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Forebodings of St. Jerome.

[LECT. taken possession of the whole of Gaul. The Quadian, the Vandal, the Sarmatian, the Alani, the Gepidæ, the Heruli, the Saxons, the Burgundians, the Alemanni, and, oh! terrible republic! the Pannonians"-it will be observed, he has enumerated ten—“have ravaged the whole country between the Alps and the Pyrenees, the Ocean and the Rhine'." In the overthrow which he thus beheld, he recognized the removal, as now to all appearance begun, of that Roman power which had hitherto stood in the way; and he looked, accordingly, for "that wicked one" soon to be revealed in his season. "He which letteth," he had said just before, “is being taken out of the way, and yet we fail to understand that Antichrist is approaching 3."

But we must proceed to trace in the prophet's vision the growth of this newly-rising power.

999

1 "Innumerabiles et ferocissimæ nationes universas Gallias occuparunt. Quidquid inter Alpes et Pyrenæum est, quod Oceano et Rheno includitur, Quadus, Wandalus, Sarmata, Halani, Gipedes, Heruli, Saxones, Burgundiones, Alemani, et, ô lugenda respublica! hostes Pannonii vastarunt. 'Etenim Assur venit cum illis,' &c. Epist. ad Ageruchiam, tom. iv. p. 748. I do not quote this passage as proving that St. Jerome identified these nations with the ten horns of the beast, for three of these horns he undoubtedly supposed to be those mentioned in Dan. xi. 43 (Egypt, the Libyans, and the Ethiopians); I quote it as showing that he watched the fate of the Roman empire in the West, and especially of the city of Rome itself, as the

66

" I

scene on which the Antichristian power was in due time to be revealed. The date assigned to this epistle is A.D. 409. Cf. Ep. 35 ad Heliodorum (Epitaphium Nepotiani). Scythiam, Thraciam, Macedoniam, Dardaniam, Daciam, Thessaloniam, Achaiam, Epiros, Dalmatiam, cunctasque Pannonias Gothus, Sarmata, Quadus, Alanus, Hunni, Wandali, Marcomanni vastant, trahunt, rapiunt... Romanus orbis ruit, et tamen cervix nostra erecta non flectitur."-Op. tom. iv. p. 274. This epistle was written in the year 396.

2

3

Vid. sup. p. 18, and Note. "Qui tenebat de medio fit, et non intelligimus Antichristum appropinquare, quem Dominus Jesus Christus interficiet spiritu oris ejus."-Ep. ad Ageruchiam, sup. cit.

III.]

The little horn.

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considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things." In entering upon a general view of the history of the kingdoms of modern Europe, dating from the beginning of that new order of things which arose out of the dissolution of the Roman empire, an historical writer, already referred to, begins with Italy; for "as this country," he says, "had been the seat of government of the ancient empire of the West, it retained a predominant influence on the establishments by which that empire was succeeded; and even became the seat of a new monarchy over the consciences of men, which, though professing to be of a spiritual character, affected all their political interests." We seem here to trace the rise of a power which would answer to the description given in the prophet's vision of that "other"" kingdom, which was to arise after, or behind, those ten, and to be "diverse from the first";"-a kingdom of a more exalted nature than theirs, looking apparently to higher interests, with "eyes like the eyes of man,” and, in the lofty character of its pretensions and claims, "a mouth speaking great things." And if this be taken to describe that spiritual monarchy

4 Ver. 8.

5 Miller's Philosophy of Modern History, Lecture vi. vol. i. p. 279. "Italy was therefore the connecting bond of ancient and modern history." -Ibid.

6 Ver. 20.

7 Ver. 24.

It is well worthy of re

8

mark, that the testimony which would be to be cited next in order from Christian antiquity, to pursue the inquiry chronologically, would be that which records the judgment of Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome, that "whosoever either calleth himself the universal bishop, or desireth so to be

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Kingdoms planted in Italy.

[LECT.

which gradually rose to supreme power in the centre of the political system, and in the very seat of former dominion, we find, as matter of fact, from the records of history, unbiassed by any reference to Sacred Prophecy, that there were three kingdoms "plucked up" from before it; and these three, such as seem undoubtedly entitled to claim a place among those "first" which arose on the ruins of the ancient empire. And it is certainly remarkable, that three distinct dynasties of barbarian tribes and chieftains, from different parts of the empire, should thus have successively fixed themselves in its centre, and established severally their dominion there. A late distinguished writer of the Roman Communion, in his able sketch' of the "Geographical and Political Revolutions of the Empire of Germany"-" the holy Roman Empire," according to the style and title which it bore to the very period of its fall—in tracing briefly the course of the history from the general division of the ancient empire between the sons of Theodosius, down to the revival of the empire of the West in the person of Charlemagne, mentions first "Odoacer, king of the Herulians ;" who "conquered all Italy, put an end to the Western empire, and was proclaimed king of Italy;" then Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, who "mur

called, in his pride he is the forerunner of Antichrist ;" and his earnestly repeated forebodings, when he says of such an one, "In this pride of his, what other thing is there tokened, but that the time of Antichrist is even at hand?" "The king of pride is even in the gates;" &c. (Op. t. ii. pp. 881, 751, 744, &c. quoted by Bp. Jewel. Works, ed. Jelf,

III.]

Rise of the Papal Power.

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dered and succeeded Odoacer," and "became the founder of the Ostrogothic dynasty of Italian kings;" and lastly, "the Lombard kingdom of Italy," established by the victories of Alboin and his successors. After noticing the intermediate conquests of Justinian, and the establishment of the Exarch of Ravenna, as the representative of the Eastern empire in Italy, "Such," he says, "were the revolutions of the empire of the West." "The kingdom of the Francs now came into notice." ... He then traces to its origin the Francic Association. "In the mean time," he goes on to say, "the popes had risen into consequence. St. Peter, the first of the popes -it will be recollected that the writer is a Romanist, for which reason I the rather cite his testimony"had neither temporal estate nor temporal power... The donation of Constantine," the writer continues, "is a fable;" but "from him and his successors,' he goes on to say, "the popes obtained extensive possessions in Italy, Sicily, Dalmatia, France, and Africa." "The laws of Constantine and his successors conferred on them something like a right of civil jurisdiction. This was increased by the circumstances and temper of the times; and thus they acquired the power of magistracy. After Justinian had reconquered Italy, Rome was governed by a duke, who, like the other dukes of Italy, was wholly subordinate to the exarch of Ravenna. Still, as the popes constantly resided at Rome, their spiritual character, their talents, the use they made of them, and particularly, the sums of money spent by them in public and private charities, in support of the walls and fortresses of the city of Rome, and in

... •

italics are Mr. Butler's own, marking the chief events.

G

82

Growth of the Papacy.

[LECT.

maintaining troops for its defence, endeared them to the Roman people. This gave them considerable political influence in the city of Rome, and the adjoining parts of Italy. Their exertion of it was always useful, and sometimes necessary for answering the purposes of government; and thus the popes became possessed, indirectly, of temporal power.

...

"Such was the situation of the popes," the same writer continues, "when Leo the Isaurian [A.D. 720] began his attack on religious devotion to images Equally averse from the emperor and the Lombard king, the people formed themselves into a separate government, under the magistrates, and placed the pope at their head "." And, enriched as he was soon afterwards with the gifts of Pepin,-bestowed in return for the sanction which the spiritual power had given to his usurpation of the crown of his masters, the kings of France',—the Bishop of Rome was now become "a subordinate prince, with a considerable degree of temporal and territorial power, and political influence "." The popes soon "asserted a right," I proceed with my quotation, "both of spiritual and temporal power, over the emperor; and pretended that he held the empire as a fief or benefice from them... On the one hand it became a fundamental maxim of jurisprudence, that the emperor acquired, in the instant of his election at the German diet, the kingdoms of Italy and Rome; on the other, this kingdom was merely nominal; and it became another maxim of jurisprudence, that the emperor could not legally assume the titles of Emperor or Augustus,