pardon fomething like repetition in Mr. Lowman's words*, for the fake of his authority.

" I far

the first Beast whofe Image it is. But as it breathes the Spirit of the fecond Beast, and is wholly guided by his direction (having no power but from him) it seems clearly a diftinct and different power from the Beast it reprefents. Now it must I think be evident to the most careless obferver, that the French Revolutionists have upon all occa fions affected to imitate the antient Romans. Their mode of carrying on war by deriving their refources from conquered provinces; their maxim" divide et impera;' their establishment of different fubordinate Governments (under the name of Republics); and their gift of a Crown (the Crown of Etruria) as a reward for attachment; their Civic Feasts; their introduction of Pagan Festivals; their deification of abstract virtues; their adoption of the diftinguishing Roman appellation Citizen; their language and even their very drefs, all point out the refemblance be tween the Image and original. As Rome had her Profcriptions, her Triumviri, her Confuls, fo has France; and as the fixth Form of Roman Government was the imperial, fupported entirely by the armies, and united with two mere phantoms, the two nominal Confuls'; fo is the fixth form of government which now prevails in the dominions of the image, a manifeft copy of the fixth form of its Type, the First Beast. Thus far then Hiftorical Facts feem to accord in a very remarkable manner with the prophetic Vifion. It remains to be feen whether Buonaparte's prefent Negotiation with the Pope respecting Theological Affairs will tend towards the production of the 7th Head (fubfequent to "the deadly wound” which it is poffible, though plainly not necessary for

* Lowman, p. 182.

CC 4

this

"I farther beheld in vifions another ap

my

pearance as of a second wild beast rising out of the earth, which had two horns like the

this Hypothefis, that the fixth may recover) and whether the ten horns of Rome will become the ten horns of France; or, I fhould rather say, of the Infidel Antichrist, wherever its Throne is placed. Let us humbly wait for time to remove the prefent obfcurity of a paffage which I readily confefs to be the greatest difficulty in the way of the Interpretation I have ventured to give, of the Image and the fecond Beaft. When the ftorm that threatens the Eastern part of the antient Roman Empire shall burst, it will probably throw more light upon this fubject. It has been obferved that I have not noticed "the falfe miracles or wonders" by which the second Beast was to delude the inhabitants of the earth, and cause them to make the Image. The various fupernatural appearances exhibited in the private meetings of its early adherents, and which eafily impofed upon fuch votaries as were tinctured with enthusiasm and fuperftition, may indeed be well worthy attention, however ridiculous in themfelves, when their effect is confidered; in like manner as the fictions and tricks of their monks impofed upon the credulity of the ignorant, and have ever been fuppofed to be a fubject of Prophecy, and a mark of the Papal Antichrift. But fuch is, happily for us, the general opinion of these mummeries in this kingdom, that I rather chofe to leave my readers to make their own comments upon this point of resemblance. As figns, however, of Antichriftian Power, the pretended miracles of the Romish Church, the tricks of the Mahometan Dervizes, and the magic of the Infidel Illuminati, are fufficiently discernible, and it is furely not impoffiblę, that in its last and most formidable state, they may become yet more confpicuous, 4th Edition,

horns

horns of a lamb, but his voice was like that of a dragon, to reprefent another perfecuting government exercifing its authority with a fhew of meeknefs and charity, but carrying on the oppofition of the devil, the old Serpent, to pure religion, and promoting idolatry by perfecution." Mr. Lowman proceeds to paraphrafe the twelfth verfe thus: And this fecond perfecuting power had all the powers of the first, or new revived form of Roman government, and ufed its authority to fpread the power of the new Roman government, beyond the bounds of its proper dominion, so as to oblige the feveral nations to yield obedience to the new authority revived in the city of Rome, after it had been so long deprived of all authority, and feemed to have loft all hope of recovering it.".

It has also been already fhewn in what manner we are to understand the fecond beaft is faid "to exercise all the powers of the firft beaft, before him *, And the angel's explanation of the feven heads will perhaps authorize us to fuppofe that the worship, which the fecond beaft caufed to be paid to the beast whose deadly wound was bealed, al

* See page 374, &c.

ludes

ludes particularly to the image which he caused to be made in his form of civil tyranny."And there are feven kings, five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a Short Space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the feven, and goeth into perdition." Thefe feven kings denote the feven forms of Roman Government firft, Kings; fecond, Confuls; third, Dictators; fourth, Decemvirs; fifth, Military Tribunes; fixth, Emperors; feventh, "the dominion exercifed by Boniface III. and his immediate fucceffors in the fee of Rome under the title of Univerfal Bishops" (Letter of a Layman, p. 25.); eighth, the full developement of the Papal Antichrist in the eighth century (Letter of a Layman, p. 36, &c.). The fixth head, which was exifting at the time of the Vision, received "the deadly wound" from the hand of Odoacer in 476, when the Western Roman Empire was completely destroyed. "After a reign of fixty years, the throne of the Gothic kings was filled by the Exarchs of Ravenna, the reprefentatives in peace and war of the Emperor of the Romans. Their jurifdiction was foon reduced to the limits of

a narrow

a narrow province, but Narfes himself (the general of the Eastern Emperor Juftinian), the first and most powerful of the Exarchs, administered above fifteen years the entire kingdom of Italy......Under the Exarchs of Ravenna Rome was degraded to the second rank." Gibbon, vol. iv. p. 313. "Like Thebes, or Babylon, or Carthage, the name of Rome might have been erafed from the earth, if the city had not been animated by a vital principle, which again reftored her to honour and dominion." Vol. viii. p. 161. The feventh head arofe when Boniface III. in 607, obtained the title of Univerfal Bishop," and "Head of the Catholic Church," and immediately affumed all the authority of a Supreme Head in all ecclefiaftical affairs; and when idolatry was established. This feventh head was to endure comparatively but a fhort time. And we accordingly find the eighth head, which was to be of the Seventh, to be the Univerfal Bishop, or Sovereign Pontiff of Rome, invefted by Pepin, King of France, with the exarchate of Ravenna; and foon after poffeffing himself with the complete fovereignty. of Rome, and the kingdom of Lombardy.Then was completed that union of civil and

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