<!DOCTYPE ETS PUBLIC "-//UMDLPS//DTD EEBOPROOF 2.0//EN">
<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>2010-09-02</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Checklist:
x Add TEMPHEAD, change DATE, validate
x Add DIV TYPEs, validate
x Review structure, use FRONT, BODY, BACK or rarely GROUP
Check PB placement and completeness, ensure sequence of N=""
x Proof title page(s)
x Check HEAD TRAILER ARGUMENT EPIGRAPH BIBL OPENER CLOSER SIGNED SALUTE BYLINE
x Check ^, oe, abq, italic I / J, _Initals, space between &amp;c.
x Check # @ -- UNCLEAR LB FIGURE -|
x Check q; startq endq Q
x Check all GAPs and quire signatures
x Check ligatures if in blackletter &abper; &abpro; &abus; &abquod; &absed; &abser; &abcon; &abrum; &abis; and any miscellaneous ABBR's
x Z's: medial capital Z's and final z's if in blackletter
x gr; entities
x 'd vs ld
x f&s; / &s;f
x Capital U / V's in black-letter, w\^[^t]
x accented letters
x ot / ol / of and tr / tb / th
x Correct illegibles from proofsheet
x Check for &punc; in the middle of words
x Check illegible page, para, line, span, word, dollar signs
x Final validate

Corrected [ ] illegible groups out of [ ].
Converted [ ] illegible groups to GAP DESC="illegible".
DONE</ITEM>
</CHANGE>
</REVDESCR>
</TEMPHEAD>
<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A72929">
<STC T="S">18413.7</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99898838</BIBNO>
<VID>152090</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>A TREATISE OF BLAZING <HI>STARRES IN Generall.</HI></P>
<P>As well &s;upernaturall as naturall: To what Countries or people &s;oeuer they appeare in the &s;pacious World.</P>
<P><FIGURE>
<FIGDESC>shooting star</FIGDESC>
<P>SOVTH.</P>
<P>WEST.</P>
<P>NORTH.</P>
<P>EAST.</P>
</FIGURE></P>
<P>LONDON, Imprinted by <HI>Bernard Al&s;op,</HI> and are to be &s;old by <HI>Edward Wright</HI> at his &s;hoppe neere Chri&s;t Church gate. 1618:</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="poem">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>A Progno&s;tication of Blazing Starres, according to the opinion of the Poet <HI>Pontanus.</HI></HEAD>
<LG>
<L>OF &s;tirring winds, with blu&s;tering bla&s;ts which blow,</L>
<L>Of bloody broyles, by force in fatall fight:</L>
<L>Of peoples pompe, the pitious ouerthrow.</L>
<L>Of Potentates the death, in wofull plight:</L>
<L>The Blazing Starres aloft like lampes of light</L>
<L>In th'E&s;t or We&s;t of azure coloured skies,</L>
<L>Forewarnings and &s;ignes when they ari&s;e.</L>
</LG>
<LG>
<L>If &s;till they &s;tand, and offer not to change</L>
<L>The place, where fir&s;t in &s;ight they ca&s;t their beames,</L>
<L>Then &s;hall in&s;ue much mi&s;chiefe rare and &s;trange:</L>
<L>As gaping wounds, and &s;luzing bloody &s;treames,</L>
<L>In foughten field, twixt nigh adioyning Realmes.</L>
<L>Such ciuill &s;tormes &s;hall ouerrunne the land,</L>
<L>That &s;ome &s;hall bath in kindreds blood their hand.</L>
</LG>
<LG>
<L>And if they take their cour&s;e vnto the Ea&s;t,</L>
<L>A &s;igne it is that forreigne foes with force</L>
<L>Prepare apace, to &s;poyle both mo&s;t and lea&s;t:</L>
<L>With edge of &s;word &s;weet life &s;till to diuorce</L>
<L>From panting heart, deuoyde of all remor&s;e.</L>
<L>Thus Ea&s;t or We&s;t in &s;ight, they haue their dome,</L>
<L>And &s;ignes they are of things in time to come.</L>
</LG>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 N="1" TYPE="chapter">
<PB REF="3">
<PB REF="3">
<HEAD>Why, and whereupon Blazing Starres haue theyr Names, CHAP. I.</HEAD>
<P>_FOr&s;omuch as a man furni&s;hed with all kind of knowledge and learning, &s;hould &s;o &s;earch after the vnder&s;tanding of great and high matters,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A rea&s;on for vnder&s;tanding of blazing &s;tars.</NOTE> that he haue not meaner things in contempt and di&s;daine, by who&s;e benefite (as experience teacheth) the greater are attained, becau&s;e they mini&s;ter certain helps and aides to a&s;pire and reach vnto them. Hereupon it followeth, that le&s;&s;er things are not to bee neglected, without the which there is no pa&s;&s;age to the greater, nor any po&s;&s;ibilitie to pearce to the perfect proofe of them, except by the forerunning of them preparation be made for vs to a&s;cend. and climbe vp to the hidden knowledge of the other. Therefore, le&s;t this our la|bour lent and layde out for common vtility and profite &s;hould be &s;ubiect to the biting blowes of furious enuie, and le&s;t &s;uch as de|&s;ire perfection in profe&s;&s;ion, as al&s;o certainety in deliuering Do|ctrine, &s;hould complaine, that wee &s;ell &s;hadowes for &s;ub&s;tances, phanta&s;ies for verities, and imaginations for demon&s;trations: we will &s;ay &s;omewhat in the entrance of this worke, touching the name of a <HI>Comete</HI> or <HI>Blazing &s;tarre,</HI> and &s;o pa&s;&s;e orderly to our purpo&s;e.</P>
<P>The &s;tarre which the Grecians call <HI>Cometa,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">A Blazing &s;tar is named after the forme and figure which it beareth.</NOTE> the Latines <HI>Stella crinita,</HI> we Engli&s;hmen a <HI>Blazing &s;ttarre,</HI> hath his deno|mination (as well by the a&s;&s;ertion of the one, as the other from the form and figure which it beareth, at &s;uch time as it appeareth in the ayre: becau&s;e this kind of &s;tarre &s;eemeth (in our opinion and iudgement) to &s;hoote out long &s;trakes of fire in the E|lement, or bright and light&s;om &s;parckles continued in length like
<PB REF="4">
vnto the hayre, which the Grecians call <HI>Coma,</HI> and thereupon <HI>Cometa,</HI> and the <HI>Latines Crinis,</HI> whereof it is named <HI>Stella cri|nita:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">The names of Blazing &s;tars.</NOTE> &s;o that the re&s;emblance or repre&s;entation which this Starre giueth, is the occa&s;ion that it is called a <HI>Comet,</HI> or <HI>Blazing &s;tar,</HI> As <HI>Augu&s;tus Cae&s;ar</HI> called that &s;tarre, which appeared at &s;uch time as he publi&s;hed Pageants of plea&s;ure: and &s;hewes of Tri|umph, by the name of a Comete: and which <HI>Suetonius Tran|quillus</HI> called <HI>Sidus crinitum,</HI> and diuers others haue &s;emblably termed,</P>
<P>Neyther was the Impo&s;ition of this name ab&s;urde, or again&s;t rea&s;on:<NOTE PLACE="marg">The likenes of blazing &s;tars as &s;omtimes they appeare.</NOTE> for who&s;oeuer &s;hall iudiciou&s;ly behold tho&s;e kinde of Starres, he &s;hall perceyue, though not mo&s;t perfectly, yet not very darkly) how it &s;hooteth out long and &s;lender lines of &s;park|ling fire, this way and that way, in&s;omuch, as a man would thinke and &s;uppo&s;e the &s;ame not much vnlike vnto &s;cattred hayre to a broome or a rodde of Byrch, to the tayle of a Peacocke, to the bearde of a man, &amp;c. as we are taught by demon&s;tration.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="2" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>That Blazing Stars are &s;undry and diuers. CHAP. II.</HEAD>
<P><HI>BLazing Starres</HI> are not onely very many in number, but al&s;o diuers in appearance. The Sect of the Stoykes &s;ayde, that they are beyond two and thirty,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Stoyckes opinion of Blazing &s;tars.</NOTE> of who&s;e &s;undry names and &s;e|uerall effects, <HI>Abienus</HI> not vnwi&s;ely hath written.</P>
<P>Concerning their number and names, we are h&eacute;ere to be not curious: wherefore we will come to their colours and likene&s;&s;es wherein there is not an vniformity and generall agr&eacute;ement, but a difference, For &s;ome <HI>blazing-Starres</HI> &s;eeme bloud redde, hor|rible to behold,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Blazing &s;tars differ in colour</NOTE> and (as it were) cri&s;ped and curled in the Crowne or vpper part, tending towards the Skies: where|upon they are commonly called Comets. of which the Poet hath this &s;aying:
<Q><L>Like as in moy&s;t and dewie night,</L>
<L>When Comets red as bloud,</L>
<L>Appeare aloft: the &s;pectacle,</L>
<L>and &s;igne is little good.</L></Q></P>
<P><PB REF="4">This Figure haue they, when they are thicke on the one &s;ide, and &s;tretched out in length on the other &s;ide.</P>
<P>Some Blazing Starres there be,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Blazing &s;tars vary in figure. Trailed &s;tars.</NOTE> which haue a certayne han|ging downeward at their lower part, in the likene&s;&s;e of a long beard, or the mawne of a hor&s;e: which happeneth by rea&s;on of the thin matter and &s;ub&s;tance which is in the other parts, which kind of &s;tars are called <HI>Pogonii.</HI></P>
<P>Other &s;ome there are, which appeare in the likene&s;&s;e of a &s;peare or Iauelin, and they are called <HI>Acontij:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Speare &s;tars.</NOTE> or &s;uch a one as te&s;tifieth <HI>Plinie,</HI> did <HI>Tiberius Cae&s;ar,</HI> in his Con&s;ul&s;hip, penne pa&s;&s;ing and excellent Poems, or Ver&s;es of notable inuention and &s;ingular conueyance.</P>
<P>Other &s;ome there are, &s;horter &s;omewhat then the former,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sword &s;tarres.</NOTE> and they be &s;hapt towards the top like a &s;word, whereupon they are called <HI>Piphij,</HI> re&s;embling in colour gold after a &s;ort, but yet &s;o not|with&s;tanding, that (of all other) they are mo&s;t pale, wanting beames, blazes, or &s;trakes: hauing neuerthele&s;&s;e a cereain bright|ne&s;&s;e in them, like the glittering of a &s;word.</P>
<P>Other &s;ome there are which are called <HI>Phitites,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tun &s;tarres.</NOTE> in forme and fa|&s;hion like a Tunne, hauing in the hollow part of them the &s;hew of a &s;moaky and &s;mothering flame, much like vnto the Blacke-Smiihs Forge, or ve&s;&s;els daubed and &s;m&eacute;ered with pitch, &s;et on fire, which ca&s;t a darke and mi&s;tie light, and men haue &s;ometimes v&s;ed for the pre&s;eruing and fre&s;h k&eacute;eping of their drinke.</P>
<P>There are be&s;ides them that we haue reckoned <HI>Comets</HI> called <HI>Certarij,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Horne &s;tarres.</NOTE> becau&s;e they appeare to our &s;ight in the &s;imilitude and likenes of a Horn: Such a one was &s;&eacute;ene, when the Grecians en|camped at <HI>Salamina.</HI></P>
<P>Other&s;ome al&s;o there are, which be called <HI>Lampades,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Lampe &s;tars.</NOTE> becau&s;e they ca&s;t a &s;hew of a burning torch, or flaming Lampe of which &s;ort &s;undry haue b&eacute;ene, and that not very &s;eldome.</P>
<P>Furthermore, &s;ome there are which be called <HI>Hippci,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mawne &s;tars.</NOTE> becau&s;e they &s;&eacute;eme to haue about them (as it were) a Hor&s;e Mawne, go|ing round about them in circle wi&s;e, with &s;trange mouing and &s;wiftene&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>To b&eacute;e &s;hort, &s;ome Blazing Starres are &s;&eacute;ene in the Ayre, gli&s;tering with &s;trakes and &s;treames like bright &s;iluer, that it pa&s;&s;eth the ability of mans eye to looke and behold them, where|in
<PB REF="5">
(as in a cleare gla&s;&s;e) God is repre&s;ented, in the likene&s;&s;e and &s;hape of a man. And &s;uch a one (as &s;ome do hold opinion) was that which appeared to the Wi&s;emen in the Ea&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A Blazing &s;tar reprp&s;enting as it were in a gla&s;&s;e, the I|mage of God.</NOTE> and conducted them to the place where Chri&s;t was borne: concerning the ap|pearing whereof, thus &s;ayde he to the <HI>Hiero&s;olomite. Wee haue &s;eene his &s;tarre in the Ea&s;t, and are come to doe him wor|&s;hippe.</HI></P>
<P>But touching this, we purpo&s;e (peraduenture) to &s;ay &s;omwhat in the winding vp of this worke. We know not that be&s;ides the&s;e which we haue rehear&s;ed, there be many more formes and figures of <HI>Comets</HI> or <HI>blazing &s;tarres,</HI> and many more &s;orts, of which particularly to di&s;cour&s;e, is not our meaning or ontent, nor yet a matter of &s;uch weight and importance, that it &s;hould require pre&s;ent and perfect handling: we will therefore to that which is more nece&s;&s;ary.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="3" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>In what part of Heauen blazing &s;tarres appeare mo&s;t com|monly. CHAP. III,</HEAD>
<P>THey that haue written things notable, and profitable of A|&s;trologie, and haue di&s;cour&s;ed things concerning the influ|ences and gouernments of Starres, in &s;uch &s;ort and order, that the knowledge i&s;&s;uing from their trauels, offereth fruit not de|&s;eruing repentance:<NOTE PLACE="marg">In what part of heauen Bla|zing &s;tars are &s;eene.</NOTE> They (I &s;ay) haue affirmed, that Blazing Starres neuer appeare in the We&s;t part of Heauen: but either vnder the North, in &s;ome one part or other, but vncertaine: how|beit, mo&s;t commonly in that bright and cleare part, which is cal|led the <HI>Milkie Circle:</HI> or el&s;e (which is &s;eldome &s;&eacute;ene come to pa&s;&s;e) they appeare in the South Pole, but yet without any blazce, in the<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;ea&s;ons of Winter e&s;pecially: yet it is recorded, that a Co|me appeared to the <HI>Aethopians,</HI> and to the <HI>Aegyptians,</HI> and that the King of tho&s;e people, gaue that Blazing Starre a name, cal|ling it <HI>Typon,</HI> becau&s;e it had in it a double re&s;emblance, namely of a round ball, and of a fire, in &s;o much, that according to the iudg|ment of &s;en&s;e, it might not &s;o aptly be called a Comet or Blazing Starre, as a fiery or flaming ball, or a round compa&s;&s;ed and bur|ning knot.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="4" TYPE="chapter">
<PB REF="5">
<HEAD>At what time of the yeare blazing &s;tarres appeare, and how long they continue. CHAP. IIII.</HEAD>
<P>ALthough <HI>Dama&s;cene</HI> (an Authour in my iudgement wor|thy reuerence (is of opinion that a Blazing &s;tarre, is a &s;tar newly made and created for the time pre&s;ent, which vani&s;heth out of &s;ight, and cea&s;eth to appeare, when the thing whereof it is a &s;ignification is accompli&s;hed, and come to pa&s;&s;e: yet notwith|&s;tanding, experience (whom writers name, the Mi&s;tre&s;&s;e of ma|ny my&s;teries) informeth and teacheth vs, that a Blazing Starre may appeare at any &s;ea&s;on of the yeare: but more often in &s;ummer and then &s;pecially, when the &s;tarre called <HI>Canicula</HI> ari&s;eth, and ruleth the weather and time of the yeare, according to the pro|portion of the influence, and that they continue &s;euen dayes at the lea&s;t, and not aboue foure&s;core at the mo&s;t, the authoritie of <HI>Plinie,</HI> giuing countenance to this opinion.</P>
<P>Howbeit, this a&s;&s;ertion, together with the te&s;timony of <HI>Plinie</HI> may be improued by examples: For (as it is vniuer&s;ally knowne) a <HI>Comet,</HI> which appeared before the ouerthrow of <HI>Hieru&s;alem,</HI> was &s;eene blazing in the Element, to the wonderfull a&s;toni&s;h|ment of the people, by the &s;pace of a whole yeare, as <HI>Eu&s;ebius</HI> and <HI>Io&s;ephus</HI> verified.</P>
<P>But we mu&s;t note, that this Comet, and the appearance of the &s;ame, which was full of horror, is not to be a&s;cribed vnto Na|ture, but to be attributed immediatly vnto God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The opinion of the Pytha|gori&s;ts touch|ing Blazing &s;tarres.</NOTE> the Father and founder of Nature, although the &s;ect of the <HI>Pythagori&s;ts</HI> thought, that all Blazing &s;tars were to be referred vnto Nature who hath prouided that their appearing &s;hould be at certaine definite, and appointed times of the yeare.</P>
<P>Touching the&s;e Blazing Stars al&s;o, of the &s;ame &s;ect there was &s;ome, who &s;uppo&s;ed they were perpetuall &s;tars, and not tempo|rall, and that they had an ordinary cour&s;e to run, as other &s;tarres haue their reuolution and circular motion, and that their appea|ring proc&eacute;eded from none other cau&s;e, then when they were, for|&s;aken and left of the Sun, who&s;e brightnes and n&eacute;erene&s;&s;e is the occa&s;ion as they thinke, that Blazing &s;tars do not appeare.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="5" TYPE="chapter">
<PB REF="6">
<HEAD>Whereof Blazing &s;tarres are engendered (according to the iudge|ment of Diuines) and what they are indeede. CHAP. V.</HEAD>
<P>THe Religious Diuines, like very well of this plau&s;ible and true opinion, that <HI>Blazing &s;tarres</HI> come of no other cau&s;e, then from the holy Coun&s;ell and Prouidence of God; that there is no matter of their generation,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Originall of Blazing &s;tars.</NOTE> as Phylo&s;ophers imagine, but that God maketh them immediate me&s;&s;engers and Mini&s;ters of his will, according to the time and place, as it be&s;t plea&s;eth his hie and eternall Maie&s;tie: (that by them) he might giue vs aduerti&s;e|ments of afterclaps, to prepare our &s;elues onward to m&eacute;ete his fatherly mercy, or to &s;uffer the bitternes of his &s;harpe iudgement. Wherevpon they inferre this con&s;equent, that <HI>Blazing Stars</HI> are &s;upernaturall, and m&eacute;ere worlds wonder.</P>
<P>To who&s;e Sentence I agree, and mo&s;t willingly a&s;&s;ent, being thereto moued by arguments of forcible per&s;wa&s;ion, and in num|ber infinite. Principally, becau&s;e it is a Chri&s;tians duety, to a&s;|cribe more to Gods prouidence, then to the force of Nature, who~ God hath not onely Created, but al&s;o doth di&s;po&s;e and gouerne.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Some Blazing &s;tarres natural, other&s;ome &s;u|pernaturall.</NOTE>Yet for all that, I may not vtterly deny, that they are natural, for &s;o much as I am not (or at lea&s;t ought not to be) ignorant, that Nature cau&s;eth <HI>blazing &s;tarres;</HI> howbeit &s;o, that God is the Originall and principall worker of &s;uch wonders and that their ground and cau&s;es are naturall, and not &s;o &s;ecret and doubtfull: but that otherwhile the capacity and rea&s;on of man may conceiue and compa&s;&s;e them. And yet contrarywi&s;e, I &s;tand not in deny|all, that tho&s;e <HI>blazing &s;tarres</HI> are &s;upernaturall, which the mo&s;t mightie Monarch of the heauens, Creator of all creatures, and Maker of all Starres and Spirits, rai&s;eth of nothing to &s;ome|thing, vpon a &s;udden, in a moment and pricke of time, to the ad|miration of all men, and to the reueal<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ng of his Omnipotency.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">All things are po&s;sible to God.</NOTE>Expedient and nece&s;&s;ary it is to beleeue, that with God all things are in ability, and that what&s;oeuer is done eyther by day, or by night, naturally or &s;upernaturally, it commeth to pa&s;&s;e by his appointment, and that it plea&s;eth him otherwhiles to create &s;omething of &s;omething, and otherwiles againe, &s;omething of
<PB REF="6">
nothing. To that which neuer had matter, can he giue fa&s;hion and figure, and beautifie that with forme and comelines, which neuer had Foundation nor beeing. It con&s;i&s;teth in his might to moy&s;ten the earth with &s;howres di&s;tilling from the cleare skies, without the meanes of lowring and dropping cloudes. He can worke both wayes, to whom nothing is impo&s;&s;ible: Now gathe|ring the cloudes together in an heape, from the vttermo&s;t cor|ners and coa&s;ts of the world, now turning againe lightning in|to raine, which couering the heauens with cloudes, and prepa|ring raine for the land: For, <HI>Great is the Lord, mighty is his power, and of his wi&s;dome there is no number or end:</HI> And therefore I am ea&s;ily drawne to belieue, that <HI>Blazing Starres</HI> may immediately appeare from God, and be &s;upernatural, when it plea&s;eth God, vpon (&s;ome &s;ingular cau&s;e) to giue them begin|ning, matter, and &s;ub&s;tance of nothing.</P>
<P>Such a Blazing Starre (no doubt) was that Piller of the cloude,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The piller of the cloud, and the plller of fire were Bla|zing &s;tars &s;u|pernaturall. The Blazing &s;tarre which appeared in Ieru&s;alem, was &s;upernaturall.</NOTE> whereby the Lord (in olde time) mo&s;t miraculou&s;ly went before the I&s;raelites his people out of the Aegyptian Soile into the Land of Promi&s;e in the day time: and that Piller of fire, which neuer left the face of Gods cho&s;en in the night.</P>
<P>Not vnlike to this was that Blazing &s;tarre (as I &s;uppo&s;e) which threatning de&s;truction to <HI>Ieru&s;alem,</HI> was of no le&s;&s;e con|tinuance then terrour, enduring the &s;pace of a whole yeare, which is not proper to naturall Blazing &s;tars.</P>
<P>To conclude, as well Diuines as Philo&s;ophers and A&s;trono|mers affirme thus much in this ca&s;e, that alwayes, in a maner, <HI>Blazing &s;tars</HI> doe ari&s;e of ca&s;es naturall, albeit the Lord God is the prncipall author and worker of them, as in the Chapter following it is euident.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="6" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>Whereof Blazing &s;tarres do engender; according to the rules of Philo&s;ophers; and the Canons of A&s;tronomers, and what they are in deed. CHAP. VI.</HEAD>
<P>COncerning <HI>Blazing &s;tarres</HI> I finde &s;ome di&s;agreement be|tweene Philo&s;ophers and A&s;tronomers. <HI>Anaxagoras</HI> and
<PB REF="7">
<HI>Democritus</HI> &s;ayde, <HI>That a Blazing &s;tarre was nothing el&s;e but a certaine bright &s;hining in the Element procured by the coniun|ction of two &s;tarres:</HI> To which opinion, I my &s;elfe of late did &s;omewhat encline and leane.</P>
<P>Other&s;ome al&s;o there were, which &s;uppo&s;ed a Blazing &s;tarre to be but a certaine dimme and darke light compa&s;&s;ed, and (as it were) clo&s;ed vp in a cloud. Other &s;ome &s;ayd, that it was a cloud purged, and purified from earthly matter and gro&s;&s;ene&s;&s;e, which receiuing light from the other Stars, ca&s;teth abroad clear &s;trakes of brightne&s;&s;e, &s;mal and &s;lender, like vnto hayre, or fine wrought flaxe,</P>
<P>Other&s;ome againe, thought a Blazing &s;tarre to be but a cer|taine cloude,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ari&s;totle his opinion of Blazing &s;tars, and their ge|neration.</NOTE> kindled and &s;et on fire with a hote flaming clearnes who&s;e opinion <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> &s;&eacute;emeth to haue fauoured, who &s;uppo&s;ed that a Blazing &s;tarre did con&s;i&s;t of a drye vapour, which b&eacute;eing drawne vpward into the highe&s;t ayre, is there &s;et on fire: and that this <HI>blazing &s;tarre</HI> taketh &s;ub&s;tance of earthly exhalations, very hote, dry, fat and clammy: which b&eacute;eing carryed into the vp|per region of the ayre, is there kindled and burneth: to whom all Philo&s;ophers (in a manner) of this our age haue &s;ub&s;cribed, and &s;ome A&s;tronomers al&s;o, who with <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> thinke no le&s;&s;e, then a blazing &s;tar to be but an earthly vapour, &s;omewhat thicke, fa&s;t and fat in &s;ub&s;tance, like oyle or birdlime which being drawne vpward, me to the Spheare of the fiery Element, and touching the hollownes of the Orbe or circle, is therby heat rarified, made thin and &s;et in a flame: &s;o that by the con&s;ent and mutuall agree|ment of the&s;e two &s;ects (although &s;ome doe vary) it is concluded that a Blazing &s;tar is engendred and made of Ayre, &s;et on fire, by rea&s;on of the neerene&s;&s;e of the Element of Fire, that Ayre con|tayneth in the matter and &s;tuffe of a <HI>blazing &s;tarre,</HI> and that the Ayre next adioyning, and being by the element of fire, is called a Blazing &s;tarre, and is no le&s;&s;e indeed then it is named. Which repre&s;enteth the colour of fire to our eyes, becau&s;e the drie vapour in it is kindled, burneth, and la&s;teth with the light of the flame, which is moued to and fro, by the vnder ayre: where vapours of like nature, quality and &s;ub&s;tance ari&s;ing, giue continuance and length thereunto, whereby it purcha&s;eth the name, after which it is v&s;ually called.</P>
<P><PB REF="7">Vpon this agr&eacute;e our late Phylo&s;ophers, in a manner all, coun|ting the doctrine of <HI>Ari&s;totle,</HI> worthy credite and &s;ub&s;cription: al|though as well the &s;ect <HI>Stoicall</HI> vary therefro,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The opinion of the Stoicks touching Bla|zing &s;tarres.</NOTE> affirming <HI>Blazing &s;tarres</HI> to be but ordinarie Starres, not differing from other Starres which appeare in the Ayre, and to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ee aboue thirty and two in number, not as al&s;o they, which hold this for a veritie, <HI>blazing Starres</HI> to be perpetuall Starres, and to k&eacute;epe a limited cour&s;e or compa&s;&s;e, but neuer to blaze and gli&s;ter in the Ayre: &s;aue when they are left and for&s;aken of the Sunne, who&s;e clearene&s;&s;e dimmeth and dampeth vp their brightne&s;&s;e, that it can neither ap|peare nor be perceiued. And they in like &s;ort, which leane to this opinion, that <HI>blazing &s;tarres,</HI> be Starres, hauing their certaine ap|poynted times of appearance.</P>
<P>Now, as I di&s;&s;ent not from the fir&s;t, tho&s;e I meane, who&s;e o|pinion draweth n&eacute;ere&s;t to rea&s;on and trueth, &s;o I varie not alto|gether from them, who hold opinion that a <HI>blazing &s;tarre</HI> may b&eacute;e &s;upernaturall, and al&s;o naturall, and that the &s;ame taketh gene|ration of a fat human, and of fiery force, whereby it is di&s;&s;olued, and at the length con&s;umeth.</P>
<P>Whereupon this con&s;equent is to be inferred, that we cannot call a <HI>Blazing Starre</HI> properly a Starre, but <HI>Catachre&s;tically,</HI> as we may &s;o terme them, I meane (v&s;ing in our phra&s;e of &s;p&eacute;ech) a certaine abu&s;e: although <HI>Augu&s;tus Cae&s;ar</HI> (whereof we haue giuen a <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span"> in the beginning of this our Treati&s;e) called that Bla|zing Starre, which appeared at &s;uch a time as he publi&s;hed his Pageants of Triumph, by the name of a Star: and which v&s;ur|ped name al&s;o <HI>Suctonius</HI> applyeth to the &s;elf &s;ame thing: they both adding vnto it this word <HI>Crinitus,</HI> which we al&s;o, with no le&s;&s;e abu&s;e then they call Blazing.</P>
<P>This Blazing Starre afore&s;ayd, which appeared in the time of <HI>Augu&s;tus Cae&s;ar,</HI> and &s;hined &s;o gloriou&s;ly, &s;ome imagine,<NOTE PLACE="marg">An erronious opinion mi&s;|liked and im|proueds</NOTE> and &s;up|po&s;e, to be the &s;elfe &s;ame &s;tarre which directed the Wi&s;emen to the place where Chri&s;t was borne. But I cannot allow of this opinion, and why I do &s;o much mi&s;like thereof, the rea&s;ons in the next Chapter following, do declare. In the meane &s;ea&s;on, I would not wade into wonders aboue my capacitie, le&s;t I wan|der in wilderne&s;&s;es of doubts, but I de&s;ire rather to be wi&s;e with &s;oberne&s;&s;e.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="7" TYPE="chapter">
<PB REF="8">
<HEAD>Whether the &s;tarre which conducted the Wi&s;emen to the place where Chri&s;t was borne, were the Blazing &s;tarre, whereof the Emperour Augu&s;tus did &s;peake, calling it by the name of a &s;tarre. CHAP. VII.</HEAD>
<P>CHri&s;tian duty admoni&s;heth me, in few words to make men|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">on, what maner of miraculous and &s;trange Starre that was, which (after a rare and wonderfull fa&s;hion) lead the Wi&s;e|men vnto Chri&s;t being in his infancie. Which &s;ame men (verie ra&s;hly, and with want of adui&s;ement) coniecture to be the <HI>Bla|zing &s;tarre,</HI> which appeared, and ca&s;t a great light at the &s;ame time, that <HI>Augu&s;tus Cae&s;ar</HI> made &s;hew as of great pampe and &s;o|lemnitie, who&s;e ari&s;ing was in the North part of heauen, about the eleuenth houre of the day, and continued (as <HI>Plinie</HI> playnely te&s;tifieth) &s;euen dayes &s;pace full and complete.</P>
<P>Of which thing, although <HI>Picus Mirandula</HI> hath not godly and grauely di&s;cour&s;ed: yet thinke I, that it is my duety, compen|diou&s;ly to rea&s;on, what in this point may be mainteined, without hurt or preiudice. And &s;o much the rather, becau&s;e I would not &s;eeme in this matter, to fauour the A&s;trologians, for &s;o much as they &s;warne as farre from trueth, as the world is made, and the heauen is high.</P>
<P>Concerning the Starre, I mean that which appeared at Chri&s;t his natiuity, the Euangeli&s;t, who&s;e euidence is <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">yed with the touch&s;tone of trueth, writeth in this wi&s;e. <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> garten A&s;tera auton en <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">e anatole.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">For we haue &s;eene his &s;tarre in the Ea&s;t.</NOTE> Among all which word of this clau&s;e, penned, by the finger of the Euangeli&s;t, the Latine interpreter turneth this word <HI>con A&s;tera, <HI>Scotland</HI></HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span"> (no doubt) and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> The Euangeli&s;t yet againe &s;aith thus <HI>And behold, the &s;tarre which they &s;aw in the Ea&s;t, went before them, vntill by approch|ing, it &s;tood ouer the place, where the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> was.</HI></P>
<P><PB REF="8">By the&s;e te&s;timonies, it is apparant and manife&s;t, that neither <HI>After,</HI> nor <HI>A<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">ion,</HI> doe &s;ignifie <HI>Blazing &s;tarre.</HI> Whereby the errours of <HI>Phlenon</HI> and <HI>Harpocrates,</HI> are conuinced,<NOTE PLACE="marg">They appea|red in contre|ry regions &amp; at &s;undry times of great di&s;|tance: ergo they were dif|ferent &s;tarres.</NOTE> who al&s;o d&eacute;emed that the Starre which &s;hewed and &s;hined in the Ea&s;t, and was the Wilemens direction to <HI>Iudaea,</HI> was the &s;elf&s;ame <HI>Blazing Starre,</HI> which in the time of <HI>Augu&s;tus Cae&s;ar</HI> (as is afore&s;ayde,) &s;o gloriou&s;ly gli&s;tered: when it is as euident (as the Sunne&s;hine at nooneday) how that <HI>Blazing-Starre</HI> appeared many yeares be|fore the Natiuitie of Chri&s;t, and aro&s;e in the North part of hea|uen: whereas the Starre (which was the wi&s;emens guide into <HI>Bethlehem</HI> (appeared in the Ea&s;t.</P>
<P>Furthermore, what man would &s;o &s;eene be allured to belieue that a <HI>Blazing Starre</HI> would be thought of the Wi&s;e men, a thing of &s;uch certaine and infallible Progno&s;tication, that the ari&s;ing and proc&eacute;eding thereof, &s;hould embolden them to commence &s;uch tedious iourneyes, and to attempt &s;o many weary labors: wher|in they might bee of this opinion and iudgement as well, that the <HI>Blazing &s;tarre</HI> gaue foreknowledge of &s;omething el&s;e, be&s;ides the Natiuitie and byrth of the King of the <HI>Iewes.</HI></P>
<P>Wherefore it is more credible, that tho&s;e Wi&s;e men followed the Starre which then appeared, eyther vppon per&s;wa&s;ion of the booke which <HI>Seth</HI> compiled: or el&s;e by the motion of <HI>Balaams</HI> pro|phecie: for that they were of the Kindred and affinitie of him, as &s;ome hold opinion: Or el&s;e by the mini&s;tery of Angels, or by Hea|uenly in&s;piration, or el&s;e by admonition &amp; warning giuen in <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word">, which might (why not?) giue them vnder&s;tanding as wel of this, as it gaue them knowledge (afterwards) to auoyd the pre&s;ence of <HI>Hreod,</HI> and to returne another way into their countrey, and not the &s;ame by which they came.</P>
<P>No man is able &s;ufficiently to declare the enenicus opinion of <HI>Iulianus,</HI> that irreligious reuolter,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iulianus the Apo&s;tata his opinion, as re|pugnant to rea&s;on &amp; veri|tie refuted.</NOTE> who affirmeth this Starre (which h&eacute;e calleth by the name of <HI>A&s;aph,</HI> according to the opi|nion of the <HI>Aegyptians</HI>) of cu&s;tome and went, to appeare euery foure hundreth yeares, and that it betokeneth many things both maruellous and mortall.</P>
<P>But tell me (if thou can&s;t) thou fal&s;e Prophet and per|uer&s;e Apo&s;tata, if thou wilt haue thine opinion, carry away,
<PB REF="9">
countenance of credite: How commeth it to pa&s;&s;e, that tho&s;e Wi&s;emen neuer attained to the vnder&s;tanding of that Starre, and the determinate ari&s;ing of the &s;ame,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A que&s;tion to good purpo&s;e.</NOTE> at a definite and appoin|ted time, but that they then came to the intelligence therof, when it was within the contemplation and view of their eyes? How commeth it to pa&s;&s;e that the appearance thereof was &s;o far from horror and mortalitie, and that it gaue pre&s;ignification of ioy, that to them was borne the King of the Iewes? And if it be ef|fectuall to worke wonders, and to compa&s;&s;e &s;trange and prodigi|ous euents, why then did it not euery foure hundred yeares (by &s;ucce&s;&s;ion, &s;ea&s;on and degrees of times) progno&s;ticate &s;ome &s;em|blable thing, like vnto that which was co~municated to the know+ledge of the Wi&s;emen? why did it not, after a thou&s;and, fiue hun|dred and thirty yeares, or within the compa&s;&s;e and reuolution of that time, bring forth a new King to the world, or &s;om other rare and wonderfull effect, to kindle in the hearts of men, manife&s;t admiration? or el&s;e if it &s;uffered an Eclip&s;e or depriuation of that &s;ingular qualitie, and &s;o become drye, barren, and vnfruitfull: why did it not appeare &s;till, though weakened in working, but le&s;t vtterly and for euer appearance in the Heauens.</P>
<P>Thou &s;wa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ue&s;t therefore, and wandre&s;t farre and wide from the &s;incere truth, and giue&s;t a witne&s;&s;e of thy pertinacy to all people, and of thy &s;oule impiety towards God, in that thine owne opinion, which is meere erronious, &s;eemeth vnto th&eacute;e pa&s;|&s;ing plau&s;ible: thou (in the meane &s;ea&s;on) derogating from chri|&s;tian Religions due reuerence, and &s;trugling with tooth &amp; nayle to make it contemptible. But all in vaine, thou wre&s;tles with the waues, which in the end will ouerwhelme thee in thy wil|fulne&s;&s;e. For, the truth giueth in a contrary verdict again&s;t thee, with the which who&s;oeuer haue armed them&s;elues to encounter &s;ucce&s;&s;e hath not beene pro&s;perous, becau&s;e they attempted com|bat with a mightier then them&s;elues, and b&eacute;eing ouermatched, were carried into captiuity,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Authors iudgement in the winding vp of the con|trouer&s;ie.</NOTE> and ca&s;t into confu&s;ion. This Starre therefore which the Wi&s;emen &s;aw, was no <HI>Comet</HI> or <HI>Blazing-Star,</HI> as diuers haue dreamed, but &s;om new &s;tar which of purpo&s;e was appointed to expre&s;&s;e the prouidence of God, as in the go&s;|pell it is apparant: not being of the number &amp; ho&s;t of them, wher|with God garni&s;hed the firmame~t in the creation: but differing
<PB REF="9">
all Starres both Fixed, Wandering and Blazing, which to bee this te&s;timonie affoordeth authoritie; For that there bee &s;ome which are of this iudgement, and holds it for a veritie: <HI>That in this &s;tare (as in a gla&s;&s;e) was included the likenes of a Childe:</HI> vn|to which Opinion they might (peraduenture) be induced, by the words of the Wi&s;e-men &s;aying: <HI>Beholde, wee haue &s;eene his &s;tarre in the Ea&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>It could not choo&s;e then, but be a newe Starre, and a Starre importing a myracle: For &s;o much as neyther the &s;elfe &s;ame, nor any like vnto it, euer appeared in the former ages, nor at any time &s;hined in the skies for the &s;pace of a thou&s;and fiue hundred and thirty years, after the Natiuity of our comfortable Sauior, Be|ing I &s;ay, a &s;tarre by the grace of God created, for the execution of his me&s;&s;age, who&s;e plea&s;ure being accompli&s;hed it con&s;umed, vani&s;hed, and was no longer obiect to the eye-fight of men being cau&s;all and temporall, not naturall and continuall.</P>
<P>But of this Di&s;cour&s;e &s;ufficient is &s;ayde, as well for the im|prouing of vn&s;auoury opinions, as al&s;o for the di&s;couering of the infallible truth requirable in this pre&s;ent purpo&s;e. Now will I make a retrogradation, and returne to mine arguments, concer|ning Comets or Blazing &s;tars, hauing thought my pen not vn|fruitfully occupyed in this la&s;t particular.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="8" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>Whether Blazing &s;tarres proport and fore&s;hew &s;ome &s;trange &amp; wonderfull thing to follow. CHAP. VIII.</HEAD>
<P>IT is called in controuer&s;ie, whether <HI>Cometes</HI> commonly ter|med <HI>Blazing-&s;tarres</HI> proport any prodigious thing and worlds wonder. Some in this behalfe &s;eeme to bee re&s;olued,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Blazing &s;tars are &s;ignes of &s;ome &s;trange thing to come</NOTE> and make their an&s;were in this &s;ort: That as Blazing &s;tarres are rare &amp; &s;eldome. &s;o they &s;ignifie &s;ome thing that is rare and very &s;trange, vnto which opinion they cleaue, being thereunto drawn partly by dayly experience, and partly al&s;o lead by the cau&s;es from the which they &s;et their originall.</P>
<P>And to &s;ay the plaine truth, when haue Blazing &s;tars ca&s;t their glimmering beames, and lightned the ayre with their gli|&s;tering brightne&s;&s;e: but &s;omething hath followed, contrary to
<PB REF="10">
common cour&s;e, and farre otherwi&s;e then by v&s;uall and accu&s;to|med order is receyued? Why then &s;hould not Blazing &s;tars as they are rare, &s;o inferre and draw with them rare effects? And why &s;hould we otherwi&s;e thinke, then that by their generation al&s;o, &s;ome &s;trange thing is &s;ignified: &s;&eacute;eing that other Starres &s;hining in the firmament, are thought not onely to haue b&eacute;ene created for the &s;eruice of men: but al&s;o for the di&s;tingui&s;hing of times and &s;ea&s;ons, of dayes, monethes and yeares, and for o|ther ends al&s;o, which are priuy onely to Gods &s;ecret coun&s;ell? &s;pe|cially for that our Lord Ie&s;us, iudged not the &s;uper&s;titious Pha|ri&s;es (notwith&s;tanding his &s;ore denuntiations of woes again&s;t them) altogether de&s;eruing reprehen&s;ion: nor vtterly blamed the Sadduces for their diligent ob&s;eruation of the Weather,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Phari&s;ies &amp; Saduces not altogether con+demned for their due and preci&s;e ob&s;er|uation of the weather.</NOTE> &amp; marking the face of the Firmament giuing iudgement: that if the coulles of Heauen were &s;uch and &s;uch, then &s;emblable to bee the &s;ucces of the &s;ea&s;ons, As, if it were couered with red clouds in the euening, that then men &s;hould be in expectation of the next dayes bright clearenes. Which ceremony of theirs purcha&s;ed in proce&s;&s;e of time &s;uch credite and beleefe, that it grew into a com|mon and familiar Prouerbe:
<Q><L>What man can &s;ay of certainety.</L>
<L>The Euening this doth &s;ignifie.</L></Q></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="9" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. IX. The good and euill which Blazing &s;tars doe progno&s;ticate, and betoken.</HEAD>
<P>AS it is receyued for an vndoubted truth, that <HI>Comets</HI> carry with them a Progno&s;tication of &s;ome &s;trange wonder: &s;o on the other &s;ide, it hath beene preci&s;ely noted, and by due ob&s;er|uation confirmed, that they threaten &s;ome eminent euill &amp; mi&s;|chiefe: for which con&s;ideration a Blazing &s;tarre was called, a &s;igne of Heauen, A Token of great feare, by which name ex|cellent men, Authors (I meane) or Writers of &s;ingular lear|ning and iudgement haue tearmed it. Not that the Blazing &s;tar is to be feared, as if it could doe harme vnto man, but becau&s;e the omnipotent God, and guide of the heauenly hoa&s;t, by the &s;ame (as by a burning beaco~) giueth vs warnings &amp; watchwords
<PB REF="10">
of afterclaps and puni&s;hments: and to a&s;&s;ure vs, that he it is, and none be&s;ides him, that is vniuer&s;ally to be feared, not with a &s;er|uile, but with a filiall feare. Con&s;idering, that he hath peremp|tory power ouer the whole man, body and &s;oule, vpon which parts he con&s;i&s;teth: and is of ability to iudge vs to temporall cha&s;ticement for our amendment, or el&s;e to condemne vs to eter|nall de&s;truction, as in&s;truments of reprobation.</P>
<P>But to returns to the Progno&s;trations of Comets or Blazing Stars, it is found by authority, that in the time of <HI>Charles</HI> the Emperour, &s;urnamed, the <HI>Great,</HI> a Blazing Starre appeared, in the contemplation whereof, the Emperour hauing his eyes earne&s;tly bent, and con&s;idering profoundly thereupon, at length he was rapt into a great a&s;toni&s;hment, touching the &s;igni|fication of the &s;ame. And &s;ending for a Phylo&s;opher, named <HI>Eginard;</HI> conferred and rea&s;oned to and for with him about this Starre, &s;aying in conclu&s;ion, that the appearing thereof did threaten vnto him &s;ome mi&s;erable calamity. Which the Phy|lo&s;opher hearing, to the entent that the Emperour &s;hould not be more amazed then n&eacute;ede required, hee rehear&s;ed the &s;aying of the Prophet in the&s;e words: <HI>A Signis coelum nolate metuere, <HI>Feare yee not the &s;ignes of Heauen, and let not the vi&s;ions of the firma|ment &s;trike terrors into your hearts.</HI></HI> Which &s;entence the Empe|rour not mi&s;tiking, gaue him thanks for that comfortable coun|&s;ell, &s;aying: That he remembred the duety of a Chri&s;tian man to b&eacute;e this namely, to &s;tand in feare of nothing, but onely of him, who both created vs, and al&s;o this Starre. Which notable &s;p&eacute;ech of &s;o famous an Emperour, giueth a &s;en&s;ible in&s;truction, why a Blazing &s;tarre may be called a token of terrour or a &s;igne of hor|rible feare. <HI>Plinie</HI> al&s;o (many yeers pa&s;t) affirmed, a Comet to bee a terrible Starre, and &s;o inclined to de&s;truction, that it de&s;erued to be called mortall: as in the ciuill commotion, which was in the time of <HI>Octauius</HI> his Con&s;ul&s;hip,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A blazing &s;tar threatneth de&s;truction.</NOTE> and al&s;o in the warres be|tweene <HI>Pompeius</HI> and <HI>Cae&s;ar,</HI> many probabilities are to b&eacute;e ga|thered, or rather, many verities to bee auouched. To the words of which, <HI>Plinie, Virgill</HI> (the Prince of all Poets and <HI>Plinies</HI> Prede|ce&s;&s;or) alludeth in this wi&s;e:
<Q><L>More fla&s;hing flames of lightnings cleare.</L>
<L>From cloudes &s;hine not below:</L>
<L><PB REF="11">Nor Blazing &s;tars, who&s;e burning beames,</L>
<L>Some fatall fall doth &s;hew, &amp;c.</L></Q></P>
<P>And the &s;ame Poet in another place, in&s;erteth the&s;e wordes.</P>
<Q><L>Strange &s;tarres did &s;hine from skies in darke&s;ome night,</L>
<L>And flakes of fire did fill the Ayre with light:</L>
<L>A Blazing &s;tarre with &s;iluered &s;trakes did &s;hine,</L>
<L>And made mens hearts for feare away to pine.</L></Q>
<P>Whom the Poet <HI>Lucane</HI> imitating, and &s;etting before him, as a pre&s;ident, for the ob&s;eruation of order, v&s;eth the&s;e tearms and Phra&s;es of &s;p&eacute;ech in his Poems.</P>
<Q><L>Not Blazing &s;tarre with glimmering &s;trakes of light,</L>
<L>And lengthned haires of colour red and white,</L>
<L>Which brings to men (as many make report)</L>
<L>De&s;truction dire in lamentable &s;ort.</L></Q>
<P>Whereby it is to be gathered, that tho&s;e kinde of Writers were not ignorant, that a Comet or Blazing Starre, did mo&s;t commonly pre&s;ignifie and fore&s;hew &s;ome imminent mi&s;chiefe, which in tract of time came to pa&s;&s;e, and thereupon grew in v&s;e to be called, <HI>A terrible or fearefull &s;tarre.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="10" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>The mi&s;chiefes which Blazing &s;tarres forewarne to en&s;ue. CHAP. X.</HEAD>
<P>FOr&s;omuch as it is declared already, that Blazing Starres al|wayes &s;ignifie nothing el&s;e, then the approaching of &s;ome pernitious and mi&s;chieuous thing, likely after to en&s;ue: it re|mayneth, that this que&s;tion be demaunded. What manner of euils they be, where Blazing Starres are premon&s;trations, and foretokens? Whereunto I make this an&s;were: That as Blazing Starres are diuers, &s;o are their effect and euils which they &s;ignifie not all one, but &s;undry and differing. And for&s;o|much as the variety or diuer&s;itie of them is to b&eacute;e con&s;idered: ther|fore it is nece&s;&s;ary, that the effects which follow &s;uch cau&s;es, b&eacute;e
<PB REF="11">
accordingly coniectured.</P>
<P>Some holde opinion, that it is to be marked, which way Blazing &s;tarres &s;hoote their light,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The ob&s;er|uation v&s;ed of &s;ome at the ap|pearing of Blazing &s;tars.</NOTE> becau&s;e (&s;ay they) that part of the earth &s;eemeth to bee threatned, towardes which the Comet ca&s;teth his beames thicke&s;t and mo&s;t directly. Againe, it is to be noted, from what &s;tarre they receyue theyr force, and whence pro|c&eacute;edeth their influence, what things they re&s;emble, and repre&s;ent in likenes, and in what places they appeare.</P>
<P>Furthermore, to touch the effects of <HI>Blazing &s;tarres,</HI> experi|ences manifold and innumerable haue &s;ealed this for a trueth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The effects which haue followed Bla|zing &s;tars proued true by experience.</NOTE> that &s;ometimes they &s;ignifie barrenne&s;&s;e of the earth, &s;ometimes the &s;ickne&s;&s;e of the plague and pe&s;tilence, &s;omtimes dearth, and &s;car&s;itie of victuals, &s;ometimes great windes and tempe&s;ts, &s;ome|times extreame heate, &s;ometimes Earthquakes, &s;ometimes the flowing of waters beyond their bounds and banks, to the drow|ning and lo&s;&s;e of the land, &s;ometimes &s;editions, in&s;urrections, cruell commotions, tumults and battels, &s;ometimes chaunge of Kings and Kingdoms, alterations of common wealthes, and &s;uch &s;laughters as &s;eldome are &s;&eacute;ene: with many more cala|mities infinite and innumerable: in&s;omuch that <HI>Lucane</HI> the Poet thought it no matter of doubt, but of a&s;&s;ured certainety, to call a <HI>Blazing &s;tarre,</HI> &s;uch a Starre as changed the &s;tate of Em|pires, and wrought the alteration of principalities. His ver|&s;es follow in this order.</P>
<Q><L>Strange Starres were &s;eene in darke&s;ome nights,</L>
<L>The Heauen was on a flame:</L>
<L>And flakes of fire like burning brands,</L>
<L>Sore &s;ights in skies did frame.</L>
<L>The fearefull Starre which blazeth bright,</L>
<L>And &s;preades his beames abroad,</L>
<L>And changeth Kingdomes in the World,</L>
<L>In th'ayre aboue abode.</L></Q>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="11" TYPE="chapter">
<PB REF="12">
<HEAD>Sundry examples and te&s;timonies, declaring the diuers and ma|nifold mi&s;chiefes, which haue followed the appearing of Blazing &s;tarres. CHAP. XI,</HEAD>
<P>LEa&s;t any man &s;hould thinke this m&eacute;ere fabulous, and a ve|ry forgery, becau&s;e I haue &s;ayde thus much, and that vyon the opinion and authority of other Writers, that diuers Bla|zing &s;tars pre&s;ignifie and giue a forewarning of diuers mi&s;chiefs and euils like to come, it &s;eemeth vnto me an enterpri&s;e worth my labour, to &s;et downe in a few words, and the &s;elfe &s;ame agr&eacute;eing with the true reports of Hi&s;tories, the a&s;&s;ertion aboue mentio|ned not to be imaginacions or faigned. Wherein it &s;hall not &s;&eacute;eme a matter depending vpon nece&s;&s;ity, to runne through all particular examples, and to make an vniuer&s;all repetition of te|&s;timonies from the Worlds Creation, (which pa&s;&s;eth the capa|city of my wit to comprehend, becau&s;e they exc&eacute;ede in multitude) But it &s;hall rather be &s;ufficient, and much more profitable, out of many to gather a fewe, and &s;uch indeede, as Authors (mo&s;t worthy of credite) haue &s;et downe in their Works and Trea|tizes.</P>
<P>And fir&s;t of all to beginne with the noble&s;t Writers, and be&s;t approued:<NOTE PLACE="marg">A &s;hort enu|meration or rehear&s;all of mi&s;chiefes which followed vpon the ap|pearing of Bla|zing &s;tarres.</NOTE> Who is ignorant, that after the appearance of a Comet in the time of <HI>Iulius Cae&s;ar,</HI> not onely ciuill warres fol|lowed, in manner mo&s;t lamentable, but al&s;o the death and mur|thering of <HI>Iulius Cae&s;ar</HI> his owne per&s;on, which was mo&s;t mi&s;e|rable? who being 56. yeares of age, was a&s;&s;alted, and &s;et vpon in a con&s;piracie. of 60. Princes and more, among whome were <HI>C. Ca&s;&s;ius, Marcus,</HI> and <HI>D. Brutus,</HI> and being gored through and fla&s;ht with 23. wounds, in the Court of <HI>Pompeius</HI> de&s;pitefully peri&s;hed, whereof <HI>P. Virgilius, Lucanus Plinie, Suetonius, Ap|pianus, Plutarchus,</HI> and diuers other Writers of great authority are witne&s;&s;es.</P>
<P>What &s;hould I linger long in the repetition of tho&s;e &s;trange tempe&s;ts, of &s;nowes, haples, inundations of waters, and other like calamities, that followed the appearing of the &s;ame Bla|zing
<PB REF="12">
Starre: Which <HI>F. Horatius</HI> doth not nakedly de&s;cribe, but &s;ingularly &s;et downe with a kinde complaynt.</P>
<P>Who knoweth not, what an vn&s;peakeable de&s;olation, and wonderful ouerthrow of <HI>Hieru&s;alems</HI> City, followed after the ap|pearing of a certaine Blazing Star, which was &s;&eacute;ene in the ayre, (<HI>Io&s;ephus</HI> and <HI>Eu&s;ebius</HI> faithfully affirming no le&s;&s;e) by the &s;pace of a whole yeare, burning with flames of lamentable de&s;truc|tion?</P>
<P>The &s;elfe &s;ame mi&s;erable ma&s;&s;acre and de&s;olation followed &s;hortly after this <HI>Blazing Starre,</HI> which the Lord him&s;elfe, the Father of all mercy, and Iudge of all reuengement, did not one|ly foretell many yeares, ere it came to pa&s;&s;e: but al&s;o wept for very &s;orrow of heart, as he was prophe&s;ying to Ieru&s;alem, her &s;harpe Vi&s;itation. For our Sauiour Chri&s;t (as the Euangeli&s;ts te&s;tifie) beholding the City, wept ouer her, and &s;ounded as it were, in her eares this &s;orrowfall &s;entence: <HI>If thou hadde&s;t known</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>in that thy day, tho&s;e things which belonged to thy peace, and now are hidden from thine eyes, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Did not the death of that mo&s;t godly and religious Emperour <HI>Con&s;tantine,</HI> follow and i&s;&s;ue the appearing of a <HI>Blazing Starre,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">A Blazing &s;tarre appea|red before the Emperour Con&s;tantine.</NOTE> which was &s;&eacute;ene <HI>Ann. Dom.</HI> 304. being of an vnaccu&s;tomed big|nes, &amp; of no le&s;&s;e horror to behold? And did not therupon likewi&s;e follow an exc&eacute;eding dangerous in&s;urrection in the Empire, wher|in (among many murthers) the Emperor <HI>Con&s;tantius</HI> was &s;poy|led of his life in the Ca&s;tle of <HI>Helena.</HI> not farre from <HI>Spaine.</HI></P>
<P>In the yeare 444. a <HI>Blazing &s;tarre</HI> was &s;&eacute;ene, which as it gaue prefigurations &amp; foretokens of afterclaps, &s;o did there en&s;ue mo&s;t mi&s;erable &s;lauters &amp; calamityes, &s;pecially in <HI>France,</HI> and not long after <HI>Collen</HI> (being a&s;&s;alted &amp; be&s;ieged of the <HI>Hunnes</HI>) was ran&s;ackt, &s;poiled, and made euen in a maner with the ground: and the mo&s;t Catholicke Emperour <HI>Martian,</HI> was in a con&s;piracy of his own &s;ubiects (contrary to the religious oath of alleagiaunce) murthered and made away at <HI>Con&s;tantinople.</HI></P>
<P>After the appearing of a Starre, in the yeare of our Lord, 584 there followed &s;uch an inundation of waters, in euery place of the land, that it was auerred and bel&eacute;eued, a &s;econd deluge or v|niuer&s;all floud, to haue b&eacute;ene prepared for the drowning of the whole World. After that en&s;ued in <HI>Italie,</HI> &s;o hote a pe&s;ti|lence,
<PB REF="13">
that within the compa&s;&s;e of a little time, many thou&s;ands dyed in manner mo&s;t lamentable. Not long after that, <HI>Rome</HI> ta&s;ted of the whippe:<NOTE PLACE="marg">A maruellous inundation of waters, with o|ther notable calamities for warned by a Blazing &s;tarre.</NOTE> for the <HI>Lombards</HI> laying &s;iege again&s;t it, made hauocke thereof out of mea&s;ure. Vpon the tayle of which &s;harpe puni&s;hment, there followed a wor&s;e: for the <HI>Sarazens</HI> ro&s;e vp with &s;terne lookes and bending browes, compelling the third part (almo&s;t) of the World which profe&s;&s;ed Chri&s;tianity, to fall to Apo&s;ta&s;ie, and to take part with them in their damnable &s;ect of diueli&s;h Idolatry, and dete&s;table vngodline&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>In the yeare of our Lord eight hundred and thirt&eacute;ene, there was a <HI>Blazing &s;tar</HI> &s;&eacute;ene mo&s;t &s;trange and terrible, whereupon in&s;ued the death of that mo&s;t Chri&s;tian Emperour <HI>Carolus Magnus.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">A Blazing &s;tar appeared before the death of Caro|lus Magnus.</NOTE> The <HI>Sarazens</HI> a&s;&s;aulted <HI>Italy,</HI> and with violence of &s;word and warlike Engines, ouercame and preuayled: not without the ruine of many a beautifull building, and &s;hedding of much bloud.</P>
<P>In the yeare of our Lord, 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">84. there appeared a <HI>Blazing &s;tarre,</HI> which did portend a manife&s;t &s;hew of much mi&s;chiefe and mi&s;ery:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Bloudy bat|tels which fel|lowed after the appearing of a Blazing flame.</NOTE> for in the yeare of our Lord, 1302. next en&s;uing, that memorable and bloudy battell of <HI>Flanders</HI> was fought, which to the Frenchmen principally mini&s;tred occa&s;ion of many a lamen|table Alas: for in that battell, the floure of the <HI>French</HI> Armie, I meane the chiefe&s;t in place and countenance, and the gemme of all their glory, went to wracke, &s;uffering death no le&s;&s;e igno|miniou&s;ly then tyrannically. And after that, <HI>Rodulph</HI> the Em|perour, making &s;iege again&s;t <HI>Verona,</HI> &s;u&s;tained great lo&s;&s;e of his be&s;t appointed Souldiers, the Switzers, who&s;e bloud embrued the blades of their enemies, their bodyes lying vpon the ground groueling and &s;en&s;ele&s;&s;e: and the Emperour him&s;elfe fighting again&s;t <HI>Albert</HI> D. of <HI>Au&s;tria,</HI> was flain, only Emperour elected but not crowned. Now, what manifolde mi&s;eries and mi&s;|chiefes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A Blazing &s;tar &s;hooting vpwards, what afterwards en&s;ued.</NOTE> a Blazing &s;tarre which &s;hooteth vpward, the head hang|ing downeward, doth betoken, may &s;oone be perceyued, &amp; known by the experience of a Blazing &s;tarre, which appeared in the We&s;t, and tooke his cour&s;e towards the North, which Starre was &s;&eacute;ene in the yeare of our Lord, 1363. The woes whereof this Starre gaue foreknowledge, fell vpon the Frenchmen, to their no &s;mall&s;mart, and lamentable vnlukine&s;&s;e.</P>
<P><PB REF="13">For in a foughten field again&s;t the Turkes, howbeit, out of the compa&s;&s;e of the French dominion, they were di&s;comfited and o|uerthrowne, a hundred thou&s;and of them &s;laine with the &s;word, among which number was the Duke of Burgundy, who with the re&s;t, lo&s;t his life without recouery.</P>
<P>Not long after which infortunate conflict, namely, in the yeare of our Lord, 1406. <HI>Lodouicke</HI> Duke of <HI>Clarence,</HI> and brother to the <HI>French King,</HI> was murthered at <HI>Paris</HI> mo&s;t trayterou&s;ly, and frandulently: the lo&s;&s;e of who&s;e life was death and de&s;truction to a great number.</P>
<P>And (that I may grow to an end) who doth not remember, what grieuous calamities did follow the appearing of a <HI>Bla|zing &s;tarre,</HI> in the yeare of our Lord, a thou&s;and foure hundred three&s;core and twelue, in the Moneth of Ianuary, ouer <HI>Colen</HI> Ea&s;tward, to the terrour of the Beholders, and a&s;toni&s;hment of the bearers? There followed hereupon, in the Summer next, and immediately en&s;uing, a maruellous heate, engendred euery where in the earth, which was of &s;uch &s;trength and vehe|mencie, that in &s;ome places, the fir&s;t bur&s;t out, and ca&s;t vp with it, euen the very &s;and and grauell. Hereupon followed, not here and there, but euery where battels and murthers, mortall maladies, loath&s;ome &s;ickne&s;&s;es, mo&s;t noy&s;ome and infectious: yea, &s;o horrible, that I want witte, eyther in writing to leaue them witne&s;&s;ed or by vtterance to make them manife&s;t. At which time al&s;o, the right renowmed <HI>Charles</HI> Duke of <HI>Burgun|die,</HI> pa&s;&s;ed many warrelike aduentures, and atchieued many a Martiall exployte, to his no &s;mall commendation, and encrea&s;e of de&s;erued pray&s;e, notwith&s;tanding the &s;ucce&s;&s;e of battel is doubt|full and dangerous.</P>
<P>In the yeare of our Lord, 1408.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Further mi&s;|chiefes which haue followed after Blazing &s;tarres.</NOTE> there appeared a <HI>Blazing &s;tarre,</HI> which as in fight it was wonderfull and terrible, &s;o it betokened mi&s;chiefe no le&s;&s;e innumerable, then either to heare, &s;&eacute;e, or recount is mo&s;t lamentable: For not many dayes after, <HI>Luycke</HI> fell, and certayne men to the number of 40. were cru|elly flaine. About that time al&s;o, (the <HI>Pru&s;&s;ians</HI> entring battell again&s;t the King of <HI>Poland,</HI> were foyled, &amp; a &s;laughter, the like not heard of) made of them in the conflict. At the &s;ame time al&s;o, was the Councel at <HI>Pi&s;a</HI> di&s;&s;olued by a &s;chi&s;me mo&s;t da~nable, the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word">
<PB REF="14">
their conuocation and m&eacute;eting, being for the making and confir|ming of vnitie.</P>
<P>Thereabout al&s;o began the Church to be yll appayde, and &s;o &s;tand in hazard of hauocke: who&s;e pre&s;ent a&s;&s;i&s;tent <HI>Sigi&s;mund</HI> the King of <HI>Hungarie</HI> &s;hewed him&s;elfe to be, in &s;uch &s;ort with va|liancie of &s;pirit, that he might meritoriou&s;ly <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">halenge to be &s;irna|med, <HI>The mo&s;t Chri&s;tian King.</HI> Thus farre touching the e|uils, yea the heapes of euils which <HI>blazing &s;tarres</HI> haue protended ob&s;erued by experience and tryall to be true, by the euent &amp; falling out of many mi&s;fortunes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The conclu&s;i|on of this Chapter.</NOTE> which both long agoe, and al&s;o of late haue happened. It remaineth that we know, whether they b&eacute;e not foretokens al&s;o of &s;ome good, which although many vtterly deny, yet neuerthele&s;&s;e reade our further iudgement.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="12" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>Whether Blazing Starres, doe not as well betoken good, as ill. CHAP. XII.</HEAD>
<P>HAuing before declared, by rea&s;ons not a few, and proued al&s;o by examples of veritie and trueth, that <HI>blazing &s;tarres</HI> (for mo&s;t part) are prefignificant &s;hewes and tokens of &s;ome mi&s;chiefe and euill:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Blazing &s;tars &s;upernaturall &s;ignes &s;ent from God.</NOTE> me thinkes I heare one a&s;king me this que|&s;tion. Whether <HI>Blazing &s;tarres</HI> are not tokens of good, as they are &s;ignes of euill? To whom I make this re&s;olution. Fir&s;t, &s;o farre foorth as <HI>blazing &s;tarres</HI> be &s;upernaturall, there &s;eemeth in this matter to re&s;t no doubt: becau&s;e Almighty God, in the vn|&s;earchable profunditie of his wi&s;edome, is wont by the appearing of Stars, to giue &s;ignes to his beloued &s;eruants (whom no doubt he hath fore elected to &s;aluation) as wel of ioyful newes as al&s;o of heauy tidings.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The Rainbow a perpetuall a&s;&s;urance of Gods faithfull promi&s;e.</NOTE>For, hath he not by the ri&s;ing of the Rainebow. in the clouds of heauen, &s;ealed &s;ecurity and want of feare to the world, from being drownd, as &s;omtimes it was in the dayes of our great Ancients? Did he not by the retroce&s;&s;ion and backeward going of the Sun (contrary to the order of his cour&s;e) &s;ignifie vnto <HI>Ezechias,</HI> that his life &s;hold be prolonged, and the number of his dayes were augmented? Did he not al&s;o &s;ignifie vnto all nations, that the
<PB REF="14">
light was come into the World, which &s;hould &s;hine in darkne&s;&s;e, namely, Ie&s;us Chri&s;t to bee borne for the &s;aluation of all people: which thing h&eacute;e would haue te&s;tified by the appearing of a new Orientall Starre, vi&s;ible to the eyes of the Wi&s;emen, and glory|ou&s;ly gli&s;tering? Euen &s;o doubtle&s;&s;e, there is no cau&s;e, why the fight of a <HI>Blazing Starre</HI> &s;hould not br&eacute;ede in vs,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Blazing &s;tars naturall may betoken &s;ome good.</NOTE> as well hope of &s;ome good, as feare of &s;ome ill, according to the place and time, where &amp; when it appeareth, &s;ince it is &s;ayde, <HI>Feare not the &s;ignes of heauen which the Gentiles feare; becau&s;e the lawes of the peo|ple are vaine.</HI> Why then &s;hould we &s;tand in feare of tho&s;e things, which haue not in them power, eyther to do good or harm? Again &s;o far forth as <HI>Bla&s;ing Stars</HI> are naturall, it is not to be doubted, but that the appearing of them may portend, and fore&s;hew &s;ome good: which is no hard or intricate matter to declare, as well by rea&s;on, as al&s;o by example.</P>
<P>For in&s;omuch as <HI>blazing-Starres</HI> are made of fiue Planets, as <HI>Abienus</HI> affirmeth, namely, of <HI>Venus, Iupiter, Mars, Saturne,</HI> &amp; <HI>Mercurie:</HI> and that tho&s;e <HI>blazing &s;tarres</HI> which are made of <HI>Ve|nus</HI> and <HI>Iupiter,</HI> are principally the be&s;t and luckye&s;t, it cannot o|therwi&s;e be, but that <HI>blazing &s;tars,</HI> tho&s;e &s;pecially which haue their influence from <HI>Venus</HI> and <HI>Iupiter,</HI> &s;hould &s;ometimes beto|ken good, and not euermore euill. An example of good credit may that <HI>Blazing &s;tar</HI> be, which when it appeared, was iudged &s;o happy and fortunate to the Emperour <HI>Cae&s;ar Augu&s;tus,</HI> that then it was begun to be wor&s;hipped in the Temple of <HI>Rome,</HI> and no where al&s;o throughout the whole world: becau&s;e the Emperour beginning tho&s;e &s;hewes &amp; Pageants triumphant: was by the ap|pearing of that &s;tar &s;euen dayes continuance in the Region of heauen, put in hope and expectation afore hand, of exc&eacute;eding great felicity and happine&s;&s;e to en&s;ue: which vndoubtedly h&eacute;e obtained in &s;uch &s;ort and manner, that none in regiment was counted happier then happy <HI>Augu&s;tus,</HI> as none was named better then the good <HI>Traianus.</HI></P>
<P>Moreouer, vpon the appearing of that &s;tar, there bredde in the minds of the Commonalty an opinion of great reuerence, to wit that by the <HI>blazing &s;tar</HI> was &s;ignified, the &s;oule of <HI>Cae&s;ar.</HI> to bee receyued to immortality, and to enioy among the Gods aboun|dance of ble&s;&s;ednes: then which &s;ignification, they bel&eacute;eued no|thing
<PB REF="15">
more ioyfull or comfortable. So that we &s;&eacute;e both by rea&s;on and example, that their coniecture and opinion doth not alwayes de&s;erue bel&eacute;efe, which &s;ay: that <HI>blazing Starres</HI> neuer appeare, but thereafter followeth &s;ome mi&s;chiefe and ill. Touching which mat|ter, more might be &s;ayd to the increa&s;e of comfort, and the driuing away of de&s;payre from the hearts of the people, then we are di|&s;po&s;ed at this time to call to memory.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="13" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>To what Countries, and to what per&s;ons blazing &s;tarres doe principally betoken ill. CHAP. XIII.</HEAD>
<P>THe que&s;tion is a&s;ked, To what Countries, and to what peo|ple &s;pecially, <HI>blazing &s;tarres</HI> threaten mi&s;chiefe. Vnto which demand doubtle&s;&s;e, I might think no certain an&s;wer can be made: becau&s;e all <HI>blazing &s;tarres</HI> are not alike, neyther haue their gene|ration from one and the &s;elfe &s;ame cau&s;e: but &s;ome of them are na|turall, other &s;upernaturall, and proc&eacute;eding from God in the height of the heauens.</P>
<P>Againe, they are without difference, &s;o doubtfull in their &s;igni|fications, that <HI>Lucanus</HI> &s;uppo&s;eth their influence to be &s;o general, that the beholders of them, eyther on Sea or Land, cannot a&s;&s;ure them&s;elues of &s;afety: and therefore they are vniver&s;ally to b&eacute;e feared.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Blazing &s;tars are vniuer&s;ally to bee feared both on &s;ea and land.</NOTE></P>
<P>Vnto who&s;e opinion I willingly a&s;&s;ent, when <HI>blazing &s;tarres</HI> (&s;upernaturall, and proc&eacute;eding from God) do appeare. For this is of a certainty, that it is Gods wil, by them to betoken and threa|ten &s;ome yll, to all per&s;ons in generall, which hauing offended and done wickedly again&s;t the pre&s;cript of his holy Law; withdraw not them&s;elues from that puddie of pollution and filthines, wher|in they wallow: but continue a life laden and ouercharged with al manner of mi&s;chiefe: whom he of his &s;ingular compa&s;&s;ion and clemencie, would reuoke from their &s;infulne&s;&s;e, by the vi&s;ion and &s;ight of <HI>blazing &s;tarres,</HI> as it were by horrible threatnings and re|vokements, that by reforming their abominable liues, they might frame their conuer&s;ation acceptable in his &s;ight, according to his vn&s;peakeable bountifulne&s;&s;e, long &s;uffering, and patience, who &s;till looketh for repentance before he taketh vengeance. As may manife&s;tly be gathered, by his dealing with the <HI>Hiero&s;olimites,</HI>
<PB REF="15">
whom he admoni&s;heth of their wickedne&s;&s;e, by a mo&s;t horrible <HI>Blazing Starre,</HI> of a whole yeares appearing, dayly looking when they would be warued, and well appoynted with pretence, to preuent Gods &s;harpe puni&s;hment.</P>
<P>But touching naturall <HI>Bla&s;ing Stars,</HI> Phylo&s;ophers and A&s;tro|nomers haue otherwi&s;e iudged, howbeit,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Blazing &s;tarres nataurall ap|peare at Gods appointment.</NOTE> neither they &s;hall at any time arpeare without the &s;ingular &s;ufferance of God, or &s;ome no|table cau&s;e worthy remembrance. For my &s;elfe, thus I &s;ay, that as I am not of bel&eacute;efe, that they betoken and proue in working as the A&s;trologians dreame: So I do not vtterly condemne &s;uch as hold it much materiall, &amp; greatly to be regarded: toward what part of the world they &s;hoot and ca&s;t their beams, from what &s;tars they draw their influencies and force: in what &s;imilitude and like|ne&s;&s;e they appeare, what colour they carry, at what &s;ea&s;on of the yeare they &s;how, in what place, vnder what eccle&s;tiall &s;ignes, and vnder what Planets a&s;pect. For &s;ome there are, which hold this opinion (though grounded vpon no kind of rea&s;on) that a <HI>blazing &s;tarre,</HI> bearing the likene&s;&s;e of a Lute, Harpe, or &s;emblable in&s;tru|ment, betokeneth &s;omewhat to Mu&s;icks and Min&s;trel&s;ie, and to the followers of &s;uch vanities. So likewi&s;e when they carry this repre&s;entation or that, to haue in their likene&s;&s;es &s;emblant &s;igni|fications.</P>
<P>Againe, other are of this iudgement, that &s;uch <HI>Blazing-Starres</HI> as appeare vnder <HI>Saturne,</HI> are of a leaden colour:<NOTE PLACE="marg">The colour of Blazing &s;tarrs appearing vn|der Planets.</NOTE> vnder <HI>Iupiter</HI> white: vnder <HI>Mars,</HI> red: vnder <HI>Sol,</HI> Golden: vnder <HI>Mercurie,</HI> light azur: whereupon it is thought no hard matter, to tell what they &s;ignifie in nature generally. Howbeit, to per&s;ons placed in digni|ty, as to Popes, Cardinals, Bi&s;hops, Emperors, Kigns, Lukes and &s;uch like as are of place and countenance in the Common-wealth, they fore&s;hew &s;ome euill: wherein as I hold it reuerence to be &s;ilent: &s;o were it ouermuch boldnes and pre&s;umption to be medling. What therefore may be &s;ayd in this point, let A&s;trono|mers &s;hew their cunning.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="14" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>How and what way Blazing &s;tarres are forewarning of &s;om|what to come, and of force &s;o to doe. CHAP. XIV.</HEAD>
<P>ALthough it may &s;&eacute;eme diuer&s;ely and many wayes probable, that <HI>blazing-Starres</HI> fore&s;hew &s;omewhat to in&s;ue: yet not
<PB REF="16">
with&s;tanding it is not nece&s;&s;ary, that we &s;hould bel&eacute;eue (as the A&s;trologians ra&s;hly hold opinion) that they can be &s;ignes or to|kens of that thing, whereof they are no cau&s;e. For a <HI>blazing &s;tar</HI> cannot be eyther the cau&s;e, or the effect of warre or death: albeit, it progno&s;ticate and fore&s;hew (as a &s;igne from a naturall cau&s;e) both the one and the other.</P>
<P>It may be (I will not deny) the cau&s;e after a &s;ort: as if that which is the cau&s;e of warre and pe&s;tilence, we &s;uppo&s;e al&s;o to b&eacute;e the cau&s;e of the <HI>blazing &s;tarre.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Blazing &s;tars are after a &s;ort the cau&s;e of warre, pe&s;ti|lence. &amp;c.</NOTE>As when aboundance of vapours are drawne vp into the aire, which being kindled and &s;et on fire, there followeth and en&s;ueth the generation of a <HI>blazing &s;tarre,</HI> and infection of the aire, which breedeth plague and pe&s;tilence, mouing mens minds to muti|nies, through the increa&s;e and plenty of choller &s;tirred vp in them: whereby they runne with maine force to harne&s;&s;e and weapon, and &s;o to battel and bloud&s;hed, not f&eacute;eling in them any rule of rea|&s;on, re&s;trayning them in this their ra&s;hnes. Hereupon (as it is not vnlike) &s;pring commotions in kingdomes, and mutations of Commonwealths, then de&s;tructions: for, <HI>A realme diuided within it &s;elf, being vnable long to la&s;t, mu&s;t needs come to lo&s;&s;e.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Blazing &s;tars foretokens of barrenne&s;&s;e.</NOTE>Furthermore, &s;eeing that the generation of a naturall <HI>Blazing Starre,</HI> importeth that in &s;ome place hath b&eacute;ene great heate and drought, (for otherwi&s;e &s;uch &s;tore of matter as is required to|wards the ingendring thereof, could not be drawne vp:) it is wont to come to pa&s;&s;e, that <HI>blazing &s;tarres</HI> doe commonly threa|ten barrenne&s;&s;e to Sandie, and not to Fenny Countries.</P>
<P>Now, becau&s;e it is likewi&s;e knowne, that by force of Starres, many enuenomed and infectious vapours a&s;cend,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Blazing &s;tars foretokens of pe&s;tilence and mortalitie.</NOTE> it &s;&eacute;emeth cre|dible that a <HI>blazing &s;tarre</HI> is a forewarning of a following pe&s;ti|lence, ingendred through the ayre, b&eacute;eing choked and poy&s;oned by vapours of &s;uch quality. By which means in like maner, drought &s;etteth mens hearts on fire, and driueth them forward to fall at &s;trife, bralling, battell, and blood&s;hed: it troubleth the brain, e&s;tran|geth the &s;ea&s;es, and thus ari&s;eth &s;editions. To conclude with the purpo&s;e, it is not greatly nece&s;&s;ary in this declaration, to v&s;e lon|ger delay, &s;ince I am of this bel&eacute;efe, that God (of the aboundance of his loue towards vs, which is vnmea&s;urable) by nature, as a meane or m&eacute;ete in&s;trument, cau&s;eth &s;uch and &s;uch <HI>blazing &s;tarres</HI>
<PB REF="16">
to appeare: to the intent, that he might by them (as by premoni&s;h|ments and fore warnings) put vs in mend to remember, that it is time to &s;tart from &s;inne, and to prepare our hearts with repen|tance, for preuenting of tho&s;e &s;harp and &s;marting whips of Gods vengeance, which by &s;uch <HI>Blazing Starres,</HI> at Gods commande|ment, are threatned. For he neuer or very &s;eldome, &s;ince the crea|on of the world plagued any people: but he &s;ent among them &s;ome &s;igne thereof, for their preparation to penitence, as in holy Scrip|tures it is at large declared.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="15" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>Why Blazing Starres do &s;pecially betoken ill to Peeres, Po|tentates, Rulers of Realmes and Commonwealthes, &amp;c. CHAP. XV.</HEAD>
<P>IT is the opinion of &s;ome, though erronious, that <HI>blazing &s;tars</HI> do &s;pecially betoken ill to Princes and great men, and to their Kingdomes al&s;o and Realmes threaten &s;ome mi&s;chiefe: in &s;uch wi&s;e, that it hath b&eacute;ene ob&s;erued and marked, that no <HI>blazing &s;tar</HI> almo&s;t hath appeared, but either death, or el&s;e &s;ome ill hath hap|ned after, to &s;ome noble per&s;onage in the land; as by our former examples it is left verified: which made <HI>Lucan</HI> the Poet to write of them, in this wi&s;e:
<Q><L>A Blazing Starre in &s;ight mo&s;t &s;trange,</L>
<L>The &s;tate of kingdomes, which doth change.</L></Q></P>
<P>But it is here demanded, what the cau&s;e &s;hould be, that Bla|zing Starres do &s;pecially betoken ill to Emperours, Kings, and &s;uch like noble per&s;onages? I an&s;wer, that there is none other cau&s;e, as they &s;uppo&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Why Blazing &s;tars betoken ill to Peeres and Poten|tates: &amp;c.</NOTE> &s;o farre forth as Blazing Starres be na|turall, then becau&s;e &s;uch great e&s;tates and P&eacute;eres of Realmes, li|uing more delicately and vntemperately then other: are &s;ooner &s;ubiect and &s;urpri&s;ed with corrupt and empoy&s;oned ayre: and &s;o they carrying clo&s;e within them, and &s;ecretly nouri&s;hing the cau&s;e of ill in them&s;elues, being vnpatient and not able to indure the working of medicinable receipts, quickely peri&s;h and mi&s;|carrie.</P>
<P><PB REF="17">But &s;o farre forth as <HI>Blazing-Starres</HI> are &s;upernaturall, and as they haue their proc&eacute;eding and b&eacute;eing from the omnipotent God, it is thought this to be the cau&s;e: namely, that God is pre|paring a plague again&s;t them, that the blacke tents of his indig|nation are pitching, that the weapons of his vengeance are whet|ted again&s;t them, whereof he giueth forewarnings, like a mo&s;t mercifull Father: to the end they might vnder&s;tand, that the cau&s;e of this Gods iu&s;t dealing, (being &s;inne and wickednes,) is either in Princes them&s;elues, or el&s;e in the people vnder their vngratious gouernment: in con&s;ideration whereof, as well prince as people might &s;&eacute;e the horrour and abhomination of their owne &s;infull liues, and flye to repentance, whereunto God &s;o fatherly would win them by forewarnings.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The wicked|ne&s;&s;e of the people is im|puted to the prince.</NOTE> That according to the exam|ple of that holy King, they may lift vp both hearts and hands to heauen, &s;aying: <HI>Enough now Lord, &s;tay thy hand, It is I that haue offended: it is I that haue done wickedly: as for the&s;e innocent &s;heepe, what harme haue they done?</HI> Furthermore, to whom doth a Blazing Star betoken &s;omewhat to follow, if not to the King? For in that it &s;ignifieth &s;omewhat to the Realme, it mu&s;t extend euen to the per&s;on of the King, who hath the rule and gouernment of that Realme: becau&s;e he is a King by his Kingdome, and be|cau&s;e the wickednes of the kingdome, is reputed the wickedne&s;&s;e of the King, who either by his en&s;ample giueth occa&s;ion of wick|edne&s;&s;e:<NOTE PLACE="marg">A heauy rec|koning for &s;uch as are in authoritie and office.</NOTE> or el&s;e hauing power and authority to &s;uppre&s;&s;e &s;inne in the people, neglecteth notwith&s;tanding the due execution and ad|mini&s;tration of iu&s;tice: &s;o that the &s;aying of the Apo&s;tle is mo&s;t certaine and vndoubted: that, All tho&s;e whom God hath placed in authority, giuen preheminence vnto, are tyed to the nece&s;&s;ity of this heauy reckning, not only to &s;tand accountable to almighty God for their owne, but al&s;o for the &s;oules of all &s;uch ouer whom they haue charge. And therefore right aptly &s;pake that mo&s;t wi&s;e and worthy King <HI>Dauid</HI> to all Kings, (and vnder their title, to all &s;uch as excell other in office &amp; dignitie:) <HI>And now ye kings</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>vnder&s;tand, be ye learned which iudge the earth, &s;erue the Lord with feare, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>And thus farre touching this matter, which though it be but bluntly and and &s;hortly deliuered, yet is it to be marked.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="16" TYPE="chapter">
<PB REF="17">
<HEAD>Of a certaine Blazing &s;tarre which appeared in the yeare, 1531. the 19. of Sept. at Mentz, a City in Germany, and was &s;en&s;i|bly &s;eeene likewi&s;e in other places. CHAP. XVI.</HEAD>
<P>A Que&s;tion is asked, what that <HI>Blazing &s;tarre</HI> which was &s;eene in the yeare 1531. might &s;ignifie, and to whom it is a foretoken of &s;ome euill to en&s;ue. In an&s;wering whereunto, I would to God, I might not tell the truth &s;o directly, as I did of an Earthquake 3, years pa&s;t, the effects whereof, the City of <HI>Mentz,</HI> not without trembling ta&s;ted. The Blazing &s;tarre which appeared, 1531. betokens a heauie burthen of vengeance, not onely to the &s;tate temporall, but al&s;o eccle&s;ia&s;ticall: yea it threat|neth a plague to the whole world. The fa&s;hion and likenes ther|of &s;ignifieth no le&s;&s;e, for it was to &s;&eacute;e to, in forme of a broome, or a bundell of rods: which figure of a rod we doubt, forwarneth vs of that rod, wherof the Lord &s;peaketh by the Prophet: <HI>I will vi|&s;ite their iniquities with the rod, and their &s;ins with &s;tripes.</HI> For Almighty God v&s;eth for more certainety of forewarning, to giue vnto &s;ignes and tokens, the likene&s;&s;es of things &s;ignified, and betokened. As for example.</P>
<P>At what time his will was to forewarne the <HI>Iewes</HI> of the <HI>Ba|bylonian</HI> captiuity, he &s;pake thus to <HI>Ieremie</HI> the Prophet: <HI>Make thee fetters and chaines, and put them about thy necke, &amp;c.</HI> Ther|by to &s;ignifie their captiuity. So the &s;ame God, gaue a &s;ign in the ayre of <HI>Titus</HI> and <HI>Ve&s;pa&s;ian;</HI> his huge hoa&s;t again&s;t <HI>Ieru&s;alem,</HI> to lay it wa&s;te: armed men with &s;peares and lances, running to and fro in warlike wi&s;e, which though they &s;aw manife&s;tly, yet cea&s;t they not to liue as they were wont, mo&s;t wickedly, the vengeance of God falling vpon them, which by tho&s;e forewarnings was prophe&s;ied.</P>
<P>In the yeare, 1500, there was &s;&eacute;ene falling from heauen vpon mens garments, Cro&s;&s;es, and there appeared in &s;en&s;ible manner,<NOTE PLACE="marg">A &s;trange &s;ight and wonderful forewarning of a bloudie battell.</NOTE> as certaine &s;ignes what &s;hould after come to pa&s;&s;e: namely, that bloudy battell betw&eacute;ene the two worthy Princes <HI>Rupert</HI> the 3. &s;on of <HI>Philip,</HI> Pal&s;egraue of <HI>Rhene,</HI> and Prince Elector, and the noble Prince <HI>Albert,</HI> Duke of <HI>Bauaria:</HI> the en&s;ignes of the one hauing blacke cro&s;&s;es, &amp; the other red: &s;o that in the yeare 1504. was fulfilled that which in the yeare 1500. was foretolde</P>
<P><PB REF="18">Wherefore it is to bee feared, le&s;t the Blazing &s;tarre which was &s;&eacute;ene in the likene&s;&s;e of a rodde, threaten vnto vs that rodde which the Prophet &s;pake of, wherewith God is purpo&s;ed in iu|&s;tice to vi&s;ite the wickedne&s;&s;e of the people. For if this Blazing &s;tarre b&eacute;e naturall, w&eacute;e &s;hall perceyue nothing in it, which betoke|neth not &s;ome great euill.<NOTE PLACE="marg">All mi&s;chiefe commeth from the North.</NOTE> Fir&s;t, becau&s;e it blazed &s;o euen from the We&s;t to the North, from whence (as witne&s;&s;eth the Pro|phet) all mi&s;chiefe doth proc&eacute;ede, hauing neuerthele&s;&s;e an a&s;|pect into other quarters of the world, terrible &amp; thretning enough.</P>
<P>It was variable in colour, &s;ometimetimes pale, that is, Leaden and Saturnine, &s;ometimes Red and Martiall. More|ouer, in &s;o much as it continued (by the auerment of A&s;trono|mers) vnder <HI>Saturne</HI> and <HI>Mars,</HI> Planets and Signes of vn|luckie influence: it &s;eemeth to betoken not onely vnto one, or two Countries, but to the whole World, famine, warre, and pe&s;tilence: for it blazed mo&s;t terribly into all parts of the world.</P>
<P>Furthermore, if the &s;ame <HI>Blazing &s;tarre</HI> were &s;upernatural, and immediate from God, contrary to the cour&s;e and order of Nature, it might not otherwi&s;e be thought, but that it betoke|ned to the world much mi&s;ery and woe: for God thereby &s;igni|fied, that his vengeance was to come vpon all wicked world|lings, and vpon all &s;uch per&s;ons, as (to their impenitence) ioyne continuance in &s;inne.</P>
<P>Now, who hath the face to &s;ay again&s;t this, that the Worlde hath taken &s;uch a &s;urfet in iniquitie, and is become &s;o drunken in all abomination, that Gods mercy is changed into iudgement, &amp; his patience into puni&s;hment, his loue into wrath, and his kind|ne&s;&s;e into fury: in &s;uch wi&s;e that it may be &s;uppo&s;ed, God to &s;peake vnto vs by this Blazing &s;tarre, as it were out of a cloude, in this manner: <HI>The end of all fle&s;h is before me. The whole earth is filled full of their iniquity, and I will &s;weepe them away from the face of the earth, For they haue all played the &s;tart backs, they haue walked in the by-wayes of wickednes,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">A &s;uppo&s;ed &s;peech of God expre&s;&s;ing his wrath concei|ued for ini|quity.</NOTE> <HI>and are becom vnprofitable: in&s;omuch that there is none that doth good, no not one.</HI> Which as none can deny, &s;o I thinke none dares but thus confe&s;&s;e, that the Blazing &s;tar &s;&eacute;ene in our <HI>Horizon,</HI> betokeneth a common calamity, con&s;idering how iniquity doth abound in a places, and that &s;inne is growne to a perfect maturity and ripe|ne&s;&s;e
<PB REF="18">
which God of his mercy giue vs grace to amend, that wee f&eacute;ele not the heate of his con&s;uming anger, whereof hee hath &s;ent vs a forewarning.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="17" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>Whether &s;uch euils as Blazing &s;tars betoken, may by any meanes eyther be preuented or auoyded. CHAP. XVII.</HEAD>
<P>IT remayneth (mo&s;t pui&s;&s;ant Emperour) the premi&s;&s;es con&s;ide|red, that your Maie&s;ty taking the King of <HI>Niniuie</HI> for an exam|ple, ri&s;e vp from your &s;eate of Royalty, and putting on &s;ackcloath together with vs your people, lift vp our hands and hearts to hea|uen, praying to God mo&s;t heartily, like humble &s;uters.</P>
<P>Now who is &s;o blunt of iudgement, and dul of vnder&s;tanding that &s;&eacute;eth not that the confe&s;&s;ion of offences, the repentance and contrition of heart, the humbling and &s;ubmitting our &s;elues both in &s;oule and body vnder the mighty hand of the omnipotent God, will pacifie and a&s;&s;wage the fiercene&s;&s;e of his fury, and &s;o &s;pare vs in compa&s;&s;ion, through vnfained repentance, that wee peri&s;h not as outca&s;ts from his fauour.</P>
<P>Why &s;hould we not haue this hope and confidence in God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">God doth not exclude the penitent from the throne of grace, but re|ceiueth them to his mercy.</NOTE> con&s;idering that to the penitent Niniuites he did not &s;hutte the gates of his compa&s;&s;ion, but &s;&eacute;eing their conuer&s;ion and for&s;a|king of &s;inne, with the denyall of them&s;elues, and all goodnes in them, he receyued them againe to mercy, from which by their &s;innes they were before excluded.</P>
<P>Furthermore, it is not needeful that we &s;tand in feare of the cele&s;tiall Signes, becau&s;e without God they haue no power at al to preuayle again&s;t any people; but being his &s;eruants, are at his commaundement, from whom all &s;tars and all creatures haue their office and mini&s;tery. To conceyue terror and feare therefore at the appearing of a Blazing &s;tar, as betokening &s;ome euill like to follow, it is extreame madne&s;&s;e: let vs rather tremble at his al|mightines, and feare the con&s;uming flames of his iu&s;tice, who is the Creator and maker, not onely of Blazing &s;tars, but al&s;o of the Sunne, Moone, and Planets, yea of rea&s;onable man.</P>
<P>And let vs not thinke, but that God, who framed the
<PB REF="19">
whole world, the heauen aboue, and the earth below, is able (as he made them) &s;o to rule them: for at his commandement are all things within the compa&s;&s;e of the Heauen, be they Starres, or what&s;oeuer el&s;e: &s;o that he can; according to the greatne&s;&s;e of his power, which filleth all places, chaunge and di&s;po&s;e them, af|ter his owne plea&s;ure: yea the threatning tokens of his iudge|ment and vengeance, will he turn into forbearance and forgiue|ne&s;&s;e, if we penitently neglect not (as did the <HI>Iewes</HI>) the time of our Vi&s;itation: For they being warned by many wonders, and among others, by a Blazing &s;tarre, of no le&s;&s;e horrour then con|tinuance: lay &s;lugging in the Couch of &s;ecurity and carele&s;ne&s;&s;e, and not regarding the threats of God for &s;inne, eyther of wilfull blindne&s;&s;e, or &s;tout &s;tubbornne&s;&s;e, counted tho&s;e tokens of Gods vn&s;ufferable wrath, elementarie apparitions, and toyes m&eacute;erely contemptible.</P>
<P>But let vs not &s;uffer our &s;elues to b&eacute;e lulled a&s;l&eacute;epe in the cra|dle of &s;en&s;uality:<NOTE PLACE="marg">It is good to be warned by the example of others.</NOTE> Let vs not b&eacute;e drunken with the dregs of their abomination: Let not the vanities of our owne hearts &s;o be|witch vs, that we fall into a &s;elfe loue and liking of our owne &s;elues, neglecting the preffered time of grace and louing kindnes le&s;t God deliuering vs ouer to reprobation in his vnappea&s;eable di&s;plea&s;ure, plague vs with the &s;ame rod of reuengement for our vngraciou&s;nes, wherewith hee tooks vengeance vpon them for their wilfull &s;tubbornene&s;&s;e. Which that it may not come to pa&s;&s;e, let vs in time turne to the Lord, and in due &s;ea&s;on take his fatherly admonitions, as ready meanes to lead vs to repentance and the auoyding of the &s;courge of de&s;truction, wherewith he pu|ni&s;heth the impenitent. From the which deliuer vs O Lord God.</P>
<P><HI>To the Almighty, Euerla&s;ting. Inui&s;ible, and onely wi&s;e God, bee All, aboue All, and in All, all Laude, Honour, Glo|rie, Dominion and Maie&s;ty for euer and euer, Amen,</HI></P>
</DIV1>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
