Sibylline Oracles

Historical printed page 402

THE SIBYLLINE BOOKS. Βοοκ V, Lines 240-294 prophets was shed forth in concord. (40) A tongue distilling a fair honied drink to all mortals (41) came forth and waxed greater, and reared its gentle crop for all. (42) Therefore, O thou of cramped counsel, fountain-head of the greatest of evils, (43) the hooked knife and mourning shall come on that day. (44) O thou source of trouble and its great end unto men, (45) when creation is vexed and again saved by the Fates, (46) listen to my bitter speech of evil sound, thou bane unto men. (47) But when the Persian land shall be quit of war (48) and of pestilence and lamentation, then there shall be on that day (49) the godlike heavenly race of the blessed Jews, (50) who dwell around the city of God at the centre of earth. (51) Building a great ring-wall as far as Joppa (52) they are exalted on high up to the darkling clouds. (53) No more shall the trumpet hiss forth the blast of war's turmoil, (54) nor shall they perish any more by the fanatic hands of their foes. (55) But they shall set up trophies around in an age innocent of. harm. (56) Then there shall come from the sky a certain exalted man, (57) whose hands they nailed upon the fruitful tree, (58) the noblest of the Hebrews, who shall one day cause the sun to stand still, (59) when he cries with fair speech and pure lips. (60) Let thy spirit within thy breast no longer be vexed, thou blessed one, (61) child of God, excellent in wealth, only longed-for blossom, (62) pleasant light, august offshoot, longed-for branch, (63) well-favoured Judaea, fair city, inspired in hymns. (64) No longer shall the Greeks’ unclean foot run riot in thy land, (65) for they shall have within their breasts a mind that conforms to thy laws. (66) But thy noble sons shall encircle thee with honour, (67) and with holy music they shall attend thy table, (68) with divers kinds of sacrifices and prayers to the honour of God. (69) All those righteous men who from short-lived affliction have endured troubles, (70) shall have a more ample and well-favoured rope of /ife. (71) But the evil men who trim to the breeze a lawless tongue (72) shall cease to speak one against another, (73) and they shall hide themselves tuntil the world pass away}. (74) And then shall come from the clouds a rain of flaming fire. (75) No longer shall men gather in the blithe corn-blade from the earth. (76) All shall remain unsown and unploughed, until mortal men take note of (77) God, the Chief of all, the Immortal and Eternal, (78) and no longer pay homage to mortal things, (79) nor dogs and vultures, which Egypt has taught (80) to reverence with vain mouths and foolish lips. (81) But the holy land of the godly alone shall bear all these things, (82) An ambrosial stream distilling honey and milk shall flow from rock and fountain for all the righteous. (84) For they fixed their hope on the one God, the Father who alone is excellent, (85) and they held fast to great piety and faith. (86) But why, O why, does my wise mind lay this burden on me? (87) Now it is thou, O wretched Asia, that I piteously lament, and the race of the Ionians, Carians, and Lydians rich in gold. (89) Woe to thee, Sardis: and to thee, lovely Trallis. (90) Woe to thee, Laodicea, fair city, how shall ye perish (91) destroyed by earthquakes and reduced to dust. (92) To dusky Asia and (the race) of the Lydians rich in gold. ... (93) The shrine of Artemis fashioned (by the citizens) of Ephesus (94) shall one day by yawnings 240. The tongue was perhaps a comet, a sign of peace and prosperity. μέλι σταγέουσα, ‘distilling . . . honeyed’ is a conjecture of Alex. for μὲν σταγέουσα @. ( has μὲν στυγέουσα.) 241. For φαῖνε τέ read φαίνετο. 249. Lact. quotes this line and refers it to the Christians. 250. For the Rabbinic idea that Jerusalem was the centre of the earth cf. 1 En. xxvi. 1; Jubilees viii. 255. The text is corrupt, and the emendation proposed is slight. Read ἀλλὰ πέριξ στήσουσ᾽ ἀκάκῳ αἰῶνι τρόπαια. 256-9. A Christian interpolation. 257. MSS. ‘whose hands he spread out’, οὗ παλάμας ἥπλωσεν. For ἥπλωσεν read ἥλωσαν. Fehr, reading ὀαριστύς in 258, renders ‘ whose hands the company of the Hebrews spread out’. Blass refers this line to Moses (Exod. xvii. 12). 258. In the MSS. the verb is in the past, στῆσε. Many commentators treat this as referring to Joshua, but mani- festly the allusion is to St. Luke xxiii. 43, 44. 260-85. The coming prosperity of Judaea and the plight of the ungodly. Bleek and Gefrérer treat this section as one of the oldest (c. 160 B.C.), but without convincing reason, 262. Read θάλος for τέλος, and ἔρνος for dyvos. 267. attend thy table. Perhaps ‘set up (ἐπιστήσουσι) thy table’, Referring to the restoration of the Temple sacrifices, which was to be one of the features of the new Jerusalem. J ‘ 270. rope is a conjecture (κάλων for καλόν; cf. iii. 45). The metaphor would be a nautical one, but it is not very convincing, and there is probably a corruption in the text. i 273. until the world pass away. Read (with Rzach) ἕως ἀλλαχθῇ ὁ κόσμος for ἕως κόσμος ἀλλαγῇ. 280. vain mouths, κενοῖς, MSS. ‘new’ (νέοις), Alexandre suggests ‘their mouths’ (στομάτεσσιν éois). 286-97. Disasters in Asia following an earthquake. There was a specially severe earthquake in A.D. 17, details of which are given in Tac. Awa. ii. 47; Pliny, Wad. Hist. ii, 86. Twelve cities were destroyed in one night and Sardis suffered most severely. 292. Obviously there is a gap after this line. It may be filled in with a line like iv. τοι. 293. The temple of Ephesus survived, and was changed into a Christian Church. 402 he