Lib. 4.

Since Noah liv'd in both Worlds, that be-` fore,and that after the Flood, he and hisChildren did convey the Hiftory,Cuftoms,Manners, and Religion of the Antediluvian World to their Pofterity, who dividing themselves into three Kingdoms, carried those Traditions and Precepts with 'em into all Parts; Sem into the Eaft, Japhet into the West, and Cham into the South: Thus all Arts, Sciences, and Religion were convey'd into every Country. But when thefe Traditions were corrupted by Idolatry, and other Wickednefles, God fent the old Prophets to the Fems, to reform their Idolatrous Worship and Manners; and among Japhet's Pofterity some Prophetesses were fent, to warn them against Idolatry and all forts of Vicé; thefe the Grecians, in the Eolic Dialect, call'd Sibyls; and the Devil, in imitation of these, made ufe of Women in his Oracles.

That fome Women were infpir'd among the Jews, is evident from Scripture; Deborah (Judg. 4.); Miriam the Sifter of Mofes, (Exod. 22). Huldah under Jofiah: Elizabeth, Anna the Virgin; Mary, and the Daughters of Philip.

That there were many infpir'd Women among the Gentiles, appears by the Histories of all Nations: Plato, in his Phadrus, calls the Sibyls Propheteffes. Ariftotle (Probl. 30) fays the Sibyls were infpir'd, and, that one liv'd in a Cave at Cuma in Italy.

Diodor. Siculus affirms, that the Sibyl was actuated by the Spirit of God, and the Name

Sibyl fignifies being full of God; and, that Homer borrow'd many of hisVerfes of Daphne, a Sibyl,who liv'd at the taking of Thebes.

Strabo calls the Erythraan Sibyl uadlın» quvù, and another Sibyl was born in the fame place, call'd Athenais, fhe liv'd in Alexander's time.

Plutarch obferv'd, that the Sibyls predicted the Destruction of Cities, the Irruption of the Armies of Barbarians, the Everfion of Empire, which came to pafs in Greece; and the Eruption of Etna was foretold by 'em, which came lately to pafs, and destroy'd many Cities.

Paufanias fays, that Herophile of Marpefus in Phrygia foretold the Trojan War, and its Event: She liv'd moft in Samos, and prophefied at Delphos, and was furens divino Spiritu afflata.

Cicero, de Divinatione, mentions two forts of Divination, one by Fury, by which the Sibylline Oracles were made, the second by Sleep. Varro, Virgil, Ovid, and Tacitus acknowledg the Sibyls, and Juvenal mentions the Cumaan. Pliny acknowledges the Divinity of the Sibyls.

The Apoftolic Conftitutions quote the Lib. 5, of th 4th Book of the Sibylline Oracles, to prove Martyrs. the Refurrection, in these words, which are thus translated: And when all things fhall be reduc'd to Duft and Ashes, and the Immortal God, who kindled the Fire, fhall have quench'd it, God fhall form thofe Bones and Ashes inta Man again, and fhall place mortal Men as they

were

ch. 6.

were before and then shall be the Fudgment, wherein God fhall do Justice. If therefore the Prophetefs confeffes the Refurrection, and does not deny the restoration of all things, and distinguishes the Godly from the Ungodly, 'tis in vain for them to deny our Doctrin.

Antiq. lib. 1, Jofephus quotes the Sibylline Oracles concerning the building the Tower of Babylon, and fays, 'twas thrown down by the Winds, as the Oracles fay: And he fays the Sibyls fpeak of the Confufion of Tongues. These Accounts are still in our Copy of the Oracles. That the Books we have of the Sibyls are the fame as were providentially collected by the Romans, appears by the Testimony of the ancient Writers, who quote many parts of 'em against the Gentiles, as Juftin Martyr, Theophilus Antiochenus, Athenagoras, Cl. Alexandrinus, Firmianus, Lactantius, Eufebius, St. Auftin, &c.

Juftin Martyr tells the Greeks, they may find the true Religion in the ancient Babylonian Sibyl, who came to Cuma, and there gave her Oracles, which Plato admir'd, as divine; and tho' they foretold many great things, they did not understand 'em; and for this caufe their Verfes are imperfect, or because the hearers miftook 'em: And they plainly foretold the coming of Jefus Chrift, by which means the Gentiles were more easily converted. He concludes that the Prophets, by a divine afflatus, can best instruct us concerning God and the true Religion.

Clem

Clem. Alexandrinus quotes Heraclitus, who fays the Sibyls were infpir'd by God. He fays, St. Paul quoted the Sibyls.

Theophilus quotes the Sibyls, to prove that Lib. 2, ad Au there would be more Gods than Men, if the tolicum. Gods generated: And Athenagoras quotes the Sibyls, in his Embafly to Antoninus for the Chriftians. Both thefe, as well as fuftin and Cl. Alexandrinus, liv'd in the fecond Century, and all quoted the Oracles as divine Prophefies.

St. Auftin fays, the Sibyls, Orpheus, and Homer, spoke truly of God and his Son.

Since the Infpiration of the Sibyls is fo well attested by all the Greek and Roman Writers, and all the Fathers of the four first Centuries, I think thefe Oracles have a fufficient Testimony, on which we may depend. This will be farther prov'd by the Prophefies of certain Events which have come to pass, and that will convince the most Incredulous, that these Oracles had a Divine Original.

God.

St. Auftin farther fays, 'Tis no Error to St. Austin, believe that to fome of the Gentiles the My- lib. 18, ch.23, stery of Christ was reveal'd, and they were of the City of infpir'd by the Spirit of Prophecy to declare it. And he says of the Erythrean Sibyl, fhe wrote fome apparent Prophefies of Chrift; and he makes her a Citizen of God's City.

5. I obferve, that Greek was not the original Language in which the Oracles were given, but fome Eastern Language, from which there were divers Greek Tranflations; for the Sibylline Verfes in Lactantius differ

a

from

from those in Opfopaus in many words, from whence I may conjecture, that there were different Greek Copies of them, which would not have happen'd if that had been the Original. The Erythraan Sibyl, who wrote the three first Books, came from Babylon, and therefore 'tis probable fhe writ in Chaldee, Syriac, or Hebrew; and the Names of God, Sabaoth, Adonai, and the Words Cherubim and Belial, are true figns of its being a Tranflation, because we do not change proper Names in a Tranflation. And in Book II. we find thefe Names, Mofes, Abraham, Isaac, Facob, Fafus, Daniel, Elias, Ambacoum, Jonas.

Since these Oracles were collected from Africa, Sicily, Italy, as well as Samos, Ilium, Erythris, they might probably be writ in the Language of thofe Countries; befides, the numeral Letters in the Name of God will not agree with any Greek we know of. The Hebrew Prophets writ in different Stiles; and fince there were many Sibyls of different Countries, they could not write in the fame Dialect and Stile in which we find the Oracles. We may obferve the Latin Translation in many places not fo fully expreffing the Senfe in the Greek, because the Translator was hinder'd by the Measure of his Latin Verfe; and we may well expect the fame Imperfection by a Tranflation of the Verfes into Greek. The Grecian Poet who translated the Oracles did not alter the Subject of the Prophefies, but took the liberty to use the more modern Names, Phrafes, and Opinions; As for inftance, Noah tells the Peo

ple