Р kinde nature would indure it: "Who from the hour of his birth is most miserable, weak, and sickly; when he sucks he is guided by others, when he is grown great practiseth unhappinesse and is sturdy, and when old, a childe again, and repenteth him of his life past. And here being interrupted by one that brought books, he fell to it again, that all were mad, carelesse, stupid. To prove my former speeches, look into courts, or private houses. Judges give judgement according to their own advantage, doing manifest wrong to poor innocents to please others. Notaries alter sentences, and for money lose their Deeds. Some make false moneys, other counterfeit false weights. Some abuse their parents, yea corrupt their own sisters, others make long libels and pasquils, defaming men of good life, and extol such as are lewd and vicious. Some rob one, some another; 9 Magistrates make laws against theeves, and are the veriest theeves themselves. Some kill themselves, other despair, not obtaining their desires. Some dance, sing, laugh, feast and banquet, whilest others sigh, languish, mourn and lament, having neither meat, drink, nor clothes. Some prank up their bodies, and have their mindes full of execrable vices. Some trot about to bear false witnesse, and say any thing for money; and though Judges know of it, yet for a bribe they wink at it, and suffer false Contracts to prevail against Equity. Women are all day a dressing, to pleasure other men abroad, and go like sluts at home, not caring to please their own husbands whom they should. Seeing men are so fickle, so sottish, so intemperate, why should not I laugh at those, to whom 'folly seems wisdom, will not be cured, and perceive it not? It grew late, Hyppocrates left him, and no sooner was he come away, but all the Citizens came about flocking, to know how he liked him. He told them in brief, that notwithstanding those small neglects of his attire, body, diet, "the world had not a wiser, a more learned, a more honest man, and they were much deceived to say that he was mad. Thus Democritus esteemed of the World in his time, and this was the cause of his laughter: and good cause he had. Totus à nativitate morbus est. In vigore furibundus, quum decrescit insanabilis. Cyprian. ad Donatum. Qui sedet crimina judicaturus, &c. Tu pessimus omnium latro es, as a thief told Alexander in Curtius. Damnat foras judex, quod intus operatur, Cyprian. Vultus magna cura, magna animi incuria. Am. Marcel. Horrenda res est, vix duo verba sine mendacio proferuntur; & quamvis solenniter homines ad veritatem dicendum invitentur, pejerare tamen non dubitant, ut ex decem testibus vix unus verum dicat. Calv. in 8. John. Serm. 1. Sapientiam insaniam esse dicunt. Siquidem sapientiæ suæ admiratione me complevit, offendi sapientissimum virum, qui salvos potest omnes homines reddere. t D 3 * Olim "Olim jure quidem, nunc plus Democrite ride; Good cause he had, but now much more, Then that of his, or long before. Never so much cause of laughter, as now, never so many fools and mad men. Tis not one Democritus wil serve turn to laugh in these days, we have now need of a "Democritus to laugh at Democritus," one Jester to flout at another, one fool to flear at another: A great Stentorian Democritus, as big as that Rhodian Colossus. For now, as Salisburiensis said in his time, totus mundus histrionem agit, the whole world playes the fool; we have a new theatre, a new scene, a new comedie of errors, a new company of personate actors, volupiæ sacra (as Calcagninus wittingly feigns in his Apologs) are celebrated all the world over, where all the actors were mad men and fools, and every hour changed habits, or took that which came next. He that was a Marriner to day, is an Apothecary to morrow; a smith one while, a philosopher another, in his volupie ludis; a king now with his crown, robes, scepter, attendants, by and by drove a loaded asse before him like a carter, &c. If Democritus were alive now, he should see strange alterations, a new company of counterfeit vizards, whiflers, Cumane asses, maskers, mummers, painted puppets, outsides, phantastick shadows, guls, monsters, giddy-heads, butter-flies. And so many of them are indeed ( if all be true that I have read) For when Jupiter and Juno's wedding was solemnized of old, the gods were all invited to the feast, and many noble men besides: Amongst the rest came Crysalus a Persian prince, bravely attended, rich in golden attires, in gay robes, with a majestical presence, but otherwise an asse. The gods seeing him come in such pomp and state, rose up to give him place, ex habitu hominem metientes; but Jupiter perceiving what he was, a light, phantastick idle fellow, turned him and his proud followers into butterflies: and so they continue still (for ought I know to the contrary) roving about in * E Græc. epig. Plures Democriti nunc non sufficiunt, opus Democrito qui Democritum rideat. Eras. Moria. Polycrat. lib. 3. cap. 8. è Petron. * Ubi omnes delirabant, omnes insani, &c. hodie nauta, cras philosophus; hodie faber, cras pharmacopola; hic modo regem agebat multo satellitio, tiara, & sceptro ornatus, nunc vili amictus centiculo, asinum clitellarium impellit. y Calcagninus Apol. Crysalus è cæteris auro dives, manicato pepio & tiara conspicuus, levis alioquin & nullius consilii, &c. magno fastu ingredienti assurgunt dii, &c. * Sed hominis levitatem Jupiter perspiciens, at tu (inquit) esto bombilio, &c. protinusq; vest's illa manicata in alas versa est, & mortales inde Chrysalides vocant hujusmodi homines. pied-coats, and are called Chrysalides by the wiser sort of men: that is, golden outsides, drones, flies, and things of no worth. Multitudes of such, &c. "ubique invenies Stultos avaros, sycophantas prodigos." Many additions, much increase of madnesse, folly, vanity, should Democritus observe, were he now to travel, or could get leave of Pluto to come see fashions, as Charon did in Lucian to visit our cities of Moronia Pia, and Moronia Fœlix: sure I think he would break the rim of his belly with laughing. "a Si foret in terris rideret Democritus, seu, &c." A satyrical Roman in his time, thought all vice, folly, and madnesse were all at full sea, "b Omne in præcipiti vitium stetit." Josephus the historian taxeth his country-men Jews, for braging of their vices, publishing their follies, and that they did contend amongst themselves, who should be most notorious in villanies; but we flow higher in madnesse, far beyond them, worst. <<< Mox daturi progeniem vitiosiorem," and the latter end (you know whose oracle it is) is like to be "Tis not to be denied, the world alters every day, Ruunt urbes, regna transferuntur, &c. variantur habitus, leges innovantur, as Petrarch observes, we change language, habits, laws, customs, manners, but not vices, not diseases, not the symptoms of folly and madnesse, they are still the same. And as a River, we see, keeps the like name and place, but not water, and yet ever runs, «* Labitur & labetur in omne volubilis ævum;" our times and persons alter, vices are the same, and ever will be; look how Nightingals sang of old, Cocks crowed, Kine lowed, Sheep bleated, Sparrows chirped, Dogs barked, so they do still we keep our madnesse still, play the fools still, nec dum finitus Orestes, we are of the same humors and inclinations as our predecessors were, you shall finde us all alike, much at one, we and our sons, But to speak "Et nati natorum, & qui nascuntur ab illis." And so shall our posterity continue to the last. of times present. b ⚫ Juven. Juven. *De bello Jud. 1. 8. c. 11. Iniquitates vestræ neminem latent, inque dies singulos certamen habetis quis pejor sit. Lib. 5. Epist. S. * Hor. ᎠᏎ < Hor, If f If Democritus were alive now, and should but see the superstition of our age, our religious madnesse, as Meteran cals it, Religiosam insaniam, so many professed Christians, yet so few imitators of Christ, so much talk of religion, so much science, so little conscience, so much knowledge, so many preachers, so little practice; such variety of sects, such have and hold of all sides, h -obvia signis Signa, &c." such absurd and ridiculous traditions and ceremonies: If he should meet a Capuchin, a Franciscan, a Pharesaical Jesuite, a man-serpent, a shave-crowned Monk in his robes, a beging Frier, or see their three crown'd Soveraign Lord the Pope, poor Peter's successor, servus servorum Dei, to depose Kings with his foot, to tread on Emperors necks, make them stand bare-foot and bare-legg'd at his gates, hold his bridle and stirrup, &c. (O that Peter and Paul were alive to see this!) If he should observe a Prince creep so devoutly to kiss his toe, and those Red-cap Cardinals, poor parish priests of old, now Princes companions; what would he say? Cælum ipsum petitur stultitia. Had he met some of our devout pilgrims going barefoot to Jerusalem, our lady of Lauretto, Rome, S. Iago, S. Thomas' Shrine, to creep to those counterfeit and Maggoteaten Reliques. Had he been present at a Masse, and seen such kissing of Paxes, crucifixes, cringes, duckings, their several attires and ceremonies, pictures of saints, indulgences, pardons, vigils, fasting, feasts, crossing, knocking, kneeling at Ave-Maries, bels, with many such; -"jucunda rudi spectacula plebi," praying in Gibberish, and mumbling of beads. Had he heard an old woman say her prayers in latine, their sprinkling of holy water, and going a Procession, incedunt monachorum agmina mille; Quid memorem vexilla, cruces, idolaque culta, &c." Their Breviaries, buls, hallowed beans, exorcisms, pictures, curious crosses, fables, and bables. Had he read the Golden Legend, the Turks Alcoran, or Jews Talmud, the Rabbins Fa Superstitio est insanus error. f Lib. 8. hist. Belg. * Lucan. ther Angelo, the Duke of Joyeux going bare-foot over the Alps to Rome, &c. Si cui intueri vacet quæ patiuntur superstitiosi, invenies tam indecora honestis, tam indigna liberis, tam dissimilia sanis, ut nemo fuerit dubitaturus furere eos, si cum paucioribus furerent. Senec. Quid dicam de eorum indulgentiis, oblationibus, votis, solutionibus, jejuniis, cœnobiis, somniis, horis, organis, cantilenis, campanis, simulachris, missis, purgatoriis, mitris, breviariis, bullis, lustralibus, aquis, rasuris, unctionibus, candelis, calicibus, crucibus, mappis, cereis, thuribulis, incantationibus, exorcismis, sputis, legendis, &c. Baleus de actis Rom. Pont. * Th. Neageor. Comments, Comments, what would he have thought? How doest, thou think he might have been affected? Had he more particularly examined a Jesuit's life amongst the rest, he should have seen an hypocrite professe povertie, and yet possess more goods and lands then many princes, to have infinite treasures and revenues; teach others to fast, and play the gluttons themselves; like watermen, that rowe one way, and look another. Vow virginity, talk of holinesse, and yet indeed a notorious Bawd, and famous fornicator, lascivum pecus, a very goat. Monks by profession', such as give over the world, and the vanities of it, and yet a Machivilian rout m interested in all manner of state: holy men, peace-makers, and yet composed of envy, lust, ambition, hatred and malice, fire-brands, adulta patriæ pestis, traitors, assasinats, hác itur ad astra, and this is to supererogate, and merit heaven for themselves and others. Had he seen on the adverse side, some of our nice and curious schismaticks in another extream, abhor all ceremonies, and rather lose their lives and livings, then do or admit any thing Papists have formerly used, though in things indifferent (they alone are the true Church, sal terræ, cum sint omnium insulsissimi.) Formalists, out of fear and base flattery, like so many weather-cocks turn round, a rout of temporisers, ready to embrace and maintain all that is or shall be proposed in hope of preferment: Another Epicurean company, lying at lurch as so many vultures, watching for a prey of Church goods, and ready to rise by the down fall of any as Lucian said in like case, what dost thou think Democritus would have done, had he been spectator of these things? Or had he but observed the common people follow like so many sheep one of their fellows drawn by the horns over a gap, some for zeal, some for fear, quò se cunque rapit tempestas, to credit all, examine nothing, and yet ready to dye before they will abjure any of those ceremonies, to which they have been accustomed; others out of hypocrisie frequent sermons, knock their brests, turn up their eyes, pretend zeal, desire reformation, and yet professed userers, gripers, monsters of men, harpies, devils, in their lives to expresse nothing lesse. What would he have said to see, hear, and reade so many bloudy battels, so many thousands slain at once, such streamis of blood able to turn Mils: unius ob noxam furiasque, or to Dum simulant spernere, acquisiverunt sibi 30 annorum spatio bis centena milia librarum annua. Arnold. *Et quum interdiu de virtute loquuti sunt, sero in latibulis clunes agitant labore nocturno, Agryppa. 1 Tim. 3. 13. But they shall prevail no longer, their madnesse shall be known to all men. Benignitatis sinus solebat esse, nunc-litium officina curia Romana. Budæus. Quid tibi videtur facturus Democritus, si horum spectator contigisset? make |