4-A-V9 THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES THE SECOND VISION OF DANIEL. A PARAPHRASE IN VERSE. THE SECOND VISION OF DANIEL. A PARAPHRASE IN VERSE BY THE EARL OF CARLISLE. LONDON: LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, LONGMANS, AND ROBERTS. 1858. TK PREFACE. /¥?^ ^ N a very able and elaborate work lately i^Jf/ published by Mr. Buckle, the First Volume of the History of Civilization in England, J-.}^ ^^' it is much insisted upon that the greatness and happiness of nations increase in almost parallel propor- tions with their sceptical tendencies. I do not wish to fix upon the term of scepticism a more offensive import than the author himself assigns to it ; and if I can judge of my- self arigcht, there can be nothino- which I should more wish to avoid than any approach to dogmatism in the discussion of religious subjects, and still more especially of Scriptural Prophecy. I must further admit myself not to be aware how far critical research and investio-ation have been broug-ht to bear upon the composition of the Book of the Prophet Daniel. It has long, however, appeared to me that if the eighth Chapter of this marvellous Book, of which, princi- pally with the view of calling increased attention to it at the present period, I have attempted the following Para- 867425 6 PBEFACE. phrase In verse, does really stand, as it is assumed to do in our Bibles, without addition, interpolation, or corruption, these three points are established. 1. The inspiration of the sacred text. 2. The immediate superintendence of Divine Providence in the order of events, and the government of the world. 3. The high probability, when the Chapter is viewed in connection with the associated Prophecies and Chronologies of the Books of Daniel and of the Revelations, that we are even now upon the threshold of great events, and of the close of our present economy. DANIEL, CHAPTER VIII. DANIEL, CHAP. VIII. IN the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first. 2 And I saw in a vision ; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of £ lam ; and I saw in a visiori, and I was hy the river of Ulai. 3 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, hehold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns : and the two horns were high ; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. 4 I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward ; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his haiid ; but he did according to his will, and became great. 5 And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the ivhole earth, and touched not the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. B 10 DANIEL, CHAP. VIII. 6 And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. 7 And I saio him come close unto the ram, and he vms moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns : and there teas no ipoxoer in the ram. to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him : and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. 8 Therefore the he goat waxed very great : and when he was strong, the great horn was broken ; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. 9 Arid out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toioard the east, and toward the pleasant land. 10 And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven ; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. 1 1 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice teas taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. 12 And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground ; and it practised, and prospered. 13 IF Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake. How long shall be DANIEL, CHAP. VIII. 11 the vision concerning the daily sacrifice^ and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to he trodden underfoot? 14 And he said unto me. Unto two thousand and three hundred days ; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. 15 And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. 16 And I heard a mavUs voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. 17 So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me. Understand, O son of man : for at the time of the end shall be the vision. 18 Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground : but he touched me, and set me upright. 19 And he said. Behold, I will make thee know lohat shall be in the last end of the indignation : for at the time appointed the end shall be. 20 The ram which thou saiaest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. 21 And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. 22 Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it. 12 DANIEL, CHAP. VIII. four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not i?i his power. 23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the trans- gressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up, 24 And his power shall he might g, hut not hy his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. 25 A7id through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand ; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many : he shall also stand zip agaijist the Prince of princes ; but he shall he broken without hand. 26 And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true : wherefore shut thou up the vision ; for it shall ho, for many days. 27 And I Daniel fainted, and ivas sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king^s business ; and I vms astonished at the vision, but none understood it. THE SECOND VISION OF DANIEL. THE SECOND VISION OF DANIEL. jN that still hour/ when the declining sun Gilded the towers of mighty Babylon, While from Belshazzar's hall upon the breeze Came fitful strains of festal harmonies. Apart to Israel's God I watch'd, and wept,^ Till peace came o'er my spirit, and I slept. '' Rapt in the vision of my mystic dream, I stood by clear *^Ulai's^ royal stream. * In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me. Daniel, ch. viii. ver. 1. 1 B.C. 553. 2 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and sup- plications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. Daniel, ch. ix. ver. 3. ^ And I saw in a vision ; and it came to pass, when I saiv, that I was at Shttshan in the palace. Ver. 2. '^ / was by the river of Ulai. Ver. 2. ^ The Eulfeus. Susa was built between the rivers Eulseus and Choaspes, both famous for their delicious water. Parthorum reges ex Choaspe et Eulajo tantum bibunt. Pliny, H. N. 31. 21. The drink of none but kings. Milton, Par. Reg. III. 289. 16 THE SECOND VISION Where Susa's glitt'ring palaces^ record Th' unnumber'd trophies of the Persian sword.'' lo Round Cyrus, call'd of Judah's God/ behold * The silken Lydian pour his hoarded gold !^ ^ Thron'd 'mid the circuit of her hundred gates. Imperial Babylon her victor waits : ^ ^ Flush'd Avith mad pride, behold Cambyses^ run To the far chambers of the western sun ! Yet from that West'' in turn more fierce alarms Rouse the pale East to unexpected^ arms; ■* Thus the great palace at Persepolis contahied inscriptions of Darius, Xerxes, and later kings. Note to Rawlinsoii s Herodotus. ^ There stood before the river a ram which had two horns. Yer. 3. The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media arid Persia. Ver. 20. ^ That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd. Isaiah xliv. 28. ^ / saiv the ram pushing northward . . . he did according to his will, and became great. Ver. 4. ^ Croesus was taken prisoner by Cyrus, b.c. 549. ^ Southward. "^ Babylon was taken by Cyrus, B.C. 539. Herodotus mentions the hundred gates. ^ Westward. ^ Cambyses invaded Egypt, b. c. 525. ^ An he goat came from the ivest, and the goat had a notable horn be- tween his eyes. Ver. 5. The rough goat is the king of Grecia : and the great horn that is be- tween his eyes is the first king. Ver. 21. " By a fatal imprudence the Persians permitted Alexander to carry over without opposition his grand army into Asia in the spring of 334 B.C. Grote, vol. 12, p. 104. OF DANIEL. 17 He comes, by gifted eye descried afar, Monarch of men, and Thunderbolt^" of war ! ao ' Through the cleft air with lightning leap he springs O'er subject Provinces, and suppliant Kings. Speak, chaf'd Granicus!*' red Arbela, say!^^ What gory horrors crown'd each dreadful day. ^ See Media's elder diadem unbound ! See Persia's loftier sceptre kiss the ground ! Sea-girt in vain, mourn, desolated Tyre ! '^ Wrap thy proud domes, Persepolis,^^ in fire ! Him, climes and tribes he knew not, learn to know. The Parthian arrow,'^ and the Bactrian bow ; 30 Indus ^^ his wat'ry barrier rolls aside, ^" Fulmen belli. Virg. Mn. 6. 841. ' The goat came on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground. Ver. 5. ^^ Battle of the Granicus, b. c. 334. ^2 Battle of Arbela, b.c. 331. ^ The ram had two horns : and the two horns ivere high ; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. Ver. 3. And the goat came to the rain that had two horns, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. Ver. 6. The goat smote the ram, and brake his two horns, cast him down to the ground., and stamped upon him. Ver. 7. " Tyre taken, b.c. 332. " Persepolis burned, b. c. 330. " Parthia subdued, b.c. 330; Bactria, B.C. 329. " Indus crossed — Hydaspes forced, b.c. 326. C 18 THE SECOND VISION Hydaspes wafts him on his fabled '^ tide ; ^ The Hero-King adoring nations own. And Asia kneels at Alexander's throne. With glories radiant as the noonday sun. He sits aloft in ancient Babylon ; In Babylon the royal feast is spread. In Babylon the Hero-King lies dead/* With feebler sway, from these great obsequies, ™ Four scepter'd dynasties together rise : '^ 40 This, o'er their native Macedon bears sway. And Greece's ^° silver isles and shores obey ; This, rules o'er many a tempest-batter'd race. From rich^^ Bithynia to the steeps of Thrace ; ^'' Fabulosus Hydaspes. Hor. i. 22. ' The he goat waxed very great; and when he was strong, the great horn teas broken. Ver. 8. ^^ Alexander died at Babylon, b.c. 323, immediately after the feast in honour of the obsequies of Hephsestion. ™ For it came up four notahle ones toward the four winds of heaven. Ver. 8. Four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. Ver. 22. ^^ The four kingdoms may be assumed to be that of Cassander, in Macedon and Greece ; of Lysimachus, in Thrace and Bithynia ; of Seleucus, in Syria ; and of Ptolemy, in Egypt. ^^ Nitentes Cyclades. Hor. i. 14. '^ The plain of Broussa retains to this day its ancient fertility. OF DANIEL. 19 This, as o'er Carmel breathes the fragrant gale, Gathers the spices of each Syrian vale ; This, sees the Nile his bounteous vest^"^ expand. And clothe with plenty Afric's glowing sand. 'Mid the dim twilight of declining power. They fill th' allotted space, and bide th' appointed hour.-^ The lab'rino; centuries In lono; career 51 Weave their dark web of wonder and of fear ; '^ Nilum tota veste vocantera. Virg. ^n. viii. 711. ^ This may be said to conclude the first portion or half of the Pro- phecy; and thus far, the authenticity of the text being taken for granted, there is no room for ambiguity, doubt, or denial ; the inter- preting Angel says directly, " This is the king of Persia: this is the king of Greece;" and their real histories are accurately portrayed. For the solution of the remaining portion we are left to our own con- jectures, and there has accordingly been a great variety of interpre- tation. By most of the older commentators, " The little horn," or " The king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences," was supposed to be Antiochus Epiphanes. By Bishop Newton, and Sir Isaac Newton — the one, an high authority upon Prophecy, the other, the highest of all human authorities in nearly every respect — the Roman Empire was understood to be signified. ]\Ir. Faber, in his " Sacred Calendar of Prophecy," adopts the religion of Mahomet and the Saracen dominion. Mr. Elliot, in his " Hora3 Apocalyptica^," pre- fers the Empire of the Ottoman Turks. It will be seen that I have selected IMr. Faber's interpretation, as it appears to me to proceed upon the most plausible system of dates, and to have generally the greatest marks of importance and propriety. I have naturally not attempted to put the figures of dates into rhyme. 20 THE SECOND VISION Tlie days of Rome's long glories wax and wane, The vex'd earth moans beneath her guilty reign : " E'en at that horn-, in Mecca's rocky cell, ^"' " The Warrior-Prophet frames his wizard .spell. Cons the dark sentence, and the mystic lore,"^ Then bids the nations tremble, and adore. O'er all the slumb'ring myriads burst afar The flashes of the Moslem scymetar ; 60 The turban'd hordes of Araby advance, Uro;e the fleet barb, and hurl th' unerrino; lance. P 'Mid Egypt's temples,'^^ and o'er Barca's sands,'^^ Copt, Moor, and Goth, uplift submissive hands : "^^ On Xeres' bank, and Andalusia's plain. Cowers all the recreant chivalry of Spain : " In the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the f nil. Ver. 23. ~"* The cave of Hera, three miles from Mecca. Gibbon, c. l. " A king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. Ver. 23. ^ The copy of the Koran was said to have been brought down to Mahomet by the Angel Gabriel. Gibbon. P The little horn waxed exceeding great, toward the soidh. Ver. 9. He shall destroy wonderfully. Ver. 24. ^^ Amram occupied Egypt — the Coptic Christians submitted,A.D.638. ^' Abdallah subdued the sea-coast of Barbary, a.d. 647. ^ Tarik landed in Spain, a.d. 710. The Gothic Monarchy was OTerthrown at the battle of Xeres, a.d. 711. OF DANIEL. 21 ^ Wealth sits enthron'd 'mid Cordova's "^ high towers. And Science dwells in soft Granada's bowers. ' Nor less, where Eastern ethers brightly sraile, ^° To the chill Oxus from the sultry Nile, 70 The dusky tribes receive the Prophet's law. And to his Caliphs bend with prostrate awe. Cashmere's green vales obey the stern command, '* Bassora's wharves, and marts of Samarcand,^^ And names to Greek and Roman arms unknown Swell the proud pomp of Delhi's jewell'd throne."^^ ' Vain are the legions of Byzantium's Lord''* 'Gainst the dread sweep of Caled's'^^ gleaming sword: 1 He shall prosper and practise. Ver. 24. ^ Cordova contained 600 mosques, 900 baths, 200,000 houses. Gibbon. ■" And toward the east. Ver. 9. ^^ The successful leader (Omar) neither halted nor reposed till his foaming cavalry had tasted the waters of the Oxus. Gibbon, c. ia. ^^ Bassora, on the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates, was founded about A.D. 636. ^^ Paper is said to have been first manufactured in Samarcand. ^ In the year 1858, the reader will not need to be reminded of the Mogul dynasty of Delhi. ' And towards the pleasant land. Ver. 9. (Always understood to be Palestine.) He shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. Ver. 24. ^ The armies of the Emperor Heraclius were defeated by Caled at Aiznadin, a.d. G33, and Yormuk, a. d. 636 ^ Caled was called the Sword of God. 22 THE SECOND VISION Vain thy bright stores of luxury and toil, ^'' Damascus, loveliest scene on mortal soil !^^ 80 Where perfum'd gales from Lebanon descend, ^^ And Pharpar's streams with clear Abana blend. ^^ Thou, too, fair Zion's consecrated hill, Kedron's scant brook, and lone Siloam's rill. Haunts of my Saviour, footsteps of my God, Down to the dust by new Blasphemers trod ! * Where Bethlehem nursed Creation's lowly Lord, Hark! the fierce shout, "The Koran or the Sword!"*" In wai'like pomp the haughty Emirs ride By the still hamlets on Gennesereth's tide, 90 And crafty" seers proclaim a heav'n of guilt. Where the pure blood of Calvary was spilt. ^^ Damascus was taken, a.b. 634. ^'' Trie 'Ewoc aTiliar^Q 6cpdaXj.i6£. Epistles attributed to Julian. ^ Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the rivers of Israel ? 11 Kings v. 12. ^^ Jerusalem capitulated, a.d. 637. * He magnified himself even to the prince of the host . . . cmd the place of his sanctuary was cast domi. Ver. 11. He shall stand up against the Prince of princes. Ver. 25. *° I confess that I perceived with surprise ]\Ir. Buckle's very favour- able estimate of the Mahomedan religion, especially as proceeding from one who generally professes himself so much averse to mere military prowess. " Through his p>olicy he shall cause craft to prosper. Ver. 25. OF DANIEL. 23 Yetj ere the vision fades before my eyes. See the regenerating dawn arise ! Before the radiance of the Gospel beam/ Down, baffled Crescent ! shrink, Euphrates' stream ! *' Return, ye ransom'd, to your promised home I Feet, that are beauteous on the mountain, come ! Foul Bigotry, avaunt ! fierce Discord, cease ! Earth, sea, and sky, be glad, before the Prince of Peace ! * He shall be broken ivithout hand. Ver. 25. *^ And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates ; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. Rev. xvi. 12. CHISWICK PRESS :— C. WHITTINGUAM, TOOKS CODRT, CHANCERY LANE, yL ?/ UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. Form L9-50m-7,'54 (5990) 444 PR kUl9 Cli;9s L 009 504 849 2 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY A A 001 421 457 1