Part I, Chapter 7, 1

Of the eleventh horn of Daniel's fourth Beast.

1 Now Daniel considered the horns, and look there came up among them another horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots; and look in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things—and² his look was more stout than his fellows—and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them: and one who stood by, and made Daniel know the interpretation of these things, told him, that³ the ten horns were ten kings that should arise, and another should arise after them, and be different from the first, and he should subdue three kings,⁴ and speak great words against the Most High, and wear out the saints, and think to change times and laws: and that they should be given into his hands until a time and times and half a time. Kings are put for kingdoms, as above; and therefore the little horn is a little kingdom. It was a horn of the fourth Beast, and rooted up three of his first horns; and therefore we are to look for it among the nations of the Latin Empire, after the rise of the ten horns. But it was a kingdom of a different kind from the other ten kingdoms, having a life or soul peculiar to itself, with eyes and a mouth. By its eyes it was a Seer; and by its mouth speaking great things and changing times and laws, it was a Prophet as well as a King. And such a Seer, a Prophet and a King, is the Church of Rome.

A Seer, Episkopos in Greek, is a Bishop in the literal sense of the word; and this Church claims the universal Bishopric.

With his mouth he gives laws to kings and nations as an Oracle; and pretends to Infallibility, and that his dictates are binding to the whole world; which is to be a Prophet in the highest degree.

In the eighth century, by rooting up and subduing the Exarchate of Ravenna, the kingdom of the Lombards, and the Senate and Dukedom of Rome, he acquired Peter's Patrimony out of their dominions; and by that rose up as a temporal Prince or King, or horn of the fourth Beast.

In a small book printed at Paris A.C. 1689, entitled An historical dissertation upon some coins of Charles the Great, Ludovicus Pius, Lotharius, and their successors stamped at Rome, it is recorded that in the days of Pope Leo X there was remaining in the Vatican, and until those days exposed to public view, an inscription in honor of Pipin the father of Charles the Great, in these words: Pipin the pious was the first who opened a way to the grandeur of the Church of Rome, by conferring upon her the Exarchate of Ravenna and many other oblations. In and before the reign of the Emperors Gratian and Theodosius, the Bishop of Rome lived splendidly; but this was by the oblations of the Roman Ladies, as Ammianus describes. After those reigns Italy was invaded by foreign nations, and did not get rid of her troubles before the fall of the kingdom of Lombardy. It was certainly by the victory of the see of Rome over the Greek Emperor, the King of Lombardy, and the Senate of Rome, that she acquired Peter's Patrimony, and rose up to her greatness. The donation of Constantine the Great is a fiction, and so is the donation of the Alpes Cottiæ to the Pope by Aripert King of the Lombards: for the Alpes Cottiæ were a part of the Exarchate, and in the days of Aripert belonged to the Greek Emperor.

The invocation of the dead, and veneration of their images, being gradually introduced in the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th centuries, the Greek Emperor Philippicus declared against the latter, A.C. 711 or 712. And⁵ the Emperor Leo Isaurus, to put a stop to it, called a meeting of Counselors and Bishops in his Palace, A.C. 726; and by their advice issued an Edict against that worship, and wrote to Pope Gregory II that a general Council might be called. But the Pope thereupon called a Council at Rome, confirmed the worship of Images, excommunicated the Greek Emperor, absolved the people from their allegiance, and forbade them to pay tribute, or otherwise be obedient to him. Then the people of Rome, Campania, Ravenna and Pentapolis, with the cities under them, revolted and laid violent hands upon their magistrates, killing the Exarch Paul at Ravenna, and setting aside Peter Duke of Rome who had become blind: and when Exhileratus Duke of Campania incited the people against the Pope, the Romans invaded Campania, and killed him with his son Hadrian. Then a new Exarch, Eutychius, coming to Naples, sent some secretly to take away the lives of the Pope and the Nobles of Rome: but the plot being discovered, the Romans revolted absolutely from the Greek Emperor, and took an oath to preserve the life of the Pope, to defend his state, and be obedient to his authority in all things. Thus Rome with its Duchy, including part of Tuscany and part of Campania, revolted in the year 726, and became a free state under the government of the Senate of this city. The authority of the Senate in civil affairs was henceforward absolute, the authority of the Pope extending no farther than to the affairs of the Church only.

At that time⁶ the Lombards also being zealous for the worship of images, and pretending to favor the cause of the Pope, invaded the cities of the Exarchate: and at length, in A.C. 752, took Ravenna, and put an end to the Exarchate. And this was the first of the three kingdoms which fell before the little horn.

In the year 751⁷ Pope Zechary deposed Childeric, a slothful and useless King of France, and the last of the race of Merovæus; and absolving his subjects from their oath of allegiance, gave the kingdom to Pipin, the Mayor of the Palace; and by that made a new and potent friend. His successor⁸ Pope Stephen III, knowing better how to deal with the Greek Emperor than with the Lombards, went the next year to the King of the Lombards, to persuade him to return the Exarchate to the Emperor. But this not succeeding, he went into France, and persuaded Pipin to take the Exarchate and Pentapolis from the Lombards, and give it to St. Peter. Accordingly Pipin A.C. 754 came with an army into Italy, and made Aistulphus King of the Lombards promise the surrender: but the next year Aistulphus, on the contrary, to revenge himself on the Pope, besieged the city of Rome. After which the Pope sent letters to Pipin, in which he told him that if he did not come speedily against the Lombards, considering the power given him, he would be cut off from the kingdom of God and eternal life; he should be excommunicated. Pipin therefore, fearing a revolt of his subjects, and being indebted to the Church of Rome, came speedily with an army into Italy, raised the siege, besieged the Lombards in Pavia, and forced them to surrender the Exarchate and region of Pentapolis to the Pope for a perpetual possession. Thus the Pope became Lord of Ravenna, and the Exarchate, some few cities excepted; and the keys were sent to Rome, and laid upon the confession of St. Peter, that is, upon his tomb at the high Altar, as a sign of true and perpetual dominion, though it came as a free gift from the King, as the inscription of a coin of Pipin has it. This was in the year of Christ 755. And henceforward the Popes being temporal Princes, left off in their Epistles and Bulls to note the years of the Greek Emperors, as they had until now done.

After this⁹ the Lombards invading the Pope's countries, Pope Adrian sent to Charles the Great, the son and successor of Pipin, to come to his assistance. Accordingly Charles entered Italy with an army, invaded the Lombards, overthrew their kingdom, became master of their countries, and restored to the Pope, not only what they had taken from him, but also the rest of the Exarchate which they had promised Pipin to surrender to him, but had until then detained; and also gave him some cities of the Lombards, and was in return himself made Patricius by the Romans, and had the authority of confirming the elections of the Popes conferred upon him. These things were done in the years 773 and 774. This kingdom of the Lombards was the second kingdom which fell before the little horn. But Rome, which was to be the seat of his kingdom, was not yet his own.

In the year 796,¹⁰ Leo III being made Pope, notified his election to Charles the Great by his Legates, sending to him for a present, the golden keys of the Confession of Peter, and the Banner of the city of Rome: the first as an acknowledgment of the Pope's holding the cities of the Exarchate and Lombardy by the grant of Charles; the other as a signification that Charles should come and subdue the Senate and people of Rome, as he had done the Exarchate and the kingdom of the Lombards. For the Pope at the same time desired Charles to send some of his Princes to Rome, who might subject the Roman people to him, and bind them by oath in fealty and subjection, as his words are recited by Sigonius.

An anonymous poet, published by Boeclerus at Strasburg, expresses it thus:

He urged him with earnest prayers that he be willing to send some of his own nobles, to bring the Roman people under his rule, and, requiring the agreements to be kept, to pledge this by great oaths of fealty.

Of the eleventh horn of Daniel's fourth Beast.

1 Now Daniel considered the horns, and there among them came up another horn, before whom three of the first horns were pulled up by the roots; and in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things;² its look was more proud than its fellows; and the same horn made war with the saints, and overpowered them. One who stood by, and made Daniel know the interpretation of these things, told him that³ the ten horns were ten kings that should arise, and another should arise after them, and be different from the first, and he should subdue three kings,⁴ and speak great words against the most High, and wear out the saints, and think to change times and laws: and that they should be given into his hands until a time and times and half a time. Kings stand for kingdoms, as above; and so the little horn is a little kingdom. It was a horn of the fourth Beast, and rooted up three of his first horns; so we are to look for it among the nations of the Latin Empire, after the rise of the ten horns. But it was a kingdom of a different kind from the other ten kingdoms, having a life or soul of its own, with eyes and a mouth. By its eyes it was a Seer; and by its mouth, speaking great things and changing times and laws, it was a Prophet as well as a King. And such a Seer, a Prophet and a King, is the Church of Rome.

A Seer, the Greek word "Episkopos," is a Bishop in the literal sense of the word; and this Church claims the universal bishopric.

With his mouth he gives laws to kings and nations like an Oracle; and he claims Infallibility, and that his dictates are binding on the whole world; which is being a Prophet in the highest degree.

In the eighth century, by rooting up and subduing the Exarchate of Ravenna, the kingdom of the Lombards, and the Senate and Dukedom of Rome, he acquired Peter's Patrimony out of their lands; and so he rose up as a temporal Prince or King, a horn of the fourth Beast.

In a small book printed at Paris in A.C. 1689, entitled, An historical dissertation upon some coins of Charles the great, Ludovicus Pius, Lotharius, and their successors stamped at Rome, it is recorded that in the days of Pope Leo X there was still remaining in the Vatican, and exposed to public view until those days, an inscription in honor of Pipin the father of Charles the great, in these words: Pipinum pium, primum fuisse qui amplificandæ Ecclesiæ Romanæ viam aperuerit, Exarchatu Ravennate, & plurimis aliis oblatis; "That Pipin the pious was the first who opened a way to the grandeur of the Church of Rome, conferring upon her the Exarchate of Ravenna and many other oblations." In and before the reign of the Emperors Gratian and Theodosius, the Bishop of Rome lived splendidly; but this was by the gifts of the Roman Ladies, as Ammianus describes. After those reigns Italy was invaded by foreign nations, and did not get clear of her troubles before the fall of the kingdom of Lombardy. It was certainly by the victory of the see of Rome over the Greek Emperor, the King of Lombardy, and the Senate of Rome, that she acquired Peter's Patrimony, and rose up to her greatness. The donation of Constantine the Great is a fiction, and so is the donation of the Alpes Cottiæ to the Pope by Aripert King of the Lombards: for the Alpes Cottiæ were part of the Exarchate, and in the days of Aripert belonged to the Greek Emperor.

The calling on the dead, and the honoring of their images, were gradually introduced in the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th centuries. The Greek Emperor Philippicus declared against the latter, A.C. 711 or 712. And⁵ the Emperor Leo Isaurus, to put a stop to it, called a meeting of Counselors and Bishops in his Palace, A.C. 726; and on their advice issued an Edict against that worship, and wrote to Pope Gregory II. that a general Council might be called. But the Pope at once called a Council at Rome, confirmed the worship of Images, excommunicated the Greek Emperor, released the people from their allegiance, and forbade them to pay tribute or otherwise be obedient to him. Then the people of Rome, Campania, Ravenna and Pentapolis, with the cities under them, revolted and laid violent hands upon their magistrates, killing the Exarch Paul at Ravenna, and removing Peter Duke of Rome, who had become blind. When Exhileratus Duke of Campania stirred up the people against the Pope, the Romans invaded Campania, and killed him with his son Hadrian. Then a new Exarch, Eutychius, coming to Naples, sent some men secretly to take away the lives of the Pope and the Nobles of Rome; but the plot was discovered, and the Romans broke completely with the Greek Emperor, and swore an oath to preserve the life of the Pope, to defend his state, and to obey his authority in all things. In this way Rome with its Duchy, including part of Tuscany and part of Campania, revolted in the year 726, and became a free state under the government of the Senate of this city. From then on the authority of the Senate in civil affairs was absolute, while the authority of the Pope went no further than the affairs of the Church alone.

At that time⁶ the Lombards too were zealous for the worship of images, and claimed to support the cause of the Pope; they invaded the cities of the Exarchate, and at last, in A.C. 752, took Ravenna and put an end to the Exarchate. This was the first of the three kingdoms that fell before the little horn.

In the year 751⁷ Pope Zechary deposed Childeric, a lazy and useless King of France, and the last of the race of Merovæus; and releasing his subjects from their oath of allegiance, he gave the kingdom to Pipin the major of the Palace, and so made a new and powerful friend. His successor⁸ Pope Stephen III, knowing better how to deal with the Greek Emperor than the Lombards, went the next year to the King of the Lombards to persuade him to return the Exarchate to the Emperor. When this did not succeed, he went into France, and persuaded Pipin to take the Exarchate and Pentapolis from the Lombards, and give it to St. Peter. So Pipin in A.C. 754 came with an army into Italy, and made Aistulphus King of the Lombards promise the surrender; but the next year Aistulphus did the opposite, and to revenge himself on the Pope besieged the city of Rome. So the Pope sent letters to Pipin, telling him that if he did not come quickly against the Lombards, pro data sibi potentia, alienandum fore à regno Dei & vita æterna, he should be excommunicated. Pipin, fearing a revolt of his subjects and being indebted to the Church of Rome, came quickly with an army into Italy, raised the siege, besieged the Lombards in Pavia, and forced them to surrender the Exarchate and the region of Pentapolis to the Pope for a perpetual possession. So the Pope became Lord of Ravenna and the Exarchate, except for a few cities; and the keys were sent to Rome, and laid upon the confession of St. Peter, that is, upon his tomb at the high Altar, in token of true and lasting lordship yet held by the King's free generosity, as the inscription on a coin of Pipin has it. This was in the year of Christ 755. And from then on the Popes, being temporal Princes, stopped noting the years of the Greek Emperors in their Epistles and Bulls, as they had done until then.

After this⁹ the Lombards invaded the countries of the Pope, and Pope Adrian sent to Charles the great, the son and successor of Pipin, to come to his help. So Charles entered Italy with an army, invaded the Lombards, overthrew their kingdom, became master of their countries, and restored to the Pope not only what they had taken from him, but also the rest of the Exarchate which they had promised Pipin to surrender to him and had held back until then; and he also gave him some cities of the Lombards. In return the Romans made him Patricius themselves, and gave him the authority of confirming the elections of the Popes. These things were done in the years 773 and 774. This kingdom of the Lombards was the second kingdom that fell before the little horn. But Rome, which was to be the seat of his kingdom, was not yet his own.

In the year 796,¹⁰ Leo III being made Pope, notified his election to Charles the great by his Legates, sending him as a present the golden keys of the Confession of Peter, and the Banner of the city of Rome: the first as an acknowledgment that the Pope held the cities of the Exarchate and Lombardy by the grant of Charles; the other to show that Charles should come and subdue the Senate and people of Rome, as he had done the Exarchate and the kingdom of the Lombards. For at the same time the Pope asked Charles to send some of his Princes to Rome, who might bring the Roman people under him, and bind them by oath in fide & subjectione, in fealty and subjection, as Sigonius recites his words. An anonymous Poet, published by Boeclerus at Strasburg, expresses it this way:

"And he urged him with earnest prayers, that if he wanted to send some of his own leading men, he would subject the Roman people to himself, and, forcing them to keep the treaties, make them promise this by great oaths of fealty."