The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism Part 21

33. Cf. _supra_, ch. V, n. 87.

34. On wors.h.i.+p of the sky, of the signs of the zodiac, and of the elements, cf. _Mon. myst. Mithra_, I, pp. 85 ff., 98 ff., 108 ff.

35. The magico-religious notion of sanct.i.ty, of _mana_, appeared in the idea and notation of time. This has been shown by Hubert in his profound a.n.a.lysis of _La representation du temps dans la religion et la magie_ (_Progr. ec. des Hautes-Etudes_), 1905 = _Melanges hist. des rel._, Paris, 1909, p. 190.

36. On the wors.h.i.+p of Time see _Mon. myst. Mithra_, I, pp. 20, {274} 74 ff.; of the seasons: _ibid._, pp. 92 ff. There is no doubt that the veneration of time and its subdivisions (seasons, months, days, etc.) spread through the influence of astrology. Zeno had deified them; see Cicero, _Nat. D._, II, 63 (= von Arnim, fr. 165): "Astris hod idem (i. e.

vim divinam) tribuit, tum annis, mensibus, annorumque mutationibus." In conformity with the materialism of the Stoics these subdivisions of time were conceived by him as bodies (von Arnim, _loc. cit._, II, fr. 665; cf.

Zeller, _Ph. Gr._, IV, p. 316, p. 221). The later texts have been collected by Drexler in Roscher, _Lexikon_, s. v. "Men," II, col. 2689. See also Ambrosiaster, _Comm. in epist. Galat._, IV, 10 (Migne, col. 381 B). Egypt had wors.h.i.+ped the hours, the months, and the propitious and adverse years as G.o.ds long before the Occident; see Wiedemann, _loc. cit._ (_infra_, n.

64) pp. 7 ff.

37. They adorn many astronomical ma.n.u.scripts, particularly the _Vatica.n.u.s gr._ 1291, the archetype of which dates back to the third century of our era; cf. Boll, _Sitzungsb. Akad. Munchen_, 1899, pp. 125 ff., 136 ff.

38. Piper, _Mythologie der christl. Kunst_, 1851, II, pp. 313 f. Cf. _Mon.

myst. Mithra_, I, p. 220.

39. Bidez, _Berose et la grande annee_ in the _Melanges Paul Fredericq_, Brussels, 1904, pp. 9 ff.

40. Cf. _supra_, pp. 126, 158 f.

41. When Goethe had made the ascent of the Brocken, in 1784, during splendid weather, he expressed his admiration by writing the following verses from memory, (II, 115): "Quis caelum possit, nisi caeli munere, nosse | Et reperire deum, nisi qui pars ipse deorum est?"; cf. _Brief an Frau von Stein_, No. 518, (Scholl) 1885, quoted by Ellis in _Noctes Manilianae_, p. viii.

42. This idea in the verse of Manilius (n. 41, cf. IV, 910), and which may be found earlier in _Somnium Scipionis_ (III, 4; see Macrobius, _Comment._ I, 14, -- 16; "Animi societatem c.u.m caelo et sideribus habere communem"; Pseudo-Apul., _Asclepius_, c. 6, c. 9. Firmicus Maternus, _Astrol._, I, 5, -- 10). dates back to Posidonius who made the contemplation of the sky one of the sources of the belief in G.o.d (Capelle, _Jahrb._ {275} _fur das kla.s.s. Altertum_, VIII, 1905, p. 534, n. 4), and it is even older than that, for Hipparchus had already admitted a "cognationem c.u.m homine siderum, animasque, nostras partem esse caeli" (Pliny, _Hist. nat._, II, 26, -- 95).

43. Vettius Valens, IX, 8 (_Cat. codd. astr._, V, 2, p. 123 = p. 346, 20, Kroll ed.), VI, prooem. (_Cat._, ibid. p. 34, p. 35, 14 = p. 242, 16, 29, Kroll ed.); cf. the pa.s.sages of Philo collected by Cohn, _De opificio mundi_, c. 23, p. 24, and Capelle, _loc. cit._

44. Manilius, IV, 14.

45. Cf. my article on _L'eternite des empereurs_ (_Rev. hist. litt.

relig._, I), 1898, pp. 445 ff.

46. Reitzenstein, to whom belongs the credit of having shown the strength of this astrological fatalism (see _infra_, n. 57), believes that it developed in Egypt, but surely he is wrong. In this connection see the observations of Bousset, _Gotting. gel. Anzeigen_, 1905, p. 704.

47. The most important work is unfortunately lost: it was the [Greek: Peri heimarmenes] by Diodorus of Tarsus. Photius has left us a summary (_cod._ 223). We possess a treatise on the same subject by Gregory of Nyssa (_P.

G._, XLV, p. 145). They were supported by the Platonist Hierocles (Photius, _cod._ 214, p. 172 b.).--Many attacks on astrology are found in St.

Ephraim, _Opera syriaca_, II, pp. 437 ff.; St. Basil (_Hexaem._, VI, 5), St. Gregory of n.a.z.ianzen, St. Methodus (_Symp., P. G._, XVII, p. 1173); later in St. John Chrysostom, Procopus of Gaza, etc. A curious extract from Julian of Halicarna.s.sus has been published by Usener, _Rheinisches Mus._, LV, 1900, p. 321.--We have spoken briefly of the Latin polemics in the _Revue d'hist. et de litt. relig._, VIII, 1903, pp. 423 f. A work ent.i.tled De Fato (Bardenhewer, _Gesch. altchr. Lit._, I, p. 315) has been attributed to Minucius Felix; Nicetas of Remesiana (about 400) wrote a book _Adversus genethlialogiam_ (Gennadius, _Vir. inl._, c. 22), but the princ.i.p.al adversary of the _mathematici_ was St. Augustine (_Civ. Dei_, c. 1 ff.; _Epist._, 246, ad Lampadium, etc.). See also Wendland, _Die h.e.l.lenistisch-romische Kultur_, p. 172, n. 2.

48. The influence of the astrological ideas was felt by the Arabian paganism before Mohammed; see _supra_, ch. V, n. 57. {276}

49. Dante, _Purg._, x.x.x, 109 ff.--In the _Convivio_, II, ch. XIV, Dante expressly professes the doctrine of the influence of the stars over human affairs.--The church succeeded in extirpating the learned astrology of the Latin world almost completely at the beginning of the Middle Ages. We do not know of one astrological treatise, or of one ma.n.u.script of the Carlovingian period, but the ancient faith in the power of the stars continued in secret and gained new strength when Europe came in contact with Arabian science.

50. Bouche-Leclercq devotes a chapter to them (pp. 609 ff.).

51. Seneca, _Quaest. Nat._, II, 35: "Expiationes et procurationes nihil aliud esse quam aegrae mentis solatia. Fata inrevocabiliter ius suum peragunt nec ulla commoventur prece." Cf. Schmidt, _Veteres philosophi quomodo iudicaverint de precibus_, Giessen, 1907, p. 34.--Vettius Valens, V, 9, (_Catal. codd. astr._, V, 2 p. 30, 11 = p. 220, 28, Kroll ed.), professes that [Greek: Adunaton tina euchais e thusiais epinikesai ten ex arches katabolen k. t. l.], but he seems to contradict himself, IX, 8 (p.

347, 1 ff.).

52. Suetonius, _Tib._, 69: "Circa deos ac religiones neglegentior, quippe addictus mathematicae, plenusque persuasionis cuncta fato agi." Cf.

Manilius, IV.

53. Vettius Valens, IX, 11 (_Cat. codd. astr._, V, 2, p. 51, 8 ff. = p.

355, 15. Kroll ed.), cf. VI, prooem. (_Cat._, p. 33 = p. 240, Kroll).

54. "Si tribuunt fata genesis, cur deos oratis?" reads a verse of Commodia.n.u.s (I, 16, 5). The antinomy between the belief in fatalism and this practice did not prevent the two from existing side by side, cf. _Mon.

myst. Mithra_, I, pp. 120, 311; _Revue d'hist. et de litt. relig._, VIII, 1903, p. 431.--The peripatetic Alexander of Aphrodisias who fought fatalism in his [Greek: Peri heimarmenes], at the beginning of the third century, and who violently attacked the charlatanism and cupidity of the astrologers in another book (_De anima mantissa_, p. 180, 14, Bruns), formulated the contradiction in the popular beliefs of his time (_ibid._, p. 182, 18):

[Greek: Pote men anthropoi to tes heimarmenes humnousin hos anankaion, pote de ou pantei ten sunecheian autes pisteuousi sozein; kai gar hoi dia ton logon huper autes hos ouses anankaias diateinomenoi sphodra kai panta anat.i.thentes autei, en tais kata ton bion praxesin ouk eoikasin autei pepisteukenai;] {277} [Greek: Tuchen goun pollakis epiboontai, allen h.o.m.ologountes einai tauten aitian tes heimarmenes; alla kai tois theois ou dialeipousin euchomenoi, hos dunamenon tinos hup' auton dia tas euchas genesthai kai para ten heimarmenen; ... kai manteiais ouk oknousi chresthai, hos enon autois, ei promathoien, phulaxasthai ti ton heimarmenon ... apithanotatai goun eisin auton hai pros ten touton sumphonian heuresilogiai.] Cf. also _De Fato_, c. 2 (p. 165, 26 ff. Bruns).

55. Manilius, II, 466: "Quin etiam propriis inter se legibus astra | Conveniunt, ut certa gerant commercia rerum, | Inque vicem praestant visus atque auribus haerent, | Aut odium, foedusque gerunt," etc.--Signs [Greek: bleponta] and [Greek: akouonta]: cf. Bouche-Leclercq, pp. 139 ff.--The planets rejoice ([Greek: chairein]) in their mansions, etc.--Signs [Greek: phoneenta], etc.: cf. _Cat._, I, pp. 164 ff.; Bouche-Leclercq, pp. 77 ff.

The terminology of the driest didactic texts is saturated with mythology.

56. Saint Leo, _In Nativ._, VII, 3 (Migne, _P. L._, LIV, col. 218); Firmicus, I, 6, 7; Ambrosiaster, in the _Revue d'hist. et litt. relig._, VIII, 1903, p. 16.

57. Cf. Reitzenstein, _Poimandres_, pp. 77 ff., cf. p. 103, where a text of Zosimus attributes this theory to Zoroaster. Wendland, _Die h.e.l.lenistisch-rom. Kultur_, 1907, p. 81. This is the meaning of the verse of the _Orac. Chaldaca_: [Greek: Ou gar huph' heimarten agelen piptousi theourgoi] (p. 59 Kroll). According to Arn.o.bius (II, 62, Cornelius Labeo) the magi claimed "deo esse se gnatos nec fati obnoxios legibus."

58. _Bibliography._ We have no complete book on Greek and Roman magic.

Maury, _La magie et l'astrologie dans l'antiquite et au moyen age_, 1864, is a mere sketch. The most complete account is Hubert's art. "Magia" in the _Dict. des antiquites_ of Daremberg, Saglio, Pottier. It contains an index of the sources and the earlier bibliography. More recent studies are: Fahz, _De poet. Roman. doctrina magica_, Giessen, 1903; Audollent, _Defixionum tabulae_, Paris, 1904; Wunsch, _Antikes Zaubergerat aus Pergamon_, Berlin, 1905 (important objects found dating back to the third century, A. D.); Abt, _Die Apologie des Apuleius und die Zauberei_, Giessen, 1908.--The superst.i.tion that is not magic, but borders upon it, is the subject of a very important article by Riess, "Aberglaube," in the _Realenc._ of Pauly-Wissowa. An essay by Kroll, _Antiker Aberglaube_, Hamburg, 1897, deserves mention.--Cf. Ch. Michel {278} in the _Revue d'hist. et litt.

rel._, VII, 1902, p. 184. See also _infra_, nn. 64, 65, 72.

59. The question of the principles of magic has recently been the subject of discussions started by the theories of Frazer, _The Golden Bough_, 2d ed., 1900 (cf. Goblet d'Alviella, _Revue de l'univ. de Bruxelles_, Oct.

1903). See Andrew Lang, _Magic and Religion_, London, 1901; Hubert and Mauss, _Esquisse d'une theorie generale de la magie_ (_Annee sociologique_, VII), 1904, p. 56; cf. _Melanges hist. des relig._, Paris, 1909, pp. xvii ff.; Jevons, _Magic_, in the _Transactions of the Congress for the History of Religions_, Oxford, 1908, I, p. 71. Loisy, "Magie science et religion,"

in _A propos d'hist. des religions_, 1911, p. 166.

60. S. Reinach, _Mythes, cultes et relig._, II, Intr., p. xv.

61. The infiltration of magic into the liturgy under the Roman empire is shown especially in connection with the ritual of consecration of the idols, by Hock, _Griechische Weihegebrauche_, Wurzburg, 1905, p. 66.--Cf.

also Kroll, _Archiv fur Religionsw._, VIII, 1905, Beiheft, pp. 27 ff.

62. Friedlander, _Sittengeschichte_, I, pp. 509 f.

63. Arn.o.bius, II, 62, cf. II, 13; Ps.-Iamblichus, _De Myst._, VIII, 4.

64. Magic in Egypt: Budge, _Egyptian Magic_, London, 1901; Wiedemann, _Magie und Zauberei im alten Aegypten_, Leipsic, 1905 [cf. Maspero, _Rev.

critique_, 1905, II, p. 166]; Otto, _Priester und Tempel_, II, p. 224; Griffith, _The Demotic Magical Papyrus of London and Leiden_, 1904 (a remarkable collection dating back to the third century of our era), and the writings a.n.a.lyzed by Capart, _Rev. hist. des relig._, 1905 (Bulletin of 1904, p. 17), 1906 (Bull. of 1905, p. 92).

65. Fossey, _La magie a.s.syrienne_, Paris, 1902. The earlier bibliography will be found p. 7. See also Hubert in Daremberg, Saglio, Pottier, _Dict.

des antiq._, s. v. "Magia," p. 1505, n. 5. Campbell Thomson, _Semitic Magic, Its Origin and Development_, London, 1908.

Traces of magical conceptions have survived even in the prayers of the orthodox Mohammedans; see the curious {279} observations of Goldziher, _Studien, Theodor Noldeke gewidmet_, 1906, I, pp. 302 ff. The a.s.syrio-Chaldean magic may be compared profitably with Hindu magic (Victor Henry, _La Magie dans l'Inde antique_, Paris, 1904).

66. There are many indications that the Chaldean magic spread over the Roman empire, probably as a consequence of the conquests of Trajan and Verus (Apul., _De Magia_, c. 38; Lucian, _Philopseudes_, c. 11; _Necyom._, c. 6, etc. Cf. Hubert, loc. cit.) Those most influential in reviving these studies seem to have been two rather enigmatical personages, Julian the Chaldean, and his son Julian the Theurge, who lived under Marcus Aurelius.

The latter was Considered the author of the [Greek: Logia Chaldaika], which in a measure became the Bible of the last neo-Platonists.

67. Apul., _De Magia_, c. 27. The name [Greek: philosophos], _philosophus_, was finally applied to all adepts in the occult sciences.

68. The term seems to have been first used by Julian, called the Theurge, and thence to have pa.s.sed to Porphyry (_Epist. Aneb._, c. 46; Augustine, _Civ. Dei_, X, 9-10) and to the neo-Platonists.

69. Hubert, article cited, pp. 1494, n. 1; 1499 f.; 1504. Ever since magical papyri were discovered in Egypt, there has been a tendency to exaggerate the influence exercised by that country on the development of magic. It made magic prominent as we have said, but a study of these same papyri proves that elements of very different origin had combined with the native sorcery, which seems to have laid special stress upon the importance of the "barbarian names," because to the Egyptians the name had a reality quite independent of the object denoted by it, and possessed an effective force of its own (_supra_, pp. 93, 95). But that is, after all, only an incidental theory, and it is significant that in speaking of the origin of magic, Pliny (x.x.x, 7) names the Persians in the first place, and does not even mention the Egyptians.

70. _Mon. myst. Mithra_, I, pp. 230 ff.--Consequently Zoroaster, the undisputed master of the magi, is frequently considered a disciple of the Chaldeans or as himself coming from Babylon. The blending of Persian and Chaldean beliefs appears clearly in Lucian, _Necyom._, 6 ff. {280}