Daniel was foretold concerning him.

In consequence of this entire conquest of the Persian empire, the Grecian empire, or he-goat waxed very great but just as it had attained the summit of its power, the great horn, or Alexander, was broken; "and for it came up four notable ones towards the four winds of heaven." (v. 8). As to these four notable horns, the angel thus interprets them: (v. 22) "Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. Alexander, the great horn, was broken, or died at Babylon, at the heigth of his conquests and power: For, about seven years after the death of Darius, on his return from India, Alexander fell a victim to intemperance. Having revelled all night, he began to be ill; and, within six days, the disease so exhausted his strength that he lost the power of speech: Justin says, that as he was quaffing the goblet, he groaned as if stabbed by a dart; and, being taken away half dead, he felt such torment that he demanded a sword to ease him of his pain. But the words of Prideaux are still more to our purpose: "He, having sat out one long drinking bout, was immediately invited to another, at which there being twenty in company, he drank to every one of them in their order, and pledged each of them again, and then calling for the Herculean cup, which held six of our quarts, he drank this full to Proteas a Macedonian, who was one of the guests, and a little after pledged him again in the same. Immediately after this last cup he dropped down upon the place, and then fell

a Just. L. 11. C. 14. 15. Prid. an. 331. 2. Curt. L. 4.

"

into that violent fever of which he died." b After the death of Alexander the government continued but a short time in his family; and the Greek empire was divided into four distinct kingdoms, which were represented by the four notable horns of the goat. But these kingdoms were "not in his power: they were each far inferior in dignity and extent to the whole empire under Alexander; as a divided empire is inferior to one united, as a part is of necessity less than the whole of which it is a part. These four kingdoms were also to be "towards the four winds of Heaven; " For, "after the death of Antigonus, the four confederated princes divided his dominions between them, and hereby the whole empire of Alexander became parted and settled into four kingdoms.” "Ptolemy had Egypt, Lybia, Arabia, Cœle-Syria, and Palestine on the South: Cassander had Macedon and Greece on the West: Lysimachus held Thrace, Bythynia and some other of the provinces beyond the Hellespont and the Bosphorus on the North: And Seleucus obtained Syria and the Eastern provinces. "And these four were the four Horns of the goat mentioned in the prophecies of the prophet Daniel, which grew up after the breaking off of the first horn. That first horn was Alexander king of Grecia, who overthrew the kingdom of the Medes and Persians; and the other four horns were these four kings, who sprung up after him, and divided his empire between them. And these also were the four heads of the Leopard spoken of in another place of the same prophecies. And their four kingdoms were the four parts into which, according to the same prophet, the kingdom of the mighty king, i. e. of Alexander, should be

Just lib. 12. C. 13, Prid. an. 323.

broken, and divided towards, i. e. according to the number of the four winds of heaven, among those four kings who should not be of his posterity; as neither of the four above mentioned were. And therefore by this last partition of the empire of Alexander were all these prophecies exactly fulfilled. " c

We now come to the more immediate subject of this dissertation, viz, the little horn, which came. forth out of one of the four notable horns: And this little one is Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria, whọ came into possession of that kingdom, when the kingdoms of the four horns were on the decline; i. e. according, to the angel's interpretation, (v. 23) “in the latter time of their kingdom." The two circumstances, which determine Antiochus Epiphanes to be this little horn, are the place of his origin, and the time of his obtaining power. The place, in which this little horn was to arise, was to be one of the kingdoms of the four horns; it was to arise immediately and directly "out of one of them." Now this was exactly the case with Antiochus Epiphanes, who succeeded to the throne of Syria at the death of his brother Seleucus, and immediately and directly arose out of that kingdom; for both his brother and father had possessed its throne. The time also, in which this little horn was to arise, was to be, when the kingdoms of the four horns were declining: Now this was precisely the case when Antiochus came into power; for the kingdom of Syria itself had been subjected by the Romans, in the time of his father, to a tribute of a thousand talents to continue some years; and during the reign of his brother Seleucus he could do little more than pay it. The kingdom of Macedon also

c Prid. an. 301. Bishop Newton's Dissertation 15.

was just about this time subjugated to the Roman yoke by Paulus Æmilius, and reduced to a province; and the rest of the four kingdoms were fast hastening to decay under the influence and power of Daniel's fourth beast the Roman empire. On this subject we are supported by the very learned Mede, who says; "Daniel, viii. 23, In the latter time, or latter end of the kingdom of Grecia, a king of a fierce countenance shall stand up, viz, He who should magnify himself against the prince of the host of heaven, and take away the daily sacrifice &c. As it is in the vision which was foreshewed of him (v. 10, 11.) Where it would be preposterous to think that this latter time, or end of the Greek kingdom, could not be defined otherwise than by the event to fall out therein; and not rather conceive that this determination of time, being such as might otherwise well enough be known, was therefore intended for a character to observe the event by. For when was this latter end of the Greeks' kingdom to be taken notice of, but when they should see that kingdom begin to be given unto another people; when the fourth kingdom, the Roman state, should once begin to encroach upon the third? especially when they should see the head province thereof, Greece itself, to come under their obedience; when they should see this, then were they to prepare themselves: for the abomination of desolation was now at the door. And surely the event was most punctual: for this Roman encroachment, having been some twenty eight years together manifestly attempting and advancing, was at length accomplished when Æmilius the Consul having quite vanquished Perseus, the king of Macedon, all Greece came under the Roman obedience,

d Just. L. 33. Prid. an. 186.

one hundred and sixty-six years before the birth of Christ: which no sooner was come to pass, but the very self-same year, within less than three months after, Antiochus sets up the abomination of desolation in the temple of Jerusalem. "e

the

The manner in which Antiochus was to obtain his power is thus described (v. 24 ) : "His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power." Now the account, which Prideaux gives of the means, by which Antiochus obtained his kingdom, will well explain this part of the prophecy; for he obtained it uot by his own power, but by means of Eumenes and Attalus. He had been an Hostage at Rome, but was returning through Athens, where he "heard of the death of his brother, and the attempt of Heliodorus to usurp throne; and finding that the usurper had a great party with him, to support him in his pretensions, and that there was another party also forming for Ptolemy, (who made some claim to the succession, in right of his mother, she being sister to the deceased king), and that both of them were agreed not to give unto him, though the next heir, in the absence of Demetrius, the honour of the kingdom, as the holy prophet Daniel foretold, he applied himself to Eumenes king of Pergamus, and Attalus his brother; and by flattering speeches, and great promises of friendship, prevailed with them to help him against Heliodorus. And by their means that usurper being suppressed he was quietly placed on the throne, and all submitted to him, and permitted him, without any further - opposition, peaceably to obtain the kingdom, as had been predicted of him in the same prophecy."f

Nor only does the Prophet describe the means by