will appear hereafter. Every commentator has hitherto considered him as the representative of the papacy; this I shall pass over for the present, because I am unwilling by a long argument to confuse my subject.

The account of the little horn in ver. 8. is this. "I considered the horns, and, behold, "there came up among them another little horn, " before whom there were three of the first horns " plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this "horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a " mouth speaking great things. Ver. 24. And "the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten "kings that shall arise ; and another shall arise "after them; and he shall be diverse from the " first, and he shall subdue three kings. 25. "And he shall speak great words against the "Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the "Most High, and think to change times and "laws: and they shall be given into his hand un“ til a time and times and the dividing of time. "26. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall "take away his dominion, to consume and to “ destroy it unto the end."

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From this statement of the prophet we may remark, that after the establishment of the ten kings or horns, the little horn rises among them, by stealth as it were, and unperceived; as soon as he is sufficiently strong to assert his power

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into which he has been continually growing, he subdues three of the kings, plucks them up by the roots; he grievously oppresses and persecutes the saints, over whom he has dominion for a certain period; the saints then break his yoke from off their necks, and destroy not him, but wait and consume his dominion unto the end.

These are the traits upon which I would have my reader fix his attention, as I shall again produce them when we come to the little horn of the he goat...

Daniel having now conducted us into Christian Rome, and pointed out the road which leads into the western part of the church, drops the Roman beast, and reverts to the two former, of Persia and Grecia, which open the road straight forward into the eastern. - We must follow in his track.

DANIEL. CHAP. VIII.

THE VISION OF THE RAM AND HE GOAT.

THIS vision has already had its interpretation by the angel who attended Daniel, and its application to the Persian and Greek monarchies has been so clearly illustrated by history, that no one can mistake it: but when we come to the little horn of the goat, the interpretation of this symbol has not been equally allowed by every one. It will be therefore useful to consider it attentively.

I will now state that part of the vision which I mean to take into our present contemplation : it begins in the 9th verse of the 8th chapter. "And out of one of them came forth a little "horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward "the south, and toward the east, and toward "the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even "to the host of heaven; and it cast down some " of the host, and of the stars to the ground, " and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified " himself even to the prince of the host, and by " him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and "the place of his sanctuary was cast down. " And an host was given him against the daily "sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast "down the truth to the ground; and it prac" tised, and prospered." The angel's interpretation is as follows, ver. 23 : "And in the latter " time of their kingdom, when the transgressors

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are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, "shall stand up. And his power shall be " mighty, but not by his own power: and he " shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, " and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and "the holy people. And through his policy also "he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; " and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and " by peace shall destroy many: he shall also " stand up against the Prince of princes; but " he shall be broken without hand."

This interpretation is nearly as obscure as the original text, and designedly so; nevertheless it emits some light, and will help us in understanding the vision.

It has been my plan hitherto to avoid as much as possible the discussion of what has been advanced by others, satisfying myself with proposing what appears to me to be the true meaning ; but the interpretations of this vision, which for the most part are two, have been so confidently proposed, and so strenuously upheld by the most able advocates on each side, that it seems

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necessary for me to give a reason why I am disposed to reject them both.

For a full discussion upon this subject I will refer my reader to Bishop Newton on the Prophecies; who strongly oppugns the application of the little horn to Antiochus Epiphanes, and has given his arguments at great length in his endeavours to fix it upon the Roman power.

Those who contend that the symbol prefigures Antiochus Epiphanes, have certainly two strong reasons on their side; one from the 9th verse, "And out of one of them came forth a " little horn;" and the other from the 23d verse, " And in the latter time of their kingdom." The description and the transactions also of the little horn will for the most part well apply to Antiochus. But notwithstanding this, I think were there no other arguments against his claim, Antiochus Epiphanes is not of sufficient dignity and consequence to be the subject of this prophecy. Daniel is prophesying of the affairs of God's church and people; it is true, Antiochus interfered with them, and mightily and grievously oppressed them; so did others, Caligula for instance, but the oppression lasted only a short time; it passed away with him, and left no results. We cannot suppose that a prophecy such as this, ushered in with so much prepara