Why had Richard the Third such fearful dreams, saith
Polydore, but for his frequent murders? Why was Herod so tortured in his
mind? because he had made away Mariamne his wife. Why was Theodoric, the
King of the Goths, so suspicious, and so affrighted with a fish head alone,
but that he had murdered Symmachus, and Boethius his son-in-law, those
worthy Romans? Caelius, _lib. 27. cap. 22._ See more in Plutarch, in his
tract _De his qui sero a Numine puniuntur_, and in his book _De
tranquillitate animi_, &c. Yea, and sometimes GOD himself hath a hand in
it, to show his power, humiliate, exercise, and to try their faith, (divine
temptation, Perkins calls it, _Cas. cons. lib. 1. cap. 8. sect. 1._) to
punish them for their sins. God the avenger, as [6731]David terms him,
_ultor a tergo Deus_, his wrath is apprehended of a guilty, soul, as by
Saul and Judas, which the poets expressed by Adrastia, or Nemesis:

[6732] "Assequitur Nemesique virum vestigia servat,
Ne male quid facias."------

And she is, as [6733]Ammianus, _lib. 14._ describes her, "the queen of
causes, and moderator of things," now she pulls down the proud, now she
rears and encourageth those that are good; he gives instance in his
Eusebius; Nicephorus, _lib. 10. cap. 35. eccles. hist._ in Maximinus and
Julian. Fearful examples of God's just judgment, wrath and vengeance, are
to be found in all histories, of some that have been eaten to death with
rats and mice, as [6734]Popelius, the second King of Poland, ann. 830, his
wife and children; the like story is of Hatto, Archbishop of Mentz, ann.
969, so devoured by these vermin, which howsoever Serrarius the Jesuit
Mogunt. _rerum lib. 4. cap. 5._ impugn by twenty-two arguments, Tritemius,
[6735]Munster, Magdeburgenses, and many others relate for a truth. Such
another example I find in Geraldus Cambrensis _Itin. Cam. lib. 2. cap. 2._
and where not?

And yet for all these terrors of conscience, affrighting punishments which
are so frequent, or whatsoever else may cause or aggravate this fearful
malady in other religions, I see no reason at all why a papist at any time
should despair, or be troubled for his sins; for let him be never so
dissolute a caitiff so notorious a villain, so monstrous a sinner, out of
that treasure of indulgences and merits of which the pope is dispensator,
he may have free pardon and plenary remission of all his sins. There be so
many general pardons for ages to come, forty thousand y