in pagan antiquity, certain women said to have been endowed with a prophetic spirit, and who delivered oracles, showing the fates and revolutions of kingdoms. Their number is unknown. Plato speaks of one, others of two, Pliny of three, Ælian of four, and Varro of ten; an opinion which is universally adopted by the learned. These ten Sibyls generally resided in the following places: Persia, Lydia, Delphi, Cumae in Italy, Erythrea, Samos, Cumae in Æolia, Marpessa on the Hellespont, Ancyra in Phrygia, and Tyburtis. The most celebrated of the Sibyls is that of Cumae in Italy, whom some have called by the different names of Amalthæa, Demophile, Herophile, Daphne, Manto, Phemonoe, and Deiphobe. It is said, that Apollo became enamoured of her, and that to make her sensible of his passion he offered to give her whatever she asked. The Sibyl demanded to live as many years as she had grains of sand in her hand, but unfortunately forgot to ask for the enjoyment of the health, vigour, and bloom, of which she was then in possession. She had already lived about seven hundred years when Æneas came to Italy, and, as some have imagined, she had three centuries more to live before her years were as numerous as the grains of sand which she had had in her hand. She gave Æneas instructions how to find his father in the infernal regions, and even conducted him to the entrance of hell. According to the most authentic historians of the Roman republic, one of the Sibyls came to the palace of Tarquin the Second, with nine volumes, which she offered to sell for a very high price. The monarch disregarded her, and she immediately disappeared, but soon afterwards returned, when she had burned three of the volumes. She asked the same price for the remaining six books; and when Tarquin refused to buy them, she burnt three more, and still persisted in demanding the same sum of money for the three that were left. This extraordinary behaviour astonished Tarquin; he bought the books; and the Sibyl instantly vanished, and never afterwards appeared to the world. These books were preserved with great care by the monarch, and called the Sibylline verses. A college of priests was appointed to take care of them; and such reverence did the Romans entertain for these prophetical books, that they were consulted with the greatest solemnity, when the state seemed to be in danger. When the capitol was burned in the troubles of Sylla, the Sibylline verses, which were deposited there, perished in the conflagration; and to repair the loss which the republic seemed to have sustained, commissioners were immediately sent to different parts of Greece to collect whatever verses could be found of the inspired writings of the Sibyls. The fate of these Sibylline verses, which were collected after the conflagration of the capitol, is unknown. There are now many Sibylline verses extant, but they are universally reckoned spurious; and it is evident that they were composed in the second century by some of the followers of Christianity, who wished to convince the heathens of their error, by assisting the cause of truth with the arms of pious artifice.