either by being destroyed, or by their conversion to the Christian religion.

After the account of the beast and its seven heads, the angel proceeds to explain to St. John the meaning of the ten horns of the beast.

V. 12. "And the ten horns which thou sawest, are ten kings, which have not yet received kingdom, but shall receive power as kings, one hour after the beast.*

V. 13. "These have one design: and their strength and power they shall deliver to the beast.'

The ten horns denote then ten kings or ten powers, namely, the Goths, Huns, Alans, Vandals, Saxons, Burgundians, Franks, Heruli, Suevi, and Quadi, the chief of the barbarous nations that invaded the western Roman empire in the fifth century. These have not yet received kingdom or dominion, viz. at the beginning of this period of the Christian emperors, or of the beast that was and is not; but they will receive power as kings one hour with the beast, that is, they will be commanded by their own chiefs, and will engage by treaty to serve for one hour or a while as auxiliaries to the beast, that is, to the

pagan Roman armies. Thus the Prophet continues to describe the succession of the changes that were to happen in the Roman empire. The above mentioned nations come all with one design of relinquishing their own barren northern countries, and settling themselves in the rich provinces of the Roman empire. But before they accomplish this design, their strength and power they shall deliver to the beast: they effectually served as auxiliaries to the Roman armies, according to agreement, and helped to defend the empire against its enemies; as we have seen in the history above given. In this quality they served under the emperors Constantius, Valens, Theodosius, Honorius, &c.

V. 14. "These shall fight with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: because he is the Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they that are with him, are called, and elect, and faithful."

All those different people, signified by the ten horns, were either pagans or heretics. Being therefore bitter enemies to the Catholic Christians, they in their irruptions wreaked their malice and rancour upon them: they plundered their towns and country, and destroyed them with fire and sword. (See the history above given.) And thus these barbarous people fought against the Lamb, or Christ, but the Lamb will over* In the Greek, "with the beast," and so read St. Iræneus and others.

take notice: the seven heads, which are upon the beast, are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth; we have already observed that ancient Rome stood upon seven mountains. But besides, they, the seven heads, are seven kings, or seven Roman emperors who are particularly distinguished as the chief supporters of idolatry, and the most virulent persecutors of the Christian religion. These are, as we have already re marked, Nero, Domitian, Severus, Decius, Valerian, Dioclesian, and Antichrist. Five are fallen: we saw, before, the successive periods of the beast with regard to its existence; here we have the succession of its heads. Five of them are fallen or gone; namely, Nero, Domitian, Severus, Decius, and Valerian, by whom the idolatrous empire was supported for a time; one is, the sixth or last of that period, viz. Dioclesian, with whom the reign of idolatry falls: and so it happened, by the accession of Constantine to the imperial throne. Here then is interrupted the succession of the heathen and persecuting emperors for a long space of time; for the other is not yet come, the seventh Roman emperor, Antichrist, who will come only in the latter days; and when he is come, he must remain a short time, three years and a half, as we shall see in the ⚫ sequel. No notice is here taken of Julian the apostate, who broke indeed the series of the Christian emperors, and attempted to re-establish idolatry, but was taken off after a short reign of less than two years-The angel continues; And the beast, which was, and is not, the same also is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into destruction."

V. 11.

Here is a new state of the beast, which begins at the fall of the sixth head, or Dioclesian, with whom the beast itself or the power of idolatry also fell. On this account the former simple appellation of the beast, is now changed into the beast, which was, and is not, as being now no more what it was, having lost all power, and that power being transferred into the hands of Christian emperors. In this situation the beast is said to be an eighth king, that is, the Roman idolatrous people, though left without a heathen prince at their head by the death of Dioclesian and succession of Constantine, are new theless to be reputed equivalent to an eighth pagan em because they retain still their former attach and their hatred to Christianity. And the seven, as being alike in their disposition mentioned heathen emperors. But the this idolatrous people will soon disar

But the anger of God was not yet assuaged. The Vandals, the Alans, and the Suevi, not content with having ravaged Gaul, had passed the Pyrenean mountains in 409, and entering Spain, another province of the empire, defeated the Roman armies there. The calamities caused by these savage people in that country, were most dreadful. Besides the destruction made by the sword, the famine became so excessive, that many did not scruple to eat human flesh, and even mothers murdered their own children to feed upon them. To these miseries was also added the plague, which carried off multitudes; and the wild beasts accustomed to human flesh from the number of carcasses that had perished by the sword, famine, and plague, assaulted even the living and devoured them. This account we have from Idatius, a bishop of Spain, in that century. The three above-mentioned barbarous nations, after the reduction of the country, in 411, divided its provinces among themselves, and settled there.

Attila, king of the Huns, a pagan people of Scythia, now Tartary, broke into different provinces of the empire with a prodigious army, called himself the "Scourge of God," and answered that name by his devastations and barbarities, destroying all before him by fire and sword. He was feared as a more fierce and savage barbarian, than either Alaric or Radagaisus. In the year 451 he invaded Gaul, and was there beat by the Roman army assisted by the Goths, Alans, Franks, and Burgundians. Upon his defeat he retired into Pannonia, which became the seat of the Huns, part of that country being called from them Hungaria. Attila having reinforced his army, marched into Italy, where he spread destruction. As he advanced in his career, he was met by St. Leo, pope, who addressed him with so much energy, eloquence, and dignity, that the barbarian let himself be suaded to retire out of Italy..

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The Vandals had got footing in Africa from the year 427, and afterwards a fixed settlement there by agreement with the emperor. In 455, Genseric, their king, was invited into Italy by the Empress Eudoxia, through a disgust she had taken to Maximus, her husband, who forced her to marry him. Genseric had accepted with pleasure the invitation, and landed in Italy with an army of Vandals and Moors. Maximus, who had usurped the empire, fled; and Genseric entering Rome without opposition, delivered it up to his soldiers, who pillaged it for fourteen days, and then set fire to it.

Genseric left the place loaded with riches, and at his

return into Africa seized upon the whole remains of the Roman dominions there.

Odoacer, king of the Heruli, a people of that part of Germany now called Mecklenburgh, invaded Italy in the year 476 with a powerful army. He defeated the Roman troops under the command of Orestes, took the city of Pavia by force, and exposed it to the pillage of his soldiers, who destroyed all with fire and sword. Here Odoacer was saluted king of Italy. He then advanced to Rome, where he deposed the Emperor Augustulus, and thus effectually established his own regal title.

In Augustulus ceased the Roman empire in the west. The imperial titie was now lost, the authority of Rome was extinguished, its dignity trampled under foot, and its extensive doma torn to pieces, and parcelled out among a set of barbarous people. Spain was divided among the Goths, Alans, Suevi, and others. Africa was possessed by the Vandals. Britain having been before abandoned by the Romans, was subdued by the Saxons, who had lately assisted the Britons against their enemies, the Scots and the Picts. The Goths, Burgundians, and Franks, had erected their several kingdoms in Gaul: and now at last Rome itself, with Italy, the fountains of waters, that had triumphed over the rest of the world, became enslaved to a barbarous king. In these latter times Italy, by the ravages of the invaders, had been depopulated, and the imperial armies had consisted chiefly of barbarians, as Goths, Huns, Alans, Heruli, Suevi, and others, hired under the name of auxiliaries. These soon saw their own strength, and the weakness of their masters. They therefore shared out to themselves such morsels of the empire as they most relished.

Theodoric, king of those Goths that were settled in Italy. got Odoacer treacherously murdered in 493, and himself proclaimed king of all Italy. This country from that time remained under the power of the Goths, till Justinian the Great, emperor of Constantinople, sent thither his general, Belisarius, who subdued a considerable part of it, reduced the Gothic power to a low ebb, and united Rome to the eastern empire. Thus was that unhappy city tossed from hand to hand, and now become a member of that empire, of which she had formerly been the head. However, Totila being chosen king of the Goths in Italy, found means to retrieve the declining state of their affairs. He recovered a great part of the country, and in 546 invested Rome, which he blocked up