A42469:115
Thomas Gataker B.D. his vindication of the annotations by him published upon these words,…
Thomas Gataker B.D. his vindication of the annotations by him published upon these words, Thus saith the Lord, learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the heathen are dismayed at them, Jer. 10. 2 against the scurrilous aspersions of that grand impostor Mr. William Lillie : as also against the various expositions of two of his advocates, Mr. John Swan, and another by him cited, but not named : together with the annotations themselves : wherein the pretended grounds of judiciary astrology, and the Scripture-proofs produced for it are discussed and refuted.Thomas Gataker B.D. his vindication of the annotations by him published upon these words, Thus saith the Lord, learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signes of heaven, for the heathen are dismayed at them, Jer. 10. 2 against the scurrilous aspersions of that grand imposter Mr. William Lillie : as also against the various expositions of two of his advocates, Mr. John Swan, and another by him cited, but not named : together with the annotations themselvs : wherein the pretended grounds of judiciary astrologie, and the Scripture-proofes produced for it are discussed and refuted.
London: printed by J.L. for Richard Thrayle, 1653
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
and therefore as oft as any memorable Eclipse doth therein happen, God doth thereby acquaint us (for this holy man, ye may be sure, and the Magicians his Masters, as holy, I hope, as himself, are men of Gods privy Counsel) what he intendeth towards us near upon those times for good or for evil. and this assuredly, and grounded upon the experience of twenty generations of men. Oh but, Sir, this is a very slippery prediction; and such as leaves us in great ambiguity; since that by it as well much evil, as much good may betide us: as also it leaves your self a very wide gap or starting hole, whereat you may easily wind your self out as you list, as the matter shall fall out, either the one way or the other. no Delphic Oracle, or Delian Wizard, or Pythian demoniac, or Dodonean Sorcerers, could ever have given a wiser and warier answer, or a more certain and undoubted resolution; it shall either go well or ill with the English Nation. 1Just like that of the Satirists Tiresias, qicqid dicam avt erit, avt non. ⟨p. 56⟩whatsoever I say, shall either be or not be; shall prov either true, or false; shall either fall out well or ill. and no marvel if such predictions as these have the undeniable, yea the unquestionable experience of not twenty alone, but of twenty times twenty generations of men, yea of as many ages as have passed since Horace his days, or Tiresias his time, or Noah's flood, or from the beginning of the World.
and therefore as oft as any memorable Eclips doth therein happen, God doth thereby acqaint us (for this holy man, ye may be sure, and the Magitians his Masters, as holy, I hope, as himself, ar men of Gods privie Counsel) what he entendeth towards us neer upon those times for good or for evil. and this assuredly, and grounded upon the experience of twenty generations of men. Oh but, Sir, this is a very slippery prediction; and such as leavs us in great ambiguity; since that by it as wel much evil, as much good may betide us: as also it leaves your self a very wide gap or starting hole, whereat you may easily wind your self out as you list, as the matter shal fal out, either the one way or the other. no Delphik Oracle, or Delian Wizard, or Pythian demoniak, or Dodonean Sorceres, could ever have given a wiser and warier answer, or a more certain and undoubted resolution; it shall either go wel or ill with the English Nation.