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Of the Portuguese about thirty two were killed, and three hundred wounded.

Almeed, notwithstanding this success, was afraid left the fleet might receive some damage that night, and therefore ordered it to be withdrawn from the city. Next day Melichiaz fued for peace; for Mirhocem had fled into the kingdom of Cambaya. The conditions of the peace were, that all the Portuguese prisoners should be restored, and all the fultan's foldiers and ships, which had escaped out of the fight, immediately delivered up. These being complied with, he fet fail for Cochin'

In the mean while, by the arts of an abandon'd set of men, there happened a great breach betwixt Almeed and Albuquerque. During the altercations occafion'd hereby, Fernando Coutign, a nobleman of great courage, arrived in India; he had with him fifteen ships, on board which were 1500 foldiers. He was receiv'd by Almeed with great refpect, and contributed not a little to bring about a reconciliation between him and Albuquerque. The homewardbound ships being got ready, and Almeed having refign'd the government to Albuquerque, set sail for Lisbon, but, unfortunately, was killed in his way thither by the favages near the Cape of Good Hope, where they had stopped at a watering-place. Thus died the brave Almeed in the fixtieth year of his age; after having gain'd great renown during the four years he was viceroy of the Indies.

After Almeed's departure, Contign delivered to Albuquerque Emmanuel's letters; wherein his majesty ordered them, with united strength, to carry on the war against the Zamorin of Calicut, and the other enemies of the Portugueses in India, and that in this affair Albuquerque should act in concert with Coutign. But as the exploits of the justly celebrated Albuquerque make a great part of the fecond volume, we shall defer our account of them till another opportunity.

ART. XXIV. Observations on the second Vision of St. John, &c. 8vo. 2 s. Noon.

IN our Review for December 1749, we gave an account of this ingenious author's obfervations on the first vision of St. John, His observations on the second, which he has given us in a kind of paraphrafe on the fourth and fifth chapters of Revelations, make up but a small part of the performance now before us, which confifts chiefly of four differtations

difssertations. In the first of these he treats of the authority of the Book of Revelations, and endeavours to prove, that John the Apostle was the author of it. In his second differtation he endeavours to shew when this book was written, and with regard to this point he follows Sir Ifaac Newton's opinion of the early date of it, and shews that the arguments brought by Mr. Whiston against it are inconclusive. In the third he confiders the manner of prophetical inspiration, which he tells us is two-fold, dream and vision: the last of these, or the wakeful vision, as he calls it, is what he principally treats of. On this subject he observes the following particulars.

1. That in and under the cover of various images, and artificial representations, God was pleased usually to fignify fupernatural and divine truths, to his fervants the Prophets. • Thus, fays he, he condescended to assure Abraham of his faithfulness to fulfil his promife, by ratifying the covenant with him, when, according to the folemn custom of the country, observed by the party who fwore, he, by a smoaking furnace, and a lamp of fire, passed between the pieces of the divided animals, Gen. xv. 17.

2. The most part of the objects presented, or things feen, were hieroglyphical or symbolical, i. e. they were to stand, not for themselves, nor for beings, persons, and things exactly of their form, and figure, and circumstances; but for beings, persons, or things, whose attributes and qualities might, as far as the fubject required, be aptly expressed by them. Thus Gabriel tells Daniel, The ram which thou faweft, having two horns, are, i. e. represent, the kings of Media and Perfia, Dan. viii. 20. And St. John was instructed in the mystery of this, Rev. i. 20. The seven stars are, i. e. represent, the angels of the seven churches; and the Seven candlesticks, which thou fawest, are, i. e. represent, the Seven churches. There was always fome fitness or aptitude in the things seen, to express the things reprefented by them. Indeed in some cases this was so very apparent, as to need little explanation. Of this kind was the vision which appeared to Paul in the night at Troas, of a man, probably, in the Macedonian habit, who prayed to him for help; which made him and his companions, immediately endeavour to go into Macedonia, afssuredly gathering, that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel unto them, Acts xvi. 9. 10.

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3. This manner of instruction is very comprehenfive and emphatical, containing a great deal of matter under a few characters, and signifying that, by a figure or representation, sentation, which could not be easily, nor properly exprefsed without a great many words. To comprehend persons and things, as well as to conceal them from the common and ordinary fight of dull, inattentive readers, is one great ufe of hieroglyphics and images, in the prophetical books. And, in respect to this, the ancient mysteries seem to agree which prophetic vifion; probably they were an imitation thereof: for the Pagan theologers and mystagogues were wont to reprefent all moral and divine truths, by symbols and hieroglyphical characters.

' 4. Thơ' the inspiration created, or occafioned a new scene, or presented new images to the eye, or mind of the enlightened person, this was done without eradicating the paffions, or disturbing the fuperior faculties, which were always affected by, and employed on the objects, in the fame natural manner, as if they were really exiftent material things. This may be exemplified in the case of Mofes, who, when he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed; faid, I will now turn afide, and fee this great fight, why the bush is not burnt. Exod. iii. 3. Many instances might be collected, wherein hope and fear, joy and forrow, and all the paffions and affections, have been occafionally excited, and the mind as rationally and properly exercised in, or by a vision, as by objects and facts, real and natural. This is a confideration of fome weight and moment, and sheweth the dignity of this kind of inspiration. The visions of the true prophets 'would never have funk into contempt, as they have done among many, if the manner of them, as connatural to the human faculties, had been well attended to, altho' designing knaves, and religious madmen might have pretended to the like favour from God. But,

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5. From the exhibition of imagery, and the instruction of the prophets in this way, the character of Seers seems to have been applied to them. I Sam. ix. 9. Before-time in Ifrael, when a man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the Seer: for he that is now called a Prophet, was before-time called a Seer.

6. We have reason to think, that (if some things relating to prophetical men, recorded after an hiftorical manner, were not scenical, and transacted in vifion) the prophets conceived their notions of fupernatural truths by vifion and imagery, even where they give no particular description of the things Jeen. The prophetical rapture of David, expressed Pfal. cx. 1. The Lord faid unto my Lord, fit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footStool, discovered fomewhat of this kind. Probably he had often seen the likeness of the glory of the Lord, in vision, that prefence of which he often speaks, Pfal. xvi. 11. xvii. 2, 15. and might behold the honours decreed for his son and fucceffor, at the right hand of the sacred personage.

• From all that has been faid, one may be affisted to form some answer to the following questions: As, 1. Can an inspired perfon be certain of his instructions? Answ. Yes, he may be as certain, as he is of what he sees and bears: those senses being his security, fo far as they may be depended upon, that he is under no delufion. 2. Can he be certain of the agency of fome fupernatural being with him, or upon him? Answ. A person truly inspired may be certain thereof. I grant indeed, a crazy distempered person may fancy he sees and hears a thousand things that are the effects of his disorder. And if such an one should act the prophet, tell strange things, and denounce judgments in the name of the Lord; he should have the fame regard paid to him, as if he were to act the general, or the king; i. e. be taken proper care of, as a distempered person. But if the prophet be a sober man, (as I suppose all prophets to be) he must be certain of several particular circumstances, besides those of time, place, business, company, &c. when the hand of God came upon him: for he must be certain of that furprize, which the fudden change of objects, their novelty, form, or grandeur, must occafion. This indeed he may sensibly feel, by the hurry and waste of his animal spirits, by the joy or forrow, and other like affections and emotions of his body and mind, the effects of which may continue upon him for fome time, as is usual to a perfon in fome great or fudden surprize, in the ordinary way. And he may also be certain, that what has occurr'd to him, or what he was caused to fee, was extraordinary and supernatural. For (befides that the objects, were often rare and uncommon, or of fuch a peculiar form and figure, as exists no where in nature;) when the prophet finds the scene is suddenly changed; that the objects, persons, and things he had just been converfant with, are withdrawn, he must find that they could not arife from, and belong to the place. Thus he may be certain of fome superior agency. 3. Can he be certain that the vision is of God, and not the work of Some other, or evil being? To this I answer, perhaps, at first the prophet cannot tell, any more than a person who, when he first sees another, knows not who or what he is, VOL. VI. Samuel,

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Samuel, at first, knew not the voice of God, I Sam. iii. What then? Inspired persons were not always easy and credulous. Abraham requires a fign, and one vision, is succeeded and confirmed by another. Gen. xv. When the vifion related to fomething improbable, or incredible, they defired farther fatisfaction by fome token or other.

As to the power of evil invisible beings, to inspire and play tricks upon mankind, the world is pretty well satisfied both of them and their power. The history of heathen oracles, as well as the frauds that have been discovered of christian Monks and Friars, have given so just ground for fufpicion, that more than ordinary evidence must be produced, before a prudent man will affent to stories of their agency. Who beat and bruised St. Anthony, when he shut himself up in a tomb, I know not: but his perfonal conflicts with devils, as well as raptures and visions, were fo very extraordinary, particularly, when he saw himself without himself, that it is pretty evident either himself, or the writer of his life, relates falfhoods. The church of Rome has always been stocked with visionaries. Where faith ufurps the throne of reason; and inordinate praying and fafting, and caftigations of the body pafs for genuine acts of piety, no wonder indeed if in some the animal spirits are disturb'd, and the fibres of the brain become impressive and yielding to whatever images a warm fancy or guilty fears may raise. The French Prophets, and other enthusiasts, who pretend to high degrees of revelation, may, I believe, be acquitted of holding correspondence with spirits of any great capacity. Their violent distortions and agitations of body, hums, and fee-faws, are of the artificial and mechanical kind; and by no events that answer to their predictions, or by the things revealed being common, trite, and jejune, if not repugnant to reason and common fenfe; as well as by their temperature of body, party attachments, and other like circumftances, it may be easily guefied that the principles from whence their afflatus arife are low and • spurious.'

In our author's fourth dissertation, he endeavours to account for the origin, and application of the character of the Lamb of God to fefus Christ: and in an Appendix makes several remarks on a species of prophecy, distinct from, and fuperior to vision and dream, as advanced in a late essay on 2 Peter i. 16, &c. See Review, Vol. v. p. 89.

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