ancient characteristic: but the Grecian Empire and the Roman Empire, being still destined to be very prominent subjects of prophecy, are respectively described with characteristics, which appertained to them, not so much in old times, as during the peculiar times of the Apocalypse. In other words, the two first Empires are designated by characteristics, which they possessed before the days of St. John : but the two last Empires are designated by characteristics, which they possessed after the days of the Apostle.

Such being the case, the respective periods of the two first seals must be viewed as severally expiring before the opening of the third seal : but the respective periods of the third seal and the fourth seal, on the principle already laid down with sufficient distinctness", so wrap over many of the succeeding apocalyptic periods, that they must be viewed as chronologically extending through the greater part of the entire volume.

(3.) Commentators have often busied themselves to account for the different colours of the horses, both in the quaternion of the seals, and in the quaternion of the chariots.

On this point, I confess myself to agree with Dr. Blayney. Speaking of Zechariah's quaternion of chariots, he remarks: I question if the colours of the horses design any thing more than the diver

See above book iv. chap. 1. $ II, 2.

colours in the two quaternions corresponded, still Dr. Blayney's opinion would not thereby have been confuted; because, in that case, each colour might well have been deemed the fixed distinguishing uniform of each Empire': but the circumstance of their not corresponding serves, I think, very strongly to establish its propriety. If the colours had denoted any exclusively characteristic quality in the several Empires, by which one Empire radi

of the horse, he would view it as indicative of the persecuting spirit evinced by the Church during his supposed period of the fourth seal.

In his opinion, that a season of persecution is indicated by the adjuncts of the fourth seal, I fully agree with him. Bat, as I deem his whole scheme of expounding the quaternion of the equestrian seals irreconcileable with the abstract import of the symbol of a war-horse; so I doubt, whether a word, ambiguous in signification, can be legitimately employed, in the way of argument, for the purpose of shewing, that the hue of the Church bad now become the livid hue of persecution. The argument vanishes, if we translate, as we have a right to translate it, the word xlwpòc by pale or sallow or dirty-white. Xwpòs, virens in modum germinum recens e planta pullulantium; pallidus, referens colorem herbarum foliorumque flaccescentium et arescentium. The word, in this latter sense apparently though (I confess) not certainly, is applied to new cheese. See Stephan. Thesaur. in voc. xlwpos.

. Much on the same principle, as each modern nation has its own fixed military uniform ; though the colour of each uniform has no mystic reference to the character of each nation. The colour of our English uniform, at least, has doubtless been adopted from the colour of the heraldic field of the royal arms: and that uniform, in its origin, is neither more nor less than the King's livery