is the first letter of the Greek Alphabet, and omega the last. Thus are we instructed, by three passages, offered as it were on purpose, in the very book in which the number of the Beast is revealed; that the number is to be counted by means of the Greek alphabet: for it is totally incredible that the Spirit of prophecy would, in one part of the Apocalypse, use the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet in a symbolical sense; and in another part of the same book, design that the mystery of the Beast should be computed according to the numerical values of the letters of some other language. It is, therefore, evident that the number 666 is a symbol of the GREEK name of the Beast,

CHAP. III.

Examination of the various interpretations of the number of the Beast-Insufficiency of any interpretation yet given in solving the mystery That the number of the Beast is not 616, as in some Greek copies; but 666, demonstrated.

AS we have amply proved from incontrovertible evidence, that the number of the Beast must be computed by summing up the values of the letters in his Greek name, we shall now first examine the different expositions of this mystery in this language; as, for reasons already advanced, such interpretations have in this respect an advantage over all others.

Of all Greek names which contain the number 666, none can lay claim to greater antiquity than that famous one of Irenæus, which has been approved of by almost all commentators who have given any sort of tolerable exposition of the Revelation. The word alluded to is Λατεῖνος, * which was supposed by Irenæus to refer to the then existing Roman empire, "for," says he, "they are

Latins who now reign." * But the great majority of Protestant commentators, not without great reason, have applied this word to the dominion of the Roman Catholics, on account of this name being that by which this power was known in all parts of the Greek empire. As, therefore, this word has been supported by so many great writers, and is allowed to be the best explication of the number yet given, it will be indispensably necessary to examine it the more attentively, in order to point out in what it is to be approved, and in what disapproved. There appear only two circumstances which can be legitimately produced in favour of the word Λατεῖνος, viz. That it is computed according to the numerical value of the Greek letters, and is also, (admitting the Protestant interpretation of the Beast to be correct,) the name by which the Papists were known in the Eastern countries, The objections are insurmountable, In the first place, the orthography is incorrect; for it should be written Λατῖγος, and not Λατεῖνος. † Bengel, in his Commentary on Apoc. xiii. 18, is very diffuse upon this point, and informs us, "That Λατεῖνος ought not to be spelled with the epsilon. For," says he, "the Greek şi, when a consonant follows, the Latins in

CALIFORNIA

deed write with an I, as ἐικών, icon; but the Latin I, is never written by the Greeks with an ει; and therefore Λατεῖνος has no analogy. For ἀκυλῖνος is not written ἀκυλεῖνος, The same may be said of ̓Αλβῖνος, ̓Ακραγαντῖνος, ̓Αλεξανδρῖνος, ̓Αντωνίνος, ̓Αρκτῖνος, ̓Αρχῖνος, Βροντῖνος, Καλεῖνος, Καξῖνος, Κολλατῖνος, Κρατίνος, &c. &c. &c. Even Irenæus himself constantly writes the Latin names, Justinus, Valentinus, Hyginus, and Florinus, in the following Greek form Ἰεςῖνος, Ουαλεντῖνος, Ὑγῖνος, Φλωεῖνος. And so Latinus is written Λατίνος in the Sibylline verses, with the second syllable in some instances long, in one case short. Also, in one manuscript of Andreas it is found without the diphthong, even contrary to the design of Andreas, the editor of this copy considering the diphthong improper. In another, Latinus is written Λατεῖνος, by an open confession of licence, which sort of liberty, as it is common with the Germans in their German eteostichi, so is it frequent in the eteostichi of the Greeks." * In addition to what Bengel

* Λατεῖνος cum & sumi non debuit. Nam si Græcum subsequente consona, Latini quidem per I exprimunt, ut ἐικών, icon : sed I Latinum Græcè non transit in ει; neque Λατείνος analogiam habet. Non enim scribitur ̓ακυλεῖνος, κ.τ.λ, sed ̓ακυλῖνος, ̓Αλβῖτ 205, &c. &c. * Apud ipsum Irenæum, '185ῖνος, &c. constanter per, simplex: et sic Λατῖνος, quod ipsum in Sibyllinis etiam ، modo productum, modo correptum, habet. Itaque in uno An

* A great variety of examples of this kind are given by Bengel in his Commentary on Apoc. xiii. 18.

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says, we may add, that the Greek word for Latinus is not written with the et in any one of its various inflections, whether we consider it as an adjective or a substantive. For a proof of this assertion we may refer the reader to every Greek author who has used this word; among whom are Hesiod, Polybius, Dionysius Halicarnassensis, Strabo, Plutarch, Athenæus, Dio Cassius, Photius, The Byzantine historians, &c. &c. &c. * Eich

dreæ codice MS. Λατίνος, à librario emendante, contra Andreæ institutum, est repositum : in altero ad Λατεῖνος additur, διὰ διφ θόγδε, aperta licentiæ confessione, quæ ut apud Germanos in Germanicis, sic apud Græcos in Græcis eteostichis frequens est. * In illustration of what is said above the following examples may be of use:

The substantive Λατῖνος in its different cases.
Nominative Case, Singular.

Βασιλεὺς μὲν ̓Αβοριγίνων ἦν Λατῖνος ὁ Φαύνε. Latinus, the son of Faunus, was king of the Aborigines. Dion. Hal. Antiq. Roman. Lib. i. p. 35.

Genitive Case, Singular.

Τρίτῳ δὲ ἐτεῖ, τοῦ Φαύνε τελευτήσαντος, ἐκδέχεται τὴν ἀρχὴν ὁ ̓Αινείας κατὰ τὸ κῆδος· καὶ τοὺς ̓Αβοριγίνας ἀπὸ τοῦ κηδεςοῦ Λατίνο Φαύνε Λατίνες ἐπωνόμασε. But in the third year after the death of Faunus, Æneas succeeded to the government according to his affinity; and named the Aborigines Latins, from his relation Latinus, the son of Faunus. Photii Bibliotheca, p. 51. Rothomagi, 1653. Appiani Alexandrini Historiæ Romanæ.

Dative Case, Singular.

Καὶ ἐβασίλευσε μετὰ Φαῦνον ἔτη λέ ́ ὁ Ἡρακλῆς. ἔπειτα Λατίνος ἔτη λε'. τούτε κατὰ τὸ τρίτον ̓Αινείας ἐξ Ἰλίε παραγίνομενος συμα μαχήσας τε ἀυτῷ Λατίνῳ κατὰ Ρετούλων, καὶ Τοῦρνον ἀνελῶν, Λαβινίᾳ ζεύγνυται Λατίνε θυγατρὶ τοῦ βασιλέως, καὶ βασιλεύει τῆς χώρας μετα Λατίνον ἔτη γ'. And Hercules reigned after Fau

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