man of a religion odious to the state, and which the king is refolvel to extirpate."

Orders were printed at Paris, and fent from thence to all the cities and parishes of the kingdom, which empowered the parochial priests, churchwardens, and others, to make an exact inquiry into whatever any of the Reformed might have done or faid for twenty years paft, as well on the subject of religion as otherwife, to make information of this before the juftices of the peace, and punish them to the utmost extremity. Thus the prifons and dungeons were every where filled with these pretended criminals; orders were iffued, which deprived them in general of all forts of offices and employments, from the greatest to the smallest, in the farms and revenues; they were declared incapable of exercising any employ in the custom-houses, guards, treafury, or poft-office, or even to be meffengers, ftage-coachmen, or waggoners. Now a college was fuppreffed, and then a church fhut up, and at length they were forbid to worship God in public at all, by the revocation of the Edict of Nants in 1685. "Now," fays Saurin, "we were banished, then we were forbidden to quit the kingdom, on pain of death. Here we faw the glorious rewards of those who betrayed their religion; and there we beheld those who had the courage to confess it haled to a dungeon, a scaffold, or a galley. Here, we faw our perfecutors drawing on a fledge the dead bodies of those who had expired on the rack: there we beheld a falfe friar tormenting a dying man, who was terrified on the one hand with the fear of hell if he apoftatized; and on the other, with the fear of leaving his children without bread, if he should continue in the faith." When the arguments of priests, and every other mean failed, cruel foldiers were quartered in their houfes to exert their skill in torments, to compel them to become Catholics. "They caft fome," fays Mr. Claude, "into large fires, and took them out when they were half roafted; they hanged others with ropes under their arm-pits, and plunged them several times into wells, till they promised to renounce their religion; they tied them like criminals on the rack, and poured wine with a funnel into their mouths, till being intoxicated, they promifed to turn Catholics. Some they flashed and cut with pen-knives; fome they took by the nose, with red-hot tongs, and led them up and down the rooms till they promifed to turn Catholics. Thefe cruel proceedings made eight

hundred

hundred thousand perfons quit the kingdom." The story which lies before me, related by Mr. Bion, chaplain on board the Supurbe Galley in 1703, and who was converted from Popery, by means of the fcene of fuffering and. patience, which was exhibited on board that veffel, when eighteen Protestants were baftinadoed for refufing to bow the knee, in honor of the mysteries of the mafs; is too excruciating to tell. As alfo the fufferings of poor M. Marolles, a gentleman of virtue, sensibility, and eminent piety, condemned to fuffer in the gallies, among the vileft of felons, and this for no crime but what ftate policy made fuch. This little story leaves a deeper stain of baseness upon the character of Lewis and his court, than, perhaps, all their other enormities. It was adding that fort of wanton cruelty to ftate oppreffion, which is peculiarly abhorrent in the estimation of a generous mind. And let us remember this fame system of defpotism and perfecution remained till overthrown in 1789. None of thefe cruel laws against the Protestants were repealed, nor a particle of arbitrary power furrendered. Thus, in that country, from whence the light of reformation first iffued, and where there were more faithful witneffes again ft the papal apoftacy than in any other nation of the world; and from whose number and influence, and the laws in their favour, the old perfecuting power was greatly reduced; there, the uncontrouled reign of antichrift was restored.

Ver. 13, 14. And he doth great wonders, fo that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth, in the fight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of thofe miracles which he had power to do in the fight of the beaft. No one can fuppofe that these are miracles in the strictest sense of the word. Nor does the original word Ensa, rendered wonders in ver. 13. and miracles in ver. 14. neceffarily fignify thofe acts which are fupernatural. Our lexicographers tranflate the word fignum, miraculum, argumentum, indicium, vexillum, fimulachrum, a fign, miracle, argument, &c. And the Hebrew word, which in the Greek verfion of the Old Testament is rendered by this, has the same fort of latitude. Though this is the word generally used to denote proper miracles, yet it is as often used in other fenfes. But let it be observed, that its meaning generally includes in it the idea of an argument, that which per. fuades, convinces, brings over to a purpofe and confirms. In Gen. i. 14. it means that the fun and moon are to be for the regu

lation of time; in Gen. xvii. 11. and Rom. iv. 11. circumcifion is thus fpoken of, though evidently neither a miracle nor wonder, but merely a token or memento; in Exod. iii. 12. and in a multitude of other places, it means nothing more than a token or evidence; in Isa. viii. 13. and Luke ii. 34. it means an object of derifion; in Jer. x. 2. thofe comets and meteors and other phenomena of nature are intended, at which weak and fuperftitious minds were terrified; in Deut. xxviii. 46. it means those calamities which fhould excite astonishment, and be a lesson to teach men to fear God; in Pfa. lxxiv. 4. it may fignify the ftandards of the enemy, or perhaps thofe warlike engines with which they battered down, burnt and destroyed the sacred building; in Ezek. xxxix. 15. this word means nothing more than a stick or a stone set up as a mark to point out the place where lay a dead man's bone.

It appears to me that this figurative reprefentation of the exploits of this beast, designs nothing more than those violent means and seducing arts which this tyrant (or fucceffion of tyrants) was to use, as fo many arguments, to bring men into his measures, and to frighten them into fubmiffion to his impofitions. His great wonders were his alarming edits; and the fire which he made to come down from heaven on the earth, in the fight of men, fignify, in the hieroglyphic and highly figurative language of prophecy, the thunder of excommunication which he fent forth against those who refufed to acknowledge his authority in religion, and the war and destruction which he carried on against all those who stood out against popery; pretending (as all tyrants ever have done) to have authority from Heaven for all these abominations. Every iota of this agrees with the practices and pretenfions of Lewis XIV. and his fucceffors.

And he commanded that they fhould make an image to the beaft, which had the wound by a fword and did live. i. e. This tyrant caused a system of dominion over confcience, a fyftem of persecution to be established, which was the image of the first papal beaft; for although it was not fo extenfive a tyranny, as that exercifed by the Pope, being confined to one kingdom, yet it was the fimilitude of it. The ecclefiaftical tyranny now established, was peculiar; it was at once independent, and yet in support of the tyranny of the papal beast. In all the other kingdoms where

popery prevails, the fpiritual power is exercised by the Pope; he retics, as they are called, are accufed, tried, and condemned in his courts, by virtue of laws iffuing from him, and by his minifters. The kings are only his executioners. But it became otherwise in France. Lewis XIV. from the plenitude of his own power, iffued edicts, erected courts, and appointed officers for the punishment of his Proteftant fubjects. Thus, by virtue of powers derived from the king, and not from the Pope, the Protestants were accused, pursued, tried, condemned, and executed. This was a tyranny perfect in its kind, and unknown in other countries; the fimilitude of the beaft which had the wound by a sword and did live the beast of Rome. And he had power to give life to the image of the beaft, that the image of the beaft fhould both fpeak, and caufe that as many as would not worship the image of the beaft fhould be killed. He gave new vigour to the dying papacy in France, and power to the popifh party to iffue their mandates and command apoftacy; on pain of death.

Thus far, I think, the likeness is perfect; and allowing Lewis XIV. or the French tyranny, brought to perfection by him, and fupported by his fucceffors, to be the object of the vifion, it appears eafy to be understood; but on every other hypothefis, which I have feen, it is encumbered with inexplicable difficulties. Dr. Doddridge fays, "What the image of the beaft is, diftinct from the beast itself, I confefs I know not.”

This part of our Inquiry, upon which matters of no small importance are fufpended, will, I hope, be attentively confidered; as likewise whatsoever concerns this fecond beaft, and the conformity of the tyrannic proceedings of Lewis and his fucceffors, to the character and conduct here predicted. The fact here contended for, being proved, we have a mafter key to unlock the greater part of the prophecies before us, particularly that in the eleventh chapter from ver. 7. And even fuch leffer myfteries as those contained in chap. xvi. 2. where the first vial is poured out upon two defcriptions of men; upon them who have the mark of the beaft, papifts; and upon those who only worship or ferve his image, thofe Proteftants who yield affiftance to the antichriftian party in France.

And he caufed all, both fmall and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their forehead, and

that

that no man might buy or fell fave he that had the mark or the number of his name. There is certainly a difficulty in fo underftanding this part of the description, as to give a perfpicuous explanation. It was intended, that it fhould be enveloped in confiderable obfcurity. I make no great pretenfions to critical acumen, but it appears to me that here are two conditions represented as requifite to the enjoyment of the lowest rights of citizens, unlimited fubmiffion to the authority of the church, the pope, and his clergy; and paffive obedience to the defpotism of this fecond beast. Where these were refufed, no man might buy or fell. With this description the + cruel laws of Lewis XIV. respecting the freedom of companies and handicraft trades, by which the Proteftants were hindered from earning bread for their families, perfectly agree.

To exclude mankind from any of their civil rights, for their adherence to matters of confcience, and to gratify a party, that that party, in return, may support the views of ambitious men, is' of the dragon and the beast; but that to please the priesthood, and ftrengthen defpotism, a man for being a Proteftant should be excluded from acting as a custom-houfc-officer, a ftage-coachman, or a waggoner, was a most wanton exercise of antichristian power indeed; and this was the exact case in the matter under confideration, for not only Lewis, but Mazarine, his minifter, and the other petty defpots about the throne, found their account in these proceedings. In this manner did they get rid of a body of men who were dangerous enemies to their schemes of ambition. The court gratified the priests, and, in return, the priests supported court measures, and helped Lewis, not only to get rid of thefe friends to liberty and juftice, but alfo to crush the Parliaments, which till now poffeffed confiderable power.

But how fhall we count the number of the name of the beaft? No man might buy or fell fave he that had the mark, or the name of

*It was customary to mark slaves and foldiers with fome impreffion on the hand or forehead, that it might be known to what mafter or commander they belonged; and it was a practice aifo with devout idolaters, to mark themselves with the fignature of the god they worshipped, The name was fometimes expreffed by letters, and at others by the number which the numerical letters in their name amounted to, as we fhall fee in the 18th verfe. To these cuftoms there is here an allufion.

Claude's Complaints of the Proteftants, P. 55.