CHAP. I.--_Cadwan acquires by treaty all Britain on this side of the
Humber, and Ethelfrid the rest._
After this all the princes of the Britons met together at the city of
Legecester, and consented to make Cadwan their king, that under his
command they might pursue Ethelfrid beyond the Humber. Accordingly, as
soon as he was crowned, they flocked together from all parts, and passed
the Humber; of which when Ethelfrid received intelligence, he entered
into a confederacy with all the Saxon kings, and went to meet Cadwan. At
last, as they were forming their troops for a battle, their friends
came, and made peace between them on these terms: that Cadwan should
enjoy that part of Britain which lies on this side of the Humber, and
Ethelfrid that which is beyond it. As soon as they had confirmed this
agreement with an oath made to their hostages, there commenced such a
friendship between them, that they had all things common. In the
meantime it happened, that Ethelfrid banished his own wife and married
another, and bore so great a hatred to her that was banished, that he
would not suffer her to live in the kingdom of Northumberland. Whereupon
she, being with child, went to king Cadwan, that by his mediation she
might be restored to her husband. But when Ethelfrid could by no means
be brought to consent to it, she continued to live with Cadwan, till she
was delivered of the son which she had conceived. A short time after her
delivery, Cadwan also had a son born to him by the queen, his wife. Then
were the two boys brought up together in a manner suitable to their
royal birth, one of which was called Cadwalla, the other Edwin. When
they were nearly arrived at men's estate, their parents sent them to
Salomon, king of the Armorican Britons, that in his court they might
learn the discipline of war, and other princely qualifications. This
prince, therefore, received them graciously, and admitted them to an
intimacy with him; so that there was none of their age in the whole
court, that had a free access, or more familiarly discoursed with the
king than they. At last he himself was an eye-witness of their exploits
against the enemy, in which they very much signalized their valour.
CHAP. II.--_Cadwalla breaks the covenant he had made with Edwin._
In process of time, when their parents were dead, they returned to
Britain, where they took upon them the government of the kingdom, and
began to form the same friendship as their fathers. Two years after
this, Edwin asked leave of Cadwalla to wear a crown, and to celebrate
the same solemnities, as had been used of old in Northumberland. And
when they had begun a treaty upon this subject by the river Duglas, that
the matter might be adjusted according to the advice of their wise
counsellors, it happened that Cadwalla was lying on the other side of
the river in the lap of a certain nephew of his, whose name was Brian.
While ambassadors were negotiating between them, Brian wept, and shed
tears so plentifully, that the king's face and beard were wet with them.
The king, imagining that it rained, lifted up his face, and seeing the
young man in tears, asked him the occasion of such sudden grief. "Good
reason," said he, "have I to weep continually, as well as the whole
British nation, which has groaned under the oppression of barbarians
ever since the time of Malgo, and has not yet got a prince, to restore
it to its ancient flourishing state. And even the little honour that it
had left, is lessened by your indulgence; since the Saxons, who are only
strangers, and always traitors to our country, must now be permitted to
wear the same crown as you do. For when once they shall attain to regal
dignity, it will be a great addition to their glory in the country from
whence they came; and they will the sooner invite over their countrymen,
for the utter extirpation of our race. For they have been always
accustomed to treachery, and never to keep faith with any; which I think
should be a reason for our keeping them under, and not for exalting
them. When king Vortigern first retained them in his service, they made
a show of living peaceably, and fighting for our country, till they had
an opportunity of practising their wickedness; and then they returned
evil for good, betrayed him, and made a cruel massacre of the people of
the kingdom. Afterwards they betrayed Aurelius Ambrosius, to whom, even
after the most tremendous oaths of fidelity, at a banquet with him they
gave a draught of poison. They also betrayed Arthur, when, setting aside
the covenant by which they were bound, they joined with his nephew
Modred, and fought against him. Lastly, they broke faith with king
Careticus, and brought upon him Gormund, king of the Africans, by whose
disturbances our people were robbed of their country, and the king
disgracefully driven out."
CHAP. III.--_A quarrel between Cadwalla and Edwin._
At the mention of these things, Cadwalla repented of entering into this
treaty, and sent word to Edwin that he could by no means induce his
counsellors to consent to his petition. For they alleged that it was
contrary to law and the ancient establishment, that an island, which has
always had no more than one crown, should be now under subjection to two
crowned heads. This message incensed Edwin, and made him break off the
conference, and retire into Northumberland, saying, he would be crowned
without Cadwalla's leave. When Cadwalla was told this, he declared to
him by his ambassadors that he would cut off his crowned head, if he
presumed to wear a crown within the kingdom of Britain.
CHAP. IV.--_Cadwalla is vanquished by Edwin, and driven out of the
kingdom._
This proved the occasion of a war between them, in which, after several
engagements between their men, they at last met together themselves
beyond the Humber, and had a battle, wherein Cadwalla lost many
thousands of his followers, and was put to flight.[221] From hence he
marched with precipitation through Albania, and went over to Ireland.
But Edwin, after this victory, led his army through the provinces of the
Britons, and burning the cities before him, grievously afflicted the
citizens and country people. During this exercise of his cruelty,
Cadwalla never ceased endeavouring to return back to his country in a
fleet, but without success; because to whatever port he steered, Edwin
met him with his forces, and hindered his landing. For there was come
to him from Spain a very skilful soothsayer, named Pellitus, who, by
the flight of birds and the courses of the stars, foretold all the
disasters that would happen. By these means Edwin, getting knowledge of
Cadwalla's return, prepared to meet him, and shattered his ships so that
he drowned his men, and beat him off from all his ports. Cadwalla, not
knowing what course to take, was almost in despair of ever returning. At
last it came into his head to go to Salomon, king of the Armorican
Britons, and desire his assistance and advice, to enable him to return
to his kingdom. And so, as he was steering towards Armorica, a strong
tempest rose on a sudden, which dispersed the ships of his companions,
and in a short time left no two of them together. The pilot of the
king's ship was seized immediately with so great a fear, that quitting
the stern, he left the vessel to the disposal of fortune; so that all
that night it was tossed up and down in great danger by the raging
waves. The next morning they arrived at a certain island called
Garnareia, where with great difficulty they got ashore. Cadwalla was
forthwith seized with such grief for the loss of his companions, that
for three days and nights together he refused to eat, but lay sick upon
his bed. The fourth day he was taken with a very great longing for some
venison, and causing Brian to be called, made him acquainted with it.
Whereupon Brian took his bow and quiver, and went through the island,
that if he could light on any wild beast, he might make booty of it. And
when he had walked over the whole island without finding what he was in
quest of, he was extremely concerned that he could not gratify his
master's desire; and was afraid his sickness would prove mortal if his
longing were not satisfied. He, therefore, fell upon a new device, and
cut a piece of flesh out of his own thigh, which he roasted upon a spit,
and carried to the king for venison. The king, thinking it to be real
venison, began to eat of it to his great refreshment, admiring the
sweetness of it, which he fancied exceeded any flesh he ever had tasted
before. At last, when he had fully satisfied his appetite, he became
more cheerful, and in three days was perfectly well again. Then the wind
standing fair, he got ready his ship, and hoisting sails they pursued
their voyage, and arrived at the city Kidaleta. From thence they went to
king Salomon, by whom they were received kindly and with all suitable
respect; and as soon as he had learned the occasion of their coming, he
made them a promise of assistance, and spoke to them as follows.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 221: See Malmesbury's Hist. of the Kings, p. 46.]
CHAP. V.--_The speech of Salomon, king of Armorica, to Cadwalla._
"It is a grief to us, noble youths, that the country of your ancestors
is oppressed by a barbarous nation, and that you are ignominiously
driven out of it. But since other men are able to defend their kingdoms,
it is a wonder your people should lose so fruitful an island, and not be
able to withstand the nation of the Angles, whom our countrymen hold in
contempt. While the people of this country lived together with yours in
Britain, they bore sway over all the provincial kingdoms, and never
could be subdued by any nation but the Romans. Neither did the Romans do
this by their own power, as I have been lately informed, but by a
dissension among the nobility of the island. And even the Romans, though
they held it under their subjection for a time, yet upon the loss and
slaughter of their rulers, were driven out with disgrace. But after the
Britons came into this province under the conduct of Maximian and Conan,
those that remained never had the happiness afterwards of holding an
uninterrupted possession of the crown. For though many of their princes
maintained the ancient dignity of their ancestors, yet their weak heirs
that succeeded, though more in number, entirely lost it, upon the
invasion of their enemies. Therefore I am grieved for the weakness of
your people, since we are of the same race with you, and the name of
Britons is common to you, and to the nation that bravely defends their
country, which you see at war with all its neighbours."
CHAP. VI.--_Cadwalla's answer to Salomon._
When he had concluded his speech, Cadwalla, who was a little put to the
blush, answered him after this manner: "Royal sir, whose descent is from
a race of kings, I give you many thanks for your promise of assisting me
to recover my kingdom. But what you say is a wonder, that my people have
not maintained the dignity of their ancestors, since the time that the
Britons came to these provinces, I am far from thinking to be such. For
the noblest men of the whole kingdom followed those leaders, and there
remained only the baser sort to enjoy their honours; who being raised to
a high quality, on a sudden were puffed up above their station; and
growing wanton with riches gave themselves up to commit such fornication
as is not so much as named among the Gentiles; and (as Gildas the
historian testifies) were not only guilty of this vice, but of all the
enormities that are incident to human nature. And what chiefly
prevailed, to the entire overthrow of all goodness, was the hatred of
truth with its assertors, the love of a lie with the inventors of it,
the embracing of evil for good, the veneration of wickedness for grace,
the receiving of Satan for an angel of light. Kings were anointed, not
for the sake of God, but such as were more cruel than the rest; and were
soon after murdered by their anointers, without examination, having
chosen others yet more cruel in their room. But if any of them showed
any mildness, or seemed a favourer of truth, against him, as the
subverter of Britain, were all their malice and their weapons bent. In
short, things pleasing to God or displeasing, with them had the same
weight, even if the worse were not the weightier. Therefore were all
affairs managed contrary to public safety, as if the true physician of
all had left them destitute of cure. And thus was every thing done
without discretion, and that not only by secular men, but by the Lord's
flock and its pastors. Therefore it is not to be wondered, that such a
degenerate race, so odious to God for their vices, lost a country which
they had so heinously corrupted. For God was willing to execute his
vengeance upon them, by suffering a foreign people to come upon them,
and drive them out of their possessions. Notwithstanding it would be a
worthy act, if God would permit it, to restore our subjects to their
ancient dignity, to prevent the reproach that may be thrown upon our
race, that we were weak rulers, who did not exert ourselves in our own
defence. And I do the more freely ask your assistance, as you are of the
same blood with us. For the great Malgo, who was the fourth king of
Britain after Arthur, had two sons, named Enniaunus and Runo. Enniaunus
begot Belin; Belin, Jago; Jago, Cadwan, who was my father. Runo, who,
after his brother's death, was driven out by the Saxons, came to this
province and bestowed his daughter on duke Hoel, the son of that great
Hoel who shared with Arthur in his conquests. Of her was born Alan; of
Alan, Hoel your father, who while he lived was a terror to all Gaul."
CHAP. VII.--_Brian kills Edwin's magician._
In the meantime, while he was spending the winter with Salomon, they
entered into a resolution, that Brian should pass over into Britain, and
take some method to kill Edwin's magician, lest he might by his usual
art inform him of Cadwalla's coming. And when with this design he had
arrived at Hamo's Port, he took upon him the habit of a poor man, and
made himself a staff of iron sharp at the end, with which he might kill
the magician if he should happen to meet with him. From thence he went
to York, where Edwin then resided; and having entered that city joined
himself to the poor people that waited for alms before the king's gate.
But as he was going to and fro, it happened that his sister came out of
the hall, with a basin in her hand, to fetch water for the queen. She
had been taken by Edwin at the city of Worcester, when after Cadwalla's
flight he was acting his hostilities upon the provinces of the Britons.
As she was therefore passing by Brian, he immediately knew her, and,
breaking forth into tears, called to her with a low voice; at which the
damsel turning her face, was in doubt at first who it could be, but upon
a nearer approach discovered it to be her brother, and was near falling
into a swoon, for fear that he might by some unlucky accident be known
and taken by the enemy. She therefore refrained from saluting him, or
entering into familiar discourse with him, but told him, as if she was
talking upon some other subject, the state of the court, and showed him
the magician, that he was inquiring for, who was at that very time
walking among the poor people, while the alms were being distributed
among them. Brian, as soon as he had taken knowledge of the man, ordered
his sister to steal out privately from her apartment the night
following, and come to him near an old church without the city, where he
would conceal himself in expectation of her. Then dismissing her, he
thrust himself in among the crowd of poor people, in that part where
Pellitus was placing them. And the same moment he got access to him, he
lifted up his staff, and at once gave him a stab under the breast which
killed him. This done, he threw away his staff, and passed among the
rest undistinguished and unsuspected by any of the by-standers, and by
good providence got to the place of concealment which he had appointed.
His sister, when night came on, endeavoured all she could to get out,
but was not able; because Edwin, being terrified at the killing of
Pellitus, had set a strict watch about the court, who, making a narrow
search, refused to let her go out. When Brian found this, he retired
from that place, and went to Exeter, where he called together the
Britons, and told them what he had done. Afterwards having despatched
away messengers to Cadwalla, he fortified that city, and sent word to
all the British nobility, that they should bravely defend their cities
and towns, and joyfully expect Cadwalla's coming to their relief in a
short time with auxiliary forces from Salomon. Upon the spreading of
this news over the whole island, Penda, king of the Mercians, with a
very great army of Saxons, came to Exeter, and besieged Brian.
CHAP. VIII.--_Cadwalla takes Penda, and routs his army._
In the meantime Cadwalla arrived with ten thousand men, whom king
Salomon had delivered to him; and with them he marched straight to the
siege against king Penda. But, as he was going, he divided his forces
into four parts, and then made no delay to advance and join battle with
the enemy, wherein Penda was forthwith taken, and his army routed. For,
finding no other way for his own safety, he surrendered himself to
Cadwalla, and gave hostages, with a promise that he would assist him
against the Saxons. Cadwalla, after this success against him, summoned
together his nobility, that had been a long time in a decaying state,
and marched to Northumberland against Edwin, and made continual
devastations in that country. When Edwin was informed of it, he
assembled all the petty kings of the Angles, and meeting the Britons in
a field called Heathfield,[222] presently gave them battle, but was
killed, and almost all the people with him, together with Osfrid, his
son, and Godbold, king of the Orkneys, who had come to their assistance.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 222: See Bede's Eccles. Hist. p. 106.]
CHAP. IX.--_Cadwalla kills Osric and Aidan in fight._
Having thus obtained the victory, Cadwalla marched through the provinces
of the Angles, and committed such outrages upon the Saxons, that he
neither spared age nor sex; for his resolution being to extirpate the
whole race out of Britain, all that he found he put to extreme tortures.
After this he had a battle with Osric, Edwin's successor, and killed him
together with his two nephews, who ought to have reigned after him. He
also killed Aidan, king of the Scots, who came to their assistance.
CHAP. X.--_Oswald routs Penda in fight, but is killed by Cadwalla coming
in upon him._
Their deaths made room for Oswald to succeed to the kingdom of
Northumberland; but Cadwalla drove him, with the rest that had given him
disturbance, to the very wall which the emperor Severus had formerly
built between Britain and Scotland. Afterwards he sent Penda, king of
the Mercians, and the greatest part of his army, to the same place, to
give him battle. But Oswald, as he was besieged one night by Penda, in
the place called Heavenfield, that is, the Heavenly Field,[223] set up
there our Lord's cross, and commanded his men to speak with a very loud
voice these words: "Let us all kneel down, and pray the Almighty, living
and true God, to defend us from the proud army of the king of Britain,
and his wicked leader Penda. For he knows how justly we wage this war
for the safety of our people." They all therefore did as he commanded
them, and advanced at break of day against the enemy, and by their faith
gained the victory. Cadwalla, upon hearing this news, being inflamed
with rage, assembled his army, and went in pursuit of the holy king
Oswald; and in a battle which he had with him at a place called Burne,
Penda broke in upon him and killed him.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 223: See Bede's Eccles. Hist. p. 110.]
CHAP. XI.--_Oswy submits to Cadwalla. Penda desires leave of Cadwalla to
make war against him._
Oswald, with many thousands of his men, being killed, his brother Oswy
succeeded him in the kingdom of Northumberland,[224] and by making
large presents of gold and silver to Cadwalla, who was now possessed of
the government of all Britain, made his peace and submission to him.
Upon this Alfrid, his brother, and Ethelwald,[225] his brother's son,
began an insurrection; but, not being able to hold out against him, they
fled to Penda, king of the Mercians, desiring him to assemble his army
and pass the Humber with them, that he might deprive Oswy of his
kingdom. But Penda, fearing to break the peace, which Cadwalla had
settled through the kingdom of Britain, deferred beginning any
disturbance without his leave, till he could some way work him up,
either to make war himself upon Oswy, or allow him the liberty of doing
it. At a certain Pentecost therefore, when Cadwalla was celebrating that
festival at London, and for the greater solemnity wore the crown of
Britain, all the kings of the Angles, excepting only Oswy, being
present, as also all the dukes of the Britons; Penda went to the king,
and inquired of him the reason, why Oswy alone was wanting, when all the
princes of the Saxons were present. Cadwalla answered, that his sickness
was the cause of it; to which the other replied, that he had sent over
to Germany for more Saxons, to revenge the death of his brother Oswald
upon them both. He told him further, that he had broken the peace of the
kingdom, as being the sole author of the war and dissension among them;
since Ethelfrid, king of Northumberland, and Ethelwald, his brother's
son, had been by him harassed with a war, and driven out of their own
country. He also desired leave, either to kill him, or banish him the
kingdom.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 224: Or Bernicia, see Bede, p. 131.]
[Footnote 225: Who reigned over the Deiri.]
CHAP. XII.--_Cadwalla is advised to suffer Penda to make an insurrection
against Oswy._
This matter caused the king to enter upon much deliberation, and hold a
private consultation with his intimate friends, what course to take.
Among the rest that offered their proposals, Margadud, king of the
Dimetians, spoke as follows:--"Royal sir, since you have proposed to
expel the race of the Angles from the coasts of Britain, why do you
alter your resolution, and suffer them to continue in peace among us? At
least you should permit them to fall out among themselves, and let our
country owe its deliverance to their own civil broils. No faith is to be
kept with one that is treacherous, and is continually laying snares for
him to whom he owes fidelity. Such have the Saxons always been to our
nation, from the very first time of their coming among us. What faith
ought we to keep with them? Let Penda immediately have leave to go
against Oswy, that by this civil dissension and destruction of one
another, our island may get rid of them."
CHAP. XIII.--_Penda is killed by Oswy. Cadwalla dies._
By these and other words to the same effect, Cadwalla was prevailed upon
to grant the permission desired. And Penda, having assembled a vast
army, went to the Humber, and laying waste that country, began a fierce
war upon the king. Oswy was at last reduced to such extremity, that he
was forced to promise him innumerable royal ornaments, and other
presents more than one would believe, if he would desist from ruining
his country, and return home without committing any more hostilities.
But when the other could by no entreaties be prevailed upon to do it,
the king, in hopes of divine assistance, though he had a less army,
however, gave him battle near the River Winwid, and having killed Penda
and thirty other commanders, gained the victory. Penda's son Wulfred, by
a grant from Cadwalla, succeeded to the kingdom, and joining with Eafa
and Eadbert, two leaders of the Mercians, rebelled against Oswy; but at
last, by Cadwalla's command, made peace with him. At length, after
forty-eight years were expired, that most noble and potent king of the
Britons, Cadwalla, being grown infirm with age and sickness, departed
this life upon the fifteenth before the kalends of December. The Britons
embalmed his body, and placed it with wonderful art in a brazen statue,
which was cast according to the measure of his stature. This statue they
set up with complete armour, on an admirable and beautiful brazen horse,
over the western gate of London, for a monument of the above-mentioned
victory, and for a terror to the Saxons. They also built under it a
church in honour of St. Martin, in which divine ceremonies are
celebrated for him and the others who departed in the faith.
CHAP. XIV.--_Cadwallader succeeds Cadwalla._
He was succeeded in the kingdom by Cadwallader,[226] his son, whom Bede
calls the youth Elidwalda. At first he maintained the government with
peace and honour; but after twelve years' enjoyment of the crown, he
fell into a fit of sickness, and a civil war broke out among the
Britons. His mother was Penda's sister, by the same father but a
different mother, descended from the noble race of the Gewisseans. For
Cadwalla, after his reconciliation with her brother, made her the
partner of his bed, and had Cadwallader by her.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 226: Probably the same as Caedwalla, king of Wessex, noticed by
Bede and the Saxon Chronicle, although the British and Saxon authorities
differ in their genealogical statements.]
CHAP. XV.--_The Britons are compelled, by pestilence and famine, to
leave Britain. Cadwallader's lamentation._
During his sickness, the Britons, (as we said before,) quarrelling among
themselves, made a wicked destruction of a rich country; and this again
was attended with another misfortune. For this besotted people was
punished with a grievous and memorable famine; so that every province
was destitute of all sustenance, except what could be taken in hunting.
After the famine followed a terrible pestilence, which in a short time
destroyed such multitudes of people, that the living were not sufficient
to bury the dead. Those of them that remained, flying their country in
whole troops together, went to the countries beyond the sea, and while
they were under sail, they with a mournful howling voice sang, "Thou
hast given us, O God, like sheep appointed for meat, and hast scattered
us among the heathen." Also Cadwallader himself, in his voyage, with his
miserable fleet to Armorica, made this addition to the lamentation, "Woe
to us sinners, for our grievous impieties, wherewith we have not ceased
to provoke God, while we had space for repentance. Therefore the revenge
of his power lies heavy upon us, and drives us out of our native soil,
which neither the Romans of old, nor the Scots or Picts afterwards, nor
yet the treacherous Saxons with all their craft, were able to do. But in
vain have we recovered our country so often from them; since it was not
the will of God that we should perpetually hold the government of it.
He who is the true Judge, when he saw we were by no means to be
reclaimed from our wickedness, and that no human power could expel our
race, was willing to chastise our folly himself; and has turned his
anger against us, by which we are driven out in crowds from our native
country. Return, therefore, ye Romans; return, Scots and Picts; return,
Ambrons and Saxons: behold, Britain lies open to you, being by the wrath
of God made desolate, which you were never able to do. It is not your
valour that expels us; but the power of the supreme King, whom we have
never ceased to provoke."
CHAP. XVI.--_Cadwallader with his people goes to Alan. The Saxons seize
all Britain._
With these dolorous complaints he arrived at the Armorican coast, and
went with his whole company to king Alan, the nephew of Salomon by whom
he was honourably received. So that Britain, being now destitute of its
ancient inhabitants, excepting a few in Wales that escaped the general
mortality, became a frightful place even to the Britons themselves for
eleven years after. Neither was it at the same time more favourable to
the Saxons, who died in it without intermission. Notwithstanding the
remainder of them, after this raging plague was ceased, according to
their old custom sent word over to their countrymen, that the island of
Britain was now freed of its native inhabitants, and lay open to them,
if they would come over and inhabit it. As soon as they had received
this information, that odious people, gathering together an innumerable
multitude of men and women, arrived in Northumberland, and inhabited the
provinces that lay desolate from Albania to Cornwall. For there was now
nobody to hinder them, excepting the poor remains of the Britons, who
continued together in the thickets of the woods in Wales. From that time
the power of the Britons ceased in the island, and the Angles began
their reign.
CHAP. XVII.--_Cadwallader is by the voice of an angel deterred from
returning to Britain._
After some time, when the people had recovered strength, Cadwallader,
being mindful of his kingdom, which was now free from the contagion of
the pestilence, desired assistance of Alan towards the recovery of his
dominions. The king granted his request; but as he was getting ready a
fleet, he was commanded by the loud voice of an angel to desist from his
enterprise. For God was not willing that the Britons should reign any
longer in the island, before the time came of which Merlin prophetically
foretold Arthur. It also commanded him to go to Rome to pope Sergius,
where, after doing penance, he should be enrolled among the saints. It
told him withal, that the Britons, by the merit of their faith, should
again recover the island, when the time decreed for it was come. But
this would not be accomplished before they should be possessed of his
reliques, and transport them from Rome into Britain. At the same time
also the reliques of the other saints should be found, which had been
hidden on account of the invasion of pagans; and then at last would they
recover their lost kingdom. When the holy prince had received the
heavenly message, he went straight to king Alan, and gave him an account
of what had been told him.
CHAP. XVIII.--_Cadwallader goes to Rome and dies._
Then Alan had recourse to several books, as the prophecies of the eagle
that prophesied at Shaftesbury, and the verses of Sibyl and Merlin; and
made diligent search in them, to see whether the revelation made to
Cadwallader agreed with those written oracles. And when he could find
nothing contradictory to it, he admonished Cadwallader to submit to the
divine dispensation, and laying aside the thoughts of Britain, perform
what the angelical voice had commanded him. But he urged him to send his
son Ivor and his nephew Ini over into the island, to govern the
remainder of the Britons; lest a nation, descended of so ancient a race,
should lose their liberty by the incursions of barbarians. Then
Cadwallader, renouncing worldly cares for the sake of God and his
everlasting kingdom, went to Rome, and was confirmed by pope Sergius:
and being seized with a sudden illness, was, upon the twelfth before the
kalends of May, in the six hundred and eighty-ninth year of our Lord's
incarnation freed from the corruption of the flesh, and admitted into
the glories of the heavenly kingdom.
CHAP. XIX.--_The two Britons, Ivor and Ini, in vain attack the nation of
the Angles. Athelstan the first king of the Angles._
As soon as Ivor and Ini had got together their ships, they with all the
forces they could raise, arrived in the island, and for forty-nine years
together fiercely attacked the nation of the Angles, but to little
purpose. For the above-mentioned mortality and famine, together with the
inveterate spirit of faction that was among them, had made this proud
people so much degenerate, that they were not able to gain any advantage
of the enemy. And being now also overrun with barbarism, they were no
longer called Britons, but Gualenses, Welshmen; a word derived either
from Gualo their leader, or Guales their queen, or from their barbarism.
But the Saxons managed affairs with more prudence, maintained peace and
concord among themselves, tilled their grounds, rebuilt their cities and
towns, and so throwing off the dominion of the Britons, bore sway over
all Loegria, under their leader Athelstan, who first wore a crown
amongst them. But the Welshmen, being very much degenerated from the
nobility of the Britons, never after recovered the monarchy of the
island; on the contrary, by quarrels among themselves, and wars with the
Saxons, their country was a perpetual scene of misery and slaughter.
CHAP. XX.--_Geoffrey of Monmouth's conclusion._
But as for the kings that have succeeded among them in Wales, since that
time, I leave the history of them to Caradoc of Lancarvan, my
contemporary; as I do also the kings of the Saxons to William of
Malmesbury, and Henry of Huntingdon. But I advise them to be silent
concerning the kings of the Britons,[227] since they have not that book
written in the British tongue, which Walter, archdeacon of Oxford,
brought out of Brittany, and which being a true history, published in
honour of those princes, I have thus taken care to translate.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 227: This advice might be thought judicious, if we could be
persuaded of the authenticity of Geoffrey's cherished discovery, but
there are lamentable defects, of a grave character, attending upon this
British volume.
1. It was first made known six hundred years after the events which it
relates.
2. No MS. copy is now in existence, nor any record of its ever having
been multiplied by transcription.
3. It relates stories utterly at variance with acknowledged history.
4. It abounds in miraculous stories, which, like leaven, ferment and
corrupt the whole mass.
5. It labours under great suspicion from the mendacious character of the
people, whose credit it was written to support.
With these remarks we leave the work to the consideration of the reader,
who may compare it, if he likes, with the Chronicles of Gildas and
Nennius, which form the next portions of this volume.]
THE
WORKS OF GILDAS,
SURNAMED
"SAPIENS," OR THE WISE.
THE
WORKS OF GILDAS,
SURNAMED
"SAPIENS," OR THE WISE.
I. THE PREFACE.
Sec. 1. Whatever in this my epistle I may write in my humble but
well-meaning manner, rather by way of lamentation than for display, let
no one suppose that it springs from contempt of others, or that I
foolishly esteem myself as better than they;--for, alas! the subject of
my complaint is the general destruction of every thing that is good, and
the general growth of evil throughout the land;--but that I would
condole with my country in her distress and rejoice to see her revive
therefrom: for it is my present purpose to relate the deeds of an
indolent and slothful race, rather than the exploits of those who have
been valiant in the field.[228] I have kept silence, I confess, with
much mental anguish, compunction of feeling and contrition of heart,
whilst I revolved all these things within myself; and, as God the
searcher of the reins is witness, for the space of even ten years or
more, [[229] my inexperience, as at present also, and my unworthiness
preventing me from taking upon myself the character of a censor. But I
read how the illustrious lawgiver, for one word's doubting, was not
allowed to enter the desired land; that the sons of the high-priest, for
placing strange fire upon God's altar, were cut off by a speedy death;
that God's people, for breaking the law of God, save two only, were
slain by wild beasts, by fire and sword in the deserts of Arabia, though
God had so loved them that he had made a way for them through the Red
Sea, had fed them with bread from heaven, and water from the rock, and
by the lifting up of a hand merely had made their armies invincible; and
then, when they had crossed the Jordan and entered the unknown land, and
the walls of the city had fallen down flat at the sound only of a
trumpet, the taking of a cloak and a little gold from the accursed
things caused the deaths of many: and again the breach of their treaty
with the Gibeonites, though that treaty had been obtained by fraud,
brought destruction upon many; and I took warning from the sins of the
people which called down upon them the reprehensions of the prophets and
also of Jeremiah, with his fourfold Lamentations written in alphabetic
order. I saw moreover in my own time, as that prophet also had
complained, that the city had sat down lone and widowed, which before
was full of people; that the queen of nations and the princess of
provinces (_i.e._ the church), had been made tributary; that the gold
was obscured, and the most excellent colour (which is the brightness of
God's word) changed; that the sons of Sion (_i.e._ of holy mother
church), once famous and clothed in the finest gold, grovelled in dung;
and what added intolerably to the weight of grief of that illustrious
man, and to mine, though but an abject whilst he had thus mourned them
in their happy and prosperous condition, "Her Nazarites were fairer than
snow, more ruddy than old ivory, more beautiful than the sapphire."
These and many other passages in the ancient Scriptures I regarded as a
kind of mirror of human life, and I turned also to the New, wherein I
read more clearly what perhaps to me before was dark, for the darkness
fled, and truth shed her steady light--I read therein that the Lord had
said, "I came not but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel;" and on
the other hand, "But the children of this kingdom shall be cast out into
outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth:" and
again, "It is not good to take the children's meat and to give it to
dogs:" also, "Woe to you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites!" I heard
how "many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven:" and on the
contrary, "I will then say to them, 'Depart from me, ye workers of
iniquity!'" I read, "Blessed are the barren, and the teats which have
not given suck;" and on the contrary, "Those, who were ready, entered
with him to the wedding; afterwards came the other virgins also, saying
'Lord, Lord, open to us:' to whom it was answered, 'I do not know you.'"
I heard, forsooth, "Whoever shall believe and be baptized, shall be
saved, but whoever shall not believe shall be damned." I read in the
words of the apostle that the branch of the wild olive was grafted upon
the good olive, but should nevertheless be cut off from the communion of
the root of its fatness, if it did not hold itself in fear, but
entertained lofty thoughts. I knew the mercy of the Lord, but I also
feared his judgment: I praised his grace, but I feared the rendering to
every man according to his works: perceiving the sheep of the same fold
to be different, I deservedly commended Peter for his entire confession
of Christ, but called Judas most wretched, for his love of covetousness:
I thought Stephen most glorious on account of the palm of martyrdom, but
Nicholas wretched for his mark of unclean heresy: I read assuredly,
"They had all things common:" but likewise also, as it is written, "Why
have ye conspired to tempt the Spirit of God?" I saw, on the other hand,
how much security had grown upon the men of our time, as if there were
nothing to cause them fear. These things, therefore, and many more which
for brevity's sake we have determined to omit, I revolved again and
again in my amazed mind with compunction in my heart, and I thought to
myself, "If God's peculiar people, chosen from all the people of the
world, the royal seed, and holy nation, to whom he had said, 'My
first-begotten Israel,' its priests, prophets, and kings, throughout so
many ages, his servant and apostle, and the members of his primitive
church, were not spared when they deviated from the right path, what
will he do to the darkness of this our age, in which, besides all the
huge and heinous sins, which it has in common with all the wicked of the
world committed, is found an innate, indelible, and irremediable load
of folly and inconstancy?" "What, wretched man (I say to myself) is it
given to you, as if you were an illustrious and learned teacher, to
oppose the force of so violent a torrent, and keep the charge committed
to you against such a series of inveterate crimes which has spread far
and wide, without interruption, for so many years? Hold thy peace: to do
otherwise, is to tell the foot to see, and the hand to speak. Britain
has rulers, and she has watchmen: why dost thou incline thyself thus
uselessly to prate?" She has such, I say, not too many, perhaps, but
surely not too few: but, because they are bent down and pressed beneath
so heavy a burden, they have not time allowed them to take breath. My
senses, therefore, as if feeling a portion of my debt and obligation,
preoccupied themselves with such objections, and with others yet more
strong. They struggled, as I said, no short time, in a fearful strait,
whilst I read, "There is a time for speaking, and a time for keeping
silence." At length, the creditor's side prevailed and bore off the
victory: if (said he) thou art not bold enough to be marked with the
comely mark of golden liberty among the prophetic creatures, who enjoy
the rank as reasoning beings next to the angels, refuse not the
inspiration of the understanding ass, to that day dumb, which would not
carry forward the tiara'd magician who was going to curse God's people,
but in the narrow pass of the vineyard crushed his loosened foot, and
thereby felt the lash; and though he was, with his ungrateful and
furious hand, against right justice, beating her innocent sides, she
pointed out to him the heavenly messenger holding the naked sword, and
standing in his way, though he had not seen him.]
Wherefore in zeal for the house of God and for his holy law, constrained
either by the reasonings of my own thoughts, or by the pious entreaties
of my brethren, I now discharge the debt so long exacted of me; humble,
indeed, in style, but faithful, as I think, and friendly to all Christ's
youthful soldiers, but severe and insupportable to foolish apostates;
the former of whom, if I am not deceived, will receive the same with
tears flowing from God's love; but the others with sorrow, such as is
extorted from the indignation and pusillanimity of a convicted
conscience.
Sec. 2. I will, therefore, if God be willing, endeavour to say a few words
about the situation of Britain, her disobedience and subjection, her
rebellion, second subjection and dreadful slavery--of her religion,
persecution, holy martyrs, heresies of different kinds--of her tyrants,
her two hostile and ravaging nations--of her first devastation, her
defence, her second devastation and second taking vengeance--of her
third devastation, of her famine, and the letters to Agitius[230]--of
her victory and her crimes--of the sudden rumour of enemies--of her
famous pestilence--of her counsels--of her last enemy, far more cruel
than the first--of the subversion of her cities, and of the remnant that
escaped; and finally, of the peace which, by the will of God, has been
granted her in these our times.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 228: Notwithstanding this remark of Gildas, the Britons must
have shown great bravery and resolution in their battles against the
Saxons, or they would not have resisted their encroachments so long.
When Gildas was writing, a hundred years had elapsed, and the Britons
still possessed a large portion of their native country.]
[Footnote 229: All that follows, enclosed within brackets, up to page
298, is omitted in some copies.]
[Footnote 230: Or AEtius, see page 307.]
II. THE HISTORY.
Sec. 3. The island of Britain, situated on almost the utmost border of the
earth, towards the south and west, and poised in the divine balance, as
it is said, which supports the whole world, stretches out from the
south-west towards the north pole, and is eight hundred miles long and
two hundred broad,[231] except where the headlands of sundry
promontories stretch farther into the sea. It is surrounded by the
ocean, which forms winding bays, and is strongly defended by this ample,
and, if I may so call it, impassable barrier, save on the south side,
where the narrow sea affords a passage to Belgic Gaul. It is enriched by
the mouths of two noble rivers, the Thames and the Severn, as it were
two arms, by which foreign luxuries were of old imported, and by other
streams of less importance. It is famous for eight and twenty cities,
and is embellished by certain castles, with walls, towers, well barred
gates, and houses with threatening battlements built on high, and
provided with all requisite instruments of defence. Its plains are
spacious, its hills are pleasantly situated, adapted for superior
tillage, and its mountains are admirably calculated for the alternate
pasturage of cattle, where flowers of various colours, trodden by the
feet of man, give it the appearance of a lovely picture. It is decked,
like a man's chosen bride, with divers jewels, with lucid fountains and
abundant brooks wandering over the snow white sands; with transparent
rivers, flowing in gentle murmurs, and offering a sweet pledge of
slumber[232] to those who recline upon their banks, whilst it is
irrigated by abundant lakes, which pour forth cool torrents of
refreshing water.
Sec. 4. This island, stiff-necked and stubborn-minded, from the time of its
being first inhabited, ungratefully rebels, sometimes against God,
sometimes against her own citizens, and frequently, also, against
foreign kings and their subjects. For what can there either be, or be
committed, more disgraceful or more unrighteous in human affairs, than
to refuse to show fear to God or affection to one's own countrymen, and
(without detriment to one's faith) to refuse due honour to those of
higher dignity, to cast off all regard to reason, human and divine, and,
in contempt of heaven and earth, to be guided by one's own sensual
inventions? I shall, therefore, omit those ancient errors common to all
the nations of the earth, in which, before Christ came in the flesh, all
mankind were bound; nor shall I enumerate those diabolical idols of my
country, which almost surpassed in number those of Egypt, and of which
we still see some mouldering away within or without the deserted
temples, with stiff and deformed features as was customary. Nor will I
call out upon the mountains, fountains, or hills, or upon the rivers,
which now are subservient to the use of men, but once were an
abomination and destruction to them, and to which the blind people paid
divine honour. I shall also pass over the bygone times of our cruel
tyrants, whose notoriety was spread over to far distant countries; so
that Porphyry, that dog who in the east was always so fierce against the
church, in his mad and vain style added this also, that "Britain is a
land fertile in tyrants."[233] I will only endeavour to relate the
evils which Britain suffered in the times of the Roman emperors, and
also those which she caused to distant states; but so far as lies in my
power, I shall not follow the writings and records of my own country,
which (if there ever were any of them) have been consumed in the fires
of the enemy, or have accompanied my exiled countrymen into distant
lands, but be guided by the relations of foreign writers, which, being
broken and interrupted in many places, are therefore by no means clear.
Sec. 5. For when the rulers of Rome had obtained the empire of the world,
subdued all the neighbouring nations and islands towards the east, and
strengthened their renown by the first peace which they made with the
Parthians, who border on India, there was a general cessation from war
throughout the whole world; the fierce flame which they kindled could
not be extinguished or checked by the Western Ocean, but passing beyond
the sea, imposed submission upon our island without resistance, and
entirely reduced to obedience its unwarlike but faithless people, not so
much by fire and sword and warlike engines, like other nations, but
threats alone, and menaces of judgments frowning on their countenance,
whilst terror penetrated to their hearts.
Sec. 6. When afterwards they returned to Rome, for want of pay, as is said,
and had no suspicion of an approaching rebellion, that deceitful lioness
(Boadicea) put to death the rulers who had been left among them, to
unfold more fully and to confirm the enterprises of the Romans. When the
report of these things reached the senate, and they with a speedy army
made haste to take vengeance on the crafty foxes,[234] as they called
them, there was no bold navy on the sea to fight bravely for the
country; by land there was no marshalled army, no right wing of battle,
nor other preparation for resistance; but their backs were their shields
against their vanquishers, and they presented their necks to their
swords, whilst chill terror ran through every limb, and they stretched
out their hands to be bound, like women; so that it has become a proverb
far and wide, that the Britons are neither brave in war nor faithful in
time of peace.
Sec. 7. The Romans, therefore, having slain many of the rebels, and
reserved others for slaves, that the land might not be entirely reduced
to desolation, left the island, destitute as it was of wine and oil, and
returned to Italy, leaving behind them taskmasters, to scourge the
shoulders of the natives, to reduce their necks to the yoke, and their
soil to the vassalage of a Roman province; to chastise the crafty race,
not with warlike weapons, but with rods, and if necessary to gird upon
their sides the naked sword, so that it was no longer thought to be
Britain, but a Roman island; and all their money, whether of copper,
gold, or silver, was stamped with Caesar's image.
Sec. 8. Meanwhile these islands, stiff with cold and frost, and in a
distant region of the world, remote from the visible sun, received the
beams of light, that is, the holy precepts of Christ, the true Sun,
showing to the whole world his splendour, not only from the temporal
firmament, but from the height of heaven, which surpasses every thing
temporal, at the latter part, as we know, of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar, by whom his religion was propagated without impediment, and death
threatened to those who interfered with its professors.
Sec. 9. These rays of light were received with lukewarm minds by the
inhabitants, but they nevertheless took root among some of them in a
greater or less degree, until the nine years' persecution of the tyrant
Diocletian, when the churches throughout the whole world were
overthrown, all the copies of the Holy Scriptures which could be found
burned in the streets, and the chosen pastors of God's flock butchered,
together with their innocent sheep, in order that not a vestige, if
possible, might remain in some provinces of Christ's religion. What
disgraceful flights then took place--what slaughter and death inflicted
by way of punishment in divers shapes,--what dreadful apostacies from
religion; and on the contrary, what glorious crowns of martyrdom then
were won,--what raving fury was displayed by the persecutors, and
patience on the part of the suffering saints, ecclesiastical history
informs us; for the whole church were crowding in a body, to leave
behind them the dark things of this world, and to make the best of their
way to the happy mansions of heaven, as if to their proper home.
Sec. 10. God, therefore, who wishes all men to be saved, and who calls
sinners no less than those who think themselves righteous, magnified his
mercy towards us, and, as we know, during the above-named persecution,
that Britain might not totally be enveloped in the dark shades of night,
he, of his own free gift, kindled up among us bright luminaries of holy
martyrs, whose places of burial and of martyrdom, had they not for our
manifold crimes been interfered with and destroyed by the barbarians,
would have still kindled in the minds of the beholders no small fire of
divine charity. Such were St. Alban of Verulam, Aaron and Julius,
citizens of Carlisle,[235] and the rest, of both sexes, who in different
places stood their ground in the Christian contest.
Sec. 11. The first of these martyrs, St. Alban, for charity's sake saved
another confessor who was pursued by his persecutors, and was on the
point of being seized, by hiding him in his house, and then by changing
clothes with him, imitating in this the example of Christ, who laid down
his life for his sheep, and exposing himself in the other's clothes to
be pursued in his stead. So pleasing to God was this conduct, that
between his confession and martyrdom, he was honoured with the
performance of wonderful miracles in presence of the impious blasphemers
who were carrying the Roman standards, and like the Israelites of old,
who trod dry-foot an unfrequented path whilst the ark of the covenant
stood some time on the sands in the midst of Jordan; so also the martyr,
with a thousand others, opened a path across the noble river Thames,
whose waters stood abrupt like precipices on either side; and seeing
this, the first of his executors was stricken with awe, and from a wolf
became a lamb; so that he thirsted for martyrdom, and boldly underwent
that for which he thirsted. The other holy martyrs were tormented with
divers sufferings, and their limbs were racked in such unheard of ways,
that they, without delay, erected the trophies of their glorious
martyrdom even in the gates of the city of Jerusalem. For those who
survived, hid themselves in woods and deserts, and secret caves, waiting
until God, who is the righteous judge of all, should reward their
persecutors with judgment, and themselves with protection of their
lives.
Sec. 12. In less than ten years, therefore, of the above-named persecution,
and when these bloody decrees began to fail in consequence of the death
of their authors, all Christ's young disciples, after so long and wintry
a night, begin to behold the genial light of heaven. They rebuild the
churches, which had been levelled to the ground; they found, erect, and
finish churches to the holy martyrs, and everywhere show their ensigns
as token of their victory; festivals are celebrated and sacraments
received with clean hearts and lips, and all the church's sons rejoice
as it were in the fostering bosom of a mother. For this holy union
remained between Christ their head and the members of his church, until
the Arian treason, fatal as a serpent, and vomiting its poison from
beyond the sea, caused deadly dissension between brothers inhabiting the
same house, and thus, as if a road were made across the sea, like wild
beasts of all descriptions, and darting the poison of every heresy from
their jaws, they inflicted dreadful wounds upon their country, which is
ever desirous to hear something new, and remains constant long to
nothing.
Sec. 13. At length also, new races of tyrants sprang up, in terrific
numbers, and the island, still bearing its Roman name, but casting off
her institutes and laws, sent forth among the Gauls that bitter scion of
her own planting Maximus, with a great number of followers, and the
ensigns of royalty, which he bore without decency and without lawful
right, but in a tyrannical manner, and amid the disturbances of the
seditious soldiery. He, by cunning arts rather than by valour, attaching
to his rule, by perjury and falsehood, all the neighbouring towns and
provinces, against the Roman state, extended one of his wings to Spain,
the other to Italy, fixed the seat of his unholy government at Treves,
and so furiously pushed his rebellion against his lawful emperors that
he drove one of them out of Rome, and caused the other to terminate his
most holy life. Trusting to these successful attempts, he not long after
lost his accursed head before the walls of Aquileia, whereas he had
before cut off the crowned heads of almost all the world.
Sec. 14. After this, Britain is left deprived of all her soldiery and armed
bands, of her cruel governors, and of the flower of her youth, who went
with Maximus, but never again returned; and utterly ignorant as she was
of the art of war, groaned in amazement for many years under the cruelty
of two foreign nations--the Scots from the north-west, and the Picts
from the north.
Sec. 15. The Britons, impatient at the assaults of the Scots and Picts,
their hostilities and dreadful oppressions, send ambassadors to Rome
with letters, entreating in piteous terms the assistance of an armed
band to protect them, and offering loyal and ready submission to the
authority of Rome, if they only would expel their invading foes. A
legion is immediately sent, forgetting their past rebellion, and
provided sufficiently with arms. When they had crossed over the sea and
landed, they came at once to close conflict with their cruel enemies,
and slew great numbers of them. All of them were driven beyond the
borders, and the humiliated natives rescued from the bloody slavery
which awaited them. By the advice of their protectors, they now built a
wall across the island from one sea to the other, which being manned
with a proper force, might be a terror to the foes whom it was intended
to repel, and a protection to their friends whom it covered. But this
wall, being made of turf instead of stone, was of no use to that foolish
people, who had no head to guide them.
Sec. 16. The Roman legion had no sooner returned home in joy and triumph,
than their former foes, like hungry and ravening wolves, rushing with
greedy jaws upon the fold which is left without a shepherd, and wafted
both by the strength of oarsmen and the blowing wind, break through the
boundaries, and spread slaughter on every side, and like mowers cutting
down the ripe corn, they cut up, tread under foot, and overrun the whole
country.
Sec. 17. And now again they send suppliant ambassadors, with their garments
rent and their heads covered with ashes, imploring assistance from the
Romans, and like timorous chickens, crowding under the protecting wings
of their parents, that their wretched country might not altogether be
destroyed, and that the Roman name, which now was but an empty sound to
fill the ear, might not become a reproach even to distant nations. Upon
this, the Romans, moved with compassion, as far as human nature can be,
at the relations of such horrors, send forward, like eagles in their
flight, their unexpected bands of cavalry by land and mariners by sea,
and planting their terrible swords upon the shoulders of their enemies,
they mow them down like leaves which fall at the destined period; and as
a mountain-torrent swelled with numerous streams, and bursting its banks
with roaring noise, with foaming crest and yeasty wave rising to the
stars, by whose eddying currents our eyes are as it were dazzled, does
with one of its billows overwhelm every obstacle in its way, so did our
illustrious defenders vigorously drive our enemies' band beyond the sea,
if any could so escape them; for it was beyond those same seas that they
transported, year after year, the plunder which they had gained, no one
daring to resist them.
Sec. 18. The Romans, therefore, left the country, giving notice that they
could no longer be harassed by such laborious expeditions, nor suffer
the Roman standards, with so large and brave an army, to be worn out by
sea and land by fighting against these unwarlike, plundering vagabonds;
but that the islanders, inuring themselves to warlike weapons, and
bravely fighting, should valiantly protect their country, their
property, wives and children, and, what is dearer than these, their
liberty and lives; that they should not suffer their hands to be tied
behind their backs by a nation which, unless they were enervated by
idleness and sloth, was not more powerful than themselves, but that they
should arm those hands with buckler, sword, and spear, ready for the
field of battle; and, because they thought this also of advantage to the
people they were about to leave, they, with the help of the miserable
natives, built a wall different from the former, by public and private
contributions, and of the same structure as walls generally, extending
in a straight line from sea to sea, between some cities, which, from
fear of their enemies, had there by chance been built. They then give
energetic counsel to the timorous natives, and leave them patterns by
which to manufacture arms. Moreover, on the south coast where their
vessels lay, as there was some apprehension lest the barbarians might
land, they erected towers at stated intervals, commanding a prospect of
the sea; and then left the island never to return.
Sec. 19. No sooner were they gone, than the Picts and Scots, like worms
which in the heat of mid-day come forth from their holes, hastily land
again from their canoes, in which they had been carried beyond the
Cichican[236] valley, differing one from another in manners, but
inspired with the same avidity for blood, and all more eager to shroud
their villainous faces in bushy hair than to cover with decent clothing
those parts of their body which required it. Moreover, having heard of
the departure of our friends, and their resolution never to return, they
seized with greater boldness than before on all the country towards the
extreme north as far as the wall. To oppose them there was placed on the
heights a garrison equally slow to fight and ill adapted to run away, a
useless and panic-struck company, who slumbered away days and nights on
their unprofitable watch. Meanwhile the hooked weapons of their enemies
were not idle, and our wretched countrymen were dragged from the wall
and dashed against the ground. Such premature death, however, painful as
it was, saved them from seeing the miserable sufferings of their
brothers and children. But why should I say more? They left their
cities, abandoned the protection of the wall, and dispersed themselves
in flight more desperately than before. The enemy, on the other hand,
pursued them with more unrelenting cruelty than before, and butchered
our countrymen like sheep, so that their habitations were like those of
savage beasts; for they turned their arms upon each other, and for the
sake of a little sustenance, imbrued their hands in the blood of their
fellow countrymen. Thus foreign calamities were augmented by domestic
feuds; so that the whole country was entirely destitute of provisions,
save such as could be procured in the chase.
Sec. 20. Again, therefore, the wretched remnant, sending to AEtius, a
powerful Roman citizen, address him as follows:--"To AEtius,[237] now
consul for the third time: the groans of the Britons." And again a
little further, thus:--"The barbarians drive us to the sea: the sea
throws us back on the barbarians: thus two modes of death await us, we
are either slain or drowned." The Romans, however, could not assist
them, and in the meantime the discomfited people, wandering in the
woods, began to feel the effects of a severe famine, which compelled
many of them without delay to yield themselves up to their cruel
persecutors, to obtain subsistence: others of them, however, lying hid
in mountains, caves, and woods, continually sallied out from thence to
renew the war. And then it was, for the first time, that they overthrew
their enemies, who had for so many years been living in their country;
for their trust was not in man, but in God; according to the maxim of
Philo, "We must have divine assistance, when that of man fails." The
boldness of the enemy was for a while checked, but not the wickedness of
our countrymen: the enemy left our people, but the people did not leave
their sins.
Sec. 21. For it has always been a custom with our nation, as it is at
present, to be impotent in repelling foreign foes, but bold and
invincible in raising civil war, and bearing the burdens of their
offences: they are impotent, I say, in following the standard of peace
and truth, but bold in wickedness and falsehood. The audacious invaders
therefore return to their winter quarters, determined before long again
to return and plunder. And then, too, the Picts for the first time
seated themselves at the extremity of the island, where they afterwards
continued, occasionally plundering and wasting the country. During these
truces, the wounds of the distressed people are healed, but another
sore, still more venomous, broke out. No sooner were the ravages of the
enemy checked, than the island was deluged with a most extraordinary
plenty of all things, greater than was before known, and with it grew up
every kind of luxury and licentiousness. It grew with so firm a root,
that one might truly say of it, "Such fornication is heard of among you,
as never was known the like among the Gentiles." But besides this vice,
there arose also every other, to which human nature is liable, and in
particular that hatred of truth, together with her supporters, which
still at present destroys every thing good in the island; the love of
falsehood, together with its inventors, the reception of crime in the
place of virtue, the respect shown to wickedness rather than goodness,
the love of darkness instead of the sun, the admission of Satan as an
angel of light. Kings were anointed, not according to God's ordinance,
but such as showed themselves more cruel than the rest; and soon after,
they were put to death by those who had elected them, without any
inquiry into their merits, but because others still more cruel were
chosen to succeed them. If any one of these was of a milder nature than
the rest, or in any way more regardful of the truth, he was looked upon
as the ruiner of the country, every body cast a dart at him, and they
valued things alike whether pleasing or displeasing to God, unless it so
happened that what displeased him was pleasing to themselves. So that
the words of the prophet, addressed to the people of old, might well be
applied to our own countrymen: "Children without a law, have ye left God
and provoked to anger the holy one of Israel?[238] Why will ye still
inquire, adding iniquity? Every head is languid and every heart is sad;
from the sole of the foot to the crown, there is no health in him." And
thus they did all things contrary to their salvation, as if no remedy
could be applied to the world by the true Physician of all men. And not
only the laity did so, but our Lord's own flock and its shepherds, who
ought to have been an example to the people, slumbered away their time
in drunkenness, as if they had been dipped in wine; whilst the swellings
of pride, the jar of strife, the griping talons of envy, and the
confused estimate of right and wrong, got such entire possession of
them, that there seemed to be poured out (and the same still continueth)
contempt upon princes, and to be made by their vanities to wander astray
and not in the way.
Sec. 22. Meanwhile, God being willing to purify his family who were
infected by so deep a stain of woe, and at the hearing only of their
calamities to amend them; a vague rumour suddenly as if on wings reaches
the ears of all, that their inveterate foes were rapidly approaching to
destroy the whole country, and to take possession of it, as of old,
from one end to the other. But yet they derived no advantage from this
intelligence; for, like frantic beasts, taking the bit of reason between
their teeth, they abandoned the safe and narrow road, and rushed forward
upon the broad downward path of vice, which leads to death. Whilst,
therefore, as Solomon says, the stubborn servant is not cured by words,
the fool is scourged and feels it not: a pestilential disease mortally
affected the foolish people, which, without the sword, cut off so large
a number of persons, that the living were not able to bury them. But
even this was no warning to them, that in them also might be fulfilled
the words of Isaiah the prophet, "And God hath called his people to
lamentation, to baldness, and to the girdle of sackcloth; behold they
begin to kill calves, and to slay rams, to eat, to drink, and to say,
'We will eat and drink, for to-morrow we shall die.'" For the time was
approaching, when all their iniquities, as formerly those of the
Amorrhaeans, should be fulfilled. For a council was called to settle what
was best and most expedient to be done, in order to repel such frequent
and fatal irruptions and plunderings of the above named nations.
Sec. 23. Then all the councillors, together with that proud tyrant
Gurthrigern [Vortigern], the British king, were so blinded, that, as a
protection to their country, they sealed its doom by inviting in among
them (like wolves into the sheepfold), the fierce and impious Saxons, a
race hateful both to God and men, to repel the invasions of the northern
nations. Nothing was ever so pernicious to our country, nothing was ever
so unlucky. What palpable darkness must have enveloped their
minds--darkness desperate and cruel! Those very people whom, when
absent, they dreaded more than death itself, were invited to reside, as
one may say, under the selfsame roof. Foolish are the princes, as it is
said, of Thafneos, giving counsel to unwise Pharaoh. A multitude of
whelps came forth from the lair of this barbaric lioness, in three
cyuls, as they call them, that is, in three ships of war, with their
sails wafted by the wind and with omens and prophecies favourable, for
it was foretold by a certain soothsayer among them, that they should
occupy the country to which they were sailing three hundred years, and
half of that time, a hundred and fifty years, should plunder and
despoil the same. They first landed on the eastern side of the island,
by the invitation of the unlucky king, and there fixed their sharp
talons, apparently to fight in favour of the island, but alas! more
truly against it. Their mother-land, finding her first brood thus
successful, sends forth a larger company of her wolfish offspring, which
sailing over, join themselves to their bastard-born comrades. From that
time the germ of iniquity and the root of contention planted their
poison amongst us, as we deserved, and shot forth into leaves and
branches. The barbarians being thus introduced as soldiers into the
island, to encounter, as they falsely said, any dangers in defence of
their hospitable entertainers, obtain an allowance of provisions, which,
for some time being plentifully bestowed, stopped their doggish mouths.
Yet they complain that their monthly supplies are not furnished in
sufficient abundance, and they industriously aggravate each occasion of
quarrel, saying that unless more liberality is shown them, they will
break the treaty and plunder the whole island. In a short time, they
follow up their threats with deeds.
Sec. 24. For the fire of vengeance, justly kindled by former crimes, spread
from sea to sea, fed by the hands of our foes in the east, and did not
cease, until, destroying the neighbouring towns and lands, it reached
the other side of the island, and dipped its red and savage tongue in
the western ocean. In these assaults, therefore, not unlike that of the
Assyrian upon Judea, was fulfilled in our case what the prophet
describes in words of lamentation: "They have burned with fire the
sanctuary; they have polluted on earth the tabernacle of thy name." And
again, "O God, the gentiles have come into thine inheritance; thy holy
temple have they defiled," &c. So that all the columns were levelled
with the ground by the frequent strokes of the battering-ram, all the
husbandmen routed, together with their bishops, priests, and people,
whilst the sword gleamed, and the flames crackled around them on every
side. Lamentable to behold, in the midst of the streets lay the tops of
lofty towers, tumbled to the ground, stones of high walls, holy altars,
fragments of human bodies, covered with livid clots of coagulated blood,
looking as if they had been squeezed together in a press;[239] and with
no chance of being buried, save in the ruins of the houses, or in the
ravening bellies of wild beasts and birds; with reverence be it spoken
for their blessed souls, if, indeed, there were many found who were
carried, at that time, into the high heaven by the holy angels. So
entirely had the vintage, once so fine, degenerated and become bitter,
that, in the words of the prophet, there was hardly a grape or ear of
corn to be seen where the husbandman had turned his back.
Sec. 25. Some, therefore, of the miserable remnant, being taken in the
mountains, were murdered in great numbers; others, constrained by
famine, came and yielded themselves to be slaves for ever to their foes,
running the risk of being instantly slain, which truly was the greatest
favour that could be offered them: some others passed beyond the seas
with loud lamentations instead of the voice of exhortation. "Thou hast
given us as sheep to be slaughtered, and among the Gentiles hast thou
dispersed us." Others, committing the safeguard of their lives, which
were in continual jeopardy, to the mountains, precipices, thickly wooded
forests, and to the rocks of the seas (albeit with trembling hearts),
remained still in their country. But in the meanwhile, an opportunity
happening, when these most cruel robbers were returned home, the poor
remnants of our nation (to whom flocked from divers places round about
our miserable countrymen as fast as bees to their hives, for fear of an
ensuing storm), being strengthened by God, calling upon him with all
their hearts, as the poet says,--
"With their unnumbered vows they burden heaven,"
that they might not be brought to utter destruction, took arms under the
conduct of Ambrosius Aurelianus, a modest man, who of all the Roman
nation was then alone in the confusion of this troubled period by chance
left alive. His parents, who for their merit were adorned with the
purple, had been slain in these same broils, and now his progeny in
these our days, although shamefully degenerated from the worthiness of
their ancestors, provoke to battle their cruel conquerors, and by the
goodness of our Lord obtain the victory.
Sec. 26. After this, sometimes our countrymen, sometimes the enemy, won the
field, to the end that our Lord might in this land try after his
accustomed manner these his Israelites, whether they loved him or not,
until the year of the siege of Bath-hill, when took place also the last
almost, though not the least slaughter of our cruel foes, which was (as
I am sure) forty-four years and one month after the landing of the
Saxons, and also the time of my own nativity. And yet neither to this
day are the cities of our country inhabited as before, but being
forsaken and overthrown, still lie desolate; our foreign wars having
ceased, but our civil troubles still remaining. For as well the
remembrance of such a terrible desolation of the island, as also of the
unexpected recovery of the same, remained in the minds of those who were
eye-witnesses of the wonderful events of both, and in regard thereof,
kings, public magistrates, and private persons, with priests and
clergymen, did all and every one of them live orderly according to their
several vocations. But when these had departed out of this world, and a
new race succeeded, who were ignorant of this troublesome time, and had
only experience of the present prosperity, all the laws of truth and
justice were so shaken and subverted, that not so much as a vestige or
remembrance of these virtues remained among the above-named orders of
men, except among a very few who, compared with the great multitude
which were daily rushing headlong down to hell, are accounted so small a
number, that our reverend mother, the church, scarcely beholds them, her
only true children, reposing in her bosom; whose worthy lives, being a
pattern to all men, and beloved of God, inasmuch as by their holy
prayers, as by certain pillars and most profitable supporters, our
infirmity is sustained up, that it may not utterly be broken down, I
would have no one suppose I intended to reprove, if forced by the
increasing multitude of offences, I have freely, aye, with anguish, not
so much declared as bewailed the wickedness of those who are become
servants, not only to their bellies, but also to the devil rather than
to Christ, who is our blessed God, world without end.
For why shall their countrymen conceal what foreign nations round about
now not only know, but also continually are casting in their teeth?
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 231: The description of Britain is given in very nearly the
same terms, by Orosius, Bede, and others, but the numbers, denoting the
length and breadth and other dimensions, are different in almost every
MS. copy.]
[Footnote 232: "Soporem" in some MSS., "saporem" in others; it is
difficult from the turgidity and superabundance of the style to
determine which is the best meaning.]
[Footnote 233: Gildas here confuses the modern idea of a tyrant with
that of an usurper. The latter is the sense in which Britain was said to
be fertile in tyrants, viz. in usurpers of the imperial dignity.]
[Footnote 234: The Britons who fought under Boadicea were anything but
"crafty foxes." "Bold lions" is a much more appropriate appellation;
they would also have been victorious if they had had half the military
advantages of the Romans.]
[Footnote 235: Or Caerleon. See Bede's Eccles. Hist. p. 15, note]
[Footnote 236: The meaning of this expression is not known. O'Connor
thinks it is the Irish Sea.]
[Footnote 237: Or _Ayitius_, according to another reading.]
[Footnote 238: Isa. i. 4, 5. In most of these quotations there is great
verbal variation from the authorised version: the author probably quoted
from memory, if not from the Latin version.]
[Footnote 239: These are the words of the old translation; the original
is obscure, and perhaps corrupt.]
III. THE EPISTLE.
Sec. 27. Britain has kings, but they are tyrants; she has judges, but
unrighteous ones; generally engaged in plunder and rapine, but always
preying on the innocent; whenever they exert themselves to avenge or
protect, it is sure to be in favour of robbers and criminals; they have
an abundance of wives, yet are they addicted to fornication and
adultery; they are ever ready to take oaths, and as often perjure
themselves; they make a vow and almost immediately act falsely; they
make war, but their wars are against their countrymen, and are unjust
ones; they rigorously prosecute thieves throughout their country, but
those who sit at table with them are robbers, and they not only cherish
but reward them; they give alms plentifully, but in contrast to this is
a whole pile of crimes which they have committed; they sit on the seat
of justice, but rarely seek for the rule of right judgment; they despise
the innocent and the humble, but seize every occasion of exalting to the
utmost the bloody-minded; the proud, murderers, the combined and
adulterers, enemies of God, who ought to be utterly destroyed and their
names forgotten.
They have many prisoners in their gaols, loaded with chains, but this is
done in treachery rather than in just punishment for crimes; and when
they have stood before the altar, swearing by the name of God, they go
away and think no more of the holy altar than if it were a mere heap of
dirty stones.
Sec. 28. Of this horrid abomination, Constantine,[240] the tyrannical whelp
of the unclean lioness of Damnonia,[241] is not ignorant.
This same year, after taking a dreadful oath (whereby he bound himself
first before God, by a solemn protestation, and then called all the
saints, and Mother of God, to witness, that he would not contrive any
deceit against his countrymen), he nevertheless, in the habit of a holy
abbat amid the sacred altars, did with sword and javelin, as if with
teeth, wound and tear, even in the bosoms of their temporal mother, and
of the church their spiritual mother, two royal youths, with their two
attendants, whose arms, although not cased in armour, were yet boldly
used, and, stretched out towards God and his altar, will hang up at the
gates of thy city, O Christ, the venerable ensigns of their faith and
patience; and when he had done it, the cloaks, red with coagulated
blood, did touch the place of the heavenly sacrifice. And not one worthy
act could he boast of previous to this cruel deed; for many years before
he had stained himself with the abomination of many adulteries, having
put away his wife contrary to the command of Christ, the teacher of the
world, who hath said: "What God hath joined together, let not man
separate," and again: "Husbands, love your wives." For he had planted in
the ground of his heart (an unfruitful soil for any good seed) a bitter
scion of incredulity and folly, taken from the vine of Sodom, which
being watered with his vulgar and domestic impieties, like poisonous
showers, and afterwards audaciously springing up to the offence of God,
brought forth into the world the sin of horrible murder and sacrilege;
and not yet discharged from the entangling nets of his former offences,
he added new wickedness to the former.
Sec. 29. Go to now, I reprove thee as present, whom I know as yet to be in
this life extant. Why standest thou astonished, O thou butcher of thine
own soul? Why dost thou wilfully kindle against thyself the eternal
fires of hell? Why dost thou, in place of enemies, desperately stab
thyself with thine own sword, with thine own javelin? Cannot those same
poisonous cups of offences yet satisfy thy stomach? Look back (I beseech
thee) and come to Christ (for thou labourest, and art pressed down to
the earth with this huge burden), and he himself, as he said, will give
thee rest. Come to him who wisheth not the death of a sinner, but that
he should be rather converted and live. Unloose (according to the
prophet) the bands of thy neck O thou son of Sion. Return (I pray
thee), although from the far remote regions of sins, unto the most holy
Father, who, for his son that will despise the filthy food of swine, and
fear a death of cruel famine, and so come back to him again, hath with
great joy been accustomed to kill his fatted calf, and bring forth for
the wanderer, the first robe and royal ring, and then taking as it were
a taste of the heavenly hope, thou shalt perceive how sweet our Lord is.
For if thou dost contemn these, be thou assured, thou shalt almost
instantly be tossed and tormented in the inevitable and dark floods of
endless fire.
Sec. 30. What dost thou also, thou lion's whelp (as the prophet saith),
Aurelius Conanus?[242] Art not thou as the former (if not far more foul)
to thy utter destruction, swallowed up in the filthiness of horrible
murders, fornications, and adulteries, as by an overwhelming flood of
the sea? Hast not thou by hating, as a deadly serpent, the peace of thy
country, and thirsting unjustly after civil wars and frequent spoil,
shut the gates of heavenly peace and repose against thine own soul?
Being now left alone as a withering tree in the midst of a field,
remember (I beseech thee) the vain and idle fancies of thy parents and
brethren, together with the untimely death that befell them in the prime
of their youth; and shalt thou, for thy religious deserts, be reserved
out of all thy family to live a hundred years, or to attain to the age
of a Methusalem? No, surely, but unless (as the psalmist saith) thou
shalt be speedily converted unto our Lord, that King will shortly
brandish his sword against thee, who hath said by his prophet, "I will
kill, and I will cause to live; I will strike, and I will heal; and
there is no one who can deliver out of my hand." Be thou therefore
shaken out of thy filthy dust, and with all thy heart converted to Him
who hath created thee, that "when his wrath shall shortly burn out, thou
mayst be blessed by fixing thy hopes on him." But if otherwise, eternal
pains will be heaped up for thee, where thou shalt be ever tormented and
never consumed in the cruel jaws of hell.
Sec. 31. Thou also, who like to the spotted leopard, art diverse in manners
and in mischief, whose head now is growing grey, who art seated on a
throne full of deceits, and from the bottom even to the top art stained
with murder and adulteries, thou naughty son of a good king, like
Manasses sprung from Ezechiah, Vortipore, thou foolish tyrant of the
Demetians,[243] why art thou so stiff? What! do not such violent gulfs
of sin (which thou dost swallow up like pleasant wine, nay rather which
swallow thee up), as yet satisfy thee, especially since the end of thy
life is daily now approaching? Why dost thou heavily clog thy miserable
soul with the sin of lust, which is fouler than any other, by putting
away thy wife, and after her honourable death, by the base practices of
thy shameless daughter? Waste not (I beseech thee) the residue of thy
life in offending God, because as yet an acceptable time and day of
salvation shines on the faces of the penitent, wherein thou mayest take
care that thy flight may not be in the winter, or on the sabbath day.
"Turn away (according to the psalmist) from evil, and do good, seek
peace and ensue it," because the eyes of our Lord will be cast upon
thee, when thou doest righteousness, and his ears will be then open unto
thy prayers, and he will not destroy thy memory out of the land of the
living; thou shalt cry, and he will hear thee, and out of thy
tribulations deliver thee; for Christ doth never despise a heart that is
contrite and humbled with fear of him. Otherwise, the worm of thy
torture shall not die, and the fire of thy burning shall never be
extinguished.
Sec. 32. And thou too, Cuneglasse,[244] why art thou fallen into the filth
of thy former naughtiness, yea, since the very first spring of thy
tender youth, thou bear, thou rider and ruler of many, and guider of the
chariot which is the receptacle of the bear, thou contemner of God, and
vilifier of his order, thou tawny butcher, as in the Latin tongue thy
name signifies. Why dost thou raise so great a war as well against men
as also against God himself, against men, yea, thy own countrymen, with
thy deadly weapons, and against God with thine infinite offences? Why,
besides thine other innumerable backslidings, having thrown out of doors
thy wife, dost thou, in the lust, or rather stupidity of thy mind,
against the apostle's express prohibition, denouncing that no
adulterers can be partakers of the kingdom of heaven, esteem her
detestable sister, who had vowed unto God the everlasting continency, as
the very flower (in the language of the poet) of the celestial nymphs?
Why dost thou provoke with thy frequent injuries the lamentations and
sighs of saints, by thy means corporally afflicted, which will in time
to come, like a fierce lioness, break thy bones in pieces? Desist, I
beseech thee (as the prophet saith) from wrath, and leave off thy deadly
fury, which thou breathest out against heaven and earth, against God and
his flock, and which in time will be thy own torment; rather with
altered mind obtain the prayers of those who possess a power of binding
over this world, when in this world they bind the guilty, and of loosing
when they loose the penitent. Be not (as the apostle saith) proudly
wise, nor hope thou in the uncertainty of riches, but in God who giveth
thee many things abundantly, and by the amendment of thy manners
purchase unto thyself a good foundation for hereafter, and seek to enter
into that real and true state of existence which will be not transitory
but everlasting. Otherwise, thou shalt know and see, yea, in this very
world, how bad and bitter a thing it is for thee to leave the Lord thy
God, and not have his fear before thine eyes, and in the next, how thou
shalt be burned in the foul encompassing flames of endless fire, nor yet
by any manner of means shalt ever die. For the souls of the sinful are
as eternal in perpetual fire, as the souls of the just in perpetual joy
and gladness.
Sec. 33. And likewise, O thou dragon of the island, who hast deprived many
tyrants, as well of their kingdoms as of their lives, and though the
last-mentioned in my writing, the first in mischief, exceeding many in
power, and also in malice, more liberal than others in giving, more
licentious in sinning, strong in arms, but stronger in working thine own
soul's destruction, Maglocune,[245] why art thou (as if soaked in the
wine of the Sodomitical grape) foolishly rolling in that black pool of
thine offences? Why dost thou wilfully heap like a mountain, upon thy
kingly shoulders, such a load of sins? Why dost thou show thyself unto
the King of kings (who hath made thee as well in kingdom as in stature
of body higher than almost all the other chiefs of Britain) not better
likewise in virtues than the rest; but on the contrary for thy sins much
worse? Listen then awhile and hear patiently the following enumeration
of thy deeds, wherein I will not touch any domestic and light offences
(if yet any of them are light) but only those open ones which are spread
far and wide in the knowledge of all men. Didst not thou, in the very
beginning of thy youth, terribly oppress with sword, spear, and fire,
the king thine uncle, together with his courageous bands of soldiers,
whose countenances in battle were not unlike those of young lions? Not
regarding the words of the prophet, who says, "The blood-thirsty and
deceitful men shall not live out half their days;" and even if the
sequel of thy sins were not such as ensued, yet what retribution couldst
thou expect for this offence only at the hands of the just Judge, who
hath said by his prophet: "Woe be to thee who spoilest, and shalt not
thou thyself be spoiled? and thou who killest, shalt not thyself be
killed? and when thou shalt make an end of thy spoiling, then shalt thou
thyself fall."
Sec. 34. But when the imagination of thy violent rule had succeeded
according to thy wishes, and thou wast urged by a desire to return into
the right way, night and day the consciousness of thy crimes afflicted
thee, whilst thou didst ruminate on the Lord's ritual and the ordinances
of the monks, and then publish to the world and vow thyself before God a
monk with no intention to be unfaithful, as thou didst say, having burst
through those toils in which such great beasts as thyself were used to
become entangled, whether it were love of rule, of gold, or silver, or,
what is stronger still, the fancies of thy own heart. And didst thou
not, as a dove which cleaves the yielding air with its pinions, and by
its rapid turns escapes the furious hawk, safely return to the cells
where the saints repose, as a most certain place of refuge? Oh how great
a joy should it have been to our mother church, if the enemy of all
mankind had not lamentably pulled thee, as it were, out of her bosom! Oh
what an abundant flame of heavenly hope would have been kindled in the
hearts of desperate sinners, hadst thou remained in thy blessed estate!
Oh what great rewards in the kingdom of Christ would have been laid up
for thy soul against the day of judgment, if that crafty wolf had not
caught thee, who of a wolf wast now become a lamb (not much against
thine own will) out of the fold of our Lord, and made thee of a lamb, a
wolf like unto himself, again? Oh how great a joy would the preservation
of thy salvation have been to God the Father of all saints, had not the
devil, the father of all castaways, as an eagle of monstrous wings and
claws, carried thee captive away against all right and reason, to the
unhappy band of his children? And to be short, thy conversion to
righteousness gave as great joy to heaven and earth, as now thy
detestable return, like a dog to his vomit, breedeth grief and
lamentation: which being done, "the members which should have been
busily employed, as the armour of justice for the Lord, are now become
the armour of iniquity for sin and the devil;" for now thou dost not
listen to the praises of God sweetly sounded forth by the pleasant
voices of Christ's soldiers, nor the instruments of ecclesiastical
melody, but thy own praises (which are nothing) rung out after the
fashion of the giddy rout of Bacchus by the mouths of thy villainous
followers, accompanied with lies and malice, to the utter destruction of
the neighbours; so that the vessel prepared for the service of God, is
now turned to a vessel of dirt, and what was once reputed worthy of
heavenly honour, is now cast as it deserves into the bottomless pit of
hell.
Sec. 35. Yet neither is thy sensual mind (which is overcome by the excess
of thy follies) at all checked in its course with committing so many
sins, but hot and prone (like a young colt that coveteth every pleasant
pasture) runneth headlong forward, with irrecoverable fury, through the
intended fields of crime, continually increasing the number of its
transgressions. For the former marriage of thy first wife (although
after thy violated vow of religion she was not lawfully thine, but only
by right of the time she was with thee), was now despised by thee, and
another woman, the wife of a man then living, and he no stranger, but
thy own brother's son, enjoyed thy affections. Upon which occasion that
stiff neck of thine (already laden with sins) is now burdened with two
monstrous murders, the one of thy aforesaid nephew, the other, of her
who once was thy wedded wife: and thou art now from low to lower, and
from bad to worse, bowed, bent, and sunk down into the lowest depth of
sacrilege. Afterwards, also didst thou publicly marry the widow by
whose deceit and suggestion such a heavy weight of offences was
undergone, and take her, lawfully, as the flattering tongues of thy
parasites with false words pronounced it, but as we say, most wickedly,
to be thine own in wedlock. And therefore what holy man is there, who,
moved with the narration of such a history, would not presently break
out into weeping and lamentations? What priest (whose heart lieth open
unto God) would not instantly, upon hearing this, exclaim with anguish
in the language of the prophet: "Who shall give water to my head, and to
my eyes a fountain of tears, and I will day and night bewail those of my
people, who are slaughtered." For full little (alas!) hast thou with
thine ears listened to that reprehension of the prophet speaking in this
wise: "Woe be unto you, O wicked men, who have left the law of the most
holy God, and if ye shall be born, your portion shall be to malediction,
and if ye die, to malediction shall be your portion, all things that are
from the earth, to the earth shall be converted again, so shall the
wicked from malediction pass to perdition:" if they return not unto our
Lord, listening to this admonition: "Son, thou hast offended; add no
further offence thereunto, but rather pray for the forgiveness of the
former." And again, "Be not slow to be converted unto our Lord, neither
put off the same from day to day, for his wrath doth come suddenly."
Because, as the Scripture saith, "When the king heareth the unjust word,
all under his dominion become wicked." And, the just king (according to
the prophet) raiseth up his region. But warnings truly are not wanting
to thee, since thou hast had for thy instructor the most eloquent master
of almost all Britain. Take heed, thereof, lest that which Solomon
noteth, befall thee, which is, "Even as he who stirreth up a sleeping
man out of his heavy sleep, so is that person who declareth wisdom unto
a fool, for in the end of his speech will he say, What hast thou first
spoken? Wash thine heart (as it is written) from malice, O Jerusalem,
that thou mayest be saved." Despise not (I beseech thee) the unspeakable
mercy of God, calling by his prophet the wicked in this way from their
offences: "I will on a sudden speak to the nation, and to the kingdom,
that I may root out, and disperse, and destroy, and overthrow." As for
the sinner he doth in this wise exhort him vehemently to repent. "And
if the same people shall repent from their offence, I will also repent
of the evil which I have said that I would do unto them." And again,
"Who will give them such an heart, that they may hear me, and keep my
commandments, and that it may be well with them all the days of their
lives." And also in the Canticle of Deuteronomy, "A people without
counsel and prudence, I wish they would be wise, and understand, and
foresee the last of all, how one pursueth a thousand and two put to
flight ten thousand." And again, our Lord in the gospel, "Come unto me,
all ye who do labour and are burdened, and I will make you rest. Take my
yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart,
and ye shall find repose for your souls." For if thou turn a deaf ear to
these admonitions, contemn the prophets, and despise Christ, and make no
account of us, humble though we be, so long as with sincere piety and
purity of mind we bear in mind that saying of the prophet, that we may
not be found, "Dumb dogs, not able to bark;" (however I for my part may
not be of that singular fortitude, in the spirit and virtue of our Lord,
as to declare, "To the house of Jacob their sins, and the house of
Israel their offences;") and so long as we shall remember that of
Solomon, "He who says that the wicked are just, shall be accursed among
the people, and odious to nations, for they who reprove them shall have
better hopes." And again, "Respect, not with reverence thy neighbour in
his ruin, nor forbear to speak in time of salvation." And as long also
as we forget not this, "Root out those who are led to death, and forbear
not to redeem them who are murdered;" because, as the same prophet says,
"Riches shall not profit in the day of wrath, but justice delivereth
from death." And, "If the just indeed be hardly saved, where shall the
wicked and sinner appear?" If, as I said, thou scorn us, who obey these
texts, the dark flood of hell shall without doubt eternally drown thee
in that deadly whirlpool, and those terrible streams of fire that shall
ever torment and never consume thee, and then shall the confession of
thy pains and sorrow for thy sins be altogether too late and
unprofitable to one, who now in this accepted time and day of salvation
deferreth his conversion to a more righteous way of life.
Sec. 37. And here, indeed, if not before, was this lamentable history of
the miseries of our time to have been brought to a conclusion, that I
might no further discourse of the deeds of men; but that I may not be
thought timid or weary, whereby I might the less carefully avoid that
saying of Isaiah, "Woe be to them who call good evil, and evil good,
placing darkness for light, and light for darkness, bitter for sweet,
and sweet for bitter, who seeing see not, and hearing hear not, whose
hearts are overshadowed with a thick and black cloud of vices;" I will
briefly set down the threatenings which are denounced against these five
aforesaid lascivious horses, the frantic followers of Pharaoh, through
whom his army is wilfully urged forward to their utter destruction in
the Red Sea, and also against such others, by the sacred oracles, with
whose holy testimonies the frame of this our little work is, as it were,
roofed in, that it may not be subject to the showers of the envious,
which otherwise would be poured thereon. Let, therefore, God's holy
prophets, who are to mortal men the mouth of God, and the organ of the
Holy Ghost, forbidding evils, and favouring goodness, answer for us as
well now as formerly, against the stubborn and proud princes of this our
age, that they may not say we menace them with such threats, and such
great terrors of our own invention only, and with rash and over-zealous
meddling. For to no wise man is it doubtful how far more grievous the
sins of this our time are than those of the primitive age, when the
apostle said, "Any one transgressing the law, being convicted by two or
three witnesses, shall die, how much worse punishment think ye then that
he deserveth, who shall trample under his foot the Son of God?"
Sec. 38. And first of all appears before us, Samuel, by God's commandment,
the establisher of a lawful kingdom, dedicated to God before his birth,
undoubtedly known by marvellous signs, to be a true prophet unto all the
people, from Dan even to Beersheba, out of whose mouth the Holy Ghost
thundereth to all the potentates of the world, denouncing Saul the first
king of the Hebrews, only because he did not accomplish some matters
commanded him of our Lord, in these words which follow: "Thou hast done
foolishly, neither yet hast thou kept the commandments of our Lord thy
God, that he hath given thee in charge; which if thou hadst not
committed, even now had our Lord prepared thy reign over Israel for
ever, but thy kingdom shall no farther arise." And what did he commit,
whether it were adultery or murder, like to the offences of the present
time? No, truly, but broke in part one of God's commandments, for, as
one of our writers says, "The question is not of the quality of the sin,
but of the violating of the precept." Also when he endeavoured to answer
(as he thought) the objections of Samuel, and after the fashion of men
wisely to make excuses for his offence in this manner: "Yea, I have
obeyed the voice of our Lord, and walked in the way through which he
hath sent me;" with this rebuke was he corrected by him: "What! will our
Lord have burnt offerings or oblations, and not rather that the voice of
our Lord should be obeyed? Obedience is better than oblations, and to
hearken unto him, better than to offer the fat of rams. For as it is the
sin of soothsaying to resist, so is it the offence of idolatry not to
obey; in regard, therefore, that thou hast cast away the word of our
Lord, he hath also cast thee away that thou be not king." And a little
after, "Our Lord hath this day rent the kingdom of Israel from thee, and
delivered it up to thy neighbour, a man better than thyself. The
Triumpher of Israel truly will not spare, and will not be bowed with
repentance, neither yet is he a man that he should repent;" that is to
say, upon the stony hearts of the wicked: wherein it is to be noted how
he saith, that to be disobedient unto God is the sin of idolatry. Let
not, therefore, our wicked transgressors (while they do not openly
sacrifice to the gods of the Gentiles) flatter themselves that they are
not idolaters, whilst they tread like swine the most precious pearls of
Christ under their feet.
Sec. 39. But although this one example as an invincible affirmation might
abundantly suffice to correct the wicked; yet, that by the mouths of
many witnesses all the offences of Britain may be proved, let us pass to
the rest. What happened to David for numbering his people, when the
prophet Gad spake unto him in this sort? Thus saith our Lord: "The
choice of three things is offered thee, choose which thou wilt, that I
may execute it upon thee. Shall there befall thee a famine for seven
years, or shalt thou flee three months before thine enemies, and they
pursue thee, or shall there be three days' pestilence in thy land?" For
being brought into great straits by this condition, and willing rather
to fall into the hands of God who is merciful, than into those of men,
he was humbled with the slaughter of seventy thousand of his subjects,
and unless with the affection of an apostolic charity, he had desired to
die himself for his countrymen, that the plague might not further
consume them, saying, "I am he that has offended, I the shepherd have
dealt unjustly: but these sheep, what have they sinned? Let thy hand, I
beseech thee, be turned against me, and against the house of my father;"
he would have atoned for the unadvised pride of his heart with his own
death. For what does the scripture afterwards declare of his son? "And
Solomon wrought that which was not pleasing before our Lord, and he did
not fill up the measure of his good deeds by following the Lord like his
father David. And our Lord said unto him, Because thou hast thus behaved
thyself, and not observed my covenant and precepts, which I have
commanded thee, breaking it asunder; I will divide thy kingdom, and give
the same unto thy servant."
Sec. 40. Hear now likewise what fell upon the two sacrilegious kings of
Israel (even such as ours are), Jeroboam and Baasha, unto whom the
sentence and doom of our Lord is by the prophet in this way directed:
"For what cause have I exalted thee a prince over Israel, in regard that
they have provoked me by their vanities. Behold I will stir up after
Baasha and after his house, and I will give over his house as the house
of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Whoso of his blood shall die in the city,
the dogs shall eat him, and the dead carcass of him that dieth in the
field shall the fowls of the air eat." What doth he also threaten unto
that wicked king of Israel, a worthy companion of the former, by whose
collusion and his wife's deceit, innocent Naboth was for his father's
vineyard put to death, when the holy mouth of Elias, yea, the selfsame
mouth that was instructed with the fiery speech of our Lord, thus spake
unto him: "Hast thou killed and also taken possession, and after this
wilt thou yet add more? Thus saith our Lord, in this very place, wherein
the dogs have licked the blood of Naboth, they shall lick up thy blood
also." Which fell out afterwards in that very sort, as we have certain
proof. But lest perchance (as befell Ahab also) the lying spirit, which
pronounceth vain things in the mouths of your prophets may seduce you,
hearken to the words of the prophet Micaiah: "Behold God hath suffered
the spirit of lying to possess the mouths of all thy prophets that do
here remain, and our Lord hath pronounced evil against thee." For even
now it is certain that there are some teachers inspired with a contrary
spirit, preaching and affirming rather what is pleasing, however
depraved, than what is true: whose words are softer than oil, and the
same are darts, who say, peace, peace, and there shall be no peace to
them, who persevere in their sins, as says the prophet in another place
also, "It is not for the wicked to rejoice, saith our Lord."
Sec. 41. Azarias, also, the son of Obed, spoke unto Asa, who returned from
the slaughter of the army of ten hundred thousand Ethiopians, saying,
"Our Lord is with you while you remain with him, and if you will seek
him out, he will be found by you, and if you will leave him, he will
leave you also." For if Jehosaphat for only assisting a wicked king, was
thus reproved by the prophet Jehu, the son of Ananias, saying, "If thou
givest aid to a sinner, or lovest them whom our Lord doth hate, the
wrath of God doth therefore hang over thee," what shall become of them
who are fettered in the snares of their own offences? whose sin we must
of necessity hate, if not their souls, if we wish to fight in the army
of the Lord, according to the words of the Psalmist, "Hate ye evil, who
love our Lord." What was said to Jehoram, the son of the above-named
Jehosaphat, that most horrible murderer (who being himself a bastard,
slew his noble brethren, that he might possess the throne in their
place), by the prophet Elias, who was the chariot and charioteer of
Israel? "Thus speaketh the Lord God of thy father David. Because thou
hast not walked in the way of thy father Jehosaphat, and in the ways of
Asa the king of Judah, but hast walked in the ways of the kings of
Israel, and in adultery according to the behaviour of the house of Ahab,
and hast moreover killed thy brethren, the sons of Jehosaphat, men far
better than thyself, behold, our Lord shall strike thee and thy children
with a mighty plague." And a little afterwards, "And thou shalt be very
sick of a disease of thy belly, until thy entrails shall, together with
the malady itself, from day to day, come forth out of thee." And listen
also what the prophet Zachariah, the son of Jehoiades, menaced to Joash,
the king of Israel, when he abandoned our Lord even as ye now do, and
the prophet spoke in this manner to the people: "Thus saith our Lord,
Why do ye transgress the commandments of our Lord and do not prosper?
Because ye have left our Lord, he will also leave you."
Sec. 42. What shall I mention of Isaiah, the first and chief of the
prophets, who beginneth his prophecy, or rather vision, in this way:
"Hear, O ye heavens, and O thou earth conceive in thine ears, because
our Lord hath spoken, I have nourished children, and exalted them, but
they themselves have despised me. The ox hath known his owner, and the
ass his master's crib, but Israel hath not known me, and my people hath
not understood." And a little further with threatenings answerable to so
great a folly, he saith, "The daughter of Sion shall be utterly left as
a tabernacle in the vineyard, and as a hovel in the cucumber garden, and
a city that is sacked." And especially, convening and accusing the
princes, he saith, "Hear the word of our Lord, O ye princes of Sodom,
perceive ye the law of our Lord, O ye people of Gomorrah." Wherein it is
to be noted, that unjust kings are termed the princes of Sodom, for our
Lord, forbidding sacrifices and gifts to be offered to him by such
persons, and seeing that we greedily receive those offerings which in
all nations are displeasing unto God, and to our own destruction suffer
them not to be bestowed on the poor and needy, speak thus to them who,
laden with riches, are likewise given to offend on this head: "Offer no
more your sacrifice in vain, your incense is abomination unto me." And
again he denounceth them thus: "And when ye shall stretch out your
hands, I will turn away mine eyes from you, and when ye shall multiply
your prayers, I will not hear." And he declareth wherefore he does this,
saying, "Your hands are full of blood." And likewise showing how he may
be appeased, he says, "Be ye washed, be ye clean, take away the evil of
your thoughts from mine eyes: cease to do evil, learn to do well: seek
for judgment, succour the oppressed, do justice to the pupil or orphan."
And then assuming as it were the part of a reconciling mediator, he
adds, "Though your sins shall be as scarlet, they shall be made white
as snow: though they shall be as red as the little worm,[246] they shall
be as white as wool. If ye shall be willing to hear me, ye shall feed on
the good things of the land; but if ye will not, but provoke me unto
wrath, the sword shall devour you."
Sec. 43. Receive ye the true and public avoucher, witnessing, without any
falsehood or flattery, the reward of your good and evil, not like the
soothing humble lips of your parasites, which whisper poisons into your
ears. And also directing his sentence against ravenous judges, he saith
thus: "Thy princes are unfaithful, companions of thieves, all love
gifts, hunt after rewards: they do no justice to the orphan, the widow's
cause entereth not unto them. For thus saith our Lord God of hosts, the
strong one of Israel, Alas, I will take consolation upon my foes, and be
revenged upon mine enemies; and the heinous sinners shall be broken to
powder, and offenders together with them, and all who have left our
Lord, shall be consumed." And afterwards, "The eyes of the lofty man
shall be brought low, and the height of men hath bowed down." And again,
"Woe be to the wicked, evil befall him, for he shall be rewarded
according to his handy-work." And a little after, "Woe be unto you who
arise early to follow drunkenness, and to drink even to the very
evening, that ye may fume with wine. The harp, and the lyre, and the
tabor, and the pipe, and wine are in your banquets, and the work of our
Lord ye respect not, neither yet consider ye the works of his hands.
Therefore is my people led captive away, because they have not had
knowledge, and their nobles have perished with famine, and their
multitude hath withered away with thirst. Therefore hath hell enlarged
and dilated his spirit, and without measure opened his mouth, and his
strong ones, and his people, and his lofty and glorious ones, shall
descend down unto him." And afterwards, "Woe be unto you who are mighty
for the drinking of wine, and strong men for the procuring of
drunkenness, who justify the wicked for rewards, and deprive the just
man of his justice. For this cause even as the tongue of the fire
devoureth the stubble, and as the heat of the flame burneth up, so shall
their root be as the ashes, and their branch shall rise up as the dust.
For they have cast away the law of our Lord of hosts, and despised the
speech of the holy one of Israel. In all these the fury of our Lord is
not turned away, but as yet his hand is stretched out."
Sec. 44. And further on, speaking of the day of judgment and the
unspeakable fears of sinners, he says, "Howl ye, because the day of our
Lord is near at hand (if so near at that time, what shall it now be
thought to be?) for destruction shall proceed from God. For this shall
all hands be dissolved, and every man's heart shall wither away, and be
bruised; tortures and dolours shall hold them, as a woman in labour so
shall they be grieved, every man shall at his neighbour stand
astonished, burned faces shall be their countenances. Behold, the day of
our Lord shall come, fierce and full of indignation, and of wrath, and
fury, to turn the earth into a desert, and break her sinners in small
pieces from off her; because the stars of heaven and the brightness of
them, shall not unfold their light, the sun in his rising shall be
covered over with darkness, and the moon shall not shine in her season;
and I will visit upon the evils of the world, and against the wicked,
their own iniquity, and I will make the pride of the unfaithful to
cease, and the arrogancy of the strong, I will bring low." And again,
"Behold our Lord will disperse the earth, and he will strip her naked,
and afflict her face, and scatter her inhabitants; and as the people, so
shall be the priest; and as the slave, so shall be his lord; as the
handmaid, so shall be her lady; as the purchaser, so shall be the
seller; as the usurer, so shall be he that borroweth; as he who
demandeth, so shall he be that oweth. With dispersing shall the earth be
scattered, and with sacking shall she be spoiled. For our Lord hath
spoken this word. The earth hath bewailed, and hath flitted away; the
world hath run to nothing, she is weakened by her inhabitants, because
they have transgressed laws, changed right, brought to ruin the eternal
truce. For this shall malediction devour the earth."
Sec. 45. And afterwards, "They shall lament all of them who now in heart
rejoice, the delight of the timbrels hath ceased, the sound of the
gladsome shall be silent, the sweetness of the harp shall be hushed,
they shall not with singing drink their wine, bitter shall be the potion
to the drinkers thereof. The city of vanity is wasted, every house is
shut up, no man entering in; an outcry shall be in the streets over the
wine, all gladness is forsaken, the joy of the land is transferred,
solitariness is left in the town, and calamity shall oppress the gates,
because these things shall be in the midst of the land, and in the midst
of the people." And a little further, "Swerving from the truth, they
have wandered out of the right way, with the straggling of transgressors
have they gone astray. Fear and intrapping falls, and a snare upon thee
who art the inhabitant of the earth. And it shall come to pass: whoso
shall flee from the voice of the fear, shall tumble down into the
intrapping pit; and whoso shall deliver himself out of the downfall,
shall be caught in the entangling snare: because the flood-gates from
aloft shall be opened, and the foundations of the earth shall be shaken.
With bruising shall the earth be broken, with commotion shall she be
moved, with tossing shall she be shaken like a drunken man, and she
shall be taken away as if she were a pavilion of one night's pitching,
and her iniquities shall hang heavy upon her, and she shall fall down,
and shall not attempt to rise again. And it shall be, that our Lord in
the same day shall look on the warfare of heaven on high, and on the
kings of the earth, who are upon the earth, and they shall be gathered
together in the bundle of one burden into the lake, and shall there be
shut up in prison, and after many days shall they be visited. And the
moon shall blush, and the sun be confounded, when our Lord of hosts
shall reign in Mount Sion and in Jerusalem, and be glorified in the
sight of his seniors."
Sec. 46. And after a while, giving a reason why he threateneth in that
sort, he says thus: "Behold the hand of our Lord is not shortened that
he cannot save, neither is his ear made heavy that he may not hear. But
your iniquities have divided between you and your God, and your offences
have hid his face from you, that he might not hear. For your hands are
defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity: your lips have
spoken lying, and your tongue uttereth iniquity. There is none who
calleth on justice, neither is there he who judgeth truly, but they
trust in nothing, and speak vanities, and have conceived grief, and
brought forth iniquity." And a little after, "Their works are
unprofitable, and the work of iniquity is in their hands; their feet
run into evil, and make haste that they may shed the innocent blood;
their thoughts are unprofitable thoughts, spoil and confusion are in
their ways, and the way of peace they have not known, and in their steps
there is no judgment, their paths are made crooked unto them, every one
who treadeth in them is ignorant of peace; in this respect in judgment
removed far off from you, and justice taketh no hold on you." And after
a few words, "And judgment hath been turned back, and justice hath stood
afar off, because truth hath fallen down in the streets, and equity
could not enter in; and truth is turned into oblivion, and whoso hath
departed from evil, hath lain open to spoil. And our Lord hath seen, and
it was not pleasing in his eyes, because there is not judgment."
Sec. 47. And thus far may it suffice among many, to have recited a few
sentences out of the prophet Isaiah.
But now with diligent ears hearken unto him, who was foreknown before he
was formed in the belly, sanctified before he came out of the womb, and
appointed a prophet in all nations: I mean Jeremiah, and hear what he
hath pronounced of foolish people and cruel kings, beginning his
prophecy in his mild and gentle manner.
"And the word of God was spoken unto me, saying, Go and cry in the ears
of Jerusalem, and thou shalt pronounce, Hear the word of our Lord, thou
house of Jacob, and all ye kindred of the house of Israel: Thus saith
our Lord; What iniquity have your fathers found in me, who have been far
removed from me, and walked after vanity, and are become vain, and have
not said, Where is he who made us go up out of the land of Egypt?" And
after a few words, "From the beginning of thine age thou hast broken my
yoke, violated my bands, and said, I will not serve, I have planted thee
my chosen vine, all true seed. How art thou therefore converted into
naughtiness? O strange vine! If thou shalt wash thee with nitre, and
multiply unto thee the herb borith, thou art spotted in my sight with
thine iniquity, saith our Lord." And afterwards, "Why will ye contend
with me in judgment? Ye have all forsaken me, saith our Lord, in vain
have I corrected your children, they have not received discipline. Hear
ye the word of our Lord. Am I made a solitariness unto Israel, or a
late bearing land! why therefore hath my people said, we have departed,
we will come no more unto thee? Doth the virgin forget her ornament, or
the spouse her gorget? my people truly hath forgotten me for innumerable
days. Because my people are foolish, they have not known me, they are
unwise and mad children. They are wise to do evil, but to do well they
have been ignorant."
Sec. 48. Then the prophet speaketh in his own person saying, "O Lord thine
eyes do respect faith, thou hast stricken them, and they have not
sorrowed, thou hast broken them and they have refused to receive
discipline, they have made their faces harder than the rock, and will
not return." And also our Lord: "Declare ye this same to the house of
Jacob, and make it to be heard in Judah, saying, Hear, ye foolish people
who have no heart, who having eyes see not, and ears hear not. Will ye
not therefore dread me, saith our Lord, and will ye not conceive grief
from my countenance, who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea,
an eternal commandment which she shall not break, and her waves shall be
moved, and they cannot, and her surge shall swell, and yet not pass the
same? But to this people is framed an incredulous and an exasperating
heart, they have retired and gone their ways, and not in their heart
said, Let us fear our Lord God." And again, "Because there are found
among my people wicked ones, framing wiles to entangle as if they were
fowlers, setting snares and gins to catch men: as a net that is full of
birds, so are their houses filled with deceits. Therefore are they
magnified and enriched, they are become gross and fat, and have
neglected my speeches most vilely, the orphans' cause they have not
decided, and the justice of the poor they have not adjudged. What! shall
I not visit these men, saith our Lord? or shall not my soul be revenged
upon such a nation?"
Sec. 49. But God forbid that ever should happen unto you, that which
followeth, "Thou shalt speak all these words unto them, and they shall
not hear thee; and thou shalt call them, and they shall not answer thee;
and thou shalt say unto them, This is the nation that hath not heard the
voice of their Lord God, nor yet received discipline, faith hath
perished, and been taken away from out of their mouth." And after some
few speeches, "Whoso falleth doth he not arise again, and whoso is
turned away, shall he not return again? why therefore is this people in
Jerusalem, with a contentious aversion alienated? they have apprehended
lying, and they will not come back again. I have been attentive, and
hearkened diligently, no man speaketh what is good. There is none who
repenteth of his sin, saying, What have I done? All are turned unto
their own course, like a horse passing with violence to battle. The kite
in the sky hath known her time, the turtle, and swallow, and stork have
kept the season of their coming, but my people hath not known the
judgment of God." And the prophet, being smitten with fear at so
wonderful a blindness, and unspeakable drunkenness of the sacrilegious,
and lamenting them who did not lament themselves (even according to the
present behaviour of these our unfortunate tyrants), beseecheth of our
Lord, that an augmentation of tears might be granted him, speaking in
this manner, "I am contrite upon the contrition of the daughter of my
people, astonishment hath possessed me: is there no balm in Gilead, or
is there no physician there? Why therefore is not the wound of the
daughter of my people healed? Who shall give water unto my head, and to
mine eyes a fountain of tears, and I will day and night bewail the
slaughtered of my people? who will grant me in the wilderness the inn of
passengers? and I will utterly leave my people, and depart from them;
because they are all of them adulterers, a root of offenders, and they
have bent their tongue as the bow of lying, and not of truth, they are
comforted in the earth, because they have passed from evil to evil, and
not known me, saith our Lord." And again: "And our Lord hath said,
Because they have forsaken my law, which I have given them, and not
heard my voice, nor walked thereafter, and have wandered away after the
wickedness of their own heart, in that respect our Lord of hosts, the
God of Israel, saith these words, Behold I will feed this people with
wormwood, and give them to drink the water of gall." And a little after
(speaking in the person of God), "See therefore thou do not pray for
this people, nor assume thou for them praise and prayer, because I will
not hear in the time of their outcry unto me, and of their affliction."
Sec. 50. What then shall now our miserable governors do, these few who
found out the narrow way and left the large, were by God forbidden to
pour out their prayers for such as persevered in their evils, and so
highly provoked his wrath, against whom on the contrary side when they
returned with all their hearts unto God (his divine Majesty being
unwilling that the soul of man should perish, but calling back the
castaway that he should not utterly be destroyed) the same prophets
could not procure the heavenly revenge, because Jonas, when he desired
the like most earnestly against the Ninevites, could not obtain it. But
in the meanwhile omitting our own words, let us rather hear what the
prophetic trumpet soundeth in our ears speaking thus: "If thou shalt say
in thy heart, Why have these evils befallen? For the multitude of thine
iniquities. If the Ethiopian can change his skin, or the leopard his
sundry spots, ye may also do well when ye have learned evil," ever
supposing that ye will not. And afterwards: "These words doth our Lord
say to this people, who have loved to move their feet, and have not
rested, and not pleased our Lord, Now shall he remember their
iniquities, and visit their offences; and our Lord said unto me, Pray
thou not for this people to work their good, when they fast, I will not
hear their prayers; and if they offer burnt sacrifices and oblations, I
will not receive them." And again, "And our Lord said unto me, If Moses
and Samuel shall stand before me, my soul is not bent to this people,
cast them out away from my face, and let them depart." And after a few
words: "Who shall have pity on thee Jerusalem, or who shall be sorrowful
for thee, or who shall pray for thy peace? Thou hast left me (saith our
Lord) and gone away backward, and I will stretch forth my hand over
thee, and kill thee." And somewhat after: "Thus saith our Lord, Behold I
imagine a thought against you, let every man return from his evil
course, and make straight your ways and endeavours, who said, we
despair, we will go after our own thoughts, and every one of us will do
the naughtiness of his evil heart. Thus therefore saith our Lord, Ask
the Gentiles, who hath heard such horrible matters, which the virgin
Israel hath too often committed? Shall there fail from the rock of the
field, the snow of Libanus? or can the waters be drawn dry that gush out
cold and flowing? because my people hath forgotten me." And somewhat
also after this propounding unto them an election, he speaking saith,
"Thus saith our Lord, Do ye judgment and justice, and deliver him who by
power is oppressed out of the hand of the malicious accuser; and for the
stranger, and orphan, and widow, do not provoke their sorrow, neither
yet work ye unjustly the grief of others, nor shed ye forth the innocent
blood. For if indeed ye shall accomplish this word, there shall enter in
through the gates of this house, kings of the lineage of David, sitting
upon his throne. But if ye will not hearken unto these words, by myself
I have sworn (saith our Lord) that this house shall be turned into a
desert." And again (for he spoke of a wicked king), "As I live (saith
our Lord) if so be that Jechonias shall be a ring on my right hand, I
will pluck him away, and give him over into the hands of them who seek
his life."
Sec. 51. Moreover, holy Abraham crieth out, saying, "Woe be unto them who
build a city in blood, and prepare a town in iniquities, saying, Are not
these things from our almighty Lord? and many people have failed in
fire, and many nations have been diminished." And thus complaining, he
begins his prophecy: "How long, O Lord, shall I call, and thou wilt not
hear? Shall I cry out unto thee, to what end hast thou given me labours
and griefs, to behold misery and impiety?" And on the other side, "And
judgment was sat upon, and the judge hath taken in regard hereof, the
law is rent in pieces, and judgment is not brought fully to his
conclusion, because the wicked through power treadeth the just under
foot. In this respect hath passed forth perverse judgment."
Sec. 52. And mark ye also what blessed Hosea the prophet says of princes:
"For that they have transgressed my covenant, and ordained against my
law, and exclaimed, we have known thee, because thou art against Israel.
They have persecuted good, as if it were evil. They have reigned for
themselves and not by me; they have held a principality, neither yet
have they acknowledged me."
Sec. 53. And hear ye likewise the holy prophet Amos, in this sort
threatening: "In three heinous offences of the sons of Judah, and in
four I will not convert them, for that they have cast away the law of
our Lord, and not kept his commandments, but their vanities have
seduced them. And I will send fire upon Judah, and it shall eat the
foundations of Jerusalem. Thus saith our Lord; In three grievous sins of
Israel, and in four I will not convert them, for that they have sold the
just for money, and the poor man for shoes, which they tread upon the
dust of the earth, and with buffets they did beat the heads of the poor,
and have eschewed the way of the humble." And after a few words, "Seek
our Lord and ye shall live, that the house of Joseph may not shine as
fire, and the flame devour it, and he shall not be, that can extinguish
it. The house of Israel hath hated him who rebuketh in the gates, and
abhorred the upright word." Which Amos, being forbidden to prophesy in
Israel, without any fawning flattery, saith in answer, "I was not a
prophet, nor yet the son of a prophet, but a goatherd; I was plucking
sycamores and our Lord took me from my herd, and our Lord said unto me,
Go thy way and prophesy against my people of Israel: and now hear thou
the word of our Lord (for he directed his speech unto the king), thou
sayest, do not prophesy against Israel, and thou shalt not assemble
troops against the house of Jacob. For which cause our Lord saith thus,
thy wife in the city shall play the harlot, and thy sons and daughters
shall die by the sword, and thy ground be measured by the cord, and thou
in a polluted land shalt end thy life, but for Israel, she shall be led
from his own country a captive." And afterwards, "Hear therefore these
words, ye who do outrageously afflict the poor, and practise your mighty
power against the needy of the earth, who say, when shall the month pass
over that we may purchase, and the sabbaths that we may open the
treasuries." And within a few words after, "Our Lord doth swear against
the pride of Jacob, if he shall in contempt forget your actions, and if
in these the earth shall not be disturbed, and every inhabitant thereof
fall to lamentation, and the final end as a flood ascend, and I will
turn your festival days into wailing, and cast haircloth on the loins of
every one, and on the head of every man baldness, and make him as the
mourning of one over beloved, and those who are with him as the day of
his sorrow." And again, "In the sword shall die all the sinners of my
people, who say, evils shall not approach, nor yet shall light upon
us."
Sec. 54. And listen ye, likewise, what holy Michah the prophet hath spoken,
saying, "Hearken, ye tribes. And what shall adorn the city? Shall not
fire? and the house of the wicked hoarding up unjust treasures, and with
injury unrighteousness? If the wrongful dealer shall be justified in the
balance, and deceitful weights in the scales, by which they have heaped
up their riches in ungodliness."
Sec. 55. And hear also what threats the famous prophet Zephaniah thundereth
out: saith he, "The great day of our Lord is near; it is at hand, and
very swiftly approacheth. The voice of the day of our Lord is appointed
to be bitter and mighty, that day, a day of wrath, a day of tribulation
and necessity, a day of clouds and mist, a day of the trumpet and
outcry, a day of misery and extermination, a day of darkness and dimness
upon the strong cities and high corners. And I will bring men to
tribulation, and they shall go as if they were blind, because they have
offended our Lord, and I will pour out their blood as dust, and their
flesh as the dung of oxen, and their silver and gold shall not be able
to deliver them in the day of the wrath of our Lord. And in the fire of
his zeal shall the whole earth be consumed, when the Lord shall
accomplish his absolute end, and bring solitariness upon all the
inhabitants of the earth. Come together and be joined in one, thou
nation without discipline, before ye be made as the fading flower,
before the wrath of our Lord falleth upon ye."
Sec. 56. And give ear also unto that which the prophet Haggai speaketh:
"Thus saith our Lord, I will once move the heaven, and earth, and sea,
and dry land, and I will drive away the thrones of kings, and root out
the power of the kings of the Gentiles, and I will chase away the
chariots of those who mount upon them."
Sec. 57. Now also behold what Zacharias the son of Addo, that chosen
prophet, said, beginning his prophecy in this manner: "Return to me, and
I will return unto you, saith our Lord, and be not like your fathers, to
whom the former prophets have imputed, saying, Thus saith our almighty
Lord, Turn away from your ways, and they have not marked whereby they
might obediently hear me." And afterwards, "And the angel asked me, what
dost thou see? And I said, I see a flying scythe, which containeth in
length twenty cubits. The malediction which hath proceeded upon the face
of the whole earth; because every one of her thieves shall be punished
even to the death, and I will throw him away, saith our almighty Lord,
and he shall enter into the house of fury, and into the house of
swearing falsehood in my name."
Sec. 58. Holy Malachy the prophet also saith, "Behold, the day of our Lord
shall come, inflamed as a furnace, and all proud men, and all workers of
iniquity shall be as stubble, and the approaching day of the Lord of
hosts shall set them on fire, which shall not leave a root nor a bud of
them."
Sec. 59. And hearken ye also what holy Job debateth of the beginning and
end of the ungodly, saying, "For what purpose do the wicked live, and
have grown old dishonestly, and their issue hath been according to their
own desire, and their sons before their faces, and their houses are
fruitful, and no fear nor yet the scourge of our Lord is upon them.
Their cow hath not been abortive, their great with young hath brought
forth her young ones and not missed, but remaineth as an eternal breed;
and their children rejoice, and taking the psaltery and harp, have
finished their days in felicity and fallen peaceably asleep down into
hell." Doth God, therefore, not behold the works of the wicked? Not so,
truly, "But the candle of the ungodly shall be extinguished, and
destruction shall fall upon them, and pains as of one in childbirth,
shall withhold them from wrath; and they shall be as chaff before the
wind, and as the dust which the whirlwind hath carried away. Let all
goodness fail his children; let his eyes behold his own slaughter, nor
yet by our Lord let him be redeemed." And a little after, he saith of
the same men, "Who have ravenously taken the flock with the shepherd,
and driven away the beast of the orphans, and engaged the ox of the
widow, and deceiving, have declined from the way of necessity. They have
reaped other men's fields before the time; the poor have laboured in the
vineyards of the mighty without hire and meat, they have made many to
sleep naked without garments; of the covering of their life they have
bereaved them." And somewhat afterwards, when he had thoroughly
understood their works, he delivered them over to darkness. "Let,
therefore, his portion be accursed from the earth; let his plantings
bring forth witherings; let him for this be rewarded according to his
dealings; let every wicked man like the unsound wood be broken in
pieces. For arising in his wrath hath he overthrown the impotent.
Wherefore truly shall he have no trust of his life; when he shall begin
to grow diseased, let him not hope for health, but fall into
languishing. For his pride hath been the hurt of many, and he is become
decayed and rotten, as the mallows in the scorching heat, or as the ear
of corn when it falleth off from its stubble." And afterwards, "If his
children shall be many, they shall be turned to the slaughter, and if he
gather together silver as if it were earth, and likewise purify his gold
as if it were dirt, all these same shall the just obtain."
Sec. 60. Hear ye moreover what blessed Esdras, that cyclopaedia of the
divine law, threateneth in his discourse. "Thus saith our Lord God: My
right hand shall not be sparing upon sinners, neither shall the sword
cease over them who spill the innocent blood on the earth. Fire shall
proceed from out of my wrath, and devour the foundations of the earth,
and sinners as if they were inflamed straw. Woe be unto them who offend,
and observe not my commandments, saith our Lord, I will not forbear
them. Depart from me ye apostatizing children, and do not pollute my
sanctuary. God doth know who offend against him, and he will therefore
deliver them over to death and to slaughter. For now have many evils
passed over the round compass of the earth. A sword of fire is sent out
against you, and who is he that shall restrain it? shall any man repulse
a lion that hungereth in the wood? or shall any one quench out the fire
when the straw is burning? our Lord God will send out evils, and who is
he that shall repress them? and fire will pass forth from out of his
wrath, and who shall extinguish it? it shall brandishing shine, and who
will not fear it? it shall thunder, and who will not shake with dread?
God will threaten all, and who will not be terrified? before his face
the earth doth tremble, and the foundations of the sea shake from the
depths."
Sec. 61. And mark ye also what Ezechiel the renowned prophet, and admirable
beholder of the four evangelical creatures, speaketh of wicked
offenders, unto whom pitifully lamenting beforehand the scourge that
hung over Israel, our Lord doth say, "Too far hath the iniquity of the
house of Israel and Judah prevailed, because the earth is filled with
iniquity and uncleanness. Behold I am, mine eyes shall not spare, nor
will I take pity." And afterwards, "Because the earth is replenished
with people, and the city fraughted with iniquity, I will also turn away
the force of their power, and their holy things shall be polluted,
prayer shall approach and sue for peace, and it shall not be obtained."
And somewhat after, "The word of our Lord, quoth he, was spoken unto me,
saying, Thou son of man, the land that shall so far sin against me as to
commit an offence, I will stretch forth my hand upon her, and break in
pieces her foundation of bread, and send upon her famine, and take away
mankind and cattle from her; and if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and
Job, be in the midst of her, they shall not deliver her, but they in
their justice shall be saved, saith our Lord. If so be that also I shall
bring in evil beasts upon the land and punish her, she likewise shall be
turned to destruction, and there shall not be one who shall have free
passage from the face of the beasts, and although these three men are in
the midst of her, as I live, saith our Lord, their sons and daughters
shall not be preserved, but they alone shall be saved, and as for the
land it shall fall to confusion." And again, "The son shall not receive
the unrighteousness of the father, neither the father the son's
unrighteousness. The justice of the just shall be upon himself. And the
unjust man, if he turneth him away from all the iniquities which he hath
done, and keepeth all my commandments, and doth justice and abundance of
mercy, he shall live in life and shall not die. All his sins, whatsoever
he hath committed, shall have no further being; he shall live the life
in his own justice which he hath performed. Do I with my will
voluntarily wish the death of the unrighteous, saith our Lord, rather
than that he should return from his evil way and live? But when the just
shall turn himself away from his justice, and do iniquity, according to
all the iniquities which the unrighteous hath committed, all the just
actions (which he hath done) shall remain no further in memory. In his
offence wherein he hath fallen, and in his sins in which he hath
transgressed, he shall die." And, within some words afterwards: "And
all nations shall understand, that the house of Israel are led captive
away for their offences, because they have forsaken me. And I have
turned my face from them, and yielded them over into the hands of their
enemies, and all have perished by the sword; according unto their
unclean sins, and after their iniquities have I dealt with them, and
turned my face away from them."
Sec. 62. This which I have spoken may suffice concerning the threats of the
holy prophets: only I have thought it necessary to intermingle in this
little work of mine, not only these menaces, but also a few words
borrowed out of the wisdom of Solomon, to declare unto kings matters of
exhortation or instruction, that they may not say I am willing to load
the shoulders of men with heavy and insupportable burdens of words, but
not so much as once with mine own finger (that is, with speech of
consolation) to move the same. Let us therefore hear what the prophet
hath spoken to rule us. "Love justice," saith he, "ye that judge the
earth." This testimony alone (if it were with a full and perfect heart
observed) would abundantly suffice to reform the governors of our
country. For if they had loved justice, they would also love God, who is
in a sort the fountain and original of all justice. "Serve our Lord in
goodness, and seek him in simplicity of heart." Alas! who shall live (as
a certain one before us hath said) when such things are done by our
countrymen, if perchance they may be any where accomplished? "Because he
is found of those who do not tempt him, he appeareth truly to them who
have faith in him." For these men without respect do tempt God, whose
commandments with stubborn despite they contemn, neither yet do they
keep to him their faith, unto whose oracles be they pleasing, or
somewhat severe, they turn their backs and not their faces. "For
perverse thoughts do separate from God," and this in the tyrants of our
time very plainly appeareth. But why doth our meanness intermeddle in
this so manifest a determination? Let therefore him who alone is true
(as we have said) speak for us, I mean the Holy Ghost, of whom it is now
pronounced, "The Holy Ghost verily will avoid the counterfeiting of
discipline." And again, "Because the Spirit of God hath filled the globe
of the earth." And afterwards (showing with an evident judgment the end
of the evil and righteous) he saith, "How is the hope of the wicked as
the down that is blown away with the wind, and as the smoke that with
the blast is dispersed, and as the slender froth that with a storm is
scattered, and as the memory of a guest who is a passenger of one day.
But the just shall live for ever, and with God remaineth their reward,
and their cogitation is with the Highest. Therefore shall they receive
the kingdom of glory, and the crown of beauty from the hand of our Lord.
Because with his right hand he will protect them, and with his holy arm
defend them." For very far unlike in quality are the just and ungodly,
as our Lord verily hath spoken, saying, "Them who honour me I will
honour, and whoso despise me shall be of no estimation."
Sec. 63. But let us pass over to the rest: "Hearken, (saith he) all ye
kings, and understand ye; learn, ye judges of the bounds of the earth,
listen with your ears who keep multitudes in awe, and please yourselves
in the troops of nations. Because power is given unto you from God, and
puissance from the highest, who will examine your actions, and sift your
thoughts. For that when ye were ministers of his kingdom, ye have not
judged uprightly, nor kept the law of justice, nor yet walked according
to his will. It shall dreadfully and suddenly appear unto you, that a
most severe judgment shall be given on them who govern. For to the
meaner is mercy granted, but the mighty shall mightily sustain torments.
For he shall have no respect of persons, who is the ruler of all, nor
yet shall he reverence the greatness of any one, because he himself hath
made both small and great, and care alike he hath of all; but for the
stronger is at hand a stronger affliction. Unto you therefore, O kings,
are these my speeches, that you may learn wisdom, and not fall away from
her. For whoso observeth what things are just shall be justified, and
whoso learneth what things are holy, shall be sanctified."
Sec. 64. Hitherto have we discoursed no less by the oracles of the
prophets, than by her own speeches with the kings of our country, being
willing they should know what the prophet hath spoken, saying, "As from
the face of a serpent, so fly thou from sins: if thou shalt approach
unto them they will catch thee, their teeth are the teeth of a lion,
such as kill the souls of men." And again, "How mighty is the mercy of
our Lord, and his forgiveness to such as turn unto him." And if we have
not in us such apostolical zeal, that we may say, "I did verily desire
to be anathematized by Christ for my brethren," notwithstanding that we
may from the bottom of our hearts speak that prophetic saying, "Alas!
that the soul perisheth." And again, "Let us search out our ways, and
seek and return unto our Lord: let us lift our hearts together with our
hands to God in heaven." And also that of the apostle, "We covet that
every one of you should be in the bowels of Christ."
Sec. 65. And how willingly, as one tossed on the waves of the sea, and now
arrived in a desired haven, would I in this place make an end (shame
forbidding me further to proceed), did I not behold such great masses of
evil deeds done against God by bishops or other priests, or clerks, yea
some of our own order, whom as witnesses myself must of necessity first
of all stone (according unto the law) with the hard blows of words, lest
I should be otherwise reproved for partiality towards persons, and then
afterwards the people (if as yet they keep their decrees) must pursue
with their whole powers the same execution upon them, not to their
corporal death, but to the death of their vices and their eternal life
with God. Yet, as I before said, I crave pardon of them, whose lives I
not only praise, but also prefer before all earthly treasure, and of the
which, if it may be, yet before my death I desire and thirst to be a
partaker: and so having both my sides defended with the double shields
of saints, and by those means invincibly strengthened to sustain all
that arise against me, arming moreover my head in place of a helmet with
the help of our Lord, and being most assuredly protected with the sundry
aids of the prophets, I will boldly proceed notwithstanding the stones
of worldly rioters fly never so fast about me.
Sec. 66. Britain hath priests, but they are unwise; very many that
minister, but many of them impudent; clerks she hath, but certain of
them are deceitful raveners; pastors (as they are called) but rather
wolves prepared for the slaughter of souls (for they provide not for the
good of the common people, but covet rather the gluttony of their own
bellies), possessing the houses of the church, but obtaining them for
filthy lucre's sake; instructing the laity, but showing withal most
depraved examples, vices, and evil manners; seldom sacrificing, and
seldom with clean hearts, standing at the altars; not correcting the
commonality for their offences, while they commit the same sins
themselves; despising the commandments of Christ, and being careful with
their whole hearts to fulfil their own lustful desires, some of them
usurping with unclean feet the seat of the apostle Peter; but for the
demerit of their covetousness falling down into the pestilent chair of
the traitor Judas; detracting often, and seldom speaking truly; hating
verity as an open enemy, and favouring falsehoods, as their most beloved
brethren; looking on the just, the poor, and the impotent, with stern
countenances, as if they were detested serpents, and reverencing the
sinful rich men without any respect of shame, as if they were heavenly
angels, preaching with their outward lips that alms are to be disbursed
upon the needy, but of themselves not bestowing one halfpenny;
concealing the horrible sins of the people, and amplifying injuries
offered unto themselves, as if they were done against our Saviour
Christ; expelling out of their houses their religious mother, perhaps,
or sisters, and familiarly and indecently entertaining strange women, as
if it were for some more secret office, or rather, to speak truly,
though fondly (and yet not fondly to me, but to such as commit these
matters), debasing themselves unto such bad creatures; and after all
these seeking rather ambitiously for ecclesiastical dignities, than for
the kingdom of heaven; and defending after a tyrannical fashion their
achieved preferments, nor even labouring with lawful manners, to adorn
the same; negligent and dull to listen to the precepts of the holy
saints (if ever they did so much as once hear that which full often they
ought to hear), but diligent and attentive to the plays and foolish
fables of secular men, as if they were the very ways to life, which
indeed are but the passages to death; being hoarse, after the fashion of
bulls, with the abundance of fatness, and miserably prompt to all
unlawful actions; bearing their countenances arrogantly aloft, and
having nevertheless their inward senses, with tormenting and gnawing
consciences; depressed down to the bottom or rather to the bottomless
pit; glad at the gaining of one penny, and at the loss of the like value
sad; slothful and dumb in the apostolical decrees (be it for ignorance
or rather the burden of their offences), and stopping also the mouths of
the learned, but singularly experienced in the deceitful shifts of
worldly affairs; and many of this sort and wicked conversation,
violently intruding themselves into the preferments of the church; yea,
rather buying the same at a high rate, than being any way drawn
thereunto, and moreover as unworthy wretches, wallowing, after the
fashion of swine, in their old and unhappy puddle of intolerable
wickedness, after they have attained unto the seat of the priesthood or
episcopal dignity (who neither have been installed, or resident on the
same), for usurping only the name of priesthood, they have not received
the orders or apostolical pre-eminence; but how can they who are not as
yet fully instructed in faith, nor have done penance for their sins, be
any way supposed meet and convenient to ascend unto any ecclesiastical
degree (that I may not speak of the highest) which none but holy and
perfect men, and followers of the apostles, and, to use the words of the
teacher of the Gentiles, persons free from reprehension, can lawfully
and without the foul offence of sacrilege undertake.
Sec. 67. For what is so wicked and so sinful as after the example of Simon
Magus (even if with other faults he had not been defiled before), for
any man with earthly price to purchase the office of a bishop or priest,
which with holiness and righteous life alone ought lawfully to be
obtained; but herein they do more wilfully and desperately err, in that
they buy their deceitful and unprofitable ecclesiastical degrees, not of
the apostles or their successors, but of tyrannical princes, and their
father the devil; yea, rather they raise this as a certain roof and
covering of all offences, over the frame of their former serious life,
that being protected under the shadow thereof, no man should lightly
hereafter lay to their charge their old or new wickedness; and hereupon
they build their desires of covetousness and gluttony, for that being
now the rulers of many they may more freely make havoc at their
pleasure. For if truly any such offer of purchasing ecclesiastical
promotions were made by these impudent sinners (I will not say with St.
Peter), but to any holy priest, or godly king, they would no doubt
receive the same answer which their father Simon Magus had from the
mouth of the apostle Peter, saying: "Thy money be with thee unto thy
perdition." But, alas! perhaps they who order and advance these
ambitious aspirers, yea, they who rather throw them under foot, and for
a blessing give them a cursing, whilst of sinners they make them not
penitents (which were more consonant to reason), but sacrilegious and
desperate offenders, and in a sort install Judas, that traitor to his
Master, in the chair of Peter, and Nicholas, the author of that foul
heresy, in the seat of St. Stephen the martyr, it may be at first
obtained their own priesthood by the same means, and therefore do not
greatly dislike in their children, but rather respect the course, that
they their fathers did before follow. And also, if finding resistance,
in obtaining their dioceses at home, and some who severely renounce this
chaffering of church-livings, they cannot there attain to such a
precious pearl, then it doth not so much loath as delight them (after
they have carefully sent their messengers beforehand) to cross the seas,
and travel over most large countries, that so, in the end, yea even with
the sale of their whole substance, they may win and compass such a pomp,
and such an incomparable glory, or to speak more truly, such a dirty and
base deceit and illusion. And afterwards with great show and magnificent
ostentation, or rather madness, returning back to their own native soil,
they grow from stoutness to stateliness, and from being used to level
their looks to the tops of the mountains, they now lift up their drowsy
eyes into the air, even to the highest clouds, and as Novatus, that foul
hog, and persecutor of our Lord's precious jewel, did once at Rome, so
do these intrude themselves again into their own country, as creatures
of a new mould, or rather as instruments of the devil, being even ready
in this state and fashion to stretch out violently their hands (not so
worthy of the holy altars as of the avenging flames of hell) upon
Christ's most holy sacrifices.
Sec. 68. What do you therefore, O unhappy people! expect from such belly
beasts? (as the apostle calleth them). Shall your manners be amended by
these, who not only do not apply their minds to any goodness, but
according to the upbraiding of the prophet, labour also to deal
wickedly? Shall ye be illuminated with such eyes as are only with
greediness cast on those things that lead headlong to vices (that is to
say), to the gates of hell? Nay truly, if according to the saying of our
Saviour, ye flee not these most ravenous wolves like those of Arabia, or
avoid them as Lot, who ran most speedily from the fiery shower of Sodom
up to the mountains, then, being blind and led by the blind, ye will
both together tumble down into the infernal ditch.
Sec. 69. But some man perchance will objecting say, that all bishops or all
priests (according to our former exception), are not so wickedly given,
because they are not defiled with the infamy of schism, pride, or
unclean life, which neither we ourselves will deny, but albeit we know
them to be chaste, and virtuous, yet will we briefly answer.
What did it profit the high-priest Hely, that he alone did not violate
the commandments of our Lord, in taking flesh with forks out of the
pots, before the fat was offered unto God, while he was punished with
the same revenge of death wherewith his sons were? What one, I beseech
you, of them, whose manners we have before sufficiently declared, hath
been martyred like Abel, from malicious jealousy of his more acceptable
sacrifice, which with the heavenly fire ascended up into the skies,
since they fear the reproach even of an ordinary word? Which of them
"hath hated the counsel of the malicious, and not sat with the ungodly,"
so that of him as a prophet, the same might be verified which was said
of Enoch, "Enoch walked with God and was not to be found" in the vanity
(forsooth) of the whole world, as then leaving our Lord, and beginning
to halt after idolatry? Which of them, like Noah in the time of the
deluge, hath not admitted into the ark of salvation (which is the
present church) any adversary unto God, that it may be most apparent
that none but innocents or singular penitents, ought to remain in the
house of our Lord? Who is he that offering sacrifice like Melchisedeck,
hath only blessed the conquerors, and them who with the number of three
hundred (which was in the sacrament of the Trinity) delivering the just
man, have overthrown the deadly armies of the five kings, together with
their vanquishing troops, and not coveted the goods of others? Which of
them hath like Abraham, at the commandment of God freely offered his own
son on the altar to be slain, that he might accomplish a precept of
Christ, agreeable to this saying, Thy right eye, if it cause thee to
offend, ought to be pulled out; and another of the prophet, That he is
accursed who withholdeth his sword from shedding blood? Who is he that
like Joseph, hath rooted out of his heart the remembrance of an offered
injury? Who is he that like Moses, speaking with our Lord in the
mountain, and not there terrified with the sounding trumpets, hath in a
figurative sense presented unto the incredulous people the two tables,
and his horned face which they could not endure to see, but trembled to
behold? Which of them, praying for the offences of the people, has from
the very bottom of his heart cried out, like unto him, saying: "O Lord
this people hath committed a grievous sin, which if thou wilt forgive
them, forgive it; otherwise blot me guilty out of thy book?"
Sec. 70. Which of them, inflamed with the admirable zeal of God, hath
courageously risen to punish fornication, curing without delay by the
present medicine of penance, the affection of filthy lust, lest the fire
of the wrath of God should otherwise consume the people, as Phineas the
priest did, that by these means justice for ever might be reputed unto
him? Which of them hath in moral understanding imitated Joshua, the son
of Nun, either for the utter rooting forth, even to the slaughter of the
last and least of all, the seven nations out of the land of promise, or
for the establishing of spiritual Israel in their places? Which of them
hath showed unto the people of God their final bounds beyond Jordan that
it might be known what was suited to every tribe, in such sort as the
aforenamed Phineas and Jesus have wisely divided the land? Who is he
that to overthrow the innumerable thousands of Gentiles, adversaries to
the chosen people of God, hath, as another Jephtha, for a votive and
propitiatory sacrifice, slain his own daughter (by which is to be
understood his own proper will), imitating also therein the apostle,
saying, "Not seeking what is profitable to me, but to many, that they
may be saved;" which daughter of his met the conquerors with drums and
dances, by which are to be understood the lustful desires of the flesh?
Which of them, that he might disorder, put to flight, and overthrow the
camps of the proud Gentiles, by the number of three hundred, (being, as
we before said, the mystery of the blessed Trinity,) and with his men
holding in their hands those noble sounding trumpets, (which are
prophetical and apostolical senses, according as our Lord said to the
prophet, "Exalt thy voice as a trumpet;" and the psalmist of the
apostles, "Their sound hath passed throughout the whole earth,") and
bearing all those famous flagons shining in the night with that most
glittering fiery light, (which are to be interpreted the bodies of
saints joined to good works, and burning with the flame of the Holy
Ghost, yea having, as the apostle writes, "This treasure in earthen
vessels,") hath after hewing down the idolatrous grave (by which is
morally meant dark and foul desire) marched on like Gideon, with an
assured faith in the evident sign of the fleece, which to the Jews was
void of the heavenly moisture, but to the Gentiles made wet with the dew
of the Holy Ghost?