. The grandeur that was Rome; a survey of Roman culture and civilisation:. abstrac-tions of Zeno the Stoic into something more than a philosophy,into a faith which had a power to influence conduct far beyondthe power of the State system of half-Greek Olympian the power and the sincerity of a religion may be testedrather by its mart)rs than by its proselytes, Stoicism had aworthy record. Men like Thrasea Psetus, Helvidius Priscus, andBarea Soranus were facing the tyrants frown for the sake oftheir Stoic sense of duty, just as truly as Peter and Polycarp. The attitude of the Roman Govern
. The grandeur that was Rome; a survey of Roman culture and civilisation:. abstrac-tions of Zeno the Stoic into something more than a philosophy,into a faith which had a power to influence conduct far beyondthe power of the State system of half-Greek Olympian the power and the sincerity of a religion may be testedrather by its mart)rs than by its proselytes, Stoicism had aworthy record. Men like Thrasea Psetus, Helvidius Priscus, andBarea Soranus were facing the tyrants frown for the sake oftheir Stoic sense of duty, just as truly as Peter and Polycarp. The attitude of the Roman Government towards Christianityhas been too often explained to need more than a brief re-capitulation. At first Christianity was confounded withJudaism, which had already begun to make converts at Romewithout seeking for them. The Roman government was ex-traordinarily tolerant towards creed, but it demanded anexternal compliance with the Ceesar-worship, which it wasimposing on the provinces as a test of loyalty. But theChristians did not take the divine command render unto300. o p < O u HQ o Sw H OI THE GROWTH OF THE EMPIRECaesar the things that are Caesars to include scattering incenseon his altars. Too many of them had been brought up in thepunctilious exclusiveness of the Jewish tradition for them todisplay on such points the laxity which is sometimes calledbroad-mindedness. Even in the private intercourse of sociallife the Christians were unpleasantly apt to insist upon theirscruples. The meat in the butchers shops had often beenslain in sacrifice, and the Christian conscience revolted at meat offered to idols. The libation with which the wine-cup started on its rounds was another offence to the tendermonotheistic conscience. These things made the Christiansunpopular. Their close associations, their secret meetings andlove-feasts, the communism which they practised, all arousedthe suspicions which are begotten of mystery. Lastly, theirconviction that the Second Coming and the
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