The one & twentith Chapter. Of Troubles and Sedition: further of the suffering of Tyrannie.
1 IN times past euen Christ himself was accused of seditio~: so was Paul, & in a maner all the holy men, & Preachers of the Gospell. And in the first times of Christianitie, all dammages and calamities were ascribed to the Church, as it sprang vp. And when Christian Religion was receiued by Constantine the Great and published throughout the Romane monarchie, that did the Ethnicke men iudge to be the beginning of the decaie of the Romane power, and that the same was afterwarde brought lowe by no other meanes, but because the worshipings and superstitions of their fathers being cast aside, Christian Religion had béene brought in. Wherefore Augustine, and verie manie other Ecclesiasticall writers, wrote noble Apologies and notable bookes of that matter. Ahab saide that Elias troubled Israell. Which saying is Metaphoricall, because to trouble is nothing else but to mingle and confound the lowe with the high and the vppermost with the nethermost. 2 And that is plainlie perceiued in a vessell wherein is contained liquor of diuers partes, I meane of thicke and of thinne: There the thinner occupie the higher places, and be more cleare, and which may be better séene through: but all the dregges and thick things séeke the bottome, and there lie being pressed downe. But if any man shall stirre them and raise them vp aloft, all is said to bée troubled, for they thicke and are made muddie. From hence is taken a similitude both vnto the Common weale and vnto the Church: Where, when superstition and corrupt Religion, which ought to lie oppressed, is had in honour and florisheth, and on the contrarie part pure and sincéere godlinesse disturbed, now are all things confounded and troubled. The verie which thing happeneth, where honest and wise men are despised and reiected, and the vngodlie and foolish haue the gouernment of things. By this meanes therefore, as well y e common wealth as the Church is troubled. But when this happeneth, the opinion of the godlie and the vngodly is not alone. For the vngodlie thinke y t the matter goeth then wel when euill things doe florish. Contrariwise holy men indued with true iudgement, estéeme those thinges to be troubled, and iudge things then to be quiet and well ordered, when iustice and holinesse are helde in reputation, and when impietie and naughtinesse, as they deserue, are reiected.
2 When Ahab laide vnto Elias charge the troubling of his Kingdome, it séemeth that he had respect vnto two kinds of troubling: one Ciuill, and another Religious. For as touching godlinesse and worshiping of God, there was nothing more delightfull vnto a most corrupt king, than to promote Idolatrie, and to amplifie the same, as much as in him laie. But on the other side the Prophet Elias dealt in nothing more earnestlie, than to turne away the people from it, and to bring them to the worshiping of the true God Iehouah: And therefore Ahab said that he troubled Israell. The Ciuill trouble was, that the King would haue had his dominion to inioy the commodities of life, and to florish in wealth and abundance: but those good things were maruelouslie diminished and extenuated through want of Raine, and dryth of thrée yeares space: So as the common wealth was troubled, both as touching Religion, and also the necessarie helpes of this life. This in effect is the chyding of Ahab the King against Elias. But now must we consider how Elias behaued himselfe with the King. Doubtlesse he committed nothing vnworthie of a Prophet and legate of God. He dealt constantlie, 3 and with valiant courage defended he the ministerie of Gods worde. He humbled not himselfe at the Kings féete, he craued no pardon, neither did he promise that he would amende if he had doone any thing vnacceptable vnto him: not that he was proud or arrogant, but because hee sawe that this accusation did directly assaile the word of God, as though the disturbance had risen thereby. If hée had béene to deale in his owne priuate businesse, I doubt not but that he would haue vsed modestie méete for a godlie man, but to haue the estimation and dignitie of the high God to be impaired, he might not abide. Wherefore he aunswered: It is not I that trouble Israell, but thou and thy fathers house. 4 He vseth a contrarie accusation and returneth the crime vppon the accuser, that is vpon the wicked King. Neither must he be accused of insolencie, because (as Paule hath declared to the Galathians the 1. 5 Chapter,) Hee must bee taken accursed whosoeuer (although it shall bee an Angell) that teacheth otherwise than the gospell or truth of God sheweth it selfe. And if Angelles are not exempted, Kings also must not be exempted. Doubtlesse it behooued Elias to haue a great spirit, that hée should aduenture to oppose himselfe against a furious King. The selfe same thing also did Iohn Baptist shew, 6 who set himselfe against Herod otherwise a most cruell King. Helias addeth a cause why Achab & his ancestors troubled Israel: namely, for that they forsooke the true God, and who was the GOD of their Fathers, and contemned his commaundementes and lawes, seruing strange Gods. This he saith, was the originall fountaine and roote of disturbance. And for because this is a great matter, and that the knowledge thereof serueth verie much for these times, wherein the Papistes say, that we be the disturbers of the Church and the authors of sedition, and we in like manner returne vpon them that these euils haue sprung vp from themselues: it shall be verie necessarie for determining of the cause, 7 to speake somewhat herein as touching trouble or sedition. And what the worde of troubling signifieth, and from whence the translation was deriued, I haue expressed a little before. Now let vs come to a iust definition of the thing. 8 But first I thought it good to shew the Etymologie of that worde, namely Trouble. Vlpianus according to the opinion of Labeo in the Digestes, in the Title Vi fractorum bonorum, saieth in generall, that this worde Tumultus is deriued ⟨…⟩, that is, 9 Tumultuari. Cicero in the 6. Booke De Republica (as it is reported) wrote that sedition is a disagréement of men among themselues, when one draweth one waie and another another waie. The Gréekes call it ⟨…⟩ and ⟨…⟩. But the Authors of sedition and trouble, the Hebrewes call Hakerim, the Gréekes cal ⟨…⟩, & ⟨…⟩, that is, troublers. And thus much as touching the word.