Sidor som bilder
PDF
ePub

The manner and circumstances of the final destruction are described at length in the 18th of Revelations.

"And after these things" (the above description of the great whore), "I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice," (as Daniel before Belshazzar,)" saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works; in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen (of the seas), and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine, and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more; the merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and bodies and souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. The merchants of these things which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off, for the fear of her torment, weeping, and wailing, and saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! for in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, and cried, when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!" "The rich man's wealth is his strong city."* "If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence :"+—“ And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, ↑ Job, xxxi. 24.

* Prov. x. 15.

Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness; for in one hour is she made desolate. Rejoice over her, thou heaven (the hierarchy and church), and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great mill-stone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a mill-stone shall be heard no more at all in thee; and the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth."

ESSAY XVI.

THE NOISOME AND GRIEVOUS SORE.

"UPON THE MEN WHICH HAD THE MARK OF THE BEAST, AND UPON THEM WHICH WORSHIPPED HIS IMAGE."-REV. xvi. 2.

CRUELTIES AND HORRORS IN CIVILIZED FRANCE-RECENT CRUELTIES AND HORRORS-CRIMES AND DISORDERS OF MODERN SOCIETY, IN ENGLAND IN FRANCE-SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION-CIVIL WARS AND REVOLUTIONS-COMMERCIAL DISTRESSES-MISERIES OF THE WORKPEOPLE-DEMORALIZATION OF THE WORKING-CLASSES-NATIONAL DEBTS COMMERCIAL FRAUDS-AMERICAN BANKS-INCREASE OF CRIME-PAUPERISM-THE NEW POOR-LAW-THE WORKHOUSE TEST

-ITS EFFECTS.

WHEN we admire the fair features of perfect beauty, we can hardly believe that any dark passions should lurk beneath, or could ever disturb them. When we witness the gay and graceful step with which society moves: the playful smile of civilized life: her tasteful dress, her elegant manner, her fair and soft complexion: -we could hardly believe that any thing meretricious even in thought could blemish such a model of perfection. Can it be then, that the more becoming the dress, the more bright and brilliant the skin, the more studied and seductive the manner, the more dangerous the attraction and company, and the more certain the sign of impurity? Rome was never more highly civilized than at the time when she was most corrupt: nay,

brutal:-Then she, even her women, delighted in the conflicts and blood of gladiators. Spain was in her palmy and most civilized state, when her refined females revelled intensely in the bloody bull-fights, and all their savagery. Spain is said even now to be such a polished nation, that they take off the hat to a beggar, and even the highwayman robs with the most perfect civility. There is nothing inconsistent between the utmost refinement of education and manners, and the grossest depravity. We have seen evidence given in courts of justice, of the extreme refinement of a person charged with the most brutal of offences;-but it was no testimony of innocence; if it were not even possibly an evidence tending to the contrary. We may walk the streets of London in a fair day, and be wholly ignorant of the masses of filth and corruption, which the mighty organization of underground sewers is draining off continually; and as if there were no creation of mud or filth in this highly refined and civilized metropolis. Contrary to the laws of matter, the close contact of dense masses of people in highly civilized towns, tends strangely to disunite them, and to make them strangers to one another. They know nothing of the beggary and famine in the nearest courts and alleys; which does not exist the less because they sweep and banish them from the principal streets:-they know nothing of their next neighbour's joy or sorrow, or agony, or villany. Nay, a man died, and his death was unknown to his fellow-lodgers, till four days afterwards.* We have also our brutal exhibitions, on a par with the pampered * Morning Herald, December 18, 1840.

« FöregåendeFortsätt »