Monstrum borrendem ingens cui lumen ademptum He's a horrid, huge monster, deprived of the eye of Equity; for indeed Justice (one of the foure Cardinal vertues) is in as much antipathy to him, as day to night, or the glorious splendor of the Sunne to cymmerian darknesse. 'Tis the proper­ty of Justice, suum cui (que) tribuere, to render to every one his owne due and right; but it is this monsters property (or rather his monstrous nature) to take away from us our propriety, those goods which wee may jostly lay claime to, and in which wee have sole interest: Admirandum est hoc monstrum, this monster is to be admired at, for that hee doth desperately rav [...]sh from us our right, manu violento, by a violent hand, unae habe at nemo quarit sed oportet habere; by hooke, or by crooke, per fas, aut nefas, he neither feares nor cares how, or by what unlawful meanes he comes by it, only so he may have it. He makes no more conscience to swal­low up speedily a mans estate at a bit, then our Dutch doe to devoure nimbly pills of butter, and never purge for it. As his name is formi­dable, so his nature is dreadfull, being of himselfe physically (namely naturally) a terrible scarrecrow, and horrible vulture to those persons and places, with which he is resident, or wheresever he is presen [...] He rejoyces at others sorrowe, and rises by their fall: He can hardly subsist but by the spoyle and ruine of his neighbour, to whom such is [Page 2] his implacable malice and cruell hostility, that for his owne ends his endeavour is to make him a sacrifice. He is a bad servant to God, and as ill a Subject to the King, the King of Kings vicegerent here on earth. His motto, is Have at all; either totum aut nihil, All, or nothing at all: His dialect like that of the Carthaginean Hannibal, Actum (in­quit) nihil est, nisi Paeno milite portes frangimus; nothing is by him per­formed, unlesse with a troope of souldiers he batters the gates, and en­force 'em open: And for his actions, I may say of them, as sometimes Catiline the Romane conspirator said of his, The ills that he hath done cannot be safe but by attempting greater. He is truly the Malignam Partie [...], by way of eminence, above all others, none so mis­chievousas he and he more malevolent and ill affected then any: As he is malignus in Corcreto, so he is that party in Abstracto. He is a spirit, but an evill one, for he has no spirit at all unto peace; and that's the reason he delights so much in the rumours and tumours of warre: He is a true sonne of tumult and insurrection, the onely Antagonist to peace and union; like the Salamander, he lives by and in the fire of contention: He himselfe is of himselfe malus ignis, an evill fire, (as the word ma­lignus signifies no lesse) the only incendiary and firebrand of unnatu­rall and intestine warre; in which horrid time, he consumes and de­vasts all that he meetes with, and like a truculent Tyrant, spare; none whome he may or can oppresse. High and low, rich and poore, no­ble and ignoble, bond and free, all are alike to him. As the Divell him­selfe (that subtile and sly Piscator) of all fish loves soules best, so the desire of his soule is the heart of your estates; that's the maine marke that he aimes at; neverthelesse all is fish that comes to his net, and then (having once catcht you) hee makes money and emolument of the goods so gotten for his owne advantage: He cares not who buyes 'em (whether a Jew, or a Christan, all's one to him) so he may receive the gaine and profit for them. He is altogether composed of sedition, murther, and rapine; with which triple cord of iniquity he is so strong­ly bound up, that from his impiety he can hardly be dissolved, but is strongly [Page 3] bound up from his impiety he can hardly be dissolved, but [...]s firmer tyed (and as it were obliged by an unhappy fate) to trans­gresse more and more in an outragious manner, against God the King, and his Subjects. To plunder is properly predicated of him, [...]he more alluding and he himselfe inclining to those hideous at­tempts and direfull outrages, which in the horrid time by him, as [...]orrid are perpetrated and committed. He breakes in violently, and seises as unmercifully upon the best he can lay his hands on. He in­vades fi [...]st by force, where having got entrance, sic volo sic jubeo stat pro ratione voluntas; his will is his Law, and he feares no controll­ment nor contradiction, assuming to himself an abitrary power and jurisdiction, and by no meanes will be perswaded to yield confor­mity to the legislative authority of the Law of this Land.

Never was there more plundering and pillaging then hath beene in these latter times, and is now at this time. What barbarous insolencies, inhumane affronts, and never the like heard of villanies have been and are still daily acted both here in England, and also elsewhere in Ireland, in the famous cities and countreys of those two once flourishing and renowned (but now tottering, and sick languish­ing) Kingdomes, the sad history of this unhappy age doth sufficient­ly testifie. In pristine times the Plunderer was termed Damon no­cturnus, a Devill that ranged about in the night season. The act of Plundering was then reputed so heinous a crime, that it was acount­ed no better then Burglary, and that was then opus tenebraruns a work of darknesse, and was ashamed to shew it self openly to the view of the world, but now in these latter times, he is grown to that front­lesse impudence, that he is become Damon meridianus, and dares at­tempt such facinorous actions, even at nooneday, as if he had com­mission and authority to performe them Cumprivilegio.

Good God what an age do we live in! what a wildernesse of we is [Page 4] this strange world now come to! Vivitur ex rapto, men now a daies live by catching and snatching. Terras astrea reliquit, Iustice hath de­serted the earth, and is ascended into heaven. She is not more a pil­grime then a peregrine, and not so much a sojourner as a stranger a­mongst us. There is little or no divine justice administred, few or no wholesome Lawes executed. Courts of judicature lie now vacant, except the supream Court, and supremest of all Courts, which in regard of the weighty affaires of the state of this Kingdome cannot be silent, Toto Mars savit in orbe. What a havock hath this blou­dy hand of Warre made in the world? The drum every night gives Martiall summons, and the Trumpet every day is sounding in our eares. Death hath a long time marched into the field, where two great and powerfull Armies have resolutely met, and thousands on both sides unfortunately sl [...]in. New forces for this civill, (uncivill) warre have been and are raised: both the Armies are at this instant still on foot in the very bowels of this Kingdome, ready every house to fight, so that without Gods gracious mercy to this Land and nati­on, a dreadfull desolation like an ominous and imuspicious meteor hovers over our heads. People talk of a cessation of Arms for twenty dayes, and of a treatie in that time for an accommodation, but for ought I hear, there is little or no hopes of a present pacification; it is to be feared that the Sword (which hath bin so long drawn) will not be in haste sheathed, by which there hath already beene so much Christian bloud spilt, that nothing for satisfaction but it can decide this great contestation between the King, and the Parliament. Who would have thought two yeares ago, that such times as these would have been? Our Progenitours never knew the same, and I pray God succeeding generations may never see the like. Sure this is the iron age, and we that live in it durum genus sumus, we are a hard nati­on, hard-hearted, and iron-like qualified, Misanthropi and Tymonists (men-haters like Tymon of Athens) are common every where a­mongst us. I will not say Homo homini Daemon, Man is to man a Devil, [Page 5] but I may say, Homo homini Lupus. Man is to man a Wolf. Many men do endeavour and aim at nothing more then to devoure one ano­ther, and that they do two manner of wayes; either by the violence of their hands, or by the virulence of their tongues; by exacting op­pression in their goods, or by detracting defamation in their good names. In the former manner the Plunderer is injurious against all Law to his brother: Legem tenere se putat nullam divinam, aut hu­manam, he will not be confined nor conformed to any Law (which should regulate his actions) either divine or humane. Hence it is that he breakes the Law of equity, and of charity; and hence it is that either such an unhappy Ataxic, disorder and confusion in the fabrick of this Kingdome, that every one therein is altogether for himsef, for his own ends, and particular advantage; so that there is no love little amity, lesse unity, least of all uniformity or unanimity, and no peace at all now amongst us.

Lucian ingenuously feignes, that Charon was on a time conducted by Mercurie to a huge promontorie and ample high mountain, that he might there take a full survay of the World; and being asked when he descended from thence upon the earth, what he beheld, he said, he saw the heavens above him like a vast circumference, the earth below him like a small Center, that appeared to his view no bigger then a black spot; in which he could discern multitudes of men, like so many swarms of bees, of severall sorts, and all conditi­ons; the greater he perceived to be like so many Hornets, and they did sting the lesser, then he beheld diverse motions and commoti­ons various actions and passions, some running, some riding, others swearing and swaggering; some againe strugling and striving, ma­ny quarrelling and fighting; plundering, and pillaging, killing and slaving, all in a hubbub and hurly-burly, and nothing in the whole universe (worth the seeing) but an universall uprore.

The morrall of this Apologue may be applied to these our times. It doth evidently appeare (we may see it without a perspective [Page 6] glasse) that in the world there is a generall confusion, and like to be a miserable combustion: It is too true (I would to God it were false) that the whole world is up in arms, and at this time in this Kingdome of England as there are Armies of feares abroad, so there are myriads of disasters, distempers and distractions here at home. This unnaturall, illegall, civill warre (which of all warres is the worst) is the cause of all our woes. Were it not for this there would be no newes of townes taken, Lords, Collonells, Captaines, com­manders, and so many souldiers slain, so many massacres (as there are) daily acted; were it not for this, there would be no carrying into captivity, nor complaining in our streets; no such plundering and pillaging as now there is amongst us: but in regard of this, no man can be certainly confident of what he hath, for he is certain of nothing but uncertainty: neither is the King of his Kingdome, nor the Peere of his Land, the Knight of his revenue, the Gentleman of his estate, the Citizen of his commodity, nor any Subject of his pro­perty. Belli alea est incerta, when once the Die of warre is thrown, it is uncertain who shall win, or lose; none can determine or know who shall have the victory, or the overthrow, but the Lord of hosts that great Generall Commander who alone knowes all things.

Quidjam nisi vota supersunt? What now remaines, but that we pray unto the Lord God of our salvation, that he would save and deliver us from the hands of our enemies. Pray we to the God of Peace that he would be pleased to grant us Peace, and that Peace of God which the world cannot give, but which passeth and surpasseth all humane understanding. Pray we to God for our gracious King, that the King of Kings would preserve him from his false friends, and fierce foes; for the Kingdome that God would open their eyes to see, and for all the people that he would open their hearts to con­sider those things that belong to a temporall, spirituall, and eternall Peace.