Bridging the Continental divide: neo-Latin and its cultural role in Jacobean Scotland, as seen in the Delitiae Poetarum Scotorum (1637)

  [p124]

The Antichrist

1 Now a long time ago a vessel a was chosen and conveyed across the ether towards the happy home of the celestials, and the court of Olympus where ambrosian liquid is poured, and it lapped up secret utterances with its ears which must not be told by men: and it informs the true disciple of winning speech b and wisdom, an outstanding youth, the sharer of life's journeys, the companion in work about his approaching destiny, instructing him by example and encouraging him with heavenly precepts; and informs him how, through differing calamities and so many dangerous affairs, he should approach and conduct each task: and with how dense a battle-line of the virtues, with what armaments of holy military service, he must ardently enter the fray, driving a Gospel chariot, and add his full weight to the enterprise that has been started; and erect a roof and pinnacle for a holy temple: which is the church of the everlasting and nourishing God; the enduring column and unalterable foundation of truth, the great and incorruptible mystery of true devotion, which must be followed with a harmonious heart, and affirmed with a ready mouth. The living God c has come into view, plain for all to see in a mortal nature: he was returned to heaven by the manifest will of God: he was visible to the angelic eyes of the heavenly guardians: he was revealed to the Gentiles by the booming voice of heralds: d he was grasped by the mighty hand of everlasting faith throughout the whole world:   [p125] and he was admitted to the highest honours above the heavens.

25For it is unlawful to have lain any other foundation than that which has already been lain, that which stands by its own strength; this boundary is fixed: here is the apex, here is the foundation, here is the layout of the building; here too the twin-headed stone which masons rejected, e supporting the temple in a single dome.

29 Above it seven stars are held up by the mighty hand of the king, f they are seven angels dressed in starry cloaks, who pour out the flowing juice of the green olive into seven oil lamps and kindle them with fire at the appropriate time; they build for Christ a lofty, silver, gold, splendid and eternal temple above the ether sparkling with jewels: or above a heavenly fixed foundation they erect wood, or straw, or grain-bearing hay which will blaze in crackling fires, and which is easy fodder for the swift flames.

38 The extremely intense force of fire, the bright light of god, and the infectious ardour of the prophets will put the effort and work of each to the test: and the impartial scales of fire will judge them.

41 Let their work stand firm in the judging furnace, and after it has been tested by the robust power of swift fire, they will lift up their just deserts: and worth will have its own rewards.

44 However, he whose work disappears into thin air in a puff, like the volatile vapour, or the light shade of a fleeting cloud, having endured the loss of his labours and a wasted task, he will not escape from burning in the purifying flames until the fiery power of Christ burns cleans his mind, so that he is delivered stainless as if by a liquid fire. But he who attacks the temple through the initiative of a barbaric deity, that man the wild anger of a savage god will attack. Thus continually does divine praise for God hold fast in the heart. Such wickedness takes hold of the temple of God with dire outrage, and sacrilege defiles it, and it appropriates all worship unto itself, raising itself far above all Caesars, and above all that is called divinity, presenting itself in place of the highest divinity, and rising up to heaven with necks held high, while it buries the articles of faith, and breaks God's laws, and both sets up and abolishes sacred laws for a price:   [p126] and it distorts all Scripture, and perverts the sacred tablets: in addition to these things, it sets forth its own worthless imaginings: The breathing breeze from the divine mouth will destroy the wicked monster which has been raised up and placed into the stars, and the arrival of the noble God will roast it on the fire. Such a prostitute has been conveyed on a scarlet nag, covered in profane names and prayers to the gods, with a head divided into seven and sprouting ten horns. The prostitute sported a purple gown and gold, haughty in her jewels and purple, drunk upon the gushing blood of the saints, holding in her hand a bejeweled and golden cup, which is full of adultery, and unmentionable debauchery, and the foul scum of false beliefs, and smoothly she raises her cup that froths with strong poison sprung from the hideous squalor of all types of superstitions, and she toasts the health of the Gentiles and peoples in the ancient Roman fashion, driving the wits from the minds of leaders and nobles, their minds brought into subjection by the weapons of her decrees, enhanced by her traditions, which are like the bindings of laws: this thunderer hurls out forked missiles from the Tarpeian rock, g as she projects deadly thunderous lightning into the high cedars, and into the woods high with oaks, which are Caesar's legions, the array of generals and rulers, the armed ranks, and the ordered regiments gleaming with bronze.

84 She bears a mystery inscribed on her forehead, and the huge name of the huge city of Babylon: as the brothel of the world, the common whore, the wanton prostitute.

87 Spead out and raised high the queen of the waves reclines, sprawling over seven mountains: and supported by seven kings. Of them five have long since fallen, and one was standing: the other has not yet come: he is going to come in a short time. And the beast which was, and is not, and he himself is the eighth, he is from these seven, and he lies in the black shadows.

93 Expose, chaste Goddess, the savage whore, and her tartish wiles, wheresoever that wild, seven-headed throng is borne, where upon those heads sprouting ten horns the brute raises itself up high; and each and every resident of the vast earth wonders at it;   [p127] its name has not been written in the living books of the sacrificed Lamb from the beginning of the world: the beast which was, and is not, will emerge again from the depths of the sea, and again return under the waves. After its head was lopped off by a deadly blow, and the Julian line was removed from the kingdom by Nero's death, h this deadly wound was healed: just as if from heaven one line after another, through different bloodlines and houses, follows each king in quick succession to the throne, with their power renewed: and on the same intact body the uninjured head of the empire endures.

108 Those five kings, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and the twin thunderbolts of Vespasian's Jewish war, had fallen: i and as Jerusalem fell upon Nero's death, and with John in exile, the monster hateful to man and God was reigning, who had cooked up a harsh poison for his brother, j and obtained the power for himself through deadly deceit.

114 Nerva being the seventh marks out Trajan who is eighth to rule the empire: and as consul Nerva makes him his colleague, to have a partner in power: and Trajan himself is also the seventh. k

117 Moreover, those ten horns are ten kings, who have not yet received the power of the savage tyrant: they will receive true authority over their kingdom at the time when the beast is the false prophetess: and the ruins of the fallen empire will appear: and on them these ten kingdoms will rise: Africa and Egypt, Syria, Asia, and Greece: and also the French, Italians, Spanish, Germans, and English and together with one mind they will provide their power and authority for the beast's war: and they will consign themselves to wage war on the Lamb, and those who are his companions are chosen by the Lamb and have a faithful heart; and they make ready to fight: and the lamb will overcome the kings with his undefeated strength, he who is king of kings, and lord of lords. These kings, these ten kingdoms, or as it were horns, will torment the harlot with fierce hatred, and will scorch the black-hearted girl with death-bringing fires: she will be abandoned, exposed, and burnt to a crisp.

132 To the cause of both sides has the great mind of God fixed their mind so that all joyously and joined in harmonious hearts, provide   [p128] the result that seemed right to God who desired it: and so that without delay they give over their own authority and kingdom for the haughty beast's battle, until the already-determined fates crown their own successes at the ultimate end.

138 This is that beast which was, and is not, and which now is at hand, and the altered succession of heads stand firm in the same body. To be born and to die; and also to rise and to fall, often this turn of events happens to the rulers themselves through changing fortune while the highest might of the empire endures.

143 These are the seven heads, these are the kings, these are the ten horns. Those many waves on which the prostitute sits, they are peoples, and multitudes, and tribes; they are also languages. However, the great woman is that city which rules over the kingdoms of the earth: and far and wide it wields the reins of government, and in one body it has enclosed seven fortified summits with a wall: l its abominable beginnings find reward in a cruel end.

150 An offspring sprung from a Vestal Virgin and immoral Mars, and fed from the breast of a she-wolf, Romulus splattered the city walls with his brother's blood, while instigating without scruple the Sabine rape: m this is the genesis of the Roman city and race: and the seven-headed monster, and the ten horns arose from the stormy sea, and ten crowns were fitted to the horns: and the ill-omened name of a wicked thief, a stain of abominable wickedness, was smeared on the seven heads' tablet: for it falsely assigns the glorious name of Lord and God to itself: it looks like a leopard, with the feet of a bear, and the face of a lion. An immense dragon yielded to him the seven lofty heads, the ten horns, the power and its own position, and the powers of a tyrant: amazed at its renewed head the world worships it, following on behind. Who will put up a fight as a match for that monster who hurls forth such massive things, and spews fearful venom from its mouth against God, the home of God, and the citizens of heaven?

166 A beast follows this one, emanating from the earthly filth, and copying the twin horns of the lamb: but spitting forth the fearful words of a dragon: wielding all the power and office of the previous monster in its presence: and conjuring up wonders it calls down fire from the sky: and claims the honours due to God for itself, as it adds a royal sceptre to its mitre, a royal headdress to its tiara:   [p129] both divine hierarch, and human ruler; a fulminating pseudoprophet, and a warlike monarch: a mortal god, or an immortal demon, conjuring and animating a figure to imitate the previous beast, one that utters great things, and thunders from its mouth: while the head is joined to the shoulders, and to this trunk of a body, there it injects a raw strength into the marrow and throughout the limbs: by these means, little by little, by varying degree, and in a long series, the hierarchical succession drew sense and motion into an ancestral lineage, a line of descendants stretching through many ages, empowered by the divinity of a Goddess either carnal or cardinal, n having fallen down from high Olympus, which it turns towards the depths of Orcus.

184 And he sees to it that all, both great and meek, both those helpless with needy poverty and those mighty in resources, even the slaves in chains and those freed from bondage, all receive in full the mark of the branded slave on their forehead, or the mark of the slave burned on their hand, and all are imprinted with the Thracian signature and seal; so that all who love mercantile consumption are able to conduct their business wherever they wish. Let nobody who does not bear the mark either buy or sell the farces of papal bulls and other pontifical trash.

193 The name and the characters of the beastly name are stamped on the forehead and hand, and the everlasting imprint has such great power. It is a human number, a numeral, intimidating, yet possible to compute for any man: for it is over six hundred and sixty six years from either the birth of Christ, of from Christ's resurrection, or from the destruction of Jerusalem and the tribe's o fall. When the robust time of life has restored the man to full strength, and a twin sword has come to support the impious robber, with that sword he now assails land, sea, and heaven with fear, so that he may press down upon the high necks of emperors with the soles of his feet and with his heels, and may submit the heads of kings to his own yoke, and pour hell onto heaven. Even now three vile belches from the mouths of a dragon, the previous beast, and the pseudoprophet mimic the croaking frogs amid the noisy ponds, as their winds blast down from the Capitol Hill,   [p130] and the heavens gather storms with fearful lightning, and the leaders draw together the thick storm clouds in the sky. The mass-makers and priests, sacred dung beetles lately risen from the Roman filth, having counterfeited Christ's name, went forth and stirred up arms, wars and threats throughout the kingdoms, and drove sulphurous balls of flames towards the stars.

216 Should I recount what fearful curses this unholy arbiter, the eternal ruler of gods and men, spews forth? Clearly, as it seems acceptable to the gods: if it is right to believe that. In order to examine a few examples from the many, let us come to know this lion from its claws.

221 'Whatever the Roman pope desires is the measure of justice and equity. Everything the pope does God ratifies on his heavenly throne. Everything God does empowers the pope: a co-ruler with God and Christ, both the equal power, a high throne shared with the pope. The pope precedes Paul: precedes the ancient covenant. Let the pope legislate against the Gospel, and the writings of Paul, while establishing articles of faith, and convening ecumenical councils, and altering sacred commandments: If he should drive a carriage full of souls down to Hell with him, is there no one able to confront him or say against him: "Why do you do this?" His will stands in place of reason!' All these things, and six hundred others no better than these, which the papal college of the canonists thunders out, p they then daub onto paper, foisting them upon the whole world as if they were laws, acting as the inquisitor of improper heresy and agent of heaven, while the pope is supreme commander and cheerleader of the holy theatre.

236 No one ever became really wicked all at once. The boy who passes his time secretly conceals his propensity for crime behind an unreadable character. Gradually the poison in his soul increases, until finally it strives with all its powers to burst forth into the sinews of the fully-grown body. As when a ship is struck by some waves and its joints loosened, little by little it drinks in the hostile streams, and it gapes with open cracks, until dashed on the rocks the worn-out boat splits itself apart: just as a house built by sin, weakened in supporting columns, that has been standing on a rotten foundation, also open to the savage frenzy of the winds, and gradually undermined by many storms, collapses with a fall: just as the plague which flourishes in a wearying body, and gradually wastes away the man plump with a fat belly,   [p131] and eats away at the strong limbs, and lays waste the marrow of the bones: while the protruding bones expose the punctured skin: not otherwise does the shoot born of a droplet from the seed of Hell, and borne in the womb for a long time, and nurtured in the maternal bosom, until with its strength increased, it burst forth into the light from the ruptured womb with great force: a terrfiying monster, massive, misshapen; which the generation bereft of light, and gradually habituated to the darkening gloom, embraces with both arms after it has sprung forth from its mother's knees. It wonders at the vast might of the new empire; it supports the empire with happy portents, and promises the role of Christ and the throne of Peter to the promoter of the empire's health: and promises that one chief shall rise above all shepherds and govern tranquil Olympus in a disorded state. So a bear strives to shape a shapless enormity by licking, q and he forms the sections and shapes the limbs, keeping within its natural bulk and design: until, with its powers gradually increased, it falls upon its prey, which it consumes through its blood-stained mouth.

268 The day of his birth was not disclosed as soon as he was born to the same age, the light of day was given to this fatal creature after a long delay; for he was not born in it, but became a mature man when exposed to it. Through long ages he has endured: he now pursues the Lamb for a very brief period. He has grown up in different stages, and over many years he completed the numbers by which he brought his age to manhood.

274 He who throws these things into confusion, who does not see with open eyes, blinds the eyes of crows: and he himself draws the black shadow of dulling gloom upon himself.

277 An indifference to the born-again light cultivates such ignorance. Unaware of the world, he does not understand things: rather slow, and not familiar with the times, he is bewildered. Timid through fear, with his tricks he skilfully dissembles; he spurns compassion and impiously laughs at all anxiety at a safe distance. This enemy plunders in full view, and also this unfriendly betrayer lays wait in ambush in the dark shadows. For those who have been shown to be timid rabbits at time of war, and brave lions at peacetime, startle their foe from afar with a show of force and through deceit.

285 Some absolve those who have followed the example of their ancestors. I do not doubt they follow in the footsteps of their fathers, and conjure up the throng of their ancestors recalled from the edge of limbo:   [p132] they honour the temples of the Gods and their eminent courts: they gaze at their strongholds, and they marvel at both their riches and their glories. Stupefied by the splendour before them they are blinded to the darkness beneath its shadow, and fallen they hasten towards a worse outcome, and are driven backwards.

292 You, Britain, ackowledge Christ the king in heaven, who directs the reins of his heavenly kingdom on earth, and who holds seven stars in his conquering right hand. But overturn that accursed man, lately exposed in the bright daylight as the prophecies of oracles and divine illumination foretold, in a rapid descent as fate itself has decreed. These will be your glories, these your illustrious trophies, this your ultimate victory that, as you returned true virtue to the heavens, you threw out the she-wolf, expelled the cubs, and have wiped out every footprint of the unmentionable beast from the earth.

302 Therefore I petition both pious king and venerable senate on bended knees, and with hands outstretched to heaven I vow by the scars of Christ's awful death and by the heavenly father's assurance of constant affection, if Christ's love abides and my passion for God too, I vow that, should anyone, any English speaker from whatever nation, whether he be Englishman or Scotsman with no distinction, if it be me or anyone else under whatever shade of religion, and under the protection of their ancestral devotion, should anyone attempt secretly to overturn either this unchangable foundation of the uncorrupted truth and this mighty incorruptible mystery, or try to injure it by force; that is, should he, by corrupting scripture build upon either wood or straw or hay, whether denying any knowledge of both apostolic law's venerable tradition and pride with its vanity, or restoring excess with its weakness born of base idleness, or protecting worship which is superstitious in its deviancy, and burning the ancestral gods with a foreign fire, then he would be interrogated, partly by force and partly by law, in the light and cloudless air of bright day, and would be subject to a trial in the middle of a council of the nobles, in an assembly of the clerics, with the king as judge, a hostile attorney, an expert in heaven's word and in the books inspired by God. When shown clearly to have erred, and exposed again and again, may the wicked false one suffer a punishment fitting his crude audacity:   [p133] may he be branded with eternal disgrace and also made an example of for generations now and to come.

329 This becomes your piety, good king, this becomes your religion, kind nobles, and this will assuage God's anger and prevent war. Speedily will this drive the plague and this current famine from minds and bodies. And it will reward the king and kingdom with untroubled peace.