CHAPTER IV.

THE RELIGIOUS REVIVAL pages 195-265

I. New views respecting the civilisation of the Roman empire, 195—Prejudices formerly entertained by its historians, 196—The literary bias, 197—Evidence of intellectual and moral progress supplied by the study of jurisprudence and epigraphy, 197—The new school of historians, 198—The vitality of polytheism much greater than was formerly supposed, 199—notwithstanding the scepticism of the most distinguished Roman writers, 199—opposed as they were by a large and increasing body of religious belief, 200.

II. Revival of religious authority under Augustus, 200—Feeling of the provincials, 201—Isolated position of Horace, 201—The spread of religious beliefs checked by the political organisation of the old city-state, 202—and encouraged by the Roman conquest, 203—Sceptical tendencies of the city-aristocracies, 204—the higher classes more favourable than the people to free thought down to the time of the French Revolution, 205.

III. Dissociation of wealth from education under the empire, 206—Stupidity and credulity of the centurions, 207—Ever-increasing influence exercised by women, 208—and indirectly by children, 210—Slavery and religion, 211—The social despotism of the empire destructive to intellectual independence, 211—Causes which prevented the formation of a new aristocracy, 213.

IV. Nature-worship as a universal religion, 214—Isis and Serapis, 215—Mithras and the worship of the heavenly bodies, 215—Spread of Judaism in Rome and elsewhere, 216—The Holy Land and the Sabbath, 218—Continued devotion paid to the Olympian deities, 219—Elasticity of Graeco-Roman polytheism, 219—Development of indigenous superstition, 220.

V. Oracular character of the pagan religions, 221—Effect produced by the intellectual movement in Greece, 221—Popular belief remains stationary or becomes retrograde: Deisidaimonia, 222—Faith in omens among the educated classes under Augustus, 223—Conversion of an infidel by the oracle of Mopsus, 224—Alexander of Abonuteichus and his dupes, 224.

VI. Belief in prophetic dreams: the work of Artemidôrus, 227—Conversion of an Epicurean, 229—The fighting-cock of Tanagra, 229—Piety displayed by animals, 230—Increased reverence paid to Asclêpius and Heracles, 230—Aristeides the rhetor, 231—Deification of mortals, 232.

VII. The doctrine of immortality, 233—Epicurean epitaphs, 233—Attitude of the Stoics and Peripatetics, 234—Opinions of literary and scientific men, 234—Epitaphs testifying to the popular belief in a future life, 235—Articles found in tombs, 236—Evidence afforded by figured representations, 237—Frequency of ghostly apparitions, 240.

VIII. Reaction of supernaturalism on philosophy, 241—Decline of Epicureanism, 241—Religious tendencies of Stoicism: Seneca, 241—Complete substitution of theology for physics by Epictêtus, 243—Why he rejected the doctrine of human immortality, 244—Superstition of Marcus Aurelius, 245—Decomposition of Stoicism: the Cynic revival, 246—Neo-Pythagoreanism: its temporary alliance with Stoicism, 247—and subsequent return to the spiritualism of Plato and Aristotle, 248—The Neo-Pythagorean creed, 249.

IX. Advantages possessed by Platonism in the struggle for existence, 250—Great extent of its influence, 250—The Platonist daemonology, 251—Conflicting tendencies in Plutarch’s writings, 253—Unmixed superstition of Maximus Tyrius and Apuleius, 254—A prose hymn to Isis, 255—Combination of philosophy with Oriental theology, 256—Philo and the Logos, 257—Dualistic pessimism of the Gnostics, 259.

X. Superficial analogy between modern Europe and the Roman empire, 261—Analysis of the points on which they differ, 262—Growth and influence of physical science, 264—Spread of rationalism through all classes of society, 265.