PA GA N ID EAS O F

I MMO R T A LI T Y D U RI N G T HE
E A R LY R O M A N EM PI R E
 G b e 1196 138 0 l ect u

r e , 19 18

Pag an Ide as o f
Im m o r t al it y D ur ing t he
Ear ly R o m an Em p i r e
By

Cli ff ord Hr ch l Moor

e s e e, Ph D . L it t D
. .

T r of cs r o r of Cp t t n

in ba
l
r v ar d Un i v cr r l t;

1 1 1
1 1

C am b r idg e
Hv ar ar d U nive r s it y Pr e s s
L o ndo n : Hu m phre
y Mil f o rd

O xf o r d U ni ve r s i t yP r ess

1 18
9
 T HE IN G E R S OLL LE C T UR E S HIP
Extr act f r o m t he will of Mi C sse Hkell I ng ll
ar o l i n as er s o who e
di d i n
Ch hi e N wHm p hi e ' n
,

' een C u ty
e, o n f
o es r , e a s r , a . 26. 18 93

Fi r s t . In car r yi ng wi sh es o f m y l at e b elo ved

o ut t he
fat he r G eo r ge G o l dthwai t Inge r so ll as de cl ar ed b y him
, ,

in h i s l as t wil l and t e s t am e nt I gi ve and b equ eat h t o

Harvar d Unive r sit y in Cam bridge Mass wher e m y
,

, ,

lat e fat h e r was gr ad uat ed and whi ch h e always h el d i n ,

l o ve and ho no r t h e s um o f Five t ho u sand do llar s

,

( 8 as a f un d f o r t h e es t a b l i s hm ent o f a L e c t ur es hi p

o n a pl an so m ewhat s i m ilar t o t hat o f t h e D u dl ei an

l ec t ur e th at i s o ne l e c t ur e t o b e d eliver e d e ach y ear

o n any co nve ni e nt day b e t we en t h e l as t day o f M

, ,

ay and

t he r s t day o f D e ce m b e r o n t hi s s u b j ec t t h e Im
m o r t al i t y o i M
, ,

s ai d l e c t ur e no t t o fo r m a p ar t o f
'
an ,

t h e u s u al co ll e g e co ur s e no r t o b e d eli ver e d b y any

,

P r o f e sso r o r T u t o r as p ar t o f his u s u al r o u t i ne o f i n

s t r u c t i o n t ho u gh any s u ch Pr o f es so r o r Tu t o r m ay b e
,

app o i nt e d t o s u ch se r vi ce Th e cho ice o f said l e c t u r e r

.

i s no t t o b e li m i t e d t o any o ne r eli gi o u s d e no m inat io n ,

no r t o any o ne p r o f es si o n b ut m ay b e t hat o f e i t h e r,

cl e r gym an o r l aym an t h e appo int m e nt t o t ake pl ace at

,

l e as t s ix m o nt h s b e fo r e t h e d el ive r y o f sai d l ec t ur e .

Th e abo ve s um t o b e saf el y inves t ed and t hr ee fo u r t hs

o f t h e annu al int e r e s t t her eo f t o b e p ai d t o t he l e c t ur e r

f o r hi s s e r vic e s and t he r em ai ning fo ur th t o b e expe nd e d

i n t h e p ubli sh m ent and gr at ui t o u s d i s t r i b u t i o n o f t h e
l e ct ur e a co p y o f whi ch i s alway s t o b e f ur ni sh e d b y
,

t he l e c t ur er fo r s uch p ur po se . Th e sam e l ect u re to be

nam e d and kno wn as t he In g er so ll le ct ur e on t he
Im m o r t ali t y of M an .
'

4 1 7 3 09
 PA G A N I DEAS O F
I MMO R T A LI T Y D U RI N G T HE
E A R LY R O M AN EM PI R E

I
HE invitation of the co mmittee

I charged with the administration

of t he I ngersoll lectureshi p and
my own inclination have agreed in indi
cating that aspect of the general subject
of imm ortality whi ch I shall try to pre
,

sent tonight I shall not venture on thi s

.

occasion to advance arguments for or

against b e lief in a life after death ; my
present task is a humbler one : I propose
to as k you to review with me some of the
more signicant ide as concerning an ex
i s t e nce beyond the grave whi ch were
,

current in the G reco R oman world in

-

the time of Jesus and during th e earlier

Christian centuries and to consider
,
2 f r om IDEAS OF

ilir aeyj the rel ati on of these pagan beli e fs

to Christian ideas on the same subject .

I n dealing with a topic s o vast as this in

a single hour we mus t s e lect those e l e
,

ments which hi storically showed the m

selves to be fundamental and vital ; but
even then we cannot examine much de
tail It may prove howe ver that a rapid
.
, ,

surv e y of those concepts of the future

life whose inuence lasted long during
,

the Christian centuries and ind e ed has

,

continued to the present day may not be ,

without prot .

The m ost impo rtant singl e re ligious

document from the Augustan Age is the

sixth book of Virgil s A eneid ; for al
though the Aeneid was written prim arily
to glorify R oman imperial a i ms t he sixth ,

book gives f ull expression to many phi

l o s o p hi c and popular ide as of t he oth e r
world and of t h e future life whi ch were
,

1
current among both G reeks and R omans .

I t th erefore makes a tting point of depar

 IMMORTALITY 3
ture for our conside rations I n this book .
,

as you will rememb e r the poet s hero ,

,

having reach e d I talian soil at last is led ,

down to t h e lower world by t h e Cumaean

S ybil This descent to Hades belongs
.

historically to that long series of apoc

alyp t i c writings which begins with t h e

eleventh book of t h e O dyssey and closes

with D ant e s D ivine Com e dy Ward e .

F owler des e r ves credit for clearly point

ing out that this visit of A eneas to
t h e world below 18 the nal ordeal for
hi m a mystic initiation in whi ch he
, ,

receives e nlight e nment

for the toil ,

p e ril and triumph that await him in

,

the accomplishm e nt of his divine mis

sion When the Tro'an hero has learned
.
'

from his father s shade t he mysteri e s

of life and death and has been taught

,

the magnitude of the work which lies

before him and the great things that
,

ar e to be he casts o ff the timidi ty which

,

he has hitherto shown and strengthened ,

4 PAGAN IDEAS OF
by his exp e riences advances to the pe r
,

f e ct accomplishment of hi s task 2
.

B ut we are not concern e d so much with

Virgil s purpose in writing thi s apo calyp
tic book as with its contents and with
,

the evidence it gives as to the current

ideas of the other world and the fate of
the human soul What then does t h e
.

poet tell us of these great matters P We

can hardly do b e tter than to follow A e
neas and his guide on their journey This .

side of A cheron they meet the souls of

tho s e wh ose b o dies are unburi e d and ,

who there fore must tarry a hundred years

the maxim um of human life before
they m ay be ferried over the river whi ch
bounds Hades Wh en Charon has set
.

the earthl y visitors across that stream ,

they nd themselves in a place where are

gathered spirits of many kinds who have
,

not yet been admitted to Tartarus or

E lysium : rst t he souls of infants and
those who met their end by violence
 IMMORTALITY 5
m en co ndemned to death though inno
cent suicides those who di e d for love
, , ,

and warriors all of whom must here

wait until the span of life allotted them

has been completed These spirits passed
.
,

the mortal visitors come to the walls of

Tar t ar us on whose torments Aeneas is
,

not allowed to look for ,

The f e e t o f inno c e nce m ay ne ve r p ass

Int o t his ho use o f s in
.
'

B ut the S ybil herself taught by Hecate

, ,

reveals to hi m the eternal pu ni shments

there ini cted for monstrous crim es .

Then the visitors pass to E lysium where ,

dwell the souls of those whose deserts on

earth have won for them a happy lot .

N earby in a green valley Aeneas n ds,

the shade of his own father A nc hises , ,

looking eagerly at the souls which ar e

waiting to be born into the upper world .

I n answer to his son s questions the ,

heroic shade di scloses the doctrine of

rebirths metempsychosis with its
6 PAGAN IDEAS OF

tenets of penance and of p ur icat io n .

3

F inally to fulll t h e poet s purpose

,

,

Anchi ses spirit points out the souls of
the heroes who are to come on earth in
due season ; the sp i rits of future R omans
pass before Aeneas in long array ; and at
the climax he sees the soul of Augustus ,

that prince who was destined in the full

ness of time to bring back the G olden
Age and to impose peace on the wide
world Thi s prophetic revelation e nded
.
,

A eneas e nlightened and strengthened for

his task returns to the upper world
,
.

This book seems at rst a strange com

pound inde e d of popular belief p hilo s o ,

phy and theology which is not without

, ,

its contradictions O n these howeve r

.
, ,

we need not pause ; but for our present

interest we must ask what are the main
ideas on which t his apocalypse is based .

F irst of all a future life is taken for

,

granted by the poet ; otherwise the book

coul d never have been written S ec .
 IMMORTALITY 7
o ndl y , we notice that according to an
,

cient popular belief t h e soul s of those who

,

had not rec e ived the proper burial rites

we re doom e d to wander on this side of

A ch e ron until a hundred years we re com
p l e t e d and
,
also that souls wh i ch were
disembodied by violence or by early
death we re de stine d to live out their al
,

lotte d span of e arthl y e xistence b e for e

th e y could enter t h e inner precincts of
Hades Again the poet represents som e
.

few as suf f ering eternal to r ments for their

monstrous sins or enjoying immortal bliss
because of their great de se rts And .

nally he shows that the majority of souls

,

must pass through successive lives and

de aths until puried from the s i n and
, ,

dross of the body by millennial sojourns

in the world b e low and by virtuous live s
,

on e arth they at last nd repos e and sat

,

is f ac t io n The popular b e liefs which con

.

cern details of the future life we shall

leave one side for th e moment ; let us
8 PAGAN IDEAS OF
'

rather rst obs e rve t h at N ir g il s ideas as

to rewards and punishm ents in the next

world as wel l as his doctrin e of succes
,

sive rebirths and deaths with their ac

companying p ur icat io ns rest on a moral ,

basis s o that the other world is con

,

ce iv e d to be a complement of this : life

on earth and life below are opportunities

for moral advance without which nal
happiness cannot be attained Whence .

came these ideas of the future life and

how far were they current in the ancient

world of Virgil s day P
N aturally it does not follow that b e ,

cause R ome s greatest poet chose to
picture souls surviving their corporeal
homes the average man believed in a
,

future life but there is abundant evi

,

dence that the poet was appealing to

widespread beliefs when he wrote his
,
4
apocalyptic b ook I n fact from t he e ar li
.

est times known to us both G reeks and

,

R omans held to a belief in some kind of

 IMMORTALITY 9
extended life for souls aft e r the death
5
of the body B oth peoples had their
.

cults of t h e dead rites of tendanc e and

,

of riddanc e f e stivals both public and pri

,

vate which leave no doubt that the great

,

majority of men n e ver questioned that

the spirits of t h e d e parte d existed after
this life and that those spirits were en
,

dowed with power to harm or to bless

6
the living But beyond this rather e l e
.

mentary stage of b e li e f the R omans never

went of themselves The G reeks how
.
,

ever began early to develop e s chat o lo g i

,

cal ideas which had and w hich still have

, ,

great importance .

The eleventh book of the O dysse y as I ,

have already said is the oldest D escent

,

to Hades in E uropean literature The .

souls of the dead are there repres e nted as

dwelling in the land of shadows having ,

no life but l e ading an insubstantial e x

,

i s t e nce without punishment or reward

, .

S uch a future world could have no m oral

10 PAGAN IDEAS OF

or other value ; it coul d only hang over

men as a gloomy prospect of that whi ch
awaited them whe n the suns of thi s world
had forever s e t B ut in the seventh and
.

sixth centuries B C other id e as came to

. .

the front which were inuenti al through

,

out later hi s tory I n tho s e two centuries

.

fall the rst pe riod of G reek individual

ism and a religious revival two things
not wholly disconnected The O rphi c .

s e ct w
,
hi ch appeared in the sixth century ,

was made up of religious d e votees who

adopted a puried form of the religion of
7
D ionysus . The center of the O rphic
faith and mystic ceremonial was the
myth of the birth destruction and r e
, ,

birth o i the god According to t he story

.
,

D ionysus was pursued by the Titans ,

powers hostile to 'eus I n his distress

.

the god changed hims e lf into various

creatures nally taking on the form of a
,

bul l which the Titans tore in pie ces and

,

devoured But the goddess A thena saved

.
 IMMORTALITY I I
t he heart and gave it to 'eus who s wal
lowe d i t Hence sprang the ne wD io ny
.

su s .The Titans 'eus destroyed with his

thunderbolt and had t h e ashes scattered
to the winds F rom these ashes in one
.
,

form of the myth man was made and , ,

therefore he was thought to unite in his

person the sinful Titanic nature and t he
divin e D ionysiac spark The parallel .

ism betwe en this stor y and the myths of

O siris A ttis and A donis is at onc e evi
, ,

dent They are all gods who die and live

.

again and thus become lords of death

,

and life thr ough whom man gains as

,

suranc e of his own immortality .

Our chief concern with the O r phi e s

here is that they se e m to have introduced
among the G reeks the idea that the soul
of man was divine was a dai p wv which ,

had fallen and for its punishment was

,

imprisoned in the body as in a tomb I n .

its co r poreal cell it was condemned to

suf f er de l e m e nt until released by death ,
12 PAGAN IDEAS OF

when it passed to Hades It s lot there

.

d e pended on its life on earth A s an .

Or phic fragm ent says They who are

righteous beneath the rays of t he s un ,

when they di e have a gentler lot in a fair

,

meadow by deep owing A cheron .

But they who have worked wrong and

insolence under the rays of th e s un are

led down beneath Cocytus s watery plain
8'
into chill Tartarus . The soul s s o

journ in Hades therefore was a tim e of

punishm ent and of purication even as ,

life itself was a penance for sin A ccord .

ing to a co mm on belief at least in Plato s
,

day after a thousand years the soul

,

entered a new incarnation and s o on ,

through ten rounds of earth and Hades ,

until at last freed from s in and earthly

,

dross by faithf ul observance of a holy

life on earth and by the purication
which it underwent below it re turned to
,

its divine abode ; but those who per

sisted in s in were condemned to all the
 IMMORTALITY 13

punishm ents whi ch man s imagination
could devise ; the wick e d were doomed
to lie in mud and lth whil e evil d e mons
,

rent their ' itals I nde e d the horrors

which the medieval Christian loved to
depict in order to terrify the wicked and
to rejoice the faithful wer e rst de
,

vised by the O rphi e s and their heirs ,

for exactly the same purpose .

But what bases did the O rphi e s nd

for their belief in the divine nature of the
soul P I n their mythology they had said
that man was created out of the ashes of
the Titans in which a spark of D ionysus
still remained But in fact they seem to
.

have rested on faith or intuition without ,

working out clearly a phi losophic answer .

They were indeed deeply conscious of

man s dual nature ; they perceived that

on the one hand he is pulled by his baser

instincts and desire s which they natu
,

rally attribut e d to the body and that on

,

the other hand he is prompted by nobler

14 PAGAN IDEAS OF

aspirations whi ch they assigned to his

,

soul This hi gher part of man s dual s e lf

.

was for them the D ionysiac el e ment in

, ,

him

. And man s moral obligation they
held to be to free thi s divine e lement
from the clogging weight of the body to ,

cease to blind hi s soul with clay So .

far as we are aware the Or p hi cs were ,

th e rst among the G reeks to make t he

divinity of the so ul a motive for the r e
l ig io us life and perhaps the r st to see
,

that if the s oul is divine it may natu

, ,

rall y be regarded as eternally so and ,

therefore as imm ortal What more mo .

mento ns thoughts as to the soul s nature
and its destiny could any sect have i n
t r o duce d than these P They were shar e d
by their contemporaries the Py t hag o ,

r eans ; in fact it is hard to say with

certainty whic h sect developed these con

9
ce p t s r s t .

B ut the O rphi c Pythagorean co n -

dence in the imm ortality of th e soul was

 IMMORTALITY 15

at t he most o nl y an e motional beli e f I t .

re maine d for Plato in the e arly fourth

century to give that beli e f a philosophic
basis and thereby to transform it into a
r e asonable article of re ligion Thi s he .

fundamentally did wh e n he brought his

,

conc e pt of t he reasoning soul into con

ne c t io n with his doctrin e of forms or
'
ideas He maintained that be hind
.

this transi ent phenomenal world known

to us through the senses lies another ,

world the world of ideas invisible per

, , ,

manent and real which can be grasped

, ,

by the reason only These permanent .

ideas h e said are of various grades and

, ,

de grees the suprem e idea being that of

,

the G ood and the B e autiful which is t he ,

cause of all existe nce truth and knowl , ,

edge ; i t at onc e compre hends these

things within itself and is sup e rior to
10
them ; it is the Absolute G od ,
.

But all the ideas includi ng the A b s o

,

lute are as I have just said app r e

, , ,
 16 PAGAN IDEAS OF

hended not by man s senses but by his
intellect Therefore argues Plato man s
.
, ,

reasoning soul must have the same na

ture as the ide as ; like them it must b e ,

long to the world above the sens es and

with them it must partake of the A b s o
lute . M oreover since the ideas are eter
,

nal and im mortal it inevitably follows ,

that man s reasoning soul has existed
11
from eterni ty and wi ll exist forever .

This is not the occasion to discuss th e

validity of Plato s doctrine Aristotle .

stated onc e for all the fundam ental o b

, ,
12

j e c t i o ns to his teacher s views But we .

shall readily grant that if we accept ,

Plato s doctrine hi s conclusions as to t h e

,

immortality of the soul may logically

follow and that no further evidence is
needed to convince us Ye t Plato was .

not content to let the matter rest on this

single argument for in other dialogues
,

he adduces proofs whi ch do not seem s o

convincing to us as to their author He .
 IMMORTALITY 17

attempts to prove immortality from t he

s e lf motion of the soul again from t he
-
,

dim recoll ections out of an earlier exist

ence which enable one to recall axio
matic truths or to recognize relations as ,

in mathe matics things whi ch one has

never learned in this present life O n
.

another occasion he argues from the un

changing nature o i the soul and from the

soul s superiority to th e body But he
.

seems to have th ought the m ost convin e

ing proof was the fact that the notion of
life is inseparable from our concept of
the so ul ; that is a dead soul is unthi nk
,

able F or all these reasons therefore he

.
, ,

13
argued that the soul must b e i mm ortal .

Whatever we may t hink of Plato s dif
f e r e nt proofs they have furnished the
,

armories of apologists alm ost down to

our own day I n antiquity they were
.

constantly repeated in whole or in part

, ,

not o nl y by devoted members of the

A cade my and later by t h e N eoplatonists ,
18 PAGAN IDEAS OF
but by t he E clectics and others like ,

Cic e ro in the rst book of his Tusculan

D isputations and at the close of S cipio s
,

D ream ; they were borrowed by the

S toics and some eight hundred years
,

after Plato had rst formulated them ,

they were employed by S t Augustine in

.

his tract D e I m m o r tal i tate A ni m ae The .

religious intuition of the O rphic and Py

t hag o r e an then was given a rational basis
by Plato and thus supported proved s o
, ,

convincing to antiquity that Plato s
views were the most important of all in

supporting be lief in the soul s imm ortal
ity They were in large m easure taken
.

up by the Christian church and as has , ,

been often shown the doctrine of a spirit

,

ual imm ortality apart and free from the

body was of immense service to primi
,

tive Christianity when the hope of the

,

early return of Christ to found a ne w

kingdom on earth faded before the
length ening years .
 IMMORTALITY 19

To Plato hi mself his b elief in im m o r

tality was of the greatest moment for ,

the whol e fabric of his ethi cal and politi

cal phi losophy is built against the back
ground o f that doctrine A nd ind e ed we
.

should all grant much validity to the

argument that the human reason though
,

we ak and limite d is one with the divine

,

and innite re ason ; othe r wise t h e hu

man could have no understanding of the
divine But when it is further argued
.

t h at i f the human reason is of the same

'

nature with the divine it must b e et e rnal

,

and immortal we may reply that even

, ,

so we are not convinced that the individ

,

ual so ul must therefore have a conscious

and s e parate existence through all eter
mity ; its id e ntity may be lost by ab

sorption into t h e universal reason the ,

supreme ide a Thi s is a matter on which

.

Plato nowhere delivers a clear opinion ,

but hi s thought is so plainl y c e ntered on

the individual soul that we can hardly
20 PAGAN IDEAS OF
believe that it was possible for him to

conceive of the soul s personali ty ever
being lost in the Absolute .

Although Plato and hi s greatest pupil ,

Ari stotl e regarded man s reasoning soul
,

as spiritual so m ethi ng distinct from

,

matter few ancient thi nkers were able

,

to rise to t he concept of the imm aterial

ity of man s reasoni ng nature The

.

S toics who in their eclectic system bor

,

rowed from both Plato and Aristotle as ,

well as from many other predecessors ,

held to a strict materialism which they

took from Heraclitus But to the ir ma
.

t e r ial principle they appl ied a concept

which they took from Aristotle for they ,

recognized in all things the existence of

an active and a passive principle and ,

they said that by the action of the former

on the latter all phenomena were pro
,

duce d The active principle they called

.

reason intelligence the cause of all

, ,

th ings I t was the world reason which

.
-
,
 I MMORTALITY 21

according to their view permeated every ,

part of t he cosmos causing and directing

,

all things To express their concept of

.

its nature they often named it F ire the

, ,

most powerful and active of the elements ,

or rather the pri mordial e lement ; again

they often call ed it G od for they did not ,

hesitat e to speak of this imman e nt prin

c ip l e as a person F urthermore sinc e
.
,

man is a part of the cosmos th e world ,

reason e xpresses itself in him I ndeed .

man s reason the directing element of
,

the human soul is itself a part of th e

,

world reason or in E pictetus striking
-
,

14 '
phrase man is a fragment of G od
,
.

A t this point the S toic and the Platonist

were in accord although the paths of
,

th ought which they had travelled were

very dif f erent Ye t the S toic coul d not
.

agree with the Platonist that the individ

ual soul survived forever since he held ,

to a cyclical theory of the cosmos ac ,

cording to whi ch thi s present universe

22 PAGAN IDEAS OF
was te mporal I t had been created by
.

the eternal re by t he world reason

,
-
,

from itself and it was de stine d in due

,

season to sink back again into universal

r e . M
eantime accor di ng to t h e views
,

of most S toics the souls of the just woul d

,

survive thi s body asc e nding to the

,

spheres above the world where they ,

would dwe ll until absorbed once more

into the divine el e ment from which they
sprang To the souls of the wicked only
.

a short period at most of post corporeal -

existence was granted brevity of life

15
or annihilation was their punishm ent .

S trictly speaking the prospect of the

,

limited existence after death which the ,

S toics h e ld out as virtue s reward should ,

have had little value for the phil osophic

mind especially as their philosophy o f
,

fe t ed no warrant that personality would

survive at all But it would seem that
.

men at every period of human history

h ave had i mm o rtal longings in the m s o
 IMMORTALITY 23

strong that they have e ag e rly embraced

the assurance of eve n a brief re spite from
annihilation ; certain it is that to many
G re e ks and R omans the S toic doctrin e
of a lim ited exist e nc e aft e r death was a
strong incentiv e to ' irtu e and a conso
lation in t h e midst of this world s trials
.

B ut no doctrin e of t h e post corporeal -

e xistenc e of t h e soul has ever had t h e

e ld entirely to itself We know that in

.

antiquity even the S toic conception of

the soul s limited survival to say noth

,

ing of Platonic b e li e fs in actual immortal

ity met with much opposition and denial
,

among the intellectual class e s The E pi .

cu r e ans with th e ir thorough going atom

,
-

i s t i c materialism would not allow that

,

the soul had any existence apart from t h e

body ; on the contrary they h e ld that
,

the soul came into b e ing at the moment

of conception grew with the body and
, , ,

at the body s death was onc e more dis

,

solved into the atoms from which it rst

24 PAGAN IDEAS OF

was form ed E picurean polemics were

.

di rected against both popular s up e r s t i

tions and Plato ni c metaphysics ; the
attacks had the advantage of off ering
rational and for the day scientic ex
, ,

planations of natural phenomena whi ch ,

fed hum an curiosity as to the cau s es of

t hings and which if accepted might
, , ,

logically lead to that freedom from the

soul s perturbation whi ch was the aim

of the teaching M
oreover the nobl e
.
,

resignation the hi gh moral and humane

,

zeal which characterized the E picurean

,

S choo l at its best as well as its easy de

,

cline into hedonistic appeals made it ,

popular especially in the last two cen

,

t ur i e s before our era But the very re

.

and passion of L ucretius its most gift e d ,

L atin exponent give us the impression

,

that after all most men were not moved

to nd the peace whi ch the poet prom
ised them if they would but accept the
,

doctrine of t he soul s dissolution at the

m o ment of death .
 IMMORT ALITY 25

The S ceptics also who claimed not an,

inconsiderable num ber of int e llectuals ,

doubted the possibility of a future lif e ,

or found themselves unable to decide th e

matter at all L ike Tennyson s S age
.

they would de clare :

Tho u cans t no t p r o ve t h at t ho u ar t b o dy
al o ne ,

No r cans t t ho u p r o ve t h at t h o u ar t sp ir i t
l
a o ne ,

No r cans t t ho u p r o ve t h at t ho u ar t b o t h in
o ne

T ho ucans t no t pr o ve t h at t h o uar t im m o r tal ,

no ,

No r yet t h at t h o uar t m l
o r ta .

I nd eed it is t r ue that of all the philo

sophic sects at the beginning of our
era only those which we re imbu e d with
,

Platonic and O rphic Pythagorean id e as -

,

had cond e nce in the soul s immortal
ity The S toic position we have already
.

discussed S ome scholars following

.
,

Rohde claim that there was little b e

16
,
26 PAGAN IDEAS OF

lief in any kind of a future life among t he

educated clas ses at t h e time we are con
s id e r ing ; this I hold to be an error al ,

though i t is certain that the E picureans

and S ceptics had a large following I n .

any case we need to remind ourselves

that the intellectuals are always a small
minority whose views may not represent
,

in any way popular beliefs .

We are however not W ithout evidence

, ,

that there were doubters among the com

mon people F lippant epigrams and
.

e pitap hs show that men could at least

assume a cyni cism toward life and a light

heartedness toward death which equal
Lucian s
M
ore than once we can read
.

funerary inscriptions to thi s e e ct I

was not hing I am nothing D o thou,
.

wh o art still alive eat d ri nk be merr y

, , , ,

17 '
come ,
O r sent im ents like thi s : O nce
I had no existence ; now I have none .

I am not aware of it I t does not conc e rn .

'18
me . Again we nd the denial : In
 IMMORTALITY 27

Hade s there i s no boat no Charon no , ,

A eacus who holds t he keys no Cerberus ,

.

All o f us whom death has taken away

,

are rotten bones and ashes ; nothing

19 '
more . The sentiments are p e rhaps as
old as thinking man They have at .

tim es touches of humor which call forth

a smile as in the anxious inquiries of
,

C alli rnachus epigram :

C h ar i das what ,
'
is below P D ee p darkness B ut .

what of the paths upward P A ll a

lie.
'
And Pluto ? ere talk '
M .
'

2 '
Then we r e lost .

S uch expressions of course must not be , ,

given too much we ight in our reckoning .

The longing for annihil ation which ap ,

p e als at times to most weary mortals ,

also led to de di cations to eternal rest

21 '
or to eternal S leep B ut after all .

the number of such epitaphs is compar

at iv e ly small I n the nature of the
.
1

case many funerary inscriptions give no

testimony for or against a belief in
28 PAGAN IDEAS OF

imm ortality ; but large numbers S how

condence or a hope in a future life
, ,
.

II
The tim e has now come for us to r e
turn from our rather long hi storical s ur

vey to Virgil s Apocalypse and to listen ,

to the words with which Anchises S hade
taught hi s eager son :
'no w r s t t h at h eave n and ear t h and o ce an s

p lain,

The m o o n s b r igh t o r b and s tars o f T i ta

, n
b ir t h
A r e no ur is h e d b y o ne L if e ; o ne p r im al M ind ,

Im m ingle d wi t h t he vas t and ge ne r al fr am e ,

F ill s e ve r y par t and s t ir s t he m igh t y who le .

T he nce m an and b e as t t he nce cr eat ur e s o f

,

t he air ,
A nd all t h e warm ing m o ns t e r s t h at be f o und
s

B e ne at h t he le v e l o f t he m ar bl e d s ea;
A e r y vir t ue a ce l es t ial po we r
, ,

The ir nati ve s e e ds r e tain ; b ut b o die s vile ,

Wi t h lim b s o f clay and m e m b e r s bo r n t o di e ,

E ncum be r and o e r cl o ud ; whe nce also s pr ing

Te r r o rs and pas s io ns s u e r ing and j o y ;

,
 IMMORTALITY 29

Fo r fr o m de ep dar kne ss and cap t i vi t y

All gaz e b ut blindly o n t h e r adi ant w o r ld .

N o r wh e n t o lif e s l as t b e am t h e y b i d f ar e we ll

May suff er e r s cease fr o m pain no r quit e be ,

fr e e d
Fr o m all t h e ir e shly plague s ; b ut b y xe d
l aw,
Th e s t r ang e , inve t e r at e t aint wo r ks dee ply in .

Fo r t hi s t h e ch as t is e m e nt o f e vil s p as t
,

Is s uff e r e d h e r e and f ull r e q

,
ui t al p ai d .

S o m e hang o n hi gh o ut s t r e t ch e d t o vi e wle s s
,

wi nds ;
Fo r s o m e t h e ir s in s co nt agi o n m us t be p ur ge d

In vas t ab l ut io n o f de e p r o ll i ng s eas
-
,

Or b ur ne d away in r e E ach m an r e ce ive s

His gho s tl y po r t io n in t he wo r ld o f dar k ;
.

B ut t h e nce t o r e alm s E ly s ian we g o f r e e ,

Wh e r e f o r a f e w t h e se se at s o f bl iss ab ide ,

T il l t im e s l o ng l ap se a pe r f e c t o r b f ullls

,

A nd t ak e s al l t ai nt aw ay r e s t o r ing s o
,

The p ur e e t h e r e al so ul s r s t v ir g in r e

.
,

A t l as t wh e n t h e m i lle nnial ae o n s t r ik e s
, ,

G o d call s t h e m f o r t h t o y o uL e t h ae an s t r e am ,

In num e r o us h o s t t h at t h e nce o bl i vi o us all

, , ,

Th e y m ay b e h o ld o nce m o r e t he vaul t e d
s ky ,

A nd wi ll ingly to S hape s of e sh r et ur n .
30 PAGAN IDEAS or

These words express the co mmingled b e

liefs of O rphic Pythagorean Plato ni st
, , ,

and S toic How extensively such beliefs

.

were held by Virgil s contemporaries we
cannot say with accuracy but certain it ,

is that this book and thi s passage would

never have made the religious appeal
which they made in antiquity if they ,

had not corresponded to widespread con

vi ct i o ns .

But Virgil s sixth book contains much
more than the eschatological views of
phi l osophic schools ; it r e ects to an ex
t r ao r di nar y degree popular ideas and
practices I have already referred to the
.

fact that it represents a mystic initiation

of Virgil s hero as preparation for his
holy task N ow we know that at all
.

tim es the convictions of the majority of

men are founded not on the arguments
which thi nkers can supply but on hopes , ,

intuitions and emotional experi e nces

,
.

S uch were the grounds on whi ch the

 IMMORTALITY 3 1

O rphic built hi s hope of the purie d

soul s ul timate happiness

ore p o p u . M
lar than O rp hi sm we r e the Greek mys
t e r i e s of which t h e most important were
,

those ce lebrated annually at E leusis in

A ttica There the story of the rape of
.

Proserpina of D emet e r s search for her
,

daughter and of the daughter s r e co v
,

ery formed t he center of a mystic cere

,

monial O riginally these mysteries were

.

no doubt agricu l tural rites intended to

call to life the dead grain in the spring .

But b e fore the sevent h century B C , . .

,

the festival had been transform ed ; t he

miracle of the reviving vegetation of ,

the grain whi ch ( li es and lives again ,

h ere as s o m any tim es elsewhere h ad

, ,

become the symbol and assurance of

'
human imm ortality .

B e fore a dmission to the annual cele

bration the would b e initiate was dul y-

puried D uring the celebration t he in

.

i t iat e d by t heir own acts recall ed D eme

, ,
3 2 PAGAN IDEAS OF

ter s hunt for her daughter roami ng t he
,

shore with light e d torches ; lik e the god

dess they fast e d and then broke t heir
,

fast by drinking a holy potion of meal

and wat e r ; in the gre at hall of initiation
they witnessed a mystic dram a perhaps ,

s awholy objects e xhi bit e d and explained .

I n any case they underwent an emotional

experi e nce which so conrmed their in
tuitional belief in imm ortality that they,

were condent of peace and happiness

in this life and of blessedness in the lif e
to come where the y would join in the
,

sacred dance while the uninitiated would

M
,

be wretched . any are the expressions

of thi s ecclesiastica l co ndence The .

Homeric hymn of D emeter pro mised :

Blessed is he among mortal men who
24 '
has seen these rites P indar early in
.
,

the f t h century wrote :, Happy he

who has seen these t hings and then goes
beneath the earth for he knows the end
,

of life and i t s 'e us given beginning

- 25
.
'
 IMMORTALITY 33
S ophocl e s said : Thrice blessed are they
who have seen thes e rites and then go ,

to the hous e of Hades for they alone ,

have life there but all others have only

,
'

wo e.
' 26
A t the close of the fth cen
tury A ristophanes made his chorus of
m y s t ae sing : F or we alone have a s un
and a holy light we who have been ini t i
,

ated and who liv e honorably toward

,

friends and strangers reverencing t he ,

27
gods .
'
I n the thi rd century of the
Christian era an o i cial of the mysteries
,

s e t up an inscription which declares :

Verily glorious i s that mystery vouch

S afed by the blessed gods for death is no ,

28 '
ill for mortals but rather a good
, .

I t is difcul t for us now to app r e ci

ate the widespread inuence o f these
E leusinian mysteries They had m any .

branches ; at E l e usis they continued to

be celebrated until 3 96 A D when Ala . .
,

m c the G oth destroyed D emeter s an

cient shr ine O ther G reek mysteries also

.
34 PAGAN IDEAS OF
ourishe d in the edi terranean world M
thos e of S amothrace ; the myste ries of
B acchus whose exces s es brought down
,

the di spleasure of the R oman S e nate in

1 86 D C ; and in later times the m y s
. .

t e r i e s of Hecate or D iana All had this .

in common that they gave the m i t iat e

,

assurance of a happy immortality .

Under the R oman E mpire the lo nging

for religious satisfaction through mystic
rites and revelations found new and ex
otic sources of gratication S laves trad .
,

e r s and nally soldiers from Hellenized

M
,

E gypt S yria and A sia inor carried

M
, , ,

t heir gods thr oughout the editerranean

world and eve n beyond to the A tlantic
H
, ,

O cean to adrian s Wall in B ritain to
, ,

th e Rh ine and D anube and to the bor ,

ders of the A frican desert The invasion .

of the We st by th e se oriental gods began

in 204 B C when in answer to the
. .
, ,

R o man S enate s invitation the A siatic
M
,

G reat other of th e Gods took up her

 IMMORTALITY 35
residence in R ome . M
any other di vinities

came during the succeeding centuries ;

but three remain e d most promin e nt : the
G reat M other of the G ods whom I ,

have just mentioned with her att e nd

,

ant A ttis ; E gyptian I sis and her asso

ciate di vinities who were worshipped in
,

R ome as early as Cicero s day ; and
M
the P ersian ithras whose cult became
,

inuential in the West toward the close

29
of the rst century o f our era These .

religions added to their exotic charm

that spell which great age casts over

men s imaginations O siris the hus
.
,

band o f I sis had been lord of the dead

,

in E gypt for mor e than two thousand

years ; A ttis and the G reat other b e M
longed to an immemorial antiquity ;
M
while ithras had hi s o rigin in the r e
moter E ast at a period to which neither
M
,

G reek nor R oman knowledge ran ore .

ove r A ttis and O siris like D ionysus and

, ,

P ersephone among the G reeks or the ,

3 6 PAGAN IDEAS or

S emi tic A donis and Tam m uz were gods ,

who died and lived again and who there ,

fore became warrants of man s immortal

ity . M
ithras belonge d to another class of
di vinities He was held to be the bene
.

factor and constant supporter of man

ki nd A ccording to the sacred legend
.
,

he had himself wrestled with the po wers

of darkness and had e stablished civiliza
tion on earth before he ascended to
,

heaven whence he was believed to aid

,

his faithful followers in their cons tant

struggle against the servants of Ahr i
man the lord of wicke dness
,
.

The devotees of these gods formed

sacred communities admi ssion to which
,

was obtained by secret initiation ; t h e

rituals were mysteries in which the de
v o t e e had pictured to him or him self ,

acted out the sacred drama whereby

, ,

he received assurance of divine p r o t e c

tion here and of a happy immortality
hereafter The initiate moreover was
.
, ,
 IMMORTALITY 37
believed to experience a new birth and
to enter into union with his god s o that
,

he became O siris S e rapis or A ttis or

-

M
, ,

ithras even as the D ionysiac devotee

,

became a B acchus .

To the question how the comforting

assurance of present safety and of future
imm ortality was given the initiate we ,

c an return no more satisfactory answer

than we can m ake in the case of the

G reek mysteries ; y e t we may get some
hi nt from the words which the L atin
writer Apul eius puts into the mouth of
, ,

his hero L ucius who was initiated into

, ,

the rites of I sis This is all that he

.

might tell : I approached the bounds of

death I trod the threshold of Proser
.

pina I was carried thr ough all th e ele

.

ments and returned again to the upper

air A t dead of night I s aw the s un
.

glowing with a brilliant light The gods

.

of heaven and of hell I approached in

very person and worshipped face to
3 8 PAGAN IDEAS OF
' 3
face . Obscure as these words are ,

much is plain I n some way the de

.

v o t e e was made to b e lieve that he lik e ,

Virgil s hero had pas s ed through t he
,

world of the dead and had been born

again into a ne w life ; he had touched
the elem e nts earth air water and
, , ,

re the very foundations of the visi

,

b le cosmos ; he had seen the s un which

ever shines on the consecrated ; and he
had been granted the be at ic vision .

Therefore he knew th at his salvation was

secure forever .

F urt he r more in these mystery religions

preparation for the emotional e xp e r i
e nc e s of initiation was made by means

of lustral baths fasting abstinence and

, , ,

penance ; once consecrated the devotee ,

supported his reli gious life by following

a prescribed regim en and by p ar t icip at
ing in frequent holy ofces ; degr e es of
initiation and grades of ofce marked his
advance in fait hful prociency ; while
 IMMORTALITY 39
m agic words and formulae committ e d ,

to m e mory assured him a safe passag e

,

from thi s world to the n e xt .

The orie ntal myst e ries enjoyed a wide

spre ad popul arity e xc e pt i h G reece un
, ,

der the R oman E mpir e down to the latter

half of the third century The n they .

began to lose their hold in t h e R oman

provi nces b e for e the growing power of
Christianity ; yet in the city of R ome

they stubbornly held th e ir ground until

the end of the fourth century The rst .

S t Pe t e r s was built hard beside a Shrine
M
.

of the G reat othe r of the G ods ; t here

for thr ee quart e rs of a century the old
-

and the ne w mysteri e s strove in con

scious rivalry until at last Cybel e was
,

forced to yiel d to Christ .

The last c e nturies before the birt h of

Jesus and the opening centuri e s of our
era were m arked by an increasing relig
ious longing and unr e st rst among t h e
,

G reeks and then among the R omans .

4 0 PAGAN IDEAS OF

There was a weariness and a di s s at i s f ac

tion with the inh erited forms of religious
expression ; and many fe lt a s e nse of s e p
aration from G od of a gulf b e tween the
,

human and the divine whi ch they hoped

,

might be bridge d by a direct revelation ,

by a vision which would grant imme

,

diate knowledge of G od These eager

.

desires led in part to an increase in super

s t i t io n and credulity over which we need
,

not now pause ; in part to the resort to

the oriental mysteries of which I have
just spoken ; and in part to a revival of
Pythagorean mysticism and of mystic
Platonism among the intellectuals who ,

no longer felt that the reason and the

will gave them the assurance which they
requi red .

The later mystic phil osophies laid

much stress on an ascetic discipli ne in
this life to secure the so ul s purication
,

,

and all taught that the great e nd of man

was to attain to the knowledge of G od ,
 IMMORTALITY 4 1

wherein lay man s supreme happiness .

S uch knowledge it was thought could

, ,

come o nl y through a reve lation Here .

thes e phi losophies agreed with the teach

ing of the oriental mysteries and in ,

deed with popular belief as well O n .

the question o f the immortality of the

soul however the lat e r mystics brought
, ,

forward no new arguments Plotinus .

,

the greatest of the Ne oplatonists virtu ,

ally repeats the proo fs adduced by the

31
founder o f the A cademy . U ndoubt
e dly during t h e opening centuries of the

Christian era there was a growing belief

in the soul s immortality or at least an
,

increasing hope of a future life but such

,

hopes and beliefs outside Christianity

, ,

were not based on new arguments Plato .

had once for all in antiquity supplied ,

the philosophi c grounds for condenc e .

Only in modern times have ne w argu

ments of any weight been adduced .
4 2 PAGAN IDEAS or

L et us now pause to summ arize the

resul ts of the considerations which have
thus far occupied us We may fairly s ay
.

that in spite of popular doubt inte ll e ct

, ,

ual scepticism and philosophic deni al

, ,

beliefs in some kind of existence beyond

the grave were wid e spread in the G re co
R oman world at the beginning of our
era . F or m any probably for most b e
, ,

lief did not advance beyond inherited

intuitions fears or hopes whi ch we re
, , ,

fostered by t e ndance of the dead pre

M
,

scribed by immemorial custom any .

,

both t he simple and the learned found ,

their assurance in diverse fo r m s of G reek

mysteries ; others again strengthened
, ,

to e ndure the b ue t ing s of this lif e by

the resolute doctrines of S toicism were ,

satised with the extended though l im ,

i t e d future e xistence vouchsafed the

,

virtuous ; while the later Platonists r e ,

turning to the mystic O rphic Py t hag o -

rean elements which had inuenced the

 IMMORTALITY 43

founder of their school o f fere d their dis,

cip l e s arguments in favor of a genuin e

immortality Under the E mpire the s up

.

ports o f faith becam e more num e rous

and appealing A t the lowe st e nd of t he
.

scale were Charlatans as there had been ,

32
since Plato s day who imposed on th e
,

fears and hopes of their victim s for their

own mercenary ends Highe r were thos e
.

inspiring E astern mysteries which were

carried to the remotest provinces bind ,

ing their devotees by initiation ritual ,

service and a prescribed regim e n more

, ,

constantly to a religious life than G reek

mysteries had e ver done ; and t he great
end of all was the assurance that the
souls o f the faithful Should not die but ,

S houl d mount to the upper heavens to be

at one with G od .

The last ' ital phi losophy of antiquity

was N eoplatonism on which we have
,

just touched ; the chi e f aim of the N eo

platonist also was to secure union with
44 PAGAN IDEAS or

the D ivine and hi s greatest article of

,

faith was the soul s imm ortali ty I f this

.

theosophi c philosophy se em to any of

poor account I would re mind him that
,

by O rigen and Augustine N eoplatoni sm

was brought into Chr istian th ought ,

where it has been operative ever S ince .

III
I n view of th e facts with whi ch we
have been occupied we shal l not make
the error of thi nking that C hristiani ty
brought the h ope of i mmortality among
men for as we have seen hope
, , ,
nay ,

sure condence in the soul s survival was
,

spread throughout the ancient world

when Jesus began his ministry Wha t .

can we say of early Christian teachi ng ,

and how was it related to its pagan

environment P
C hristia nity grew out of Judaism .

N ow it is a striking fact that the Jews

were later than m ost of the peoples abo ut
 IMMORTALITY 45

the m in conceiving of indi vidual im m o r

33
tality .Clinging to monotheism and
absorb e d in the life of their nation they
,

had cut th e mselves o ff from some of the

ideas developed by the ir n e ighbors T0
.

follow out the intricat e and uncertain

history of eschatological ide as among the
Jews would be too dii cul t here We
may simply s ay that wh e n Jesus b e gan
his ministry a considerabl e part of the
Je ws had abandoned the expectation of
a material kingdom of G od and looked
fo r ward to a spiritual kingdom on a
transformed e arth or in heaven I n thi s
.

kingdom those would share who through

,

G od s grace and their own righteousness
had won a place there in ; but the wicked
we r e either to be punished forever or
to be utterly destroyed To these ideas
.

Jesus teaching was closely related al ,

though he gave a nobler meaning to Jew

i s h doctrine and he did not limit the
,

hope of a future existence so narrowly as

4 6 PAGAN IDEAS OF

some woul d do . M
oreover he adopted ,

from the law the teaching which made

salvation and futur e happiness depend
on a love for God and for one s fellow

men which would result in an unself

,

i s h life of righteousness S alvation he

.
,

taught was a present e xperience open

, ,

to every man who conformed to the '

requirement .

After t he crucixion of Jesus the ,

A postles and their successors naturally

made his person de ath and resurrection
, ,

the great means thr ough which his fol

lowers secured salvation Paul more .
,

over taught that thr ough faith

,
using
the word in a somewhat unusual sense
the believer secured the actual presence
of Christ within him entered into a
,

mystic union with t he divine S aviour by ,

which the man was freed from sin and

reborn into a new spiritual life ; this new
life was conrm ed by the indwelling

Holy S pirit which co mpleted the man s
 IMMORTALITY 47

moral regeneration I n the F ourth G os

.

p e l we nd a S i m ilar doctrin e of a mystic

union with Christ s e cur e d by b e lief in

Him as the incarnate Word a belief

whi ch brought about a spiritual rebirth
and ther e with gave a present warrant of

eternal life .

I t is unnecessary for our present pur

pose to examine the beli e fs of the earli est
Christians as to the resurrection or the
second co ming of Chr ist which they ex
,

p e c t e d to take plac e within their own

time these beliefs and many others
the Apostolic Church derived naturally
from their Jewish tradi tion and from the
teac hings of Jesus I shall ask you rath e r
.

to focus your thought on the f undam e n

tal ideas of thi s early Christianity : that
is to say on the revelation of G od the
, ,

punishment of sin by suf f ering or annihi

lation the mystic union wi th t h e D ivine
, ,

and a happy immortality as a reward

for faith and righteousness Were these .
4 8 PAGAN IDEAS OF
ideas foreign to the peopl e s of the edi M
terranean area P N o our survey has
,

remind e d us that on the contrary the y

were famil iar over wide stretches of the
G reco Roman world
-
.

D o not misund e rstand me here O f .

course I am not making the el e mentary

blund e r of saying that because certain
beliefs of t h e C hr istians and the Pagans
were similar they therefore were iden
,

tical or t h at they were derive d from

,

one another or that the many factors

,

of which they were composed were the

same N0 one with any knowledge of
.

the histo r y of religious thought could

m aintain that But the point whi ch I
.

do wish to emphas ize is this viz : t hat

,
.

the eschatological ideas widely current

in the M
editerranean world w e re such
that Christianity found a favorable e n
v ir o nm e nt when it b e gan its proselyting

work This seems to m e one of the most

.

S ignicant facts in th e relation of early

 IMMORTALITY 49

Christianity to paganism The Christian

.

t e achings as to the m e ans by whi ch the

assurance of a happy immortality was to
be secured could hardly se e m very strange
at rst h e aring to any one who was famil
iar with mystery religions or with much
of the religious philosophy current in the
pagan world during the early Christian
centuries Closer examination would r e
.

veal fundame ntal dif ferences between

C hristian belief and the pagan hope B ut .

it is not insignicant that Christianity

spread most rapi dl y at rst in S yria and
M
Asia inor countries long fa miliar with
,

those mystic religions whi ch had prom

,

ised what the nobler faith supplied .

IV
Al though we now h ave exam i ned the
conditions which to my mind are the
, ,

most signicant in the relation of pagan

ideas of im mortality to those of early
C hristianity there yet remain m atters
,
50 PAGAN IDEAS o r

whi ch if less important are still of more

, ,

than merely curious int e rest We s hall

.

now look at some of these questions .

What notions of heave n and of hell

did the G reeks and Romans have P This
inquiry i s often made The reply is
M
.

easily given . an has always painted

hell and paradise after hi s own co ncep

tion of s ue r i ng and of happiness just ,

as trul y as he has made G od after hi s

own im age Co nsequently the ancient s
.

ideas of the future life ranged all the way

from the grossest m aterialistic concepts
to highly spiritualized beliefs Plato in
.

t he R epublic makes Ade im ant us say

that some seem to think that an im m o r
tality of drunkenness is vi rtue s highest

m eed
. B ut S ocrate s conceived the f u
ture state to be something very dif f er
ent ; a place in which he could hold high
36
discourse with the great ones of the past .

I n general h owever punishm ent and t e

, ,

wards were o i a m aterial sort for such ,

 IMMORTALITY 5 1

are most easily imagined and understood .

Has it been otherwis e with Christians P

The answer is to be found in Christian
apocalypses me di eval monuments r e
, ,

naissance ar t and in our own minds O f

,
.

course there developed in G r e ek thought

what we might call an orthodox g e o g r a
phy and scheme for the other world of ,

which Virgil gives us a just picture I n

.

t e r e s t i ng as it might prove to examine

the details of this picture we will rather
,

turn to other matters .

When Christianity spread am ong the

G entiles it at once ca m e under inuences
,

whi ch inevitably left their m arks in i t s

thought and practice L et me o f f er two
.

illustrations.

E arly in the hour I spoke of A eneas

journey through the lower world as an

initiation by whi ch he was enl ightened
and strengthened for the great task th at
lay before him ; and we have now seen
that in all the mysteries both G reek and
,
5 2 PAGAN IDEAS or

oriental there were initiatory rites in

, ,

whi ch the novice symbolically died to the '

old life and was born again into a new

existence . M
oreover thr ough his emo
,

t io nal experience h e received assuran ce

that his salvation was secure forever .

The idea of the new birth belongs to

Christianity also f rom the rst P aul .

held that it was brought about by faith ;

the author of the F ourth G ospe l taught
that it was secured by love and belief .

B aptism in primitive Christianity was

at rst Symbolical an act of ritual
purication whi ch was believed to indi
,

cate the re mission of sins and the b e

sto w
37
al of the Holy S pirit . But by the
second century Christianity had become
a mystery in the G reek s e nse into which
,

t he novice after a period of preparation

, ,

was duly initiated by baptism ; and

indeed the act was b e lieved to have
a m agic power to secure immortality ,

closely parallel to that of the pagan in

 i
f MMORTAL ITY
I 53
We all know that the eccle
/
f S
i t i at io n
s i as t i ca
l cond e nce which such belief
inspires is f ar from unknown today .

Again you will recall that when A nchi

s e s shade was instructing A eneas in the

meaning of life and death he said ,

No r whe n t o lif e s l as t b e am t he y bid far e well

May suere r s cease fr o m pain no r quit e be ,

fr e e d
Fr o m all t he ir e shly p lague s b ut b y xe d law ,

The s t r ang e inve t e r at e t aint wo r ks de e p ly in

, .

Fo r t hi s t he chas t i s e m e nt o f e vi ls p as t
,

I s s uff e r e d h e r e and f ull r e q

,
ui t al p ai d .

S o m e h ang o n high o uts t r e t che d t o viewles s

,

winds ;
Fo r s o m e t h e ir S in s co nt agi o n m us t be p u r ge d

In vas t abl ut i o n o f dee p r o ll ing s eas -

,

Or b ur ne d away i n r e E ach m an r e ce ive s

H
.

i s gh o s t ly po r t i o n in t he wo r ld o f dar k .
'

Thus the sojourn of the soul in the world

below for the thousand years whi ch must
elapse before it coul d be born again was ,

a period of cl eansing from ancient s in .

This idea of purication we have alr e ady

54 PAGAN IDEAS OF

seen to be as old as th e Or p hi cs ; it was

made an important e lem e nt by Plato ;
and indeed all who h e ld to the doctrin e
of rebirths regarded the p e riods between
earthl y existenc e s as times of moral pun
i s hm e nt and cleans ing There were cer
M
.

tain analogies in ithraism O rthodox .

C hristianity could not adopt the doc

trine of metempsychosis although som e
,

G nostics found this possible by re ject ,

ing th e resurrection of the body B ut .

b eyond question the G reek doctrine of

post mortem purgation from s in com
-
,

bining wit h ideas i nherit e d from the Old

Testament has been inuential in th e
,

development of a Christian belief in

purication especially by re in an i n
, ,

t e r m e diat e state between death and

paradi se The doctrine of purgatory in
.
,

somewhat di f f erent form s has been held

,

by both the E astern and the Western

C h ur c h es Al t h ough thi s doctrine did
.

not becom e a deni te part of th e t heol

 IMMORTALITY 55
ogy of the We stern Church until the
time of G re gory the G reat (590
ne vertheless traces of it can be found in
the earlier Church writers O rigen held
.

that even the perfect must pass through

39
re after death ; S t Augustine was
.

less condent but he thought it not past

,

belief that imperfect souls might be

40
saved by cleansing am e s The West
.

e r n Church ,
from S t Thomas A quinas
.

in the thirte enth to B e ll ar m ino in the

S ixteenth century held the doctrine that
the cleansing re was as material as that
of any S toic ; but today that view has
41
in large part be e n abandoned .

These two illustrations must suf fi ce to

suggest the ways in which Chr istian
thought was inuenced by its pagan
environment .

F inally we will consider an example

of parallelism between pagan and Chris
tian ideas I t is evident that the G reeks
.
,

who made such large us e of successive

56 PAGAN IDEAS or

rebirths following periods of punish

,

ment and purication b e low thought of ,

these repeate d lives and deaths as form

ing a moral series s o that moral progress
, ,

or degeneracy at one stage was i ns e p ar

,

ably connected with both the preceding

and the following stage s To them life
.

here and life in the other world were

indi ssolubly bound together This was .

also as true of S toicism with its limited

reward for uprightness as it was of Pl a
,

t o nis m The G reek mysteries which did

.
,

not concern themselves with m e t e m p s y

c ho s i s
,
by the fth century before our
era l ikewise made future happiness de
pend i n part at least on righteousness in
this life ; the ori e ntal mysteries too made
this existence the condition of the next .

I n short we may say that wherever men

,

believed in any kind of a future exist

ence they alm ost unive rsally held to the
,

co mm on beli ef that future happiness was

to be th e reward of a virtuous life on
 IMMORTALITY 57
earth But this is one of the fundamental
.

principles of Christianity P aganism

.
,

there fore was in accord on thi s point

,

with its enemy and thereby favore d the

,

propagation of the new religion ; more

over the superior e thi cal de mands of
,

Christianity and i t s humanitarian prin

c ip l e s no doubt found a ready response,

especiall y in enl ightened circles .

S o we have return e d to that whi ch

seems to me mo st important in the
relations of paganism and of early
Christiani ty I n many ways paganism
.

provided an environm ent favorable for

the spread of the religion which Jesus
founded The two were at many points
.

irreconcilable and the former has not

,

always beneted the latter by its inu

ence ; but it is a grave historical error
no t to recognize the areas in whi ch the

thought of the two ran parallel Is the

.

nobler faith the poorer because i t s paths

were m ade broad by the pagan in his
search after Imm ortality P
NOT ES
 NOTES
Eduar d N o r de n, A enei s , B i tch 'I , Le ipz ig ,

I .

1 903 , is m o s t u s ef u l f o r i t s co m m e nt ar y , e s pe ciall y
o n r e li g io us and phil o s o ph i c m at t e r s .

2 . W War de Fo wler , The R el i gi o us E xp er i ence

.

of the R o m an P e o pl e , Macm i l lan Co , 1 9 1 1 , pp . .

4 1 9 ff .

S o D ant e s j o ur ne y t hr o ug h He ll , Pu

r g at o r y ,

and Par adi s e s e cur e d his co nve r s io n and s al vat io n,

b r i ngi ng hi m nally t o f r e e do m and t o kno wl e dg e .

Par adi s o , XXX

I , 8 5 8 7 and XXX III e nt ir e .

3 . M e t e m p s y c h o s is w a s t h e s u b j e c t o f t h e In g e r

so l l l e c t u r e b y Pr o f e sso r Ge o r g e Fo o t Mo o r e i n

1 9 14 Th e r e f o r e t hat t h e m e i s no t di scus se d he r e
. .

4 . C f F r
. i e dl a n d e r , R

o m an L if e a n d M a n n er s,

R o ut l edg e , Lo ndo n, 1 9 1 0 , i ii , ch ap II . .

5 . O n t h e p r e -
H e ll e ni c p e r i o d s , s ee S ch u ch

h ar dt , S chl i em ann s E xcavati o ns , N e w Yo r k, 1 8 9 1 ,

pass im ; L ag r ang e , La Cr ete A nci em t e , Par is , 1 908 ,

c ap II ; B
h . a iki e , The S e a -
' i ngs of Cr ete , Lo ndo n,
1 9 1 0 , chap X I . .

6 Cf Fair b anks , Gr eek Rel i g i o n, N e w Yo r k,

. .

1 9 10 , pp 1 68 1 8 8 ; S t e ng e l , Gr i echi s che ' al i/m al

-

M
.

ter titm er , 2d c d , .uni ch , 1 8 98 , 80 ; Wis so wa,

R el i g i o n and ' ul tus der Roo t er , 2d e d , Muni ch , .

1 9 1 2, 3 ;6 W W. ar d e F o w l e r ,
R el i g i o u s E xper i

ence of the R o m an P e o pl e , Lo ndo n, 1 9 1 1 , pass im ;

and e s pe ci ally Le ct u re X I
'I , My s t i cis m Ide as
62 NO TES
of t h e Fut ur e L if e ; C Pas cal .
, Le Cr edenz a d Ol

tr eto m ba, 2 vo l s 1 9 1 2 .
, .

7 . B . I . Whee le r ,
D i o ny s os and I m m o r tal i ty ,
Ing e r so ll Le ct ur e f o r
1 8 98 99 The cl ass i c wo r k o n
.

Or phis m i s R o hde , Ps yche : S eel encul t and Uh

s ter bl ichkei ts g l aube der Gr i eche n, 3 d c d , Tii b ing e n, .

1 903 , v o l ii . .

8 F r g 1 54 A b e l
. . .

9 .A pp a r e nt l y O r p h is m wa s al r e ady e s t ab li sh ed

at C r o t o n in so ut he r n t al y wh e n Py t h ag o r as ar I
r i ve d t h e r e abo u t 530 B C b ut t he m at t e r is ve r y . .

unce r t ain . I t is cl ear t hat

Or p his m and Py t h ag '

o r e anis m so o n co al e s ce d , e ve n if t he y w e r e o r i g i

nall y dis t inct .

10 . R ep .
,
vi , 508 f . It s ho ul d be said t h at t he
i de nt it y o f Pl at o
up r e m e idea wi t h Go d is d e nie d

s s

by so m e Plat o nis t s ; but cf Phil 22 C ; Ti m 28 A . . .

29 1 , 57 A, 9 2 C
11 Th e do ct r ine o f i deas is de ve lo pe d in t h e
.

Phaedo , Phaedr us , Meno , S ym po s i um , and e s pe

ci all y in t h e R epu bl ic In t h e S o phi s t and t h e .

P ar m em des , Plat o cr i t i ciz e s his o wn vi e w s acut e ly

'

12 Metaphys , i , 9 ; vi , 8 ; xii , 10 ; xiii , 3

. .

Phaedr us , 24 5 (cf Lo ws , 11, 894 B , xii , 966 E) ;

M
13 . . .

Phaedo , 7 2 ii , 8 6, 105 ; ono , 8 1 5 .

14 D is t , i , 14 , 6 ; ii , 8 , 1 1
. .

15 Cf E ' A r no l d , Ro m an S to icis m , Uni ve r

. . . .

s i t y Pr e ss , Cam b r i dg e 1 9 1 1 , ch ap X I . .

16 R o hde , Ps yche , ii , 3 7 9
.

.

17 . ii , 14 34 ; cf 1 8 7 7 , 226 2 . .

18 CI L , v , 1 939
. . .

19 CI L , vi , 14 67 2
. Gr aec , xi v , 1 7 4 6
. . .
 NO TES
20 . Call ,
E pi g , 3 f
I
. I 3, .

21 . CIL .
,
iii , 58 25 ; vi , 9 280, 108 4 8 ; x , 6706 ; e t c .

A en vi , Tr ans lat io n b y Theo do r e

7 23 7 5 1
C William s Ho ug ht o n M
22 . .
,
.

. il in C o m pany , ,
B o s t o n,
1 908 .

23 . On t he se
m y s t e r i e s , se e R o hde , s yche , i , P 3

pp 2 7 8 f f ; Par ne ll ,
. ul ts o the r eek S tates , iii ,
. C f G

1 26 2 1 3 ; A M
o m m s e n, F es te der S tadt A then,
.

PP 20 2 04 2177, 4 5 4
24 .
4 80 f .

25 . Fr g . 13 7 .

26 . Fr g 7 53 . .

27 .
4 54 ff .

28 . Eph A r ch
, p
. 8 1 , 8 iii . .

29 On t he se and o t he r o r ie nt al g o ds , see F
. .

C um o nt , The Or i ental R el i g i o ns i n Ro m an ag an P
i s m , hicag o , 1 9 1 1 ; al s o G S ho we r m an, The Gr eat
C
Hp di
.

Mo ther of ,
the AG o ds
tt is ,
1 0
9 3; 1 90 1 ; e ng ,
W B udg e , Os i r i s and the E gypti an R es ur r ecti o n,
.

2 vo ls , 1 911 ; G. A R e is ne r , The E gyp ti an Co n . .

cepti o n of I m m or tal i ty , Ing e r s o ll L e ct ur e f o r 191 1 ;

F C um o nt , Textes et Mo num ents r el atif s aux

M
.

ys te r es de M i thr a ,
2 vo ls , 1 8 94 1 900 ; Id , L es .
-
.

Mys tr es de Mi thr a, 2 e d , 1 90 2 ; E ng l ish t r ans l a .

t io n, 1 9 10 .

3 0 . A pul e ius , Metam o r pho s es ,

xi , 23 .

3 1 . iv , 7
E nn .
,
.

Cf P l at R p, 3 6 D m th xv i ii
M
3 2 . o , . e 4 B ; e o s , ,
. . .

259 ; A pu l , et , vii i , 24 f f

H
. . .

33 R H. C h a.r l e s ,
A Cr i ti.cal i s t or y fo th e D o c

tr i ne of a F utur e L if e i n I s r ael , i n 'udai s m , and

i n Chr is tiani ty , Lo ndo n, 1 89 9 , is a co nve nie nt bo o k,
b ut o ne whi ch m us t be use d wi th caut io n
H
.

3 4 . A . a m a c k ,
L e h r b u c h d er D o g m en g es c h i c h te ,
i , 4 t h cd , 1 909 ; Eng l ish t r ans lat io n f r o m t he t hir d
.

Ge r m an e di t io n, 1 90 1 ; G B S t e ve ns , The The . .

o l o g y of the N ew Tes tam ent , 1 903 ; H Ho l t z m ann, .

Le hr buch der neutes tam e ntl i chen Theo l o g i e , 2 vo ls , .

2d c d , 1 9 1 1
. .

3 5 R ep , 11, 3 63 D
. . .

3 6 . A p o l , 41 . .

37 . I t S h o u l d b e s a i d t h a t e v e n in t h e e a r li es t
pe r io d C hr is t ian b apt is m had ce r t ain m ag ical no
t io ns at t ach e d t o i t ; no t , ho we ve r , t he be lie f t hat
i t se cur e d im m o r t ali t y .

3 8 Cf Hat ch , The I nuence of G r ee k I deas and

. .

Us ag es o n the Chr i s tian Chur ch, x , B ; A nt i ch , D as

anti ke M
y s ter i e n w o s en i n s e i ne m E i n u s s au f d a s

Chr i s tentum , 1 894 , pp 1 68 5 , es pe ciall y 1 7 9 E

H
. . .

39 . am i n . N u m .
,
x x v ; i n P s xxxvi , 3
. .

4 0 . C D
.
,
xx.
,
2 5; xx i ,
1 3 ( w h e re ' i r g il

s v e r ses

g i ve n a b o v e a r e q u o t e d ) , 26 ; d e oc to D u l c i t i i
Q u a es t q Q u i ,
. 13 ; E n c h i r id i o n ,
l xix .

I S t Tho m as , Op er a ( 'e ni ce , 1 7 59) , x11, p 5 7 5 ,

. .

Di s ti nct i o xxi , Qu aes . 1 , S ol .

3; x iii ,
p 3
.
4 7 .
,

Di s ti ncti o xl i v , Qu aes 3 , A r t 4 , Qu
. . aes ti unc 3 ; .

B e llar m ino , de Pur gato r i o , II , x xii .

 H
T I S B OO' I S D UE ON T HE L A
S TA MP E D B E L OW
AN I N ITI A L F I N E O F 25 C
W IL L B E A SS ESS E D FO R F A IL U R E TO
T HIS B OO ' ON HE D A T E D U E
T .

W IL L IN C R E A S E TO 5 0 C E N T S 0
D A Y A N D TO O N TH E
O ' ER D U E.