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The Two Babylons
or
The Papal
Worship Proved to be the Worship of Nimrod
and His Wife
By the Late
Rev. Alexander Hislop
First published as
a pamphlet in 1853--greatly expanded in 1858
NOTE BY THE
EDITOR
Had the lamented author been
spared to superintend the issue of the Fourth Edition of his work, it is
probable he would have felt himself called upon to say something in reference
to the political and ecclesiastical events that have occurred since the
publication of the last edition. By the authoritative promulgation of the dogma
of the Pope's Infallibility, his argument as to the time of the slaying of the
Witnesses, and his identification of the Roman pontiff as the legitimate
successor of Belshazzar have been abundantly confirmed.
It is gratifying to the
author's friends to know that the work has been so favourably received
hitherto, and that no one, so far as we are aware, has ventured to challenge
the accuracy of the historical proofs adduced in support of the startling
announcement on the title page. But it is deplorable to think that,
notwithstanding all the revelations made from time to time of the true
character and origin of Popery, Ritualism still makes progress in the Churches,
and that men of the highest influence in the State are so infatuated as to seek
to strengthen their political position by giving countenance to a system of
idolatry. If Britons would preserve their FREEDOM and their pre-eminence among
the nations, they should never forget the Divine declaration, "Them that
honour ME I will honour, and they that despise ME shall be lightly
esteemed."
It only remains for the editor
to say that the work has been carefully revised throughout, and a few trifling
errors in the references have, in consequence, been corrected. One or two notes
also, enclosed in bracket's have been added, and the Index has been somewhat
extended.
R.H.
BLAIR BANK, POLMONT STATION,
N.B.
PREFACE TO THE
SECOND EDITION
Since the appearing of the
First Edition of this work, the author has extensively prosecuted his
researches into the same subject; and the result has been a very large addition
of new evidence. Somewhat of the additional evidence has already been given to
the public, first through the columns of the British Messenger, and then in the
publication entitled "The Moral Identity of Babylon and Rome,"issued by
Mr. Drummond of Stirling. In the present edition of "The Two Babylons," the substance of that work is also included. But the whole has now been
re-written, and the mass of new matter that has been added is so much greater
than all that had previously appeared, that this may fairly be regarded as an
entirely new work. The argument appears now with a completeness which,
considering the obscurity in which the subject had long been wrapped, the
author himself, only a short while ago, could not have ventured to anticipate
as a thing capable of attainment.
On the principle of giving
honour to whom honour is due, the author gladly acknowledges, as he has done
before, his obligations to the late H.J. Jones, Esq.--to whose researches
Protestantism is not a little indebted--who was the first that directed his
attention to this field of inquiry. That able, and excellent, and distinguished
writer, however, was called to his rest before his views were matured. His
facts, in important instances, were incorrect; and the conclusions at which he
ultimately arrived were, in very vital respects, directly the reverse of those
that are unfolded in these pages. Those who have read, in the Quarterly Journal
of Prophecy, his speculations in regard to the Beast from the Sea, will, it is
believed, readily perceive that, in regard to it, as well as other subjects,
his argument is fairly set aside by the evidence here adduced.
In regard to the subject of
the work, there are just two remarks the author would make. The first has
reference to the Babylonian legends. These were all intended primarily to
commemorate facts that took place in the early history of the post-diluvian
world. But along with them were mixed up the momentous events in the history of
our first parents. These events, as can be distinctly proved, were commemorated
in the secret system of Babylon with a minuteness and particularity of detail
of which the ordinary student of antiquity can have little conception. The
post-diluvian divinities were connected with the ante-diluvian patriarchs, and
the first progenitors of the human race, by means of the metempsychosis; and
the names given to them were skillfully selected, so as to be capable of divers
meanings, each of these meanings have reference to some remarkable feature in
the history of the different patriarchs referred to. The knowledge of this fact
is indispensable to the unravelling of the labyrinthine subject of Pagan
mythology, which, with all its absurdities and abominations, when narrowly
scrutinised, will be found exactly to the answer to the idea contained in the
well-known line of Pope in regard to a very different subject:--
"A mighty maze, but
not without a plan."
In the following work,
however, this aspect of the subject has, as much as possible, been kept in
abeyance, it being reserved for another work, in which, if Providence permit,
it will be distinctly handled.
The other point on which the
author finds it necessary to say a word has reference to the use of the term "Chaldee," as employed in this work, According to the ordinary usage,
that term is appropriated to the language spoken in Babylon in the time of
Daniel and thereafter. In these pages the term Chaldee, except where otherwise
stated, is applied indiscriminately to whatever language can be proved to have
been used in Babylonian from the time that the Babylonian system of idolatry
commenced. Now, it is evident from the case of Abraham, who was brought up in
Ur of the Chaldee, and who doubtless brought his native language along with him
into Canaan, that, at that period, Chaldee and Hebrew were substantially the
same. When, therefore, a pure Hebrew word is found mixed up with a system that
confessedly had its origin in Babylonia, the land of the Chaldees, it cannot be
doubted that that term, in that very form, must have originally belonged to the
Chaldee dialect, as well as to that which is now commonly known as Hebrew. On
this ground, the author has found himself warranted to give a wider application
to the term "Chaldee" than that which is currently in use.
And now, in sending forth this
new edition, the author hopes he can say that, however feebly, he has yet had
sincerely an eye, in the whole of his work, to the glory of "that name
that is above every name, " which is dear to every Christian heart, and
through which all tribes, and peoples, and kindreds, and tongues, of this
sinful and groaning earth, are yet destined to be blest. In the prosecuting of
his researches, he has found his own faith sensibly quickened. His prayer is,
that the good Spirit of all grace may bless the work for the same end to all
who may read it.
PREFACE TO THE
THIRD EDITION
In giving the Third Edition of
this work to the public, I have little else to do than to express my
acknowledgments to those to whom I am under obligations, for enabling me thus
far to bring it to a successful issue.
To Mr. Murray, of Albemarle
Street, London; Mr. Vaux, of the British Museum; and Messrs. Black and Messrs.
Chambers, Edinburgh, I am specially indebted for permission to copy woodcuts
belonging to them. Individual woodcuts, from other sources, are acknowledged in
the body of the work. To Mr. John Adam, the artist, who has executed the whole
of the woodcuts, with a few exceptions, I have to express my obligations for
the spirit and artistic skill displayed in their execution; and I do so with
the more pleasure, that Mr. Adam is a native of Arbroath, and the son of a
worthy elder of my own.
I have also acknowledgments of
another kind to make. Considering the character of this work--a work that, from
its very nature, required wide, and, at the same time, minute research, and the
consultation of works of a very recondite character; and, taking also into view
not only the very limited extent of my own library, but the distance of my
abode from any of the great libraries of the land, where rare and expensive
works may be consulted, the due preparation of such a work was attended with
many difficulties. The kindness of friends, however, has tended wonderfully to
remove these difficulties. From all quarters I have met with the most
disinterested aid, of which I retain a grateful and pleasing remembrance. To
enumerate the different sources whence help has come to me, in the prosecution
of my task, would be impossible. There are three individuals, however, who
stand out from the rest whom I cannot pass over without notice. Each of them
has co-operated (and all spontaneously), though in different ways, in enabling
me thus far to accomplish my task, and their aid has been of the most essential
importance.
To Mrs. Barkworth, of Tranby
Hall, Yorkshire (whose highly cultivated mind, enlightened zeal for Protestant
truth, and unwearied beneficence need no testimony of mine), I am signally
indebted, and it gives me pleasure to acknowledge it.
I have also to acknowledge my
deep and peculiar obligations to one who chooses to be unknown, * who, entirely
on public grounds, has taken a very lively interest in this work. He has spared
neither expense nor pains, that, every incidental error being removed, the
argument might be presented to the public in the most perfect possible form.
For this purpose he has devoted a large portion of his time, during the last
three years, to the examination of every quotation contained in the last
edition, going in every case where it was at all possible, to the fountain-head
of authority. His co-operation with me in the revisal of the work has been of
the greatest advantage. His acute and logical mind, quick in detecting a flaw,
his determination to be satisfied with nothing that had not sufficient evidence
to rest upon, and yet his willing surrender to the force of truth whenever that
evidence was presented, have made him a most valuable coadjutor. "As iron
sharpeneth iron," says Solomon, "so doth a man sharpen the countenance
of his friend." I have sensibly found it so. His correspondence, by this
stimulus, has led to the accumulation of an immense mass of new evidence, here
presented to the reader, which, but for his suggestions, and objections too,
might never have been discovered. In the prosecution of his investigation he
has examined no fewer than 240 * out of the 270 works contained in the
accompanying list of "Editions," many of them of large extent, all of
which are in his own possession, and not in a few of which he has procured for
the purpose of verification. His object and mine has been, that the argument
might be fairly stated, and that error might, as far as possible, be avoided.
How far this object has been attained, the references and list of
"Editions" will enable each reader competent to the task, to judge for
himself. For myself, however, I cannot but express my high sense of the
incalculable value of the service which the extraordinary labours of my kind
and disinterested friend have rendered to the cause of universal Protestantism.
But while making mention of my
obligations to the living, I may not forget what I owe to the dead. To him
whose name stands on the front of this work, I am, in some respects,
pre-eminently indebted, and I cannot send forth this edition without a tribute
of affection to his memory. It is not for me to speak of his wit, and the
brilliancy of his conversational powers, that captivated all who knew him; of
the generous unselfishness of his nature, that made him a favourite with every
one that came in contact with him; or of the deep interest that he took in the
efforts at present being made for improving the dwellings of the
working-classes, and especially of those of his own estate, as well as in their
moral and religious improvement. But I should be liable to the charge of
ingratitude if I contented myself, in the circumstances, with the mere formal
dedication, which, though appropriate enough while he was alive, is now no more
so when he is gone.
The time and the circumstances
in which his active friendship was extended to me, made it especially welcome.
His keen eye saw at a glance, as soon as the subject of this work came under
his attention, the importance of it; and from that time forward, though the
work was then in its most rudimentary form, he took the deepest interest in it.
He did not wait till the leading organs of popular opinion, or the great
dispensers of fame, should award their applause; but, prompted by his own
kindly feeling, he spontaneously opened up a correspondence with me, to
encourage and aid me in the path of discovery on which I had entered.
His own studies qualified him
to appreciate the subject and pronounce upon it. For many years he had deeply
studied the Druidical system, which, with the haze and mystery around it, and
with its many points of contact with the patriarchal religion, had a strange
and peculiar fascination for him. For the elucidation of this subject, he had
acquired most valuable works; and what he possessed he was most ready to
communicate. In the prosecution of my inquires, I had met with what to me
seemed insuperable difficulties. He had only to know of this to set himself to
remove them; and the aid derived from him was at once precious and opportune;
for through his acquaintance with Druidism, and the works received from him,
difficulties disappeared, and a flood of light irradiated the whole subject,
If, therefore, the reader shall find the early history of superstition, not
only in our native land, but in the world at large, set in a new and
instructive light in these pages, he must know that he is essentially indebted
for that to Lord John Scott. In one, who was an entire stranger, being thus
prompted to render efficient assistance to me at such a time, I could not but
thankfully recognise the hand of a gracious Providence; and when I reflect on
the generous, and humble, and disinterested kindness with which the four years'
correspondence between us was conducted on his part,--a correspondence in which
he always treated me with as much confidence as if I had been his friend and
brother,--I cannot but feel warm and tender emotions, mingling with the
thoughts that spring up in my bosom. Friendship such as his was no ordinary
friendship. His memory, therefore, must be ever dear to me; the remembrance of
his kindness ever fragrant.
Unexpected was the
stroke--now, alas! near three years ago--by which our correspondence was
brought to an end; but painful though that stroke was, and solemnising, there
was no gloom attending it. The "hope full of immortality" cheered his dying
bed. For years back he had found the emptiness of the world, and had begun to
seek the better part. His religion was no sentimental religion; his fear of God
was not taught by the commandment of men. His faith was drawn directly from the
inspired fountain of Divine truth. From the time that the claims of God to the
homage of his heart had laid hold on him, the Word of God became his grand
study, and few men have I ever known who held with a more firm and tenacious
grasp the great truth that the Word of God, and that Word alone, is the light
and rule for the guidance of Christians; and that every departure from that
Word, alike on the part of Churches and individuals, implies, as he himself
expressed it, "going off the rails," and consequently danger of the highest
kind. As his religion was Scriptural, so it was spiritual. In one of his
earliest letters to me, he avowed that the bond of "spiritual religion" was
that by which he felt himself specially bound to those whose character and
spirit showed them to be the true sheep of Christ's pasture; and in accepting
the dedication of my work, he particularly stated, that the interest that he
took in it was not as a mere matter of literary curiosity, but as being "fitted
to teach great truths, which the world is not very willing to learn." This, in
the connection in which he wrote, evidently had special reference to the great
doctrine of "regeneration." His mind was deeply penetrated with a sense of the
majesty of God, and the "awfulness" of our relations to Him, in consequence of
the sin that has entered the world, and has infected the whole human race, and
therefore he vividly realised the indispensably necessity of Mediation and
Atonement, to give hope to sinful man in prospect of the grand account.
The origin of that earnestness
and attachment to spiritual religion which he manifested in his last years,
was, as I was assured by a relative now also gone to his reward, the perusal of
the tract entitled "Sin no Trifle." Deep was the impression that tract had
made. He read it, and re-red it, and continually carried it about with him.
till it was entirely worn away. Under the impressions springing from such views
of sin, he said to an intimate friend, when in the enjoyment of health and
vigour, "It is easy to die the death of a gentleman, but that will not do." His
death was not the death of a mere gentleman. It was evidently the death of a
Christian.
The circumstances in which he
was removed were fitted to be peculiarly affecting to me. In reply to a
letter--the last which I received from him--in which he expressed deep interest
in the spread of vital religion, I was led, in pursuance of the theme to which
he himself had specially referred, to dwell more than ever before on the
necessity not merely of having hope towards God, but having the question of
personal acceptance decisively settled, and the consequent habitual possession
of the "joy of salvation," and as one special reason for this, referred to the
fact, that all would be needed in a dying hour. "And who can tell," I added,
"how suddenly those who are surrounded with all the comforts of life may be
removed from the midst of them?" In illustration of this, I referred to the
affecting case of one whom I had known well, just a short while before, lost
along with his family in the Royal Charter. Having made a large fortune in
Australia, he was returning home, and when on the point of setting foot on his
native shores, with the prospect of spending his days in ease and affluence,
suddenly father and mother, son and daughter, were all engulfed in a watery
grave. My letter concluded with these words: "In view of such a solemnising
event, well may we say, What is man? But oh, man is great, if he walks with
God, and the divine words are fulfilled in his experience, 'God, who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the
light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.' That
this may be more and more the experience of your Lordship, is my earnest
desire." When I wrote this I had not the least suspicion that I was writing to
a dying man. But so it proved to be. Only a few days after he received this, he
was smitten with his death-sickness. From his dying bed he sent me a kindly
memorial of his affectionate remembrance, and in his painful illness he
manifested the supporting power of faith, when faith has respect to the truth
as it is in Jesus, and appropriates Him as a personal and Almighty Saviour.
The
Two Babylons
by Alexander Hislop
The
majority of this book has been provided by Philologos Religious Online
Books
Web Site: www.philologos.org
Some portions of this book have
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