sibylline books

1 definition found

sibylline books - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Sibylline \Sib"yl*line\, a. [L. sibyllinus.]
     Pertaining to the sibyls; uttered, written, or composed by
     sibyls; like the productions of sibyls.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Sibylline books.
     (a) (Rom. Antiq.) Books or documents of prophecies in verse
         concerning the fate of the Roman empire, said to have
         been purchased by Tarquin the Proud from a sibyl.
     (b) Certain Jewish and early Christian writings purporting to
         have been prophetic and of sibylline origin. They date
         from 100 b. c. to a. d. 500.
         [1913 Webster]