FORMS OF IDOLATRY. 303 



calling the one lupiter, and the other Mercuric, so woukle _ 

 they offer sacrifices vnto them, as vnto gods : and as the 

 barbarians of Melita (which is Malta), seeing that the viper Acusxviii. 

 did not hurt the Apostle, they called him God. 



As it is therefore a trueth, conformable to reason, 

 that there is a soveraigne Lorde and King of heaven, 

 whomo the Gentiles, with all their infidelities and ido 

 latries, have not denyed, as wee see in the Philosophy 

 of Timoeus in Plato, in the Metaphisickes of Aristotle, and J^&quot; c Ti 

 in the Asclepio of Tresmigister, as also in the Poesies of meuJ.ii. 

 Homer and Virgil. Therefore the Preachers of the Gospel inT/mS? 

 have no great difFicultie to plant and perswade this truth 

 of a supreamc God, be the Nations of whome they 

 preach never so barbarous and brutish. But it is hard 

 to roote out of their mindes that there is no other God, 

 nor any other deitic then one ; and that all other tilings 

 of themselves have no power, being not workeing proper 

 to themselves, but what the great and onely God and Lord 

 doth give and impart vnto them. To conclude, it is neces- 

 sario to perswado them by all mcanes in reproving their 

 errors, as well in that wherein they generally fail in wor 

 shipping more then one God, as in particular (which is 

 much more), to hold for Gods, and to demand favour and 

 helpe of those things which aro not Gods, nor have any 

 power, but what the true God their Lord and Creator hath 

 jjfivcn them. 



CHAP. iv. Of the first Jennie of Idolatric, vpon natnrall and 

 n a t ccrsdU Hi /m/x. 



Next to Viracocha, or their supreme God, that which 

 most commonly they have and do adore amongst the Infi- 

 tlells is the 81111110 ; and, after, those things which are most 

 remarkable in the celestiull or eleuientarie nature, as the 



