History of Rome, and of the Roman people, from its origin to the invasion of the barbarians . eius is an eloquent exposi-tion of Socratic ethics. 1 Plutarch (Stoic Contradictions) shows the disciples of these two schools sacrificing tothe gods. Yet they, especially Epictetus, opposed divination, which, being personal to theinquirer, had no necessary bond with the established worship, so that to neglect it was norevolt against the State religion. a Origen, Contra Celsum, v. 4. 8 Cf. Maury, Hist. </ s n lig. de la Grece ancienne, iii. 429 et seq. IDEAS. 421 then dominant in the Empire, — Jewi
History of Rome, and of the Roman people, from its origin to the invasion of the barbarians . eius is an eloquent exposi-tion of Socratic ethics. 1 Plutarch (Stoic Contradictions) shows the disciples of these two schools sacrificing tothe gods. Yet they, especially Epictetus, opposed divination, which, being personal to theinquirer, had no necessary bond with the established worship, so that to neglect it was norevolt against the State religion. a Origen, Contra Celsum, v. 4. 8 Cf. Maury, Hist. </ s n lig. de la Grece ancienne, iii. 429 et seq. IDEAS. 421 then dominant in the Empire, — Jewish, Christian, polytheistic,—even from the religions of Chaldaea, of Persia, and perhaps of India,it was neither a philosophy, or rational system, nor a religion; that is to say, a law, a book, a sacred text. In it imagination playedthe principal part, and caused the mind to be exposed to all sortsof adventures. Adepts of a mysterious science which they styleda direct emanation of the divinity, the Gnostics had no body ofdoctrine, and consequently were not united by the bond of a com-. GNOSTIC STONE SERVING FOR AMULET OR mon dogma nor by the discipline of a common church ; accordingly,Gnosticism had numberless aspects. By the side of the grossestpractices was seen the highest spirituality. At bottom, it was aschool of mysticism ; that is, of religious disorder, and sometimesimmorality, by reason of its proud indifference to works. Thus,Basilides taught that the perfect were elevated by the force ofpiety above all law, and that no vice was in their case a was necessarily the mother of numerous heresies which,after having disturbed the Empire, were destined to reappear as avery formidable enemy in the darkest period of the Middle 1 A symbolic medley of Roman beliefs and Egyptian ideas. Crystal, emerald-color, pub-lished by Caylus, llecueil, etc., pi. 65. In the centre Jupiter, with the thunderbolts, surroundedby the Egyptian serpent, ho
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Keywords: ., bookauthorduruyvic, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookyear1883
