https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/ancient/personalrelig.

asp
archangel
Michael, St.
Accounts of Personal Religion, c. 430 BCE - 300 CE Margaret, and St.
Catherine
Festivals
Letter of Demophon to Ptolemaios, c. 245 BCE
Send us at your earliest opportunity the flutist Petoun with the Phrygian flutes, plus the other
flutes. If it is necessary to pay him, do so, and we will reimburse you. Also, send us the
eunuch Zenobius with a drum, cymbals, and castanets. The women need them for their
festival. Be sure he is wearing his most elegant clothing. Get the special goat from Aristion and
sent it to us. Send us also as many cheeses as you can, a new jug, and vegetables of all kinds,
and fish if you have it. Your health! Throw in some policemen at the same time to accompany
the boat.

Strabo, Geographia, c. 20 CE
A festival is celebrated every year at Acharaca; and at that time in particular those who
celebrate the festival can see and hear concerning all these things; and at the festival, too,
about noon, the boys and young men of the gymnasion, nude and anointed with oil, take out
a bull and with haste run before him into the cave; and, when they arrive at the cave, the bull
goes forward a short distance, falls, and breathes out his life.

Lucian, De Salt., c. 160 CE

The Bacchic dance is taken especially seriously in Ionia and Pontus, although it belongs to
Satyric drama, and has so taken hold of people there that, in the festival time, they put aside
everything else and sit the day through, watching corybants, satyrs, and shepherds; and
people of the best lineage and foremost in every city dance, not in the least embarrassed but
proud of it.....Each town or region celebrates the festivals of the gods with its own rites; thus,
to Egyptian deities generally by lament, to the Hellenic for the most part by choruses, but to
the non-Hellenic by the clangor of cymbalists, drummers, and flutists....At Delos not even the
sacrifices are offered without dancing. Boy choruses assembled and, to the pipe and kithara,
some moved about, singing, while the best performed a dance in accompaniment; and hymns
written for such choirs are called dances-for-accompaniment."

Temples
Inscription, Miletus, 275 BCE
Whenever the priestess performs the holy rites on behalf of the city, it is not permitted for
anyone to throw pieces of raw meat anywhere, before the priestess has thrown them on
behalf of the city, nor is it permitted for anyone to assemble a band of maenads before the
public thiasos [ecstatic retinue of Dionysus] has been assembled. And whenever a woman
wishes to perform an initiation for Dionysos Bacchios in the city, in the countryside, or on the
islands, she must pay a piece of gold to the priestess at each biennial celebration.

Philo Judaeus, De Providentia, c. 20 CE

At Ascalon, I observed an enormous population of doves in the city-squares and in every
house. When I asked the explanation, I was told they belonged to the great temple of
Ascalon---where one can also see wild animals of every description, and it was forbidden by
the gods to catch them...

Plutarch, Moralia, c. 110 CE

It's not the abundance of wine or the roasting of meat that makes the joy of sharing a table in
a temple, but the good hope and belief that the god is present in his kindness and graciously
accepts what is offered.

Pausanias, Description of Hellas, c. 175 CE

They say that someone uninvited entered the shrine of Isis at Tithorea and died soon after...I
heard the same thing from a Phoenician in regard to a temple of Isis at Coptos.

Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, c. 200 CE

Sacrifices were devised by men, I do think, as a pretext for eating meals of meat.

Expectations
Strabo, Geographia, c. 20 CE
On the road between the Tralleians and Nysa is a village of the Nysaians, not far from the city
Acharaca, where is the Plutonium, with a costly sacred precinct and a shrine of Pluto and Kore,
and also the Charonium, a cave that lies above the sacred precinct, by nature wonderful; for
they say that those who are diseased and give heed to the cures prescribed by these gods
resort there and live in the village near the cave among experienced priests, who on their
behalf sleep in the cave and through dreams prescribe the cures. These are also the men who
invoke the healing power of the gods. And they often bring the sick into the cave and leave
them there, to remain in quiet, like animals in their lurking-holes, without food for many days.
And sometimes the sick give heed also to their own dreams, but still they use those other
men, as priests, to initiate them into the mysteries and to counsel them. To all others the
place is forbidden and deadly.
Philostratos, Life of Apollonios of Tyana, c. 190 CE
When the plague broke out at Ephesos and there was no stopping it, the Ephesians sent a
delegation to Apollonios asking him to heal them. Accordingly, he did not hesitate, but said,
"Let's go," and there he was, miraculously, in Ephesos. Calling together the people of Ephesos,
he said, "Be brave; today I will stop the plague." Then he led them all to the theater where
the statue of the God-Who-Averts-Evil had been set up. In the theater there was what seemed
to be an old man begging, his eyes closed, apparently blind. He had a bag and a piece of
bread. His clothes were ragged and his appearance was squalid. Apollonios gathered the
Ephesians around him and said, "Collect as many stones as you can and throw them at this
enemy of the Gods."The Ephesians were amazed at what he said and appalled at the idea of
killing a stranger so obviously pitiful, for he was beseeching them to have mercy on him. But
Apollonios urged them on to attack him and not let him escape. When some of the Ephesians
began to pitch stones at him, the beggar who had his eyes closed as if blind suddenly opened
them and they were filled with fire. At that point the Ephesians realized he was a demon and
proceeded to stone him so that their missiles became a great pile over him. After a little while
Apollonios told them to remove the stones and to see the wild animal they had killed. When
they uncovered the man they thought they had thrown their stones at, they found he had
disappeared, and in his place was a hound who looked like a hunting dog but was as big as
the largest lion. He lay there in front of them, crushed by the stones, foaming at the corners
of his mouth as mad dogs do.....

Oracular I nscriptions:
1. Shall I receive the allowance?
2. Shall I remain where I am going?
3. Am I to be sold?
4. Am I to obtain benefit from my friend?
5. Has it been granted me to make a contract with another person?
6. Am I to be reconciled with my children?
7. Am I to get a furlough?
8. Shall I get the money?
9. Is my lover who is away from home alive?
10. Am I to profit by the transaction?
11. Is my property to be put up at auction?
12. Shall I find a means of selling?
13. Am I able to carry off what I have in mind?
14. Am I to become a beggar?
15. Shall I become a fugitive?
16. Shall I be appointed as an ambassador?
17. Am I to become a senator?
18. Is my flight to be stopped?
19. Am I to be divorced from my wife?
20. Have I been poisoned?
~O TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.

VI. PERSECUTIONS OF THE THIRD CENTURY.

The persecutions of the first half of the third century were merely local like
those of the first two centuries, but in the second half they became general.
Several of the emperors of this first period were friendly to the Christians, and
it is even said that Philip was a Christian ; nevertheless persecutions took place,
as the "Acta" of the martyrs prove. Septimius Severus tried to prevent paga ns
from becoming Christians by his rescript of 2,)2, and :Maximinus ordered the rulers
of the churches to be put to death.
Although the text of the decree of Decius has not been preserved, we know
that he promulgated a decree against the Christia ns, in 250 A. D., which instituted
a general persecution. Of what the details were we can get some knowledge from
the letters and documents of the time. The persecution may have been severe,
but it was short, for Decius died in May, 251 A. D.
Decius attacked the whole body of the Christi:ms, but Valerian adopted a dif-
ferent policy, since he punished only the heads of the community and seized
the temporal possessions of the Church. He issued two decrees, the second con -
demning bishops to death instead of merely to exile, ss the first did.
The so-called '' Acta 1 ' are official draughts which were made in all civil and
criminal cases, both at Rome and in the provinces, according to Roman law.
Some o( these reports of the trials of Christians are very valuable, but so many of
them have been tampered with that they have to be used with caution.
The text of the decree by Aurelian has not been preserved in any official doc-
ument, but the substance of it is probably given in the extract from the Passio
Sym,p horiani.

PERSECUTION UNDER SEPTU.IIUS SEVERUS.

THE RESCRIPT.

Spartian, Vita Sept. Sev. Ch. 17 (Script. Hist. August., ed. Jordan et Es--
senhardt, I, p. 13). Latin.
Under threat of severe punishment he forbade men to become
Jews. :Moreover, he decreed the same in the case of Christians.

ACCOUNT BY TERTULLIAN.

Ad Scapulam, 4 (I, p. 547 sq. ed. Oehler). Latin.

Even Severus himself, father of Antoninus, was mindful of the
Christians. For the Christian ProculusJ who was called Torpacion, pro-
curator of Euhodias, and who had once wrought a cure for him with
ointment, Severus soug ht out and kept iu the palace until the time of his.
death. Antoninus, who was nourishe,1 on Christian milk, was very well
acquainted with this man. The most noble women aud men, whom Sev-
erus knew belonged to this sect, he not only did not harm) but he even
 PERSECUTION UNDER MAXll\IINUS THRAX 21

set forth the truth by bis own testimony and openly restore<l them to us
from the raging populace.

ACCOUNT BY EUSEBIUS.

Hist. Ecc., Dk. VI, ch. 1, ed. Din<lorf, Vol. IV, p. 239-40. Greek.
,vheu Se\·erus set in motion a persecution against th~ churchei;
brilliant testimonies were given everywhere 1,y the athletes of religion.
Especially <lid these abound in Alexandria, whither athletes ot'God were
sent in accor<laucc with their worth, from Egypt and all Thebais, as if
to a very great contest, aud where they obtained their crowns from God
through their most patient endurance of various tortures and kinds of
death. Among these was Leonides, who was called the father of Origen,
au<l who was beheaded, leay~ng his son still a young boy.••••

PERSECUTION UNDER MAXIl\UNUS THRAX.

ACCOUNT BY EUSEBIUS.
Hist, Ecc., Ilk. VI, ch. 28, eel. Dindorf, Vol. IV, p. 273. Greek,
l\Iaximinus Caesar succeeded to Alexander, Emperor of the Ro-
mans, who had ruled thirteen years. On account of his hatred for the
household of Alexander, which contained many believers, he began a
persecution, but commanded that the rulers of the churches aloue should
be put to death, on the ground that they were the authors of the teach-
ing of the Gospels. Then Origen composed his work "On :M artyrdom,"
and dedicated the hook to Ambrose and Protoctetus, who was presbyter
of the parish in Caesarea, because both had incurred unusual peril in
this persecution. The report is that in this peril these men were prom-
inent in confession. ~Iaximinus did not survive more than three years.
Origen bas marked this n.s the time of the persecution in the twenty-
second book of' his Commentaries on John and in different letters.

LACTANTIUS 0~ THE DEATH OF DECIUS.

De Mort. Persecut. ch. 4. Opera, ed. 0. F. Fritzscbe (Bibi. Patr. Ecc. Lat.
XI, Leipzig, 1844), 11, p. 250 sq. Latin.
For nfter many years the accursed beast, Decius, arose who har-
rnssc<l the Church,-for who but an evil man can persecute righteous-
ness ?-And as if he had been raised to that high position for this pur-
22 TRANSLATIONS AND REPRINTS.

pose, he began at once to rage against God so that he immediately fell.

For having proceeded against the Carpi, who had then occupied Daci~
and 1Ioesia, he was immediately surrounded by the barbarians and de-
stroyed with a great part of his army. Nor could he be honored hy
burial, but, stripped and naked, be lay exposed as food to wild beasts
and birds, as was becoming to an enemy of Goel.

PERSECUTION UNDER V .A.LERI.AN.

CYPRIAN'S LETTER.

Epist. 80. Opera, ed. G. Hartel, II, p. 839 sq. (Corp. Script. Ecc. Lat. III,.
1871.) Latin.
The reason why I did not write to you immediately, dearest brother,
was that the whole body of the clergy were detained by the stress of the
conflict, and could not depart thence at all, being prepared by the de-
votion of their spirits for everlasting and heavenly glory. Be it known
to you that those have returned whom I had sent to the City to dis-
cover aud report to us as to the nature of the truth of the rescript con-
cernrng us. For many, various and uncertain were the rumors
circulated, But the truth of the matter is this : V nlerian had sent a
rescript to the senate, that bishops, presbyters and deacons should be
punished immediately, but that senators, nobles, and Roman knights
should be degraded from their dignity, and furthermore despoiled of
their goods, and if, after they had been deprived of their property, they
should persist in being Christians, they too should be beheaded. l\Ia-
trons should be deprived of their goods and sent into exile. Those
of Caesar's household, whoever had confessed formerly or should con-
fess now, should have their property confiscated aucl should be sent in
chains by assignment to Caesar's estates. To his discourse, moreover,
the Emperor Valerian added a copy of the letter ,r!.i~ch he sent to the
g0Yerno1-s of the provinces coucerning us. This letter we hope daily
will arrive, prepared according to the strength of the faith, ready to
endure martyrt1om, and expecting by the might and grace of God the
crown of eternal life. Be it known to you, moreover, that Xistns was
executed in the cemetery on the eighth before the Icles of August, and
together with him four deacons. Indeed, the prefects in the city insist
daily on this persecution. If any are brought before them, they are
punished and their goods confiscated to the treasury.
I beg that this may be made known through you to the rest of our
 MARTYRDOM OF CYPRIAN. 23
associates, so that everywhere by their encouragement the brotherhood
may be strengthened and prepared for the spiritual conflict, that each
of us may not think more of death than of immortality, and thnt, con-
secrated to the Lor<l, in full faith and all virtue, they may rejoice
rather than fear in this confession in which they know that, ns soldiers
of God and Christ, they will not be destroyed but be crowned. I hope
that you, clearest brother, will ever be strong in the Lord.

DECREE OF AURELIAN.

Fassio S. Symphoriani Martyris, ch, 2 (Ruinart, Actn Martyrurn Sincera, Am-

sterdam, 1713), p. 80. Reprinted in Preuschen, Analecta.) Latin.
The Emperor Aurelian to all his administrators and governors.
,ve have learned that the precepts of the laws are violated by thos~
,vho in our times call themselves Christians. Punish those who are ar-
1·ested with divers tortures, unless they sacrifice to our gods, until the
difficulty mentioned may be righted, and vengeance, satisfied by the
extirpation of the crime, may have an end.
 I

Prelude: The 7?.eman World

Transformed (c. 3 oo-c. 600)
A CHRISTIANIZED EMPIRE

1.1 Toleration or favoritism? Edict of Milan (313) .

Original in Latin.
No edict (an order issued to governors throughout the empire) was issued at Milan. But
Emperors Cons tantine (r.306-337) and Licinius (r.308-324) met there in 313 and agreed to
the provisions of what would be promulgated a few months late r-the so-ca lled Edict of
Milan. It gave. notice that Constan tin e and Licinius agreed to to1erate Christianity along
with other religions and that they determined to restore the properties that the Church
had lost under Emperor Diocletian (r.284-305). T he current owners of the property
might be compensated &om the emperors' p.rivate funds if they applied to their"vicar,"
an imperial adminis trato r with regionaJ authority.
T he Edict of Milan is the first source in this colJection. Let us use it to begin a discus-
s ion of how to read primary sources. Each primary source calls for its own methodol-
ogy and approach; there is no one way to handle all of them, Moreover, as the epigraph
of this book points out, readers s hould b ring their own special insights to old sources.
Nevertheless, it is usually helpful to begin by asking a standard series of questions.

\Vho wrote it, and for what audience was it written? Normally this is fai rly easy to
answer, but often it is not. [n this case, it seems that Emperors Constantine and Licinius
conceived of the statement. though civil servan ts in an imperial writing offic.e drafted
and published it. TI1e immediate recipients were provincial governors~ e.ach referred to
as "your E.xcellency" in this document~they were expected to publish-that is, publi-
cize-the contents to the public.

\Vhen was it written? Your editor has given the date 313, which is the year in which the
document \\'aS is.sued. At this stage in your histo rical \1i'ork, you need not worry about
 OSf.: l'Rl'.LlJ D f. : THf! ltO M !i.N 11.·oat.n T a.\NSl'O ltM l'.n (t:.lOO-C t,011)

how this date was arrived at. It is more important for you to consider the circumstances
and historical events in the context of which this date takes on meaning. In this instance,
you should be thinking that the date is pertinent to the history of the Roman Empire;
that it come.s directly after Constantine won a major battle at the Milvian Bridge in
312; that he attributed his victory to a sign from the Christian God; that immediately
thereafter he took over administration of the western portion of the Roman Empire and
soon (in 313) allied with Licin iust and that a few months later Licinius became ruler of
the eastern half of the Empire. Therefore you should expect the document to have to
do with both imperial authority and religion, which is precisely what you wiU discover
when you read it.

Where was it written? Jn this case "M ilan" is not t he right answer. Jn fact the &lict
was issued by licinius at Nicomedia (today lzmit), in the eastern half of the Empire.
But sometimes you will not know so specific an answe.r, and you must work with what
information you have.

\i\'hy was it written? Often you will fi nd a provisionaJ ans\,.,·er to this question right in
the text of the primary source. Ostensibly the Edict was written, as it says, "to give both to
Christians and to all others free facility to follow the religion which eac.h may desire:• But
youshouJd go beyond this obvious answer tto ask what other motives might have been at
work, what sorts of negotiations may have been involved in its writing► and who benefited.

What is it? In this case, you know that it is calle.d an Edict but is something a bit differ-
ent. You might choose to call it an "imperial o rdinance," an uofficial document," o r even
a "policy statement."

\r\'hat does it say? This is the most important question of all. To answer it, you need to
analyze the docwnent for its various provisions, taking care to understand them fuUy
and seeking further information (if necessary) about its vocabulary.

·what are the implications of what it says? This requires you to ask many questions
about matters that lie behind the text. Important questions to ask are: Wl1at does the
document reveal about mcli institlltitms as family, power, social classes amlgrot1ps, religion,
and edumtiotJ and literacy in the world tl1a1 produced ir? What art its underlying assump-
1:ions about getider; about human ,wmre, agenc;~ and goals,· abo11t rhe 11at11re of the di11ine?
Does the source apply to men and women in the same way?

How reliable is it1 If the document is authentic-if it really is what it purports to be-
then at the very le-ast you can know that it was issued by its writer(s). In this case, you
can be sure that Constantine a nd Lkinius ,did indeed want the Edict of Mi/a.n promuJ-
gated. You may wish to speculate about how much of it was Constantine's idea and how
much licinius•s by considering what else you know about their religious convictions
and political motives. The document c.ertainly tells you about the ideals and intentions
that they wanted the world to believe they had. But it alone cannot tell you whether
the provisions were carried out. To know that, you need other documents and evidence
about the nature of Roman impe.rial power at the time. One docwnent that may help

2
 I I f.OU'. T 0 1' ).!11.i\ N ( tl.1 )

here is the Creed declared by the Council of Nicaea (p. 13 below), since Constantine
presided over that council.

Are there complicating factors? MedievaJ ttexts were all handwritten, and they were
"published"-in the sense of be ing made public and d istributed-in relatively small
numbers. Jn many cases we do not have them in their original state. The Edia of Milan
11\<as issued in muJtiple handwritten copies in Latin. However, none of these has sw·vived.
We know its contents because it was incorporated into the writings of t\'IO Christian
a pologists:' Lactantius's On the Deaths of the Persecutors (written perhaps in 318) and
Eusebius's History of the Cliurc/1 (the 6rst edition of which was published at some time
between 303 a nd 312). Eusebius's text of the Edict, which he translated and presented in
Greek, is not entirel)• the same as the one gi-ven by Lactantius. Scholars think that the
o ne in Lactantius is the original. and that is the o ne prin ted here. But you should not
be content with that. You should instead ask ·y ourself at least two questions about these
in termediary sources: V.1hat motives miglit lead n Inter so-urce to reproduce a text? W/rat
new meau;ngs does rhe origim1! source wke on when it is embedded inn lnrger document
with its own agemla?You might also consider the fact that the Edict was not considered
important enough to be drawn upon by the legal expe rts who compiled The Theodosia11
Code (438; see below, p. 4) or the later Codexfusriniam,s (529).

You should ask t hese questions of every source you read. Soon you will see how d ifferent
the answers are fo r each document, fo r every one. of them poses special challenges. If
you like_,look ahead top. 167 to see this poin1 clearly demonstrated in connection with
a very d iffe rent source, al-Tabari, The Defearofthe Za,ij Revolt.

!Source: Clturd1and State Tltrouglt 1lte Ce11wries: A Coflectio,r of Historir Doc1m1t·t11s witl1 Commemaries,
trans. and ed. Sidney Z. Ehler :tnd John B. Morrall (Westminster, MD: Newm-:in Pl\"ss, 1954), pp. 5--6,I

We. Constantine and Licinius the Emperors. having met
in concord at f\•tilan and having set in order everything
which pertains to the common good and public security.
are of the opinion tltal among the various things which
we perceived would profit men. or which should be set in
order first, was to be found the cultivation of religion; we
should therefore give both to Chri.stians and to all others
free facility to folJow the religion which each ma)' desire,
so that b)• this means whatever divinity is enthroned in
heaven may be gracious and favorable to us and to all
who have been placed under our authority. Therefore
we are of the opinion that the following decision is in
accordance with sound and true reasoning: that no one
who has given his mental assent to the Christian persua.
sion or to any other which he feels to be suitable to him
should be compelled to den)' his conviction. so that the
Supreme Godhead ("Summa Oivinitas"). whose wor.
ship we freely observe,can assist us in all things with his
usual favor and benevolence. Wherefore it is necessary
for your facellency to know that it is our pleasure that all
restrictions which were previously put forward in oftkial
pronouncements concerning the sect of the Christians
should be removed, and that each one of them who
freely and sincerely carries out the purpose of obsen'ing
the Christian religion may endeavor to practice its. pre.
cepts without an)' fear or danger. We believed that these
points should be fuJly brought to your attenUon, so that
you might know that we have given free and absolute
pennission to practice their religion to the Christians.
Now that you perceive what we have granted to them,

1
An ":apologist" is someone who justifies or argues in fo\'Ot of :a doctrine or idoology.
 OSF.: l'llF.LU OI;'.: T Hf: llO M .-'IN 14•oa1.n Ta ,\ NSfO JIM F.n
your Exce11ency must also learn that for the sake of peace
in our time a similar public and free right to practice
their religion or cult is granted to others. so that every
person may have free opportunit)' to worship accord.
ing to his own wish. This has been done by us to avoid
any appearance of disfavor to any one religion. 'We have
decided furthermore to decree the following in respect of
the Christians: if those places at which they were acrus.
t"Omed in fom1er times to hold lheir meetings (concern.
ing which a definite procedure was laid down for your
guidance in previous communications} have been at any
pre\'ious time acquired from our treasury or from an)'
other person, let the persons concerned be wiJling and
swift to restore them to the Christians without financiaJ
recompense and without trying to ask a price. Let those
who have received such pro pert)' as a gift restore whatever
they have acquired to the Christians in similar manner►
if those who have bought such propert)' or received it
as a gift seek some recompense from our benevolence.
let them apply to the vicar. b)• whom their cases will be
referred to our clemency. You are to consider it your duty
that all these things shall be handed over to the Christian
bod)' immediately and without delay b)• your interven.
tion. And since the afores.iid Chri.stians are known to
have possessed not only those places at which the)' are
,r:.lOll-r: (;011)
accustomed to assemble. but others also pertaining to the
law of their body. that is of the churches. not of private
individuals. you are to order in accordance with the law
whkh we have described above the return of all those
possessions to the aforesaid Christians, that is to their
bodies and assemblies without any further hesitation or
argument. Our previous statement is to be borne in mind
that those who restore this property without price may.
as we have said, expect some compensation from our
benevolence.
You ought to bring into play your very effective inter-
vention in all these matters concerning the aforesaid
Christian bod)' so that there ma)' be a swift fulfillment
of our Edict, in which the interests of public quiet have
been consuJted by our clemency. Let all this be done. so
that as we stated above. the divine favor. of whkh we ha,re
experienced so many instances, may continue with us to
bless our successors through all time with public well-
being. In order that the character of this our perpetual
benevolence can reach the knowledge of aJI, it will be
well for you to circulate everrwhere. and to bring to the
awareness of aJJ, these points which have been written to
you as above, so that the enactment of this our benevo-
lence may not be hidden.
 1 .5 THE Nlf:f.N6. C REED (.lH}

1.5 Orthodoxy's declaration: The Nicene Creed (325).

Original in Greek.
A dispute between Bishop Alexander of Alexandria and Arius, an Alexandrian priest,
cona:rning the relationship between the Father and the Son ()esus Christ) within the
Godhead had such far-flung repercussions that Emperor Constantine (r.306-337) called
the Cotmc,il of Nicaea (325), the first "ecumenical" (universal) oow,cil, to adjudicate the
matter. We do not know precisely what Arius taught, but he dearly subordinated the
Son to the Father. The Council declared that the Son was of the "same substance''
(homot1sios) as the Father and thus not subordinate. a formulation that Arius could not
accept. Although Arius was excommW1icated, some of his suppo rters remained in high
positions. When Constantius II (r.337-361) came to the imperial throne, he favored the
position that the Orthodox called ••Arian" and supported Ulfila, whose missionary work
among the Goths led to their adoption of"Arianism." Althoug~ r perhaps because-
the Goths were allowed into the empire in 376, the Council of Constantinople, held in
381, affirmed the ban on Arianism, in effect branding as heretics the Goths and o ther
barbarian tribes who adopted the Arian positions.

!Source-: John N.D. Ketly, EarlyChrisrian Don rims, 2nd ed. (New York H.::irper and Row, 1958), p.132.I

We belie1i·e in one God, the Father almighty, maker of aJJ
things, visible and im'isible;
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begot-
ten from the Father. only-begotten, that is, from the sub-
stance of the Father, God from God, light from light, true
God from true God. begotten not made. ofone substance
(/1omousios) with the Father. through Whom all things
came into being, things in hea1i·en and things on earth.
Who because of us men and because of our salvation
came down and became incarnate, becoming man, suf-
fered and rose agajn on the third day, ascended to the
heavens. and will come to judge the Hving and the dead;
And in the Holy Spirit. But as for those who say, There
was when He was not, and. Before being born He was not.
and that He came into existence out of nothing. or who
assert that the Son of God is from a differenl hypostasis
or substance. or is created. or is subject to alteration or
change-these the-Catholic Church anathemati1.es.3

1
John 15: 19.
1
A reforence to C:iecili:m, :appointed bishop of Carthage .1g;iinst Don:itist wishes.
J I.e., excommuniates.

13
Medieval Sourcebook:
Banning of Other Religions
Theodosian Code XVI.i.2

Although toleration was give to Christianity in 311CE by Constantine I, Christianity did not become
the legal religion of the Roman Empire until the reign of Theodosius I (379-395). At that point not only
was Christianity made the official religion of the Empire, but other religions were declared illegal.

Theodosian Code XVI.1.2

From Henry Bettenson, ed., Documents of the Christian Church, (London: Oxford University Press,
1943), p. 31 [Short extract used under fair-use provisions]

It is our desire that all the various nation which are subject to our clemency and moderation, should
continue to the profession of that religion which was delivered to the Romans by the divine Apostle
Peter, as it has been preserved by faithful tradition and which is now professed by the Pontiff Damasus
and by Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, a man of apostolic holiness. According to the apostolic teaching
and the doctrine of the Gospel, let us believe in the one deity of the father, Son and Holy Spirit, in
equal majesty and in a holy Trinity. We authorize the followers of this law to assume the title Catholic
Christians; but as for the others, since in our judgment they are foolish madmen, we decree that the
shall be branded with the ignominious name of heretics, and shall not presume to give their
conventicles [an assembly of an irregular or unlawful character] the name of churches. They will suffer
in the first place the chastisement of divine condemnation and the second the punishment of out
authority, in accordance with the will of heaven shall decide to inflict.

The Codex Theodosianus:

On Religion, 4th Century CE
Source: Oliver J. Thatcher, ed., The Library of Original Sources (Milwaukee: University Research
Extension Co., 1907), Vol. IV: The Early Medieval World, pp. 69-71.

C. Th. XV.xii.1: Bloody spectacles are not suitable for civil ease and domestic quiet. Wherefore since
we have proscribed gladiators, those who have been accustomed to be sentenced to such work as
punishment for their crimes, you should cause to serve in the mines, so that they may be punished
without shedding their blood. Constantine Augustus.
C. Th. XVI.v.1: It is necessary that the privileges which are bestowed for the cultivation of religion
should be given only to followers of the Catholic faith. We desire that heretics and schismatics
[persons who take part in a formal division within or separation from a church or religious body] be
not only kept from these privileges, but be subjected to various fines. Constantine Augustus.
C. Th. XVI.x.4: It is decreed that in all places and all cities the temples should be closed at once, and
after a general warning, the opportunity of sinning be taken from the wicked. We decree also that we
shall cease from making sacrifices. And if anyone has committed such a crime, let him be stricken with
the avenging sword. And we decree that the property of the one executed shall be claimed by the city,
and that rulers of the provinces be punished in the same way, if they neglect to punish such crimes.
Constantine and Constans Augusti.
C. Th. XVI.vii.1: The ability and right of making wills shall be taken from those who turn from
Christians to pagans, and the testament of such an one, if he made any, shall be abrogated after his
death. Gratian, Valentinian, and Valens Augusti.
C.Th. XI.vii.13: Let the course of all law suits and all business cease on Sunday, which our fathers
have rightly called the Lord's day, and let no one try to collect either a public or a private debt; and let
there be no hearing of disputes by any judges either those required to serve by law or those voluntarily
chosen by disputants. And he is to be held not only infamous but sacrilegious who has turned away
from the service and observance of holy religion on that day. Gratian, Valentinian and Theodosius
Augusti.
C.Th. XV.v.1: On the Lord's day, which is the first day of the week, on Christmas, and on the days of
Epiphany, Easter, and Pentecost, inasmuch as then the [white] garments [of Christians] symbolizing
the light of heavenly cleansing bear witness to the new light of holy baptism, at the time also of the
suffering of the apostles, the example for all Christians, the pleasures of the theaters and games are to
be kept from the people in all cities, and all the thoughts of Christians and believers are to be occupied
with the worship of God. And if any are kept from that worship through the madness of Jewish impiety
or the error and insanity of foolish paganism, let them know that there is one time for prayer and
another for pleasure. And lest anyone should think he is compelled by the honor due to our person, as
if by the greater necessity of his imperial office, or that unless he attempted to hold the games in
contempt of the religious prohibition, he might offend our serenity in showing less than the usual
devotion toward us; let no one doubt that our clemency is revered in the highest degree by humankind
when the worship of the whole world is paid to the might and goodness of God. Theodosius Augustus
and Caesar Valentinian.
C. Th.XVI.i.2: We desire that all the people under the rule of our clemency should live by that religion
which divine Peter the apostle is said to have given to the Romans, and which it is evident that Pope
Damasus and Peter, bishop of Alexandria, a man of apostolic sanctity, followed; that is that we should
believe in the one deity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit with equal majesty and in the Holy Trinity
according to the apostolic teaching and the authority of the gospel. Gratian, Valentinian and
Theodosius Augusti.
C. Th. XVI.v.iii: Whenever there is found a meeting of a mob of Manichaeans, let the leaders be
punished with a heavy fine and let those who attended be known as infamous and dishonored, and be
shut out from association with men, and let the house and the dwellings where the profane doctrine
was taught be seized by the officers of the city. Valentinian and Valens Augusti.
 Tl1e Barbaria11 World
4. TACITUS

GERMANIA
Jn 98 the Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus (ca. 56-<:a. 120) wrote a brief description
of the Germanic peoples living beyond the Rhine. The Germania was his second work,
written after the Life of Agricola (a biography and tribute to his father-in-law and the
elaboration of his life as a model for Roman senatorial behavior) but in the years before
his two maior historical works, the Historiae and Anna/es. His account is based on the
writings of previous geographers and historians, especially Pliny the Eider's lost Ger-
man \\ars, as well as on interviews with people who had first-hand experience with the
Germanic peoples. Although largely accurate in its details, the treatise organizes and
filters Tacitus's data through the classical ethnological categories. Its purpose was less
to inform Romans about the Germans than to criticize Roman customs and morals by
contrasting them with those of the barbarians.

Source: Tacitus, Dialogus, Agricola, Germania (London: Heineman, 1914). Germania

trans. Maurice Hutton, rev. D. LePan, 1989.
Further Reading: Ronald H. Martin, Tacitus (Berkeley: University of California Press,
1981).

1 L"ndivi<lcd Germany is separated from the Gauls,
Rhaetiam, and Pannonians by the rivers Rhine and
Danul~: fr()m the S.umatians and Dacians by mutual
f1.:ar or mountaim: the re'>t of it is surrounded by the
ocean, whi(h enfold,-. wide peninsulas and islands of
va,t expJmc, some of who¼: people and kings have but
rco:ntly bt:comc known tom; war has lifted the curtain.
The Rhine, rising from the inaccessible and precipi-
tou,., crt:\l of the Rhaetian Alps, after turning west for a
rc..·ar.:h of ~omc length is lli~t in the North Sea. The Danube
pours from the sloping and not very lofty ridge of Mount
Abnoba, and visits several peoples on its course, until at
length it emerges by six of its channels into the Pantie
Sea: the seventh mouth is swallowed in marshes.
2 As for the Germans themselves) I should suppose
them to be native to the area and only very slightly
blended with new arrivals from other races or regions;
for in ancient times people who sought to migrate
reached their de.stination by sea and not by land; while,
in the second place, the great ocean on the further side

L
·, I
58
L
T.\(.ITI'~ <,l,R.\fA.'\'J,-1
of Germany-at the opposite end of the world, so to
speak, from us-is rarely visited by ships from our
world. Besides, even apart from the perils of an awful
and unknown sea, who would have left Asia or Africa
or Italy to look for Germany? With its wild scenery and
harsh climate it is pleasant neither to live in nor look
upon unless it be one's home.
Their ancient hymns-the only record of history
which they possess-celebrate a god Tuisto, a scion of the
soil, and his son Mannus as the founders of their race. To
Mannus they ascribe three sons, from whose names the
tribes of the seashore came to be known as Ingaevones,
the central tribes as Herminones, and the rest as Istae-
vones. Some authorities, using the license which pertains
to antiquity, claim more sons for the god and a larger
number of race names: Marsi, Gambrivii, Suebi, Vandilii.
These are, they say, real and ancient names, while the
name of "Germany" is new. The first tribes in fact to cross
the Rhine and expel the Gauls, though now called Tungri,
were then styled Germans: so little by little the name-a
tribal, not a national, name-prevailed, until the whole
people were called by the artificial name of"Germans,"
first only by the victorious tribe in order to intimidate the
Gauls, but afterwards among themselves also.
3 The authorities also record how Hercules appeared
among the Germans, and on the eve of battle the
natives chant "Hercules, the first of brave men." They
use as well another chant-"barritus" is the name they
use for it-to inspire courage; and they forecast the
results of the coming battle from the sound of the cry.
Intimidation or timidity depends on the concert of
the warriors; the chant seems to them to mean not so
much unison of voices as union of hearts; the object
they specially seek is a certain volume of hoarseness, a
crashing roar, their shields being brought up to their
lips, that the voice may swell to a fuller and deeper note
by means of the echo.
To return. Ulysses also--in the opinion of some
authorities-was carried during his long and legend-
ary wanderings into this ocean, and reached the lands of
Germany. Asciburgium, which stands on the banks of the
Rhine and has inhabitants today, was founded, they say, and
named by him; further, they say that an altar dedicated by
Ulysses, who added to his own inscription that of his father
Laertes, was once found at the same place, and that certain
monuments and barrows, marked with Greek letter.;, are still
extant on the borderland between Germany and Rhaetia.
I have no intention of furnishing evidence to establish or
refute these assertions: every one according to his temper.t-
ment may minimize or magnify their credibility.
59
4 Personally, I agree with tho'!ie who hold that in the
peoples of Germany there has been given to the world
a nation untainted by intermarriage with other peoples,
a peculiar people and pure. like no one but them\Clve.s;
whence it comes that their physique, in spite of their
vast numbers, is identical: fierce blue eyes, red hJir, tall
frames. They are powerful too, but only spa.<,m0t.:lica!i~';
they have no fondness for feats of endurance or for hard
work. Nor are they well able to bear thirst and heat; to
cold and hunger, thanks to the climate and the soil, they
are accustomed.
5 There are some varieties in the appearance of the
country, but in general it is a land of bristling fore,sts and
unhealthy marshes; the rainfall is heavier on the siJe of
Gaul; the winds are higher on the side of S'oricum and
Pannonia.
It is fertile in cereals, but unkind to fruit-bearing trees.;
it is rich in flocks and herds, but for the most part they
are undersized. Even the cattle lack natural beauty and
ma_jestic brows. The pride of the people is rather in the
number of their beasts, which constitute the only form
of wealth they value.
The gods have denied them gold and sih'er, whether
in mercy or in wrath I find it hard to say. i'\ot th.at
I would assert that Germany has no veins bearing
gold or silver, for who has explored there? At any r,lte,
they are not affected, like their neighbors, by the use
and possession of such things. One may see among
them silver vases, given as gifts to their commanders
and chieftains, but treJ.ted as of no more v.ilue than
earthenware. Although the border tribes for purposes
of trade treat gold and silver as precious metals, and
recognize and collect certain coins of our money. the
tribes of the interior practice b,irter in the simpler
and older fashion. The coinage which .ippeals to them
is the old and long-familiar: the denarii with milled
edges, showing the two-horsed chariot. They prefer
silver to gold: not that they have any frding in the
matter, but because a number of silver pieces is easier
to use for people whose purchases consist of cheap
objects of general utility.
6 Even iron is not plentiful amons them, as may
be gathered from the style of their weapons. Few have
swords -or the longer kind of lance: they carry short
spears, in their language "frameae," with a narrow and
small iron head, so sharp and so handy in use that they
fight with the same weapon, as circumstances demand,
both at close quarters and at a distance. The mounteJ
man is content with a shield and framea: the infantry
launch showers of spears as well, each man a volley, and
 THE BAR»ARIAN wnRtP
arc:- ahk to hurl these ~re.it distances, for they wear no
outer dothing, or ,11 most a light cloak.
11wir ~arb, is for the most part quite plaini only shidds
are decor.ited, e,Kh a few colors. Few have breast-plates:
s(.trcdy one or two at most have metal or hide helmets.
The ht;rses are conspicuous for neither beauty nor speed;
hut thl·n n,.-i1her arc thcy trained like our horses to run in
shiftin~ drdes: the Germans ride them forwards only or
to the right. with hut one turn from the straight, dressing
the line~ dose-Iv as thev whed that no one is left behind.
In ~t"nerJI that, is mo;e strength in their infantry, and
acrnrdindv cavalrv and infantry tight in one body; the
swili-fol;tl:d infan,tryrnan, whom they pick out of the
whole hod~- of w.1rriors and. place in front of the line, are
wdl-ad.1pted to cavalry b,mles. The number of these men
i~ fixed-one hundred from eJ.ch canton, and among
themselves "the Hundred" is the precise name they use.
Wh.it w.1s onct· a number onlr has become a title and a
d.i~tint.:tion. The battle-line itself is arranged in wedges.
To retire. provided you press on again, they treat as a
question of tactics. not of cowardice; they carry off their
deJd and wounded ewn in drawn battles. To have aban-
doned one's shield is the height of disgrace. The man
Ml dishonored cannot be present at religious rites, nor
attend a council; many survivors of war have ended their
infanw with a noose.
/ They i.:hoose their kings on the grounds of birth, their
gent-rals on the ba:i,is of courage. The authority of their
kin~s is not unlimilt'd or arbitrary; their generals con-
trol them hy example rather than command, the troops
admiring their ent'f!:,'"Y and the conspicuous place they take
in front of the line. But anything beyond this-capital
puni-,hml..'nt, imprisonment, even a blow-is permitted
only to 1he priests, and then not as a penalty or under the
~c-neral\ ordns, but in ohedience to the god whom they
bdicvc accornpanies them on campaign. Certain totems,
in fJct, and emblems arc fetched from groves and carried
into bJttll°. The 'i.lronge.,t in1,;cntive to courage lies in this,
that nt."ither chance n{1r ca:i,ual grouping makes the squad-
ron or the wedge, but family and kimhip. Close at hand,
too, arc thL"1r d.earl·<,t, ~) that they hear the wailing voices
of women and crie'J of children. Here arc the witncss<.·s
who arc in each man\ eye.., most precious; here the praise
he t":owts mo-:.t. The warrior., take their wounds to mother
and wife, who do not <,hrink from counting the hurts and
demanding a sig.ht of them: they give to the combatants
ftxxl and enn,uragl°m<.·nt.
8 Tradition rdates that some battles that seemed lost
have bn·n rntorcd by the women, by their incessant
prayers and br the baring of their hrcast<;; for so it is
60
brought home to the men that slavery, which they dread
much more keenly on their women's account, is close at
hand. It follows that the loyalty of those tribes is more
effectively guaranteed if you hold, among other hostages,
girls of noble birth.
Further, they conceive that in women is a certain
uncanny and prophetic sense: they neither scorn to con-
sult them nor slight their answers. In the reign of Vespa-
sian of happy memory we saw Velaeda treated as a deity
by many during a long period; but in ancient times they
also reverenced Albruna and many other women-in no
spirit of flattery, nor for the manufacture of goddesses.
9 Of the gods they most worship Mercury, to whom
on certain days they count even the sacrifice of human
life lawful. Hercules and Mars they appease with such
animal life as is permissible. A section of the Suebi sac-
rifices also to Isis: 1 the cause and origin of this foreign
worship I have not succeeded in discovering, except that
the emblem itself, which takes the shape of a Liburnian
galley, shows that the ritual is imported.
Apart from this they deem it incompatible with the
majesty of the heavenly host to confine the gods within
walls, or to mold them into any likeness of the human
face. They consecrate groves and thickets, and they give
divine names to that mysterious presence which is visible
only to the eyes of faith.
10 To divination and casting lots they pay as much
attention as any one. The method of drawing lots is uni-
form. A bough is cut from a nut-bearing tree and divided
into slips. These are distinguished by certain runes and
spread casually and at random over white cloth. After-
wards, should the inquiry be official the priest of the state,
if private the father of the family in person, after prayers
to the gods and with eyes turned to heaven takes up one
slip at a time till he has done this on three separate occa-
sions. After taking the three he interprets them according
to the runes which have already been stamped on them.
If the message is a prohibition, no inquiry on the same
matter is made during the same day; if the message gives
permission, further confirmation is required by means of
divination. Among the Germans divination by consulta-
tion of the cries and flight of birds is well known. Another
form of divination peculiar to them is to seek the omens
and warnings furnished by horses.
In the same groves and thickets are fed certain white
horses, never soiled by mortal use. These are yoked to a
1
Egyptian mother goddess widely worshiped in the Roman
Empire.
 TA(ITt'~ l,l:kMA.\IA
sacred chariot and accompanied by the priest and king, or
other chief of the state, who then observe their neighing
and snorting. On no other form of divination is more
reliance placed, not merely by the people but also by their
leaders. The priests they regard as the servants of the
gods, but the horses are their confidants.
They have another method of taking divinations, by
means of which they probe the issue of serious wars. A
member of the tribe at war with them is somehow or
other captured and pitted against a selected champion
of their own countrymen, each in his tribal armor. The
victory of one or the other is taken as a presage.
n On small matters the chiefs consult, on larger
questions the community; but with this limitation: even
when the decision rests with the people, the matter is
considered first by the chiefs. They meet, unless there
is some unforeseen and sudden emergency, on days set
apart-when the moon is either new or full. They regard
these times as the most auspicious for the transaction of
business. They count not days as we do, but by nights
and their decisions and proclamations are subject to this
principle; the night, that is, seems to take precedence over
the day.
It is a foible of their freedom that they do not meet at
once and when commanded, but waste two or three days
by dilatoriness in assembling. When they are finally ready
to begin, they take their seats carrying anns. Silence is
called for by the priests, who then have the power to force
obedience. Then a king or a chief is listened to, in order
of age, birth, glory in war, or eloquence. Such figures
command attention through the prestige which belongs
to their counsel rather than any prescriptive right to com-
mand. If the advice tendered is displeasing, the people
reject it with groans; if it pleases them, they dash their
spears. The most complimentary expression of assent is
this martial approbation.
12 At this assembly it is also permissible to lay accu-
sations and to bring capital charges. The nature of the
death penalty differs according to the offense: traitors and
deserters are hung from trees; cowards. poor fighters. and
notorious evil-livers are plunged in the mud of marshes
with a hurdle on their heads. These differences of punish-
ment follow the principle that crime should be blazoned
abroad by its retribution, but shameful actions hidden.
Lighter offenses have also a measured punishment. Those
convicted are fined a certain number of horses or cattle.
Part of the fine goes to the king or the state; part is paid to
the person who has brought the charge or to his relatives.
At the same gatherings are selected chiefs, who admin•
ister law through the cantons and villages: each of them
61
has one hundred asse™>rs from the people to act a~ his
responsible advisors.
13 They do no busines.s, public or private, without
arms in their hands; yet the custom b that no one takes
arms until the state has endorsed this competence. Then
in the assembly itself one of the chiefs or his father or
his relatives equip the young man with shield and ~pear.
This corresponds with them to the toga, and is youth's
first public distinction; before that he was merely a mem-
ber of the household, now he becomes a member of the
state. Conspicuously high birth, or great services on the
part of their ancestors may win the chieftain's approval
even for the very young men. They mingle with the oth-
ers, men of maturer strength and tested by long years
and have no shame to be seen among the chief's retinue.
In the retinue itself degrees are observed at the chief's
discretion; there is great rivalry among the retainers to
decide who shall have the first place with the chief, and
among the chieftains as to who shall have the largest
and most enthusiastic retinue. It is considered desirable
to be surrounded always with a large band of chosen
youths-glory in peace, in war protection. !\or is this
only so with a chief's own people; with neighboring st.1ta
also it means name and fame for a man that his retinue be
conspicuous for number and character. Such men are in
demand for embassies, and are honored with gifts; often,
by the mere terror of their name, they are able to break
the back of opposition in war.
14 \\'hen the battlefield is reached it is a reproach for
a chief to be surpassed in prowess and a reproa..:h for
his retinue not to equal the prowess of its chief. ~luch
worse, though, is to have left the field and survived one's
chief; this means lifelong infamy and shame. To protet.l
and defend the chief and to devote one's own feats to his
glorification is the gist of their allegiance. The chief fights
for victory, but the retainers for the chief.
Should it happen that the community where they
are born has been drugged with long years of peace and
quiet, many of the high~born youth voluntarily seek
those tribes which are at the time engaged in some war;
for rest is unwelcome to the race, and they distinguish
themselves more readily in the midst of uncertainties:
besides, you cannot keep up a great retinue except by war
and violence. It is the generous chief that the warriors
expect to give them a particular war-horse or murderous
and masterful spear. Banquetings and a certain rude but
lavish outfit take the place of salary. The material for this
generosity comes through war and foray. You will not so
readily persuade a German to plow the land and wait
for the year's returns as to challenge the- enemy and earn
 THE BAll8ARIAN WORLD
wounds. Besides, it seems limp and slack to get with the
sweating of your brow what you can gain with the shed-
ding of your blood.
15 \\"hen they are not warring, they spend much time
hunting, bu1 more in idleness-<reatures who eat and
sleep, the best and bravest warriors doing nothing, having
handed over the charge of their home, hearth and estate
to the women and the old men and the weakest members
of the family. For themselves they vegetate by that curious
incongruity of temperament which makes of the same
men such lovers of slumber and such haters of quiet.
It is the custom in their states for each man to bestow
upon the chief unasked some portion of his cattle or
crops. It is accepted as a compliment, but also serves the
chief's needs. The chiefs appreciate still more the gifts of
neighboring tribes, which are sent not merely by indi-
viduals but by the community-selected horses, heavy
armor, bosses and bracelets; by this time we have taught
them to accept money also.
16 It is well known that none of the German tribes
live in cities, that individually they do not permit houses
to touch each other. They live separated and scattered,
according as spring-water, meadow, or grove appeals
to each man. They lay out their villages not, after our
fashion, with buildings contiguous and connected;
everyone keeps a clear space round his house, whether it
be a precaution against the chances of fire or just igno-
rance of building. They have not even learned to use
quarry-stone or tiles: the timber they use for all pur-
poses is unshaped, and stops short of all ornament or
attraction. Certain buildings are smeared with a stucco
bright and glittering enough to be a substitute for paint
and frescoes. They are in the habit also of opening pits
in the earth and piling dung in quantities on the roof, as
a refuge from the winter or a root-house, because such
places lessen the har~hnes.s of frost. If an enemy comes, he
lays waste the open, but the hidden and buried houses are
either mi~sed outright or escape detection just because
they require a search.
17 For clothing all wear a cloak, fastened with a
clasp, or, in its absence a thorn. They spend whole days
on the hearth round the fire with no other covering.
The richest men are distinguished by the wearing of
underclothes-not loose, like those of Parthians and Sar-
matians, but drawn tight, throwing each limb into relief.
They wear also the skins of wild beasts: the tribes
adjoining the river-bank in casual fashion, the inland
tribes with more attention, since they cannot depend
on traders for clothing. The beasts for this purpose arc
selected, and the hides so taken are checkered with the
62
pied skins of the creatures native to the outer ocean and
its unknown waters.
The women have the same dress as the men, except
that very often long linen garments, striped with purple,
are in use for the women. The upper part of this costume
does not widen into sleeves; their arms and shoulders are
therefore bare, as is the adjoining portion of the breast.
18 None the less the marriage tie with them is strict;
you will find nothing in their character to praise more
highly. They are almost the only barbarians who are con-
tent with a wife apiece. The very few exceptions have
nothing to do with passion, but consist of those with
whom polygamous marriage is eagerly sought for the
sake of their high birth.
As for the dowry, it is not the wife who brings it to
the husband, but the husband to the wife. The parents
and relations are present to approve these gifts-gifts
not devised for ministering to female fads, nor for the
adornment of the person of the bride, but oxen, a horse
and bridle, a shield and spear or sword. It is to share these
things that the wife is taken by the husband, and she in
turn brings some piece of armor to her husband. Here
is the gist of the bond between them, here in their eyes
its mysterious sacrament, the divinity which hedges it.
Thus the wife may not imagine herself released from the
practice of heroism, released from the chances of war;
she is warned by the very rites with which her marriage
begins that she comes to share with her husband hard
work and peril. Her fate will be the same as his in peace
and in panic, her risks the same. This is the moral of
the yoked oxen, of the bridled horse, of the exchange of
arms; so she must live and so she must die. The things
she takes she is to hand over inviolate to her children, fit
to be taken by her daughters-in-law and passed on again
to her grandchildren.
19 So their life is one of fenced-in chastity. There is
no arena with its seductions, no dinner-tables with their
provocations to corrupt them. Of the exchange of secret
letters men and women alike are innocent. Adultery is
very rare among these people. Punishment is prompt
and is the husband's prerogative: the wife's hair is close•
cropped, she is stripped of her clothes, her husband
drives her from his house in the presence of his relatives
and pursues her with blows through the length of the vil-
lage. For lost chastity there is no pardon; neither beauty
nor youth nor wealth will find the sinner a husband. No
one laughs at vice there; no one calls seduction the spirit
of the age. Better still are those tribes where only maids
marry and where a woman makes an end, once and for
all, with the hopes and vows of a wife. So they take one

husband only, just as one body and one life, in order
that there may be no second thoughts, no belated fan-
cies, and in order that their excessive desire may be not
for the man, but for marriage. To limit the number of
their children or to put to death any of the later children
is considered abominable. Good habits have more force
with them than good laws elsewhere.
20 The children in every house grow up amid naked-
ness and squalor into that girth of limb and frame which
is to our people a marvel. Its own mother suckles each
at her breast; children are not passed on to nursemaids
and wet-nurses.
Nor can master be recognized from servant by hav-
ing been spoiled in his upbringing. Master and servant
live in the company of the same cattle and on the same
mud floor till years separate the free-born and character
claims her own.
The virginity of young men is long preserved, and
their powers are therefore inexhaustible. Nor for the girls
is there any hothouse forcing; they pass their youth in the
same way as the boys. Their stature is as tall; when they
reach the same strength they are mated, and the children
reproduce the vigor of the parents. Sisters' children mean
as much to their uncle as to their father: some tribes
regard this blood-tie as even closer and more sacred than
that between son and father, and in taking hostages make
it the basis of their demand, as though they thus secure
loyalty more surely and have a wider hold on the family.
However, so far as succession is concerned, each man's
children are his heirs, and there is no will. If there are
no children, the nearest degrees of relationship for the
holding of property are brothers. paternal uncles, and
maternal uncles. The more relations a man has and the
larger the number of his connections by marriage, the
more influence has he in his age; it does not pay to have
no ties.
21 It is incumbent to take up the feuds of one's father
or kinsman no less than his friendships. But such feuds
do not continue unappeasable; even homicide may be
atoned for by a fixed number of cattle and sheep. The
whole family thereby receives satisfaction to the public
advantage, for feuds are more dangerous among a free
people.
No race indulges more lavishly in hospitality and
entertainment. To close the door against any human
being is a crim~. Everyone according to his m:eans wel-
comes guests generously. Should there not be enough,
he who is your host goes with you next door, without an
invitation, but it makes no difference; you are received
with the same courtesy. Stranger or acquaintance, no one
63
•
distinguishes them where the right of hospitality is con-
cerned. It is cu.stomary to speed the parting gue... t with
anything he fancies. There is the same readine~ in turn
to ask of him: gifts are the Germans' delight, but they
neither count upon what they have given, nor are bnund
by what they have received.
22 On waking from sleep, which they generallr pro•
long in the day, they wash, usually in warm water, since
winter bulks so large in their lives. After washing they
take a meal, seated apart, each at his own table. Then,
arms in hand, they proceed to busine~, or, just as often,
to revelry. To drink heavily day and night is a reproa~h to
no man. Brawls are frequent, as you would e:xpei..l among
heavy drinkers: these seldom terminate with abuse, more
often in wounds and bloodshed. Nevertheless the mutual
reconciliation of enemies, the forming of family alliances.,
the appointment of chiefs, the question even of war or
peace, are usually debated at these banquets; as though
at no other time were the mind more open to obvious.,
or better warmed to larger, thoughts. The people are
without craft or cunning, and expose in the freedom
of revelry the heart's secrets; so every mind is bared to
nakedness. On the next day the matter is handled afresh.
So the principle of each debating season is justified: delib-
eration comes when people are incapable of pretense, but
decision when they are secure from illusion.
23 For drink they use a liquid distilled from barley or
wheat, after fermentation has given it a certain reScrn·
blance to wine. The tribes nearest the river also buy ""ine.
Their diet is simple: wild fruit, fresh venison. curdled
milk. They banish hunger without sauce or ceremony,
but there is not the same temperance in facing thirst: if
you humor their drunkenness by supplying as much as
they crave, they will be vanquished through their vices
as easily as on the battlefield.
24 Their shows are all of one kind.and the same \\'hat•
ever the gathering may be: naked youths. for whom this is
a form of professional acting. _jump and bound between
swords and upturned spears. Practice has made them
dexterous and graceful. Yet they do not perform for hire
or gain: however daring be the sport, the spet·tator's plea-
sure is the only price they ask.
Gambling, one may be surprised to find, they practise
in all seriousness in their sober hours.. with such reckless-
ness in winning or losing that, when all else has failed.
they stake personal liberty on the last and final throw.
The loser faces voluntary slavery; though he may be
the younger and the stronger man, he will still allow
himself to be bound and sold. Such is the Germans'
persistence in wrongdoing. or their good faith, as they
 THE BARBARIAN WORLD
themselves style it. Slaves so acquired they trade, in order
10 deliver themselves as well as the slave from the humili-
ation involved in such victory.
25 Their other slaves are not organized in our fash~
ion: that is. by a division of the services of life among
them. EJ.dt of them remains master of his own house and
home: the master requires from the slave as serf a certain
quantity of grain or cattle or clothing. The slave so far is
subservient; but the other services of the household are
dischJrged by the master's wife and children. To beat a
slave or coerce him "';th hard labor and imprisonment is
rare. If slaves are killed, it is not usually to preserve strict
discipline, but in a fit of fury like an enemy, except that
there is no penalty lo be paid. ·
Freedmen are not much above slaves. Rarely are they
of any weight in the household, never in politics, except
in those states which have kings. Then they climb above
the free-born and above the nobles; in other states the
disabilities of the freedman are the evidence of freedom.
26 To charge interest, let alone interest at high rates, is
unknown and the principle of avoiding usury is accord-
ingly better observed than if there had been actual
prohibition.
Lrnd is taken up by a village as a whole, in quantity
according to the number of cultivators. They then dis-
tribute it among themselves on the basis of rank, such
distribution being made easy by the amount of land
available. They change the arable land yearly, and there
is still land to spare, for they do not strain the fertility and
resources of the soil by tasking them, through the plant-
ing of ,·ineyards, the setting apart of water-meadows,
or the irrigation of vegetable gardens. Grain is the only
harvest required of the land. Accordingly the year itself is
not divided into as many parts as with us: winter, spring,
summer haw a meaning and a name; the gifts of autumn
and its name are alike unknown.
27 In burial there is no ostentation. The only cer~
emony is to burn the bodies of their notables with spe•
cial kinds of wood. They build a pyre, but do not load
it with palls or spices. The man's armor and some of his
hor5'e alw is added to the fire. The tomb is a mound of
turf: the difficult and tedious tribute of a monument
they reject a!. too heavy on the dead. \\'eeping and wail-
ing they put away quickly; sorrow and sadness linger.
Lamentation becomes women: men must restrain their
emotion.
So much in general we have ascertained concerning
the origin of the undivided Germans and their customs.
I shall now set forth the habits and customs of the sev-
eral nations, and the extent to which they differ from
64
each other; and explain what tribes have migrated from
Germany to the Gallic provinces.
2 s That the fortunes of Gaul were once higher than
those of Germany is recorded on the supreme authority
of Julius of happy memory. Therefore it is easy to believe
that the Gauls at one time crossed over into Germany;
small chance there was of the river preventing each tribe,
as it became powerful, from seizing new land, which had
not yet been divided into powerful kingdoms. Accord-
ingly the country between the Hercynian forest and the
rivers Rhine and Moenus was occupied by the Helvetii,
and the country beyond by the Boii, both Gallic races.
The name Boihaemum still testifies to the old traditions
of the place, though here has been a change of occupants,
\\'hether, however, the Aravisci migrated into Pan-
nonia from the Osi, or the Osi into Germany from the
Aravisci, must remain uncertain, since their speech, hab-
its, and type of character are still the same. Originally, in
fact, there was the same misery and the same freedom
on either bank of the river, the same advantages and the
same drawbacks.
The Treveri and Nervi conversely go out of their way
in their ambition to claim a German origin, as though
this illustrious ancestry delivers them from any affinity
with the indolent Gaul.
On the river bank itself are planted certain peoples
who are unquestionably German: Vangiones, Triboci,
Nemetes. Not even the Ubii, though they have earned the
right to be a Roman colony and prefer to be called "Agrip-
pinenses" after the name of their founder, blush to own
their German origin. They originally came from beyond
the river. After they had given proof of their loyalty, they
were placed in charge of the bank itself, in order to block
the way to others, not in order to be under supervision.
29 Of all these races the most manly are the Batavi,
who occupy only a short stretch of the river bank, but
with it the island in the stream. They were once a tribe
of the Chatti, and on account of a rising at home they
crossed the river onto lands which later became part of the
Roman Empire. Their distinction persists and the emblem
of their ancient alliance with us; they are not insulted, that
is, by the exaction of tribute, and there is no tax-farmer to
oppress them. Immune from burdens and contributions,
and set apart for fighting purposes only, they are reserved
for war to be, as it were, our arms and weapons. Equally
loyal are the tribe of the Mattiaci; for the greatness of the
Roman nation has projected the awe felt for our empire
beyond the Rhine, and beyond the long-established fron-
tier. So by site and territory they belong to their own bank,
but by sentiment and thought they act with us, and are