Life in the Roman world of Nero and StPaul . gods of Rome there is an gods will support Rome so long as Rome pays tothem their dues of formal recognition. Their ritualmust not be neglected by the authorities; it is notnecessary for an individual member of the communityto concern himself further in the matter. Thestate, through its appointed ministers, will make thenecessary sacrifices and say the necessary words;the citizen need not put in an appearance or takeany part. He will not do or say anything dis-respectful towards the deities in question, and he willenjoy the festiva
Life in the Roman world of Nero and StPaul . gods of Rome there is an gods will support Rome so long as Rome pays tothem their dues of formal recognition. Their ritualmust not be neglected by the authorities; it is notnecessary for an individual member of the communityto concern himself further in the matter. Thestate, through its appointed ministers, will make thenecessary sacrifices and say the necessary words;the citizen need not put in an appearance or takeany part. He will not do or say anything dis-respectful towards the deities in question, and he willenjoy the festivals belonging to them. If remarkableportents and disasters occur, he will agree that thereis something wrong in the behaviour of the state,and that there must be some public purification orother placation of the gods. If the state orders sucha proceeding, he will perform whatever may be hisshare in it. So far he is loyal to the rehgion ofthe state. In his private capacity he has his own wants,fears, and hopes. He therefore betakes himself to. Fig. 112.—Housf;hold (PompeiiJ 375 3-6 LIFE IN THE ROMAN WORLD chap. whatever divinity he considers most likely to helphim; he makes his own prayers and vows an offeringif his request is granted. Reduced to plain commerciallanguage his ordinary attitude is — no success, nopayment. A cardinal difference between the religionof the Romans and our own is to be seen in the natureof their prayers. They always ask for some definiteadvantage — prosperity, safety, health, or the never pray for a clean heart or for some moralimprovement. Of more importance than the mansmoral condition will be his scrupulous observanceof the right external practices. LTnlike the Greek,he will cover his head when he prays. He will raisehis hand to his lips before the statue, or, if he isappealing to the celestial deities, he will stretch hispalms upwards above his head; if to the infernalpowers, he will hold them downwards. These arethe things
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