according to the promise.”3365 “In thy seed,” saith He, “shall all nations be blessed.”3366 The holy city, the faithful city, the city on earth a sojourner, hath its foundation in heaven. O faithful one, do not corrupt thy hope, do not lose thy charity, “gird up thy loins,” light, and hold out thy lamps before thee; “wait for the Lord, when He will return from the wed- ding.”3367 Why art thou alarmed, because the kingdoms of the earth are perishing? Therefore hath a heavenly kingdom been promised thee, that thou mightest not perish with the king- doms of the earth. For it was foretold, foretold distinctly, that they should perish. For we cannot deny that it was foretold. Thy Lord for whom thou art waiting, hath told thee, “Nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.”3368 The kingdoms of the earth have their changes; He will come of whom it is said, “and of His kingdom there shall be no end.”3369 10. They who have promised this to earthly kingdoms have not been guided by truth, but have lied through flattery. A certain poet of theirs has introduced Jupiter speaking, and he says of the Romans; To them no bounds of empire I assign, Nor term of years to their immortal line.3370 Most certainly truth makes no such answer. This empire which thou hast given “without term of years,” is it on earth, or in heaven? On earth assuredly. And even if it were in heaven, yet “heaven and earth shall pass away.”3371 Those things shall pass away which God hath Himself made; how much more rapidly shall that pass away which Romulus founded! Perhaps if we had a mind to press Virgil on this point, and tauntingly to ask him why he said it; he would take us aside privately, and say to us, “I know this as well as you, but what could I do who was selling words to the Romans, if by this kind of flattery I did not promise something which was false? And yet even in this very instance I have been cautious, when I said, ‘I as- signed to them an empire without term of years,’ I introduced their Jupiter to say it. I did not utter this falsehood in my own person, but put upon Jupiter the character of untruthful- ness: as the god was false, the poet was false. For would ye know that I well knew the truth of it? In another place, when I did not introduce this stone, called Jupiter, but spoke in my own person, I said, ‘Th’ impending ruin of the Roman state.’3372 3365 Gal. iii. 29. 3366 Gen. xii. 3 and xxii. 18. 3367 Luke xii. 35, 36. 3368 Mark xiii. 8. 3369 Luke i. 33. 3370 Virg. Æneid, i. 282–283 (Dryden). 3371 Luke xxi. 33. 3372 Georg. ii. 489. 903 On the words of the Gospel, Luke xi. 5, ‘Which of you shall have a friend,…