his excellencie by scarsitie of praise, or by misconceauing his diuine
nature, weening to praise him, if we impute to him such vaine delights and
peeuish affections, as commonly the frailest men are reproued for. Namely
to make him ambitious of honour, iealous and difficult in his worships,
terrible, angrie, vindicatiue, a louer, a hater, a pitier, and indigent of
mans worships: finally so passionate as in effect he shold be altogether
_Anthropopathis_. To the gods of the Gentiles they might well attribute
these infirmities, for they were but the children of men, great Princes
and famous in the world, and not for any other respect diuine, then by
some resemblance of vertue they had to do good, and to benefite many. So
as to the God of the Christians, such diuine praise might be verified: to
th'other gods none, but figuratiuely or in misticall sense as hath bene
said. In which sort the ancient Poets did in deede giue them great honors
& praises, and made to them sacrifices, & offred them oblations of sundry
sortes, euen as the people were taught and perswaded by such placations
and worships to receaue any helpe, comfort or benefite to them selues,
their wiues, children, possessions or goods. For if that opinion were not,
who would acknowledge any God? the verie _Etimologie_ of the name with vs
of the North partes of the world declaring plainely the nature of the
attribute, which is all one as if we sayd good, [_bonus_] or a giuer of
good things. Therfore the Gentiles prayed for peace to the goddesse
_Pallas_: for warre (such as thriued by it) to the god _Mars_: for honor
and empire to the god _Iupiter_: for riches & wealth to _Pluto_: for
eloquence and gayne to _Mercurie_: for safe nauigation to _Neptune_: for
faire weather and prosperous windes to _Eolus_: for skill in musick and
leechcraft to _Apollo_: for free life & chastitie to _Diana_: for bewtie
and good grace, as also for issue & prosperitie in loue to _Venus_: for
plenty of crop and corne to _Ceres_: for seasonable vintage to _Bacchus:
and for other things to others. So many things as they could imagine good
and desirable, and to so many gods as they supposed to be authors thereof,