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<DATE>2008-03-13</DATE>
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<NAME>Emma Leeson Huber</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>Hi&s;torie &amp; Policie RE-VIEWED, In The Heroick Tran&s;actions of his Mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e, OLIVER, Late <HI>LORD PROTECTOR</HI>; From his CRADLE, to his TOMB: Declaring his &s;teps to Princely Perfe|ction; as they are drawn in lively Parallels to the A&s;cents of the Great Patriarch <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> in thirty Degrees, to the Height of Honour. By <HI>H. D.</HI> E&s;q.</P>
<BIBL>Claud. de <HI>Theodo&s;.</HI></BIBL>
<Q>Solus meruit regnare rogatus.</Q>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>Nathaniel Brook,</HI> at the Angel in Cornhill. 1659.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>To the Mo&s;t Serene HIGHNESSE, OF RICHARD By the Grace of God, <HI>LORD PROTECTOR,</HI> Of <HI>England, Scotland,</HI> and <HI>Ireland,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Chara Dei &s;oboles, magnum Jovis Incrementum.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_PArdon, Great Sir, the com|pellation; for though it be a piece of an <HI>Aenead</HI> (&s;ome will think of flattery) yet it is very manife&s;tly, your mo&s;t
<PB REF="3">
Serene Highne&s;&s;e his Birth-Right, and plain prophetick truth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Third Tran|&s;cend. A&s;cent, <HI>p. 271.</HI></NOTE> as is made more clearly to appear in one of tho&s;e Parallels, that treat of your happy Promotion and Succe&s;&s;ion to the Throne, where you now &s;it.</P>
<P>As for the imputation of flattery, it is known, that I have ever &s;o much abhorred from all that, and tho&s;e &s;ubtile Arti&s;ts of Fortune, who make a Trade of it, that whil&s;t I have been conver&s;ant in the Courts of &s;ome great Princes, and particu|larly known to many of their per|&s;ons, I have been alwayes mo&s;t &s;e|verely taxt, of too much of the o|ther extreme: much le&s;&s;e &s;hould I dare to offer any thing of that now, to your mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e, who are known to hold &s;o much of the vertue, of your mo&s;t Renown|ed Father in you, as to be better plea&s;ed to meet with an enemy, in
<PB REF="3">
open field, than a flattering friend in your Privy Chamber. In&s;omuch, that I am afraid to tell your High|ne&s;&s;e, &s;ome notorious truths; how all we your people, look upon you, as our &s;econd <HI>Jo&s;hua,</HI> in the place of our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> as full of the &s;pirit of Wi&s;dom, Courage, and Piety, as he was, and that we can|not at all doubt, but your &s;ucce&s;&s;es will be likewi&s;e mo&s;t proportion|able to his; how Walls, and Ci|ties, &s;hall fall before you, Gyants wax pale, Rivers retire back, the Sun it &s;elf &s;tand &s;till, and as many Kings will undergoe your yoke.</P>
<P>I am afraid to tell you Sir, how we, that are your people, are all of us employ'd, in planting more Bayes, and Laurel in our Gardens, to en-garland your Victorious browes, before you come to a Bat|tle. In fine, I am afraid to tell
<PB REF="4">
you, how all our hearts, like Ro&s;es, withered upon the death of your glorious Father, now begin a|gain to bloom afre&s;h, and newly to open our &s;elves, at the benigne, gentle, &amp; glorious, Princely A&s;pect, of your mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e: No, I know to tell your goodne&s;&s;e any thing of this, would be but to offend it, and to commit a &s;acri|ledge upon your mo&s;t precious time: So Ile forbear, and onely pro&s;ecute my petitions for more pardons &s;till; and Princes upon their fir&s;t inaugurations, &s;eldome deny any, who&s;e crimes carry not &s;ome extraordinary atrocity with them; much le&s;&s;e can I doubt of indulgence, from your mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e, who are a Per&s;on &s;o compo&s;ed of Grace, and Clemency it &s;elf.</P>
<P>Your pardon therefore gracious
<PB REF="4">
Sir again, that I pre&s;ume to addre&s;s the&s;e poor unpoli&s;ht papers, to &s;o great a Patronage as yours. In|deed, mighty Sir, if that the tran|&s;cendency of the Subject, treated on in the&s;e Di&s;cour&s;es, had not given me great encouragement, I &s;hould never have dared to offer this Piece to your view, much le&s;&s;e to your protection: but it being con&s;cious to it &s;elf, that it contains nothing, but meer Commentaries upon your glorious Fathers Words and Actions, it humbly conceives, that your Highne&s;&s;e has &s;o great a propriety in it, and that it has &s;o near a Relation to your Highne&s;&s;e, that it boldly begins to challenge, your mo&s;t Serene Candour, and particular Protection: and would argue me of an extreme in&s;olence, to go about to &s;eek for its Birth, under any other favour. For may
<PB REF="5">
it plea&s;e your Highne&s;&s;e to take it as a little Hi&s;tory, of your mo&s;t Re|nowned Father; who &s;hould it come to for Licence, Approbation, Countenance, and Priviledge, but your Sacred &s;elf, who are the Compendium of his incomparable Life, and the living Epitome of all his Perfections, and are growing up very &s;peedily, to be as great a Volume.</P>
<P>May it plea&s;e your Highne&s;&s;e, to take it as a piece of Architecture, or Mo&s;aick Work (as it is) erected upon the Memory of your decea|&s;ed Father; whom &s;hould it have recour&s;e to, for its Pillar, and &s;up|port, but onely your Highne&s;&s;e, who are the moving Model of all his Great Actions? And may your Highne&s;&s;e plea&s;e to take it, as a Table or Picture, of your Prince|ly Father; Who is more con|cerned
<PB REF="5">
in it, than your Gracious &s;elf, that are as much the lively Image of his Vertues, as of the Maje&s;ty of his Per&s;on.</P>
<P>Thus then, for the &s;cope and bu&s;ine&s;&s;e of the Book, I dare affirm it to be without exception, great and good, and &s;o I dare pre&s;ent it boldly to your mo&s;t Serene High|ne&s;&s;e, and avouch it equal to any Kings Cabinet what&s;oever in the World; though truly for the ru&s;ti|city of its dre&s;&s;e, which is meerly my fault, it may not be, for ought I know, admitted by the over-curi|ous. The plain truth is, and I am not a&s;hamed to acknowledge it to your Highne&s;&s;e, that I have been &s;o in|tent upon the maine matter, that it may be I have neglected &s;omething of the form, or to give it the due dre&s;&s;e and ornament of Language; and to word it truly as it &s;hould
<PB REF="6">
have been, would have required no le&s;&s;e than the pen of a Seraphim: but my comfort is, that your High|ne&s;&s;e, like your great Father, in that as well as all his other Excellencies, has been ever a mo&s;t declared ene|my to that kind of pitiful o&s;tenta|tion of words, as well as cloathes, and knows how to make a value of a pure Oriental Pearle, though covered with a cour&s;e &s;hell, and how to accept of a precious &s;weet Perfume, though &s;hut up within an abject Box. So I hope it &s;hall not offend your Highne&s;&s;e, and that will &s;uffice me, not to have imitated tho&s;e that pre&s;erve Oranges and Limons, who neglecting the rich juice, and in&s;ide of the fruit, do candy and pre&s;erve the meer Rine, and out&s;ide onely.</P>
<P>But yet I have another pardon to beg of your mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e,
<PB REF="6">
which mu&s;t be granted, after all this, or I am eternally ruined, and that is, for dareing to undertake, or touch with my rude hands, this mo&s;t curious piece of Mo&s;aick Work, which &s;hould &s;erve for a Monument upon your immortal Fathers Memory, well knowing, that no tongue which has not ex|pre&s;&s;ions equal to his Expeditions, or a pen that cannot parallel his Sword, is capable to deliver any ju&s;t Character of him.</P>
<P>What Language, Pen, or Pen&s;il, can po&s;&s;ibly delineate, that mo&s;t invincible Spirit of his, that en|countered Men and Devils, and a&s;&s;ociating the Kingdom of his Vertues, to the force of his Armes, broke through all ob&s;tacles, to Crown his in&s;pired purpo&s;es? how he in the hurry of War, and glo|ry of Peace, bearing thunder and
<PB REF="7">
olive branches, throughout the&s;e Kingdomes, now ble&s;t under your mo&s;t Gracious Protection, has happily rendered him&s;elf amiable at one time, and terrible at an|other, and yet ever pro&s;perous, and aweful in both?</P>
<P>No, it is impo&s;&s;ible for any Mortal to do it, His own Acts onely can &s;peak for him, and for ever will do more, than all the <HI>Panegyricks</HI> in the World can: For the Ro&s;e we know, is &s;uffi|ciently beautified with its leaves, and the Sun with its Rayes, and no more can our prai&s;es arrive at his perfections, than humane Arts can reach tho&s;e of Nature.</P>
<P>But this piece of infinite in&s;o|lence, I &s;tand now guilty of be|fore your Highne&s;&s;e, and unle&s;&s;e your Gracious Serenity be plea|&s;ed to pardon me, I mu&s;t peri&s;h,
<PB REF="7">
even in the Haven of Hope.</P>
<P>And Mighty Sir, to make &s;ome &s;atisfaction, for my pre&s;ent auda|cious attempt, I will hereafter &s;trive, better to re&s;emble tho&s;e devout adorers of the Sun, who not being able to affixe Crowns, and Garlands, upon the head of his Statue, burnt Flowers alwayes in &s;acrifice to it, to make their odour mount to the Heavens: So, &s;ince I can never be able to Crown his decea&s;ed Highne&s;&s;e his Merits, with my weake humane prai&s;es, I will humbly offer up to Heaven my prayers and vows, for your eternall pro&s;perities, who pre&s;erve &s;till, the <HI>Idaea</HI> of his late Highne&s;&s;e his Authori|ty, and Maje&s;ty, as well as that of his Sacred Per&s;on, here a|mong&s;t us; and that Ile do con|&s;tantly,
<PB REF="8">
with all &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion, due to your mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e his mo&s;t Heroick, Sublime, and true Princely Qualities, as becomes,</P>
<CLOSER><SALUTE>Mo&s;t Gracious Sir,</SALUTE>
<SIGNED>Your Highne&s;&s;e his mo&s;t de|voted, obedient, faithful, and loyal &s;ubject, <HI>H. Dawbeny.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="8">
<HEAD>THE EPISTLE To the &s;everal &s;orts of READERS.</HEAD>
<P>REaders, if you are Per|&s;ons any way pre-in|gaged, or tyed to any pre&s;ent Factions, or Parties of the Times, I am bold to tell you beforehand, that I will neither ask nor expect
<PB REF="9">
a kindne&s;&s;e from you, no not &s;o much as ordinary candour: and I pray you pardon me, that I &s;alute you &s;o plurally; for I pre&s;ume, there will be whole Junto<HI>'s,</HI> and Cabales of you, &s;oon bundled toge|ther, to &s;it in Judgement upon, cen|&s;ure, and condemne, this little In|fant, upon its fir&s;t peeping into the World; And this I cannot but con|clude, from the over-forwardne&s;&s;e of &s;ome of you, to a&s;per&s;e its inno|cency, when lying in its fir&s;t bed, and loo&s;e &s;heets in the Print-hou&s;e; nay, while &s;ome part of it, remained yet in the womb of the Pre&s;&s;e, &s;o could not be &s;wadled up into a Volume.</P>
<P>How&s;oever, I &s;hall now advi&s;e you, (for your own good, more than mine) for take it how you plea&s;e, <HI>I</HI> am indifferent) to &s;u&s;pend at lea&s;t, &s;o much of your partiality, as may otherwi&s;e offer violence to your rea|&s;on,
<PB REF="9">
till you have heard all the Evi|dence read, which this little Booke will exhibite in its own behalf, and that you have found the Warpe, and the Woof, then cen&s;ure on, and pa&s;&s;e your judgements how you plea&s;e.</P>
<P>In the mean time give me leave, as mo&s;t concerned, to advocate in my own Childs behalf; to obviate &s;ome, of your objections, that you have bolted out already.</P>
<P>And the fir&s;t is from you, O you envenom'd Party, that &s;hoote out your Arrows, even bitter words, a|gain&s;t the precious Memory of his late Mo&s;aical Highne&s;&s;e, and &s;trive|ing to trample on his a&s;hes, are plea|&s;ed to think too much of Panegy|rick &s;aid of him, in the very Title-page.</P>
<P><HI>I</HI> &s;hall not now &s;tain paper, with any of your impure language: but
<PB REF="10">
refer you for your further confuta|tion, to the proce&s;&s;e of our Parallels, where you will finde him to be a Per&s;on as much above your malice, as he has ever e&s;teemed you, below his anger.</P>
<P>It &s;hall &s;uffice me to con&s;ider, that if men will be now adayes &s;o curious as to vaunt to &s;ee &s;pots in the Moon, where will they not finde a fault? and if ba&s;e envy will go about to &s;have an egg, what will it not do in a Meadow? It is notorious, that the Almighty handy-work, the Crea|tion it &s;elf, could not &s;cape the carp|ing of a ridiculous <HI>Momus,</HI> who would needs undertake to correct the Divine Artifice, and per&s;wade the World, that the All-wi&s;e Creator, was very much over&s;een, in planting the hornes of the &s;avage Bull, and other Bea&s;ts &s;o armed, over their eyes, and that it had been much more
<PB REF="10">
accommodation for tho&s;e Creatures, if their eyes had been &s;et over their hornes. <HI>I</HI> &s;hould de&s;ire likewi&s;e, that the&s;e our venemous <HI>Momus's,</HI> would &s;et their hornes for &s;pectacles under their eyes, and try whether they can better &s;py out their excep|tions again&s;t our Mo&s;aick Paral|lels.</P>
<P>The next &s;ort of enemies that <HI>I</HI> hear this little Infant has encoun|tered, are indeed &s;omething more mo|de&s;t, but as <HI>I</HI> take it, they are, too, a little more nice than wi&s;e, (as our Proverb hath it) the very method for&s;ooth, of this Di&s;cour&s;e, giving great &s;candal to their tender con&s;ci|ences, and they are &s;o deeply offended at it, that they cry out upon it, phy, a Parallel, or Compari&s;on with <HI>Mo|&s;es?</HI> O abominable prophanation! Truly, <HI>I</HI> &s;hould be very unwilling to &s;candalize any weake Brother, and
<PB REF="11">
more troubled, not to be able to &s;atis|fie his &s;cruple, if he plea&s;e to be &s;atisfied: and certainly, this Piece is not the fir&s;t that has gone that way, we have very &s;ufficient pre&s;i|dents, and authority too, to warrant us. Have we not &s;een a compleate Parallel, between <HI>Elias</HI> and Dr. <HI>Lu|ther,</HI> even to the Chariots of I&s;rael, and the Hor&s;emen thereof? and another betwixt his Succe&s;&s;or <HI>Eli&s;ha,</HI> and Mr. <HI>Calvin,</HI> to the double por|tion of his &s;pirit, and many of our Modern Doctors, put in &s;cale with &s;ome of the Apo&s;tles them&s;elves? Nor has this way of compari&s;on, been taken up onely by Divines, in honour of their own Function; but many Parallels we finde in Print, between &s;ome of our late Kings, how well de&s;erving, I &s;ay not; and &s;ome of tho&s;e holy Princes, and Prophets of Gods own people, as <HI>David, Solo|mon,
<PB REF="11">
Jo&s;iah, Hezekiah,</HI> &amp;c. and one very expre&s;&s;e Parallel, between Queen <HI>Elizabeth</HI> of famous Memory, and that great Prince&s;&s;e and Prophe|te&s;&s;e <HI>Deborah.</HI> Then why &s;hould not our late incomparable Prince, and Protector &s;tand as well placed in line Parallel, with that glorious Patriarch <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>?</P>
<P>But now I hear of a third expe|dition prepared again&s;t us, another body of enemies, much more nume|rous, but le&s;&s;e dangerous far, than the former, and yet they march fu|riou&s;ly, and come to &s;torme our little Work for a meer counter&s;carp of flattery; but they will finde it by their approaches, to be a &s;olid Bre&s;t|work of truth, able to endure all their battery, and that too &s;o well lined with vertues truely flankerd, and well furni&s;hed with regular re|doubts, and redoubted truths, that
<PB REF="12">
they mu&s;t be beaten of with lo&s;&s;e of honour, if not of them&s;elves.</P>
<P>There is no man &s;ure lives, that dare deny the ground-work of all our Mo&s;aical A&s;cents, and Staires to Princely perfections, to be the indu|bitable dictate of the Spirit of God him&s;elf: and that all the founda|tions of our pre&s;ent Parallels, are mo&s;t unque&s;tionable truths, we have as much certainty, as any humane au|thority, experimental knowledge, or ocular evidence, can po&s;&s;ibly make out. Now <HI>I</HI> would fain know, how two &s;uch mortal enemies, as truth and flattery are, can po&s;&s;ibly &s;quat in the &s;ame Form? Be&s;ides, it is certain, that no beatified thing, as our &s;e|cond <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> is now without di&s;pute, can be a &s;ubject capable of flattery; but let his late Highne&s;&s;e be reduced again, to his humane condition, and con&s;ider his due de&s;ervings, then tell
<PB REF="12">
me, whether all our grateful acknow|ledgements, and mo&s;t extended Pa|negyricks, can po&s;&s;ibly reach his, tran&s;cendent merits? Much le&s;&s;e then &s;ure can any man over-reach &s;o far, as to have his commendations reputed flattery, unle&s;&s;e he &s;hould fall into prophanation, or flat bla&s;|phemy, which I hope the mo&s;t mali|tious eyes in the World, &s;hall never be able to finde out upon us here.</P>
<P>He was indeed more truly that, which <HI>Pliny</HI> &s;aid of his Emperour, <HI>Vir hoc &s;aeculo major, &amp; dignus fa|bulantium miraculis vatum, qui tantum &s;uper omnes po&s;terioris aevi Principes emine bat, quantum a pri|vatis caeteri principes rece&s;&s;erunt</HI>: He was &s;o much above the pre&s;ent pitch of men, that nothing but <HI>Ro|mance</HI> can reach his Actions; and he as far &s;urpa&s;&s;ed all other princes of this later Age as any of tho&s;e
<PB REF="13">
Princes, have out-&s;tript private per|&s;ons. What panegyrick then, can be too great for &s;uch a prince? what humane prai&s;e can ever amount to flattery? <HI>I</HI> mu&s;t in the mean time acknowledge &s;omething of obligation to this &s;ort of enemies, who are plea|&s;ed to think my poor pen &s;o capable to reach that, as to over-reach it &s;o, which is a Subject onely fit for the pens of Angels, and who&s;e prai&s;es, ought truly to be written with a &s;tile of fire, or point of Adamant, and &s;o engraven upon the gates of the Tem|ple of Eternity.</P>
<P>Now though <HI>I</HI> have pretty well, as <HI>I</HI> hope, got my &s;elf clear of a po&s;&s;i|bility of flattery, yet <HI>I</HI> am now ca&s;t upon another exception of my neare&s;t friends, who&s;e kind pity treats me more rigourou&s;ly, than all the enemies cruelty, and <HI>I</HI> mu&s;t cry out with the Poet, <HI>Pol me occidi&s;tis amici,</HI> indeed
<PB REF="13">
at once they both pity and per&s;ecute me, for undertaking &s;o difficult, if not impo&s;&s;ible a task, as to carve &s;uch an <HI>Illiad</HI> in a Nut-&s;hell, or to go about to bind up in &s;uch little skins, &s;o voluminous an Argument as to give the World an account of this in|comparable per&s;on, from his Cradle, to his Grave, a thing more equal to large Hi&s;tory, than a Paneygerical one, and of which, as the Evangeli&s;t tells us, of our Saviours Words and Works, <HI>that the whole World would not be able to contain the Books, that might be written.</HI></P>
<P>Indeed Gentlemen, it will not be denied by any (&s;hall be more confe&s;t by me, though parcel guilty of the &s;ame crime) that he who &s;hall take pre|&s;umptious pen in hand, or dare any other way undertake, to give the World an exact Survey, of all the particular great di&s;pen&s;ations, and
<PB REF="14">
Divine indulgencies, vouch&s;afed to this high Favorite of Heaven, will quickly find him&s;elf over&s;et in a Sea of Bli&s;&s;e. It is not therefore my De&s;ign at pre&s;ent, to &s;ail in, much le&s;&s;e to fathom, that Aby&s;s, or deline|ate the whole Series of the Almighty providence, over his mo&s;t precious Per&s;on, in every particular circum|&s;tance, from the fir&s;t &s;pan that Na|ture mea&s;ured out to him, to that im|men&s;ity, which he afterwards &s;o hap|pily arrived at: it being no le&s;&s;e than impo&s;&s;ible, as the curious in that Art inform us, to poli&s;h &s;o much as the nailes of pieces of &s;o great a Perfection. Nor indeed is it more impo&s;&s;ible than impertinent, to go a|bout to prove, that there is, and has been ever, from the fir&s;t minute to the la&s;t of his life, a mo&s;t gracious and indulgent providence, over his late mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e, his per&s;on,
<PB REF="14">
and proceedings, by all the &s;ingular foot-&s;teps of it; it being to light a Candle to the Sun, to dilucidate that which is already more clear to all that do not wilfully &s;hut their eyes, than if it had been written with the Rayes of it. I &s;hall therefore &s;atisfie my &s;elf, and I hope all ingenuous Readers, at pre&s;ent, to pick up &s;ome of the mo&s;t remarkable particulars, that we may be&s;t moralize to our own in|&s;truction, and all impudent gain|&s;ayers, greater confu&s;ion: and that we may learn to make this u&s;e of it above all u&s;es, that is to march out of all our old animo&s;ities, and &s;ubmit our &s;elves to the gracious power that is now over us, and acknowledge it to be the clear re&s;plendent Ray, re|flected upon us, from the infallible foundations of the eternall Law.</P>
<P>This is the uttermo&s;t of my de&s;ign at pre&s;ent, and &s;o I will be bold to
<PB REF="15">
begin at the foot of the Mo&s;aick Mount, and &s;hew you his late mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e tracing the &s;teps of the great Patriarch <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> to the &s;acred &s;ummity of the Mount it &s;elf, and highe&s;t pitch of all princely per|fection; and make good the parallel from their very Births, to their Triumphant entries into their ble&s;|&s;ed Tabernacle of Repo&s;e, and there to the happy expiration of their pu|rified Souls upon the top of <HI>Pi&s;gah,</HI> from thence to their glorious Graves, and from thence to the Magnificent Memorials, and Eternal Monuments, which they have erected in the hearts of all men: The A&s;cents which the&s;e two great Per&s;onages &s;tand parallel in, amounting in all to thirty Degrees of Glory.</P>
<P>So friends farewel, and enemies much good do it you, if you plea&s;e, fall to and welcome, if you like it
<PB REF="15">
not you may leave it; and though you cur&s;e me for my cookery, yet I &s;hall continue, with the Apo&s;tle to pray for you, <HI>That the Lord would give you under&s;tanding in all things,</HI> and me his grace, <HI>in what|&s;oever &s;tate I am, therewith to be content</HI>; and that we may all meet, <HI>in the unity of the Spirit, and bond of perfectne&s;&s;e</HI>; which holy con&s;pi|racy that we may all happily agree in, we mu&s;t all re&s;olve to lay by all &s;pleens and di&s;ta&s;ts what&s;oever, and let them pa&s;&s;e away with the old year, and think upon nothing now, but to take up new thoughts and bet|ter affections, with this new one coming in: we mu&s;t forget all old grudges again&s;t, and ungrateful mi&s;|pri&s;ions of our old departed Prince, and good Protector, (who though he was an incomparable Per&s;on, yet no wonder if he could not plea&s;e all men;
<PB REF="16">
for that is more (they &s;ay) than God him&s;elf can do, raining, or &s;hining) and di&s;po&s;e our &s;elves to the cordial and &s;incere &s;ervice of this our graci|ous new one, who is now &s;et over us by God, and his own Divine vertues, and has nothing in him but cele&s;tial &s;weetne&s;&s;e, and is truly to be called, if ever Mortal was, the Delight of all Mankind; which Great and Gra|cious New-Years-Gift, that we may all receive, from the bountiful hands of Heaven, &s;hall be the con&s;tant, as it is the in&s;tant prayer of,</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>Your humble &s;ervant,</HI> H. Dawbeny.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 N="1" TYPE="ascent">
<PB REF="16">
<HEAD>The Fir&s;t ASCENT.</HEAD>
<P><HI>_MO&s;es</HI> was Nobly Born,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 2.1.</NOTE> extracted from an extraordinary Race, the mo&s;t &s;acred Tribe, and Principal Family in <HI>I&s;rael,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> the Hou&s;e of <HI>Levi.</HI> A mo&s;t No|ble Hou&s;e indeed, of which the Lord him&s;elf had &s;o high and honourable an e&s;teem,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 18.2 Exod. 28.</NOTE> that he made it as it were, his own Impropriation and Inheri|tance; entailing upon it, all his own Menial Attendancies.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Levit. 8.</NOTE> O mo&s;t unvalueable Privi|ledges, and Prerogatives of a Family!<NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 4.</NOTE><NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 8.</NOTE> not onely to be made the &s;ole Hou&s;hold &s;ervants of the Living God; but to be &s;et apart,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Levit. 29.</NOTE> to eat at his own Table, feed on his proper Sacri|fices, and to have, as it were,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 18. Num. 3. Num. 1.50, 51.</NOTE> the Monopoly of Altars, and all holy things. O thrice hap|py honours of a Hou&s;e! not onely to be (as
<PB N="2" REF="17">
it were) of the Lord of Ho&s;ts own Life-guard,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 10.8</NOTE> and have the &s;ole charge of the &s;acred Arke of the Covenant committed to them;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 3.</NOTE><NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 18.</NOTE> but al&s;o to be adopted into the very Cabinet-coun|&s;ells of Heaven, by the judgement of <HI>&V;rim</HI> and <HI>Thummim,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 28.30.</NOTE> and to be alone permitted to have a free and frequent ingre&s;&s;e, into the <HI>Sanctum Sanctorum</HI> it &s;elf. This was in &s;hort, the &s;acred Family, &s;elected by the Almighty Jehovah him&s;elf, to be, as it were, his Princes, Peers, and onely Familiars, here below, the onely Grandees and Favourits of his mo&s;t Magnificent Court upon Earth, which was to be e&s;tabli&s;ht in his mo&s;t holy, glorious, and co&s;tly Temple at <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI>: as is to be &s;een more at large in the whole cour&s;e of &s;acred Scripture; to which holy leaves, I humbly re|fer every ingenuous Reader, for a further &s;atisfaction in all the&s;e Particulars.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="parallel">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>Indeed, when we &s;hall have duely con&s;ider|ed, the great care, and holy caution, the &s;acred Scripture it &s;elf ha's taken throughout, in the recommendation of the Nobility of divers per&s;ons, we may very well conclude with the Heathen Orator, (what may be too as good Divinity as Philo&s;ophy) <HI>Deorum Immortalium munus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Plin. in Paneg. Con&s;tan|tin.</NOTE> <HI>&amp; primum videri &amp; maximum, in lucem &s;tatim foelicem venire.</HI> Nobility of birth, is the fir&s;t and greate&s;t gift of God. I &s;ay, the
<PB N="3" REF="17">
fir&s;t and greate&s;t temporal di&s;pen&s;ation of Heaven, is, to be born Noble, and &s;o &s;oon to be within the li&s;ts of felicity, as of nature; why el&s;e &s;hould we find &s;uch an exact account of the Nobility of this our great Prototype <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> of the three valiant Children, held in the Cap|tivity of <HI>Babylon,</HI> and that of the mo&s;t vali|ant and renowned <HI>Eleazar,</HI> and divers other per&s;ons &s;ince the univer&s;al Deluge? which particulars are now too long to be in&s;i&s;ted on. Nay, that Nobility of blood was in the like e&s;teem both with God and man too; before the Flood, in the very fir&s;t Age and Infancy of the World, will be quickly made appear, by the delineation of the Genealogy of <HI>Noe,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gene&s;. 5.</NOTE> which the holy Spirit is plea&s;ed to deliver to us, as if it intended, as it were, to act the part of a Herald, in giving to us the large Series of all his Generations: it &s;eeming not onely to make way through all the Patriarchs, from whom he was de&s;cended; but to give a pun|ctual rehear&s;al to us of all their Titles, and Signiories, of all their &s;ingular Acts and At|chievements, and then concludes in the next Chapter, <HI>Hae &s;unt generationes</HI> Noe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gene&s;. 6.</NOTE> <HI>vir ju&s;tus erat atque perfectus</HI>: This is the Genealogy of <HI>Noe,</HI> he was a ju&s;t man and a perfect. If then Nobility of birth be a ble&s;&s;ing &s;o con&s;i|derable in the eyes of the Lord, and inferr'd by his holy Spirit, to be of no little avail to us in the way of vertue, and an apparent &s;tep to Piety and Sanctity it &s;elf; It will not be, I hope, thought incongruous, to bring our glorious
<PB N="4" REF="18">
&s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> to encounter the fir&s;t, upon this his fir&s;t A&s;cent; and, as in all the re&s;t, we &s;hall find them &s;weetly ki&s;&s;ing and embracing each the other. And yet I cannot &s;ay, his late Highne&s;&s;e was extracted from &s;o Prie&s;tly a Fa|mily, but altogether as Princely, being lineally de&s;cended from the loynes of our mo&s;t Anti|ent <HI>Britti&s;h</HI> Princes, and ty'd in near alliances to the blood of our later Kings, as by that thrice Noble Family of the <HI>Barringtons,</HI> and divers others; which to make a Petigree of, would take up more paper, than we intend for our Volume, and make me appear more a He|rald, than an Hi&s;torian. Nay, indeed, &s;hould I but go about to prove, his Highne&s;&s;e mo&s;t il|lu&s;trious Hou&s;e Noble, I &s;hould commit a &s;acri|ledge in the Temple of Honour, and onely violate his mo&s;t glorious Family, with a more &s;olemn infamy.</P>
<P>His Highne&s;&s;e is unque&s;tionably known to have de&s;cended from &s;uch a &s;tem of Princely Antece&s;&s;ors, that whole Ages, which wa&s;t Rocks, and wear out Elements, have never al|tered to le&s;&s;en, but rather advance the honour of his great Hou&s;e. He was derived from &s;uch a Family, that we may better &s;ay of it, than what was of the other, <HI>ex qua ne&s;cit aliquid Mediocre na&s;ci,</HI> from whence nothing ordinary can pro|ceed; as is likewi&s;e made notoriou&s;ly evident, in tho&s;e other mo&s;teminent per&s;ons of Honour, now living, who are ble&s;t with a &s;hare of his incomparable blood: who have &s;pread their glory abroad, &s;o well as at home, and built
<PB N="5" REF="18">
them&s;elves &s;uch Trophies, in the hearts of their very enemies, that eternity it &s;elf mu&s;t cele|brate; &s;o no time can ever be able to demo|li&s;h, or reduce into oblivion.</P>
<P>And that I may not be thought to flatter &s;o great a truth, I will be bold to ha&s;ten, and abruptly conclude this fir&s;t point of our Mo|&s;aical Parallel; with &s;aying onely, that this &s;ublime Per&s;on, his late mo&s;t Serene High|ne&s;&s;e, our &s;econd, as the fir&s;t great <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> came into the World, like a Princely Pearl, and made it appear, by the quality of his <HI>Orient,</HI> that if Nature plea&s;ed to equal his birth, to the be&s;t of Noble-men upon Earth, he would equal his vertues to his extraction; as we &s;hall &s;ee more plainly, when we mount a little higher, upon our Mo&s;aical A&s;cents, and Pa|rallels.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="2" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="6" REF="19">
<HEAD>The &s;econd A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> was from his Cradle ble&s;t with a very beautiful body,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 2.2.</NOTE> for which he was mo&s;t remarkable, in his infancy, &s;o the &s;acred text tells us, that he was a fair and goodly child. Now, that bodily beauty is an indubitable ble&s;&s;ing, and a Ray of the Divi|nity it &s;elf; none &s;ure but a mon&s;trous <HI>Ther|&s;ites,</HI> or a <HI>Mop&s;us</HI> will di&s;pute, and none, but an errant Apo&s;tate from Chri&s;tianity, a meer perfidious and profane <HI>Manichee,</HI> dare deny. Does not the Lord him&s;elf proclaim, as he is the God of Nature, that beauty and graceful comline&s;&s;e of body is entirely his gift? Nay, ha's he not often imployed this his own glori|ous di&s;pen&s;ation, to be an in&s;trument of his mighty wonders, a lightning fla&s;h of his pow|er, and as a re&s;plendent Torch of his greate&s;t Victories? which his All-Wi&s;e Providence would never have done, did he not only ap|prove the nature of, but intend to give the greate&s;t honour to,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> that his own di&s;pen&s;ation. Thus was the Lord plea&s;ed, to make the beau|ty of our little <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> the cau&s;e of his mira|culous pre&s;ervation, by affecting the heart of <HI>Pharaoh's</HI> daughter. And therefore we find
<PB N="7" REF="19">
it to be expre&s;ly &s;aid of <HI>Judith</HI> likewi&s;e; <HI>Do|minus hanc in illam pulchritudinem ampliavit,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Judg. 10.4</NOTE> <HI>ut incomparabili decore omnium oculis appareret,</HI> The Lord &s;o amplified her beauty, that &s;he &s;hould appear incomparable lovely, and al|lure the eyes of all that &s;hould behold her: So God, purpo&s;ing to &s;tay the violent &s;treams of <HI>Holofernes</HI> his arms, though he could with his omnipotent hand, have buried that va&s;t Army, in the bowels of the earth, as he did <HI>Corah</HI> and his Complices, or have call'd out, from the center it &s;elf, millions of arm'd men in <HI>Cadmean</HI> equipage (equal to the Poets fan|cy) to have de&s;troyed them,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chron 2.2</NOTE> or might have (by an expedition of Angels) di&s;patcht the bu&s;ine&s;&s;e again, as he once did upon the ho&s;t of <HI>Senacherib,</HI> under the command of in&s;o|lent <HI>Rab&s;heketh,</HI> their proud Captain General: Yet he was plea&s;ed, without &s;tretching of his hand forth, to any other miracle, to rai&s;e the beauty onely of a gracious widow, to tri|umph over all tho&s;e dreadful Legions, and to wage war with the mo&s;t pui&s;&s;ant Monarch of the world. Nay, it is expre&s;ly &s;aid, that God him&s;elf added a certain air, mine, or garb of attractive parts in <HI>Judith,</HI> to &s;urprize the Cittadel, the heart, of that barbarous Com|mander; that he, being made more drunk with love, then with wine, might be more ea|&s;ily taken in the &s;nare of her eyes, and &s;acri|fice his unhallowed head, to her fair hands. Nay,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ther 8.</NOTE> the Lord fought with the &s;elf-&s;ame wea|pon again, and rai&s;ed onely the &s;ame arms a|gain&s;t,
<PB N="8" REF="20">
the proud and imperious <HI>Haman,</HI> to confound him with that lovely Engin onely. For when he was upon the point to command, the throats of infinite numbers to be cut, of Gods own people, as &s;heep mark't out for the &s;laughter: The omnipotent then, onely op|pos'd a poor frail female beauty again&s;t him, which tumbled him from the top of Fortunes wheel, and made him to &s;wing under an ele|vated gibbet; God &s;o turning in an in&s;tant, by the power of an excellent beauty onely, the heart of a &s;avage, Prince, from a Lion to a Lamb; and making <HI>A&s;&s;uerus,</HI> clean contrary to his great Favorites de&s;ign, to pre&s;erve the lives, and confirm the &s;afety and liberty of his people: Nor is this high verity remarka|ble, onely in feminine, but al&s;o ma&s;culine beauty,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Sam. 10.23, 24.</NOTE> which, be&s;ides the in&s;tance of our <HI>Mo|&s;es,</HI> God him&s;elf &s;eems to confirm in his ele|ction of <HI>Saul,</HI> to the government of his own people, of whom the greate&s;t commendation we find written, is, that he was a very proper man, and when he &s;tood among&s;t the people, he was higher then any other, from the &s;houl|ders upwards, and that there was none like him, for beauty of per&s;on, among&s;t all the peo|ple. I could be infinite in particulars, to dilucidate this divine di&s;pen&s;ation, and tell you, how the All-wi&s;e God thought fit to confer that extraordinary favour, on all his principal &s;ervants, as <HI>David, Solomon,</HI> with all the re&s;t of the Princes and Prophets of his people, not any one of which do we finde
<PB N="9" REF="20">
mark't out with any deformity, a thing in it &s;elf &s;o unplea&s;ing to God, that he has, by po|&s;itive Law, bani&s;ht all &s;uch per&s;ons, not on|ly from &s;erving at his holy, Altars,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 23.</NOTE> but from a capacity to bear any civil charge: But I mu&s;t ha&s;ten to our beloved Parallel, &s;o &s;hall con|clude this A&s;cent with &s;ome remarks upon the per&s;on of our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour him&s;elf, whom all antiquity ha's delivered to us, to have had a mo&s;t excellent humane beauty; and that doctrine of theirs, is not only groun|ded upon tho&s;e many my&s;tical, and indeed in|comparable, beauties attributed to him in the <HI>Canticles,</HI> but more po&s;itively and clearly col|lected, out of that mo&s;t remarkable pa&s;&s;age of the <HI>P&s;almi&s;t, Specio&s;us forma prae filiis hominum,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 45.</NOTE> Thou art fairer then the children of men, from whence, I &s;ay, all the ancient Doctors of the Church, do unanimou&s;ly conclude and a&s;|&s;ure us, that our ble&s;&s;ed Lord and Saviour, expre&s;ly &s;elected for him&s;elf, a mo&s;t excellent beauty of body, and an extraordinary &s;upream grace of &s;peech. Nay,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Niceph. l. 1.</NOTE> <HI>Nicephorus</HI> goes about to de&s;cribe to us certain lineaments of his bo|dy, his exact &s;tature, colour, and perfect pro|portion of parts, which he pretends to draw out of all antiquity, and delivers them in all to be mo&s;t gracious, lovely, and &s;pecious: from whence we may draw this mo&s;t excellent u&s;e, to teach us [that &s;ince the Lord was plea|&s;ed voluntarily to di&s;poil him&s;elf of all Ho|nours, Riches, and worldly greatne&s;&s;e, to give us an example of his high humility: yet would,
<PB N="10" REF="21">
notwith&s;tanding, con&s;ecrate this thing called Beauty, in his own mo&s;t illu&s;trious per&s;on, and that of his ble&s;&s;ed Mother] what value we ought to &s;et upon &s;o heavenly a gift, and how careful we &s;hould be, never to prophane it; So I pa&s;&s;e to the <HI>Parallel.</HI></P>
<DIV2 TYPE="parallel">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>We have &s;een in our <HI>A&s;cent</HI> the beauty of our <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and divers other per&s;ons, be&s;ides that of our Saviours, celebrated in holy Scri|pture; and truly, I mu&s;t be bold to adde; not without a great deal of rea&s;on; for, the more admirable &s;ure the piece of workman&s;hip is, when it duely examines and contemplates it &s;elf, ought more to incite a man, and rai&s;e him to a higher love, and greater prai&s;e of the workman, which is (if the word may be par|doned) God him&s;elf, and he that has the fai|re&s;t preparation, in his bodily Fabrick or Stru|cture; rea&s;on ju&s;tly requires of him, that he &s;hould order his manners proportionably, and, according to the perfection of his &s;oul, endea|vour to make her appear more fair, being lodged in &s;o compleat and well-proportion'd a body: And they that &s;hall abu&s;e this fair and ine&s;timable gift of Heaven, to any impious, fond, carnal prophanation, by devoting that, and them&s;elves to any &s;en&s;ual, &s;ordid, bruit|i&s;h life, do plainly drag the gift of heaven, and Divinity it &s;elf in the du&s;t. Nay, they are
<PB N="11" REF="21">
guilty of a more barbarous ingratitude, than they that &s;teal Silver and Gold from the Ta|bernacle, to make Altars to <HI>Baal</HI> or <HI>A&s;hteroth</HI>; or, that light their Lamps at the Altar-fire of the Omnipotent, to make pillage afterwards of his Temple; or, that take bread from the Ma&s;ter of the hou&s;e with one hand, and &s;tabb him with the other.</P>
<P>Well then, it may be granted, that a beau|tiful and well proportioned body, is an indu|bitable gift of God, and that the Lord con|fers it ordinarily, upon his deare&s;t Saints and Servants. And I hope it will no more be doubted, whether the &s;ame All-wi&s;e Provi|dence, has dealt le&s;&s;e graciou&s;ly, in favour of his decea&s;ed Highne&s;&s;e, our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> than he has done with the former, and other his dear favourits upon Earth. Indeed but bare|ly to que&s;tion it, were not onely to argue a &s;imple or malitious blindne&s;&s;e in the Asker, but would convince him guilty of a perilous prophanation, in the neglect of &s;o much di|vinity in&s;tamped upon his &s;acred Per&s;on; nay would make him appear, impiou&s;ly to traduce the Almighty Providence it &s;elf, to have been le&s;&s;e careful, of our glorious departed Pro|tectors mo&s;t incomparable &s;oul, than it &s;hould have been, in not preparing for it, an equal body to lodge in, who, with his body, and his &s;oul, was pre-ordained, to &s;erve, as an in&s;tru|ment of Divine wonders, equally with his Grand Archetype <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> that Prince of Patri|archs.</P>
<P><PB N="12" REF="22">Now, that we may the better accompli&s;h our happy Parallel, in this beautiful A&s;cent, it would not be ami&s;&s;e to exmine, what kind of beauty, the old <HI>Rabbins,</HI> and more ancient paintings, do deliver of that great <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and what is agreed upon all &s;ides to be a beauty, mo&s;t proportionable to a Prince. As to the former, we find by many ancient Pens, as well as Pen&s;ils, <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> drawn forth to us, with a goodly, large, and illu&s;trious countenance, a cheerful, fair, and exporrected forehead, (&s;uch a one, as <HI>Ju&s;tinian</HI> wi&s;ht his greate&s;t Judges and Generals to have) a &s;evere, but graceful A&s;pect; a gallant, no gigantick &s;tature, a ro|bu&s;tious, yet well proportioned body, and in the carriage, as well as &s;hape, of every limb, a gracious and mo&s;t becoming Maje&s;ty.</P>
<P>Now I appeal again to all but blind men, or malitious, whether this, be not his late High|ne&s;&s;e Picture too? As for the next Quaere, what is the mo&s;t amiable beauty in a Prince, I &s;hall extract it, out of a mo&s;t excellent Mo|dern Author.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Fred. de Mar&s;el.</NOTE> <HI>Forma Principis, non tam venu|&s;tas e&s;t muliebris, qu&agrave;m dignitas, quae in obtutu ge|&s;tibu&s;que con&s;i&s;tit, &amp;, quemadmodum Tyrius ait, occulto &amp; potenti introitu, hominum animis illa|bitur, &amp; Maje&s;tas nuncupatur, con&s;i&s;tit autem, in decorae magnitudine, in proportione membro|rum, in line amentis aptis, in colore &amp; &s;ucco,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Deformat hanc &s;pectei dignitatem, quicquid nimis exqui&s;itum e&s;t, de Pixide aut &s;peculo comp|tum, &amp; infrae virum.</HI> A Princely form, &s;aith he, carries nothing of effeminate beauty in it,
<PB N="13" REF="22">
but a prerogative planted in the forehead, which con&s;i&s;ts in looks and ge&s;tures, and (as <HI>Maxim. Tyrius</HI> tells us) with a clo&s;e and powerful entry, &s;urprizeth mens &s;ouls, and is called Maje&s;ty. And this again con&s;i&s;ts in a comely largene&s;&s;e, in proportion of members, in apt lineaments, in colour, moi&s;ture, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> This dignity of Princely beauty, is deformed, by any over-curio&s;ity of tricking, or taking any thing out of the box, or borrowing too much from Barber or Looking-gla&s;&s;e, all that, is below a man.</P>
<P>Let any, again, but his Highne&s;&s;e's mo&s;t malitious enemies, &s;ay, whether this was not the late Protectors very Picture, and Cha|racter too? With this true Ma&s;culine beauty it was, that the great <HI>Marius,</HI> though pro&s;cri|bed, &s;trook him to the heart, that was employ|ed to have &s;tab'd him: and made him flee from him, that with &s;o much trouble and dif|ficulty, had hunted and &s;ought out for him. With this glorious per&s;tringent a&s;pect it was, that <HI>Octavianus Cae&s;ar,</HI> a&s;&s;aulted the <HI>A&s;a&s;&s;inate,</HI> and with the vigour (almo&s;t cele&s;tial) of his Maje&s;tick eyes, thunder-&s;trook the villaine, that was otherwi&s;e re&s;olved, to have tumbled him down from &s;ome <HI>Alpine</HI> Precipice. This is the true, virile, Princely beauty, which our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> had, in its perfection, equal to the former <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> or either of tho&s;e great <HI>Ro|mans,</HI> by which he has frequently, confounded Traitours, da&s;ht all a&s;a&s;&s;inates, di&s;&s;olv'd con|&s;piracies, and rendered him&s;elf the wonder of
<PB N="14" REF="23">
the Age.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Idem.</NOTE> <HI>Adeo tanquam cum virtute ip&s;a, cer|tamen haberet, haec naturae, &s;ive dignitas, &s;ive ma|je&s;tas, etiam ab iis, honoris, ob&s;equiique tributa ex|primit, qui adver&s;us virtutem ip&s;am con&s;pira&s;&s;e videntur,</HI> &s;ayes the &s;ame Moderne Author; So as if this &s;ame Maje&s;ty of Princely beauty, would claime priority of virtue it &s;elf, exact|ing the tribute of honour and obedience, from the very haters them&s;elves of, and con&s;pira|tors again&s;t, virtue. I &s;hall clo&s;e up all this, with what a brave Orator, in a Panegyrick, &s;aid to <HI>Con&s;tantine</HI> the Great, our Country|man,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Plin. in Panegyr. Con.</NOTE> and one of the goodlie&s;t, brave Princes that ever lived upon Earth. <HI>Te c&ugrave;m milites vident, admirantur &amp; diligunt, &s;equuntur oculis, animo tenent: Deo &s;e ob&s;equi putant, cujus t&agrave;m pulchra forma e&s;t, qu&agrave;m certa divinitas</HI>: that Nature was &s;ent, on purpo&s;e, by God, as a gallant Harbinger, to compo&s;e a body for him, &s;uitable to his great &s;pirit, as a &s;tately hou&s;e for a beautiful Lady to live in, and that one|ly this exteriour form of his, made him to be beloved and e&s;teemed of all the World, as a certain divinity, or God de&s;cended from Hea|ven.</P>
<P>This I am &s;ure, (though malice it may be will not) ought every one of this Nation with as much ju&s;tice and rea&s;on, &s;ay, of his late mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e, our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and Lord Protector, who, as the former, was, from his Cradle, known to be a mo&s;t goodly Child, and during tho&s;e his fir&s;t, &s;weet, and ten|der years, kept &s;till a very gallant Stature, tall,
<PB N="15" REF="23">
and &s;treight, as a Palm-tree, and radiant, as a Star; and, as the excellent <HI>Ca&s;&s;iodorus</HI> well expre&s;&s;eth it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ca&s;&s;iod.</NOTE> he was in all things &s;o accomp|li&s;ht, <HI>ut ne de a&s;pectu Principis po&s;&s;it errari.</HI> Every man might read a Prince in his Coun|tenance.</P>
<P>Thus beauty of body, we &s;ee, is not a little de&s;ireable in a Prince; but if the hou&s;e an|&s;wer not to the Fronti&s;piece, what may we el&s;e &s;ay, but that Nature hath built up a goodly glorious Man&s;ion, to lodge therein a great, though hand&s;ome Bea&s;t? It &s;hall be, therefore, our endeavour in our &s;ucceeding higher A&s;|cents, to make the internal <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> in him, ap|pear equal to the external, that &s;o, foul-faced malice it &s;elf, may not have power to deny, the <HI>Parallel</HI> to be mo&s;t Compleat.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="3" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="16" REF="24">
<HEAD>The third A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> was a high Favourite of Heaven, from his very Infancy, being then mi|raculou&s;ly delivered, from the danger of the waters, upon which he was expo&s;ed (as Scripture teacheth us) in an Arke of Bul|ru&s;hes. O the in&s;crutable paths of the Al|mighty!<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 2.3.</NOTE> O the Heights! O the Depths of Divine Providence! Here we mu&s;t pau&s;e a little, and con&s;ider the great Salvations of the Lord, before we can proceed to accompli&s;h our <HI>Parallel.</HI></P>
<P>Lo, here we find a little Infant, our great <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> expo&s;ed to the mercy of <HI>Nilus,</HI> in a &s;trange bottome, a boat made of Bul|ru&s;hes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> or floating Cradle of Reeds. The poor tender Mother is wholly become heart|le&s;&s;e, and abandoneth her Childe to death, to &s;ave him from the Savage cruelty of men, &s;et on work, to de&s;troy innocents, by the direful rigour of a &s;terne Tyrant. The Aunt, not altogether &s;o hopele&s;&s;e, but a little bolder, dares to follow the forlorne Infant, at &s;ome di&s;tance, &s;o as to keep it within the com|pa&s;&s;e of her eye, endeavouring to &s;ee (if &s;he could) what would become of the Child; but her weakne&s;&s;e, alas, could do nothing to war|rant
<PB N="17" REF="24">
him from the imminent danger: Al|mighty God, in the mean &s;pace, is plea&s;ed to become the Pilot of this little Barke; he beares it upon the waves, and conducts it with|out Sails, without Rudder, without Oares, or any other help, of &s;tream or tyde, be&s;ides that, of his own eternal, and immen&s;e goodne&s;s, and &s;o makes it arrive, beyond all humane ex|pectation, in a mo&s;t happy Haven, and there to di&s;charge its lading in the arms of a Prin|ce&s;&s;e, with &s;afety and comfort: A Royal Harbour for &s;uch a poor weather-beaten boat, after &s;o perilous a pa&s;&s;age.</P>
<P>Now the little Infant is drawn forth by the pity of the Tyrants Daughter, and he who was expo&s;ed as a victim to <HI>Pharaohs</HI> cruelty, mu&s;t be thus, by the Tyrants own Daughter, (his own fle&s;h and blood) pre&s;erved to be a God of <HI>Pharaohs,</HI> and to live to bury them, or their po&s;terity, in the bottom of the Red Sea,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 4.16.</NOTE> who would have drown'd him in his infancy, in the River <HI>Nilus.</HI></P>
<DIV2 TYPE="parallel">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>I take it for a verity unque&s;tionable, that great &s;pirits &s;et apart and pre-ordained by Divine Providence, for the performance of fu|ture wonders, have mo&s;t particular tutelar An|gels a&s;&s;igned to them for their protection, from their very infancy; and tho&s;e very per&s;ons, from their Cradles, are frequently pointed
<PB N="18" REF="25">
out to us, by the finger of God him&s;elf, in their mo&s;t miraculous pre&s;ervations. So we &s;ee in Hi&s;tories, how the little King <HI>Mithridates,</HI> (that was to prove one of the greate&s;t, and mo&s;t pui&s;&s;ant Monarchs of the whole Earth) being involved in lightning fla&s;hes, whil&s;t he innocently &s;lept in his infant-cradle, the flames con&s;uming his very &s;wadling-cloaths and linnens, yet he remained untoucht in his body.</P>
<P>In like manner, we finde another Prodigy of Divine providence, &s;o loudly proclaimed in the Greek <HI>Anthology,</HI> how a father and an innocent &s;on, were equally &s;urprized with a &s;ad &s;hip|wrack, which took away the life of the father, and gave the &s;on leave to arrive in a &s;afe Har|bour, having no other ve&s;&s;el or plank to car|ry him a&s;hore, but the very corps of his de|cea&s;ed father, who &s;o afforded him a &s;econd life by his death: and this very child thus wonderfully delivered, grew up to be one of the brave&s;t men in <HI>Greece.</HI></P>
<P>I cannot pa&s;&s;e by one other effect of Divine providence, no le&s;&s;e &s;tupendious than the former, that fell out not long &s;ince in the Country of <HI>Apulia,</HI> where happened an Earth|quake, the la&s;t day of <HI>July</HI> 1627. and &s;o prodigi|ous a one, that (as I have heard, and &s;een writ|ten) in the City of St. <HI>Severin</HI> alone, more than ten thou&s;and &s;ouls, were taken out of the World; and yet in the horror of &s;uch infinite ruines, and &s;epulchre of &s;o many mortals, a great Bell fell &s;o fitly over a little child, that it
<PB N="19" REF="25">
not onely did him no hurt, but miraculou&s;ly inclo&s;ing him, made it &s;elf a Bulwark and de|fence for him again&s;t the danger of all the o|ther ruines: and this Child is now grown up (as I am informed) to be one of the mo&s;t con&s;iderable per&s;ons in all <HI>Italy.</HI></P>
<P>Thus little <HI>Romulus,</HI> like our Infant <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> being expo&s;ed to the &s;ame mercile&s;&s;e element, was mo&s;t &s;trangely pre&s;erved to be the Foun|der of the greate&s;t City, Monarchy, State, and Empire, of the univer&s;al World. I &s;hould be infinite if I &s;hould run through the whole Se|ries of &s;acred Providence, in the particular miraculous pre&s;ervations, that have been &s;hewed upon &s;uch principal per&s;ons, from their very infancies. Yet, truly, if there were no other in&s;tances of Divine providence left us, but onely the&s;e two, of our fir&s;t and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> we needed not alledge more arguments to prove the &s;ingular care, the Lord takes over the per&s;ons of good Princes.</P>
<P>We have &s;een on the one &s;ide, a little In|fant floating on the waters of <HI>Nilus,</HI> in a cradle built of Bulru&s;hes, and lying ju&s;t like a worm hidden in &s;traw, and who&s;e afflicted friends, mea&s;ured his Tombe with their eyes, in every billow of that faithle&s;&s;e element; yet was pre|&s;erved at length from danger, by the very blood of <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> to turn his Diadem into du&s;t, and to bury him and his whole army, in the dreadful gulph of the Red Sea.</P>
<P>They that have &s;een his late Highne&s;&s;e, our &s;acred &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> in the like former immi|nent
<PB N="20" REF="26">
perills, and the great actions he has &s;ince, mo&s;t gloriou&s;ly arrived at, can be&s;t make a Parallel of the Providence. No Nur&s;e or ten|der Mother what&s;oever, could be half &s;o care|full to drive a fly from the face of her little Infant, whil&s;t it &s;lept, as the Providence of our gracious Lord, has ever &s;hewed its &s;elf affecti|onate, in the con&s;ervation of his Highne&s;&s;e his mo&s;t elevated &s;oul: and, though I cannot &s;ay he was expo&s;ed upon, yet, as I have heard, he has been in equal dangers, by, the water, as his fir&s;t Matter <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was: and a great deal more by fire; tumbling from Precipices, falls from Coaches, Hor&s;es, and Hou&s;es too, and what not? in&s;omuch that it is &s;aid, the im|minency of tho&s;e his Infant dangers, has &s;truck the very hearts, and chil'd the blood, in the veins, of all beholders.</P>
<P>Thus then we &s;ee a very parallel provi|dence, over the&s;e two great per&s;ons, their very Cradles ki&s;&s;ing, and, as it were, con&s;piring to rock each other: and truly, not without a great deal of rea&s;on, that they &s;hould run pa|rallel in their childhood-deliverances, (as we have &s;een) who were in their riper years, to &s;erve equally, as in&s;pired in&s;truments of Di|vine wonders: and all the World, methinkes, if it had not been wilfully blind, mu&s;t needs have di&s;cerned, in his Highne&s;&s;e his Infancy, that he was then, pointed out, by the Al|mighty Providence, to be the &s;ame per&s;on, which he has &s;ince, &s;o gloriou&s;ly approved him&s;elf to be. Tho&s;e who had the honour to
<PB N="21" REF="26">
know his Highne&s;&s;e, in tho&s;e dayes, can tell us, how he was born, a <HI>Thaumaturgus,</HI> and like another <HI>Hercules Alexicacus,</HI> fill'd his cra|dle with no le&s;&s;e wonder, than he has done the field &s;ince, and afterwards the Throne. Tho&s;e his early wonders, yet, were but as the fla&s;hing &s;treakes of a Cloud, to be &s;o in&s;tant|ly turned into lightning; as we &s;hall &s;ee more at large, in his diligent, and faithful imita|tion of his great Ma&s;ter, and Prototype <HI>Mo|&s;es,</HI> in all his higher A&s;cents.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="4" TYPE="ascent">
<HEAD>The fourth A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> was very liberally bred, and had all the advantages of a Noble and Princely education; being brought up, as the Text tells us, in all the learning of the <HI>Egyptians.</HI> Thus the All-wi&s;e God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 7, 12.</NOTE> having &s;elected him, to be Conductor, and Captain General of a hundred and &s;ix thou&s;and men at arms, to have, as it were, a Regency over the very Elements, and a power to repleni&s;h the whole World with Prodigies; provided likewi&s;e a breeding, equal to &s;o high a Cal|ling, to frame and fit him, for &s;o &s;uperemi|nent a condition, and to accompli&s;h him with all heroick vertues. He &s;uffered him not to
<PB N="22" REF="27">
be trained up, as other <HI>Hebrew</HI> children were, in fear, and bondage, which often overwhelm the brave&s;t di&s;po&s;itions; but brought him to the Court of <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> cau&s;ed him to be nouri&s;hed in all the exerci&s;es of Nobility, and to &s;wallow all the learning of the <HI>Egyptians,</HI> who then had the reputation of the wi&s;e&s;t, and the knowinge&s;t men of the whole World.</P>
<P>How &s;imple, in the mean time, ab&s;urd, and and contrary to expre&s;&s;e Scripture, is that opinion of &s;ome, which &s;ay, that <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> had no <HI>Egyptian</HI> learning at all, nor more letters, than what he received from <HI>Abraham</HI> and <HI>Enoch,</HI> or, what he heard from the mouth of God, by Oracles daily delivered to him?</P>
<P>To confute this folly, though Scripture it &s;elf were &s;ufficient, I &s;hall produce further evidence.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Philo de vita Mo|&s;es.</NOTE> Fir&s;t <HI>Philo</HI> the Jew, in his Book of the Life of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> gives us the exact Hi&s;tory of his education, and a&s;&s;ures us, that he learned of <HI>Egyptian</HI> Ma&s;ters, Arithmetick, Geometry, Mu&s;ick, both Theorical, and Practick; toge|ther, with all &s;orts of Philo&s;ophy, and the Secrets of Hieroglyphicks. In all which pieces of learning, he grew to &s;uch perfection, that he was acknowledged for a Ma&s;ter, by the very <HI>Egyptians</HI> them&s;elves: in&s;omuch, that when <HI>Pythagoras</HI> and <HI>Plato,</HI> came to learn the Sciences in <HI>Egypt,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Pythago|ras. Plato.</NOTE> they would fir&s;t of all, &s;tudy the Doctrine of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>: who&s;e name, in tho&s;e times, as we find by them, was in great admi|ration through all <HI>Egypt</HI>: and it is more than probable, that from his Books, they did con|ceive
<PB N="23" REF="27">
all that Divinity, which they have de|livered, and the rea&s;on of God, which they declare, under the notion of the fir&s;t cau&s;e.</P>
<P>After them <HI>Numenius,</HI> the famous <HI>Pythago|rean,</HI> wrote many things, concerning Mo&s;ai|cal Doctrine, as <HI>Ba&s;il</HI> the great re&s;tifies;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ba&s;il.</NOTE> and <HI>Numenius</HI> addes, that <HI>Plato</HI> him&s;elf, was no o|ther, then <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;peaking in Greek. Nay, <HI>Clemens Alexandrinus,</HI> and <HI>Eu&s;ebius,</HI> both &s;ay,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Clem. Alex. Eu&s;ebius.</NOTE> that the Gentiles received all the very my&s;te|ries of their Religion, from the Books of <HI>Mo|&s;es</HI>; though enfolding them, in &s;ome odd fables; and <HI>Orpheus</HI> him&s;elf, confe&s;&s;eth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Orpheus.</NOTE> that he learned divers things from the Doctrine of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>; e&s;pecially, in the Book which he made of the Sacred Word, that he &s;ayes him&s;elf, he took out of the Mo&s;aical Tables: as al&s;o, that which he &s;ang concerning God, known to the onely <HI>Chaldean Mo&s;es</HI>; which Ver&s;es of his,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Fran. George in lib. de haerm Mund.</NOTE> one <HI>Francis George,</HI> has reduced into Latine, in his Book of the Harmony of the World. <HI>Nemo illum ni&s;i Chaldaeo de &s;anguine quidam Pro|genitus vidit.</HI> Now, &s;ome have been of opi|nion, that <HI>Orpheus</HI> meant by this <HI>Chaldean, Noath,</HI> and others <HI>Enoch,</HI> and the Platoni&s;ts took him for <HI>Zoroa&s;tres,</HI> who was the &s;on of <HI>Cham</HI>; but the following words convince, it could be no body el&s;e, but <HI>Mo&s;es. Pri&s;co|rum nos haec docuerunt omnia voces, Quae binis ta|bulis, Deus olim tradidit illis</HI>; Now, to none of them, were the Tables of the Command|ments given, but to <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> onely. Thus we &s;ee, he was not onely a perfectly well bred Schol|lar,
<PB N="24" REF="28">
but the very Fountain of all our Learn|ing. A mo&s;t excellent Natural Philo&s;opher, he mu&s;t needs be; for that learning then flou|ri&s;ht mo&s;t there: and be&s;ides, &s;ure he mu&s;t needs know, the true cau&s;es of all things, that was &s;o well acquainted with all the Almighties Coun&s;els of Creation: then for his skill in Moral and Politick Philo&s;ophy, it mu&s;t be al|together as undeniable, being intru&s;ted with the &s;upream, Civil, and Military power, over Gods own people, for &s;o many years, and holding forth to us &s;till, &s;uch Moral &amp; Political Laws, and Con&s;titutions, that will never be matcht, by any Legi&s;lator in the World. Then, for his Divinity, there need be &s;ure as little doubt, who had the con&s;tant conver&s;ation with God him&s;elf, and did by particular di|rection from him, couch, all the &s;acred My|&s;teries of Religion,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. Num. Levit. Deut.</NOTE> in the &s;everal joynts and pieces of the Tabernacle, and the very hems of <HI>Aarons</HI> garments; as may appear more at large, in his la&s;t four Books.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="parallel">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>We have hitherto convers't, in the Mo&s;aical out-works onely, and &s;een the&s;e two high Fa|vourits of Heaven, our fir&s;t and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> marching hand in hand together, in mo&s;t a|micable Parallel, through &s;ome remarkable A&s;cents of their Infancy: We are now hap|pily
<PB N="25" REF="28">
entering into the Inner <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and to re|flect &s;omething upon the di&s;po&s;itions of their Adole&s;cency, which there is no doubt, but we &s;hall find, very agreeable to their Births. And, indeed, one of the greate&s;t benefits, which youth can receive at the hands of God, is the favourable ble&s;&s;ing of a good education; it is that, which poli&s;heth and purifieth humane Nature, as one would do a precious Stone, ob&s;cured with earth, or ba&s;e ordure; it is that, which as a late Doctor tells us, makes of men, (as it were) Angels: and, without it, doubtle&s;&s;e the goodlie&s;t, and mo&s;t precious natures, would perpetually dwell in a &s;ad bruti&s;hne&s;&s;e: But above all others, Princes ought to have an extraordinary advantage of Learning; for it is highly nece&s;&s;ary, &s;ure, that their &s;ouls &s;hould be fulle&s;t of lights, and flames, which are to &s;erve others, for &s;o great guides, and to be mo&s;t exqui&s;itly adorned with good letters, who know (as doubtle&s;&s;e our &s;e|cond <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> did, from his Cradle) that they are to be &s;et aloft upon pinacles, to change their words into Laws, and lives into exam|ples. And he that was to be Supream Magi|&s;trate of &s;o many Nations, ought, &s;ure, with ince&s;&s;ant &s;tudy, read, unite, and incorperate in his &s;ole &s;elf, the vertues, and faculties of many others. And &s;o our glorious &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> did, who was no le&s;&s;e remarkable, for his true Liberal, Noble, &amp; Princely education, than the former. And, truly, for this we mu&s;t acknowledge eternal obligations to his High|ne&s;&s;e,
<PB N="26" REF="29">
his mo&s;t honourable Parents, who had a principal care, to perfect the natural endow|ments of their Child, with tho&s;e of Art; to the &s;hame of many fathers, and mothers, at this day, who too much re&s;emble O&s;triches, who lay their eggs in the open way, without hatching them, abandoning their children to become a prey to mi&s;ery, ignorance, and im|piety: But his Highne&s;&s;e, mo&s;t illu&s;trious Pa|rents, de&s;irous to live in the honour, of their incomparable Child, and to give him a breed|ing equal to his Nobility, Beauty, and Ingeny, and to tho&s;e miraculous pre&s;ervations, by which he was pointed out by Providence, to be a future In&s;trument of Divine wonders, as the former <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was, would give him an edu|cation equal to his. And it is notorious, that he &s;uckt in, a very great proportion of Philo&s;ophy, with the fir&s;t milk, that he drew from his Mother Univer&s;ity; as al&s;o, he de|voured many other Pieces of prophane learn|ing, which, may be, were &s;upererrogatory in a Prince; yet, by that means, he merited to be then as much thought the glory of the Gown, as he has &s;ince, prov'd him&s;elf the honour of the Sword; for, he attained to &s;o &s;tupendious a pitch of Learning, in &s;o few years, that all that knew him then, thought it rather came, (which was &s;u&s;pected upon the former <HI>Mo|&s;es</HI> too) by in&s;piration, than acqui&s;ition: and who could then but admire, tho&s;e fair blo&s;|&s;omes, of which we have &s;een &s;ince, &s;uch ex|cellent fruits, Nor can there be le&s;&s;e doubt
<PB N="27" REF="29">
of his perfection in Political knowledge, made by any man, that will but look upon his mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e, his Government, either Civil, or Military, over us, or the Laws that he has e&s;tabli&s;ht, for the eternal &s;afety, and comfort, of the&s;e Nations. And, as for Divinity, I mean, that of the heart, that Grand Cardi|nal Piece, and mo&s;t principal part of Royal Learning, we all know, that was bred and born with him: a Divinity, I &s;ay, not lodg'd in the Schools, that is too knotty &s;ure for Princes heads; but that which is repo&s;ed in godly hearts, and that is the true fear of the Lord, which is acknowledged by Scripture it &s;elf, to be the beginning of all Wi&s;dom: and, though we dare not a&s;&s;ert, for it is un|known, what per&s;onal di&s;cour&s;es he has had with the Almighty, yet we may affirm, that all his in&s;pirations were Divine; and his con|ver&s;ation was ever &s;o cele&s;tical, as if he lay, in the very bo&s;ome of the Deity. Upon the whole, then, as his fir&s;t Ma&s;ter <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> was bred up in all the Learning of the <HI>Egyptians,</HI> &s;o was his mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e, di&s;po&s;ed to con&s;ecrate his hopeful youth, to the &s;tudy of the Arts, in one of our Univer&s;ities; wherein he came to &s;o much perfection, that he was plea&s;ed do de&s;cend to a degree, by which he made that, more than him&s;elf, Laureat, for &s;o he was without it. Then, that the other mo&s;t famous Si&s;ter, &s;hould not be dejected, he was plea&s;ed to crown her, with the acceptance of her highe&s;t degree of Honour, and to lay a further
<PB N="28" REF="30">
obligation upon her, and the whole Common|wealth of Learning, he has been plea&s;ed &s;ince to own him&s;elf, her Patron, Chancellor, and mo&s;t particular Protector; and &s;ince his High|ne&s;&s;e his greater occa&s;ions, have hindered his attendance on that Charge, he has yet added to her obligations, by bequeathing that care, to his mo&s;t excellent &s;on, and Princely Suc|ce&s;&s;or, his now mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e, whom we may &s;o ju&s;tly entitle to be, <HI>Chara Dei &s;o|boles, magnum Jovis Incrementum</HI>: and can no more doubt that he will trace the &s;teps of his renowned father, than he, our &s;econd, has &s;hewed him&s;elf to be a perfect imitator of his great Ma&s;ter the fir&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>; as we &s;hall &s;till find his Highne&s;&s;e, mounting after him, in the &s;ucceeding A&s;cents.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="5" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="29" REF="30">
<HEAD>The fifth A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> lived a long retired life in his youth, contemning the pomp and great|ne&s;&s;e, of <HI>Pharaohs</HI> Court, and all the World be&s;ides: choo&s;ing rather to pa&s;&s;e as a private Shepherd in a De&s;ert, and to keep his father in Law <HI>Jethro</HI>'s Flocks,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 3.</NOTE> than to be made a Companion of Kings. Now, here I mu&s;t be bold to a&s;&s;ert, that none but high bred, as well as high born, &s;ouls, are capable of un|der&s;tanding, much le&s;&s;e of undergoing, &s;uch a ble&s;&s;ed &s;olitude, as this our old Ma&s;ter <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> did. In this he &s;hewed him&s;elf, to have at|tained to the very highe&s;t pitch of Philo&s;ophy, and all Learning, in &s;o di&s;creet a contempt of all the profits, plea&s;ures, glories, and vanities, of the World.</P>
<P>Here, then, behold, and admire, (all you pittiful plai&s;tered Puppits of the World) this grand Ma&s;ter of Honour, and Learning, <HI>Mo|&s;es</HI>; who, though enriched, with all the fair perfections of mind, and body, requi&s;ite to the accompli&s;hment of a Courtier, could not be brought, by all the powerful allurements of <HI>Pharaohs</HI> Daughter; no, nor yet by the &s;o|licitations, of his poor brethren, then in bon|dage,
<PB N="30" REF="31">
who &s;tood in no little need, (God knows) of &s;uch a helper, lying then, under a mo&s;t Tyrannical oppre&s;&s;ion: or, could be per|&s;waded, to accept the charge, of any publick employments; but, cho&s;e rather for a great while, to retire him&s;elf, and to live a free, and harmle&s;&s;e Shephered, in a De&s;ert, than to em|broil his cele&s;tial &s;oul, in any mundane mat|ters, or to idolize his &s;inful captivity, in a Court.</P>
<P>This is the highe&s;t point of Philo&s;ophy in the World, for a man, e&s;pecially in his youth, to know how to make him&s;elf his own, to &s;et light by, and trample under-foot, all that is without him; to look on all the pomps, and plea&s;ures, of this World, as the old <HI>Egyptians</HI> did, upon tho&s;e dangerous theeves, whom they then termed <HI>Phili&s;tas,</HI> that were wont to tickle, fawn upon, and embrace, whom they had a purpo&s;e to &s;trangle. And truly, if the headach, &s;hould &s;eize upon us, before drunk|enne&s;&s;e, we &s;hould all beware of too much drinking; but &s;ordid &s;en&s;uality, the better to entrap us, makes her apparent plea&s;ures, to march &s;till before us, and hides perpetualy, her too rugged, and repentant track from us. If we can arrive at &s;o happy a knowledge, as to &s;ee into tho&s;e mi&s;erable con&s;equences be|forehand, it mu&s;t be onely, by the pure help of Philo&s;ophy, or the immediate grace of God. And this was that, which our Patri|arch <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> did &s;ee, and accordingly practice; not making, neither, &s;uch a &s;ad, and vale|dictory
<PB N="31" REF="31">
retreat, as &s;ome Princes, and great Per&s;ons have done, to quit, and for&s;ake the World, when either they have been weary of it, or that has been of them: but a true Mo|&s;aical retreat, a retreat of improvement, a re|treat, to bring us on afterwards (as at a jump) with greater advantage, a retreat to cultivate, and enrich a &s;oul: This was that, I &s;ay, our <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> did, who, when he had devoured all the learning of the <HI>Egyptians,</HI> he would retire him|&s;elf a while, to di&s;ge&s;t it in the Land of <HI>Midian:</HI> when he had &s;uckt in all the &s;eeds of good li|terature from the Schools, he withdrew a while, to improve the growth of them in the fields; &s;o avoiding all commixture of weeds, which many times, does &s;trangle the be&s;t and mo&s;t &s;ublime parts in men: And, to conclude all this, our great Ma&s;ter <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> cho&s;e to a|void all tho&s;e pe&s;tilences, that u&s;ually attend upon Courts, and mo&s;t Companies, to go to fructify in the De&s;ert.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="parallel">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>Now, as we have &s;een our fir&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> make|ing his rich retreat, and preferring it before all the delicacies of <HI>Pharaohs</HI> Court; &s;o we &s;hall &s;ee our glorious &s;econd, making ha&s;t after him, who&s;e in&s;pired wi&s;dom, knew full well, even in tho&s;e his youthful years, how to &s;et a ju&s;t value, upon all tho&s;e empty nothings,
<PB N="32" REF="32">
pomps, plea&s;ures, and glories, of the World, and look upon the Court then, no otherwi&s;e, than as his grand Ma&s;ter <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> before him had done, as the ne&s;t of envy, and ambition; and as a late Writer&punc; mo&s;t excellently extracts out of divers ancient Authors, that it was a meer den of darkne&s;&s;e, where the heavens and &s;tars, are &s;carcely to be &s;een, but through a little crevis: As a Mill, alwayes skreaking with perpetual clatter, where men inchained like bea&s;ts of labour, are condemned to turn the &s;tones: As a pri&s;on of &s;laves, who are all ty'd in the golden gyves of a &s;pecious &s;ervitude; yet, in all that glitter, &s;uffer them&s;elves to be gnaw'd upon, by the vermin of ba&s;e abomin|able pa&s;&s;ions. As a li&s;t, where all the Com|batants are &s;tark mad, that enter, their arms nothing but fury, their prize &s;moak, their ca|reer gla&s;&s;e, or ice, and utmo&s;t bounds, but precipices. As the hou&s;e of <HI>Circe,</HI> where rea|&s;onable creatures, are transformed into &s;avage bea&s;ts, where Bulls gore, Lions roare, Dogs bark, and worry one another; Vipers hi&s;s, and Ba&s;ilisks carry death in their looks. To conclude, as the Hou&s;e of winds, a perpetual tempe&s;t on the firm land, &s;hipwrack without water, where ve&s;&s;els are &s;plit, even in the haven of hope: In fine, as a mo&s;t mi&s;erable place, where vice reigns by nature, mi&s;ery by nece&s;|&s;ity; and if any vertue be found there, it mu&s;t be by miracle:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Greg. in Job. <HI>20.</HI></NOTE> So that we may fitly apply to tho&s;e old Courtiers, that pa&s;&s;age in <HI>Job,</HI> &s;o much in&s;i&s;ted on, by the great <HI>Gregory; Gigantes
<PB N="33" REF="32">
gemunt &s;ub aquis,</HI> the Gyants or great Men of the Earth, do groan under the waters, that is, being drawn into a little di&s;grace, by a fu|rious torrent of envy, they &s;igh and mourne, as overwhelm'd in an ocean of calamities. One frown of their Prince, is more formidable to them, than the look of a Ba&s;ilisk, and more terrible than the crack of Canon, or thunder it &s;elf. Be&s;ides, what more ba&s;e, abject, &s;er|vil &s;ort of men, is there in the World? they will bend, and bow, like a fi&s;hers angle, they mu&s;t &s;toop, turn, and wheel about, to all pur|po&s;es, that they may arrive, at their preten|&s;ions? They buy all their honour, at the price of pitifull &s;ubmi&s;&s;ions, their Scarlet, at the rate of &s;ordid ambition, and glory, with the coin of &s;lavery, as is mo&s;t excellently il|lu&s;trated by eloquent <HI>Cyprian</HI> thus,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cyprian ad Donatum.</NOTE> <HI>Qui a|mictu clariore con&s;picuus, fulgere &s;ibi videtur in Purpura,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Quibus hic &s;ordibus emit ut ful|geat? quot arrogantium fa&s;tus prius pertulit? quas &s;uperbas fores matutinus &s;alutator ob&s;edit? quot tumentium contumelio&s;a ve&s;tigia ante prae|ce&s;&s;it, un ip&s;um etiam &s;alutantium comes po&s;tmo|dum turba praecederet?</HI> This &s;illy Courtier, &s;aith he, gazeth upon him&s;elf in Scarlet, but how many ba&s;e &s;ubmi&s;&s;ions has the lu&s;ter of tho&s;e cloths co&s;t him? how many &s;corns, contempts, and repul&s;es, has he &s;wallowed from &s;ome more arrogant than him&s;elf? how many proud gates has he be&s;ieged every day, to perform his complements? and how many times hath he made him&s;elf a &s;tirrup-holder,
<PB N="34" REF="33">
or foot-boy, for the &s;ervice of &s;ome di&s;dainful Prince, to gain this train, that now attends up|on him&s;elf.</P>
<P>Indeed, &s;uch a condition, is more to be pi|tied, than envyed; &s;o it was well an&s;wered of an old Courtier, when askt, How he could continue &s;o long in Court? <HI>Injurias accipi|endo,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>&amp; gratias agendo,</HI> by receiving injuries thankfully. Thus &s;ome men will fat|ten with affronts, and di&s;graces, as &s;lavi&s;h dogs with ba&s;tenado's. My Lords High Mo&s;aick prudence, in the mean time, more feared, than envyed, that cour&s;e of life, and cho&s;e rather to lie hidden for many years, in his little pri|vacy of a &s;afe and &s;weet retreat, and a learned &s;olitude, like a true Princely Pearle, under the waves, then to be worn about the necks of Monarchs.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Marc. Aur. Ant. de vit. &s;ua, <HI>l. 4.</HI></NOTE>One of the greate&s;t wits, as well as Princes, and the mo&s;t vertuous man of a Pagan, that ever was under heaven, the Emperour <HI>Marcus Au|relius Antoninus,</HI> in his Book, that he writ of his own Life, &s;o much commends this kind of retirement, which a wi&s;e man makes within him&s;elf; that he a&s;&s;ures us, that in all the Pa|laces, Gardens, Orchards, and Delicacies, of all the Kings of the World, there is nothing &s;o delightful as it. In which kind of life it is, that a vertuous and knowing &s;oul, involves it &s;elf, in its little &s;hell, and withdrawing it &s;elf out of the &s;altwaters of the World, lives pure|ly with the dew of heaven. There it is where the &s;oul, which is &s;cattered in an overwhelm|ing
<PB N="35" REF="33">
multitude of affairs, foldes it &s;elf within it &s;elf: there it is, where it begins truly to &s;uck in its own &s;ap: there it is, where it ac|commodates, and prepares its hive, like a bu&s;ie Bee, and endeavours to gather its honey, to communicate to all the World. There it is, and onely there, where it enters into a new world, an intelligible world, a peaceable world, a world &s;miling with &s;weet &s;erenity of air, and radiant lights, as becomes &s;uch a ble&s;&s;ed &s;olititude, a true Temple of repo&s;e. This was the Noble rich retirement, that our glo|rious &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> cho&s;e to place his &s;oul in, winding him<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">elf up in his private rece&s;&s;es, as within his own bottom, after the example of his great Prototype; nor could he ever fear to faint, or droop, through any ted<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ous mind-tiring idlene&s;&s;e, (the con&s;equent of mo&s;t &s;olita|rine&s;&s;es) having &s;uch a &s;tock of &s;oul to improve, as he had, his Highne&s;&s;e knew as well as that <HI>Scipio, nunquam minus &s;olus e&s;&s;e qu&agrave;m cum &s;olus</HI>: and, <HI>ut in &s;olis &s;it &s;ibi turba locis,</HI> never to be le&s;s alone, then when he was alone, and to &s;upply him&s;elf with company of him&s;elf, as we &s;hall &s;ee by the great profit he reaped, by his lear|ned &s;olitude; which will more clearly appear, in the proce&s;&s;e of our following <HI>Parallels.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="6" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="36" REF="34">
<HEAD>The &s;ixth A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> was mo&s;t miraculou&s;ly called by God from his retirement, to undertake the deliverance, care, and conduct, of his people, the Lord appearing to him in a flame of fire out of the mid&s;t of a bu&s;h. This A&s;cent,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 3.1.</NOTE> truly, of our great Patriarch, and Pro|totype <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> is &s;o Prodigious, and purely Di|vine, that I cannot pa&s;&s;e it, without rendering a relation of the particular circum&s;tances. As our retired <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was in the mid&s;t of his be|loved &s;olitude, in the innocent &s;ociety of his father-in-laws &s;heep;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid. v. 2.</NOTE> and as he was leading his flock to the back &s;ide of the De&s;ert, and came to the mountain of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 3.</NOTE> even to <HI>Horeb.</HI> The Angel of the Lord appeared unto him, in a flame of fire, out of the mid&s;t of a bu&s;h, and he looked,<NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 4.</NOTE> and behold the bu&s;h burnt with fire,<NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 5.</NOTE> and was not con&s;umed, And <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;aid, I will now turn a&s;ide, and &s;ee this great fight,<NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 6.</NOTE> why the bu&s;h is not burnt; And when the Lord &s;aw that he turned a&s;ide to &s;ee, God called unto him out of the mid&s;t of the Bu&s;h, and &s;aid, <HI>Mo&s;es, Mo&s;es,</HI> and he &s;aid, <HI>Here am I&punc;</HI> and he &s;aid, <HI>Draw not nigh hither,
<PB N="37" REF="34">
put off the &s;hooes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou &s;tande&s;t, is holy ground.</HI> More|over he &s;aid, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<DIV2 TYPE="parallel">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>Out of this miraculous Call, and Commi&s;|&s;ion given to our fir&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> we may clearly collect, as a mo&s;t remarkable Corollary, that the Lord Amighty, has not onely a mo&s;t parti|cular providence over the e&s;tates and govern|ments of Princes; but al&s;o a mo&s;t extraordi|nary re&s;pect unto their per&s;ons, vouch&s;afeing them frequently, the favour, and familiarity, of his own di&s;cour&s;es: and that either by his own per&s;onal calling upon them, as hear to our fir&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> young <HI>Samuel,</HI> and divers others, as &s;tupendious Stories; or by the mi&s;&s;ion of Angels, as to <HI>Abraham, Loth,</HI> and divers other Princes, and Prophets of his people; or el&s;e by dreams and vi&s;ions, as to <HI>Abimelech,</HI> King of <HI>Gerar,</HI> to forwarn him of <HI>Abrahams</HI> wife, and the like: So, not onely the pre&s;ent text of our A&s;cent; but the whole current of Scripture, is con&s;ent|ing to our Corollary. Nay, this Divine fa|vour, was not onely wont to be conferred, up|on the Princes of Gods own people onely, but to meer &s;tranger Kings, and &s;ometimes Infi|dels.</P>
<P>As fir&s;t, to a former <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> God &s;ent a dream, (which <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> afterwards interpreted)
<PB N="38" REF="35">
by which the King prevented his own ruine, and the de&s;truction of his people, by a di&s;mal dearth. So was the like favour vouch&s;afed to <HI>Alexander</HI> the Great, as <HI>Quintus Curtius</HI> tells us, whil&s;t that victorious Prince main|tained the &s;iege of the City of <HI>Tyre</HI>; by which means, he was made &s;oon Ma&s;ter of the place, which but &s;ome few hours before, he de&s;pair|ed of, and re&s;olved to ri&s;e from before it.</P>
<P>We find likewi&s;e in Roman Story, that <HI>Calphurnia,</HI> wife to the adopted father of <HI>Ju|lius Cae&s;ar,</HI> gave him timely notice of a dream of hers, concerning him, which he de&s;pi&s;ing, and going fearle&s;&s;e to the Senate-hou&s;e, found her dream to &s;ort to a woful effect: But his wi&s;e Succe&s;&s;our, <HI>Augu&s;tus,</HI> who was to be Re|venger of his blood, upon the Con&s;pirators, made better u&s;e of anothers dream, that was <HI>Antonius</HI> his Phy&s;itian; advi&s;ing him, though he was &s;ick, yet he &s;hould not fail to be pre&s;ent in the Battle, which was the next day to be given, by <HI>Brutus</HI> and <HI>Ca&s;&s;ius,</HI> and by no means to &s;tay in his Tent, which he would have done, had not <HI>Antonius</HI> u&s;ed his mo&s;t pre&s;&s;ing per&s;wa&s;ions to the contrary, which was the &s;aying of his life; for the enemy won the Tents, and would have undoubtedly de|&s;troyed him, had they found him there. So by this means, he won the day, and the world together, and became the &s;ole peaceable Mon|arch of the Roman Empire; that under his Reign, our Prince of Peace, and Glorious Redeemer, &s;hould be born, as he was.</P>
<P><PB N="39" REF="35">Now, God forbid, that we &s;hould think the Almighty Providence le&s;&s;e &s;olicitous, over the per&s;ons of Chri&s;tian Princes, and their pious proceedings: no, he has, abundantly &s;hewed, that no Mother, or Nur&s;e, had &s;o much tender affection, and care over their &s;ucklings, as his goodne&s;&s;e has &s;hewed it &s;elf careful in their pre-cautions and admonitions of dangers, and mo&s;t frequent con&s;ervations, which all Chri&s;tian Hi&s;tories are full of: But indeed, we need go no further, than to the Hi&s;tories of the holy War, written by <HI>Paulus Aemilius,</HI> and <HI>Gulielmus Tyrius,</HI> how often he has vouch&s;afed mi&s;&s;ions of Angels, and al&s;o holy Dreams, and Vi&s;ions, to direct tho&s;e pious Princes. Nay, the Lord kept the very birds of the air, in pay under <HI>Godfry</HI> of <HI>Bouil|lon</HI>; for who can be but a&s;toni&s;ht, to hear it told, how, when he be&s;ieged <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> the Sultan having taught pigeons, to carry me&s;|&s;ages, di&s;patched one of them with a Letter, which &s;he bore under her wings, to give &s;ome advice to the be&s;ieged; but Providence would have it, that a Hawk &s;eizing on her, ju&s;t over the Chri&s;tian Army, took her, and made her bring her information to the Chri&s;tians, touch|ing the enemies de&s;ign. But as for Dreams, the three la&s;t <HI>Harry</HI>'s of <HI>France,</HI> are undoubt|edly the greate&s;t examples, who all were di|vinely admoni&s;ht of their approaching dan|ger of death, by their Queens, and other Princes of their blood; but they with over-confidence would run on heedle&s;&s;e, and head|long,
<PB N="40" REF="36">
to their own de&s;truction. Nay, the middlemo&s;t of the three, be&s;ides the admo|nitions, he receiv'd from the Dreams of others, &s;aw him&s;elf, in a Dream, how all his Royal ornaments, <HI>viz.</HI> his Linnen Ve&s;ture, Sandalls, Dalmatian Robe, Mantle of Azure Sattin, the great and le&s;&s;er Crowns, Scepter, and hand of Ju&s;tice, Sword, and Guilt-Spurs, all bloody, and fouled with peoples feet, and that he him|&s;elf was very angry with the Sexton of St. <HI>Denis,</HI> about it; and though he wanted not good coun&s;el, according to the danger of his Dream, to &s;tand &s;ecurely upon his guard, and make u&s;e of the fair pre-monition of heaven; yet would, for&s;ooth, out of his gallantry, ex|po&s;e his per&s;on to the malice of tho&s;e, who kept a fatal blow in &s;tore for him.</P>
<P>I cannot &s;tand here to di&s;pute with the learned <HI>Volaterranus,</HI> whether all men in ge|neral, going to Bed, not cloy'd with bad affe|ctions, nor any &s;uperfluities of meat or drink, but being throughout vertuou&s;ly and health|fully di&s;po&s;ed, their &s;ouls in &s;leeping, may not fore&s;ee things to come: for I mu&s;t ha&s;ten to accompli&s;h our Parallel: and it is indeed, as much as concerns our pre&s;ent purpo&s;e, to &s;ay, that we are very certainly &s;ure, of &s;o much, (as by &s;ome in&s;tances has been &s;hewed alrea|dy, and might be by many more) that the Dreams of Kings, and Princes, Prophets, Ge|nerals of Armies, Magi&s;trates, and all Publick Per&s;ons, that hold any Eminent Degree, either in Church, or State, are commonly propheti|cal,
<PB N="41" REF="36">
and monitory, of things to come, or to be done: This I &s;ay, by grace e&s;pecial and Di|vine, not Natural, as may more plainly appear in this our precious Parallel. And indeed, to &s;ay, that our mo&s;t gracious Lord, had not an equal care, of his late &s;acred Highne&s;&s;e, our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> as he had of the former, of an <HI>Alexander,</HI> a <HI>Julius,</HI> or <HI>Augu&s;tus Cae&s;ar</HI> (who was to be as glorious in his Victories, and a greater In&s;trument of Divine wonders, than any, except this his happy Parallel,) would be an infidelity greater as theirs, that oppugne Divine Providence it &s;elf.</P>
<P>I dare not yet boldly affirm, that our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> in his retirement, met with any flaming Bu&s;h, and the Lord &s;peaking to him out of it; or that he has had any &s;uch per&s;onal di&s;cour|&s;es, with the Almighty: if his late Highne&s;&s;e has had any of tho&s;e, they were onely then known, as I believe, to the Lord, and to his own &s;acred &s;elf. But this I have mo&s;t certainly been informed, that his Highne&s;&s;e had many Revelations, and Divine Dreams, to the &s;ame purpo&s;e, admoni&s;hing him, what he &s;hould do, and foretelling him what he &s;hould arrive at: which that I may not prejudice, by my rude relation, I hold better to pa&s;&s;e by with &s;ilence, till &s;ome that his mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e was plea&s;ed to make knowing of them, &s;hall do the World the favour, as to make the di&s;covery. But &s;o much is notorious to all the&s;e Nations, that as our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was retired like the former, and near the back&s;ide of the De&s;ert
<PB N="42" REF="37">
too, but &s;till near the Mountain of God: the Lord found him out there, and called him; for who can hide, what the Lord will bring to light? <HI>Sed quis te Cyllarus, aut Arion po&s;&s;et cripere, quem &s;equebatur imperium?</HI> as was mo&s;t excellently &s;aid by <HI>Eumenius.</HI> What Hor&s;e or Dolphin is &s;o &s;wift, that can &s;teal from mor|tal eyes, a per&s;on whom the Providence of God pur&s;ueth with Empire in hand? A burning, and a &s;peaking Bu&s;h, mu&s;t call the fir&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> from his retirement, to deliver and conduct his brethren out of bondage; and no le&s;&s;e, I am &s;ure, than three Kingdoms all in a flame, with the united cries of &s;o many millions, and in them too, the voice of God, for &s;o is <HI>vox populi,</HI> could move our incompa|rable late Protector, to ingulph him&s;elf, in the Ocean of Publick imployment. We have &s;een, that extraordinary Per&s;ons, mu&s;t have extraordinary Calls, and our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his fir&s;t Call, from his dear, divine &s;olitude, was a publick Parliamentary Call, and there too, when he was mo&s;t violently per&s;waded to ap|pear; how long was it, before he could in|duce his mo&s;t &s;etled and &s;erene Soul, to be capable of the &s;ollicitudes of State? but for divers years &s;ate in Parliament, and Commit|tees, upon all the Common-wealths occa&s;ions, as the Birds of <HI>Baruch,</HI> upon white thorns, and as the Gyants of holy <HI>Job,</HI> before &s;poken of, which mourn'd under the waters: and this we &s;hall &s;ee more plainly appear, in the proce&s;&s;e of our &s;ucceeding A&s;cents, and Parallels.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="7" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="43" REF="37">
<HEAD>The &s;eventh A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> being in his own judgement, and in all outward appearance, unfit for &s;o great a Charge, was very unwillingly per&s;waded by God, to undertake it; in&s;o|much,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 3.11.</NOTE> as it came to a very high expo&s;tulation between them. Was there ever &s;uch a di&s;pute with the Almighty? Or was there ever &s;een &s;uch a difficulty in man, to be per&s;waded to &s;o high a point of preferment? Behold what arguments he rai&s;eth again&s;t the Lord, and his own &s;elf. And his fir&s;t refu&s;al &s;eems to proceed, from a vice of over-mode&s;ty; for the &s;acred Text tells us, That <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;aid unto God, <HI>Who am I, that I &s;hould go unto</HI> Pharaoh,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid v. 12.</NOTE> <HI>and that I &s;hould bring the children of I&s;rael out of Egypt?</HI> which the Lord was plea&s;ed gra|ciou&s;ly to an&s;wer, and &s;atisfie with an a&s;&s;u|rance, that he world be with him, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Then he proceeds to &s;omething of a double diffi|dence; fir&s;t objecting, <HI>Behold when I come un|to the children of I&s;rael, and &s;hall &s;ay unto them,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 13.</NOTE> <HI>the God of your fathers hath &s;ent me unto you, and they &s;hall &s;ay unto me, What is his name? What &s;hall I &s;ay unto them?</HI> To which the Lord
<PB N="44" REF="38">
was plea&s;ed to reply, by conde&s;cending to give him his Name,<NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 14.</NOTE> <HI>I am that I am,</HI> and com|manded him to &s;ay, to the children of I&s;rael, that <HI>I am</HI> had &s;ent him unto them, and &s;o fur|ni&s;ht him with a large Commi&s;&s;ion, and in|&s;tructions. But yet our <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> will be doubt|ful &s;till of the force and effect of his Almighty Commi&s;&s;ion; for he an&s;wered and &s;aid, <HI>But behold they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice</HI>;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 4.1.</NOTE> <HI>for they will &s;ay, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee.</HI> Now this redoubled doubt, and diffidence of poor <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> the mo&s;t gracious Lord plea&s;ed to reform with two &s;tupendious miracles, and &s;o to frighten him into a better obedience:<NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.</NOTE> Fir&s;t with his own Rod turned into a Serpent, and returned into a Rod again; and then with his own hand, made Leprous, and whole again, all in a moment; &s;o drawing, as it were, its contagion, and cure from his own bo&s;ome. Nay, further, to for|tifie his faith, and credit his Commi&s;&s;ion, with the children of I&s;rael, the Lord a&s;&s;ures him, that he &s;hall have the power to turn the water of the River into blood upon the dry Land.</P>
<P>Now after all this, was it po&s;&s;ible that there &s;hould be any more eva&s;ion found out, by our too mode&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>? Yes &s;urely, and to &s;omething &s;avouring of a very high infidelity: For <HI>Mo|&s;es</HI> replied unto the Lord, <HI>O my Lord, I am not eloquent,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 10.</NOTE> <HI>neither heretofore, nor &s;ince thou ha&s;t &s;poken unto thy &s;ervant; but I am &s;low of &s;peech, and of an impedited tongue</HI>: But yet behold
<PB N="45" REF="38">
the benignity of our gracious God, who is plea&s;ed &s;till to confute him, without any take|ing of offence: onely asking him the que&s;tion,<NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 11.12.</NOTE> <HI>Who made mans mouth, or who maketh the dumb or the deaf, or the &s;eeing, or the blind? Have not I the Lord?</HI> then a&s;&s;uring him, that he will be with his mouth, and teach him what he &s;hall &s;ay. What could be expected after this, but a ready a&s;&s;ent? yet in&s;tead of that, behold he flies out to a flat denial; to all this over-mode&s;ty, diffidence, and almo&s;t infideli|ty, he will yet adde ob&s;tinacy, and a di&s;mal di&s;obedience, as ever was heard of, and plain|ly bid the Lord &s;end whom he would.<NOTE PLACE="marg">13.</NOTE> Then the anger of the Lord was kindled again&s;t <HI>Mo|&s;es</HI>; yet &s;o mercifully, as to be plea&s;ed to re|concile him&s;elf to him in&s;tantly again, and by further a&s;&s;urances of his Almighty favours, with the promi&s;ed a&s;&s;i&s;tencie of his brother <HI>Aaron,</HI> &s;o to convince his doubting &s;ervant,<NOTE PLACE="marg">14.</NOTE> and to convert him to a more re&s;olute faith, and active obedience.</P>
<P>Thus then, the bu&s;ine&s;&s;e now &s;tands agreed on, our poor, mode&s;t, diffident, and fearful, <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> is now become a faithful, and a &s;tout one; and the Lord who full well knew before, his capacities to di&s;charge, is now plea&s;ed to pardon his long unwillingne&s;&s;e to perform, his &s;o great, and weighty Commands.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="parallel">
<PB N="46" REF="39">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>Now truly our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> cannot appear le&s;&s;e Parallel to the fir&s;t, in this his unwilling|ne&s;&s;e to accept of all publick Charges, than he has done in all his accompli&s;hments of parts, or any of the pa&s;t A&s;cents. And yet this unwil|lingne&s;s of his, never proceeded from any diffi|dence of, or di&s;obedience to, any Divine Com|mands, which was indeed, the fault of our for|mer <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>: but partly from his own humili|ty, over-mode&s;ty, and high contempt of all earthly things. His &s;anctified &s;pirit lookt up|on all tho&s;e flattering flouri&s;hes, of this worlds greatne&s;&s;e, no otherwi&s;e, than as the true gardens of <HI>Adonis,</HI> which in the beginning make a fair &s;hew of &s;ome &s;i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ly flowers, but in conclu&s;ion, afford nothing but thorns. He alwayes reckoned, that the Careers of the greate&s;t honours here below, were but of ice, and mo&s;t commonly bounded with headlong ruins. He found in his younger judgement, as we have &s;een, (though certainly it was an in|&s;pired piece of prudence) that all the pitiful felicities of this life, were onely floating I&s;lands, which recoil backwards, when a man thinks for to touch them, with his fingers; or as the Fea&s;ts of <HI>Heliogabalus,</HI> where were fair invitations, many reverences, and many &s;er|vices; but in the end, nothing but a Table
<PB N="47" REF="39">
appears, &s;et out with a Banquet made of wax, which melts before the fire, and from whence a man mu&s;t return, more hungry than he came: Or yet, more like the inchanted egg of <HI>Oromazes,</HI> wherein the impudent Magician, boa&s;ted to have inclo&s;ed all the happine&s;&s;e of the Univer&s;e; but when it was opened, there was found, nothing but wind.</P>
<P>The&s;e were the &s;olitary con&s;iderations that moved his late mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e, to his &s;o long and clo&s;e concealment of him&s;elf. And indeed, the heavenly Providence over this great Per&s;on, (if we look well throughout him) can never be otherwi&s;e read, then (as let|ters written with the juice of Limon) by the help of fire, or flame of a burning Bu&s;h, as be|fore, which mu&s;t not onely flame neither, but mu&s;t con&s;ume even to his own door, may be ready to involve all in a general conflagration, before he would at all think him&s;elf to be con|cerned, or bu&s;ily be&s;tirre him&s;elf to quench it: or before he would undertake (the un|happy nece&s;&s;ities of State then requiring a war) any part of his incomparable Mo&s;aical conduct. So that we may at la&s;t affirm, and conclude of him, as <HI>Claudian</HI> does of his brave Emperour <HI>Theodo&s;ius,</HI> that <HI>Solus meruit regnare rogatus,</HI> there is none worthy of a Crown, but he that mu&s;t be importun'd to it.</P>
<P>Now &s;ome we know there have been, that have had an mo&s;t enraged de&s;ire to Empire, and yet would feign them&s;elves to have all the aver&s;ions in the world again&s;t it; and &s;o have
<PB N="48" REF="40">
cau&s;ed them&s;elves, to be carryed to their Thrones, like unwilling bea&s;ts to the &s;laugh|ter. The truth of it is, the heart of man, as the Scripture tells us, is in&s;crutable above all things, and more e&s;pecially &s;o, in point of am|bition; and I have often con&s;idered tho&s;e three difficult que&s;tions which the Angel pro|po&s;ed to <HI>E&s;dras,</HI> to weigh the fire, to mea&s;ure the wind, and to number the veins of the Aby&s;s, and really I find, the intricacy of an exorbitant ambition, to be all that. Ambi|tion is a devouring fire, who can poi&s;e it? It is a mo&s;t robu&s;tious violent wind, who can hold, or fathom it? It is a bottomle&s;&s;e Aby&s;s, who can count the i&s;&s;ues, and the &s;ources of it? The middle of the Earth, hath been found, the depth of the Sea hath been &s;ounded, the height of the <HI>Alpes,</HI> and <HI>Riphaean</HI> Hills, them|&s;elves has be taken, and mea&s;ured, the remot|e&s;t limits of the hollow caverns of <HI>Cauca&s;us,</HI> have been dived into; the head-&s;pring of <HI>Nilus</HI> it &s;elf, hath not e&s;caped the di&s;covery: onely, in the hearts of men, we cannot find the bounds of de&s;ire of commanding.</P>
<P>This (I &s;ay) is too true, in the community of men; but his Mo&s;aical Highne&s;&s;e, has ever given &s;uch vi&s;ible and apparent proofes, of his divine &s;elf-denying &s;pirit, and &s;uch irrefraga|ble arguments, of his reall reluctancies, again&s;t all offers what&s;oever, of wordly greatne&s;&s;e, that malice it &s;elf, cannot object, the lea&s;t &s;pot of ambition to have po&s;&s;e&s;t his in&s;pired bo&s;om. For fir&s;t, we have &s;een, how long he was plea&s;ed
<PB N="49" REF="40">
to conceal him&s;elf, like his dear Ma&s;ter <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> in the back&s;ide of the De&s;art, near to the Mountain of God, where he could have no conver&s;ation, but with him, and his own &s;oul; and we all know how unwilling he was, to for|&s;ake that his beloved humble retreat, which &s;ure he had never done, if he had not &s;tudied mo&s;t thoroughly the be&s;t of Poets, &s;o often repeated, <HI>Sic vos, non vobis</HI>: and been more divinely taught, that all which is mo&s;t excel|lent in creatures, is not for the creatures, which po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e it; as light is not in the Sun, for the Sun it &s;elf, nor waters are in the Ocean, for the Ocean it &s;elf. The great God of the Univer&s;e, who gave Brightne&s;&s;e to the one, and Rivers to the other, would, that both &s;hould tend to the publick commodity of men, and has thereby ordained them, to pa&s;&s;e on to the glory of the Soveraign Being.</P>
<P>His in&s;pired Highne&s;&s;e, full well knew, that Kingdoms were not made &s;o much for Kings, as Kings for their Kingdoms; for they are made &s;o, and &s;et over them, to this end onely, to do them, not them&s;elves, good, and to pro|tect them, and pre&s;erve them, as the goods of God him&s;elf. His Highne&s;&s;e likewi&s;e con&s;i|dered, that &s;o &s;oon as a man is born with, and bred up to, fair and worthy parts, he is to employ him&s;elf, and them, for the publick good; and he who would retain to him&s;elf, what Divine Providence gave in common, commits a &s;acriledge in the great Temple of the God of Nature; and he that perpetually
<PB N="50" REF="41">
reflects on him&s;elf in all things, and draws, as it were, all to him&s;elf, as if he were &s;o made, onely for him&s;elf, oppo&s;eth his Creator, and Judge, and makes him&s;elf corrival with the Soveraign Maje&s;ty of Heaven.</P>
<P>Now after that our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> had, upon the&s;e Divine con&s;iderations, been drawn to put him&s;elf forth upon publick Services, we all know, how unwilling he has been to receive the dues of his own honours, and how de&s;irous he was rather to wrap him&s;elf up, nay, to bury him&s;elf, if he could have done it, in his fir&s;t colours, than to proceed to higher Com|mands, which being &s;till enforced upon him by his own Mo&s;aical merits, we have &s;een likewi&s;e with what humility, and great candor of &s;pi|rit, he has ever managed them. And when the pre&s;&s;ing nece&s;&s;ities of State required, that one &s;ingle per&s;on &s;hould &s;it at the Helme, and that he was pointed out, both by God and man, for that purpo&s;e; how unwilling was he to accept the Charge? in&s;omuch, that when the Protector at of the&s;e Nations, was &s;o violently pre&s;&s;ed upon him, by the then wearied Par|liament; who knows not, with what &s;ighs, and groans, not to be uttered, and &s;ad regrets, le&s;&s;e to be under&s;tood, he was at length plea|&s;ed to undergo the Charge? Nay, yet fur|ther, Is it not mo&s;t evident, how to his very la&s;t day, he has with an incomparable con|&s;tancy, and magnanimity of &s;pirit, refu&s;ed and re&s;i&s;ted, all tho&s;e urgent importunities of Par|liament, and People, Council, and Army,
<PB N="51" REF="41">
pre&s;&s;ing the Crown, and the Title of King upon him? And in all this, has he not mo&s;t perfectly proved him&s;elf, the follower of his pattern, and great Ma&s;ter <HI>Mo&s;es?</HI> who was not onely unwilling to receive the honour of Cap|tain General over his Brethren, but refu&s;ed and contemned the whole Court, and King|dom of <HI>Pharaoh.</HI></P>
<P>Thus our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour, the Pattern of all patterns, to convince the World, that he was the Example of all perfection, would ap|pear onely great in refu&s;ing of a whole world, which the Devil did, as it were, unfold to him, before his feet. So, doubtle&s;&s;e, it was his Di|vine will likewi&s;e, that the vertue of the great|e&s;t men, &s;hould appear clearly in the refu&s;al of the greate&s;t honours, when as, by his Spirit, the ble&s;&s;ed <HI>Bapti&s;t,</HI> refu&s;ed the greate&s;t of all Titles, which was to own the high honour, and name of the <HI>Me&s;&s;iah.</HI> Indeed, it is a mo&s;t par|ticular grace, and favour afforded by God; to make a man to open his eyes upon him&s;elf, to know him&s;elf as he ought, to mea&s;ure him&s;elf, and to &s;et limits upon his own de&s;ires.</P>
<P>Now this e&s;pecial grace, we &s;ee the Lord has largely be&s;towed upon the&s;e his two ex|traordinary Servants, our fir&s;t and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es.</HI> And indeed, my Lord alwayes lookt upon tho&s;e &s;pirits with pity, who outragiou&s;ly mad after greatne&s;&s;e, pur&s;ue it with all manner of toil, and &s;ini&s;ter practices, and never coun|ted them to be otherwi&s;e, than as bubbles, that ri&s;e on the water in the time of a Tem|pe&s;t,
<PB N="52" REF="42">
which both encrea&s;e, and crack in a mo|ment. That wretched &s;ordid ambition it was, which made the great Roman Emperours of old, to &s;it &s;o &s;lippery upon their Thrones, and to live, indeed, but the age of flowers, &s;till driving one another out, as nailes do; or as the waves that are &s;till beating one another, to be broken again&s;t Rocks. No, our glo|rious &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> like the fir&s;t, was ever ele|vated to &s;o high a pitch of Holy, and Divine contemplations, that he lookt upon all the greedy Great ones of the World, but as &s;o many pitiful Ants, furiou&s;ly contending for a poor &s;imple grain of earth: and truly, the va&s;t di|&s;tance of his high &s;pirit, from all &s;ublunary things, made the whole Globe of the World, appear to him no otherwi&s;e, than as a little point, and that almo&s;t imperceptible: good rea&s;on therefore had his Mo&s;aical prudence, to be unwilling, to trouble him&s;elf at all about it; but enough has been &s;aid as to that, &s;o we'l ha&s;ten, from the unwillingne&s;&s;e of the&s;e our two Grand Ma&s;ters to accept, to celebrate their promptne&s;&s;e, fidelity, and activity, in the glorious execution, of their &s;everal Charges: which will abundantly appear in our after A&s;cents, and Parallels.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="8" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="53" REF="42">
<HEAD>The eighth A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> found the Lord faithful, in the per|formance of all his promi&s;ed a&s;&s;i&s;tance to him: by which means,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 7.</NOTE> he wrought &s;tupendious miracles in <HI>Egypt,</HI> and by tho&s;e, &s;o quickly brought to a confu&s;ion, all the Learn|ing, Policy, Sorcery, and Malice, of the <HI>Egyptians.</HI> And indeed, to go about to prove, that there is fidelity in the Lord of Heaven and Earth, towards his &s;ervants here below, would be altogether as impertinent, as to de|mon&s;trate water to be in the Sea, or light in the Sun: e&s;pecially when he (that is the eter|nal Truth) has &s;aid it, that he is righteous, in all his wayes, and faithful, in all his words and works.</P>
<P>Our <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> is now to meet with men, and devils; but the Lord will enable him, as he promi&s;ed, to with&s;tand, and &s;ubdue all their malitious and magical oppo&s;itions.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> upon our <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his coming to Court, and receiving his fir&s;t &s;ummons, (in|&s;tead of being obedient to the Lords com|mands, and giving the people their de&s;ired liberty to go and &s;erve him) calls his Cabinet-Council about him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 5.</NOTE> and by their politick ad|vices,
<PB N="54" REF="43">
encrea&s;eth pre&s;ently the I&s;raelites Taskes, on purpo&s;e to inflame them to a muti|ny, and make them murder tho&s;e that came about to deliver them.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 6.</NOTE> But the Lord, who &s;tills the roaring of the waves, and the mad|ne&s;&s;e of the people, is plea&s;ed quickly to pa|cifie them, and make them comfortably to &s;ub|mit, to their barbarous burdens, and peace|ably and patiently to expect the day of their de&s;ired Redemption.</P>
<P>When this &s;ubtile piece of king-craft, would not &s;erve proud <HI>Pharaohs</HI> turn, and all his po|litick Junto, were at a &s;tand, the Devil mu&s;t be pre&s;ently employed, and all the Magicians of the Land, &s;ent for, that they, for&s;ooth, may beard this great Emba&s;&s;adour of God, and vye with their diabolical enchantments,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 7.</NOTE> divine Miracles: So <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> could no &s;ooner ca&s;t his Rod down upon the ground, to become a Ser|pent; but tho&s;e devili&s;h Sorceres, would do as much, though all theirs, were to be de|voured by the Divine Rod. Nay, Rivers turned into blood, and producing of innume|rable Frogs, could not out-do their cheating inchantments. But when the &s;acred Rod was to be &s;tretcht forth again, and the du&s;t of the earth &s;mitten into lice,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 8.</NOTE> then, <HI>Ars tua Typhe ja|cet,</HI> the Magicians are all at a gaze, there their Sorcery is quite confounded, and they are con|&s;trained to confe&s;&s;e, that the Devil, their good Lord and Ma&s;ter, hath a power limited; for &s;illy lice, of which man is naturally a creator, are<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid v. 19.</NOTE> enough to confound the&s;e great Negro|mancers,
<PB N="55" REF="43">
and make them acknowledge, and adore the finger of God.</P>
<P>Now, after all this, when malice, and Ma|gick, could do no more, yet the Tyrant will be &s;tiff &s;till, till his Court and Kingdom too be infe&s;ted, and invaded, with huge Armies of flies, who&s;e grievous &s;warms, boldly &s;tor|med the Royal Chamber of <HI>Pharaoh</HI>; then he begun to be inclined to let the children of I&s;rael go: but he had no &s;ooner got from un|der the Rod, but he relap&s;eth into his old di&s;|obedience, ob&s;tinacy, and hardne&s;&s;e of heart, neither would he let the people go. Then followed the miraculous Murrain upon bea&s;ts,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 9.</NOTE> with the plague of boiles, and blaines, upon the more bea&s;tly, and brute men, with the mo&s;t &s;tupendious &s;torm of fire, and water, mingled together, that ever the earth felt be|fore or &s;ince, before <HI>Pharaoh</HI> would be brought to incline, to our <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and his peoples re|que&s;t: But he had no &s;ooner got once more a re&s;pit from tho&s;e plagues, but he &s;tood at a defiance with God Almighty again, and his Emba&s;&s;adour too. Then mu&s;t millions of Locu&s;ts be &s;ent for, to make his hard heart re|lent, which he did again &s;oon, for a little time,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 10</NOTE> but returned pre&s;ently to his in&s;olence, and Tyranny. Then prodigious palpable dark|ne&s;&s;e mu&s;t be &s;ent, a darkne&s;&s;e thick enough to be felt; yet proud <HI>Pharaoh</HI> him&s;elf, had no feeling, longer than he remained under the importunity of the plague: &s;till relap&s;ing in|to his old obduration of heart, till the Lord
<PB N="56" REF="44">
was plea&s;ed, at midnight, to &s;mite all the fir&s;t-born of the Land of <HI>Egypt,</HI> from the fir&s;t-born of <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> that &s;ate on the Throne, to the fir&s;t-born of the captive lying in the dungeon, and all the fir&s;t-born of cattel. Then was the Tyrant throughly &s;tartled; he ro&s;e up in the night, he and all his &s;ervants, and all the <HI>E|gyptians,</HI> and there was a great cry in <HI>Egypt,</HI> for there was not a hou&s;e, where there was not one dead.</P>
<P>This was a blow indeed, that reacht to the very heart of <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> and all his people; who now,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 12.</NOTE> with tears in their eyes, are turned from being Tyrants, to be &s;uppliants, and do humbly be&s;eech their Petitioners, to be ma|&s;ters of their own de&s;ires; nor onely &s;o, but offer to accommodate them for their journey, with all nece&s;&s;aries, lend them all their Jewels of Silver, and Jewels of Gold, and Rayment, and to give all &s;uch things as they required. O wonderful conver&s;ion! but yet <HI>Tantae molis erat,</HI> &amp;c. So great difficulties had our great Patriarch <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> to encounter, before he could arrive to be a Captain-General. And now he has begun his mo&s;t miraculous March, with a Pillar of a Cloud before him, for his <HI>Quita &s;ol</HI> by day, and a Pillar of fire for his Torch by night;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 14.</NOTE> Yet <HI>Pharaoh</HI> will have another fling at him, and thinks now by force of arms, to de&s;troy tho&s;e abroad, whom he could not &s;ecurely keep at home, in quiet bondage, by all his arts and policies: But behold the Pro|digy of all Prodigies; The Red Sea is cut
<PB N="57" REF="44">
into a Royal high-way, for the I&s;raelites, and made a dreadful grave for the <HI>Egyptians</HI>: Tho&s;e mighty waters &s;tand all on heaps, and congeale them&s;elves into walls, as it were of bra&s;&s;e, for the defence, and &s;afe pa&s;&s;age, of the people of God; but di&s;&s;olve them&s;elves into liquid floods, for the overthrow of <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> and all his Chariots: who were no &s;ooner en|tred, than overwhelmed; and &s;o they &s;unk down as lead, in tho&s;e mighty waters; as our great <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> him&s;elf expre&s;&s;eth it, in his Song of thank&s;giving to God, for that &s;tupen|dious Deliverance.</P>
<P>I &s;hould be infinite, if I went about to re|late, the Myriads of wonders, that our <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;hewed afterwards in the De&s;art, in the con|duct of this cho&s;en Army; which quickly be|coming faithle&s;&s;e, and mutinous, yet by the prayers, and for the &s;ake, of our mo&s;t admi|rable <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> was the Almighty plea&s;ed never to for&s;ake them; but to feed them con&s;tantly with miracles, &s;howring Quailes upon them for fle&s;h, and the Bread of Heaven for them to eat; and gave them continual Prodigies to drink, from the very fir&s;t bitter waters at <HI>Marah,</HI> which he turned to be &s;weet, to the &s;trange tapping of the Rock in <HI>Horeb.</HI> So happy are the people, who have the Lord for their God, and &s;o dear and dutiful a &s;ervant of his, for their Leader, as this our fir&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was, and our &s;econd cannot but appear to be.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="parallel">
<PB N="58" REF="45">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>I believe, truly, that there is no intelligent Per&s;on living, that looks upon this long Story, of our pre&s;ent A&s;cent, but would take the par|ticulars of the children of I&s;raels Deliver|ance, to be throughout Typical of ours, and all the circum&s;tances of effecting it by the fir&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> as plainly to apply them&s;elves, to our glorious &s;econd. Can any &s;ay, that his late Highne&s;&s;e has done le&s;&s;e wonders for us, and our Deliverance, or found the Lord le&s;&s;e a&s;&s;i|&s;tant to him, in his miraculous undertakings, than the former? If any &s;uch there be, we &s;hall very ea&s;ily convince them.</P>
<P>True it is, we cannot &s;ay literally, that his Highne&s;&s;e was enforced to bring &s;o many mira|culous plagues upon our <HI>Egyptians</HI>; but we all, as well the people of God, as their Task-ma&s;ters, lay under the perfect moral of all tho&s;e plagues, before he, like another <HI>Hercules A|lexicacus,</HI> did ri&s;e up in our I&s;rael, and under|take, our &s;o great and wonderful Delivery: and &s;o we will now look upon him, march|ing in a perfect line Parallel, with all tho&s;e very actions and &s;ingular circum&s;tances; I &s;ay &s;till in the moral, and will dare to equal him here too, with the former mighty <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> even in tho&s;e his mo&s;t &s;tupendious pa&s;&s;ages.</P>
<P>And fir&s;t we may &s;ee, how our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI>
<PB N="59" REF="45">
had no &s;ooner ca&s;t his &s;acred Rod upon the ground, here in <HI>England,</HI> that is, did vote in open Parliament, to undertake &s;o ju&s;t and ho|nourable a War, as that for the redemption of this people, out of their Captivity, then more than <HI>Egyptian,</HI> but the Magicians of <HI>England</HI> likewi&s;e, that is, the pretended Prelats, and their party, would endeavour to do the like, and, in effect, did &s;o; for they turned their crooked Croziers, into frery Serpents too, rai&s;ing of men, and arms, to re&s;i&s;t our Mo&s;ai|cal Reformation; but the &s;acred Rod, of our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> as that of the former, has mani|fe&s;tly devoured all their bloody and &s;erpentine endeavours. Nay, when rivers of blood, were made to run upon <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> ground, in our ju&s;t defence, they would needs, likewi&s;e, by their Negromantick malice, make tho&s;e Rivers to overflow with blood too, for the &s;upport of their Tyrannical and u&s;urped power: which that they might the better do too, they would rai&s;e their &s;warms, and infinities of Frogs to follow them, I mean, tho&s;e croaking and skip|ping Church-men, that were the true&s;t Trum|pets of the War, who&s;e Religion onely was intere&s;t, and God their gain, &s;o made it their bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, to cover their pernicious prelatical de&s;igns, with the cloak of the Go&s;pel, not care|ing, &s;o they might, by preaching, infu&s;e their malice into others, to become Ca&s;t-awayes them&s;elves; as the Apo&s;tle forwarns us of them, and our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour too, terming them Wolves in Sheeps cloathing. But yet,
<PB N="60" REF="46">
when our glorious &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> was plea&s;ed to &s;tretch forth his Divine Rod again, and &s;mite the du&s;t of the earth into Lice <HI>(&s;it verbo venia)</HI> that is, when he rai&s;ed from the du&s;t of the earth, tho&s;e poor, humble, &s;elf-denying creatures, that were as much nothing in their own, as in the worlds eye, I mean tho&s;e in|comparable Per&s;ons, as they have &s;ince proved them&s;elves, whom he then new modell'd into an Army; Then tho&s;e, all the pretended Great ones, were at a gaze; their malice nor magick could do no more.</P>
<P>But yet further, let us ob&s;erve, and remem|ber how poor We, &s;uffered under the moral, of all tho&s;e other plagues of <HI>Egypt</HI> too, until our &s;acred &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> undertook that mighty Work, <HI>has Terris &amp; Templis avertere pe&s;tes</HI>: Were we not oppre&s;t in like manner, with tho&s;e innumerable armies of Flies, tho&s;e in&s;olent animals, &s;trange &s;warms of buzzing Courtiers, that were &s;till begging of their ea&s;ie Ma&s;ter, &s;ome private Boon, or other, to the prejudice of the Publick, putting their fingers in every di&s;h, and picking &s;omething out of every mans pocket, or property; and has not our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> delivered us likewi&s;e from all tho&s;e? Then for the miraculous plague of Boiles and Blaines, had we not enough of tho&s;e too, by the malice of our Monopoli&s;ts, Projectors, and other Encroachers, upon the poor &s;ubjects liberties, and properties, which have been truly called in all Ages <HI>&V;lcera Rei Publicae</HI>: the Ulcers and Impo&s;thumes of the
<PB N="61" REF="46">
Common-wealth? And has not his Highne&s;&s;e, our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> his &s;acred Rod, that is, his Sword, mo&s;t happily, and timely, lanced tho&s;e &s;ores, and given us a &s;ure and perfect Cure? Then, as for tho&s;e horrid &s;torms of Hail, Thun|der, and Fire mingled with water, of which the Earth never &s;aw the like, as the Text tells us; What did they emblematize to us, but tho&s;e dire ebullitions of Tyranny, over our Religions, liberties and properties, which went not onely about to de&s;troy our pre&s;ent fruits, but to take away all our Natural, and Eternal Rights in them? And has not our glorious &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> given us a ble&s;&s;ed de|livery from all that mi&s;chief too? Then for tho&s;e millions of Locu&s;ts, that invaded the Land of <HI>Egypt</HI>; what legions of lewd Lawyers had we, that &s;warmed among&s;t us like to Ca|terpillers indeed, from the unju&s;t Judge, to the &s;ordid Advocate, and from him, to the meane&s;t Clarke? a &s;ort of men, that could ac|commodate their Laws, like a no&s;e of wax, to all intents and purpo&s;es what&s;oever, making the &s;acred Seat of Ju&s;tice, it &s;elf, a &s;talking-hor&s;e to Tyranny; Law to countenance op|pre&s;&s;ion, and Truth it &s;elf to lye? And has not our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> pretty well delivered us from all tho&s;e petty-fogging plagues too? Then was there ever any more prodigious darkne&s;&s;e, over the face of a whole Land? &s;o gro&s;&s;e an ignorance of Religion? all Divinity, for&s;ooth, and &s;aving knowledge, being bound up, and roo&s;ting it &s;elf in a pitiful, lazy, luxu|rious,
<PB N="62" REF="47">
Bi&s;hops Rotchet, as in its onely San|ctuary; I am &s;ure the whole light of the Go&s;|pel, was concealed under the ridiculous cover|ing of their Canonical coats, as they call them, and we kept in more than <HI>Egyptian</HI> Darkne&s;&s;e, till by the flaming Sword, of our &s;econd <HI>Mo|&s;es,</HI> we were re&s;tored to that wonderful light, which we lately have, and do &s;till enjoy, un|der his late Highne&s;&s;e his, and his Princely &s;ons, Government. Then, for the la&s;t plague of all, which was the &s;miting of the fir&s;t-born, what can be more parallel to it, than the &s;a|vage cruelty, formerly exerci&s;ed by the Court of Wards, over the heirs of all the Principal Hou&s;es of <HI>England</HI>? who were there doubly &s;mitten, both in their per&s;ons, and e&s;tates; Their lands pillaged by every poleing Guar|dian, and them&s;elves &s;old like &s;laves, or hor|&s;es in a Market, and condemned to what is commonly wor&s;e than death, to a wife of ano|ther mans election. From all the&s;e Plagues, and Diabolical inchantments, has not our &s;e|cond <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> mo&s;t happily freed us too? and, to crown all his glories, as the former <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> did, Has he not &s;een a <HI>Pharaoh</HI> and his Armies drencht in a Red Sea of their own blood?</P>
<P>Now, how impo&s;&s;ible it is to conceive, that all this could be brought about, without the miraculous a&s;&s;i&s;tance of the Almighty, they can be&s;t judge, who have been the witne&s;&s;es of his great Actions, and know how remarkable his proceedings have been, from the very fir&s;t undertaking of the&s;e Nations Deliverance:
<PB N="63" REF="47">
For, fir&s;t he began but with one poor &s;ingle Troop, which how in&s;tantly grew into a Re|giment, and that into an Army, and that Ar|my to give Laws, as it were, to all the World, no man can believe, that has not &s;een it, or el&s;e been taught faith enough, to under&s;tand the Cloud, that <HI>Elias</HI> &s;aw no bigger than a hand, which in a moment, over&s;pread the whole heavens; or that Fountain of <HI>Mardochaeus,</HI> which, in the beginning, crept on with little noi&s;e, through the Meadows, and in an in&s;tant, turned into a great River, &amp; that River into Light, &amp; this Light into a Sun, and &s;uch a Sun which af|forded both lu&s;ter, and water, to all the World. The plain truth is, that the acce&s;&s;ion of his High|ne&s;&s;es Forces, as his &s;ucce&s;&s;es, have been &s;o mi|raculous, that they appear more like vi&s;ions, than realities; and, as antiquity can find nothing in the like kind, (unle&s;&s;e this pre&s;ident of our fir&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>) for to equal them: &s;o Po&s;terity will be as much puzled to believe them, as we &s;hall &s;ee more at large, in our future A&s;cents, which treate of the invincible Valour, match|le&s;&s;e Prudence, and incomparable Great|ne&s;&s;e of Military Conduct, in the&s;e two our Mo&s;aical Ma&s;ters.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="9" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="64" REF="48">
<HEAD>The ninth A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> was mo&s;t mi&s;erably di&s;turbed, and injuriou&s;ly per&s;ecuted, with the fre|quent mi&s;prizions, malitious repinings, and ungrateful murmurings, of the common people: And, indeed, it is not a little won|derful, to ob&s;erve, how our Patriarch, has no &s;ooner e&s;caped from the face of <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> and malice of his Magicians, but, he is brought to a terrible trial of his patience, with his own people: who find them&s;elves, no &s;ooner out of bondage, by his means, but they mu&s;t pre&s;ent|ly &s;et their tongues at liberty, to raile again&s;t their glorious Captain, and Deliverer.</P>
<P>Now, fir&s;t they begin their game, upon the &s;ight of <HI>Pharaohs</HI> pur&s;uite of them; flying upon him thus. Becau&s;e there were no graves in <HI>Egypt,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Eod. 14.1.</NOTE> ha&s;t thou taken us away to die in the Wilderne&s;&s;e? <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Nor were they &s;ooner delivered from that danger, being led dry-foot through the middle of the Ocean, which had &s;wallowed up the fury of <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> and all his Ho&s;t: but coming on the other &s;ide of the Sea, they mu&s;t murmur again,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 15.24.</NOTE> again&s;t poor <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> becau&s;e the waters there, were &s;omething
<PB N="65" REF="48">
bitter, and &s;o he was con&s;trained to deal a double Miracle, the one to &s;weeten the waters, the other them; &s;o the people were for the pre&s;ent pacified.</P>
<P>Now their thir&s;t was no &s;ooner quenched, but they mu&s;t be murmuring again, for want of bread, and upbraid their Redeemer, for their very Deliverance, telling him in plain terms, to his face, that he might have done well to have let them alone, when they &s;ate by the fle&s;h-pots of <HI>Egypt,</HI> and did eat bread to their full, taxing him of a de&s;ign, to &s;tarve them in the Wilderne&s;&s;e.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 16.3.</NOTE> Then was bread mo&s;t won|derfully rained down from Heaven, to &s;top their mutinous mouths, and yet that mo&s;t mi|raculous, and cele&s;tial food, could not con|tent them; for at the very next turn, they mu&s;t make as fierce an out-cry for a little wa|ter. Nay, the Text tells us, that they were &s;o in&s;olent, as to chide with <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> for it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 17.2.</NOTE> and the place was called <HI>Ma&s;&s;ah,</HI> and <HI>Meribah,</HI> be|cau&s;e of the chiding of the children of I&s;rael: Yet the Lord being plea&s;ed to appea&s;e &s;o per|ver&s;e a people,<NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 7.</NOTE> made <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> whom the murmu|red at, to be&s;tow another miracle upon them, and to broach a Rock, to afford them drink.</P>
<P>And yet after &s;o many &s;tupendious &s;upplies of their wants, and more miraculous forbear|ances, to puni&s;h their repining &s;pirits, the De|vil of di&s;obedience, and &s;edition, will not &s;o be &s;atisfied, but this rebellious people, mu&s;t be &s;till grumbling again again&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> till the fire of Heaven, had almo&s;t con&s;umed them all;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 11.</NOTE>
<PB N="66" REF="49">
and yet at the importunity of good <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> that all was no &s;ooner quenched, but they mu&s;t nau&s;eat, and loath, the very bread of Heaven; and cry out, for&s;ooth, for fle&s;h. Nothing we know can &s;atisfie irregular appetites, yet that lu&s;t of theirs mu&s;t be &s;atiated too, by &s;uch a &s;hower of Quailes, as never the earth &s;aw, though there, that meat was made a mortal poi&s;on to the mutineers. Nay, yet, after all the&s;e fair warnings, &s;o many miraculous &s;up|plies, and &s;o much long-&s;uffering of the Lords, and his &s;ervant <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> with them, they mu&s;t pick a quarrel with him &s;till; nay, go about to make a general revolt, and to depo&s;e him from his Charge, and all, for&s;ooth, becau&s;e they &s;aw before them, the huge bugbear Gyants of the &s;ons of <HI>Anack</HI>:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 14.</NOTE> for they &s;aid unto one another, We are brought hither, to fall by the Sword; Come let us chu&s;e another Cap|tain, and let us return into <HI>Egypt.</HI></P>
<P>This was a di&s;mal mutiny indeed, and for that, the Lord would have extirpated them all, but for the importunate prayer of our in|jured <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>: Though it was &s;o contrary to his own intere&s;t too; for the Lord offered him, to make of him&s;elf a people, mightier, and a greater Nation, than they were: but the gracious Lord was &s;o taken off from his ven|geance, and our Clement <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was content to continue the Charge, and &s;till charitably to conduct &s;o rebellious, and di&s;obedient a peo|ple, though their many after mutinies, and ba&s;e murmurings, drew more and more plagues
<PB N="67" REF="49">
upon them, as that of the terrible fiery Ser|pents, and divers others, too tedious now to relate, being called to ha&s;ten to our precious Parallel.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="parallel">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>No other treatment than this, can all good Princes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jud. 8.</NOTE> and Governours expect from the rude <HI>Populace, qui ip&s;am dominationem &s;pernunt, &amp; maje&s;tatem bla&s;phemant,</HI> who are alwayes ad|dicted to de&s;pi&s;e Dominion, and bla&s;pheme Maje&s;ty it &s;elf, as the Apo&s;tle tells us; They are never better plea&s;ed, then when they can, as <HI>Au&s;tin</HI> well expre&s;&s;eth it, <HI>in Principes petu|lantem ingenii &s;ui libidinem procacitur exercere</HI>:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t.</NOTE> &s;pend the lu&s;t of their petulant tongues upon their Princes. The &s;ame humour was not a|mi&s;&s;e remarkt, by the acute Hi&s;torian in his time, <HI>Loquax &s;ane &amp; ingenio&s;us,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tacitus.</NOTE> <HI>in contumeliam Praefectorum, populus; inter quos qui vitaverit cul|pam, non effugit infamiam</HI>: The people, &s;aith he, are naturally talkative, and love to &s;hew their little wits, in ca&s;ting of contumelies a|gain&s;t their Governours, none of whom, can carry them&s;elves &s;o well, as to be clear from blame, though they are free from fault: and the Philo&s;opher gives &s;ome rea&s;on for it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Seneca.</NOTE> <HI>Male de illis loquuntur Nequam homines, quia bene lo|qui ne&s;ciunt, faciunt non quod merentur illi, &s;ed quod &s;olent ip&s;i</HI>: wicked people, &s;aith he, &s;peak
<PB N="68" REF="50">
ill of their Princes, becau&s;e they know not how to &s;peak well; and &s;o what they do, is according to their own cu&s;tom, not the others de&s;erving.</P>
<P>Indeed, we full well know, that this great Bea&s;t, the people, is a mon&s;ter of many heads, and tho&s;e heads, have as many horns, to gore, and gall, their Governours. Since then this mi&s;chievous humour has prevailed in all Ages, and among&s;t all Nations, and is become now perfectly cu&s;tomary to the mad multitude, from whom, neither the Crowns of Kings, nor Miters of the greate&s;t Prelates, can be &s;ecure; Why &s;hould our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> his late High|ne&s;&s;e, trouble him&s;elf more about it, than his great Pattern, and Prototype, the former <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> did? They both knew full well, that &s;uch wicked, ill-natured, depraved, and perver&s;e people, there would be &s;till in the World, and that by Gods e&s;pecial permi&s;&s;ion too, for the exerci&s;e of his &s;ervants vertues. Vinegar is &s;aid to be very nece&s;&s;ary, for the purifying, and poli&s;hing of &s;ome precious Stones, which have their fire (as it were) frozen over, and their lu&s;ter eclip&s;ed, by &s;ome dark &s;ub&s;tance, or earthy interpo&s;ition: So great &s;pirits, ought to have &s;ome little touch or ta&s;te of Acerbities, to enlighten their valours, and il|lu&s;trate all their other vertues: And &s;o I doubt not, but that we &s;hall without much dif|ficulty, in this particular, accompli&s;h our hap|py Parallel.</P>
<P>Has our glorious &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> been le&s;&s;e
<PB N="69" REF="50">
injured by venemous tongues? le&s;&s;e per&s;ecu|ted with the mi&s;prizions, repinings, and ma|litious murmurings, of the&s;e mutinous Na|tions, than our fir&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> has been, with his &s;tiff-necked I&s;raelites? Or, has his Highne&s;&s;e &s;hewed le&s;&s;e patience in bearing, or greater magnanimity in contemning tho&s;e cur&s;ed con|tumelies, with which &s;ome Diabolical creatures have attempted to a&s;per&s;e his Divine vertues, than that his fir&s;t Pattern or Prototype has done? No, his mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e, could never be di&s;turbed with tho&s;e petit clouds of vulgar ignominies, no more, than the Supream Sphere of the cele&s;tial Bodies, can be moved, by any di&s;tempers here below.</P>
<P>His Sacred Highne&s;&s;e, likewi&s;e knew, that he had a greater example, than that of his Ma|&s;ter <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> too, to follow, in that grand point of temper, towards his people, and that is the Almighty Lord of Heaven him&s;elf. Who has borne more injuries from the wicked mouths of men, than his Divine Maje&s;ty has done? in&s;omuch, as old <HI>Tertullian</HI> tells us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tertul.</NOTE> That to bear an injury gallantly, is a true ray of the Divinity it &s;elf: and <HI>Cyprian,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Cyprian: de patien|tia.</NOTE> as elegantly as he, in his Treati&s;e that he compo&s;ed of pa|tience, confirms to us, That this brave bear|ing of injuries, is not onely the proper ver|tue of true Nobility, but a mo&s;t glo|rious property of the Deity. <HI>E&s;t nobis</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>cum Deo virtus communis, inde patientia incipit, inde Claritas ejus &amp; dignitas caput &s;umit</HI>; So he is bold to make it not onely to
<PB N="70" REF="51">
be the very E&s;&s;ence of God, but the Clarity, and Dignity of his Nature. And indeed, when we deeply con&s;ider, the great long-&s;uf|fering of our good God, for &s;o many Ages, how he has permitted to &s;tand &s;o many Tem|ples of abominable Idols, that were erected to the very contempt of his holy Name, and in the defiance of his Power: How he has been plea&s;ed &s;till to &s;uffer dayes and times to cir|cumvolve, rivers to glide, winds to blow, the Spring to put on a green, and the Autumn a &s;affron Robe, grapes and corn to ripen, the Elements to &s;erve, and hold univer&s;al Nature in breath, to &s;upply a thou&s;and millions of Sa|crifices, every day offered to Hell it &s;elf; How he has &s;till continued to ca&s;t even flowers from Heaven, with a bountiful and free hand upon the audacious heads of his mo&s;t contumacious enemies, who better de&s;erved to have received &s;o many &s;troaks, of his angry Thunder-bolts.</P>
<P>So, when we con&s;ider, the great long ani|mity, and patience, of our ever ble&s;&s;ed Savi|our, in bearing the cur&s;ed contumelies, and in&s;olencies of the perfidious Jews, which were &s;o horrid, that total Nature it &s;elf groaned un|der them, the Sun could not behold them, but be eclip&s;ed, nor the Stars attend, but in their &s;ad and mourning weeds, and the whole frame of the Univer&s;e, &s;uffer a mo&s;t &s;harp convul|&s;ion, both above, and below his Cro&s;&s;e; and yet he in the mean time, as unconcerned in his own &s;ufferings, was plea&s;ed to remain upon it quietly, though bloodily affixt to it, and un|di&s;turbed
<PB N="71" REF="51">
as in a chair of State, without any the lea&s;t emotion.</P>
<P>Who would not now &s;uffer him&s;elf to be carryed away, with the &s;tudy of this mo&s;t glo|rious vertue, of Magnanimous longanimity, and &s;uffering unworthy injuries? And &s;ure, next to this un-imitable pattern of the Al|mighties, which we have &s;een, that of our fir&s;t great Ma&s;ter <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> is mo&s;t con&s;iderable, who&s;e &s;teps, in this too, our mo&s;t pious &s;econd, has &s;o clearly traced, that they may be more truly called the very &s;ame, than Parallel: Onely here's the difference remaining,; our fir&s;t <HI>Mo|&s;es</HI> couragiou&s;ly and kindly &s;uffered the re|proaches, frequent murmurings, and mutinous di&s;tempers of a company, of poor, wandering and hunger-&s;tarved Jews, in a De&s;art; and our glorious &s;econd, has been ever graciou&s;ly plea&s;ed to pa&s;&s;e by the more malitious railings, and revilings, of our own too high-fed, pam|pered, inebriated, bruti&s;h people.</P>
<P>I &s;hould be infinite, to enumerate the infa|mous abu&s;ive libells, they have ca&s;t out again&s;t his goodne&s;s, with the particular Calumnies &amp; di&s;graces, they have endeavoured to a&s;per&s;e his Highne&s;&s;es Serene Per&s;on and Govern|ment withal; and indeed the foulne&s;&s;e of them, would &s;tain through the cleane&s;t language, that I could wrap them in, I &s;hall therefore pa&s;&s;e them by without reciting, as he has done without taking notice of, or revenging them: For he, ju&s;t as the Royal Prophet <HI>David,</HI> did chu&s;e to bear tho&s;e honourable wounds, which
<PB N="72" REF="52">
the envenomed tongues of &s;uch as <HI>Shimei,</HI> had thrown upon his reputation, and &s;o was to mount to the Throne of <HI>Saul,</HI> by his &s;teps of patience; witne&s;&s;ed in &s;uffering <HI>Saul.</HI></P>
<P>So I will be bold to conclude, that his late Highne&s;&s;e, like a perfect true man of honour, did no more trouble him&s;elf with tho&s;e inju|rious dealings of the wicked World, and re|ceiving tho&s;e ill returns, from his mo&s;t unfaith|ful, and unworthy back-biters, than does the Sun in the firmament, to behold the Clouds, which he him&s;elf had drawn, from the mire and fens of the earth, to make him&s;elf a Skarf of. He knew very well, that he &s;hould, as he could not choo&s;e, but for ever have the up|per hand of them, and though they might darken his a&s;pect &s;omething, for a time, and malitiou&s;ly hinder them&s;elves from the enjoy|ment of his mo&s;t excellent vertues; yet they could never deprive him, of his proper light, or other &s;ober, well-tempered, and more thankful &s;ouls, from receiving the favour of his better influences; as we &s;hall continue to prove in the proce&s;&s;e of our &s;ucceeding A&s;|cents, and happy Parallels</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="10" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="73" REF="52">
<HEAD>The tenth A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> was mo&s;t malignantly lookt upon likewi&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 16. Num. 12.</NOTE> by &s;ome of the Elders them|&s;elves, and a dangerous head of Re|bellion was made again&s;t him, by &s;ome of the Princes of the people; nay, he was a&s;&s;aulted nearer home, with an unnatural &s;edition in his own Family. So true it is, as the <HI>P&s;almi&s;t</HI> tells us, <HI>Many are the troubles of the righteous, but the Lord will deliver him out of all.</HI> Now is our <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> come to the Te&s;t, indeed; for, all that was &s;aid before, was but a meer flea-biting to this fiery trial.</P>
<P>The plague of popular tongues, is indeed &s;omething tollerable; but the unkind con&s;pi|racies of Princes, and &s;uch as &s;hould be per&s;ons of honour, and have better under&s;tanding of their obligations, cannot but cut to the heart of any Captain-General: yet this very &s;ad di&s;|a&s;ter, befel our glorious Patriarch, in the Rebellion of <HI>Corah, Dathan,</HI> and <HI>Abyram,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 16.</NOTE> who ro&s;e up before <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> with two hundred and fifty more Princes of the A&s;&s;embly, fa|mous in the Congregation, and men of Re|nown; and they gathered them&s;elves toge|ther
<PB N="74" REF="53">
again&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and again&s;t <HI>Aaron,</HI> and &s;aid unto them;<NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 2. V. 3.</NOTE> <HI>Ye take too much upon you, &s;eeing that all of the Congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is al&s;o among&s;t them; where|fore then do you lift up your &s;elves, above the Congregation of the Lord?</HI> This, when our dear <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> heard, he fell on his face, to &s;hew his great humility, and replied onely, <HI>You take too much upon you, you &s;ons of Levi</HI>; &s;peak|ing onely then to <HI>Korah,</HI> and his company; but when <HI>Dathan</HI> and <HI>Abiram</HI> were &s;ent for, they tell him plainly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 12. V. 13.</NOTE> that they will not come up to him, and expo&s;tulate the matter thus by me&s;&s;age with him, <HI>Is it a &s;mall thing, that thou ha&s;t brought us up out of a Land, that flow|eth with milke and honey, to kill us in the Wil|derne&s;&s;e? but thou mu&s;t altogether make thy &s;elf a Prince over us?</HI> Then <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> to &s;hew his magnanimity, the Text &s;ayes, <HI>was very wroth,</HI> and &s;aid unto the Lord, <HI>Re&s;pect not thou their offerings,</HI> &amp;c. Here it is to be ob&s;erved, that <HI>Korah</HI> was of the &s;ame Tribe with <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> too. Nay,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 12.</NOTE> yet the Lord would bring a nearer trial to his dear &s;ervant <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> &amp; permit his own right hand, and onely helper appointed to him by God, and one Brother in blood, to revolt again&s;t him, and joyn him&s;elf with a &s;illy wo|man, to rai&s;e a &s;edition again&s;t him, in his own Family; but that bu&s;ine&s;&s;e was quickly qua&s;ht by <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his mo&s;t Clement proceedings with them: by who&s;e powerful interce&s;&s;ions to the Lord, <HI>Aaron</HI> e&s;caped onely with a bare re|buke, and <HI>Miriam</HI> was cha&s;ti&s;ed with a Le|pro&s;ie,
<PB N="75" REF="53">
for &s;even dayes. The&s;e mu&s;t of ne|ce&s;&s;ity be very heart-breaking blows, to our poor Patriarch; but he that had an a&s;&s;ured &s;afe retreat in his own heart, and the &s;weet repo&s;e of a clear and a quiet con&s;cience, is no more moved with tho&s;e unkindne&s;&s;es of kindred, and unfaithfulne&s;&s;es of friends, than the firmament it &s;elf, and &s;erene Empyrean heaven, u&s;ed to be, with all the clatter, and combu&s;tion, fury, and confu&s;ion of the infe|riour Orbs.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="parallel">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>Of all the cruel unkindne&s;&s;es in the World, there are none that pierce &s;o to the quick, or are &s;o deeply &s;en&s;ible to a Noble nature, as tho&s;e which it receives from per&s;ons whom it has obliged.</P>
<P>Indeed, we find that tho&s;e ungrateful re|turns of injuries, for favours received, do bring a&s;toni&s;hment even to the gates of Hea|ven it &s;elf; which cau&s;ed the Almighty Fa|ther, to &s;igh out tho&s;e lamentable complaints, by the mouth of the Prophet <HI>Hieremy</HI>:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hieremy.</NOTE> <HI>How comes it to pa&s;&s;e, that my beloved hath committed &s;o many outrages, &s;o many mi&s;demeanours in my hou&s;e?</HI> as much as to &s;ay, <HI>Have I then, O my beloved, lodged thee in my Temple, have I nour|i&s;hed and bred thee up from thy Cradle, with my Fatherly hand, and cheri&s;ht thee in my bo&s;ome;
<PB N="76" REF="54">
now to betray my honour, and thus to defile the glory of my Altars?</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">David.</NOTE> So the Royal Prophet tells us, that he could have born any thing from an enemy, or a &s;tranger; but from one that he tru&s;ted, or from an intimate familiar, and bo&s;om-friend, to receive an injury, or un|worthy return, was beyond his power to bear with patience: and the truth is, it were e|nough to &s;tagger the greate&s;t Saint: Yet this was our fir&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his mi&s;erable condition, as we have &s;een, and &s;hall find it fully parallel'd in our &s;econd.</P>
<P>Now it is manife&s;t, that it is our Heavenly Fathers con&s;tant cour&s;e, to put his children to the full proof and exerci&s;e of their vertues, to in&s;truct them to the highe&s;t pitch, to be as near imitators, as they may be, of his own Di|vine vertues; who does nothing but good to ungrateful man, and receives nothing but ill from him; as we &s;hewed at large in our la&s;t A&s;cent. And &s;uch trials as tho&s;e, are que|&s;tionle&s;&s;e very nece&s;&s;ary for his &s;ervants; for it is undoubted, that his mo&s;t practi&s;ed &s;er|vants, a very <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> him&s;elf, would putrifie in long pro&s;perities, as in a dead Sea, which pro|duceth nothing: &s;o that the All-wi&s;e God, out of great kindne&s;&s;e, to his mo&s;t dear &s;er|vants, does &s;ometimes &s;trike &s;uch blows as the&s;e, that they, as <HI>Jonathan,</HI> may have their eyes &s;till open, and &s;uck in honey from the very end of the Rod, that &s;courgeth them, and in the &s;evere cha&s;ti&s;ement of a father, finde the con&s;olation of true children. O what a
<PB N="77" REF="54">
goodly Theater, is a good con&s;cience! and what a beautiful Arcenal it is, to have the Armes of vertue &s;till in a readine&s;&s;e, as our fir&s;t and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> have had again&s;t all e&s;&s;ayes? whom no unkindne&s;&s;e of unthank|ful friends, or con&s;piracies of ungracious ene|mies, could ever &s;tartle from their &s;weet, and &s;erene repo&s;e.</P>
<P>Now, that we may make good our Parallel, we mu&s;t reflect a little upon the barbarous in|gratitude, that his late Highne&s;&s;e has met with|all, from Per&s;ons of other obligations, and Princes too of our A&s;&s;embly. And truly, who would not have thought, after &s;o many wonderful Deliverances, by the hand of our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> as we have &s;een, and the beat|ing down of all open oppo&s;itions, to the de|&s;truction of the common enemy; but that our mi&s;eries &s;hould have had an end, and our glorious Captain-General &s;ome re&s;t? But yet I mu&s;t &s;ay, with a &s;igh, and to the eternal ex|probration of &s;ome per&s;ons, late in power, that we found no other, but <HI>aliud ex alio malum,</HI> one mi&s;chief to follow upon the very heels of another. How many malignant parties of our own have gone about to di&s;turb that happy peace, purcha&s;ed with the price of &s;o much blood? and no &s;tone left un&s;tirred, to throw us into a &s;econd, and a third, and (may be) into more confu&s;ions, and greater than the former, and that by &s;ome of our Elders too, as I have &s;aid, and Princes of the A&s;&s;embly? Nay, our religious brethren of <HI>Scotland</HI> too, mu&s;t
<PB N="78" REF="55">
be &s;et on foot again by them, to make their Covenant a &s;talking-hor&s;e for Rebellion, and to renew a war in all probability, more cruen|tous and dangerous, than the former: But our mo&s;t Renowned &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> being born upon the wings of that Providence, which ne|ver failed him, made a mo&s;t happy, and quick di&s;patch, of that work; putting an end to all tho&s;e Kirk enchantments, both here, and there, for the pre&s;ent, and I hope for ever. And yet after all this, that by the gracious providence of God, and his Highne&s;&s;es great care and prudence, all means of making head, and imbodying them&s;elves again, was taken from them: I &s;hould be infinite to tell, how often tho&s;e of that leven, have &s;hewed their venemous teeth, again&s;t his Highne&s;&s;e, his hap|py, and mo&s;t godly de&s;igns, to di&s;turb him a|gain, and our peace. Nay, &s;ome of tho&s;e, that have had the greate&s;t &s;hare in his High|ne&s;&s;e his Succe&s;&s;es, I mean, &s;ome of tho&s;e El|ders, and Princes, of the A&s;&s;embly, mo&s;t un|grateful, undutiful per&s;ons, that dur&s;t with the <HI>Atlantes</HI> of old, &s;hute their malitious arrows again&s;t the Sun, and ca&s;t &s;tones at him, that gave them bread: nay, &s;ome of them too, when they could not bow Heaven to their pur|po&s;es, would endeavour to &s;tir up Hell again&s;t him, confound elements, and mingle &s;tars with the du&s;t of the earth, to come to the end of their mo&s;t exorbitant preten&s;ions: But the Lord, who alwayes took him to his mo&s;t e&s;pe|cial care, &s;et him &s;o far above theirs, and the
<PB N="79" REF="55">
Divels malice, that hurt him they could not, though them&s;elves they might, like the Ba&s;i|lisk, with the repercu&s;&s;ion of their own poi&s;on: The fagot &s;moaks onely when it begins to burn, but when the flame has once got the upper hand, there will be then no &s;moak at all.</P>
<P>Natural Philo&s;ophy informes us, that the Rain-bow in the Heavens, is not ea&s;ily to be form'd at Noon, in the heats of Summer; be|cau&s;e the Sun being then vigorus in his alti|tude, di&s;&s;ipates and wa&s;tes tho&s;e Clouds: So our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> being mounted, as he was, to the highe&s;t pitch of Heroick vertue, di&s;pel|led all oppo&s;ition. Malice it &s;elf could nei|ther find Bow nor Arrow to reach him; but bur&s;t it &s;elf with its own venemous intention: &s;o did all calumny crack it &s;elf before the truth of his vertue, which darted re&s;plendent fla&s;hes into all eyes. We know it's &s;aid of old, that <HI>fe|licitatis umbra invidia,</HI> There are no &s;hadows without light, nor is there any envy without &s;ome gift of God. No man thinks it &s;trange that Cantharides &s;hould fix them&s;elves upon Ro&s;es; it is certain, that vermin will not be &s;atisfied, but with the faire&s;t and the &s;weete&s;t flowers. But that which &s;eems mo&s;t &s;trange to me, and truly it is not a little admirable, that men heretofore &s;o honoured for wi&s;dom, and good affections to the Publick, &s;hould run &s;o &s;tark mad with malice, as to go about &s;o ex|travagant a bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, as to &s;wim again&s;t the &s;tream with the &s;illy frog, hoping to &s;top the
<PB N="80" REF="56">
flood, and con&s;tant current of the <HI>Rhodanus</HI> or <HI>Danubius</HI>; or with the fooli&s;h fly, &s;oare up to Heaven, to fix her feet upon, and &s;tay the cour&s;e of the <HI>primum mobile</HI>: but by this time, I believe, they are all more amazed than bridled gee&s;e, and look as gha&s;tly as dead men, four dayes after their Funerals, taken from their graves: and indeed, our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> never made more reckoning of &s;uch as tho&s;e, than of &s;o many angry hens, that have indeed the eyes of dogs, but the hearts of hares. It would be an endle&s;&s;e piece of work, to enumerate the infinite plots, con&s;piracies, trea&s;ons, and a&s;a&s;&s;inats, contrived and pra|cticed upon his &s;acred Per&s;on; but he &s;ecure|ly &s;lept in the arms of the ever-waking provi|dence, and could not but be confident in &s;pite of all the malice of men and Devils, but he that had &s;o rai&s;ed him to, would &s;till pre&s;erve him in, his mo&s;t illu&s;trious &s;tate and condition.</P>
<P>I &s;hall onely take leave to expo&s;tulate a little with tho&s;e per&s;ons, and &s;o conclude this Paral|lel. Are you not a&s;hamed yet of your in|gratitude, you children of the Scotti&s;h Belial? Had you had one drop of true Engli&s;h blood in your bodies, you would have been readier to &s;pend that for him, than to take his from him. What, you would be all Kings? we remember indeed, too lately, that you were &s;o; and you would have a perpetual &s;eat in Par|liament too, as you once thought you had got? and truly, it is great pity, but it were &s;o again, especially being &s;o good Patriots as you have
<PB N="81" REF="56">
been? I wonder truly, that then you did not vote your &s;elves to be immortal too. Let any temperate and knowing man in <HI>England</HI> now be Judge, whether when you &s;ate &s;o, with all your power and &s;plendor about you, &s;o loudly proclaiming your &s;elves &s;uch Magni|fical members, you did not &s;tink in the no&s;trils of all the people? Who generally lookt upon you then, but as bu&s;ie Apes upon a hou&s;e top? and as a &s;moke in the &s;ocket of a grea&s;y can|dle&s;tick?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Bern. lib. <HI>1.</HI> de Con&s;id. cap. <HI>7.</HI></NOTE> for &s;uch (as the Learned <HI>Bernard</HI> tells us) are all dignified per&s;ons without merit: and &s;o accordingly, his Highne&s;&s;e &s;acred wi&s;dom, &s;pied you out, and among&s;t the re&s;t of his mo&s;t incomparable Heroick A|ctions, which he has engraven with a Pen of Adamant, to con&s;ecrate to all Po&s;terity, he then &s;ent you out in your own &s;nuff, the &s;tench whereof, is not yet, nor will be, I believe, in the next Age, extingui&s;ht.</P>
<P>Thus we &s;ee, the Moon may &s;eem for a time to darken the Sun, when it is eclip&s;ed; but yet &s;he daily renders the tribute of her light: So all the malice in the World, that has made a &s;hew to darken his Highne&s;&s;e for &s;ome time, cannot at all ob&s;cure, but mu&s;t encrea&s;e his prai&s;es, by its &s;landers, as it did advance his repo&s;e by its oppo&s;itions, and augment his Crowns by his humiliation. Nay, my Lord being of nothing &s;o ambitious, as to be like his Great Ma&s;ter <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> has traced the &s;teps of that his great Archetype, to the very height of all charity, towards the&s;e his mo&s;t violent,
<PB N="82" REF="57">
and unde&s;erved adver&s;aries, and all their Complices. Have we not &s;een him, like that his fir&s;t Ma&s;ter, frequently pro&s;trating him&s;elf at the foot of the Tabernacle, praying, and almo&s;t binding up the hands of God, to &s;tay the cour&s;e of his vengeance, again&s;t tho&s;e that per&s;ecuted him even to the Tabernacle; nay, would take into him&s;elf likewi&s;e, a piece of Reverend <HI>Aaron</HI> for his Pattern, &s;tanding in the Maje&s;ty of his Prie&s;tly habit, with the In|cen&s;ory and Sacrifice in hand, to appea&s;e the anger of God again&s;t his per&s;ecutors, when Heaven was all on fire over their heads, and the Earth became a devouring gulph under their feet, to &s;wallow them up. Our mo&s;t Renowned Lord Protector, could never be le&s;&s;e than a <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> to them, though they did continue never &s;o much to be a <HI>Corah, Dathan,</HI> and <HI>Abiram,</HI> unto him: So we &s;hall proceed from tho&s;e wretched injuries, he received from ungrateful men, to tho&s;e Noble, Princely, and high exaltations, that he alwayes found within his Mo&s;aick &s;elf.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="11" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="83" REF="57">
<HEAD>The eleventh A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> was a Per&s;on of a very high cou|rage, him&s;elf, and every way accom|pli&s;ht with parts requi&s;ite to a good Souldier; and he was no le&s;&s;e curious in the choice of tho&s;e whom he was to receive to &s;erve under him as &s;ouldiers.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 2.11, 12.</NOTE> For his own per&s;onal Courage it &s;ufficiently appeared in his minority, when he &s;lew an <HI>Egyptian,</HI> that was abu&s;ing of an <HI>Hebrew,</HI> one of his brethren: which was improved highly in his maturity, and was mo&s;t vi&s;ible, in his embracing &s;o ma|ny difficulties; as his frequent confrontings of <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> and all the fury of the <HI>Egyptians,</HI> and over-pa&s;&s;ing all the perver&s;e oppo&s;itions of his own people. He was no le&s;&s;e choi&s;e in the election, and approbation, of &s;uch as were to be made &s;ouldiers; as is to be &s;een in the rule that he gave for tho&s;e which were to go to war: ordering, that tho&s;e which were to go out with the Ho&s;t again&s;t the enemy,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 23.9.</NOTE> &s;hould keep them|&s;elves clear from all wickedne&s;&s;e, nor &s;o much as be &s;tained with any uncleanne&s;&s;e, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<DIV2 TYPE="parallel">
<PB N="84" REF="58">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>Nor le&s;&s;e doubt can there be &s;ure of the per&s;onal Valour, of our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> who though he &s;lew no man, that ever I could hear of, in any private quarrel, yet was known to be alwayes ready to draw his Sword upon a good occa&s;ion.</P>
<P>His Highne&s;&s;e was never of the temper of tho&s;e &s;pirits, that upon the mi&s;con&s;truction of a word, or a cold countenance, mu&s;t presently de&s;ire to &s;ee a man with his &s;word in his hand, and &s;wear that they will evict reparation from him, &s;ealed with his blood. No, it cannot be but an argument of a ba&s;e &s;pirit, and of ig|noble extraction, to &s;eek out occa&s;ions of quarrelling, and Duelling; for by that &s;ure, they mu&s;t have &s;ome de&s;ign, to blot out &s;ome ignominy of their births, or other unworthi|ne&s;&s;e. Heretofore truly, none but &s;laves, lackies, butchers, gladiators, or &s;uch kind of fellows, did u&s;e that trade of Duells; but now for&s;ooth, the opinion of &s;ome fooles, will make it fit for Gentlemen: But our fir&s;t, and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> ever had &s;uch pitiful <HI>Hectors</HI> in extream contempt, who go about by that means, to purcha&s;e glory out of vice, gain hell by their execrable carriage, and but acquire on earth, the qualities of a Clown. They have taught us, that we are not to make our
<PB N="85" REF="58">
&s;elves like <HI>Fierabras,</HI> nor the Knight of the burning-&s;word, in matter of valour: and I dare aver, that if there were a hundred &s;uch like <HI>Rodomonts,</HI> brayed, and &s;tamped to pow|der in a Morter, they would not be able to make up one half ounce of true fortitude. Nay, I have &s;een &s;ome of tho&s;e mo&s;t impor|tunate fellows, to fight Duells, when they come to bear arms in a good cau&s;e, where they ought to &s;hew true valour, and an undaunted re&s;olution, they have been the fir&s;t that have mo&s;t de&s;perately run away; they have pa&s;&s;ed over hills, without being &s;en&s;ible of the a&s;cents, through woods, without &s;eeing of a tree be|fore them, and mea&s;ured many miles without ca&s;ting one look behind them; nay, &s;ome|time whole flocks of them together, that will run away like &s;heep, with the very appre|&s;ion of a fear, that the noi&s;e of their own feet gives them.</P>
<P>Our fir&s;t and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> were as little given to make di&s;cour&s;es of their own Va|lour; Tho&s;e who brave it mo&s;t in words, are mo&s;t commonly found mo&s;t failing in perfor|mance. When <HI>Homer</HI> makes his brave&s;t Cap|tains to march, he gives them alwayes &s;ilence for a guide; contrariwi&s;e, he makes cowards to babble, and chatter like Cranes. The fir&s;t pa&s;&s;e along like great Rivers, letting their &s;treams glide &s;oftly with a &s;ilent maje&s;ty; but the &s;econd keep a murmuring, and bubling, like little Brooks: Indeed, the world is too full of the&s;e <HI>Rodomonts,</HI> now called <HI>Hectors,</HI>
<PB N="86" REF="59">
who are tran&s;ported with od, arrogant, and &s;udden furies, like <HI>Rab&s;heketh</HI> in Scripture, and yet will tremble at the Lancet of a Sur|geon, and cry out for a little pain, more than a woman in Labour: in &s;hort, the true &s;ign of not being valiant, is to &s;trive to &s;eem to be &s;o.</P>
<P>Our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was known to be none of all this Swa&s;h-buckler brood, &s;prung from the race of <HI>Cadmus,</HI> derived from the teeth of Serpents; and yet never more ready to eat, than to fight, upon a good occa&s;ion, nay, a Duel out too, if there were a cau&s;e for it; that is, either in the Head of an Army, by publick con&s;ent, again&s;t &s;ome <HI>Goliah,</HI> to defend the honour of his Nation, and &s;o to end &s;ome no|table War, and &s;tay a greater effu&s;ion of blood: or el&s;e, if ju&s;tly called to it, in his own, or any dear friends vindication; not upon &s;ome &s;illy Chymera of &s;pirit, upon the interpreta|tion of &s;ome ambiguous words, or, which is wor&s;e, for the love of &s;ome uncha&s;t woman, who will not be otherwi&s;e propitiated, but with the &s;acrifice of humane blood. No, this is no part of our Mo&s;aical courage: The men of this make, were always tho&s;e that his High|ne&s;&s;e fought again&s;t, and proved upon them in the end, that, to be a true compleat Chri|&s;tian Souldier, was not to become a braving <HI>Cyclop,</HI> without any feeling of God, or &s;en&s;e of Religion, but &s;uch a one as his Ma&s;ter <HI>Mo|&s;es</HI> would have him to be, that goes into the field; that is, clear from all wickedne&s;&s;e, and
<PB N="87" REF="59">
uncleanne&s;&s;e: and &s;o accordingly did our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> alwayes make his &s;acred choi&s;e of men. His in&s;pired wi&s;dom, knew full well, that none are fitter to go to War, than tho&s;e, who had made their peace with God, nor can there be any more valourous, than he that has a true fear of the Lord before him: for fir&s;t, &s;uch a mans &s;oul is a Fort impregnable, which cannot be &s;caled with ladders, for it reacheth up to Heaven, nor be broken with batteries, for it is walled with bra&s;&s;e, nor un|dermined by Pioneers, for he is founded upon a rock, nor betrayed by trea&s;on, for faith it &s;elf has the keeping of it, nor be burnt with granado's, for that can quench the fiery darts of the Devil, nor yet be forced by famine, for a good con&s;cience is a continual fea&s;t.</P>
<P>It was not for nothing then, that the&s;e two great &s;ouls of honour, our fir&s;t and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> would not onely be &s;o provided them|&s;elves, but have all that followed them, be &s;o likewi&s;e, and to carry about them, the whole armour of St. <HI>Paul</HI>; for undoubtedly there is nothing &s;o &s;trong, nothing &s;o invincible, and triumphant, as a valour, which marcheth bravely under the Rules of true Chri&s;tian Religion: What&s;oever Mr. <HI>Machiavel</HI> would per&s;wade us, that Devotion and Piety, are the greate&s;t weakners of courage, and warlike di&s;po&s;itions, and that hone&s;ty and vertue, do but expo&s;e a Prince to dangers; the truth of it is, of a Prince as he has propo&s;ed him, he has made little better, than a wilde bea&s;t, and
<PB N="88" REF="60">
yet would per&s;wade us, tis a man, and none I pre&s;ume, will believe it, but &s;uch as carry their eyes in their heels.</P>
<P>The brave <HI>Belizarius,</HI> &s;ure was of another opinion, who was one of the mo&s;t excellent Captains in the World, being to put &s;ome lewd &s;ouldiers to death, for &s;ome military crimes, declared his mind &s;o freely to his Army, in the&s;e Terms,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Procop. lib. <HI>1.</HI> de Bello Vandal.</NOTE> that <HI>Procopius</HI> recites: <HI>Know ye</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>that I am come to fight with the arms of Religion, and Ju&s;tice, without which, we can expect neither Victory nor Happine&s;&s;e; I de&s;ire my Souldiers &s;hould have their hands clean to kill an enemy. Never will I &s;uffer any man in my Army, that hath fingers crooked or bloody, were he in arms as terrible, as lightning: force is of no worth, if it have not equity and con&s;cience for companions.</HI> This now, methinks, was &s;po|ken like a Souldier indeed, like the very &s;pi|rit of our <HI>Mo&s;es.</HI></P>
<P>And this is mo&s;t certain, that no man can loo&s;e his courage, but he that never had it, and no man can have it, if that he beg it not of the true Lord of Ho&s;ts. Where is light to be &s;ought for, but from the Sun? or water, but in Rivers? and heat, but in Fire? and where think you to find true Strength, but in the God of the &s;trong? I mean, not that &s;trength of body, that <HI>Milo</HI> had to carry a heavy bea&s;t, but the &s;trength of &s;oul and courage, to carry a man through all extre|mities; which hath its root in rea&s;on, its en|crea&s;e in piety, and its Crown in true glory:
<PB N="89" REF="60">
and this courage our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> had to the full, and that I hope, there is no man but will grant, is &s;o far from being le&s;&s;ened, that it is onely heightened by Religion, and godline&s;s. His &s;acred Highne&s;&s;e therefore cho&s;e for his Companions in arms, none of tho&s;e roaring, ranting fellows, that think there is no way to be e&s;teemed valiant, but to dare to be impious, to make the pillars of heaven, to tremble with their bla&s;phemies, and have nothing of &s;oul|diers in them, but to pill, and ravage, in their Quarters, like Harpyes, and to feed them&s;elves with humane blood; and in a word, have but this one &s;hame left to them, that is, not to be &s;hamele&s;&s;e. What a ridiculous thing is it, in the mean time, for people to live like <HI>Cy|clopes,</HI> that they may be accounted valiant, and act the part of Turks, to gain the reputation of good Chri&s;tian &s;ouldiers? But here his Highne&s;&s;e his pious wi&s;dom, mo&s;t eminently, after the example of his Great Ma&s;ter <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> has ever &s;hewed it &s;elf, and made us to know &s;uch per&s;ons well enough: his in&s;pired judge|ment, could never be &s;ubject to &s;o much fal|lacy, as to take chaff for Gold, hemlock for Par&s;ly, or an Ape for a Man; and he has plainly taught, and proved to us, that all their pretended courage, is nothing el&s;e but de&s;pair and rage, boiling in their pa&s;&s;ionate brea&s;ts, and counterfeiting vertue. So I hope we &s;hall have no more &s;uch fal&s;e &s;pectacles clapt over our eyes, by that &s;pirit of lyes forged in the &s;hop of Hell, to make us take that gla&s;s
<PB N="90" REF="61">
for Diamond, and tho&s;e Ke&s;trells for Faulcons; indeed, fitter for Stallions, than War-hor&s;es; all their courage is nothing but a boiling fury in their hearts, like to that of &s;ome Lunaticks, or po&s;&s;e&s;t with an evil &s;pirit, which makes very children, and women, to be &s;ometimes &s;tronger, than many men; But &s;uch as the&s;e, were none of our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his election; for he being to go on God Almighties errand, would have no a&s;&s;ociats, but &s;uch as the Lord &s;hould approve of, and were free from all manner of uncleanne&s;&s;e, as that Great Ma|&s;ter of War, and his incomparable Pre&s;ident, both pre&s;cribed, and practi&s;ed.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="12" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="91" REF="61">
<HEAD>The twelfth A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> was well entered into years, but re|tained a &s;trong &s;en&s;e &s;till and under|&s;tanding, before he was called out up|on Publick Employment; he was a mo&s;t vigi|lant, faithful, and skilful Officer in the field: For his age, we find it was not over-great, con|&s;idering how men lived about that time, but his vigour was very extraordinary; for the Text tells us, that he was a hundred and twenty years old when he died,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 34.7.</NOTE> yet his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. Now by all the computations of Chronologers, he was above four&s;core years old, when he was called out upon this great Action, of De|livering the Lords own people out of bon|dage, and by con&s;equence, he mu&s;t have been then, of a much more vigorous con&s;titution, than afterwards: For his vigilancy, there is none &s;ure will doubt,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. Levit.</NOTE> that plea&s;eth to peru&s;e the &s;acred Text, where he is to be found al|wayes watching, and praying for his people, and either pleading &s;omething for them to God, or for God to them; for his care and fidelity, the Lords own acknowledgement likewi&s;e may &s;erve turn, who has expre&s;&s;ely te&s;tified of him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 12.7.</NOTE> that he was faithful in all his hou&s;e.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="parallel">
<PB N="92" REF="62">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>By equal calculation of our Modern Natu|rali&s;ts, as well as Chronologers, we do finde, that God indulg'd double the life to men, be|fore the Flood, to that he has done &s;ince the very next Age after; and yet to them too, vouch&s;afed twice &s;o much time of living, as he has done to us: So that if tho&s;e great Secre|taries of Nature, and Antiquity do not de|ceive us, our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> his forty years and upwards, may appear parallel to the for|mer's four&s;core, at, or about, which times, they both were pre&s;t forth into Publick em|ployment. By which we may ob&s;erve, How the Lord is plea&s;ed to honour a well-&s;ea&s;oned age; for, as the late Learned Philo&s;opher tells us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Fred. de Mar&s;el.</NOTE> <HI>Prudentiae mater, &amp; adjutrix e&s;t experien|tia, quam aetate provectiores, multorum ob&s;ervato curriculo temporum, negotiorum, exemplorum, comprobatam magis habere po&s;&s;unt: quippe quam dies dat, qui ut po&s;terior prioris fit di&s;cipulus, &amp; &s;eris venit u&s;us ab annis.</HI> The Mother and Nur&s;e of Prudence, is experience, which the more ancient, by the ob&s;ervation of a larger cour&s;e of times, practices of bu&s;ine&s;&s;es, and pre&s;idents, mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity, have in a greater proportion; This skill, dayes, are commonly the Donors of; for we find the following day is &s;till the Scholler of the former, and as the
<PB N="93" REF="62">
Poet tells us, True experience is not got with|out proce&s;&s;e of time. Thus we find the be&s;t in|cen&s;e alwayes comes from old Trees, and Tor|ches, made of Aromatick wood, ca&s;t out their be&s;t, and mo&s;t odoriferous exhalations, when they are almo&s;t wa&s;ted. O that I had never &s;aid that word, my tongue falters to &s;peak, my pen is pal&s;ie-&s;trook to write, and my heart trembles to think, that our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> his dayes were &s;o &s;oon to have an end; for we had no temporal good thing more to pray for, in order to the State, or our &s;elves, but that the ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e we enjoyed under his late Highne&s;&s;e, might be eternal, and that we might perpetually live and flouri&s;h under the comfortable and plea&s;ant &s;hadow of his Palms; but we have too lately &s;een, that he, as a <HI>Mo|&s;es,</HI> is gone as he came, and left us nothing, but our own peace, and his precious memory be|hind him. But I mu&s;t pa&s;&s;e by this pa&s;&s;ion, le&s;t it make me guilty of too great a digre&s;&s;ion, it being a di&s;cour&s;e more proper for the clo&s;e of our Parallels. And indeed, however we finde our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> Parallel to the fir&s;t for number of years, That I cannot &s;o certainly determine, as I can for the vigour of his &s;oul, and acutene&s;&s;e of his &s;en&s;e, no one of which, to the very la&s;t Scene of his life, was any whit dulled or dimini&s;hed, more than the eye of his Great Ma&s;ter <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was; an extraordi|nary ble&s;&s;ing doubtle&s;&s;e, vouch&s;afed by the Divine goodne&s;&s;e, to his dear &s;ervants, to get youth by years, and beauty it &s;elf by time;
<PB N="94" REF="63">
as we have &s;een perfectly proved, in the per|&s;on of his late mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e, our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> as has been recorded of that our fir&s;t Great Patriarch his Prototype.</P>
<P>Then for his great diligence, fidelity, care, and skill, in di&s;charging all Tru&s;ts committed to his Charge, no man can at all di&s;pute, that has either &s;een, or heard, of the indefatigable labours of his Life. His Highne&s;&s;e knew that idlene&s;&s;e was a meer moth of Noble mindes, and iron it &s;elf &s;ure, if it had the rea&s;on to di&s;|cour&s;e, under&s;tanding to chu&s;e its one com|modity, would cry out to us, that it better loved to be kept in con&s;tant u&s;e, and exerci&s;e, than to lie ru&s;ting, and con&s;uming in the corner of a hor&s;e: Wherefore we &s;ee, that God does not ordinarily entertain great &s;ouls, in the plea&s;ures of an idle life, but in the ri|gid exerci&s;es of vertue; for we know that there are many mo&s;t excellent fi&s;hes that will die in &s;tanding waters, and are delighted in the mo&s;t bubbling &s;luces, and turbulent &s;eas, and rivers; and the be&s;t birds, will alwayes be abroad in the mo&s;t troubled air. Our glorious Eagle therefore, was alwayes &s;eeking out for action, and never to be found lazing, or beating of his wings in the lower Regi|ment of the air, but &s;oaring alwayes aloft, a|mong&s;t the furies of Lightnings, Tempe&s;ts, and Whirle-winds, playing with Thunder|claps and ever having his eye, where the day was to break. His painful vigilancies were &s;o great in Court, as well as Camp, City, and
<PB N="95" REF="63">
Field, that we may &s;ay of him, as was once of the Great <HI>Con&s;tantine,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Plin.</NOTE> <HI>Tam a&s;&s;iduus in a|ctione &s;ua con&s;titit, ut vel labore refici ac repa|rari videretur,</HI> He was &s;o conver&s;ant in action, that it &s;eemed to be nothing, but his continual recreation, <HI>Gaudent &s;iquidem,</HI> &s;aith the &s;ame Author, <HI>divina perpetuo motu, &amp; jugi agita|tione &s;e vegetat aeternitas,</HI> His con&s;titution was &s;o &s;trenuous, that it mu&s;t needs have been a|kin, to tho&s;e cele&s;tial bodies, that refre&s;h them&s;elves with their own motion, and per|petual agitation. So true it is,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Seneca.</NOTE> what <HI>Seneca</HI> tells us, <HI>Contempta res e&s;t home, ni&s;i &s;upra hu|mana &s;e erexit</HI>; A man is a very pitiful, vile, and contemptible thing, unle&s;&s;e he be ambi|tious to rai&s;e him&s;elf above all the ordinary cour&s;es of the World: but that &s;aying is to be verified in no &s;ort of men &s;o much, as the Noble Souldier, who&s;e honour depending up|on the mo&s;t &s;uperlative degree of vertue, mu&s;t &s;eek out, and pur&s;ue, wayes beyond all equa|lity: and &s;uch a per&s;on, is &s;ure of attaining his end; for <HI>Polyaenus</HI> has a&s;&s;ured him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Polyaenus.</NOTE> that <HI>Voluntas ad laborem propen&s;a cuncta vincere &amp; &s;uperare con&s;uevit,</HI> A propen&s;e will, or a &s;oul prone to labour, has been ever wont to con|quer, and overcome all difficulties. And <HI>Appian</HI> gives the like encouragement,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Appian. de bell. Hi&s;|pan.</NOTE> when he proclaims, <HI>Nihil tam arduum quod indu&s;tria &amp; animi fortitudine &s;uperari non po&s;&s;it</HI>; No|thing &s;o high, or hard, but is to be compa&s;&s;ed and overcome by indu&s;try, and a willing va|liant mind: What the&s;e, and all the Philo|&s;ophers,
<PB N="96" REF="64">
Poets, Orators, or Hi&s;torians, have &s;aid, or could pre&s;cribe, his late mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e, has alwayes fully under&s;tood, and mo&s;t perfectly practi&s;ed, as no one of the Army that has &s;erved under him, but mu&s;t bear him witne&s;&s;e; how pre&s;ent he would be upon all Guards and Watches, as if he were ubiqui|tary; how ince&s;&s;ant in all his Actions, and Labours, as if he were impa&s;&s;ible; how al|wayes taking order for, and moving about his body, as if he were immortal. Indeed, this laborious vertue, which is no &s;mall one in an officer, his Highne&s;&s;e was more Ma&s;ter of, than any that I ever heard, or read of: If any Work were to be rai&s;ed, his hand mu&s;t be in it fir&s;t, if any duty to be done, his pre&s;ident mu&s;t be &s;till the foremo&s;t; &s;o by rare skill ming|ling the Captain, and the common Souldier together, he did both intend the diligence of others, from whom he might, though not &s;o effectually, have exacted it; and ea&s;e the bur|den of their labour, by making him&s;elf a com|panion and partaker of their pains and travel: But of this, and his other great pieces of Con|duct, we &s;hall &s;ay more in our next A&s;cent, where we &s;hall repre&s;ent him a mo&s;t compleat Captain-General.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="13" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="97" REF="64">
<HEAD>The thirteenth A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P>WE have found our <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> a mo&s;t valiant and vertuous Souldier, and a mo&s;t vi|gilant, skilful, and careful Officer; but that he might be all, and yet not fit to command in Cheif, and a &s;hepherd, is not very likely to make a great General; fitter he mu&s;t be &s;ure in the opinion of mo&s;t, to lead his flocks, than to conduct an Army of men: Yes, we &s;hall find him a mo&s;t glorious and ac|compli&s;ht Captain-General,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 3. &amp;c. Levit. Num. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">eut. Num. 11.12.</NOTE> otherwi&s;e he would never have been &s;elected &s;ure by the Divine Wi&s;dom, to conduct, and command, &s;o great and trouble&s;ome a body, as that of the mo&s;t mutinous, perver&s;e, and rebellious people in the World, and to carry them in his bo&s;om, as a Nur&s;e beareth her &s;ucking child; or if there could be yet any danger of doubt in any of this, I would refer that doubt|ing per&s;on, to the whole current of holy Scripture, where he &s;hall find by the exact di&s;cipline ob&s;erved in his Army, the order|ing of his &s;everal Marchings, and Encamp|ings; the Election of his able&s;t Officers, as well as Souldiers, and the fighting of his Bat|tels, his extraordinary and incomparable skill in Military Conduct.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="parallel">
<PB N="98" REF="65">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>Good Souldiers get honour to their Cap|tains and Officers, and all together being gallant men, mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity, make a glo|rious General. It highly concerns him there|fore, who is to Command in Cheif, to let his prime and principal care be placed in the Ele|ction of his inferiour officers, as our fir&s;t and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> have &s;o exemplarily done; for this is the fir&s;t &s;tep of all Military Conduct, wherein I am &s;ure, he has out-done all the Generals that ever were before him, unle&s;&s;e this, to which he is &s;o parallel. Is it not plain, that his Highne&s;&s;e found &s;uch horrid abu&s;es in all the former Armies, that he was faine to new modell this, to bring about tho&s;e his great, and mighty workes, that he has done? And what &s;ort of Officers were they that he cho&s;e, and in&s;truments that his in&s;pired wi&s;|dom pickt out, and fitted for his purpo&s;e? even &s;uch as his Souldiers were, before &s;poken of, men of clean hands, and purer hearts, that were to fight the Lords Battels. He rejected ever tho&s;e gay gawdy out&s;ides of the world, tho&s;e petit &s;pirits of the Aby&s;s, before &s;poken of, &s;prung from the race of <HI>Cadmus</HI>; I mean tho&s;e &s;illy fencing fellows, &s;waggering &s;wa&s;h|bucklers, and <HI>Hectors</HI> afore&s;aid, who appear
<PB N="99" REF="65">
like Comets of fire and blood, to bring mur|der, pe&s;tilence, and poi&s;on, into hou&s;es; who (as I &s;aid) make the Pillars of Heaven to tremble with their bla&s;phemies, &amp; have nothing el&s;e of &s;ouldiers in them, but to pill and ravage in their Quarters like Harpies, and feed them|&s;elves with humane blood, who are ever rea|dier to &s;hew their valour, for a cold counte|nance, an extravagant word, or a Caprichio of &s;pirit, than they would either be, for God, their Country, or the whole World. A mo&s;t wretched and abominable &s;ort of men, that never think of, or look up to Heaven, but to bla&s;pheme it; indeed, more like <HI>Centaurs,</HI> than men, and have their hearts all &s;potted over like the skin of a <HI>Panther.</HI> No, the&s;e were the pitiful things, as we have &s;aid before, that his Highne&s;&s;e alwayes fought again&s;t, and proved in the end, that to be a true compleat Chri&s;tian Captain, or Souldier was not to be|come a meer <HI>Cyplop,</HI> without any feeling of God, or &s;en&s;e of Religion, and that the Lord who has pulled down the mighty from their Seats, and does exalt the humble and meek, will alwayes ble&s;&s;e the endeavours of &s;uch as tho&s;e. Poverty therefore may be &s;aid to re&s;emble the I&s;le of <HI>Ithaca,</HI> which (as <HI>Arche&s;ilas</HI> tells us, though rough and bu&s;hy, failed not to breed the brave&s;t men of <HI>Greece</HI>; and has not our great <HI>&V;li&s;&s;es</HI> proved the &s;ame in <HI>England?</HI> and herein his Highne&s;&s;e has not onely &s;hewed, an e&s;pecial piece of his in|comparable Conduct; but proved him&s;elf to
<PB N="100" REF="66">
be likewi&s;e full of the Divine wi&s;dom, which hides alwayes its mo&s;t precious Trea&s;ures un|der the bark, and mantle of per&s;ons, ba&s;e, and abject in appearance, as we read in Scripture, <HI>Quae &s;tulta &s;unt mundi elegit Deus,</HI> God cho&s;e the fooli&s;h things of the world to confound the wi&s;e:<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 1.</NOTE> For &s;imple Fi&s;hermen, almo&s;t as dumb and mute as the very fi&s;hes them&s;elves, are &s;et apart, and cho&s;en to catch in their Nets Philo&s;ophers, Kings, Cities, Provinces, and Empires: and thus in the old Law, the Ma&s;ter State&s;man, and Captain of the World, our Patriarch <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> being but a poor &s;tam|mering Shepherd in &s;hew, is cho&s;en out to carry the Word, to a mo&s;t pui&s;&s;ant Monarch, to &s;hake and to overturn with a poor wand, the Pillars of his Empire, to divide Seas, to calme Billowes, to open the bowels of Rocks, to command all the Elements, and fill the World with wonders. So did he make a like Election of his Officers, and Souldiers, and do the workes of Gyants, with the reputed <HI>Pygmies</HI> of the world: I hope I have not hi|therto unde&s;ervedly brought him for my late Lord Protectors pattern,d Indeed, this is the ordinary cu&s;tom of Almighty God, to keep his riche&s;t Pearls in &s;hells, and mo&s;t precious perfumes in poor boxes.</P>
<P>Men of this World, we know, do quite con|trary, as we &s;aw manife&s;tly proved by the o|ther party, where moved the old Magadepies of the Church, and Butter-flies of the Court, with &s;ome other great things, called Lords,
<PB N="101" REF="66">
who becau&s;e they had (it may be) a gallant valiant man for&s;ooth, for the Grandfather, thought that they might, very &s;ecurely, be Cowards, &s;o &s;pending &s;till upon the &s;tock of their great Antece&s;&s;ors (though to be doubt|ed, whether they were lawfully begot, or not) ruined their own &s;elves. The&s;e pretty gawdy things, lived in the world ju&s;t like Snailes, keeping their glorious hou&s;es over their heads, and in their grave Maje&s;tick cour&s;es, (almo&s;t as &s;low as theirs too) made very fine long &s;il|ver traces, but were nothing el&s;e indeed with|in, but meer froth. They had alwayes their backs like Cu&s;hions, covered with Velvet, Sat|tin, and what not, but their inwards we &s;ee, were nothing but hay, or &s;traw. They made a glorious o&s;tent of leaves to the World, and a fair verdure, like an over-grown wood; but are within repleni&s;ht with nothing but Ser|pents.</P>
<P>The&s;e per&s;ons &s;ure, having nothing at all prai&s;e-worthy in them, would dignifie their per&s;ons with apparel, &s;hewing us plainly, that they had like Peacocks, little heads, le&s;&s;e brains, beautiful feathers, and a long taile; which yet it &s;eems, by their &s;trutting about the &s;treets, are non clypt &s;hort enough, with &s;ome of them, though in good time, I doubt not but they will be. So I pa&s;&s;e from the&s;e pitiful nothings, (whom his Highne&s;&s;e, in|&s;pired prudence, and skilful conduct, would never admit to &s;erve under his En&s;ignes) to &s;ome other more worthy piece of his Mo|&s;aical
<PB N="102" REF="67">
Conduct, and the next &s;hall be the exact Di&s;cipline our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> alwayes ob|&s;erved, which is indeed, the very &s;oul of an Army, and without which, they would march, as the Hi&s;torian tells us, <HI>Multi homines, pauci viri,</HI> Many bodies, but a few men, or indeed, more like Salvages, than Chri&s;tians. From the neglect of this it is, that we have &s;een in time of War, &s;o many <HI>Caniballs</HI> in arms, that ca&s;t nothing but fire, and blood from their throats, <HI>Menaces</HI> alwayes marching before them into Quarters, and ruine and de&s;olation bringing up the Reare: Barbarous villains, that think becau&s;e they have a &s;word by their &s;ide, they are therefore to be Ma&s;ters of the lives, and e&s;tates of other men. It is mo&s;t certain, great courage is nece&s;&s;ary to make a true Martial Di&s;cipline be ob&s;erved; but yet it is to be done, as we &s;ee in this very Army of our late Lord Protector, that he has left behind him, to be in truth, a mirrour of Ar|mies, and never yet was equalled, no not by that which <HI>Alexander Severus</HI> commanded, as <HI>Lampridius</HI> relates,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lamprid.</NOTE> all who&s;e &s;ouldiers, mar|ched to the <HI>Per&s;ian</HI> War like Senators, and the Country Pea&s;ants loved them as their Bro|thers, and honoured their Emperour, as a god:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Marcus Scaurus.</NOTE> Nor yet by that which <HI>Marcus Scaurus</HI> writes of, who&s;e Regiments encamped round about a great Tree laden with fruit, and yet the &s;ouldiers were kept in &s;uch order, as not to dare, though they were to depart the next mor|ning, to take one apple from the Ma&s;ter of the
<PB N="103" REF="67">
place. In this very manner, did our glorious &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> alwayes conduct his men,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Vopi&s;c. in Aurel.</NOTE> giving them that Admirable Le&s;&s;on, which the mo&s;t pious Emperour <HI>Aurelian</HI> gave to &s;ome of his Officers: <HI>My friends,</HI> &s;aid he, <HI>if you will be Captains, nay, if you will live, contain your &s;oul|diers in their duties: I will not that a Pea&s;ant &s;o much as complain, that he has been wronged in the value of a chicken, nor that any has taken a grape from his Vine, without his permi&s;&s;ion. I will have an account of every grain of &s;alt, or drop of oil, unju&s;tly exacted. I de&s;ire my &s;ouldiers &s;hould grow rich with the &s;poiles of enemies, and not by the teares of my Subjects. I would have them carry their riches on their &s;words, not in|to their Hutts, or Cabbins. I would have them cha&s;t in the hou&s;es of their Ho&s;ts, and not any the lea&s;t quarrel or di&s;order heard of among&s;t them,</HI> &amp;c. If Heathens could teach us &s;uch Le&s;&s;ons of civil deportment in armes, what a &s;hame is it then for &s;ome Chri&s;tians, to march as we &s;ee them do, more like <HI>Scythians</HI> and <HI>Arabians</HI>? and that men who are made we know, for the &s;upport of men, and who are not &s;trong, but for the defence of the feeble, &s;hould be more pernicious one to another, than Wolves and Beares, nay, than fire, hail, &s;erpents, inunda|tions, and famins? By this means it is, that warfare, otherwi&s;e a mo&s;t honourable pro|fe&s;&s;ion, is made a dete&s;table trade, and the Commanders of tho&s;e unruly Armies, are likely the fir&s;t that &s;uffer by them, them&s;elves, and all the countenancers of &s;uch debaucht
<PB N="104" REF="68">
doings, mu&s;t find the cup of Divine anger mingled with gall, and the poi&s;on, of Dragons poured forth upon their guilty heads.</P>
<P>All this his late mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e, al|wayes abhorred, and prevented; for which rea&s;on it was &s;ure, that all the hearts of the poor people, of this Nation, which &s;o much &s;ighed under the former mi&s;carriages of our Civil War, being indeed reduced, to almo&s;t a peri&s;hing condition, by the ill conduct of for|mer Captains, freely bloomed, and newly opened them&s;elves, as Ro&s;es, at the benigne, gentle, and yet &s;evere brave a&s;pect, of this in|comparable per&s;on, our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> when he came into general Command; for which rea|&s;on it was &s;ure, that God &s;o ble&s;t him in all his Battels&punc; A&s;&s;ault, and warlike Enterpri&s;es, that he was &s;ucce&s;&s;eful in them all; for Plun|derers we know, never fight well, and be&s;ides, tis certain, that the ju&s;t God tyes a &s;ecret ver|tue to tho&s;e Standards which march for his glory, and are not be&s;meared with the blood of innocents.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Cic pro leg. Manil.</NOTE>But I mu&s;t ha&s;ten to accompli&s;h our Captain-General, and, as <HI>Tully</HI> tells us, <HI>In &s;ummo Im|peratore quatuor hae virtutes ine&s;&s;e debent, &s;ci|entia rei militaris, virtus, Authoritas, &amp; felici|tas,</HI> There are requi&s;ite to a General, the&s;e four qualities, To have knowledge of the &s;ouldiers trade, To be valiant, To have his Army in good awe, And to be alwayes fol|lowed with good &s;ucce&s;&s;e; of the three fir&s;t requi&s;ites, we have &s;ufficiently di&s;cour&s;t al|ready,
<PB N="105" REF="68">
&s;o the la&s;t onely remains to be produ|ced, for the accompli&s;hment of our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> in his glorious Captain-General-&s;hip: or el&s;e if we look upon the four mo&s;t remark|able properties in <HI>Julius Cae&s;ar,</HI> who was the Phoenix of all warlike Princes in tho&s;e Ages, we &s;hall find them all improved to the highe&s;t pitch, in this our late Great Protector: <HI>Labor in negotio, fortitudo in periculo, indu&s;tria in a|gendo, celeritas in conficiendo,</HI> Labour about bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, invincible valour in point of dan|ger, a thorough indu&s;try in all actions, and a quick di&s;patch in all expeditions: there re|mains none but the la&s;t of the&s;e four <HI>Cae&s;arean</HI> properties, unapplyed to our happy Parallel; So I &s;hall endeavour to celebrate tho&s;e his glorious di&s;patches, and &s;ucce&s;&s;es, in our next mo&s;t &s;ublime A&s;cent and Parallel, that may concern his Highne&s;&s;e, in any of his warlike Relations.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="14" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="106" REF="69">
<HEAD>The fourteenth A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> was by the extraordinary indul|gence and favour of Heaven, attended with a glorious felicity, in all his un|dertakings. All his Actions were Crowned with &s;ucce&s;&s;e, and his Battels with Victory: All which is &s;ufficently cleared, by the &s;acred Text,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 14.</NOTE> in his miraculous Deliverance of the I&s;raelites, and overthrow of the <HI>Egyptians,</HI> the di&s;comfiting of the <HI>Amalekits,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 21.</NOTE> and defeating of King <HI>Arad,</HI> and his <HI>Canaanits,</HI> with <HI>Sihon</HI> King of the <HI>Amorits,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 2. &amp; 3.</NOTE> and <HI>Og</HI> the King of <HI>Ba|&s;han,</HI> and Conquering in one pitcht Battel, five Kings of <HI>Midian.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 31.</NOTE> So true likewi&s;e is that piece of <HI>Apocrypha,</HI> which tells us: And <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> the beloved of God and men, brought he forth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccle&s;. 45.1, 2, 3.</NOTE> who&s;e remembrance is ble&s;&s;ed; he made him like to the glorious Saints, and magnified him by the fear of his enemies; by his words he cau&s;ed the wonders to cea&s;e, and he made him glorious in the &s;ight of Kings, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<DIV2 TYPE="parallel">
<PB N="107" REF="69">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>Though it be very true,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dio. Hali|car. lib. <HI>1.</HI></NOTE> what <HI>Diony&s;ius Ha|licarna&s;&s;eus</HI> tells us, that <HI>Virtus e&s;t felicitatis men&s;ura, non fortuna,</HI> Vertue is the ell by which we are to mea&s;ure felicity, not fortune: and what <HI>Paterculus</HI> affirms of <HI>Mithridates,</HI> that he was <HI>Vir virtute eximius, aliquando fortun&acirc;,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Patere.</NOTE> <HI>&s;emper animo maximus</HI>: So every vertuous and valiant &s;pirit, though not alwayes great by the favour of fortune, yet mu&s;t be &s;o in his own courage; for to judge things onely by event, is to turn the wrong end of the book upwards. Yet it is as true, what the judicious Orator a&s;&s;ures us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Plin.</NOTE> that <HI>Exercituum Imperatores, ni&s;i pro&s;pero, &amp; Martiali quodam a&s;tro nati, frru&s;tra fortes &s;trenuique &s;unt, fru&s;tra virtute bellic&aacute; in&s;tructi</HI>; Generals of Armies, if not born under &s;ome happy, and martial Con|&s;tellation, do exerci&s;e their vertue and skill in Military matters, to little or no purpo&s;e; <HI>Et de unius fato ducis, militum victoria per&s;aepe pendet</HI>; The Valour and Victory of Souldiers, is &s;ometimes lo&s;t by an unlucky Captain.</P>
<P>It has been therefore the practice of mo&s;t Princes, to adopt into their cheife&s;t Com|mands, onely &s;uch as have been &s;ucce&s;&s;efull Captains, and have received no foile at all from fortune. Now the greate&s;t favourit of
<PB N="108" REF="70">
fortune, or properly &s;peaking, the deare&s;t Darling of Divine Providence, that ever the Chri&s;tian World produced, was this mo&s;t ex|cellent per&s;on, his late mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e. His &s;ucce&s;&s;es were &s;o con&s;tant, that we may &s;ay, he had &s;truck a naile in Fortunes wheele, that &s;he &s;hould never be able to turn it again. He has not onely that Lady for his Guide, as &s;ome have boa&s;ted to have her, or his com|panion, as others; but the Lord made for him a foot-&s;toole of Fortune, and gave him Victory for his Hand-maid: and as the &s;ame Orator &s;ayes of <HI>Con&s;tantine</HI> the Great, <HI>Nu&s;quam pedem &s;uum extulit, quin ubique eum gloria qua&s;i um|bra comitata, &s;it</HI>; He never &s;et his foot forth of doors, but glory attended him as his &s;ha|dow; and what was &s;aid of the Great <HI>Alex|ander,</HI> likewi&s;e might more truly be verified in him, <HI>Quod plures prope victoriam report&acirc;rit qu&agrave;m pugnas inierit, plures urbes ceperit, qu&agrave;m ob&s;ederit, plures ho&s;tes fuderit, qu&agrave;m noverit</HI>: He gained more Victories than he fought Bat|tels, he reduced more Cities, than he belea|gured, and routed more enemies, than he ever met withal. But now here, before I proceed any further, I mu&s;t be bold to make a &s;tand, and &s;adly intermix the water of my eyes, with my &s;orrowful inke, and with a mourning pen, deplore the madne&s;&s;e of tho&s;e men, who en|gaged us in our late unnatural Wars. Ah poor <HI>England,</HI> Paradi&s;e of the Earth, Eye of the World, Pearle of all Beauties, How many times by the means of tho&s;e infernal &s;pirits,
<PB N="109" REF="70">
ha&s;t thou &s;een thy fruitful bo&s;ome, heretofore Crowned with ears of Corn, and Guilded with Harve&s;ts, all bri&s;tled over with Batalias? How many times ha&s;t thou &s;een, thy land co|vered with Swords, and thy Seas with Ships? How may times ha&s;t thou felt the arms of thy children encountering within thy proper en|trails? How many times ha&s;t thou &s;een flames of brothers ho&s;tility flying through thy fat and fragrant fields? when ha&s;t thou not &s;weat in all the parts of thy beautiful body? when have not rivers of blood been drawn from thy veins, and &s;uch blood as would have cimented the be&s;t Bullwarkes for thy defence again&s;t all forreign enemies what&s;oever, and if well em|ployed, had made the great Enemy of Chri&s;t|endom, the Turk, ere this to tremble at thy Standards, and have re-planted again, the plains of <HI>Pale&s;tine</HI>? But all has been &s;acrificed to Furies: But I forbear, lea&s;t that I lo&s;e my &s;elf in my provoked Pa&s;&s;ion; and indeed, I would willingly pa&s;&s;e over this di&s;cour&s;e with &s;ilence, as over coales covered with a&s;hes, were it not, that as it was fit to expo&s;e ma&s;&s;acred bodies to view, thereby to cure the madne&s;&s;e of the <HI>Mile&s;ian</HI> Maides, &s;o we are bound to di&s;|cover the bloody effects of this unnatural war, to rai&s;e a horrour in all good &s;ouls, again&s;t the unhappy cau&s;es of it. And yet truely, we have no little rea&s;on to rejoyce in tho&s;e very &s;ufferings, &amp; congratulate with our &s;elves, the blood-&s;hed it &s;elf of tho&s;e barbarous Wars, if we could at no cheaper rate, have aquired the
<PB N="110" REF="71">
enjoyment of tho&s;e mo&s;t ine&s;timable ble&s;&s;ings, and benefits, which we have &s;ince received; and above all the re&s;t, the &s;overaign influence of that mo&s;t precious per&s;on, our late Lord Protector, and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es.</HI></P>
<P>Thrice ble&s;&s;ed <HI>England,</HI> in &s;uch a purcha&s;e, though with &s;o much co&s;t and paines. O hap|py voice of Thunder, which made this Hinde bring forth &s;o glorious a birth, after &s;o many terrible throws, and &s;uch direful agitations of many years. And for the happy clo&s;e of all this, we may again remarke another piece of Heavens e&s;pecial Providence, and quiet all the di&s;tempers of our &s;ouls, with an humble ac|knowledgement of that mercy, and &s;ubmi&s;|&s;ion to the Divine Ju&s;tice, which in &s;hort, a|mounts to this. When the Lord is plea&s;ed to purge a Kingdom, or Nation, defiled with &s;in, he choo&s;eth alwayes a people more righteous and religious than they were, it being forever mo&s;t ju&s;t, and rea&s;onable, that they &s;hould en|joy their goods, who will have no &s;hare in their vices. So our <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and his I&s;raelites, pil|laged and overthrew the wicked Egyptians; So <HI>Arbaces</HI> vanqui&s;ht the debauched <HI>Sarda|napalus</HI>;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Salvian.</NOTE> So <HI>Alexander</HI> conquered the effe|minate <HI>Per&s;ians</HI>; And &s;o the <HI>Goths</HI> gained the Empire of <HI>Rome,</HI> as holy <HI>Salvian,</HI> more at large illu&s;trates: So to return to our late great Generals &s;ucce&s;&s;es, and di&s;patches, which as it is notorious, have been &s;o &s;tupendous, that the pre&s;ent &s;pectators of them, did take them, as afore&s;aid, more for vi&s;ions, than realities. The
<PB N="111" REF="71">
celerity of his Expeditions was &s;o great, a ver|tue &s;o much commended in <HI>Julius Cae&s;ar,</HI> that he alwayes as far out-went his <HI>veni, vidi, vici,</HI> as ever he did, the Cunctator <HI>Fabius. Jebu,</HI> a man of an active &s;pirit, was employed again&s;t the hou&s;e of <HI>Ahab,</HI> to bring it to a quick con|fu&s;ion; for God Almighty, when he means to &s;have clear, alwayes choo&s;eth a Razor with a &s;harp edge, and never &s;ends a &s;lug upon a me&s;&s;age that requires ha&s;t; So our great <HI>Oliver,</HI> we &s;ee when he came into General command, di&s;patcht more work in one year, than all the Armies of <HI>England,</HI> had done in three, or four, before.</P>
<P>This it was to have one of the Lords own election to command over us, and &s;o much ac|cording to his own heart, that we &s;ee he has con&s;tantly tyed, as afore&s;aid, a &s;ecret vertue to his Standards, making winds and tempe&s;ts, to fight under his En&s;ignes, opening for him lands inacce&s;&s;ible, calming &s;tormy Seas, make|ing him with petit handfuls of men, to di&s;|comfit huge Royal Armies, to take in Towns impregnable, cleave Rocks, and hew through Mountains; nay, to do the works of Gyants, as afore&s;aid, with the reputed Pigmies of the World, and find facility in all that humane rea&s;on conceived impo&s;&s;ible; So that we may count more Victories of his, than Encounters, his Palmes being perpetually verdant as well in the frozen ice of Winter, as in the &s;corching heats of Summer. Nor was <HI>England</HI> alone the Scene of his great Actions, but the very mi&s;ts
<PB N="112" REF="72">
and foggs of <HI>Scotland,</HI> as well as the woods and boggs of <HI>Ireland,</HI> will all come in to atte&s;t his glories; for the barrenne&s;&s;e of the one, nor the barbari&s;me of the other, could &s;et a period to his proceedings, or give a foile to his for|tune.</P>
<P>Now to &s;umme up all his Souldier-like Excellencies; (for I mu&s;t ha&s;ten out of this large Field, lea&s;t I be lo&s;t in't) if we may by the mo&s;t eminent qualities of inferiour crea|tures, be capable to conceive his matchle&s;&s;e perfections. The mo&s;t exqui&s;ite character of a compleat Captain, or Man at Armes, is by &s;everal Authors delivered to us thus; That is one, who has the a&s;&s;ault of the wild Bull, the defence of the wilde Boare, the flight of the Wolfe, the courage of a Lion, and the craft of a Fox: This &s;trange compo&s;ition, his Highne&s;&s;e had to its highe&s;t perfection, as he has been &s;ufficiently &s;een in all po&s;tures; but above all, what a &s;pectacle it was, &s;ometimes to behold him in his Lion-like po&s;ture, and al|mo&s;t covered over with blood and du&s;t, a|mong&s;t the ranks of his afrighted men, and performing both the office of a great Captain, and mo&s;t Couragious Souldier, and &s;o by that means, re&s;toring a Day in danger to be lo&s;t. Then &s;ometimes again, to &s;ee him, leading his well Di&s;ciplin'd Army, into enemies Quarters, and by his meer Conduct, conquering va&s;t Armies, and reducing their &s;trong&s;t Garri&s;ons, without one drop of blood; and &s;uch dry Vi|ctories, were alwayes his deare&s;t delight: as
<PB N="113" REF="72">
indeed they are alwayes mo&s;t honourable. <HI>Ingens victoriae decus, citra dome&s;ticum &s;an|guinem bellanti,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Tacitus,</HI> The greate&s;t glory of a Victory, is that which a Captain gaines by the lea&s;t expen&s;e of home-bred blood: And this was his Highne&s;&s;e his con|&s;tant &s;tudy to do; nay, his endeavour like|wi&s;e was, to &s;ave as much as he could of his very enemies blood. He never &s;ought to purcha&s;e fame, by &s;uch a cruel vanity, as <HI>Pompey</HI> the Great did, who building a Temple to <HI>Minerva,</HI> cau&s;ed to be engraven over the Gate of it, how he had taken, routed, and &s;lain, two millions one hundred four&s;core and three thou&s;and men; pillaged, and &s;unk, eight hundred forty &s;ix Ships: made de&s;olate one thou&s;and five hundred thirty eight Ci|ties, and Towns. If this be the way to glory, his late Highne&s;&s;e &s;ure has &s;teered a clean con|trary cour&s;e; for he has written, and engra|ven by his Actions, on the Gate of the Tem|ple of Eternity, the Men, Ships, Cities, and Towns, that he has pre&s;erved. <HI>Haec divina potentia e&s;t, gregatim, &amp; public&egrave; &s;ervare,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Senec. de Clem. l. <HI>1.</HI> c. <HI>26.</HI></NOTE> &s;aith the mo&s;t excellent <HI>Seneca</HI>; It is a piece of Di|vine power, to &s;ave publickly, and by Troops. By the other way, it may be, his Highne&s;&s;e might have rendred him&s;elf more remarkable and terrible, like a dreadful Comet, by the ruine of the World; but our glorious Pro|tector, knew, nothing could be &s;o honourable as to &s;ave: So we never &s;aw his Highne&s;&s;e put up his &s;word, but his anger too, ever hold|ing
<PB N="114" REF="73">
with <HI>Nicetus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Nicetus.</NOTE> that <HI>Naturae injuriam facit, &amp; humanitatis legem violat, qui ultra victoriam, iracundiae indulget</HI>: He offers an injury to na|ture, and violates a law of common humanity, that can continue his anger after a Victory: Nay, I'le be bold to add, that it is a mo&s;t unpo|litick proceeding likewi&s;e; for which his High|ne&s;&s;e onely may be &s;ufficient witne&s;&s;e, who after his mo&s;t bloody Battels, alwayes Con|quered as much with &s;weetne&s;&s;e, as he had done before with the Sword: which has been, under God, the mo&s;t happy cau&s;e, that after &s;o fierce and quick a War, we have not &s;carce a foot-&s;teep to be &s;een of it, not a Town fired, and very hardly now, a man mi&s;t: our cattel as plentiful as ever, our fields no le&s;&s;e fertil, and fragrant; nor yet our hillocks are le&s;&s;e filled with ears of corn, all which we mu&s;t needs attribute, to his Highne&s;&s;e his pious pre&s;erva|tion, in who&s;e power it was, for our ingrati|tude, to have thrown all into a de&s;erved de|&s;olation: by which means, he has built him|&s;elf a Monument in the hearts of all hone&s;t people, in which he will live more honourable a thou&s;and times, and &s;o be repre&s;ented to after-ages, than all the greate&s;t Monarchs of <HI>Egypt,</HI> in their rich Marbles, Pyramids, and Obelisks. Thus craving pardon for our too long in&s;i&s;ting upon the&s;e Military excellencies, of our two great Generals, our fir&s;t and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> I &s;hall ha&s;ten in our &s;ucceeding di&s;cour&s;e to give the World &s;ome ta&s;t likewi&s;e of their mo&s;t extraordinary State perfections.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="15" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="115" REF="73">
<HEAD>The fifteenth A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> was a mo&s;t ab&s;olute great State&s;|man, a perfect Ma&s;ter of the Politick Science; which, though it may be &s;uffi|ciently argued, by all the advantages which he had of breeding within the Tropicks of <HI>Pharaohs</HI> Court;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 2.</NOTE> &s;o mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity have &s;uckt in the very quinte&s;&s;ence of all State in|fluencies, as al&s;o being trained up in all the Learning of the Egyptians,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 7.12.</NOTE> then the mo&s;t know|ing people in the World, as we have already &s;een: Yet, is made more clear, by the Lords own de&s;ignation of him, to the Civil,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. Levit. Num. Deut.</NOTE> as well as Military Government, of his people, by his prudent managery of Affairs, and by the mo&s;t excellent Laws and Ordinances that he made for their Government, in peace as well as war; which proves irrefragably, that he under&s;tood how to command Towns, as well as Armies, and to conduct Citizens, as well as Souldiers; but above all, he appeared a mo&s;t perfect Polititian, in &s;ticking clo&s;e to the in|tre&s;ts of God, not &s;werving in the lea&s;t from his Divine Will; and for that we have the Lords own atte&s;tation,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 12.7.</NOTE> that he was faithful in all his hou&s;e, and that mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity be the highe&s;t point of Policy.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="parallel">
<PB N="116" REF="74">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Xenoph. l. <HI>1.</HI> de in&s;tit. Cypri.</NOTE><HI>Ingens &s;an&egrave;, &amp; arduum opus e&s;t, recte imperare,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Xenophon,</HI> It is the highe&s;t, and the hard|e&s;t thing in the World, to command well, who, as he gave us, <HI>Effigiem ju&s;ti imperii,</HI> as <HI>Cicero</HI> de&s;cribes him, the Portraiture of a ju&s;t Empire, under the name of <HI>Cyrus,</HI> mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity mean, that of the Civil, as well as Martial Go|vernment. And doubtle&s;&s;e this Politick ver|tue, which is to con&s;titute a true, and excel|lent State&s;man, is the mo&s;t rare, and &s;ublima|ted Piece, and as it were, the very creame, and mo&s;t purified part of humane wi&s;dom, and of which, great and Noble &s;pirits, are onely capable.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tit. Liv. lib. <HI>2.</HI> Dec.</NOTE> And therefore, <HI>Titus Livius,</HI> tells us, that <HI>Ars qu&acirc; civem regant,</HI> (That art of Policy, or good Government, was ever more as ho|nourable, if not more, than that) <HI>Qu&acirc; ho&s;tem &s;uperent,</HI> the art of War it &s;elf: and the &s;ame <HI>Livius</HI> gives the rea&s;on in another place, <HI>Pa|rare &amp; quaerere arduum,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">lib. <HI>37.</HI></NOTE> <HI>tueri vero difficilius</HI>; from whence the Poet &s;eems to have borrowed, <HI>O faciles dare &s;umma Deos, eademque tueri, Dif|ficiles</HI>;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lucan.</NOTE> It is much ea&s;ier to attain the ends of high de&s;ires, than to keep them being got; and better is the a&s;&s;urance of &s;eeking, than of po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ing any thing. For to be great, and of a large proportion, doth not at all take away the ca&s;ualties of inconveniencies, nor can any
<PB N="117" REF="74">
greatne&s;&s;e give priviledge to free things from di&s;temperature; Tall men, we &s;ee, are as &s;ub|ject to Fevers, as others of le&s;&s;e &s;tature; and great Empires are as ea&s;ily di&s;turbed, as the States of petit Princes. Be&s;ides, an excellent Author tells us, <HI>Tueri quae&s;ita, difficilius e&s;t qu&agrave;m acquirere, quoniam in acquirendo, ignavia po&s;&s;identis &s;aepe plus confert, quam propria virtus, tueri autem quae&s;ita, &s;ine propria virtute nemo pote&s;t.</HI> It is harder to hold, than to Conquer; for the &s;loth and negligence of the Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;or, may more conduce to the acquiring of any thing, than the vertue of the Conquerour; but hold what is &s;o acquired, none can, but by e&s;pecial vertue.</P>
<P>Now both the&s;e pieces of incomparable Prudence, had our mo&s;t Renowned Lord Protector, our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>; and I dare &s;ay, in equal proportion with the former, he go|verned the War it &s;elf, like a compleat State&s;|man, and managed peace, like a prudent Cap|tain. He knew as well as <HI>Cae&s;ar</HI> did,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cae&s;ar Com|ment. <HI>6.</HI> belli gall.</NOTE> that <HI>Non minus e&s;t Imperatoris, con&s;ilio &s;uperare, quam gladio,</HI> A good General will Conquer more by his Coun&s;el, than Sword: And as applicable to his Highne&s;&s;e, was that which King <HI>Anti|gonus</HI> &s;aid of him&s;elf, That his warfare, was rather of times and &s;ea&s;ons, than of Armes, and no le&s;&s;e did we &s;ee made good by his High|ne&s;&s;e upon all occa&s;ions, what <HI>Polybius</HI> tells us, that the lea&s;t things which are done in war, are tho&s;e which are handled with &s;word and violence; but the mo&s;t eminent of all, are
<PB N="118" REF="75">
executed by the knowledge, how fitly to man|age an opportunity. If this piece of warlike, as well as State prudence, were ever verified in any Per&s;on, it has been mo&s;t remarkably made good in all our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his State di&s;patches, as well as Warlike Expeditions: for had he not in the very nick of time, cru&s;ht &s;everal eggs, of cur&s;ed Cockatrices, that had been laid again&s;t him, he mu&s;t have hatched them in his own bo&s;ome, that would have de|&s;troyed both him, and us.</P>
<P>Are you not yet a&s;hamed of your ingrati|tude, you viperous brood of Rebells? that have &s;o often endeavoured to eat through the heart, and bowels of him, that has given you &s;o often a life? Do you not know, that when one Star ri&s;eth, the oppo&s;ite mu&s;t fall? Be no longer like ungrateful Prenti&s;es, who u&s;ually when they are at liberty, &s;purne at their Guides, and are not onely content to &s;et up Shops for them&s;elves; but &s;eek by all means they can, to di&s;credit their Ma&s;ters.</P>
<P>By this time, methinks, you &s;hould be &s;en&s;ible, that you have too long oppo&s;ed your &s;elves, again&s;t his late Highne&s;&s;e, mo&s;t pious, and prudent intentions, who with &s;word in one hand, and trowel in the other, that is, armes, and policy, as a State&s;man, and a Soul|dier, at once did defend, and build the walls of our <HI>Jeru&s;alem.</HI></P>
<P>It is time for you &s;ure to give over bu&s;ying your &s;elves about your <HI>Babylon,</HI> and its buil|ding, which when you have done all you can,
<PB N="119" REF="75">
will appear to be but like a City, which I have &s;een in ancient painting, built upon ruines, in a land of Quick&s;ilver, cimented with blood, and overthrown with frequent Earthquakes, and outragious windes: You &s;ee by your own &s;ad experience, if you plea&s;e to make u&s;e of it, that if the arm of the Lord &s;u&s;tain not an Affaire, the more advancement it receives, the deeper ruines it findes; and that all Maxims of State, that depend not on the Max|ims of God, are but the meer effects of carnal prudence, and &s;o mu&s;t con&s;equently end in fle&s;h, and faile like it: And all Councils of State what&s;oever, that depend not, and re&s;t them&s;elves upon him, who with three fingers &s;upporteth the Globe of the Univer&s;e, rather pur&s;ue the way of precipice, than path of ex|altation; Give over, I &s;ay, in time your Antichri&s;tian contentions, le&s;t you be found to fight again&s;t God. Imitate, now at la&s;t, this ble&s;&s;ed and mo&s;t worthy Piece of our Mo&s;ai|cal wi&s;dom, which our Great Prototype, and his Typified Parallel, have &s;o clo&s;ely pur&s;ued, that is, in the fir&s;t place to &s;eek the intere&s;ts of God, and then all other things will be ad|ded, as we have &s;een proved upon both them, a con&s;tant &s;ucce&s;&s;e attending all their under|takings. On the other &s;ide, we finde what|&s;oever <HI>Machiavel</HI> may object to the contrary, that God Almighty is plea&s;ed, &s;ometimes, to &s;tupifie the mo&s;t practi&s;ed Stati&s;ts in the world, that are the greate&s;t profe&s;&s;ors too of Policy, and Knowledge, and make them &s;o drink of
<PB N="120" REF="76">
the cup of errour, that we coming afterwards, to di&s;cour&s;e upon their judgements, find they have committed &s;ome gro&s;&s;er faults, in the governments of Kingdoms, and Common|wealths, than the &s;imple&s;t, and mo&s;t illiterate Pea&s;ants would have done, in the direction of their own hou&s;es; all which we have &s;een mo&s;t particularly made good upon the late King and his Coun&s;ellours, and to be foretold likewi&s;e by the Spirit of God him&s;elf, dicta|ting to the per&s;on of the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> who &s;peaking of the wicked Coun&s;ellours of <HI>Pha|raoh,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 19.</NOTE> &s;ayes, <HI>The Princes of Tanais, are become fooles, the Princes of Memphis are withered away, they have deceived Egypt with all the &s;trength, and beauty of her people: God hath &s;ent among&s;t them, the &s;pirit of giddine&s;&s;e, and made them reel up and down, in all their actions, like drunken men.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Job. 12.</NOTE> No le&s;&s;e doth holy <HI>Job</HI> tell us, in the&s;e terms; <HI>God &s;uffereth the wi&s;e Coun&s;ellours to fall into the hazards of &s;en&s;ele&s;&s;e men; God makes the Judges &s;tupid, takes away the &s;word and belt from Kings, to engird their reines with a cord; God maketh the Prie&s;ts to appear infamous, &s;upplant|eth the principal of the people, changeth the lips of truth &s;peakers, takes away the doctrine of old men, and poureth out contempt upon Prin|ces,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>There is no man, that has either been Actor, or Spectator, in our troubles, but will take, I pre&s;ume, tho&s;e Scriptures, to be directly poin|ted at our times, and to be an exact prophe&s;ie, of part of our late Wars: &s;o will neither re|quire
<PB N="121" REF="76">
any more comment, application, or pa|rallel. It is a mo&s;t certain truth, and that his late Highne&s;&s;e knew full well, and as frequent|ly declared, that no wi&s;dom or policy, meer|ly humane, can be perfect: &s;uch as for&s;ake God, in the curio&s;ities of their Coun&s;ells, &s;hall be for&s;aken by him, and &s;hall finde each where, a long web of perplexities, and a rowling wheel of immortal troubles.</P>
<P>When a man goes on in the right way, he is probable to finde an end, but if he wander acro&s;&s;e the fields, he makes &s;teps without number, runs into errours without mea&s;ure, and falls into mi&s;eries without remedy. Let all the Politicians of the World take example by our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and take into their &s;e|rious con&s;ideration, as his Highne&s;&s;e did, that the greatne&s;&s;e of a State&s;man, con&s;i&s;ts not in trea&s;uring up the Common-wealth of <HI>Plato,</HI> and <HI>Xenophon,</HI> in his imagination, nor in ama&s;|&s;ing together a huge heape of politick Pre|cepts, nor in being acquainted with all the Cabales, and My&s;teries of the World, nor in the profe&s;&s;ion of great &s;ubtilties, and &s;trata|gems; for we have &s;een by the experience of all Ages, that in affairs, there is a certain &s;troak of the Divine Providence, which daz|leth all the worldly wi&s;e, di&s;armes the &s;trong, and blindeth all the mo&s;t Politick, with their own lights: for &s;wimming up and down, as they do, in the va&s;t Ocean of bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, and the infinities of rea&s;ons of their proper inven|tions, they re&s;emble bodies over-charged
<PB N="122" REF="77">
with abundance of blood, who through that great and extravagant exce&s;&s;e, finde death, in the very trea&s;ure of life. Then &s;eeking to withdraw them&s;elves, from the road of com|mon under&s;tandings, they figure to them&s;elves &s;trange &s;ubtilties, and chymera's, which are but as the Towers of the <HI>Lamiae,</HI> that <HI>Ter|tullian</HI> &s;peakes of, which no wi&s;e man did ever really believe, or will; which is the true cau&s;e that their &s;pirits floating &s;till in &s;uch a great tyde of thoughts, &s;eldom meet with a hap|py di&s;patch of affairs. Not unlike the Sun, that &s;ometimes draws up &s;uch a great quan|tity of vapours, that he cannot di&s;&s;ipate; &s;o the&s;e undertaking Politicians, do but lay up together, a va&s;t lump of bu&s;ine&s;&s;e in their braines, which their judgements can never di&s;&s;olve into any &s;ucce&s;&s;eful expedition.</P>
<P>He that will take the pains to read the lives of <HI>Otho, Vitellius, Galba, Pi&s;o, Balbinus, Floria|nus, Ba&s;ilius, Silvianus, Tacitus, Quintilius, Ma|ximus,</HI> and <HI>Michael Colophates</HI>: or behold the falls of <HI>Parmenio,</HI> under <HI>Alexander, Sejanus</HI> un|der <HI>Tiberius, Cleander</HI> under <HI>Commodus, Ab|lavius</HI> under <HI>Con&s;tantine, Eutropius</HI> under <HI>Ar|cadius, Vignius</HI> under <HI>Frederick, Brocas</HI> under <HI>Philip, Cabreca</HI> under <HI>Peter,</HI> and others of the like kind, mu&s;t find, or be wholly in&s;en&s;ible, that to rai&s;e a State, and build Fortune, as well as to con&s;erve it, we are to proceed, as his late Highne&s;&s;e did, &s;ecurely therein, with a principal eye upon the Maxims of Faith, Religion, and Hone&s;ty, unle&s;&s;e that we will
<PB N="123" REF="77">
expect, in the cour&s;e of an uncertain life, a mo&s;t certain ruin.</P>
<P>It will manife&s;tly, I &s;ay, appear, out of all Hi&s;tories, as well &s;acred as prophane, how (con|trary to <HI>Machiavillian</HI> doctrine) all they, who di&s;united from the Eternal Wi&s;dom, thought to play the Politicks and pro&s;per in Governments, Honours, and worldly Affairs, have proved but as &s;o many Icarus's, that counterfeit birds, with waxen wings, with which they may &s;oare aloft indeed, for &s;ome little time; but the lea&s;t ray proceeding from the Throne of the Lamb, will &s;ure di&s;&s;olve them to nothing, and make their heights, which they &s;o fooli&s;hly flye at, &s;erve them for no other u&s;e, but to render their falls, the more remarkable.</P>
<P>I &s;hall now onely adde, for the further con|fu&s;ion of all <HI>Machiavillians,</HI> and &s;atisfaction of good men, one excellent ob&s;ervation, out of <HI>Paulus Oro&s;ius,</HI> who, in his Book of Hi&s;tory,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Paulus Oro&s;ius, lib. <HI>1.</HI> cap. <HI>18.</HI></NOTE> dedicated to the great <HI>Augu&s;tin,</HI> remarkes, that the very tracks of our proud and politick <HI>Pharaohs</HI> Chariots, after his mo&s;t dete&s;table death, and the de&s;truction of his whole Army, remained a long time, on the &s;ands of the Red Sea, to be a preaching example to all Po&s;terity, to inform them, how dangerous a thing it is, to go about, as he did, by any State-tricks, and devili&s;h &s;ubtilties, to fight again&s;t God. Let then our Ma&s;ter <HI>Machiavillians,</HI> march on &s;till, if they think fit, among&s;t &s;o many &s;hel|ves, and precipices, not &s;o much as once open|ing
<PB N="124" REF="78">
their eyes to behold the Aby&s;&s;e, they have under their feet: So many heads cru&s;ht in pieces, under the Dvine vengeance, which lie like broken ma&s;ts, and &s;hivers of a &s;hipwrack, advanced upon the promontories of Rocks, to give notice of their deplorable events, who&s;e &s;teps they &s;till pur&s;ue. Let them look on &s;till, I &s;ay, with arms acro&s;&s;e, and dally with tho&s;e dangers, like wanton Victims, that leape and skip, between the ax and the knife, whil&s;t we the happy people of <HI>England,</HI> and all good Chri&s;tians, &s;hall fully &s;atisfie our &s;elves, in fol|lowing the examples of our two Mo&s;aical Ma|&s;ters, who u&s;ed no other line of Policy, but &s;uch as they derived from Heaven, alwayes managing their great Charges, and Govern|ment of others, by their own duties, and obe|dience to Almighty God: and that is the highe&s;t point of State-Wi&s;dom, which our &s;e|cond <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> had in its perfection: As we &s;hall &s;ee more in the 21. A&s;cent.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="16" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="125" REF="78">
<HEAD>The &s;ixteenth A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> was mo&s;t faithful, and careful, in providing able and hone&s;t Officers for the Civil Government,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 18.14.</NOTE> as well Mini|&s;ters of State, as Ju&s;tice. For his father-in law <HI>Jethro,</HI> coming to &s;ee him, and finding him to &s;it alone, to Judge the people, which &s;tood about him from the morning until evening, was much troubled at it, and gave him a true fatherly coun&s;el indeed; which was to di|vide the burden of the Government, between &s;ome &s;ufficient per&s;ons, among&s;t the people,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 19.</NOTE> that were accompli&s;ht for &s;o great a work: So <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> cho&s;e out Men of Courage, fearing God, men dealing truly, hating covetou&s;ne&s;&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 22.</NOTE> and appointed them to be Rulers over Thou|&s;ands, and over Hundreds, and over Fifties, and over Tens. Then upon tho&s;e whom he appointed Judges, he pre&s;&s;eth the point of in|corruption, thus; <HI>Wre&s;t not the Law, nor re|&s;pect any per&s;on, neither take reward</HI>;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 16.19.</NOTE> <HI>for re|ward blindeth the eyes of the wi&s;e, and perverteth the words of the ju&s;t: That which is ju&s;t and right &s;halt thou follow, that thou may&s;t live, and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e the Land, which the Lord thy God giveth
<PB N="126" REF="79">
thee.</HI> So our <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> cannot but be acknow|ledged as careful a Father of his people, as he was a faithful Deliverer, and glorious Con|ductor, or Captain-General.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="parallel">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>This was a Noble A&s;cent indeed, and not onely becoming a man of State, but &s;o high|ly nece&s;&s;ary, that our Ma&s;ter <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> him&s;elf, &s;tood in need of an Admonitor to it, and probably had not mounted it, but by the &s;age advice of his good father-in-law <HI>Jethro,</HI> as we have &s;een in the A&s;cent: which as in all the re&s;t, our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> his late Highne&s;&s;e, has &s;o exactly pattern'd, that he is to be drawn into example by all &s;ucceeding Princes, and his prudence to be adored by all Po&s;terity, as well as the pre&s;ent Age,</P>
<P>There is none, I believe, will doubt, but that it is a Soveraign and Supreme Piece of Politick vertue, to make diligent &s;earch, and inquiry into the abilities, and integrities, of all &s;uch as are to be employed, as Mini&s;ters of State, or Ju&s;tice; and this, I &s;ay, concerns not onely the Chief, but all inferiour Magi|&s;trates; for let the per&s;on in government be never &s;o great, and ab&s;olute a Ma&s;ter in all State matters him&s;elf, if he be di&s;&s;erved by tho&s;e, whom he does employ, his vertues will be but betrayed by the crimes of others, and
<PB N="127" REF="79">
expo&s;e the people to multiplied injuries. This point therefore of Politick prudence, in a Prince, is much beyond any other per&s;onal perfections,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tho. A|quin. <HI>2.2.</HI> q. <HI>58.</HI></NOTE> that may be called accompli&s;h|ments in a State&s;man, as the Learned <HI>Aquinas</HI> tells us, and gives the rea&s;on, <HI>Quia bonum com|mune praeeminet omni bono &s;ingulari</HI>; This politick vertue exceeds all others, as much as the publick good &s;urpa&s;&s;eth any particular; for he that it contented to draw him&s;elf with|in the guard of his own vertues onely, and neglect the looking into the manners of others, that are to be his in&s;truments of State, will of nece&s;&s;ity be en&s;nared in his own goodne&s;&s;e, and will &s;ignifie no more to the publick bene|fit, than tho&s;e fooli&s;h Mu&s;icians, that made all their harmony within them&s;elves, and were content to &s;ee all the World be&s;ides out of Tune.</P>
<P>This horrid negligence, has made many good Kings odious to their Subjects, and though excellent per&s;ons in them&s;elves, yet tamely &s;uffering them&s;elves to be lead by their Favourites, have fallen not onely into the re|putation, but ruin of Tyrants, and &s;tink &s;till in the no&s;trils of the people. Some great Secre|taries of Nature, as <HI>Theophra&s;tus de Plantis,</HI> and that excellent Naturali&s;t, <HI>Joannes Roellus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Theoph. de Plantis. Jo. Roel|lins.</NOTE> a&s;&s;ure us, That there is a very goodly, and profitable Plant, called <HI>Affodil,</HI> or Scepter-Royal, which breeds very bad little worms about it, that gnaw out the very heart, and peri&s;h the whole, &s;ub&s;tance of it, hiding them|&s;elves
<PB N="128" REF="80">
under the leaves, and &s;hadow of it, till &s;uch time, that getting wing, they become a kind of Butter-flie, all &s;peckled over with gay flowers, and brave it over men in the air, whom they dur&s;t hardly not long before, be|hold upon the earth. Ju&s;t &s;o, do carele&s;&s;e Kings and Princes, like this pitiful, though Rbyal Plant, cover under their fair verdure, creatures which gnaw like worms in the be|ginning, upon the &s;ub&s;tance of their Ma&s;ter, and afterwards frame them&s;elves wings, all enamell'd with glory, at the charge of the Publick, to take their flights over the heads of &s;o many Mortals, whom they look upon as &s;cornfully as if they had forgot the earth that bore them; but &s;ometime, they meet with a fall, proportionable to their flight, and their Royal Ma&s;ters and Makers, are alwayes invol|ved in inevitable ruin.</P>
<P>Our fir&s;t, and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> we &s;ee, full-well under&s;tood that danger, and have taken cour&s;e accordingly, to prevent it, by employ|ing none in Publick Charges, but men of piety, as well as parts, known integrity, as well as ability; knowing nothing to be &s;o perillous to Princely greatne&s;&s;e, as wicked Mini&s;ters, and that good Officers, mu&s;t make great State&s;men, as well as Captain-Generals. Has not, I &s;ay, our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> made out his Parallel in this, to its perfection? Was there ever &s;uch a choice, &s;ince that of the fir&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> as he has made of men of Courage, fearing God, deal|ing truly, and hating covetou&s;ne&s;&s;e, whom he
<PB N="129" REF="80">
has adopted into all the Offices about his Per|&s;on, E&s;tate, Army, or Ju&s;tice? Look back upon his Highne&s;&s;e &s;itting in his Family, and then, how can you but phan&s;ie, the beautiful Ro&s;e &s;urrounded with the fair attendance of its elegant leaves, all in a Livery? Con&s;ider him in his Council, what can you &s;ay le&s;&s;e of him, than that he was a Princely Palme, en|compa&s;t with mo&s;t &s;tately Cedars, and but re|flect upon him, in his warlike equipage, and with his Martial men about him; he will then &s;hine forth like the Sun, when glorified with his mo&s;t illu&s;trious rayes. And la&s;t of all, if we but look upon him in his power repre&s;enta|tive, and Courts of Judicature, there is not a Poet &s;ure, but would &s;ay, that his Highne&s;&s;e had Courted, Reconciled, and Reduced, <HI>A&s;traea</HI> to the earth again. <HI>Philo&s;tratus</HI> tells us, in <HI>Vita Herodis Attici,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Philo&s;t. in vita He|rod. Att.</NOTE> how that <HI>Athenian Herod,</HI> appointed four and twenty Pages for his &s;on, every one of whom, bore the Title of a Greek letter, which was written on their brea&s;ts, that &s;o he might &s;oon learn his Al|phabet, by onely calling of his &s;ervants. But our Princely Protector, and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> would have all his Officers, and In&s;truments about him, to appear to his people, like tho&s;e ancient Statues of <HI>Polycletes, Phydias,</HI> and <HI>Si|&s;ippus,</HI> of which there was not a Lineament, but was &s;aid to &s;peak. But I am too general in the application of this Parallel, and may be pardoned, I hope, if I &s;hall reduce it nearer home, by particulars: though I am &s;ure to
<PB N="130" REF="81">
incur the cen&s;ure of flattery, for it among&s;t fools: And Ile begin, with his chief Mini|&s;ter, or Secretary of State, the intelligence of his Coun&s;els, and as it were, the Angel-Guardian of his Government, who was &s;o pre|&s;ent with his great Ma&s;ter, our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> in all his actions, coun&s;ells, intere&s;ts, and de|&s;igns, as certain flowers are &s;aid to wait on the Sun, and penetrated to the very Center of his great Soul; &s;o could not but contract many of his mo&s;t Mo&s;aical perfections: He is certainly known to be, what his name renders him by Anagramm, a True Holy one, that is, a State&s;man after <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his manner: <HI>viz.</HI> fear|ing God, and dealing truly, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> a per&s;on of mo&s;t incomparable piety and parts; Prudent as a Serpent, and yet pure as a Seraphim, vertues &s;o rare in a State&s;man, that we may ju&s;tly call him, the true holy Phoenix Poli|titian of the Age.</P>
<P>I have not time, nor paper to in&s;i&s;t &s;o par|ticularly, upon every one of his Highne&s;&s;e mo&s;t honourable Privy Council; but this I can affirm, that never was a more compleat body of Council, or more exqui&s;ite compo|&s;ition, of &s;o many excellent Tempers together in the World; in&s;omuch, that we &s;ee noto|riou&s;ly in every dayes di&s;patches, how they are that perfectly, what the old Hi&s;torian <HI>Vel|leius</HI> &s;ayes of <HI>Sejanus</HI> flatteringly, That he was, <HI>Actu otio&s;is &s;imillimus,</HI> (in earne&s;t, a mo&s;t excellent character, how&s;oever of a State&s;man) that he &s;eemed in the midde&s;t of his great&s;t
<PB N="131" REF="81">
employments, as if he were idle. My Lords likewi&s;e of his Highne&s;&s;e Council, are &s;o exact|ly knowing in affairs, that it was never heard, that any of tho&s;e &s;ix common ob&s;tacles, did ever ob&s;truct their di&s;patches, which are, di&s;|order, confu&s;ion, pa&s;&s;ion, &s;ollicitude, irre&s;o|lution, and precipitation, &s;o they have done all things warily, fully, and peaceably, with|out &s;hewing the lea&s;t anxiety. They have by their great piety and prudence, kept this State &s;o well united within the bands of con|cord, and charity, that it cannot but appear to forreigners them&s;elves, as it were a little Temple of Peace, though in the very heat and hurry of War, embracing all affairs, &amp; govern|ing them, with that &s;weet temper, and equality of &s;pirit, that they re&s;emble tho&s;e active &s;pi|rits, which move the whole Heavens, not u&s;ing in them&s;elves, the lea&s;t agitation.</P>
<P>Amber-Greece is nothing &s;o &s;weet, in it &s;elf, as when it is compounded with other things, &s;o the&s;e Godly, Wi&s;e, Couragious, and, every way, Excellent Coun&s;ellours: improve them&s;elves by the communication of their coun&s;ells together, and do, (even as Flint|&s;tones, which by their proximity, do make their &s;parkles to flie) by a holy emulation which they u&s;e, in the pur&s;uite of God, not onely enlighten others, but enkindle in each others hearts, a more &s;en&s;ible, and pious ap|prehen&s;ion of God, and all good things, by a mutual reverberation: But I mu&s;t ha&s;ten; for when I have &s;aid all, that can Be &s;aid, it
<PB N="132" REF="82">
will fall &s;hort of their mo&s;t Mo&s;aical merits; So I &s;hall conclude with them, in &s;aying onely, that they are all per&s;ons, compo&s;ed accor|ding to <HI>Jethro</HI>'s character, and that when our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> adopted them into his &s;ecret coun&s;ells, we could none of us deny, nor can yet, but that it &s;eemed his late Highne&s;&s;e had drawn &s;o many Angels from Heaven, to fix them at the &s;tern of his E&s;tate; for they are all of them, as unlike their Predece&s;&s;ors, as all the World can wi&s;h them. Then, if we but con&s;ider a little, the excellent choice, his High|ne&s;&s;e has made of Commi&s;&s;ioners, and Keepers of his Great Seal, we cannot but acknowledge that they are per&s;ons, without any exception, fitted, for &s;o great a work, that carry a con|&s;tant Court of Chancery engraven in their brea&s;ts, and bear, <HI>jus aequum &amp; bonum,</HI> written in their very foreheads.</P>
<P>For the Lords Commi&s;&s;ioners of his High|ne&s;&s;e Trea&s;ury, they cannot be que&s;tioned to be of as exact a choice, and equal di&s;po&s;ition for the great Tru&s;t, &s;till men of our Mo&s;aical temper, fearing God, and dealing-truly; and &s;o we may &s;afely affirm, that our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> &s;elected Per&s;ons for that employment, as well as other, to whom he might as &s;afely have re|po&s;ed his con&s;cience, as he did his pur&s;e: Men all as honourable in their breedings, as Noble by their births, of as profound Learn|ing, and ability in the Laws, as of &s;ublime hone&s;ty and fidelity to their Country; and of a mo&s;t un&s;potted integrity, both towards God,
<PB N="133" REF="82">
and his Highne&s;&s;e, their late Mo&s;aical Ma&s;ter.</P>
<P>I &s;hould be infinite, to in&s;i&s;t upon all the par|ticular men of Honour, employed by his High|ne&s;&s;e: So I &s;hall &s;peak onely &s;omething to our Parallel of Mo&s;aical Judges, to which our pre|&s;ent A&s;cent naturally leads us, and leave the re&s;t, to be made out, by ingenuous Readers them&s;elves.</P>
<P>And fir&s;t, for that incomparable pair of my Lords the Chief Ju&s;tices, with the &s;everal Sets of ingenious and godly Judges, Attor|ny, and Solicitor-General, all his Highne&s;&s;e's Council at Law, with other Officers, and Ap|pendices, to each Court: They are all &s;uch &s;elect and eminent Per&s;ons, and indeed, the plurality of Lawyers, from the Purple, to the Sable Robe, of this pre&s;ent Age, &s;o accomp|pli&s;ht with piety, and parts, that the Divine <HI>Themis</HI> her &s;elf, will not be a&s;hamed to call her &s;elf a pro&s;titute in former Ages, and acknow|ledge this production of hers, to be onely genuin, and their generation onely own to be Legitimate; and all this we mu&s;t attribute to his late Highne&s;&s;e his mo&s;t Mo&s;aical influence. Their Lord&s;hips, I mean, tho&s;e excellent per|&s;ons in &s;upreme Judicature, are known to live the Laws, as well as to &s;ee them put in execu|tion: <HI>Evecti in excel&s;um, inde magis vitia de|&s;piciunt,</HI> as the wi&s;e <HI>Ca&s;&s;iodorus</HI> well expre&s;&s;eth it: They know that God, and his Highne&s;&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ca&s;&s;iod.</NOTE> have &s;et them on high, for no other cau&s;e, but to behold vices beneath them, which who|&s;oever does exalt, will find him&s;elf quickly
<PB N="134" REF="83">
trampled underfoot, by them, and made to drink the greate&s;t part of the poi&s;on, which he mingles for others, and he that breakes down the hedge,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccle&s;. 10.8.</NOTE> as the Scripture threatens, the Snake &s;hall &s;ting him fir&s;t. Their Lord|&s;hips, I &s;ay, have given &s;ufficient evidence to the World, that they know all this, and pra|ctice the contrary cour&s;e; They know them|&s;elves to be lookt upon, as Stars in the firma|ment; and Philo&s;ophy tells us, that the more light a body has, the more it ought to have of participation, and favourable influences, for objects, that are in a lower degree than it. <HI>Nihil vile,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ca&s;&s;.</NOTE> <HI>nihil cupidum, judices decet, claras &s;uas maculas reddunt, &s;i illi ad quos multi re&s;pi|ciunt, aliqu&acirc; reprehen&s;ione &s;orde&s;cant,</HI> &s;ayes the &s;ame excellent <HI>Ca&s;&s;iodorus,</HI> Nothing vile or covetous, becomes Judges; the &s;pots of per|&s;ons in power, are quickly &s;pyed; for they being aloft, every eye dwells upon them. We have &s;een in forreign parts, and heretofore here in <HI>England,</HI> Judges enough neglectful of their duty, and Courts of Ju&s;tice re&s;embling rather old <HI>Cyclopean</HI> Cavernes, than Temples of peace; for which we have &s;een the very fields them&s;elves weeping; nay, filled with large pools, and &s;tanding waters, gathered to|gether from the teares of Orphans, and Wi|dows, and an infinity of other per&s;ons, under oppre&s;&s;ion; and this by the wickedne&s;&s;e of &s;ome, who take delight to &s;tretch out &s;uites of Law with their tongues, as Shooe-makers do their leather, with their teeth; which
<PB N="135" REF="83">
made holy <HI>Cyprian</HI> cry out,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cyprian. Epi&s;t. ad Donatum.</NOTE> <HI>Inter leges ip&s;as delinquitur, inter jura peccatur.</HI> Innocency is &s;eldom &s;o ill treated any where, as in tho&s;e places, where profe&s;&s;ion is mo&s;t made to de|fend it: The Serpents of the De&s;art, have le&s;&s;e gall and &s;pleen, than &s;uch Serpents that make the hou&s;e of Ju&s;tice to eccho with their clamours, loud as the waves, which are heard to roare, upon the &s;hore of the <HI>Aegean</HI> Sea, and flouri&s;h in the World, as <HI>Cato</HI> tells us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cato.</NOTE> like Princely Theives, <HI>Fures privatorum furtorunt in compendibus, Publici in auro vitam agunt,</HI> &s;aith he, Gibbits, nay Wheels and Racks, are prepared for &s;ome mi&s;erable Criminals, be|cau&s;e they were yet but little Theives, who had they grown to be greater, it may be their Crimes had rather been Crowned, than cha|&s;ti&s;ed.</P>
<P><HI>Plutarch</HI> very aptly compares tho&s;e Courts,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Plut. de Curio&s;it.</NOTE> and Cities, where the&s;e raging inju&s;tices are committed, to the <GAP DESC="foreign">, tho&s;e ne|fa&s;t and fatal Portals, ill boading Doors, whereof Hi&s;tories make mention, that were never opened, but to pa&s;&s;e away bodies of condemned per&s;ons, all villany, carrion, and &s;tinking ordure. How much are we indebted in the mean time, to his late Highne&s;&s;e his pious care, and Princely provi&s;ion for us, to ad|vance onely to his Tribunals, &s;uch glorious Judges, who are them&s;elves, &s;peaking Laws, and do more right to the Publick, by their words, and examples, that all the written La|bells in the World could propagate? Men
<PB N="136" REF="84">
&s;o much of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his make, Couragious, fear|ing God, dealing truly, and hating covetou&s;|ne&s;&s;e, not wre&s;ting the Law, nor re&s;pecting per&s;ons, neither taking reward; that we may boldly affirm, that they have already put on incorruption, bearing alwayes in their minds, That great Dignities are oblgations of con|&s;cience, binding more than the chains of <HI>Me|dea</HI> to give a perfect lu&s;ter of Divinity: Happy are the people who have the Lord for their God, and &s;uch Judges and Governours &s;et over them: and this happine&s;&s;e we owe to his late Highne&s;&s;e, his mo&s;t Mo&s;aical care over us, placing over us &s;uch per&s;ons in power, that he might as well an&s;wer for, to God, as for him&s;elf; by which means we mu&s;t needs be &s;en&s;ible how he has left us a government &s;o &s;weetly &s;till e&s;tabli&s;ht, that we can compare it more properly to nothing, than to the Hal|cyons ne&s;t, which calmes the browe of Hea|ven.</P>
<P>I &s;hall conclude this Parallel therefore, with an exclamation of a mo&s;t ingenuous <HI>Scotch|man,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Parcl. Arg.</NOTE> again&s;t a &s;ort of Kings, meaning, it may be, &s;ome of his own Country: <HI>0 &s;trange and &s;illy providence of Princes,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>to keep then but a few Hawks, to have their &s;tables full of Ca|preoling Hor&s;es, as in an army of Sybarits, or not &s;peedily to repair the lo&s;&s;e of a Hound, if a wild Boar happen to kill one of them!</HI> The&s;e things, I &s;ay, not more for the u&s;e, and plea|&s;ure of Princes, than for meer o&s;tentation and &s;hew of Maje&s;ty, they hold a &s;in to
<PB N="137" REF="84">
be omitted; nay, they can wa&s;te their Gold, and &s;pend their whole Trea&s;ure, upon pitiful and ba&s;e fellows: But O, it is too too charge|able, to have a choice of brave mindes about them, here their Par&s;imony is remembred, here their Exchecquer fails: and &s;o very judiciou&s;ly proceeds to &s;hew, what choice of brave men &s;hould be about the Per&s;on of a Prince, and indeed very congruous to our Mo&s;aical character, which our great &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> has &s;o &s;trictly ob&s;erved, in tho&s;e brave &s;pirits, which he has pickt out, and preferred to have power over us; that we may &s;afely &s;ay, he has by that, as by any other of his glorious Actions, outgone the condition of mortal men; by that, he &s;ees him&s;elf alive &s;till, and in health, much better than by perfumes, and an Eagle e&s;caping from his Funeral Pile, does he &s;ee him&s;elf likewi&s;e to be deified: By this, he &s;hall triumph over time, with the applau&s;e of all men; The&s;e Per&s;ons likewi&s;e &s;hall be his Pageants to all eternity; the&s;e his rich &s;poiles of Nations, of who&s;e flowers, as it were, he has &s;o made him&s;elf a glorious Garland.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="17" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="138" REF="85">
<HEAD>The &s;eventeenth A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> was not onely curious in the choice of his Officers; but continued &s;till his own con&s;tant care over his people, and above all things, rendred him&s;elf mo&s;t remark|able, by the clemency, and mildne&s;&s;e, of his Government, tempering alwayes his &s;everity with &s;weetne&s;&s;e, and carrying his people, (like an indulgent father) as &s;ucking chil|dren in his arms,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 11.12.</NOTE> and bo&s;ome, not trampling them like &s;laves, under his feet, and inter|po&s;ing frequently between the wrath of God, and them, to &s;ave them from de&s;truction. Nay to the heighth of that, he offered him|&s;elf to be blotted out of the Book of Life, to &s;ave them,</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="parallel">
<PB N="139" REF="85">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>We have already &s;een in our former A|&s;cents, the fir&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his promptne&s;&s;e to par|don all private injuries, and offences, how great &s;oever again&s;t him&s;elf: nor &s;hall we find his great goodne&s;&s;e le&s;&s;e unwilling to pro|ceed to puni&s;hment of publick tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions them&s;elves; in&s;omuch, that we find him fre|quently de&s;iring him&s;elf to &s;uffer for his &s;ub|jects faults: alwayes carrying them in his bo|&s;ome, like children, and never impo&s;ing any hard tax or burden on them, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>A mo&s;t pious clement Prince he was indeed, and no le&s;&s;e vigorou&s;ly followed in this, than in his other Sovereign vertues, by our glori|ous &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es.</HI> Did ever any Prince in the World go more obliging wayes in his Go|vernment; than his late mo&s;t Serene High|ne&s;&s;e has done? Has he not ever &s;hewed a greater affection to &s;way the Scepter over us, than to brandi&s;h the Sword? and to govern us more by Laws, than Arms? Nay, when the Laws them&s;elves (as in many things they are mo&s;t cruel) were likely to bring a legal injury, and a ruin upon any man; how has he alwayes endeavoured to &s;weeten the rigour of them? and that not onely to do good to the innocent, but by pardoning the culpable
<PB N="140" REF="86">
them&s;elves; for very little indeed, is that Clemency to be e&s;teemed, which does onely ab&s;tain to &s;trike tho&s;e who give no offence: No, my Lord did ever con&s;ider, that mercy was made onely for the mi&s;erable, and knew that in puni&s;hing or revenging injuries, he could onely do like the men of the earth, but by gracious clemency, and practi&s;e of pardon|ing, he was to &s;hare in glory with the great Monarch of Heaven, who daily makes his Sun to &s;hine on criminal heads, as well as the mo&s;t innocent. Nay, his eminent mercy was u&s;ed to extend it &s;elf, not onely to common Malefactors, but to his mo&s;t malitious enemies them&s;elves, as we have fully &s;een: and in|deed, a mo&s;t pretious goodly &s;ight it is, and as the holy Father calls it, the mo&s;t glorious &s;pectacle in the World,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ambro&s;.</NOTE> and able to attract Angels to the Gates of Heaven to behold: It is not Theaters, nor Amphi-Theaters, Py|ramids, or the like great worldly wonders, but &s;uch a man, as knows how to do well, and bear ill, and to vindicate him&s;elf from ill, by doing well. This very Angelical &s;pectacle, mu&s;t my Lord be acknowledged to have been, by all that knew him. So throughly has his Highne&s;&s;e practi&s;ed that true, and Princely, though very tickli&s;h rule of the good Father <HI>Augu&s;tin,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">ugu&s;tin.</NOTE> <HI>Di&s;ce diligere inimicum, &s;i vis cavere inimicum,</HI> The means to pre&s;erve from ene|mies, is to love them, which agrees with the Poets policy too, who cries, <HI>&V;t ameris, ama,</HI> It is onely love, that makes to be beloved;
<PB N="141" REF="86">
and that our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> has ever taken for the &s;ure&s;t guard of his Princely greatne&s;&s;e: Nor was that the cour&s;e of his Civil, and peaceable proceedings onely; but of his very Martial.</P>
<P>How often have we &s;een him, even in the very hurry of a Victory, and heat of execution, &s;ounding a retreat to him&s;elf, and &s;heathing his &s;word in clemency, which drawn, threatned nothing but de&s;truction, and a whole deluge of blood. His well complexioned &s;oul, could never under&s;tand the temper of that Tyrant,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dio. Halic. l. <HI>5.</HI></NOTE> of whom the Hi&s;torian complains; <HI>Cum victor extiterit, lictor protinus eva&s;it,</HI> After his Victory made him&s;elf, as it were, a Hangman, but al|wayes &s;upported the opinion afore&s;aid, quoted out of <HI>Nicetus,</HI> that <HI>naturae injuriam facit,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Nicetus.</NOTE> <HI>&amp; humanitatis legem violat, qui ultra victoriam iracundiae indulget</HI>: He is a violater of all hu|manity, and injurious to very Nature it &s;elf, that can be angry beyond his Victory: but upon this we have enlarged already, &s;o I &s;hall pa&s;&s;e over it now, with &s;aying onely, that as the gracious Lord of Heaven, was plea&s;ed to e&s;tabli&s;h his Highne&s;&s;e his Throne in mercy, &s;o he alwayes guarded it &s;ecure to him&s;elf, by his Clemency; for by that, he commanded hearts, which he knew to be of much more force, than to be a Ma&s;ter of men. <HI>Omnia vi|cit qui animum expugnavit</HI>; To conquer affe|ctions, is the greate&s;t piece of victory, and that can never be obtained, but by the armes of love and &s;weetne&s;&s;e; and by tho&s;e armes
<PB N="142" REF="87">
likewi&s;e we &s;ee offenders are oftener refor|med, than by all the violence, and &s;everity of rigour: <HI>Monendo certius qu&agrave;m minando, ceden|do qu&agrave;m caedendo &s;celera interd&ugrave;m coercentur,</HI> and this accorded &s;o well, with that old piece of <HI>Ari&s;totelian</HI> Policy, <HI>Prae&s;tat mille nocentes ab&s;olvere, qu&agrave;m innocentem opprimere vel unum,</HI> Better let a thou&s;and guilty per&s;ons pa&s;&s;e un|puni&s;ht, than to injure one onely innocent; that his Highne&s;&s;e has alwayes taken it for the &s;ure&s;t ground-work of his happy government: and for this, he had not onely the example of his Ma&s;ter <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> but the very precept, and practice of God him&s;elf: for did not he com|mand our fir&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> to carry the people in his bo&s;ome, and is it not his common practi&s;e to govern the World by his mercy? of which if any &s;hould be of &s;o reprobate a judgement as to doubt, let him con&s;ult the Prophet, who tells us, <HI>that God mea&s;ures the waters with his fi&s;t, and poi&s;eth the heavens in the palme of his hand</HI>; which &s;ignifies, (according to the be&s;t Interpreters) that the Lord goes with a clo&s;e &s;hut and contracted hand to puni&s;hments, in|timated by waters, but proceeds with the whole extent of his goodne&s;&s;e to reward, that is repre&s;ented by the heavens.</P>
<P>The Rainbow, which the Lord has taken for the &s;ymbol of his reconciliation with man, and environeth the Throne of the Almighty, as we find in the <HI>Apocalyp&s;e,</HI> it is <HI>Arcus carens &s;agitt&acirc;,</HI> as holy <HI>Ambro&s;e</HI> ob&s;erves, <HI>Qui terrere magis vult, qu&agrave;m ferire,</HI> A bow without arrows,
<PB N="143" REF="87">
that is bent, more to terrifie, than to &s;trike. Nay, the Lord makes it &s;o great a matter to pardon an offender, that he will rather permit his whole E&s;&s;ence to be toucht, than his Cle|mency to be &s;o much as que&s;tioned: his very Title of Godhead to be invaded, rather than his glory of pardon. And yet our bold-faced <HI>Florentine,</HI> will go about to teach his Prince,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mach. Princ. cap. <HI>17.</HI></NOTE> to e&s;tabli&s;h him&s;elf by cruelty; as if no go|vernment &s;hould be, or could po&s;&s;ibly be made &s;ecure, that was not built on the blood&s;hed of &s;ubjects; and this he goes about to prove, by the examples of <HI>Cae&s;ar Borgia,</HI> and the &s;tern Emperour <HI>Severus,</HI> &amp;c. And then he proceeds to affirm it, for a fundamentall Maxim of State; That it is better for a Prince to be feared, than loved; for men, &s;aith this wi&s;e Secretary, do love as it plea&s;eth them, but do fear as it plea&s;eth the Prince; and therefore infers, that a wi&s;e Prince, will found him&s;elf &s;ooner, and rely &s;urer on that way, which depends on him&s;elf, than upon that which depends upon another.</P>
<P>A very &s;ubtile inference indeed, if it were po&s;&s;ible for a Prince to keep his people, &s;o perpetually under &s;till, as to make them al|wayes &s;toope to ki&s;&s;e the yoke for fear: but experience plainly proves the contrary, that no Tyrant in the World, be he never &s;o ter|rible, could, or can, &s;o keep his people under the la&s;h, but they will &s;ometimes get loo&s;e, and unyoking them&s;elves, make the effects of their forced fear, felt by the Authors of it.
<PB N="144" REF="88">
And this is apparent by the i&s;&s;ues, that mo&s;t Tyrants have found of their cruelties; as <HI>Nero, Caligula, Otho, Vitellius,</HI> and <HI>Domitian</HI>: as al&s;o <HI>Julianus, Heliogabalus, Gallienus, Max|entius, Philippus, Pocas, Carinus, Zeno,</HI> and di|vers others, who did all fini&s;h their lives, and Empires together, mo&s;t tragically by the &s;word. And truly rea&s;on it &s;elf, &s;eems clear|ly to me to prove, it mu&s;t be &s;o.</P>
<P>Does not Philo&s;ophy a&s;&s;ure us, that no vio|lence can endure long; but this kind of cruel government by fear onely, is &s;et upon the highe&s;t pitch of violence; therefore impo&s;&s;ible to be of any con&s;iderable continuance. And truly this politick The&s;is of <HI>Nicholas Machia|vells,</HI> &s;eems &s;o ab&s;urd to him&s;elf, that pre&s;ent|ly after he has a&s;&s;erted it, he begins to re|cant, and temper it thus; <HI>I grant,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>that Prince to do be&s;t, who can joyn to be feared, and loved together; but that being a thing very difficult, if not impo&s;&s;ible, to be compa&s;&s;ed,</HI> as he &s;ayes, <HI>he coun&s;els to procure fear, rather than love.</HI> Ju&s;t &s;o, he tells us, in another place, that piety is a thing impo&s;&s;ible to be in a wi&s;e Prince: Thus does our Politick Secretary &s;erve us, like a lewd ignorant Phy&s;itian, who is plea&s;ed to make the &s;ick party to di&s;pair of health, becau&s;e he cannot tell how to cure him. This mi&s;cheivous Maxim of his, he drew doubtle&s;&s;e, from the mouths of two of the greate&s;t mon&s;ters of Tyranny that ever were in the World,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sueton. in. Calig. cap. <HI>30.</HI></NOTE> and they were <HI>Caligula,</HI> who, as <HI>Suetonius</HI> tells us, did frequently u&s;urp
<PB N="145" REF="88">
that impious Proverb, <HI>Oderint dum metuant,</HI> and <HI>Tiberius,</HI> who would &s;eem to mitigate the malice of it, by &s;aying, <HI>Oderint dum probent,</HI> the one &s;aying, <HI>Let them hate, &s;o they fear,</HI> the other, <HI>Let them hate, &s;o they allow</HI>: But I am &s;o much of <HI>Machiavels</HI> mind, that the &s;eem|ing Moderator in this point, is in the greate&s;t extreme; for certainly, his eyes were never matches, that could &s;ee hatred, and approba|tion, march in couples together: and I &s;hall willingly grant &s;o much more to our <HI>Machia|villian</HI> Politicks, that &s;ome mixture of fear with love, does make the mo&s;t excellent com|po&s;ition in Government: for though the &s;tronge&s;t Citadel, or Ca&s;tle, that a King can have, be his &s;ubjects affection, and their hearts his be&s;t Trea&s;ury or Exchecquer: yet it can|not be denyed, that love without fear, quickly turns to &s;corn, and fear without love, as &s;oon converts to hatred, both equally dangerous to any Prince his e&s;tate.</P>
<P>Now, though <HI>Machiavel,</HI> and his crew, did never know how to be &s;o good Apothecaries of State: yet our prudent Patriarch, and his Parallel, our late Protector, we &s;ee under|&s;tood full well, how to make that admirable mixture; for though they were great Ju&s;ti|cers alwayes, yet never forgot to be mo&s;t lo|ving Fathers of their people, and in that &s;acred compo&s;ition, re&s;ts, not onely the my&s;tery, but the lu&s;ter of a true State&s;man,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Greg. in Job. <HI>27.</HI></NOTE> as the Great <HI>Gregory</HI> a&s;&s;ures us; who &s;ayes, that in every good Government, there mu&s;t be &s;uch a mix|ture
<PB N="146" REF="89">
made of oil and wine, that the wounds of men, may be healed in &s;uch &s;ort, that their minds may not be ulcerated with too much &s;everity, nor yet grow too remi&s;&s;e, by an ex|ce&s;&s;e or indulgence and lenity; the rod mu&s;t be u&s;ed to touch, and the &s;taff to &s;upport, and then they will both be comfortable to us, as the <HI>P&s;almi&s;t</HI> tells us: The &s;cale of Ju&s;tice mu&s;t be &s;o equally carried, that neither love &s;hould too much &s;often, nor over-great rigour tran|&s;port people into a de&s;pair.</P>
<P>This right Princely temper, I &s;ay, was perfectly under&s;tood by our gracious Patri|arch <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> the fir&s;t and greate&s;t State&s;|man in the World, and no le&s;&s;e by our glori|ous &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> his Parallel. Behold them both burning inwardly with the fire of charity towards their people, and outwardly wholly enkindled with the flames of the zeal of Ju|&s;tice: as loving Fathers, they have offered their &s;ouls to God, even to the wi&s;h To be blot|ted out of the Book of Life, to &s;ave their peo|ple; and as glorious Judges, they took the Sword in hand, and bathed it in the blood of wicked men. They have &s;hewed them&s;elves in all things, &s;uch accompli&s;ht Captains, as became couragious Magi&s;trates, and Emba&s;&s;adours from God, and admirable Mediators to him; pleading before him, the cau&s;e of their people, with prayers, and before the people, the cau&s;e of God, with their &s;words: and though there is none which can deny, but our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his zeal to Ju&s;tice was very great, a Divine
<PB N="147" REF="89">
vertue in him; yet we mu&s;t acknowledge that his benignity, man&s;uetude, and clemency were vertues more naturall, and agreeable to him, which he alwayes improved too, both by the pattern of his Ma&s;ter <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and God him|&s;elf, who as the Scripture tells us, <HI>Etiam ira|tus, mi&s;ericordiae recordatur,</HI> In his very wroth remembers mercy, and &s;hews his anger to us more often, by Thunder, Lightning, fiery Comets, blazing Stars, Storms, and Tempe&s;ts, and the like, than he makes us to feel it; nor yet &s;ends them &s;o often as we de&s;erve; which the Pagan Poet could ob&s;erve, when he told us, <HI>Si quoties peccent homines,</HI> &amp;c. If <HI>Jupiter</HI> &s;hould &s;pend his angry Thunderbolts &s;o often as men de&s;erve them, he would very &s;uddenly di&s;arme him&s;elf; but, Chri&s;tianly indeed, we may &s;ay thus, That if his Divine Maje&s;ty &s;hould di&s;arme it &s;elf of mercy, we &s;hould quickly be reduced to mi&s;ery; and therefore it was, that he commanded our <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> to fol|low his example, and carry the people in his bo&s;ome, like &s;ucking children, and loudly proclaims in his Word, that <HI>Mi&s;ericordia &amp; veritas cu&s;todiunt Regem, &amp; roboratur clementi&acirc; Thronus ejus,</HI> Mercy and Truth, are the greate&s;t guard for Kings, and Clemency is the greate&s;t &s;upport of their Thrones. All this, I &s;ay, our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> has &s;ufficiently &s;hewed him&s;elf to know and follow, and yet his Clemency has never expo&s;ed him to tho&s;e extremes before &s;poken of, to render his goodne&s;&s;e contemp|tible; no, he happily arrived at the ble&s;&s;ed
<PB N="148" REF="90">
mixture, and &s;weet compo&s;ition, that we have remarkt in our fir&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>; and alwayes ruled us according to the holy Rule given by an an|cient Father, <HI>E&acirc;, qui praee&s;t, men&s;ur&acirc;, &s;e mode|retur, quatenus &amp; arridens timeri, &amp; iratus a|mari debeat,</HI> He that is &s;et over men to go|vern them, ought to carry him&s;elf with that moderation, &s;o as to be feared, when he is plea&s;ed, and to be amiable in his very di&s;|plea&s;ure.</P>
<P>This was the very Mo&s;aical temper of our late precious Lord Protector, who had &s;o much of that Divine Art of compounding his &s;weetne&s;&s;e with &s;everity, that we may &s;afely &s;ay for truth, though a very prodigious one, that his Ju&s;tice, and his Love, (though both they are &s;aid to be blind) did yet lend one another eyes; he &s;o &s;weetned his Sword with his Love, and &s;o &s;harpened his Love with his Sword, that his very &s;everity might &s;eem to proceed from his love, and his puni&s;hments them&s;elves, put on the face of obligations. <HI>Ca&s;tigavit, non quod odio habuit, &s;ed quod ama|vit</HI>; As he reformed alwayes by his favours, &s;o were his cha&s;ti&s;ements &s;till turned into true fatherly corrections.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="18" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="149" REF="90">
<HEAD>The eighteenth A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> was not only an accompli&s;ht Prince, in all kinds of Pity and Piety, to|wards the per&s;ons of his People: but he did extend it likewi&s;e, towards their very Pur&s;es: re&s;training frequently, their abun|dancies of love, in all their contributions,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><P>Exod. 36.6.</P><P>Levit. 25.35, 36.</P></NOTE> and very liberalities, not onely towards him&s;elf, but to God. In &s;hort, he kept not the cour&s;e of common Policy, which renders Princes lit|tle better than Publicans; he exacted no|thing, but love from his &s;ubjects, nor impo&s;ed any thing upon them, but their own happi|ne&s;&s;e.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="parallel">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>We have &s;een at large, in our la&s;t A&s;cent, as well by the practi&s;e of our two Mo&s;aical Ma&s;ters, as divers other elucent arguments, that &s;ingular Axiom made good, which tells us, That <HI>dinturni magi&s;ter officii metus e&s;&s;e
<PB N="150" REF="91">
nequit,</HI> Fear alone, can never contain men in a la&s;ting duty: for otherwi&s;e the Devils policy would have more influence upon the hearts of men, than that of God him&s;elf. It is the part of every petit Mini&s;ter of Ju&s;tice, to u&s;e cruel|ty and &s;everity, but the practi&s;e of pity and clemency, (though it becomes all men) does mo&s;t properly belong to Kings, and Supreme Magi&s;trates. <HI>Regia crede mihi res e&s;t &s;uccur|rere Lap&s;is, Non alia major quaeritur arte Fa|vor,</HI> Pity, and Clemency, are Princes privi|ledges, and parts of their prerogative; Ju|&s;tice it &s;elf, can be but their duty, at mo&s;t, but the onely art of Government con&s;i&s;ts in the excellent mixture before &s;poken of, in our la&s;t A&s;cent: And therefore <HI>Alexander,</HI> being askt who was the greate&s;t Prince upon earth? an&s;wered, <HI>Qui amicos donis retinet, &amp; inimicos beneficiis amicos facit:</HI> He that holds his friends fa&s;t by curte&s;ies, and converts enemies into friends, by benefits: So dealt <HI>Augu&s;tus</HI> with <HI>Cinna,</HI> and made of a Traytor, a true Friend: And this has alwayes been the wi&s;e&s;t Kings Royal high-way; as mo&s;t particularly, of our late great Prince, and Protector, of who&s;e mo&s;t obliging wayes of Government, we have been all made &s;o &s;en&s;ible, that we may cry out,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Bernard.</NOTE> as holy <HI>Bernard</HI> did upon the like occa|&s;ion. <HI>O &s;uaves nexus, queis, animi, ob&s;equiis qua&s;i compedibus illigantur, &amp; tanquam benefi|ciorum cumulis in&s;epeliuntur</HI>: O &s;weete&s;t tyes of obligations, with which &s;ouls are fa&s;t bound as with fetters, and as it were, buried in
<PB N="151" REF="91">
heapes of benefits. His late mo&s;t Serene High|ne&s;&s;e, like that his mo&s;t exemplary Ma&s;ter, the former <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> full well con&s;idered all this, and collected, that if this were the true way to glory, for all great Ones to go in, to oblige &s;ubjects by beneficence, as we have hitherto &s;een it is; how ignominious and ugly a thing it mu&s;t needs be, in tho&s;e, that go about to pil|lage, &s;poile, and prey, upon their people, with unju&s;t Taxes, and impo&s;itions, as &s;ome ill tu|tored Tyrants have done, who have been, it may be, contented to &s;pare, nay, to com|plement the per&s;ons of their people, whil&s;t they have mo&s;t theevi&s;hly pickt and oppre&s;t their pur&s;es, &s;erving them, as <HI>Pro&s;pero Colunna</HI> did his Goo&s;e, who was &s;till plucking the old feathers, that the new ones, as he &s;aid, might grow the better; and &s;o continue to milke their people, till they draw blood from their very hearts; for they have pretty tricks, as they &s;ay, when the Cow &s;lacks, to pre&s;&s;e her nipples too. And however this was &s;aid to be the practi&s;e of a very great Politician, late in <HI>France,</HI> I mu&s;t be bold, (according to our Mo&s;aical Rule) to pa&s;&s;e my cen&s;ure on, and condemn it, as utterly unchri&s;tian, and a very unprofitable policy. Notwith&s;tanding, as I have heard, he was u&s;ed to boa&s;t. That <HI>La France e&s;t un beau Pre, qu' on tondoit trois fois la'nnee; France</HI> was a very fair Meadow, and fit to be mow'd at lea&s;t thrice a year. He al|wayes laught at that pious Principle, which called the peoples hearts, the Kings be&s;t
<PB N="152" REF="92">
Exchecquer; but reflected oftener on that Maxim, <HI>Populus aut humiliter &s;ervit, aut &s;uper|b&egrave; dominatur,</HI> The common people either mu&s;t &s;erve &s;lavi&s;hly, or will rule in&s;olently; and that they were like fire and water, Good Ser|vants, but the wor&s;t Ma&s;ters; therefore he would take a cour&s;e to keep them under, by perpetual impo&s;itions, and a pitiful poverty, and &s;o, upon the matter, made them wor&s;e than A&s;&s;es, to become meer Dromedaries, who not onely &s;ubmit to bear their heavy burdens, but humbly kneel down, to receive them: yet, by his good leave, he might have reflected &s;omething upon what that grave, learned,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Boetius.</NOTE> and eminent State&s;man, <HI>Boetius</HI> told his Gothick King <HI>Theodorick,</HI> that the com|mon people, did participate much of the na|ture of the herb called Ba&s;il, which rendreth a good plea&s;ant and whole&s;ome &s;avour, as Na|turali&s;ts informe us, if gently handled, but turns to be poi&s;onous and creates Scorpions them&s;elves when rudely chafed.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Quint. Curt.</NOTE><HI>Alexander,</HI> I am &s;ure, was commended by <HI>Quintus Curtius,</HI> and all Wi&s;e men, that have written of him, for making his &s;ubjects the keepers of his Trea&s;ure. Then <HI>Sextus Au|relius Victor,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Sext. Aurel Vict.</NOTE> tells us, that <HI>Fi&s;cus e&s;t Reipub. lien, quo cre&s;cente artus reliqui tabe&s;cunt</HI>; The Fisk or Exchecquer is the &s;pleen of the Com|mon-wealth, the over-encrea&s;e, or &s;welling of which, makes all the other members to con|&s;ume;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Claud.</NOTE> and <HI>Claudian</HI> gives the Emperour <HI>Ho|norius</HI> this great Elogy, <HI>Nec tua privatis cre&s;|cunt
<PB N="153" REF="92">
aeraria damnis,</HI> That his coffers did ne|ver encrea&s;e, by any private mans lo&s;&s;es.</P>
<P><HI>Ba&s;ilius</HI> often advi&s;ed his officers,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ba&s;ilius.</NOTE> that the money, which they were to rai&s;e for him, &s;hould not be at any time dipped either in the teares, or blood of his &s;ubjects:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cic. l. <HI>2.</HI> de Offi.</NOTE> and <HI>Cicero</HI> in his <HI>Offices,</HI> wi&s;ely premoni&s;heth all State&s;|men in tho&s;e occa&s;ions, <HI>&V;t omnes intelligant, &s;i &s;alvi e&s;&s;e velint, nece&s;&s;itati e&s;&s;e parendum</HI>: That the peoples private pur&s;es, were but &s;o to be opened, as to keep them &s;hut, and &s;afe from tho&s;e enemies, that might otherwi&s;e-&s;eize upon, and con&s;ume all.</P>
<P>I might be infinite, to &s;umme up all that has been &s;aid, by the grave&s;t and mo&s;t judici|ous men of the whole World, upon this point, and to oppo&s;e them again&s;t that <HI>French</HI> Politi|cian, but I am obliged not to digre&s;&s;e too far from our Parallel, who&s;e Mo&s;aical example onely, were enough to confute &s;o heretical a piece of policy. He &s;ufficiently knew all that &s;tuff, to be but a clear chip of the old block of <HI>Machiavel,</HI> and certainly in his own pious opinion, did very much blame, and would as willingly have redre&s;t, if he could, tho&s;e grie|vances of our neighbour-nation, as he did our own; and certainly tho&s;e coun&s;els are as un|likely to prove &s;ucce&s;&s;eful to <HI>France,</HI> as they have done to other Princes, and Provinces, where they have been practi&s;ed. I am &s;ure, that Kingdom has &s;marted for them, pretty well already, and they are in a fair way to be cau&s;es of greater confu&s;ions.</P>
<P><PB N="154" REF="93">His Mo&s;aical Highne&s;&s;e, in the mean time, was contented to follow his old Ma&s;ter <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> rather than Mr. <HI>Machiavel,</HI> and frequently has been heard to honour the judgement of that mo&s;t excellent Per&s;on, and pious Politician, <HI>Boetius,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Boetius.</NOTE> before &s;poken of, who was u&s;ed very often, to inculcate to his King <HI>Theodorick,</HI> bet|ter Principles; and once in a mo&s;t elegant Oration, after this manner, <HI>That Kings were but Gods Shepherds, and &s;o permitted to &s;heare their Flocks; not to &s;tay them. That a body over-charged, could not but &s;inke to the ground, and that there was no Tribute comparable to the precious commodities, derived from the love of &s;ub|jects. That a King was made to reign over men, not as a man, but as the Law; to bear his &s;ub|jects in his bo&s;ome, and not to trample them under his feet; to teach by his example, and not con|&s;train by force; to be a father of Citizens, and not a ma&s;ter of Slaves: That Kings were given by Heaven, for the u&s;e, and benefit of the people, and that they ought not to have &s;o much regard to the extent of their power, as not to con&s;ider the &s;tint, and mea&s;ure of their own obligations; and to handle the matter &s;o on all occa&s;ions, that the greatne&s;&s;e of their Maje&s;ty, &s;hould appear in its goodne&s;&s;e onely; and then concludes his &s;anctified coun&s;els, with a mo&s;t pious and politick Maxim, That a good Prince, ought to fear nothing &s;o much, as to be too much feared.</HI> And all this, I am &s;ure, was the Mo&s;aical policy of his late High|ne&s;&s;e, who never impo&s;ed Taxes upon, or drew blood from his people, but when driven
<PB N="155" REF="93">
by the greate&s;t nece&s;&s;ities in the world, after the pattern of his Great Prototype, our tran|&s;cending Patriarch; and that truly, I &s;hould humbly conceive to be enough (without re|&s;pect to the precepts or practi&s;es of any other, though the godlie&s;t, grave&s;t, and wi&s;e&s;t, per|&s;ons, in all Ages, as we have &s;een) to con|vince, any phanatical <HI>Florentine,</HI> or <HI>French</HI> Politician what&s;oever, under who&s;e depraved Policies, we find all Cities, and Countries, that are &s;ubjected to them, &s;till pitifully com|plaining, the rigourous concu&s;&s;ions, that they yet feel, to &s;atisfie with their &s;weat and blood, the avarice of &s;ome cur&s;t particular Officers, who are notwith&s;tanding as greedy as fire, and more in&s;atiable than the Aby&s;s, or Hell it &s;elf.</P>
<P>But I &s;hall forbear at pre&s;ent, to pro&s;ecute this di&s;pute any further; for I conceive by what is already &s;aid, there is no &s;ober Chri|&s;tian, but will conceive, that <HI>Cyclopaean</HI> piece of policy, is &s;o far from being Mo&s;aical, pro|fitable to, or becoming the dignity of, a Chri|&s;tian Prince, that it mu&s;t be ab&s;olutely con|trary, and de&s;tructive, both to Prince and people; nay, fitter to be &s;tiled Barbari&s;me, than a Civil Government. So I hope, we may now &s;ecurely proceed, to the conclu&s;ion of our precious, and happy Parallel. And as for this great point of Piety, in not pre&s;&s;ing upon the peoples pur&s;es, or &s;queezing their e&s;tates, &s;o remarkable in our former <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> there is no man &s;ure, &s;o perver&s;e, as to deny
<PB N="156" REF="94">
our &s;econd, to be his perfect Parallel; for though, <HI>Bella &s;u&s;tent antur pecuniarum abundan|ti&acirc;,</HI> as <HI>Diony&s;ius Halicarna&s;&s;aeus</HI> tells us, The &s;upport of all Wars,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dion. Ha|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">icar. lib. <HI>6.</HI> Tacit. An|nal. <HI>13.</HI></NOTE> is from a great trea&s;ure, and plenty of money; and what <HI>Tacitus</HI> ob|&s;erves, is mo&s;t certain, that <HI>Di&s;&s;olvitur impe|rium, &s;i fructus quibus Res-Pub. &s;u&s;tinetur, dimi|nuantur,</HI> There is no State or Kingdom can continue long, without a certain, and a large revenue; yet his late Mo&s;aical Highne&s;&s;e, has been ever &s;o tender of intrenching upon the particular pur&s;es of his people, to &s;upply tho&s;e publick occa&s;ions of State, that he has been almo&s;t guilty of tran&s;gre&s;&s;ing in the other ex|treme, by permitting the General good to be neglected, at lea&s;t, to &s;uffer &s;ome prejudice for want of it. Much le&s;&s;e &s;ure, can any &s;uch thing as unju&s;t coveting, or craving of other mens e&s;tates for him&s;elf, be objected to him, which mo&s;t of his malitious adver&s;aries, before mentioned, have been guilty of, in the highe&s;t degree. Their fingers were like Talons, and Claws of Harpies, to &s;cratch and &s;crape what they could for them&s;elves: His hand and heart were alwayes open to do good to o|thers, as appeared by his manifold charities, in the relief of the poor, e&s;pecially &s;uch as were made &s;o by the &s;ad di&s;tre&s;&s;e of War; and I dare &s;ay, his expen&s;e that way, has been far greater, than all the &s;harers of the Church and Kingdoms &s;poiles put together, have di&s;|bur&s;t.</P>
<P>There was a notable In&s;cription upon one
<PB N="157" REF="94">
<HI>Gillias,</HI> as <HI>Valerius Maximus</HI> tells us.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Val. Max. l. <HI>4.</HI> c. <HI>8.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Quod Gillias po&s;&s;idebat, omnium qua&s;i commune patri|monium erat, hic ip&s;ius liberalitatis praecordioe habuit, &amp; domus ejus qua&s;i quaedam munificentiae officina fuit</HI>: What <HI>Gillias</HI> had, was the po&s;&s;e&s;|&s;ion of all mankind; this man had his heart, and entrails, compo&s;ed even of charity it &s;elf, his hou&s;e was a &s;hop of bounty; and all this &s;ure, was never more applicable to any per|&s;on, than to his late Mo&s;aical Highne&s;&s;e, who&s;e hands were ki&s;t by millions, when he was alive, in acknowledgement that they were the gra|cious di&s;tributors of &s;o many ble&s;&s;ings, and his grave, now he is dead, will be &s;prinkled with as many flowers, in gratitude for the pre&s;er|vation of &s;o many lives. His bounty, I &s;ay, was a mo&s;t eminent vertue in him, ever hold|ing with <HI>Ca&s;&s;iodorus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ca&s;&s;iod. l. <HI>1.</HI> Ep. <HI>19.</HI> Idem. l. <HI>1.</HI> Ep. <HI>16.</HI></NOTE> that <HI>Periculo&s;i&s;&s;ima res e&s;t in imperante tenuitas,</HI> That narrowne&s;&s;e of &s;oul, and griping hands, were the mo&s;t peril|lous qualities that could appear in a Prince; and with the &s;ame excellent Writer conclu|ded likewi&s;e, that <HI>Regnantis facultas fit ditior, cum remittit, &amp; acquirit nobiles the&s;auros famae, neglecta utilitate pecuniae,</HI> A Kings Trea&s;ure is encrea&s;ed by giving, and forgiving, and the le&s;&s;e money he plucks into his Exchecquer, the more glory he carries about his Court.</P>
<P>Did his mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e ever draw any thing from private men, but in order to their own pre&s;ervation? He never de&s;ired, or &s;tudied, any thing more, than that we &s;hould be &s;afe, nor never &s;ought ours, but us.
<PB N="158" REF="95">
He never accounted him&s;elf rich, but when his people were &s;o, making their hearts, as that great <HI>Alexander</HI> did, his be&s;t Exchec|quer.</P>
<P>In fine, what was once &s;aid of <HI>Hadrianus Cae&s;ar,</HI> mu&s;t be acknowledged to be his High|ne&s;&s;e his mo&s;t e&s;pecial Character, <HI>Sic &s;uum &s;emper ge&s;&s;it Principatum, ut res &s;it Populi tota, non &s;ua,</HI> What&s;oever he has done in his Go|vernment, has been more for our advantage, than his own; he has not onely forborne to burden us him&s;elf, but has mo&s;t mercifully re|lea&s;ed us, from many of the heavy Taxes, that were impo&s;ed upon us, by our terrible Task|ma&s;ters of the long Parliament, and like a true Soul of Honour, never &s;ought for any other recompen&s;e of his great Actions, than the glory of doing well, and the private &s;atis|faction of his own con&s;cience. Thus are hearts gained here, and Crowns of immorta|lity hereafter. Thus truly is Heaven it &s;elf obliged, and Earth made tributary to vertue: for by that means, he has rendred him&s;elf to be truly that, which was &s;aid of <HI>Octavianus Cae&s;ar, Deliciae humani generis,</HI> The love and delight of all mankind, which cannot but more and more appear to us, as we proceed to mount higher upon our Mo&s;aical A&s;cents and Parallels.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="19" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="159" REF="95">
<HEAD>The ninteenth A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> was a mo&s;t exemplary per&s;on, in all manner of Piety towards God; a duty mo&s;t becoming a great Prince, to be highly zealous for the true honour, and Di|vine wor&s;hip of his Almighty Maker, the Lord of Heaven and Earth. And this plainly ap|peared, not onely in his frequent &s;preading of his hands, and &s;ometimes falling down upon his face before the Lord;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. Levit. Num. Deut.</NOTE> and pro&s;tration we know, is the highe&s;t part of Religious wor|&s;hip; but al&s;o in his mo&s;t indefatigable pains, &s;peedy care, and expedition, in preparing of the Tabernacle, with all its appertinencies, and providing offerings for it.</P>
<P>Then in his punctual and preci&s;e care,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 25.</NOTE> for the ordering of the particular Ceremonies,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 28.</NOTE> and Circum&s;tances of Divine Service, to the very Garments of <HI>Aaron,</HI> the <HI>&V;rim,</HI> and the <HI>Thummim,</HI> and the Con&s;ecration of Prie&s;ts.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 29.</NOTE></P>
<P>Then in the con&s;titution of many mo&s;t co&s;t|ly and reverent Sacrifices,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lev. 2.</NOTE> as the continual Burnt-offering, the Meat-offering,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lev. 3.4, 5.</NOTE> the Peace-offering, the Sin-offering, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="160" REF="96"><NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 30.</NOTE>Then in his erection of the Altar of Incen&s;e, his appointment of the cour&s;e, for the ran&s;om of Souls, for the making of the holy annoint|ing Oil, the manner of making, with the in|gredients, for the compo&s;ition, of the holy Perfume.</P>
<P>Then in taking order, for an infinity of o|ther Rights, Ceremonies, and holy Fea&s;ts; as the Fea&s;t of Pa&s;&s;eover, the Fea&s;t of Weeks, the Fea&s;t of Trumpets, and the Fea&s;t of Ta|bernacles, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Finally, giving the people &s;uch a Law, &s;o &s;olemn, and &s;o &s;trict, in the Service of the Lord, as if they &s;hould have no|thing almo&s;t el&s;e to do, but to render their duty to the Omnipotent, and &s;pend all their time,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Levit. Num. Deut.</NOTE> in paying him the honours of a glorious Service, as is to be &s;een at large, throughout his Sacred Writings.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="parallel">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>If we look upon the Piety of this our Great Patriarch, or his happy Parallel, our late Lord Protector, in the large&s;t extent of it, we &s;hould find it, as boundle&s;&s;e as the Sea, and our &s;elves &s;wallowed up, in the contemplation of it; So we have re&s;trained our &s;elves, to the di&s;cour&s;e of that part of their piety onely, which has relation to God-ward, and a true zeal to his holy Wor&s;hip: And fir&s;t we find
<PB N="161" REF="96">
our Patriarch &s;o &s;evere and punctual in all his performances, that he would have the lea&s;t omi&s;&s;ion of a puntillo of them, to be a mortal, at lea&s;t a capital &s;in, the offender being to be cut off from the World, or from communion with the people: and &s;o &s;umptuous he was in his appointed wor&s;hip, that all the World might &s;ee, that he thought nothing too co&s;tly for a bare ceremony of Divine Service, and that the people &s;hould take notice, that, the All they had, was from the Lord, to whom they were to pay back &s;o large a proportion in Sacrifice. A mo&s;t Royal, Stately, and Magnificent, manner of Wor&s;hip it was,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Levit. Num. Deut.</NOTE> which every man mu&s;t acknowledge that reads the &s;everal &s;olemnities in&s;tituted by him in tho&s;e ble&s;&s;ed Books, and worthy of the &s;pirit of &s;o great a Prince, Prophet, and Patri|arch, as our great <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was.</P>
<P>Now, has our glorious &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> &s;hew|ed le&s;&s;e Religious zeal, or true Princely piety towards God? or le&s;&s;e extraordinary care, and pious curio&s;ity, in providing for the ho|nour, &s;plendour, wor&s;hip, and &s;ervice of his Holy Name? No his Mo&s;aic Highne&s;&s;e, full well knew, that if all the mountains of the World, were ama&s;&s;ed into one, and all the woods of the Earth made into one Libanus, and were &s;et on fire, and all the bea&s;ts of a thou&s;and fields and forre&s;ts were turned into victims, for his Sacrifices, they would be all as nothing in value, in re&s;pect of his heavenly Maje&s;ty: and if all the voices of men were
<PB N="162" REF="97">
tuned into one, and that one voice, &s;o mu|&s;ically made, could &s;peak like Thunder, and be heard loudly to proclaim from Pole to Pole, the glory of the Almighty, it could not be &s;ufficient &s;o re&s;ound his holy prai&s;es.</P>
<P>To this purpo&s;e it was, that his Highne&s;&s;e, was plea&s;ed frequently to approve that wor|thy and ingenious fancy of <HI>Philo</HI> that great and Learned <HI>Jew,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Philo Ju|daeus in Planta Noe.</NOTE> who has a Story, though in it, may be, nothing at all of verity, yet I am &s;ure, the morality of it, is very excellent.</P>
<P>This great man, in a Book of his called <HI>Noe</HI>'s <HI>Plant,</HI> relates as a certain tradition of the Sages of his Nation, from the very beginning of the World; <HI>That God the Creator, after that he had formed this goodly Globe of the &V;ni|ver&s;e, and compo&s;ed it as a glorious Scutcheon of his own immen&s;e Greatne&s;&s;e, a compendium or contracted table of his chiefe&s;t Titles, and a per|fect Mirrour, of his Divine Wi&s;dom and Power: demanded of tho&s;e ble&s;&s;ed Spirits about him, which were the Angels (it may be then in glory) what they thought, of that great piece of Work? upon which, one among&s;t the heavenly throng, after he had very highly commended, the curious Archi|tecture of the &V;niver&s;e, acknowledging it to be a mo&s;t compleat Fabrick in all things, but one, and that one thing, he &s;aid, was wanting to the per|fection of &s;o goodly a Frame, which he required as a noble Seal, to &s;et upon &s;o incomparable a Piece. What is that, &s;aid the Eternal Father? I would de&s;ire, replyed the holy Spirit, That there might be a &s;trong, powerful, and penetrating har|monious
<PB N="163" REF="97">
voice, which borne upon the wings of the winds, &amp; Coaches of the clouds, and Charioted tho|rough the air, might repleni&s;h all the parts of the World, with an applau&s;e of &s;o accompli&s;ht a Piece of Work, and ince&s;&s;antly to eccho forth both night and day, the glories of God, with prai&s;es and thanksgivings for his Divine Maje&s;ties mo&s;t ine|&s;timable benefits.</HI></P>
<P>This Story truly may pa&s;&s;e very well, for a pretty invention at lea&s;t, and not unworthy of an Angelical &s;pirit, that was zealous for the honour and glory of the Lord, his Ma&s;ter and Creator. Yet by the leave of this good &s;pirit, I mu&s;t be bold to &s;ay, that his exception, if we take it as &s;o, was in &s;omething very frivo|lous; or his Complement, if we take it as &s;o, was over-officious. For fir&s;t, the Almighty had &s;ufficiently provided, again&s;t that pre|tended defect, in compo&s;ing the World, in the frame chat we behold, as a fair large Clock; and then proportionably giving to man the place, which this cele&s;tial and critical &s;pirit &s;eemed to require. Now, that this great Clock of the Univer&s;e, &s;hould be alwayes in tune, to his &s;ervice, and Divine di&s;po&s;ition, he has laid his particular commands and or|ders upon each wheel, and pin, to do their parts. The fir&s;t wheel of this grand Clock, is that <HI>primum mobile,</HI> which we find in Philo&s;o|phy, the continual motion, and the &s;ecret in|fluencies of antipathies, and &s;ympathies, which lie, as it were hidden, in the bowels of Nature. The hand of this univer&s;al Horologe, is that
<PB N="164" REF="98">
goodly embowed piece of checkerwork, and frettizing of the heavenly Orbes, which we be|hold with our eyes. The twelve Signs in the Zodiack, &s;erve, as it were, for di&s;tinctions of the twelve hours of the day. The Sun it &s;elf, exerci&s;eth the office of the &s;teel, and gnomon, to point out time to us, and in its ab&s;ence the Moon: the other Lights and Stars, contri|bute thereto, their lu&s;trous brightne&s;&s;e. The Sea gives in the azure of its waves for orna|ment; as al&s;o the Earth produceth its varie|ties of herbs, flowers, and fruits, for enamel of the out&s;ide, and its whole body, for a per|fect counter-poi&s;e: its &s;tony Quarries, Mettals, and Minerals, for to exerci&s;e the wi&s;e&s;t, and learned&s;t Naturali&s;ts, in the &s;earch and know|ledge of this great Creator: The le&s;&s;er and inferiour animals, are the &s;mall chimes; and Man him&s;elf, is the great Clock, which is to &s;trike, the &s;everal hours, and &s;o perpetually to render thanks, honour, glory, prai&s;e, &s;ervice, and wor&s;hip, to this Almighty Maker.</P>
<P>And the mo&s;t vocal Clock to celebrate the prai&s;es of his Creator, (that the&s;e later Ages have produced) was this Man of men, our mo&s;t pious late Lord Protector.</P>
<P>All this, I &s;ay, his Highne&s;&s;e knew full well, as our great Patriarch, his Prototype did, and the nece&s;&s;ity too, that there was on the peo|ples parts, to give the mo&s;t gracious Lord of Heaven and Earth all adoration due to him; wherefore we find, how he enjoyned &s;uch &s;o|lemne ob&s;ervancies upon them, which though
<PB N="165" REF="98">
but barely typical, and ceremonial; yet were hugely nece&s;&s;ary to &s;trike a reverend dread of the Divine Maje&s;ty, into &s;o rebellious a peo|ple.</P>
<P>Our Princely Patriarch therefore, and his Parallel, our late Lord Protector, knowing them&s;elves (as all other Rulers, and per&s;ons in power are) to be &s;et upon Pinacles, to change their words into Laws, and lives into Examples, were the fir&s;t and foremo&s;t always, in the practi&s;e of this, and all other piety. The lives of Princes (they knew) are more read, than their laws, and generally more practi&s;ed; yea, their examples pa&s;&s;e altoge|ther as current as their coin, and what they do, they &s;eem to command to be done; cracks in gla&s;&s;es, though pa&s;t mending, are no great matters, but the lea&s;t flaw in a Diamond, is hugely con&s;iderable; yea, their per&s;onal faults, become National injuries. It is held by the Learned&s;t among&s;t the Ancients, that when the Sun &s;tood &s;till in the time of <HI>Jo&s;hua,</HI> the very Moon, and all the Stars, did make the like pau&s;e; &s;o all Princes, and Gover|nours, who&s;e &s;pirit is the fir&s;t wheel, where|unto all the other are fa&s;tned, it is nece&s;&s;ary &s;hould give a good and godly motion.</P>
<P>Our &s;acred &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> therefore found him&s;elf (as his Princely Archetype before him did) obliged to be exemplary to his people, in all kindes of piety, propo&s;ing no Highne&s;&s;e to him&s;elf, equal to that, which he enjoyed in his humiliation before his God: he never
<PB N="166" REF="99">
found him&s;elf well at ea&s;e, but when he was paying tho&s;e duties of piety, prai&s;e, honour, and glory, reverend &s;ervice, and wor&s;hip, to his Divine Maje&s;ty. In&s;omuch, that we may more truly &s;ay of him, that which the Pagan Orator &s;aid of his Emperour,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Plin.</NOTE> <HI>Sanctiores effe|cit ip&s;os Deos, exemplo &s;uae venerationis</HI>; He made the gods them&s;elves more holy, by the example of his pious wor&s;hip: that is, he gave a reverence extraordinary to Religion, by his manner of &s;erving it. The verity of this is evi|dent, for we find that he has &s;o happily in|flamed all his people about him, and &s;uch as well &s;tudied him, to &s;o high a pitch of piety, by his mo&s;t exemplary good words, and works, that we can e&s;teem them no otherwi&s;e, than as Thunder-claps to Hindes, for the powerful production of Salvation.</P>
<P>His Highne&s;&s;e was unque&s;tionably one of the greate&s;t patterns of Princely piety that ever the World produced, &s;ince that of our fir&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es.</HI> He had &s;o great a fear of the Lord, that he apprehended the lea&s;t &s;hadow of &s;in, as death. Then he had a love &s;o tender to|wards his God, that his heart was alwayes as a flaming lamp, that burnt perpetually before the Sanctuary of the living Lord. His faith had a bo&s;ome as large, as that of eternity, his hope was as the bow of Heaven, ail furni&s;ht with Emralds, which can never loo&s;e its force, more than they their lu&s;ter, and &s;o his piety mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity have been an eternal &s;ource of ble&s;&s;ings. His care to gather, together &s;o many
<PB N="167" REF="99">
living-&s;tones, for the edification of Gods hou&s;e, (that is to &s;ay, &s;o many good, godly, and re|ligious men) has been more than all theirs, that have heapt together &s;o many dead ones, in &s;tately piles of Temples. Finally, his whole heart, we know, was perpetually towards God; his feet were ever walking towards the Church, or his other devout retirements: his armes were perpetually employed in all manly and pious exerci&s;es, and works of cha|rity; and his whole body, was mo&s;t dutifully di&s;po&s;ed to the &s;acrifices and victims of his &s;oul; and both his &s;oul, and body, with all his faculties, were a con&s;tant Holocau&s;t to the Lord: In&s;omuch, that neither all the cares and confu&s;ions of this World, nor multiplicity of affairs, that he has been ever involved in, have been at all able to withdraw any part, or parcel of him, from the cour&s;e of true piety; but he has alwayes appeared in the mid&s;t of all tho&s;e encombrances, as tho&s;e &s;weet Foun|tains (which we read of) that are found in the &s;alt-&s;ea, or tho&s;e happy fi&s;hes, that do &s;till pre&s;erve their plump white &s;ub&s;tance, fre&s;h and free from the infection of all the bracki&s;h waters that they live in: his pious &s;pirit could be never &s;o much di&s;turbed, as to be extin|gui&s;ht, or taken off, from the refre&s;hment of his devotions; as we &s;hall &s;ee more at large in our next A&s;cent, and happy Parallel.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="20" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="168" REF="100">
<HEAD>The twentieth A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> was endowed by God, with a mo&s;t &s;ingular gift, and &s;pirit of prayer, by which he was extraordinary powerful with the Lord, and prevailed with him, almo&s;t how he plea&s;ed. We find in the &s;acred Text, that he had &s;o great a familiarity with the Lord, that he was called the friend of God: it is no wonder then, that he &s;hould be en|dowed with &s;o extraordinary a &s;pirit of pray|er, the onely means to communicate with the Almighty, and violently per&s;wade him to di|vert his indignation from his people.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 8. Exod&punc; 9. Exod. 10.</NOTE>Fir&s;t let us &s;ee, how by the power of our <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his prayers, and by the frequent &s;pread|ing of his hands, before, and crying unto, the Lord, all the plagues that were inflicted upon hard-hearted <HI>Pharaoh</HI> him&s;elf, and his per|ver&s;e people, were graciou&s;ly removed.</P>
<P>By the &s;ame powerful means, does he ap|pea&s;e the great anger of the Lord, kindled a|gain&s;t his own rebellious people, for their fre|quent murmurings and clamorous repinings again&s;t him&s;elf, and his &s;ervant <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> impute|ing con&s;tantly no le&s;&s;e than murder, ba&s;e am|bition,
<PB N="169" REF="100">
and malitious de&s;igns, unto him: yet for all that, the Lord confers nothing but mi|racles upon them, at the importunity of our <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his prayers. And fir&s;t, he makes bitter waters &s;weet, for &s;uch un&s;avory &s;inners,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 15. Exod. 16. Exod. 17.</NOTE> as they were: then he procures bread to fall down from heaven, as from a repleni&s;ht Oven, to fill their rebellious bellies: Then no le&s;&s;e than a &s;tony-rock, yet not &s;o hard as their ob|durate hearts, mu&s;t be &s;et on broach, and made to afford a River of water, to &s;atisfie their contumacious thir&s;ts. In &s;hort, our <HI>Mo|&s;es</HI> prevailed &s;o often with his prayers, to mol|lifie the Lords di&s;plea&s;ure again&s;t them, that one would think that reades the Story, there had been a vy, between mercies, and rebel|lions, and a &s;harp contention between the Lord, and them, whether they &s;hould offend, or he forgive oftene&s;t.</P>
<P>Then &s;ee the unnatural &s;edition of his bro|ther <HI>Aaron,</HI> and his companion <HI>Miriam,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 12.</NOTE> and her lepro&s;ie cured by his prayer: But there is one thing yet, that we may well in&s;tance in for all, when the peoples inveteratene&s;&s;e in &s;in, had added idolatry, to all their other di&s;|obediences, and made them&s;elves wor&s;e than bea&s;ts, in rendering the honours due to God alone, to a pitiful creature of their own make|ing, a gay Golden Calf for&s;ooth; and the Lord was &s;o highly offended with them, that he would have utterly de&s;troyed them all for it: then our <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> betook him&s;elf again to this his tryed weapon of prayer, and openly
<PB N="170" REF="101">
a&s;&s;aults the Lord &s;o with his clo&s;e arguments, expo&s;tulations,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 32.11.</NOTE> and importunities, as if he had been fencing with him, be&s;eeching him, after this mo&s;t earne&s;t, and humble manner, <HI>Lord, why doth thy wroth wax hot again&s;t thy people,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 12.</NOTE> <HI>which thou ha&s;t brought forth of the Land of Egypt with a great power,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 13.</NOTE> <HI>and with a mighty hand? wherefore &s;hould the Egyptians &s;ay, for mi&s;chief did he bring them out,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 14.</NOTE> <HI>to &s;lay them in the moun|tains, and to con&s;ume them from the face of the earth? Turn thee from thy fierce wroth, and re|pent thee of this evil again&s;t thy people; Re|member</HI> Abraham, I&s;aac, <HI>and</HI> I&s;rael, <HI>thy &s;er|vants, to whom thou &s;ware&s;t by thine own &s;elf, and &s;aid&s;t unto them; I will multiply your &s;eed, as the Stars of Heaven, and all this Land that I have &s;poken of, will I give unto your &s;eed, and they &s;hall inherit it forever.</HI> Then the Text immediately following, tells us, <HI>That the Lord repented him of the evil, which he thought to do unto his people.</HI></P>
<P>And when the Lord was angerly re&s;olved at another time utterly to extirpate the people, for their ince&s;&s;ant rebellions, <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> made &s;uch another,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 14.</NOTE> though &s;omething longer, yet no le&s;&s;e effectual, prayer, to the Lord for them, and the Lord, as if he had been able to deny his <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> nothing, or as if (with reverence be it &s;poken) good <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his word, had been a Law unto him, he pre&s;ently replied, <HI>I have pardoned them according to thy word</HI>: nay, how often has the Lord de&s;ired <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> to let him alone, as if he had been &s;truggling with him, and tyr'd with
<PB N="171" REF="101">
the importunity of his prayer. It would make another Book of <HI>Numbers,</HI> to recount the particular Deliverances, which that di&s;obe|dient people had from the Divine wrath, how often from being con&s;umed by fire, and eaten up by fiery Serpents, and the like, by our <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his mo&s;t powerful, and importunate prayers: as al&s;o their many miraculous Vi|ctories over their enemies; all of which, were obtained, more by his prayers, than their for|ces: as particularly in the defeat of the <HI>Ama|lekites,</HI> who were vi&s;ibly more conquered, by the holding up of his hands, than by their dextrous managery of armes; our <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his ble&s;&s;ings upon, and prayers for, them, being of more force again&s;t the enemy, and gave them more deadly blows, than all their Cuttleaxes, and warlike Engins.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="parallel">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>By &s;o much as has been &s;hewed in our A|&s;cent, of our <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his happy power in prayer, I doubt not, but it does plainly appear, how great a pre&s;ervation it was, to that perver&s;e people, to have a Prince and Captain over them, that had &s;o familiar an addre&s;&s;e unto God: and I hope it will never more be called in que&s;tion, by any knowing Chri&s;tian, whe|ther that Divine gift of prayer, be a qualifi|cation
<PB N="172" REF="102">
equal to the dignity, or requi&s;ite to the profe&s;&s;ion of a Prince? though I know, &s;ome of our Modern Politicks, have impiou&s;ly gone about to di&s;pute that too; whom for &s;hame I &s;hall forbear to name, though I'le be bold to give the World, the ungodly words of one of the Principal of them. <HI>Non &s;uadeo Principi, &s;tupenda in fanis latitatione, neglectis iis quorum cura eum maxime &s;olicitum tenere debet, omne otium conterere, aut &s;anctuli nomen, ge&s;tu&s;ve af|fectare: bonus animus grati&s;&s;imus Deo cultus e&s;t: &amp; optim&egrave; orat, qui officio gnaviter functus patriae in|columitatem procur averit, unde tot hominum &s;a|lus dependet,</HI> &amp;c. Now, not to trouble you with a literal tran&s;lation (for I hold the words not worth it) he tells us, That he would not have a Prince addicted to too much De|votion; nor to affect to be a little Saint: he &s;ayes his prayers be&s;t (quoth he) that does his bu&s;ine&s;&s;e happilie&s;t, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>It is in my opinion, a very pitiful, vain, and a fal&s;e pre&s;umption, that this Gentleman makes, and never indeed can be brought into que&s;tion, by any di&s;creet, or &s;ober Chri&s;tian, whether a Prince &s;hould be &s;o addicted to De|votion, as to intend no other bu&s;ine&s;&s;e at all? that were a madne&s;&s;e in any private per&s;on, much more then mu&s;t it be in any man that is concerned in the publick: for be&s;ides the incon&s;i&s;tency of &s;uch a Devotion, with every mans particular vocation, (which God has commanded likewi&s;e to be followed) it is altogether in its own &s;elf, unacceptable to
<PB N="173" REF="102">
God: Otherwi&s;e we &s;hould enter into Reli|gion, as if we were to be lifted upon a rack, to be tortured; and I &s;ay be&s;ides, it is an injury to the Lord him&s;elf, to think, there can be no true piety or devotion in the World, if our bodies be not torne in pieces, and our &s;pirits quite beaten down. And therefore <HI>Gilbertus</HI> a great Doctor, writing upon that &s;entence of <HI>Paul</HI> to the <HI>Crinthians,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Doctor <HI>Gilbertus.</HI> 1 Cor. 6.</NOTE> <HI>Glorificate &amp; portate Deum in Corpore ve&s;tro,</HI> Glorifie and bear God in your bodies, makes this mo&s;t elegant, and remarkable ob&s;ervation: <HI>You mu&s;t bear Je&s;us Chri&s;t, not drag him, Portari vult Chri&s;tus non trahi,</HI> So he proceeds, <HI>Non e&s;t foenum Chri&s;tus, &s;ed flos campi, &amp; fa&s;ciculus mirrhae, inter ubera &s;pon&s;ae,</HI> &amp;c. Now, he plainly drags him, who makes him&s;elf &s;urcharged with him, and who indi&s;creetly afflicts him&s;elf in the &s;ervice that he rendereth to the Divine Maje&s;ty, not con|&s;idering that Je&s;us Chri&s;t is the flower of the field, or the poe&s;ie of mirrh, between the brea&s;ts of the Spou&s;e, and not a load of hay, to be drawn, under which we mu&s;t needs groan, like a wheel ill-grea&s;ed.</P>
<P>This was &s;o fooli&s;h a &s;uper&s;tition, and &s;o old a one, that the Philo&s;opher him&s;elf, a Pagan,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Senec. Epi&s;t. <HI>114.</HI></NOTE> could not but find fault with, when he &s;aid, <HI>Super&s;titio amandos timet, quos colit, violat.</HI> It is a very fond &s;uper&s;tition indeed, &s;aith this wi&s;e Pagan, and rai&s;ed by &s;imple people one|ly, which through a gro&s;&s;e errour, fears, what it &s;hould love by vertue, and very &s;carcely can have any knowledge of, or approach to God,
<PB N="174" REF="103">
but by violating his Clemency (a thing mo&s;t hateful to him) through a fal&s;e pre&s;umption of his &s;everity. They mu&s;t be very &s;illy &s;ouls indeed, and have very little or no feeling of the Divinity, that can apprehend God (whom we know to be infinitely merciful) to be as terrible as a Minos, or a Radamanthus, men|tioned in poetical Fables, who were alwayes repre&s;ented in tho&s;e fictions, to be mo&s;t &s;pite|ful deities, to come and pry into all humane actions, to number all mens &s;teps, and taking plea&s;ure to prepare puni&s;hments for them, were wont to rai&s;e them&s;elves Trophies, upon poor mens ruines.</P>
<P>It would be a very pretty piece of Chri|&s;tianity, one would think, now to be preached, That devotion, and all labours in Religion, &s;hould be undertaken by us, without any re|laxation, perpetual di&s;turbances undergone by Chri&s;tians, without any repo&s;e, and mi&s;e|ries without any remedy, or comfort at all. Sure this mu&s;t be thought the extreme of all extremes; and yet our Modern Politicks will &s;uppo&s;e, &s;o &s;otti&s;h a devotion as this, that they may the better lay their foundation, of a wretched incuriou&s;ne&s;&s;e in Religion, and pro|phane neglect of that Divine duty. But I mu&s;t not make it my bu&s;ine&s;&s;e now, to enter the li&s;ts formally, with that &s;ort of people (who we know are accu&s;tomed upon all occa&s;ions, to throw dirt in the very face of the Deity it &s;elf) for I have another way to go at pre&s;ent, and &s;o will ha&s;ten to our Parallel.</P>
<P><PB N="175" REF="103">For my part, I am fully &s;atisfied, and &s;o I hope, will be every di&s;creet and under&s;tand|ing Chri&s;tian, that the frequent exerci&s;e of prayer, is as nece&s;&s;ary to a Prince, Govern|our, or State&s;man, for the well management of all affairs, as it is for an animal to breath. The &s;pirit of the be&s;t man, we know, is no otherwi&s;e than as a Sun-Dial, which is of no u&s;e at all, but when the Sun reflects upon it. Nor can any Prince, or State&s;man in like manner expect, that his under&s;tanding &s;hould receive any true light or direction for the government of people, if not enlightned with the true rayes of God: and that light is not to be had, but by the means of prayer: The practi&s;e therefore of this holy duty, has been ever &s;tiled, and e&s;teemed by the holy Fathers of the Church, The Key of Heaven, and the con|fu&s;ion of Hell, the Standard of our Chri&s;tian warfare, the con&s;ervation of our peace, the bridle of our impatience, the guardian of our temperance, the &s;eal of cha&s;tity, the advocate of offenders, the con&s;olation of the afflicted, the pa&s;&s;e-port of the dying, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> for the Ju&s;t do live and dye in prayer, as the Phoenix in her perfumes. A Chri&s;tian doubtle&s;&s;e without prayer, is no more than a Bee without a &s;ting, which can neither make honey, nor wax. From the defect of this duty, have proceeded all the de&s;olations of the earth: from hence are day|ly derived &s;o many falls, &s;o many mi&s;eries; for that men will not apply them&s;elves to ta&s;t the things of God, in prayer, as our glorious
<PB N="176" REF="104">
Patriarch, and his Parallel have alwayes done.</P>
<P>No man living can deny &s;ure, but that it was the perpetual pre&s;ervation of the children of I&s;rael, that their <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> had that happy fa|culty to its perfection; for it is manife&s;t, that they had otherwi&s;e been &s;wallowed up, by the Divine vengeance; and in &s;tead of being brought to the Land of <HI>Canaan,</HI> they had been fearfully cut off from the land of the Li|ving.</P>
<P>I hope it is already made as evident, in our pa&s;t Parallels, that we have received as great Deliverances, and pre&s;ervations, by the means of our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> which could never have been, but by his free, frequent, and powerful, acce&s;&s;es to God in prayer; as I &s;hall &s;hew more at large pre&s;ently. In the mean time, I will be bold from the&s;e two great patterns of piety, to draw a clo&s;ing Corollary, and lay down the whole &s;tate of the que&s;tion (if it may be worthy to be called one) in one &s;ingle naked Propo&s;ition.</P>
<P>Every good Prince, being a publick Per&s;on, and charged with &s;o important affairs, that depend wholly upon Providence, and expect the motion of the Divine will, ought, after the&s;e two grand exemplars of Piety and Po|licy, to con&s;ider, That he is to hold a great deal of commerce with Heaven, where his bu|&s;ine&s;&s;e &s;o much lies; and therefore &s;hould re|&s;olve, to &s;et apart according to the proportion of his time, and other occa&s;ions, &s;ome prin|cipal
<PB N="177" REF="104">
hours, (of lei&s;ure, &s;hall I &s;ay, or bu&s;ine&s;s&punc; at lea&s;t) of retirement, to negotiate with God particularly about his government: in imita|tion, I &s;ay, of the&s;e two greate&s;t State&s;men, our fir&s;t and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> who had &s;o familiar a re|cour&s;e to the Almighty, that as the one was, &s;o the other, for ought I know, may be, en|titled, The friend of God. O matchle&s;&s;e Title!</P>
<P>His mo&s;t incomparable Piety, knew &s;uffi|ciently, what <HI>Gregory Nazianzen</HI> tells us, <HI>That if we are to have the Lord in our minds &s;o often as we do breath, How much more &s;uitable it is, to a State&s;man, to be conver&s;ant in that holy duty, having mo&s;t need to &s;uck in the life-giving &s;pirit, as from the Fountain of the Word, by the means of prayer.</HI> It is not therefore unfitly &s;tiled, The &s;pirit of prayer; for it is the breath of the inward-man. <HI>Os meum aperui,</HI> &s;aith the Scripture, <HI>&amp; attraxi &s;piritum</HI>; I opened my mouth, and drew in the &s;pirit. We are all ready to be choaked with fle&s;h and fat, and to be devoured with flames of concupi&s;cence, un|le&s;&s;e we upon all occa&s;ions, open our mouths to take in that gentle air of God.</P>
<P>By this ble&s;&s;ed means it was, that our in|comparable Paire, our fir&s;t and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> have arrived at this great perfection: to whom, the Lord has vouch&s;afed &s;o much of his familiarity, as to treat with them as friends, and to declare him&s;elf (as it were) unable to deny them any thing.</P>
<P>As for the fir&s;t, we have &s;een enough al|ready
<PB N="178" REF="105">
in &s;acred Story, and for our glorious &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> our own manifold ob&s;ervations, and frequent experimental knowledges, may be &s;ufficient to inform us. For that his late mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e had the purity and ex|cellency of this precious &s;pirit, is not onely manife&s;t, to tho&s;e that have had the happi|ne&s;&s;e to be pre&s;ent at his daily &s;preading of his hands, and pouring forth of his &s;pirit, be|fore the Lord, and to joyn with him in his Devotions; but to the whole Nation, except the mo&s;t &s;tupid, and malitious part of it, that either will not, or cannot, be &s;en&s;ible of the great benefits, that we have for &s;o long a time received by his powerful addre&s;&s;es unto God. How many times has the Divine vengeance been diverted from falling upon our &s;inful heads, by his importunate interce&s;&s;ions? How many pe&s;tilences, famines, and other plagues, (which our impenitency, hardne&s;&s;e of heart, and ugly ingratitude, had as well de&s;erved, as either the cur&s;ed Egyptians, or murmur|ing I&s;raelites) have been kept off from us, by his means? Has he le&s;&s;e often than the former <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> conquered his enemies, more by his own prayers, than his &s;ouldiers armes? Has he not by that means obtained (as we have &s;een) a &s;ecret vertue, to be fa&s;tened to his Standards? making windes and tempe&s;ts to fight under his En&s;ign, that we may almo&s;t cry out with the Poet,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Claud.</NOTE> <HI>O nimium dilecte Deo,</HI> &amp;c. How often has he opened, as afore&s;aid, Lands inacce&s;&s;ible, calmed &s;tormy Seas, taken
<PB N="179" REF="105">
Towns impregnable, and with petit handfuls of men, di&s;comfited huge Armies? How of|ten have we &s;een him (give me leave to re|peate tho&s;e wonders) cleaving of Rocks, hew|ing through Mountains, and to do the works of Gyants, with the reputed Pygmes of the World, and find facility in all that humane rea&s;on conceived impo&s;&s;ible? And how, I &s;ay again, could all this be, but that the Lord could no more deny any thing to the prayer of this his dear &s;ervant, and favourite, our &s;e|cond, than he could to the former <HI>Mo&s;es?</HI> His fair &s;oul, was no whit le&s;&s;e elevated upon the pitch of highe&s;t contemplations, from his very infancy, than the former great <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was. His high &s;oul, was not unlike that Ibis, the &s;tately bird of <HI>Egypt,</HI> that always builds her ne&s;t in Palmes: So it was perpetually conver&s;ant in high contemplations, and had no more im|pre&s;&s;ions of earth, than the &s;upream Sphere of cele&s;tial Bodies. Or el&s;e, more truly yet, re&s;embling the Palme-tree it &s;elf, where that brave Bird builds, which as it is the talle&s;t and &s;treighte&s;t of all trees, &s;o beares its be&s;t, and mo&s;t &s;olid &s;trength on its top: So had our mo&s;t gracious Protector, and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> all his vigour alwayes in God, and for God. His life was a perpetual Sabbath, <HI>Sabathum delica|tum,</HI> a delicious Sabbath, as the Prophet calls it, nouri&s;hing, and repo&s;ing his &s;oul, with the con&s;tant draught of this holy &s;pirit of prayer. He made it not onely his lock and key of the day, but his bolt of the night; nor onely &s;o,
<PB N="180" REF="106">
but his very meales, and recreations; and all that, his Highne&s;&s;e did, more in a becoming &s;i|lence, than any exteriour o&s;tent, re&s;embling tho&s;e Rivers which run under the earth, choo&s;ing to &s;teale from the eyes of the world, to &s;eek for the &s;ight of his God onely; So his Devotions did ever &s;tudy &s;olitude and re|tirements, and were alwayes be&s;t, when &s;hut up within them&s;elves.</P>
<P>Nay, farther yet, after the example of a greater than <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> that is our Ble&s;&s;ed Saviour him&s;elf, he u&s;ed to &s;pend many whole nights in prayer, <HI>pernoctans in oratione,</HI> as the Scrip|ture expre&s;&s;eth it: and like tho&s;e be&s;t of Chri&s;tians,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luc.</NOTE> in the Primitive times, that were called the Crickets of the night, becau&s;e at any time, if &s;ome interruption of &s;leep hap|pened, they ever made it out, with ejacula|tory prayers, and elevations of the heart. Tho&s;e that love God truly, will have recour&s;e to him, at all hours, and upon all occa&s;ions, not confining their devotions to time, or place. <HI>Jonas,</HI> and the three Children, found &s;uffici|ent Chappels, in the Whales belly, and the fiery Furnace, becau&s;e the love of God, the wi&s;e&s;t Architect, had erected them, and the Lord was as near them, in the intrails of a Fi&s;h, or the mid&s;t of Flames, as he would have been, in his own mo&s;t holy Temple.</P>
<P>In fine, our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> has not onely reacht after the former, as we have already &s;een, but he has &s;um'd up all example, to per|fect him&s;elf in the practi&s;e of this Divine duty.
<PB N="181" REF="106">
He ever di&s;tributed his fa&s;tings, watchings, prayer, repa&s;t, coun&s;el, &s;tudy, with &s;o pru|dent an oeconomy, for the &s;ervice of his God, and held his life &s;o admirably interlaced, be|tween action, and contemplation, that he made on earth, a perfect figure of Angels a&s;|cending, and de&s;cending, receiving already a ta&s;t of tho&s;e benefits, which he was to hope for, in the other; in&s;omuch, that he &s;eemed to have his &s;oul in Heaven, whil&s;t he was on earth, to under&s;tand my&s;teries, and enjoy an antipa&s;t of Paradi&s;e it &s;elf. O thrice, and four times happy were we, if we could have, known our own happine&s;&s;e, to have had &s;uch a Per&s;on &s;et over us, by God, and his own Divine vertues, that had &s;o clear and free ac|ce&s;&s;e to the Throne of Grace, and &s;o near an union to God him&s;elf, as a finite was capable of, with an infinite, and might be &s;tiled, as the former <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was, The familiar friend of God, and was not onely alwayes ready, to &s;tand in the gap, between us, and the Divine vengeance, as the fir&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> did; but was wont to &s;torm Heaven for us, and pull down ble&s;|&s;ings by force upon us, though we were a mo&s;t ungrateful, and unde&s;erving people; nor &s;o onely, but that was alwayes ready to in&s;truct us by his precept, as well as practi&s;e, if we could dare to follow him, in all other pieces of Piety, and Divine duty; as we have in part &s;een already, and &s;hall more at large in the next &s;ucceeding A&s;cents, and Parallels.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="21" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="182" REF="107">
<HEAD>The one and twentieth A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> was a mo&s;t exemplary Per&s;on, in all the practical parts of true Piety; He had alwayes &s;o reverend, and faith|ful a feeling of the Maje&s;ty of God, as not to &s;erve him, with exteriour &s;hews, and &s;em|blances onely of Religion; but &s;incerely, cor|dially,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sap. <HI>1.</HI></NOTE> and con&s;tantly, <HI>Sentiendo de domino in bonitate,</HI> as the Book of Wi&s;dom de&s;cribes it, alwayes thinking on the Lord, with a true good heart.</P>
<P>This was mo&s;t eminently vi&s;ible in the whole current of his thorough Religious life, but principally remarkable in the denial of him&s;elf, and all his own de&s;ires, when any thing that concerned the glory of his God lay at the &s;take, or was called into the lea&s;t que|&s;tion, &s;ubmitting alwayes all worldly ends, and humane reluctancies, to the intere&s;ts of Hea|ven, and pure Religion. Was not this, I &s;ay, fir&s;t notorious in him, when he would hazard the di&s;oblidgement of his wife (a thing that men ordinarily fear,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 4.25.</NOTE> more than a di&s;obedience
<PB N="183" REF="107">
to God) nay would incur her di&s;plea&s;ure &s;o far, as to be thought, and called by her, a cruel hard-hearted per&s;on, and a bloody hus|band, rather than omit the performance of one Tittle of his Almighty Ma&s;ters commands. Nay, State Policy it &s;elf, which now adayes is held to be almo&s;t incon&s;i&s;tent with true Piety, could not hinder his heroick practi&s;e of piety. And this did mo&s;t manife&s;tly appear, in his refu&s;al of all the favours that <HI>Pharaohs</HI> Court,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 2.</NOTE> or his daughters countenance, could afford him, for the &s;ervice of his God, po&s;tponing every thing of his own affection and intere&s;ts, to the zeal for his Religion, and the quiet of a good con&s;cience. This is, I &s;ay, a mo&s;t remark|able piece of Princely piety indeed, to hold all the Maxims of State, and proper intere&s;ts what&s;oever, under the rules of Religion, and Con&s;cience, and to be di&s;po&s;ed, rather to hazard all, than to lo&s;e God by one &s;ole &s;in. This noble Princely piece of piety, to its per|fection, both of profe&s;&s;ion, and practi&s;e, our great Patriarch &s;hewed in the whole cour&s;e of his life, loudly proclaiming, and as &s;trictly ob|&s;erving, to love the Lord God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. Num. Levit. Deut.</NOTE> with the whole heart, and him onely to &s;erve, which no man can do, that mixeth any thing of humane, with divine obligations; that is but to &s;erve God by pieces.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="parallel">
<PB N="184" REF="108">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>We have alreay gone far in the di&s;cour&s;e of our great Patriarchs, and his happy Parallel's, mo&s;t Princely and exemplary piety; clearly to be collected from the vi&s;ible zeal, they ever bore to Gods glory, and devotions to his Ser|vice; but all this, may be &s;aid to be (as in|deed it is in mo&s;t of this Age) but a meer out|&s;ide onely, the very heart and marrow of Re|ligion con&s;i&s;ting in the interiour, which we can make no other judgement of, than by the apparent practi&s;e of piety, true godly and re|ligious lives of men, and a dutiful &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion of all humane intere&s;t, to God; and if all this, were ever eminent in any Per&s;ons, it has been in the&s;e two great Princes, our fir&s;t and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es.</HI></P>
<P>Now it is very ob&s;ervable, that all this Princely practi&s;e of true piety, is but an effect, or con&s;equent at lea&s;t, of that zeal to Gods glory, before &s;poken of, and of that precious &s;pirit of prayer;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Thom. A|quin. <HI>2&punc; 2.</HI> q. <HI>32&punc;</HI></NOTE> for true Devotion, as the great <HI>Aquinas</HI> has de&s;cribed it, is nothing but a prompt will to the &s;ervice of God; his words are the&s;e, <HI>Voluntas quaedum prompta tradendi &s;e ad ea, quae pertinent ad Dei famulatum</HI>: a very prompt, and affectionate vivacity in things, which concern Gods bu&s;ine&s;&s;e. Nay we may
<PB N="185" REF="108">
find as much &s;aid by <HI>Porphyry</HI> him&s;elf a Pa|gan, and one of the mo&s;t Athei&s;tical ones,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Porphyrius</NOTE> that ever lived. <HI>Deus,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>omnium pater, nul|lius indiget, &s;ed nobis e&s;t bene, cum eum adora|mus, ip&s;am vitam, precent ad eum facientes, per inqui&s;itionem, &amp; imitationem, de ip&s;o</HI>: that is, God the Creator, and Father, of this great Univer&s;e, hath no need at all of our &s;ervice, but it is our good to honour, &s;erve, and adore him, making our life a perpetual prayer to him, by a diligent inquiry after his perfe|ctions, and a holy imitation of his vertues. All this, holy <HI>Augu&s;tin,</HI> the Oracle of the Latine Church, recites out of that Heathen, to teach us faith from the Philo&s;ophy of the mo&s;t perfidious, and Religion, from the wri|tings of the mo&s;t irreligious man that ever lived: ju&s;t as if an hone&s;t man, &s;hould pull a thing &s;tolne, out of a Theeves coffer. And it is indeed a mo&s;t evident truth, that the be&s;t life, is the be&s;t prayer; and therefore holy <HI>Nazianzen</HI> tells us, that <GAP DESC="foreign">,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Nazian. in Jamb.</NOTE> is <GAP DESC="foreign">, a dumb work, is better than the mo&s;t eloquent Oration; a golden tongue, and a leaden heart &s;eldom march together: yet we know, that &s;ome there are, who have apparence enough of the &s;pirit, and will pray like Angels, but practi&s;e like Devils, re&s;em|bling the A&s;&s;e in the Fable, that carries to the Hot-hou&s;e daily, wherewithal to &s;hift and clean&s;e others, and yet go them&s;elves perpe|tually bemired and &s;lovenly: or yet more truly like the impertinent drone, they can
<PB N="186" REF="109">
go buzzing up and down with their empty prayers, and yet neither make honey, nor wax. To what purpo&s;e, in the mean time, is it, to be <HI>Vox, &amp; praeterea nihil?</HI> to warble like a Nightingale, or a well-touch'd Lute, and to be deaf to all harmony? Is it not to be as the Apo&s;tle tells us, <HI>but as &s;ounding bra&s;&s;e,</HI> at be&s;t, <HI>or as a tinkling &s;ymbal?</HI> Undoubtedly, all the devotion of a &s;oul truly Chri&s;tian, ten|deth to practi&s;e, as the line to its center; and therefore holy <HI>Cyprian</HI> likewi&s;e tells us, <HI>Phi|lo&s;ophi factis,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Cyprian l. de patien|tia.</NOTE> <HI>non verbis &s;umus, nec magna loqui|mur, &s;ed vivimus.</HI> Our Philo&s;ophy, and Chri|&s;tian wi&s;dom, &s;aith he, is a prudence of workes, not of words, and we are to live, not talke great things.</P>
<P>We &s;hould march in our Chri&s;tian warfare, like the brave &s;ouldiers of <HI>Gideon,</HI> with the torch in our hands, as well as the Trumpet on our lips: and therefore it was &s;aid of the great and holy <HI>Athana&s;ius,</HI> that his voice was a Thunderclap, and his life a Lightning fla&s;h: and truly words, let them be never &s;o good, can never thunder well, if the living example enlighten not.</P>
<P>All which, our mo&s;t gracious late Protector, and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> knew full well, and pra|cti&s;ed accordingly, in imitation of his great Ma&s;ter, the fir&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> our Princely Patriarch, who was not onely ready to exerci&s;e his holy &s;pirit of prayer, in the behalf of, and for his people, but al&s;o to make practi&s;e of his piety before them, to inflame their lives to holine&s;&s;e
<PB N="187" REF="109">
and charity, as well as to pre&s;erve their per|&s;ons in peace, and plenty; to be active in his obedience to the Almighties will, as well as outwardly zealous for his glory.</P>
<P>Now, by this onely it is plain, that our fir&s;t and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> have clearly been of a quite contrary Religion, to <HI>Machiavel,</HI> before cited,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mach. Princ. c. <HI>2.</HI> Decad. c. <HI>12.13.</HI></NOTE> and all his Crew, who would have a Prince, or State&s;man, practi&s;e Religion, onely according to the nece&s;&s;ity of their affairs, and to learn how they may &s;ometimes be wicked, that is, to make &s;hew of Religion, and hone&s;ty, &s;o far forth as may &s;erve their turns; but in very deed, to be compleat knaves.</P>
<P>Every man in power for&s;ooth, mu&s;t be a Hypocrite, his face alwayes maskt, and the vi|zard too, ought to be more lovely, than the vi&s;age, he mu&s;t make his apparencies better than his &s;ub&s;tance, and court opinion, more than con&s;cience. O rare <HI>Machiavillian</HI> di|vinty, and very pious policy! But our Patri|arch <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> (a wi&s;er man &s;ure, than a million of <HI>Machiavels</HI>) we find, was clean of another opinion, as well as practi&s;e too; he under&s;tood &s;ufficiently, how the Lord Almighty had ever reproved, condemned, and cha&s;ti&s;ed, with a mo&s;t particular indignation of his heart, that abominable plai&s;tered kind of life in Princes, as well as common people; and therefore he ordered in his Law, that the Swan, and the O&s;trich, &s;hould never be made u&s;e of, in Di|vine Sacrifices.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Levit. 11.18.</NOTE> Upon which Mo&s;aical ordi|nance, all the Interpreters of Scripture, are
<PB N="188" REF="110">
joyntly of opinion, that the Swan was fir&s;t re|jected, notwith&s;tanding the whitene&s;&s;e of her feathers, and &s;weetne&s;&s;e of note, &s;o much a&s;|cribed to her; becau&s;e under tho&s;e pure white plumes, &s;he hides &s;o black a fle&s;h. Then for the O&s;trich, which carries onely an o&s;tentuous boa&s;t of fair large wings, and very little or no flight at all, &s;he could never be admitted into the number of Divine victims: &s;o much the Lord abhors apparencies, fruitle&s;&s;e, and effectle&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>Now, I would very fain know of all tho&s;e piti|ful Politicians, who pur&s;ue like <HI>Machiavillian</HI> Maxims, with &s;uch corrupt hypocritical &s;pirits, as the <HI>Florentine</HI> propo&s;eth, what they will an&s;wer me further upon this A&s;cent of our <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and his Parallel? For the fir&s;t, it is clear, that if he had been to choo&s;e and che|ri&s;h, onely a Religion, that &s;uited be&s;t with State policy, or temporal de&s;igns, it had been much more prudence in him, to have joyned him&s;elf with the Religion of <HI>Egypt,</HI> and to have been a&s;&s;ociated with the Magicians them&s;elves, than to have kept &s;o clo&s;e to the Commandments of God. And if he had been to value his private intere&s;t, before his hone&s;ty, and con&s;cience, &s;ure the powerful favours of a great Kings Court, and more inticing importunities of a Prince&s;&s;e, would have been greater attractives to his ambition, than a poor, &s;imple, Shepherds life, in a De&s;art.</P>
<P>Nay, before we approach our precious
<PB N="189" REF="110">
Parallel <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> what can they, I mean the Di|&s;ciples of that wi&s;e Secretary, &s;ay, to another glorious Countryman of ours, one of the mo&s;t Chri&s;tian, and Victorious Princes, that ever &s;wayed a Scepter, and that was <HI>Con&s;tantine</HI> the Great? Fir&s;t we &s;hall find upon a clear account, twelve or thirteen great Per&s;ons, at that very time, all arguing upon the Diadem of the Empire with him. Now, if there had been any nece&s;&s;ity for him to di&s;poile him&s;elf of hone&s;ty, and innocency, that he might be in|ve&s;ted with the Crown, and Pall imperial, Why did he take the way of the Empire, by that of &s;anctity? If u&s;e mu&s;t be made of Re|ligion onely as of an In&s;trument of State, and that alone to be taken up, which hath the greate&s;t vogue, and credit, in the opinion of the people, be it right, or wrong; Why went he about then to fix him&s;elf upon Chri&s;tian Religion, and at that very time, when the greate&s;t part of the World, was ingulpht in Gentili&s;me?</P>
<P>We &s;ee how <HI>Maxentius,</HI> like a mi&s;erable <HI>Machiavillian,</HI> courted that intere&s;t, and ac|cording to the ordinary cu&s;tom of the people of <HI>Rome,</HI> cau&s;ed all the pretended Books of the <HI>Sybylls,</HI> to be turned over, con&s;ulted with the <HI>Augures,</HI> and <HI>Aru&s;pices,</HI> and accordingly offered &s;acrifices to his Pagan gods: all this gave him a reputation of piety, with a people then as Infidel as him&s;elf. Why did not our <HI>Con&s;tantine</HI> pur&s;ue the &s;ame politick wayes? Why did he fix the &s;ign of the Cro&s;&s;e upon
<PB N="190" REF="111">
his Standards, which was enough too, to di&s;|oblige his own Army, that very figure, being then e&s;teemed mo&s;t fatal, and of an ill pre|&s;age, by the mo&s;t part of the World? More|over, what help or &s;uccour could he po&s;&s;ibly expect, from the poor Chri&s;tians at that time? Had he a De&s;ign to extract Trea&s;ures from their coffers? they were mo&s;t wretchedly poor, and di&s;poiled of all po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion. Was he of opinion, that he might rai&s;e huge Armies of them, for his &s;ervice? they were &s;o daily cut down, that they were &s;carce vi&s;ible at all: one onely moneth, not long before, &s;aw &s;even|teen thou&s;and heads of them lopt off, and tumbling upon the ground? How could he per&s;wade him&s;elf, that there was any con&s;ider|able humane &s;trength in their Religion, when they were all either ma&s;&s;acred, mained, or bani&s;hed? Could he look for coun&s;el among&s;t them? they were men of no e&s;teem at all in the World, and thought utterly void of all learning and policy. Was it any credit, that he could expect they might confer upon his Cau&s;e? they were mo&s;t de&s;picable creatures, and trampled underfoot by every body, like dirt in the &s;treets, reputed meer <GAP DESC="foreign">, as the Apo&s;tle tells us, <HI>as the dung, and off-&s;cour|ing of the world.</HI> Behold here a piece of State-prudence, fit onely for the pens of Angels, whereunto the brains, and wit, of this pitiful <HI>Florentine,</HI> could never arrive: his cunning alas could reach no further, than &s;ome petit humane tracts, indeed meer knacks of Athei|&s;tical
<PB N="191" REF="111">
knavery. This is a light, whereat all the blear'd eyes of tho&s;e buzards are dazled. This is an Aby&s;&s;e wherein all carnal men are quite lo&s;t, and &s;wallowed up: For we find that our Great <HI>Con&s;tantines</HI> prudence, groun|ded upon Divine providence, and his own piety, has conducted him to the Soveraignity of the Empire of the whole World, by de|grees, utterly different from tho&s;e, which Mr. <HI>Machiavel</HI> hath prepared to lead his Prince in.</P>
<P>On the other &s;ide, do but look a little on his &s;on-in-law <HI>Julian,</HI> coming to the Empire, and holding it by <HI>Machiavillian</HI> Rules onely, how well did he pro&s;per in his policies? who meerly out of &s;pite to the Chri&s;tians, not any affection, to the Jews, indeed to baffle Chri&s;tianity it &s;elf, re&s;olved to re-edifie the Temple of <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> and to that purpo&s;e i&s;&s;ued out a Commi&s;&s;ion, to an Infidel like him&s;elf, one called <HI>Alippius</HI>: but mark how his <HI>Machiavillian</HI> plot &s;ucceeded, Balls of fire were &s;een to i&s;&s;ue out of the very foundations, as fa&s;t as they laid them, which made their de&s;ign as frivolous, as the place was inacce&s;|&s;ible: after all this ob&s;erve what became of him, he reigned but one year, &amp; &s;even moneths, and then died &s;truck with a blow from Heaven, which the Pagans them&s;elves confe&s;&s;e to be ignorant, of from whence it came: how&s;oever, this is mo&s;t certain, that he died perfectly phrenetick, which cau&s;ed him to fill his hand with his own blood, and cry out, <HI>Thou ha&s;t
<PB N="192" REF="112">
overcome, O Galilaean,</HI> and &s;o dying, has left a memory &s;o odious behind him, that it &s;tinkes &s;till, and &s;o for ever will, to all Po&s;terity.</P>
<P>I might be infinit, if I &s;hould run over all the examples, that we have before us, of &s;uch impious Politicians, who have made all the in|tere&s;ts of God, and Religion, &s;ub&s;ervient to their own ba&s;e ends. Great Volumes might be written of their mi&s;erable mortalities, which make all Theaters at this day to re&s;ound, and Tragedians to deplore. I &s;hall onely now therefore produce our Parallel, to convince all tho&s;e pitiful Politicians, of the <HI>Machiavil|lian</HI> make, and &s;o conclude this di&s;cour&s;e.</P>
<P>Did ever any per&s;on &s;o contradict all the Maxims of humane wi&s;dom, and &s;truggle with, and again&s;t, all proper intere&s;ts, as our &s;e|cond <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> has done? If it had not been for his obligations to God, true Religion and a pure con&s;cience, what madne&s;&s;e mu&s;t it needs have appeared in his Highne&s;&s;e, to have &s;till been oppo&s;ite to all prevalent parties, which in plain humane probabilities, would have de|&s;troyed him, and us?</P>
<P>As fir&s;t, the late King, and his corrupted Court; Then the Kirk, and all its Con&s;i&s;to|rians; Then the violent levelling Parties with|in his own body, and all the men of mettal, for&s;ooth, that were for the fifth Monarchy; Then the long-lived (as his Highne&s;&s;e him&s;elf u&s;ed to call it) long-reigning, and indeed, ruining Parliament, with all its appertinencies, and divers others &s;ince, that, it may be, had
<PB N="193" REF="112">
the &s;ame, or wor&s;e de&s;igns. Good God, with what wonder, and amazement am I &s;eized, when I con&s;ider the dangerous difficulties, his mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e has encountred, for the honour and glory of his God, the good of this ungrateful people, and the &s;atisfaction of his own con&s;cience, upon grounds utterly unpo|litick, as to humane apprehen&s;ion, and clearly contradictory, to his proper intere&s;ts.</P>
<P>This high towering Eagle, as we have &s;een, winged onely with Piety, and Religion, from the very fir&s;t time that he was called forth in|to action, to this very day, could never be found (as afore&s;aid) beating of his wings, in tho&s;e lower Regions of the air, conver&s;ing with tho&s;e pitiful humane policies, but borne, I &s;ay alwayes, upon tho&s;e heavenly wings a|fore&s;aid; &s;oared alwayes among&s;t lightnings them&s;elves, tempe&s;ts, and whirlewindes, and ever had his eye, where the day broke; that was, on God, the Fountain of Light, and his own con&s;cience, the &s;ure Orient of all his pious actions.</P>
<P>The great Secretaries of Nature, do ob|&s;erve further, of that brave Bird, I mean the Eagle, that her feathers, are &s;o imperious, that they will not mix, with the plumage of other Birds, if they are by chance ca&s;t in among&s;t them; they will &s;trait con&s;ume the others, as with a dull file: and can the Lord of Hea|ven and Earth, who is an incomparable wi&s;|dom, a &s;tore of riches inexhau&s;tible, a purity infinite, be mingled with &s;uch feeble preten|&s;ions,
<PB N="194" REF="113">
as tho&s;e of humane intere&s;ts? which can have nothing but phren&s;y for beginning, mi|&s;ery for inheritance, and impurity for orna|ment? Our Mo&s;aical Protector therefore, was ever &s;een, to &s;eparate him&s;elf, from his &s;elf, denying his own de&s;ires, di&s;owning his own glories, and adhering onely to the in|tere&s;ts of God, and giving the honour of all his actions to him; as we may hear his High|ne&s;&s;e yet &s;peaking for him&s;elf, in a printed Speech of his, to a late Parliament.</P>
<Q REND="margQuotes"><P>It was, &s;ay &s;ome, the cunning of the Lord Protector (I take it to my &s;elf) it was the craft of &s;uch a man, and his plot that hath brought it about. And as they &s;ay, in o|ther Countries: There are five or &s;ix cun|ning men in <HI>England,</HI> that have skill, they do all the&s;e things: Oh what Bla&s;phemy is this! <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Becau&s;e men <HI>that are with|out God in the world,</HI> and walk not with him, and know not what it is to pray, or believe, and to receive returns from God, and to be &s;poken unto by the Spirit of God, who &s;peaks without a written Word &s;ometimes, yet according to it: God hath &s;poken here|tofore in divers manners, let him &s;peak as he plea&s;eth. Hath he not given us liberty? nay, is it not our duty to go to the <HI>Law, and to the Te&s;timonies</HI>? and there we &s;hall find, that there have been impre&s;&s;ions in extra|ordinary ca&s;es, as well without the written Word, as with it, and therefore there is no
<PB N="195" REF="113">
difference in the thing thus a&s;&s;erted, from truths generally received, except we will ex|clude the Spirit, without who&s;e concurrence, all other Teachings are ineffectual; He doth &s;peak to the Hearts and Con&s;ciences of men, and leadeth them to his Law and Te&s;timo|nies, and there he &s;peaks to them, and &s;o gives them double teachings, according to that of <HI>Job, God &s;peaketh once, yea twice</HI>; and that of <HI>David, God hath &s;poken once, yea twice have I heard this.</HI> Tho&s;e men that live up|on their <HI>Mump&s;imus</HI> and <HI>Sump&s;imus,</HI> their <HI>Ma&s;&s;es</HI> and <HI>Service-Books,</HI> their dead and car|nal Wor&s;hip, no marvel if they be &s;trangers to God, and the works of God, and to &s;piritual di&s;pen&s;ations. And becau&s;e they &s;ay, and be|lieve thus, mu&s;t we do &s;o too? we in this Land have been otherwi&s;e in&s;tructed, even by the Word, and Workes, and Spirit of God. To &s;ay that men bring forth the&s;e things, when God doth them judge you if God will bear this. I wi&s;h that every &s;ober heart, though he hath had temp|tations upon him of de&s;erting this <HI>CA&V;SE</HI> of God, yet may take heed how he provokes, and <HI>falles into the hands of the living God</HI> by &s;uch bla&s;phemies as the&s;e, according to the tenth of the <HI>Hebrews, If we &s;in wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more &s;acrifice for &s;in.</HI> (It was &s;poken to the Jews, that having profe&s;&s;ed Chri&s;t, apo&s;tatized from him) what then?
<PB N="196" REF="114">
nothing but <HI>a fearful falling into the hands of the Living God.</HI></P><P>They that &s;hall attribute to this or that Per&s;on, the contrivances and production of tho&s;e mighty things God hath wrought in the mid&s;t of us, and that they have not been the revolutions of Chri&s;t him&s;elf, upon who&s;e <HI>Shoulders</HI> the <HI>GOVERNMENT</HI> is laid, they &s;peak again&s;t God, and they fall un|der his hand without a Mediator, that is, if we deny the Spirit of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, the glory of all his works in the World, by which he Rules Kingdoms, and doth admini&s;ter, and is the Rod of his &s;trength, we provoke the Mediator; And he may &s;ay, I'le leave you to God, I'le not intercede for you, let him tear you to pieces, I'le leave thee to fall into Gods hands, thou denie&s;t me my Soveraign|ty and Power committed to me, I'le not in|tercede nor mediate for thee, thou falle&s;t in|to the hands of the Living God. There|fore what&s;oever you may judge men, for, and &s;ay, This man is cunning, and politick, and &s;ubtile, take heed, again I &s;ay, how you judge of his Revolutions, as the Products of mens inventions.</P></Q>
<P>Then, how much he valued the intere&s;ts of God, and his influence upon all his actions, we may &s;ee what he &s;ayes in the &s;ame Speech.</P>
<Q REND="margQuotes"><P>&mdash;and were it not that I can make &s;ome <HI>Dilemma</HI>'s upon which to re&s;olve &s;ome things of my Con&s;cience, Judgement, and Actions,
<PB N="197" REF="114">
I &s;hould &s;inck at the very pro&s;pect of my Encounters; &s;ome of them are general, &s;ome are more &s;pecial, &s;uppo&s;ing this Cau&s;e, or this Bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, mu&s;t be carried on, either it is of <HI>God,</HI> or of <HI>Man,</HI> if it be of <HI>Man,</HI> I would I had never touched it with a finger; if I had not had a hope fixed in Me that this Cau&s;e, and this Bu&s;ine&s;&s;e is of God, I would many years ago have run from it. If it be of <HI>God,</HI> he will bear it up. If it be of <HI>Man,</HI> it will tumble, as every thing that hath been of man, &s;ince the World began, hath done. And what are all our Hi&s;tories, and other Tra|ditions of actions in former times, but God manife&s;ting him&s;elf that he hath <HI>&s;haken</HI> and <HI>tumbled down,</HI> and <HI>trampled upon,</HI> every thing that he hath not <HI>planted?</HI> and as this is, &s;o the All-wi&s;e God deal with it.</P><P>If this be of humane Structure, and In|vention, and it be an old <HI>Plotting</HI> and <HI>Contri|vance</HI> to bring things to this <HI>I&s;&s;ue,</HI> and that they are not the <HI>Births</HI> of <HI>Providence,</HI> then they will tumble. But if the Lord take plea&s;ure in <HI>England,</HI> and if he will do Us good, he is able to bear us up; Let the diffi|culties be what&s;oever they will, we &s;hall in his Strength be able to encounter with them. And I ble&s;&s;e God I have been inured to <HI>Dif|ficulties,</HI> and I never found God <HI>failing</HI> when I <HI>tru&s;ted</HI> in him; I can laugh and &s;ing in my heart when I &s;peak of the&s;e things to you, or el&s;ewhere.</P></Q>
<P><PB N="198" REF="115">Here is a piece of Divine Policy indeed, and fetcht doubtle&s;&s;e from the Gates of the City of God. Thus was his late Mo&s;aical High|ne&s;&s;e alwayes pleading, to acknowledge the truth of that mo&s;t excellent Maxim, delivered by <HI>Augu&s;tin,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t. lib. <HI>3.</HI> de libero Arbit. c. <HI>24</HI></NOTE> <HI>Cui bonum non e&s;t Deus, &s;ibi ip&s;i vult e&s;&s;e bonum &s;uum, &s;icut &s;ibi e&s;t Deus,</HI> He that holds not God for his greate&s;t good, would be to him&s;elf his own good, as God is to him&s;elf: He that thinks to e&s;cape from the bands of de|pendance, that he has on God, makes him&s;elf his own ble&s;&s;ing, and his end his God.</P>
<P>His Highne&s;&s;e therefore &s;o con&s;tantly &s;teer'd him&s;elf, and all his actions; by his obedience to Divine Commands, that he cho&s;e alwayes to peri&s;h with a good con&s;cience, rather than to flouri&s;h without one; and though he was from the very beginning, like a pure Oriental Pearle in the &s;alt-&s;ea, &s;o continually involved in the cruel acerbities, and confu&s;ions of our times, yet he alwayes kept his Noble lu&s;ter, in then mid&s;t of them, and by his invincible affe|ction toward, and confidence in, his God, he aro&s;e &s;till from them, with more and more &s;plendour, and made all tho&s;e his perplexities which threatned him with many an imminent ruin, but higher a&s;cents and &s;teps to the Temple of glory. Vertue and Piety, he al|ways compared to, and took for, the Geometri|cal Cube of his life, which we know in Mathe|maticks, on what &s;ide &s;oever it be ca&s;t, al|wayes finds its Ba&s;is.</P>
<P><PB N="199" REF="115">Where are you now, all you, I &s;ay, who are the pitiful followers of <HI>Nicholas Machia|vells</HI> policy, poor tricks of carnal wi&s;dom? What will become now of all your mighty Maxims of hypocritical knavery?</P>
<P>Let this one example onely of our Chri&s;tian <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> parallel to that of his Great Ma&s;ter, the Patriarch, which we have &s;een in his A&s;cent, &s;erve now for all, to inform you, That there are none, but &s;uch as are perfectly blind, that &s;eek after your Principles, and mi&s;erable they mu&s;t be, who find them, the &s;otti&s;h who will de&s;cend to &s;erve them, and the utterly reprobate, and forlorne, who can &s;toope to tye them&s;elves unto them: but the wi&s;dom that is of Heaven, our Mo&s;aical wi&s;dom, is &s;o tran&s;cendently &s;ublime, above all your untrue and trivial inventions, as the light of Stars &s;urpa&s;&s;eth all the &s;parklings and petit &s;prey fiers of the Earth.</P>
<P>And though &s;uch humane intere&s;ts and de&s;igns, may po&s;&s;ibly, and will &s;till, hold the A&s;cendent in the hearts of &s;ome &s;ort of peo|ple; yet we finde, how my Lords, high, holy, Mo&s;aical &s;pirit, could no more than that of his Grand Archetype, conde&s;cend to &s;teer his cour&s;e, or coun&s;ells that way; nor yet more, than tho&s;e Angels, now &s;tanding in glory, follow the example of tho&s;e Luciferian &s;pirits, which fell by &s;uch <HI>Machiavillian</HI> coun&s;ells, into the pit of Per|dition.</P>
<P><PB N="200" REF="116">No, our mo&s;t pious late Protector, and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> could never induce him&s;elf to court any thing, that had not Heaven, and the Stars to give him for a Reward.</P>
<P>So I hope, we may at length happily conclude, that under the heart of this our &s;econd, as well as we have &s;een under that of our fir&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> there remained alwayes prepared, a Temple of true Piety; and our Parallel in this particular likewi&s;e, to be accompli&s;ht.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="22" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="201" REF="116">
<HEAD>The two and twentieth A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> was not onely accompli&s;ht in all points of Piety, that were expedient for &s;o great a Prince, and Patriarch; but he was advanced by God, to the highe&s;t dignity and perfection of a Prophet; and he was endowed with &s;o extraordinary a &s;pirit of Prophe&s;ie, that never any man before, or &s;ince him, had the like.</P>
<P>He was that really, which the old Poets in their fabulous &s;uper&s;titions, fancied of their god <HI>Janus,</HI> with his double face, to look both before, and behind him.</P>
<P>The Great <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was an in&s;pired Prophet, <HI>&agrave; parte Po&s;t,</HI> as well as <HI>&agrave; parte Ante</HI>; how could he otherwi&s;e have writ the Hi&s;tory of the Creation of the World, the Deluge,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gene&s;.</NOTE> and of all tho&s;e things, that happened before his time; of which there could be no Record, either in writing, or &s;ecure Tradition at that time, &s;o his whole Book of <HI>Gene&s;is,</HI> mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity be extracted, out of the Chronicles of Heaven onely. That he prophe&s;ied of futurities of
<PB N="202" REF="117">
the highe&s;t concernment,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. Levit. Num. Deut.</NOTE> his other four Books give &s;ufficient evidence, and to all this, the Lord Almighty him&s;elf hath &s;et to the &s;eal of his own approbation; fir&s;t, that he was faith|ful in all his hou&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 12.7, 8.</NOTE> and that with him, he would &s;peak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark &s;peeches, and the &s;imilitude of the Lord,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 34.10.</NOTE> &s;hall he, <HI>behold,</HI> &amp;c. Then the Lord is plea&s;ed expre&s;&s;ely to declare concerning him, That there aro&s;e not a Prophet &s;ince in <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> like unto <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> whom the Lord knew face to face. Over and above all this, when prophe&s;ying of the My&s;tery of My&s;teries, a fu|turity then of the highe&s;t concernment to man|kind,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 18.15.</NOTE> the incarnation of the Word, the Spirit of God is plea&s;ed to re&s;emble <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> to the Me&s;&s;iah that was to come, &s;aying, <HI>The Lord thy God will rai&s;e up unto thee, a Prophet from the mid&s;t of thee,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 3.22.</NOTE> <HI>of thy Brethren, like unto me; unto him ye &s;hall hearken</HI>: which words are <HI>verba|tim</HI> quoted, for the proof of that Word in|carnate, both by the Proto-Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter,</HI> and the Proto-Martyr <HI>Stephen</HI>;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 7.37.</NOTE> and &s;ure in rea&s;on, &s;ome great &s;imilitude of God he mu&s;t needs contract, who had &s;o free, frequent, and full, conver&s;ation with the Deity, face to face.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="parallel">
<PB N="203" REF="117">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>That <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was a great, yea the greate&s;t Prophet of the old Law, I believe is made a|bundantly manife&s;t by our Divine A&s;cent; and that our mo&s;t pious, gracious, and glori|ous, late Lord Protector, and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> was a great Prophet too, according to his pro|portion, I hope will be made out by the pro|ce&s;&s;e of our precious Parallel.</P>
<P>But now becau&s;e the name of Prophet here, &s;eems to &s;ound &s;omething equivocal, and is really capable of very various acceptions, it may be worth our pains, to dilate a little upon, and to fix, it, before we proceed to make up our happy Parallel.</P>
<P>Indeed, there has been an infinite number of per&s;ons, which have pa&s;t under the reputa|tion of Prophets, that in very truth, were no better than Wizards all, or Wi&s;eakers, in our Country Language; that is, in plain Engli&s;h, mad-men, fools, or knaves: but all &s;uch pha|natical Prophets as tho&s;e, we &s;hall at pre&s;ent pa&s;&s;e by, as impertinent to our purpo&s;e, and not at all worthy of any &s;hare in this di&s;|cour&s;e; and enter into a cur&s;ory debate onely concerning tho&s;e, who have more ju&s;tifiable preten&s;ions, according to the mo&s;t genuin &s;ig|nification of the word, to that highe&s;t and mo&s;t
<PB N="204" REF="118">
&s;acred humane dignity: and three &s;orts of men there are, that do, and may lay ju&s;t chal|lenge and claim, to that mo&s;t excellent Title, according to all the judgement of Antiquity, as well as the pre&s;ent Age.</P>
<P>And the fir&s;t are tho&s;e in&s;pired witty Pro|phets, or Prophets of phan&s;ie, which go under the common name of Poets.</P>
<P>The &s;econd &s;ort, are tho&s;e in&s;pired prudent Prophets, or Prophets of Affairs, received now under the &s;tile of State&s;men.</P>
<P>And the third &s;ort, are tho&s;e in&s;pired Di|vine Prophets, or Prophets of Religion, who though they have the onely true, legal, and proper right, to that Divine honour; yet the others are not quite to be ca&s;t out, or ra&s;hly di&s;inherited of that title. The fir&s;t we may call Aery or Poetical Prophets; the &s;econd more Earthy and Political; the third all Fiery and Cele&s;tial. For this fir&s;t &s;ort of Pro|phets, our <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was among&s;t them too, as is &s;ufficiently to be &s;een, in the many Hymnes, that he compo&s;ed for the glory of his God, and the comfort of his people; as al&s;o the many Poetical expre&s;&s;ions, phra&s;es, and pro&s;opo|piea's, that he u&s;eth, rendring God, as it were, coming towards us, in his glory and Ma|je&s;ty.</P>
<P>This fir&s;t &s;ort of Pretenders, then have in|deed a pretty fair claim, right, and title, to be taken into this &s;upereminent Degree; and that may fir&s;t here appear, from the very name that all good people, in all Ages, ever gave to
<PB N="205" REF="118">
the skilful in that heavenly my&s;tery, which was alwayes <HI>Vates,</HI> or <HI>Propheta,</HI> as much as Di|viner, For&s;eer, or Prophet. Then none will deny, but that they had the onely right in times of Gentili&s;me, being the onely Pagan Prophets, and Con&s;ervators of Religion in tho&s;e dayes.</P>
<P>Nay, both <HI>Clemens Alexandrinus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Clem. A|lexand. Eu&s;ebius.</NOTE> and <HI>Eu|&s;ebius,</HI> them&s;elves confe&s;&s;e, that the ancient Poets, did receive the my&s;teries of their Re|ligion, from the <HI>Jews,</HI> and pre&s;erved them &s;till as &s;acred, though folding of them up, in &s;ome Fables.</P>
<P>As fir&s;t it is plain, that the Hi&s;tory of <HI>Deu|caleon,</HI> was taken out of that of <HI>Noe,</HI> and &s;o kept up the remembrance &s;till of that di&s;mal Deluge. The &s;tupendious Story of the retro|gradation, and going back of the Sun, in the time of <HI>Ezekiah,</HI> was continued in that fa|mous fiction of <HI>Phaeton.</HI></P>
<P>They that would behold the building of that proud Tower of <HI>Babel,</HI> which was under|taken by <HI>Nimrod,</HI> and his A&s;&s;ociates, to climb up, as it were, by ladders into Heaven, and &s;cale its battlements, to &s;ee what was done there; &s;hall find it, though under certain alegories, amply de&s;cribed in <HI>Homer,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Homer. Ody&s;&s;. l. <HI>11.</HI></NOTE> under the fabulous phan&s;ie of the Gyants <HI>Oetus,</HI> and <HI>Ephialtes,</HI> &s;ons to <HI>Iphimedia</HI>; where he de|&s;cribes their height, and wonderfull va&s;t &s;trength and bigne&s;&s;e, and how they went a|bout to lay the mountain <HI>O&s;&s;a</HI> upon that of <HI>Olympus,</HI> and <HI>Pelion</HI> upon <HI>O&s;&s;a</HI>; all which Story
<PB N="206" REF="119">
<HI>Ovid</HI> recites likewi&s;e, with divers others in his <HI>Metamorpho&s;is,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ovid. Me|tam.</NOTE> hiding under &s;eeming Fables, many of the mo&s;t Divine and con&s;iderable truths: but mo&s;t particularly, he recites the manner of the Beginning, and Creation of the World, ju&s;t as our <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> did, and mu&s;t of ne|ce&s;&s;ity have received it from him. Nay, <HI>Ho|mer,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Homer. He&s;iod. Linus.</NOTE> <HI>He&s;iod,</HI> and <HI>Linus,</HI> mu&s;t undoubtedly have borrowed from his Books, all that they &s;aid of &s;anctifying the &s;eventh day.</P>
<P>The Golden Age, and Reign of <HI>Saturn,</HI> was gathered as certainly from the mo&s;t happy e&s;tate, wherein <HI>Adam</HI> was before he &s;inned. Nay, <HI>Orpheus</HI> yet ancienter than any of them, confe&s;&s;eth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Orpheus.</NOTE> that he learnt divers thing, as we have &s;hewed before, from the Doctrine of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> mentioning, as we have &s;hewed in our A&s;cent, his very Tables, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Well might they then have the reputation of Prophets among&s;t the Heathens, who lookt with as much reverence upon the Theogony of <HI>He&s;iod,</HI> as we Chri&s;tians do upon the Genea|logy of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; they valued <HI>Homers Illiads</HI> as highly, as we po&s;&s;ibly can the Books of the Go&s;pel, and had as great a re&s;pect to the <HI>Apothegm</HI>'s of <HI>Pythagoras,</HI> as we can have to the Commandments of God.</P>
<P>Let them pa&s;&s;e on then with their reputa|tion of Prophets &s;till, e&s;pecially &s;ince St. <HI>Paul</HI> him&s;elf, is plea&s;ed to afford it to them, &s;aying, <GAP DESC="foreign">,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tit. 1.12, 13.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign">, one of them&s;elves, even a Prophet of their own &s;aid, The <HI>Cretians</HI> are
<PB N="207" REF="119">
alwayes lyars, evil bea&s;ts, flow bellies: then a&s;&s;erts their witne&s;&s;e to be true, and that is rare indeed for Poets, one would think.</P>
<P>Well, a mo&s;t Noble, and in&s;pired faculty, yea Prophe&s;ie it &s;elf, let Poetry be; for truly, I think, a man may be born to one, as well as the other: But, what is this to our late Great Protector, who never dealt in any &s;uch trivial Arts, &s;ay &s;ome of our <HI>Mi&s;omu&s;i</HI>? No, my Lord never e&s;teemed that honourable, and illu&s;tri|ous Art full of Divine fury, after that manner, though it may be, his greater occupations could not permit him the practi&s;e of it: he ever had a mo&s;t reverent e&s;teem of &s;o Divine a profe&s;&s;ion, when regulated after the true Divine way, and was a mo&s;t magnificent <HI>Me|caenas</HI> to its profe&s;&s;ors.</P>
<P>For the Profe&s;&s;ion,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ari&s;tot. Bembus. Scaliger.</NOTE> he believed with <HI>Ari|&s;totle,</HI> that it was the Trea&s;ury of the <HI>Graecian</HI> Divinity; and with <HI>Bembus,</HI> that it was the fir&s;t bringer in of all Civility, and with <HI>Sca|liger,</HI> that no Philo&s;ophers precepts can &s;o &s;oon make an hone&s;t, and a valiant good man, as the reading of <HI>Virgil,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>Then for the Profe&s;&s;ours, Was there ever a more bountiful Benefactor, than he has been to all the vertuous per&s;ons of it? To in&s;tance in one for all; What obliging favours has he ca&s;t upon our <HI>Engli&s;h Virgil</HI> here (I mean Mr. <HI>Edm. Waller</HI>) and meerly for that, and his o|ther vertues, having in &s;ome other relations, little capacity enough to de&s;erve them. My Lord has &s;ufficiently &s;hewed his own mo&s;t ex|cellent
<PB N="208" REF="120">
judgement in Poetry, by his approba|tion and election of him, to be the object of his great goodne&s;&s;e, who is clearly one of the able&s;t, and mo&s;t flouri&s;hing wits, that ever handled a pen, and he does it, with that na|tural dexterity and promptne&s;&s;e, as if he had begun to write, &s;o &s;oon as to live; and who|&s;oever confiders the worth of his Writings, cannot but wonder, how &s;o many graces and beauties, which others labour for, and never attain to, encrea&s;e in him, as in a &s;oil natu|ral for wit and eloquence; If he goes about to tran&s;late any thing, the dead Authors them|&s;elves are ready to ri&s;e out of their graves, and reque&s;t him to exchange his Engli&s;hed Co|pies, for their Originals. In all his own things, his conceptions are unimitable, his language &s;o &s;weet and polite, that no Ice can be &s;moother; his &s;entences are alwayes full of weight, his arguments of force, and his words glide along like a river, and bear perpetually in them, &s;ome fla&s;hes of lightning, at the end of each period. He perfectly knows how to vary his eloquence upon all occa&s;ions, to be facetious in plea&s;ing arguments, grave in &s;e|vere, polite in laborious, and when the &s;ubject requires fervor and invective, his mouth can &s;peak tempe&s;ts; In &s;hort, he is the wonder of Wits, the pattern of Poets, the mirrour of Orators in our Age. All this I &s;ay of him, not &s;o much out of de&s;ign to applaud him, as to adore the judgement of our great <HI>Augu&s;tus,</HI> who alwayes cho&s;e him out, and crowned
<PB N="209" REF="120">
him for the <HI>Virgil</HI> of this Nation; but his fa|vours likewi&s;e were extended mo&s;t liberally, to all tho&s;e that did de&s;erve them, either here, or in either of his Univer&s;ities: He was a perfect <HI>Philomu&s;us,</HI> and why not by that, qua|lified for a Poetical Prophet? the father ha|ving, at lea&s;t, or ought to have, an equal por|tion, with the children of the Prophets.</P>
<P>And &s;o I pa&s;&s;e to the &s;econd &s;ort of Pro|phets, that is, of our Prudent and Political ones, commonly called State&s;men, who indeed mu&s;t fore&s;ee futurities too, or they can never order their affairs aright; for if they look not into all ca&s;ualties of inconvenience, how &s;hall they be ever able to prevent them? And <HI>Se|neca</HI> very wi&s;ely forewarns all State&s;men,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Senec. E|pi&s;t. <HI>24.</HI></NOTE> of the nece&s;&s;ity of this fore&s;ight of all futurities, when he tells them, that they are bound <HI>Quic|quid fieri pote&s;t, qua&s;i futurum cogitare,</HI> To con|ceive, that all things may, that can come to pa&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>And therefore <HI>Jo&s;ephus,</HI> that Learned <HI>Jew,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Jo&s;eph de Bell Jud. l. <HI>2.</HI></NOTE> tells us mo&s;t judiciou&s;ly al&s;o, that <HI>Bonum e&s;t, dum adhuc &s;tat navis in portu, praecavere tempe|&s;tatem futuram, &amp; non eo tempore, quo in medias irrueris procellas, trepidare:</HI> It is nece&s;&s;ary for him that goes to Sea, to fore&s;ee a &s;torm coming, if he can, and not to ru&s;h into the fury of the Seas; and tremble at the tempe&s;t after|wards; that will a vail little, but for to be ren|dered ridiculous for his own ra&s;hne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>This holds altogether as true in him, that holdes the Helme of a Kingdom, or Common-wealth,
<PB N="210" REF="121">
as in any Pilot of a Ship what&s;oever. By this it may be collected, how hugely ne|ce&s;&s;ary it is for a Prince, or Supreme Magi|&s;trate, to hold a con&s;tant communication with God, without who&s;e Divine a&s;&s;i&s;tance, it is im|po&s;&s;ible to manage State matters well, as we have partly &s;hewed already: by his Divine in&s;pirations onely it mu&s;t be, that they can prophe&s;ie upon affairs, as they &s;hould.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Xenoph. de in&s;tit. Cyr.</NOTE>Therefore that great State&s;man <HI>Xenophon,</HI> who drew &s;o well the portraiture of a perfect Empire, tells us, that <HI>Tam erit arduum pre|&s;cribere quae facienda &s;unt, quam futura omnia prae&s;cire, quod &s;olius Dei e&s;t, &amp; majus conditione mortali</HI>: It is as difficult to pre&s;cribe what is to be done in State-bu&s;ine&s;&s;es, as to foreknow all futurities, which is proper to God alone, and above the reach of all Mortals: and yet this, that is &s;o hard a task, is impo&s;ed upon Princes: So that great Stati&s;t proceeds, <HI>Ecce aliquid Dei, &s;ic Princeps &s;u&s;tinebit, in ventura &s;cilicet excurrere, qui ut &s;ibi con&s;tet, &s;ufficiatque, primum con&s;iliis &amp; conatibus &s;uis, &agrave; Deo fulcrum prudentiae &amp; &s;apientiae jugiter flagitabit, nam illa quae capite humano tantum &s;tat, infirma e&s;t &amp; incauta quaedam temeritas, ad nullam autem Provinciam erit inhabilis, ad nullam virtutem indocilis, qui pietatem didicerit, numini&s;que cul|tum.</HI> Behold here, &s;aith he, how a Prince mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity have more than ordinary of God in him, to have an in&s;ight into the events of things, and to di&s;cour&s;e upon futurities; which true &s;pirit of prophe&s;ie, that he may
<PB N="211" REF="121">
have, that he may be con&s;tant to him&s;elf, and &s;table in his coun&s;els, he is perpetually to &s;eek that capacity, and &s;upport from God; for the greate&s;t wit of man, of it &s;elf, will be nothing but temerity; but he that is a true &s;ervant of Gods, and delights in his wor&s;hip, &s;hall be &s;o in&s;pired, as to be able to encounter all extre|mities of State, and difficulties of affaires what&s;oever.</P>
<P>It were now to be wi&s;ht, that our Chri&s;tian Kings and Princes, would &s;tudy and practi&s;e &s;ome of the&s;e religious Pagans admirable Di|vinity, though they will not &s;trive to mount up our Mo&s;aical A&s;cents, as his late mo&s;t Se|rence Highne&s;&s;e has done, by which he has arrived, as we have &s;een, to the perfection of this Political &s;pirit of prophe&s;ie.</P>
<P>The wi&s;e Philo&s;opher a&s;&s;ures us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Seneca.</NOTE> that <HI>Sa|piens non &s;emper it uno gradu, &s;ed una via</HI>: A prudent per&s;on, keeps not alwayes one pace, though &s;till one and the &s;ame way, by which way, he mu&s;t unque&s;tionably mean, this Divine and prophetick way, this way of dependance upon God, in all his coun&s;els; for no way el&s;e can be one, all humane wayes being various and uncertain, as has been &s;ufficiently &s;hewed in our precedent di&s;cour&s;es, together with my Lords, our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his, as the fir&s;ts great relations to the Lord in all their affairs; &s;o I may hold my hand now, from any further en|largement upon their prophetical Policies: but conclude, that his late Highne&s;&s;e, was a mo&s;t compleat Prophet in this &s;en&s;e al&s;o.</P>
<P><PB N="212" REF="122">So now, we come to the third and la&s;t ac|ception of Prophets, and that is the true one indeed, the Divine Prophets, I mean, imme|diately illuminated by God, as our fir&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was, and had free and frequent conver&s;ation with the Deity, even to the enjoyment of him face to face.</P>
<P>Of this &s;ort of Prophets, we find a di&s;tin|ction likewi&s;e in Scripture, and they are ter|med by the Spirit of God, either <HI>Videntes,</HI> or <HI>Evangelizantes,</HI> Seers, or Preachers: The Seers were tho&s;e which u&s;ed to conver&s;e with God by Vi&s;ions, or Divine Dreams, and to have &s;ome miraculous Revelations of things, and many future Events. This truly is the pro|per high pitch of prophe&s;ie, the &s;ublime&s;t con|dition &s;ure, that mortality can arrive at, and that, our fir&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> had in the greate&s;t propor|tion of any meer man that ever lived, as we have &s;een in our A&s;cent; nor truly dare I venture our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> here, to the perfe|ction of Parallel with him; for, as I have &s;aid before, we are yet unknowing to tho&s;e parti|cular private di&s;pen&s;ations of Heaven to him, though this we may &s;ecurely conclude, as the Scripture &s;peaks, <HI>that the Secret of the Lord was with him; and that he had the te&s;timony of Je&s;us,</HI> which to have, is to have the Spirit of pro|phe&s;ie; for the te&s;timony of Je&s;us, is the Spi|rit of prophe&s;ie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 19.10.</NOTE> as is expre&s;&s;ely delivered to us in the <HI>Revelation.</HI></P>
<P>Then for the &s;econd &s;ort of Divine Pro|phets, which are the <HI>Evangelizers,</HI> or in&s;pired
<PB N="213" REF="122">
<HI>Preachers,</HI> they are &s;uch as the Apo&s;tle de|&s;cribes at large, in the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth, Chapters of his fir&s;t Epi&s;tle to the <HI>Corinthians</HI>: and exhorts us all,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 12. Ib. 13. ib. 14.</NOTE> to covet to be, above all things, and to &s;peak unto men, <HI>to edification, to exhortation, and comfort.</HI> Now if ever this &s;ublime Piece of Divine prophe&s;ie, was made out to any mortal man, of his con|dition, it was mo&s;t eminently glorious in him: his very life was a perpetual Prophe&s;ie, his &s;anctified example, was a con&s;tant living Ser|mon, and the words which the Spirit gave him, when he was plea&s;ed to open his in&s;pired lips, were, as we have hinted before, as thun|derclaps to Hindes, for the production of &s;al|vation.</P>
<P>His way of prophe&s;ying, was not like theirs now adayes, that make a trade of it, and em|ploy their Pulpits more for coin, than con|&s;cience, and to pluck the fruits of the earth from their Pari&s;hioners, than to improve the fruits of the Spirit in them: No, his in&s;pi|red Highne&s;&s;e ever hated that canker of world|ly &s;pirits, &s;o predominate in the mo&s;t preten|ded Prophets of this Age, who indeed more zealou&s;ly preach them&s;elves, and their own vile intere&s;ts, than the pure and &s;aving word of God.</P>
<P>Others for&s;ooth, there are of them, that will preach nothing but <HI>placentia,</HI> &s;ow pillows under &s;inful elbows, and &s;troak and tickle their Auditors in the meane time with &s;trange &s;tories, or vain curio&s;ities, and yet
<PB N="214" REF="123">
this they will call prophe&s;ying; but be it what it will, they care not, &s;o it be for their own profiting; and they have brought a great part of the people too, to be &s;atisfied with that kind of &s;tuff; nay, even &s;trangely to delight in it.</P>
<P>The generality now, comes onely to hear Preachers, as of old they u&s;ed to do to the <HI>A|thenian</HI> Orators, or a curious Lute-player, or a Comedy: but if he that preacheth has no other intention but to plea&s;e, and they that hear, have no other purpo&s;e, but to &s;ooth their own curio&s;ity, he may weary his lungs in the mean &s;pace, and they hug the itch in their ears; but the time will come, when he &s;hall have the worm in his heart, to gnaw him, and they the tingling of the eares for their puni&s;hment.</P>
<P>The &s;eller, and the buyer, both &s;hall be payed home with the coin of reprobation; for who&s;oever &s;peaketh not, and who heareth not, to do, and become better, abu&s;eth the gift of prophe&s;ie it &s;elf, and a word &s;igned with the blood of <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> the account of which, they will find ine&s;timable, and the lo&s;&s;e of the lea&s;t jot of it, mo&s;t damnably dangerous.</P>
<P>His in&s;pired Highne&s;&s;e, I &s;ay, out of his true Prophetick wi&s;dom,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 13.2.</NOTE> ever hated the cour|&s;es of all tho&s;e giddy ungodly Evangelizers, and &s;aid with holy <HI>Paul, Though I have the gift of Prophe&s;ie, and under&s;tand all my&s;teries, and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, &s;o as I could remove mountains, and have
<PB N="215" REF="123">
no charity, I am nothing</HI>: Now this charity tends to that the Apo&s;tle tells us, (as afore|&s;aid) <HI>to edification, exhortation, and com|fort of others,</HI> which his true Prophetick Spirit alwayes ob&s;erved, and by that in|flamed all his people about him &s;o, that his Palace alwayes appeared, as a glorious Temple, and his conver&s;ation a very Heaven upon Earth: So I hope this Parallel like|wi&s;e will not be denyed, to be accompli|&s;hed: Yet we &s;hall &s;ee it more clear in the following.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="23" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="216" REF="124">
<HEAD>The three and twentieth A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> was not onely endowed by God, with a mo&s;t rich and plentiful &s;pirit of Prophe&s;ie him&s;elf; but he endeavour|ed to procure it for, and alwayes permitted the exerci&s;e of it in, others: nay, encouraged and cheri&s;hed it in his people, to the di&s;content of divers about him; for the &s;acred Text tells us, that when newes was brought to the ble&s;&s;ed Patriarch, and holy Prophet, that there re|mained two of the men in the Camp, the name of the one was <HI>Eldad,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 11.26.</NOTE> and the name of the other <HI>Medad,</HI> and that the &s;pirit re&s;ting upon them, they continued to prophe&s;ie in the Camp,<NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 27. V. 28. V. 29.</NOTE> and he was &s;olicited to forbid them. Then <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;aid to him, that would have had it forbidden, <HI>Envye&s;t thou for my &s;ake? would God, that all the Lords people were Prophets, and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them.</HI> So it plainly appears, that our great Patriarch and Prophet <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> was ab&s;olutely in his own judgement, inclined to favour a liberty of
<PB N="217" REF="124">
Prophe&s;ying, and that his judgement too, was &s;econded by Divine approbation; for what he then &s;poke, was from the very mouth, and dictate, of the Spirit of God him&s;elf.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="parallel">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>Thus we &s;ee, what Philo&s;ophers a&s;&s;ure us, is very true, that <HI>Omne bonum e&s;t &s;ui diffu&s;ivum,</HI> All good is diffu&s;ive of it &s;elf; nothing in|deed is &s;o proper to its nature, as to be com|municable: much more then mu&s;t the Spirit of all goodne&s;&s;e be &s;o; that is, this Spirit of God him&s;elf, the Holy Spirit of prophe&s;ie; What el&s;e made our great and gracious Patri|arch, &s;o willing to part with &s;ome of his &s;pirit, as the Text tells us, he did to the &s;eventy,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 11.24.</NOTE> that he &s;et round about the Tabernacle? nor onely &s;o, but to endeavour, and de&s;ire, as we have &s;een in the A&s;cent, That all Gods people were Prophets too, and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them.</P>
<P>O words worthy to be written in Letters of Gold, with a Pen of Diamond: And was not this the very &s;en&s;e, and true Prophetick Spirit of our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> too? Has he not alwayes endeavoured, to impart that &s;pirit of his to, and improve it in, the hearts of all his people, that were capable of it? Has he not alwayes incouraged the free u&s;e, and exerci&s;e
<PB N="218" REF="125">
of it, throughout the&s;e Nations, whil&s;t &s;ome cruel, greedy, envious, and exterminating &s;pirits, were not onely &s;triving in private, but enacting in publick, to make a monopoly of this holy Spirit, and engro&s;&s;e it to them&s;elves? Nor onely &s;o, but went about to extirpate, and root out, all tho&s;e that de&s;ired the free u&s;e, and exerci&s;e of it. O Antichri&s;tain Ty|rany! But this &s;ufficiently argued, that theirs was not the true &s;pirit of prophe&s;ie, neither of, nor from the Lord at all: for that no &s;pi|rit what&s;oever can have a true union with God, that has not a commixture of charity, is evident,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 13.</NOTE> by the drift of the whole Chapter of that Epi&s;tle to the <HI>Corinthians,</HI> cited in the la&s;t Parallel.</P>
<P>From whence then mu&s;t this &s;pirit of bit|terne&s;&s;e among&s;t men proceed, is it from the more brutal part of man? An ancient Fa|ther,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tertull.</NOTE> in an elegant gradation of his, tells us, no: for <HI>Homo homini Lupus,</HI> A man is a Wolf to a man; that will not reach it; for <HI>Saevis inter &s;e convenit</HI>: No bea&s;t &s;o &s;avage, that will prey upon his own kinde. Is it from any de|vili&s;hne&s;&s;e that may po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e humane nature? no, <HI>Homo homini daemon,</HI> will not reach it; for tho&s;e wicked &s;pirits do agree well enough within them&s;elves; for our Saviour him&s;elf, te&s;tifies of their union, when he &s;ayes, <HI>That if their hou&s;e were divided, it could not &s;tand.</HI> From whence then can this &s;pirit of bitter|ne&s;&s;e among&s;t men proceed? even from men them&s;elves, <HI>Homo homini homo,</HI> That alone
<PB N="219" REF="125">
can reach this malice; for nothing is &s;o merci|le&s;&s;e an enemy to man, as man him&s;elf. No creature in the earth, be&s;ides Canibal-men, will prey upon their own &s;peices, nor can any but barbarous Chri&s;tians think, that the God of all mercy, delights in humane &s;acrifices, like tho&s;e devili&s;h deities of old, and &s;till in <HI>America,</HI> that will be propitiated by no other means.</P>
<P>From whence then mu&s;t this &s;pirit of bitter|ne&s;&s;e among&s;t Chri&s;tians proceed? is it from any principle of faith, or primitive practi&s;e? &s;urely no: for the fir&s;t children, of the Chri|&s;tian Church, bore neither rod nor &s;tick in their hands, wherewithal to plant faith in the hearts of men: How comes it to pa&s;&s;e then, that we &s;ee &s;ome &s;ort of people have publi&s;ht a Religion, all bri&s;tled over with &s;words and pikes, all &s;ooted with the &s;moke of musket and canon, all &s;prinkled over, and be&s;mear'd with the blood of Chri&s;tians? Mu&s;t now the ancient Armes of our Chri&s;tian forefathers, which were prayers, and tears, be laid a&s;ide, and none but killing weapons taken up? no Schooles to decide controver&s;ies between Chri&s;tians, but bloody Campanias, nor way to &s;ave the &s;ouls of men, but by de&s;troying their bodies? Did God refu&s;e to have his Temple built by <HI>David,</HI> though a man after his own heart, becau&s;e onely his hands were bloody; and can he now be contented, to have the very morter that is to bind up the &s;tones, and ci|ment the walls of his Church, be tempered
<PB N="220" REF="126">
with blood, and her breaches made up with &s;kulls and carka&s;es? Will he now &s;uffer the &s;tones of his hou&s;e, to be all poli&s;ht with &s;uch &s;troakes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Kings 6.7.</NOTE> as are &s;mitings of Brethren, who would not endure in that of <HI>Solomons</HI> building, &s;o much as the noi&s;e of hammer, ax, or iron, or bra&s;&s;e toole?</P>
<P>From whence then can proceed this &s;pirit of bitterne&s;&s;e among&s;t brethren? that the red Dragon &s;hould begin again to play Rex, and that Whore prepare to dye her Scarlet anew, and the pale Hor&s;e of impri&s;onment and exile, threaten a range about the &s;treets? till his late mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e, was plea&s;ed to oppo&s;e him&s;elf and all his power, again&s;t tho&s;e cruel, and, as I &s;aid before, Antichri&s;tian de|&s;igns. From whence, I &s;ay, could ari&s;e this root of bitterne&s;&s;e between Brethren? from nothing but a meer <HI>Machiavillian</HI> trick too, a pretence, for&s;ooth, of conformity, or uni|formity in the Church, which has been, and is undoubtedly, the greate&s;t cheat, that ever the Devil invented, to make men run a mad|ing in Religion, and to embroile Chri&s;tendom in direful wars, perpetual confu&s;ions, and mo&s;t bloody ruins.</P>
<P>The witchcraft of that <HI>Jezebel</HI> it was, that &s;o long troubled this our <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and that our great <HI>Jehu,</HI> as well as &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> &s;o furiou&s;ly marcht again&s;t, and, thanks be to God, has pretty well di&s;&s;olved her inchant|ments. Her painted face, he has now likewi&s;e di&s;covered in its pure naturals, to all the
<PB N="221" REF="126">
World, and pulled off the vizard of all pre|ten&s;es what&s;oever; for let the ends of the&s;e conformity-mongers, be never &s;o plau&s;ible, to ciment the State for&s;ooth, again&s;t all divi&s;ion, we find it has been throughout all <HI>Europe,</HI> the onely mother and nur&s;e, of all di&s;turbances what&s;oever in matters of Religion, and the greate&s;t occa&s;ion of civil blood&s;hed, that ever was in the World; for there can be no War &s;o pa&s;&s;ionate, as the War of con&s;cience.</P>
<P>All the&s;e horrid inconveniences, and mi&s;|chiefs, his Highne&s;&s;e's great Mo&s;aick prudence, mo&s;t timely lookt into, and prevented a|mong&s;t us. How often have we &s;een the fu|rious Furnace heating by &s;everal parties? &s;o could expect no le&s;&s;e than a fiery-trial: But he would neither &s;uffer King, nor his Court, though he was the pretended head of that pi|tiful Body, nor yet Bi&s;hops, Arch-Deacons, Deans, Chancellors, and Officials, with their long-tailed, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Nor yet any Superintendent with his Cla&s;&s;es, and pretended Directories, to impo&s;e any thing upon tender con&s;ciences; and indeed among&s;t all the weighty affairs of this Nation, which he like another <HI>Atlas,</HI> &s;o happily bore about him, the dear indulgent care, he alwayes expre&s;t in the favour of &s;uch Chri&s;tians, who laboured under any &s;cruples of con&s;cience, was as glorious and remarkable, as his undaunted courage to pull down his proud and &s;tiff-necked enemies: and this is mo&s;t evident likewi&s;e, by what it plea&s;ed his mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e to hold forth in the &s;ame
<PB N="222" REF="127">
Speech afore-cited in the la&s;t A&s;cent; which mo&s;t heavenly words I thought nece&s;&s;ary like|wi&s;e to in&s;ert here.</P>
<Q REND="margQuotes"><P>When you were entred upon this <HI>GO|VERNMENT,</HI> raveling into it (you know I took no notice what you were do|ing) if you had gone upon that foot of Ac|count, To have made &s;uch good and whole|&s;ome <HI>Provi&s;ions</HI> for the good of the People of the&s;e Nations, for the <HI>Settling</HI> of &s;uch mat|ters in things of Religion, as would have <HI>up|held</HI> and given <HI>Countenance</HI> to a <HI>Godly Mini|&s;try,</HI> and yet would have given a <HI>ju&s;t Liberty</HI> to <HI>Godly men</HI> of different Judgements, men of the &s;ame Faith with them that you call the <HI>Orthodox Mini&s;tery</HI> in <HI>England,</HI> as it is well known the <HI>Independents</HI> are, and many under the Form of <HI>Bapti&s;m,</HI> who are found in the <HI>Faith,</HI> onely may perhaps be different in Judgement in &s;ome le&s;&s;er matters, yet as true <HI>Chri&s;tians,</HI> both looking at Salvation, <HI>onely by faith in the blood of Chri&s;t,</HI> men profe&s;&s;ing the fear of God, having recour&s;e to the <HI>Name</HI> of God, <HI>as to a &s;trong Tower</HI>; I &s;ay, you might have had <HI>Opportunity</HI> to have &s;et|led <HI>Peace</HI> and <HI>Quietne&s;&s;e</HI> among&s;t all profe&s;|&s;ing <HI>Godline&s;&s;e,</HI> and might have been in&s;tru|mental, if not to have <HI>healed</HI> the breaches, yet to have kept the Godly of all Judge|ments from running one upon another, and by keeping them from being over-run by a Common Enemy, rendred them and the&s;e
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Nations, both &s;ecure, happy, and well &s;atisfied.</P><P>Are the&s;e things done? or any thing to|wards them? Is there not yet upon the &s;pi|rits of men a &s;trange <HI>itch?</HI> nothing will &s;a|tisfie them, unle&s;&s;e they can put their finger upon their <HI>Brethrens Con&s;ciences,</HI> to pinch them there. To do this, was no part of the Conte&s;t we had with the <HI>Common Adver&s;ary</HI>; for <HI>Religion</HI> was not the thing at the fir&s;t conte&s;ted for; but God brought it to that i&s;&s;ue at la&s;t, and gave it into Us by way of <HI>Redundancy,</HI> and at la&s;t it proved to be that which was mo&s;t dear to us; and wherein con&s;i&s;ted this, more than in obtaining that <HI>Liberty</HI> from the <HI>Tyranny</HI> of the <HI>Bi&s;hops,</HI> to all <HI>Species</HI> of <HI>Prote&s;tants,</HI> to wor&s;hip God ac|cording to their own <HI>Light</HI> and <HI>Con&s;ciences?</HI> for want of which, many of our <HI>Brethren</HI> for|&s;ook their <HI>Native Countries,</HI> to &s;eek their <HI>Bread</HI> from <HI>Strangers,</HI> and to live in <HI>Howling Wilderne&s;&s;es</HI>; and for which al&s;o, many that remained here, were <HI>impri&s;oned,</HI> and otherwi&s;e <HI>abu&s;ed,</HI> and made the &s;corn of the <HI>Nation.</HI></P><P>Tho&s;e that were <HI>&s;ound in the Faith,</HI> how proper was it for them to labour for <HI>Liberty,</HI> for a ju&s;t <HI>Liberty,</HI> that men &s;hould not be trampled upon for their <HI>Con&s;ciences?</HI> had not they laboured but lately under the <HI>weight</HI> of <HI>Per&s;ecutions,</HI> and was it fit for them to <HI>fit heavy</HI> upon others? is it ingenuous to ask liberty, and not to give it? what greater Hypocri&s;ie, than for tho&s;e who were oppre&s;|&s;ed by the <HI>Bi&s;hops,</HI> to become the greate&s;t
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<HI>Oppre&s;&s;ors</HI> them&s;elves, &s;o &s;oon as their yoke was removed? I could wi&s;h that they who call for <HI>Libery</HI> now al&s;o, had not too much of that <HI>Spirit,</HI> if the power were in their hands.</P><P>As for <HI>Prophane Per&s;ons, Bla&s;phemers,</HI> &s;uch as preach <HI>Sedition,</HI> the <HI>Contentious Railers; Evil Speakers,</HI> who &s;eek by evil words <HI>to cor|rupt good manners,</HI> per&s;ons of <HI>loo&s;e conver&s;a|tions, puni&s;hment</HI> from the <HI>Civil Magi&s;trate</HI> ought to meet with them, becau&s;e, if the&s;e pretend Con&s;cience, yet walking <HI>di&s;orderly,</HI> and not according, but contrary to the <HI>Go&s;pel,</HI> and even to <HI>natural light,</HI> they are judged of all, and their <HI>Sins</HI> being open, make them &s;ubjects of the <HI>Magi&s;trates</HI> Sword, <HI>who ought not to bear it in vain.</HI></P></Q>
<P>O words worthy of the &s;pirit of &s;o great a Prince and Prophet, which I could dwell up|on to admire! but I am called now away from that admiration; Yet, in the mean time, I mu&s;t de&s;ire leave to wonder at another Prodi|gy, With what face the&s;e uniformity men, be they King, Court, and Council; Prelate, Dean, and Chapter; Pre&s;ident, Superintendent, and Con&s;i&s;tory; be it Convocation, Synod, or A&s;&s;embly, could pre&s;cribe Rules to other mens faiths, unle&s;&s;e they could make clearly out, that very Junto of theirs, call it what you will, to be the onely true Throne of Chri&s;t, and that they could demon&s;trate all the lineaments of their Di&s;cipline, and Government, to be truly
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and naturally derived from the pure Foun|tain of Gods word: otherwi&s;e, methinkes, &s;uch tyrannous impo&s;itions &s;hould rather af|frighten, than &s;atisfie mens con&s;ciences, and make them di&s;claim &s;uch a Religion for a mon&s;ter, than accept it for a well-&s;hap't child of the Church.</P>
<P>Is it rea&s;on for me to run out of my wits, to &s;atisfie a company of unrea&s;onable men, met together? and &s;hall I lay the head of my faith upon the block of any A&s;&s;embly, to be cut and mangled into what form and fa&s;hion they &s;hall plea&s;e? God forbid: But yet I hold it much more madne&s;&s;e to per&s;ecute any man becau&s;e he is not of my opinion; I may as well &s;ure quarrel with tho&s;e that re&s;emble me not in outward complexion: For &s;ince we lo&s;t perfection in <HI>Adam,</HI> whatever know|ledge we attain to now, is either Moral, by the improving of tho&s;e natural endowments, God has given us, or el&s;e Divine, which comes by an immediate influence from Heaven upon the &s;oul; therefore when we &s;ee any weaker in judgement than our &s;elves, we &s;hould look upon them, rather as objects of pitty, than puni&s;hment, rather deplorable, than dam|nable.</P>
<P>Vain man, what made the difference be|twixt thee, and thy weak brother? Was it not free grace? <HI>for what ha&s;t thou,</HI> as the A|po&s;tle demands of thee, <HI>that thou did&s;t not re|ceive?</HI> and that God may reveale to him al&s;o, in his due time.</P>
<P><PB N="226" REF="129">Is it not a barbarous thing, for people to be &s;tript of their lives and goods, for difference in opinions onely, though our brethren &s;till in Chri&s;t? Nay, to lie under &s;o rigid a per&s;e|cution, that poor Chri&s;tians &s;hould be made accountable for the very goods that have been violently pulled from them, and tributary for the onely &s;hipwrack of their poverty. Nor is this cour&s;e of cruel proceeding in points of Religion, more again&s;t Piety, than common Policy: for fir&s;t it is as impo&s;&s;ible to root out any Religion by a per&s;ecution, as to put out a fire, with blowing of it, the &s;uffering party alwayes gaining credit to his cau&s;e, if it be a matter of Con&s;cience; and therefore we find the Chri&s;tian Church has alwayes fructified by the blood of Martyrs; and indeed, had no other vi&s;ible &s;eed-plot, but the places of their executions.</P>
<P>Then it is not a more common, than true Rule, that <HI>Malus cu&s;tos diuturnitatis metus, &amp; frequens vindicta paucorum odium reprimit, om|nium irritat</HI>: Fear is no good Ma&s;ter, and fre|quent puni&s;hments, provoke more ill blood, than they do &s;uppre&s;&s;e. The rea&s;on is plain, for men that lie under any oppre&s;&s;ion, e&s;pecial|ly if it be for matter of con&s;cience, though they are at &s;ome times po&s;&s;ibly wi&s;e and tem|perate enough, doe ordinarily become mad, and u&s;ually trample down all relations, to make way for a deliverance, where they have lea&s;t hopes given them of a remedy; and as the condition of mens beings alter, &s;o they do
<PB N="227" REF="129">
mo&s;t commonly vary their intere&s;ts, and prin|ciples.</P>
<P>His Mo&s;aick Highne&s;&s;e therefore, would not, (as was &s;aid before, of him, that <HI>Cum victor extiterit lictor protinus eva&s;it</HI>) appear at all &s;evere upon Brethren of the &s;ame Faith, though differing, it may be, in &s;ome Doctrines: he provided more Doctors, than Executioners for them, knowing that the apprehen&s;ions of God, and true Religion, are to be in&s;tilled in|to the hearts of men, by the true Spirit of Prophe&s;ie, and help of tongues, and not by the dint of &s;words: he knew that God had not in the&s;e dayes, refu&s;ed his wonted appear|ance in a &s;oft voice, and cho&s;en to remain in thunder, as our <HI>Boanerges</HI>'s, would have it now: as al&s;o he con&s;idered, that to go about to re|form any thing in Religion, by humane &s;trength, is quite contrary to the nature of Re|formation it &s;elf, and as extravagant a cour&s;e, as to attempt, the repair of a Ca&s;tle-wall with a needle and thread. He never went about to make deci&s;ions of Faith, with the edge of his &s;word, or determine controver&s;ies in Reli|gion, by his armour of proof; No, the &s;word of the Spirit he knew, did never u&s;e to make way to the con&s;cience, by cutting through the fle&s;h; and he that by force of armes, cruelty, and per&s;ecution, goes about to reform, or de|fend any Religion, doth but take &s;uch cour|&s;es, as are condemned by the &s;ame Religion, that he would defend.</P>
<P>His Highne&s;&s;e therefore, alwayes took a
<PB N="228" REF="130">
&s;ofter and &s;ecurer cour&s;e, like a true Mo&s;aical Prophet indeed, knowing that the true Spirit of Prophe&s;ie, like Amber, &s;weetly draws the &s;lighte&s;t &s;traw, and like Adamant, will court and attract, the harde&s;t iron: He had ob&s;er|ved likewi&s;e, what &s;ome Naturali&s;ts tell us, That fountains of troubled water, would be clean&s;ed with a Honey-comb, while vio|lent &s;tirring of them, would but foul them wor&s;e.</P>
<P>He reflected frequently upon the Speech of <HI>Abner</HI> to <HI>Joab,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Sam. 2.26.</NOTE> <HI>Num u&s;que ad internecionem hujus macro defaeviet, an ignoras quod periculo&s;a e&s;t de|&s;peratio? u&s;que quo non dicis populo, ut omittat per|&s;equi fratres &s;uos?</HI> Shall the Sword devoure forever? Knowe&s;t thou not, that it is not a little dangerous to drive men into de&s;paira|tion? How long &s;hall it be then, ere thou bid the people return from per&s;ecuting their Bre|thren? An excellent piece of coun&s;el, and as good an example, and was as well followed by his late mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e; He ever held tho&s;e to be be&s;t, and mo&s;t godly Laws, that were lea&s;t &s;anguinary, and yet maintained order: all others he accounted meer Phala|ri&s;mes, and <HI>leges Draconis.</HI></P>
<P>And though it may be objected, that to give factions the bridle, to entertain and pro|pagate new opinions, is the highway to &s;catter contentions, and &s;ow divi&s;ions among&s;t the people, and as it were, to lend them hand to make a di&s;turbance of the Publick peace, there being no bar or ob&s;tacle of Lawes, to hinder
<PB N="229" REF="130">
their cour&s;e; yet it may be as well urged, that to give factions that very bridle, to uphold their opinions, is by that facility and gracious favour, the ready way to mollifie and reform them; at lea&s;t, to blunt their edge, which would be otherwi&s;e &s;harpned, by rarene&s;&s;e, novelty, and difficulty.</P>
<P>Clemency is a vertue &s;ometimes of as great policy, as piety, as we have &s;hewed in our former A&s;cents; becau&s;e it begets love, and love breeds loyalty, commands the very &s;oul, and layes the body at the feet of the obliger. Mercy kindles fire and zeale in the hearts of Subjects, pitty and pardon, as they make the obligation of the offenders greater, &s;o it makes them repent, to have offended him, who hath &s;o obliged them, the rea&s;on is infallible, <HI>fide|lem &s;i putaveris facies</HI>; The way to make a faithful friend, is to believe him to be &s;o.</P>
<P>But what has prophe&s;ying to do with facti|on? that good &s;pirit &s;ure, cannot be guilty of making any publick di&s;turbance, for it is a &s;pi|rit of peace. Several prophetick &s;pirits cer|tainly, and diver&s;ities of per&s;wa&s;ions, in mat|ter of Religion, may live and cohabit together, without de&s;truction of one another; and though they come not into one Church, Congrega|tion, or Meeting-place, yet may conver&s;e to|gether in one Market, City, or Common-wealth. <HI>Symmachus</HI> though a Pagan, yet a mo&s;t Learned and Vertuous one, could &s;ay, in a Speech, that he made to <HI>Theodorick, That in matter of Religion, every man ought to have
<PB N="230" REF="131">
his rights and ceremonies, as his opinion, free,</HI> and gives his rea&s;on thus: <HI>God is a great Secret, no wonder therefore if we endeavour to find him, &s;o many &s;everal wayes.</HI> And <HI>Con&s;tantine,</HI> though a very good Chri&s;tian, profe&s;t in a &s;olemn Ora|tion, <HI>Not to force any man in his Religion, but to leave to every one that, as free as the Elements.</HI></P>
<P>I would very fain know now, what the&s;e men of mighty uniformity, will &s;ay to the&s;e great rea&s;ons, and greater authorities of our fir&s;t and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> the greate&s;t Princes, and grave&s;t Per&s;ons, in the World, and what po&s;&s;ibility they can propo&s;e, to reduce the di|ver&s;ities of mens &s;pirits, to this their wonder|ful accord? For it is again&s;t common &s;en&s;e and rea&s;on, that ever men &s;hall be one in opi|nion; we know the Heathen could declare, <HI>Quot capita tot &s;en&s;us</HI>; So many men, &s;o many mindes: So that they which endeavour this &s;pecious unity, &s;eem to me, to go about to im|pri&s;on <HI>Aeolus,</HI> and his two and thirty &s;onnes, in a bag, as it is &s;aid, the <HI>L<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">planders</HI> u&s;e to do, &s;ince opinion will blow &s;till from every point of the Compa&s;&s;e. And as any confinement of the winde, torments nature with an earth|quake, &s;o to rob the &s;oul of its freedom, (which is far more agil and diffu&s;ive) mu&s;t needs cau&s;e a cholick, with an inflammation, in the bowels of a Kingdom. Till then, the&s;e pitiful unifor|mity-mongers, be pointed at, as the onely enemies of a State, and this wretched per|&s;wa&s;ion be wrought out of the hearts of men, that they ought to make all men walke that
<PB N="231" REF="131">
way par-force, which their bya&s;&s;ed Prie&s;ts cry up for the onely right; and till men be le&s;&s;e in the Letter, that they may be more one, in the Spirit, (which none but the &s;pi|ritual can apprehend) and until they leave crying for fire from Heaven, again&s;t Brethren in the Faith, we &s;hall alwayes have our Chur|ches, and Country too, in a flame, though perhaps them&s;elves may be fir&s;t in the a&s;hes.</P>
<P>In the mean time, it &s;hall &s;atisfie me, and I hope, all the good people of the Land, to con|template the <HI>Idaea,</HI> and ble&s;&s;ed example of our gracious &s;econd, as he did alwayes that of the fir&s;t, <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> who oppo&s;ed him&s;elf, and all his power, again&s;t tho&s;e envious &s;pirits, that pre|tended unity for their &s;chi&s;matical breaches of Chri&s;ts body, and Faith for their factions; and &s;o &s;uppre&s;&s;ing the true &s;pirit of Prophe&s;ie in all others would be thought to ingro&s;&s;e it to them&s;elves; whereas, God knows, they have none at all of it; for the burning heats of their per&s;ecutions, and the bright flames of brotherly charity, are lighted from as di&s;tant fires, as Heaven is from Hell.</P>
<P>His Mo&s;aical Highne&s;&s;e therefore, in humble imitation of his fir&s;t Great Ma&s;ter, in this A|&s;cent of his, and in obedience to the Divine exhortations of the Apo&s;tle, who chargeth us <HI>not to quench the Spirit, nor de&s;pi&s;e Prophe&s;ying</HI>;<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 The&s;&s;. 5.19, 20.</NOTE> and like a true Father of the children of the Prophets, ever &s;upported them, in their their fair, and full liberty, of Prophe&s;ying; that
<PB N="232" REF="132">
we may now cry out, with the <HI>P&s;almi&s;t, Great is the number of the Prophets</HI>: and further, we may ob&s;erve, and ble&s;&s;e God, for the great fruites, and effects of that goodne&s;&s;e, which we now enjoy by that happy liberty; Peace with|in, and Honour without, Love at home, Re|&s;pect abroad, and &s;uch a Concord of di&s;cords, and &s;weet Union of divi&s;ions, that we can &s;ee nothing of &s;trife among&s;t us, unle&s;&s;e it be a religious contention on all &s;ides, for devotion and a good life, for peaceable conver&s;ation, obedience to Magi&s;trates, excellency of learn|ing; who &s;hall do mo&s;t good in the State, and de&s;erve the Prize; and &s;uch an <HI>Eutopia,</HI> could he onely make in <HI>England,</HI> that did de&s;erve the Olive branches for Mercy, Peace, and Goodne&s;&s;e, as well as the Laurel, for his Vi|ctories, Wi&s;dom, Government, and Con&s;tancy, (the Crown of all.)</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="24" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="233" REF="132">
<HEAD>The four and twentieth A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> being thus ble&s;t with all the beau|tiful embelli&s;hments of Body and Soul, that mortal man was capable of, &s;o ad|mirable in the pre-eminencies of his nature, &s;o flouri&s;hing in all the ornaments of Art, and extraordinary advantages of a mo&s;t Noble education, nay, adorned too with Divine dig|nities: being thus proved to be an ab&s;olute good Souldier, compleat Captain, and Con|ductor-General, a mo&s;t Ma&s;ter-State&s;man, perfect Prince, and &s;upreme Magi&s;trate; and yet further, advanced to the mo&s;t &s;ublime de|grees of Patriarch, and Prophet: What can be more expected, or de&s;ired, from Heaven in favour of his incomparable per&s;on? nothing &s;ure, but what he had in the greate&s;t propor|tion, that ever man alive had, and that was, a profound, &s;hall I &s;ay? or, a high, humility? a matchle&s;&s;e meekne&s;&s;e of &s;pirit, the Crown doubtle&s;&s;e of all his other exaltations; for without that, not all the greatne&s;s and glory of the Earth, nor yet the graces and dignities of
<PB N="234" REF="133">
Heaven, would &s;ignifie more to a man, than a Medicine compo&s;ed of many vertuous and vigorous &s;imples, and infected by the infu&s;ion of one poi&s;onous drug.</P>
<P>Humility therefore; as it was the fir&s;t &s;tep of all his greatne&s;&s;e, when the Lord found him out in the De&s;art, &s;o he carried it con&s;tantly along with him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 3.</NOTE> and to Crown all his Actions and Undertakings; by this he &s;ubjected the pride of <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> and all the perver&s;ne&s;&s;e of his own people, who&s;e frequent in&s;urrections, and mutinous di&s;tempers, he &s;uppre&s;t by no thing more,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 14.</NOTE> than his meer meekne&s;&s;e, and of|ten &s;ubmi&s;&s;ive falling upon his face, as to be &s;een, in the Rebellion of <HI>Korah,</HI> and the Se|dition of <HI>Miriam</HI>; after all which, the Lord was plea&s;ed to give him, this gracious Chara|cter;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 12.</NOTE> That he was a very meek man, and humble, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth, Thus was the Lord plea&s;ed to &s;anctifie him in his faithfulne&s;&s;e, and meekne&s;&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccle&s;. 45.4.</NOTE> as <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;ticus</HI> expre&s;&s;eth it, and &s;o cho&s;e him out of all men.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="parallel">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>Thus we are at length arrived, within the highe&s;t Port of per&s;onal perfection, that any Prince can po&s;&s;ibly call an Anchor in: the &s;ublime&s;t &s;tep that mortal man is capable to mount. The Stars, we know, are beheld in
<PB N="235" REF="133">
the bottom of a pit, and profound humility, maketh the mo&s;t radiant &s;plendours to appear in Princely greatne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>The Sun, we &s;ee, that is the Prince of Pla|nets, di&s;pelleth alwayes all the gro&s;&s;e&s;t, thick|e&s;t, and &s;tiffe&s;t, vapours, and draweth the thinne&s;t and mo&s;t &s;ubtile to him&s;elf. How much more then that we do attenuate, le&s;&s;en, and anihilate our &s;elves, which we can do no other way &s;o well, as by the practi&s;e of this cele&s;tial vertue of Humility, &s;o much the nearer we are &s;ure to approach to the Son of Righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and true Glory.</P>
<P>Nay, that Son of Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and true Glory him&s;elf, was plea&s;ed not to render him|&s;elf, &s;o illu&s;trious to us, in any one particular, as in the practi&s;e of this, both profound and &s;ublime vertue; the whole cour&s;e of his life, from the Crib, to the Cro&s;&s;e, being nothing el&s;e but a con&s;tant moving homily of Humility. It is no wonder then, that the Holy &s;pirit of God, was plea&s;ed to take &s;uch punctual care, &s;o expre&s;&s;ely to de&s;cribe, this excellency in our great Patriarch; and I doubt not, but upon a &s;trict examen, we &s;hall find our late Princely Protector, and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> his Pa|rallel, in this al&s;o, as well as in all his other mo&s;t heroical perfections.</P>
<P>As for his humility to Godward, and pure meekne&s;&s;e of &s;pirit, in &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion to his Will, and Divine Commands, I hope, we have pret|ty well put out of que&s;tion already; as for his remarkable humility, and meekne&s;&s;e of
<PB N="236" REF="134">
&s;pirit towards man, his continual conver&s;ation cannot but bring in &s;ufficient evidence.</P>
<P>Is there any man now living, that can with ju|&s;tice tax him of any pride, or imperious di&s;tance, that he ever kept with his people? No, it is no|toriou&s;ly known, to all that ever knew him, that he did alwayes communicate him&s;elf with &s;o much &s;weetne&s;&s;e, affability, facility, and curte&s;ie, that he did ever augment his re&s;pect, by very familiarity; the u&s;ual cour&s;e mo&s;t commonly to di&s;&s;olve it, and in that re&s;embled perfectly the mo&s;t precious Amethy&s;t, which &s;hines &s;o much the more clearly, and orientally, as it has been more often worne. As nothing was too high for his courage, under&s;tanding, &amp; piety, &s;o nothing was too low for his bounty, conver&s;ation, &amp; curte&s;ie. For God did not only be&s;tow on him, an equal proportion of the Mo|&s;aical &s;pirit of meekne&s;&s;e; but conferred upon him in like manner, the glorious gift which the Scripture attributes to the Patriarch <HI>Jo&s;eph,</HI> both in the <HI>P&s;almes,</HI> and in the Epi&s;tle to the <HI>Hebrews,</HI> which is no &s;mall gift of the Spirit indeed, to oblige hearts with &s;weetne&s;&s;e; not unlike tho&s;e famous Engins of <HI>Archimedes,</HI> which made water mount by de&s;cending; &s;o his mo&s;t honourable humility vouch&s;afed to de&s;cend, but to make him&s;elf re-a&s;cend to the &s;ource of the prime &s;ublimity, and &s;o as his vertues upon Earth, have made him Laurels here, they have procured for him mo&s;t incor|ruptible Crowns in Heaven.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Bern.</NOTE>Well then might ble&s;&s;ed <HI>Bernard</HI> tell us,
<PB N="237" REF="134">
that <HI>Magna virtus e&s;t humiltas honorata,</HI> Humi|lity in per&s;ons of Honour, is a mo&s;t &s;ublime vertue; indeed it is a piece of excellency, one|ly proper for Princes, and great Per&s;ons. I will not deny but poor inferiour &s;pirits, may be capable of it; but this, I am &s;ure of, that they which lie buried in a ba&s;e condition, have nothing of an equal latitude to expre&s;&s;e it; for the great Ones of the Earth onely, are they, that are mo&s;t roughly a&s;&s;aulted with the &s;torms of Pride, and &s;o con&s;equently mu&s;t receive more glory and prai&s;e from the repul&s;e of it.</P>
<P>Nay, I will be bold to a&s;&s;ert yet further, in the behalf of our Mo&s;aical high Humility, that all the vertues in the World, &s;ignifie nothing at all, without it, no more, than as was &s;aid in the A&s;cent, a whole&s;om Medicament would do to a mans health, with a mixture of poi&s;on in it: ama&s;&s;e all that can be called good in any &s;ingle per&s;on, and let this one thing onely be wanting, tho&s;e very vertues will prove but &s;pecious vices, nay, holy traytors to his &s;oul, and betray it to the very wor&s;t of impieties. Let a man have all the liberality and munifi|cence in the World, if he be once proud of it, it will pre&s;ently degenerate into a very foul prodigality; and as the wi&s;e <HI>Socrates</HI> expre&s;|&s;eth it, <GAP DESC="foreign">, makes men by the &s;otti&s;h u&s;age, and manage|ment of the graces them&s;elves, turne tho&s;e Virgins, to be pro&s;tituts, forgetting, that to know how to give well, is a great Science; and that the di&s;tribution of gifts, and graces,
<PB N="238" REF="135">
is to be made with a prudent oeconomy. Give a man con&s;tancy, and let him grow up to a pride of it, the nature of the vertue will be pre&s;ently de&s;troyed, and &s;oon pa&s;&s;e into plain ob&s;tinacy, and perver&s;ity, the mo&s;t dangerous condition that a man can po&s;&s;ibly fall into, though otherwi&s;e he may be, the learned&s;t, and mo&s;t knowing per&s;on alive.</P>
<P>It was mo&s;t excellently well ob&s;erved there|fore of the Learned <HI>Ger&s;on,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ger&s;on</NOTE> <HI>If you &s;ee one to walk,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>in the way of his proper judge|ment, and &s;tiff in it, although he had one foot in Paradi&s;e, he mu&s;t pre&s;ently withdraw it; for it is better to walke in the &s;hades of death, under the conduct of humility, than to have a Paradi&s;e it &s;elf, in any pitiful pride, or the plea&s;ures of pro|per phan&s;ie.</HI> Nay the vertue of fortitude it &s;elf, the mo&s;t con&s;i&s;tent &s;ure with pride, and &s;elf-conceit of any vertue; yet if it be but infected with it, it proves pre&s;ently pre&s;ump|tion, and where that once gets entrance, it puffs up &s;o prodigiou&s;ly, that it makes of a man, as it were, a meer Baloon, filled with winde, a &s;carcrow of honour, a pitiful teme|rarious nothing, void of courage, an under|taker without &s;ucce&s;&s;e, a phanta&s;tick without &s;hame, which in the end, will become burden|&s;ome to it &s;elf, and odious to all the World; and makes men come into a field of honour, as it is &s;aid &s;ome of our neighbours do, with a clattering noi&s;e, and fury like thunder, but vani&s;h pre&s;ently like &s;moke: and yet &s;uch men as the&s;e, will think them&s;elves, it may be,
<PB N="239" REF="135">
valiant,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Vell. Pa|terc.</NOTE> becau&s;e they fear nothing (as they &s;ay) but the wi&s;e <HI>Velleius</HI> tells us, that <HI>Nemo &s;aepius opprimitur qu&agrave;m qui nihil timet,</HI> and that <HI>frequenti&s;&s;imum calamitatis initium, e&s;t &s;ecuritas,</HI> To be &s;ecure in ones own opinon, and to fear nothing, is the ready way to ruin: fear in|deed is mo&s;t commonly the mother of &s;afety, and the true means not to be afraid of a mi&s;|fortune, is to fear it alwayes.</P>
<P>A Motto therefore fit for a true valiant man, to carry in his colours, is, that which I have &s;een in a Noble hand, <HI>Pauca timeo, Pau|ciora de&s;picio,</HI> I fear few things, and de&s;pi&s;e fewer; Now this unhappy &s;pirit of Pride, is the mother of this cur&s;ed &s;ecurity, and what is wor&s;e, in&s;olency; with which, true forti|tude can no way cohabit,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Guichard, l. <HI>2.</HI></NOTE> as the wi&s;e Italian tells us, <HI>Sempre &eacute; congiunto in un mede&s;imo &s;ug|getto, l'in&s;olentia con la timiditate,</HI> In&s;olency and timidity are never found a&s;under; but alwayes accompanying one another in the &s;ame &s;ubject: So by con&s;equence, without this Mo&s;aick meekne&s;&s;e of &s;pirit, no man can be accounted, much le&s;&s;e be, truly valiant.</P>
<P>I have &s;een a man in like manner, by a ri|diculous conceit of his own patience, (which it may be, he had at fir&s;t, to a vertuous pro|portion) fool him&s;elf into the opinion of a <HI>Stoick</HI>; but, indeed grew wor&s;e than any <HI>Stock,</HI> or, at lea&s;t, as &s;tupid.</P>
<P>I &s;hould be infinite to enumerate the many ma&s;&s;acres which this unhappy pride of &s;pirit, makes continually upon the whole chained of
<PB N="240" REF="136">
holy vertues, it is, apparently the plain mur|dere&s;&s;e, and envenomer of them all: So much onely as has been &s;aid, may &s;erve to &s;hew, how this high Mo&s;aick A&s;cent of Humility, and Meekne&s;&s;e of &s;pirit, is the very <HI>ratio formalis,</HI> as the Schooles &s;peak, of all, and every one of the vertues, that can be &s;eated in the heart of man.</P>
<P>No wonder then, that the All wi&s;e Spirit of God, took &s;uch particular care to recommend it to us, in the per&s;on of our fir&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>; and as ea&s;ie mu&s;t it be to conceive a rea&s;on, why our gracious &s;econd, his precious Parallel, &s;hould &s;o faithfully endeavour to imitate him in that, as well as his other perfections, they being both pre-ordained by God, to be the greate&s;t Magazines of all vertuous goodne&s;&s;e among&s;t men, that either this, or that Age has produced.</P>
<P>We have &s;een them both in their humble retreat from, and mode&s;t avoidance of worldly honours &amp; advancements to humane greatne&s;s, which after they were &s;o violently compel'd unto, by Divine precept, behold, and admire, with what moderation, humility, and meek|ne&s;&s;e, of &s;pirit, they have ever managed them: excellently therefore does holy <HI>Cyprian</HI> &s;tile this tan&s;cendent vertue of Humility,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cyprian de Nativ. Chri&s;ti.</NOTE> <HI>Primum religionis introitum, &amp; ultimum Chri&s;tianitatis exitum,</HI> The Gate of all Religion, and the Crown or highe&s;t A&s;cent of Chri&s;tianity; for who can think, that he will be faithful to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that can be unfaithful to that
<PB N="241" REF="136">
virtue, which &s;hined &s;o <GAP DESC="foreign"> in him, to wit, that of humility? and truly, I cannot cea&s;e from wonder, when I con&s;ider the little rea&s;on, that any man in the earth has, to be proud of any thing; and it was doubtle&s;&s;e the holy con&s;ideration of his Mo&s;aical High|ne&s;&s;e too.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t the highe&s;t petigree of the greate&s;t man upon Earth, is but to have been an eternity in nothing; for if we mount &s;till upwards, a&s;|cending to the prime &s;ource and origine of time, when we &s;hall have reckoned millions of Ages, we &s;hall find nothing but inexplicable Labyrinths, and aby&s;&s;es of one great eter|nity, without beginning or end: and when we &s;hall pre&s;ent to our thoughts, all that time which has preceded, be it reall, or ima|ginary, we &s;hall be a&s;hamed to &s;ee, &s;o many millions of years, wherein we had not &s;o much as the being of a ru&s;h, a &s;illy gnat, or a but|ter-flie.</P>
<P>Nay, that blu&s;tring in&s;olent Rodomont, be he what, and where he will, that threatneth this day to hew down mountains, and thun|der-&s;trike his fellow mortals, and thinks the whole hou&s;e of Nature was created onely for him, and &s;o prepares to &s;wallow it all by a|varice, and wa&s;te it as fa&s;t by riot, thirty or forty years agoe, more or le&s;&s;e, was not able to contend for excellency, with a pitiful Ca|ter-pillar.</P>
<P>His Mo&s;aical Highne&s;&s;e, I &s;ay, con&s;idered all this, and a great deal more, to render him|&s;elf
<PB N="242" REF="137">
a true imitator of his Ma&s;ter. Fir&s;t, though his Nobility of birth, was very great, as we have &s;een, he never intoxicated his brains with it, as &s;ome do now adayes, that make it their bu&s;ine&s;&s;e to dig out, and di&s;entomb their Grandfathers, as it were from the a&s;hes of old <HI>Troy,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Au&s;on. in Paneg.</NOTE> and &s;pend &s;o much time, as <HI>Au&s;onius</HI> &s;ayes very well, <HI>In &s;earching out of uncertain Parents, that they many times give occa&s;ion to &s;u&s;pect, that they have none certain.</HI> No, my Lord, though he knew very well how to va|lue the happine&s;&s;e of a good extraction; yet for any man to be proudly pufft up with it, he accounted no le&s;&s;e than madne&s;&s;e; for re|volving the whole ma&s;&s;e of mankind, we &s;hall find, as <HI>Plato</HI> told us, long agoe, <HI>That there is no King which comes not from Clownes, nor Clown, who is not de&s;cended from the blood of Kings.</HI></P>
<P>Then for beauty of body, though his High|ne&s;&s;e had as fair a proportion, as any man, as we have likewi&s;e &s;hewed; yet he could as lit|tle pride him&s;elf in that, knowing it to be but a covering for ordures, the blanching of a dunghill with &s;now, or at the be&s;t, but a fad|ding flower of the field, which hath, as it were, for Horizon, the very in&s;tant of its birth, <HI>Et dum na&s;cantur con&s;enui&s;&s;e ro&s;as</HI>: no more could any of his great natural, or acquired parts, rai&s;e him above his proper pitch, knowing the be&s;t learning among&s;t men, to be but a quali|fied ignorance, the memory it &s;elf to be, but the belly of the &s;oul, and mo&s;t frequently fill'd with nothing but winde: the be&s;t and mo&s;t
<PB N="243" REF="137">
acute wit of man, he lookt upon as a poor thin thing, like the &s;piders web, and fitter to catch flies, than any thing el&s;e: and as for the judgement, he knew how dangerous a thing it was to confide in that, little le&s;&s;e than a le|pro&s;ie in the heart of man.</P>
<P>No more could his Mo&s;aick Soul be ele|vated with all the honours he enjoy'd, and greatne&s;&s;e of this world; for he took all them for burdens, and at the be&s;t, lookt upon them, but as golden Maskes, and weather-cocks of incon&s;tancy; and for all manner of prai&s;es, flattery, complacency, and ticklings of &s;ome vain men, he ever hated and contemned, as fit onely to inebriate &s;hallow brains: for riches he evermore &s;corned, as the offall of the earth, the ne&s;t of ru&s;t, and tinder of concupi&s;cence: for Palaces and &s;tately Hou&s;es, he valued but as the bones of the earth, pil'd one upon an|other, with ciment and morter: for precious Stones, he e&s;teemed as they were, the excre|ments of an inraged Sea, borrowing their worth onely from illu&s;ion.</P>
<P>Much le&s;&s;e could his great wi&s;dom be cap|able of that vanity, wherewith men u&s;ually pride them&s;elves, in cloaths, meer nouri&s;hment for moths, to cover bodies which mu&s;t be food for wormes; he lookt upon all bravery of ap|parel, but as plai&s;ters of the &s;cars of &s;in, to wit, nakedne&s;&s;e: borrowed feathers from all kinds of birds, unpuni&s;ht thefts, witne&s;&s;es of our poverty, that makes us to beg the a&s;&s;i|&s;tance of &s;o many creatures, to cover our
<PB N="244" REF="138">
&s;hame: Moreover, he knew, that <HI>Ve&s;titus ut tegit corpus ita detegit animum,</HI> Our attire does not more cover the nakedne&s;&s;e of our bodies, than di&s;cover that of our mindes; his High|ne&s;&s;e therefore purpo&s;ely did (as all wi&s;e men will) avoid any vanity, or o&s;tentation in that. Nor yet could his Mo&s;aick Highne&s;&s;e, be ta|ken with that empty piece of pride, which mo&s;t great ones now adayes are po&s;&s;e&s;t withal, to behold behind him, great and gay Trains of &s;ervants, who but burden their Ma&s;ters with their many &s;ins, and make them become an|&s;werable for their accumulated follies.</P>
<P>See here a miracle of men, in the contempt of riches and honours; for the fir&s;t he never cared to hold, lockt up in his coffers, nor ever thought were as they &s;hould be, but when they were di&s;tributed; for they re&s;embled, as I have heard, he u&s;ed to &s;ay, nothing more naturally, than a dunghill, which &s;tinks when it lies heaped together, but fattens fields when &s;pread abroad: and for the other, he took it for as great a meer mockery, to affect great|ne&s;&s;e among&s;t men, as if a Rat &s;hould pride him&s;elf to be a Lord for&s;ooth, among&s;t Mice. He was &s;o far from feeding him&s;elf with, or priding him&s;elf in, glory; that he would often &s;ay too, as I have heard, all that, was but the &s;welling of the eare. Are not the&s;e Apo|thegms worthy of &s;o great a Prince? In fine, his Highne&s;&s;e alwayes concluded with the Prophet <HI>Habakkuk, Quomodo potentem vinum decipit,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Habak. <HI>2.</HI></NOTE> <HI>&s;ic erit vir &s;uperbus,</HI> That as drunken|ne&s;s
<PB N="245" REF="138">
was taken with wine, &s;o were the braines of men intoxicated with pride, and proper opinion.</P>
<P>There is no man will deny &s;ure, but that all tho&s;e actions, and expre&s;&s;ions afore&s;aid, were very high humiliations before God, and in|dubitable marks of a pure Mo&s;aick &s;pirit; but where were his humilities to men, and his meekne&s;&s;es of &s;pirit, in points of government? If this be demanded, by any doubting per|&s;on, let him tell me, how often he has found any &s;urly, &s;upercilious looks fall from him, or any fa&s;tidious, di&s;dainful words, or ge&s;tures, which &s;o u&s;ually accompany common great|ne&s;&s;e?</P>
<P>No, his Highne&s;&s;e, be&s;ides the great amae|nity, and affability of his Noble-nature, had better &s;tudied the accompli&s;ht <HI>Cyrus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Xexoph. Cyr.</NOTE> in <HI>Xeno|phon,</HI> who tells us, that <HI>Fa&s;tuo&s;um ac moro&s;um ingenium, quod fa&s;tidium &s;ui, aliorumque &s;ecum trahit, felix principatus non admittit:</HI> In&s;olency and moro&s;ity, are not at all con&s;i&s;tent with the condition of a happy Prince: and what <HI>Au|&s;onius</HI> &s;o highly commends in his <HI>Gratianus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Au&s;on, in Paneg. Gratiani.</NOTE> <HI>Quod faciles interpellantibus praeberet aditus, nec de occupatione cau&s;aretur, quinimo ubi po&s;tu|lata aut querimonias explica&s;&s;ent, percunctaretur, numquid praeterea vellent?</HI> That he was a Prince of ea&s;ie acce&s;&s;e, and a very patient eare, not expo&s;tulating, why men came to trouble him? but when they had &s;aid all, would ask &s;till, Whether they had any more to &s;ay?</P>
<P>In &s;hort, his Highne&s;&s;e was truly that, which
<PB N="246" REF="139">
the mo&s;t gracious Emperour <HI>Titus,</HI> would have every Prince to be careful to be; that is, Sweet, Serene, and Plea&s;ant to all, and <HI>Non oportere &agrave; &s;ermone Principis quemquam tri&s;tem di&s;cedere,</HI> That it was not fit for any Prince, to &s;end any man from his pre&s;ence away &s;ad, or di&s;contented.</P>
<P>His Highne&s;&s;e very well under&s;tood, that <HI>Verba aliquando munera faciunt</HI>: and if he were forced at any time to deny a favour, he did it alwayes &s;o, <HI>&V;t benignis negata res verbis, &s;it gratior quam conce&s;&s;a moro&s;is,</HI> That he would oblige more by his very denials, than &s;ome Kings that I have known, would do by their very grants.</P>
<P>It was ob&s;erved by a great Critick upon <HI>Julius Cae&s;ar,</HI> that <HI>Quamvis eum Clementia, li|beralitas, &amp; fortitudo commendarent, odium ta|men, conjuratio &amp; praematura mors oppre&s;&s;it, quod elatior populo blandiri, &s;enatoribus a&s;&s;ur|gere gravaretur aut ne&s;ciret, verbis quoque ute|retur a&s;peris,</HI> &amp;c. Though he was hugely com|mendable for his Clemency, Liberality, and Courage, yet he fell under a &s;ad Fate, for want of a little complacency with the people, and &s;oothing the Senate with &s;ome comple|ment, and had alwayes too much a&s;perity in his tongue.</P>
<P>Could any of the&s;e imputations ever light upon our Mo&s;aical Protector? No, he was ever as di&s;tant from them, as the Sphere of fire, can be from the Center of the Earth; &s;o that we may &s;ecurely conclude, that his late Highne&s;&s;e
<PB N="247" REF="139">
has as much out-done <HI>Julius Cae&s;ar</HI> in this, as in all his other glories: never was that great Title of Serenity, &s;o truly given to any Prince, as to him; for it was born with him.</P>
<P>Thus we have &s;een the&s;e two great Per&s;ons of Honour, our fir&s;t and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> enter|ing this grand Theater of the World, from the fir&s;t Scene of their humble retirements to the la&s;t i&s;&s;ue and Cata&s;trophe of all their hap|pine&s;&s;es, attired with nothing but humility, that &s;till accompanying and crowning all their Actions; as it was the ba&s;is, &s;o it was the ver|tical point of all their greatne&s;&s;e; nay, the very Orb and Element, that all their other Vertues moved in, and by which they arrived at all their glories; &s;o di&s;proving the Philo|&s;ophy of <HI>Seneca,</HI> who &s;ayes that <HI>Servitus e&s;t magnitudinus, non po&s;&s;e fieri minorem,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Seneca.</NOTE> That it is the &s;lavery of greatne&s;&s;e, not to be made le&s;&s;e; which though may be true in bodies, they have proved to be contrary in &s;ouls: and what <HI>Pliny</HI> a&s;&s;ures us, to be more true, that <HI>Natura nu&s;quam magis qu&agrave;m in minimis tota e&s;t</HI>:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Plin.</NOTE> na|ture is mo&s;t entirely it &s;elf, and whole in the lea&s;t things.</P>
<P>This &s;weet littlene&s;&s;e of theirs, is that, which has rendred them &s;o great, in the &s;ight of God and man; for by &s;o le&s;&s;en|ing and annihalating them&s;elves, they have enlarged their glories, and rai&s;ed them&s;elves &s;o many degrees towards Heaven, as erected eternal Trophes to their honour upon earth,
<PB N="248" REF="140">
and tho&s;e as great, as ever were written, or can be, in the Records of Fame.</P>
<P>Thus we have, I hope, happily fini&s;ht the whole Stair-ca&s;e of all our Mo&s;aick difficult A&s;cents: we &s;hall now beg a little breathing-&s;pace, upon the top of this holy Mount, before we dare to adventure any higher; and yet we have but halfe a dozen &s;hort and ea&s;ie A&s;cents more left us to climb (for they are A&s;cents of Favour and Prerogative) be|fore we can introduce this glorious Couple, our fir&s;t and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> within their ble&s;&s;ed Tabernacle of Repo&s;e; and &s;o we do intend to conclude (though it can never be &s;ufficient|ly accompli&s;hed) this high piece of Mo&s;aick Work.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<PB REF="140">
<HEAD>Six Tran&s;cendental ASCENTS, To the top of the <HI>MOSAICK MOUNT,</HI> OR BLESSED TABERNACLE OF <HI>REPOSE.</HI></HEAD>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="ascent">
<PB REF="141">
<PB N="251" REF="141">
<HEAD>The fir&s;t Tran&s;cendental ASCENT.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> being premoni&s;ht by God of his approaching end; made his mo&s;t humble &s;uite unto the Lord, for to nominate his Succe&s;&s;or, that the people might not &s;uffer by the vacancy of &s;o great a Charge: and the form of his Petition is very remarkable, which runs thus. <HI>Let the Lord God of the Spirits of all Fle&s;h, &s;et a man over the Congregation,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 27.16.</NOTE> <HI>which may go out before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in</HI>;<NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 17.</NOTE> <HI>that the Con|gregation of the Lord be not as &s;heep, which have no Shepherd</HI>; and the Lord &s;aid unto <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 18.</NOTE> <HI>Take thee</HI> Jo&s;hua, <HI>the &s;on of</HI> Nun, <HI>a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay thine hand upon him, &amp;c.</HI> Then we find this te&s;timony of <HI>Jo&s;hua</HI> afterwards,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 34.9.</NOTE> <HI>That he was full of the Spirit of Wi&s;dom</HI>; for <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> had laid his hands upon
<PB N="252" REF="142">
him, and the children of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> hearkned unto him, and did as the Lord commanded <HI>Mo&s;es.</HI></P>
<DIV3 TYPE="parallel">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>We have hitherto, throughout all our pa&s;t A&s;cents, &s;een this incomparable pair march|ing, mo&s;t amicably coupled, hand in hand to|gether; as well in all their painful actions, as &s;ufferings. And a glorious &s;pectacle, none &s;ure can deny it to be; I am &s;ure, holy <HI>Cyprian</HI> tells us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cyprian de Mortal.</NOTE> that it is, <HI>To &s;ee &s;uch invincible courages counterbufft with &s;tormes and tempe&s;ts, on whom it would &s;eem that heaven it &s;elf would bur&s;t and fall in pieces</HI>; to behold two &s;uch men, I &s;ay, amid&s;t the threats of the air, and the ruins of the world, alwayes &s;tanding upright, like to great brazen Colo&s;&s;u&s;es, and &s;corning them all, as mi&s;ts, and &s;mall flakes of &s;now. What can we do le&s;&s;e in &s;uch a ca&s;e, than exclaim with <HI>Seneca,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Seneca.</NOTE> <HI>Heu quanta &s;ublimitas, inter rui|nas humani generis, &s;tare erectum</HI>! O what a &s;ublimity it is, to be erect in heart and coun|tenance, among&s;t the ruines of mankind! and give thanks to God, with <HI>Typotius, Quod digni vi&s;i &s;int Deo,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Typotius in Symboll.</NOTE> <HI>in quibus experiretur, quan|tum humana natura po&s;&s;it pati,</HI> That he hath deemed them worthy, to &s;erve as a trial of hu|mane Nature, to &s;ee to how high a pitch it could arrive.</P>
<P>And truly, if we do but rightly con&s;ider
<PB N="253" REF="142">
the ri&s;e, as well as the progre&s;&s;e of the&s;e two great Per&s;onages, we &s;hall find them exactly to corre&s;pond, with that ingenious devi&s;e of <HI>Lewis</HI> the twelfth of <HI>France,</HI> which was a ce|le&s;tial Cup, advanced in rayes of Gold, a|mong&s;t a crowd of eclip&s;es, with this Motto; <HI>Inter ecclyp&s;es exorior</HI>: I ri&s;e between eclip&s;es; We have &s;een, I &s;ay, this devi&s;e fully verified, in our fir&s;t and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and yet their Clemency, and Piety, was alwayes &s;o great, as to pardon and pray for their very eclip&s;ers, and per&s;ecutors them&s;elves, like all the an|cient Martyrs, who when laden with torments, opened &s;o many mouths as they had wounds, to beg a pardon for the very cau&s;ers, and in|flictors of them, and more like to Je&s;us Chri&s;t him&s;elf, now &s;itting in the mid&s;t of tho&s;e Mar|tyrs, and quickning by the effu&s;ion of his blood, even tho&s;e, who had their hands deep in the &s;hedding of it.</P>
<P>We have &s;een this matchle&s;&s;e couple, one|ly Parallel to them&s;elves, in all their mo&s;t elate, &s;tirring, and a&s;toni&s;hing, great actions too, wherein they have ever &s;hewed their courage like Eagles, confronting all &s;tormes; like Lions, which oppo&s;e all violences; like Dia|monds never to be broken; like Rocks, &s;corn|ing all waves; and Anvills, re&s;i&s;ting all the &s;troakes of hammers: and in a word,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ambro&s;. in haec verba Gene&s;is <HI>2.</HI> Nomen flu|minis ter|tii, Tygris.</NOTE> like to nothing &s;o much, as to the River <HI>Tygris,</HI> which as ble&s;&s;ed <HI>Ambro&s;e</HI> ob&s;erves, <HI>Quodam cur&s;u rapido, re&s;i&s;tentia quaeque tran&s;verberat, neque aliquibus cur&s;us ejus impedimentorum haeret
<PB N="254" REF="143">
ob&s;taculis</HI>: among&s;t all the &s;treams of the earth, hath a current &s;o &s;wift and violent, that with an unre&s;i&s;tible rapidity and impetuo&s;ity, it combateth, and &s;urmounteth, all the ob&s;tacles that can be oppo&s;ed again&s;t it: So the Cou|rage of the&s;e two great and mo&s;t incompa|rable Captains, did u&s;e to flie through all perils, break through, and work it &s;elf a pa&s;|&s;age, again&s;t a whole world of contrarie|ties.</P>
<P>We have &s;een the&s;e two &s;uper-excellent Per&s;ons, in all their eminencies of State, like|wi&s;e, Supreme Magi&s;tracies, and Principalities; we have &s;een them likewi&s;e in all the perfe|ctions of their piety towards, and wor&s;hip of the Omnipotent, and the renunciation of their proper intere&s;ts, for the &s;ervice of the Deity: nay, we have &s;een them brought up by the Divine hand, to the highe&s;t pitch of Prophe&s;ie it &s;elf, and yet their great &s;ouls could not make a &s;top there, but mu&s;t mount a little higher; and that indeed is the highe&s;t &s;tep of all Princely perfection, as we &s;hewed in our la&s;t A&s;cent, to wit, humility and meek|ne&s;&s;e of &s;pirit.</P>
<P>It is mo&s;t certain, that great felicities, are &s;o tickli&s;h, that it is much more ea&s;ie, to live on the dunghill of <HI>Job,</HI> with patience, than in the management of great Kingdoms with mo|deration. He therefore is to be accounted truly great,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Bernard. in Ep. ad. Eu|genium.</NOTE> as holy <HI>Bernard</HI> tells us, upon whom, <HI>felicitas &s;i arri&s;it non irri&s;it,</HI> happine&s;&s;e has &s;miled upon, and not cozened; nay, the
<PB N="255" REF="143">
Pagan Poet could preach as much as that too,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mar&s;hal.</NOTE> when he cries out, <HI>Ardua quippe res e&s;t opibus non tradere mares,</HI> It is a mo&s;t difficult thing for a man, not to betray his manners, to a great fortune.</P>
<P>It is doubtle&s;&s;e the heavye&s;t burden, to bear a great fortune well; we &s;ee how apt the &s;pirits of this Age are, to have their eyes dazled with a little &s;parkle of felicity; their skins are pre&s;ently puffed up, and their &s;ouls drencht in &s;ome mo&s;t di&s;mal pride, and a &s;ad deluge of tyrannies and di&s;&s;olutions: We have &s;een our Mo&s;aical &s;pirits of another temper, each of them, like another <HI>Abdolomin,</HI> who did pa&s;&s;e from a Garden, into a Royal Palace,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Abodolo|min.</NOTE> and did handle the Scepter, with the &s;ame humility of heart, without either prejudice to the people, or his own authority, as one would do a &s;pade.</P>
<P>This is a vertue indeed, which is but very rarely &s;een here in earth, but is admired in heaven it &s;elf; and it is a vertue doubtle&s;&s;e which comes immediately from the trea&s;ures of God Almighty; and of this, we have &s;een our incomparable paire of Princes, giving us &s;uch an example, as if they were ordained by God, to declare how high Chri&s;tian perfe|ction may a&s;cend, by planting of a glorious humiliy, upon the Diamonds, Pearles, Emralds, Rubies, and Saphyrs, of Regal Crowns, and leading in Courts, the lives of Hermits, &s;o commanding greatne&s;&s;e, and humility, which &s;eldom will admit of any aliance at all, mu|tually
<PB N="256" REF="144">
to ki&s;&s;e, and &s;weetely embrace one an|other. Have we not &s;een, I &s;ay, all this &s;uf|ficiently made out already, and that it is, not po&s;&s;ible to find more per&s;onal perfectious heapt up in mortal men? Have we not &s;een, I &s;ay, this heavenly paire of mo&s;t incomparable Per|&s;ons, onely Parallel to one another, like ano|ther <HI>Ca&s;tor</HI> and <HI>Pollux,</HI> tho&s;e happy Con&s;tella|tions of Mariners, from the very fir&s;t Port of their Cradels, to the &s;ecure Harbour of a good old age, &s;ailing through a boundle&s;s Sea of Bli&s;s, amid&s;t the &s;tormes of State and War, making all fair weather about them, and en|couraging us to &s;teer our cour&s;e after them, if we can?</P>
<P>Nay yet, have we not &s;een them, what is more &s;trange, like two Phenixes together, yet incorporated, or twined at lea&s;t, like the <HI>Ge|mini</HI> in the Zodiack, flie through a whole heaven of happine&s;s upon earth? Then, whither are we going now? What, are there any A&s;cents yet higher, for our Mo&s;aick &s;pi|rits to mount? Surely not, as to their per|&s;onall perfections afore&s;aid, we have &s;aid all we can, and &s;een as much as we can know, un|le&s;s we could take Po&s;t upon a <HI>Pega&s;us,</HI> and piercing the Empyrean, hire a Convoy of An|gels, to carry us into the beatifical Heaven, to &s;ee the Crowns, and Glories, that they enjoy. Whither is it then, that this Tran&s;cendental A&s;cent will lead us? why &s;urely, to the &s;ub|lime con&s;ideration of tho&s;e Divine and Super|eminent indulgencies, priviledges, and
<PB N="257" REF="144">
prerogatives, that they enjoyed, by the ex|traordinary favour of Heaven, towards their later ends, which are no le&s;&s;e remarkable cer|tainly, than all their former painful A&s;cents, before could be; good Princes, like the Sun, &s;hining alwayes forth mo&s;t gloriou&s;ly, at their going down.</P>
<P>Now, the fir&s;t great favour, and principal prerogative, that we find our fir&s;t great <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> had indulged to him by Almighty God, was this of our pre&s;ent A&s;cent, to have the nomi|nation of his Succe&s;&s;or, in &s;o great a Charge: For though the Lord was plea&s;ed to elect, yet he commanded his &s;ervant <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> to nominate, <HI>Jo&s;hua</HI> to the people, for their Captain, and his Succe&s;&s;or.</P>
<P>Now has not the great goodne&s;&s;e of Heaven been graciou&s;ly plea&s;ed to indulge the very &s;ame priviledge, and prerogative, to his late mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e, of glorious memory, our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es?</HI> Fir&s;t for the nomination of this happy Prince, that is at pre&s;ent placed over us, it is evident, was from his Highne&s;&s;e him&s;elf, though the election of him, as indu|bitably was from God, as that of the great <HI>Jo&s;hua</HI> before him, was: and this liberty, or &s;upreme power of nomination, was given to his late mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e, by Almighty God, not onely by a private revelation, as the other was; but publickly declared and enacted too, by the Repre&s;entatives of the people a&s;&s;em|bled in Parliament, who are pre&s;um'd to carry <HI>Vocem Dei,</HI> the voice of God along with them
<PB N="258" REF="145">
likewi&s;e: So that on our parts there remained nothing to be done, but to &s;hew our dutiful reception, and active obedience, and to hear|ken, as the Text of our A&s;cent expre&s;&s;eth it, <HI>to all that he &s;hall &s;ay. Sic &s;ui &s;emper erit Ar|bitrii jubere, &s;ufficiet &amp; nobis &s;ola ob&s;equii gloria,</HI> So he &s;hall have the honour &s;till to command, and we will &s;atisfie our &s;elves with the glory of obeying.</P>
<P>But now, whether this way of a Divine ele|ction to a Monarchy, be better, and of a more ancient right, than to come to it by an Hereditary &s;ucce&s;&s;ion, as to a private Patrimo|ny (as his Highne&s;&s;e him&s;elf expre&s;&s;eth it) though for my part, I think there is no que|&s;tion; yet I find it to be a di&s;pute, <HI>De trop longue haleine,</HI> as the <HI>Frenchman</HI> &s;peaks, of too long breath, and difficult debate, for our pre|&s;ent Parallel; So I &s;hall refer it till another occa&s;ion, and de&s;ire the Reader in the mean time, to accept of his late mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;s his own excellent words (in the Speech before cited) for a full deci&s;ion of the Contro|ver&s;ie.</P>
<Q REND="margQuotes"><P>For if you had upon the old Government offered to me this one, this one thing, I &s;peak, as thus advi&s;ed, and before God, as having been to this day of this opinion, and this hath been my con&s;tant <HI>Judgement,</HI> well known to many that hear me &s;peak, if this one thing had been in&s;erted, that one thing, that this <HI>Government</HI> &s;hould have been, and
<PB N="259" REF="145">
placed in my Family <HI>Hereditary,</HI> I would have rejected it, and I could have done no other, according to my pre&s;ent <HI>Con&s;cience</HI> and <HI>Light</HI>; I will tell you my rea&s;on, though I cannot tell what God will do with Me, not You, nor the Nation, for throwing away precious opportunities committed to U S.</P><P>This hath been my Principle, and I liked it when this Government came fir&s;t to be pro|po&s;ed to me, That it put Us off that <HI>Here|ditary</HI> way, well looking, that as God had declared what <HI>GOVERNMENT</HI> he had delivered over to the <HI>Jews,</HI> and placed it upon &s;uch per&s;ons as had been in&s;trumental for the <HI>Conduct</HI> and <HI>Deliverance</HI> of his People; And con&s;idering that promi&s;e in <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> That God would <HI>give Rulers as at the fir&s;t, and Judges as at the beginning,</HI> I did not know, but that God might begin, and though at pre&s;ent with a mo&s;t unworthy <HI>Per&s;on,</HI> yet as to the future, it might be after this manner, and I thought this might u&s;her it in. I am &s;peaking as to my <HI>Judgement,</HI> again&s;t making it <HI>Hereditary,</HI> to have men cho&s;en for their <HI>Love to God,</HI> and to <HI>Truth,</HI> and <HI>Ju&s;tice,</HI> and not to have it <HI>Hereditary</HI>; for as it is in <HI>Ec|cle&s;ia&s;tes, Who knoweth whether he may beget a Fool or Wi&s;e</HI>: hone&s;t or not, what ever they be mu&s;t come in upon that account, becau&s;e the <HI>Government</HI> is made a <HI>Patrimony.</HI></P></Q>
<P>Thus we &s;ee, how his mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;s has put it clearly out of que&s;tion, that an
<PB N="260" REF="146">
ordinary fair Election of a Prince, is much better like to prove, than any ca&s;ual heredi|tary &s;ucce&s;&s;ion: much more then mu&s;t an extraordinary, and Divine Election, as ours has been, be more acceptable to God and man, and prove to be more pro&s;perous to the Peo|ple: But mo&s;t e&s;pecially when the whole World, is &s;atisfied in the Divine endow|ments of the Per&s;on Elected, as we have been all, in the behalf of this mo&s;t gracious Prince, our pre&s;ent Lord Protector, whom his Mo&s;ai|cal Highne&s;&s;e, has been plea&s;ed to nominate, and bequeath to us, for his Succe&s;&s;or; and of whom we can conclude no otherwi&s;e, than what the Spirit of God has done concerning <HI>Jo&s;hua</HI>;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 34.9</NOTE> <HI>That he is full of the Spirit of Wi&s;dom,</HI> for our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> has laid his happy hands upon him, &s;o the whole Nation &s;hall hearken unto him, and he &s;hall do as the Lord com|manded our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es:</HI> as we &s;hall &s;ee more amply made out, in the following A|&s;cents, and Parallels.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="261" REF="146">
<HEAD>The &s;econd Tran&s;cendental A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> was permitted, and commanded by God, to nominate one for his Suc|ce&s;&s;or, that had a very near relation to him, his own hou&s;hold Servant, his Mini|&s;ter, or Menial Attendant in his Family; for &s;o was <HI>Jo&s;hua,</HI> as we find in &s;everal places of holy Scripture:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 11.28.</NOTE> as fir&s;t in the Book of <HI>Num|bers: And</HI> Jo&s;hua <HI>the &s;on of</HI> Nun, <HI>the &s;ervant of</HI> Mo&s;es, <HI>one of his young men, an&s;wered and &s;aid,</HI> &amp;c. Then,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jo&s;h. 1.1.</NOTE> <HI>It came to pa&s;&s;e that the Lord &s;pake unto</HI> Jo&s;hua <HI>the &s;on of</HI> Nun, Mo&s;es <HI>Mini&s;ter, &s;aying,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="parallel">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>We do not finde in any part of Holy Writ, that the great Patriarch <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> had any &s;on capable of this great Charge, to &s;ucceed him, in the Government of Gods people: There
<PB N="262" REF="147">
is indeed, mention of the Circumci&s;ion of one, but never any thing more &s;poken of him; So it is to be pre&s;umed, that either he had none living, or at lea&s;t, as we &s;aid before, not capable of &s;o great a Charge.</P>
<P>God Almighty in the mean time, brings this high favour and prerogative, as near to him, as po&s;&s;ibly might be, next to the nomi|nation of a &s;on, which (as it &s;eems) by hu|mane collection, then could not be.</P>
<P>In the mean time, it may be worth our while, to &s;it and con&s;ider the Tran&s;cendency of Divine Favour, and Priviledge, that our great Protector, and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> had in this particular, above his Prototype the fir&s;t; whil&s;t he has been, as we have &s;een, permitted, and directed, by God, to nominate his own &s;on; nay, his Elde&s;t &s;on to &s;ucceed him in the So|veraign Charge, the other being commanded to choo&s;e, but his Menial Servant, and Mini|&s;ter, and that was a Divine favour too. Here|in, I &s;ay, our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> has out &s;tript his pattern; and our Parallel here mu&s;t over-ballance the A&s;cent it &s;elf, For &s;o much as a &s;on, and an Elde&s;t &s;on, ought to be above a Servant, in the re&s;pect, and reputation, of any Father of a Family, &s;o much more of favour, and indulgency extraordinary, found our glo|rious Protector, and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> from the hands of God, than that great Patriarch him|&s;elf, his fir&s;t dear Favourite, the former <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> did.</P>
<P>O &s;tupendious tran&s;cendencies of Divine
<PB N="263" REF="147">
love! O happy Priviledges of a Prince, and Prerogatives unexpre&s;&s;ible! O Soveraigne Favours of Heaven, undeniable! What man living is there now upon the face of the Earth, that can di&s;pute, whether it be not a mo&s;t &s;ublime in&s;tance of the Almighties affections, to any Fathers, it being granted (which I hope will not be denied) that he is the Soveraign Mover, and Architect of our lives and for|tunes; when he is plea&s;ed to propagate their greatne&s;&s;e, and glories to their children? it being doubtle&s;&s;e the greate&s;t temporal di&s;|pen&s;ation, that men of honour can be cap|able of upon Earth, to have a flouri&s;hing Po|&s;terity given them by God, which may make them eternally to live in the memory of men, by tho&s;e mo&s;t lively images of their ver|tues.</P>
<P>It has been, we know, ob&s;erved by the ver|tuous in all Ages, that tho&s;e Princes and great Per&s;ons, that have lived any way &s;ordidly, or viciou&s;ly, fatting them&s;elves with the blood and &s;weat of the poor, or have e&s;tabli&s;ht any Tyrannies in the World, have neither been fruitful, nor fortunate, in their Po&s;terites: and as Nature has ever &s;hewed it &s;elf to be &s;canty in the propagation of bea&s;ts of prey, as Wolves and other creatures, de&s;igned onely for &s;poil, and no other u&s;e, which would o|therwi&s;e &s;oon bring the earth into de&s;olation: So Almighty God, by a &s;ecret oeconomy of his Divine Providence, permitteth not the Princes, or Potentates, who have made them|&s;elves
<PB N="264" REF="148">
di&s;turbers of the Publick peace, and in|fringers of Laws, both Divine and Humane, (whereof they ought to be Protectors) &s;hould make the bruti&s;hne&s;&s;e of their &s;avage &s;ouls, to &s;urvive them in their Po&s;terities.</P>
<P>Now, not to go far from home for an ex|ample, nor yet much di&s;tant from the pre&s;ent Age; I &s;hall produce for an in&s;tance, of this great truth, a late Prince of our own, that was <HI>Henry</HI> the Eighth, who whil&s;t he lived, made all Laws his &s;laves, and his pa&s;&s;ions his Ma|&s;ters, as unque&s;tionable a Tyrant, as ever breathed, who left three children, that all &s;uc|ce&s;&s;ively &s;ate in the Throne after him, yet none of them had the power to propagate any i&s;&s;ue to perpetuate him, nor yet &s;o much as to erect a Tomb for him; and he can to this day, boa&s;t of no other Monument to record his me|mory to the World, but the &s;ame which he left behind him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ero&s;tratus.</NOTE> who did make his ambitious brag of the burning of <HI>Diana</HI>'s Temple: and which is mo&s;t to our pre&s;ent purpo&s;e, though hinted before, again to be noted; after his death, as if the Lord would explicate his own indignation, and with his dreadful hand had, written upon the walls of his Palace, <HI>Mane, Thekel, Pharez,</HI> as his Divine Judgement a|gain&s;t him, and all his po&s;terity; all his then hopeful and very glorious &s;tem, and branches, were &s;oon withered away or cut off, without any i&s;&s;ue at all, and the Crown and Scepter was &s;o, quickly tran&s;lated to another Name and Nation, quite contrary to the Tyrants
<PB N="265" REF="148">
intentions, and the projects both of his will, and Statute.</P>
<P>Then what has been the Cata&s;trophe, or &s;ad i&s;&s;ue of that Family too, for treading in his mo&s;t unfortunate foot-&s;teps, we of this Age, have fully &s;een; for no one of them, that I know of yet, has died a natural death, and the la&s;t prince we had of that Line, lo&s;t his whole head-&s;hip of the Church, with his Pre|rogative and Soveraignty over Laws, &s;o much de&s;ired and contended for, in tho&s;e dayes, up|on a pitiful Scaffold, erected before the Porch of that Palace, where his impious Predece&s;&s;or, that <HI>Henry</HI> the Eighth, the fir&s;t of all Kings in|habited, and his body by a &s;trange provi|dence, without any forefight or contrivance of man at all, was carried to <HI>Wind&s;or,</HI> and there depo&s;ited in the &s;ame Vault with him. Then look upon his di&s;a&s;trous i&s;&s;ue, and we &s;hall finde, his whole po&s;terity too, has been &s;o ex|terminated here, that there is not &s;o much as the print of a foot-&s;tep of them left to be &s;een among&s;t us.</P>
<P>This one in&s;tance, I &s;ay, that we have &s;tar|ted, &s;o near our own doors, though it might &s;erve for all; for as the judicious <HI>Spaniard</HI> tells us, <HI>En los ca&s;os raros,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Anton. Perez.</NOTE> <HI>uno &s;olo exemplo haze experiencia,</HI> In &s;uch rare occa&s;ions, one ex|ample is enough to pre&s;cribe, and to make ex|perience: and the acute <HI>Philip de Commines,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. de Com.</NOTE> ob&s;erves, That the example of one &s;ole acci|dent, is enough &s;ometimes to make men wi&s;e: yet I could alledge a thou&s;and more to this
<PB N="266" REF="149">
purpo&s;e, if the nece&s;&s;ity of our main bu&s;ine&s;&s;e would permit: but I mu&s;t ha&s;ten.</P>
<P>Now, on the contrary, ob&s;erve how <HI>Ec|cle&s;ia&s;ticus</HI> prophe&s;ies,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccle&s;. 44.11.</NOTE> <HI>With the &s;eed of the righteous &s;hall continually remain a good inhe|ritance, and their children are within the Cove|nant:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 12.</NOTE> <HI>Their &s;eed &s;tands fa&s;t, and their children for their &s;akes:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 13.</NOTE> <HI>Their &s;eed &s;hall remain for ever, and their glory &s;hall not be blotted out.</HI> And we have as clearly found in our experience, that all tho&s;e Princes, and great Per&s;ons, who have arranged them&s;elves, within the li&s;ts of Sanctity, Mode&s;ty, and the ob&s;ervation of Laws, the Lord hath as it were, immortaliz'd their bloods, in their happy Po&s;terities, as we do now &s;ee it made good, in this our precious Parallel, and might in many thou&s;ands more of Royal, Princely, Noble, and Illu&s;trious Fa|milies be&s;ides, which I have as little liberty at pre&s;ent to produce: &s;o &s;hall refer to every Readers more particular ob&s;ervation: whil&s;t I that write, and every temperate per&s;on, I hope, that reades, &s;hall re&s;t abundantly &s;atis|fied in the point, that it was a mo&s;t irrefra|gable favour of God Almighties towards us, as well as his late mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e, to give him leave, and to direct him, to e&s;tabli&s;h his Throne in the be&s;t of his own blood, and to leave a Prince behind him, to govern us, that he was certain, was &s;o much of his own heavenly make, that he can never degenerate from tho&s;e his high, holy, and mo&s;t heroick vertues; as we may &s;ee more at large, in the &s;ucceeding A&s;cent, and Parallel.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="267" REF="149">
<HEAD>The third Tran&s;cendental A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> drawing nearer towards his death, had the honour and favour,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 27.18.</NOTE> to be com|manded by the Almighty, to lay his holy hands upon his Succe&s;&s;or <HI>Jo&s;hua,</HI> and to ble&s;&s;e him, and to put &s;ome of his honour upon him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 20.</NOTE> that all the Congregation of the children of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> might be obedient, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Then the Lord commanded <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> to charge <HI>Jo&s;hua,</HI> and encourage him, a&s;&s;uring him, that he &s;hould go over before his people, and that he &s;hould cau&s;e them to inherite the Land which he &s;hould &s;ee.</P>
<P>And la&s;t of all, when <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was upon the point of his departure,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><P>Deut. 3.27&punc;</P><P>Ver&s;. 28.</P></NOTE> the Lord him&s;elf was plea&s;ed to conde&s;cend, to give to <HI>Jo&s;hua</HI> this particular Charge, before <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his own face. <HI>Be &s;trong, and of a good courage, for thou &s;halt bring the children of I&s;rael into the Land which I &s;ware unto them, and I will be with thee:</HI> Now all this could not but be a mo&s;t extraordinary comfort,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 31 23.</NOTE> as it was a high tran&s;cendent prero|gative, to the departing Patriarch.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="parallel">
<PB N="268" REF="150">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>That this was a mo&s;t Princely, and Supreme priviledge, which our fir&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> by the favour of Heaven, enjoyed; to lay his hands upon, ble&s;&s;e, and put &s;ome of his own &s;pirit upon his Succe&s;&s;or, in his life time; I pre&s;ume, none will di&s;pute, and as little can any man, I hope, doubt, but that our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> too, was in|dulged by God a Parallel prerogative, and did the very like, to his mo&s;t gracious Son and &s;ucce&s;&s;or: knowing him, as we all have done, to have ever been, a mo&s;t prudent, pious, and indulgent Father of his Country, and &s;o by con&s;equence, he mu&s;t have been much more of his own Family, and mo&s;t of all of his Elde&s;t Son, who was not onely to be the Head of that, but of three Kingdoms, and other va&s;t Dominions, and Territories, thereto belong|ing.</P>
<P>Nay, that he did actually part with &s;ome of his honour, to put upon him, in his own life time, was made notoriou&s;ly evident, in his re|&s;ignation of that high Title of Chancellor of the Univer&s;itie of <HI>Oxford</HI>; I &s;ay again, high Title, and take it to be the highe&s;t, next to the Soveraignty it &s;elf&punc; that <HI>Eng|land</HI> can afford. Who can imagine it le&s;&s;e, that knowes that Univer&s;ity to be one
<PB N="269" REF="150">
of the four Cardinal, mo&s;t Ancient, Famous, and Flouri&s;hing Univer&s;ities, in the Chri&s;tian World? that has been ever acknowledged by Forreigners them&s;elves, to have been the hap|py Seminary of the greate&s;t &s;pirits, which have held predominance in all manner of Learning, and Sciences, and was ever lookt upon, as the glorious Altar of the Sun, from whence light was wont to be borrowed, to illuminate all o|ther lamps. To be the Head, I &s;ay, of this mo&s;t glorious Body, who can deny to be equal to &s;o great and good a Father to give, and to &s;o hopeful and gracious a Son, as was this our pre|&s;ent Protector, and &s;econd <HI>Jo&s;hua</HI> to receive?</P>
<P>Then as to the other part of this grand Mo|&s;aick Prerogative, held forth in our A&s;cent, le&s;&s;e doubt &s;ure mu&s;t be made, that his late Highne&s;&s;e was mo&s;t thoroughly a&s;&s;ured of the great worth, and due de&s;erving of his Succe&s;&s;or, as al&s;o of his great felicity and pro&s;perous &s;uc|ce&s;&s;es, in all his future undertakings.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, by rea&s;on of his Highne&s;&s;e his great illuminations, and particular revelations, that he had from God him&s;elf, (as we have &s;uffi|ciently &s;een in all his actions before) which certainly could not fail him now, in &s;o impor|tant an affaire as this, that &s;o nearly did con|cern, the happine&s;&s;e of &s;o great a people.</P>
<P>Secondly, he that had &s;o clear and thorough an in&s;pection, into the aptitude of all his Of|ficers, that he employed, as we have likewi&s;e &s;een in tho&s;e A&s;cents, that treat of his Election of them, how could he choo&s;e but have an in|&s;ight
<PB N="270" REF="151">
extraordinary into the due merit, and high de&s;ervings of his own Son? None &s;ure can imagine his in&s;pired wi&s;dom to be capable of &s;uch a defect, that are not them&s;elves like tho&s;e old Mon&s;ters, called the <HI>Lamiae,</HI> which were alwayes blind within their own doors, and could onely make u&s;e of their eyes, when they were from home.</P>
<P>Then la&s;tly, how could he be unknowing to tho&s;e perfections, which all the Nation has been &s;o &s;atisfied in, for the&s;e many years? that he has been with reverence lookt upon, and admired, as an Angel de&s;cending from Heaven, and vouch&s;afing to let him&s;elf be incha&s;ed, within a humane body: a Prince of &s;o incom|parable &s;weet and excellent di&s;po&s;ition, that he may be worthy indeed to be called the dear delight of God, as well as man. And that this was the judgement of all the World concern|ing him, I &s;hall in&s;tance in one per&s;on for all, who was not long &s;ince a member of that mo&s;t beautiful body, before mentioned, I mean that mo&s;t famous, and flouri&s;hing Univer&s;ity of <HI>Ox|ford</HI>; who drew an anagrammatical Prophe&s;ie out of <HI>Virgil,</HI> foretelling the glorious Fate of this happy Prince, now near two years &s;ince, and pre&s;ently upon his acceptance, of that mo&s;t unvalueable honour, to be their Chancellor; which becau&s;e has proved &s;o exactly true a Prophe&s;ie, I have thought fit to publi&s;h my friends paper, to the peru&s;all of all the World, and in&s;ert it here, pre&s;uming that neither he, nor any wi&s;e man el&s;e, will be offended at it.</P>
<Q><PB N="271" REF="151">
<TEXT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="Vergilian anagram">
<HEAD>Cel&s;i&s;&s;imo ac Gratio&s;i&s;&s;imo Do|mino, Domino Richardo Cromvel, Seremi&s;&s;imi Domini Protecto|ris Filio Primogenito, &amp; Ce|leberrimae Academiae Oxo|nien&s;is Cancellario Honorati&s;&s;imo. <HI>Anagramma Genethliacum,</HI> &amp; EPITHALAMIUM.</HEAD>
<LG>
<L>O Richarde Cromvel, magnus es, &amp; Majori nubis.</L>
<L>Chara Dei &s;oboles, Magnum Jovis Incre|mentum.</L>
</LG>
<LG>
<L>SIccine Virgilius, credendus Numine plenus?</L>
<L>Quis furor inflatus, &s;acrum rapit u&s;que Pro|phetam?</L>
<L>&V;t Nobis tua clara, vetus, Natalia, Vates</L>
<L><PB N="272" REF="152">Praedicat, &s;imul &amp; &s;pon&s;am? Quae deni&abque; Major</L>
<L>Cum &s;iet, at&abque; etiam (ver&egrave;) tu Magnus habendus,</L>
<L>Quid tua Progenies fuerit, ni&s;i Maxima, Princeps?</L>
<L>O Fortunatos (Nat&acirc; i&s;t&acirc; Prole) Britannos!</L>
<L>No&s;ter Oliverus Magnus, Sic ut u&s;que virere</L>
<L>Po&s;&s;it, &amp; aeternos, aetate, requireret annos!</L>
<L>Hoc &s;ceptrum &s;emper quatiat, Cromvellia Proles;</L>
<L>Vivat, &amp; Imperium teneat, Primo vel ab Ortu</L>
<L>Solis ad He&s;perium Cubile, &s;ic Anglia vivat.</L>
</LG>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>Sic vovet, optat, &amp; Prohpetizat</HI> Amplitudinis ve&s;trae Servus Ob&s;ervanti&s;&s;imus.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="explanation">
<PB N="273" REF="152">
<HEAD>To the mo&s;t Illu&s;trious Lady, of the Thrice Noble Lord, My Lord <HI>RICHARD CROMWEL. An Explication of the</HI> Virgilian ANAGRAMM.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Madam,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<L>THough <HI>Virgil</HI> ben't much your acquain|tance, yet</L>
<L>You mu&s;t confe&s;&s;e, you owe him no &s;mall debt,</L>
<L>Thus to foretel your Princely Husbands Birth,</L>
<L>His Fortunes, and his Honours upon Earth;</L>
<L>Your Name and Marriage too; all which does lie,</L>
<L>Wrapt up, we &s;ee, in's Antique Prophe&s;ie.</L>
<L>He calls your Lord, Great Increment of <HI>Jove</HI>;</L>
<L><PB N="274" REF="153">What then mu&s;t th' i&s;&s;ue be of your cha&s;t love?</L>
<L>He's great we know, and you a <HI>Major</HI> &s;ee,</L>
<L>How can your Children le&s;s than Maxims be?</L>
<L>On tho&s;e fair Pillars, our Protector &s;tands,</L>
<L>You give him Rulers, over Seas and Lands.</L>
<L>Your &s;welling Womb's, the Cu&s;hion, where he leanes,</L>
<L>And findes him&s;elf eternal by your means.</L>
<L>So may your Olive branches flouri&s;h &s;till,</L>
<L>About Great <HI>Oliver,</HI> and his Thrones up fill.</L>
<CLOSER>So prayes, and Prophe&s;ies,
<SALUTE>Madam,</SALUTE> <SIGNED>Your Ladi&s;hips mo&s;t obedient Servant.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT></Q>
<P><PB N="275" REF="153">Now, for his mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e his happy Birth, there is none &s;ure will deny it, to be great as his, that pretended his ex|traction from mighty <HI>Jupiter,</HI> and we may more truly &s;ay of him, than could be fancied of tho&s;e old <HI>Heroes,</HI> that <HI>Deus e&s;t in utroque Parente,</HI> God was apparently in each Pa|rent.</P>
<P>Then for his ble&s;&s;ed Marriage, the next thing pointed at in the Prophe&s;ie, that can be comparable to nothing more, than to the &s;a|crifice of <HI>Juno,</HI> where the gall of the offering was never pre&s;ented. There was &s;o faithful and pure a love, ob&s;erved to be on both &s;ides, that the Noble &s;pirit of the one&punc; lived wholly in the other; and as the Flowers of the Sun&punc; perpetually followed the motions of each o|thers heart, &s;o they &s;till continue to court each the others vertuous di&s;po&s;itions.</P>
<P>All this, I &s;ay, is the Anagrammatical Pre|diction of <HI>Virgil</HI> him&s;elf; and as to tho&s;e &s;ub|lime Honours, and Fortunes, which his High|ne&s;&s;e has &s;ince arrived at, all that proves to be my friends proper Prophe&s;ie. Now, whe|ther <HI>Virgil,</HI> or my Friend, were the greater Prophet, let the World judge, whil&s;t I &s;hall &s;atisfie my &s;elf, with that great felicity, which our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> took in the contemplation of his mo&s;t gracious Sons, and Succe&s;&s;ors per|fections: upon whom methinks, I &s;ee him in his old Princely, and Fatherly Maje&s;ty, now looking down from the top of the holy Mount, encouraging his mo&s;t excellent &s;on, to climb
<PB N="276" REF="154">
up after him, and keep the track of his A|&s;cents. Nay, methinks, I hear God Almighty him&s;elf, &s;peaking to his now mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jo&s;h. 1.5.</NOTE> as he did before to <HI>Jo&s;hua. There &s;hall not any man be able to &s;tand before thee, all the dayes of thy life, as I was with my</HI> &s;econd Mo|&s;es, <HI>&s;o I will be with thee, I will not fail thee nor for&s;ake thee</HI>;<NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 6.</NOTE> <HI>Be &s;trong and of a good courage, for unto this people &s;halt thou divide for an In|heritance, the Land which I &s;ware unto their Fa|thers to give them: onely be thou &s;trong, and very couragious,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 7.</NOTE> <HI>that thou may&s;t ob&s;erve to do accor|ding to the Law, which</HI> Mo&s;es <HI>my Servant com|manded thee; turn not from it, either to the right hand,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 8.</NOTE> <HI>nor to the left, that thou may&s;t pro&s;|per whither&s;oever thou goe&s;t. This Book of the Law &s;hall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou &s;halt meditate therein, day and night; that thou may&s;t ob&s;erve to do according to all that is writ|ten therein; for then thou &s;halt make thy way pro&s;perous,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 9.</NOTE> <HI>and then thou &s;halt have good &s;ucce&s;&s;e. Have not I commanded thee? Be &s;trong, and of a good courage, be not afraid, neither be thou di&s;mayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee whither&s;oever thou goe&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>Thus was the Lord plea&s;ed to di&s;cour&s;e with <HI>Jo&s;hua</HI>: And now methinks, I hear all the people of this Land crying out, to our mo&s;t Serene Prince, and Protector, ju&s;t as the children of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> did there, likewi&s;e in the &s;ame Chapter,<NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 16.</NOTE> to their General <HI>Jo&s;hua. All that thou commande&s;t us, we will do, and whither|&s;oever thou &s;ende&s;t us, we will go, according as we
<PB N="277" REF="154">
hearkned unto</HI> Mo&s;es, <HI>in all things, &s;o will we hearken unto thee</HI>;<NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 17.</NOTE> <HI>onely the Lord thy God be with thee, as he was with Mo&s;es. Who&s;oever he be that does rebell again&s;t thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words, in all that thou com|mande&s;t him, he &s;hall be put to death</HI>;<NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 18.</NOTE> <HI>onely be &s;trong, and of a good courage.</HI></P>
<P>With the&s;e Divine &s;peeches, made by God him&s;elf, and his in&s;truments the people, upon the inauguration of <HI>Jo&s;hua,</HI> methinks I hear our pre&s;ent Lord Protector, and Princely &s;e|cond <HI>Jo&s;hua,</HI> treated at this very day.</P>
<P>What Divine documents his &s;acred Highne&s;s has received from the Almighty, are onely yet betwixt the Lord, and his own mo&s;t &s;e|rene &s;oul but what the people &s;ay every where, we are all ear-witne&s;&s;es &s;ufficient: the people, I &s;ay, who have ever lookt upon him, as the deare&s;t delight of their eyes: and as the Ora|tor &s;aid of his Emperour, <HI>Con&s;tantine,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Plin. in Paneg. Con&s;tant.</NOTE> <HI>Magis magi&s;que vi&s;us expetitur, &amp; (novum dictu) vel prae|&s;ens di&s;ideratur</HI>: The more he is &s;een, the more he is lookt after; and, which is more &s;trange, though he be &s;till pre&s;ent with them, yet he is alwayes mo&s;t greedily de&s;ired, and longed for by them: In&s;omuch, that I dare boldly &s;ay, had the election of a Prince been put to the Popular choice, and all the prime &s;pirits of the Nation, had been cull'd out, to pretend for the Protectorat, his mo&s;t &s;erene Highne&s;&s;e, that now is, would have been the per&s;on, that they mu&s;t have pitched upon by Univer&s;al vote, and carried to the Throne, where he is
<PB N="278" REF="155">
&s;eated now, with General joy, and acclama|tions. A Prince he is, without flattery be it &s;poken (for he is known to be &s;o) of mo&s;t in|comparable great piety, &amp; mo&s;t worthy parts: A Prince, I &s;ay, wi&s;e as <HI>Apollo,</HI> beautiful as an <HI>Amazon,</HI> and valiant as <HI>Achilles</HI>; and ha|ving over and above all that, the &s;acred &s;pirit of wi&s;dom, courage, and devotion, of a <HI>Jo&s;hua,</HI> and coming to the Helme of this Government, as we have &s;een, by Divine in&s;titution, as he did into that; Who can at all doubt, but at the &s;ight of &s;uch &s;upreme, excellent, and mo&s;t ce|le&s;tial qualities, Walls and Cities impregnable, &s;hall fall before him too; Gyants &s;hall wax pale, and be di&s;comfited; Rivers &s;hall retire back, the Sun it &s;elf &s;hall &s;tand &s;till, and as many Kings &s;hall undergoe the yoke? And to this, all <HI>England</HI> &s;hall &s;ay, <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="279" REF="155">
<HEAD>The fourth Tran&s;cendental A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> was by the great favour of the Al|mighty, permitted to &s;ee the promi&s;ed Land: Fir&s;t the Lord commands him Thus; <HI>Get thee inup to the top of Pi&s;gah, and lift up thine eyes We&s;tward, and Northward,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 3.27.</NOTE> <HI>and Southward, and Ea&s;tward, and behold it with thine eyes.</HI> Then when the time of his depar|ture came, we find, that <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> did accord|ingly go up from the plain of <HI>Moab,</HI> unto the Mountain of <HI>Nebo,</HI> to the top of <HI>Pi&s;gah,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 34.1.</NOTE> that is over again&s;t <HI>Jericho,</HI> and the Lord &s;hewed him all the Land of <HI>Gilead</HI> unto <HI>Dan,</HI> and all <HI>Nap|thali,</HI> and the Land of <HI>Ephraim,</HI> and <HI>Mana&s;&s;eth,</HI> and all the Land of <HI>Judah,</HI> unto the utmo&s;t Sea, and the South, and the plain of the Valley of <HI>Jericho,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 2.</NOTE> the City of <HI>Palm-trees</HI> unto <HI>Zoar</HI>: and the Lord &s;aid unto him, <HI>This is the Land which I &s;ware unto</HI> Abraham,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 3.</NOTE> <HI>and unto</HI> I&s;aac, <HI>and unto</HI> Jacob, <HI>&s;aying</HI>;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 4.</NOTE> <HI>I will give it un|to thy &s;eed: I have cau&s;ed thee to &s;ee it with thine eyes, but thou &s;halt not go over thither.</HI></P>
<DIV3 TYPE="parallel">
<PB N="280" REF="156">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>There is no man will deny &s;ure, that this was a very tran&s;cendent favour and privi|ledge, indulged by God, to this ble&s;&s;ed Pa|triarch. And has our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> received le&s;&s;e favourable kindne&s;&s;e from the hands of the Almighty? Nay, has he not in this too, infinitely outgone the prerogatives of his Pat|tern, and great Prototype? Yes certainly, as far, as fruition can exceed an expectation, or a po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion &s;urpa&s;&s;eth a bare pro&s;pect onely; &s;o much more of priviledge and favour, did our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> find, from the goodn&s;&s;e of his Heavenly Father, and receive, beyond the former: For the &s;acred Text mo&s;t plainly affirmes, that the great Patriarch <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> was permitted onely to &s;ee the Land of Promi&s;e, and take his bare view, of that beloved Coun|try of &s;weet <HI>Canaan,</HI> or <HI>Pale&s;tine,</HI> then flowing with Milk and Honey, and towards which, he had been above forty years a marching in the Head of his mo&s;t mutinous, and trouble&s;ome Army, yet not &s;uffered to enter.</P>
<P>But has not our &s;acred &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> made his entry? Has he not onely entred, but en|joyed for divers years his land of Promi&s;e? Has he not driven out all his enemies before him, and made &s;o happy an end of his great
<PB N="281" REF="156">
Works, as to have been well and &s;ecurely &s;et|led, in the quiet po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion and government of his acquired Dominions, and Territories? Nay how much more advantageous was this favour to his late Highne&s;&s;e, in re&s;pect of his Succe&s;&s;or too, than that which his Archetype, the former <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> had. His late mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e, we &s;ee, has left his Princely Son to &s;ucceed him in a cleer e&s;tate, and free from any incombrances, either at home, or abroad: and indeed tho&s;e few forraign broyls, that we are ingaged in, may be rather called his mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e his &s;ports, and pretty diver|ti&s;ements, than any matters of trouble&s;om bu|&s;ine&s;&s;e, and mu&s;t prove to be more profitable than dangerous: Whereas the former good <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> left his &s;ucceeding <HI>Jo&s;hua,</HI> not a foot of land, but what he was to fight for, and could make him indeed heir apparent to nothing, but his &s;word: and leave him, as it were, a meer Souldier of Fortune, to cut his way out to his expectations. Though this was very true, that the Divine Patriarch knew full well, that the Lords promi&s;es, and ble&s;&s;ed providence would be to him a mo&s;t &s;ecure in|heritance; yet none can deny, that this fa|vour of Heaven mu&s;t in any indifferent e&s;teem, fall &s;hort of that, which was vouch&s;afed to our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> as much as an e&s;tate that is litigious, and imbrangled with law &s;uits, is to be undervalued to a cleer one, that is in quiet and undi&s;turbed po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion; or the mi&s;erable condition of war, is wor&s;e than the mo&s;t happy
<PB N="282" REF="157">
halcyon &s;tate of Peace. Are not the&s;e Tran&s;cen|dencies indeed? &s;o &s;trange and copious privi|ledges &amp; prerogatives, that the great goodne&s;s of Heaven, never indulged more to any man, than it has done to our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> in which he has &s;o far outgone his very Original Ma&s;ter, that grand dear Favorite of Heaven him&s;elf, our fir&s;t <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>; that we may &s;ecurely &s;ay, that <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> him&s;elf has fallen as &s;hort of his late Highne&s;&s;e, our unparallel'd Protector, in &s;ome of the&s;e divine indulgencies, as he our glori|ous &s;econd could fail in perfection of Parallel to the ble&s;&s;ed fir&s;t, in any of the former diffi|cult A&s;cents. But I cannot now in&s;i&s;t upon them, for I do find that our di&s;cour&s;es have &s;well'd already to too big a volumn, &s;o it is time to withdraw into the Tabernacle of Re|po&s;e, and there &s;et up, if we can, our re&s;ts with theirs.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="283" REF="157">
<HEAD>The fifth Tran&s;cendental A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> is now mounting of his la&s;t living A&s;cent, for the Holy Text tells us,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 34.1.</NOTE> that he went up from the Plains of <HI>Moab,</HI> into the Mountain of <HI>Nebo,</HI> to the top of <HI>Pi&s;gah,</HI> over again&s;t <HI>Jericho,</HI> &amp;c. And after he had &s;a|tisfied him&s;elf with the fair pro&s;pect of the Promi&s;ed Land, he willingly &s;teps into his &s;o much longed for Tabernacle of Repo&s;e.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 5.</NOTE> So <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> the &s;ervant of the Lord, died there in the land of <HI>Moab,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 6.</NOTE> according to the word of the Lord. And he buried him in a Vally in the land of <HI>Moab,</HI> over again&s;t <HI>Beth-peor,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 7.</NOTE> but no man knows of his Sepulcher unto this day. And <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was a hundred and twenty years old,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 8.</NOTE> when he died, his eye was not dim, nor his na|tural force abated. And the children of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> wept for <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> in the Plains of <HI>Moab</HI> thirty dayes: &s;o the daies of weeping and mourning for <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> were ended.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="parallel">
<PB N="284" REF="158">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>Thus we &s;ee, how our pious Patriarch has no &s;ooner taken order for a &s;ufficient &s;ucce&s;&s;or for him&s;elf, and a convenient Captain for his people, but he does mo&s;t readily di&s;po&s;e him|&s;elf for his la&s;t great journey, and A&s;cent, and mo&s;t cheerfully marcheth up the fatal Mount, while&s;t every &s;tep that he took, drew blood from the hearts of his poor, di&s;con&s;olate, and mo&s;t afflicted people, who followed him with their eies, where they could not with their per&s;ons; nay made their tears to reach him, when the &s;ight of their eyes had lo&s;t him, forcing tho&s;e floods, contrary to the cour&s;e of other waters, to run violently upwards, and with an a&s;cending &s;tream, bedew every foot|&s;tep of their precious deer Prince, and belo|ved Patriarch. All the happy joys, and tho|rough contentments that they did receive from their brave new Ma&s;ter, and Captain General <HI>Jo&s;hua,</HI> could never make them forget their old dear deliverer, and conductor, <HI>Mo&s;es.</HI> So true it is, what is ob&s;erved by all A&s;trologers, that every Planet which has its exaltation in one Sign, finds ever its counterpoi&s;es in ano|ther; nor can there be any good &s;ucce&s;&s;e in humane affairs, on one &s;ide, but it is pre&s;ently
<PB N="285" REF="158">
paid on the other, with &s;ome di&s;content. Ju&s;t thus, and no otherwi&s;e, did our great Pro|tector, and gracious &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> depart from us: who receiving from the Almighty the &s;ummons of his approaching death, while&s;t he was in the plains of <HI>Moab,</HI> in his Hou&s;e or Palace of Country retirement, as &s;peedily and cheerfully as the former <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> did; prepa|red him&s;elf to march up to this Metropolitical Mount, even to the top of <HI>Pi&s;gah,</HI> his own Palace here: where after he had appointed his happy Succe&s;&s;or, and taken careful order about the affairs of the&s;e Kingdoms, as well as of his own Family, and taken leave of all his Friends and Familiars, and dearly beloved Army, her rendred up his &s;oul to his God and Saviour, as &s;weetly as little children u&s;e to fall a&s;leep, upon the brea&s;ts of their Nur&s;es; leaving us in the mean time drowned in the deluges of our own tears: and the &s;orrow was &s;o general, that one would have thought that every hou&s;e was bearing of their fir&s;t born to burial, nothing was to be &s;een among&s;t us but tears, nor heard but groans, yellings, horrors, a&s;toni&s;hments, and repre&s;entations of death. And whereas the people of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> mourned but thirty daies, for their <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> we have la|mented the lo&s;&s;e of ours, more than thrice thirty daies, and yet are not wearied with weeping, but <HI>dolori etiam fe&s;&s;o, &s;timulos addidi|mus novos,</HI> we have &s;et &s;purs to our tired &s;or|rows, and upon any occa&s;ion of his mention|ing, tho&s;e flood-gates are &s;o continually open,
<PB N="286" REF="159">
that they have almo&s;t made an inundation upon us, and we may &s;till &s;ee him &s;ailing through all the good peoples eyes of the Na|tion, and floating upon the &s;alt waters, that him&s;elf has made. For my part, I mu&s;t profe&s;s that while&s;t my Pen is pa&s;&s;ing over this &s;tory, I cannot choo&s;e, but commix the &s;orrowful water of my eyes, with my mourning ink, &s;o may be pardoned, I hope, if at pre&s;ent I write any thing di&s;orderly, as indeed I have done all, but cannot doubt that the candour of tho&s;e &s;pirits, which are touched with the like pa&s;&s;ion, will out of pitty pardon mine. Nay, indeed, what <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> man is there that would not be out of love with life, &s;ince he has plea&s;ed to embrace death, <HI>&s;atis enim vixit, qui vitan cum Principe tanto explevit,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tatitus.</NOTE> for has he not lived long enough in this world, that can be &s;o happy, as to march out of it, in the com|pany of &s;uch a Prince? But I mu&s;t confe&s;&s;e I am to blame, nor can I but rebuke my &s;elf, as it is fit I &s;hould, before I can reprove others for this unruly, unchri&s;tian, and, indeed, un|rea&s;onable pa&s;&s;ion.</P>
<P>For fir&s;t it is a mo&s;t manife&s;t repining both again&s;t the hand of God, and him, for the Lord has now placed him in his happy Tabernacle of Repo&s;e, and ab&s;olv'd his immortal &s;oul from all the toil&s;ome fetters and ligaments of fle&s;h, as the divine <HI>Plato,</HI> though a <HI>Pagan,</HI> well expre&s;&s;eth it, when he &s;aies, <HI>Pater mi&s;ericors illis mortalia vincula faciebat,</HI> God herein, &s;aith he,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Plato in Timao.</NOTE> hath mo&s;t mercifully provided, like
<PB N="287" REF="159">
an indulgent father; for &s;eeing that the &s;oul of man was like to be &s;hut up within the body, as in a pri&s;on, he hath in his great mercy, made its chains to be mortal. How much more, then, ought we Chri&s;tians to apprehend the happine&s;&s;e of death, that know that very day, which we account the la&s;t of our lives, is to be the fir&s;t of our felicities; nay it is to be the birth of another eternal day, which mu&s;t draw a&s;ide the Curtain, and di&s;cover to us the great|e&s;t &s;ecrets of nature: it is the day that mu&s;t produce us, to tho&s;e great and divine lights, which we behold here onely, with the eye of faith, in this vale of tears and mi&s;eries. It is the happy day, which mu&s;t put us between the arms of the Heavenly Father, after a cour&s;e of an unquiet life, turmoiled &s;till with &s;torms, and &s;o many di&s;turbances.</P>
<P>Who is &s;o &s;otti&s;h as not to &s;ee, that we are at this pre&s;ent, in the world, as in the very belly or womb of nature, like little infants de&s;titute both of air and light, and can onely look to|wards, and contemplate the happine&s;&s;e of ble&s;|&s;ed &s;ouls &s;eparate from bodies. What plea&s;ure mu&s;t it be then to go out of a dungeon &s;o dark, a pri&s;on &s;o &s;treight, from &s;uch infinite ordures and mi&s;eries, to enter into tho&s;e &s;pa|cious Temples of eternal &s;plendors, where our being never &s;hall have end, our knowledge &s;hall admit no ignorance, nor love or joy &s;uffer a change.</P>
<P>The old Poets them&s;elves did alwayes fancy,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Juven. &s;at</NOTE> that there was &s;ome happine&s;&s;e extraordinary
<PB N="288" REF="160">
in death, which the gods, as they &s;aid, did cunningly conceal from us, that men &s;hould endure to live; they are the very words of one of them, <HI>Mortale&s;que, dii caelant, ut vivere durent, felix e&s;&s;e mori.</HI> Other Hea|thens there were, that by meet force of Phi|lo&s;ophy could tell us, that the body was to the &s;oul,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lucan.</NOTE> as the &s;hadow of the earth in the eclip&s;e of the Moon: and do we not &s;ee how this bright Planet, which illuminates our nights, &s;eems to be very unwillingly captivated in the dark, but labours and &s;parkles with &s;triving, to get aloft, and free it &s;elf from tho&s;e dull earthly impre&s;&s;ions: So did his late Highne&s;&s;e his mo&s;t illu&s;trious and faithful &s;oul, mo&s;t readily untwine and di&s;ingage it &s;elf from his body; well knowing it had a much better hou&s;e, in the inheritance of God, which is not a manufacture of men, but a monument of the hands of the great Artificer, where he will be much more delighted, to &s;ee the Sun, Moon, and &s;tars, and all the Elements under his feet, than he could po&s;&s;ibly be here, with beholding them over his head. In &s;hort, who would think it much (I am &s;ure his Highne&s;&s;e did not) to give up the life of a <HI>Pi&s;mire</HI> (for the greate&s;t Prince's upon earth, is no better) in exchange for immortality? he had alwayes, we know, like a good Chri&s;tian, death in his de&s;ire, and life in patience.</P>
<P>This truly I &s;hould pre&s;ume &s;ufficient to &s;ati&s;fie and comfort any rea&s;onable Chri&s;tians, for the lo&s;&s;e (as we call it) of his late Highne&s;s:</P>
<P><PB N="289" REF="160">But &s;etting Chri&s;tianity a&s;ide, methinks it &s;hould be &s;atisfactory enough for common men, to con&s;ider, that as the Poet tells us, <HI>Lex e&s;t, non paena perire,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ovid. Senec. na|tural quae&s;t. l. <HI>2.</HI></NOTE> and what the Philo|&s;opher a&s;&s;ures us; that <HI>mors naturae lex e&s;t, mors tributum officiumque e&s;t mortalium,</HI> death is a law of nature, no puni&s;hment, it is the very tribute, and duty of mortals: And what <HI>Plu|tarch,</HI> not more elegantly, than truly, con|cludes, <HI>Homines &s;icut poma, aut matura cadunt,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Plut. in vita Pomp.</NOTE> <HI>aut acerba ruunt,</HI> Men, like Apples, mu&s;t ei|ther fall ripe, or be pulled down green and &s;ower.</P>
<P>Now I would fain know, what have we to complain of? Did not his Highne&s;&s;e live to a very fair, and good old age, to a true Mo&s;aick maturity, For, as was &s;aid before, if by Chronological Computation, our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> his forty years, were parallel to the four&s;core of the former when he came into publick em|ployment, then his three&s;core and upwards, when he came to dye, &s;tands &s;till parallel with the others hundred and twenty: and as for their &s;trength of body and mind, none can affirm him to be le&s;&s;e his parallel to the very la&s;t: For his Highne&s;s eye was not dim, nor any of his natural force abated.</P>
<P>Thus his gracious God, and benigne nature plentifully provided, for that great and mo&s;t incomparable per&s;on, that his mo&s;t invincible &s;pirit, &s;hould never quaile under any &s;en&s;ible decay of fle&s;h.</P>
<P>What more of favour, I would fain know,
<PB N="290" REF="161">
could his mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e receive from the bountiful hands of Heaven? Yet &s;ome &s;pirits there are, &s;o di&s;po&s;ed to quarrel with the Almighty, that they will not yet be &s;atis|fied in the divine di&s;pen&s;ation, but think, and &s;ay, (I pray God not impiou&s;ly) that the hea|venly and eternal Father, &s;hould have permit|ted &s;ome more time of life to a per&s;on &s;o de&s;erving it; but let them remember, that <HI>mors aequopede pul&s;at,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Senec. Tray. Senec, epi&s;t. <HI>100.</HI> idem. epist. <HI>67.</HI></NOTE> and that <HI>intervallis di|&s;tinguimar, exitu aequamur,</HI> greatne&s;&s;e nor good|ne&s;s neither can give any priviledge from death, <HI>mors omnium par e&s;t, per quae venit diver&s;a &s;unt, id in quod de&s;init, unum e&s;t,</HI> death, though by &s;e|veral waies, brings all to the &s;ame end. The&s;e con&s;iderations &s;ure, though drawn from meer Heathens, would be enough to &s;atisfie any common under&s;tandings of men: but the&s;e quarrel&s;ome per&s;ons, that we &s;peak of, &s;ure are of opinion, that all happine&s;&s;e is determi|ned to this poor life; and are, I fear, very neer akin to tho&s;e, whom <HI>Plato</HI> calls <GAP DESC="foreign">,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Plato:</NOTE> who&s;e &s;ouls are &s;o great lovers of their bodies, that they would tye them&s;elves to their fle&s;h, as clo&s;oe as they could, and after death would, as he prettily expre&s;&s;eth it, &s;till walk round about their bodies, to &s;ee if they could find a pa&s;&s;age into them again. How much is this pittiful humor of Chri&s;tians, below the di|vine Philo&s;ophy of <HI>Pagans</HI> them&s;elves? Among&s;t whom we find, that there were a certain peo|ple, who by po&s;itive laws, forbad any man of
<PB N="291" REF="161">
fifty years of age, to make u&s;e of the Phy&s;i|tian, &s;aying, that it di&s;covered too much love of life: and yet &s;ome Chri&s;tians we find at the age of four&s;core, who will not endure to hear a word of death: but of this &s;ad &s;otti&s;h temper, we know his Mo&s;aical Highne&s;&s;e was not, he never valued the putting off his life, more than the &s;hifting of his &s;hirt, and when he received his citation from Heaven, he as readily obeyed, as his Ma&s;ter <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> did, to a&s;cend his fatal Mount: I pray you then be quiet you cruel friends, and do not di&s;turb his honored du&s;t, now &s;weetly re&s;ting in his Tabernacle of Repo&s;e; for if you con&s;ider rightly, you are bound, as the Orator tells you,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Plin. Paney</NOTE> <HI>Non tam vitam illi ereptam, quam mortem donatam cen&s;ere,</HI> not &s;o much to think him bereft of life, as to have been endowed with death, in a ripe old age, and after the enjoyment of the fruits of all his labours.</P>
<P>Hath not this mo&s;t incomparable per&s;on, re&s;embled truely the great Ark in the deluge, which after it had borne the whole World in the bowels of it, among&s;t &s;o many &s;torms, and fatal convul&s;ions of nature, at length repo&s;ed it &s;elf, in the Mountains of <HI>Armenia</HI>? So this mo&s;t admirable Prince, after he had carried in his heart, and entrals a &s;pirit, great as the uni|ver&s;e it &s;elf, amon&s;t &s;o many tears, dolours, and cruel acerbities of contradictions, and had delivered him&s;elf of that painful burthen, that is, had brought forth our mo&s;t happy
<PB N="292" REF="162">
and e&s;tabli&s;ht peace, he &s;topt upon Mount <HI>Nebo,</HI> and from thence went to take his re&s;t, in the Mountains of <HI>Sion.</HI></P>
<P>Thus the Lord, like an indulgent Father of a Family, &s;ends his &s;ervants to bed, &s;o &s;oon as they have done their work: it being all the ju&s;tice and rea&s;on in the World, that they who ri&s;e betimes to &s;erve him, and work hard all the day for him, &s;hould go in as good time, to &s;leep with him.</P>
<P>Let us I be&s;eech you therefore pa&s;&s;e over this death, in the manner of holy Scripture, which &s;peaks but one word onely of the death of &s;o many great per&s;onages. Let us never &s;o much as talk of death in a &s;ubject &s;o wholly repleni&s;ht with immortality. O what a death is that, to be e&s;teemed, to &s;ee vice and &s;in trodden down under his feet, and Heaven all in Crowns over his head, to &s;ee men in admi|ration, all the Angels in joy, and the arms of God ready to receive him, and fully la|den with recompen&s;es for his great &s;er|vices.</P>
<P>Nay, that the Lord did purpo&s;ely and ex|pre&s;&s;ely intend to make his Highne&s;s his death appear to be a mo&s;t &s;ignal reward and perfect victory to him, and that he &s;hould carry off the &s;poiles of life it &s;elf with more triumph, than ever mortal did, is made manife&s;t in that it plea&s;ed his divine Maje&s;ty to take him to him&s;elf, upon that mo&s;t memorable day, the third of <HI>September,</HI> the greate&s;t day of all his
<PB N="293" REF="162">
humane glories: that he was plea&s;ed to put an end to his life, in this World, that very day that he had got &s;uch an immortality in fame: to &s;et a period to his labours that very day, that he had performed &s;o many Herculian ones, for the glory of his God, and his Coun|tries good; and to crown his daies with &s;o glorious a clo&s;e, nay to give him a heavenly Crown, that very day that he had gotten &s;o many earthly ones, and loaden his Victorious Temples, with &s;o many flouri&s;hing Laurels of eternal renown,</P>
<P>Then for the glorious burial of our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> though we cannot hold up our Parallel to the heighth of that honour, which the fir&s;t had, to be conveyed to his grave by God him|&s;elf, and put into the earth by tho&s;e Almighty hands, which had made him out of it; yet we may &s;ay, that he was interred with as much &s;tate, and carried to his mother earth, with as much &s;olemnity, and magnificence, as ever per&s;on in the World was; nay his very Effigies was honoured, with &s;o great a reverence, as if &s;ome divinity had attended the Royal pro|ce&s;&s;ion.</P>
<P>And yet this is not all the glorious Sepul|ture that his Highne&s;&s;e had, for what the Orator &s;aid of his Prince, we may, <HI>mutato nomine,</HI> mo&s;t aptly conclude of him. <HI>Totum nec capiet</HI> Olivarium, <HI>brevis i&s;ta tumuli clau&s;ura,</HI> Britannum <HI>nomen &amp; pectus unumquodque nobile, vivum &s;tabit defuncto monumentum: vivet ip&s;e
<PB N="294" REF="163">
&s;uo letho &s;uper&s;tes, multam aetatem feret etiam mortuus, gloriaeque plenus deducetur ad Po&s;teros,</HI> &amp;c. The whole great <HI>Oliver</HI> cannot be con|tained, within &s;o &s;canty an enclo&s;ure, as is the vault that holds his body, the <HI>Briti&s;h</HI> Name it &s;elf, and every noble brea&s;t of the Nation, &s;hall &s;tand a living Monument to his me|mory.</P>
<P>Thus &s;hall his Highne&s;&s;e outlive his death, and grow great in glory, whil&s;t he is con&s;uming in his grave, and be conveighed into the arms of po&s;terity, with everla&s;ting acclamations. Good Princes, as well as Poets, find their ho|nours to &s;well from their la&s;t a&s;hes, and like <HI>Phoenixes</HI> &s;pring afre&s;h, from their funeral Piles, as we &s;hall more at large make out, in our next, which is our la&s;t Mo&s;aical A&s;cent, and clo&s;ing Parallel.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="6" TYPE="ascent">
<PB N="295" REF="163">
<HEAD>The &s;ixth and la&s;t, Tran&s;cen|dental A&s;cent.</HEAD>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> built him&s;elf a Monument in the hearts of all his people, and left a ble&s;|&s;ed Memorial behind him; and all this was atte&s;ted, by the Spirit of God him&s;elf, af|ter his death, expre&s;&s;ely a&s;&s;uring us, that there aro&s;e not a Prophet &s;ince in <HI>I&s;rael,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><P>Deut. 34.10.</P><P>Ver. 11. Ver. 12.</P></NOTE> like unto <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> whom the Lord knew face to face: in all the &s;igns and wonders which the Lord &s;ent him to do in the Land of <HI>Egypt,</HI> to <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> and all his &s;ervants, and to all his Land, and in all that mighty hand, and in all that great ter|ror, which <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;hewed in the &s;ight of all <HI>I&s;rael.</HI></P>
<DIV3 TYPE="parallel">
<HEAD>The Parallel.</HEAD>
<P>Thus the Lord is plea&s;ed to make the me|mory of his Saints precious (in the language of the Spirit) as &s;weet ointment poured forth; for we &s;ee here, how he will make his dead &s;ervant <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> to a&s;cend &s;till in this World, by the fragrancy of his memory: and indeed it
<PB N="296" REF="164">
is the la&s;t A&s;cent, that humane perfection is capable of; to mount up, after a ble&s;&s;ed death, to a happy and honourable remembrance a|mong&s;t men; a mo&s;t particular grace and pre|rogative, which the Divine goodne&s;&s;e indul|geth to none, but to his mo&s;t dear &s;er|vants.</P>
<P>For &s;ome there are (as <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;ticus</HI> not Apocryphally ob&s;erves) which have no me|morial at all,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccle&s;. 44.9.</NOTE> who are peri&s;hed, as though they had never been,<NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 10.</NOTE> and are become, as though they had never been born, and their children after them; but the righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of merciful men, hath not been forgotten, <HI>&amp;c,</HI> Then again <HI>their bodies are buried in peace, but their name liveth for evermore</HI>;<NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 14.</NOTE> nay further, <HI>the people will tell of their wi&s;dom,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 15.</NOTE> <HI>and the Con|gregation will &s;hew forth their prai&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>Has not our mo&s;t Serene &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> re|ceived this precious Tran&s;cendental favour likewi&s;e, from the hands of his gracious God? has he not &s;o filled the mindes and mouthes of all the good people, of the Nation? that they have nothing almo&s;t left to think, and &s;peak on, but the memory of their late great Pro|tector? In&s;omuch, that we can compare this glorious A&s;cent, of his Highne&s;&s;e his happy death, to nothing &s;o properly, as to the expi|ration of the Phenix, upon the Mountain of the Sun, in the &s;weet odours of his heroick vertues.</P>
<P>O what a memory has his Highne&s;&s;e left us, of his un&s;potted piety, and undefiled policy,
<PB N="297" REF="164">
amid&s;t all the depravations and corruptions of the Word! O what a memory has he left us, of his arriving to the highe&s;t honours, and dig|nities, by flying them, and to have ennobled all his Charges, by the integrity of his man|ners! O what a memory of a life lead truly according to Chri&s;tianity, that has alwayes daunted the mo&s;t audacious Libertins, and like a Divine Mirrour, killed Ba&s;iliskes, with the repercu&s;&s;ion of their own poi&s;on! O what a memory has he left us, of having governed a Church and State, &s;o as if it had been a clear copy of Heaven, and an eternal pattern of holy Policy: holding him&s;elf alwayes to tho&s;e heavenly Poles of piety and ju&s;tice, that &s;up|port the great policy of the Univer&s;e; e&s;teem|ing them, as <HI>Democritus</HI> did, the two divini|ties of Weales publick, or great wheeles, upon which, all the affaires of the World were to move, &s;o e&s;tabli&s;hing him&s;elf &s;till upon tho&s;e holy Columnes; as the one, has given him immortality with God, &s;o the other has per|petuated his memorial among&s;t men!</P>
<P>O what a memory has he left behind him, of having borne upon his &s;houlders &s;o happily, all the intere&s;ts and glories of this Nation, and the very moveables of the Hou&s;e of God! O what a memory has he left, of having &s;o ma|ny times trampled the heads of Dragons under his feet, and rendered him&s;elf the wonder of the World! For who indeed is it, but mu&s;t remember, how this brave, valorous, and Princely per&s;on, who was to joyne the king|dom
<PB N="298" REF="165">
of his vertues, to the force of his armes, was alwayes of &s;o vigorous and &s;ublime a &s;pi|rit, that he mea&s;ured &s;till, all his mo&s;t difficult undertakings, by the greatne&s;&s;e of his own courage, and like a <HI>Cae&s;ar</HI> indeed, but more like a true <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> re&s;olved to break through all ob&s;tacles, to Crown his in&s;pired pur|po&s;es.</P>
<P>O what a memory of a ble&s;&s;ed death, in a good old age, and full fruition of all his la|bours! to have died, as in a field of Palmes, and all planted with his own hand, manured with his con&s;tant indu&s;try, and water'd with his own painful &s;weats!</P>
<P>O what a memory after death, to be ac|knowledged by all, to have built him&s;elf be|fore his death, a mo&s;t &s;tately Tombe, &s;tufft with the precious Stones, of his own mo&s;t good|ly and incomparable vertues! all which right|ly now to repre&s;ent, would require a recapi|tulation of all our Parallels, and take up a bulk bigger, than this &s;mall Volume is in|tended to bear. And it is enough I conceive to our pre&s;ent purpo&s;e, to &s;ay, that this Na|tion, &s;hall for ever pre&s;erve the memory of him, as of a Prince, that has proved it po&s;&s;ible, though miraculous, to hold a conjunction of piety, with the Supreme power, and Sove|raign authority, &s;weetly tempered with good|ne&s;&s;e, things before thought utterly incom|patible in Kings; and truly I know not, what ju&s;t quarrel any man can have again&s;t his me|mory, but that he hath &s;hewed a path to mor|tall
<PB N="299" REF="165">
men, and trod it by his own example, to prove it po&s;&s;ible, to arrive at &s;o much per|fection, and that may be a fault indeed, and worthy of exception, in &s;o debaucht an age, as this.</P>
<P>But let &s;uch un&s;avory breaths as the&s;e, blow how, and where they plea&s;e, while&s;t all the &s;weet ones of the Nation, &s;hall pre&s;erve a fragrant memory of their departed Protector, and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>; ever acknowledgeing their lives and fortunes, nay the liberties of their very &s;ouls, to have been the pious purcha&s;e of his Princely pains.</P>
<P>Some impious great ones, we know, have brought a period upon the greate&s;t Empires, ruined whole Kingdoms, their people, and them&s;elves: have we not &s;een, I &s;ay, to in|&s;tance in one for all, the great <HI>Roman</HI> Empire it &s;elf, which had &s;o many times, cau&s;ed its victorious Chariots, loaden with Palms and Lawrels, to pa&s;&s;e over the heads of the mo&s;t pui&s;&s;ant Monarchs of the World, that &s;o often have been &s;haken, and &s;o many times e&s;tabli&s;ht by concu&s;&s;ion; at la&s;t, by the interpo&s;ition of one wicked unlucky Prince, or two, to be mo&s;t irrecoverably entombed. How much are we engaged then to the precious memory of our late Lord Protector, who in the &s;taggering conditions, that our tottering &s;tate at la&s;t, and Kingdom before was in, has not onely e&s;tabli&s;ht but augmented the glories of our Nation; eter|nizing him&s;elf more among&s;t us, and rendring
<PB N="300" REF="166">
him&s;elf more honorable to all the World, by tho&s;e his great actions, than all the Monarchs of <HI>Egypt</HI> could do, in all their rich Marbles, Pyramids and Obelisks.</P>
<P>What memory now, I would fain know, has that great <HI>Egyptian</HI> King <HI>Cleopes</HI> left be|hind him? who pro&s;tituted his own daughter, to rai&s;e him&s;elf a Pyramid for buryal, and it was &s;o enormou&s;ly great, as we read, that the earth &s;eemed too weak to bear it, and Heaven not high enough, to free it &s;elf from its im|portunities: yet that, doating with age, has now forgot its founder, and he retains the &s;tink of a rotten reputation, and is proclaimed by all the World, but a &s;otti&s;h Prince for his pains.</P>
<P><HI>Pompey</HI> on the other &s;ide, we &s;ee, after he had mea&s;ured three parts of the World, more by his triumphs than travails, comes to be killed at length, by the hand of a half man, and the earth which &s;eemed too &s;canty and narrow for his conque&s;ts, was &s;een to fail him for a Tomb: and what memory have all his great actions acquired to him, but of a proud, bloody, imperious Common-wealths-man, that could endure no corrival in greatne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>We have &s;een again in &s;tory, a great <HI>Manlius,</HI> precipitated, from the Capitol, which once he had &s;o bravely defended, that the Theater of all his glories, might be turned into the &s;caf|fold of his di&s;mal puni&s;hment: like that in&s;o|lent <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> whom we have &s;o often &s;poken of, which thought by the help of his fal&s;e
<PB N="301" REF="166">
gods, to command the waves of the Sea, and to walk upon &s;tars: yet peri&s;ht in tho&s;e his ve|ry attempts, and was buried in execration and horrors. What which memory have any of the&s;e, or other wicked Princes left behind them, better than <HI>Ero&s;tratus</HI> before &s;poken of? No, nothing can erect a true monument of eternal memory, but pure Mo&s;aick piety.</P>
<P>Our glorious &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> full well &s;aw, that Royal Crowns them&s;elvs, did loo&s;e their lu&s;tre on heads without brains, and brows without Maje&s;ty; and did much le&s;s regard a King with|out piety, than a blind <HI>Cyclop,</HI> in an hollow cave.</P>
<P>Princes he knew there have been, and are &s;till in the World, born like <HI>Diadumenus,</HI> with a Diadem of honour in their foreheads, but mo&s;t of them, we &s;ee, appear like <HI>Jo&s;ias,</HI> with a lepro&s;ie there too. O what a memory then mu&s;t his late Highne&s;&s;e have left behind him? who is well known, to have been of the Lords own election, &amp; &s;o much according to his own heart, that his &s;ervant <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and he, may &s;tand in line Parallel; for ju&s;t by &s;uch means as he, we have &s;een how he came into the Govern|ment, became the God of Monarchs, ruined the &s;tate of his enemies, opened &s;tormy Seas, manured Wilderne&s;&s;es, and cleft Rocks, with as &s;mall a thing as a twig: ju&s;t as he, he has been laborious among&s;t Shepherds, &s;anctified and exemplary in Cities, temperate in prin|cipalities, a Companion of Angels in his re|tirements, and as it were a Cabinet friend of God. Nay has our gracious &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>
<PB N="302" REF="167">
&s;hewed le&s;&s;e piety in the &s;ervice of the Omni|potent, le&s;&s;e &s;weetne&s;&s;e in government, le&s;&s;e greatne&s;&s;e of &s;pirit in all noble enterpri&s;es, le&s;&s;e patience in difficulties, le&s;&s;e prudence in the direction of his affairs, or le&s;&s;e di&s;patch in his expeditions? And to conclude in &s;hort, has he been le&s;&s;e ble&s;t in all his battails, having ever had, as it were, good hap, and victories, under his pay? and can we do le&s;&s;e than fall down, and wor&s;hip divinity in all this, and give him the immortalitie of our memories at lea&s;t, in lieu of tho&s;e eternal obligations, that his mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e has laid upon us? Nay have we not &s;een him all along, like his old Ma&s;ter <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> too, holding Heaven con|tinually for object, and all greatne&s;&s;e of this World in contempt? How like him too, he has alwaies &s;hewed him&s;elf full of the &s;pirit of all Prudence, Piety, and Prophe&s;ie it &s;elf; and over and above all that, crowned with a mo&s;t &s;overaign high humility? How he like him too, but mo&s;t e&s;pecially toward his later end, had blotted one almo&s;t all, that was man with|in him, by a conver&s;ation wholly cele&s;tial, redu|cing his fle&s;h into &s;o much &s;ubjection, &amp; exalt|ing his &s;pirit to &s;uch an empire over it, that he might de&s;erve the name of God too, as his old Ma&s;ter <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> did, in re&s;emblance of whom, he was &s;o transformed, by the &s;uperabudance of his mo&s;t excellent, and cele&s;tial qualities? And has he not de&s;erved an immortality upon earth, for all this, as well as Crowns in Hea|ven? Yes &s;ure, for the mo&s;t malicious enemy
<PB N="303" REF="167">
that his Highne&s;&s;e has in the World, cannot deny him to have dyed, under the &s;hadow of &s;o many Palms, of his own mo&s;t noble and he|roical vertues, that they mu&s;t &s;pring &s;till to all eternity, and grow green with very age: his Lawrels can never wither, nor his Bays be bla&s;ted; the re&s;plendent raies of his honour, can never loo&s;e their lu&s;ter, nor the odours of his holy conver&s;ation, ever fail of &s;ending forth their precious perfumes.</P>
<P>Thus has his mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e, our &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> like the former, perfectly changed his Sepulcher into a Cradle, and even drawn life out of his Tomb. O what an im|mortallty is this, to &s;urvive eternally in the mouths of men! But how much more happy an eternity is it, to have a perpetual life in Heaven, enjoying the very knowledge, love, life and felicity of God him&s;elf?</P>
<P>Come hither then all you Princes, and mighty Per&s;ons of the earth, and make ha&s;t, to take out your copy and pattern here, betaking your &s;elves betimes to the glorious Temple of Honour, by that difficult one, of holy virtues, which will prove them&s;elves to you in the end, as they have done to our fir&s;t and &s;econd <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> here, like <HI>Elias</HI> his heavenly Chariot, all fla|ming with glory, to render you, not onely mo&s;t illu&s;trious and eternal here upon earth, but to tran&s;port your brave, Princely, &amp; mo&s;t purified &s;ouls, above the height of the Empirean Heaven.</P>
<P>Come hither, I pray you likewi&s;e, all you malecontented &s;pirits of this Nation, that have
<PB N="304" REF="168">
&s;o long maliciou&s;ly repind, and impiou&s;ly op|po&s;ed your &s;elves, again&s;t his late mo&s;t Serene Highne&s;&s;e his Mo&s;aical Per&s;on, and Govern|ment, and &s;till do continue to malign his mo&s;t precious memory, together with the power of his mo&s;t gracious Son and Succe&s;&s;or, &s;et over us now, by God him&s;elf, and his own divine ver|tues: repair hither, I &s;ay, with all the inge|nuity of judgement, and Chri&s;tian candor that you can, and I doubt not but by &s;uch an im|partial peru&s;al of our happy Parallels, you will find all your aver&s;ions and di&s;ta&s;ts alleviated, and that the loathings and nau&s;eou&s;ne&s;s which you had before, did &s;pring from the di&s;ea&s;e of your own palats onely, or <HI>Malos gu&s;tos,</HI> as the <HI>Spaniard</HI> calls them, and from no other cau&s;e at all. If that remedy will not &s;erve your turns, to divert the violent &s;tream, of your old animo&s;ities, I would earne&s;tly de&s;ire you again (if you are not yet &s;tark mad with ju|dai&s;ing) to reflect with horrour, upon <HI>Corah, Dathan,</HI> and <HI>Abiram,</HI> and all his complices, with the re&s;t of that mutinous Nation, the murmuring <HI>I&s;raelites,</HI> &amp; by a &s;erious &s;oliloquy with your own &s;ouls, you may correct that cur&s;ed &s;pirit of contumacy, which has &s;o long po&s;&s;e&s;t you,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cicero.</NOTE> <HI>Quorum facta immitamini eorum, exitus per horre&s;cendo,</HI> by a due con&s;ideration of the direful effects of their devili&s;h doings, who&s;e &s;teps you &s;til pur&s;ue. And if all this prove but coun&s;el ca&s;t away, let me humbly be&s;eech you once more, through the ble&s;&s;ed bowels of our gracious Lord and Saviour, to make your
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earne&s;t and often addre&s;&s;es to him, and holding &s;ome &s;uch divine di&s;cour&s;es with him, as I &s;hall here &s;et down in a form, that I have &s;ometimes u&s;ed my&s;elf upon like occa&s;ion, and I cannot doubt, but by his all-healing grace, you &s;hal all be reduced to a better temper, and mo&s;t am|ple complacency with the pre&s;ent government.</P>
<P><Q REND="margQuotes">O mo&s;t gracious Lord God, which guide&s;t the lives, e&s;tates and conditions of all men li|ving in this World, and make&s;t a perfect mu|&s;ick in the univer&s;e, which thou compo&s;e&s;t of many accords; or let us take this great All, and government of thine, as a Table of many colours, or a body of many members: why &s;hould I, be it one, or be it 'tother, make my &s;elf a fal&s;e harmony in &s;o &s;weet a Con&s;ort; an extravagant colour, in &s;o compleat a Ta|ble, or a prodigious member, of &s;o beautiful a body. It &s;hall &s;uffice me, O Lord, to be a part in this Mu&s;ick, this Table, or of this Body: &s;et me high, &s;et me low, let me be white, let me be black, make me head, make me foot. My God, it is in thee to give me my part, and in me onely to play it well; why &s;hould I kick again&s;t the &s;pur, like a paltry Jade? Why being but a mi&s;erable earthen pot, &s;hould I argue again&s;t my Potter, for the fa&s;hion, that he has plea&s;ed to put me in? If the men whom I envy, or bear malice to, merit their good fortunes, and happy advancements, I wrong thy divine ju&s;tice, O Lord, to maligne, or oppo&s;e them; And if they de&s;erve them
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not, they more merit my compa&s;&s;ion, than envy; &s;ince all their greatne&s;s, will &s;erve them but for a burthen in this life, and a far deeper condemnation in the other. If the &s;tars, by contribution of their raies, do &s;trengthen the activity of hell fire, as we are informed they do, how much more then, will tho&s;e great lights of honour, and &s;parkling advantages of greatne&s;s, increa&s;e the torments of a reprobate Prince, or great per&s;on? Be|&s;ides, O Lord, why &s;hould I be guilty of &s;o &s;trange a malignity again&s;t my &s;elf, as forget|ing the pre&s;ervation of my own per&s;on, to which I am by nature obliged, go about to ruine any other man, a thing, that nature it &s;elf abhors from? &amp; if by loving my very ene|my, all will make for me, as thou, O Lord, thy &s;elf ha&s;t told me: Why &s;hould I, through want of love, deprive my &s;elf of &s;o great advantage to my &s;elf, or &s;o great a power over him? and this way of revenging by love, being of all things mo&s;t ea&s;ie: Why &s;hould I go obout to create a hell within my &s;elf, where thou, O my God, ha&s;t a gracious purpo&s;e, to erect a Paradi&s;e? So, Good Lord, of thy mercie, &s;end us all a happie peace, and true Chri&s;tian com|placencie, one with another, and to thine own name give the glory, for &s;o it properlie belongs.</Q></P>
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<HEAD>The Heads of the A&s;cents, wherein his late <HI>HIGHNESSE,</HI> our renowned PROTECTOUR, decea&s;ed, &s;tands Parallel with the great Patriarch <HI>MOSES.</HI></HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM><LABEL>THe fir&s;t A&s;cent made Parallel,</LABEL>  In their Nobility of Birth, and great extraction. <HI> p. 1.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The &s;econd,</LABEL>  In their remarkable Beauty of body, and gace|fulne&s;&s;e of of Per&s;on. <HI> p. 6.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The third,</LABEL>  In the great particular providences of Heaven over them, in their miracluous pre&s;ervations, from their very infancies. <HI> p. 16.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The fourth,</LABEL>  In all the eminent advantages of their mo&s;t Libe|ral and Noble education. <HI> p. 21.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The fifth.</LABEL>  In their long Privacy, and happy retirements of them&s;elves. <HI> p. 29.</HI></ITEM>
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<ITEM><LABEL>The &s;ixth,</LABEL>  In their miraculous and divine calls to publick employment. <HI> p. 36.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The &s;eventh,</LABEL>  In their great mode&s;ty, and unwillingne&s;&s;e to ac|cept of their great charges. <HI> p. 43.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The eighth,</LABEL>  In their many mo&s;t &s;tupendious deliverances of their people. <HI> p. 53.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The ninth,</LABEL>  In the many mispiri&s;ions, and ungrateful mur|murings of the common people. <HI> p. 64.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The tenth,</LABEL>  In the malicious oppo&s;itions, frequent &s;editions, and dangerous rebellions of &s;ome of the Elders them&s;elves, and Princes of the A&s;&s;embly. <HI> p. 73.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The eleventh,</LABEL>  In their great courage, and all high per&s;onal ac|compli&s;hments requi&s;ite to good Souldiers. <HI> p. 83.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The twelfth,</LABEL>  In their proportion of years, and ability of mind and body, when they came fir&s;t into office, and publick command. <HI> p. 91.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The thirteenth,</LABEL>  In their great skill in military conduct, and all accompli&s;hments requi&s;ite to Captains General. <HI> p, 97.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The fourteenth.</LABEL>  In their con&s;tant felicity, and mo&s;t victorious &s;uc|ce&s;&s;es. <HI> p. 106.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The fifteenth,</LABEL>  In all the parts and abilities requi&s;ite to the accompli&s;hment of great States-men. <HI> p. 115.</HI></ITEM>
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<ITEM><LABEL>The &s;ixteenth,</LABEL>  In their great care, and prudent caution, in the election of hone&s;t and able Officers, and Mini|&s;ters under them. <HI> p. 125.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The &s;eventeenth,</LABEL>  In their extraordinary clemency, and &s;weet temper of their government. <HI> p. 138.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The eighteenth,</LABEL>  In their great pitty and piety towards the very pur&s;es, as well as per&s;ons of their people. <HI> p. 149.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The nineteenth,</LABEL>  In their great piety towards God, and exemplary zeal for his glory and wor&s;hip. <HI> p. 159</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The twentieth,</LABEL>  In their mo&s;t extraordinary gift and &s;pirit of prayer. <HI> p. 168</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The one and twentieth,</LABEL>  In their mo&s;t exemplary practical parts of true pi|ety, and renunciation of proper intere&s;ts, for the &s;ervice and glory of their God. <HI> p. 182.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The two and twentieth,</LABEL>  In the divine dignity, and gift of the &s;pirit of Prophe&s;ie. <HI> p. 201.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The three and twentieth,</LABEL>  In their endeavours to procure that holy &s;pirit of Prophe&s;ie for others, and indulging that divine liberty of prophe&s;ying. <HI> p. 216.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The four and twentieth,</LABEL>  In their high humility, and matchle&s;&s;e meekne&s;&s;e of &s;pirit. <HI> p. 233</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
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<HEAD>The Heads of the &s;ix Tran&s;cenden|tal A&s;cents, and Parallels.</HEAD>
<ITEM><LABEL>THe fir&s;t Tran&s;cendental A&s;cent made Parallel,</LABEL>  In the happy power of nomination of their Suc|ce&s;&s;ors. <HI> p. 251</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The &s;econd,</LABEL>  In the nomination of Per&s;ons of their neere&s;t rela|tions, to be their Succe&s;&s;ors. <HI> p. 261.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The third,</LABEL>  In the imparting of &s;ome of their &s;pirit and honour to their Succe&s;&s;ors, in their life time, and the a&s;&s;urance they had of their vertues, and pro&s;|perous &s;ucce&s;&s;es. <HI> p. 267.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The fourth,</LABEL>  In the fair pro&s;pect of the fruits, and fruition of the effects, of all their labours. <HI> p. 279.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The fifth,</LABEL>  In their happy departure out of this life, and glo|rious funerals. <HI> p. 283.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>The &s;ixth,</LABEL>  In the magnificent memorials, and eternal monu|ments that they have erected in the hearts of all good men. <HI> p. 295</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV1>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
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