The manner how, as I say, is by rewards, promises, terrors, affrights, punishments: In a word, faire and foule means, Hope and Fear. How often hath Jupiter, Apollo, Bacchus and the rest, sent plagues in Greece and Italy, because their sacrifices were neglected?

Dii multa neglecti dederunt Hesperiæ mala luctuosæ.

to terrifie them, to rouze them up, and the like: see but Livy, Dyonysius Halicarnasseus, Thucydides, Pausanias, Philostratus, Polybius, before the battel of Cannas, prodigiis, signis, ostentis, templa cuncta, privatæ etiam, ædes scatebant. Oeneus raigned in Ætolia, and because he did not sacrifice to Diana with his other Gods (see more in Libanius his Diana) she sent a wild Bore, insolitæ magnitudinis, qui terras & homines misere depascebatur, to spoil both men and country, which was afterwards killed by Meleager.

So Plutarch in the life of Lucullus relates, how Mithridates King of Pontus, at the seige of Cizicum, with all his Navy was overthrown by Proserpina, for neglecting of her holy day. She appeared in a vision to Aristagoras in the night, Cras inquit tybicinem Libicum cum tybicine pontico committam, and the day following this Ænigma was understood; for with a great South wind which came from Lybia, she quite overwhelmed Mithridates army.

What prodigies and miracles, dreams, visions, predictions, apparitions, oracles, have been of old at Delphos, Dodona, Trophonius Denne, at Thebes, and Lebaudia, of Jupiter Ammon in Ægypt, Amphiareus in Attica, &c. what strange cures performed by Apollo and Æsculapius? Juno’s Image, and that of Fortune spake, Castor and Pollux fought in person for the Romans against Hannibals army, as Pallas, Mars, Iuno, Venus, for Greeks and Trojans, &c.

Amongst our pseudocatholiques, nothing so familiar as such miracles; how many cures done by our Lady of Lauretta, at Sichem! of old at our S. Thomas Shrine, &c. S. Sabine was seen to fight for Arnulphus Duke of Spoleto, S. George fought in person for John, the bastard of Portugal, against the Castilians; S. James for the Spaniards in America.

In the battel of Bonnoxburn, where Edward the second, our English King was foyled by the Scots, S. Philanus arm was seen to fight (if Hector Boethius doth not impose) that was before shut up in a silver capcase: Another time in the same Author, S. Magnus fought for them.

Now for visions, revelations, miracles, not only out of the Legend, out of purgatory, but every day comes news from the Indies, and at home, read the Jesuits letters, Ribadineira, Thurselinus, Acosta, Lippomanus, Xaverius, Ignatius lives, &c. and tell me what difference?

His ordinary instruments or factors which he useth, as God himself did good Kings, Lawful Magistrates, patriarchs, prophets, to the establishing of his Church, are Polititians, Statesmen, Priests, Heretiques, blind guides, Impostors, pseudoprophets, to propagate his superstition. And first to begin with Polititians, it hath ever been a principal axiom with them, to maintain religion, or superstition, which they determine of, alter and vary upon all occasions, as to them seems best: they make Religion meer policie, a cloak, a humane invention; nihil æque valet ad regendos vulgi animos ac superstitio, as Tacitus and Tully hold.

Austin l.4. de civitat. Dei c.9. censures Scævola saying and acknowledging, expedire civitates religione falli, that it was a fit thing cities should be deceived by religion, according to the diverb, Si mundus vult decipi, decipiatur, if the world will be gulled, let it be gulled, ’tis good howsoever to keep it in subjection. ’Tis that Aristotle and † Plato inculcate in their Politiques, Religion neglected, brings plagues to the city, opens a gap to all naughtiness.

’Tis that which all our late Polititians ingeminate. Cromerus l.2. pol. hist. Boterus, l.3. de incrementis urbium, Clapmarius l.2. c.9. de Arcanis rerump. Arneseus cap.4. lib.2. polit. Captain Machiavel will have a prince, by all means to counterfeit religion, to be superstitious in shew at least, to seem to be devout, frequent holy exercises, honour divines, love the Church, affect priests, as Numa, Lycurgus, and such law-makers were, and did, non ut his fidem habeant, sed ut subditos religionis metu facilius in officio contineant, to keep people in obedience.

Nam naturaliter (as Cardan writes) lex Christiana lex est pietatis, justitiæ, fidei, simplicitatis, &c. But this error of his, Innocentius Jentillettus a French Lawyer, Theorem.9. comment.1. de Relig. and Thomas Bozius in his book de ruinis gentium & Regnorum have copiously confuted:

Many Politicians, I dare not deny, maintain Religion as a true means, and sincerely speak of it without hypocrisie, are truely zealous and religious themselves. Justice and Religion are the two chief props and supporters of a well governed commonwealth:

but most of them are but Machiavellians, counterfeits only for politicall ends; for Solus Rex (which Campanella cap.18. Atheismi Triumphati observes) as amongst our modern Turks, Reipub. Finis, as knowing magnus ejus in animos imperium; and that as Sabellicus delivers, A man without religion, is like an horse without a bridle.

No way better to curb then superstition, to terrifie mens consciences, and to keep them in awe: they make new laws, statutes, invent new religions, ceremonies, as so many stalking horses, to their own ends. Hæc enim (religio) si falsa sit, dummodo vera credatur, animorum ferociam domat, libidines coercet, subditos principi obsequentes efficit.

Therefore (saith Polybius of Lycurgus) did he maintain ceremonies, not that he was superstitious himself, but that he perceived mortal men more apt to embrace Paradoxes, then ought else, and durst attempt no evil things for fear of the gods.

This was Zamolcus stratagem amongst the Thracians, Numa’s plot, when he said he had conference with the Nymph Ægeria, and that of Sertorius with an Hart; To get more credit to their Decrees, by deriving them from the gods; or else they did all by divine instinct, which Nicholas Damascen well observes of Lycurgus, Solon, and Minos, they had their laws dictated, monte sacro, by Jupiter himself.

So Mahomet referred his new laws to the Angel Gabriel by whose direction he gave out they were made. Caligula in Dion fained himself to be familiar with Castor and Pollux, and many such, which kept those Romans under (who, as Machiavel proves, lib.1. disput. cap.11. & 12. were Religione maximè moti, most superstitious:) and did curb the people more by this means, then by force of arms, or severity of humane laws.

Sola plebecula eam agnoscebat (saith Vaninus dial.1. lib.4. de admirandis naturæ arcanis) speaking of Religion, quæ facile decipitur, magnates vero & Philosophi nequaquam, your Grandes and Philosophers had no such conceit, sed ad imperii conformationem & amplificationem, quam sine prætextu religionis tueri non poterant; and many thousands in all ages have held as much, Philosophers especially, animadvertebant hi semper hæc esse fabellas, attamen ob metum publicæ potestatis silere cogebantur; they were still silent for fear of Laws, &c.

To this end that Syrian Phyrecides, Pythagoras his master, broached in the East amongst the Heathens, first the immortality of the Soul, as Trismegistus did in Egypt, with a many of fained Gods.

Those French and Brittain Druids in the West first taught, saith Cæsar, non interire animas, but after death to go from one to another, that so they might encourage them to vertue.

’Twas for a politique end, and to this purpose the old Poets fained those Elysian fields, their Æacus, Minos, and Rhadamantus, their infernal judges, and those Stygian lakes, fiery Phlegetons, Pluto’s kingdome, and variety of torments after death. Those that had done well, went to the Elysian fields, but evil doers to Cocytus, and to that burning lake of hell with fire and brimstone for ever to be tormented.