his own rebellious people, for their frequent murmurings and clamorous repinings againſt himſelf, and his ſervant Moſes, imputeing conſtantly no leſſe than murder, baſe ambition, and malitious deſigns, unto him: yet for all that, the Lord confers nothing but miracles upon them, at the importunity of our Moſes his prayers. And firſt, he makes bitter waters ſweet, for ſuch unſavory ſinners,Exod. 15. Exod. 16. Exod. 17. as they were: then he procures bread to fall down from heaven, as from a repleniſht Oven, to fill their rebellious bellies: Then no leſſe than a ſtony-rock, yet not ſo hard as their obdurate hearts, muſt be ſet on broach, and made to afford a River of water, to ſatisfie their contumacious thirſts. In ſhort, our Moſes prevailed ſo often with his prayers, to mollifie the Lords diſpleaſure againſt them, that one would think that reades the Story, there had been a vy, between mercies, and rebellions, and a ſharp contention between the Lord, and them, whether they ſhould offend, or he forgive ofteneſt.

Then ſee the unnatural ſedition of his brother Aaron, and his companion Miriam, Num. 12. and her leproſie cured by his prayer: But there is one thing yet, that we may well inſtance in for all, when the peoples inveterateneſſe in ſin, had added idolatry, to all their other diſobediences, and made themſelves worſe than beaſts, in rendering the honours due to God alone, to a pitiful creature of their own makeing, a gay Golden Calf forſooth; and the Lord was ſo highly offended with them, that he would have utterly deſtroyed them all for it: then our Moſes betook himſelf again to this his tryed weapon of prayer, and openly aſſaults the Lord ſo with his cloſe arguments, expoſtulations,Exod. 32.11. and importunities, as if he had been fencing with him, beſeeching him, after this moſt earneſt, and humble manner, Lord, why doth thy wroth wax hot againſt thy people, V. 12. which thou haſt brought forth of the Land of Egypt with a great power, V. 13. and with a mighty hand? wherefore ſhould the Egyptians ſay, for miſchief did he bring them out, V. 14. to ſlay them in the mountains, and to conſume them from the face of the earth? Turn thee from thy fierce wroth, and repent thee of this evil againſt thy people; Remember Abraham, Iſaac, and Iſrael, thy ſervants, to whom thou ſwareſt by thine own ſelf, and ſaidſt unto them; I will multiply your ſeed, as the Stars of Heaven, and all this Land that I have ſpoken of, will I give unto your ſeed, and they ſhall inherit it forever. Then the Text immediately following, tells us, That the Lord repented him of the evil, which he thought to do unto his people.

And when the Lord was angerly reſolved at another time utterly to extirpate the people, for their inceſſant rebellions, Moſes made ſuch another,Num. 14. though ſomething longer, yet no leſſe effectual, prayer, to the Lord for them, and the Lord, as if he had been able to deny his Moſes nothing, or as if (with reverence be it ſpoken) good Moſes his word, had been a Law unto him, he preſently replied, I have pardoned them according to thy word: nay, how often has the Lord deſired Moſes to let him alone, as if he had been ſtruggling with him, and tyr'd with the importunity of his prayer. It would make another Book of Numbers, to recount the particular Deliverances, which that diſobedient people had from the Divine wrath, how often from being conſumed by fire, and eaten up by fiery Serpents, and the like, by our Moſes his moſt powerful, and importunate prayers: as alſo their many miraculous Victories over their enemies; all of which, were obtained, more by his prayers, than their forces: as particularly in the defeat of the Amalekites, who were viſibly more conquered, by the holding up of his hands, than by their dextrous managery of armes; our Moſes his bleſſings upon, and prayers for, them, being of more force againſt the enemy, and gave them more deadly blows, than all their Cuttleaxes, and warlike Engins.

The Parallel.

By ſo much as has been ſhewed in our Aſcent, of our Moſes his happy power in prayer, I doubt not, but it does plainly appear, how great a preſervation it was, to that perverſe people, to have a Prince and Captain over them, that had ſo familiar an addreſſe unto God: and I hope it will never more be called in queſtion, by any knowing Chriſtian, whether that Divine gift of prayer, be a qualification equal to the dignity, or requiſite to the profeſſion of a Prince? though I know, ſome of our Modern Politicks, have impiouſly gone about to diſpute that too; whom for ſhame I ſhall forbear to name, though I'le be bold to give the World, the ungodly words of one of the Principal of them. Non ſuadeo Principi, ſtupenda in fanis latitatione, neglectis iis quorum cura eum maxime ſolicitum tenere debet, omne otium conterere, aut ſanctuli nomen, geſtuſve affectare: bonus animus gratiſſimus Deo cultus eſt: & optimè orat, qui officio gnaviter functus patriae incolumitatem procur averit, unde tot hominum ſalus dependet, &c. Now, not to trouble you with a literal tranſlation (for I hold the words not worth it) he tells us, That he would not have a Prince addicted to too much Devotion; nor to affect to be a little Saint: he ſayes his prayers beſt (quoth he) that does his buſineſſe happilieſt, &c.

It is in my opinion, a very pitiful, vain, and a falſe preſumption, that this Gentleman makes, and never indeed can be brought into queſtion, by any diſcreet, or ſober Chriſtian, whether a Prince ſhould be ſo addicted to Devotion, as to intend no other buſineſſe at all? that were a madneſſe in any private perſon, much more then muſt it be in any man that is concerned in the publick: for beſides the inconſiſtency of ſuch a Devotion, with every mans particular vocation, (which God has commanded likewiſe to be followed) it is altogether in its own ſelf, unacceptable to God: Otherwiſe we ſhould enter into Religion, as if we were to be lifted upon a rack, to be tortured; and I ſay beſides, it is an injury to the Lord himſelf, to think, there can be no true piety or devotion in the World, if our bodies be not torne in pieces, and our ſpirits quite beaten down. And therefore Gilbertus a great Doctor, writing upon that ſentence of Paul to the Crinthians, Doctor Gilbertus. 1 Cor. 6. Glorificate & portate Deum in Corpore veſtro, Glorifie and bear God in your bodies, makes this moſt elegant, and remarkable obſervation: You muſt bear Jeſus Chriſt, not drag him, Portari vult Chriſtus non trahi, So he proceeds, Non eſt foenum Chriſtus, ſed flos campi, & faſciculus mirrhae, inter ubera ſponſae, &c. Now, he plainly drags him, who makes himſelf ſurcharged with him, and who indiſcreetly afflicts himſelf in the ſervice that he rendereth to the Divine Majeſty, not conſidering that Jeſus Chriſt is the flower of the field, or the poeſie of mirrh, between the breaſts of the Spouſe, and not a load of hay, to be drawn, under which we muſt needs groan, like a wheel ill-greaſed.

This was ſo fooliſh a ſuperſtition, and ſo old a one, that the Philoſopher himſelf, a Pagan,Senec. Epiſt. 114. could not but find fault with, when he ſaid, Superſtitio amandos timet, quos colit, violat. It is a very fond ſuperſtition indeed, ſaith this wiſe Pagan, and raiſed by ſimple people onely, which through a groſſe errour, fears, what it ſhould love by vertue, and very ſcarcely can have any knowledge of, or approach to God, but by violating his Clemency (a thing moſt hateful to him) through a falſe preſumption of his ſeverity. They muſt be very ſilly ſouls indeed, and have very little or no feeling of the Divinity, that can apprehend God (whom we know to be infinitely merciful) to be as terrible as a Minos, or a Radamanthus, mentioned in poetical Fables, who were alwayes repreſented in thoſe fictions, to be moſt ſpiteful deities, to come and pry into all humane actions, to number all mens ſteps, and taking pleaſure to prepare puniſhments for them, were wont to raiſe themſelves Trophies, upon poor mens ruines.

It would be a very pretty piece of Chriſtianity, one would think, now to be preached, That devotion, and all labours in Religion, ſhould be undertaken by us, without any relaxation, perpetual diſturbances undergone by Chriſtians, without any repoſe, and miſeries without any remedy, or comfort at all. Sure this muſt be thought the extreme of all extremes; and yet our Modern Politicks will ſuppoſe, ſo ſottiſh a devotion as this, that they may the better lay their foundation, of a wretched incuriouſneſſe in Religion, and prophane neglect of that Divine duty. But I muſt not make it my buſineſſe now, to enter the liſts formally, with that ſort of people (who we know are accuſtomed upon all occaſions, to throw dirt in the very face of the Deity it ſelf) for I have another way to go at preſent, and ſo will haſten to our Parallel.

For my part, I am fully ſatisfied, and ſo I hope, will be every diſcreet and underſtanding Chriſtian, that the frequent exerciſe of prayer, is as neceſſary to a Prince, Governour, or Stateſman, for the well management of all affairs, as it is for an animal to breath. The ſpirit of the beſt man, we know, is no otherwiſe than as a Sun-Dial, which is of no uſe at all, but when the Sun reflects upon it. Nor can any Prince, or Stateſman in like manner expect, that his underſtanding ſhould receive any true light or direction for the government of people, if not enlightned with the true rayes of God: and that light is not to be had, but by the means of prayer: The practiſe therefore of this holy duty, has been ever ſtiled, and eſteemed by the holy Fathers of the Church, The Key of Heaven, and the confuſion of Hell, the Standard of our Chriſtian warfare, the conſervation of our peace, the bridle of our impatience, the guardian of our temperance, the ſeal of chaſtity, the advocate of offenders, the conſolation of the afflicted, the paſſe-port of the dying, &c. for the Juſt do live and dye in prayer, as the Phoenix in her perfumes. A Chriſtian doubtleſſe without prayer, is no more than a Bee without a ſting, which can neither make honey, nor wax. From the defect of this duty, have proceeded all the deſolations of the earth: from hence are dayly derived ſo many falls, ſo many miſeries; for that men will not apply themſelves to taſt the things of God, in prayer, as our glorious Patriarch, and his Parallel have alwayes done.

No man living can deny ſure, but that it was the perpetual preſervation of the children of Iſrael, that their Moſes had that happy faculty to its perfection; for it is manifeſt, that they had otherwiſe been ſwallowed up, by the Divine vengeance; and in ſtead of being brought to the Land of Canaan, they had been fearfully cut off from the land of the Living.

I hope it is already made as evident, in our paſt Parallels, that we have received as great Deliverances, and preſervations, by the means of our ſecond Moſes, which could never have been, but by his free, frequent, and powerful, acceſſes to God in prayer; as I ſhall ſhew more at large preſently. In the mean time, I will be bold from theſe two great patterns of piety, to draw a cloſing Corollary, and lay down the whole ſtate of the queſtion (if it may be worthy to be called one) in one ſingle naked Propoſition.

Every good Prince, being a publick Perſon, and charged with ſo important affairs, that depend wholly upon Providence, and expect the motion of the Divine will, ought, after theſe two grand exemplars of Piety and Policy, to conſider, That he is to hold a great deal of commerce with Heaven, where his buſineſſe ſo much lies; and therefore ſhould reſolve, to ſet apart according to the proportion of his time, and other occaſions, ſome principal hours, (of leiſure, ſhall I ſay, or buſineſs at leaſt) of retirement, to negotiate with God particularly about his government: in imitation, I ſay, of theſe two greateſt Stateſmen, our firſt and ſecond Moſes, who had ſo familiar a recourſe to the Almighty, that as the one was, ſo the other, for ought I know, may be, entitled, The friend of God. O matchleſſe Title!

His moſt incomparable Piety, knew ſufficiently, what Gregory Nazianzen tells us, That if we are to have the Lord in our minds ſo often as we do breath, How much more ſuitable it is, to a Stateſman, to be converſant in that holy duty, having moſt need to ſuck in the life-giving ſpirit, as from the Fountain of the Word, by the means of prayer. It is not therefore unfitly ſtiled, The ſpirit of prayer; for it is the breath of the inward-man. Os meum aperui, ſaith the Scripture, & attraxi ſpiritum; I opened my mouth, and drew in the ſpirit. We are all ready to be choaked with fleſh and fat, and to be devoured with flames of concupiſcence, unleſſe we upon all occaſions, open our mouths to take in that gentle air of God.

By this bleſſed means it was, that our incomparable Paire, our firſt and ſecond Moſes, have arrived at this great perfection: to whom, the Lord has vouchſafed ſo much of his familiarity, as to treat with them as friends, and to declare himſelf (as it were) unable to deny them any thing.

As for the firſt, we have ſeen enough already in ſacred Story, and for our glorious ſecond Moſes, our own manifold obſervations, and frequent experimental knowledges, may be ſufficient to inform us. For that his late moſt Serene Highneſſe had the purity and excellency of this precious ſpirit, is not onely manifeſt, to thoſe that have had the happineſſe to be preſent at his daily ſpreading of his hands, and pouring forth of his ſpirit, before the Lord, and to joyn with him in his Devotions; but to the whole Nation, except the moſt ſtupid, and malitious part of it, that either will not, or cannot, be ſenſible of the great benefits, that we have for ſo long a time received by his powerful addreſſes unto God. How many times has the Divine vengeance been diverted from falling upon our ſinful heads, by his importunate interceſſions? How many peſtilences, famines, and other plagues, (which our impenitency, hardneſſe of heart, and ugly ingratitude, had as well deſerved, as either the curſed Egyptians, or murmuring Iſraelites) have been kept off from us, by his means? Has he leſſe often than the former Moſes, conquered his enemies, more by his own prayers, than his ſouldiers armes? Has he not by that means obtained (as we have ſeen) a ſecret vertue, to be faſtened to his Standards? making windes and tempeſts to fight under his Enſign, that we may almoſt cry out with the Poet,Claud. O nimium dilecte Deo, &c. How often has he opened, as aforeſaid, Lands inacceſſible, calmed ſtormy Seas, taken Towns impregnable, and with petit handfuls of men, diſcomfited huge Armies? How often have we ſeen him (give me leave to repeate thoſe wonders) cleaving of Rocks, hewing through Mountains, and to do the works of Gyants, with the reputed Pygmes of the World, and find facility in all that humane reaſon conceived impoſſible? And how, I ſay again, could all this be, but that the Lord could no more deny any thing to the prayer of this his dear ſervant, and favourite, our ſecond, than he could to the former Moſes? His fair ſoul, was no whit leſſe elevated upon the pitch of higheſt contemplations, from his very infancy, than the former great Moſes was. His high ſoul, was not unlike that Ibis, the ſtately bird of Egypt, that always builds her neſt in Palmes: So it was perpetually converſant in high contemplations, and had no more impreſſions of earth, than the ſupream Sphere of celeſtial Bodies. Or elſe, more truly yet, reſembling the Palme-tree it ſelf, where that brave Bird builds, which as it is the talleſt and ſtreighteſt of all trees, ſo beares its beſt, and moſt ſolid ſtrength on its top: So had our moſt gracious Protector, and ſecond Moſes, all his vigour alwayes in God, and for God. His life was a perpetual Sabbath, Sabathum delicatum, a delicious Sabbath, as the Prophet calls it, nouriſhing, and repoſing his ſoul, with the conſtant draught of this holy ſpirit of prayer. He made it not onely his lock and key of the day, but his bolt of the night; nor onely ſo, but his very meales, and recreations; and all that, his Highneſſe did, more in a becoming ſilence, than any exteriour oſtent, reſembling thoſe Rivers which run under the earth, chooſing to ſteale from the eyes of the world, to ſeek for the ſight of his God onely; So his Devotions did ever ſtudy ſolitude and retirements, and were alwayes beſt, when ſhut up within themſelves.

Nay, farther yet, after the example of a greater than Moſes, that is our Bleſſed Saviour himſelf, he uſed to ſpend many whole nights in prayer, pernoctans in oratione, as the Scripture expreſſeth it: and like thoſe beſt of Chriſtians,Luc. in the Primitive times, that were called the Crickets of the night, becauſe at any time, if ſome interruption of ſleep happened, they ever made it out, with ejaculatory prayers, and elevations of the heart. Thoſe that love God truly, will have recourſe to him, at all hours, and upon all occaſions, not confining their devotions to time, or place. Jonas, and the three Children, found ſufficient Chappels, in the Whales belly, and the fiery Furnace, becauſe the love of God, the wiſeſt Architect, had erected them, and the Lord was as near them, in the intrails of a Fiſh, or the midſt of Flames, as he would have been, in his own moſt holy Temple.

In fine, our ſecond Moſes has not onely reacht after the former, as we have already ſeen, but he has ſum'd up all example, to perfect himſelf in the practiſe of this Divine duty. He ever diſtributed his faſtings, watchings, prayer, repaſt, counſel, ſtudy, with ſo prudent an oeconomy, for the ſervice of his God, and held his life ſo admirably interlaced, between action, and contemplation, that he made on earth, a perfect figure of Angels aſcending, and deſcending, receiving already a taſt of thoſe benefits, which he was to hope for, in the other; inſomuch, that he ſeemed to have his ſoul in Heaven, whilſt he was on earth, to underſtand myſteries, and enjoy an antipaſt of Paradiſe it ſelf. O thrice, and four times happy were we, if we could have, known our own happineſſe, to have had ſuch a Perſon ſet over us, by God, and his own Divine vertues, that had ſo clear and free acceſſe to the Throne of Grace, and ſo near an union to God himſelf, as a finite was capable of, with an infinite, and might be ſtiled, as the former Moſes was, The familiar friend of God, and was not onely alwayes ready, to ſtand in the gap, between us, and the Divine vengeance, as the firſt Moſes did; but was wont to ſtorm Heaven for us, and pull down bleſſings by force upon us, though we were a moſt ungrateful, and undeſerving people; nor ſo onely, but that was alwayes ready to inſtruct us by his precept, as well as practiſe, if we could dare to follow him, in all other pieces of Piety, and Divine duty; as we have in part ſeen already, and ſhall more at large in the next ſucceeding Aſcents, and Parallels.

The one and twentieth Aſcent.

MOſes was a moſt exemplary Perſon, in all the practical parts of true Piety; He had alwayes ſo reverend, and faithful a feeling of the Majeſty of God, as not to ſerve him, with exteriour ſhews, and ſemblances onely of Religion; but ſincerely, cordially,Sap. 1. and conſtantly, Sentiendo de domino in bonitate, as the Book of Wiſdom deſcribes it, alwayes thinking on the Lord, with a true good heart.

This was moſt eminently viſible in the whole current of his thorough Religious life, but principally remarkable in the denial of himſelf, and all his own deſires, when any thing that concerned the glory of his God lay at the ſtake, or was called into the leaſt queſtion, ſubmitting alwayes all worldly ends, and humane reluctancies, to the intereſts of Heaven, and pure Religion. Was not this, I ſay, firſt notorious in him, when he would hazard the diſoblidgement of his wife (a thing that men ordinarily fear,Exod. 4.25. more than a diſobedience to God) nay would incur her diſpleaſure ſo far, as to be thought, and called by her, a cruel hard-hearted perſon, and a bloody husband, rather than omit the performance of one Tittle of his Almighty Maſters commands. Nay, State Policy it ſelf, which now adayes is held to be almoſt inconſiſtent with true Piety, could not hinder his heroick practiſe of piety. And this did moſt manifeſtly appear, in his refuſal of all the favours that Pharaohs Court,Exod. 2. or his daughters countenance, could afford him, for the ſervice of his God, poſtponing every thing of his own affection and intereſts, to the zeal for his Religion, and the quiet of a good conſcience. This is, I ſay, a moſt remarkable piece of Princely piety indeed, to hold all the Maxims of State, and proper intereſts whatſoever, under the rules of Religion, and Conſcience, and to be diſpoſed, rather to hazard all, than to loſe God by one ſole ſin. This noble Princely piece of piety, to its perfection, both of profeſſion, and practiſe, our great Patriarch ſhewed in the whole courſe of his life, loudly proclaiming, and as ſtrictly obſerving, to love the Lord God,Exod. Num. Levit. Deut. with the whole heart, and him onely to ſerve, which no man can do, that mixeth any thing of humane, with divine obligations; that is but to ſerve God by pieces.

The Parallel.

We have alreay gone far in the diſcourſe of our great Patriarchs, and his happy Parallel's, moſt Princely and exemplary piety; clearly to be collected from the viſible zeal, they ever bore to Gods glory, and devotions to his Service; but all this, may be ſaid to be (as indeed it is in moſt of this Age) but a meer outſide onely, the very heart and marrow of Religion conſiſting in the interiour, which we can make no other judgement of, than by the apparent practiſe of piety, true godly and religious lives of men, and a dutiful ſubmiſſion of all humane intereſt, to God; and if all this, were ever eminent in any Perſons, it has been in theſe two great Princes, our firſt and ſecond Moſes.

Now it is very obſervable, that all this Princely practiſe of true piety, is but an effect, or conſequent at leaſt, of that zeal to Gods glory, before ſpoken of, and of that precious ſpirit of prayer;Thom. Aquin. 2 2. q. 32 for true Devotion, as the great Aquinas has deſcribed it, is nothing but a prompt will to the ſervice of God; his words are theſe, Voluntas quaedum prompta tradendi ſe ad ea, quae pertinent ad Dei famulatum: a very prompt, and affectionate vivacity in things, which concern Gods buſineſſe. Nay we may find as much ſaid by Porphyry himſelf a Pagan, and one of the moſt Atheiſtical ones,Porphyrius that ever lived. Deus, ſaith he, omnium pater, nullius indiget, ſed nobis eſt bene, cum eum adoramus, ipſam vitam, precent ad eum facientes, per inquiſitionem, & imitationem, de ipſo: that is, God the Creator, and Father, of this great Univerſe, hath no need at all of our ſervice, but it is our good to honour, ſerve, and adore him, making our life a perpetual prayer to him, by a diligent inquiry after his perfections, and a holy imitation of his vertues. All this, holy Auguſtin, the Oracle of the Latine Church, recites out of that Heathen, to teach us faith from the Philoſophy of the moſt perfidious, and Religion, from the writings of the moſt irreligious man that ever lived: juſt as if an honeſt man, ſhould pull a thing ſtolne, out of a Theeves coffer. And it is indeed a moſt evident truth, that the beſt life, is the beſt prayer; and therefore holy Nazianzen tells us, that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ,Nazian. in Jamb. is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , a dumb work, is better than the moſt eloquent Oration; a golden tongue, and a leaden heart ſeldom march together: yet we know, that ſome there are, who have apparence enough of the ſpirit, and will pray like Angels, but practiſe like Devils, reſembling the Aſſe in the Fable, that carries to the Hot-houſe daily, wherewithal to ſhift and cleanſe others, and yet go themſelves perpetually bemired and ſlovenly: or yet more truly like the impertinent drone, they can go buzzing up and down with their empty prayers, and yet neither make honey, nor wax. To what purpoſe, in the mean time, is it, to be Vox, & praeterea nihil? to warble like a Nightingale, or a well-touch'd Lute, and to be deaf to all harmony? Is it not to be as the Apoſtle tells us, but as ſounding braſſe, at beſt, or as a tinkling ſymbal? Undoubtedly, all the devotion of a ſoul truly Chriſtian, tendeth to practiſe, as the line to its center; and therefore holy Cyprian likewiſe tells us, Philoſophi factis, Cyprian l. de patientia. non verbis ſumus, nec magna loquimur, ſed vivimus. Our Philoſophy, and Chriſtian wiſdom, ſaith he, is a prudence of workes, not of words, and we are to live, not talke great things.

We ſhould march in our Chriſtian warfare, like the brave ſouldiers of Gideon, with the torch in our hands, as well as the Trumpet on our lips: and therefore it was ſaid of the great and holy Athanaſius, that his voice was a Thunderclap, and his life a Lightning flaſh: and truly words, let them be never ſo good, can never thunder well, if the living example enlighten not.

All which, our moſt gracious late Protector, and ſecond Moſes, knew full well, and practiſed accordingly, in imitation of his great Maſter, the firſt Moſes, our Princely Patriarch, who was not onely ready to exerciſe his holy ſpirit of prayer, in the behalf of, and for his people, but alſo to make practiſe of his piety before them, to inflame their lives to holineſſe and charity, as well as to preſerve their perſons in peace, and plenty; to be active in his obedience to the Almighties will, as well as outwardly zealous for his glory.

Now, by this onely it is plain, that our firſt and ſecond Moſes have clearly been of a quite contrary Religion, to Machiavel, before cited,Mach. Princ. c. 2. Decad. c. 12.13. and all his Crew, who would have a Prince, or Stateſman, practiſe Religion, onely according to the neceſſity of their affairs, and to learn how they may ſometimes be wicked, that is, to make ſhew of Religion, and honeſty, ſo far forth as may ſerve their turns; but in very deed, to be compleat knaves.

Every man in power forſooth, muſt be a Hypocrite, his face alwayes maskt, and the vizard too, ought to be more lovely, than the viſage, he muſt make his apparencies better than his ſubſtance, and court opinion, more than conſcience. O rare Machiavillian divinty, and very pious policy! But our Patriarch Moſes, (a wiſer man ſure, than a million of Machiavels) we find, was clean of another opinion, as well as practiſe too; he underſtood ſufficiently, how the Lord Almighty had ever reproved, condemned, and chaſtiſed, with a moſt particular indignation of his heart, that abominable plaiſtered kind of life in Princes, as well as common people; and therefore he ordered in his Law, that the Swan, and the Oſtrich, ſhould never be made uſe of, in Divine Sacrifices.Levit. 11.18. Upon which Moſaical ordinance, all the Interpreters of Scripture, are joyntly of opinion, that the Swan was firſt rejected, notwithſtanding the whiteneſſe of her feathers, and ſweetneſſe of note, ſo much aſcribed to her; becauſe under thoſe pure white plumes, ſhe hides ſo black a fleſh. Then for the Oſtrich, which carries onely an oſtentuous boaſt of fair large wings, and very little or no flight at all, ſhe could never be admitted into the number of Divine victims: ſo much the Lord abhors apparencies, fruitleſſe, and effectleſſe.

Now, I would very fain know of all thoſe pitiful Politicians, who purſue like Machiavillian Maxims, with ſuch corrupt hypocritical ſpirits, as the Florentine propoſeth, what they will anſwer me further upon this Aſcent of our Moſes, and his Parallel? For the firſt, it is clear, that if he had been to chooſe and cheriſh, onely a Religion, that ſuited beſt with State policy, or temporal deſigns, it had been much more prudence in him, to have joyned himſelf with the Religion of Egypt, and to have been aſſociated with the Magicians themſelves, than to have kept ſo cloſe to the Commandments of God. And if he had been to value his private intereſt, before his honeſty, and conſcience, ſure the powerful favours of a great Kings Court, and more inticing importunities of a Princeſſe, would have been greater attractives to his ambition, than a poor, ſimple, Shepherds life, in a Deſart.

Nay, before we approach our precious Parallel Moſes, what can they, I mean the Diſciples of that wiſe Secretary, ſay, to another glorious Countryman of ours, one of the moſt Chriſtian, and Victorious Princes, that ever ſwayed a Scepter, and that was Conſtantine the Great? Firſt we ſhall find upon a clear account, twelve or thirteen great Perſons, at that very time, all arguing upon the Diadem of the Empire with him. Now, if there had been any neceſſity for him to diſpoile himſelf of honeſty, and innocency, that he might be inveſted with the Crown, and Pall imperial, Why did he take the way of the Empire, by that of ſanctity? If uſe muſt be made of Religion onely as of an Inſtrument of State, and that alone to be taken up, which hath the greateſt vogue, and credit, in the opinion of the people, be it right, or wrong; Why went he about then to fix himſelf upon Chriſtian Religion, and at that very time, when the greateſt part of the World, was ingulpht in Gentiliſme?

We ſee how Maxentius, like a miſerable Machiavillian, courted that intereſt, and according to the ordinary cuſtom of the people of Rome, cauſed all the pretended Books of the Sybylls, to be turned over, conſulted with the Augures, and Aruſpices, and accordingly offered ſacrifices to his Pagan gods: all this gave him a reputation of piety, with a people then as Infidel as himſelf. Why did not our Conſtantine purſue the ſame politick wayes? Why did he fix the ſign of the Croſſe upon his Standards, which was enough too, to diſoblige his own Army, that very figure, being then eſteemed moſt fatal, and of an ill preſage, by the moſt part of the World? Moreover, what help or ſuccour could he poſſibly expect, from the poor Chriſtians at that time? Had he a Deſign to extract Treaſures from their coffers? they were moſt wretchedly poor, and diſpoiled of all poſſeſſion. Was he of opinion, that he might raiſe huge Armies of them, for his ſervice? they were ſo daily cut down, that they were ſcarce viſible at all: one onely moneth, not long before, ſaw ſeventeen thouſand heads of them lopt off, and tumbling upon the ground? How could he perſwade himſelf, that there was any conſiderable humane ſtrength in their Religion, when they were all either maſſacred, mained, or baniſhed? Could he look for counſel amongſt them? they were men of no eſteem at all in the World, and thought utterly void of all learning and policy. Was it any credit, that he could expect they might confer upon his Cauſe? they were moſt deſpicable creatures, and trampled underfoot by every body, like dirt in the ſtreets, reputed meer 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , as the Apoſtle tells us, as the dung, and off-ſcouring of the world. Behold here a piece of State-prudence, fit onely for the pens of Angels, whereunto the brains, and wit, of this pitiful Florentine, could never arrive: his cunning alas could reach no further, than ſome petit humane tracts, indeed meer knacks of Atheiſtical knavery. This is a light, whereat all the blear'd eyes of thoſe buzards are dazled. This is an Abyſſe wherein all carnal men are quite loſt, and ſwallowed up: For we find that our Great Conſtantines prudence, grounded upon Divine providence, and his own piety, has conducted him to the Soveraignity of the Empire of the whole World, by degrees, utterly different from thoſe, which Mr. Machiavel hath prepared to lead his Prince in.

On the other ſide, do but look a little on his ſon-in-law Julian, coming to the Empire, and holding it by Machiavillian Rules onely, how well did he proſper in his policies? who meerly out of ſpite to the Chriſtians, not any affection, to the Jews, indeed to baffle Chriſtianity it ſelf, reſolved to re-edifie the Temple of Jeruſalem, and to that purpoſe iſſued out a Commiſſion, to an Infidel like himſelf, one called Alippius: but mark how his Machiavillian plot ſucceeded, Balls of fire were ſeen to iſſue out of the very foundations, as faſt as they laid them, which made their deſign as frivolous, as the place was inacceſſible: after all this obſerve what became of him, he reigned but one year, & ſeven moneths, and then died ſtruck with a blow from Heaven, which the Pagans themſelves confeſſe to be ignorant, of from whence it came: howſoever, this is moſt certain, that he died perfectly phrenetick, which cauſed him to fill his hand with his own blood, and cry out, Thou haſt overcome, O Galilaean, and ſo dying, has left a memory ſo odious behind him, that it ſtinkes ſtill, and ſo for ever will, to all Poſterity.

I might be infinit, if I ſhould run over all the examples, that we have before us, of ſuch impious Politicians, who have made all the intereſts of God, and Religion, ſubſervient to their own baſe ends. Great Volumes might be written of their miſerable mortalities, which make all Theaters at this day to reſound, and Tragedians to deplore. I ſhall onely now therefore produce our Parallel, to convince all thoſe pitiful Politicians, of the Machiavillian make, and ſo conclude this diſcourſe.

Did ever any perſon ſo contradict all the Maxims of humane wiſdom, and ſtruggle with, and againſt, all proper intereſts, as our ſecond Moſes has done? If it had not been for his obligations to God, true Religion and a pure conſcience, what madneſſe muſt it needs have appeared in his Highneſſe, to have ſtill been oppoſite to all prevalent parties, which in plain humane probabilities, would have deſtroyed him, and us?

As firſt, the late King, and his corrupted Court; Then the Kirk, and all its Conſiſtorians; Then the violent levelling Parties within his own body, and all the men of mettal, forſooth, that were for the fifth Monarchy; Then the long-lived (as his Highneſſe himſelf uſed to call it) long-reigning, and indeed, ruining Parliament, with all its appertinencies, and divers others ſince, that, it may be, had the ſame, or worſe deſigns. Good God, with what wonder, and amazement am I ſeized, when I conſider the dangerous difficulties, his moſt Serene Highneſſe has encountred, for the honour and glory of his God, the good of this ungrateful people, and the ſatisfaction of his own conſcience, upon grounds utterly unpolitick, as to humane apprehenſion, and clearly contradictory, to his proper intereſts.

This high towering Eagle, as we have ſeen, winged onely with Piety, and Religion, from the very firſt time that he was called forth into action, to this very day, could never be found (as aforeſaid) beating of his wings, in thoſe lower Regions of the air, converſing with thoſe pitiful humane policies, but borne, I ſay alwayes, upon thoſe heavenly wings aforeſaid; ſoared alwayes amongſt lightnings themſelves, tempeſts, and whirlewindes, and ever had his eye, where the day broke; that was, on God, the Fountain of Light, and his own conſcience, the ſure Orient of all his pious actions.

The great Secretaries of Nature, do obſerve further, of that brave Bird, I mean the Eagle, that her feathers, are ſo imperious, that they will not mix, with the plumage of other Birds, if they are by chance caſt in amongſt them; they will ſtrait conſume the others, as with a dull file: and can the Lord of Heaven and Earth, who is an incomparable wiſdom, a ſtore of riches inexhauſtible, a purity infinite, be mingled with ſuch feeble pretenſions, as thoſe of humane intereſts? which can have nothing but phrenſy for beginning, miſery for inheritance, and impurity for ornament? Our Moſaical Protector therefore, was ever ſeen, to ſeparate himſelf, from his ſelf, denying his own deſires, diſowning his own glories, and adhering onely to the intereſts of God, and giving the honour of all his actions to him; as we may hear his Highneſſe yet ſpeaking for himſelf, in a printed Speech of his, to a late Parliament.

It was, ſay ſome, the cunning of the Lord Protector (I take it to my ſelf) it was the craft of ſuch a man, and his plot that hath brought it about. And as they ſay, in other Countries: There are five or ſix cunning men in England, that have skill, they do all theſe things: Oh what Blaſphemy is this! &c. Becauſe men that are without God in the world, and walk not with him, and know not what it is to pray, or believe, and to receive returns from God, and to be ſpoken unto by the Spirit of God, who ſpeaks without a written Word ſometimes, yet according to it: God hath ſpoken heretofore in divers manners, let him ſpeak as he pleaſeth. Hath he not given us liberty? nay, is it not our duty to go to the Law, and to the Teſtimonies? and there we ſhall find, that there have been impreſſions in extraordinary caſes, as well without the written Word, as with it, and therefore there is no difference in the thing thus aſſerted, from truths generally received, except we will exclude the Spirit, without whoſe concurrence, all other Teachings are ineffectual; He doth ſpeak to the Hearts and Conſciences of men, and leadeth them to his Law and Teſtimonies, and there he ſpeaks to them, and ſo gives them double teachings, according to that of Job, God ſpeaketh once, yea twice; and that of David, God hath ſpoken once, yea twice have I heard this. Thoſe men that live upon their Mumpſimus and Sumpſimus, their Maſſes and Service-Books, their dead and carnal Worſhip, no marvel if they be ſtrangers to God, and the works of God, and to ſpiritual diſpenſations. And becauſe they ſay, and believe thus, muſt we do ſo too? we in this Land have been otherwiſe inſtructed, even by the Word, and Workes, and Spirit of God. To ſay that men bring forth theſe things, when God doth them judge you if God will bear this. I wiſh that every ſober heart, though he hath had temptations upon him of deſerting this CAƲSE of God, yet may take heed how he provokes, and falles into the hands of the living God by ſuch blaſphemies as theſe, according to the tenth of the Hebrews, If we ſin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more ſacrifice for ſin. (It was ſpoken to the Jews, that having profeſſed Chriſt, apoſtatized from him) what then? nothing but a fearful falling into the hands of the Living God.

They that ſhall attribute to this or that Perſon, the contrivances and production of thoſe mighty things God hath wrought in the midſt of us, and that they have not been the revolutions of Chriſt himſelf, upon whoſe Shoulders the GOVERNMENT is laid, they ſpeak againſt God, and they fall under his hand without a Mediator, that is, if we deny the Spirit of Jeſus Chriſt, the glory of all his works in the World, by which he Rules Kingdoms, and doth adminiſter, and is the Rod of his ſtrength, we provoke the Mediator; And he may ſay, I'le leave you to God, I'le not intercede for you, let him tear you to pieces, I'le leave thee to fall into Gods hands, thou denieſt me my Soveraignty and Power committed to me, I'le not intercede nor mediate for thee, thou falleſt into the hands of the Living God. Therefore whatſoever you may judge men, for, and ſay, This man is cunning, and politick, and ſubtile, take heed, again I ſay, how you judge of his Revolutions, as the Products of mens inventions.

Then, how much he valued the intereſts of God, and his influence upon all his actions, we may ſee what he ſayes in the ſame Speech.

—and were it not that I can make ſome Dilemma's upon which to reſolve ſome things of my Conſcience, Judgement, and Actions, I ſhould ſinck at the very proſpect of my Encounters; ſome of them are general, ſome are more ſpecial, ſuppoſing this Cauſe, or this Buſineſſe, muſt be carried on, either it is of God, or of Man, if it be of Man, I would I had never touched it with a finger; if I had not had a hope fixed in Me that this Cauſe, and this Buſineſſe is of God, I would many years ago have run from it. If it be of God, he will bear it up. If it be of Man, it will tumble, as every thing that hath been of man, ſince the World began, hath done. And what are all our Hiſtories, and other Traditions of actions in former times, but God manifeſting himſelf that he hath ſhaken and tumbled down, and trampled upon, every thing that he hath not planted? and as this is, ſo the All-wiſe God deal with it.

If this be of humane Structure, and Invention, and it be an old Plotting and Contrivance to bring things to this Iſſue, and that they are not the Births of Providence, then they will tumble. But if the Lord take pleaſure in England, and if he will do Us good, he is able to bear us up; Let the difficulties be whatſoever they will, we ſhall in his Strength be able to encounter with them. And I bleſſe God I have been inured to Difficulties, and I never found God failing when I truſted in him; I can laugh and ſing in my heart when I ſpeak of theſe things to you, or elſewhere.

Here is a piece of Divine Policy indeed, and fetcht doubtleſſe from the Gates of the City of God. Thus was his late Moſaical Highneſſe alwayes pleading, to acknowledge the truth of that moſt excellent Maxim, delivered by Auguſtin, Auguſt. lib. 3. de libero Arbit. c. 24 Cui bonum non eſt Deus, ſibi ipſi vult eſſe bonum ſuum, ſicut ſibi eſt Deus, He that holds not God for his greateſt good, would be to himſelf his own good, as God is to himſelf: He that thinks to eſcape from the bands of dependance, that he has on God, makes himſelf his own bleſſing, and his end his God.

His Highneſſe therefore ſo conſtantly ſteer'd himſelf, and all his actions; by his obedience to Divine Commands, that he choſe alwayes to periſh with a good conſcience, rather than to flouriſh without one; and though he was from the very beginning, like a pure Oriental Pearle in the ſalt-ſea, ſo continually involved in the cruel acerbities, and confuſions of our times, yet he alwayes kept his Noble luſter, in then midſt of them, and by his invincible affection toward, and confidence in, his God, he aroſe ſtill from them, with more and more ſplendour, and made all thoſe his perplexities which threatned him with many an imminent ruin, but higher aſcents and ſteps to the Temple of glory. Vertue and Piety, he always compared to, and took for, the Geometrical Cube of his life, which we know in Mathematicks, on what ſide ſoever it be caſt, alwayes finds its Baſis.

Where are you now, all you, I ſay, who are the pitiful followers of Nicholas Machiavells policy, poor tricks of carnal wiſdom? What will become now of all your mighty Maxims of hypocritical knavery?

Let this one example onely of our Chriſtian Moſes, parallel to that of his Great Maſter, the Patriarch, which we have ſeen in his Aſcent, ſerve now for all, to inform you, That there are none, but ſuch as are perfectly blind, that ſeek after your Principles, and miſerable they muſt be, who find them, the ſottiſh who will deſcend to ſerve them, and the utterly reprobate, and forlorne, who can ſtoope to tye themſelves unto them: but the wiſdom that is of Heaven, our Moſaical wiſdom, is ſo tranſcendently ſublime, above all your untrue and trivial inventions, as the light of Stars ſurpaſſeth all the ſparklings and petit ſprey fiers of the Earth.

And though ſuch humane intereſts and deſigns, may poſſibly, and will ſtill, hold the Aſcendent in the hearts of ſome ſort of people; yet we finde, how my Lords, high, holy, Moſaical ſpirit, could no more than that of his Grand Archetype, condeſcend to ſteer his courſe, or counſells that way; nor yet more, than thoſe Angels, now ſtanding in glory, follow the example of thoſe Luciferian ſpirits, which fell by ſuch Machiavillian counſells, into the pit of Perdition.

No, our moſt pious late Protector, and ſecond Moſes, could never induce himſelf to court any thing, that had not Heaven, and the Stars to give him for a Reward.

So I hope, we may at length happily conclude, that under the heart of this our ſecond, as well as we have ſeen under that of our firſt Moſes, there remained alwayes prepared, a Temple of true Piety; and our Parallel in this particular likewiſe, to be accompliſht.

The two and twentieth Aſcent.

MOſes was not onely accompliſht in all points of Piety, that were expedient for ſo great a Prince, and Patriarch; but he was advanced by God, to the higheſt dignity and perfection of a Prophet; and he was endowed with ſo extraordinary a ſpirit of Propheſie, that never any man before, or ſince him, had the like.

He was that really, which the old Poets in their fabulous ſuperſtitions, fancied of their god Janus, with his double face, to look both before, and behind him.

The Great Moſes was an inſpired Prophet, à parte Poſt, as well as à parte Ante; how could he otherwiſe have writ the Hiſtory of the Creation of the World, the Deluge,Geneſ. and of all thoſe things, that happened before his time; of which there could be no Record, either in writing, or ſecure Tradition at that time, ſo his whole Book of Geneſis, muſt of neceſſity be extracted, out of the Chronicles of Heaven onely. That he propheſied of futurities of the higheſt concernment,Exod. Levit. Num. Deut. his other four Books give ſufficient evidence, and to all this, the Lord Almighty himſelf hath ſet to the ſeal of his own approbation; firſt, that he was faithful in all his houſe,Num. 12.7, 8. and that with him, he would ſpeak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark ſpeeches, and the ſimilitude of the Lord,Deut. 34.10. ſhall he, behold, &c. Then the Lord is pleaſed expreſſely to declare concerning him, That there aroſe not a Prophet ſince in Iſrael, like unto Moſes, whom the Lord knew face to face. Over and above all this, when propheſying of the Myſtery of Myſteries, a futurity then of the higheſt concernment to mankind,Deut. 18.15. the incarnation of the Word, the Spirit of God is pleaſed to reſemble Moſes to the Meſſiah that was to come, ſaying, The Lord thy God will raiſe up unto thee, a Prophet from the midſt of thee, Acts 3.22. of thy Brethren, like unto me; unto him ye ſhall hearken: which words are verbatim quoted, for the proof of that Word incarnate, both by the Proto-Apoſtle Peter, and the Proto-Martyr Stephen;Acts 7.37. and ſure in reaſon, ſome great ſimilitude of God he muſt needs contract, who had ſo free, frequent, and full, converſation with the Deity, face to face.

The Parallel.

That Moſes was a great, yea the greateſt Prophet of the old Law, I believe is made abundantly manifeſt by our Divine Aſcent; and that our moſt pious, gracious, and glorious, late Lord Protector, and ſecond Moſes, was a great Prophet too, according to his proportion, I hope will be made out by the proceſſe of our precious Parallel.

But now becauſe the name of Prophet here, ſeems to ſound ſomething equivocal, and is really capable of very various acceptions, it may be worth our pains, to dilate a little upon, and to fix, it, before we proceed to make up our happy Parallel.

Indeed, there has been an infinite number of perſons, which have paſt under the reputation of Prophets, that in very truth, were no better than Wizards all, or Wiſeakers, in our Country Language; that is, in plain Engliſh, mad-men, fools, or knaves: but all ſuch phanatical Prophets as thoſe, we ſhall at preſent paſſe by, as impertinent to our purpoſe, and not at all worthy of any ſhare in this diſcourſe; and enter into a curſory debate onely concerning thoſe, who have more juſtifiable pretenſions, according to the moſt genuin ſignification of the word, to that higheſt and moſt ſacred humane dignity: and three ſorts of men there are, that do, and may lay juſt challenge and claim, to that moſt excellent Title, according to all the judgement of Antiquity, as well as the preſent Age.

And the firſt are thoſe inſpired witty Prophets, or Prophets of phanſie, which go under the common name of Poets.

The ſecond ſort, are thoſe inſpired prudent Prophets, or Prophets of Affairs, received now under the ſtile of Stateſmen.

And the third ſort, are thoſe inſpired Divine Prophets, or Prophets of Religion, who though they have the onely true, legal, and proper right, to that Divine honour; yet the others are not quite to be caſt out, or raſhly diſinherited of that title. The firſt we may call Aery or Poetical Prophets; the ſecond more Earthy and Political; the third all Fiery and Celeſtial. For this firſt ſort of Prophets, our Moſes was amongſt them too, as is ſufficiently to be ſeen, in the many Hymnes, that he compoſed for the glory of his God, and the comfort of his people; as alſo the many Poetical expreſſions, phraſes, and proſopopiea's, that he uſeth, rendring God, as it were, coming towards us, in his glory and Majeſty.

This firſt ſort of Pretenders, then have indeed a pretty fair claim, right, and title, to be taken into this ſupereminent Degree; and that may firſt here appear, from the very name that all good people, in all Ages, ever gave to the skilful in that heavenly myſtery, which was alwayes Vates, or Propheta, as much as Diviner, Forſeer, or Prophet. Then none will deny, but that they had the onely right in times of Gentiliſme, being the onely Pagan Prophets, and Conſervators of Religion in thoſe dayes.

Nay, both Clemens Alexandrinus, Clem. Alexand. Euſebius. and Euſebius, themſelves confeſſe, that the ancient Poets, did receive the myſteries of their Religion, from the Jews, and preſerved them ſtill as ſacred, though folding of them up, in ſome Fables.

As firſt it is plain, that the Hiſtory of Deucaleon, was taken out of that of Noe, and ſo kept up the remembrance ſtill of that diſmal Deluge. The ſtupendious Story of the retrogradation, and going back of the Sun, in the time of Ezekiah, was continued in that famous fiction of Phaeton.

They that would behold the building of that proud Tower of Babel, which was undertaken by Nimrod, and his Aſſociates, to climb up, as it were, by ladders into Heaven, and ſcale its battlements, to ſee what was done there; ſhall find it, though under certain alegories, amply deſcribed in Homer, Homer. Odyſſ. l. 11. under the fabulous phanſie of the Gyants Oetus, and Ephialtes, ſons to Iphimedia; where he deſcribes their height, and wonderfull vaſt ſtrength and bigneſſe, and how they went about to lay the mountain Oſſa upon that of Olympus, and Pelion upon Oſſa; all which Story Ovid recites likewiſe, with divers others in his Metamorphoſis, Ovid. Metam. hiding under ſeeming Fables, many of the moſt Divine and conſiderable truths: but moſt particularly, he recites the manner of the Beginning, and Creation of the World, juſt as our Moſes did, and muſt of neceſſity have received it from him. Nay, Homer, Homer. Heſiod. Linus. Heſiod, and Linus, muſt undoubtedly have borrowed from his Books, all that they ſaid of ſanctifying the ſeventh day.

The Golden Age, and Reign of Saturn, was gathered as certainly from the moſt happy eſtate, wherein Adam was before he ſinned. Nay, Orpheus yet ancienter than any of them, confeſſeth,Orpheus. that he learnt divers thing, as we have ſhewed before, from the Doctrine of Moſes, mentioning, as we have ſhewed in our Aſcent, his very Tables, &c.

Well might they then have the reputation of Prophets amongſt the Heathens, who lookt with as much reverence upon the Theogony of Heſiod, as we Chriſtians do upon the Genealogy of Jeſus Chriſt; they valued Homers Illiads as highly, as we poſſibly can the Books of the Goſpel, and had as great a reſpect to the Apothegm's of Pythagoras, as we can have to the Commandments of God.

Let them paſſe on then with their reputation of Prophets ſtill, eſpecially ſince St. Paul himſelf, is pleaſed to afford it to them, ſaying, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ,Tit. 1.12, 13. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , one of themſelves, even a Prophet of their own ſaid, The Cretians are alwayes lyars, evil beaſts, flow bellies: then aſſerts their witneſſe to be true, and that is rare indeed for Poets, one would think.

Well, a moſt Noble, and inſpired faculty, yea Propheſie it ſelf, let Poetry be; for truly, I think, a man may be born to one, as well as the other: But, what is this to our late Great Protector, who never dealt in any ſuch trivial Arts, ſay ſome of our Miſomuſi? No, my Lord never eſteemed that honourable, and illuſtrious Art full of Divine fury, after that manner, though it may be, his greater occupations could not permit him the practiſe of it: he ever had a moſt reverent eſteem of ſo Divine a profeſſion, when regulated after the true Divine way, and was a moſt magnificent Mecaenas to its profeſſors.

For the Profeſſion,Ariſtot. Bembus. Scaliger. he believed with Ariſtotle, that it was the Treaſury of the Graecian Divinity; and with Bembus, that it was the firſt bringer in of all Civility, and with Scaliger, that no Philoſophers precepts can ſo ſoon make an honeſt, and a valiant good man, as the reading of Virgil, &c.

Then for the Profeſſours, Was there ever a more bountiful Benefactor, than he has been to all the vertuous perſons of it? To inſtance in one for all; What obliging favours has he caſt upon our Engliſh Virgil here (I mean Mr. Edm. Waller) and meerly for that, and his other vertues, having in ſome other relations, little capacity enough to deſerve them. My Lord has ſufficiently ſhewed his own moſt excellent judgement in Poetry, by his approbation and election of him, to be the object of his great goodneſſe, who is clearly one of the ableſt, and moſt flouriſhing wits, that ever handled a pen, and he does it, with that natural dexterity and promptneſſe, as if he had begun to write, ſo ſoon as to live; and whoſoever confiders the worth of his Writings, cannot but wonder, how ſo many graces and beauties, which others labour for, and never attain to, encreaſe in him, as in a ſoil natural for wit and eloquence; If he goes about to tranſlate any thing, the dead Authors themſelves are ready to riſe out of their graves, and requeſt him to exchange his Engliſhed Copies, for their Originals. In all his own things, his conceptions are unimitable, his language ſo ſweet and polite, that no Ice can be ſmoother; his ſentences are alwayes full of weight, his arguments of force, and his words glide along like a river, and bear perpetually in them, ſome flaſhes of lightning, at the end of each period. He perfectly knows how to vary his eloquence upon all occaſions, to be facetious in pleaſing arguments, grave in ſevere, polite in laborious, and when the ſubject requires fervor and invective, his mouth can ſpeak tempeſts; In ſhort, he is the wonder of Wits, the pattern of Poets, the mirrour of Orators in our Age. All this I ſay of him, not ſo much out of deſign to applaud him, as to adore the judgement of our great Auguſtus, who alwayes choſe him out, and crowned him for the Virgil of this Nation; but his favours likewiſe were extended moſt liberally, to all thoſe that did deſerve them, either here, or in either of his Univerſities: He was a perfect Philomuſus, and why not by that, qualified for a Poetical Prophet? the father having, at leaſt, or ought to have, an equal portion, with the children of the Prophets.

And ſo I paſſe to the ſecond ſort of Prophets, that is, of our Prudent and Political ones, commonly called Stateſmen, who indeed muſt foreſee futurities too, or they can never order their affairs aright; for if they look not into all caſualties of inconvenience, how ſhall they be ever able to prevent them? And Seneca very wiſely forewarns all Stateſmen,Senec. Epiſt. 24. of the neceſſity of this foreſight of all futurities, when he tells them, that they are bound Quicquid fieri poteſt, quaſi futurum cogitare, To conceive, that all things may, that can come to paſſe.

And therefore Joſephus, that Learned Jew, Joſeph de Bell Jud. l. 2. tells us moſt judiciouſly alſo, that Bonum eſt, dum adhuc ſtat navis in portu, praecavere tempeſtatem futuram, & non eo tempore, quo in medias irrueris procellas, trepidare: It is neceſſary for him that goes to Sea, to foreſee a ſtorm coming, if he can, and not to ruſh into the fury of the Seas; and tremble at the tempeſt afterwards; that will a vail little, but for to be rendered ridiculous for his own raſhneſſe.

This holds altogether as true in him, that holdes the Helme of a Kingdom, or Common-wealth, as in any Pilot of a Ship whatſoever. By this it may be collected, how hugely neceſſary it is for a Prince, or Supreme Magiſtrate, to hold a conſtant communication with God, without whoſe Divine aſſiſtance, it is impoſſible to manage State matters well, as we have partly ſhewed already: by his Divine inſpirations onely it muſt be, that they can propheſie upon affairs, as they ſhould.

Xenoph. de inſtit. Cyr.Therefore that great Stateſman Xenophon, who drew ſo well the portraiture of a perfect Empire, tells us, that Tam erit arduum preſcribere quae facienda ſunt, quam futura omnia praeſcire, quod ſolius Dei eſt, & majus conditione mortali: It is as difficult to preſcribe what is to be done in State-buſineſſes, as to foreknow all futurities, which is proper to God alone, and above the reach of all Mortals: and yet this, that is ſo hard a task, is impoſed upon Princes: So that great Statiſt proceeds, Ecce aliquid Dei, ſic Princeps ſuſtinebit, in ventura ſcilicet excurrere, qui ut ſibi conſtet, ſufficiatque, primum conſiliis & conatibus ſuis, à Deo fulcrum prudentiae & ſapientiae jugiter flagitabit, nam illa quae capite humano tantum ſtat, infirma eſt & incauta quaedam temeritas, ad nullam autem Provinciam erit inhabilis, ad nullam virtutem indocilis, qui pietatem didicerit, numiniſque cultum. Behold here, ſaith he, how a Prince muſt of neceſſity have more than ordinary of God in him, to have an inſight into the events of things, and to diſcourſe upon futurities; which true ſpirit of propheſie, that he may have, that he may be conſtant to himſelf, and ſtable in his counſels, he is perpetually to ſeek that capacity, and ſupport from God; for the greateſt wit of man, of it ſelf, will be nothing but temerity; but he that is a true ſervant of Gods, and delights in his worſhip, ſhall be ſo inſpired, as to be able to encounter all extremities of State, and difficulties of affaires whatſoever.

It were now to be wiſht, that our Chriſtian Kings and Princes, would ſtudy and practiſe ſome of theſe religious Pagans admirable Divinity, though they will not ſtrive to mount up our Moſaical Aſcents, as his late moſt Serence Highneſſe has done, by which he has arrived, as we have ſeen, to the perfection of this Political ſpirit of propheſie.

The wiſe Philoſopher aſſures us,Seneca. that Sapiens non ſemper it uno gradu, ſed una via: A prudent perſon, keeps not alwayes one pace, though ſtill one and the ſame way, by which way, he muſt unqueſtionably mean, this Divine and prophetick way, this way of dependance upon God, in all his counſels; for no way elſe can be one, all humane wayes being various and uncertain, as has been ſufficiently ſhewed in our precedent diſcourſes, together with my Lords, our ſecond Moſes his, as the firſts great relations to the Lord in all their affairs; ſo I may hold my hand now, from any further enlargement upon their prophetical Policies: but conclude, that his late Highneſſe, was a moſt compleat Prophet in this ſenſe alſo.

So now, we come to the third and laſt acception of Prophets, and that is the true one indeed, the Divine Prophets, I mean, immediately illuminated by God, as our firſt Moſes was, and had free and frequent converſation with the Deity, even to the enjoyment of him face to face.

Of this ſort of Prophets, we find a diſtinction likewiſe in Scripture, and they are termed by the Spirit of God, either Videntes, or Evangelizantes, Seers, or Preachers: The Seers were thoſe which uſed to converſe with God by Viſions, or Divine Dreams, and to have ſome miraculous Revelations of things, and many future Events. This truly is the proper high pitch of propheſie, the ſublimeſt condition ſure, that mortality can arrive at, and that, our firſt Moſes had in the greateſt proportion of any meer man that ever lived, as we have ſeen in our Aſcent; nor truly dare I venture our ſecond Moſes here, to the perfection of Parallel with him; for, as I have ſaid before, we are yet unknowing to thoſe particular private diſpenſations of Heaven to him, though this we may ſecurely conclude, as the Scripture ſpeaks, that the Secret of the Lord was with him; and that he had the teſtimony of Jeſus, which to have, is to have the Spirit of propheſie; for the teſtimony of Jeſus, is the Spirit of propheſie,Revel. 19.10. as is expreſſely delivered to us in the Revelation.

Then for the ſecond ſort of Divine Prophets, which are the Evangelizers, or inſpired Preachers, they are ſuch as the Apoſtle deſcribes at large, in the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth, Chapters of his firſt Epiſtle to the Corinthians: and exhorts us all,1 Cor. 12. Ib. 13. ib. 14. to covet to be, above all things, and to ſpeak unto men, to edification, to exhortation, and comfort. Now if ever this ſublime Piece of Divine propheſie, was made out to any mortal man, of his condition, it was moſt eminently glorious in him: his very life was a perpetual Propheſie, his ſanctified example, was a conſtant living Sermon, and the words which the Spirit gave him, when he was pleaſed to open his inſpired lips, were, as we have hinted before, as thunderclaps to Hindes, for the production of ſalvation.

His way of propheſying, was not like theirs now adayes, that make a trade of it, and employ their Pulpits more for coin, than conſcience, and to pluck the fruits of the earth from their Pariſhioners, than to improve the fruits of the Spirit in them: No, his inſpired Highneſſe ever hated that canker of worldly ſpirits, ſo predominate in the moſt pretended Prophets of this Age, who indeed more zealouſly preach themſelves, and their own vile intereſts, than the pure and ſaving word of God.

Others forſooth, there are of them, that will preach nothing but placentia, ſow pillows under ſinful elbows, and ſtroak and tickle their Auditors in the meane time with ſtrange ſtories, or vain curioſities, and yet this they will call propheſying; but be it what it will, they care not, ſo it be for their own profiting; and they have brought a great part of the people too, to be ſatisfied with that kind of ſtuff; nay, even ſtrangely to delight in it.

The generality now, comes onely to hear Preachers, as of old they uſed to do to the Athenian Orators, or a curious Lute-player, or a Comedy: but if he that preacheth has no other intention but to pleaſe, and they that hear, have no other purpoſe, but to ſooth their own curioſity, he may weary his lungs in the mean ſpace, and they hug the itch in their ears; but the time will come, when he ſhall have the worm in his heart, to gnaw him, and they the tingling of the eares for their puniſhment.

The ſeller, and the buyer, both ſhall be payed home with the coin of reprobation; for whoſoever ſpeaketh not, and who heareth not, to do, and become better, abuſeth the gift of propheſie it ſelf, and a word ſigned with the blood of Jeſus Chriſt, the account of which, they will find ineſtimable, and the loſſe of the leaſt jot of it, moſt damnably dangerous.

His inſpired Highneſſe, I ſay, out of his true Prophetick wiſdom,1 Cor. 13.2. ever hated the courſes of all thoſe giddy ungodly Evangelizers, and ſaid with holy Paul, Though I have the gift of Propheſie, and underſtand all myſteries, and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, ſo as I could remove mountains, and have no charity, I am nothing: Now this charity tends to that the Apoſtle tells us, (as aforeſaid) to edification, exhortation, and comfort of others, which his true Prophetick Spirit alwayes obſerved, and by that inflamed all his people about him ſo, that his Palace alwayes appeared, as a glorious Temple, and his converſation a very Heaven upon Earth: So I hope this Parallel likewiſe will not be denyed, to be accompliſhed: Yet we ſhall ſee it more clear in the following.

The three and twentieth Aſcent.

MOſes was not onely endowed by God, with a moſt rich and plentiful ſpirit of Propheſie himſelf; but he endeavoured to procure it for, and alwayes permitted the exerciſe of it in, others: nay, encouraged and cheriſhed it in his people, to the diſcontent of divers about him; for the ſacred Text tells us, that when newes was brought to the bleſſed Patriarch, and holy Prophet, that there remained two of the men in the Camp, the name of the one was Eldad, Num. 11.26. and the name of the other Medad, and that the ſpirit reſting upon them, they continued to propheſie in the Camp,V. 27. V. 28. V. 29. and he was ſolicited to forbid them. Then Moſes ſaid to him, that would have had it forbidden, Envyeſt thou for my ſake? would God, that all the Lords people were Prophets, and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them. So it plainly appears, that our great Patriarch and Prophet Moſes, was abſolutely in his own judgement, inclined to favour a liberty of Propheſying, and that his judgement too, was ſeconded by Divine approbation; for what he then ſpoke, was from the very mouth, and dictate, of the Spirit of God himſelf.

The Parallel.

Thus we ſee, what Philoſophers aſſure us, is very true, that Omne bonum eſt ſui diffuſivum, All good is diffuſive of it ſelf; nothing indeed is ſo proper to its nature, as to be communicable: much more then muſt the Spirit of all goodneſſe be ſo; that is, this Spirit of God himſelf, the Holy Spirit of propheſie; What elſe made our great and gracious Patriarch, ſo willing to part with ſome of his ſpirit, as the Text tells us, he did to the ſeventy,Num. 11.24. that he ſet round about the Tabernacle? nor onely ſo, but to endeavour, and deſire, as we have ſeen in the Aſcent, That all Gods people were Prophets too, and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them.

O words worthy to be written in Letters of Gold, with a Pen of Diamond: And was not this the very ſenſe, and true Prophetick Spirit of our ſecond Moſes too? Has he not alwayes endeavoured, to impart that ſpirit of his to, and improve it in, the hearts of all his people, that were capable of it? Has he not alwayes incouraged the free uſe, and exerciſe of it, throughout theſe Nations, whilſt ſome cruel, greedy, envious, and exterminating ſpirits, were not onely ſtriving in private, but enacting in publick, to make a monopoly of this holy Spirit, and engroſſe it to themſelves? Nor onely ſo, but went about to extirpate, and root out, all thoſe that deſired the free uſe, and exerciſe of it. O Antichriſtain Tyrany! But this ſufficiently argued, that theirs was not the true ſpirit of propheſie, neither of, nor from the Lord at all: for that no ſpirit whatſoever can have a true union with God, that has not a commixture of charity, is evident,1 Cor. 13. by the drift of the whole Chapter of that Epiſtle to the Corinthians, cited in the laſt Parallel.

From whence then muſt this ſpirit of bitterneſſe amongſt men proceed, is it from the more brutal part of man? An ancient Father,Tertull. in an elegant gradation of his, tells us, no: for Homo homini Lupus, A man is a Wolf to a man; that will not reach it; for Saevis inter ſe convenit: No beaſt ſo ſavage, that will prey upon his own kinde. Is it from any deviliſhneſſe that may poſſeſſe humane nature? no, Homo homini daemon, will not reach it; for thoſe wicked ſpirits do agree well enough within themſelves; for our Saviour himſelf, teſtifies of their union, when he ſayes, That if their houſe were divided, it could not ſtand. From whence then can this ſpirit of bitterneſſe amongſt men proceed? even from men themſelves, Homo homini homo, That alone can reach this malice; for nothing is ſo mercileſſe an enemy to man, as man himſelf. No creature in the earth, beſides Canibal-men, will prey upon their own ſpeices, nor can any but barbarous Chriſtians think, that the God of all mercy, delights in humane ſacrifices, like thoſe deviliſh deities of old, and ſtill in America, that will be propitiated by no other means.

From whence then muſt this ſpirit of bitterneſſe amongſt Chriſtians proceed? is it from any principle of faith, or primitive practiſe? ſurely no: for the firſt children, of the Chriſtian Church, bore neither rod nor ſtick in their hands, wherewithal to plant faith in the hearts of men: How comes it to paſſe then, that we ſee ſome ſort of people have publiſht a Religion, all briſtled over with ſwords and pikes, all ſooted with the ſmoke of musket and canon, all ſprinkled over, and beſmear'd with the blood of Chriſtians? Muſt now the ancient Armes of our Chriſtian forefathers, which were prayers, and tears, be laid aſide, and none but killing weapons taken up? no Schooles to decide controverſies between Chriſtians, but bloody Campanias, nor way to ſave the ſouls of men, but by deſtroying their bodies? Did God refuſe to have his Temple built by David, though a man after his own heart, becauſe onely his hands were bloody; and can he now be contented, to have the very morter that is to bind up the ſtones, and ciment the walls of his Church, be tempered with blood, and her breaches made up with ſkulls and carkaſes? Will he now ſuffer the ſtones of his houſe, to be all poliſht with ſuch ſtroakes,1 Kings 6.7. as are ſmitings of Brethren, who would not endure in that of Solomons building, ſo much as the noiſe of hammer, ax, or iron, or braſſe toole?

From whence then can proceed this ſpirit of bitterneſſe amongſt brethren? that the red Dragon ſhould begin again to play Rex, and that Whore prepare to dye her Scarlet anew, and the pale Horſe of impriſonment and exile, threaten a range about the ſtreets? till his late moſt Serene Highneſſe, was pleaſed to oppoſe himſelf and all his power, againſt thoſe cruel, and, as I ſaid before, Antichriſtian deſigns. From whence, I ſay, could ariſe this root of bitterneſſe between Brethren? from nothing but a meer Machiavillian trick too, a pretence, forſooth, of conformity, or uniformity in the Church, which has been, and is undoubtedly, the greateſt cheat, that ever the Devil invented, to make men run a mading in Religion, and to embroile Chriſtendom in direful wars, perpetual confuſions, and moſt bloody ruins.

The witchcraft of that Jezebel it was, that ſo long troubled this our Iſrael, and that our great Jehu, as well as ſecond Moſes, ſo furiouſly marcht againſt, and, thanks be to God, has pretty well diſſolved her inchantments. Her painted face, he has now likewiſe diſcovered in its pure naturals, to all the World, and pulled off the vizard of all pretenſes whatſoever; for let the ends of theſe conformity-mongers, be never ſo plauſible, to ciment the State forſooth, againſt all diviſion, we find it has been throughout all Europe, the onely mother and nurſe, of all diſturbances whatſoever in matters of Religion, and the greateſt occaſion of civil bloodſhed, that ever was in the World; for there can be no War ſo paſſionate, as the War of conſcience.

All theſe horrid inconveniences, and miſchiefs, his Highneſſe's great Moſaick prudence, moſt timely lookt into, and prevented amongſt us. How often have we ſeen the furious Furnace heating by ſeveral parties? ſo could expect no leſſe than a fiery-trial: But he would neither ſuffer King, nor his Court, though he was the pretended head of that pitiful Body, nor yet Biſhops, Arch-Deacons, Deans, Chancellors, and Officials, with their long-tailed, &c. Nor yet any Superintendent with his Claſſes, and pretended Directories, to impoſe any thing upon tender conſciences; and indeed amongſt all the weighty affairs of this Nation, which he like another Atlas, ſo happily bore about him, the dear indulgent care, he alwayes expreſt in the favour of ſuch Chriſtians, who laboured under any ſcruples of conſcience, was as glorious and remarkable, as his undaunted courage to pull down his proud and ſtiff-necked enemies: and this is moſt evident likewiſe, by what it pleaſed his moſt Serene Highneſſe to hold forth in the ſame Speech afore-cited in the laſt Aſcent; which moſt heavenly words I thought neceſſary likewiſe to inſert here.

When you were entred upon this GOVERNMENT, raveling into it (you know I took no notice what you were doing) if you had gone upon that foot of Account, To have made ſuch good and wholeſome Proviſions for the good of the People of theſe Nations, for the Settling of ſuch matters in things of Religion, as would have upheld and given Countenance to a Godly Miniſtry, and yet would have given a juſt Liberty to Godly men of different Judgements, men of the ſame Faith with them that you call the Orthodox Miniſtery in England, as it is well known the Independents are, and many under the Form of Baptiſm, who are found in the Faith, onely may perhaps be different in Judgement in ſome leſſer matters, yet as true Chriſtians, both looking at Salvation, onely by faith in the blood of Chriſt, men profeſſing the fear of God, having recourſe to the Name of God, as to a ſtrong Tower; I ſay, you might have had Opportunity to have ſetled Peace and Quietneſſe amongſt all profeſſing Godlineſſe, and might have been inſtrumental, if not to have healed the breaches, yet to have kept the Godly of all Judgements from running one upon another, and by keeping them from being over-run by a Common Enemy, rendred them and theſe Nations, both ſecure, happy, and well ſatisfied.

Are theſe things done? or any thing towards them? Is there not yet upon the ſpirits of men a ſtrange itch? nothing will ſatisfie them, unleſſe they can put their finger upon their Brethrens Conſciences, to pinch them there. To do this, was no part of the Conteſt we had with the Common Adverſary; for Religion was not the thing at the firſt conteſted for; but God brought it to that iſſue at laſt, and gave it into Us by way of Redundancy, and at laſt it proved to be that which was moſt dear to us; and wherein conſiſted this, more than in obtaining that Liberty from the Tyranny of the Biſhops, to all Species of Proteſtants, to worſhip God according to their own Light and Conſciences? for want of which, many of our Brethren forſook their Native Countries, to ſeek their Bread from Strangers, and to live in Howling Wilderneſſes; and for which alſo, many that remained here, were impriſoned, and otherwiſe abuſed, and made the ſcorn of the Nation.

Thoſe that were ſound in the Faith, how proper was it for them to labour for Liberty, for a juſt Liberty, that men ſhould not be trampled upon for their Conſciences? had not they laboured but lately under the weight of Perſecutions, and was it fit for them to fit heavy upon others? is it ingenuous to ask liberty, and not to give it? what greater Hypocriſie, than for thoſe who were oppreſſed by the Biſhops, to become the greateſt Oppreſſors themſelves, ſo ſoon as their yoke was removed? I could wiſh that they who call for Libery now alſo, had not too much of that Spirit, if the power were in their hands.

As for Prophane Perſons, Blaſphemers, ſuch as preach Sedition, the Contentious Railers; Evil Speakers, who ſeek by evil words to corrupt good manners, perſons of looſe converſations, puniſhment from the Civil Magiſtrate ought to meet with them, becauſe, if theſe pretend Conſcience, yet walking diſorderly, and not according, but contrary to the Goſpel, and even to natural light, they are judged of all, and their Sins being open, make them ſubjects of the Magiſtrates Sword, who ought not to bear it in vain.

O words worthy of the ſpirit of ſo great a Prince and Prophet, which I could dwell upon to admire! but I am called now away from that admiration; Yet, in the mean time, I muſt deſire leave to wonder at another Prodigy, With what face theſe uniformity men, be they King, Court, and Council; Prelate, Dean, and Chapter; Preſident, Superintendent, and Conſiſtory; be it Convocation, Synod, or Aſſembly, could preſcribe Rules to other mens faiths, unleſſe they could make clearly out, that very Junto of theirs, call it what you will, to be the onely true Throne of Chriſt, and that they could demonſtrate all the lineaments of their Diſcipline, and Government, to be truly and naturally derived from the pure Fountain of Gods word: otherwiſe, methinkes, ſuch tyrannous impoſitions ſhould rather affrighten, than ſatisfie mens conſciences, and make them diſclaim ſuch a Religion for a monſter, than accept it for a well-ſhap't child of the Church.

Is it reaſon for me to run out of my wits, to ſatisfie a company of unreaſonable men, met together? and ſhall I lay the head of my faith upon the block of any Aſſembly, to be cut and mangled into what form and faſhion they ſhall pleaſe? God forbid: But yet I hold it much more madneſſe to perſecute any man becauſe he is not of my opinion; I may as well ſure quarrel with thoſe that reſemble me not in outward complexion: For ſince we loſt perfection in Adam, whatever knowledge we attain to now, is either Moral, by the improving of thoſe natural endowments, God has given us, or elſe Divine, which comes by an immediate influence from Heaven upon the ſoul; therefore when we ſee any weaker in judgement than our ſelves, we ſhould look upon them, rather as objects of pitty, than puniſhment, rather deplorable, than damnable.

Vain man, what made the difference betwixt thee, and thy weak brother? Was it not free grace? for what haſt thou, as the Apoſtle demands of thee, that thou didſt not receive? and that God may reveale to him alſo, in his due time.

Is it not a barbarous thing, for people to be ſtript of their lives and goods, for difference in opinions onely, though our brethren ſtill in Chriſt? Nay, to lie under ſo rigid a perſecution, that poor Chriſtians ſhould be made accountable for the very goods that have been violently pulled from them, and tributary for the onely ſhipwrack of their poverty. Nor is this courſe of cruel proceeding in points of Religion, more againſt Piety, than common Policy: for firſt it is as impoſſible to root out any Religion by a perſecution, as to put out a fire, with blowing of it, the ſuffering party alwayes gaining credit to his cauſe, if it be a matter of Conſcience; and therefore we find the Chriſtian Church has alwayes fructified by the blood of Martyrs; and indeed, had no other viſible ſeed-plot, but the places of their executions.

Then it is not a more common, than true Rule, that Malus cuſtos diuturnitatis metus, & frequens vindicta paucorum odium reprimit, omnium irritat: Fear is no good Maſter, and frequent puniſhments, provoke more ill blood, than they do ſuppreſſe. The reaſon is plain, for men that lie under any oppreſſion, eſpecially if it be for matter of conſcience, though they are at ſome times poſſibly wiſe and temperate enough, doe ordinarily become mad, and uſually trample down all relations, to make way for a deliverance, where they have leaſt hopes given them of a remedy; and as the condition of mens beings alter, ſo they do moſt commonly vary their intereſts, and principles.

His Moſaick Highneſſe therefore, would not, (as was ſaid before, of him, that Cum victor extiterit lictor protinus evaſit) appear at all ſevere upon Brethren of the ſame Faith, though differing, it may be, in ſome Doctrines: he provided more Doctors, than Executioners for them, knowing that the apprehenſions of God, and true Religion, are to be inſtilled into the hearts of men, by the true Spirit of Propheſie, and help of tongues, and not by the dint of ſwords: he knew that God had not in theſe dayes, refuſed his wonted appearance in a ſoft voice, and choſen to remain in thunder, as our Boanerges's, would have it now: as alſo he conſidered, that to go about to reform any thing in Religion, by humane ſtrength, is quite contrary to the nature of Reformation it ſelf, and as extravagant a courſe, as to attempt, the repair of a Caſtle-wall with a needle and thread. He never went about to make deciſions of Faith, with the edge of his ſword, or determine controverſies in Religion, by his armour of proof; No, the ſword of the Spirit he knew, did never uſe to make way to the conſcience, by cutting through the fleſh; and he that by force of armes, cruelty, and perſecution, goes about to reform, or defend any Religion, doth but take ſuch courſes, as are condemned by the ſame Religion, that he would defend.

His Highneſſe therefore, alwayes took a ſofter and ſecurer courſe, like a true Moſaical Prophet indeed, knowing that the true Spirit of Propheſie, like Amber, ſweetly draws the ſlighteſt ſtraw, and like Adamant, will court and attract, the hardeſt iron: He had obſerved likewiſe, what ſome Naturaliſts tell us, That fountains of troubled water, would be cleanſed with a Honey-comb, while violent ſtirring of them, would but foul them worſe.

He reflected frequently upon the Speech of Abner to Joab, 2 Sam. 2.26. Num uſque ad internecionem hujus macro defaeviet, an ignoras quod periculoſa eſt deſperatio? uſque quo non dicis populo, ut omittat perſequi fratres ſuos? Shall the Sword devoure forever? Knoweſt thou not, that it is not a little dangerous to drive men into deſpairation? How long ſhall it be then, ere thou bid the people return from perſecuting their Brethren? An excellent piece of counſel, and as good an example, and was as well followed by his late moſt Serene Highneſſe; He ever held thoſe to be beſt, and moſt godly Laws, that were leaſt ſanguinary, and yet maintained order: all others he accounted meer Phalariſmes, and leges Draconis.

And though it may be objected, that to give factions the bridle, to entertain and propagate new opinions, is the highway to ſcatter contentions, and ſow diviſions amongſt the people, and as it were, to lend them hand to make a diſturbance of the Publick peace, there being no bar or obſtacle of Lawes, to hinder their courſe; yet it may be as well urged, that to give factions that very bridle, to uphold their opinions, is by that facility and gracious favour, the ready way to mollifie and reform them; at leaſt, to blunt their edge, which would be otherwiſe ſharpned, by rareneſſe, novelty, and difficulty.

Clemency is a vertue ſometimes of as great policy, as piety, as we have ſhewed in our former Aſcents; becauſe it begets love, and love breeds loyalty, commands the very ſoul, and layes the body at the feet of the obliger. Mercy kindles fire and zeale in the hearts of Subjects, pitty and pardon, as they make the obligation of the offenders greater, ſo it makes them repent, to have offended him, who hath ſo obliged them, the reaſon is infallible, fidelem ſi putaveris facies; The way to make a faithful friend, is to believe him to be ſo.

But what has propheſying to do with faction? that good ſpirit ſure, cannot be guilty of making any publick diſturbance, for it is a ſpirit of peace. Several prophetick ſpirits certainly, and diverſities of perſwaſions, in matter of Religion, may live and cohabit together, without deſtruction of one another; and though they come not into one Church, Congregation, or Meeting-place, yet may converſe together in one Market, City, or Common-wealth. Symmachus though a Pagan, yet a moſt Learned and Vertuous one, could ſay, in a Speech, that he made to Theodorick, That in matter of Religion, every man ought to have his rights and ceremonies, as his opinion, free, and gives his reaſon thus: God is a great Secret, no wonder therefore if we endeavour to find him, ſo many ſeveral wayes. And Conſtantine, though a very good Chriſtian, profeſt in a ſolemn Oration, Not to force any man in his Religion, but to leave to every one that, as free as the Elements.

I would very fain know now, what theſe men of mighty uniformity, will ſay to theſe great reaſons, and greater authorities of our firſt and ſecond Moſes, the greateſt Princes, and graveſt Perſons, in the World, and what poſſibility they can propoſe, to reduce the diverſities of mens ſpirits, to this their wonderful accord? For it is againſt common ſenſe and reaſon, that ever men ſhall be one in opinion; we know the Heathen could declare, Quot capita tot ſenſus; So many men, ſo many mindes: So that they which endeavour this ſpecious unity, ſeem to me, to go about to impriſon Aeolus, and his two and thirty ſonnes, in a bag, as it is ſaid, the L planders uſe to do, ſince opinion will blow ſtill from every point of the Compaſſe. And as any confinement of the winde, torments nature with an earthquake, ſo to rob the ſoul of its freedom, (which is far more agil and diffuſive) muſt needs cauſe a cholick, with an inflammation, in the bowels of a Kingdom. Till then, theſe pitiful uniformity-mongers, be pointed at, as the onely enemies of a State, and this wretched perſwaſion be wrought out of the hearts of men, that they ought to make all men walke that way par-force, which their byaſſed Prieſts cry up for the onely right; and till men be leſſe in the Letter, that they may be more one, in the Spirit, (which none but the ſpiritual can apprehend) and until they leave crying for fire from Heaven, againſt Brethren in the Faith, we ſhall alwayes have our Churches, and Country too, in a flame, though perhaps themſelves may be firſt in the aſhes.

In the mean time, it ſhall ſatisfie me, and I hope, all the good people of the Land, to contemplate the Idaea, and bleſſed example of our gracious ſecond, as he did alwayes that of the firſt, Moſes, who oppoſed himſelf, and all his power, againſt thoſe envious ſpirits, that pretended unity for their ſchiſmatical breaches of Chriſts body, and Faith for their factions; and ſo ſuppreſſing the true ſpirit of Propheſie in all others would be thought to ingroſſe it to themſelves; whereas, God knows, they have none at all of it; for the burning heats of their perſecutions, and the bright flames of brotherly charity, are lighted from as diſtant fires, as Heaven is from Hell.

His Moſaical Highneſſe therefore, in humble imitation of his firſt Great Maſter, in this Aſcent of his, and in obedience to the Divine exhortations of the Apoſtle, who chargeth us not to quench the Spirit, nor deſpiſe Propheſying;1 Theſſ. 5.19, 20. and like a true Father of the children of the Prophets, ever ſupported them, in their their fair, and full liberty, of Propheſying; that we may now cry out, with the Pſalmiſt, Great is the number of the Prophets: and further, we may obſerve, and bleſſe God, for the great fruites, and effects of that goodneſſe, which we now enjoy by that happy liberty; Peace within, and Honour without, Love at home, Reſpect abroad, and ſuch a Concord of diſcords, and ſweet Union of diviſions, that we can ſee nothing of ſtrife amongſt us, unleſſe it be a religious contention on all ſides, for devotion and a good life, for peaceable converſation, obedience to Magiſtrates, excellency of learning; who ſhall do moſt good in the State, and deſerve the Prize; and ſuch an Eutopia, could he onely make in England, that did deſerve the Olive branches for Mercy, Peace, and Goodneſſe, as well as the Laurel, for his Victories, Wiſdom, Government, and Conſtancy, (the Crown of all.)

The four and twentieth Aſcent.

MOſes being thus bleſt with all the beautiful embelliſhments of Body and Soul, that mortal man was capable of, ſo admirable in the pre-eminencies of his nature, ſo flouriſhing in all the ornaments of Art, and extraordinary advantages of a moſt Noble education, nay, adorned too with Divine dignities: being thus proved to be an abſolute good Souldier, compleat Captain, and Conductor-General, a moſt Maſter-Stateſman, perfect Prince, and ſupreme Magiſtrate; and yet further, advanced to the moſt ſublime degrees of Patriarch, and Prophet: What can be more expected, or deſired, from Heaven in favour of his incomparable perſon? nothing ſure, but what he had in the greateſt proportion, that ever man alive had, and that was, a profound, ſhall I ſay? or, a high, humility? a matchleſſe meekneſſe of ſpirit, the Crown doubtleſſe of all his other exaltations; for without that, not all the greatneſs and glory of the Earth, nor yet the graces and dignities of Heaven, would ſignifie more to a man, than a Medicine compoſed of many vertuous and vigorous ſimples, and infected by the infuſion of one poiſonous drug.

Humility therefore; as it was the firſt ſtep of all his greatneſſe, when the Lord found him out in the Deſart, ſo he carried it conſtantly along with him,Exod. 3. and to Crown all his Actions and Undertakings; by this he ſubjected the pride of Pharaoh, and all the perverſneſſe of his own people, whoſe frequent inſurrections, and mutinous diſtempers, he ſuppreſt by no thing more,Num. 14. than his meer meekneſſe, and often ſubmiſſive falling upon his face, as to be ſeen, in the Rebellion of Korah, and the Sedition of Miriam; after all which, the Lord was pleaſed to give him, this gracious Character;Num. 12. That he was a very meek man, and humble, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth, Thus was the Lord pleaſed to ſanctifie him in his faithfulneſſe, and meekneſſe,Eccleſ. 45.4. as Eccleſiaſticus expreſſeth it, and ſo choſe him out of all men.

The Parallel.

Thus we are at length arrived, within the higheſt Port of perſonal perfection, that any Prince can poſſibly call an Anchor in: the ſublimeſt ſtep that mortal man is capable to mount. The Stars, we know, are beheld in the bottom of a pit, and profound humility, maketh the moſt radiant ſplendours to appear in Princely greatneſſe.

The Sun, we ſee, that is the Prince of Planets, diſpelleth alwayes all the groſſeſt, thickeſt, and ſtiffeſt, vapours, and draweth the thinneſt and moſt ſubtile to himſelf. How much more then that we do attenuate, leſſen, and anihilate our ſelves, which we can do no other way ſo well, as by the practiſe of this celeſtial vertue of Humility, ſo much the nearer we are ſure to approach to the Son of Righteouſneſſe, and true Glory.

Nay, that Son of Righteouſneſſe and true Glory himſelf, was pleaſed not to render himſelf, ſo illuſtrious to us, in any one particular, as in the practiſe of this, both profound and ſublime vertue; the whole courſe of his life, from the Crib, to the Croſſe, being nothing elſe but a conſtant moving homily of Humility. It is no wonder then, that the Holy ſpirit of God, was pleaſed to take ſuch punctual care, ſo expreſſely to deſcribe, this excellency in our great Patriarch; and I doubt not, but upon a ſtrict examen, we ſhall find our late Princely Protector, and ſecond Moſes, his Parallel, in this alſo, as well as in all his other moſt heroical perfections.

As for his humility to Godward, and pure meekneſſe of ſpirit, in ſubmiſſion to his Will, and Divine Commands, I hope, we have pretty well put out of queſtion already; as for his remarkable humility, and meekneſſe of ſpirit towards man, his continual converſation cannot but bring in ſufficient evidence.

Is there any man now living, that can with juſtice tax him of any pride, or imperious diſtance, that he ever kept with his people? No, it is notoriouſly known, to all that ever knew him, that he did alwayes communicate himſelf with ſo much ſweetneſſe, affability, facility, and curteſie, that he did ever augment his reſpect, by very familiarity; the uſual courſe moſt commonly to diſſolve it, and in that reſembled perfectly the moſt precious Amethyſt, which ſhines ſo much the more clearly, and orientally, as it has been more often worne. As nothing was too high for his courage, underſtanding, & piety, ſo nothing was too low for his bounty, converſation, & curteſie. For God did not only beſtow on him, an equal proportion of the Moſaical ſpirit of meekneſſe; but conferred upon him in like manner, the glorious gift which the Scripture attributes to the Patriarch Joſeph, both in the Pſalmes, and in the Epiſtle to the Hebrews, which is no ſmall gift of the Spirit indeed, to oblige hearts with ſweetneſſe; not unlike thoſe famous Engins of Archimedes, which made water mount by deſcending; ſo his moſt honourable humility vouchſafed to deſcend, but to make himſelf re-aſcend to the ſource of the prime ſublimity, and ſo as his vertues upon Earth, have made him Laurels here, they have procured for him moſt incorruptible Crowns in Heaven.

Bern.Well then might bleſſed Bernard tell us, that Magna virtus eſt humiltas honorata, Humility in perſons of Honour, is a moſt ſublime vertue; indeed it is a piece of excellency, onely proper for Princes, and great Perſons. I will not deny but poor inferiour ſpirits, may be capable of it; but this, I am ſure of, that they which lie buried in a baſe condition, have nothing of an equal latitude to expreſſe it; for the great Ones of the Earth onely, are they, that are moſt roughly aſſaulted with the ſtorms of Pride, and ſo conſequently muſt receive more glory and praiſe from the repulſe of it.

Nay, I will be bold to aſſert yet further, in the behalf of our Moſaical high Humility, that all the vertues in the World, ſignifie nothing at all, without it, no more, than as was ſaid in the Aſcent, a wholeſom Medicament would do to a mans health, with a mixture of poiſon in it: amaſſe all that can be called good in any ſingle perſon, and let this one thing onely be wanting, thoſe very vertues will prove but ſpecious vices, nay, holy traytors to his ſoul, and betray it to the very worſt of impieties. Let a man have all the liberality and munificence in the World, if he be once proud of it, it will preſently degenerate into a very foul prodigality; and as the wiſe Socrates expreſſeth it, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , makes men by the ſottiſh uſage, and management of the graces themſelves, turne thoſe Virgins, to be proſtituts, forgetting, that to know how to give well, is a great Science; and that the diſtribution of gifts, and graces, is to be made with a prudent oeconomy. Give a man conſtancy, and let him grow up to a pride of it, the nature of the vertue will be preſently deſtroyed, and ſoon paſſe into plain obſtinacy, and perverſity, the moſt dangerous condition that a man can poſſibly fall into, though otherwiſe he may be, the learnedſt, and moſt knowing perſon alive.

It was moſt excellently well obſerved therefore of the Learned Gerſon, Gerſon If you ſee one to walk, ſaith he, in the way of his proper judgement, and ſtiff in it, although he had one foot in Paradiſe, he muſt preſently withdraw it; for it is better to walke in the ſhades of death, under the conduct of humility, than to have a Paradiſe it ſelf, in any pitiful pride, or the pleaſures of proper phanſie. Nay the vertue of fortitude it ſelf, the moſt conſiſtent ſure with pride, and ſelf-conceit of any vertue; yet if it be but infected with it, it proves preſently preſumption, and where that once gets entrance, it puffs up ſo prodigiouſly, that it makes of a man, as it were, a meer Baloon, filled with winde, a ſcarcrow of honour, a pitiful temerarious nothing, void of courage, an undertaker without ſucceſſe, a phantaſtick without ſhame, which in the end, will become burdenſome to it ſelf, and odious to all the World; and makes men come into a field of honour, as it is ſaid ſome of our neighbours do, with a clattering noiſe, and fury like thunder, but vaniſh preſently like ſmoke: and yet ſuch men as theſe, will think themſelves, it may be, valiant,Vell. Paterc. becauſe they fear nothing (as they ſay) but the wiſe Velleius tells us, that Nemo ſaepius opprimitur quàm qui nihil timet, and that frequentiſſimum calamitatis initium, eſt ſecuritas, To be ſecure in ones own opinon, and to fear nothing, is the ready way to ruin: fear indeed is moſt commonly the mother of ſafety, and the true means not to be afraid of a miſfortune, is to fear it alwayes.

A Motto therefore fit for a true valiant man, to carry in his colours, is, that which I have ſeen in a Noble hand, Pauca timeo, Pauciora deſpicio, I fear few things, and deſpiſe fewer; Now this unhappy ſpirit of Pride, is the mother of this curſed ſecurity, and what is worſe, inſolency; with which, true fortitude can no way cohabit,Guichard, l. 2. as the wiſe Italian tells us, Sempre é congiunto in un medeſimo ſuggetto, l'inſolentia con la timiditate, Inſolency and timidity are never found aſunder; but alwayes accompanying one another in the ſame ſubject: So by conſequence, without this Moſaick meekneſſe of ſpirit, no man can be accounted, much leſſe be, truly valiant.

I have ſeen a man in like manner, by a ridiculous conceit of his own patience, (which it may be, he had at firſt, to a vertuous proportion) fool himſelf into the opinion of a Stoick; but, indeed grew worſe than any Stock, or, at leaſt, as ſtupid.

I ſhould be infinite to enumerate the many maſſacres which this unhappy pride of ſpirit, makes continually upon the whole chained of holy vertues, it is, apparently the plain murdereſſe, and envenomer of them all: So much onely as has been ſaid, may ſerve to ſhew, how this high Moſaick Aſcent of Humility, and Meekneſſe of ſpirit, is the very ratio formalis, as the Schooles ſpeak, of all, and every one of the vertues, that can be ſeated in the heart of man.

No wonder then, that the All wiſe Spirit of God, took ſuch particular care to recommend it to us, in the perſon of our firſt Moſes; and as eaſie muſt it be to conceive a reaſon, why our gracious ſecond, his precious Parallel, ſhould ſo faithfully endeavour to imitate him in that, as well as his other perfections, they being both pre-ordained by God, to be the greateſt Magazines of all vertuous goodneſſe amongſt men, that either this, or that Age has produced.

We have ſeen them both in their humble retreat from, and modeſt avoidance of worldly honours & advancements to humane greatneſs, which after they were ſo violently compel'd unto, by Divine precept, behold, and admire, with what moderation, humility, and meekneſſe, of ſpirit, they have ever managed them: excellently therefore does holy Cyprian ſtile this tanſcendent vertue of Humility,Cyprian de Nativ. Chriſti. Primum religionis introitum, & ultimum Chriſtianitatis exitum, The Gate of all Religion, and the Crown or higheſt Aſcent of Chriſtianity; for who can think, that he will be faithful to Jeſus Chriſt, that can be unfaithful to that virtue, which ſhined ſo 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in him, to wit, that of humility? and truly, I cannot ceaſe from wonder, when I conſider the little reaſon, that any man in the earth has, to be proud of any thing; and it was doubtleſſe the holy conſideration of his Moſaical Highneſſe too.

Firſt the higheſt petigree of the greateſt man upon Earth, is but to have been an eternity in nothing; for if we mount ſtill upwards, aſcending to the prime ſource and origine of time, when we ſhall have reckoned millions of Ages, we ſhall find nothing but inexplicable Labyrinths, and abyſſes of one great eternity, without beginning or end: and when we ſhall preſent to our thoughts, all that time which has preceded, be it reall, or imaginary, we ſhall be aſhamed to ſee, ſo many millions of years, wherein we had not ſo much as the being of a ruſh, a ſilly gnat, or a butter-flie.

Nay, that bluſtring inſolent Rodomont, be he what, and where he will, that threatneth this day to hew down mountains, and thunder-ſtrike his fellow mortals, and thinks the whole houſe of Nature was created onely for him, and ſo prepares to ſwallow it all by avarice, and waſte it as faſt by riot, thirty or forty years agoe, more or leſſe, was not able to contend for excellency, with a pitiful Cater-pillar.

His Moſaical Highneſſe, I ſay, conſidered all this, and a great deal more, to render himſelf a true imitator of his Maſter. Firſt, though his Nobility of birth, was very great, as we have ſeen, he never intoxicated his brains with it, as ſome do now adayes, that make it their buſineſſe to dig out, and diſentomb their Grandfathers, as it were from the aſhes of old Troy, Auſon. in Paneg. and ſpend ſo much time, as Auſonius ſayes very well, In ſearching out of uncertain Parents, that they many times give occaſion to ſuſpect, that they have none certain. No, my Lord, though he knew very well how to value the happineſſe of a good extraction; yet for any man to be proudly pufft up with it, he accounted no leſſe than madneſſe; for revolving the whole maſſe of mankind, we ſhall find, as Plato told us, long agoe, That there is no King which comes not from Clownes, nor Clown, who is not deſcended from the blood of Kings.

Then for beauty of body, though his Highneſſe had as fair a proportion, as any man, as we have likewiſe ſhewed; yet he could as little pride himſelf in that, knowing it to be but a covering for ordures, the blanching of a dunghill with ſnow, or at the beſt, but a fadding flower of the field, which hath, as it were, for Horizon, the very inſtant of its birth, Et dum naſcantur conſenuiſſe roſas: no more could any of his great natural, or acquired parts, raiſe him above his proper pitch, knowing the beſt learning amongſt men, to be but a qualified ignorance, the memory it ſelf to be, but the belly of the ſoul, and moſt frequently fill'd with nothing but winde: the beſt and moſt acute wit of man, he lookt upon as a poor thin thing, like the ſpiders web, and fitter to catch flies, than any thing elſe: and as for the judgement, he knew how dangerous a thing it was to confide in that, little leſſe than a leproſie in the heart of man.

No more could his Moſaick Soul be elevated with all the honours he enjoy'd, and greatneſſe of this world; for he took all them for burdens, and at the beſt, lookt upon them, but as golden Maskes, and weather-cocks of inconſtancy; and for all manner of praiſes, flattery, complacency, and ticklings of ſome vain men, he ever hated and contemned, as fit onely to inebriate ſhallow brains: for riches he evermore ſcorned, as the offall of the earth, the neſt of ruſt, and tinder of concupiſcence: for Palaces and ſtately Houſes, he valued but as the bones of the earth, pil'd one upon another, with ciment and morter: for precious Stones, he eſteemed as they were, the excrements of an inraged Sea, borrowing their worth onely from illuſion.

Much leſſe could his great wiſdom be capable of that vanity, wherewith men uſually pride themſelves, in cloaths, meer nouriſhment for moths, to cover bodies which muſt be food for wormes; he lookt upon all bravery of apparel, but as plaiſters of the ſcars of ſin, to wit, nakedneſſe: borrowed feathers from all kinds of birds, unpuniſht thefts, witneſſes of our poverty, that makes us to beg the aſſiſtance of ſo many creatures, to cover our ſhame: Moreover, he knew, that Veſtitus ut tegit corpus ita detegit animum, Our attire does not more cover the nakedneſſe of our bodies, than diſcover that of our mindes; his Highneſſe therefore purpoſely did (as all wiſe men will) avoid any vanity, or oſtentation in that. Nor yet could his Moſaick Highneſſe, be taken with that empty piece of pride, which moſt great ones now adayes are poſſeſt withal, to behold behind him, great and gay Trains of ſervants, who but burden their Maſters with their many ſins, and make them become anſwerable for their accumulated follies.

See here a miracle of men, in the contempt of riches and honours; for the firſt he never cared to hold, lockt up in his coffers, nor ever thought were as they ſhould be, but when they were diſtributed; for they reſembled, as I have heard, he uſed to ſay, nothing more naturally, than a dunghill, which ſtinks when it lies heaped together, but fattens fields when ſpread abroad: and for the other, he took it for as great a meer mockery, to affect greatneſſe amongſt men, as if a Rat ſhould pride himſelf to be a Lord forſooth, amongſt Mice. He was ſo far from feeding himſelf with, or priding himſelf in, glory; that he would often ſay too, as I have heard, all that, was but the ſwelling of the eare. Are not theſe Apothegms worthy of ſo great a Prince? In fine, his Highneſſe alwayes concluded with the Prophet Habakkuk, Quomodo potentem vinum decipit, Habak. 2. ſic erit vir ſuperbus, That as drunkenneſs was taken with wine, ſo were the braines of men intoxicated with pride, and proper opinion.

There is no man will deny ſure, but that all thoſe actions, and expreſſions aforeſaid, were very high humiliations before God, and indubitable marks of a pure Moſaick ſpirit; but where were his humilities to men, and his meekneſſes of ſpirit, in points of government? If this be demanded, by any doubting perſon, let him tell me, how often he has found any ſurly, ſupercilious looks fall from him, or any faſtidious, diſdainful words, or geſtures, which ſo uſually accompany common greatneſſe?

No, his Highneſſe, beſides the great amaenity, and affability of his Noble-nature, had better ſtudied the accompliſht Cyrus, Xexoph. Cyr. in Xenophon, who tells us, that Faſtuoſum ac moroſum ingenium, quod faſtidium ſui, aliorumque ſecum trahit, felix principatus non admittit: Inſolency and moroſity, are not at all conſiſtent with the condition of a happy Prince: and what Auſonius ſo highly commends in his Gratianus, Auſon, in Paneg. Gratiani. Quod faciles interpellantibus praeberet aditus, nec de occupatione cauſaretur, quinimo ubi poſtulata aut querimonias explicaſſent, percunctaretur, numquid praeterea vellent? That he was a Prince of eaſie acceſſe, and a very patient eare, not expoſtulating, why men came to trouble him? but when they had ſaid all, would ask ſtill, Whether they had any more to ſay?

In ſhort, his Highneſſe was truly that, which the moſt gracious Emperour Titus, would have every Prince to be careful to be; that is, Sweet, Serene, and Pleaſant to all, and Non oportere à ſermone Principis quemquam triſtem diſcedere, That it was not fit for any Prince, to ſend any man from his preſence away ſad, or diſcontented.

His Highneſſe very well underſtood, that Verba aliquando munera faciunt: and if he were forced at any time to deny a favour, he did it alwayes ſo, Ʋt benignis negata res verbis, ſit gratior quam conceſſa moroſis, That he would oblige more by his very denials, than ſome Kings that I have known, would do by their very grants.

It was obſerved by a great Critick upon Julius Caeſar, that Quamvis eum Clementia, liberalitas, & fortitudo commendarent, odium tamen, conjuratio & praematura mors oppreſſit, quod elatior populo blandiri, ſenatoribus aſſurgere gravaretur aut neſciret, verbis quoque uteretur aſperis, &c. Though he was hugely commendable for his Clemency, Liberality, and Courage, yet he fell under a ſad Fate, for want of a little complacency with the people, and ſoothing the Senate with ſome complement, and had alwayes too much aſperity in his tongue.

Could any of theſe imputations ever light upon our Moſaical Protector? No, he was ever as diſtant from them, as the Sphere of fire, can be from the Center of the Earth; ſo that we may ſecurely conclude, that his late Highneſſe has as much out-done Julius Caeſar in this, as in all his other glories: never was that great Title of Serenity, ſo truly given to any Prince, as to him; for it was born with him.

Thus we have ſeen theſe two great Perſons of Honour, our firſt and ſecond Moſes, entering this grand Theater of the World, from the firſt Scene of their humble retirements to the laſt iſſue and Cataſtrophe of all their happineſſes, attired with nothing but humility, that ſtill accompanying and crowning all their Actions; as it was the baſis, ſo it was the vertical point of all their greatneſſe; nay, the very Orb and Element, that all their other Vertues moved in, and by which they arrived at all their glories; ſo diſproving the Philoſophy of Seneca, who ſayes that Servitus eſt magnitudinus, non poſſe fieri minorem, Seneca. That it is the ſlavery of greatneſſe, not to be made leſſe; which though may be true in bodies, they have proved to be contrary in ſouls: and what Pliny aſſures us, to be more true, that Natura nuſquam magis quàm in minimis tota eſt:Plin. nature is moſt entirely it ſelf, and whole in the leaſt things.

This ſweet littleneſſe of theirs, is that, which has rendred them ſo great, in the ſight of God and man; for by ſo leſſening and annihalating themſelves, they have enlarged their glories, and raiſed themſelves ſo many degrees towards Heaven, as erected eternal Trophes to their honour upon earth, and thoſe as great, as ever were written, or can be, in the Records of Fame.

Thus we have, I hope, happily finiſht the whole Stair-caſe of all our Moſaick difficult Aſcents: we ſhall now beg a little breathing-ſpace, upon the top of this holy Mount, before we dare to adventure any higher; and yet we have but halfe a dozen ſhort and eaſie Aſcents more left us to climb (for they are Aſcents of Favour and Prerogative) before we can introduce this glorious Couple, our firſt and ſecond Moſes, within their bleſſed Tabernacle of Repoſe; and ſo we do intend to conclude (though it can never be ſufficiently accompliſhed) this high piece of Moſaick Work.

Six Tranſcendental ASCENTS, To the top of the MOSAICK MOUNT, OR BLESSED TABERNACLE OF REPOSE.
The firſt Tranſcendental ASCENT.

MOſes being premoniſht by God of his approaching end; made his moſt humble ſuite unto the Lord, for to nominate his Succeſſor, that the people might not ſuffer by the vacancy of ſo great a Charge: and the form of his Petition is very remarkable, which runs thus. Let the Lord God of the Spirits of all Fleſh, ſet a man over the Congregation, Num. 27.16. which may go out before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in;V. 17. that the Congregation of the Lord be not as ſheep, which have no Shepherd; and the Lord ſaid unto Moſes, V. 18. Take thee Joſhua, the ſon of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay thine hand upon him, &c. Then we find this teſtimony of Joſhua afterwards,Deut. 34.9. That he was full of the Spirit of Wiſdom; for Moſes had laid his hands upon him, and the children of Iſrael hearkned unto him, and did as the Lord commanded Moſes.

The Parallel.

We have hitherto, throughout all our paſt Aſcents, ſeen this incomparable pair marching, moſt amicably coupled, hand in hand together; as well in all their painful actions, as ſufferings. And a glorious ſpectacle, none ſure can deny it to be; I am ſure, holy Cyprian tells us,Cyprian de Mortal. that it is, To ſee ſuch invincible courages counterbufft with ſtormes and tempeſts, on whom it would ſeem that heaven it ſelf would burſt and fall in pieces; to behold two ſuch men, I ſay, amidſt the threats of the air, and the ruins of the world, alwayes ſtanding upright, like to great brazen Coloſſuſes, and ſcorning them all, as miſts, and ſmall flakes of ſnow. What can we do leſſe in ſuch a caſe, than exclaim with Seneca, Seneca. Heu quanta ſublimitas, inter ruinas humani generis, ſtare erectum! O what a ſublimity it is, to be erect in heart and countenance, amongſt the ruines of mankind! and give thanks to God, with Typotius, Quod digni viſi ſint Deo, Typotius in Symboll. in quibus experiretur, quantum humana natura poſſit pati, That he hath deemed them worthy, to ſerve as a trial of humane Nature, to ſee to how high a pitch it could arrive.

And truly, if we do but rightly conſider the riſe, as well as the progreſſe of theſe two great Perſonages, we ſhall find them exactly to correſpond, with that ingenious deviſe of Lewis the twelfth of France, which was a celeſtial Cup, advanced in rayes of Gold, amongſt a crowd of eclipſes, with this Motto; Inter ecclypſes exorior: I riſe between eclipſes; We have ſeen, I ſay, this deviſe fully verified, in our firſt and ſecond Moſes, and yet their Clemency, and Piety, was alwayes ſo great, as to pardon and pray for their very eclipſers, and perſecutors themſelves, like all the ancient Martyrs, who when laden with torments, opened ſo many mouths as they had wounds, to beg a pardon for the very cauſers, and inflictors of them, and more like to Jeſus Chriſt himſelf, now ſitting in the midſt of thoſe Martyrs, and quickning by the effuſion of his blood, even thoſe, who had their hands deep in the ſhedding of it.

We have ſeen this matchleſſe couple, onely Parallel to themſelves, in all their moſt elate, ſtirring, and aſtoniſhing, great actions too, wherein they have ever ſhewed their courage like Eagles, confronting all ſtormes; like Lions, which oppoſe all violences; like Diamonds never to be broken; like Rocks, ſcorning all waves; and Anvills, reſiſting all the ſtroakes of hammers: and in a word,Ambroſ. in haec verba Geneſis 2. Nomen fluminis tertii, Tygris. like to nothing ſo much, as to the River Tygris, which as bleſſed Ambroſe obſerves, Quodam curſu rapido, reſiſtentia quaeque tranſverberat, neque aliquibus curſus ejus impedimentorum haeret obſtaculis: amongſt all the ſtreams of the earth, hath a current ſo ſwift and violent, that with an unreſiſtible rapidity and impetuoſity, it combateth, and ſurmounteth, all the obſtacles that can be oppoſed againſt it: So the Courage of theſe two great and moſt incomparable Captains, did uſe to flie through all perils, break through, and work it ſelf a paſſage, againſt a whole world of contrarieties.

We have ſeen theſe two ſuper-excellent Perſons, in all their eminencies of State, likewiſe, Supreme Magiſtracies, and Principalities; we have ſeen them likewiſe in all the perfections of their piety towards, and worſhip of the Omnipotent, and the renunciation of their proper intereſts, for the ſervice of the Deity: nay, we have ſeen them brought up by the Divine hand, to the higheſt pitch of Propheſie it ſelf, and yet their great ſouls could not make a ſtop there, but muſt mount a little higher; and that indeed is the higheſt ſtep of all Princely perfection, as we ſhewed in our laſt Aſcent, to wit, humility and meekneſſe of ſpirit.

It is moſt certain, that great felicities, are ſo tickliſh, that it is much more eaſie, to live on the dunghill of Job, with patience, than in the management of great Kingdoms with moderation. He therefore is to be accounted truly great,Bernard. in Ep. ad. Eugenium. as holy Bernard tells us, upon whom, felicitas ſi arriſit non irriſit, happineſſe has ſmiled upon, and not cozened; nay, the Pagan Poet could preach as much as that too,Marſhal. when he cries out, Ardua quippe res eſt opibus non tradere mares, It is a moſt difficult thing for a man, not to betray his manners, to a great fortune.

It is doubtleſſe the heavyeſt burden, to bear a great fortune well; we ſee how apt the ſpirits of this Age are, to have their eyes dazled with a little ſparkle of felicity; their skins are preſently puffed up, and their ſouls drencht in ſome moſt diſmal pride, and a ſad deluge of tyrannies and diſſolutions: We have ſeen our Moſaical ſpirits of another temper, each of them, like another Abdolomin, who did paſſe from a Garden, into a Royal Palace,Abodolomin. and did handle the Scepter, with the ſame humility of heart, without either prejudice to the people, or his own authority, as one would do a ſpade.

This is a vertue indeed, which is but very rarely ſeen here in earth, but is admired in heaven it ſelf; and it is a vertue doubtleſſe which comes immediately from the treaſures of God Almighty; and of this, we have ſeen our incomparable paire of Princes, giving us ſuch an example, as if they were ordained by God, to declare how high Chriſtian perfection may aſcend, by planting of a glorious humiliy, upon the Diamonds, Pearles, Emralds, Rubies, and Saphyrs, of Regal Crowns, and leading in Courts, the lives of Hermits, ſo commanding greatneſſe, and humility, which ſeldom will admit of any aliance at all, mutually to kiſſe, and ſweetely embrace one another. Have we not ſeen, I ſay, all this ſufficiently made out already, and that it is, not poſſible to find more perſonal perfectious heapt up in mortal men? Have we not ſeen, I ſay, this heavenly paire of moſt incomparable Perſons, onely Parallel to one another, like another Caſtor and Pollux, thoſe happy Conſtellations of Mariners, from the very firſt Port of their Cradels, to the ſecure Harbour of a good old age, ſailing through a boundleſs Sea of Bliſs, amidſt the ſtormes of State and War, making all fair weather about them, and encouraging us to ſteer our courſe after them, if we can?

Nay yet, have we not ſeen them, what is more ſtrange, like two Phenixes together, yet incorporated, or twined at leaſt, like the Gemini in the Zodiack, flie through a whole heaven of happineſs upon earth? Then, whither are we going now? What, are there any Aſcents yet higher, for our Moſaick ſpirits to mount? Surely not, as to their perſonall perfections aforeſaid, we have ſaid all we can, and ſeen as much as we can know, unleſs we could take Poſt upon a Pegaſus, and piercing the Empyrean, hire a Convoy of Angels, to carry us into the beatifical Heaven, to ſee the Crowns, and Glories, that they enjoy. Whither is it then, that this Tranſcendental Aſcent will lead us? why ſurely, to the ſublime conſideration of thoſe Divine and Supereminent indulgencies, priviledges, and prerogatives, that they enjoyed, by the extraordinary favour of Heaven, towards their later ends, which are no leſſe remarkable certainly, than all their former painful Aſcents, before could be; good Princes, like the Sun, ſhining alwayes forth moſt gloriouſly, at their going down.

Now, the firſt great favour, and principal prerogative, that we find our firſt great Moſes, had indulged to him by Almighty God, was this of our preſent Aſcent, to have the nomination of his Succeſſor, in ſo great a Charge: For though the Lord was pleaſed to elect, yet he commanded his ſervant Moſes to nominate, Joſhua to the people, for their Captain, and his Succeſſor.

Now has not the great goodneſſe of Heaven been graciouſly pleaſed to indulge the very ſame priviledge, and prerogative, to his late moſt Serene Highneſſe, of glorious memory, our ſecond Moſes? Firſt for the nomination of this happy Prince, that is at preſent placed over us, it is evident, was from his Highneſſe himſelf, though the election of him, as indubitably was from God, as that of the great Joſhua before him, was: and this liberty, or ſupreme power of nomination, was given to his late moſt Serene Highneſſe, by Almighty God, not onely by a private revelation, as the other was; but publickly declared and enacted too, by the Repreſentatives of the people aſſembled in Parliament, who are preſum'd to carry Vocem Dei, the voice of God along with them likewiſe: So that on our parts there remained nothing to be done, but to ſhew our dutiful reception, and active obedience, and to hearken, as the Text of our Aſcent expreſſeth it, to all that he ſhall ſay. Sic ſui ſemper erit Arbitrii jubere, ſufficiet & nobis ſola obſequii gloria, So he ſhall have the honour ſtill to command, and we will ſatisfie our ſelves with the glory of obeying.

But now, whether this way of a Divine election to a Monarchy, be better, and of a more ancient right, than to come to it by an Hereditary ſucceſſion, as to a private Patrimony (as his Highneſſe himſelf expreſſeth it) though for my part, I think there is no queſtion; yet I find it to be a diſpute, De trop longue haleine, as the Frenchman ſpeaks, of too long breath, and difficult debate, for our preſent Parallel; So I ſhall refer it till another occaſion, and deſire the Reader in the mean time, to accept of his late moſt Serene Highneſs his own excellent words (in the Speech before cited) for a full deciſion of the Controverſie.

For if you had upon the old Government offered to me this one, this one thing, I ſpeak, as thus adviſed, and before God, as having been to this day of this opinion, and this hath been my conſtant Judgement, well known to many that hear me ſpeak, if this one thing had been inſerted, that one thing, that this Government ſhould have been, and placed in my Family Hereditary, I would have rejected it, and I could have done no other, according to my preſent Conſcience and Light; I will tell you my reaſon, though I cannot tell what God will do with Me, not You, nor the Nation, for throwing away precious opportunities committed to U S.

This hath been my Principle, and I liked it when this Government came firſt to be propoſed to me, That it put Us off that Hereditary way, well looking, that as God had declared what GOVERNMENT he had delivered over to the Jews, and placed it upon ſuch perſons as had been inſtrumental for the Conduct and Deliverance of his People; And conſidering that promiſe in Iſaiah, That God would give Rulers as at the firſt, and Judges as at the beginning, I did not know, but that God might begin, and though at preſent with a moſt unworthy Perſon, yet as to the future, it might be after this manner, and I thought this might uſher it in. I am ſpeaking as to my Judgement, againſt making it Hereditary, to have men choſen for their Love to God, and to Truth, and Juſtice, and not to have it Hereditary; for as it is in Eccleſiaſtes, Who knoweth whether he may beget a Fool or Wiſe: honeſt or not, what ever they be muſt come in upon that account, becauſe the Government is made a Patrimony.

Thus we ſee, how his moſt Serene Highneſs has put it clearly out of queſtion, that an ordinary fair Election of a Prince, is much better like to prove, than any caſual hereditary ſucceſſion: much more then muſt an extraordinary, and Divine Election, as ours has been, be more acceptable to God and man, and prove to be more proſperous to the People: But moſt eſpecially when the whole World, is ſatisfied in the Divine endowments of the Perſon Elected, as we have been all, in the behalf of this moſt gracious Prince, our preſent Lord Protector, whom his Moſaical Highneſſe, has been pleaſed to nominate, and bequeath to us, for his Succeſſor; and of whom we can conclude no otherwiſe, than what the Spirit of God has done concerning Joſhua;Deut. 34.9 That he is full of the Spirit of Wiſdom, for our ſecond Moſes has laid his happy hands upon him, ſo the whole Nation ſhall hearken unto him, and he ſhall do as the Lord commanded our ſecond Moſes: as we ſhall ſee more amply made out, in the following Aſcents, and Parallels.

The ſecond Tranſcendental Aſcent.

MOſes was permitted, and commanded by God, to nominate one for his Succeſſor, that had a very near relation to him, his own houſhold Servant, his Miniſter, or Menial Attendant in his Family; for ſo was Joſhua, as we find in ſeveral places of holy Scripture:Num. 11.28. as firſt in the Book of Numbers: And Joſhua the ſon of Nun, the ſervant of Moſes, one of his young men, anſwered and ſaid, &c. Then,Joſh. 1.1. It came to paſſe that the Lord ſpake unto Joſhua the ſon of Nun, Moſes Miniſter, ſaying, &c.

The Parallel.

We do not finde in any part of Holy Writ, that the great Patriarch Moſes, had any ſon capable of this great Charge, to ſucceed him, in the Government of Gods people: There is indeed, mention of the Circumciſion of one, but never any thing more ſpoken of him; So it is to be preſumed, that either he had none living, or at leaſt, as we ſaid before, not capable of ſo great a Charge.

God Almighty in the mean time, brings this high favour and prerogative, as near to him, as poſſibly might be, next to the nomination of a ſon, which (as it ſeems) by humane collection, then could not be.

In the mean time, it may be worth our while, to ſit and conſider the Tranſcendency of Divine Favour, and Priviledge, that our great Protector, and ſecond Moſes, had in this particular, above his Prototype the firſt; whilſt he has been, as we have ſeen, permitted, and directed, by God, to nominate his own ſon; nay, his Eldeſt ſon to ſucceed him in the Soveraign Charge, the other being commanded to chooſe, but his Menial Servant, and Miniſter, and that was a Divine favour too. Herein, I ſay, our ſecond Moſes has out ſtript his pattern; and our Parallel here muſt over-ballance the Aſcent it ſelf, For ſo much as a ſon, and an Eldeſt ſon, ought to be above a Servant, in the reſpect, and reputation, of any Father of a Family, ſo much more of favour, and indulgency extraordinary, found our glorious Protector, and ſecond Moſes, from the hands of God, than that great Patriarch himſelf, his firſt dear Favourite, the former Moſes did.

O ſtupendious tranſcendencies of Divine love! O happy Priviledges of a Prince, and Prerogatives unexpreſſible! O Soveraigne Favours of Heaven, undeniable! What man living is there now upon the face of the Earth, that can diſpute, whether it be not a moſt ſublime inſtance of the Almighties affections, to any Fathers, it being granted (which I hope will not be denied) that he is the Soveraign Mover, and Architect of our lives and fortunes; when he is pleaſed to propagate their greatneſſe, and glories to their children? it being doubtleſſe the greateſt temporal diſpenſation, that men of honour can be capable of upon Earth, to have a flouriſhing Poſterity given them by God, which may make them eternally to live in the memory of men, by thoſe moſt lively images of their vertues.

It has been, we know, obſerved by the vertuous in all Ages, that thoſe Princes and great Perſons, that have lived any way ſordidly, or viciouſly, fatting themſelves with the blood and ſweat of the poor, or have eſtabliſht any Tyrannies in the World, have neither been fruitful, nor fortunate, in their Poſterites: and as Nature has ever ſhewed it ſelf to be ſcanty in the propagation of beaſts of prey, as Wolves and other creatures, deſigned onely for ſpoil, and no other uſe, which would otherwiſe ſoon bring the earth into deſolation: So Almighty God, by a ſecret oeconomy of his Divine Providence, permitteth not the Princes, or Potentates, who have made themſelves diſturbers of the Publick peace, and infringers of Laws, both Divine and Humane, (whereof they ought to be Protectors) ſhould make the brutiſhneſſe of their ſavage ſouls, to ſurvive them in their Poſterities.

Now, not to go far from home for an example, nor yet much diſtant from the preſent Age; I ſhall produce for an inſtance, of this great truth, a late Prince of our own, that was Henry the Eighth, who whilſt he lived, made all Laws his ſlaves, and his paſſions his Maſters, as unqueſtionable a Tyrant, as ever breathed, who left three children, that all ſucceſſively ſate in the Throne after him, yet none of them had the power to propagate any iſſue to perpetuate him, nor yet ſo much as to erect a Tomb for him; and he can to this day, boaſt of no other Monument to record his memory to the World, but the ſame which he left behind him,Eroſtratus. who did make his ambitious brag of the burning of Diana's Temple: and which is moſt to our preſent purpoſe, though hinted before, again to be noted; after his death, as if the Lord would explicate his own indignation, and with his dreadful hand had, written upon the walls of his Palace, Mane, Thekel, Pharez, as his Divine Judgement againſt him, and all his poſterity; all his then hopeful and very glorious ſtem, and branches, were ſoon withered away or cut off, without any iſſue at all, and the Crown and Scepter was ſo, quickly tranſlated to another Name and Nation, quite contrary to the Tyrants intentions, and the projects both of his will, and Statute.

Then what has been the Cataſtrophe, or ſad iſſue of that Family too, for treading in his moſt unfortunate foot-ſteps, we of this Age, have fully ſeen; for no one of them, that I know of yet, has died a natural death, and the laſt prince we had of that Line, loſt his whole head-ſhip of the Church, with his Prerogative and Soveraignty over Laws, ſo much deſired and contended for, in thoſe dayes, upon a pitiful Scaffold, erected before the Porch of that Palace, where his impious Predeceſſor, that Henry the Eighth, the firſt of all Kings inhabited, and his body by a ſtrange providence, without any forefight or contrivance of man at all, was carried to Windſor, and there depoſited in the ſame Vault with him. Then look upon his diſaſtrous iſſue, and we ſhall finde, his whole poſterity too, has been ſo exterminated here, that there is not ſo much as the print of a foot-ſtep of them left to be ſeen amongſt us.

This one inſtance, I ſay, that we have ſtarted, ſo near our own doors, though it might ſerve for all; for as the judicious Spaniard tells us, En los caſos raros, Anton. Perez. uno ſolo exemplo haze experiencia, In ſuch rare occaſions, one example is enough to preſcribe, and to make experience: and the acute Philip de Commines, Phil. de Com. obſerves, That the example of one ſole accident, is enough ſometimes to make men wiſe: yet I could alledge a thouſand more to this purpoſe, if the neceſſity of our main buſineſſe would permit: but I muſt haſten.

Now, on the contrary, obſerve how Eccleſiaſticus propheſies,Eccleſ. 44.11. With the ſeed of the righteous ſhall continually remain a good inheritance, and their children are within the Covenant: Ver. 12. Their ſeed ſtands faſt, and their children for their ſakes: Ver. 13. Their ſeed ſhall remain for ever, and their glory ſhall not be blotted out. And we have as clearly found in our experience, that all thoſe Princes, and great Perſons, who have arranged themſelves, within the liſts of Sanctity, Modeſty, and the obſervation of Laws, the Lord hath as it were, immortaliz'd their bloods, in their happy Poſterities, as we do now ſee it made good, in this our precious Parallel, and might in many thouſands more of Royal, Princely, Noble, and Illuſtrious Families beſides, which I have as little liberty at preſent to produce: ſo ſhall refer to every Readers more particular obſervation: whilſt I that write, and every temperate perſon, I hope, that reades, ſhall reſt abundantly ſatisfied in the point, that it was a moſt irrefragable favour of God Almighties towards us, as well as his late moſt Serene Highneſſe, to give him leave, and to direct him, to eſtabliſh his Throne in the beſt of his own blood, and to leave a Prince behind him, to govern us, that he was certain, was ſo much of his own heavenly make, that he can never degenerate from thoſe his high, holy, and moſt heroick vertues; as we may ſee more at large, in the ſucceeding Aſcent, and Parallel.

The third Tranſcendental Aſcent.

MOſes drawing nearer towards his death, had the honour and favour,Num. 27.18. to be commanded by the Almighty, to lay his holy hands upon his Succeſſor Joſhua, and to bleſſe him, and to put ſome of his honour upon him,Verſ. 20. that all the Congregation of the children of Iſrael, might be obedient, &c.

Then the Lord commanded Moſes to charge Joſhua, and encourage him, aſſuring him, that he ſhould go over before his people, and that he ſhould cauſe them to inherite the Land which he ſhould ſee.

And laſt of all, when Moſes was upon the point of his departure,

Deut. 3.27

Verſ. 28.

the Lord himſelf was pleaſed to condeſcend, to give to Joſhua this particular Charge, before Moſes his own face. Be ſtrong, and of a good courage, for thou ſhalt bring the children of Iſrael into the Land which I ſware unto them, and I will be with thee: Now all this could not but be a moſt extraordinary comfort,Deut. 31 23. as it was a high tranſcendent prerogative, to the departing Patriarch.

The Parallel.

That this was a moſt Princely, and Supreme priviledge, which our firſt Moſes by the favour of Heaven, enjoyed; to lay his hands upon, bleſſe, and put ſome of his own ſpirit upon his Succeſſor, in his life time; I preſume, none will diſpute, and as little can any man, I hope, doubt, but that our ſecond Moſes too, was indulged by God a Parallel prerogative, and did the very like, to his moſt gracious Son and ſucceſſor: knowing him, as we all have done, to have ever been, a moſt prudent, pious, and indulgent Father of his Country, and ſo by conſequence, he muſt have been much more of his own Family, and moſt of all of his Eldeſt Son, who was not onely to be the Head of that, but of three Kingdoms, and other vaſt Dominions, and Territories, thereto belonging.

Nay, that he did actually part with ſome of his honour, to put upon him, in his own life time, was made notoriouſly evident, in his reſignation of that high Title of Chancellor of the Univerſitie of Oxford; I ſay again, high Title, and take it to be the higheſt, next to the Soveraignty it ſelf that England can afford. Who can imagine it leſſe, that knowes that Univerſity to be one of the four Cardinal, moſt Ancient, Famous, and Flouriſhing Univerſities, in the Chriſtian World? that has been ever acknowledged by Forreigners themſelves, to have been the happy Seminary of the greateſt ſpirits, which have held predominance in all manner of Learning, and Sciences, and was ever lookt upon, as the glorious Altar of the Sun, from whence light was wont to be borrowed, to illuminate all other lamps. To be the Head, I ſay, of this moſt glorious Body, who can deny to be equal to ſo great and good a Father to give, and to ſo hopeful and gracious a Son, as was this our preſent Protector, and ſecond Joſhua to receive?

Then as to the other part of this grand Moſaick Prerogative, held forth in our Aſcent, leſſe doubt ſure muſt be made, that his late Highneſſe was moſt thoroughly aſſured of the great worth, and due deſerving of his Succeſſor, as alſo of his great felicity and proſperous ſucceſſes, in all his future undertakings.

Firſt, by reaſon of his Highneſſe his great illuminations, and particular revelations, that he had from God himſelf, (as we have ſufficiently ſeen in all his actions before) which certainly could not fail him now, in ſo important an affaire as this, that ſo nearly did concern, the happineſſe of ſo great a people.

Secondly, he that had ſo clear and thorough an inſpection, into the aptitude of all his Officers, that he employed, as we have likewiſe ſeen in thoſe Aſcents, that treat of his Election of them, how could he chooſe but have an inſight extraordinary into the due merit, and high deſervings of his own Son? None ſure can imagine his inſpired wiſdom to be capable of ſuch a defect, that are not themſelves like thoſe old Monſters, called the Lamiae, which were alwayes blind within their own doors, and could onely make uſe of their eyes, when they were from home.

Then laſtly, how could he be unknowing to thoſe perfections, which all the Nation has been ſo ſatisfied in, for theſe many years? that he has been with reverence lookt upon, and admired, as an Angel deſcending from Heaven, and vouchſafing to let himſelf be inchaſed, within a humane body: a Prince of ſo incomparable ſweet and excellent diſpoſition, that he may be worthy indeed to be called the dear delight of God, as well as man. And that this was the judgement of all the World concerning him, I ſhall inſtance in one perſon for all, who was not long ſince a member of that moſt beautiful body, before mentioned, I mean that moſt famous, and flouriſhing Univerſity of Oxford; who drew an anagrammatical Propheſie out of Virgil, foretelling the glorious Fate of this happy Prince, now near two years ſince, and preſently upon his acceptance, of that moſt unvalueable honour, to be their Chancellor; which becauſe has proved ſo exactly true a Propheſie, I have thought fit to publiſh my friends paper, to the peruſall of all the World, and inſert it here, preſuming that neither he, nor any wiſe man elſe, will be offended at it.

Celſiſſimo ac Gratioſiſſimo Domino, Domino Richardo Cromvel, Seremiſſimi Domini Protectoris Filio Primogenito, & Celeberrimae Academiae Oxonienſis Cancellario Honoratiſſimo. Anagramma Genethliacum, & EPITHALAMIUM. O Richarde Cromvel, magnus es, & Majori nubis. Chara Dei ſoboles, Magnum Jovis Incrementum. SIccine Virgilius, credendus Numine plenus? Quis furor inflatus, ſacrum rapit uſque Prophetam? Ʋt Nobis tua clara, vetus, Natalia, Vates Praedicat, ſimul & ſponſam? Quae deni que Major Cum ſiet, at que etiam (verè) tu Magnus habendus, Quid tua Progenies fuerit, niſi Maxima, Princeps? O Fortunatos (Natâ iſtâ Prole) Britannos! Noſter Oliverus Magnus, Sic ut uſque virere Poſſit, & aeternos, aetate, requireret annos! Hoc ſceptrum ſemper quatiat, Cromvellia Proles; Vivat, & Imperium teneat, Primo vel ab Ortu Solis ad Heſperium Cubile, ſic Anglia vivat. Sic vovet, optat, & Prohpetizat Amplitudinis veſtrae Servus Obſervantiſſimus.
To the moſt Illuſtrious Lady, of the Thrice Noble Lord, My Lord RICHARD CROMWEL. An Explication of the Virgilian ANAGRAMM. Madam, THough Virgil ben't much your acquaintance, yet You muſt confeſſe, you owe him no ſmall debt, Thus to foretel your Princely Husbands Birth, His Fortunes, and his Honours upon Earth; Your Name and Marriage too; all which does lie, Wrapt up, we ſee, in's Antique Propheſie. He calls your Lord, Great Increment of Jove; What then muſt th' iſſue be of your chaſt love? He's great we know, and you a Major ſee, How can your Children leſs than Maxims be? On thoſe fair Pillars, our Protector ſtands, You give him Rulers, over Seas and Lands. Your ſwelling Womb's, the Cuſhion, where he leanes, And findes himſelf eternal by your means. So may your Olive branches flouriſh ſtill, About Great Oliver, and his Thrones up fill. So prayes, and Propheſies, Madam, Your Ladiſhips moſt obedient Servant.

Now, for his moſt Serene Highneſſe his happy Birth, there is none ſure will deny it, to be great as his, that pretended his extraction from mighty Jupiter, and we may more truly ſay of him, than could be fancied of thoſe old Heroes, that Deus eſt in utroque Parente, God was apparently in each Parent.

Then for his bleſſed Marriage, the next thing pointed at in the Propheſie, that can be comparable to nothing more, than to the ſacrifice of Juno, where the gall of the offering was never preſented. There was ſo faithful and pure a love, obſerved to be on both ſides, that the Noble ſpirit of the one lived wholly in the other; and as the Flowers of the Sun perpetually followed the motions of each others heart, ſo they ſtill continue to court each the others vertuous diſpoſitions.

All this, I ſay, is the Anagrammatical Prediction of Virgil himſelf; and as to thoſe ſublime Honours, and Fortunes, which his Highneſſe has ſince arrived at, all that proves to be my friends proper Propheſie. Now, whether Virgil, or my Friend, were the greater Prophet, let the World judge, whilſt I ſhall ſatisfie my ſelf, with that great felicity, which our ſecond Moſes took in the contemplation of his moſt gracious Sons, and Succeſſors perfections: upon whom methinks, I ſee him in his old Princely, and Fatherly Majeſty, now looking down from the top of the holy Mount, encouraging his moſt excellent ſon, to climb up after him, and keep the track of his Aſcents. Nay, methinks, I hear God Almighty himſelf, ſpeaking to his now moſt Serene Highneſſe,Joſh. 1.5. as he did before to Joſhua. There ſhall not any man be able to ſtand before thee, all the dayes of thy life, as I was with my ſecond Moſes, ſo I will be with thee, I will not fail thee nor forſake thee;V. 6. Be ſtrong and of a good courage, for unto this people ſhalt thou divide for an Inheritance, the Land which I ſware unto their Fathers to give them: onely be thou ſtrong, and very couragious, V. 7. that thou mayſt obſerve to do according to the Law, which Moſes my Servant commanded thee; turn not from it, either to the right hand, V. 8. nor to the left, that thou mayſt proſper whitherſoever thou goeſt. This Book of the Law ſhall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou ſhalt meditate therein, day and night; that thou mayſt obſerve to do according to all that is written therein; for then thou ſhalt make thy way proſperous, V. 9. and then thou ſhalt have good ſucceſſe. Have not I commanded thee? Be ſtrong, and of a good courage, be not afraid, neither be thou diſmayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee whitherſoever thou goeſt.

Thus was the Lord pleaſed to diſcourſe with Joſhua: And now methinks, I hear all the people of this Land crying out, to our moſt Serene Prince, and Protector, juſt as the children of Iſrael did there, likewiſe in the ſame Chapter,V. 16. to their General Joſhua. All that thou commandeſt us, we will do, and whitherſoever thou ſendeſt us, we will go, according as we hearkned unto Moſes, in all things, ſo will we hearken unto thee;V. 17. onely the Lord thy God be with thee, as he was with Moſes. Whoſoever he be that does rebell againſt thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words, in all that thou commandeſt him, he ſhall be put to death;V. 18. onely be ſtrong, and of a good courage.

With theſe Divine ſpeeches, made by God himſelf, and his inſtruments the people, upon the inauguration of Joſhua, methinks I hear our preſent Lord Protector, and Princely ſecond Joſhua, treated at this very day.

What Divine documents his ſacred Highneſs has received from the Almighty, are onely yet betwixt the Lord, and his own moſt ſerene ſoul but what the people ſay every where, we are all ear-witneſſes ſufficient: the people, I ſay, who have ever lookt upon him, as the deareſt delight of their eyes: and as the Orator ſaid of his Emperour, Conſtantine, Plin. in Paneg. Conſtant. Magis magiſque viſus expetitur, & (novum dictu) vel praeſens diſideratur: The more he is ſeen, the more he is lookt after; and, which is more ſtrange, though he be ſtill preſent with them, yet he is alwayes moſt greedily deſired, and longed for by them: Inſomuch, that I dare boldly ſay, had the election of a Prince been put to the Popular choice, and all the prime ſpirits of the Nation, had been cull'd out, to pretend for the Protectorat, his moſt ſerene Highneſſe, that now is, would have been the perſon, that they muſt have pitched upon by Univerſal vote, and carried to the Throne, where he is ſeated now, with General joy, and acclamations. A Prince he is, without flattery be it ſpoken (for he is known to be ſo) of moſt incomparable great piety, & moſt worthy parts: A Prince, I ſay, wiſe as Apollo, beautiful as an Amazon, and valiant as Achilles; and having over and above all that, the ſacred ſpirit of wiſdom, courage, and devotion, of a Joſhua, and coming to the Helme of this Government, as we have ſeen, by Divine inſtitution, as he did into that; Who can at all doubt, but at the ſight of ſuch ſupreme, excellent, and moſt celeſtial qualities, Walls and Cities impregnable, ſhall fall before him too; Gyants ſhall wax pale, and be diſcomfited; Rivers ſhall retire back, the Sun it ſelf ſhall ſtand ſtill, and as many Kings ſhall undergoe the yoke? And to this, all England ſhall ſay, Amen.

The fourth Tranſcendental Aſcent.

MOſes was by the great favour of the Almighty, permitted to ſee the promiſed Land: Firſt the Lord commands him Thus; Get thee inup to the top of Piſgah, and lift up thine eyes Weſtward, and Northward, Deut. 3.27. and Southward, and Eaſtward, and behold it with thine eyes. Then when the time of his departure came, we find, that Moſes did accordingly go up from the plain of Moab, unto the Mountain of Nebo, to the top of Piſgah, Deut. 34.1. that is over againſt Jericho, and the Lord ſhewed him all the Land of Gilead unto Dan, and all Napthali, and the Land of Ephraim, and Manaſſeth, and all the Land of Judah, unto the utmoſt Sea, and the South, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, Ver. 2. the City of Palm-trees unto Zoar: and the Lord ſaid unto him, This is the Land which I ſware unto Abraham,Verſ. 3. and unto Iſaac, and unto Jacob, ſaying;Verſ. 4. I will give it unto thy ſeed: I have cauſed thee to ſee it with thine eyes, but thou ſhalt not go over thither.

The Parallel.

There is no man will deny ſure, that this was a very tranſcendent favour and priviledge, indulged by God, to this bleſſed Patriarch. And has our ſecond Moſes received leſſe favourable kindneſſe from the hands of the Almighty? Nay, has he not in this too, infinitely outgone the prerogatives of his Pattern, and great Prototype? Yes certainly, as far, as fruition can exceed an expectation, or a poſſeſſion ſurpaſſeth a bare proſpect onely; ſo much more of priviledge and favour, did our ſecond Moſes find, from the goodnſſe of his Heavenly Father, and receive, beyond the former: For the ſacred Text moſt plainly affirmes, that the great Patriarch Moſes, was permitted onely to ſee the Land of Promiſe, and take his bare view, of that beloved Country of ſweet Canaan, or Paleſtine, then flowing with Milk and Honey, and towards which, he had been above forty years a marching in the Head of his moſt mutinous, and troubleſome Army, yet not ſuffered to enter.

But has not our ſacred ſecond Moſes made his entry? Has he not onely entred, but enjoyed for divers years his land of Promiſe? Has he not driven out all his enemies before him, and made ſo happy an end of his great Works, as to have been well and ſecurely ſetled, in the quiet poſſeſſion and government of his acquired Dominions, and Territories? Nay how much more advantageous was this favour to his late Highneſſe, in reſpect of his Succeſſor too, than that which his Archetype, the former Moſes had. His late moſt Serene Highneſſe, we ſee, has left his Princely Son to ſucceed him in a cleer eſtate, and free from any incombrances, either at home, or abroad: and indeed thoſe few forraign broyls, that we are ingaged in, may be rather called his moſt Serene Highneſſe his ſports, and pretty divertiſements, than any matters of troubleſom buſineſſe, and muſt prove to be more profitable than dangerous: Whereas the former good Moſes, left his ſucceeding Joſhua, not a foot of land, but what he was to fight for, and could make him indeed heir apparent to nothing, but his ſword: and leave him, as it were, a meer Souldier of Fortune, to cut his way out to his expectations. Though this was very true, that the Divine Patriarch knew full well, that the Lords promiſes, and bleſſed providence would be to him a moſt ſecure inheritance; yet none can deny, that this favour of Heaven muſt in any indifferent eſteem, fall ſhort of that, which was vouchſafed to our ſecond Moſes, as much as an eſtate that is litigious, and imbrangled with law ſuits, is to be undervalued to a cleer one, that is in quiet and undiſturbed poſſeſſion; or the miſerable condition of war, is worſe than the moſt happy halcyon ſtate of Peace. Are not theſe Tranſcendencies indeed? ſo ſtrange and copious priviledges & prerogatives, that the great goodneſs of Heaven, never indulged more to any man, than it has done to our ſecond Moſes, in which he has ſo far outgone his very Original Maſter, that grand dear Favorite of Heaven himſelf, our firſt Moſes; that we may ſecurely ſay, that Moſes himſelf has fallen as ſhort of his late Highneſſe, our unparallel'd Protector, in ſome of theſe divine indulgencies, as he our glorious ſecond could fail in perfection of Parallel to the bleſſed firſt, in any of the former difficult Aſcents. But I cannot now inſiſt upon them, for I do find that our diſcourſes have ſwell'd already to too big a volumn, ſo it is time to withdraw into the Tabernacle of Repoſe, and there ſet up, if we can, our reſts with theirs.

The fifth Tranſcendental Aſcent.

MOſes is now mounting of his laſt living Aſcent, for the Holy Text tells us,Deut. 34.1. that he went up from the Plains of Moab, into the Mountain of Nebo, to the top of Piſgah, over againſt Jericho, &c. And after he had ſatisfied himſelf with the fair proſpect of the Promiſed Land, he willingly ſteps into his ſo much longed for Tabernacle of Repoſe.Ver. 5. So Moſes, the ſervant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, Ver. 6. according to the word of the Lord. And he buried him in a Vally in the land of Moab, over againſt Beth-peor, Ver. 7. but no man knows of his Sepulcher unto this day. And Moſes was a hundred and twenty years old,Ver. 8. when he died, his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. And the children of Iſrael wept for Moſes, in the Plains of Moab thirty dayes: ſo the daies of weeping and mourning for Moſes were ended.

The Parallel.

Thus we ſee, how our pious Patriarch has no ſooner taken order for a ſufficient ſucceſſor for himſelf, and a convenient Captain for his people, but he does moſt readily diſpoſe himſelf for his laſt great journey, and Aſcent, and moſt cheerfully marcheth up the fatal Mount, whileſt every ſtep that he took, drew blood from the hearts of his poor, diſconſolate, and moſt afflicted people, who followed him with their eies, where they could not with their perſons; nay made their tears to reach him, when the ſight of their eyes had loſt him, forcing thoſe floods, contrary to the courſe of other waters, to run violently upwards, and with an aſcending ſtream, bedew every footſtep of their precious deer Prince, and beloved Patriarch. All the happy joys, and thorough contentments that they did receive from their brave new Maſter, and Captain General Joſhua, could never make them forget their old dear deliverer, and conductor, Moſes. So true it is, what is obſerved by all Aſtrologers, that every Planet which has its exaltation in one Sign, finds ever its counterpoiſes in another; nor can there be any good ſucceſſe in humane affairs, on one ſide, but it is preſently paid on the other, with ſome diſcontent. Juſt thus, and no otherwiſe, did our great Protector, and gracious ſecond Moſes depart from us: who receiving from the Almighty the ſummons of his approaching death, whileſt he was in the plains of Moab, in his Houſe or Palace of Country retirement, as ſpeedily and cheerfully as the former Moſes did; prepared himſelf to march up to this Metropolitical Mount, even to the top of Piſgah, his own Palace here: where after he had appointed his happy Succeſſor, and taken careful order about the affairs of theſe Kingdoms, as well as of his own Family, and taken leave of all his Friends and Familiars, and dearly beloved Army, her rendred up his ſoul to his God and Saviour, as ſweetly as little children uſe to fall aſleep, upon the breaſts of their Nurſes; leaving us in the mean time drowned in the deluges of our own tears: and the ſorrow was ſo general, that one would have thought that every houſe was bearing of their firſt born to burial, nothing was to be ſeen amongſt us but tears, nor heard but groans, yellings, horrors, aſtoniſhments, and repreſentations of death. And whereas the people of Iſrael, mourned but thirty daies, for their Moſes, we have lamented the loſſe of ours, more than thrice thirty daies, and yet are not wearied with weeping, but dolori etiam feſſo, ſtimulos addidimus novos, we have ſet ſpurs to our tired ſorrows, and upon any occaſion of his mentioning, thoſe flood-gates are ſo continually open, that they have almoſt made an inundation upon us, and we may ſtill ſee him ſailing through all the good peoples eyes of the Nation, and floating upon the ſalt waters, that himſelf has made. For my part, I muſt profeſs that whileſt my Pen is paſſing over this ſtory, I cannot chooſe, but commix the ſorrowful water of my eyes, with my mourning ink, ſo may be pardoned, I hope, if at preſent I write any thing diſorderly, as indeed I have done all, but cannot doubt that the candour of thoſe ſpirits, which are touched with the like paſſion, will out of pitty pardon mine. Nay, indeed, what Engliſh man is there that would not be out of love with life, ſince he has pleaſed to embrace death, ſatis enim vixit, qui vitan cum Principe tanto explevit, Tatitus. for has he not lived long enough in this world, that can be ſo happy, as to march out of it, in the company of ſuch a Prince? But I muſt confeſſe I am to blame, nor can I but rebuke my ſelf, as it is fit I ſhould, before I can reprove others for this unruly, unchriſtian, and, indeed, unreaſonable paſſion.

For firſt it is a moſt manifeſt repining both againſt the hand of God, and him, for the Lord has now placed him in his happy Tabernacle of Repoſe, and abſolv'd his immortal ſoul from all the toilſome fetters and ligaments of fleſh, as the divine Plato, though a Pagan, well expreſſeth it, when he ſaies, Pater miſericors illis mortalia vincula faciebat, God herein, ſaith he,Plato in Timao. hath moſt mercifully provided, like an indulgent father; for ſeeing that the ſoul of man was like to be ſhut up within the body, as in a priſon, he hath in his great mercy, made its chains to be mortal. How much more, then, ought we Chriſtians to apprehend the happineſſe of death, that know that very day, which we account the laſt of our lives, is to be the firſt of our felicities; nay it is to be the birth of another eternal day, which muſt draw aſide the Curtain, and diſcover to us the greateſt ſecrets of nature: it is the day that muſt produce us, to thoſe great and divine lights, which we behold here onely, with the eye of faith, in this vale of tears and miſeries. It is the happy day, which muſt put us between the arms of the Heavenly Father, after a courſe of an unquiet life, turmoiled ſtill with ſtorms, and ſo many diſturbances.

Who is ſo ſottiſh as not to ſee, that we are at this preſent, in the world, as in the very belly or womb of nature, like little infants deſtitute both of air and light, and can onely look towards, and contemplate the happineſſe of bleſſed ſouls ſeparate from bodies. What pleaſure muſt it be then to go out of a dungeon ſo dark, a priſon ſo ſtreight, from ſuch infinite ordures and miſeries, to enter into thoſe ſpacious Temples of eternal ſplendors, where our being never ſhall have end, our knowledge ſhall admit no ignorance, nor love or joy ſuffer a change.

The old Poets themſelves did alwayes fancy,Juven. ſat that there was ſome happineſſe extraordinary in death, which the gods, as they ſaid, did cunningly conceal from us, that men ſhould endure to live; they are the very words of one of them, Mortaleſque, dii caelant, ut vivere durent, felix eſſe mori. Other Heathens there were, that by meet force of Philoſophy could tell us, that the body was to the ſoul,Lucan. as the ſhadow of the earth in the eclipſe of the Moon: and do we not ſee how this bright Planet, which illuminates our nights, ſeems to be very unwillingly captivated in the dark, but labours and ſparkles with ſtriving, to get aloft, and free it ſelf from thoſe dull earthly impreſſions: So did his late Highneſſe his moſt illuſtrious and faithful ſoul, moſt readily untwine and diſingage it ſelf from his body; well knowing it had a much better houſe, in the inheritance of God, which is not a manufacture of men, but a monument of the hands of the great Artificer, where he will be much more delighted, to ſee the Sun, Moon, and ſtars, and all the Elements under his feet, than he could poſſibly be here, with beholding them over his head. In ſhort, who would think it much (I am ſure his Highneſſe did not) to give up the life of a Piſmire (for the greateſt Prince's upon earth, is no better) in exchange for immortality? he had alwayes, we know, like a good Chriſtian, death in his deſire, and life in patience.

This truly I ſhould preſume ſufficient to ſatiſfie and comfort any reaſonable Chriſtians, for the loſſe (as we call it) of his late Highneſs:

But ſetting Chriſtianity aſide, methinks it ſhould be ſatisfactory enough for common men, to conſider, that as the Poet tells us, Lex eſt, non paena perire, Ovid. Senec. natural quaeſt. l. 2. and what the Philoſopher aſſures us; that mors naturae lex eſt, mors tributum officiumque eſt mortalium, death is a law of nature, no puniſhment, it is the very tribute, and duty of mortals: And what Plutarch, not more elegantly, than truly, concludes, Homines ſicut poma, aut matura cadunt, Plut. in vita Pomp. aut acerba ruunt, Men, like Apples, muſt either fall ripe, or be pulled down green and ſower.

Now I would fain know, what have we to complain of? Did not his Highneſſe live to a very fair, and good old age, to a true Moſaick maturity, For, as was ſaid before, if by Chronological Computation, our ſecond Moſes, his forty years, were parallel to the fourſcore of the former when he came into publick employment, then his threeſcore and upwards, when he came to dye, ſtands ſtill parallel with the others hundred and twenty: and as for their ſtrength of body and mind, none can affirm him to be leſſe his parallel to the very laſt: For his Highneſs eye was not dim, nor any of his natural force abated.

Thus his gracious God, and benigne nature plentifully provided, for that great and moſt incomparable perſon, that his moſt invincible ſpirit, ſhould never quaile under any ſenſible decay of fleſh.

What more of favour, I would fain know, could his moſt Serene Highneſſe receive from the bountiful hands of Heaven? Yet ſome ſpirits there are, ſo diſpoſed to quarrel with the Almighty, that they will not yet be ſatisfied in the divine diſpenſation, but think, and ſay, (I pray God not impiouſly) that the heavenly and eternal Father, ſhould have permitted ſome more time of life to a perſon ſo deſerving it; but let them remember, that mors aequopede pulſat, Senec. Tray. Senec, epiſt. 100. idem. epist. 67. and that intervallis diſtinguimar, exitu aequamur, greatneſſe nor goodneſs neither can give any priviledge from death, mors omnium par eſt, per quae venit diverſa ſunt, id in quod deſinit, unum eſt, death, though by ſeveral waies, brings all to the ſame end. Theſe conſiderations ſure, though drawn from meer Heathens, would be enough to ſatisfie any common underſtandings of men: but theſe quarrelſome perſons, that we ſpeak of, ſure are of opinion, that all happineſſe is determined to this poor life; and are, I fear, very neer akin to thoſe, whom Plato calls 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ,Plato: whoſe ſouls are ſo great lovers of their bodies, that they would tye themſelves to their fleſh, as cloſoe as they could, and after death would, as he prettily expreſſeth it, ſtill walk round about their bodies, to ſee if they could find a paſſage into them again. How much is this pittiful humor of Chriſtians, below the divine Philoſophy of Pagans themſelves? Amongſt whom we find, that there were a certain people, who by poſitive laws, forbad any man of fifty years of age, to make uſe of the Phyſitian, ſaying, that it diſcovered too much love of life: and yet ſome Chriſtians we find at the age of fourſcore, who will not endure to hear a word of death: but of this ſad ſottiſh temper, we know his Moſaical Highneſſe was not, he never valued the putting off his life, more than the ſhifting of his ſhirt, and when he received his citation from Heaven, he as readily obeyed, as his Maſter Moſes did, to aſcend his fatal Mount: I pray you then be quiet you cruel friends, and do not diſturb his honored duſt, now ſweetly reſting in his Tabernacle of Repoſe; for if you conſider rightly, you are bound, as the Orator tells you,Plin. Paney Non tam vitam illi ereptam, quam mortem donatam cenſere, not ſo much to think him bereft of life, as to have been endowed with death, in a ripe old age, and after the enjoyment of the fruits of all his labours.

Hath not this moſt incomparable perſon, reſembled truely the great Ark in the deluge, which after it had borne the whole World in the bowels of it, amongſt ſo many ſtorms, and fatal convulſions of nature, at length repoſed it ſelf, in the Mountains of Armenia? So this moſt admirable Prince, after he had carried in his heart, and entrals a ſpirit, great as the univerſe it ſelf, amonſt ſo many tears, dolours, and cruel acerbities of contradictions, and had delivered himſelf of that painful burthen, that is, had brought forth our moſt happy and eſtabliſht peace, he ſtopt upon Mount Nebo, and from thence went to take his reſt, in the Mountains of Sion.

Thus the Lord, like an indulgent Father of a Family, ſends his ſervants to bed, ſo ſoon as they have done their work: it being all the juſtice and reaſon in the World, that they who riſe betimes to ſerve him, and work hard all the day for him, ſhould go in as good time, to ſleep with him.

Let us I beſeech you therefore paſſe over this death, in the manner of holy Scripture, which ſpeaks but one word onely of the death of ſo many great perſonages. Let us never ſo much as talk of death in a ſubject ſo wholly repleniſht with immortality. O what a death is that, to be eſteemed, to ſee vice and ſin trodden down under his feet, and Heaven all in Crowns over his head, to ſee men in admiration, all the Angels in joy, and the arms of God ready to receive him, and fully laden with recompenſes for his great ſervices.

Nay, that the Lord did purpoſely and expreſſely intend to make his Highneſs his death appear to be a moſt ſignal reward and perfect victory to him, and that he ſhould carry off the ſpoiles of life it ſelf with more triumph, than ever mortal did, is made manifeſt in that it pleaſed his divine Majeſty to take him to himſelf, upon that moſt memorable day, the third of September, the greateſt day of all his humane glories: that he was pleaſed to put an end to his life, in this World, that very day that he had got ſuch an immortality in fame: to ſet a period to his labours that very day, that he had performed ſo many Herculian ones, for the glory of his God, and his Countries good; and to crown his daies with ſo glorious a cloſe, nay to give him a heavenly Crown, that very day that he had gotten ſo many earthly ones, and loaden his Victorious Temples, with ſo many flouriſhing Laurels of eternal renown,

Then for the glorious burial of our ſecond Moſes, though we cannot hold up our Parallel to the heighth of that honour, which the firſt had, to be conveyed to his grave by God himſelf, and put into the earth by thoſe Almighty hands, which had made him out of it; yet we may ſay, that he was interred with as much ſtate, and carried to his mother earth, with as much ſolemnity, and magnificence, as ever perſon in the World was; nay his very Effigies was honoured, with ſo great a reverence, as if ſome divinity had attended the Royal proceſſion.

And yet this is not all the glorious Sepulture that his Highneſſe had, for what the Orator ſaid of his Prince, we may, mutato nomine, moſt aptly conclude of him. Totum nec capiet Olivarium, brevis iſta tumuli clauſura, Britannum nomen & pectus unumquodque nobile, vivum ſtabit defuncto monumentum: vivet ipſe ſuo letho ſuperſtes, multam aetatem feret etiam mortuus, gloriaeque plenus deducetur ad Poſteros, &c. The whole great Oliver cannot be contained, within ſo ſcanty an encloſure, as is the vault that holds his body, the Britiſh Name it ſelf, and every noble breaſt of the Nation, ſhall ſtand a living Monument to his memory.

Thus ſhall his Highneſſe outlive his death, and grow great in glory, whilſt he is conſuming in his grave, and be conveighed into the arms of poſterity, with everlaſting acclamations. Good Princes, as well as Poets, find their honours to ſwell from their laſt aſhes, and like Phoenixes ſpring afreſh, from their funeral Piles, as we ſhall more at large make out, in our next, which is our laſt Moſaical Aſcent, and cloſing Parallel.

The ſixth and laſt, Tranſcendental Aſcent.

MOſes built himſelf a Monument in the hearts of all his people, and left a bleſſed Memorial behind him; and all this was atteſted, by the Spirit of God himſelf, after his death, expreſſely aſſuring us, that there aroſe not a Prophet ſince in Iſrael,

Deut. 34.10.

Ver. 11. Ver. 12.

like unto Moſes, whom the Lord knew face to face: in all the ſigns and wonders which the Lord ſent him to do in the Land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, and all his ſervants, and to all his Land, and in all that mighty hand, and in all that great terror, which Moſes ſhewed in the ſight of all Iſrael.

The Parallel.

Thus the Lord is pleaſed to make the memory of his Saints precious (in the language of the Spirit) as ſweet ointment poured forth; for we ſee here, how he will make his dead ſervant Moſes to aſcend ſtill in this World, by the fragrancy of his memory: and indeed it is the laſt Aſcent, that humane perfection is capable of; to mount up, after a bleſſed death, to a happy and honourable remembrance amongſt men; a moſt particular grace and prerogative, which the Divine goodneſſe indulgeth to none, but to his moſt dear ſervants.

For ſome there are (as Eccleſiaſticus not Apocryphally obſerves) which have no memorial at all,Eccleſ. 44.9. who are periſhed, as though they had never been,V. 10. and are become, as though they had never been born, and their children after them; but the righteouſneſſe of merciful men, hath not been forgotten, &c, Then again their bodies are buried in peace, but their name liveth for evermore;V. 14. nay further, the people will tell of their wiſdom, V. 15. and the Congregation will ſhew forth their praiſe.

Has not our moſt Serene ſecond Moſes, received this precious Tranſcendental favour likewiſe, from the hands of his gracious God? has he not ſo filled the mindes and mouthes of all the good people, of the Nation? that they have nothing almoſt left to think, and ſpeak on, but the memory of their late great Protector? Inſomuch, that we can compare this glorious Aſcent, of his Highneſſe his happy death, to nothing ſo properly, as to the expiration of the Phenix, upon the Mountain of the Sun, in the ſweet odours of his heroick vertues.

O what a memory has his Highneſſe left us, of his unſpotted piety, and undefiled policy, amidſt all the depravations and corruptions of the Word! O what a memory has he left us, of his arriving to the higheſt honours, and dignities, by flying them, and to have ennobled all his Charges, by the integrity of his manners! O what a memory of a life lead truly according to Chriſtianity, that has alwayes daunted the moſt audacious Libertins, and like a Divine Mirrour, killed Baſiliskes, with the repercuſſion of their own poiſon! O what a memory has he left us, of having governed a Church and State, ſo as if it had been a clear copy of Heaven, and an eternal pattern of holy Policy: holding himſelf alwayes to thoſe heavenly Poles of piety and juſtice, that ſupport the great policy of the Univerſe; eſteeming them, as Democritus did, the two divinities of Weales publick, or great wheeles, upon which, all the affaires of the World were to move, ſo eſtabliſhing himſelf ſtill upon thoſe holy Columnes; as the one, has given him immortality with God, ſo the other has perpetuated his memorial amongſt men!

O what a memory has he left behind him, of having borne upon his ſhoulders ſo happily, all the intereſts and glories of this Nation, and the very moveables of the Houſe of God! O what a memory has he left, of having ſo many times trampled the heads of Dragons under his feet, and rendered himſelf the wonder of the World! For who indeed is it, but muſt remember, how this brave, valorous, and Princely perſon, who was to joyne the kingdom of his vertues, to the force of his armes, was alwayes of ſo vigorous and ſublime a ſpirit, that he meaſured ſtill, all his moſt difficult undertakings, by the greatneſſe of his own courage, and like a Caeſar indeed, but more like a true Moſes, reſolved to break through all obſtacles, to Crown his inſpired purpoſes.

O what a memory of a bleſſed death, in a good old age, and full fruition of all his labours! to have died, as in a field of Palmes, and all planted with his own hand, manured with his conſtant induſtry, and water'd with his own painful ſweats!

O what a memory after death, to be acknowledged by all, to have built himſelf before his death, a moſt ſtately Tombe, ſtufft with the precious Stones, of his own moſt goodly and incomparable vertues! all which rightly now to repreſent, would require a recapitulation of all our Parallels, and take up a bulk bigger, than this ſmall Volume is intended to bear. And it is enough I conceive to our preſent purpoſe, to ſay, that this Nation, ſhall for ever preſerve the memory of him, as of a Prince, that has proved it poſſible, though miraculous, to hold a conjunction of piety, with the Supreme power, and Soveraign authority, ſweetly tempered with goodneſſe, things before thought utterly incompatible in Kings; and truly I know not, what juſt quarrel any man can have againſt his memory, but that he hath ſhewed a path to mortall men, and trod it by his own example, to prove it poſſible, to arrive at ſo much perfection, and that may be a fault indeed, and worthy of exception, in ſo debaucht an age, as this.

But let ſuch unſavory breaths as theſe, blow how, and where they pleaſe, whileſt all the ſweet ones of the Nation, ſhall preſerve a fragrant memory of their departed Protector, and ſecond Moſes; ever acknowledgeing their lives and fortunes, nay the liberties of their very ſouls, to have been the pious purchaſe of his Princely pains.

Some impious great ones, we know, have brought a period upon the greateſt Empires, ruined whole Kingdoms, their people, and themſelves: have we not ſeen, I ſay, to inſtance in one for all, the great Roman Empire it ſelf, which had ſo many times, cauſed its victorious Chariots, loaden with Palms and Lawrels, to paſſe over the heads of the moſt puiſſant Monarchs of the World, that ſo often have been ſhaken, and ſo many times eſtabliſht by concuſſion; at laſt, by the interpoſition of one wicked unlucky Prince, or two, to be moſt irrecoverably entombed. How much are we engaged then to the precious memory of our late Lord Protector, who in the ſtaggering conditions, that our tottering ſtate at laſt, and Kingdom before was in, has not onely eſtabliſht but augmented the glories of our Nation; eternizing himſelf more amongſt us, and rendring himſelf more honorable to all the World, by thoſe his great actions, than all the Monarchs of Egypt could do, in all their rich Marbles, Pyramids and Obelisks.

What memory now, I would fain know, has that great Egyptian King Cleopes left behind him? who proſtituted his own daughter, to raiſe himſelf a Pyramid for buryal, and it was ſo enormouſly great, as we read, that the earth ſeemed too weak to bear it, and Heaven not high enough, to free it ſelf from its importunities: yet that, doating with age, has now forgot its founder, and he retains the ſtink of a rotten reputation, and is proclaimed by all the World, but a ſottiſh Prince for his pains.

Pompey on the other ſide, we ſee, after he had meaſured three parts of the World, more by his triumphs than travails, comes to be killed at length, by the hand of a half man, and the earth which ſeemed too ſcanty and narrow for his conqueſts, was ſeen to fail him for a Tomb: and what memory have all his great actions acquired to him, but of a proud, bloody, imperious Common-wealths-man, that could endure no corrival in greatneſſe.

We have ſeen again in ſtory, a great Manlius, precipitated, from the Capitol, which once he had ſo bravely defended, that the Theater of all his glories, might be turned into the ſcaffold of his diſmal puniſhment: like that inſolent Pharaoh, whom we have ſo often ſpoken of, which thought by the help of his falſe gods, to command the waves of the Sea, and to walk upon ſtars: yet periſht in thoſe his very attempts, and was buried in execration and horrors. What which memory have any of theſe, or other wicked Princes left behind them, better than Eroſtratus before ſpoken of? No, nothing can erect a true monument of eternal memory, but pure Moſaick piety.

Our glorious ſecond Moſes full well ſaw, that Royal Crowns themſelvs, did looſe their luſtre on heads without brains, and brows without Majeſty; and did much leſs regard a King without piety, than a blind Cyclop, in an hollow cave.

Princes he knew there have been, and are ſtill in the World, born like Diadumenus, with a Diadem of honour in their foreheads, but moſt of them, we ſee, appear like Joſias, with a leproſie there too. O what a memory then muſt his late Highneſſe have left behind him? who is well known, to have been of the Lords own election, & ſo much according to his own heart, that his ſervant Moſes and he, may ſtand in line Parallel; for juſt by ſuch means as he, we have ſeen how he came into the Government, became the God of Monarchs, ruined the ſtate of his enemies, opened ſtormy Seas, manured Wilderneſſes, and cleft Rocks, with as ſmall a thing as a twig: juſt as he, he has been laborious amongſt Shepherds, ſanctified and exemplary in Cities, temperate in principalities, a Companion of Angels in his retirements, and as it were a Cabinet friend of God. Nay has our gracious ſecond Moſes ſhewed leſſe piety in the ſervice of the Omnipotent, leſſe ſweetneſſe in government, leſſe greatneſſe of ſpirit in all noble enterpriſes, leſſe patience in difficulties, leſſe prudence in the direction of his affairs, or leſſe diſpatch in his expeditions? And to conclude in ſhort, has he been leſſe bleſt in all his battails, having ever had, as it were, good hap, and victories, under his pay? and can we do leſſe than fall down, and worſhip divinity in all this, and give him the immortalitie of our memories at leaſt, in lieu of thoſe eternal obligations, that his moſt Serene Highneſſe has laid upon us? Nay have we not ſeen him all along, like his old Maſter Moſes too, holding Heaven continually for object, and all greatneſſe of this World in contempt? How like him too, he has alwaies ſhewed himſelf full of the ſpirit of all Prudence, Piety, and Propheſie it ſelf; and over and above all that, crowned with a moſt ſoveraign high humility? How he like him too, but moſt eſpecially toward his later end, had blotted one almoſt all, that was man within him, by a converſation wholly celeſtial, reducing his fleſh into ſo much ſubjection, & exalting his ſpirit to ſuch an empire over it, that he might deſerve the name of God too, as his old Maſter Moſes did, in reſemblance of whom, he was ſo transformed, by the ſuperabudance of his moſt excellent, and celeſtial qualities? And has he not deſerved an immortality upon earth, for all this, as well as Crowns in Heaven? Yes ſure, for the moſt malicious enemy that his Highneſſe has in the World, cannot deny him to have dyed, under the ſhadow of ſo many Palms, of his own moſt noble and heroical vertues, that they muſt ſpring ſtill to all eternity, and grow green with very age: his Lawrels can never wither, nor his Bays be blaſted; the reſplendent raies of his honour, can never looſe their luſter, nor the odours of his holy converſation, ever fail of ſending forth their precious perfumes.

Thus has his moſt Serene Highneſſe, our ſecond Moſes, like the former, perfectly changed his Sepulcher into a Cradle, and even drawn life out of his Tomb. O what an immortallty is this, to ſurvive eternally in the mouths of men! But how much more happy an eternity is it, to have a perpetual life in Heaven, enjoying the very knowledge, love, life and felicity of God himſelf?

Come hither then all you Princes, and mighty Perſons of the earth, and make haſt, to take out your copy and pattern here, betaking your ſelves betimes to the glorious Temple of Honour, by that difficult one, of holy virtues, which will prove themſelves to you in the end, as they have done to our firſt and ſecond Moſes here, like Elias his heavenly Chariot, all flaming with glory, to render you, not onely moſt illuſtrious and eternal here upon earth, but to tranſport your brave, Princely, & moſt purified ſouls, above the height of the Empirean Heaven.

Come hither, I pray you likewiſe, all you malecontented ſpirits of this Nation, that have ſo long maliciouſly repind, and impiouſly oppoſed your ſelves, againſt his late moſt Serene Highneſſe his Moſaical Perſon, and Government, and ſtill do continue to malign his moſt precious memory, together with the power of his moſt gracious Son and Succeſſor, ſet over us now, by God himſelf, and his own divine vertues: repair hither, I ſay, with all the ingenuity of judgement, and Chriſtian candor that you can, and I doubt not but by ſuch an impartial peruſal of our happy Parallels, you will find all your averſions and diſtaſts alleviated, and that the loathings and nauſeouſneſs which you had before, did ſpring from the diſeaſe of your own palats onely, or Malos guſtos, as the Spaniard calls them, and from no other cauſe at all. If that remedy will not ſerve your turns, to divert the violent ſtream, of your old animoſities, I would earneſtly deſire you again (if you are not yet ſtark mad with judaiſing) to reflect with horrour, upon Corah, Dathan, and Abiram, and all his complices, with the reſt of that mutinous Nation, the murmuring Iſraelites, & by a ſerious ſoliloquy with your own ſouls, you may correct that curſed ſpirit of contumacy, which has ſo long poſſeſt you,Cicero. Quorum facta immitamini eorum, exitus per horreſcendo, by a due conſideration of the direful effects of their deviliſh doings, whoſe ſteps you ſtil purſue. And if all this prove but counſel caſt away, let me humbly beſeech you once more, through the bleſſed bowels of our gracious Lord and Saviour, to make your earneſt and often addreſſes to him, and holding ſome ſuch divine diſcourſes with him, as I ſhall here ſet down in a form, that I have ſometimes uſed myſelf upon like occaſion, and I cannot doubt, but by his all-healing grace, you ſhal all be reduced to a better temper, and moſt ample complacency with the preſent government.

O moſt gracious Lord God, which guideſt the lives, eſtates and conditions of all men living in this World, and makeſt a perfect muſick in the univerſe, which thou compoſeſt of many accords; or let us take this great All, and government of thine, as a Table of many colours, or a body of many members: why ſhould I, be it one, or be it 'tother, make my ſelf a falſe harmony in ſo ſweet a Conſort; an extravagant colour, in ſo compleat a Table, or a prodigious member, of ſo beautiful a body. It ſhall ſuffice me, O Lord, to be a part in this Muſick, this Table, or of this Body: ſet me high, ſet me low, let me be white, let me be black, make me head, make me foot. My God, it is in thee to give me my part, and in me onely to play it well; why ſhould I kick againſt the ſpur, like a paltry Jade? Why being but a miſerable earthen pot, ſhould I argue againſt my Potter, for the faſhion, that he has pleaſed to put me in? If the men whom I envy, or bear malice to, merit their good fortunes, and happy advancements, I wrong thy divine juſtice, O Lord, to maligne, or oppoſe them; And if they deſerve them not, they more merit my compaſſion, than envy; ſince all their greatneſs, will ſerve them but for a burthen in this life, and a far deeper condemnation in the other. If the ſtars, by contribution of their raies, do ſtrengthen the activity of hell fire, as we are informed they do, how much more then, will thoſe great lights of honour, and ſparkling advantages of greatneſs, increaſe the torments of a reprobate Prince, or great perſon? Beſides, O Lord, why ſhould I be guilty of ſo ſtrange a malignity againſt my ſelf, as forgeting the preſervation of my own perſon, to which I am by nature obliged, go about to ruine any other man, a thing, that nature it ſelf abhors from? & if by loving my very enemy, all will make for me, as thou, O Lord, thy ſelf haſt told me: Why ſhould I, through want of love, deprive my ſelf of ſo great advantage to my ſelf, or ſo great a power over him? and this way of revenging by love, being of all things moſt eaſie: Why ſhould I go obout to create a hell within my ſelf, where thou, O my God, haſt a gracious purpoſe, to erect a Paradiſe? So, Good Lord, of thy mercie, ſend us all a happie peace, and true Chriſtian complacencie, one with another, and to thine own name give the glory, for ſo it properlie belongs.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 .
The Heads of the Aſcents, wherein his late HIGHNESSE, our renowned PROTECTOUR, deceaſed, ſtands Parallel with the great Patriarch MOSES. In their Nobility of Birth, and great extraction. p. 1. In their remarkable Beauty of body, and gacefulneſſe of of Perſon. p. 6. In the great particular providences of Heaven over them, in their miracluous preſervations, from their very infancies. p. 16. In all the eminent advantages of their moſt Liberal and Noble education. p. 21. In their long Privacy, and happy retirements of themſelves. p. 29. In their miraculous and divine calls to publick employment. p. 36. In their great modeſty, and unwillingneſſe to accept of their great charges. p. 43. In their many moſt ſtupendious deliverances of their people. p. 53. In the many mispiriſions, and ungrateful murmurings of the common people. p. 64. In the malicious oppoſitions, frequent ſeditions, and dangerous rebellions of ſome of the Elders themſelves, and Princes of the Aſſembly. p. 73. In their great courage, and all high perſonal accompliſhments requiſite to good Souldiers. p. 83. In their proportion of years, and ability of mind and body, when they came firſt into office, and publick command. p. 91. In their great skill in military conduct, and all accompliſhments requiſite to Captains General. p, 97. In their conſtant felicity, and moſt victorious ſucceſſes. p. 106. In all the parts and abilities requiſite to the accompliſhment of great States-men. p. 115. In their great care, and prudent caution, in the election of honeſt and able Officers, and Miniſters under them. p. 125. In their extraordinary clemency, and ſweet temper of their government. p. 138. In their great pitty and piety towards the very purſes, as well as perſons of their people. p. 149. In their great piety towards God, and exemplary zeal for his glory and worſhip. p. 159 In their moſt extraordinary gift and ſpirit of prayer. p. 168 In their moſt exemplary practical parts of true piety, and renunciation of proper intereſts, for the ſervice and glory of their God. p. 182. In the divine dignity, and gift of the ſpirit of Propheſie. p. 201. In their endeavours to procure that holy ſpirit of Propheſie for others, and indulging that divine liberty of propheſying. p. 216. In their high humility, and matchleſſe meekneſſe of ſpirit. p. 233 The Heads of the ſix Tranſcendental Aſcents, and Parallels. In the happy power of nomination of their Succeſſors. p. 251 In the nomination of Perſons of their neereſt relations, to be their Succeſſors. p. 261. In the imparting of ſome of their ſpirit and honour to their Succeſſors, in their life time, and the aſſurance they had of their vertues, and proſperous ſucceſſes. p. 267. In the fair proſpect of the fruits, and fruition of the effects, of all their labours. p. 279. In their happy departure out of this life, and glorious funerals. p. 283. In the magnificent memorials, and eternal monuments that they have erected in the hearts of all good men. p. 295
FINIS.