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The Sibylline OraclesBook four Proclamation of the Sibyl 1People of boastful Asia and Europe, give ear To the unfailing truths that I am about to prophesy Through my honey-voiced mouth from our shrine. I am not an oracle-monger Of the false Phoebus, whom vain 5Men called a god, and falsely described as a seer, Polemic Against Idolatry and Temples But of the great God, whom no hands of men fashioned In the likeness of speechless idols of polished stone. For he does not have a house, a stone set up as a temple, Dumb and toothless, a bane which brings many woes to men 10But one which it is not possible to see from earth nor to measure With mortal eyes, since it was not fashioned by mortal hand. He sees all at once but is seen by no one himself. Dark night is his, and day, sun and Stars, moon and fish-filled sea, 15And land and rivers and source of perennial springs, Things created for life, also showers which engender The fruit of the soil, and trees, both vine and olive. He it is who drove a whip through my heart within, To narrate accurately to men what now is, 20And what will yet be, from the first generation Until the tenth comes. For he himself will prove everything By accomplishing it. But you, people, listen to the Sibyl in all things As she pours forth true speech from her holy mouth. Praise of the Righteous Happy will be those of mankind on earth 25Who will love the great God, blessing him Before drinking and eating, putting their trust in piety. They will reject all temples when they see them; Altars too, useless foundations of dumb stones 28aAnd stone statues and handmade images Defiled with blood of animate creatures, and sacrifices 30Of four-footed animals. They will look to the great glory of the one God And commit no wicked murder, nor deal in Dishonest gain, which are most horrible things. Neither have they disgraceful desire for another’s spouse Or for fateful and repulsive abuse of a male. 35Other men will never imitate their way Or piety or customs, because they desire shamelessness. On the contrary, they deride them with mockery and laughter. Infantile in their foolishness, they will falsely attribute to those What wicked and evil deeds they themselves commit. The Coming Judgment 40For the entire race of men is slow of faith. But when The judgment of the world and of mortals has already come, Which God himself will perform, judging impious and pious at once, Then he will also send the impious down into the gloom in fire, And then they will realize what impiety they committed. 45But the pious will remain on the fertile soil, And God will give them spirit and life and favor at once. All these things will be accomplished in the tenth generation, But now, the things which will happen from the first generation, these will I say. The First Kingdom First, the Assyrians will rule over all mortals, 50Holding the world in their dominion for six generations From the time when the heavenly God was in wrath With the cities themselves and all men, And the sea covered the earth when the Flood burst forth. The Second Kingdom These will the Medes destroy, and boast on their thrones. 55They will have only two generations. In their time the following things will take place: There will be dark night in the mid-hour of day, The stars and the circles of the moon will disappear from heaven; The earth, shaken by the turmoil of a great earthquake, Will cast down headlong many cities and works of men. 60Then islands will emerge from the depth of the sea. But when the great Euphrates is flooded with blood, Then indeed a terrible din of battle will arise for the Medes and Persians in war. The Medes will fall under the spears Of the Persians and flee over the great water of the Tigris. (Cyrus the Persian had conquered Media by 550B.C.) The Third Kingdom 65The power of the Persians will be the greatest of the whole world. They are destined to have one generation of very prosperous rule. All evils which men pray to be spared will come to pass; Battles and murders, dissensions and exiles, Headlong crashes of towers and overthrow of cities. 70When boastful Greece sails to the wide Hellespont Bringing grievous doom to the Phrygians and Asia. Further, famine and failure of crops will visit Much-furrowed wheat-bearing Egypt, for a twenty-year-cycle, When the Nile, which nourishes corn, hides 75Its dark water somewhere else under the earth. A king will come from Asia, brandishing a great spear, With countless ships. (invasion of Greece by Xerxes in 4B.C.) He will walk the watery paths Of the deep, and will cut through a lofty mountain as he sails. Him will wretched Asia receive as a fugitive from war. 80When the flame of Aetna belches forth a stream of great fire It will burn all miserable Sicily, And the great city Croton will fall into the deep stream. There will be strife in Greece. Raging against each other, They will cast many cities down headlong and will destroy many men 85By fighting. But the strife will have equal on all parties. But when the race of men comes to the tenth generation Then there will also be yokes of slavery and terror for the Persians. The Fourth Kingdom But when the Macedonians boast of scepters, Thereafter there will also be dire capture of Thebes.(Thebes was captured by Alexander in 335B.C.) 90The Carians will inhabit Tyre, and the Tyrians will perish. (Tyre was captured in 332B.C.) Sand will cover all Samos under beaches. Delos will no longer be visible, and all the affairs of Delos will be inconspicuous. Babylon, great in appearance but insignificant in battle. (Babylon was captured in 331B.C.) Will stand, built on useless hopes. 95Macedonians will colonize Bactria, but the people of Bactria And Susa will all flee to the land of Greece. It will come to pass in future generations the Pyramus of the silver current, Pouring forward its shoreline, will reach the sacred island, And you Baris, will ffall, and Cyzicus, when cities slide 100As the earth is shaken by earthquakes, Upon the Rhodians, too, a final, but greatest, disaster will come. The Rise of Rome Nor will the power of Macedonia survive, but from the west A great Italian was will bloom under which the world (the Macedonian wars) Will serve, bearing the yoke of slavery for the Italians. 105You also, miserable Corinth, will one day behold your capture. Carthage, your tower will also bend the knee to the ground. (Carthage and Corinth fell in 146B.C.) Wretched Laodicea, at some time an earthquake will throw you headlong And spread you flat, but you will be founded again as a city, and stand. Beautiful Myra of Lycia, the shuddering earth will no longer 110Support you, but falling down headlong on the earth, You will pray to flee to another land as an exile When the Lord Spreads out the dark water of the sea With thunderings and earthquakes because of the impieties of Patara. Armenin, the compulsion of slavery awaits you also. (the Armenina wars in A.D. 43-66) The Destruction of Jerusalem 115An evil storm of war will also come upon Jerusalem From Italy, and it will sack the great Temple of God, Whenever they put their trust in folly and cast off piety And commit repulsive murders in front of the Temple. Then a great king will flee from Italy like a runaway slave. (Nero) 120Unseen and unheard over the channel of the Eupharates, When he dares to incur a maternal curse for repulsive murder And many other things, confidently, with wicked hand. When he runs away, beyond the Parthian land, Many will bloody the ground for the throne of Rome. 125A leader of Rome will come to Syria (Titus) who will burn The Temple of Jerusalem with fire, at the same time slaughter Many men and destroy the great land of the Jews with its broad roads. Then indeed an earthquake will destroy at once Salamis and Paphos When the dark water overwhelm Cyprus, which is washed by many waves. Various Disturbances 130But when a firebrand, turned away from a cleft in the earth In the land of Italy, reaches to broad heaven (the volcano Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii in A.D. 79) It will burn many cities and destroy men. Much smoking ashes will fill the great sky, And showers will fall from heaven like red earth. 135Know then the wrath of the heavenly God, Because they will destroy the blameless tribe of the pious. Then the strife of war being aroused will come to the west. And the fugitive from Rome will also come, brandishing a great spear, Having crossed the Euphrates with many myriads. 140Wretched Antioch, they will no longer call you a city When you fall under spears by your own folly; And then pestilence and terrible din of battle will destroy Cyprus. Woe to miserable Cyprus, a broad wave of the sea Will cover you when you have been tossed up by wintry blasts, 145Great wealth will come to Asia, which Rome itself Once plundered and deposited in her house of many possessions. She will then pay back twice as much and more To Asia, and then there will be a surfeit of war. A bitter famine will destroy the cities of the Carians, 150Which are very beautifully turreted, by the waters of the Maeander, Whenever the Maeander hides its dark water. Impiety of the Last Times But when faith in piety perishes from among men, And justice is hidden in the world, Untrustworthy men, living for unholy deeds, 155Will commit outrage, wicked and evil deeds. No one will take account of the pious, but they will even Destroy them all, by foolishness, very infantile people, Rejoicing in outrages and applying their hands to blood. Even then know that God is no longer benign 160But gnashing his teeth in wrath and destroying the entire Race of men at once by a great conflagration. Exhortation to conversion and baptism Ah, wretched mortals, change these things, and do not lead the great God to all sorts of anger, abut abandon daggers and groanings, murders, and outrages, 165and wash your whole bodies in perennial rivers. Stretch out your hands to heaven and ask forgiveness for your previous deeds and make propetiation for bitter impiety with words of praise; God will grant repentance and will not destroy. He will stop his wrath again if you all 170practice honorable piety in your hearts The Conflagration But if you do not obey me, evil-minded ones, but love Impiety, and receive all these things with evil ears, There will be fire throughout the whole world, and a very great sign With sword and trumpet at the rising of the sun. 175The whole world will hear a bellowing noise and mighty sound. He will burn the whole earth, and will destroy the whole race of men And all cities and rivers at once, and the sea. He will destroy everything by fir. And it will be smoking dust. But when everything is already dusty ashes, 180And God puts to sleep the unspeakable fire, even as he kindled it, God himself will again fashion the bones and ashes of men And he will raise up mortals again as they were before. And then there will be a judgment over which God himself will preside, Judging the world again. As many as sinned by impiety, 185These will a mound of earth cover, And broad Tartarus and the repulsive recesses of Gehenna. But as many as are pious, they will live on earth again When God gives spirit and life and favor 190To these pious ones. Then they will all see themselves Beholding the delightful and pleasant light of the sun. Oh most blessed, whatever man will live to that time. | |||
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