PR E FA C E

T H I S little bo o k tries to tel l the story of the religiou s

l ife of the Rom an s fro m the ti m e when thei r history
begin s fo r us u nti l the c lose of the reign of A u gustu s .

E ach of i ts five essays d eal s with a d istin ct period

and is i n a sense com plete i nitsel f ; bu t the d ram ati c
d eve lopm en t i n heren t i n the whol e forbids their
separation s ave as acts or chapters . I n spite of
m odern i nterest i n the study of rel igion ,
Rom an
re l igion ha s been i n gen era l rel egated to special i sts
i n an c ient history an d classi cs . Thi s i s not su rpris
i n g for Rom an religion is n ot p repossessin g i n
appearan ce but though i t i s at fi rst sight
,
i n co m

p a r a b l y less attractive than G reek re l igio n i t is i f , ,

properly u n d erstood ful l y as i nterestin g n ay even

, , ,

R om a n
’
more so . In Mr . W . Warde Fow l er s
Fes ti va l s however the s u bj ect was p resen te d i n al l
its attractiven ess an d i f the p resen t book shal l serve
,

V ii
 THE R E L IG IO N O F NU M A

as a s i mpl e i ntrodu ction to his l arger work ,

i ts
pu rpose wil l have been fu l fi l led .

N o on e ca n write o f Ro man rel igion without

bein g a l most i nesti m ably i n d ebte d to Georg W i sso w a
whose R el zgzon med Ca l ms der Rem er is the bes t
' '

syste m ati c p resentation o f the su bj ect . I t was the

au thor s p rivi l ege to be W i sso wa s pu pil and m u ch
’ ’

that i s i n this book is d i rect l y owin g to hi m an d ,

even the i d eas that are n ew i f there are any good ,

ones ,
are on ly the bread whi ch he cast u pon the
waters retu rn i ng to hi m a fter m any days .

The carefu l stud en t o f the hi story of the Rom an s

can n ot d oubt the psychological real ity of thei r
rel igion n o m atter what his person al m etaphysics
,

I t is the author s h ope that these essays

’
m ay be .

m ay have a hu man i n terest becau se he has trie d to

em phasise this rea l ity an d to present the Romans
as m en of l ike passio n s to ou rse l ves i n spite of al l ,

d i fferen ces of ti m e an d race .

H earty than ks are d u e to M r W Ward e Fowle r . .

an d to M r A lbert W Va n Bu re n for thei r great

. .

ki n d ness i n rea d in g the p roofs ; an d the d e d ication

of the book is at best a poor retu rn for the hel p
which my wi fe has given m e .

J. B . c .

RO M E , Novem ber , 1 90 5 .
 CO NT E NT S
PA G E

T H E RE L I G I O N O F N U MA

T H E RE O R G ANI S ATI O N O F S E R V I U S

T H E C O M I NG O F TH E S IB Y L

T H E D E C L I NE O F FA ITH
-

THE A U G U S TA N RE NA I S S ANC E .
 T H E REL I GI O N OF N U M A

R OM E form s n o ex ception to the general ru le that

nation s li ke i n d ividu al s grow by contact with the
, ,

ou tsid e world I n the m i d d l e o f the five cen tu ries

.

of her republ i c cam e the P u n ic wars an d the i n ti m ate

association with Greece which m a d e the last hal f of
her history as a repu bl i c so d i fferen t fro m the fi rst
hal f ; an d i n the k in gdom whi ch preced ed the
,

republic there was a s i m ilar com in g of foreign

,

in fluen ce which m ade the later kin gdom with i ts

,

sem i historical n am es o f the Tarqu i n s an d S erviu s

-

T u lli us so d i fferent from the earl ier kin g d o m with

its altogether lege n d ary Rom u l us N u m a T u l l u s
, ,

H o sti li u s an d A n c u s M arti us .We have thus fou r

d istin ct phases i n the history of Rom an soci ety an d ,

a correspon d in g phase o f re l igion i n each period an d

i f we a d d to th is that n ew social stru ctu re which
cam e i nto being by the re form s o f Augustus at the
begi nn in g of the em pi re together with the religiou s
,

changes which accompan ied it we shal l h ave the five

,

perio d s which these five essays try to describe :the

B
2 T H E RELI G I O N OF N U MA
perio d before the Tarqu ins that is the Re l igion of
,
“

Numa the later ki ngdo m that is the Re o rg a n i sa

,

”
tion of S ervi u s ; the fi rst three cen turies o f the
“
rep u b l ic that is the
,
C om in g of the S ibyl
the c l osi ng cen tu ri es of the repub l ic that i s ,

”
the “
Dec l in e of Fai th ; an d fi nally the ear l y
”
em pire an d t h e A ugustan Ren aissance
“
Like al l
.

atte mp t s to cu t history in to section s these d ivision s

are m ore or l ess arbitrary but thei r conven ien ce ,

su ffi cien t ly j u sti fies thei r creation They m u st be

.

tho u ght of however n o t as represen tin g in depen den t

b l ocks arbi t rari ly arran ge d i n a certai n con secu tive
,

or d er n ot as fi ve s u ccessive re l igio u s conscio u snesses

, ,

b u t mere l y as m ark i ng t h e entran ce of certai n n ew

i d eas in to the contin u o u s rel igiou s conscio u sn ess o f
the Rom an peop l e The history of each of these
.

p eriods is si mply the recor d of the chan ge whi ch n ew

social cond itions prod u ce d i n that great barom eter
of society the rel igio u s con sciou sn ess of the com
,

m u n ity . I t is i n the perio d o f the o l d kin g d om that

ou r story begi n s .

A t fi rst sight it m ay seem a foo l ish thing to

try to d raw a pic tu re of the re l igio u s con d ition of
a ti m e abou t the po l itical history of which we
k now so l itt l e an d it is on l y rig h t there fore that
,

we sho u ld inq u i re what sou rces o f kn owle d ge we

possess .

There was a ti m e n o t so very long ago when

, ,

u n d er the ban n er o f the n ew born science of C o m -

 TH E RELIGI ON OF N UMA 3

‘
p ar P hi lo l ogy there gathere d together a gro u p
a t i ve
(
l o f m en who thought they held the key to prehisto ric

history an d that wor d s them selves woul d tel l the

,

story where an cien t m on u m ents an d l iteratu re were

silen t . I t Wa s a great an d beau ti fu l thought an d ,

the scien ce whi ch en cou raged i t has taken its place

as a u se fu l an d reputable m em ber o f the com m u n ity
o f scien ces bu t i ts p reten s ion s to the thron e o f the
,

revealer o f mysteries have been with d rawn by those

who are its m ost arden t fol lowers an d the I n do
,

Germ an i c re l igio n which is brought i nto bein g i s

a p leasant thou ght fo r an id le ho u r rather than a
fo u n d ation an d starting poi nt for the study o f an cien t
-

rel igion i n gen eral . A l together asid e fro m the fact

that althou gh pri m itive religion an d n ation al ity are
i n the m ai n i d en tica l l an gu age an d n ation al ity
,

—
are by n o mean s o we have the great practi cal
s

d iffi cu l ty in the case o f G reece an d Rom e that i n

the ear l iest perio d of which we have kn owledge
these t wo rel igion s bear so l ittle resem bl a n ce that
we m u st either assert fo r the ti m e o f I n d o Germ an ic
-

u n ity a rel igiou s d eve l op m en t m uch m ore pri m itive

than t h at which com parative phi lology has sketche d ,

or we m u st suppose the presen ce o f a stron g d ecaden t

’
in fluen ce i n Rom e s case after the separation which ,

is equ al ly d ifficu lt
. I f we rea l ise t h at i n a p ri m itive
religion the n am e o f the god is u su a l ly the sam e as
the n a m e of the thin g which he rep resen ts the ex ist
,

en ce o f a G reek go d an d a Rom an go d with nam es

4 T H E RELIG I ON OF N UMA
which correspon d to the sam e I n do Germ an ic word
’

proves l ingu isti ca l ly that the Mi ng ex isted an d had

a nam e before the separation b u t n ot at al l that the
,

thin g was dei fi ed or that the n am e was the n am e of

a go d at that ti me . We m u st therefore be con tent
to begin ou r study of rel igion m u ch more hu mbly
an d at a m u ch later period .

I n fact we can n ot go back appreciably before

the daw n of po l itical history b u t there are certa in
,

consi d erations which enable u s at least to u n d er

stan d the phen o men a of the d awn itsel f those ,

s u rvivals i n cu ltu re which loom up i n the twi light

an d the u n derstan d in g o f which gives us a fai r start
i n ou r historical developm en t For this knowledge
.

”
we are in debted to the so ca l l ed an thropological
-
“

m ethod whi ch i s based on the assu mption that

,

m an k in d i s essential ly u n i form an d that this essen tial

,

u n iform ity j usti fies u s i n d rawin g in feren ces about

very ancien t thought from the very pri m itive thought
o f the barbarou s an d savage peoples o f ou r own d ay .

At fi rst sight the weakn ess o f this con tention is m ore

apparen t than its strength an d it is easy to show
,

that the p rehistoric pri m itive cultu re o f a people

destine d to civi l isation is o n e thing an d the retard ed
,

pri m itive cu ltu re of modern tribes stu nted in thei r

growth is q u ite another thin g so that as has so , ,

often been sai d the two bear a relation to each other

,

n ot u n like that of a healthy young child to a ful l

grown id iot . A n d yet there is a decide d resemblan ce
 T H E RELI G I O N O F N U M A 5

between t he chi ld an d the i d iot an d whether pre

,

histori c o r retar d ed pri m itive cu lt u re shows every

,

where strong l iken ess an d the m etho d is prod u ctive

,

of good i f we con fi n e ou r reason i ng backwards to

those thin gs i n savage li fe which the two k ind s of
pri m itive cultu re the prehistori c an d the retar d e d
, ,

have i n com mon . To d o this however we m ust

have som e knowle d ge o f the prehistoric an d ou r,

m o d ern retarde d savage m u st be u sed m erely to

i llu m in e certai n things which we see on ly i n hal f light ;
-

he m u st n ever be em p loye d as a l ay fi g u re i n sketchi ng

-

in t h ose feat u res o f p rehistori c l i fe o f which we are

‘

totally i n i gnoran ce . I t is pecu liarly u sefu l to the

st ud ent of Rom an rel igion because he stan ds on the
border l an d an d lookin g backwar d s sees j u st en ou gh
dark shapes l oom in g u p behin d hi m to crave m ore
lig h t. Fo r i n m any phases o f early R om an rel igion
there are presen t characteristics which go back
to o l d m an n ers o f thought an d t h ese m an ners of
,

thou ght are n ot pec u l iar to the Rom an s but a re fou n d

I n m an y prim itive peoples of o u r own d ay . The
greatest con tri bu tion which anthropo l ogy has m ad e
”
to the stu dy of early Rom an rel igion i s an i m ism .

No t m u ch m ore than a qu arter of a cen tu ry ago

the word an i m is m began to be u se d to d escribe that
particu lar phase of the psychological cond ition of
pri m itive peoples by which they bel ieve that a spirit
( )
'

a m m a resides i n everythin g ,
m aterial an d i m
m aterial . This spirit i s gen erally c l osely associated
6 T H E RELI G I O N O F NU MA

with the thi ng itself som eti mes actu ally ide nti fie d
,

wi th it When it is t hought o f as d istin ct fro m the

.

thin g i t is s u ppose d to have the for m of the thin g

, ,

“
to be i n a word i ts double T h ese do u b l es .

exercise an i nfluen ce often f r evilb o ver the thin g

,
o g ‘ ’
,

an d it is expe d ien t an d n ecessary therefore that

they shou l d be propitiate d so that thei r evi l in fluence
m ay be rem oved an d the thin g itsel f m ay prosper .

These do u bles are not as yet go d s they are m erely ,

powers potentialities bu t i n the cou rse o f tim e they

, ,

develop i nto gods . The fi rst step i n this d irection

i s the obtai n i n g o f a n a m e a n am e the k n owledge
,

of which gives a certain con trol over the powe r to

hi m who kn ows it .Fi na l ly these powe rs equ ipped
with a n am e begi n to take o n personal characteri stics ,

to be thought o f as i n d ivid uals an d fi n al ly represented

,

u n d er the form o f men .

I t can not be shown that al l the gods of Rom e

origi nated in thi s way but certain ly m any o f them
,

d id an d it is not i mpossibl e that they al l d i d an d

,

thi s theory of thei r origi n explai n s better than any

other theory certai n habits o f thought which the
early Ro m an s cherishe d i n regar d to their gods .

A t the ti m e when o ur k n owled ge of Roman religion

begi ns Rom e i s i n possession of a great m any gods
, ,

bu t very fe w o f them are m uch m ore than n am es

for powers . They are non e of them person al en ou gh
to be con n ected together i n myths An d this i s the .

very si m ple reason why there was n o s u ch thing a s

 TH E RELIGI ON OF N UMA 7

a n ative Roman mytho l ogy a bl an k i n Rom e s early

,
’

d evelop m en t which m any m o d ern writers have re fused

to a d m it takin g u pon them selves the u n n ecessary
,

troub l e of positin g an origin al mythology l ater lost .

The go d s o f early Ro m e were n either m arri ed nor

‘

given i n m arriage ; they ha d n o chi l d ren o r gran d

chi l d ren an d there were n o d ivi ne gen ealogies In .

stea d they were thought o f occasion al ly as m ore

or less in d ivi du al powers b u t u su al l y as m asses o f
,

potential ities groupe d together fo r conven ien ce as

,

the god s o f the cou n try the gods o f the store

“
,
“

room the go d s o f the d ea d etc

,
“
E ven when
, .

they were con ceive d o f as so m ewhat i n d ivi du al they ,

were u su a l ly very closely associate d with the cor

respond in g obj ect fo r exa m pl e Ves t a was n ot so
,

m u ch the god dess o f t h e hearth as the go dd ess

“
H earth itsel f J an u s n ot the god o f d oors so m u ch
,

”
as the god D oor “
.

B ut by j u st as m u ch as the h u m an e l em en t was
absen t fro m the con cept of the d eity by j ust so ,

m u ch the elem ent o f form a l is m i n the c u lt was

greater . This form a l ism m u st n ot be i nterprete d
accor d in g to o u r m o d ern i d eas ; it was not a
form al is m whi ch was the resul t an d the s uccessor o f
a d eca d en t spirit u al ity i t was not a secon d ary pro
d u ct i n an age o f the d eclin e of faith ; but it was
itself the essen ce o f religion i n the period o f the
greatest rel igiou s pu rity I n the carefu l an d con
.

sc i e n ti o u s ful fi l ment of the form con siste d the w ho l e

8 TH E RELIGI ON OF N UMA

d uty of m an toward his go d s . S u ch a state of a ffairs

wou ld have been in tolerable i n any n ation whose
i nstincts were l ess pu rely legal . So i d enti cal were
the l aws con cern i ng the god s an d the laws con cern in g
m en that though i n the earliest period of Rom an
‘

j u risprudence the i i i s di vi fl u m an d the i i i s lzu m a m i m

are al ready separated they are se parate d m erely
,

form a l ly as two separate fi el d s or provi n ces i n which

the spirit o f the law an d often even the letter o f i t s
en actm ent are the sam e . S u ch a form alis m i m plies
a very fi rm bel ief i n the ex isten ce o f the go d s The
.

d eal ings of a m an w ith the gods are quite as real ly

reciprocal as his d ealin gs with his fel low citizen s .

Bu t o n the other han d though the ex isten ce o f the

go d s is n ever d oubte d for a momen t the go d s ,

them se l ves are an u n kn own qu antity ; hen ce ou t o f

the form al relation ship an i nti m acy n ever d eve l oped ,

an d whi le i t is scarcely j ust to ch aracterise the early

cu lt a s excl usively a rel igion o f fear certain ly real
,

affection is n ot presen t u n ti l a m uch later day . The

potential ity o f the go d s always overshadowe d thei r
pe rson ality . B ut this w a s n o t al l loss fo r the
,

absence of personal ity prevented the growth of those

‘

gross myths which are u sual ly fou nd am on g pri m itive

peop l es for the pu rer m ore i n spiring myths o f god s
,

are not the pri m itive product bu t resu lt from the

process of refi n in g which accompan ies a people s ’

growth i n cultu re . Thus the theory of an i m ism

i l l u m in es the rel igious con d ition o f that bor d erland
 TH E RELI G IO N OF NUMA 9

of history i n which Ro mul us an d N u m a P om pi l ius

have their d wel ling place -
.

A ccor d in g to that pleasant fi ction of which th e

an cient world was so extrem ely fond the be l ief—
that a l l i n stitution s cou ld be t raced back to thei r
establ ishm en t by so m e i n d ivi dua l the rel igion o f —
Rom e was supposed to have been fou n d ed by her
secon d ki n g N u m a an d it was the cu stom to refer
,

to al l tha t was m ost antiq u e i n the cul t as for m in g

Fo r
”
a part o f the ven erab l e re l igion o f N u m a “
.

u s this can be m ere l y a n am e an d even as a n am e ,

m islead ing for a part o f the bel ie fs wit h w h ich we

,

are d eal in g go back for cen turies before Ro m u lu s

an d the t ra d ition al B C 7 5 3 a s the foun dation o f
. .

Ro m e . B u t i t i s a conven ient term i f we m ean by

i t m ere l y the o l d k in g d om be fore foreign i n flu en ces
beg an to work .The Rom an s o f a l ate r ti m e coin e d
an ex cellen t n am e n ot so m u ch fo r the perio d as fo r
the k i n d o f rel igion whi ch ex isted then contrastin g ,

the origi nal d eities o f Rom e with the n ew foreign

”
god s call in g the form er the o l d i n digen o u s gods
,
“

( D i In d ige l es ) an d the l atter the n ewly settled go d s

“

( D i N o vef zs i des
) F o
. r o u r kn owle d ge o f the rel igion
of this perio d we are n o t d epen d en t u pon a m ere
theory n o m atter how goo d i t m ay be in itsel f bu t
, ,

we have the best sort o f contemporary evi d en ce i n

ad d ition an d it is to the d iscovery of this ev i d en ce
,

that the mo d ern st u d y of Rom an religion vi rtual l y

owes its ex i sten ce The records of ear l y politica l
.
IO TH E RELIG I ON OF N UMA

history were largely destroyed in B C 3 9 0 when the

. .

Ga ul s sacke d Rom e but the rel igiou s status with

, ,

the conservativen ess char acteristic o f religion gene r

al ly su ffered very few chan ges du rin g al l these years
, ,

an d left a recor d o f itse l f i n the an n ual ly recu rrin g

festival s of the Rom an year festivals which grew
,

in to an in sti n ctive fun ction o f the l i fe o f the com m on

people . M any cen tu ri es later when the calen d ar
was engrave d on stone these revered o l d festiva l s
,

were i n scribed o n these ston e ca l en d ars i n pecul iarly

large l etters as d istingu ished from al l the other items .

Thu s fro m the fragm en ts of these ston e cal endars ,

which have been fou n d an d which are them selves

,

n i n eteen centu ries old we can read back an other

,

eight or ten centuries further By the aid o f this

.

”
“
cal endar of N u m a we are able to assert the
presen ce o f certai n d eities i n th e Rom e o f this ti m e ,

an d the equal ly i m portan t absen ce of others . An d

fro m the character of the d eities present an d o f the
festivals themselves a correct an d m ore o r less d e J
taile d pi ctu re o f the religiou s con d ition of th e tim e
m ay be d rawn . This calen dar an d the l ist of
[n dzjgez es extracted fro m i t form the fo u ndation for
‘

al l o u r stu dy o f the history of Rom an rel igion .

The rel igiou s form s of a com mu n ity are always

so bou n d u p with its social organ isation that a
satis factory knowl edge of the one is practical ly
i m possibl e withou t som e kn owled ge of the other .

Un fortu n ate l y there is n o fi eld i n Rom an history

 TH E RELIGI ON O F N UMA I I

where theori es are so abu ndan t and facts so rare as

i n regar d to the qu estion o f the early social organ isa
tion. B ut withou t com in g in to con fl ict with any o f
the rival theories w e may m ak e at l east the fol l owin g
statem ents I n the m ain the com m u n ity was fai rly
.

u n i form an d hom ogeneous there were n o great

,

social extremes an d n o con spicu ou s foreign elem ent ,

so that each i nd ivi dual had he stopped to an alyse

,

his socia l pos ition woul d have fou n d hi m sel f i n fou r

,

d isti n ct relation ships :a relationship to hi m sel f as

an in d ivid u al to his fa m i ly to the gro u p o f fam il ies
which forme d his c l an (g em ) ; an d fi n al l y to the
state . We m ay go a step fu rther on safe grou n d
an d assert that the l east i m portan t o f these relation s
was that to hi msel f an d the m ost i m portan t that to
,
‘

his fam i ly The u n it of early Rom an social l i fe

.

was n o t the in d ivi d u al bu t the fam i l y an d i n the

,

m ost pri m itive id eas o f l i fe after d eath i t is the

fam ily which ha s i m m ortal i ty n ot the i n d ivi d u al
,
.

The state i s n ot a u n ion o f i n dividu als but o f

fam i lies The very psychological idea o f the i n
.

d ivi dual see m s to have taken centu ries to d evelop ,

an d to have reached i ts real sign i fi can ce on ly u n d er

the empire O f the fou r el em en ts therefore we have
.

establ ishe d the pre em i n en ce o f the fam i ly an d the

-

i mportan ce o f the state as based o n t he fam ily i dea

the ind ivid ual m ay be d isregarded i n this early
period an d there is left on ly the cl an which how
, ,

ever offers a d i ffi cu lt p roble m The fam i ly an d the

.
 1 2 TH E RELIGI ON OF N UMA

state were destin e d to hold thei r own m ere l y ex ,

changi ng places i n the cou rse o f ti m e so that the ,

state cam e fi rst an d the fam i l y secon d t he i nd ivi d u al

was to grow i nto ever i ncreasi n g i m portance but ,

the clan is alrea d y d yi n g when history begins It .

i s a p l easant theory an d on e that has a h igh d egree

of probabil i ty that there m ay have been a ti m e
when the c lan was to the fam i ly what the state i s
when h istory begin s an d that when the state arose
,

o u t of a u n ion o f vario u s c l ans the i m m ed iate

,

a l legian ce o f each fam i ly was gra du al ly a l ienated

from its c l an an d tran s ferre d to the state so that ,

the c l an gave u p its l i fe i n or d er that the state the ,

chi ld of its own c reation m ight l ive

,
I f this be so
.
,

w e can see why the social i m portanc e of the clan

ceases so ear l y i n Ro m an history .

The centre therefore of ear l y religious l ife i s the

fa m i ly an d the state as a m acrocosm of the fam ily
,

an d the father of each fam i ly i s its chief priest an d ,

the k in g as the father of the state i s the chief priest

of the state . A s for the i n d ividual the on l y god
”
which he has fo r worship is his d oub l e called i n the ,

case o f a m an his Gen i u s an d i n that of a wom an her

j n n o her in d ivid u alisation o f the god d ess J u no qu ite
, ,

a disti n ct d eity pecu l iar to hersel f

, . B ut even here
the fam ily in stin ct shows i tsel f an d though l ater the
,

Gen i us an d the J u no represen t al l that is i ntel l ectual

i n the i n divi d ual they seem originally to have sym bol
,

ise d the p rocreati ve power of the i nd ividual i n rela

 TH E RELIGI O N OF N UMA 1 3

tion to the contin u an ce of the fam i ly The fam ily .

an d the s tate however si d e by si d e worshipped a

, ,

n u m ber o f deities .

I n the pri m itive hut the m o d el o f which has ,

co m e d own to u s i n so m any l ittle bu ria l u rn s o f

early ti m e ( for exam pl e t h ose that have recen t l y
been d u g up i n the won d erfu l cem etery u nd er the
Rom an For u m ) with its on e d oor an d n o wi n d ow
, ,

there were severa l elemen ts wh ich n ee d e d p ro p i ti a

tion the d oor itse l f as the keeper away of evi l the ,

hearth an d the n iche fo r the storage o f foo d

,
The .

door go d was the go d d oor J an u s the i a n n ez itsel f ;

- -
,

the hearth was i n the care of the wom en fo l k the ,

.

wi fe an d d aughters so i t was a goddess Vesta

, , ,

who m they serve d an d the storage n iche th e p en n y -

, ,

”
was i n the keepin g of the s t ore c l oset god s (D i “
-

Pen n i es) The state itse l f was m o d e l l e d after the

.

house . I t had its J an u s its sacred d oor d own i n , ,

the For u m an d the king hi m sel f the father of the

, ,
“

state was his specia l priest it h a d i ts hearth w here

, ,

the s acred fi re b u rn e d an d its own Vesta ten d e d by

, ,

the vestal virgins the d a u ghters of the state ; an d

,

i t ha d its store n iche with its P en ates

-
At a .

l ater d ate b u t sti l l very early there was a dd e d to

the ho u seho l d worship the i d ea o f the general
protector of the ho u se the Lar w h ich gave rise to, ,

“
the fam i l iar exp ression Lares an d P en ates Th e .

origi n of this L a r Fez nzi l i a r i s as he i s cal le d i s , ,

i nterestin g beca u se i t shows the i nti m a t e con nection

,
1 4 TH E RELI G IO N OF NUMA

between the farm in g l ife o f the com m u n ity an d i ts

reli gion . The Lares were origin ally the gro u p of
god s who looked after the variou s farms ; they were
i n the plu ral because they were worshippe d where
the bou ndary l in es o f several far m s m et but though ,

several of them were worshipped together each farm ,

ha d its o n e i nd ividu al Lar B u t the care of the .

farm in c l u de d a l so the protection o f the house on

the farm so that the Lar of the farm becam e also
,

the La r o f the hou se fi rst o f cou rse of houses on ,

farm s an d then of every house everywhere even

,

when no farm was con n ected with it .

Asi d e from Vesta the Gen ius the Lar an d the

, , ,

P en ates possib l y the m ost i m portan t elemen t i n

,

fa m i ly worship was the cu l t of the d ead ancestors .

This cul t is of cou rse com mon to al most al l rel igions

, , ,

an d its presen ce in Rom an religion is i n so far n ot

surprisi ng but the form i n which i t occu rs there is
,

cu riou s an d relative l y rare J ust as the l ivi n g m an

.

”
has a double the Gen iu s so the d ead m an a l so
“
, ,

m ust have a double bu t this double is o rigina l ly n ot

,

the Gen i u s who seem s to have been thou ght o f at

,

fi rst as ceasin g with the i n dividu al O n the contrary .

as d eath is the great level ler an d the remover of

i nd ivid u ality so the double of the d ead was not
,

thought of at fi rst as an i n divid ual d ouble bu t m erely

as form in g a part o f an in d efin ite m ass of spirits the ,

“
goo d god s (D i M a n es) as they were cal l ed becau se
”

they were feare d as bein g an ythin g bu t good These .

 THE RELIG I ON OF N UMA 1 5

D i M a n es had therefore n o speci fi c relation to t h e

i n d ivi d u al an d the in d ivid u al real ly ceased at d eath
,

the on ly hu man relatio n Whi ch the D i M a n es seem

to have preserve d w a s a con n ection with the l ivin g
m embers of the fam i ly to which they had origi n al ly
belonged . I t is therefore very m i slead ing to assert
that the Rom an s had from the begi n n in g a bel ief
i n i m m ortality when we in sti n ctively thi n k of the
,

i m m ortal ity o f the i n d ivi d u al

. The thin g that was
i m mortal was n ot the i n d ivid ua l bu t the fam ily It .

i s thoroughly i n keepin g with the p ractical character

o f the Ro man m i n d that they d id n ot con cern them

selves with the p l ace i n which these spirits o f the

d ead were supposed to r e sid e bu t m erely with th e
,

d oor through wh ich they cou l d an d d i d retu rn t o

earth. We have n o accou n ts o f the Lower Worl d
u nti l Greece len t her mythology to Rom e an d ,

i m agination n ever bu i lt anythin g l ik e the Greek

palace o f P lu to Bu t whi le they d id n ot waste en ergy
.

i n fu rn ishi n g the Lower World with the fi ttin gs

o f fan cy they d i d keep a carefu l guard over the door
,

o f egress This door they cal le d the en n n a a s an d

’
.
,

represented it c ru d ely by a tren ch o r shal low pi t at ,

the botto m o f which there lay a ston e . O n certain

d ays o f the year this ston e was rem oved an d then ,

the sp irits cam e back to earth again where they ,

were received an d entertained by the l ivin g me mbers

o f thei r fam i ly . There were a n u m be r of these d ays
i n the year three o f them scattered throu gh the
,
1 6 TH E RELIG ION OF N UMA
year :Au gust 2 4 October 5 N ove m ber 8 and two
, ,

sets of d ays :February 1 3 2 1 an d M ay 9 I I 1 3

-
, , .

The February celebra t ion th e so ca l led Pa r en ta /i a

,
-
,

was cal m an d d ign i fied an d represented all that was

least s u perstitio u s an d fearfu l i n the gen erally terri fy
i n g worship o f the dead T he L em u r i a in M ay had
.

exactly the opposite character an d be l on gs to the

”
category of the expu lsion o f evi l spirits of which
“
,

M r Frazer in his Gol a en B ong n has given so m any

.
’

in stan ces .

I n this con n ection it i s interesting to notice two

facts which stan d a l most as coro l laries to these
beliefs O n e fact is the re l igious n ecessity for t h e
.

cont in uan ce of the fam i l y i n or d er that there m ight

,

always be a l ivin g represen t ative of the fam i ly to

perform the sacri fices to the an cestors I t was the.

d uty of the hea d of the fam ily n ot on ly to perform

these sacri fi ces hi m se l f as lon g as he live d bu t also
to provi de a successor . The u sua l method was by
marriage an d the rearing of a fam ily b u t i n case , ,

there was n o m ale chi ld in the fa m ily adoption was ,

rec u rre d to H ere i t i s pecul iarly sign i fi can t that

.

the san ction of the chie f priest was n ecessary and he ,

never gave his consen t i n case the m an to be adopted

was the only representative of his fa mi ly so that his ,

rem oval from that fam ily in to an other wou ld l eave

his origin al fam i ly withou t a m ale representative .

I n cases of in heritan ce the fi rst l ien on the in com e

was for the m ain tenan ce of the trad ition al sacri fic es
 T HE RELIG I O N OF N UMA I7

u nless som e special arrangem ent had been m a d e .

These exception al i n heritan ces withou t t h e de d u ction

,

for sacri fi ces were n atural l y desi red above al l others

,

”
an d the phrase an i nheri tan ce withou t sacri fi ces
“

( n e
’
r ea i i a s s i n e sa w i s
/
) becam e by d egrees t he popular
expression for a god sen d . The other fact o f in terest
i n this c on n ection i s that i nas m u ch as an cestors were
,

worshipped on l y en en a sse an d n o t as in d ivid ual s ,

that process cou ld n ot take p l ace i n Rom an religion

which is so fam iliar in m any other rel igion s n a m ely ,

that the great g od s o f the state shou ld som e of them

have been origin a l ly an cestors whose greatn ess d u ri ng
l i fe had pro d u ce d a correspon d in g em p h asis i n their
worship after d eath so that u lti m ately they were
,

prom ote d fro m the ran ks o f th e dei fie d d ead i nto the

select Oly m p u s of i n d ivi du a l go d s . This has been
a favo u rit e theory o f the m ak ing o f a go d fro m
the ti m e of Eu he m erus d own to H erbert S pen ce r .

T here are re l igion s i n which i t is tru e for certain o f

the m aj or gods bu t there are n o traces of the pro
,

cess i n Roman re l igion an d the reason is obvio u s i n

,

V iew of the pec u l iar character o f an cestor worshi p i n

Rom e .

We have n ow seen the pri n cipal elemen ts which

wen t to m ake up the fam i ly rel igion and that part
o f the state rel igion which was an en largem en t an d

an i m itation o f the fam i ly rel igion . But even i n the

m ost p ri m itive ti m es a Rom an s l ife was n ot bou n d ed
’

by his own hu t a n d the phen o m enon o f d eath There .

1 8 TH E RELIGI ON OF N UMA

was work to be don e i n l i fe a l iving to be gaine d

, ,

an d here as everywhere there were hosts o f un seen

, ,

powers who must be propitiate d H is rel igion was

.

not on ly coi n ci d e n t with every phase of private l i fe ,

i t was a l so c l ose l y re l ate d to the speci fi c occupation s

an d in terests o f the peopl e an d j us t as the in terests
,

of the com m u n ity its m ean s of l ive l ihood were

, ,

agricu ltu re a n d stock raisin g so the go d s were those

-
,

of the crops an d t h e herds Som e years ago the

.

l ate Professor M om m sen su cceede d i n ex tractin g

from the existi ng ston e calen dars a list of the
rel igious festivals o f the ol d Rom an year an d also i n ,

proving that this list of festival s was compl ete i n its

present con d ition at a ti m e before the city o f Rom e
was surrou n d e d by the wall which S erviu s Tu l l iu s
bu i l t an d that it therefore goes back to the old
,

k ing d om the ti m e o f what has been ca l le d the

,

Rel igion o f N u m a . We can not go thro u gh al l

the festiva l s i n d etai l b u t it is extrem ely i n terestin g
,

to notice that al most every on e o f them is con necte d

with the l i fe of the farm er a n d represents the action
of propitiation towar d s some god o r gro u p of gods
at every ti m e i n the Rom an year which was at al l
critical for agricu lt u ral i nterests .

I t m u st not be forgo t ten also that this list is n o t

absolutely com plete because it represents m erely the
,

offi cial state festiva l s an d n ot even al l of them bu t on ly

,

those which fel l upon the sa m e d ay or days every

year so that they cou ld be en graved in the ston e to
,
 TH E RELI G I O N OF N UMA 1 9

form a perpet u al calen d ar A l l s t ate festiva l s o f

.
,

which there were several which were appoin ted i n

,

each particu l ar year accord in g to the backwar d o r

forward estate of the harvest were o m i tted from ,

the list though they were celebrated at som e ti m e

,

in every year ; an d n atu ral ly the pu bl ic calen d ars

con tai ned n o referen ce to the m any private an d se m i
private cere mon ies of the year with whi ch the state
,

ha d n othi ng offi cia l to do festival s o f the fam i ly an d

,

the clan an d even local festi va l s o f variou s d istri cts

,

o f the c ity .

I n this l ist o f peace fu l d eities of the far m there i s

o n e god whose character has been very m uch m i s

u n d erstoo d becau se o f the com pany whi ch he keeps

this i s the g o d Mars . I t has becom e the fashion
of l ate to consi d er hi m as a g o d o f vegetation an d a ,

great m any in ge n iou s argu m ents have been brou ght

forward to show his agri cu ltu ral character But the
.

m ore pri m itive a com m u n ity i s the m ore i n ten se i s

,

its struggle for ex isten ce an d the m ore ri fe its

,

rival ries with its n eighbo u rs A longside o f the

.

p l oughshare there m u st al ways have been the swor d

o r its equ ivalent an d a l on g with Flora an d C eres
,

there m u st a l ways have been a g o d o f stri fe an d

battl e. That M ars was this god i n early as wel l as
l ater ti m es i s shown above al l thin gs by the fact
that he was always worshippe d ou ts i d e the city as a ,

god who m ust be kept at a d istan ce N atu ral l y

.

his cu l t was associated with the d o m in an t i n terest o f

20 TH E RELI G I O N OF N UMA

l ife the crops an d he was worshipped i n the beauti fu l

, ,

cerem ony of the pu ri fi cation o f the field s which M r ,

.

Walter Pater has so exqu isitely describe d at the

open in g of M a r i u s i ne Ep i cu r ea n But he was .

regarde d as the protector o f the fi e l d s an d the

warder off of evil i n flu en ces rather than as a positive
factor i n the d eve l opm en t o f the crops Then too .

i n the early days o f the Roman m ilitia before the ,

regu l ar army ha d com e i nto existen ce the war season ,

was on ly d urin g the s u m m er after the planting an d

b efore the harvest so that the two festivals which
,

marked the begi n n i n g an d the en d o f that season

were also read ily associated with the state of the
c rops at that tim e .

B u t the m ost i nterestin g an d cu riou s thin g abou t

this ol d religion is n ot so m u ch what it does contain
as what it does not I t is n ot so m u ch what we fi n d
.

as what we m iss for more than hal f the gods whom

,

we in stin ctively associate with Rome were n ot there

u n d er thi s o l d regim e H ere i s a partial list of those
.

whose n am es we d o n ot fin d M in erva D ian a Ven u s , , ,

Fortu n a H ercu les C astor P ollu x Apol lo M ercu ry

, , , , , ,

D is P roserpi na A escu l apiu s the M agn a M ater A n d

, , ,
.

yet thei r abse nce i s n ot surpri sin g when we real ise

that al m ost al l of the go d s i n this l ist represent phases
o f l i fe with which Rom e i n this early period was
absolutely u nacqu ainted She had n o appreciable
.

trad e or com merce n o m an u factu res o r particu l ar

,

hand icrafts an d n o pol itical i nterests except the

,
 ’

TH E RELIG I ON OF NUMA 2 1

s i m ple patriarchal govern m ent which su ffi ce d for her

presen t n ee d s . H er go d s of water were the god s of
rivers and spri n gs N ept u n e was there b u t he was ,

n ot the ocean god like the G reek Posei d on

-
Vu lcan .
,

the go d of fi re who was afterwar d s associ ated with

,

the Greek H ephaistos an d becam e the patron of

m eta l work in g w a s at this ti me m erely the go d o f
-
,

d estr u ctive and n ot o f con stru ctive fi re Even the .

great god Ju p p i te r who was destin e d to beco m e

al m ost identical with the n am e an d fam e o f Rom e
was n ot yet a go d o f the state an d pol itics bu t ,

m erely the s ky go d especial ly the lightn in g god

-
, ,

j pp
u i t e r Fe r e tr i u s the striker
,
who“
ha d a,
l ittl e
shrin e o n the Capitol in e where later the great
C apito l in e tem p le o f j u p p i te r Opti m u s M ax i m u s was
t o st a nd .A n other c u riou s characteristi c o f this early
age which I thi n k has n ever been com m en ted o n
, , , ,

i s the extraord in ari ly li m ited n u m ber of go d desses .

Vesta is the on ly o n e who seem s to stan d by herse l f

withou t a m al e paral lel E ach o f the others i s
.

merely the con traste d potential ity i n a pair of which

the m al e i s m u ch m ore fam o u s an d the on ly on es i n
,

these pai rs who ever obtai n ed a pron ou n ced i n di vi

d ual ity d i d so because thei r c u lt was afterwar d s r ei n
forced by bein g associated with som e extra Rom an -

cu lt . The best i l l u st ration of this last i s J u no We .

may go fu rther an d say that it seem s high l y probable

that the worship of fem al e d eitie s was i n the m ai n .

con fi ned to the women of the com m u n ity whi le the ,

22 TH E RELIG I O N OF N UMA
m en worshippe d the go d s Th is d istin ction exten ded
.

even to t he priesthoo d s where the wi fe o f the priest

of a go d wa s the pries t ess of t he correspon d ing
go d d ess. S u ch a sta t e of affai rs is do u b l y i nteresting
i n V ie w of the pre e m i n ence o f femal e d eities i n the
-

ear l y Greek worl d which has been so strikingly

,

shown by M iss J an e H arrison in her recen t book ,

Pr o/eg oin en a l o z/i e f S tu dy o Gr eek Rel i gi on .

The m ost vital q u estion which can be put to

a l m ost any re l igion i s that i n regar d to i ts e x p an
sive powe r an d i ts adaptabi l ity to n ew con d ition s .

S ociety i s boun d to u nd ergo changes an d a yo u n g ,

social organ ism i f n or m a l is contin u al ly growin g

, ,

n ew cel ls . N ew cond ition s are arisin g an d n ew

i n terests are com in g to the front I n ad d ition i f .
,

the growth i s to be contin uous n ew m aterial i s bei n g ,

con stantly absorbed an d the sim ple homogeneou s

,

character of the o l d society is bei n g en t i rely chan ged

by the in fl u x of foreign elem en ts This is w hat .

occ u rred i n an cien t Rom e an d it is because ancien t

,

Rom an religion was not capabl e of organ ic d evelop

men t from withi n that the cu rious thin gs happen ed
,

to it which ou r history has to record I t is these .

strange extern al ac cretion s which len d the chie f

i nterest to the story whil e at the sam e ti m e they
,

con ceal the origin al form so fu l ly as to ren d er the

writin g of a history of Rom an religion extrem ely
d i fficu l t
.

Yet it mu st not be s u pposed because Ro m an

 TH E RELI G I O N O F N UMA 3

rel igion was u nable to adapt itsel f to the n ew con

s ti tu t i o n of society with its con traste d c l asses an d
to the n ew com m ercial an d political i nterests w h ich
attracted the attention o f the upper classes that it ,

was abso l u tely d evoi d withi n itsel f withi n its own

,

l i m itations o f a certai n capabi lity of d evelop m ent

,
.

For several cen tu ri es a fter o u tsi d e i n fl u en ces began to

affect Rome her origin a l religion kept on d eve l opin g
,

alon gsi d e of the n ew for m s . The m an n er in whi ch

it d evelope d i s thoro u ghly sign i fi can t o f the origin al
nation al character o f the Rom an s .

We have see n t h at fro m the very begin n in g the

n at u re of the go d s as powers rather than personal ities
ten ded to emphasise the val u e an d i m portan ce o f
the n am e which u sual ly in d icated the parti cu l ar
,

fu n ction or S pec ia l ity o f each d eity an d was very

often the on ly thi ng kn own abou t hi m . I n the
cou rse of ti m e a s the origi n a l nam e of the d ei ty
began to be thought of en ti re l y a s a proper n am e
witho u t any m ean i ng rather than a s a com m on
,

n ou n explain in g the n atu re of the g o d to whi ch it

was attached it becam e n ecessary to ad d to the
,

origi nal n am e som e a dj ective whi ch wou l d adequ ately

d escribe the g o d an d d o the work which the name
by itsel f had origin al ly don e . A n d as the n atu re
of the variou s d eities grew m ore com p l i cate d al on g
with the i n creasi n g com p l i cations of dai ly li fe n ew ,

a djectives were a d d ed each on e expressi n g so m e

,

particu lar phase of the go d s activity . S u ch an

 4 TH E RELI G IO N OF N UMA

adj ective was cal led a eog n oneen an d was often of ,

very great i m portance becau se it began to be felt

that a go d with on e a dj ective i e i nvoke d for one , . .

pu rpose was a l most a d i fferen t go d fro m the sa m e

,

go d with a d i fferen t a dj ective i e i nvoke d for anothe r

,
. .

p u rpose . Thu s a knowledge of these adj ectives was

al m ost as n ecessary as a k nowledge of the n a m e of
the go d . The n ex t step i n the d evelop m ent was
on e w h ich fo l lowe d very easily These i m portan t .

a dj ectives began to be tho u ght of as havin g a val u e

an d an ex isten ce i n the m selves apart from the god,

to which they were attached The gram m atical

.

chan ge which accompan ie d this psycho l ogical m ove

m en t was the tran sfer of the a dj ective i nto an
abst ract no u n . Both adj ectives an d abstract nou ns
express quality but the a d j ective i s i n a con d ition
,

of depen d en ce on a nou n while the abstract n ou n

,

is i ndepen d ent an d se l f su pportin g

-
A nd thu s j u st .
,

as i n cer t ai n of the l o w er organ ism s a gro u p o f cel l s

breaks off an d sets up an in d ividu al organ ism of i ts
own so i n old Rom an religion so m e phase of a
,

god s activity exp ressed i n an a dj ective broke off

’

, ,

with the adj ective from i ts origi nal stock an d se t

up for itsel f tu rn ing i ts n am e fro m the d epen den t
,

adj ective form into the i ndepen d ent abstract n ou n .

Thu s Ju p p i te r worshipped a s a go d o f good faith

,

i n the d eali ngs o f m en with o n e an other the god ,

by whom oaths were sworn u n d er the open sky ,

”
was designated a s Ju p p i te r gu ard in g goo d faith
“
,
- -
,
 TH E RELIG IO N OF N UMA 2 5

Ju pp i t e r Fi d i u s There
. were however m any other
phases of j u p p i te r s work an d hen ce the a dj ective
’

a i ns beca m e very i m portan t th e m ean s of

fi
’
as

d istin gu ishing this activity fro m al l the others .

Eventual ly it broke o ff fro m j u p p i te r an d form ed

the abstract n ou n Fi a es the goddess o f good faith
’
, ,

where the sex o f the d eity as a go d dess wa s enti rely

d eterm i n ed by the gram m atical gend er o f abstrac t
n oun s as fem i n in e .

This i s a l l strange enough b u t there i s o n e m ore

step i n the d evelop m en t even m ore c u ri o u s yet .

This abstract god dess Fi a es d i d n ot stay lon g i n th e

’

pu rely abstract sphere ; she began very soon to be

m a d e con crete again a s the Fides o f this parti cular
,

person o r of that parti cular grou p an d as this Fi d es

or that u n til she beca m e al m ost a s con crete as
,

j pp
u i t e r hi msel f ha d been an d hen ce we have a
,

great m any d i fferen t Fi a es i n seem i n g contradiction

’

t o the o l d gram m at i cal rule that abstract n ou n s ha d

n o p l u ral . No w all this d evelop m en t i n the fi eld

of re l igion throws l ight u pon the character o f the
Ro man m in d an d i ts i n sti n ctive m etho d s o f thought ,

an d we se e why it is that the Rom an s were very

great l awyers an d very m ed iocre phi losophers .

Both law an d phi losophy requ i re the abi li ty fo r

abstract thought i n both cases the essen t ial q u al ities
o f a thin g m u st be separated from the thi n g itsel f .

Bu t i n the case o f phi losophi c thought t hi s a b stra c

tion thes e qualities do n o t i m m ed iately seek rei n
, ,
26 T H E RELI G I ON OF N UMA

carn ation. They conti n u e as abstraction s and d o

not i m m e d iately d escen d to earth again whereas for
,

law su ch a d escen t is absol ute l y n ecessary because

j u risprude nce is in terested n ot so m u ch i n the
abstraction by itsel f bu t rather i n the abstract as
,

presented i n con crete c ases .H en ce a type of m i n d

wh ich fo u n d it equa l ly easy to m ake the con crete
in to the abstract an d then to tu rn the abstract so
m a d e i nto a kin d o f con crete again is p a r excell en ce
,

the legal m ind an d n o bette r proof of the i nsti n ctive

,

te n den cy to law m akin g o n the part of the Rom an s

-

can be fou n d than i n the fact that the sam e habits

o f m in d which m ake laws also governed the develop

men t o f thei r rel igion .

U n fortu n ately however it was n ot these abstract

deities who could save o ld Roman religion .They
were m erely the l ogical outcom e o f the deities
al ready existin g m erely n ew offspri ng o f the ol d
,

breed . They d i d n ot represen t any n ew in terests ,

bu t were m erely the in d ivi dualisation of certain

phases of the ol d deities phases which had always
,

been presen t an d were n ow at m ost m erely em

h a s i se d by bein g worshipped separately
p .
 T H E R E O RG A N I S A T I O N O F S E RV I U S

L I K E a lofty peak risin g above the m is t s which

cover the tops of the lower l yi n g m ou n tain s the figu re
-
,

o f Servi us Tu l l iu s towers above the sem i l egen d ary

-

Tarqu i ns on either side o f hi m . We feel that we

have to d o with a veritable cha racter i n h istory an d ,

we fi n d ou rselves wonderi ng what sort o f a m an he

—
was personal ly a feel i ng that n ever occu rs t o u s
with Rom ul u s an d the older ki ngs an d comes to
,

u s on l y fain tly with the eld er Tarqu in whi le the

,

you n ger Tarq u i n has al l the m arks o f a wooden m an ,

who was pu t u p on ly to be thrown d own whose ,

whole m i son d éi r e is to exp l ai n the transition from

’ ‘

the kingdom to the republ i c o n the theory of a

revolution . E l i m in ate the revolution suppose the
,

change to have been a grad u al an d a con st i t u tion al

o n e an d you m ay d iscard the pro u d Tarquin with
,

ou t losin g anythin g bu t a l ay fi g u r e with its m ore

-

or l ess gau dy trappin gs o f later myths But it is

.

n ot so with S ervi us ; hi s wal l a n d his constitution

are very rea l an d d efy al l attem pts to tu rn thei r
m aker i nt o a legen d . Yet on the other han d we
27
2 8 R E O RG A N I S A T I O N O F S E RV I U S
mu st be on our g u ar d fo r m u ch of the d e fi n i te n ess
,

which seem s to attach to hi m is rather the de fi n i te

’
n ess of a certai n stage i n Rom e s d evelop m ent a ,

certain wel l bo u n ded chronological an d sociological

-

tract I t is d angerous to try to l i m it too strict l y

.

S ervi us s person al part i n this d evelopmen t ; and

’

far safer tho u gh perhaps l ess fascin atin g to u se his

, ,

n am e as a general term for the changes which Rom e

u n d erwen t from the ti m e when foreign in fl u ences
b egan to tel l upon her u n ti l the begin n in g of the
republ ic H e form s a conven ient title therefore for
.

certain phases o f Ro m e s growth ’

A nd yet even
.

this is n ot stri ctly correct for S ervius stan d s n ot so

,

m u ch for the com i ng i n to existen ce of certai n facts ,

as for the recogn ition o f the ex isten ce of these facts .

The facts them se l ves were o f slow growth coverin g ,

probably cent u ries but the action s resul ting from

,

them an d the outwar d chan ges i n society cam e

, ,

thick an d fas t an d m ay wel l have taken place al l ,

o f them within the li m its of on e m an s li fe The

’
.
,

fou ndation fact upon which al l these changes were

based is the in flu ence of the outsi d e world on the
Roman com mu n ity U nti l this ti m e there had been
.

l ittle to d i fferen tiate Rome from any other o f the

hill com m u n ities o f I taly of which there were scores
-
,

in her i m m ediate n eighbou rhood ; n or was she the

on ly on e to com e i nto con tact with the outside
world I t was the effect which that i nfluen ce had
.

u pon her a s contraste d with her neighbou rs w hich

 R E O RG A N I S A T I O N OF S E RV I U S 2
fl
9

m ade the d i fferen ce When we a s k why this i n

.

flu e n c e affected her d ifferently we fi n d n o satis factory

an swer an d are i n the presen ce o f a mystery the
,
—
worl d o l d i nsol uble m ystery o f the su periority o f o n e
-

tribe o r on e in d ividual over others apparen tly o f the

sam e c lass Political history i s won t to tel l th is
.

chapter o f Rom e s story u n der the titl e of the Ris e

’ “

”
o f the P l ebeian s but the presen ce o f the P lebeian s
,

wa s on ly the ou tward sym bol o f an i nward change .

This chan ge was the break in g u p o f the m on oton ou s

o n e cl ass
-
society o f the p ri m itive co m m u n ity with
i ts o n e — agri c u ltu ral — in terest an d the form ation ,

o f a variegate d m any c l as s s ociety with m an i fold -

in terests su ch as t ra d e han d icraft an d politi cs

,
It
, , .

wa s the awaken in g o f Ro m e i n to a world l i fe o u t o f -

her cent u ry l ong u n di stu rbed bu coli c S l u m ber

-
.

There were at this ti m e two peoples i n I taly who ,

by reason o f thei r ol der cu ltu re were abl e to be

Rom e s teachers
’
O n e lay t o the n orth o f her the
.
,

mysteriou s Etr u scan s whose cu ltu re fortu n ately fo r

,

Rom e had on ly a very m oderate i n flu en ce becau se ,

the Etr u scan cu lture had a l ready lost m u ch o f its

v iri lity possibly also becau se i t was d istin ctly felt to
,

be foreign an d hen ce cou l d e ffect n o i n si d iou s entry

, ,

an d probably beca u se Ro m e was at thi s ti m e t o o

stron g an d you ng an d clean to take anythin g but
the best from Etru ria The other l ay t o the so u th
.
,

the G reek co l on ies of M agn a G r a e c i a separate d from ,

Rom e for the present by m any m i les of forest an d

3 0 R E O RG A N I S A T I O N OF S E RV I U S
by hosti le tribes A ro u n d her i n Latiu m were her
.

own n ext of kin the Lati n s becom in g rapid ly

, ,

i n ferior to her bu t enab l e d to do her at least this

,

service that of absorbin g the foreign i n fl u en ces which

,

cam e an d i n certai n cases latin isin g them an d

, ,

t hus tran sm ittin g them to Rom e i n a more or less

assi m i l ate d con d ition .

The three great facts i n the l ife of Ro m e d urin g

this perio d are the com in g of Greek m erchan ts an d
Greek tra d e from the sou th the comin g o f Etruscan
,

artisan s an d han dicraft from the n orth an d the ,

begin n i ngs of her po l iti cal ri va l ry an d gra d u al

”

prom in en ce i n the leagu e o f Latin cities arou n d her .

E ach o n e of these m ovem ents is reflected i n the

rel igiou s chan ges of the perio d I n regard to the
.

fi rst two this is n ot su rprisin g for the an cien t ,

traveller l i ke hi s m yth i cal prototype Aeneas carried

, ,

hi s go d s with hi m Thu s there were worshipped in

.

private i n Rom e the god s o f al l the peoples who

settled wi thi n her wa l l s an d the presen ce of these
,

god s was destin e d to m ak e its in fl uen ce felt You r .

pri m itive polytheist I s very catho l i c i n his religiou s

tastes ; for when o n e i s al rea d y i n possession of
,

m any go d s the a d dition of a few more i s a m inor

,

m atter especia l ly when as was n ow the case i n

, ,

Rom e these deities are the patrons of occupation s

,

an d i nterests hitherto enti rely u n known to the Rom an ,

an d hen ce n ot p rovi ded for i n his schem e o f gods .

I t was therefore i n n o spiri t of d isloyalty to the

 R E O R G A N I S A T I O N O F S E RV I U S 3 1

al ready existi ng go d s and with n o desi re to i ntro d u ce

,
'

rival deities that the n ew cu lts began to s p re a d u nti l

,

they becam e so i m portant as to ca l l for state r e c o gn i

tion .

P ossibly the m ost interestin g cases are those o f

the two god s who ca m e from th e so u th H erc u les ,

an d C astor in teresti n g becau se they were the fore

,

ru n ners O f that great m u ltitud e of G reek go d s who

l ater cam e i n prou d ly by special i nvitation a n d even ,

m ore i nteresti n g yet becau se though they were ,

Greek as G reek cou l d be they cam e i n to Ro m e as , ,

i t were i n cogn ito an d were so far from bein g k n own

, ,

as G reek that when the sam e gods ca m e i n after

, ,

ward s m ore d ire ctly these n ew com ers were fe l t to

,
-

be qu ite a d ifferen t thin g an d thei r worship was ,

carrie d on i n an other part o f t h e city away from the

o ld establ ished cu lts
-
.

I n the Greek wor l d H erakles an d H ermes were

the especia l patron s o f travel lers an d a s travel lin g ,

was n ever d on e for pleasu re b ut always for bu sin ess ,

they becam e the patrons of the travelli n g m erchan t .

I t was also n at u ral that they shou l d go with the

settl ers away from the m other city i nto the n ew -

colony . Thu s it was that they cam e from the

m other l an d i nto the co l on ies o f M agn a G r ae c i a i n
-

S outhern I taly an d on ce bein g estab l ished there

,

m ade their way s l owly but i n evitably n orthwards .

The story of H erm es u nder the n am e of M ercu ry

, ,

be l ongs t o a l ater chapter but that of H erakles ,

3 2 R E O RG A N I S A T I O N O F S E RV I U S
H ercu les m ust be recou n ted here I t is on ly withi n
.

the last few years that the scholarly world has been
persu aded that there was no su ch thin g as an original
I tal ic H ercu les at fi rst sight it was very d i fficu lt to
bel ieve becau se there seeme d to be so m any appa
,

r e n tl very o l d I tal i c l egen d s cen terin g i n H ercu l es

y .

Bu t it has been shown either that these legend s

,

n ever existed an d rest solely u pon false interpreta

tion o f m on u m en ts o r that thou gh they d id exist
, ,

at an early date they were i n trodu ced u nder Greek

,

i n fluen ce I t was the tra d in g m erchan t therefore

.

who brou ght H erakles n orthwar d An d as the god

.

wen t his n am e was soften ed in to H ercu l es an d with

, ,

the assi m i lation of the n am e to the ton g u e o f the

I ta l i c people there wen t han d in han d an a d aptation
,

of his n atu re to thei r n ee d s so that by degrees

,

he becam e thoroughly ital icise d both i n form an d

conten t I t is probable that the cu l t cam e i nto
.

Rom e as wel l as i n to the other cities of Latiu m bu t ,

i n Rom e it was con fin ed to a few ind ividuals an d ,

at fi rst obtain ed n o publ i c recogn ition . O n the

contrary fo r reason s that we are at a l oss to fi nd
, ,

this G reek cu lt seem s to have reached very large

proportion s in the l ittl e town of T ibu r ( Tivo l i ) ,

fou rteen m iles n orth east of Rom e

-
. There i t
d om inate d al l other worship an d lost so m u ch of
its foreign atm osphere that it becam e thoroughly
latin ised I n the cou rse o f t i m e the Rom an state
.

ackn owledged this Tivoli c u lt of H ercules an d

 R E O RG A N I S AT I O N O F S E RV I U S 33

accepte d a bran ch o f it as its own B u t the extra

.

ordinary thing about this ack nowledgm en t is that

the Romans fe l t i t to be a Latin an d n ot a foreign
cu l t They showe d this i nti m ate an d frien dly fee l
.

i ng by perm ittin g an altar to H erc u les to be erected

within the city prop er i n the Foru m B o a r i u m
,
But
.

i n or d er to u n d erstan d the sign i fi can ce of thi s act

a wor d o f d igression is n ecessary .

Un d er the o l d Roman regi m e every act of l ife

was perform ed u n d er the supervis ion of the go d s ,

an d this go d ly patron age was especial ly em phas ised

i n acts which affecte d the l i fe of the com m u n ity .

N o act was o f greater i mportan ce fo r the com m u n ity

than the choice o f a hom e the l ocation o f a settle
,

ment Thu s the fo u n d in g o f an an cien t city was

accom pan ie d by sacre d rites chief amon g whic h was
,

the ploughin g o f a fu rrow arou n d the space which w as

ul timate l y to be en c l ose d by the wall This fu rrow
.

form e d a sym boli c wal l on very m u ch the sam e

prin cip l e as that on which the witch d raws her circ l e .

The fu rro w was cal le d the p om ei i n in an d was to the

f

wor ld o f the go d s what the city wall was to the wor l d

of men . I t d i d n ot however always coi n cid e with
the ac tu al c ity wal l an d the S pace it embrace d was
,

sometimes l ess so m eti m es m ore than that embrace d

, ,

by the city wall ; an d j u st as n ew wal l s coverin g

l arger territory co u l d be bu ilt for the city so a n ew
,

p oni er i n i n l in e cou ld be d rawn

. A s was becom in g
for a spiritua l barrier there wa s nothin g to m ark i t
D
34 R E O R G A N I S A T I O N O F S E RV I U S

except the bo u n d ary ston es thro u gh which the

i m agin ary l i ne passe d . The wall which S erviu s
,

b u ilt an d which continue d to be the outer wal l of

Rom e for a period o f eight or n in e hun d re d years
u nti l the third C hris t ian centu ry was at the ti m e of
,

its b u ild ing coin ci d ent i n the m ain with t h e line of

the p om er i n i n with on e very i m portant exception
,

n am ely that all the region o f the Aven t in e w hich ,

was i nsid e the l i m its of the po l itical city an d

em braced by the S ervian wal l l ay outsi d e the,

li n e an d was i n other wor d s o u tsi d e t he

'

p in
f
o ni ei z n

re l igiou s city . I t contin u ed th u s al l through t he

repub l ic an d i nto the empire u nti l the reign of
C lau d i u s . O riginal l y the p omer i n ne l in e p l ayed an
i m portan t part i n the re l igiou s wor l d an d it contin u e d
t o d o so u nti l the m i dd l e of the rep u bl ic d u rin g the,

Secon d P u n ic War when i t s san c t ity was d estroyed

,

an d i t l ost its real religiou s sign i fi cance though ,

i t remain ed as a for m al in stitution A s a d ivi n e

.

barrier it serve d origina l ly i n the wor l d of the go d s

very m u ch the sa m e pu rpose as t he m aterial wa l l
of ston e d id i n the wor l d of m en Before the
.

problem of foreign go d s ha d begu n to ex ist for the

Rom an s i n the goo d o l d d ays when they kn ew on ly
,

the go d s of thei r own re l igion the p om er i n i n serve d

,

to keep withi n the bou nd s of Rome al l the b e n e fi ce n t

kin dl y go d s whose presen ce was n ot need e d ou tsi d e
i n the fiel d s an d it serve d fu l ly as important a
,

pu rpose i n k eepin g o u tside of Rom e the go d s who

 REORGA N I SAT I O N OF S E RV I U S 35

were feared rather than love d for exam p l e the d rea d

,

war god M ars

- . When foreign go d s began to be
i ntro d uced i nto Ro m e they m ight o f co u rse be , ,

worshipped i nsi d e the p om er i n in by private i n d i

vid u a l s ,
b u t when the state acknow l e d ge d them
it was m ore pr ud ent that her worship sho u l d be
outsi d e the sacre d wa l l T hu s it ca m e to pass that
.

the foreign go d s who were taken i nto the cu lt of the

,

Rom an state were given tem p l es i n the C a m pus

,

Marti u s or over o n the Aventin e an d the two o r

,

three cases where they were pu bl icly worshippe d

insi d e the p oni ei i n i n form n o rea l excep t ion to this
f

—
r u l e su ch an ex ception wo u ld be i n fact qu it e , ,

u n thinkab l e i n the strict l y l ogica l system of Rom an

worship — b u t these go d s were al l owed i nsid e becau se
the y cam e to Rome from her k in s fol k the Lati n s , ,

an d were not felt to be foreign .

H ercu l es is on e o f the cases i n this last category .

Tho u gh original ly a s we have seen a Greek god his

, , ,

long resi d ence i n T ibu r ( T ivol i ) ha d m a d e him as i t ,

were a n atura l ise d citizen o f Latiu m an d hence Ro m e

, ,

fe l t it n o i mpropriety t o take him i n sid e her p oi n ei i n in f

.

A t fi rst his worship seem s to have been carried o n

by two clan s t h e Po ti ti i an d the Pi n a ri i bu t later
, , ,

d uring the repu b l i c the state assu m e d control

, .

But though it was really the Greek H erak l es who

ha d com e i n as the lati n ised H erc ul es the go d ha d ,

pai d a certain pri ce for his a d m ission for he came ,

strippe d of all t he vario u s a tt rib u tes which he ha d ha d

3 6 RE O RG A N I S A T I O N OF S E RV I U S

i n Greece an d retai n in g m erely his fu n ction as patron

of tra d e and travel I t was th is practical si d e of his
.

n atu re a l on e which appeale d to the Roman s ; i t

fo u n d its exp ression i n the o fferi n g of the tenth
“

at the great a l tar i n the For u m B o ar i u m This altar

.

always re m aine d i n a certain sen se t he centre of

H erc u les worship i n Ro m e
-
I t was rein forced at an
.

early d ate by n o l ess t han three temples of H ercu l es

i n the m ore or l ess i m m ed iate n eighbou rhood all ,

of which were characterise d by the sam e relative

si m p l icity of ritu a l C ent u ries l ater H erak l es b e
.

cam e known to the Roman s thro u gh direct Greek

chan ne l s and it was recogn ised that this n ew
,

H erak l es was ak in to the ol d H erc u les so that ,

he too was ca l l e d H erc u l es There was n othin g

.

s u rprising i n this to t h e Ro m an s because they,

con s i d ered it a m atter of co u rse that there sho u ld be

fo u n d a para l lel a m on g thei r own gods for each
G reek d eity .They n ever u nders t ood the tru e state
o f a ffai rs ; it is dou btfu l whether they coul d have
un d erstoo d i t :n am ely that i n al most al l thei r other
,

i d en ti fication s of Ro m an an d Greek deities they ,

were rea l l y doin g vio l en ce to thei r own n ative go d s

by superi m posin g u pon them the attrib ut es of a deity
with w h om they ha d rea l ly nothing i n co m m on ,

whereas i n i d en ti fyin g the n ew H erakles with thei r

,

o l d H ercules they were d oi ng a per fectly legiti m ate

,

thin g. For on e who kn ows the tr u e state of affairs

there is so m ething pathetical ly a musin g in the fact
 R E O RG A N I S A T I O N O F S E RV I U S 37

that they really showed more del i cacy i n m aking

thei r o l d ( really origin a l ly Greek ) H ercu l es in t o the
new Greek H erakles H ercu les than they d i d i n
-
,

throwin g t ogether N eptu n e an d P osei d on M ars an d ,

A res D ian a an d A rtem is

,
As a m atter o f fact they
.

always reveren ced the o l d c u lt o f the great a l tar ,

an d never al l owed the m ore sen sation a l phases o f

Greek worship to be practise d there an d p u t o ff i nto ,

an other q u arter the tem p l es which were bu i lt to

H ercu les u n der the various n ew att ri bu t es w hich the
n ew Greek cu l t bro ught with it Thes e te m ples .

were place d as was proper o u tsi d e the p o i ner i n i n

, , ,

i n the southern part o f the Ca m p u s M arti u s .

B u t to retu rn to the s i m p l e H erc u l es an d the

S ervian regi m e the Rom an s t ate ha d n ow obtai n e d
,

a d eity o f which by the contagion o f com m erce

, , ,

they al rea d y fel t a n ee d a go d o f great power from

,

whom cam e su ccess i n the practical u n d er t akings o f

l i fe
. H en ce he had a stron g hol d on the Rom an s
whose practi cal S i d e was u n dergoin g a rapi d d eve l op
ment . The i d ea of trade was n ow rep resente d i n
the religio u s worl d i t ha d receive d its d ivi n e san ction
, .

The other g o d who cam e u p from M agn a G ra ec i a

,

an d whose form al acceptan ce i nto the state c u lt -

for m ed on e of the earl iest i n cid ents i n the breakdown

of the o l d agricu lt u ral religion was Castor with hi s
, ,

twin brother P ol lu x altho u gh brother P ol lu x was

-
,

always an I n sign i fican t partner so m u ch so that the,

'

te m p l e whi c h was s ubsequen tly b u ilt to them both

3 8 R E O RG A N I SA T I O N O F S E RV I U S
was referred to either as the tem ple of Castor “

alone or as the te m ple of the C astors “

At variou s .

points i n the old Greek wor l d we m eet with a pair

of brothers at fi rst n ot d esignated by i nd ivi d u al
,

n ames but merely na me d as a pair Even these .

pair nam es d o n ot agree b u t they represent al l o f

-
,

them the sam e idea Later when i nd ividual n am es

.

are substituted for the general pai r name these -

,

in d ivid ua l n am es a l so d i ffer They are go d s of

—
.

protection an d on the sea coast an d m ost o f

-

—
,

Greece is sea coast they are especial l y he l p fu l as

-

resc u ers fro m the d an gers of t he sea an d they are ,

also very early an d al m ost everywhere con necte d

with horses B ut i n spite of thei r u sefu l ness they
.

are not very prom i nen t an d it is d oubtful whether

,

they wou ld eve r have becom e fa m ou s except for ,

on e of t h ose l ittle acc i d ents w hich m ake the fort u nes

of god s as wel l as o f m en I t so happen e d that
.

horses began to be u sed i n warfare m ore than for

the m ere d rawin g of chariots ; a pri m itive sort of
caval ry cam e i nto being pro d uced by m ou n tin g ,

heavy armed foot soldiers on horseback

- -
With this .

caval ry the Twin Brothers (D i os kou r o i

-
S on s o f
-

especially C astor becam e p rom inent j u st

,
.

as the Greek merchan ts had taken H erakles with

them when they set ou t to plan t colon ies i n Southern
I taly so the heavy m ou nted horsem en carried thei r
,
-

god C astor with them whereve r they went The .

I ta l ic tri bes in their t u rn were q u ick to sei ze u pon

 R E O RG A N I S A T I O N O F S E RV I U S 39

this idea of caval ry an d with i t as an essen tial part

,

went its d ivi n e patron Cas tor ,

Thu s the Castor.

cult m oved stead ily n ort h war d carried as it were , , ,

on horsebac k . At l ast i t reache d Lati u m an d t here ,

the little town of T u sc u l u m afterwar d s so fam o u s as

,

the res iden ce of C icero becam e i n som e u n a c c o u n t

,

able way a n i m portan t cu l t cen tre an d d i d for-

,

C astor what Tibu r ha d don e fo r H erc u l es i e ,

. .

l atin ise d hi m so that Rom e received hi m n ot as an

,

alien b u t as o n e o f her k i n There can be l ittle

.

d oubt that t h e Rom an cu lt act u a l ly d i d com e fro m

Tusc u lu m an d that i n its i n tro d u ction in to Rom e
, ,

as i n every other step o n its m arch i t was con nected ,

with the reorgan isation of the cava l ry This wou ld .

seem to i mply that T u scul u m was famou s for its

caval ry an d tha t Rom e took the i d ea o f it from he r
— state m en ts for which we have u n fort u n ately n o
other con firm a t ion tho u gh we have abu n d an t proof
,

’
of the cu l t at T u scu lu m an d of Ro m e s cl ose associa
tion with it .

Castor was th u s the patron o f t he horsem en “

eq u i tes h
( ) an d i s great day was J u ly 1 5 w hen the ,

ho r se m e n s para d e took p l ace Possibly this ha d

’
.

been the d ate of the festival at Tu scu lu m a d ay ,

especially appropriate becau se it was the I d es o f the

month and the I d es we re sacre d to Ju p p i te r whose
'

, ,

sons Castor an d Pol l u x (D i os leon r oi ) were s u pposed

-

to be . I t i s extrem ely i nterestin g in the light of

this k now l edge of the tr u e state of affairs to see how
40 R E O RG A N I S A T I O N O F S E RV I U S
legend later explai ned the com in g of Castor and
P ol lu x. I t was an i n cident i n the mythica l war
which was su pposed to have taken place afte r the
last Tarqu i n ha d been d riven out an d the republic ,

had been starte d The adversaries of Rom e a l l ied

.
,

with Tarqu in n otably O ctaviu s M am i lius of Tuscu l u m

, ,

fought agai nst the Rom ans i n the batt l e of Lake

Reg i l l u s o n J uly 1 5 B C 4 9 9 The Rom an s won
, . . .
,

an d the fi rst n ews of victory was brought to Rom e

by the m iraculou s appearan ce of Castor an d Pol l u x
who were seen wateri n g their horses i n the For u m
at the spring of J u tu rn a A temp l e on thi s spot
.

was then vowe d and fi fteen years later B C 4 8 4 it ,

. .
,

was comp leted an d ded icated Tu scu l u m J u l y 1 5

.
, ,

an d the dedication of the templ e i n B C 4 8 4 are . .

seem ingly the on ly historical facts i n t h is legen d ;

an d long before B C 4 9 9 Castor was worshippe d
. .

i n Rom e especially on J u ly 1 5
,
The site of hi s .

origin al worship was without doubt the sam e locality

i n the Foru m where hi s templ e was subseq u ent l y
bu i lt for i t i s an al most i nvariable r u le that the
,

earliest templ es are bu ilt o n the act u al site of or ,

close to the o l d altar o r shrin e which prece d e d the

,

form al tem ple Like H ercu l es therefore he was

.

received i n sid e the p o ni er i n i n an d probably for a ,

'

si m ilar reason becau se it was fe l t tha t he was a go d

,

of Tuscul um an d hen ce a god of Rom e s ki ns fol k

,
’
.

We have an ad d ition al con fi rmation of this feelin g

i n the way i n which the later direct c u lt o f Castor
 R E O R G A N I S A T I O N O F S E RV I U S 4 1

was treate d . This cul t con n ecting Castor with

,

heal in g an d the in terpre t a t ion o f d re am s and ,

e m phasising his fu n ction as a resc u er from the

d an gers of the sea wou l d have been witho u t m ean in g
,

for t h e o l d Ro m an s who wors h ippe d hi m m erely as

a patron of horsemen an d horsem anship The n ew
.

i d eas seem to have ha d as their centre a later tem p l e

i n the C irc u s F l a m i n i u s an d thus H ercu les an d
Castor m ay again be para l le l ed si n ce they have
, ,

each of them an o ld c u l t cen tre i nsid e the pom er i a i n

,
-
,

H erc u l es i n the For u m B o a r i u m Castor i n the ,

For u m an d a later cu lt centre for m ore a d van ce d

,
-
,

i d eas i n each case i n the C i rcu s Fl a m i n ius

, .

A ltho u gh it was G reek i n fluen ce whi ch u lti m ate l y

ca u sed the d estruction o f Ro m a n re l igion an d ,

although the cu l ts of H ercu l es an d of Castor are

the fi rst d efi n ite e ffects o f this i n fl u en ce it can not ,

be sai d that the d estr u ction ha d i n any sen se begu n ,

beca u se i n thei r s l ow j o u rn ey n orthwar d an d i n ,

thei r lon g residen ce at T ib u r an d Tu scu lu m re

sp ec t i v e l the two cu l ts ha d l ost a l l that was
, y
pern icio u s . The Ro m an i n sti n ct which fe l t them
,

to be ak i n to itsel f d i d n ot go a m iss ; they were

,

in d ee d aki n to the n ew Ro m e with its n e w i n terest

in t rade an d its in creased i nterest i n warfare for the ,

tra d er an d the warri or have gon e s id e by si d e in al l

ages o f the wor ld s history whether it be a p ri m itive
’

ins t inct to grasp territory for co m m ercia l p u rposes

or a m ore c ivi l ise d en d eavo u r to ob t ain an open port .
4 2 RE O RG A N I S A T I O N OF S E RV I U S

The begi n n ings of Greek i n fluen ce have thus

been exhibited i n the case o f H e rcu les an d of
Castor an d it rem ains to i nqu ire what Etru ria d id
, .

There is n o race abou t whi ch we kn ow so m u ch and

yet so l ittle as abou t the Etr u scan s They have
.

always been an d sti ll are a ri d d l e a n d as ou r ,

kn ow l e d ge o f the m i n creases we seem fu rther than

ever from a sol ution an d what we gai n i n positive
,

k nowledge is m ore than co u nterbalan ce d by the

i nc reased sense o f o u r ignoran ce A ltogether asid e
.

from the prob l em o f the origin o f the Etruscan s an d ,

the race to which they be l on ge d is the other proble m

,

o f their d isappearan ce I n a certain sen se E tru ria

.

steps ou t of history q u ite as mysteriou sly as she

en tere d in to it n ay even m ore m ysterio u sly for we
, ,

are a l ways wi l l in g to al low a certai n percentage of

mystery as the l egiti mate accompan i m en t of pre
historic history bu t when i n the light of m ore o r
,

less historic ti mes a n ation steps o ff the stage of the

’
world s history an d l eaves practica l ly n o heritage
,

behin d her we have a right to be amaze d

,
O f al l
.

the peopl es in I taly Rom e ou ght i n the or d er o f

events to have been her s u ccessor an d yet when we
,

con trast the in flu en ce of Etr uria on Rom e with the

i nfl uen ce of the Greek colon ies of Southern I taly
we se e an amazin g d i fferen ce . The i n fluen ce o f
these Greek colon ies on Rom e prepared the way for
the d i rect in flu en ce o f the Greek motherland so that ,

on e passed over into the othe r by i m perceptibl e

‘
 R E O RG A N I S A T I O N O F S E RV I U S 43

gradations bu t the i nflu ence o f E tr u ria on Rom e n ot

,

on ly led to n othin g b u t was i n itse l f o f a m ost s uper

fi c i a l sort Etr u ria m u st have ha d som e l iterat u re
.

yet we search the history o f Roman l iterat u re I n va i n

for any traces of the i nfl u en ce o f that l iterat u re on
Rom e wi th the on e ex ception o f books on d ivina
,

tion an d the interpretation o f lightn in g We kn ow .

too little of her m an n ers an d c u stoms to be abl e to

tel l exactly how m u ch they m ay have i n fluen ced
Rom e an d yet it is worth n oti ng that the things
,

which Ro m an writers act u a l l y refer to E tru ria are ,

al l o f the m m ost superfi cial :a few o f the i nsign i a

of po l itical offi ce ; a few of the trappin gs o f on e or
two ritua l isti c acts ; a bran ch o f d ivi n ation by the ,

cons u l tation of the en trai l s (Iza r a sp i ei n a ) which was

,

of secon d ary i m portan ce co mpare d to a u gu ry an d

the most d epraved form of Ro m an pu bl ic sport the ,

gladiatoria l gam es The on ly fu n d amental i n sti tu

.

tion o f Ro m e which it i s the habi t to ascri be to

Etru ria the i dea of the so cal led z enzp l n i n o r d i vision
,
-
‘

o f the sky i nto regions as an ax iom of au gury seem s ,

to have been qu ite as m u ch a genera l I tal i c i d ea

as a speci fically Etruscan o n e . Even i n art he r
influen ce was rel atively slight an d though her,

architects seem to have bu il t the earl iest form al

temples fo r Rom e they were soon su ccee d ed i n this
,

work by the Greeks We seek i n vai n for a com

.

p l e t e and satis factory exp l an ation o f this l i m itation

of her in fluen ce b ut certain tho ughts s u ggest them
,
44 R E O RG A N I S A T I O N OF S E RV I U S
selves which as far as they go are probably correct
, , ,
.

A ll that we k now of Etr u ria i mpresses u s with the

fact that h ers was an o u tward civi l isation u n a cc o m
p a n i e d by an inwar d c u lt u re that it was,
a for m al
rather than a spi ritual growth an artificial acq u is ition
,

from witho u t rather than a d evelopmen t from within

o u twar d s . I t was strong bu t with its stren gth wen t
bru tal ity i t was i ntereste d i n art b u t for its sen s u al
,

rather than i ts spiritua l aspects Now the i d eal ism

.

of youth is present i n n ations j ust as i n i n d ivi d u als ,

tho u gh probably a n ation is less conscio u s of it than

an ind ivi d u al I t is with the n ation on e of the
.

effects of the in stin ct of sel f preservation an d fo r a

-
,

youthfu l n ation to absorb the vices of an ol d d eca d ent

one wou ld be se l f d estru ction -
Thu s the yo u thfu l
.

Rom e rej ected most of the Etruscan poison an d ,

thu s n at u re p u rifie d hersel f an d Etr u ria was b u ried

,

i n the pit o f her own nastiness .

There was however on e town which ac t e d as an

i nterpreter between Rom e an d Etru ria an d was the ,

origin a l cu lt centre for a very great goddess spread

-
,

in g her cu lt i n both d i rections i nto Rome an d ,

i n t o Etru ria The town was Faleri i an d the go dd ess

.

was M i n erva who in a certain sense en tered Rom e

,

three tim es once d irect from Faleri i to Ro me an d

, ,

on ce from Fa l eri i to Rom e by way of Etruria an d ,

fin ally when Faleri i was capt u red by the Rom ans

, ,

again d irect to Rom e I n the earl iest period there

.

are s carcely any traces of the worship of M inerva i n

 R E O RG A N I S A T I O N OF S E RV I U S 45

Latiu m or S outhern I taly an d we are abso l ute l y ,

certai n that she was n ot kn own i n Ro m e I n the .

co u ntry north of Rom e however the sit u a tion is

, ,

di fferent .There she is fou n d qu ite freq u ently ,

especial ly in Etru ria u n der the n a m e of ME NE RV A

o r M E NRV A Yet she can n ot have been an Etr u scan
.

go dd ess becau se the n am e itse l f is I tali c an d n ot

,

Etru scan S he i s therefore ne i ther Ro m an n o r

.
,

Etr u scan n or Latin at least so far as we kn ow

, ,

Lati n i n Latiu m I f we c an fi n d a pl ace however

.

where a Lati n peopl e i s u n d er s t ron g Etr u scan

in fl u en ce we sha l l be n ear the solu t ion
,
S u ch a .

place is Falerii i n the co u n try o f the Fa l iscan s

,
.

To t h e an cients it appeared so thoro u ghly Etruscan

that they go o u t of their way to expl ai n that it was
not A s a m atter of fact it was t h e on l y Lati n town
.

o n the right ban k of the Tiber an d beca u se o f its ,

locality i t was early brou ght i nto vita l con n ection

with the Etru sca n s so vital that whi l e i t n ever l ost
,

al l o f its origin a l Lati n character it l ost en ou gh of ,

it to exercise a very con si d erab l e di rect i n fl u en ce

over Etru ria an d to be to a very l arge exten t
,

influ en ce d by her i n tu rn We can not of co u rse

.

positively prove that M i n erva was origin al l y wor

shipped on ly at Falerii an d that her cu lt sprea d
,

entirely from this on e point but we have at l east ,

stron g negative evi d en ce an d so far as the gen eral

,

history of ancient religion i s con cerne d there i s

nothing im possible in s u ch a spread Re l igious history .
4 6 R E O RG A N I S A T I O N O F S E RV I U S

shows m any para ll e l s t o this for exa m ple the c l assi c

case of the go d E ros of T h espiae in Boeotia who , ,

wou l d have live d and d ie d m erely a l itt l e i n si g

n i fi c a n t local god i f it ha d n ot bee n for the Boeotian
,

poet H esio d who a d op t e d Eros i nto his poetry and

thu s gave hi m a start i n l ife by wh ich he u lti m ately
s u ccee d e d i n goi n g a ll over the Greek wor ld an d ,

then passin g i n to Ro m e as C u pi d ; an d so i nto al l

later ti m es .

We are accusto m e d to thi n k of M i nerva as the

Latin n am e for Athen a the d a u ghter of Z e u s an d
, ,

u nconscio u s l y we c l othe M in erva with al l the glory

’
of Athen a an d en d o w her with Athen a s m any si d ed -

ness . I n rea l ity the l itt l e peasan t go dd ess of F a l e r i i

ha d origin al l y n othi ng i n co m m on with Athen a
except the fact that bo t h of them were i nterested i n
'

han d i craft an d the han d icr afts m an but Athena ha d a

,

h u n d re d other i nteres t s besi d es while t hi s on e thin g

,

seem s to have fi lle d the who l e o f M in erva s hori zon ’

.

When M i nerva went on her travels i nto Etru ria ,

she cam e am on g a people who event u al ly l earned

from the representation s of Greek art a very con
sid e r a b l e am ou nt of Greek mytho l ogy an d who , ,

when they heard o f Athen a saw her rese m b l an ce to

,

M inerva an d began thu s to associate the two B ut.

even i n this association M inerva was still pre

em inently the g o d dess of the artisan an d the l abou r
i ng m an she was the patron ess of the works of
,

man s han d s rather than of the works of his m in d

’
,
 R E O RG A N I S AT I O N O F S E RV I U S 47

an d as s u ch she was brought i n to Rom e by Etr u scan

an d F al i sca n work m en At fi rs t she was worshippe d
.

mere l y by these work m en i n thei r o wn ho u ses b u t ,

by d egrees as the n u mber o f these work m en i n crease d

an d as a knowle d ge o f thei r han d icraft sprea d to
n ative Rom an s M i nerva becam e so p ro m inen t that
,

the state was compe l l e d to ack n owledge her an d ,

to accept her a m ong the god s o f the state Bu t it .

was a very d i fferen t ack nowledgm en t from that of

H erc u l es or C astor ; these god s ha d been receive d
insi d e the p oni er i n in bu t M i nerva was given a
,

tem ple o u tsi d e ove r on the Aventin e

,
N on e the
.

less her c u lt throve an d her power was soon shown

,

both re l igiou sly an d social ly H er great festival was

.

on the 1 9 th o f M arch a d ay which ha d been

,

origi nal l y sacred to M ars b u t the presence o f ,

M in erva s celebration s on that d ay soon cause d the

’

association s with M ars to be al m ost en ti rely forgotten .

Social l y her te m ple becam e the m eetin g place o f a l l -

the artisan s of Rom e it was at once thei r religio u s

,

centre and thei r busi n ess hea d quarters There they

.

m et in thei r pri m itive g u i l d s (eoZl eg i a ) and arran ged

t h ei r affai rs and th u s i t con tin u e d to be as lon g as
,

pagan Rom e lasted . The respect shown to these

gu i ld s of M i n erva i s n owhere m ore clear l y ex h i bited
than i n an i nci d ent which happen e d i n the tim e
of the S econ d P u n ic War severa l cent u ries after
,

the in t rodu ction of the c u lt Terri fied by a d verse

.

portents the Rom an S en ate I ns t r u cted the ol d p oet

4 8 R E O R GA N I S A T I O N O F S E RV I U S
Livius A n d ron ic u s to write a hym n in hono u r of
J u no a n d to trai n a chor u s of yo u ths an d m aiden s to
si n g it . The hym n was sun g an d was s u ch a great
,

su ccess t h at the gratit u d e of the S enate took the

form of granting perm ission to the poets o f the city
to have a g u i ld of thei r own and a m eetin g place
,
-

a l on g with the o l der g u il d s i n the te m p l e of M in erva

on the Aventine .This was the Rom an state s fi rst ’

express ion o f l iterary appreciation fro m her stan d

point i t was fla t tery i n d eed for were n ot poets
,

by this d ec ree m ad e eq u al to bu tchers bakers an d , ,

cloth makers an d was n ot poetry ack now l edge d to

-
,

be of som e practi cal u se an d a dj u d ge d a legiti mate

O cc u pa t ion ?
The h istory o f the c u lt o f M inerva is m u c h m ore
co m p l icate d t h an that o f H erc ul es o r C astor Like .

them s h e was su bj ecte d to strong Greek in fl u en ce ,

an d as we sha l l see later n o t very lon g after her

, ,

i ntro d u c t ion she was t aken into the co m pany o f

J pp
u i t e r an d J u n o ,
th u s form in g the fam ou s
Capitol in e triad .A lso t e m p l es were bu i l t to her
i n d ivi du a l l y u n der various aspects of the wors h ip of
Athen a with who m she gra d u al ly becam e iden ti fied ,

b u t i n the o ld Aventin e tem ple the origina l i d ea

of M i n erva the workin g m an s frien d con ti nue d
,
’

practica l l y u n change d .Do u bt l ess the society o f

Serviu s s d ay who witn esse d the co m ing of M inerva
’
, ,

d i d not realise what this i ntro du ction m eant an d how ,

’
absol u tely necessary it was for Rome s fu t u re deve l op
 R E O RG A N I S A T I O N O F S E RV I U S 49

m ent that the artisan cl ass shou ld be am on g he r

people an d that this class shou l d be represen ted i n
,

the world o f the gods They l itt l e k n ew that i n the

.

temple on the Aven ti ne was bei n g bro u ght to ex

pression the trad e u n ion id ea which was to pass over
-
,

into the m e d iaeval gu i ld of both work m en an d

m asters sti ll u n d er rel igious a u spi ces an d to fi n d a
, ,

la t ter d ay paro d y i n the m odern l abo u r u n ion with

- -
,

its spirit o f hosti lity to em ployers an d i ts i n d i fferen ce

, ,

at least as an organ isation t o thin gs re l igiou s

,
.

T ra d e an d han d ic raft were th u s ad d e d to the

Rom an worl d o f m en o n earth an d of the god s
, ,

above the earth an d it rem ai n s for u s to con si d er

,

the awaken in g o f the pol itical spirit an d its cor

respon d in g re l igiou s phenom en on but before we d o
this we mu st c l ear the way by castin g asi d e one
,

ancient hypothesis con necte d with S ervi u s s rel igiou s ’

re for m s which i s n o t correct at least i n the way in

, ,

which the anci ents m ean t it .

T he writi ng of the earlier period o f Ro m e s history ’

i s som eti m es com pl icated rather than helped by the

statements o f the gen eral l y wel l m ean in g b u t often
-

m isgu ided histori an s of later ti m es Thei r real.

kn owle d ge of the facts was i n m any cases n o greater

than ou rs while they l acked what m od ern histo
,

rian s possess :a brea d th o f view an d a k n ow l edge

of the pheno men a o f history i n m any periods an d
amon g many n ation s The stu dy o f the social an d
.

rel igiou s m ove m ents u nder S erviu s p resen ts u s w ith

E
 5 o R E O RG A N I S A T I O N OF S E RV I U S

an i n terestin g i l l u stration of this I t was cu stomary

.

n a m ely to ascribe to S ervi u s T u l l iu s the i ntroduction

o f the cu l t of Fortu n a and P l u tarch takes occasion
,

twice i n his M or a l i a to d escribe the i nterest o f

S ervius in this cu l t an d to reco u n t the extraord i nary
n u m ber of te m p les which he b u il t to the great
god d ess o f chan ce u n d er her variou s attrib u tes .

’
The Rom ans of P lutarch s day tho u ght of Fortu n a
i n very m u ch the way i n which t h eir poets especial ly ,

H orace d escri bed her as a great and powerfu l

, ,

goddess of chan ce the person i fi cation o f the elem en t

,

of apparen t caprice which seem s to be p resen t i n

the r u n n in g of the u n iverse I t i s very m u ch ou r
.

way o f think i ng of her an d o f cou rse both ou r own

,

con cept an d the later Ro m an con cept go back to

Greece . But G reece had n ot always had this id ea
of the god dess of lu ck T h e ol d er p u rer age o f
.

Greek thought was perm eate d w i th the i d ea o f the

abso l ute i m m utable character o f the d ivin e wi l l a ,

be l ie f whic h prec l u d e d the possibi l ity of chan ce o r

cap rice. The ear l iest Greek Tyche ( Fortu n a ) was
the d au ghter of Z eus who fu l fil led his wil l ; an d
that his wi ll throu gh her was often a ben e fi c en t wi l l
i s sho wn in the tendency to thin k of her as a god dess
o f plen ty .I t was on ly the growth o f scepticism ,

the fai l u re o f faith to bear u p u nder the apparently

con trad ictory lesson s of experien ce which brought ,

i nto being i n the A lexan d rian age Tyche the ,

go d dess of c han ce the winged capri cious d eity

,
 R E O RG A N I S A T I O N O F S E RV I U S 5 1

poised on the bal l I t was this habit o f tho u g ht

.

which even tu al ly gave t he Rom an s that i dea o f

Fortu n a which has becam e o u r idea because i t is
the prevalen t on e i n Rom an l iterat u re an d l ife i n
the periods with which we are m ost fam i l iar Now .

i f Fort u n a be thou ght o f i n this l atter way it i s a ,

very easy m atte r to con n ect he r with S ervi u s Tu l li u s ,

for the l ege n d ary accou nts o f S erviu s s career pictu re ’

”
hi m as a very chil d o f fortu ne raised from the
“
,

l owest estate to the highest power the l ittl e slave ,

boy who becam e ki n g What goddess wou ld he

.

d elight to hon ou r i f n o t the godd ess o f the happy

,

chan ce which had m a d e hi m wha t he was ?

A l l this is very p retty but it is u n fortu n ately
,

qu ite i mposs ible becau se whatever the ti m e m ay

,

have been when Fortu n a began to be worshippe d i n

Rom e i t is certain that the i d ea O f chan ce d i d n ot
,

en ter i nto the concept o f her u n ti l lon g after S ervi u s s ’

d ay. I n stea d the early Fortu na was a go d dess o f

p len ty an d ferti l ity am on g m an kin d as a protectress
,

of women an d o f chi l d bi rth a mon g the c rops an d

,

the herds as a godd ess o f ferti l ity an d fecu n d ity .

H er fu l l n am e was p robably Fors Fortu n a a n am e

.

which su rvived i n two old te m p l es across the river

from Rom e proper i n T rastevere where she was
, ,

wo rshipped i n the co u ntry by the far m ers i n behal f

of the crops . Fortu na is thus m erely the cu l t n a m e -

adde d to the old god dess Fors to i nten si fy he r

'

me aning which fi na l ly broke o ff from h e r an d

,
5 2 R E O RG A N I S AT I O N O F S E RV I U S

beca m e in d epen d en t ex p ressin g t h e sam e i d ea of a

,

go d dess of plen ty Later u n d er Greek in fluen ce the

.

con cept of l uck especial ly goo d l uck slowly d ispl aced

,
-
,

the o ld er i d ea The poss ibi l ity o f s u ch a tran sition

.

fro m ferti lity to goo d l u ck is shown u s i n the phrase

-

”
a r oo i f ei i x which origi na l ly m ean t a fru itfu l tree
“ f
,

an d later a tree of goo d om en A s regar d s For tu n a

.

an d S ervi u s therefore there is n o i nheren t reason why

they shou ld have been con n ected an d when ever it ,

was that Fort u n a began to exist be it before or after ,

S erviu s S he ca m e i nto the worl d as a god d ess of

,

plenty an d did n ot tu rn in to a go d d ess o f l u ck ti l l

cen tu ries after her birth .

I t m u st n ot be su ppose d that Rom e i n this si xth

cen t u ry before C hrist co u l d take i n to hersel f al l these
tra d ers an d artisan s an d becom e th u s i nterested al so
,

am on g her own c itizen s i n these n ew employm en ts ,

withou t receivin g a correspon d in g i m pu lse toward

a larger pol iti cal li fe Thu s there began that ever
.

i n creasi n g participation i n the affairs of the Latin

l eague which was her fi rst step toward acqu iri ng a
,

world d om in ion I t is p robable that Rom e had

.

always be l onge d to this leagu e bu t at fi rst as a very ,

i n sign i ficant m ember Those were the days i n which

.

A lba Longa stoo d ou t as leader a leadership which ,

she afterward s lost bu t o f which the recollection

,

was retain ed beca u se the A lban M ou n t behin d A lba

Lon ga remaine d the cu l t centre con nected with the -
,

worship of the god of the l eague the Ju p p i te r of the ,

 R E O RG A N I S A T I O N OF S E RV I U S 53

Lati n s (Ju p p i te r L a ti ar i s) not on ly u nti l B C 3 3 8

,
. .

when the l eague cease d to ex ist bu t even later when ,

Rome kept u p a sen ti m ental ce l ebration of the ol d

festival . I n the cou rs e of ti m e for reason s which ,

we d o n ot kn ow Alba Lon ga s power d ecl i n e d an d

,
’

the m antle o f her su pre m acy fel l upo n A r i c i a a ,

l ittle town sti l l i n ex isten ce n o t far fro m A lban o .

The com ing o f A r i c i a to the p resi d en cy of the leagu e

started a rel igious movem en t which is on e of the
most extraord in ary i n the checkered history of
Rom an religion The u l ti m ate resu lt o f this m ove
.

m ent w a s the i n trodu ction o f the go d dess D iana i nto

the state cu l t o f Ro m e where she w a s s u bsequently
-
,

ide nti fi ed with A pollo s siste r A rtem is

’
B ut this i s .

a lon g story and to u n derstan d it we m u st go back

,

so m e d istance to m ak e o u r beg i n n i n g .

A m on g the m ore savage tribes an d i n the wi l d er

m o u n tai n region s of both Greece and I taly there w a s
worshipped a goddess who ha d a d i fferen t n am e i n
each co u ntry A rtem is i n Greece D ian a i n I taly bu t
, , ,

who w a s i n n atu re very m u ch the sam e This d oes .

n o t i m ply that it was the sa m e goddess o r g i n a ll y o r

that the ear l y A rtem i s o f Greece had any i n flu en ce

o n the Dian a of I taly Thei r si m ilari ty was p robably
.

caused m ere ly by the si m i l arity of the con d iti on s from

which they spran g the si m ila r n eed s o f the tw o
,

peoples . S he was a god dess o f the woods an d o f ,

n at u re an d espec ial ly o f wi ld an i mal s a patron ess o f

, ,

t he hu n t an d the hu nts m an bu t also a go dd ess of al l

,
54 R E O RGA N I S A T I O N O F S E RV I U S

s mal l an i mals of al l helpless l ittle on es an d a he l per

, ,

to o of those that bore them hen ce a goddess of birth ;

‘

an d i n the sphere of m an ki nd a go d dess o f women

‘

an d of chi l dbirth Later i n Greece A rtem is was

.

absorbe d i nto the sea cult o f Apol lo on the isl and o f

-

Delos where she becam e A pol lo s sister l ik e hi m the

,
’

chi l d o f Laton a but natu ral ly D i an a experien ce d n o

s i m i l ar chan ge un ti l i n Rom e, cen tu ries l ater she was ,

arti fi cia l ly i d en ti fied with A rtem is I n t he ear l iest .

ti mes there were two places i n I taly where t he cu lt

of D ian a was especially prom in ent both as we , ,

shoul d expect i n wooded m ou ntain ou s region s :one

,

on M ou n t Ti fata ( near C apua ) the m od ern S t A n gelo ,

.

in Form i s the other i n Lati u m i n a grove n ear ,

A ri ci a I t is with this latter cu lt centre that we

.
-

have here to do The grove n ear A r i c i a becam e so

.

fam o u s that the godd ess worshippe d there wa s known

”
as D ian a of the Grove ( D ian a Nemoren sis ) an d
.
“
,

the place where she was worshippe d was called the

”
“
Grove ( n em a s ) a n am e whi ch is sti l l retai ned i n the
,

”
m odern N em i S he was a god dess o f the wood s
.
,

of the an i m al k ingdom o f bi rth ; an d so of wom en ; ,

an d al m ost all the d ed icatory i nscriptions whi ch have

been fou n d n ear her S hrin e were put u p by wom en .

S he was worshippe d above all by the peop l e of

A r i c i a and s he seem s to have been the patron d eity
,

of the town When it fel l to A r i c i a s lot to becom e

.
’

the head of the leagu e her godd ess D iana prom ptly ,

assu m ed an i m portan t position i n the leagu e n ot ,

 R E O RG A N I S A T I O N OF S E RV I U S 55

because she ha d by natu re any political beari ng

whatsoever but m erely becau se she was we dd ed to
,

A r i c i a an d experien ce d al l the vi ci ss itudes o f her

,

career Thu s there cam e i nto the leagu e alongsid e

.
,

of the ol d Ju pp i te r L a ti a ri s o f the A lban M ou nt the ,

n ew D ian a N em oren sis of A r i c i a an d sacri fi ces to

-
,

her form ed a part o f the so l em n ritu al o f the u n ited

town s o f Lati u m I t d oes n o t tak e act ual ly a great
.

many years fo r a religiou s c ustom to acqui re san ctity ,

an d before m an y gen eration s had passed D ian a wa s ,

felt to be q u ite a s origin al and essential a part of the

worship of the leagu e as Ju pp i ter hi mse l f D urin g .

these sam e centu ries Rom e was growi n g i n i m portan ce

an d i n fluen ce i n the leagu e u ntil i n stead o f bei n g
, ,

on e o f i ts i nsign i ficant town s she wa s i n a fai r

,

way to becom e its presi d ent H ere her d iplom acy

.

St epp e d i n to hel p her The leagu e wa s o f cou rse

'

essentia l l y a politi cal in sti tution bu t i n a pri m itive

,

society political i n stitution s are stil l i n tutelage to

re l igio u s on es an d the d i rect roa d to stron g pol itica l
,

i n fl u en ce l ies throu gh religious zeal The way to .

lea d ershi p i n t h e Latin l eagu e l ay throu gh ex c essive

devotion to Ju pp i te r and D ian a I t i s therefore n o
.

acci d enta l coin ci d en ce that we fi n d Rom e i n the perio d

of Servi u s bu i ld ing a tem p l e to Ju p p i t e r L a ti a r i s o n
the top of the A lban M o u n t an d i ntro d u ci n g th e
,

worship of D ian a i nto Ro m e bu i ldin g her a tem pl e

,

o n the Aventin e hen ce outside the z er i n i n Yet

, p on .
.

it was not the in trodu ctio n o f her worship as an

56 R E O RG A N I S A T I O N O F S E RV I U S

o r d inary state cu lt for then she wou ld have been

-
,

taken i nside the p oi n er i n in with far greater right

than H ercu les an d Castor were I t was o n the
.
,

contrary the bu ildin g o f a san ctuary of the leag u e

,

ou tside the p omer i mn yet in s ide the civi l wal l ; not

,

the adoption of D iana as a Rom an go d dess but the ,

close association of the D ian a o f the Latin league ,

with Rom e . I t was the attempt to put Rom e

religiously as wel l as pol iti cal ly i nto the position
whi ch A r i c i a held ; and it was su ccessful D ian a .

w as sti ll the l eague go d dess trad ition has it that

-

the league helped to bu il d the tem ple ; an d the

d ed ication day o f the temple Augu st 1 3 was the
, ,

sam e as that of the tem ple at N em i The Rom an.

tem pl e was outside the p oi n er i n ni there fore n ot ,

because she was a foreign god d ess l ike M i n erva bu t ,

because as a league godd ess she m ust be outsi d e n ot

-
,

in side the sacred wal l of Rom e

,
.

D ian a had been i ntrodu ced for a specifi c pu rpose

as part of a d ip lom atic gam e n ot becau se Rom e fel t
,

any real religiou s n eed o f her ; it i s hard ly to be

expected therefore that her su bsequen t career i n
Rom e wo u ld be o f any great i mportance N atu ral ly .

when on ce the state had taken the respon sibil ity o f

the cu lt upon itself that cult was assu re d a s long a s
,

pagan Rome lasted fo r the state w a s always faithful

, ,

at least i n the m echan ical perform an ce o f a ritu al

act ; but popu lar i nterest cou ld not be cou n ted o n ,

especial ly a s many o f the things which D ian a stood

 R E O RG A N I S A T I O N O F S E RV I U S 57

for fo r ex am pl e her rel ation to wom en were ably

, ,

represen te d by J u n o I t i s n ot l ikely that D ian a

.

wo u ld ever have bee n of i m portan ce i n the re l igion of

subsequ en t ti m e ha d it n ot been for an o t her acci d ent
,

which serve d to keep al ive the i nterest i n D ian a ,

’
j ust as the acci d en t of D i an a s con n ection with the
Lati n leagu e ha d aro u se d that i nterest i n the begin
ning . This was the com in g o f A pol lo an d hi s sister
Artem is . A po l l o ca m e fi rst probably d u ri n g the
,

ti m e o f S ervi u s bu t A rtem is seem s to have co m e

,

m uch l ater n o t before B C 4 3 1

,
. . H er id en ti fi cation
.

with D ian a was i n evitab l e an d from that ti m e on war d

,

D ian a begi n s a n ew li fe with al l the attributes an d

myths of A rtem is bu t this n ew A rtem is D iana w a s
,
-

qu ite as d i fferent a god d ess from the o l d Aventin e

Diana as the n ew Athena M i nerva w a s fro m the old
-

A ven tin e M i n erva

'

The pol itical i n terest o f the Rom an s had been

aro u sed they had fo u n d thei r l i fe work thei r career
,
-
,

was open in g before them an d i t m ust n ot be ,

s u pposed that the re flex action o f this n ew pol itical

spi ri t on the rel igiou s world was co nfi n ed to the
bui l d in g o f two league tem ples on e to Ju p p i te r ,

L a ti a r i s o n the A lban M ou n t m i les away from ,

Rom e , an d o n e to D ian a outsi d e the p om ei i a nz f

over i n the wood s of the Aventin e This po l itical .

interest was n o arti fi cial acqu is ition bu t the i n ev i t ,

able expression o f an i n stin ct I t m ust therefore

.

fi n d i ts representation i n si d e the city i n con n ex ion ,

 58 RE O RG A N I S A T I O N O F S E RV I U S

with a d eity who was a l rea d y d eep i n the hearts of

the people This deity cou ld be n one other than
.

the sky father Ju p p i te r who ha d stood by them i n

-
,

the Ol d d ays of their ex cl u sive l y farm in g l ife sen d in g ,

the m s u nshin e an d rai n in d u e season Up on the

.

C apitoli n e he was worshippe d as Fer etr i u s “

the ,

”
striker i n hi s m ost fearful attri bute as the g o d o f
,

the l ightn in g To hi m the richest spoi ls of war

.

s oi i a o i m a
(p p ) were d u e an d to h
,
i m the con q u eror
gave than ks o n his retu rn from batt l e I t was this
.

J p p te r of the Capitol in e who was chosen to be the

u i
d ivi n e representat ive o f Rom e s po l itical am bition ;
’

an d her con fi dence i n the fu t u re an d the om en o f

,

her i nevitable su ccess lay i n the cu lt nam es the -

,

eog n o /n i n a with which this Ju p p i te r was hen ceforth

,

an d forever a d orne d Ju p p i te r Opti mu s M ax i m u s

, .

These a dj ectives are n o m ere i dl e orna m en t n o ,

pu rely pleasant phraseol ogy they express n ot m erely

the ex cel len ce o f Rom e s JU p p i te r but hi s absolu te
’

superior ity to al l other Ju p p i te r s in clu d ing Ju pp i ter

,

L a ti a r i s
. A n d so while Rom e with one han d was
bu i ld ing a tem ple for the leag u e on the A lban
M ou nt m erely as a m em ber of the l eague with the
, ,

other hand she was bu ild in g a tem ple i n the heart

o f her city to a god who was to brin g in to su bj ection
t o hi m sel f al l other gods who dared to challenge his

suprem acy j ust as the city which paid hi m honou r

,

was to overcom e all other cities which refuse d to

acknowledge her Fro m hen ceforth Ju p p i te r Opti m u s
.
 R E O RG A N I S A T I O N O F S E RV I U S 59

M axi m us represen ts al l that is m ost truly Rom an i n

Rome . I t was u n der his ban n er that her battles
were fought it was to hi m i n al l ti m e to com e that
,

retu rn in g generals gave than ks .

T ra d ition sets the com pletion o f the C apito l in e

templ e i n the fi rst year o f the rep u bl i c b u t the i dea ,

an d the actu al begin n in g o f the work belon g to the

later k in gdom an d hen ce to o u r present perio d an d ,

t he contemp l ation o f i t for m s a fittin g close to th e

d evelopm ent whi ch we have trie d t o sketch And .

now that thi s part of o u r work is over I t m ay be

wel l to ask ou rselves what we have s een fo r there ,

have been so m any bypaths which we h ave o f

n ecess ity explored that the m ain roa d we have
,

travel l ed m ay n ot be en tire l y d isti n ct i n o u r m in d .

I n the period which correspond s to the l ater k i ng

d om an d roughly to the sixth cen t u ry before Christ
, ,

an d whi ch we have calle d Servian fo r conven ience ,

we have watched a p ri m itive pastora l co m m u n ity ,

—
i solated from the worl d s l i fe t u rn i ng i n to a s m al l
’

c ity state with pol itical in terests the beg i n n i n gs o f

-
,

tra d e an d han d i craft an d variou s riv al social classes ;

,

an d we have seen how a lon g with the co m in g o f

these ou tside i nterests there ca m e var i ou s n ew cu l ts
con nected with them m ost of them i mp lyi n g enti rely
,
’

n ew d eities an d on ly on e or two of the m n ew s i d es

,

of ol d deities The body o f ol d Rom an re l igion ha

. d
received its fi rst b l ows ; what Tacitu s (H i s t i 4 ) . .

says o f the d own fall o f the e m pi re Then was that

 60 R E O RG A N I S AT I O N O F S E RV I U S

sec ret of the empire d isc l osed that it was possible ,

”
for a ruler to be appoi nted elsewhere than at Rom e
is tru e of Ro m an re l igion i n this period when it
was d iscovere d that the state m ight take i n to itsel f
d eities fro m ou tsi d e Rom e A n d yet while t he
.

pri n cip l e itsel f was fatal the practice of i t so far

, , ,

’
had been witho u t m u ch harm Rom e s growth w a s
.

i n evitable it was qu ite as i n evitabl e that these n ew

,

i n terests shou l d be represen ted i n the wor l d of the

go d s ; her ol d gods did n ot su ffice hen ce n ew on es ,

were i ntro d u ce d B ut the act u al gods brought i n thu s

.

far were harm less H ercu les Castor M i nerva D ian a

, , ,

n ever d id Rom e any i nj u ry i n them selves n ever ,

i nj u red her n ation al m or a l e never lowered the ton e

,

of earn est sobriety which had been characteristic of

the o ld regi m e.

So far i t was goo d an d wel l had it been for

,

Rom e i f she cou ld have shut the g ate o f he r

O lym pus now . What the ol d rel igion had n o t
provi ded was n ow present P o l itics trad e and art
.
, ,

were n o w represented . With these she wa s abu n

d a n t l y suppl ied for al l her futu re career Bu t that .

was n ot to be the gate was sti ll open an d the

, ,

d estru ctive in fluen ce o f G reece was soon to send i n a

host o f n ew deities who were d esti ned n ot on ly to
—
,

l
overwhel m the d R om an go d s whi ch i n i tsel f we
o

—
might forgive bu t to sap away the old Rom an
vi rtu es to the m ainten an ce of whi ch the at m osphere
,

o f these ol d gods was essen tial The forerunn er o f

.
 RE O R G A NIS A T l O N O F S E RV I U S 6 1

thi s i n fl u en ce was i n hi m self in nocen t eno u gh it

,

was Apo l l o an d it i s
,
to his co m in g an d the s ub
sequen t develop m ents which set hi m i n d istin ct
opposition to Ju p p i te r Opti m u s M ax i m u s that we
n ow t u rn
.
 T H E C O M I N G O F T H E S I BY L

T H E Rom e o f the fi rs t con su ls was a very d i fferen t

Rom e fro m that o f the earl ier ki n gs N ot on l y was
.

the pop u la t ion l arger bu t i t was d ivi ded social ly

in to d i fferen t c l asses
. The si m ple patriarchal on e
c l ass com m u n ity ha d been tran sform ed i nto the
com p l ex s t ru cture o f a society which had i n it
virtual ly a l l those elem ents and i nterests except ,

the m ore s t ri ctly i n te ll ect u al ones which go to

,

m ak e u p what we cal l society i n the m odern

sen se
. The worl d of the gods a l so had i n
c rease d i n popu lation an d there too there was
,

presen t a slight soc ial d istin ction between the o l d

gods (f n a zgel es) and the n ew co m ers
’
-

though it is open to question how stron gly this

d istin ction was felt. The n ew go d s thus far were
n ot in com m en su rabl e with the ol d on es They
.

form ed a tolerably harm on io u s ci rcl e an d there was

,

not felt to be any n ee d of n ew priesthoods the old

priests were su ffi cient to look after them al l There
.

were a fe w n ew n ames and a few n ew temples or

,

a l tars but everything was i n the o ld sp i rit an d there

, ,

62
 THE COM I NG OF TH E S I BY L 63

was no rivalry be t ween the ol d an d the n e w N on e .

of the ol d go d s was crow d ed i nto the backgrou n d

by the n ew com ers -
This was on the face of it
.

i mpossib l e as yet beca u se the n ew go d s al l r e p r e

,

sen te d n e w i d eas which ha d n ot been provid e d fo r

u nder the ol d sche m e E ven D ian a who afterwar d s
.
,

u s u rped som ewhat the fu n ction s o f J u n o stood at ,

p resen t pre em i nen t l y for the po l iti cal i d ea pu re an d

-

sim p l e s o far as Rom e was co n cern e d

,
T his perio d
.

o f equipoise d i d n ot conti n u e very lon g b u t whi l e ,

it l asted i t was beyon d d o u bt the best an d stron gest

perio d i n the who l e history o f Rom an r el igion .

There was n o vi o l ent rel igiou s en th u sias m b u t the n ,

there was n o correspon d in g d epression o ffsettin g it .

I t was the cold bu t con scientio u s form a l is m whi ch

was best adapte d to the Ro m an characte r becau se ,

so l on g as it he l d sway the ex cesses of s u perstition

were avoide d .

Bu t this elem ent o f superstition was a l ready o n

the way i t cam e i n w ithin a few years o f the open
,

in g of the repu bl i c an d it exercise d its in si d ious

,

in flu en ce ever m ore a n d m ore powerfu l l y u nti l i t ,

celebrate d its wi l d est orgies i n the t i m e o f the S econ d

P u n i c War I t is i n this p e r i o d o f the fi rst t h ree
‘

centu ries o f the rep u bli c ro u ghly from B C 5 0 0 to

, . .

B C 2 0 0 that this chan ge was pro d u ce d

. .
, O utward ly .

it resem bled a stea d y growth in rel igious feeli n g an d

en thu sias m an d it m ight we l l have seem e d so to
,

contem poraries I t was a period of m any n ew god s

.
64 TH E COM I NG O F TH E S I BY L
an d m any n ew te m ples but this i n itsel f was n o
,

harm . I t was the pri n c ipl e behi n d i t which d id the

d am age . I t was the essential con trad iction to what
tru e Ro m an religion an d Roman character dem an d ed
an d the last ha l f o f the rep u bl ic pai d t he price fo r
what t he fi rst half had d on e i n a d ecl in e of faith
,

which has s carcel y been excee d ed i n the wor l d s ’

history .

I t has been c u sto m ary for wri ters o n the history

of Rom an m ora l s to attrib u te these changes to the
com i ng o f Greek i n fluence ; an d o f cou rse i n the
main this i s correct bu t these writers have i n gen eral
,

n eglecte d to analyse this Greek i n fluence m ore

c l osely an d to di stin gu ish the vario u s asp ects o f i t
,

i n d ifferen t period s an d to ask an d answer the

,

q u estion why this i n fl uen ce shou ld be so pa r

t i cu l a r l y harm fu l to the Rom an s . I t is gen eral ly
spoken o f as the in fl u ence o f Greek l iterat u re and
phi losophy but for o u r presen t perio d this i s
,

enti rely i n correct fo r we a l l kn ow that Greek

,

l iterature d i d not begi n to i n fl u en ce Rom e u nti l the

ti m e o f the Pu n ic wars an d yet the Greek i nfl u en ce
,

of which we speak here began to exert its e ffects

two h u n d red an d fi fty years be fore the P u n ic wars .

The real cause of the u nn atural sti m u l ation o f

rel igion d u rin g these three cen tu ries is n othing
m ore n or less than the books of the S i by l l in e oracles .

I t is therefore a very defi n ite an d i nterestin g prob l em

which we have before u s I t i s to exam in e the
.
 TH E COM I NG O F TH E S I BYL 65

workings of these oracles an d to expl ai n why they

had su ch an extraordi nary effect o n rel igion an d
society that in three cen turies they co u l d en tirely
,

change both the form an d the con ten t o f Rom an

rel igion an d u n der the gu is e o f i n creasin g its zeal
, ,

so sa
p its vital ity that it requ ired al m ost two
hun d red years o f hu m a n experien ce an d su fferi ng
before tru e religion was in som e sen se at least
restore d to its o wn place .

Li ke the origi n of al m ost al l the great rel igiou s

m ovements i n the wor l d s history the begin n in gs o f
’

the S ibyl l in e books are shrou de d i n mystery A .

l ater age fo r who m hi story h ad n o secrets with a

, ,

cheap wou l d b e o m n iscien ce tol d o f the o l d wo m an

-

who vis ited Tarqu in an d offere d h i m n in e books

fo r a certai n pri ce an d when he refu se d to pay i t
, ,

wen t away bu rne d th ree an d then retu rn i n g offered

, ,

hi m at the origi n al price the si x that were l eft ; o n

hi s agai n refusi n g she wen t away b u rn e d three m ore ,

an d fi n al ly offere d at the sam e O l d p rice the th ree

that rem ai ned w hi ch he accepted
, E x cept as a .

sidel ight on the character o f the ear l y Greek tra d er

the story is worthless I t is d ou btfu l even i f the
. .

presen ce o f the S iby l li n e books i n Rom e goes bac k

beyon d the repu bl ic T he fi rst d ateabl e u se o f
.

them was i n the year B C 4 9 6 an d there is o n e . .

,

l ittle fact con nected with them whi ch m akes i t

probable that they d i d n ot com e i n u n ti l the republi c
h ad begu n Thi s i s the ci rc u m stan ce that i n view
.
66 T H E C O M I N G O F T H E S I BY L

of the great sec recy of the books i t i s u nthin kable

that they shou ld ever have been I n Rom e withou t
especia l gu ard ian s an d yet the earl iest g u ard ians
,

that we kno w of were a n ew l y m a d e priesthood con

“
sisting origi n al ly o f two m en the so cal led two ,
-

m en i n charge of the sacri fices ( l f o i r i s a er i s

f a ei n n el.i s
) N ow the form of this title i s pec u liar ;
it is n ot a p roper n a me l ike the tit l es of al l the
other priesthoods . I n stead i t is bu i lt on the plan
of the titles o f the special com m ittees appoi nted by
the S enate for a d m i n istrative pu rposes it bears every
m ark therefore o f havin g arisen u n d er the republic ,

rather than u n d er the kin gdom at a ti m e when the ,

Sen at e ha d the sup rem e con t rol S o m u ch may

.

be said regard ing the ti m e when they were intro

d u c e d into Rom e ; as for the place from which they
cam e this was wi thout doubt the Greek colon ies
,

of Southern I taly probably the ol d est and m ost

,

i m portant o f them C u m ae so fam ou s for i ts S ibyl

, ,
.

This was n ot the fi rst association that Ro m e ha d

ha d with Cu m ae for in al l probabili ty the worship
,

o f A pol lo had spread from there i n to Rome toward

the close o f the kingdom A pollo and the books

.

were con n ected at Cu m ae for it was A pollo who

,

i nspired the S ibyl an d the o racles were his com m an d s

, ,

bu t it is al most certain that Apol lo cam e to Rom e

i n a d van ce of the oracles .H e c am e there as a g o d
of heal in g and was give n a sacred place outside the
p o n z er i n i n i n the C am pus M artiu s o n ,
the spot
 TH E COM I NG O F TH E S I BY L 67

where later ( B C 4 3 1 ) a tem ple was bu i lt fo r hi m

. .

with his si ster A rtem is D ian a an d thei r m other -

Laton a . This was the on ly state te m p l e that Apol l o

ever ha d u nti l A ugustus bu ilt the famou s on e o n
,

the Pa l atin e I t was i n the wak e o f A pol l o that

.

the S ibyl li n e books cam e A s for th e book s them

.

selves they were kept so secret that we can n ot

,

ex pect to know m u ch abo u t them but i n rare cases ,

where the serio u sn ess o f the ex igen cy warran t e d it ,

the Senate perm itte d thé actu al pu bl i cation o f the

oracle upon which its action w a s based an d o f ,

the o racl es thu s pu bl ished o n e o r two have bee n

preserve d to u s They were o f cou rse written i n
.

Greek an d were phrase d i n the am big u ous style

whic h for obviou s reason s was the m ost adva ntageou s
style for oracles T hey com m an ded the worship o f
.

certai n speci fi c deiti es n atu ral l y al l o f the m Greek

, ,

an d the perform an ce of certai n m ore o r less c o m

pli cated ritu al acts When they were received i n
.

Rom e they were pl ace d i n t he te m pl e o f Ju p p i te r

,

Opti mu s M axi m u s on the Capitol i n e i n the keepin g

of thei r gu ard ian s the n ew p riesthood of the two
,
“

”
m en i n charge o f the sac ri fices This com m ittee
.

of t wo was en l arge d to ten i n B C 3 6 7 when the . .

great com prom ise between the P atri cian s an d the

P lebeian s was m ade an d the P l ebeian s were ,

a d m itted in to this on e p riesthood w ith five r e p r e ,

se n t a t i v e s S ubseq u en tly S u l la m ad e the n u m ber

.

fi fteen which contin u ed as the o ffi cia l n u m ber fro m

,
68 T H E C OM I NG O F T H E S I BYL
that ti m e on so that the priesthood is ordin ari ly
,

cal led the Q n i n a eeei n o i r i even when o n e o f the ol d er

’
,

periods is referre d to .The real con trol o f the books

however lay i n the han d s o f the S en ate . When the
S en ate saw fit the p riests were or d ered to con sul t
,

the books b u t without this spec ial com m an d even

,

their guard ians dared n ot approach them The.

priests reporte d to the Senate what they had fou n d ,

an d the S en ate then decreed whatever actio n s the

o racles com m ande d .The carryin g o u t o f these
actions was again i n the charge of the S ibyl lin e
‘

p riests who perform ed the cere mon ies d em an d ed an d

,

were for al l ti m e to com e respon sibl e fo r the m a i n ten

an ce of any n ew cu lts which m ight be i n trodu ced .

When we see how careful ly these oracles were

gu arded an d how ci rcu m spectly thei r u se was hedged
abou t by sen atorial control an d when we thin k how
’

relative l y l ittle harm the u se of oracles ha d wrought

i n Greece i n all the cen tu ries of her history i t m ay ,

wel l seem as i f the statemen ts m ade i n the begi n nin g

of this chapter abou t the havoc cau sed by these
oracles were grossly e xaggerated .B u t the efforts of
the S en ate to safegu ard these oracles on ly prove
that the older an d wiser m en i n the com m un ity
real ised how d an gerou s they were an d the com,

parison with Greece leads to a con sideration o f

certain essen tial d i fferen ces between the Greek an d
the Roman tem peram ent which m ad e that which
was m eat for on e in to poison for the ot h er .
 T H E C O M I N G O F T H E S I BY L 69

I n the older pu rer age of

Greece the gods were
never far away from m en they l ived al m ost si d e by
,

si d e with them ; there were to be su re m any go d s

o f whom they were afraid an d fro m whom they
d esi red to keep as far away a s possib l e but there ,

were a great many other gods o f w hom they liked

to thin k . I n con stru ctin g the recor d s o f t h ei r
history they d id n ot work back wards from the light
o f the presen t i nto an ever darken in g past bu t they ,

began from the begi n n i n g i n the fu l l light of the

god s from whom al l thi ngs spran g and mythology ,

passe d in to history by i mperceptible gradation s .

They kn ew m ore abou t the begi n ni n g when al l

things were com pletely i n the han ds o f the god s
than they d id abou t thei r i m m ed iate past A rt .

began very early to m ak e them fam i liar w ith the

appearan ce o f the gods so that there wa s little that
,

was mysterious abou t thei r religion so l ittle that the

,

elem en t o f mystery had later to be al m ost arti fi cial ly

”
cu l tivated i n the mysteri es
“
They respected the
.

gods rather than feare d them and they felt that the
,

go d s wo ul d d o them n o har m u n less they themselves

i

fi rst si n ned again st them o r thei r own fellow m en -

,

an d the oracles o f D el phi were n o m ore terri fying to

them than the com in g o f the word o f G o d was to
the p rophets o f I srael . They were accustom ed to
these messages which were al m ost every day affairs
,
-
.

I t was al l a part o f that m arvel lou s poise o f n at u re

which m ade the every d ay m ortal Greek al most as
-
70 T H E C O M IN G O F T H E S I BY L

cal m as the u n pertu rbed i mpertu rbable faces of thei r

go d s as thei r great scu l ptors saw them .

In Rom e al l was very d ifferen t The su perstiti ous .

ele m en t i n the I talian character which am azes u s so ,

m u ch to d ay when cu l t u re d twen tieth cen t u ry m en

-

an d wom en i n goo d society persecute thei r fe l lows

because o f the evi l eye is a heritage of m any ,

thou san d years Som eti m es it seem s as i f it were

.

the I talian birth ri g ht the blight o f Etru ria which

,

cam e i nto thei r natu re i n spite of the m selves It .

requ i re d cen t u ries to ed u cate the Rom an i nto the

concept of person al i n d ivi d u al god s H e had .

begu n his theologica l c areer by terror of u n known

powers al l about hi m an d by regard in g religion as
,

the sci en ce o f propitiatin g the right power o n the

right occasion O n e cou l d n ot kn ow these powers

.
,

on e d i d n ot d esi re t o Thei r god s were at on ce

.

thei r m asters an d thei r S ervan ts but n ever thei r ,

com pan ions . The early Rom an kn ew n o such thin g

as an oracle the on ly me ssages from the god s were
,

the exp ressions o f their wra t h i n the send in g o f ,

p rod igies an d porten ts T hey d id i n deed consu lt

.

the god s by watchin g the fl ight of bi rd s o r studyin g

the en trai ls of the sacri fi ce bu t i t was m erely to ,

“
obta i n a ye s o r n o an swer to a categori cal qu estion
a s to whether a certai n act was p leasin g to the gods .

O therwise al l abou t the m l ay mystery an d at th e ,

poin t where sight failed S i n ce neither i magi n ation

,

nor faith carried the m any further su perstition ,

 T HE COM I NG O F THE S I BY L 7 1

s tepped i n an d the m ore they thou ght o f the god s

,

the m ore terri fi ed they becam e No w i f yo u p resen t

.

to a peop le thus constituted a d i vi ne book o f i n fa l

l i bl e oracles yo u i n c rease thei r terror i n greater
,

m easu re than the book i tsel f can assuage it an d ,

with the u se o f the book the S i m pler form s of their

ol d bel ief wi l l grow less an d l ess e ffective i n the face
”
o f this n ew witchcraft whi ch can work won d ers
,
.

A n d no m atter how yo u m ay hedge the u se o f the

book about i t wil l be u se d m ore an d m ore as the
,

c ravin g fo r m agic i s in creasin gly arou sed .

The stu d y o f the outward an d the i nwar d e ffects

of the S i byl lin e books i s therefore the real history o f
re l igion i n the fi rst hal f o f the repu bl ic The o u t .

ward e ffects are s e en i n the i ntrodu ction o f a series

o f G reek go d s who were i n themselves i n the m ai n
,

em i nently respectabl e an d whose presen ce w a s i n

,

itsel f n o offen ce to goo d m orals an d i f we stop there ,

we fail to u n d erstan d why the rel igiou s i nterest o f

the S econd P u n ic War shou ld chan ge so qu ickly to
the scepticis m o f the fol lowi n g cen tu ry The i n ward .

effects however which though they a r e hard to

, ,

se e, may yet be d iscovered between the l i n es o f

the chron icl e wil l ex p lain al l the u nderm i n i n g o f
,

fou n dation u nti l we wond er not why the stru ctu re

,

col lapsed so sudden ly bu t how i t m an aged to last so

long .

The history of the activity o f the books begi n s

peaceably enou gh I n the year B C 4 9 6 Ro m e wa s
. . .
72 TH E COM ING O F THE S I BY L

i n a ba d way ; her crops had failed an d the i m port a

tion o f grain fro m Latiu m was rendered very d iffi cu lt
becau se o f the war with the Latin s i n which she w a s
‘

en gaged . I n her d istress S he tu rn ed to the S i byll in e

books an d o n the occasion of this their fi rst recorded
,

u se the oracles ordered the i ntro d u ction in to Ro m e

,

o f the cu lt o f three Greek d eities D emeter D ionysos , , ,

an d Kore I t was a m ost appropriate and character

.

i s t i c choi ce I n the fi rst place the deities i n qu estion

.

were worshipped at C u mae the hom e o f the books , ,

whence Rom e cou ld an d p robably d id borrow the

, ,

cu lt ; an d in the secon d place D em ete r was the

goddes s o f grain an d it wa s from C u m ae that
,

Rom e was al ready begin n i n g to obtai n her i mported

grain supply Thus the com i ng o f the Cu m aean
.

D em eter i n to the rel igiou s wor l d o f Rom e i s bu t the

sacre d parallel to the com in g o f Cu m aean grai n i nto
the m aterial world o f Rom e The G reek goddess o f
.

grai n cam e with the grain j u st as Castor had com e

,

with the Greek caval ry with this essen tial d isti n ction
,

however that D em eter cam e by the i n can tation o f

the books an d the en actm en t o f the S en ate whereas ,

’
Castor s co min g wa s a sl ow and normal d evelopm en t .

I t is i mportan t to notice closely exactly what

happen e d when these deities were i n trod u ced partly ,

because they form the fi rst recorde d instan ce and ,

hen ce m ay wel l have acted as a m odel for subsequen t

repetitions o f the act but also because we have a
,

m ore defi n ite k nowledge o f the phenom en a i n this

 TH E COM I NG O F TH E S I BY L 73

case than i n m any others I n the fi rst p lace it is

.

c l ear that tlie d eities were fel t to be foreign :n ot

only was thei r tem ple bu i l t ou t the Aventin e way ,

i n the val ley of the C irc u s M ax i m u s outs id e the

—
,

p o rn er i n i n but
,
a m u ch m ore sign i fi can t fact — thei r
Greek n am es were d ropped an d they wer e given ,

Rom an n am es i n stea d to m ake t hem seem less o u t

,

of place . Then too these Rom an n am es were n ot

n ew nam es tran slation s o f thei r G reek ti tles bu t
, ,

were the n am es o f al ready ex istin g Rom an deities

with whom they were eas i ly iden ti fied so that we ,

s ee at on ce that thei r com i n g w a s n o rea l en rich m en t

o f the Roman O lym pu s ; what they stood for was

al ready represente d there an d thei r com i ng wa s ,

si mply a redupli cati on with the con sequen t resu l t

,

that a s these parven u s i n creased i n p rom i n en ce an d

i n flu en ce they robbed o f al l thei r vital ity the sober
,

ol d Rom an deities to whom they had attached them

selves . What were these origin al deities who were
thus doomed to death i n B C 4 9 6 ? D em eter took . .

the nam e of the O l d Rom an godd ess Ceres a goddess ,

o f fertil ity abou t whom we kn ow j ust en ough to

,

assert that she belon ged to the O l d rel igion o f Nu m a

an d that she wa s at heart qu ite a d i fferen t person
from De meter A l l the rest i s lost su bm erged
.
,

u nder the new D em eter Ce res with her tem pl e bu il t

-

by Greek architects an d her Ap ri l gam es I t i s thi s .

n ew Ceres who soon develops an extraord inary

pol i tical i m portance becau se her tem pl e i s to the
74 TH E COMI NG OF TH E S I BY L

Plebeian s as a c lass what the tem ple of M i n e rva i s

t o the u n ions of organ ise d labou r I t is there that
.

they have thei r m eeting place and the tem ple itse lf
-
,

i s always thei r treasu ry as contraste d with the Satu rn

tem pl e the treasu ry O f the state as a whol e
,
The .

very officers of the P l ebeian s the fam o u s Pl ebeian,

aed i l es get thei r n am e fro m association with thi s

,

tem p l e (a eel es ) Thi s pol itical si d e o f her activity

.

is the on ly real ad van tage except the gra in itsel f

, ,

con nected with her i mportation the two form at

best a poor econ om i c com pe nsation for the ever
i nc reas in g i m m oral e ffects o f the publ i c gam es of
C eres
.

B u t though Ceres is the most i m portan t of the

th ree deities econom ica l ly a n d pol itically we m ust ,

not forget the other two both of whom are in ter

,

esti ng tho u gh on e o f the m m ore fo r what she i s n o t

,

than for what she i s A long with Dem eter cam e

.

D ionysos an d Dem eter s daughter Kore :the three

’

were associ ated i n the solem n mysteries of E leu sis ,

bu t n on e of the beau ty of these ideas wen t over in to

the Rom an cu lt D em eter was m e r e l y t he dei fied
.
‘

grai n t ra ffi c an d D ionysos wa s l ittl e else than the

-
,

g o d o f wi ne whi le
,
poor Kore fel l o u t withou t any
parti cular conten t for a cu riou s reason t hat we shal l
see i n a m om ent The on ly o l d Rom an deity wi th
.

whom D ionysos cou ld be identified was the g o d

Li ber who ha d had a rather interesti n g history an d
, ,

who had d on e enough along the l i n e o f sel f deve l op -

 THE COM I NG O F TH E S I BY L 75

m ent to deserve a better fate than to be cru shed

to i n s ig n i fi c a n c e u nd e r the prom i n en ce o f hi s new
n am esak e . L iber was at this ti m e a flou rishi n g go d
of fertil ity an d si n ce the i n trod u ctio n o f the grape
,

i nto I taly especial ly the patron o f the fru it of the

,

vi ne bu t he had m a d e hi s own career an d there w a s

, ,

a tim e when he had n o i n d ivid ual ity of his o w n but

was m erely a cu l t a dj ective of the great g o d Ju p p i te r
-
,

the giver o f a l l ferti l ity i n every phase o f l i fe Thus

.

o u t of the origin al Ju p p i t e r Liber there had grown

-

the i nd epen d en t go d Liber ; an d n o w this Liber lost

h is i n d ivi d u a l ity by i de nti fi cation wi th D ionysos .

Fin al ly comes Kore De meter s da u ghter

,
’
H ere
.

the Roman s were hard pu t t o it to fi n d a go d dess

who represen ted an y s im ila r con tent an d afte r al l

,

this was n o light task because Kore has l ittle

mean ing u n less she i s taken also as Persephon e
P l uto s bri d e —a p roces s whi ch requ i re d a m ytho
,

lo g ical kn ow l edge an d app rec iation i n w hich the

Roman s o f the early repu bl ic were totally lack in g .

B ut there was an o l d goddess Libera a sha d owy ,

poten tial ity contrasted an d pai red with the m ascu li n e

Liber an d they chose her an d gave Ko re her nam e
,
.

We have a cu rious proo f o f ho w l ittle the Rom an s

knew of Kore Libera an d o f ho w p u rely m echan i cal
-
,

both the i ntrod u ction o f Kore an d her identi fication

with Libera were i n the fact that about t wo hu n d red
,

and fi fty years l ater as we shal l s e e Persephon e

, , ,

the real K ore was i ntro d u ced in to Ro m e as an

,
7 6 TH E COM I NG O F TH E S I BY L

altogether n ew d eity an d ex isted there side by sid e

,

with Libera for at l east a cen tu ry before people

began to real ise that P roserpi n a an d Libera stood
for the sam e Greek god d ess .

I t wa s n ecessary to go i n to these d etails i n ord er

that we m ight u n derstan d a s m u ch as possible o f
the process by whi ch the gods of the S i by l l in e books
were assi m i lated i n to the body o f Rom an rel igion .

We see how i n the m ai n they were su perfluou s an d

therefore u n n ecessary an d even u n d es irable because
by their p resen ce they robbed O l d Ro m an deities o f
their ex istence an d how those el em ents i n them
,

whi ch were least i n accor d with the o l d Rom an

spi rit were m ost apt to develop an d how i n gen eral
,

their adoption was a pu rely m echan ical p rocess l ike ,

any act in witchcraft where the form i s al l i m portan t

,

becau se the m ean i ng can n ot be u n derstoo d an d how

,

total ly d i fferen t therefore the estate o f these go d s

was i n Rom e from what it had been i n G reece ,

because i n Rom e they were i ntrod uced stripped ,

of al l thei r mythology worshippe d on ly fo r thei r

,

practical bearings an d compel led therefore to work

,

for their l ivin g

.

The i m portation o f grai n from C u m ae m ean t

m ore to Rom e than the m ere satisfaction o f he r
physical n eeds ; i t m ean t m u ch m ore than the
addition o f th ree d eities to her state cu lt fo r the
-
,

grai n thu s i m porte d wa s carried from Cu m ae to

O stia by se a an d so u p the Ti ber to Rome an d the ,
 T H E C O M I N G O F T H E S I BY L 77

whole m atter therefore m arks on e o f the i m portan t

steps in Rom e s i nterest i n c om m erce gen era l l y bu t
’

especial ly i n ocean co m m erce A s yet s he d i d n ot

.

d o the act u al carryi n g hersel f b u t she began to be

,

in terested i n it an d the se a began to m ean som e

,

thin g to this i n lan d town .Thi s i n c reased i n terest

in trad e i n gen eral an d this i n ceptive i n teres t i n
those who g o d ow n to the sea i n ships have both
“

o f them left thei r r e fle x i o n i n the re l igiou s l i fe o f the

ti m e two n ew deities are i n tro d u ced both o f them ,

al mos t certain ly by m ean s o f the S iby l li n e oracl es ,

though som e acci den tal b l an ks i n o u r histori cal

tra d ition have d eprive d u s o f d etai ls .

The chron ic l e o f the year B C 4 9 5 tel ls u s that

. .

there was a d isp ute i n that year a s to who shou l d

ded i cate the te m pl e of M erc u ry This is M ercury s
.
’

fi rst appearan ce i n o u r so u rces The ci rcu m stan ces

.

o f the vowi n g o f the te m ple have been o m itted

thro u gh som e oversight but i n spite of this t he con
,

n e x i o n o f his in trod u ction w ith the S iby l l i n e books

is beyond a l l reason able d ou bt fo r the si m ple reason

,

that the guard ian s of the o racles al ways looke d after

hi s cu lt i n al l subsequ en t ti m e N otwithstan d i n g the
.

su d d enn ess o f hi s appearan ce and the silen ce o f the

chron icle his story i s qu ite clear an d his past history
,

easy to restore at l east in outl in e

,
.

The versati l e H er m es who as m essen ger of the

,

go d s plays a part i n so m any Greek myths beca m e ,

in the co u rse of t i m e am on g other thin gs associated

7 8 TH E COM I NG OF THE S I BY L

with trave l li ng as god of road s an d also with tra d e

, , ,

part l y becau se tra d in g n ecessitates trave l l in g an d ,

partly becau se H erm es was also the protec t or of th e

m arket p l ace i n which the tra d in g wa s d on e
-
Thu s .

“ ”
he was ca l led H erm es P rotector of the M erchan t
E
( p i n ol a i os ) an d i n this capacity wen t i n to the colon ies
of Greece i n cl u d in g those o f Southern I taly
,
Th u s .

H ermes travel le d w ith the g rain m erchan t from

C u m ae an d becam e kn own to the Rom an s They
.

however kn ew hi m mere l y as the god of trad e and ,

thei r n ame for hi m is n othin g but the tran slation i nto

Lati n of his G reek cu lt title :E n zp ol a zos : M er cu r i u s
'

-
.

For a l on g ti m e i t was thou ght that there ha d existed a

M ercurius amon g the origin al go d s of Rom e but the ,

t races of thi s ol d god are apparen t rather than real

and suggest on e phase of that pasti m e of which the
later Rom an s were so fon d that o f writin g history
,

backwards an d pu ttin g a n arti fi cial hal o of antiqu ity

abo u t the god s w h om they borrowed from G reece .

Thus M ercu ry was received i nto the state cu lt at -

about the ti me when the grain trad e began an d was , ,

as it were the d ivi n e representative o f the i nterest

,

which the Roman state took in the whol e tran s

action . H is tem pl e was outside the p oi n er i n i n on
the Aventin e sid e of the C irc u s M axi m us I t was
.

i n this te m p l e of the m erchan t god that the p ri m itive

Cham ber of Com m erce (ool l eg i n i n i n er ea l or n in ) had
its begin n in g an association part l y sacral part l y
, , ,

com m ercial whose m e m bers the 7n er en r i a l es are

, , ,
 TH E COM I NG O F TH E S I BYL 79

frequen tly m et with i n literatu re an d al so i n i n sc r i p

tions o n e o f which has been fou n d as far away a s
,

the islan d of D elos I n the actu al cu l t o f the

.

Rom ans M erc u ry n ever regain ed the m any si d ed n ess -

which he had lost i n com in g to them m erely as a

god of t rad e I n thi s capacity he appears o n the
.

sextan s o f the old C opper coin age an d u n d er the ,

em pi re he went i nto t he p rovi n ces a s the com pan ion

o f M ars sin ce the m erchan t wen t side by sid e with
,

the sold ier O n the co n t r a ry whe n in the third

’

centu ry before C hrist G reek literatu re cam e to Rom e ,

this si mp le idea o f M ercu ry was rei n forced by m any

n ew G reek ideas an d he entere d i nto Rom an poetry
with al l the attribu tes an d fu n ction s o f H er m es but
this had little o r n o e ffect o n the c u lt an d there were
n o great rival s to the o l d te m p l e n ear the C irc u s
Max i m us n o c u l t centre with advan ced Greek i d eas
,
-
,

as we have seen sprin g up in the case o f H ercu l es ,

C astor M in erva an d D ian a

, ,
.

We h ave a l rea d y seen ho w the r i se o f the grain

tra d e brought fo u r new d eities to Rom e bu t there ,

is o n e more chapter to o u r story The grain itsel f.

an d the trad e itsel f ha d n ow obtai ne d their d ivin e

comp lem ents but the sea had n ot yet received its
,

d ue it to o m u st have its para ll el am on g the go d s o f

Rom e . An d so it cam e to pass that agai n u n der
the in fluen ce of the fate fu l books thou gh exactly ,

when or how we cann ot say the Greek Posei d on ,

cam e i nto Rom e The sea had always m ean t m u ch

.
80 T H E C O M I N G O F T H E S I BY L

to the Greeks an d the j oyfu l S hout of X en ophon s

,
’

t roops The s e a the se a

“
fi n ds an echo al l through
the centu ries o f Greek h istory befo re an d after the
A n abasis Bu t the m u ltitude of island s an d harbou rs
.

i n G reece i s i n m arked contrast to the dearth of

them i n I taly where even to d ay there is n o good
,
-

port of cal l on the west coast between N aples an d

C ivitavecchia —an d the latter wou ld be u sele ss were ,

i t not fo r T raj an s m ole I n I taly accor d in gly the

’
.

sea god Poseido n was worshipped on ly in the G reek

-

colon ies where however he had t wo famou s cu lts

, ,

on e at Taren tu m l ater cal led Col on i a Ne p t u n i a an d

, ,

on e at P aestu m whose ol d n am e was Poseidon ia

,
.

The Ro m an s ha d worshi pped d eiti es o f wate r i n

abu n d an ce as becam e an agri cu ltu ral peopl e fo r
, ,

water m eant l i fe an d d rought d eath ; but their

, ,

d eities we re those of the sweet waters of springs an d

rivers they kn ew n o god o f the sea
,
But when the .

oracles brought P osei d on to Rom e he was i d enti fi ed

with an ol d Rom an water go d N eptu n e whose cul t-
,

hen ce forward i n cluded the se a We d o n o t know.

where the shrin e o f the o l d sweet water N eptu n e had -

been bu t his old festival had occu rred o n J u l y 2 3

, .

T he n ew P osei d on N eptu n e was given a tem pl e

-

outsid e the p om er i mn in the C ampu s M artiu s bu t ,

the n ew wa s con n ecte d with the O l d i n so far at leas t

t hat the ded ication d ay o f the n ew tem ple was J u ly
2 3 the day o f the old N eptu n e festival
, .

With the intro du ction of N ept u n e the se a g o d ,

-
,
 T H E C O M I N G O F T H E S I BY L 8 1

the state ha d accom pl ished a s i t were a sort o f

, ,

d ivin e marin e i nsu ran ce ; the tran sport of the grai n

was now watched over by a Rom an g o d ; but i t
was not to be expecte d that the c u lt o f a sea
o d wo u ld ever mean very m u ch t o the Rom an s
g .

The m ariti m e com merce of the E tern a l C ity was

very slow i n d evelopin g an d i t grew to its sub
,

sequ ent proportions n ot becau se the Rom an s o f

,

I taly engaged i n it but because those foreign ers who

,

took to the s e a by n at u re later beca m e Ro m an s .

N or d id n aval warfare fal l to her lot u nt i l the Fi rst

P u ni c War an d even then her vi ctori es were gain ed
,

by the tactics of l an d fi ghtin g t ran sferred to the dec ks

o f t wo ships her o wn an d the en emy s fasten ed
,
’

together by lan d i n g bri d ges and the g l ory o f vi ctory

-
,

was d u e n ot to N eptu n e but to M ars I t was n ot

.

u n ti l the civi l wars at the cl ose o f the republ i c that

real n aval batt l es occu rre d an d that N eptun e receive d
,

his share of glory for the vi ctory at A ctiu m i n B C . .

3 ,
1 an d later over S extu s Po m p eiu s i n a,
tem pl e
erected by Agrippa i n the C am pu s M artiu s behin d ,

the beauti fu l co l u mn s o f which the Rom an S tock

E x change tran sacts its bus iness to day -
.

I n the fi rst decade o f the rep ubl ic therefore as ,

we have seen a grou p o f Greek gods was i ntrodu ced

,

by the Sibyl l i n e oracl es n o o n e o f whom can be

,

said to have been real ly neede d n o on e of whom

,

except the sea elem en t i n N eptu ne represented an y

-

n ew and vital prin ci ples n o t al ready presen t i n the

G
82 T H E C O M I N G O F T H E S I BY L

religious world i f n ot of N u ma at least of S erviu s

, ,
.

The best that can be sai d of these go d s is that

on e or two of them n otably M ercu ry an d N ep
,

tu n e exerted n o pos itively detri m ental in flu en ces on

,

later generations . Fo r the n ext two cen tu ries o u r

chron icles are silent so far as the actu a l in trod u ction
,

of n ew d eities by th e ai d o f the books i s con cerned ,

an d it is n ot u nti l B C 2 9 3 that the n arrative o f n ew

. .

gods begin s again .Bu t i n other ways the oracl es

were n ot i d le d u rin g thes e two hu n d red years We .

m u st rid ou rselves o f the idea that i t was n ecessary

that thei r consu ltation shou ld always resul t i n the
i mportation of so m e n ew Greek d eity The oracl es .

m ight order the carryin g out of som e n ew rel igiou s

rite regar d in g the deities al ready present and thes e ,

rel igiou s rites especial ly the pu bli c procession s so

,

frequen tly perform e d feed the ever growin g su per

,
-

s t i t i o n o f the popu l ace I t is essential to a charm

.

or in cantation that it shou l d con tain somethi ng

stran ge o r foreign it is above al l thin gs help from
,

without ; an d when the god s sen d p ro d igies an d

portents when thei r statues weep an d sweat bloo d
, ,

when cattle speak an d m eteors fal l from the sky

, ,

som ething stran ge an d u n u sual m u st be d on e to

cou nteract these thi n gs A mon g the foreign acts
.

thus ordered the sacre d procession occu rs frequ ently .

I t starte d from the te m pl e of A pol lo i n the Campu s

M artiu s a nd passed in to the city through the Porta
C a r m e n ta l i s wen t across the Foru m an d then outsid e
,
 TH E COM I NG OF TH E S I BY L 83

the p oin er i n i n agai n to the tem ple o f C eres an d ,

then to the templ e of J u n o Regin a on the Aventi n e .

I t was therefore a power from without whi ch cam e

in to their city to p u ri fy them an d to carry away o u t
of the city again the i m pu rities o f which it ha d rid
the com mu n ity .

I t i s also characteristic of su ch sem i m agical -

things that they lose thei r e ffects afte r a few appl i ca

tions an d other thi ngs m ust be sought al ways m ore
,

compl i cated an d m ore strange Thu s from the

.

begin n in g o f the repu bl i c do w n throu gh the S econ d

P uni c Wa r we have a series o f extraord in ary m easu res ,

growin g m ore an d m ore com plicated u nti l i n the

religio u s fren zy o f the years a fter C an n ae even
hu m an sac ri fi ces a re perform ed at the co m m an d o f
the book s . I n this the thi r d cen tu ry be fore Chri st
d eities begin again t o be i n trodu ced an d it is to ,

this cen tu ry that we n ow t u rn .

I t is probabl e that the Rom an s had always

worshipped certain powers o f heal in g bu t what thei r
,

n ames were u n d er the o l d regi m e w e d o n ot k n ow ,

except that possibly they were con n ecte d with the

go d s o f water . At the close of the k in g d o m they .

received as we have seen Apol lo the d ivi n e healer

, , ,

Apol lo Med icus an d this was origin al ly the on ly

,

si de o f his activity whi ch he exerc ised at Ro me .

At variou s season s o f plagu e d u ri n g the early

centu ries of the republi c they cal led on hi m fo r help ,

and on on e s u ch occasion ( B C 4 3 1 ) they bu il t hi m

. .
84 THE COM I NG O F TH E S I BY L

a temple . But in the cou rse of ti m e m en began to

thin k l ightly o f the ol d fam i ly physi cian who had
stoo d by the Rom an s d u rin g m ore than two centu ries
his m ethods were too con servati ve they were felt ,

n ot to be thoroughly u p to date A n ew go d of.

hea l in g had appeare d i n Rom e the G reek go d ,

A sk lepios whom myth cal le d Apol lo s son though

,
’

origin al ly he had ha d n o con n ection wi t h A pollo .

H is great san ctuary was at E p i da u r o s an d fro m ,

there hi s cu l t sprea d over al l the G reek world At .

fi rst he was kn own at Ro me only i n the worship o f

private i n d ivid uals who had brou ght hi m u p from
,

the G reek colon ies of S ou thern I taly probably ,

Taren tu m o r Meta p o n tu m ; b u t hi s cu lt was con -

t a g i o u s and the stories o f h is m i rac ul ou s cu res

,

were eagerly heard I t i s n o wonder then that i n

.

the p resen ce o f a great pestilen ce i n B C 2 9 3 when .

,

the S ibyl l i ne books we re con su lted i t was fou n d ,

” “
i n the book s as Li vy says that Aes cu lapiu s m u st
, ,

’
be brou ght to Rom e from E p i da u r o s The war .

w ith Pyrrhu s however was on an d nothi n g co u ld ,

be don e that year except the settin g apart o f a

solem n d ay o f prayer an d su ppl ication to Aescu lapiu s .

I t is i n terestin g to observe how m u ch the Rom an s

have change d sin ce the ti m e exactly two cen tu ri es
before ( B C . . when Ceres an d her com pan ions ,

the fi rst god s i ntrodu ced by th e books receive d ,

their tem pl e That was the ack n owled gm ent o f

.

gods well known at Rom e an d even then they were

,
 THE COM I NG OF TH E S I BY L 85

i m med iately i d en ti fied with al ready ex istin g Rom an

go d s n ow they actu al ly sen d an exped ition n ot on ly
outsi d e o f Rom e b u t of I taly itsel f to brin g i n the
cul t of a g o d who m they accept by h is G reek n am e .

I n the followin g year ( B C 2 9 2 ) the exped ition started

. .

for E p i da u r o s to bri n g back the god that is the ,

sacred sn ak e wh ich was both h is sym bol an d his

visi b l e presen ce S uch an i mportation o f a sac re d
.

sn ake from E p i da u ro s is not u n iqu e i n the case o f

Ro me bu t was the n or m al m ethod of establ ishi ng a
,

bran ch cu lt . S n akes were kept at E p i dau r o s fo r

j u st this pu rpose an d m any bran ches were thu s
,

estab l ished . I t i s a n ex trem ely i n teresti ng questi on

as to the practical m e d ical val u e O f the m ethod s ‘

o f hea l i n g practised at E p i d a u r o s an d its branches .

Fo r a l ong tim e those best fi tted to exp ress a

tec h n ical opin ion m o d ern physic ian s who exam in e d
,

the m atter fou n d nothi ng good i n them an d thei r

, ,

opin ion seem s to receive con fi rm ation fro m som e o f

the i nscription s recently d i scovered at E p i da u r o s ,

which tel l the m ost extraor d i n ary tal es o f m i racu lou s

cu res
. A nd yet m any of these tales are n ot i n ten ded
as actu al facts b u t rather as pious legend s proclai m ed
, ,

for the e d i fi c ati o n of the d evou t i n orde r that thei r

,

faith m ight be qu ickened Before we con d e m n the

.

whole affair we m u st realise two facts ; on e i s that

,

som e of the m ost able m in d s of Greece m en who ,

were otherwise by n o m ean s rem arkabl e for thei r

religious faith believed i mpl icitly i n E p i d au ro s an d
,
86 T H E C O M I N G O F T H E S I BY L

went there to be cu red ; an d the other is that the

m i racu lous action o f the god was always supple
m e n te d by m ed ici n es i n which there m ay well have
,

been som e real val u e .

We are tol d too m u ch rather than too l ittle

about this em bassy to E p i da u ro s for the atmosphere ,

of this third cen tu ry is d i fferen t from that of the

early republ ic G reek l iterat u re was begi n n i n g to
.

i n flu ence Rom e an d thos e gen eration s were bein g

,

born who were to be the pion eers i n Rom an l itera

tu re. T hus Roman mythology wa s com m en cin g
along Gr eek l i n es an d with Greek m odel s and on e ,

of the poi nts where legen d grew thi ckest an d fastest

is i n this com ing o f Aescu lapi us The p l ai n facts .

are evi d ently that the com m ittee wen t to E p i da u r o s ,

O btai n ed the sn ak e brought it back sa fely to Rom e

, ,

an d establ ished the san ctu ary o n the is l and i n the

T iber where a te mp l e was bu ilt an d d edicated
,
‘

J an uary 1 B C 2 9 1
,
. P robably this was the fi rst
. .

u s e to whi ch the isl an d had ever been put an d from ,

this ti m e d ates the fi rst bridge con necting it with

the city ; the other bridge to the right ban k was , ,

m uch later The Rom ans had always con sidered

‘

the is l an d a d isa d vantage rather than an advantage .

Even i n legen d it was cu rsed fo r it spran g from the ,

wheat o f the Tarqu in s They had a lways des ired

.

to be cut off from it an d ha d always feared lest it

,

m ight act as a m ean s of app roach for the en emy

fro m the opposite bank The few real facts o f
.
 TH E C O M I NG O F TH E S I BY L 87

Aescu lapius s com in g grew i nto a rom anti c accou n t

’

of how to the great su rpri se an d terror of the sai lors

, ,

the snake wen t of its own accord i nto the Ro m an

ship ; an d how i t stayed aboard u nti l they reached
A n ti u m an d then su d d en ly swam ashore an d coile d
,

itself u p i n a sacred pal m tree i n the en c losu re of

the tem pl e o f A pollo there ; an d how when they,

were i n despair o f ever gettin g i t back agai n it ,

returne d peaceably to them at the en d o f th ree d ays ,

and al l wen t wel l o n the j ou rn ey to O stia an d u p

the Tiber u n til they were passin g the islan d when ,

the sn ak e wen t ashore to m ak e i ts perm an en t hom e

there.

I t was a pretty fan cy which at a later d ate

form e d the islan d i nto the l iken ess o f a boat by
bu ild ing a prow an d stem of travertin e at eithe r en d ,

the tr a ces o f whi ch m ay stil l be seen ; an d i t is a

cu rious i nstan ce o f the m any su rvival s O f an cien t
Rom e i n the m o d ern c ity that the H ospital o f
,

S Bartolom m eo stan d s o n the site of the o l d

.

Aescu l apiu s san ctuary an d so far a s we can tell

, ,

twenty two cen tu ries o f su fferin g hu m an ity have

-

had the bu rd en of their pai n l ighten ed there i n ,

u n i nterrupte d su ccession si n ce that n ew year s d ay ’

above three hu n d red years before C hrist when the ,

hosp ital of Aes cu lapius o f E p i da u ro s w a s form al ly

opened .

The com in g o f the god of heal i n g i n the open i n g

years of the thi rd centu ry m ay wel l be regar d ed a s
88 T H E C O M I N G O F T H E S I BY L

an o men of the great s u ffering which that century

was to brin g to Rom e I t was a centu ry o f al most
.

u n in terrupte d warfare :fi rst the Sam n ite war ; then

the war w ith P yrrhu s an d Rom e s conquest of ’

Sou thern I taly then after a breathin g spel l of about

a decade the fi rst war with Carthage an d Rom e s ,
’

bitter apprenticeship i n fi ghtin g at s e a ; then ca m

p g
a i n s i n C isalpin e Gau l ; an d fi nal ly the war
with H an n ibal roughly fi ll in g the l ast two d eca d es ,

the m ost fearfu l contest i n all Rom e s history with ’

her m ost terri ble en emy i n her own l an d o f I taly .

I t is l ittle to be won dere d at therefore that this was

i n the m ai n a cen tu ry of re l igiou s d epression a ti m e
when the fear of the go d s fi lled every m an s heart
an d when every trifl in g apparen t i rregu lari ty i n the
co u rse of n atu re w a s e xaggerated i n to a porten t
d eclari n g the wrath o f the gods an d n eed ing som e
i m m ediate and extraor d inary propitiation It is in .

j ust su ch a m om ent as this i n the m idd le of the

cen tu ry (B C 2 4 9 ) that the next record e d i nstan ce
. .

of n ew gods occurs .The fi rst war with C arthage

w a s i n progress Rom e had j ust su ffered a terrible
,

defeat o ff the north western poin t of S ici ly at

-
,

D r e p a n a a defeat al l the m ore hideou s because it

,

wa s supposed to have been caused by the i mpiety o f

the C on su l Cl o di u s who hearin g that the sacred
, ,

chickens wou l d n ot eat perpetrated his gri m j est by

,

saying let them d rin k then i n stead an d d rown in g

“
,

them al l . But to cap it all the wal l o f Rom e was

 T H E C O M I N G O F T H E S I BY L 89

struck by lightn i ng Then ac tio n was n ecessary

.

an d the books were consu l ted They ordere d that

.

sacri fi ce shou ld be m a d e to D is an d P roserp i na a ,

black steer to D is an d a black cow to Proserpin a

, ,

three su ccessive n ights o u t on the C am pus M artius

, ,

at a n altar whi ch was called the Ta r en i n rn an d that ,

the ceremo ny shou ld be repeated at the en d o f a

hu n dre d years . H ere the myth m akers o f l ater -

ti m es have been even m ore busily at work than they

were i n the case o f Aescu lapi us T he Aescu l apiu s
.

story was fi tte d o u t by the m m erely with a few

m iracu lou s detai ls a few legen dary orn am en ts bu t
, ,

the story of D i s an d P roserpi n a was so covered with

their fabrication s that it ha s on l y recently been free d
fro m them and seen i n its tru e light an d certain ,

phases were s o absolu tely perverted that there are

stil l a n u m be r o f very d ifficu lt poin ts To get a .

clear u n d erstand in g of the situation we m u st begin

quite a d istan ce back .

Taken a s a whole religious bel i efs are am on g the

,

most conservative thin gs i n the worl d the in divi d u al

m ay grow as rad ical as yo u p l ease bu t hi s e ffect o n ,

the gen eral rel igiou s con sciou sn ess o f his ti m e i s ex

t r e m e l y slight
. O ccasion al ly the n u m ber o f rad ical
i n d ividu als grows larger an d certai n c l asses of society
are affected by thei r views but even i n the perio d s
, ,

of religious developm en t w hich we are apt to thi n k

o f a s m ost iconoclastic society taken i n the l arge
, ,

an d o n the average o f al l classes is n o t m uch m ore ,

90 TH E COM I NG O F TH E S I BY L

radi ca l than i n a p p a re n tl y n o r m a l ti mes A nd while

.

religion as a whole i s con servati ve there i s o n e

-

section of it m ore con servative than al l the rest a ,

section fro m wh ich chan ge is a l m ost ex clu ded that ,

i s the beliefs con cern in g the d ea d .I n ou r d iscussion

of the religion of N u m a we saw the very pri m itive
character o f Rom an beliefs i n this field the fi rm ,

retention of the ol d an i m istic i d ea o f the dead the ,

ten d en cy to c l ass the d ead together as a m ass and

to bel ieve i n a col lective rather than an in d ivi d u al
i m morta l ity an d above al l the abhorrence of the
,

dea d and the d isi n cl ination to dwel l on thei r con

d ition an d to pain t i m agin ary p i ct u res o f li fe beyon d
the grave . I n V iew of these f eeli ngs it is n ot stran ge
that we have great d i ffi cu lty i n fi n d in g any O l d
Ro man god s o f the dead aside fro m the dead who
,

are themsel ves al l go d s . These d ead as god s (D i

M a n es) an d poss ibly M other Earth ( Ter r a M a l er )
are the o nly ru lers i n the Lower Wor ld
'
I n Greece
.

on t he contra ry d eath was al m ost as n atu ral as

l i fe an d though the con d itions i n early ti m es were
,

n ot u n l ik e those in Rome a s Rohd e i n hi s Psy one

,

has so won derfu lly d escri bed them the Greek soon ,

grew beyon d this and the worl d o f the dead becam e

,

al most as wel l kn own to h i m as the world of the

,

l ivin g There was a kingdom o f the d ead and a

.
,

k ing an d queen ru led over them . These r u lers were

cal led by d i fferent names in d i fferen t parts o f Greece ,

bu t the n ames which they had in certai n parts of

 TH E COM I NG O F TH E S I BY L 9 1

the P elopon n es u s H a d es the k in g o f the d ea d and

,

Persephone his bri d e were destin e d to s u rvive the

,

rest. The cu lt o f th is royal pai r travell ed far an d

wi de bu t its m ost n otable d evelop m en t occ u rre d i n
,

Attica where P ersephon e beca m e Kore the d aughter

,

o f De meter stolen by H ades to becom e his brid e

, ,

whi le H ades hi m sel f u n d er the su n ny sk ies of A then s

lost so m e o f hi s terrors an d becam e P l uto the go d ,

of ri ches especial ly the ri ch bl ess in gs o f the earth

,
.

B ut al l this was very foreign to Rom e an d while ,

the Greeks were thin k in g these thoughts the Rom an s ,

were goin g qu ietly alon g conten t with thei r si m ple ,

D i M a n es N o better p roof o f this ca n be d esired

.

than the o n e accid en tal ly gi ven u s i n the i n tro d u ction

o f D em e t er an d her d aughter Kore i n to Rom e as

Ceres an d Li bera i n B C 4 9 3 an d the absolu te . .

,

colou rlessn ess an d poi ntlessn ess o f Libera i n a word ,

the enti re lack of con n exion in the religiou s con

s c i o u sn e s s o f Ro m e between Li bera an d P ersephon e .

Bu t i n B C 2 4 9 a l m ost two an d a hal f ce ntu ries

. .
,

later m atters were o n a di fferent basis ; Ro m e ha d

,

been learn ing a great d eal that was foreign to her

old bel ie fs an d there wa s n o lon ger anythin g i m
,

poss ible to her i n the i dea o f i n divi du al ru le rs o f the

d ead . Thus at the co m m an d o f the book s P l uto
an d P ersephone w ere re ceived i n to the state cu lt -
,

though the strangen es s of the situ ation w a s ackn ow

ledged a t least i n so far that they transl ated P luto
,

into the L a t i n D i s Persephon e to be su re was left

92 T H E C O M I N G O F T H E S I BY L
al on e o r m ore stri ctly speaking was accom m o d ate d
,

to the Lati n ton g u e by being chan ged to P roserpina .

I t is of cou rse i m possi b l e that the Roman s of B C . .

2 4 9 were entirely ignoran t of Pl uto an d P ersephon e

u n ti l the S iby l li n e books ba d e them be brou ght in .

H ere again the trad ers fro m S ou thern I taly had

been thei r teachers ; an d the n am e Ta r en tu m of
the a l tar where the sacri fi ce was to be mad e m ay
possi bly i ndi cate the town o f Tarentu m as the so u rce
of the cu l t The Rom an s kn ew Taren tu m on ly too
.

we l l si n ce the eventfu l war with Pyrrhu s which l ay

,

on ly a gen eration back i n thei r history

An d so the Rom ans a d opted the Greek go d s of
the dead an d thu s at least theoreti cally pu t thei r
, , ,

dead an cestors in to su bj ection to the G reeks j ust

as they them sel ves the d escen d ants were sittin g
, ,

at the feet of the G reeks i n this li fe . Bu t though

the en actm en t of the S en ate gave these go d s
Rom an citizen ship an d the priests of the S ibyl l ine
,

books were i n d u ty bou n d to perfor m the ritual o f

the c ul t be i t said to the cred i t o f the Rom an s
, ,

the god s them selves n ever took a very deep hold o f

the religiou s li fe of the people in gen eral Thei r
.

n am es to be su re crept i nto a fe w o f the old

, ,

form ulae and stood side by side with the o l d er

d eities an d P roserpi n a w a s ma d e m uch o f by the
,

Roman poets ; bu t the real tests of devotion ,

ded icatory in sc ription s are alm ost en ti rely absen t

,
.

Strangely en ough the on ly thin g which seem s to

 TH E COM I NG OF TH E S I BY L 93

have caught thei r fan cy was the weir d ritu al of the

n ight l y sacri fice at the Taren t u m an d especial ly its ,

repetition after o n e hu nd re d years This idea o f .

the hun d red years is R om an rather than Greek an d ,

i t i s at l east open to question whether i t m ay n o t

have been a d de d to the in stru ction s i n the oracle to
give the who l e m atter an add ed Rom an colo u r .

Thu s i n B C 2 4 9 were i n stituted the Secu l ar

. .

Games whi ch were repeated with app ro x i m ate

,

a cc u r a c v i n B C 1 4 6 an d wou l d dou btl ess have

. .
,

been agai n between B C 4 9 an d 4 6 ha d n ot the . .

,

Civil War co m pletel y fi l l e d m e n s m in d s an d m ad e ’

hu man sacri fices to the d ea d i n battle an al m ost , ,

d aily occu rren ce M eanti m e the Rom an an n ali sts

.

were work ing backwar d s i n thei r o wn pecu l iar

fashion an d bu i ld ing o u t i n to the past a series
,

of fictitiou s celebration s prece d in g B C 2 4 9 o n e . .

,

hu nd red years a part back i n to the ti m e o f the

,

king d om . O n the other han d we S hal l have occa

sion later to S peak of the restoration of the ga m es
an d their reorgan isation by A ugu stu s .

U nde r the test o f adversity n ation s are very

m u ch l ike in d ivi d uals an d a n ation al weakn ess
, ,

which i s O ften enti rely con cealed i n n orm al con

d i t i o n s com es p rom i n en tly an d d isastrou sly to the
,

su rface i n the hou r when strength i s m ost n eeded .

The war with H an n ibal was j ust su ch a crisi s i n

Ro m e s history an d u n d er its i n flu en ce Ro m e s
’

,
’

dependence u pon the S ibyl lin e books was m ore

94 TH E COM I NG OF TH E S I BY L

pronou n ced than ever The seed s of su perstition

.

sown d u rin g the earlier cen t u ries b u rst n ow i nto

'

fu l l blossom destin e d to p rod uce the fru it the

, ,

gatherin g o f which was to be the bitter task o f

the closin g centu ri es of the rep u blic The story of .

the S econ d P un ic War regard ed m erely fro m the ,

m il itary stan dpoint reads for Rom e al most l ike a

,

n ightm are with its lon g su ccession o f apparen tly

,

easy victori es tu rn i n g on e by o n e i nto d efeats ; but

when we a d d to this that other chron icle of whi ch ,

Livy i s eq u a l ly fon d the long lists of portents an d

,

prod igies sen t by the an gere d gods and when w e ,

-

real ise that to the m asses o f the people the wrath

o f the god s was m ore te rrible an d j u st as real as
the hosti l ity o f H an n ibal then we have n ot the ,

heart to rep roach the m for their rel igio u s fren zy .

S een by them selves the j u m pin g o f a cow o u t o f

,

a secon d story win d ow or the i m ages o f the god s

-
,

she d d in g tears do n ot seem very serious m atters

, ,

bu t end ow u s with three hu n d red years of hereditary

d read of these thi ngs give u s the in sti n ctive in ter
,

p r e t a t i o n of them as the tu rn i ng away fro m u s of

the powers u pon which we rely fo r help n ay their

—
,

positive opposition to u s an d o u r hopes an d ou r

con d ition i n the p resen ce o f these phenom ena woul d
be very d i fferent .

Thu s al most every yea r between B C 2 1 8 an d . .

2 0 1 had its share o f rel igious c erem onia l an d the ,

S ibyl l ine books which had hitherto been in theory

, ,
 TH E COM I NG OF THE S I BY L 95

at l east m erely an altern ative m ethod o f rel igio u s

,

proc edu re perm itted to ex ist alongs i d e o f the o l d er

an d m ore con servative form s becam e n o w the or d e r
,

of the d ay . Li ke a H om eric p ictu re in wh ich the

qu arrels of the god s in O lym pu s ru n parallel to
the battles o f Greeks a n d T roj an s on the plain s
of Troy so every victory which Rom e won over
,

H an n iba l o n the fi e ld of battl e was bou gh t at the

price of a victory o f Greek go d s over Ro m an go d s
i n the fi el d o f rel igion an d fu r t her altho u gh Rom e
,

S ucceeded i n keepi n g H an n ibal o u ts id e o f her o wn

wal ls her go d s d id not su cceed in d efen d in g th e
,

p o ni er i n in agai n st the Greek god s an d it is du rin g

,

this S econ d P u n ic War that this the greates t safe

,

guard o f O l d Rom an rel igion an d c u stom s was ,

broken d own an d the n ew gods gai ne d enti re

,

possession o f the city placi n g thei r tem ples o n the

,

spots hitherto he l d m ost sacred . Fro m n ow o n

al l d isti n ction ceases an d it is scarcely possibl e to
,

speak o f a Rom an i n con trast to a G ra e c o Ro man -

c u lt
. I t is i m portant however t o observe that thi s
breakdown occu rre d becau se o f excess o f rel igiou s
zeal rather than th rough n eg l ect an d i nd i fferen ce ,

an d though we m ay i n d ee d n oti ce a grad u al d e

t e r i o r a t i o n of the d eiti es i n trod u ce d by the book s ,

al l the way dow n from the b u sy workin g go d s li ke

Ceres an d M ercu ry an d N eptu n e to the m ore
m i racu lous Aesc u lapiu s an d the c ult o f D is or
,

P roserpin a with its poss ibi l ities of wei rd fantasti c

9 6 TH E COM I NG O F TH E S I BY L

worship there have been however a s yet on ly scan ty

,

traces of the orgiastic elem en t B u t this was the

.

n ext step an d it was not lon g i n com ing

,
The .

rapid cam paign s O f the earl ier years o f the war

with H an n ibal had passed C an n ae ( B C 2 1 6 ) had
,
. .

been som ewhat retrieved by M etau ru s ( B C . .

where the rein force m en ts fo r H an n ibal l ed by ,

H asd ru bal ha d been cut to pieces bu t the res u lt

, ,

was n o t what had been hoped for an d H an n ibal ,

had n ot left I taly but entren che d i n the mou n tain s

,

of the so u th he seem ed to be prepari ng to pass the

rest of his l i fe there I t was i n this the year B C
. . .

2 0 5 that the help of the books was agai n sought ,

i f perad ven t u re they m ight S how the way to d rive

H an n ibal o u t o f the cou ntry The reply cam e
.

that when a foreign born en emy shou l d wage war

,
-

upon the lan d he cou l d be conqu ered an d d riven

,

from I taly i f the G reat M other of the go d s shou l d

,

be brou ght to Rom e from P hrygia The rest of

.

the story is s o quai n tly an d withal so tru thfu lly

told by Li vy ( B k x xi x ) that it wi ll n ot be am iss to
. .

quote hi s words : The oracl e discovered by the

“

D ece mvi ri affected th e S en ate the m ore o n this

accou nt because the ambassa d ors who ha d brou ght
the gi fts [vowed at the batt l e of M etau ru s ' to
D el p hi reported that when they were sacri ficin g to
the Pythian Apollo the om en s were al l favou rable ,

an d that the oracle had given respon se that a

greate r vi ctory was at han d for the Rom an people
 T H E C O M I N G O F T H E S I BY L 97

than that on e from whose spoi ls they were then

brin gin g gifts. A n d as a fi n ishin g tou ch to this
sam e hope they dwel t upon the p ropheti c opi n ion
of P ubliu s S ci pio regard in g the en d o f the war ,

because he had asked fo r A fri ca as his provi n ce .

A n d so i n or d er that they m ight the mo re quickly

obtain that vi ctory which p rom ised itsel f to
them by the om en s an d orac l es o f fate they b e ,

gan to cons ider what m ean s there w a s o f bri n g

i ng the goddess to Rom e . A s yet the Rom an
people had n o states i n all ian ce with the m i n Asia
M i nor ; however they rem embered that form erly
Aescu lapiu s had been bro u ght fro m Greece fo r the
sake o f the health o f the people though they had
,

n o al l ian ce with Greece. They rea l ised too that a

fri en dship had been begu n with K i n g A tta l us [o f
P ergam on ' an d that A ttal us wou l d d o what
he cou ld in behal f o f the Rom an people ; an d so
they d ecided to sen d am bassa d ors to hi m ,

an d they al lotted them five ships o f war i n or d er

- -

that they m ight approach i n a fi tti n g man n er the

cou ntries which they d es ired to i n terest i n thei r
favo u r
. No w when the am bassadors were on thei r
way to Asia they d isem barke d at Delphi an d ,

approachin g the oracl e asked what prosp ect i t

offere d them an d the Rom an peop le o f accom plish
i ng the things which they had been sen t to d o It .

is sai d that the reply was that through K ing A ttalus

the y woul d O bta i n what the y sought bu t that when
,
9 8 TH E COM I NG OF THE S I BY L

they brought the go dd ess to Rom e they shou l d see

to it that the best m an in Rom e shou l d be at hand
to receive her Then they cam e to Pergam on to
.

the king [Attal us ' an d he received them gracious ly

,

an d led them to Pessi n u s in Phrygia an d he gave ,

over to them the sacred stone which the n atives , ,

said was the M other o f the gods an d bade the m

, ,

carry it to Ro me A n d M arcus Valeriu s Falto was

.

sent ahea d by the am bassa d ors an d he an n o u n ced

that the god dess was co m in g an d that the best ,

man i n the state m ust be sought out to receive her

with d u e ceremony I n the n ex t year (B C 2 0 4 )
. . .

after recou nting new pro d igies Livy contin ues

“
Then too the matter of the I daean M other m u st
be atten d ed to fo r asi d e fro m the fact that M arcus
,

Valeri us on e of the a m bassa d ors who had been

,

sen t ahea d ha d an nou n ced that she wou ld soon be

,

i n I taly there wa s also a fresh m essage that she

,

was al ready at Ta r r a c i n a The S en ate had to

.

d eci d e a very i mportan t m atter n am ely who was ,

the best m an in the state for every m an i n the ,

state preferred a vi ctory i n such a con t est as this

to any com m an ds or o ffi ces which the vote o f
the S enate or the peop l e m ight give him They .

deci d ed that of al l the goo d men i n the state the

best was P u bl ius S cipio H e then with al l
.

the m atron s was or d ered to go to Ostia to

m eet the god dess an d to receive her from the
ship to Carry her to land an d to give h er over to
,
 TH E COM I NG O F T HE S I BY L 99

the wom en to carry A fter the ship cam e to the

.

m outh o f the Tiber S ci pio goin g ou t i n a s mal l

, ,

boat as he had been com m an ded received the

, ,

go d des s from the priests an d carried her to l an d .

An d the nob l est wom en o f the lan d receive d

her an d they carried the go d d ess in thei r
arm s taki n g tu rn abou t whi l e al l Rom e pou re d o u t
,

to m eet her an d i n cen se bu rn ers were placed be fore

,
-

the doors where she was carried by an d i n cen se ,

was b u rn ed i n her hon ou r An d thu s p rayin g that

.

s he m ight enter wi l l i n gly an d prop itiou sly i nto the

city they carried her i n to th e tem ple o f Victory

, ,

which i s o n the Palatin e on the day before the ,

N on es o f Apri l [Apri l A n d this wa s a festal

day an d the people i n great n u m bers gave gi fts
to the go d dess an d a ban quet fo r the god s w a s
,

he ld an d gam es were perfor m ed whi ch were cal led

,

M eg a l es i a . This extraord i n ary pi cture i s p robably

i n the m ain historical ly correct The m os t stri ki ng .

part of it the enthusias m o f the Ro m an popu lac e

, ,

i s certain l y n ot overdrawn Thu s was i ntrod uced

.

i nto Ro m e t h e l ast d eity ever s u m m on ed by m ean s

o f the books the on e whose
,
cul t w a s d estin ed to
outlast that o f a l l the others an d to do m ore harm ,

an d produce m ore d emora l isation than a l l the other

cu lts together To u nderstan d why this was so we
.
,

mu s t go back for a m o m ent .

The in fluen ce o f Greece on Rom e was progressive ,

an d we are able to in d icate at l east three d isti n ct

1 00 T H E C O M I N G O F T H E S I BY L

peri ods and phases o f it so far as religion is con

,

cern ed :fi rst the in form al com in g of a few Greek

,

gods who a d apted them selves m ore or l ess com

p l e te l y to the o l d Roman character ; su ch are
H ercu les and Castor an d even Apol l o though ,

Apol l o was i n d i rectly responsib l e for the secon d

period becau se he was the cau se o f the com in g of
,

the S ibylli n e books T he i n flu en ce o f these books

.

pro d uced the secon d perio d with its characteristics

,

o f ever growin g su perstition an d greater pom p in

-
,

cult acts but though the sobriety of the ol d d ays

,

ha d chan ged i nto a restless activity the n ew go d s ,

who cam e i n an d the n ew cu lt acts i ntroduce d were

stil l of s u ch a character that Rom an s co u ld take
part i n the worship witho u t sham e B ut j ust as the
.

stai d Apol l o ha d pro d u ced the books so now as ,

their l ast beq u est the book s brou ght i n the Great
M other an d the thir d perio d ha d begun the period
, ,

o f orgiastic O rien ta l worship whi ch prevai l e d at

, ,

l east a m ong certain cl asses u nti l the estab l ish men t

,

of Christian ity We m ay we l l ask who this Great

.

M other was an d why this on e Greek c u lt shou ld

,

be so d i fferen t fro m a l l the rest .

A t d i fferent points i n Asia M in or an d i n C rete a

go dd ess was worshipped origin al ly without proper
,

n a m e as the great sou rce of al l ferti lity the m other

, ,

of al l thin gs even o f the gods

,
M ou nt D i n dym o s
.

i n Phrygia was on e o f the chief centres of the cu lt ,

and there the Great M other w as kn own also as

 T H E C O M I N G O F T H E S I BY L IO I

Cybel e . From these vario u s centres the cu l t sp read

over a l l the Greek worl d bu t wherever it went i t
, ,

always gave eviden ce o f its birthp l ace by certai n

stran ge O rien tal elemen ts both i n its m yths an d i n
i ts rites .I ts d evotees were a n oisy orgiasti c ban d ,

who fi l le d the streets with thei r d an ces an d the ai r ,

with thei r singin g an d the clashin g of thei r sy m bo l s ,

to the accom pan i men t o f the rattl in g o f coi n i n t h e

m on ey box — fo r the col lection o f mon ey fro m the
bystan ders was always a part o f the perform an ce .

This then was w hat the best man i n the state

“

an d the grave Ro m an matron s wen t forth from

Rom e to receive — a sacred stone representing the
godd ess an d a ban d o f n oisy em ascu lated p riests ;
,

an d this w a s what they open ed thei r gates to and ,

took up in to thei r holy of holies the Palatin e hi ll , ,

the birthplace o f Ro m e The Greeks had again

.

com e bearin g gi fts an d like the Troj an s who

,

broke d own thei r wal ls an d took the wood en horse

u p i nto thei r citad el Ro m an s th e reputed de sc e n
, ,

d ents of these Troj ans were carryin g u p to thei r

,

most sacred hil l an other gi ft of Greece which was

to captu re thei r city They pu t the i m age i n the
.

templ e of Victoria o n the P alatin e u nti l such tim e

as i ts own tem p le wa s ready to receive it an d the ,

god d ess of Victory seem ed t o respon d to its presen ce ,

for d id not H an n ibal leave I taly the very n ex t year ?

A n d who wou ld be so i mp iou s as to suggest that to
S cipio and not Cybel e bel onged the glory an d th a t ,
102 T H E C O M I N G O F T H E S I BY L

a strong Ro man army i n A fri ca affected H an n ibal

more than a sacred st on e on the Palati ne ?
I t m ay wel l be d o u bte d whether anything bu t
su ch a great ex igen cy wou ld ever have ind u ced
Rom e to accept s u ch an u tterly foreign cult ; an d
when the n ightm are of the wa r was past the S en ate ,

awoke to the real isation that a very seriou s act had

been com m itte d To their credit be it said that
.

they d id what they cou l d to m i n im ise the evi l The .

go dd ess had brou ght her own priests with he r the ,

cu lt was in thei r han ds and there the law d ecreed

,

it m ust stay an d n o Ro man citi zen cou ld becom e a

,

p riest . That this l aw was real ly en force d i s S hown

by several cases where pu n ish m ent even transporta
,

tion ac ross the se a was m eted ou t to tran sgressors

,
.

Then t o o the worship m u st be i n the m ai n confi ned

to the precin cts o f the te mple o n the Pal atin e an d ,

on l y on certai n days of the year were the priests

al l owed to perform i n the streets of the city I t is .

s ign i fi can t o f the strength of Ro m an law that these

enactm en ts held good for three an d a hal f centu ries ,

an d were n ot chan ged u ntil the reign of An ton in u s

P iu s.

I n the i ntroduction o f the G reat Mother the

S ibyll ine books performe d thei r last an d most n otable
achievem ent H ereafter they i ntrod u ced n o n ew
.

d eities an d were con su lte d on ly occasional ly chiefly

, ,

for pol itical pu rposes fo r exam ple in B C 8 7 again st

,
. .

the fol l owers o f S u lla an d i n B C 5 6 i n con n ex ion

,
. .
 TH E COM I NG O F TH E S I BY L 16 3

with a schem e o f pu rely political i m port Their work

.

was d on e an d we have seen i n what it con sisted

,
.

Fo r three h u n d re d years they had been en cou ragi n g

the growth of superstition . From thei r vantage
groun d o f the te mp l e o f j u p p i te r O pti m u s M ax i mus ,

the essen ce o f al l that was m ost patriotica ll y Rom an

i n Rom e they had been givi n g forth these in fa l l ible
,

ora cles which see m ed so m u ch su perior t o the sim p l e

”
“
yes an d n o an swers with which the o l d Ro m an s
had been content i n thei r deal in gs with the go d s .

I n ti m es of peri l by pesti len ce an d by batt l e they

had given advice an d the pestilen ce ha d ceased an d
,

the battl e had t u rn ed to victory . I t seem e d indee d

that the S ibyl d eserved the gratitud e of Rom e .

Ti m e a l on e cou l d teach them what t h e books ha d

real ly given them I t was on l y i n the com ing
.

genera t ion s that it becam e evid en t that the abuse o f

faith the substitution of i ncantation for d evotion was
, ,

destru ctive o f true re l igion . I t is the effect o f th is

substit u tion o n the vario u s classes o f soc iety u n d er
the n ew an d tryi n g social con d iti on s of the last two
cent u ries of the rep u b l i c that form s the them e o f
o u r n ext chapter .
 T H E D E C L I N E O F FA I T H

I T i s the fashion of ou r day to thin k n o evi l o f Greece .

I n art we are ex perien ci ng an other Ren ai ssance ,

n ot l ike that of the fou rteenth an d fi fteenth

centuries i n a reviva l of an cien t Rom e but i n a ,

movem ent leadin g behin d Rom e to the c l assic an d

even the pre classic m o d els o f Greece
-
. I n itse l f it
is a healthfu l ten den cy a n eede d corrective to the
,

sen sational search for n ove l ty which characterised

the c l osin g years o f the n in eteenth centu ry But i n
.

ou r ad m i ration for the Greek spirit we ought not to

forget that after A lexander that spirit lost m uch of
its beauty an d aged very rapi d ly
,
We m ay in d eed
.

regret the fact that Rom e l ike certain person s

,

of o u r acquai ntan ce seemed at ti m es to possess

,

a stron g facu lty fo r assi m i l ati ng the worst o f her

su rrou nd ings whi le occasion al ly cu riously u n r e sp o n
,

sive to the better thi ngs an d yet we ought in j u stice

to strive to real ise the fact that not on ly is the Greek
spirit at i ts best an u nteachable thi ng but that at
,

the historical mom ent when Rom e cam e u n d er that

in flu en ce the Greek world w a s very o l d and weary .

1 04
 T H E D E C L I N E O F FA I T H 10 5

I t was Rom e s m is fortu n e an d n ot her fau lt that when

’

she was o l d enou gh to go to school Alexan d rian ism

,

with its pedan tic d etai l was the or d er of the d ay i n

mythology an d the t imorou s post Socratic schoo l s
,
-

were the teachers o f philosophy N at u ral l y i f Ro me

.

ha d been an other G reece she wou l d have worke d

back from these later form s to the tr u er p u rer spi rit
, ,

but Rom e w a s n ot G reece an d n o thoughtfu l m an

,

ever pretend ed that she w a s I n the third centu ry

.

before Christ Greece began actively to i n flu en ce

Rom e ; before that ti m e H el l en i c i n fluen ce ha d been
con fi n ed largely to the e ffects on re l igion pro d u ce d
by the S i bylli n e books an d to the e ffects o n
,

society cau sed by the presen ce o f G reek trad ers .

B ut n o w Greek thought as em bo d ied i n the l iteratu re

began to affect Rom an thought an d to brin g i n to
,

bei ng a l i teratu re based on Greek m o d els .Three

cen tu ries of S ibyl l in e oracles ha d p ro d u ced for Rom e
the pathological religiou s con dition of the S econ d
Pu n ic War when she d i d n ot thi n k twice before
,

breaki n g d own the rel igious barri er which had

hitherto separated the n ation al from the adopte d
elem ents i n her rel igion an d at the sam e ti m e
,

u n hesitatin gly reached o u t t o Asia M i n o r fo r an .

Orien tal cu lt m asquerad in g i n Greek col ou rs an d

, ,

placed o n the Palati n e the Great M other of

Pe ss i n u s
. From this ti m e o n two i n fluen ces were
steadi ly at work which shaped the history o f Rom an
religion i n the two rem ain i n g centu ries til l the c l ose
 1 06 T H E D E C L I N E O F FA I T H

of the repu bli c :on e mythology d irectly a ffectin g

, ,

the form s o f the cu lt an d the be l iefs concerni ng the

i n d ivid ual gods ; the other phi losophy attack in g
, ,

the whole foun d ation of rel igious bel ief i n general .

Greece gave her gods to Ro m e when she herse l f

was weary o f them s he gave her the tired go d s
, ,

exhauste d by centu ries of han dl in g l ong ago d ragged

,

d own from O ly m p us an d weary with serving as

,

l ay fi gu re s fo r poets an d artists an d bein g for ever

-
,

rigged o u t i n n ew mythologica l garm ents or j aded ,

with the l aboratory experi m en ts of philosophers who

tried to i nterp ret them i n every con ceivable fashion
or else to do away wi th them entirely I t is n o
.

won der that it d id n ot take the Roman s m ore than

a centu ry to com e to the en d of these gods to fi n d ,

that the on ly on e am on g them who co u l d satisfy

thei r religiou s d esi res was the least G reek of them
al l the M agn a M ater an d havin g foun d this to go
, ,
‘

forth to take to them se l ves m ore l ike u nto her I n a ,

word to c rave the sensation al c u l ts of the O rien t

,
.

A nd the phi losophy whi ch Greece gave Rome was

no better than the mythology I t i s n ot stran ge
.

that hu m an thought ex perien ce d a reaction after a

centu ry which contained both P lato an d Aristot l e ,

but it is a p ity that Rom e sho u ld have l earn e d her

philosophy from a perio d of d oubt and scepticism
an age i n which the lesser m asters , who had known
the greater on es ha d gone l eaving n othing but
, ,

pu pi ls pu pi ls
’
.
 THE D E C L I N E O F FA I T H 1 07

The history o f religion i n Ro m e d u ring the last

two centu ries of the republic i s the sto ry o f the
action an d reaction o f these two tenden cies —the
o n e towa r d the n ovel an d sensation al i n worshi p ,

which we m ay cal l s u perstition the other the ,

philosophy o f dou bt which we m ay cal l scepticis m

—i n the presen ce of the estab l ished rel igion o f
,

the state .Thi s m u ch th e two centu ri es have i n

co m mon b u t here their resem blan ce en d s
,
I n the .

fi rst of these cen tu ries ( B C 2 0 0 1 0 0 ) the state . .

-

re l igion was abl e to ho l d her own at l east i n ou t ,

ward appearan ce an d to wage war again st both

,

ten den cies I n the other centu ry ( B C 1 0 0 to

. . .

Au gustu s ) politi cs gai n e d con trol o f the state religion

and so robbe d her o f her strength that she wa s
crushed between the opposi n g forces o f s u perstition
an d scepti cis m I t i s to the story o f the earlier o f
.

these two centu r i es the secon d befo re Christ that

, ,

we n ow tu rn .

With the c l ose o f the S econ d P u n i c War there

began for Ro m e a period o f very great m aterial
prosperi ty This p rosperity was to be s u re n ot
.
, ,

exactly d istribu ted and it is n ot wi thou t its r e

,

se m blan ce to so m e of o u r mo d ern i n stan ces of

com mercia l prosperity in that it was n ot so m u ch a
,

gen eral betteri ng o f econom ic con d ition s as t h e

very rapi d i ncrease o f the wealth o f a relatively
s m al l nu mber an i n crease gai ned at the expense o f
,

positive detri m ent to a large el emen t i n the pop a la

1 08 T H E D E C L I N E O F FA I T H

tion . Thus i t was that a cen tu ry of whi ch the fi rst

seven ty years provi d e an a l m ost u npara ll e l ed spectacle
of the i n crease of n ational territory accompan ie d , ,

accor d i n g to the an cien t method s o f t axation by a ,

vast i n crease i n n ational wea l th sho u ld c l ose with

,

the traged ies of Tiberius an d Gaiu s Gracch u s and

the l egacy o f c l ass hatre d which prod u ce d the c ivi l
wars This growth i n wealth an d territory was n ot
.

witho u t its e ffects on the outward appearan ce o f the

state re l igion The territory was gain e d by a series
.

o f m i nor wars in the cou rs e of which m any te m p l es

were vowed an d the spoi ls of the war provi d ed the
m eans for the fu l fi l ment of the vows Thus to the
.

o u tward observer i t m ight we l l have see me d that

the rel igion o f the state was e nj oyi ng a ti m e o f
great prosperity Between the close of the P u n ic
.

War ( B C 2 0 1 ) an d t he year of T iberiu s Gracchus

. .

(B. C . 1 3 3) we have accu rate know l edge o f the

ded ication of n o less than n in eteen stat e te m p l es ,

an d there were u n d o u bte d l y m any others o f which

we have n o record A nother apparently good S ign
.

is the fact that the S ibyll i n e books are S i l en t so ,

far as the i ntrod uction of n ew deities is con cerne d .

Yet these su rface i n dication s are d eceptive As for

.

the Sibyl l in e books n ow that the p om er i n in l i n e

,

had been brok en d o wn an d the tem p l es of G reek

,

go d s m ight be pl ace d anywhere in the city it was a ,

very si m ple m atter for the state to bring i n any

Greek go d that it please d an d l i ken in g hi m to a
,
 T H E D EC L I N E O F FA IT H 1 09

m ore or l ess si m i lar Ro m an god an d cal l i n g hi m by

the Ro m an n am e to pu t u p a tem ple to hi m any
,

where . It was a l so tru e that as Rom an theo l ogy

,

was n ow based o n the pri n cipl e that every Rom an

go d ha d his G reek paral lel an d v i ce v er sa there ,

were n o go d s left whose n am es wo u l d have occurred

,

at al l i n the S ibyl l i n e books who coul d n ot be ,

brought i n n ow withou t t h em A n d as for the

.

vowi ng of new temp l es this represente d at best

,

merely the habit form e d du ri n g m ore d evou t d ays

religion was m ovi n g by the m om e nt u m acqu i red
d urin g the S econ d P u n i c War an d the gods to ,

who m these tem p l es were erected were real ly Greek

gods u nder Rom an n ames I n a wor d n o t on ly
.
,

was t he state rel igion becom in g m ore an d more

o f a for m d ay by day bu t the form was that o f
,

G reece an d n ot of Rom e . I t is extrem ely in terestin g

t o trace this m ovem en t i n detail to l ook behin d the
,

o u tward appearan ce an d see the rem arkable chan ges

tha t were real ly tak in g place .

I f we look at the tem ples which were bu i lt i n the

years fo l lowin g the S econ d P u n i c Wa r we sha l l have ,

n o d iffi cu lty i n fi n d in g exa m p l es o f the introd u ction

of Greek gods u nder Roman n am es Du rin g the .

war itsel f i n the year B C 2 0 7 a Ro m an general had

. .

vowed a tem ple to J u ventas on the occasion of a

batt l e n ear S ien a J u ventas was an o l d Rom an
.

go d d ess o n e of those abstract deities which had

,

been prod uce d by the break i ng off and becom ing

1 10 T H E D E C L I N E O F FA I T H

i n d epen d ent of a c u lt ti t l e S he was inti mately

-
.

associate d with Ju pp i te r an d ha d a special shrine i n

,

the C apito l in e temp l e J u ventas was the d ivin e

.

represe ntative of the p u ttin g away o f chi l d ish thin gs

an d the ass u m ption of the respon sibil ities an d
privi leges o f you n g m an hoo d This act was sy m .

'

b o l i se d by the Rom an s i n the beau ti fu l cerem ony of

p u t t ing o n the toga of m anhoo d ( tog a vi r i l i s ) when ,

the l ad was l ed by his father to the Capitolin e

te mpl e to m ake sacri fices to Ju p p i te r an d at the ,

sa m e ti me a contri b u tion was m ad e to the treas u ry

of J u ventas . B u t this was not the god d ess i n
whose hono u r the te m p l e vowed at S ien a was bui lt
at the C i rcu s M ax i m us and d e d icate d B C 1 9 1 . . .

This J u ventas was n othi n g m ore or l ess than the

Greek H ebe t h e fe m ale cou nterpart of Gany m edes
, ,

as c u pbearer to the go d s S i m ilar l y in B C 1 7 9

. . .

a temple was d e d icate d to D ian a at the Ci rc u s

Fla m in ius bu t this was n ot the ol d go dd ess o f
,

A r i c i a whose c ul t Rom e had adopted for the sake

,

o f i n creas in g her i nfluen ce i n the Lati n league It .

was the Greek A rte m is who a t her fi rst com i ng in to

,

Rom e ha d been associated with A pollo i n the

temple bu ilt i n B C 4 3 1 an d was n ow given a te m ple
. .
,

of her own . P erhaps the stran gest of a l l ? is the

templ e which was erecte d to M ars i n the C a m pu s
Marti us i n B C 1 3 8. . I t m ight wel l be supposed
.

that the Rom an s wo u l d keep holy the rep u ted father

of their race the god to whom u n d er Ju p p i te r thei r
, , ,
 T H E D E C L I N E O F FA I T H 1 1 1

s u ccess was d u e O n the c o n ta ry i n B C 2 1 7 when

. . .
,

they were carrying o u t a Greek ceremony o f o fferi n g

a banquet to a se t of god s arran ged i n pai rs they , ,

S howed n o hesitation in grou ping together M ars

an d Ven u s to represen t the Greek pai r A res an d
Aphrod ite th u s d oi ng vio l en ce to M ars by brin gin g
,

hi m i n to a re l ation shi p with Ven u s wh i ch was e n

ti re l y foreign to o l d Ro m an thou ght an d i d enti fy in g ,

hi m with A res with who m he had n othi n g to d o

,
.

No w i n B C 1 3 8 a te m ple is bu i lt to A res u n der the

. .

n am e of Mars c l os e besi d e the venerabl e o l d altar

,

of M ars o n e of the old est an d m ost sacre d of Rom an

,

shri n es .

But this passion for i d enti fyi n g Greek go d s with

Roman on es d i d n ot con fin e itsel f to fi n din g a
p arallel for the greater go d s o f Greece ; an d les s
kn own d eities were i n tro d uced i n to Ro m e i n the sam e
way . The o l d Ro m an god Fa u n us in whose , ,

hono u r the an cien t festival of the a er ea l i a was

year l y celebrate d had as hi s associate a god dess,

Fau n a who was better kn own as the good go d dess

,

( Bon a Dea ) Even tu al l y thi

. s n ew tit l e B on a Dea
crow d e d out the o l d tit l e Faun a so that it was al m ost ,

entirely forgotten Bon a D ea was a go dd ess of.

wom en an d the m ost charac t eri sti c feat u re of her

,

worship was the ex c l u sion of m en fro m tak in g part

i n it . N ow there was a Greek god d ess cal led ,

D am ia also a goddess of wo m en from whos e cu lt

, ,

al so m en were excl u ded an d her cu l t spread fro m ,

 1 1 2 T H E D E C L I N E O F FA I T H

Greece to the G reek colon ies of Southern I taly ,

especial ly Taren tu m an d s o eventual ly to Ro m e

, .

But by the ti m e she arrive d i n Ro m e the con n ex ion

of Faun a an d Bon a D ea had been en tirely forgotten .

Dam ia was su re l y a B on a Dea yes she was i ne ,

.
‘

Bon a Dea for was n o t the proof at han d i n the fact

,

that men were exc lu d ed from both cu l ts ? S o a

tem ple wa s bui lt for her probably S hortly after the ,

Secon d P u nic War an d fro m the ti m e n o on e ever

,

thought of poor Fau n a again ex cept scholars an d ,

poets who am use d them selves as was thei r won t by

, , ,

p uttin g her in variou s genealogi cal rel ation ships to

Fau n u s as sister Wi fe o r daughter whi le Dam i a
, , , ,

l ive d an d p rospered u n d er the sto l en titl e of the

Bon a D ea .

We see from this o n w hat a smal l resem blan ce

su ch i d enti fi cation s were based i n this case m ere l y ,

on the presen ce of a sim ilar m inor i nj u n ction i n the

laws of each cu lt Bu t we have here at least a
.

gen ui n e cult which ha d arrived an d was ask i ng for

ad m ission an d i n so far we are better off than i n
,

m ost i nstances where n othin g substantial was gai n ed

,

by the i d enti fi cation Two forces were n ow at work

.

assistin g in this fusion of Greek an d Rom an go d s ,

n amely art an d l iteratu re The captu re o f Syrac u se

.

’
m arke d an epoch in Rom e s artistic career ; for
several centu ries S he had employed Greek architects
an d had also becom e acquain ted with the artisti c
types of certain Greek go d s but n ow al l at once a ,
 T H E D E C L I N E O F FA I T H 1 1 3

wealth of Greek scul ptu re was disclosed to he r an d ,

she co u l d n ot rest content u n ti l al l her go d s were

represen te d i n the fashion of m an The ad o ption o f
.

the Greek type i n those cases where an identi fi cation

,

ha d al ready been effected was n o t di fficu lt and w a s

,

i n the m ain success ful though there fo l lowed al m ost

,

i n evitably an en richm en t o f the G reek elem en t i n

the Rom an g o d becau se o f the presen ce o f som e
attribute i n the statu e which brought i ts o wn myth
,

with it . B ut there were certain Rom an gods fo r

whom G reek para l le l s cou l d n ot be fou nd an d i n thes e
,

cases a compro m ise u sual ly rather an awkward o n e

, ,

had to be effecte d as fo r exa mp le when the Rom an

,

god s of the storeroom the D i Pen a l es were r e p re

, ,

sente d by statues o f the Greek C astor an d P ol l ux .

I n s uch cases con fusion was su re to fol low an d ,

subsequ en t antiq u arian s wou l d be tem pte d to write

treatises provin g the origi nal con n ex ion o f Castor or
P ol lu x with the Penates as go d s o f protection i n
,

general etc,
. Literatu re to o i n its own way wa s fu l ly
as m is l ea d in g an d Rom an scholars becam e fasci
,

n a t e d with the labyri n ths o f A lexan d rian mythology ,

an d straightway began to bu ild Rom an myths as

rapi d ly as possib l e establ ishi n g l ists o f O ld Latin
,

k ings an d al l sorts of gen ealogies an d weaving as

,

m any Greek mythological figu res as possible i nto

the legen ds of the fou n dation O f I tali c tow n s .

I t was the ceremon ial o f the cu lt however which

m ost O ften offered the best m ean s o f i d en ti fi cation ,
1 1 4 T H E D E C L I N E O F FA I T H

as we have seen above i n the case of Bon a D ea

Dam ia where the ex clu sion o f m en fro m the rites
,

was the m ain poi n t of si m ilarity I n a si m i lar way

.

the ol d Roman god of the harvest Con sus was , ,

i d en ti fie d with the Greek ocean god Poseidon because

-

horse races were a characteristic feat u re o f the fes

-

t i v a l s of each ; an d the old Roman goddess o f

women an d of chi ldbirth was given as her Greek
paral le l the Greek goddess Leukothea the helper O f ,

those i n peril at sea becau se in both cases S l aves

,

were forbidden to take part i n the cu l t .

But the effect of the captu re of Rom e by these

Greek gods an d Greek cerem on ia l s was n ot con
fi n ed to the m ere add ition o f n ew i deas an d the ,

tran sfor m ation o f certain old Roman d eities This .

wou l d have been com parat ively harm l ess bu t there ,

was i nevitably another resu l t the con sequent n eglect

of all Ro m an deiti es for whom n o Greek paral lels
were forthcom i ng an d the forgetti n g o f al l the
,

origin al Rom an i deas which were crow d ed i nto the

backgrou n d by the n ovel an d m ore bril lian t Greek
id eas Even the festivals of the o ld Roman year
.

were treated i n the sam e caval ier man ner The .

i n terest o f the people conti n ue d on ly with those

ceremon ies which frighten ed them or p leased them .

There were certain festivals for exam ple the a er

,

ea l i a the o l d cere mony of pu ri fi cation on Febru ary

,

1 5 for which a reveren ce was stil l felt ; an d others

,

l i ke the Pa r i l i a the birthd ay of Ro me on Apri l 2 1

, , ,
 TH E D EC LI N E OF FA I T H 1 1 5

or the A n na Peren n a festival o n M arch 1 5 which ,

i nvo l ved O pen ai r celebration s an d p icn ics

-
These
.

an d others l ike them were a l ways kept u p whi le ,

m any others were total ly n eglecte d N atu rally for

.

the present the form s were co ntin ued by the state ;

the festivals were celebrated at l east by the p riests ;
’

an d every te m ple received sacri fice o n i ts birthday .

The wheels of the state rel igion were stil l ru nn in g ,

b u t the powe r behi n d them had stopped an d it was ,

on ly m om ent u m which kept the m i n m otion .

I t is on l y when we realise these things that we

can u n d erstan d how it wa s possible that the m ost
learn e d scholars at the close of the republ ic were so
d esperately i gnoran t con cern in g o l d Rom an rel igion .

I n regard to m any o f the o l d Rom an go d s they

know abso l ut ely n othin g an d try to d isgu ise thei r
,

ignoran ce behin d a S how o f l earn i ng based on

etym o l ogica l Sl eight o f han d ; i n regard to t h e rest
- -

thei r in form ation is s o tangled with Greek i d eas

that it i s often al m ost i m possible to un ravel the
-

m ass an d separate the o l d fro m the n ew Thi s .

u n ravel l ing ha s been the ted iou s occupation of the

l ast hal f centu ry i n the stu d y o f Ro man re l igion ;
an d so patiently an d su ccess ful l y has i t been a c
compl ished that although we wou ld give al most
,

anythin g for a few books of Varro s D i vi n e A n t i

’

n i zi es it is tolerably certai n that the possess ion

q ,

of these books wou ld n ot chan ge i n the least the

fun dam ental con cepts u n derlyin g the m odern r e
1 1 6 T H E D E C L I N E O F FA I T H

construction of an cien t Rom an rel igion though it i s

equal ly certain that these books wou ld em phasise
j ust so m u ch more stron gly what we al ready realise
, ,

that this modern recon stru ction i s i n d istin ct con

t r a d i c ti o n to m any o f Varro s favou rite theories It
’
.

is an accom pl ishment o f which H istory m ay wel l be

modestly proud that modern scholars have been
,

able to el i m in ate to a large d egree the personal

, ,

equ a t ion an d the myopi c effects o f his own ti me

fro m the statem en ts of the greatest s cholar o f
Roman antiqu ity an d thus though han d i capped by
,

the possession of m erely a sm al l percentage of the

facts which Varro kn ew to arrive at a con cept of
,

the who l e m atter i n fin itely m ore correct than that

which his books con tained .

D u ri ng this secon d centu ry before C hrist therefore

, ,

the state religion was appare ntly u nchanged so far

as the outwar d form was con cern ed The term ino l ogy
.

an d the cerem on ies were m u ch the sam e a s before ,

but the conten t was qu ite d i fferen t Greek gods an d

G reek ideas had d isplaced Rom a n gods an d Roman
id eas and the official represen tatives of religion the
, ,

state pri ests were carrying the whole burden o f

,

worship on their own shou l ders because popu lar

,

i nterest ha d been i n the m ai n d eflecte d an d was

work in g a l ong other l ines These l in es of riva l
.

i n terest were s u perstition an d scepticism phen om en a

,

whi ch at fi rst sight appear as d istin ct opposites but ,

wh ich are on the con trary very closely ak in so that ,

 TH E D EC LI N E OF FA I T H 1 1 7

they u su ally occu r together n ot o n ly i n the sam e

age bu t frequ en tly even i n the sam e i n d ivid u al
,
.

They are pu rely relative terms an d the essen ce of

,

superstition con sists i n i ts su rpl us e l em ent j u st a s ,

the essen ce of scepticis m l ies i n its d efi cien cy No .

religion j u dged from the stan dpoin t o f the worshipper

can properly be cal le d a superstition bu t i f on ce we
,

can establish the essential thi ngs in a rel igion then ,

any large ad d ition to those essen tial things savou rs

o f su perstition. S peaki n g with historica l sym pathy
we have n o right therefore to d esign ate early Roman
re l i gion a s a su perstition — i t m ay o f cou rse be
relatively so i n com parison with other religiou s
—
form s bu t on ce we have establ ished the essen tial
el em en ts i n that early religion we m ay cons i d er the
,

i ntroduction o f new an d en ti rely d i ffere nt elemen ts

as su perstition . The Ol d religion o f Rom e con siste d
i n the exact an d scru p u lous ful fi l m en t of a l arge
n u mber of m i n ute cere m on ials . The resu l t o f this
carefu l fu l fi l m en t of ritua l was that the powers
arou n d m an d id hi m n o harm bu t rather good and ,

that was the en d o f the whol e m atter Rel igion d id

.

not com m an d or even perm it special i nqu i ries i nto

these powers it w a s n ot on l y n o t m an s d uty to try
’

to k now the go d s i t was hi s positive d u ty to try

,

n ot to. Through the i n fluen ce o f Greece there

had now com e i n to Rom e an altogether n ew i dea ,

n ourishe d large l y by the S ibyl li n e books an d r e p re

,

sen ted m ost fu l ly i n the M agn a M ater the i d ea ,

1 1 8 T H E D E C L I N E O F FA I T H

of the perpetu al service of a go d a consecration to ,

hi m to the ex c l u sion of a l l other thing s an d a li fe

, ,

given over to the orgiastic perform an ce o f c ul t acts ,

whi ch pro d uced a state o f ecstasy and con sequ ently

a com m u n ion with the d eity A l on g with this there
.

wen t a belief i n the possibi l ity by m ean s of certain

,

books an d certain m en of obtain in g from t h e go d s

,

a kn owle d ge of the futu re I t is these su rpl u s

.

beliefs qu ite contrary to the spi rit of o ld Rom an

,

religion which m ay j u stly be cal led supersti t ion

,
.

The S ibyl l in e books ha d aro u sed these fee l ings ,

a knowledge of the orac l e at Delphi ha d i n creased

them the rites of Aescu l apiu s had carried the m
,

farther bu t it was n ot u nti l the M agn a M ater cam e

,

that they seem to have bu rst forth i n any large

degree B u t asi d e fro m the rapid growth of the
.

M agna M ater cu lt itsel f we have in this secon d

centu ry two i nstan ces of th is ten den cy The fi rst .

was con n ected wi th the god D ionysos Liber i n nocen t -

,

enou gh at his fi rst reception i n B C 4 9 3 in the . .

,

company of D emeter C eres an d Kore Libera

-
To be-
.

su re the state had introdu ced hi m m erely as the god

of win e but the mystery el em en t i n D ionysos took
,

fi rm hold on private worship and the Bacchanal ian

,

cl ubs o r societies began to spread over I taly In .

the cou rse of abou t three cen tu ries they had become
a form idable m enace to the moral s and even the
physical security o f the inhabitan ts of Rome Their .

meetings i nstead of occurrin g three ti mes a year

 T H E D E C L I N E O F FA I T H 1 1 9

took p lace five ti mes a m on th an d fi n ally i n B C

,
. .

1 8 6 the fam ou s Bacchan al ian trial took p l ace o f ,

which Livy ( B k x xxi x ) gives su ch a graphic

. .

accoun t an d to which a copy o f the i nscri ption of the

,

decree o f the S en ate preserved to o u r d ay gives

, ,

such eloqu en t testi m ony provid i n g a s i t does seve re

,

pen alties for subsequen t o ffen ders an d recogn i sin g,

o n the other han d large l iberty o f conscien ce .

The sam e love o f mystery an d longi ng for

knowl edge which produ ced the Bacchan al ian cl u bs
accor d ed a warm reception to astrology an d m ade
m en l isten with eagern ess to those who cou ld tel l
thei r fortu nes o r gu ide thei r l ives by m ean s o f the
stars. We d o n o t kn ow when the bearers o f this
kn o w le d ge fi rst arrived i n Rom e bu t Cato i n hi s
, ,

Fa r m A l ma n a c o u r earliest piece o f prose l iteratu re

, ,

i n givin g rul es fo r the behaviou r o f the farm bai l i ff

especially enj oi n s the i nten d in g l an down er that hi s
bail i ff shou ld n o t be given to the con su ltation o f
Chald aean astrologers Withi n hal f a cen tu ry the
.

p roble m o f the C haldaean s g rew so seriou s that

state i nterferen ce was n ecessary an d i n B C 1 3 9
,
. .

the praetor Cn Cornel iu s H i s p a l u s i ssu ed an ed i ct

.

ord erin g the Chald aean s to leav e Rom e an d I taly

withi n ten days .

The sam e age which produ ced this growth o f

su perstition brou ght also the antid ote for it i n
the shape o f a sceptical phi losophy but the on ly ,

trouble wa s that this phi losophy n ot on ly cu red

1 20 T H E D E C L I N E O F FA I T H

superstition but i n doi n g so k i l led the gen u in e

religiou s spirit u n d erlyi ng it I t cast o u t to be
.
,

su re the seven devi ls o f superstition b ut when m en

, ,

retu rn ed to them selves again they fo u n d thei r whole

,

spiritu al hou se swept an d garn ishe d With the .

d eath o f the d i rect pu pils of A ristotle the Greek ,

m in d ha d thought o u t a l l the prob l em s o f philosophy

o f which m an at that ti m e was abl e to con ceive .

The fol lowi ng gen eration s o f philosophers d evote d

them selves either to the elaboration of d etail o r to
a renewed exam in ation of the foun dation s of bel ief ,

with the resu lt that their s mal ler m in ds cam e to

s m al ler con clusions an d the en d o f their i nvestiga
,

tion s was o n e i n crease d scepticis m The schoo l s

.

of the d ay showed m any slight variation s an d bore

m any d i fferen t n am es bu t they al l agree d i n bein g
,

more or less pervade d by a scepti cal spi rit an d ,

by accen ting ethics as agai nst m etaphysics though ,

they d efi n ed ethi cs very d i fferen tly accord in g to

thei r starti ng point .

O ne o f the earliest philosophical in fl u en ces which

reache d Rom e wa s however that of a pre S ocrati c -

school the school of Pyt hagoras

,
This was natu ral
.

enou gh i n itsel f as the headqu arters of the school

,

was i n Southern I taly bu t i t is cu rious an d s ig n i fi

,

can t that the fi rst pronou nced instan ce o f its i n fluen c e

occu rred shortly after the S econ d Pu n i c War an d in ,

con nex ion with a clever frau d which was perpetrate d

with a view to i n fluenci n g rel igion I n the year
.
 T H E D EC L I N E O F FA I T H 1 2 1

B C
. . 1 a certai n m an reporte d that when he was
8 1

plo u ghin g hi s fi eld which l ay on the other S i d e o f

,

the Tiber at the foot o f the J an icu l u m the plo u gh

, ,

had laid bare two ston e sarcophagi stout l y sea l ed ,

with lead an d beari n g i n scription s i n G reek an d

,

Lati n accord in g to which they p u rported to contain ,

on e of them the body o f K in g N u ma the other hi s , ,

writings When they were O pene d the o n e which

.

ought to have con tain ed the bo d y was em pty i n ,

the other lay two rol ls each rol l con sisti n g o f seven
,

books ; the o n e se t o f seven was w ritten i n Lati n

an d treate d o f p o n ti fi c a l l aw the other con siste d o f
,

phi losophical writin gs They were exa m i n ed fou n d

.
,

to be heretical an d subversive to tru e re l igion an d ,

were accordin gly bu rn e d i n the Co m iti u m The .

con n ex ion o f N u m a an d Pythagoras historica l ly ,

i mpossible but bel ieved in at this ti m e m akes i t ,

practical l y certai n that this w a s a clever attem pt t o

in trod u ce the philosophy of Pythagoras i n to Ro m e
u n d er the ho l y san ction o f the n am e of N u m a .

Fortu n ately the zeal of the city praetor frustrate d

the schem e But the d octri n es of phi l osophy wh ich
.
,

thu s fai led to enter by the d oor o f rel igion fou n d ,

the door o f l iteratu re wid e open fo r them As the .

irony o f fate wou l d have it C ato the s talwart ene my

, ,

of Greek in flu en ce h a d brou ght back fro m S ard i n ia

,

with him the poet En n ius an d at about the ti m e ,

when the fa l se books o f N u ma were bu rn ing i n the

C om itiu m E n n iu s was givi n g to the worl d a Lati n
1 22 T H E D EC L I N E O F FA I T H

translation of the S a cr ea H i s tory of the Greek

’

Euhemeru s This E uhem erus a S ici lian who had

.
,

l ived about a cen t u ry before this ti me earn ed his ,

t itl e to fam e by writin g a n ovel of adventu re an d

travel i n which he d esc ribe d a trip which he ha d
,

taken i n the Re d S ea along the coast of A rabia

to the wond erfu l isl an d of Pan chaia where he fo u n d ,

a col u m n with an i nscri ption o n i t tel lin g the l i fe

history o f O u ran os K ron os an d Z eu s who were
, , ,

thus shown to have been historical characters after

ward s elevated into deities I t was this theologi
.

cal ele men t i n his book whi ch m ad e hi m fa mou s .

This theory of the historical origin o f the go d s

i s even to day cal le d E uhemeris m an d has exerted
-
,

a balefu l i n flu en ce over writers on mythology from

i ts author s d ay d own to ou r own
’
These then .

were the d octri n es which En n ius presen te d to the

Rom an s i n thei r own ton gue an d it is pathetic ,

to real ise that his S a cr ea H i s tory form ed the

’

fi rst formal treatise on theo l ogy which Rom e ever

possessed . Born u nder such an evil star it i s ,

s mal l wonder that her theological specu lation s never

reached great m etaphysical heights .

I n these d ays it seem ed to the S enate that the

question o f phi losophy w as begi n n ing to be so
serio u s that i t m ight be con sidered as a public
d an ger an d that it was therefore thei r d uty to try
,

to cope with i t They chose of cou rse the typical

.
, ,

Rom an m ethod of d ea l i ng with such matters and ,

 TH E D E C L I N E O F FA I T H 1 2 3

the philosophers were expel l e d from Rom e At .

fi rst i n B C I 7 3 it was on ly the Epi c u rean s who

. .

were sen t o u t but i n B C 1 6 1 the ed ict was

,
. .

broade ned to in c l ud e phi losophers i n gen eral .

H owever si x years l ater i n B C 1 5 5 there cam e ,

. .
,

to Rom e an e m bassy of phi l osophers whose m ission

w a s avowe d ly pol iti cal an d n ot phi losophi cal an d ,

who thu s cou l d not be excl u d ed whi l e at the sam e ,

ti m e they took occasion to preach thei r ph ilosophi cal

d octrin es. I t was fortu nate fo r Rom e that Stoicis m ,

the best a m ong al l these ph ilosophies appealed to ,

her m ost strongly an d becam e thu s the nation al

phi l osophy o f Rom e S toicis m was i n m any r e
.

s p ec t s qu ite as scepti cal a s the others bu t it had ,

at least this great ad van tage that it l ai d a stron g

emphasis o n ethi cs and was i n so far capabl e of
,

becom ing a gu i d e of l ife I t m ight be wel l enough

.

fo r Greeks whose aggressive work i n the worl d had

,

been d one to settle d own to a n id le old age with

,

a theory o f l i fe w h i ch p ractical ly ex cl u d ed the

possibil ity of stron g decis ive action bu t Rom e was ,

stil l young an d m ost o f her work w a s still before

,

her. S he m ight thi n k herse l f very o l d an d preten d

to take pecu l iar d elight i n m any of the m ore
decadent form s o f Greek thought but i n reality ,

her l ea d ers i n sti nctive l y tu rne d to Stoicism as ,

afford in g a com prom ise between the m ere thought

less activity o f youth which acts for the love of
,

actin g an d the j aded p h i l osophy o f the van ity of

,
1 24 TH E D EC LI N E OF FA I T H

al l effort About the m i d d le of the cen tury (ci r ca

.

B C 1 5 0 ) there ex isted i n Rom e a cen tre of cu ltu re

. .

an d i ntel lectu al i n fluen ce a l ittl e group of m en

,

pecul iarly i nteresti ng becau se they form practica l ly

,

the fi rst i nstan ce o f an i nte l l ectu al coterie i n the

history o f Rom e Their leader was the you n ger
.

S cipio who had as his associates his frien d Lael ius

, ,

the poet Lu ci l ius whose bril lian t writin gs sub

, ,

m erge d by the m ore bri ll iant s ati res of H orace form ,

on e of the m ost deplorabl e losses i n Ro man l itera

ture and the S toi c philosopher Pa n a i ti o s of Rho d es
,
.

Teren ce had also belonged to the ci rcle b u t he was ,

now dea d S toicis m was the avowed philosophy

.

of these m en a n d their i n fluen ce especial ly that o f

, ,

Pa n a i ti o s an d Lu ci lius d id m uch to popu larise thei r

,

chosen philosophi cal creed .

Wh ile S toicis m c lai me d su periority to re l igion

an d showed the i mpossibi lity o f attachin g any value
to religious knowled ge it recogn ise d the n ecessity
,

of religion fo r the com m on people on gro u n ds of

expe d ien cy an d e ffected a recon ci liation between
,

this d en ial of religion on the on e hand an d the ,

recognition o f it on the other by assertin g that ,

the religion o f the state was j u sti fied n ot on ly by

exped ien cy bu t m u ch more by the fact that it w a s
after all on ly the presen tation of the truths of
Stoicism i n a form which w a s i nte l l igi ble to the
lower classes H ad this group of S cip io an d his
.

associates m ad e an effort to em phasise these

 TH E D E C L I N E O F FA I T H 1 2 5

particu lar doctri n es of S toicis m i n relation to rel igion ,

the d own fa l l of the state religion ; which occu rred i n

the fol l owin g cen tu ry m ight have been h in dered ,
.

B u t fo r reasons whi ch we shal l see i n a m om ent

, ,

this d own fal l co u l d n ot have been prevente d an d it ,

is doubtfu l whether th e i n flu en ce o f any phi losophical

system even when su pported by s u ch prom i nen t
,

m en cou l d have perceptibly postpon ed the catas

,

t ro p he .M eanti m e the on l y vis ible contribution of

Stoicis m to the proble m o f religi on w a s the growth
u n der her i n flu en ce o f the id ea o f a dou ble t ruth “
,

o n e truth fo r the i ntel lectu al c l asses an d on e for the

co m mon peopl e reachi n g its cli m a x i n the ph rase

,

“
I t is exped i en t for the state to be d eceived i n
”
m atters o f rel igion (exp ed i t i gi tu r f a l l i i n r el igi on e
ci v i ta tein
) Th is was
. the attitu d e toward rel igion o f
the m ost i ntellectual m en i n the com mu n ity at the
begin n in g o f what wa s i n m any ways the m ost
terri bl e peri od i n Rom e s histo ry ’
.

The las t centu ry before C hrist (m ore exactly

B C 1 3 3—
. . B C 2 7 ) i s the story o f ho w Rom e becam e
. .

an em pi re because she was n o longer abl e to be a

repu bl ic i t is the h istory o f the growth o f o n e m an -

power beca u se m any m en power had become i m -

possible This growth was cau sed n ot on ly n o r at

.
,

fi rst even chiefly by the graspin g character o f ,

’
Rom e s states m en b u t by the i n crease o f th e rabbl e
,

an d the con sequen t u n m an ageable character o f her

pop u l ation except u n d er the fi rm han d o f a si n gle
,
1 26 T H E D E C L I N E O F FA I T H

m aster A n d the reason why it took one hu n d re d

.

years of c ivi l war to change the republ ic i nto the

empi re was n ot beca u se the spirit Of the repu bl ic
was s o slow i n dyi ng that its d eath struggles fi l le d a
centu ry bu t m erely beca u se the republic d ied too
,

e asi ly an d the way to on e m an power was so si m p le

-

that there were to o m any can d idates fo r the position ,

an d hen ce the civi l wars between them These .

c ivi l wars were bou n d to contin u e u ntil the bitter

lesson s o f experien ce had taught m en n ot on ly how
to gain the su pre m e contro l which was relatively
,

easy bu t how to keep i t an d exclud e rivals

, ,

which was mu ch m ore d i fficu lt The ambitiou s

.

l eaders of thi s centu ry d i d n ot have to create a

thron e ; that was ready to thei r han d Thei r task .

was on l y to p ut d e fen ces arou n d it Even these.

defen ces o f it were n ot d i rectly again st the peopl e ,

for the people had n o d esire to overthrow the thron e ,

bu t merely again st the rival can d i dates Step by .

step fro m Ti beri u s Gracchus to Gaiu s Gracchus an d ,

on to M ari u s to S u lla to Pompey to J u lius C aesar

, , , ,

possession becam e m ore an d m ore perman ent ;

u ntil from bein g a m ere mom entary pos ition it ,

becam e n ine poin ts of the law an d Octavian m a d e

,

the tenu re perfect by ad d ing an al most rel igious

reveren ce to hi s person i n the title A ug u s tu s .

I n the m ai n the foreign wars of the secon d

centu ry before C hrist gave place to the C ivi l War at
home b u t there wa s on e exception to this the war
, ,
 THE D E C L I N E O F FA I T H 1 2 7

with M i thra d a tes k in g o f P on tu s which on variou s

, ,

occasion s d u rin g the early part of the cent u ry took

large bo d ies Of Rom ans to the O rien t . A n d as
tho u gh to supple men t thi s kn owled ge of the East ,

i n the closin g hal f o f the cen tu ry the field of the

c ivi l struggle was en larged so that it to o i n clud ed
the East an d South East -
. We have al ready seen
so m any i n stan ces o f the e ffects o f politi cal even ts

o n the cou rse of Rom an rel igion that it i s a m atter

of n o su rprise to u s to see that both o f these

st ru ggl es the C ivi l War an d the O ri en tal wars left
, ,

thei r m ark s on rel igion . I t woul d be m u ch m ore

su rpris i ng i f they had n ot d on e so .I n the strugg l e o f
the riva l s at hom e e ve r v possi bl e weapon was em ployed ,

an d it was soon d iscovered that the priests an d the

paraphern a l ia of religion were ex cellen t m eans of
po l itical power an d in flu en ce The religion o f the
.

state therefore becam e en slaved to pol itics .O n the

other han d the campaign s i n the East m ade t h e
sold iers an d even tu ally o n their retu rn the whol e
,

popu lace acquai nted with variou s O rie ntal deit ies
, ,

wh ich helped to sati s fy thei r c ravi n g fo r the sensa

t i o n a l an d the su perstitious . Th u s wh il e the state
rel igion in i ts debau ched cond ition was l o si n g i n flu e n c e ,

the orgiastic elem ent i n worship was gain in g power

throu gh these n ewly acq u ire d O ri en tal cu lts .The
story of the rel igion of the last centu ry o f the republic
i s accord in gly the history o f the control of state
rel igion by po l iti cs an d i ts consequen t d estru ction ,
1 2 8 T H E D E C L I N E O F FA I T H

an d the growth of superstition becau se o f the com in g

of n ew O rien tal worships ; an d we may a dd to
these two topics a thi rd :the pathetic attem pts of
phi l osophy to breathe n ew l i fe i nto the d ead rel igion
of the state .

When it com es t o the qu estion of the hu man

characters whose n a m es are writ l arge o n this page
of religious history the D ictator Lu cius Corn e l i u s
,

Su l l a towers above al l others To his pol itical

.

i n sight is largely owin g the harn essi ng of the state

religion to the chariot of the pol itician n ow an d ,

hereafter ; an d it was he who was the forem ost

l eader of Roman arm ies to the O rient an d the ,

m an who because of hi s pecu l iarly s uperstitiou s

,

character encou raged the worship of the stran ge

,

deities which were foun d there I n both these

.

d i rection s he was ably secon d ed by Pom pey hal f a ,

generation later O n the other han d the fu til e

.

e fforts of ph ilosophy to i m prove the situ ation were

i n spired du rin g the earl ier period by the chief priest
S caevola a contemporary of S u l la an d d u ring
, ,

Pom pey s an d C aesar s ti m e by Varro the greatest

’ ’

scholar tha t Ro m e ever produ ced

‘
.

Let u s follow fi rst the fortu nes of the religion

o f the state at the han d s o f the pol itician s The .

u pper an d in fluen tial cl asses o f Roman society were

now thoroughly i mbued with Stoi c phi losophy and
accord ingly with the doctrin e of the d ouble truth “

—
i n the fi eld of rel igion the real phi losophica l truth
 T H E D E C L I N E O F FA I T H 1 2 9

which w a s thei r o wn pecu liar p roperty an d wh ich

showed them cl early that al l the form s o f religion
were vain an d i ts d octrin es at best a cl u m sy
,

statem en t i n rou n dabout parabl es o f a truth w hich

they sa w face to face ; an d that lower tru th
i n tended fo r the m asses an d d i ctated by the
pressu re o f n ecessity the con cret e state rel igion in
,

al l its details wh ich m ust be preserved am on g the

,

lower c lasses i n the i nterest o f the state a nd o f

society . The state rel igion was thu s a m atte r o f
e xpe d ien cy an d o f u sefu l n ess . B u t o nce this idea
o f i t s usefu ln ess was p ut i n to the foregrou nd i t w a s
,

n atu ral that the qu estion shou ld i m m ed i ately be

asked :Was this state rel igi on as u se fu l after al l a s
it m ight be ? Cou l d it n o t be pu t to greater u ses ?
I f religion ex isted i n general fo r i ts pol itic al effects ,

why S hou l d i t n ot be u sed by the i n d ivid ual l ike ,

any other pol iti cal apparatu s fo r h is o w n in d ivi d u al

,

advan cem en t ? T he m an to who m this id ea see m s

t o have com e fi rst i n al l i ts fu l ln ess w a s S u lla an d ,

he proceeded i m m ed iately t o act u pon it . The

control o f religion cou ld o f cou rse be obtaine d best
, ,

th rough the priesthoods an d those priesthood s were

,

n atural ly m ost worth gai n in g which possessed the

greatest right o f i n terferen ce i n affai rs of state .

These pri esthoods were : fi rst the Au gu rs with ,

their trad itional right to break u p assem bl ies an d to

declare legi slative action n u ll an d void ; then the
P on ti ffs wit h their gen eral con trol o f al l vexed
,

K
1 3 0 T H E D E C L I N E O F FA I T H

qu estion s con cern ing the i n tersecti on o f d ivi n e an d

hu man l aw ; and l astly the X V v i r i o r the keepers
,

o f the S ibylli ne books i n charge also of the cu lts

,

to which the oracles had given birth A ccord in gly

.

he i n creased the n u mbe rs o f these three priesthoods ,

raisin g each to fifteen ; an d i n asm uch as the o l d

right of the col leges o f the p riests to fi l l vacan cies
l

i n thei r o wn bod ies them selves had been taken away

from them i n B C 1 0 3 and su ch vacan ci es were n ow
. .
,

fi lled by popular vote it was an easy thi ng for hi m

,

to fi l l the n ew posit i on s with his own m en .

The resu lt o f accen tu atin g the pol iti cal i m port

an ce of these three col leges was that the whole
body o f th e state rel igion becam e actuated with a
pol itical spi rit an d the whole stru ctu re was r e
,

m odelled alon g the li n es o f this n ew valuation .

The i m med iate e ffect o f this was that the priests

them selves becam e enti rely absorbed i n pol itics .

To be su re Sul la was n ot respon sible fo r al l o f this ,

because the tend en cy had been i n this d i rection

ever si nce the ti m e o f the P un i c wars I n the good.

ol d days o f Rom an rel i g i on the o ffice o f priest had

been i n the m ain i ts own reward and though the,

priests form ed by n o m ean s a separate cl ass an d ,

the in divid ual pri est had m any secu lar in terests
an d occasion al ly som e political ones he w a s n ot ,

supposed to hol d political o ffi ce I n the ti m e of

.

the Pu nic wars however the tid e began to turn

, , .

The earliest record ed in stan ce o f a priest hold in g a

 THE D EC L I N E OF FA I T H 1 3 1

high po l itical O ffi ce is in the year B C 2 4 2 whe n . .

the Flam en M artiali s or special priest o f M ars wa s

chosen C onsu l bu t when the gen tlem an i n q u estion
starte d to go to the war he was forbidden by the
,

P on ti fex M axi m u s. I n B C 2 0 0 the Flam en D i a l i s

. .
,

or special priest of Ju p p i te r was al lowed to be

,

m ad e aedil e bu t his brother ha d to be especial ly

,

authorised to take the oath o f offi ce in his stead ,

si n ce the priest o f Ju p p i te r the god of oaths wa s

, ,

hi m sel f not al lowed to take an oath I n the co u rs e

.

of the nex t centu ry s u ch cases becam e m ore

com mon an d where the thi n g was not a l lowe d
, ,

the priesthood beca m e u n popu lar an d wa s som e ,

ti m es left en tire l y vacan t

. Thi s l ast thin g happen e d ,

fo r i nstan ce i n the case o f the Fl a m i n i u m D iale a

, ,

position which was un fi l le d fro m B C 8 7 ti l l B C 1 1. . . . .

B u t the evi l effects of p o l itics were n o t con fi n ed

to the em ptyi ng o f certain priesthoo d s whic h after ,

al l were of n o very great i m portan ce ex cept as ,

thei r p resen ce ten de d t o s ustai n the m o r a l e O f the

o ld rel igiou s ritual . It s effects were m uch m ore
d isastrou s i n the very i m portan t priesthood s whi ch
ha d now becom e essential ly pol itical offi ces The .

e xclusively pol itical i nterests o f the i n c u m bents ,

com bi ned with the fact that each m an was elected

by gen eral vote o f the peop l e and w ithou t any
special fitn ess for the position as had been the cas e,

i n the ol d d ays ten d ed to break down al l the

,

trad ition s of the col lege an d thus to d estroy m uch

,
 “

1 3 2 TH E D E C L I N E O F FA I T H

of the knowledge which wa s being han d ed d own

largely by oral tradition There arose therefore an
.

ign oran ce o f the ritual of the cu lt which was great

j ust i n p roportion a s the knowledge original ly
presen t had been accu rate an d i ntricate B u t eve n .

this w a s n ot al l ; the arrangin g o f the yearly

calen d ar with its compli cated i n tercalation o f d ays
,

to brin g i nto harm ony the solar an d the lu nar

years w a s sti ll i n the hand s o f the priests an d
, ,

here the resu lts of their growi n g ign oran ce were

m ost appal lin g The calend ar becam e terribly d is
.

ordered an d this again had i ts reaction on religion ,

for the ca l en d ar month occasion ally fel l s o o u t o f

gear with the n atu ral season s that it was i m possible
to celebrate som e o f the ol d Rom an fest ivals which ,

ha d a d istinct bearin g on certai n season s of th e year .

Thu s the greatest enem ies o f the religion of the

state were those o f its o wn household the p riests , ,

who tu rn e d the reverent formal ism o f the o ld d ays

i nto a mockery an d mad e thei r pri esthood m erely
,

a m ean s o f pol itical i n fluen ce .

N ow that the o l d Roman god s had been chan ged

i n to n ew fan gle d Greek gods an d the o l d Rom an
-
,

priesthoods in to m odern pol itical c l ubs it is l ittle ,

‘

won d er that the religion of the fathers ceased to

satis fy their d escen d ents Bu t whi le history shows
.

that S pecifi c rel igious creed s have often prove d

mortal and s ubj ect to chan ge an d d ecay the sam e ,

history m akes clear that the rel igious instin ct i s a

 THE D EC L I N E OF FA I T H 1 33

constan t factor i n hu m an ity ; an d we m ust n ot

s uppose fo r a m om en t that the rel igiou s n eed o f
the Rom an com m u n ity had cease d to ex ist S i m p l y ,

becau se the religion o f the state had ceased to

sati sfy it . Fro m the day when the S ibyl gave her
fi rst oracles to Rom e o n d own to the ti m e o f S u l la ,

the desire for the sen sation al and the extraor d in ary
i n rel igion had been stead i ly growin g I t had its
.

bi r th i n the i dea that there was su ch a thin g a s

a d i rect com m u n ion with the d eity and that the
,

oracles were an i m m ed iate co m m an d fro m hi m .

I t was n ou rished by the sens e o f foreign n ess i n the

Greek cere mon ies grad ually in trod u ced i nto the cu lt .

I t fed o n the m ore sen sational aspects of certai n o f

the gods brought i n :o n the enthu siasti c rites o f
Bacchus o n the m i racle work in g o f Aes cu lapiu s
,
-
,

on the Stygian mystery o f D i s an d P roserpin a .

But i ts fu l fi l m en t w a s to com e fro m the East that ,

i n exhausti bl e fou n tai n o f religiou s en ergy I n the

.

M agn a M ater i t recogn ised i ts o w n . This w a s the

fi rst u n d ilute d O riental is m which came to Ro m e .

Bu t t he state itsel f had received i t an d had ,

m an aged i n som e u naccou ntable way to pu t u pon

this outland ish Eastern cu l t the sta mp o f Ro m e s ’

n ational ity that stamp which n o n ation ever

,

su ccess ful ly an d perm an ently resiste d ; an d thus

the reception o f the cu lt o n the part o f the state
was n ot on ly a d isgrace fu l thi n g ten din g to d egrad e
,

t rue religion and spread the contagion o f O rien tal is m ,

1 34 TH E D E CL I N E O F F A I T H

but i t also made those whose appetite had been

aroused eager for other deities whose c ul t wou ld ,

have the great add itional charm of bein g u n l icense d

by the st a te an d hen ce savou rin g of u nl awfu l n ess .

S u ch a c ult long hal f con sciou sly d es ired w a s at

,
-
,

len gth fou nd when i n B C 9 2 the Roman sol d iery

,
. .

co m man d ed by S u l la pen etrated i nto the val l ey o f

Co m an a i n Cappad ocia . There was a whole c o m
m u n ity a m in iatu re state d evoted to the service o f a
, ,

god d ess not u n l ike the Great M other o f Pe ssi n u s ,

bu t whose cu lt was m ore ecstatic m ore orgiastic , ,

than that of the M agn a M ater at least as ,

Rom e k new her T he k in g was the chief priest

.
,

an d the citi zen s were priests and priestesses The .

war with M i thr a da t e s brought the Rom an army

the re agai n an d al so to an other C om an a i n Pontu s ,

where there was a bran ch o f the Cappadocian cu lt .

I t was n ot the ign oran t sol d iery alon e who were

i mpressed by what they sa w ; thei r l eader S u lla , ,

w a s fu l ly as m u ch affected an d on his retu rn to I taly

,

when the great c risis i n hi s career hi s m arch on

Rom e an d his storm ing o f the E te rn al C ity lay ,

be fore hi m i t wa s the goddess o f C om an a who

,

appeared to hi m I n a d ream and gave hi m cou rage .

Thus her cu lt en tered Rom e and the captu re of the

,

city by S u l la ha s i t s paral lel i n the capture o f the

hearts o f the peopl e by hi s com pan ion the god dess ,

of C oman a . The origin al n ame o f this godd ess

seems to have been M a bu t the G reeks who al so
, ,
 THE D EC L I N E OF FA ITH 1 35

kn ew her had li kened her to E nyo thei r goddess o f

, ,

stri fe an d warfare ; hen ce i n these d ays o f faci le

id enti fication the Rom ans cou rse w a s cl ear an d she
’

becam e straightway Bel lon a cal led by the nam e o f ,

thei r o l d goddess o f war O f al l the chapters o f the

.

histo ry o f su ch i d enti fi cation s n on e i s m ore cu rio u s

than this The o l d B el lon a had born e to M ars the
.

sa me relation that Fi d es the goddess o f good fai th

, ,

had born e to Ju p p i te r S he wa s the resu lt o f the

.

s eparate d e i fi c a t i o n o f o n e o f the qual ities of M ars ,

the breakin g o ff o f an adj ective an d the tu rn in g o f

i t i nto a nou n ; bu t fro m n ow o n though the o l d ,

go d dess sti l l ex isted an d ha d her o w n tem pl e an d

her own worship the n am e w a s also appl ied t o this
,

stran ge O rienta l go d d ess who cam e i n the trai n o f

the debau ched Ro m an arm y o n its retu rn from the
East . But though m en m ight cal l this n ew com er by -

the nam e o f a sacred ol d n ation al god dess an d

worship her i n p rivate as they pl eased the rel igion o f ,

the state even in i t s su nken con d ition re fuse d to

,
-
,

adm i t her am on g i ts deities an d the priests the , ,

Fa n a ti ci with thei r wild d an ces to the m u s ic o f

, ,

cy m bal s an d tru m pets sl ashin g them selves with thei r

,

d ou ble axes u n til thei r arm s stream ed with blood ,

were not at l east as yet the o ffi cial representatives

, ,

o f the state the c om pan ion s o f the reveren d o l d S al ii

,

with thei r d ign i fied three step Even the sa n c tu

-
.

ari es o f the p rivate c ult m u st be kept ou tsi d e the

city an d the violation o f thi s law i n B C 4 8 resu lted
, . .
1 3 6 TH E DEC L I N E OF FA I T H

i n the raidi n g an d destruction o f on e o f these private

chapels H er cu lt d oes n ot seem to have becom e
.

a state a ffair u n til the begin n in g of the third centu ry

A D whe n Caracalla who had exten ded Rom an citi zen
. .
, ,

ship to al l the i nhabitants o f the p rovin ces gave a ,

s im ilar ci t izen ship to al l the foreign deiti es resi d en t

i n Rom e I t i s a cu riou s coi ncidence that this action
.

o f C aracal la s occurre d j u st abou t the sam e year A D

’
. .

i n which the break d own of the p o nz er i u i n fo r state

cu lts had occu rred B C For the present however
. .
, ,

that i s to s ay i n the fi rst cen tu ry B C the state r e . .

,

t a i n e d her dign ity though the res u ltan t u n orthodox

,

character o f the cu lt i n creased i ts power an d

i n fluen ce and m ad e i t m ore su bversive t o m oral s
,

than the M agn a M ater w a s .

A n even m ore i n terestin g in stan ce both o f the ,

popul arity o f sen sation al foreign cu lts an d of the

stru ggle o f the state religion agai nst them is fou n d ,

i n the case o f the Egyptian goddess I sis The .

spread O f I sis worship in to the Greek and c o n se ,

quently also in to the Ro m an world began relatively ,

early I n the third centu ry I sis an d her compan i on

.

S erapis were w e l l establ ished on the is land o f Delos

an d in the secon d centu ry we fi nd traces o f
thei r worship i n C ampan ia espec ial ly at P om pei i ,

and P u teol i This last n amed place the seaport

-
,

P u teol i the m odern P oz zuoli outsi de o f N aples

, , ,

w a s probably the d oor through which I sis and her

train cam e into I taly P uteol i w a s the chief port
.
 TH E D EC L I N E OF FA I T H 1 37

for O ri ental ships in clud ing Egypt an d it also had

, ,

com m ercial relation s with D elos At this l ater .

date i t s upp lied Rom e with gods i n som ewhat the

sam e way that C u m ae i n the sam e n eighbou rhoo d
, ,

had don e centu ri es before S o far a s the ci ty o f.

Rom e itsel f i s con cerned an appare ntly tru stworthy,

trad ition traces the private cu l t back to the ti m e o f

S u lla ; a n d it certai n ly can n ot have been i n trod u ced
m uch l ater than this ti m e because i n B C 5 8 it ,
. .

had becam e so pro m in ent an d s o offens ive to the

authorities o f the state that they destroyed an altar
o f I s is o n the C apitoli n e A pparently I sis was n o
.

ex ception to the gen eral l aw o f growth by perse

c u t i o n becau se i n the cou rs e o f the n ex t d ecad e the
,

state foun d i t n ecessary to i nterfere n o less than

three ti m es i e i n B C 5 3 5 0 an d 4 8
,
. . . . Fi n al ly the
, ,
.

poli cy o f su ppression proved s o i n e ffectual that i t

was decided to try the opposite extre m e an d to se e ,

what cou ld be don e by state ackn owledgm en t an d

state con trol an d so the Triu m vi rs O ctavian A n tony
, , , ,

an d Lepi du s i n B C 4 3 d ecreed the bu i ld in g o f

,
. .

a state tem pl e fo r I sis But although they had

.

decreed the erection o f a te m pl e they w e re t o o ,

m u ch engaged i n thei r o wn affai rs to bu ild it i m

m ediately an d u n ti l the tem ple w a s bu i l t I sis cou ld
,

n o t p roperly be considered am ong the state gods .

A s events tu rned o u t this te mpl e w a s n ever bu i lt ,

for i n the course o f the n ex t few years the t rou ble

with A ntony an d C leopatra began an d thus the gods ,
1 3 8 TH E D E C L I N E O F FA I T H

of Egypt becam e the god s o f Rom e s enem ies and s o ’

far as the state was con cerned an acknowl ed gm en t

o f these go d s was i mpossible I n stead Augu stu s
.

forbade even private chapels i n si d e the p onzer i u i n .

The su bsequen t history o f I sis d oes n ot d i rectly

con cern u s ; su ffice i t to sa y that after various
vicissitudes she was ad m itted to the state cu l t by
C aracal la alon g with al l the other foreign d eities .

Bu t i t was n ot only Asia M i n or an d Egypt which

gave their cults to Rom e the d ei ties of Syri a cam e
to o . P rom inent am on g the m was A ta rga ti s whose ,

cult seem s to have tou ched the I talian m ain lan d fi rst
at P u teol i . In B C 5 4 the a rmy o f C rassu s on its
. .

Eastern exped ition whi ch was d estin ed to com e to

,

su ch a tragic en d i n the terrible d e feat at C a r r ha e ,

vis ite d an d plu nd ered the san ctuary o f the god d ess
i n Syria . Thu s she became kn own at Rom e where ,

”
she was cal led sim ply the Syrian goddess (a ea
“ ’

Sy r i a ) an d was worshipped in a way very sim ilar to

the M agn a M ater an d Bellon a .

Lastly when Pom pey swept the M ed iterran ean

clean of C ili cia n pi rates the sailors becam e a c
,

q u a i n t e d with a P ersian deity M i thras whose

,
cu l t,

i n Rom e began d u ri n g o u r perio d an d su bsequ ently

c rowded al l the other orgiastic cu lts into i n s ig n i fi
can ce .

We h ave n ow seen how the pol itician s were tu rn

i ng the state religion in to a tool fo r the accom pl ish
m ent of thei r o wn sel fish en ds and how the m asses
,
 TH E D EC L I N E OF FA I T H 1 39

of the peop le were seeking sati s faction for thei r

religiou s n eeds i n sen sation al foreign worships i n ,

t r o du c e d from Asia M inor Egypt Syria an d Persia

, , ,
.

We m ust n ow see whether any e fforts were bein g

m a d e by any m em bers o f the com mu n ity in behal f
of the ol d rel igion an d whether there were sti l l
,

i n e xistence an y traces o f the p u re o l d Rom an

worship .

The latter day phi losophies o f Greece had d ealt

-

a severe blow at Ro m an rel igion by convi n ci n g the

i n tel lectual c lasses i n the c om m u n ity that i n the
n atu re o f thi n gs there coul d be n o such kn owledge
a s that upon which rel igion was base d an d hen ce ,

that rel igion was an id le thi n g u nworthy of a true

m an s interest
’
. Yet al l the phi losophy i n the world
coul d n o t take away fro m a Ro m an his sen se o f d u ty
to the state . N ow the state i n i ts ex perien ce ha d
fou n d religion s o n ecessary that she had bu i lt u p a
form al system o f it an d m ad e i t a part o f hersel f .

A s it wa s the d u ty o f the citi zen t o support the

state in every part o f her activity it was clearly hi s ,

d u ty t o su pport the state religion H en ce there .

arose that c rass contrad iction whi ch ex isted i n Rom e

,

to a large degree a s lon g a s these particu lar system s

o f philosophy prevai l e d between the d u ty which a
,

man as a thin kin g m an o wed t o hi m sel f and the

, , ,

duty which he as a good citi zen owed to the state

, , .

We have seen how d u rin g the secon d centu ry be fore

Christ no attempt was m ad e t o recon ci le thes e t wo
1 40 T H E D E C L I N E O F FA I T H

views a nd ho w they existed sid e by s ide in such a

m an for exam ple as E nn ius who wrote certain
, , ,

treatises em bodyin g the m ost extraord i n ary sceptical

doctri n es and certain patri otic poem s i n which the
,

whole apparatu s o f the Roman gods is pro m in ently

e xhibited an d m ost reveren tly treated We have .

”
also seen how this doubl e truth cou ld n ot bu t
“

have d isastrou s resu lts o n the state religion i n spite

of al l e fforts to the con trary The fi rst effort which
.

w a s m a d e to i mp rove the situ ation was n ot so m u ch

an attempt at recon ci liation as a fran k statem en t o f
the d i ffi cu lties of the case The problem had a d
.

v a n c e d considerably towar d solution when on ce i t

had been clearly stated The m an who had the
.

cou ra g e to m ake the statem en t was Q u intus Mu c i u s

S caevola a famous lawyer as wel l a s the head of the
,

col lege o f Ponti ffs ( P on ti fex M axi m us ) H e was a .

contemporary o f S u l la an d wa s ad m irably fi tted fo r

,

hi s task becau se he n o t on ly represented religion in

hi s position a s P ontifex M axi m u s bu t cou ld speak ,

also i n behal f o f the state both theoretical ly as a

lawyer an d p ractically becau se he had fi l led al m ost
,

al l the i m portant political O ffi ces ( con su l B C ,

. .

The treatise in which he mad e hi s statemen ts ha s

been lost to u s but we m ay obtain a fai r i d ea o f
,

what he said fro m a qu otation by the C hristian

writer A ugu stin e in hi s wond erfu l book T/ze Ci ty
of Goel ( iv . Fo r S caevola the dou ble truth o f
En n ius ha s grown in to a triple truth and there ,
 T H E D E C L I N E O F FA I T H 1 4 1

are n o less than three d isti n ct rel igion s :the

religion o f poets of phi losophers an d o f states m en
, ,
.

The rel igion o f the poets by whic h he m ean s

,

the mythol ogi cal treatmen t o f the gods he con ,

de m n s a s worth l ess because i t tel ls a great m any

thi ngs about the god s whi ch are n ot tru e an d which
are enti rely u n worthy o f them The rel igion o f
.

phi losophers he does n ot con si d er s u itable to the

state because it contain s m any thin gs which are
,

su perflu ous an d some which are inj u riou s

,
The .

su perfluou s thi n gs m ay be al l owed to pass but the ,

i nj u riou s thi ngs by whi ch he evi den tly m ean s the

,

doctrin es o f E u he m e r o s are a very serious m atter

, ,

n o t because they are u n tru e bu t becau se the k n ow

ledge o f them i s i n exped ien t for the m asses The .

rel igion of the statesm an can have n o part i n these

thin gs even i f they are true ; an d a m an a s a citi zen
,

o f the state m ust bel ieve i n m any thi n gs o r profess ,

bel ief i n them whi ch the sam e m an as an i n d i vi

, ,

d ual an d a philosopher kn ows are fals e

, S c a ev o l a s.
’

honest wel l in ten tioned e ffort to support the religion

-

of the state was n atu ral ly a fail u re The very .

m asses in w hose behalf S caevola w as cal lin g on his

fel low citi ze ns to u n dergo these cas u istical gym n astics
-

soon care d m ore for B el lon a an d I si s than for al l

th e gods of N u m a together Bu t we can not help
.

ad m irin g S c aevol a fo r his patriotism though we m ay ,

n ot envy hi m his ethics The state religion cou l d

.

n ever be supported on the argu m en ts o f ex ped ien cy ;

1 42 T H E D EC LI N E O F FA I T H

every o n e gran te d its expe d ien cy an d sti l l it fe l l i ts

,

worst enem ies the pol itician s grante d i t m ost o f all

, , ,

and they were the on ly ones who put the doctri n e

to any p racti cal use I t was precisely this d iscovery
.

o f its e xped ien cy an d i ts great practical valu e wh ich

ca u se d its down fal l .Fro m the p ractical standpoin t
the p roblem was settled once an d for a l l bu t as a ,

m atter of theory it rem aine d fo r the n ex t generation ,

i n the person of Varro to p rovide a more satis factory

,

solution an d to effect somethin g of a comp rom ise

,

between the t ru th of phi losophy an d the truth o f

rel igion .

M arcus Te re n ti u s Varro cam e to the work

equipped with al l the learn in g of his ti m e and
possessed of a greater know l edge o f facts than any
other Roman of hi s o r any other day S o far as
.

the problem of religion was concern ed he em bod ie d ,

this learn ing i n the S i xteen books o f D i v i n e A n ti

q u i ti e
,
s which he very appropriately d e d icate d to
J u l iu s C aesar i n his capacity as Pon ti fe x M ax i m u s .

I f E n n i u s s S a cr a H i s tor i a be l eft o u t o f accou nt his

’

book was the fi rst t reatise on system atic theo l ogy

which Rom e ever ha d I n this work he d esi red to
.

accomp l ish three things :first by a review o f the ,

history of Ro m e to S how how essen tial the state

religion was ; second by an exam i nation of Greek
,

mytho l ogy to pu ri fy the state re ligion fro m its

i m m oral in fluen ces ; third to show that the state
,

re l igion so pu ri fie d was fu lly i n accord with Stoi c

 T H E D E C L I N E O F FA I T H 1 43

phi losophy . I n regar d to the three religion s ,

therefore he agreed with S caevola in castin g o u t

,

enti rely the rel igion o f the poets an d i n acceptin g ,

both the others but he d i ffere d fro m S caevola i n

,

that he d en ied the contra d iction between the m an d

asserted that they were not two truths bu t two
form s o f the sam e truth We are n ot ab l e to g o i nto
.

the d etails o f his attem pt becau se u n fortu nately the

,

books in w h ich he wrote it have been lost to u s an d ,

’
we have agai n m erely the quotation i n A ug u sti n e s
Ci ty of Goa
’
. Bu t we kn ow that i n gen eral he
tried to show that the form al doctri n es o f the state
rel igion were m erely a popu lar presen tation o f the
truths o f the S toi c philosophy an d that the who l e ,

system o f Rom an go d s cou ld be red u ced i n theory

to the great phi l osophical contras t between the sky
an d the earth the procreative an d the conceptive
,

elem ents . A m an m ight therefore ho l d fast to both

rel igions as to a si m pler creed an d a m ore abstruse
’
on e. H e n ce a m an s bel ief as a goo d citizen an d
hi s bel ief as an i ntel l igen t i n d ivid u al were n ot i n c o n
trast so far as the t ru th w a s con cerne d but m erely ,

i n the m atter o f form i n the m an n er of presen tation

, .

Varro s heroi c effort supporte d as i t was by al l

’
,

the l earn in g o f hi s d ay an d a l l the in flu ence that

his fam e len t to his words was n evertheless a ,

fai l ure The religion o f the state was dead ;

pol itics had k il led it I t w a s a politi cal power
.

alon e which cou ld restore li fe to it but that was ,

1 44 T H E DEC L I N E O F FA I T H

the work o f an em peror Au gu stus an d n ot of a , ,

scholar Varro ,
.

Whi le V arro with the weapon of ph ilosophy

, ,
,

was attemptin g to d e fend the religion o f the state

agai nst i ts enem ies the poets an d the philosophers a
, ,

poet also armed with phi losophy w a s tryin g to

, ,

d efen d the Rom an peopl e again st its worst en emy ,

su perstition I t m ay n ot seem as though Lu cretiu s

.

be l onged am on g the fri en d s o f o ld Rom an religion ,

an d as though the D e Rer u i n Na tu r a were ex actly

a religiou s poem an d yet hi s work was i n so far
,

help fu l to o l d Rom an rel igion i n that it attacked

the excesses o f a latter d ay su perstition w hich had
-

alienated the hearts o f the peopl e fro m thei r old

beliefs Su perstition is a parasite which l ives on
.

scepticism an d with the k ill in g o f the parasite

,

scepticis m som eti m es d ies as wel l ; an d it is O pen

to question whether L u c r e ti u s s book was n ot o f ’

consi d erable service i n the cause o f rel igion For .

rel igion sti l l l ived at Ro m e though i t is the fashion ,

of the writers on the ethics o f the c lose of the republ ic

to em phasise al m ost enti rely the scepticism of the
d ay dwell in g o n the attitu de of a C i cero o r a
,

Caesar an d forgettin g the i n fin ite n u m ber o f l ittle

,
“

”
people especial ly outsid e o f Ro m e i n the coun try
, ,

who stil l believed i n the O ld religion of the fathers ,

an d who stil l perform ed the old festivals of N u m a ,

people who knew n o m ore abou t I si s than they d id

about S toic phi losophy Thei r presence is d isc l ose d
.
 T H E D E C L I N E O F FA I T H 1 45

to us i n a few repu blican in sc ription s bu t better yet

,

in the con ti n u an c e o f the ri tes o f fam i ly worshi p

down i nto the latest d ays o f Ro m e rites which d id
,

n ot form a part o f the restoration o f Au gu stu s an d ,

which therefore had they d ied n o w wou ld n ever

, ,
.

have come to l i fe again . I t i s by j ust so m uch

m ore ou r d u ty to rem em ber these people a s they ,

have been forgotten by history if we ever expect to

,

obtai n a pictu re of Rom an religion i n i ts tru e p r o

portions . They were bes ides the peopl e upon w hom
Augustu s bu i lt i n the restorati on to which we n o w
,

tu rn.
 T H E A U G U S TA N R E N A I S S A N C E

P O L I T I C S had caused the d own fal l o f the state

rel igion
. Weaken ed by the attacks o f a s ceptical
phi losophy d ri ven fro m the hearts o f the com m on
,

people by the rival cu lts of the O rient the state

,

religion ha d fi n al l y lost al l its i n fluen ce by the

abu se of i t a s a pol itical tool . I ts priesthood s
were d eserted i ts temples were fal l i ng i nto ru in s
,

with the grass carpetin g t hei r m osai c pavem ents

an d the spiders weavi ng n ew altar cloths . To u s
with o u r m odern ideas it wou l d have see med i m
possible that this state rel igion cou l d ever rise agai n
and probably n o other state religion that the world
has ever seen cou l d have been brought to li fe a g ai n ,

becau se n o other state rel igion has ever been so

absol u tely a part of the state u n less the state itsel f
,

were a theocra cy and poss ibly n o lesser gen iu s than

Augustus cou l d have accompl ished the tas k even
u n d er the sl ightly m ore favou rabl e cond itions which
the state religion o f Rom e o ffered Whether J u liu s
.

C aesar wou l d have attempted the restoration is

o ne of the m any questions which his death left
1 46
 T H E A U G U S TA N R E N A I S S A N C E 1 47

u n an swered . Certai n ly thought ful m en o f hi s d ay

hoped that he wou l d an d it was i n thi s hope that
,

Varro ded icate d hi s D i v i n e A n ti q u i ti es to hi m ;

an d an other contem porary G r a n i u s Fl a c c u s hi s
, ,

book On tl ze In voca ti on of tne G oa s But ex cept ’

.

fo r o n e l aw whi ch he cau sed to be enacted

“
co n
”
cern ing the pri esthood s we have n o kn owledge,

either o f hi s accom p l ish m en t o r o f INS i nten tion s ,

an d the great task w a s l eft p ractical ly u n tou ched

fo r the m aster hand o f Au gu stus
-
.

I n ord er that we m ay u n derstan d what A ugu stu s

d id an d ho w he m anaged to s ucceed i n relation to
the state religion we m u st obtai n som e i dea o f the
who l e schem e o f A u gu stu s i n relatio n to the state
at large of which hi s religious reorgan isation was
,

m erely a part O n e o f the c leverest c ha r a c te r i sa

.

tion s o f the E mperor A ugustu s whi ch ha s ever been

written wa s that by the late P rofessor M om m sen ,

but i ts relatively sec lud ed position i n the Latin

’
pre face to a n e d ition o f A ugustus s great a u to b i o
graphy the R es Ges ta e ha s prevented it fro m bei n g
, ,

general ly known M om m se n d escri bes A u gustu s

.

as
“
a m an who wore most ski l fu l ly the m ask
”
of a great m an thou gh hi msel f n o t great
,
This .

epigram m ati c state men t i s u ndoubted ly cl ever but

it i s n o t j ust although it i s the opi n ion con cern in g
,

Augustus which we woul d ex pect a m an to hold

who , like Mo m m sen had an al m ost u nboun d ed
,

ad m i ration for J u l ius C aesar There have been .

1 4 8 THE A U G U S TA N R E N A I S S A N C E

scattered through the pages of history even dow n

to ou r own d ay men o f who m we sa y that they
were n ot great m en thou gh they d id a great work
,
.

I n certai n cases do u btless we can separate the m an

from hi s work an d j u s t i fi y the assertion bu t i n other
,

cases we are deceived by the m an him self j u st a s

his con tem poraries were an d as he wished th em to
be . Fo r it occasion al ly happens that a m an who is
cal l e d to rul e over m en an d to reorgan ise a di s
or d ered govern m ent is able best to accom p lish his
en d by a gentle d ip lom acy a con cil iatory m an n er
, ,

which i s often m is u nderstoo d by those who su rroun d

hi m and who i n terpret gentleness o f spi rit as sm al l
ness o f spi rit an d sel f restrain t as w eakness
-
It
.

wou ld be truer to describe Augu stus as a m an who

wore m ost ski l ful ly the m ask of a n or d in ary m an
though hi msel f an extraord i nary m an T he m ore
.

we study the chaoti c con d ition of Rom e u n der the

S econ d T riu mvi rate and the m ore fu l ly we real ise
not on ly the total d isorgan isation of the form s
o f govern m ent bu t also the absol ute d emoral isation

of the i nd ivid ual c iti zen the m ore we appreciate the

,

al most i m possible task wh ich wa s se t for Au gustu s

an d which he su ccessfu l ly accomp lished For one
.

hu n dred years ( B C 1 3 3 3
. .
-
fro m Tiberiu s G racchu s
to A ctiu m hard ly a decade ha d passed which had
,

not bro ug ht forth som e terrible revolution for Rom e .

Even the great C aesar had fai led had n o t d ivi ned
,

aright the on ly treat m en t to whi ch the disea s e of the

 TH E A UG USTA N REN A I SS ANC E 1 49

age wou ld yiel d for althou gh the blows wh ich actual ly

,

k i lled C aesar m ay have been m erely an accid en t i n

history the d ee d o f i rrespon sible m en hi s fal l was n o
, ,

acci d en t but was the in evitable logical outcom e o f

his i m perial pol i cy Bu t Au gustu s su cceeded i n
.

establ ishin g a form o f govern m ent which en ab l ed

h im self an d his conn ex ion to occu py the thron e fo r
al m ost a hu n d red years an d even then though
,

revolutions cam e hi s con stitution w a s the m ain bu l

,

wark of govern m en t in su cceed in g cen tu ries It

.

woul d tak e u s to o far fro m o u r presen t subj ect to

an swer i n any com pl ete ness the q u estion o f ho w he
su ccee d ed but a word o r two m ay be said in gen eral
, ,

an d the rest wi ll beco m e cl earer whe n we exam in e

his reorgan isatio n o f rel igion .

The secret o f Augu stus s su ccess was the i n fi n ite

’

tact an d d iplo macy by which he m an aged to

stren gthen the thron e an d hi s o wn pos ition o n i t
while apparently restorin g the form o f the repu bl ic
an d the m an n ers o f the O ld days I t i s open t o
.

question whether he was actuated by a con sideration

o f the good of the state o r by a regard for his o wn
,

sel fish end s but it i s beyon d qu estion that he gave

,

to Ro m e the on ly form o f govern m en t which coul d

era d icate the habit o f revol ution an d thu s saved the
,

state. H e su cceed ed because he d id n ot u n d er

esti m ate the d i ffi cu lty o f the task an d accord i n gly
,

brought to bear o n it every possi ble in fluen ce ,

e m phasisi ng espec ial ly the psychological ele m en t

1 56 TH E A UGUSTA N RE NA I SSA NCE

an d bein g wi llin g to go a lon g way arou n d i n orde r

to arri ve at hi s goal H e was n ot con ten t wi th a
.

mere tem porary m akeshift which m ight carry h i m

,

to the end of his own l i fe ; he was l ayi n g fo u n d a

tions for the futu re N owhere i s this m ore cl early
.

s tated than i n on e o f his e d icts where he says

,

“
M ay it fal l to my lot to establish the s ta te fi r m f

and strong an d to obtai n the wished for fruit of my

-

labou rs that I m ay be cal led the au thor o f it an d

,

that when I d ie I m ay carry with me the hO p e

”
that the fo u n d ations which I have laid m ay abide .

These abi d i ng foun d ation s m u st be lai d d eep i n

the n ation al psychology an d it was his gr a sp of the
,

psychological problem which ex plain s hi s r e o rga n i sa

tion of rel igi on A cen tu ry of civi l war had total ly
.

destroyed the spi ri t of u n ity an d created an i n fin ite

n u m ber o f petty h atreds between m an an d m an .

M en had looked s o l on g at thei r in d ividual i n terests

that they ha d al m ost forgotten the ex isten ce o f the
state . Bu t i f the sp i rit of patriotis m cou l d be
qu icken ed i nto a n ew l i fe then m en wou ld th i n k
,

of the state an d forget them selves an d u n ited in

,

thei r love o f this o n e u n iversal obj ect o f d evotion

they wou ld learn a lesson o f u n ion wh ich m ight
gradu al ly be e xten ded to thei r whole l i fe Bu t the
.

state mu st be presented n o t a s it was i n al l i ts

wretchedness l acerated by civi l struggle ; the sight
,

o f the present would serve on ly to start the qu a rrel

over again ; i n stead it m ust be the ideal state a ,

 THE A UG USTA N RE NA I S S ANC E 1 5 1

state s o far away so d istant fro m al l the citi zens

, ,

that they al l seemed equ ally n ear I f this state

.

were to be so m ethin g m ore than a m ere abstraction ,

i t cou ld be clothed on ly i n the reverential garm ents

of the past it m u st be the Rom e of the good o l d
,

d ays . Yet i f they were n ot fo r ever to m ourn a

Gol d en Age i n the pas t an d a parad ise that was
l ost there m u st a lso be a hope fo r the futu re a
, ,

para d ise t o be regain ed I n a word the bel ief i n

.

the etern ity o f Rom e m ust be i n stil led i n to m en s ’

”
hearts Th u s w a s the idea o f the etern al city
.
“

born an d it i s n o m ere coi n cid en ce that the fi rst

,

i nstan ce o f this phrase i n literatu re occu rs i n

T ib u ll us a poet o f th e Au gu stan age
,
O nce c o n
.

v i n ce d o f the etern ity o f Rom e men cou ld look at

the past fo r i n spi ration i n fu l l con fid en ce that the

beauties whi ch had been cou l d be obtai n ed agai n .

But A u gu stus w a s m ore than a senti m en tal e n

t hu s i a st an d he sa w that i t w a s n o t en ough fo r
,

m en to d rop thei r swo rd s at the epip hany o f

“
Rom a A e te r n a that their eyes wou ld grow weary
,

an d l ook i n g to earth wou l d behol d the sword s

again . These sword s m u st be beaten in to plough
shares an d pru n in g hooks ; the d eserte d farm s o f
I taly m u st be fi ll ed again an d the stabi l ity o f the
,

state m ust be i n creased by an en l arge men t o f the

agricu ltu ral com m u n ity B u t for the acco m pl ish
.

m en t o f thes e reform s som eth in g wa s n ee d ed which

wa s at once gentler an d stronger than l egal
1 5 2 T H E A U G U S TA N R E N A I S SA N C E

enactm ents The poet m ust m ake s mooth the

.

way o f the law I t was the poet who cou ld best

.

i nterest m en i n the past ; an d thus Au gustan

poetry wa s en cou raged an d d i recte d by the e mperor ,

that by poin tin g o u t the glories of old Rom e it

m ight in sp ire m en to m ake a n ew Rome m ore
glorious than the old P racti cal ly every poet o f
.

the age was d i rectly or in d i rectly un d er the

i nfl uence o f the ru ler I t was the em peror s
.
’

coun sel lor M aecen as who en cou rage d V irgi l to

, ,

write hi s Georg i cs and these glowin g p ictu res o f

,

farm l i fe d i d qu ite as m uch to carry o u t the

emperor s pl an s as the A en ei a later
’
A nd Vi rgi l
’
.

was n o t alon e i n writi n g o f coun try l i fe ; T ibu l lus ,

even m ore gentle than the gentle bard of M an tua

was tel li ng the same story i n an other form .

By this ti m e the myths wh ich Greece had given

to Rom e o r which Rom e had ma d e fo r hersel f on
Greek m odels were absol u tely a pa rt of the n ation al
p ast . T hese t o o en tered i nto Au gustu s s s chem e
’
.

Thu s another prot é g é of M aecenas the poet P ro ,

p e r t i us w a
,
s grad u al ly wean ed fro m love poetry
an d fi lled i nstead with a hu n ger fo r the myths of
Roman tem ples an d o f O l d Rom an c u stom s so ,

that Cynthia slowly gives way to Tarpeia an d

Vertu m n u s an d the Rom e of A ugustus t o the
,

Rom e o f Rom u lus Even the i rrepressible Ovi d

.

tried i n his ex u beran t fashion to assist i n this work

an d st arted i n hi s Fa s ti to write a history o f the
 T H E A UGUSTA N RENA I SSA NC E 1 53

religious festival s o f the Rom an year Bu t above .

al l these an d i n fin itely mo re i m portan t i n its i n

,

flu e n c e towers the A en ei a o f Vi rgi l

,
’
Al l throu gh
.

the varied in ci den ts o f the twelve books there r u ns

the s carlet thread o f a great p u rpose the g l o r i fi c a ,

tion o f Rom e an d o f A ugu stu s Fro m the sack o f

.

T roy throu gh the lon g wan d erin gs an d the fi erce

,

wars i n Latiu m down to the fi n al con q u est o f the

,

en emy we se e A en eas le d by the han d o f the

,

go d s whose wi ll it was that Ro m e S hou ld be T he .

lesson i s very evid ent The p rovi den ce which

.

gu i d e d u s i n the past stil l protects u s ; we have n o

right to be d iscou raged an d o u r futu re i s assu re d
,

us u nd er the sam e go d s who brought o u r fathers

o u t o f the lan d of the Troj an s through the m id st ,

of the G reeks Bu t there i s con cealed i n the

.

A en ei cl an other lesson m u ch m ore di rectly usefu l

,

to Augustus . It s hero the i m m acu l ate pious

,

A en eas i s the d i rect an cestor o f the J u lian hou se

,

to which A ugu stu s belon gs an d the fou n d i n g o f

,

Rom e shows n o t on ly the goo d wil l o f the god s

toward the city bu t i n no less degree thei r special
,

appoi ntm ent an d p rotection o f the lea d er T he .

d es cen dan ts o f the house o f Aen eas are therefore

the d ivi nely appointed ru lers o f Rom e .

There can be n o qu estion bu t that thi s poetry

ha d an effect n on e the less far reachi n g becau se its
in fluen ce w a s d i ffi cu lt to esti m ate an d an alyse It .

was n o t n ecessary for the psychological resu lt that

 1 54 TH E A UG USTA N RENA I S S A NCE

m en shou ld actu al ly be l ieve i n these myths ; m uch

was gained i f they a l l owe d their thoughts to d wel l
on the ideas presen ted i n them I t was the
.

sedi m entary deposit thus form ed which was to

fertilise the soi l o f patriotism which ha d grown so
barren i n the c ivi l wars B u t whi l e A ugu stu s was
.

broad m in d ed enough to real ise the valu e of the

-

i n flue nce o f l iteratu re he d i d n ot fai l to recogn ise

,

that m en cou l d n ot l ive by myths a l on e that they ,

m u st be su rrou nd ed by vis ible cu l t acts an d tangi bl e

temples o f the go d s i n ord er that their faith m ight
be ai d ed by sight an d their li fe fi l led wi th action .

Literatu re was to en cou rage patri otism an d patriotis m ,

wa s the fo u n d a t ion fo r the spi ritu al restoration of the

state religion but the state i tsel f m ust by l egal
,

enactment p repare the outward form whi ch the

rel igiou s activity wa s to tak e The qu estion of the
.

sin cerity of Au gu stu s i n these rel igiou s reform s i s a

very d i fli c u l t o n e to an swer I f the essen ce o f
.

religion consisted i n acts an d not i n belief i n work s ,

and n ot in faith Au gustus was a d evoutly religio u s

,

m an . Beyon d that we can n ot go fo r ou r j ud gm ent

,

l s hampered not on ly by ignoran ce o f the facts bu t

by o u r inabil ity to free ou rselves from the m odern

stan d poi nt i n the i nterpretation o f the few facts
that we d o kn ow There can be n o question o f
.

the em peror s fitn ess for the task so far as priestly

’

l earn in g went fo r he wa s fro m a very early age a

,

member o f three priesthoods :a ponti ff an au gu r , ,

 T H E A UG U STA N RE N A I S SA NC E 1 55

and a guard ia n o f the S ibyl l in e books With .

characteristic mod esty however he refrai ne d from

becom in g Chie f Pon tiff u n ti l i n B C 1 2 the d eath o f
. .

Lepidus the discard ed m ember o f the S econ d

,

T riu mvi rate left the position vacant

, .

O n e who u n derstand s the pol iti cal reform s of

Augustu s wil l have n o d i ffi cu lty in u n derstand i n g
hi s reorgan isati on o f rel igi on for they were both
,

u ndertaken with the sam e gen eral u n d erlyin g pri n

c i l e s an d alon g S i m i lar l in es I n both cases i n
p .

n ovation s an d n ovelties were stren uou sly avoi d ed ,

except of cou rse those o f a m erely ad m in istrative

character I n each case a s uccess ful e ffort was
made to have i t appear a s i f the o l d i n stitu tion s o f
the repu bl ic were bein g rei nstated whereas as a ,

m atter of fact the form a lon e w a s o ld w ith its age

arti fi cial ly em phasised occas ion al ly by an archai sti c
tou ch while the con tent w a s qu ite n ew
,
The real .

resu lt i n each case was the stre ngthen in g of the

m on archy an d the em phasisin g o f the d ivi n e right
o f the J ul ian house I n o u r stu d y o f A u gu stus s ’
.

restoration o f religion we m u st n o t be conten t

there fore with chro ni cl in g the o l d for m s which were
r e establ ished
-
,
but we m ust exam i n e i n each case the
n ew content which was pu t i nto the m even thou gh ,

the evi den ce o f that con tent cons ists o ften ti m es o f a

m ere ten den cy .The fon d n ess o f A u gustus fo r the
a rchaic i s n owhere m ore cl early exhi bited than i n
on e o f hi s earl iest rel igiou s acts the form al d eclaration
1 5 6 THE A UG U S T A N R E N A I S S A N C E

of war agai nst A n tony an d C leopatra i n B C 3 2 by , . .

,

m ean s o f the Feti ales The Fetiales were a very

.

an cient pri estly college which acted u n der the ,

d i rection o f the S en ate as the represen tatives of

,

i ntern ation al law I t wa s thro u gh the m that al l

.

treaties an d al l declaration s o f wa r had been m ade ,

but it seem s probable that this custo m had fal l en

in to desuetu de after the P u n i c wars an d that a c ,

c o r di n l the col l ege had lapse d in to In s i n i fi ca n c e

g y g ,

i f i t had n o t d ied o u t altogether But n ow as .

the first step i n the rebu il d i ng o f the priesthoods

O ctavian restore d the col lege to its o l d ran k an d
gained also the add ition al ad van tage that the people
were i m pressed with the m oral righteou sn ess o f thei r
cause against An tony an d C leopatra an d also with ,

the fact that it was a foreign i e an i nternation al ,

. .

war an d n ot a civil o n e i n wh ich they were abou t

, ,

to en gage The e ffect o f Octavi an s restoration wa s

.
’

a lastin g o n e for fro m this ti m e o n this p riesthood

,

was held i n high honou r d u rin g the whol e o f the

em pi re an d the em perors them selves were m em bers
,

o f it .

This was a very characteristic begi n n in g to

Augu stu s s activi ty ’
I t was p ri m ari ly the hu man
.

elem ent to which he wa s appeal in g i n hi s rel igiou s

changes an d hen ce the p riesthood s need ed especial
,

attention I t was n o t lon g after the battle of

.

A ctiu m that he restored another very ancien t priest

hood that o f the A rval brothers
,
This wa s a very .
 TH E A U G U S TA N RE N A I SS A NC E 1 57

o ld priesthoo d consistin g o f twelve m en who took

part in the pu rifi cation o f the lan d the A m oa r va l i a
, ,

so cal l e d because the ceremony con sisted o f a so l em n

p rocession arou n d the bou nd aries o f the fi el d s Bu t .

a s the Ro m an territory grew an d su ch a cerem on y

i n the old fashion becam e im possible an d was

carrie d o u t m erely sym boli cal ly by sacri fi ces at
various boun d ary poi nts the A rval brothers l ost al l
,

thei r i m portan ce s o that even i n these symbol i c

,

sacri fices thei r place wa s taken by the pon ti ffs .

A u gu stu s however recogn ised in this p riesthoo d

an effectual m ean s o f em phas ising the agricu ltu ral
s ide o f Ro m an li fe an d o f con n ecti n g the i m perial
,

fam ily w ith the farm i n g popu lation . The cen tre o f
this n ew worship wa s the san ctu ary i n the sacred
grove at the fi fth m i leston e o f the Via C am pana ,

an d i t i s there that the wond erfu l d iscoveri es have

”
been m ade o f the i n scription s givin g the m in u tes“

o f the m eeti n gs o f this cu riou s corporation begin ,

n i ng with Au gustu s .B ut the pastoral sid e o f thei r

worship w a s an i n sign i fi cant m atter even i n the age
,

o f Augustu s com pared with thei r p rayers an d s u

, p
p lication s i n behal f o f the i mperial house s o that ,

the recor d s o f this supposed ly agri cu ltu ral pri esthood

form on e o f o u r best sou rces fo r the stu dy of em peror
worship .

Three other p riesthoods the pon ti ffs the augu rs

, , ,

an d t he guar d ian s o f th e S ibyll in e books (X Vv i r i )

d id n ot need actu al restoration fo r thei r abi lity
,
1 58 TH E A UG USTA N RE NA I S SA NC E

to in terfere i n pol itics ha d kept them al ive d u rin g

the closin g centu ries O f the republic when pol itical
,

u seful ness was the su rest m ean s o f su rvivin g in the

strugg l e fo r ex isten ce . Bu t the fact that they had
been pol iti cal ly powerfu l m ad e the control o f the m
al l the m ore n ecessary fo r an em peror who wished
to have i n his han d s al l the possibi liti es of pol itical
i n fl uen ce . I t wa s con trary to A ugu stu s s pol i cy
’

open ly to crush any o f the i n stitutions w hich had

really been or what was from his stan dpoin t very
,

m u ch the sam e thin g ha d been thought to be a

,

b u lwark o f repu bl ican is m A s a m atter o f fact

.

however these priesthoods had been o n e of t he

chief m ean s o f bri ngin g the republic in to the
control o f on e m an . H en ce for Au gustu s the
problem was easy to so l ve ; it was on ly necessary
to appear to honou r these priesthoods by raisin g
thei r d ign ity sti l l higher an d by m akin g on ly m en
of sen atorial ran k eligibl e an d then to t ake the
,

chief pos i tion in the m hi m sel f an d to fi l l them with

h is own su pporters . Thu s the republic wa s appa
r e n tl
y saved an d the e m pire was really strengthen ed.

But the priesthood to which A ugu stus d evoted

hi s m ost especial attention w a s the pri esthoo d o f
Vesta the Vestal vi rgi ns
,
H ere he was gu ided n o t
.

on ly by his d esire to i m prove the cond ition o f the

pri esthood s i n general bu t also by his especial i nterest
i n the cu lt o f Vesta . The reason s fo r this i nterest
i n Vesta wi l l be explai n ed i n a m om en t when we
 T H E A UG US TA N RE N A I SS A NC E 1 59

d iscuss the em pero r s favou rite cu lts

’

; but a wor d
about i ts e ffects o n the priestesses o f Vesta m ay be
sai d here . The Vestal virgi n s had been relatively
l itt l e con tam i n ated by pol iti cs but the priesthoo d
,

ha d su ffered al on g with al l the rest o f the rel igion

of the state becau se o f the gen eral in d i fferen tis m
an d n eglect o f rel igi ou s thin gs which characterised
the clos i ng centu ries o f the republi c . The best
fa m i li es i n the state were n o t a s rea d y a s i n the
earl ier days to devote thei r d a u ghters to the servic e ,

an d thus the ran k an d con sequ en tly the i n flu en ce

o f the Vestals ha d to som e exten t d ecl in e d . Bu t
n ow al l this was i m m ed iate l y chan ge d the outward
,

hon ou r and the i n sign ia of the Vestals were in creased

u ntil they were al lowed su ch p rivi leges a s n o t even
the em perors possessed . When they wen t through
the street th ey were atten ded by a l ictor a s the
,

higher officers o f the s tate were an d they were given

,

special seats at the theatre . B u t the m ost character

i sti c thin g which A u gustus did for them an d that
which helped thei r cau se the m ost wa s the em peror s ’

decl aration m ade to be repeated in pu bl ic gossip

, ,

that i f he had a gran d dau ghter of the proper age

-

he wou ld u n hesitati ngly m ak e her a Vestal vi rgin .

Toward the close of h is l i fe A ugustu s prepared

a statemen t o f what he had accom pl ished du ri n g
hi s reign a sort o f co n zp te r en a u o f hi s steward
,
’

ship. I n a rou nd about way al m ost al l of this ha s

been preserved t o u s an d it n atu rally form s the
1 60 T H E A U G U ST A N R E N A I S S A N C E

greatest sou rce o f o u r kn owledge O f his activity .

A fter reciti n g a large n u m ber of hi s rel igious reform s

he add s The spoil s o f wa r I have consecrated to
“

the gods i n the Capitol in e tem ple i n the tem p l e of

,

the god J ul iu s i n the t e mple o f Apo l lo I n the

, ,

tem ple o f Vesta i n the tem ple of M ars the Avenger

,
.

These words give us a c l ue to the more especi al

religious i n terests o f A ugustus a c lu e whi ch i s al l
,

the m ore need ed becau se o f his apparently c athol ic

spirit an d hi s seem i ngly general i n terest in al l
,

the form s of ol d Rom an rel igion N o m an who

.

restored an d i n som e cases en tirely rebu ilt eighty

two tem ples t o variou s deities cou l d be accu se d o f
.

u n d ue partial ity i n emphasisin g certain phases of

religion to the total ex cl usion o f others B ut as a
.

matter of fact u n dern eath this general in terest there

were presen t certai n very speci fi c i nterests an d ,

this passage i n his own writin g ad d s great strength

to the other evi d en ce as to what these go d s were .

N atu ral ly i n every list o f pre em inent deities Ju p p i te r

-

m ust be p resen t hen ce the men tion of the Capitoli n e

,

temp le fi rst ; as a m atter of fact however Au gustu s s ’

worship o f Ju p p i t e r wa s m uch m ore a m atte r o f

form than o f real i n terest . H i s attit u de was o n e
o f grace fu l acceptan ce o f the i nevitable rather than

of enthu siastic hom age Ju p p i te r was n ot a d apted

.

to his pu rpose becau se it was al most i mpossible to

,

con nect Ju p p i te r with a speci fi c form o f govern m en t

other than the republi c m u ch less with a particu lar
,
 TH E A UG USTA N RE NA I S SA NC E 1 6 1

royal fam ily l ike the J u lian house .

J pp
u i te r had
com e to m ean republ ican ism . The C api tol i n e
tem ple had u shered i n the republ i c i n B C 5 0 9 an d
. .

there was a halo o f repu bl ican is m about i t whi ch

was to o gen u in e to be used as a m ask for c o n
ce a l i n g i mperial featu res . With the fou r othe r
deities m atters stoo d ve ry d i ffe ren tly . The god
J u liu s Apol l o Vesta an d M ars the A ven ger were
, , ,

either alrea d y id entical with the i m perial fam i ly o r

cou l d easily be con n ected with it .

The central featu re o f the rel igion o f the e m pi re

was a thi n g altogether u n iqu e an d u n kn own i n the
repu bl i c :the worship o f the e mperors as god s .

From A ugu stu s o n thi s w a s the chief chara cteristic

of the state religion its begi n n in gs m ust be sou ght
therefore u n de r hi s reign an d he is l argely accou n t
able for it . A c cord in g t o o u r m odern i d eas i t seem s
a very stran ge thin g to worshi p a l ivin g m an as
a g o d ; i t seem s a l so strange to worship a dead
m an a s a g o d bu t th ere we have at l east the
,

an alogy o f the worship o f the sain ts an d the ,

i nheren t i n stin ct o f the race toward an cestor wor -

ship which u n expectedly c rops o u t i n al l o f u s at

i ntervals . B ut we m u st ri d ou rsel ves of m od ern
i deas an d try to appreciate the histori cal evolution
of em peror worship -
This evol ution i s perfectly
.

cl ear an d we can trace every step of it though i n ,

doi n g S O we m u st rem em be r that the variou s p ro

cesses which we are com pel led to take u p o n e after
M
1 62 T H E A U G U S T A N R E N A I S SA N C E
another i n ou r explan ation we n t on i n n at u re si d e
by side an d exerc ised a sym pathetic in fluen ce o n e
,

u pon the other whi ch we have to eli m in ate from

,

o u r explan ation bu t m ake al l owan ce fo r i n ou r

fi n ished con cept .

We have seen that from the very begi n n in g of

religiou s l ife i n Rom e the i d ea was presen t that
everythin g each i n d i v i d ual an d each fam ily had i ts
, ,

d ivi n e doub l e the i nd ividu al in the shape of his

,

Gen ius the fam ily in the shape o f p rotectin g spirits

, ,

Vesta the P en ates an d later the Lar

, ,
I n addition.

to this u n d er the i n fluen ce of the G reek myths

,

which various fam i l ies adopted certain gods origin al ly

,

in depen den t becam e especial ly associate d with these

fam ilies E ach fam i ly was n atu ral ly in tereste d i n
.

the wo rship of its own gods bu t this particu lar

,

worship was quite as natu ral ly con fi ned to the

particu la r fam ily o r its depen den ts N ow the fi rst
.

p rel i m inary step toward emperor worshi p was taken

-

when the god s of the i m perial fam ily bega n to be

worshipped by other fa m il ies then by all other
,

fam ilies an d o ffi cially by the state

,
B u t from the
.

very begin n ing the gods of each fam i ly had i n cluded

also the dei fie d ancestors the D i M a n es at fi rst
, ,

thought o f en i n a sse an d n ot as i nd ivi d u als but ,

toward the close of the republic they began to be

i nd ividu al ised so that the n ex t s tep i n em peror
,

worship was when the d ead J u li us a particul ar ,

an cestor therefore o f Augustus began to be wo r,

 TH E A U G USTA N RE NA I S SA NC E 1 63

shippe d by the whole peop le an d o ffi cial ly by the

state . But a l so from the begi n n i ng there ha d been
sti ll an other e l em en t i n fam ily worship the cu lt paid
,

to the Gen iu s or d ivin e double of the l ivi n g m aster

of the ho u se . There followed then correspon d in gly
as another step toward em peror worship the hom age
-
,

paid by the whol e state to the Gen ius o f the l ivin g

e mperor . These three steps :the worship by the
whol e state o f the go d s of the em peror s fam i ly i n ’

its three form s the gods o f the fam ily i n gen eral
, ,

an d in particu lar the dei fied an cestor an d the Gen iu s

,

o f the l ivin g representative were al l en cou rage d an d

,

offi cial l y establ ishe d by A u gust u s . Lastly there

cam e from the O rien t a habit of thought i n d istin ct
con trad i ction to Rom an i d eas whereby n ot the
Gen iu s of the l ivi n g em peror but the very m an
h i m sel f was d ivi n e i n l i fe an d i n d eath A u gu stu s
.

fought again st this con cept b u t had to yi el d to i t

an d al l ow hi m sel f to be worshipped d i rectly as a
g o d i n the O rient itsel f an d i n certai n coast town s
of I taly wh ich were u n d er stron g O riental in fluen ce ,

bu t he forba d e it i n Rom e an d thu s established a

,

prece d en t which was fol lowed by al l the better on es

a m on g the em perors who ca m e a fter hi m .

This digression was n ecessary i n or d er that we

m ight app reciate the reason s for A u gustu s s prefer ’

e n c e s i n em phasisin g certai n cu l ts . U n qu estion ab l y

he d id n ot foresee or p l an for an em peror worship -

su ch as even t u a l l y grew up o u t of h is arrangements

1 64 TH E A UG USTA N RE N A I S SA NC E

he was however deeply in terested i n emphasisin g

the worship of the special deities o f hi s own fam i ly .

The fou r gods therefore whose n am es he cou ples

with that of Ju pp i te r i n the su m m ary of his rel igiou s
—
activity A pol l o Vesta M ars the Aven ger an d the
, , ,

—
god J ul iu s are all i ntim ately con n ected with h is
fam i ly ; an d i f w e ad d to thi s the worship o f his
own Gen iu s the Gen i u s A ugusti we shal l have the
, ,

real kernel o f his rel igiou s restoration I t rem ain s

.

for u s to se e i n what way thes e deities are con necte d

with hi s fam ily an d how he m an aged to emphas ise
,

their cu lt an d at the sa me tim e to bring them in to

cl ose relationship to hi m sel f .

From the ti m e o f his fi rst i ntro d uction i nto Rom e

A po l lo ha d stood i n a relation of contrast to Ju p p i te r .

A po l lo s oracles the S ibyl l in e books had b rought i n

’

, ,

a host of G reek god s whose p resen ce ten d ed i n

e v i t a b l y to lessen the u n ique position a nd the u n

paral l eled prestige of Ju p p i te r Opti m u s M axi m u s ,

the great representative o f nation al is m i n Rom an

rel igion . At fi rst this contrast was scarcely m arked ,

an d the very oracles o f Apol lo which were d estin ed

’
to u nd erm in e Ju p p i te r s om n ipoten ce were store d i n
r s tem ple an d u n d er hi protection The
’

J pp
u i t e s .

d ifferen ce was felt m ore stron gly as the p ri esthood

of the S ibyllin e book s began to grow i n i n fluen ce
a l on gsi de o f the ponti ffs the p riests o f the Ju p p i te r
,

cu l ts . This opposition was emphasise d i n B C 3 6 7 . .

,

when the priesthood of the oracles was opene d to

 TH E A UG UST A N RE NA I SSA NC E 1 65

the p lebeian s while the ponti ffs were sti l l patri cian s
,
.

A t first u n q u estion ably the obj ect o f the patri cian s

was to keep fo r themselves the m ore sacred an d the
then m ore i m portan t col l ege an d to O pen t h e l esser
priesthoo d to the p lebeian s B u t i n the struggle o f
.

the two or d ers those things which were open e d to

the plebeian s grew i n i mportan ce an d en ti rely over
shadowed those which were s o scrupu lou sly he d ged
abou t an d the elem ents whi ch strove to resist p r o
,

gress were cru she d beneath i t ; an d j ust as the o l d

assem bly the C om itia C u riata whi ch the patrician s
, ,

had k ept fo r the m sel ves wa s l ater o f n o acco u nt com

,

pare d with the C o mi tia C en tu riata whi ch belonged ,

to both orders so the col lege o f ponti ffs lost si g n i fi

,

can ce while the keepers o f the oracles gain e d stea d il y

i n power an d i n fluen ce B ut i t was n o t m erel y
.

because Apol lo was the great lea d er of the Greek

m ovemen t i n Rom an rel igion that A u gu stu s chose
to honou r hi m A fa r m ore i m portan t con sid eration
.

gu i d ed hi m fo r Apol l o wa s especial ly attache d to

,

the J u l ian ho u se i n al l i ts mythical an d historical

fortun es . The fi rst great pu bl i c eviden ce o f A pol l o s ’

favou r i n A ugu stu s s career w a s at the battl e o f

’

Actiu m bu t while th is led to the fi rst p roc la m ation

of the e mperor s devotion to A pol lo it w a s n ot
’

Actiu m which m ade hi m a worshipper o f the god ,

but it was because he w a s a worshipper o f Apo l lo

from the begi n n in g that A ctiu m an d al l subsequ en t
tokens of the god s favou r were emp h asise d by hi m
’
.
1 66 T H E A UG USTA N RENA I SSA NC E

H owever m uch or l ittle the peopl e of the d ay m ay

have kn own abou t Apo l lo s previo u s rel ation s to the
’

J u l ian fam ily the legen d of his assistan ce at Actiu m

, ,

an d the i m m ortal isation of that legen d in the great

temp l e on the P alatin e were proo fs enough . The

m oral effect o f the Pal atin e tem ple can n ot be over
esti m ated espec ially when we rea l ise o n e fact wh i ch
, ,

is often n eglected that this te mp le gain ed i n fi nitely

,

i n sign ifi can ce because it was on private groun d ,

attached to the emperor s own private house fo r

’

we m u st n ot forget that the Palatin e was on ly

i n process o f tran s ition i nto the i m perial res i
den ce and though the ho u se o f A ugustu s when he
, ,

le ft it was the palace d u ring his l i feti m e i t w a s

, ,

m erely his private resid en ce The tem pl e o f Apol lo

.

was therefore i n i ts origi n theoretically the private

chapel of a Rom an fam i ly rather than the seat o f
a state cu lt . I t was the A poll o of the J u l ian hou se
who was bei n g worshipped there .A n d yet it was
far m ore than a p rivate worship fo r i t began very
,

soon to be a cu l t cen tre i n d isti n ct rival ry to

J pp
u i t e r O pti m u s M ax i m u s o n the Cap itol in e .The
oracles O f the Si byl eve n though they were the
,

words o f Apol lo had n ever been p reserved in the

,

ol d tem ple of Apol lo o n the Flam i n ian m eadow ,

bu t in stead they ha d always been in the custody o f

J pp
u i t e r o n the Cap itolin e Bu
. t now these oracles ,

after bei ng carefu l ly revi sed by the em peror were ,

deposited i n the n ew Palati n e tem pl e an d by this,

 TH E A UG U S T A N R E N A I S S A N C E 1 67

act the centre of al l the Greek cu lts i n Rom e

was tran s ferre d from Ju p p i te r to A pol lo fro m the ,

C apitolin e to the P alatin e an d the riva l ry between ,

the two was pu bl ic ly dec lared The tem ple w a s .

ded i cated in B C 2 8 an d A ugu stu s al lowed i ts

. .

i n fluen ce to perm eate the Ro m a n peop l e fo r m ore

than a decad e before he took the n ext step a step ,

which wa s vi rtu ally t o paral lel Apol l o an d hi s S ister

A rtem is D ian a with Ju p p i te r an d J u n o
-
.

A m on g the Greek god s who cam e in to Rom e we

saw the entran ce i n the m id d le of the thi r d centu ry
be fore Christ o f a pai r o f d eiti es o f the Lower
World Di s an d P roserpin a an d i n con n exio n with
, ,

the in tro d u ction the establishm ent o f certai n gam es

”
cal l e d secu l a r becaus e they were to be repeated
“

at the ex pi ration o f a cen tu ry (sa ecu l u i n ) The .

i n itial ce l ebration was i n B C 2 4 9 o n e hu n d red . .

,

years later with a slight d elay they were ce l ebrate d

agai n i n B C 1 4 6 the n ex t an n iversary was om itte d
. .
,

because it fel l i n the m i d st o f the civi l war between

C aesar an d Pom pey bu t n ow Au gu stus wi shed to
,

celebrate them There were ch ron ological d i ffi cu lties

.
,

but they d id n o t prove i n su rm ou n tab le A n orac le .

was se t in ci rcu l ation o r o n e actu al ly i n ci rculation

,

was made u se o f wherein i t was declare d that a

,

great cycle o f fou r ti mes o n e hu n d red an d ten years

had passed an d that a n ew age w a s n ow begin n in g .

The emperor if n o t respon si ble fo r this orac l e wa s

, ,

very willi ng to accept it I t w a s an essent ial part

.
 68 THE A U G U S T A N R E NA IS S A NC E
‘

of hi s plan that al l th in gs shou l d becom e n ew an d ,

that with the n ew age shou l d com e a n ew spi rit .

This new sa ecu l u n t m u st be u shere d i n by gam es

which shou l d be at on ce l ik e an d u n l ike those of
past cen tu ries They were to be cel ebrated at l east
.

i n part o n the hall owed spot the Ta r en tu m i n the ,

C am pu s M artius they were to exten d throu gh t h ree

,

n ights l ike the o l d gam es bu t the three d ays were

,

to be a d ded a s wel l an d the deities worshipped i n

,

the n ight whil e they were n o lo n ger the old god s

,

of the Lower World D i s and P roserpin a were at

, ,

least mysteriou s deiti es of fate an d fortu n e whi l e ,

the gods o f the day Apol l o an d A rtem is Ju p p i te r

, ,

an d J un o were as n ew to the ga m es as the d ay

,

celebration s them selves were B ut the equ al ity o f

.

Apollo an d Ju p p i te r was expressed n ot m erely i n

the paral lelisation of Ju p p i te r J u n o with A pol l o -

Dian a . I t was sti l l m ore i n eviden ce on the third

an d greatest day of the festival when the procession ,

o f three ti m es n i ne youths an d three ti m es n i ne

m aidens san g the song i n hon ou r o f Apol lo an d
D ian a which H orace wrote an d which ha s been
,

preserved to u s am on g hi s writin gs the Ca r m en ,

S a ecu l a r e and t o whi ch i n ad d ition the recently

,

fou n d i nscription givin g an accou nt o f the gam es

bears witn ess i n the words ca r n zen coi np osu i t Q .

H or a ti u s Fl a cc u s ( G I L vi . O n thi s d ay
.

the procession started fro m the Apol lo tem ple on

the Pal atin e an d went over to the Ju p p i te r te mp le
,
 T H E A UG US TA N REN A I SS A NC E 1 69

on the Cap itol in e an d then back agai n to Apol lo

,

on the Palati n e thu s in d i catin g n ot on ly the equal ity

,

of A pol lo an d Ju p p i te r but even the superiority o f

the form er . A n ew age ha d i n d eed begu n an age ,

i n which the n ew association s o f the Pal atin e an d

the glam ou r of i m perial is m were to overcom e the
m ore democrati c assoc iation s o f the C apitol in e with
its i ncorrigi bly republ i can Ju p p i te r G reek gods
.

whi ch had hitherto i n theory at l east been su b

or d in ated to the gods o f o ld Ro m e were n o w
granted n o t on ly equal ity but superiori ty The .

spec i fic c u lt o f Apoll o to be su re d id n o t always

, ,

retain the exalted position t o which A u gu stu s

had raise d it but even it n eve r entirely lost i ts
,

prom i nen ce whereas the gen eral i d ea o f the su

,

p re m a c y o f the i mp erial cu lt w a s n o w establ ishe d

fo r al l ti m e to co m e B u t this secu lar cel ebration
.

O f Au gustu s i s in terestin g aside from the relatio n

of J pp
u i t e r an d A pol lo f o r it a
,
ff ord s another
i l lustration o f the ski l fu l com bi n atio n o f n ew an d
o l d i n the A ugu stan reorgan isation I n form the
.

festival is avowe d ly the o l d o n e bu t i n two respects

,

at least it i n trodu ces a n ew elem en t I n the fi rst

.

place parti cipation i n the old festival a s i n al l the ,

o l d festivals ha d been con fi n ed t o

,
Rom an citizen s .

Others m ig ht look o n but they cou l d not take part

, ,

n o r were they the recipien ts o f any o f the blessi ngs

which were to follow B u t n ow every free m em ber

.

of the com m u n ity with wife an d chi ld m ight joi n

, ,
1 7 0 TH E AUGUSTA N REN A I SSANCE

i n the celebration an d thus the n ote was struc k

,

which was to be the keyn ote of al l that wa s best

i n the changes in trodu ced by the em pire whose
“
highest an d m ost beautifu l task as P rofessor
,

M om msen puts it an d the on e which she ful fil l e d

,

m ost perfectly was gradu al l y to recon ci le an d th u s

,

to put an end to the contrast between the ru l ing

city and the subor d in ate com m u n ities an d thu s to ,

chan ge the old Rom an law of c ity citizen ship i nto-

a com m u n ity of the state which e mbraced al l the

m embers o f the em pire B u t even this was n ot
.

al l ; u n d er the gu ise O f this restoration o f an o l d

republican in stitu tion a blow was struck at the very
fou nd ation of al l repu bl ican i n stitution s n am ely ,

the power o f the S en ate I t was p a r excel l en ce

.

Augu stus s festival arran ged by hi m or by thos e

’

to who m he had com m itted the d etai ls The .

S enate had little or n othin g to say abou t it and

yet the control o f such rel igiou s ce l ebration s had
hith erto forme d an inalienable part o f the S en ate s ’

po wer . Even i n the procession itsel f the repu blican

magist rates d o n ot seem to have been o fficial ly
presen t .I t was thu s n o lon ger the S enate i nviti ng
the m agistrates a n d the c itizen s i n good an d reg u lar
stan d ing to perform a certai n d ivin e fun ction bu t ,

it wa s the em peror i nviti ng al l the m embers of the

,
—
com m un ity c itizen s an d n on citi zen s alike to j oi n ,

with hi m in worshippin g the gods o f the n ew state .

A great part of Augustus s s u ccess w a s u n

’
 TH E A U G U S T A N RE N A I S S A N C E 1 7 1

question ably d u e to a certai n form of m oral cou rage .

For al l his d iplom acy an d hi s d esire to feel the pu l se

of the people he was n ever l ackin g i n the cou rage
o f his ow n con viction s This can be seen n owhere
.

better than in hi s attitu de toward his adoptive father

J u l i u s C aesar
. From the very begi nn in g when he
t ook u pon hi msel f even at the cost of tem porary
,

’
i m poverishm en t the paym en t of Caesar s l egacy he
, ,

was suprem ely tru e to the m an whose su ccessor he

was an d thi s faithfu l n ess is especially apparen t i n
,

the field of religi on H ere the re are two cu lts both

.
,

relati ng to J u li us C aesar for which A ugu st u s was

,

largely respon si b l e that of the go d J u l iu s hi m sel f

, ,

an d that o f M ars the A ven ger .

I n con si d eration of what C aesar ha d a l rea d y d on e

fo r the reorgan isation o f the state an d i n view o f ,

what he was plan n in g to carry o u t his d eath was a ,

n ation al calam ity bu t his i n flu en ce m ight sti ll be

,

resc u ed an d preserve d by elevatin g hi m in t o the

ran k o f t he go d s . Fo r the accom plish m en t of t h is
it w a s necessary that the S en ate shou l d act for i n the ,

han d s o f the S en ate alon e l ay the powe r to receive

n ew go d s i n to the state Thu s the go d J ul ius was
.

c reated an d the word u i v a s received a n ew m ean in g

’
.

With that logic wh ich was characteristic o f Rom an

rel igion fro m the very begi n ni n g the el evation o f
,

J ul iu s i n to the ran ks o f the greater an d m ore

i n d ivid ual gods wen t S id e by S id e with h is exclu sion
from the ran ks o f the ord in ary d ei fied an cestors so ,
1 72 TH E A UG USTA N RE NA I SS A NCE

that thereafter at the fun eral procession s of the J u lian

fam i ly his wax m ask was absen t fro m the procession s
of an cestors to which he n o lon ger be l onged but in ,

the parade of the circu s he was presen t d rawn i n a ,

waggon a mon g the greater gods N othing was le ft

.

u n d one to ren der his cu lt both cons pi cu ou s an d per

m an ent A S pecial p riest (fla tn en ) w a s appoin ted to
.

look after it and as the i rony o f fate wou ld have i t

,

o n e o f the fi rst i ncu m bents o f this position was M arc

Antony after hi s recon ci liation with Au gustu s i n

B C 40
. . Then too a special festiva l d ay was given
.

h i m amon g the rel igiou s hol idays o f t he year It .

w a s i n tended that this day shou l d be J u l y 1 3 his ,

birthday bu t as that d ay happen ed to be al ready d e

,

vote d to an i m portant celeb ration in con n ex ion wi th

the games of Apol lo the d ay precedi ng it J u ly 1 2
, , ,

was chosen B ut more was n ee d ed than a priest an d

.

a holiday there m ust be a cu lt cent re a s wel l a

, ,

tem ple o f the D ivus J u li us The site o f this tem ple

.

wa s al ready g iven i n the association s con necte d with

’
Caesar s death There cou l d be but o n e place fo r it
.
,

an d that wa s i n the For u m n ear the Regia where hi s

body had been carried to be bu rn ed There the .

temple w a s bu il t and dedicated Au gu st 1 8 B C 2 9 , . . .

A n altar had been erected o n the spot where C aesar s ’

body had been bu rn ed an d the n ew tem ple was so ,

placed that the altar w a s in c luded i n its bou nd aries ,

occupyin g a n i che i n the centre o f the fron t l ine o f

the subst ru ctu re The tem ple had the u sual history
.
 TH E A UG U STA N RE NA I S S A NCE 1 73

of destruction an d rebu i ld in g i n antiqu ity u n til i n early

Christian ti mes i t wa s u se d for secu lar pu rposes an d ,

the eyesore o f the paga n altar wa s rem ove d by

bu i l d i ng a wal l across the fron t the diam eter o f the
,

se mici rcu lar n i che an d by roofi n g the altar over o n

,

a l evel with the ex istin g plat form Thus the altar

.

with i ts histori cal an d rel igiou s association s was

enti rely lost sight o f an d thou gh the tem pl e i n its
,

m ai n ou tl ines had long been ex cavated the al tar wa s ,

n o t d iscovered u nti l 1 8 9 8 when the wal l was broken

,

throu gh an d the whole thi n g laid bare Thu s by the.

vote of the S en ate the appoi n tm ent o f a priest the

, ,

settin g apart o f a holy day in the year an d the ,

bui ld i n g o f a tem pl e the worship o f the g o d J u l iu s

,

was establ ished ; but i t w a s the ge neral i rresistible

ten den cy towar d e m p eror worship which k ept i t
-

al ive an d m a d e it the m odel fo r a tremen dou s su b

sequen t develop m en t Au gu stu s had accom p lished
.

his d esire. M en were lookin g o n C aesar a s a su ccess

after al l an d n o t as a fail u re The D i M a n es o f a
.

m u rd ered empero r had been profi tably exchan ged

fo r the D ivu s J u l ius a n d j u st as the go d s had
,

fou n d ed the o l d Rom e of Ro m u l u s so agai n it w a s

,

a god who ha d laid the fou n d ation s o f the em pi re

over wh ich his su ccessor was ru l in g .

B u t Aug u stus was n o t con ten t with this ; it was

al l very wel l for men to look u pon the god Caesar
as an il lustration o f j u sti fication after death as an ,

exam pl e of how heaven cou l d right the wrongs of

1 74 THE A U G U ST A N R E N A I S S A N C E

earthly ex isten ce b u t that was n ot s u fficien t ; the

,

p u n ish m en t of those who ca u se d hi s earthly d own fal l

m ust be e m phasised i t m u st be shown that the go d s
,

were qu ite as m u ch in tereste d in pu n ishin g the sin ne r

as in reward i ng the righteou s m an who was s in n ed
’
again st . I t was on e thi ng to tran sfer on e s an cestors
to the go d s it was q u ite an other thing to take
,

m eas u res to keep onesel f from fol lowin g in their foot

steps even thou gh thei r l ast estate was theoretical ly
,

d esi rable .H en ce si d e by side with the cul t o f the

D ivu s J u l ius wen t that of M ars U ltor M ars the ,

Avenger .The c irc u m stan ces of the begi n n in g of the

c u lt show that it was n o m ere poetical t itl e but a
gen u in e cu l t n am e born i n an earn est m om en t :for
-

the great temple s u bsequ en tly bu ilt to M ars u n der

“
this cognom en was vowed by A u gustu s in beha l f
of vengean ce for his father in the war again st
,

the S l ayers o f Caesar B ru tu s an d C assius

,
This .

te m ple vowed at Philippi i n B C 4 2 was so slow in

,
. .
,

bu il d i ng that i n the m eanti me Augustu s erected a

s mal l rou n d tem ple to M ars U ltor o n the C apitol in e .

This was d ed i cated M ay 1 2 B C 2 0 I n the years

,
. . .

which fo l lowed A ugustu s proceeded with the d i ffi

cu lt an d extrem ely expen sive task of pu rchasin g
property for his own Foru m and here was bu i lt ,

an d d ed icated A ugu st 1 B C 2 the great tem p l e of

, ,
. .
,

M ars Ultor B u t asid e from being a very p resen t

.

rem in d er of the vengean ce which the gods had in store

for those who ki ll e d a Ca esa r i t stoo d also for the J u lian
,
-
 TH E A U G U S TA N R E N A I S S A N C E 1 75

house for M ars was n ot alon e i n the tem pl e bu t with

,

hi m was Venu s the an cestra l m other of the fam i l y

,

o f J u liu s an d A ugu stus ; and thu s was on ce m ore

emphasise d the con n ex ion between the an cestors o f
the ru l in g ho u se an d the great an cestor M ars from ,

who m a l l Rom an s were spr u ng .

A tem ple possesse d of s u ch stron g association s with

the i mperial fa mi ly becam e i n stan tly a cen tre of thei r
fam i l y worship an d in this respect prod u ced an other
,

riva l to the cu lt o f Ju p p i t e r o n the C apito l i n e In .

con n ex ion n am ely with the pu tti n g o n of the tog a

v i r i l i s the m em bers of the i m p erial fam i ly wen t to

the templ e o f M ars U ltor i n stead o f fol lowi n g the

i m memorial custom o f ascen d i n g the Capito l to the
shrin e of Ju p p i te r O pti m us M ax i m u s M ore i m
.

portan t yet the i n sign i a of the tri u m ph whic h ha d ,

always been i n the keepi n g o f the Capitoli ne Ju p p i te r

even before he was O pti m u s M axi m us an d whi l e he
was on ly the Stri ker Fer e tr i u s were n ow preserved
, ,

i n the tem p l e of Mars U l tor .

With al l the state worshipp in g A po l lo the go d o f ,

’
the emperor s o wn fam i l y o n the P a l atin e celebratin g
, ,

the d ivin ity of hi s an cestor the god J u l ius i n the

Rom an Foru m an d ackn owle d gin g M ars as the
,

avenger of all those w h o d i d the em pe r or harm i n ,

the e m peror s o w
’
n n ew For u m it m ight have seem ed
,

to a less far seei n g m an that re l igion ha d been su ffi

-

c i en t l
y pressed into the service of the royal fam i l y .

B u t so it d i d n ot seem to A u gu st u s These c ul ts were

.
1 76 TH E A UG U STA N RE NA I SSA NC E

al l three of them essentially n ew an d n ew cu lts m ay

, ,

to be su re easi l y becom e prom in en t

, they usu al ly do ,

but the test com es with t im e whether there is extern a l

pressu re su fficien tly contin uou s to give perm anen cy to
thi s prom i nen ce A s a m atter of fact not on e o f these
.

three cu lts contin ued l ater to hold the ran k in i m

portan ce wh ich it had u n der A ugu stu s On the o ther.

han d i f on e wen t low enough an d looked su fficient l y

d eep d own certain ele ments i n the religiou s life of
the com m u n ity cou ld be fou nd which con tin u ed
al m ost u n changed fro m cen tu ry to century These .

were the S i m ple el emen ts which were i nvolved in

fam i l y worship the sac ri fices at the hearth of Vesta
, ,

an d those to the Gen ius of the m aster o f the hous e .

H ere s i mple bel iefs an d elemen tary cu lt acts had

contin u e d virtually u nchan ged fro m the very earl iest
period down to the present These cu lts d i d n ot
.

n ee d any form al restoration o n the part of the

emperor for they had n ot experien ced the d ecl in e
,

which the other cults had su ffered bu t by j ust so ,

m u ch m ore they wou l d afford a fi rm foun d ation for

his em pire an d his o wn ru le i f he cou l d i n some way
su cceed i n conn ectin g them with him sel f I n the .

case o f Vesta this was com paratively easy Th e .

Pontifex M ax i m us was the guard ian of the Vestal

vi rgi ns an d thu s on M arch 6 B C 1 2 when Augustu s
, ,
. .
,

becam e P on ti fex M axi m u s it was quite n atu ral that

,

there shou ld be a festiva l to Vesta an d that the day

shou ld con tin u e a s a publi c hol i d ay The P ontifex
.
 T H E A UG USTA N RE N A I SSA NCE 1 77

M axi mu s however was suppose d to l ive i n the

Regia d own i n the Foru m where J u l iu s Caesar as
,

P ontifex M ax i m u s had actu al ly l ived This A u gu stus .

d id n o t d esi re to do hen ce he grace ful ly gave u p the

,

Regia to the Vestal vi rgins an d m a d e hi s O fficial

resid en ce i n hi s own house o n the P alatin e ful fi l l in g ,

the rel igiou s requ irements by con secrati ng a part o f

that house .O n a portion o f the section th us c o n
se c r a t e d a tem ple of Vesta wa s bu i lt an d ded icated

A pri l 2 8 B C 1 2
,
. This was strictly speaki n g hi s
.

o wn
“
Vesta the hearth of hi s own hou se but the
, ,

prom in en ce of the tem ple o f Vesta there had an e ffec t

si m i lar to the p ro m i n en ce of the tem p le of A pol lo
o n the Palati n e an d the whol e state began thu s to
,

worship at the hearth o f the em peror an d i n ti m e the ,

e m peror was worshipped at each i n d ivi d ual hearth .

B u t the crown ing touch o f Au gustu s s religio u s ’

po l i cy was yet to com e this w a s the estab l ishm en t

o f the worship o f the Gen iu s o f t h e em peror A fter .

Actiu m an d i n the earl ier years o f hi s reign i t i s

certai n that A u gustu s wou l d n ot have thought o f
puttin g hi m sel f even i n the spiritu al ised form o f hi s
,

Gen i u s before the people a s an obj ect o f worship

, .

But the ten d en cy to em peror worship which O riental

-

i n fl u en ce had brought w ith i t was n ot withou t i ts

effects on the e mp eror hi m se l f an d perhaps these ,

effects were al l the stronger because of his valian t

struggle again st it Then too the state w a s al ready
.

'

worshi ppin g the go d s of hi s fam ily even Vesta '

,

N
1 78 T H E A UGUSTA N RE N A I S SA NCE

Augusta the godd ess of hi s own hearth

,
H e ha d .

beco me in substan ce even i f n o t yet i n n am e the

, ,

fathe r o f his co u n try I t had been an i m m emorial

.

custo m that the m em bers o f the household shou ld

worshi p the Gen i us o f the m aster o f the hou se In .

every househol d i n Rom e that custom stil l existe d .

I t was a very logical step an d o n e therefore which a

,

Rom an cou ld easi ly take to carry out the analogy ,

o f the fam ily an d to al low the whole state to worshi p

the Gen ius o f the em pero r who was the head of the ,

fam i ly o f the state The i d ea therefore w a s not at

.

al l i n con gruou s n or was the way i n which it was

,

carrie d o u t though the latter w a s so in gen ious as to

,

deserve special consi d eration .

I n the o l d days when Rom e was a farm in g co m

m u n ity the guar d ian sh ip o f the gods ove r the fi eld s
,

w a s o n e of the m ost i m portan t ele men ts i n rel igiou s

l i fe
. The go d s were above al l the protectors o f the
bou ndary li n es and thus it cam e to pass that where
,

two roa d s c rossed a n d thus the corn ers o f fou r farm s

cam e together the deities protecting these farm s were
worshipped together a s the Lares Co m p i ta l es the Lares ,

o f the comp i ta or c ross roads Cu riou sly enough this

-
.

worship w a s l ater exten ded to the crossing of city

streets an d a s w a s n atu ral i t becam e m ore highly
,

organ ised i n the c ity than it had been i n the cou ntry .

Regul ar associations col l eg i a were form ed to look

, ,

after the detail s o f the worship headed by the m ag i s ,

t r i v i co r u m w ho were however n ot publi c o ffi cial s

,
 T H E A UG USTA N RENA I SS ANC E 1 79

bu t m erely the elected heads of these col leges ,

m en m ai n ly fro m the lowe r ran ks o f society The .

con tagion of c ivi l an d politi cal stri fe affected these

col leges a s wel l a s thei r m ore a ristocrati c paral lels ,

higher u p i n the social s cale an d tu rn ed them i nto

,

l ocal pol itical cl u bs The part played by these clu bs

.

in the civil struggles whi ch occu pied the last cen tu ry

o f the republi c w a s su ch that the Sen ate i n B C 6 4 . .

was compel led to d issolve them though they were ,

restore d agai n S i x years later an d ex isted u nti l C aesar

destroye d them entirely Bu t n o w Au gustus wa s
.

creating a n ew organ isation fo r the c ity d ivi d in g it ,

i n t o fourteen region s each region con tai n in g a certai n

,

nu mber o f su b d ivision s cal led v i ci The o l d colleges

.
“

”
of the cross roa d s affor d ed hi m j u st the sort of
-

opportu nity which he never failed to seize that o f ,

seem in g to restore a n eglected repu bl ican i n stitution ,

an d at the sam e ti m e o f m aki n g it i n to a support of

the mon archy The col leges had an tiqu ity i n thei r
.

favou r an d thei r repeated suppression w a s clear proo f

,

o f thei r power .They m ust be recogn ised and tak en

over by the state thei r offi cials m u st be m ade i nto
,

officials o f the state bu t m ost i m portant thei r worship

, , ,

m u st be perm eate d with the i m perial i d ea This w a s .

’
where Augustu s s skil l showed itsel f At every shrin e .

of the cross roa d s where o f o l d the two Lares had

-

been worship ped alon e a thi rd i m age n o w took its

,

place between them Thi s was the Gen iu s A ugu s t i

.
,

who thu s form e d hen cefo r th an i n t egra l part of t he

1 80 T H E A U G U S T A N R E N A I S SA N C E

local worship o f every part o f the city U n der

.

the presid ing G en iu s A ugusti the Lares themselves

began to be kn own as the Lares Augu sti an d the
cu l t grew i n popularity s o that it began to exten d
throu gh all of I taly an d even through the provin ces
o f the em pire ,
an d wherever the Lares went alon g ,

with them went the worshi p o f the Gen iu s o f the

em peror .

N ow that we have seen what Augu stu s d i d ,

the q u estion arises irresi sti bly as to the measure

of his su ccess . There can be n o question but that
he was su ccessfu l i n obtai n ing the i m m ed iate obj ect
which he was seek in g after . A form al rel igiou s l i fe
was u nqu estion ably brought i nto bein g an d su ch ,

stren gth a s that li fe had w a s exerted in beha l f o f the

em pire . This i s on ly in part true o f the city but it
i s abso l utely true o f the provin ces where after al l i n
,

the lon g ru n the balan ce o f power w a s bou n d to lie .

I n every case the rel igious reform begu n in the city

, ,

spread rapid ly throu gh the rest o f I taly an d o u t in to

the provin ces . There the n egative el em ents which ,

hi n dered its growth i n Rom e itsel f were absent

,
For .

the provin ces the em pire was al l gain an d even a ba d

,

e m peror was far better than n on e at all .

The pol itics o f Augustus had recreate d the

religion which the politics o f the last cen tu ry o f the
r
epubl ic had d estroye d had recreated it in as far
,

s political consideration s coul d

. . B ut the spiri t o f
p t
1
i c i s m which ha d m a d e possible the politi cal
 T H E AUGUSTA N REN A I S SANCE 1 8 1

abuse O f rel igion cou ld n o t be d riven out by any

fu rther appl ication o f politi cs A form m ight be
.

created both the paraphern alia o f tem ples and the

,

hierarchy of priests whose busin ess it was to perform

certai n cu lt acts but there the powe r o f en actm en t
,

ceased . I n the m ai n the rel i gious li fe of the peop l e

went o n fo r good o r fo r i l l en tire l y i n dep en d en t o f
these thi ngs A l l that was alive an d real i n the
.

s i mple dom esti c cu l t wen t on d ow n in to the em pi re ,

an d those who were faithfu l were faithfu l stil l The .

cu lt s o f the O r ien t again st wh i ch A ugu stu s ha d d on e

,

al l that he d ared sti l l captu re d the m in ds o f the vast

,

maj ority o f the peopl e an d a M ith ras o r an I si s

,

m ean t i n fin itely m ore t han a M ars o r a Vesta even ,

i f M ars were the aven ger o f a Caesar an d Vesta the ,

god dess o f the l ivi n g em peror s o w n hearth

’
A m on g .

the m ore intel lectu al c l asses the fol ly o f the o n e se t

o f gods the d arl i n gs o f t he com m on peopl e w a s felt
, ,

as keen ly a s the fol ly o f the others those who ,

had been worshipped by the m en o f form er d ays .

Philosophy which ha d had i ts share in the break

,

d own o f faith begin n i n g i n the d ays o f the Pu n ic wars

, ,

w a s n ow O fferi n g o u t of itsel f a su bstitute for the

faith whi ch i t had taken away I t n o longer con
.

tente d itsel f with a d estru ctive c riti cis m which resu lted
i n a n egative view o f l i fe bu t i n S toic ism at l east i t
,

strove to provi d e so methi n g su ffi c ien tly con stru ctive

to afford n ot o n ly a ru le o f l ivi ng but also an
i nspiration to live .
 1 82 T H E A UG U STA N RE NA I S SA NC E

Wi th the d eath o f A u gu st u s the last chapter i n the

history o f old Roman religion was closed H is was
.

the last attem pt to fi ll the spi rit u al n ee d of the people

with the old form s an d the ol d i d eas ; for what he
offere d was in the m ai n o l d though certai n n ew ideas
were m i xe d wi th it . From n o w on the l i feless
p latitu d es o f phi losophy an d the orgiastic excesses
of the O rien tal c u lts divid e d the fi el d between them ,

an d it was with them rather than with the go d s of

N u m a or even with the deities o f the S ibyl li ne
books that C hri stian ity fought i ts battles That
.

too is a fascin ating study but i t i s q u ite another

,

story and with the death of Au gustu s o u r presen t

tale i s told . A nd when we l ook back over the whol e
o f it the m ain outlin es becom e perhaps even c learer

becau se of the details i nto which we have been

compel led to go .

We se e at the start the si m ple rel igion o f an agri

cu ltu ral people sti l l stron gly tin ged with an i m ism
and i nheritin g from an an i m isti c past a certai n
form al is m which i s so great that i t al m ost becom es a
con tent . Toward the close o f the kin gdom we se e
this religion developin g through I tal ic i n fluen ces s o
that it takes i nto itsel f a certai n n u m ber o f elem en ts
which were absen t fro m the ol d er religion because
they ha d no con com itants in d aily li fe but whose,

presence i s n ow ren d ered n ecessary . T hese ele m ents

are especially the i d eas o f pol iti cs trade com merce
, , ,

and the l iberal arts . Then for a m om en t u n d er

 TH E A UG USTA N RE N A I S S A NC E 1 83

Servius an equ il ibriu m seem s to have been reached ,

an d a rel igion to have been bro u ght into bein g wh ich

was si m pl e en ou gh for the o l d lovers of sim pl icity
an d varied en ough to satis fy the n ew dem an d s o f
the com m u n i ty B ut this w a s n ot fo r lon g for the
.
,

s p i ritual conqu est of Rom e by Greece began then ,

three cen tu ries before the phys ical con quest o f G reece
by Rom e The hosts o f Greek deities i n vad ed
.

an d captu re d Rom e u nd er the l ea d ershi p o f the

S ibyl l in e books an d though at fi rst they had been
,

kept outsid e the p o nzer i u zn even this iron barrier was

,

m elted i n the heat o f the S econ d P un ic War an d the ,

new Greek god s swar m e d in to the c ity proper At

.

the sam e ti m e a s a l ast heritage fro m the ba l efu l

books a n O riental go d dess the M agn a M ater w a s
, ,

taken i nto the c u lt an d i n to the hearts o f the peop le ,

an d the ele m ents o f d ecay were thu s al l presen t .

These ele ments were th ree fol d the n atu ral spi ritua l
reaction resu ltin g fro m the ex cesses o f the period o f
the Secon d P u n i c War ; the fas cin ation o f the O rien t ,

exhibited to Rom e i n the cu lt o f the M agn a M ater ;

an d the n ew gift whi ch Greece n o w m ad e to Rom e ,

the kn owled ge o f her l iteratu re especial ly o f her

,

phi losophy I n the last t wo c en tu ries o f the republ i c

.

then these forces alon e wou l d have been su fficien t to

cause the down fal l o f religion but they were aid ed by
,

pol itics whi ch fasten ed i tsel f upon the form alism o f

,

the state religion an d s u ck ed the l ittle li fe bloo d that

-

wa s left
’
.Rom e s schol ars and wise m en cou ld d epl ore
1 84 THE AUGUSTAN RENA ISSANCE

the resu l t an d poin t out the causes bu t they cou ld

,

n ot cu re the state of affai rs

. W h at po l itics ha d done ,

politi cs alon e could u n d o hen ce on l y the reforms

,

o f an autocrat co u ld restore som ethi ng o f the ou t

ward structu re o f the ol d state religion . But beyon d

this pol itics an d the autocrat were alike powerl es s .

Agai n st phi losophy and O riental ecstasy they were

of n o avail . H en ce the sp irit had left the rel igion
whi ch Au gu stus had restored even before the m arbl e
tem ples which he ha d bu i lt i n its honour had fal l en
i nto d ecay.

The age o f form al ism ha d passed the rel igiou s

,

dem and s of the in d ivi d ua l cou l d n o lon ger be satisfi ed

by a m ere ritual . Fo r goo d o r for evi l som ethin g
m ore person al m ore subj ective w a s nee d ed
, , . M en
so u ght fo r it in variou s ways an d w ith varyi n g su ccess ,

bu t ex cept i n the s im ple form s of fam i l y worshi p o l d

Roman rel igion was dea d .
 IND E X

Re f r e nc es t th m o r e r e c n t l i t ra t r
e o e e e u e on the su bj e c t of Ro m a n

r l igi o n h a e b ee n gi ve n in c o nn e c ti o n
e v w i th t he appr o pria te to pic s

in th i s in d x e .

The f o ll o wm g a bb r evia ti o n s h a ve b ee n em —R
p l o yed : . F = . War d e

Fo wl e r , R om a n Festi v a l s , n n
L o do , 1 8 99 ; R R . . W i sso wa ,

R el ig i on and C u l tu s der R oei n er , M e nc h en

u
902 PW , 1 . .

Pa u l y W i sso wa
-
, E n cy cl op a ed z e der A l ter tu i n sw i ssen sclt af t S t u tt ,
gar t ,

1 8 94 L ex = Ro sche r .
, L ex i /ton der G r i eclz i sc/zen und R oem i sc/z en
Le ipzig , 1 884

c
A ti u m , 8 1 , 1 65 A n th r o p o l o gica l m e th o d , cri tici sm
A en ei d , a s a p l i t ica l t r eati s
o 53 e, 1 of, 4, 5
Aes c l api
u u s, 84 C p R R 2 5 3 ff ;
. . . . . A n t ny o and t he c u lt of I si s , 1 37 .

R R . . 2 78 T hr a e m er P W s v , . . . . Cp . R R . . 29 3
As k l epi o s A p o ll o
57 Cp
, R F 1 80 ; , 66 . . . .

A gric u lt ra l ha a t o f ar l y R m an
u c r c er e o R R 239 . e . e P \V s v W rnick , . . . .

r el igi o n 8 C p R F 3 3 5 ; R R
, 1 . . . . . . p
A o ll o a n d A u u stu s , 1 6 4 Cp g . .

20 ff M o m m sen
. ed , 1 ,
. G ar d thau sen A ug u stu s , 8 7 3 9 6 1 ; , ,

2, p 298 . . R R 6 7 ; A o ll o
. . ed u s, 83 p M ic .

A grip p a r c t s T em p l e o f Nep t u n e
, e e , Cp R F . . . 1 80 R R . . 2 40
8 1 Ric ht er T p g p/ i , o o ra z e o er
’
Ar i c i a 5 3 , . Cp . B el o ch , [ta l i sc/z e
S t dt a R m 4 ; P l a tn er o . 2 2 , B u n d, 1 87 ; H u el sen , PW
. .

A n c i en t R ome 3 5 7 , s v . .

a
Alb L o nga
a n d the L t n L e ue ai ag , Ar tem s , 53 i Cp e i e ff . . W rn ck ,

52 C p B e l o h [ta l zsclze B u n d
. . c , , PW s v . . . .

1 7 7 ; H u el sen PW s v , in . . . . r a
A v l B o th e h o o d r
e sto e d by r , r r
A lt aro f C es 1 73 a ar
C p H u el se n , . .
, g
A u u stu s 1 5 6 Cp R R 4 85 ; , . . . .

For u m Ronz a n u m e d 2 1 39 ; , .
, p . W i sso wa P W s v H en z e n
, . . . . ,

Pan r
l t e A n c i en t R o m e , 1 8 0
, A cta Fr a t r u i n A r v a l i u i n , B e l n ri ,

ni i
A m sm , 5 C p T yl o Pr i m i ti ve
. . r , 1 874 ; C 1 L vi 2 02 3 - 2 1 1 9 . . . .
,

Cu l t u r e 377 ff , , 1 -
i
3 27 ; . . ii .
3 23 8
3 3 23 98
-

F raz r
e G ol den B oug h
, 170 , i . ff . k pi
As l e o s 8 4 C p A es u l ,us . . c api
A n n a Pe r e n n a 1 1 5 C p R F 5 0 - 5 4 ; , . . . . A t ar ga ti s 1 3 8 C p R R 3 00
, . . . . ff .

R R 1 9 4 W i sso wa
. . s v ; , in P W . . . . Cu m o t,n in PW s v . . . .

U se n e r R /z ei n i sclz es ZV
, l u sez/ m , xxx . A th e na c n ra
o t ste d w th
, e v 46 i Min r a ,

2 06 el t e M z r
L ex s v , . . . a P rga
A tt l u s o f e mo 97 n ,

1 85
1 86 INDEX
Au g u stu s :
hi s c h arac t r a n d m o t i ve s e ,
Com t Cu i ia ria t a 6 5 , 1

1 47
-
1 52 Comm e l s rcia pir it in Ro m e , 1 07

Co m t ve para i p h i l l gy o o , 2

Bacc h ana l ian can d al 8

n
C o su s 1 1 4 , ' R F Cp . °

9 s , 1 1 , 1 1 .

2 67 2 6 8 ; R R 6 6 ff
C p L i y 3 9 8 ff ;
.

2 1 2 2 1 1
3
- -

96
.
, . .

v 1
A u st P W
.
, , .
,

x 4 ; R R 5 8 48 1 0 2
, ' ‘

a rc e S i ylli b ne b ks
.
.
,

C u m e so u of
B ll na C p A t in P W ,
oo ,
e o34 ,
1 . . us , . .

66
s v ; R R
. 8 9 ff
. . . 2 .

B na D
o D a m ia Cp R F ea - , 1 1 1 . . . .

5 1 06; R R 7 7 ff W w10 1 i sso a, a ia

D m 1 1 1 1 1 2 C p C e es r
-
. . .
, , . .

in P W K rn i P W . . s v . e , n . . s v . .
, a
De d w o sh ,of 1 4 1 5 Cp r ip ,
-
. .

D a m ia R R 1 87 ; R R
.
3 00 3 0 6
.
, . .
, ff .

De m e t e 7 2 C p C e es r , . . r
D iana 53 C p R R 1 9 8 ff ; ff
a ar a lt ar o f 7 3 ; r li gi o . . . .
, .

C es , , 1 e us re
R R 1 9 8 ff W i sso wa P in W
f r m s o f 4 6 47
o , 1 , 1
i

c al d ar s a s s
en rc s f ar l y R m a ou e or e o n
,
D I In d i ge t es 9 C p R R 1 5 ff ;
r l igi e Cp M mm on ,
1 0 . . o se n ,
R F 1 92 ;
. VVi sso u a De di s
, . . .

,
. .

R R 336 ; R R
.

ed
I , . 2 ; . . . .

R o m a n or u m i n d i geti éu s Mar
1ff d i r d r f o w ing to
5 . so e o ,
b rg u 1 892
,

ig ranc f pri est s 3

no e o , 1 2
Di Man
,

es, Cp R R
1 4, 9 0 1 92 ;
C an a
. . . .

96 n e,
R F 1 08 P e te r L ex s v
;
C ar m n S aecu l a Cp W i
. . , . . .

68e re , 1 . . s
D i No ve n si d e s, 9 Cp R R 1 5 ff
wa
. . . . .

Di S l f i d
so , e a ec u ar -
e er es
i
D o n yso s 7 2 Cp L e ib r
Marb rg
.
, .

A g t 894
u u s u s, u , 1
Di o s ou o 3 8 3 9 k r i
-
C p C st o a r
M m m n Ep l o E p ig p l se , ze/n . ra i
Di en tes P a
1 3 1 1 3 Cp R R
, , . .

iii 5 ff
.
, , . . .

v . 22 .

1 4
5 ff ; R F 3 3 7 ; D e hi Marc
t l i P r ta 8 C p Ri c h t r
. . . ,

C m
5 5 ff ; W i sso wa i
ar en a s o 2 e
C u l to P r i va to
.
, ,
.

, ,
Top og r ap lt i e der S ta dt R onz 4 4
. .

'

L ex
.

in s v
an r
Pl t e , A n c i en t R o m e 4 8 ,
D i vu s u l u s J i
. . .

1 1 Cp R R 2 84 ff
7
a r
C sto ff
37 C p H el H er /n es ,
, . . big ,
D r ep a n a 8 8
, . . . . .

x
l 1 9 0 5 1 0 1 ff ; R F 2 9 6 2 9 7 ;
.
, . . .
-
,

R R 2 1 6 ff ; A l e t L e C u l te
. . . b r ,

de Ca sto r et Po l l u en [ta l i e x Em p r r e o -
wo r sh ip , 1 61 , 1 62 , 1 63 .

r
C e es De m e t e 72
-
Cp R F 7 2 r , . . . . Cp R R 2 84 ; . . . B o i ss i e r , La re

7 9 1 05 ; R R 2 42 , W i sso w a . . ff , l ig i on r o m a i n e
in P W . . s v . . En ni u s, 1 2 1 , 1 22 . Cp . M om m se n ,

C ha l d a a e n s, 1 1
9 . Cp . R R . .
58 R om a n H i story ( E n l g .

B a m tark u s , In P . W . s v
. .
3 , 1 1 2 1 1 3 ; T eu ffe l
-
R oem L i t , . .

C i rc Fl m us a i n iu s, 41 1 00 1 0
4; S u ts h in PW k c , . .

C l o d iu s 8 8 , s v . .

Co nom in g 24 Cp C te De a , . . ar r , E p i d au r o s , 8 4
deor u m R om a n or u nz cog n onz i n i r
E o s o f Th es i pa e, 46 . Cp . Pi e l l e r
bu s L e 1 89 8 , ipzig , b rt G i /
Ro e , r ec i .
501 ff .

C o ll e 47 Cp gia lt n L es , . . Wa zi g , Etr ca pr b l m
us n s, o e of, 42 ff .

Corp or a ti on s eli ee l es R om a i n s , E h m ri sm
u e e , 1 22 . Cp . M mm o se n ,

Louv n 1 89 5 1 900 ai ,
-
R om a n H i story ( E n gl .
4 ,

C o ll e u m m e gi
to u m 7 8 rca r , 2 00

a
C o l o n i Ne p tu n i a 8 0 , Eu h em e r u s, 1 7 . C p Ro hd e G r i ec/i .
, .

Co m t C e n tu i ia
t 1 65 ria a , R om a n , 220 ff .
 I N DEX 1 87

Fa l er ii , 44 . Cp . xi p . .
464 Jan u s , 1 3 . Cp R F . . . 2 82 ff . R R .

ff ; De e c k e , D i e Fa l i see r
.
, St ra ss 91 ff .

b rg u 1 888, p ff
89 ,
J no Cp R F p i ; R R . . u , 1 2 . . . . a ss n i . .

Fa m i l y a s rigina l o cia l u i t 3 ff o s n , 1 1 1 1 .

Fana t i ci 35 Cp R R 9 , J p p i t a s sym b o l o f r p b l ic 6
1 . . . . 2 1 u er e u , 1 0

Fa na u C p B o na D
, 1 1 1 J pp it Fe et i s.
58 Cp . ea u er r r u , 2 1 , . .

Fa n su Cp R F
u 5,6 6 5 ; R F
1 1 1 9 3 ; R R.
3 . . 2 -
2 . . 2 2 , 2 0 . . 1 0

R R 7 .ff . 1 J p p i te Fi d i2 5 Cp R F 3 8 ;
. u r u s, 2 . . . . 1

F m a l d i t i s a b se nc
e e f ar l y R R e e , e o , In e . . 1 20

Ro m a r l igi n n J p pit L ti a i s 5 5
e Cp R F o , 2 1 u er a r , . . . .

F tia l
e 5 6 C p R F
es , 3 3 ; 9 51 ff R R 3 4 ff . . . . 2 0 , 2 1 . . . .

R R 4 7 5 ff . .
J p p i t Op t im s M ax us .
58 u er u nn , 2 1 , .

Fi d es, 5 Cp R F 37 ; R R 2 Cp R R . ff . . . 2 . . . . . 1 1 0 .

1 03 Ju s div in u m , 8
Fl a c c u s G r a n i u s 1 47 , , Ju s hu m a n u m , 8
r a
Fo m li sm In Ro m n el on 7 a r igi , . J u ve n ta s , 1 09 . Cp . R R . . 1 2 5 ff .

C p R F 3 48 . . .

r
Fo s Fo t u n 51 Cp R F 1 6 1 r a , . . . .

Ko r e, 72 Cp L ib era
1 72 ; R R 2 06 . . ff .
.

Fo tu r na 50 Cp R F 1 6 1 1 7 2 ff -

a i iar
, . . . .
,

223 225 ; R R 206

-
ff Lar F m l is 1 3 C p R R 1 49 ,
. . . .

W i sso wa i n L ex s v Ro h d e
ff
. . .

r
Fo u m B o a r i u m 3 3 3 6 .
, . . .
,

Marc i
, ,

raz r
F e Gol den B o ug h 1 6 Psy c lz e e d 2 2 5 4 ; D e h , .
, ,

i 3 8 ff
, ,

. .

Lati L e ag e n u 52 ff Cp Al ba
G e ni u s ff , . .

Cp R R 54 L nga
, 1 2 . . . . 1 .

o
G en i u s Au g us ti , 1 79 . Cp . R R . .

L m ria
e 6 u 1 . Cp R F 1 06 1 1 0 -
°

, . . .

72
G r ea t
» 73
M o th e r
1 I7 9 D Marc hi e , 3 6, 3 7 39 ; R R , . .

o f t he
go d s , 9 6 Cp
89
. .

1
R F 69 7 0 ; R R 2 63
. .
-
. .

Lepi d u s, 1 37
Gr ee flu e k in nc e In Ro m e , 99 , 1 00 ,
Lib r Cp R F 54
e , 74 , 75 . . . . , 55 ;
1 04
R R 1 2 6 ff 2 43 ff
G u i l ds in r el a t i o n M i n er v a
.
. .
, .

to , 47 L i be ra , 75 . Cp . R F . .
74 ; R R . .

2 43 ff
H anni b al 9 3 94 i
L iv u s A d o n r nic
us 48

arr i s n :P
, , ,

H o r o l e o m en a to the S tu dy
g cr i
Lu e t u s 1 44 ,

o
f G r eek Rel ig i on , 22 i
L u d S a ec u l a r es 93 , . Cp . R R . .

H a ru sp i c i n a 4 3 Cp R R 469 , . . . . ff .
3 6 4 ff ; M
o m m se . n , In Ep /z e /n .

a r a
H sd u b l 9 6 , Ep ig r ap /i v i ii
22 5 . ff .

J na
H e b e u ve t s 1 1 0 -
Cp u ve t , . J n as Lu p erca l i a , 1 1 1 , 1 1 4 Cp . R F . .

rc
H e u l es 3 2 Cp R R 2 1 9 , . . . . ff . 298, 2 99 , 3 1 0-3 2 1 ; R R . . 1 72 ff
r a i
H e e d i t s S n e sa c r i s 1 7 ,

r
H e m es E m p o l ai o s 7 7 Cp e ll e , . . Pr r M al B e ll o na
-
1 34 Cp B e ll o na
b r
, . .

Ro e t G r i ecl t l i y t/i 4 1 4 , . i , Ma c na s 5 e e , 1 2
i
H es o d 4 6 , Magna Ma t er C p G r a t M th r e o e
rac
. .

Ho e 1 68 , f th g o d
o e s

Mari s th E pic r an u e u e , 20

I n d o G er m anic r eli gi o n 3
-
, Mar 9 C p R F 3 4 ff R R
s, 1 . . . . . . .

I si s 1 3 6
, C p R R 2 9 2 ff . . . . . D r ex 9 ff
1 2 .

l er , L ex . s v . . Mar s Ar es 0 -
, 1 1 ,
1 1 1
1 88 I N D EX
Mars U l to r , 1 74 . Cp . R R . .
7 0, P o se i d o nia Pa -
es tu m , 80
133 Po ti tii 35 ,

M a a
e g l e si , 9 9 ib in b o o k s 6 6 Pri esth o o d of S yll e , .

M rc r
e u y, 7 7 Cp R F 86 ; C p Q in d e c iri
. . . . 1 2 1 , 1 . u em v

R R 4 8 ff
. . 2 Pri sth o o d s p o l i t ica l al o f 9 . e , v ue , 1 2 .

M ta u r u 9 6
e s, Cp R R 64 ; np p l ari ty f . . . u o u o ,

Min r a 4 4 ff C p W i sso wa in
e v , in l a st c en t ry f r e p bl ic 3 . .
, u o u , 1 1 .

PW . v R R 2 0 3 ff . sC p Mar q u ar d t S t t
. . w iii . . . .
, a a sver . .

M i thr a da tes 2 7 6 4 ff , 1 .

Mi th ra s 3 8 C p R R 3 0 7 ff Pr o p er ti s 5
, 1 . . . . . u , 1 2

C m o nt
u T xt et m m t Pr o s rpina 7 6 C p R F
, ; e es on u en s , e , . . . . 2 1 2

et ( c .B r u ssel s 8 9 6 2 R R 5 5 ff ; C ar t e r in L ex , 1 . . 2 .
, . s. v .

M mm n 8
o se Pu teo l i 3 6,
1 , 1 3

M nd u 5 Cp R F u s, ; D Pytha go 1 i sm .
-
. . . 2 1 1 e ri an , 1 20

Marc h i i 8 4 ; R R 8 8 . 1 . . 1

M yth o l gy a b se nc e o f in R m e 8 Q in dec em viri 6 8

,

o ,
Cp R R , o ,
u , . . . .

ff
.

Cp R R ff . .4 6 . 20 .
1 .

Re gi l l u s
Na m i m p o r tanc e, f 6 Cp e o
, 40
,

Re u l p b ic c h arac t r l a st
. .

of the
Fraz e r G l d B g / i 4 3 ff , e cen
o en on i 0
t ry f
, , . .

6
N mi 54
e
u 5 o , 1 2 , 1 2

G esta e of
,
R es A ug u stu s Cp
N p tu n
e 8 Cp R F 85 87 ; e, 0 1 -
1
, 1 47 . .

M o m m se n s i ti o n rl in
. . . .
’

ed Be 883
5 0 ff ; W i sso wa in L ex
1
R R 2
, ,

Ro m a A t
. .
, .

e er n a , 1 51
Nu m a ,
ap o cr yp h a l b k s o f oo , 1 20,
S B ar t o om l m eo 87
S c hw g l r
.
,

Cp R oem
1 2 1 . . e e , .

S ca ev o l a th eo l o gy o f 40 C p R R
1
G esc/i 5 6 4 ff R R 6
, , . . . .

. l . . . . 2
62 ; M om m sen , R om a n H i story
( En gl 5 iv 20
O c e an c o m m erc e b egin n i n g s
. .

of,
, 77 S cipi o A e m i l i an u s a n d hi s C le 1 2 4 irc
O cta vian 1 3 7
,

O c tav i u s Ma m i l i u s 4 0
,
Se c l ar ga
u m es 9 3 1 6 7 Cp Lu d , , . . i
,
S a ec u l a r e s
r
S e v i u s T u ll u s 2 7 5 0 i
Pa est m —P o s i d nia 8 u e o , 0
x
S e t u s Po m p ei u s 8 1
, ,

Pare n ta l ia 6 C p R R 8 7 ff , 1 . . . . 1 .

S ylib om c
of 62 C p D el s ing
,

ff i
D Marc h i i
.
, , .
,

R F 3 6 3 99 0 -
1 0 e 1
S i oy l l i n i sclze B l a etter , B e l r in
1 890
. . , .

Pari l ia 4 Cp R F 7 9 85 ;
, 1 1 . . . .
-

ib n rac
S ylli e o les 6 4 ff
,

6 5 ff
.
,
R R . . 1 .

p nc r
S e e rb r He e t 1 7 C Pr i n p
Pa ter Wa l t r e 20
e i t l es o S oc i ol ogy
, , . .

f
, ,

P r sep h n 7 5 C p Pr o serpina
e o e, . .

S to ici
sm the o ffi l s t t e h l o so hy cia a p i p
P h i l so p h r s exp ll d fr o m Ro m
o e e e e
o f Ro m e 1 23 Cp
,

o m m se n M
1 22 3 C p A tt e xii 5 4 7
, 1 2 . . i n .
, a ,
R om a n H i story ( E n l t sl
, .

g ran
. ,

G ell
.

Au l S u eto n
. . 1 5 , 1 1 , 1 .

iv ff
. 201 .

G r a nz m a t 5 S ll a incr a ses th pri sth o d f th

. 2
u e e e o o e
Pi n ar i i 3 5 ,
S ib yll in b o k s 6 7 hi s in fl c e o u en e
Pleb e ian a i l es 7 4 C p R R 2 4 5 ;
ed , . . . .

r el igi n 2 8
on o 1
,

M o m m sen S t t c/ t ii 4 7 , a a sr e z , . 1
S yria d 1 38 Cp R R 3 ea ,
,

00
P l tarc h M l i 5
. . . .

u ,
or a a, 0

P o ll u x 3 7 C p C a sto r ,
. . T ar n t m C o l nia Nep tu i a 8
e u -
o n , 0

P m eri m 3 3 3 4 3 5
o u , , , T ar e n t m in C a m p s Mar ti s 8 9
u u u ,

P o sei d o n 7 9 C p N p t n , . . e u e C p Ric h ter 2 4 ff ; P l a tn r 3

.
,
2 . e , 22
 I NDEX
T ar q u i n an d the o l d w o m an , 65 V arr o , th eo l o gy o f , 1 4 2 . Cp R R . . .

Tarr a ci n a , 9 8 62
p
Tem l u m 4 3 , . Cp .R R 4 03
. . ff . Vest a 3 , 1 . Cp . R R 1 4 1 ff ; D e
. . .

T e rra Ma ter , 90 . Cp R F ,
. . . 2 94 Marc h i Cu l to , P r i v a to 6 4 ff ; , i . .

296 ; R R . . 1 62 R F 1 4 6 ff
. . .

T i be r i sl an d in 8 6
, , a
V es t a n d Au u stu s 1 7 6 1 7 7 Cp g , , . .

T i bu ll u s 1 5 2 , G ar d thau sen A ug u stu s 8 6 8 , ,

T i b u r (T i vo l i ) 3 5 , a irgin
V est l V s 1 58 ,

T ifa t a 5 4
, ic ria
V to p
te m l e o f o n l t e 1 01
, , Pa a in ,

T u sc u l u m 3 9 4 0 , , Virgi l 1 5 , 2

Tyc h e 5 0 , Cp . . Pr ell er -
Ro b e r t ,
V l can
u Cp , 2 1 . . R 209- 2 1 1

G r i eclz .
50 R R 1 8 4 ff
. . .

TH E E ND .

P m n ted l>y R 81 R C L A R K
.
. L I M I T E D , E d m ou r g /z .
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Pr o fe ss o r PE RC Y G A R D NE R , L i tt D . . of the U n i v e si t r y
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of the U n i ve r si ty of M i ch i gan .

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. . .

M A . . S e c o n d I m p r e ss i o n , w i th A p p e n d i x Pa r t I , 5 s . . .

Pa r t I I , 55
. C o m p l e te i n o n e v o l
. 1 os . .

A PPE ND I X r
sep a a t e . IS . n et .

GR E E K A ND R O M A N C O I N S B y G F H I L L, o f . . .

the C o i n s D ep a r t m en t o f the B r i t i sh M u se u m I ll u st r a te d . .

95 .

TH E ROMA N F EST I V A LS OF T H E PE R I O D OF
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A H A N D B O O K O F GR E E K C O N S T I T U T I O N A L
H I S T O RY B y A H J G R E E NI D G E , M A
. W i th M a p . . . . . .

55 .

TH E D E S TR U C T I O N OF ANCIENT RO ME A .

S k etch of t he H i st o ry of the M o n u m en t s . B y RODO L FO

L A NC IA NI . 6s .

ROMA N PU B L I C LI FE . By A . H .
J G R E E
. NI D G E ,

M A . . 1 08 . 6d .

C H R I ST I A N A RT
A R C H /E O L O GY A NDA . H an d
b o o k t o the M o n u m e n t s o f the E a r l y C h u r c h . By W .

L OW R I E M A 1 05,
6d . . . .

GR A M M A R O F GR E E K A RT . B y Pr o fe sso r PE R C Y
G A R D NE R L i tt D I l l u st r a te d
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E XCAVA T I O N S A T M E G A LO PO L I S , 1 8 9 0 1 8 9 1 By E A -
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G A RD N E R W L O R I N G G C R I C H A RD S a n d W J WO O D H O U S E W i t h a n
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, . . .

chi t c t l d cri p t i by R \V S
ar e u ra 4t 5 t es on . . C H U LT Z . o . 2 5 . ne .

ECC L E S I A S T I CA L S I T E S I N I S A U RI A ( C I L I C I A T RAC H EA ) .

B y th R A C HE D
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ev . 5 t . . A LA . e a o . 5 . ne .

PL AN S A ND D RAW I N G S O F A T H EN I AN B U I L D I N G S By .

P f r J H M I DD E N L i tt D E d i t d by Pr f r E A G RD N E R
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L TO ,
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8 v0 .
7 s 6d . . net .

E X C A VA T I O N S A T PH Y L A K O PI I N M E LO S . By T . D .

AT K I N S O N , A C . . B O S A N Q U ET , C C . . E D G A R A J E VA N S ,
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, D . G . HO GA RT H ,

D . M ACK E N Z I E , C SMI d F . T H , an . B . VVE L C H I m p er i a l 8v o . .

3 05 . n et .

JO U R NA L O F H E L L EN I C STU D I E S . 8vo . V o l s 3 08 . . n et .
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Pa r t s 1 5 5 ,
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C A T A LO G U E O F B O O K S IN TH E L I B RA RY OF THE
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PA PE RS OF T H E B R I T I S H S CH O O L A T ROM E . S u p er
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. . . . . of Ro m a n
Bu i ld i n g s. C r o w n 4 to 3 o s n et In S p e ci a l B i n d i n g 3 5 8 n e t
. . .
,
. .

Wor k s by Pr of essor RODOLFO LANCIANI, LL D . .

,

Pr o fe ssor of Ar c haeo l o gy i n the U ni ver si ty of Ro m e .

T H E RU I N S AN D E X CAV A T I O N S O F A NC I EN T ROM E . A
Co m p a n i on fo r S t d t d Tr ll r I ll t r t d Cr w 8
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[New edi ti on i n p r ep a r a ti o n .

ANC I EN T RO M E IN TH E LIG HT OF RECEN T DIS

C O V E R IE S .
4t o . 2 4s .

PA G A N AN D CH RI S T I A N ROM E .
4 to . 2 48 .

NE W T A L E S O F O L D RO M E . I ll u stra ted .
4 to . 2 4s .

M A C M I L L A N A ND c o .
,
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A UT H O R

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1 8 7 5 94