How can we then believe the same of _Nostradamus_, who had not so much as an extraordinary atom of Christian piety, by which he might have been so much priviledg’d of God, as to know by his Divine Light the future Estate of the Church, her Persecutions and her Victories from the year 1555. to the end of the World. Can it be possible that a Physician, an Astrologer, and one of the common sort of people should have been chosen of God among so many thousands his betters, to impart unto him those Graces, which have been the reward of the purity and holiness of his Apostles, and of the faithfulness of St. _John_ the Evangelist. This seemeth altogether improbable to Christian piety. CHAP. III. _The second Objection hath ranked the Author among Dreamers and false Visionaries._ Some are more moderate in the censuring of this Author, and being unwilling to call him maliciously a false Prophet, would have him to be a foolish Dreamer, who believed his own imaginations, and took pleasure in his own fancies, whence came that Latine Distick of the Poet _Jodelle_, _~Nostra damus~ cum falsa damus, nam fallere nostrum est,_ _Et cum falsa damus, nil nisi ~Nostra damus~._ This Distick was so pleasing to the Wits of the times, that without further inquiry, since that time _Nostradamus_ went for a Dreamer and a doting fool. This opinion increased more and more by his making of many Almanacks, wherein every body may see how much he was taken with judicial Astrology; and we see often in his Stanza’s the decision of the times, by the conjunction of the Planets with the Signs, and by the Eclipses, whence sometimes he doth infer some events that were to happen. But what did undo him most, was the covetousness of the Printers and Booksellers of his time, who seeing his Almanacks so well received, did set forth a thousand others under his name, that were full of lies and fopperies. From that time the Author went for one of those poor Astrologers, who get their living by foretelling absurdities; and pretend to read in the Heavens, that which is only in their foolish imagination. CHAP. IV. _The third Objection accuseth the Author of medling with the black Art, of being a Negromancer, and a Disciple of the Devil._ If the precedents have been moderate in their censure; others have been more severe in delivering their opinion, accusing him to have kept acquaintance with the Devil, as the Negromancers and other Prestigiators of the ancient times did. The reason that made them think so is, that seeing so many things come to pass, just as the Author had foretold; they could not attribute it to the knowledge of judicial Astrology, nor to Divine Revelation, and consequently concluded, that it must of necessity come from Satan.