And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. Daniel 8:9
"The
prominent powers of Europe gave up their attachment to Paganism only to perpetuate its abominations in another form; for Paganism only needed to be baptized to become Christian, in the Catholic sense;
they became wedded to it as a matter of policy, and when the interests or vengeance of its presiding minister made the demand, their possessions and thrones,-perhaps their lives,-must be laid on the altar.
indicated by the history of the ruling Pope at that time, and his
relation to the kings of the earth. Symmachus was Pope from 498 or 9 to 514.
His pontificate was distinguished by these remarkable
circumstances and events:-
1 He "left Paganism" when he entered "the church of Rome."
2 He found his way to the Papal chair by striving with his
competitor even unto blood.
3 By the adulation paid to him as the successor of St. Peter.
"How greatly the ideas of many had advanced, respecting the
powers of the bishop of Rome, cannot be better shown than by the
example of Ennodius, the insane flatterer of Symmachus, who,
among other extravagant expressions, said-The Pontiff judges in the place of God."-Mosh., vol. l, p. 389.
circumstances and events:-
1 He "left Paganism" when he entered "the church of Rome."
2 He found his way to the Papal chair by striving with his
competitor even unto blood.
3 By the adulation paid to him as the successor of St. Peter.
"How greatly the ideas of many had advanced, respecting the
powers of the bishop of Rome, cannot be better shown than by the
example of Ennodius, the insane flatterer of Symmachus, who,
among other extravagant expressions, said-The Pontiff judges in the place of God."-Mosh., vol. l, p. 389.
By the excommunication of the emperor Anastasius the position of Symmachus against the emperor was not to punish the latter as a heretic, but to bear down, whenever prudence would permit, every thing which dared to oppose his authority.
According to Baronius, the emperor was excommunicated 499.
The sixth letter of Symmachus is his apology, wherein he vindicates himself from the crimes charged upon him by the emperor. After calling upon the whole city of Rome to witness that
he had never warped from the faith he had received in the church
of Rome, since he left Paganism, he reproves him (the emperor) for
despising the authority of the Holy See, and of the bishop who was
successor to St. Peter.
he had never warped from the faith he had received in the church
of Rome, since he left Paganism, he reproves him (the emperor) for
despising the authority of the Holy See, and of the bishop who was
successor to St. Peter.
He maintains that his dignity is higher than that of the emperor." ApollosHale
