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From Sibylline Oracles, Translated from the Greek into English Blank Verse by Milton S. Terry; New York: Hunt & Eaton, Cincinatti: Cranston & Stowe’s, 1890; pp. 173-198.
BOOK VIII.
[174]CONTENTS OF BOOK VIII.
___________
GOD’S revelations of great wrath to come
In the last time upon the faithless world,
I make known, prophesying to all men
According to their cities, from that time
5
When the great tower fell, and the tongues of men
Were parted into many dialects.
First of the Egyptian kingdom did I speak,
Then that of Persians, Ethiopians, Medes,
And also of Assyrian Babylon,
10
Then the great pride of Macedonia;
Now am I into the dominion sent
Of celebrated lawless Italy.
At last unto all mortals will it show
Manifold evils, and exhaust the toils
15
Of men of every land. And to the West
Will it the warrior king of nations lead,
Give laws to peoples, and subdue all things.
Late will the mills of God grind the fine flour.
Fire then will ruin all things, and to dust
20
Reduce the summits of the leafy hills,
And all flesh. Love of gain and want of mind
Of evils a beginning are to all;
This book is obviously of Christian origin, composed of various fragments, and probably not earlier than the beginning of the third century.
Lines 1-4. Cited by Lactantis, de Ira Dei, xxiii [L., 7, 143].
Line 5. Tower. — Comp. book iii, 114-126, notes.
Lines 7-9. Comp. book iii, 186-189, 197-205, 240-245, 356-359.
Line 18. A proverb found also in Plutarch, de Sera Num. Vind., and Sextus Empiricus, Contra Mathem., i, 13.
Lines 21, 22. Comp. 1 Tim. vi, 10.
For of deceitful gold and silver springs
Longing desire, for nothing mortals deem
25
Better than these, not the sun’s light, nor heaven,
Nor sea, nor the broad earth whence all things grow,
Nor God who gives all things, Maker of all;
Nor faith, nor piety do they prefer.
Source of impiety, confusion’s guide,
30
A means of wars, an enemy of peace,
Is want of understanding, setting fathers
At enmity with sons, and sons with fathers.
And marriage in comparison with gold
Will have no honor. Borders land will have,
35
And guards each sea, divided craftily
For all that have gold, so that evermore
Those wishing it possess the nursing earth.
They waste the poor, that they themselves more land
Procuring may enslave them by deceit.
40
And if the huge earth from the starry heaven
Held not her throne afar, even light to men
Had not been equal, but, being bought with gold,
Had by the rich been owned, and for the poor
God must have then prepared another world.
45
On thee some day shall come, O haughty Rome,
A fitting stroke from heaven, and thou the first
Shalt bend the neck, be leveled to the earth,
And fire shall utterly consume thee, beat
Upon thy pavements, and thy wealth shall perish,
50
And on thy site shall wolves and foxes dwell.
And then shalt thou become all desolate
As though thou hadst not been. Where then will be
Palladium? What God will keep thee safe,
Whether of gold or stone or brass? Or then
55
Where the decrees of thy assembly? Where
Line 53. Palladium. — Images of Minerva in the temple of Vesta at Rome.
Rhea, or Kronos, or the race of Jove,
And all those whom thou didst once hold in awe,
Demons without life, phantoms of the dead,
The boast of whose tomb ill-starred Crete shall have,
60
Worshiping thrones of the unconscious dead?
When thou hast had thrice five voluptuous kings,
And hast enslaved the world from east to west,
A gray-haired prince shall rise, bearing the name
Of the near sea, and with polluted foot
65
Will he survey the world, and gifts obtain,
And have vast sums of gold, and gather up
Of hateful silver more, and having stripped
[The peoples], he will then again return.
And in all mysteries will he partake
70
If Magian shrines, show forth a child as god,
Abolish all things sacred, and disclose
To all from the first the mysteries of deceit.
Sad then will be the time when he himself,
Sad one, shall perish. And the populace
75
Some time will say: “O city, thy great power
Has fallen, knowing that an evil day
Straightway is coming.” Then shall weep together
Fathers and infant children, when they see
Before them thy most lamentable fate.
80
Woe, woe, they wail by Tiber’s mournful banks.
After him at the last shall three bear rule
And fill the name out of the God of heaven,
Lines 58, 59. Cited by Lactantius, Div. Inst., book i, xi [L., 6, 179].
Line 61. Thrice five. — Emperors from Julius to Hadrian; a round number, but inexact. Comp. the first part of book v.
Line 63. Gray-haired prince. — Hadrian. Comp. book v, 65.
Line 70. Child as god. — Reference to the beautiful youth Antinous, whom Hadrian sought to deify.
Line 81. Three. — The Antonines. See book v, 70.
Line 82. Name. — Allusion probably to the Hebrew name Adonai, which it was thought to resemble.
Whose power now is and shall be evermore.
And one, an old man, very long will wield
85
The scepter, a most pitiable king,
Who all the treasures of the world shall guard,
And shut up in his houses, that when comes
The matricidal fugitive again
From the earth’s ends, having given these things to all,
90
Vast wealth on Asia he will then bestow.
And then shalt thou weep, having put aside
The glory of the ruler’s purple robe,
And put on mourning garments, O proud realm,
Offspring of Latin Rome. No more to thee
95
Shall be the glory of thy lofty mien,
Nor shal thou, hapless, ever be raised up,
But prostrate shalt thou lie; for even the glory
Of eagle-bearing legions shall fall down.
Where then thy power? What land will be ally,
100
O thou who hast been lawlessly enslaved
By thine own follies? For through all the earth
There will be then confusion of mankind,
When the Almighty, coming to the throne,
Shall judge the souls of living and of dead,
150
And all the world. And parents will not be
Dear to their children, nor will children be
To parents, on account of wickedness
And unexpected trouble. Then to thee
Shall gnashing, capture, and dispersion come,
110
Cities shall fall and earth be rent in chasms.
When thus upon the billows there shall come
A dragon bearing fire, and full within,
And shall afflict thy children, there shall be
Line 84. Old man. — Antoninus Pius.
Line 88. Fugitive. — Nero. Comp. book v, 38.
Line 112. Dragon. — Allusion to Rev. xii, 17; xiii, 1.
Famine and tribal war, and near at hand
115
Is the end of the world, and the last day
And judgment of the immortal God for such
As are both called and chosen. First of all
Inexorable wrath shall fall on Rome;
A time of blood and wretched life shall come.
120
Woe, woe to thee, O land of Italy,
Great, barbarous nation; thou didst not perceive
Whence naked and unworthy thou didst come
To the sun’s light, that to that place again
Naked thou shouldst return, and then come forth
125
To judgment, as one who unjustly judged.
With hands gigantic coming from on high
Alone through all the world, thou shalt abide
Under the earth. By naphtha and asphalt
And sulphur and much fire thou utterly
130
Shalt disappear, and be as burning dust
Forever, and all who behold shall hear
From Hades an exceeding mournful wail,
And gnashing of teeth, and with thine own hands
Thou wilt forever beat thy godless breast.
135
To all alike there shall be equal night,
To rich and poor; naked they came from earth
And naked into earth again they go.
They grow, complete their time, and cease from life.
No slave, nor lord, nor tyrant will be there.
140
Nor king, nor leader, filled with vain conceit.
No legal advocate, nor magistrate
Judging for money; nor do they pour out
The blood of sacrifices in libations
Upon the altars. Not a drum will sound,
145
Nor cymbal, nor the perforated flute
Line 125. Lacuna in Greek text after this line.
Lines 135, 136. Comp. Job i, 21.
Of frenzied tone, nor sound of pipe like that
Of crooked dragon; nor the barbarous trumpet
The harbinger of wars, nor drunken men
In lawless revels, nor in choral dances,
150
Nor sound of lyre; no instrument of evil,
Nor strife, nor wrath of various kind, nor sword
Is with the dead, but unto all alike
Eternity is keeper of the key
Of the great prison for God’s judgment-seat.
155
With images of gold and silver and stone
Be ready, that unto the bitter day
Ye may come, thy first punishment, O Rome,
Even a gnashing anguish to behold.
And no more under slavish yoke to thee
160
Will either Greek or Syrian put his neck,
Barbarian or any other nation.
Thou shalt be plundered and shalt be destroyed
For what thou didst, and wailing loud in fear
Thou shalt give until thou shalt all repay.
165
And thou shalt be a triumph for the world,
Also a matter of reproach for all.
And then the sixth race of the Latin kings
At last end life, and lay the scepter down.
From the same race another king shall reign,
170Rule the whole earth and hold the scepter firm;
And he shall govern with untrammeled power
And by the counsels of the mighty God.
Line 154. Lacuna after this verse in Greek text; some think it may be supplied from book iii, 67-69.
Line 167. Sixth race. — That of the Antonines, best reckoned probably as Alexandre: (1) The Cæsars, (2) the Flavii, (3) Nerva, (4) Trajan, (5) Hadrian, (6) the Antonines.
Line 169. Another king. — The exact reference here is doubtful, but probably Septimius Severus is intended, as sprung from the same Latin race. Alexandre suspects this and the four following lines as an interpolation.
Sons and a race of stable sons are his,
For thus it is decreed, as time rolls on,
175
When there shall be of Egypt thrice five kings.
Thence when the phenix the fifth time appears,
He will come pillaging a race of people,
A countless tribe, the nation of the Hebrews.
Then Mars will plunder Mars, and he himself
180
Shall the presumptuous threats of Rome destroy.
Perished the power of Rome, once flourishing,
Along with ancient kings of neighboring cities.
No longer will the plain of fertile Rome
Prevail, when out of Asia comes with Mars
185
One bearing rule; and having wrought all this
He afterwards will in the city come.
And thrice three hundred eight and forty years
Shalt thou in full complete when ill-starred fate
Shall seize upon thee, finishing thy name.
190
Alas for me, me, the thrice wretched one!
When shall I see that day of thine, O Rome —
Thine, but most for all Latins? Honor him
If thou wilt, who ascends the Trojan car,
As by a secret birth from Asia’s land,
Line 175. Thrice five. — The same as those referred to in line 61.
Line 176. Phenix. — Fabulous Egyptian bird, said to appear once in five hundred years. See Herod. ii, 73; Pliny, Nat. Hist., x, 2; Clem. Rom., 1 Cor., xxv. [G., 1, 261-275]. According to Tacitus (Annal., vi, 28) the fourth appearance of the phenix occurred in the reign of Tiberius.
Line 185. One bearing rule. — The matricidal fugitive of line 88, returning as antichrist. This whole passage is apocalyptic, and no exact conformity to history need be sought.
Line 187. The number 948 is the numerical value of the Greek letters in the name Rome (ρ == 100, ω == 800, μ == 40, η == 8, Ρώμη. Nine hundred and forty-eight years after the founding of Rome extends to about 196 of our era, and the reign of Septimius Severus.
Line 190. Wretched. — Comp. book v, 71, and the close of book vii.
Line 194. From Asia’s land. — Another allusion to Nero. His ascending the Trojan car is metaphorical of his supposed coming with war chariots from the east, and all the force and fury of Mars. Comp. lines 179-186.
195
Having a soul of fire. But when he smites
The isthmus, peering eagerly around,
Going to all and passing through the sea,
Then will black blood go after the great beast,
And a dog chase the lion which destroys
200
The shepherds. But his scepter they will take,
And into Hades he will pass away.
The last but greatest ill shall come to Rhodes.
And base captivity yet waits for Thebes.
Egypt shall perish by her ruler’s baseness.
205
But these men who escaped the utter ruin —
Thrice blessed, four times blessed, was each man!
And Rome shall be a room, and Delos dull,
And Samos sand. . . .
Later shall evil on the Persians come
210
For their pride, and all insolence shall perish.
And then a holy king o’er all the earth
And to all ages shall the scepter wield,
Having risen from the dead. A piteous fate
Will then the Most High bring on those at Rome,
215
And on all men, and all within these bounds
Shall perish. But they will not be persuaded
Of what much better is. But when for all
The evil day of famine and of plague
Shall come on, and of uproar hard to bear,
Line 196. Isthmus. — Comp. book v, 43, 181.
Line 199. Dog chase lion. — Comp. book xii, 19, 20. The meaning is not clear, owing, probably to the corrupt condition of the Greek text.
Line 201. Into Hades. — Comp. Rev. xvii, 8, 11.
Line 202. Rhodes. — Comp. book iv, 124; and iii, 525-531.
Line 203. Thebes. — Comp. book v, 246-252.
Line 204. Ruler’s baseness. — Comp. book v, 23, 24.
Lines 207, 208. Comp. book iii, 429, 430. Lacuna in last line.
Line 209. Persians. — Put for Parthians, as in book vii, 51.
Line 211. Holy King. — The Messiah.
220
Even then again that former daring prince,
Having convened the council, shall forthwith
Take counsel with them how he may destroy.
* * * *
Blight shall appear along with flowers and leaves,
And heaven’s base shall display on the firm rock
225
Rain-storm and fire, and much wind on the land,
And over all the earth a multitude
Of poisonous sowings. Yet again they’ll work
With shameless soul, nor fear the wrath of God,
Nor that of man. Forsaking modesty
230
They will choose shame, become tyrannical
And violent transgressors, liars too,
Lovers of unbelief, evil-doers,
Untrue, faith-killers, pouring out foul speech
In false words; no sufficiency of wealth
235
Will they have, but will basely gather more.
Subject to tyrants, they will be destroyed.
The stars shall all fall down into the sea,
Many stars one by one, and the bright star
Men call a comet is a sign of evil,
240
Of much war and calamity to come.
Let me not live when the gay one shall reign,
But then, when heavenly grace shall rule within,
And when a holy child the murderous guile
Of all shall utterly destroy with chains,
Line 220. Former daring prince. — Same as the one referred to in lines 193-197.
Line 222. After this verse there seems to be a lacuna.
Lines 223-236. A dark picture of the last times, and quite parallel with such Scriptures as 1 Tim. iv, 1, 2; 2 Tim. iii, 1-9.
Line 237. Stars . . . fall. — Comp. Matt. xxiv, 29, and book ii, 249, v, 681, and Lactantius, Div. Inst., vii, 16 [L., 6, 791, 792].
Line 241. Gay one. — The same probably as the woman described in lines 248-251, and also in book iii, 89-95, where see note.
Lines 243, 244. Holy child . . . with chains. — Apparent allusion to Rev. xx, 1-3.
245
Opening the baleful deep and suddenly
The house of wood shall cover mortals round.
But when the tenth generation shall go down
To Hades, then shall come the mighty power
Of one of female sex; and God himself
250
Will permit many evils to increase,
When she with royal honor crowns herself;
And all the year will be how like an age!
The parched sun running onward nightly shines,
The stars will leave the heaven; and rushing on
255
With a strong tempest, he will waste the earth.
And there shall be a rising of the dead;
The lame shall swiftly run, the deaf shall hear,
The blind shall see, those who spoke not shall speak,
And life and wealth shall be alike to all.
260
The land the same for all, divided not
By walls or fences, shall more fruits produce,
And fountains of sweet wine, and of white milk,
And honey he will give . . .
* * * *
And judgment of the immortal God. . . .
265
But when the seasons God shall change, . . .
Winter producing summer, then oracles [will all be ful-
filled].
But when the world has perished. . . .
Line 247. Tenth generation. — Supposed by the Sibyl to be the last. Comp. lines 167-189.
Line 249. Female. — The woman symbolically portrayed in Rev. xvii, 1-6. Comp. book iii, 89, note.
Lines 257, 258. Comp. book i, 414, 415.
Lines 261-263. Comp. book iii, 740-743, and Lactantius, Div. Inst., vii, 24 [L., 6, 811]. What follows between these lines and the acrostic is fragmentary. The remaining words, translated in our text, show that the general subject was that of judgment of God and the end of the world.
Line 266. Winter . . . summer. — Cited by Lactantius, Div. Inst., vii, 16 [L., 6, 792]. Oracles. — This line appears in full, book xii, 363-364.
JESUS CHRIST, SON OF GOD, SAVIOUR, CROSS.
Earth will sweat when the judgment sign appears,
And the eternal King will come from heaven
270
In person to judge all flesh and all the world.
The faithful and the faithless shall see God
Exalted with the saints at the end of time.
The souls of fleshly men upon his throne
Line 268-309. This passage is celebrated as being an acrostic of thirty-four lines in the Greek text, the first letters of which lines form the title given above, namely, JESUS CHRIST, GOD’S SON, SAVIOUR, CROSS. It is quoted in full by Eusebius in his report of Constantine’s Oration to the Assembly of the Saints, xviii [G., 20, 1288, 1289], and, excepting the seven lines representing the word CROSS, by Augustine, de Civitate Dei, xviii, 23 [L., 41, 579], we give in our text a faithful translation of the Greek without any attempt to transfer it into a corresponding English acrostic. The English reader, however, may be pleased to compare the following version found in Dodd’s translation of Augustine’s City of God, vol. iii, pp. 242, 243 (Edinb., 1878).
Ι Judgment shall moisten the earth with the sweat of its standard,
Η Ever enduring, behold the king shall come through the ages,
Σ Sent to be here in the flesh, and judge at the last of the world.
Ο O God, the believing and faithless alike shall behold thee
Υ Uplifted with saints, when at last the ages are ended,
Σ Seated before him are souls in the flesh for his judgment.
Χ Hid in thick vapors, the while desolate lieth the earth,
Ρ Rejected by men are the idols and long hidden treasures;
Ε Earth is consumed by the fire, and it searcheth the ocean and
heaven;
Ι Issuing forth, it destroyeth the terrible portals of hell.
Σ Saints in their body and soul freedom and light shall inherit;
Τ Those who are guilty shall burn in fire and brimstone forever.
Ο Occult actions revealing, each one shall publish his secrets;
Σ Secrets of every man’s heart God shall reveal in the light.
Θ Then shall be weeping and wailing, yea, and gnashing of teeth;
Ε Eclipsed is the sun, and silenced the stars in their chorus.
Ο Over and gone is the splendor of moonlight, melted the heaven.
Υ Uplifted by him are the valleys, and cast down the mountains.
Υ Utterly gone among men are distinctions of lofty and lowly.
Ι Into the plains rush the hills, the skies and oceans are mingled.
Ο O, what an end of all things! earth broken in pieces shall perish;
Σ Swelling together at once shall the waters and flames flow in rivers.
Σ Sounding, the archangel’s trumpet shall peal down from heaven,
Ω Over the wicked who groan in their guilt and their manifold sorrows.
Τ Trembling, the earth shall be opened, revealing chaos and hell.
Η Every king before God shall stand in that day to be judged.
Ρ Rivers of fire and brimstone shall fall from the heavens.
He will judge, when the whole world is laid waste,
275
And thorns spring up. And men will cast away
Their idols and all wealth. And searching fire
Will burn the land, the heaven and the sea;
And burn the gates of Hades’ prison-house.
Then to the free light of the saints shall come
280
All the flesh of the dead, but lawless ones
The fire will try forever. Every thing
One did in secret will he then declare,
For dark breasts God will open to the light.
Wailing will come from all, and gnashing of teeth;
285
The brightness of the sun will be eclipsed,
And the dances of the stars; the heaven shall whirl.
And the moon’s beaming luster be destroyed.
He will exalt the valleys and destroy
The heights of hills, and no more shall appear
290
A gloomy height among men. With the plains
The mountains will be level, and no more
Will there be any sailing on the sea.
For earth with springs shall be by thunder parched,
And dashing streams shall fail. The trump from
heaven
295
Shall send a woful sound, and bellow forth
Lines 275-276. Cited by Lactantius, Div. Inst., vii, 19 [L., 6, 798].
Lines 294-295. Cited by Lactantius, Div. Inst., vii, 16 [L., 6, 792].
Approaching pest and sorrows of the world.
And then the widely-yawning earth will show
Tartarean chaos, and all kings shall come
Unto God’s judgment-seat. From heaven shall flow
300
A stream of fire and brimstone. But the Wood
Shall then be to all mortals for a sign,
Among the faithful a distinguished seal,
The longed-for horn, the life of pious men,
But the world’s stumbling-block, bestowing light
305
On the elect by water in twelve streams.
And then the shepherd-rod of iron shall rule.
This one now in acrostics written down
Is our God, Saviour, and immortal King,
Even the one who suffered for our sake.
310
Whom Moses typified, when he stretched out
Holy arms, conquering Amalek by faith,
In order that the people may know him
To be elect and honored before God,
The rod of David, and the very stone
315
Which he indeed once promised, and in whom
He who believes shall have eternal life.
For not in glory, but as mortal man
Lines 297-299. Cited by Lactantius, Div. Inst.., vii, 20 [L., 6, 798].
Line 300. Wood. — The cross. Comp. book vi, 33-36.
Line 301. Sign. — According to Chrysostom, Cyril, Hilary, Augustine, Jerome, and other fathers, “the sign of the Son of man” in Matt. xxiv, 30, was a cross appearing in the heavens.
Line 302. Seal. — Comp. line 379 and note.
Line 303. Horn. — Comp. Psa. cxxxii, 17; Luke i, 69.
Line 304. Stumbling-block. — Comp. Gal. v, 11.
Line 306. Rod. — Comp. Psa. ii, 9; Lev. ii, 27; xii, 5.
Line 310. Moses. — See Exod. xvii, 8-12.
Line 314. Rod of David. — Same as shepherd-rod in line 306. Stone. — Comp. book i, 406; Isa. xxviii, 16; Zech. iii, 9; Matt. xxi, 42.
Line 316. Comp. John iii, 36.
Line 317. Not in glory. — Obvious reference to the first advent of Christ, his incarnation. Comp. John iii, 18-21.
Shall he come unto judgment, pitiable,
Dishonored, without beauty, that he might
320
Give hope to them that mourn; and he will give
Form to corruptible flesh, and heavenly faith
To those without faith, and entirely change
Man who was fashioned by the hand of God,
And whom the serpent craftily deceived
325
To go away unto the fate of death,
And gain a knowledge of the good and bad,
And so, forsaking God, serve mortal ways.
For taking him at first as counselor,
From the beginning, the Almighty said:
330
“O child, forthwith let us make, both of us,
Forming from our own image, mortal tribes;
I with my hands and thou then with the Word
Shalt serve our form, that we may give to it
A common origin.[”] Keeping in mind
335
This purpose, into judgment he will come:
And to a holy virgin he will bear
An antitypal copy, giving light
By water through the elder’s hands, by word
Doing all things, and healing all disease.
340
His word shall stay the winds, and with his feet
He’ll calm the raging sea, and walk thereon
In peace and faith. And with five loaves of bread
And one fish of the sea, in a desert place
Will he of men four thousand satisfy;
345
And taking all the fragments which remain,
Lines 318-320. Cited by Lactantius, Div. Inst., iv, 16 [L., 6, 498].
Line 328. Counselor. — Comp. Prov. viii, 14, 22-31, and Lactantius, Div. Inst., iv, 6 [L., 6, 463].
Line 330. Let us make. — Allusion to Gen. i, 26.
Line 338. Elder’s hands. — Allusion probably to John iv, 2, where it is said that Jesus himself did not baptize, but left that to his disciples.
Lines 340-346. Comp. book i, 417-420.
Twelve baskets he will fill for the people’s hope.
And he will call the souls of blessed ones,
And love the sorrowful, who being mocked
Will render good for evil, beaten, scourged,
350
Yet ever longing after poverty.
Knowing, beholding, hearing every thing,
The heart he will discern, and lay it bare
Unto conviction. For of all things he
Is hearing, mind, and vision, and the Word,
355
Who made all forms, to whom all things give ear;
The dead he saves, and healeth all disease.
At last into the hands of lawless men
And faithless he will come, and they will give
With hands unholy blows as against God,
360
And poisonous spittle from polluted mouths.
And he will give his holy back to scourges
[For he himself shall give unto the world
A holy virgin], and silent he remains
Under the scourge, lest any one should know
365
Who or of whom he is, or whence he came,
In order that he may speak to the dead.
And he will also wear a crown of thorns,
For out of thorns shall ever come the crown
Of holy ones elect. And with a reed
370
According to their laws they’ll pierce his side,
For from reeds by another spirit moved
Was he brought up for judgments of the soul,
And wrath and recompense. But when these things
Which I have spoken shall all be fulfilled,
375
Unto him then shall every law be loosed,
Which from the first by the decrees of men
Line 348. Sorrowful. — Others read enemies.
Lines 357-361. These lines, and also 363-367, are cited by Lactantius, Div. Inst., iv, 18 [L., 6, 506].
Was given because of disobedient people.
He will spread out his hands and all the world
Will measure. Gall for food, and vinegar
380
For drink, they gave him; they shall dearly pay
The price of this inhospitable board.
The temple’s veil is rent, and in midday
For three hours shall a monstrous night prevail.
For when the eternal Ruler came on earth,
385
It was again shown, what had been concealed
From the thought of the world, that men no more
Should serve the secret temple and the law.
And he shall come to Hades, and announce
To all the saints hope, the end of the ages,
390
And the last day; and death’s lot he will end,
The third day sleeping, and then from the dead
Freeing himself he will come into light,
First having shown the power of the resurrection
To the elect, washed from their former sin
395
By means of water from the immortal spring,
That, being born again, they might no more
Line 379. Measure. — “In his suffering,” says Lactantius, “he stretched forth his hands and measured out the world, that even then he might show that a great multitude, collected out of all languages and tribes, from the rising of the sun even to the setting, was about to come under his wings and to receive on their foreheads that great and lofty sign.” Div. Inst., iv, 26 [L., 6, 530].
Lines 382, 383. Cited by Lactantius, Div. Inst., iv, 19 [L., 6, 511].
Line 388. To Hades. — This doctrine of Christ’s descent into Hades is found in the well-known clause of the Apostle’s Creed, and claims for its biblical support the language of Psa. xvi, 9 (comp. Acts ii, 25-27); Rom. x, 7; Eph. iv, 8-10; 1 Pet. iii, 18-20. It is found also in Justin Martyr, Trypho, 72 [G., 6, 645]; Irenæus, Adv. Hær., iii, xx, 4 [G., 7, 945]; and iv, xxvii, 2 [G., 7, 1058]; Clem. Alex., Strom., vi, chap. vi [G., 9, 265-275]; Tertullian, de Anima, chaps. vii [L., 2, 657] and iv [L., 2, 742-745]; Origen, adv. Celsus, ii, 43 [G., 11, 864].
Lines 390-393. Cited by Lactantius, Div. Inst., iv, 19 [L., 6, 513].
Line 396. Born again. — Comp. John iii, 5.
Serve the unlawful customs of the world.
First to his own will then the Lord appear
In the flesh as he was before, and show
400
In hands and feet four marks fixed in his limbs,
As if for east and west, and north and south;
For even so many kingdoms of the world
Shall consummate this lawless, blameful deed.
Daughter of Zion, holy one, rejoice.
405
Thou who hast suffered many things, thy King,
Mounted upon a foal is entering in,
Appearing meek to all, that he may wrest
The slavish yoke so heavy, under which
We are enthralled, and which lies on our neck,
410
And loose the godless laws and powerful bonds.
Know thou thy God, him who is Son of God,
Giving him glory, and within thy breast
Holding him cherished; love him from the soul
And bear his name. The former deeds put off,
415
And loose them by his blood, for by thy songs
And by thy prayers he will not be appeased.
Nor unto perishable sacrifices
Will he give heed, being imperishable,
But rather he delights in sacred song
420
Of holy mouth, proceeding from the soul.
Know who he is, and thou shalt see thy Maker.
Then shall the elements of all the world
Be desolate, air, earth, sea, flaming fire,
And sky and night, and all days to one fire
425
And to one barren, shapeless mass shall come.
Line 401. Comp. book iii, 30, note.
Line 404. Rejoice. — Comp. Zech. ix, 9; Matt. xxi, 5; John xii, 15.
Lines 407-409. Cited by Lactantius, Div. Inst., vii, 18 [L., 6, 796].
Lines 422-440. Comp. similar passage in book ii, 242-260, and book iii, 96-108; and also Lactantius, Div. Inst., vii, 16 [L., 6, 791, 792]. All these prophecies are obviously derived from corresponding Scripture passages.
For all the luminous stars shall fall from heaven;
No more will winged birds fly through the air,
Nor footstep be on earth; for all wild beasts
Shall perish, voices of men, beasts, and birds
430
Shall be no more. The world, being disarranged,
Shall hear no useful sound, but the deep sea
Shall echo back a mighty threatening noise,
And swimming, trembling creatures of the sea
Shall all die; and no longer on the waves
435
Will sail a freighted ship. The earth shall groan
Blood-stained by wars; and all the souls of men
Shall gnash their teeth — the souls of lawless men,
Wasted by lamentations and by fear,
By hunger, thirst, and pestilence and murders —
440
And they shall call it beautiful to die,
And death will flee from them, for death no more
Nor night shall give them rest. And many things
Will they in vain ask God who rules on high.
And then he will turn openly his face
445
Away from them. [For he gave seven ages,
Days of repentance unto mortal men,
Fashioned by means of a holy virgin’s hand.]
All these things to my mind did God reveal,
And all that has been spoken by my mouth
450
Will he fulfill. The number of the sands,
And measured spaces of the sea I know.
I know the secret places of the earth,
And gloomy Tartarus, and men who are,
Line 441. Death will flee. — Comp. Rev. ix, 6.
Lines 445-447. Comp. book ii, 371, 372.
Line 450. At this point the Sibyl assumes to represent God himself as speaking, and continues this strain to line 544, throwing in occasional observations of her own, as if forgetful of the part she holds. Lines 350, 351, and 472, 473, are identical with two lines attributed to the oracle of Delphi by Herodotus, i, 47.
And who shall be hereafter, and the dead.
455
I know the numbers of the stars and trees,
And all the species of the quadrupeds,
And swimming things, and birds that fly aloft.
For I myself the forms and mind of men
Have fashioned, and right reason have bestowed,
460
And taught them knowledge. I who see and hear
Formed eyes and ears; and I observe each thought,
And have myself a knowledge of all things.
Silent a while, and afterward reproving,
And punishing whatever any man
465
Has done in secret. On God’s judgment-seat
I also come to speak with mortal men.
Also the dumb I understand, and hear
The one who speaks not, and I know how great
The entire height from earth to heaven is.
470
And the beginning and the end I know,
Who am Creator of the heaven and earth.
[For all is from him, first and last he knows.]
For I alone am God, and other God
There is not. They my image deify,
475
Obtained from wood and fashioned by the hand
Into dumb idols, which they glorify
With supplications and unholy rites.
Forsaking the Creator, they become
Servants of insolence. But holding still
480
To him, they sacrifice their useless gifts,
And as if honoring him, they deem these things
All useful, filling feasts with smell of flesh,
As if to their own dead. For they burn flesh
And marrow bones, on altars sacrifice
485
To demons pour out blood, and kindle lights
For me who give light; and men pour out wine,
Line 473. Cited by Lactantius, Div. Inst., i, 6 [L., 6, 148].
As to a thirsty god! Unto no purpose
They become drunken over useless gods.
I have no need of your burnt offerings,
490
Nor your libations, nor polluted smoke,
Nor odious blood. For these things will men do
In memory of tyrants and of kings
Unto dead demons as though they were heavenly,
Performing godless and destructive rites.
495
And, godless, they their images call gods,
Forsaking the Creator, and from them
Imagine they derive all hope and life,
Though they are deaf and without power to speak,
Faithful for evil, ignorant all of good.
500
Two ways have I myself before them placed,
Of life and death, and counsel I have given
A good life to prefer; but they themselves
Laid hold on death and on eternal fire.
Man, having upright reason, is my image.
505
For him a table pure and without blood
Make ready and with good things fill it up.
Give to the hungry bread, to the thirsty drink,
And to the body that is naked clothes,
From thine own labors and with holy hands
510
Providing. Raise up the afflicted, stand
Beside the weary, for the living One
Provide and bring this living sacrifice.
Sow thou in piety that I may give
These things to thee; immortal fruits and light
515
Eternal thou shalt have, and fadeless life,
When I put all things to the proof with fire.
For I will melt down all things and select
For purity. I will roll up the heaven,
Line 501. Life and death. — Comp. Deut. xxx, 15, 19, and also the opening words of the “Teaching of the Twelve Apostles.”
Lines 518-523. Cited by Lactantius, Div. Inst., vii, 20 [L., 6, 799].
And open wide the caverns of the earth.
520
And then will I raise up the dead, and loose
The lot and sting of death; and afterward
For judgment I will come and judge the life
Of pious and of impious men, and place
Goat opposite to goat, and shepherd to shepherd,
525
And calf to calf, convicting one another.
Whoever will exalt themselves shall be
By proofs condemned, and those who stopped each
mouth,
That they themselves, being full of jealousy,
Might thus enslave such as were doing right,
530
Commanding silence, urged by love of gain.
And then the approved shall all have place by me.
No longer in affliction wilt thou say,
“To-morrow shall be, and yet it is not;
Yesterday has been.” No long days of care,
535
Nor spring, nor summer, nor the winter cold,
Nor autumn, nor the sunset and sunrise.
For I will make a long day, and the light,
The great and longed-for light of Jesus Christ,
Shall be forever and for evermore. . . .
540
The Self-begotten, Undefiled, Eternal,
Dwelling in heaven and measuring with his power
The fiery blast, who also holdeth fast
The clashing scepter with ferocious fire,
And calms the rolling thunder’s crashing noise,
545
He shakes the earth and holds the rushing [winds],
And blunts the lightning’s whip of fiery flame,
The vast outpour of storms, and vernal hail,
Line 524. Comp. Matt. xxv, 33.
Line 539. Lacuna here in manuscript.
Line 545. Winds. — Lacuna here. We supply winds; Alexandre suggests sea; Friedlieb, sun.
And chilling stroke of clouds, and winter’s shock.
For these were every one marked out in thought,
550
As many as seemed good to thee thyself,
And to whose movements thou dist nod assent;
Who, ere yet any creature had been formed
Wast with thy Son as bosom counselor,
Former of mortal men, and judge of life.
555
Him with the first sweet utterance of mouth
Thou dist address and say: “Let us make man
According to our likeness and our form,
And give him vital breath, to whom though mortal
All wordly things shall be subordinate,
560
And to whom, dust-formed, we subject all things.”
Thus spakest thou to the Word, and by thy mind
All things occurred, and all the elements
At once obeyed thy order, and a creature
Eternal was in mortal image formed;
565
Heaven also, air, fire, earth, and the sea’s wave,
Sun, moon, chorus of stars, mountains and day,
Night, sleep, awaking, spirit and emotion,
Soul and intelligence, art, voice and strength,
And the wild tribes of living things, of fish,
570
And birds, land animals, amphibia,
And also creeping things, and double natures;
For he himself arranged all things for thee,
Under thy rule. But in the latest times
The earth has changed itself, and there has come
575
A humble one, from the Virgin Mary’s womb;
A new light rose, and coming from the heavens
He entered mortal form. And therefore first
Did Gabriel show his strong and holy frame,
Line 553. Counselor. — Comp. line 328.
Lines 561-573. This passage is a free poetical expansion of the main thoughts of Psalm viii.
Line 578. Gabriel — Comp. Luke i, 26-28.
And second to the virgin he by voice
580
Spoke, being himself a messenger, and said:
“Virgin, receive God in thy holy breast.”
So speaking God breathed grace. But as for her,
Always a virgin, terror and surprise
Seized her at once as she heard, and she stood
585
In trembling, and her mind was filled with fear,
Her heart leaped at the messages unknown.
But she again was gladdened, and her heart
Was by the voice cheered, and the maiden laughed,
And her young cheek blushed, merry with the joy;
590
And she was spell-bound in her heart by awe.
But confidence came to her, and the Word
Flew in her womb, and became flesh in time,
Was gendered and was made a human form,
And came to be a youth, of virgin born,
595
This was a mighty wonder to mankind,
But it was nothing greatly wonderful
To God the Father, and to God the Son.
And the glad earth received the new-born babe,
The heavenly throne laughed, and the world exulted.
600
The new appearing and prophetic star
Was honored by the wise men, and the babe
In the manger and wrapped in his swaddling-clothes
Was shown to those obedient unto God.
And of the Word was Bethlehem fatherland
605
Called by the keepers of herds, goats and sheep.
* * * *
To be of lowly mind, to hate base plans,
Line 600. Star. — See Matt. ii, 2.
Lines 606-630. These lines are a fragment, which may have once been naturally connected with what now precedes by intervening lines no longer extant. As they now stand they have no natural connection with the preceding passage, and appear mutilated both at beginning and end.
Wholly to love one’s neighbor as himself,
And from the soul to love God and to serve him.
Therefore we, from the holy heavenly race
610
Of Christ sprung, shall be called of common blood,
And in our services have a sense of joy,
Following the paths of piety and truth.
Let us not venture in the inmost shrine
Of temples, nor to graven images
615
Pour out libations, nor revere with prayers,
Nor with the pleasant perfume of the flowers
Nor light of lamps, nor yet with votive gifts
Adore them, nor with smoke of frankincense
Upon the altar sending forth its flame,
620
Nor with the sacrifice of bulls to send
The cruel gory slaughtering of sheep, —
Those mysteries of recompense on earth, —
Nor with the smoke of flesh-consuming fire
And odors foul pollute the light of heaven;
625
But, joyful with pure minds and cheerful soul,
With love abounding, and with generous hands,
With soothing psalms, and songs that honor God,
We are commanded to sing praise to thee,
Imperishable and without deceit,
630
All-Father God, of understanding mind. . . . .
* * * *
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