By these words, as Dr. Mitchell observes, “God calls upon his saints to keep in view, under all their persecutions, his retributive justice: there is no violence that has been exercised upon them but what shall be retaliated upon the cruel and persecuting government and governors of the Latin empire."

" And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon." As a beast has been already shewn to be the symbol of a kingdom or empire, the rising up of this second Beast must consequently represent the rising up of another empire. This beast" comes up out of the earth;" therefore it is totally different from the preceding, which rose up out of the sea. Earth here means the Latin world, for this word has been shewn to import this already in several instances; the rising up of the Beast out of this earth must, consequently, represent the springing up of some power out of a state of subjection to the Latin empire: therefore, the Beast, here called "another beast," is another LATIN empire. Commentators are generally agreed that this second Beast is an ecclesiastical domination; therefore, if this general opinion be correct, (of which I have no doubt, as abundant evidence can be produced to support it, as will be fully shewn in the sequel,) this Beast can be no other than the spiritual Latin empire, or, in other words, the Romish hierarchy. How this Beast came up out of the earth may be seen in the following history. In the time of Char

lemagne the ecclesiastical power was in subjection to the civil; and it continued to be so for a long time after his death; therefore the Beast, whose deadly wound was healed, ruled over the whole Latin world, both clergy and laity; these, consequently, constituted but one Beast, or empire. But the clergy, with the Pope at their head, kept continually gaining more and more influence in the civil affairs of the empire; and in the tenth century their authority was greatly increased. Dr. Mosheim's account of the growing authority of the Latin clergy is contained in the following words: "The adventurous ambition of the bishops of Rome, who left no means unemployed to extend their jurisdiction, exhibited an example which the inferior prelates followed with the most zealous and indefatigable emulation. Several bishops and abbots had begun, even from the time that the descendants of Charlemagne sat on the imperial throne, to enlarge their prerogatives; and had actually obtained, for their tenants and their possessions, an immunity from the jurisdiction of the counts and other magistrates, as also from taxes and imposts of all kinds. But in this century they carried their pretensions still farther; aimed at the civil jurisdiction over the cities and territories in which they exercised a spiritual dominion, and aspired after nothing less than the honours and authority of dukes, marquises, and counts of the em pire: Among the principal circumstances that animated their zeal in the pursuit of these dignities

we may reckon the perpetual and bitter contests concerning jurisdiction and other matters, that reigned between the dukes and counts, who were governors of cities, and the bishops and abbots, who were their ghostly rulers. The latter, therefore, seizing the favourable opportunity that was offered them by the superstition of the times, used every method that might be effectual to obtain that high rank, that hitherto stood in the way of their ambition. And the emperors and kings to whom they addressed their presumptuous requests, generally granted them, either from a desire of pacifying the contentions and quarrels that arose between civil and military magistrates, or from a devout reverence for the-order; or with a view to augment their own authority, and to confirm their daminion by the good services of the bishops, whose influence was very great upon the minds of the people."* In the subsequent centuries the power of the Romish hierarchy ascended even above thạt of the emperors; and led into captivity the king's of the whole Latin world, as there will be occasion to shew in commenting upon the following verses. Thus it plainly appears that the Romish hierarchy was at length entirely exempted from the civil power, and constituted "another Beast," as it became entirely independent of the secular Latin empire. And this Beast came up out of the earth, that is, the Latin clergy, which composed a part of

*Cent. X. Part 11. chap. 2. § 9.

U

the earth, or Latin world, raised their authority against that of the secular powers; and, in process of time, wrested the superintendence of ecclesiastical affairs from the secular princes. As the sevenheaded Beast is represented as having ten horns, which signify so many kingdoms leagued together to support the Latin church; so the Beast which rises out of the earth has also two horns, which must, consequently, represent two kingdoms, for if horns of a Beast mean kingdoms in one part of the Apocalypse, kingdoms must be intended by this symbol whenever it is used in a similar way in any other part of this book. As the second Beast is the spiritual Latin empire; the two horns of this Beast denote that the empire thus represented is composed of two distinct powers. These, therefore, can be no other, as Bishop Newton and Faber excellently observe, than the two grand independent branches of the Romish hierarchy, viz. the Latin clergy, REGULAR and SECULAR. "The first of these comprehends all the various monastic orders; the second comprehends the whole body of parochial clergy." These two grand branches of the hierarchy originally constituted but one dominion, as the monks as well as the other clergy were in subjection to the bishops; but the subjection of the monks to their diocesans became by degrees less apparent; and in process of time, through the influence and authority of the Roman pontiffs, they were entirely exempted from all episcopal jurisdiction, and thus became a spiritual power entirely in

dependent of that of the secular clergy, as will fully appear from the following extract out of Puffendorf's Introduction to the History of the Principal States of Europe: "Monks being as submissive to their superior as private soldiers are to their colonel, the pope had nothing to do but bring its head into his views, and every convent was a sort of regiment at his call. It having been found by playing them off, if the interest of Rome required it, against the secular clergy as well as against the laity, that they were of great service to the Holy see, monks were towards the end of the thirteenth century encouraged by the pope to throw off all obedience to their diocesans, and to put themselves under his immediate protection. This point being gained, popes, in the quarrels which from time to time arose between different orders, as for instance between the Dominicans and Franciscans, always took care to carry it with so even a hand that one could not oppress the other; and as neither could complain of partiality, both were thereby kept firm in their interest. By degrees monks engrossed alms and legacies, and interfered in other things to the great prejudice of the secular clergy. This, of course, drew upon them the envy and hatred of bishops, whose interest was strongly connected with that of the secular clergy; but being assured of the pope's countenance these were not regarded. Whenever any bishop disputed the authority of a pope, monks, like so many bulldogs, and the people, deluded by

were set upon him