Dan.

"And as I was confidering, Behold, an HeVIII. 5. "Goat came from the Weft on the Face of the

"whole 'Earth, and touched not the Ground, "and the Goat had a notable Horn between "his Eyes.

"And he came to the Ram that had two "Horns, which I had feen ftanding before the "River, and ran unto him in the Fury of his "Power.

"And I faw him come clofe unto the Ram, "and he was moved with Choler against him, "and fmote the Ram, and brake his two Horns, " and there was no Power in the Ram to ftand before him, but he caft him down to the Ground and ftamp'd upon him, and there was none that could deliver the Ram out of his Hand.

.

"Therefore the He-Goat waxed very great and when he was ftrong, the great Horn was broken, and for it came up Four notable Ones toward the Four Winds of Heaven.

"And out of one of them came forth a little "Horn, &c.

The

The Interpretation of all this is added in the fame Chapter,

"And the Rough Goat is the King of Grecia, Dan. VIII 2

and the great Horn that is between his Eyes, is the first King.

"Now that being broken, whereas Four stood

up

for it, Four Kingdoms fhall ftand up out of the Nation, but not in his Power.

"And in the latter time of their Kingdom "when the Tranfgreffors are come to the full, a King of fierce Countenance, and Under"standing dark Sentences, fhall stand up.

22.

The first part is very plain of Alexander and his Followers. But the latter Time of their Kingdom, when the Tranfgreffors should come to the full, and this little Horn was to stand up, who would be a King of Fierce Countenance, and Understanding dark Sentences, plainly refers to the Ten Horns in the feventh Chapter, who were Ten Kings that shall arife, and to the Dan. little Horn which came up, whofe Look was more Stout then his Fellows, and should think to change Times and Laws.

VIL, 20.

24. 25.

XI.3.

4.

1.4.

But there is still another help to Illustrate this whole Matter, in the Vision of the third of Cyrus;

"And a mighty King shall stand up, that shall "Rule with great Dominion, and do according σε to his Will.

"And when he fhall ftand up, his Kingdom "shall be Broken, and shall be Divided towards "the Four Winds of Heaven, and not to his "Pofterity, nor according to his Dominion which "he Ruled, for his Kingdom fhall be pluckt up,, I even for others befides thofe..

Here is a plain account of the Four Heads, or different Forms under which the Grecian Empire fhould come,

First, Under one Mighty King that shall ftand up; who is Alexander.

Secondly, When his Kingdom shall be Broken,, and shall be Divided towards the Four Winds of Heaven.

Which was accomplished under his Four Followers in the Kingdoms of Macedonia, leffer Afia, Syria and Egypt, for so many they were

at

at firft, tho' indeed two of them fell much fooner than the other two; but, as I obferved before, Daniel touches only on the first ftrokes of each Remarkable Period.

Thirdly, When the Kingdom was pluckt up, by the Romans, who one after another conquered Macedonia, and leffer Afia, and Syria and Egypt, and made all the Grecian Monarchy become Provinces to Rome.

Fourthly, When the others befides thofe came, which is, when Dioclefian, firft in Nicomedia, and then Conftantine, in Byfantium, erected a new Greek Empire, which for fome time gave the Law to Old Rome, till afterwards it was divided again into the Eastern and Western Empires.

VIL. 8.

19%

By this means that Riddle is Unfolded, how the fame Little Horn which came up at the latter Dan. end of the Fourth Beeft, whofe Teeth are indeed faid to be of Iron, which is the Mettal of the Fourth Kingdom in the great Image, but his Nails are faid to be of Brass, which was the Mettal of the Third Kingdom; How, I fay, the fame Little Horn, which came out of the Four b

K 2

Fourth Beaft, did alfo come out of one of the VIII, 9. Horns of the Third, which was the Macedonian

Dan.

Rev.
XIII. 1.

2.*

Kingdom, for to that both Nicomedia and Byfantium belonged. In the latter Time of their Kingdom; that is, at the Revival of that Greek Empire, which had been funk in the Roman for, many Hundred Years.

And to Confirm this Intérpretation, St. John in his Description of the Beaft which rifes up out of the Sea, which had Seven Heads and Ten Horns, and on his Horns Ten Crowns, by which, I fhall fhow, he meant the New Western Empire, fays, it was like to a Leopard, which was Daniel's Emblem of the Greek Empire; and if the Weftern Branch was faid to be like a Leopard, the Eastern Branch, to which it was perfectly like, may well. be thought to be there meant by that Leopard to which the other was like, it being the Greek. Empire Renewed again by Conftantine.

This indeed was an entire Riddle, not poffible to be explained, till the Times of Dioclefion, and Conftantine, and feems to have contributed more than any thing to Shut up the Vision, for it should VIII. 26.

Dan.

be