ed after the
ordinary plan of histories, narrating all the contemporaneous events in
a given period, whether civil, religious, literary, scientific, or
biographical, thus finishing up the history of that period; but it
consists of a number of distinct themes running over the same ground.

In this chapter a more particular description of the church of Rome,
"that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth" (verse 18),
is given under the symbol of a drunken harlot. With this vile prostitute
"the kings of the earth have committed fornication"--they have
encouraged her in her corruption and idolatries--"and the inhabitants of
the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication." This
latter symbol is doubtless taken from the cup of drugged wine with which
lewd women were accustomed to inflame their lovers. So had this apostate
church made "the inhabitants of the earth"--of the ten kingdoms--drunken
with her wine-cup and thus rendered them willing partakers in her
abominable idolatries. She is described in two positions--first, as
"sitting upon many waters," which the angel informs us "are peoples, and
multitudes, and nations, and tongues" (verse 15); and second, "upon a
scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads
and ten horns." The first position denotes her wide supremacy in the
world over distant peoples and nations; the second, the close
relationship that she sustained to the civil power. That beast carried
her in royal state. The civil powers of Europe have usually lent
themselves as a caparisoned hack for this great whore to ride upon and
have considered themselves highly honored thereby. This beast was full
of the names of blasphemy, which were the same as the blasphemous
assumptions of the Papacy, as explained in chapter XIII, showing that he
agreed perfectly with this apostate church in her impious claims and
supported her in them, making himself equally guilty and deserving of
the same name. What is intended exactly by his scarlet color I do not
know. The same power under its Pagan form was represented as a red
dragon.

The appearance of this woman was that of the most splendid character,
nor are we to suppose the contrary because she was such an infamous
prostitute. She may have been, and according to the description was, all
that, but still her appearance was such as to bewitch her admirers and
votaries. Robes of purple and scarlet, with the most costly profusion