in of different religions from the Church of Rome. But these kingdoms by degrees embraced the Roman faith, and at the same time submitted to the Pope's authority. The Franks in Gaul submitted in the end of the fifth century; the Goths in Spain, at the end of the sixth; and the Lombards in Italy were conquered by Charles the great in the year 774. Between the years 775 and 794, the same Charles extended the Pope's authority over all Germany and Hungary as far as the river Theysse and the Baltic sea, He then set him above all human judicature; and at the same time assisted him in subduing the city and dutchy of Rome."* The manner, in which the little horn almost insensibly arose, after the transfer of the seat of government, and during the dark period of Gothic invasion, is similarly described by Machiavel. Having shewn how the Roman empire was divided by the incursions of the northern nations, he observes, "About this time the Bishops of Rome began to take upon them, and to exercise greater authority than they had formerly done. At first, the successors of St. Peter were venerable and eminent for their miracles, and the holiness of their lives; and their examples added daily such numbers to the Christian church, that, to obviate or remove the confusions which were then in the world, many princes turned Christians: and the Emperor of Rome being converted among the rest, and quitting Rome to hold his residence at Constantinople, the Roman empire began to decline, but the church of Rome augmented as fast."+ After this he shews how the Roman empire declined, and how the power of the Church of Rome increased, first under the Ostrogoths, then under the Lombards, and lastly under the Franks. I have borrowed the preceding very apposite citation from Bp. Newton, who somewhat singularly, according to his scheme, adduces it to shew the springing up of the little horn among the ten other horns; and yet, after having adduced it, declares no less singularly, so far as the propriety of the citation is concerned, that the Bishop of Rome did not become a horn till he became a temporal prince.

* Observ. on Dan. Chap. viii.

Hist. of Florence, B. I. p. 6. cited by Ep. Newton.

Now, if the Bishop of Rome did not become a horn till he became a temporal prince, the citation, which speaks of the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh, centuries, certainly cannot shew the rise of a horn, which, according to his Lordship's scheme, did not begin to exist till the middle of the eighth century: but, if we consider the little horn as typifying the spiritual kingdom of the Papacy, nothing can be more to the point than the citation from Machiavel; for it decidedly shews, that such a kingdom arose from very small beginnings among the ten horns precisely at the time when Daniel had predicted that it should arise. I shall conclude this account of the rise of the papal horn with Mr. Gibbon's description of its state at the close of the sixth and at the beginning of the seventh century, immediately before the ecclesiastical kingdom became an ecclesiastical catholic empire. "The pontificate of Gregory the great lasted thirteen years, six months, and ten days-In his rival, the patriarch of Constantinople, he condemned the Antichristian title of Universal Bishop, which the successor of St. Peter was too haughty to concede, and too feeble to assume; and the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Gregory was confined to the triple character of Bishop of Rome, Primate of Italy, and Apostle of the West-The bishops of Italy and the adjacent islands acknowledged the Roman pontiff as their special metropolitan. Even the existence, the union, or the translation, of the episcopal seats, was decided by his absolute discretion and his successful inroads inroads into the provinces of Greece, of Spain, and of Gaul, might countenance the more lofty pretensions of succeeding Popes. He interposed to prevent the abuses of popular elections; his jealous care maintained the purity of faith and discipline; and the apostolic shepherd assiduously watched over the faith and discipline of the subordinate pastors. Under his reign, the Arians of Italy and Spain were reconciled to the catholic church; and the conquest of Britain reflects less glory on the name of Cesar, than on that of Gregory the first. Instead of six legions, forty monks were embarked for that distant island; and the pontiff lamented the austere duties, which forbade him to partake the

perils of their spiritual warfare. In less than two years he could announce to the Archbishop of Alexandria, that they had baptized the king of Kent with ten thousand of his Anglo-Saxons, and that the Roman missionaries, like those of the primitive Church, were armed only with spiritual and supernatural powers."* Such was the power of the little horn immediately previous to its apostacy in the year 606, when it was declared to be an universal empire under a Bishop of bishops, and when the saints were thus formally delivered into its hand. How great, even before the commencement of the 1260 days, was its authority become, compared with what it had been, when the Pope was only Archbishop of the neighbouring Italian bishops, and ecclesiastical judge in cases of appeal from the other bishops of the Western empire! As yet however the man of sin, the head of the great Apostacy, was not revealed. Gregory equally abhorred idolatry, persecution, and the proud claim of universal episcopacy: and it was left to his successors formally to re-establish the worship of images, to wear out the saints of the Most High, and to assume the metropolitanship, not only of Italy and the West, but of the whole world.† Though tinctured with the growing superstition of the age, his piety was fervent and sincere and this last of the primitive Bishops of Rome was snatched away to a better world, ere the monstrous two-fold dominant Apostacy of the East and the West had commenced. His death was, as it were, the signal for its developement.

Thus we have seen, that the little horn cannot typify the temporal kingdom of the Pope, because it is presented as springing up, as existing, and as acting, previous to the time when the three horns were eradicated before it, and consequently previous to the time when it acquired by their fall St. Peter's patrimony. Its acquisition of temporal authority is indeed distinctly predicted in that part of the prophecy which relates to the subversion of the three horns: but this is mentioned as it were only by the bye, only as a mark whereby we might certainly

Hist. of Decline and Fall, Vol. vin. p. 164-167.

This subject will be resumed hereafter.

know the power typified by the little horn. The power in question was gradually to arise during the turbulent period of Gothic invasion: and, after it had existed an indefinite space of time, the prophet teaches us that three horns should be plucked up before it, by the fall of which it should acquire temporal dominion. Hence it is plain, that, since the little horn was to be in existence previous to its acquisition of temporal dominion by the successive eradication of the three horns, it cannot have been designed to symbolize, as Sir Isaac Newton, Mr. Mede, and Bp. Newton, suppose, the Papacy considered as a secular principality.

This will appear yet more evident, when we examine the prophetic character of the little horn article by article.

1. The little horn was not only to be a small kingdom at its first rise, but it was to be different from all the other horns-Accordingly every one of the ten kingdoms, founded by the northern nations, were temporal sovereignties but the papal horn was a spiritual sovereignty. And afterwards, when it had acquired a secular principality by the fall of three of the ten temporal horns, it still continued to differ essentially from them, being an ecclesiastical and spiritual, as well as a civil and temporal power.

2. The little horn had eyes like the eyes of a man— This particular, like the former, serves to shew, that a spiritual, not a temporal, kingdom was intended by the symbol. "By its eyes it was a seer; and by its mouth speaking great things and changing times and laws it was a prophet-A seer, ETIσnozos, is a bishop in the literal sense of the word; and this church claims the universal bishopric." At its first rise indeed, it presumed not to make so bold a claim: still nevertheless it was equally a seer, or a bishop, within its own proper diocese and metropolitanship.

3. The little horn had a mouth speaking great things In his pretended capacity of a prophet and vicar of Christ, and in the plenitude of his usurped power, the

* Sir Isaac Newton's Observ. on Dan, Chap. 7.

Bishop of Rome has at various times anathematized all who dared to oppose him, has laid whole kingdoms under an interdict, has excommunicated kings and emperors, and has absolved their subjects from their allegi

ance.

4. The little horn had a look more stout than his fellows-The Popes have claimed an unlimited superiority over other bishops their equals, in spiritual matters; and have affected greater authority than even sovereign princes, in temporal matters. "Pope Paul the fourth," says the historian of the council of Trent, "never spake with ambassadors, but he thundered in their ears, that he was above all princes, that he would not that any of them should be too domestical with him, that he could exchange kingdoms, that he was successor of him who had deposed kings and emperors, and did often repeat that he had made Ireland a kingdom."* The Popes indeed have pretended, that the dominion of the whole earth belonged to them: and, strictly acting up to this claim, they have gone so far as to divide all new discovered countries between Spain and Portugal, assigning to the one the western, and to the other the eastern, hemisphere.

5. The little horn spake great words by the side of the Most High, affecting an equality with God-So the Popes have not scrupled to lay claim to infallibility, an especial attribute of God; and have sometimes blasphemously assumed even the name of God himself, and as such have impiously received divine honours. Accordingly they are not offended at being styled, Our Lord God the Pope; another God upon earth; king of kings, and lord of lords; nor do they disapprove of the impious flattery, which tells them, that the same is the dominion of God and the Pope; that the power of the Pope is greater than all created power, extending itself to things celestial, terrestrial, and infernal; and that the Pope doeth whatsoever he listeth, even things unlawful, and is more than God: nor yet do they refuse, on the day of their election, to receive the adoration of their

*Cited by Dr. Zouch, p. 176.