In the year 751 [7] Pope _Zechary_ deposed _Childeric_, a slothful and

useless King of _France_, and the last of the race of _Merovæus_; and

absolving his subjects from their oath of allegiance, gave the kingdom to

_Pipin_ the major of the Palace; and thereby made a new and potent friend.

His successor [8] Pope _Stephen_ III, knowing better how to deal with the

_Greek_ Emperor than with the _Lombards_, went the next year to the King of

the _Lombards_, to persuade him to return the Exarchate to the Emperor. But

this not succeeding, he went into _France_, and persuaded _Pipin_ to take

the Exarchate and _Pentapolis_ from the _Lombards_, and give it to St.

_Peter_. Accordingly _Pipin_ A.C. 754 came with an army into _Italy_, and

made _Aistulphus_ King of the _Lombards_ promise the surrender: but the

next year _Aistulphus_, on the contrary, to revenge himself on the Pope,

besieged the city of _Rome_. Whereupon the Pope sent letters to _Pipin_,

wherein he told him that if he came not speedily against the _Lombards_,

_pro data sibi potentia, alienandum fore à regno Dei & vita æterna_, he

should be excommunicated. _Pipin_ therefore, fearing a revolt of his

subjects, and being indebted to the Church of _Rome_, came speedily with an

army into _Italy_, raised the siege, besieged the _Lombards_ in _Pavia_,

and forced them to surrender the Exarchate and region of _Pentapolis_ to

the Pope for a perpetual possession. Thus the Pope became Lord of

_Ravenna_, and the Exarchate, some few cities excepted; and the keys were

sent to _Rome_, and laid upon the confession of St. _Peter_, that is, upon

his tomb at the high Altar, _in signum veri perpetuique dominii, sed

pietate Regis gratuita_, as the inscription of a coin of _Pipin_ hath it.

This was in the year of Christ 755. And henceforward the Popes being

temporal Princes, left off in their Epistles and Bulls to note the years of

the _Greek_ Emperors, as they had hitherto done.

After this [9] the _Lombards_ invading the Pope's countries, Pope _Adrian_

sent to _Charles_ the great, the son and successor of _Pipin_, to come to

his assistance. Accordingly _Charles_ entered _Italy_ with an army, invaded

the _Lombards_, overthrew their kingdom, became master of their countries,

and restored to the Pope, not only what they had taken from him, but also

the rest of the Exarchate which they had promised _Pipin_ to surrender to

him, but had hitherto detained; and also gave him some cities of the

_Lombards_, and was in return himself made _Patricius_ by the _Romans_, and

had the authority of confirming the elections of the Popes conferred upon

him. These things were done in the years 773 and 774. This kingdom of the

_Lombards_ was the second kingdom which fell before the little horn. But

_Rome_, which was to be the seat of his kingdom, was not yet his own.

In the year 796, [10] _Leo_ III being made Pope, notified his election to

_Charles_ the great by his Legates, sending to him for a present, the

golden keys of the Confession of _Peter_, and the Banner of the city of

_Rome_: the first as an acknowledgment of the Pope's holding the cities of

the Exarchate and _Lombardy_ by the grant of _Charles_; the other as a

signification that _Charles_ should come and subdue the Senate and people

of _Rome_, as he had done the Exarchate and the kingdom of the _Lombards_.

For the Pope at the same time desired _Charles_ to send some of his Princes

to _Rome_, who might subject the _Roman_ people to him, and bind them by

oath _in fide & subjectione_, in fealty and subjection, as his words are

recited by _Sigonius_. An anonymous Poet, publish'd by _Boeclerus_ at

_Strasburg_, expresseth it thus:

_Admonuitque piis precibus, qui mittere vellet_

_Ex propriis aliquos primoribus, ac sibi plebem_

_Subdere Romanam, servandaque foedera cogens_

_Hanc fidei sacramentis promittere magnis_.

Hence arose a misunderstanding between the Pope and the city: and the

_Romans_ about two or three years after, by assistance of some of the

Clergy, raised such tumults against him, as gave occasion to a new state of

things in all the _West_. For two of the Clergy accused him of crimes, and

the _Romans_ with an armed force, seized him, stript him of his sacerdotal

habit, and imprisoned him in a monastery. But by assistance of his friends

he made his escape, and fled into _Germany_ to _Charles_ the great, to whom

he complained of the _Romans_ for acting against him out of a design to

throw off all authority of the Church, and to recover their antient

freedom. In his absence his accusers with their forces ravaged the

possessions of the Church, and sent the accusations to _Charles_; who

before the end of the year sent the Pope back to _Rome_ with a large

retinue. The Nobles and Bishops of _France_ who accompanied him, examined

the chief of his accusers at _Rome_, and sent them into _France_ in

custody. This was in the year 799. The next year _Charles_ himself went to

_Rome_, and upon a day appointed presided in a Council of _Italian_ and

_French_ Bishops to hear both parties. But when the Pope's adversaries

expected to be heard, the Council declared [11] that he who was the supreme

judge of all men, was above being judged by any other than himself:

whereupon he made a solemn declaration of his innocence before all the

people, and by doing so was looked upon as acquitted.

Soon after, upon _Christmas_-day, the people of _Rome_, who had hitherto

elected their Bishop, and reckoned that they and their Senate inherited the

rights of the antient Senate and people of _Rome_, voted _Charles_ their

Emperor, and subjected themselves to him in such manner as the old _Roman_

Empire and their Senate were subjected to the old _Roman_ Emperors. The

Pope crowned him, and anointed him with holy oil, and worshipped him on his

knees after the manner of adoring the old _Roman_ Emperors; as the

aforesaid Poet thus relates:

_Post laudes igitur dictas & summus eundem_

_Præsul adoravit, sicut mos debitus olim_

_Principibus fuit antiquis_.

The Emperor, on the other hand, took the following oath to the Pope: _In

nomine Christi spondeo atque polliceor, Ego Carolus Imperator coram Deo &

beato Petro Apostolo, me protectorem ac defensorem fore hujus sanctæ Romanæ

Ecclesiæ in omnibus utilitatibus, quatenùs divino fultus fuero adjutorio,

prout sciero poteroque_. The Emperor was also made Consul of _Rome_, and

his son _Pipin_ crowned King of _Italy_: and henceforward the Emperor

stiled himself: _Carolus serenissimus, Augustus, à Deo coronatus, magnus,

pacificus, Romæ gubernans imperium_, or _Imperator Romanorum_; and was

prayed for in the Churches of _Rome_. His image was henceforward put upon

the coins of _Rome_: while the enemies of the Pope, to the number of three

hundred _Romans_ and two or three of the Clergy, were sentenced to death.

The three hundred _Romans_ were beheaded in one day in the _Lateran_

fields: but the Clergymen at the intercession of the Pope were pardoned,

and banished into _France_. And thus the title of _Roman_ Emperor, which

had hitherto been in the _Greek_ Emperors, was by this act transferred in

the _West_ to the Kings of _France_.

After these things [12] _Charles_ gave the City and Duchy of _Rome_ to the

Pope, subordinately to himself as Emperor of the _Romans_; spent the winter

in ordering the affairs of _Rome_, and those of the Apostolic see, and of

all _Italy_, both civil and ecclesiastical, and in making new laws for

them; and returned the next summer into _France_: leaving the city under

its Senate, and both under the Pope and himself. But hearing that his new

laws were not observed by the judges in dictating the law, nor by the

people in hearing it; and that the great men took servants from free men,

and from the Churches and Monasteries, to labour in their vineyards,

fields, pastures and houses, and continued to exact cattle and wine of

them, and to oppress those that served the Churches: he wrote to his son

_Pipin_ to remedy these abuses, to take care of the Church, and see his

laws executed.

Now the Senate and people and principality of _Rome_ I take to be the third

King the little horn overcame, and even the chief of the three. For this

people elected the Pope and the Emperor; and now, by electing the Emperor

and making him Consul, was acknowledged to retain the authority of the old

_Roman_ Senate and people. This city was the Metropolis of the old _Roman_

Empire, represented in _Daniel_ by the fourth Beast; and by subduing the

Senate and people and Duchy, it became the Metropolis of the little horn of

that Beast, and completed _Peter_'s Patrimony, which was the kingdom of

that horn. Besides, this victory was attended with greater consequences

than those over the other two Kings. For it set up the _Western Empire_,

which continues to this day. It set up the Pope above the judicature of the

_Roman_ Senate, and above that of a Council of _Italian_ and _French_

Bishops, and even above all human judicature; and gave him the supremacy

over the _Western_ Churches and their Councils in a high degree. It gave

him _a look more stout than his fellows_; so that when this new religion

began to be established in the minds of men, he grappled not only with

Kings, but even with the _Western_ Emperor himself. It is observable also,

that the custom of kissing the Pope's feet, an honour superior to that of

Kings and Emperors, began about this time. There are some instances of it

in the ninth century: _Platina_ tells us, that the feet of Pope _Leo_ IV

were kissed, according to antient custom, by all who came to him: and some

say that _Leo_ III began this custom, pretending that his hand was infected

by the kiss of a woman. The Popes began also about this time to canonize

saints, and to grant indulgences and pardons: and some represent that _Leo_

III was the first author of all these things. It is further observable,

that _Charles_ the great, between the years 775 and 796, conquered all

_Germany_ from the _Rhine_ and _Danube_ northward to the _Baltic_ sea, and

eastward to the river _Teis_; extending his conquests also into _Spain_ as

far as the river _Ebro_: and by these conquests he laid the foundation of

the new Empire; and at the same time propagated the _Roman_ Catholic

religion into all his conquests, obliging the _Saxons_ and _Hunns_ who were

heathens, to receive the _Roman_ faith, and distributing his northern

conquests into Bishopricks, granting tithes to the Clergy and _Peter-pence_

to the Pope: by all which the Church of _Rome_ was highly enlarged,

enriched, exalted, and established.

In the forementioned _dissertation upon some coins of _Charles_ the great,

_Ludovicus Pius_, _Lotharius_, and their successors, stamped at _Rome__,

there is a draught of a piece of _Mosaic_ work which Pope _Leo_ III. caused

to be made in his Palace near the Church of _John Lateran_, in memory of

his sending the standard or banner of the city of _Rome_ curiously wrought,

to _Charles_ the great; and which still remained there at the publishing of

the said book. In the _Mosaic_ work there appeared _Peter_ with three keys

in his lap, reaching the _Pallium_ to the Pope with his right hand, and the

banner of the city to _Charles_ the great with his left. By the Pope was

this inscription, SCISSIMUS D.N. LEO PP; by the King this, D.N. CARVLO

REGI; and under the feet of _Peter_ this, BEATE PETRE, DONA VITAM LEONI PP,

ET BICTORIAM CARVLO REGI DONA. This Monument gives the title of King to

_Charles_, and therefore was erected before he was Emperor. It was erected

when _Peter_ was reaching the _Pallium_ to the Pope, and the Pope was

sending the banner of the city to _Charles_, that is, A.C. 796. The words

above, _Sanctissimus Dominus noster Leo Papa Domino nostro Carolo Regi_,

relate to the message; and the words below, _Beate Petre, dona vitam Leoni

Papæ & victoriam Carolo regi dona_, are a prayer that in this undertaking

God would preserve the life of the Pope, and give victory to the King over

the _Romans_. The three keys in the lap of _Peter_ signify the keys of the

three parts of his Patrimony, that of _Rome_ with its Duchy, which the Pope

claimed and was conquering, those of _Ravenna_ with the Exarchate, and of

the territories taken from the _Lombards_; both which he had newly

conquered. These were the three dominions, whose keys were in the lap of

St. _Peter_, and whose Crowns are now worn by the Pope, and by the conquest

of which he became the little horn of the fourth Beast. By _Peter_'s giving

the _Pallium_ to the Pope with his right hand, and the banner of the city

to the King with his left, and by naming the Pope before the King in the

inscription, may be understood that the Pope was then reckoned superior in

dignity to the Kings of the earth.

After the death of _Charles_ the great, his son and successor _Ludovicus

Pius_, at the request of the Pope, [13] confirmed the donations of his

grandfather and father to the see of _Rome_. And in the confirmation he

names first _Rome_ with its Duchy extending into _Tuscany_ and _Campania_;

then the Exarchate of _Ravenna_, with _Pentapolis_; and in the third place,

the territories taken from the _Lombards_. These are his three conquests,

and he was to hold them of the Emperor for the use of the Church _sub

integritate_, entirely, without the Emperor's medling therewith, or with

the jurisdiction or power of the Pope therein, unless called thereto in

certain cases. This ratification the Emperor _Ludovicus_ made under an

oath: and as the King of the _Ostrogoths_, for acknowledging that he held

his kingdom of _Italy_ of the _Greek_ Emperor, stamped the effigies of the

Emperor on one side of his coins and his own on the reverse; so the Pope

made the like acknowledgment to the _Western_ Emperor. For the Pope began

now to coin money, and the coins of _Rome_ are henceforward found with the

heads of the Emperors, _Charles_, _Ludovicus Pius_, _Lotharius_, and their

successors, on the one side, and the Pope's inscription on the reverse, for

many years.

Notes to Chap. VII.

[1] Chap. vii. 8.

[2] Ver. 20, 21.

[3] Ver. 24.

[4] Ver. 25.

[5] Sigonius de Regno Italiæ, ad Ann. 726.

[6] Sigonius ib. ad Ann. 726, 752.

[7] Sigon. ib. Ann. 750.

[8] Sigon. ib. Ann. 753, 754, 755.

[9] Sigon. ib. Ann. 773.

[10] Sigon. de Regno Ital. ad Ann. 796.

[11] Vide Anastasium.

[12] Sigon. de Regno Ital.

[13] Confirmationem recitat Sigonius, lib. 4. de Regno Italiæ, ad An. 817.

* * * * *

CHAP. VIII.

_Of the power of the eleventh horn of _Daniel_'s fourth Beast, to change

times and laws_.

In the reign of the _Greek_ Emperor _Justinian_, and again in the reign of

_Phocas_, the Bishop of _Rome_ obtained some dominion over the _Greek_

Churches, but of no long continuance. His standing dominion was only over

the nations of the _Western Empire_, represented by _Daniel_'s fourth

Beast. And this jurisdiction was set up by the following Edict of the

Emperors _Gratian_ and _Valentinian.--[1] Volumus ut quicunque judicio

Damasi, quod ille cum Concilio quinque vel septem habuerit Episcoporum, vel

eorum qui Catholici sunt judicio vel Concilio condemnatus fuerit, si juste

voluerit Ecclesiam retentare, ut qui ad sacerdotale judicium per

contumeliam non ivisset: ut ab illustribus viris Præfectis Prætorio Galliæ

atque Italiæ, authoritate adhibitâ, ad Episcopale judicium remittatur, sive

à Consularibus vel Vicariis, ut ad Urbem Romam sub prosecutione perveniat.

Aut si in longinquioribus partibus alicujus ferocitas talis emerserit,

omnis ejus causæ edictio ad Metropolitæ in eadem Provincia Episcopi

deduceretur examen. Vel si ipse Metropolitanus est, Romam necessariò, vel

ad eos quos Romanus Episcopus judices dederit, sine delatione

contendat.----Quod si vel Metropolitani Episcopi vel cujuscunque sacerdotis

iniquitas est suspecta, aut gratia; ad Romanum Episcopum, vel ad Concilium

quindecim finitimorum Episcoporum accersitum liceat provocare; modo ne post

examen habitum, quod definitum fuerit, integretur_. This Edict wanting the

name of both _Valens_ and _Theodosius_ in the Title, was made in the time

between their reigns, that is, in the end of the year 378, or the beginning

of 379. It was directed to the _Præfecti Prætorio Italiæ & Galliæ_, and

therefore was general. For the _Præfectus Prætorio Italiæ_ governed

_Italy_, _Illyricum occidentale_ and _Africa_; and the _Præfectus Prætorio

Galliæ_ governed _Gallia_, _Spain_, and _Britain_.

The granting of this jurisdiction to the Pope gave several Bishops occasion

to write to him for his resolutions upon doubtful cases, whereupon he

answered by decretal Epistles; and henceforward he gave laws to the

_Western_ Churches by such Epistles. _Himerius_ Bishop of _Tarraco_, the

head city of a province in _Spain_, writing to Pope _Damasus_ for his

direction about certain Ecclesiastical matters, and the Letter not arriving

at _Rome_ till after the death of _Damasus_, A.C. 384; his successor

_Siricius_ answered the same with a legislative authority, telling him of

one thing: _Cum hoc fieri--missa ad Provincias à venerandæ memoriæ

prædecessore meo Liberio generalia decreta, prohibeant_. Of another:

_Noverint se ab omni ecclesiastico honore, quo indignè usi sunt, Apostolicæ

Sedis auctoritate, dejectos_. Of another: _Scituri posthac omnium

Provinciarum summi Antistites, quod si ultrò ad sacros ordines quenquam de

talibus esse assumendum, & de suo & de aliorum statu, quos contra Canones &

interdicta nostra provexerint, congruam ab Apostolica Sede promendam esse

sententiam_. And the Epistle he concludes thus: _Explicuimus, ut arbitror,

frater charissime, universa quæ digesta sunt in querelam; & ad singulas

causas, de quibus ad Romanam Ecclesiam, utpote ad caput tui corporis,

retulisti; sufficientia, quantum opinor, responsa reddidimus. Nunc

fraternitatis tuæ animum ad servandos canones, & tenenda decretalia

constituta, magis ac magis incitamus: ad hæc quæ ad tua consulta

rescripsimus in omnium Coepiscoporum perferri facias notionem; & non solum

corum, qui in tua sunt dioecesi constituti, sed etiam ad universos

Carthaginenses ac Boeticos, Lusitanos atque [2] Gallicos, vel eos qui

vicinis tibi collimitant hinc inde Provinciis, hæc quæ a nobis sunt salubri

ordinatione disposita, sub literarum tuarum prosecutione mittantur. Et

quanquam statuta sedis Apostolicæ vel Canonum venerabilia definita, nulli

Sacerdotum Domini ignorare sit liberum: utilius tamen, atque pro

antiquitate sacerdotii tui, dilectioni tuæ esse admodùm poterit gloriosum,

si ea quæ ad te speciali nomine generaliter scripta sunt, per unanimitatis

tuæ sollicitudinem in universorum fratrum nostrorum notitiam perferantur;

quatenus & quæ à nobis non inconsultè sed providè sub nimia cautela &

deliberatione sunt salubriter constituta, intemerata permaneant, & omnibus

in posterum excusationibus aditus, qui jam nulli apud nos patere poterit,

obstruatur. Dat. 3 Id. Febr. Arcadio & Bautone viris clarissimis

Consulibus_, A.C. 385. Pope _Liberius_ in the reign of _Jovian_ or

_Valentinian_ I. sent general Decrees to the Provinces, ordering that the

_Arians_ should not be rebaptized: and this he did in favour of the Council

of _Alexandria_, that nothing more should be required of them than to

renounce their opinions. Pope _Damasus_ is said to have decreed in a

_Roman_ Council, that _Tithes_ and _Tenths_ should be paid upon pain of an

_Anathema_; and that _Glory be to the Father_, &c. should be said or sung

at the end of the _Psalms_. But the first decretal Epistle now extant is

this of _Siricius_ to _Himerius_; by which the Pope made _Himerius_ his

Vicar over all _Spain_ for promulging his Decrees, and seeing them

observed. The Bishop of _Sevill_ was also the Pope's Vicar sometimes; for

_Simplicius_ wrote thus to _Zeno_ Bishop of that place: _Talibus idcirco

gloriantes indiciis, congruum duximus vicariâ Sedis nostræ te auctoritate

fulciri: cujus vigore munitus, Apostolicæ institutionis Decreta, vel

sanctorum terminos Patrum, nullatenus transcendi permittas_. And Pope

_Hormisda_ [3] made the Bishop of _Sevill_ his Vicar over _Boetica_ and

_Lusitania_, and the Bishop of _Tarraco_ his Vicar over all the rest of

_Spain_, as appears by his Epistles to them.

Pope _Innocent_ the first, in his decretal Epistle to _Victricius_ Bishop

of _Rouen_ in _France_, A.C. 404, in pursuance of the Edict of _Gratian_,

made this Decree: _Si quæ autem causæ vel contentiones inter Clericos tam

superioris ordinis quam etiam inferioris fuerint exortæ; ut secundum

Synodum Nicenam congregatis ejusdem Provinciæ Episcopis jurgium terminetur:

nec alicui liceat, [4] Romanæ Ecclesiæ, cujus in omnibus causis debet

reverentia custodiri, relictis his sacerdotibus, qui in eadem Provincia Dei

Ecclesiam nutu Divino gubernant, ad alias convolare Provincias. Quod siquis

fortè præsumpserit; & ab officio Clericatûs summotus, & injuriarum reus

judicetur. Si autem majores causæ in medium fuerint devolutæ, ad Sedem

Apostolicam sicut Synodus statuit, & beata consuetudo exigit, post judicium

Episcopale referantur_. By these Letters it seems to me that _Gallia_ was

now subject to the Pope, and had been so for some time, and that the Bishop

of _Rouen_ was then his Vicar or one of them: for the Pope directs him to

refer the greater causes to the See of _Rome_, according to custom. But the

Bishop of _Arles_ soon after became the Pope's Vicar over all _Gallia_: for

Pope _Zosimus_, A.C. 417, ordaining that none should have access to him

without the credentials of his Vicars, conferred upon _Patroclus_ the

Bishop of _Arles_ this authority over all _Gallia_, by the following

Decree.

_Zosimus universis Episcopis per Gallias & septem

Provincias constitutis_.

_Placuit Apostolicæ Sedi, ut siquis ex qualibet Galliarum parte sub

quolibet ecclesiastico gradu ad nos Romæ venire contendit, vel aliò

terrarum ire disponit, non aliter proficiscatur nisi Metropolitani Episcopi

Formatas acceperit, quibus sacerdotium suum vel locum ecclesiasticum quem

habet, scriptorum ejus adstipulatione perdoceat: quod ex gratia statuimus

quia plures episcopi sive presbyteri sive ecclesiastici simulantes, quia

nullum documentum Formatarum extat per quod valeant confutari, in nomen

venerationis irrepunt, & indebitam reverentiam promerentur. Quisquis

igitur, fratres charissimi, prætermissà supradicti Formatâ sive episcopus,

sive presbyter, sive diaconus, aut deinceps inferiori gradu sit, ad nos

venerit: sciat se omnino suscipi non posse. Quam auctoritatem ubique nos

misisse manifestum est, ut cunctis regionibus innotescat id quod statuimus

omnimodis esse servandum. Siquis autem hæc salubriter constituta temerare

tentaverit sponte suâ, se a nostra noverit communione discretum. Hoc autem

privilegium Formatarum sancto Patroclo fratri & coepiscopo nostro,

meritorum ejus speciali contemplatione, concessimus_. And that the Bishop

of _Arles_ was sometimes the Pope's Vicar over all _France_, is affirmed

also by all the Bishops of the Diocess of _Arles_ in their Letter to Pope

_Leo_ I. _Cui id etiam honoris dignitatisque collatum est_, say they, _ut

non tantum has Provincias potestate propriâ gubernaret; verum etiam omnes

Gallias sibi Apostolicæ Sedis vice mandatas, sub omni ecclesiastica regula

contineret_. And Pope _Pelagius_ I. A.C. 556, in his Epistle to _Sapaudus_

Bishop of _Arles_: _Majorum nostrorum, operante Dei misericordiâ, cupientes

inhærere vestigiis & eorum actus divino examine in omnibus imitari:

Charitati tuæ per universam Galliam, sanctæ Sedis Apostolicæ, cui divinâ

gratiâ præsidemus, vices injungimus_.

By the influence of the same imperial Edict, not only _Spain_ and _Gallia_,

but also _Illyricum_ became subject to the Pope. _Damasus_ made

_Ascholius_, or _Acholius_, Bishop of _Thessalonica_ the Metropolis of

_Oriental Illyricum_, his Vicar for hearing of causes; and in the year 382,

_Acholius_ being summoned by Pope _Damasus_, came to a Council at _Rome_.

Pope _Siricius_ the successor of _Damasus_, decreed that no Bishop should

be ordained in _Illyricum_ without the consent of _Anysius_ the successor

of _Acholius_. And the following Popes gave _Rufus_ the successor of

_Anysius_, a power of calling Provincial Councils: for in the Collections

of _Holstenius_ there is an account of a Council of _Rome_ convened under

Pope _Boniface_ II. in which were produced Letters of _Damasus_,

_Syricius_, _Innocent_ I. _Boniface_ I. and _Cælestine_ Bishops of _Rome_,

to _Ascholius_, _Anysius_ and _Rufus_, Bishops of _Thessalonica_: in which

Letters they commend to them the hearing of causes in _Illyricum_, granted

by the Lord and the holy Canons to the Apostolic See thro'out that

Province. And Pope _Siricius_ saith in his Epistle to _Anysius_: _Etiam

dudum, frater charissime, per Candidianum Episcopum, qui nos præcessit ad

Dominum, hujusmodi literas dederamus, ut nulla licentia esset, sine

consensu tuo in Illyrico Episcopos ordinare præsumere, quæ utrum ad te

pervenerint scire non potui. Multa enim gesta sunt per contentionem ab

Episcopis in ordinationibus faciendis, quod tua melius caritas novit_. And

a little after: _Ad omnem enim hujusmodi audaciam comprimendam vigilare

debet instantia tua, Spiritu in te Sancto fervente: ut vel ipse, si potes,

vel quos judicaveris Episcopos idoneos, cum literis dirigas, dato consensu

qui possit, in ejus locum qui defunctus vel depositus fuerit, Catholicum

Episcopum vitâ & moribus probatum, secundum Nicænæ Synodi statuta vel

Ecclesiæ Romanæ, Clericum de Clero meritum ordinare_. And Pope _Innocent_

I. saith in his Epistle to _Anysius_: _Cui_ [Anysio] _etiam anteriores

tanti ac tales viri prædecessores mei Episcopi, id est, sanctæ memoriæ

Damasus, Siricius, atque supra memoratus vir ita detulerunt; ut omnia quæ

in omnibus illis partibus gererentur, Sanctitati tuæ, quæ plena justitiæ

est, traderent cognoscenda_. And in his Epistle to _Rufus_ the successor of

_Anysius_: _Ita longis intervallis disterminatis à me ecclesiis discat

consulendum; ut prudentiæ gravitatique tuæ committendam curam causasque,

siquæ exoriantur, per Achaiæ, Thessaliæ, Epiri veteris, Epiri novæ, &

Cretæ, Daciæ mediterraneæ, Daciæ ripensis, Moesiæ, Dardaniæ, & Prævali

ecclesias, Christo Domino annuente, censeam. Verè enim ejus sacratissimis

monitis lectissimæ sinceritatis tuæ providentiæ & virtuti hanc injungimus

sollicitudinem: non primitùs hæc statuentes, sed Præcessores nostros

Apostolicos imitati, qui beatissimis Acholio & Anysio injungi pro meritis

ista voluerunt_. And _Boniface_ I. in his decretal Epistle to _Rufus_ and

the rest of the Bishops in _Illyricum_: _Nullus, ut frequenter dixi,

alicujus ordinationem citra ejus_ [Episcopi Thessalonicensis] _conscientiam

celebrare præsumat: cui, ut supra dictum est, vice nostrâ cuncta

committimus_. And Pope _Cælestine_, in his decretal Epistle to the Bishops

thro'out _Illyricum_, saith: _Vicem nostram per vestram Provinciam

noveritis_ [Rufo] _esse commissam, ita ut ad eum, fratres carissimi,

quicquid de causis agitur, referatur. Sine ejus consilio nullus ordinetur.

Nullus usurpet, eodem inconscio, commissam illi Provinciam; colligere nisi

cum ejus voluntate Episcopus non præsumat_. And in the cause of

_Perigenes_, in the title of his Epistle, he thus enumerates the Provinces

under this Bishop: _Rufo & cæteris Episcopis per Macedoniam, Achaiam,

Thessaliam, Epirum veterem, Epirum novam, Prævalin, & Daciam constitutis_.

And Pope _Xistus_ in a decretal Epistle to the same Bishops: _Illyricanæ

omnes Ecclesiæ, ut à decessoribus nostris recepimus, & nos quoque fecimus,

ad curam nunc pertinent Thessalonicensis Antistitis, ut suâ sollicitudine,

siquæ inter fratres nascantur, ut assolent, actiones distinguat atque

definiat; & ad eum, quicquid à singulis sacerdotibus agitur, referatur. Sit

Concilium, quotiens causæ fuerint, quotiens ille pro necessitatum

emergentium ratione decreverit_. And Pope _Leo_ I. in his decretal Epistle

to _Anastasius_ Bishop of _Thessalonica_: _Singulis autem Metropolitanis

sicut potestas ista committitur, ut in suis Provinciis jus habeant

ordinandi; ita eos Metropolitanos à te volumus ordinari; maturo tamen &

decocto judicio_.

_Occidental Illyricum_ comprehended _Pannonia prima_ and _secunda_,

_Savia_, _Dalmatia_, _Noricum mediterraneum_, and _Noricum ripense_; and

its Metropolis was _Sirmium_, till _Attila_ destroyed this city. Afterwards

_Laureacum_ became the Metropolis of _Noricum_ and both _Pannonias_, and

_Salona_ the Metropolis of _Dalmatia_. Now [5] the Bishops of _Laureacum_

and _Salona_ received the _Pallium_ from the Pope: and _Zosimus_, in his

decretal Epistle to _Hesychius_ Bishop of _Salona_, directed him to

denounce the Apostolic decrees as well to the Bishops of his own, as to

those of the neighbouring Provinces. The subjection of these Provinces to

the See of _Rome_ seems to have begun in _Anemius_, who was ordained Bishop

of _Sirmium_ by _Ambrose_ Bishop of _Millain_, and who in the Council of

_Aquileia_ under Pope _Damasus_, A.C. 381, declared his sentence in these

words: _Caput Illyrici non nisi civitas Sirmiensis: Ego igitur illius

civitatis Episcopus sum. Eum qui non confitetur filium Dei æternum, &

coeternum patri, qui est sempiternus, anathema dico_. The next year

_Anemius_ and _Ambrose_, with _Valerian_ Bishop of _Aquileia_, _Acholias_

Bishop of _Thessalonica,_ and many others, went to the Council of _Rome_,

which met for overruling the _Greek_ Church by majority of votes, and

exalting the authority of the Apostolic See, as was attempted before in the

Council of _Sardica_.

_Aquileia_ was the second city of the _Western Empire_, and by some called

the second _Rome_. It was the Metropolis of _Istria_, _Forum Julium_, and

_Venetia_; and its subjection to the See of _Rome_ is manifest by the

decretal Epistle of _Leo_ I. directed to _Nicetas_ Bishop of this city; for

the Pope begins his Epistle thus: _Regressus ad nos filius meus Adeodatus

Diaconus Sedis nostræ, dilectionem tuam poposcisse memorat, ut de his à

nobis authoritatem Apostolicæ Sedis acciperes, quæ quidem magnam

difficultatem dijudicationis videntur afferre_. Then he sets down an answer

to the questions proposed by _Nicetas_, and concludes thus: _Hanc autem

Epistolam nostram, quam ad consultationem tuæ fraternitatis emisimus, ad

omnes fratres & comprovinciales tuos Episcopos facies pervenire, ut in

omnium observantia, data profit authoritas. Data 1-2 Kal. Apr. Majorano

Aug. Cos._ A.C. 458. _Gregory_ the great A.C. 591, [6] cited _Severus_

Bishop of _Aquileia_ to appear before him in judgment in a Council at

_Rome_.

The Bishops of _Aquileia_ and _Millain_ created one another, and therefore

were of equal authority, and alike subject to the See of _Rome_. Pope

_Pelagius_ about the year 557, testified this in the following words: [7]

_Mos antiquus fuit_, saith he, _ut quia pro longinquitate vel difficultate

itineris, ab Apostolico illis onerosum fuerit ordinari, ipsi se invicem

Mediolanensis & Aquileiensis ordinare Episcopos debuissent_. These words

imply that the ordination of these two Bishops belonged to the See of

_Rome_. When _Laurentius_ Bishop of _Millain_ had excommunicated _Magnus_,

one of his Presbyters, and was dead, [8] _Gregory_ the great absolved

_Magnus_, and sent the _Pallium_ to the new elected Bishop _Constantius_;

whom the next year [9] he reprehended of partiality in judging

_Fortunatus_, and commanded him to send _Fortunatus_ to _Rome_ to be judged

there: four years after [10] he appointed the Bishops of _Millain_ and

_Ravenna_ to hear the cause of one _Maximus_; and two years after, viz.

A.C. 601, when _Constantius_ was dead, and the people of _Millain_ had

elected _Deusdedit_ his successor, and the _Lombards_ had elected another,

[11] _Gregory_ wrote to the Notary, Clergy, and People of _Millain_, that

by the authority of his Letters _Deusdedit_ should be ordained, and that he

whom the _Lombards_ had ordained was an unworthy successor of _Ambrose_:

whence I gather, that the Church of _Millain_ had continued in this state

of subordination to the See of _Rome_ ever since the days of _Ambrose_; for

_Ambrose_ himself acknowledged the authority of that See. _Ecclesia

Romana_, [12] saith he, _hanc consuetudinem non habet, cujus typum in

omnibus sequimur, & formam_. And a little after: _In omnibus cupio sequi

Ecclesiam Romanam_. And in his Commentary upon 1 _Tim_. iii. _Cum totus

mundus Dei sit, tamen domus ejus Ecclesia dicitur, cujus hodie rector est

Damasus_. In his Oration on the death of his brother _Satyrus_, he relates

how his brother coming to a certain city of _Sardinia_, _advocavit

Episcopum loci, percontatusque est ex eo utrum cum Episcopis Catholicis hoc

est cum Romana Ecclesia conveniret?_ And in conjunction with the Synod of

_Aquileia_ A.C. 381, in a synodical Epistle to the Emperor _Gratian_, he

saith: _Totius orbis Romani caput Romanam Ecclesiam, atque illam

sacrosanctam Apostolorum fidem, ne turbari sineret, obsecranda fuit

clementia vestra; inde enim in omnes venerandæ communionis jura dimanant_.

The Churches therefore of _Aquileia_ and _Millain_ were subject to the See

of _Rome_ from the days of the Emperor _Gratian_. _Auxentius_ the

predecessor of _Ambrose_ was not subject to the see of _Rome_, and

consequently the subjection of the Church of _Millain_ began in _Ambrose_.

This Diocese of _Millain_ contained _Liguria_ with _Insubria_, the _Alpes

Cottiæ_ and _Rhætia_; and was divided from the Diocese of _Aquileia_ by the

river _Addua_. In the year 844, the Bishop of _Millain_ broke off from the

See of _Rome_, and continued in this separation about 200 years, as is thus

related by [13] _Sigonius_: _Eodem anno Angilbertus Mediolanensis

Archiepiscopus ab Ecclesia Romana parum comperta de causa descivit,

tantumque exemplo in posterum valuit, ut non nisi post ducentos annos

Ecclesia Mediolanensis ad Romanæ obedientiam auctoritatemque redierit_.

The Bishop of _Ravenna_, the Metropolis of _Flaminia_ and _Æmilia_, was

also subject to the Pope: for _Zosimus_, A.C. 417, excommunicated some of

the Presbyters of that Church, and wrote a commonitory Epistle about them

to the Clergy of that Church as a branch of the _Roman_ Church: _In sua_,

saith he, _hoc est, in Ecclesia nostra Romana_. When those of _Ravenna_,

having elected a new Bishop, gave notice thereof to Pope _Sixtus_, the Pope

set him aside, and [14] ordained _Peter Chrysologus_ in his room.

_Chrysologus_ in his Epistle to _Eutyches_, extant in the Acts of the

Council of _Chalcedon_, wrote thus: _Nos pro studio pacis & fidei, extra

consensum Romanæ civitatis Episcopi, causas fidei audire non possumus_.

Pope _Leo_ I. being consulted by _Leo_ Bishop of _Ravenna_ about some

questions, answered him by a decretal Epistle A.C. 451. And Pope _Gregory_

the great, [15] reprehending _John_ Bishop of _Ravenna_ about the use of

the _Pallium_, tells him of a Precept of one of his Predecessors, Pope

_John_, commanding that all the Privileges formerly granted to the Bishop

and Church of _Ravenna_ should be kept: to this _John_ returned a

submissive answer; and after his death Pope _Gregory_ ordered a visitation

of the Church of _Ravenna_, confirmed the privileges heretofore granted

them, and sent his _Pallium_, as of antient custom, to their new Bishop

_Marinian_. Yet this Church revolted sometimes from the Church of _Rome_,

but returned again to its obedience.

The rest of _Italy_, with the Islands adjacent, containing the

_suburbicarian_ regions, or ten Provinces under the temporal Vicar of

_Rome, viz._ 1_Campania_, 2_Tuscia_ and _Umbria_, 3_Picenum suburbicarium_,

4_Sicily_, 5_Apulia_ and _Calabria_, 6_Brutii_ and _Lucania_, 7_Samnium_,

8_Sardinia_, 9_Corsica_, and 10_Valeria_, constituted the proper Province

of the Bishop of _Rome_. For the Council of _Nice_ in their fifth Canon

ordained that Councils should be held every spring and autumn in every

Province; and according to this Canon, the Bishops of this Province met at

_Rome_ every half year. In this sense Pope _Leo_ I. applied this Canon to

_Rome_, in a decretal Epistle to the Bishops of _Sicily_, written _Alippio

& Ardabure Coss_. A.C. 447. _Quia saluberrime_, saith he, _à sanctis

patribus constitutum est, binos in annis singulis Episcoporum debere esse

conventus, terni semper ex vobis ad diem tertium Kalendarum Octobrium Romam

æterno concilio sociandi occurrant. Et indissimulanter à vobis hæc

consuetudo servetur, quoniam adjuvante Dei gratiâ, faciliùs poterit

provideri, ut in Ecclesiis Christi nulla scandala, nulli nascantur errores;

cum coram Apostolo Petro semper in communione tractatum fuerit, ut omnia

Canonum Decreta apud omnes Domini sacerdotes inviolata permaneant_. The

Province of _Rome_ therefore comprehended _Sicily_, with so much of _Italy_

and the neighbouring Islands as sent Bishops to the annual Councils of

_Rome_; but extended not into the Provinces of _Ravenna_, _Aquileia_,

_Millain_, _Arles_, &c. those Provinces having Councils of their own. The

Bishops in every Province of the _Roman_ Empire were convened in Council by

the Metropolitan or Bishop of the head city of the Province, and this

Bishop presided in that Council: but the Bishop of _Rome_ did not only

preside in his own Council of the Bishops of the _suburbicarian_ regions,

but also gave Orders to the Metropolitans of all the other Provinces in the

_Western Empire_, as their universal governor; as may be further perceived

by the following instances.

Pope _Zosimus_ A.C. 417, cited _Proculus_ Bishop of _Marseilles_ to appear

before a Council at _Rome_ for illegitimate Ordinations; and condemned him,

as he mentions in several of his Epistles. Pope _Boniface_ I. A.C. 419,

upon a complaint of the Clergy of _Valentia_ against _Maximus_ a Bishop,

summoned the Bishops of all _Gallia_ and the seven Provinces to convene in

a Council against him; and saith in his Epistle, that his Predecessors had

done the like. Pope _Leo_ I. called a general Council of all the Provinces

of _Spain_ to meet in _Gallæcia_ against the _Manichees_ and

_Priscillianists_, as he says in his decretal Epistle to _Turribius_ a

_Spanish_ Bishop. And in one of his decretal Epistles to _Nicetas_ Bishop

of _Aquileia_, he commands him to call a Council of the Bishops of that

Province against the _Pelagians_, which might ratify all the Synodal

Decrees which had been already ratified by the See of _Rome_ against this

heresy. And in his decretal Epistle to _Anastasius_ Bishop of

_Thessalonica_, he ordained that Bishop should hold two Provincial Councils

every year, and refer the harder causes to the See of _Rome_: and if upon

any extraordinary occasion it should be necessary to call a Council, he

should not be troublesom to the Bishops under him, but content himself with

two Bishops out of every Province, and not detain them above fifteen days.

In the same Epistle he describes the form of Church-Government then set up,

to consist in a subordination of all the Churches to the See of _Rome_: _De

qua forma_, saith he, _Episcoporum quoque est orta distinctio, & magna

dispositione provisum est ne omnes sibi omnia vindicarent, sed essent in

singulis Provinciis singuli quorum inter fratres haberetur prima sententia,

& rursus quidam in majoribus urbibus constituti sollicitudinem sumerent

ampliorem, per quos ad unam Petri Sedem universalis Ecclesiæ cura

conflueret, & nihil usque à suo capite dissideret. Qui ergo scit se

quibusdam esse præpositum, non moleste ferat aliquem sibi esse præpositum;

sed obedientiam quam exigit etiam ipse dependat; et sicut non vult gravis

oneris sarcinam ferre, ita non audeat aliis importabile pondus imponere_.

These words sufficiently shew the monarchical form of government then set

up in the Churches of the _Western Empire_ under the Bishop of _Rome_, by

means of the imperial Decree of _Gratian_, and the appeals and decretal

Epistles grounded thereupon.

The same Pope _Leo_, having in a Council at _Rome_ passed sentence upon

_Hilary_ Bishop of _Arles_, for what he had done by a Provincial Council in

_Gallia_, took occasion from thence to procure the following Edict from the

_Western_ Emperor _Valentinian_ III. for the more absolute establishing the

authority of his See over all the Churches of the _Western Empire_.

_Impp. Theodosius & Valentinianus AA. Aetio

Viro illustri, Comiti & Magistro utriusque

militiæ & Patricio._

_Certum est & nobis & imperio nostro unicum esse præsidium in supernæ

Divinitatis favore, ad quem promerendum præcipue Christiana fides &

veneranda nobis religio suffragatur. Cum igitur Sedis Apostolicæ Primatum

sancti Petri meritum, qui princeps est Episcopalis coronæ & Romanæ dignitas

civitatis, sacræ etiam Synodi firmavit auctoritas: ne quid præter

auctoritatem Sedis istius illicitum præsumptio attemperare nitatur: tunc

enim demum Ecclesiarum pax ubique servabitur, si Rectorem suum agnoscat

Universitas. Hæc cum hactenus inviolabiliter suerint custodita, Hilarius

Arelatensis, sicut venerabilis viri Leonis Romani Papæ fideli relatione

comperimus, contumaci ausu illicita quædam præsumenda tentavit, & ideo

Transalpinas Ecclesias abominabilis tumultus invasit, quod recens maximè

testatur exemplum. Hilarius enim qui Episcopus Arelatensis vocatur,

Ecclesiæ Romanæ urbis inconsulto Pontifice indebitas sibi ordinationes

Episcoporum solâ temeritate usurpans invasit. Nam alios incompetenter

removit; indecenter alios, invitis & repugnantibus civibus, ordinavit. Qui

quidem, quoniam non facile ab his qui non elegerant, recipiebantur, manum

sibi contrahebat armatam, & claustra murorum in hostilem morem vel

obsidione cingebat, vel aggressione reserabat, & ad sedem quietis pacem

prædicaturus per bella ducebat: His talibus contra Imperii majestatem, &

contra reverentiam Apostolicæ Sedis admissis, per ordinem religiosi viri

Urbis Papæ cognitione discussis, certa in eum, ex his quos malè

ordinaverat, lata sententia est. Erat quidem ipsa sententia per Gallias

etiam sine Imperiali Sanctione valitura: quid enim Pontificis auctoritate

non liceret? Sed nostram quoque præceptionem hæc ratio provocavit. Nec

ulterius vel Hilario, quem adhuc Episcopum nuncupare sola mansueta Præsulis

permittit humanitas, nec cuiquam alteri ecclesiasticis rebus arma miscere,

aut præceptis Romani Antistitis liceat obviare: ausibus enim talibus fides

& reverentia nostri violatur Imperii. Nec hoc solum, quod est maximi

criminis, submovemus: verum ne levis saltem inter Ecclesias turba nascatur,

vel in aliquo minui religionis disciplina videatur, hoc perenni sanctione

discernimus; nequid tam Episcopis Gallicanis quam aliarum Provinciarum

contra consuetudinem veterem liceat, sine viri venerabilis Papæ Urbis

æternæ auctoritate, tentare. Sed illis omnibusque pro lege sit, quicquid

sanxit vel sanxerit Apostolicæ Sedis auctoritas: ita ut quisquis

Episcoporum ad judicium Romani Antistitis evocatus venire neglexerit, per

Moderatorem ejusdem Provinciæ adesse cogatur, per omnia servatis quæ Divi

parentes nostri Romanæ Ecclesiæ detulerunt, Aetî pater carissime Augusti.

Unde illustris & præclara magnificentia tua præsentis Edictalis Legis

auctoritate faciet quæ sunt superius statuta servari, decem librarum auri

multa protinus exigenda ab unoquoque Judice qui passus fuerit præcepta

nostra violari. Divinitas te servet per multos annos, parens carissime.

Dat. _viii._ Id. Jun. Romæ, Valentiniano A. _vi._ Consule_, A.C. 445. By

this Edict the Emperor _Valentinian_ enjoined an absolute obedience to the

will of the Bishop of _Rome_ thro'out all the Churches of his Empire; and

declares, that for the Bishops to attempt any thing without the Pope's

authority is contrary to antient custom, and that the Bishops summoned to

appear before his judicature must be carried thither by the Governor of the

Province; and he ascribes these privileges of the See of _Rome_ to the

concessions of his dead Ancestors, that is, to the Edict of _Gratian_ and

_Valentinian_ II. as above: by which reckoning this dominion of the Church

of _Rome_ was now of 66 years standing: and if in all this time it had not

been sufficiently established, this new Edict was enough to settle it

beyond all question thro'out the _Western Empire_.

Hence all the Bishops of the Province of _Arles_ in their Letter to Pope

_Leo_, A.C. 450, petitioning for a restitution of the privileges of their

Metropolitan, say: _Per beatum Petrum Apostolorum principem, sacrosancta

Ecclesia Romana tenebat supra omnes totius mundi Ecclesias principatum_.

And _Ceratius_, _Salonius_ and _Veranus_, three Bishops of _Gallia_, say,

in their Epistle to the same Pope: _Magna præterea & ineffabili quadam nos

peculiares tui gratulatione succrescimus, quod illa specialis doctrinæ

vestræ pagina ita per omnium Ecclesiarum conventicula celebratur, ut vere

consona omnium sententia declaretur; merito illic principatum Sedis

Apostolicæ constitutum, unde adhuc Apostolici spiritus oracula reserentur_.

And _Leo_ himself, in [16] his Epistle to the metropolitan Bishops thro'out

_Illyricum_: _Quia per omnes Ecclesias cura nostra distenditur, exigente

hoc à nobis Domino, qui Apostolicæ dignitatis beatissimo Apostolo Petro

primatum, fidei sui remuneratione commisit, universalem Ecclesiam in

fundamenti ipsius soliditate constituens_.

While this Ecclesiastical Dominion was rising up, the northern barbarous

nations invaded the _Western Empire_, and founded several kingdoms therein,

of different religions from the Church of _Rome_. But these kingdoms by

degrees embraced the _Roman_ faith, and at the same time submitted to the

Pope's authority. The _Franks_ in _Gaul_ submitted in the end of the fifth

Century, the _Goths_ in _Spain_ in the end of the sixth; and the _Lombards_

in _Italy_ were conquered by _Charles_ the great A.C. 774. Between the

years 775 and 794, the same _Charles_ extended the Pope's authority over

all _Germany_ and _Hungary_ as far as the river _Theysse_ and the _Baltic_

sea; he then set him above all human judicature, and at the same time

assisted him in subduing the City and Duchy of _Rome_. By the conversion of

the ten kingdoms to the _Roman_ religion, the Pope only enlarged his

spiritual dominion, but did not yet rise up as a horn of the Beast. It was

his temporal dominion which made him one of the horns: and this dominion he

acquired in the latter half of the eighth century, by subduing three of the

former horns as above. And now being arrived at a temporal dominion, and a

power above all human judicature, he reigned [17] _with a look more stout

than his fellows_, and [18] _times and laws were_ henceforward _given into

his hands, for a time times and half a time_, or three times and an half;

that is, for 1260 solar years, reckoning a time for a Calendar year of 360

days, and a day for a solar year. After which [19] _the judgment is to sit,

and they shall take away his dominion_, not at once, but by degrees, _to

consume, and to destroy it unto the end. [20] And the kingdom and dominion,

and greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall_, by degrees, _be

given unto the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an

everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him_.

Notes to Chap. VIII.

[1] _See the Annals of _Baronius__, Anno 381. Sect. 6.

[2] Populos Galliciæ.

[3] Hormisd. Epist. 24. 26.

[4] _The words, _sine auctoritate_, seem wanting._

[5] Vide Caroli a S. Paulo Geographiam sacram, p. 72, 73.

[6] Greg. M. lib. 1. Indic. 9. Epist. 16.

[7] Apud Gratianum de Mediolanensi & Aquileiensi Episcopis.

[8] Greg. M. lib. 3. Epist. 26. & lib. 4. Epist. 1.

[9] Greg. lib. 5. Epist. 4.

[10] Greg. lib. 9. Epist. 10 & 67.

[11] Greg. lib. 11. Epist. 3, 4.

[12] Ambros l. 3. de sacramentis, c. 1.

[13] Sigonius de Regno Italiæ, lib. 5.

[14] _See _Baronius__, Anno 433. Sect. 24.

[15] Greg. M. lib. 3. Epist. 56, 57. & lib. 5. Epist. 25, 26, 56.

[16] Epist. 25. apud Holstenium.

[17] Dan. vii. 20.

[18] Ver. 25.

[19] Ver. 26.

[20] Ver. 27.

* * * * *

CHAP. IX.

_Of the kingdoms represented in _Daniel_ by the Ram and He-Goat_.

The second and third Empires, represented by the Bear and Leopard, are

again represented by the Ram and He-Goat; but with this difference, that

the Ram represents the kingdoms of the _Medes_ and _Persians_ from the

beginning of the four Empires, and the Goat represents the kingdom of the

_Greeks_ to the end of them. By this means, under the type of the Ram and

He-Goat, the times of all the four Empires are again described: _I lifted

up mine eyes_, saith [1] _Daniel_, _and saw_, _and behold there stood

before the river_ [Ulai] _a Ram which had two horns, and the two horns were

high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.--And

the Ram having two horns, are the kings of _Media_ and _Persia__: not two

persons but two kingdoms, the kingdoms of _Media_ and _Persia_; and the

kingdom of _Persia_ was the higher horn and came up last. The kingdom of

_Persia_ rose up, when _Cyrus_ having newly conquered _Babylon_, revolted

from _Darius_ King of the _Medes_, and beat him at _Pasargadæ_, and set up

the _Persians_ above the _Medes_. This was the horn which came up last. And

the horn which came up first was the kingdom of the _Medes_, from the time

that _Cyaxares_ and _Nebuchadnezzar_ overthrew _Nineveh_, and shared the

Empire of the _Assyrians_ between them. The Empires of _Media_ and

_Babylon_ were contemporary, and rose up together by the fall of the

_Assyrian_ Empire; and the Prophecy of the four Beasts begins with one of

them, and that of the Ram and He-Goat with the other. As the Ram represents

the kingdom of _Media_ and _Persia_ from the beginning of the four Empires;

so the He-Goat represents the Empire of the _Greeks_ to the end of those

Monarchies. In the reign of his great horn, and of the four horns which

succeeded it, he represents this Empire during the reign of the Leopard:

and in the reign of his little horn, which stood up in the latter time of

the kingdom of the four, and after their fall became mighty but not by his

own power, he represents it during the reign of the fourth Beast.

_The rough Goat_, saith _Daniel, is the King of_ Grecia, that is, the

kingdom; _and the great horn between his eyes is the first King_: not the

first Monarch, but the first kingdom, that which lasted during the reign of

_Alexander_ the great, and his brother _Aridæus_ and two young sons,

_Alexander_ and _Hercules_. [2] _Now that_ [horn] _being broken off,

whereas four_ [horns] _stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of

the nation_ [of the _Greeks_], _but not in his_ [the first horn's] _power_.

The four horns are therefore four kingdoms; and by consequence, the first

great horn which they succeeded is the first great kingdom of the _Greeks_,

that which was founded by _Alexander_ the great, _An. Nabonass._ 414, and

lasted till the death of his son _Hercules_, _An. Nabonass._ 441. And the

four are those of _Cassander_, _Lysimachus_, _Antigonus_, and _Ptolemy_, as

above.

[3] _And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are

come to the full, a King_ [or new kingdom] _of fierce countenance, and

understanding dark sentences, shall stand up: and his power shall be

mighty, but not by his own power_. This King was the last horn of the Goat,

the little horn which came up out of one of the four horns, and waxed

exceeding great. The latter time of their kingdom was when the _Romans_

began to conquer them, that is, when they conquered _Perseus_ King of

_Macedonia_, the fundamental kingdom of the _Greeks_. And at that time the

transgressors came to the full: for then the High-priesthood was exposed to

sale, the Vessels of the Temple were sold to pay for the purchase; and the

High-priest, with some of the _Jews_, procured a licence from _Antiochus

Epiphanes_ to do after the ordinances of the heathen, and set up a school

at _Jerusalem_ for teaching those ordinances. Then _Antiochus_ took

_Jerusalem_ with an armed force, slew 4000 _Jews_, took as many prisoners

and sold them, spoiled the Temple, interdicted the worship, commanded the

Law of _Moses_ to be burnt, and set up the worship of the heathen Gods in

all _Judea_. In the very same year, _An. Nabonass._ 580, the _Romans_

conquered _Macedonia_, the chief of the four horns. Hitherto the Goat was

mighty by its own power, but henceforward began to be under the _Romans_.

_Daniel_ distinguishes the times, by describing very particularly the

actions of the Kings of the north and south, those two of the four horns

which bordered upon _Judea_, until the _Romans_ conquered _Macedonia_; and

thenceforward only touching upon the main revolutions which happened within

the compass of the nations represented by the Goat. In this latter period

of time the little horn was to stand up and grow mighty, but not by his own

power.

The three first of _Daniel_'s Beasts had their dominions taken away, each

of them at the rise of the next Beast; but their lives were prolonged, and

they are all of them still alive. The third Beast, or Leopard, reigned in

his four heads, till the rise of the fourth Beast, or Empire of the

_Latins_; and his life was prolonged under their power. This Leopard

reigning in his four heads, signifies the same thing with the He-Goat

reigning in his four horns: and therefore the He-Goat reigned in his four

horns till the rise of _Daniel_'s fourth Beast, or Empire of the _Latins_:

then its dominion was taken away by the _Latins_, but its life was

prolonged under their power. The _Latins_ are not comprehended among the

nations represented by the He-Goat in this Prophecy: their power over the

_Greeks_ is only named in it, to distinguish the times in which the He-Goat

was mighty by his own power, from the times in which he was mighty but not

by his own power. He was mighty by his own power till his dominion was

taken away by the _Latins_; after that, his life was prolonged under their

dominion, and this prolonging of his life was in the days of his last horn:

for in the days of this horn the Goat became mighty, but not by his own

power.

Now because this horn was a horn of the Goat, we are to look for it among

the nations which composed the body of the Goat. Among those nations he was

to rise up and grow mighty: he grew mighty [4] _towards the south, and

towards the east, and towards the pleasant land_; and therefore he was to

rise up in the north-west parts of those nations, and extend his dominion

towards _Egypt_, _Syria_ and _Judea_. In the latter time of the kingdom of

the four horns, it was to rise up out of one of them and subdue the rest,

but not by its own power. It was to be assisted by a foreign power, a power

superior to itself, the power which took away the dominion of the third

Beast, the power of the fourth Beast. And such a little horn was the

kingdom of _Macedonia_, from the time that it became subject to the

_Romans_. This kingdom, by the victory of the _Romans_ over _Persius_ King

of _Macedonia_, _Anno Nabonass._ 580, ceased to be one of the four horns of

the Goat, and became a dominion of a new sort: not a horn of the fourth

Beast, for _Macedonia_ belonged to the body of the third; but a horn of the

third Beast of a new sort, a horn of the Goat which grew mighty but not by

his own power, a horn which rose up and grew potent under a foreign power,

the power of the _Romans_.

The _Romans_, by the legacy of _Attalus_ the last King of _Pergamus_, _An.

Nabonass._ 615, inherited that kingdom, including all _Asia Minor_ on this

side mount _Taurus_. _An. Nabonass._ 684 and 685 they conquered _Armenia_,

_Syria_ and _Judea_; _An. Nabonass._ 718, they subdued _Egypt_. And by

these conquests the little horn [5] _waxed exceeding great towards the

south, and towards the east, and towards the pleasant land. And it waxed

great even to the host of heaven; and cast down some of the host and of the

stars to the ground, and stamped upon them_, that is, upon the people and

great men of the _Jews_. [6] _Yea, he magnified himself even to the Prince

of the Host_, the _Messiah_, the Prince of the _Jews_, whom he put to

death, _An. Nabonass._ 780. _And by him the daily sacrifice was taken away,

and the place of his sanctuary was cast down_, viz. in the wars which the

armies of the _Eastern_ nations under the conduct of the _Romans_ made

against _Judea_, when _Nero_ and _Vespasian_ were Emperors, _An. Nabonass._

816, 817, 818. [7] _And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice

by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground, and

it practised and prospered_. This transgression is in the next words called

_the transgression of desolation_; and in _Dan._ xi. 31. _the abomination

which maketh desolate_; and in _Matth._ xxiv. 15. _the abomination of

desolation, spoken of by _Daniel_ the prophet, standing in the holy place_.

It may relate chiefly to the worship of _Jupiter Olympius_ in his Temple

built by the Emperor _Hadrian_, in the place of the Temple of the _Jews_,

and to the revolt of the _Jews_ under _Barchochab_ occasioned thereby, and

to the desolation of _Judea_ which followed thereupon; all the _Jews_,

being thenceforward banished _Judea_ upon pain of death. _Then I heard_,

saith [8] _Daniel, one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that

certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the

daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the

sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto

two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed._

_Daniel_'s days are years; and these years may perhaps be reckoned either

from the destruction of the Temple by the _Romans_ in the reign of

_Vespasian_, or from the pollution of the Sanctuary by the worship of

_Jupiter Olympius_, or from the desolation of _Judea_ made in the end of

the _Jewish_ war by the banishment of all the _Jews_ out of their own

country, or from some other period which time will discover. Henceforward

the last horn of the Goat continued mighty under the _Romans_, till the

reign of _Constantine_ the great and his sons: and then by the division of

the _Roman_ Empire between the _Greek_ and _Latin_ Emperors, it separated

from the _Latins_, and became the _Greek_ Empire alone, but yet under the

dominion of a _Roman_ family; and at present it is mighty under the

dominion of the _Turks_.

This last horn is by some taken for _Antiochus Epiphanes_, but not very

judiciously. A horn of a Beast is never taken for a single person: it

always signifies a new kingdom, and the kingdom of _Antiochus_ was an old

one. _Antiochus_ reigned over one of the four horns, and the little horn

was a fifth under its proper kings. This horn was at first a little one,

and waxed exceeding great, but so did not _Antiochus_. It is described

great above all the former horns, and so was not _Antiochus_. His kingdom

on the contrary was weak, and tributary to the _Romans_, and he did not

enlarge it. The horn was a _King of fierce countenance, and destroyed

wonderfully, and prospered and practised_; that is, he prospered in his

practises against the holy people: but _Antiochus_ was frighted out of

_Egypt_ by a mere message of the _Romans_, and afterwards routed and

baffled by the _Jews_. The horn was mighty by another's power, _Antiochus_

acted by his own. The horn stood up against the Prince of the Host of

heaven, the Prince of Princes; and this is the character not of _Antiochus_

but of _Antichrist_. The horn cast down the Sanctuary to the ground, and so

did not _Antiochus_; he left it standing. The Sanctuary and Host were

trampled under foot 2300 days; and in _Daniel_'s Prophecies days are put

for years: but the profanation of the Temple in the reign of _Antiochus_

did not last so many natural days. These were to last till the time of the

end, till the last end of the indignation against the _Jews_; and this

indignation is not yet at an end. They were to last till the Sanctuary

which had been cast down should be cleansed, and the Sanctuary is not yet

cleansed.

This Prophecy of the Ram and He-Goat is repeated in the last Prophecy of

_Daniel_. There the Angel tells _Daniel_, that [9] _he stood up to

strengthen _Darius_ the _Mede_, and that there should stand up yet three

kings in _Persia__, [_Cyrus_, _Cambyses_, and _Darius Hystaspis_] _and the

fourth_ [_Xerxes_] _should be far richer than they all; and by his wealth

thro' his riches he should stir up all against the realm of _Grecia__. This

relates to the Ram, whose two horns were the kingdoms of _Media_ and

_Persia_. Then he goes on to describe the horns of the Goat by the [10]

_standing up of a mighty king, which should rule with great dominion, and

do according to his will_; and by the breaking of his kingdom into four

smaller kingdoms, and not descending to his own posterity. Then he

describes the actions of two of those kingdoms which bordered on _Judea_,

_viz_. _Egypt_ and _Syria_, calling them the Kings of the _South_ and

_North_, that is, in respect of _Judea_; and he carries on the description

till the latter end of the kingdoms of the four, and till the reign of

_Antiochus Epiphanes_, when transgressors were come to the full. In the

eighth year of _Antiochus_, the year in which he profaned the Temple and

set up the heathen Gods in all _Judea_, and the _Romans_ conquered the

kingdom of _Macedon_; the prophetic Angel leaves off describing the affairs

of the kings of the _South_ and _North_, and begins to describe those of

the _Greeks_ under the dominion of the _Romans_, in these words: [11] _And

after him Arms_ [the _Romans_] _shall stand up, and they shall pollute the

sanctuary of strength_. As [Hebrew: MMLK] signifies _after the king_, Dan.

xi. 8; so here [Hebrew: MMNW] may signify _after him_: and so [Hebrew:

MN-H'CHT] may signify _after one of them_, Dan. viii. 9. Arms are every

where in these Prophecies of _Daniel_ put for the military power of a

kingdom, and they stand up when they conquer and grow powerful. The

_Romans_ conquered _Illyricum_, _Epirus_ and _Macedonia_, in the year of

_Nabonassar_ 580; and thirty five years after, by the last will and

testament of _Attalus_ the last King of _Pergamus_, they inherited that

rich and flourishing kingdom, that is, all _Asia_ on this side mount

_Taurus_: and sixty nine years after, they conquered the kingdom of

_Syria_, and reduced it into a Province: and thirty four years after they

did the like to _Egypt_. By all these steps the _Roman_ arms stood up over

the _Greeks_. And after 95 years more, by making war upon the _Jews, they

polluted the sanctuary of strength, and took away the daily sacrifice,

and_, in its room soon after, _placed the abomination which made_ the Land

_desolate_: for this abomination was placed after the days of Christ,

_Matth._ xxiv. 15. In the 16th year of the Emperor _Hadrian_, A. C. 132,

they placed this abomination by building a Temple to _Jupiter Capitolinus_,

where the Temple of God in _Jerusalem_ had stood. Thereupon the _Jews_

under the conduct of _Barchochab_ rose up in arms against the _Romans_, and

in that war had 50 cities demolished, 985 of their best towns destroyed,

and 580000 men slain by the sword: and in the end of the war, A.C. 136,

they were all banished _Judea_ upon pain or death; and that time the land

hath remained desolate of its old inhabitants.

Now that the prophetic Angel passes in this manner from the four kingdoms

of the _Greeks_ to the _Romans_ reigning over the _Greeks_, is confirmed

from hence, that in the next place he describes the affairs of the

_Christians_ unto the time of the end, in these words: [12] _And they that

understand among the people shall instruct many, yet they shall fall by the

sword and by flame, by captivity and by spoil many days. Now when they

shall fall they shall be holpen with a little help_, _viz_. in the reign of

_Constantine_ the great; _but many shall cleave to them with dissimulation.

And some of them of understanding there shall fall to try them, and to

purge_ them from the dissemblers; _and to make them white even to the time

of the end_. And a little after, the time of the end is said to be _a time,

times, and half a time_: which is the duration of the reign of the last

horn of _Daniel_'s fourth Beast, and of the _Woman_ and her _Beast_ in the

_Apocalyps_.

Notes to Chap. IX.

[1] Chap. viii. 3.

[2] Ver. 22.

[3] Ver. 23.

[4] Chap. viii. 9.

[5] Chap. viii. 9, 10.

[6] Ver. 11.

[7] Ver. 12.

[8] Ver. 13, 14.

[9] Dan. xi. 1, 2.

[10] Ver. 3.

[11] Dan xi. 31.

[12] Chap. xi. 33, &c.

* * * * *

CHAP. X.

_Of the Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks._

The Vision of the Image composed of four Metals was given first to

_Nebuchadnezzar_, and then to _Daniel_ in a dream: and _Daniel_ began then

to be celebrated for revealing of secrets, _Ezek._ xxviii. 3. The Vision of

the four Beasts, and of _the Son of man_ coming in the clouds of heaven,

was also given to _Daniel_ in a dream. That of the Ram and the He-Goat

appeared to him in the day time, when he was by the bank of the river

_Ulay_; and was explained to him by the prophetic Angel _Gabriel_. It

concerns the _Prince of the host_, and the _Prince of Princes_: and now in

the first year of _Darius_ the _Mede_ over _Babylon_, the same prophetic

Angel appears to _Daniel_ again, and explains to him what is meant by the

_Son of man_, by the _Prince of the host_, and the _Prince of Princes_. The

Prophecy of the _Son of man_ coming in the clouds of heaven relates to the

second coming of _Christ_; that of the _Prince of the host_ relates to his

first coming: and this Prophecy of the _Messiah_, in explaining them,

relates to both comings, and assigns the times thereof.

This Prophecy, like all the rest of _Daniel_'s, consists of two parts, an

introductory Prophecy and an explanation thereof; the whole I thus

translate and interpret.

[1] '_Seventy weeks are [2] cut out upon thy people, and upon thy holy

city, to finish transgression, and [3] to make an end of sins, to expiate

iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, to consummate the

Vision and [4] the Prophet, and to anoint the most Holy_.

'_Know also and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to

cause to return and to build _Jerusalem_, unto [5] the Anointed the Prince,

shall be seven weeks_.

'_Yet threescore and two weeks shall [6] it return, and the street be built

and the wall; but in troublesome times: and after the threescore and two

weeks, the Anointed shall be cut off, and [6] it shall not be his; but the

people of a Prince to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary: and

the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war,

desolations are determined_.

'_Yet shall he confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in half a

week he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease: and upon a wing of

abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and

that which is determined be poured upon the desolate_.'

_Seventy weeks are cut out upon thy people, and upon thy holy city, to

finish transgression_, &c. Here, by putting a week for seven years, are

reckoned 490 years from the time that the dispersed _Jews_ should be

re-incorporated into [7] a people and a holy city, until the death and

resurrection of _Christ_; whereby _transgression should be finished, and

sins ended, iniquity be expiated, and everlasting righteousness brought in,

and this Vision be accomplished, and the Prophet consummated_, that Prophet

whom the _Jews_ expected; and whereby _the most Holy_ should be _anointed_,

he who is therefore in the next words called the _Anointed_, that is, the

_Messiah_, or the _Christ_. For by joining the accomplishment of the vision

with the expiation of sins, the 490 years are ended with the death of

_Christ_. Now the dispersed _Jews_ became a people and city when they first

returned into a polity or body politick; and this was in the seventh year

of _Artaxerxes Longimanus_, when _Ezra_ returned with a body of _Jews_ from

captivity, and revived the _Jewish_ worship; and by the King's commission

created Magistrates in all the land, to judge and govern the people

according to the laws of God and the King, _Ezra_ vii. 25. There were but

two returns from captivity, _Zerubbabel_'s and _Ezra_'s; in _Zerubbabel_'s

they had only commission to build the Temple, in _Ezra_'s they first became

a polity or city by a government of their own. Now the years of this

_Artaxerxes_ began about two or three months after the summer solstice, and

his seventh year fell in with the third year of the eightieth _Olympiad_;

and the latter part thereof, wherein _Ezra_ went up to _Jerusalem_, was in

the year of the _Julian Period_ 4257. Count the time from thence to the

death of _Christ_, and you will find it just 490 years. If you count in

_Judaic_ years commencing in autumn, and date the reckoning from the first

autumn after _Ezra_'s coming to _Jerusalem_, when he put the King's decree

in execution; the death of _Christ_ will fall on the year of the _Julian

Period_ 4747, _Anno Domini_ 34; and the weeks will be _Judaic_ weeks,

ending with sabbatical years; and this I take to be the truth: but if you

had rather place the death of _Christ_ in the year before, as is commonly

done, you may take the year of _Ezra_'s journey into the reckoning.

_Know also and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to

cause to return and to build _Jerusalem_, unto the Anointed the Prince,

shall be seven weeks_. The former part of the Prophecy related to the first

coming of _Christ_, being dated to his coming as a Prophet; this being

dated to his coming to be Prince or King, seems to relate to his second

coming. There, the Prophet was consummate, and the most holy anointed:

here, he that was anointed comes to be Prince and to reign. For _Daniel_'s

Prophecies reach to the end of the world; and there is scarce a Prophecy in

the Old Testament concerning _Christ_, which doth not in something or other

relate to his second coming. If divers of the antients, as [8] _Irenæus_,

[9] _Julius Africanus_, _Hippolytus_ the martyr, and _Apollinaris_ Bishop

of _Laodicea_, applied the half week to the times of _Antichrist_; why may

not we, by the same liberty of interpretation, apply the seven weeks to the

time when _Antichrist_ shall be destroyed by the brightness of _Christ_'s

coming?

The _Israelites_ in the days of the antient Prophets, when the ten Tribes

were led into captivity, expected a double return; and that at the first

the _Jews_ should build a new Temple inferior to _Solomon_'s, until the

time of that age should be fulfilled; and afterwards they should return

from all places of their captivity, and build _Jerusalem_ and the Temple

gloriously, _Tobit_ xiv. 4, 5, 6: and to express the glory and excellence

of this city, it is figuratively said to be built of precious stones,

_Tobit_ xiii. 16, 17, 18. _Isa._ liv. 11, 12. _Rev._ xi. and called the

_New Jerusalem_, the _Heavenly Jerusalem_, the _Holy City_, the _Lamb's

Wife_, the _City of the Great King_, the _City into which the Kings of the

earth do bring their glory and honour_. _Now_ while such a return from

captivity was the expectation of _Israel_, even before the times of

_Daniel_, I know not why _Daniel_ should omit it in his Prophecy. This part

of the Prophecy being therefore not yet fulfilled, I shall not attempt a

particular interpretation of it, but content myself with observing, that as

the _seventy_ and the _sixty two weeks_ were _Jewish_ weeks, ending with

sabbatical years; so the _seven weeks_ are the compass of a _Jubilee_, and

begin and end with actions proper for a _Jubilee_, and of the highest

nature for which a _Jubilee_ can be kept: and that since _the commandment

to return and to build _Jerusalem__, precedes the _Messiah the Prince_ 49

years; it may perhaps come forth not from the _Jews_ themselves, but from

some other kingdom friendly to them, and precede their return from

captivity, and give occasion to it; and lastly, that this rebuilding of

_Jerusalem_ and the waste places of _Judah_ is predicted in _Micah_ vii.

11. _Amos_ ix. 11, 14. _Ezek._ xxxvi. 33, 35, 36, 38. _Isa._ liv. 3, 11,

12. lv. 12. lxi. 4. lxv. 18, 21,22. and _Tobit_ xiv. 5. and that the return

from captivity and coming of the _Messiah_ and his kingdom are described in

_Daniel_ vii. _Rev._ xix. _Acts_ i. _Mat._ xxiv. _Joel_ iii. _Ezek._ xxxvi.

xxxvii. _Isa._ lx. lxii. lxiii. lxv. and lxvi. and many other places of

scripture. The manner I know not. Let time be the Interpreter.

_Yet threescore and two weeks shall it return, and the street be built and

the wall, but in troublesome times: and after the threescore and two weeks

the _Messiah_ shall be cut off, and it shall not be his; but the people of

a Prince to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary_, &c. Having

foretold both comings of _Christ_, and dated the last from their returning

and building _Jerusalem_; to prevent the applying that to the building

_Jerusalem_ by _Nehemiah_, he distinguishes this from that, by saying that

from this period to the _Anointed_ shall be, not seven weeks, but

threescore and two weeks, and this not in prosperous but in troublesome

times; and at the end of these Weeks the _Messiah_ shall not be the Prince

of the _Jews_, but be cut off; and _Jerusalem_ not be his, but the city and

sanctuary be destroyed. Now _Nehemiah_ came to _Jerusalem_ in the 20th year

of this same _Artaxerxes_, while _Ezra_ still continued there, _Nehem._

xii. 36, and found the city lying waste, and the houses and wall unbuilt,

_Nehem._ ii. 17. vii. 4, and finished the wall the 25th day of the month

_Elul_, _Nehem._ vi. 15, in the 28th year of the King, that is, in

_September_ in the year of the _Julian Period_ 4278. Count now from this

year threescore and two weeks of years, that is 434 years, and the

reckoning will end in _September_ in the year of the _Julian Period_ 4712

which is the year in which _Christ_ was born, according to _Clemens

Alexandrinus_, _Irenæus_, _Eusebius_, _Epiphanius_, _Jerome_, _Orosius_,

_Cassiodorus_, and other antients; and this was the general opinion, till

_Dionysius Exiguus_ invented the vulgar account, in which _Christ_'s birth

is placed two years later. If with some you reckon that _Christ_ was born

three or four years before the vulgar account, yet his birth will fall in

the latter part of the last week, which is enough. How after these weeks

_Christ_ was cut off and the city and sanctuary destroyed by the _Romans_,

is well known.

_Yet shall he confirm the covenant with many for one week._ He kept it,

notwithstanding his death, till the rejection of the _Jews_, and calling of

_Cornelius_ and the _Gentiles_ in the seventh year after his passion.

_And in half a week he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease_;

that is, by the war of the _Romans_ upon the _Jews_: which war, after some

commotions, began in the 13th year of _Nero_, A.D. 67, in the spring, when

_Vespasian_ with an army invaded them; and ended in the second year of

_Vespasian_, A.D. 70, in autumn, _Sept._ 7, when _Titus_ took the city,

having burnt the Temple 27 days before: so that it lasted three years and

an half.

_And upon a wing of abominations he shall cause desolation, even until the

consummation, and that which is determined be poured upon the desolate._

The Prophets, in representing kingdoms by Beasts and Birds, put their wings

stretcht out over any country for their armies sent out to invade and rule

over that country. Hence a wing of abominations is an army of false Gods:

for an abomination is often put in scripture for a false God; as where

_Chemosh_ is called [10] the abomination of _Moab_, and _Molech_ the

abomination of _Ammon_. The meaning therefore is, that the people of a

Prince to come shall destroy the sanctuary, and abolish the daily worship

of the true God, and overspread the land with an army of false gods; and by

setting up their dominion and worship, cause desolation to the _Jews_,

until the times of the _Gentiles_ be fulfilled. For _Christ_ tells us, that

the abomination of desolation spoken of by _Daniel_ was to be set up in the

times of the _Roman Empire_, _Matth._ xxiv. 15.

Thus have we in this short Prophecy, a prediction of all the main periods

relating to the coming of the _Messiah_; the time of his birth, that of his

death, that of the rejection of the _Jews_, the duration of the _Jewish_

war whereby he caused the city and sanctuary to be destroyed, and the time

of his second coming: and so the interpretation here given is more full and

complete and adequate to the design, than if we should restrain it to his

first coming only, as Interpreters usually do. We avoid also the doing

violence to the language of _Daniel_, by taking the _seven weeks_ and

_sixty two weeks_ for one number. Had that been _Daniel_'s meaning, he

would have said _sixty and nine weeks_, and not _seven weeks_ and _sixty

two weeks_, a way of numbring used by no nation. In our way the years are

_Jewish Luni-solar years_, [11] as they ought to be; and the _seventy weeks

of years_ are _Jewish weeks_ ending with _sabbatical years_, which is very

remarkable. For they end either with the year of the birth of _Christ_, two

years before the vulgar account, or with the year of his death, or with the

seventh year after it: all which are _sabbatical years_. Others either

count by Lunar years, or by weeks not _Judaic_: and, which is worst, they

ground their interpretations on erroneous Chronology, excepting the opinion

of _Funccius_ about the _seventy weeks_, which is the same with ours. For

they place _Ezra_ and _Nehemiah_ in the reign of _Artaxerxes Mnemon_, and

the building of the Temple in the reign of _Darius Nothus_, and date the

weeks of _Daniel_ from those two reigns.

The grounds of the Chronology here followed, I will now set down as briefly

as I can.

The _Peloponnesian_ war began in spring _An._ 1 _Olymp._ 87, as _Diodorus_,

_Eusebius_, and all other authors agree. It began two months before

_Pythodorus_ ceased to be _Archon_, _Thucyd._ l. 2. that is, in _April_,

two months before the end of the _Olympic_ year. Now the years of this war

are most certainly determined by the 50 years distance of its first year

from the transit of _Xerxes_ inclusively, _Thucyd._ l. 2. or 48 years

exclusively, _Eratosth. apud Clem. Alex._ by the 69 years distance of its

end, or 27th year, from the beginning of _Alexander_'s reign in _Greece_;

by the acting of the _Olympic_ games in its 4th and 12th years, _Thucyd._

l. 5; and by three eclipses of the sun, and one of the moon, mentioned by

_Thucydides_ and _Xenophon_. Now _Thucydides_, an unquestionable witness,

tells us, that the news of the death of _Artaxerxes Longimanus_ was brought

to _Ephesus_, and from thence by some _Athenians_ to _Athens_, in the 7th

year of this _Peloponnesian_ war, when the winter half year was running;

and therefore he died _An._ 4 _Olymp._ 88, in the end of _An. J.P._ 4289,

suppose a month or two before midwinter; for so long the news would be in

coming. Now _Artaxerxes Longimanus_ reigned 40 years, by the consent of

_Diodorus_, _Eusebius_, _Jerome_, _Sulpitius_; or 41, according to _Ptol.

in can. Clem. Alexand._ l. 1. _Strom. Chron. Alexandr_. _Abulpharagius_,

_Nicephorus_, including therein the reign of his successors _Xerxes_ and

_Sogdian_, as _Abulpharagius_ informs us. After _Artaxerxes_ reigned his

son _Xerxes_ two months, and _Sogdian_ seven months; but their reign is not

reckoned apart in summing up the years of the Kings, but is included in the

40 or 41 years reign of _Artaxerxes_: omit these nine months, and the

precise reign of _Artaxerxes_ will be thirty nine years and three months.

And therefore since his reign ended in the beginning of winter _An. J.P._

4289, it began between midsummer and autumn, _An. J.P._ 4250.

The same thing I gather also thus. _Cambyses_ began his reign in spring

_An. J.P._ 4185, and reigned eight years, including the five months of

_Smerdes_; and then _Darius Hystaspis_ began in spring _An. J.P._ 4193, and

reigned thirty six years, by the unanimous consent of all Chronologers. The

reigns of these two Kings are determined by three eclipses of the moon

observed at _Babylon_, and recorded by _Ptolemy_; so that it cannot be

disputed. One was in the seventh year of _Cambyses_, _An. J.P._ 4191,

_Jul._ 16, at 11 at night; another in the 20th year of _Darius_, _An. J.P._

4212, _Nov._ 19, at 11h. 45' at night; a third in the 31st year of

_Darius_, _An. J.P._ 4223, _Apr._ 25, at 11h. 30 at night. By these

eclipses, and the Prophecies of _Haggai_ and _Zechary_ compared together,

it is manifest that his years began after the 24th day of the 11th _Jewish_

month, and before the 25th day of _April_, and by consequence about

_March_. _Xerxes_ therefore began in spring _An. J.P._ 4229: for _Darius_

died in the fifth year after the battle at _Marathon_, as _Herodotus_,

_lib._ 7, and _Plutarch_ mention; and that battle was in _October_ _An.

J.P._ 4224, ten years before the battle at _Salamis_. _Xerxes_ therefore

began within less than a year after _October_ _An. J.P._ 4228, suppose in

the spring following: for he spent his first five years, and something

more, in preparations for his expedition against the _Greeks_; and this

expedition was in the time of the _Olympic_ games, _An._ 1 _Olymp._ 75,

_Calliade Athenis Archonte_, 28 years after the _Regifuge_, and Consulship

of the first Consul _Junius Brutus_, _Anno Urbis conditæ_ 273, _Fabio &

Furio Coss._ The passage of _Xerxes_'s army over the _Hellespont_ began in

the end of the fourth year of the 74th _Olympiad_, that is, in _June_ _An.

J.P._ 4234, and took up one month: and in autumn, three months after, on

the full moon, the 16th day of the month _Munychion_, was the battle at

_Salamis_, and a little after that an eclipse of the sun, which by the

calculation fell on _Octob._ 2. His sixth year therefore began a little

before _June_, suppose in spring _An. J.P._ 4234, and his first year

consequently in spring _An. J.P._ 4229, as above. Now he reigned almost

twenty one years, by the consent of all writers. Add the 7 months of

_Artabanus_, and the sum will be 21 years and about four or five months,

which end between midsummer and autumn _An. J.P._ 4250. At this time

therefore began the reign of his successor _Artaxerxes_, as was to be

proved.

The same thing is also confirmed by _Julius Africanus_, who informs us out

of former writers, that the 20th year of this _Artaxerxes_ was the 115th

year from the beginning of the reign of _Cyrus_ in _Persia,_ and fell in

with _An._ 4 _Olymp._ 83. It began therefore with the _Olympic_ year, soon

after the summer Solstice, _An. J.P._ 4269. Subduct nineteen years, and his

first year will begin at the same time of the year _An. J.P._ 4250, as

above.

His 7th year therefore began after midsummer _An. J.P._ 4256; and the

Journey of _Ezra_ to _Jerusalem_ in the spring following fell on the

beginning of _An. J.P._ 4257, as above.

Notes to Chap. X.

[1] Chap. ix. 24, 25, 26, 27.

[2] _Cut upon_. A phrase in _Hebrew_, taken from the practise of numbring

by cutting notches.

[3] Heb. _to seal_, i.e. to finish or consummate: a metaphor taken from

sealing what is finished. So the _Jews_ compute, _ad obsignatum Misna, ad

obsignatum Talmud_, that is, _ad absolutum_.

[4] Heb. _the Prophet_, not the Prophecy.

[5] Heb. _the Messiah_, that is, in _Greek_, _the Christ_; in _English_,

_the Anointed_. I use the _English_ word, that the relation of this clause

to the former may appear.

[6] _Jerusalem_.

[7] See _Isa._ xxiii. 13.

[8] Iren. l. 5. Hær. c. 25.

[9] Apud Hieron. in h. l.

[10] 1 Kings xi. 7.

[11] The antient solar years of the eastern nations consisted of 12 months,

and every month of 30 days: and hence came the division of a circle into

360 degrees. This year seems to be used by _Moses_ in his history of the

Flood, and by _John_ in the _Apocalypse_, where a time, times and half a

time, 42 months and 1260 days, are put equipollent. But in reckoning by

many of these years together, an account is to be kept of the odd days

which were added to the end of these years. For the _Egyptians_ added five

days to the end of this year; and so did the _Chaldeans_ long before the

times of _Daniel_, as appears by the _Æra_, of _Nabonassar_: and the

_Persian_ Magi used the same year of 365 days, till the Empire of the

_Arabians_. The antient _Greeks_ also used the same solar year of 12 equal

months, or 360 days; but every other year added an intercalary month,

consisting of 10 and 11 days alternately.

The year of the _Jews_, even from their coming out of _Egypt_, was

Luni-solar. It was solar, for the harvest always followed the Passover, and

the fruits of the land were always gathered before the feast of

Tabernacles, _Levit._ xxiii. But the months were lunar, for the people were

commanded by _Moses_ in the beginning of every month to blow with trumpets,

and offer burnt offerings with their drink offerings, _Num._ x. 10. xxviii.

11, 14. and this solemnity was kept on the new moons, _Psal._ lxxxi. 3,4,5.

1 _Chron._ xxiii. 31. These months were called by _Moses_ the first,

second, third, fourth month, _&c._ and the first month was also called

_Abib_, the second _Zif_, the seventh _Ethanim_, the eighth _Bull_, _Exod._

xiii. 4. 1 _Kings_ vi. 37, 38. viii. 2. But in the _Babylonian_ captivity

the _Jews_ used the names of the _Chaldean_ months, and by those names

understood the months of their own year; so that the _Jewish_ months then

lost their old names, and are now called by those of the _Chaldeans_.

The _Jews_ began their civil year from the autumnal Equinox, and their

sacred year from the vernal: and the first day of the first month was on

the visible new moon, which was nearest the Equinox.

Whether _Daniel_ used the _Chaldaick_ or _Jewish_ year, is not very

material; the difference being but six hours in a year, and 4 months in 480

years. But I take his months to be _Jewish_: first, because _Daniel_ was a

_Jew_, and the _Jews_ even by the names of the _Chaldean_ months understood

the months of their own year: secondly, because this Prophecy is grounded

on _Jeremiah_'s concerning the 70 years captivity, and therefore must be

understood of the same sort of years with the seventy; and those are

_Jewish_, since that Prophecy was given in _Judea_ before the captivity:

and lastly, because _Daniel_ reckons by weeks of years, which is a way of

reckoning peculiar to the _Jewish_ years. For as their days ran by sevens,

and the last day of every seven was a sabbath; so their years ran by

sevens, and the last year of every seven was a sabbatical year, and seven

such weeks of years made a _Jubilee_.

* * * * *

CHAP. XI.

_Of the Times of the Birth and Passion of _Christ__.

The times of the Birth and Passion of _Christ_, with such like niceties,

being not material to religion, were little regarded by the _Christians_ of

the first age. They who began first to celebrate them, placed them in the

cardinal periods of the year; as the annunciation of the Virgin _Mary_, on

the 25th of _March_, which when _Julius Cæsar_ corrected the Calendar was

the vernal Equinox; the feast of _John_ Baptist on the 24th of _June_,

which was the summer Solstice; the feast of St. _Michael_ on _Sept._ 29,

which was the autumnal Equinox; and the birth of _Christ_ on the winter

Solstice, _Decemb._ 25, with the feasts of St. _Stephen_, St. _John_ and

the _Innocents_, as near it as they could place them. And because the

Solstice in time removed from the 25th of _December_ to the 24th, the 23d,

the 22d, and so on backwards, hence some in the following centuries placed

the birth of _Christ_ on _Decemb._ 23, and at length on _Decemb._ 20: and

for the same reason they seem to have set the feast of St. _Thomas_ on

_Decemb._ 21, and that of St. _Matthew_ on _Sept._ 21. So also at the

entrance of the Sun into all the signs in the _Julian_ Calendar, they

placed the days of other Saints; as the conversion of _Paul_ on _Jan._ 25,

when the Sun entred [Aquarius]; St. _Matthias_ on _Feb._ 25, when he entred

[Pisces]; St. _Mark_ on _Apr._ 25, when he entred [Taurus]; _Corpus

Christi_ on _May_ 26, when he entred [Gemini]; St. _James_ on _July_ 25,

when he entred [Cancer]; St. _Bartholomew_ on _Aug._ 24, when he entred

[Virgo]; _Simon_ and _Jude_ on _Octob._ 28, when he entred [Scorpio]: and

if there were any other remarkable days in the _Julian_ Calendar, they

placed the Saints upon them, as St. _Barnabas_ on _June_ 11, where _Ovid_

seems to place the feast of _Vesta_ and _Fortuna_, and the goddess

_Matuta_; and St. _Philip_ and _James_ on the first of _May_, a day

dedicated both to the _Bona Dea_, or _Magna Mater_, and to the goddess

_Flora_, and still celebrated with her rites. All which shews that these

days were fixed in the first _Christian_ Calendars by Mathematicians at

pleasure, without any ground in tradition; and that the _Christians_

afterwards took up with what they found in the Calendars.

Neither was there any certain tradition about the years of _Christ_. For

the _Christians_ who first began to enquire into these things, as _Clemens

Alexandrinus_, _Origen_, _Tertullian_, _Julius Africanus_, _Lactantius_,

_Jerome_, St. _Austin_, _Sulpicius Severus_, _Prosper_, and as many as

place the death of _Christ_ in the 15th or 16th year of _Tiberius_, make

_Christ_ to have preached but one year, or at most but two. At length

_Eusebius_ discovered four successive Passovers in the Gospel of _John_,

and thereupon set on foot an opinion that he preacht three years and an

half; and so died in the 19th year of _Tiberius_. Others afterwards,

finding the opinion that he died in the Equinox _Mar._ 25, more consonant

to the times of the _Jewish_ Passover, in the 17th and 20th years, have

placed his death in one of those two years. Neither is there any greater

certainty in the opinions about the time of his birth. The first

_Christians_ placed his baptism near the beginning of the 15th year of

_Tiberius_; and thence reckoning thirty years backwards, placed his birth

in the 43d _Julian_ year, the 42d of _Augustus_ and 28th of the _Actiac_

victory. This was the opinion which obtained in the first ages, till

_Dionysius Exiguus_, placing the baptism of _Christ_ in the 16th year of

_Tiberius_, and misinterpreting the text of _Luke_, iii. 23. as if _Jesus_

was only beginning to be 30 years old when he was baptized, invented the

vulgar account, in which his birth is placed two years later than before.

As therefore relating to these things there is no tradition worth

considering; let us lay aside all and examine what prejudices can be

gathered from records of good account.

The fifteenth year of _Tiberius_ began _Aug._ 28, _An. J.P._ 4727. So soon

as the winter was over, and the weather became warm enough, we may reckon

that _John_ began to baptize; and that before next winter his fame went

abroad, and all the people came to his baptism, and _Jesus_ among the rest.

Whence the first Passover after his baptism mentioned _John_ ii. 13. was in

the 16th year of _Tiberius_. After this feast _Jesus_ came into the land of

_Judea_, and staid there baptizing, whilst _John_ was baptizing in _Ænon_,

_John_ iii. 22, 23. But when he heard that _John_ was cast into prison, he

departed into _Galilee_, _Mat._ iii. 12. being afraid, because the

Pharisees had heard that he baptized more disciples than _John_, _John_ iv.

1. and in his journey he passed thro' _Samaria_ four months before the

harvest, _John_ iv. 35. that is, about the time of the winter Solstice. For

their harvest was between _Easter_ and _Whitsunday_, and began about a

month after the vernal Equinox. _Say not ye_, saith he, _there are yet four

months, and then cometh harvest? Behold I say unto you, lift up your eyes,

and look on the fields, for they are white already to harvest_; meaning,

that the people in the fields were ready for the Gospel, as his next words

shew[1]. _John_ therefore was imprisoned about _November_, in the 17th year

of _Tiberius_; and _Christ_ thereupon went from _Judea_ to _Cana_ of

_Galilee_ in _December_, and was received there of the _Galileans_, who had

seen all he did at _Jerusalem_ at the Passover: and when a Nobleman of

_Capernaum_ heard he was returned into _Galilee_, and went to him and

desired him to come and cure his son, he went not thither yet, but only

said, _Go thy way, thy son liveth; and the Nobleman returned and found it

so, and believed, he and his house_, John iv. This is the beginning of his

miracles in _Galilee_; and thus far _John_ is full and distinct in relating

the actions of his first year, omitted by the other Evangelists. The rest

of his history is from this time related more fully by the other

Evangelists than by _John_; for what they relate he omits.

From this time therefore _Jesus_ taught in the Synagogues of _Galilee_ on

the sabbath-days, being glorified of all: and coming to his own city

_Nazareth_, and preaching in their Synagogue, they were offended, and

thrust him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill on which

the city was built to cast him headlong; but he passing thro' the midst of

them, went his way, and came and dwelt at _Capernaum_, _Luke_ iv. And by

this time we may reckon the second Passover was either past or at hand.

All this time _Matthew_ passeth over in few words, and here begins to

relate the preaching and miracles of _Christ_. _When _Jesus__, saith he,

_had heard that _John_ was cast into prison, he departed into _Galilee_;

and leaving _Nazareth_, he came and dwelt at _Capernaum_, and from that

time began to preach and say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at

hand_, Matth. iv. 12. Afterwards he called his disciples _Peter_, _Andrew_,

_James_ and _John_; and then _went about all_ Galilee, _teaching in the

Synagogues,--and healing all manner of sickness:--and his fame went

thro'out all _Syria_; and they brought unto him all sick people,--and there

followed him great multitudes of people from _Galilee_, and from

_Decapolis_, and from _Jerusalem_, and from _Judea_, and from beyond

_Jordan__, Matth, iv. 18, 25. All this was done before the sermon in the

mount: and therefore we may certainly reckon that the second Passover was

past before the preaching of that sermon. The multitudes that followed him

from _Jerusalem_ and _Judea_, shew that he had lately been there at the

feast. The sermon in the mount was made when great multitudes came to him

from all places, and followed him in the open fields; which is an argument

of the summer-season: and in this sermon he pointed at the lilies of the

field then in the flower before the eyes of his auditors. _Consider_, saith

he, _the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they

spin; and yet _Solomon_ in all his glory was not arayed like one of these.

Wherefore if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is and to

morrow is cast into the oven_, &c. _Matth._ vi. 28. So therefore the grass

of the field was now in the flower, and by consequence the month of _March_

with the Passover was past.

Let us see therefore how the rest of the feasts follow in order in

_Matthew_'s Gospel: for he was an eye-witness of what he relates, and so

tells all things in due order of time, which _Mark_ and _Luke_ do not.

Some time after the sermon in the mount, when the time came that he should

be received, that is, when the time of a feast came that he should be

received by the _Jews_, he set his face to go to _Jerusalem_: and as he

went with his disciples in the way, when the _Samaritans_ in his passage

thro' _Samaria_ had denied him lodgings, and a certain Scribe said unto

him, _Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest_, Jesus _said

unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but

the Son of man hath not where to lay his head_, Matth. viii. 19. Luke ix.

51, 57. The Scribe told _Christ_ he would bear him company in his journey,

and _Christ_ replied that he wanted a lodging. Now this feast I take to be

the feast of Tabernacles, because soon after I find _Christ_ and his

Apostles on the sea of _Tiberias_ in a storm so great, that the ship was

covered with water and in danger of sinking, till _Christ rebuked the winds

and the sea_, Matth. viii. 23. For this storm shews that winter was now

come on.

After this _Christ_ did many miracles, and _went about all the cities and

villages of _Galilee_, teaching in their Synagogues, and preaching the

gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness, and every disease among

the people_, Matth. ix. he then sent forth the twelve to do the like,

_Matth._ x. and at length when he had received a message from _John_, and

answered it, he said to the multitudes, _From the days of _John_ the

Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence_; and upbraided

the cities, _Chorazin_, _Bethsaida_, and _Capernaum_, wherein most of his

mighty works were done, because they repented not, _Matth._ xi. Which

several passages shew, that from the imprisonment of _John_ till now there

had been a considerable length of time: the winter was now past, and the

next Passover was at hand; for immediately after this, _Matthew_, in chap.

xii. subjoins, that _Jesus went on the sabbath-day thro' the corn, and his

disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn and to

eat,--rubbing them_, saith _Luke_, _in their hands_: the corn therefore was

not only in the ear, but ripe; and consequently the Passover, in which the

first-fruits were always offered before the harvest, was now come or past.

_Luke_ calls this sabbath [Greek: deuteroprôton], the second prime sabbath,

that is, the second of the two great feasts of the Passover. As we call

_Easter_ day high _Easter_, and its _octave_ low _Easter_ or _Lowsunday_:

so _Luke_ calls the feast on the seventh day of the unlevened bread, the

second of the two prime sabbaths.

In one of the sabbaths following he went into a Synagogue, and healed a man

with a withered hand, _Matth._ xii. 9. _Luke_ vi. 6. And when the Pharisees

took counsel to destroy him, _he withdrew himself from thence, and great

multitudes followed him; and he healed them all, and charged them that they

should not make him known_, Matth. xii. 14. Afterwards being in a ship, and

the multitude standing on the shore, he spake to them three parables

together, taken from the seeds-men sowing the fields, _Matth._ xiii. by

which we may know that it was now seed-time, and by consequence that the

feast of Tabernacles was past. After this he went _into his own country,

and taught them in their Synagogue_, but _did not many mighty works there

because of their unbelief_. Then the twelve having been abroad a year,

returned, and told _Jesus_ all that they had done: and at the same time

_Herod_ beheaded _John_ in prison, and his disciples came and told _Jesus_;

and when _Jesus_ heard it, he took the twelve and departed thence privately

by ship into a desert place belonging to _Bethsaida_: and the people when

they knew it, followed him on foot out of the cities, the winter being now

past; and he healed their sick, and in the desert fed them to the number of

five thousand men, besides women and children, with only five loaves and

two fishes, _Matth._ xiv. _Luke_ ix. at the doing of which miracle the

Passover of the _Jews_ was nigh, _John_ vi. 4. But _Jesus_ went not up to

this feast; but _after these things walked in _Galilee_, because the

_Jews__ at the Passover before had taken counsel to destroy him, and still

_sought to kill him_, John vii. i. Henceforward therefore he is found first

in the coast of _Tyre_ and _Sidon_, then by the sea of _Galilee_,

afterwards in the coast of _Cæsarea Philippi_; and lastly at _Capernaum_,

_Matth._ xv. 21, 29. xvi. 13. xvii. 34.