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Reports on Judaism, Christianity, and Roman Thought: Directions:
Ancient
Near East: Empires from 700-300 BCE Chronology:
Test Questions:
Genesis 1: Judaism vs. Greek Thought: Compare Greek conceptions of the divine with the ancient Hebrew conception
of God?
Genesis 2: Dueling Origins of Man and Woman Myths: Speculate about why the rabbis who compiled the various books of the Bible
chose to include a second creation myth.
The Eden Myth: The Origin of Evil
Genesis 6-9: God Starts Over: Noah and the Flood Why does God decide to decide to destroy his own creation? (What does that
tell you about this early conception of God? How can this God be perfect if
he made a mistake in creating humans?) Genesis 6: The Flood Free Will has led to rampant Blasphemy and Disobedience on
a huge scale, so... Noah's Ark: The Covenant: Noah is chosen because he was a good man.
Thesis Idea: The Flood and The Covenant: Huge emphasis on ethics in Jewish worldview. ·
God
searches the world looking for one righteous person. (Remind you of any
stories we have already studied this year?) ·
God
finds goodness in Noah with whom he establishes a special relationship. ·
The
origin of the covenant: if the chosen people follow God's law, then God will
not destroy the world (again). ·
Mission:
The Jews will protect the world from destruction by teaching ethics. The Jews
are chosen for a special responsibility: to save the world from a second
destruction. Exodus 19-23: The Law: Moses on Mt. Sinai:
The Torah:
Hebrew Law: Moses on Mt. Sinai: The 10 Commandments: ·
a
prophetic vision (unlike the Greek path to truth) ·
Revealed
Truth is divine and beyond human (ie. rational)
comprehension. ·
Prophecy:
the ecstatic experience of a prophet in an altered state of being. The truth
is revealed through a transforming imaginative experience. NOT THROUGH
LOGIC. [18]
And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it
in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the
whole mount quaked greatly. ·
One
God: no idols, no myths but my own. ·
Keep
my name sacred (no name in vain). ·
Keep
the Sabbath holy. ·
Honor
your parents. ·
Thou
Shalt Not: commit murder, theft,
adultery, false witness, covetousness. ·
613
different laws and commandments that we are meant to follow. ·
Very
specific: Kosher, Temple, Prayer. ·
Setting
a legal mould for the daily life of all Jews. ·
Mischief?
Consequence: an eye for an eye ·
Equality?
The under classes have rights too. Thesis Idea: Hebrew Law ·
Fear
and reverence combined. Thou shalt not…. (Ethics) ·
The
Law: Revealed Truth is divine and beyond human (ie.
rational) comprehension. ·
Prophecy:
Truth is revealed through the visionary experience of a prophet in an altered
state of consciousness: a transforming, ecstatic imaginative experience. NOT
THROUGH LOGIC ·
The
Torah: a very specific code for living: applies universally The Prophets: Amos, Isaiah, Isaiah2 Maps of the Holy Land (Powerpoint) Amos: How does the story of Amos reaffirm the Hebrew belief in the essential
nature of revelation as the path to truth? What were the historical events that
surrounded the Babylonian captivity? Prophecy: divine revelation: the direct line to the
truth: beyond rational process. Amos comes out of the desert after having had a vision. He prophesizes the coming destruction of Israel. The people have not followed the laws; they have broken the covenant. Therefore, the Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem is assured! Generations of exile in Babylon must be suffered! Yet after that period of penance and contrition, the temple will be rebuilt. 5:16 Because of
Israel’s sins this is what the Lord, the God who
leads armies, the Sovereign One, says: 9:14 I will bring back my
people, Israel; Isaiah: Written during the captivity in Babylon, Isaiah prophesizes the coming liberation of the Jews and their reunion with God. Prophecy of Jesus? 45:17 Israel will be delivered
once and for all by the Lord; 53:3 He was despised and rejected by people, [2] And it shall come to pass in the last
days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top
of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall
flow unto it. Job: The Problem of Undeserved Suffering How did the writer of this story
revise and improve upon a more ancient legend? Compare the Job Myth with Oedipus Rex: How do these different cultures
respond differently to tragedy? Job and The Problem of Undeserved Suffering: God inflicts a terrible fate upon a righteous
man who sustains his faith and The Revision of the Job Legend: Satan and God debate whether a good man can
keep his faith under adversity: HOWEVER, he finally questions God's
justice: "Why me? Why?" 3:[11] Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly? 7:11
Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak
in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. Who are you to question the ways of God? ... Seen in a whirlwind, Job receives a prophetic vision of God's
truth, a truth beyond good and evil, a
truth which issues from the heart of the universe, at the core of its
structure. Thesis Idea: Job Another Great Essay Question! Compare Job to Oedipus Rex:
Contrast the Hebrew conception of undeserved suffering with the Greek vision
of Tragedy: Judaism Test Questions:
Christianity Test Questions:
3. How does the teaching of Jesus integrate ancient Greek and ancient Hebrew thought? Maps of the Holy
Land (Powerpoint) Matthew, 4-7, The Sermon on the Mount How does Jesus redefine the law? The Sermon on the Mount: a
summary of Christ's ethical teaching. [1] And seeing
the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his
disciples came unto him: [14] Ye
are the light of the world. A city that is set on an
hill cannot be hid. Jesus teaches a new covenant that
transforms and fulfills ancient Hebrew Law:
·
Murder:
even being angry with your brother is liable to judgment. ·
No
longer an eye for an eye: instead, love your enemy; "turn the other
cheek". ·
The
moral: go against your natural, instinctive response. ·
Golden
Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Look inward for the
root of sin: Matthew 5: [5] And when thou prayest,
thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they
love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets,
that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. Matt.7 [1] Judge not, that ye be not judged.
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1.
You
cannot escape from Plato's Cave with reason because Christian truth can
only be perceived through faith. 2.
The
Platonic Ideals (Forms) of Perfect Truth, Perfect Beauty and Perfect
Justice exist with God. 3.
Evil
is the absence of God. Since only good can come from God, evil derives from
human disobedience, from falling away from the light. 4.
The
Universe is dualistic, divided between a perfect heaven and the corrupt
physical world. 5.
Human
nature is similarly dual: our physical bodies are corrupt but our souls can
know God. 6.
All
humankind was lost to corruption with Man's disobedience (The Fall of
Adam), but through God's grace and Jesus’ sacrifice, certain people
have been chosen to be redeemed. 7.
Predestination:
Those who have been damned and those who have been saved have been
preordained, YET we still possess free will, and we should strive to
imitate Jesus. (We have free will, but God knows what we will do.) |
So, for St. Augustine:
·
Life
is a pilgrimage towards God: all nations and all tongues can find their way
to God
·
History
is the unfolding of God's plan and the eventual accomplishment of Christianity’s Mission
·
Since
before the beginning of time, Humanity has been divided into Two Parts: the
elect and the damned.
·
Predestination
and Original Sin
The City of God: A Linear Vision of History
Through this sequence of thought, St. Augustine built the
theology which would dominate Roman Catholicism throughout the Middle Ages.
The Universe is divided into the elect and the damned, into the City of God
and the City of the World, and the struggle between the two unfolds in the
history of civilization. God's triumph is assured. Eventually, the Day of
Judgment will come at the end of time, and perfect justice will be achieved.
City of God (413-426 AD)
Of the nature of the two
cities, the earthly and the heavenly: "there is a city of God, and
its Founder has inspired us with a love which makes us covet its citizenship.
To this Founder of the holy city the citizens of the earthly city prefer
their own gods, not knowing that He is the God of gods, not of false, i.e.,
of impious and proud gods, who, being deprived of His unchangeable and freely
communicated light, and so reduced to a kind of poverty-stricken power,
eagerly grasp at their own private privileges, and seek divine honors from
their deluded subjects; but of the pious and holy gods, who are better pleased
to submit themselves to one, than to subject many to themselves, and who
would rather worship God than be worshipped as God."
...
"Accordingly, two cities have been formed by two loves: the earthly by
the love of self, even to the contempt of God; the heavenly by the love of
God, even to the contempt of self. The former, in a word, glories in itself,
the latter in the Lord. For the one seeks glory from men; but the greatest
glory of the other is God, the witness of conscience."
City of God (413-426 AD)
Of the two lines of the human race which from first to last divide it: "This race we have distributed into two parts, the one consisting of those who live according to man, the other of those who live according to God. And these we also mystically call the two cities, or the two communities of men, of which the one is predestined to reign eternally with God, and the other to suffer eternal punishment with the devil."
Earthly City vs. Heavenly City
Rational wisdom vs. divine reason
Material success vs. spiritual good
Pagan honor vs. Christian faith
Pleasure, virtue vs. eternal life as ultimate good
Original Sin and Predestination:
"each man, being
derived from a condemned stock, is first of all born of Adam evil and carnal,
and becomes good and spiritual only afterwards, when he is grafted into
Christ by regeneration: so was it in the human race as a whole. When
these two cities began to run their course by a series of deaths and births,
the citizen of this world was the first-born, and after him the stranger in
this world, the citizen of the city of God, predestinated by grace, elected
by grace, by grace a stranger below, and by grace a citizen above."
Book XV Chap 14
Concerning the eradication of the love of human praise because all the glory
of the righteous is in God.
Book V, Chap. 15
Concerning the temporal reward which God granted to the virtues of the
Romans.
- ...For as to those who seem to do some good that they may receive glory
from men, the Lord also says, "Verily I say unto you, they have received
their reward."
Book V, Chap. 16
Concerning the reward of the holy citizens of the celestial city,
to whom the example of the virtues of the Romans are useful.
What the Christians believe regarding the Supreme Good and Evil, in
opposition to the philosophers, who have maintained that the Supreme Good is
in themselves.
- Virtue and Pleasure vs. Eternal Life
Book XIX, Chap. 17
What produces peace, and what discord, between the heavenly
and earthly cities.
Book VIII Chap 3 -- OF THE SOCRATIC PHILOSOPHY.
- Critique of Socrates
Book VIII Chap 4 - Concerning Plato
- Does Plato get into heaven, according to Augustine?
Christianity Test Questions
3. How does the teaching of Jesus integrate ancient Greek
and ancient Hebrew thought?
4. What methods did the early church fathers (Peter, Paul and Augustine) use
to successfully spread Christianity?
5. How did St. Augustine solve the theological problem of evil?
Roman Test Questions:
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6.
What do the ancient founding myths of Rome (Romulus and Remus, The Rape of
the Sabine Women, The Suicide of Lucretia, The Execution
of Titus Manlius) teach us about Roman character and values? 7. How did Cicero define the law for the Roman Empire? 8. Explain why Lucretius did not fear death? 10. What vision of the barbarian 'other' did Tacitus create? |
Introduction: An Overview of Roman History
Founded in 753 BC (Topographical
Map)
The Republic:
·
becomes
a republic in 509 BC
·
not
a democracy, but certainly not a monarchy
·
magistrates
were elected who chose two consuls each year
·
power
in the Roman Republic was skewed towards the Senate and aristocracy
·
in
times of civil emergency, dictators would emerge who temporarily were granted
absolute power
Roman Expansion:
·
During
the 4th c., Roman legions conquered the Italian mainland. (The
Rise of Rome 380 B.C.E.)
·
During
the late 3rd c. and the 2nd c. BC, Rome fought three wars with her primary
rival in the Western Mediterranean: Carthage.
·
Roman
and Carthaginian Territories in the Mediterranean 270 B.C.E.
·
The
Mediterranean after the First Punic War 220 B.C.E.
·
The
Second Punic War 219-202 B.C.E.
·
Carthage
fell in 146 BC, the same year that the Romans conquered and colonized Greece.
·
Roman
Domination of the Mediterranean 86 B.C.E.
Internal Politics of Rome: Complicated and Full of Strife
·
Assassination
of Julius Caesar 44 BC.
·
Fears
that Caesar, the great general, would name himself king
·
Power
struggle after Caesar's assasination: Pompey, Marc
Antony, Octavius Caesar
·
Antony
and Cleopatra declare power in the East, Pompey in the West
·
Battle
of Actium 27 BC.
·
Octavius consolidates power and in 27 BC. names himself emperor:
Augustus Caesar
Imperial Rule
·
Augustus
sought to restore old-fashioned Roman values of frugality, hardiness, and
simplicity.
·
He
encouraged the veneration of Rome's ancient ancestors.
·
Deployment
of the Legions C.E. 100
·
Rome
at its Greatest Extent, during the Reign of Emperor Trajan C.E. 116
·
Rome
at the Height of the Crisis of the Third Century 260 C.E.
·
The
Sack of Rome C.E. 410
Livy, The History of Rome from its Foundation
6. What do the ancient founding myths of Rome (Romulus and Remus, The Rape of the Sabine Women, The Suicide of Lucretia, The Execution of Titus Manlius) teach us about Roman character and values?
Explain
how the following myths teach us about the central values of the Roman state:
History
of the Roman Republic
Romulus
and Remus:
The Death of Titus Manlius Torquatus' Son (Commentary)
7. How did Cicero define the law for the Roman Empire?
How did Cicero distinguish between Roman Law, Local Law,
and Natural Law? How would this conception of Natural Law grow into one of
Natural Rights?
What makes this conception of law ideal for the administration of an empire?
Cicero: (106-43 BC) On the Laws:
Natural Law
is inherent everywhere in nature; it is a divine law which provides perfect
justice. This higher law is innate and universal; it exists, as does the
spark of divinity, in all people at all times and in all places.
Book 2: "law was neither a thing to be contrived by the genius of man, nor established by any decree of the people, but a certain eternal principle, which governs the entire universe, wisely commanding what is right and prohibiting what is wrong."
Example: "Again, though in the reign
of Tarquin there was no written law concerning
adultery, it does not therefore follow that Sextus Tarquinius did not offend against the eternal law when he
committed a rape on Lucretia, daughter of Tricipitius.
For, even then he had the light of reason from the nature of things, that
incites to good actions and dissuades from evil ones; and which does not
begin for the first time to be a law when it is drawn up in writing, but from
the first moment that it exists. And this existence of moral obligation is
co-eternal with that of the divine mind."
Distinction between Roman Law vs Civil Law: natural law is based in nature itself (physis); therefore, it applies not only to Romans but to
the conquered people's as well. Civil law (nomos) is local and applies only to the residents of a
particular locality.
"Therefore, as that Divine Mind, or
reason, is the supreme law, so it exists in the mind of the sage, so far as
it can be perfected in man. But with respect to civil laws, which are drawn
up in various forms, and framed to meet the occasional requirements of the
people, the name of law belongs to them not so much by right as by the favor
of the people."
Natural Rights: Everyone everywhere is born with basic, inalienable rights.
"Law is the highest reason, implanted in Nature, which commands what
ought to be done and forbids the opposite. This reason, when firmly fixed and
fully developed in he
human mind, is Law. …. Now if this is correct, then the origin if justice is
to be found in Law, for Law is a natural force; it is the mind and reason of
the intelligent man, the standard by which Justice and Injustice are
measured. (Perry 433)
"However we define man, a single definition will apply to all. This
is a sufficient proof that there is no difference in kind between man and
man; for if there were one, one definition could not be applicable to all
men; and indeed reason, which alone raises us above the level of the beasts
and enables us to draw inferences, to prove and disprove, to discuss and
solve problems, and to come to conclusions, is certainly common to us all,
and, though varying in what it learns, at least in the capacity to learn it
is invariable." (Perry 435)
On the Laws:
·
A
Platonic dialogue on the topic, "What is the ideal law?"
·
All
people are born with the ability to reason. (innate knowledge)
·
Plato:
Reason inheres in nature. All share in the ability to reason. From Reason
comes the law, and from the law comes justice. So Justice derives from the
natural world itself.
·
Law
is universal. (ex. The Rape of Lucretia would be
wrong in all places and all times.)
·
Evil
derives from ignorance of the law.
·
Man
and God are both members of the same commonwealth.
·
Divine
Law= Human Law (Reason)
Thesis
Idea: What
makes this conception of law ideal for the administration of an empire?
Lucretius, On the Nature of Things
(99-50 BC)
8. How did Lucretius teach us to overcome our fear of death and to lead our lives?
Attacks on Religion and Superstition:
Proem:
I fear perhaps thou deemest that we fare
An impious road to realms of thought profane;
But 'tis that same religion oftener far
Hath bred the foul impieties of men:
"religion mothers crime and wickedness" (452)
- example: Agamemnon's sacrifice of Iphigenia
Defense of Reason:
Then be it ours with steady mind to
clasp
The purport of the skies- the law behind
The wandering courses of the sun and moon;
To scan the powers that speed all life below;
But most to see with reasonable eyes
Of what the mind, of what the soul is made,
And what it is so terrible that breaks
On us asleep, or waking in disease,
Until we seem to mark and hear at hand
Dead men whose bones earth bosomed long ago. . . .
Deductive reasoning:
Axiom 1: Nothing comes from nothing
Nothing from nothing ever yet was
born.
Fear holds dominion over mortality
Only because, seeing in land and sky
So much the cause whereof no wise they know,
Men think Divinities are working there.
Meantime, when once we know from nothing still
Nothing can be create, we shall divine
More clearly what we seek: those elements
From which alone all things created are,
And how accomplished by no tool of Gods.
[If they could, apples would grow from orange trees, seeds would spring forth at any time, time and growth would not be of the essence.]
Aristotle's Conception of the Soul:
Each birth goes forth upon the shores of
light
From its own stuff, from its own primal bodies.
And all from all cannot become, because
In each resides a secret power its own.
Again, why see we lavished o'er the lands
At spring the rose, at summer heat the corn,
The vines that mellow when the autumn lures,
If not because the fixed seeds of things
At their own season must together stream,
And new creations only be revealed
When the due times arrive and pregnant earth
Safely may give unto the shores of light
Her tender progenies?
Book 3: Mind and Soul are One:
Mind and soul,
I say, are held conjoined one with other,
And form one single nature of themselves;
Now, of what body, what components
formed
Is this same mind I will go on to tell.
First, I aver, 'tis superfine, composed
Of tiniest particles- that such the fact
Thou canst perceive, if thou attend, from this:
Nothing is seen to happen with such speed
As what the mind proposes and begins;
Now, then,
Since nature of mind is movable so much,
Consist it must of seeds exceeding small
And smooth and round.
Axiom 2: Nature resolves each object to its basic atoms but does not ever utterly destroy it. (454)
Fear of Death is the root of evil in the world.
Therefore death to us
Is nothing, nor concerns us in the least,
Since nature of mind is mortal evermore....
When comes that sundering of our body and soul
Through which we're fashioned to a single state,
Verily naught to us, us then no more,
Can come to pass, naught move our senses then...
And, even if time collected after
death
The matter of our frames and set it all
Again in place as now, and if again
To us the light of life were given, O yet
That process too would not concern us aught,
When once the self-succession of our sense
Has been asunder broken....
...one fixed end
Of life abideth for mortality;
Death's not to shun, and we must go to meet.
Besides we're busied with the same devices,
Ever and ever, and we are at them ever,
And there's no new delight that may be forged
By living on.
[If anything could perish absolutely, it might
suddenly be taken from our sight… from what would new life spring? How would
life sustain itself? Why wouldn't the universe have consumed itself in the
long time it has been around?]
Materialism/ Epicureanism
·
Only
the observation of verifiable facts revealed by the senses can lead to truth.
·
Fear
and uncertainty about the afterlife is the root cause of human problems.
Matter is indestructible.
·
Atoms
are the basic element of the universe, and they combine to take the many
different forms of matter.
·
Although
these forms can be broken down, the atoms are indestructible.
Death should not be feared:
·
We
already know what happens at the moment of death: the body begins to
decompose to its basic elements.
·
Our
true being exists in mind and spirit, and the these
aspects of the self leave at the moment of death. The individual
consciousness does not survive. That cannot be avoided.
·
Even
so, matter is indestructible. Our bodies will be broken down to the basic
elements, and then these elements will combine to create new forms.
·
Life
will come from death. This cycle repeats itself continually.
·
Without
uncertainty, our fear of death should disappear.
Ultimate Good: Human Pleasure
·
Since
the universe is material, the ultimate good is material as well: the
gratification of our senses.
Epicureanism:
·
'Eat,
drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die."
Utilitarianism:
·
The
ultimate good for society is the greatest good for the greatest number of
people:
·
No
god, no universal moral truth, no good and bad, moral relativism: the
Sophists' view of morality
9. How did Marcus Aurelius' personal philosophy combine elements of Stoicism, Epicureanism and Materialism?
Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD)
- last 'good' emperor
- philosopher king (ala Plato's Republic)
- stoicism: (Cicero)
Rome
at its Greatest Extent, during the Reign of Emperor Trajan C.E. 116
Deployment
of the Legions C.E. 100
Plato's philosopher king who ruled in a
universal city to which all peoples were welcome.
Stoicism: the search for universal truth within and without.
Everything in the universe is connected to a higher power, but we cannot ever grasp that truth completely.
He believed in reason but also recognized that reason cannot penetrate the mysteries of the universe.
Therefore, we should focus on our daily lives and take responsibility for our behavior.
The greatest good is happiness on earth, so we should use reason to create the best existence possible.
Moderation of extremes is best.
How did Marcus Aurelius' personal philosophy combine elements of Stoicism, Epicureanism and Materialism?
·
everything
in the universe is connected to everything else
·
universal
law affects all things in all places at all times
·
everything
harmonizes with the universe
·
the
higher power is impossible to describe, so the best man can do is concentrate
on their lives on earth
·
reason
allows you to do what is necessary: duty, citizenship, honor: focus on life
on earth
·
materialism
·
concerned
with the present: everything should be done as if it were your last act
·
Epicureanism:
ultimate good is pleasure: a happy life
·
stoic
conception of soul:
·
simple
principles of life untouchable by the
outside life; only thought can affect it
·
immortal
soul: retirement into soul: a daily meditation
·
the
universe is constantly changing: your life is merely your own soul's
perception of the universe
from Tacitus, Germania
10. What vision of the barbarian 'other' did Tacitus create?
Describe
some of the characteristics of the "barbarian tribes" of Northern
Europe who would eventually conquer the Romans.
[We came to] Germany, with its wild country, its inclement
skies, its sullen manners and aspect.
Ancient [war] songs, [which they sing as they go into battle], are their only way of remembering or recording the past.
All called themselves by this self-invented name of Germans, which the conquerors had first employed to inspire terror.
All have fierce blue eyes, red hair, huge frames, fit only for a sudden exertion. They are less able to bear laborious work. Heat and thirst they cannot in the least endure; to cold and hunger their climate and their soil inure them.
[They are] rich in flocks and herds, but these are for the most part undersized, and even the cattle have not their usual beauty or noble head. It is number that is chiefly valued; they are in fact the most highly prized, indeed the only riches of the people. Silver and gold the gods have refused to them...
They choose their kings by birth, their generals for merit.
What most stimulates their courage is that their squadrons or battalions, instead of being formed by chance or by a fortuitous gathering, are composed of families and clans. Close by them, too, are those dearest to them, so that they hear the shrieks of women, the cries of infants [as they go into battle]....
Mercury is the deity whom they chiefly worship, and on certain days they deem it right to sacrifice to him even with human victims.... The Germans, however, do not consider it consistent with the grandeur of celestial beings to confine the gods within walls, or to liken them to the form of any human countenance. They consecrate woods and groves, and they apply the names of deities to the abstraction which they see only in spiritual worship.
Augury and divination by lot no people practise more diligently....It is peculiar to this people to seek omens and monitions from horses. Kept at the public expense, in these same woods and groves, are white horses, pure from the taint of earthly labour; these are yoked to a sacred car, and accompanied by the priest and the king, or chief of the tribe, who note their neighings and snortings.
When they go into battle, it is a disgrace for the chief to be surpassed in valour, a disgrace for his followers not to equal the valour of the chief. And it is an infamy and a reproach for life to have survived the chief, and returned from the field.
Whenever they are not fighting, they pass much of their time in the chase, and still more in idleness, giving themselves up to sleep and to feasting, the bravest and the most warlike doing nothing.
They are wont also to dig out subterranean caves, and pile on them great heaps of dung shelter from winter and as a receptacle for the year's produce, for by such places they mitigate the rigour of the cold.
They all wrap themselves in a cloak which is fastened with a clasp, or, if this is not forthcoming, with a thorn, leaving the rest of their persons bare.
Almost alone among barbarians they are content with one wife, except a very few among them, and these not from sensuality, but because their noble birth procures for them many offers of alliance. The wife does not bring a dower to the husband, but the husband to the wife.
In every household the children, naked and filthy, grow up with those stout frames and limbs which we so much admire. Every mother suckles her own offspring and never entrusts it to servants and nurses. The master is not distinguished from the slave by being brought up with greater delicacy. Both live amid the same flocks and lie on the same ground till the freeborn are distinguished by age and recognised by merit.
To pass an entire day and night in drinking disgraces no one. Their quarrels, as might be expected with intoxicated people, are seldom fought out with mere abuse, but commonly with wounds and bloodshed. Yet it is at their feasts that they generally consult on the reconciliation of enemies, on the forming of matrimonial alliances, on the choice of chiefs, finally even on peace and war, for they think that at no time is the mind more open to simplicity of purpose or more warmed to noble aspirations.
One and the same kind of spectacle is always exhibited at every gathering. Naked youths who practise the sport bound in the dance amid swords and lances that threaten their lives. Experience gives them skill and skill again gives grace; profit or pay are out of the question; however reckless their pastime, its reward is the pleasure of the spectators.
Roman Test Questions:
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6.
What do the ancient founding myths of Rome (Romulus and Remus, The Rape of
the Sabine Women, The Suicide of Lucretia, The
Execution of Titus Manlius) teach us about Roman character and values? 7. How did Cicero define the law for the Roman Empire? 8. Explain why Lucretius did not fear death? 10. What vision of the barbarian 'other' did Tacitus create? |