e^ ( I !7e> T 'i' 2. CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY GIFT OF Alfred C. Barnes i/ss.oea T32 Teiy; ""'^'^ ""fflffiSl^-LJ/lMated from th« o,in 3 1924 028 930 200 DATE DUE PRINTED IN U S A- y U\^ Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028930200 THE ERYTHR^AN SIBYL. ■^^^^ MICHELANGELO'S PAINTING, SISTINE CHAPEL, ROME. THE Sibylline Oracles TRANSLATED FROM THE GREEK INTO ENGLISH BLANK VERSE BY MILTON S. TERRY Professor ra Garrett Biblical Institute NEW EDITION REVISED AFTER THE TEXT OF RZACH NEW YORK : EATON & MAINS CINCINNATI : CURTS & JENNINGS Copyright by EATON & MAINS. J899. f'^^i fjlPie if d^ C (i^-'Orjx^' (; Eaton & Mains Press, 150 Fifth Avenue, New York. PREFACE, The Sibyls occupy a conspicuous place in the traditions and history of ancient Greece and Rome. Their fame was spread abroad long before the beginning of the Christian era. Heraclitus of Ephesus, ^ve centuries before Christ, compared himself to the Sibyl "who, speaking with in- spired mouth, without a smile, without ornament, and without perfume, penetrates through centuries by the power of the gods." The ancient traditions vary in report- ing the number and the names of these weird prophetesses, and much of what has been handed down to us is legend- ary. But whatever opinion one may hold respecting the various legends, there can be little doubt that a collection of Sibylline Oracles was at one time preserved at Rome. There are, moreover, various oracles, purporting to have been written by ancient Sibyls, found in the writings of Pausanias, Plutarch, Livy, and in other Greek and Latin authors. Whether any of these citations formed a portion of the Sibylline books once kept in Rome we cannot now determine; but the Roman capitolwas destroyed by fire in the time of Sulla (B. C. 84), and again in the time of Ves- pasian (A. D. 69), and whatever books were at those dates kept therein doubtless perished in the flames. It is said by some of the ancients that a subsequent collection of oracles was made, but, if so, there is now no certainty that any fragments of them remain. . The twelve books of Greek hfexameters, of which a rhythmic English translation is furnished in the following 3 4 PREFACE. pages, have been in existence for more than a thousand years, and may be properly called the Pseudo-Sibyllines. They belong to that large body of pseudepigraphical liter- ature which flourished near the beginning of the Christian era (about B. 0. 150-A. D, 300), and which consists of such works aa the Book of Enoch, the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, the Book of Jubilees, the Assumption of Moses, the Psalms of Solomon, the Ascension of Isaiah, and the Fourth Book of Esdras. The production of this class of literature was most notable at Alexandria in the time of the Ptolemies. The influence of Greek civilization and culture upon the large Jewish population of the Egyptian metropolis, and the marked favors shown this people in that country, turned them far from the strict usages of their Palestinian brethren. No fact could more strikingly show the results of this foreign influence than the building of the temple and altar at Leontopolis, as de- scribed by Josephus {Ant xiii, 3), If the son of the high priest Onias saw propriety in converting a heathen temple to the worship of Almighty God, and building it after the pattern of the one in Jerusalem, we need not wonder that the religious and literary taste of the Alexandrian Jews found gratification in harmonizing Hebrew traditions and Greek philosophy. The ingenuity that found in Isa. xix, 19, a warrant for the building of such a temple and altar might easily discover among the responses of heathen ora- cles much that was capable of appearing to great advan- tage in a Jewish dress. In this way, no doubt, arose the Jewish Sibyl, assuming to be a daughter-in-law of Koah, and skilled in prophetic knowledge. And this passion for reproducing famous oracles spread beyond the land of Egypt, and gathered breadth and volume with its years of growth. Not only were the historical and philosophical productions of the Greeks made use of, but the specula- PREFACE. 5 tions of the Persians, tlie mysteries of Egyptian priests, and the poetical myths and legends of all nations contrib- uted to the medley which Hellenistic Jews were fond of turning to a pious purpose. And just as the allegorical method of interpreting "Scripture was handed over as a sort of inheritance to the early Christian Church, so the passion for producing pseudonymous books took easy pos- session of many Christian writers of the first centuries. Like other pseudonymous apocalypses, these Sibyllines contain evidence of being the work of a number of differ- ent authors. They are obviously a composite of Jewish and Christian elements. The citation from the Sibyl which appears in Josephus {Ant i, iv, 3) shows that the oldest portion of our present third book (line 111,ff) must have been current before the beginning of the Christian era. The verses of the Jewish Sibyl probably originated at Alexandria, and may possibly have incorporated some fragments of more ancient oracles once included in the Sibylline books which were kept at Rome. They presented such a fascinating form of pseudepigraphical composition that not a few other writers followed the successful exam- ple and put forth verses of various merit. And so it came to pass that after a few centuries the later Jewish and the early Christian literature abounded with poetic oracles purporting to be productions of the ancient Sibyls. Many independent compositions of this kind were accordingly in circulation some time before the task was taken in hand of arranging the entire body of so-called Sibylline Oracles into one connected and orderly series. This task was un- dertaken by the author of what is known as the " Anony- mous Preface," who combined the scattered oracles into fourteen books. The repetitions of language and senti- ment now found in these different books indicate that already, before this larger task was attempted, other minor 6 PREFACE. compilations had been made, and that the later compiler and editor left these smaller independent collections intact, not attempting to eliminate the repetitions, nor even to harmonize conflicting statements. The first printed edition of the Greek text was brought out by Xystus Betuleius (Sixtus Birke) at Basel in 1545. A metrical Latin version of this by Sebastian Castalio ap- peared in 1546, and another edition of the Greek text, emended by the same scholar, in 1555. In 1599 Johannis Opsopoeus (John Koch) published at Paris an edition of the Greek text, accompanied with the Latin version of Castalio, and with brief prolegomena and notes. But all these editions were superseded by that of Servatius Gallse- us, published at Amsterdam in 1687-89, in two quarto volumes. One volume contains the Greek text, with the Latin version and extensive annotations; the other consists of dissertations on the Sibyls and their oracles. This text and translation, accompanied with numerous notes taken largely from the work of Gallteus, was republished at Ven- ice in 1Y65, in the first volume of Gallandius's Collection of the Fathers, The next important contribution to the Sibyllines was the discovery in the Ambrosian library at Milan of the fourteenth book, which was published by Angelo Mai in 1817. The same distinguished prelate sub- sequently found in the Vatican library at Rome four books numbered xi-xiv, and published them in that city in 1828. The first to edit and publish the entire collection of twelve books (books i-viii and xi-xiv) was J. H. Fried- lieb, whose single volume, issued at Leipsic in 1852, con- tains the entire Greek text, with a remarkably close met- rical version in German, a valuable introduction, and a collection of various readings. A still more complete and critical edition is that of C. Alexandre, whose first volume appeared at Paris in 1841, and contains the Greek text PREFACE. , .7 and a Latin version of the first eight books, and extensive critical and exegetical notes. Two subsequent volumes (Paris, 1853 and 1856) supplied the remaining books, seven Macursics, and a bibliography of the Sibylline literature. A new edition, condensing the material of his previous dissertations and presenting all in a single volume, ap- peared at Paris in 1869. The latest and most improved edition of the Greek text of the twelve books now extant is that of Aloisius Rzach, published at Vienna in 1891, The editor had prepared himself for his task by extensive studies in the department of the later Greek literature. His work has not escaped criticism, especially on account of its numerous conjectural emendations, but it is to-day undoubtedly, as a whole, the best edition of the Greek text in existence. Whatever improvements future editors may make, this product of indefatigable labor is not likely to be soon superseded. The following translation is based upon the text of Rzach, and is designed to supersede and displace my earlier translation, which appeared in 1890, The defects of that work and the numerous improvements made in the Greek text of Rzach warrant this thorough recasting of what ap- pears so far to be the only complete translation of these interesting oracles in the English language.* Inasmuch as one distinguishing feature of the original is the fact that all its parts and fragments are cast in the form of *Aii English translation from the texts of Opaopoeus and Gallseus was published in London, 1713, by Sir John Floyer. This, of course, contains only the first eight books. In a preface of twenty pages the translator maintains the genuineness of the oracles, cites numerous testimonies from the Christian fathers, and finds the papacy and the Turks predicted therein. ' The book is out of print, and its dissertations attempting to answer the objections of Opsopoeus and Vossius (pp. 249-262) are obsolete and worth- less. 8 PREFACE. Greek hexameters, I have been governed by a conviction that the translation ought to be set in some poetic form. It need not be an imitation of the hexameter, which seems somewhat foreign to the genius of the English tongue. The poetic form which in our language holds a position more analogous is that of pentameter blank verse, and I have accordingly felt that this measure was on the whole best adapted to the purpose of this work. A prose trans- lation would undoubtedly enable one in not a few instances to convey the meaning of the original more accurately, but the consequent loss of that which is enhancing in the matter of poetic form ought not to be ignored. Bayard Taylor, in the Preface to his translation of Goethe's Faust^ argues that "the value of form in a poetical work is the first question to be considered. . . . Poetry, indeed, may be distinguished from prose 'bj the single circumstance that it is the utterance of whatever in man cannot be per- fectly uttered in any other than a rhythmical form. It is useless to say that the naked meaning is independent of the form." This argument has, of course, a force and rel- evancy in connection with poetic masterpieces like Goethe's Faust and the Homeric epics which it cannot have for a version of such a composite of heterogeneous elements as we find in these Pseudo-Sibyllines ; and yet we believe that it ought to have great influence in an attempt to translate what exists only in poetic form. In working out my task I have aimed, in spite of the restrictions involved in maintaining a rhythmic form, to keep very close to the order and sentiment of the Greek verses. Not a few of my renderings may perhaps be justly criticised as being too literal, and some may be thought to violate the usages of good English style; and I must crave the kindly forbearance of the critical reader. Let the of- fense of extreme literalism be condoned by the considera- PREFACE. 9 tion that I am a kind of pioneer in making these oracles accessible to English readers, and that I have risked adverse criticism for my occasional too close adherence to the letter of the Greek rather than expose myself to possibly greater error in the opposite extreme. It should be observed, also, that there are not a few very obscure and perplexing pas- sages in these Pseudo-Sibyllines, and in some verses one can at best only guess at the meaning. There are also numerous iacuncB and mutilations in all existing manu- scripts, as, for example, at the conclusion of book xii. These are indicated in the translation just as they appear in the printed Greek texts. In the few places where a list of proper names occurs (for example, iii, 424-430) and English rhythm is impossible, my only course was simply to transfer the names in the order in which they stand in the Greek. For convenience in comparing the translation with the original the corresponding lines of the Greek text are indicated by the numbers inclosed in parentheses at the foot of each page of the translation. I have aimed to supply in the footnotes such informa- tion as a reader of the oracles might wish to find by easy reference. My inability to explain all the obscure allu- sions has not deterred me from supplying as far as practi- cable such notes and comments as interested students may find to be a help. In the first footnote at the beginning of each book there is given a brief statement of the gen- eral character and the probable authorship and date of the contents, but I have not attempted the difficult task of a critical analysis, rearrangement, and formal discussion of the various parts of these now heterogeneous books and fragments. The task of the translator is at the present rather to accept the order of the books as they appear in all the printed texts of the Greek original. The fact that many of the early Christian fathers cite 10 PREFACE. these pseudonymous oracles as veritable Holy Scripture gives the work an importance in biblical criticism and the- ology whicli justifies the attention I have given the matter in the footnotes. The various citations have been care- fully noted, and, for the convenience of students disposed to examine or verify them, the place of each citation is designated not only by the common reference of book and chapter, but also by the volume and column in which the passage appears in Migne's Complete Collection of Greek and Latin Fathers, This latter designation is always put in brackets, the letter G denoting the Greek, and L the Latin patrology; the numbers which follow these letters refer respectively to the volume and column. The index at the end of this volume also designates, in connection with the name of each of these fathers, the pages of our translation where the various citations may be found. Those fragments of Sibylline Oracles which are pre- served among the citations of Theophilus and Lactantius, but which do not appear anywhere in the twelve books of our collection, are placed in the Appendix to this volume, where also we furnish a translation of the "Anonymous Preface," together with the passages from Varro and Lac- tantius which tell the story of the Sibyls,, and a bibliogra- phy of the Sibylline literature. CONTENTS. PAaE Book I* . . , 13 Book II 35 Book III 53 Book IV 97 Book V Ill Book VI 143 Book VII » .... 147 Book VIII 159 Book XI 187 Book XII 207 Book XIII . . , . „ 223 Book XIV 235 APPENDIX. Fra&mbnts of the Sibylline Oracles . . ,257 Anonymous Preface to the Sibylline Oracles 264 Lactantius's Account op the Sibyls . . . ,269 Justin Martyr's Account of the Sibyl . . 273 The Sibylline Acrostic 274 BiBLIOaRAPHY 278 Index 287 * See the page opposite the beginning of each book for a detailed table of contents. BOOK I. CONTENTS OF BOOK I. Announcement, 1-5. Creation of the earth and man, 6-4*7. First sin and penalty, 48-81. Condition of the first race, 82-10'r. The second race of men, 108-129. Third and fourth races, 130-148. The race of giants, 149-153. Call and preaching of Noah, 1B4-243. Entrance into the ark, and the flood, 244-281. Abatement of the waters, 282-319. Exit from the ark, 320-343. The sixth race and the Titans, 344-386. Prophecy of Christ, 387-468. Dispersion of the Hebrews, 469-486. THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. BOOK I. BEGiNNii^a with tlie generation first Of mortal men down to the very last I'll prophesy each thing : what erst has been, And what is now, and what shall yet befall 5 The world through the impiety of men. First now God urges on me to relate Truly how into being came the world. And thou, shrewd mortal, prudently make known, Lest ever thou should'st my commands neglect, 10 The King most high, who brought into existence The whole world, saying, " Let there be," and there was. For he the earth established, placing it Round about Tartarus, and he himself This book appears to be one of the latest in composition of this entire collection of oracles, but it was placed first on account of its contents, which relate to the creation and the earliest races of mankind. It is evidently of Christian origin, and was written probably as late as the third century. 13. Tartarus^ the prison of the Titans, is here conceived as encompassed by the earth and forming its interior. Hesiod {Theog.^ '?20,^) represents it as surrounded by a brazen fence and situated as far beneath the earth as earth is beneath the heaven ; it would require nine days and nights, he saya, for an anvil to fall from heaven to earth, and as many more for it to fall from earth to Tartarus. Comp. Homer, /Z., viii, 13-16. Verg., ^^n., vi, Xi^H- 681. It will be seen in line 127 and elsewhere that Gehenna is regarded as a part of Tartarus or identical with it, while Hades (line 105) comprehends the abode of all the dead. 2 (1-10.) 16 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. Gave the sweet light ; he raised the heaven on high, 15 Spread out the gleaming sea, and crowned the sky With an abundance of bright-shining stars. And decked the earth with plants, and mingled sea With rivers, and the air with zephyrs mixed And watery clouds ; and then, another race 20 Appointing, he gave fishes to the seas And birds unto the winds, and to the woods The beasts of shaggy neck, and snakes that crawl, And all things which now on the earth appear. These by his word he made, and every thing 25 Was speedily and with precision done ; i' For he was self -caused and from heaven looked down, And finished was the world exceeding well. And then thereafter fashioned he again A living product, copying a new man 30 From his own image, beautiful, divine. And bade him in ambrosial garden dwell, That labors beautiful might be his care. But in that fertile field of Paradise He longed for conversation, being alone, 35 And prayed that he might see another f onn Such as he had. And forthwith, from man's side Taking a bone, God himself made fair Eve, A wedded spouse, and in that Paradise Gave her to dwell with him. And, when he gazed 40 Upon her, on a sudden filled with joy Great admiration held his soul, he saw A pattern so exact ; and with wise words Spontaneous flowiug answered he in turn ; For God had care for all things. For the mind 45 They darkened not with passion, nor concealed Their nakedness, but with hearts far from evil (U-36.) BOOK I. 17 Even like wild beasts they walked with limbs exposed. And afterwards delivering them commands God showed them not to touch a certain tree ; 50 But the dread serpent drew them oif by guile To go away unto the fate of death And to gain knowledge of both good and evil. But the wife then first traitress proved to God ; She gave, and urged the unknowing man to sin. 55 And he, persuaded by the woman's words, Forgot the immortal Maker utterly, And treated plain commandments with neglect. Therefore, instead of good, received they evU According to their deed. And then the leaves 60 Of the sweet fig-tree piercing they made clothes And put them on each other, and concealed The sexual parts, because they were ashamed. But on them the Immortal set his wrath And cast them out of the immortal land. 65 For their abiding now in mortal land Was brought to pass, since hearing they kept not The word of the immortal mighty God. And straightway they, upon the fruitful soil Forthgoing, with their tears and groans were wet ; ^0 And to them then the immortal God himself A word more excellent spoke : " Multiply, Increase, work constantly upon the earth, That with the sweat of labor ye may have Sufficient food." Thus he spoke ; and he made 15 The author of deceit to press the ground On belly and on side, a crawling snake, Driving him out severely ; and he sent Dire enmity between them ; and the one 48-52. Cited by Lact., Div. ImU, ii, 13. [L., 6, 325.] (37-61.) 18 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. la on tlie look-out to preserve his head, 80 But mau his heel ; for death is neighbor near Of evil-plotting vipers and of men. And then indeed the race was multiplied As the Almighty himself gave command, And there grew up one people on another 85 Innumerable. And houses they adorned Of all kinds and made cities and their walls Well and expertly ; and to them was given A day of long time for a life much-loved ; For they did not worn out with troubles die, 90 But as subdued by sleep ; most happy men Of great heart, whom the immortal Saviour loved, The King, God. But they also did transgress, Smitten with folly. For with impudence They mocked their fathers and their mothers scorned ; 95 Kinsmen they knew not, and they formed intrigues Against their brothers. And they were impure, Having defiled themselves with human gore, And they made wars. And then upon them came The last calamity sent forth from heaven, 100 Which snatched the dreadful men away from life ; And Hades then received them ; it was called Hades since Adam, having tasted death, Went first and earth encompassed him around. And therefore all men born upon the earth 105 Are in abodes of Hades called to go. 88. Day of long time. — Allusion to the remarkable longevity of the patri- archs as recorded in Gen. v. 102. Hc^des, — The conception of Hades here set forth, as the great recep- tacle of the souls of men after death, is in essential harmony with both the tTewish and the Christian doctrines. The derivation of the name from Adam is noticeable as a purely arbitrary conjecture. Comp. book iii, 30, note ; comp. Plato*s explanation of the word in OratyluSy 404. (62-84.) BOOK I. 19 But even in Hades all these wlien they came Had honor, since they were the earliest race. But when Hades received these, secondly [Of the surviving and most righteous men] 110 God formed another very subtile race That cared for lovely works, and noble toils, Distinguished reverence and solid wisdom ; And they were trained in arts of every kind, Finding inventions by their lack of means. 116 And one devised to till the land with plows. Another worked in wood, another cared For sailing, and another watched the stars And practiced auguiy with winged fowls ; And use of drugs had interest for one, 120 While for another magic had a charm ; And others were in every other art Which men care for instructed, wide awake. Industrious, worthy of that eponym Because they had a sleepless mind within 125 And a huge body ; stout with mighty form They were ; but, notwithstanding, down they went Into Tartarean chamber terrible. Kept in firm chains to pay full penalty In Gehenna of strong, furious, quenchless fire. 130 And after these a third strong-minded race Appeared, a race of overbearing men And terrible, who wrought among themselves 109. Lines thus inclosed in brackets are believed to be spurious interpo- lations, but have too much MS. authority to be omitted from the text. 130. Third strong-minded race. — The successive races here mentioned appear to be in imitation of Hesiod^s ages or races of mankind. Hesiod applies to them the epithets of golden, silver, bronze, and iron. See Works and -Days, 108-190, and comp. Aratus, Fhcenom.f 100-134; Ovid, Met, U 89-150; Juvenal, Sat, xiii, 27-30. (86-106.) 20 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. Many an evil. And figiits, homicides, And battles did continually destroy 135 Those men possessed of overweening heart. And from these afterward another race Proceeded, late-completed, youngest bom. Blood-stained, perverse in counsel ; of men these Were in the fourth race ; much the blood they spilled, 140 Nor feared they God nor had regard for men, For maddening wrath and sore impiety Were sent upon them. And wars, homicides, And battles sent some into Erebus, Since they were overweening impious men. 145 But the rest did the heavenly God himself In anger afterwards change from his world. Casting them into mighty Tartarus Down under the foundation of the earth. And later yet another race much worse 150 [Of men he made, to whom no good thereafter] The Immortal formed, since they wrought many evils. For they were much more violent than those, Giants perverse, foul language pouring out. Single among all men, most just and true, 155 Was the most faithful Noah, full of care For noblest works. And to him God himself From heaven thus spoke : " Noah, be of good cheer In thyself and to all the people preach Repentance, so that they may all be saved. 160 But if, with shameless soul, they heed me not The whole race I will utterly destroy 143, Erebus appears to be here employed merely aa another name for the underworld, and interchangeable with Hades. Comp. Homer, 21.^ viii, S68, Tartarus is conceived as a still lower deep, IBS. Giants, — The nephilim of Gen. vi, 4. (lOV-lSl.) BOOK I. 21 Witli mighty floods of waters. Quickly now An undecaying house I bid thee frame Of planks strong and impervious to the wet. 165 I will put understanding in thy heart, And subtile skill, and rule of measurement And order ; and for all things will I care That thou be saved, and all who dwell with thee. And I am He who is, and in thy heart 1*70 Do thou discern. I clothe me with the heaven. And cast the sea around me, and for me Earth is a footstool, and the air is poured Around my body ; and on every side Around me runs the chorus of the stars. 1 15 Nine letters have I ; of four syllables I am ; discern me. The first three have each Two letters, the remaining one the rest. And Rye are mutes ; and of the entire sum The hundreds are twice eight and thrice three tens 180 Along with seven. Now, knowing who I am, 175. nine letters. — The connection shows that the name intended must be some title or designation of the Creator, but no word has been discovered that fully meets the conditions of the puzzle. The nearest solution is found in the word avi/aftavog. This word has nine letters, four syllables, and five mutes, or consonants. The first three syllables have two letters each, and the sum of all the letters taken at their numerical value is 1,696. But the number stated in the text is twice 800, plus three times thirty (= 90) and seven = 1,697. 'AvEKfavog must also be supposed to be a shortened form for ave«:0(5v??rof, used in ecclesiastical Greek writers to denote the unutterable name, Jehovah. Another name proposed is Oebg ^uTTJp^ but an obvious ob- jection is that we have here two words, not, as the text suggests, one word of four syllables. Besides, these letters amount to only 1,692. There is, perhaps, an error in the text. If for the words with seven (line 180) we read with twoj the numerical difficulty of the last-named solution would be met ; or if we read mth six^ then the word avkK^ovog solves the problem. Comp. the similar puzzle xu Imes 395-399 of this same book, and the well-known (131-145.) 22 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. Be thou not uninitiate in my lore." Thus he spoke ; and great trembling seized on him At what he heard. And then, within his mind Having contrived each matter, he besought 185 The people and began with words like these : " O men insatiate, emit with madness great, Whatever things ye practiced they shall not Escape God's notice ; for he knows all things. Immortal Saviour overseeing all, 190 Who bade me warn you, that ye perish not. Be sober, cut off badness, do not fight Perforce each other with blood-guilty heart, Nor irrigate much land with human gore. Revere, O mortals, the supremely great 195 And fearless heavenly Creator, God Imperishable, whose dwelling is the sky; And do ye all entreat him — ^he is kind — For life of cities and of all the world, And of four-footed beasts and flying fowls; 200 Entreat him to be gracious unto all. For when the whole unbounded world of men Shall be destroyed by waters loud ye'll raise enigma of the nuinber of the beast in Rev. xiii, 18. A like example is also found in CapelIa(book ii, 193), who thus addresses the sun: '*HaiI, thou veritable face and paternal countenance of God, eight and six hundred in number, whose first letter forms a sacred name, a surname, and a sign ; '» which Eopp explains by the letters ^p7i{— 608), representative of the Egyp- tian name of the sun. Comp. also the designation of the Roman emperors in book v, 16, and following. 184. Besought the people. — The 0. T. narrative of the flood records noth- ing of Noah^s preaching, but in 2 Pet. ii he is ciiUed a ''preacher of righteousness " (comp. 1 Pet. iii, 20), and Josephus {Ant.^ i, iii, 1) confirms this tradition of the Jews. Comp. also Theophilus, ad Auiol^ iii, 19 [G-., 6, 1.145]. (146-163.) BOOK I. 23 A fearful cry. And suddenly for you The air shall be disordered, and from heaven 205 The fury of the mighty God shall come Upon you. And it certainly shall be That the immortal Saviour against men Will send wrath if ye do not placate God And from this time repent; and nothing more 210 Fretful and evil lawlessly shall ye One to another do, but let there be ■ A guarding of one's self by holy life." But when they heard him each turned up his nose. Calling him mad, a frenzy -smitten man. 215 And then again did Koah sound this strain: " O men exceeding wretched, base in heart. Unstable, leaving modesty behind And loving shamelessness, rapacious lords. Fierce sinners, false, insatiate, mischievous, 220 In nothing true, stealthy adulterers, Flippant in language, pouring forth foul words, The wrath of God most high not fearing, kept To the fifth generation to atone! In no way do ye wail, harsh men, but laugh; 225 Sardonic smile shall ye laugh, when shall come That which I speak — God's dire incoming flood, When Eve's polluted race, in the great earth Blooming perennial in impervious stem, Shallj root and branch, in one night disappear, 230 And cities, men and all, shall the Earth-shaker 225. Sardonic smile. — ^Expression supposed to have originated from a Sar- dinian plant so bitter as to cause the face of the eater to writhe in pain, though he might attempt to laugh, Comp. Horn. Od.^ xx, 302, 230. JSarih'Shaker. — In the Greek poets an epithet of Poseidon (Nep- tune), the god of the sea, here evidently applied to the God of Noah. (164-187.) 24 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. From the depths scatter and their walls destroy. And then the whole world of unnumbered men Shall die. But how shall I weep, how lament In wooden house, how mingle tears with waves ? 235 For, if this water bidden of God shall come. Earth shall float, hills float, and even sky shall float; Everything shall be water, and all things Shall be destroyed by waters. And the winds Shall stand still, and a second age shall come. 240 O Phrygia, thou shalt from the water's crest First rise up, and thou first another race Of men shalt nourish, once again anew Beginning; and thou shalt be nurse for all," But when now to the lawless generation 245 He had thus vainly spoken, the Most High Appeared, and once more cried aloud and said; "The time is now come, Noah, to proclaim Each thing, even all which I that day to thee Did promise and confirm, and to complete, 250 Because of a people disobedient. Throughout the boundless world even all the things "Which generations of a former time Did practice, evil things innumerable. But do thou quickly enter with thy sons 255 And the wives. Call as many as I bid, Of tribes of beasts and creeping things and birds. And in as many as I ordain for life Will I then put a willingness to go." Thus spoke he; forth went (Noah) and aloud 260 Cried out and called. And then wife, sons and brides, Entered the house of wood ; then also went 240. Fhrygia . . .first. — Comp. the statement of Herodotus (ii, 2), that the Phrygians were the most ancient of mankind. (188-212.) BOOK I. 25 The other things, as many as God willed To shut in. But when fitting bolt was put About the lid, and in its polished place 265 Was fitted sideways, then was brought to pass Forthwith the purpose of the God of heaven. And he massed clouds, and hid the sun's bright disk, And moon, and stars, and circle of the heaven. Obscuring all things round; he thundered loud, 270 Terror of mortals, sending lightnings forth; And all the winds together were aroused, And all the veins of water were unloosed By opening of great cataracts from heaven. And from earth's caverns and the tireless deep 275 Appeared the myriad waters, and the whole Illimitable earth was covered o'er. But on the water swam that wondrous house; And torn by many furious waves, and struck By force of winds, it rushed on fearfully; 280 But with its keel it cut the mass of foam While the loud-babbling waters dashed around. But when God deluged all the world with rains Then also Noah took thought to observe By counsels of the Immortal; for he now 285 Had had enough of Nereus. And straightway The house he opened from the polished wall, That crosswise was bound fast with skillful stays. And looking out upon the mighty mass Of boundless waters Noah on all sides — 286. Nereus, — A sea god supposed to dwell in the bottom of the ocean, and called in Homer (Jl i, 556) the " old man of the sea." His daughters were called Nereids. Nereus is here put by metonymy for the sea itself, and the Sibyl means to say that Noah had been long enough in the water. (213-235.) 26 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. 290 And 'twas his fortune with his eyes to see! — Fear possessed and shook mightily his heart. And then the air became a little calm, Since it was weary wetting all the world Many days; parting, then, it brought to light 295 How pale and blood-red was the mighty sky And sun's bright disk awearied; scarcely held Noah his. courage. And then forth afar Sent he a dove alone, that he might learn If yet firm land appeared. But with tired wing, 300 Flying round all things, she again returned; For not yet had the water ebbed away; For it was deeply filling every place. But after resting quietly for days He sent the dove once more, to learn if yet 305 Had ceased the many waters. And she flew And flew on, and went o'er the earth and, resting Her body lightly on the humid ground, Again to Noah back she came and bore An olive branch — of tidings a great sign, 310 Courage now filled them all, and great delight, Because they hoped to look upon the land. But then thereafter yet another bird, Of black wing, sent he forth as hastily; Which, trusting to its wings, flew willingly, 315 And coming to the land continued there. And Noah knew the land was nearer now. But when on dashing waves the craft divine Had here and there o'er ocean's billows swum, It was made fast lipon the narrow strand. 320 There is in Phrygia on the dark mainland 290. An aposiopesia. The poet is so appalled at the thought of what Noah saw that she leaves her sentence unfinished. (286-261.) BOOK I. 27 A steep, tall mountain; Ararat its name, Because upon it all were to be saved From death, and there was great desire of heart; Thence streams of the great river Marsyas spring. 325 There on a lofty peak the ark abode When the waters ceased, and then again from heaven The voice divine of the great God this word Proclaimed: "O Noah, guarded, faithful, just, Come boldly forth, with thy sons and thy wife 330 And the three brides, and fill ye all the earth, Increasing, multiplying, rendering justice To one another through all generations, Until to judgment every race of men Shall come; for judgment shall be unto all." 335 Thus spoke the voice divine. Then from his couch Noah, encouraged, hastened on the land. And with him went his sons and wife and brides, And creeping things, and birds and quadrupeds. And all things else went from the wooden house 340 Into one place. And then went Noah forth As eighth, most just of men, when on the waters He had made full twice twenty days and one Because of counsels of the mighty God. Then a new stock of life again arose, 345 Golden first, which indeed was sixth, and best, 321. Ararat. — Comp. the legends of this mountain and of the remains of the ark in Josephus, Ant.^ i, iii, 6. 323. From death, — A reading proposed by Mendelssohn, and approved by Rzach in his Addenda et corrigenda. 324. River Marsyas. — Two rivers of antiquity bear this name, one a branch of the Mseander in Asia Minor, the other a branch of the Orontes in Syria. Neither of these seems to meet the conditions of our text. 342. Twice twenty days and one. — According to the statement in Gen. vii, 12. (262-284.) 28 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. From the time when the first-formed man appeared; Heavenly its name, because all things to God Shall be a care. O first race of sixth age ! O mighty joy which I thereafter shared, 350 When I escaped sheer ruin, by the waves Much tossed, with husband and with brothers-in- law, Stepfather and stepmother, and with wives Of husband's brothers suffering terribly. Fitting things now will I sing: There shall be 355 On the fig-tree a many-colored flower, And afterward the royal power and sway Shall Cronos have. For three kings of great soul, Men most just, shall distribute portions then, And many a year rule, rendering what is just 360 To men who care for toil and deeds of love. And earth shall glory in her many fruits Self-growing, yielding much corn for the race. And the foster-fathers, ageless all their days, Shall from diseases chill and dreadful be 365 Far aloof; they shall die as fallen on sleep, And unto Acheron in the abodes Of Hades they shall go away, and there Shall they have honor, since they were a race 348, Bixth. — " The Erythrfiean Sibyl says that she lived in the sixth age after the flood," writes Eusebius, OraU ad Sanct., xviii [G., 20, 1285]. Here we note that she assumes to be a daughter-in-law of Noah. Comp. close of book iii. 355. Many-colored Jtower.—KevQ employed as an image of the fevtility of the royal race of whom she is about to sing. 367. TJiree imys.— The three sons of Noah would seem to have been identified in the Sibyl's thought with Cronos, Titan, and lapetua of the Greek mythology, Comp. book iii, 130. 366. Acheron was a river of the lower world. Verg., -J£^., vi, 295, (285-303.) BOOK I. 29 Of blessed ones, fortunate heroes, whom 3V0 The Lord of Sabaoth gave a noble mind, And with whom always he his counsels shared. But blessed shall they be even when they go In Hades, And then afterward again Oppressive, strong, another second race 375 Of earth-born men, the Titans. All excel In figure, stature, growth; and there shall be One language, as of old from the first race God in their breasts implanted. But even these. Having a haughty heart and rushing on 380 To ruin, shall at last resolve to fight Against the starry heaven. And then the stream Of the great ocean shall upon them pour Its raging waters. But the mighty Lord Of Sabaoth though enraged shall check his wrath, 385 Because he promised that again no flood Should be brought upon men of evil soul. But when the great high-thundering God shall cause The boundless swelling of the many waters — With their waves hither and thither rising high — 390 To cease from wrath, and into other depths Of sea their measure lessen, setting bounds By harbors and rough headlands round the land; Then also shall a child of the great God Come, clothed in flesh, to men, and fashioned like 395 To mortals in the earth; and he doth bear o^5, Titans. — Mythical sons of heaven and earth who figure much iu Greek legend and poetry. See book iii, 130-185. Lactantius records a number of the legends and observes : " The truth of this history is taught by the Erythraean Sibyl, who says almost the same things, varying only in a few unimportant details." Div. Inst.j i, xiv [L., 6, 190]. (304-S25.) 30 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. Pour vowels, and two consonants in him Are twice announced; the whole sum I will name; For eight ones, and as many tens on these, And yet eight hundred will reveal the name 400 To men insatiate; and do thou discern In thine own understanding that the Christ Is child of the immortal God most high. And he shall fulfill God's law, not destroy, Bearing his very image, and all things 405 Shall he teach. Unto him shall priests convey And offer gold, and myrrh, and frankincense; For all these things he'll also bring to pass. But when a voice shall through the desert land Come bearing tidings to men, and to all 410 Shall call to make straight paths, and from the heart Cast wickedness out and illuminate With water all the bodies of mankind, That being born again they may no more From what is righteous go at all astray — 415 And one of barbarous mind, by dances bound. Cutting that (voice) off shall bestow reward — 396. Four vowels, — The name Jesus in Greek, 'X/faovg, contains four vowels and the consonant is twice told, and the numerical value of all the letters is 888. Comp. line 176, and note. 406. Gold . . . myrrh. — Comp. Matt, ii, 11.' 408. A voice. — Corap. Isa. xl, 3 ; Matt, iii, 3. ^l\. JUnminate, — An expression relating to Christian baptism quite common with the early fathers, many of whom understood the word ^wrtd- ■&£VT€C in Heb. vi, 4, as referring to baptism. Justin Martyr, 1 Apol, hi [G., 6, 421], says : " This washing is called illumination, inasmuch as those who learn these things have their understanding illuminated." Cyril of Jerusalem wrote eighteen books of religious instruction, which are entitled Gatechesis of the Illuininated [G.^ 33, 869-1060]. See also A^ost Const,^ viii, 8. For other references see Suiosr, Thesaurus, under (^^riafia^ (826-848.) BOOK I. 31 Then on a sudden tliere shall be a Bign To mortals, when, watched over, there shall come Out of the land of Egypt a fair stone; 420 And on it shall the Hebrew people stumble; But by his guiding nations shall be brought Together; for the God who rules on high They also shall know through him, and- the way In common light. For unto chosen men 426 Will he show life eternal, but the fire Will he for ages on the lawless bring. And then shall he the sickly heal, and all Who are blameworthy who shall trust in him. And then the blind shall see, the lame shall walk, 430 The deaf shall hearken, and the dumb shall speak. Demons shall he drive out, and of the dead There shall be an uprising; on the waves Shall he walk; also in a desert .place Shall he ^yq thousand satisfy with food 435 From ^\e loaves and a fish out of the sea, And with the remnants of them, for the hope Of peoples, shall he fill twelve baskets full. And then shall Israel, drunken, not discern. Nor shall they hear, oppressed with feeble ears. 440 But when the maddening wrath of the Most High Shall come upon the Hebrews, and take faith Away from them, because they slew the Son Of the heavenly God; then also with foul lips 416. Dances, — See Matt, xiv, 6-10. 418. Watched over, — By Gofl and angels, as told in Matt. ii. 419. Egypt— ^QQ Matt, ii, 13-15, 21. Stonc^-Comp. Matt, xxi, 42, 44, and 1 Pet. ii, 4-8 ; Zech. iii, 9. 424. Common light. — Comp. John i, 4-9. 429-437. Oomp. book viii, 270-274 and 361-369. Cited also by Lactan- tiua in Dw. Imt. iv, 15 [L., 6,493]. 3 (343-365.) 32 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. Shall Israel give him cuffs and spittle drugged. 445 And gall for food and vinegar unmixed For drink will they, with evil madness smitten In bosom and in heart, give impiously, Not seeing with their eyes, more blind than moles, More terrible than crawling poisonous beasts, 450 Fast bound by heavy sleep. But when his hands He shall spread forth and measure out all things, And bear the crown of thorns, and they shall pierce His side with reeds, for which dark monstrous night Shall be for three hours in the midst of day, 455 Then also shall the temple of Solomon Bring to an end a mighty sign for men. When he shall to the house of Hades go Proclaiming resurrection to the dead. But when in three days be shall come again 460 Unto the light, and show his form to men And teach all things, ascending in the clouds Unto the house of heaven shall he go Leaving the world a Gospel convenant. And in his name shall blossom a new shoot 465 From nations that are guided by the law Of the Mighty One, But also after this There shall be wise guides, and then afterward There shall be a cessation of the prophets. After that, when the Hebrew people reap 470 Their evil harvest, shall a Roman king Much gold and silver utterly destroy. And afterward shall other royal powers Continuously arise as kingdoms perish, 444. Cnffs , . . spittle, — Oomp. Matt, xxvii, 30. 456. Si^n, — Comp. Matt, xxvii, 51. 4Y0. Roman king, — Titus, who carried the spoils of the temple to Kome. (365-S90.) BOOK II. CONTENTS OF BOOK M. Introduction, 1-6. A time of plagues and wickedness, 7-15. The tenth race, 16-28. A time of peace, 29-36. Great sign and contest, 3*7-63. A chapter of proverbs, 64-188. The contest, 189-195. Woes of the last generation, 196-222. Events of the last day, 223-263. Eesurrection aBtl judgment, 264-312. Punishment of the wicked, 313-383. Blessedness of the righteous, 384-403. Some saved from the fire, 404-415. The Sibyl's wail, 416-42Y. BOOK II. 37 BOOK II. Now while I much entreated God restrained My wise song, also in my breast again He put the charming voice of words divine. In my whole body terror-stricken these 5 I follow; for I know not that I speak, But God impels me to proclaim each thing. But when on earth come shocks, fierce thunderbolts, Thunders and lightnings, storms, and evil blight, And rage of jackals and of wolves, manslaughter, 10 Destruction of men and of lowing kine, Four-footed cattle and laborious mules, And goats and sheep, then shall the ample field Be barren from neglect, and fruits shall fail, And there shall be a selling of their freedom 15 Among most men, and robbery of temples. And then shall, after these, appear of men The tenth race, when the earth-shaking Lightener Shall break the zeal for idols and shall shake The people of seven-hilled Rome, and riches great This second book appears to be a continuation of the preceding, and was probably written by the same author. In several manuscripts the two books are found united and placed after the third book. The appropriation of verses from the third and eighth books shows the later composition of these first two books, whicb our compiler assigned to their present position on account of their contents. 6. / know not — Comp. Flato, Apol, 22, where Socrates observes that " not by wisdom do poets write poetry, but by a sort of genius and inspiration . they are like diviners who also say many fine things, but do not understand the meaning of them." (1-18) 38 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. 20 SliaU perish, burned by Vulcan's fiery flame. And tben sball bloody signs from heaven descend — But yet the whole world of unnumbered men Enraged shall kill each other, and in tumult Shall God send famines, plagues, and thunderbolts 26 On men who, without justice, judge of rights. And lack of men shall be in all the world, So that if anyone beheld a trace Of man on earth, he would be wonderstruck. And then shall the great God who dwells in heaven 30 Saviour of pious men in all things prove. And then shall there be peace and wisdom deep, And the fruit-bearing land shall yield again Abundant fruits, divided not in parts Nor yet enslaved. And every harbor then, 35 And every haven, shall be free to men As formerly, and shamelessness shall perish. And then will God show mortals a great sign: For like a lustrous crown shall shine a star. Bright, all-resplendent, from the radiant heaven 40 Days not a few; and then will he display From heaven a crown for contest unto men Who wrestle. And then there shall be again A mighty contest of triumphal march 2L There seems to be a lacuna of cue line after this, containing perhaps a mention of omens and drops of blood, as in book xii, YS, where a similar thought is found. 43. Contest of triumphal march. — Allusion to the iselastic {eiaEXaaTmb;) contests, the victors in which were conducted into their own city through a broken part of the wall. See Pliny, book x, Epis, 119 and 120, in which these games are mentioned. Alexandre conjectures that this whole passage (lines 37-63) concerning contests and crowns was first written in a time of persecution to inspire to fidelity ; but after persecution had ceased it woa accommodated to the more common struggles of the Christian life. (19-39.) BOOK II. 39 Into the heavenly sky, and it shall be 45 For all men in the world, and have the fame Of immortality. And every people Shall then in the immortal contests strive For splendid victory. For no one there Can shamelessly with silver buy a crown. 50 For unto them will the pure Christ adjudge That which is due, and crown the ones approved, And give his martyrs an immortal prize Who carry on the contest unto death. And unto chaste men who run their race well 55 Will he the incorruptible reward Of the prize give, and to all men allot That which is due, and also to strange nations That live a holy life and know one God. And those who have regard for marriages 60 And keep themselves far from adulteries, To them rich gifts, eternal hope, he'll give. For every human soul is God's free gift, And 'tis not right men stain it with vile deeds. [Do not be rich unrighteously, but lead 64. The passage beginning here and ending with line 188, and consisting mainly of proverbs, has every appearance of an interpolation. It breaks the connection of thought and the figure of the iselastic contest, which is continued in lines 189-195. The passage is for the most part taken from a poem of 217 lines in hexameter verse, entitled noijjfia voir&ertKdv {admoni- tory poem)y and attributed to Phocylides, a gnomic poet of Miletus (born about B. C. 560). Yery few, however, will seriously accept these lines as a genuine production- of a contemporary of Theognis. They are without much doubt the composition of a Christian writer, and possibly, but not probably, by the author of the second book of the Sibylline Oracles. The variations between the two texts are considerable, the Sibyllines adding many lines not found in Phocylides, and Phocylides having a few not found in the Sibyllines. (40-56.) 40 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. 65 A life of probity. Be satisfied With what thou hast and keep thyself from that Which is another's. Speak not what is false, But have a care for all things that are true. Revere not idols vainly; but the God 70 Imperishable honor always first, And next thy parents. Render all things due, And into unjust judgment come thou not. Do not cast out the poor unrighteously, Nor judge by outward show; if wickedly 15 Thou judgest, God hereafter will judge thee. Avoid false testimony; tell the truth. Maintain thy virgin purity, and guard Love among all. Deal measures that are just; For beautiful is measure full to all. 80 Strike not the scales oneside, but draw them equal. Forswear not ignorantly nor willingly; God hates the perjured man in that he swore. A gift proceeding out of unjust deeds Never receive in hand. Do not steal seed; 85 Accursed through many generations he Who took it unto scattering of life. Indulge not vile lusts, slander not, nor kill. Give the toil worn his hire; do not afflict The poor man. Unto orphans help afford 90 And to widows and the needy. Talk with sense; Hold fast in heart a secret. Be unwilling To act unjustly nor yet tolerate Unrighteous men. Give to the poor at once And say not, " Come to-morrow." Of thy grain 95 Give to the needy with perspiring hand. 96. Wit?i perspiring hand. — So Mendelssohn, P/l^/ofo5r^is, xlix, 2, p. 246. Comp- Rzach, p, six. (56-V9.) BOOK II. 41 He who gives alms knows how to lend to God. Mercy redeems from death when judgment comes. Not sacrifice, but mercy God desires Rather than sacrifice. The naked clothe, 100 Share thy bread with the hungry, in thy house Receive the shelterless and lead the blind. Pity the shipwrecked; for the voyage is Uncertain. To the fallen give a hand; And save the man that stands without defense. 105 Common to all is suffering, life's a wheel, Riches unstable. Having wealth, reach out To the poor thy hand. Of what God gave to thee Bestow thou also on the needy one. Common is the whole life of mortal men; 110 But it comes out unequal. When thou seest A poor man never banter him with words, Nor harshly accost a man who may be blamed. One's life in death is proven; if one did The unlawful or just, it shall be decided 115 When he to judgment comes. Disable not Thy mind with wine nor drink excessively. Eat not blood, and abstain from things Offered to idols. Gird not on the sword For slaughter, but defense; and would thou might 120 It neither lawlessly nor justly use: For if thou kill an enemy thy hand Thou dost defile. Keep from thy neighbor's field, Nor trespass on it; just is every landmark, And trespass painful. Useful is possession 125 Of lawful wealth, but of unrighteous gains 'Tis worthless. Harm not any growing fruit Of the field. And let strangers be esteemed In equal honor with the citizens; (80-104.) 42 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. For much-enduring hospitality 130 Shall all experience as each other's guests; But let there not be anyone a stranger Among you, since, ye mortals, all of you Are of one blood, and no land has for men Any sure place. Wish not nor pray for wealth; 135 But pray to live from few things and possess Nothing at all unjust. The love of gain Is mother of all evil. Do not long For gold or silver; in them there will be A double-edged and soul-destroying iron. 140 A snare to men continually are gold And silver. Gold, of evils source, of life Destructive, troubling all things, would that thou Wert not to mortals such a longed-for bane! For wars, because of thee, and pillaging 145 And murders come, and children hate their sires. And brothers and sisters those of their own blood. Plot no deceit, and do not arm thy heart Against a friend. Keep not concealed within A different thought from what thou speakest forth; 150 Nor, like rock-clinging polyp, change with place. But with all be frank, and things f I'om the soul Speak thou forth. Whosoever willfully Commits a wrong, an evil man is he; But he that does it under force, the end 155 I tell not; but let each man's will be right. Pride not thyself in wisdom, power, or wealth; God only is the wise and mighty one And full of riches. Do not vex thy heart With evils that are past; for what is done 160 Can never be undone. Let not thy hand Be hasty, but ferocious passion curb; (106-129.) BOOK II. 43 For many times has one in striking done Murder without design. Let suffering Be common, neither great nor overmuch. 165 Excessive good has not brought forth to men That which is helpful. And much luxury Leads to immoderate lusts. Much wealth is proud, And makes one grow to wanton violence. Passionate feeling, creeping in, effects 170 Destructive madness. Anger is a lust. And when it is excessive it is wrath. The zeal of good men is a noble thing, But of the base is base. Of wicked men The boldness is destructive, but renown 175 Follows that of the good. To be revered Is virtuous love, but that of Cypris works Increase of shame. A silly man is called Very agreeable among his fellows. With moderation eat, drink, and converse; 180 Of all things moderation is the best; But trespass of its limit brings to grief. Be not thou envious, faithless, or abusive. Or evil-minded, or a false deceiver. Be prudent and abstain from shameless deeds. 185 Imitate not what's evil, but leave thou Vengeance to justice; for persuasion is A useful thing, but strife engenders strife. Trust not too quickly ere thou see the end.] This is the contest, these are the rewards; 190 These are the prizes; this the gate of life 176, Cypris, — Another name for Aphrodite (or Venus), the goddess of love. She is fabled to have sprung from the foam of the sea and to have first stepped ashore on the island of Cyprus. The love of Cypris here means impure sexual love. 189. This is the contest. — Obvious allusion to the iselastic contest de- (130-150.) 44 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. And entrance into immortality, Which God in heaven unto most righteous men Appointed a reward for victory; And through this gate shall gloriously pass 195 Those who shall then receive the victor's crown. But when this sign shall everywhere appear — Children with gray hair on their temples bom — And human sufferings, famines, plagues, and wars, And change of times, and many a tearful wail, 200 Ah! of how many parents in the lands Will children mourn and piteously weep, And with shrouds bury flesh and limbs in earth. Mother of peoples, with the blood and dust Themselves defiling. O ye wretched men 205 Of the last generation, evil doers, Terrible, childish, not perceiving this, That when the tribes of women do not bear The harvest time of mortal men is come. Near is the ruin when impostors come 210 Instead of prophets speaking on the earth. And Beliar shall come and many signs Perform for men. And then of holy men, Elect and faithful, there shall be confusion, And pillaging of them and of the Hebrews. scribed in Hues 42-63 above, and showing the passage 64-188 to be an in- terpolation. The compiler who inserted the passage here probably considered these proverbs so many precepts to guide one in the great contest for im- mortality. 197. Children with gray hair, — Comp. a similar passage in Hesiod, Worh and DaySy 181. Children will become prematurely old by reason of the woea destined to visit the race in the last generation. 211. Beliar. — Same as Belial, named here for antichrist, whose coming in the last time is depicted in harmony with PauVa doctrine in 2 Theas. ii, 8-10. (160-170.) BOOK II. 45 215 And there shall be upon them fearful wrath When from the east a people of twelve tribes Shall come in search of kindred Hebrew people Whom Assyrian shoot destroyed ; and over these Shall nations perish. But they afterwards 220 Shall over men exceeding mighty rule, Elect and faithful Hebrews, and enslave Them as before, since their power ne'er shall fail. He that is highest of all, the all- surveying. Dwelling in heaven, will scatter sleep on men, 225 Covering the eyelids o'er. O blessed servants Whom when the Master comes he finds awake ! And they all watch at all times and expect With sleepless eyes. For it will be at dawn Or eve or midday ; but he sure shall come, 230 And it shall be as I say, it shall be, To them that sleep, that from the starry heaven The stars at midday will to all appear With the two lights as the time hastens on. And then the Tishbite, urging from the heaven 235 His chariot celestial, and on earth Arriving, shall to all the world display Three evil signs of life to be destroyed. Alas for all the women in that day Who shall be found with burden in the womb ! 215-222. A passage inexplicably obscure in its historical allusions, but apparently connected with the notion of the ten tribes of the Assyrian exile, who, according to 2 Esdras xiii, 40-BO, are concealed in the far East, and to be restored in the last time. 226. Comp. Matt, xxiv, 46. 228. Comp. Mark xiii, 35 ; Homer, 11.^ xxi. 111. 233. Comp. Matt, xxiv, 29. 234. Tishhite . . . chariot. — Comp. 2 Kings ii, 11 ; Mai. iv, 6. 238. Comp. Matt, xxiv, 19. (170-191.) 46 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. 240 Alas for all who suckle tender babes ! Alas for all wbo shall dwell on the waves ! Alas for women who shall see that day ! For a dark mist shall hide the boundless world, East, west, and south, and north. And then shall flow 245 A mighty stream of burning fii-e from heaven And every place consume, earth, ocean vast, And gleaming sea, and lakes and rivers, springs, And cruel Hades and the heavenly sky. And heavenly lights shall break up into one 250 And into outward form all-desolate. For stars from heaven shall fall into all seas. And all the souls of men shall gnash their teeth Burned both by sulphur stream and force of fire In ravenous soil, and ashes hide all things, 255 And then of the world all the elements Shall be bereft, air, earth, sea, light, sky, days. Nights ; and no longer in the air shall fly Birds without number, nor shall living things That swim the sea swim any more at all, 260 Kor freighted vessel o'er the billows pass, Kor kine straight-guiding plow the field, nor sound Of furious winds ; but he shall fuse all things Together, and shall pick out what is pure. But when the immortal God's eternal angels 265 Arakiel, Ramiel, Uriel, Samiel, And Azael, they that know how many evils 263. Comp. book iii, 105 ; viij, 546. 264-266. These names of the angels differ somewhat from those found in the Book of Enoch, where, in chap, ix, we find Michael, Gabriel, Sur- jan, and Urjan (the Greek fragment has Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Ga- briel) ; in chap, xx we have Uriel, Rufael, Raguel, Michael, Saraquel, and Gabriel ; and in xl we meet the name Fauuel. (191-216.) BOOK II. 47 Anyone did before, shall from dark gloom Then lead to judgment all the souls of men Before the judgment-seat of the great God 210 Immortal; for imperishable is One only, himself the almighty One, Who shall be judge of mortals; and to them That dwell beneath will then the heavenly One Give souls and spirit and voice, and also bones 275 Fitted with joints unto all kinds of flesh, And both the flesh and sinews, veins and skin About the body, and hair as before ; Divinely fashioned and with breathing moved Shall bodies of those on earth one day be raised. 280 And then shall Uriel, mighty angel, break The bolts of stern and lasting adamant AVTiich, monstrous, hold the brazen gates of Hades, Straight cast them down, and unto judgment lead All forms that have endured much suffering, 285 Chiefly the shapes of Titans born of old, And giants, and all whom the deluge whelmed, And all that perished in the billowy seas. And all that furnished banquet for the beasts And creeping things and fowls, these in a mass 290 Shall (Uriel) summon to the jildgment-seat ; And also those whom flesh-devouring fire Destroyed in flame, even these shall he collect And place before the judgment-seat of God, And when the high-thundering Lord of Sabaoth 295 Making an end of fate shall raisethe dead,- Sit on his heavenly throne, and firmly ^x The mighty pillar, then amid the clouds Christ, who himself is incorruptible, 29*7. Pillar.— Comip. lines 351 and 362, and also book vii, 36. 4 (216-241.) 48 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. Shall come unto the Incorruptible 300 In glory with pure angels, and shall sit At the right hand on the great judgment^seat To judge the life of pious and the way Of impious men. And Moses, the great friend Of the Most High, shall come enrobed in flesh ; 305 Also great Abraham himself shall come, Isaac and Jacob, Joshua, Daniel, Elijah, Habakkuk and Jonah, and Those whom the Hebrews slew. But he'll destroy The Hebrews after Jeremiah, all 310 Who are to be judged at the judgment-seat, That worthy recompense they may receive And pay for all each did in mortal life. And then shall all pass through the burning stream Of flame unquenchable ; but all the just 315 Shall be saved ; and the godless furthermore Shall to all ages perish, all who did Evils aforetime, and committed murders, And all who are accomplices therein, Liars and thieves, and miners of home, 320 Crafty and terrible, and parasites, And marriage-breakers pouring forth vile words, Dread, wanton, lawless, and idolaters ; And all who left the great immortal God, Became blasphemers, did the pious harm, 325 Destroying faith and killing righteous men ; And all that with a shamelessness deceitful And double-faced rush in as presbyters And reverend ministers, who knowingly Give unjust judgments, yielding to false words . . 330 More hurtful than the leopards and the wolves And more vile ; and all that are grossly proud ; (241-268.) BOOK II. 49 And usurers, who gains on gains amass And damage orphans and widows in each thing ; And all that give to widows and to orphans 335 The fruit of unjust deeds, and all that cast Reproach in giving from their own hard toils; And all that left their parents in old age, Not paying them at all, nor offering To parents filial duty, and all who 340 Were disobedient and against their sires Spoke a harsh word ; and all that pledges took And then denied them ; and the servants all Who were against their masters, and again Those who licentiously defiled the flesh; 345 And all who loosed the girdle of the maid For secret intercourse, and all who caused Abortions, and all who their offspring cast Unlawfully away; and sorcerers And sorceresses with them, and these wrath 350 Of the heavenly and immortal God shall drive Against a pillar, where shall all around In a circle flow a restless stream of fire; And deathless angels of the immortal God, Who ever is, shall bind with lasting bonds 355 In chains of flaming flre and from above Punish them all by scourge most terribly; And in Gehenna, in the gloom of night, Shall they be cast ^neath many horrid beasts Of Tartarus, where darkness is immense. 360 But when there shall be many punishments Enforced on all who had an evil heart, Yet afterward shall there a fiery wheel From a great river circle them around. Because they had a care for wicked deeds. (269-296.) so THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. 365 And then one here, another there, shall sires, Young children, mothers, nursing babes, in tears Wail their most piteous fate. No fill of tears Shall be for them, nor piteous voice be heard Of them that moan, one here, another there, 3T0 But long worn under dark, dank Tartarus Aloud shall they cry; and they shall repay In cursed places thrice as much as all The evil work they did, burned with much fire; And all of them, consumed by raging thirst 375 And hunger, shall in anguish gnash their teeth And call death beautiful, and death shall flee Away from them. For neither death nor night Shall ever give them rest. And many things in vain Will they ask of the God that rules on high, 380 And then will he his face turn openly Away from them. For he to erring men Gave, in seven ages for repentance, signs By the hands of a virgin undefiled. But the others, all to whom right and fair works 385 And piety and thoughts most just were dear, Shall angels, bearing through the burning stream, Lead unto light and life exempt from care, Where comes the immortal way of the great God And fountains three — of honey, wine, and milk, 390 And equal land for all, divided not By walls or fences, more abundant fruits Spontaneous shall then bear, and the course Of life be common and wealth unapportioned. For there no longer will be poor nor rich, 376,— Corap. viii, 468; and xiii, 166. 381-S8S.— Comp. viii, 473-475. 394, 396.— Comp. viii, 145. (297-322.) BOOK II. 51 395 Tyrant nor slave, nor any great nor small, Nor kings nor leaders; all alike in common, No more at all "will one say, "night has come," Nor "morrow comes," nor "yesterday has been;" Nor shall there many days of anxious care, 400 Nor spring, nor winter, nor the summer-heat, Nor autumn be [nor marriage, nor yet death, Nor sales, nor purchases], nor set of sun Nor rising; for a long day will God make. And to the pious will the almighty God 405 Imperishable grant another thing, When they shall ask the imperishable God: That he will suffer men from raging fire And endless gnawing anguish to be saved; And this will he do. For hereafter he 410 Will pluck them from the restless flame, elsewhere Remove them, and for his own people's sake Send them to other and eternal life With the immortals, in Elysian field, 397-400.— Comp. viii, 561-565. 404-415.— This passage, which savors of a final restoration from future punishment, has been thought to be contrary to orthodox teaching ; and we find appended to some manuscripts the following lines, headed, " Contra- diction of the * To the pious will the Almighty,*" and professedly a disproof of the doctrine of Origen on this subject : False manifestly ; for the penal fire Shall never cease from those who are condemned. For also I might pray to have it thus, Branded with greatest scars of trespasses, Which need more kindness. But let Origen Of his presumptuous babble be ashamed, Saying there shall be end of punishments. 413. Mysian fietd^—hi Homer (Oc?., iv, 663) the Elysian fields are repre- sented as situated on the western border of the earth by the ocean stream. Hesiod {Works and Days, 169) speaks of " the isles of the blessed, beside (323-S3Y.) 52 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. Where move far-stretching billows of the lake 415 Of ever-flowing Acheron profound. Ahj miserahle woman that I am! What shall I be in that day ? for I sinned — Being busy foolishly about all things, Caring for neither marriage-bond nor reason; 420 But even in my wealthy husband's house I shut the needy out; and formerly I knowingly performed unlawful things. But, Saviour, though I shameless things performed, Do thou from my tormentors rescue me, 425 A shameless woman. And I pray thee now Make me to rest a little from my song, Holy Giver of manna, King of the great realm. deep-eddying ocean." But later, and with tlie Roman poets, Elysium was in the lower world, the blessed part of Hades, and is here conceived as bor- dering on the Acheronaan lake. 416-425. — Oomp. the conclusion of book via. (38'7-34'7.) BOOK III. CONTENTS OF BOOK III. Introduction, 1-10, Unity and power of God extolled, 11-34. Oracle against idolatry and sin, 36-64. Coining and judgment of the great Bling, SS-YS. Coming of Beliar, Y6-90. Reign of the woman and end of the world, 90-111. All things subject to Christ, 112-116. The tower of Babel, llY-132. Cronos, Titan, and lapetus, 132-164. Cronos, Rhea, and the Titans, ISS-IS'Z. End of the Titans and rise of many kingdoms, 188-195. The Sibyl's message, 196-201. Rule of the house of Solomon, 202-207. Rule of the Hellenes, 208-212. The Western Kingdom, 213-235. The Sibyl's burden, 236-241. Woes on the Titans and on many nations, 242-260. The righteous race, 261-303. The exodus and giving of the law, 304-325. Desolation and exile, 326-361. Restoration from exile, 352-361. The Sibyl ceases and begins again, 362-3^1. Woe on Babylon, 3'72-386. Woe oa Egypt, SSY-S92. Woe on Gog and Magog, S9S-39Y. Woe on Libya, 398-412. Great signs and woea on many cities, 413-433, Retributive judgment on Rome, 434-450. Doom of Smyrna, Samos, Delos, and Rome, 461-456. Peace of Asia and Europe, 45'7-4'?3. The Macedonian woe, 474- 482. The unnamed rulers, 483-499. The sign for Phrygia, 500-516. The fate of Ilium, 616-522. Songs of the blind old man, 523-541. Woes of Lycia, Chalcedon, Cyzicus, Byzantium, Rhodes, Lydia, Samos, Cyprus, and Trallis, 542-582. Italy's tribal wars, 683-590. Woes of Laodicea, Cam- pania, Corsica, and Sardinia, 691-60Y. Woes of Mysia, Chalcedon, Galatia, Tenedos, Sicyon, and Corinth, 608-616. The Sibyl ceases and begins again, 616-619. Woea of Pha3nicta, Crete, Thrace, Gog, Magog, Maurians, Ethio- pians, and provinces of Asia Minor, 620-666. Oracles against Greece, 657- 723. The holy race, 724-756. Egypt subdued, 766-774. Time of bless- edness, 775-783. Exhortation to worship God, 784-794. Time of judg- ment, 796-816. The god-sent king, 817-829. Fearful time of judginent, 830-871. The Sibyl's testimony, 872-876. A Jewish miUenruum, 877-911. Exhortation to the Greeks, 912-928. Day of prosperity and peace, 928- 947". Exhortation to serve God, 948-963. The Messianic day, 954-988. Signs of the end, 989-1003. The Sibyl's account of herself, 1004-1031. BOOK III. 55 BOOK III. O THOU high-tbundering blessed heavenly One, Wlio liast set in their place the cherubim, I, who have uttered what is all too true, Entreat thee, let me have a little rest; 5 For my heart has grown weary from within. But why again leaps my heart, and my soul With a whip smitten from within constrained To utter forth its message unto all ? But yet again will I proclaim all things 10 Which God commands me to proclaim to men. O men, that in your image have a form Fashioned of God, why do ye vainly stray This third book of the Oracles is the most interesting and important of the entire collection. It is by far the longest, containing in the Greek text 829 verses. It is believed to be mainly of Jewish origin. In its present form, however, it is obviously a compilation of several distinct groups of oracles, one of which, lines 117-361 (Greek text, 97-294), contains the old- est portion of the Sibylline Oracles as they now exist. Two quite extensive fragments which have been preserved by Theophilus are by him said to have stood at the beginning of the Sibyl's prophecy and probably formed an in- troduction to this section of our third book (see Appendix, p. 25*7). In place of this more ancient introduction the compiler of our collection has inserted the first 116 lines of this book, which may be again subdivided into three parts, which appear to be so many separate fragments ; lines 1-75, 76-111, 112-116, In some editions the first 75lines (Greek text, 1-62) areappended to the preceding book, and some MSS. preface this book with the words, " Again in her third tome she says these things from the second discourse concerning God." Other clearly distinguishable sections of this book are the following: lines 362-615, 616-1003, 1004-1031 (Greek text, 295-488, 489-808, 809-827). The last section purports to be a personal vindication of the Sibyl. (1-9.) 56 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. And walk not in the straight "way, always mindful Of the immortal Maker ? God is one, 15 Sovereign, ineffable, dwelling in heaven, The self-existent and invisible. Himself alone beholding everything; Him sculptor's hand made not, nor is his form Shown by man's art from gold or ivory; 20 But he, eternal Lord, proclaims himself As one who is and was erst and shall be Again hereafter. For who being mortal Can see God with his eyes ? Or who shall bear To hear the only name of heaven's great God, 25 The ruler of the world ? He by his word Created all things, even heaven and sea, And tireless sun, and full moon and bright stars. And mighty mother Tethys, springs and rivers, Imperishable fire, and days and nights. 30 This is the God who formed four-lettered Adam, The first one formed, and filling with his name East, west, and south, and north. The same is he Who ^xed. the pattern of the human form, And made wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls. S5 Ye do not worship neither fear ye God, 28. Mother Tethys. — Wife of Oceanus, mother of the rivers, and the nymphs, three thousand in number. See Hesiod, Tfieog.^ 835, ff. SO. Four-lettered Adam. — The ingenuity which sees in the four letters of this name the Greek initials of the words for east, west, north, and south surpasses even that noted in book i, 102, where Hades is traced in the word Adam. But Augustine adopts this, and says : " According to the Greek tongue, Adam himself signifies the whole world. 1*0? there are four letters, A, D, A, M, and in Greek speech these are the initial letters of the four quarters of the earth." 'AvaroX^, east; AWif, west; 'ApKror, north; Me(T^;ij3pta, south. Aarraiio mPsa?mwm, xcv, 15 [L., 87, 1236]. See also Traciatus in Joannis^ ix, 14, and x, 12 [L., 85, 1465, 1478]. (10-29.) BOOK III. 57 But vainly go astray and bow the knee To serpents, and make offering to cats, And idols, and stone images of men, And sit before the doors of godless temples; 40 Ye guard him who is God, who keeps all things, And merry with the wickedness of stones Forget the judgment of the immortal Saviour Who made the heaven and earth. Alas! a race That has delight in blood, deceitful, vile, 45 Ungodly, of false, double-tongued, immoral men, Adulterous, idolous, designing fraud, An evil madness raving in their hearts, For themselves plundering, having shameless soul; For no one who has riches will impart 50 To another, but dire wickedness shall be Among all mortals, and for sake of gain Will many widows not at all keep faith, But secretly love others, and the bond Of life those who have husbands do not keep. 55 But when Rome shall o'er Egypt also rule Governing always, then shall there appear The greatest kingdom of the immortal King Over men. And a holy Lord shall come To hold the scepter over every land 60 Unto all ages of fast-hastening time, 55. The time when Rome obtained full control of Egypt was when Au- gustus became the undisputed master of the regions all about the Mediter- ranean Sea, and the Roman empire became fully established. This empire the Sibyl recognizes as beginning about the time of the appearance of the Christ, who was bom during the reign of Augustus. 58. Holy Lord shall come. — The Messiah, for no other ruler could be de- scribed by such language as the writer here employs. This passage is evi- dence that at least lines 56-75 are of Christian or Jewish Christian author- ship. (29-60.) 58 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. And then shall come inexorable wrath On Latin men ; three shall by piteous fate Endamage Rome. And perish shall all men, With their own houses, when from heaven shall flow 65 A fiery cataract. Ah, wretched me ! When shall that day and when shall judgment come Of the immortal God, the mighty King ? Eut just now, O ye cities, ye are built And all adorned with temples and race-grounds, 70 Markets, and images of wood, of gold, Of silver and of stone, that ye may come Unto the bitter day. For it shall come. When there shall pass among all men a stench Of brimstone. Yet each thing will I declare, 75 In all the cities where men suffer ills. From the Sebastenes Beliar shall come Hereafter, and the height of hills shall he Establish, and shall make the sea stand still And the great fiery sun and the bright moon ; 80 And he shall raise the dead, and many signs Work before men : but nothing shall be brought By him unto completion but deceit. And many mortals shall he lead astray — Hebrews both true and choice, and lawless men 62. TJiree, — One most naturally thinks here of the famous triumvirate of Antony^ Octavius, and Lepidus ; but it is difficult to expltdn the " fiery cat- aract" (line 65) and other pictures of judgment in immediate connection with those historic names. 76. The Sebastenes are most naturally undei-stood of the inhabitants of Sebaate, or Samaria, and a Jewish writer living in the time of Augustus might have been readily disposed to think of a Beliar — antichrist — as issu- ing from among the hated Samaritans. Comp. the miracle-working anla- christ of Dan, vii, 26 ; viii, 23-25 ; xi, 36 ; and also 2 Thess. ii, 8-10. (51-69.) BOOK III. 59 85 Besides who never gave ear to God's word. But when the threatenings of the mighty God Shall draw near, and a flaming power shall come By billow to the earth, it shall consume Both Beliar and all the haugh^ men 90 Who put their trust in him. /And thereupon Shall the whole world be governed by the hands Of a woman and obedient everywhere. Then when a widow shall o'er all the world Gain the rule, and cast in the mighty sea 95 Both gold and silver, also brass and iron Of shortlived men into the deep shall cast, Then all the elements shall be bereft Of order, when the God who dwells on high Shall roll the heaven, even as a scroll is rolled ; / 100 And to the mighty earth and sea shall fall The entire multiform sky ; and there shall flow A tireless cataract of raging fire, And it shall burn the land, and burn the sea, And heavenly sky, and'night, and day, and melt 105 Creation itself together and pick out What is pure. Ko more laughing spheres of light, 'Nor night, nor dawn, nor many days of care, Nor spring, nor winter, nor the summer-time, 92-93. A woman . . . a widow, — If we find in the ** three " of line 62 a reference to the triumvirs Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus, it is but natural to understand this " widow ^' as Cleopatra of Egypt, who captivated by her charms both Julius Caesar and Antony. But here again the picture of world-judgment which immediately follows is difficult to account for in connection with such a mention of Cleopatra. Is not the entire passage rather an ideal apocalyptic concept, to be understood somewhat after the manner of the woman portrayed in John's Apocalypse, xvii, 3 ; xvizi, 7 ; a symbol of Rome herself conceived as the mistress of nations ? Comp. book viii, 263; 165, Comp. book ii, 263; viii, B46. (70-90.) 60 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. Nor autumn. And then of the mighty God 110 The judgment midway in a mighty age Shall come, when all these things shall come to pass. | O navigable waters and each land Of the Orient and of the Occident, Subject shall all things be to him who comes 115 Into the world again, and therefore he Himself became first conscious of his power. But when the threatenings of the mighty God Are fulfilled, which he threatened mortals once, When in Assyrian land they built a tower; — 120 (And they all spoke one language, and resolved To mount aloft into the starry heaven ; But on the air the Immortal straightway put A mighty force; and then winds from above Cast down the great tower and stirred mortals up 125 To wrangling with each other; therefore men Gave to that city the name of Babylon) ; — Now when the tower fell and the tongues of men Turned to all sorts of sounds, straightway all earth Was filled with men and kingdoms were divided; 112-116. This fragment has no necessary connection with what precedes or follows, and the MSS. are defective at this point. 117-129. Thla passage is cited in Theophilus, ad Antol, ii, 31 [G., 6, 1101]; Josephus, ^n/., i, iy^ 3. Corap. Eusebius, Prcep, Mmg., ix, M [a, 21, 702, 703]. See Gen. xi, 1-9. It is one of the oldest portions of the Sibylliaes, but begins abruptly, as if its natural preceding context had been omitted. 122. T^nffe.— "The Idea that God threw down the tower by means of the winds was probably first written down by our poet, but it is really nothing but a subtile interpretation of Gen. xi, ^:'—jBadM^ p. 33. (91-107.) BOOK III. 61 130 And then the generation tenth appeared Of mortal men, from the time when the flood Came upon earlier men. And Cronos reigned, And Titan and lapetus ; and men called them Best offspring of Gaia and of Uranus, 135 Giving to them names both of earth and heaven. Since they were very first of mortal men. So there were three divisions of the earth According to the allotment of each man. And each one having his own portion reigned 140 And fought not ; for a father's oaths were there And equal were their portions. But the time Complete of old age on the father came, And he died ; and the sons infringing oaths Stirred up against each other bitter strife, 145 Which one should have the royal rank and rule Over all mortals ; and against each other Cronos and Titan fought. But Rhea and Gaia, And Aphrodite fond of crowns, Demeter, And Hestia and Dione of fair locks 150 Brought them to friendship, and together called All who were kings, both brothers and near kin, And others of the same ancestral blood, 130. Oeneratio7i tenth. — Cited by Athenagoras, Legaiio pro Ghristianis^ xxs [G., 6, 960], and Tertul., ad Kaiiones, ii, 12 [L., 1, 603]. In citing this passage Tertullian thus speaks of the Sibyl : " The Sibyl was earlier than all literature, that Sibyl, I mean, who was the true prophetess of truth. In hexameter verse she thus expounds the descent and exploits of Saturn." 132. Cronos. — Greek name for the more familiar Latin title Saturn. The story of the Titans in the following lines (132-187) is familiar to students of Greek mythology, but the old myth exists with numerous minor variations, and, according to Hesiod {Theog.\ 463-500), the birth and pres- ervation of Zeus were somewhat different from this story. (108-126.) 62 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. And they judged Cronos should reign king of all, For he was oldest and of noblest form. 155 But Titan laid on Cronos mighty oaths To rear no male posterity, that he Himself might reign when age and fate should come To Cronos. And whenever Rhea bore Beside her sat the Titans, and all males 160 In pieces tore, but let the females live To be reared by the mother. But when now At the third birth the august Ehea bore, She brought forth Hera first ; and when they saw. A female offspring, the fierce Titan men 165 Betook them to their homes. And thereupon Rhea a male child bore, and having bound Three men of Crete by oath she quickly sent Him into Phrygia to be reared apart In secret ; therefore did they name him Zeus, 170 For he was sent away. And thus she sent Poseidon also secretly away. And Pluto, third, did Rhea yet again, Noblest of women, at Dodona bear, Whence flows Europus' river's liquid course, 175 And with Peneus mixed pours in the sea Its water, and men call it Stygian. 173-176. There was a Dodona ia Epirua, ruins of which found near Jan- nina were excavated in 1896 ; there was also a Dodona in northern Thes- saly, and each of these places was the seat of an ancient and celebrated oracle. The Sibylline writer does not distinguish between the two. Suvopus ia another name for the Titareslus, which, according to Straho {Geog, ix, 6, 19; and Fragment 15) was a tributary to the Peneus^ and flowed with it through the vale of Tempe to the sea. Comp. Homer, Iliad ii, 750-755, where mention is made of "wintry Podona," and "lovely Titaresiiis," which, however, does not mingle with the Feneus, because it \^ a broken-off portion of the Styx. (127-146.) BOOK III. 63 But when the Titans heard that there were sons Kept secretly, whom Cronos and his wife Hhea "begatj then Titan sixty youths 180 Together gathered, and held fast in chains Cronos and his wife Rhea, and concealed Them in the earth and guarded them in bonds. And then the sons of powerful Cronos heard, And a great war and uproar they aroused. 185 And this is the beginning of dire war Among all mortals. [For it is indeed With mortals the prime origin of war.] And then did God award the Titans evil. And all of Titans and of Cronos born 190 Died. But then as time rolled around there rose The Egyptian kingdom, then that of the Persians And of the Medes and Ethiopians, And of Assyria and Babylon, And then that of the Macedonians, 195 Egyptian yet again, then that of Rome. And then a message of the mighty God "Was set within my breast, and it bade me Proclaim through all earth and in royal hearts Plant things which are to be. And to my mind 200 This God imparted first, how many kingdoms Have been together gathered of mankind. For first of all the house of Solomon Shall include horsemen of Phoenicia And Syria, and of the islands too, 205 And the race of Pamphylians and Persians And Phrygians, Carians, and Mysians 202. House of Solomon.— -Th.^ kingdom of Solomon is here made to rule over nations which Old Testament history never mentions as subject to larael. Comp. 1 Kings iv, 21. But the poet wishes to magnify that realm. 5 (147-170.) 64 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. And the race of tlie Lydians rich in gold. And then shall Plellenes, proud and impure, Then shall a Macedonian nation rule, 210 Great, shrewd, who as a fearful cloud of war Shall come to mortals. But the God of heaven Shall utterly destroy them from the depth. /And then shall be another kingdom, white And many-headed, from the western sea, 215 Which shall rule much land, and shake many men. And to all kings bring terror afterwards, And out of many cities shall destroy Much gold and silver; but in the vast earth There will again be gold, and silver too, 220 And ornament. And they will oppress mortals; And to those men shall great disaster be, When they begin unrighteous arrogance. And forthwith in them there shall be a force Of wickedness, male will consort with male, 225 And children they will place in dens of shame; And in those days there shall be among men A great affliction, and it shall disturb All things, and break all things, and fill all things With evils by a shameful covetousnegsj 230 And by ill-gotten wealth in many lands, 208. Hellenes. — The GrEcco-Macedoniau kingdom is here evidently in- tended. 21S. Another kingdom. — That of Rome, here called wkUe^ or brilliant, iu allusion to the white toga worn by the Roman magistrates. Competitors for office were called candidati^ because of the white robe in which they presented themselves. Martial (^iff., viii, 65, 6) speaks of Candida cuUtt Moma — " Rome white in apparel." The epithet many-lieaded haa been sup- posed to point to Rome while she was yet a republic and had her hundred or more senators as rulers. But there may be an allusion to the biblical sym- bolism of Dan. vii, 6, and Rev. xiii, 1. (1 70-1 90.) BOOK in. 65 But most of all in Macedonia. And it shall stir up hatred, and all guile Shall be with them even to the seventh kingdom, Of which a king of Egypt shall be king 235 Who shall be a descendant from the Greeks. And then the nation of the mighty God Shall be again strong, and they shall be guides Of life to all men. But why did God place This also in my mind to tell: what first, 240 And what next, and what evil last shall be On all men ? Which of these shall take the lead ? First on the Titans will God visit evil. For they shall pay to mighty Cronos's sons The penal satisfaction, since they bound 245 Both Cronos and the mother dearly loved. Again shall there be tyrants for the Greeks And fierce kings overweening and impure, Adulterous and altogether bad; And for men shall be no more rest from war. 250 And the dread Phrygians shall perish all. And unto Troy shall evil come that day. And to the Persians and Assyrians Evil shall straightway come, and to all Egypt And Libya and the Ethiopians, 255 And to the Carians and Pamphylians — 233. Seventh kingdom. — Or seventh king (comp. line '?65) of the Greek- Egyptian dynasty. This would point to Ptolemy Philometer if we reckon Alexander the Great as the first king, but Ptolemy Phyacon if the line of the Ptolemies alone are reckoned, Ewald adopts this latter view, Alex- andre the former. All the Ptolemies were of Greek (or Macedonian) origin. 237. Again strong. — The writer seems in the spirit and hope of Old Tes- tament prophets to conceive a triumph for the chosen people as following hard upon the evils of his own time. 242-245. — This passage is in part a repetition of lines 188-190 above. (190-209.) 66 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. Evil to pass from one place to another, And to all mortals. Why now one by one Do I speak forth ? But Avhen the first receive Fulfillment, then straightway shall come on men 260 The second. So the very first I'll tell. There shall an evil come to pious men Who dwell by the great temple of Solomon And who are progeny of righteous men. Alike of all these also I will tell 2G5 The tribe and line of fathers and homeland — All things with care, O mortal shrewd in mind. There is a city ... on the earth, Ur of the Chaldees, whence there is a race Of men most righteous, to whom both good will 270 And noble deeds have ever been a care. For they have no concern about the course Of the sun's revolution, nor the moon's, Nor wondrous things beneath the earth, nor depth Of joy-imparting sea Oceanus, 275 Nor signs of sneezing, nor the wings of birds. Nor soothsayers, nor wizards, nor enchanters, Nor tricks of dull words of ventriloquists, Neither do they astrologize with skill Of the Chaldeans, nor astronomize; 280 For these are all deceptivcj in so far As foolish men go seeking day by day Training their souls unto no useful work; 266. Mortal shrewd. — Comp. i, 8. 267. — Ttie passage is corrupt, and the reading adopted in our version ia to some extent conjectural, but has some support in manuscripts and suits the context. The critical student should consult Alexandre's note in hia edition of 1841, p. 111. On "Ur of the Chaldees " see Gen. xi, SI. Others, however, following another conjectural reading, understand the city to be Jerusalem. So Ewald, p. 21. (209-230.) BOOK in. 67 And then did they teach miserable men Deceptions, whence to mortals on the earth 285 Come many evils leading them astray From good ways and just deeds. But they have care For righteousness and virtue, and not greed, Whiqh breeds unnumbered ills to mortal men. War and unending famine. But with them 290 Just measure, both in fields and cities, holds, !N"or steal they from each other in the night, Nor drive off herds of cattle, sheep, and goats. Nor neighbor remove landmarks of a neighbor. Nor any man of great wealth grieve the one 295 Less favored, nor to widows cause distress, But rather aids them, ever helping them With wheat and wine and oil; and always does The rich man in the country send a share At the time of the harvests unto them 300 That have not, but are needy, thus fulfilling The saying of the mighty God, a hymn In legal setting; for the Heavenly One Finished the earth a common good for all. Now when the people of twelve tribes depart 305 From Egypt, and with leaders sent of God Nightly pursue their -way by a pillar of fire And during all the day by one of cloud. For them then God a leader will appoint — A great man, Moses, whom a princess found 310 Beside a marsh, and carried off and reared And called her son. And at the time he came As leader for the people whom God led From Egypt unto the steep Sinai mount, 303. Eepeated in line 321 below. (231-256.) 68 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. His own law God delivered them from heaven 315 Writing on two flat stones all righteous things Which he enjoined to do; and if, perchance, One give no heed, he must unto the law Make satisfaction, either at men's hands Or, if men's notice he escape, he shall 320 By ample satisfaction be destroyed. [For the Heavenly finished earth a common good For all, and in all hearts as best gift thought.]. To them alone the bounteous field yields fruit A hundredfold from one, and thus completes 325 God's measure. But to them shall also come Misfortune, nor do they escape from plague. And even thou, forsaking thy fair shrine, Shalt flee away when it becomes thy lot To leave the holy land. And thou shalt be 330 Carried to the Assyrians, and shalt see Young children and wives serving hostile men; And every means of life and wealth shall perish; And eveiy land shall be filled up with thee, And every sea; and everyone shall be 335 Offended with thy customs; and thy land Shall all be desert; and the altar fenced And temple of the great God and long walls Shall all fall to the ground, since in thy heart The holy law of the immortal God 340 Thou didst not keep, but, erring, thou didst serve Unseemly images, and didst not fear The immortal Father, God of all mankind, Nor will to honor him; but images Of mortals thou didst honor. Therefore now 324,825. Hundredfold . . . Ood^s measure. —Gomp. Gen. xxvi, 12; 2 Sam. xxiv, 3 ; Matt, xix, 29 ; liuke via, 8. (266-279.) BOOK HI. 69 345 Of time seven decades shall thy fruitful land And the wonders of thy temple all be waste. But there remains for thee a goodly end And greatest glory, as the immortal God Granted thee. But do thou wait and confide 350 In the great God's pure laws, when he shall lift Thy wearied knee upright unto the light. And then will God from heaven send a king To judge each man in blood and light of fire. There is a royal tribe, the race of which 355 Shall be unfailing; and as times revolve This race shall bear rule and begin to build God's temple new. And all the Persian kings Shall aid with bronze and gold and well-wrought iron. For God himself will give the holy dream 360 By night. And then the temple shall again Be, as it was before. , . . 345. Seven decades. — See Jer. xxv, 9-12. 352. The king here referred to is perhaps best explained of Cyrus, and the description should be compared with Isa. xliv, 28 ; xlv, 1-4. Ewald (p. 32) understands the king to be the Messiah, and, indeed, the language of lines 352 and 353 (Greek text, 286, 287), taken apart from the context, nat- urally suggests a supernatural ruler and judge. The poet may have intended to connect the advent of the Messiah with the restoration of the Jews and the rebuilding of their temple. But the context here and in the parallel passage, lines 81'7-826 below, points rather to Cyrus, whom Isaiah calls the anointed one of Jehovah and represents as the conqueror of nations, " saying of Jerusalem, She shall be built; and to the temple, Thy founda- tion shall be laid." 364. Royal tribe. — Judah, which returned from Babylonian exile, and under Zerubbabel, a descendant of the house of David (Matt, i, 12 ; Luke iii, 27), rebuilt the temple. 357, 358. Kings shall aid. — Comp. Ezra i, 4 ; vi, 8 ; vii, 16, 16, 22. 359. Tlie Jwly dream. — Perhaps alluding to the visions and prophecies of Zechariah and Haggai (comp. Ezra v, i). (280-294.) 70 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. Now wbeii my soul had rest from inspired song, And I prayed tlie great Father for a rest From constraint ; even in my heart again 365 Was set a message of the mighty God And he bade me proclaim through all the earth And plant in royal minds things yet to he. And in my mind God put this first to say : How many lamentable sufferings 3Y0 The Immortal purposed upon Babylon Because she his great temple had destroyed, Alas, alas for thee ! O Babylon, And for the offspring of the Assyrian men I Through all the earth the rush of sinful men 3*75 Shall some time come, and shout of mortal men And stroke of the great God, who inspires songs. Shall ruin every land. For high in air to thee, O Babylon, shall it come from above. And out of heaven from holy ones to thee 380 Shall it come down, and the soul in thy children Shall the Eternal utterly destroy. And then shalt thou be, as thou wast before, As one not born ; and then shalt thou be filled Again with blood, as thou thyself before 385 Didst shed that of good, just, and holy men, Whose blood yet cries out to the lofty heaven. To thee, O Egypt, shall a great blow come 362. W7ien my &out had rest — Comp. similav exordium in liues 1-10, 196-201, and 616-619. The passage beginniDg here and ending with line 615 forms a section by itself, and is regarded by Alexandre as an interpola- tion belonging to the times of the Antonines. Others, however, find in it evidences of a pre-Christian date. S72. Babylon, — Corap. how Jeremiah (xxv, 12) passes from the Jews' calamities to the penal visitation of Babylon. 387. Blow. — The constant wars of the times of the Ptolemies, (295-814.) BOOK III. 71 And dreadful, to thy homes, which thou didst hope Might never fall on thee. For through thy midst 390 A Bword shall pass, and scattering and death And famine shall prevail until of kings The seventh generation, and then cease. Alas for thee, O land of Grog and Magog In the midst of the rivers of Ethiopia ! 395 What pouring out of blood shalt thou receive. And house of judgment among men be called, And thy land of much dew shall drink black blood ! Alas for thee, O Libya, and alas, Both sea and land ! O daughters of the west, 400 So shall ye come unto a bitter day. And ye shall come pursued by grievous strife, Dreadful and grievous; there shall be again A dreadful judgment, and ye all shall come By force unto destruction, for ye tore 405 In pieces the great house of the Immortal, And with iron teeth ye chewed it dreadfully. Therefore shalt thou then look upon thy land Full of the dead, some of them fallen by war And by the demon of all violence, 410 Famine and plague, and some by barbarous foes. And all thy land shall be a wilderness, 392. Smeivth.~^Qe line 233, and note. 393. Gog and Magog. — Names derived from Ezek. xxxviii, 2. Comp. Rev, xs, 8. Here apparently applied as symbolical names to the Ethiopians of the Upper Nile. 399. Daughters of the west. — Koman cities lying west of Egypt on or near the Mediterranean sea. 405. Cheat house. — Obvious allusion to the temple at Jerusalem and its destruction by the Romans. 406. Iron teeth. — Comp. Dan. vii, T, 19. (315-333.) 72 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLEa And desolations shall tliy cities be. And in the west there shall a star shine forth Which they will call a comet, sign to men 415 Of the sword and of famine and of death, And murder of great leaders and chief men. And yet again there shall be among men Greatest signs; for deep-eddying Tanais Shall leave Maeotis's lake, and there shall he 420 Down the deep stream a fruitful furrow's track, And the vast flow shall hold a neck of land. And there are hollow chasms and yawning pits; And many cities, men and all, shall fall : — In Asia — lassus, Cebren, Pandonia, 425 Colophon, Ephesus, ISTicsea, Antioch, Syagra, Sinope, Smyrna, Myrina, Most happy Gaza, liierapolis, Astypalaia; and in Europe — Tanagra, Clitor, Basilis, Meropeia, Antigone, 430 Magnessa, Mykene, Oiantheia. Know then that the destructive race of Egypt Is near destruction, and the past year then Is better for the Alexandrians. As much of tribute as Rome did receive 412. /?c5o^a^wis.— Rzach's text here proposed the reading ipfia^ support^ prop ; but in his CoiTigenda he concedes that the reading eprifia ird^ijeg^ pro- posed by Gomperz, is far preferable. Comp. Isa. i, Y. 414. Among most nations the appearance of a comet has been regarded by the superstitious as a sign of the evils here specified. 418. Tanais. — Ancient classic name of the Don, which empties into the modern sea of Azof, the ancient Lake Mseotis. 424-430. These names of cities are inserted in the translation in the order in Tvhich they stand in Rzach^s text. Of course no rhythmic arrange- ment is practicable. 434-450. This prophecy of the subjugation of Rome by Asia is referred (333-350.) BOOK III. 73 435 Of Asia, even thrice as many goods Shall Asia back again from Rome receive, And her destructive outrage pay her back. As many as from Asia ever served A house of the Italians, twenty times 440 As many Italians shall in Asia serve In poverty, and numerous debts incur. O virgin, soft rich child of Latin Rome, Oft at thy much-remembered marriage feasts Drunken with wine, now shalt thou be a slave 445 And wedded in no honorable way. And oft shall mistress shear thy pretty hair. And wreaking satisfaction cast thee down From heaven to earth, and from the earth again Raise thee to heaven, for mortals of low rank 450 And of unrighteous life are held fast bound. And of avenging Smyrna overthrown There shall be no thought, but by evil plans And wickedness of them that have command to by Lactantius, Div. Inst., vii, 15 [L., 6, 787-790], who declares that " the Sibyls openly say that Rome shall perish, and that too by the judg- ment of God, because she held his name in contempt, was an enemy of righteousness, and slew a people that was a keeper of truth." Previously, in the same chapter, he says : " The Roman name by which the world is now ruled shall be taken from the earth, and the power will revert to Asia, and the East will again rule, and the West will be in subjection." The " virgin " addressed in hue 442, being a " child of Latin Rome," cannot with- out unnatural violence be understood of "the virgin daughter of the true God, the community of Israel, which, while inflicting divine punishment, also contributes to the true welfare " (Ewald, p. 19), but is rather a poetical name for Rome herself. The "mistress," in line 446, is understood by Alexandre of the goddess Fortune, whom Horace {Od., i, 35) addresses as able "in a moment either to lift a mortal body from the lowest place, or to turn the noblest triumphs into funeral scenes." (351-364.) 74 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. Shall Samos be sand, Delos shall be dull, 455 And Rome a room; but the decrees of God Shall all of them be perfectly fulfilled. And a calm peace to Asian land shall go. And Europe shall be happy then, well fed, Pure air, full of years, strong, and undisturbed 460 By wintry storms and hail, bearing all things. Even birds and creeping things and beasts of earth. O happy upon earth shall that man be Or woman; what a home unspeakable Of happy ones ! For from the starry heaven 465 Shall all good order come upon mankind. And justice, and the prudent unity "Which of all things is excellent for men. And kindness, confidence, and love of guests; But far from them shall lawlessness depart, 470 Blame, envy, wrath, and folly; poverty Shall flee away from men, and force shall flee, And mui'der, baneful strifes and bitter feuds. And theft, and every evil in those days. But Macedonia shall to Asia bear 475 A grievous suflEering, and the greatest sore To Europe shall spring up from Cronian stock, A family of bastards and of slaves. And she shall tame fenced city Babylon, 454, 455. These lines contaia a notable play on the names Samos, Delos, and Rome. Comp. also book iv, 126, and viii, 218. Comp. also Tertullian, Be Pallio^ ii [L., 2, 1034] ; Lactantius, vii, 25 [6, 812] \ Palladius, Lausiaca, cxviii [G., 34, 1227]. 474-482. This passage is most naturally explained as referring to the Macedonian rule of Alexander and his successors, -who endeavored to appear as haughty, world-ruling sons of Cronos (Saturn), but were, as a matter of fact, of heathen origin, ignoble, and really u, bastard race. Perseus, the last of them, was truly a bastard. So Ewald, Ahhandlung^ p. 12. (366-884.) BOOK III. 75 And of each land the sun looks down upon 480 Call herself mistress, and then come to naught By ruinous misfortunes, having fame In later generations distant far. And sometime into Asia's prosperous land Shall come a man unheard of, shoulder-clad 485 With purple roloe, fierce, unjust, fiery; And this man he who wields the thunderbolt Roused forwards; and all Asia shall sustain An evil yoke, and her soil wet with rain Shall drink much murder. But even so shall Hades 490 Destroy the unknown king; and that man's offspring Shall forthwith perish by the race of those Whose offspring he himself would fain destroy; Producing one root which the bane of men Shall cut from ten horns, and plant by their side 495 Another plant. A father purple-clad Shall cut a warlike father off, and Ares, Baneful and hostile, by a grandson's hand Shall himself perish; and then shall the horn Planted beside them forthwith bear the rule. 500 And unto life-sustaining Phrygia Straightway shall there a certain token be, When Rhea's blood-stained race, in the great earth 483-489. This passage seems best to describe Antiocbus Epiphanes, but Alexandre understands it of Hadrian. Tbe "thunderbolt," in line 486 (Greek KEpawSg)^ is thought by Ewald (p. 13) to be a manifest allusion to Seleucus Geraunus, one of the predecessors of Antiochus Epiphanes, btit the epithet seems more properly to denote the god of the thunder. 493-499. Here, too, the exact references are uncertain, but the imagery of being cut from ten horns is manifestly from Daniel (vii, 7, 8, 20, 24), and favors the opinion that the writer had in mind one of the Syrian kings. We must not suppose, however, that these Sibylline authors were always accurate in their knowledge or exact in their descriptions. (385-402.) 76 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. Blooming perennial in impervious roots, Shall, root and branch, in one night disappear 505 With a city, men and all, of the Earth-shaker Poseidon; which place they shall sometime call Dorylseum, of dark ancient Phrygia Much-bewailed. Therefore shall that time be called Earth-shaker; dens of earth shall he break up 510 And walls demolish. And not signs of good But a beginning of evil shall be made ; The baneful violence of general war Ye'll have, sons of -^neas, native blood Of Ilus from the soil. But afterwards 515 A spoil shalt thou become for greedy men. O Ilium, I pity thee; for there shall bloom In Sparta an Erinys very fair. Ever-famed, noblest scion, and shall leave On Asia and Europe a wide-spreading wave; 520 But to thee most of all she'll bear and cause Wailings and toils and groans; but there shall be Undying fame with those who are to come. And there shall be an aged mortal then. False writer and of doubtful native land; 525 And in his eyes the light shall fade away; Large mind and verses measured with great skill Shall he have and be blended with two names, 507. Dorylceum. — Situated on the river Thymbria, in Phrygia, and noted for its hot baths. The entire region round about has suffered fearfully from earthquakes. That time, according to the poet, would be so noted for earthquakes as to take the title of the Earth-shaker himself. 617. An Erinys. — Here referring to Helen, wife of Menelaus of Sparta, who was the occasion of the Trojan war, and is called by Vergil {j^n.^ ii, 673) *' the common Erinys of Troy and native laud." Comp. book xi, 166. 523, Aged mortal. — Reference to the blind Homer. 627. Two names, — Besides his common name, Homer is also called " a (403-422.) BOOK III. 77 Shall call himself a Chian and shall write Of Ilium, not truthfully, indeed, 630 But skillfully; for of my verse and meters He will be master; for he first my books Will open with his hands; but he himself Will much embellish helmed chiefs of war, Hector of Priam and Achilles, son 535 Of Peleus, and the others who have care For warlike deeds. And also by their side Will he make gods stand, empty-headed men, False-writing every way. And it shall be Glory the rather, widely spread, for them 540 To die at Ilium; but he himself Shall also works of recompense receive. Also to Lycia shall a Locrian race Cause many evils. And thee, Chalcedon, Holding by lot a strait of narrow sea, 545 Shall an ^tolian youth sometime despoil, Cyzicus, also thy vast wealth the sea Shall break off. And, Byzantium of Ares, Thou some time shalt by Asia be laid waste, And also groans and blood immeasurable 550 Shalt thou receive. And Cragus, lofty mount Of Lycia, from thy peaL;s by yawning chasms Of opened rock shall babbling water flow, Until even Patara's oracles shall cease. O Cyzicus, that dwellest by Propontis 555 The wine-producing, round thee Rhyndacus Chian " because the island Chios was said to be his birthplace. Possibly the reference is to Melesigenes and Maeonides, two names often applied to Homer. 663. Patara, — A chief city of Lycia and place of a very famous oracle of Apollo. (422-443.) 78 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. Shall crash, the crested billow. And thou, Rhodes, Daughter of day, shalt long be unenslaved, And great shall be thy happiness hereafter, And on the sea thy power shall be supreme. 560 But afterwards a spoil shalt thou become For greedy men, and put upon thy neck By beauty and by wealth a fearful yoke. A Lydian earthquake shall again despoil The power of Persia, and most horribly 565 Shall the people of Europe and Asia suffer pain. And Sidon's hurtful king with battle-din Dreadful shall work a mournful overthrow To the seafaring Samians, On the soil Shall slain men's dark blood babble to the sea; 5Y0 And wives together with the noble brides Shall their outrageous insolence lament. Some for their bridegrooms, some for fallen sons. O sign of Cyprus, may an earthquake waste Thy phalanxes away, and many souls 5*75 With one accord shall Hades hold in charge. And Trallis near by Ephesus, and walls Well made, and very precious wealth of men Shall be dissolved by earthquake ; and the land Shall burst out with hot water ; and the earth 556. EJiodes. — The famous island off the southern coast of Caria, where now, as of old, it is said there is scarcely a day of the whole year in which the sun is not visible. Not mingling in the quarrels of Alexander's succes- sors, Rhodes enjoyed a considerable period of peace and prosperity, and carried an extensive commerce with Egypt. Its subsequent enslavement and downfall were mainly due to the fact that it was such a tempting spoil for greedy conquerors. BVT. Very precious wealth, — ^Mendelssohn's emendation approved by Rzach in his Corrigenda. The common reading of MSS. is, wealih of keavy-liearted men. (443-461.) BOOK III. 79 580 Shall swallow down those who are by the fire And stench of brimstone heavily oppressed. And Samos shall in time build royal houses. But to thee, Italy, no foreign war Shall come, but lamentable tribal blood 585 Not easily exhausted, much renowned. Shall make thee, impudent one, desolate. And thou thyself beside hot ashes stretched, As thou in thine own heart didst not foresee, Shalt slay thyself. And thou shalt not of men 590 Be mother, but a nurse of beasts of prey. But when from Italy shall come a man, A spoiler, then, Laodicea, thou, Beautiful city of the Carians By Lycus's wondrous water, falling prone, 595 Shalt weep in silence for thy boastful sire. Thracian Crobyzi shall rise up on Hsemus, Chatter of teeth to the Campanians comes Because of wasting famine ; Corsica Weeps her old father, and Sardinia 600 Shall by great storms of winter and the strokes 58^. Hot ashes. — Allusion to eruptions of Vesuvius. Comp. book, iv, 172. 592. Spoiler, — L. Scipio, according to some ; Nero, according to others ; but the reference is uncertain. " The entire picture," says Ewald (p. 38), "is so vast and so general that we cannot think of it as referring to an event that had already taken place." Zaodicea. — Situated on the Lycus as here described, and on the borders of Lydia, Caria, and Phrygia. It suf- fered much by wars and earthquakes. 695. Boadful sire. — Antiochus Theos, who named it in honor of his wife Laodice. 596- Grohyzi. — Mentioned by Strabo (vii, 6, 12) as occupying the district near Mt. Haemus and south of the Danube. 697. Campanians. — Campania was the district of Italy south of Latium, on the seacoast. Vesuvius was near its central part. 6 (462-477.) 80 THE SIBYLLmE ORACLES. Of a holy God sink down in ocean depths, Great wonder to the children of the sea. Alas, alas, how many virgin maids Will Hades wed, and of as many youths 605 Will the deep take charge without funeral rites ! Alas, alas, the helpless little ones And the vast riches swimming in the sea ! O happy land of Mysians, suddenly A royal race shall be formed. Truly now 610 Not for a long time shall Chalcedon be. And there shall be a very bitter grief To the Galatians. And to Tenedos Shall there a last but greatest evil come. And Sicyon, with strong yells, and Corinth, thou 615 Shalt boast o'er all, but flute shall sound like strain, Now, when my soul had rest from inspired song, Even again within my heart was set A message of the mighty God, and he Commanded me to prophesy on earth, 620 Woe, woe to the race of Phcenician men And women, and all cities by the sea ; Not one of you shall in the common light Abide before the shining of the sun, Nor of life shall there any longer be 625 Number and tribe, because of unjust speech And lawless life impure which they all lived, Opening a mouth impure, and fearful words 616, Here a new sectiou begins, and has an exordivim similar to tliose of lines 1-10, 196-201, and 362"3'71. 620. Phcenician men. — ^Famed for their extensive commerce. Ewald (p. 8 8) sees in this oracle an evidence of the bitter feeling of the author toward PhcEDicia, chiefly on account of commercial rivalry. (478-49'?.) BOOK 111. 81 Deceitful and unrighteous they put forth, And stood against the mighty God, the King, 630 And opened loathsome mouth deceitfully. Therefore may he subdue them terribly By strokes o'er all the earth, and bitter fate Shall God send on them, burning from the ground Cities and of the cities the foundations. 635 Woe, woe to thee, O Crete ! To thee shall come A very painful stroke, and terribly Shall the Eternal sack thee ; and again Shall every land behold thee black with smoke, Fire ne'er shall leave thee, but thou shalt be burned. 640 Woe, woe to thee, O Thrace ! So shalt thou come Beneath a servile yoke, when the Galatians United with the sons of Dardanus Rush on to ravage Hellas, thine shall be The evil ; and unto a foreign land 645 Much shalt thou give, not anything receive. Woe to thee, Gog and Magog, and to all. One after another, Mardians and Daians ; How many evils fate shall bring on thee ! Woe also to the sons of Lycia, 650 And those of Mysia and Phrygia. And many nations of Pamphylians And Lydians, Carians, Cappadocians, And Ethiopian and Arabian men Of a strange tongue shall fall. How now may I 655 Of each speak fitly ? For on all the nations HI. Mardians and Daians. — The Mardians were a warlike tribe which occupied the southern shore of the Caspian Sea, and the Daians, or Dahse, were a great Scythian people whose territory lay on the southeast of the same sea. They were naturally associated in thought with Gog and Magog. Comp. line 393 above. (498-618.) 82 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. Whioli dwell on eartli the Highest shall send dire plague. When now again a barbarous nation comes Against the Greeks it shall slay many heads Of chosen men ; and they shall tear in pieces 660 Many fat flocks of sheep of men, and herds Of horses and of mules and lowing kine ; And well-made houses shall they burn with fire Lawlessly ; and unto a foreign land Shall they by force lead many slaves away, 665 And children, and deep-girded women soft From bridal chambers creeping on before With delicate feet ; and they shall be bound fast With fetters by their foes of foreign tongue, Suffering all fearful outrage ; and to them 6^0 There shall not be one to supply the toil Of battle and come to their help in life. And they shall see their goods and all their wealth Enrich the enemy ; and there shall be A trembling of the knees. And there shall fly 675 A hundred, and one shall destroy them all ; And five shall rout a mighty company ; But they, among themselves mixed shamefully. Shall by war and dire tumult bring delight To enemies, but sorrow to the Greeks. 680 And then upon all Hellas there shall be A servile yoke ; and war and pestilence Together shall upon all mortals come. And God Avill make the mighty heaven on high Like brass and over all the eaith a drought, eSY. The passage beginning here is best explained as referring to the subjugation of Greece by the Romans, B. C. 146. 675. Comp. Lev. xxvi, 8; Bent, xssii, SO; Isa, xxx, 17. (619-640.) BOOK III. 83 685 Aud earth, itself like iron. And thereupon Shall mortals all lament the barrenness And lack o£ cultivation ; and on earth Shall he set, who created heaven and earth, A much-distressing lire ; and of all men 690 The third part only shall thereafter be. O Greece, why hast thou trusted mortal men As leaders, who cannot escape from death ? And wherefore bringest thou thy foolish gifts Unto the dead and sacrifice to idols ? 695 Who put the error in thy heart to do These things and leave the face of God the mighty ? Honor the All-Father's name, and let it not Escape thee. It is now a thousand years. Yea, and £ye hundred more, since haughty kings 700 Ruled o'er the Greeks, who first to mortal men Introduced, evils, setting up for worship Images many of gods that are dead, Because of which ye were taught foolish thoughts. But when the anger of the mighty God '705 Shall come upon you, then ye'll recognize The face of God the mighty. And all souls Of men, with mighty groaning lifting up Their hands to the broad heaven, shall begin To call the great King helper, and to seek 110 The rescuer from great wrath who is to be. 690. TJdrdpart—Gomp. Ezek. v, 2; Zech. siij, 8; Rev. viii, T-Q. Also Lactantius, Div. Imt.^ vii, 16 [L., 6, 792], 691-697. Quoted (omitting one line) by Lactantius, Div. hist., J, 15 [L., 6, 196]. 698. The number here given seems to be intended not as an exact, but as a general and vaguely oracular, designation. The prophetess seems to for- get her time and place as the daughter-in-law of Noah, to which she pretends in the closing lines of this book. (540-561.) 84 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. But come and learn this and store in your hearts What troubles in the rolling years shall come. And what as whole burnt-offering Hellas brought Of cows and bellowing bulls unto the temple 715 Of the great God^ she from ill-sounding war And fear and pestilence shall flee away And from the servile yoke escape again. But until that time there shall be a race Of godless men, even when that fated day 720 Shall reach its end. For offering to God Ye should not make till all things come to pass, Which God alone shall purpose not in vain To be all fulfilled; and strong force shall urge. And there shall be again a holy race 725 Of godly men who, keeping to the counsels And mind of the Most High, shall honor much The great God's temple with drink-offerings, Burnt-offerings, and holy hecatombs. With sacrifices of fat bulls, choice rams, 730 Firstlings of sheep and the fat thighs of lambs. Sacredly offering whole burnt-offerings On the great altar. And in righteousness, Having obtained the law of the Most High, Blest shall they dwell in cities and rich fields. 735 And prophets shall be set on high for them By the Immortal, bringing great delight Unto all mortals. For to them alone The mighty God his gracious counsel gave And faith and noblest thought within their hearts; 740 They have not by vain things been led astray, 730. Fat ihiglis. — This conjectural reading of Mendelssohn (/^sypa instead of fiiiTid) is approved by Rzach in his Addenda et CorHgenda. (662^586.) BOOK III. 85 Nor pay they honor to tlie works of men Made of gold, brass, silver, and ivory, Nor statues of dead gods of wood and stone [Besmeared clay, figures of the painter's art], '745 And all that empty-minded mortals will; But they lift up their pure arms unto heaven, Rise from the couch at daybreak, always hands With water cleanse, and honor only Him Who is immortal and who ever rules, 750 And then their parents; and above all men Do they respect the lawful marriage-bed; And they have not base intercourse with boys. As do Phoenicians, Latins, and Egyptians And spacious Greece, and nations many more 755 Of Persians and Galatians and all Asia, Transgressing the immortal God's pure law Which they were under. Therefore on all men Will the Immortal put bane, famine, pains, Groans, war, and pestilence and mournful woes; 760 Because they would not honor piously /The imnlortal Sire of all men,/but revered And worshiped idols made with hands, which things Mortals themselves will cast down and for shame Conceal in clefts of rocks, when a young king, 765 The seventh of Egypt, shall rule his own land, Reckoned from the dominion of the Greeks, Which countless Macedonian men shall rule; And there shall come from Asia a great king, 741-750. Cited by Clem. Alex., Cohort, vi [GT., 8, 176]. 757. For the text see Rzach's Addenda et Corrigmda. 764. Young king. — Or new king ; Ptolemy Philometer, the seoentk from Alexander, incIudiDg the latter, as the poet evidently intends. 768. Qreat king. — Antiochus Epiphanes, who invaded Egypt B. C. 170, and carried off Ptolemy Philometer as prisoner. (586-611.) 86 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. A fiery eagle, who with foot and horse 770 Shall cover all the land, cut up all things, And fill all things with evils; he will cast The Egyptian kingdom down; and taking off All its possessions carry them away Over the spacious surface of the sea. 775 And then shall they before the mighty God, The King immortal, bend the fair white knee On the much-nourishing earth; and all the works Made with hands shall fall by a flame of fire. And then will God bestow great joy on men; 780 For land and trees and countless flocks of sheep Their genuine f iniit to men shall offer — wine, And the sweet honey, and white milk, and wheat, Which is for mortals of all things the best. But thou, O mortal full of various wiles, 785 Do not delay and loiter, but do thou, Tossed to and fro, turn and propitiate God. Offer to God your hecatombs of bulls And firstling lambs and goats, as times revolve. But him propitiate, the immortal God, 790 If haply he show mercy. For he is The only God, and other there is none. And honor justice and oppress no man. For these things the Immortal doth enjoin On miserable men. But do thou heed 795 The cause of the wrath of the mighty God, When on all mortals there shall come the height Of pestilence and conquered they shall meet A fearful judgment, and king shall seize king And wrest his land away, and nations bring 800 Ruin on nations and lords plunder tribes, 779-783. Cited by Lactautius, Div, Inst, vii, 24 [L., 6, 811]. (611-636.) BOOK III. 87 And cTiiefs all flee into another land, And the land change its men, and foreign rule Ravage all Hellas and drain the rich land Of its wealth, and to strife among themselves 805 Because of gold and silver they shall come — The love of gain an evil shepherdess Will be for cities— in a foreign land. And they shall all be without burial, And vultures and wild b.easts of earth shall spoil 810 Their flesh; and when these things are brought to pass, Vast earth shall waste the relics of the dead. And all unsown shall it be and unplowed, Proclaiming sad the filth of men defiled Many lengths of time in the revolving years, 815 And shields and javelins and all sorts of arms; Nor shall the forest wood be cut for fire. And then shall God send from the East a king, Who shall make all earth cease from evil war, Killing some, others binding with strong oaths. 820 And he will not by his own counsels do All these things, but obey the good decrees Of God the mighty. And with goodly wealth. With gold and silver and purple ornament. The temple of the mighty God again 825 Shall be weighed down; and the full-bearing earth And the sea shall- be filled full of good things. And kings against each other shall begin 806, 807. A parenthetic statement, occasioned by the reference to gold and silver. Oomp. book ii, 136-143 ; viii, 21-26. ; 814-816. Comp. a similar statement in Lactantius, I>iv, Inst,, vii, 26 [L., 6, 814]. See also Isa. ix, 6, and Ezek. xxxix, 9, 10, and lines 907-911, where we have the fuller form of what seems here to be fragmentary. 817. Send from the East a king. — Best explained by Cyrus. Comp. line 352 above, and Isa. xli, 2, 25. (687-660.) 88 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. To hold ill will, in heart abetting evils. Envy is not a good to wretched men. 830 But again kings of nations on this land Shall rush in masses, bringing on themselves Destruction; for they'll purpose to despoil The great God's temple and the noblest men. What time they reach the land, polluted kings 835 Shall set around the city each his throne And have his people that obey not God. And then shall God speak with a mighty voice To all rude people of an empty mind, And judgment from the mighty God shall come 840 Upon them, and they all shall be destroyed By his immortal arm. And fiery swords Shall fall from heaven on earth; and great bright lights Shall come down flaming in the midst of men. And in those days shall earth, all-mother, reel 845 By his immortal arm, and shoals of fish In the deep sea, and all wild beasts of earth. And countless tribes of winged fowl, and all The souls of men and every sea shall tremble Before the face of the Immortal One, 850 And there shall be dismay. High mountain peaks And monstrous hills shall he asunder break, And to all shall dark Erebus appear. And misty gorges in the lofty hills 830. Here assuredly a new paragraph ought to begin, thougli Kzach'a text allows none. After the prophecy of the restoration of the temple the writer turns (lines 8S0-836) to the wars of the post-exile period, and the de- spoiling of the temple by Antiochus Epiphanes. With such attempts to destroy the holy people he conceives, after the manner of Daniel's prophecy (Ban. xi, 40-45), that the sudden judgment of heaven intercepts the daring and impious transgressor. Hence the sublime apocalyptic passage, lines 837-871, follows in the regular order of prophetic thought. (661-682.) BOOK III. 89 Shall be full of the dead; and rocks shall stream 855 With blood and every torrent fill the plain. And well-built walls of evil-minded men Shall all fall to the earth, since they knew not The law nor judgment of the mighty God, But with a senseless soul all hurried on 860 Against the temple and raised up their spears. And God shall judge all by war and by sword And by fire and by overwhelming storm; And brimstone there shall be from heaven, and stones And great and grievous hail; and death shall come 865 Upon the quadrupeds. And then shall they Know God, the Immortal, who performs these things; And wailing, and upon the boundless earth Shall be at once a shout of perishing men; And all the unholy shall.be bathed in blood; Bio And earth herself shall also drink the blood Of the perishing, and beasts be gorged with flesh. And all these things the great eternal God Himself bade me proclaim. And that shall not Be unaccomplished, or be unfulfilled, 875 Whatever only in my heart he put; For truthful is God's spirit in the world. But children of the mighty God shall all Again around the temple live in peace, Rejoicing in those things which he shall give 880 Who is Creator, righteous Judge and King, For he himself, great, present far and wide. Shall be a shelter, as on all sides round A wall of flaming fire. And they shall be In cities and in country without war. 885 For not the hand of evil war, but rather The Immortal shall himself be their defender (ess-'FOg.) 90 THE SIBYLLljNfE ORACLES. And the hand of the Holy One. And then shall all The islands and the cities tell how much The immortal God loves those men; for all things 890 Help them in conflict and deliver them — Heaven, and divinely fashioned sun, and moon, [And in those days shall earth, all-mother, reel.] Sweet word shall they send from their mouths in hymns : " Come, falling on the earth let us all pray 895 The immortal King, and great eternal God. To the temple let us in procession go, Since he alone is Lord; and let us all Meditate on the law of God most high, Which is most righteous of all (laws) on earth. 900 And from the path of the Immortal we Have wandered and with senseless soul we honor Works made by hand and wooden images Of dead men." These things souls of faithful men Shall cry out: " Come, having at the house of God 905 Fallen on our faces, let us with our hymns Make joy to God the Father at our homes, Supplied through all our land with arms of foes Seven lengths of time in the revolving years; Even shields and helmets and all sorts of arms, 910 And a great store of bows and arrows barbed; For forest wood shall not be cut for fire." But, wretched Hellas, stop thy arrogance And be wise; and entreat the Immortal One Magnanimous, and be upon thy guard. 900-903. Cited by Justin Martyr, Cohort, ad Grcecos^ xvi [G., 6, 2'73]. 907-911. Oomp. lines 815-816 above, and note. 912. Wretched Hellas. — Addressed apparently to the Greek dominion of Egypt under the Ptolemies. (709-733.) BOOK III. 91 915 Send now against this city yet again The people inconsideratej who are come Out of the holy land of the mighty One. Do not move Camarina; for 'tis better She be unmoved ; a leopard from the lair, 920 Do thou not let an evil meet with thee. But keep off, do not hold within thy breast An arrogant and overbearing soul, Ready for mighty contest. And serve God The mighty, that thou mayest share those things; 925 And when that fated day shall reach its end [And judgment of the immortal God shall come To mortals}, judgment great and power shall come Upon men. For all-mother earth shall yield To mortals best fruit boundless, wheat, wine, oil; 930 Also from heaven a delightful drink 915. Smid now against this cit'i/. — Several critics bave proposed to read, "Send not,''^ and understand the passage as an exhortation to the Greeks of Egypt not to send to Jerusalem an army of Alexandrine Jews, who might be excited by bad counsel to mix up with the Palestinian, wars so constantly raging between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies. Such ill-advised action would be "moving Camarina," or provoking a fierce leopard in his lair. Another view is that the oracle dates about the beginning of the rise of the Maccabees, and is an exhortation to the Ptolemies to send to Jerusalem Jewish forces, numerous in Alexandria, to help their brethren in the Holy Land. But all the attempts to make the passage fit particular persons and events involve so much of fancy and conjecture that one may well hesitate to adopt any of them. 918.fCamarina. — The allusion is to the well-known story of draining the marsh of Camarina, a city of southern Sicily. The inhabitants, disregard- ing the oracle, drained the neighboring marsh, which was believed to br^ed pestilence, and by so doing they opened a way for their enemies to come and destroy their city. Hence the proverb, " Move not Camarina," was equivalent to ; Bo not seek to remove one evil in a way that is likely to bring on another and greater one. Comp. Vergil, .cSh., iii, 701J (734-745.) r 92 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. Of honey sweet, and trees shall give their fruit, And fatted sheep and cattle there shall be. Young lambs and kids of goats; earth shall break foith With sweet springs of white milk; and of good things 935 The cities shall be full and fat the fields; 'Hoy sword nor uproar shall be on the earth; No more shall earth groan heavily and quake; Nor shall war longer be on earth, nor drought. Nor famine, nor the fruit-destroying hail; 940 But great peace shall be upon all the earth. And king to king be friend until the end Of the age, and o'er all earth common law Will the Immortal in the starry heaven Perfect for men, touching whatever things 945 Have been by miserable mortals done; For he alone is God, there is no other; And the stern rage of men he'll burn with fire. But change entirely the thoughts in thy heart, And flee unrighteous worship; serve the One 050 Who liveth; guard against adultery And deeds of lewdness; thine own offspring rear And do not murder; for the Immortal One Is angry with him who in these things sins. And then a kingdom over all mankind 955 Shall he raise up for ages, who once gave Holy law to the pious, unto whom He pledged to open every land, the world And portals of the blessed, and all joys, And mind immoii-al and eternal bliss. 960 And out of every land unto the house Of the great God shall they bring frankincense And gifts, and there shall be no other house 948^950. Cited bj Lactantius, de Ira Dei, xxii [L., V, 143]. (T46-YVS.) BOOK III. 93 To be inquired of by men yet to be, But what God gave for faithful men to honor; 965 For mortals temple of the mighty God Shall call it. And all pathways of the plain And rough hills and high mountains and wild waves Of the deep shall be easy in those days For crossing and for sailing; for all peace 970 On. the land of the good shall come; and sword Shall prophets of the mighty God remove; For they are judges and the righteous kings Of mortals. And there shall be righteous wealth Among mankind; for of the mighty God 9*75 This is the judgment and also the power. Be of good cheer, O maiden, and be glad ; For he who made the heaven and earth gave thee Joy in thy age. And he will dwell in thee; And thine shall be immortal light; and wolves 980 And lambs shall in the mountains feed on grass Together, and with kids shall leopards graze; And bears shall lodge among the pasturing calves; And the carnivorous lion shall eat chaff At the manger like the cow; and little children 985 In bonds shall lead them; for he will make beasts Helpless on earth. With babes shall fall asleep Serpents, along with asps, and do no harm; Forpver them shall be the hand of God. [Now tell I thee a sign exceeding clear, 990 That thou may'st know when the end of all things 964. Cited by Lactantius, Hiv. Inst, iv, 6 [L., 6, 462]. 9'76. Comp. Zecli. ii, 10; ix, 9. 979-987. Comp. Isa. xi, 6-9. Cited also, with some verbal variations, by Lactantius, JDiv, Instj vii, 24 [L., 6, 811]. (774-797.) 94 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. On earth shall be. When in the starry heaven Swords shall by night point straight toward west and east, Straightway shall there be also from the heaven A cloud of dust borne forth to all the earth, 995 And the sun's brightness in the midst of heaven Shall be eclipsed^ and the moon's beams appear And come again on earth; by drops of blood Distilling from the rocks a sign shall be ; And in the cloud shall ye behold a war 1000 Of foot and horse, like the chase of wild beasts In the dense fog. This end of all things God Shall consummate, whose dwelling is in heaven. But all must sacrifice to the great King. These things I show thee, I who madly left 1005 The long walls of Assyrian Babylon For Hellas to proclaim to all the wrath Of God, fire sent. . . . • •••••• And that I might to mortals prophesy Of mysteries divine. And men shall say 1010 In Hellas that I am of foreign land. Of Erythre born, shameless; others say That I'm a Sibyl, born of mother Circe And father Gnostos, raving mad and false; But at that time when all things come to pass 1015 Ye shall remember me, and no one more 991-1000, Comp. with this section Josephus, Waj-s, vi, v, 3. 1005. Babylon. — Lactantiua understood the Sibyl to predict that she would be called Erythraean, " although she was bora in Babylon." Div. Inst.^ i, 6 [L., 6, 145]. 1013. Gnostos, — Some have thought that Glaucus is intended, the seagod and father of Deiphobe. See "Vergil, ^^?2., vi, S6. 1014-1016. Cited by Lactautius, Div. Inst.^ iv, 15 [L., 6, 496]. (798-817.) BOOK in. 95 Shall call me mad, the great God's prophetess. For he showed me what happened formerly To my ancestors; what things were the first Those God made known to me; and in my mind 1020 Did God put all things to be afterwards, That I might prophesy of things to come, And things that were, and tell them unto men. For when the world was deluged with a flood Of waters, and one man of good repute 1025 Alone was left and in a wooden house Sailed o'er the waters with the Leasts and hirds. In order that the world might be refilled, I was his son's bride and was of his race To whom the first things happened, and the last 1030 Were all made known; and thus from mine own mouth Let all these truthful things remain declared. 1028. JFIis so-ji's bride. — Literally and strictly, Iwas his bride {vvfi^r}) ; but the word is probably employed here as in the later Greek usage, in. the sense oi daiighier4n-lay}. Nevertheless, in book vii, 219, the Sibyl says she had a son by her father. Compare, however, book i, 350-853 ; ii, 416-425. In book V, 75, she calls herself sister of Isis. 7 (818-829.) BOOK IV. CONTENTS OF BOOK IV. Introduction, 1-28. Blessedness of the righteous, 29-60. TheAssyrian kingdom, 61-65. The Medes and Persians, 66-82. Woes on Phrygia, Asia, and Egypt, 83-100. Sicily burned by fire of Etna, 101-104. Strife in Greece, 105-108. Triumphs of Macedon, 109-129. Triumphs of Italy, 130-168. Italy's punishment, 169-180. "Woes of Antioch, Cyprus, and Caria, 181-197- Wrath in reserve for the impious, 198-209. Exhorta- tions and threatening, 210-230. Kesurrection, judgment, and reward, 231-248. BOOK IV. 99 BOOK IV. People of boastful Asia and of Europe, Hear how muchj all too true, I am about, Through a mouth many-toned, from my great hall To prophesy; no oracle am I 5 Of lying Phcebus, whom vain men called god, And further falsified by calling seer; But of the mighty God, whom hands of men Formed not like speechless idols carved of stone. For he has not for his abode a stone 10 Most dumb and toothless to a temple drawn, Of mortals a dishonor very sore; For he may not be seen from earth nor measured By mortal eyes, nor formed by mortal hand; He, looking down at once on all, is seen 15 Himself by no one; his are murky night. And day, and sun, and stars, and moon, and seas With fish, and land, and rivers, atxd the mouth This fourtli book was probably written by a Jew who lived during the latter part of the first century A. D. In lines 162-165 we find allusion to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and lines 169-1'74 are most naturally explained as referring to the eruption of Vesuvius in. Y9 A. D., which overwhelmed the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The Wero leg- ends also appear in this book (lines 154-159, 178-180), and serve to prove the date not earlier than about 80 A. T>. 6. Phmhus. — The god of archery, prophecy, and music, who had temples at Delos, Delphi, Patara, Claros, Miletus, Grynium, and other places, in all of which he gave forth oracles of the future. His oracles were, according to Herodotus (i, 66, 75), often ambiguous and misleading. 5-8, Cited by Clem, Alex., Cohort, ad GrceeoSj W [Cr., 8, 141]. (1-15.) 100 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. Of springs perennial, creatures meant for life. And rains at once producing fruit of field 20 And tree and vine and oil. This God a whip Struck through my heart within to make me tell Truly to men what things have now befallen And how much shall befall them yet again From the first generation to the eleventh; 26 For he himself by bringing them to pass Will prove all things. But do thou in all things, O people, to the Sibyl give an ear, Who pours from hallowed mouth a truthful voice. Blessed of men shall they be on the earth 30 As many as shall love the mighty God, Offering him praise before they drink and eat; Trusting in piety. When they behold Temples and altars, figures of dumb stones, [Stone images and statues made with hands] 35 Polluted with the blood of living things And sacrifices of four-footed beasts. They will reject them all; and they will look To the great glory of one God and not Commit presumptuous murder nor dispose 40 Of stolen gain, which things most horrid are; Nor shameful longing for another's bed Have they, nor vile and hateful lust of males. Their manner, piety, and character 24. Meventh, — Ot tenth? Comp. lines 58 and 110. The reckoning be- gins with the first generation after the flood. Comp. lines 64 and 65. By generation the author evidently means a long period, an age, but its duration is left indefinite. 29-3*7. Cited by Justin Martyr, Cohort ad GrcecoSf xvi [G., 6, 2*73] ; also by Clem, Alex., Cohort, ad Orcecos^ iv [Gr., 8, 161]. 41, 42. Cited by Clem. Alex., Peed., ii, 10 [G., 8, 516]. (15-36.) BOOK IV. 101 Shall other men, that love a shameless life, 45 'Not ever imitate; but, mocking them With jest and joke like babes in senseleBsness, They'll falsely charge to them as many deeds Blamef^l'-and -vvicked as they do themselves. For slow is the whole race of human kind 50 To believe. But when Judgment of the world And mortals comes, which God himself shall bring Judging at once the impious and the pious, Then indeed shall he send the ungodly back To lower darkness [and then they shall know 55 How much impiety they wrought]; but the pious Shall still remain upon the fruitful land, God giving to them breath and life and grace. But these things all in the tenth generation Shall come to pass ; and now what things shall be 60 From the first generation, those I'll tell. First over all mortals shall Assyrians rule, And for six generations hold the power Of the world, from the dme the God of heaven Being wroth against the cities and all men 65 Sea with a bursting deluge covered earth. Them shall the Medes o'erpower, but on the throne For two generations only shall exult ; In which times these events shall come to pass: 49-57. Cited with verbal Tariations by Lactantius, Div. Inst., vii, 23 ,[L., 6, 807]. 5V. Comp. Acts xvU, 25, 61. JFirst . . . Assyrians. — Comp. Gen. s, 11. 63-66. Cited by Lactantius, de Ira Dei, xxiii [L., 7, 144]. 66. The Medes overpower. — Comp. Herod., i, 95 : " When the Assyrians had ruled over upper Asia five hundred and twenty years, first the Medes began to revolt from thenij . . . and, having thrown off their slavery, be- came free." (36-65.) 102 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. Dark night shall come at the mid hour of day ; / 10 And from the heaven the stars and circling moon Shall disappear; and earth in tumult shaken By a great earthquake shall throw many cities And works of men headlong; and from the deep Then shall peer out the islands of the sea. V5 But when the great Euphrates shall with blood Be surging, then shall there be also set Between the Medes and Persians dreadful strife In battle; and the Medes shall fall and fly 'Neath Persian spears beyond the mighty water 80 Of Tigris. And the Persian power shall be Greatest in all the world, and they shall have One generation of most prosperous rule. And there shall be as many evil deeds As men shall wish away — the din of war, 85 And murders, and disputes, and banishments, And overthrow of towers and waste of cities. When Hellas very glorious shall sail Over broad Hellespont, and shall convey To Phrygia sorrow and to Asia doom. 90 And unto Egypt, land of many furrows, Shall sorry famine come, and barrenness Shall during twenty circling years prevail, "What time the Nile, corn-nourisher, shall hide 69. Mffht . . . dai/. — Probably to be understood of a notable eclipse of the sun. Herodotus (i, 74) relates that during the wars of the Medes and Lydians it happened that in the heat of battle the day was suddenly turned into night. This event, he observes, Thales had foretold, designating be- forehand the very year in which it actually occurred. 87-89. Reference to the Trojan War according to most critics, but ac- cording to Badt (Das vierte Buch d. Sibyl. Orahel^ p. 10) to the beginning of the Persian War by the revolt of southwestern Asia Miuor, and the attack on Sardis by the Greeks. (66-74,) BOOK IV. 103 Plis dark wave somewhere underneatli the earth. 95 And there shall come fi'om Asia a great king Bearing a spear, with ships innumerable, And he shall walk the wet paths of the deej), And shall sail after he has cut the mount Of lofty summit; him a fugitive 100 From battle fearful Asia shall receive. And Sicily the wretched shall a stream Of powerful fire set all aflame while Etna Her flame disgorges; and in the deep chasm DoAvn shall the mighty city Croton fall. 105 And strife shall be in Hellas; they shall rage Against each other, cast down many cities, And fighting make an end of many men; But equally balanced is the strife with both. But, when the race of mortal men shall come 110 To the tenth generation, also then Upou the Persians shall a servile yoke And terror be. But when the Macedonians Shall boast the scepter there shall be for Thebes An evil conquest from behind, and Carians 115 Shall dwell in Tyre, and Tyrians be destroyed. 95-100. Reference to Xerxes' invasion of Greece. 104, Croton. — No city of this name is known to have existed in Sicily, and the -well-known Croton, or Croto, in southern Italy, cannot be thought of as perishing by lava streams of Etna. Another reading (jSporov) is, "the great city of men." 105-108. Keference to the Peloponnesian War. 110-120. Reference to the Macedonian power, which^ under Alexander the Great, subdued the Persian Empire, and spread Greek colonies over its broad territory. The allusions are to be understood poetically, and were probably not designed to be altogether strict statements of fact. 113. Thehes^ in Boeotia, which was razed to the ground by Alexander be- fore his expedition into Asia. (75-90.) 104 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. And Babylon, great to see but small to fight, Shall stand with walls that were in vain hopes built. In Bactria Macedonians shall dwell; But those from Susa and from Bactria 120 Shall all into the land of Hellas flee. It shall take place among those yet to be, When silver-eddying Pyramus his banks O'erpouring to the sacred isle shall come. And Cibyra shall fall and Cyzicus, 125 When, earth being shaken by earthquakes, cities fall. And sand shall hide all Samos under banks. And Delos visible no more, but things Of Delos shall all be invisible. And to Rhodes shall come evil last, but greatest. 130 The Macedonian power shall not abide; But from the west a great Italian war Shall flourish, under which the world shall bear A servile yoke and the Italians serve. And thou, O wretched Corinth, thou shalt look 135 Sometime upon thy conquest. And thy tower, 118. Bactria. — The northeastern extreme of the Persian Empire, bor- dering on northern India. 119. Susa. — The biblical Shushan, one of the capital cities of the Persian Empire- 122. Fyramus. — A river of Cilicia flowing southward from Mount Taurus and emptying into the Mediterranean. Strabo (book i, chap, iii, 7) describes it and quotes these lines of the Sibyl as an ancient oracle. 123. Sacred isle. — Referring probably to Cyprus, which word Strabo here reads. 124. Cihyra, — City of Asia Minor, in Phrygia, near the border of Caria. Gyzicus was a city of Mysia, on an island of the same name in the Pro- pontis. 126, 12V. On Samos and Delos comp. book iii, 454. 134. Coritith. — Destroyed by the Romans the same year as Carthage, B. C. 146. (91-105.) BOOK IV. 105 O Carthage, shall press lowly on the ground. Wretched Laodicea, thee sometime . Shall earthquake lay low, casting headlong down. But thou, a city firmly set, again 140 Shalt stand- O Lycian Myra beautiful, Thee never shall the agitated earth Set fast; but falling headlong down on earth Shalt thou, in manner like an alien, pray To flee away into another land, 145 When sometime the dark water of the sea With thunders and earthquakes shall stop the din Of Patara for its impieties. Also for thee, Armenia, there remains A slavish fate; and there shall also come 150 To Solyma an evil blast of war From Italy, and God's great temple spoil. But when these, ti'usting folly, shall cast off. Their piety and murders consummate Around the temple, then from Italy 155 A mighty king shall like a runaway slave Flee over the Euphrates' stream unseen, 138. Lay low. — Kead crpaffei. Comp. book v, 687 (Greek text, 438). So Mendelssohn, favored by Rzach. 140. Myra. — Chief city of Lycia, on the southern coast, about a league from the sea. Its ruins witness to its ancient wealth and beauty. 147. Faiara.S&e book iii, 553. 148. Armenia. — There was Armenia Major, the vast territory south of the Caucasus Mountains and between the Euxiue and Caspian Seas ; and Armenia Minor, a small section on the west of Armenia Major, and east of Cappadocia. All these lands were subject to Alexander, then to the Syrian princes, and were made a Roman province under Trajan. 150. Solyma. — That is, Jerusalem. 155. Mighty king. — Nero, whose murder of his mother is notorious, and whose flight beyond the Euphrates and expected return as antichrist was a superstitious tradition long maintained. (106-120.) 106 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. Unknown, who shall some time dare loathsome guilt Of matricide, and many other things. Having confidence in his most wicked hands. 160 And many for the throne shall stain with blood Rome's soil while he flees over Parthian land. And out of Syria shall come Rome's foremost man, Who having hurned the temple of Solyma, And having slaughtered many of the Jews, 165 Shall bring destruction on their great broad land. And then too shall an earthquake overthrow Both Salamis and Paphos, when dark water Shall dash o'er Cyprus washed by many a wave. But when from deep cleft of Italian land 1'70 Fire shall come flashing forth in the broad heaven, And many cities burn and men destroy, And much black ashes shall fill the great sky. And small drops like red earth shall fall from heaven, Then know the anger of the God of heaven, 175 For that they without reason shall destroy The nation of the pious. And then strife Awakened of war shall come to the West, Shall also come the fugitive of Rome, Bearing a great spear, having marched across 162-165. This evidently refers to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, and the subjugation of all Palestine by the Koreans under Ves- pasian and Titus. 167. Salamis and Paphos. — Famous cities, one at the east and the other at the west end of Cyprus. "How often," says Seneca {Eput 91), "has this calamity (earthquake) laid Cyprus waste ? How often has Paphos fallen into ruin ? " 171-176. The great eruption of Vesuvius, which destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum, A. D. 79, is construed by the Sibyl as a sign of God's anger against the Romans for the slaughter of the Jews. 178. Fngiiive of Rome. — Nero, referred to in lines 154-159 above. (121-138.) BOOK IV. 107 180 Euplirates with his many myriads. O wretched Antioch, they shall call thee No more a city when around their spears Because of thine own follies thou shalt fall. And then on Scyros shall a pestilence 185 And dreadful battle-din destruction bring. Alas, alas! O wretched Cyprus, thee Shall a broad wave of the sea cover, thee Tossed on high by the whirling stormy winds. And into Asia there shall come great wealth, 190 Which Rome herself once, plundering, put away In her luxurious homes ; and twice as much And more shall she to Asia render back, And then there shall be an excess of war. And Carian cities by Mseander's waters, 195 Girded with towers and very beautiful, Shall by a bitter famine be destroyed, When the Mgeander his dark water hides. But when piety shall perish from mankind, And faith and right be hidden in the world, 200 . , . Fickle .... and in unhallowed boldness Living shall practice wanton violence, And reckless evil deeds, and of the pious No one shall make account, but even them all From thoughtlessness they utterly destroy 205 In childish folly, in their violence Exulting and in blood holding their hands; Then know thou that God is no longer mild, 184. Scyros. — Large island of the ^geanSea east of Eubcea. 191, Twice as much. — Comp. book iii, 434-441. 194. Mceander. — This stream, having its sources in Phrygia, ran west- ward between Caria and Lydia, and was famous for its many windings. Oomp. Ovid, Meiam., viii, 162-166. (139-159.) 108 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. But gnashing with f my and destroying all The race of men by conflagration great. 210 Ah! miserable mortals, change these things, ISTor lead the mighty God to wrath extreme; But giving up your swords and pointed knives, And homicides and wanton violence, Wash your whole body in perennial streams, 215 And lifting up your hands to heaven seek pardon For former deeds and expiate with praise Bitter impiety; and God will give Repentance; he will not destroy; and wrath Will he again restrain, if in youi hearts 220 Ye all will practice honored piety. But if, ill-disposed, ye obey me not. But with a fondness for strange lack of sense Heceive all these things with an evil ear. There shall be over all the world a fire 225 And greatest omen with sword and with trump At sunrise; the whole world shall hear the roar And mighty sound. And he shall burn all earth, And destroy the whole race of men, and all The cities and the rivers and the sea; 230 All things he'll burn, and it shall be black dust. But when now all things shall have been reduced To dust and ashes, and God shall have calmed 209. See lines 224-230, and comp. 2 Pet. iii, 1 ; Cicero, de JVatura Veorum^ ii, 49 ; Ovid, Metam. i, 256-258. Justin Martyr refers to this pas. sage in his first Apology^ chap. xx. 212. Knives. — Read ffr<5w_;jfaf instead of (7rova;i;df. This emendation pro- posed by Mendelssohn seems more suitable than the reading ffroantfi^Sj and finds favor with Rzach. 214, Wash, — Reference to Christian baptism. 218-220. Cited in Lactantiua, de Ira Beiy xxiii, 231-248. This picture of resurrection, judgment, and awarding of pun- (160-179.) BOOK IV. 109 The fire unspeakable whicii he lit up, The bones and ashes of men God himself 235 Again will fashion, and he will again Raise mortals up, even as they were before.- And then shall be the judgment, at which God Himself as judge shall judge the world again; And all who sinned with impious hearts, even them 240 Shall he again hide under mounds of earth [Dark Tartarus and Stygian Gehenna]. But all who shall be pious shall again Live on the earth [and (shall inherit there) The great immortal God's unwasting bliss,] 245 God giving spirit life and joy to them [The pious; and they all shall see themselves Beholding the sun's sweet and cheering light. O happy on the earth shall be that man], ishments and rewards embodies the substance of familiar Christian doe- trine. This passage is quoted in the Apostolical CoTistihUions^ book v, 7 [G., 1, 844], where we find a somewhat abbreviated text. (180-192.) BOOK V. CONTENTS OF BOOK V. Introduction, 1, 2. Rome's first emperors, Z-IB. Grief of the Sibyl, 74-76, Inundation of Egypt, ^1-Si:. Oracle against Memphis, 85-100, Idolatry and woes of Egypt, 101~14'7. Woes on various cities of the East and of Asia Minor, 148-169. Woe on Lycia, Phrygia, and Thessaly, lYO- 185. The vile and fearful king, 186-209. Oracle against Eome, 210-241. Lamentation over Egypt, 242-2'72. Britons and Gaula, 273-280. Ethio- pians and Indians perish by conflict of the stars, 281-291. Doom of Cor- inth, 292-308, Oracle against Rome, 309-334. The blessed Jews, 385- 345. The heavenly Joshua, 346-360. Lovely Judea, 351-382. Woe on western Asia and Ephesus, 383-398. God's wrath on the wicked, 399-410. Woes on Smyrna, Cyme, Lesbos, Corcyra, Hierapolis, and Trlpolis, 411-434. Doom of Miletus, 435-439. Prayer for the laud of Judah, 440-446. Wretched Thrace, Hellespont, and Italy, 447-463. Divine judgment and majesty, 464-484. Wars and woes of the last time, 485- 517. Appeal to the wicked city, 618-555. Messianic day, 556-580. Fall of Babylon, 581-600. Woea of Asia, Crete, Cyprus, and Phoenicia, 601-616. Vast armies in Egypt, Macedon, and Asia, 616-624. Destruction of the Thracians, 625-629. Mankind made few by woes, 680-639. Final dark- ness, 640-648. Ruin of Isis and Serapis, 649-660, The temple in Egypt, 661-676. Sin and doom of the Ethiopians, 677-687. Battle of the con- stellations, 688-711. BOOK V. 113 BOOK V. But come, now, liear of me the mournful time Of sons of Latium. And first of all. After the kings of Egypt were destroyed And the like earth had downwards borne them all, 5 And after Pella's townsman, under whom The whole East and the rich West were cast down, Whom Babylon dishonored, and stretched out For Philip a dead body (not of Zeus, Of Ammon not true things were prophesied), 10 And after that one of the race and blood Of king Assaracus, who came from Troy, Even he who cleft the violence of fire. And after many lords, and after men To Ares dear, and after the young babes, 15 The children of the beast that feeds on sheep, The very first lord shall be, who shall sum Twice ten with the first letter of his name ; Next to the third, this fifth book is the longest in our present collection of oracles. It is clearly a composite of Jewish and Chriatiau material, and as the three Antonines are referred to in line 72, we cannot suppose that the book in its present form existed prior to the middle of the second cen- tury of the Christian era. 5. Fella's townsman. — Alexander the Great. 9. Not true things. — In this parenthetic way the Sibyl declares that the popular traditions of Alexander as having sprung from Zeus or from Am- mon were proven untrue. 11. AssaraciLS. — Ancestor of ^neaa. 14. Babes, — ^Romulus and Remus. 16. 77*6 very first lord, — First in the line of Caesars or emperors. This Sibylline writer, as well as Suetonius, the Roman historian, begins the list (1-12.) 114 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. In wars exceeding powerful shall he be; And he shall have the initial sign of ten ; 20 And in like manner after him to reign Is one who has the alphabet's first letter; Befoz'e him Thrace and Sicily shall crouch, Then Memphis, Memphis cast headlong to earth By reason of the cowardice of rulers 25 And of a woman unenslaved who falls Upon the wave. And laws will he ordain For peoples and put all things under him; But after a long time shall he transmit His power unto another, who shall have 30 Three hundred for his first initial sign, And of a river the beloved name, And the Persians he shall rule and Babylon ; And then shall he smite Medians with his spear. Then shall one rule who has the initial sign 35 Of the number three. And then shall be a lord Who shall for first initial have twice ten; And he shall come to Ocean's utmost water And by Ausonia cleave the refluent tide. with Julius Cffisar, who is designated by the numerical value of the initial letters of his name. The Greek letter Kappa (E) stands for twenty, and Iota (I) stands for ten. 21. First letter. — Alpha, initial of Augustus. 25. Woman. — ^Allusion to Cleopatra of Egypt. Her falling upon the wave is ambiguous, and probably the text ia an error. In the parallel in book xii, 29, the reading is under the spear. SO. T7iree hundred. — Kepresented by the lettev T, the initial of Tiberius, as well aa of the river Tiber. 35. Tliree.—'^he letter T, Greek initial of Caius (Gaios) Ciesar, com- monly known as Caligula. 35. Twice ten. — As in line 16, but here designating Claudius (Greek, Klaudios). (13-27.) BOOK V. 115 And one wKose mark is fifty stall be lord, 40 A dreadful serpent breathing grievous war, Who sometime stretching forth his hands shall make An end of his own race and stir all things. Acting the athlete, driving chariots. Putting to death and daring countless things; 45 And he shall cleave the mountain of two seas And sprinkle it with gore; but out of sight Shall also vanish the destructive man; Then, making himself equal unto God, Shall he return; but God will prove him naught* 60 And after him shall three kings be destroyed By one another. Then a great destroyer Of pious men shall come, whom seven times ten Shall point out clearly. But from him a son, Whom the first letter of three hundred proves, 55 Shall take the power. And after him shall be A ruler, of the initial sign of four, A life-destroyer. Then a reverend man Of the number fifty. !N"ext, succeeding him Who has the first mark of the initial sign 60 Three hundred, shall a Celtic mountaineer, Into the strife of battle pressing on, 39. Fifty. — The letter N, here denoting Nero, and Nerva in line 58. 45. Mountain of two seas. — Isthmus of Corinth, which Nero attempted to open to the two adjoining bodies of water. 50. 77iree kings. — Galba, Otho, and Vitellius. 52. Seven times ten. — This number is denoted by the Greelc 0, initial of the Greek form of the name of Vespasian {^hec'Kaciav6Q). 54. Three hundred. — Here denoting Titus. 66. Four. — The letter A, initial of Domitian. 60. Three htmdred, — Here denoting Trajan, who was of Spanish origin, and so reckoned bj the Sibyl as a " Celtic mountaineer," not accurately, but in a loose, general way as a Western. (28-43.) 116 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. Escape not fate xinseemly, but shall be Worn weary unto death; Mm foreign dustj But dust that of Nemea's flower has name, 65 Shall hide a corpse. And after him shall rule Another man, with silver helmet decked; And unto him shall be the name of a sea; And he shall be a man the best of all And in all things discreet. And upon thee, 70 Thou best of all, above all, dark-haired one, And upon thy shoots shall be all these days. After him three shall rule; but the third one Shall at a late time hold the royal power. Worn out am I, thrice-miserable one, 75 Sister of Isis, to lay up in heart An evil message, and an inspired song Of oracles. First Msenades shall dart 64. Nemea^s fiown. — Neraea in Argolia waa the spot where bieimial games were celebrated by the Greeks, and the victors were crowned with parsley, the Greek name of which is selinon. The emperor Trajan died in Selinus, a city of Cilicia, in Asia Minor ; hence the allusion of the Sibyl. 67. -A^ameo/asea.— The Adriatic (or Hadriatie), from which it is apparent Hadrian is referred to. 72. Viree. — The three Antoniues, namely, Antoniua Pius, M. Aurelius, and L. Verus. This last named, being only seven years old at the time of his adoption, was thought by the Sibyl to be likely to come late to the throne. Comp. book viii, 85. 75. Sister of Jsis. — The Sibyl, who elsewhere (book Hi, 1028) represents herself as a daughter-in-law of Koah, here assumes to be sister or friend {yvQ(jr^) of the Egyptian goddess Isis, sadly prophesying the doom of Egypt, and especially of Memphis. 77. Mrst. — Lactantius seems to have had this passage in mind when he says : " First of all, Egypt shall suffer punishmenJ; for her foolish supersti- tions, and will be covered with blood as if with a river.'' Viv. Inst.j vii, 16 [L., 6, 786]. Mcenades. — A name applied to the priestesses of Bacchus, who were wont to work themselves into mad frenzy, and are here named as avenging furies, fit to execute judgment. Comp. line 651. (44-54.) BOOK V. 117 Around ihj much-lamented temple's steps, And thou shalt be in evil hands that day 80 When the Nile some time shall fill the whole land Of Egypt even to sixteen cubits deep; It shall wash all the land, and water it For mortals; and the pleasure of the land Shall be still and the glory of her face, 85 Memphis, thou most shalt over Egypt wail; For of old ruling mightily the land Thou shalt become poor, so that out of heaven The Thunderer shall himself with great voice cry: " O mighty Memphis, who didst boast of old 90 O'er craven mortals greatly, thou shalt wail Full of pain and all-hapless, so that thou Thyself shalt the eternal God perceive Immortal in the clouds. Where among men ■ Is now thy mighty pride ? Because thou didst 95 Against my God-anointed children rave, And didst urge evil forward on good men, Thou shalt for such things suffer penalty In some like manner. No more openly For thee shall there be right among the blessed; 78. Thy much-lamented temple. The temple of Isis is referred to. V9. ^vil hands. Allusion perhaps to the tearing in pieces of Pentheus by the hands of his mother and aunts, to "whom Bacchus made him appear as a wild beast. 81. Sixteen cubits. — The elevation of the Nile, in the vicinity of Memphis, is about twenty-three feet, according to Humboldt, which would be equiva- lent to the ordinary estimate of sixteen cubits. It is Interesting to note that the famous piece of statuary in the Vatican, representing the Nile as a reclining human figure, has the childlike forma of sixteen genii climbing about it, as if to represent the sixteen cubits of the usual annual overflow, 85. Memphis. — Ancient capital of lower Egypt. Comp. line 243. 95. God-anointed children. — The Jewish people. Comp. Psa. cv, 15; Hab. iii, 13. {54-Vl.) 118 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. 100 Fallen from the stars, thou shalt not rise to heaven," Now these things unto Egypt God bade me Speak out for the last time, when men shall be Utterly evil. But they labor hard. Evil men evil things awaiting, wrath 105 Of the immortal Thunderer in heaven, Worshiping stones and beasts instead of God, And also fearing many things besides Which have no speech, nor mind, nor power to hear; Which things it is not right for me to mention, 110 Each one an idol, formed by mortal hands; Of their own labors and presumptuous thoughts Did men receive gods made of wood and stone And brass, and gold and silver, foolish' too, Without life and dumb, molten in the fire 115 They made them, vainly trusting such things. . . . Thmois and Xois are in sore distress. And smitten is the hall of Heracles And Zeus and Hermes (king). And as for thee, O Alexandria, famed nourisher 120 (Of cities) war shall not leave, nor (plague) . . . For thy pride thou shalt pay as many things As thou before didst. Silent shalt thou be A long age, and the day of thy return . . . No more for thee shall flow luxurious drink . . . 100. Comp. Isa. xiv, 12, 13 ; Matt, xi, 23. 116. Thmois and Aois.— Cities of Egypt, the former mentioned by Herod- otus (ii, 166), the latter by Strabo (xvii, 1, 19). 117. Heracles. — Son of Zem^ as was also Hermes^ and these deities are thus naturally associated in the Sibyl's thought with their halls or temples of worship in Egypt. The corruption in the Greek text of this passage is indicated by the lacunEB visible in the translation. (72-92.) BOOK V. 119 125 For there shall come a Persian on thy dale. And like hail shall he all the land destroy, And artful men, with blood and corpses. . . . By sacred altars one of barbarous mind, Strong, full of blood and raging senselessly, 130 With countless numbers rushing to destruction. And then sbalt thou, in cities vcTy rich, Be very weary. Falling on the earth All Asia shall wail on account of gifts Crowning her head with which she was by thee 135 Delighted. But, as he himself obtained The Persian land by lot, he shall make war And killing every man destroy all life, So that there shall remain for wretched mortals A third part. But with nimble leap shall he 140 Himself speed from the West, and all the land Besiege and waste. Biit when he shall possess The height of power and odious reverence, He shall come, wishing to destroy the city Even of the blessed. And a certain king 145 Sent forth from God against him shall destroy All mighty kings and bravest men. And thus Shall judgment by the Immortal come to men. Alas, alas for thee, unhappy heart! Why dost thou move me to declare these things, 150 The pa-inful rule of Egypt over many? Go to the East, to races of the Persians Who lack in understanding, and show them 125. A Persian. — The allusion is uncertain. According to the scholium found in a Paris codex, he is one who is to be associated with the coming of antichrist. Much in the description corresponds to what is said of Nero in lines 39-49 above. 144-147. A Messianic passage quoted by Lactantius, Div. Inst.^ vii, 18 [L, 6, 796]. (9S-114.) 120 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. That whicli is now and that which is to be. The river of Euphrates shall bring on 155 A deluge, and it shall destroy the Persians, Iberians and Babylonians And the Massagetse that relish war And trust in bows. All Asia fire-ablaze Shall to the isles beam brightly. Pergamos, 160 Revered of old, shall perish from its base, And Pitane among men shall appear All-desolate, All Lesbos shall sink deep Into the deep, and thus shall be destroyed. Smyrna, whirled down her cliffs, shall wail aloud, 165 She that was once revered and given a name Shall perish utterly. Bithynians Shall over their own country, then reduced To ashes, wail, and o'er great Syria, And o'er Phcenicia that has many tribes. 170 Alas, alas for thee, O Lycia; How many evils does the sea contrive Against thee, mounting up of its own will Upon the painful land ! And it shall dash With evil earthquake and with bitter streams 175 On the rough Lycian land that once breathed per- fume. 156. Ibm-iam. — Those north of Armenia, and between the Euxine and Caspian Seas, are probably intended ; but they, as well as the MassagetoB mentioned in the next line, were in no contact with the Kuphrates. The Massagetffi were east of the Caspian, in Scythia. 161, Pitane. — A city on the east coast of Mysia, southwest of Pergamos. 162. Lesbos. — Large island near the coast of Mysia. 164. Smyrna. — Well-known city on the coast of Lydia, distinguished for its commerce in ancient and modern times. | 170. Lycia.' — Province on the southern coast of Asia Minor, having Phrygia to the north. (114-129.) BOOK V. 121 And there shall be for Phrygia fearful wrath Because of sorrow for which Rhea came, Mother of Zeus, and there continued long. The sea shall overthrow the Centaur race 180 And barbarous nation, and beneath the earth Shall tear away the Lapithaaan land. The river of deep eddies and deep flow, Peneus, shall destroy Thessalian land, Snatching men from the earth. Eridanus 185 (Pretending once to bear the forms of beasts). Hellas thrice wretched shall the poets weep. When one from Italy shall smite the neck Of the isthmus, mighty king of mighty Rome, A man made equal to God, whom, they say, 190 Zeus himself and the august Hera bore ; He, courting by his voice all-musical Applause for his sweet songs, shall put to death With his own wretched mother many men. From Babylon shall flee the fearful lord 195 And shameless whom all mortals and best men Abhor ; for he slew many and laid hands "Upon the womb ; against his wives he sinned And of men stained with blood had he been formed. 111. i?Aca.— Comp. book iii, 166-182. 1'79. Centaur race.—'Fahxiious race in Thessaly, represented as half man and half horse. 1 81 . LapitkcBan land. — The mountainons parts of Thessaly , so called from a fabulous people, the Lapith^e, who are said to have once dwelt there. 185. The Greek test is here corrupt, and the words iu parentheses are conjectural. 18^. One from Italy. — ^Another picture of Nero (comp. lines 39-49) who is here represented as the author of the Roman war which resulted in the overthrow of Jerusalem and the temple. (130-146.) 122 THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. • And he shall come to monarciis of the Medes 200 And Persians, first whom he loved and to whom He brought renown, while with those wicked men He lurked against a nation not desired ; And on the temple made hy God he seized And citizens and people going in, 205 Of whom I justly sang the praise, he burned; For when this man appeared the whole creation Was shaken and kings perished — and yet power Remained among them, and they quite destroyed The mighty city and the righteous people. 210 But when the fourth year a great star shall shine, Which alone shall the whole earth overpower Because of honor, which was first assigned To lord Poseidon ; then a great star shall come From heaven into the dreadful sea and bum 215 The vasty deep, and Babylon itself, And the land of Italy, because of whicli There perished many holy faithful men Among the Hebrews and a people true. Thou shalt be among evil mortals made 210. Fourth ^ear.—Perhaps- in allusion to the time, times, and dividing of time (three and a half years) in Dan. vii, 25, a symbolic number for a period of woe. 213. To lord Poseidon.— naiLding doubtful. Some MSS. read, Poseidon wAo is in the sea. Mendelssohn proposes the Homeric phrase, 'Evwa^/^ av6pel