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pared and ready to execute the divine commiffion at any time or for any time, any hour, or day, or month, or year that God fhould appoint. If it be taken mystically, and the bour, and day, and month, and year be a prophetic hour, and day, and month, and year, then a year (according to St. John's, who follows herein Daniel's computation) confifting of 360 days is 360 years, and a month confifting of 30 days is 30 years, and a day is a year, and an hour in the fame proportion is 15 days; fo that the whole period of the Othmans flaying the third part of men, or fubduing the Chriftian ftates in the Greek or Roman empire, amounts to 391 years and 15 days. Now it is wonderfully remarkable, that the first conqueft mentioned in history, of the Othmans over the Chriftians, was (7) in the year of the Hegira 680 and the year of Chrift 1281. For Ortogrul" in that year (ac"cording to the accurate historianSaadi) crowned "his victories with the conqueft of the fa "mous city of Kutahi upon the Greeks." Compute 391 years from that time, and they will terminate in the year 1672 and in that year, as it was hinted before, Mohammed the fourth (8) took Cameniec from the Poles, "and

(7) Prince Cantemir's Hift. B. 1. Chap. 2. Sect. 5. p. 10. (8) Prince

and forty eight towns and villages in the ter"ritory of Cameniec were delivered up" to the fultan upon the treaty treaty of peace. Whereupon Prince Cantemir hath made this memorable reflection, "This was the last victory by “which any advantage accrued to the Othman *ftate, or any city or province was annexed to "the ancient bounds of the empire." Agreeably to which observation, he hath intitled the former 'part of his history of the growth of the Othman empire, and the following part of the decay of the Othman empire. Other wars and flaughters, as he says, have enfued. The Turks even befieged Vienna in 1683; but this exceeding the bounds of their commiffion, they were defeated. Belgrade and other places may have been taken from them, and furrendered to them again but ftill they have fubdued no new state or potentate of Christendom now for the space of between 80 and 90 years; and in all probability they never may again, their empire appearing rather to decrease than increase. Here then the prophecy and the event agree exactly in the period of 391 years; and if more accurate and authentic hiftories of the Othmans were brought to light, and we knew the very

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(8) Prince Cantemir's Hift. B. 3. Chap. 12. Sect. 18, 19. p.265. (9) λεγεται

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day wherein Kutahi was taken as certainly as we know that wherein Cameniec was taken, the like exactness might also be found in the 15 days. But tho' the time be limited for the "Othman's flaying the third part of men, yet no time is fixed for the duration of their empire; only this fecond woe will end, when the third woe, (XI. 14.) or the destruction of the beast, fhall be at hand.

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A defcription is then given (ver. 16, 17, 18, 19.) of the forces, and of the means and inftruments, by which the Othmans should effect the ruin of the eastern empire. Their armies are described as very numerous, myriads of myriads; and who knoweth not what mighty armies the Othman emperors have brought into the field? When Mohammed the second befieged Conftantinople, he had (9) about four hundred thoufand men in his army, befides a powerful fleet of thirty larger and two hundred leffer hips. They are described too chiefly as borjemen; and so they are described both by Ezekiel and by Daniel, as there was occafion to obferve in the last differtation upon Daniel; and

(9) Meyerai de yere da 2. 7. A. Quadraginta myriades hominum dicuntur tunc temporis in exercitu regis fuiffeclaffis regia, in qua erant triremes tri

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ginta, naves minores ducenta. Laonicus Chalcocondylas de rebus Turcicis. Lib. 8. p. 203. Edit, Paris. p. 158. Edit. Venet.

(1) Heylin's

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it is well known, that their armies confifted chiefly of cavalry, especially before the order of Janizaries was inftituted by Amurath the firft." The Janizaries may be the guard of the court, but the Timariots, or horsemen holding lands by ferving in the wars, are the strength of the government: and thefe, as Heylin (1) affirms, are in all accounted between feven and eight hundred thousand fighting men; fome fay that they are a million; and befides thefe, there are Spahi's and other horfemen in the emperor's pay.

In the vifon, that is in appearance, and not in reality, they had breaft-plates of fire, and of jacinct or hyacinth, and brimftone. The color of fire is red, of hyacinth blue, and of brimstone yellow and this, as Mr. Daubuz (2) obferves, "hath a litteral accomplishment; for the " Othmans, from the first time of their appearance, have affected to wear fuch warlike "apparel of scarlet, blue, and yellow." Of the Spahi's particularly fome have red, and fome have yellow standards, and others red or yellow mixt with other colors. In appearance too the

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heads of the borfes were as the heads of lions, to denote their strength, courage, and fierceness; and out of their mouths issued fire, and smoke, and brimstone. A manifest allufion to great guns and gun-powder, which were invented under this trumpet, and were of fuch fignal fervice to the Othmans in their wars. For by these three was the third part of men killed, by these the Othmans made fuch havoc and deftruction in the Greek or eaftern empire. Amurath the fecond (3) broke into Peloponnefus, and took feveral ftrong places by the means of his artil lery. But his fon Mohammed at the fiege fiege of Conftantinople (4) employed fuch great guns, as were never made before. One is defcribed to have been of fuch a monftrous fize, that it was drawn by feventy yoke of oxen and by two thousand men. There were two more, each of which discharged a ftone of the weight of two talents. Others emitted a stone of the weight of half a talent. But the greateft of all difcharged a ball of the weight of three talents,

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(3) Chalcocond. ibid. Lib. 7. (4) τηλεβολος οποιημένος μεγισ rex. T. λ. Bombardas fieri curavit maximas, quantas novimus ea tempeftate nunquam extitiffe.- -Tanta hujus bombardæ magnitudo extitit, ut a

feptuaginta jugis boumeta viris bis mille trahenda fuerit. Bombardæ, quas rex habebat, duæ maximæ, emittebant lapidem qui appendebat talenta duo.-He emittebant lapidem, cujus pondus erat dimidium ta

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