Page:The Holy Bible faithfvlly translated into English ovt of the authentical Latin, diligently conferred with the Hebrew, Greek, & other Editions in diuers languages.pdf/33

Adam. conspireth in this heresie with Luther, but more faintly, rather wisheth then imagineth that men be so mad as to flye from the name of freewil. I (saith Caluin) neither myselfe would vse this word, and would wish others, if they aske me counsail, to abstaine from it. But we wil be bold to oppose S. Hieromes reason against Luther, Caluin, al Manichees, and others that denie freewil. God made vs (saith he) with freewil, neither are we drawen by necessitie to vertues nor to vices; otherwise where is necessitie, there is neither damnation nor crowne.

16. Cain went forth.) It is a marke of Heretikes to make breach, and goe forth of the Church. And commonly it commeth of enuie. Some runne into heresies and schismes (saith S. Cyprian) when they enuie Bishops, whilst one either complaineth that himselfe was not rather ordained, or disdaineth to suffer another aboue him. Hereupon he kicketh, hereupon he rebelleth. Enuie moued Cain to kil his brother, because his owne workes were wicked and reiected: and his brothers iust, and esteemed. So going forth became obstinate, obdurate, and desperate in his sinne, and being reprobate of God, began a wicked Citie, opposite to the Citie of God. Wherfore Moyses, as S. Augustin noteth, intending to describe and shew the perpetual continuance of Gods Citie, the true Church, from Adam, which he doth by the line of Seth to Noe, and so forward to his owne time, would not omit to tel also the progenie of Cain, euen to the floud, wherin al his offspring was finally drowned & destroyed, that the true Citie of God might appeare more distinct, more conspicuous, and more renowned. And that indeed the same only (and not anie broken and interrupted companies or conuenticles) might be knowen to be the true Church of God.

23. I haue slaine.) So hard and obscure is this place, that S. Hierom required by S. Damasus Pope to expound it, dareth not affirme anie one sense for certaine, but proposing diuers which the text may seeme to beare, wisheth the Pope (who was also very learned) to examine al more at large: putting him in mind that Origen writ his twelfth and thirteenth books vpon this onlie place. The most probable exposition seemeth to be gathered out of the Hebrewes Tradition, that this Lamech of the issue of Cain (for there was another Lamech of Seths progenie) much addicted to hunting, & his eyes decaying, vsed in that exercise the direction of a young man his nephew, the sonne of Tubalcain. Who seeing something moue in bushes, supposing it to be a wild beast, willed his grand-father to shoot at the same: which he did, & struck the marke with a deadlie wound, & approching to take the prey, found it to be old Cain. Whereupon sore amazed, afflicted, & moued with great passion, did so beate the young man, for his il direction, that he also died of the drie blowes. After both which mishaps, & his passion at last calmed, Lamech lamenteth, as the text saith, that he had killed a man & stripling, to wit, the one with a wound, the other with drie blowes, for which he feared seuenfold punishment more then Cain suffered for killing Abel. Neuertheles S. Hierom & other Fathers thinke it probable, that Lamech killing the one of ignorance, the other in passion, was not so seuerely punished as he feared. And so they vnderstand the rest of this passage, that seuenfold vengance was taken of Cain, by prolongation of his miserable life til his seuenth generation, when one of his owne issue slew him, & another of the same linage with him. And Lamech was punished seuentie seuenfold when his seuentie seuen children (for so manie he had, as Iosephus writeth), & al their offspring perished in the floud. Mystically by seuentie seuen may be signified that the sinne of mankind should be punished & expiated in Christ our Redeemer, who was borne in the seuentie seuenth generation from Adam.

26. Begane to inuocate.) Seth was a most holie man, and so brought vp his children, that they were called the sonnes of God, Gen. 6. Adam also and Eue were penitent, & became great Confessours, and are now Saints. And so it can not be doubted but amongst other spiritual exercises they prayed & inuocated God. And therfore that which is here said: He (to wit Enos) began or (as the Hebrew hath) then was begun, to inuocate the name of our Lord, can not be vnderstood of priuate, but of some publike prayer of many meeting together, & observing some rites and set Rh