* * * * *
OBSERVATIONS
UPON THE
PROPHECIES
OF
_DANIEL._
* * * * *
OBSERVATIONS
UPON THE
Prophecies of _DANIEL_
* * * * *
CHAP. I.
_Introduction concerning the Compilers of the books of the Old Testament._
When _Manasses_ [1] set up a carved image in the house of the Lord, and
built altars in the two courts of the house, to all the host of Heaven, and
us'd inchantments and witchcraft, and familiar spirits, and for his great
wickedness was invaded by the army of _Asserhadon_ King of _Assyria_, and
carried captive to _Babylon_; the book of the Law was lost till the
eighteenth year of his grandson _Josiah_. Then [2] _Hilkiah_ the High
Priest, upon repairing the Temple, found it there: and the King lamented
that their fathers had not done after the words of the book, and commanded
that it should be read to the people, and caused the people to renew the
holy covenant with God. This is the book of the Law now extant.
When [3] _Shishak_ came out of _Egypt_ and spoil'd the temple, and brought
_Judah_ into subjection to the monarchy of _Egypt_, (which was in the fifth
year of _Rehoboam_) the _Jews_ continued under great troubles for about
twenty years; being _without the true God, and without a teaching Priest,
and without Law: and in those times there was no peace to him that went
out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the
inhabitants of the countries, and nation was destroyed of nation, and city
of city, for God did vex them with all adversity_. But [4] when _Shishak_
was dead, and _Egypt_ fell into troubles, _Judah_ had quiet ten years; and
in that time _Asa_ built fenced cities in _Judah_, and got up an army of
580000 men, with which, in the 15th year of his reign, he met and overcame
_Zerah_ the _Ethiopian_, who had conquered _Egypt_ and _Lybia_, and
_Troglodytica_, and came out with an army of 1000000 _Lybians_ and
_Ethiopians_, to recover the countries conquered by _Sesac_. And after this
victory [5] _Asa_ dethroned his mother for idolatry, and he renewed the
Altar, and brought new vessels of gold and silver into the Temple; and he
and the people entered into a new covenant to seek the Lord God of their
fathers, upon pain of death to those who worshiped other Gods; and his son
_Jehosaphat_ took away the high places, and in the third year of his reign
sent some of his Princes, and of the Priests and Levites, to teach in the
cities of _Judah_: and they had the book of the Law with them, and went
about throughout all the cities of _Judah_, and taught the people. This is
that book of the Law which was afterwards lost in the reign of _Manasses_,
and found again in the reign of _Josiah_, and therefore it was written
before the third year of _Jehosaphat_.
The same book of the Law was preserved and handed down to posterity by the
_Samaritans_, and therefore was received by the ten Tribes before their
captivity. For [6] when the ten Tribes were captivated, a Priest or the
captivity was sent back to _Bethel_, by order of the King of _Assyria_, to
instruct the new inhabitants of _Samaria_, in _the manner of the God of the
land_; and the _Samaritans_ had the _Pentateuch_ from this Priest, as
containing the law or _manner of the God of the land_, which he was to
teach them. For [7] they persevered in the religion which he taught them,
joining with it the worship of their own Gods; and by persevering in what
they had been taught, they preserved this book of their Law in the original
character of the _Hebrews_, while the two Tribes, after their return from
_Babylon_, changed the character to that of the _Chaldees_, which they had
learned at _Babylon_.
And since the _Pentateuch_ was received as the book of the Law, both by the
two Tribes and by the ten Tribes, it follows that they received it before
they became divided into two Kingdoms. For after the division, they
received not laws from one another, but continued at variance. _Judah_
could not reclaim _Israel_ from the sin of _Jeroboam_, and _Israel_ could
not bring _Judah_ to it. The _Pentateuch_ therefore was the book of the Law
in the days of _David_ and _Solomon_. The affairs of the Tabernacle and
Temple were ordered by _David_ and _Solomon_, according to the Law of this
book; and _David_ in the 78th Psalm, admonishing the people to give ear to
the Law of God, means the Law of this book. For in describing how their
forefathers kept it not, he quotes many historical things out of the books
of _Exodus_ and _Numbers_.
The race of the Kings of _Edom_, before there reigned any King over
_Israel_, is set down in the book of [8] _Genesis_; and therefore that book
was not written entirely in the form now extant, before the reign of
_Saul_. The writer set down the race of those Kings till his own time, and
therefore wrote before _David_ conquered _Edom_. The _Pentateuch_ is
composed of the Law and the history of God's people together; and the
history hath been collected from several books, such as were the history of
the Creation composed by _Moses_, _Gen_. ii. 4. the book of the generations
of _Adam_, _Gen._ v. i. and the book of the wars of the Lord, _Num._ xxi.
14. This book of wars contained what was done at the Red-sea, and in the
journeying of _Israel_ thro' the Wilderness, and therefore was begun by
_Moses_. And _Joshua_ might carry it on to the conquest of _Canaan_. For
_Joshua_ wrote some things in the book of the Law of God, _Josh._ xxiv. 26
and therefore might write his own wars in the book of wars, those being the
principal wars of God. These were publick books, and therefore not written
without the authority of _Moses_ and _Joshua_. And _Samuel_ had leisure in
the reign of _Saul_, to put them into the form of the books of _Moses_ and
_Joshua_ now extant, inserting into the book of _Genesis_, the race of the
Kings of _Edom_, until there reigned a King in _Israel_.
The book of the _Judges_ is a continued history of the _Judges_ down to the
death of _Sampson_, and therefore was compiled after his death, out of the
Acts of the _Judges_. Several things in this book are said to be done _when
there was no King in _Israel__, _Judg._ xvii. 6. xviii. 1. xix. 1. xxi. 25.
and therefore this book was written after the beginning of the reign of
_Saul_. When it was written, the _Jebusites_ dwelt in _Jerusalem_, _Jud._
i. 21 and therefore it was written before the eighth year of _David_, 2
_Sam._ v. 8. and 1 _Chron._ xi. 6. The books of _Moses_, _Joshua_, and
_Judges_, contain one continued history, down from the Creation to the
death of _Sampson_. Where the _Pentateuch_ ends, the book of _Joshua_
begins; and where the book of _Joshua_ ends, the book of _Judges_ begins.
Therefore all these books have been composed out of the writings of
_Moses_, _Joshua_, and other records, by one and the same hand, after the
beginning of the reign of _Saul_, and before the eighth year of _David_.
And _Samuel_ was a sacred writer, 1 _Sam._ x. 25. acquainted with the
history of _Moses_ and the _Judges_, 1 _Sam._ xii. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. and
had leisure in the reign of _Saul_, and sufficient authority to compose
these books. He was a Prophet, and judged _Israel_ all the days of his
life, and was in the greatest esteem with the people; and the Law by which
he was to judge the people was not to be published by less authority than
his own, the Law-maker being not inferior to the judge. And the book of
_Jasher_, which is quoted in the book of _Joshua_, _Josh._ x. 13. was in
being at the death of _Saul_, 2 _Sam._ i. 18.
At the dedication of the Temple of _Solomon_, when the Ark was brought into
the most holy place, there was nothing in it but the two tables, 1 _Kings_
viii. 9. and therefore when the _Philistines_ took the Ark, they took out
of it the book of the Law, and the golden pot of Manna, and _Aaron_'s Rod.
And this and other losses in the desolation of _Israel_, by the conquering
_Philistines_, might give occasion to _Samuel_, after some respite from
those enemies, to recollect the scattered writings of _Moses_ and _Joshua_,
and the records of the Patriarchs and Judges, and compose them in the form
now extant.
The book of _Ruth_ is a history of things done in the days of the _Judges_,
and may be looked upon as an addition to the book of the _Judges_, written
by the same author, and at the same time. For it was written after the
birth of _David_, _Ruth_ iv. 17, 22. and not long after, because the
history of _Boaz_ and _Ruth_, the great grandfather and great grandmother
of _David_, and that of their contemporaries, could not well be remembered
above two or three generations. And since this book derives the genealogy
of _David_ from _Boaz_ and _Ruth_, and omits _David_'s elder brothers and
his sons; it was written in honour of _David_, after he was anointed King
by _Samuel_, and before he had children in _Hebron_, and by consequence in
the reign of _Saul_. It proceeds not to the history of _David_, and
therefore seems to have been written presently after he was anointed. They
judge well therefore who ascribe to _Samuel_ the books of _Joshua_,
_Judges_, and _Ruth_.
_Samuel_ is also reputed the author of the first book of _Samuel_, till the
time of his death. The two books of _Samuel_ cite no authors, and therefore
seem to be originals. They begin with his genealogy, birth and education,
and might be written partly in his lifetime by himself or his disciples the
Prophets at _Naioth_ in _Ramah_, 1 _Sam._ xix. 18, 19, 20. and partly after
his death by the same disciples.
The books of the _Kings_ cite other authors, as the book of the Acts of
_Solomon_, the book of the _Chronicles_ of the Kings of _Israel_, and the
book of the _Chronicles_ of the Kings of _Judah_. The books of the
_Chronicles_ cite the book of _Samuel_ the Seer, the book of _Nathan_ the
Prophet, and the book of _Gad_ the Seer, for the Acts of _David_; the book
of _Nathan_ the Prophet, the Prophecy of _Ahijah_ the _Shilonite_, and the
visions of _Iddo_ the Seer, for the Acts of _Solomon_; the book of
_Shemajah_ the Prophet, and the book of _Iddo_ the Seer concerning
genealogies, for the Acts of _Rehoboam_ and _Abijah_; the book of the Kings
of _Judah_ and _Israel_ for the Acts of _Asa_, _Joash_, _Amaziah_,
_Jotham_, _Ahaz_, _Hezekiah_, _Manasseh_, and _Josiah_; the book of
_Hanani_ the Seer, for the Acts of _Jehosaphat_; and the visions of
_Isaiah_ for the Acts of _Uzziah_ and _Hezekiah_. These books were
therefore collected out of the historical writings of the antient Seers and
Prophets. And because the books of the _Kings_ and _Chronicles_ quote one
another, they were written at one and the same time. And this time was
after the return from the _Babylonian_ captivity, because they bring down
the history of _Judah_, and the genealogies of the Kings of _Judah_, and of
the High Priests, to that captivity. The book of _Ezra_ was originally a
part of the book of the _Chronicles_, and has been divided from it. For it
begins with the two last verses of the books of _Chronicles_, and the first
book of _Esdras_ begins with the two last chapters thereof. _Ezra_ was
therefore the compiler of the books of _Kings_ and _Chronicles_, and
brought down the history to his own time. He was a ready Scribe in the Law
of God; and for assisting him in this work _Nehemias_ founded a library,
and _gathered together the Acts of the Kings and the Prophets, and of
_David_, and the Epistles of the Kings, concerning the holy gifts_, 2
_Maccab._ ii. 13. By the Acts of _David_ I understand here the two books of
_Samuel_, or at least the second book. Out of the Acts of the _Kings_,
written from time to time by the Prophets, he compos'd the books of the
Kings of _Judah_ and _Israel_, the _Chronicles_ of the Kings of _Judah_,
and the _Chronicles_ of the Kings of _Israel_. And in doing this he joined
those Acts together, in due order of time, copying the very words of the
authors, as is manifest from hence, that the books of the _Kings_ and
_Chronicles_ frequently agree with one another in words for many sentences
together. Where they agree in sense, there they agree in words also.
So the Prophecies of _Isaiah_, written at several times, he has collected
into one body. And the like he did for those of _Jeremiah_, and the rest of
the Prophets, down to the days of the second Temple. The book of _Jonah_ is
the history of _Jonah_ written by another hand. The book of _Daniel_ is a
collection of papers written at several times. The six last chapters
contain Prophecies written at several times by _Daniel_ himself: the six
first are a collection of historical papers written by others. The fourth
chapter is a decree of _Nebuchadnezzar_. The first chapter was written
after _Daniel_'s death: for the author saith, that _Daniel_ continued to
the first year of _Cyrus_; that is, to his first year over the _Persians_
and _Medes_, and third year over _Babylon_. And, for the same reason, the
fifth and sixth chapters were also written after his death. For they end
with these words: _So this _Daniel_ prospered in the reign of _Darius_ and
in the reign of _Cyrus_ the_ Persian. Yet these words might be added by the
collector of the papers, whom I take to be _Ezra_.
The Psalms composed by _Moses_, _David_, and others, seem to have been also
collected by _Ezra_ into one volume. I reckon him the collector, because in
this collection I meet with Psalms as late as the _Babylonian_ captivity,
but with none later.
After these things _Antiochus Epiphanes_ spoiled the Temple, commanded the
_Jews_ to forsake the Law upon pain of death, and caused the sacred books
to be burnt wherever they could be found: and in these troubles the book of
the _Chronicles_ of the Kings of _Israel_ was entirely lost. But upon
recovering from this oppression, _Judas Maccabæus_ gathered together all
those writings that were to be met with, 2 _Maccab._ ii. 14. and in
reducing them into order, part of the Prophecies of _Isaiah_, or some other
Prophet, have been added to the end of the Prophecies of _Zechariah_; and
the book of _Ezra_ has been separated from the book of _Chronicles_, and
set together in two different orders; in one order in the book of _Ezra_,
received into the Canon, and in another order in the first book of
_Esdras_.
After the _Roman_ captivity, the _Jews_ for preserving their traditions,
put them in writing in their _Talmud_, and for preserving their scriptures,
agreed upon an Edition, and pointed it, and counted the letters of every
sort in every book: and by preserving only this Edition, the antienter
various lections, except what can be discovered by means of the
_Septuagint_ Version, are now lost; and such marginal notes, or other
corruptions, as by the errors of the transcribers, before this Edition was
made, had crept into the text, are now scarce to be corrected.
The _Jews_ before the _Roman_ captivity, distinguished the sacred books
into the Law, the Prophets, and the _Hagiographa_, or holy writings; and
read only the Law and the Prophets in their Synagogues. And Christ and his
Apostles laid the stress of religion upon the Law and the Prophets, _Matt._
vii. 12. xxii. 4. _Luke_ xvi. 16, 29, 31. xxiv. 44. _Acts_ xxiv. 14. xxvi.
22. _Rom._ iii. 21. By the _Hagiographa_ they meant the historical books
called _Joshua_, _Judges_, _Ruth_, _Samuel_, _Kings_, _Chronicles_, _Ezra_,
_Nehemiah_, and _Esther_, the book of _Job_, the _Psalms_, the books of
_Solomon_, and the _Lamentations_. The Samaritans read only the
_Pentateuch_: and when _Jehosaphat_ sent men to teach in the cities, they
had with them only the book of the Law; for the Prophecies now extant were
not then written. And upon the return from the _Babylonian_ captivity,
_Ezra_ read only the book of the Law to the people, from morning to noon on
the first day of the seventh month; and from day to day in the feast of
Tabernacles: for he had not yet collected the writings of the Prophets into
the volume now extant; but instituted the reading of them after the
collection was made. By reading the Law and the Prophets in the Synagogues,
those books have been kept freer from corruption than the _Hagiographa_.
In the infancy of the nation of _Israel_, when God had given them a Law,
and made a covenant with them to be their God if they would keep his
commandments, he sent Prophets to reclaim them, as often as they revolted
to the worship of other Gods: and upon their returning to him, they
sometimes renewed the covenant which they had broken. These Prophets he
continued to send, till the days of _Ezra_: but after their Prophecies were
read in the Synagogues, those Prophecies were thought sufficient. For if
the people would not hear _Moses_ and the old Prophets, they would hear no
new ones, no not _tho they should rise from the dead_. At length when a new
truth was to be preached to the _Gentiles_, namely, _that Jesus was the
Christ_, God sent new Prophets and Teachers: but after their writings were
also received and read in the Synagogues of the Christians, Prophecy ceased
a second time. We have _Moses_, the Prophets, and Apostles, and the words
of Christ himself; and if we will not hear them, we shall be more
inexcusable than the _Jews._ For the Prophets and Apostles have foretold,
that as _Israel_ often revolted and brake the covenant, and upon repentance
renewed it; so there should be a falling away among the Christians, soon
after the days of the Apostles; and that in the latter days God would
destroy the impenitent revolters, and make a new covenant with his people.
And the giving ear to the Prophets is a fundamental character of the true
Church. For God has so ordered the Prophecies, that in the latter days _the
wise may understand, but the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the
wicked shall understand_, Dan. xii. 9, 10. The authority of Emperors,
Kings, and Princes, is human. The authority of Councils, Synods, Bishops,
and Presbyters, is human. The authority of the Prophets is divine, and
comprehends the sum of religion, reckoning _Moses_ and the Apostles among
the Prophets; and _if an Angel from Heaven preach any other gospel_, than
what they have delivered, _let him be accursed_. Their writings contain the
covenant between God and his people, with instructions for keeping this
covenant; instances of God's judgments upon them that break it: and
predictions of things to come. While the people of God keep the covenant,
they continue to be his people: when they break it they cease to be his
people or church, and become _the Synagogue of Satan, who say they are
_Jews_ and are not._ And no power on earth is authorized to alter this
covenant.
The predictions of things to come relate to the state of the Church in all
ages: and amongst the old Prophets, _Daniel_ is most distinct in order of
time, and easiest to be understood: and therefore in those things which
relate to the last times, he must be made the key to the rest.
Notes to Chap. I.
[1] 2 Chron. xxxiii. 5, 6, 7.
[2] 2 Chron. xxxiv.
[3] 2 Chron. xii. 2, 3, 4, 8, 9. & xv. 3, 5, 6.
[4] 2 Chron. xiv. 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12.
[5] 2 Chron. xv. 3, 12, 13, 16, 18.
[6] 2 Kings xvii. 27, 28, 32, 33.
[7] 2 Kings xvii. 34, 41.
[8] Gen. xxxvi. 31.
* * * * *
CHAP. II.
_Of the Prophetic Language._
For understanding the Prophecies, we are, in the first place, to acquaint
our-selves with the figurative language of the Prophets. This language is
taken from the analogy between the world natural, and an empire or kingdom
considered as a world politic.
Accordingly, the whole world natural consisting of heaven and earth,
signifies the whole world politic, consisting of thrones and people, or so
much of it as is considered in the Prophecy: and the things in that world
signify the analogous things in this. For the heavens, and the things
therein, signify thrones and dignities, and those who enjoy them; and the
earth, with the things thereon, the inferior people; and the lowest parts
of the earth, called _Hades_ or Hell, the lowest or most miserable part of
them. Whence ascending towards heaven, and descending to the earth, are put
for rising and falling in power and honour: rising out of the earth, or
waters, and falling into them, for the rising up to any dignity or
dominion, out of the inferior state of the people, or falling down from the
same into that inferior state; descending into the lower parts of the
earth, for descending to a very low and unhappy estate; speaking with a
faint voice out of the dust, for being in a weak and low condition; moving
from one place to another, for translation from one office, dignity, or
dominion, to another; great earthquakes, and the shaking of heaven and
earth, for the shaking of kingdoms, so as to distract or overthrow them;
the creating a new heaven and earth, and the passing away of an old one, or
the beginning and end of the world, for the rise and ruin of the body
politic signified thereby.
In the heavens, the Sun and Moon are, by interpreters of dreams, put for
the persons of Kings and Queens; but in sacred Prophecy, which regards not
single persons, the Sun is put for the whole species and race of Kings, in
the kingdom or kingdoms of the world politic, shining with regal power and
glory; the Moon for the body of the common people, considered as the King's
wife; the Stars for subordinate Princes and great men, or for Bishops and
Rulers of the people of God, when the Sun is Christ; light for the glory,
truth, and knowledge, wherewith great and good men shine and illuminate
others; darkness for obscurity of condition, and for error, blindness and
ignorance; darkning, smiting, or setting of the Sun, Moon, and Stars, for
the ceasing of a kingdom, or for the desolation thereof, proportional to
the darkness; darkning the Sun, turning the Moon into blood, and falling of
the Stars, for the same; new Moons, for the return of a dispersed people
into a body politic or ecclesiastic.
Fire and meteors refer to both heaven and earth, and signify as follows;
burning any thing with fire, is put for the consuming thereof by war; a
conflagration of the earth, or turning a country into a lake of fire, for
the consumption of a kingdom by war; the being in a furnace, for the being
in slavery under another nation; the ascending up of the smoke of any
burning thing for ever and ever, for the continuation of a conquered people
under the misery of perpetual subjection and slavery; the scorching heat of
the sun, for vexatious wars, persecutions and troubles inflicted by the
King; riding on the clouds, for reigning over much people; covering the sun
with a cloud, or with smoke, for oppression of the King by the armies of an
enemy; tempestuous winds, or the motion of clouds, for wars; thunder, or
the voice of a cloud, for the voice of a multitude; a storm of thunder,
lightning, hail, and overflowing rain, for a tempest of war descending from
the heavens and clouds politic, on the heads of their enemies; rain, if not
immoderate, and dew, and living water, for the graces and doctrines of the
Spirit; and the defect of rain, for spiritual barrenness.
In the earth, the dry land and congregated waters, as a sea, a river, a
flood, are put for the people of several regions, nations, and dominions;
embittering of waters, for great affliction of the people by war and
persecution; turning things into blood, for the mystical death of bodies
politic, that is, for their dissolution; the overflowing of a sea or river,
for the invasion of the earth politic, by the people of the waters; drying
up of waters, for the conquest of their regions by the earth; fountains of
waters for cities, the permanent heads of rivers politic; mountains and
islands, for the cities of the earth and sea politic, with the territories
and dominions belonging to those cities; dens and rocks of mountains, for
the temples of cities; the hiding of men in those dens and rocks, for the
shutting up of Idols in their temples; houses and ships, for families,
assemblies, and towns, in the earth and sea politic; and a navy of ships of
war, for an army of that kingdom that is signified by the sea.
Animals also and vegetables are put for the people of several regions and
conditions; and particularly, trees, herbs, and land animals, for the
people of the earth politic: flags, reeds, and fishes, for those of the
waters politic; birds and insects, for those of the politic heaven and
earth; a forest for a kingdom; and a wilderness for a desolate and thin
people.
If the world politic, considered in prophecy, consists of many kingdoms,
they are represented by as many parts of the world natural; as the noblest
by the celestial frame, and then the Moon and Clouds are put for the common
people; the less noble, by the earth, sea, and rivers, and by the animals
or vegetables, or buildings therein; and then the greater and more powerful
animals and taller trees, are put for Kings, Princes, and Nobles. And
because the whole kingdom is the body politic of the King, therefore the
Sun, or a Tree, or a Beast, or Bird, or a Man, whereby the King is
represented, is put in a large signification for the whole kingdom; and
several animals, as a Lion, a Bear, a Leopard, a Goat, according to their
qualities, are put for several kingdoms and bodies politic; and sacrificing
of beasts, for slaughtering and conquering of kingdoms; and friendship
between beasts, for peace between kingdoms. Yet sometimes vegetables and
animals are, by certain epithets or circumstances, extended to other
significations; as a Tree, when called the _tree of life_ or _of
knowledge_; and a Beast, when called _the old serpent_, or worshipped.
When a Beast or Man is put for a kingdom, his parts and qualities are put
for the analogous parts and qualities of the kingdom; as the head of a
Beast, for the great men who precede and govern; the tail for the inferior
people, who follow and are governed; the heads, if more than one, for the
number of capital parts, or dynasties, or dominions in the kingdom, whether
collateral or successive, with respect to the civil government; the horns
on any head, for the number of kingdoms in that head, with respect to
military power; seeing for understanding, and the eyes for men of
understanding and policy, and in matters of religion for [Greek:
Episkopoi], Bishops; speaking, for making laws; the mouth, for a law-giver,
whether civil or sacred; the loudness of the voice, for might and power;
the faintness thereof, for weakness; eating and drinking, for acquiring
what is signified by the things eaten and drank; the hairs of a beast, or
man, and the feathers of a bird, for people; the wings, for the number of
kingdoms represented by the beast; the arm of a man, for his power, or for
any people wherein his strength and power consists; his feet, for the
lowest of the people, or for the latter end of the kingdom; the feet,
nails, and teeth of beasts of prey, for armies and squadrons of armies; the
bones, for strength, and for fortified places; the flesh, for riches and
possessions; and the days of their acting, for years; and when a tree is
put for a kingdom, its branches, leaves and fruit, signify as do the wings,
feathers, and food of a bird or beast.
When a man is taken in a mystical sense, his qualities are often signified
by his actions, and by the circumstances of things about him. So a Ruler is
signified by his riding on a beast; a Warrior and Conqueror, by his having
a sword and bow; a potent man, by his gigantic stature; a Judge, by weights
and measures; a sentence of absolution, or condemnation, by a white or a
black stone; a new dignity, by a new name; moral or civil qualifications,
by garments; honour and glory, by splendid apparel; royal dignity, by
purple or scarlet, or by a crown; righteousness, by white and clean robes;
wickedness, by spotted and filthy garments; affliction, mourning, and
humiliation, by clothing in sackcloth; dishonour, shame, and want of good
works, by nakedness; error and misery, by drinking a cup of his or her wine
that causeth it; propagating any religion for gain, by exercising traffick
and merchandize with that people whose religion it is; worshipping or
serving the false Gods of any nation, by committing adultery with their
princes, or by worshipping them; a Council of a kingdom, by its image;
idolatry, by blasphemy; overthrow in war, by a wound of man or beast; a
durable plague of war, by a sore and pain; the affliction or persecution
which a people suffers in labouring to bring forth a new kingdom, by the
pain of a woman in labour to bring forth a man-child; the dissolution of a
body politic or ecclesiastic, by the death of a man or beast; and the
revival of a dissolved dominion, by the resurrection of the dead.
* * * * *
CHAP. III.
_Of the vision of the Image composed of four Metals._
The Prophecies of _Daniel_ are all of them related to one another, as if
they were but several parts of one general Prophecy, given at several
times. The first is the easiest to be understood, and every following
Prophecy adds something new to the former. The first was given in a dream
to _Nebuchadnezzar_, King of _Babylon_, in the second year of his reign;
but the King forgetting his dream, it was given again to _Daniel_ in a
dream, and by him revealed to the King. And thereby, _Daniel_ presently
became famous for wisdom, and revealing of secrets: insomuch that _Ezekiel_
his contemporary, in the nineteenth year of _Nebuchadnezzar_, spake thus of
him to the King of _Tyre_: _Behold_, saith he, _thou art wiser than
_Daniel_, there is no secret that they can hide from thee_, Ezek. xxviii.
3. And the same _Ezekiel_, in another place, joins _Daniel_ with _Noah_ and
_Job_, as most high in the favour of God, _Ezek._ xiv. 14, 16, 18, 20. And
in the last year of _Belshazzar_, the Queen-mother said of him to the King:
_Behold there is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy
gods; and in the days of thy father, light and understanding and wisdom,
like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king
_Nebuchadnezzar_ thy father, the king, I say, thy father made master of the
magicians, astrologers, _Chaldeans_ and soothsayers: forasmuch as an
excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams,
and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the
same _Daniel_, whom the king named _Belteshazzar__, Dan. v. 11, 12.
_Daniel_ was in the greatest credit amongst the _Jews_, till the reign of
the _Roman_ Emperor _Hadrian_: and to reject his Prophecies, is to reject
the Christian religion. For this religion is founded upon his Prophecy
concerning the _Messiah_.
Now in this vision of the Image composed of four Metals, the foundation of
all _Daniel_'s Prophecies is laid. It represents a body of four great
nations, which should reign over the earth successively, viz. the people of
_Babylonia_, the _Persians_, the _Greeks_, and the _Romans_. And by a stone
cut out without hands, which fell upon the feet of the Image, and brake all
the four Metals to pieces, and _became a great mountain, and filled the
whole earth_; it further represents that a new kingdom should arise, after
the four, and conquer all those nations, and grow very great, and last to
the end of all ages.
The head of the Image was of gold, and signifies the nations of
_Babylonia_, who reigned first, as _Daniel_ himself interprets. _Thou art
this head of gold_, saith he to _Nebuchadnezzar_. These nations reigned
till _Cyrus_ conquered _Babylon_, and within a few months after that
conquest revolted to the _Persians_, and set them up above the _Medes_. The
breast and arms of the Image were of silver, and represent the _Persians_
who reigned next. The belly and thighs of the Image were of brass, and
represent the _Greeks_, who, under the dominion of _Alexander_ the great,
conquered the _Persians_, and reigned next after them. The legs were of
iron, and represent the _Romans_ who reigned next after the _Greeks_, and
began to conquer them in the eighth year of _Antiochus Epiphanes_. For in
that year they conquered _Perseus_ King of _Macedon_, the fundamental
kingdom of the _Greeks_; and from thence forward grew into a mighty empire,
and reigned with great power till the days of _Theodosius_ the great. Then
by the incursion of many northern nations, they brake into many smaller
kingdoms, which are represented by the feet and toes of the Image, composed
part of iron, and part of clay. For then, saith _Daniel_, [1] _the kingdom
shall be divided, and there shall be in it of the strength of iron, but
they shall not cleave one to another._
_And in the days of these Kings_, saith _Daniel_, _shall the God of heaven
set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not
be left to other people; but it shall break in pieces, and consume all
these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that
the stone was cut out of the mountains without hands, and that it brake in
pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver and the gold._
Notes to Chap. III.
[1] Chap. ii. 41, &c.
* * * * *
CHAP. IV.
_Of the vision of the four Beasts._
In the next vision, which is of the four Beasts, the Prophecy of the four
Empires is repeated, with several new additions; such as are the two wings
of the Lion, the three ribs in the mouth of the Bear, the four wings and
four heads of the Leopard, the eleven horns of the fourth Beast, and the
son of man coming in the clouds of Heaven, to the Antient of Days sitting
in judgment.
The first Beast was like a lion, and had eagle's wings, to denote the
kingdoms of _Babylonia_ and _Media_, which overthrew the _Assyrian_ Empire,
and divided it between them, and thereby became considerable, and grew into
great Empires. In the former Prophecy, the Empire of _Babylonia_ was
represented by the head of gold; in this both Empires are represented
together by the two wings of the lion. _And I beheld,_ saith [1] _Daniel_,
_till the wings thereof were pluckt, and it was lifted up from the earth,
and made to stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to
it_; that is, till it was humbled and subdued, and made to know its human
state.
The second Beast was like a bear, and represents the Empire which reigned
next after the _Babylonians_, that is, the Empire of the _Persians_. _Thy
kingdom is divided_, or broken, saith _Daniel_ to the last King of
_Babylon_, _and given to the _Medes_ and _Persians__, _Dan._ v. 28. This
Beast _raised itself up on one side_; the _Persians_ being under the
_Medes_ at the fall of _Babylon_, but presently rising up above them. [2]
_And it had three ribs in the mouth of it, between the teeth of it_, to
signify the kingdoms of _Sardes_, _Babylon_, and _Egypt_, which were
conquered by it, but did not belong to its proper body. And it devoured
much flesh, the riches of those three kingdoms.
The third Beast was the kingdom which succeeded the _Persian_; and this was
the empire of the _Greeks_, _Dan._ viii. 6, 7, 20, 21. It was _like a
Leopard_, to signify its fierceness; and had four heads and four wings, to
signify that it should become divided into four kingdoms, _Dan._ viii 22.
for it continued in a monarchical form during the reign of _Alexander_ the
great, and his brother _Aridæus_, and young sons _Alexander_ and
_Hercules_; and then brake into four kingdoms, by the governors of
provinces putting crowns on their own heads, and by mutual consent reigning
over their provinces. _Cassander_ reigned over _Macedon_, _Greece_, and
_Epirus_; _Lysimachus_ over _Thrace_ and _Bithynia_; _Ptolemy_ over
_Egypt_, _Lybia_, _Arabia_, _Coelosyria_, and _Palestine_; and _Seleucus_
over _Syria_.
The fourth Beast was the empire which succeeded that of the _Greeks_, and
this was the _Roman_. This beast was exceeding dreadful and terrible, and
had great iron teeth, and devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the
residue with its feet; and such was the _Roman_ empire. It was larger,
stronger, and more formidable and lasting than any of the former. It
conquered the kingdom of _Macedon_, with _Illyricum_ and _Epirus_, in the
eighth year of _Antiochus Epiphanes_, _Anno Nabonass._. 580; and inherited
that of _Pergamus_, _Anno Nabonass._ 615; and conquered that of _Syria_,
_Anno Nabonass._ 679, and that of _Egypt_, _Anno Nabonass._ 718. And by
these and other conquests it became greater and more terrible than any of
the three former Beasts. This Empire continued in its greatness till the
reign of _Theodosius_ the great; and then brake into ten kingdoms,
represented by the ten horns of this Beast; and continued in a broken form,
till the Antient of days sat in a throne like fiery flame, and _the
judgment was set, and the books were opened, and the Beast was slain and
his body destroyed, and given to the burning flames; and one like the son
of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Antient of days_
[3], and received dominion over all nations, and judgment was given to the
saints of the most high, and the time came that they possessed the kingdom.
_I beheld,_ saith [4] _Daniel_, _till the Beast was slain, and his body
destroyed, and given to the burning flames. As concerning the rest of the
Beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged
for a season and a time_. And therefore all the four Beasts are still
alive, tho the dominion of the three first be taken away. The nations of
_Chaldea_ and _Assyria_ are still the first Beast. Those of _Media_ and
_Persia_ are still the second Beast. Those of _Macedon_, _Greece_ and
_Thrace_, _Asia_ minor, _Syria_ and _Egypt_, are still the third. And those
of _Europe_, on this side _Greece_, are still the fourth. Seeing therefore
the body of the third Beast is confined to the nations on this side the
river _Euphrates_, and the body of the fourth Beast is confined to the
nations on this side _Greece_; we are to look for all the four heads of the
third Beast, among the nations on this side of the river _Euphrates_; and
for all the eleven horns of the fourth Beast, among the nations on this
side of _Greece_. And therefore, at the breaking of the _Greek_ empire into
four kingdoms of the _Greeks_, we include no part of the _Chaldeans_,
_Medes_ and _Persians_ in those kingdoms, because they belonged to the
bodies of the two first Beasts. Nor do we reckon the _Greek_ empire seated
at _Constantinople_, among the horns of the fourth Beast, because it
belonged to the body of the third.
Notes to Chap. IV.
[1] Chap. vii. 4.
[2] Chap. vii. 5.
[3] Chap. vii. 13.
[4] Chap. vii. 11, 12.
* * * * *
CHAP. V.
_Of the Kingdoms represented by the feet of the Image composed of iron and
clay._
_Dacia_ was a large country bounded on the south by the _Danube_, on the
east by the _Euxine_ sea, on the north by the river _Neister_ and the
mountain _Crapac_, and on the west by the river _Tibesis_, or _Teys_, which
runs southward into the _Danube_ a little above _Belgrade_. It comprehended
the countries now called _Transylvania_, _Moldavia_, and _Wallachia_, and
the eastern part of the upper _Hungary_. Its antient inhabitants were
called _Getæ_ by the _Greeks_, _Daci_ by the _Latins_, and _Goths_ by
themselves. _Alexander_ the great attacked them, and _Trajan_ conquered
them, and reduced their country into a Province of the _Roman_ Empire: and
thereby the propagation of the Gospel among them was much promoted. They
were composed of several _Gothic_ nations, called _Ostrogoths_,
_Visigoths_, _Vandals_, _Gepides_, _Lombards_, _Burgundians_, _Alans_, &c.
who all agreed in their manners, and spake the same language, as
_Procopius_ represents. While they lived under the _Romans_, the _Goths_ or
_Ostrogoths_ were seated in the eastern parts of _Dacia_, the _Vandals_ in
the western part upon the river _Teys_, where the rivers _Maresh_ and
_Keresh_ run into it. The _Visigoths_ were between them. The _Gepides_,
according to _Jornandes_, were upon the _Vistula_. The _Burgundians_, a
_Vandalic_ nation, were between the _Vistula_ and the southern fountain of
the _Boristhenes_, at some distance from the mountain _Crapac_ northwards,
where _Ptolemy_ places them, by the names of _Phrugundiones_ and
_Burgiones_.[1] The _Alans_, another _Gothic_ nation, were between the
northern fountain of the _Boristhenes_ and the mouth of the river _Tanais_,
where _Ptolemy_ placeth the mountain _Alanus_, and western side of the
_Palus Mæotis_.
These nations continued under the dominion of the _Romans_ till the second
year of the Emperor _Philip_, and then for want of their military pay began
to revolt; the _Ostrogoths_ setting up a kingdom, which, under their Kings
_Ostrogotha_, _Cniva_, _Araric_, _Geperic_, and _Hermanaric_, increased
till the year of Christ 376; and then by an incursion of the _Huns_ from
beyond the _Tanais_, and the death of _Hermanaric_, brake into several
smaller kingdoms. _Hunnimund_, the son of _Hermanaric_, became King over
the _Ostrogoths_; _Fridigern_ over the _Visigoths_; _Winithar_, or
_Vinithar_, over a part of the _Goths_ called _Gruthungi_ by _Ammian_,
_Gothunni_ by _Claudian_, and _Sarmatæ_ and _Scythians_ by others:
_Athanaric_ reign'd over another part of the _Goths_ in _Dacia_, called
_Thervingi_; _Box_ over the _Antes_ in _Sarmatia_; and the _Gepides_ had
also their King. The _Vandals_ fled over the _Danube_ from _Geberic_ in the
latter end of the reign of _Constantine_ the great, and had seats granted
them in _Pannonia_ by that Emperor, where they lived quietly forty years,
viz. till the year 377, when several _Gothic_ nations flying from the
_Hunns_ came over the _Danube_, and had seats granted them in _Mæsia_ and
_Thrace_ by the _Greek_ Emperor _Valens_. But the next year they revolted,
called in some _Goths_, _Alans_ and _Hunns_, from beyond the _Danube_, and
routed the _Roman_ army, slew the Emperor _Valens_, and spread themselves
into _Greece_ and _Pannonia_ as far as the _Alps_. In the years 379 and 380
they were checkt by the arms of the Emperors _Gratian_ and _Theodosius_,
and made a submissive peace; the _Visigoths_ and _Thervingi_ returned to
their seats in _Mæsia_ and _Thrace_, the _Hunns_ retired over the _Danube_,
and the _Alans_ and _Gruthingi_ obtained seats in _Pannonia_.
About the year 373, or 374, the _Burgundians_ rose from their seats upon
the _Vistula_, with an army of eighty thousand men to invade _Gallia_; and
being opposed, seated themselves upon the northern side of the _Rhine_ over
against _Mentz_. In the year 358, a body of the _Salian Franks_, with their
King, coming from the river _Sala_, were received into the Empire by the
Emperor _Julian_, and seated in _Gallia_ between _Brabant_ and the _Rhine_:
and their King _Mellobaudes_ was made _Comes domesticorum_, by the Emperor
_Gratian_. _Richomer_, another noble _Salian Frank_, was made _Comes
domesticorum_, and _Magister utriusque Militiæ_, by _Theodosius_; and A.C.
384, was Consul with _Clearchus_. He was a great favourite of _Theodosius_,
and accompanied him in his wars against _Eugenius_, but died in the
expedition, and left a son called _Theudomir_, who afterwards became King
of the _Salian Franks_ in _Brabant_. In the time of this war some _Franks_
from beyond the _Rhine_ invaded _Gallia_ under the conduct of _Genobald_,
_Marcomir_ and _Suno_, but were repulsed by _Stilico_; and _Marcomir_ being
slain, was succeeded in _Germany_ by his son _Pharamond_.
While these nations remained quiet within the Empire, subject to the
_Romans_, many others continued so beyond the _Danube_ till the death of
the Emperor _Theodosius_, and then rose up in arms. For _Paulus Diaconus_
in his _Historia Miscell._ _lib._ xiv. speaking of the times next after the
death of this Emperor, tells us: _Eodem tempore erant Gothi & aliæ gentes
maximæ trans Danubium habitantes: ex quibus rationabiliores quatuor sunt,
Gothi scilicet, Huisogothi, Gepides & Vandali; & nomen tantum & nihil aliud
mutantes. Isti sub Arcadia & Honorio Danubium transeuntes, locati sunt in
terra Romanorum: & Gepides quidem, ex quibus postea divisi sunt Longobardi
& Avares, villas, quæ sunt circa Singidonum & Sirmium, habitavere:_ and
_Procopius_ in the beginning of his _Historia Vandalica_ writes to the same
purpose. Hitherto the _Western Empire_ continued entire, but now brake into
many kingdoms.
_Theodosius_ died A.C. 395; and then the _Visigoths_, under the conduct of
_Alaric_ the successor of _Fridigern_, rose from their seats in _Thrace_
and wasted _Macedon_, _Thessaly_, _Achaia_, _Peloponnesus_, and _Epirus_,
with fire and sword for five years together; when turning westward, they
invaded _Dalmatia_, _Illyricum_ and _Pannonia_; and from thence went into
_Italy_ A.C. 402; and the next year were so beaten at _Pollentia_ and
_Verona_, by _Stilico_ the commander of the forces of the _Western Empire_,
that _Claudian_ calls the remainder of the forces of _Alaric_, _tanta ex
gente reliquias breves_, and _Prudentius_, _Gentem deletam_. Thereupon
_Alaric_ made peace with the Emperor, being so far humbled, that _Orosius_
saith, he did, _pro pace optima & quibuscunque sedibus suppliciter &
simpliciter orare_. This peace was ratified by mutual hostages; _Ætius_ was
sent hostage to _Alaric_; and _Alaric_ continued a free Prince in the seats
now granted to him.
When _Alaric_ took up arms, the nations beyond the _Danube_ began to be in
motion; and the next winter, between A.C. 395 and 396, a great body of
_Hunns_, _Alans_, _Ostrogoths_, _Gepides_, and other northern nations, came
over the frozen _Danube_, being invited by _Rufinus_: when their brethren,
who had obtained seats within the Empire, took up arms also. _Jerome_ calls
this great multitude, _Hunns_, _Alans_, _Vandals_, _Goths_, _Sarmatians_,
_Quades_, and _Marcomans_; and saith, that they invaded all places between
_Constantinople_ and the _Julian Alps_, wasting _Scythia_, _Thrace_,
_Macedon_, _Dardania_, _Dacia_, _Thessaly_, _Achaia_, _Epirus_, _Dalmatia_,
and all _Pannonia_. The _Suevians_ also invaded _Rhætia_: for when _Alaric_
ravaged _Pannonia_, the _Romans_ were defending _Rhætia_; which gave
_Alaric_ an opportunity of invading _Italy_, as _Claudian_ thus mentions.
_Non nisi perfidiâ nacti penetrabile tempus,_
_Irrupere Getæ, nostras dum Rhætia vires_
_Occupat, atque alio desudant Marte cohortes_.
And when _Alaric_ went from those parts into _Italy_, some other barbarous
nations invaded _Noricum_ and _Vindelicia_, as the same Poet _Claudian_
thus writes:
----_Jam foedera gentes_
_Exuerant, Latiique auditâ clade feroces_
_Vendelicos saltus & Norica rura tenebant._
This was in the years 402 and 403. And among these nations I reckon the
_Suevians_, _Quades_, and _Marcomans_; for they were all in arms at this
time. The _Quades_ and _Marcomans_ were _Suevian_ nations; and they and the
_Suevians_ came originally from _Bohemia_, and the river _Suevus_ or
_Sprake_ in _Lusatia_; and were now united under one common King called
_Ermeric_, who soon after led them into _Gallia_. The _Vandals_ and _Alans_
might also about this time extend themselves into _Noricum_. _Uldin_ also
with a great body of _Hunns_ passed the _Danube_ about the time of
_Chrysostom_'s banishment, that is, A.C. 404, and wasted _Thrace_ and
_Mæsia_. _Radagaisus_, King of the _Gruthunni_ and succesor of _Winithar_,
inviting over more barbarians from beyond the _Danube_, invaded _Italy_
with an army of above two hundred thousand _Goths_; and within a year or
two, A.C. 405 or 406., was overcome by _Stilico_, and perished with his
army. In this war _Stilico_ was assisted with a great body of _Hunns_ and
_Ostrogoths_, under the conduct of _Uldin_ and _Sarus_, who were hired by
the Emperor _Honorius_. In all this confusion it was necessary for the
_Lombards_ in _Pannonia_ to arm themselves in their own defence, and assert
their liberty, the _Romans_ being no longer able to protect them.
And now _Stilico_ purposing to make himself Emperor, procured a military
prefecture for _Alaric_, and sent him into the _East_ in the service of
_Honorius_ the _Western_ Emperor, committing some _Roman_ troops to his
conduct to strengthen his army of _Goths_, and promising to follow soon
after with his own army. His pretence was to recover some regions of
_Illyricum_, which the _Eastern_ Emperor was accused to detain injuriously
from the _Western_; but his secret design was to make himself Emperor, by
the assistance of the _Vandals_ and their allies: for he himself was a
_Vandal_. For facilitating this design, he invited a great body of the
barbarous nations to invade the _Western Empire_, while he and _Alaric_
invaded the _Eastern_. And these nations under their several Kings, the
_Vandals_ under _Godegisilus_, the _Alans_ in two bodies, the one under
_Goar_, the other under _Resplendial_, and the _Suevians_, _Quades_, and
_Marcomans_, under _Ermeric_, marched thro' _Rhætia_ to the side of the
_Rhine_, leaving their seats in _Pannonia_ to the _Hunns_ and _Ostrogoths_,
and joined the _Burgundians_ under _Gundicar_, and ruffled the _Franks_ in
their further march. On the last of _December_ A.C. 406, they passed the
_Rhine_ at _Ments_, and spread themselves into _Germania prima_ and the
adjacent regions; and amongst other actions the _Vandals_ took _Triers_.
Then they advanced into _Belgium_, and began to waste that country.
Whereupon the _Salian Franks_ in _Brabant_ took up arms, and under the
conduct of _Theudomir_, the son of _Ricimer_, or _Richomer_,
abovementioned, made so stout a resistance, that they slew almost twenty
thousand of the _Vandals_, with their King _Godegesilus_, in battel; the
rest escaping only by a party of _Resplendial_'s _Alans_ which came timely
to their assistance.
Then the _British_ soldiers, alarm'd by the rumour of these things,
revolted, and set up Tyrants there; first _Marcus_, whom they slew
presently; then _Gratian_, whom they slew within four months; and lastly
_Constantine_, under whom they invaded _Gallia_ A.C. 408, being favoured by
_Goar_ and _Gundicar_. And _Constantine_ having possessed a good part of
_Gallia_, created his son _Constans Cæsar_, and sent him into _Spain_ to
order his affairs there, A.C. 409.
In the mean time _Resplendial_, seeing the aforesaid disaster of the
_Vandals_, and that _Goar_ was gone over to the _Romans_, led his army from
the _Rhine_; and, together with the _Suevians_ and residue of the
_Vandals_, went towards _Spain_; the _Franks_ in the mean time prosecuting
their victory so far as to retake _Triers_, which after they had plundered
they left to the _Romans_. The _Barbarians_ were at first stopt by the
_Pyrenean_ mountains, which made them spread themselves into _Aquitain_:
but the next year they had the passage betrayed by some soldiers of
_Constans_; and entring _Spain_ 4 Kal. _Octob._ A.C. 409, they conquered
every one what he could; and at length, A.C. 411, divided their conquests
by lot; the _Vandals_ obtained _Boetica_, and part of _Gallæcia_; the
_Suevians_ the rest of _Gallæcia_; and the _Alans_ _Lusitania_ and the
_Carthaginian_ Province: the Emperor for the sake of peace confirming them
in those seats by grant A.C. 413.
The _Roman Franks_ abovementioned, having made _Theudomir_ their King,
began strait after their conquest of the _Vandals_ to invade their
neighbours also. The first they set upon were the _Gauls_ of _Brabant_[2]:
but meeting with notable resistance, they desired their alliance: and so
those _Gauls_ fell off from the _Romans_, and made an intimate league with
the _Franks_ to be as one people, marrying with one another, and conforming
to one another's manners, till they became one without distinction. Thus by
the access of these _Gauls_, and of the foreign _Franks_ also, who
afterwards came over the _Rhine_, the _Salian_ kingdom soon grew very great
and powerful.
_Stilico_'s expedition against the _Greek_ Emperor was stopt by the order
of _Honorius_; and then _Alaric_ came out of _Epirus_ into _Noricum_, and
requested a sum of money for his service. The Senate were inclined to deny
him, but by _Stilico_'s mediation granted it. But after some time _Stilico_
being accused of a traiterous conspiracy with _Alaric_, and slain 10 Kal.
_Sept._ A.C. 408; _Alaric_ was thereby disappointed of his money, and
reputed an enemy to the Empire; he then broke strait into _Italy_ with the
army he brought out of _Epirus_, and sent to his brother _Adolphus_ to
follow him with what forces he had in _Pannonia_, which were not great, but
yet not to be despised. Thereupon _Honorius_ fearing to be shut up in
_Rome_, retired to _Ravenna_ in _October_ A.C. 408. And from that time
_Ravenna_ continued to be the seat of the _Western_ Emperors. In those days
the _Hunns_ also invaded _Pannonia_; and seizing the deserted seats of the
_Vandals_, _Alans_, and _Goths_, founded a new kingdom there. _Alaric_
advancing to _Rome_ besieged it, and 9 Kal. _Sept._ A.C. 410 took it: and
afterwards attempting to pass into _Africa_, was shipwrackt. After which
_Honorius_ made peace with him, and got up an army to send against the
Tyrant _Constantine_.
At the same time _Gerontius_, one of _Constantine_'s captains, revolted
from him, and set up _Maximus_ Emperor in _Spain_. Whereupon _Constantine_
sent _Edobec_, another of his captains, to draw to his assistance, the
_Barbarians_ under _Goar_ and _Gundicar_ in _Gallia_, and supplies of
_Franks_ and _Alemans_ from beyond the _Rhine_; and committed the custody
of _Vienne_ in _Gallia Narbonensis_ to his son _Constans_. _Gerontius_
advancing, first slew _Constans_ at _Vienne_, and then began to besiege
_Constantine_ at _Arles_. But _Honorius_ at the same time sending
_Constantius_ with an army on the same errand, _Gerontius_ fled, and
_Constantius_ continued the siege, strengthned by the access of the
greatest part of the soldiers of _Gerontius_. After four months siege,
_Edobec_ having procured succours, the _Barbarian_ Kings at _Ments_, _Goar_
and _Gundicar_, constitute _Jovinus_ Emperor, and together with him set
forward to relieve _Arles_. At their approach _Constantius_ retired. They
pursued, and he beat them by surprize; but not prosecuting his victory, the
_Barbarians_ soon recovered themselves; yet not so as to hinder the fall of
the tyrants _Constantine_, _Jovinus_ and _Maximus_. _Britain_ could not be
recovered to the Empire, but remained ever after a distinct kingdom.
The next year, A.C. 412, the _Visigoths_ being beaten in _Italy_, had
_Aquitain_ granted them to retire into: and they invaded it with much
violence, causing the _Alans_ and _Burgundians_ to retreat, who were then
depopulating of it. At the same time the _Burgundians_ were brought to
peace; and the Emperor granted them for inheritance a region upon the
_Rhine_ which they had invaded: and the same, I presume, he did with the
_Alans_. But the _Franks_ not long after retaking and burning _Triers_,
_Castinus_, A.C. 415, was sent against them with an army, who routed them
and slew _Theudomir_ their King This was the second taking of _Triers_ by
the _Franks_. It was therefore taken four times, once by the _Vandals_ and
thrice by the _Franks_. _Theudomir_ was succeeded by _Pharamond_, the
Prince or King of the _Salian Franks_ in _Germany_. From thence he brought
new forces, reigned over the whole, and had seats granted to his people
within the Empire near the _Rhine_.
And now the _Barbarians_ were all quieted, and settled in several kingdoms
within the Empire, not only by conquest, but also by the grants of the
Emperor _Honorius_. For _Rutilius_ in his _Itinerary_, written in Autumn,
_Anno Urbis_ 1169, that is, according to _Varro_'s computation then in use,
A.C. 416, thus laments the wasted fields:
_Illa quidem longis nimium deformia bellis_;
And then adds,
_Jam tempus laceris post longa incendia fundis_
_Vel pastorales ædificare casas._
And a little after,
_Æternum tibi Rhenus aret._
And _Orosius_ in the end of his history, which was finished A.C. 417,
represents now a general pacification of the barbarous nations by the words
_comprimere_, _coangustare_, _addicere gentes immanissimas_; terming them
_imperio addictas_, because they had obtained seats in the Empire by league
and compact; and _coangustatas_, because they did no longer invade all
regions at pleasure, but by the same compact remained quiet in the seats
then granted them. And these are the kingdoms, of which the feet of the
Image were henceforward composed, and which are represented by iron and
clay intermixed, which did not stick one to another, and were of different
strength.
Notes to Chap. V.
[1] Procop. l. 1. de Bello Vandalico.
[2] Galli Arborici: _whence the region was named _Arboricbant_, and by
contraction _Brabant__.
* * * * *
CHAP. VI.
_Of the ten Kingdoms represented by the ten horns of the fourth Beast._
Now by the wars above described the _Western_ Empire of the _Romans_, about
the time that _Rome_ was besieged and taken by the _Goths_, became broken
into the following ten kingdoms.
1. The kingdom of the _Vandals_ and _Alans_ in _Spain_ and _Africa_.
2. The kingdom of the _Suevians_ in _Spain_.
3. The kingdom of the _Visigoths_.
4. The kingdom of the _Alans_ in _Gallia_.
5. The kingdom of the _Burgundians_.
6. The kingdom of the _Franks_.
7. The kingdom of the _Britains_.
8. The kingdom of the _Hunns_.
9. The kingdom of the _Lombards_.
10. The kingdom of _Ravenna_.
Seven of these kingdoms are thus mentioned by _Sigonius_. 1_Honorio
regnante_, _in Pannoniam_ 2_Hunni_, _in Hispaniam_ 3_Vandali_, 4_Alani_,
5_Suevi_ & 6_Gothi_, _in Galliam_ 4_Alani_ 7_Burgundiones_ & 6_Gothi_,
_certis sedibus permissis, accepti_. Add the _Franks_, _Britains_, and
_Lombards_, and you have the ten: for these arose about the same time with
the seven. But let us view them severally.
1. The Kings of the _Vandals_ were, A.C. 407 _Godegesilus_, 407 _Gunderic_,
426 _Geiseric_, 477 _Hunneric_, 484 _Gundemund_, 496 _Thrasamund_, 513
_Geiseric_, 530 _Gelimer_. _Godegesilus_ led them into _Gallia_ A.C. 406,
_Gunderic_ into _Spain_ A.C. 409, _Geiseric_ into _Africa_ A.C. 427; and
_Gelimer_ was conquered by _Belisarius_ A.C. 533. Their kingdom lasted in
_Gallia_, _Spain_ and _Africa_ together 126 years; and in _Africa_ they
were very potent. The _Alans_ had only two Kings of their own in _Spain_,
_Resplendial_, and _Ataces_, _Utacus_ or _Othacar_. Under _Resplendial_
they went into _France_ A.C. 407, and into _Spain_ A.C. 409. _Ataces_ was
slain with almost all his army by _Vallia_ King of the _Visigoths_ A.C.
419. And then the remainder of these _Alans_ subjected themselves to
_Gunderic_ King of the _Vandals_ in _Boetica_, and went afterwards with
them into _Africa_, as I learn out of _Procopius_. Whence the Kings of the
_Vandals_ styled themselves Kings of the _Vandals_ and _Alans_; as may be
seen in the Edict of _Hunneric_ recited by _Victor_ in his _Vandalic_
persecution. In conjunction with the _Chatti_, these _Alans_ gave the name
of _Cathalaunia_, or _Catth-Alania_, to the Province which is still so
called. These _Alans_ had also _Gepides_ among them; and therefore the
_Gepides_ came into _Pannonia_ before the _Alans_ left it. There they
became subject to the _Hunns_ till the death of _Attila_ A.C. 454, and at
length were conquered by the _Ostrogoths_.
2. The Kings of the _Suevians_ were, A.C. 407 _Ermeric_, 458 _Rechila_, 448
_Rechiarius_, 458 _Maldra_, 460 _Frumarius_, 463 _Regismund_. And after
some other Kings who are unknown, reigned A.C. 558 _Theudomir_, 568 _Miro_,
582 _Euboricus_, and 583 _Andeca_. This kingdom, after it had been once
seated in _Spain_, remained always in _Gallæcia_ and _Lusitania_. _Ermeric_
after the fall of the _Alan_ kingdom, enlarged it into all _Gallæcia_,
forcing the _Vandals_ to retire into _Boetica_ and the _Carthaginian_
Province. This kingdom lasted 177 years according to _Isidorus_, and then
was subdued by _Leovigildus_ King of the _Visigoths_, and made a Province
of his kingdom A.C. 585.
3. The Kings of the _Visigoths_ were, A.C. 400 _Alaric_, 410 _Athaulphus_,
415 _Sergeric_ and _Vallia_, 419 _Theoderic_, 451 _Thorismund_, 452
_Theoderic_, 465 _Euric_, 482 _Alaric_, 505 _Gensalaric_, 526 _Amalaric_,
531 _Theudius_, 548 _Theudisclus_, &c. I date this kingdom from the time
that _Alaric_ left _Thrace_ and _Greece_ to invade the _Western Empire_. In
the end of the reign of _Athaulphus_ the _Goths_ were humbled by the
_Romans_, and attempted to pass out of _France_ into _Spain_. _Sergeric_
reigned but a few days. In the beginning of _Vallia_'s reign they assaulted
the _Romans_ afresh, but were again repulsed, and then made peace on this
condition, that they should on the behalf of the Empire invade the
_Barbarian_ kingdoms in _Spain_: and this they did, together with the
_Romans_, in the years 417 and 418, overthrowing the _Alans_ and part of
the _Vandals_. Then they received _Aquitain_ of the Emperor by a full
donation, leaving their conquests in _Spain_ to the Emperor: and thereby
the seats of the conquered _Alans_ came into the hands of the _Romans_. In
the year 455, _Theoderic_, assisted by the _Burgundians_, invaded _Spain_,
which was then almost all subject to the _Suevians_, and took a part of it
from them. A.C. 506, the _Goths_ were driven out of _Gallia_ by the
_Franks_. A.C. 585, they conquered the _Suevian_ kingdom, and became Lords
of all _Spain_. A.C. 713, the _Saracens_ invaded them, but in time they
recovered their dominions, and have reigned in _Spain_ ever since.
4. The Kings of the _Alans_ in _Gallia_ were _Goar_, _Sambida_, _Eocharic_,
_Sangibanus_, _Beurgus_, &c. Under _Goar_ they invaded _Gallia_ A.C. 407,
and had seats given them near the _Rhine_, A.C. 412. Under _Sambida_, whom
_Bucher_ makes the successor, if not the son of _Goar_, they had the
territories of _Valence_ given them by _Ætius_ the Emperor's General, A.C.
440. Under _Eocharic_ they conquered a region of the rebelling _Galli
Arborici_, given them also by _Ætius_. This region was from them named
_Alenconium, quasi Alanorum conventus_. Under _Sangibanus_ they were
invaded, and their regal city _Orleans_ was besieged by _Attila_ King of
the _Hunns_, with a vast army of 500000 men. _Ætius_ and the _Barbarian_
Kings of _Gallia_ came to raise the siege, and beat the _Hunns_ in a very
memorable battle, A.C. 451, _in campis Catalaunicis_, so called from these
_Alans_ mixt with the _Chatti_. The region is now called _Campania_ or
_Champagne_. In that battle were slain on both sides 162000 men. A year or
two after, _Attila_ returned with an immense army to conquer this kingdom,
but was again beaten by them and the _Visigoths_ together in a battle of
three days continuance, with a slaughter almost as great as the former.
Under _Beurgus_, or _Biorgor_, they infested _Gallia_ round about, till the
reign of _Maximus_ the Emperor; and then they passed the _Alps_ in winter,
and came into _Liguria_, but were there beaten, and _Beurgus_ slain, by
_Ricimer_ commander of the Emperor's forces, A.C. 464. Afterwards they were
again beaten, by the joint force of _Odoacer_ King of _Italy_ and
_Childeric_ King of the _Franks_, about the year 480, and again by
_Theudobert_ King of the _Austrian Franks_ about the year 511.
5. The Kings of the _Burgundians_ were, A.C. 407 _Gundicar_, 436 _Gundioc_,
467 _Bilimer_, 473 _Gundobaldus_ with his brothers, 510 _Sigismund_, 517
_Godomarus_. Under _Gundicar_ they invaded _Gallia_ A.C. 407, and had seats
given them by the Emperor near the _Rhine_ in _Gallia Belgica_, A.C. 412.
They had _Saxons_ among them, and were now so potent, that _Orosius_ A.C.
417 wrote of them: '_Burgundionum esse prævalidam manum, Galliæ hodieque
testes sunt, in quibus præsumpta possessione consistunt_. About the year
435 they received great overthrows by _Ætius_, and soon after by the
_Hunns_: but five years after had _Savoy_ granted them to be shared with
the inhabitants; and from that time became again a potent kingdom, being
bounded by the river _Rhodanus_, but afterwards extending much further into
the heart of _Gallia_. _Gundobald_ conquered the regions about the rivers
_Araris_ and _Rhodanus_, with the territories of _Marseilles_; and invading
_Italy_ in the time of the Emperor _Glycerius_, conquered all his brethren.
_Godomarus_ made _Orleans_ his royal seat: whence the kingdom was called
_Regnum Aurelianorum_. He was conquered by _Clotharius_ and _Childebert_,
Kings of the _Franks_, A.C. 526. From thenceforward this kingdom was
sometimes united to the kingdom of the _Franks_, and sometimes divided from
it, till the reign of _Charles_ the great, who made his son _Carolottus_
King of _Burgundy_. From that time, for about 300 years together, it
enjoyed its proper Kings; and was then broken into the Dukedom of
_Burgundy_, County of _Burgundy_, and County of _Savoy_; and afterwards
those were broken into other lesser Counties.
6. The Kings of the _Franks_ were, A.C. 407 _Theudomir_, 417 _Pharamond_,
428 _Clodio_, 448 _Merovæus_, 456 _Childeric_, 482 _Clodovæus_, &c.
_Windeline_ and _Bucher_, two of the most diligent searchers into the
originals of this kingdom, make it begin the same year with the _Barbarian_
invasions of _Gallia_, that is, A.C. 407. Of the first Kings there is in
_Labbe's Bibliotheca M.S._ this record.
_Historica quædam excerpta ex veteri stemmate genealogico Regum Franciæ_.
_Genobaldus, Marcomerus, Suno, Theodemeris. Isti duces vel reguli
extiterunt à principio gentis Francorum diversis temporibus. Sed incertum
relinquunt historici quali sibi procreations lineâ successerunt_.
_Pharamundus: sub hoc rege suo primo Franci legibus se subdunt, quas
primores eorum tulerunt Wisogastus, Atrogastus, Salegastus_.
_Chlochilo. Iste, transito Rheno, Romanos in Carbonaria sylva devicit,
Camaracum cepit & obtinuit, annis 20 regnavit. Sub hoc rege Franci usque
Summam progressi sunt_.
_Merovechus. Sub hoc rege Franci Trevirim destruunt, Metim succendunt,
usque Aurelianum perveniunt_.
Now for _Genobaldus_, _Marcomer_ and _Suno_, they were captains of the
_Transrhenane Franks_ in the reign of _Theodosius_, and concern us not. We
are to begin with _Theudomir_ the first King of the rebelling _Salii_,
called _Didio_ by _Ivo Carnotensis_, and _Thiedo_ and _Theudemerus_ by
_Rhenanus_. His face is extant in a coin of gold found with this
inscription, THEUDEMIR REX, published by _Petavius_, and still or lately
extant, as _Windeline_ testifies: which shews that he was a King, and that
in _Gallia_; seeing that rude _Germany_ understood not then the coining of
money, nor used either _Latin_ words or letters. He was the son of
_Ricimer_, or _Richomer_, the favourite of the Emperor _Theodosius_; and so
being a _Roman Frank_, and of the _Salian_ royal blood, they therefore upon
the rebellion made him King. The whole time of his reign you have stated in
_Excerptis Gregorii Turonensis è Fredigario_, _cap._ 5, 6, 7, 8. where the
making him King, the tyranny of _Jovinus_, the slaughter of the associates
of _Jovinus_, the second taking of _Triers_ by the _Franks_, and their war
with _Castinus_, in which this King was slain, are as a series of
successive things thus set down in order. _Extinctis Ducibus in Francis,
denuo Reges creantur ex eadem stirpe qua prius fuerant. Eodem tempore
Jovinus ornatus regios assumpsit. Constantinus fugam versus Italiam
dirigit; missis a Jovino Principe percussoribus super Mentio flumine,
capite truncatur. Multi nobilium jussu Jovini apud Avernis capti, & a
ducibus Honorii crudeliter interempti sunt. Trevirorum civitas, factione
unius ex senatoribus nomine Lucii, à Francis captà & incensa est.--Castinus
Domesticorum Comes expeditionem accipit contra Francos_, &c. Then returning
to speak of _Theudomir_, he adds: _Franci electum à se regem, sicut prius
fuerat, crinitum inquirentes diligenter ex genere Priami, Frigi &
Francionis, super se crearunt nomine Theudemerum filium Richemeris, qui in
hoc prælio quod supra memini, à Romanis interfectus est_; that is, in the
battle with _Castinus_'s army. Of his death _Gregory Turonensis_ makes this
further mention: _In consularibus legimus Theodemerem regem Francorum
filium Ricimeris quondam, & Ascilam matrem ejus, gladio interfectos_.
Upon this victory of the _Romans_, the _Franks_ and rebelling _Gauls_, who
in the time of _Theudomir_ were at war with one another, united to
strengthen themselves, as _Ordericus Vitalis_[1] thus mentions. _Cum Galli
prius contra Romanos rebellâssent, Franci iis sociati sunt, & pariter
juncti, Ferramundum Sunonis ducis filium, sibi regem præfecerunt_.
_Prosper_ sets down the time; _Anno 25 Honorii, Pharamundus regnat in
Francia_. This, _Bucher_ well observes, refers to the end of the year 416,
or the beginning of the next year, dating the years of _Honorius_ from the
death of _Valentinian_; and argues well, that at this time _Pharamond_ was
not only King by the constitution of the _Franks_, but crowned also by the
consent of _Honorius_, and had a part of _Gallia_ assigned him by covenant.
And this might be the cause that _Roman_ writers reckoned him the first
King: which some not understanding, have reputed him the founder of this
kingdom by an army of the _Transrhenane Franks_. He might come with such an
army, but he succeeded _Theudomir_ by right of blood and consent of the
people. For the above cited passage of _Fredigarius_, _Extinctis Ducibus,
in Francis denuo Reges creantur ex eadem stirpe quâ prius fuerant_, implies
that the kingdom continued to this new elected family during the reign of
more Kings than one. If you date the years of _Honorius_ from the death of
his father, the reign of _Pharamond_ might begin two years later than is
assigned by _Bucher_. The _Salique_ laws made in his reign, which are yet
extant, shew by their name that it was the kingdom of the _Salii_ over
which he reigned; and, by the pecuniary mulcts in them, that the place
where he reigned abounded much with money, and consequently was within the
Empire; rude _Germany_ knowing not the use of money, till they mixed with
the _Romans_. In the Preface also to the _Salique_ laws, written and
prefixed to them soon after the conversion of the _Franks_ to the Christian
religion, that is, in the end of the reign of _Merovæus_, or soon after,
the original of this kingdom is thus described: _Hæc enim gens, quæ fortis
dum esset & robore valida, Romanorum jugum durissimum de suis cervicibus
excussit pugnando_, &c. This kingdom therefore was erected, not by invasion
but by rebellion, as was described above. _Prosper_ in registering their
Kings in order, tells us: _Pharamundus regnat in Francia; Clodio regnat in
Francia; Merovæus regnat in Francia_: and who can imagine but that in all
these places he meant one and the same _Francia_? And yet 'tis certain that
the _Francia_ of _Merovæus_ was in _Gallia_.
Yet the father of _Pharamond_, being king of a body of _Franks_ in
_Germany_ in the reign of the Emperor _Theodosius_, as above, _Pharamond_
might reign over the same _Franks_ in _Germany_ before he succeeded
_Theudomir_ in the kingdom of the _Salians_ within the Empire, and even
before _Theudomir_ began his reign; suppose in the first year of
_Honorius_, or when those _Franks_ being repulsed by _Stilico_, lost their
Kings _Marcomir_ and _Suno_, one of which was the father of _Pharamond_:
and the _Roman Franks_, after the death of _Theudomir_, might invite
_Pharamond_ with his people from beyond the _Rhine_. But we are not to
regard the reign of _Pharamond_ in _Germany_: we are to date this kingdom
from its rise within the Empire, and to look upon it as strengthened by the
access of other _Franks_ coming from beyond the _Rhine_, whether in the
reign of this King or in that of his successor _Clodio_. For in the last
year of _Pharamond_'s reign, _Ætius_ took from him a part of his possession
in _Gallia_: but his successor _Clodio_, whom _Fredigarius_ represents as
the son of _Theudomir_, and some call _Clogio_, _Cloio_, and _Claudius_,
inviting from beyond the _Rhine_ a great body of _Franks_, recovered all,
and carried on their conquests as far as the river _Soame_. Then those
_Franks_ dividing conquests with him, erected certain new kingdoms at
_Cologn_ and _Cambray_, and some other cities: all which were afterwards
conquered by _Clodovæus_, who also drove the _Goths_ out of _Gallia_, and
fix'd his seat at _Paris_, where it has continued ever since. And this was
the original of the present kingdom of _France_.
7. The Kings of _Britain_ were, A.C. 407 or 408, _Marcus_, _Gratian_, and
_Constantine_ successively; A.C. 425 _Vortigern_, 466 _Aurelius Ambrosius_,
498 _Uther Pendraco_, 508 _Arthur_, 542 _Constantinus_, 545 _Aurelius
Cunanus_, 578 _Vortiporeus_, 581 _Malgo_, 586 _Careticus_, 613 _Cadwan_,
635 _Cadwalin_, 676 _Cadwallader_. The three first were _Roman_ Tyrants,
who revolted from the Empire. _Orosius_, _Prosper_ and _Zosimus_ connect
their revolt with the irruptions of the _Barbarians_ into _Gallia_, as
consequent thereunto. _Prosper_, with whom _Zosimus_ agrees, puts it in the
year which began the day after that irruption. The just time I thus
collect: _Marcus_ reigned not many days, _Gratian_ four months, and
_Constantine_ three years. He was slain the year after the taking of
_Rome_, that is A.C. 411, 14 Kal. _Octob._ Whence the revolt was in Spring
A.C. 408. _Sozomen_ joins _Constantine_'s expedition into _Gallia_ with
_Arcadius_'s death, or the times a little after; and _Arcadius_ died A.C.
408 _May_ the 1st. Now tho the reign of these Tyrants was but short, yet
they gave a beginning to the kingdom of _Britain_, and so may be reckoned
the three first Kings, especially since the posterity of _Constantine_,
viz. his sons _Aurelius Ambrosius_, and _Uther Pendraco_, and his grandson
_Arthur_, reigned afterwards. For from the time of the revolt of these
Tyrants _Britain_ continued a distict kingdom absolved from subjection to
the Empire, the Emperor not being able to spare soldiers to be sent thither
to receive and keep the Island, and therefore neglecting it; as we learn by
unquestionable records. For _Prosper_ tells us; _A.C._ 410, _Variane Cos.
Hac tempestate præ valetudine Romanorum, vires funditùs attenuatæ
Britanniæ_. And _Sigebert_, conjoining this with the siege of _Rome_,
saith: _Britannorum vires attenuatæ, & substrahunt se à Romanorum
dominatione_. And _Zosimus_ _lib._ 6. _The _Transrhenane Barbarians_
invading all places, reduced the inhabitants of the island of _Britain_,
and also certain _Celtic_ nations to that pass, that they fell off from the
_Roman_ Empire; and being no longer obedient to the _Roman_ laws_, [Greek:
kat' heauton biateuein], _they lived in separate bodies after their own
pleasure. The _Britons_ therefore taking up arms, and hazarding themselves
for their own safety, freed their cities from the imminent _Barbarians_. In
like manner all _Brabant_ and some other Provinces of the _Gauls_ imitating
the _Britons_, freed themselves also, ejecting the _Roman_ Presidents, and
forming themselves into a sort of commonwealth according to their own
pleasure. This rebellion of _Britain_ and the _Celtic_ nations happened
when _Constantine_ usurped the kingdom_. So also _Procopius_, _lib._ 1.
_Vandal._ speaking of the same _Constantine_, saith: Constantine _being
overcome in battle, was slain with his children:_ [Greek: Bretannian men
toi Rômaioi anasôsasthai ouketi echon; all' ousa hypo tyrannous ap' autou
emene.] _Yet the _Romans_ could not recover _Britain_ any more, but from
that time it remained under Tyrants_. And _Beda_, l. 1. _c._ 11. _Fracta
est Roma à Gothis anno 1164 suæ conditionis; ex quo tempore Romani in
Britannia regnare cessaverunt_. And _Ethelwaldus_: _A tempore Romæ à Gothis
expugnatæ, cessavit imperium Romanorum à Britannia insula, & ab aliis; quas
sub jugo servitutis tenebant, multis terris_. And _Theodoret_, _serm._ 9.
_de curand. Græc. affect_. about the year 424, reckons the _Britons_ among
the nations which were not then in subjection to the _Roman_ Empire. Thus
_Sigonius_: _ad annum 411, Imperium Romanorum post excessum Constantini in
Britannia nullum fuit_.
Between the death of _Constantine_ and the reign of _Vortigern_ was an
interregnum of about 14 years, in which the _Britons_ had wars with the
_Picts_ and _Scots_, and twice obtained the assistance of a _Roman_ Legion,
who drove out the enemy, but told them positively at their departure that
they would come no more. Of _Vortigern_'s beginning to reign there is this
record in an old Chronicle in _Nennius_, quoted by _Camden_ and others:
_Guortigernus tenuit imperium in Britannia, Theodosio & Valentiniano Coss._
[viz. A.C. 425.] _& in quarto anno regni sui Saxones ad Britanniam
venerunt, Felice & Tauro Coss._ [viz. A.C. 428.] This coming of the
_Saxons_, _Sigebert_ refers to the 4th year of _Valentinian_, which falls
in with the year 428 assigned by this Chronicle: and two years after, the
_Saxons_ together with the _Picts_ were beaten by the _Britons_. Afterwards
in the reign of _Martian_ the Emperor, that is, between the years 450 and
456, the _Saxons_ under _Hengist_ were called in by the _Britons_, but six
years after revolted from them, made war upon them with various success,
and by degrees succeeded them. Yet the _Britons_ continued a flourishing
kingdom till the reign of _Careticus_; and the war between the two nations
continued till the pontificate of _Sergius_ A.C. 688.[2]
8. The Kings of the _Hunns_ were, A.C. 406 _Octar_ and _Rugila_, 433
_Bleda_ and _Attila_. _Octar_ and _Rugila_ were the brothers of _Munzuc_
King of the _Hunns_ in _Gothia_ beyond the _Danube_; and _Bleda_ and
_Attila_ were his sons, and _Munzuc_ was the son of _Balamir_. The two
first, as _Jornandes_ tells us, were Kings of the _Hunns_, but not of them
all; and had the two last for their successors. I date the reign of the
_Hunns_ in _Pannonia_ from the time that the _Vandals_ and _Alans_
relinquished _Pannonia_ to them, A.C. 407. _Sigonius_ from the time that
the _Visigoths_ relinquished _Pannonia_ A. C. 408. _Constat_, saith he,
_quod Gothis ex Illyrico profectis, Hunni successerunt, atque imprimis
Pannoniam tenuerunt. Neque enim Honorius viribus ad resistendum in tantis
difficultatibus destitutus, prorsus eos prohibere potuit, sed meliore
consilio, animo ad pacem converso, foedus cum eis, datis acceptisque
obsidibus fecit; ex quibus qui dati sunt, Ætius, qui etiam Alarico tributus
fuerat, præcipue memoratur_. How _Ætius_ was hostage to the _Goths_ and
_Hunns_ is related by _Frigeridus_, who when he had mentioned that
_Theodosius_ Emperor of the _East_ had sent grievous commands to _John_,
who after the death of _Honorius_ had usurped the crown of the _Western
Empire_, he subjoins: _Iis permotus Johannes, Ætium id tempus curam palatii
gerentem cum ingenti auri pondere ad Chunnos transmisit, notos sibi
obsidiatûs sui tempore & familiari amicitiâ devinctos_--And a little
after: _Ætius tribus annis Alarici obses, dehinc Chunnorum, postea
Carpilionis gener ex Comite domesticorum & Joannis curopalatæ._ Now
_Bucher_ shews that _Ætius_ was hostage to _Alaric_ till the year 410, when
_Alaric_ died, and to the _Hunns_ between the years 411 and 415, and
son-in-law to _Carpilio_ about the year 417 or 418, and _Curopalates_ to
_John_ about the end of the year 423. Whence 'tis probable that he became
hostage to the _Hunns_ about the year 412 or 413, when _Honorius_ made
leagues with almost all the barbarous nations, and granted them seats: but
I had rather say with _Sigonius_, that _Ætius_ became hostage to _Alaric_
A.C. 403. It is further manifest out of _Prosper_, that the _Hunns_ were in
quiet possession of _Pannonia_ in the year 432. For in the first book of
_Eusebius_'s Chronicle _Prosper_ writes: _Anno decimo post obitum Honorii,
cum ad Chunnorum gentem cui tunc Rugila præerat, post prælium cum Bonifacio
se Ætius contulisset, impetrato auxilio ad Romanorum solum regreditur._ And
in the second book: _Ætio & Valerio Coss. Ætius depositâ potestate profugus
ad Hunnos in Pannonia pervenit, quorum amicitiâ auxilioque usus, pacem
principum interpellatæ potestatis obtinuit._ Hereby it appears that at this
time _Rugila_, or as _Maximus_ calls him, _Rechilla_, reigned over the
_Hunns_ in _Pannonia_; and that _Pannonia_ was not now so much as accounted
within the soil of the Empire, being formerly granted away to the _Hunns_;
and that these were the very same body of _Hunns_ with which _Ætius_ had,
in the time of his being an hostage, contracted friendship: by virtue of
which, as he sollicited them before to the aid of _John_ the Tyrant A.C.
424, so now he procured their intercession for himself with the Emperor.
_Octar_ died A.C. 430; for _Socrates_ tells us, that about that time the
_Burgundians_ having been newly vext by the _Hunns_, upon intelligence of
_Octar_'s death, seeing them without a leader, set upon them suddenly with
so much vigour, that 3000 _Burgundians_ slew 10000 _Hunns_. Of _Rugila_'s
being now King in _Pannonia_ you have heard already. He died A.C. 433, and
was succeeded by _Bleda_, as _Prosper_ and _Maximus_ inform us. This
_Bleda_ with his brother _Attila_ were before this time Kings of the
_Hunns_ beyond the _Danube_, their father _Munzuc_'s kingdom being divided
between them; and now they united the kingdom _Pannonia_ to their own.
Whence _Paulus Diaconus_ saith, they did _regnum intra Pannoniam Daciamque
gerere_. In the year 441, they began to invade the Empire afresh, adding to
the _Pannonian_ forces new and great armies from _Scythia_. But this war
was presently composed, and then _Attila_, seeing _Bleda_ inclined to
peace, slew him, A.C. 444, inherited his dominions, and invaded the Empire
again. At length, after various great wars with the _Romans_, _Attila_
perished A.C. 454; and his sons quarrelling about his dominions, gave
occasion to the _Gepides_, _Ostrogoths_ and other nations who were their
subjects, to rebel and make war upon them. The same year the _Ostrogoths_
had seats granted them in _Pannonia_ by the Emperors _Marcian_ and
_Valentinian_; and with the _Romans_ ejected the _Hunns_ out of _Pannonia_,
soon after the death of _Attila_, as all historians agree. This ejection
was in the reign of _Avitus_, as is mentioned in the _Chronicum Boiorum_,
and in _Sidonius, Carm. 7 in Avitum_, which speaks thus of that Emperor.
----_Cujus solum amissas post sæcula multa_
_Pannonias revocavit iter, jam credere promptum est._
_Quid faciet bellis._
The Poet means, that by the coming of _Avitus_ the _Hunns_ yielded more
easily to the _Goths_. This was written by _Sidonius_ in the beginning of
the reign of _Avitus_: and his reign began in the end of the year 455, and
lasted not one full year.
_Jornandes_ tells us: _Duodecimo anno regni Valiæ, quando & Hunni post pene
quinquaginta annos invasa Pannonia, à Romanis & Gothis expulsi sunt._ And
_Marcellinus_: _Hierio & Ardaburio Coss. Pannoniæ, quæ per quinquaginta
annos ab Hunnis retinebantur, à Romanis receptæ sunt_: whence it should
seem that the _Hunns_ invaded and held _Pannonia_ from the year 378 or 379
to the year 427, and then were driven out of it. But this is a plain
mistake: for it is certain that the Emperor _Theodosius_ left the Empire
entire; and we have shewed out of _Prosper_, that the _Hunns_ were in quiet
possession of _Pannonia_ in the year 432. The _Visigoths_ in those days had
nothing to do with _Pannonia_, and the _Ostrogoths_ continued subject to
the _Hunns_ till the death of _Attila_, A.C. 454; and _Valia_ King of the
_Visigoths_ did not reign twelve years. He began his reign in the end of
the year 415, reigned three years, and was slain A.C. 419, as _Idacius_,
_Isidorus_, and the _Spanish_ manuscript Chronicles seen by _Grotius_
testify. And _Olympiodorus_, who carries his history only to the year 425,
sets down therein the death of _Valia_ King of the _Visigoths_, and
conjoins it with that of _Constantius_ which happened A.C. 420. Wherefore
the _Valia_ of _Jornandes_, who reigned at the least twelve years, is some
other King. And I suspect that this name hath been put by mistake for
_Valamir_ King of the _Ostrogoths_: for the action recorded was of the
_Romans_ and _Ostrogoths_ driving the _Hunns_ out of _Pannonia_ after the
death of _Attila_; and it is not likely that the historian would refer the
history of the _Ostrogoths_ to the years of the _Visigothic_ Kings. This
action happened in the end of the year 455, which I take to be the twelfth
year of _Valamir_ in _Pannonia_, and which was almost fifty years after the
year 406, in which the _Hunns_ succeeded the _Vandals_ and _Alans_ in
_Pannonia_. Upon the ceasing of the line of _Hunnimund_ the son of
_Hermaneric_, the _Ostrogoths_ lived without Kings of their own nation
about forty years together, being subject to the _Hunns_. And when _Alaric_
began to make war upon the _Romans_, which was in the year 444, he made
_Valamir_, with his brothers _Theodomir_ and _Videmir_ the grandsons of
_Vinethar_, captains or kings of these _Ostrogoths_ under him. In the
twelfth year of _Valamir_'s reign dated from thence, the _Hunns_ were
driven out of _Pannonia_.
Yet the _Hunns_ were not so ejected, but that they had further contests
with the _Romans_, till the head of _Denfix_ the son of _Attila_, was
carried to _Constantinople_, A.C. 469, in the Consulship of _Zeno_ and
_Marcian_, as _Marcellinus_ relates. Nor were they yet totally ejected the
Empire: for besides their reliques in _Pannonia_, _Sigonius_ tells us, that
when the Emperors _Marcian_ and _Valentinian_ granted _Pannonia_ to the
_Goths_, which was in the year 454, they granted part of _Illyricum_ to
some of the _Hunns_ and _Sarmatians_. And in the year 526, when the
_Lombards_ removing into _Pannonia_ made war there with the _Gepides_, the
_Avares_, a part of the _Hunns_, who had taken the name of _Avares_ from
one of their Kings, assisted the _Lombards_ in that war; and the _Lombards_
afterwards, when they went into _Italy_, left their seats in _Pannonia_ to
the _Avares_ in recompence of their friendship. From that time the _Hunns_
grew again very powerful; their Kings, whom they called _Chagan_, troubling
the Empire much in the reigns of the Emperors _Mauritius_, _Phocas_, and
_Heraclius_: and this is the original of the present kingdom of _Hungary_,
which from these _Avares_ and other _Hunns_ mixed together, took the name
of _Hun-Avaria_, and by contraction _Hungary_.
9. The _Lombards_, before they came over the _Danube_, were commanded by
two captains, _Ibor_ and _Ayon_: after whose death they had Kings,
_Agilmund_, _Lamisso_, _Lechu_, _Hildehoc_, _Gudehoc_, _Classo_, _Tato_,
_Wacho_, _Walter_, _Audoin_, _Alboin_, _Cleophis_, &c. _Agilmund_ was the
son of _Ayon_, who became their King, according to _Prosper_, in the
Consulship of _Honorius_ and _Theodosius_ A.C. 389, reigned thirty three
years, according to _Paulus Warnefridus_, and was slain in battle by the
_Bulgarians_. _Prosper_ places his death in the Consulship of _Marinianus_
and _Asclepiodorus_, A.C. 413. _Lamisso_ routed the _Bulgarians_, and
reigned three years, and _Lechu_ almost forty. _Gudehoc_ was contemporary
to _Odoacer_ King of the _Heruli_ in _Italy_, and led his people from
_Pannonia_ into _Rugia_, a country on the north side of _Noricum_ next
beyond the _Danube_; from whence _Odoacer_ then carried his people into
_Italy_. _Tato_ overthrew the kingdom of the _Heruli_ beyond the _Danube_.
_Wacho_ conquered the _Suevians_, a kingdom then bounded on the east by
_Bavaria_, on the west by _France_, and on the south by the _Burgundians_.
_Audoin_ returned into _Pannonia_ A.C. 526, and there overcame the
_Gepides_. _Alboin_ A.C. 551 overthrew the kingdom of the _Gepides_, and
slew their King _Chunnimund_: A.C. 563 he assisted the _Greek_ Emperor
against _Totila_ King of the _Ostrogoths_ in _Italy_; and A.C. 568 led his
people out of _Pannonia_ into _Lombardy_, where they reigned till the year
774.
According to _Paulus Diaconus_, the _Lombards_ with many other _Gothic_
nations came into the Empire from beyond the _Danube_ in the reign of
_Arcadius_ and _Honorius_, that is, between the years 395 and 408. But they
might come in a little earlier: for we are told that the _Lombards_, under
their captains _Ibor_ and _Ayon_, beat the _Vandals_ in battle; and
_Prosper_ placeth this victory in the Consulship of _Ausonius_ and
_Olybrius_, that is, A.C. 379. Before this war the _Vandals_ had remained
quiet forty years in the seats granted them in _Pannonia_ by _Constantine_
the great. And therefore if these were the same _Vandals_, this war must
have been in _Pannonia_; and might be occasioned by the coming of the
_Lombards_ over the _Danube_ into _Pannonia_, a year or two before the
battle; and so have put an end to that quiet which had lasted forty years.
After _Gratian_ and _Theodosius_ had quieted the _Barbarians_, they might
either retire over the _Danube_, or continue quiet under the _Romans_ till
the death of _Theodosius_; and then either invade the Empire anew, or throw
off all subjection to it. By their wars, first with the _Vandals_, and then
with the _Bulgarians_, a _Scythian_ nation so called from the river _Volga_
whence they came; it appears that even in those days they were a kingdom
not contemptible.
10. These nine kingdoms being rent away, we are next to consider the
residue of the _Western Empire_. While this Empire continued entire, it was
the Beast itself: but the residue thereof is only a part of it. Now if this
part be considered as a horn, the reign of this horn may be dated from the
translation of the imperial seat from _Rome_ to _Ravenna_, which was in
_October_ A.C. 408. For then the Emperor _Honorius_, fearing that _Alaric_
would besiege him in _Rome_, if he staid there, retired to _Millain_, and
thence to _Ravenna_: and the ensuing siege and sacking of _Rome_ confirmed
his residence there, so that he and his successors ever after made it their
home. Accordingly _Macchiavel_ in his _Florentine_ history writes, that
_Valentinian_ having left _Rome_, translated the seat of the Empire to
_Ravenna_.
_Rhætia_ belonged to the _Western_ Emperors, so long as that Empire stood;
and then it descended, with _Italy_ and the _Roman_ Senate, to _Odoacer_
King of the _Heruli_ in _Italy_, and after him to _Theoderic_ King of the
_Ostrogoths_ and his successors, by the grant of the _Greek_ Emperors. Upon
the death of _Valentinian_ the second, the _Alemans_ and _Suevians_ invaded
_Rhætia_ A.C. 455. But I do not find they erected any settled kingdom
there: for in the year 457, while they were yet depopulating _Rhætia_, they
were attacked and beaten by _Burto_ Master of the horse to the Emperor
_Majoranus_; and I hear nothing more of their invading _Rhætia_.
_Clodovæus_ King of _France_, in or about the year 496, conquered a kingdom
of the _Alemans_, and slew their last King _Ermeric_. But this kingdom was
seated in _Germany_, and only bordered upon _Rhætia_: for its people fled
from _Clodovæus_ into the neighbouring kingdom of the _Ostrogoths_ under
_Theoderic_, who received them as friends, and wrote a friendly letter to
_Clodovæus_ in their behalf: and by this means they became inhabitants of
_Rhætia_, as subjects under the dominion of the _Ostrogoths_.
When the _Greek_ Emperor conquered the _Ostrogoths_, he succeeded them in
the kingdom of _Ravenna_, not only by right of conquest but also by right
of inheritance, the _Roman_ Senate still going along with this kingdom.
Therefore we may reckon that this kingdom continued in the Exarchate of
_Ravenna_ and Senate of _Rome_: for the remainder of the _Western Empire_
went along with the Senate of _Rome_, by reason of the right which this
Senate still retained, and at length exerted, of chusing a new _Western_
Emperor.
I have now enumerated the ten kingdoms, into which the _Western Empire_
became divided at its first breaking, that is, at the time of _Rome_'s
being besieged and taken by the _Goths_. Some of these kingdoms at length
fell, and new ones arose: but whatever was their number afterwards, they
are still called the _Ten Kings_ from their first number.
Notes to Chap. VI.
[1] Apud Bucherum, l. 14. c. 9. n. 8.
[2] Rolevinc's Antiqua Saxon. l. 1. c. 6.
* * * * *
CHAP. VII.
_Of the eleventh horn of _Daniel_'s fourth Beast._
[1]_Now Daniel, considered the horns, and behold there came up among them
another horn, before whom there were three of the first horns pluckt up by
the roots; and behold in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a
mouth speaking great things,_--and [2] his _look was more stout than his
fellows,--and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against
them_: and one who stood by, and made _Daniel_ know the interpretation of
these things, told him, that [3] _the ten horns were ten kings that should
arise, and another should arise after them, and be diverse from the first,
and he should subdue three kings,_ [4] _and speak great words against the
most High, and wear out the saints, and think to change times and laws: and
that they should be given into his hands until a time and times and half a
time_. Kings are put for kingdoms, as above; and therefore the little horn
is a little kingdom. It was a horn of the fourth Beast, and rooted up three
of his first horns; and therefore we are to look for it among the nations
of the _Latin_ Empire, after the rise of the ten horns. But it was a
kingdom of a different kind from the other ten kingdoms, having a life or
soul peculiar to itself, with eyes and a mouth. By its eyes it was a Seer;
and by its mouth speaking great things and changing times and laws, it was
a Prophet as well as a King. And such a Seer, a Prophet and a King, is the
Church of _Rome_.
A Seer, [Greek: Episkopos], is a Bishop in the literal sense of the word;
and this Church claims the universal Bishoprick.
With his mouth he gives laws to kings and nations as an Oracle; and
pretends to Infallibility, and that his dictates are binding to the whole
world; which is to be a Prophet in the highest degree.
In the eighth century, by rooting up and subduing the Exarchate of
_Ravenna_, the kingdom of the _Lombards_, and the Senate and Dukedom of
_Rome_, he acquired _Peter_'s Patrimony out of their dominions; and thereby
rose up as a temporal Prince or King, or horn of the fourth Beast.
In a small book printed at _Paris_ A.C. 1689, entitled, _An historical
dissertation upon some coins of _Charles_ the great, _Ludovicus Pius_,
_Lotharius_, and their successors stamped at _Rome__, it is recorded, that
in the days of Pope _Leo_ X, there was remaining in the _Vatican_, and till
those days exposed to public view, an inscription in honour of _Pipin_ the
father of _Charles_ the great, in these words: _Pipinum pium, primum fuisse
qui amplificandæ Ecclesiæ Romanæ viam aperuerit, Exarchatu Ravennate, &
plurimis aliis oblatis_; "That _Pipin_ the pious was the first who opened a
way to the grandeur of the Church of _Rome_, conferring upon her the
Exarchate of _Ravenna_ and many other oblations." In and before the reign
of the Emperors _Gratian_ and _Theodosius_, the Bishop of _Rome_ lived
splendidly; but this was by the oblations of the _Roman_ Ladies, as
_Ammianus_ describes. After those reigns _Italy_ was invaded by foreign
nations, and did not get rid of her troubles before the fall of the kingdom
of _Lombardy_. It was certainly by the victory of the see of _Rome_ over
the _Greek_ Emperor, the King of _Lombardy_, and the Senate of _Rome_, that
she acquired _Peter_'s Patrimony, and rose up to her greatness. The
donation of _Constantine_ the Great is a fiction, and so is the donation of
the _Alpes Cottiæ_ to the Pope by _Aripert_ King of the _Lombards_: for the
_Alpes Cottiæ_ were a part of the Exarchate, and in the days of _Aripert_
belonged to the _Greek_ Emperor.
The invocation of the dead, and veneration of their images, being gradually
introduced in the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th centuries, the _Greek_ Emperor
_Philippicus_ declared against the latter, A.C. 711 or 712. And [5] the
Emperor _Leo Isaurus_, to put a stop to it, called a meeting of Counsellors
and Bishops in his Palace, A.C. 726; and by their advice put out an Edict
against that worship, and wrote to Pope _Gregory_ II. that a general
Council might be called. But the Pope thereupon called a Council at _Rome_,
confirmed the worship of Images, excommunicated the _Greek_ Emperor,
absolved the people from their allegiance, and forbad them to pay tribute,
or otherwise be obedient to him. Then the people of _Rome_, _Campania_,
_Ravenna_ and _Pentapolis_, with the cities under them, revolted and laid
violent hands upon their magistrates, killing the Exarch _Paul_ at
_Ravenna_, and laying aside _Peter_ Duke of _Rome_ who was become blind:
and when _Exhileratus_ Duke of _Campania_ incited the people against the
Pope, the _Romans_ invaded _Campania_, and slew him with his son _Hadrian_.
Then a new Exarch, _Eutychius_, coming to _Naples_, sent some secretly to
take away the lives of the Pope and the Nobles of _Rome_: but the plot
being discovered, the _Romans_ revolted absolutely from the _Greek_
Emperor, and took an oath to preserve the life of the Pope, to defend his
state, and be obedient to his authority in all things. Thus _Rome_ with its
Duchy, including part of _Tuscany_ and part of _Campania_, revolted in the
year 726, and became a free state under the government of the Senate of
this city. The authority of the Senate in civil affairs was henceforward
absolute, the authority of the Pope extending hitherto no farther than to
the affairs of the Church only.
At that time [6] the _Lombards_ also being zealous for the worship of
images, and pretending to favour the cause of the Pope, invaded the cities
of the Exarchate: and at length, viz. A.C. 752, took _Ravenna_, and put an
end to the Exarchate. And this was the first of the three kingdoms which
fell before the little horn.