SEXTUS EMPIRICUS, sex'-hes enz-fie-rf-cus, a physician of MytilErffi, about A.D. 18o, studied under the Sceptic Herodotus of Tarsus. He carried to an extreme the sceptical system of Pyrrho, his maxim being oe.Uo uaxXov, i.e., no one thing deserves to be preferred to another, for all things are uncertain, and the perfect state of mind is iroxi, suspension of judgment ; whence comes IxropaEla or pexp‘o xrMicia, mental repose and perfect equanimity. SIBYLL/E, si-bye-la, prophetic women, who flourished in different parts of the ancient world. Ten Sibyls were generally spoken of ; viz., the Sibyl of Persia, of Libya, of Delphi, of Cum= in Italy, of Erythrma, of Samos, of Cum= in 1Eolia, of Marpessa on the Helles pont, of Ancyrm in Phrygia, and of Tiburtis. Of these the most famous is the Sibyl of Cur= in Italy, who was consulted by /Eneas before his descent to the nether world, and she was generally believed to be the one who, according to the legend, delivered the famous Sibylleszi Lebrz to King Tarquinius Superbus.
According to the story, an aged woman ap peared before the king at Rome, and offered him nine books at a high price, which he refused ; she afterwards returned and offered six for the same price, having destroyed three, and he again refused ; she retired, de, stroyed three, and appeared with the remain ing three, demanding the same price as origi, \ ally for the nine, and the king, by advice of the augurs, purchased them. A college of priests, Deeenzviri, was instituted to guard these sacred Sibylline verses, which were always ordered by the Senate to be con sulted when the state was in peril. The original verses perished in the fire of the Capitol, during the Marian wars, and a collec tion of reputed Sibylline verses was made throughout the world.