the filence precedes the founding of the trumpets. It was neceffary before the trumpets could be founded, that they fhould be given (ver. 2.) to the seven archangels, who were to execute the will of God, and to found the trumpets each in his feafon. At the fame time (ver. 3, 4, 5.) another angel, like the priest, having a golden cenfer, offereth incenfe with the prayers of all faints; and then filleth the cenfer with fire of the altar, and cafteth it into the earth; as in Ezekiel (X. 2.) coals of fire are taken from between the cherubim, and feattered over Jerusalem, to denote the judgments of God to be executed upon that city. Whereupon immediately enfue voices, aud thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake, the ufual prophetic figns and preludes of great calamities and commotions upon earth. Then the angels (ver. 6.) prepare themfelves to found: and as the feals foretold the ftate and condition of the Roman empire before and till it became Chriftian, fo the trumpets forefhow the fate and condition of it afterwards. The found of the trumpet, as Jeremiah (IV. 19.) fays, and as every one understands it, is the alarm of war: and the founding of these trumpets is defigned to roufe and excite the nations against the Roman empire, called the third part of the world, as perhaps including the third part of the world, and being feated principally in Europe, the third part of the world at that time. 7 The firft angel founded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grafs was burnt up. At the founding of the firft trumpet (ver. 7.) the barbarous nations, like a storm of hail and fire mingled with blood, invade the Roman territories; and deftroy the third part of trees, that is the trees of the third part of the earth, and the green grafs, that is both old and young, high and low, rich and poor together. Theodofius the great died in the year 395; and no fooner was he dead, than than the (3) Huns, Goths, and other barbarians, like hail for multitude, and breathing fire and flaughter, broke in upon the beft provinces of the empire both in the cast and weft, with greater fuccefs than they had ever done before. But by this trumpet, I conceive, were principally intended the irruptions and depredations of the Goths (4) under the conduct of the famous Alaric, who began his incurfions in the fame year 395, first ravaged Greece, then wafted Italy, befieged Rome, and was bought off at an exorbitant price, befieged it again in the year 410, took and plundered the city, and fet fire to it in feveral places. Philoftorgius, who lived in and wrote of thefe times, (5) faith that the fword of the barbarians deftroyed the greateft multitude of • men; and among other calamities dry heats with flathes of flame and whirlwinds of fire occafioned various and intolerable terrors; yea, and hail greater than could be held in a man's hand fell down in feve'ral places, weighing as much as eight pounds." Well therefore might the prophet compare thefe incurfions of the barbarians to hail and fire mingled with blood Claudian in like manner compares them to (6) a ftorm of hail in his poem on this very war. Jerome alfo (7) (3) Socratis Ecclef. Hift. Lib. 6. Cap. 1. Sozomen. Lib. 8. Cap. 1. Zolmi Hift. Lib. 5 et 6. Pauli Oro fi Hift. Lib. 7. Cap. 37. &c. Car. Sigonii Hift. de Occidentali Imperio Lib. 1o. (4) Zofim. Orof. Sigon. ibid. &c. Philoftorgius, Lib. 11 et 12. (5) βαρβαρικη μην γας το της φθορας πληθος ειργάζετο μαχαίρα, αυχμαι φλογώδεις, πρηστήρες τε εγιν εἰς εμβαλο λομενοις ποικίλον τε το δείνον εποιων και αφόρητον και δη και χαλαζα μείζων η κατα χερμαδα πολλαχε γης κατεφε ρετε. αχρι γαρ και οκτω των λεγομένων λίτρων έλκεσα βαρος ώφθη κατασκη aoa. Nam et barbaricus enfis maximam hominum multitudinem delevit; -ficcitates flammeæ, et ignis turbines cælitus immiffi, multiplicem atque intolerabilem intulerunt calamitatem. Sed et grando, lapide manum implente major, multis in locis decidit. Deprehenfa enim eft alicubi, quæ ccto librarum, ut vocant, pondus æquaret. Philoftorgii Hift. Ecclef. Lib. 11. Cap. 7. (6) Claudian de Bello Getico. ver. 173. Ex illo, quocunque vagos impegit Erinnys, (7) Infperati ubique aderant, et famam celeritate vincentes, non religioni, non dignitatibus, non ætati parcebant, non vagientis miferabantur infantiæ. Cogebantur mori, qui nondum vivere coeperant. Hieron. Epift. 84. de morte Fabiola. Col. 661. Tom. 4. Par. 2. Edit. Benedict. faith of fome of thefe barbarians, that they came on unexpectedly every where, and marching quicker than report, fpared not religion, nor dignities, nor age, nor had compaffion on crying infants; thofe were compelled to die, who had not yet begun to live.' So truly did they deftroy the trees and the green grafs together. 8 And the fecond angel founded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was caft into the fea; and the third part of the fea became blood: 9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the fea, and had life, died; and the third part. of the fhips were deftroyed. At the founding of the fecond trumpet (ver. 8, 9.) as it were a great mountain burning with fire, that is a great warlike nation or hero, (for in the (8) ftile of poetry, which is near akin to the ftile of prophecy, heroes are compared to mountains ;) caft into the fea, turneth the third part of it into blood, and destroyeth the fijhes and the fhips therein; that is, falling on the Roman empire, maketh a fea of blood, with horrible deftruction of the cities and inhabitants: for waters, as the angel afterwards (XVII. 15) explains them to St. John, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues, and the third part is all along the Roman empire; for it poffeffed in Afia and Africa, as much as it wanted in Europe to make up the third part of the world, and the principal part was in Europe, the third part of the world at that time. The next great ravagers after Alaric and his Goths were Attila and his Huns, who for the space of fourteen years, as (9) Sigonius fays, fhook the eaft and (8) So Virgil of his hero. Æn. XII. 701. Quantus Athos, aut quantus Eryx, aut ipfe corufcis (9) Sigonius de Occidentali Imperio. Lib. 13. Hunnica jam hinc bella fcribere ordiemur, quæ poft per quatuordecim annos fævillima orien tem, occidentemque formidine concufferunt, atque utriufque imperii provincias omni direptione, ftrage, atque incendio deformarunt. west weft with the most cruel fear, and deformed the provinces of each empire with all kind of plundering, flaughter, and burning. They (1) firft wafted Thrace, Macedon and Greece, putting all to fire and fword, and compelled the eastern emperor, Theodofius the fecond, to purchase a fhameful peace. Then Attila turned his arms against the western emperor, Valentinian the third; entered Gaul with feven hundred thousand men, and not content with taking and fpoiling, fet moft of the cities on fire. But at length being there vigorously opposed, he fell upon Italy, took and deftroyed Aquileia with feveral other cities, flaying the inhabitants, and laying the buildings in afhes, and (2) filled all places between the Alps and Apennine with flight, depopulation, flaughter, fervitude, burning, and defperation. He was preparing to march to Rome, but was diverted from his purpofe by a folemn embaffy from the emperor, and the promife of an annual tribute; and fo concluding a truce, retired out of Italy, and paffed into his own dominions beyond the Danube. Such a man might properly be compared to a great mountain burning with fire, who really was, as he called himfelf, (3) the Scourge of God, and the terror of men, and boafted that he was fent into the world by God for this purpofe, that as the executioner of his juft anger he might fill the earth with all kind of evils, and he bounded his cruelty and paffion by nothing lefs than blood and burning. 10 And the third angel founded, and there fell a great ftar from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters: 11 And the name of the ftar is called Wormwood and the third part of the waters became (1) Sigonius ibid. Jornandes de rebus Get. &c. &c. (2) Jam omnia, quæ intra Apenninum et Alpes erant, fuga, populatione, cæde, fervitute, incendio, et defperatione repleta erant. Sigon. ibid. Ann. 452. (3) Qui le Flagellum Dei, et Ter rorem hominum appellabat, et ad id in mundum a Deo miffum jactabat, ut tanquam juftæ illius vindex iræ terras omni malorum genere permifceret, et crudelitatem ac libidinem fuam non nifi fanguine et incendio terminabat, Sigon. ibid. Wormwood; wormwood: and many men died of the waters, becaufe they were made bitter. At the founding of the third trumpet (ver. 10, 11.) a great prince appears like a ftar fhooting from heaven to earth; a fimilitude not (4) unufual in poetry. His coming therefore is fudden and unexpected, and his ftay but fhort. The name of the ftar is called Wormwood, and he infects the third part of the rivers and fountains with the bitterness of wormwood; that is, he is a bitter enemy, and proveth the author of grievous calamities to the Roman empire. The rivers and fountains have a near connection with the fea: and it was within two years after Attila's retreat from Italy, that Valentinian was murdered, and Maximus who had caufed him to be murdered reigning in his ftead, (5) Genferic the king of the Vandals fettled in Africa was folicited by Eudoxia the widow of the deceafed emperor, to come and revenge his death. Genferic accordingly embarked with three hundred thoufand Vandals and Moors, and arrived upon the Roman coaft in June 455, the emperor and people not expecting nor thinking of any fuch enemy. He landed his men, and marched directly towards Rome; whereupon the inhabitants flying into the woods and mountains, the city fell an eafy prey into his hands. He abandoned it to the cruelty and avarice of his foldiers, who plundered it for fourteen days together, not only fpoiling the private houfes and palaces, but ftripping the public buildings, and even the churches of their riches and ornaments. He then fet fail again for Africa, carrying away with him immenfe wealth and an innumerable multitude of captives, together with the emprefs Eudoxia and her two daughters; and left the ftate fo weakened, that in a little time it (4) Homer: Iliad IV. 75. Όσον δ' απερα ήκε Κρόνε ταις αγκυλομήτεω, Η ναύτησι τέρας, με τρατῳ ευρεί λαων, Λαμποί τε δε τε πολλοί απο σπινθηρες δενται. (5) Evagrii Hift. Ecclef. Lib. 2. in fine. Sigonius de Imperio OcCap. 7. Zonare Annal. Lib. 13. cidentali Lib. 14. An. 455, &c. &c. was |
