it appeared to him that these books must contain some great mystery, he acceded, and gave her for the three the sum she asked. Pliny says that there were three books, and that she burnt two; these were held in such esteem that the Romans placed them in the Capitol, and they sent to search for all the verses they could find of this Sibyl and of the other Sibyls, and they appointed fifteen persons to whom were entrusted the custody of these books, and the priests who guarded them were called Sibylines, as Cicero tells us: Nec hoc quidem in mentem veniebat Sybilino Sacerdoti. These books were so highly esteemed that, when Stilicon the Tyrant, governor of Rome, burnt these books, there was nothing the Romans felt so much as this cruel act, as is sung by the poet Rutilus. Ne tantum patris sævisset proditor arma, sancta Sibyllæ fata cremavit opus; of her we have the following prophecy 66 'Mortis fatum finiet trium dierum somno suscepto, tunc a mortuis egressus, ad lucem lætam veniet, primus resurrectionis ostendens." initium There are found some verses of this Sibyl in praise of the Virgin, our Lady, in which it says, that she was most humble, for which reason she was chosen to be the Mother of God, as the Virgin herself confesses to her cousin Saint Elizabeth, when she said: "Quia respexit humilitatem ancillæ suæ." And the Sibyl says that she was greater than any other in the world. verses are as follows: "(Ut voluit), nostra vestitus carne decenter, The This Sibyl is depicted holding the book of prophecies in one hand, and in the other the standard of the Cross. The sepulchre of this Sibyl is said to be preserved in Sicily, according to Marcus Varro and others. FIFTH SIBYL SIBILLA EUROPA Nothing is written of this Sibyl concerning the country nor the time of her fame, hence some authors have not mentioned her nor the following Sibyl, as these hold to be one, the Cumana, Europa, and Cumea. |