The well-known prediction of the Sibyl of Cumae bears testimony to the same expectation of mankind.  The genuine Sibylline Oracles were in existence anterior to the birth of Christ.  Virgil died forty years before that event, and the well-known eclogue Pollio is stated by him to be a transcript of the prophetic carmen of the Sibyl of Cumae.  But for the fact that it has a Roman instead of a Jewish coloring, it might almost seem Messianic.  The oracle speaks thus:  “The last era, the subject of the Sibyl song of Cumae, has now arrived; the great series of ages begins anew.  The virgin returns—­returns the reign of Saturn.  The progeny from heaven now descends.  Be thou propitious to the Infant Boy by whom first the Iron Age shall expire, and the Golden Age over the whole world shall commence.  Whilst thou, O Pollio, art consul, this glory of our age shall be made manifest, and the celestial months begin their revolutions.  Under thy auspices whatever vestiges of our guilt remain, shall, by being atoned for, redeem the earth from fear forever.  He shall partake of the life of the gods.  He shall reign over a world in peace with his father’s virtues.  The earth, sweet boy, as her first-fruits, shall pour thee forth spontaneous flowers.  The serpent shall die:  the poisonous and deceptive tree shall die.  All things, heavens and earth and the regions of the sea, rejoice at the advent of this age.  The time is now at hand."[181] Forty years later the Christ appeared.  Whether Virgil had been influenced by Hebrew prophecy it is impossible to say.  It may be that the so-called Sibyl had caught something of the same hope which led the Magi of the East to the cradle of the infant Messiah, but in any case the eclogue voiced a vague expectation which prevailed throughout the Roman Empire.

In modern as well as in ancient times nations and races have looked for deliverers or for some brighter hope.  Missionaries found the Hawaiians dissatisfied and hopeless; their idols had been thrown away.  The Karens were waiting for the arrival of the messengers of the truth.  The Mexicans, at the time of the Spanish conquest, were looking for a celestial benefactor.  The very last instance of an anxious looking for a deliverer is that which quite recently has so sadly misled our Sioux Indians.

Mankind have longed not only for deliverers, but also for mediators.  The central truth of the Christian faith is its divine sympathy and help brought down into our human nature.  In other words, mediation—­God with man.  The faith of the Hindus, lacking this element, was cold and remorseless.  Siva, the god of destruction, and his hideous and blood-thirsty wives, had become chief objects of worship, only because destruction and death led to life again.  But there was no divine help.  The gods were plied with sharp bargains in sacrifice and merit; they were appeased; they were cajoled; but there was no love.  But the time came when the felt want of men for something