public.

It is, nevertheless, absolutely requisite that a few general observations should be here made upon them in order that the remaining part of the prophecy may be appropriately and perspicuously. introduced. That the ram with two horns represents the Medo-Persian empire no person will attempt to call in question, as the angel himself, verse 20, says expressly to Daniel, "The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia." The question is, Why should this empire have been called a ram. The answer which Bishop Newton and others have given appears to me sufficiently decisive," that it was usual for the king of Persia to wear a ram's head made of gold, and adorned with precious stones, instead of a diadem; for so Ammianus Marcellinus describes him. Bishop Chandler and others farther observe, that rams' heads with horns, one higher and the other lower, are still to be seen on the pillars of Persepolis." * That the Medo-Persian empire is called a ram on account of its appropriating this animal to itself in the manner already described is not without precedent in Scripture ; for the Roman empire is evidently designated by an eagle in the Apocalypse; and even Christ's words, "Wheresoever the carcase is thither will the eagles be gathered together," must be understood of the Romans who were the executioners of God's vengeance upon the Jewish nation. Of the ram it is

See Bishop Newton on Dan. viii. and Wetstein on Rev.

xiii. 11.

66

said that it had two horns, that is, the empire represented by it was composed of the two monarchies of Media and Persia. One horn was higher than the other to shew that the kingdom of the Medes and that of the Persians were not equally powerful. The higher came up last, that is to say, the empire of the Persians, which was after that of the Medes, was the most powerful of the two. Cyrus, the founder of the Medo-Persian empire, was son of Cambyses, king of Persia, and by his mother Mandane was grandson of Astyages king of Media; and afterwards marrying the daughter and only child of his uncle Cyaxares king of Media, he succeeded to both crowns, and united the kingdoms of Media and Persia."* The ram, or Medo-Persian empire, was seen pushing westward, and northward, and southward," that is, this dominion was rapidly increased in these three directions. First towards the west by the conquest of the kingdom of Lydia by Cyrus B. C. 548, and of that of Babylon, B. C. 538; secondly towards the north, by subjugating the Armenians, Cappadocians, and various other nations; lastly, towards the south by the conquest of Egypt by Cambyses, B. C. 525. It is true that the Persians conquered India, in the time of Darius, which lay to the east of them; but this is not mentioned in the prophecy, Bishop Newton supposes, "because those countries lay very remote from the Jews, and were of little concern or

66

*Bishop Newton on Dan. viii.

consequence to them; but this reason does not appear sufficient. The reason seems to be in the words "pushing, so that no beasts might stand before him." The Persians pushed, that is, obtained immense power with great rapidity towards the west, north, and south; but their conquests in the east were not executed with that rapidity which marked the commencement of their empire; and consequently they could not be said, in this sense, to push eastward. As no beasts, or dominions, could stand before the ram, he consequently did according to his will, and became great; the MedoPersian empire was, in its time, the most mighty empire in the world.

As Daniel was considering the exploits of the ram, he saw an he-goat come from the west, on the face of the whole earth. This the angel says, verse 26, "is the king of Grecia ;" so that there can be no difficulty in the application. The kingdom of the Greeks is called a he-goat, evidently from the circumstance of the goat being its ensign or standard. Bishop Newton says, "A goat is very properly made the type of the Grecian or Macedonian empire, because the Macedonians at first, about two hundred years before Daniel, were denominated Ægeadæ, or the goat's people; and upon this occasion, as heathen authors report. Caranus, their first king, going with a great multitude of Greeks to seek new habitations in Macedonia, was commanded by the oracle to take the goats for his guides to empire: and afterwards see

ing a herd of goats flying from a violent storm, he followed them to Edessa, and there fixed the seat of his empire, made the goats his ensigns or standards, and called the city Ægeæ, or the goat's town, and the people Ægeadæ, or the goat's people." This he-goat came from the west; and it is well known that the kingdom of the Greeks was situated to the west of the Persian empire. He came upon "the face of the whole earth." The earth here means the Persian world; therefore the goat came into the Persian dominions. He is represented as not touching the ground, to denote, as Bishop Newton observes, the great rapidity of his marches and conquests. The goat had, also, "a notable horn between his eyes." This the angel explains to be the first king; consequently the kingdom of Alexander is intended; as Alexander was not only the first king of the Greek or Macedonian empire properly so called; but the regal power was also the first form of government among the Greeks. The goat "came to the ram that had two horns-and ran unto him in the fury of his power." This is a striking figure of the rapidity with which the Greeks under Alexander came upon the Persians. The goat also "came close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns; and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him; and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand." The complete conquest of the two

66

horned ram by the he-goat, or, in other words, the destruction of the Persian empire by the Greeks, was accomplished by Alexander in three great battles; the first fought at the river Granicus, B. C. 334, the second at Issus, B. C. 332, and the last at the village of Guagamela near Arbela, B. C. 331. Thus the ram was stamped upon by the goat; and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand; for the Macedonian empire" waxed very great," was established upon the ruins of the Persian, and became in its stead the most powerful monarchy in the world. When the he-goat, or Greek empire, was strong," that is, attained to its highest summit of power," the great horn," or dynasty of Alexander, "was broken, and for it came up four notable horns towards the four winds of heaven," that is to say, the Greek empire was divided into four notable kingdoms. That this is the meaning of this passage is plain from the angel's words, verse 22, Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power." How this was accomplished may be seen from the following brief sketch of history given by Bishop Newton: "The empire of the goat was in its full strength when Alexander died of a fever at Babylon. He was succeeded in the throne by his natural brother Philip Aridæus, and by his own two sons Alexander Egus, and Hercules: but in the space of about fifteen years they were all murdered, and then the first horn, or kingdom, was entirely

66