as they behaued themselues most vnchristianly toward their brethren, so and much more vngodly (which i should haue put in the first place) did they towards god: for as though they were too great, standing on foot or kneeling to serue god, they would come riding on horsebacke into the church to heare their masse: which church now is made a publicke basistane or market place for the turkes to sell commodities in: but beholde the iudgement of the righteous god, who payeth the sinner measure for measure. the turkes the yeere before the ouerthrowe giuen them at lepanto by don iohn tooke cyprus. these mighty nimrods fled some in holes and some into mountaines to hide themselues; whereupon the turkes made generall proclamation, that if they would all come in and yeeld themselues, they would restore them to their former reuenues and dignities: who not mistrusting the mischieuous pretense of the turkes, assembled together to make themselues knowen; whom after the turkes had in possession, they (as the lords executioners) put them with their wiues and children all to the sword, pretending thereby to cut of all future rebellion, so that at this day is not one of the noble race knowen aliue in the iland, onely two or three remaine in venice but of litle wealth, which in the time of the warres escaped. after we had stayed in this iland some thirty dayes, we set saile in the foresayd shippe being about the burthen of 900 tunnes, hauing in her passengers of diuers nations, as tartars, persians, iewes, and sundry christians. amongst all which i had often conference with a iew, who by reason of his many yeeres education at safet a place in iudea neere ierusalem, where they study the rabbines with some other arts as they thinke good, as also: for his trauels into persia and ormus, he seemed to be of good experience in matters abroad, who related vnto me such conference as he had with a baniane at ormus, being one of the indians inhabiting the countrey of cambaia. [sidenote: indians skilful in astronomy.] this baniane being a gentile had skill in astronomie, as many of that nation haue, who by his books written in his owne tongue and characters, could tell the time of eclipses both of sunne and moone, with the change and full, and by iudgement in astrologie gaue answere to any question demanded. being asked concerning his opinion in religion, what he thought of god? he made answere that they held no other god but the sun, (to which planet they pray both at the rising and setting) as i haue seene sundry doe in aleppo: his reason was drawen from the effects which it worketh in giuing light to the moone and other starres, and causing all things to grow and encrease vpon the earth: answere was made, that it did moue with the rest as the wheeles of a clocke, and therefore of force must haue a moouer. likewise in the eclipse being darkened it is manifestly prooued that it is not god, for god is altogether goodnesse and brightnesse, which can neither be darkened nor receiue detriment or hurt: but the sunne receiueth both in the eclipse, as is aparant: to which hee could not answere; but so they had receiued from their ancestors, that it was without beginning or ende, as in any orbicular or round body neither beginning or end could be found. he likewise sayd, that there were other gentiles in the indies which worship the moone as chiefe, and their reason is. the moone when she riseth goeth with thousands of starres accompanied like a king, and therefore is chiefe: but the sunne goeth alone, and therefore not so great. against whom the banianes reason, that it is not true; because the moone and starres receiue their light from the sunne, neither doth the sunne vouchsafe them his company but when he list, and therefore like a mighty prince goeth alone, yet they acknowledge the moone as queene or viceroy. law they hold hone, but only seuen precepts which they say were giuen them from their father noe, not knowing abraham or any other. [sidenote: the seven precepts of banianes.] first, to honor father and mother; secondly, not to steale; thirdly not to commit adultery; fourthly not to kill any thing liuing; fiftly, not to eat any thing liuing; sixtly not to cut their haire; seuenthly to go barefoot in their churches. these they hold most strictly, and by no means will breake them: but he that breaketh one is punished with twenty stripes; but for the greatest fault they will kill none, neither by a short death nor a long, onely he is kept some time in prison with very little meat, and hath at the most not aboue twenty or fiue and twenty stripes. in the yeere they haue 16 feasts, and then they go to their church, where is pictured in a broad table the sun, as we vse to paint it, the face of a man with beames round about, not hauing any thing els in it. at their feast they spot their faces in diuers parts with saffron all yellow, and so walke vp and downe the streets; and this they doe as a custome. they hold, there shalbe a resurrection, and all shall come to iudgement, but the account shalbe most streight, insomuch that but one of 10000 shalbe receiued to fauor, and those shall liue againe in this world in great happinesse: the rest shalbe tormented. and because they will escape this iudgdment, when any man dieth, he and his wife be both burnt together euen to ashes, and then they are thrown into a river, and so dispersed as though they had neuer bene. if the wife will not burne with her dead husband, she is holden euer after as a whore. and by this meanes they hope to escape the iudgement to come. as for the soule, that goeth to the place from whence it came, but where the place is they know not. that the body should not be made againe they reason with the philosophers, saying, that of nothing nothing can be made (not knowing that god made the whole world and their god the sun of nothing) but beholding the course of nature, that nothing is made but by a meanes, as by the seed of a man is made another, and by corne cast into the ground there commeth vp new corne: so, say they, man cannot be made except some part of him be left, and therefore they burne the whole: for if he were buried in the earth, they say there is a small bone in the necke which would neuer be consumed: or if he were eaten by a beast, that bone would not consume, but of that bone would come another man; and then the soule being restored againe, he should come into iudgement, whereas now the body being destroyed, the soule shall not be iudged: for their opinion is, that both body and soule must be vnited together, as they haue sinned together, to receiue iudgement; and therefore the soule alone cannot. their seuen precepts which they keepe so strictly are not for any hope of reward they haue after this life, but onely that they may be blessed in this world, for they thinke that he which breaketh them shall haue ill successe in all his businesse. they say, the three chiefe religions in the world be of the christians, iewes, and turks, and yet but one of them true: but being in doubt which is the truest of the three, they will be of none: for they hold that all these three shall be iudged, and but few of them which be of the true shall be saued, the examination shall be so straight; and therefore, as i haue sayd before, to preuent this iudgement, they burne their bodies to ashes. they say, these three religions haue too many precepts to keepe them all wel, and therefore wonderfull hard it wil be to make account, because so few doe obserue all their religion aright. and thus passing the time for the space of three moneths in this sea voyage, we arriued at venice the tenth of iune: and after i had seene padua, with other english men, i came the ordinary way ouer the alpes, by augusta, noremberg and so for england; where to the praise of god i safely arriued the ninth of august 1595. end of vol. ix