Against what fearful powers of seduction Christ had to defend himself by means of his hope of the absolute world beyond, may be seen in the example of Alypius in Augustine. If any of us had been living in that period of antiquity, he would have seen clearly that that culture must inevitably collapse because humanity revolted against it. It is well known that even before the spread of Christianity a remarkable expectation of redemption had taken possession of mankind. The following eclogue of Virgil might well be a result of this mood:
“Ultima Cumæi venit jam carminis ætas;[[110]]
Magnus ab integro Sæclorum nascitur ordo,
Jam redit et Virgo,[[111]] redeunt Saturnia regna;
Jam nova progenies cælo demittitur alto.
Tu modo nascenti puero, quo ferrea primum
Desinet ac toto surget gens aurea mundo,
Casta fave Lucina: tuus jam regnat Apollo.
“Te duce, si qua manent sceleris vestigia nostri,
Inrita perpetua solvent formidine terras.