bishops and abbots. Nor further back than the age of Hildebrand had Claudius Fleury anything to say respecting the morals of Christians , described in his French Treatise. But even at this time, first, a public protesting first waxed strong against this kingdom, made up of heaven and earth (with what purity, we do not ask), by means of Arnald of Brixia, whom on that account Baronius deems to have been the patriarch of political heretics . We must not omit to notice, that by Gregory VII. especially the majesty of the em- pire and the sanctity of marriage were at the same time violated : whence those two heresies were invented, that of Simoniacs and that of the Nicolaitans. And indeed the sanctity of marriage was impugned in the case of priests, not in the case of all men ; but still it was on such grounds, as to depress the marriage state itself. Whoever the king is, whom Daniel points out, ch. xi., that senti- ment, at any rate, which is found in ver. 37, He shall not regard the desire of women, and any of the gods (for this is the reading of the Septuagint ; but the Vulgate, not following this, removes the nega- tive from the former clause) : it is especially suited to that despiser of marriage, and of the majesty of the Caesars, the Pontiff Gre- gory VII.
The Bomanists upbraid the Protestants, because in fixing the beginning of antichrist they differ from one another by many cen- turies.1 They might in truth have upbraided them with the differ- ence of a thousand years and more : so wide an extent the subject has. In truth, all things, which are done, have both a time in which they are done, and a point of time in -which they begin, to be done ; and the more accurate the knowledge of the time is, the more does it assist the knowledge of the fact. But again there may be a know- ledge of the fact, even though you are far distant from the knowledge of the time : otherwise, many men would have to hesitate respecting themselves, whether they are in the world, because they do not know
1 But who is not surprised that discrepancies of this hind are reviled on every opportunity by some of the more recent editors , who are called Lutherans ? The matter of complaint , which the sainted author touched upon in these words (in der Erkl. Offenb. Ed. II. p. 687, and the following), derives fresh weight from day to day. Yiel besehwerlicher ist es, dass von wenigen Jahren der etliche in der evangelischen Kirche sebbst die rechte Auslegung des Thiers nicht nur faliren lassen, sondern auch gar bestreiten, da dieselbe docli von der Waldenser Zeiten her mit dem Blut so vieler Wahrheits. Zeugen bekraftiget, durch die Refor- mation so theuer behauptet, durch das immer zunehmende Licht so deutlich erwiesen ist, und, in der bevorstehenden Drangstal auszuharren so unentbehrlich seyn wird. But, in truth, “ the chariot does not obey the reins.” — E. B.