Notes on the Old and New Testaments

455, on the death of Maximus] Genseric boldly advanced from the port of Ostia to the gates of the defenceless city. Instead of a sally of the Eoman youth, there issued from the gates an unarmed and venerable procession of the bishop at the head of his clergy. But Ptome and its inhabitants were delivered to the licentiousness of the Vandals and the Moors, whose blind passions revenged the injuries of Carthage. The pillage lasted fourteen days and nights; and all that yet remained of public or private wealth, of sacred or profane treasure, was diligently transported to the vessels of Genseric," &c., &g. See the account of

this pillage in Gibbon, ii. 355-366. The emperor Majorian (A.D.457) endeavored

to "restore the happiness of the Piomans," but he encountered the arms of Genseric, from his character and situation, their most formidable enemy. A fleet of Vandals and Moors landed at the mouth of the Liris, or Garigliano; but the imperial troops surprised and attacked the disorderly barbarians, who were encumbered with the spoils of Campania; they were chased with slaughter to their ships; and their leader, the king's brother-in-law, was found in the number of the slain. Such vigilance might announce the character of the new reign; but the strictest vigilance, and the most numerous forces, were insufficient to protect the long-extended coast of Italy from the depredations of a naval war," Gibbon, ii. 363. " The emperor had foreseen that it was impossible, without a maritime power, to achieve the conquest of Africa. In the first Punic war, the republic had exerted such incredible diligence, that within sixty days after the first stroke of the axe had been given in the forest, a fleet of one hundred and sixty galleys proudly rode at anchor in the sea. Under circumstances much less favorable, Majorian equalled the spirit and persevei-anco of the ancient Romans. The ivoods of the Apennines were felled; the arsenals and manufactures of Ravenna and Misenium were restored; Italy and Gaul vied with each other in liberal contributions to the public service; and the imperial navy of three hundred large galleys, with an adequate proportion of transports and smaller vessels, was collected in the secure and capacious harbor of Carthagena in Spain." Gibbon, ii. 363, 364.

10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell " a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp,

The fate of this large navy is thus described by Mr. Gibbon: " Genseric

was saved from impending and inevitable ruin by the treachery of some powerful subjects; envious or apprehensive of their master's success. Guided by their secret intelligence, he surprised the unguarded fleet in the bay of Carthagena; many of the ships were sunk, or taken, or burnt; and the preparations of three years were destroyed in a single

day." ii. 364. The farther naval operations, and maritime depredations of the Vandals under Genseric, are thus stated by Mr. Gibbon: " The kingdom

of Italy, a name to which the Western en»pire was gradually reduced, was afflicted, under the reign of Ricimer, by the incessant depredations of Vandal pirates. In the spring of each year, they equipped a formidable navy in the port of Carthage; and Genseric himself, though in very advanced age, still commanded in person the most important expeditions. His designs were concealed with impenetrable secresy, till the moment that he hoisted sail. When he was asked by the pilot what course he should steer; ' Leave the determination to the winds,' replied the barbarian, with pious arrogance, * they will transport us to the guilty coast, whose inhabitants have provoked the divine justice:' but Genseric himself deigned to issue more precise orders: he judged the most wealthy to be the most criminal. The Vandals repeatedly visited the coasts of Spain, Liguria, Tuscany, Campania, Lucania, Bruttium, Apulia, Calabria, Venetia, Dalmatia, Epirus, Greece, and Sicily; they were tempted to subdue the island of Sardinia, so advantageously placed in the centre of the Mediterranean; and their arms spread desolation, or terror, frora the columns of Hercules to the mouth of the Nile. As they were more ambitious of spoil than of glory, they seldom attacked any fortiQed cities or engaged any regular troops in the open field. But the celerity of their motions enabled them, almost at the same time, to threaten and to attack the most distant objects which attracted their desires; and as they always embarked a sufQcient

and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters:

number of horses, they had no sooner landed than they swept the dismayed country with a body of light cavalry."

ii. 366. How far this description agrees with the symbol in the passage before us — " a great mountain burning with fire cast into the sea;" "the third part of the ships were destroyed," must be left to the reader to judge. It may be asked, however, with at least some show of reason, whether, if it be admitted that it was the design of the author of the Book of Revelation to refer to the movements of the Vandals under Genseric aa one of the important and immediate causes of the ruin of the Roman empire, he could have found a more expressive symbol than this? Indeed, is there now any symbol that would be more striking and appropriate? If one should now undertake to represent this as one of the causes of the downfall of the empire bi/ a symbol, could he easily find one that would be more expressive? It is a matter that is in itself perhaps of no importance, but it may serve to show that the interpretation respecting the second trumpet was not forced, to remark that I had gone through with the interpretation of the language of the symbol, before I looked into Mr. Gibbon with any reference to the application.

10. And the third angel sounded. Indicating, according to the interpretation above proposed, some important event in the downfall of the Roman empire. ^ And there fell a great star from heaven. A star is a natural emblem of a prince, of a ruler, of one distinguished Ijy rank, or by talent. Comp. Notes on ch. ii. 28. See Num. xxiv. 17, and the Notes on Isa. xiv. 12. A star falling from heaven, would be a natural symbol of one who had left a higher station, or of one whose character and course would be like a meteor shooting through the sky. ^ Burning as it were a lamp. Or, as a torch. The language here is such as would describe a meteor blazing through the air; and the reference in the symbol is to something that would have a resemblance to such a meteor. It is not a lurid meteor (livid, pale,

11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood.' " and tlie third part of the waters ' became

ghastly) that is here referred to, but a bright, intense, blazing star — emblem of fiery energy; of rapidity of movement and execution; of splendor of appearance— such as a chieftain of high endowments, of impetuousness of character, and of richness of apparel, would be. In all languages, probably, a star has been an emblem of a prince whose virtues have shone brightly, and who has exerted a beneficial influence on mankind. In all languages also, probably, a meteor flaming through the sky has been an emblem of some splendid genius causing or threatening desolation and ruin; of a warrior who has moved along in a brilliant but destructive path over the world; and who has been regarded as sent to execute the vengeance of heaven. This usage occurs because a meteor is so bright; because it appears so suddenly: because its course cannot be determined by any known laws; and because, in the apprehensions of men, it is either sent as a proof of the divine displeasure, or is adapted to excite consternation and alarm. In the arpplication of this part of the symbol, therefore, we naturally look for some prince or warrior of brilliant talents, who appears suddenly and sweeps rapidly over the world; who excites consternation and alarm; whose path is marked by desolation, and who is regarded as sent from heaven to execute the divine purposes — who comes not to bless the world by brilliant talents well-directed, but to execute vengeance on mankind. ^ And it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and vpon the fountains of waters. On the phrase " the third part," see Notes on ver. 7. This reference to the "rivers" and to the "fountains of waters" seems, in part, to be for the purpose of saying that every thinrj would be afi"ected by this series of judgments. In the previous visions the trees and the green ^rass, the sea and the ships, had been referred to. The rivers and the fountains of waters are not less important than the trees, the grass, and the commerce of the world, and hence this 20*

wormwood; and many died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

judgment is mentioned as particularly bearing on them. At the same time, as in the case of the other trumpets, there is a propriety in supposing that there would be something in the event referred to by the symbol which would make it more appropriate to use this symbol in this case than in the others. It ia natural, therefore, to look for some desolations that would particularly affect the portions of the world where rivers abound, or where they take their rise; or, if it be understood as having a more metaphorical sense, to regard it as affecting those things which resemble rivers and fountains — the sources of influence; the morals, the religion of a people, the institutions in a country, which are often so appropriately compared with running fountains or flowing streams.

11. And the name of the star is called Wormicood. Is appropriately so called. The writer does not say that it would be actually so called, but that this name would be properly descriptive of its qualities. Such expressions are common in allegorical writings. The Greek word — axpiv^oi — denotes wormicood, a well-known bitter herb. That word becomes the proper emblem of bitterness. Comp. Jer. ix. 15, xxiii. 15; Lam. iii. 15, 19. fl[ And the third ptart of the icaters became wormwood. Became bitter as wormwood. This is doubtless an emblem of the calamity which %coidd occur if the waters should be thus made bitter. Of course, they would become useless for the purposes to which they are mostly applied, and the destruction of life would be inevitable. To conceive of the extent of such a calamity, we have only to imagine a large portion of the wells, and rivers, and fountains of a country made bitter as wormwood. Comp. Ex. xv. 23, 24. ^ And many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. This effect would naturally foil ow if any con siderable portion of the fountains and streams of a land were changed by an infusion of wormwoo 1. It is not necessary to suppose that this is intended to be literally true, for as, by the use of a symbol, it is not to be supposed that literally a part of the waters wculd hr> turned into wormwood by the baleful influence of a falling meteor, so it is not necessary to suppose that there is intended to be represented a literal destruction of human life by the use of waters. Great destruction and devastation are undoubtedly intended to be denoted by this — destruction that would be well represented in a land by the natural effects if a considerable part of the waters were, by their bitterness, made unfit to drink.

In the interpretation and application, therefore, of this passage, we may adopt the following principles and rules: —

(a) It may be assumed, in thia exposition, that the previous symbols, under the first and second trumpet-blasts, referred respectively to Alaric and his Goth3, and to Genseric and his Vandals.

(b) That the next great and decisive event in the downfall of the empire, is the one that is here referred to.

(c) That there would be some chieftain ■or warrior who might be compared with a blazing meteor; whose course would be singularly brilliant; who would appear suddenly like a blazing star, and then disappear like a star whose light was quenched in the waters, (d) That the desolating course of that meteor would be mainly on those portions of the world that abounded with springs of water and running streams, (e) That an effect would be produced as if those streams and fountains were made bitter; that is, that many persons would perish, and that wide desolations would be caused in the vicinity of those rivers and streams, os if a bitter and baleful star should fall into the waters, and death should spread over the lands adjacent to them, and watered by them. Whether any events occurred of which this would be the proper emblem, is now the question. Among expositors there has been a considerable degree of unanimity in supposing that Attila, the king of the Iluns, is referred to, and if the preceding expositions are correct, there can be no doubt on the subject. After Alaric and Genseric, Attila occupies the next place a? an important agent in the overthrow of the Roman empire, and the only question is, whether //c would be properly symbolized by this baleful star. The following remarks may be made to show the propriety of the symbol. (1) As already rem?rked, the place which he occupies in history, as immediately sue ceeding Alaric and Genseric in the downfall of the empire. This Avill appear in any chronological table, or in the table of contents of any of the histories of those times. A full detail of the career of Attila may be found in Gibbon, vol. ii. pp. 314-351. His career extended from A. D. 433, to A. D. 453. It is true that he was contemporary with Genseric, king of the Vandals, and that a portion of the operations of Genseric in Africa were subsequent to the death of Attila (A. D. 455— A. D. 467); but it is also true that Genseric 2)receded Attila in the career of conquest, and was properly the first in order, being pressed forward in the Roman warfare by the Huns, A. D. 428. See Gibbon, ii. 306, seq. (2) In the manner of his appearance, he strongly resembled a brilliant meteor flashing in the sky. He came from the east, gathering his Huns, and poured them down, as wo shall see, with the rapidity of a flashing meteor, suddenly on the empire. He regarded himself also as devoted to Mars, the god of war, and was accustomed to array himself in a peculiarly brilliant manner, so that his appearance, in the language of his flatterers, was such as to dazzle the eyes of beholders. One of his followers perceived that a heifer that was grazing had wounded her foot, and curiously followed the track of blood, till he found in the long grass the point of an ancient sword, which he dug out of the ground and presented to

Attila. " That magnanimous, or rather that artful prince," says Mr. Gibbon, "accepted with pious gratitude thia celestial favor; and, as the rightful possessor of the sword of Mars, asserted his divine and indefeasible claim to the dominion of the earth. The favorite of Mars soon acquired a sacred character, which rendered his conquests more easy and more permanent; and the Barbarian princes confessed, in the language of devotion or flattery, that they could not presume to gaze, with a steady ej'c, on the divine majesty of the king of the

Huns." ii. 317. How appropriate would it be to represent such a prince by the symbol of a bright and blazing star — or a meteor flashing through the sky! (3) There may be propriety, as applicable to him, in the expression — "a greal stiir/ro») heaven falling upon the earth."

Attila was regarded as an instrument in the divine hand in inflicting punishment. The common ai^pellation by which he has been known is *' the scourge of God." This title is supposed by the modern Hungarians to have been first given to Attila by a hermit of Gaul, but "t was "inserted by Attila among the titles of his royal dignity." Gibbon, ii. 321, foot-note. To no one could the title be more applicable than to him. (4) His career as a conqueror, and the effect of his conquests on the downfall of the empire, were such as to be properly symbolized in this manner, (a) The general effect of the invasion was worthy of an important place in describing the series of events which resulted in the overthrow of the empire. This is thus stated by Mr. Gibbon:

" The western world was oppressed by the Goths and Vandals, who fled before the Huns; but the achievements of the Huns themselves were not adequate to their power and prosperity. Their victorious hordes had spread from the Volga to the Danube, but the public force was exhausted by the discord of independent chieftains; their valor was idly consumed in obscure and predatory excursions; and they often degraded their national dignity by condescending, for the hopes of spoil, to enlist under the banners of their fugitive enemies. In the reign of Attila, the Huns again became tlie terror of the world; and I shall now describe the character and actions of that formidable Barbarian who alternately invaded and insulted the east and the west, ajid urged the rajiid doicnfall of the Roman emj^irc."

vol. ii. pp. 314, 315. (&) The parts of the earth affected by the invasion of the Huns, were those which would be properly symbolized by the things specified at the blowing of this trumpet. It is said particularly, that the eflect would be on "the rivers," and on "the fountains of waters." If this has a literal application, or if, as was supposed in the case of the second trumpet, the language used was such as had reference to the portion of the empire that would be particularly affected by the hostile invasion, then we may suppose that this refers to those portions of the empire that abounded in rivers and streams, and more particularly those in which the rivers and streams had their origin — for the effect was permanently in the "fountains of waters." — As a matter of fact, the principal operations of Attila were in the regions of the Alps and on the portions of the empire whence the rivers flow down into Italy. The invasion of Attila is described by Mr. Gibbon in this

general language: " The whole breadth of Europe, as it extends above five hundred miles from the Eusine to the Adriatic, was at once invaded, and occupied, and desolated, by the myriads of barbarians whom Attila led into the

field." ii. 319, 320. After describing the progress and the effects of this invasion (pp. 320-331), he proceeds more particularly to detail the events in the invasion of Gaul and Italy, pp. 331-347. After the terrible battle of Chalons, in which, according to one account, one hundred and sixty-two thousand, and, according to other accounts, three hundred thousand persons were slain, and in which Attila was defeated, he recovered his vigor, collected his forces, and made a descent on Italy. Under pretence of claiming Honoria, the daughter of the empress of Rome, as his bride, "the indignant lover took the field, passed the Alps, invaded Italy, and besieged Aquileia with an innumerable host of barbarians." After endeavoring in vain for three months to subdue the city, and when about to abandon the siege, Attila took advantage of the appearance of a stork as a favorable omen to arouse his men to a renewed effort,

"a large breach was made in the part of the wall where the stork had taken her flight; the Huns marched to the assault with irresistible fury; and the succeeding generation could scarcely discover the ruins of Aquileia. After this dreadful chastisement, Attila pursued his march; and as he passed, the cities of Altinum, Concordia, and Padua, were reduced into heaps of stones and ashes. The inland towns, Vicenza, Verona, and Bergamo, were exposed to the rapacious cruelty of the Huns. Milan and Pavia submitted, without resistance, to the lost of their wealth, and applauded the unusual clemency which preserved from the flames the public, as well as the private buildings, and spared the lives of the captive multitude. The popular traditions of Comum, Turin, or Modena, may be justly suspected, yet they concur with more authentic evidence to prove

12 And the fourth angel sounded, j moon, and the third part of the and the third part of the sun " was i „ t„ iq if>. t,, i oq. ^^ oo - q t, o

that Attila spread his ravages over the rich plains of modern Lombardy, which are divided by the Po, and bounded by the Alps and the Apennines." ii. pp. 343, 3M. " It is a saying worthy of the ferocious pride of Attila, that the grass never grew on the spot where his horse had trod." Ibid. p. 345. Any one has only

to look on a map, and to trace the progress of those desolations and the chief seats of his military operations, to see with what propriety this symbol would be employed. In these regions tha great rivers that water Europe have their origin, and are swelled by numberless streams that flow down from the Alps, and about the fountains whence these streams flow, were the principal military operations of the invader, (c) With equal propriety is he represented in the symbol, as affecting "a third" part of these rivers and fountains. At least a third part of the empire was invaded and desolated by him in his savage march, and the effects of his invasion were as disastrous on the empire as if a bitter star had fixllen into a third part of those rivers and fountains and had converted them into wormwood, (d) There is one other point which shows the propriety of this symbol. It is, that the meteor, or star, seemed to be absorbed in the waters. It fell into the waters; embittered them: and was seen no more. Such would be the case with a meteor that should thus fall upon the earth — flashing along the sky, and then disappearing forever. Now, it was remarkable in regard to the Huns, that their power was concentrated under Attila; that he alone appeared as the leader of this formidable host; and that when ho died all the concentrated power of the Huns was dissipated, or became ab-

sorbed and lost. — " The revolution," Bays Mr. Gibbon (ii. 348), "which subverted the empire of the Huns, established the fame of Attila, ivliose genius alone had sustained the huge and disjointed fabric. After his death, the boldest chieftains aspired to the rank of kings; the most powerful kings refused to acknowledge a superior; and the numerous sons, whom so many various mothers bore to the deceased monarch, divided and disputed, like a private inheritance, the sovereign command of the nations of Germany and Scythia." Soon,

however, in the conflicts which succeeded, the empire passed away, and the empire of the Huns ceased. The people that composed it were absorbed in the surrounding nations, and Mr. Gibbon makes this remark, after giving a summary account of these conflicts, which continued but for a few years: " The

Igours of the north, issuing from the cold Siberian regions, which produced the most valuable furs, spread themselves over the desert, as far as the Boristhenes and the Caspian gates, and finally extinguished the empire of the

Huns." — These facts may, perhaps, show with what propriety Attila would be compared with a bright but beautiful meteor; and that, if the design was to symbolize him as acting an important part in the downfall of the Roman empire, there is a fitness in the symbol here employed.

12. And the fourth angel sounded. Notes vs. 6, 7. ^ And the third part of the sea was smitten. On the phrase the third part, see Notes on ver. 7. The darkening of the heavenly luminaries is everywhere an emblem of any great calamity — as if the light of the sun, moon, and stars should be put out. See Notes on ch. vi. 12, 13. — There is no certain evidence that this refers to riders, as many have supposed, or to any thing that would particularly affect the government as such. The meaning is, that calamity would come as if darkness should spread over the sun, the moon, and the stars, leaving the world in gloom. What is the precise nature of the calamity, is not indicated by the language, but any thing that would diffuse gloom and disaster, would accord with the fair meaning of the symbol. — There are a few circumstances, however, in regard to this symbol, which may aid us in determining its application. (1) It would follow in the series of calamities that were to occur. (2) It would be sejyarated in some important sense — of time, place, or degree, from these which were to follow,

stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone

for there is a pause here (ver. 13), and the angel proclaims that more terrible woes are to succeed this series. (3) Like the preceding, it is to affect " one third part" of the world; — that is, it is to be a calamity as if a third part of the sun, the moon, and the stars were suddenlysmitten and darkened. (4) It is not to be total. It is not as if the sun, the moon, and the stars were entirely blotted out, for there was still some remaining light: that is, there was a continuance of the existing state of things — as if these heavenly bodies should still give an obscure and partial light. (5) Perhaps it is also intended by the symbol, that there would be light again. The world was not to go into a state of total and permanent night. For a third part of the day, and a third part of the night, this darkness reigned; but does not this imply that there would be light again — that the obscurity would pass away, and that the sun, and moon, and stars would shine again? That is, is it not implied that there would still be prosperity in 8ome future period?

Now, in regard to the application of this, if the explanation of the preceding symbols is correct, there can be little difficulty. If the previous symbols referred to Alaric, to Genseric, and to Attila, there can be no difficulty in applying this to Odoacer, and to his reign — a reign in which, in fact, the Roman dominion in the West came to an end, and passed into the hands of this barbarian. Any one has only to open the " Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," to see that this is the next event that should be symbolized if the design were to represent the downfall of the empire. These four- great barbarian leaders succeed each other in order, and under the last, Odoacer, the barbarian dominion was established; for it is here that the existence of the Roman power, as such, ended. The Western empire, terminated, according to Mr. Gibbon (ii. p. 380), about A. D. 47G, or 479. Odoacer was " King of Italy" from A. D. 476 to A. D. 490. Gibbon, ii, 379. The Eastern empire still lingered, but calamity, like blotting out the sun, and moon, and stars, bad oomo over that not for a third part of it, and tho night likewise.

part of the world which for so many centuries had constituted the seat of power and dominion. — Odoacer was the son of Edecon, a barbarian, who was in the service of Attila, and who left two sons — Onulf and Odoacer. The former directed his steps to Constantinople;

Odoacer, "led a wandering life among the barbarians of Noricum, with a mind and fortune suited to the most desperate adventures; and when he had fixed his choice he privily visited the cell of Severinus, the popular saint of the country, to solicit his approbation and blessing. The lowness of the door would not admit the lofty stature of Odoacer; he was obliged to stoop; but in that humble attitude the saint could discern the symptoms of his future greatness; and addressing him in a prophetic tone, ' Pursue,' said he, your design; proceed to Italy; you will cast away the coarse garment of skins; and your wealth will be adequate to the liberality of your mind.' The barbarian, whose daring spirit accepted and ratified this prediction, was admitted into the service of the Western empire, and soon obtained an honorable ra.nk in the guards. His manners were gradually polished, his military skill improved, and the confederates of Italy would not have elected him for their general, unless the exploits of Odoacer had established a high opinion of his courage and capacity. Their military acclamations saluted him with the title of king; but he abstained during his whole reign from the use of the purple and the diadem, lest he should offend those princes, whose subjects, by their accidental mixture, had formed the victorious army which time and policy might insensibly unite into » great nation." Gibbon, ii. 379, 380.

In another place Mr. Gibbon says,

" Odoacer was the first barbarian who reigned in Italy, over a people who had once asserted their superiority above the rest of mankind. The disgrace of the Ptomans still excites our respectful compassion, and we fondly sympathize with the imaginary grief and indignation of their degenerate posterity. But tho calamities of Italy had gradually subdued the proud consciousness of freedoM and glory. In the age of Roman virtue, the provinces were subject to the arms, and the citizens to the laws, of the republic; till those laws were subverted by civil discord, and both the city and the provinces became the property of a servile tyrant. The forms of the constitution which alleviated or disguised their abject slavery, were abolished by time and violence; the Italians alternately lamented the presence or the absence of the sovereigns whom they detested or despised; and the succession of five centuries inflicted the various evils of military license, capricious despotism, and elaborate oppression. During the same period the barbai'ians had emerged from obscurity and contempt, and the warriors of Germany and Scythia were introduced into the provinces, as the servants, the allies, and at length the masters, of the Romans, whom they insulted or protected." ii. 381, 382. Of

the effect of the reign of Odoacer, Mr.

Gibbon remarks: "In the division and decline of the empire, the tributary harvests of Egypt and Africa were withdrawn; the numbers of the inhabitants continually decreased with the means of subsistence; and the country was exhausted by the irretrievable losses of war, famine, and pestilence. St. Ambrose has deplored the ruin of a populous district, which had been once adorned with the flourishing cities of Bologna, Modena, Regium, and Placentia. Pope Gelasius was a subject of Odoacer; and he affirms, with strong exaggeration, that in iEmilia, Tuscany, and the adjacent provinces, the human species was almost extirpated. Onethird of those ample estates, to which the ruin of Italy is originally imputed, was extorted for the use of the con-

querors." ii. 383. Yet, the light was not wholly extinct. It was "a third part'' of it which was put out; and it was still true that some of the forms of the ancient constitution were observed — that the light still lingered before it wholly passed away. In the language of an-

other, " The authority of the Roman name had not yet entirely ceased. The senate of Rome continued to assemble as usual. The consuls were appointed yearly, one by the Eastern emperor, one by Italy and Pbome. Odoacer himself governed Italy under a title (that of Patrician), conferred on him by the

Eastern emperor. There was still a certain, though often faint, recognition of the supreme imperial authority. The moon and the stars might seem still to shine in the "West, with a dim, reflected light. In the course of the events, however, which rapidly followed in the next half century, these too were extinguished. After above a century and a half of calamities unexampled almost, as Dr, Robertson most truly represents it,* in the History of Nations, the statement of Jerome — a statement couched under the very Apocalyptic figure of the text, but prematurely pronounced on the first taking of Rome by Alaric — might be considered at length accomplished: ' Clarissimum terrarum lumen extinctum est' — ' The world's glorious sun has been extinguished;' or as the modern poet (Byron, Childe Harold, canto iv.) has expressed it, still under the Apocalyptic imagery —

' She saw her glories star by star expire,'

till not even one star remained to glimmer in the vacant and dark night." Elliott, i. 300, 361.

I have thus endeavored to explain the meaning of the four first trumpets under the opening of the seventh seal, embracing the successive severe blows struck on the empire by Alaric, Genseric, Attila, and Odoacer, until the empire fell to rise no more. I cannot better conclude this part of the exposition than in the words of Mr. Gibbon, in his reflections on the fall of the em-

pire: " I have now accomplished," says he, '' the laborious narrative of the decline and fall of the Roman empire, from the fortunate age of Trajan and the Antonincs, to its latest extinction in tho West, about five centuries after the Christian era. At that unhappy period, the Saxons fiercely struggled with the natives for the possession of Britain; Gaul and Spain were divided between the powerful monarchies of the Franks and the Visigoths, and the dependent kingdoms of the Suevi and the Burgundians; Africa was exposed to the cruel persecution of the Vandals, and the savage insults of the Moors; Rome and Italy, as far as the banks of the Danube, were afflicted by an army of barbarian mer-

* ' If we were called on to fix a period most c»Umitous, it would be that from th£ death of Theodoiint 10 the eslablijtment of the Lambardi.' C/iarlet V^ pp. II, Ii.

13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying " through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, a c. 14. G.

cenaries, whose lawless tyranny was succeeded by the reign of Theodosia, the Ostrogoth. All the subjects of the empire, who, by the use of the Latin language, more particularly deserved the name and privileges of Romans, were oppressed by the disgrace and calamities of foreign conquest; and the victorious nations of Germany established a new system of manners and government in the western countries of Eui-ope. The majesty of Rome was faintly represented by the princes of Constantinople, the feeble and imaginary successors of Augustus." Vol. ii. pp. 440, 441. " The splendid days of Augustus and Trajan tcere eclipsed hy a cloud of ignorance [a fine illustration of the language ' the third part of the sun was smitten, and the day shone not, and the night likewise']; and the barbarians subverted the laws and palaces of Rome." Ibid, p. 446.

Thus ended the history of the Gothic period; and, as I suppose, the immediate symbolic representation of the aifairs of the Western empire. An interval now occurs (ver. 15) in the sounding of the trumpets, and the scene is transferred, in the three remaining trumpets, to the Eastern parts of the empire. After that, the attention is directed again to the West, to contemplate Rome under a new form, and exerting a new influence in the nations, under the Papacy, but destined ultimately to pass away in its spiritual power, as. its temporal power had yielded to the elements of internal decay in its bosom, and to the invasions of the Northern hordes.

13. And 1 beheld. My attention was attracted by a new vision. <[f And heard an anr/el flying, &c. I heard the voice of an angel making this proclamation. •[ Woe, icoe, icoe. That is, there will be great woe. The repetition of the word is intensive, and the idea is, that the Bounding of the three remaining trumpets would indicate great and fearful calamities. These three are grouped together, as if they pertained to a similar series of events, as the first four had been. The two classes are separated

Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the eai'th, by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound.

from each other by this interval and by this proclamation — implying that the first series had been completed, and that there would be some interval, either of space or time, before the other series would come upon the world. All that is fairly implied here would be fulfilled by the supposition that the former referred to the West, and that the lattei pertained to the East, and were to follow when those should have been completed.

The three remaining trumpets (chs ix-xi) are usually called the icoe-trum- 2)ets, in reference to the proclamation oi woes, ch, viii. 13. Prof. Stuart. The three extend, as I suppose, to the end of time, or, as it is supposed by the writer himself (ch. xi. 15), to the period when " the kingdoms of this world shall have become the kingdom of Christ." embracing a succinct view of the most material events that were to occui-, particularly in a secidar point of view. See the Analysis prefixed to the book. In ch. xi. 19, as I understand it, a new view is commenced, referring to the church internally; the rise of Antichrist, and the effect of the rise of that formidable power on the internal history of the church, to the time of its overthrow, and the triumphant establishment of the kingdom of God. This, of course, synchronizes in its beginning and its close with the portion already passed over, but with a difi'erent view. See the Analysis prefixed to ch. xi. 19, seq.

(1) First, a description of the first of those trumpets, or the fifth in the order of the whole, vs. 1-12. — This woe is represented under the figure of calamities brought upon the earth by an immense army of locusts. A star is seen to fall from heaven — representing some mighty chieftain, and to him is given the key of the bottomless pit. He opens the pit, and then comes forth an mnumerable swarm

NI> the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star " fall from

of locusts? that darken the heavens, and they go forth upon the earth. They have a command given them to do a certain work. — They are not to hurt the earth, or any green thing, but they are sent against those men which have not the seal of God on their foreheads. Their main business, however, was not to kill them, but to torment them for a limited time — for five months. A description of the appearance of the locusts then follows. Though they are called locusts, because in their general appearance, and in the ravages they commit, they resemble them, yet, in the main, they are imaginary beings, and combine in themselves qualities which are never found united in reality. They had a etrong resemblance to horses prepared for battle; they wore on their heads crowns of gold; they had the faces of men, but the hair of women, and the teeth of lions. They had breastplates of iron, and tails like scorpions, with Btings in their tails. They had a mighty king at their head, with a name significant of the destruction which he would bring upon the world. These mysterious beings had their origin in the bottomless pit, and they are summoned forth to spread desolation upon the earth.

(2) Second, a description of the second of these trumpets, the sixth in order, vs. 13-19, "When this is sounded, a voice is heard from the four horns of the altar which is before God. The angel is commanded to loose the four angels which arc bound in the great river Euphrates. These angels are loosed — angels which had been prepared for a definite period — a day, and a month, and a year, to slay the third part of men. — The number of the army that would appear — composed of cavalry — is stated to amount to two hundred thousand, and the jyeculian'ties of these horsemen are then stated. They are remarkable for having breastplates of fire, and jacinth, and brimstone; the heads of the horses resemble lions; and they breathe forth firo nnd brim- •tone. A third part of men f^il before

heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. *

them, by the fire, and the smoke, and the brimstone. Their power is in their mouth and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents.

(3) Third, a statement of the effect of the judgments brought upon the world under these trumpets, vs. 20, 21. The eflTect, so far as the reasonable result could have been anticipated, is lost. The nations are not turned from idolatry. Wickedness still abounds, and there is no disposition to repent of the abominations which had been so long practised on the earth.

1. Aiid the fifth angel soxmded. See Notes on ch. viii. 6, 7. ^ And I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth. This denotes, as was shown in the Notes on ch. viii. 10, a leader, a military chieftain, a warrior. — In the fulfilment of this, as in the former case, we look for the appearance of some mighty prince and warrior, to whom is given power, as it were, to open the bottomless pit, and to summon forth its legions. That some such agent is denoted by the star^ is farther apparent from the fact that it is immediately added that •' to Mm [the star] wa» given the key of the bottomless pit." It could not be meant that a key would be given to a literal star, and we naturally suppose, therefore, that some intelligent being of exalted rank, and of baleful influence, is here referred to. Angels, good and bad, are often called stars; but the reference here, as in ch. viii. 10, seems to- mo not to be to angels, but to some mighty leader of armies, who was to collect his hosts, and to go through the world in the Avork of destruction. <][ And to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. Of the under-world, considered particularly of the abode of the wicked. This is represented often as a dark prisonhouse, enclosed with walls, and accessible by gates or doors. These gates or doors are fastened, so that none of the inmates can come out, and the key is in the hand of the keeper or guardian. In ch. i. IS, it is said that the keys of that world are in the hand of the Saviour (cump. Notes ou thiit passage); her© it

2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air

is said that for a time, and for a temporary purpose, they are committed to another. The word pit — (ppiap — denotes, properly, a well, or a pit for water dug in the earth; and then any pit, cave, abyss. The reference here is doubtless to the nether world considered as the abode of the wicked dead, the prisonhouse of the guilty. The word botfomlesa — a^vccoi — whence our word abyss, means properly toichout any bottom (from a, pr. and l3v&os, depth, bottom). It would be api^lied properly to the ocean, or to any deep and dark dell, or to any obscure place whose depth was unknown. Here it refers to Hades — the region of the dead — the abode of wicked epirits — as a deep, dark place whose bottom was unknown. Having the key to this, is to have the power to confine those who are there, or to permit them to go at large. The meaning here is that this master-spirit would have power to evoke the dead from these dark regions; and it would be fulfilled if some mighty genius, that could be compared with a fallen star, or a lurid meteor, should summon forth followers which would appear like the dwellers in the nether world called forth to spread desolation over the earth.

2. And he opened the bottomless pit. It is represented before as wholly confined, so that not even the smoke or vapor could escape. ^ And there arose a smoke out of the jjit. Comp. ch. xiv. 11. The meaning here is, that the pit, as a place of punishment, or as the abode of the wicked, was filled with burning sulphur, and consequently that it emitted smoke and vapor as soon as opened. The common image of the place of punishment, in the Scriptures, is that of a '"'lake that burns with fire and bi-imstonc." Comp. ch. xiv. 10; xix. 20; xx. 10 J xxi. 8. See also Ps. xi. 6; Ezek. xxxviii. 22; Isa. xxx. 33. It is not improbable that this image was taken from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Gen. xix. 24. Such burning sulphur would produce, of course, a dense smoke or vapor, and the idea here is,

3 And there came out of the smoke locusts * upon the earth:

that the pit had been closed, and that as soon as the door was opened, a dense column escaped that darkened the heavens. The purpose of this is, probably, to indicate the origin of the plague that was about to come upon the world. It would be of such a character that it would appear as if it had been emitted from hell; as if the inmates of that dark world had broke loose upon the earth. Comp. Notes on ch. vi. 8. ^ As the smoke of a great furnace. So in Gen. xix. 28, whence probably this image is taken; — "And he looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah, and all the land of the plain, and beheld, and lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace." ^ And the sun and the air were darkened, &c. As will be the case when a smoke ascends from a furnace. The meaning here is, that an effect would be produced as if a dense and dark vapor should ascend from the under-world. We are not, of course, to understand this literally.

3. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth. That is, they escaped from the pit with the smoke. At first they were mingled with the smoke so that they were not distinctly seen, but when the smoke cleared away, they appeared in great numbers. The idea seems to be, that the bottomless pit was filled with vapor and with those creatures, and that as soon as the gate was opened the whole contents expanded and burst forth upon the earth. The sun was immediately darkened and the air was full, but the smoke soon cleared away, so that the locusts became distinctly visible. The appearance of these locusts is described in another part of the chapter, vs. 7, seq. The locust is a voracious insect belonging to the grasshopper or grylli genus, and is a great scourge in Oriental countries. A full description of the locust may be seen in Robinson's Calmet, and in Kitto's Ency. vol. ii. pp. 258, seq. There are ten Hebrew words to denote the locust, and there are numerous references to the destructive habits of the hisect in th«

Scriptures. In fact, from tlieir numbers, and their destructive habits, there was scarcely any other jolague that was so much dreaded in the East. Considered as a symbol, or emblem, the following remarks may be made in explanation: — (1) The symbol is Oriental, and would most naturally refer to something that was to occur in the East. As locusts have appeared chiefly in the East, and as they are in a great measure an Oriental plague, the mention of this symbol would most naturally turn the thoughts to that portion of the earth. The symbols of the first four trumpets had no especial locality, and would suggest no particular part of the world; but, on the mention of this, the mind would be naturally turned to the East, and we should expect to find that the scene of this woe would be located in the regions where the ravages of locusts most abounded. Compai-e, on this point, Elliott, Horae. Apoc, i. 394-406. He has made it probable that the prophets, when they used symbolical language to denote any events, commonly, at least, employed those which had a local or geographical reference. Thus, in the symbols derived from the vegetable kingdom, when Judah is to be symbolized, the olive, the vine, and the fig-tree are selected; when Egypt is referred to, the reed is chosen; where Babylon, the willow. And so, in the animal kingdom, the lion is the symbol of Judah; the wild-ass, of the Arabs; the crocodile, of Egypt, <fec. "Whether this theory could be wholly carried out or not, no one can doubt that the symbol of locusts would most naturally suggest the Oriental world, and that the natural interpretation of the passage »rould lead us to expect its fulfilment there. (2) Locusts were remarkable for their numbers — so great often as to appear WkQ clouds, and to darken the sky. in this respect, they would naturally be symbolical of numerous armies or hosts of men. This natural symbol of numerous armies is often employed by the prophets. Thus, in Jer. xlvi. 23:

' Cot down her forest [i. e. her people, or cities], saith Jehovah, That it may not be found on searching; Although they surpass ttie locusts in mult'tide, Ind tiiey are without uumLior."

" There shall the fire devour thee; The sword shall cut thee off; it sh»ll devonr thM

So also in Nahum iii. 17:

"Thy crown'd princes are as the numerous locmt. And thy captains as the grasshoppers; Which encamp in the fences in the cold day, But when the sun ariseth they depart, And their place is not known where they were."

See also Deut. sxviii. 38, 42,• Ps. Ixxvifl. 46; Amos vii. 1. Comp. Judges vi. 1 — 6, vii. 12, and Joel, chs. i. and ii. (3) Locusts are an emblem of desolation or destruction. No symbol of desolation could be more appropriate or striking than this, for one of the most remarkable properties of locusts is, that they devour every green thing, and leavtj a land perfectly waste. They do this even when what they destroy is not necessary for their own sustenance. "Locusts

seem to devour not so much from a ravenous appetite as from a rage for destroying. Destruction, therefore, and not food, is the chief impulse of their devastations, and in this consists their utility; they are in fact omnivorous. The most poisonous plants are indifferent to them; they will prey even upon the crowfoot, whose causticity burns ever the hides of beasts. They simply con sume every thing, without predilectionvegetable matter, linens, woollens, sUk leather, <fcc.; and Pliny does not cx?;g gerate them when he says, fores quor^u i teotorum — 'even the doors of houoca/ for they have been known to consur..' the very varnish of furniture. TUej reduce every thing indiscriminately t«- shreds, which become manure." — Kitto'i

Encyclo. ii. 263. Locusts become, there fore, a most striking symbol of aa alldevouring army, and as such are often referred to in Scripture. So also ii. Josephus, de Bello Jud. B. v. ch. vii "As after locusts, we see the woodi stripped of their leaves, so, in the rear of Simon's army, nothing but devastation remained." The natural application of this symbol, then, is to a numeious and destructive army, or to a great n:ultitude of people committing ravages, a» 1 sweeping olf every thing in their marcn. •[ And unto them wan ijiven jto,j tr. Thil

4 And it was commanded them | neither any tree; but only thos^> " that they should not hurt the grass! men which have not the seal ' ol of the earth, neither any green thing, God in their foreheads.

was something that was imparted to them beyond their ordinary nature. The locust in itself is not strong, and is not a symbol of strength. Though destructive in the extreme, yet neither as individuals, nor as combined, are they distinguished for strength. Hence it is mentioned as a remarkable circumstance that they had such povrer conferred on them. ^ As the scorpions of the earth have poiver. The phrase "the earth," seems to have been introduced here because these creatures are said to have come up from " the bottomless pit," and it vras natural to compare them with some well-known objects found on the earth. The scorpion is an animal with eight feet, eight eyes, and a long jointed tail, ending in a pointed weapon or sting. It is the largest and the most malignant of all the insect tribes. It somewhat resembles the lobster in its general appearance, but is much more hideous. See Notes on Luke x. 19. Those found in Europe seldom exceed four inches in length, but in tropical climates, where they abound, they are often found twelve inches long. There are few animals more formidable, and none more irascible, than the scorpion. Goldsmith states '.hat Maupertius put about a hundred of them together in the same glass, and that as soon as they came into contact, they began to exert all their rage in mutual destruction, so that in a few days there remained but fourteen, which had killed and devoured all the rest. The sting of the scorpion. Dr. Shaw states, is not always fatal; the malignity of their venom being in proportion to their size and complexion. The torment of a scorpion when he strikes a man, is thus described by Dioscorides, lib. vii. cap. 7, as cited by Mr. Taylor: "When the

scorpion has stung, the place becomes inflamed and hardened; it reddens by tension, and is painful by intervals, being now chilly, now burning. The pain soon rises high, and rages, sometimes more, sometimes less. A sweating succeeds, attended by a shivering and trembling; the extremities of the body become cold, the groiu ewcIIs, the hair standi on end, the members become pale, and the skin feels throughout the sensation of a perpetual pricking, as if by needles." — Fragments to Calmet, Die. voL iv. 376, 377. " The tail of the scorpion is long, and formed after the manner of a string of beads, the last larger than the others, and longer; at the end of which are, sometimes, two stings which are hollow, and filled with a cold poison, which it ejects into the part which it stings."

Cal. Die. The sting of the scorpion, therefore, becomes the emblem of that which causes acute and dangerous suffering. On this comparison with scorpions, see the remark of Niebuhr, quoted in the Notes on ver. 7.

4. And it was commanded them. The writer does not say hi/ tchom this command was given, but it is clearly by some one who had the direction of them. As they were evoked from the "bottomless pit" by one who had the key to that dark abode, and as they are represented in ver. 11 as under the command of one who is there called Abaddon, or Apollyon, the Destroyer, it would seem most probable that the command referred to is one that is given by him; that is, that this expresses one of the principles on which he would act in his devastations. At all events, this denotes what would be one of the characteristics of these destroyers. Their purpose would be to vex and trouble men; not to spread desolation over vineyards, olive-yards, and fields of grain. *[f That they should not hurt the grass of the earth, &c. See Notes on ch. viii. 7. The meaning here is plain. There would be some sense in which these invaders would be characterized in a manner that was not common among invaders, to wit, that they would show particular care not to carry their devastations into the vegetable world. Their warfare would be with men, and not with orchards and green fields. ^ But only those men ichich have not the seal of God in their foreheads. See Notes on ch. vii. 2, 3. They commenced war against that part of the human race only. The language here properly denotes those who were not i\n.

5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five

friends of God. It may here refer, however, either to those who in reality Avere not such, or to those who were regarded by him who gave this command as not being such. In the former case, the commission would have respect to real infidels in the sight of God; that is, to those who rejected the true religion; in the latter, it would express the sentiment of the leader of this host, as referring to those who in his apprehension were infidels or enemies of God. The true interpret-ation must depend on the sense in which we understand the phrase " it was commanded^" whether as referring to God, or to the leader of the host himself. The language, therefore, is ambiguous, and the meaning must be determined by the other parts of the passage. Either method of understanding the passage would be in accordance with its fair interpretation.

5. Ami to them it teas given. There is here the same indefiniteness as in the former verse, the impersonal verb being here also used. The writer does not Bay by whom this power was given, whether by Gcd, or by the leader of the hos'i,. It may be admitted, however, that the most natural interpretation Is to suppose that it was given them by God, and that this was the execution of his purpose in this case. Still, it is remarkable that this is not directly affirmed, and that the language is so general as to admit of the other application. The fact that they did not kill them, but tormented them — if such a fact should be found to exist — would be in every sense a fulfilment of what is here said. ^ That they should not kill them. This is in accordance with the nature of the symbol. The locusts do not themselves destroy any living creature; and the sting of the scorpion, though exceedingly painful, is not usually fatal. The proper fulfilment of this would be found in that which would not be generally fatal, but which would diffuse misery and wretchedness. Comp. ver. 6. Perhajjs all that would be necessarily meant by this, would be, not *hat individual men would not be killed.

months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

but that they would be sent to inflict plagues and torments rather than to take life, and that the characteristic efi'ects of their appearing would be distress and suffering rather than death.— There may be included in the fair interpretation of the words, general distress and sorrow; acts of oppression, cruelty, and violence; such a condition of public suffering that men would regard death as a relief if they could find it. ^ But that they should be tormented. That is, that they should be subjected to ills and troubles which might be properly compared with the sting of a scorpion. ^ Five months. So far as the tcords here are concerned, this might be taken literally, denoting five months or one hundred and fifty days; or as a prophetic reckoning, where a day stands for a year. Comp. Notes on Dan. ix. 24, seq. The latter is undoubtedly the correct interpretation here, for it is the character of the book thus to reckon time. See Notes on ver. 15. If this be the true method of reckoning here, then it will be necessary to find some events which will embrace about the period of one hundred and fifty years, during which this distress and sorrow would continue. The proper laws of interpretation demand that one or the other of these periods should be found — either that of five months literally, or that of an hundred and fifty years. It may be true, as Prof. Stuart suggests (in lac.) that "the usual time of locusts is from May to September, incliv»ive = five months." It may be true, also, that this symbol was chosen partly because that was the fact, and they would, from that fact, be well adapted to symbolize a period that could be spoken of as " five months;" but still the meaning must be more than simply it was "a short period," as he supposes. The phrase a few months might designate such a period, but if that had been the writer's intention, he would not have selected the definite number Jive. ^ And their torment was as the torment of a scorpioHf &c. See Notes on ver. 3. That is, it would be painful, severe, danger'^Uf.

6 And in those days shall men " seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

6. And in those days shall men seek death, &,c. See Notes on ver. 5. It is very easy to conceive of such a state of things as is here described, and, indeed, this has not been very uncommon in the world. It is a state where the distress is so great that men would consider death a relief, and where they anxiously look to the time when they may be released from their sufferings by death. In the case before us, it is not intimated that they would lay violent hands on themselves, or that they would take any positive measures to end their sufferings, and this, perhaps, may he a circumstance of some importance to show that the persons referred to were servants of God. AVhen it is said that " they would seek death," it can only be meant that they would look out for it — or desire it — as the end of their sorrows. This is descriptive, as we shall see, of a particular period of the world; but the language is beautifully applicable to what occurs in all ages, and in all lands. There is always a great number of sufferers who are looking forward to death as a relief. In cells and dungeons; on beds of pain and languishing; in scenes of poverty and want; in blighted hopes and disappointed aflfections, how many are there who would be glad to die, and who have no hope of an end of suffering but in the grave! A few, by the pistol, by the halter, by poison, or by drowning, seek thus to end their woes. A large part look forward to death as a release, when, if the reality were known, death would furnish no such relief, for there are deeper and longer woes beyond the grave than there are this side of it. Comp. Notes on Job iii. 20-22. But to a portion death %nUl be a relief. It will be an end of sufferings. They will find peace in the grave; and are assured they shall suffer no more. Such bear their trials with patience, for the end of all sorrow to them if near, and death will come to release their spirits from the suffering clay, and to bear them in triumph to a world where a pang shall never be felt, and a tear never shed. 21*

7 And the shapes * of the locusts loere like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads loere as

7. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared for battle. The resemblance between the locust and the horse, dissimilar as they are in most respects, has been often marked. Dr. Robinson (Bib. Research, i. 59), says,

" We found to-day upoti the shrubs an insect, either a species of black locust, or much resembling them, which our Bedawin called Fat-as el-Jundy, ' soldiers' horses.' They said these insects were common on Mount Sinai, of a green color, and were found on dead trees, but did them no injury." The

editor of the Pictorial Bible makes the

following remarks: " The first time we saw locusts browsing with their wings closed, the idea of comparing them to horses arose spontaneously to our minds — as we had not previously met with such a comparison, and did not at that time advert to the present text [Joel ii. 4.] The resemblance in the head first struck our attention, and this notion, having once arisen, other analogies were found or imagined in its general appearance and action in feeding. AVe have since found the observation very common. The Italians, indeed, from this resemblance, call the locust cavaletta, or little horse. Sir W. Ouseley reports, ' Zakaria Cazvini divides the locusts into two classes, like horsemen and footmen — mounted and pedestrian.' Niebuhr says, that he heard from a Bedouin, near Bussorah, a particular comparison of the locust to other animals; but as this passage of Scripture did not occur to him at the time, he thought it a mere fancy of the Arab's, till he heard it repeated afc Bagdad. He compared the head of the locust to that of the horse; the feet to those of the camel; the belly with that of a serpent; the tail with that of a scorpion; and the feelers (if Niebuhr remembered rightly) to the hair of a virgin." Piet. Bib. on Joel, ii. 4. The

resemblance to horses would naturally suggest the idea of cavalry, as being referred to by the symbol. ^ And on their heads were, as it were, croxcnt like gold. The writer does not say either that these were literally croventf it were * crowns like gold, and their feces * loere as the faces of men. 8 And they had hair as the hair or that they were actually made of gold. They were " aa it tcere" — ws — crowns, and they were like — onotoi — gold. That is, as seen by him, they had a resemblance to crowns or diadems, and they also resembled gold in their color and brilliancy. The word croion — orf^aroj — means properly a circlet, chaplet, encircling the head, (o) as an emblem of royal dignity, and as worn by kings; (6) as conferred on the victors in the public games — a chaplet, a wreath; (c) as an ornament, honor, or glory. Phil. iv. 1. No particular shape is designated by the word aT((pavos — Stephanos, and perhaps the word crown does not quite express the meaning. The word diadem would come nearer to it. The true notion in the word is that of something that is passed around the head, and that encircles it, and as such it would well describe the appearance of a turban as seen at a distance. On the supposition that the symbolic beings here referred to had turbans on their heads, and on the supposition that something was referred to which was not much worn in the time of John, and which therefore had no name, the word Stephanos, or diadem would be likely to be used in describing it. This, too, would accord with the use of the phrase " as it were" — w?. The writer saw such head-ornaments as he was accustomed to see. They were not exactly crowns or diadems, but they had a resemblance to them, and he, therefore, uses this language: " and on their heads were, as it xcere, crowns." Suppose that these were turbans, and that they were not in common use in the time of John, and that they had, therefore, no name, would not this be tho exact language which he would use in describing them? The same remarks may bo made re- Bpecting tho other expression: like gold. They were not pure gold; but they had a resemblance to it. Would not a yellow tarban correspond with all that is said in this description? ^ And their faces were as the faces of men. They had a human countenance. This would indicate that, after all, they were human

9 And they had breastplates,

beings that the symbol described, though they had come up from the bottomless pit. Horsemen, in strange apparel, with a strange head-dress, would be all that would be properly denoted by this.

8. And they had hair as the hair of women. Long hair; not such as men commonly wear, but such as women wear. See Notes on 1 Cor. xi. 14. This struck John as a peculiaritj', that, though warriors, they should have the appearance of effeminacy indicated by allowing their hair to grow long. It is clear from this, that John regarded their appearance as unusual and remarkable. Though manifestly designed to represent an army, yet it was not the usual appearance of men who went forth to battle. Among the Greeks of ancient times, indeed, long hair was not uncommon (see the Notes above referred to on 1 Cor. xi. 14), but this was by no means the usual custom among the ancients; and the fact that these warriors had long hair like women was a circumstance that would distinguish them particularly from others. On this comparison of the appearance of the locusts with the hair of women, see the remarks of Niebuhr, in the Notes on ver 7. ^ And their teeth were as the teeth of lions. Strong; fitted to devour. The teeth of the locust are by no means prominent, though they are strong, for they readily cut down, and eat up, all vegetable substances that come in their way. But it is evident that John means to say that there was much that was unusual and remarkable in the teeth of these locusts. They would bo ravenous and fierce, and would spread terror and desolation like the lions of the desert.

9. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron. Hard, horny, impenetrable as if they were made of iron. The locust has a firm and hard cuticle on the fore-part of the broaet, which series for a shield or defence while it moves in the thorny and furzy vegetation. On those which John saw, this was peculiarly hard and horny, and would thus be well adapted to bo an emblem of the breastplates of iron com-

it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings loas as the sound of ' chariots of many horses running to battle.

10 And they had tails like unto

nionly tvorn by ancient warriors. The meaning is, that the warriors referred to tvoukl be well clad with defensive armor. ^[ And the sound of their wings was as the lound of chariots of many horses, running to battle. The noise made by locusts is often spoken of by travellers, and the comparison of that noise with that of chariots rushing to battle, is not only appropriate, but also indicates clearly what was symbolized. It was an army that was symbolized, and every thing about them served to represent hosts of men, well armed, rushing to conflict. The same thing here referred to is r^oticed by Joel (ch. ii. 4, 5, 7):

Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains,

shall they leap; Like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the

stubble; As a strong people set in battle array Thev shall run like mighty men; They shall climb the wall like men of war; And they shall march every one his ways, and shall not break their ranks," &c.

It is remarkable that Volney, who had no intention of illustrating the truth of Scripture, has given a description of locusts, as if he meant to confirm the truth of what is here said: " Syria,"

says he, "as well as Egypt, Persia, and almost all the South of Asia, is subject to another calamity no less dreadful [than earthquakes]; I mean those clouds of locusts so often mentioned by travellers. The quantity of these insects is incredible to all who have not themselves witnessed their astounding numbers; the whole earth is covered with them for the space of several leagues. The noise they make in browsing on the trees and herbage may be heard to a great distance, and resembles that of an army foraging in secret." Travels in Egypt and Syria, vol. i. pp. 283, 284.

10. And they had tails like unto scorpions. The fancy of an Arab now often discerns a resemblance between the tail of the locust and the scorpion. See the remark of Niebuhr, quoted in the Notes on ver. 7. ^ And there were stings in

scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and ' their povs^er was to hurt men five months.

11 And they had a king * over them, wJiicJi is the angel of the

their tails. Like the stings of scorpions. See Notes on ver. 3. This made the locusts which appeared to John the more remarkable, for, though the fancy may imagine a resemblance between the tail of a locust and a scorpion, yet the locusts have properly no sting. The only thing which they have resembling a sting is a hard bony substance, like a needle, with which the female punctures the bark and wood of trees in order to deposit her eggs. It has, however, no adaptation like a sting, for conveying poison into a wound. These, however, appeared to be armed with stings properly so called. ^ And their power teas to hurt men. Not primarily to Icill men, but to inflict on them various kinds of tortures. See Notes on ver. 5. The word here used — abiKriaai, rendered to hurt, is different from the word in ver. 5 — (iaaivid^uxn — rendered shoidd he tormented. This word properly means to do wrong, to do nnjustly, to injure, to hurt; and the two words would seem to convey the idea that they would produce distress by doing icrong to others; or by dealing unjustly with them. It does not appear that the wrong would bo by inflicting bodily torments, but would be characterized by that injustice towards others which produces distress ond anguish. *^ Five months. See Notes on ver. 5. 11. And they had a king over them. A ruler who marshalled their hosts. Locusts often, and indeed generally, move in bands, though they do not appear to be under the direction of any one as a particular ruler or guide. In this case it struck John as a remarkable peculiarity that they had a king — a king who, it would seem, had the absolute control, and to whom Avas to be traced all the destruction which would ensue from their emerging from the bottomless pit. •[ Which is the angel of the bottomless jnt. Notes, ver. 1. The word angel here would seem to refer to the chief of the evil angels, who presided over the dark and gloomy regions from whence the locusts seemed to emerge.

bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in

This may either mean that this evil angel seemed to command them personally, or that his spirit was infused into the leader of these hosts. ^ Whose name in the Hebreio tongue is Abaddon. The name Abaddon means literally destruction, and is the same as Apollyon. ^ But in the Greek tongue hath his name Apolbjon. From a-noWvyn — to destroy. The word properly denotes a destroyer, and the name is given to this king of the hosts represented by the locusts, because this would be his principal characteristic.

literal meaning of the symbol, it may be useful, before attempting to apply it, and to ascertain the events designed to be represented, to have a distinct impression of the principal image — the locust. It is evident that this is, in many respects, a creature of the imagination, and that we are not to expect the exact representation to be found in any forms of actual existence in the animal creation. The following cut, prepared by Mr. Elliott (vol. i. p. 410), will give a sufficiently accurate representation of this symbolical figure as it appeared to John.

The question now is, whether any events occurred in history, subsequent to, and succeeding those supposed to be referred to in the fourth seal, to which this symbol would be applicable. — Reasons have already been suggested for supposing that there was a transfer of the seat of the operations to another part of the world. The first four trumpets referred to a continual series of events of the same general character, and having a proper close. These have been explained as referring to the euccessive shocks which terminated in the downfall of the Western empire. At the close of that scries there is a pause in the representation (ch. viii. 13), and a solemn proclamation that other scenes were to open distinguished for woe. These were to be symbolized in the sounding of the remaining three trumpets, embracing the whole period till the consummation of all things — or sketching great and momentous events in the future, until the volume scaled with the seven seals (ch. v. 1) should have been wholly unrolled and its contents disclosed. The whole scene now is changed Rome has fallen. It has passed into the hands of strangers. The power that had spread itself over the world has, in that form, come to an end, and is to exist no more — though, as we shall see (ch. xi., seq.), another power, quite as formidable, existing there, is to be described by a new set of symbols. But here (ch. ix.) anew power appears. The scenery is all Oriental, and clearly baa reference to events that were to spring up in the East. With surprising unanimity, commentators have agreed in regarding this as referring to the empire of the Saracens, or to the rise and progress of the religion, and the empire, set up by Mohammed. The enquiry now is, whether the circumstances introduced into the symbol find a proper fulfilment in the rise of the Saracenic power, and in the conquests of the Pro2)het of Mecca.

(1) T/ie country loTiere the scene is laid. As already remarked, the scene is Oriental— for the mention of locusts naturally suggests the East — that being the part of the world where they abound, and they being in fact peculiarly an Oriental plague. It may now be added, that, in a more strict and proper sense, Arabia may be intended; that is, if it be admitted that the design was to symbolize events pertaining to Arabia, or the gathering of the hosts of Arabia for conquest, the symbol of locusts would have been employed, for the locust, the groundwork of the symbol, is peculiarly Arabic. It was the east wind which brought the locusts on Egypt (Ex. x. 13), and they must therefore have come from some portion of Arabia — for Arabia is the land that lies over against Egypt m the East. Such, too, is the testimony of Volney, "the most judicious," as Mr. Gibbon calls him, " of modern travellers." " The inhabitants of Syria," says he, " have remarked that locusts come constantly from the desert of Arabia." Ch. XX. Sect. 5. All that is necessary to say further on this point is, that on the supposition that it was the design of the Spirit of inspiration in the passage before us, to refer to the followers of Mohammed, the image of the locusts was that which would be naturally selected. There was no other one so appropriate and so striking; no one that would so naturally designate the country of Arabia. As some confirmation of this, or as showing how natural the symbol would be, a remark may be introduced from Mr. Forster. In his Mahommedanism Unveiled (i. 217), he says,

*' In the Bedoween romance of Antar, the locust is introduced as the national epiblem of the Ishmaelites. And it is a remarkable coincidence that Mahomraedan tradition speaks of locusts having dropped into the hands of Mahomet, bearing on their wings this inscription "-'"VVe are the army of the Great

God.' " These circumstances will sho^ the propriety of the symbol on the supposition that it refers to Arabia and the Saracens.

(2) The people. The question is, whe« ther there was any thing in the symbol, as described by John, which would properly designate the followers of Mohammed, on the supposition that it waa designed to have such a reference, (o) As to nvmbers. Judges vi. 6: " They (the Midianite Arabs) came as locusts for multitude." See Notes on ver. 3. Nothing would better represent the numbers of the Saracenic hordes that came out of Arabia, and that spread over the East, over Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Spain, and that threatened to spread over Europe, than such an army

of locusts. " One hundred years after his flight [Mohammed] from Mecca," says Mr. Gibbon, " the arms and reigns of his successors extended from India to the Atlantic ocean, over the various and distant provinces which may be comprised under the names of Persia, Syria, Egypt, Africa, and Spain." iii. 410. " At the end of the first century of the Hegira, the caliphs were the most potent and absolute monarchs en the globe. Under the last of the Ommiades, the Arabian empire extended two hundred days' journey from east to west, from the confines of Tartary and India to the shores of the Atlantic ocean." Ibid, p. 460.

In regard to the immense hosts employed in these conquests, an idea may be formed by a perusal of the whole 51st chapter in Gibbon (vol. iii. pp. 408-461). Those hosts issued primarily from Arabia, and in their numbers would be well compared with the swarms of locusts that issued from the same country, S4 numerous as to darken the sky. (6) Tha descrijJtion of the people. Tlieir faces were as the faces of men. This would seem to be in contrast with other people, or to denote something that was peculiar in the appearance of the persons represented. In other words, the meaning would seem to be, that there was something manly and warlike in their appearance, so far as their faces were concerned. It is remarkable that the appearance of the Goths (represented, as I suppose, under the previous trumpets) is describea by Jerome (Com. on Isa. viii.) as quite the reverse. They are described a« having faces shaven and smooth; faceS}

\n contrast with the bearded Romans, iike loomen'afaces.^- Is it fancy to suppose that the refeience here is to the beard and moustache of the Arabic hosts? We know with what care they regarded the beard; and if a representation was made of them, especially in contrast with nations that shaved their faces, and who thus resembled women, it would be natural to speak of those represented in the symbol as "having faces as the faces of men." They had hair as the hair of women. A strange mingling of the appearance of effeminacy with the indication of manliness and courage. See Notes on ver. 8, And yet this strictly accords with the appearanca of the Arabs or Saracens. Pliny, the contemporary of John, speaks of the Arabs then as having the hair long and uncut, with the moustache on the upper lip, or the beard: Arabes mitrati sunt, aut intonso crine. Barba abraditur, praeferquam in stiperiore lahro. Aliis et haec intonsa. Nat. His. vi. 28. So Solinus describes them in the thii-d century (Plurimis criuis intonsus, mitrata capita, pars rasa in cutem barba, c. 53) j eo Ammianus Marcellinus, in the fourth century [Crinitxis quidam a Saracenorum cuneo, sxxi. 16); and so Claudian, Theodore of Mopsuesta, and Jerome, in the fifth. Jerome lived about two centuries before the great Saracen invasion, and as he lived at Bethlehem, on the borders of Arabia, he must have been familiar with the appearance of the Arabs. Still later, in that most characteristic of Arab poems, Antar, a poem written in the time of Mohammed's childhood, we find the moustache, and the beard, and the long flowing hair on Ac shoulder, and the turban, all speci- ^d as characteristic of the Arabians. *' He adjusted himself properly, twisted his whiskers, and folded up his hair under his turban, drawing it from off his shoulders." i. 340. "His hair flowed down on his shoulders." i. 169. "Antar cut off Maudi's hair in revenge and in- Bult." iii. 117. "We will hang him up by his hair." iv. 325. See Elliott, i. 411, 412. Comp. Newton on the Prophecies, p. 485. And on their heads were as it tcere croicns of gold. Notes ver 7. That is, diadems, or something that appeared like crowns, or chaplcts.

• Foemineas inoisas facies praeferentcs, virorum ct ■Tie barbatorum fu^ienta terga coafodiunt.

This will agree well with the tur'oan worn by the Arabs or Saracens, and which was quite characteristic of them in the early periods when they became known. So in the passage already quoted, Pliny speaks of them as Arabea mitrati; so Solinus, vntrata capita; so in the poem of Antar, " he folded up his hair under his turban." It is remarkable also that Ezekiel (ch. xxiii. 42) describes the turbans of the Sabean or Keturite Arabs, under the very appellation here used by John: " Sabeans from the wilderness, which put beautiful croicns upon their heads." So in the Preface to An-

tar, it is said, "It was a usual saying among them, that God had bestowed four peculiar things on the Arabs; that their turbans should be unto them instead of diadems, their tents instead of walls and houses, their swords instead of intrcnchments, and their poems instead of written laws." Mr. Forster, in

his "Mohammedanism Unveiled," quotes as a precept of Mohammed, "Make a point of wearing turbaiis, because it is the way of angels." Turbans might theri with propriety be represented as crowns, and no doubt these were often so gilded and ornamented that they might be spoken of as " crowns of gold." They had breastplates, as it were breastj)lates of iron. See the Notes on ver. 9. As a symbol, this would be properly descriptive of the Arabians or Saracens. In the poem Antar, the steel and iron cuirasses of the Arab warriors are frequently noticed: "A warrior immersed in steel arinor." ii. 203. " Fifteen thousand men armed with cuirasses, and well accoutred for war." ii. 42. " They were clothed in iron armor, and brilliant cuirasses." i. 23. " Out of the dust appeared horsemen clad in iron." iii. 274. The same thing occurs in the Koran: " God hath given you coats of mail to defend you in your wars." ii. 104. In the history of Mohammed, we read expressly of the cuirasses of himself and of his Arab troops. Seven cuirasses are noted in the list of Mohammed's private armory. Gagnier, iii. 328-334. In his second battle with the Korcish, seven hundred of his little army are spoken of by Mr. Gibbon as armed with cuirasses. See Elliott, i. 413. These illustrations will show with what propriety the locusts in the symbol were represented as having breastplates like breastplates of iron.

On tlie supposition that this referred to the Arabs and the Saracens, this "vvould have been the very symbol which would have been used. Indeed all the features in the symbol are precisely such as tcould properly be employed on the supposition that the reference was to them. It is true that, beforehand, it might not have been practicable to describe exactly what people were referred to, but (1) it would be easy to see that some fearful calamity was to be anticipated from the ravages of hosts of fearful invaders; and (2) when the events occurred, there would be no diflSculty in determining to whom this application should be made.

(3) The time when this would occur. As to this, there can be no difficulty in the application to the Saracens. On the supposition that the four first trumpets refer to the downfall of the Western empire, then the proper time supposed to be represented by this symbol is subsequent to that; and yet the manner in which the last three trumpets are introduced (ch. viii. 13) shows that there would be an interval between the sounding of the last of the four trumpets and the sounding of the fifth. The events referred to, as I have supposed, as represented by the fourth trumpet, occurred in the close of the fifth century (A. D. 476-490). The principal events in the seventh century, were connected with the invasions and conquests of the Saracens. The interval of a century is not more than the fair interpretation of the proclamation in ch. viii. 13 would justify.

(4) The commission given to the symbolical locusts. This embraces the following things: — (a) They were not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing; (b) they were especially to go against those who had not the seal of God in their foreheads; (c) they were not to kill them, but were to torment them. — ' They xoere not to hurt the grass of the earth, &c. Notes ver. 4. This agrees remarkably with an express command in the Koran. The often-quoted order of the Caliph Aboubeker, the father-in-law and successor of Mohammed, issued to the Saracen hordes on their invasion of Syria, shows what was understood to be the spirit of their reli-

gion: " Remember that you are always in the presence of God, on the verge of death, in the assurance of judgment, and the hope of paradise. Avoid injustice and oppression; consult with your brethren, and study to procure the love and confidence of your troops. When you fight the battle of the Lord, acquit yourselves like men, without turning your backs; but let not the victory be stained loith the blood of women or children. Destroy no palm-trees, nor bum any fields of corn. Cut down no fruittrees, nor do any mischief to cattle, only such as you hill to cat. When you make any covenant or article, stand to it, and be as good as your word. As you go on you will fi-nd some religious persons who live retired in monasteries, and propose to themselves to serve God in that way; let them alone, and neither kill them" [And to them it was given that they should not kill them, ver. 5], " nor destroy their monasteries," <tc. Gibbon,

iii. 417, 418. So Mr. Gibbon notices this precept of the Koran: — "In the siege of Tayaf," says he, "sixty miles from Mecca, Mahomet violated his oion laws by the extirpation of the fruit-trees." ii. 392. The same order existed among the Hebrews, and it is not improbable that Mohammed derived his precept from the command of Moses (Deut. xx. 19), though what was mercy among the Hebrews was probably mere policy with him. This precept is the more remarkable because it has been the usual custom in war, and particularly among barbarians and semibarbarians, to destroy grain and fruit, and especially to cut down fruit-trees, in order to do greater injury to an enemy. Thus we have seen (Notes on ch. viii. 7), that in the invasion of the Goths, their course was marked by desolations of this kind. Thus, in more modern times, it has been common to carry the desolations of war into gardens, orchards, and vineyards. In the single province of Upper Messenia, the troops of Mohammed Ali, in the war with Greece, cut down half a million of olive-trees, and thus stripped the country of its means of wealth. So Scio was a beautiful spot, the seat of delightful villas, and gardens, and orchards; and in one day all this beauty was destroyed. — On the supposition, therefore, that this prediction had reference to the Saracens., nothing could be more appropriate. Indeed, in all the history of barbarous and savage warfare, it would be difficult to find another distinct command that no injury should be done to gardens and orchards. (6) Their commission was expressly against " those men who had not the seal of God in their foreheads." See Notes on ver. 4. That is, they were to go either against those who were not really the friends of God, or those who in their estimation were not. Perhaps, if there were nothing in the connexion to demand a different interpretation, the former would be the most natural explanation of the passage; but the language may he understood as referring to the purpose which they considered themselves as called upon to execute: — that is, that they were to go against those whom they regarded as being strangers to the true God, to wit, idolaters. Now, it is well known that Mohammed considered himself called upon, principally, to make war with idolaters, and that he went forth, professedly, to bring them into subjection to the service of the true

God. " The means of persuasion," says Mr. Gibbon, " had been tried, the season of forbearance was elapsed, and he was now commanded to propagate his religion by the sword, to destroy the monuments of idolatry, and without regarding the sanctity of days or months — to pursue the unbelieving nations of the earth." iii. 387. " The fair option of friendship, or submission, or battle, was proposed to the enemies of Mohammed." Ibid. "The sword," says Mohammed, "is the key of heaven and hell; a drop of blood shed in the cause of God, a night spent in arms, is of more avail than two months of fasting and prayer; whosoever falls in battle, his sins are forgiven: at the day of judgment his wounds shall be resplendent as vermilion and odoriferous as musk; and the loss of his limbs shall be supplied by the wings of angels and cherubim." Gibbon, iii. 387.

The first conflicts waged by Mohammed were against the idolaters of his own country — those who can, on no supposition, be regarded as "having the seal of God in their foreheads;" his subsequent wars were against infidela of all classes, that is, against those whom he regarded as not having the " seal of God in their foreheads,"" or as being the enemies of God. (c) The other part of the commission was "not to kill, but to torment them." Notes ver. 5. Comp. the quotation from the command of Abubekir, aa quoted above: " Let not the victory be stained with the blood of womeo and children." " Let them alone, and neither kill them nor destroy their monasteries." The meaning of this, if understood as applied to their commission against Christendom, would seem to be, that they were not to go forth to "kill," but to " torment" them; to wit, by the calamities which they would bring upon Christian nations for a definite period. Indeed, as we have seen above, it was an express command of Abubekir that they should not put those to death who were found leading quiet and peaceable lives in monasteries, though against another class, he did give an express command to " cleave their skulls." See Gibbon, iii. 418. As applicable to the conflicts of the Saracens with Christians, the meaning here would seem to be, that the power conceded to those who are represented by the locusts was not to cut off and to destroy the church, but it was to bring upon it various calamities to continue for a definite period. Accordingly, some of the severest afflictions which have come upon the church have undoubtedly proceeded from the followers of the Prophet of Mecca. There were times in the early history of that religion, when to all human appearance it would universally prevail, and wholly supplant the Christian church. But the church still survived, and no power was at any time given to the Saracenic hosts to destroy it altogether. In respect to this, some remarkable facts have occurred in history. The followers of the false prophet contemplated the subjugation of Europe, and the destruction of Christianity, from two quarters — the East and the West — expecting to make a junction of the two armies in the North of Italy, and to march down to Rome. Twice did they attack the vital part of Christendom by besieging Constantinople; first, in the seven years' siege, which lasted, from A. D. 068 to A. D. 075, and secondly, in the yeara 716-718, when Leo the Isaurian was on the imperial throne. But, on both occasions, they wore obliged to retire defeated and disgraced. Gibbon, iii. 461, seq. Again, they renewed their attack on the West. Having conquered Northern Africa, they passed over into Spain, subdued that country and Portugal, and extended their conquests as far as the Loire. At that time, they designed to subdue France, and having united -witli the forces -which they expected from the East, they intended to make a descent on Italy, and complete the conquest of Europe. This purpose Tvas defeated by the valor of Charles Martel, and Europe and the Christian world were saved from subjugation. Gibbon, iii. 467, seq. *'A

victorious line of march," says Mr. Gibbon, " had been prolonged above a thousand miles, from the rock of Gibraltar to the mouth of the Loire; the repetition of an equal space would have carried the Saracens to the confines of Poland, and the highlands of Scotland. The Rhine is not more impassable than the Kile or the Euphrates, and the Arabian fleet might have sailed without a naval combat into the mouth of the Thames. Perhaps the interpretation of the Koran would now be taught in the schools of Oxford, and her pulpits might demonstrate to a circumcised people, the sanctity and truth of the revelations of

Mahomet." The arrest of the Saracen hosts before Europe was subdued, was what there was no reason to anticipate, and it even yet perplexes historians to be able to account for it. "The calm

historian," says Mr. Gibbon, "who strives to follow the rapid course of the Saracens, must study to explain by what means the church and state were saved from this impending, and, as it should seem, inevitable danger." " These conquests," says Mr. Hallam, "which astonish the careless and superficial, are less perplexing to a calm inquirer than their cessation — the loss of half the Roman empire than the preservation of the rest." Iliddle Ages, ii. 3, 169.

These illustrations may serve to explain the meaning of the symbol — that their grand commission was not to annihilate or root out, but to annoy and afiiict. Indeed, they did not go forth with a primary design to destroy. The announcement of the Mussulman always was, "the Koran, the tribute, or the Bword," and when there was submission, cither by embracing his religion, or by tribute, life was always spared. " The fair option of friendship, or submission, or battle," says Mr. Gibbon (iii. 387), "was proposed to the enemies of Mahomet." Comp. also, vol. iii. 453, 456. The torment mentioned here, I suppose, refers to the calamities brought upon the Christian world — on Egypt, and

Northern Africa, and Spain, and Gaul, and the East, hj the hordes which came out of Arabia, and which SAvept over all those countries, like a troublesome and destructive host of locusts. Indeed, would omj image better represent the elfects of the Saracenic invasions, than such a countless host of locusts? Even now, can we find an image that would better represent this?

(5) The leader of this host, (o) He was like a star that fell from heaven (ver. 1), a bright and illustrious prince, as i/ heaven-endowed, but fallen. Would anything better characterize the genius, the power, and the splendid but perverted talent of Mohammed? Mohammed was, moreover, by birth, of the princely house of the Koreish, governors of Mecca, and to no one could the term be more appropriate than to one of that family. (6) He was a king. That is, there was to be one monarch — one ruling spirit to which all these hosts were subject. And never was any thing more appropriate than this title as applied to the leader of the Arabic hosts. All those hosts were subject to one mind — to the command of the single leader that originated the scheme, (c) The name, Abaddon, or Apollyon — Destroyer, ver. ]1. This name would be appropriate to one who spi>ead his conquests so far over the world; who wasted so many cities and towns; who overthrew so many kingdoms; and who laid the foundation of ultimate conquests by which so many human beings were sent to the grave. {d) The description of the leader "as the angel of the bottomless pit." ver. 11. If this be regarded as meaning that "the angel of the bottomless pit" — the Spirit of darkness himself — originated the scheme, and animated these hosts, what term would better characterize the leader? And if it be a poetic description of Mohammed as sent out by that presiding spirit of evil, how could a better representative of the spirit of the nether world have been sent out upon the earth than he was — one more talented, more sagacious, more powerful, more warlike, more wicked, more fitted to subdue the nations of the earth to the dominion of the Prince of darkness, and to hold them for ages under his yoke?

(6) The duration of the torment. It la said (ver. 5) that this would bo fiv» mcnths; that is, prophetically, an hun- dred and fifty years. See Notes on ver. 5. The Hegira, or flight cf Mohammed, occurred A. D. 622; the Saracens first issued from the desert into Syria, and began their series of wars on Christendom, A. D. 629. Reckoning from these periods respectively, the five months, or the hundred and fifty years, would extend to A. D. 772, or 779. It is not necessary to understand this period of an hundred and fifty years, of the actual continued existence of the bodies symbolized by the locusts, but only of the period in which they would inflict their "torment" — 'Hhat they should be tormented five months." That is, this would be the period of the intensity of the woe inflicted by them; there would be at that time some marked intermission of the torment. The question then is, whether, in the history of the Saracens, there was any period after their career of conquest had been continued for about an hundred and fifty years, which would mark the intermission or cessation of these "torments." If so, then this is all that is necessary to determine the applicability of the symbol to the Arabian hordes. Now, in rejoly to this question, we have only to refer to Mr. Gibbon. The table of contents prefixed to chapters forty-one and fortytwo of his work, would supply all the information desired. I looked at that table, after making the estimate as to what period the ** five months," or hundred and fifty years, would conduct us to, to see whether any thing occurred at about that time in the Mohammedan power and influence, which could be regarded as marking the time of the intermission or cessation of the calamities inflicted by the Arabic hordes on the Christian world. After Mr. Gibbon had recorded in detail (vol. iii. 360-460) the character and conquests of the Arabian hordes under Mohammed and his successors, I find the stateme-nt of the decline of their power at just about the period to which the hundred and fifty years would lead us, for at that very time an important change came over the followers of the prophet of Mecca, turning them from the love of conquest to the pursuits of literature and science. Prom that period, they ceased to be formidable to the church; their limits If «re gradually contracted; their power liminished; and the Christinn world.

in regard to them, was substantially at peace. This change in the character and purposes of the Saracens is thus described by Mr. Gibbon, at the close of the reign of the caliph Abdalrahman, whose reign commenced A. D. 755, and under whom the 'peaceful sway of the Ommiades of Spain began, which continued for a period of two hundred

and fifty years. " The luxury of the caliphs, so useless to their private happiness, relaxed the nerves, and terminated the progress, of the Arabian empire. Temporal and spiritual conquest had been the sole occupation of the successors of Mahomet; and after supplying themselves with the necessaries of life, the whole revenue was scrupulously devoted to that salutary work. The Abassides were impoverished by the multitude of their wants, and their contempt of economy. Instead of pursuing the great object of ambition, their leisure, their afiections, and the powers of their minds, were diverted by pomp and pleasure: the rewards of valor were embezzled by women and eunuchs, and the royal camp was encumbered by the luxury of the palace. A similar temper Avas diifused among the subjects of the caliph. Their stern enthusiasm was softened by time and prosperity; they sought riches in the occupations of industry, fame in the pursuits of literature, and happiness in the tranquillity of domestic life. War was no longer the passion of the Saracens; and the increase of pay, the repetition of donative, were insufficient to allure the posterity of these voluntary champions who had crowded to the standard of Abubekei and Omar for the hopes of the spoil of paradise." iii. 477, 478. Of.the Ommi-