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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. 51-68.
BOOK II.
[52]CONTENTS OF BOOK II.
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NOW when my song of wisdom God restrained,
Much I implored, and in my breast again
He put the charming voice of words divine.
Trembling at every form I follow these,
5
For what I speak I do not comprehend,
But God commands each thing to be declared.
But when on earth shocks, and strong thunderbolts,
Thunder and lightning, and mildew of earth,
Madness of wolves, and slaughter of mankind,
10
And ruin both of men and bellowing bulls,
Four-footed cattle, and laborious mules,
And goats and sheep, even then the barren field
Shall become much abandoned from neglect,
And fruits shall fail, and license shall abound
15
Among most men, and temple robbery.
And then of men the tenth race will appear,
When the earth-shaking Thunderer will break
The zeal of idols, and will shake the people
Of seven-hilled Rome, and all their treasured wealth
20
Will perish, burned by Vulcan’s fiery flame.
And then shall bloody signs from heaven descend. —
* * * *
Line 2. I implored. — Comp. beginning of book iii. This book is a continuation of the preceding, and probably belongs to the same author and date.
Line 5. I do not comprehend. — Comp. Plato, Apol., where Socrates observes that “not by wisdom do poets write poetry, but by a sort of genius and inspiration; they are like diviners who also say many fine things, but do not understand the meaning of them.”
Line 20. Vulcan. — The Greek Hephæstus, the god of fire.
Line 21. After this line something seems to have been lost from the text.
But the whole world of men, enraged, will kill
Each other, and in tumult God will send
Famines and plagues and thunderbolts on men
25
Who without righteousness condemn the just.
And of men will the whole world be deserted,
So that, if any one beholds a trace
Of man on earth, he will be wonderstruck.
But then will the great God who dwells in heaven
30
Devout men’s Saviour in all things become
And then shall peace profound and union be,
And the fruit-bearing earth shall yield again
Abundant fruits, nor shall it longer be
Divided, nor with toilsome service tilled.
35
But every port and harbor shall be free
To all men, even as they were before.
And brazen impudence shall be destroyed.
Then a great sign will God thereafter show.
A star will shine forth like a lustrous crown,
40
Bright, all-resplendent, from the radiant sky,
Days not a few; for then will he from heaven
Display the victor’s garland unto men
Who struggle for the prize; and then will be
That mighty contest of triumphal march
45
Into the heavenly city, and all earth
Having the fame of immortality
Shall be all men’s possession, and all people
In the immortal contests will contend
For glorious victory. Nor shamefully
Line 44. Triumphal march. — Allusion to the iselastic (εἰσελαστικός) contests the victors in which were conducted into their own city through a broken part of the wall. See Pliny, book x, Epis. 119 and 120, in which these games are mentioned. Alexandre conjectures that this whole passage (lines 38-63) concerning contests and crowns was first written in a time of persecution to inspire to fidelity; but after persecution had ceased it was accommodated to the more common struggles of the Christian life.
50
Can any then with silver buy a crown,
For to them will the holy Christ assign
The righteous things, and crown the ones approved,
And give his martyrs the immortal pledge,
And such as waged the contest unto death.
55
And he will give the incorruptible prize
Of contests unto virgins who strove well;
And to all men the right things will he grant,
And to strange nations that live righteously,
And know one God. And such as love the bonds
60
Of marriage, and adulterous acts despise,
Will he give rich gifts and eternal hope.
For every soul of man is God’s own gift,
And men should not stain it with any woes.
[Become not rich unjustly, but be pure
65
In all thy life. Assist those near to thee,
And stand aloof from strangers. Speak no lies,
But guard all true things. Reverence not thou
Vain idols, but the everlasting God
Hold first in honor, and thy parents next.
70
Dispense all righteous things, but do not come
Into unrighteous judgment. Cast not off
Line 64. The passage beginning here and ending with line 188, and consisting mainly of proverbs, has every appearance of an interpolation. It breaks the connection of thought, and the figure of the iselastic contest, which is continued in lines 189-194. The passage is for the most part taken from a poem of 217 lines in hexameter verse, entitled ποίημα νουθετικόν (admonitory poem), and attributed to Phocylides, a gnomic poet of Miletus (born about B. C. 560). Very few, however, will seriously accept these lines as a genuine production of a contemporary of Theognis. They are without much doubt the composition of a Christian writer, and possibly, but not probably, by the author of the second book of the Sibylline Oracles. The variations between the two texts are considerable, the Sibyllines adding many lines not found in Phocylides, and Phocylides having a few not found in the Sibyllines.
The poor unjustly, nor judge outwardly.
If thou judge wickedly, God will judge thee.
False witness fly, and righteous things make known.
75
Keep thy virginity, and in all things
Guard love. Unrighteous measure do not give;
But beautiful is measure full to all.
Strike not the scales outside, but draw them equal.
Swear not in ignorance, nor willingly;
80
God hates false oaths, whatever one may swear.
Never receive in hand a gift that came
From unjust works. Seeds steal thou not; accursed
Through countless generations will he be,
Whoever takes it, for he scatters life.
85
Yield not to vile lusts, slander not, nor kill,
Give to the toilworn laborer reward;
The poor afflict not. Hold thy tongue with care,
And secret things fast in thy heart restrain.
To orphans, widow, and the needy give.
90
Will not to act unjustly, nor allow
Unrighteous things. Give to the poor at once,
And say not, Come to-morrow. Of thy grain
Give to the toilsome with a ready hand.
Know, he that gives alms lendeth unto God.
95
Mercy from death frees when the judgment comes;
Not sacrifice, but mercy God desires
Rather than sacrifice. Clothe therefore thou
The naked; with the hungry share thy bread.
Him without shelter in thy house receive,
100
And lead the blind. On shipwrecked mariners
Have thou compassion, for the sailor’s art
Line 81. Comp. Exod. xxiii, 8; Prov. xvii, 23. —
Line 94. Comp. Prov. xix, 17.
Line 96. Comp. Hos. vi, 6; Matt. ix, 13.
Line 97. Comp. Tobit iv, 16.
Is perilous. To the fallen give a hand.
And save the man that stands all unassisted.
Suffering is common; life is as a wheel;
105
Riches uncertain. If thou hast wealth, reach
Thy hand unto the poor, and of the things
Which God gave thee bestow thou on the needy.
Common is all the life of mortal men,
But it comes out unequal. When thou seest
110
A poor man, never banter him with words,
Nor rudely accost a man that should be blamed.
The life in death is tested; if one did
The unlawful or just, it shall be discerned
When he comes into judgment. Injure not
115
The mind with wine, nor drink excessively.
Eat not blood, and from idol offerings keep.
Gird not the sword around thee ’gainst a friend,
But for defense; would that thou use it not
Unjustly or justly; for if thou put to death
120
An enemy thou has defiled thy hand.
Keep from thy neighbor’s field, and cross it not.
Each boundary is just, and troubles come
By trespass. Wealth is profitable
Unto the upright, but to the unjust an evil.
125
Harm not the growing produce of the field.
Let foreigners be equally esteemed
Among the citizens; for all should break
A painful hospitality, as guests
Of one another; but let no one be
130
A stranger with you, since of one blood all
Ye mortals are, and for mankind no realm
Affords a permanent abiding place.
Wish not nor pray to be rich, but pray this:
Line 116. Comp. Acts xv, 20-29.
Line 130. Comp. Acts xvii, 26.
To live of few things, and possess no thing
135
Unjustly. Mother of all wickedness
Is love of gain. Yearn not for gold or silver,
But be assured that in them there will be
A deadly two-edged instrument of iron.
Gold and silver are ever a snare to men.
140
O gold! source of all evils, bane of life,
Full of vexation, would that thou wert not
To mortals such a longed-for misery.
For through thee come wars, plunders, homicides,
Children with parents in a bitter strife,
145
And brethren hating those of their own blood.
Plot no deceits, and do not arm thy soul
Against a friend. Conceal not in thy heart
Another thing from what thou speakest forth,
Nor change with place even as a polypus
150
Grown to a rock. But be thou frank, with all,
And those things which are of the heart declare.
Whoever willfully commits a wrong,
An evil man is he; but he that sins
Under constraint, his end I do not tell;
155
But let the will of every man be right.
Boast not of wisdom, nor of power, nor wealth;
God only is wise and mighty, and abounds
In riches. Do not wear thy heart away
With evils that are past, for what is done
160
Can never be undone. Send not thy hand
Forth in a hasty deed, but curb wild wrath.
For often as one strikes he may commit
Unwittingly a murder. Let there be
A common suffering, neither great nor strong.
165
Excess of good has not been wont to yield
Lines 133-134. Comp. Theognis, 1151, 1152.
Line 135. Comp. 1 Tim. vi, 10.
Profit to mortals, but much luxury
Brings on excessive lusts. Great wealth puffs up,
And waxes into wanton insolence.
Desire, obtaining mastery, effects
170
Destructive madness. Anger is a lust,
And when it passes further, it is wrath.
The zeal of good men is a noble thing,
But of the vile is vile. Destructive is
The boldness of the wicked; glory crowns
175
That of the good. The love of virtue holds
Deserved esteem, but Cyprian loves add shame.
Agreeable is the amiable man
Among his fellows. Moderately he eats,
Drinks, and discourses; moderation is
180
Of all things best; excess brings many a pain.
Nor envious nor distrustful be, nor be
A railer, nor a man of evil thoughts,
Nor yet a false deceiver. Exercise
Prudence, and keep thyself from shameful works.
185
Follow not malice, but by righteousness
Blot out revenge; for useful is persuasion,
But strife engenders strife. Do not believe
Too quickly, ere thou truly see the end.]
This is the contest, this is the reward,
190
This is the prize, this is the gate of life,
And entrance into immortality,
Which God in heaven to righteous men appointed
As victory’s reward. They that obtain
The crown shall enter gloriously by this.
195
But when this sign appears through all the
world,
Line 176. Cyprian. — Belonging to the isle of Cyprus, where the lewd worship of Venus was notorious.
Children are born gray-haired, then human woes,
Famines and plagues and wars, and change of seasons
And many tearful sorrows will abound.
Alas! How many children in the lands
200
Will mourn, and sadly for their parents weep,
And, wrapped in shrouds, bury the flesh in earth,
The mother of peoples, mingling them
With blood and dust. O miserable men
Of the last generation, evil-doers,
205
Cruel and foolish; nor perceiving this,
That when the tribes of women cease to bear,
The harvest-time of mortal men is come.
And ruin threatens when impostors come
Instead of prophets speaking on the earth.
210
And Beliar will come, and many signs
Will work for men. And then of holy men
Elect and faithful there will be confusion,
And a plundering of them and of the Hebrews.
And there will come fierce wrath, when from the East
215
Shall come a people of twelve tribes, and seek
A people, whom the Assyrian branch destroyed,
Tribe-kinsmen of the Hebrews; and with them
Shall nations perish. Afterward again
Will they rule over the surviving men,
220
Elect and faithful Hebrews, and subject
Them as before, since their power will not fail.
The Most High, all-surveying, who abides
Line 196. Gray-haired. — Comp. a similar passage in Hesiod, Works and Days, 184. Children will become prematurely old by reason of the woes destined to visit the race in the last generation.
Line 210. Beliar. — Same as Belial, named here for antichrist, whose coming in the last time is depicted in harmony with Paul’s doctrine in 2 Thess. ii, 8-10.
Line 214-221. A passage inexplicably obscure in its historical allusions, but apparently connected with the notion of the ten tribes of the Assyrian exile, who, according to 2 Esdras xiii, 40-50, are concealed in the Far East, and to be restored in the last time.
In the pure heaven, will scatter sleep on men,
Covering their eyelids round. O blessed servants,
225
Whom when the Master comes he finds awake.
Awaken all, and watch with sleepless eyes;
For he will come at morning, or at eve,
Or in midday; but he will surely come,
And it will be as I say; it will be
230
To those at ease, that from the radiant heaven
The stars to all at midday will appear,
With the two luminaries; and the time
Is pressing on. And then will light on earth
The Tishbite, drawing from the heaven above
235
His heavenly chariot, and three signs will show
To all the world, of life to be destroyed.
Alas! How many women in that day
Will be found with a burden in the womb;
How many infant children at the breast;
240
How many will be dwelling on the waves.
Alas! How many that day will behold.
For a dark mist will wrap the boundless world,
East, west, and south, and north; and from the heavens
Will flow a mighty stream of burning fire,
245
And every place consume — earth, ocean, sky,
And sea, and pools, and rivers, and harsh Hades,
And heaven’s axis. And the lights of heaven
Will rush together, and take on a form
All-desolate. For all the stars will fall
250
Into the sea, and all the souls of men
Gnash their teeth, burning in the stream below,
Line 224. Comp. Matt, xxiv, 46.
Line 227. Comp. Mark xiii, 35; Homer, Iliad, xxi, 111.
Line 232. Comp. Matt. xxiv, 29.
Line 234. Tishbite . . . chariot. — Comp. 2 Kings ii, 11; Mal. iv, 5.
Line 237. Comp. Matt. xxiv, 19.
That burns with brimstone and the force of fire.
And then the elements of all the world
Shall be forsaken — air, earth, sea, light, heaven,
255
And days and nights. No longer through the air
Will fly the insatiate birds, nor swimming beasts
Pass through the sea, nor vessels sail the waves,
Nor cattle plow the field, nor sound of trees
Under the winds; but all things then will melt
260
Together, and will come out purified.
Then will the angels of the immortal God
Come, Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel,
Who know whatever evil things men do,
And from the dark and murky gloom below
265
Up to the judgment will lead forth all souls.
To the tribunal of the immortal God.
For One alone imperishable is,
Himself the Almighty; he shall judge mankind,
And then to nether realms, souls, spirit, and voice,
270
The heavenly God will give, and also bones
Fitted to joints, and made divinely fair.
And flesh and sinews in all parts will join,
And veins and skin; and afterward the hair
Will spring forth as aforetime. So one day
275
Shall earthly bodies moved with breath be raised.
And then will Uriel, mighty angel, break
The bolts of harsh and lasting adamant,
Which, monstrous, hold the awful gates of hell,
And hurling them aside, to judgment bring
280
All the sad forms exceeding sorrowful
Chiefly the phantom forms of Titans old,
Line 262. These four angels are mentioned in the Book of Enoch (chaps, ix and x), and are frequently referred to in the later Jewish angelology.
Line 281. Titans. — Comp. book i, 364, and iii, 130-185.
And giants, whom the deluge swept away;
And such as perished in the billowy seas,
And all that furnished banquet for the beasts,
285
And creeping things, and winged fowls— all these
Uriel will summon to the judgment seat;
And also those whom flesh-devouring fire
Destroyed in flame, even these shall rise and stand
Assembled at the judgment seat of God,
290
And when the dead are raised, and fates resolved,
And the high fulminating Lord of hosts
Is seated on his heavenly throne, and sets
The mighty pillar, then amid the clouds
In the glory of Christ, with blameless angels thronged,
295
The Incorruptible himself will come
Unto him who is incorruptible,
And of the right hand of the great tribunal
Sit, judging lives of just and unjust men.
Moses will come, great friend of the Most High,
300
And Abraham, himself also great, will come,
Isaac and Jacob, Joseph, Daniel,
Elijah, Habakkuk, and Jonah, all,
And those whom persecuting Hebrews slew.
But all those Hebrews after Jeremiah,
305
At the tribunal judged, he will destroy;
That they may worthy recompense receive,
And pay for what in mortal life they did.
And then all through the burning stream shall pass
Of fire unquenchable; but all the righteous
310
Shall be saved. But the ungodly to all ages
Shall be undone, who erst wrought wickedness,
And knowingly committed murders vile;
Line 293. Pillar. — Comp. vers. 344, 355, and book vii, 35.
Line 294. Comp. Matt. xvi, 27.
Line 308-310. The following passage from Lactantius, vii, 21 [L., 6, 802], is worthy of comparison here: “When He shall have judged the righteous he will also try them with fire. Then they whose sins shall exceed either in weight or number shall be scorched by the fire and burnt; but they whom full justice and maturity of virtue has imbued will not perceive that fire, for they have something of God in themselves which repels the violence of the flame.”
Liars and thieves and ruiners of home,
Crafty and terrible; and parasites,
315
And marriage-breakers, pouring slanders forth;
The fearful, insolent idolators;
Those who, forsaking the immortal God,
Become blasphemers; robbers of the just,
Destroyers both of faith and holy men;
320
Presbyters, priests, and ministers revered,
Who practiced with a double face their guile,
And shamelessly perverted others’ rights;
Impostors, credulous, but more destructive
Than wolves and leopards, vilest of the vile;
325
Also the arrogant, and usurers,
Who pile up compound interest at home,
And wrong the widow and the fatherless;
And such as give to widows and to orphans
The product of unrighteous deeds, and such
330
As, giving out of hardships, cause reproach;
All who forsake their parents in old age,
Not reverencing or requiting them,
But disobedient, contradicting sires
With harsh words; those who take assurances
335
And then deny; and servants who have turned
Against their masters; also the impure,
Who by lasciviousness defile the flesh
And loose the maiden’s girdle secretly;
And such as having burdens in the womb
Line 331. Comp. a similar passage in Hesiod, Works and Days, 183, ff.
340
Produce abortion, and their offspring cast
Unlawfully away; and sorcerers
And sorceresses — all these will the wrath
Of the immortal God cause to approach
The pillar, where around a circle flows
345
The river inexhaustible of fire.
Then will the angels of the immortal God,
Who ever liveth, direly punish them
With flaming scourges and with fiery flames,
Bound from above with ever-during bonds.
350
Then in Gehenna, in the midnight gloom,
Will they be to Tartarean monsters cast,
Many and fierce, where darkness is supreme.
But when all punishments have been entailed
On all whose hearts were evil, then straightway
355
From the great river will a fiery wheel
Circle them round, pressed down with wicked
works;
And then in many a way most piteously
Will fathers, mothers, nursing children wail;
Nor will there be satiety of tears,
360
Nor will the piteous cry of those who mourn
Be heard elsewhither, but worn down afar
Amid the darkening shades of Tartarus
They cry aloud, and pay the penalty
Threefold for all the wicked works they did,
365
Burning in fire; and they shall gnash their teeth,
All consumed by devouring thirst and force,
And wish to die, but death shall flee from them,
For nevermore will death nor night give rest.
Much will they vainly pray to God most high,
370
But he will turn his face away from them.
Line 358. Comp. Virg., Geor. iv, 475, ff, and Æn., vi, 306, ff.
[For seven ages a day of penitence
Gave he to men by a pure virgin’s hand.]
But others, with whom right and good works weighed,
Most upright in their piety and thoughts,
375
The angels, bearing through the burning stream,
Shall lead to light and life exempt from care.
There is the immortal way of the great God,
And fountains three, of honey, wine, and milk.
The land, alike for all, divided not
380
By wall or fence, shall bear abundant fruit
Indigenous; the means and modes of life
Common will be, and riches without lot.
For there no longer will be poor nor rich,
Tyrant nor slave, nor great, nor small, nor kings,
385
Nor chieftains, but all share a common life.
No more will any say the night has come,
Or morrow comes, or yesterday has been.
They have no trouble about many days.
Spring, summer, autumn, winter will not be
390
[Marriage nor death, nor will they buy and sell,
Nor will there be sunset or sunrise more],
For he will make it one long, lasting day.
Then to the pious will the almighty God
Grant yet another thing, when they shall pray
395
For men to be saved from devouring fire
And lasting torments; and this he will do.
For having plucked the steadfast from the flame
That rests not, and removing them elsewhere,
Line 371, 372. Comp. book viii, 445-447.
Line 375. This, together with lines 398-400, has been thought to teach the doctrine of purgatory. See note below.
Line 378. Comp. Virg., Eclogue iv.
Line 383, 384. Comp. viii, 139, 140.
Line 386-392. Comp. book viii, 537-542.
He for his people’s sake will send them on
400
Unto another and eternal life,
In fields Elysian, where are the great waves
Of the deep-bosomed Acheronian lake.
Ah, wretched I! what shall I in that day?
For, ill-disposed and anxious for all things,
405
I sinned and had no care for marriage-bonds,
Nor reason. But within my sumptuous halls
I shut the needy out, and knowingly
Aforetime did unlawful things perform.
Thou, Saviour, rescue me, the shameless one,
410
From my tormenters, me who did the shame,
I pray thee, let me rest a while from song,
Holy Giver of manna, King of the great realm.
Line 393-402. Then to the pious. — This passage, which savors of a final restoration from future punishment, has been thought to be contrary to orthodox teaching; and we find appended to some manuscripts the following lines, headed, “Contradiction of the ‘To the pious will the Almighty,’” and professedly a disproof of the doctrine of Origen on this subject:
“False manifestly, for the penal fire
Shall never cease from those who are condemned;
For even should I pray to have it thus,
I’m marked by greatest scars of trespasses,
Which call for still a greater clemency.
But be ashamed of Origen’s vain talk,
Who says that punishment will have an end.”
Line 401. Fields Elysian. — In Homer (Od., iv, 563) these are represented as situated on the western border of the earth by the ocean stream, and thither heroes beloved by the gods passed without dying. Hesiod (Works and Days, 169) calls them "the isles of the blessed, beside deep-eddying ocean." But later, and with the Roman poets, Elysium was in the lower world, the blessed part of Hades, and is here conceived as bordering on the Acheronian lake.
Line 405. Comp. the conclusion of book vii.
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