Saturday, November 1, 2014

Leader Lockers



On thought with the day d.g. was a Man with a guitar playing Harp,
the mouth piece to in addition of the voice singing was a grand display that made me sway,
to the tempo of relaxed communication of life on an ease is the best of lost in seen,
a meter that has charged electrics to spur the bring is gaining the loss of intimacy,
those low tones to the loud acoustics must be a turn stile run in the Passenger of the worth,
giant Venues that don't Blockbuster are as my Grandfather would describe,
just Tar.

The slick oil production without the beet replaced by eye shatterers,
the flux in the flipping screens to bring on the sort of agitation as oppose to formidables,
great balls of scope to address the popular have an invitational to the aspect of mangled,
in the twist and the turns The Tear shedding Musician stages out of difference,
touching a sort of broad spectrum circus with a Three Ring Act in a single Jam,
in past instruments an Orchestra is the listen to the audio introduction of See.

Removing the imagination of context to spread performers is like dropping out to Plug-in,
the bomb is determined by an odd at sea with swimming fish to the missing sharks,
in advertised simplicity the lyrics to Metro leave the Auditorium with a lead,
down the pad a tremble in the eery or the annoying will draw the average to attention,
radio play is or was the platform bringing new to the Mind as consider,
to date only Oldies as goodies in repeaters of shards gears Controls as the charge.

As to meld away from the core entering the Where did you go Taste,
a dill in the pickle of Mass produce or in yesterdays admission Whiskey with auto coolant ingredients,
the massively stir of loss at the lack luster remains but the gain of the small label,
in Management of vista verses the Swat at attack of the marshmallows,
without the Hot Chocolate or the melt blend for the Smores,
that disappointing scoop of paste cures the desire creating wait for the Fire,
leave the World behind accepting the Table setting as Tab ewe lates.

While hunting for the best choice Stick to wield the cream of the method it's anticipation at it's finest,
the look and the Watch as the compare ventures to know that the perfect Process is in action,
mouth watering bass as the face lights to know that the Flames will be the melt to burn the crisp,
that shelf of Graham on the side in state to slide the wonderfully done expectation to press,
than the pondering of shall the bite fill to the cheeks of smile with the chewy swallow,
all in the time it takes to realize the recipe of satisfactions in satisfied.

The Muse


The Extracts



Future past done History in the forward Reverse of the origin of snip at petrified,
the move comes on Televisions Wall street terminal skate,
tape on the skit mention production of kill viral in pocket vibrate,
the warning speaks to the pitch of ringer in the drum of ear,
immediate mind scatters are being reported mimicking the frothy mouth by body dropping fits,
should you be public at event Life the tongue will remain in the mouth,
as the foam is stemming from the spread of virus of opening send.

The signs to first sit is the straight stare to dead space,
should you be at venue make measurement room as the afflicted human being will soon sprawl,
at the silence please stand no where as the contagion is not a virus but hand held,
do not panic for the moment break is merely the tendency of hours per hand,
as no one is of guard to the accumulation of logged the standard is to allowance,
do not touch or plead wills aid as the Mind has been absorbed in shock,
the drool is not to be considered shocking as this is a normal reaction to date,
the salivation is a response the the condition gone Live!!

Que no application continued use of any and all processors is still considered by the brain,
as the recycle bin has dumping technicals do the over usage on the dispensing of persons hide,
the hand has contacted through dilema the energy of rattle this is the current conversion In Process,
the privacy act has been lifted as the eyes dilate to records storage component.

Attention to all Users the Main Frame has determined that no shut down is necessary,
do not disconnect as per the g.p.s. tracking will immediately if not faster determine your carriage,
to avoid unnecessary stress on the dynamics of the operation read News Cast NOW.

This has been an alert from the emergence broad Caste net Works,
thank you for your coordination on component to screen,
enter spree of recognition by selecting in Find match reality to cloud,
 press enter or use touch identification method choice applicable to containment perceptions,
point Mouse.

Service Not Included



Chump,
people swather people,
cold as the chills of the sickle,
in slice of ice to the Minds,
a knife cutting experience in lay,
the symptoms of sale to Humanities Whale,
the bones not even ash have stricken growth ton by bash.

Smashing as to leaves in the shredder of papas,
the signs of stripped lives leather,
not even the sweat of a brow can lather to word,
the fire is in great need to burn,
a kindle now the stick cern,
clapping the slap to seconds of shrill,
the send in a push to window a skill.

No eyes formal language in the Tweets of ape turn,
a skit from the sign that flats give a sharp,
in edges of cut the bleed never seen,
as the bled are the walking in hitting repeat,
back to the forth in a plurality by arson,
shelling the at spit with oh it's not mine,
a trillion to one in the depth of a share,
crisis of scent is the sorrow of grin.

Semblem of shorter more abbreviates gin,
sipping than drinking to drown the go slit,
scarce are the levers that work it all out,
a chip for the shoulder a dunk for the heart.

The trail of broken down passage of spark,
turning the hope to lather chained soap,
sweat is the drips of silence in choke,
for the base of the brain has not caught on to the dope.

Entry of more taking more going more shoving more sicking more the fact,
evidence with dashing to string the thread out,
silk in the web as the link is the cart,
a sudden in action has developed a print.

Reactions have no longer holds of a case,
the face to face language drops with the chase,
carlye touch howdy the duty is grab,
with tunnels of ribs snapped at the wrist.

Travel becomes an applications buy down,
playing the games 'til the give is turned 'round,
in slash on the sentence a preview of death,
a neck for the trap an ankle for bed.

Quicks to the whip spelling grown education in folk,
transfers of jabbing to the stagger of coach,
rise takes the stanchion just to saddle the splat,
coral is reading the reef on the shores.

Ships in the lost have living in sod,
dirt not severed is the shite of the forms,
add with a nude or expose for the june,
bugs that crawl to the audio wall.


Malleable



Receive 'This' stream of Consciousness 'From' the 60's,
the peace sign in full view reality of the world now going in circles,
know lines as the Under standing straight with look direct,
stick figures in a puppet shown are descriptors to speak bone,
with two legs and the body capture in thick learn,
the rebellion of the Ages turned to cycle bombs,
drawing a sketch of hand speak insignant,
than the Park of the Center would shallow the Thinking to only One Thing.

Fuck

What Spot



The Bank of many measures have groan to bellow soak,
in a time to touch a place with ground at human talk,
communication to engage hug and simple say,
hello how are these comes of farther than the Stars.

In midst of Worlds early graves the drowning of more shade,
echoing with mighty voice I declare the dones,
for in the Mystery of sit a product of the chase,
death will be the miracle of life just moving on.

Entice broke thought at mention shot to embellish a true scene,
the swing of round the circle song pockets full of long,
dancing at the cinders Ash of ribbons on the tree,
a Verse for sky the note from earth an ear that says Hooray!!

Meant to have been a brilliant lane to touch the friend you Thought,
in belief the body leaf an Arm to shoulder spot,
there in foot of knee to walk a silence on the beach,
looking watch to spice the eyes of knowing in the crop.

Out amongst the Grand divide Fire ice lend the rice,
ground to down the dirt to Air upside down its Hot,
melting banners of the stare to Colds that issue flu,
sneezing Coughing filtered would bring Branch of dagger Too.

Harpers that mouth the trap with violin caboose,
cello of the xylophone a drum of skin in root,
taunt the stretch to over etch a scratch to taint the dude,
one less of the cage in scrub Arson at it's Spruce.

Hung with branch of employments ranch Whom has dropped row stance,
the square to Block of head in know a Natural gentle wave,
no squire on the garden Wire the clothes pins on the rope,
drying out to soak the shout to drink until the stew.

One cup said to anchor head with stolen gives by Take,
photographic memorize the Ancients are the way,
science in arena being Age to test the Text,
a Wall of stone or migrant bone the evidence is Just.

Chank



The synopsis of compilation in the logic of method is interesting should be found,
ask the anamoly to bearings of the human in self forward of the backwards revert,
directional logic burning Compass with the graph stands at the break of Humanity is social,
as the curtain details to The Blunt push out as does the Red Fabric shed lease,
in barrier of plate Mask to the oriental carpet display a Screen of the Match byte,
in mid of a North fountain to that chung of remiss The Blunt has been in the tsk.

Bowling for lives is a discounted Event in these times of a dollar for an Ass,
donkey the sat to the mules of a prat a barn swallow broads to the Isle of stay,
inking that Forehead with missing oh Wait I do believe the trapping is a Trap~a~Tier on lace,
shoeing the enclave with touch the honey sticky but truthfully extreme in rain,
tide table charts listers that soak in a plodding rent to the owned by a sense,
pardons for nobody make Spaghetti talk straight as in the before the cook is a lay.

Bilge on the Human sump of lungs that pump with a mouth on jar the tongue on bisque,
with saliva as drink bile that trunk as barf on the strain of what life was never meant to be,
death.


Confusion

Sibylline Books

The Sibylline Books (LatinLibri Sibyllini) were a collection of oracular utterances, set out in Greek hexameters, purchased from asibyl by the last king of RomeTarquinius Superbus, and consulted at momentous crises through the history of the Republic and theEmpire. Only fragments have survived, the rest being lost or deliberately destroyed.
The Sibylline Books should not be confused with the so-called Sibylline Oracles, twelve books of prophecies thought to be of Judaeo-Christian origin.

History


According to the Roman tradition, the oldest collection of Sibylline books appears to have been made about the time of Solon and Cyrus at Gergis on Mount Ida in the Troad; it was attributed to the Hellespontine Sibyl and was preserved in the temple of Apollo at Gergis. From Gergis the collection passed to Erythrae, where it became famous as the oracles of the Erythraean Sibyl. It would appear to have been this very collection that found its way to Cumae (see the Cumaean Sibyl) and from Cumae to Rome.
The story of the acquisition of the Sibylline Books by Tarquinius is one of the famous mythic elements of Roman history. The Cumaean Sibyl offered to Tarquinius nine books of these prophecies; and as the king declined to purchase them, owing to the exorbitant price she demanded, she burned three and offered the remaining six to Tarquinius at the same stiff price, which he again refused, whereupon she burned three more and repeated her offer. Tarquinius then relented and purchased the last three at the full original price and had them preserved in a vault beneath the Capitoline temple of Jupiter. The story is alluded to in Varro's lost books quoted in Lactantius Institutiones Divinae (I: 6) and by Origen.
The Roman Senate kept tight control over the Sibylline Books;[1] Sibylline Books were entrusted to the care of two patricians; after 367 BC ten custodians were appointed, five patricians and five plebeians, who were called the decemviri sacris faciundis; subsequently (probably in the time of Sulla) their number was increased to fifteen, the quindecimviri sacris faciundis. They were usually ex-consuls or ex-praetors. They held office for life, and were exempt from all other public duties. They had the responsibility of keeping the books in safety and secrecy. These officials, at the command of the Senate, consulted the Sibylline Books in order to discover not exact predictions of definite future events in the form of prophecy but the religious observances necessary to avert extraordinary calamities and to expiate ominous prodigies (comets and earthquakes, showers of stones, plague, and the like). It was only the rites of expiation prescribed by the Sibylline Books, according to the interpretation of the oracle that were communicated to the public, and not the oracles themselves, which left ample opportunity for abuses.
In particular, the keepers of the Sibylline Books had the superintendence of the worship of Apollo, of the "Great Mother" Cybele or Magna Mater, and of Ceres, which had been introduced upon recommendations as interpreted from the Sibylline Books. The Sibylline Books motivated the construction of eight temples in ancient Rome, aside from those cults that have been interpreted as mediated by the Sibylline Books simply by the Greek nature of the deity.[2] Thus, one important effect of the Sibylline Books was their influence on applying Greek cult practice and Greek conceptions of deities to indigenous Roman religion, which was already indirectly influenced through Etruscan religion. As the Sibylline Books had been collected in Anatolia, in the neighborhood of Troy, they recognized the gods and goddesses and the rites observed there and helped introduce them into Roman state worship, a syncretic amalgamation of national deities with the corresponding deities of Greece, and a general modification of the Roman religion.
Since they were written in hexameter verse and in Greek, the college of curators was always assisted by two Greek interpreters. The books were kept in the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitol, and, when the temple burned in 83 BC, they were lost. The Roman Senate sent envoys in 76 BC to replace them with a collection of similar oracular sayings, in particular collected from Ilium, Erythrae, Samos, Sicily, and Africa.[3] This new Sibylline collection was deposited in the restored temple, together with similar sayings of native origin, e.g. those of the Sibyl at Tibur (the 'Tiburtine Sibyl') of the brothers Marcius, and others, which had been circulating in private hands but which were called in, to be delivered to the Urban Praetor, private ownership of such works being declared illicit, and to be evaluated by the Quindecemviri, who then sorted them, retaining only those that appeared true to them.[4]
From the Capitol they were transferred by Augustus as pontifex maximus in 12 BC, to the temple of Apollo Patrous on the Palatine, after they had been examined and copied; there they remained until about AD 405. According to the poet Rutilius Claudius Namatianus, the general Flavius Stilicho (died AD 408) burned them, as they were being used to attack his government.
Some genuine Sibylline verses are preserved in the Book of Marvels or Memorabilia of Phlegon of Tralles (2nd century AD). These represent an oracle, or a combination of two oracles, of seventy hexameters in all. They report the birth of an androgyne, and prescribe a long list of rituals and offerings to the gods.

Relationship with the "Sibylline Oracles"

The Sibylline Oracles were quoted by the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus (late 1st century) as well as by numerous Christian writers of the second century, includingAthenagoras of Athens who, in a letter addressed to Marcus Aurelius in ca. AD 176, quoted verbatim a section of the extant Oracles, in the midst of a lengthy series of other classical and pagan references such as Homer and Hesiod, stating several times that all these works should already be familiar to the Roman Emperor. Copies of the actualSibylline Books (as reconstituted in 76 BC) were still in the Roman Temple at this time. The Oracles are nevertheless thought by modern scholars to be anonymous compilations that assumed their final form in the fifth century, after the Sibylline Books perished. They are a miscellaneous collection of Jewish and Christian portents of future disasters, that may illustrate the confusions about sibyls that were accumulating among Christians of Late Antiquity.[5]

Consultations of the Books cited in history

An incomplete list of consultations of the Sibylline Books recorded by historians:
  • 399 BC: The books were consulted following a pestilence, resulting in the institution of the lectisternium ceremony. (Livy 5,13)
  • 348 BC: A plague struck Rome after a brief skirmish with the Gauls and Greeks. Another lectisternium was ordered. (Livy 7,27)
  • 345 BC: The books were consulted when a "shower of stones rained down and darkness filled the sky during daylight". Publius Valerius Publicola was appointed dictator to arrange a public holiday for religious observances. (Livy 7, 28)
  • 295 BC: They were consulted again following a pestilence, and reports that large numbers of Appius Claudius' army had been struck by lightning. A Temple was built to Venus near the Circus Maximus. (Livy 10,31)
  • 293 BC: After yet another plague, the books were consulted, with the prescription being 'that Aesculapius must be brought to Rome from Epidaurus'; however, the Senate, being preoccupied with the Samnite wars, took no steps beyond performing one day of public prayers to Aesculapius. (Livy 10,47)
  • 240/238 BC: The Ludi Florales, or "Flower Games", were instituted after consulting the books.
  • 216 BC: When Hannibal annihilated the Roman Legions at Cannae, the books were consulted, and on their recommendation, two Gauls and two Greeks were buried alive in the city's marketplace.
  • 205-204 BC: During the Second Punic War, upon consultation of the Sibylline Books, an image of Cybele was transferred from Pessinos (or Pergamon) to Rome. An embassy was sent to Attalus I of Pergamon to negotiate the transfer. Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica and Claudia Quinta were said to have received the image of Cybele at Ostia on her arrival in 204 BC. Cybele's image was placed within the Temple of Victory on the Palatine. In honour of Cybele a lecisternium was performed and her games, theMegalesia, were held.[6] The image of Cybele was moved to the Temple of the Magna Mater in 191 BC when the temple was dedicated by Marcus Junius Brutus in the consulship of Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica.[7] A fragment of Valerius Antias from Livy's Ab Urbe Condita 36.36.4 records that Megalesia were again held in 191 BC and that "[they] were the first to be held with dramatic performances."[8]
  • 143 BC: Frontinus relates a story in which the Decemvirs consulted the books on another matter and found that a proposed project for the Marcia Aqueduct was improper, along with the Anio. After a debate in the Senate the project was resumed, presumably the necessity for water outweighed the oracle. Sextus Julius Frontinus, Aqueducts of Rome, Book I, Ch 7.
  • 63 BC: Believing in a prediction of the books that 'three Cornelii' would dominate Rome, Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura took part in the conspiracy of Catiline (Plutarch, Life of Cicero, XVII)
  • ca. 55 BC: As Romans deliberated sending a force to restore Ptolemy XII to the throne of Egypt, lightning struck the statue of Jupiter on the Alban Mount; the oracles were consulted, and one was found to read "If the King of Egypt comes to you asking for assistance, refuse him not your friendship, yet do not grant him any army, or else you will have toil and danger". This considerably delayed Ptolemy's return. (Dio Cassius History of Rome 39:15)
  • 44 BC: According to Suetonius, a sibylline prediction that only a king could triumph over Parthia fueled rumors that Caesar, leader of the then-republic, was aspiring to kingship. (Caesar, 79)
  • 15 AD: When the Tiber river flooded the lower parts of Rome, one of the priests suggested consulting the books, but Emperor Tiberius refused, preferring to keep the divine things secret. (Tacitus, Annales I, 76)
  • 271: The books were consulted following the Roman defeat at Placentia by the Alamanni.
  • 312: Maxentius consulted the Sibylline Books in preparation for combat with Constantine, who had recently switched his allegiance from Apollo to Christ.
  • 363: Julian the Apostate consulted the books in preparation for marching against the Sassanids. The response mailed from Rome "in plain terms warned him not to quit his own territories that year." (Ammianus MarcellinusHistory of Rome, XXIII 1, 7)
  • 405: Stilicho ordered the destruction of the Sibylline Books, possibly because Sibylline prophecies were being used to attack his government in the face of the attack of Alaric I.

In Comparison

"All ancient books which have once been called sacred by man, will have their lasting place in the history of mankind, and those who possess the courage, the perseverance, and the self-denial of the true miner, and of the true scholar, will find even in the darkest and dustiest shafts what they are seeking for,--real nuggets of thought, and precious jewels of faith and hope."

-- Max Müller, Introduction to the Upanishads Vol. II.

BOOK I.


CONTENTS OF BOOK I.

Announcement, 1-5. Creation of the earth and man, 6-47. First sin and penalty, 48-81. Condition of the first race, 82-107. The second race of men, 108-129. Third and fourth races, 130-148. The race of giants, 149-153. Call and preaching of Noah, 154-243. 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, 469-485.

THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES.

BOOK I.


  1. BEGINNING with the generation first
  2. Of mortal men down to the very last
  3. I'll prophesy each thing: what erst has been,
  4. And what is now, and what shall yet befall
  5. 5 The world through the impiety of men.
  6.     First now God urges on me to relate
  7. Truly how into being came the world.
  8. And thou, shrewd mortal, prudently make known,
  9. Lest ever thou should'st my commands neglect,
  10. 10 The King most high, who brought into existence
  11. The whole world, saying, "Let there be," and there was.
  12. For he the earth established, placing it
  13. Round about Tartarus, and he himself
  14. Gave the sweet light; he raised the heaven on high,
  15. 15 Spread out the gleaming sea, and crowned the sky
  16. With an abundance of bright-shining stars,
  17. And decked the earth with plants, and mingled sea
  18. With rivers, and the air with zephyrs mixed
  19. And watery clouds; and then, another race
  20. 20 Appointing, he gave fishes to the seas
  21. And birds unto the winds, and to the woods
  22. The beasts of shaggy neck, and snakes that crawl,
  23. And all things which now on the earth appear.
  24. These by his word he made, and every thing
  25. 25 Was speedily and with precision done;
  26. For he was self-caused and from heaven looked down
  27. And finished was the world exceeding well.
  28. And then thereafter fashioned he again
  29. A living product, copying a new man
  30. 30 From his own image, beautiful, divine,
  31. And bade him in ambrosial garden dwell,
  32. That labors beautiful might be his care.
  33. But in that fertile field of Paradise
  34. He longed for conversation, being alone,
  35. 35 And prayed that he might see another form
  36. Such as he had. And forthwith, from man's side
  37. Taking a bone, God himself made fair Eve,
  38. A wedded spouse, and in that Paradise
  39. Gave her to dwell with him. And, when he gazed
  40. 40 Upon her, on a sudden filled with joy
  41. Great admiration held his soul, he saw
  42. A pattern so exact; and with wise words
  43. Spontaneous flowing answered he in turn
  44. For God had care for all things. For the mind
  45. 45 They darkened not with passion, nor concealed
  46. Their nakedness, but with hearts far from evil
  47. Even like wild beasts they walked with limbs exposed.
  48. And afterwards delivering them commands
  49. God showed them not to touch a certain tree;
  50. 50 But the dread serpent drew them off by guile
  51. To go away unto the fate of death
  52. And to gain knowledge of both good and evil.
  53. But the wife then first traitress proved to God;
  54. She gave, and urged the unknowing man to sin.
  55. 55 And he, persuaded by the woman's words,
  56. Forgot the immortal Maker utterly,
  57. And treated plain commandments with neglect.
  58. Therefore, instead of good, received they evil
  59. According to their deed. And then the leaves
  60. 60 Of the sweet fig-tree piercing they made clothes
  61. And put them on each other, and concealed
  62. The sexual parts, because they were ashamed.
  63. But on them the Immortal set his wrath
  64. And cast them out of the immortal land.
  65. 65 For their abiding now in mortal land
  66. Was brought to pass, since hearing they kept not
  67. The word of the immortal mighty God.
  68. And straightway they, upon the fruitful soil
  69. Forthgoing, with their tears and groans were wet;
  70. 70 And to them then the immortal God himself
  71. A word more excellent spoke: "Multiply,
  72. Increase, work constantly upon the earth,
  73. That with the sweat of labor ye may have
  74. Sufficient food." Thus he spoke; and he made
  75. 75 The author of deceit to press the ground
  76. On belly and on side, a crawling snake,
  77. Driving him out severely; and he sent
  78. Dire enmity between them and the one
  79. Is on the look-out to preserve his head,
  80. 80 But man his heel; for death is neighbor near
  81. Of evil-plotting vipers and of men.
  82.     And then indeed the race was multiplied
  83. As the Almighty himself gave command,
  84. And there grew up one people on another
  85. 85 Innumerable. And houses they adorned
  86. Of all kinds and made cities and their walls
  87. Well and expertly; and to them was given
  88. A day of long time for a life much-loved;
  89. For they did not worn out with troubles die,
  90. 90 But as subdued by sleep; most happy men
  91. Of great heart, whom the immortal Saviour loved,
  92. The King, God. But they also did transgress,
  93. Smitten with folly. For with impudence
  94. They mocked their fathers and their mothers scorned;
  95. 95 Kinsmen they knew not, and they formed intrigues
  96. Against their brothers. And they were impure,
  97. Having defiled themselves with human gore,
  98. And they made wars. And then upon them came
  99. The last calamity sent forth from heaven,
  100. 100 Which snatched the dreadful men away from life;
  101. And Hades then received them; it was called
  102. Hades since Adam, having tasted death,
  103. Went first and earth encompassed him around.
  104. And therefore all men born upon the earth
  105. 105 Are in abodes of Hades called to go.
  106. But even in Hades all these when they came
  107. Had honor, since they were the earliest race.
  108.     But when Hades received these, secondly
  109. [Of the surviving and most righteous men]
  110. 110 God formed another very subtile race
  111. That cared for lovely works, and noble toils,
  112. Distinguished reverence and solid wisdom;
  113. And they were trained in arts of every kind,
  114. Finding inventions by their lack of means.
  115. 115 And one devised to till the land with plows,
  116. Another worked in wood, another cared
  117. For sailing, and another watched the stars
  118. And practiced augury with winged fowls;
  119. And use of drugs had interest for one,
  120. 120 While for another magic had a charm;
  121. And others were in every other art
  122. Which men care for instructed, wide awake,
  123. Industrious, worthy of that eponym
  124. Because they had a sleepless mind within
  125. 125 And a huge body; stout with mighty form
  126. They were; but, notwithstanding, down they went
  127. Into Tartarean chamber terrible,
  128. Kept in firm chains to pay full penalty
  129. In Gehenna of strong, furious, quenchless fire.
  130. 130    And after these a third strong-minded race
  131. Appeared, a race of overbearing men
  132. And terrible, who wrought among themselves
  133. Many an evil. And fights, homicides,
  134. And battles did continually destroy
  135. 135 Those men possessed of overweening heart,
  136.     And from these afterward another race
  137. Proceeded, late-completed, youngest born,
  138. Blood-stained, perverse in counsel; of men these
  139. Were in the fourth race; much the blood they spilled,
  140. 140 Nor feared they God nor had regard for men,
  141. For maddening wrath and sore impiety
  142. Were sent upon them. And wars, homicides,
  143. And battles sent some into Erebus,
  144. Since they were overweening impious men.
  145. 145 But the rest did the heavenly God himself
  146. In anger afterwards change from his world,
  147. Casting them into mighty Tartarus
  148. Down under the foundation of the earth.
  149. And later yet another race much worse
  150. 150 [Of men he made, to whom no good thereafter]
  151. The Immortal formed, since they wrought many evils.
  152. For they were much more violent than those,
  153. Giants perverse, foul language pouring out.
  154. Single among all men, most just and true,
  155. 155 Was the most faithful Noah, full of care
  156. For noblest works. And to him God himself
  157. From heaven thus spoke: "Noah, be of good cheer
  158. In thyself and to all the people preach
  159. Repentance, so that they may all be saved.
  160. 160 But if, with shameless soul, they heed me not
  161. The whole race I will utterly destroy
  162. With mighty floods of waters. Quickly now
  163. An undecaying house I bid thee frame
  164. Of planks strong and impervious to the wet.
  165. 165 I will put understanding in thy heart,
  166. And subtile skill, and rule of measurement
  167. And order; and for all things will I care
  168. That thou be saved, and all who dwell with thee.
  169. And I am He who is, and in thy heart
  170. 170 Do thou discern. I clothe me with the heaven,
  171. And cast the sea around me, and for me
  172. Earth is a footstool, and the air is poured
  173. Around my body; and on every side
  174. Around me runs the chorus of the stars.
  175. 175 Nine letters have I; of four syllables
  176. I am; discern me. The first three have each
  177. Two letters, the remaining one the rest,
  178. And five are mates; and of the entire sum
  179. The hundreds are twice eight and thrice three tens
  180. 180 Along with seven. Now, knowing who I am,
  181. Be thou not uninitiate in my lore."
  182.     Thus he spoke; and great trembling seized on him
  183. At what he heard. And then, within his mind
  184. Having contrived each matter, he besought
  185. 185 The people and began with words like these:
  186. "O men insatiate, smit with madness great,
  187. Whatever things ye practiced they shall not
  188. Escape God's notice; for he knows all things,
  189. Immortal Saviour overseeing all,
  190. 190 Who bade me warn you, that ye perish not.
  191. Be sober, cut off badness, do not fight
  192. Perforce each other with blood-guilty heart,
  193. Nor irrigate much land with human gore.
  194. Revere, O mortals, the supremely great
  195. 195 And fearless heavenly Creator, God
  196. Imperishable, whose dwelling is the sky;
  197. And do ye all entreat him--he is kind--
  198. For life of cities and of all the world,
  199. And of four-footed beasts and flying fowls;
  200. 200 Entreat him to be gracious unto all.
  201. For when the whole unbounded world of men
  202. Shall be destroyed by waters loud ye'll raise
  203. A fearful cry. And suddenly for you
  204. The air shall be disordered, and from heaven
  205. 205 The fury of the mighty God shall come
  206. Upon you. And it certainly shall be
  207. That the immortal Saviour against men
  208. Will send wrath if ye do not placate God
  209. And from this time repent; and nothing more
  210. 210 Fretful and evil lawlessly shall ye
  211. One to another do, but let there be
  212. A guarding of one's self by holy life."
  213.     But when they heard him each turned up his nose,
  214. Calling him mad, a frenzy-smitten man.
  215. 215 And then again did Noah sound this strain:
  216. "O men exceeding wretched, base in heart,
  217. Unstable, leaving modesty behind
  218. And loving shamelessness, rapacious lords,
  219. Fierce sinners, false, insatiate, mischievous,
  220. 220 In nothing true, stealthy adulterers,
  221. Flippant in language, pouring forth foul words,
  222. The wrath of God most high not fearing, kept
  223. To the fifth generation to atone!
  224. In no way do ye wail, harsh men, but laugh;
  225. 225 Sardonic smile shall ye laugh, when shall come
  226. That which I speak--God's dire incoming flood,
  227. When Eve's polluted race, in the great earth
  228. Blooming perennial in impervious stem,
  229. Shall, root and branch, in one night disappear,
  230. 230 And cities, men and all, shall the Earth-shaker
  231. From the depths scatter and their walls destroy.
  232. And then the whole world of unnumbered men
  233. Shall die. But how shall I weep, how lament
  234. In wooden house, how mingle tears with waves?
  235. 235 For, if this water bidden of God shall come,
  236. Earth shall float, hills float, and even sky shall float;
  237. Everything shall be water, and all things
  238. Shall be destroyed by waters. And the winds
  239. Shall stand still, and a second age shall come.
  240. 240 O Phrygia, thou shalt from the water's crest
  241. First rise up, and thou first another race
  242. Of men shalt nourish, once again anew
  243. Beginning; and thou shalt be nurse for all."
  244.     But when now to the lawless generation
  245. 245 He had thus vainly spoken, the Most High
  246. Appeared, and once more cried aloud and said:
  247. "The time is now come, Noah, to proclaim
  248. Each thing, even all which I that day to thee
  249. Did promise and confirm, and to complete,
  250. 250 Because of a people disobedient,
  251. Throughout the boundless world even all the things
  252. Which generations of a former time
  253. Did practice, evil things innumerable.
  254. But do thou quickly enter with thy sons
  255. 255 And the wives. Call as many as I bid,
  256. Of tribes of beasts and creeping things and birds,
  257. And in as many as I ordain for life
  258. Will I then put a willingness to go."
  259.     Thus spoke he; forth went (Noah) and aloud
  260. 260 Cried out and called. And then wife, sons and brides,
  261. Entered the house of wood; then also went
  262. The other things, as many as God willed
  263. To shut in. But when fitting bolt was put
  264. About the lid, and in its polished place
  265. 265 Was fitted sideways, then was brought to pass
  266. Forthwith the purpose of the God of heaven.
  267. And he massed clouds, and bid the sun's bright disk,
  268. And moon, and stars, and circle of the heaven,
  269. Obscuring all things round; he thundered loud,
  270. 270 Terror of mortals, sending lightnings forth;
  271. And all the winds together were aroused,
  272. And all the veins of water were unloosed
  273. By opening of great cataracts from heaven,
  274. And from earth's caverns and the tireless deep
  275. 275 Appeared the myriad waters, and the whole
  276. Illimitable earth was covered o'er.
  277. But on the water swam that wondrous house;
  278. And torn by many furious waves, and struck
  279. By force of winds, it rushed on fearfully;
  280. 280 But with its keel it cut the mass of foam
  281. While the loud-babbling waters dashed around.
  282.     But when God deluged all the world with rains
  283. Then also Noah took thought to observe
  284. By counsels of the Immortal; for he now
  285. 285 Had had enough of Nereus. And straightway
  286. The house he opened from the polished wall,
  287. That crosswise was bound fast with skillful stays.
  288. And looking out upon the mighty mass
  289. Of boundless waters Noah on all sides--
  290. 290 And 'twas his fortune with his eyes to see!--
  291. Fear possessed and shook mightily his heart.
  292. And then the air became a little calm,
  293. Since it was weary wetting all the world
  294. Many days; parting, then, it brought to light
  295. 295 How pale and blood-red was the mighty sky
  296. And sun's bright disk awearied; scarcely held
  297. Noah his courage. And then forth afar
  298. Sent he a dove alone, that he might learn
  299. If yet firm land appeared. But with tired wing,
  300. 300 Flying round all things, she again returned;
  301. For not yet had the water ebbed away;
  302. For it was deeply filling every place.
  303. But after resting quietly for days
  304. He sent the dove once more, to learn if yet
  305. 305 Had ceased the many waters. And she flew
  306. And flew on, and went o'er the earth and, resting
  307. Her body lightly on the humid ground,
  308. Again to Noah back she came and bore
  309. An olive branch--of tidings a great sign.
  310. 310 Courage now filled them all, and great delight,
  311. Because they hoped to look upon the land.
  312. But then thereafter yet another bird,
  313. Of black wing, sent he forth as hastily;
  314. Which, trusting to its wings, flow willingly,
  315. 315 And coming to the land continued there.
  316. And Noah knew the land was nearer now.
  317. But when on dashing waves the craft divine
  318. Had here and there o'er ocean's billows swum,
  319. It was made fast upon the narrow strand.
  320. 320 There is in Phrygia on the dark mainland
  321. A steep, tall mountain; Ararat its name,
  322. Because upon it all were to be saved
  323. From death, and there was great desire of heart;
  324. Thence streams of the great river Marsyas spring.
  325. 325 There on a lofty peak the ark abode
  326. When the waters ceased, and then again from heaven
  327. The voice divine of the great God this word
  328. Proclaimed: "O Noah, guarded, faithful, just,
  329. Come boldly forth, with thy sons and thy wife
  330. 330 And the three brides, and fill ye all the earth,
  331. Increasing, multiplying, rendering justice
  332. To one another through all generations,
  333. Until to judgment every race of men
  334. Shall come; for judgment shall be unto all."
  335. 335 Thus spoke the voice divine. Then from his couch
  336. Noah, encouraged, hastened on the land,
  337. And with him went his sons and wife and brides,
  338. And creeping things, and birds and quadrupeds,
  339. And all things else went from the wooden house
  340. 340 Into one place. And then went Noah forth
  341. As eighth, most just of men, when on the waters
  342. He had made full twice twenty days and one
  343. Because of counsels of the mighty God.
  344. Then a new stock of life again arose,
  345. 345 Golden first, which indeed was sixth, and best,
  346. From the time when the first-formed man appeared;
  347. Heavenly its name, because all things to God
  348. Shall be a care. O first race of sixth age!
  349. O mighty joy which I thereafter shared,
  350. 350 When I escaped sheer ruin, by the waves
  351. Much tossed, with husband and with brothers-in-law,
  352. Stepfather and stepmother, and with wives
  353. Of husband's brothers suffering terribly.
  354. Fitting things now will I sing: There shall be
  355. 355 On the fig-tree a many-colored flower,
  356. And afterward the royal power and sway
  357. Shall Cronos have. For three kings of great soul,
  358. Men most just, shall distribute portions then,
  359. And many a year rule, rendering what is just
  360. 360 To men who care for toil and deeds of love.
  361. And earth shall glory in her many fruits
  362. Self-growing, yielding much corn for the race.
  363. And the foster-fathers, ageless all their days,
  364. Shall from diseases chill and dreadful be
  365. 365 Far aloof; they shall die as fallen on sleep,
  366. And unto Acheron in the abodes
  367. Of Hades they shall go away, and there
  368. Shall they have honor, since they were a race
  369. Of blessed ones, fortunate heroes, whom
  370. 370 The Lord of Sabaoth gave a noble mind,
  371. And with whom always he his counsels shared.
  372. But blessed shall they be even when they go
  373. In Hades. And then afterward again
  374. Oppressive, strong, another second race
  375. 375 Of earth-born men, the Titans. All excel
  376. In figure, stature, growth; and there shall be
  377. One language, as of old from the first race
  378. God in their breasts implanted. But even these,
  379. Having a haughty heart and rushing on
  380. 380 To ruin, shall at last resolve to fight
  381. Against the starry heaven. And then the stream
  382. Of the great ocean shall upon them pour
  383. Its raging waters. But the mighty Lord
  384. Of Sabaoth though enraged shall check his wrath,
  385. 385 Because he promised that again no flood
  386. Should be brought upon men of evil soul.
  387.     But when the great high-thundering God shall cause
  388. The boundless swelling of the many waters--
  389. With their waves hither and thither rising high--
  390. 390 To cease from wrath, and into other depths
  391. Of sea their measure lessen, setting bounds
  392. By harbors and rough headlands round the land;
  393. Then also shall a child of the great God
  394. Come, clothed in flesh, to men, and fashioned like
  395. 395 To mortals in the earth; and he doth hear
  396. Four vowels, and two consonants in him
  397. Are twice announced; the whole sum I will name:
  398. For eight ones, and as many tens on these,
  399. And yet eight hundred will reveal the name
  400. 400 To men insatiate; and do thou discern
  401. In thine own understanding that the Christ
  402. Is child of the immortal God most high.
  403. And he shall fulfill God's law, not destroy,
  404. Bearing his very image, and all things
  405. 405 Shall he teach. Unto him shall priests convey
  406. And offer gold, and myrrh, and frankincense;
  407. For all these things he'll also bring to pass.
  408. But when a voice shall through the desert land
  409. Come bearing tidings to men, and to all
  410. 410 Shall call to make straight paths, and from the heart
  411. Cast wickedness out and illuminate
  412. With water all the bodies of mankind,
  413. That being born again they may no more
  414. From what is righteous go at all astray--
  415. 415 And one of barbarous mind, by dances bound,
  416. Cutting that (voice) off shall bestow reward--
  417. Then on a sudden there shall be a sign
  418. To mortals, when, watched over, there shall come
  419. Out of the land of Egypt a fair stone;
  420. 420 And on it shall the Hebrew people stumble;
  421. But by his guiding nations shall be brought
  422. Together; for the God who rules on high
  423. They also shall know through him, and the way
  424. In common light. For unto chosen men
  425. 425 Will he show life eternal, but the fire
  426. Will be for ages on the lawless bring.
  427. And then shall he the sickly heal, and all
  428. Who are blameworthy who shall trust in him..
  429. And then the blind shall see, the lame shall walk,
  430. 430 The deaf shall hearken, and the dumb shall speak.
  431. Demons shall he drive out, and of the dead
  432. There shall be an uprising; on the waves
  433. Shall he walk; also in a desert place
  434. Shall he five thousand satisfy with food
  435. 435 From five loaves and a fish out of the sea,
  436.     And with the remnants of them, for the hope
  437. Of peoples, shall he fill twelve baskets full.
  438. And then shall Israel, drunken, not discern,
  439. Nor shall they hear, oppressed with feeble cars.
  440. 440 But when the maddening wrath of the Most High
  441. Shall come upon the Hebrews, and take faith
  442. Away from them, because they slew the Son
  443. Of the heavenly God; then also with foul lips
  444. Shall Israel give him cuffs and spittle drugged.
  445. 445 And gall for food and vinegar unmixed
  446. For drink will they, with evil madness smitten
  447. In bosom and in heart, give impiously,
  448. Not seeing with their eyes, more blind than moles,
  449. More terrible than crawling poisonous beasts,
  450. 450 Fast bound by heavy sleep. But when his hands
  451. He shall spread forth and measure out all things,
  452. And bear the crown of thorns, and they shall pierce
  453. His side with reeds, for which dark monstrous night
  454. Shall be for three hours in the midst of day,
  455. 455 Then also shall the temple of Solomon
  456. Bring to an end a mighty sign for men,
  457. When he shall to the house of Hades go
  458. Proclaiming resurrection to the dead.
  459. But when in three days he shall come again
  460. 460 Unto the light, and show his form to men
  461. And teach all things, ascending in the clouds
  462. Unto the house of heaven shall he go
  463. Leaving the world a Gospel convenant.
  464. And in his name shall blossom a new shoot
  465. 465 From nations that are guided by the law
  466. Of the Mighty One. But also after this
  467. There shall be wise guides, and then afterward
  468. There shall be a cessation of the prophets.
  469.     After that, when the Hebrew people reap
  470. 470 Their evil harvest, shall a Roman king
  471. Much gold and silver utterly destroy.
  472. And afterward shall other royal powers
  473. Continuously arise as kingdoms perish,
  474. And they will oppress mortals. But great fall
  475. 475 Shall be for those men, when they shall begin
  476. Unrighteous arrogance. But when the temple
  477. Of Solomon in the holy land shall fall,
  478. Cast down by barbarous men in brazen mail,
  479. And from the land the Hebrews shall be driven
  480. 480 Wandering and wasted, and among the wheat
  481. They shall much darnel mingle, there shall be
  482. Evil contention among, all mankind;
  483. And the cities suffering outrage shall bewail
  484. Each other, in their breasts receiving wrath
  485. 485 Of the great God, since they wrought evil work.


BOOK II.

CONTENTS OF BOOK II.

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, 37-63. A chapter of proverbs, 64-188. The contest, 189-195. Woes of the last generation, 196-222. Events of the last day, 223-263. Resurrection and 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, 416-427.

BOOK II.

  1.     Now while I much entreated God restrained
  2. My wise song, also in my breast again
  3. He put the charming voice of words divine.
  4. In my whole body terror-stricken these
  5. 5 I follow; for I know not that I speak,
  6.     But God impels me to proclaim each thing.
  7. But when on earth come shocks, fierce thunderbolts,
  8. Thunders and lightnings, storms, and evil blight,
  9. And rage of jackals and of wolves, manslaughter,
  10. 10 Destruction of men and of lowing kine,
  11. Four-footed cattle and laborious mules,
  12. And goats and sheep, then shall the ample field
  13. Be barren from neglect, and fruits shall fail,
  14. And there shall be a selling of their freedom
  15. 15 Among most men, and robbery of temples.
  16. And then shall, after these, appear of men
  17. The tenth race, when the earth-shaking Lightener
  18. Shall break the zeal for idols and shall shake
  19. The people of seven-hilled Rome, and riches great
  20. 20 Shall perish, burned by Vulcan's fiery flame.
  21. And then shall bloody signs from heaven descend--
  22.    .    .    .    .    .    .    .  
  23. But yet the whole world of unnumbered men
  24. Enraged shall kill each other, and in tumult
  25. Shall God send famines, plagues, and thunderbolts
  26. 25 On men who, without justice, judge of rights.
  27. And lack of men shall be in all the world,
  28. So that if anyone beheld a trace
  29. Of man on earth, he would be wonderstruck.
  30. And then shall the great God who dwells in heaven
  31. 30 Saviour of pious men in all things prove.
  32. And then shall there be peace and wisdom deep,
  33. And the fruit-bearing land shall yield again
  34. Abundant fruits, divided not in parts
  35. Nor yet enslaved. And every harbor then,
  36. 35 And every haven, shall be free to men
  37. As formerly, and shamelessness shall perish.
  38.     And then will God show mortals a great sign:
  39. For like a lustrous crown shall shine a star,
  40. Bright, all-resplendent, from the radiant heaven
  41. 40 Days not a few; and then will he display
  42. From heaven a crown for contest unto men
  43. Who wrestle. And then there shall be again
  44. A mighty contest of triumphal march
  45. Into the heavenly sky, and it shall be
  46. 45 For all men in the world, and have the fame
  47. Of immortality. And every people
  48. Shall then in the immortal contests strive
  49. For splendid victory. For no one there
  50. Can shamelessly with silver buy a crown.
  51. 50 For unto them will the pure Christ adjudge
  52. That which is due, and crown the ones approved,
  53. And give his martyrs an immortal prize
  54. Who carry on the contest unto death.
  55. And unto chaste men who run their race well
  56. 55 Will he the incorruptible reward
  57. Of the prize give, and to all men allot
  58. That which is due, and also to strange nations
  59. That live a holy life and know one God.
  60. And those who have regard for marriages
  61. 60 And keep themselves far from adulteries,
  62. To them rich gifts, eternal hope, he'll give.
  63. For every human soul is God's free gift,
  64. And 'tis not right men stain it with vile deeds.
  65. 65 A life of probity. Be satisfied
  66. With what thou hast and keep thyself from that
  67. Which is another's. Speak not what is false,
  68. But have a care for all things that are true.
  69. Revere not idols vainly; but the God
  70. 40 Imperishable honor always first,
  71. And next thy parents. Render all things due,
  72. And into unjust judgment come thou not.
  73. Do not cast out the poor unrighteously,
  74. Nor judge by outward show; if wickedly
  75. 75 Thou judgest, God hereafter will judge thee.
  76. Avoid false testimony; tell the truth.
  77. Maintain thy virgin purity, and guard
  78. Love among all. Deal measures that are just;
  79. For beautiful is measure full to all.
  80. 80 Strike not the scales oneside, but draw them equal.
  81. Forswear not ignorantly nor willingly;
  82. God hates the perjured man in that he swore.
  83. A gift proceeding out of unjust deeds
  84. Never receive in hand. Do not steal seed;
  85. 85 Accursed through many generations he
  86. Who took it unto scattering of life.
  87. Indulge not vile lusts, slander not, nor kill.
  88. Give the toilworn his hire; do not afflict
  89. The poor man. Unto orphans help afford
  90. 90 And to widows and the needy. Talk with sense;
  91. Hold fast in heart a secret. Be unwilling
  92. To act unjustly nor yet tolerate
  93. Unrighteous men. Give to the poor at once
  94. And say not, "Come to-morrow." Of thy grain
  95. 95 Give to the needy with perspiring hand.
  96. He who gives alms knows how to lend to God.
  97. Mercy redeems from death when judgment comes.
  98. Not sacrifice, but mercy God desires
  99. Rather than sacrifice. The naked clothe,
  100. 100 Share thy bread with the hungry, in thy house
  101. Receive the shelterless and lead the blind.
  102. Pity the shipwrecked; for the voyage is
  103. Uncertain. To the fallen give a hand;
  104. And save the man that stands without defense.
  105. 105 Common to all is suffering, life's a wheel,
  106. Riches unstable. Having wealth, reach out
  107. To the poor thy hand. Of what God gave to thee
  108. Bestow thou also on the needy one.
  109. Common is the whole life of mortal men;
  110. 110 But it comes out unequal. When thou seest
  111. A poor man never banter him with words,
  112. Nor harshly accost a man who may be blamed.
  113. One's life in death is proven; if one did
  114. The unlawful or just, it shall be decided
  115. 115 When he to judgment comes. Disable not
  116. Thy mind with wine nor drink excessively.
  117. Eat not blood, and abstain from things
  118. Offered to idols. Gird not on the sword
  119. For slaughter, but defense; and would thou might
  120. 120 It neither lawlessly nor justly use:
  121. For if thou kill an enemy thy hand
  122. Thou dost defile. Keep from thy neighbor's field,
  123. Nor trespass on it; just is every landmark,
  124. And trespass painful. Useful is possession
  125. 125 Of lawful wealth, but of unrighteous gains
  126. 'Tis worthless. Harm not any growing fruit
  127. Of the field. And let strangers be esteemed
  128. In equal honor with the citizens;
  129. For much-enduring hospitality
  130. 130 Shall all experience as each other's guests;
  131. But let there not be anyone a stranger
  132. Among you, since, ye mortals, all of you
  133. Are of one 'blood, and no land has for men
  134. Any sure place. Wish not nor pray for wealth;
  135. 135 But pray to live from few things and possess
  136. Nothing at all unjust. The love of gain
  137. Is mother of all evil. Do not long
  138. For gold or silver; in them there will be
  139. A double-edged and soul-destroying iron.
  140. 140 A snare to men continually are gold
  141. And silver. Gold, of evils source, of life
  142. Destructive, troubling all things, would that thou
  143. Wert, not to mortals such a longed-for bane!
  144. For wars, because of thee, and pillaging
  145. 145 And murders come, and children hate their sires,
  146. And brothers and sisters those of their own blood.
  147. Plot no deceit, and do not arm thy heart
  148. Against a friend. Keep not concealed within
  149. A different thought from what thou speakest forth;
  150. 150 Nor, like rock-clinging polyp, change with place.
  151. But with all be frank, and things from the soul
  152. Speak thou forth. Whosoever willfully
  153. Commits a wrong, an evil man is he;
  154. But he that does it under force, the end
  155. 155 I tell not; but let each man's will be right.
  156. Pride not thyself in wisdom, power, or wealth;
  157. God only is the wise and mighty one
  158. And full of riches. Do not vex thy heart
  159. With evils that are past; for what is done
  160. 160 Can never be undone. Let not thy hand
  161. Be hasty, but ferocious passion curb;
  162. For many times has one in striking done
  163. Murder without design. Let suffering
  164. Be common, neither great nor overmuch.
  165. 165 Excessive good has not brought forth to men
  166. That which is helpful. And much luxury
  167. Leads to immoderate lusts. Much wealth is prowl,
  168. And makes one grow to wanton violence.
  169. Passionate feeling, creeping in, effects
  170. 170 Destructive madness. Anger is a lust,
  171. And when it is excessive it is wrath.
  172. The zeal of good men is a noble thing,
  173. But of the base is base. Of wicked men
  174. The boldness is destructive, but renown
  175. 175 Follows that of the good. To be revered
  176. Is virtuous love, but that of Cypris works
  177. Increase of shame. A silly man is called
  178. Very agreeable among his fellows.
  179. With moderation eat, drink, and converse;
  180. 180 Of all things moderation is the best;
  181. But trespass of its limit brings to grief.
  182. Be not thou envious, faithless, or abusive,
  183. Or evil-minded, or a false deceiver.
  184. Be prudent and abstain from shameless deeds.
  185. 185 Imitate not what's evil, but leave thou
  186. Vengeance to justice; for persuasion is
  187. A useful thing, but strife engenders strife.
  188. Trust not too quickly ere thou see the end.]
  189.     This is the contest, these are the rewards;
  190. 190 These are the prizes; this the gate of life
  191. And entrance into immortality,
  192. Which God in heaven unto most righteous men
  193. Appointed a reward for victory;
  194. And through this gate shall gloriously pass
  195. 195 Those who shall then receive the victor's crown.
  196.     But when this sign shall everywhere appear--
  197. Children with gray hair on their temples born--
  198. And human sufferings, famines, plagues, and wars,
  199. And change of times, and many a tearful wail,
  200. 200 Ah! of how many parents in the lands
  201. Will children mourn and piteously weep,
  202. And with shrouds bury flesh and limbs in earth,
  203. Mother of peoples, with the blood and dust
  204. Themselves defiling. O ye wretched men
  205. 205 Of the last generation, evil doers,
  206. Terrible, childish, not perceiving this,
  207. That when the tribes of women do not bear
  208. The harvest time of mortal men is come.
  209. Near is the ruin when impostors come
  210. 210 Instead of prophets speaking on the earth.
  211. And Beliar shall come and many signs
  212. Perform for men. And then of holy men,
  213. Elect and faithful, there shall be confusion,
  214. And pillaging of them and of the Hebrews.
  215. 215 And there shall be upon them fearful wrath
  216. When from the east a people of twelve tribes
  217. Shall come in search of kindred Hebrew people
  218. Whom Assyrian shoot destroyed; and over these
  219. Shall nations perish. But they afterwards
  220. 220 Shall over men exceeding mighty rule,
  221. Elect and faithful Hebrews, and enslave
  222. Them as before, since their power ne'er shall fail.
  223. He that is highest of all, the all-surveying,
  224. Dwelling in heaven, will scatter sleep on men,
  225. 225 Covering the eyelids o'er. O blessed servants
  226. Whom when the Master comes he finds awake!
  227. And they all watch at all times and expect
  228. With sleepless eyes. For it will be at dawn
  229. Or eve or midday; but he sure shall come,
  230. 230 And it shall be as I say, it shall be,
  231. To them that sleep, that from the starry heaven
  232. The stars at midday will to all appear
  233. With the two lights as the time hastens on.
  234. And then the Tishbite, urging from the heaven
  235. 235 His chariot celestial, and on earth
  236. Arriving, shall to all the world display
  237. Three evil signs of life to be destroyed.
  238. Alas for all the women in that day
  239. Who shall be found with burden in the womb!
  240. 240 Alas for all who suckle tender babes!
  241. Alas for all who shall dwell on the waves!
  242. Alas for women who shall see that day!
  243. For a dark mist shall hide the boundless world,
  244. East, west, and south, and north. And then shall flow
  245. 245 A mighty stream of burning fire from heaven
  246. And every place consume, earth, ocean vast,
  247. And gleaming sea, and lakes and rivers, springs,
  248. And cruel Hades and the heavenly sky.
  249. And heavenly lights shall break up into one
  250. 250 And into outward form all-desolate.
  251. For stars from heaven shall fall into all seas.
  252. And all the souls of men shall gnash their teeth
  253. Burned both by sulphur stream and force of fire
  254. In ravenous soil, and ashes hide all things.
  255. 255 And then of the world all the elements
  256. Shall be bereft, air, earth, sea, light, sky, days,
  257. Nights; and no longer in the air shall fly
  258. Birds without number, nor shall living things
  259. That swim the sea swim any more at all,
  260. 260 Nor freighted vessel o'er the billows pass,
  261. Nor kine straight-guiding plow the field, nor sound
  262. Of furious winds; but he shall fuse all things
  263. Together, and shall pick out what is pure.
  264.     But when the immortal God's eternal angels
  265. 265 Arakiel, Ramiel, Uriel, Samiel,
  266. And Azael, they that know how many evils
  267. Anyone did before, shall from dark gloom
  268. Then lead to judgment all the souls of men
  269. Before the judgment-seat of the great God
  270. 270 Immortal; for imperishable is
  271. One only, himself the almighty, One,
  272. Who shall be judge of mortals; and to them
  273. That dwell beneath will then the heavenly One
  274. Give souls and spirit and voice, and also bones
  275. 275 Fitted with joints unto all kinds of flesh,
  276. And both the flesh and sinews, veins and skin
  277. About the body, and hair as before;
  278. Divinely fashioned and with breathing moved
  279. Shall bodies of those on earth one day be raised.
  280. 280 And then shall Uriel, mighty angel, break
  281. The bolts of stern and lasting adamant
  282. Which, monstrous, bold the brazen gates of Hades,
  283. Straight cast them down, and unto judgment lead
  284. All forms that have endured much suffering,
  285. 285 Chiefly the shapes of Titans born of old,
  286. And giants, and all whom the deluge whelmed,
  287. And all that perished in the billowy seas,
  288. And all that furnished banquet for the beasts
  289. And creeping things and fowls, these in a mass
  290. 290 Shall (Uriel) summon to the judgment-seat;
  291. And also those whom flesh-devouring fire
  292. Destroyed in flame, even these shall he collect
  293. And place before the judgment-seat of God.
  294.     And when the high-thundering Lord of Sabaoth
  295. 295 Making an end of fate shall raise the dead,
  296. Sit on his heavenly throne, and firmly fix
  297. The mighty pillar, then amid the clouds
  298. Christ, who himself is incorruptible,
  299. Shall come unto the Incorruptible
  300. 300 In glory with pure angels, and shall sit
  301. At the right hand on the great judgment-seat
  302. To judge the life of pious and the way
  303. Of impious men. And Moses, the great friend
  304. Of the Most High, shall come enrobed in flesh
  305. 305 Also great Abraham himself shall come,
  306. Isaac and Jacob, Joshua, Daniel,
  307. Elijah, Habakkuk and Jonah, and
  308. Those whom the Hebrews slew. But he'll destroy
  309. The Hebrews after Jeremiah, all
  310. 310 Who are to be judged at the judgment-seat,
  311. That worthy recompense they may receive
  312. And pay for all each did in mortal life.
  313. And then shall all pass through the burning stream
  314. Of flame unquenchable; but all the just
  315. 315 Shall be saved; and the godless furthermore
  316. Shall to all ages perish, all who did
  317. Evils aforetime, and committed murders,
  318. And all who are accomplices therein,
  319. Liars and thieves, and ruiners of home,
  320. 320 Crafty and terrible, and parasites,
  321. And marriage-breakers pouring forth vile words,
  322. Dread, wanton, lawless, and idolaters;
  323. And all who left the great immortal God,
  324. Became blasphemers did the pious harm,
  325. 325 Destroying faith and killing righteous men
  326. And all that with a shamelessness deceitful
  327. And double-faced rush in as presbyters
  328. And reverend ministers, who knowingly
  329. Give unjust judgments, yielding to false words
  330. 330 More hurtful than the leopards and the wolves
  331. And more vile; and ill that are grossly proud
  332. And usurers, who gains on gains amass
  333. And damage orphans and widows in each thing;
  334. And all that give to widows and to orphans
  335. 335 The fruit of unjust deeds, and all that cast
  336. Reproach in giving from their own hard toils;
  337. And all that left their parents in old age,
  338. Not paying them at all, nor offering
  339. To parents filial duty, and all who
  340. 340 Were disobedient and against their sires
  341. Spoke a harsh word; and all that pledges took
  342. And then denied them; and the servants all
  343. Who were against their masters, and again
  344. Those who licentiously defiled the flesh;
  345. 345 And all who loosed the girdle of the maid
  346. For secret intercourse, and all who caused
  347. Abortions, and all who their offspring cast
  348. Unlawfully away; and sorcerers
  349. And sorceresses with them, and these wrath
  350. 350 Of the heavenly and immortal God shall drive
  351. Against a pillar where shall all around
  352. In a circle flow a restless stream of fire;
  353. And deathless angels of the immortal God,
  354. Who ever is, shall bind with lasting bonds
  355. 355 In chains of flaming fire and from above
  356. Punish them all by scourge most terribly;
  357. And in Gehenna, in the gloom of night,
  358. Shall they be cast 'neath many horrid beasts
  359. Of Tartarus, where darkness is immense.
  360. 360 But when there shall be many punishments
  361. Enforced on all who had an evil heart,
  362. Yet afterward shall there a fiery wheel
  363. From a great river circle them around,
  364. Because they had a care for wicked deeds.
  365. 365 And then one here, another there, shall sires,
  366. Young children, mothers, nursing babes, in tears
  367. Wail their most piteous fate. No fill of tears
  368. Shall be for them, nor piteous voice be heard
  369. Of them that moan, one here, another there,
  370. 370 But long worn under dark, dank Tartarus
  371. Aloud shall they cry; and they shall repay
  372. In cursed places thrice as much as all
  373. The evil work they did, burned with much fire;
  374. And all of them, consumed by raging thirst
  375. 375 And hunger, shall in anguish gnash their teeth
  376. And call death beautiful, and death shall flee
  377. Away from them. For neither death nor night
  378. Shall ever give them rest. And many things in vain
  379. Will they ask of the God that rules on high,
  380. 380 And then will he his face turn openly
  381. Away from them. For he to erring men
  382. Gave, in seven ages for repentance, signs
  383. By the hands of a virgin undefiled.
  384. But the others, all to whom right and fair works
  385. 385 And piety and thoughts most just were dear,
  386. Shall angels, bearing through the burning stream,
  387. Lead unto light and life exempt from care,
  388. Where comes the immortal way of the great God
  389. And fountains three--of honey, wine, and milk.
  390. 390 And equal land for all, divided not
  391. By walls or fences, more abundant fruits
  392. Spontaneous shall then bear, and the course
  393. Of life be common and wealth unapportioned.
  394. For there no longer will be poor nor rich,
  395. 395 Tyrant nor slave, nor any great nor small,
  396. Nor kings nor leaders; all alike in common.
  397. No more at all will one say, "night has come,"
  398. Nor "morrow comes," nor "yesterday has been;
  399. Nor shall there many days of anxious care,
  400. 400 Nor spring, nor winter, nor the summer-heat,
  401. Nor autumn be [nor marriage, nor yet death,
  402. Nor sales, nor purchases], nor set of sun
  403. Nor rising; for a long day will God make.
  404. And to the pious will the almighty God
  405. 405 Imperishable grant another thing,
  406. When they shall ask the imperishable God:
  407. That he will suffer men from raging fire
  408. And endless gnawing anguish to be saved;
  409. And this will he do. For hereafter he
  410. 410 Will pluck them from the restless flame, elsewhere
  411. Remove them, and for his own people's sake
  412. Send them to other and eternal life
  413. With the immortals, in Elysian field
  414. Where move far-stretching billows of the lake
  415. 415 Of ever-flowing Acheron profound.
  416. Ah, miserable woman that I am!
  417. What shall I be in that day? for I sinned--
  418. Being busy foolishly about all things,
  419. Caring for neither marriage-bond nor reason;
  420. 420 But even in my wealthy husband's house
  421. I shut the needy out; and formerly
  422. I knowingly performed unlawful things.
  423. But, Saviour, though I shameless things performed,
  424. Do thou from my tormentors rescue me,
  425. 425 A shameless woman. And I pray thee now
  426. Make me to rest a little from my song,
  427. Holy Giver of manna, King of the great realm.

 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.



BOOK III.

CONTENTS OF BOOK III.

Introduction, 1-10. Unity and power of God extolled, 11-34. Oracle against idolatry and sin, 35-64. Coming and judgment of the great King, 55-76. Coming of Beliar, 76-90. Reign of the woman and end of the world, 90-111. All things subject to Christ, 112-116. The tower of Babel, 117-132. Cronos, Titan, and Iapetus, 132-154. Cronos, Rhea, and the Titans, 155-187. End of the Titans and rise of many kingdoms, 188-196. 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, 325-351. Restoration from exile, 352-361. The Sibyl ceases and begins again, 362-371. Woe on Babylon, 372-386. Woe on Egypt, 387-392. Woe on Gog and Magog, 393-397. Woe on Libya, 399-412. Great signs and woes 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, 457-473. The Macedonian woe, 474-482. The unnamed rulers. 483-499. The sign for Phrygia, 600-615. The fate of Ilium, 516-522. gongs of the blind old man, 523-541. Woes of Lycia, Chalcedon, Cyzicus, Byzantium, Rhodes, Lydia, Samos, Cyprus, and Trallis, 642-582. Italy's tribal wars, 683-590. Woes of Laodicea, Campania, Corsica, and Sardinia, 591-607. Woes of Mysia, Chalcedon, Galatia, Tenedos, Sicyon, and Corinth, 608-615. The Sibyl ceases and begins again, 616-619. Woes of Phœnicia, Crete, Thrace, Gog, Magog, Maurians, Ethiopians, and provinces of Asia Minor, 620-656. Oracles against Greece, 657-723. The holy race, 724-756, Egypt subdued, 766-774. Time of blessedness, 775-783. Exhortation to worship God, 184-794. Time of judgment, 795-816. The god-sent king, 817-829. Fearful time of judgment, 830-871. The Sibyl's testimony, 872-876. A Jewish millennium, 877-911. Exhortation to the Greek s, 912-928. Day of prosperity and peace, 928-947. Exhortation to serve God, 948-953. The Messianic day, 954-988. Signs of the end, 989-1003. The Sibyl's account of herself, 1004-1031.

BOOK III.

  1. O THOU high-thundering blessed heavenly One,
  2. Who hast set in their place the cherubim,
  3. I, who have uttered what is all too true,
  4. Entreat thee, let me have a little rest;
  5. 5 For my heart has grown weary from within.
  6. But why again leaps my heart, and my soul
  7. With a whip smitten from within constrained
  8. To utter forth its message unto all?
  9. But yet again will I proclaim all things
  10. 10 Which God commands me to proclaim to men.
  11. O men, that in your image have a form
  12. Fashioned of God, why do ye vainly stray
  13. And walk not in the straight way, always mindful
  14. Of the immortal Maker? God is one,
  15. 15 Sovereign, ineffable, dwelling in heaven,
  16. The self-existent and invisible,
  17. Himself alone beholding everything;
  18. Him sculptor's hand made not, nor is his form
  19. Shown by man's art from gold or ivory;
  20. 20 But he, eternal Lord, proclaims himself
  21. As one who is and was erst and shall be
  22. Again hereafter. For who being mortal
  23. Can see God with his eyes? Or who shall bear
  24. To hear the only name of heaven's great God,
  25. 25 The ruler of the world? He by his word
  26. Created all things, even heaven and sea,
  27. And tireless sun, and full moon and bright stars,
  28. And mighty mother Tethys, springs and rivers,
  29. Imperishable fire, and days and nights.
  30. 30 This is the God who formed four-lettered Adam,
  31. The first one formed, and filling with his name
  32. East, west, and south, and north. The same is he
  33. Who fixed the pattern of the human form,
  34. And made wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls.
  35. 35 Ye do not worship neither fear ye God,
  36. But vainly go astray and bow the knee
  37. To serpents, and make offering to cats,
  38. And idols, and stone images of men,
  39. And sit before the doors of godless temples;
  40. 40 Ye guard him who is God, who keeps all things,
  41. And merry with the wickedness of stones
  42. Forget the judgment of the immortal Saviour
  43. Who made the heaven and earth. Alas! a race
  44. That has delight in blood, deceitful, vile,
  45. 45 Ungodly, of false, double-tongued, immoral men,
  46. Adulterous, idolous, designing fraud,
  47. An evil madness raving in their hearts,
  48. For themselves plundering, having shameless soul;
  49. For no one who has riches will impart
  50. 50 To another, but dire wickedness shall be
  51. Among all mortals, and for sake of gain
  52. Will many widows not at all keep faith,
  53. But secretly love others, and the bond
  54. Of life those who have husbands do not keep.
  55. 55    But when Rome shall o'er Egypt also rule
  56. Governing always, then shall there appear
  57. The greatest kingdom of the immortal King
  58. Over men. And a holy Lord shall come
  59. To hold the scepter over every land
  60. 60 Unto all ages of fast-hastening time.
  61. And then shall come inexorable wrath
  62. On Latin men; three shall by piteous fate
  63. Endamage Rome. And perish shall all men,
  64. With their own houses, when from heaven shall flow
  65. 65 A fiery cataract. Ah, wretched me!
  66. When shall that day and when shall judgment come
  67. Of the immortal God, the mighty King?
  68. But just now, O ye cities, ye are built
  69. And all adorned with temples and race-grounds,
  70. 70 Markets, and images of wood, of gold,
  71. Of silver and of stone, that ye may come
  72. Unto the bitter day. For it shall come,
  73. When there shall pass among all men a stench
  74. Of brimstone. Yet each thing will I declare,
  75. 75 In all the cities where men suffer ills.
  76.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  77.     From the Sebastenes Beliar shall come
  78. Hereafter, and the height of hills shall he
  79. Establish, and shall make the sea stand still
  80. And the great fiery sun and the bright moon
  81. 80 And he shall raise the dead, and many signs
  82. Work before men: but nothing shall be brought
  83. By him unto completion but deceit,
  84. And many mortals shall be lead astray
  85. Hebrews both true and choice, and lawless men
  86. 85 Besides who never gave ear to God's word.
  87. But when the threatenings of the mighty God
  88. Shall draw near, and a flaming power shall come
  89. By billow to the earth, it shall consume
  90. Both Beliar and all the haughty men
  91. 90 Who put their trust in him. And thereupon
  92. Shall the whole world be governed by the hands
  93. Of a woman and obedient everywhere.
  94. Then when a widow shall o'er all the world
  95. Gain the rule, and cast in the mighty sea
  96. 95 Both gold and silver, also brass and iron
  97. Of short lived men into the deep shall cast,
  98. Then all the elements shall be bereft
  99. Of order, when the God who dwells on high
  100. Shall roll the heaven, even as a scroll is rolled;
  101. 100 And to the mighty earth and sea shall fall
  102. The entire multiform sky; and there shall flow
  103. A tireless cataract of raging fire,
  104. And it shall burn the land, and burn the sea,
  105. And heavenly sky, and night, and day, and melt
  106. 105 Creation itself together and pick out
  107. What is pure. No more laughing spheres of light,
  108. Nor night, nor dawn, nor many days of care,
  109. Nor spring, nor winter, nor the summer-time,
  110. Nor autumn. And then of the mighty God
  111. 110 The judgment midway in a mighty age
  112. Shall come, when all these things shall come to pass.
  113.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  114. O navigable waters and each land
  115. Of the Orient and of the Occident,
  116. Subject shall all things be to him who comes
  117. 115 Into the world again, and therefore he
  118. Himself became first conscious of his power.
  119.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  120.     But when the threatenings of the mighty God
  121. Are fulfilled, which he threatened mortals once,
  122. When in Assyrian land they built a tower;--
  123. 120 (And they all spoke one language, and resolved
  124. To mount aloft into the starry heaven;
  125. But on the air the Immortal straightway put
  126. A mighty force; and then winds from above
  127. Cast down the great tower and stirred mortals up
  128. 125 To wrangling with each other; therefore men
  129. Gave to that city the name of Babylon);--
  130. Now when the tower fell and the tongues of men
  131. Turned to all sorts of sounds, straightway all earth
  132. Was filled with men and kingdoms were divided;
  133. 130 And then the generation tenth appeared
  134. Of mortal men, from the time when the flood
  135. Came upon earlier men. And Cronos reigned,
  136. And Titan and Iapetus; and men called them
  137. Best offspring of Gaia and of Uranus,
  138. 135 Giving to them names both of earth and heaven,
  139. Since they were very first of mortal men.
  140. So there were three divisions of the earth
  141. According to the allotment of each man,
  142. And each one having his own portion reigned
  143. 140 And fought not; for a father's oaths were there
  144. And equal were their portions. But the time
  145. Complete of old age on the father came,
  146. And he died; and the sons infringing oaths
  147. Stirred up against each other bitter strife,
  148. 145 Which one should have the royal rank and rule
  149. Over all mortals; and against each other
  150. Cronos and Titan fought. But Rhea and Gaia,
  151. And Aphrodite fond of crowns, Demeter,
  152. And Hestia and Dione of fair locks
  153. 150 Brought them to friendship, and together called
  154. All who were kings, both brothers and near kin,
  155. And others of the same ancestral blood,
  156. And they judged Cronos should reign king of all,
  157. For he was oldest and of noblest form.
  158. 155 But Titan laid on Cronos mighty oaths
  159. To rear no male posterity, that he
  160. Himself might reign when age and fate should come
  161. To Cronos. And whenever Rhea bore
  162. Beside her sat the Titans, and all males
  163. 160 In pieces tore, but let the females live
  164. To be reared by the mother. But When now
  165. At the third birth the august Rhea bore,
  166. She brought forth Hera first; and when they saw
  167. A female offspring, the fierce Titan men
  168. 165 Betook them to their homes. And thereupon
  169. Rhea a male child bore, and having bound
  170. Three men of Crete by oath she quickly sent
  171. Him into Phrygia to be reared apart
  172. In secret; therefore did they name him Zeus,
  173. 170 For he was sent away. And thus she sent
  174. Poseidon also secretly away.
  175. And Pluto, third, did Rhea yet again,
  176. Noblest of women, at Dodona bear,
  177. Whence flows Europus' river's liquid course,
  178. 175 And with Peneus mixed pours in the sea
  179. Its water, and men call it Stygian.
  180. But when the Titans heard that there were sons
  181. Kept secretly, whom Cronos and his wife
  182. Rhea begat, then Titan sixty youths
  183. 180 Together gathered, and held fast in chains
  184. Cronos and his wife Rhea, and concealed
  185. Them in the earth and guarded them in bonds.
  186. And then the sons of powerful Cronos heard,
  187. And a great war and uproar they aroused.
  188. 185 And this is the beginning of dire war
  189. Among all mortals. [For it is indeed
  190. With mortals the prime origin of war.]
  191.     And then did God award the Titans evil.
  192. And all of Titans and of Cronos born
  193. 190 Died. But then as time rolled around there rose
  194. The Egyptian kingdom, then that of the Persians
  195. And of the Medes, and Ethiopians,
  196. And of Assyria and Babylon,
  197. And then that of the Macedonians,
  198. 195 Egyptian yet again, then that of Rome.
  199.     And then a message of the mighty God
  200. Was set within my breast, and it bade me
  201. Proclaim through all earth and in royal hearts
  202. Plant things which are to be. And to my mind
  203. 200 This God imparted first, bow many kingdoms
  204. Have been together gathered of mankind.
  205.     For first of all the house of Solomon
  206. Shall include horsemen of Phœnicia
  207. And Syria, and of the islands too,
  208. 205 And the race of Pamphylians and Persians
  209. And Phrygians, Carians, and Mysians
  210. And the race of the Lydians rich in gold.
  211.     And then shall Hellenes, proud and impure,
  212. Then shall a Macedonian nation rule,
  213. 210 Great, shrewd, who as a fearful cloud of war
  214. Shall come to mortals. But the God of heaven
  215. Shall utterly destroy them from the depth.
  216.     And then shall be another kingdom, white
  217. And many-headed, from the western sea,
  218. 215 Which shall rule much land, and shake many men,
  219. And to all kings bring terror afterwards,
  220. And out of many cities shall destroy
  221. Much gold and silver; but in the vast earth
  222. There will again be gold, and silver too,
  223. 220 And ornament. And they will oppress mortals;
  224. And to those men shall great disaster be,
  225. When they begin unrighteous arrogance.
  226. And forthwith in them there shall be a force
  227. Of wickedness, male will consort with male,
  228. 225 And children they will place in dens of shame;
  229. And in those days there shall be among men
  230. A great affliction, and it shall disturb
  231. All things, and break all things, and fill all things
  232. With evils by a shameful covetousness,
  233. 230 And by ill-gotten wealth in many lands,
  234. But most of all in Macedonia.
  235. And it shall stir up hatred, and all guile
  236. Shalt be with them even to the seventh kingdom,
  237. Of which a king of Egypt shall be king
  238. 235 Who shall be a descendant from the Greeks.
  239.     And then the nation of the mighty God
  240. Shall be again strong and they shall be guides
  241. Of life to all men. But why did God place
  242. This also in my mind to tell: what first,
  243. 240 And what next, and what evil last shall be
  244. On all men? Which of these shall take the lead?
  245.     First on the Titans will God visit evil.
  246. For they shall pay to mighty Cronos's sons
  247. The penal satisfaction, since they bound
  248. 245 Both Cronos and the mother dearly loved.
  249. Again shall there be tyrants for the Greeks
  250. And fierce kings overweening and impure,
  251. Adulterous and altogether bad;
  252. And for men shall be no more rest from war.
  253. 250 And the dread Phrygians shall perish all,
  254. And unto Troy shall evil come that day.
  255. And to the Persians and Assyrians
  256. Evil shall straightaway come, and to all Egypt
  257. And Libya and the Ethiopians,
  258. 255 And to the Carians and Pamphylians--
  259. Evil to pass from one place to another,
  260. And to all mortals. Why now one by one
  261. Do I speak forth? But when the first receive
  262. Fulfillment, then straightway shall come on men
  263. 260 The second. So the very first I'll tell.
  264.     There shall an evil come to pious men
  265. Who dwell by the great temple of Solomon
  266. And who are progeny of righteous men.
  267. Alike of all these also I will tell
  268. 265 The tribe and line of fathers and homeland--
  269. All things with care, O mortal shrewd in mind.
  270. There is a city . . . on the earth,
  271. Ur of the Chaldees, whence there is a race
  272. Of men most righteous, to whom both good will
  273. 270 And noble deeds have ever been a care.
  274. For they have no concern about the course
  275. Of the sun's revolution, nor the moon's,
  276. Nor wondrous things beneath the earth, nor depth
  277. Of joy-imparting sea Oceanus,
  278. 275 Nor signs of sneezing, nor the wings of birds,
  279. Nor soothsayers, nor wizards, nor enchanters,
  280. Nor tricks of dull words of ventriloquists,
  281. Neither do they astrologize with skill
  282. 28 Of the Chaldeans, nor astronomize;
  283. O For these are all deceptive, in so far
  284. As foolish men go seeking day by day
  285. Training their souls unto no useful work;
  286. And then did they teach miserable men
  287. Deceptions, whence to mortals on the earth
  288. 285 Come many evils leading them astray
  289. From good ways and just deeds. But they have care
  290. For righteousness and virtue, and not greed,
  291. Which breeds unnumbered ills to mortal men,
  292. War and unending famine. But with them
  293. 290 Just measure, both in fields and cities, holds,
  294. Nor steal they from each other in the night,
  295. Nor drive off herds of cattle, sheep, and goats,
  296. Nor neighbor remove landmarks of a neighbor,
  297. Nor any man of great wealth grieve the one
  298. 295 Less favored, nor to widows cause distress,
  299. But rather aids them, ever helping them
  300. With wheat and wine and oil; and always does
  301. The rich man in the country send a share
  302. At the time of the harvests unto them
  303. 300 That have not, but are needy, thus fulfilling
  304. The saying of the mighty God, a hymn
  305. In legal setting; for the Heavenly One
  306. Finished the earth a common good for all.
  307.     Now when the people of twelve tribes depart
  308. 305 From Egypt, and with leaders sent of God
  309. Nightly pursue their way by a pillar of fire
  310. And during all the day by one of cloud,
  311. For them then God a leader will appoint--
  312. A great man, Moses, whom a princess found
  313. 310 Beside a marsh, and carried off and reared
  314. And called her son. And at the time he came
  315. As leader for the people whom God led
  316. From Egypt unto the. steel) Sinai mount,
  317. His own law God delivered them from heaven
  318. 315 Writing on two flat stones all righteous things
  319. Which he enjoined to do; and if, perchance,
  320. One give no heed, he must unto the law
  321. Make satisfaction, either at men's hands
  322. Or, if men's notice he escape, he shall
  323. 320 By ample satisfaction he destroyed.
  324. [For the Heavenly finished earth a common good
  325. For all, and in all hearts as best gift thought.]
  326. To them alone the bounteous field yields fruit
  327. A hundredfold from one, and thus completes
  328. 325 God's measure. But to them shall also come
  329. Misfortune, nor do they escape from plague.
  330. And even thou, forsaking thy fair shrine,
  331. Shalt flee away when it becomes thy lot
  332. To leave the holy land. And thou shalt be
  333. 330 Carried to the Assyrians, and shalt see
  334. Young children and wives serving hostile men;
  335. And every means of life and wealth shall perish;
  336. And every land shall be filled up with thee,
  337. And every sea; and everyone shall be
  338. 335 Offended with thy customs; and thy land
  339. Shall all be desert; and the altar fenced
  340. And temple of the great God and long walls
  341. Shall all fall to the ground, since in thy heart
  342. The holy law of the immortal God
  343. 340 Thou didst not keep, but, erring, thou didst serve
  344. Unseemly images, and didst not fear
  345. The immortal Father, God of all mankind,
  346. Nor will to honor him; but images
  347. Of mortals thou didst honor Therefore now
  348. 345 Of time seven decades shall thy fruitful land
  349. And the wonders of thy temple all be waste.
  350. But there remains for thee a goodly end
  351. And greatest glory, as the immortal God
  352. Granted thee. But do thou wait and confide
  353. 350 In the great God's pure laws, when he shall lift
  354. Thy wearied knee upright unto the light.
  355. And then will God from heaven send a king
  356. To judge each man in blood and light of fire.
  357. There is a royal tribe, the race of which
  358. 355 Shall be unfailing; and as times revolve
  359. This race shall bear rule and begin to build
  360. God's temple new. And all the Persian kings
  361. Shall aid with bronze and gold and well-wrought iron.
  362. For God himself will give the holy dream
  363. 360 By night. And then the temple shall again
  364. Be, as it was before. . . .
  365.     Now when my soul had rest from inspired song,
  366. And I prayed the great Father for a rest
  367. From constraint; even in my heart again
  368. 365 Was set a message of the mighty God
  369. And he bade me proclaim through all the earth
  370. And plant in royal minds things yet to be.
  371. And in my mind God put this first to say
  372. How many lamentable sufferings
  373. 370 The Immortal purposed upon Babylon
  374. Because she his great temple had destroyed.
  375.     Alas, alas for thee! O Babylon,
  376. And for the offspring of the Assyrian men!
  377. Through all the earth the rush of sinful men
  378. 375 Shall some time come, and shout of mortal men
  379. And stroke of the great God, who inspires songs,
  380. Shall ruin every land. For high in air to thee
  381. O Babylon, shall it come from above,
  382. And out of heaven from holy ones to thee
  383. 380 Shall it come down, and the soul in thy children
  384. Shall the Eternal utterly destroy.
  385. And then shalt thou be, as thou wast before,
  386. As one not born; and then shalt thou be filled
  387. Again with blood, as thou thyself before
  388. 385 Didst shed that of good, just, and holy men,
  389. Whose blood yet cries out to the lofty heaven.
  390. To thee, O Egypt, shall a great blow come
  391. And dreadful, to thy homes, which thou didst hope
  392. Might never fall on thee. For through thy midst
  393. 390 A sword shall pass, and scattering and death
  394. And famine shall prevail until of kings
  395. The seventh generation, and then cease.
  396.     Alas for thee, O land of Gog and Magog
  397. In the midst of the rivers of Ethiopia!
  398. 395 What pouring out of blood shalt thou receive,
  399. And house of judgment among men be called,
  400. And thy land of much dew shall drink black blood!
  401.     Alas for thee, O Libya, and alas,
  402. Both sea and land! O daughters of the west,
  403. 400 So shall ye come unto a bitter day.
  404. And ye shall come pursued by grievous strife,
  405. Dreadful and grievous; there shall be again
  406. A dreadful judgment, and ye all shall come
  407. By force unto destruction, for ye tore
  408. 405 In pieces the great house of the Immortal,
  409. And with iron teeth ye chewed it dreadfully.
  410. Therefore shalt thou then look upon thy land
  411. Full of the dead, some of them fallen by war
  412. And by the demon of all violence,
  413. 410 Famine and plague, and some by barbarous foes.
  414. And all thy land shall be a wilderness,
  415. And desolations shall thy cities be.
  416.     And in the west there shall a star shine forth
  417. Which they will call a comet, sign to men
  418. 415 Of the sword and of famine and of death,
  419. And murder of great leaders and chief men.
  420.     And yet again there shall be among men
  421. Greatest signs; for deep-eddying Tanais
  422. Shall leave Mæotis's lake, and there shall be
  423. 420 Down the deep stream a fruitful, furrow's track,
  424. And the vast flow shall hold a neck of land.
  425. And there are hollow chasms and yawning pits;
  426. And many cities, men and all, shall fall:--
  427. In Asia--Iassus, Cebren, Pandonia,
  428. 425 Colophon, Ephesus, Nicæa, Antioch,
  429. Syagra, Sinope, Smyrna, Myrina,
  430. Most happy Gaza, Hierapolis, .
  431. Astypalaia; and in Europe--Tanagra,
  432. Clitor, Basilis, Meropeia, Antigone,
  433. 430 Magnessa, Mykene, Oiantheia.
  434. Know then that the destructive race of Egypt
  435. Is near destruction, and the past year then
  436. Is better for the Alexandrians.
  437.     As much of tribute as Rome did receive
  438. 435 Of Asia, even thrice as many goods
  439. Shall Asia back again from Rome receive,
  440. And her destructive outrage pay her back.
  441. As many as from Asia ever served
  442. A house of the Italians, twenty times
  443. 440 As many Italians shall in Asia serve
  444. In poverty, and numerous debts incur.
  445.     O virgin, soft rich child of Latin Rome,
  446. Oft at thy much-remembered marriage feasts
  447. Drunken with wine, now shalt thou be a slave
  448. 445 And wedded in no honorable way.
  449. And oft shall mistress shear thy pretty hair,
  450. And wreaking satisfaction cast thee down
  451. From heaven to earth, and from the earth again
  452. Raise thee to heaven, for mortals of low rank
  453. 450 And of unrighteous life are held fast bound.
  454.     And of avenging Smyrna overthrown
  455. There shall be no thought, but by evil plans
  456. And wickedness of them that have command
  457. Shall Samos be sand, Delos shall be dull,
  458. 455 And Rome a room; but the decrees of God
  459. Shall all of them be perfectly fulfilled.
  460.     And a calm peace to Asian land shall go.
  461. And Europe shall be happy then, well fed,
  462. Pure air, full of years, strong, and undisturbed
  463. 460 By wintry storms and hail, bearing, all things,
  464. Even birds and creeping things and beasts of earth.
  465. O happy upon earth shall that man be
  466. Or woman; what a home unspeakable
  467. Of happy ones! For from the starry heaven
  468. 465 Shall all good order come upon mankind,
  469. And justice, and the prudent unity
  470. Which of all things is excellent for men,
  471. And kindness, confidence, and love of guests;
  472. But far from them shall lawlessness depart,
  473. 470 Blame, envy, wrath, and folly; poverty
  474. Shall flee away from men, and force shall flee,
  475. And murder, baneful strifes and bitter feuds,
  476. And theft, and every evil in those days.
  477.     But Macedonia shall to Asia bear
  478. 475 A grievous suffering, and the greatest sore
  479. To Europe shall spring up from Cronian stock,
  480. A family of bastards and of slaves.
  481. And she shall tame fenced city Babylon,
  482. And of each land the sun looks down upon
  483. 480 Call herself mistress, and then come to naught
  484. By ruinous misfortunes, having fame
  485. In later generations distant far.
  486.     And sometime into Asia's prosperous land
  487. Shall come a man unheard of, shoulder-clad
  488. 485 With purple robe, fierce, unjust, fiery;
  489. And this man he who wields the thunderbolt
  490. Roused forwards; and all Asia shall sustain
  491. An evil yoke, and her soil wet with rain
  492. Shall drink much murder. But even so shall Hades
  493. 490 Destroy the unknown king; and that man's offspring
  494. Shall forthwith perish by the race of those
  495. Whose offspring he himself would fain destroy;
  496. Producing one root which the bane of men
  497. Shall cut from ten horns, and plant by their side
  498. 495 Another plant. A father purple-clad
  499. Shall cut a warlike father off, and Ares,
  500. Baneful and hostile, by a grandson's hand
  501. Shall himself perish; and then shall the horn
  502. Planted beside them forthwith bear the rule.
  503. 500    And unto life-sustaining Phrygia
  504. Straightway shall there a certain token be,
  505. When Rhea's blood-stained race, in the great earth
  506. Blooming perennial in impervious roots,
  507. Shall, root and branch, in one night disappear
  508. 505 With a city, men and all, of the Earth-shaker
  509. Poseidon; which place they shall sometime call
  510. Dorylæum, of dark ancient Phrygia,
  511. Much-bewailed. Therefore shall that time be called
  512. Earth-shaker; dens of earth shall he break up
  513. 510 And walls demolish. And not signs of good
  514. But a beginning of evil shall be made;
  515. The baneful violence of general war
  516. Ye'll have, sons of Æneas, Dative blood
  517. Of Ilus from the soil. But afterwards
  518. 515 A spoil shalt thou become for greedy men.
  519.     O Ilium, I pity thee; for there shall bloom
  520. In Sparta an Erinys very fair,
  521. Ever-famed, noblest scion, and shall leave
  522. On Asia and Europe a wide-spreading wave;
  523. 520 But to thee most of all she'll bear and cause
  524. Wailings and toils and groans; but there shall be
  525. Undying fame with those who are to come.
  526.     And there shall be an aged mortal then,
  527. False writer and of doubtful native land;
  528. 525 And in his eyes the light shall fade away;
  529. Large mind and verses measured with great skill
  530. Shall he have and be blended with two names,
  531. Shall call himself a Chian and shall write
  532. Of Ilium, not truthfully, indeed,
  533. 530 But skillfully; for of my verse and meters
  534. He will be master; for he first my books
  535. Will open with his hands; but he himself
  536. Will much embellish helmed chiefs of war,
  537. Hector of Priam and Achilles, son
  538. 535 Of Peleus, and the others who have care
  539. For warlike deeds. And also by their side
  540. Will he make gods stand, empty-headed men,
  541. False-writing every way. And it shall be
  542. Glory the rather, widely spread, for them
  543. 540 To die at Ilium; but he himself
  544. Shall also works of recompense receive.
  545.     Also to Lycia shall a Locrian race
  546. Cause many evils. And thee, Chalcedon,
  547. Holding by lot a strait of narrow sea,
  548. 545 Shall an Ætolian youth sometime despoil.
  549. Cyzicus, also thy vast wealth the sea
  550. Shall break off. And, Byzantium of Ares,
  551. Thou some time shalt by Asia be laid waste,
  552. And also groans and blood immeasurable
  553. 550 Shalt thou receive. And Cragus, lofty mount
  554. Of Lycia, from thy peaks by yawning chasms
  555. Of opened rock shall babbling water flow,
  556. Until even Patara's oracles shall cease.
  557. O Cyzicus, that dwellest by Propontis
  558. 555 The wine-producing, round thee Rhyndacus
  559. Shall crash the crested billow. And thou, Rhodes,
  560. Daughter of day, shalt long be unenslaved,
  561. And great shall be thy happiness hereafter,
  562. And on the sea thy power shall be supreme.
  563. 560 But afterwards a spoil shalt thou become
  564. For greedy men, and put upon thy neck
  565. By beauty and by wealth a fearful yoke.
  566. A Lydian earthquake shall again despoil
  567. The power of Persia, and most horribly
  568. 565 Shall the people of Europe and Asia suffer pain.
  569. And Sidon's hurtful king with battle-din
  570. Dreadful shall work a mournful overthrow
  571. To the seafaring Samians. On the soil
  572. Shall slain men's dark blood babble to the sea;
  573. 570 And wives together with the noble brides
  574. Shall their outrageous insolence lament,
  575. Some for their bridegrooms, some for fallen sons.
  576.     O sign of Cyprus, may an earthquake waste
  577. Thy phalanxes away, and many souls
  578. 575 With one accord shall Hades bold in charge.
  579.     And Trallis near by Ephesus, and walls
  580. Well made, and very precious wealth of men
  581. Shall be dissolved by earthquake; and the land
  582. Shall burst out with hot water; and the earth
  583. 580 Shall swallow down those who are by the fire
  584. And stench of brimstone heavily oppressed.
  585.     And Samos shall in time build royal houses.
  586.     But to thee, Italy, no foreign war
  587. Shall come, but lamentable tribal blood
  588. 585 Not easily exhausted, much renowned,
  589. Shall make thee, impudent one, desolate.
  590. And thou thyself beside hot ashes stretched,
  591. As thou in thine own heart didst not foresee,
  592. Shalt slay thyself. And thou shalt not of men
  593. 590 Be mother, but a nurse of beasts of prey.
  594.     But when from Italy shall come a man,
  595. A spoiler, then, Laodicea, thou,
  596. Beautiful city of the Carians
  597. By Lycus's wondrous water, falling prone,
  598. 595 Shalt weep in silence for thy boastful sire.
  599. Thracian Crobyzi shall rise up on Hæmus.
  600. Chatter of teeth to the Campanians comes
  601. Because of wasting famine; Corsica
  602. Weeps her old father, and Sardinia
  603. 600 Shall by great storms of winter and the strokes
  604. of a holy God sink down in ocean depths,
  605. Great wonder to the of the sea.
  606. Alas, alas, how many virgin maids
  607. Will Hades wed, and of as many youths
  608. 605 Will the deep take without funeral rites!
  609. Alas, alas, the helpless little ones
  610. And the vast riches swimming in the sea!
  611.     O happy land of Mysians, suddenly
  612. A royal race shall be formed. Truly now
  613. 610 Not for a long time shall Chalcedon be.
  614. And there shall be a very bitter grief
  615. To the Galatians. And to Tenedos
  616. Shall there a last but greatest evil come.
  617.     And Sicyon, with strong yells, and Corinth, thou
  618. 615 Shalt boast o'er all, but flute shall sound like strain.
  619.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  620.     Now, when my soul had. rest from inspired song.
  621. Even again within my heart was set
  622. A message of the mighty God, and he
  623. Commanded me to prophesy on earth.
  624. 620    Woe, woe to the race of Phœnician men
  625. And women, and all cities by the sea;
  626. Not one of you shall in the common light
  627. Abide before the shining of the sun,
  628. Nor of life shall there any longer be
  629. 625 Number and tribe, because of unjust speech
  630. And lawless life impure which they lived,
  631. Opening a mouth impure, and fearful words
  632. Deceitful and unrighteous forth,
  633. And stood against the God, the King,
  634. 630 And opened loathsome month deceitfully
  635. Therefore may he subdue them terribly
  636. By strokes o'er all the earth, and bitter fate
  637. Shall God send on them burning from the ground.
  638. Cities and of the cities the foundations.
  639. 635    Woe, woe to thee, O Crete! To thee shall come
  640. A very painful stroke, and terribly
  641. Shall the Eternal sack thee; and again
  642. Shall every land behold thee black with smoke,
  643. Fire ne'er shall leave thee, but thou shalt be burned.
  644. 610     Woe, woe to thee, O Thrace! So shalt thou come
  645. Beneath a servile yoke, when the Galatians
  646. United with the sons of Dardanus
  647. Rush on to ravage Hellas, thine shall be
  648. The evil; and unto a foreign land
  649. 645 Much shalt thou give, not anything receive.
  650.     Woe to thee, Gog and Magog, and to all,
  651. One after another, Mardians and Daians;
  652. How many evils fate, shall bring on thee!
  653. Woe also to the soil of Lycia,
  654. 650 And those of Mysia and Phrygia.
  655. And many nations of Pamphylians,
  656. And Lydians, Carians, Cappadocians,
  657. And Ethiopian and Arabian men
  658. Of a strange tongue shall fall. How now may I
  659. 655 Of each speak fitly? For on all the nations
  660. Which dwell on earth the Highest shall send dire plague.
  661.     When now again a barbarous nation comes
  662. Against the Greeks it shall slay many heads
  663. Of chosen men; and they shall tear in pieces
  664. 660 Many fat flocks of sheep of men, and herds
  665. Of horses and of mules and lowing kine;
  666. And well-made houses shall they burn with fire
  667. Lawlessly; and unto a foreign land
  668. Shall they by force lead many slaves away,
  669. 665 And children, and deep-girded women soft
  670. From bridal chambers creeping on before
  671. With delicate feet; and they shall be bound fast
  672. With fetters by their foes of foreign tongue,
  673. Suffering all fearful outrage; and to them
  674. 670 There shall not be one to supply the toil
  675. Of battle and come to their help in life.
  676. And they shall see their goods and all their wealth
  677. Enrich the enemy; and there shall be
  678. A trembling of the knees. And there shall fly
  679. 675 A hundred, and one shall destroy them all;
  680. And five shall rout a mighty company;
  681. But they, among themselves mixed shamefully,
  682. Shall by war and dire tumult bring delight
  683. To enemies, but sorrow to the Greeks.
  684. 680    And then upon all Hellas there shall be
  685. A servile yoke; and war and pestilence
  686. Together shall upon all mortals come.
  687. And God will make the mighty heaven on high
  688. Like brass and over all the earth a drought,
  689. 685 And earth itself like iron. And thereupon
  690. Shall mortals all lament the barrenness
  691. And lack of cultivation; and on earth
  692. Shall he set, who created heaven and earth,
  693. A much-distressing fire; and of all men
  694. 690 The third part only shall thereafter be.
  695.     O Greece, why hast thou trusted mortal men
  696. As leaders, who cannot escape from death?
  697. And wherefore bringest thou thy foolish gifts
  698. Unto the dead and sacrifice to idols?
  699. 695 Who put the error in thy heart to do
  700. These things and leave the face of God the mighty?
  701. Honor the All-Father's name, and let it not
  702. Escape thee. It is now a thousand years,
  703. Yea, and five hundred more, since haughty kings
  704. 700 Ruled o'er the Greeks, who first to mortal men
  705. Introduced evils, setting up for worship
  706. Images many of gods that are dead,
  707. Because of which ye were taught foolish thoughts.
  708. But when the anger of the mighty God
  709. 705 Shall come upon you, then ye'll recognize
  710. The face of God the mighty. And all souls
  711. Of men, with mighty groaning lifting up
  712. Their hands to the broad heaven, shall begin
  713. To call the great King helper, and to seek
  714. 710 The rescuer from great wrath who is to be.
  715.     But come and learn this and store in your hearts,
  716. What troubles in the rolling years shall come.
  717. And what as whole burnt-offering Hellas brought
  718. Of cows and bellowing bulls unto the temple
  719. 715 Of the great God, she from ill-sounding war
  720. And fear and pestilence shall flee away
  721. And from the servile yoke escape again.
  722. But until that time there shall be a race
  723. Of godless men, even when that fated day
  724. 720 Shall reach its end. For offering to God
  725. Ye should not make till all things come to pass,
  726. Which God alone shall purpose not in vain
  727. To be all fulfilled; and strong force shall urge.
  728.     And there shall be again a holy race
  729. 725 Of godly men who, keeping to the counsels
  730. And mind of the Most High, shall honor much
  731. The great God's temple with drink-offerings,
  732. Burnt-offerings, and holy hecatombs,
  733. With sacrifices of fat bulls, choice rams,
  734. 730 Firstlings of sheep and the fat thighs of lambs,
  735. Sacredly offering whole burnt-offerings
  736. On the great altar. And in righteousness,
  737. Having obtained the law of the Most High,
  738. Blest shall they dwell in cities and rich fields.
  739. 735 And prophets shall be set on high for them
  740. By the Immortal, bringing great delight
  741. Unto all mortals. For to them alone
  742. The mighty God his gracious counsel gave
  743. And faith and noblest thought within their hearts;
  744. 740 They have not by vain things been led astray,
  745. Nor pay they honor to the works of men
  746. Made of gold, brass, silver, and ivory,
  747. Nor statues of dead gods of wood and stone
  748. [Besmeared clay, figures of the painter's art],
  749. 745 And all that empty-minded mortals will;
  750. But they lift up their pure arms unto heaven,
  751. Rise from the couch at daybreak, always hands
  752. With water cleanse, and honor only Him
  753. Who is immortal and who ever rules,
  754. 750 And then their parents; and above all men
  755. Do they respect the lawful marriage-bed;
  756. And they have not base intercourse with boys,
  757. As do Phœnicians, Latins, and Egyptians
  758. And spacious Greece, and nations many more
  759. 755 Of Persians and Galatians and all Asia,
  760. Transgressing the immortal God's pure law
  761. Which they were under. Therefore on all men
  762. Will the Immortal put bane, famine, pains,
  763. Groans, war, and pestilence and mournful woes;
  764. 760 Because they would not honor piously
  765. The immortal Sire of all men, but revered
  766. And worshiped idols made with hands, which things
  767. Mortals themselves will cast down and for shame
  768. Conceal in clefts of rocks, when a young king,
  769. 765 The seventh of Egypt, shall rule his own land,
  770. Reckoned from the dominion of the Greeks,
  771. Which countless Macedonian men shall rule;
  772. And there shall come from Asia a great king,
  773. A fiery eagle, who with foot and horse
  774. 770 Shall cover all the land, cut up all things,
  775. And fill all things with evils; he will cast
  776. The Egyptian kingdom down; and taking off
  777. All its possessions carry them away
  778. Over the spacious surface of the sea.
  779. 775 And then shall they before, the mighty God,
  780. The King immortal, bend the fair white knee
  781. On the much-nourishing earth; and all the works
  782. Made with hands shall fall by a flame of fire.
  783. And then will God bestow great joy on men;
  784. 780 For land and trees and countless flocks of sheep
  785. Their genuine fruit to men shall offer--wine,
  786. And the sweet honey, and white milk, and wheat,
  787. Which is for mortals of all things the best.
  788.     But thou, O mortal full of various wiles,
  789. 485 Do not delay and loiter, but do thou,
  790. Tossed to and fro, turn and propitiate God.
  791. Offer to God Your hecatombs of bulls
  792. And firstling lambs and goats, as times revolve.
  793. But him propitiate, the immortal God,
  794. 490 If haply he show mercy. For he is
  795. The only God, and other there is none.
  796. And honor justice and oppress no man.
  797. For these things the Immortal doth enjoin
  798. On miserable men. But do thou heed
  799. 795 The cause of the wrath of the mighty God,
  800. When on all mortals there shall come the height
  801. Of pestilence and conquered they shall meet
  802. A fearful judgment, and king shall seize king
  803. And wrest his land away, and nations bring
  804. 800 Ruin on nations and lords plunder tribes,
  805. And chiefs all flee into another land,
  806. And the land change its men, and foreign rule
  807. Ravage all Hellas and drain the rich land.
  808. Of its wealth, and to strife among themselves
  809. 805 Because of gold and silver they shall come--
  810. The love of gain an evil shepherdess
  811. Will be for cities--in a foreign land.
  812. And they shall all be without burial,
  813. And vultures and wild beasts of earth shall spoil
  814. 810 Their flesh; and when these things are brought to pass,
  815. Vast earth shall waste the relics of the dead.
  816. And all unsown shall it be and unplowed,
  817. Proclaiming sad the filth of men defiled
  818. Many lengths of time in the revolving years,
  819. 815 And shields and javelins and all sorts of arms;
  820. Nor shall the forest wood be cut for fire.
  821.     And then shall God send from the East a king,
  822. Who shall make all earth cease from evil war,
  823. Killing some, others binding with strong oaths.
  824. 820 And he will not by his own counsels do
  825. All these things, but obey the good decrees
  826. Of God the mighty. And with goodly wealth,
  827. With gold and silver and purple ornament,
  828. The temple of the mighty God again
  829. 825 Shall be weighed down; and the full-bearing earth
  830. And the sea shall be filled full of good things.
  831. And kings against each other shall begin
  832. To hold ill will, in heart abetting evils.
  833. Envy is not a good to wretched men.
  834. 830    But again kings of nations on this land
  835. Shall rush in masses, bringing on themselves
  836. Destruction; for they'll purpose to despoil
  837. The great God's temple and the noblest men.
  838. What time they reach the land, polluted kings
  839. 835 Shall set around the city each his throne
  840. And have his people that obey not God.
  841. And then shall God speak with a mighty voice
  842. To all rude people of an empty mind,
  843. And judgment from the mighty God shall come
  844. 840 Upon them, and they all shall be destroyed
  845. By his immortal arm. And fiery swords
  846. Shall fall front heaven on earth; and great bright lights
  847. Shall come down flaming in the midst of men.
  848. And in those days shall earth, all-mother, reel
  849. 845 By his immortal arm, and shoals of fish
  850. In the deep sea, and all wild, beasts of earth,
  851. And countless tribes of winged fowl, and all
  852. The souls of men and every sea shall tremble
  853. Before the face of the Immortal One,
  854. 850 And there shall be dismay. High mountain peaks
  855. And monstrous hills shall he asunder break,
  856. And to all shall dark Erebus appear.
  857. And misty gorges in the lofty hills
  858. Shall be full of the dead; and rocks shall stream
  859. 855 With blood and every torrent fill the plain.
  860. And well-built walls of evil-minded men
  861. Shall all fall to the earth, since they knew not
  862. The law nor judgment of the mighty God,
  863. But with a senseless soul all hurried on
  864. 860 Against the temple and raised up their spears.
  865. And God shall judge all by war and by sword
  866. And by fire and by overwhelming storm;
  867. And brimstone there shall be from heaven, and stones
  868. And great and grievous hail; and death shall come
  869. 865 Upon the quadrupeds. And then shall they
  870. Know God, the Immortal, who performs these things;
  871. And wailing, and upon the boundless earth
  872. Shall be at once a shout of perishing men;
  873. And all the unholy shall be bathed in blood;
  874. 870 And earth herself shall also drink the blood
  875. Of the perishing, and beasts be gorged with flesh.
  876.     And all these things the great eternal God
  877. Himself bade me proclaim. And that shall not
  878. Be unaccomplished, or be unfulfilled,
  879. 875 Whatever only in my heart he put;
  880. For truthful is God's spirit in the world.
  881.     But children of the mighty God shall all
  882. Again around the temple live in peace,
  883. Rejoicing in those things which he shall give
  884. 880 Who is Creator, righteous Judge and King.
  885. For he himself, great, present far and wide,
  886. Shall be a shelter, as on all sides round
  887. A wall of flaming fire. And they shall be
  888. In cities and in country without war.
  889. 885 For not the hand of evil war, but rather
  890. The Immortal shall himself be their defender
  891. And the hand of the Holy One. And then shall all
  892. The islands and the cities tell how much
  893. The immortal God loves those men; for all things
  894. 890 Help them in conflict and deliver them
  895. Heaven, and divinely fashioned sun, and moon.
  896. [And in those days shall earth, all-mother, reel.]
  897. Sweet word shall they send from their mouths in hymns:
  898. "Come, falling on the earth let us all pray
  899. 895 The immortal King, and great eternal God.
  900. To the temple let its in procession go,
  901. Since he alone is Lord; and let us all
  902. Meditate on the law of God most high,
  903. Which is most righteous of all (laws) on earth.
  904. 900 And from the path of the Immortal we
  905. Have wandered and with senseless soul we honor
  906. Works made by hand and wooden images
  907. Of dead men." These things souls of faithful melt
  908. Shall cry out: "Come, having, at the house of God
  909. 905 Fallen on our faces, let its with our hymns
  910. Make joy to God the Father at our homes,
  911. Supplied through all our land with arms of foes
  912. Seven lengths of time in the revolving years;
  913. Even shields and helmets and all sorts of arms,
  914. 910 And a great store of bows and arrows barbed;
  915. For forest wood shall not be cut for
  916.     But, wretched Hellas, stop thy arrogance
  917. And be wise; and entreat the Immortal One
  918. Magnanimous, and be upon thy guard.
  919. 915 Send now against this city yet again
  920. The people inconsiderate, who are come
  921. Out of the holy land of the mighty One.
  922. Do not move Camarina; for 'tis better
  923. She be unmoved; a leopard from the lair,
  924. 920 Do thou not let an evil meet with thee.
  925. But keep off, do not hold within thy breast
  926. An arrogant and overbearing soul,
  927. Ready for mighty contest. And serve God
  928. The mighty, that thou mayest share those things;
  929. 925 And when that fated day shall reach its end
  930. [And judgment of the immortal God shall come
  931. To mortals], judgment great and power shall come
  932. Upon men. For all-mother earth shall yield
  933. To mortals best fruit boundless, wheat, wine, oil;
  934. 930 Also from heaven a delightful drink
  935. Of honey and trees shall give their fruit,
  936. And fatted sheep and cattle there shall be,
  937. Young lambs and kids of goats; earth shall break forth
  938. With sweet springs of white milk; and of good things
  939. 935 The cities shall be full and fat the fields;
  940. Nor sword nor uproar shall be on the earth;
  941. No more shall earth groan heavily and quake;
  942. Nor shall war longer be on earth, nor drought,
  943. Nor famine, nor the fruit-destroying hail;
  944. 940 But great peace, shall be upon all the earth,
  945. And king to king be friend until the end
  946. Of the age, and o'er all earth common law
  947. Will the Immortal in the starry heaven
  948. Perfect for men, touching whatever things
  949. 945 Have been by miserable mortals done;
  950. For he alone is God, there is no other;
  951. And the stern rage of men he'll burn with fire.
  952.     But change entirely the thoughts in thy heart,
  953. And flee unrighteous worship; serve the One
  954. 950 Who liveth; guard against adultery
  955. And deeds of lewdness; thine own offspring rear
  956. And do not murder; for the Immortal One
  957. Is angry with him who in these things sins.
  958.     And then a kingdom over all mankind
  959. 955 Shall he raise up for ages, who once gave
  960. Holy law to the pious, unto whom
  961. He pledged to open every land, the world
  962. And portals of the blessed, and all joys,
  963. And mind immortal and eternal bliss.
  964. 960 And out of every land unto the house
  965. Of the great God shall they bring frankincense
  966. And gifts, and there shall be no other house
  967. To be inquired of by men yet to be,
  968. But what God gave for faithful men to honor;
  969. 965 For mortal temple of the mighty God
  970. Shall call it. And all pathways of the plain
  971. And rough hills and high mountains and wild waves
  972. Of the deep shall be easy in those days
  973. For crossing and for sailing; for all peace
  974. 970 On the land of the good shall come; and sword
  975. Shall prophets of the mighty God remove;
  976. For they are judges and the righteous kings
  977. Of mortals. And there shall be righteous wealth
  978. Among mankind; for of the mighty God
  979. 975 This is the judgment and also the power.
  980.     Be of good cheer, O maiden, and be glad;
  981. For he who made the heaven and earth gave thee
  982. Joy in thy age. And he will dwell in thee;
  983. And thine shall be immortal and wolves
  984. 980 And lambs shall in the mountains feed on grass
  985. Together, and with kids shall leopards graze;
  986. And bears shall lodge among the pasturing calves;
  987. And the carnivorous lion shall eat chaff
  988. At the manger like the cow; and little children
  989. 985 In bonds shall lead them; for he will make beasts
  990. Helpless on earth. With babes shall fall asleep
  991. Serpents, along with asps, and do no harm;
  992. For over them shall be the hand of God.
  993.     Now tell I thee a sign exceeding clear,
  994. 990 That thou may'st know when the end of all things
  995. On earth shall be. When in the starry heaven
  996. Swords shall by night point straight toward west and east,
  997. Straightway shalt there be also from the heaven
  998. A cloud of dust borne forth to all the earth,
  999. 995 And the sun's brightness in the midst of heaven
  1000. Shall be eclipsed, and the moon's beams appear
  1001. And come again on earth; by drops of blood
  1002. Distilling from the rocks a sign shalt be;
  1003. And in the cloud shalt ye behold a war
  1004. 1000 Of foot and horse, like the chase of wild beasts
  1005. In the dense fog. This end of all things God
  1006. Shalt consummate, whose dwelling is in heaven.
  1007. But all must sacrifice to the great King.
  1008.     These things I show thee, I who madly left
  1009. 1005 The long walls of Assyrian Babylon
  1010. For Hellas to proclaim to all the wrath
  1011. Of God, fire sent. . . .
  1012.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  1013. And that I might to mortals prophesy
  1014. Of mysteries divine. And men shalt say
  1015. 1010 In Hellas that I am of foreign Land,
  1016. Of Erythre born, shameless; others say
  1017. That I'm a Sibyl, born of mother Circe
  1018. And father Gnostos raving mad and false;
  1019. But at that time when all thing come to pass
  1020. 1015 Ye shall remember me, and no one more
  1021. Shall call me mad, the great God's prophetess,
  1022.     For he showed me what happened formerly
  1023. To my ancestors; what things were the first
  1024. Those God made known to me; and in my mind
  1025. 1020 Did God put all things to be afterwards,
  1026. That I might prophesy of things to come,
  1027. And things that were, and tell them unto men.
  1028. For when the world was deluged with a flood
  1029. Of waters, and one man of good repute
  1030. 1025 Alone was left and in a wooden house
  1031. Sailed o'er the waters with the beasts and birds,
  1032. In order that the world might be refilled,
  1033. I was his son's bride and was of his race
  1034. To whom the first things happened, and the last
  1035. 1030 Were all made known; and thus from mine own mouth
  1036. Let all these truthful things remain declared.


BOOK IV.

CONTENTS OF BOOK IV.

Introduction, 1-28. Blessedness of the righteous, 29-60. The Assyrian kingdom, 61-65. The Medes and Persians, 66-82. Woes on Phrygia, Asia, and Egypt, 83-100. Sicily burned by fire of Ætna, 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. Exhortations and threatening, 210-230. Resurrection, judgment, and reward, 231-248.

BOOK IV.

  1.     PEOPLE of boastful Asia and of Europe,
  2. Hear how much, all too true, I am about,
  3. Through a month many-toned, from my great hall
  4. To prophesy; no oracle am I
  5. 5 Of lying Phœbus whom vain men called god,
  6. And further falsified by calling seer;
  7. But of the mighty God, whom hands of men
  8. Formed not like speechless idols carved of stone.
  9. For he has not for his abode a stone
  10. 10 Most dumb and toothless to a temple drawn,
  11. Of immortals a dishonor very sore;
  12. For he may not be seen from earth nor measured
  13. By mortal eyes, nor formed by mortal hand;
  14. He, looking down at once on all, is seen
  15. 15 Himself by no one; his are murky night,
  16. And day, and sun, and stars, and moon, and seas
  17. With fish, and land, and rivers, and the month
  18. Of springs perennial, creatures meant for life,
  19. And rains at once producing fruit of field
  20. 20 And tree and vine and oil. This God a whip
  21. Struck through my heart within to make me tell
  22. Truly to men what things have now befallen
  23. And how much shall befall them yet again
  24. From the first generation to the eleventh;
  25. 25 For he himself by bringing them to pass
  26. Will prove all things. But do thou in all things,
  27. O people, to the Sibyl give all ear,
  28. Who pours from hallowed mouth a truthful voice.
  29. Blessed of men shall they be on the earth
  30. 30 As many as shall love the mighty God,
  31. Offering him praise before they drink and eat;
  32. Trusting in piety. When they behold
  33. Temples and altars, figures of dumb stones,
  34. [Stone images and statues made with hands]
  35. 35 Polluted with the blood of living things
  36. And sacrifices of four-footed beasts,
  37. They will reject them all; and they will look
  38. To the great glory of one God and not
  39. Commit presumptuous murder nor dispose
  40. 40 Of stolen gain, which things most horrid are;
  41. Nor shameful longing for another's bed
  42. Have they, nor vile and hateful lust of males.
  43. Their manner, piety, and character
  44. Shall other men, that love a shameless life,
  45. 45 Not ever imitate; but, mocking them
  46. With jest and joke like babes in senselessness,
  47. They'll falsely charge to them as many deeds
  48. Blameful and wicked as they do themselves.
  49. For slow is the whole race of human kind
  50. 50 To believe. But when judgment of the world
  51. And mortals comes which God himself shall bring
  52. Judging at once the impious and the pious,
  53. Then indeed shall he send the ungodly back
  54. To lower darkness [and then they shall know
  55. 55 How much impiety they wrought]; but the pious
  56. Shall still remain upon the fruitful land,
  57. God giving to them breath and life and grace.
  58. But these things all in the tenth generation
  59. Shall come to pass; and now what things shall be
  60. 60 From the first generation, those I'll tell.
  61.     First over all mortal shall Assyrians rule,
  62. And for six generations hold the power
  63. Of the world, from the time the God of heaven
  64. Being wroth against the cities and all men
  65. 65 Sea with a bursting deluge covered earth.
  66.     Them shall the Medes o'erpower, but on the throne
  67. For two generations only shall exult;
  68. In which times those events shall come to pass:
  69. Dark night shall come at the mid hour of day
  70. 40 And from the heaven the stars and circling moon
  71. Shall disappear; and earth in tumult shaken
  72. By a great earthquake shall throw many cities
  73. And works of men headlong; and from the deep
  74. They shall peer out the islands of the Sea.
  75. 75    But when the great Euphrates shall with blood
  76. Be surging, then shall there be also set
  77. Between the Medes and Persians dreadful strife
  78. In battle; and the, Medes shall fall and fly
  79. 'Neath Persian spears beyond the mighty water
  80. 80 Of Tigris. And the Persian power shall be
  81. Greatest in all the world, and they shall have
  82. One generation of most prosperous rule.
  83.     And there shall be as many evil deeds
  84. As men shall wish away--the din of war,
  85. 85 And murders, and disputes, and banishments,
  86. And overthrow of towers and waste of cities,
  87. When Hellas very glorious shall sail
  88. Over broad Hellespont, and shall convey
  89. To Phrygia sorrow and to Asia doom.
  90. 90    And unto Egypt, land of many furrows,
  91. Shall sorry famine come, and barrenness
  92. Shall during twenty circling years prevail,
  93. What time the Nile, corn-nourisher, shall hide
  94. His dark wave somewhere underneath the earth.
  95. 95    And there shall come from Asia a great king
  96. Bearing a spear, with ships innumerable,
  97. And he shall walk the wet paths of the deep,
  98. And shall sail after he has cut the mount
  99. Of lofty summit; him a fugitive
  100. 100 From battle fearful Asia shall receive.
  101.     And Sicily the wretched shall a stream
  102. Of powerful fire set all aflame while Etna
  103. Her flame disgorges; and in the deep chasm
  104. Down shall the mighty city Croton fall.
  105. 105    And strife shall be in Hellas; they shall rage
  106. Against each other, cast down many cities,
  107. And fighting make an end of many men;
  108. But equally balanced is the strife with both.
  109.     But, when the race of mortal men shall come
  110. 110 To the tenth generation, also then
  111. Upon thc Persians shall a servile yoke
  112. And terror be. But when the Macedonians
  113. Shall boast the scepter there shall be for Thebes
  114. An evil conquest from behind, and Carians
  115. 115 Shall dwell in Tyre, and Tyrians be destroyed.
  116. And Babylon, great to see but small to fight,
  117. Shall stand with walls that were in vain hopes built.
  118. In Bactria Macedonians shall dwell;
  119. But those from Susa and from Bactria
  120. 120 Shall all into the land of Hellas flee.
  121.     It shall take place among those yet to be,
  122. When silver-eddying Pyramus his banks
  123. O'erpouring, to the sacred isle shall come.
  124. And Cibyra shall fall and Cyzicus,
  125. 125 When, earth being shaken by earthquakes, cities fall.
  126. And sand shall hide all Samos under banks.
  127. And Delos visible no more, but things
  128. Of Delos shall all be invisible.
  129. And to Rhodes shall come evil last, but greatest.
  130. 130    The Macedonian power shall not abide;
  131. But from the west a great Italian war
  132. Shall flourish, under which the world shall bear
  133. A servile yoke and the Italians serve.
  134. And thou, O wretched Corinth, thou shalt look
  135. 135 Sometime upon thy conquest. And thy tower,
  136. O Carthage, shall press lowly on the ground.
  137.     Wretched Laodicea, thee sometime
  138. Shall earthquake lay low, casting headlong down,
  139. But thou, a city firmly set, again
  140. 140 Shalt stand. O Lycia Myra beautiful,
  141. Thee never shall the agitated earth
  142. Set fast; but falling headlong down on earth
  143. Shalt thou, in manner like an alien, pray
  144. To flee away into another land,
  145. 145 When sometime the dark water of the sea
  146. With thunders and earthquakes shall stop the din
  147. Of Patara for its impieties.
  148.     Also for thee, Armenia, there remains
  149. A slavish fate; and there shall also come
  150. 150 To Solyma an evil blast of war
  151. From Italy, and God's great temple spoil.
  152. But when these, trusting folly, shall cast off
  153. Their piety and murders consummate
  154. Around the temple, then front Italy
  155. 155 A mighty king shall like a runaway slave
  156. Flee over the Euphrates' stream unseen,
  157. Unknown, who shall some time dare loathsome guilt
  158. Of matricide, and many other things,
  159. Having confidence in his most wicked hands.
  160. 160 And many for the throne with blood
  161. Rome's soil while he flees over Parthian land.
  162.    And out of Syria shall come Rome's foremost man,
  163. Who having burned the temple of Solyma,
  164. And having slaughtered many of the Jews,
  165. 165 Shall destruction on their great broad land.
  166.     And then too shall an earthquake overthrow
  167. Both Salamis and Paphos, when dark water
  168. Shall dash o'er Cyprus washed by many a wave.
  169.     But when from deep cleft of Italian land
  170. 170 Fire shall come flashing forth in the broad heaven,
  171. And many cities burn and men destroy,
  172. And much black ashes shall fill the great sky,
  173. And small drops like red earth shall fall from heaven,
  174. Then know the anger of the God of heaven,
  175. 175 For that they without reason shall destroy
  176. The nation of the pious. And then strife
  177. Awakened of war shall come to the West,
  178. Shall also come the fugitive of Rome,
  179. Bearing a great spear, having marched across
  180. 180 Euphrates with his many myriads.
  181.     O wretched Antioch, they shall call thee
  182. No more a city when around their spears
  183. Because of thine own follies thou shalt fall.
  184. And then on Scyros shall a pestilence
  185. 185 And dreadful battle-din destruction bring.
  186.     Alas, alas! O wretched Cyprus, thee
  187. Shall a broad wave of the sea cover, thee
  188. Tossed on high by the whirling stormy winds.
  189.     And into Asia there shall come great wealth,
  190. 190 Which Rome herself once, plundering, put away
  191. In her luxurious homes; and twice as much
  192. And more shall she to Asia render back,
  193. And then there shall be an excess of war.
  194.     And Carian cities by Mæander's waters,
  195. 195 Girded with towers and very beautiful,
  196. Shall by a bitter famine be destroyed,
  197. When the Mæander his dark water hides.
  198.     But when piety shall perish from mankind,
  199. And faith and right be hidden in the world,
  200. 200 . . . Fickle . . . and in unhallowed boldness
  201. Living shall practice wanton violence,
  202. And reckless evil deeds, and of the pious
  203. No one shall make account, but even them all
  204. From thoughtlessness they utterly destroy
  205. 205 In childish folly, in their violence
  206. Exulting and in blood holding their bands;
  207. Then know thou that God is no longer mild,
  208. But gnashing with fury and destroying all
  209. The race of men by conflagration great.
  210. 210 Ah! miserable mortals, change these things,
  211. Nor lead the mighty God to wrath extreme;
  212. Put giving up your swords and pointed knives,
  213. And homicides and wanton violence,
  214. Wash your whole body in perennial streams,
  215. 215 And lifting up your hands to heaven seek pardon
  216. For former deeds and expiate with praise
  217. Bitter impiety; and God will give
  218. Repentance; he will not destroy; and wrath
  219. Will he again restrain, if in your hearts
  220. 220 Ye all will practice honored piety.
  221. But if, ill-disposed, ye obey me not,
  222. But with a fondness for strange lack of sense
  223. Receive all these things with an evil ear,
  224. There shall be over all the world a fire
  225. 225 And greatest omen with sword and with trump
  226. At sunrise; the whole world shall hear the roar
  227. And mighty sound. And he shall burn all earth,
  228. And destroy the whole race of men, and all
  229. The cities and the rivers and the sea;
  230. 230 All things he'll burn, and it shall be black dust.
  231.     But when now all things shall have been reduced
  232. To dust and ashes, and God shall have calmed
  233. The fire unspeakable which he lit up,
  234. The bones and ashes of men God himself
  235. 235 Again will fashion, and he will again
  236. Raise mortals up, even as they were before.
  237. And then shall be the judgment, at which God
  238. Himself as judge shall judge the world again;
  239. And all who sinned with impious hearts, even them,
  240. 240 Shall he again hide under mounds of earth
  241. [Dark Tartarus and Stygian Gehenna].
  242. But all who shall be pious shall again
  243. Live on the earth [and (shall inherit there)
  244. The great immortal God's unwasting bliss,]
  245. 245 God giving spirit life and joy to them
  246. [The pious; and they all shall see themselves
  247. Beholding the sun's sweet and cheering light.
  248. O happy on the earth shall be that man].



BOOK V.

CONTENTS OF BOOK V.

Introduction, 1, 2. Rome's first emperors, 2-733. Grief of the Sibyl, 74-76. Inundation of Egypt, 77-84. Oracle against Memphis, 85-100. Idolatry and woes of Egypt, 101-147. Woes on various cities of the East and of Asia Minor, 148-169. Woe on Lycia, Phrygia, and Thessaly, 110-185. The vile and fearful king, 186-209. Oracle against Rome, 210-241. Lamentation over Egypt, 242-272. Britons and Gauls, 273-280. Ethiopians and Indians perish by conflict of the stars, 281-291. Doom of Corinth, 292-308. Oracle against Rome, 309-334. The blessed Jews, 335-345. The heavenly Joshua, 346-350. 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 Tripolis, 411-434. Doom of Miletus, 433-439. Prayer for the land 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, 518-555. Messianic day, 556-580. Fall of Babylon, 581-600. Woes of Asia, Crete, Cyprus, and Phœnicia, 601-615. Vast armies in Egypt, Macedon, and Asia, 616-624. Destruction of the Thracians, 625-629. Mankind made few by woes, 630-639. Final darkness, 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 constellations, 688-711.

BOOK V.

  1.     BUT come, now, hear of me the mournful time
  2. Of sons of Latium. And first of all,
  3. After the kings of Egypt were destroyed
  4. And the like earth had downwards borne them all,
  5. 5 And after Pella's townsman, under whom
  6. The whole East and the rich West were cast down,
  7. whom Babylon dishonored, and stretched out
  8. For Philip a dead body (not of Zeus,
  9. Of Ammon not true things were prophesied),
  10. 10 And after that one of the race and blood
  11. Of king Assaracus, who came from Troy,
  12. Even he who cleft the violence of fire,
  13. And after many lords, and after men
  14. To Ares dear, and after the young babes,
  15. 15 The children of the beast that feeds on sheep,
  16. The very first lord shall be, who shall sum
  17. Twice ten with the first letter of his name;
  18. In wars exceeding powerful shall he be;
  19. And he shall have the initial sign of ten;
  20. 20 And in like manner after him to reign
  21. Is one who has the alphabet's first letter;
  22. Before him Thrace and Sicily shall crouch,
  23. Then Memphis, Memphis cast headlong to earth
  24. By reason of the cowardice of rulers
  25. 25 And of a woman unenslaved who falls
  26. Upon the wave. And laws will he ordain
  27. For peoples and put all things under him;
  28. But after a long time shall he transmit
  29. His power unto another, who shall have
  30. 30 Three hundred for his first initial sign,
  31. And of a river the beloved name,
  32. And the Persians he shall rule and Babylon;
  33. And then shall he smite Medians with his spear.
  34. Then shall one rule who has the initial sign
  35. 35 Of the number three. And then shall be a lord
  36. Who shall for first initial have twice ten;
  37. And he shall come to Ocean's utmost water
  38. And by Ausonia cleave the refluent tide.
  39. And one whose mark is fifty shall be lord,
  40. 40 A dreadful serpent breathing grievous war,
  41. Who sometime stretching forth his hands shall make
  42. An end of his own race and stir all things,
  43. Acting the athlete, driving chariots,
  44. Putting to death and daring countless things;
  45. 45 And he shall cleave the mountain of two seas
  46. And sprinkle it with gore; but out of sight
  47. Shall also vanish the destructive man;
  48. Then, making himself equal unto God,
  49. Shall he return; but God will prove him naught.
  50. 50    And after him shall three kings be destroyed
  51. By one another. Then a great destroyer
  52. Of pious men shall come, whom seven times ten
  53. Shall point out clearly. But from him a son,
  54. Whom the first letter of three hundred proves,
  55. 55 Shall take the power. And after him shall be
  56. A ruler, of the initial sign of four,
  57. A life-destroyer. Then a reverend man
  58. Of the number fifty. Next, succeeding him
  59. Who has the first mark of the initial sign
  60. 60 Three hundred, shall a Celtic mountaineer,
  61. Into the strife of battle pressing on,
  62. Escape not fate unseemly, but shall be
  63. Worn weary unto death; him foreign dust,
  64. But dust that of Nemea's flower has name,
  65. 65 Shall hide a corpse. And after him shall rule
  66. Another man, with silver helmet decked;
  67. And unto him shall be the name of a sea;
  68. And he shall be a man the best of all
  69. And in all things discreet. And upon thee,
  70. 70 Thou best of all, above all, dark-haired one,
  71. And upon thy shoots shall be all these days.
  72. After him three shall rule; but the third one
  73. Shall at a late time hold the royal power.
  74.     Worn out am I, thrice-miserable one,
  75. 75 Sister of Isis, to lay up in heart
  76. An evil message, and an inspired song
  77. Of oracles. First Mænades shall dart
  78. Around thy much-lamented temple's steps,
  79. And thou shalt be in evil hands that day
  80. 80 When the Nile some time shall fill the whole land
  81. Of Egypt even to sixteen cubits deep;
  82. It shall wash all the land, and water it
  83. For mortals; and the pleasure of the land
  84. Shall be still and the glory of her face.
  85. 85    Memphis, thou most shalt over Egypt wail;
  86. For of old ruling mightily the land
  87. Thou shalt become poor, so that out of heaven
  88. The Thunderer shall himself with great voice cry:
  89. "O mighty Memphis, who didst boast of old
  90. 90 O'er craven mortals greatly, thou shalt wail
  91. Full of pain and all-hapless, so that thou
  92. Thyself shalt the eternal God perceive
  93. Immortal in the clouds. Where among men
  94. Is now thy mighty pride? Because thou didst
  95. 95 Against my God-anointed children rave,
  96. And didst urge evil forward on good men,
  97. Thou shalt for such things suffer penalty
  98. In some like manner. No more openly
  99. For thee shall there be right among the blessed;
  100. 100 Fallen from the stars, thou shalt not rise to heaven."
  101.     Now these things unto Egypt God bade me
  102. Speak out for the last time, when men shall be
  103. Utterly evil. But they labor hard,
  104. Evil men evil things awaiting, wrath
  105. 105 Of the immortal Thunderer in heaven,
  106. Worshiping stones and beasts instead of God,
  107. And also fearing many things besides
  108. Which have no speech, nor mind, nor power to hear;
  109. Which things it is not right for me to mention,
  110. 110 Each one an idol, formed by mortal hands;
  111. Of their own labors and presumptuous thoughts
  112. Did men receive gods made of wood and stone
  113. And brass, and gold and silver, foolish too,
  114. Without life and dumb, molten in the fire
  115. 115 They made them, vainly trusting such things. . . .
  116. Thmois and Xois are in sore distress,
  117. And smitten is the hall of Heracles
  118. And Zeus and Hermes (king). And as for thee,
  119. O Alexandria, famed nourisher
  120. 120 (Of cities) war shall not leave, nor (plague) . . .
  121. For thy pride thou shalt pay as many things
  122. As thou before didst. Silent shalt thou be
  123. A long age, and the day of thy return . . .
  124.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  125. No more for thee shall flow luxurious drink . . .
  126.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  127. 12 5 For there shall come a Persian on thy dale,
  128. And like hail shall he all the land destroy,
  129. And artful men, with blood and corpses. . . .
  130. By sacred altars one of barbarous mind,
  131. Strong, full of blood and raging senselessly,
  132. 130 With countless numbers rushing to destruction.
  133. And then shalt thou, in cities very rich,
  134. Be very weary. Falling on the earth
  135. All Asia shall wail on account of gifts
  136. Crowning her head with which she was by thee
  137. 135 Delighted. But, as he himself obtained
  138. The Persian land by lot, he shall make war
  139. And killing every man destroy all life,
  140. So that there shall remain for wretched mortals
  141. A third part. But with nimble leap shall he
  142. 140 Himself speed from the West, and all the land
  143. Besiege and waste. But when he shall possess
  144. The height of power and odious reverence,
  145. He shall come, wishing to destroy the city
  146. Even of the blessed. And a certain king
  147. 145 Sent forth from God against him shall destroy
  148. All mighty kings and bravest men. And thus
  149. Shall judgement by the Immortal come to men.
  150. Alas, alas for thee, unhappy heart!
  151. Why dost thou move me to declare these things,
  152. 150 The painful rule of Egypt over many?
  153. Go to the East, to races of the Persians
  154. Who lack in understanding, and show them
  155. That which is now and that which is to be.
  156.     The river of Euphrates shall bring on
  157. 155 A deluge, and it shall destroy the Persians,
  158. Iberians and Babylonians
  159. And the Massagetæ that relish war
  160. And trust in bows. All Asia fire-ablaze
  161. Shall to the isles beam brightly. Pergamos,
  162. 160 Revered of old, shall perish from its base,
  163. And Pitane among men shall appear
  164. All-desolate. All Lesbos shall sink deep
  165. Into the deep, and thus shall be destroyed.
  166. Smyrna, whirled down her cliffs, shall wail aloud,
  167. 165 She that was once revered and given a name
  168. Shall perish utterly. Bithynians
  169. Shall over their own country, then reduced
  170. To ashes, wail, and o'er great Syria,
  171. And o'er Phœnicia that bas many tribes.
  172. 170 Alas, alas for thee, O Lycia;
  173. How many evils does the sea contrive
  174. Against thee, mounting up of its own will
  175. Upon the painful land! And it shall dash
  176. With evil earthquake and with bitter streams
  177. 175 On the rough Lycian land that once breathed perfume.
  178. And there shall be for Phrygia fearful wrath
  179. Because of sorrow for which Rhea came,
  180. Mother of Zeus, and there continued long.
  181.     The sea shall overthrow the Centaur race
  182. 190 And barbarous nation, and beneath the earth
  183. Shall tear away the Lapithæan land.
  184.     The river of deep eddies and deep flow,
  185. Peneus, shall destroy Thessalian land,
  186. Snatching men from the earth. Eridanus
  187. 185 (Pretending once to bear the forms, of beasts).
  188.     Hellas thrice wretched shall the poets weep,
  189. When one from Italy shall smite the neck
  190. Of the isthmus, mighty king of mighty Rome,
  191. A man made equal to God, whom, they say,
  192. 190 Zeus himself and the august Hera bore
  193. He, courting by his voice all-musical
  194. Applause for his sweet Songs, shall put to death
  195. With his own wretched mother many men.
  196. From Babylon shall flee the fearful lord
  197. 195 And shameless whom all mortals and best men
  198. Abhor; for he slew many and laid hands
  199. Upon the womb; against his wives he sinned
  200. And of men stained with blood had he been formed.
  201. And he shall come to monarchs of the Medes
  202. 200 And Persians, first whom he loved and to whom
  203. He brought renown, while with those wicked men
  204. He lurked against a nation not desired
  205. And on the temple made by God he seized
  206. And citizens and people going in,
  207. 205 Of whom I justly sang the praise, he burned;
  208. For when this man appeared the whole creation
  209. Was shaken and kings perished--and yet power
  210. Remained among them, and they quite destroyed
  211. The mighty city and the righteous people.
  212. 210    But when the fourth year a great star shall shine,
  213. Which alone shall the whole earth overpower
  214. Because of honor, which was first assigned
  215. To lord Poseidon; then a great star shall come
  216. From heaven into the dreadful sea and burn
  217. 215 The vasty deep, and Babylon itself,
  218. And the land of Italy, because, of which
  219. There perished many holy faithful men
  220. Among the Hebrews and a people true.
  221.     Thou shalt be among evil mortals made
  222. 220 To suffer evils, but thou shalt remain
  223. All-desolate whole ages by thyself
  224. Hating thy soil; for thou didst have desire
  225. For sorcery, adulteries were with thee
  226. And lawless carnal intercourse with boys,
  227. 225 Thou evil city, womanish, unjust,
  228. Ill-fated above all. Alas, alas!
  229. Thou city of the Latin land, unclean
  230. In all things, Mænad having joy in snakes,
  231. Over thy banks a widow shalt thou sit
  232. 230 And the river Tiber shall lament for thee,
  233. His consort thee, who hast a blood-stained heart
  234. And impious soul. Didst thou not understand
  235. What God can do, and what he doth devise?
  236. But thou saidst, "I'm alone, and me no one
  237. 235 Shall sack." But now shall God, who ever is,
  238. Thee and all thine destroy, and in that land
  239. No longer shall thy ensign yet remain,
  240. As of old, when the mighty God received
  241. Thy honors. Stay, O lawless one, alone,
  242. 240 And mixed with burning fire inhabit thou
  243. In Hades the Tartarean lawless land.
  244.     And now again, O Egypt, I bewail
  245. Thy blind delusion; Memphis, first in toils,
  246. Thou shalt be filled up with the dead; in thee
  247. 245 The pyramids shall speak a ruthless sound.
  248. O Python, who wast justly called of old
  249. The double city, be for ages silent,
  250. So that thou mayest cease from wickedness.
  251. Reckless in evils, treasury of toils,
  252. 250 Much-wailing Mænad, suffering, dire ills,
  253. Much-weeping, thou a widow shalt remain
  254. Through all time. Thou didst full of years become
  255. While thou alone wast ruling o'er the world;
  256. But when the white dress Barea round herself
  257. 255 Shall put on over that which is defiled,
  258. Would that I neither were nor had been born
  259.     O Thebes, where is thy great strength? A fierce man
  260. Shall slay the people; but thou, wretched one,
  261. Grasping thy dusky dress shalt wail alone,
  262. 260 And thou shalt make atonement for all things
  263. Which thou aforetime with a shameless soul
  264. Didst perpetrate. They also shall behold
  265. A mourning on account of lawless deeds.
  266.     And a mighty man of the Ethiopians
  267. 265 Shall overthrow Syene; by their might
  268. Shall swarthy Indians occupy Teucheira.
  269. Pentapolis, a man of mighty, strength
  270. Shall burn thee whole. All-tearful Libya,
  271. Who shall explain thy follies? And Cyrene,
  272. 270 Of mortals who shall pitiably weep
  273. For thee? Thou shalt not even to the time
  274. Of thy destruction cease thy hateful wail.
  275.     Among the Britons and among the Gauls,
  276. Rich in gold, Ocean shall be roaring loud
  277. 275 Filled with much blood; for evil things
  278. Did they unto God's children, when a king
  279. Of the Sidonians, a Phœnician, led
  280. A mighty Gallic host from Syria;
  281. And he shall slaughter thee, thyself, Ravenna,
  282. 280 And unto slaughter shall he lead the way.
  283.     O Indians and great-hearted Ethiops,
  284. Together fear; for when with these the course
  285. Of Capricorn and Taurus in the Twins
  286. Shall wind about the middle of the heaven,
  287. 285 Virgo then rising, and about his front
  288. Fastening a belt the sun shall lead all heaven,
  289. There shall be moving downwards to the earth
  290. A mighty conflagration high in air,
  291. And a new nature in the warlike stars,
  292. 290 'so that the whole land of the Ethiops
  293. Shall perish in the midst of fire and groans.
  294.     And weep thou, Corinth, the destruction sad
  295. Which is ill thee; for when with pliant threads
  296. The Fates three sisters, spinning shall aloft
  297. 295 Lead him who flees by guile against the voice
  298. Of the isthmus, until all shall look at him
  299. Who once cut out the rock with ductile brass,
  300. He also shall destroy and smite thy land,
  301. As it hath been appointed. For to him
  302. 300 God gave strength to accomplish that which could
  303. No earlier of all the kings together.
  304. And first with sickle cleaving off the roots
  305. From three heads he shall give food in excess
  306. To others, so that kings unclean shall eat
  307. 305 The flesh of parents. For unto all men
  308. Slaughter and terrors are laid up in store
  309. because of the great city and just people
  310. Saved through all time, whom Providence held high.
  311.     O thou unstable one and ill-advised,
  312. 310 By evil fates surrounded, for mankind
  313. Both a beginning and great end of toil,--
  314. Of suffering creation and of part
  315. Restored again,--thou leader insolent
  316. Of evils, and for men a great curse, who
  317. 115 Of mortals wished for thee? Who has not been
  318. Embittered from within? Cast down ill thee
  319. A king his honored life lost. Evilly
  320. Hast thou disposed all things and washed away
  321. All that is fair, and by thee have been changed
  322. 320 The world's fair folds. In strife with us perhaps
  323. Thou hast brought forward these unstable things;
  324. And how dost thou say, "I will thee persuade,"
  325. And "If in any thing thou blame me, speak?"
  326. There was once among men the sun's bright light
  327. 325 The prophets' common ray being spread abroad;
  328. Speech dripping honey, fair drink for all men,
  329. Appeared and grew, and day arose on all.
  330. Because of this, thou narrow-minded one
  331. Leader of greatest evils, both a sword
  332. 330 And grief shall come in that day. For mankind
  333. Both a beginning and great end of toil,--
  334. Of suffering creation and of part
  335. Restored again,--hear, O thou curse of men,
  336. The bitter oracle intolerable.
  337. 335 But when the Persian land shall keep away
  338. From war and plague and groaning, in that day
  339. A race divine of blessed heavenly Jews
  340. Shall offer prayer, who shall dwell round about
  341. God's city in mid portions of the land,
  342. 340 And even as far as Joppa building round
  343. A great wall they shall carry it aloft
  344. Unto the gloomy clouds. No more shall trump
  345. Sound battle--din nor by a foe's mad hands
  346. Shall they be cut off; but they shall set up
  347. 345 Their trophies for an age of evil men.
  348. And one shall come again from heaven, a man
  349. Preeminent, whose hands on fruitful tree
  350. By far the noblest of the Hebrews stretched,
  351. Who at one time did make the sun stand still
  352. 350 When he spoke with fair word and holy lips,
  353. No longer vex thy soul within thy breast
  354. By reason of the sword, rich child of God,
  355. Flower longed for by him only, goodly light
  356. And noble branch, a scion much beloved,
  357. 355 Pleasant Judea, city beautiful,
  358. Inspired by hymns. No more shall unclean foot
  359. Of Greeks keep revel round about thy land,
  360. Who held within their breast a lawless mind;
  361. But thee shall glorious children honor much
  362. 360 [And be expert in songs and holy tongues],
  363. With sacrifices of all kinds and prayers
  364. Honored of God. All who endure the toils
  365. Of small affliction and the just shall have
  366. More that is altogether beautiful;
  367. 365 But the wicked, who to heaven sent lawless speech,
  368. Shall cease their speaking one against another,
  369. And hide themselves until the world be changed.
  370. And there shall be a rain of gleaming fire
  371. From the clouds; and no more shall mortals reap
  372. 370 The fair corn from the earth; all things unsown
  373. And unplowed, until mortal men shall know
  374. The Lord of all things, the immortal God
  375. Always existing, and no more revere
  376. Mortal things, neither dogs nor vultures' nests,
  377. 375 And what things Egypt taught to magnify
  378. With dumb months and dull lips. But all these things
  379. The holy land of the only pious men
  380. Shall bring forth, from the honey-dripping rock
  381. A stream and from a spring ambrosial milk
  382. 380 Shall flow for all the just; for in one God,
  383. One Father, who alone is glorious,
  384. Having great piety and faith they hoped.
  385.     But why does the wise mind grant me these things?
  386. And now thee, wretched Asia, piteously
  387. 385 I mourn and the race of Ionians
  388. And Carians and Lydians rich in gold.
  389. Alas, alas for thee, O Sardis; and alas
  390. For Trallis much beloved; alas, alas,
  391. Laodicea, city beautiful;
  392. 390 Thus shalt thou be by earthquakes overthrown
  393. And ruined, and be also changed to dust.
  394. And to Asia gloomy. . . .
  395.     Artremis' temple fixed at Ephesus . . .
  396. By chasms, and earthquakes come headlong down
  397. 395 Sometime into the dreadful sea, is storms
  398. Overwhelm ships. And up-turned Ephesus
  399. Shall wail aloud, lament beside her banks,
  400. And for her temple search which is no more.
  401.     And then incensed shall God the imperishable,
  402. 400 Who dwells on high, hurl thunderbolts from heaven
  403. Down on the head of him that is impure.
  404. And in the place of winter there shall be
  405. In that day summer. And to mortal men
  406. Shall then be great woe; for the Thunderer
  407. 405 Shall utterly destroy all shameless men
  408. And with his thunders and with lightning-flames
  409. And blazing thunderbolts men of ill-will,
  410. And thus shall he destroy the impious ones,
  411. So that there shall remain upon the earth
  412. 410 Dead bodies more in number than the sand.
  413.     For Smyrna also, weeping her Lycurgus,
  414. Shall come unto the gates of Ephesus
  415. And she herself shall perish even more.
  416.     And foolish Cyme with her inspired streams
  417. 415 Cast down by hands of godless men unjust
  418. And lawless, shall to heaven not so much
  419. As a word utter; but she shall remain
  420. Dead in Cymæan streams. And then shall they
  421. Together weep, awaiting evil things.
  422. 420 Cyme's rough populace and shameless tribe,
  423. Having a sign, shall know for what they toiled.
  424. And then, when they shall have bewailed their land
  425. Reduced to ashes, by Eridanus
  426. Shall Lesbos be forever overthrown.
  427. 425    Alas, Corcyra, city beautiful,
  428. Alas for thee, cease from thy revelry.
  429. Thou also, Hierapolis, sole land
  430. With riches mixed, what thou hast longed to have
  431. Thou shalt have, even a land of many tears,
  432. 430 Since thou wast angry towards a land beside
  433. Thermodon's streams. Rock-clinging Tripolis,
  434. Beside the waters of Mæander, thee
  435. Shall by the nightly surges under shore
  436. God's wrath and foresight utterly destroy.
  437. 435    Take me not, willing, to the neighboring land
  438. Of Phœbus; sometime shall a thunderbolt
  439. Dainty Miletus from above destroy,
  440. Because she seized on Phœbus' crafty song
  441. And the wise care and prudent plan of men.
  442. 440    Father of all, be gracious to the land
  443. Of Judah, well fed, fruit-abounding, great,
  444. In order that thy judgments we may see.
  445. For thou, O God, in kindness didst regard
  446. This land first that it might appear to be
  447. 445 Thy gracious gift unto all mortal men
  448. And to hold fast what God put in their charge.
  449.     The works thrice wretched of the Thracians
  450. I yearn to see, and wall between two seas
  451. Trailed in the dust along beneath the mist,
  452. 450 Even like a river for the swimming fish.
  453.     O wretched Hellespont, sometime a child
  454. Of the Assyrians shall throw a yoke
  455. Across thee; battle of the Thracians comes
  456. And shall despoil thy strength. And there shall rule
  457. 455 Over the land of Macedonia
  458. A king of Egypt, and a barbarous clime
  459. Shall waste the strength of captains. Lydians,
  460. And the Galatians, and Pamphylians
  461. With the Pisidians, all equipped for war
  462. 460 Shall in a mass bring evil strife to pass.
  463. Thrice wretched Italy, then shalt remain
  464. All-desolate, unwept, in blooming land
  465. By deadly sting to perish utterly.
  466.     And sometime high in the broad heaven above
  467. 465 Like thunder-roaring shall God's voice be heard.
  468. And the unwasting flames of the sun himself
  469. Shall be no more, nor shall the brilliant light
  470. Of the moon again be in the latest time,
  471. When God shall bc the ruler. And dark gloom
  472. 470 Shall be o'er all the earth, and blinded men
  473. And evil beasts and woe; that day shall be
  474. A long time, so that men shall see that God
  475. Himself is Lord, the overseer of all
  476. In front of heaven. And then will he himself
  477. 475 Not pity hostile men, who sacrifice
  478. Their herds of lambs and sheep and calves and goats
  479. And bellowing golden-horned bulls, offering them
  480. To lifeless Hermæ and to gods of stone.
  481. But let the law of wisdom be your guide
  482. 480 And the glory of the righteous; lest sometime
  483. The imperishable God incensed destroy
  484. Each race of men and shameless tribe of life,
  485. It doth behoove them faithfully to love
  486. The Father, the wise God who ever is.
  487. 485    In the last time, at the turning of the moon,
  488. There shall be raging through the world a war
  489. And carried on with cunning, and in guile.
  490. And from the limits of the earth shall come
  491. Fleeing and pondering sharp things in his mind,
  492. 490 A matricidal man who every land
  493. Shall overpower and over all things rule,
  494. And see all things more wisely than all men;
  495. And that for whose sake he himself was slain
  496. Shall he seize forthwith. And he shall destroy
  497. 495 Many men and great tyrants and shall burn
  498. All of them, as none other ever did,
  499. And he shall raise up them that are afraid
  500. For emulation's sake. And from the West
  501. Much war shall come to men, and blood shall flow
  502. 500 Down hill till it becomes deep-eddying streams.
  503. And in the plains of Macedonia
  504. Shall wrath distil and give help from the West,
  505. But to the king destruction. And a wind
  506. Of winter then shall blow upon the earth,
  507. 505 And the plain be filled with evil war again.
  508. For fire shall rain down from the heavenly plains
  509. On mortals, and therewith blood, water, flash
  510. Of lightning, murky darkness, night in heaven,
  511. And waste in war and o'er the slaughter mist,
  512. 510 And these together shall destroy all kings
  513. And noblest men. Thus shall be made to cease
  514. Then the destruction pitiable of war.
  515. And no more shall one fight with swords or iron
  516. Or even darts, which things shall not again
  517. 515 Be lawful. But wise people shall have peace,
  518. Who were left, having made proof of wickedness,
  519. That they might at the last be filled with joy.
  520.     Ye matricides, leave off your impudence
  521. And evil-working boldness, who of old
  522. 520 provided lawlessly lewd couch with boys,
  523. And placed as harlots maidens pure before
  524. In brothels by assault and punishment
  525. And by much-laboring indecency.
  526. For in thee mother with her child did hold
  527. 525 Unlawful intercourse, and daughter was
  528. With her own father wedded as a bride;
  529. And in thee kings have their ill-fated mouth
  530. Polluted, and in thee have wicked men
  531. Found couch with cattle. Be in silence hushed,
  532. 530 Thou wicked city all-bewailed, possessed
  533. Of revelry; for by thee virgin maids
  534. Shall care no longer for the fire divine
  535. Of sacred wood that fondly nourisheth;
  536. Before thee was a much-loved house of old
  537. 535 Extinguished, when I saw the second house
  538. Cast headlong down and overwhelmed with fire
  539. By an unholy hand, house ever flourishing,
  540. God's watchful temple, brought forth of his saints
  541. And being always indestructible,
  542. 540 By the soul hoped for and the body itself.
  543. For not without the rites of burial
  544. Shall one praise God out of the unseen earth,
  545. Nor did wise workman make a stone by them,
  546. Nor had he fear of gold, cheat of the world
  547. 545 And of souls, but the mighty Father, God
  548. Of all things God-inspired, did he revere
  549. With holy offerings and fair hecatombs.
  550. But now an unseen and unholy king
  551. With multitude great and with men renowned
  552. 550 Rose into power and cast his dwelling down
  553. And let it go unbuilt. But he himself
  554. When he set foot on the immortal land
  555. Destroyed the ground. And such a sign no more
  556. Was wrought upon men, so that it appeared
  557. 555 That others the great city should destroy.
  558.     For there came from the heavenly plains a man,
  559. One blessed, with a scepter in his hand,
  560. Which God gave him, and he ruled all things well,
  561. And unto all the good did he restore
  562. 560 The riches which the earlier men had seized.
  563. And many cities with much fire he took
  564. From their foundations, and he set on fire
  565. The towns of mortals who before did evil,
  566. And he did make that city, which God loved,
  567. 565 More radiant than stars and sun and moon,
  568. And he set order, and a holy house
  569. Incarnate made, pure, very fair, and formed
  570. In many stades a great and boundless tower
  571. Touching the clouds themselves and seen by all,
  572. 570 So that all holy and all righteous men
  573. Might see the glory of the eternal God,
  574. A sight that has been longed for. Rising sun
  575. And setting day hymned forth the praise of God.
  576. For there are then no longer fearful things
  577. 575 For wretched mortals, nor adulteries
  578. And lawless love of boys, nor homicide
  579. Nor tumult, but a righteous strife in all.
  580. It is the last time of the saints when God
  581. Accomplisheth these things, high Thunderer,
  582. 580 Founder of temple most magnificent.
  583.     Alas, alas for thee, O Babylon,
  584. For golden throne and golden sandal famed,
  585. Kingdom of many years and of the world
  586. Sole ruler, who wast great in olden time
  587. 585 And city of all cities, thou no more
  588. Shalt lie in golden mountains and by streams
  589. Of the Euphrates; thou shalt be laid low
  590. By rout of earthquake. But the Parthians dire
  591. Caused thee to stiffer all things. Hold thou fast
  592. 590 Thy unknown speech, impure Chaldean race;
  593. Ask not nor be concerned how thou shalt lead
  594. The Persians or how thou shalt rule the Medes;
  595. For on account of thy supremacy,
  596. Which thou hadst, sending hostages to Rome
  597. 595 And serving Asia, thou that formerly
  598. Didst also think thyself a queen, shalt come
  599. Unto the judgment of antagonists,
  600. Because of whom thou hast suffered baneful things;
  601. And thou shalt give instead of crooked words
  602. 600 Bitter vexation to the enemies,
  603.     And in the last time shall the sea be dry
  604. And ships no longer sail to Italy,
  605. And Asia the great then, all-hapless, shall
  606. Be water, and then Crete shall be a plain.
  607. 605 And Cyprus shall endure great misery
  608. And Paphos shall bewail a dreadful fate,
  609. So that even Salamis, great city, shall
  610. Be seen to undergo great misery;
  611. And now the dry land shall be fruitless sand
  612. 610 Upon the shore. And locusts not a few
  613. Shall utterly destroy the Cyprian land.
  614. Looking at Tyre, doomed mortals, ye shall weep.
  615. Phœnicia, dreadful wrath remains for thee,
  616. Until thou to a worthless ruin fall,
  617. 615 So that even Sirens truly may lament.
  618.     In the fifth generation, when the ruin
  619. Of Egypt has ceased, it shall come to pass
  620. That shameless kings shall be together joined,
  621. And races of Pamphylians shall encamp
  622. 620 In Egypt, and in Macedonia
  623. And in Asia and among the Libyans
  624. Shall in the dust be a world-maddening war
  625. Exceeding bloody, which the king of Rome
  626. And rulers of the West shall make to cease.
  627. 625    When wintry storm shall drop down like the snow,
  628. While frozen are great river and vast lakes,
  629. Forthwith a barbarous race shall make their way
  630. Into the Asian land and shall destroy
  631. The race of dreadful Thracians, hard to quell.
  632. 630 And then shall mortals feeding lawlessly
  633. Devour their parents, being by hunger worn,
  634. And shall gulp down the entrails. And wild beasts
  635. Shall devour from all houses table-food,
  636. And they and birds all mortals shall devour.
  637. 635 The ocean with dead bodies shall be filled
  638. From the river and be red with flesh and blood
  639. Of the foolish ones. Then thus a feebleness
  640. Shall be on earth, so that of men the number
  641. May be seen and the measure of the women,
  642. 640    And the dire race shall wail for myriad things
  643. At last when the sun sets to rise no more,
  644. But to remain submerged in Ocean's waves;
  645. For it beheld the wickedness unclean
  646. Of many mortals. And a moonless night
  647. 615 Shall be a fame around the mighty heaven,
  648. And no small mist shall hide the world's ravines
  649. A second time; then afterwards God's light
  650. Shall guide the good men, who sang praise to God.
  651.     Isis, thrice wretched goddess, thou alone
  652. 650 Shalt on the waters of the Nile remain,
  653. A Mænad out of order on the sands
  654. Of Acheron, and no longer shall remain
  655. Remembrance of thee over all the earth.
  656. And also thou, Sarapis, who art placed
  657. 655 On many glistening stones, a ruin vast
  658. Shalt thou in thrice unhappy Egypt lie.
  659. But those whom love of Egypt led to thee
  660. Shall all lament thee badly; but who put
  661. Imperishable reason in their breast,
  662. 660 And who praised God, shall know thee to be naught.
  663.     And sometime shall a linen-vested man,
  664. A priest, say: "Come, let us raise up of God
  665. A beautiful true temple; come, let us
  666. The fearful law of our forefathers change,
  667. 665 Because of which they did not understand
  668. That they were unto gods of stone and clay
  669. Making processions and religions rites.
  670. Let us turn our souls, giving praise to God
  671. The imperishable, who himself is Father,
  672. 670 The everlasting One, the Lord of all,
  673. The true One, the King, life-sustaining Father,
  674. The mighty God existing evermore."
  675. And then shall there a great pure temple be
  676. In Egypt, and the people made by God
  677. 675 Shall into it their sacrifices bring.
  678. And to them God shall give life incorrupt.
  679.     But when the Ethiopians, forsaking
  680. The shameless tribes of the Triballians,
  681. Shall cultivate their Egypt, they will then
  682. 680 Begin their baseness, that the later things
  683. May all occur. For they shall overthrow
  684. The mighty temple of the Egyptian land;
  685. And God shall rain down on the earth dire wrath
  686. Among them, so that all the wicked ones
  687. 685 And all without sense perish. And no more
  688. Shall there be any sparing in that land,
  689. Because they did not keep that which God gave.
  690.     I saw the threatening of the shining Sun
  691. Among the stars, and in the lightning flash
  692. 690 The dire wrath of the Moon; the stars travailed
  693. With battle; and God gave them up to light.
  694. For long fire-flames rebelled against the Sun;
  695. Lucifer treading upon Leo's back
  696. Began the fight; and the Moon's double horn
  697. 695 Changed its shape; Capricorn smote Taurus' neck;
  698. And Taurus took away from Capricorn
  699. Returning day. Orion would no more
  700. Abide his yoke; the lot of Gemini
  701. Did Virgo change in Aries; no more shone
  702. 700 The Pleiads; Draco disavowed his zone;
  703. Down into Leo's girdle Pisces went.
  704. Cancer remained not, for he feared Orion;
  705. Scorpio down on dire Leo backwards moved;
  706. And from the Sun's flame Sirius slipped away;
  707. 705 And the strength of the mighty Shining One
  708. Aquarius kindled. Uranus himself
  709. Was roused, until he shook the warring ones;
  710. And being incensed he hurled them down on earth.
  711. Then swiftly smitten down upon the baths
  712. 710 Of Ocean they set all the earth on fire;
  713. And the high heaven remained without a star.


BOOK VI.

CONTENTS OF BOOK VI.

Preexistence, incarnation, and baptism of the Son of God, 1-9. His teaching and his miracles, 10-25. Miseries in store for the guilty land, 26-32. The blessed cross, 33-36.

BOOK VI.

  1.     The great Son of the Immortal famed in song
  2. I from the heart proclaim, to whom a throne,
  3. To be held fast the most Father gave
  4. Ere, he was brought forth; then was he raised up
  5. 5 According to flesh given, washed, at the mouth
  6. Of the river Jordan, which goes rushing on
  7. Trailing its gleaming billows, from the fire
  8. Escaping he first shall see God's sweet Spirit
  9. Descending with the wings of a white dove.
  10. 10 And a pure flower shall bloom, and springs be full.
  11. And he shall show the ways to men, and show
  12. The heavenly paths, and teach all with wise
  13. And he shall come for judgement and persuade
  14. A disobedient people while he boasts
  15. 15 Descent praiseworthy from a heavenly Sire.
  16. Billows shall he tread, sickness of mankind
  17. Shall he destroy, he shall raise up the dead,
  18. And many sufferings shall he drive away;
  19. And from one scrip shall be men's fill of bread,
  20. 20 When the house of David shall bring forth a child;
  21. And in his hand the whole world, earth, heaven, sea.
  22. And he shall flash upon the earth, as once
  23. The two begotten from each other's ribs
  24. Saw human form appearing. It shall be
  25. 25 When earth shall be glad in the hope of child.
  26.     But for thee only, Sodomitic land,
  27. Are evil woes laid up; for thou thyself
  28. Ill-disposed didst not apprehend thy God
  29. Who mocks at mortal schemes; but from a thorn
  30. 30 Didst crown him with a crown, and fearful gall
  31. Didst mingle unto insolence and spirit.
  32. This shall bring evil woes about for thee.
  33. O the Wood, O so blessed, upon which
  34. God was outstretched; the earth shall not have thee,
  35. 35 But thou shalt look upon a heavenly house,
  36. When thou, O God, shalt flash thine eye of fire.


BOOK VII.

CONTENTS OF BOOK VII.

Woes of Rhodes, Delos, Cyprus, and Sicily, 1-9. The deluge, 10-15. Ruin of Phrygia, Ethiopia, and Egypt, 16-28. Woe of Laodicea, 29-31. Signs and powers of Messiah, 32-49. The new shoot, 50-52. Persian wars, 53-67. Fall of Ilias, 68-72. Doom of Colophon, Thessaly, Corinth, and Tyre, 73-86. Cœle-Syria accursed, 87-102. Rules for sacrifice and alms giving, 103-130. Doom of Sardinia, Mygdonia, the Celtic land, Rome, Syria, and Thebes, 131-161. The devouring fire, 162-190. Long night followed by a better time, 101-205. Confession and doom of the Sibyl, 206-221.

BOOK VII.

  1.     O RHODES, thou art unhappy; for first thee,
  2. Thee will I mourn; and thou shalt be the first
  3. Of cities, and first shalt thou be destroyed,
  4. Bereft of men, but of the means of life
  5. 5 Not wholly destitute. And thou shalt sail,
  6. Delos, and be unstable on the water;
  7. Cyprus, a billow of thy gleaming sea
  8. Shall sometime thee destroy; thee, Sicily,
  9. The fire that burns within thee shall consume.
  10.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  11. 10 Nor heed God's terrible and foreign water.
  12.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  13. Noah sole fugitive from all men came.
  14.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  15. Earth shall float, hills float, and even sky shall float,
  16. Everything shall be water and all things
  17. Shall be destroyed by waters. And the winds
  18. 15 Shall stand still and a second age shall be.
  19.     O Phrygia, first shalt thou flame from the crest
  20. Of the water; and first in impiety
  21. Thou shalt deny God himself, courting favor
  22. With false gods, which shall utterly destroy
  23. 20 Thee, wretched one, while many years roll round.
  24. The hapless Ethiopians under pain,
  25. Suffering things lamentable, shall by swords
  26. Be smitten whilst they crouch upon the ground.
  27.     Rich Egypt ever caring for her corn,
  28. 25 Which Nilus by his seven swimming streams
  29. Intoxicates, shall in intestine strife
  30. Destroy; and thence men unexpectedly
  31. Shall drive out Apis, not the god for men.
  32.     Alas, alas, Laodicea! thou
  33. 30 Not ever seeing God shalt lie, bold one;
  34. And over thee shall dash a wave of Lycus.
  35.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  36. He himself who is born the mighty God,
  37. Who shall work many signs, shall through heaven hang
  38. An axle in the midst, and place for men
  39. 35 A mighty terror to be seen on high,
  40. Measuring a column with a mighty fire
  41. Whose drops shall slay the races of mankind
  42. That have dared evils. But a common Lord
  43. There shall at some time be, and then shall men
  44. 40 Propitiate God, but shall not make an end
  45. Of fruitless sorrows. And through David's house
  46. Shall all things come to pass. For God himself
  47. Gave him the power and put it in his hand;
  48. Under his feet shall sleep his messengers,
  49. 45 And some shall kindle fires, and some shall make
  50. Rivers appear, and some shall rescue towns,
  51. And some shall send forth winds. But furthermore
  52. A grievous life shall come on many men,
  53. Entering their souls and changing human hearts.
  54. 50 But when a new shoot shall out of a root
  55. Put forth eyes, the creation, which to all
  56. Once gave abundant food . . .
  57.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  58. And it shall with the times be full. But when
  59. Others shall rule, a tribe of warlike Persians,
  60. 55 Bride-chambers straightway shall be terrible
  61. Because of lawless deeds. For her own son
  62. Will mother have as husband; son will be
  63. The ruin of his mother; and with sire
  64. Shall daughter lie down and shall put to sleep
  65. 60 This foreign law. But to them afterwards
  66. Shall Roman Ares flash from many a spear;
  67. And they shall mix much land with human blood.
  68. But then a chief of Italy shall flee
  69. From the force of the spear. But they shall leave
  70. 65 Upon the land a lance inscribed with gold,
  71. Which as the signal ensign of their rule
  72. The foremost fighters carry constantly.
  73.     And it shall be, when evil and ill-starred
  74. Ilias shall piteously complete for all
  75. 70 A tomb, not marriage, then shall brides weep sore,
  76. Because they knew not God, but always gave
  77. By kettle-drums and cymbals boisterous sound.
  78.     Consult the oracle, O Colophon;
  79. For a great fearful fire hangs over thee.
  80. 75    Ill-wedded Thessaly, the earth no more
  81. Shall see thee, nor thy ashes, and alone
  82. Escaping from the mainland thou shalt swim;
  83. Thus, O thou wretched one, shalt thou of war
  84. Be melancholy refuse, having fallen
  85. 80 By swiftly flowing rivers and by swords.
  86.     And thou, O wretched Corinth, shalt receive
  87. Around thyself stern Ares, hapless one,
  88. And ye shall perish one upon another.
  89.     Tyre, thou, unhappy, shalt be left alone;
  90. 85 For, made a widow by the feebleness
  91. Of pious men, thou shalt be brought to naught.
  92.     Ah, Cœle-Syria, of Phœnician men
  93. The last hold, upon whom the briny sea
  94. Of Berytus disgorging is poured forth,
  95. 90 O wretched one, thou didst not know thy God,
  96. Who once in the mouth of Jordan washed himself,
  97. --And the Spirit spread his wings in flight towards him--
  98. Who before both the earth and starry heaven
  99. Was, actual Word, begotten by his Father,
  100. 95 And by the Holy Spirit donning flesh
  101. He quickly flew unto his Father's house.
  102. And for him three towers did the mighty heaven
  103. Establish, in which dwell God's noble guides,
  104. Hope, piety, and reverence much-desired,
  105. 100 Not having in gold or in silver joy,
  106. But in the reverential acts of men--
  107. Both sacrifices and most righteous thoughts.
  108.     And thou shalt sacrifice to the immortal
  109. And mighty God august, not melting grains
  110. 105 Of frankincense in fire, nor with the sword
  111. Slaying the shaggy-haired lamb, but with all
  112. Who bear thy blood take wild fowls, offer prayer,
  113. And fixing eyes on heaven send them away;
  114. And thou shalt sprinkle water on pure fire
  115. 110 Having cried: "As the Father did beget
  116. Thee, the Word, Father, I sent forth a bird,
  117. Swift messenger of words, with holy waters
  118. Besprinkling thy baptism, O Word, through which
  119. Thou didst make thyself manifest in fire."
  120. 115    Thou shalt not shut thy door, when there shall come
  121. A stranger unto thee in need to curb
  122. His hunger which comes from his poverty,
  123. But taking hold of that man sprinkle him
  124. With water and pray thrice; and to thy God
  125. 120 Do thou thus cry: "I do not long for wealth;
  126. A suppliant I once publicly received
  127. A suppliant; Father, thou provider, hear."
  128. When thou hast prayed thou shalt give unto him;
  129. And the man went away thereafter. . . .
  130.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  131. 125 Do not afflict me, holy fear of God
  132. And righteous, as to birth pure, unenslaved,
  133. Attested. . . .
  134. Do thou, O Father, make my wretched heart
  135. Stand still; to thee have I looked, unto thee,
  136. 130 The undefiled, whom hands did not produce.
  137.     Sardinia, weighty now, thou shalt be changed
  138. To ashes. Thou shalt be no more an isle,
  139. When the tenth time shall come. Amid the waves
  140. Shall sailors seek thee when thou art no more,
  141. 135 And o'er thee shall kingfishers wail sad dirge.
  142.     Rugged Mygdonia, beacon of the sea
  143. Hard to get out of, ages shalt thou boast
  144. And unto ages shalt be all destroyed
  145. With a hot wind, and rave with many woes.
  146. 140    O Celtic land, on mountain range so great,
  147. Beyond impassable Alp, thee deep sand
  148. Shall altogether bury; thou shalt give
  149. Tribute no more, nor corn, nor pasturage;
  150. And thou from peoples ever far away
  151. 145 Shalt be all-desolate, and becoming thick
  152. With chill ice thou shalt for an outrage pay,
  153. Which thou didst not perceive, unholy one.
  154.     Stout-hearted Rome, thou to Olympus shalt
  155. Flash lightning after Macedonian spears;
  156. 150 But God shall make thee utterly unknown,
  157. When thou wouldst to the eye seem to remain
  158. Much more firm. Then to thee such things I'll cry.
  159. Perishing thou shalt then cry out and boil
  160. In pain; a second time to thee, O Rome,
  161. 15 Again a second time I am to speak.
  162.     And now for thee, O wretched Syria,
  163. Do I wail bitterly in pitying grief.
  164.     O Thebans ill-advised, an evil sound
  165. Is over you while flutes speak out their tones;
  166. 160 For you shall trumpet sound an evil sound
  167. And ye shall see the entire land destroyed
  168.     Alas, alas for thee, thou wretched one;
  169. Alas, alas thou evil-minded sea!
  170. Thou shalt be wholly eaten up of fire
  171. 165 And people with thy brine shalt thou destroy.
  172. For there shall be such raging fire on earth
  173. As flows like water, and it shall destroy
  174. The whole land. It shall set the hills on fire,
  175. Shall burn the rivers, and exhaust the springs.
  176. 170 The world shall be disordered whilst mankind
  177. Are perishing. And then the wretched ones,
  178. Burned badly, shall look unto heaven inwrought
  179. Not with stars, but with fire. Not speedily
  180. Shall they be made to perish, but dissolved
  181. 175 From under flesh, and burning in the spirit
  182. For age-long years, they shall know that God's law
  183. Is always hard to put to test and not
  184. To be deceived; and then earth, seized by force,
  185. Daring whatever god she did admit
  186. 180 Unto her altars, cheated, turned to smoke
  187. Through the changed air; and they shall undergo
  188. Much suffering who for gain shall prophesy
  189. Shameful things, nourishing the evil time.
  190. And the Hebrews who put on the shaggy skins
  191. 185 Of sheep shall prove false, in which race
  192. Obtained no portion by inheritance,
  193. But talking mere words over sorrows they
  194. Are misers, who shall change their course of life
  195. And not mislead the just, who through the heart
  196. 190 All-faithfully propitiate their God.
  197.     But in the third lot of revolving years,
  198. Eighth the first, shall another world appear.
  199. Night shall be all . . . long and without light.
  200. And then shall pass around the dreadful stench
  201. 195 Of brimstone, messenger of homicides,
  202. When they shall be by night and hunger slain.
  203. Then a pure mind shall God beget in men,
  204. And shall the race establish, as it was
  205. Aforetime; longer shall not any one
  206. 200 Deep furrow cut with round plow, nor two oxen
  207. Straight guiding dip the iron down; nor vines
  208. Shall be nor ears of corn; but all shall eat
  209. Together dewy manna with white teeth.
  210. And then among them God shall also be,
  211. 205 And he shall teach them as he has taught me,
  212. The sad one. For how many evil things
  213. I did with knowledge once, and many things
  214. Heedless I also wickedly performed.
  215. Countless my couches, but no marriage-bond
  216. 210 Was cared for; and I, all-unfaithful, brought
  217. To all a savage oath. I turned away
  218. Those in need and among the foremost went
  219. Into like glen and minded not God's word.
  220. Therefore did fire consume me and shall gnaw;
  221. 215 For I shall not live always, but a time
  222. Of evil shall destroy me, when for me
  223. Men shall beside the margin of the sea
  224. Construct a tomb, and shall slay me with stones;
  225. For lying with my father a dear son
  226. 220 Did I present him. Smite me, smite me all;
  227. For thus shall I live and fix eyes on heaven.


BOOK VIII.

CONTENTS OF BOOK VIII.

Introduction, 1-4. The five monarchies, 5-21. Lust of gain, 21-46. Doom of Rome, 47-63. The gray-haired prince, 61-83. The three rulers, 84-94. Misery of Rome, 95-115. Final judgment of Rome, 116-140. Dirge over Rome, 141-173. The sixth race of Latin kings, 174-182. Appearance of the Phenix, 183-186. Fall of Rome, 187-210. Woes of Rhodes, Thebes, Egypt, Rome, Delos, Samos, and the Persians, 211-222. The Messianic king, 223-225. The day of evil and of doom, 226-251. The Sibyl's wish, 255-260. The end of all things, 261-283. Christian acrostic concerning the last day, 284-330. Moses a type of the Messiah, 331-337. The Messianic Saviour portrayed, 338-379. The crucifixion, 380-410. Entrance into Hades and resurrection, 411-429. Exhortation to honor the Messianic king, 430-447. Another picture of the day of doom, 448-475. Self-declaration of the Creator through the Sibyl, 476-568. The heavenly Ruler addressed, 569-607. The incarnation of the Word, 608-641. Additional Christian precepts, 642-669.

BOOK VIII.

  1. GOD'S declarations of great wrath to come
  2. In the last age upon the faithless world
  3. I make known, prophesying to all men
  4. According to their cities. From the time
  5. 5 When the great tower fell and the tongues of men
  6. Were parted into many languages
  7. Of mortals, first was Egypt's royal power
  8. Established, that of Persians and of Medes
  9. And also of the Ethiopians
  10. 10 And of Assyria and Babylon,
  11. Then the great pride of boasting Macedon,
  12. Then, fifth, the famous lawless kingdom last
  13. Of the Italians shall show many evils
  14. Unto all mortals and shall spend the toils
  15. 15 Of men of every land. And it shall lead
  16. The untamed kings of nations to the West,
  17. Make laws for peoples and subject all things.
  18. Late do the mills of God grind the fine flour.
  19. Fire then shall destroy all things and give back
  20. 20 To fine dust the heads of the high-leafed hills
  21. And of all flesh. First cause of ills to all
  22. Are covetousness and a lack of sense.
  23. For there shall be love of deceitful gold
  24. And silver; for than these did mortals choose
  25. 15 Naught greater, neither light of sun nor heaven,
  26. Nor sea, nor broad-backed earth whence all things grow,
  27. Nor God who giveth all things, of all things
  28. The Father, nor yet faith and piety
  29. Chose they before them. Of impiety
  30. 30 A fount, and of disorder forward guide,
  31. An instrument of wars and foe of peace
  32. Is lack of sense, that sets at enmity
  33. Parents and children. And along with gold
  34. Shall marriage not be honorable at all.
  35. 35 And the land shall have its borders and each sea
  36. Its watchers craftily distributed
  37. To all those that have gold; for ages thus
  38. Shall those who purpose to possess the land
  39. That feedeth many plunder laboring men,
  40. 40 In order that, procuring larger space,
  41. They may enslave them by a false pretense.
  42. And if the huge earth from the starry heaven
  43. Held not her throne far off there had not been
  44. For men an equal light, but, bought with gold,
  45. 45 It had belonged to rich men and God must
  46. For poor men have prepared another world.
  47.     There shall come to thee sometime from above
  48. A heavenly stroke deserved, O haughty Rome.
  49. And thou shalt be the first to bend thy neck
  50. 50 And be rased to the ground, and thee shall fire
  51. Destructive utterly consume, cast down
  52. Upon thy pavements, and thy wealth shall perish,
  53. And wolves and foxes dwell in thy foundations.
  54. And then shalt thou be wholly desolate,
  55. 55 As if not born. Where thy Palladium then?
  56. What god shall save thee, whether wrought of gold
  57. Or stone or brass? Or then where thy decrees
  58. Of senate? Where shall be the race of Rhea,
  59. Of Cronus, or of Zeus, and of all those
  60. 60 Whom thou didst worship, demons without life,
  61. Images of the worn-out dead, whose tombs
  62. Crete the ill-starred shall hold a cause of pride,
  63. And honor the unconscious dead with thrones?
  64.     But when thou shalt have had voluptuous kings
  65. 65 Thrice five, enslaving the world from the east
  66. Unto the west, there shall be then a lord
  67. Gray-headed, having name of the near sea,
  68. The world inspecting with a nimble foot,
  69. Bringing gifts, having large amount of gold
  70. 70 And plundering hateful silver even more,
  71. And stripping it off he shall pick it up.
  72. And he shall have part in all mysteries
  73. Of Magian shrines, display his child as god,
  74. Abolish all things sacred, and disclose
  75. 75 The ancient mysteries of deceit to all.
  76. Sad then the time when he himself, sad one,
  77. Shall perish. And yet shall the people say:
  78. "Thy mighty strength, O city, shall fall down,"
  79. At once perceiving that the evil day
  80. 80 Is coming on. And, thy most piteous fate
  81. Foreseeing, fathers and young children then
  82. Shall mourn together; they alas, alas! Shall wail
  83. Beside the Tiber's lamentable banks.
  84.     After him at the latest day of all
  85. 85 Shall three rule, filling out a name of God
  86. The heavenly, of whom is the power both now
  87. And to all ages. One of them being old
  88. The scepter long shall wield, most piteous king,
  89. Who in his houses shall shut up and guard
  90. 90 All the goods of the world, in order that,
  91. When from the utmost limits of the earth
  92. That man, the matricidal fugitive,
  93. Shall come again, he may bestow these things
  94. On all and furnish Asia with great wealth.
  95. 95 And then shalt thou mourn and shalt put aside
  96. The luster of the broad-striped purple robe
  97. Of thy commanders and wear mourning dress,
  98. O haughty queen, off spring of Latin Rome;
  99. The glory of that arrogance of thine
  100. 100 Shall be for thee no longer, nor shalt thou,
  101. Ill-fated, ever be raised up again,
  102. But shalt lie prostrate. For the glory also
  103. Of eagle-bearing legions shall fall low.
  104. Where then thy power? What allied land shall be
  105. 105 Subjected by thy follies lawlessly?
  106. For then in all earth shall confusion be
  107. Of mortals, when the Almighty shall himself
  108. To the tribunal come to judge the souls
  109. Of the living and the dead and all the world.
  110. 110 And parents shall not be to children dear
  111. Nor children to their parents, on account
  112. Of their impiety and their distress
  113. Unlooked-for. Thine thenceforth shall gnashing be
  114. And scattering and conquest, and when the fall
  115. 115 Of cities comes and yawnings of the earth.
  116.     When a dragon charged with fire in both his eyes
  117. And with full belly shall come on the waves
  118. And shall afflict thy children, and there be
  119. Famine and war of kinsmen, near at hand
  120. 120 Is the end of the world and the last day
  121. And judgment of the immortal God for them
  122. That are approved and chosen. And there shall
  123. Against the Romans first of all be wrath
  124. Implacable, and there, come a time
  125. 125 Of drinking blood and wretched course of life.
  126. Alas, alas for thee, thou reckless land,
  127. Great barbarous nation; thou didst not perceive
  128. Whence naked and unworthy thou didst come
  129. To the sun's light, that to that place again
  130. 130 Naked thou mightest withdraw and afterwards
  131. Come unto judgment, as unjustly judging. . . .
  132. With hands gigantic coming from on high
  133. Alone through all the world thou, shalt abide
  134. Under the earth. By naphtha and asphalt
  135. 135 And brimstone and much fire thou utterly
  136. Shalt disappear and shalt be burning dust
  137. For ages; and each one who sees shall hear
  138. From Hades a great mournful bellowing
  139. And gnashing of teeth, and thee noisily
  140. 140 Beating with thine own hands thy godless breast.
  141. For all together there is equal night;
  142. For rich and poor; and naked from the earth
  143. Naked again to earth they haste away
  144. And cease from life when they complete their time.
  145. 145 No slave is there, nor any lord, nor tyrant,
  146. Nor king, nor leader having much conceit,
  147. Nor speaker learned in law, nor magistrate
  148. Judging for money; nor do they pour out
  149. The blood of sacrifices in libations
  150. 150 Upon the altars; there sounds not a drum
  151. Nor cymbal. . . .
  152. Nor perforated flute that has a power
  153. To madden mind itself, nor sound of pipe
  154. That bean the likeness of a crooked snake,
  155. 155 Nor trumpet, harsh-toned messenger of wars;
  156. Nor those made drunken in the lawless feasts
  157. Of revelry, nor in the choral dance;
  158. Nor sound of harp, nor harmful instrument;
  159. Nor strife, nor anger manifold, nor sword
  160. 160 Is with the dead; but an eternity
  161. Common to all is keeper of the key
  162. Of the great prison before God's judgment-seat
  163. With images of gold and silver and stone
  164. Ye are ready, that unto the bitter day
  165. 165 Ye may come to see your first punishment,
  166. O Rome, and gnashing of teeth. And no more
  167. Shall Syrian or Greek lay down his neck
  168. Beneath thy servile yoke, nor foreigner,
  169. Nor other nation. Plundered thou shalt be
  170. 170 And made to suffer what thou didst exact,
  171. And in fear wailing thou shalt give, until
  172. Thou pay back all things; and thou for the world
  173. Shalt be a triumph and reproach of all.
  174.     Then shall the sixth race of the Latin kings
  175. 175 End life at last and scepters leave behind
  176. From the same race another king shall reign,
  177. Who shall rule every land and scepters wield;
  178. And having full power, and by the decrees
  179. Of God most mighty, shall his children rule,
  180. 180 And of unshaken children is his race;
  181. For thus it is decreed while time moves round,
  182. When there shall be of Egypt thrice five kings.
  183.     Thereafter when the limit of the time
  184. Of the Phenix shall come round, there shall a race
  185. 185 Of peoples come to plunder, tribes confused,
  186. Enemy of the Hebrews. Then shall Ares
  187. Go plundering Ares; and he shall himself
  188. Destroy the haughty threatening of the Romans.
  189. For Rome's power perished then while in its bloom;
  190. 190 An ancient queen with cities dwelling round,
  191. No longer shall the land of fertile Rome
  192. Prevail, when out of Asia one shall come
  193. To rule with Ares. And when he has wrought
  194. All these things, to the city afterwards
  195. 195 Shall he come. And three times three hundred
  196. And eight and forty shalt thou make complete,
  197. When, taking thee by force, an ill-starred fate
  198. Shall come upon thee and complete thy name.
  199.     Ah me, I the thrice wretched, shall I see
  200. 200 Sometime that day to thee destructive, Rome,
  201. But to all Latins most? It honors him
  202. With counsels who goes, up on Trojan car
  203. With hidden children from the Asian land,
  204. Having a fiery soul. But when he shall
  205. 205 Cut through the isthmus looking wistfully,
  206. Moving against all, passing o'er the sea,
  207. Then shall dark blood pursue the mighty beast.
  208. And a dog chased the lion which destroys
  209. The shepherds. And then shall they take away
  210. 210 His scepter and to Hades he shall pass.
  211.     And unto Rhodes shall come an evil last,
  212. But greatest, There shall also be for Thebes
  213. An evil conquest afterwards, And Egypt
  214. Shall perish by the wickedness of rulers,
  215. 215 And he who, being mortal, even so
  216. Escaped headlong destruction afterwards,
  217. Thrice blessed was, even four times happy man.
  218. And Rome shall be a room, and Delos dull,
  219. And Samos sand. . . .
  220. 220 Later again thereafter there shall come
  221. An evil to the Persians for their pride,
  222. And all their insolence shall come to naught.
  223.     And then a holy Lord of all the earth
  224. Having raised up the dead shall wield the scepter
  225. 225 Unto all ages. Thrice then unto Rome
  226. Will the Most High bring pitiable fate
  227. And unto all men, and by their own works
  228. They'll perish; but they would not be persuaded,
  229. Which would have been much more, to be desired.
  230. 230 But when forthwith there shall increase for ill
  231. An evil day of famine and of plague
  232. And of intolerable battle-din,
  233. Even then again the former daring lord
  234. Shall, having called the senate, counsel take
  235. 235 How he shall utterly destroy. . . .
  236.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  237. Dry land shall bloom together with the leaves
  238. Appearing; and the, heavenly firmament
  239. Shall bring to light upon the solid rock
  240. Rainstorm and flame, and much wind on the land,
  241. 240 And over all the earth a multitude
  242. Of poisonous sowings. But with shameless soul
  243. Shall they again act, fearing not the wrath
  244. Of God or men, forsaking modesty,
  245. Longing for and greedy tyrants
  246. 245 And violent sinners, false, insatiate,
  247. Workers of evil and in nothing true,
  248. Destroyers of faith, on foul speech
  249. In false words; they shall have no fill of wealth;
  250. But shamelessly will they strip off still more;
  251. 250 Under the rule of tyrants they shall perish.
  252.     The stars shall all fall forwards in the sea,
  253. All one by one, yet shall men see in heaven
  254. A brilliant cornet, sign of much distress
  255. About to come, of war and battle-strife.
  256. 255    Let me not live when the gay woman reigns,
  257. But then when heavenly grace shall reign within,
  258. And when the holy child shall crush with bonds
  259. The mischievous destroyer of all men,
  260. Opening the depth to view, and suddenly
  261. 260 The wooden house shall cover mortals round.
  262.     But when the generation tenth shall be
  263. Within the house of Hades, afterwards
  264. The mighty sway of one of female sex;
  265. And God himself shall increase many evils
  266. 265 When she with royal honor has been crowned;
  267. And altogether then an impious age.
  268. The sun obscurely looking shines by night;
  269. The stars shall leave the sky; and with much storm
  270. A hurricane shall desolate the earth;
  271. 240 And there shall be a rising of the dead;
  272. The running of the lame shall be most swift,
  273. The deaf shall bear, the blind shall see, and those
  274. That talk not shall talk, and to all
  275. Shall life and wealth be common. And the land
  276. 275 Alike for all, divided not by walls
  277. Or fences, shall bear more abundant fruits.
  278. And fountains of sweet wine and of white milk
  279. And honey it shall give. . . .
  280.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  281. And judgment of the immortal God (great king).
  282. 280 But when God shall change times . . .
  283. Winter producing summer, then shall be
  284. Oracles (all fulfilled) . . .
  285. But when the world has perished . . .
  286. JESUS CHRISTI SON OF GOD, SAVIOUR, CROSS.
  287. And the earth shall perspire, when there shall be
  288. 285 The sign of judgment. And from heaven shall come
  289. The King who for the ages is to be,
  290. Present to judge all flesh and the whole world.
  291. Faithful and faithless mortals shall see God
  292. The Most High with the saints at the end of time.
  293. 290 And of men bearing flesh he judges souls
  294. Upon his throne, when sometime the whole world
  295. Shall be a desert and a place of thorns.
  296. And mortals shall their idols cast away
  297. And all wealth. And the searching fire shall burn
  298. 1295 Earth, heaven, and sea; and it shall burn the gates,
  299. Of Hades' prison. Then shall come all flesh
  300. Of the dead to the free light of the saints;
  301. But the lawless shall that fire whirl round and round.
  302. For ages. Howsoever much one did
  303. 300 In secret, then shall he all things declare;
  304. For God shall open dark breasts to the light.
  305. And lamentation shall there be from all
  306. And gnashing of teeth. Brightness of the, sun
  307. Shall be eclipsed and dances of the stars.
  308. 305 He shall roll up the heaven; and of the moon
  309. The light shall perish. And he shall exalt
  310. The valleys and destroy the heights of hills,
  311. And height no longer shall appear remaining
  312. Among men. And the hills shall with the plains
  313. 310 Be level and no more on any sea
  314. Shall there be sailing. For the earth shall then
  315. With heat be shriveled and the dashing streams
  316. Shall with the fountains fall. The trump shall send
  317. From heaven a very lamentable sound,
  318. 315 Howling the loathsomeness of wretched men
  319. And the world's woes. And then the yawning earth
  320. Shall show Tartarean chaos. And all kings
  321. Shall come unto the judgement seat of God.
  322. And there shall out of heaven a stream of fire
  323. 320 And brimstone flow. But for all mortals then
  324. Shall there a sign be, a distinguished seal,
  325. The Wood among believers, and the horn
  326. Fondly desired, the life of pious men,
  327. But it shall be stumbling block of the world,
  328. 325 Giving illumination to the elect
  329. By water in twelve springs; and there shall rule
  330. A shepherding iron rod. This one who now
  331. Is in acrostics which give signs of God
  332. Thus written openly, the Saviour is,
  333. 330 Immortal King, who suffered for our sake;
  334.     Him Moses typified when he stretched out
  335. Holy arms, conquering Amalek by faith,
  336. That the people might know him to be elect
  337. And honorable before his Father God,
  338. 335 The rod of David and the very stone
  339. Which he indeed aid promise, and in which
  340. He that believes shall have eternal life.
  341.     For not in glory, but as mortal man
  342. Shall he come to creation, pitiable,
  343. 340 Unhonored, without seemly form, to give
  344. Hope to the pitiable; and he will give
  345. Fair form to mortal flesh, and heavenly faith
  346. To those without faith, and he'll give fair form
  347. To the man who was fashioned from the first
  348. 345 By the holy hands of God, and whom by guile
  349. The serpent led astray unto the fate
  350. Of death to go and knowledge to receive
  351. Of good and evil, so that leaving God
  352. He serves the ways of mortals. For at first
  353. 350 Receiving him as fellow-counsellor
  354. From the beginning the Almighty said:
  355. "Let both of us, O Son, make mortal tribes--
  356. Stamping them with the impress of our image;
  357. I now by my hands, and thou by the Word
  358. 355 In after time shalt for our form provide
  359. That we may jointly cause it to arise."
  360. Keeping in mind this purpose he shall come
  361. To the creation, to a holy virgin
  362. Bringing the likeness antitypical,
  363. 360 Baptizing with water by the elders' hands,
  364. And by the Word accomplishing all things,
  365. And healing every sickness. By his word
  366. He winds shall he make cease, and with his foot
  367. Shall calm the raging sea, walking thereon
  368. 365 In peaceful faith. And from five loaves of bread
  369. And a fish of the sea live thousand men
  370. Shall he fill in the desert, and then taking
  371. All the remaining fragments for the hope
  372. Of peoples shall he fill twelve baskets full.
  373. 370 And the souls of the blessed he shall call,
  374. And love the pitiable, who, being mocked,
  375. Beaten, and whipped, shall evil do for good
  376. Desiring poverty. He who perceives
  377. All things and sees all things and hears all things
  378. 375 Shall search the heart and bare it to conviction;
  379. For of all things is he himself the ear
  380. And mind and sight, and Word that maketh forms
  381. To whom all things submit, and he preserves
  382. Them that are dead and every sickness heals.
  383. 380 Into the hands of lawless men, at last,
  384. And faithless he shall come, and they will give
  385. To God rude buffetings with impure hands
  386. And poisonous spittle with polluted mouths.
  387. And he to whips will openly give then
  388. 385 His holy back; [for he unto the world
  389. A holy virgin shall himself commit.]
  390. And silent he will be when buffeted
  391. Lest anyone should know whose son he is
  392. Or whence he came, that he may talk to the dead.
  393. 390 And he shall also wear a crown of thorns;
  394. For of thorns is the crown an ornament
  395. Elect, eternal. They shall pierce his side
  396. With a reed that they may fulfill their law;
  397. For of reeds shaken by another spirit
  398. 395 Were nourished inclinations of the soul,
  399. Of anger and revenge. But when these things
  400. Shall be accomplished, of the which I spoke,
  401. Then unto him shall every law be loosed
  402. Which from the first by the decrees of men
  403. 400 Was given because of disobedient people.
  404. He'll spread his hands and measure all the world.
  405. But gall for food and vinegar to drink
  406. They gave him; this inhospitable board
  407. They'll show him. But the curtain of the temple
  408. 405 Shall be asunder rent and in midday
  409. There shall be for three hours dark, monstrous night.
  410. For it was no more pointed out again
  411. How to serve secret temple and the law,
  412. Which had been covered with the world's displays,
  413. 410 When the Eternal came himself on earth.
  414. And into Hades shall he come announcing
  415. Hope unto all the saints, the end of ages
  416. And the last day, and having fallen asleep
  417. The third day he shall end the lot of death;
  418. 415 Then from the dead departing he shall come
  419. To light, the first to show forth to the elect
  420. Beginning of resurrection, and wash off
  421. By means of waters of immortal spring
  422. Their former wickedness, that, being born
  423. 420 From above, they might be no more enslaved
  424. To the unlawful customs of the world.
  425. And first then openly unto his own
  426. Shall he as Lord in flesh be visible,
  427. As he before was, and in hands and feet
  428. 425 Exhibit four marks fixed in his own limbs,
  429. Denoting east and west and south and north;
  430. For of the world so many royal powers
  431. Shall against our Exemplar consummate
  432. The deed so lawless and condemnable.
  433. 430    Daughter of Zion, holy one, rejoice,
  434. Who hast suffered many things; thy king himself
  435. Mounted upon a foal is hastening on;
  436. Behold, meek he shall come, that he may lift
  437. Our slavish yoke, so grievous to be borne
  438. 435 Lying upon our neck, and may annul
  439. Our godless laws and bonds compulsory.
  440. Know thou thy God himself, who is God's Son;
  441. Him glorify and hold within thy heart,
  442. From thy soul love him and extol his name.
  443. 440 Put off thy former friends and wash thyself
  444. From their blood; for he is not by thy songs
  445. Nor by thy prayers appeased, nor does he give
  446. To perishable sacrifices heed,
  447. Being imperishable; but present
  448. 445 The holy hymn of understanding mouths
  449. And know who this one is, and thou shalt then
  450. Behold the Father. . . .
  451.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  452. And then shall all the elements of the world
  453. Abide in solitude, air, earth, sea, light
  454. 450 Of gleaming fire, and heavenly sky and night
  455. And all days into one shall run together
  456. And into outward form all-desolate.
  457. For from heaven shall the stars of light all fall.
  458. And there shall fly no longer in the air
  459. 455 The well-winged birds, nor stepping be on earth;
  460. For wild beasts shall all perish. Nor shall be
  461. Voices of men, nor of beasts, nor of birds.
  462. The world shall hear no serviceable sound,
  463. Being disordered; but a mighty sound
  464. 460 Of threatening shall the deep sea sound aloud,
  465. And swimming trembling creatures of the sea
  466. Shall all die; and no longer on the waves
  467. Shall sail the freighted ship. And earth shall groan
  468. Blood-stained by wars; and all the souls of men
  469. 465 Shall gnash with their teeth, [of the lawless souls
  470. Both by loud crying and by fear,] dissolved
  471. By thirst, by famine, and by plague and murders,
  472. And they shall call death beautiful and death
  473. Shall flee away from them; for death no more
  474. 470 Nor night shall give them rest. And many things
  475. Will they in vain ask God who rules on high,
  476. And then will he his face turn openly
  477. Away from them. For he to erring men
  478. Gave in seven ages for repentance signs
  479. 475 By the hands of a virgin undefiled.
  480.     All these things in my mind God himself showed
  481. And all that have been spoken by my mouth
  482. Will he accomplish; and I know the number
  483. Of the sands and the measures of the sea,
  484. 480 I know the inmost places of the earth
  485. And gloomy Tartarus, I know the numbers
  486. Of the stars, and the trees, and all the tribes
  487. Of quadrupeds, and of the swimming things
  488. And flying birds, and of men who are now
  489. 485 And of those yet to be, and of the dead;
  490. For I myself the forms and mind of men
  491. Did fashion, and right reason did I give
  492. And knowledge taught; I who formed eyes and ears,
  493. Who see and hear and every thought discern,
  494. 490 And who within am conscious of all things,
  495. I am still; and hereafter will convict
  496. [And punishing what any mortal did
  497. In secret, and upon God's judgment seat
  498. Coming and speaking unto mortal men].
  499. 495 I understand the dumb man and I hear
  500. Him that speaks not, and how great the whole height
  501. From earth to heaven is, and the beginning
  502. And end I know, who made the heaven and earth.
  503. [For all things have proceeded from him, things
  504. 500 From the beginning to the end he knows.]
  505. For I alone am God and other God
  506. There is not. They my image formed of wood
  507. Treat as divine, and shaping it by hand
  508. They sing their praises over idols dumb
  509. 505 With supplications and unholy rites.
  510. Forsaking the Creator they were slaves
  511. To lewdness. Men possessing everything
  512. Bestow their gifts on things which cannot aid,
  513. As if they for my honors deemed these things
  514. 510 All useful, with the smell of sacrifice
  515. Filling the feast, as if for their own dead.
  516. For they flesh and bones full of marrow burn
  517. Offering on altars, and they pour out blood
  518. To demons, and they kindle lights to me
  519. 515 The giver of light, and as to a god
  520. That thirsts do mortals drunken pour out wine
  521. For nought to idols that can give no aid.
  522. I have no need of your burnt offerings,
  523. Nor your libations, nor polluted smoke,
  524. 520 Nor blood most hateful. For in memory
  525. Of kings and tyrants they will do these things
  526. Unto dead demons, as to heavenly beings,
  527. Performing service godless and destructive.
  528. And godless they their images call gods,
  529. 525 Forsaking the Creator, having faith
  530. That from them they derive all hope and life,
  531. Deaf and dumb, in the evil putting trust,
  532. But they are wholly ignorant of good.
  533. Two ways did I myself before them set,
  534. 530 Of life and of death, and before them set
  535. Judgment to choose good life; but they themselves
  536. Hastened to death and to eternal fire.
  537. Man is my image, having upright reason.
  538. For him a table pure and without blood
  539. 535 Make ready and with good things fill it up,
  540. And give the hungry bread, the thirsty drink,
  541. And to the body that is naked clothes
  542. From thine own labors with unsullied hands
  543. Providing. Recreate the afflicted man,
  544. 540 And help the weary, and provide for me
  545. The living One a living sacrifice
  546. Sowing piety, that also I to thee
  547. Sometime may give immortal fruits, and light
  548. Eternal thou shalt have and fadeless life
  549. 545 When I shall prove all by fire. For all things
  550. I shall fuse and shall pick out what is pure,
  551. Heaven will I roll up and the depths of earth
  552. Lay open, and then will I raise the dead
  553. Making an end of fate and sting of death,
  554. 550 And afterward for judgment will I come
  555. Judging the manner both of pious men
  556. And impious; I will set ram close to ram,
  557. Shepherd to shepherd, calf to calf, for test,
  558. Close to each other; whosoever were
  559. 555 Exalted, proven by trial, and who stopped
  560. The mouth of every one, that they themselves
  561. Vieing with them that lead a holy life
  562. May likewise bring them into slavery,
  563. Enjoining silence, urged by love of gain,
  564. 560 Not proved before me, then shall all withdraw.
  565. No longer henceforth shalt thou grieving say
  566. "Morrow shall be," nor "yesterday has been;"
  567. Not many days of care, nor spring, nor winter,
  568. Nor summer then, nor autumn, nor sunset
  569. 565 Nor sunrise; for a long day I will make.
  570. And unto ages there shall be the light
  571. Longed for of the great . . .
  572. (Christ Jesus, of ages) . . . .
  573.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  574.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  575.     Thou who art self-begotten, undefiled,
  576. 570 True and eternal, measuring by thy power
  577. From heaven the fiery blast, and with rough torch
  578. From clashing doth the scepter keep, and calm
  579. The crashings of the heavy-sounding thunders,
  580. And driving earth into confusion dost
  581. 575 Hold back the rushing noises. . . .
  582. And the fire-blazing scourges thou dost blunt
  583. Of lightnings, and the vast outpour of storms
  584. And of autumnal hail, and chilling stroke
  585. Of clouds and shock of winter. For of these
  586. 580 Each one indeed is marked out in thy mind,
  587. Whatever seems good to thyself to do
  588. Thy Son nods his assent to, having been
  589. Begotten in thy bosom before all
  590. Creation, fellow-counselor with thee,
  591. 585 Former of mortals and creator of life.
  592. Him with the first sweet utterance of mouth
  593. Thou didst address: "Behold, let us make man
  594. In a form altogether like our own,
  595. And let us give him life-sustaining breath;
  596. 590 Him being yet mortal all things of the world
  597. Shall serve, and unto him formed out of clay
  598. We will subject all things." And thou didst speak
  599. These things by word, and all things came to pass
  600. According to thy heart; and thy command
  601. 595 Together all the elements obeyed,
  602. And an eternal creature was arranged
  603. In mortal figure, also heaven, air, fire,
  604. And earth and water of the sea, sun, moon,
  605. Chorus of stars, hills . . .
  606. 600 Both night and day, sleeping and waking up,
  607. Spirit and passion, soul and understanding,
  608. Art, might and strength, and the wild tribes
  609. Of living things both swimming things and fowls,
  610. And of those walking, and amphibia,
  611. 605 And those that creep and those of double nature;
  612. For acting in accord with his own will
  613. Under thy leading he arranged all things.
  614. But in the latest times the earth he passed,
  615. And coming late from the virgin Mary's womb
  616. 610 A new light rose, and going forth from heaven
  617. Put on a mortal form. First then did Gabriel show
  618. His strong pure form; and bearing his own news
  619. He next addressed the maiden with his voice:
  620. "O virgin, in thy bosom undefiled
  621. 615 Receive thou God." Thus speaking he inbreathed
  622. God's grace on the sweet maiden; and straightway
  623. Alarm and wonder seized her as she heard,
  624. And she stood trembling; and her mind was wild
  625. With flutter of excitement while at heart
  626. 620 She quivered at the unlooked-for things she heard.
  627. But she again was gladdened and her heart
  628. Was cheered by the voice, and the maiden laughed
  629. And her cheek reddened with a sense of joy,
  630. And spell-bound was her heart with sense of shame.
  631. 625 And confidence came to her. And the Word
  632. Flew into the womb, and in course of time
  633. Having become flesh and endued with life
  634. Was made a human form and came to be
  635. A boy distinguished by his virgin birth;
  636. 630 For this was a great wonder to mankind,
  637. But it was no great wonder unto God
  638. The Father, nor was it to God the Son.
  639. And the glad earth received the new born babe,
  640. The heavenly throne laughed and the world rejoiced.
  641. 635 And the prophetic new-appearing star
  642. 'Was honored by the wise men, and the babe
  643. Born was shown in a manger unto them
  644. That obeyed God, and keepers of the herds,
  645. And goatherds and to shepherds of the lambs;
  646. 640 And Bethlehem called by God the fatherland
  647. Of the Word was chosen. . . .
  648.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  649.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  650. And in heart practice lowliness of mind
  651. And cruel deeds hate, and thy neighbor love
  652. Wholly, even as thyself; and from thy soul
  653. 645 Love God and do him service. Therefore we
  654. Sprung from the holy race of the heavenly Christ
  655. Are called of common blood, and we restrain
  656. In worship recollection of good cheer,
  657. And walk the paths of piety and truth.
  658. 650 Not ever are we suffered to approach
  659. The inmost sanctuary of the temples,
  660. Nor pour libations to carved images,
  661. Nor honor them with prayers, nor with the smells
  662. Much-pleasing of flowers, nor with light of lamps,
  663. 655 Nor yet with shining votive offerings
  664. Adorn them, nor with smoke of frankincense
  665. That sends forth flame of altars; nor do thou,
  666. Adding unto the sacrifice of bulls
  667. And taking pleasure in defilement send
  668. 660 Blood of sheep-slaughtering outrage, thus to give
  669. Ransom for penalty beneath the earth;
  670. Nor by the smoke of flesh-consuming pyre
  671. And odors foul pollute the light of heaven;
  672. But joyful with pure minds and cheerful soul,
  673. 665 With love abounding and with generous hands,
  674. With soothing psalms and songs that honor God,
  675. We are commanded to sing praise to thee,
  676. The imperishable and without deceit,
  677. All-father God, of understanding mind,
  678.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .

Dies iræ, dies illa,
Solvet sæclum in favilla,
Teste David cum Sibylla.



BOOK XI.

CONTENTS OF BOOK XI.

Introduction, 1-6. From the flood to the tower of Babel, 7-22. Egyptian kings and judges, 23-40. The exodus and giving of the law, 41-47. A notable Egyptian king, 48-53. The Persian domination, 54-68. Woes of many nations, 69-89. Rule of the Indian prince, 90-105. The great Assyrian king Solomon, 106-123. Many and mighty kings, 124-136. Alexander's fierce wars, 137-143. Origin of Rome, 144-160. The fall of Ilium, 161-189. Escape of Æneas and founding of the Latin race, 190-216. The wise old minstrel, 217-227. Wars of the nations, 228-236. The terrible invader of Greece, 237-248. Philip of Macedon, 249-259. Alexander the Conqueror, 260-298. The kings of Egypt, 299-315. Egypt an asylum for the Jews, 316-320. The eight kings and treacherous queen of Egypt, 321-344. Reign of the Roman Cæsars, 345-365. Fall of Cleopatra, 366-394. Subjection of Egypt, 395-416. The Sibyl's testimony of herself, 417-429.

BOOK XI.

  1. O WORLD of men wide-scattered, and long walls,
  2. The cities huge and nations numberless,
  3. Throughout the east and west and south and north,
  4. Divided off by various languages
  5. 5 And kingdoms; other things, the very worst,
  6. Against you I am now about to speak.
  7.     For from the time when on the earlier men
  8. The flood came and the Almighty One himself
  9. Destroyed that race by many waters, then
  10. 10 Brought he in yet another race of men
  11. Untiring; and they, setting themselves up
  12. Against heaven, built to height unspeakable
  13. A tower; and tongues of all were loosed again;
  14. And on them hurled came wrath of God most high,
  15. 15 By which the tower unutterably great
  16. Fell; and against each other they stirred up
  17. An evil strife. And then of mortal men
  18. Was the tenth race since these things came to pass;
  19. And the whole earth was among foreign men
  20. 20 And various languages distributed,
  21. Whose numbers I will tell and in acrostics
  22. Of the initial letter show the name.
  23.     And first shall Egypt royal power receive
  24. Preeminent and just; and then in her
  25. 25 Shall many-counseling men be governors;
  26. Moreover then a fearful man shall rule,
  27. Close-fighter very strong; and he shall have
  28. This letter of the acrostic of his name:
  29. Sword shall he stretch out against pious men.
  30. 30 And while this one is ruler there shall be
  31. A fearful sign in the Egyptian land,
  32. Which, gladdening very greatly, shall with corn
  33. Souls perishing with famine then supply;
  34. The law-giver, himself a prisoner,
  35. 35 The East and offspring of Assyrian men
  36. Shall nourish; and his name know thou . . .
  37. . . . of the measure of the number ten.
  38. But when there shall come from the radiant heaven
  39. Ten strokes of judgment upon Egypt, then
  40. 40 Will I again proclaim these things to thee.
  41. Memphis, alas, alas for thee! alas,
  42. Great royal one! the Erythræan sea
  43. Shall thy much people utterly destroy.
  44. Then when the people of twelve tribes shall leave
  45. 45 The fruitful land of ruin by command
  46. Of the Immortal, the Lord God himself
  47. Will also give a law unto mankind.
  48. And o'er the Hebrews then a mighty king
  49. Magnanimous shall rule, and have a name
  50. 50 Derived from sandy Egypt, Theban man
  51. Of doubtful native land; and Memphis he,
  52. Dread serpent, will show outward signs of love,
  53. And he will watch o'er many things in wars.
  54.     Now the tenth kingdom being twelve times complete
  55. 55 Seven besides and even unto the tenth hundred,
  56. Others being altogether left behind,
  57. Then shall arise the Persian sovereignty.
  58. And then an evil shall befall the Jews,
  59. Famine and pestilence intolerable
  60. 60 They do not make escape from in that day.
  61.     But when a Persian shall rule, and a son
  62. Of his son's son shall lay the scepter down,
  63. While years roll round to five fours, and to these
  64. A hundred more, and thou a hundred nines
  65. 65 Shalt finish and all things shalt thou repay;
  66. And then unto the Persians and the Medes
  67. Shalt thou be given over as a slave,
  68. Destroyed with blows by reason of hard fights.
  69.     Straightway to Persians and Assyrians
  70. 70 And to all Egypt shall an evil come,
  71. And to Libya and the Ethiopians,
  72. And to the Carians and Pamphylians
  73. And to all other mortals. And he then
  74. Shall to the grandsons give the royal power,
  75. 75 Who again snatching the whole earth away
  76. Shall plunder races for their many spoils,
  77. Not having fellow-feeling. Mournful dirges
  78. Shall the sad Persians by the Tigris wail,
  79. And Egypt water many a land with tears.
  80. 80    And then to thee, O Median land, a man
  81. Of wealth abundant and of Indian birth
  82. Shall many evils do, till thou repay
  83. All things which thou, possessed of shameless soul,
  84. Hast done before. Alas, alas for thee,
  85. 85 Thou Median nation; thou shalt afterwards
  86. Be servant unto Ethiopian men
  87. Beyond the land of Meroe; wretched thou
  88. Shalt from the first seven and a hundred years
  89. Complete, and put thy neck beneath the yoke.
  90. 90    And then an Indian of dark countenance
  91. And gray hair and great soul shall afterwards
  92. Become lord, who shall many evils bring
  93. Upon the East by reason of hard fights;
  94. And he shall treat thee more despitefully
  95. 95 And shall destroy all thy men. But when he
  96. The twentieth and the tenth year shall be king,
  97. Among them, also seven and the tenth,
  98. Then every nation of a royal power
  99. Shall be mad and declare their liberty,
  100. 100 And during three years leave their servile blood.
  101. But he shall come again and every nation
  102. Of valiant men shall put their neck again
  103. Under the yoke, serve the king as before,
  104. And of its own free will again obey.
  105. 105 There shall be great peace throughout all the world.
  106.     And then o'er the Assyrians there shall rule
  107. A mighty king, a man preeminent,
  108. And shall persuade all to speak pleasing things,
  109. Which God ordained according to the law;
  110. 110 Then all kings arrogant with pointed spears
  111. Timid and speechless shall before him quail,
  112. And him shall very powerful rulers serve
  113. Because of counsels of the mighty God;
  114. For he will carry all things in detail
  115. 115 By reason, and all things will he subject,
  116. And he the temple of the mighty God
  117. And lovely altar will himself erect
  118. In his might, and will hurl the idols down;
  119. And gathering tribes together, both the race
  120. 120 Of fathers and the helpless little ones,
  121. He shall encompass the inhabitants;
  122. His name shall have two hundred for its number,
  123. And of the eighteenth letter show the sign.
  124. But when for rolling decades two and five
  125. 125 He shall rule, going forwards towards the end
  126. Of his time, there shall be as many kings
  127. As there are tribes of men, as there are clans,
  128. As there are cities, and as isles and coasts,
  129. And fields and lands that bring forth goodly fruit.
  130. 130 But one of these shall be a mighty king,
  131. A leader among men; and many kings
  132. Of lofty spirit shall submit to him,
  133. And to his sons and grandsons opulent
  134. Give portions on account of royal power.
  135. 135 Decades of decades, eight ones upon these
  136. Of years shall they rule, and at last shall end.
  137.     But when with cruel Ares there shall come
  138. A powerful wild beast, even then for thee,
  139. O queenly land, shall wrath spring forth again.
  140. 140    Alas, alas for thee, then Persian land;
  141. What an outpouring of the blood of men
  142. Shalt thou receive when that stronger-minded man
  143. Comes to thee; then I'll shout these things again.
  144.     But when Italian soil shall generate,
  145. 145 Great wonder unto mortals, there shall be
  146. Moans of young children by a fountain pure,
  147. In shady cavern off spring of wild beast
  148. That feeds on sheep, who unto manhood grown
  149. Shall upon seven strong hills with reckless soul
  150. 150 Hurl many headlong down, in numbers both
  151. Having a hundred, and their names shall show
  152. A great sign to them that are yet to be;
  153. And they shall build upon the seven hills
  154. Strong walls and wage around them grievous war.
  155. 155 And then again shall there be growing up
  156. Revolt of men around thee, then great land
  157. Of fine ears, high-souled Egypt; but again
  158. I'll cry these things. And yet then shalt receive
  159. A great stroke in thy houses; and again
  160. 160 Shall there be a revolt of thine own men.
  161. Now over thee, O wretched Phrygia,
  162. I weep in pity; for to thee from Greece,
  163. Tamer of horses, there shall conquest come
  164. And war and plague by reason of hard fights.
  165. 165 Ilium, I pity thee; for there shall come
  166. From Sparta an Erinys to thy halls
  167. Mixed with a deadly sting; and most of all
  168. Shall she bring thee toils, troubles, groans, and wails,
  169. When well-skilled men the battle shall begin,
  170. 170 By far the noblest heroes of the Greeks
  171. Who are to Ares dear. And one of these
  172. Shall be a strong brave king; of foulest deeds
  173. He for his brother's sake will go in quest.
  174. And they shall overthrow the famous walls
  175. 175 Of Phrygian Troy; when of the rolling years
  176. Twice five shall be filled with the bloody deeds
  177. Of savage war, a wooden artifice
  178. Shall sudden cover men, and on thy knees
  179. Thou shalt receive this, not perceiving it
  180. 180 To be an ambush pregnant with the Greeks,
  181. O cause of grievous woe. Alas, alas,
  182. How much in one night Hades shall receive,
  183. And what spoils of the old man weeping much
  184. Shall he bear off! But with those yet to come
  185. 185 Shall be undying fame. And the great king,
  186. A hero sprung from Zeus, shall have his name
  187. Of the first letter of the alphabet;
  188. Homewards shall he in order go. And then
  189. Shall he fall by a treacherous woman's hand.
  190. 190    And there shall rule a child sprung from the race
  191. And the blood of Assaracus, renowned
  192. Of heroes, both a strong and valiant man.
  193. And he shall come out of the mighty fire
  194. Of ravaged Troy, fleeing from fatherland
  195. 195 By reason of the fearful toil of war;
  196. Bearing his aged father on his shoulders
  197. And also holding his son by the hand
  198. He shall perform a pious work of law,
  199. Who, looking cautiously about him, cleft
  200. 200 The onset of the fire of burning Troy,
  201. And hurrying through the multitude in dread
  202. He shall pass over land and fearful sea.
  203. And he shall have a trisyllabic name,
  204. For the beginning of the alphabet
  205. 205 Points out this highest man as not unknown.
  206. And then a city for the powerful Latins
  207. He will raise up. And in his fifteenth year,
  208. Destroyed by waters in the depths of sea,
  209. Shall he lay hold on the event of death.
  210. 210 But him though dead the nations of mankind
  211. Shall not forget; for his race over all
  212. Shall rule hereafter even to Euphrates
  213. And river Tigris, throughout the mid land
  214. Of the Assyrians, where the Parthians
  215. 215 Extended. For those who are yet to come
  216. It shall be, when all these things come to pass.
  217.     And there shall be an old man, minstrel wise,
  218. Whom all shall among mortals call most wise,
  219. By whose good understanding the whole world
  220. 920 Shall be instructed; for his chapters he
  221. According to their power of thoughts will write.
  222. And wisely will he write most marvelous things,
  223. At times appropriating words of mine
  224. Measures and verses; for he shall the first
  225. 225 My books unfold and after these things bide them
  226. And unto men bring them to light no more
  227. Until the end of baneful death and life.
  228.     But when forthwith these things have been fulfilled
  229. Which I spoke, yet again the Greeks shall fight
  230. 230 With one another; and Assyrians,
  231. Arabians and the quiver-bearing Medes,
  232. And Persians and Sicilians shall rise up,
  233. And Lydians, Thracians and Bithynians,
  234. And they who dwell in the land of fair corn
  235. 235 Beside the streams of Nile; and among all
  236. Will God the imperishable put at once
  237. Confusion. But exceeding terribly
  238. Shall an Assyrian base-born fiery man
  239. Come suddenly, possessed of beastly soul,
  240. 240 And looking cautiously about him cut
  241. Through every isthmus, going against all,
  242. And sailing o'er the sea. Then, faithless Greece,
  243. To thee shall happen very many things.
  244.     Alas, alas for thee, O wretched Greece,
  245. 245 How many things thou art obliged to wail!
  246. And during seven and eighty rolling years
  247. Thou shalt the miserable refuse be
  248. Of fearful battle among all the tribes.
  249.     Then shall a Macedonian man again
  250. 250 Bring forth for Hellas woe and shall destroy
  251. All Thrace, and toil of Ares on the isles
  252. And coasts and the war-loving Triballi.
  253.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  254.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  255. He shall among the foremost fighters be,
  256. And he shall share that name which shows the sign
  257. 255 Of numbers ten times fifty. And short-lived
  258. Shall he be; but behind him he shall leave
  259. The greatest kingdom on the boundless earth.
  260. But by base spearman he himself shall fall
  261. While thought to live in quiet as none else.
  262. 260    And afterwards shall a great-hearted child
  263. Of this one rule, beginning with his name
  264. The alphabet; but his race shall pass out.
  265. Not of Zeus, not of Amnion shall they call
  266. This one true son, yet still a bastard son
  267. 265 Of Cronos as they all imagine him.
  268. And cities he of many mortal men
  269. Shall plunder; and for Europe shall shoot up
  270. The greatest sore. And also terribly
  271. Will he abuse the city Babylon,
  272. 270 And every land the sun looks down upon,
  273. And he alone shall sail both east and west.
  274.     Alas, alas for thee, O Babylon,
  275. Thou shalt serve triumphs, who wast called a queen;
  276. Down upon Asia Ares comes, he comes
  277. 275 Surely and shall thy many children slay.
  278. And then shalt thou send forth thy royal man
  279. Named by the number four, expert with spear
  280. Among the mighty warriors, terrible,
  281. Shooting with bow and arrow. And then famine
  282. 280 And war shall hold possession of the midst
  283. Of the Cilicians and Assyrians;
  284. But kings of lofty spirit shall embrace
  285. The dreadful state of heart-consuming strife.
  286. But do thou, fleeing, leave the former king,
  287. 285 Be neither willing to remain nor fear
  288. To be unhappy; for on thee shall come
  289. A dreadful lion, a flesh-eating beast,
  290. Wild, strange to justice, wearing on his shoulders
  291. A mantle. Flee the thunder-smiting man.
  292. 290 And Asia all shall bear an evil yoke,
  293. And many a murder shall the wet earth drink.
  294.     But when a mighty city prosperous
  295. Ares of Pella shall in Egypt found,
  296. And it shall be named from him, fate and death,
  297. 295 By his companions treacherously betrayed
  298.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  299.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  300. For barbarous murder shall destroy this man
  301. Around the tables when he shall have left
  302. The Indians and shall come to Babylon.
  303. Thereafter other kings, in a few years,
  304. 300 Devourers of the people, arrogant
  305. And faithless, shall rule each by his own tribe;
  306. But a great-hearted hero, who shall glean
  307. All fenced Europe, from the time each land
  308. Shall drink the blood of all tribes, shall forthwith
  309. 305 Abandon life, unloosing his own fate.
  310. And other kings there shall be, twice four men
  311. Of his race, and the same name to them all.
  312.     And there shall be a bride of Egypt then
  313. Commanding and a noble city great
  314. 310 Of Macedonian lord, queen Alexandria,
  315. Famed nourisher of cities, shining fair
  316. She alone shall be the metropolis.
  317. Let Memphis then upbraid them that command.
  318. And peace shall be deep throughout all the world;
  319. 315 Then shall the land of black soil have more fruits.
  320.     And then there shall come evil to the Jews,
  321. Nor shall they in that day make their escape
  322. From famine and intolerable plague;
  323. But the new world of black soil and fair corn,
  324. 320 Divine land, shall receive much-wandering men.
  325.     But marshy Egypt's eight kings shall fill up
  326. The numbers of two hundred years and three
  327. And thirty. Yet shall offspring perish not
  328. Of all of them, but there shall issue forth
  329. 325 A female root, a bane of mortal men,
  330. Betrayer of her kingdom. But they shall
  331. According to their evil deeds perform
  332. Their wickedness thereafter, and one here
  333. Another there shall perish; son that wears
  334. 330 The purple shall cut off his warlike sire,
  335. And he himself in turn by his own son,
  336. And ere he shall put forth another shoot
  337. He shall cease; but a root shall sprout again
  338. Thereafter of itself; and there shall be
  339. 335 A race beside him growing. For a queen
  340. There shall be of the land by Nilus' streams
  341. Which comes down through seven mouths into the sea,
  342. And her name very lovely shall be that
  343. Of the number twenty; and she will demand
  344. 340 Numberless things and gather up all goods
  345. Of gold and silver; but from her own men
  346. Shall treachery befall her. Then again
  347. For thee, O dusky land, shall there be wars
  348. And battles and great slaughter of mankind.
  349. 345    When many over fertile Rome shall rule,
  350. Examples not at all of happy men,
  351. But tyrants, and there be of thousands chiefs
  352. And of ten thousands, and the overseers
  353. Of popular assemblies under law,
  354. 350 Then shall the mightiest Cæsars bear the rule
  355. Ill-fated all their days; and of these last
  356. Shall for initial have the number ten,
  357. Last Cæsar stretching on the earth his limbs,
  358. Struck by dire Ares by a hostile man,
  359. 355 Whom carrying in their hands the youth of Rome
  360. Shall. bury piously, and over him
  361. Pour out their token for his friendship's sake
  362. Rendering a tribute to his memory.
  363.     But when thou shalt come to an end of time
  364. 360 And hast completed twice three hundred years
  365. And twice ten, from the time when he shall rule
  366. Who is thy founder, child of the wild beast,
  367. There shall no longer a dictator be
  368. Ruling a measured period; but a lord
  369. 365 Shall become king, man equal to the gods.
  370.     Then, Egypt, know the king that comes to thee;
  371. And dreadful Ares of the glittering helm
  372. Shall surely come. For there shall be for thee,
  373. O widowed one, a capture afterwards;
  374. 370 For round the walls of thy land there shall be
  375. Terrible raging mischief-working wars.
  376. But having suffered misery in wars
  377. Thou, wretched, shalt thyself flee from above
  378. Those lately wounded; and then to the couch
  379. 375 Shalt thou come to the dreadful man himself;
  380. The wedlock, sharing one bed, is the end.
  381. Alas, alas for thee, ill-wedded bride,
  382. Thy royal power unto the Roman king
  383. Shalt thou give, and thou shalt repay all things,
  384. 380 Which thou aforetime didst with masculine hands;
  385. Thou shalt give the whole land by way of dower
  386. As far as Libya and the dark-skinned men
  387. To the resistless man. And thou shalt be
  388. No more a widow, but thou shalt cohabit
  389. 385 With a man-eating lion terrible,
  390. A furious warrior. And then shalt thou be
  391. Unhappy and among all men unknown;
  392. For thou shalt leave possessed of shameless soul;
  393. And thee, the stately, shall the encircling tomb
  394. 390 Receive . . . is gone . . . living within . . .
  395. Adapted at the summits, beautiful,
  396. Wrought curiously, and a great multitude
  397. Shall mourn thee and the dreadful king shall make
  398. A piteous lamentation over thee.
  399. 395    And then shall Egypt be the toiling slave
  400. Who many years against the Indians bears
  401. Her trophies; and she shall serve shamefully,
  402. And with the river, the fruit-bearing Nile,
  403. her tears, for haying gathered wealth
  404. 400 And store of all good things, a nourisher
  405. Of cities, she shall feed sheep-eating race
  406. Of fearful men. All, to how many beasts,
  407. O very wealthy Egypt, thou shalt be
  408. Booty and spoil, but giving peoples laws;
  409. 405 And formerly delighting in great kings
  410. Thou shalt to peoples be a wretched slave
  411. On account of that people, whom of old
  412. Piously living thou led'st to much woe
  413. Of toils and wailings, and didst put a plow
  414. 410 Upon their neck and irrigate the fields
  415. With mortal tears. Therefore the Lord himself,
  416. The imperishable God who dwells in heaven,
  417. Shall utterly destroy and send thee on
  418. To wailing; and thou shalt make recompense
  419. 415 For what thou didst unlawfully of old,
  420.     And know at last that God's wrath came to thee.
  421. But I to Python and to Panopeus
  422. Of goodly towers shall go; and then shall all
  423. Declare that 1 am a true prophetess
  424. 420 Oracle-singing, yet a messenger
  425. With maddened soul. . . .
  426. And when thou shalt come forward to the books
  427. Thou shalt not tremble, and all things to come
  428. And things that were ye shall know from our words;
  429. 425 Then none shall call the God-seized prophetess
  430. An oracle-singer of necessity.
  431. But now, Lord, end my very lovely strain,
  432. Driving off frenzy and real voice inspired
  433. And fearful madness, and give charming song.




BOOK XII.

CONTENTS OF BOOK XII.

Introduction, 1, 2. The first Cæsars, 3-46. The mighty warrior, 47-61. The guileful king 62-87. The king of wide sway, 88-100. The dreadful and contemptible king, 101-125. The three kings, 126-130. The royal destroyer of pious men, 131-153. The princes famed for filial devotion, 154-161. The peaceful king, 162-183. The venerable king, 184-189. Another warrior king, 190-204. The Celtic warrior, 205-210. The king with the name of a sea, 211-227. The three rulers, 228-242. The wise and pious king, 243-270. The king that sought to rival Hercules, 271-289. Period of Roman dominion, 290-303. The twentieth king, 303-314. The short-lived king, 315-320. The ruler from the East, 321-328. The wily ruler from the West, 329-344. The youthful Cæsar, 345-354. A time of woes, 356-368. Only those who honor God attain happiness, 369-373. The Sibyl's prayer, 374-382.

BOOK XII.

  1. BUT come now, hear of me the mournful time
  2. Of sons of Latium; and first of all
  3. After the kings of Egypt were destroyed,
  4. And the like earth had downwards borne them all,
  5. 5 And after Pella's townsman, under whom
  6. The whole East and the rich West were cast down,
  7. Whom Babylon dishonored, and stretched out
  8. For Philip a dead body (not of Zeus,
  9. Of Ammon not true things were prophesied),
  10. 10 And after that one of the race and blood
  11. Of king Assaracus, who came from Troy,
  12. Even he who cleft the violence of fire,
  13. And after many lords, and after men
  14. To Ares dear, and after the young babes,
  15. 15 The children of the beast that feeds on sheep,
  16. And after the passing of six hundred years
  17. And decades two of Rome's dictatorship,
  18. The very first lord, from the western sea,
  19. Shall be of Rome the ruler, very strong
  20. 20 And warlike, the initial of whose name
  21. Begins the letters, and fast binding thee,
  22. O thou of goodly fruit, he shall be full
  23. Of man-destroying Ares; thou shalt pay
  24. The outrage which thou willing didst force on;
  25. For he, great soul, shall be the best in wars;
  26. 25 Before him Thrace and Sicily shall crouch,
  27. With Memphis, Memphis cast headlong to earth
  28. By reason of the wickedness of rulers
  29. And of a woman unenslaved who falls
  30. Under the spear. And laws will he ordain
  31. 30 For peoples and put all things under him;
  32. Having great fame he shall wield scepter long;
  33. For no short time shall he last nor shall ever
  34. Be other greater scepter-bearing king
  35. 35 Than this one, o'er the Romans, not one hour,
  36. For God did lavish all things upon him,
  37. And also in the noble earth he showed
  38. Great marvelous seasons, and with them showed signs.
  39.     But when a radiant star all like the sun
  40. 40 Shall shine forth out of heaven in the mid days,
  41. Then shall the secret Word of the Most High
  42. Come clothed in flesh like mortals; but with him
  43. The might of Rome and of the illustrious Latins
  44. Shall increase. But the mighty king himself
  45. 45 Shall under his appointed lot expire,
  46. Transmitting to another royal power.
  47. But after him a man, a warrior strong,
  48. Wearing the purple mantle on his shoulders,
  49. Shall bear rule, and with his initial be
  50. 50 Numbers three hundred, and he shall destroy
  51. The Medes and arrow-hurling Parthians;
  52. And he himself by his power shall subvert
  53. The high-gate city; and again shall come
  54. Evil to Egypt and the Assyrians,
  55. 55 And to the Colchian Heniochi,
  56. And to those by the waters of the Rhine,
  57. The Germans dwelling o'er the sandy shores.
  58. And he himself shall ravage afterwards
  59. The high-gate city near Eridanus
  60. 60 Which is devising evils. And then he
  61.     Shall forthwith fall down, struck by gleaming iron.
  62. And afterwards shall rule another man
  63. Weaving guile, and the initial of his name
  64. Will show the number three; and he much gold
  65. 65 Shall gather; and with him there shall not be
  66. Satiety of wealth, but plundering more
  67. Recklessly he'll put all things in the earth.
  68. But peace shall come, and Ares shall desist
  69. From wars; and he shall make known many things
  70. 70 In divination of the greatest things,
  71. Inquiring for the sake of means of life;
  72. Yet there shall be on him the greatest sign:
  73. From heaven down on the king while perishing
  74. There shall flow many little drops of blood.
  75. 75 And many lawless things will he perform,
  76. And put around the neck of Romans pain
  77. Trusting in divination; and the heads
  78. Of the assembly he will also slay.
  79. And famine shall seize Cappadocians,
  80. 80 And Thracians, Macedonians, and Italians.
  81. And Egypt shall alone feed numerous tribes;
  82. And the king himself beguiling secretly
  83. Shall craftily destroy the virgin maid;
  84. But her the citizens in tearful grief
  85. 85 Shall bury; and against the king they all
  86. Holding wrath shall abuse him craftily.
  87. While strong Rome blossoms the strong man shall perish.
  88.     And again there shall rule another lord
  89. Of the number of twice ten; and then shall come
  90. 90 Unto the Sauromatians and to Thrace
  91. And the Triballi, famed for hurling darts,
  92. Wars and sad cares; and Roman Ares shall
  93. Tear all in pieces. And a fearful sign
  94. Shall there be when this man shall rule the land
  95. 95 Of the Italians and Pannonians;
  96. And there shall be at the mid hour of day
  97. Dark night around them and then from the heaven
  98. A shower of stones; and thereupon the lord
  99. And vigorous judge of the Italians
  100. 100 Shall go in Hades' halls by his own fate.
  101.     Again another fearful man shall come
  102. And dreadful, numbering fifty; and from all
  103. The cities many noblest citizens
  104. Born to wealth he shall utterly destroy,
  105. 105 A dreadful serpent breathing grievous war,
  106. Who sometime stretching forth his hands shall make
  107. An end of his own race and stir all things,
  108. Acting the athlete, driving chariots,
  109. Putting to death and daring countless things;
  110. 110 And he shall cleave the mountain of two seas,
  111. And sprinkle it with gore. And out of sight
  112. Shall also vanish the destructive man;
  113. Then making himself equal unto God
  114. Shall he return, but God will prove him naught.
  115. 115 And while he rules there shall be peace profound
  116. And not the fears of men; and from the ocean
  117. Flowing, and cleaving by Ausonia,
  118. Shall come untrodden water; and around
  119. Looking with anxious care he will appoint
  120. 120 His very many contests for the people,
  121. And he himself an actor will contend
  122. With voice and cithara, and sing a song
  123. Along with harp-string; later he will flee
  124. And leave the royal power, and perishing
  125. 125 Illy will he repay the harm he wrought.
  126.     After him three shall rule and two of them
  127. Shall have the number seventy by their names,
  128. And in addition to these shall be one
  129. Of the third letter; and one here, one there,
  130. 130 Shall perish by strong Ares' sturdy hands.
  131. Then shall a mighty ruler of men come,
  132. Destroyer of the pious, strong-minded man,
  133. Spear-wielding Ares, whom seven times the tenth
  134. Shall point out clearly; he shall overthrow
  135. 135 Phœnicia and destroy Assyria.
  136. A sword shall come upon the sacred land
  137. Of Solyma even to the utmost bend
  138. Of the Tiberian sea. Alas, alas,
  139. Phœnicia, O how much shalt thou endure,
  140. 140 Grief-laden with thy trophies tightly bound,
  141. And every nation shall upon thee tread.
  142. Alas, alas, to the Assyrians
  143. Shalt thou come and shalt see young children serve
  144. Among unfriendly men and with the wives,
  145. 145 And every means of life and wealth shall perish;
  146. For on thee God's wrath causing grievous woe
  147. Shall come, because they did not keep his law,
  148. But served all idols with unseemly arts.
  149. And many wars and fights and homicides,
  150. 150 Famines, and pestilences, and confusion
  151. Of cities shall be. But the reverend king
  152. Of mighty soul shall at the end of life
  153. Himself fall by a strong necessity.
  154.     Then shall two other chief men, cherishing
  155. 155 The memory of their father, great king, rule,
  156. And in contending warriors glory much.
  157.     And (one) of these shall be a noble man
  158. And lordly, whose name shall three hundred hold;
  159. Yet he shall also fall by treachery,
  160. 160 Not in the warring companies stretched out,
  161. But struck in Rome's plain by the two-edged brass.
  162.     And after him a powerful warlike man
  163. Of the letter four shall rule the mighty realm,
  164. Whom all men on the boundless earth shall love,
  165. 165 And then shall there be over all the world
  166. A rest from war. Yet all, from west to east,
  167. Shall serve him willingly, not by constraint,
  168. And cities shall be under his control
  169. And of themselves be subject. For to him
  170. 170 Shall heavenly Sabaoth much glory bring,
  171. The imperishable God who dwells on high.
  172. And then shall famine waste Pannonia
  173. And all the Celtic land, and shall destroy
  174. One here, another there. And there shall be
  175. 175 For the Assyrians, whom Orontes laves,
  176. Structures and ornament and what may seem
  177. Yet greater anywhere. And the great king
  178. Shall have a fondness for these and love them
  179. Above the others far (and there are many);
  180. 180 But he himself shall in mid breast receive
  181. A great wound, and seized at the end of life
  182. Craftily, by a friend, in hallowed house
  183. Of the great royal hall shall he fall down
  184. Wounded; and after him shall be a ruler
  185. 185 Numbering fifty, venerable man,
  186. Who above measure shall destroy from Rome
  187. Many inhabitants and citizens;
  188. But he shall rule few; for in Hades' halls
  189. For a former king's sake he shall wounded go.
  190. 190    But then another king, a warrior strong,
  191. Who has three hundred for initial sign,
  192. Shall bear rule and lay waste the Thracians' land
  193. Which is much varied, and he shall destroy
  194. The powerful Germans dwelling by the Rhine
  195. 195 And the Iberians that shoot the arrow.
  196. Moreover, there shall be unto the Jews
  197. Another greatest evil, and with them
  198. Bedewed with murder shall Phœnicia drink;
  199. And the walls of the Assyrians shall fall
  200. 200 By many warriors. And again a man
  201. Destroying life shall waste them utterly.
  202. And then shall threatenings of the mighty God,
  203. Earthquakes, and great plagues be on every land,
  204. Untimely snow-storms, and strong thunderbolts.
  205. 205 And then the great king, mountain-roaming Celt,
  206. Shall for the toil of Ares not escape
  207. A fate unseemly, hastening eagerly
  208. After the strife of battle, but worn out
  209. Shall he be; foreign dust shall hide his corpse,
  210. 210 But dust that of Nemea's flower has name.
  211. And after him another shall arise,
  212. A silver-headed man, and of the sea
  213. Shall be his name, and of four syllables,
  214. Ares himself first of the alphabet
  215. 215 Presenting. Temples he shall dedicate
  216. In all the cities, watching o'er the world
  217. By his own foot, and bringing gifts away,
  218. Both gold and amber much will he supply
  219. For many; and magicians' mysteries
  220. 220 All will he from the sanctuaries keep;
  221. And what is much more excellent for men
  222. Will he place . . . ruling . . . thunderbolt;
  223. And great peace shall be when he shall be lord;
  224. And he shall be a minstrel of rich voice
  225. 225 And a participant in lawful things,
  226. And a just minister of what is right;
  227. But he shall fall, unloosing his own fate.
  228.     After him three shall rule, and the third late
  229. Shall rule, three decades keeping; yet again
  230. 230 Of the first unit shall another king
  231. Bear the rule; and another after him
  232. Shall be commander, of tens numbering seven;
  233. And their names shall be honored; and they shall
  234. Themselves destroy men marked by many a spot,
  235. 235 Britons and mighty Moors and Dacians
  236. And the Arabians. But when the last
  237. Of these shall perish, fearful Ares then,
  238. He that before was wounded, shall again
  239. Against the Parthians come, and utterly
  240. 240 Shall he destroy them. And then shall the king
  241. Himself fall by a treacherous wild beast
  242. Training his hands--excuse itself of death.
  243.     And after him another man shall rule,
  244. In many wise things skilled, and he shall have
  245. 245 Himself the name of the first mighty king
  246. Of the first unit; and he shall be good
  247. And mighty; and for the illustrious Latins
  248. Shall this strong one accomplish many things
  249. In memory of his father; and forthwith
  250. 250 Shall he adorn the walls of Rome with gold
  251. And silver and ivory; and he shall go
  252. Within the market places and the temples
  253. With a strong man. And sometime direst wound
  254. Shall shoot up like ears in the Roman wars;
  255. 255 And he shall sack the whole land of the Germans,
  256. When a great sign of God shall be displayed
  257. From heaven, and shall for the king's piety
  258. Save men in brazen armor and distress;
  259. For God who is in heaven and hears all things
  260. 260 Shall wet him with unseasonable rain
  261. When he prays. But when these things are fulfilled
  262. Of which I spoke, then with the rolling years
  263. Shall also the renowned dominion cease
  264. Of the great pious king; and at the end
  265. 265 Of his life, having then proclaimed his son
  266. Succeeding to the kingdom, he shall die
  267. By his own lot and leave the royal power
  268. Unto the ruler with the golden hair,
  269. Who with two tens in his name, born a king
  270. 270 From the race of his father, shall receive
  271. Dominion. This man with superior powers
  272. Of mind shall grasp all things; and he shall rival
  273. Great-hearted overweening Hercules,
  274. And be the best in mighty arms and have
  275. 275 The greatest fame in chase and horsemanship;
  276. But he shall live in peril all alone.
  277. And while this man is ruler there shall be
  278. A fearful sign: there shall be a great mist
  279. Then in the plain of Rome, so that a man
  280. 280 May not discern his neighbor. And then wars
  281. Shall come to pass along with mournful cares,
  282. When the king himself, exceeding mad with love,
  283. And weakly, shall come in the marriage-bed
  284. Shaming his youthful offspring, infamous
  285. 285 For inconsiderate wedding-songs impure.
  286. And then, in helpless loneliness concealed,
  287. The mighty baneful man held under wrath
  288. Shall in a bath-room suffer evil plight,
  289. Man-slaying Ares bound by treacherous fate.
  290. 290    Know then the fatal lot of Rome is near
  291. Because of zeal for power; and by the hands
  292. Of Ares many in Palladian halls
  293. Shall perish. And then Rome shall be bereft
  294. And shall repay all things, which she alone
  295. 295 Before accomplished by her many wars.
  296.     My heart laments, my heart within me mourns;
  297. For from the time when thy first king, proud Rome,
  298. Gave good law to thee and to men on earth,
  299. And the Word of the great immortal God
  300. 300 Came to the earth, until the nineteenth reign
  301. Shall have been finished Cronos shall complete
  302. Two hundred years, twice twenty and twice two,
  303. With six months added; then the twentieth king,
  304. When smitten with sharp brass he with the sword
  305. 305 Shall in thy houses pour out blood, shall make
  306. Thy race a widow, having in his name
  307. The letter which the number eighty shows,
  308. And burdened with old age; but he shall make
  309. A widow of thee in a little time,
  310. 310 When many warriors, many overthrows,
  311. And murders, homicides, and deadly feuds
  312. And miseries of conquests there shall be,
  313. And in confusion many a horse and man
  314. Shall, cleft by force of hands, fall in the plain.
  315. 315    And then another man shall rule, and have
  316. The sign of his name in the number ten;
  317. And many sorrows shall he bring to pass,
  318. And groans, and he shall plunder many men;
  319. But he himself shall be short-lived and fall
  320. 320 By mighty Ares, struck by gleaming iron.
  321.     Another, numbering fifty, then shall come,
  322. A warrior roused up by the East for rule;
  323. A warlike Ares he shall come to Thrace;
  324. And he shall flee thereafter and shall come
  325. 325 Into the land of the Bithynians
  326. And the Cilician plain; but brazen Ares
  327. The life-destroyer shall with speedy stroke
  328. Utterly spoil him in the Assyrian fields.
  329.     And then again there shall rule craftily
  330. 330 A man skilled in fraud, full of various wiles,
  331. Roused up by the West, and his name shall have
  332. The number of two hundred. And again
  333. Another sign: he shall contrive a war
  334. For royal power against Assyrian men,
  335. 335 Raise a whole army and subject all things.
  336. And he shall rule the Romans with his might;
  337. But there is much contrivance in his heart,
  338. Impulse of baleful Ares; serpent dire,
  339. And violent in war, who shall destroy
  340. 340 All high-born men upon the earth, and slay
  341. The noble for their wealth, and, robber like,
  342. Stripping all earth while men are perishing,
  343. He shall go to the East; and all deceit
  344. Shall be to him . . .
  345.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  346. 345 Then shall a youthful Cæsar with him reign
  347. Having the name of a puissant lord
  348. Of Macedon, by the first letter known;
  349. Bringing in broils around him he shall flee
  350. The hard deception of the coming king
  351. 350 In the bosom of the army; but the one
  352. Who rules by his barbaric usages,
  353. A temple-guard, shall perish suddenly
  354. Slain by strong Ares with the gleaming iron;
  355. Him even dead shall people tear in pieces.
  356. 355    And then the kings of Persia shall rise up;
  357. And . . . Roman Ares Roman lord.
  358. And Phrygia shall with earthquakes groan again
  359. Wretched. Alas, alas, Laodicea;
  360. Alas, alas, sad Hierapolis;
  361. 360 For you first once the yawning earth received.
  362. Of Rome . . . immense Aus . . .
  363. All things as many . . .
  364. Shall wail . . . while men are perishing
  365. In the hands of Ares; and the lot of men
  366. 365 Shall be bad; but then by the eastern way
  367. Hastening to look down upon Italy,
  368. Stripped naked he shall fall by gleaming iron,
  369. Acquiring hatred for his mother's sake.
  370.     For seasons are of all sorts; each holds back
  371. 370 The other . . . gleaming and this not at once all know;
  372. For all things shall not be (the lot) of all,
  373. But only those shall be for happiness
  374. Who honor God and shun idolatry.
  375. And now, Lord of the world, of every realm
  376. 375 Unfeigned immortal King--for thou didst put
  377. Into my heart the oracle divine--
  378. Make thou the word cease; for I do not know
  379. What things I say; for thou art in me he
  380. That speaketh all these things. Now let me rest
  381. 380 A little and put from my heart aside
  382. The charming song; for weary is my heart
  383. Foretelling with divine words royal power.


BOOK XIII.

CONTENTS OF BOOK XIII.

Introduction, 1-8. A time of wars and woes, 9-16. Persian insurrection and the Roman soldier king 17-28. The warrior out of Syria and his son, 29-47. Persian war and the grain-producing land of Nile, 48-65. Another song for Alexandrians announced, 66-71. Wrath on Assyrians and Ægeans, 72-78. Wretched Antioch, 79-84. Cities of Arabia admonished, 85-97. Wars and treachery, 98-106. Roman ruler from Dacia, 107-116. The Syrian robber, 117-135. The Gallic king and dreadful woes, 136-156. Wretched Syria, 157-165. Wretched Antioch, 165-171. Woes on many cities of Asia, 172-189. Murders and wars, 190-208. Allegory of the bull, dragon, stag, lion, and goat, 209-230. Prayer of the Sibyl, 231-232.

BOOK XIII.

  1.     GREAT word divine he bids me sing again--
  2. The immortal holy God imperishable,
  3. Who gives to kings their power and takes away,
  4. And who determined for them time both ways,
  5. 5 Both that of life and that of baneful death.
  6. And these the heavenly God enjoins on me
  7. Unwilling to bring tidings unto kings
  8. Concerning royal power. . . .
  9.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  10.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  11. And spear impetuous Ares; and by him
  12. 10 All perish, child and the old man who gives
  13. To the assemblies laws; and many wars
  14. And battles there shall be, and homicides,
  15. Famines and pestilences, earthquake-shocks
  16. And mighty thunderbolts, and many ways
  17. 15 Of the Assyrians over all the world,
  18. And pillaging and robbery of temples.
  19.     And then an insurrection there shall be
  20. Of the industrious Persians, and with them
  21. Indians, Armenians, and Arabians;
  22. 20 And unto these again a Roman king
  23. Insatiate in war and leading on
  24. His spearmen against the Assyrians
  25. Shall draw near, a young Ares, and as far
  26. As the deep-flowing silvery Euphrates
  27. 25 Shall warlike Ares stretch his deadly spear
  28. Because of . . .
  29. For by his friend betrayed he shall fall down
  30.     In the ranks smitten by the gleaming iron.
  31. And straightway coming out of Syria
  32. 30 There shall a purple-loving warrior rule,
  33. Terror of Ares, and also his son,
  34. A Cæsar, shall even all the earth oppress;
  35. And the one name is unto both of them:
  36. On first and twentieth there are to be placed
  37. 35 Five hundred. But when these in wars shall rule,
  38. And laws shall be enacted, there shall be
  39. A little rest from war, not for long time;
  40. But when a wolf shall to a flock of sheep
  41. Pledge solemn oaths against the white-toothed dogs,
  42. 40 Then, having misled, he will tear in pieces
  43. The woolly sheep, and cast his oaths aside;
  44. And then shall there be an unlawful strife
  45. Of haughty kings in wars, and Syrians
  46. Shall perish terribly, and Indians
  47. 45 And the Armenians and Arabians,
  48. The Persians and the Babylonians
  49. Shall one another by hard fights destroy.
  50.     But when a Roman Ares shall destroy
  51. A German Ares ruinous of life
  52. 50 Triumphing on the ocean, then is war
  53. Of many years for haughty Persian men,
  54. But for them there shall not be victory;
  55. For as a fish swims not upon the point
  56. Of a high many-ridged and windy rock
  57. 55 Precipitant, nor does a tortoise fly,
  58. Nor does an eagle into water come,
  59. So also are the Persians in that day
  60. Far off from victory, while the fond nurse
  61. Of the Italians, in the plain of Nile
  62. 60 Reposing by the sacred water's side,
  63. Sends forth the appointed lot to seven-hilled Rome.
  64. Now these things are; and while the name of Rome
  65. Shall hold in numbers of revolving time,
  66. So many years shall the great noble city
  67. 65 Of Macedon's lord, willing, deal out corn.
  68.     Another much-distressing pain I'll sing
  69. For Alexandrians who are destroyed
  70. By reason of the strife of shameful men.
  71. Strong men who were aforetime terrible
  72. 70 Being then impotent shall pray for peace
  73. By reason of the wickedness of chiefs.
  74.     And there shall come wrath of the mighty God
  75. On the Assyrians and a mountain stream
  76. Shall utterly destroy them, which shall come
  77. 75 To Cæsar's city and harm Canaanites.
  78.     The Pyramus shall irrigate the city
  79. Of Mopsus; then shall the Ægæans fall
  80. Because of strife of very mighty men.
  81.     Thee, wretched Antioch, shall Ares strong
  82. 80 Leave not while round thee an Assyrian war
  83. Is pressing, for a chief of men shall dwell
  84. Within thy houses who shall fight with all
  85. The arrow-hurling Persians, he himself
  86. Having obtained of Romans royal power.
  87. 85    Now, cities of Arabians, deck yourselves
  88. With temples and with places for the race,
  89. And with broad markets and with splendid wealth,
  90. With images, gold, silver, ivory;
  91. And thou who art of all most fond of learning,
  92. 90 Bostra and Philippopolis, that thou may'st come
  93. Into great sorrow; and the laughing spheres
  94. Of the zodiacal vault, Aries,
  95. Taurus, and Gemini, and as many stars
  96. Ruling hours as with them in heaven appear
  97. 95 Shall benefit thee not; thou, wretched one,
  98. Hast trusted many, when that very man
  99. Shall afterwards bring near that which is thine.
  100.     And now for Alexandrians loving war
  101. Will I sing wars most dreadful; and much people
  102. 100 Shall perish while their cities are destroyed
  103. By citizens against each other matched
  104. And fighting for the sake of hateful strife,
  105. And round them horrid Ares, rushing on,
  106. Shall cease from war. And then one of great soul
  107. 105 Along with his own mighty son shall fall
  108. By treachery on the older king's account.
  109.     And after him there shall rule powerfully
  110. O'er fertile Rome another great-souled lord
  111. Versed in war, coming from the Dacians
  112. 110 And numbering three hundred; he shall have
  113. Also the letter of the number four,
  114. And many shall be slay, and then the king
  115. Shall all his brothers and his friends destroy
  116. Even while the kings are cut off, and straightway
  117. 115 Shall there be fights and pillagings and murders
  118. Suddenly on the older king's account.
  119. Then, when a wily man shall summoned come,
  120. A robber and a Roman not well known
  121. From Syria appearing, he by guile
  122. 120 Into a race of Cappadocian men
  123. Shall drive through and, besieging, shall press hard,
  124. Insatiate of war. And then for thee,
  125. Tyana and Mazaka, there shall be
  126. A capture; thou shalt be enslaved and put
  127. 125 Upon thy neck again a fearful yoke.
  128. Arid Syria shall mourn for men destroyed
  129. And then Selenian goddess shall not guard
  130. Her holy city. But when he by flight
  131. From Syria shall before the Romans come,
  132. 130 And shall pass over the Euphrates' streams,
  133. No longer like the Romans, but like fierce
  134. Dart-shooting Persians, then, fulfilling fate,
  135. Down shall the ruler of the Italians fall
  136. In the ranks smitten by the gleaming iron;
  137. 135 And close upon him shall his children perish.
  138.     But when another king of Rome shall reign,
  139. Then also to the Romans there shall come
  140. Unstable nations, on the walls of Rome
  141. Destructive Ares with his bastard son;
  142. 140 Then also shall be famines, pestilence,
  143. And mighty thunderbolts, and dreadful wars,
  144. And anarchy in cities suddenly;
  145. And the Syrians shall perish fearfully;
  146. For there shall come upon them the great wrath
  147. 145 Of the Most High and straightway an uprising
  148. of the industrious Persians, and mixed up
  149. With Persians shall the Syrians destroy
  150. The Romans, but by the divine decree
  151. They shall not make a conquest of their laws.
  152. 150    Alas, how many with their goods shall flee
  153. Front the East unto men of other tongues
  154. Alas, the dark blood of how many men
  155. The land shall drink! For that shall be a time
  156. In which the living uttering o'er the dead
  157. 155 A blessing shall by word of mouth pronounce
  158. Death beautiful and death shall flee from them.
  159. And now for thee, O wretched Syria,
  160. I weep in sorrow; for to thee shall come
  161. A dreadful blow from arrow-shooting men,
  162. 160 Which thou didst never think would come to thee.
  163. Also the fugitive of Rome shall come
  164. Bearing a great spear, Crossing on his way
  165. Euphrates with his many myriads,
  166. And he shall burn thee, and dispose all things
  167. 165 In a bad way. O wretched Antioch,
  168. And thee a city they shall never call,
  169. When by thy lack of prudence thou shalt fall
  170. Under the spears; and stripping off all things
  171. And making naked he shall leave thee thus
  172. 170 Coverless, houseless; and when anyone
  173. Sees he shall of a sudden weep for thee.
  174. And thou shalt be, O Hierapolis,
  175. A triumph, also thou, Berœa; weep
  176. At Chalcis over lately wounded sons.
  177. 175    Alas, how many by the steep high mount
  178. Of Casius shall dwell and by Amanus
  179. How many, and how many Lycus laves,
  180. And Marsyas as many and Pyramus
  181. The silver-eddying; for even to the bounds
  182. 180 Of Asia they shall treasure up their spoils,
  183. Make cities naked, and bear idols off
  184. And cast down temples on much-nourishing earth.
  185. And sometime to Gauls and Pannonians,
  186. To Mysians and Bithynians there shall be
  187. 185 Great sorrow when a warrior shall have come.
  188.     O Lycians, Lycians, there shall come a wolf
  189. To lick thy blood, when Sannians shall come
  190. With city-wasting Ares and the Carpians
  191. Shall draw near with Ausonians to fight.
  192. 190    And then by his own shameless recklessness
  193. The bastard son shall put the king to death,
  194. And he himself for his impiety
  195. Shall straightway perish. And again shall rule
  196. After him yet another whose name shows
  197. 195 First letter; but he too shall quickly fall
  198. By mighty Ares, struck by gleaming iron.
  199.     And yet again the world shall be confused,
  200. Men perishing by pestilence and war.
  201. And the Persians maddened by the Ausonians
  202. 200 Shall in the toil of Ares yet again
  203. Force their way. And then there shall be a flight
  204. Of Romans; and thereafter there shall come
  205. The priest heard of all round, sent by the sun,
  206. From Syria appearing and by guile
  207. 205 Shall he accomplish all things. And then too
  208. The city of the sun shall offer prayer;
  209. And round about her shall the Persians dare
  210. The fearful threatenings of the Phœnicians.
  211.     But when two chiefs, men swift in war, shall rule
  212. 210 The very mighty Romans, one of whom
  213. Shall have the number seventy, and the other
  214. The number three, even then the stately bull,
  215. That digs the earth with his hoofs and stirs up
  216. The dust with his two horns, shall many ills
  217. 215 Upon a dark-skinned reptile perpetrate--
  218. Which draws a trail with his scales; and besides,
  219. Himself shall perish. And yet after him
  220. Again shall come another fair-horned stag,
  221. Hungry upon the mountains, striving hard
  222. 220 To feed upon the venom-shedding beasts
  223. Then shall a dread and fearful lion come,
  224. Sent from the sun, and breathing forth much flame.
  225. And then too by his shameless recklessness
  226. Shall he destroy the well-horned rapid stag,
  227. 225 And the most mighty venom-shedding beast
  228. So dread, that sends forth many piping sounds,
  229. And the he-goat that sideways moves along,
  230. And after him fame follows; he himself
  231. Sound, unhurt, unapproachable, shall rule
  232. 230 The Romans, and the Persians shall be weak.
  233.     But, Lord, King of the world, O God, restrain
  234. The song of our words, and give charming song.


BOOK XIV.

CONTENTS OF BOOK XIV.

Warning against the lust of power, 1-14. The bull-destroyer, 16-22. The man known by the number one, 23-27. Two rulers of the number forty, 28-34. Young ruler of the number seventy, 115-55. Ruler of the number forty, 66-61. Wolf from the West, 62-65. Ruler known by the letter A, 66-73. Three kings of haughty soul, of the numbers one, thirty, and three hundred, 74-93. King known by the number three, 94-98. The old king of the number four, 99-101. Wars and woes on various peoples, 102-120. The venerable king of the number five, 121-134. Two kings of the numbers three hundred and three, 115-147. The king of many schemes, 148-159. King of the number three hundred, 160-172. King like a wild beast, of the number thirty, 173-188. Ruler of the number four, 189-200. Great sign from heaven, 201-205. Ruler out of Asia, of the number fifty, 206-216. Ruler out of Egypt, 217-223. The man of potent signs and the peaceful king of the number five, 224-245. Many tyrants and the holy king known by the letter A, 246-261. Burning and restoration of Rome, 262-271. Woo for various Greeks, 272-278. The fratricide, 279-283. The fierce king of the number eighty and the terrors of his time, 284-508. Many obtain royal power, 309-312. Three kings and their destruction, 313-329. Many spearmen, 330-335. God's judgment on the shameless, 336-343. Rome's wretched plight and the last race of Latin kings, 344-358. Egypt and her prudent king, 359-375. The Alexandrians, 376-381. Fearful nameless woe, 382-398. The Sicilians, 399-406. The lion and lioness, 407-418. The dragon and the ram, 419-425. Second war in Egypt, 426-433. Destructive slaughter, 434-447. The Messianic era, 448-468.

BOOK XIV.

  1.     O MEN, why do ye vainly think on things
  2. Too lofty, as if ye immortal were?
  3. And ye are ruling but a little time,
  4. And over mortals all desire to reign,
  5. 5 Not understanding that God himself hates
  6. The lust of rule, and most of all things hates
  7. Insatiate kings fearful in wickedness,
  8. And over them he stirs up what is dark;
  9. Wherefore, instead of good works and just thoughts,
  10. 10 Ye all choose for your garments purple robes,
  11. Desiring wretched fights and homicides
  12. Them God imperishable who dwells in heaven
  13. Shall make short-lived, destroy them utterly,
  14. And overthrow one here, another there.
  15. 15    But when there shall a bull-destroyer come
  16. Trusting in his own might, thick-haired and grim,
  17. And shall destroy all, he shall also tear
  18. Shepherds in pieces, and no victory
  19. Shall be theirs unless soon, with speed of feet
  20. 20 Pursuing eagerly through wooded glens,
  21. Young dogs shall meet in conflict; for a dog
  22. Pursued the lion which destroys the shepherds.
  23.     And then there shall be a lord confident
  24. In his might, and named with four syllables,
  25. 25 And shown forth clearly from the number one;
  26. But him shall brazen Ares quickly slay
  27. Because of conflict with insatiate men.
  28.     Then shall two other princely men bear rule,
  29. Both of the number forty; and with them
  30. 30 Shall great peace be in the world and to all
  31. The people law and right; but them in turn
  32. Shall men with gleaming helmet, needing gold
  33. And silver, impiously put to death
  34. For these things, catching them by their deft plans.
  35. 35    And then again a dreadful lord shall rule,
  36. Young, fighting hand to hand, whose name shall show
  37. The number seventy, life-destroying, fierce,
  38. Who to the army basely shall betray
  39. The people of Rome, slain by wickedness
  40. 40 Because of wrath of kings, and he shall hurl
  41. Down every city and hut of the Latins.
  42. And Rome is no more to be seen or heard,
  43. Such as of late another traveler saw;
  44. For all these things shall in the ashes lie,
  45. 45 Nor shall there be a sparing of her works;
  46. For hurtful he himself shall come from heaven,
  47. God the immortal from the sky shall send
  48. Lightnings and thunderbolts upon mankind;
  49. And some he will destroy by lightnings burned,
  50. 50 And others with his mighty thunderbolts.
  51. And Rome's strong children and the famous Latins
  52. Shall then the shameless dreadful ruler slay.
  53. Around him dead the dust shall not lie light,
  54. But he shall be a sport for dogs and birds
  55. 55 And wolves, for he a martial people spoiled.
  56.     After him, numbering forty, there shall rule
  57. Another, famous Parthian-destroyer,
  58. German-destroyer, putting down dread beasts
  59. That kill men, which upon the ocean's streams
  60. 60 And the Euphrates press continuous on.
  61. And then shall Rome again be as before.
  62.     But when there comes a great wolf in thy plains,
  63. A ruler marching onward from the West,
  64. Then shall he under powerful Ares die
  65. 65 Being cleft asunder by the piercing brass.
  66.     And o'er the very mighty Romans then
  67. Shall there rule yet again another man
  68. Of great heart, from. Assyria brought to light,
  69. Of the first letter, and he shall himself
  70. 70 By means of wars put all things under him,
  71. And by his armies at once power display
  72. And lay down laws; but him shall brazen Ares
  73. Quickly destroy by treacherous armies falling.
  74.     After him three of haughty heart shall rule,
  75. 75 One having the first number, one three tens,
  76. And the other with three hundred shall partake,
  77. Cruel, who gold and silver in much fire
  78. Shall melt in statues of gods made with hands,
  79. And to the armies they, equipped for war,
  80. 80 Will, for the sake of victory, moneys give,
  81. Dividing many costly things and goods;
  82. And in like manner, striving eagerly
  83. After power, they shall barm disastrously
  84. The arrow-shooting Parthians of the deep
  85. 85 And swift Euphrates, and the hostile Medes,
  86. And the soft-haired warlike Massagetæ
  87. And Persians also, quiver-bearing men.
  88. But when the king shall his own fate unloose
  89. Leaving unto his sons more fit for arms
  90. 90 The royal scepter and entreating right,
  91. Then they, forgetful of their father's words
  92. And having their hands all prepared for war,
  93. Shall rush in conflict for the royal power.
  94.     And then another lord, of the third number,
  95. 95 Shall rule alone, and smitten by a sword
  96. Shall quickly see his fate. Then after him
  97. Shall many perish at each other's hands,
  98. Being very valiant for the royal power.
  99.     Moreover a great-hearted one shall rule
  100. 100 The very mighty Romans, an old lord,
  101. Of the number four, and manage all things well.
  102.     And then upon Phœnicia shall come war
  103. And conflict, when there shall come nations near
  104. Of arrow-shooting Persians; ah, how many
  105. 105 Shall before men of barbarous speech fall down!
  106. Sidon and Tripolis and Berytus
  107. The loudly-boasting shall behold each other
  108. Amid the blood and bodies of the dead.
  109.     Wretched Laodicea, round thyself
  110. 110 Thou shalt a great and unsuccessful war
  111. Stir up through the impiety of men,
  112.     Ah, hapless Tyrians, ye shall gather in
  113. An evil harvest; when in the day-time
  114. The sun that lighteth mortals shall withdraw,
  115. 115 And his disk not appear, and drops of blood
  116. Thick and abundant shall flow down from heaven
  117. Upon the earth. And then the king shall die,
  118. Betrayed by his companions. After him
  119. Shall many shameless leaders still promote
  120. 120 The wicked strife and one another kill.
  121.     And then shall there a reverend ruler be,
  122. Of much skill, with a name that numbers five,
  123. Confiding in great armies, whom mankind
  124. Will fondly love because of royal power;
  125. 125 And having the good name he shall thereto
  126. Add by good deeds. But while he reigns there shall
  127. 'Twixt Taurus and snow-clad Amanus be
  128. A fearful sign. From the Cilician land
  129. A city new and beautiful and strong
  130. 130 Shall by the deep strong rivers be destroyed.
  131. And in Propontis and in Phrygia
  132. Shall there be many earthquakes. And the king
  133. Of great renown shall under his own lot
  134. By wasting deadly sickness lose his life.
  135. 135    And after him shall rule two lordly kings,
  136. One numbering three hundred, and one three;
  137. And many shall he utterly destroy
  138. In defense of the seven-hill city Rome,
  139. And for the sake of powerful sovereignty.
  140. 140 And then shall evil to the senate come,
  141. Nor shall it from the angry king escape
  142. While he holds wrath against it. And a sign
  143. Shall then appear to all men upon earth;
  144. And fuller shall the rains be, snow and hail
  145. 145 Shall ruin field-fruits o'er the boundless earth.
  146. But they shall fall in wars, slain by strong Ares
  147. In behalf of the war for the Italians.
  148.     And then again another king shall rule,
  149. Full of devices, gathering all the army,
  150. 150 And for the sake of war distributing
  151. Money to those with brazen breastplate clad;
  152. But thereupon shall Nilus, rich in corn,
  153. Beyond the Libyan mainland irrigate
  154. For two years the dark soil and fruitful land
  155. 155 Of Egypt; but all things shall famine seize
  156. And war and robbers, murders, homicides.
  157. And many cities shall by warlike men
  158. Be thrown down headlong by the army's hands;
  159. And he, betrayed, shall fall by gleaming iron.
  160. 160    After him one whose number is three hundred
  161. Shall rule the Romans, very mighty men;
  162. He shall stretch forth a life-destroying spear
  163. Against the Armenians and the Parthians,
  164. The Assyrians and the Persians firm in war.
  165. 165 And then anew shall a creation be
  166. Of splendidly built Rome with gold and amber
  167. And silver and ivory in order raised;
  168. And in her many people shall abide
  169. From all the East and from the prosperous West;
  170. 170 And the king shall make other laws for her;
  171. But then shall death destructive and strong fate
  172. In turn receive him in a boundless isle.
  173.     And there shall rule another, of ten triads,
  174. A man like a wild beast, fair-haired and grim,
  175. 175 Who shall be a descendant of the Greeks.
  176. And then a city of Molossian Phthia
  177. Feeding much, and Larissa shall be bent
  178. Down on Peneus's overhanging brows;
  179. And then too in horse-feeding Scythia
  180. 180 Shall be an insurrection. And dire war
  181. Shall be hard by the waters of the lake
  182. Mæotis at streams by the utmost mouth
  183. Of the fount of watery Phasis on the mead
  184. Of asphodel; and there shall many fall
  185. 185 By powerful warriors. Ah, how many men
  186. Shall Ares with strong brass receive! And then,
  187. Having destroyed a Scythian race, the king
  188. Shall die in his own lot unloosing life.
  189.     And yet another of the number four
  190. 190 Shall rule thereafter, openly made known
  191. A dreadful man, whom all Armenians,
  192. Who drink the best ice of the flowing stream
  193. Araxes, and the Persians of great soul
  194. Shall fear in wars. And between Colchians
  195. 195 And very strong Pelasgi there shall be
  196. Wars, fights, and homicides. And those who hold
  197. The cities of the land of Phrygia
  198. And those of the Propontis, and make bare
  199. From out their scabbards the two-edged swords,
  200. 200 Shall smite each other through sore impiousness.
  201.     And then shall God to mortal men display
  202. From heaven a great sign with the rolling years,
  203. A bat, the portent of bad war to come.
  204. And then the king shall not escape stern fate,
  205. 205 But die by hand, slain by the gleaming iron.
  206.     After him, numbering fifty, there shall rule
  207. Again another coming out of Asia,
  208. A dreadful terror, fighting hand to hand;
  209. And he shall set war on Rome's stately walls,
  210. 210 And among Colchians, and Heniochi,
  211. And the milk-drinking Agathyrsians
  212. By Euxine sea, at Thracia's sandy bay.
  213. And then the king shall not escape stern fate,
  214. And they will tear in pieces his dead corpse.
  215. 215 And then, the king slain, man-ennobling Rome
  216. Shall be a desert, and much people perish.
  217.     And then again one terrible and dread
  218. From mighty Egypt shall rule, and destroy
  219. Great hearted Parthians and Medes and Germans,
  220. 220 And Agathyrsians of the Bosporus,
  221. Iernians, Britons, and Iberians
  222. That bear the quiver, bent Massagetæ,
  223. And Persians thinking themselves more than men.
  224.     And then a famous man shall look upon
  225. 225 All Hellas, acting as an enemy
  226. To Scythia and windy Caucasas.
  227. And there shall be a dread sign while he rules:
  228. Crowns altogether like the shining stars
  229. Shall from heaven in the south and north appear.
  230. 230 And then shall he bequeath the royal power
  231. To his son whose initial letter heads
  232. The alphabet, when in the halls of Hades
  233. The manly king in his own lot shall go.
  234. But when the son of this man in the land
  235. 235 Of Rome shall rule, shown by the number one,
  236. There shall be over all the earth great peace
  237. Much longed for, and the Latins will love him
  238. As king because of his own father's worth;
  239. Him, eager to go both to East and West,
  240. 240 The Roman people shall against his will
  241. Retain at home and in command of Rome,
  242. For among all there is a friendly heart
  243. Felt for their royal and illustrious lord.
  244. But baneful death shall snatch him out of life,
  245. 245 Short-lived, abandoned to his destiny.
  246.     But others afterwards again shall smite
  247. Each other, powerful warriors, carrying on
  248. An evil strife, not holding kingly power,
  249. But being tyrants. And in all the world
  250. 250 Shall they bring many evil things to pass,
  251. But chiefly for the Romans till the time
  252. Of the third Dionysus, until armed
  253. With helmet Ares shall from Egypt come,
  254. Whom they shall surname Dionysus lord.
  255. 255 But when the famous royal purple cloak
  256. A murderous lion and murderous lioness
  257. Shall rend, together they shall grasp the lungs
  258. Of the changed kingdom; then a holy king,
  259. Whose name has the first letter, pressing hard
  260. 260 For victory, shall cast down hostile chiefs
  261. To be the food of dogs and birds of prey.
  262.     Alas for thee, O city burned with fire,
  263. O powerful Rome! How many things must thou
  264. Needs suffer when all these things come to pass!
  265. 265 But the great far-famed king shall afterward
  266. Raise thee all up again with gold and amber
  267. And silver and ivory, and in the world
  268. Thou shalt in thy possessions foremost be,
  269. Also in temples, market-places, wealth,
  270. 270 And race-grounds; and then shalt thou be again
  271. A light for all, even as thou wast before.
  272. Ah, wretched Cecropes and Cadmeans
  273. And the Laconians, who are situate
  274. Around Peneus and Molossian stream
  275. 275 Thick grown with rushes, Tricca and Dodona,
  276. And high-built Ithome, Pierian ridge
  277. Around the summit of Olympian mount,
  278. Ossa, Larissa, and high-gate Calydon.
  279.     But when God shall for mortals bring to pass
  280. 280 A great sign, day dark twilight round the world,
  281. Even then to thee, O king, the end shall come,
  282. Nor is it possible that thou escape
  283. A brother's piercing dart against thee hurled.
  284.     And then again shall rule a life-destroyer,
  285. 285 A fiery eagle from the royal race,
  286. Who shall of Egypt's offspring take fast hold,
  287. Younger, but than his brother much more strong,
  288. Who has for his first sign the number eighty.
  289. And then the whole world shall for honor's sake
  290. 290 Bear in its lap the soul-distressing wrath
  291. Of the immortal God; and there shall come
  292. On mortal men, the creatures of a day,
  293. Famines and plagues and wars and homicides,
  294. And an incessant darkness o'er the earth,
  295. 295 Mother of peoples, and relentless wrath
  296. From heaven, and disorder of the times,
  297. And earthquake shocks, and flaming thunderbolts,
  298. And stones and storms of rain and squalid drops.
  299. And the high summits of the Phrygian land
  300. 300 Feel the shock, bases of the Scythian hills
  301. Feel the shock, cities tremble, and all earth
  302. Trembles at the cliffs of the land of Greece.
  303. And many cities, God being very wroth,
  304. Shall fall prone under burning thunderbolts
  305. 305 And with bewailings, and to shun the wrath
  306. And make escape is not even possible.
  307. And then the king shall by a strong hand fall,
  308. Struck as if he were no one by his men.
  309.     After him of the Latins many men
  310. 310 Wearing the purple mantle on their shoulders
  311. Shall be again raised up, who shall by lot
  312. Desire to lay hold on the royal power.
  313.     And then upon the stately walls of Rome
  314. Shall be three kings, two having the first number,
  315. 315 And one the eponym of victory
  316. Bearing as no one else. They shall love Rome
  317. And all the world, concerned for mortal men;
  318. But they shall not accomplish anything;
  319. For God has not been gracious to the world
  320. 320 Neither will he be gentle with mankind,
  321. Because they have done many evil things.
  322. Therefore to kings shall he a mean soul bring
  323. Still worse than that of leopards and of wolves;
  324. For harshly seizing them with their own hands,
  325. 325 Like feeble women who are idly slain,
  326. Shall men in brazen breastplate utterly
  327. Destroy the kings together with their scepters.
  328. Ah, wretched lofty men of glorious Rome,
  329. Trusting in false oaths ye shall be destroyed.
  330. 330    And then shall many masters with the spear,
  331. Men rushing not in order furious on,
  332. Take away offspring of the first-born men
  333. In their blood. . . . Therefore thrice
  334. Shall the Most High then bring on dreadful doom,
  335. 335 And all men with their works shall he destroy.
  336. But into judgment yet again shall God
  337. Cause them to come that have a shameless soul,
  338. As many as determined evil things;
  339. And they themselves are fenced in, falling one
  340. 340 Upon another, and given over there
  341. Into that condemnation of wickedness.
  342.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  343. All one by one, yet a brilliant comet
  344.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  345. Of much to come, of war and battle strife,
  346.     But at the time when one about the isles
  347. 345 Shall gather many oracles that speak
  348. To strangers of fight and of battle strife,
  349. And grievous harm of temples, he shall bid
  350. One in great haste to gather in Rome's halls
  351. For twelve months wheat and barley in abundance,
  352. 350 And this most quickly. And in wretched plight
  353. The city shall be those days, and straightway
  354. Shall it again be prosperous not a little;
  355. And rest shall be when that rule is destroyed.
  356. And then the last race of the Latin kings
  357. 355 Shall be, and after it again shall grow
  358. Dominion, children and the children's race
  359. Shall be unshaken; for it shall be known,
  360. Since of a surety God himself is king.
  361.     There is a land dear, nourisher of men,
  362. 360 Situate in a plain, and round it Nile
  363. Marks off the boundary and separates
  364. All Libya and Ethiopia.
  365. And Syrians short-lived, one from one place,
  366. Another from another, from that land
  367. 365 Shall snatch away all movable effects;
  368. A great and careful lord shall be their king,
  369. Training up youth and sending off for men,
  370. And planning something fearful about those
  371. Most fearful, above all he shall send forth
  372. 370 A powerful helper of all Italy
  373. The lofty-minded. And when he shall come
  374. Unto the dark sea of Assyria
  375. He shall despoil Phœnicians in their homes,
  376. And fastening evil war and battle dire
  377. 375 Shall be one lord of the two lords of earth.
  378.     And now will I for Alexandrians sing
  379. Their grievous end; alas, barbarians
  380. Shall possess sacred Egypt, land unharmed,
  381. Unshaken, when wrath from the gods shall come.
  382.     .    .    .    .    .    .    .
  383. 380 . . . making winter summer,
  384.     Then shall the oracles be all fulfilled.
  385. But when three youths in the Olympian games
  386. Shall conquer, and thou shalt bid them that know
  387. The oracles that call on God to cleanse
  388. 385 First by the blood of sucking quadruped,
  389. Thrice therefore shall the Most High then bring on
  390. A fearful lot, and be shall over all
  391. Brandish the mournful long spear; then much blood
  392. Barbarian shall be poured out in the dust
  393. 390 When the city shall be plundered utterly
  394. By inhospitable strangers. Happy he
  395. Who is dead, also happy any one
  396. Who is without a child; for he who once
  397. Was leader surnamed for them that are free,
  398. 395 Far-famed in song, no longer in his mind
  399. Revolving earlier plans, shall place their neck
  400. Under a servile yoke; such slavery,
  401. Cause of much weeping, shall a lord impose.
  402.     And then straightway an army of Sicilians
  403. 400 Ill-fated shall come, carrying dismay,
  404. When a barbarian nation shall again
  405. Come suddenly; and the fruit, when it grows,
  406. They from the field shall sever. Upon them
  407. Shall God the lofty Thunderer bestow
  408. 405 Evil instead of good; continually
  409. Shall stranger pluck from stranger hateful gold.
  410.     But now when all shall look upon the blood
  411. Of the flesh-eating lion and there comes
  412. Upon the body a murderous lioness,
  413. 410 Down from his head will be the scepter cast
  414. Away from him. And as in friendly feast
  415. In Egypt when the people all partake,
  416. They perform valiant deeds, and one restrains
  417. Another, and among them there is much
  418. 415 Shouting aloud; so also shall there be
  419. Upon mankind the fear of furious strife,
  420. And many shall be utterly destroyed
  421. And others kill each other by hard fights.
  422.     And then one, covered with dark scales shall come;
  423. 420 Two others shall come acting in concert
  424. With one another, and with them a third
  425. A great ram from Cyrene, whom before
  426. 1 spoke of as a fugitive in war
  427. Beside the streams of Nile; but in no wise
  428. 425 An unsuccessful way do all complete.
  429.     And then the lengths of the revolving years
  430. Shall be exceeding quiet; yet again
  431. Thereafter shall a second war for them
  432. In Egypt be stirred up, and there shall be
  433. 430 A battle on the sea, but victory
  434. Shall not be theirs. Ah, wretched ones, there shall
  435. A conquest of the famous city be,
  436. And it shall be a spoil of war not long.
  437.     And then men having common boundaries
  438. 435 Of much land shall flee wretched, and shall lead
  439. Their wretched parents. And they shall again
  440. Having great victory light on a land,
  441. And shall destroy the Jews, men staunch in war,
  442. Wasting by wars far as the hoary deep,
  443. 440 On both sides, fighting in the foremost ranks
  444. For father-land and parents. And a race
  445. Of trophy-bearing men shall for the dead
  446. Be reckoned. Ah, how many men shall swim
  447. About the waves! For on the sandy beach
  448. 445 Many shall lie; and heads of golden hair
  449. Shall fall beneath Egyptian winged fowls.
  450. And then for the Arabians mortal blood
  451. Shall go in quest. But when wolves shall with dogs
  452. Pledge in a sea-girt island solemn oaths,
  453. 450 Then shall there be the raising of a tower,
  454. And the city that suffered very many things
  455. Men shall inhabit. For deceitful gold
  456. Shall no more be nor silver, nor acquiring
  457. Of the earth, nor much-laboring servitude;
  458. 455 But one fast friendship and one mode of life
  459. With cheerful soul; and all things shall be common
  460. And equal light among the means of life.
  461. And wickedness shall sink down from the earth
  462. Into the vast sea. And then near at hand
  463. 460 Is come the harvest-time of mortal men.
  464. There is imposed a strong necessity
  465. That these things be fulfilled. And at that time
  466. There shall not any other traveler say,
  467. In this conjecturing, that the race of men
  468. 465 Though perishable shall ever cease to be.
  469. And then a holy nation shall prevail
  470. And hold the sovereignty of all the earth
  471. Unto all ages with their mighty sons.


APPENDIX.

APPENDIX.

FRAGMENTS OF THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES.

I.

YE mortal men and fleshly, who are naught,
How quickly are ye puffed up, seeing not
The end of life! Do ye not tremble now
And fear God, him who watches over you,
5 The one who is most high, the one who knows,
The all-observant witness of all things,
All-nourishing Creator, who has put
[
FIRST FRAGMENT.
This fragment is found in the writings of Theophilus, a bishop of Antioch, who lived in the latter half of the second century. Near the close of his second book, addressed to his friend Autolycus [chap. xxxvi; Migne, G., 6, 1109], Theophilus introduces these lines (thirty-five in number in the Greek) with the following words: "Now the Sibyl, who among the Greeks and other nations was a prophetess, in the beginning of her prophecy upbraids the race of men, saying." From this statement it has been inferred that the lines stood originally at the beginning of our third book, which contains the oldest portions of our present collection; for Lactantius attributes the passages which he cites from this fragment to the Erythræan Sibyl, to whom he attributes elsewhere citations from the third book only. Citations from other books he refers to other Sibyls.
1. This first line is cited by Clement of Alexandria, Strom., iii, 3 [Migne, G., 8, 1117], who also in the same connection quotes a similar passage from Empedocles. Comp. Homer, Od., xviii, 130: "Earth nourishes nothing feebler than man."
7-9. These lines are quoted by Lactantius, iv, 6 [L., 6, 462], who, however, {footnote p. 258} inserts the word God. He observes: "The Erythræan Sibyl in the beginning of her song, which she commenced by the help of the Most High God, proclaims the Son of God as leader and commander of all in these verses:
"All-nourishing Creator, who in all
Sweet breath implanted, and made God the guide of all."
]
In all things his sweet Spirit and has made
Him leader of all mortals? God is one,
10 Who rules alone, supremely great, unborn,
Almighty and invisible, himself
Alone beholding all things, but not seen
Is he himself by any mortal flesh.
For what flesh is there able to behold
15 With eyes the heavenly and true God divine,
Who has his habitation in the sky?
Not even before the bright rays of the sun
Can men stand still, men who are mortal born,
Existing but as veins and flesh on bones.
20 Him who alone is ruler of the world,
Who alone is forever and has been
From everlasting, reverence ye him,
The self-existent unbegotten one
Who rules all things through all time, dealing out
25 Unto all mortals in a common light
The judgment. And the merited reward
Of evil counseling shall ye receive,
For ceasing the true and eternal God
To glorify, and holy hecatombs
30 To offer him, ye made your sacrifice
Unto the demons that in Hades dwell.
And ye in self-conceit and madness walk,
And having left the true, straightforward path
Ye went away and roamed about through thorns
35 And thistles. O ye foolish mortals, cease
Roving in darkness and black night obscure,
And leave the darkness of night, and lay hold
Upon the Light. Lo, he is clear to all
And cannot err; come, do not always chase
40 Darkness and gloom. Lo, the sweet-looking light
Of the sun shines with a surpassing glow.
Now, treasuring wisdom in your hearts, know ye
That God is one, who sends forth rains and winds,
Earthquakes and lightnings, famines, pestilence,
45 And mournful cares, and storms of snow, and ice.
But why do I thus speak them one by one?
He guides heaven, rules earth, over Hades reigns.

II.

Now if gods beget offspring and remain
Immortal there had been more gods than men,
And there had never been sufficient room
For mortals to stand.

III.

Now if all that is born must also perish,
It is not possible for God to be
Formed from the thighs of man and from a womb;
But God alone is one and all-supreme,
5 Who made heaven and the sun and stars and moon,
Fruit-bearing earth and billows of the sea,
And lofty hills and mouth of lasting springs.
He also bringeth forth great multitude
Of creatures that amid the waters live
10 Innumerable, and the creeping things
That move upon earth he sustains with life,
And dappled, delicate, shrill-twittering birds,
That ply the air shrill-whirring with their wings.
And in the glens of mountains wild be placed
15 The race of beasts, and to us mortals made
All cattle subject, and the God-formed one
He constituted ruler of all things,
And unto man all variegated things
Made subject, things incomprehensible.
20 For all these things what mortal flesh can know?
For he himself alone, who made these things
At the beginning, knows, the incorrupt
Eternal Maker, dwelling in the heaven,
Bringing unto the good good recompense
25 Much more abundant, but awakening wrath
[
THIRD FRAGMENT.
This excerpt, which numbers forty-nine lines in the Greek text, is preserved to us in Theophilus, and is placed by him immediately after the first fragment with the following introductory words: "Also in regard to those (gods) who are said to have been born, she thus speaks."
1, 2. Cited by Lact., i, 8 [L., 6, 1541.
4-7. Cited by Lact., i, 6 [L., 6, 147].
21-26. Cited by Lact., de Ira Dei, xxii [L., 1, 143].]

And anger for the evil and unjust,
And war and pestilence, and tearful woes.
O men, why, vainly puffed up, do ye root
Yourselves out? Be ashamed to deify
30 Polecats and monsters. Is it not a craze
And frenzy, taking sense of mind away,
If gods steal plates and carry off earthen pots?
Instead of dwelling in the golden heaven
In plenty, see them eaten by the moth
35 And woven over with thick spider-webs!
O fools, that bow to serpents, dogs and cats,
And reverence birds and creeping beasts of earth,
Stone images and statues made with bands,
And stone-heaps by the roads--these ye revere,
40 And also many other idle things
Which it would even be a shame to tell;
These are the baneful gods of senseless men,
And from their mouth is deadly poison poured.
But of Him is life and eternal light
45 Imperishable, and he sheds a joy
Sweeter than honey sweet on righteous men,
And to him only do thou bow thy neck,
And among pious lives incline thy way.
Forsaking all these, in a spirit mad
50 With folly ye did all drain off the cup
Of judgment that was filled full, very pure,
Closely pressed, weighed down, and withal unmixed.
And ye will not wake from your drunken sleep
And come to sober reason, and know God
55 To be the king who oversees all things.
Therefore on you the flash of gleaming fire
Is coming, ye shall be with torches burned
The livelong day through an eternal age,
At your false useless idols feeling shame.
60 But they who fear the true eternal God
Inherit life, and they forever dwell
Alike in fertile field of Paradise,
Feasting on sweet bread from the starry heaven.

IV.

Hear me, O men, the King eternal reigns.

V.

He only is God, Maker uncontrolled;
He fixed the pattern of the human form,
And did the nature of all mortals mix
Himself, the generator of (all) life.

VI.

Whenever he shall come
A smoky fire shall be in mid-night dark.
 

FOURTH FRAGMENT.
This fragment, consisting of but a single line, is found in Lactantius, Div. Inst., vii, 24 [L., 6, 808].
FIFTH FRAGMENT.
These lines are found in Lactantius, Div. ii, 12 [L., 6, 319], and also in the Anonymous Preface.
SIXTH FRAGMENT.
This fragment is also found in Lactantius, Div. Inst., vii, 19 [L., 6, 797].]

VII.

The Erythræan Sibyl, addressing God, says: Why dost thou, O Lord, enjoin on me the necessity of prophesying, and not rather take me aloft from the earth and preserve me unto the most blessed day of thy coming?
[
SEVENTH FRAGMENT.
This, which Rzach calls a "doubtful fragment," is cited as a saying of the Erythræan Sibyl in Constantine's Oration to the Assembly of the Saints, chap. xxi [G., 20, 1300].]

ANONYMOUS PREFACE TO THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES.[1]

IF the labor bestowed upon the reading of the writings of the Greeks brings much advantage to them that perform it, since it is able to make those who labor on these things very learned, much more is it fitting that they who are possessed of good understanding devote their leisure continually to the Holy Scriptures, which tell about God and the things which minister profit to the soul, thence gaining the double benefit of ability to profit both themselves and their readers. It seemed good to me, therefore, to set forth in one connected and orderly series the so-called Sibylline Oracles, which are found scattered and in a confused condition, but which are helpful to the reading and understanding of those (Holy Scriptures), so that being easily brought together under the eye of the readers they may bring to these (readers) by way of reward the advantage that is to be derived from them, setting forth not a few necessary and useful things, and also rendering their study more valuable and varied. For (these oracles) also speak clearly of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the sacred and life-originating Trinity, and of the incarnate dispensation of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ, I mean his birth from a virgin without emanation, and of
[1. This Preface or Prologue assumes to have been prepared by the person who collected and arranged these pseudepigraphical oracles in the order in which they have come down to us. The exact time of his writing is unknown. Alexandre (Excursus ad Sibyllina, chap. xv, pp. 421-433) argues that it was probably written in the sixth century, during the reign of Justinian.]
the acts of healing performed by him, as also of his life giving passion, and of his resurrection from the dead on the third day, and of the judgment to come, and of recompense for what we all have done in this life; furthermore (these oracles) distinctly set forth what is made known in the Mosaic, writings and in the books of the prophets concerning the creation of the world, and the formation of man, and his expulsion from the garden and of his now formation hereafter. With regard to certain things which have been or perhaps are yet to be, they prophesy in various ways; and in a word, they are able in no small measure to profit their readers.
Sibyl is a Latin word meaning prophetess, or rather soothsayer; hence the female soothsayers were called by one name. Now Sibyls, according to many writers, have arisen in different times and places, to the number of ten. There was first the Chaldean, or rather the Persian (Sibyl), whose proper name is Sambethe. She was of the family of the most blessed Noah, and is said to have foretold the exploits of Alexander of Macedon; Nicanor, who wrote the life of Alexander, mentions her. The second was the Libyan, of whom Euripides makes mention in the preface of (his play) the Lamia. The third was the Delphian, born at Delphi, and spoken of by Chrysippus in his book on divination. The fourth was the Italian, in Cimmerium in Italy, whose son Evander founded in Rome the shrine of Pan which is called the Lupercal. The fifth was the Erythræan, who predicted the Trojan war, and of whom Apollodorus the Erythræan bears positive testimony. The sixth was the Samian, whose proper name is Phyto, of whom Eratosthenes wrote. The seventh was the Cumman, called Amalthea, also Herophile, and in some places Taraxandra. But Vergil calls the Cumæan Sibyl Deiphobe, daughter of Glaucus. The eighth was the Hellespontine, born in the
village of Marpessus near the small town of Gergithion, which, according to Heraclides of Pontus, was formerly, in the time of Solon and Cyrus, within the boundaries of the Troad. The ninth was the Phrygian, and the tenth the Tiburtine, named Albunæa.
It is said, moreover, that the Cumæan Sibyl once brought nine books of her oracles to Tarquinius Priscus, who was at that time king of the Romans, and demanded for them three hundred pieces of gold. But having been disdain fully treated, and not even questioned as to what they were, she committed three of them to the fire. Again, in another audience with the king she brought forward the six remaining books, and still demanded the same amount. But not being deemed worthy of attention, again she burned three more. Then a third time bringing the three that were left, and asking the same price, she said that if he would not procure them, she would burn these also. Then, it is said, the king examined them and was astonished, and gave for them a hundred pieces of gold, took them in charge and made request for the others. But she declared that neither had she the like of those that were burned nor had she any such knowledge apart from inspiration, but that certain persons from various cities and countries had at times excerpted what was esteemed by them necessary and useful, and that out of these excerpts a collection ought to be made. And this (the Romans) did as quickly as possible. For that which was given from God, though truly laid up in a corner, did not escape their search. And the books of all the Sibyls were deposited in the capitol of ancient Rome. Those of the Cumæan Sibyl, however, were hidden and not made known to many, because she proclaimed more especially and distinctly things that were to happen in Italy, while the others became known to all. But those that were written by the Erythræan Sibyl have the name that
was given her from the place; while the other books are without inscription to mark who is the author of each, but are without distinction (of authorship).
Now Firmianus,[1] being an esteemed philosopher and a priest of the aforementioned capitol, having looked unto the Christ, our eternal Light, set down in his own works the things spoken of by the Sibyls concerning the ineffable glory, and ably exposed the senselessness of Hellenic error. His forcible exposition is in the Italian tongue, but the Sibylline verses were published in the Greek language. And that this may not appear incredible, I will produce the testimony of the man before mentioned,[2] which is after this manner:
"Inasmuch as the Sibylline Oracles which are found in our city not only, as being very plentiful, are held in low esteem by those of the Greeks who are cognizant of them (for it is things which are rare that are held in honor), but also since not all of the verses keep to the precision of the meter, their credit is lower. But this is the fault not of the prophetess, but of the shorthand writers who could not keep up with the rush of the Sibyl's words, or who were uneducated; for her remembrance of the things she had spoken ceased with the spell of inspiration. Which fact Plato also had in view when he said that (the prophets) treat correctly many and great matters while they know nothing, of the things of which they speak."
[1. Reference to Firmianus Lactantius, contemporary with Diocletian and Constantine (cir. A. D. 284-325), noted for his numerous citations from the Sibylline Oracles. See the Index to this volume.
2. This reference seems to be to the Firmianus Lactantius just mentioned, but the passage cited is not found in the writings of that author; it is rather a free reproduction of the concluding portion of the thirty-seventh chapter of Justin Martyr's Hortatory Address to the Greeks. The reader will find this entire chapter on pp. 272, 273, of this Appendix.]
We shall, accordingly, from those oracles which were brought to Rome by the ambassadors (of Tarquin), produce, as much as possible. Now, concerning the God who is without beginning one declared these things:
One God, who rules alone, immense, unborn.
But God alone is one, highest of all,
Who made the heaven and sun and stars and moon,
Fruit-bearing earth and billows of the sea.
He only is God, Maker uncontrolled;
He fixed the pattern of the human form,
And did the nature of all mortals mix
Himself, the generator of (all) life.
This (the Sibyl) has said either on the ground that being joined together (husband and wife) become one flesh, or with the thought that out of the four elements which are opposite to each other God fashioned both the world and man.

LACTANTIUS'S ACCOUNT OF THE SIBYLS.

ONE of the fullest accounts of the Sibyls which we possess is that which is found in the writings of Firmianus Lactantius (Divine Institutes, book i, chap. vi; Migne, L. P., vol. vi, 140-147). The author of the foregoing "Anonymous Preface" probably derived his account of the Sibyls from this Latin father, who flourished about the close of the third century of our era, and who refers to Varro as his authority. This passage seems also to have been the principal source of information for later writers, and we here furnish the reader with a translation from the Latin text of Migne:
"Marcus, Varro, than whom no one more learned ever lived, neither among the Greeks, nor even among the Latins, in books on sacred subjects which he wrote to Caius Cæsar, the chief pontiff, when he was speaking of the Quindecemviri,[1] says that the Sibylline books were not the work of one Sibyl, but were called by one name, Sibylline, since all female prophets were called Sibyls by the ancients, either from the name of the one at Delphi, or from their announcing the counsels of the gods. For in the Æolic manner of speaking they call the gods sious ({Greek siou's}), not theous ({Greek ðeou's}) and counsel is not boule ({Greek boulh'}), but bule ({Greek bulh'}); and so Sibyl is pronounced as siobule ({Greek siobulh'}). But the Sibyls were ten in number, and all these he enumerated under authors who had written of each one. And first there was the Persian of whom mention is made by Nicanor, who wrote the history of Alexander of Macedon; the second was the Libyan, whom Euripides mentions in the prologue of the Lamia; the third was the Delphian, of whom Chrysippus speaks in that book which he composed on divination; the fourth was the Cimmerian in Italy, whom Nævius in his books of the Punic War and Piso in his annals names, the fifth was the Erythræan, whom Apollodorus of Erythræa affirms to have been his own countrywoman and to have prophesied to the Greeks who were moving against Ilium both that Troy
[1. The Quindecemviri were a college, or board of fifteen priests, to whom the care of the Sibylline books was intrusted at Rome.]

would be destroyed and that Homer would write falsehoods; the sixth was the Samian, of whom Eratosthenes writes that he had found something written in the ancient annals of the Samians; the seventh was the Cumæan, by name Amalthea, who is by others called Demophile or Herophile. She brought nine books to King Tarquinius Priscus, and asked three hundred pieces of gold for them, but the king spurned the greatness of the price and laughed at the insanity of the woman. She thereupon in sight of the king burned three of them, and for the rest asked the same price; but Tarquinius all the more thought the woman was insane. But when again, having destroyed three more, she persisted in the same price, the king was moved, and bought what was left for three hundred pieces of gold., Afterward their number was increased, the capitol being rebuilt, for they were collected out of all the cities both of Italy and Greece, and especially of Erythræa, and brought to Rome in the name of whatever Sibyl they chanced to be. The eighth Sibyl was the Hellespontine, born in the Trojan country, in the village of Marpessus, near the town of Gergitha. Heraclides of Pontus writes that she lived in the times of Solon and Cyrus. The ninth was the Phrygian, who prophesied at Ancyra; the tenth was the Tiburtine, by name Albunea, who is worshiped at Tibur as a goddess, near the banks of the river Anio, in which stream her image is said to have been found, holding a book in her hand. Her oracular responses the Senate transferred into the capitol."
So far Lactantius appears to quote substantially from Varro, and then he adds, as if contributing further information, the following:
Of all these Sibyls the songs are both made public and held in use except those of the Cumman, whose books are kept secret by the Romans; neither do they hold it lawful for them to be inspected by anyone except the Quindecemviri. And there are single books of each which, because they are inscribed by the name of a Sibyl, are believed to be the work of one; and there are also confused ones, nor is it possible to discern and assign to each its own except that of the Erythræan, who both inserted her own true name in her song and foretold that she would go by the name of the Erythræan, although she was born in Babylon. . . . All these Sibyls proclaim one God, but especially the Erythræan, who is held among the others to be more distinguished
[1. Dionysius Halicarnasseus also records this story of Tarquin and the Sibyl, and adds that, having delivered over the books, she disappeared from among men.--Antiq. Rom., iv, 62.]

and noble, since indeed Fenestella, a most careful writer, speaking of the Quindecemviri says that upon the restoration of the capitol the consul Caius Curio proposed to the Senate to send ambassadors to Erythræ, who should search for the songs of the Sibyl and bring them to Rome. And so Publius Gabinius, Marcus Otacilius, and Lucius Valerius were sent, and they brought to Rome about a thousand verses written down by private persons."

JUSTIN MARTYR'S ACCOUNT OF THE SIBYL.

THE following account of the Sibyl and her oracles constitutes the entire thirty-seventh chapter of a treatise entitled a Hortatory Address to the Greeks ({Greek Lo'gos parainetiko`s pro`s E`'llhnas}), usually published among the works of Justin Martyr. It appears in Migne's Greek Patrology, vol. vii 308, 309. The author of the "Anonymous Preface" cites the substance of the closing portion and seems to have regarded it as a testimony of Firmianus Lactantius. Its real authorship is uncertain.
You may very easily learn the true religion, in some part at least, from the ancient Sibyl, who teaches you through her oracles by a certain powerful inspiration things which seem to be near to the teaching of the prophets. They say that she was of Babylonian origin, being the daughter of Berosus, who wrote the Chaldean history; and when she had crossed over (I know not how) into the parts of Campania she uttered her oracles there in a city called Cumæ, six miles distant from Baiæ, where the hot springs of Campania are to be found. Being in that city, we saw also a certain place, in which was shown a very great basilica made out of one stone, a very great affair, and worthy of all admiration. There they, who received it as a tradition from their forefathers, say that the Sibyl announced her oracles. And in the middle of the basilica they showed us three reservoirs made out of one stone, in which when they were filled with water they said she bathed, and having put on her garment again, she was wont to go into the innermost room of the basilica, which is made out of the one stone, and sitting in the middle of the room on a lofty platform and on a throne, she thus proclaimed her oracles. Of this Sibyl as a prophetess many other writers have also made mention, and Plato also in his Phædrus. And Plato, when he read her oracles, seems to me to have regarded the reciters of oracles as divinely inspired. For he saw that the things which had been spoken of old by her were actually fulfilled; and therefore in the dialogue with Meno [99], expressing admiration and eulogy of the prophets for their sayings, he has thus written: "We might truly name as divine those whom we call

prophets. Not least should we say that they are divine and profoundly inspired and possessed of God when they truly speak of many and great matters, knowing nothing of the things of which they speak; "clearly and obviously referring to the oracles of the Sibyl. For she was unlike the poets, who after the writing of their poems have power to correct and polish, especially the accuracy of the meters, but at the time of her inspiration she was filled with the matters of her prophecy, and when the spell of inspiration ceased her memory of the things spoken also ceased. This accordingly is the reason why all the meters of the verses of the Sibyl have not been preserved. For we ourselves, being in the city, learned from the guides who showed us the places in which she uttered her oracles that there was also a vessel made of bronze in which they said her remains were preserved. And besides all other things which they narrated, they also told us this, as having heard it from their forefathers, that they who received the oracles at that time, being without education, often utterly missed the accuracy of the meters, and this they said was the reason for the want of meter in some of the verses, the prophetess after the ceasing of her possession and her inspiration having no remembrance of what she had said, and the writers having failed for want of education to preserve the accuracy of the meters. Therefore it is evident that Plato said this about the reciters of oracles in reference to the oracles of the Sibyl; for he thus said: "When they truly speak of many and great matters, knowing nothing of the things of which they speak."[1]
[1. Plato, Meno, 99.]

THE SIBYLLINE ACROSTIC.

THE acrostic in book viii, 284-330 (Greek text, 217-250), is of a nature to attract special attention and interest. Not a few of the earliest published monographs touching the Greek Sibylline verses gave the text of this acrostic with explanatory observations upon it. Augustine in the eighteenth book of his de Civitate Dei (chap. xxiii) cites the first twenty-seven lines in a Latin translation which aims to retain the acrostic form of the Greek text. He further observes that "the verses are twenty-seven, which is the cube of three. For three times three are nine, and nine itself, if tripled, so as to rise from the superficial square to the cube, comes to twenty-seven. But if you join the initial letters of the five Greek words ({Greek I?hsou~s Xristo's Ðeou~ ui'o`s Swth'r}}) which mean, 'Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Saviour,' they will make the word {Greek i?xðu's}, that is, fish, in which word Christ is mystically understood, because he was able to live, that is, to exist, without sin in the abyss of this mortality as in the depth of waters."
The following version of the twenty-seven lines spoken of above is taken from Marcus Dods's translation of Augustine's de Civitate Dei in the "Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers." The reader will notice that the name of Christ is written in the lengthened Greek form {Greek Xreisto's}.
{Greek I} Judgment shall moisten the earth with the sweat of its standard,
{Greek H} Ever enduring, behold the king shall come through the ages,
{Greek S} Sent to be here in the flesh, and judge at the last of the world.
{Greek O} O God, the believing and faithless alike shall behold thee
{Greek U} Uplifted with saints, when at last the ages are ended,
{Greek S} Sisted before him are souls in the flesh for his judgment
{Greek X} Hid in thick vapors, the while desolate lieth the earth,
{Greek R} Rejected by men are the idols and long-hidden treasures;
{Greek E} Earth is consumed by the fire, and it searcheth the ocean and heaven;
{Greek I} Issuing forth, it destroyeth the terrible portals of hell.
{Greek S} Saints in their body and soul freedom and light shall inherit
{Greek T} Those who are guilty shall burn in fire and brimstone forever.
{Greek O} Occult actions revealing, each one shall publish his secrets
{Greek S} Secrets of every man's heart God shall reveal in the light.
{Greek Ð} Then shall be weeping and wailing, yea, and gnashing of teeth;
{Greek E} Eclipsed is the sun, and silenced the stars in their chorus.
{Greek O} Over and gone is the splendor of moonlight, melted the heaven.
{Greek U} Uplifted by him are the valleys, and cast down the mountains.
{Greek U} Utterly gone among men are distinctions of lofty and lowly.
{Greek I} Into the plains rush the hills, the skies and oceans are mingled.
{Greek O} O, what an end of all things! earth broken in pieces shall perish;
{Greek S} Swelling together at once shall the waters and flames flow in rivers.
{Greek S} Sounding, the archangel's trumpet shall peal down from heaven,
{Greek W} Over the wicked who groan in their guilt and their manifold sorrows.
{Greek T} Trembling, the earth shall be opened, revealing chaos and hell.
{Greek H} Every king before God shall stand in that day to be judged.
{Greek R} Rivers of fire and brimstone shall fall from the heavens.
The following version of the same twenty-seven lines are from the Christian Review, vol. xiii, 1848, p. 99.
{Greek I} Judgment impends. Lo! the earth reeks with sweat;
{Greek H} He, the destined King of future ages, comes;
{Greek S} Soon he descends--the Judge in human form.
{Greek O} On speeds the God--his friends and foes behold him.
{Greek U} Vengeance he wears, enthroned with his holy ones.
{Greek S} See how the dead assume their ancient forms.
{Greek X} Choked with thorny hedges lies the waste, dreary world
{Greek R} Ruined are the idol gods; they scorn their heaps of gold.
{Greek E} Even land and sea and sky shall raging fire consume.
{Greek I} Its penetrating flames shall burst the gates of hell.
{Greek S} Shining in light behold the saints immortal.
{Greek T} Turn to the guilty, burning in endless flames.
{Greek O} O'er hidden deeds of darkness no veil shall be spread.
{Greek S} Sinners to their God will reveal their secret thoughts.
{Greek Ð} There will be a bitter wailing; there they gnash with their teeth.
{Greek E} Ebon clouds veil the sun; the stars their chorus cease;
{Greek O} O'er our heads the heavens roll not,--the lunar splendors fade.
{Greek U} Underneath the mountains lie; the valleys touch the sky.
{Greek U} Unknown the heights or depths of man,--since all shall prostrate lie.
{Greek I} In the ocean's dark gulf sink the mountains and the plains.
{Greek O} Order casts away her empire; creation ends in chaos.
{Greek S} Swollen rivers and leaping fountains are consumed in the flames.
{Greek S} Shrill sounds the trumpet; its blast rends the sky.
{Greek W} O, fearful are the groanings, the sorrows of the doomed.
{Greek T} Tartarean chaotic depths the gaping earth reveals.
{Greek H} Earth's vaunted monarchs shall stand before the Lord.
{Greek R} Rivers of sulphur roll along and flames descend the sky.
The following version from the Christian Remembrancer, vol. xlii, 1861, p. 287, accords with the order of initial English letters of the words, JESUS CHRIST, SON OF GOD, THE SAVIOUR, THE CROSS:
Judgment at hand, the earth shall sweat with fear
Eternal King, the Judge shall come on high;
Shall doom all flesh; shall bid the world appear
Unveiled before his throne. Him every eye
Shall, just or unjust, see in majesty.
Consummate time shall view the saints assemble,
His own assessors; and the souls of men
Round the great judgment seat shall wail and tremble
In fear of sentence. And the green earth then
Shall turn to desert; they that see that day
To moles and bats their gods shall cast away.
Sea, earth, and heaven, and hell's dread gates shall burn;
Obedient to their call, the dead return;
Nor shall the Judge unfitting doom discern;
Of chains and darkness to each wicked soul;
For them that have done good, the starry pole.
Gnashing of teeth, and woe and fierce despair
Of such as hear the righteous Judge declare
Deeds long forgot, which that last day shall bare.
Then, when each darkened breast he brings to sight,
Heaven's stars shall fall; and day be turned to night;
Effaced the sun-ray, and the moon's pale light.
Surely the valleys he on high shall raise;
All hills shall cease, all mountains turn to plain;
Vessel shall no more pass the watery ways;
In the dread lightning parching earth shall blaze,
Ogygian rivers seek to flow in vain;
Unutterable woe the trumpet blast,
Re-echoing through the ether, shall forecast.
Then Tartarus shall wrap the world in gloom,
High chiefs and princes shall receive their doom,
Eternal fire and brimstone for their tomb.
Crown of the world, sweet Wood, salvation's horn,
Rearing its beauty, shall for man be born;
O Wood, that saints adore, and sinners scorn!
So from twelve fountains shall its light be poured;
Staff of the Shepherd, a victorious sword.


BIBLIOGRAPHY.

EDITIONS OF THE TEXT.

ALEXANDRE, C.--{Greek XRHSMOI SIBULLIAKOI}. Oracula Sibyllina. Textu ad Codices Manuscriptos recognito, Maianis supplementis aucto; cum Castalionis versione metrica, innumeris pæne locis emendata, et, ubi opus fuit, suppleta; commentario perpetuo, excursibus et indicibus. Volumen prius. Paris, 1841.
.... Voluminis I, Pars II, continens libros quatuor ultimos, cum curia in onmes libros posterioribus et nova libri quarti recensione. Paris, 1853.
.... {Greek XRHSMOI SIBULLIAKWN XRHSMWN LOGOI OKTW}. Oracula Sibyllina. Editio altera ex priore ampliore contracta, integra tamen et passim aucta, multisque locis retractata. Paris, 1869.
BETULEIUS, XYSTUS.--{Greek SIBULLIAKWN XRHSMWN LOGOI OKTW}. Sibyllinorum Oraculorum Libri Octo, multis bucusque seculis abstrusi, nuncque primum in lucem, cum annotationibus. Basiliæ, 1546.
.... {Greek SIBULLIAKWN XRHSMWN LOGOI OKTW}. Sibyllinorum Oraculorum Libri viii. Addita Sebastiani Castalionis interpretatione Latina, cum annotationibus Xysti Betuleji in Græca Sibyllina Oracula, et Sebastiani Castalionis in translationern suam. Basiliæ, 1555.
DE LA BIGNE, M.--Sibyllinorum Oraculorum Libri Octo, adjectis quibusdam earundem Sibyllarum Oraculis ex Lactantio et aliis. Magna Bibliotheca Patrum. Tomus xiv. Paris, 1654.
FRIEDLIEB, J. H.--{Greek XRHSMOI SIBULLIAKOI}. Oracula Sibyllina ad fidem Codd. Mscr. quotquot extant recensuit, prætextis prolegomenis illustravit, versione Germanica instruxit, annotationes criticas et rerum indicem adjecit. Lipsiæ, 1852.
GALLÆUS, SERVATIUS (Servais Gallè).--{Greek SIBULLIAKOI XRHSMOI}: hoc est, Sibyllina Oracula, ex veteribus codicibus emendata, ac restituta et commentariis diversorum illustrata. Accedunt etiam oracula magica Zoroastris, Iovis, Apollinis, etc. Amstelodami, 1689.
GALLANDIUS, ANDREA.--Sibyllinorum Oraculorum Libri Octo. Accessit Appendix e Palæographia Græca Bernardi de Montfaucon. Bibliotheca veterum Patrum, vol. i. Prolegomena, pp. lxxvi-lxxxii, and 833-410. Venetiis, 1765.

MAI, ANGELO.--{Greek SIBULLHS LOGOS id'} W. Sibyllæ Liber xiv. Græca at Latina. Additur sextus liber et pars octavi, cum multa vocum at versuum varietate. Mediolani, 1817.
.... Libri xi-xiv. Scriptorum veterum nova Collectio, vol. iii, pp. 202-216. 1828.
ORSOPŒUS, JOHANNIS (John Koch).--{Greek SIBULLIAKOI XRHSMOI}, hoc est, Sibyllina Oracula ex veteribus Codd. aucta, renovata et notis illustrata a D. Ionne Opsopœo Brettano. Cum interpretatione Latina Sebastiani Castalionis, et Indice. Paris, 1599.
RZACH, ALOISIUS.--{Greek SIBULLIAKOI XRHSMOI}. Oracula Sibyllina. Vindobonæ, 1891.]

TRANSLATIONS.

English.
FLOYER, JOHN.--The Sibylline Oracles. translated from the best Greek copies and compared with the sacred prophecies, especially with David and the Revelation, and with as much history as plainly shows that many of the Sibyl's predictions are exactly fulfilled. With answers to objections made against them. London, 1731.
TERRY, MILTON S.--The Sibylline Oracles. Translated from the Greek into English blank verse. New York, 1890.
French.
BOUCHÉ-LECLERQ.--In Revue de l'histoire des religions, vol. vii, 1888, pp. 236-248; vol. viii, pp. 619-634; vol. ix, pp. 220-223.
CHAMPIER, S.--Oracles de la Sibylle, tractuits par Simphorien Champier at JEAN ROBERTET. 1702,1703.
German.
FRIEDLIEB, J. H.-Die sibyllinischen Weissagungen vollständig gesammelt, nach neuer Handschriften-Vergleichung, mit kritischem Commentare und metrischer deutscher Uebersetzung. Leipzig, 1862.
NEHRUNG, J. C.--Neun Bücher sibyllinische Propheceiungen aus der griechischen in die deutsche Sprache übersetzt, von den unterschobenen Glossen unterschieden, mit Ammerkungen erläutert, und nebst einer Einleitung von der wahren Historie der Sibyllen und ihren Propheceiungen, in welchen die falschen Auflagen Schaligeri, Casauboni, Capelli, Opsopœi, Blondelli, und andere, die sie für erdichtet ausgeben, gründlich widerleget werden. Halle, 1819. (First ed., 1702.)
Italian.
ANTOLINI, V.--Oracoli Sibilini, tradotti dal Greco in versi Italialli. Viterbo, 1775.
Latin.
CASTALIO, SEBASTIAN.--Sibyllina Oracula de Græco in Latinum conversa et in eadem annotationes. Basil, 1546.
MAI, ANGELO.--See under Editions of the Text.
Spanish.
PORENO, BALTASAR.--Oraculos de las doze Sibilas. Profetisas de Christo ñro Señor entre los Gentiles. Cuenca, 1621.

ESSAYS AND REVIEWS.

ALEXANDRE, C.--Excursus ad Sibyllina, seu de Sibyllis, earumque vel tanquam earum carminibus profanis, judaicis, christianisve, dissertationes VII, insertis Græce et Latine, commentarioque auctis Sibyllinorum gentilium fragmentis quod supersunt. Paris, 1856.
ANTON, CAROLUS THEOPHILUS.--Præmittitur brevis dissertatio de Sibyllis et Sibyllino oraculo Jesum Christum prænunciante, quod in codice bibliothecæ Milichianæ manuscripto reperitur. Gorlicii, 1852.
BADT, T.--De Oraculis Sibyllinis a Judæis compositis. Pars I. Dissertatio inauguralis. Vratislaviæ, 1869.
.... Ueber das vierte Buch des sibyllinischen Orakel. Breslau, 1878.
BANG, A. C.--Voluspa und sibyllinische Orakel. (Translated from the Danish.) Wien, 1880.
BERNHARDY, G.--Grundriss der griechischen Literatur. II, 1, pp. 376-386. Halle, 1856.
BESANÇON, G.--De l'emploi que les pères de l'église ont fait des Oracles Sibyllins. Montaubon, 1851.
BLEEK, F.--Ueber die Entstehung und Zusammensetzung, der uns in 8 Büchern erhaltenen Sammlung sibyllinischer Orakel. Theologische Zeitschrift herausgegeben von Schleiermacher, De Wette, un{illegible}cke. Vol. i, 1819, pp. 120-246; Vol. ii, 1820, pp. 172-239.
BLONDEL, DAVID.--Des Sibylles célèbres tant par l'antiquité payenne que par les S. Pères. Charenton, 1649. (English translation by Davies, q. v.)
BOUCHET, LAURENT.--Les Oracles des Sibylles et leurs profonds respects envers Jesus Christ naissant en Bethlehem. Paris, 1646.
BOUSSET, WILHEM.--Der Antichrist in der Ueberlieferung des Judentums, des neuen Testaments und der alten Kirche, pp. 69-63. Göttingen, 1895.
BRADLEY, JOHN.--An Account of the Oracles of the Sibyls. Impartial View of the Truth of Christianity. London, 1699.
BURESCH, KARL.--Die pseudo-sibyllinischen Orakel und ihre letzte Bearbeitung Jahrbücher für classische Philologie, 1891. Heften 8 und 9, pp. 529-555.
.... Zu den pseudo-sibyllinischen Orakeln. Jahrb. für classische Philologie, 1892. Heften 4 und 5, pp. 213-308.
.... Kritischer Brief über die falschen Sibyllinen. (An O. Crusius in Tübingeu.) Philologus, 1892. LI. pp. 84-112 and 422-464.
.... Pseudo-sibyllinisches. Rheinische Museum für Philologie. Band xlvii, pp. 329-358.
CALL, W. M. W.--The Sibyl. Theological Review, vol. vii, pp. 466-488.
CRASSET, J.--Dissertation sur les Oracles doe Sibylles, augmentée d'une résponse à la critique de Jean Marckius. Paris, 1684.
Christian Remembrancer.--The Sibylline Oracles. Vol. xlii, 1861, pp. 277-296.
Christian Review.--Sibylline Oracles (signed J. M. S.). Vol. xiii, 1848, pp. 81-107.
CUDWORTH, RALPH.--Sibylline Oracles. Intellectual System. Vol. i, pp. 377-381. Andover, 1837.
DÆHNE, ALEXANDRE.--Sibyllinische Orakel. Religionsphilosophie. II, p. 228. 1834.
DAVIES, JOHN.--A Treatise of the Sibyls. (Englished by J. D.) London, 1661. See Blondel.
DEANE, WILLIAM.--The Sibylline Oracles. Pseudepigrapha, pp. 276-344.
DECHANT, H.--Ueber das erste, zweite und elfte Buch der sibyllinischen Weissagungen. Frankfurt, 1873.
.... Character und Geschichte der altchristlichen Sibyllenschriften. Zeitschrift für Kirchengeschichte. Vol. ii, 1878, pp. 481-509.
DELAUNAY, F.--Moines et Sibylles dens l'antiquité judéo-greque. Paris, 1874.
DELITZSCH, FRANZ.--Versuchte Lösung eines sibyllischen Räthsels. Zeitschrift für Luth. Theologie, 1877, pp. 216-218.
DIELS, HERMANN.--Sibyllinische Blätter. Berlin, 1890.
DRUMMOND, JAMES.--The Jewish Messiah, pp. 10-17. London, 1877.
Edinburgh Review.--The Sibylline Books, pp. 2-67. July, 1877.
EWALD, HEINRICH.--Abhandlung über Entstehung, Inhalt, und Werth der sibyllischen Bücher. Göttingen, 1858.
FABRICIUS, JOHANNES ALBERT.--Bibliotheca Græca, vol. i, pp. 257-289.
FEHR, EMIL.--Studia in Oracula Sibyllina. Upsaliæ, 1893.
FLODER, J.--Dissertatio indicans vestigia pœseos Homericæ et Hesiodeæ in Oraculis Sibyllinis. Lemgov., 1774.
FRANKEL.--Alexandrinische Messiashoffnungen. Monatsschrift für Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judenthums, 1859, pp. 241-261; 285-308; 359-364.
FRIEDLIEB, J. H.--De codicibus Sibyllinorum manuscriptis in usum criticum nondum adhibitis commentatio. Vratislaviæ, 1847.
GALLÆUS, SERVATIUS.--Dissertationes de Sibyllis, earumque Oraculis, cum figuris æneis. Amstelodami, 1688. (Companion volume to his edition of the text.)
GEŒRRER, AUGUST.--Philo und die alexandrinische Theosophie. Zweite Theil, pp. 121-173. Stuttgart, 1831.
GREEN, G.--Dissertationes I et II de Sibyllis. Viteb., 1661.
HAMMERMUELLER, H. C.--Dissertatio de Sibyllis. Lips., 1674.
HEMBREEDE, H. F.--De Sibyllis dissertatio inauguralis philosophica. Berolini, 1835.
HENDESS, RICHARDUS.--Oracula Græca, quæ apud scriptores Græcos Romanosque extant, collegit paucasque observationes selectas præmisit. Halle, 1877.
.... Observationes in Oraculorum Fragmenta. Dissertatio philologica. Halis Saxonum, 1877.
.... Untersuchunggen über die Echtheit einiger delphischer Orakel. Guben, 1882.
HERWERDEN, H. VAN.--Ad Oracula Sibyllina. Bibliotheca Philologica, pp. 346-372. Batavia. Vol. xix. 1891.
HILDEBRANDT.--Das Römische Antichristenthum zur Zeit der Offenbarung Johannis und des fünften sibyllinischen Buches. Zeitschrift fir wissenschaftliche Theologie, xvii, 1874, pp. 57-95.
HILGENFELD, ADOLF.--Die jüdische Sibylle.--Die jüdische Apokalyptik in ihren geschichtlichen Enewickelung, pp. 51-90. Jena, 1857.
.... Die jüdische Sibyllen-Weissagung. Zeitschrift fir wissenschaftliche Theologie, iii, 1860, pp. 313-319.
.... Die jüdische Sibyllen und der Essenismus. Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Theologie, xiv, 1871, pp. 30-50.
HIRSCH, S. A.--The Jewish Sibylline Oracles. Jewish Quarterly Review, 1890, pp. 406-429.
HOFFMANN, F.--Das Orakelwesen im Alterthume. Zum Selbstunterricht. Stuttgart, 1877.
HOLMES, G. F.--The Sibyls and their Oracles. Southern Magazine, xiv, 1874, pp. 159-366.
JORTIN, JOHN.--The Sibylline Oracles examined, and rejected as forgeries and impostures. Remarks on Ecclesiastical History, Vol. i, pp. 183 208. London, 1805.
KROLL, GUILELMUS.--De Oraculis Chaldaicis. Breslau, 1894.
LANGEN, JOSEPH.--Das Judenthum in Palæstina zur Zeit Christi, pp. 169 174. Freiburg, 1866.
LARDNER, N.--Sibylline Verses. Credibility of the Gospel History, chap. xxix, 2. London, 1788.
LAROCQUE, JEAN.--Sur ]a date du troisième livre des Oracles Sibyllins. Revue archéologique, 1869, pp. 261-270.
LECANU.--Les Sibylles et les livres Sibyllins. Thèse pour le doctorat in Theologie. Paris, 1857.
LIBANUS G.--Carmina Sibyllæ Erythrææ Græce cum interpretatione Latina et scholiis grammaticis (The Acrostic). Cracoviæ, 1527. New ed., 1535.
LUDWICH, A.--Zu den sibyllinischen Orakeln. Neue Jahrbücher für Philologie und Pädagogik, 1878, pp. 240-245.
LUECKE, G. C. F.--Versuch einer vollständigen Einleitung in die Offenbarung Johannis, pp. 66-89. Bonn, 1852.
LUECKEN, H.--Die sibyllinischen Weissagungen und ihr Nachhall bis in unsere Zeit, oder die Volkspropheten aller Zeiten in ihrem Zusammenhang. Meppen, 1871.
.... Die sibyllinischen Weissagungen, ihr Ursprung und ihr Zusammenhang mit den alterprophetischen Darstellungen christlicher Zeit. Katholische Studien, No. v. Würzburg, 1875.
MAAS, ERNESTUS.--De Sibyllarum indicibus. Dissertatio inauguralis philologica. Gryphiswaldiæ, 1879.
MARCK, J.--De Sibyllinis Carminibus. Franq., 1682.
MEINEKE, A.--Zu den sibyllinischen Büchern. Philologus, 1869, pp. 22-26; 27, 28; 30, 31; 1860, p 139; 1869, pp. 617-598.
MENDELSSOHN, L.--Zu den Oracula Sibyllina. Philologus, 1890, pp. 240-270.
Methodist Quarterly Review (October, 1854).--The Sibylline Oracles, pp. 489-526.
MONTFAUCON, BERNARD DE.--Palæographia Græca, iii, chap. vii, pp. 243 247.
NICOLAI.--Griechische Literaturgeschichte, iii, 1878, pp. 335-338.
NEHRUNG, J. C.--Vertheidigung der sibyllinischen Prophezeyungen. Halle, 1720.
ŒHLER, F.--Zu den griechischen Orakeln. Philologus, 1868, pp. 762, 753; 1860, p. 328.
PETTIT, P.--De Sibylla, Libri Tres. Lipsiæ, 1686.
PRIDEAUX, HUMPHREY.--The Sibyls and their Prophecies. Old and New Testament Connected, Vol. ii, pp. 397-406. New York, 1852.
REICHEL, S.--Commentatio de libris Sibyllinis ad Tarquinium allatis. Chemnic, 1760.
REICHMANN, J.--Disputatio de Sibyllis. Witteb., 1655.
REISKE, J.--De vaticiniis Sibyllinis exercitationes, pluribusque quotquot Christi natalem præcessisse leguntur, ad libellum I. Vossii conscriptæ. Accessit de numis duobus Sibyllinis dissertatio. Lipsiæ, 1688.
REUSS, EDUARD.--Die Geschichte der heiligen Schriften alten Testaments, pp. 607-609; 661, 662.
.... Sibyllen. Herzog's Real-Encyclopædia. Ed. 1861, Vol. xiv, pp. 315 329; ed. 1884, Vol. xiv, pp. 179-191.
Les Sibylles crétiennes. Nouvelle Revue, Vol. viii, 1861.
RZACH, ALOIS.--Zur Kritik der sibyllinischen Weissagungen. Wiener Studien, iv, 1882, pp. 121-129.
.... Sibyllinische Analecta. Wiener Studien, 1890, pp. 190-205.
.... Kritische Studien zu den sibyllinischen Orakeln. Wien, 1890.
.... Zur Verstechnik der Sibyllisten. Wiener Studien, xiv, 1892, pp. 18-34.
.... Zu den sibyllinischen Orakeln. Wiener Studien, xiv, 1892, pp. 145, 146.
.... Metrische Studien zu den sibyllinischen Orakeln. Wien, 1892.
.... Die pseudo-sibyllinischen Orakel und ihre neuste Beurteilung. Jahrbücher für classische Philologie, 1892, pp. 433-464.
.... Zur Metrik der Oracula Sibyllina. Wiener Studien, xv, 1893, pp. 17-115.
.... Zu den sibyllinischen Orakeln. Philologus, lii, 1893, pp. 318-324.
.... Zu den sibyllinischen Orakeln. Jahrbücher für classische Philologie, 1893, pp. 851-853.
.... Zu Kritik der sibyllinischen Orakel. Philologus, liii, 1894, pp. 280-232.
.... Zu den sibyllinischen Orakeln. Wiener Studien, xviii, 1896, pp. 310 314.
SACKUR, E.--Sibyllinische Texte und Forschungen. Pseudo-methodius, Adso und die tiburtinische Sibylle. Halle, 1898.
SCHIEFERDECKER, JOHANNES DAVID.--De {Greek SIBULLAIS}, hoc est, Sibyllis, earumque oraculis dissertatio. Lipsiæ, 1690.
SCHMID, ERASMUS.--Sibyllina, in tria {Greek tmh'mata} distributa: I, de Sibyllis ipsis; II, de libris Sibyllinis in genere; III, de librorum Sibyllinorum qui adhuc extant, auctoritate. Vitemb., 1618.
SCHUERER, EMIL.--Die Sibyllinen. Geschichte des jüdischen Volkes im Zeitalter Jesu Christi. Band iii, pp. 421-450. Leipzig, 1898.
.... English translation. Vol. iii, pp. 271-292. Edinburgh, 1886.
SCHULTESS, KARL.--Die sibyllinische Bücher in Rom. Hamburg, 1895.
SIMSON, E.--De Sibyllinis vaticiniis diquisitio. Oxoniæ, 1652.
STRUVE, C. L.--Fragmenta librorum Sibyllinorum quæ apud Lactantium reperiuntur. Regiomonti, 1817.
.... Oracula Sibyllina emendata e schedis ineditis. Lipsiæ, 1854.
STUART, MOSES.--The Sibylline Oracles. Commentary on the Apocalypse, Vol. i, pp. 87-107. Andover, 1845.
THORLACIUS, BIRGER.--Libri Sibyllistarum veteris ecclesiæ crisi, quatenus monuments, Christiana sunt, subjecti. Hauniæ, 1815.
.... Doctrinæ Christianæ in libris Sibyllinis Facies. Hauniæ, 1816.
VERNES, M.--Histoire des idées messianiques depuis Alexandre jusqu'à l'empereur Hadrien. Paris, 1874.
VERFORST, FIRMAN.--De carminibus Sibyllinis apud sanctos Patres quæ passim occurrunt, in confirmationem veritatis adhibita. Paris, 1844.
VOGT, FRIEDRICH.--Ueber Sibyllenweissagung. Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutchen Sprache und Literatur, Vol. i v, 1877, pp. 48-100.
VOLKMANN, RICARDUS.--De Oraculis Sibyllinis dissertatio. Supplementum editionis a Friedliebio exhibitæ. Leipzig, 1853.
.... Specimen novæ Sibyllinorum Oraculum editionis. Sedini, 1854.
.... Lectiones Sibyllinæ. Pyritz, 1861.
Vossius, G. J.--De veterum poetarum temporibus libri duo, qui sunt de poetis Græcis et Latinis. Amstelædami, 1654.
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.... Exercitationes do vaticiniis Sibyllinis, etc. 1688.
WHISTON, WILLIAM.--A Vindication of the Sibylline Oracles. To which are added the genuine oracles themselves; with the ancient citations from them, in their originals and in English, and a few brief notes. London, 1715.
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WOLYNSKI, A.--De Sibyllis seu ethnicorum pro Christiana religione testimonium. Paris, 1870.
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INDEX.

THE NUMBERS INDICATE PAGES.
ABRAHAM, 48.
Acheron, 28, 52, 139.
Achilles, 77
Achilleus, 240.
Acrostic, 171-173, 274-277.
Adam, 56.
Ægeans 288.
Æmilianus 233.
Æneas, 76, 196, 209.
Ætolian, 77.
Agamemnon, 195.
Agathyrsians, 244, 245.
Alexander, 103, 113, 194, 198.
Alexander Severus, 221, 222.
Alexandre, 38, 65, 66, 70, 73, 75, 124, 124, 140, 189, 200, 234, 264.
Alexandria, 72, 118, 200, 227, 229, 250.
Alps, 154.
Amalek, 173.
Amanus, 232, 241.
Ammon 113, 198, 209.
Anastasius, 248.
Angels, 46, 47, 49, 50.
Antichrist, 124,168.
Antigone, 72.
Antigonus, 200.
Antinous, 163.
Antioch, 72, 107, 228, 231.
Antiochus Epiphanes, 75, 85, 88.
Antiochus Theos, 79.
Antonines, 116, 164, 167, 216.
Antony, 58, 59, 151, 203.
Aphrodite, 43, 61.
Apis, 150.
Apollo, 204 (see Phœbus).
Apostles, Creed of, 176.
Apostles, Teaching of, 180.
Apostolical Constitutions, 30, 109.
Arabian, 81, 217, 225, 227, 228, 252
Arakiel, 46.
Ararat, 27.
Aratus, 19.
Araxes, 14
Ares, 75, 77, 113, 150, 152, 167, 168, 194, 195, 198, 199, 202, 209, 211, 212, 213, 216, 217, 220, 221, 222, 226, 229, 230, 232, 233, 238, 239, 240, 243, 246.
Armenia, 105, 225, 227, 243, 244.
Arnobius, 157.
Artemis, 129,130.
Asia, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 85, 99, 102, 107, 119, 120, 129, 130, 137, 138, 139, 164, 199, 232, 244.
Assaracus, 113, 196, 209.
Assyria, 45, 63, 65, 68, 70, 94, 101, 132, 161, 190, 191, 192, 196, 197, 199, 211, 213, 214, 215, 220, 221, 225, 226, 228, 239, 243, 250.
Astypalaia, 72.
Athenagoras, 61.
Augustine, 56, 171, 274.
Augustus, 114, 209.
Aurelian, 239.
Aurelius, 217.
Aureolus, 238.
Ansonia, 114, 213, 232, 233.
Autolycus, 257.
Azael, 46.
BABEL, Tower of, 60, 161, 189.
Babylon, 60, 63, 70, 74, 94, 104, 113, 114, 120, 121, 122, 137, 161, 198, 199, 209, 227.
Bactria, 104.
Badt, 102.
Balista, 234.
Baptism, 30, 108, 173.
Barca, 124.
Basil, 258.
Basilis, 72.
Basiliscus, 248.
Beliar, 44, 58, 59.
Berœa, 232.
Berytus, 152, 241.
{p. 288}
Bethlehem, 184
Bithynia 120, 197, 220, 232.
Bosporus 245.
Bostra, 228.
Britons, 245.
Byzantium, 77.
CADMEANS, 246.
Cæsarea-Philippi, 228.
Cæsars, 113, 202.
Caligula, 114, 211.
Calydon, 247.
Camarina, 91.
Campania, 79.
Canaanites, 228.
Capella, 22.
Cappadocia 81 211, 230.
Caria, 63, 65, 79, 81, 103, 107, 129, 191.
Carpians, 232.
Carthage, 105.
Casius, 232.
Caucasus, 245.
Cebren, 72.
Cecropes, 246.
Celt, 115, 216.
Celtic land, 154, 215.
Centaur, 121.
Chalcedon, 77, 80.
Chalcis, 232.
Chaldean, 66, 137.
Chios, 77.
Christ, 31, 32, 39, 57, 145, 150, 152, 171-177, 182, 183, 184 (see Messiah).
Cibyra, 104.
Cicero, 108, 258.
Cilicia, 199, 220, 241.
Circe, 94.
Claudius Cæsar, 114, 212.
Clement of Alexandria 85, 99, 100, 123, 130, 176, 257, 258, 259, 261.
Clement of Rome, 167.
Cleopatra, 59, 114, 201, 202, 203, 210.
Clitor, 72.
Clytemnestra, 195, 196.
Cœle-Syria, 152.
Colchis, 211, 244.
Colophon, 72, 152.
Comet, 72, 170, 249.
Commodus, 218.
Constantine, 263.
Constellations, 125, 141, 228.
Corcyra 131.
Corfu, 131.
Corinth, 80, 104, 115, 126, 152.
Corsica, 79.
Cragus, 77
Crassus, 151.
Creation, 15, 260.
Creation of man, 182.
Crete, 62, 81, 138, 163
Crobyzi, 79.
Cronos, 28, 61, 62, 63, 65, 74, 163, 198, 219.
Cross, The, 146, 173.
Croton, 103.
Ctesiphon, 137.
Cyme, 130, 131.
Cypris, 43.
Cyprus, 78, 106, 107, 138, 149.
Cyrene, 125, 252.
Cyriades, 229.
Cyril, 258.
Cyrus, 69, 87, 193.
Cyzicus, 77, 104.
DACIA, 217, 229.
Daians, 81.
Daniel, 48.
Dardanus, 81.
Darius Codomannus, 199.
David, 146, 150, 173.
Decius, 229, 230.
Delos, 74, 104, 149, 169.
Deluge, The, 25, 149.
Demeter, 61.
Diana, 129.
Dies iræ, 172.
Diocletian, 241.
Dione, 61.
Dionysius Halicarnasseus, 270.
Dionysus, 246.
Dodona, 62, 247.
Domitian, 115, 214.
Don, 72.
Dorylæum, 76.
Dreskyllas, 244.
EGYPT, 31, 57, 63, 65, 67, 70, 72, 85, 86, 102, 113, 117, 118, 119, 123, 129, 132, 138, 139, 140, 150, 161, 168, 190, 191, 192, 194, 199, 200, 201, 202, 204, 209, 211, 212, 242, 245, 246, 247, 250, 251, 252.
Elijah, 45, 48.
Elysian field, 51.
Empedocles, 257.
Empiricus, 161.
Enoch, Book of, 46.
Ephesus, 72, 78, 130.
Erebus, 20, 88.
Eridanus, 121, 131, 211.
Erinys, 76, 195.
{p. 289}
Erythre, 94.
Ethiopia 63, 65, 71, 81, 124, 125, 126, 140, 150, 161, 191, 192, 250.
Etna, 103.
Eugenius, 241.
Euphrates, 101, 105, 120, 137, 196, 230, 239, 240.
Europe, 72, 74, 76, 78, 99, 198, 200.
Europus, 62.
Eusebius, 28, 60, 171, 258, 261.
Euxine, 244.
Ewald, 65, 69, 73, 74, 79, 80, 150, 237, 242, 244, 245, 248.
FANUEL, 46.
Fates, The, 126.
Fenestella, 271.
Friedlieb, 189.
GABRIEL, 46.
Gaia, 61
Galatians 80, 81, 85, 132.
Galba 115, 213.
Gallienus 234.
Gallus Trebonianus, 230.
Gauls, 125, 282.
Gaza, 72.
Gehenna, 15, 19, 49, 109.
Germans, 211, 215, 218, 239, 245.
Giants, 20.
Glaucus, 94.
Gnostos, 94.
Gog, 71, 81.
Gomperz, 72.
Gordian, 225.
Gratian, 242, 243.
Greece, 195, 247 (see Hellas).
Greeks, 82, 83, 85, 128, 166, 197, 243 (see Hellenes).
Gregory Nazianzen, 258.
HABAKKUK, 48.
Hades, 15, 18, 19, 20, 28, 32, 46, 47, 52, 75, 78, 80, 123, 165, 166, 168, 170, 172, 176, 195, 212, 245, 259
Hadrian, 75, 116, 163, 216.
Hæmus, 79.
Harmatius Achilles, 248.
Hebrews, 66, 67, 84, 100, 122, 156, 167, 190, 191, 193.
Hector, 77.
Helen, 76.
Heliogabalus, 221.
Hellas 81, 82, 83, 84, 87, 90, 102, 103, 104, 121, 198, 245 (see Greece).
Hellenes, 64, 65 (see Greeks).
Hellespont, 102, 132.
Heniochi, 211, 244.
Hera, 121.
Heracles, 118.
Hercules, 218.
Hermæ, 133.
Hermas, 153.
Hermes, 118.
Herodotus, 24, 99, 101, 102, 118, 132, 167, 179.
Hesiod, 15, 19, 44, 51, 56, 61, 131.
Hestia, 61.
Hierapolis, 72, 131, 222, 232.
Hippolytus, 126.
Homer, 15, 20, 23, 25, 51, 62, 76, 77, 196, 257.
Horace, 71.
IAPETUS, 28, 61.
Iassus, 72.
Iberians, 120, 215, 245.
Iernians, 245.
Ilias, 151.
Ilium, 76, 77, 195.
Ilus, 76.
India, 125, 192, 199, 204, 225, 227.
Ionians, 129.
Irenæus, 176.
Isaac, 48.
Iselastic contest, 38, 43.
Isis, 116, 139.
Italy (Italians), 73, 79, 104, 105, 106, 122, 132, 138, 150, 161, 194, 211, 212, 222, 227, 230, 242.
Ithome, 247.
JACOB, 48.
Jeremiah, 48.
Jerusalem, 105, 126, 128.
Jews, 106, 125, 127, 200, 215, 252.
Jonah, 48.
Joppa, 128.
Jordan, 145, 152.
Josephus, 22, 60, 94, 125, 140, 153, 200.
Joshua, 48, 128.
Judah, 69, 131.
Judea, 128, 146.
Judgment, 46, 47, 48, 59, 94, 101, 109, 133, 134, 155, 156, 165, 166, 170, 171, 172, 178, 179, 181.
Julianus, 220.
Julius Cæsar, 59, 114, 202.
Justin Martyr, 30, 90, 100, 108, 176, 258, 261, 267, 272.
Juvenal, 19.
KOPP, 22.
LACONIANS, 246.
{p. 290}
Lactantius, 17, 29, 31, 73, 74, 83, 86, 87, 92, 93, 94, 101, 108, 116, 119, 122, 127, 129, 133, 136, 141, 145, 146, 155, 161, 163, 164, 171, 172, 173, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 181, 257, 258, 260, 262, 267, 269 270.
Laodicea, 79, 105, 129, 150, 222, 241.
Lapithæ, 121.
Larissa, 243, 247.
Latin kings, 167.
Latins, 85, 123, 196, 210, 217, 245, 248, 249.
Latium, 113, 209.
Leo, 243.
Leontopolis, 140.
Lepidus, 58, 59.
Lesbos, 120, 131.
Libya, 65, 71, 125, 138, 191, 203, 242, 250.
Locri, 77.
Lollian, 240.
Lycia, 77, 81, 105, 120, 132.
Lycurgus, 130.
Lycus, 79, 150, 232.
Lydia, 64, 78, 81, 129, 132, 197.
Lysimachus, 132.
MACEDONIA., 63, 64, 65, 74, 85, 103, 104, 132, 134, 138, 154, 161, 198, 200, 211, 221.
Macrianus, 234, 238.
Macrinus, 239.
Mæander, 107, 131.
Mænad, 116, 123, 124, 139.
Mæotis, 72, 243.
Magian shrines, 163.
Magnesia, 72.
Magog, 71, 81.
Mai, Angelo, 189.
Mardians, 81.
Marsyas, 27, 232.
Martial, 64.
Mary, 183.
Massagetæ, 120, 240, 245.
Maximinus, 225.
Mazaka, 230.
Medes, 63, 101, 102, 114, 122, 137, 161, 191, 192, 197, 210, 240, 245.
Memphis, 114, 117, 123, 190, 191, 200,
Mendelssohn, 27, 40, 78, 84, 105, 108, 122.
Meroe, 192.
Meropeia, 72.
Messiah, 30-32, 39, 45, 57, 69, 119, 128, 136, 150, 169, 177 (see Christ).
Michael, 46, 210.
Miletus, 131.
Millennial glory, 50, 51, 89, 90, 92, 93, 136, 156, 171, 253 (see Messiah and Christ).
Molossia, 243, 247.
Mopsus, 228.
Moses, 48, 67, 128, 173, 217.
Mygdonia, 154.
Mykene, 72.
Myra, 105.
Myrina, 72.
Mysia, 63, 80, 81, 132.
Mystic name, 21, 30, 56, 164.
NEMEA, 115, 216.
Nepos, 244.
Nereus, 25.
Nero, 79, 99, 105, 106, 115, 119, 121, 126, 133, 134, 136, 164, 168, 212, 231.
Nerva, 115, 215.
Nicæa, 72.
Niger, 220.
Nile, 102, 117, 139, 150, 197, 201, 204, 227, 242, 249, 252.
Noah, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 149.
OCEANUS, 66.
Octavius, 58, 59.
Odenatus, 233, 234, 237.
Oiantheia, 72.
Olympian games, 250.
Olympus, 154, 247.
Origen, 51, 176.
Ossa, 247.
Otho, 115, 213.
Ovid, 19, 107, 108.
PALLADIUM, 163, 219.
Palladius, 74.
Palmyra, 233, 240.
Pamphylia, 63, 65, 81, 132, 138, 191.
Pandonia, 72.
Pannonia, 212, 215, 232.
Panopeus, 204.
Paphos, 106, 138.
Paradise, 16, 262.
Parthia, 106, 137, 196, 210, 217, 239, 240, 243, 245.
Patara, 77, 105.
Pausanias, 198.
Pelasgi, 244.
Peleus. 77.
Pella, 113, 199, 209.
Peloponnesian War, 103.
Peneus, 62, 121, 248, 247.
Pergamos, 120.
Perseus, 74.
{p. 291}
Persians, 63, 65, 69, 78, 85, 102, 103, 114, 119, 120, 122, 127, 132, 137, 150, 161, 169, 191, 192, 194, 197, 221, 225, 227, 228, 230, 231, 233, 234, 240, 241, 243, 244, 245.
Pertinax, 220.
Phasis, 243.
Phenix, 167.
Philemon, 258.
Philip 113, 198, 209, 229.
Philippopolis, 228.
Philippus, 226.
Phocylides, 39.
Phœbus, 99, 131.
Phœnicia, 63, 80, 85, 120, 125, 152, 213, 215, 241, 250.
Phraates, 137.
Phrygia, 24, 26, 62, 63, 65, 75, 76, 81, 102, 121, 149, 195, 222, 242, 244, 247.
Phthia, 243.
Pierian, 247.
Pisidians, 132.
Pitane, 120.
Plato, 18, 37, 267, 272, 273.
Pliny, 38, 167.
Plutarch, 161.
Pluto, 62.
Poseidon, 23, 76, 122.
Priam, 77.
Propontis, 77, 242, 244.
Ptolemies, 65, 70, 85, 90, 200, 201.
Punishment, Future, 51, 262.
Pyramids, 123.
Pyramus, 104, 228, 232.
Python, 124, 204.
QUINDECEMVIRI, 269.
Quintilius, 239.
RAGUEL, 46.
Ramiel, 46.
Raphael, 46.
Ravenna, 125.
Rawlinson, 137.
Remus, 113, 194.
Resurrection, 109, 171, 172, 175, 181.
Rhea, 61, 62, 63, 75, 121, 163.
Rhine, 211, 215.
Rhodes, 78, 104, 149, 168.
Rhyndacus, 77.
Rome, 57, 58, 63, 64, 71, 72, 73, 74, 106, 107, 121, 126, 127, 137, 138, 154, 155, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 202, 209, 210, 212, 214, 215, 217, 219, 221, 222, 227, 229, 230, 231, 233, 234, 238, 239, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 248, 249.
Romulus, 113, 194, 202.
Rufael, 46
Rzach, 189, 263.
SABAOTH, 214.
Salamis, 106, 138.
Samaria, 58.
Samians, 78.
Samiel, 46.
Samos, 74, 79, 104, 109.
Samians, 232.
Sapor, 233.
Sarapis, 139.
Saraquel, 46.
Sardinia, 79, 154.
Sardis, 129.
Sardonic smile, 23.
Sassanidæ, 221, 225.
Sauromatians, 212.
Scipio, 79.
Scyros, 107.
Scythia, 243, 244, 245, 247.
Sebastenes, 58.
Seleucia, 230.
Seleucus Ceraunus, 75.
Seneca, 106.
Septemius Severus, 167.
Severus, 167, 220, 221, 222.
Sibyl, Self-testimony of 15, 37, 52, 55, 63, 65, 66, 70, 80, 89, 94, 95, 100, 116, 119, 157, 168, 179, 204, 205, 222, 225.
Sibyls, Traditions of, 265, 266, 269, 270, 272.
Sicily, 103, 114, 149, 197, 210, 251.
Sicyon, 80.
Sidon, 78, 125, 241.
Sinai, 67.
Sinope, 72.
Sirens, 138.
Smyrna, 72, 73, 120, 130.
Socrates, 37.
Sodom, 146.
Solomon, 32, 33, 63, 66, 193.
Solyma, 105, 166, 213.
Sozomen, 146.
Sparta, 76, 195.
Spartacus, 123.
Strabo, 62, 79, 104, 118, 130, 131, 152.
Styx, 62, 109.
Suetonius, 113.
Suicer, 30.
Surjan, 46.
Susa, 104.
Syagra, 72.
Syene, 124.
Syria, 63, 120, 125, 155, 166, 227, 230, 231, 233, 250.
{p. 292}
TACITUS, 125, 167.
Tanagra, 72.
Tanais, 72.
Tarquin and the Sibyl, 266, 270.
Tartarus, 15, 19, 20, 49, 50, 109, 123, 173, 179.
Taurus, 241.
Temple, The, 32, 33, 66, 69, 71, 84, 88, 89, 90, 92, 93, 105, 106, 122, 135, 140, 141, 193.
Tenedos, 80.
Tertullian, 61, 74, 176.
Tethys, 56.
Tetricus, 240.
Teucheira, 125.
Thales, 102.
Thebes, 103, 124, 155, 168.
Theodoret, 258.
Theodosius, 242, 243.
Theophilus, 22, 60, 257, 259, 260.
Thessaly, 121, 152.
Thmois, 118.
Thrace, 81, 114, 132, 139, 197, 198, 210, 211, 212, 215, 220, 244.
Tiber, 123, 164.
Tiberian sea, 213.
Tiberius, 114, 210.
Tigris, 102, 196.
Tishbite, 45.
Titan, 28, 61.
Titans, The, 29, 47, 62, 63, 65.
Titus 32, 106, 115, 213, 214.
Trajan, 115, 215, 229, 230.
Trallis, 78, 129.
Trebonianus, 230.
Triballi, 140, 198, 212.
Tricca, 247.
Tripolis, 131, 240.
Triumvirate, 58.
Trojan car, 168.
Troy, 65, 113, 195, 196, 209.
Tyana, 230.
Tyre, 103, 138, 152, 241.
UR, 66.
Uranus, 61.
Uriel, 46, 47.
Urjan, 46.
VALENS, 238.
Valerian, 233.
Varro, 269, 270.
Vergil, 15, 28, 76, 91, 94.
Verus, 217.
Vespasian, 106, 115, 125, 211, 213.
Vestal virgins, 135.
Vesuvius, 79, 106.
Victorinus, 248.
Virgin, 50, 174, 175, 183, 184.
Vitellius, 115, 213.
Volusianus, 230, 232.
Vulcan, 38.
WOMAN, Rule of, 59, 170.
Wood (cross), 146, 173, 277.
Word, The, 174, 175, 183, 184, 210, 219.
XENOPHON, 258.
Xerxes, 103, 197.
Xois, 118.
ZEUS, 61, 62, 113, 118, 195, 198, 209.