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¹ In the thridde yeer of the rewme of Balthasar, the king, a visioun apperide to me. Y, Danyel, after that thing that Y hadde seyn in the bigynnyng,² siy in my visioun, whanne Y was in the castel of Susis, which is in the cuntrei of Helam; sotheli Y siy in the visioun that Y was on the yate Vlay.³ And Y reiside myn iyen, and Y siy; and lo! o ram stood bifor the mareis, and hadde hiy hornes, and oon hiyere than the tother, and vndurwexynge.⁴ Aftirward Y siy the ram wyndewynge with hornes ayens the eest, and ayens the west, and ayens the north, and ayens the south; and alle beestis myyten not ayenstonde it, nether be delyuered fro the hondis of it. And it dide bi his wille, and was magnefied.⁵ And Y vndurstood. Lo! forsothe a buk of geet cam fro the west on the face of al erthe, and touchide not the erthe; forsothe the buk of geet hadde a noble horn bitwixe hise iyen;⁶ and he cam til to that horned ram, which Y hadde seyn stondynge bifore the yate, and he ran in the fersnesse of his strengthe to that ram.⁷ And whanne he hadde neiyid niy the ram, he hurlide fersly on hym, and he smoot the ram, and al to-brak tweyne hornes of hym, and the ram miyte not ayenstonde hym. And whanne he hadde sent that ram in to erthe, he defoulide; and no man miyte delyuere the ram fro his hond.⁸ Forsothe the buk of geet was maad ful greet; and whanne he hadde encreessid, the greet horn was brokun, and foure hornes risiden vndur it, bi foure wyndis of heuene.⁹ Forsothe of oon of hem yede out o litil horn, and it was maad greet ayens the south, and ayens the eest, and ayens the strengthe.¹⁰ And it was magnefied til to the strengthe of heuene, and it castide doun of the strengthe and of sterris, and defoulide tho.¹¹ And he was magnefied til to the prince of strengthe, and he took awei fro hym the contynuel sacrifice, and castide doun the place of his halewyng.¹² Forsothe strengthe was youun to hym ayens the contynuel sacrifice for synnes, and treuthe schal be cast doun in erthe; and he schal haue prosperite, and schal do.¹³ And Y herde oon of hooli aungels spekynge; and oon hooli aungel seide to another, Y noot to whom spekinge, Hou long the visioun, and the contynuel sacrifice, and the synne of desolacioun, which is maad, and the seyntuarie, and the strengthe schal be defoulid?¹⁴ And he seide to hym, Til to the euentid and morewtid, two thousynde daies and thre hundrid; and the seyntuarie schal be clensid.

¹⁵ Forsothe it was doon, whanne Y, Danyel, siy the visioun, and axide the vndurstondyng, lo! as the licnesse of a man stood in my siyt.¹⁶ And Y herde the voys of a man bitwixe Vlai, and he criede, and seide, Gabriel, make thou Danyel to vndurstonde this visioun.¹⁷ And he cam, and stood bisidis where Y stood; and whanne he was comun, Y dredde, and felle on my face. And he seide to me, Thou, sone of man, vndurstonde, for the visioun schal be fillid in the tyme of ende.¹⁸ And whanne he spak to me, Y slood doun `plat to the erthe. And he touchide me, and settide me in my degree.<sup>19</sup> And he seide to me, Y schal schewe to thee what thingis schulen come in the laste of cursing, for the tyme hath his ende.<sup>20</sup> The ram, whom thou siyest haue hornes, is the kyng of Medeis and of Perseis.<sup>21</sup> Forsothe the buc of geet is the kyng of Grekis; and the greet horn that was bitwixe hise iyen, he is the firste kyng.<sup>22</sup> Forsothe that whanne that horn was brokun, foure hornes risiden for it, foure kyngis schulen rise of the folc of hym, but not in the strengthe of hym.<sup>23</sup> And after the rewme of hem, whanne `wickidnessis han encreessid, a kyng schal rise vnschamefast in face, and vndurstondyng proposisiouns, ether resouns set forth; and his strengthe schal be maad stalworthe,²⁴ but not in hise strengthis. And more than it mai be bileuyd he schal waste alle thingis, and he schal haue prosperite, and schal do. And he schal sle stronge men, and the puple of seyntis,²⁵ bi his wille, and gile schal be dressid in his hond. And he schal magnefie his herte, and in abundaunce of alle thingis he schal sle ful many men. And he schal rise ayens the prince of princes, and withouten hond he schal be al to-brokun.²⁶ And the visioun, which is seid in the morewtid and euentid, is trewe. Therfor seele thou the visioun, for it schal be after many daies.²⁷ And Y, Danyel, was astonyed, and was sijk bi ful many daies; and whanne Y hadde rise, Y dide the werkis of the kyng; and Y was astonyed at the visioun, and `noon was that interpretide.