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The Sibylline OraclesBook eight Prophecy of World Kingdoms and Destruction As the great wrath comes upon the disobedient world I show for the wrath of God to the last age, Prophesying to all men, city by city. From the time when the tower fell and the tongues of men 5Were divided into many dialects of mortals, First the Egyptian kingdom, then that of the Persians, Medes, Ethiopians, and Assyrian Babylon, Then that of Macedonia, which boasted in great arrogance, Then, fifth, the famous lawless kingdom of the Italians 10Last of all, will show many evils to all men And will expend the toils of the men of all the earth. It will lead untiring kings of nations to the west And will legislate for peoples and subdue all things. The mills of God grind fine flour, though late. 15Then fire will destroy everything and reduce to fine dust The heads of lofty mountains and of all flesh. Admonition Against Greed The beginning of evils for all will be love of gain and folly For there will be a desire for deceitful gold and silver. For there is nothing that mortals preferred to these, 20Not the light of the sun, not heaven nor sea Nor the broad earth whence everything grows Nor God who gives everything, begetter of all. Nor did they prefer faith and piety to these. It is the source of impiety and forerunner of disorder. 25Deviser of wars, hostile troubler of peace Which alienates parents from their children and children from their parents. Even marriage will never be wholly honored apart from gold. Earth will have boundaries and all the sea guards, Craftily divided among those who have gold. 30As if wishing to have the much-nurturing earth forever They will ravage the poor, so that they themselves may acquire Additional land and subject them by imposture. If the huge earth did not have its throne Far from starry heaven, men would not have equal light 35But it would be marketed for gold and would belong to the rich, And God would have prepared another world for beggars. Oracle Against Rome One day, proud Rome, there will come upon you from above An equal heavenly affliction, and you will first bend the neck And be razed to the ground, and fire will consume you, altogether 40Laid low on your floors, and wealth will perish And wolves and foxes will dwell in your foundations. Then you will be utterly desolate, as if you had never been. Where then will be the Palladium? What sort of God will save you? One of gold, or stone or bronze? Or where then will be your 45Senatorial decrees? Where the race of Rhea or Cronos Or Zeus and of all those whom you revered? Lifeless demons, likeness of dead corpses Whose tombs ill-fated Crete will have as boast, Worshipping senseless corpses with ritual enthronements. Hadrian 50But when, luxurious one, you have had fifteen kings Who enslaved the world from east to west, There will be a gray-haired prince with the name of a nearby sea, Inspecting the world with polluted foot, giving gifts. Having abundant gold, he will also gather more 55Silver from his enemies and strip and undo them. He will participate in all the mysteries of magic shrines. He will display a child as god, and undo all objects of reverence, From the beginning he will open up the mysteries of error to all. Then will be a woeful time, because “the woeful” himself will perish. 60One day the people will say, “Your great power, o city, will fall,” Knowing that the fated evil day is immediately at hand. Then fathers and infant children will mourn together, Regarding your most piteous fate. Mournful, they will raise dirges by the banks of Tiber. 65After him, three will rule who have the last day of all, Fulfilling the name of the heavenly God, Whose power is both now and for all ages. The Return of Nero in the Time of Marcus Aurelius One, an old man, will control dominions far and wide, A most piteous king, who will shut up and guard all the wealth 70Of the world in his home, so that when the blazing Matricidal exile returns from the ends of the earth he will give things to all and award great wealth to Asia. Woes to Come Upon Rome Then you will mourn, doffing the garment of leaders, With its broad purple border, and wearing a garment of mourning. 75O proud queen, offspring of Latin Rome. No longer will you have the fame of your pride Nor will you ever be lifted up, ill-fated one, but you will be laid low. For the glory of the eagle-bearing legions will also fall. Where then is your strength? What sort of land will be an ally 80Which has been lawlessly enslaved by your vain thoughts? For then there will be confusion of all the land of mortals, when the universal ruler himself comes and judges on the tribunal The souls of the living and dead, and the whole world. Neither will parents be friendly to children nor children to parents 85Because of impiety and affliction beyond hope. Then you will have gnashing of teeth and scattering and capture When the fall of cities comes and yawning gaps in the earth. When the purple dragon comes on the waves, Pregnant with a host, and will nurture your children 90When famine and civil war are at hand; Then the end of the world and the last day is dear, And the judgment of the immortal God for the approved elect. First there will be implacable wrath of Romans. A bloodthirsty time, and wretched life will come. 95Woe to you, Italian land, great savage nation. You did not perceive whence you came, naked and unworthy To the light of the sun, so that you might go again naked To the same place and later come to judgment Because you judge unjustly… 100By gigantic hands, alone in the whole world, You will come from a height and dwell under the earth In naphtha and asphalt and brimstone and much fire, And you will disappear and will be blazing of dust Forever. Everyone who looks will hear a mournful 105Great bellowing form Hades and gnashing of teeth As you strike your godless breast with your hands. Night is equal to all at once, to those who have wealth And to beggars. Coming naked from the earth, going naked again To the earth, they cease from life, having completed their time. The Equality of All in the Eschatological Time 110No one is slave there, no lord, no tyrant, No kings, no leaders who are very arrogant, No forensic rhetoricians, no ruler judging for money. They do not pour blood on altars in libations of sacrifices. No drum sounds, no cymbal, 115No flute of many holes, which has a sound that damages the heart, No pipe, which bears an imitation of the crroked serpent, No savage-sounding trumpet, herald of wars, None who are drunk in lawless revels or dances, No sound of the lyre, no evil-working device, 120No strife, no anger, in its diverse kinds; nor will there be a knife Beside the dead, but the age will be common to all. Key-bearer of the great enclosure on the tribunal of God… Destruction of Rome And with statues of gold and silver and stone, Be beautiful, so that you may come to a bitter day, 125To see your punishment first, Rome, and the gnashing of teeth. No longer will Syrian, Greek, or foreigner, or any other nation, Place their neck under your yoke of slavery. You will be utterly ravaged and destroyed for what you did. Groaning in panic, you will give until you have repaid all, 130And you will be a triumph-spectacle to the world and a reproach of all. An Encomium on Hadrian Then the sixth generation of Latin kings Will complete its last life and abandon the scepters. Another king of the same race will reign Who will rule the whole earth and gain sway over dominions. 135He will rule by the counsels of the great God without contamination, His children and the race of his unshaken children. For thus it is prophesied, in the cyclic course of time, Whenever there will have been fifteen kings of Egypt. (Roman kings) The Return of Nero Then when comes the time of the Phoenix, of the fifth period… 140He will come to ravage the race of peoples, undistinguished tribes, The nation of the Hebrews. Then Ares will take Ares captive. He himself will destroy the overbearing threat of the Romans. For the empire of Rome, which then flourished, has perished, The ancient queen over the surrounding cities. 145No longer will the plain of luxuriant Rome be victorious When he comes from Asia, conquering Ares. Having done all these things, he will come to the trampled town. You will fulfill thrice three hundred and forty-eight Years when an evil violent fate 150Will come upon you fulfilling your name. Another Oracle on the Return of Nero Alas for me. Thrice-wretched one, when will I see that day, Destructive indeed to you, Rome, and especially to all Latins? Celebrate, if you wish, the man of secret birth, Riding a Trojan chariot from the land of Asia 155With the spirit of fire. Bit when he cuts through the isthmus Glancing about, going against everyone, having crossed the sea, Then dark blood will pursue the great beast. The hound pursued the lion that was destroying the herdsmen. They will take away dominion, and he will pass over to Hades. Oracles Against Various Nations 160A final but greatest evil will come upon the Rhodians, And for the Thebans evil captivity awaits thereafter. Egypt will be destroyed by the wickedness of its rulers. Also, like the men who afterward fled dire destruction, Thrice happy was the man, and four times blessed. 165Rome will be a street and Delos inconspicuous And Samos sand… Then later, also, evil will come upon the Persians. In return for overbearing pride, all arrogance will be destroyed. Eschatological Upheavels Then a holy prince will gain control of the scepters of the whole world 170For all ages, he who raised the dead. The Most High will lead three, then, in piteous fate at Rome, And all men will perish in their own dwellings. But they will not be persuaded, which would be much better. But whenever there rises upon all the evil day 175Of famine and pestilence, hard to bear, and tumult, And then again the former wretched lord Will assemble the council and deliberate how he will destroy… The withered will bloom, appearing together with leaves. The floor of heaven will rain on the hard rock 180Shower and flame and many breezes on the earth And an abundance of poisonous seeds throughout the whole earth. But they will act again with shameless spirit, Not fearing the wrath of God or of men, Abandoning modesty, desiring shamelessness, 185Tyrants in fickleness and violent sinners, Liars, lovers of faithlessness, evildoers, truthful in nothing, Breakers of faith, ingenious at pouring out slander. They will not have surfeit of wealth, but shamelessly They will collect more. Under the sway of tyrants they will perish. 190All the stars will fall directly into the sea, All in turn, and men will call a shining comet “the star”, a sign of much impending toil, war, and slaughter. May I not be alive when the abominable woman reigns, (whore of Babylon) 195But rather then, when heavenly grace comes to rule, And whenever the sacred child, the destroyer of all, Destroys the malignant abyss with bonds, opening it up. Suddenly a wooden house will cover men round about. But when the tenth generation is within the house of Hades, 200Thereafter the power of the female will be great. God himself Will increase many evils for her when she is crowned and Receives royal honor. The entire year will be an age turned upside down. The sun, seeing dimly, shines at night. Stars will leave the vault of heaven. A raging storm with many a hurricane 205Will lay the earth desolate. There will be a resurrection of the dead And most swift racing of the lame, and the deaf will hear And blind will see, those who cannot speak will speak, And life and wealth will be common to all. The earth will equally belong to all, not divided 210By walls or fences, and will then bear more abundant fruits. It will give fountains of sweet wine and white milk And honey… And judgment of the immortal God… But when God changes the times… 215Making winter summer, then all the oracles are fulfilled. But when the world perished… Acrostic Poem on the Judgment Jesus Christ, son of God, savior, cross (title) The earth will sweat when there will be a sign of judgment. A king will come from heaven who is to judge All flesh and the whole world forever when he comes. 220Both faithful and faithless men will see God The Most High with the holy ones at the end of time. He will judge the souls of flesh-bearing men on the tribunal When the whole world becomes barren land and thorns. Men will throw away idols and all wealth. 225Fire will burn up land, heaven, and sea, Pursuing the hunt, and will break the gates of the confines of Hades. Then all the flesh of the dead, of the holy ones, will come To the free light. The fire will torture the lawless forever. Whatever one did secretly, he will then say everything, 230For God will open dark breasts with lights. A lament will rise from all and gnashing of teeth. The light of the sun will be eclipsed and the troupes of stars. He will roll up heaven. The light of the moon will perish. He will elevate ravines, and destroy the heights of hills. 235No longer will mournful height appear among men. Mountains will be equal to plains, and all the sea Will no longer bear voyage. For earth will then be parched With its springs. Bubbling rivers will fail. A trumpet from heaven will issue a most mournful sound, 240Wailing for the defilement of limbs and the woes of the world. The gaping earth will then show the abyss of the nether world. All will come to the tribunal for God the king. A river of fire and brimstone will flow from heaven. There will then be a sign for all men, a most clear seal. 245The wood among the faithful, the desired horn, The life of pious men, but the scandal of the world, Illuminating the elect with waters in twelve streams. An iron shepherd’s rod will prevail. This is our God, now proclaimed in acrostics, 250The king, the immortal savior, who suffered for us. A Poem on Christ Moses prefigured him, stretching out his holy arms, Conquering Amalek by faith so that the people might know That he is elect and precious with God his father, The staff of David and the stone he promised. 255The one who has believed in him will have eternal life. For he will come to creation not in glory, but as a man, Pitiable, without honor or form, so that he might give hope to the pitiable. He will give form to perishable flesh and heavenly faith to the faithless, And he will fashion the original man, 260Formed by the holy hands of God, Whom the snake craftily caused to err, to go to the fate Of death and receive knowledge of good and evil, So as to abandon God and serve mortal customs. For the universal ruler took him into his counsel 265First of all from the beginning and said, “Let us both, child, Make mortal tribes, copying our likeness. Now I with my hands, then you with a word, will tend Our form so that we may produce a common construct.” Mindful therefore of this resolution, he will come to creation 270Bearing a corresponding copy to the holy virgin, Illuminating by water, at the same time through the hands of elders, Doing all with a word, healing every disease. He will stop the winds with a word. He will calm The raging sea by walking on it with feet of peace and with faith. 275From five loaves and a fish of the sea He will satisfy five thousand men in the desert, And taking all the leftover fragments, He will fill twelve baskets for the hope of the peoples. He will call on the souls of the blessed; he will love the wretched, 280Who will do good in return for evil when they are mocked, Beaten, and whipped, desiring poverty. Perceiving everything and seeing everything and listening to everything, He will observe the heart and lay it bare for trial. He himself is the hearing and mind and sight and reason 285Of all, who creates forms, to whom everything is subject, Who saves the dead and cures every disease. Later he will come into the hands of lawless and faithless men, And they will give blows to God with unholy hands And poisonous spittings with polluted mouths. 290Then he will stretch out his back and give it to the whips For he will hand over to the world the holy virgin. (verse omitted as doubtful) Beaten, he will be silent, lest anyone recognize Who he is whose son, and whence he came, so that he may speak to the dead; And he will wear the crown of thorns. For, made of thorns, 295The crown of chosen men is an eternal delight. They will stab his sides with a reed on account of their law. For by winds shaken by another wind The inclinations of the soul are turned from wrath and change. But when all these things of which I have spoken are fulfilled, 300Then for him every law will be dissolved which from the beginning Was given in teachings to men, on account of a disobedient people. He will stretch out his hands and measure the entire world. They gave him gall for food and vinegar to drink. They will show forth this table of inhospitality. 305The veil of the Temple will be rent, and in midday There will be dark monstrous night for three hours. For no longer with secret law and temple must one serve The phantoms of the world. That which had been hidden was again made manifest When the eternal sovereign came down to earth. 310He will come to Hades announcing hope for all The holy ones, the end of ages and last day, And he will complete the fate of death when he has slept the third day. And then, returning from the dead, he will come to light, First of the resurrection, showing a beginning to the elect, 315Having washed off their former vices with the waters Of and immortal spring, so that, born from above, They may no longer serve the lawless customs of the world. First, then, the Lord was seen clearly by his own, Incarnate as he was before, and he will show in hands and feet 320Four marks fixed in his own limbs, East and west and south and north. For so many kingdoms of the world will accomplish The unlawful blameworthy action as our archtype. Rejoice, holy daughter Sion, who have suffered much. 325Your king himself comes in, mounted on a foal, Appearing gently to all so that he may lift our yoke Of slavery, hard to bear, which lies on our neck And undo the godless ordinances and constraining bonds. Know that he is your God, as he is son of God. 330Honor him and keep him in your heart And love him from your soul and bear his name. Set aside the former (customs) and wash from his blood, For he is not propitiated by your laments or prayers. Since he is imperishable he pays no attention to perishable sacrifices, 335Except when intelligent mouths bring forth a hymn. Know who he is, and then you will see the begetter. Eschatological Disturbances Then in time all the elements of the world will be bereft, Air, land, sea, light of blazing fire, And heavenly dome and night and all days 340Will rush together into one, into an utterly desolate form. For all the stars of luminaries will fall from heaven And no longer will well-winged birds fly on the air Nor will there be walking on earth, for all wild beasts will perish. There will be no voices of men, or beasts, or birds. 345The world, in disorder, will hear no useful sound. The deep sea will resound with a great sound of threat. All the swimming creatures of the sea will die, trembling. No longer will a ship bearing cargo sail on the waves. The earth, being bloodied by wars, will bellow. 350All the souls of men will gnash their teeth With the wailings and panic of the lawless souls, Dissolving with thirst and famine and pestilence and murders, And they will call death fair and it will evade them. For no longer will death give rest to those, or night. 355Often will they make request of God who rules on high, in vain, And then he will manifestly turn away his face from them. For he gave seven days of ages for repentance To erring men, through the intercession of the holy virgin. A Speech of God Against Idolatry God himself showed me all these things in my mind, 360And he will fulfill all the things which are spoken through my mouth: “I know the number of sand and the measures of sea. I know the recesses of earth and murky Tartarus. I know the numbers of stars and trees and how many tribes Of four-footed animals, swimming creatures, and birds that fly, 365And men that are, and that will be, and the dead. For I myself fashioned the forms and minds of men, And I gave right reason, and I taught understanding, I who formed eyes and ears, seeing and hearing And knowing every thought, and sharing the knowledge of all 370Being within, I am silent, and later I myself will test And bring about…whatever any one of mortals did in secret Coming also to the tribunal of God and telling to mortals… I understand the dumb, and I hear one who does not speak And how much is the total height from earth to heaven. 375Beginning and end I know; I who created heaven and earth For all things are from him, he knows what is from the beginning to the end. For I alone am God, and there is no other God. They decree an image, fashioned of wood, to be mine, And shaping it with their hands, a speechless idol; 380They honor it with prayers and unholy worship. Abandoning the Creator, they worshipped licentiousness. All have gifts from me but give them to useless things, And they think all these things useful, like my honors, Making burnt offerings at meals, as to their own dead. 385For they burn flesh and, sacrificing bones full of marrow On altars, they pour blood to demons And light lamps for me, the giver of light. Mortals pour libations of wine as if to a thirsty god, Getting drunk to no purpose, for useless idols. 390I have no need of your sacrifice or libation Or polluted burnt offerings or most hated blood. For they will do these things to the memory of kings and tyrants, For dead demons, as if they were heavenly beings, Performing a godless and destructive worship. 395Godless ones also call their images gods, Abandoning the Creator, thinking to have All hope and life from them.Trusting In dumb and speechless things with evil result, they are ignorant of good end. I myself proposed two ways, of life and death, 400And proposed to the judgment to choose life. But they turned eagerly to death and eternal fire. Man is my image, having right reason. Set for him, you, a pure and unbloodied table, Having filled it with good things, and give the bread to the hungry 405And drink to the thirsty and clothes to the naked body, Supplying them from your own labors with holy hands. Accept the afflicted and stand by the suffering And provide for me, the living one, a living sacrifice. Sowing now on water, so that I also may one day give you 410Immortal fruits, and you will have eternal light And unfading life, when I test all by fire. For I will melt all things and separate them into clear air. I will roll up heaven, open the recesses of the earth. And then I will raise the dead, having undone fate 415And the sting of death, and later I will come to judgment, Judging the life of pious and impious men. I will set ram by ran and shepherd by shepherd And calf by calf, near each other for trial. Whoever are convicted in the trial because they were exalted 420And stopped the mouth of all so that they in envy Could equally subject those who act in holy manner, Ordering them to be silent, pressing on for gain, Will all depart then, as not approved by me. No longer will you say in sorrow “it will be tomorrow,” 425Or “it happened yesterday,” nor worry about many days, Nor spring, nor winter, nor summer, nor autumn, Nor sunset, nor sunrise. For I will make a long day Forever, light will be desired. Hymn to God Self-begotten, undefiled, everlasting, eternal, 430Master of heaven in might, measuring the fiery breath. He holds the scepter of thunder with a rough firebrand, And he soothes the peals of deep-sounding thunderbolts, Storming the earth, he restrains the rushing noises, And he dulls the fiery whips of lightnings; 435He contains the unspeakable pourings of showers and storms of icy Hail, missiles of clouds and attacks of winter. For they bear witness to each thing That you yourself decide to do and approve in your mind. With your son, before all creation, you shared deliberations 440With equal breasts, fashioner of men and creator of life. Him you addressed with the first sweet voice from your mouth: “Look, let us make a man like in all respects to our form, and let us give him the life-supporting breath to have. Though he is mortal all the things of the world will serve him; 445When he is fashioned of clay we will subject all things to him.” These things you said to the Word, and all was done in your heart. All the elements together obeyed your command, And eternal creation was arranged for a mortal creature: Heaven, air, fire, earth, land and sea current, 450Sun, moon, chorus of stars, mountains, Night, day, sleep, waking, spirit and motion, Soul and intellect, skill and voice and strength And wild tribes of living creatures, those of swimming creatures and birds, Walking creatures and amphibians and serpents and things of double nature; 455For all things were arranged spontaneously under your leadership. The Incarnation In the last times he changed the earth and, coming late As a new light, he rose from the womb of the Virgin Mary. Coming from heaven, he put on a mortal form. First, then Gabriel was revealed in his strong and holy person. 460Second, the archangel also addressed the maiden in speech: “Receive God, Virgin, in your immaculate bosom.” Thus speaking, he breathed in the grace of God, even to one who was always a maiden. Fear and, at the same time, wonder seized her as she listened. She stood trembling. Her mind fluttered 465While her heart was shaken by the unfamiliar things she heard. But again she rejoiced, and her heart was healed by the voice. The maiden laughed and reddened her cheek, Rejoicing with joy and enchanted in heart with awe. Courage also came over her. A word flew to her womb. 470In time it was made flesh and came to life in the womb, And was fashioned in mortal form and became a boy By virgin birth. For this is a great wonder to men, But nothing is a great wonder for God the Father and God the Son. The joyful earth fluttered to the child at its birth. 475The heavenly throne laughed and the world rejoiced. A wondrous, new-shining star was venerated by Magi. The newborn child was revealed in a manger to those who obey God: Cowherds and goatherds and shepherds of sheep. And Bethlehem was said to be the divinely named homeland of the Word Ethical and Ritual Exhortation 480Be humble in heart, hate bitter power, And, above all, love your neighbor as yourself, And love God from the soul and serve him. Therefore we are also of the holy heavenly race Of Christ, and are called brethren. 485Having a remembrance of joy in worship, We walk the paths of piety and truth. We are never allowed to approach the sanctuaries of temples Nor to pour libations to statues nor to honor them with prayers, Nor with delightful scents of flowers nor with gleams 490Of lamps, nor even to embellish them with offerings, Nor with breaths of incense sending up a flame on altars, Nor with libations from the sacrifice of bulls, rejoicing in gore, To send blood from the slaughter of sheep as propitiatory offerings for earthly penalty; Nor to defile the light of the sky with smoke from burnt offerings 495And polluted breezes from a fire that burns flesh. But rejoicing with holy minds and glad spirit, Abundant love and hands that bring good gifts With gracious psalms and songs appropriate to God, We are bidden to sing your praises as imperishable and pure from all deceit, 500God, wise begetter of all. | |||
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