seeing his eldest son killed before his face, and a great part of his army cut off, in despair ran into a deep bog where he perished. His body was not allowed common burial, but exposed to be devoured by the beasts of the earth and the birds of the air.

The horrible persecution in this emperor's reign seemed to rouse up afresh the indignation of heaven. The Roman state was harassed by great wars and desolation from the Goths and other barbarous northern nations; and likewise by a dreadful pestilence, which spread itself over all the provinces, and lasted ten years, destroying incredible numbers of people. In the first year of the Emperor Gallus, Decius's successor, who continued the persecution, the plague raged more furiously than ever, particularly at Carthage in Africa. There vast multitudes were swept away every day, and the streets were filled with the carcasses of the dead. St. Cyprian, bishop of that city, wrote on this occasion his book on the Mortality, or Pestilence, to comfort and encourage his own flock under the general calamity, and he zealously exhorted them not to be wanting in giving all assistance possible to the infected, though pagans and their declared enemies. He also wrote at this time to Demetrianus, a magistrate of Carthage, representing to him that these evils were not, as the pagans pretended, punishments inflicted upon them by their gods for their permitting the growth of Christianity; but on the contrary, that they were real punishments sent from the true God of heaven and earth for their cruelties to the Christians. St. Cyprian tells him: "Never do we see the Christian name persecuted but we see the divine vengeance soon follows. Of this we have a recent example, when so quick and so remarkable a judgment lately appeared in the violent death of the kings, (meaning Decius and his son,) in the great devastations made by the enemies, and the ruin of the Roman army."

Valerian, the eighth cruel persecutor of the Christians, in his war with the Persians was taken prisoner by Sapor, their King, who treated him with the utmost indignity, so far as to make him, who had but just before been the greatest monarch in the world, to bow down and serve as a footstool to him, the king to get on horseback. After keeping him seven years in this wretched slavery, Sapor ordered that his eyes should be pulled out, then that he should be flayed alive, and his skin hung up as a trophy in one of the Persian temples.

After Valerian's persecution, heaven and earth seemed to conspire in the destruction of the Roman empire. Earth

quakes overthrew cities, and destroyed great numbers of people. The sea overswelled its boundaries, and broke into many continents, drowning countries, cities, and people; and so violent a pestilence raged, that in Rome no less than five thousand persons died in a day. Besides this, the whole empire was invaded on all sides. A body of Germans crossed the Alps and broke into Italy. Another body of the same enemies wasted Gaul and entered Spain. The Goths and Scythians ravaged Pontus and great part of lesser Asia; and in Europe, all Greece, Macedon, and their confines. The Quadi and Sarmatians seized on Dacia and Pannonia; and the Persians and Parthians took possession of Mesopotamia and a great part of Syria. To complete these disasters, there rose up thirty tyrants, who, assuming the title of emperors, set up in opposition to one another and to the reigning emperor Gallienus, which occasioned the empire to be more harassed and oppressed by its own intestine broils than by foreign devastations. These disasters had been foretold in the time of the persecution by the holy Martyr, St. Marian, when he was carried to execution. He announced them as a scourge impending on the state for the innocent blood that was spilt of the Christians.

The Emperor Aurelian, another persecutor, was assassinated by his own secretary and some others, who had formed a conspiracy against him.

Dioclesian, the tenth persecutor, was compelled by Galerius, whom he had created Cæsar, to resign to him the empire, and retire himself to a private life. Afterwards he had the mortification to learn, that Constantine, who was become emperor, had pulled down his statues. His wife and daughter were also put to death by Licinius. These disgraces, and the load of guilt that hung upon him, operated so strongly on his mind, that he could neither eat nor sleep. He sighed and groaned continually, often with tears in his eyes, sometimes tumbling himself on his bed, and sometimes on the ground. Thus he who governed the world for twenty years, as Lactantius observes, was reduced to so miserable a condition, that he finished his life by hunger and grief. This happened in the year 312.

Maximian, Dioclesian's colleague in the empire and in the persecution, had been also obliged to abdicate. He made several attempts to resume the purple, but seeing them all defeated, he hanged himself.

The succeeding emperors, Galerius, Maxentius, Maximinus

Daia, and Licinius, endeavouring to carry on the persecution begun by Dioclesian and Maximian, met also with their due punishment. And first,

The hand of God was very visible upon the abominable Galerius, who had taken so much pains to instigate Dioclesian against the Christians. He was struck with a dreadful disease. An ulcer consumed the lower parts of his belly, and laid open his very bowels. He was devoured by vermin, and the whole mass of his body putrified. The stench that came from him was intolerable. His pains were so violent, that he roared out, and often attempted to kill himself. In these agonies he seemed to acknowledge the hand that lay over him, and in order to avert it, he published an edict in favour of the Christians. But heaven did not relent: and his distemper increasing, in a few days put a period to his life.

Maxentius was routed in a battle he fought with Constantine on the banks of the Tyber. As he was crossing that river in his flight, the bridge gave way with the weight of the crowd, and he was drowned.

Maximinus Daia being upon the point of engaging in battle with Licinius, made a vow to Jupiter, that if he got the victory, he would extinguish the very name of Christian. His army was totally defeated by a much lesser number: upon which he threw away his imperial robe, and fled in the habit of a slave. He made different efforts to retrieve himself, but not succeeding, he resolved to make away with himself. For that purpose he eat and drank to great excess, but this not effecting it, he took poison, which burnt him within, and threw him into such a phrenzy that he eat common earth. His pains became so intolerable, that he ran his head against the wall with such violence that his eyes started out. In the end he acknowledged the justice of his punishment for his cruelty to the Christians, and in the most exquisite torments he breathed out his last.

We learn from Lactantius, that not only the forementioned persecutors were all crushed by a superior power, but that their whole race was also cut off. The same fate, in like manner, attended many of the governors, of the Roman provinces, who had so willingly concurred in executing the cruel and bloody statutes of the emperors for the extirpation of Christianity. The provinces of the east, where Maximinus commanded, had also shared in the disasters that usually followed persecution. A dreadful famine and plague had spread through them a universal desolation.

At the death of Maximinus Daia in 313, Licinius remained master in the east. Constantine, who had reigned for some years as emperor in the west, being a Christian, or disposing himself to be so, prevailed upon Licinius to join with him in publishing an edict, which superseded all persecution, and granted full liberty and peace to Christians. This happy time lasted till the year 319, when Licinius altering his conduct, commenced a new persecution, and in 323 renewed the war he had before waged with Constantine. Licinius was vanquished both by sea and land, and upon his submission was allowed to retire to Thessalonica; but as he still meditated new disturbance, he was put to death by Constantine's orders in the year 324.

Thus then at last a period was put to the troubles of the Christians. Religion triumphed over every obstruction, which the idolatrous powers had opposed to it. The Christian Constantine reigned sole emperor: and here is dated the remarkable epocha of the peace and triumph of the Church of Christ.

What has been said seems to show sufficiently the accomplishment of the text under consideration, that is, the severe judgments that fell upon the Roman emperors and the people of the empire, for their supporting idolatry, and persecuting the true worship of God. However, the hand of God did not stop here, nor was it satisfied with the slaughter of the great victims we have seen, nor with the large measure of calamities we have described. We shall see in the sequel the most astonishing stroke, by which the divine vengeance was at last completed. This was the subversion of the great Roman empire, and total destruction of Pagan Rome itself.

Notwithstanding the preceding explanation of the text, we shall beg leave, in order to elucidate it the more, to add something further, particularly the cessation of the pagan oracles, which chiefly happened in this first age. Christ came into the world not only to subdue all earthly powers by bringing them under the yoke of his doctrine, but also to conquer the devil, and to break down the dominion he had usurped over mankind. This we learn from our Saviour himself, who said: "Now is the judgmeut of the world; now shall the prince of this world, the devil, be cast out." John xii. 31. It is well known that the devil had long deluded mankind by the oracles which he pretended to deliver by the mouths of the idols, or their priests. Many of the answers thus pronounced as oracles, were undoubtedly mere inventions of the pagan

V. 4. "Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and magnify thy name? for thou only art holy. For all nations shall come, and shall adore in thy sight, because thy judgments are manifest."

By the sea of glass is meant, as before explained, the firmament that makes the floor of heaven; which here is said to be mingled with fire, in allusion to the persecutions and troubles, which the faithful servants of God, who are seen standing on this sea, have sustained during the whole course of the Christian ages. For here, it must be observed, we are transferred to the moment of time, when all the seven scourges are completed and past, which is at the end of the world. Supposing ourselves therefore at that point of time, we see a great body of Christian saints standing upon the sea of glass. But who in particular are they? Those who have overcome the beast and his image, and his character, or mark, and the number of his name. By a beast is generally meant an animal that destroys mankind, or ravages a country. In allusion to that idea, the beast here stands for idolatry and heresy; both which always make great devastation and desolation in the Church. Pursuant to that double meaning of the beast, its image denotes, either the idols of the pagan gods, or the pernicious tenets of heresy. By the character or mark of the beast, we may understand, either a real distinctive mark of idolatry or heresy, or a special power exercised in defence of either. The number of the name of the beast is appropriated, as we shall see hereafter, to the famous abettor of idolatry, Antichrist. Those Christian champions, therefore, who have courageously suffered death, or persecution, or other tribulations, rather than join with idolatry or heresy under any respect whatever, are here collected together in heaven, holding in their hands celestial harps to sound the praises of God. They are employed in singing the canticle of Moses the servant of God, and the canticle of the Lamb; the first to acknowledge the power and justice of God in the seven terrible plagues or punishments, which he has inflicted upon their enemies, the idolaters and heretics. Thus in that sense they sing Great and wonderful are thy works, O Lord God Almighty. This canticle is here said to be the canticle of Moses the servant of God, because it bears the sense, and is sung in imitation, of the canticle which the Israelites sung to God, after having passed the Red Sea under the conduct of Moses, and seen their enemies perish in its gulf. For thus sung they "Let us sing to the Lord; for he is gloriously