The Peloponnefan War.

and plunder'd Lydia and Chalcedon, under Alcibiades's Conduct, who then alfo took Bizantium: Or, this may be the Lacedemonian War with the Perfians in Afia minor. When Nile rifes under i5 cubits, there is a Dearth. Xerxes went over the Sea on a Bridge when he invaded Greece, and return'd after his defeat in a small Ship, without his Soldiers.

A fiery Torrent fhall break forth from Atna, and burn all miferable Sicily; and a great City shall fall into the deep Sea.

Note, When the Athenians invaded Sicily, there was a great Eruption of Etna, which burnt the Country of the Catanei near it.

And there will be great Discord in Greece; and when they are enrag'd against one another, they shall destroy many Cities, and kill many by fighting, but the Victory fhall be doubtful amongst 'em.

But when the tenth Age fhall come, then the Perfians fhall be conquer'd, and much terrified.

Note, That fix Ages are allotted to the Affyrians, (Herodotus fays, they poffefs'd Afia 520 Years) two to the Medes, one to the Perfians, in all nine; and when the tenth began, the Perfians were conquer'd. This Sibyl reckons the Ages after a different manner than the former, from the Deluge The begins.

And when the Macedonians fhall glory in their Empires, then the Thebans fhall be fub

fubdu'd, the Carians fhall inhabit Tyre, and the Tyrians perish: Then Sand fhall cover all Samos, which fhall be driven from the Shore, and Delos fhall appear no more, but it fhall all vanish; and Babylon, which appears fo great a City, fhall be defpis'd for its fmall Force, and fhall depend upon its unprofitable Walls. Then the Macedonians fhall inhabit Bactra, (in Perfia) and they that inhabit Baltra and Sufa fhall fly into Greece. These things shall be when Silverftream'd Pyramus, which flows by the Shore, shall come to the Holy Island.

1

Note, That King Philip conquer'd the Thebans and Athenians at Charonea, and he demolish'd Thebes for their Rebellion: And Alexander conquer'd Tyre, Egypt, Cilicia, Rhodes; then these things happen'd to Samos and Delos.

Babylon, and Babel its Tower, was built 253 Years after the Flood, in the Plain of Senaar; this was the Seat of the Babylonian Empire after the fubverfion of the Affyrian: It was taken by Cyrus 3516. The Perfians deftroy'd part of Babylon, and Time confum'd the reft; the Grecians neglected it after Seleucus Nicanor built Seleucia on the Tigris, 300 Stadia from Babylon. Seleucia fucceeded Babylon, and it was call'd Babylon a Perfian City; and Bagdat was built near it, which is now the head City of that Country, and the Seat of the Governour. It was conquer'd by the Tartar Haolan, 1259. The Saracens Temples deftroy'd, and Christian Religion reftor'd. The Sophi Habas took it from the Turks, 1625, and Amurath retook it 1638, and now it remains in the hands of the Turks.

Note,

Note, Pyramus is a River in Cilicia, in which there are Cataracts; and Cyprus is the Holy Island and this caus'd fome Inundation in Cyprus.

Sybaris (a City in Calabria) and Cyzicus (a City in lesser Myfia), fhall fall when the Earth fhall abound in Earthquakes: And Rhodes fhall fuffer the laft and utmost Deftruction: But the Kingdom of Macedonia hall not always continue; but in the Weft a great Italian War fhall spring, by which the World shall be brought into Slavery, and wear the hard Yoke of the Italians; and it fhall throw down every Tower of Carthage to the Ground.

O miferable Laodicea! the Earthquake fhall overthrow thee, but thou shalt be rebuilt again: And Corinth fhall fee her own Captivity.

O Lycia! who aboundeft in fragrant Ointments, the trembling Earth shall cast thee down; thou fhalt fall with a noise to the Earth, and defire to fly into another Country, as a Stranger; and Armenia fhall be fubdued by the Italians, who also shall deftroy the great Temple of God.

Note, That in the 20th of Chrift thirteen Cities fell, in Tiberius's time. Ann. 66, three Cities fell in Afia, Laodicea, Hierapolis, Coloffe: 79, three Cities fell in Cyprus: 112, three Cities in Galatia fell by an Earthquake. The Deftruction of the Fews Temple fhews when thefe Earthquakes hap pen'd, about Ann. 70, after Chrift.

But

But when the Romans, thro' a foolish Confidence, fhall caft away all Care of Righteousness, and commit horrible Murders, Пenor, (that is, i vnov, about the Temple, at the beginning of the Jewish War) then a great King, like a close perfidious Fugitive, fhall fly from Italy over the River Euphrates, and this will be when he has committed a horrible wicked Murder upon his own Mother. And many other things he fhall attempt by his wicked Hands; and many fhall be flain about the holy Ground of Rome, [the Martyrs] when he flies beyond the Bounds of his Empire, [Euphrates].

Note, That Nero flew his Mother, his Wife, and his Kindred, and many Chriftians, Peter and Paul; he at laft fled from Rome and kill'd himself: And this being done privately, it was vulgarly believ'd that Nero was fled into Perfia, (because the King of Perfia would have built him a Monument;) And there arofe many counterfeit Nero's afterwards. Suetonius fays of him, Quafi viventis, & brevi magno Inimicorum malo reverfuri; and the Ancient Church believ'd that Nero fhould come again at the end of the World, to be Antichrift, of whom they believ'd Nero a Type: So Chryfoftom affirms, and St. Auftin mentions the fame Opinion, all which this Prediction of the Sibyl might occafion. Nero, in the Sabine old Language, (which differ'd little from the Greek) fignifies Strength; and here the Name of Nero is us'd by the Sibyls for all cruel Men, who flay their own Families, as the Turks do their Brothers.

The

The Terror of the Romans fhall come into Syria, who fhall burn all the Cities and Temple, and flay multitudes of Men in that War, and destroy the large Country of Judea, (which was formerly part of Syria.) And then Salamina and Paphos fhall perish by an Earthquake, when Cyprus fhall suffer an Inundation by its black Water.

Note, Paphos and Salamina, Cities in Cyprus, were deftroy'd by an Earthquake, in Vefpafian's

time.

But when Fire shall rife out of Clefts in' the Italian Earth, and fhall reach up to Heaven, it shall burn many Cities, and kill many Men: Then the fuliginous Ashes, in great quantity, fhall fill the Air, and red Drops fhall fall from Heaven like Minium; then shall be known the Anger of God, because they have destroy'd the innocent Stock of Righteous Men.

Note, This Eruption of Vesuvius was in 82, in the time of Titus, and it cover'd Rome, Afric, and Syria with its Afhes: And afterwards the following Mischiefs will befal the Romans, for the Martyrdom of the Chriftians, and Deftruction of the Jews.

Then fhall come into the West great Contention by the Wars, which will be ftirred up, and he that fled from Rome shall raife a great Army, and pafs Euphrates with many Myriads of Men. Unhappy

Antioch!