Sivut kuvina
PDF
ePub

66

"adorned like another Aaron he would appear abroad "fomewhat more auguft than a man, delighting to be "feen and admired by every one. But left he alone "fhould feem to differ from the reft, he made a decree, "that none but cardinals fhould under a penalty wear "red caps; to whom he had in the firft year of his "popedom given cloth of that color, to make horfe"cloths or mule-cloths of when they rode." You have another confpicuous inftance in the Lady of Loretto; the (8) riches of whofe holy image, and house, and treafury; the golden angels, the gold and filver Jamps; the vaft number, variety, and richness of the jewels, of the vestments for the holy image, and for the priefts; with the prodigious treatures of all forts; are far beyond the reach of defeription; and as Mr. Addifon fays, "as much furpaffed iny expectation, as other fights have generally fallen fhort of it. Silver can fcarce find an admiffion, and gold itfelf looks but poorly amongst fuch an incredible number of pre"cious ftones." Moreover the woman, like other harlots who give philters and love-potions to inflame their lovers, hath a golden cup in her hand, full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication; to fignify the fpecious and alluring arts, wherewith the bewitcheth and inciteth men to idolatry, which is abomination and spiritual fornication. It is an image copied from Jeremiah, (LI. 7.) Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand, that made all the earth drunken: and in that excellent little moral treatife (9), intitled the Table of Cebes, there is a like picture of Deceit or Impofture; a fair, beautiful, and falfe woman, and having a cup in her hand; the is 'called Deceit, and feduceth all mankind.' And is not this a much more proper emblem of pontifical than of imperial Rome?

[ocr errors]

6

6

Yet farther to diftinguish the woman, fhe has her name inferibed upon her forehead, (ver. 5.) in allufion

(8) See Wright's Travels. p. 123. Additon's Travels. p. 93.

(2) γυνη πεπλασμένη τῷ είδει, και πιθανη φαινομένης και εν τη χειρι έχεσα ποτήριον τι Απατη καλείται, ἡ παν

τας τες ανθρώπες πλανωσα. Mulier fito vultu, argutaque fpecie, et manu poculum quoddam tenens. Impoltura vocatur, quæ omnes homines feducit. Tab. Cebetis non longe ab initio.

to

to the practice of fome notorious prostitutes, who had their names written in a label upon their foreheads, as we may (1) collect from ancient authors. The infcription is fo very particular, that we cannot easily mistake the perfon; Myftery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots, or rather of fornications and abominations of the earth. Her name Mystery can imply no lefs, than that fhe dealeth in myfteries; her religion is a mystery, a myf tery of iniquity; and the herfelf is mystically and fpiritually Babylon the great. But the title of mystery is in no refpect proper to ancient Rome, more than any other city; and neither is there any myftery in fubftituting one heathen, idolatrous, and perfecuting city for another; but it is indeed a myftery, that a chriftian city profeffing and boafting herfelf to be the city of God, fhould prove another Babylon in idolatry and cruelty to the people of God. She glories in the name of Roman Catholic, and well therefore may the be called Babylon the great. She affects the ftile and title of our holy mother the church, but he is in truth the mother, of fornications and abominations of the earth. Neither can this character with any propriety be applied to ancient Rome; for the was rather a learner of foreign fuperftitions, than the miftrefs of idolatry to other nations; as appears in various inftances, and particularly from (2) that folemn form of adjuration, which the Romans ufed when they laid fiege to a city, calling forth the tutelary deities of the place, and promifing them temples, and facrifices, and other ́ folemnities at Rome. It may be concluded therefore that this part of the prophecy is fufficiently fulfilled, tho' there fhould be reason to question the truth of what is afferted by fome writers, that the word mystery was.. formerly written in letters of gold upon the forepart of the pope's mitre. Scaliger (3) affirms it upon the au

(1) Nomen tuum pependit in fronte: pretia ftupri accepifti; &c. Seneca. Lib. 1. Controverf. 2. Juvenal. Sat. VI. 122.

-tunc nuda papillis

thority

[blocks in formation]

(3) Feu Monfieur de Montmorency eftant à Rome du temps qu' on parloit librement et du S. Pere et

Conftitit auratis, titulum mentita Ly- du S. Siege, apprit d'homme digne de foy, qu'à la verité le tiare pontiY 4 fical

cifcæ

thority of the Duke de Montmorency, who received his information from a man of good credit at Rome. Francis le Moyne and Brocardus (4) confirm it, appealing to ocular infpection; and when king James objected this, Leffius could not deny it. If the thing be true, it is a wonderful coincidence of the event with the letter of the prophecy; but it hath been much controverted, and you may fee the authors on both fides in (5) Wolfius. It is much more certain, and none of that communion can deny it, that the ancient mitres were ufually adorned with infcriptions. One particularly (6) there is "preferved at Rome as a precious "relic of pope Sylvefter I, richly but not artfully em"broidered with the figure of the virgin Mary crowned, "and holding a little Chrift, and these words in large capitals underneath, AVE REGINA CELI, Hail queen of heaven, in the front; of which father Angelo "Rocca, keeper of the pope's facrifty, and an eminent antiquary has given a copper-plate in the third vol, p. 490 of the works of pope Gregory I. and it feems "more probably to have belonged to Gregory; because "he is faid to have firft inftituted at Rome the lita"nies to the virgin Mary." An infcription this directly contrary to that on the forefront of the high priest's mitre (Exod. XXVIII. 36.) HOLINESS TO THE LORD.

te

[ocr errors]

ઃઃ

66

Infamous as the woman is for her idolatry, he is no lefs deteftable for her cruelty, which are the two principal characteristics of the Antichriftian empire. She is (ver. 6.) drunken with the blood of the faints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jefus: which may indeed be applied both to Pagan and to Chriftian Rome, for both

fical avoit efcript au frontal en let tres d'or Myfterium. Scal. in locum apud Critic. Sacr.

(4) Idem quoque confirmant Franc le Moyne et Jacobus Brocardus in h. 1. ad autoav provocantes, non diffimulante Leonardo Leffio. Wolfius in locum. In tiara, in mitra papæ habes hoc verbum Myfterium fcriptum: ut non fit tibi opus longius interpretationem quærere. Cro

card in locum apud Vitring. p. 763. Romanus pontifex, in fua tiara, hoc ipfum nomen infcriptum habuit Myfterium, quod auronlar ipfi teftati funt: et cum id Jacobus Rex objiceret, Leffius negare non potuit. Downam. apud Poli Synopf. in locum.

(5) Jo. Chriftophori Wolfii Cura Philolog. et Criticæ. Tom. 5.

(6) See Mann's 'Critical Notes on fome paffages of Scripture. p. 112.

have in their turns cruelly perfecuted the faints and martyrs of Jefus: but the latter is more deferving of the character, as the hath far exceeded the former both in the degree and duration of her perfecutions. It is very true, as it was hinted before, that if Rome Pagan hath flain her thoufands of innocent Chriftians, Rome Chriftian hath flain her ten thoufands. For not to mention other outrageous flaughters and barbarities; the croifades against the Waldenfes and Albigenfes, the murders committed by the Duke of Alva in the Netherlands, the maffacres in France and Ireland, will probably amount to above ten times the number of all the Chriftians flain in all the ten perfecutions of the Roman emperors put together. St. John's admiration alfo plainly evinces, that Christian Rome was intended: for it could be no matter of furprise to him, that a Heathen city fhould perfecute the Chriftians, when he himfelf had seen and suffered the perfecutions under Nero; but that a city profeffedly Christian, should wanton and riot in the blood of Chriftians, was a fubject of aftonishment indeed; and well might he, as it is emphatically expreffed, wonder with great wonder.

7 And the angel faid unto me, Wherefore didft thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the feven heads and ten horns.

8 The beast that thou faweft, was, and is not; and fhall afcend out of the bottomlefs pit, and go into perdition and they that dwell on the earth thall wonder, (whofe names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world) when they behold the beaft that was, and is not, and yet

is.

9 And here is the mind which hath wifdom. The feven heads are feven mountains on which the woman fitteth.

10 And there are feven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a fhort space.

11 And the beaft that was, and is not, even he is

the

the eighth, and is of the feven, and goeth into perdition.

12 And the ten horns which thou faweft, are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

13 Thefe have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beaft.

14 Thefe fhall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb fhall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they that are with him, are called, and chofen, and faithful.

15 And he faith unto me, The waters which thou faweft, where the whore fitteth, are peoples, aud multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

16 And the ten horns which thou faweft upon the beaft, thefe fhall hate the whore, and fhall make her defolate, and naked, and fhall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beaft, until the words of God thall be fulfilled.

18 And the woman which thou faweft, is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

[ocr errors]

It was not thought fufficient to represent these things only in vifion; and therefore the angel, like the ayyidos, nuncius, or meffenger in the ancient drama, undertakes to explain (ver. 7.) the mystery, the myftic fcene or fecret meaning, of the woman, and of the beat that carrieth her: and the angel's interpretation is indeed the beft key to the Revelation, the best clue to direct and conduct us thro' this intricate labyrinth.

The mystery of the beaft is firft explained; and the beast is confidered firft in general (ver. 8.) under a threefold ftate or fucceffion, as exifting, and then ceafing to be, and then reviving again, fo as to become another and the fame. He was, and is not, xximg 51 and yet is, or according to other copies x Tapes and shall come, fhall afcend out of the bottomless pit. A beaft in the pro

« EdellinenJatka »