OF VICISSITUDE OF THINGS 141 



any extravagant and strange spirit to make himself author 

 thereof. All which points held when Mahomet published 

 his law. If a new sect have not two properties, fear it not ; 

 for it will not spread. The one is, the supplanting or the 

 opposing of authority established; for nothing is more 

 popular than that. The other is, the giving licence to 

 pleasures and a voluptuous life. For as for speculative 

 heresies, (such as were in ancient times the Arians, and now 

 the Arminians,) though they work mightily upon men's 

 wits, yet they do not produce any great alterations in 

 states ; except it be by the help of civil occasions. There 

 be three manner of plantations of new sects. By the 

 power of signs and miracles ; by the eloquence and wisdom 

 of speech and persuasion ; and by the sword. For martyr- 

 doms, I reckon them amongst miracles ; because they seem 

 to exceed the strength of human nature : and I may do the 

 like of superlative and admirable holiness in life. Surely 

 there is no better way to stop the rising of new sects and 

 schisms, than to reform abuses ; to compound the smaller 

 differences ; to proceed mildly, and not with sanguinary 

 persecutions ; and rather to take off the principal authors 

 by winning and advancing them, than to enrage them by 

 violence and bitterness. 



The changes and vicissitude in wars are many; but 

 chiefly in three things ; in the seats or stages of the war ; 

 in the weapons ; and in the manner of the conduct. Wars, 

 in ancient time, seemed more to move from east to west ; 

 for the Persians, Assyrians, Arabians, Tartars, (which were 

 the invaders,) were all eastern people. It is true, the Gauls 

 were western ; but we read but of two incursions of theirs : 

 the one to Gallo-Graecia, the other to Rome. But East 

 and West have no certain points of heaven ; and no more 

 have the wars, either from the east or west, any certainty 

 of observation. But North and South are fixed; and it 

 hath seldom or never been seen that the far southern 

 people have invaded the northern, but contrariwise. 

 Whereby it is manifest that the northern tract of the 

 world is in nature the more martial region : be it in respect 

 of the stars of that hemisphere ; or of the great continents 



