Herodotus

History
DRAMATIC (tragedy exemplified by selection 3) was a leading humanistic endeavor that
flourished during the Golden Age. The same century also saw the emergence of history (that is, the
written word of contemporary events—in prose) as a way of preserving. the deeds of mankind
from oblivion. (Epic poetry had been the old way.) The appearance of history might be described
as a result of the Greek spirit of rational inquiry into tradition and as an attempt to do for
mankind what the nature-philosophers had done by rational inquiry into the physical world. But
the immediate inspiration for the earliest surviving prose works of Western literature was
patriotic: the great national effort of the Persian Wars (490-445 B.C.)
Herodotus (ca. 484--ca. 425 B.C.) has been called the "Father of History" because of his literary
skill and the clarity with which he explores the causes of human actions. He was born in Asia
Minor at Halicarnassus--a Greek city chafing under Persian control. After an unsuccessful revolt
by the inhabitants, Herodotus, as a young man, went into exile; thereafter, although he loved
Athens, was much acclaimed there, and made it his home, he spent much of his life wandering
through the lands of the eastern Mediterranean and even into Egypt, Babylonia, and the Black
Sea.
It was during these long travels that Herodotus set out to record the leading events of the Persian
Wars. His main object was to describe the rival worlds of Greece and Persia as seen through a
single mind; for this purpose he put together the vast and varied materials he had gathered on his
travels. He was the first to make past events the object of research and verification. This bold and
original undertaking he called by the Greek word historia ("researches"). They "are here set down
to preserve the memory of the past by putting on record the astonishing achievements both of our
own and of other peoples; and more particularly, to show how they [Greeks and Persians] came
into conflict." Judged by modern standards, his History is unsatisfactory in many ways; he
depended, in many cases, on unreliable sources. It is, however, a work of striking impartiality and
tolerance, as the following two episodes suggest. Even in the patriotic saga of the Greek stand at
Thermopylae, Herodotus treats the Persian enemies and their culture with respect.
Herodotus wrote his History for recitation before a public audience, not to be read privately; for it
was as a public teller of tales that he made his living. Like Homer before him, therefore, he
reflected commonly held ethical and heroic values. However skeptical Herodotus might have been
about some of the particulars, he kept in mind the need to hold the interest and approval of the
listening audience. As a consequence the work is full of fascinating stories, some of them drawn
from the folklore of the Middle East—as is the Croesus-Solon story in this selection. It is an
example of the moral sequence demonstrated throughout the History and much of Greek
literature: prosperity-pride-ruin. "For most of those [cities] which were great once are small
today; and those which used to be small were great in my own time. Knowing, therefore, that
human prosperity never abides long in the same place, I shall pay attention to both alike."

Account of the Persian invasion

After the conquest of Egypt, when he was on the point of taking in hand the expedition against
Athens, Xerxes called a conference of the leading men in the country, to find out their attitude
towards the war and explain to them his own wishes. When the met, he addressed them as
follows: 'Do not suppose, gentlemen, that I am departing from precedent in the course of action
I intend to undertake. We Persians have a way of living, which I have inherited from my
predecessors and propose to follow. I have learned from my elders that ever since Cyrus
deposed Astyages and we took over from the Medes the sovereign power we now possess, we
have never yet remained inactive. This is God’s guidance, and it is by following it that we have
gained our great prosperity. Of our past history you need no reminder; for you know well
enough the famous deeds of Cyrus, Cambyses, and my father Darius, and their additions to our
empire. Now I myself, ever since my accession, have been thinking how not to fall short of the
kings who have sat upon this throne before me, and how to add as much power as they did to
the Persian empire. And now at last I have found a way to win for Persia not glory only but a
country as large and as rich as our own—indeed richer than our own—and at the same time to
get satisfaction and revenge. That, then, is the object of this meeting—that I may disclose to you
what it is that I intend to do. I will bridge the Hellespont and march an army through Europe
into Greece, and punish the Athenians for the outrage they committed upon my father and
upon us. As you saw, Darius himself was making his preparations for war against these men;
but death prevented him from carrying out his purpose. I therefore on his behalf, and for the
benefit of all my subjects, will not rest until I have taken Athens and burnt it to the ground, in
revenge for the injury which the Athenians without provocation once did to me and my father.
These men, you remember came to Sardis with Aristagoras the Milesian, a subject of ours, and
burnt the temples and sacred groves; and you know all too well how they served our troops
under Datis and Artaphernes, when they landed upon Greek soil. For these reasons I have now
prepared to make war upon them, and , when I consider the matter, I find several advantages in
the venture; if we crush the Athenians and their neighbours in the Peloponnese, we shall so
extend the empire of Persia that its boundaries will be God’s own sky, so that the sun will not
look down upon any land beyond
the boundaries of what is ours. With your help I shall pass through Europe from end to end and
make it all one country. For if what I am told is true, there is not a city or nation in the world
which will be able to withstand us, once these are out of the way. Thus the guilty and the
innocent alike shall bear the yoke of servitude.
‘If, then you wish to gain my favour, each one of you must present himself willingly and in good
heart on the day which I shall name; whoever brings with him the best equipped body of troops
I will reward with those marks of distinction held in greatest value by our countrymen. That is
what you must do; but so that I shall not appear to consult only my own whim, I will throw the
whole matter into open debate, and ask any of you who may wish to do so, to express his
views.’
The first to speak after the king was Mardonius. ‘Of all Persians who have ever lived.’ he began,
‘and of all who are yet to be born, you my lord, are the greatest. Every word you have spoken is
true and excellent, and you will not allow the wretched Ionians in Europe to make fools of us. It
would indeed be an odd thing if we who have defeated and enslaved the Sacae, Indians,
Ethiopians, Assyrians, and many other great nations for no fault of their own, but merely to
extend the boundaries of our empire, should fail now to punish the Greeks who have been
guilty of injuring us without provocation. Have we anything to fear from them? The size of their
army? Their wealth? The question is absurd; we know how they fight; we know how slender
their resources are. People of their race we have already reduced to subjection—I mean the
Greeks of Asia, Ionians, Aeolians, and Dorians. I myself before now have had some experience
of these men, when under orders from your father I invaded their country; and I got as far as
Macedonia—indeed almost to Athens itself—without a single soldier daring to oppose me. Yet,
from what I hear, the Greeks are pugnacious enough, and start fights on the spur of the moment
without sense or judgement to justify them. When they declare war on each other, they go off
together to the smoothest and levellest bit of ground they can find, and have their battle on it—
with the result that even the victors never get off without heavy losses, and as for the losers—
well, they’re wiped out. Now surely, as they all talk the same language, they ought to be able to
find a better way of settling their differences: by negotiation, for instance, or an interchange of
views—indeed by anything rather than fighting…
Plato
Apology
NEITHER, Socrates nor Jesus, the most famous and most beloved teachers of the ancient world,
are known through their own writings. For our knowledge of both we must depend mainly upon
the works of disciples. In the case of Socrates, our primary source is Plato, in whose written
dialogues (discussions) the Athenian sage is the dominant figure.
Socrates (469-399 B.C.) was born and raised in Athens during the “Golden Age” and, later in his
life, fought bravely in the Peloponnesian War that ended the glory of his city. He lived in an age
that was, like our own, one of intellectual and moral unrest. In Athens many time-honored values
and opinions were being subjected to radical criticism and re-evaluation, especially by a group of
skeptical teachers known as the Sophists. Socrates, although not a Sophist himself, contributed to
the shaping of popular beliefs by challenging them with everyone he met; this questioning of
tradition was largely responsible for his being brought to trial and put to death.
Socrates’ place in history does not come from this negative influence. Unlike the Sophists he had
no doubt at all that absolute, unchanging truth exists. Truth, he maintained, is already in the
possession of everyone, hidden under smug self-satisfaction and narrow prejudices, and needs only
to be liberated by the rigorous examination and testing of opinion. His “Socratic method” was
aimed at revealing the eternal principles of human conduct, upon which personal happiness and
social stability depend. This means of truth-seeking, the action of mind upon mind, is called
dialectic. It assumes that real truth is there to be found through honest and systematic intellectual
argument.
In the following selection, the Apology, we see Socrates defending himself in court, at the age of
seventy, before a typically large jury of 501 male citizens. Athenian legal custom required that the
trial take only a single day and that the accused person act as his own defense lawyer.) Plato was
present and, therefore, we may trust that his account of the speech gives a clear picture of the
genuine Socrates—perhaps somewhat idealized by Plato’s own admiration.
The accusers had charged that Socrates did not believe in the official gods of the city but rather
invented his own gods, and that he had corrupted the Athenian youth to believe as he did.
Socrates, with calm defiance, not only dealt with the charges but also
used the trial as yet another opportunity to explain the truth-seeking mission to which his life had
been devoted. (the meaning in Greek of the root word for “apology” does not carry the word’s
modern meaning of an expression of regret; it means, rather , an explanation and justification of
one’s actions.)

Apology
[To the jury:]
How you, O Athenians, have been affected by my accusers, I cannot tell; but I know that they
almost made me forget who I was, so persuasively did they speak; and yet they have hardly
uttered a word of truth. But of the many falsehoods told by them, there was one which quite
amazed me; I mean when they said that you should be upon your guard and not allow
yourselves to be deceived by the force of my eloquence. To say this, when they were certain to
be detected as soon as I opened my lips and proved myself to be anything but a great speaker,
did indeed appear to me most shameless—unless by the force of eloquence they mean the force
of truth; for is such is their meaning, I admit that I am eloquent. But in how different a way
from theirs! Well, as I was saying, they have scarcely spoken the truth at all; from me you shall
hear the whole truth: but not delivered after their manner in a set oration duly ornamented
with fine words and phrases. No, by heaven! but I shall use the words and arguments which
occur to me at the moment; for I am confident in the justice of my cause. (Or, I am certain that I
am right in taking this course). At my time of life I ought not to be appearing before you, O men
of Athens, in the character of a juvenile orator—let no one expect it of me. And I must beg of
you to grant me a favour: If I defend myself in my accustomed manner, and you hear me using
the words which I have been in the habit of using in the agora, at the tables of the money-
changers, or anywhere else, I would ask you not to be surprised, and not to interrupt me on this
account. For I am more than seventy years of age, and appearing now for the first time in a
court of law, I am quite a stranger to the language of the place; and therefore I would have you
regard me as if I were really a stranger, whom you would excuse if he spoke in his native
tongue, and after the fashion of his country: Am I making an unfair request of you? Never mind
the manner, which may or may not be good; but think only of the truth of my words, and give
heed to that: let the speaker speak truly and the judge decide justly.
And first, I have to reply to the older charges and to my first accusers, and then I will go on to
the later ones. For of old I have had many accusers, who have accused me falsely to you during
many years; and I am more afraid of them than of Anytus and his associates, who are
dangerous, too, in their own way. But far more dangerous are the others, who began when you
were children, and took possession of your minds with their falsehoods, telling of one Socrates,
a wise man, who speculated about the heaven above, and searched into the earth beneath, and
made the worse appear the better cause. The disseminators of this tale are the accusers whom I
dread; for their hearers are apt to fancy that such inquirers do not believe in the existence of
the gods. And they are many, and their charges against me are of ancient date, and they were
made by them in the days when you were more impressionable than you are now, in childhood,
or it may have been in youth, and the
cause when heard went by default, for there was none to answer. And hardest of all, I do not
know and cannot tell the names of my accusers; unless in the chance case of a Comic poet. 1 All
who from envy and malice have persuaded you, some of them having first convinced
themselves, all this class of men are most difficult to deal with; for I cannot have them up here,
and cross-examine them, and therefore I must simply fight with shadows in my own defense,
and argue when there is no one who answers. I will ask you then to assume with me, as I was
saying, that my opponents are of two kinds; one recent, the other ancient: and I hope that you
will see the propriety of my answering the latter first, for these accusations you heard long
before the others, and much oftener.
Well, then, I must make my defense, and endeavor to clear away in a short time, a slander
which has lasted a long time. May I succeed, if to succeed be for my good and yours, or likely to
avail me in my cause. The task is not an easy one; I quite understand the nature of it. And so
leaving the event with God, in obedience to the law I will now make my defense.
I will begin at the beginning, and ask what is the accusation which has given rise to the slander
of my person, and in fact has encouraged Meletus to prefer this charge against me, Well, what
do the slanderers say? They shall be my prosecution and I will sum up their words in an
affidavit: "Socrates is an evil-doer, and a curious person, who searches into things under the
earth and in heaven, and he makes the worse appear the better cause; and he teaches the
aforesaid doctrines to others." Such is the nature of the accusation: it is just what you have
yourselves have seen in the comedy of Aristophanes, who has introduced a man whom he calls
Socrates going about and saying that he walks in air and talking a deal of nonsense concerning
matters of which I do not pretend to know either much or little, not that I mean to speak
disparagingly of any one who is a student of natural philosophy. I should be very sorry if
Meletus could bring so grave a charge against me. But the simple truth is, O Athenians, that I
have nothing to do with physical speculations: many of those here present are witnesses to the
truth of this, and to them I appeal. Speak then, you who have heard me, and tell your neighbors
whether any of you have ever known me hold forth in few words or in many upon such
matters. . . . You hear their answer. And from what they say of this part of the charge you will be
able to judge of the truth of the rest.
As little foundation is there for the report that I am a teacher, and take money; this accusation
has no more truth in it than the other. Although, if a man were really able to instruct mankind,
to receive money for giving instruction would, in my opinion, be an honor to him.
I dare say, Athenians that someone among you will reply, ‘Yes, Socrates, but what is your
occupation? What is the origin of these accusations which are brought against you; there must
have been something strange which you have been doing? All these rumours and this talk
about you would never have arisen if you had been like other men: tell us, then, what is the
cause of them, for we should be sorry to judge hastily of you.’ Now I regard this as a fair
challenge, and I will endeavor to explain to you the reason why I am called wise and have such
an evil fame. Pease to attend then. And although some of you may think that I am joking. I
declare that I will tell you the entire truth. Men of Athens, this reputation of mine has come of a
certain sort of wisdom which I possess. If you ask me what kind of wisdom, I reply, wisdom
such as may perhaps be attained by every man, for to that extent I am inclined to believe that I
am wise; whereas the persons of whom I was speaking have a superhuman wisdom, which I
may fail to describe, because I have it not myself; and he who says that I have, speaks falsely,
and is taking away my character. And here, O men of Athens, I must beg you not to interrupt
me, even if I seem to say something
extravagant. For the word which I will speak is not mine. I will refer you to a witness who is
worthy of credit; that witness shall be the God of Delphi, he will tell you about my wisdom, if I
have any, and of what sort it is. You must have known Chaerephon; he was early a friend of
mine, and also a friend of yours, for he shared in the recent exile of the people, and returned
with you. Well, Chaerephon, as you know, was very impetuous in all his doings, and he went to
Delphi 2 and boldly asked the oracle to tell him whether, as I was saying, I must beg you not to
interrupt, he asked the oracle to tell him whether any one was wiser than I was, and the
Pythian prophetess answered, that there was no man wiser. Chaerephon is dead himself; but
his brother, who is in court, will confirm the truth of what I'm saying.
Why do I mention this? Because I am going to explain to you why I have such an evil name.
When I heard the answer, I said to myself, What can the god mean? and what is the
interpretation of his riddle? for I know that I have no wisdom, small or great. What then can he
mean when he says that I am the wisest of men? And yet he is a god, and cannot lie; that would
be against his nature. After long consideration, I thought of a method of trying the question. I
reflected that if I could only find a man wiser than myself, then I might go to the god with a
refutation in my hand. I should say to him, "Here is a man who is wiser than I am; but you said
that I was the wisest." Accordingly I went to one who had the reputation of wisdom, and
observed him, his name I need not mention; he was a politician whom first among I selected for
examination, and the result was as follows: When I began to talk with him, I could not help
thinking that he was not really wise, although he was thought wise by many, and still wiser by
himself; and thereupon I tried to explain to him that he thought himself wise, but was not really
wise; and the consequence was that he hated me, and his enmity was shared by several who
were present and because I heard me. So I left him, saying to myself, as I went away: conceit of
Man, although I do not suppose that either of us knows anything really beautiful and good, I am
better off than he is, for he knows nothing, and thinks that he knows; I neither know nor think
that I know. In this latter particular, then, I seem to have slightly the advantage of him. Then I
went to another who had still higher pretensions to wisdom, and my conclusion was exactly the
same. Whereupon I made another enemy of him, and of many others besides him.
Then I went to one man after another, being not unconscious of the enmity which I provoked,
and I lamented and feared this: but necessity was laid upon me, the word of God, I thought,
ought to be considered first. And I said to myself, I must go to all who appear to know, and find
out the meaning of the oracle. And I swear to you, Athenians, by the dog I swear!, for I must tell
you the truth, the result of my mission was just this: I found that the men most in repute were
all but the most foolish; and that others less esteemed were really wiser and better. I will tell
you the whole of my wanderings and of the 'Herculean' labors, as I may call them, which I
endured only to find at last the oracle irrefutable. After the politicians, I went to the poets;
tragic, dithyrambic, and all sorts. And there, I said to myself, you will be instantly detected; now
you will find out that you are more ignorant than they are. Accordingly, I took them some of the
most elaborate passages in their own writings, and asked what was the meaning of them,
thinking that they would teach me something. Will you believe me? I am almost ashamed to
confess the truth, but I must say that there is hardly a person present who would not have
talked better about their poetry than they did themselves. Then I knew that not by wisdom do
poets write poetry, but by a sort of genius and inspiration; they are like diviners or soothsayers
who also say many fine things, but do not understand the meaning of them. The poets appeared
to me to be much in the same case; and I further observed that upon the strength of their
poetry they believed
themselves to be the wisest of men in other things in which they were not wise. So I departed,
conceiving myself to be superior to them for the same reason that I was superior to the
politicians.
At last I went to the artisans; I was conscious that I knew nothing at all, as I may say, and I was
sure that they knew many fine things; and here I was not mistaken, for they did know many
things of which I was ignorant, and in this they certainly were wiser than I was. But I observed
that even the good artisans fell into the same error as the poets;, because they were good
workmen they thought that they also knew all sorts of high matters, and this defect in them
overshadowed their wisdom; and therefore I asked myself on behalf of the oracle, whether I
would like to be as I was, neither having their knowledge nor their ignorance, or like them in
both; and I made answer to myself and to the oracle that I was better off as I was.
This inquisition has led to my having many enemies of the worst and most dangerous kind, and
has given occasion also to many calumnies. And I am called wise, for my hearers always
imagine that I myself possess the wisdom which I find wanting in others: but the truth is, O
men of Athens, that God only is wise; and by his answer he intends to show that the wisdom of
men is worth little or nothing; he is not speaking of Socrates, he is only using my name by way
of illustration, as if he said, O men, he is the wisest, who, like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is
in truth worth nothing. And so I go about the world, obedient to the god, and search and make
enquiry into the wisdom of any one, whether citizen or stranger, who appears to be wise; and if
he is not wise, then I show him that he is not wise; and my occupation quite absorbs me, and I
have no time to give attention to any public matter of interest or to any concern of my own, but
I am in utter poverty by reason of my devotion to the god.
There is another thing:—young men of the richer classes, who have not much to do, come
about me of their own accord; they like to hear the pretenders examined, and they often imitate
me, and proceed to examine others; there are plenty of persons, as they quickly discover, who
think that they know something, but really know little or nothing; and then those who are
examined by them, instead of being angry with themselves are angry with me: this confounded
Socrates, they say; this villainous misleader of youth!, and then if somebody asks them, Why,
what evil does he practice or teach?, they do not know, and can't tell; but in order that they may
not appear to be at a loss, they repeat the ready-made charges which are used against all
philosophers about teaching things up in the clouds and under the earth, and making the worse
appear the better cause; for they do not like to confess that their pretense of knowledge has
been detected, which is the truth; and as they are numerous and ambitious and energetic, and
are drawn up in battle array and have persuasive tongues, they have filled your ears with their
loud and inveterate calumnies. And this is the reason why my three accusers, Meletus and
Anytus and Lycon, have set upon me; Meletus, who has a quarrel with me on behalf of the
poets; Anytus, on behalf of the craftsmen and politicians; Lycon, on behalf of the rhetoricians:
and as I said at the beginning, I cannot expect to get rid of such a mass of calumny all in a
moment. And this, O men of Athens, is the truth and the whole truth; I have concealed nothing, I
have dissembled nothing. And yet, I know that my plainness of speech makes them hate me,
and what is their hatred but a proof that I am speaking the truth?, Hence has arisen the
prejudice against me; and this is the reason of it, as you will find out either in this or in any
future enquiry.
I have said enough in my defense against the first class of my accusers; I turn to the second
class. They are headed by Meletus, that good man and true lover of his country, as
he calls himself. Against these, too, I must try to make a defense:, Let their affidavit be read: it
contains something of this kind: It says that Socrates is a doer of evil, who corrupts the youth;
and who does not believe in the gods of the state, but has other new divinities of his own. Such
is the charge; and now let us examine the particular counts. He says that I am a doer of evil, and
corrupt the youth; but I say, O men of Athens, that Meletus is a doer of evil, in that he pretends
to be in earnest when he is only in jest, and is so eager to bring men to trial from a pretended
zeal and interest about matters in which he really never had the smallest interest. And the truth
of this I will endeavor to prove to you.
Come hither, Meletus, and let me ask a question of you. You think a great deal about the
improvement of youth?
Yes, I do.
Tell the judges, then, who is their improver; for you must know, as you have taken the pains to
discover their corrupter, and are citing and accusing me before them. Speak, then, and tell the
judges who their improver is.—Observe, Meletus, that you are silent, and have nothing to say.
But is not this rather disgraceful, and a very considerable proof of what I was saying, that you
have no interest in the matter? Speak up, friend, and tell us who their improver is.
The laws.
But that, my good sir, is not my meaning. I want to know who the person is, who, in the first
place, knows the laws.
The judges, Socrates, who are present in court.
What, do you mean to say, Meletus, that they are able to instruct and improve youth?
Certainly they are.
What, all of them, or some only and not others?
All of them.
By the goddess Hera, that is good news! There are plenty of improvers, then. And what do you
say of the audience, do they improve them?
Yes, they do.
And the senators?
Yes, the senators improve them.
But perhaps the members of the assembly corrupt them?, or do they too improve them?
They improve them.
Then every Athenian improves and elevates them; all with the exception of myself; and I alone
am their corrupter? is that what you affirm?
That is what I stoutly affirm.
I am very unfortunate if you are right. But suppose I ask you a question: How about horses?
Does one man do them harm and all the world good? Is not the exact opposite fact does the
truth? One man is able to do them good, the trainer of horses, that is to say, does them good,
and others who have to do with them rather injure them? Is not that true, Meletus, of horses, or
of any other animals? Most assuredly it is; whether you and Anytus say yes or no. Happy indeed
would be the condition of youth if they had one corrupter only, and all the rest of the world
were their improvers. But you, Meletus, have sufficiently shown that you never had a thought
about the young: your carelessness is seen in your not caring about the very things which you
bring against me.
And now, Meletus, I will ask you another question, by Zeus I will: Which is better, to live among
bad citizens, or among good ones? Answer, friend, I say; the question is one which may be
easily answered. Do not the good do their neighbors good, and the bad do them evil?
Certainly.
And is there any one who would rather be injured than benefited by those who live with him?
Answer, my good friend, the law requires you to answer, does any one like to be injured?
Certainly not.
And when you accuse me of corrupting and deteriorating the youth, do you allege that I corrupt
them intentionally or unintentionally?
Intentionally, I say.
But you have just admitted that the good do their neighbors good, and the evil do them evil.
Now, is that a truth which your superior wisdom has recognized thus early in life, and am I, at
my age, in such darkness and ignorance as not to know that if a man with whom I have to live is
corrupted by me, I am very likely to be harmed by him; and yet I corrupt him, and intentionally,
too, so you say, although neither I nor any other human being is ever likely to be convinced by
you. But either I do not corrupt them, or I corrupt them unintentionally; and on either view of
the case you lie. If my offense is unintentional, the law has no cognizance of unintentional
offenses: you ought to have taken me privately, and warned and admonished me; for if I had
been better advised, I should have left off doing what I only did unintentionally, no doubt I
should; but you would have nothing to say to me and refused to teach me. And now you bring
me up in this court, which is a place not of instruction, but of punishment.
It will be very clear to you, Athenians, as I was saying, that Meletus has no care at all, great or
small, about the matter. But still I should like to know, Meletus, in what I am affirmed to
corrupt the young. I suppose you mean, as I infer from your indictment, that I teach them not to
acknowledge the gods which the state acknowledges, but some other new divinities or spiritual
agencies in their stead. These are the lessons by which I corrupt the youth, as you say.
Yes, that I say emphatically.
Then, by the gods, Meletus, of whom we are speaking, tell me and the court, in somewhat
plainer terms, what you mean, for I do not as yet understand whether you affirm that I teach
other men to acknowledge some gods, and therefore that I do believe in gods, and am not an
entire atheist, this you do not lay to my charge,, but only you say that they are not the same
gods which the city recognizes-, the charge is that they are different gods. Or, do you mean that
I am an atheist simply, and a teacher of atheism?
I mean the latter, that you are a complete atheist.
What an extraordinary statement! Why do you think so, Meletus? Do you mean that I do not
believe in the godhead of the sun or moon, like other men?
I assure you, judges, that he does not: for he says that the sun is stone, and the moon earth.
Friend Meletus, you think that you are accusing Anaxagoras: and you have but a bad opinion of
the judges, if you fancy them illiterate to such a degree as not to know that these doctrines are
found in the books of Anaxagoras the Clazomenian, which are full of them. And so, forsooth, the
youth are said to be taught them by Socrates, when there are not infrequently exhibitions of
them at the theatre (price of admission one drachma at the most); and they might pay their
money, and laugh at Socrates if he pretends to father these extraordinary views. And so,
Meletus, you really think that I do not believe in any god?
Plato
Republic
TO Plato (ca. 429-347 B.C.), Socrates’ most brilliant disciple, the trial and death of the master
came as a profound shock (see selectins 8 and 9). Born a member of the Athenian ruling class,
Plato had grown up in an atmosphere of war and revolution. In 404 B.C. he had seen the
discredited Athenian democracy go gown in ruin at the end of the Peloponnesian War. He had
looked to a government by chosen aristocrats to restore order and justice, only to be disillusioned
by the incompetence of those installed (with Spartan support)—who came to be known as the
“Thirty Tyrants.” The death of his revered master turned Plato from a life of prospective public
service, normal for an aristocrat, to the teaching and application of the Socratic ideals. About 387
B.C., after a prolonged absence following Socrates’ death, he returned to Athens and began to
gather about himself a community of young disciples, teaching them the principles of his beloved
Socrates (469-399 B.C.) was born and raised in Athens during the “Golden Age” and, later in his
life, fought bravely in the Peloponnesian War that ended the glory of his city. He lived in an age
that was, like our own, one of intellectual and moral unrest. In Athens many time-honored values
and opinions were being subjected to radical criticism and re-evaluation, especially by a group of
skeptical teachers known as the Sophists. Socrates, although not a Sophist himself, contributed to
the shaping of popular beliefs by challenging them with everyone he met; this questioning of
tradition was largely responsible for his being brought to trial and put to death.
The basic human problem, it seemed to Plato, was this: How can society be a careful inquiry into
this problem, Plato established a school, known as the Academy, in a grove of olive trees on the
outskirts of Athens. (The school’s name came from the fact that the grove was sacred to a
mythological hero, Academus.) The Academy was to be used to train philosopher-statesmen who,
Plato hoped, would one day govern Athens; for he believed that only a city-state governed by such
men would achieve justice. Soon, however, the Academy became not only a pan-Hellenic center for
study and research, but a magnet for philosophers throughout the Western world; it was to
remain such for almost a thousand years..
There, until his death, Plato taught and developed the thought of Socrates and continued to write
the dialogues (discussions), in which Socrates is almost always portrayed as the principal
speaker. Among these dialogues are the Apology, the Phaedo (selections 8 and 9), and the
Republic, from which the following passages are taken.. Although the Spartan laws and customs
are taken as an imperfect working model, the central thesis of the Republic is that government is a
task only for those qualified; that the impartial lover of truth, the philosopher, alone is qualified to
govern; and that until philosophy and political power meet in one authority, there will be no end
to human misery.
The Republic is a discussion of great intellectual richness and breadth; and as Plato’s most widely
read work, it has exercised a profound influence upon Western thought. To many it is known only
a s a utopian or visionary program, the first of its kind in the literature of the West. But to
others—perhaps reflecting upon the social disturbances, political stupidities, and mass sufferings
of the twentieth century—it is regarded as the greatest work of political philosophy ever written.
The dialogue as a whole is concerned with the nature of justice and how a just social order may be
realized. Socrates (the “I” of the dialogue) develops the true meaning of justice and describes an
ideal society in which justice has been made real. The passages included here deal with the
proposed ruling elite (called Guardians); the roles and relationships of men, women, and children;
the central place of philosophy in human affairs; and, in the famous “Allegory of the Cave,” with
the key function of philosophers as educators and governors. The persons who participate in the
imaginary dialogue are, besides Socrates himself, Glaucon and Adeimantus, the brothers of Plato.
The setting is the house of a mutual friend in the Piraeus, a port about four miles southwest of
Athens.

Republic (Excerpt 1)
Good, said Socrates; and what is the next point to be settled? Is it not the question, which of
these Guardians are to be rulers and which are to obey? No doubt, said Glaucon.
Well, it is obvious that the elder must have authority over the young and that the rulers must
be the best. Yes.
And as among farmers the best are those with a natural turn for farming, so, if we want the best
among our Guardians, we must take those naturally fitted to watch over a commonwealth.
They must have the right sort of intelligence and ability; and also they must look upon the
commonwealth as their special concern—the sort of concern that is felt for something so
closely bound up with oneself that its interests and fortunes, for good or ill, are held to be
identical with one’s own. Exactly.
So the kind of men we must choose from among the Guardians will be those who, when we look
at the whole course of their lives, are found to be full of zeal to do whatever they believe is for
the good of the commonwealth and never willing to act against its interest.
Yes, they will be the men we want.
We must watch them, I think, at every age and see whether they are capable of preserving this
conviction that they must do what is best for the community, never forgetting it or allowing
themselves to be either forced or bewitched into throwing it over.
How does this throwing over come about?
I will explain. When a belief passes out of mind, a man may be willing to part with it, if it is false
and he has learnt better, or unwilling, if it is true.
I see how he might be willing to let it go: but you must explain how he can be unwilling.
Where is your difficulty? Don’t you agree that men are unwilling to be deprived of good, though
ready enough to part with evil? Or that to be deceived about the truth is evil, to possess it good?
Or don’t you think that possessing truth means thinking of things as they really are?
You are right. I do agree that men are unwilling to be robbed of a true belief.
When that happens to them, then, it must be by theft, or violence, or bewitchment.
Again I do not understand.
Perhaps my metaphors are too high-flown. I call it theft when one is persuaded out of one’s
belief or forgets it. Argument in the one case, and time in the other, steal it away without one’s
knowing what is happening. You understand now? Yes.
And by violence I mean being driven to change one’s mind by pain or suffering.
That too I understand, and you are right.
And bewitchment, as I think you would agree, occurs when a man is beguiled out of his opinion
by the allurements of pleasure or scared out of it under the spell of panic.
Yes, all delusions are like a sort of bewitchment.
As I said just now, then, we must find out who are the best guardians of this inward conviction that
they must always do what they believe to be best for the commonwealth. We shall have to watch
them from earliest childhood and set them tasks in which they would be most likely to forget or to
be beguiled out of this duty. We shall then choose only those whose memory holds firm and who
are proof against delusion. Yes.

We must also subject them to ordeals of toil and pain and watch for the same qualities there.
And we must observe them when exposed to the test of yet a third kind of bewitchment. As
people lead colts up to alarming noises to see whether they are timid, so these young men must
be brought into terrifying situations and then into scenes of pleasure, which will put them to
severer proof than gold tried in the furnace. If we find one bearing himself well in all these
trials and resisting every enchantment, a true guardian of himself, preserving always that
perfect rhythm and harmony of being which he has acquired from his training in music and
poetry, such a one will be of the greatest service to the commonwealth as well as to himself.
Whenever we find one who has come unscathed through every test in childhood, youth, and
manhood, we shall set him as a Ruler to watch over the commonwealth; he will be honoured in
life, and after death receive the highest tribute of funeral rites and other memorials. All who do
not reach this standard we must reject. And that, I think, my dear Glaucon, may be taken as an
outline of the way in which we shall select Guardians to be set in authority as Rulers. I am very
much of your mind.
These, then, may properly be called Guardians in the fullest sense, who will ensure that neither
foes without shall have the power, nor friends within the wish, to do harm. Those young men
whom up to now we have been speaking of as Guardians, will be better described as
Auxiliaries, who will enforce the decisions of the Rulers. I agree.
Now, said, I, can we devise something in the way of those convenient fictions we spoke of
earlier, a single bold flight of invention, which we may induce the community in general, and if
possible the Rulers themselves, to accept? What kind of fiction?
Nothing, new; something like an Eastern tale of what, according to the poets, has happened
before now in more than one part of the world. The poets have been believed; but the thing has
not happened in our day, and it would be hard to persuade anyone that it could ever happen
again. You seem rather shy of telling this story of yours.
With good reason, as you will see when I have told it. Out with it; don’t be afraid.
Well, here it is; though hardly know how to find the courage or the words to express it. I shall
try to convince, first the Rulers and the soldiers, and then the whole community, that all that
nurture and education which we gave them was only something they seemed to experience as
it were in a dream. In reality they were the whole time down inside the earth, being moulded
and fostered while their arms and all their equipment were being fashioned also; and at last,
when they were complete, the earth sent them up from her womb into the light of day. So now
they must think of the land they dwell in as a mother and nurse, whom they must take thought
for and defend against any attack, and of their fellow citizens as brothers born of the same soil.
You might well be bashful about coming out with your fiction.
No doubt; but still you must hear the rest of the story. It is true, we shall tell our people in the
fable, that all of you in this land are brothers; but the god who fashioned you mixed gold in the
composition of those among you who are fit to rule, so that they are of the most precious
quality; and he put silver in the Auxiliaries, and iron and brass in the farmers and craftsmen.
Now, since you are all of one stock, although your children will generally be like their parents,
sometimes a golden parent may have a silver child or a silver parent a golden one, and so on
with all the other combinations. So the first and chief injunction laid by heaven upon the Rulers
is that, among all the things of which they must show themselves good guardians, there is none
that needs to be so carefully watched as the mixture of metals in the souls of the children. If a
child of their own is born with an alloy of iron or brass, they must, without the smallest pity,
assign him the station proper to his nature and thrust him out among the craftsmen or the
farmers. If, on the contrary, these classes produce a child with gold or silver in his composition,
they will promote him, according to his value, to be a Guardian or an Auxiliary. They will appeal
to a prophecy that ruin will come upon the state when it passes into the keeping of a man of
iron or brass. Such is the story; can you think of any device to make them believe it?
Not in the first generation; but their sons and descendants might believe it, and finally the rest of
mankind. Well, said I, even so it might have a good effect in making them care more for the
commonwealth and for one another; for I think I see what you mean.
So, I continued, we will leave the success of our story to the care of popular tradition; and now
let us arm these sons of Earth and lead them, under the command of their Rulers, to the site of
our city. There let them look round for the best place to fix their camp, from which they will be
able to control any rebellion against the laws from within and to beat off enemies who may
come from without like wolves to attack the fold. When they have pitched their camp and
offered sacrifice to the proper divinities, they must arrange their sleeping quarters; and these
must be sufficient to shelter them from winter cold and summer heat. Naturally. You mean they
are going to live there?
Yes, said I; but live like soldiers, not like men of business. What is the difference?
I will try to explain. It would be very strange if a shepherd were to disgrace himself by keeping,
for the protection of his flock, dogs who were so ill-bred and badly trained that hunger or
unruliness or some bad habit or other would set them worrying the sheep and behaving no
better than wolves. We must take every precaution against our Auxiliaries treating the citizens
in any such way and, because they are stronger, turning into savage tyrants instead of friendly
allies; and they will have been furnished with the best of safeguards , if they have really been
educated in the right way.
But surely there is nothing wrong with their education.
We must not be too positive about that, my dear Glaucon; but we can be sure of what we said
not long ago, that if they are to have the best chance of being gentle and humane to one another
and to their charges, they must have the right education, whatever that may be. We were
certainly right there.
Then besides that education, it is only common sense to say that the dwellings and other
belongings provided for them must be such as will neither make them less perfect Guardians
nor encourage them to maltreat their fellow citizens. True.
With that end in view, let us consider how they should live and be housed. First, none of them
must possess any private property beyond the barest necessaries. Next, no one is to have any
dwelling or storehouse that is not open for all to enter at will. Their food, in the quantities
required by men of temperance and courage who are in training for war, they will receive from
the other citizens as the wages of their guardianship, fixed so that there shall be just enough for
the year with nothing over; and they will have meals in common and all live together like
soldiers in a camp. Gold and silver, we shall tell them, they will not need, having the divine
counterparts of those metals always in their souls as a god-given possession, whose purity it is
not lawful to sully by the acquisition of that moral dross current among mankind, which has
been the occasion of so many unholy deeds. They alone of all the citizens are forbidden to touch
and handle silver or gold, or to come under the same roof with them, or wear them as
ornaments, or drink from vessels made of them. This manner of life will be their salvation and
make them the saviours of the commonwealth. If ever they should come to possess land of their
own and houses and money, they will give up their guardianship for the management of their
farms and households and become tyrants at enmity with their fellow citizens instead of allies.
And so they will pass all their lives in hating and being hated, plotting and being plotted
against, in much greater fear of their enemies at home than of any foreign foe, and fast heading
for the destruction that will soon overwhelm their country with themselves. For all these
reasons let us say that this is how our Guardians are to be housed and otherwise provided for,
and let us make laws accordingly. By all means, said Glaucon.
Here Adeimantus interposed. Socrates, he said, how would you meet the objection that you are
not making these people particularly happy? It is their own fault too, if they are not; for they
are really masters of the state, and yet they get no good out of it as other rulers do, who own
lands, build themselves fine houses with handsome furniture, offer private sacrifices to the
gods, and entertain visitors from abroad; who possess, in fact, that gold and silver you spoke of,
with everything else that is usually thought necessary for happiness. These people seem like
nothing so much as a garrison of mercenaries posted in the city and perpetually mounting
guard.
Yes, I said, and what is more they will serve for their food only without getting a mercenary’s
pay, so that they will not be able to travel on their own account or to make presents to a
mistress or to spend as they please in other ways, like the people who are commonly thought
happy. You have forgotten to include these counts in your indictment, and many more to the
same effect. Well, take them as included now. And you want to hear the answer? Yes.
We shall find one, I think, by keeping to the line we have followed so far. We shall say that,
though it would not be surprising if even these people were perfectly happy under such
conditions, our aim in founding the commonwealth was not to make any one class specially
happy, but to secure the greatest possible happiness for the community as a whole. We thought
we should find injustice where the constitution was of the worst possible type; we could then
decide the question which has been before us all the time. For the moment, we are
constructing, as we believe, the state which will be happy as a whole, not trying to secure the
well-being of a select few; we shall study a state of the opposite kind presently. It is as if we
were colouring a statue and someone came up and blamed us for not putting the most beautiful
colours on the noblest parts of the figure; the eyes, for instance, should be painted crimson, but
we had made them black. We should think it a fair answer to say: Really, you must not expect
us to paint eyes so handsome as not to look like eyes at all. This applies to all the parts; the
question is whether, by giving each its proper colour, we make the whole beautiful. So too, in
the present case, you must not press us to endow our Guardians with a happiness that will
make them anything rather than guardians. We could quite easily clothe our farmers in
gorgeous robes, crown them with gold, and invite them to till the soil at their pleasure; or we
might set our potters to lie on couches by their fire, passing round the wine and making merry,
with their wheel at hand to work at whenever they felt so inclined. We could make all the rest
happy in the same sort of way, and so spread this well-being through the whole community.
But you must not put that idea into our heads; if we take your advice, the farmer will be no
farmer, the potter no longer a potter; none of the elements that make up the community will
keep its character. In many cases this does not matter so much: if a cobbler goes to the bad and
pretends to be what he is not, he is not a danger to the state; but, as you must surely see, men
who make only a vain show of being guardians of the laws and of the commonwealth bring the
whole state to utter ruin, just as, on the other hand, its good government and well-being
depend entirely on them. We, in fact, are making genuine Guardians who will be the last to
bring harm upon the commonwealth; if our critic aims rather at producing a happiness like that
of a party of peasants feasting at a fair, what he has in mind is something other than a civic
community. So, we must consider whether our aim in establishing Guardians is to secure the
greatest possible happiness for them, or happiness is something of which we should watch the
development in the whole commonwealth. If so, we must compel these Guardians and
Auxiliaries of ours to second our efforts; and they, and tall the rest with them, must be induced
to make themselves perfect masters each of his own craft. In that way, as the community grows
into a well-ordered whole, the several classes may be allowed such measure of happiness as
their nature will compass. I think that is an admirable reply.
Republic (Excerpt 2)
Next, said I, here is a parable to illustrate the degrees in which our nature may be enlightened
or unenlightened. Imagine the condition of men living in a sort of cavernous chamber
underground, with an entrance open to the light and a long passage all down the cave. Here
they have been from childhood, chained by the leg and also by the neck, so that they cannot
move and can see only what is in front of them, because the chains will not let them turn their
heads. At some distance higher up is the light of a fire burning behind them; and between the
prisoners and the fire is a track1 with a parapet built along it, like the screen at a puppet-show,
which hides the performers while they show their puppets over the top. I see, said he.
Now behind this parapet imagine persons carrying along various artificial objects, including figures
of men and animals in wood or stone or other materials, which project above the parapet. Naturally,
some of these persons will be talking, others silent.2
It is a strange picture, he said, and a strange sort of prisoners.
Like ourselves, I replied; for in the first place prisoners so confined would have seen nothing of
themselves or of one another, except the shadows thrown by the fire-light on the wall of the
Cave facing them, would they? Not if all their lives they had been prevented from moving their heads.
And they would have seen as little of the objects carried past . Of course.
Now, if they could talk to one another, would they not suppose that their words referred only
to those passing shadows which they saw? Necessarily.
And suppose their prison had an echo from the wall facing them? When one of the people
crossing behind them spoke, they could only suppose that the sound came from the shadow
passing before their eyes. No doubt.
In every way, then, such prisoners would recognize as reality nothing but the shadows of those
artificial objects. Inevitably.
Now consider what would happen if their release from the chains and the healing of their
unwisdom should come about in this way. Suppose one of them were set free and forced
suddenly to stand up, turn his head, and walk with eyes lifted to the light; all these movements
would be painful, and he would be too dazzled to make out the objects whose shadows he had
been used to see. What do you think he would say, if someone told him that what he had
formerly seen was meaningless illusion, but now, being somewhat nearer to reality and turned
towards more real objects, he was getting a truer view? Suppose further that he were shown
the various objects being carried by and were made
to say, in reply to questions, what each of them was. Would he not be perplexed and believe the
objects now shown him to be not so real as what he formerly saw? Yes, not nearly so real.
And if he were forced to look at the fire-light itself, would not his eyes ache, so that he would
try to escape and turn back to the things which he could see distinctly, convinced that they
really were clearer than these other objects now being shown to him? Yes.
And suppose someone were to drag him away forcibly up the steep and rugged ascent and not
let him go until he had hauled him out into the sunlight, would he not suffer pain and vexation
at such treatment, and when he had come out into the light, find his eyes so full of its radiance
that he could not see a single one of the things that he was now told were real?
Certainly he would not see them all at once.
He would need, then, to grow accustomed before he could see things in that upper world. At
first, it would be easiest to make out shadows, and then the images of men and things reflected
in water, and later on the things themselves. After that, it would be easier to watch the
heavenly bodies and the sky itself by night, looking at the light of the moon and stars rather
than the Sun and the Sun's light in the day-time. Yes, surely.
Last of all, he would be able to look at the Sun and contemplate its nature, not as it appears
when reflected in water or any alien medium, but as it is in itself in its own domain. No doubt.
And now he would begin to draw the conclusion that it is the Sun that produces the seasons
and the course of the year and controls everything in the visible world, and moreover is in a
way the cause of all that he and his companions used to see. Clearly he would come at last to that
conclusion.
Then if he called to mind his fellow prisoners and what passed for wisdom in his former
dwelling-place, he would surely think himself happy in the change and be sorry for them. They
may have had a practice of honoring and commending one another, with prizes for the man
who had the keenest eye for the passing shadows and the best memory for the order in which
they followed or accompanied one another, so that he could make a good guess as to which was
going to come next. Would our released prisoner be likely to covet those prizes or to envy the
men exalted to honor and power in the Cave? Would he not feel like Homer’s Achilles, that he
would far sooner “be on earth as a hired servant in the house of a landless man”3 or endure
anything rather than go back to his old beliefs and live in the old way? Yes, he would prefer any
fate to such a life.
Now imagine what would happen if he went down again to take his former seat in the Cave. Coming
suddenly out of the sunlight, his eyes would be filled with darkness. He might be required once more
to deliver his opinion on those shadows, in competition with the prisoners who had never been
released, while his eyesight was still dim and unsteady; and it might take some time to become used
to the darkness. They would laugh at him and say that he had gone up only to come back with his
sight ruined; it was worth no one’s while even to attempt the ascent. If they could lay hands on the
man who was trying to set them free and lead them up, they would kill him.4 Yes, they would.
Every feature in this parable, my dear Glaucon, is meant to fit our earlier analysis. The prison
dwelling corresponds to the region revealed to us through the sense of sight, and the fire-light
within it to the power of the Sun. The ascent to see the things in the upper world you may take
as standing
for the upward journey of the soul into the region of the intelligible; then you will be in
possession of what I surmise, since that is what you wish to be told. Heaven knows whether it
is true but this, at any rate, is how it appears to me. In the world of knowledge, the last thing to
be perceived and only with great difficulty is the essential Form of Goodness. Once it is
perceived, the conclusion must follow that, for all things, this is the cause of whatever is right
and good; in the visible world it gives birth to light and to the lord of light, while it is itself
sovereign in the intelligible world and the parent of intelligence and truth. Without having had
a vision of this Form no one can act with wisdom, either in his own life or in matters of state. So
far as I can understand, I share your belief...
You will see, then, Glaucon, that there will be no real injustice in compelling our philosophers
to watch over and care for the other citizens. We can fairly tell them that their compeers in
other states may quite reasonably refuse to collaborate; there they have sprung up, like a self-
sown plant, in despite of their country’s institutions; no one has fostered their growth, and they
cannot be expected to show gratitude for a care they have never received. “But,” we shall say,
“it is not so with you. We have brought you into existence for your country’s sake as well as for
your own, to be like leaders and king-bees in a hive; you have been better and more thoroughly
educated than those others and hence you are more capable of playing your part both as men
of thought and as men of action. You must go down, then, each in his turn, to live with the rest
and let your eyes grow accustomed to the darkness. You will then see a thousand times better
than those who live there always; you will recognize every image for what it is and know what
it represents, because you have seen justice, beauty, and goodness in their reality; and so you
and we shall find life in your commonwealth no mere dream, as it is in most existing states,
where men live fighting one another about shadows and quarreling for power, as if that were a
great prize; whereas in truth government can be at its best and free from dissension only
where the destined rulers are least desirous of holding office.” Quite true. } - 20 - {
Cicero
On the Laws
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.), living through the last years of the Roman Republic,
expressed the highest tradition of Greco-Roman civilization. All his works—speeches,
philosophical and political writings, letters, and poems—are marked by a sense of public interest
and duty. We find in them We find in them also a constant regard for humanitas, the word coined
by Cicero, meaning the mental and moral qualities that make for civilized living.
Cicero was born in Arpinum, a small city sixty miles southeast of Rome, who's inhabitants enjoyed
full Roman citizenship. Although his family was well respected locally, to the Romans he was a
"new man "(Novus Homo, a man without any ancestor who achieved the political rank of consul).
Nevertheless, he rapidly made his way against the initial aristocratic prejudices. After schooling in
Rome, Athens, and Rhodes—studying under Platonic and Stoic philosophers—he rose to
leadership in the legal profession and was recognized as Rome's most compelling public speaker.
(As a young man his success as a lawyer was assured when he successfully prosecuted a corrupt
provincial governor.) He became the Consul (the highest elective office of the Roman Republic)
and 63 B.C. and, later, a provincial governor. In 44 B.C., after the assassination of Julius Caesar by
a group of senators fearful of Caesar's growing power, Cicero backed the senatorial party. As a
consequence, in the following year when the supporters of Caesar had become dominant, Cicero
was murdered; this was done by order of Mark Anthony, whom Cicero had attacked in speeches
aimed at restoring the power of the Senate and the Roman Republic.
The writings of Cicero are more numerous than those of any other author of ancient times. He
expanded the Latin language's vocabulary so that it could better express his beloved Greek
philosophical ideas. His role as selector and transmitter of Greco-Roman thought and values has
been of enormous importance to later civilizations. He was also a master of Latin prose style; his
stylistic influence (Ciceronianism), especially strong during the renaissance, has been transmitted
to us through many influential English prose works. These include the "King James" version
(1611) of the Bible, Edward Gibbon's decline and fall of the Roman Empire, and the political
speeches of the Edmund Burke and Winston Churchill. On t h e L aw
} - 21 - {
On the laws (De Legibus) was begun about 52 B.C. But probably never finished. It is an exposition
of the ideal state and takes the form of a dialogue between Cicero (Marcus), his brother Quintus,
and his friend Pomponius Atticus; the scene is Cicero's estate at Arpinum. The following selection
sets forth the idea (previously advanced by the Stoic philosophers) that divine justice is the source
of all law, everywhere. Existing codes and statues, so-called “positive law,” draw whatever validity
they have from this “higher” or “natural” law of divine justice, which is also identical with right
reason. This doctrine of natural law—with its ideals of universal reason, freedom, and equality—
was to have a long and influential life. It became the jus naturale. Of Roman law, shaped the laws
of the medieval Church, and reached its peak of influence in the “natural rights” doctrine of the
eighteenth-century Enlightenment—the philosophical foundation of the American and French
Revolutions.
ATTICUS. Kindly begin without delay the statement of your opinions on the civil law.
MARCUS. My opinions? Well then, I believe that there have been most eminent men in our State
whose customary function it was to interpret the law to the people and answer questions in
regard to it, but that these men, though they have made great claims, have spent their time on
unimportant details. What subject indeed is so vast as the law of the State? But what is so trivial
as the task of those who give legal advice? It is, however, necessary for the people. But, while I
do not consider that those who have applied themselves to this profession have lacked a
conception of universal law, yet they have carried their studies of this civil law, as it is called,
only far enough to accomplish their purpose of being useful to the people. Now all this amounts
to little so far as learning is concerned, though for practical purposes it is indispensable. What
subject is it then, that you are asking me to expound? To what task are you urging me? Do you
want me to write a treatise on the law of eaves and house-walls? Or to compose formulas for
contracts and court procedure? These subjects have been carefully treated by many writers,
and are of a humbler character, I believe, than what is expected of me.
ATTICUS. Yet if you ask what I expect of you, I consider it a logical thing that, since you have
already written a treatise on the constitution of the ideal State,, you should also write one on its
laws. For I note that this was done by your beloved Plato, whom you admire, revere above all
others, and love above all others.
MARCUS. Is it you wish, then, that, as he discussed the institutions of States and the ideal laws,. .
. sometimes walking about, sometimes resting—you recall his description—we, in like manner,
strolling or taking our ease among these stately poplars on the green and shady river bank,
shall discuss the same subjects along somewhat broader lines than the practice of the courts
calls for?
ATTICUS. I should certainly like to hear such a conversation.
MARCUS. What does Quintus say:?
QUINTUS. No other subject would suit me better.
MARCUS. And you are wise, for you must understand that in no other kind of discussion can
one bring out so clearly what Nature’s gifts to man are, what a wealth of most excellent
possessions the human mind enjoys, what the purpose is, to strive after and accomplish
which we have been born and placed in this world, what it is that unites men, and what natural
fellowship there is among them. For it is only after all these things have been made clear that
the origin of Law and Justice can be discovered.
ATTICUS. Then you do not think that the science of law is to be derived from the praetor’s edict,
as the majority do now, or from the Twelve Tables, as people used to think, but from the
deepest mysteries of philosophy?
MARCUS. Quite right; for in our present conversation, Pomponius, we are not trying to learn
how to protect ourselves legally, or how to answer clients’ questions. Such problems may be
important, and in fact they are; for in former times many eminent men made a specialty of their
solution, and at present one person performs this duty with the greatest authority and skill. But
in our present investigation we intend to cover the whole range of universal Justice and Law in
such a way that our own civil law, as it is called, will be confined to a small and narrow corner.
For we must explain the nature of Justice, and this must be sought for in the nature of man; we
must also consider the laws by which States ought to be governed; then we must deal with the
enactments and decrees of nations which are already formulated and put in writing; and
among these the civil law, as it is called, of the Roman people will not fail to find a place.
QUINTUS. You probe deep, and seek, as you should, the very fountain-head, to find what we are
after, BROTHER. And those who teach the civil law in any other way are teaching not so much
the path of justice as of litigation.
MARCUS. There you are mistaken, Quintus, for it is rather ignorance of the law than knowledge
of it that leads to litigation. But that will come later; now let us investigate the origins of Justice.
Well then, the most learned men have determined to begin with Law, and it would seem that
they are right, if, according to their definition, Law is the highest reason, implanted in Nature,
which commands what ought to be done and forbids the opposite. This reason, when firmly
fixed and fully developed in the human mind, is Law. And so they believe that law is
intelligence, whose natural function it is to command right conduct and forbid wrongdoing. . . .
Now if this is correct, as I think it to be in general, then the origin of Justice is to be found in
Law, for Law is a natural forced; it is the mind and reason of the intelligent man, the standard
by which Justice and Injustice are measured. But since our whole discussion has to do with the
reasoning of the populace, it will sometimes be necessary to speak in the popular manner, and
give the name of law to that which in written form decrees whatever it wishes, either by
command or prohibition. For such is the crowd’s definition of law. But in determining what
Justice is, let us begin with that supreme Law which had its origin ages before any written law
existed or any State had been established.
QUINTUS. Indeed that will be preferable and more suitable to the character of the conversation
we have begun.
MARCUS. Well, then, shall we seek the origin of Justice itself at its fountain-head? For when that
is discovered we shall undoubtedly have a standard by which the things we are seeking may be
tested.
QUINTUS. I think that is certainly what we must do.
MARCUS. I will not make the argument long. Your admission leads us to this: that animal which
we call man, endowed with foresight and quick intelligence, complex, keen, possessing
memory, full of reason and prudence, has been given a certain distinguished status by the
supreme God who created him; for he is the only one among so many different kinds and
varieties of living beings who has a share in reason and thought, while all the rest are deprived
of it. But what is more divine, I will not say in man only, but in all heaven and earth, than
reason? And reason, when it is full grown and perfected, is rightly called wisdom. Therefore,
since there is nothing better than reason, and since it exists both in man and God, the first
common possession of man and God is reason. But those who have reason in common must
also have right reason in common. And since right reason is Law, we must believe that men
have Law also in common with the gods. Further, those who share Law must also share Justice;
and those who share these are to be regarded as members of the same commonwealth. If
indeed they obey the same authorities and powers, this is true in a far greater degree; but as a
matter of fact they do obey this celestial system, the divine mind, and the God of transcendent
power. Hence we must now conceive of this whole universe as one commonwealth of which
both gods and men are members.
MARCUS. The points which are now briefly touched upon are certainly important; but out of all
the material of the philosophers’ discussions, surely there comes nothing more valuable than
the full realization that we are born for Justice, and that right is based, not upon men’s
opinions, but upon Nature. This fact will immediately be plain if you once get a clear conception
of man’s fellowship and union with his fellow-men. For no single thing is so like another, so
exactly its counterpart as all of us are to one another. Nay, if bad habits and false beliefs did not
twist the weaker minds and turn them in whatever directions they are inclined, no one would
be so like his own self as all men would be like all others. And so, however we may define man,
a single definition will apply to all. This is a sufficient proof that there is no difference in kind
between man and man; for if there were, one definition could not be applicable to all men; and
indeed reason, which alone raises us above the level of the beasts and enables us to draw
inferences, to prove and disprove, to discuss and solve problems, and to come to conclusions, is
certainly common to us all, and, though varying in what it learns, at least in the capacity to
learn it is invariable. For the same things are invariably perceived by the senses, and those
things which stimulate the senses, , stimulate them in the same way in all men; and those
rudimentary beginnings of intelligence to which I have referred, which are imprinted on our
minds, are imprinted on all minds alike; and speech, the mind’s interpreter, though differing in
the choice of words, agrees in the sentiments expressed. In fact, there is no human being of any
race who, if he finds a guide, cannot attain to virtue.
MARCUS. The next point, then, is that we are so constituted by Nature as to share the sense of
Justice with one another and to pass it on to all men. And in this whole discussion I want it
understood that what I shall call Nature is that which is implanted in us by nature; that,
however, the corruption caused by bad habits is so great that the sparks of fire, so to speak,
which Nature has kindled in use are extinguished by this corruption, and the vices which are
their opposites spring up and are established. But if the judgments of men were in agreement
with Nature, so that. . . they considered “nothing alien to them which concerns mankind,” then
Justice would be equally observed by all. For those creatures who have received right reason,
and therefore they have also received the gift of Law, which is right reason applied to command
and prohibition. And if they have received Law, they have received Justice also. Now all men
have received reason; therefore all men have received Justice. . . .
But you see the direction this conversation is to take; our whole discourse is intended to
promote the firm foundation of States, the strengthening of cities, and the curing of the ills of
peoples. For that reason I want to be especially careful not to lay down first principles that have
not been wisely considered and thoroughly investigated. Of course I cannot expect that they
will be universally accepted, for that is impossible; but I do look for the approval of all who
believe that everything which is right and honourable is to be desired for its own sake, and that
nothing whatever is to be accounted a good unless it is praiseworthy in itself, or at least that
nothing should be considered a great good unless it can rightly be praised for its own sake.
MARCUS. Once more, then, before we come to the individual laws, let us look at the character
and nature of Law, for fear that, though it must be the standard to which we refer everything,
we may now and then be led astray by an incorrect use of terms, and forget the rational
principles our laws must be based.
QUINTUS. Quite so, that is the correct method of exposition.
MARCUS. Well, then, I find that it has been the opinion of the wisest men that Law is not a
product of human thought, nor is it any enactment of peoples, but something eternal which
rules the whole universe by its wisdom in command and prohibition. Thus they have been
accustomed to say that Law is the primal and ultimate mind of God [Jupiter], whose reason
directs all things either by compulsion or restraint. Wherefore that Law which the gods have
given to the human race has been justly praised; for it is the reason and mind of a wise lawgiver
applied to command and prohibition. } - 25 - {
Marcus Aurelius
Thoughts
ON HUMILITY AND PATIENCE
When you are offended with any man’s shameless conduct, immediately ask yourself, Is it
possible, then, that shameless men should not be in the world? It is not possible. Do not, then,
require what is impossible. For this man also is one of those shameless men who must of
necessity be in the world. Let the same considerations be remembered in the case of the
dishonest man, the faithless man, and a every man who does wrong in any way. For at the same
time that you remind yourself that it is impossible that such sort of men should not exist, you
will feel more kindly towards every one individually. It is useful to perceive, too, when the
occasion arises, what power nature has given to man to oppose to every wrongful act. For she
has given to man, as an antidote against the stupid man, mildness, and against another kind of
man some other power. And in all cases it is possible for you to correct by teaching the man
who is gone astray; for every man who errs misses his object and is gone astray. Besides,
wherein have you been injured? For you will find that no one among those who have irritated
you has done anything that could injure your mind, but that which is evil to you an harmful has
its foundation only in the mind. And what harm is done or what is there strange, if the man who
has not been instructed does the acts of an uninstructed man? Consider whether you should
not rather blame yourself because you did not expect such a man to err in such a way For you
had means given you by your reason to suppose that it was likely that he would commit this
error and yet you have forgotten and are amazes that he has erred. But most of all when you
blame a man as faithless or ungrateful, turn to yourself. For the fault is plainly your own,
whether you did trust that a man who had such a disposition would keep his promise, or when
conferring your kindness you did not confer it absolutely, nor yet in such a way as to have
received from your very act all the profit.
For what more do you want when you have done a man a service? Are you not content that you
have done something conformable to your nature, and do you seek to be paid for it? Just as if
the eye demanded a payment for seeing, or the feet for walking. For as these members are
formed for a particular purpose, and by working according to their several constitutions obtain
what is their own; so also a man is formed by nature to acts of benevolence. When he has done
anything benevolent or in any other way helpful to the common interest, he has acted
comformably to his constitution, and gets what is his own.
ON BALANCE AND SERENITY
Hippocrates, after curing many diseases, himself fell sick and died. The Chaldeans foretold the
deaths of many, and then fate caught them too. Alexander and Pompey and Julius Caesar, after
so many ten thousands of cavalry and infantry, themselves too at last departed from life.
Heraclitus, after so many speculations on the conflagration of the universe, was filled with
water internally and died smeared all over with mud. And lice destroyed Democritus; and other
lice killed Socrates. What means all this? You have embarked, you have made the voyage, you
have come to shore; get out. If indeed to another life, there is no lack of gods, not even there;
but if to a state without sensation, you will cease to be held by pains and pleasures, and to be a
slave to the body, which is as much inferior as that which serves it is superior: for the one is
intelligence and deity; the other is earth and corruption.
***
Labor not unwillingly, nor without regard to the common interest, nor without due
consideration, nor with distraction; nor let fancy words set off your thoughts, and be not either
a man of many words, or busy about too many things. And further, let the deity which is in you
be the guardian of a living being, manly and of ripe age and engaged in matter political. Be a
Roman and a ruler, who has taken his post like a man waiting for the signal which summons
him from life, and already to go, having need neither of oath nor of any man’s advice. Be
cheerful also, and seek not external help nor the tranquility which others give. A man, then,
must stand erect, not be kept erect by others.
***
This is the chief thing: Be not agitated, or all things are according to the nature of the universal;
and in a little time you will be nobody and nowhere, like Hadrian and Augustus. In the next
place, having fixed your eyes steadily on your business, look at it; and at the same time
remembering that it is your duty to be a good man, and what man’s nature demands, do that
without turning aside; and speak as it seems to you most just, only let it be with good
disposition and with modesty and without hypocrisy.
***
Things themselves touch not the soul, not in the least degree; nor have they admission to the
soul, nor can they turn or move the soul. But the soul turns and moves itself alone, and
whatever judgments it may think proper to make, such it makes for itself the things which
present themselves to it.
***
Pain is either an evil to the body—then let the body say what it thinks of it-or to the soul; but it
is in the power of the soul to maintain its own serenity and tranquility, and not to think that
pain is an evil. For every judgment and movement and desire and dislike is within, and no
outside evil can force itself upon the soul. } - 27 - {
The Epic of Gilgamesh
THE oldest known literature is poetry, and the oldest poetry is epic in form—describing mighty
struggles of legendary heroes and gods. An excellent example is Homer’s Iliad (selection 1), the
earliest surviving poetry of the ancient Greeks. More ancient still is the Middle Eastern Epic of
Gilgamesh: the story of a mythological king and demigod (half-human, half-divine). His name is
Gilgamesh, and there was also a real king of the same name who ruled the important city-state of
Uruk (biblical Erech), about 2700 B.C. Uruk was located in ancient Sumer (in southern
Mesopotamia), site of the world’s first civilization. Long after this historical Gilgamesh, but more
than a thousand years before Homer sang in Greek of the Trojan War—and long before the
Hebrew Old Testament had been written—Gilgamesh had become the hero of a cycle of poems,
fires passed on by word of mouth.
The content of this sophisticated and beautiful poetic tradition was unknown in the modern world
until late in the nineteenth century when English scholars translated from the text inscribed on
twelve clay tablets—just discovered in the ruins of the library of an Assyrian king (Ashurbanipal,
reigned 669-630)? B.C.). Since that time any other tablets telling parts of Gilgamesh’s story have
also been found. Some are far more ancient than Ashurbanipal’s collection. The earliest poems
about Gilgamesh were recorded in the Sumerian language. The legends, however, spread widely
through time and place. Versions have been discovered in several ancient languages, although the
hero’s name, Gilgamesh, remained Sumerian. It means “father, hero” or “the old one, the hero.”
The text of the tablets found in Assyria begins with praise of Gilgamesh king of Uruk, son of the
goddess Ninsun and a local temple-priest. Gilgamesh is a builder of great walls and a courageous
warrior, but he becomes too proud and brutish. The gods hear the lament of his subjects and
create Enkidu, a wild man who lives with untamed beasts. A temple-prostitute, sent by Gilgamesh,
initiates Enkidu into city ways. He journeys to Uruk, confronts Gilgamesh, and they grapple.
Gilgamesh throws Enkidu to the ground. Enkidu admits Gilgamesh’s superior strength, and they
embrace.
Now close friends, the two heroes, defying all cautionary advice, set out together against
Humbaba, the fierce, divinely appointed giant who guards a remote cedar forest. Gilgamesh’s
motive is the gaining of immortal fame; he wishes to transcend his own human destiny. The two
kill Humbaba and return to Uruk, where Gilgamesh rejects an offer of marriage from Ishtar,
goddess of love and fertility, in revenge Ishtar sends down the destructive Bull of Heaven which
the two friends slay. Enkidu dreams hat h gods will kill him for having slain the Bull and then,
lying mortally ill, dreams of the dark “house of dust” which awaits him.
After bitter weeping and a state funeral for Enkidu, Gilgamesh searches for the secret of
everlasting life. Completing a difficult journey he finds Utnapishtim, a survivor of the Great Flood,
the one man to whom the gods have granted immortality. Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh the story of
the flood, tests him, and shows him where to find a plant that will renew his youth. After
Gilgamesh obtains the plant, however, it is snatched away by a serpent. Gilgamesh returns to
Uruk, his “strong-walled city, . . . . weary, worn out with labour, and . . . engraves on a stone the
whole story.” Although the Assyrian tablets do not advance the narrative much beyond this point,
in other ancient sources Gilgamesh now dies.
A feature of The Epic of Gilgamesh especially interesting to Western readers is its parallel to
passages in the Old Testament. The most remarkable an obvious similarity is in the stories of the
Great Flood. (The tale is told fully in a number of the surviving tablets.) In the Old Testament’s
Book of Genesis (selection 25) he flood is described as a just punishment by the One God or the sins
of the corrupt, while righteous Noah and his family are saved. In the story of Gilgamesh, on the
other hand, the moral message is less clear. The many quarreling “gods agreed to exterminate
mankind” because their sleep was being disturbed b the growing clamor of human voices. The
obedient hero, Utnapishtim, is saved by a waning-dream sent by one of the gods—and is hen
granted immortality. May of the details of this earlier flood story, according to some modern
scholars, clearly influenced the version in Genesis. Above all, The Epic of Gilgamesh is deeply
pessimistic. No concept emerges of an enduring covenant between the divine and the human—a
concept basic to the Bible. Also, there is no hint of human salvation; all must enter death’s “house
of dust.”
The following excerpt is taken from a modern translation that, for clarity’s sake, combines a
number of differing ancient versions of the poem into a straightforward prose narrative.
The Gilgamesh said to Utnapishtim the Faraway, ‘I look at you now, Utnapishtim, and your
appearance is no different from mine; there is nothing strange in your features. I thought I
should find you like a hero prepared for battle, but you lie here taking your ease on your back.
Tell me truly, how was it that you came to enter the company of the gods and to possess
everlasting life?’ Utnapishtim said to Gilgamesh, ‘I will reveal to you a mystery, I will tell you a
secret of the gods.’
THE STORY OF THE FLOOD
‘You know the city Shurupak, it stands on the banks of Euphrates? That city grew old and the
gods that were in it were old. There was Anu, lord of the firmament, their father, and warrior
Enlil their counsellor, Ninurta the helper, and Ennugi watcher over canals; and with them also
was Ea. In those days the world teemed, the people multiplied, the world bellowed like a wild
bull, and the great god was aroused by the clamour. Enlil heard the clamour and he said to the
gods in council, “The uproar of mankind is intolerable and sleep is no longer possible by reason
of the babel.” So the gods agreed to exterminate mankind. Enlil did this, but Ea because of his
oath warned me in a dream. He whispered their words to my house of reeds, “Reed-house,
reed-house! Wall, O wall, hearken reed-house, wall reflect; O man of Shurrupak, son of Ubara-
Tutu; tear down your house and build a boat,
abandon possessions and look for life, despise worldly good and save your soul alive. Tear
down your house, I say, and build her: let her beam equal her length, let her deck be roofed like
the vault that covers the abyss; then take up into the boat the seed of all living creatures.”
‘When I had understood I said to my lord, “Behold, what you have commanded I will honour
and perform, but how shall I answer the people, the city, the elders?” Then Ea opened his
mouth and said to me, his servant, “Tell them this: I have learnt that Enlil is wrathful against
me, I dare no longer walk in his land nor live in his city; I will go down to the Gulf to dwell with
Ea my lord. But on you he will rain down abundance, rare fish and shy wild-fowl, a rich harvest-
tide. In the evening the rider of the storm will bring you wheat in torrents.”
‘In the first light of dawn all my household gathered round me, the children brought pitch and
the men whatever was necessary. On the fifth day I laid the keel and the ribs, then I made fast
the planking. The ground-space was one acre, each side of the deck measured one hundred and
twenty cubits, making a square. I built six decks below, seven in all, I divided hem into nine
sections with bulkheads between. I drove in wedges where needed, I saw to the punt-poles, and
laid in supplies. The carriers brought oil in baskets, I poured pitch into the furnace and asphalt
and oil; more oil was consumed in caulking, and more again the master of the boat took into his
stores. I slaughtered bullocks for the people and every day I killed sheep. I gave the shipwrights
wine to drink as though it were river water, raw wine and red wine and oil and white wine.
There was feasting then as there is at the time of the New Year’s festival; I myself anointed my
head. On the seventh day the boat was complete.
‘Then was the launching full of difficulty; there was shifting of ballast above and below till two
thirds was submerged. I loaded into her all that I had of gold and of living things, my family, my
kin, the beast of the field both wild and tame, and all the craftsmen. I sent them on board, for
the time that Shamash had ordained was already fulfilled when he said, “In the evening, when
the rider of the storm sends down the destroying rain, enter the boat and batten her down.”
The time was fulfilled, the evening came, the rider of the storm sent down the rain. I looked out
at the weather and it was terrible, so I too boarded the boat and battened her down. All was
now complete, the battening and the caulking; so I handed the tiller to Puzur-Amurri the
steersman, with the navigation and the care of the whole boat.
‘With the first light of dawn a black cloud came from the horizon; it thundered within where
Adad, lord of the storm was riding. In front over hill and plain Shullat and Hanish, heralds of the
storm, led on. Then the gods of the Abyss rose up; Nergal pulled out the dams of the nether
waters, Ninurta the war-lord threw down the dykes, and the seven judges of hell, the Annunaki,
raised their torches, lighting the land with their livid flame. A stupor of despair went up to
heaven when the god of the storm turned daylight to darkness, when he smashed the land like
a cup. One whole day the tempest raged, gathering fury as it went, it poured over the people
like the tides of battle; a man could not see his brother nor the people be seen from heaven.
Even the gods were terrified at the flood, they fled to the highest heaven, the firmament of Anu;
they crouched against the walls, covering like curs. Then Ishtar the sweet-voiced Queen of
Heaven cried out like a woman in travail: “Alas the days of old are turned to dust because I
commanded evil; why did I command his evil in the council of all the gods? . . . Now like the
spawn of fish (the people) float in the ocean.” The great gods of heaven and of hell wept, they
covered their mouths.
‘For six days and six nights the winds blew, torrent and tempest and flood overwhelmed the
world, tempest an flood raged together like warring hosts. When the seventh day dawned the
storm from the south subsided, the sea grew calm, the flood was stilled; I looked at the fact of
the world and there was silence, all mankind was tuned to clay. The
surface of the sea stretched as flat as a roof-top; I opened a hatch and the light fell on my face.
Then I bowed low, I sat down and I wept, the tears streamed down my face, for on every side
was the waste of water. I looked for land in vain, but fourteen leagues distant there appeared a
mountain, and there the boat grounded; on the mountain of Nisir the boat held fast, she held
fast and did not budge. One day she held, and a second day on the mountain of Nisir she held
fast and did not budge. A third day, and a fourth day she held fast on the mountain and did not
budge; a fifth day and a sixth day she held fast on the mountain. When the seventh day dawned
I loosed a dove and let her go. She flew away, but finding no resting-place she returned. Then I
loosed a swallow, and she flew away but finding no resting-place she returned. I loosed a raven,
she saw that the waters had retreated, she ate, she flew around, she cawed, and she did not
come back. Then I threw everything open to the four winds, I made a sacrifice and poured out a
libation on the mountain top. Seven and again seven cauldrons I set up on their stands, I
heaped up wood and cane and cedar and myrtle. When the gods smelled the sweet savour, they
gathered like flies over the sacrifice. The, at last, Ishtar also came, she lifted her necklace with
the jewels of heaven that once Anu had made to please her. ‘O you gods here present, by the
lapis lazuli round my neck I shall remember these days as I remember the jewels of my throat;
these last days I shall not forget. Let all the gods gather round the sacrifice, except Enlil. He
shall not approach this offering, for without reflection he brought the flood; he consigned my
people to destruction.”
“When Enlil had come, when he saw the boat, he was wrath and swelled with anger at the gods,
the host of heaven, “has any of these mortals escaped? Not one was to have survived the
destruction.” Then the god of the wells and canals Ninurta opened his mouth and said to the
warrior Enlil, “Who is there of the gods that can devise without Ea? It is Ea alone who knows all
things.” Then Ea opened his mouth and spoke to warrior Enlil, “Wisest of gods, hero Enlil.” How
could you so senselessly bring down the flood?
Lay upon the sinner his sin,
Lay upon the transgressor his transgression
Punish him a little when he breaks loose,
Do not drive him too hard or he perishes;
Would that a lion had ravaged mankind
Rather than the flood,
Would that a wolf had ravaged mankind
Rather than the flood,
Would that famine had wasted the world
Rather than the flood,
Would that pestilence had wasted mankind
Rather than the flood.
It was not I that revealed the secret of the gods; the wise man learned it in a dream. Now take
your counsel what shall be done with him.”
‘Then Enlil went up into the boat, he took me by the hand and my wife and made us enter the
boat and kneel down on either side, he standing between us. He touched our foreheads to bless
us saying, “in time past Utnapishtim was a mortal man; henceforth he and his wife shall live in
the distance at the mouth of the rivers.” Thus it was that the gods took me and placed me here
to live in the distance, at the mouth of the rivers.’ } - 31 - {
The Bible: Old Testament
THE Old Testament, as the coll-ection of Jewish sacred books is called by Christians, is accepted by
both faiths as the divinely inspired account of God’s dealings with his “chosen witnesses,” the Jews.
In a wider sense it is viewed by its believers as the revelation of God’s will to all humanity.
Originally written in Hebrew, the Old Testament (like the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, Selection
24) is many centuries older than Christianity. It is presented at this point in the Classics because it
was accepted by the Christians as the essential prologue of their own gospel (the New Testament).
Through Christianity, Jewish religious ideas became widely known throughout the Roman Empire.
The Old Testament is still the complete Scriptures for Jews. The following passages tell the Jewish
version of some crucial events in the developing relationship between the human and the divine;
they also show the growing human comprehension of God’s presence and plan.
The early books of the Old Testament, known to Jews as the Torah (Law), begin with the creation
of the universe and then immediately focus on a garden. This garden is part of the world as God
had planned it—full of good things where man and woman enjoy the intimacy of their creator.
This right relationship is broken by their proud and rebellious self-will, their “original” sin,
followed by the first murder. Evil, then, lies deep in human nature; therefore, judgment falls upon
mankind in the great Flood, which only Noah and his family survive. Thus, the themes that will run
through the Jewish-Christian epic are set forth: a recurring pattern of sin, divine judgment and
punishment, and—because of the merits of one only, or of a few—divine mercy.
The Hebrew people, through their founding patriarch Abraham, are then selected as the
instrument of the divine purpose. God establishes a special covenant (binding agreement) with
them. They pledge obedience to God and then, through Moses, are given God’s Law at Mount Sinai.
With the establishment of that Law, the Jewish religion develops far beyond its tribal origins. Once
again, however, many humans prove unequal to the divine challenge. Exposed to the competing
ways and faiths of neighboring peoples, some Jews follow strange gods and adopt a life of self-
indulgence. God’s anger at this breaking of the covenant is expressed through his spokesmen, the
prophets (moralizing believers in the One God), who warn in his name. Gradually, the prophets
give shape and direction to the religious experience of the Jews. The books named for the prophets
make up more than a third of the books of the Old Testament. The earliest prophet was Amos,
who, in the eighth century B.C., denounced luxury and social injustice Va r i ou s Au t h o r s
} - 32 - {
among the Jews and predicted the coming judgment. Amos clearly reveals a god who is
universal—not for the Jews alone. This God demands moral purity, rather than merely the rituals
and burnt offerings of organized religion.
Historically, God’s judgment took various forms. First, for example, the northern kingdom, called
Israel, was wiped out by the Assyrians in 721 B.C. Later, the southern kingdom, called Judah,
which included the city of Jerusalem, fell to the Babylonians in 586 B.C. Many of these Hebrews
were brought into captivity in Babylon (the period of “Exile”). Reflecting upon these disasters and
guided by the insights of the “Second Isaiah,” a prophet who wrote chapters 40-66 of Isaiah about
540 B.C., the Jews acquired a clearer understanding of God’s nature and of their role in history.
The prophetic tradition continued even after many of the exiles were able to return to Judah. The
inspired messages of the prophets mark the peak of Jewish religious literature.
Still another literary tradition in the Old Testament is called wisdom literature. Job is one book in
that tradition. It deals with a question that has always troubled thoughtful people: why does the
divine plan appear to allow the suffering of the righteous and innocent? No satisfactory
intellectual answer to that question is stated in Job. God’s response to Job, however, offers a
resounding statement of infinite power and purpose, as well as God’s personal communion with
the suffering, questioning, and righteous individual.
The Bible: Old Testament The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the Revised
Standard Version Bible, copyrighted ©1946, ©1952, ©1971 by the Division of Christian
Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA and are used by
permission. All rights reserved.
Genesis
1:1—4:16
The Beginnings of History
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void,
and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of
the waters.
And God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the
waters from the waters.” And God made the firmament and separated the waters which were
under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. And it was so. And God
called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let
the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were
gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said, “Let the earth
put forth vegetation, plants yielding see, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their see, each
according to its kind, upon the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants
yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each
according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was
morning, a third day.
And God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate the day from the
night: and let them be for signs sand for seasons and for days and years, and let them be lights
in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the
two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; he made
the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth, to
rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw
that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the
earth across the firmament of the heavens.” So God created the great sea monsters and every
living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every
winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying,
“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” And
there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds and the cattle
according to their kinds, and everything that creeps upon the ground according to its kind. And
God saw that it was good.
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion
over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth,
and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he
created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill
the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air
and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” And God said, “Behold I have given you
every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its
fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air,
and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given
every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything he had made, and behold, it
was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day
God finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work
which he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested
from all his work which he had done in creation.
These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, when no plant of the field was yet
in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to
rain upon the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; but a mist went up from the earth
and watered the whole face of the ground—then the Lord God formed man of dust from the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. And
the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had
formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the
sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil.
A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.
The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which flows around the whole land of Hav’ilah,
where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The
name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which flows around the whole land of Cush. And
the name of the third river is Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the
Euphra’tes.
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord
God commanded the man, saying “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of
it you shall die.”
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper
fit for him. So out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of
the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man
called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the
birds of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper fit
for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one
of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh; and the rib which the Lord God had taken from the
man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,
“This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.”
Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one
flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.
Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that the Lord God had made. He
said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?” And the woman
said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but God said, ‘You shall
not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest
you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die. For God knows that when you
eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when
the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that
the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave
some to her husband, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they
were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the
man and his wife hid themselves from the presence f the Lord God among the trees of the
garden. But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I
heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded
you not to eat? The man said, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me the
fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have
done?” The woman said, “The serpent beguiled me, and I ate.” The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all cattle,
and above all wild animals;
Upon your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your seed [descendants] and her seed;
He shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
To the woman he said,
“I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children,
yet your desire shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you.”
And to Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife,
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you;
And you shall eat the plants of the field.
In the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
You are dust,
and to dust you shall return.”
The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And the Lord God
made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them.
Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil;
and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever”—
therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he
was taken. He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim,
and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man
with the help of the Lord.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of
sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering
of the fruit of the ground, and Abel brought of the firstlings, of his flock and of their fat portions.
And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no
regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. The Lord said to Cain “Why are you
angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if
you do not do well, sin is couching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
Cain said to Abel his brother, “Let us go out to the field.” And when they were in the field, Cain
rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel you
brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” And the Lord said, “What have
you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are
cursed form the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your
hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength; you shall be a
fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I
can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me this day away form the ground; and from thy face I shall
be hidden; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will slay
me.” Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him
sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who came upon him should kill him. Then
Cain went away from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, East of Eden.
The Bible: New Testament
THE New Testament is a Christian addition (first written in Greek) to the Hebrew Old Testament.
Christians believe that the appearance and teaching s of Jesus represented a new covenant or
testament (the words are the same in Greek), superseding the old one between God and the Jews
(see selection 25). The twenty-seven books that make up the New Testament were written
independently during the late first century and early second century of the Christian era. They
were among many Christian writings circulating at the time and were not regarded as sacred, as
were the scriptures of the Jews, until more than a century after Jesus. And it was not until A.D. 367
that their texts, as we know them now, were officially established by the Church. The New
Testament is thus the result of a winnowing-out process from a large body of early Christian
writings. Although, as with the older Hebrew scriptures, the New Testament was not originally a
product of Western thought, after centuries of historical development the Jewish-Christian
tradition and Western culture have become inseparably interwoven.
The following passages deal with some of the most fundamental matters of Christian faith. They
were highly colored, in those early centuries, by traditional thought-forms and language. Their
place of origin is ancient Palestine, occupied at the time by Roman imperial forces. They focus on
the life, teachings, and divine significance of a unique personality, Jesus of Nazareth.
The expression of the Christian story underwent changes from the outset. The gospel (the “good
news” about Jesus’ life) was first preached in a strictly Jewish atmosphere in the Roman-
conquered provinces of Judea and Galilee, where ideas of a “Messiah,” a Kingdom of God,” and a
“Son of Man” were well known. AS the Christian movement shifted from its Jewish roots and
became increasingly identified with non-Jews (Gentiles), its message was restated in a way more
suited to the Greek-speaking peoples around the eastern Mediterranean. Such terms as “Savior,”
“Son of God,” and “Body of Christ” then appeared. In general, the earlier gospels emphasize Jesus’
role as a human ethical teacher and prophet favored by God. These books are those named for
Mark, written ca. 70-80, and Matthew and Luke, both written ca. 90. The gospel named for John,
written ca. 100, on the other hand, stresses the divine nature of Jesus.
All the gospels should be read in the light of the disturbed condition of Judea during the years
between Jesus’ crucifixion and the unsuccessful Jewish revolt against Rome, 66-73. The Roman
destruction of Jerusalem in 70 apparently destroyed the earliest Christian records (in the local
languages of Hebrew and Aramaic). Thus, the gospels, as we know them now, were set down
after the revolt failed, and they reflect the need to prove to the Roman officials that the Christians
were separate from the rebellious Jews.
The “Sermon on the Mount,” from The Gospel According to Matthew, shows the ethical side of the
Christian tradition. Jesus’ teachings go beyond the Law of Moses (see selection from Exodus, pp.
554-61). They summon individuals to put inwardness of religious life before the outward forms.
The three chapters of Matthew’s twenty-eight included here are among the most popular in the
Bible, despite the demands they make upon those who have chosen to serve God rather than self.
The crucifixion of Jesus had first seemed to his friends and enemies as the end of an ill-fated
religious mission. His disciples, however, soon became convinced of his return from death and
awaited him. Seven weeks after the reported resurrection (Easter Sunday), on the day of Pentecost
in the Christian calendar, the disciples were “filled with the Holy Spirit.” The, the Christian Church
was born, and the disciples went forward with the world-wide works of converting others. The
story of these missionary beginnings is told in the fifth book of the New Testament, the Acts of the
Apostles.
The most influential of the apostles (earliest Christian missionaries) was Paul, a vigorous convert
to the new faith. He proved to be a fearless preacher and organizer, founding and guiding new
congregations in Asia Minor and Greece and giving instructions through numerous visits and
letters. Paul’s letters, ca. 51-63, may be the earliest writings of the New Testament. Two of his
most significant letters are excerpted here. The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians, written in a
style typical of his letters, answers questions from the Christian congregation at Corinth. It gives
advice on such matters as Christian sexual morality, the proper conduct of religious services, and
the differing roles of men and women. The letter also explains the Lord’s Supper (the earliest
sacrament), the supreme value of Christian love, and the nature of the resurrection of bodies after
death. The Letter of Paul to the Romans deals with such essential matters of doctrine as
“justification by faith” and the relation of the old Jewish covenant to the new Christian covenant.
Later, when established as part of Holy Scripture, the letters of Paul would exercise immense and
continuing influence on the thinking and practices of all Christians.

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

The Sermon on the Mount
4:23—7:29
And he went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the
kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people. So, his fame spread
throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and
pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed
him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to
him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
“Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.
“Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you
falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven, for so men
persecuted the prophets who were before you.
“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is
no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and
put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine
before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
“Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish
them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a
dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of
these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but
he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell
you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter
the kingdom of heaven.
“You have heard that is was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be
liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says,
‘You fool!’ shall be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there
remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar
and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Make friends
quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you
over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; truly, I say to you, you
will never get out till you have paid the last penny.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that every
one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If
your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of
your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes
you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that
your whole body go into hell.
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say
to you that every one who divorces his wife, except on the ground unchastity, me, makes her an
adulteress; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
“Again you have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall
perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by
heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is
the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white
or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do
not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other
also; and if any one would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if
any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to him who begs from you, and
do not refuse him who would borrow from you.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say
to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of
your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends
rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?
Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you salute only your
brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You,
therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
“Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have
no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
“Thus, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the
synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have
received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right
hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will
reward you.
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the
synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they
have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray
to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will
be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need
before you ask him. Pray then like this:
Our Father who are in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our debts,
As we also have forgiven our debtors;
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do
not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that
their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when
you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by men but by
your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where
thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth
nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also.
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light;
but if your eye is not sound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is
darkness, how great is the darkness!
“No one can serve two master; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be
devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall
drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body
more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into
barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And
which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? And why are you anxious
about clothing? Consider the lilies of the filed, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet tell
you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the
grass of the filed, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the
oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious,
saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles
seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his
kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the
day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged.
And the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck that is in your
brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your
brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You
hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck
out of your brother’s eye.
“Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample
them under foot and turn to attack you.
“Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you For
every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish,
will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! So
whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the
prophets.
“Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction,
and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to
life, and those who find it are few.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous
wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from
thistles? So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. A sound tree
cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good
fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits.
“Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who
does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did
we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works
in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you depart from me, you
evildoers.’
“Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who
built his house upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and
beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And every one
who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his
house upon the sand; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat
against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it.”
And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he
taught them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
PETER: THE ROCK
Matthew 16:13-16:18
Jesus went to the territory near the town of Caesarea Phillipi, where he asked his disciples,
“Who do men say the Son of Man is?” Some say John the Baptist,” they answered. “Others say
Elijah, while others say Jeremiah or some other prophet.” “What about you?” he asked
them. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the
living God.” “Simon, son of John, you are happy indeed!” answered Jesus. “For this truth did not
come to you from any human being, it was given to you directly by my Father in heaven. And so
I tell you: you are a rock, Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. Not even death will ever
be able to overcome it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven: what you prohibit on
earth will be prohibited in heaven; what you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”
Then Jesus ordered his disciples that they were not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

SUFFERING, PERSECUTION, AND THE SON OF MAN”

Matthew 16:21-28, 24.3-14, 29
From that time on Jesus began to say plainly to his disciples: “I must go to Jerusalem and suffer
much from the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. I will be put to death, and
on the third day I will be raised to life.” Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “God
forbid it, Lord!” he said. “This must never happen to you!” Jesus turned around and said to
Peter: “Get away from me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my way, for these thoughts of yours are
men’s thoughts, not God’s!”
Then Jesus said to his disciples: “If anyone wants to come with me, he must forget himself,
carry his cross, and follow me. For the man who wants to save his own life will lose it; but the
man who loses his life for my sake will find it. Will a man gain anything if he wins the whole
world but loses his life? Of course not! There is nothing a man can give to regain his life. For the
Son of Man is about to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will repay
everyone according to his deeds. Remember this! There are some here who will not die until
they have seen the Son of Man come as King.” . . .
As Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him in private, “Tell us when all this
will be,” they asked, “and what will happen to show that it is the time for your coming and the
end of the age.”
Jesus answered: “Watch out, and do not let anyone fool you. Because many men will come in
my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and fool many people. You are going to hear the noise of
battles close by and the news of battles far away; but, listen, do not be troubled. Such things
must happen, but they do not mean that the end has come. One country will fight another
country, one kingdom will attack another kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes,
everywhere. All these things are like the first pains of childbirth.
“Then men will arrest you and hand you over to be punished, and you will be put to death. All
mankind will hate you because of me. Many will give up their faith at that time; they will betray
each other and hate each other. Then many false prophets will appear and fool many people.
Such will be the spread of evil that many people’s love will grow cold. But the person who holds
out to the end will be saved. And this Good News about the Kingdom will be preached through
all the world, for a witness to all mankind—and then will come the end. . . .
“Soon after the trouble of those days the sun will grow dark, the moon will no longer shine, the
stars will fall from heaven, and the powers in space will be driven from their course. Then the
sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky; then all the tribes of earth will weep, and they will
see the Son of Man will appear in the sky; then all the tribes of earth will weep, and they will
see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. The great
trumpet will sound, and he will send out his angels to the four corners of the earth, and they
will gather his chosen people from one end of the world to the other. . . .”
THE FINAL JUDGMENT
Matthew 25:31-46
“When the Son of Man comes as King, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his royal throne,
and all the earth’s people will be gathered before him. Then he will divide them into two
groups, just as a shepherd separates the sheep form the goats, he will put the sheep at his right
and the goats at his left. Then the King will say to the people on his right: ‘You who are blessed
by my Father, come! Come and receive the kingdom which has been prepared for you ever
since the creation of the world. I was hungry and you fed me; thirsty and you gave me drink; I
was a stranger and you received me in your homes, naked and you clothed me; I was sick and
you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.’ The righteous will then answer him: ‘When,
Lord, did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we
ever see you a stranger and welcome you in our home, or naked and clothe you? When do we
ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you? The King will answer back, ‘I tell you, indeed,
whenever you did this for one of these poorest brothers of mine, you did it for me!’
“Then he will say to those on his left: ‘Away from me, you who are under God’s curse! Away to
the eternal fire which has been prepared for the Devil and his angels! I was hungry but you
would not feed me, thirsty but you would not give me drink; I was a stranger but you would not
welcome me in your homes, naked but you would not clothe me; I was sick and in prison but
you would not take care of me.’ Then they will answer him’ ‘When, Lord, did we ever see you
hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and we would not help you?’
The King will answer them back, ‘I tell you, indeed, whenever you refused to help one of these
poor ones, you refused to help me.’ These, then, will be sent off to eternal punishment; the
righteous will go to eternal life.”
PAUL’S ANSWER TO THE INTELLECTUALS
I Corinthians 1:17-2:8
Christ did not send me to baptize. He sent me to tell the good News, and to tell it without using
the language of men’s wisdom, for that would rob Christ’s death on the cross of all its power.
For the message about Christ’s death on the cross is nonsense to those who are being lost; but
for us who are being saved, it is God’s power. For the scripture says,
I will destroy the wisdom of the wise.
I will set aside the understanding of the scholars.
So then, where does that leave the wise men? Or the scholars? Or the skillful debaters of this
world? God has shown that this world’s wisdom is foolishness!
For God in his wisdom made it impossible for men to know him by means of their own wisdom.
Instead, god decided to save these who believe, by means of the “foolish” message we preach.
Jews want miracles for proof, and Greeks look for wisdom. As for us, we proclaim Christ on the
cross, a message that is offensive to the Jews and nonsense to the Gentiles, but for those whom
God has called, both Jews and Gentiles, this message is Christ, who is the power of God and the
wisdom of God. For what seems to be God’s foolishness is wiser than men’s wisdom, and what
seems to be God’s weakness is stronger than men’s strength.
Now remember what you were, brothers, when God called you. Few of you were wise, or
powerful, or of high social status, from the human point of view. God purposely chose what the
world considers nonsense in order to put wise men to shame, and what the world considers
weak in order to put powerful men to shame. He chose what the world looks
down on, and despises, and thinks is nothing, in order to destroy what the world thinks is
important. . . .
When I came to you, my brothers, to preach God’s secret truth to you, I did not use long words
and great learning. For I made up my mind to forget everything while I was with you except
Jesus Christ, and especially his death on the cross. So when I came to you I was weak and
trembled all over with fear, and my speech and message were not delivered with skillful words
of human wisdom, but on God’s power.
Yet I do speak wisdom to those who are spiritually mature. But it is not the wisdom that
belongs to this world, or to the powers that rule this world—powers which are losing their
power. The wisdom I speak is God’s secret wisdom, hidden from men, which God had already
chosen for our glory, even before the world was made. None of the rulers of this world knew
this wisdom. If they had known it, they would not have nailed the Lord of glory to the cross

“NEITHER JEW NOR GREEK, MALE NOR FEMALE”

Galatians 3:23-29
But faith came, we were kept under guard by the Law [of the Jews], locked up to wait for the
faith which would eventually be revealed to us. So the Law was serving as a slave to look after
us, to lead us to Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we
are no longer under a slave looking after us; for all of you are the children of God, through faith
in Christ Jesus, since every one of you that has been baptized has been clothed in Christ. There
can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither slave nor freeman, there can be neither male
nor female—for you are all one Christ Jesus. And simply by being Christ’s, you are the
decedents of Abraham, the heirs named in the promise.

THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST

I Corinthians 15:1-22, 31-32, 35-39, 42-55
And now I want to remind you, brother, of the Good News which I preached to you, which you
received, and on which your faith stands firm. That is the gospel, the message that I preached to
you. You are saved by the gospel if you hold firmly to it—unless it was for nothing that you
believed.
I passed on to you what I received, which is of the greatest importance: that Christ died for our
sins, as written in the Scriptures; that he was buried and raised to life on the third day, s
written in the Scriptures; that he appeared to Peter, and then to all twelve apostles. Then he
appeared to more than five hundred of his followers at once, most of whom are still alive,
although some have died. Then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles.
Last of all he appeared also to me—even though I am like one who was born in a most unusual
way. For I am the least of all the apostles—I do not even deserve to be called an apostle,
because I persecuted God’s church. But by God’s grace I am what I am, and the grace that he
gave me was not without effect. On the contrary, I have worked harder than all the other
apostles, although it was not really my own doing, but God’s grace working with me. So then,
whether it came from me or from them, this is what we all preach, this is what you believe.
Now, since our message is that Christ has been raised from death, how can some of you say that
the dead will not be raised to life? If that is true, it means that Christ was not raised; and if
Christ has not been raised from death, then we have nothing to preach, and you have nothing to
believe.
More than that, we are shown to be lying against God, because we said of him that he raised
Christ from death—but if the dead are not raised, neither has
Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is a delusion and you are
still lost in your sins. It would also mean that the believers in Christ who have died are lost. If
our hope in Christ is good for this life only, and no more, then we deserve more pity than
anyone else in all the world.
But the truth is that Christ has been raised from death, as the guarantee that those who sleep in
death will also be raised. For just as death came by means of a man, in the same way the rising
from death comes by means of a man. For just as all men die because of their union to Adam, in
the same way all will be raised to life because of their union to Christ. . . .
Brothers, I face death every day! The pride I have in you in our life in Christ Jesus our Lord
makes me declare this. If I have fought “wild beasts” here in Ephesus, as it were, simply from
human motives, what have I gained? As the saying goes, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we
will die”—if the dead are not raised to life. . . .
Someone will ask, “How can the dead be raised to life? What kind of body will they have?” You
fool! When you plant a seed in the ground it does not sprout to life unless it dies. And what you
plant in the ground is a bare see, perhaps a grain of wheat, or of some other kind, not the full-
bodied plant that will grow up. God provided that seed with the body he wishes; he gives each
seed its own proper body. . . .
This is how it will be when the dead are raised to life. When the body is buried it is mortal;
when raised, it will be immortal. When buried, it is ugly and weak; when raised, it will be
beautiful and strong. When buried, it is a physical body; when raised, it will be a spiritual body.
There is, of course, a physical body, so there is bound to be a spiritual body. For the scripture
says: “The first man, Adam, was created a living being”’ but the last Adam is the life-giving
Spirit. It is not the spiritual that comes first, but the physical, and then the spiritual. The first
Adam was made of the dust of the earth; the second Adam came from heaven. Those who
belong to the earth are like the one who was made of earth; those who are of heaven are like
the one who came from heaven. Just as we wear the likeness of the men made of earth, so we
will wear the likeness of the Man from heaven.
This is what I mean, brothers: what is made of flesh and blood cannot share in God’s Kingdom,
and what is mortal cannot possess immortality.
Listen to this secret: we shall not all die, but in an instant we shall all be changed, as quickly as
the blinking of an eye, when the last trumpet sounds. For when it sounds, the dead will be
raised immortal beings, and we shall all be changed. For what is mortal must clothe itself with
what is immortal: what will die must clothe itself with what cannot die. So when what is mortal
has been clothed with what is immortal, and when what will die has been clothed with what
cannot die, then the scripture will come true:
“Death is destroyed, victory is complete!”
“Where, O Death, is your victory?
Where, O Death, is your power to hurt?”
Selections on Caesar & Christ
THE PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS UNDER NERO (64 C.E.)
Tacitus
All human efforts, all the lavish gifts of the emperor, and the propitiations of the gods, did not
banish the sinister belief that the fire was the result of an order. Consequently, to get rid of the
report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for
their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its
origin, suffered the death penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our
procurators, Pontius Pilate, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment,
again broke out not only in Judea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things
hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their center become popular.
Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an
immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred
against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of
beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the
flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired. Nero offered
his gardens for the spectacle, and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he mingled with
the people in the dress of a charioteer or stood aloft on a car. Hence, even for criminals who
deserved extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion; for it was
not, as it seemed, for the public good, but to glut one man's cruelty, that they were being
destroyed.

THE INFECTION OF THIS SUPERSTITION HAS SPREAD

Pliny the Younger
It is my custom, my Lord to refer to you all things concerning which I am in doubt. For who can
better guide my indecision or enlighten my ignorance?
I have never taken part in the trials of Christians. Therefore, I do not know for what crime or to
what extent it is customary to punish or investigate. I have been worried about whether any
consideration should be given to age, or whether the treatment of the young differs from that of
the old. If they repent, should I pardon them, or should someone who had been a Christian gain
nothing if he ceases to be one? Should I punish those who confess to being Christians, even if
there is no proof that they have committed specific crimes that are generally associated with
the religion? Until I get more specific instructions from you, I will continue to follow this
procedure in the case of those who have been brought before me as Christians. I ask them
whether they are Christians. Those who have confessed I question a second and a third time,
threatening them with punishment, if they do not recant their association. Those who persist in
claiming their identity as Christians, I order executed. For I have not doubted that, whatever it
was that they had confessed, their stubbornness and inflexible obstinacy ought certainly to be
punished. There were others of similar madness, but because they were Roman citizens, I
signed an order sending them to Rome.
Because of the attention we focused on this process, the crimes quickly spread and more cases
arose. And then anonymous accusations against many people began arriving in the court. Those
who denied that they were or had been Christian, ought, I thought, to be dismissed since they
repeated after me a prayer to your image. Besides, they cursed Christ, one of which things they
say those who are really Christians cannot be compelled to do.
Others, accused by the informer said that they were Christians and afterwards denied it; in fact,
they had been but ceased to be, some many years ago, some even twenty years before. They all
worshiped your image and the statues of the gods and cursed Christ. They maintained that the
substance of their fault or error had been that on a fixed day they were accustomed to come
together before daylight and sing by turns a hymn to Christ as though he were a god, and to
bind themselves through prayer, not for some crime, not to commit robbery, theft, or adultery,
nor to betray a trust. . . . After this, it was customary to disperse and to come together again to
partake of food of an ordinary and harmless kind. Even this they ceased to do after the
publication of my edict in which, according to your orders, I had forbidden associations.
Therefore, I decided it the more necessary to examine two female slaves, who were called
deaconesses, in order to find out what was true, and to do it by torture. I found nothing but a
vicious, extravagant superstition.
Consequently, I postponed the examination and decided to consult you. For it seemed to me
that the subject would justify consultation, especially on account of the number of those
involved. For many of all ages, of every rank, and even of both sexes are and will be
endangered. The infection of this superstition has not only spread to the cities, but also to the
villages and country districts. But it seems possible to check it and cure it. It is plain enough
that the temples, which had been almost deserted, have begun to be frequented again, that the3
sacred rites, which had been neglected for a long time, have begun to be restored, and that food
for sacrifice, for which until now there was scarcely a purchaser, is sold. From this, it is easy to
imagine that a multitude of people can be reclaimed if repentance is permitted.
Trajan’s Reply
You have followed the correct procedure, my dear Pliny, in conducting the cases of those who
were accused before you as Christians, for no general rule can be laid down as a set form. They
are not to be sought out; if they are brought before you and convicted, they ought to be
punished, with the proviso that whoever denies that he is a Christian and proves it by
worshiping our gods, even though he may have been under suspicion in the past, shall obtain
pardon on repentance. In no case should attention be paid to anonymous charges, for they
afford a bad precedent and are not worthy of our age.
THE PERSECUTION UNDER DIOCLETIAN (30 C.E)
“The Persecution under Diocletian” is from Lactantius, On the Death of the Persecutors, 12-14.
Trans. Gilbert Burnet, 1767, Translation modernized by the editor.
Lactantius
The next day an edict was published that deprived Christian men of all honors and rank and
decreed that they should be tortured and prosecuted without having the right to sue for any
wrong. . . . Finally, the edict decreed that they should be deprived of their freedom and not be
allowed to defend themselves. One man, though it was wrong, had the courage to rip down this
edict and tear it up. . . . Immediately, he was arrested and not only tortured, but was legally
burned, all the while demonstrating admirable endurance until he was at last consumed by the
flames.
But Galerius [Diocletian’s Colleague] was not satisfied with the harsh terms of the edict and
sought other ways to influence Diocletian. Galerius was determined to elicit an excessively
cruel reaction from Diocletian, so he employed private agents to set the palace on fire; and
when part of it had gone up in flames, the Christians were accused as public enemies. As the
palace burned, so too did public prejudice flare against the very name of Christian. Rumors
were rampant that the Christians had plotted in conspiracy with the court eunuchs to destroy
thee princes, and that the two emperors had almost been burned alive in their own palace. But
Diocletian, who always wanted to seem clever and intelligent, suspected nothing of the
deception. Inflamed with anger, he began immediately to torture all his servants.

FIRST PRINCIPLES OF THE EARLY CHURCH (225 C.E.)

Origen
All who believe and are convinced that grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, and who know
Christ to be the truth. . . . derive the knowledge which calls men to a lead good and blessed life
from no other source but the very words and teachings of Christ. . . .
Many of those, however, who profess to believe in Christ, old conflicting opinions not only on
small and trivial questions, but also on some that are great and important; on the nature, for
instance, of God or of the Lord Jesus Christ or of the Holy Spirit, and in addition on the natures
of those created beings, the dominions and the holy powers. In view of this it seems necessary7
first to lay down a definite line and unmistakable rule in regard to each of these, and to
postpone the inquiry into other matters until afterwards. . . .
The kinds of doctrines which are believed in plain terms through the apostolic teaching are the
following:
First, that God is one, who created and set in order all things, and who, when nothing existed
caused the universe to be. He is God from the first creation and foundation of the world, the
God of all righteous men. . . .
Then again: Christ Jesus, he who came to earth, was begotten of the Father before every created
thing. And after he had ministered to the Father in the foundation of all things, for “all things
were made through him,” in these last times he emptied himself and was made man, was made
flesh, although he was God: and being made man, he still remained what he was, namely God.
He took to himself a body like our body, differing in this alone that it was born of a virgin and of
the Holy Spirit. And this Jesus Christ was born and suffered in truth and not merely in
appearance, and truly died our common death. Moreover, he truly rose from the dead, and after
the resurrection companied with his disciples and was then taken up into heaven.
The again, the apostles delivered this doctrine, that the Holy Spirit united in honor and dignity
with the Father and Son. In regard to him it is not yet clearly known whether he is to be
thought of as begotten or unbegotten, or as being himself also a son of God or not; but these are
matters which we must investigate to the best of our power from holy scripture, inquiring with
wisdom and diligence. . . .
Next after this the apostles taught that the soul, having a substance and life of its own, will be
rewarded according to its deserts after its departure from this world; for it will either obtain an
inheritance of eternal life and blessedness, it its deeds shall warrant this, or it must be given
over to eternal fire and torments, if the guilt of its crimes shall so determine. . . .
Further, in regard to the devil and his angels and the opposing spiritual powers, the Church
teaching lays it down that these beings exist, but what they are or how they exist it has not
explained very clearly. Among most Christians however, the following opinion is held, that this
devil was formerly an angel, but became an apostate and persuaded as many angels as he could
to fall away with him; and these are even now called his angels.
The Church teaching also included the doctrine that this world was made and began to exist at
a definite time and that by reason of its corruptible nature it must suffer dissolution. But what
existed before this world, or what will exist after it, has not yet been
made known openly to the many, for no clear statement on the point is set forth in the Church
teaching. . . .
This also is contained in the Church teaching, that there exist certain angels of God and good
powers, who minister to him in bringing about the salvation of men; but when these were
created, and what they are like, or how they exist, is not very clearly defined. And as for the sun,
moon and stars, the traditions does not clearly say whether they are living beings or without
life.
Everyone therefore who is desirous of constructing out of the foregoing a connected body of
doctrine must use points like these as elementary and foundation principles, in accordance
with the commandment which says, “Enlighten yourselves with the light of knowledge.” Thus
by clear and cogent argument he will discover the truth about each particular point and so will
produce, as we have said, a single body of doctrine, with the aid of such illustrations and
declarations as he shall find in the Holy Scriptures and of such conclusions as he shall ascertain
to follow logically from them when rightly understood.
THE CITY OF GOD7
Saint Augustine
But the families which do not live by faith seek their peace in the earthly advantages of this life;
while the families which live by faith look for those eternal blessings which are promised, and
use as pilgrims such advantages of time and of earth as do not fascinate and divert them from
God. . . . The earthly city, which does not live by faith, seeks an earthly peace, and the end it
proposes, in the well-ordered concord of civic obedience and rule, is the combination of men’s
wills to attain the things which are helpful to this life. The heavenly city, or rather the part of it
which sojourns on earth and lives by faith, makes use of this peace only because it must, until
this mortal condition which necessitates it shall pass away. Consequently, so long as it lives like
a captive and a stranger in the earthly city, though it has already received the promise of
redemption. . . . [it has no difficulty obeying] the laws of the earthly city, whereby the things
necessary for the maintenance of this mortal life are administered; and thus, as this life is
common to both cities, so there is a harmony between them in regard to what belongs to it. . . .
This heavenly city, then, while it exists on earth, calls citizens out of all nations, and gathers
together a society of pilgrims of all languages, not caring about diversities in the manners, laws,
and institutions whereby earthly peace is secured and maintained, but recognizing that,
however various these are, they all tend to one and the same end of earthly peace. It therefore
is so far from rescinding and abolishing these diversities, that it even preserves and adopts
them, so long only as no hindrance to the worship of the one supreme and true God is thus
introduced. Even the heavenly city, therefore, while in its state of pilgrimage, avails itself of the
peace of earth, and, so far as it can without injuring faith and godliness, desires and maintains a
common agreement among men regarding the acquisition of the necessities of life, and makes
this earthly peace bear upon the peace of the reasonable creatures, consisting as it does in the
perfectly ordered and harmonious enjoyment of God and of one another in God. When we shall
have reached that peace, this mortal life shall give place to one that is eternal, and our body
shall be no more this animal body which by its corruption weights down the soul, but a
spiritual body feeling no want.
THE NICENE CREED (325)
Eusebius
[In accordance with the Emperor Constantine’s instructions,] the bishops drew up this formula
of faith:
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible: and in one
Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten of the Father, that is of the substance of the
Father; “God of God, Light of light, true God of true God; begotten not made, consubstantial with
the Father; by whom all things were made both which are in heaven and on earth; who for the
sake of us men, and on account of our salvation, descended, became incarnate, was made man,
suffered and rose again on the third day; he ascended into the heavens and will come to judge
the living and the dead. We believe also in the Holy Spirit. But those who say “There was a time
when he was not,” or “He did not exist before he was begotten,” or “He was made of nothing,“
or assert that “He is of other substance or essence than the Father,” or that the Son of God is
created, or mutable, or susceptible of change, the Catholic and apostolic Church of God rejects . .
..
Consequently [Christ] is no creature like those which were made by him, but is of a substance
far excelling any creature: which substance the Divine Oracles teach was begotten of the Father
by such a mode of generation as cannot be explained nor even conceived by any creature. Thus
also the declaration that “the Son is consubstantial [homoousios] with the Father” having been
discussed, it was agreed that this must not be understood in a corporeal sense, or in any way
analogous to mortal creatures; inasmuch as it is neither by division of substance, nor by any
change of the Father’s substance and power, since the underived nature of the Father is
inconsistent with all these things. That he is consubstantial with the Father then simply implies,
that the Son of God has no resemblance to created thing, but is in every respect like the Father
only who begat him; and that he is of no other substance or essence but of the Father . . . .
Accordingly, since no divinely inspired Scripture contains the expression, “of things which do
not exist” and “there was a time when he was not,” and such other phrases as are therein
subjoined, it seemed unwarrantable to utter and teach them.
The Heritage of Islam

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

This Book is not to be doubted. It is a guide for the righteous, who have faith in what they
cannot see and are devout in prayer; those who give to charity a portion of what We have given
to them and who believe tin the revelations of God, those that were offered to you and to others
before you. It is a guide for those who are rightly led by the Lord and devoutly believe in a life
to come. These believers shall certainly triumph.
As for the unbelievers, it does not matter whether you forewarn them—they will not have faith.
God has sealed their hearts and ears and their sight is shallow and faint. A grave punishment
awaits them . . . .
We gave the Scriptures to Moses and after him We sent other apostles. We gave Jesus, son of
Mary, true signs and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit. Will you then deny each apostle
whose message does not sit well with you by calling some imposters and by killing others?
They say: “Our hearts are sealed,” but God has cursed them for their unbelief, they who have
but little faith.
And now a Book has come to them from God, a Book that confirms their faith and contains the
truth, but they deny it. They know that it contains the truth, and have long prayed for help
against the unbelievers, but they still deny it. God’s curse be upon these infidels! Truly they
have gambled away their souls for evil. To deny the truth of God’s own revelation, even when
they admit that God can reveal His bounty to whomsoever He chooses from among His
servants! They have incurred God’s dire wrath. A disgraceful punishment awaits the
unbelievers . . . .
Many People of the Book [Jews and Christians] want to lead you back to unbelief, even though
you have embraced the Faith, and thought they plainly know the truth. They are envious.
Forgive them and tolerate them until God makes known His will. God has power over all things.
Be diligent in your prayers and give money to the poor. Whatever good you do shall be
rewarded by God. God watches all your actions.
They declare: “None shall enter Paradise but Jews and Christians.” These are but wishful
fantasies. Say: “Give us your proof, if what you say is true.” Indeed, those who give themselves
completely to God and do good works shall be rewarded and shall have nothing to fear or to
regret.
The Jews say the Christians are mistaken, and the Christians say it is the Jews who are
misguided. Yet they both read the Scriptures. The ignorant reject them both. God will sort
things out on the Day of Resurrection . . . .
They say: “Accept the Jewish or the Christian faith and you shall find direction and truth.”
Say: “Of course not! We believe in the faith of Abraham, who was virtuous and just. He was no
idolater.”
Say: “We believe in God and all that was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the
tribes, all that was revealed to Moses and Jesus and the other prophets by their Lord. We do not
distinguish among any of them, but have surrendered ourselves to God.”
If they accept your faith, then they shall find correct guidance; but if they reject it, they shall
surely be set apart from the Lord, God is all the defense you need—he alone knows all and
hears all. . . .
Believers, eat the healthy food that We have provided for you and give thanks to God, if you
truly worship Him.
He has forbidden you carrion, blood, and pork or any flesh that has been consecrated other
than in the name of God. But if you must eat these foods out of necessity and did not intend to
sin or to transgress God’s will, then you shall not incur guilt. God is forgiving and merciful . . . .
Righteousness does not consist in whether you face towards the East or the West. The
righteous man believes in God and the Last Day, in the angels and the Book and the prophets.
The righteous man gives his money away to his relatives, to orphans and the poor. Though he
may love his wealth, nevertheless, he shares it with the traveler in need, with destitute beggars,
and spends it for the redemption of those held captive. The righteous man concentrates on his
prayers and gives alms to the community; he follows through on his promises and is steadfast
during adversity and in times of war. Such are the true believers, such are those who respect
God . . . .
For the sake of God, fight against those who fight against you, but do not attack them first. God
does not love aggressors.
Kill them wherever you find them. Drive them out of the lands from which they drove you.
Idolatry is more distressing than bloodshed. But do not fight them within the precincts of the
holy Mosque unless they attack you there. But if they attack you, put them to the sword. This is
how the unbelievers will be rewarded. But if they repent, know that God is forgiving and
merciful.
Fight against the unbelievers until idolatry no longer exists and the religion of God reigns
supreme. But if they stop fighting and desist, do not fight anyone except those who commit evil
....
Give generously for the sake of God and do not commit suicide. Be charitable—God loves the
charitable.
Travel on pilgrimage and visit the Sacred House [in Mecca} for His sake. If you cannot travel
there, then send whatever offerings that you can afford and do not shave your heads until the
offerings have reached their destination. But if you are ill or are mentally unbalance, you must
make up for this by fasting or by giving alms or by sacrificing something of importance . . . .
When the sky breaks apart, the stars scatter, the oceans roll together, and graves are thrust
open, each soul shall know judgment—what it has done and what it has failed to do.
O man! What evil has taken you from your God who created you, who allowed you to walk
upright and gave you proportion? He could have molded you in whatever shape He chose. Yet
you do not believe in the Last Judgment. Guardians of the Lord are certainly watching you and
recording all of your deeds.
The righteous shall surely dwell in paradise. But the wicked shall burn in Hell when the Day of
Judgment arrives—there is no escape from it.
Would that you knew when the Day of Judgment will arrive! Oh, would that you knew when the
Day of Judgment will arrive! It is the day when every soul will stand alone and God will reign
supreme. Various Authors
} - 52 - {
The Qur’an on Women
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful Men, fear your Lord, who created you
form one soul and from that soul your mate. Through them, he populated the earth with many
men and women.
INHERITANCE
And give orphans their property, but do not exchange their valuables for things that are
worthless. And do not cheat them of their possessions, for that would certainly be a great sin. If
you fear that you cannot do justice to orphan [girls] fairly, then marry women who seem good
to you—two, three, or four of them. But if you do not think that you can treat them equitably,
then marry only one of them or any slave girls you might own. This will make it easier for you
to be just.
Give women their dowries freely and if they are good enough to give any of it to you as a free
gift, then take it as a lawful possession. . . .
God instructs you with regard to your children so give your son twice the inheritance of your
daughter. If there are more than two girls, then let them have two thirds of the inheritance. But
if there is only one, then give her half. As to parents, each of them should receive a sixth, if the
deceased has a child. But if he has no sons or daughters and his parents inherit, then let his
mother have a third. If he has brothers, his mother should have a sixth after he has paid any
legacy or debt he may have owed.
You may not know whether your parents or your children are more beneficial to you. But this is
a law of God and He is omniscient and wise. . . .
ON THE AUTHORITY OF MEN OVER WOMEN
If any of your women commit adultery, call four witnesses from among yourselves and if these
testify to their guilt, then keep the women in their houses until they die or until God fins
another way. . . .
Men have authority over women because God has preferred them over women and also
because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient, devoted, and
guard their modesty and private parts in the absence of their husbands, because God has cared
for them. But if you fear disobedience from some, admonish them and send them to their
bedrooms and beat them. Then, if they submit and are obedient, take no more action against
them. God is high and great. . . .
If a woman is afraid that she will be treated badly or deserted by her husband, then she should
seek an agreement to separate through mutual consent. . . .
No matter how you try, you cannot treat all your wives impartially. Do not neglect any of them
and leave them in suspense as to your intent. If you do what is right and guard yourselves
against evil, God will be forgiving and merciful. If the couple should separate, God will take care
of both out of His own abundance; God is munificent and wise. } - 53 - {
The Medieval Church in Ascendancy
THE CRUSADING MOVEMENT
LAUNCHING THE CRUSADES: “IT IS THE WILL OF GOD!” (1095)10
Robert the Monk
In 1095 a great council was held in Auvergne, in the city of Clermont. Pope Urban II,
accompanied by cardinals and bishops, presided over it. It was made famous by the presence of
many bishops and princes from France and Germany. After the council had attended to
ecclesiastical matters, the pope went out into a public square, because no house was able to
hold the people, and addressed them in a very persuasive speech, as follows: “O race of the
Franks, O people who live beyond the mountains [the Alps], O people loved and chosen of God,
as is clear from your many deeds, distinguished over all other nations by the situation of your
land, your catholic faith, and your regard for the holy church, we have a special message and
exhortation for you. For we wish you to know what a grave matter has brought us to your
country. The sad news has come from Jerusalem and Constantinople that the people of Persia,
an accursed and foreign race, enemies of God, a generation that set not their heart aright, and
whose spirit was not steadfast with God [Ps. 78:8], have invaded the lands of those Christians
and devastated them with the sword Rapine, and fire. Some of the Christians they have carried
away as slaves, others they have put to death. The churches they have either destroyed or
turned into mosques. They desecrate and overthrow the altars. They circumcise the Christians
and pour the blood from the circumcision on the altars or in the baptismal fonts. Some they kill
in a horrible way by cutting open the abdomen, taking out a part of the entrails and tying them
to a stake; they then beat them and compel them to walk until all their entrails are drawn out
and they fall to the ground. Some they use as targets for their arrows. They compel some to
stretch out their necks and then they try to see whether they can cut off their heads with one
stroke of the sword. It is better to say nothing of their horrible treatment of the women. They
have taken from the Greek empire a tract of land so large that it takes more than two months to
walk through it. Whose duty is it to avenge this and recover that land, if not yours? For to you
more than to other nations the Lord has given the military spirit, courage, agile bodies, and the
bravery to strike down those who resist you. Let your minds be stirred to bravery by the deeds
of your forefathers, and by the efficiency and greatness of [Charlemagne], and of Ludwig his
son, and of the other kings who have destroyed Turkish kingdoms, and established Christianity
in their lands. You should be moved especially by the holy grave of your Lord and Savior which
is now held by unclean peoples, and by the holy places which are treated with dishonor and
irreverently desecrated with their uncleanness.
“O bravest of knights, descendants of unconquered ancestors, do not be weaker than they, but
remember their courage. If you are kept back by your love for your children, relatives and
wives, remember what the Lord says in the Gospel: ‘He that loveth father or mother more than
me is not worthy of me.” [Matt. 10:37]; ‘and everyone that hath forsaken houses, or brothers, or
sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name’s sake, shall receive a
hundredfold and shall inherit everlasting life’ [Matt. 19:29]. Let no possessions keep you back,
no concern for your property. Your land is shut in on all sides by the sea and mountains, and is
too thickly populated. There is not much wealth
here, and the soil scarcely yields enough to support you. On this account you kill and devour
each other, and carry on war and mutually destroy each other. Let your hatred and quarrels
cease, your civil wars come to an end, and all your dissensions stop. Set out on the road to the
holy sepulcher, take the land from that wicked people, and make it your own. . . . This land our
Savior made illustrious by his birth, beautiful with his life, and sacred with his suffering; he
redeemed it with his death and glorified it with his tomb. This royal city is now held captive by
her enemies, and made pagan by those who know not God. She asks and longs to be liberated
and does not cease to beg you to come to her aid. She asks aid especially from you because, as I
have said, God has given more of the military spirit to you than to other nations. Set out on this
journey and you will obtain the remission of your sins and be sure of the incorrigible glory of
the kingdom of heaven.”
When Pope Urban had said this and much more of the same sort, all who were be present were
moved to cry out with one accord. “It is the will of God, it is the will of God!” When the pope
heard this he raised his eyes to heaven and gave thanks to God, and, commanding silence with a
gesture of his hand, he said: “My dear brethren, today there is fulfilled in you that which the
Lord says in the Gospel, ‘Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst’
[Matt. 18:20]. For unless the lord God had been in your minds you would not all have said the
same thing. For although you spoke with many voices, nevertheless it was one and the same
thing that made you speak. So I say unto you, God, who put those words into your hearts, has
caused you to utter them. Therefore let these words be your battle cry, because God caused you
to speak them. Whenever you meet the enemy in battle, you shall all cry out. ‘It is the will of
God! It is the Will of God!’”

OUT OF CONTROL: THE FALL OF JERUSALEM (1099)11

11 “Out
of Control: The Fall of Jerusalem” is from Rosalind Hill, ed., Gesta Francorum (London: Oxford
University Press, 1962), pp. 89-92 Reprinted by permission of Oxford University Press.
During this siege, we suffered so badly from thirst that we sewed up the skins of oxen and
buffaloes, and we used to carry water in them for the distance of nearly six miles. We drank the
water from these vessels, although it stank, and what with foul water and barley bread we
suffered great distress and affliction every day, for the Saracens used to lie in wait for our men
by every spring and pool, where they killed them and cut them to pieces; moreover they used
to carry off the beasts into their caves and secret places in the rocks.
Our leaders then decided to attack the city with engines, so that we might enter it and worship
at our Savior’s Sepulcher. They made two wooden siege-towers and various other mechanical
devices. Duke Godfrey filled his siege-tower with machines, and so did Count Raymond, but
they had to get the timber from far afield. When the Saracens saw our men making these
machines, they built up the city wall and its towers by night, so they were exceedingly strong.
When, however, our leaders saw which was the weakest spot in the city’s defenses, they had a
machine and a siege-tower transported round to the eastern side one Saturday night. They set
up these engines at dawn, and spent Sunday, Monday and Tuesday in preparing the siege-tower
and fitting it out, while the count of St. Gilles was getting his engine ready on the southern side.
All this time we were suffering so badly from the shortage of water that for one penny a man
could not buy anything sufficient to quench his thirst.
On Wednesday and Thursday we launched a fierce attack upon the city, both by day and by
night, from all sides, but before we attacked, our bishops and priests preached to us, and told us
to go in procession round Jerusalem to the Glory of God, and to pray and give alms
and fast, as faithful men should do. On Friday at dawn we attacked the city from all sides but
could achieve nothing, so that we were all astounded and very much afraid, yet, when that hour
came when our Lord came when our Lord Jesus Christ deigned to suffer for us upon the cross,
our Knights were fighting bravely on the siege-tower, led by Duke Godfrey and Count Eustace
his brother. At that moment one of our knights, called Lethold, succeeded in getting on to the
wall. As soon as he reached it, all the defenders fled along the walls and through the city, and
our men went after them, killing them and cutting them down as far as Solomon’s Temple,
where there was such a massacre that our men were wading up to their ankles in enemy blood.
Count Raymond was bringing up his army and a siege-tower from the south to the
neighborhood of the wall, but when he heard that the Franks were in the city he said to his
men. Why are you so slow? Look! All the other Franks are in the city already! Then the amir
who held David’s Tower surrendered to the count, and opened for him the gate where the
pilgrims used to pay their taxes, so our men entered the city, chasing the Saracens and killing
them up to Solomon’s Temple, where they took refuge and fought hard against our men for the
whole day, so that all the temple was streaming with their blood. At last, when the pagans were
defeated, our men took man prisoners, both men and women, in the temple. They killed whom
they chose, and whom they chose they saved alive. On the roof of the Temple of Solomon were
crowded great numbers of pagans of both sexes. . . .
After this or men rushed round the whole city, seizing gold and silver, horses and mules, and
houses full of all sorts of goods, and they all came rejoicing and weeping from excess of
gladness to worship at the Sepulcher of our Savior Jesus, and there they fulfilled their vows to
him. Next morning they went cautiously up on to the Temple roof and attacked the Saracens,
both men and women, cutting off their heads with drawn swords. Some of the Saracens threw
themselves down headlong from the temple. . . . Our leaders then took counsel and ordered that
every man should give alms and pray that God would choose for himself whomsoever he
wished, to rule over the other and to govern the city. They also commanded that all the
Saracens corpses should be thrown outside the city because of the fearful stench, for almost the
whole city was full of their dead bodies. So the surviving Saracens dragged the dead ones out in
front of the gates, and piled them up in mounds as big as houses. No-one has ever seen or heard
of such a slaughter of pagans, for they were burned on pyres like pyramids, and no-one save
God alone knows how many there were. . . .
The Historian At Work
INFIDEL: A MUSLIM PERSPECTIVE
THE PROTECTION OF ALLAH12
Usama Ibn-Munqidh
I saw a proof of the goodness of Allah and of his splendid protection when the Franks (the
curse of Allah upon them!) encamped against us with knights and foot-soldiers. We were
separated from one another by the Orontes River, whose waters were so swollen that the
Franks could not reach us and we were prevented from reaching them. They pitched their tents
on the mountain, while some took up their position in the gardens in their neighborhood, set
their horses free in the meadows and went to sleep. Some young foot-soldiers form Schaizar
took off their clothes, took their swords, swam towards these sleepers and killed several of
them. Then a number of our enemies rushed at our companions, who took to the water and
returned, while the Frankish army rushed down the mountain on horseback like a flood. Near
them there was a mosque, the mosque of Abou’l-madjd ibn Soumayya, in which there was a
man named Hasan az-Zahid (the ascetic), who lived on a flat roof and used to retire to the
mosque to pray. He was dressed in black woolen clothes. We saw him, but we had no means of
reaching him. The Franks came, got down at the gate of the mosque and went towards him,
while we said, “Power and might belong to Allah alone! The Franks will kill him.” But he, by
Allah, neither stopped praying nor moved from his position. The Franks stopped, turned away,
remounted their horses and rode off, while he remained motionless in the same place,
continuing to pray. We did not doubt that Allah (glory be to him!) had blinded the Franks with
regard to him and had hidden him from their sight. Glory to the Almighty, the Merciful!
THE FRANKS: “SUPERIOR IN COURAGE, BUT NOTHING ELSE”13
Glory be to Allah, the creator and author of all things! Anyone who is acquainted with what
concerns the Franks can only glorify and sanctify Allah the All-powerful; for he has seen in them
animals who are superior in courage and in zeal for fighting but nothing else, just as beasts are
superior in strength and aggressiveness.

I will report some Frankish characteristics and my surprise as to their intelligence. . . . Among
the curiosities of medicine among the Franks, I will tell how the governor of Al-Mounaitira
wrote to my uncle to ask him to send him a doctor who would look after some urgent cases. My
uncle chose a Christian doctor named Thabit (?). He remained absent only ten days and then
returned to us. There was a general exclamation: “How rapidly you have cured your patients!”
Thabit replied: “They brought before me a knight with an abscess which had formed in his leg
and a woman who was wasting away with a consumptive fever. I applied a little plaster to the
knight; his abscess opened and took a turn for the better; the woman I forbade certain food and
improved her condition.” It was at this point that a Frankish doctor came up and said: “This
man is incapable of curing them.” Then, turning to
the knight he asked, “Which do you prefer, to live with one leg or die with two?” “I would rather
live with one leg,” the knight answered. “Bring a stalwart knight,” said the Frankish doctor,
“and a sharp hatchet,” Knight and hatchet soon appeared. I was present at the scene. The doctor
stretched the patient’s leg on a block of wood and then said to the knight, “Strike off his leg with
the hatchet; take it off at one blow.” Under my eyes the knight aimed a violent blow at it
without cutting through the leg. He aimed another blow at the unfortunate man, as a result of
which his marrow came from his leg and the knight died instantly. As for the woman, the
doctor examined her and said, “She is a woman in whose head there is a devil who has taken
possession of her. Shave off her hair!” His prescription was carried out, and like her fellows, she
began once again to eat garlic and mustard. Her consumption became worse. The doctor then
said, “It is because the devil has entered her head.” Taking a razor, the doctor cut open her head
in the shape of a cross and scraped away the skin in the center so deeply that her very bones
were showing. He then rubbed the head with salt. In her turn, the woman died instantly. After
having asked them whether my services were still required and obtained an answer in the
negative, I came back, having learned about their woefully brutal medicine.
At Neapolis, I was once present at a curious sight. They brought in two men for trial by battle,
the cause being the following. Some Muslim brigands to this spot. The farmer fled but soon
returned, the cause the king had imprisoned his children. “Treat me with equity,” said the
accursed man,” and allow me to fight the one who accused me of bringing the brigands into the
village.” The king then told the lord who had received the village as a fief: “Send for his
opponent.” The lord returned to his village, picked out a blacksmith who was working there,
and said to him, “You must go and fight a duel.” For the owner of the fief wanted to make sure
that none of his field workers got himself killed because then his crops would suffer.
I saw this blacksmith. He was a strong young man, but one who, walking or sitting, always
wanted something to drink. As for the other, the challenger to single combat, he was an old man
of great courage, who snapped his fingers as a token of defiance and prepared for the fight
without disruption. The sheriff (and) governor of the town appeared, gave each of the two
fighters a cudgel and shield and made the crowd form a ring round them.
The fight started. The old man forced the blacksmith backwards, throwing him on to the edge
of the crowd, and then returned to the middle of the ring. The exchange of blows was so violent
that the rivals, who remained standing, seemed to make up one pillar of blood.
The fight continued, while the sheriff urged them to force a conclusion. “Quicker,” he shouted to
them. The blacksmith had experience at wielding a hammer. When the old man was exhausted,
the blacksmith aimed a blow at him, but lost control of the hammer which sailed over the old
man and fell behind him. The blacksmith then crouched over the old man in order to put his
fingers into eyes, but he could not easily find them because of the streams of blood which were
flowing from them. So he got up, reached for the hammer, and struck the man’s head so
violently that the finished him off.
At once they put a rope round the neck of the corpse, which they took away and hung on a
gallows.
The lord who had chosen the blacksmith gave him a considerable piece of property, put him on
a horse with his followers, and sent him away. See from this example what law and Judicial
proceedings mean among the Franks (the curse of Allah upon them!).
CANTICLE OF BROTHER SUN –
SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI
Who brings the day; and light you give to us through him.
How beautiful is he, how radiant in all his splendor!
Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Moon and Stars;
In the heavens you have made them, bright
And precious and fair.
All praise be your, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air,
And fair and stormy, all the weather’s moods,
By which you cherish all that you have made.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Water,
So useful, lowly, precious and pure.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
Through whom you brighten up the night.
How beautiful is he, how gay! Full of power and strength.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Earth,
Our mother,
Who feeds us in her sovereignty and produces
Various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through those who grand pardon
For love of you: through those who endure
Sickness and trial.
Happy those who endure in peace,
By you, Most High, they will be crowned.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Death,
From whom no mortal can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin!
Happy those she finds doing your will!
The second death can do no harm to them.
Praise and bless my Lord, and give him thanks
And serve him with great humility. } - 59 - {
THE MAGNA CARTE
JOHN, by the grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine,
and Count of Anjou, to his archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justices, foresters,
sheriffs, stewards, servants, and to all his officials and loyal subjects, Greeting.
KNOW THAT BEFORE GOD, for the health of our soul and those of our ancestors and heirs, to
the honor of God, the exaltation of the holy Church, and the better ordering of our kingdom . . .
[let it be declared]:
1. FIRST, THAT WE HAVE GRANTED TO GOD, and by this present charter have confirmed for us
and our heirs in perpetuity, that the English Church shall be free, and shall have its rights
undiminished, and its liberties unimpaired. That we wish this so to be observed, appears from
the fact that by our own free will, before the outbreak of the present dispute between us and
our barons, we granted and confirmed by charter the freedom of the Church’s elections—a
right reckoned to be of the greatest necessity and importance to it—and caused this to be
confirmed by Pope Innocent III. This freedom we shall observe ourselves, and desire to be
observed in good faith by our heirs in perpetuity.
12. No [tax] may be levied in our kingdom without its general consent, unless it is for the
ransom of our person, to make our eldest son a knight, and (once) to marry our eldest
daughter. For these purposes only a reasonable tax may be levied. Taxes from the city of
London are to be treated similarly.
13. The city of London shall enjoy all its ancient liberties and free customs, both by land and by
water. We also will and grant that all other cities, boroughs, towns, and ports shall enjoy their
liberties and free customs.
14. To obtain the general consent of the realm for the assessment of a tax—except in the three
cases specified above—we will cause the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, and greater
barons to be summoned individually by letter. To those who hold lands directly of us we will
cause a general summons to be issued, through the sheriffs and other officials, to come together
on a fixed day (of which at least forty days notice shall be given) and at a fixed place. . . .
20. For a trivial offence, a free man shall be fined only in proportion to the degree of his offence,
and for a serious offence correspondingly, but not so heavily as to deprive him of his livelihood.
. . . None of these fines shall be imposed except by the assessment on oath of reputable men of
the neighborhood.
21. Earls and barons shall be fined only by their equals, and in proportion to the gravity of their
offence.
28. No constable or other royal official shall take corn or other movable goods from any man
without immediate payment, unless the seller voluntarily offers postponement of this.
30. No sheriff, royal official, or other person shall take horses or carts for transport from any
free man without his consent.
31. Neither we nor any royal official will take wood for our castle, or for any other purpose,
without the consent of the owner.
32. We will not keep the lands of people convicted of felony in [royal control] for longer than a
year and a day, after which they shall be returned to the lords of the fiefs concerned.
38. In the future, no official shall place a man on trial upon his own unsupported statement
without producing credible witnesses to the truth of the charge.
39. No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or
outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force
against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law
of the land.
40. To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.
42. In the future, it shall be lawful for any man to leave and return to our kingdom unharmed
and without fear by land or water, [in order to conduct affairs] for the common benefit of the
realm. . . [as long as he preserves his allegiance to us].
52. To any man whom we have deprived or dispossessed of lands, castles, liberties, or rights,
without the lawful judgment of his equals, we will at once restore these. In cases of dispute, the
matter shall be resolved by the judgment of [a council of] twenty-five barons. . . .
55. All fines that have been given to us unjustly and against the law of the land, and all fines
that we have exacted unjustly, shall be entirely remitted or the matter decided by a majority
judgment of [a council of]twenty-five barons.
60. All these customs and liberties that we have granted shall be observed in our kingdom in so
far as concerns our own relations with our subjects. Let all men of our kingdom, whether clergy
or laymen, observe them similarly in their relations with their own men.
61. Since we have granted all these things for God, for the better ordering of our kingdom, and
to allay the discord that has arisen between us and our barons, and since we desire that they
shall be enjoyed in their entirety with lasting strength, forever, we grant to the barons the
following security;
The barons shall elect twenty-five of their number to keep, and cause to be observed with all
their might, the peace and liberties granted and confirmed to them by this charter.
If we, our chief justice, our officials, or any of our servants offend in any respect against any
man. . . and the offence is made known to four of the said twenty-five barons, they shall come to
us . . . to declare it and claim immediate redress. . . .
62. We have remitted and pardoned fully to all men any ill-will, hurt, or grudges that have
arisen between us and our subjects, whether clergy or laymen, since the beginning of the
dispute. . . .
63. It is accordingly our wish and command that the English Church shall be free, and that men
in our kingdom shall have and keep all these liberties, rights, and concessions well and
peaceably in their fullness and entirety for themselves and their heirs, of us and our heirs, in all
things and all places forever.

Both we and the barons have sworn that all this shall be observed in good faith and without
deceit. Given by our hand in the meadow that is called Runnymede, between Windsor and
Staines, on the fifteenth day of June in the seventeenth year of our reign (1215). } - 61 - {
Mind and Society in the Middle Ages / The World of Thought
POLITICAL THEORY: THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF KINGSHIP (1159)14
14 Political
Theory: The Responsibilities of Kingship” is from John Dickinson, trans., The Statesman’s Book of
John of Salisbury (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1927), pp. 3-4, 6-9, 65.
JOHN OF SALISBURY
The prince stands on a pinnacle which is exalted and made splendid with all the great and high
privileges which he deems necessary for himself. And rightly so, because nothing is more
advantageous to the people than that the needs of the prince should be fully satisfied; since it is
impossible that this will should be found opposed to justice. Therefore, according to the usual
definitions, the prince is the public power, and a kind of likeness on earth of the divine majesty.
Beyond doubt a large share of the divine power is shown to be in princes by the fact that a their
nod men bow their necks and for the most part offer up their heads to the axe to be struck off,
and, as by a divine impulse, the prince is feared by each of those whom he is set as an object of
fear. And this I do not think could be, except as a result of the will of God. For all power is from
the lord God, and has been with Him always, and is from everlasting. The power which the
prince has its therefore from God, for the power of God is never lost, nor severed from Him, but
He merely exercises it through a subordinate hand, making all things teach His mercy or justice.
“Who, therefore, resists the ruling power, resists the ordinance of God,” in Whose hand is the
authority of conferring that power, and when He so desires, or withdrawing it again, or
diminishing it. . . .
Princes should not think that it detracts from their princely dignity to believe that their own
decisions regarding justice should be less preferred to the justice of God, whose justice is an
everlasting justice, and His law is equity. . . . No prince accordingly is the minister of the
common interest and the loyal servant of equity, but he represents the public in the sense that
he punishes the wrongs and injuries of all, and all crimes, with even-handed equity. His rod and
staff also, administered with wise moderation, restore irregularities and false departures to the
straight path of equity, so that deservedly may the Spirit congratulate the power of the prince
with the words, “Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me.” His shield, too, is strong, but it
is a shield for the protection of the weak, and one which wards off powerfully the darts of the
wicked from the innocent. Those who derive the greatest advantage from his performance of
the duties of his office are those who can do least for themselves, and his power is chiefly
exercised against those who desire to do harm. Therefore he brandishes a sword, with which
he sheds blood without blame, without becoming thereby a man of blood, and frequently puts
men to death without incurring the guilt of homicide. . . .
The prince, therefore, receives the sword from the hand of the Church, although she herself has
no sword of blood at all. Nevertheless she has this sword, but she uses it through the hand of
the prince, upon whom she confers compulsive physical power, retaining to herself authority
over spiritual things in the person of the pontiffs. The prince is, then, as it were, a minister of
the priestly power, and one who exercises that side of the sacred offices which seems unworthy
of the hands of the priesthood. For every office existing under, and concerned with the
execution of the sacred laws is really a religious office, but is inferior when it punishes crimes,
which is more typical in the person of the hangman. . . .
The place of the head in the body of the commonwealth is filled by the prince, who is subject
only to God and to those who exercise His office and represent Him on earth, even as in the
human body the head is guided and governed by the soul. . . . } - 62 - {
THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS
Third Article: Whether God exists?
Objection 1: It seems that God does not exist; because if one of two contraries be infinite, the
other would be altogether destroyed but the name God means that He is infinite goodness. If,
therefore, God existed there would be no evil discoverable; but there is evil in the world.
Therefore God does not exist.
Objection 2: Further, it is superfluous to suppose that what can be accounted for by a few
principles has been produced by many. But it seems that everything we see in the world can be
accounted for by other principles, supposing God did not exist. For all natural things can be
reduced to one principle, which is human reason, or will. Therefore there is no need to suppose
God’s existence.
I Answer That: The existence of God can be proved in five ways: The first and more Manifest
way is the argument from motion. It is certain, and evident to our senses, that in the world
some things are in motion. . . . . (Now), whatever is moved must be moved by another. If that by
which it is moved be itself moved, then this also must needs be moved by another, and that by
another again. But this cannot go on to infinity, because then there would be no first mover,
and, consequently, no other mover, seeing that subsequent movers move only inasmuch as they
are moved by the first mover; as the staff moves only because it is moved by the hand.
Therefore it is necessary to arrive at a first mover, moved by no other; and this everyone
understands to be God.
The second way is from the nature of efficient cause. In the world of sensible things we find
there is an order of efficient cause of itself; for so it would be prior to itself, which is impossible.
Now in efficient causes it is not possible to go on to infinity, because in all efficient causes
following in order, the first is the cause of the intermediate cause and the intermediate is the
cause of the ultimate cause, whether the intermediate cause be several, or one only. Now to
take away the effect. Therefore, if there be no first cause among efficient causes, there will be
no ultimate, nor any intermediate, cause. . . . Therefore it is necessary to admit a first efficient
cause, to which everyone gives the name of God.
The third way is taken from possibility and necessity, and runs thus. We find in nature things
that are possible to be and not to be, since they are found to be born, and to die, and
consequently they are possible to exist, for that which is possible not to be at some time is not.
Therefore, if everything is possible not to be, then at one time there could have been nothing in
existence. Now, if this were true, even now there would be nothing in existence, because that
which does not exist only begins to exist by something already existing. Therefore, if at one
time nothing was in existence, it would have been impossible for anything to have begun to
exist; and thus even now nothing would be in existence—which is clearly false. Therefore, not
all beings are merely possible, but there must exist something the existence of which is
necessary. But every necessary thing either has its necessity caused by another, or not. Now, it
is impossible to go on to infinity in necessary things which have their necessity caused by
another, as has been already proved in regard to efficient causes. Therefore, we must admit the
existence of some being having of itself its own necessity, and not receiving it from another, but
rather causing in others their necessity. This all men speak of as God.
The fourth way is taken from the gradation to be found in things. Among beings there are some
more and some less good, true, noble, and the like. But “more” and “less” are predicated on
different things, according as they resemble in their different ways, something which is the
maximum, as a thing is said to be hotter according as it more nearly resembles that which is
hottest. There is then something which is truest, something best, something noblest, and,
consequently, a something which is most being; for those things that are greatest in truth are
greatest in being . . . . Therefore, these must also be something which is to all beings the cause of
their being, goodness, and every other perfection. And this we call God.
The fifth way is taken from the governance of the world. We see that things which lack
knowledge, such as natural bodies, act for an end, and this is evident from their acting always,
or nearly always, in the same way, so as to obtain the best result. Hence it is plain that they
achieve their end, not fortuitously, but designedly. Now whatever lacks knowledge cannot
move towards an end, unless it be directed by some being endowed with knowledge and
intelligence; as the arrow is directed by the archer. Therefore some intelligent being exists by
whom all natural things are directed to their end; and this being we call God.
Reply to Objection 1: As Augustine says: “Since God is the highest good, He would not allow
any evil to exist in His works, unless His omnipotence and goodness were such as to bring good
even out of evil.” This is part of the infinite goodness of God; that He should allow evil to exist,
and out of it produce good.
Reply to Objection 2: Since Nature works for a determinate end under the direction of a
higher agent, whatever is done by nature must be traced back to God, as to its first cause. . . .
For all things that are changeable and capable of defect must be traced back to an immovable
and self-necessary first principle, as was shown in the body of this Article. } - 64 - {
The Humanist Movement
A HUMANIST EDUCATION16
LEONARDO BRUNI
Your recent letter gave me the greatest pleasure. For it demonstrated both the excellence of
your spirit and your vigorous and intelligent schooling, the product of study and diligence.
Considering your age and the penetration of that letter, it is clear to me that your maturity
appears admirable and plainly beyond your years. Nor do I doubt, unless you should be untrue
to yourself, that you will become a most distinguished man. Therefore, I beg you, take care, add
a little every day and gather things in: remember that these studies promise you enormous
prizes both in the conduct of your life and for the fame and glory of your name. These two,
believe me, are the way to those ample riches which have never yet been lacking to famous and
accomplished men, if only the will was present. You have an excellent teacher whose diligence
and energy you should imitate. Devote yourself to two kinds of study. in the first place, acquire
a knowledge of letters, not the common run of it, but the more searching and profound kind in
which I very much want you to shine. Secondly, acquaint yourself with what pertains to life and
manners—those things that are called humane studies because they perfect and adorn man. In
this kind of study your knowledge should be wide, varied, and taken from every sort of
experience, leaving out nothing that might seem to contribute to the conduct of your life, to
honor, and to fame. I shall advise you to read authors who can help you not only by their matter
but also by the splendor of their style and their skill in writing; that is to say, the works of
Cicero and of any who may possibly approach his level. If you will listen to me, you will
thoroughly explore the fundamental and systematic treatment of those matters in Aristotle; as
for beauty of expression, a rounded style, and all the wealth of words and speech, skill in these
things you, if I may so put it, borrow from Cicero. For I would wish an outstanding man to be
both abundantly learned and capable of giving elegant expression to his learning. However, no
one can hope to achieve this without reading a lot, learning a lot, and taking a lot away from
everywhere. Thus one must not only learn from the scholars (which is the foundation of all
study), but must also get instruction from poets, orators and historians, so that one’s style may
become eloquent, elegant, and never crude in substance. . . .If you do obtain that excellence
which I expect of you, what riches will compare with the rewards of these studies?
THE SOUL OF MAN17 (1474)
MARSILIO FICINO
Human beings really are God’s chosen vicars since they inhabit the earth and cultivate all of its
bounty—the animals, the water, and the air—for food, convenience, and pleasure. . . . Not only
does man use the animals, but he also rules them. Now it is true that in using their natural
protective gifts, some animals may occasionally attack humans or even escape their control.
But with the weapons that man himself has invented, he is generally able to avoid animal
attacks, frighten them off, or even tame them. Who has ever seen any human beings kept under
the control of animals? In fact, we often see herds of both wild and domesticated animals
obeying humans throughout their lives. Man rules animals by force, but he also keeps, tames,
and governs them. God, who is the universal cause for all things, alone is omniscient and
omnipotent. But man, who generally provides for all things, both living and dead, is a kind of
god. Certainly he is the god of animals because he uses them, domesticates and even instructs
many of them. It is also evident that man is the god of this earth because he cultivates and uses
all the elements on earth. Finally, he is the god of all the materials he handles, for he changes
and shapes them to fit his needs. He who controls his body and environment in so many ways,
and is representative of the immortal God, is himself no doubt immortal. . . .
Individual animals are not really capable of taking care3 of themselves or their young, Man
alone is of such perfection that he first rules himself (something that no animals do) and then
controls his family, administers the state, governs nations, and indeed rules the whole world. . .
.
The human soul in everything it does is trying with all its might to attain the principle gift of
God—the understanding of truth and the possession of goodness. Does the human soul also see
god’s second attribute and strive to become everything just as God is everything? Indeed it
does in a wonderful way. For the soul lives in the life of a plant when it serves to feed and
sustain the human body; the life of an animal when its senses are heightened; the life of man
when it deliberates on human affairs through its reason; the life of heroes when it investigates
the natural world; . . . the life of angels, when it seeks to know the divine mysteries; the life of
God, when it does everything for the sake of God. Every human soul experiences all of these
things in some way, though perhaps in different ways. Therefore, human beings strive to
become all things by living the lives of all things. . . . Man is a great miracle, a creature worthy of
reverence and adoration, for he transforms himself into God as if he were God himself. } - 66 - {
SALVATION THROUGH FAITH ALONE
MARTIN LUTHER
I, Martin Luther, entered the monastery against the will of my father and lost favor with him,
for he saw through the knavery of the monks very well. On the day on which I sang my first
mass he said to me, “so, don’t you know that you ought to honor your father?” Later, when I
stood there during the mass and began the canon, I was so frightened that I would have fled if I
hadn’t been admonished by the prior. . . .
FIGURE 12.3 Martin Luther by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1521). This portrait of Luther was painted in the
same year that he defied the pope and the Holy Roman Emperor at the Diet of Worms. His complete break
with Rome ushered in an age of religious reform. (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
When I was a monk I was unwilling to omit any of the prayers, but when I was busy with public
lecturing and writing I often accumulated my appointed prayers for a whole week, or even two
or three weeks. Then I would take a Saturday off, or shut myself in for as long as three days
without food and drink, until I had said the prescribed prayers. This made my head split, and as
a consequence I couldn’t close my eyes for five nights, lay sick unto death, and went out of my
senses. Even after I had quickly recovered and I tried again to read, my head went ‘round and
‘round. Thus our Lord God drew me, as if by force, from that torment of prayers. . . .
The words “righteous” and “righteousness of God” struck my conscience like lightning. When I
heard them I was exceedingly terrified. If God is righteous (I thought), he must punish. But
when by God’s grace I pondered, in the tower and heated room of this building, over the words,
“He who through faith is righteous shall live” [Rom. 1:17] and “the righteousness of God” [Rom.
3:21], I soon came to the conclusion that if we, as righteous men, ought to live from faith and if
the righteousness of God should contribute to the salvation of all who believe, then salvation
won’t be our merit but God’s mercy. My spirit was thereby cheered. For it’s by the
righteousness of God that we’re justified and saved through Christ. These words (which had
before terrified me) now became more pleasing to me. The Holy Spirit unveiled the Scriptures
for me in this tower.
God led us away from all this in a wonderful way; without my quite being aware of it he took
me away from that game more than twenty years ago. How difficult it was at first when we
journeyed toward Kemberg after All Saints’ Day in the year 1517, when I first made up my
mind to write against the crass errors of indulgences! Jerome Schurff advised against this: “You
wish to write against the pope? What are you trying to do? It won’t be tolerated!” I replied,
“And if they have to tolerate it?” Presently Sylvester, master of the sacred palace, entered the
arena, fulminating against me with this syllogism: “Whoever questions what the Roman church
says and does is heretical Luther questions what the Roman church says and does, and
therefore [he is a heretic].” So it all began.
THE NINETY-FIVE THESES (1517)
MARTIN LUTHER
In the desire and thesis the purpose of elucidating the truth, a disputation will be held on the
underwritten propositions at Wittenberg, under the presidency of the Reverend Father Martin
Luther, Monk of the Order of St. Augustine, Master of Arts and of Sacred Theology and ordinary
Reader of the same in that place. He therefore asks those who cannot be present and discuss
the subjects with us orally, to do so by letter in their absence. In the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, Amen. . . .
5. The Pope has neither the will nor the power to remit any penalties except those which he has
imposed by his own authority, or by that of the canons.
6. The Pope has no power to remit any guilt, except by declaring and warranting it to have been
remitted by God; or at most by remitting cases reserved for himself; in which cases, if his power
were [disregarded], guilt would certainly remain. . . .
20. Therefore the Pope, when he speaks of the plenary remission of all penalties, does not
really mean of all, but only of those imposed by himself.
21. Thus those preachers of indulgences are in error who say that by the indulgences of the
Pope a man is freed and saved form all punishment.
22. For in fact he remits to souls in Purgatory no penalty which they would have had to pay in
this life according to the canons.
23. If any entire remission of all penalties can be granted to any one it is certain that it is
granted to none but the most perfect, that is to very few.
24. Hence, the greater part of the people must needs be deceived by his indiscriminate and
high-sounding promise of release from penalties.
25. Such power over Purgatory as the Pope has in general, such has every bishop in his own
diocese, and every parish priest in his own parish. . . .
27. They are wrong who say that the soul flies out of Purgatory as soon as the money thrown
into the chest rattles.
28. It is certain that, when money rattles in the chest, avarice and gain may be increased, but
the effect of the intercession of the Church depends on the will of God alone. . . .
32. Those who believe that, through letters of pardon, they are made sure of their own
salvation will be eternally damned along with their teachers.
33. We must especially beware of those who say that these pardons from the Pope are that
inestimable gift of God by which man is reconciled to God. . . .
Martin Luther
} - 68 - {
35. They preach no Christian doctrine who teach that contrition is not necessary for those who
buy souls (out of Purgatory) or buy confessional licenses. . . .
37. Every true Christian, whether living or dead, has a share in all the benefits of Christ and of
the Church, given by God, even without letters of pardon. . . .
42. Christians should be taught that it is not the wish of the Pope that buying of pardons should
be in any way compared to works of mercy.
43. Christians should be taught that he who gives to a poor man, or lends to a needy man, does
better than if he bought pardons. . . .
45. Christians should be taught that he who sees any one in need, and, passing him by, gives
money for pardons, is not purchasing for himself the indulgences of the Pope but the anger of
God. . . .
50. Christians should be taught that, if the Pope were acquainted with the exactions of the
Preachers of pardons, he would prefer that the Basilica of St. Peter should be burnt to ashes
rather than that it should be built up with the skin, flesh, and bones of his sheep. . . .
62. The true treasure of the Church is the Holy Gospel of the Glory and grace of God. . . .
66. The treasures of indulgences are nets, wherewith they now fish for the riches of men. . . .
86. Again; why does not the Pope, whose riches are at this day more ample than those of the
wealthiest of the wealthy, build the Basilica of St. Peter with his own money rather than with
that of poor believers. . . .
94. Christians should be exhorted to strive to follow Christ their head through pains, deaths,
and hells.
95. And thus not trust to enter heaven through many tribulations, rather than in the security of
peace.
Statutes of The Realm
THE SUPREMACY ACT (1534):
“THE ONLY SUPREME HEAD OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND”20
Albeit the King’s majesty firstly and rightfully is and ought to be the supreme head of the
Church of England, and so is recognized by the clergy of this realm in their Convocations . . . be
it enacted by authority of this present Parliament, that the king our sovereign lord, his heirs
and successors, kings of this realm, shall be taken, accepted, and reputed the only supreme
head in earth of the Church of England . . . and shall have and enjoy, annexed and united to the
imperial crown of this realm, as well the title and style thereof, as all honors, dignities, pre-
eminences, jurisdictions, privileges, authorities, immunities, profits, and commodities to the
said dignity of supreme head of the same Church; and that our said sovereign lord, his heirs
and successors, kings of this realm, shall have full power and authority from time to time to
visit, repress, redress, reform, order, correct, restrain, and amend all such errors, heresies,
abuses, offenses, contempts, and enormities, whatsoever they be to the pleasure of Almighty
God, the increase of virtue in Christ’s religion, and for the conservation of the peace, unity , and
tranquility of this realm. . . .
Bibliography
1. Herodotus; ed. Donald S. Gochberg, "History," Classics of Western Thought: The Ancient World,
4th Edition, Harcourt Inc., pp. 131-134.
2. Plato; ed. DonaldS. Gochberg, "Apology," Classics of Western Thought: The Ancient World, 4th
Edition, Harcourt Inc., pp. 294-307.
3. Plato; ed. Donald S. Gochberg, "Republic," Classics of Western Thought: The Ancient World, 4th
Edition, Harcourt Inc., 1988, pp. 327-335, 345-348.
4. Cicero; ed. DonaldS. Gochberg, "On the Laws," Classics of Western Thought: The Ancient World,
4th Edition, Harcourt Inc., 1988, pp. 430-436.
5. Marcus Aurelius; ed. Donald S. Gochberg, "On Humility and Patience" and "On Balance and
Serenity," Classics of Western Thought: The Ancient World, 4th Edition, Harcourt Inc., 1988, pp.
516-518.
6. Donald S. Gochberg, ed., "The Epic of Gilgamesh," Classics of Western Thought: The Ancient
World, 4th Edition, Harcourt Inc., 1988, pp. 536-542.
7. Donald S. Gochberg, ed., "The Bible: Old Testament," Classics of Western Thought: The Ancient
World, 4th Edition, Harcourt Inc., 1988, pp. 543-551.
8. Donald S. Gochberg, ed., "The Bible: New Testament," Classics of Western Thought: The Ancient
World, 4th Edition, Harcourt Inc., 1988, pp. 591-599.
9. Perry M. Rogers, ed., "Caesar and Christ," Aspects of Western Civilizations: Problems and
Sources in History, 7th Edition, Pearson Education (USA}, pp. 151-154, 160-162, 166 -168.
10. Perry M. Rogers, ed., "Icon, Scimitar, and Cross: Early Medieval Civilization (500-1100),"
Aspects of Western Civilizations: Problems and Sources in History, 7th Edition, Pearson Education
(USA}, pp. 209, 212-214.
11. Perry M. Rogers, ed., "The Sword of Faith: The High Middle Ages (1100-1300),"Aspects of
Western Civilizations: Problems and Sources in History, 7th Edition, Pearson Education (PSA), pp.
236-241, 254-256, 258-260.
12. Perry M. Rogers, ed., "The Age of the Renaissance," Aspects of Western Civilizations: Problems
and Sources in History, 7th Edition, Pearson Education (USA}, pp. 291-293.