by Sanderson Beck
After winning the civil war
against Antony and Cleopatra in
30 BC,
Octavian Caesar gained Egypt as his private domain and
soon consolidated his power as imperator over an empire
of a hundred million people.
He was given the name Augustus,
and
he managed to keep the peace and reduce the army.
By 23 BC he
was truly Emperor
as he could convene the Senate,
propose legislation,
and oversee the judiciary while
he personally controlled Egypt,
Gaul, Spain,
and Syria through his governors.
He reinstituted
election of city magistrates
and tried to control bribery.
Any
rebellions were suppressed by force.
Augustus was elected censor
of morals,
and Ovid's books were removed from libraries.
Augustus
sponsored public games and boasted that
3,500 African beasts had
been slaughtered.
He reduced the public dole in Rome to 200,000,
and he attempted unsuccessfully to increase the population
with
social laws promoting marriage and family.
Germans in the west
managed
to become independent of the empire.
After his grandsons
died, Augustus was succeeded
by his adopted son Tiberius in 14
CE.
In a national epic Virgil's Aeneid portrayed early Rome
as a
heritage from ancient Trojan warriors.
Their enmity with
Carthage is derived from Aeneas betraying
Queen Dido, and the
afterlife is portrayed in a Platonic manner
with rewards and punishments
according to divine justice.
Horace wrote poetic satires, odes,
and epistles criticizing those
who seek wealth and favoring ethical
values of moderation.
His letter on the art of poetry is a classic
on esthetic taste that values moral sense.
Propertius wrote poetry
about his experience in love; but it was
the poet Ovid, who really
taught the Art of Love to the Romans.
His advice is frank and
detailed.
He also wrote on the remedies for those
who have suffered
from love.
In his poem Metamorphoses Ovid retold numerous
myths and
legends showing how life's changes teach us; but the
obvious
faults of the gods and goddesses would make Roman religion
vulnerable to a more philosophical theology.
For having offended
the moralistic Augustus,
Ovid had to spend his last years in bitter
exile.
Tiberius (r. 14-37) maintained the Roman empire
as Germanicus
overcame the resistance in Germany.
Tiberius then sent his rival
Germanicus to Syria,
where he was probably poisoned by Piso.
Tiberius
held on to his power with numerous
treason trials and executions.
For his last ten years he ruled from retirement at Capri,
where
he seems to have engaged
in perversions with his successor Caligula.
King Herod ruled Judea from 37 BC to his death in 4 BC
and
used his friendship with Augustus to increase his power.
He used
taxes for extensive building but later lowered taxes
to regain
popularity with those who criticized him
for supporting pagan
religion.
Herod was very suspicious of conspiracies
and had several
of his relatives executed.
He was succeeded by his son Archelaus,
who ruled for
ten years during which the Roman army
had to suppress
Jewish rebellions.
In 6 CE Augustus banished Archelaus
and appointed
a prefect to govern Judea.
Aside from the revolutionary zealots,
there were three sects
in Judaism in this era.
The largest group was the liberal Pharisees,
and their outstanding teachers were the
tolerant Hillel and the
strict Shammai.
Hillel emphasized love, peace, and learning.
The
Sadducees were more conservative aristocrats
and did not believe
in immortality.
The mystical Essenes definitely believed souls
are eternal,
and they shared their property in community
so that
none were rich or poor.
Some of the Essene men lived in a community
by the
Dead Sea, where they left writings found in 1947 that
describe
their purification practices and spiritual rules
for living in
the community.
Two years of training were required
before one
could become a regular member.
They expected the Messiah to come
and help the children
of light defeat the children of darkness.
This Essene community was destroyed by the Romans
during the Jewish
revolt in 68 CE.
Philo Judaeus of Alexandria also described the ethical lives
of the Essene community as well as
the Jewish therapeutae in
Egypt.
Philo wrote extensively about Jewish law, always emphasizing
ethics and the virtues that bring freedom
over slavery that comes
from desires.
Philo criticized Flaccus, the Roman governor of
Egypt,
and described his own attempted embassy
to Emperor Caligula
that was ignored.
In Judea John the Baptist taught repentance and baptized
people
as a single converting experience
rather than as a regular ritual.
Jesus was baptized by John and called twelve disciples.
He also
taught repentance and forgiveness of sins,
and he astounded people
by healing the sick, expelling demons,
perceiving their thoughts,
and performing other miracles.
Jesus preached with authority the
sovereignty of God
and a spiritual ethics of love.
He went beyond
the justice of the law to mercy, patience,
and even loving one's
enemies.
Jesus exhorted people to seek God and do what is right
rather than worry about money and physical things.
Jesus often
taught in parables that used
practical metaphors for spiritual
teachings.
The expansion of heaven is like a seed, but it must
be nurtured
to bear fruit; for many seeds die on the path or in
the rocks
or are strangled by the weeds of materialism.
Jesus
sent out his disciples to preach also
and instructed them not
to acquire money.
Peter recognized the Christ in Jesus; but in
the next moment
Jesus said that Satan had taken hold of him because
he could not accept that Jesus would be killed.
Jesus taught them
to forgive and to pray persistently.
He criticized the scholars
and Pharisees
but was well received by the poor.
Jesus prophesied that he would be killed
but would rise again
on the third day.
During the Passover festival he was welcomed
into Jerusalem,
where he taught in the temple
after driving out
those doing business.
He cleverly answered treacherous questions,
taught parables
of the sovereignty of God, criticized the hypocrisy
of some,
and prophesied the difficult times ahead that in a war
would
destroy the temple, which did in fact occur in 70 CE.
Jesus
celebrated the Passover with his disciples and explained
that
his body and blood were being sacrificed for them.
Their partaking
of bread and wine in this way would become
the central ritual
of the new religion, giving believers a symbolic
but tangible
experience of their oneness with Christ and
providing a more spiritual
substitute for the old animal sacrifices.
Jesus demonstrated his
teachings of loving enemies by not
resisting by any means of violence
during his arrest, trial, and punishment.
Luke makes clear that
the main reason why he was crucified
by the Romans was because
he told people not to pay tax
to Caesar, and others indicated
that they feared
he might lead a revolt as the king of the Jews.
The amazing ability of Jesus to heal his body and return to it
even after death astounded his followers
and proved to them his
divinity.
John added more spiritual concepts of the Christ as Logos
or meaning of the universe and emphasized
the teaching of loving
one another.
The book of Revelation is an angry prophecy
directed against
the persecuting Roman empire that would be overcome
and
transformed by the Christians in the coming centuries
before
a millennium of Christian culture.
Another disciple, Thomas, carried
the
teachings of Jesus to Parthia and India.
His collection of
sayings by Jesus was found in Egypt
and emphasizes knowing God.
Thus these heterodox sects were called Gnostics.
The Gospel
of the Ebionites indicates
that some of them were vegetarians.
After having seen the resurrected Jesus, the disciples met
and
elected Matthias to replace Judas Iscariot, who had committed
suicide when he saw what happened to Jesus.
Ten times the twelve
disciples were present fifty days after the
Passover when the
Holy Spirit enabled them to speak
in many languages and understand
the teachings.
Peter was accepted as the leader, and he advised
them
to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Three thousand
people were baptized that day
and joined the fellowship by sharing
their possessions.
Peter helped a lame beggar walk and began to
preach,
reprimanding those who had not believed Jesus.
Peter was
questioned by the Council but was released.
However, the Council
had Stephen stoned to death as the
rabbi Saul approved.
Saul then
arrested many followers.
Peter criticized Simon for offering money
for the Holy Spirit,
and this corruption came to be called simony.
Saul was on his way to arrest followers in Damascus
when he was
struck down, heard a voice, and was blind
for three days, during
which time
he accepted Jesus as Christ.
Saul changed his name
to Paul,
and now he had to flee from the Jews.
Peter had a vision
he could eat all kinds of animals,
and he also ate with the uncircumcised.
James, the brother of Jesus, was another important leader,
and
a letter attributed to him emphasized
the importance of works
as well as faith.
Paul and Barnabas preached in Antioch, where the followers
were first called Christians.
Paul traveled, preached, and wrote
letters to congregations of
converts in major cities such as Philippi,
Thessalonica, Athens,
Corinth, Ephesus, and Rome,
developing his
theology of Christ as savior.
When Paul returned to Jerusalem,
he was beaten and arrested.
Brought before the governor at Caesarea,
Paul as a Roman citizen appealed to Caesar.
Paul was taken to
Rome, where he preached for two years
while under house arrest.
About 64 both Paul and Peter
were executed by Roman authority.
Paul preached that Christians should overcome temptations
such
as lust, anger, and greed.
He recommended marriage
but advised
women to submit to their husbands.
Some Christians became martyrs when they refused to give up
their new religion and worship the Roman gods and Emperor.
Clement
was the third bishop of Rome from 92 to 101,
and he urged the
Christians to follow
what their majority commands.
Emperors Trajan
and Hadrian did not allow the hunting of
Christians but accepted
that they must be punished
if they refused to deny their religion.
Valentinus taught a Gnostic doctrine in Rome, and in 144
Marcion
was excommunicated for having similar views.
Gnostic works were
excluded when the New Testament
was codified by the end
of the second century.
The martyrdom of Polycarp at Smyrna about
155
so moved people by his faith that
the proconsul suspended
the persecution.
A popular allegory called The Shepherd of
Hermas
was read aloud in many churches.
Justin Martyr was converted by witnessing the faith of martyrs
and wrote a philosophical defense of Christianity for
Emperor
Antoninus Pius and the Roman Senate to make them
aware of the
evil done so that they would stop doing it.
Justin argued that
Christians should be judged
for what they do, not merely for their
name.
In 165 Justin and other Christians were beheaded
for refusing
to sacrifice to the Roman gods.
Tatian (110-172) studied with
Justin Martyr at Rome and
founded an ascetic sect emphasizing
self-control called the
Encratites; they refrained from marriage,
eating meat, and drinking wine.
The Athenian Athenagoras was another
philosopher who was
converted to Christianity, and he sent a defense
of the new
religion to the emperors Marcus Aurelius
and Commodus
about 177.
The short reign (37-41) of Caligula quickly degenerated
as
his behavior became more uncontrolled and irrational
until he
was finally murdered.
The bribed praetorian guard made Claudius Emperor,
and he proved to be more than the dolt people thought
he was.
Claudius allowed the freed slaves Pallas and Callistus
to
acquire immense wealth as they administered
the finances and
judicial petitions.
Claudius invaded Britain and established Roman
government
there, and he generally tolerated Jews in the empire.
Claudius believed that Rome's empire fared better than
Athens and Sparta had,
because they extended citizenship on the frontiers.
He restrained his Syrian governor from intervening in conflicts
between the Armenians, Iberians, and Parthians.
After his wife
Messalina was executed for treason,
Claudius married Agrippina;
but she apparently poisoned him
so that her son Nero could be
Emperor.
Nero was only 16 when he began to rule in 54; but he was
dominated
by his mother Agrippina and was assisted by the
philosopher Seneca,
who became quite wealthy.
Nero had the harbor restoration begun
by Claudius completed.
At first he banned capital punishment,
but in 61 the execution
of slaves was allowed.
However, when his
debauchery and extravagant gifts exhausted
the treasury, like
Caligula, Nero became a ruthless tyrant.
The Roman army maintained
imperial
control from Britain to Syria.
Nero had his mother Agrippina
murdered in 59 and his wife
Octavia three years later.
Seneca
no longer could restrain Nero and retired.
Accused of wanting
Rome destroyed so that he could rebuild
it in his image, Nero
blamed the catastrophic fire of 64
on the Christians, who called
him the anti-Christ.
A plot against him was squelched in 65,
and
Seneca was ordered to commit suicide that year.
The megalomaniac
Nero was finally murdered in 68
as he was being replaced by Governor
Galba from Spain.
Seneca wrote eight gory tragedies based on Greek plays
that show family members murdering each other
for power and because
of jealousy.
Octavia dramatizes Seneca's attempt to stop
Nero from
murdering his wife; it was probably written
by an imitator
soon after Seneca's death.
In his philosophical writings Seneca popularized Stoicism.
He distinguished virtues from good fortune
and believed
the good never suffer evil but only misfortune.
While
in exile at Corsica in 41 Seneca wrote a letter of
consolation
to his mother Helvia, saying the wise are not
elated by prosperity
nor depressed by adversity.
Most influential was his long essay On Anger,
a temporary insanity.
The remedy is reasoned
judgment to prevent taking revenge.
In addition to many letters
in which he often discussed
the moral life, Seneca wrote essays
on providence, firmness,
tranquility of mind, clemency, the happy
life, and benefits.
He always emphasized developing virtue
and
control over the passions.
He admitted that his acquiring of great
wealth was not
of the best, but he believed riches teach moderation,
liberality, diligence, orderliness, and grandeur.
In Judea conditions deteriorated as brigandage increased,
and
governor Florus took 17 talents from the Temple as taxes.
In 65
Jews refused to pay taxes, and the Zealots
took control of the
fortress at Masada.
The Jewish war against Rome began the next
year in
Jerusalem with a civil war as the Zealots took over the
city.
Vespasian refrained from attacking
divided Jerusalem for
two years,
but by 70 amid famine Josephus recorded that a million
Jews
had died as the Romans captured Jerusalem.
Masada held out
for three more years,
and then 960 people there committed suicide.
As the Sanhedrin dissolved, the Sadducean party disappeared.
In
synagogues ordinances and their interpretations
were studied as Midrash and Talmud.
The struggle for the imperial throne in 69
also caused a civil
war.
Otho became Emperor as Galba was beheaded,
but he committed
suicide three months later.
Large numbers were killed, because
quarter was refused.
Vitellius exhausted the treasury and sympathy
by his torturing and executions.
During these civil wars many
provincials were given citizenship.
In the year 69 Vitellius
was replaced by Vespasian,
who ruled for ten years until 79.
He
increased taxes and consolidated the empire while granting
Latin
rights to Spain; his honest justice and reforms
restored civility
in the empire.
Titus, son of Vespasian, was Emperor for two years
but also
died of illness and was succeeded by his brother Domitian,
who crushed rebellions using military force.
Domitian (r. 81-96) strictly
enforced laws and increased
military pay while reducing the number
of troops.
However, his extortions, confiscation of property,
and many
executions eventually led to his being murdered in 96.
The decline of literature is lamented in the
anonymous treatise On the Sublime.
Chaereas and Callirhoe is the earliest
Hellenistic
adventure novel and celebrated romantic love.
In Seneca's Apocolocyntosis
Augustus condemns Claudius to hell.
The
Satyricon by Petronius described
the debauchery of Nero's
Rome.
Persius died young but left behind Satires exposing
how
unphilosophical most people are, and Martial used wit
to make
fun of Romans in his Epigrams.
In Civil War Lucan
wrote of Julius Caesar's
"legality conferred on crime;"
but it was unfinished,
because he was forced by Nero to commit
suicide at age 25.
Statius in Thebaid described the fratricidal
war between
the sons of Oedipus in which even the gods
are petty
and promote war.
Quintilian's Education of an Orator systematically analyzes
good education from the study of grammar
to the subtleties of
oratory.
Quintilian emphasized the development of character and
the
importance of the teacher's example.
The historian Tacitus
also wrote a dialog on oratory in which
he lamented that rhetoric
had declined since the era of Cicero
because of the authoritarian
empire.
Yet the emphasis on rhetoric
reflected the importance
of Roman law.
Apollonius was born in Tyana of Cappadocia
about the same year
as Jesus.
He was educated by a Pythagorean and decided to abstain
from meat, wine, and women.
He spent five years in silence and
was said to know
all languages including those of animals.
He
held to his prayer to have little and want nothing.
He traveled
to Babylon and advised its king on his way
to India, where he
went to learn.
Apollonius advised Vespasian to rule with generosity
and
self-restraint; he believed land was polluted by war,
and
he recommended appointing governors by merit.
Apollonius went
to Rome and was arrested by Domitian
but was acquitted.
He advised
his disciples to be free of
jealousy, spite, hatred, slander,
and enmity.
Nerva (r. 92-98) was the first emperor freely selected by the
senate,
and he quickly reformed the abuses of Domitian and
selected the
capable Spaniard Trajan to succeed him.
Trajan (r. 98-117) won two wars against
Dacia and
appropriated their considerable amounts of gold and
silver.
In the Senate the younger Pliny praised Trajan's lawfulness
in contrast to Domitian.
Trajan continued the child welfare program
begun by Nerva.
Trajan invaded Armenia, and in 116 CE
many Jews
were killed in rebellions.
Dio was born in Prusa of Bithynia and became known as
Chrysostom (meaning "golden mouth") for his oratorical skill.
Dio
admired Diogenes and lived like a poor Cynic,
traveling and doing
manual labor.
In his Discourses he argued against flattery
and for truthfulness.
He considered it a sign of fear to carry
a weapon.
He said slavery results from self-indulgence,
greed,
and ambition.
He argued against war and urged cities to cooperate
with each other in friendship,
because enmity is very disadvantageous
for all.
He brought concessions from Emperor Trajan
to Prusa and
promoted civic improvements.
He believed prostitution was shameful
and should be illegal.
Plutarch wrote extensively, and 48 of his biographies
of noble
Greeks and Romans still exist.
In his ethical essays he applied
Plato's philosophy,
emphasizing the importance of using reason
to rule the more sensual emotions.
He recommended studying poetry
as a preparation for philosophy.
Self-knowledge is the best defense
against deceptive flattery.
True friendship is virtuous, intimate,
and useful.
He blamed civil discord and despotism
on luxury and
extravagance.
He believed the greedy and avaricious
suffer from
"mental poverty."
Plutarch argued against the eating
of meat.
Epictetus was born to a slave woman but was educated
in Rome
by the Stoic Musonius Rufus,
because his master was Nero's secretary.
Epictetus gained his freedom and taught philosophy.
He left Rome
when Domitian banned
philosophers from Italy in 89.
He taught
in Epirus while living very simply.
Epictetus was a Stoic and
advised using the rational faculty
for differentiating what is
within our power from what is not.
What can be controlled by will
is what is within our power;
all else is external.
Epictetus encouraged
people to be citizens of the world
or cosmopolitan, because we
are all
part of one community and children of God.
Only the educated
are truly free.
In addition to learning, study and practice
are
required to change bad habits.
Only those who understand the good
know how to love.
All experience is a challenge to our goodwill,
a test, and education.
When something is taken away, remember
that God gives all.
Even when Epictetus was a slave, he believed
he was free,
because he controlled his own will.
Hadrian (r. 117-138) was governor of Syria at Antioch
when
Trajan adopted him as his heir.
Hadrian abandoned the territories
in Armenia, Mesopotamia,
and Assyria that Trajan had annexed.
Hadrian forgave debts owed the imperial treasury
for the past
fifteen years, and he made
Roman administration more professional.
Salvius Julianus codified the laws now made by imperial edicts.
Some rights of minors, women, and slaves were protected;
but the
law differentiated an upper class (honestiores)
from the
lower (humiliores).
The wealthy tended to control regional
governments,
and hereditary aristocracy developed.
Hadrian tightened
military discipline and attended to problems
personally by traveling,
reducing rebellions.
However, his prohibiting circumcision provoked
a revolt
led by the Messianic Simon Bar-Kochba in Judea,
and Dio
Cassius reported that 580,000 were killed
by war and famine from
132 to 135.
Hadrian chose the wealthy senator Aurelius Antoninus
to succeed him and had him adopt young Marcus Aurelius.
Antoninus used his imperial army to crush rebellions
in various
places and had a wall built in Britain.
He demanded only moderate
tribute,
and confiscations became rare.
Corrupt administrators
were prosecuted, and their children
regained their estates if
the money
was returned to the provincials.
Antoninus was praised
for managing the empire well from Rome.
Marcus Aurelius had been
trained to be
emperor by Antoninus, who died in 161.
Marcus shared
his throne with Lucius Commodus,
who went to Antioch to command
a war against the Parthians.
Marcus limited gladiatorial spectacles
and ruled moderately,
rewarding good and pardoning bad.
Lucius
died in 168, and Marcus used diplomacy
to resolve wars with invading
Germans
while a plague devastated the empire.
While fighting in
the north Marcus was treated for illness
with opium by the physician
Galen.
Marcus made his son Commodus co-Emperor in 177
and was
succeeded by him three years later.
Marcus Aurelius wrote down thoughts to himself, beginning
with the character traits he learned from others,
and describing his
ideas on living according to reason,
Nature, and the will of heaven.
He endeavored to serve justice and the common good.
He suggested
thinking of the universe
as an organic whole with one soul.
We
are made to help each other,
but each person's self has sovereign
rights.
In considering any action one should ask
what the consequences
may be.
Juvenal in his Sixteen Satires exposed the moral laxity
of Rome, and lamented how much dishonesty had increased
so as
to become more common than honesty.
The novels of the second century
indicate
the popularity of the Isis cult.
Apuleius in The Golden
Ass described how Lucius
has to experience the animal nature
when magic makes him into an ass;
but after many experiences and
a digression on
Cupid and Psyche, he is restored by the goddess
Isis
and begins to purify himself for initiation
and its mystical
experience.
Lucian became a lawyer but earned his living lecturing
and
wrote humorous stories, dialogs, and essays that parodied
various philosophical schools, religious cults,
and Roman myths, even how the unscrupulous could take
advantage of Christians who
shared their possessions.
Commodus ended the frontier wars
of his father Marcus Aurelius; but he was extremely
corrupt in his debauchery and had many people
executed for their wealth.
The physician Galen studied human anatomy
and catalogued numerous drugs.
Finally the tyrannical Commodus
was murdered by his wife Marcia.
Pertinax reversed the corruption
and oppression but was
murdered after 86 days by soldiers
no longer
allowed to plunder.
The wealthy Julianus grabbed imperial power in March 1893
but was
executed by the senate after 66 days.
That year five men claimed to be Emperor of Rome.
Then commander
Septimius Severus was
Emperor until he died in 211.
Severus invaded the Parthians in an expensive
campaign and subjugated Byzantium.
In a civil war he defeated
the rebellion of Albinus.
Severus paid soldiers well; but in the
empire
slaves were mistreated, and bandits thrived.
Severus was succeeded by his son
Caracalla,
who murdered his brother Geta
and 20,000 he suspected of supporting
him.
Caracalla doubled soldiers' pay
but debased coins and doubled
taxes.
Citizenship was extended to all free men to gain tax.
The
adulterer Caracalla executed adulterers and pursued
a treacherous
foreign policy until he was assassinated
and replaced by Praetorian
Prefect Macrinus in 217.
He alienated the army and was killed in 218.
Elagabalus became Emperor; but he was so degenerate
that soldiers
killed him four years later.
The Roman senate made Alexander Severus
Emperor in 222 at age 13.
Ulpian reformed Roman law but was killed by
praetorians
who resented their loss of privileges.
Alexander ended
the abuses of Elagabalus and applied
the golden rule with religious
tolerance.
The Persian Sasanian dynasty tried to regain its empire.
The army mutinied against the discipline of
Alexander Severus
and killed him in 235.
In the next half century many Emperors
struggled for power,
subdued rebellions, and fought wars with
invading Persians,
Goths, and Germans, all of which caused famines,
plagues,
and disruption of agriculture and commerce.
The Patriarch Judah unified a compendium
of oral traditions
as the Mishnah.
Irenaeus mediated the dispute over the
mystical Montanists
and refuted doctrines of the Gnostics.
Tertullian wrote a defense of Christianity for the Roman rulers,
arguing
that killing innocent martyrs converts even more
like himself,
and he argued against
killing in war and for patience.
Clement
of Alexandria wrote
The Exhortation to Conversion.
His
Educator aimed at developing ethical habits,
and in Miscellanies
he applied philosophy to
encourage Christians to gain knowledge.
Origen succeeded his teacher Clement.
His mother prevented him
from becoming a martyr
when his father was beheaded in 202.
Origen
castrated himself so as to instruct
freely young female catechumens.
He was tortured during the Decian persecution.
In On Principles
Origen implied that souls exist before birth,
and their bodies
reflect their previous experiences.
He believed all souls, even
fallen angels or devils,
will be restored through Christ eventually.
In a long work Origen answered the criticisms of Christianity
by the Epicurean Celsus, arguing that
Christianity makes its adherents
act more ethically.
Hippolytus criticized bishops of Rome and
caused a schism.
After the Decian persecution of Christians (249-251)
penance was given to those who had accepted Roman rituals,
and
controversy split the church over the lapsed Christians.
The prophet Mani was born in Babylonia in 216
and taught a
dualistic religion in Persia.
He died in prison in 274 or 277,
and his disciples spread
his religion even though they were persecuted
by Persian and Roman officials.
Mani taught liberation from reincarnation
through purification
and recognized Zarathustra, Buddha, and Jesus
as previous messengers of God.
He wrote books, but most of them
were eventually lost.
Plotinus (205-270) developed the philosophy of
Neo-Platonism
in his Enneads.
He concentrated on the soul, purifying
the lower self
by practicing virtue and then using dialectic to
transcend
the emotions and approach God.
His student Porphyry
wrote biographies of Plotinus
and Pythagoras, promoted the philosophy
of Plato
and Aristotle, and tried to purify Roman religion.
The Greek novels Daphnis and Chloe by Longus,
The
Ethiopian Story by Heliodorus,
the Alexander Romance,
and
The Story of Apollonius King of Tyre indicate that
romance adventures were becoming popular,
and they affirm the
value of chastity before marriage.
Emperor Diocletian (r. 284-305) was supported by Maximian,
Galerius, and Constantius with more legions
than ever,
and they suppressed rebellions in the empire.
Diocletian implemented
wage and price controls in 301.
Galerius persuaded Diocletian
to force Christians to sacrifice
or be punished, and Diocletian
retired in 305.
The next year Constantine (r. 306-337) was acclaimed
Emperor by his army in Britain while for several years
rival Emperors
struggled for power.
While persecution continued in the East,
in the West Christianity was more tolerated.
In 312 Constantine
had a vision to conquer by the cross,
and the Senate declared
him Augustus.
The next year Constantine and Licinius agreed on
religious tolerance throughout the empire;
but after Licinius
banned church councils and meetings,
the army of Constantine defeated
him.
The era of persecuting Christians ended in 324,
and Byzantium
was rebuilt as Constantinople.
The power of the emperor had increased,
and Constantine instituted
reforms; but wealthy landowners
relied on slave labor, and many
professions became hereditary.
Constantine promoted Christians
and prohibited sacrifices,
but he did not compel people to be
Christian.
He called the Council of Nicaea in 325
to settle the
Arian controversy.
Constantine urged unity and banned heretics
from meeting.
He detested Jews and prohibited them
from owning
Christian slaves.
Lactantius in his Divine Institutes urged
practice of the
Christian virtues, whether one was rich or poor.
True wealth is doing good, while the selfish are poor.
Lactantius
noted that Emperors who persecuted Christians
soon were killed,
and he exulted in the triumph of Constantine
as history justifying
Christianity.
Constantine was succeeded by his three sons
while other relatives
were killed.
Constantius ruled the east, fought Shapur II's Persian
empire,
and outlived his brothers.
When he died in 361, the capable
general Julian
was promoted from Caesar to Emperor
even though
he was not a Christian.
Julian tolerated all Christian worship
including heretics
but reinstituted pagan sacrifices
and removed
subsidies for Christians.
Julian launched a large invasion of
Persia and Assyria
but died from a wound without an heir in 363.
His successors were Christians but tolerated pagan religion.
The
brothers Valentinian and Valens
co-ruled the empire 364-75;
the latter
was an Arian and persecuted dissent in the east,
executing many
suspected conspirators.
Valens also defeated the rebellion of
Procopius
and spent three years fighting the Goths.
Valentinian
fought Germans and others,
raising taxes to pay his troops.
He
died in 375 and was succeeded in the West
by his 16-year-old son
Gratian.
Goths invaded the empire,
and Valens was killed fighting
them in 378.
Theodosius became Augustus, accepted the Nicene creed,
and
issued fifteen edicts against heretics.
He allowed Goths to settle
within the empire.
The general Maximus in 383 was acclaimed Augustus
by his army in Britain, and they overthrew Gratian.
Theodosius
used Goths, Huns, and Alans to defeat Maximus,
and he let young
Valentinian II rule the west 388-392.
Theodosius made a treaty with Shapur
III,
giving most of Armenia to the Persians.
After racing fans
murdered a general in Thessalonica,
Theodosius I (r. 379-395) had 7,000 massacred
in the circus.
Theodosius declared pagan sacrifices
and divination
treason in 391.
Temples were demolished,
and the great library
of Alexandria was destroyed.
The ancient Olympic games were ended,
but gladiator shows continued.
Valentinian II was murdered in
392,
and Theodosius died three years later,
succeeded by his young
sons
Arcadius (r. 395-408) and Honorius (395-423).
Antony's living as an anchorite in the Egyptian desert for so
many decades led to the development of the monastic tradition.
He found value in virtue rather than in material possessions.
He urged self-knowledge and preparation for God.
Hilarion was
influenced by Antony to become a hermit and
in 329 founded a monastery
in Palestine.
Pachomius founded a cenobite (community) monastery
in Egypt that by his death in 348 had thousands of monks.
Arius wrote about the oneness of God
and that the Christ was
created by God.
This doctrine was condemned by bishops at a council
in 321,
and four years later the council at Nicaea decided that
the Christ was of the same essence as God
and declared Arius a
heretic.
The books of Arius were ordered burned, and twenty canons
attempted to solve current controversies with church authority.
Athanasius became bishop at Alexandria and was the
foremost opponent
of the Arian heresy.
He was condemned and deposed
by an Arian
church council in 335.
For many years Arianism prevailed in the
East
under Constantius, and Athanasius was banned five times.
Basil of Cappadocia founded a monastery and developed
rules for cenobite monks living in community.
He also wrote extensively
on virtue
and the value of self-control.
Basil's friend Gregory
of Nazianzus became a bishop
and helped the doctrines of Athanasius
become
accepted as orthodox at the second ecumenical
council at
Constantinople in 381.
Basil appointed his brother Gregory bishop
of Nyssa,
and in his Great Catechism, Gregory synthesized
Jewish
monotheism and Hellenic polytheism into the Christian trinity.
Martin was a soldier like his father; but after being baptized
he told Emperor Julian he could not accept a bonus nor fight.
Martin established the first monastery in Gaul,
and he was elected
bishop of Tours.
Ambrose as praetorian prefect was settling a
disturbance in
Milan when he was spontaneously elected bishop
in 374.
Ambrose excommunicated Maximus for beheading Priscillian
heretics, and he defended church authority
against incursions
by emperors.
In On the Duties of Ministers Ambrose argued
that Christian
ethics are superior to pagan ideas
although he
adopted the classical virtues.
The poet Prudentius pioneered allegorical
story-telling
in his Psychomachia (Soul Battle) in which
virtues
overcome vices with the help of Christ.
He also honored
the sacrifices of Christians
in his hymns Crowns of Martyrdom.
John Chrysostom was born in Antioch.
In 373 he challenged a
decree by Emperor Valens
compelling monks to serve the state.
He became the patriarch at Constantinople and was a very
popular
preacher, leaving behind homilies and other writings.
He deposed
six bishops for simony and tolerated Origenists
despite the efforts
of Epiphanius, who opposed heretics.
Jerome completed his translation
of the Bible into Latin in 406,
and he wrote many biographies
of literary men.
His friend Paula established a monastery
and
convent in Bethlehem.
Augustine wrote his Confessions in 396.
In this innovative
book he prayed to God and confessed
his shortcomings and experiences
that led him
from the religion of Mani to the Catholic faith.
He had mistresses, praying for chastity, but not yet.
After his
mother Monica died, Augustine went back to Africa
and became bishop
of Hippo in 397.
In On Free Choice of the Will he said
people are
responsible for their evil actions,
and so God is justified
in punishing them.
He argued that judicial executions and soldiers
killing enemies
are not murder, but he believed that an unjust
law is not valid.
Augustine wrote On Christian Doctrine
and other works
that greatly influenced Christian theology.
He
opposed lying to entrap Priscillianist heretics.
Augustine supported
the persecution of the Donatist
schismatics although he opposed
capital punishment
so as not to make them martyrs.
After Alaric
pillaged Rome, Augustine wrote the long
City of God, contrasting
the heavenly city
with the earthly city of man.
He criticized
pagan Rome and compared it
to the militaristic Assyrian empire.
Those who were raped did not sin,
because they did no wrong.
Even
a king can be a slave of sin.
The virtuous living in the city
of God
obey the laws of the earthly city.
While the Eastern Roman empire co-existed with the
Persian
empire, the Goths led by Alaric invaded Greece.
The poet Claudian
criticized the praetorian prefect Rufinus
and then the eunuch
Eutropius, who became consul in the East,
where Arcadius reigned.
The general Stilicho fought against invaders,
made a treaty with
Alaric, and gained power in the West
as consul, marrying his daughter
Maria
to Emperor Honorius (r. 395-423).
The Christian poet Prudentius persuaded
Emperor Honorius to prohibit gladiatorial games,
and the Coliseum
was closed in 405.
Honorius alienated pagans and Arians
by excluding
them from office.
Alaric's Goths sacked Rome before he died in
410.
Amid barbarian invasions several emperors competed
for power
in western Europe
as Rome abandoned Britain to Saxon invasion.
Macrobius wrote that humans reincarnate until
they achieve
eternal happiness by virtue.
John Cassian founded a nunnery and
the
monastery of St. Victor at Marseilles.
He wrote about the
eight principal faults of gluttony, fornication,
covetousness,
anger, dejection, laziness, ambition, and pride.
In Conferences
completed by 428 Cassian described the
spiritual lessons he learned
from various monks.
Cassian opposed the Nestorian and Pelagian
heresies.
The Vandals crossed from Spain to North Africa,
while Saxons
took over more of Britain.
Huns, Burgundians, Visigoths, and Alans
struggled in Gaul.
In 450 Marcian succeeded Theodosius II as Emperor
in the West and stopped paying tribute to the Huns
and ended the
selling of offices.
In 451 Attila led his Huns along with Gepids,
Ostrogoths,
Scirians, Heruls, Thuringians, Alans, and others into
Gaul.
The next year Attila invaded Italy,
but he retreated and
died in 454.
Vandals plundered Rome the next year.
Emperor Leo I
ruled the East from 457
but was named the Butcher; he died in
January 474.
The Scirian Odovacar deposed the last western emperor
and
was proclaimed king of Italy in 476.
At the request of Augustine in 418 Orosius wrote his
History
Against the Pagans to prove that Christians
were not responsible
for the fall of the Roman empire.
However, Salvian in his On
the Present Judgment
criticized wealthy Roman Christians for
not following
the ethics of Jesus.
Salvian noted that the sexual
morality of the Goths and
Vandals was better than that of the
Romans and Spaniards.
In To the Church Salvian warned about
avarice.
Vincent of Lerins wrote that Christians should accept
the
doctrines that are most universal, ancient,
and agreed to
by most.
Leo was Bishop of Rome from 440 until his death in 461.
He banished Manichaeans and Pelagians from Italy.
Leo increased
church hierarchy and his own position
to the level of Pope.
He
persuaded Attila and the Vandals not to burn Rome.
He declared
usury incompatible with charity.
After having been enslaved in
Ireland, Patrick returned
there as bishop in 432 and converted
many.
The Palestinian Talmud was written down in the late
4th century, and the longer Babylonian Talmud was
compiled
by Rabbana Ashi (352-427).
Jews were discriminated against in
both
the Roman and the Persian empires.
The eastern empire continued with the Isaurian Zeno
as emperor
from 476 until he died in 491 and was replaced
by Anastasius,
while the Ostrogoth Theodoric defeated
and replaced Odovacar as
king of Italy.
Invasions by Germans and Huns had depopulated
the
Balkans in the 5th century.
Anastasius was a Monophysite and faced
religious opposition;
he died at 88 in 518.
Cassiodorus served
Theodoric as secretary.
Symmachus and Boethius also helped Theodoric
govern,
but he had them both executed shortly before he died in
526.
In The Consolation of Philosophy Boethius is treated
in prison by Philosophy, who comes to him
and answers his questions.
She affirms the highest good, the intrinsic reward of virtue
and
punishment of wrong-doing, because the providence
of God regulates
all while still allowing humans free choices.
The Frank king Clovis (r. 481-511) prayed to Jesus Christ
for
victory, defeated his enemies, and became a Christian.
He established
a capital at Paris, united the Franks,
and proclaimed Salic laws.
The four sons of Clovis divided the Frank kingdom
and fought each
other.
The wars went on for two generations
until only Chlotar
survived; but he died in 561.
Caesarius studied with Pomerius at Arles
and was archbishop
502-542.
As papal vicar Caesarius organized synods
and settled
controversies.
Benedict was educated in Rome but became a hermit
before founding monasteries.
Benedict died in 547 but left behind
the Rule that
would become the standard for many monasteries.
The Rule includes twelve steps of humility.
Monks spent
five hours praying,
five or six hours working, and four hours
reading.
Obedience to the abbot is emphasized.
In addition to
his many writings Cassiodorus contributed
to preserving classical
culture
by collecting books and having monks copy them.
Justinian gained power in 520 and
became emperor seven years
later.
He worked to expand the territory of the Roman empire
and
his control over the Church.
Empress Theodora had much power with
her own intelligence
service; she supported Monophysites and established
a convent for converted prostitutes.
The Persian Khusrau (r. 531-579)
made peace with Justinian in 532.
That year Belisarius had to
use the army to suppress a revolt
in Constantinople, killing 30,000.
Justinian sent Belisarius to conquer the Vandals in North Africa,
and Arians there were persecuted.
After the Goth regent Amalasuntha
was killed,
Justinian ordered the imperial army to invade Italy,
and Belisarius entered Rome in 536.
A siege by the Goths destroyed
aqueducts the next year.
In 539 Ostrogoth king Witigis asked the
Persian Khusrau
to attack the Roman empire,
and they did so, burning
Antioch.
Justinian offered northern Italy to the Goths,
who wanted
Belisarius to be Western Emperor;
he refused the office but invaded
the north.
Goths led by Totila fought the imperial army and Belisarius
in Italy for a decade until Totila was finally defeated and killed
by a large army, which included many Lombards,
led by Narses in
552.
The next year an even larger army led by Alamanni chiefs
plundered Italy with Franks.
In 554 Justinian applied the Imperial
Code to Italy, restoring
the aristocracy and the Church, and Narses
administered Italy
as Patrician for thirteen years.
Justinian
made a new truce with Persia's Khusrau in 557,
and five years
later they agreed upon a fifty-year treaty.
The immorality of
Justinian's imperialistic wars was exposed
in The Secret History
by Procopius,
and they did cause tremendous suffering.
Procopius
blamed Justinian for extraordinary corruption,
religious hypocrisy,
and the deaths of twenty million people.
Taxes during the wars
were high while soldiers went unpaid.
Yet in his Buildings
Procopius praised Emperor Justinian
for his building programs,
for expanding
and saving the empire, and for his new laws.
Justinian
also tried to unify the Church and made the canons
of the four
ecumenical councils valid imperial laws.
Citizens that were not
orthodox Christians could lose their
civil rights and their possessions.
Samaritans revolted in 529, and many thousands were killed.
That
year Justinian closed the schools in Athens.
Thirty years later
pagan books
were publicly burned in Constantinople.
Codex Justinianus was published in ten books in 529,
followed by fifty books of Pandects in 533.
The Institutions
contained the authoritative commentaries
of Gaius, Papinian, Ulpian,
Paulus, and Modestinus.
The new laws established imperial edicts
and thus favored monarchy.
Everyone was either a citizen or a
slave,
though lower classes were punished more severely.
Slavery
was hereditary, but the number
that could be freed was no longer
limited.
The expanded empire of Justinian soon broke into pieces.
While
Constantinople was divided between Blues and Greens,
Persians
encroached from the east, Avars and Slavs invaded
the Balkans
from the north,
and most of Italy was lost to the Lombards.
The
Visigoths ruled Spain while Christianity was developed
there by
Martin of Braga and Leander of Seville.
For half a century the sons and grandsons of Chlotar
fought
each other as Franks were divided.
The queens Brunhild and Fredegund
often intervened
in these violent struggles.
The Celtic monk Columban
established numerous
monasteries and nunneries that used strict
discipline
but tolerated pagan literature.
Saxon, Angles, and
Jutes invaded and settled in Britain.
Saxon king Aethelbert married
the daughter of Charibert,
adopted her religion, and allowed Augustine
to bring forty monks to Canterbury in 597.
Aethelbert was the
first Saxon to establish written laws
in Britain, and he governed
Kent until 616.
Gregory became prefect of Rome in 572 but later
converted
his palace into a monastery and helped the poor.
Gregory
represented Pope Pelagius II at Constantinople,
gaining aid against
the Lombards, and in 590 he was the
first monk to become pope.
Gregory confirmed Benedict's Rule and promoted convents.
He protested imperial war taxes and tried
to make peace with the
Lombards.
He consolidated the lands of the Papal States,
and Emperor
Phocas declared his successor
head of the church.
In his Pastoral
Rules Pope Gregory recommended
ministers practice a saintly
ethics.
After the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, his adopted
son Octavian during a civil war gained control of the
Roman republic and became the first
Roman Emperor as Augustus in 27 BC.
His
reasonable policies and long life consolidated
the empire in the
Pax Romana.
The literature of Virgil and Horace reflected the
morals of
Roman culture as did the advice of Ovid on love
even
though he was censored by Augustus.
His successor Tiberius (r.
14-37) held on to power
with treason trials and executions,
but
the Augustan administration and Roman law
were by then well entrenched.
King Herod ruled Judea until 4 BC, but soon Jewish
rebellions led to Roman prefects being appointed.
The liberal Pharisees absorbed
the humane teachings
of Hillel and the strict rules of Shammai;
the conservative Sadducees held the Temple;
and the mystical Essenes experimented with communal living.
Philo Judaeus of Alexandria
applied
philosophical reason in developing his ethics.
John the Baptist awakened Jews by preaching repentance
and
baptizing them in the Jordan River.
Jesus taught and healed for
three years before he was arrested
by Jews and crucified by the
Roman government.
The quality and sensitivity of his ethical teachings
and the
depth of his parables are probably still unsurpassed.
Accounts of his miracles and spiritual teachings of love
and forgiveness
spread after his followers
believed in his rising from the dead.
His apostles shared their possessions and preached.
Saul was transformed
from persecuting them to become Paul,
the preacher of the religion
based on Christ as savior.
His travels and letters encouraged
many of the
new congregations called churches.
Paul and the disciples'
leader Peter
were executed in Rome in 64 CE.
The Gospels
were written and circulated
along with Paul's letters and other
writings.
When the Romans punished Christians for refusing
to
give up their beliefs, the martyrdoms won over
more people to
the new faith.
Christianity became distinguished from Judaism
but
recognized its relationship by rejecting Gnostics
and calling
its canon of scriptures the New Testament.
The Roman empire continued even though
some of its rulers were
degenerate tyrants.
Caligula ruled for only four years before
he was murdered.
Claudius (r. 41-54) allowed his advisors to become
very
wealthy and was wise enough to extend
Roman citizenship on
the frontiers.
He was murdered so that the immature Nero could
rule.
The Stoic philosopher Seneca advised him and gained wealth;
but as Nero's desires got out of control,
Seneca retired and was
forced to commit suicide.
Seneca contributed thoughtful letters
and essays on ethics
and adapted Greek tragedies.
Nero was murdered,
and the civil wars of four emperors
were ended quickly by the
able Vespasian,
who patiently put down the Jewish revolution in
Palestine.
His son Domitian (r. 81-96) maintained the empire
by
suppressing rebellions with military force,
paying a professional
army.
Literature satirized the debauchery of the times,
but Quintilian
contributed to the preparation needed to
sustain Roman law with
his Education of an Orator.
Apollonius of Tyana demonstrated
mystical abilities
and taught a Pythagorean spirituality.
A series of intelligent emperors stabilized the Roman empire
after Nerva was elected by the Senate in 96.
Trajan continued
Nerva's child welfare program and expanded
the empire; but Hadrian
(r. 117-138) abandoned Armenia,
Mesopotamia, and Assyria that
Trajan had annexed.
He forgave past taxes, and Roman law differentiated
an
upper class (honestiores) from the lower (humiliores).
The wealthy dominated, and hereditary aristocracy developed.
Dio
Chrysostom was a great orator who taught
the ascetic ethics of
the Greek Cynics.
Plutarch wrote biographies of noble Greeks and
Romans
and numerous essays adapting
Platonic philosophy to many
issues.
Epictetus was born a slave but gained his freedom and
became an outstanding Stoic philosopher, teaching how
the will can control what is in our power.
Emperor Antoninus was succeeded
by the philosopher
Marcus Aurelius (r. 161-180), who used both
the military and
diplomacy to sustain an empire crumbling around
the edges.
He wrote down his thoughts to pass on his Stoic wisdom.
Juvenal satirized the moral laxity of Rome and
lamented how much
dishonesty had increased,
and Apuleius in his novel The Golden
Ass
portrayed the spiritual development implied in the Isis
cult.
The decline of the Roman empire is apparent in the corrupt
reign (180-192) of Commodus and by the quick murder
of his reforming
successor Pertinax by soldiers.
Septimius Severus survived by
paying soldiers well;
but slaves were mistreated, and bandits
flourished.
Emperors Caracalla and Elagabalus were tyrannical
and inept,
and both were murdered.
Young Alexander Severus showed
religious tolerance;
but he was killed when the army mutinied
in 235.
In the next fifty years numerous emperors struggled for
power,
suppressed rebellions, and fought wars with invading Persians,
Goths, and Germans as these wars, famines, and plagues
disrupted
agriculture and commerce.
Extensive writings by Tertullian, Clement
of Alexandria,
and Origen defended Christianity and taught its
ethics.
Most churches forgave the lapsed Christians of the
Decian
persecution (249-251).
The Neo-Platonist Plotinus (205-270) concentrated
on the soul, purifying the lower self by virtue
and transcending
the emotions to approach God.
Greek novels diverted the literate
with romantic adventures
while affirming chastity before marriage.
Emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius
used
legions to suppress rebellions, and Galerius instigated
a serious
persecution of Christians
that was named after Diocletian, who
retired in 305.
In the West Constantine became Emperor by having
his
soldiers fight using Christian symbols.
In 324 Roman persecution
of Christians ended as he
became sole Emperor and began building
Constantinople.
Lactantius argued that history justified Christianity
as tyrannical emperors were killed,
and Constantine triumphed.
Constantine summoned the Council of Nicaea and tried
to eliminate
heresy; but the conflict between the theology
of Arius and the
trinity defended by Athanasius persisted.
When Constantine's son
Constantius died in 361,
the pagan Julian was emperor for two
years;
but he died trying to conquer Persia and Armenia.
Co-emperor
Valens was an Arian, persecuted dissent
in the East, and fought
invading Goths,
while his brother Valentinian fought Germans in
the West.
Emperor Theodosius allowed the Goths to settle
in the
empire and issued edicts against heretics.
Antony founded the anchorite tradition
by living alone in the
Egyptian desert.
Pachomius founded a cenobite (community) monastery
in Egypt which by 348 had thousands of monks.
Basil of Cappadocia
developed rules for monks
living in community and wrote on virtue.
Martin refused to fight for Julian and established
the first monastery
in Gaul.
Ambrose was elected bishop of Milan
and defended church
authority.
Prudentius wrote Christian poetry.
John Chrysostom
preached at Constantinople, and
Jerome completed his Latin translation
of the Bible in 406.
In one century the mostly pagan Roman empire
had been transformed into a mostly Christian culture.
Augustine described the inner struggle of becoming a Christian
in his Confessions, and he became bishop of Hippo in 397.
His writing justified executions of criminals and
killing in a
just war, but he considered an unjust law invalid.
He persecuted
heretics but opposed
making them martyrs by killing them.
After
Rome was pillaged by Alaric's Goths in 410,
Augustine wrote The
City of God to contrast the heavenly
city of the virtuous
with others living in the earthly city.
Augustine got Orosius
to write his History Against the Pagans
to prove that Christians
were not responsible
for the fall of the Roman empire.
However,
Salvian criticized avaricious Roman Christians.
John Cassian wrote
of monastic lessons.
The Talmud was compiled, though Jews
were persecuted.
Leo raised his position from bishop of Rome to
pope
and banished Manichaeans and Pelagians from Italy.
He persuaded
Attila and the Vandals not to burn Rome,
but Odovacar deposed
the last western emperor
and became king of Italy in 476.
The eastern empire went on under the
Isaurian Zeno and then
Anastasius.
The Ostrogoth Theodoric replaced Odovacar,
and he
executed Boethius, who in prison wrote
the brilliant Consolation
of Philosophy.
Frank king Clovis (r. 481-511) became a Christian
and
proclaimed Salic laws, but his sons fought for power.
Benedict
wrote the Rule for monasteries
that become a standard for
centuries.
Justinian (r. 527-565) made peace with Persian emperor
Khusrau (r. 531-579) and expanded the Roman empire
by using military
power, as Belisarius and Narses
reconquered most of Italy from
the Goths;
but this devastated the land and wasted many resources.
The historian Procopius recorded both the evils
and the accomplishments
of Justinian's policies.
Those who were not orthodox Christians
could lose their rights and possessions.
Justinian had skilled
lawyers codify his edicts
as a new set of laws.
After Justinian
died, his empire crumbled from division
within and invasions from
the Persians, the Avars and Slavs;
the Lombards took over Italy,
and Visigoths ruled Spain.
Queens Brunhild and Fredegund vied
for power
as Franks fought civil wars.
Britain was invaded by
Saxons, Angles, and Jutes.
Pope Gregory sent a mission to Canterbury
and gained control of the Papal States.
The era of the Roman empire from Augustus to Justinian
and
the subsequent disintegration of the western portion
of the empire
saw a series of emperors ruling with the
authority of Roman law
and legions.
These emperors usually succeeded by heredity
or by
violent struggles for power that often resulted in
even more tyrannical
leaders claiming power.
Emperors usually relied on their armed
forces to consolidate
their power and enforce their will on the
people.
This meant that often the most ruthless leaders rose to
power;
several Roman emperors bribed their way to power
by promising
largesse to the Praetorian Guard.
Some good leaders were selected
by their predecessors
for their ability, as with the line of Roman
emperors
from Nerva to Marcus Aurelius.
Yet ironically the last
of these, considered by many the wisest,
chose his own degenerate
son Commodus to succeed him,
beginning the sharp decline of the
empire.
This study of the ethics of civilization tends to show
two
quite disparate trends.
The actual practice of men (and to a limited
extent women)
in the ways they achieve and enforce power,
collect
taxes for doing so, and make laws that tend to be
a rather brutal
process of the strongest and wealthy
taking advantage of the weak
and poor.
This is perhaps the most significant ethics of humanity
that affects the most people and leaves much to be desired.
Much
of history is the story of these power relationships.
In contrast
to this arrogance, greed, and violence
are the ethical theories
of the great philosophers
and religious leaders which usually
recommend the
golden rule of loving others as oneself,
practicing
justice, honesty, and mercy.
Some of these saints and prophets
are able to live according
to these lofty teachings, but often
the authorities of the
organized religions succumbed to the same
temptations
as the political leaders.
This period of the Roman empire offers a particularly strong
contrast between the teachings of Jesus with his early
followers and the imperial power of militaristic domination.
Perhaps more
than anyone Jesus demonstrated the truth
of his teachings in his
own self-sacrificing actions
and refusal to use any form of violence
even in resistance to his persecution.
The early Christians also
gained tremendous moral power
over people's minds by their nonviolent
willingness to be
martyrs when facing brutal Roman power.
In the
early centuries church authorities such as bishops
were usually
elected, and this produced fairly good leaders.
However, after
Constantine made Christianity the religion
of the Roman empire,
almost immediately Christians came
into conflict over the theological
issue of the trinity.
Ironically, Christians fought each other,
while Christian
emperors showed little or no improvement in their
ethics
over the previous pagan emperors.
Romans did promote the
development of laws.
The monastic communities of Christians provided
some
of the best examples of ethical living and contributed
greatly
to education and transmission of culture.
In the final analysis every person and even every action
has
to be evaluated as an individual occurrence
based on the consequences.
That is why I have attempted to present
this history in detailed
events.
Though philosophy and religious doctrine are contrasted
to these human behaviors, the literature
tends to reflect a combination
of both.
During the empire there was little or no theater after
Seneca.
Secular literature declined after the classical era,
as
religious literature was written by Christians and Jews.
The decline
of the Roman empire teaches that the attempt
of a few powerful
people to dominate others is probably
doomed to corruption and
decay if it is not reformed
or transformed by enlightened policies.
The growth of the Christian religion indicates that good
teachings
and the examples of virtuous living without violence
can influence
others and improve society.
Yet even a religion based on good
teachings can be
corrupted by power if it does not continue
to
follow those teachings or improve upon them.
This chapter has been published in the book ROMAN EMPIRE 30 BC to 610.
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