Four great liars, striving who shall win the silver whetstone Also, a resolution to…Foure great lyers, striuing who shall win the siluer whetstone Also, a resolution to…

yet some of them are blasted, some are eaten of birds, some are trodden down under foot, some stand and are never touched. The rest of the elections, and especially that of laying foundations is most absurd. They say that if an house, a city, a town have his foundation when the stars be well affected, the inhabitants shall have prosperous and quiet living: if when the stars be evil disposed, then trouble & disquietness. They have no experience of this, but that only which is most false, for they know not the foundations of cities and towns, neither the positions of the stars, when they were built. Let Rome and Venice be examples, because these are most alleged of Astrologers, the time in which they were built is uncertain, and the Planets are falsely set in the figure of the foundation of Rome because Mercury is contrary to the sun, a thing flat impossible. Again the folly of this ⟨image 35⟩is thus manifest, that an house, or City, or common wealth may remain the people being gone, as it is in the time of plague, and banishment, and conquests of Princes: And the inhabitants also may be safe and remain, the building quite ransumed, and beaten down, as we may see in Carthage, the people and common wealth remai. ned, the City quite defaced. That all elections are unlawful, Saint Augustine writing unto Januarius, proveth it forth of the 4. to the Galatians by these words: ye observe months and times and years (Therefore saith he) let us not observe days, & years, and months, and times, least we hear this of the Apostles: I am afraid least I have taken labour in vain with you: for he rebuketh them which say, I will not go, because the Moon is thus or thus moved, or I will take my journey that I may have good success, because there is such a position of Stars: I will not do my business this month, because such a Star governeth this month: or I will do ⟨image 35⟩my business this month because such a star ruleth. How then shall a man do, not to break the word of God? Art thou a man that desirest to lead a christian life? Then take the example of Paul, as a pattern to govern all the actions of thy life: without ceasing (saith he) I make mention of you in my prayers: ¹beseeching that by some means, one time or other I might have prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.