lst 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 nearer and more sympathetic
led to the doctrine of Vishnu's incarnations: first grotesque deliverers
in animal shapes, but at length the genial and sympathetic Krishna. He
was not the highest model of character, but he was human. He had
associated with the rustics and frolicked around their camp-fire