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books Was aster ards increased, aster the rebullding of tho Capitol; because they mere collected hom ali cities of Italyand Greece, and especialty hom those of Erythraea, and werobrought in Roma, under the nams of Whalaver Sibyl theywero;-that tho eighth mas frem tho Hellespont, bom in tho Trojan territo , in the village of Marpessus, about tho toWnos Gergithus; and Heraclides of Pontus writes that ino lived in tho times of Solon and Cyrus ;-the ninst os Phrygia, Whogave oracles at Ancyra;-tho tenth of Tibur, by name Albunea, ho is morshipped at Tibur as a goddess, near the banis os theriver Anio, in tho depilis os Whicli her status is sald to havsbeen found, holding in her hand a book; the sonato transferredher oraclea into the Capitol. The predictions os ali theso Sibyla ars both brought sorwardand minemed as aucti, except those of the Cumaean Sibyl, Whose books ars concealed by the Romans; nox do they consider illawsul for them to bo inspocted by any one but the quindecemviri.' And thero ars separato books tho productions oteach, but because these are inscribed mith tho namo of tho Sibyl they ars belleved to bo the work οξ one; and they ars confused, nor can the productions of each bo distinguished and assigned to their oWn authors, excepi in the case of the Erythraean Sibyl, sor stis both inserted her o n truo name in her Verae,
and predicted that shs Would bo called Erythraean, though shomas born at Babylon. But we also shali speah of ths Sibyl
their testimonias. Ali these Sisis, then, proclaim one God, and especialty ths Erythraean, Who is regarded among thoothera as more celebrated and nobie ; sinco Fenestella, a most diligent writer, speahing os the quindecemviri,' says that, after the rebullding of the Capitol, Caius Curio the consul pr
posed to the senato that ambassadors Ahould be sent to Erythraeto aearch out and bring to Romo the writings of the Sibyl; and that, accordingly, Publius Gabinius, Marcus Otacilius, and
Lucius Valerius mere sent, Who conveyed is Rome about a thousand verses Written Out by private persons. We haveshown besors that Varro mado the fame statement. π in these verses Whicli the ambassadors brought to Rome, arotheso testimontes respecting the ono God:-
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any one, Who Himseli produced ali things. I have, as I thinh, sussiciently taught is argument' and confirmed by Witnesses,
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What thereiam remains, excepi that by his o n consession heis subject to ths sco ge of the true God and to evertastingpunishment ' For in ano*er response he also said:
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The foro let men millidra themselves from errors; and laying aside corrupi superstitions, let them aeknowledgo their Father and Lord, Whose excellenco cannot be estimated, nor His greatness perceived, nor His beginning comprehended. When the earnest attention of tho human mind and iis acuto
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from the mute animais, as in belleve that those Who are bornhom the natural intercoures of tho sexos could have had an
thing of majesty and divino influenco; since tho Erythraean Sibyl says: μ It is impossibis for a God in bo risitioned Domtho loins os a man and the womb of a Woman). d is this is trus, as it reatly is, it is suidsnt that Hercules, Apollo, Bacchus,
from tho naturo os God as that oporation Which Hs Himsoli assigned to mortals for the propagation of their race, and whicli cannot be effected without corporeat substance Therelare, is the gods ars immortal and eternat, What needis there os the other sex, when they themselves do not require succession, sines they are alWays a ut in existi For assured in tho caso of mankind and the other animais, there is no otherreason for difference os sex and procreation and bringing forin, excepi that ait classes os living creatures, in much as they ared med to death by tho condition of their mortali , may bo preserved by mutuat succession. But God, Who is immortal,
has no need os differencs os sex, Dor os succession. Some onctWill say that this arrangement is necessarn, in order that m
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he was bom from an adulterous intercourse With Alcmena.
What divinity could thero havo been in him, Who, ensiavedio his oWn vices, against ali lams, trealed With infamy, disgrace, and outrage, both males and semales Τ Nor, indeed, are those great and wonder ut actions Whieli ho persormed to be judged such as to be thought morthy of being attributed to divino
excellence. For Whati is it so magnificent ii he overcame a
which might havo been avoided and guarded against. Fromthis it comes to pass, that he alono ought to be judged a bravoman who is temperate, moderate, and just. But ii any one considera What ths Works of God are, he Will at onee judge ali
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are ignorant, but by the wealinem of their om strengst. For no Ono Mili deny this, that Hercules Was not only a servantio Eurystheus, a hing, Which to a certain extent may appear honourabie, but also in an unchasis Woman, Omphais, Who
tune, Mara, C tor and Pollua, Mercury and Bacchus. What other action morthy ot divino honoura, except tho
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tation concerning illustrious men, says that he was born os uncertain parendi, exposed, and found by some hunters; thattis Was nourished by a dog, and that, being delivered to Chiron, he learned the ari os medicine. He says, momover, that he Wasa Messentan, but that he spent some timo at Epidaurus. Tullyalso sus that he was buried at Cynosurae. What was the
appear to be too serce and savage, committed adultery with Venus. Castor and Pollux, Whilo they are engaged in cari ying off the wives of othera, ceased in bo tWin-brothera. For
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retinue, iis mei mitti an unchasis Woman on the aliore; and intho confidenco inspired by his Indian vieto , he wished to give proos of his manliness, test he should appear too effeminate. And so ho took to himseli in marriage that Woman, the betrveros her fallior, and tho m derer of her brother, aster stat she had been deserted and repudiated by another husband; and homado her Libera, and with her ascended into heaven. What was ilis conduci of Jupiter, tho fallier of ali these, ho in the customary prvor is styled Μost Excellent and Great ' D he not, irom his earliest childhood, proved to boimpio , and almost a parricide, since hs expelled his fallier hom his hingdom, and banished him, and did not await his death though ho Was aged and wom oui, such Was his eage ness for rulo And when he had taen his fallises throno is
violence and ams, he was attached mitti War by the Titans, which was the beginning of eviis to the human race; and whentheso had been overcome and lasting peaco procured, he spent tho rest of his lifo in debaucheries and adulteries. I forbearto mention tho virgins Whom ho dishonoured. For that is Wont
adultery, Which is. done against nature. Whether he who committed these crimes can bo called Greatest is a matter of question, undoubtedly ho is not ille Best; to whicli name corrupters,
adulterere, and incestuous persons have no claim; unleas ithappens that Wo men aro mistahen in terming those Who do
sueti things wiched and abandoned, and in judging thom most deseruing of every land of punishment. But Marcus Tullius was fisitsh in upbraiding Caius Verres With adulteries, sorJupiter, Whom he Worshipped, committed the fame; and inupbraiding Publius Clodius With incest Mith his sister, for ho
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CHAP. XI.- of the origis, lisse, rei , name, and deata V Iupiter, and of Saturn and Uranus. Who, then, is so sensetess as to imagino that ho reigns in heaven Who ouot not even to havo roigned on earth It
was not Mithout humour that a certain poet Wrote of thotriumph of Cupid: in hich book he not only represented Cupid as ins most powerful of the gias, but also as their conqueror. For having enumeraled tho loves of eacti, bywhicli they had come in to the poWer and dominion os Cupid, he seis in array a procession, in Which Jupiter, mitti tho other gods, is led in chains besors the chariot of him, celebrat ing atriumph. This is elegantly pictured by the poet, but it is nottar removed iram the truth. For he who is Mithout virtve,
But let us cerae to speah concerning morias; let us examine the matter, in order that men may underetand in What errorsthey are miserably engaged. The common peopte imagine that Jupiter rei s in heaven ; both learned and uniearned arealias persuaded of this. For both religion itself, and prayers, and hymns, and shrines, and images demonstrate this. Andyet they admit that lis Was also descended from Saturn and Rhea. HOW can he appear a god, or be belleved, as the poetsus, to bo ius author Oi men and ali things, When innumerable thousanda of men existed beforo his birth -thoso, sor instanco, who lived during the mim os Saturn, and enjoyed the light sooner than Jupiter. I see that one god was hing in the earliest times, and another in the times that followed. It is thereiore possibis that thero may be another hereaster. For is thotormer hingdom Was changed, Why should 3ve not expect that the lalter may possibly be changed, uniem by chance it Was po sibie for Saturn in produce one more powersul than himself, butimpossibio sor Jupiter so to do And yet the divine govern-ment is alWays unchangeable ; or is it is changeabie, Whichis an impossibili , it is undoubtedly changeable at ali times.