the future; for example, Gaul is to be covered by sands as arid as are those of the deserts of Lybia, which will never produce a blade of grass or an ear of corn. It concludes with a description of the temporal joy which Christianity promises to the world, and by a public confession of the Sibyl, who asks that she be stoned in expiation of her crime. If the confession be a true one, the stoning she demands is well! deserved. The object of the author appears to be to render the Sibyls despicable in the eyes of even the pagans themselves, and makes use of all her pretended oracles in order to strengthen the truths of Christianity. It would be indeed an important question whether this object was attained, and if her works found any response.

EIGHTH BOOK

The last canto is one of the longest, the fullest, and the best arranged. After reviewing the history of the human race at the time of building the Tower of Babel, the author depicts in some beautiful verses the greatness of Rome and its insatiable cupidity. She then predicts for it a complete ruin in punishment of its crimes, and in particular for its idolatry. It depicts the reign of Adrian, of Tiberius, of Nero; the parsimony

of the second, and the prodigalities of the latter. She arranges the tyrants and sinners before the tribunal of God, addressing a long vehement apostrophe to the haughty and cruel mistress of the human race, whose power will be reduced to nought before the vengeful arm of the Most High. The verses are arranged in the form of prophecies, the events accomplished after two centuries by the Roman armies in Europe and Asia. The Sibyl takes a pleasure above all in describing the ruin of Rome, which it has seen in vision or desire, placing its ruin 948 years after its foundation. It is only at this price that Christianity will be able to implant itself on the world. The year 948 of Rome falls on the 195th of the Christian era, an epoch of military anarchy, during which Rome was no doubt, in various senses, riddled by different factions, but during which its existence was never imperilled.

The canto terminates by general considerations on the true religion and on idolatry, but this part of the book is specially distinguished by a long detailed narrative of the life of Jesus Christ, King of Ages, from the Annunciation made by the Angel Gabriel, to His Ascension into heaven. The principal circumstances of His miracles, Passion, and Resurrection, are

78 'AS DAVID AND THE SIBYLS SAY "

found minutely detailed, the whole under the form of prophecy. "And we," exclaims the Sibyl in concluding, "we who have issued from the holy and celestial line of Christ, let us manifest ourselves worthy of our origin, and let us preserve in all its integrity our beautiful religion."

The greater number of the Sibylline verses quoted by the Fathers are found inserted in these eight cantos, but there yet remains a certain number collected by Lactantius which are not described. Among the latter there are only three which contain an insight into the future, and which could be applicable to the Passion of the Saviour. Moreover, Lactantius does not attribute them to the Sibyl, but to the Oracle of Miletus pronounced after the Passion.

Were we to give our opinion on the collection of Sibylline verses, we should be inclined to say that they were composed of fragments collected together here and there, and circulated among the Christians. Perchance they were composed by different people throughout the world and mingled with the history of events already accomplished, recollections of the Gospels, and may be, of a certain number of oracles, Sibylline

or otherwise, some of which were previous and others since the establishment of Christianity, but all applicable to its doctrines. Eusebius, St Justin, Lactantius, furnish us with proofs that the oracles when consulted on the fact of Christianity, frequently gave answers which confirmed it in the main, although the intention and style were hostile to it. The Fathers themselves have employed these oracles as dogmatic demonstrations.

But what impels us to believe that these Sibylline Oracles were not a consecutive work, the offspring of only one mind—are the frequent renewals of the same subjects, the repetition of the same prophecies, book by book, with the only difference of change of expression. The origin must have been of many, or else the translations made of the same utterance in various parts were united together. It is in this way that Olympus became peopled by a multitude of different gods of various types, but which could all be traced to one at the beginning.

The work of the first edition of the Sibylline verses seems to have been to collect all that could be found, joining them together by links more or less harmonious.

After this examen, we must ask ourselves

whether there ever were Sibyls, and what was the upshot of the Sibylline verses so famous in the Roman world at the time of the birth of Christianity.

Many writers have endeavoured to determine the age and the nationality of each of the fragments which compose the collection we possess, but it must be acknowledged that their conjectures are not equally satisfactory, and often destroy one another.

Such are the conclusions arrived at by one of the latest defenders of the Sibylline versesVervost in Thes. de carminibus Sibyllinis. Parisius, Renouard, 1844, in 8vo. Firstly, that the third book and the introduction are ascribed to the Jews of Alexandria 163 years before the common era. That which the author calls by the name introduction, is a detached fragment which treats of the persecution of Antichrist, and the last days of the world. The author demonstrates the first part of his theses in a superabundant manner, and is even very correct in what concerns the date.

Moreover, Theophilus, Athenagoras, Tertullian, Eusebius, Lactantius, and other Fathers, quote the third book, or allude to it. We admit that the Sibyls passed as authentic in the eyes