in the most minute particulars, to the three first seals, that it seems impossible to doubt that it was to them that the vision was intended to apply. At least if this interpretation be rejected, we despair of ever finding another which shall so accurately agree to the symbols.

We do not think, however, that Mr Elliott has been equally successful in elucidating the fourth seal, although in his interpretation he has the general consent of former commentators. It must indeed be admitted that the character of the twenty years between A.D. 248 and A.D. 268 answers sufficiently well, in accumulation of calamities, to the progress of Death on the pale horse. But Mr Elliott himself has taught us not to rest satisfied without the most perfect agreement in every particular of the history and the symbol. And in one point it seems to us that the interpretation fails. The vision presents to us the earth divided into four portions, over one of which Death holds the sway, while, during the period to which the seal is referred, the calamities extend over the whole empire. Mr Elliot indeed renders the passage as follows:-" And power was given to him to kill on the fourth part of the earth with the sword,-and with famine, and with pestilence, and with wild beasts of the earth;" and he interprets it as meaning that the sword, the famine, the pestilence, and the wild beasts, had each their allotted fourth in the desolations of the Roman empire under this seal. If, however, this view be correct, we cannot see that the mention of the fourth part adds any thing whatever to the particularity of the symbol. It might have been omitted without serious injury: nay, the vision, as it appears, would actually have gained in clearness by the want of it. In the subsequent vision of the trumpets, the earth is divided into three parts; and in interpreting that vision, Mr Elliott shows that a three-fold division of the empire did actually take place, and that the effects of the first four trumpets are confined to one of the three portions into which the empire was thus divided. We submit, that consistency required that he should have pointed out a four-fold division to which the fourth seal applies. He argues, indeed, that "the nature of the emblem positively precludes the idea of only one fourth part of the empire being affected by these plagues; for the whole body politic, as represented by the horse, appeared in the livid paleness of dissolution." But we have already given our reasons for believing that the symbol of the horse in these seals does not represent the empire at all. If, then, we are to seek for a four-fold division of the empire to which this vision may apply, the question is very greatly narrowed. For, on turning to the list given in the work before us of the partitions which

were made at various periods (vol. i., p. 331,) we find that there was only one quadri-partition of it, made by Diocletian, A. D. 290, which lasted for a short period. The question for solution then is, Were there, during the time through which this division lasted, events which answer to the fourth seal of the Apocalypse? This question we shall endeavour to answer. The division of the Roman empire into four parts was, as we have said, first made by Diocletian. After his abdication, the four emperors who succeeded shared the empire among them as follows:-Constantius had Spain, Gaul, Britain, and Germany; Galerius, Illyricum and Greece; Severus, Italy and Africa; and Maximin, Asia and Thrace. On the death of Constantius, his son Constantine succeeded him; and about the same time Maxentius having usurped the imperial authority at Rome, and Maximian, who had abdicated along with Diocletian, having resumed the purple, there were six emperors at one time. It cannot, however, be fairly said that the quadripartite division had ceased; for no new distribution of the provinces took place. Besides, Maximian soon fled, and was put to death; Severus also was slain; and although Licinius was appointed his successor, yet the death of Galerius, which shortly followed, again left only four heads to the empire. These were, Constantine in Britain and the western provinces, Maxentius in Italy and Africa, Licinius in Illyricum, and Maximian in Syria. On the dethronement of Maxentius by Constantine, the four-fold division ceased. Between A. D. 290, therefore, and A. D. 312, we must look for the fulfilment of this seal; and we think we shall be able to show that Italy and Africa are the fourth part of the Roman earth which is referred to, and that the prophecy was accomplished in the calamities which began with the usurpation and overthrow of Maxentius.

It may be well to show that the influence of the third seal extended to this very period. The division of the empire, says Gibbon, "was accompanied with another material disadvantage, a more extensive establishment, and consequently an increase of taxes, and the oppression of the people." He quotes the words of Lactantius, a contemporary writer, who says, "When the proportion of those who received exceeded the proportion of those who contributed, the provinces were oppressed by the weight of tributes.' Indeed the revolt of Maxentius appears to have owed its success to the strict and rigorous inquisition which had just been made by Galerius into the property of the Italians for the purpose of a general taxation. Even among the Roman emperors, it is difficult to select any individual whose cruelty and rapacity exceeded that of Maxentius. Africa refused at first to acknowledge his authority. Troops were sent over from Italy

The rebellion was crushed, but the woes of Africa were not ended. All of birth or property were accused of having shared in the rebellion. Many were put to death; the remainder were punished by the confiscation of their estates. Cirtha and Carthage were sacked, pillaged, and ruined, and the whole extent of that fertile province was wasted with fire and sword." So signal a victory," says Gibbon, "was celebrated by a magnificent triumph; and Maxentius exposed to the eyes of the people the spoils and captives of a Roman province." Nor were Rome and Italy better treated. "The lives of the senators were exposed to his jealous suspicions, and the dishonour of their wives and daughters heightened the gratification of his sensual passions."* He encouraged his soldiers to the commission of the same crimes. In six years he spoiled the immense riches which during ten centuries had been accumulated at Rome.† He filled Italy with armed troops, suffered them with impunity to plunder, and even to massacre the defenceless people. Being addicted to the prac tice of magical arts, he used in his incantations the bowels of women and infants. Rome was reduced to such a state, that its inhabitants were deprived of the very necessaries of life; and there prevailed in the capital a famine such as had never before been experienced.

Such was the unspeakable wretchedness of the fourth part of the Roman earth, Italy and Africa, under the tyranny of Maxentius. But we have only told a part of the woes of Italy. Thrice was the sword uplifted to expel the usurper; and thrice did her plains groan under the presence of an invading host. First Severus hastened to Rome, but was obliged to retreat to Ravenna, where he was besieged, capitulated, and was put to death. Then Galerius, at the head of a powerful army, entered Italy, resolved, as he said, "to extirpate the senate, and destroy the people." With difficulty he penetrated as far as Narni; and when he found it necessary to retreat, Gibbon tells us that his soldiers "murdered, ravished, and plundered, and drove away the flocks and herds of the Italians. They burnt the villages through which they passed, and they endeavoured to destroy the country which it had not been in their power to subdue." Lastly, when the tyranny of Maxentius had become intolerable, and ambassadors had been sent to Constantine to entreat him to deliver Italy, that prince crossed the Alps. Then followed in swift succession the sieges of Susa, Turin, Verona, Aquileia, and Modena, closed by a battle under the walls of Rome, in which Constantine was victorious.

Thus then we have the sword and famine, and to complete

the picture set before us in the seal we transcribe a few sentences from Tillemont. "If Italy suffered this year from the war of Constantine, the east was overwhelmed by far greater evils. The ordinary rains having failed, the drought produced a famine when it was least expected, and the famine was soon followed by the plague, and by another kind of disease which attacked the face and particularly the eyes, and caused loss of sight, to an infinite number of men, women, and children." Eusebius has put on record a very graphic description of this awful visitation.

"The inhabitants of the cities sore pined away with famine and pestilence, so that one measure of wheat was sold for 2050 attics. An infinite number died throughout the cities, but more throughout the countries and villages, so that now the ancient domains of husbandmen were in a manner quite done away, for that all suddenly through want of food and grievous malady of the pestilence were perished. Many therefore sought to sell unto the wealthier sort for most slender food the dearest things they enjoyed; others selling their possessions by pieces fell at length into the miserable peril of extreme poverty: others gnawing the small shredded tops of green grass, and withal confusedly feeding on certain venomous herbs, used them for food, whereby the healthy constitution of the body was perished and turned to poison. Divers noble women throughout the cities, driven to extreme need and necessity, went a-begging into the country, showing forth by their reverend countenance and more gorgeous apparel, an example of that ancient and free manner of Ilving. Certain others, whose strength was dried up, tottering to and fro, nodding and sliding much like carved pictures without life, being not able to stand, fell down flat in the middle of the streets, grovelling upon the ground with their faces upward and stretched out arms, making humble supplication that some one would reach them a little piece of bread, and thus lying in extremity ready to yield up the ghost, cried out that they were hungry, being only able to utter this word. Others who seemed to be of the wealthier sort, amazed at the multitude of beggars, after they had distributed infinitely, put on an unmerciful and sturdy mind, fearing lest they also should suffer the like need with them that craved, wherefore in the midst of the market place and throughout narrow lanes the dead and bare carcases lay many days unburied and cast along, which yielded a miserable spectacle to the beholders. Yea many became food unto dogs, for which cause chiefly such as lived turned themselves to kill dogs, fearing lest they should become mad and turn themselves to devour men. And no less truly did the plague spoil every house and age, but specially devouring them whom famine through want of food could not destroy. Therefore the rich, the princes, the presidents, and many of the magistrates, as fit people for a pestilent disease, because they were not pinched with penury, suffered this sharp and most swift death. All sounded of lamentation. Throughout every narrow lane, the market place, and streets, there was nothing to be seen but weeping, together with their wonted pipes and the rest of minstrels'

VOL. XX. NO. I.

C

noise. Death after this sort waging battle with double armour, to wit, with famine and pestilence, destroyed in short space whole families, so that the dead carcases of two or three were borne to the grave at one funeral."-Euseb. lib. ix. cap. 7.

This pestilence is not mentioned by Gibbon; and we only became aware of the fact of its existence while searching among the ancient authorities for fuller accounts of the state of Italy under Maxentius. We have no specific proof that it extended to Italy at all, although, as like causes produce like effects, we can hardly doubt that the unexampled famine in that country which has been recorded, would be succeeded by a pestilence of corresponding malignity. At all events, if we adopt Mr Elliott's rendering of the passage in the Apocalypse which we are endeavouring to expound, the fulfilment appears to come as near as possible to the terms of the prophecy." And power was given unto him to kill on the fourth part of the earth with the swordand with famine, and with pestilence, and with wild beasts of the earth." That is, the sword was to destroy one fourth part of the Roman earth, but the famine, the pestilence, and the wild beasts were not to be restricted in their operations. Exactly so have we found the matter to stand on an appeal to history.

A

It only remains to state, that the events which we have regarded as the accomplishment of the fourth seal, appear to have been a marked step in the decline of the empire. It is universally allowed that the quadri-partition of Dioclesian led to the separation of the Eastern and Western empire, and ultimately to the extinction of the latter. And there cannot, we think, be any reasonable doubt that Constantine, in removing the seat of government from Rome to Byzantium, must have been greatly influenced by the miserable and dilapidated condition of Italy af ter the tyranny of Maxentius, and the consequent civil wars. document still remains to us, from which we learn that within sixty years after the death of Constantine there were 330,000 English acres of desert and uncultivated land in the province of Campania, once the garden of Italy. If one-eighth of the whole of this fertile district was thus desolate before the northern barbarians had commenced their incursions, we cease to wonder that the emperor should have removed his court from this impoverished region. Let it be also observed, that, if thus understood, the fourth seal was the last or death-plague of the Pagan empire, for, almost immediately after it, Constantine became sole emperor, and Christianity was acknowledged as the religion of the state. In this respect we think that our interpretation has decidedly the advantage. And we also venture to challenge for it another manifest superiority, which will become apparent on an examination