4. Anon., Sibylline Oracles, 2.5-2.79, 2.337-2.338 (1st cent. BCE - 5th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Petersen and van Kooten, Religio-Philosophical Discourses in the Mediterranean World: From Plato, through Jesus, to Late Antiquity (2017) 119 | 2.15. 15 Among most men, and robbery of temples. 2.23. Enraged shall kill each other, and in tumult 2.29. And then shall the great God who dwells in heaven 2.34. Nor yet enslaved. And every harbor then, 2.35. 35 And every haven, shall be free to men 2.36. As formerly, and shamelessness shall perish. 2.37. And then will God show mortals a great sign: 2.38. For like a lustrous crown shall shine a star, 2.39. Bright, all-resplendent, from the radiant heaven 2.40. 40 Days not a few; and then will he display 2.40. 40 Imperishable honor always first, 2.41. From heaven a crown for contest unto men 2.41. And next thy parents. Render all things due, 2.42. Who wrestle. And then there shall be again 2.42. And into unjust judgment come thou not. 2.43. A mighty contest of triumphal march 2.43. Do not cast out the poor unrighteously, 2.44. Into the heavenly sky, and it shall be 2.44. Nor judge by outward show; if wickedly 2.45. 45 For all men in the world, and have the fame 2.46. of immortality. And every people 2.47. Shall then in the immortal contests strive 2.48. For splendid victory. For no one there 2.49. Can shamelessly with silver buy a crown. 2.50. 50 For unto them will the pure Christ adjudge 2.51. That which is due, and crown the ones approved, 2.52. And give his martyrs an immortal prize 2.53. Who carry on the contest unto death. 2.54. And unto chaste men who run their race well 2.55. 55 Will he the incorruptible reward 2.56. of the prize give, and to all men allot 2.57. That which is due, and also to strange nation 2.58. That live a holy life and know one God. 2.59. And those who have regard for marriage 2.60. 60 And keep themselves far from adulteries, 2.61. To them rich gifts, eternal hope, he'll give. 2.62. For every human soul is God's free gift, 2.63. And 'tis not right men stain it with vile deeds. 2.64. [Do not be rich unrighteously, but lead 2.65. 65 A life of probity. Be satisfied 2.66. With what thou hast and keep thyself from that 2.67. Which is another's. Speak not what is false, 2.68. But have a care for all things that are true. 2.69. Revere not idols vainly; but the God 2.75. 75 Thou judgest, God hereafter will judge thee. 2.76. Avoid false testimony; tell the truth. 2.77. Maintain thy virgin purity, and guard 2.78. Love among all. Deal measures that are just; 2.79. For beautiful is measure full to all. 2.337. And all that left their parents in old age, 2.338. Not paying them at all, nor offering 1. BEGINNING with the generation first,of mortal men down to the very last,I'll prophesy each thing: what erst has been,,And what is now, and what shall yet befall,5 The world through the impiety of men.,First now God urges on me to relate,Truly how into being came the world.,And thou, shrewd mortal, prudently make known,,Lest ever thou should'st my commands neglect,,10 The King most high, who brought into existence,The whole world, saying, “Let there be,” and there was.,For he the earth established, placing it,Round about Tartarus, and he himself,Gave the sweet light; he raised the heaven on high,,15 Spread out the gleaming sea, and crowned the sky,With an abundance of bright-shining stars,,And decked the earth with plants, and mingled sea,With rivers, and the air with zephyrs mixed,And watery clouds; and then, another race,20 Appointing, he gave fishes to the seas,And birds unto the winds, and to the woods,The beasts of shaggy neck, and snakes that crawl,,And all things which now on the earth appear.,These by his word he made, and every thing,25 Was speedily and with precision done;,For he was self-caused and from heaven looked down,And finished was the world exceeding well.,And then thereafter fashioned he again,A living product, copying a new man,30 From his own image, beautiful, divine,,And bade him in ambrosial garden dwell,,That labors beautiful might be his care.,But in that fertile field of Paradise,He longed for conversation, being alone,,35 And prayed that he might see another form,Such as he had. And forthwith, from man's side,Taking a bone, God himself made fair Eve,,A wedded spouse, and in that Paradise,Gave her to dwell with him. And, when he gazed,40 Upon her, on a sudden filled with joy,Great admiration held his soul, he saw,A pattern so exact; and with wise words,Spontaneous flowing answered he in turn,For God had care for all things. For the mind,45 They darkened not with passion, nor concealed,Their nakedness, but with hearts far from evil,Even like wild beasts they walked with limbs exposed.,And afterwards delivering them commands,God showed them not to touch a certain tree;,50 But the dread serpent drew them off by guile,To go away unto the fate of death,And to gain knowledge of both good and evil.,But the wife then first traitress proved to God;,She gave, and urged the unknowing man to sin.,55 And he, persuaded by the woman's words,,Forgot the immortal Maker utterly,,And treated plain commandments with neglect.,Therefore, instead of good, received they evil,According to their deed. And then the leaves,60 of the sweet fig-tree piercing they made clothes,And put them on each other, and concealed,The sexual parts, because they were ashamed.,But on them the Immortal set his wrath,And cast them out of the immortal land.,65 For their abiding now in mortal land,Was brought to pass, since hearing they kept not,The word of the immortal mighty God.,And straightway they, upon the fruitful soil,Forthgoing, with their tears and groans were wet;,70 And to them then the immortal God himself,A word more excellent spoke: “Multiply,,Increase, work constantly upon the earth,,That with the sweat of labor ye may have,Sufficient food.” Thus he spoke; and he made,75 The author of deceit to press the ground,On belly and on side, a crawling snake,,Driving him out severely; and he sent,Dire enmity between them and the one,Is on the look-out to preserve his head,,80 But man his heel; for death is neighbor near,of evil-plotting vipers and of men.,And then indeed the race was multiplied,As the Almighty himself gave command,,And there grew up one people on another,85 Innumerable. And houses they adorned,of all kinds and made cities and their walls,Well and expertly; and to them was given,A day of long time for a life much-loved;,For they did not worn out with troubles die,,90 But as subdued by sleep; most happy men,of great heart, whom the immortal Saviour loved,,The King, God. But they also did transgress,,Smitten with folly. For with impudence,They mocked their fathers and their mothers scorned;,95 Kinsmen they knew not, and they formed intrigues,Against their brothers. And they were impure,,Having defiled themselves with human gore,,And they made wars. And then upon them came,The last calamity sent forth from heaven,100 Which snatched the dreadful men away from life;,And Hades then received them; it was called,Hades since Adam, having tasted death,,Went first and earth encompassed him around.,And therefore all men born upon the earth,105 Are in abodes of Hades called to go.,But even in Hades all these when they came,Had honor, since they were the earliest race.,But when Hades received these, secondly,[of the surviving and most righteous men],110 God formed another very subtile race,That cared for lovely works, and noble toils,,Distinguished reverence and solid wisdom;,And they were trained in arts of every kind,,Finding inventions by their lack of means.,115 And one devised to till the land with plows,,Another worked in wood, another cared,For sailing, and another watched the stars,And practiced augury with winged fowls;,And use of drugs had interest for one,,120 While for another magic had a charm;,And others were in every other art,Which men care for instructed, wide awake,,Industrious, worthy of that eponym,Because they had a sleepless mind within,125 And a huge body; stout with mighty form,They were; but, notwithstanding, down they went,Into Tartarean chamber terrible,,Kept in firm chains to pay full penalty,In Gehenna of strong, furious, quenchless fire.,130 And after these a third strong-minded race,Appeared, a race of overbearing men,And terrible, who wrought among themselves,Many an evil. And fights, homicides,,And battles did continually destroy,135 Those men possessed of overweening heart,,And from these afterward another race,Proceeded, late-completed, youngest born,,Blood-stained, perverse in counsel; of men these,Were in the fourth race; much the blood they spilled,,140 Nor feared they God nor had regard for men,,For maddening wrath and sore impiety,Were sent upon them. And wars, homicides,,And battles sent some into Erebus,,Since they were overweening impious men.,145 But the rest did the heavenly God himself,In anger afterwards change from his world,,Casting them into mighty Tartarus,Down under the foundation of the earth.,And later yet another race much worse,150 [of men he made, to whom no good thereafter],The Immortal formed, since they wrought many evils.,For they were much more violent than those,,Giants perverse, foul language pouring out.,Single among all men, most just and true,,155 Was the most faithful Noah, full of care,For noblest works. And to him God himself,From heaven thus spoke: “Noah, be of good cheer,In thyself and to all the people preach,Repentance, so that they may all be saved.,160 But if, with shameless soul, they heed me not,The whole race I will utterly destroy,With mighty floods of waters. Quickly now,An undecaying house I bid thee frame,of planks strong and impervious to the wet.,165 I will put understanding in thy heart,,And subtile skill, and rule of measurement,And order; and for all things will I care,That thou be saved, and all who dwell with thee,And I am He who is, and in thy heart,170 Do thou discern. I clothe me with the heaven,,And cast the sea around me, and for me,Earth is a footstool, and the air is poured,Around my body; and on every side,Around me runs the chorus of the stars.,175 Nine letters have I; of four syllables,I am; discern me. The first three have each,Two letters, the remaining one the rest,,And five are mates; and of the entire sum,The hundreds are twice eight and thrice three tens,180 Along with seven. Now, knowing who I am,,Be thou not uninitiate in my lore.”,Thus he spoke; and great trembling seized on him,At what he heard. And then, within his mind,Having contrived each matter, he besought,185 The people and began with words like these:,“O men insatiate, smit with madness great,,Whatever things ye practiced they shall not,Escape God's notice; for he knows all things,,Immortal Saviour overseeing all,,190 Who bade me warn you, that ye perish not.,Be sober, cut off badness, do not fight,Perforce each other with blood-guilty heart,,Nor irrigate much land with human gore.,Revere, O mortals, the supremely great,195 And fearless heavenly Creator, God,Imperishable, whose dwelling is the sky;,And do ye all entreat him–he is kind–,For life of cities and of all the world,,And of four-footed beasts and flying fowls;,200 Entreat him to be gracious unto all.,For when the whole unbounded world of men,Shall be destroyed by waters loud ye'll raise,A fearful cry. And suddenly for you,The air shall be disordered, and from heaven,205 The fury of the mighty God shall come,Upon you. And it certainly shall be,That the immortal Saviour against men,Will send wrath if ye do not placate God,And from this time repent; and nothing,210 Fretful and evil lawlessly shall ye,One to another do, but let there be,A guarding of one's self by holy life.”,But when they heard him each turned up his nose,,Calling him mad, a frenzy-smitten man.,215 And then again did Noah sound this strain:,“O men exceeding wretched, base in heart,,Unstable, leaving modesty behind,And loving shamelessness, rapacious lords,,Fierce sinners, false, insatiate, mischievous,,220 In nothing true, stealthy adulterers,,Flippant in language, pouring forth foul words,,The wrath of God most high not fearing, kept,To the fifth generation to atone!,In no way do ye wail, harsh men, but laugh;,225 Sardonic smile shall ye laugh, when shall come,That which I speak–God's dire incoming flood,,When Eve's polluted race, in the great earth,Blooming perennial in impervious stem,,Shall, root and branch, in one night disappear,,230 And cities, men and all, shall the Earth-shaker,From the depths scatter and their walls destroy.,And then the whole world of unnumbered men,Shall die. But how shall I weep, how lament,In wooden house, how mingle tears with waves?,235 For, if this water bidden of God shall come,,Earth shall float, hills float, and even sky shall float;,Everything shall be water, and all things,Shall be destroyed by waters. And the winds,Shall stand still, and a second age shall come.,240 O Phrygia, thou shalt from the water's crest,First rise up, and thou first another race,of men shalt nourish, once again anew,Beginning; and thou shalt be nurse for all.”,But when now to the lawless generation,245 He had thus vainly spoken, the Most High,Appeared, and once more cried aloud and said:,“The time is now come, Noah, to proclaim,Each thing, even all which I that day to thee,Did promise and confirm, and to complete,,250 Because of a people disobedient,,Throughout the boundless world even all the things,Which generations of a former time,Did practice, evil things innumerable.,But do thou quickly enter with thy sons,255 And the wives. Call as many as I bid,,of tribes of beasts and creeping things and birds,,And in as many as I ordain for life,Will I then put a willingness to go.”,Thus spoke he; forth went (Noah) and aloud,260 Cried out and called. And then wife, sons and brides,,Entered the house of wood; then also went,The other things, as many as God willed,To shut in. But when fitting bolt was put,About the lid, and in its polished place,265 Was fitted sideways, then was brought to pass,Forthwith the purpose of the God of heaven.,And he massed clouds, and bid the sun's bright disk,,And moon, and stars, and circle of the heaven,,Obscuring all things round; he thundered loud,,270 Terror of mortals, sending lightnings forth;,And all the winds together were aroused,,And all the veins of water were unloosed,By opening of great cataracts from heaven,,And from earth's caverns and the tireless deep,275 Appeared the myriad waters, and the whole,Illimitable earth was covered o'er.,But on the water swam that wondrous house;,And torn by many furious waves, and struck,By force of winds, it rushed on fearfully;,280 But with its keel it cut the mass of foam,While the loud-babbling waters dashed around.,But when God deluged all the world with rains,Then also Noah took thought to observe,By counsels of the Immortal; for he now,285 Had had enough of Nereus. And straightway,The house he opened from the polished wall,,That crosswise was bound fast with skillful stays.,And looking out upon the mighty mass,of boundless waters Noah on all sides–,290 And 'twas his fortune with his eyes to see!–,Fear possessed and shook mightily his heart.,And then the air became a little calm,,Since it was weary wetting all the world,Many days; parting, then, it brought to light,295 How pale and blood-red was the mighty sky,And sun's bright disk awearied; scarcely held,Noah his courage. And then forth afar,Sent he a dove alone, that he might learn,If yet firm land appeared. But with tired wing,,300 Flying round all things, she again returned;,For not yet had the water ebbed away;,For it was deeply filling every place.,But after resting quietly for days,He sent the dove once more, to learn if yet,305 Had ceased the many waters. And she flew,And flew on, and went o'er the earth and, resting,Her body lightly on the humid ground,,Again to Noah back she came and bore,An olive branch–of tidings a great sign.,310 Courage now filled them all, and great delight,,Because they hoped to look upon the land.,But then thereafter yet another bird,,of black wing, sent he forth as hastily;,Which, trusting to its wings, flow willingly,,315 And coming to the land continued there.,And Noah knew the land was nearer now.,But when on dashing waves the craft divine,Had here and there o'er ocean's billows swum,,It was made fast upon the narrow strand.,320 There is in Phrygia on the dark mainland,A steep, tall mountain; Ararat its name,,Because upon it all were to be saved,From death, and there was great desire of heart;,Thence streams of the great river Marsyas spring.,325 There on a lofty peak the ark abode,When the waters ceased, and then again from heaven,The voice divine of the great God this word,Proclaimed: “O Noah, guarded, faithful, just,,Come boldly forth, with thy sons and thy wife,330 And the three brides, and fill ye all the earth,,Increasing, multiplying, rendering justice,To one another through all generations,,Until to judgment every race of men,Shall come; for judgment shall be unto all.”,335 Thus spoke the voice divine. Then from his couch,Noah, encouraged, hastened on the land,,And with him went his sons and wife and brides,,And creeping things, and birds and quadrupeds,,And all things else went from the wooden house,340 Into one place. And then went Noah forth,As eighth, most just of men, when on the waters,He had made full twice twenty days and one,Because of counsels of the mighty God.,Then a new stock of life again arose,,345 Golden first, which indeed was sixth, and best,,From the time when the first-formed man appeared;,Heavenly its name, because all things to God,Shall be a care. O first race of sixth age!,O mighty joy which I thereafter shared,,350 When I escaped sheer ruin, by the waves,Much tossed, with husband and with brothers-in-law,,Stepfather and stepmother, and with wives,of husband's brothers suffering terribly.,Fitting things now will I sing: There shall be,355 On the fig-tree a many-colored flower,,And afterward the royal power and sway,Shall Cronos have. For three kings of great soul,,Men most just, shall distribute portions then,,And many a year rule, rendering what is just,360 To men who care for toil and deeds of love.,And earth shall glory in her many fruits,Self-growing, yielding much corn for the race.,And the foster-fathers, ageless all their days,,Shall from diseases chill and dreadful be,365 Far aloof; they shall die as fallen on sleep,,And unto Acheron in the abodes,of Hades they shall go away, and there,Shall they have honor, since they were a race,of blessed ones, fortunate heroes, whom,370 The Lord of Sabaoth gave a noble mind,,And with whom always he his counsels shared.,But blessed shall they be even when they go,In Hades. And then afterward again,Oppressive, strong, another second race,375 of earth-born men, the Titans. All excel,In figure, stature, growth; and there shall be,One language, as of old from the first race,God in their breasts implanted. But even these,,Having a haughty heart and rushing on,380 To ruin, shall at last resolve to fight,Against the starry heaven. And then the stream,of the great ocean shall upon them pour,Its raging waters. But the mighty Lord,of Sabaoth though enraged shall check his wrath,,385 Because he promised that again no flood,Should be brought upon men of evil soul.,But when the great high-thundering God shall cause,The boundless swelling of the many waters–,With their waves hither and thither rising high–,390 To cease from wrath, and into other depths,of sea their measure lessen, setting bounds,By harbors and rough headlands round the land;,Then also shall a child of the great God,Come, clothed in flesh, to men, and fashioned like,395 To mortals in the earth; and he doth hear,Four vowels, and two consots in him,Are twice announced; the whole sum I will name:,For eight ones, and as many tens on these,,And yet eight hundred will reveal the name,400 To men insatiate; and do thou discern,In thine own understanding that the Christ,Is child of the immortal God most high.,And he shall fulfill God's law, not destroy,,Bearing his very image, and all things,405 Shall he teach. Unto him shall priests convey,And offer gold, and myrrh, and frankincense;,For all these things he'll also bring to pass.,But when a voice shall through the desert land,Come bearing tidings to men, and to all,410 Shall call to make straight paths, and from the heart,Cast wickedness out and illuminate,With water all the bodies of mankind,,That being born again they may no more,From what is righteous go at all astray–,415 And one of barbarous mind, by dances bound,,Cutting that (voice) off shall bestow reward–,Then on a sudden there shall be a sign,To mortals, when, watched over, there shall come,Out of the land of Egypt a fair stone;,420 And on it shall the Hebrew people stumble;,But by his guiding nations shall be brought,Together; for the God who rules on high,They also shall know through him, and the way,In common light. For unto chosen men,425 Will he show life eternal, but the fire,Will be for ages on the lawless bring.,And then shall he the sickly heal, and all,Who are blameworthy who shall trust in him..,And then the blind shall see, the lame shall walk,,430 The deaf shall hearken, and the dumb shall speak.,Demons shall he drive out, and of the dead,There shall be an uprising; on the waves,Shall he walk; also in a desert place,Shall he five thousand satisfy with food,435 From five loaves and a fish out of the sea,,And with the remts of them, for the hope,of peoples, shall he fill twelve baskets full.,And then shall Israel, drunken, not discern,,Nor shall they hear, oppressed with feeble cars.,Shall come upon the Hebrews, and take faith,Away from them, because they slew the Son,of the heavenly God; then also with foul lips,Shall Israel give him cuffs and spittle drugged.,445 And gall for food and vinegar unmixed,For drink will they, with evil madness smitten,In bosom and in heart, give impiously,,Not seeing with their eyes, more blind than moles,,More terrible than crawling poisonous beasts,,450 Fast bound by heavy sleep. But when his hands,He shall spread forth and measure out all things,,And bear the crown of thorns, and they shall pierce,His side with reeds, for which dark monstrous night,Shall be for three hours in the midst of day,,455 Then also shall the temple of Solomon,Bring to an end a mighty sign for men,,When he shall to the house of Hades go,Proclaiming resurrection to the dead.,But when in three days he shall come again,460 Unto the light, and show his form to men,And teach all things, ascending in the clouds,Unto the house of heaven shall he go,Leaving the world a Gospel convet.,And in his name shall blossom a new shoot,465 From nations that are guided by the law,of the Mighty One. But also after this,There shall be wise guides, and then afterward,There shall be a cessation of the prophets.,After that, when the Hebrew people reap,470 Their evil harvest, shall a Roman king,Much gold and silver utterly destroy.,And afterward shall other royal powers,Continuously arise as kingdoms perish,,And they will oppress mortals. But great fall,475 Shall be for those men, when they shall begin,Unrighteous arrogance. But when the temple,of Solomon in the holy land shall fall,,Cast down by barbarous men in brazen mail,,And from the land the Hebrews shall be driven,480 Wandering and wasted, and among the wheat,They shall much darnel mingle, there shall be,Evil contention among, all mankind;,And the cities suffering outrage shall bewail,Each other, in their breasts receiving wrath |
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