Marcus-Aurelius
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The History of the Origins of Christianity. Book VII. Marcus-Aurelius. Author(s): Renan, Ernest. Publisher: Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library Description: This book belongs to a seven-volume series, the first of which, Life of Jesus, is the most famous (or infamous). Mar- cus Aurelius, the seventh volume, concerns the development of the church during the reign of Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius. The historian argues that Marcus Aurelius, famous for his evenhanded rule and contributions to Stoic philosophy, influenced early Christianity greatly. During the emperor's reign, Christianity adopted Stoic systems and standards of morality that have since survived into the present. Renan's account reflects his background in 19th century German higher criticism of the Bible. Kathleen O'Bannon CCEL Staff i Contents Title Page 1 Preface 2 Chapter I. Advent of Marcus-Aurelius 5 Chapter II. Progress and Reforms. The Roman Law. 12 Chapter III. The Reign of the Philosophers. 16 Chapter IV. Persecutions Against the Christians. 23 Chapter V. Increasing Grandeur of the Church of Rome—Pseudo-Clementine 28 Writings. Chapter VI. Tatian—The Two Systems of Apology. 39 Chapter VII. Decadence of Gnosticism. 43 Chapter VIII. Oriental Syncretism—The Ophites—Future Apparition of 48 Manichæism. Chapter IX. The Result of Marcionism—Apelles. 54 Chapter X. Tatian Heretical—The Encratites. 59 Chapter XI. The Great Bishops of Greece and Asia—Melito. 63 Chapter XII. The Question of Easter. 70 Chapter XIII. Last Recrudescence of MIllenarianism and Prophetism—The 75 Montanists. Chapter XIV. Resistance of the Orthodox Church. 81 Chapter XV. Complete Triump of the Episcopate—Results of Montanism. 86 Chapter XVI. Marcis-Aurelius Among the Quades—The Book of Thoughts. 90 Chapter XVII. The Legio Fulminata—Apologies of Apollinaris, Miltiades, and 100 Melito. Chapter XVIII. The Gnostics and the Montanists at Lyons. 105 Chapter XIX. The Martyrs of Lyons. 110 Chapter XX. Reconstitution of the Church of Lyons—Irenæus. 122 Chapter XXI. Celsus and Lucian. 125 ii Chapter XXII. New Apologies—Athenagoras, Theophilus of antioch, Minucius 137 Felix. Chapter XXIII. Progress of Organisation. 146 Chapter XXIV. Schools of Alexandria and Edessa. 154 Chapter XXV. Statistics and Geographical Extension of Christianity. 159 Chapter XXVI. The Interior Martyrdom of Marcus-Aurelius—His Preparation for 164 Death. Chapter XXVII. Death of Marcus-Aurelius—The End of the Old World. 172 Chapter XXVIII. Christianity at the End of the Second Century—Dogma. 178 Chapter XXIX. Worship and Discipline. 183 Chapter XXX. Christian Manners. 193 Chapter XXXI. Reasons for the Victory of Christianity. 197 Chapter XXXII. Social and Political Revolution Advanced by Christianity. 205 Chapter XXXIII. The Christian Empire. 213 Chapter XXXIV. Ulterior Transformation. 217 Indexes 225 Greek Words and Phrases 226 Latin Words and Phrases 227 French Words and Phrases 230 Index of Pages of the Print Edition 231 iii This PDF file is from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library, www.ccel.org. The mission of the CCEL is to make classic Christian books available to the world. • This book is available in PDF, HTML, ePub, and other formats. See http://www.ccel.org/ccel/renan/marcus.html. • Discuss this book online at http://www.ccel.org/node/3540. The CCEL makes CDs of classic Christian literature available around the world through the Web and through CDs. We have distributed thousands of such CDs free in developing countries. If you are in a developing country and would like to receive a free CD, please send a request by email to [email protected]. The Christian Classics Ethereal Library is a self supporting non-profit organization at Calvin College. If you wish to give of your time or money to support the CCEL, please visit http://www.ccel.org/give. This PDF file is copyrighted by the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. It may be freely copied for non-commercial purposes as long as it is not modified. All other rights are re- served. Written permission is required for commercial use. iv Title Page Title Page THE HISTORY OF THE ORIGINS OF CHRISTIANITY. BOOK VII. MARCUS—AURELIUS. BY ERNEST RENAN MEMBER OF THE FRENCH ACADEMY. London: MATHIESON & COMPANY 25, Paternoster Square. E.C. 1 Preface Preface PREFACE. This volume closes the series of essays which I have dedicated to the History of the Origins of Christianity. It contains the exhibition of the development of the Church during vii the reign of Marcus-Aurelius, and the parallel picture of the efforts of philosophy to improve civil society. The second century of our era has had the double glory of definitely founding Christianity—that is to say, the grand principle which has wrought the reformation of manners by faith in the supernatural, and of unrolling, thanks to stoical teaching and without any element of the marvellous, the finest attempt of the laic school of virtue which the world has known till now. These two attempts were strangers to each other, and rather contradict than aid each other reciprocally; but the triumph of Christianity is only explicable when we have taken account of what there was of force and of insufficiency in the philosophical at- tempt. Marcus-Aurelius is on this point the subject of study to which we must constantly refer. He sums up all that there was of good in the ancient world, and he offers criticism this advantage, of presenting himself to it unveiled, thanks to a writing of an uncontested sincerity and authenticity. More than ever do I think that the period of the beginning, if we might so express it, closed at the death of Marcus-Aurelius, in 180. At that data the child had all its organs: it is separated from its mother; it shall henceforth live its own life. The death of Marcus-Aurelius could have been considered as marking the end of ancient civilisation. What good has been done after that, has been done by the Helleno-Roman principle; the Judæo-Syrian principle gains, and, although more than a hundred years shall pass away before its final triumph, we see well already that the future is its own. The third century is the agony of a world, which, in the second century, is still full of life and energy. Far from me be the thought of lowering the ages which follow the epoch with which I have closed my work. These are sad days in history: there are no days barren and without interest. The development of Christianity remains a spectacle highly interesting, while the Christian Churches count such men as St. Irenæus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, and Origen. The development of Christianity, which was wrought at Rome and in Africa, in the time of St. Cyprian, and of Pope Cornelius, ought to be studied with the most extreme care. The martyrs of the time of Decius and Diocletian do not yield in heroism to those of Rome, Smyrna, and Lyons the first and second centuries. But it is there we have what is called Ec- clesiastical History—a history eminently curious and worthy of being written with love and all the refinements of the most attentive science, but essentially distinct, nevertheless, from the history of Christian origins—that is to say, of the analysis of the successive transforma- tions which the germ laid by Jesus in the bosom of humanity has submitted to before becom- ing a complete and durable Church. Its needs methods quite different to treat the different ages of a grand formation, whether religious or political. The investigation of these origins 2 Preface supposes a philosophical mind—a lively intuition of what is certain, probable, or plausible—a profound sentiment of life and metamorphoses, a special art in drawing from rare texts all they possess, all that which, in fact, they include of revelations as to psychological situations far removed from us. In the history of an already complete institution, such as is the Chris- tian Church in the third century, and with greater reasons in the following ages, the qualities of judgment and solid erudition of a Tillemont nearly suffice. That is why the seventeenth viii century, which has made such great progress in ecclesiastical history, has never taken up the problem of its origin. The seventeenth century had no taste but for that which can be expressed with the appearances of certainty. Such a search, of which the result cannot but be to meet possibilities, flying clouds—such a narration, which is forbidden to tell how a thing has passed, but which is limited to say: “These are one or two of the ways in which it can be imagined that the thing has taken place,” could not be to its taste. In presence of the questions of origin, the seventeenth century either took all with an artless credulity, or suppressed what it felt to be half fabulous. The knowledge of obscure conditions, anterior to the clear reflection, that is to say, rightly of conditions where the human conscience shows itself especially creative and fertile, is the intellectual question of the nineteenth century. I have sought, without any other motive than a very lively curiosity, to make the application of the methods of criticism which have prevailed in our days in those delicate matters in the most important religious appearance which had a place in history. Since my youth I have been preparing this work. The edition of seven volumes to compose, which has taken me twenty years. The general index which will appear at the same time as this volume will permit these being found easily in a work which it did not depend on me to render less complex and less charged with details. I thank the infinite Goodness for the time and necessary ardour to accomplish this dif- ficult purpose.