The debauch'd CAVALLEER, or the Engliſh MIDIANITE.
BE pleaſed to conſider, that the intent of this enſuing Diſcourſe, is wholly to render a viprous brood of prodigious Incendiares both of Church,Sic Canibus Catulos ſimiles ſic matribus hoedos. Noram. Sic parvis componere magna ſolebam. Virgill. and State, more odious in the eyes of all the Kings moſt loyall, and religious Subjects throughout this Kingdom, that they may hereby be excited to contribute, both their Prayers, Subſtance, and all the Intereſt they have with God, and man, againſt theſe debauched Cavalliers either for their ſequeſtration from the preſence of our King, or for their totall extirpation out of this Realme of England.
In which Diſcourſe, ſhall be diſpatched theſe two particulars.
1. Concerning the name of Cavalleers.
2. Concerning the degeneration of theſe wretches from the name of Cavallier, by ſeverall characters (a) running parrallel with the Midianites, and who did ſet themſelves againſt the Iſraell of God, and the God of Iſrael.
Condemnari nemo debet, antequam nomen e•us delatum ſil.1. Concerning the name of Cavallier.
There is a rule in the Civill-law, none ought to be condemned before his name be knowne. Since therefore we come to condemne the damnable practiſes of thoſe men who beare this name, we ſhall endeavour to make it knowne unto the world.
The word Cavallier uſed amongſt us here in England, is derived3 from the Italian word Cavallero, which ſignifies an Horſe-rider, as that word is deriv'd from Cavallo, which ſignifies an horſe, whence the Italians have this uſuall ſpeech amongſt them, monte Cavallo, Mount, or Get upon your Horſe.
There is another word like unto it in ſound, and uſed amongſt us here in England, and that is Chivalier, being derived from the french word Chevalier, which ſignifies an horſeman, as that word is derived from Cheval, an horſe, whence the Frenchmen have this uſuall ſpeech amonſt them, Mounte Cheval, up and ride, and whence alſo our engliſh Noblemen in their tilting have the notion of Chivalrie amongſt them.
We are not ignorant, that ſome Ancients deduce the name of Cavallier from the latine word, Gaballus, which ſignifies a great horſes; as if the name Cavallier, were as much as Caballier, V, and B, being letters which are ſymbollicall, and ſo being tranſ-elemented, they eaſily ſally forth, and run one into the other. And the Greekes Becman doth obſerve, derive it from the Greek compound〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, from the weighty and burdenſome ſaddles, which are caſt upon the backs of great Horſes.
However, though not utterly diſallowing theſe two laſt derivations, becauſe they are ingenuous, we ſhall accurre unto the former, both the French, and the Italian ſatisfaction, and ſo much the rather, becauſe our Cavalliers here in England, are either French, or Italian, at leaſt in the affection, yet notwithſtanding we ſhall eſpecially agree to the Italian originall, as the moſt proper head radix, and fountaine.
The name it ſelf, we confeſſe, is honourable, and is equivalent with our Miles, Armiger, Armigerans, vel Equus auratus, which is a Knight, a Souldier, or a golden horſeman. But theſe unworthy miſcreants have made the very name a reproach, as the Antichriſtian Prelates, the name of Biſhop, which in Saint Pauls time was worthy of double honour, but by reaſon of their tyrannicall uſurpation, is (as old father Latimer expreſſeth it) worthy of a more than a double, (even) a Treble reproach.
Thus according to the Phyſitians, Corruptio optimi, fit peſſima, the beſt thing being corrupted proves the worſt: and a good name being abuſed, is now become moſt odious.
And therfore now, ſince the name of Cavallier is known what it is, we now deſcend to ſhew in the ſecond particular how it is for the preſent abaſed, and abuſed by theſe ſons of Belial, who have degenerated4 from the honourable reputation of the terme of Cavallier, as ſhall appeare in theſe enſuing Charactars, paralleld with the Midianite.
The Characters of them are gathered out of the Bookes of Numbers, and Judges.
1. The firſt Character of the Midianites.
They were full of rage, and blaſphemy, when the Altar of Baal was throwne downe, Judg. 6.28, 29, 30, 33.
So are the Cavalleers, what makes them rage, but that the Prieſts, and Altars of Baal; are throwing downe amongſt us? and what makes their blaſphemies breake forth, but their rage? according to the ſpeech of the Prophet Iſaiah c. 8. v. 21. They ſhall fret themſelves, and curſe their God.
Now to give a liſt of their raging blaſphemies, our joynts tremble, our hands ſhake, and our pens do quiver; yet how ever, to render them more odious to all the world, we could do no leſſe, then depaint them out in their owne labours, and publiſh to the world ſome of thoſe blaſphemous execrations, which upon certain information we have gatherered and inſerted here as followes,
I.(a)(a)Whereas the Apoſtle did avow, and Heathens did confeſſe, that we live, move, and have our being, onely in the living God. Act. 17.24. yet theſe men ſay, they live, move, & have their being in a mortall man.We drinke a health to King Charles, in whom we live, move, and have our being.
II.(b)(b)Lo behold nthat Goſpel which is the only means to keep men from everlaſting confuſion, do theſe men wiſh confuſion to us, throwing away the onely plaiſter that can cure their wounds, and the onely remedy to ſave their ſoules. Procul, o procul eſte prophani. Vir.We drink a health to the confuſion of the Goſpell of Ieſus Chrſt.
III.(c)(c)A ſpeech ful of blaſphemy if they meant the true God, whom he doth ſerve, or at leaſt of uncharitablenes, alſo adiudging him to worſhip a falſe God.We drink a health to the confuſion of PIMM'S God.
IIII.(d)(d)Here is an unparalleld blaſphemy, contrary to the principles of Nature, Reaſon, and Religion.We will drink, and be drunk, and whore, and be damnd, and will not be beholding to God to ſave us.
V.(e)(e)The round heads might rather wiſh to be out of heaven, with thoſe who are termed by them Roundheads, then be in Heaven with ſuch ſwearing & and blaſphemous Cavalliers, if it were poſſible that ſuch ſins ſhould reigne in Heaven.We had rather be in hell with our Comrades, then in Heaven with the Roundheads.
5Theſe five particulars were reported by a Godly Gentleman who went with a meſſage to the King, who declared that he heard all theſe himſelfe, which Mr: Norton a Miniſter now about the Army received from his mouth, and ſent up in a letter to Mr: George Walker a Reverend Paſtor of a Church in Watlingſtreete here in London which Letter by him was delivered to the Parliament, that the worthies alſo might read thoſe horrid Epiſtolarie Execrations.
VI.(f)(f)Oh to what ſenſleſſe ſtupiditie are theſe men grown to, who have forgot their maker! and know not the Anſwer to the firſt queſtion in the childs Catechiſme, Who made you? inſtead of anſwering God, they ſay, The Divell.The Divill that made us Damme us.
This was avowed in a Pulpit, by that reverend Preacher of Gods word Mr: Simpſon who came lately from Holland.
VII.(g)(g)It is well we know who are the Roundheads in the Cavalliers opinion; viz. All thoſe who will not wiſh their owne damnation; rather our tongues ſhould cleave to our mouths, than ſuch helliſh language ſhould proceed from us as this. 2 Parallel. A great Company of Cavalliers comming to plunder a Town, they ſwore, that they would robbe, and ſlay all the Round-heads in the Towne; but ſome of that Raſcally Crew demanding how they might know the Round-heads from the reſt of the Inhabitants. Anſwere was immediatly returned, they would make them wiſh God Damme us, and all who would not wiſh God to Damme them, they would rob and ſlay for Round-heads.
And thus by their Notorious Blaſphemies, they doe ſome notable deſpight, and wrong even to the Spirit of Grace, the Holy Ghoſt Heb. ch. 10 v. 29.
Wherefore we lift up our hearts to Heaven in the words of the Pſalmiſt, Remember this O Lord, that the Enemies have reproched thee; and that this fooliſh people have blaſphemed thy Name, read Pſalm. 74.18. Thus we leave them to God to whom Vengeance belongs, that he may execute on them the Iudgment written, And thus we have done with the firſt charracter.
2. The ſecond Character of the Midianites.
They were men of Cruelty and Oppreſſion, Iudg. 6.2.4. becauſe of the Midianites, The children of Iſraell made them Dens which are in the Mountaynes, and Caves, and ſtrong holds, and they Encamped againſt them and deſtroyed the Increaſe of the Earth and left no Suſtenance for Iſrael neither Sheepe nor Oxen.(h)(h)O quot Nerones, quot Domitiani, quod Commodi, quot Baſſiani, quot Imites Dioniſii haſce peragravere terras. Sic Benzo in Hiſtor. Indica. &c. and thus the Holy Ghoſt proceeds to emblazon, and ſet forth their opreſſing Cruelties.
Now let the world judge whether * the Cavalliers of our time do not fully anſwer the oppreſſions of thoſe Midianites ſpoken of in the world; and many parts of this Kingdome can by ſad experience give teſtimony hereunto. How many of the Kings faithfull and loyall6 Subjects have beene forced to leave their dwellings? and (as the Iſraelites when purſued by the Midianites) to run to the denns and caves of the earth? Thoſe who were able to relieve and feed others, how are they now forced to beg their owne bread? and thoſe who had faire houſes to dwell in, good beds to lie on, how are they conſtrained to lie in the open fields? (leſt he ſhould be expoſed to(i)(i)Vivitu•ex•apto, non hoſpes ab hoſpitutus. Ovid. Vitur ex rapto, non hoſpes ab hoſpite ſoſpes. Palin. their rage and robberies) who have nothing but a Stone for their Pillow, the Bank for a Bolſter, the Earth for their Bed, the Graſſe for their Rugg, the Trees for their Curtaines, the Hedges for their Vailance, and are like to have (if not ſeaſonably ſupplied) the Winter Snow for their Sheet, the Skie for their Canopie, and the chirping Birds of the morning to be their Alarme, to awake them. To bring up the Parallel cloſe: as Midian did deſtroy the encreaſe of the Earth, and left no ſuſtenance for Iſrael,(l)(l)They may well ſay of themſelves, as the people ſaid of themſelves in Salvians dayes, Iniuſti ſunt Barbari, & nos hoc ſumus. Avari ſunt Barbari, & nos hoc ſumus Infideles ſunt Barb•ri & noc hoc ſumus. Impudici ſunt Barbari & nos hoc ſumus. Omnium denique Improbitatus & impuritatum pleni ſunt Barbari, & nos hoc ſumus. Salvian. l. 3. de Gubernat. Dei. 3. Paral. neither Sheepe, nor Oxen, nor other beaſts; ſo have(k)(k)Populus Inviden•io•, Inimicior, Implacabilior ſub Sole, Solis nullus eſt Judaeis. Buxtorf. Synag. Iudaic. c. 22. p. 426. theſe cruell Cavalliers deſtroyed the fruits of the Earth in many parts of this Kingdome, ſpoiled Corne in the ground, burned much up when gathered into the Barne, or ſtanding in the Reeke; and as for taking away their ſubſtance, they have by violence broken into houſes, taken away all houſhould ſtuffe, and proviſion left nothing but naked walls, inſomuch that men had not bread for their Wives, and Children. And as for taking away the beaſts (as the Midianites did from Iſrael) to make that true, they have driven mens Deere out of their Parkes, mens Sheep out of their Folds, mens Oxen out of their Ploughes, and Horſes from their Harrowes, conſtraining men to part with their horſes, to further them in their unwarrantable Deſignes. And thus we have alſo done with the ſecond Character.
The third Character of the Midianites.
They were rambling Renagadoes; now here now there, one while at Gaza, Iudg. 6.4. another while by Ophrah, Iudg. 6.11. another time at Baals Alter and the Grove, Iudg. 6.28.29. another time in the Vally of Iezreel. Iudg. 6.33. another time at Bethſhittah towards Zererath, another time at the border of Abel-Meholuh unto Tabath, Iudg. 7.22. and another while at the Rock of Oreb, and the Wine-preſſe of Zeeb. v. 25. one while in Karkor, Iudg. 8.10. and another while at Tabor, Iudg. 8.8. and ſtill to ſurprize Iſrael.
Thus do(m)(m)who are like the vaine and Light perſons of Abimelech, whom the Septuagint call perſons maz'd and affrighted out of their ſenſes, who were hired with 70. pieces of ſilver out of the houſe of Baol-Berith, whom Vatablus termes Inſtabiles, unſtable, rowling from Towne to Towne, from Citie to City, from Shire to Shire, and from one Kingdome to another. our Cavalliers rove from one place to another. Firſt, from London to Yorke, from Yorke to Hull, then to Beverley, then to Yorke againe; thence to Warwicke, thence to Banbury, then to Warwicke againe, thence to Coventry, thence to Nottingam, thence7 to Worceſter, thence to Shrewsbury, and the Lord knows how ſoone they may come againe to London.
And thus we have done alſo with the third Character.
The fourth Character of the Midianites.
* They were a crafty and a ſubtile Generation to beguile Iſrael and enſnare them with their wiles, ſeeking to get Iſrael at an advantage Numb. 25.18.
So are our Cavalliers it ſeems, the Serpentine brood, a ſubtile Generation: witneſſe the faigned Letters they ſend, the falſe Alarms they ſound, the ſuddaine ſurpriſals they make, to take us at an advantage by Policie; for never had they yet the power to ſtand before the face of our Army.
The fifth Character of the Midianites.
They were uncleane both by bodily and ſpirituall uncleanneſſe. Numb. 25.6.18.
We put ſpirituall and bodily uncleanneſſe together, becauſe one ſeldome goes without the other. As for bodily uncleanneſſe, wee will not accuſe them how many they abuſed; you may take that ex conceſſio, for they ſaid themſelves (as hath beene intimated in the fourth Particular of their Blaſphemies) that they would Whore, Drinke, and be Damned, wherefore if they doe not whore, at leaſt they lie, both which Sinnes God will judge; yet we cannot but give you the Report of the Country, of two Cavalliers who raviſhed one Maide while another ſtood by and held the Horſes: of 7. more, who abuſed another, before ſhee could be releaſed from them; beſides the many Rapes and Chamber-Adulteries, which we leave to the All-ſeeing Eyes and Revenging Hand of Iuſtice, and as for Spirituall Ʋncleanneſſe, which is Idolatry, that cannot be free from their Campe, having ſo many Papiſts and prophane ones in their unhallowed and Pſeudo-Catholique Army.
6 The Sixt Character of the Midianites.
They were frequent in plotting Combinations with the Children of the Eaſt, the Amalekites and others to diſcomfit Iſrael. Iudg. 6.33. Iudg. 7.12. Iudg. 6.3.
So doe theſe(n)(n)Chriſoſtomus loquitur in Holmilia unicam ad populum Antiochienne. Cavalliers combine with the Praelaticall partie, who are the children of the Eaſt, and with Papiſts who are theſe Amalekites, with perſons accuſed of treaſon, with divers Delinquents, and Incendiaries both to Church and State; To give you a view of their Plots and Combinations, looke backe to their Indeavours of Surpriſing the ſixe Worthies of Parliament, their Plots to enter the8 Towne of Hull, theit late deſperate Plot to blow up our L. Generall in Worceſter. Yet to all theſe Plots we may ſay as to the Conſpirators of old. Aſſociate your ſelves together, O ye people, and ye ſhall be broken in pieces &c. Eſ. c. 8. v. 9.10.
7. One Character more of the Mid••nites. They were ſubdued, Iudg. 8.28. Thus was Midian ſubdued before the children of Iſrael, ſo that they lifted up their heads no mo•e, & the Country was then in quietnes.
More is the pitty that the Cavalliers doe not run parallel with them in this Character; yet they are not ſubdued, and yet is not our Land in quietnes. But doe unto them O Lord as unto the Midianites,Read Pſ. 83.9.10.11.15.16.17.18. verſes. as to Siſera and Iabin at the brook of Kiſon which periſhed at Endo••they became as dung for the earth: make their Nobles like O••b and Zeeb, &c.
Chriſtian Reader, thou haſt preſented to thy view by theſe Characters that which might make thine eares tingle, thy heart tremble, thy joynts ſhatter, and blood to ſtartle in thy face, that the Name of the living God ſhould be thus blaſphemed by mortall men. Oh! ſtand amaz'd, and wonder, that an holy God ſhould ſuffer ſuch helliſh Blaſphemies to goe ſo long unpuniſhed, that they (being but wormes under his feet) he ſhould not trample them to powder, and make them laſting Monuments of everlaſting vengeance. God lets them live ſo long to make your riſing more viſible, and their fall more diſmall: wait but a while and you ſhall ſee what ſlaughters your God will make; he is whetting his glittering Sword, lifting up himſelfe on high, his hand taking hold on juſtice; their blow is comming, their doome approaching, their judement neere, their ſin ripe, the ſickle of Gods wrath will ſoone cut them downe, they ſhall wither like the graſſe, be ſcattered like chafte before the winde, and conſumed like ſtubble before the everlaſting burnings. Oh•thinke no time too long, no labour too great, no coſt too much, in ſo good a cauſe, againſt ſo bad enemies: they are the greateſt enemies to Chriſt that ever this land bred; they have lifted vp ſwords againſt him, drank healths to the confuſion of him, they defile his Name, abhor his Worſhip, throw out his Ordinances, oppoſe his Goſpel, maligne his people, and would lay all his honour in the duſt; yea they would infringe your liberties, enſnare your conſciences, pull Lawes up to throw you downe; they expect to be happy by your miſery, and rich by your poverty; theſe idle Vagrants would faine live by the labour of your hands and the ſweat of your browes: Oh! how can you hold your hands from theſe men of violence and blood, leſt that curſe come upon you of this Land which was denounced by the Prophet Ieremiah, c. 48. v. 10. Cuſed be he that doth the worke of the Lord negligently: and curſed be hee that keepeth back (in this caſe eſpecially) his ſword from blood. Wherfore turne your plate into money, your Coach-horſes into Warre-horſes, your Ploughſhares into ſwords, and your pruning-hookes into ſpeares, and make ready for the Battell. Let us tell you, you have that marke to ſhoot at, at which God is aiming to have his arrowes ſtick in their ſides, and be drunk in their blood. O yee Inhabitants of England, in whoſe eyes Chriſt and the Goſpell, your Lawes and Liberties are Precious; goe on and proſper, up and be going, up and be doing, and up and be fighting, and the Lord be with you. If you will not, take heed leſt ye be found fighters againſt God, fellonious to your ſelves, rebellious to Nature, treacherous to your Countrey, injurious to poſterity, and infamous to eternity. Wherfore to conclude, as Moſes ſpake unto the people, in Numb. 31.3. ſaying. Arme ſome of your ſelves unto Warre, and let them goe againſt the Midianites, and avenge the Lord of Midian; and ſo doe you alſo againſt the Debauched Cavalliers, or the Engliſh Midianites.