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Often appears with: religious persecution and toleration · justice as a virtue · myth and the gods of the nations · conquest, plunder, and captives · custom and the manners of a people · prayer and worship · crafts, industry, and manufacture · sacrifice and ritual · counsel and advisers to rulers · fate, destiny, and necessity · custom and unwritten law · the nature and attributes of God
Usually: narrative (124) · detachment (83) · curiosity (79) · wonder (56) · argument (50) · description (46) · reverence (42) · commentary or gloss (29) · indignation (24) · praise (22)
“Yet at his birth a star, Unseen before in Heaven, proclaims him come; And guides the eastern sages, who inquire His place, to offer incense, myrrh, and gold:” John Milton, Paradise Lost · vivid
“The State which we have been describing is said to be wise as being good in counsel?” Plato, The Republic · observation
“In early spring-tide, when the icy drip Melts from the mountains hoar, and Zephyr's breath Unbinds the crumbling clod, even then 'tis time;” Virgil, The Georgics · observation
“The triumph of the god of Emesa over all the religions of the earth, was the great object of his zeal and vanity; and the appellation of Elagabalus (for he presumed as pontiff and favorite to adopt that sacred name) was dearer to him than all the titles of Imperial greatness.” Edward Gibbon, History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire · insight
“In a solemn assembly of the Swedes and Goths, he wounded himself in nine mortal places, hastening away (as he asserted with his dying voice) to prepare the feast of heroes in the palace of the God of war.” Edward Gibbon, History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire · vivid
“The sagacious counsellor (should the truth of the fact be admitted) reasoned like an ignorant barbarian.” Edward Gibbon, History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire · wit
“But in reality justice was such as we were describing, being concerned however, not with the outward man, but with the inward, which is the true self and concernment of man: for the just man does not permit the several elements within him to interfere with one another, or any of them to do the work of others,—he sets in order his own inner life, and is his own master and his own law, and at peace with himself.” Plato, The Republic · insight
“I wonder that Joe Warton, a scholar by profession, should be such a fool.” James Boswell, Boswell's Life of Johnson · wit
“The language of the country of which a learned man was a native, is not the language fit for his epitaph, which should be in ancient and permanent language.” James Boswell, Boswell's Life of Johnson · insight
“They say moreover that Athene is the daughter of Poseidon and of the lake Tritonis, and that she had some cause of complaint against her father and therefore gave herself to Zeus, and Zeus made her his own daughter.” Herodotus, The History of Herodotus — Volume 1 · vivid
“And because a Common-wealth is but one Person, it ought also to exhibite to God but one Worship; which then it doth, when it commandeth it to be exhibited by Private men, Publiquely.” Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan · insight
“I STAND BY THE ALLIANCE AND ITS ARTICLES, JUSTLY, INNOCENTLY, AND SINCERELY, AND I WILL NOT TRANSGRESS THE SAME IN ANY WAY OR MEANS WHATSOEVER.” Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War · precept
It continues pilgrimage rules (fishing vs land hunting), affirms the Caaba’s sacred role, condemns questioning needless matters, rejects certain pagan customs, and prescribes witness procedures at death.
the ill consequence of his deed. God forgiveth what is past; but whoever doth it again, God will take vengeance on him; for God is mighty and vengeance is His. It is lawful for you to fish in the sea, and to eat fish, as provision for you and for those who travel; but it is unlawful for you to hunt by land while ye are still on pilgrimage: fear ye God, therefore, before whom ye shall be assembled. God hath appointe…
In Wells on Sunday, Pepys visits Bishop Montagu’s tomb and churches, then on Monday tours the King and Queen’s baths at Bath, leaving for Bristol via Avebury and Marlborough.
paid the reckoning, 2s. 6d. We back, and by moonshine to the Bath again about ten o'clock: bad way; and giving the coachman 1s. went all of us to bed. 14th. (Sunday). Up, and walked up and down the town, and saw a pretty good market-place, and many good streets, and very fair stone-houses. And so to the great church, and there saw Bishop Montagu's tomb; and, when placed, did there see many brave people come, and a…
From the 13th to 15th Pepys hears city and parliamentary news about charges against the City charter and Monk’s ‘cunning’ letter, argues about property as the foundation of government, dines with officials, corrects his brother’s Greek, and reads about bells in the Church of Rome.
propriety [i.e., property] was the foundation of government. Home, and wrote to Hinchinbroke, and sent that and my other letter that missed of going on Thursday last. So to bed. 15th. Having been exceedingly disturbed in the night with the barking of a dog of one of our neighbours that I could not sleep for an hour or two, I slept late, and then in the morning took physic, and so staid within all day. At noon my b…
The treaty of the 50-year armistice specifies rules for temple access, Delphi governance, non-aggression, and detailed exchanges including returning Amphipolis to Athens and listing settlements, oaths, and pillars.
a free passage by land and by sea to all who wish it, to sacrifice, travel, consult, and attend the oracle or games, according to the customs of their countries. 2. The temple and shrine of Apollo at Delphi and the Delphians shall be governed by their own laws, taxed by their own state, and judged by their own judges, the land and the people, according to the custom of their country. 3. The treaty shall be binding …
Corinth remains aloof from the new alliance while the Eleans exclude Lacedaemonians from Olympic sacrifices over a fine dispute, escalating tensions until earthquakes interrupt discussions and disperse delegations after the games.
against it by all these cities: and no one of the cities shall be able to make peace with that state, except all the above cities agree to do so. 3. Likewise the Athenians shall go to the relief of Argos, Mantinea, and Elis, if an enemy invade the country of Elis, Mantinea, or Argos, according as the above cities may require by message, in such way as they most effectually can, to the best of their power. But if the…
In the morning Nestor organizes a sacrifice to Minerva with his sons and Telemachus’ crew, prepares the heifer with gold-gilded horns, and conducts the ritual with prayers, barley sprinkling, and libations.
broad-browed heifer of a year old, unbroken, and never yet brought by man under the yoke. I will gild her horns, and will offer her up to you in sacrifice.” Thus did he pray, and Minerva heard his prayer. He then led the way to his own house, followed by his sons and sons in law. When they had got there and had taken their places on the benches and seats, he mixed them a bowl of sweet wine that was eleven years old …
Athene shows Odysseus the haven of Phorcys, the olive tree, Naiad cave, and Mount Neriton by clearing the mist, then helps him hide his treasure and devise a strategy to kill the wooers after three years.
some other land, and methinks that thou speakest thus to mock me and beguile my mind. Tell me whether in very deed I am come to mine own dear country.” Then the goddess, grey-eyed Athene, answered him: “Yea, such a thought as this is ever in thy breast. Wherefore I may in no wise leave thee in thy grief, so courteous art thou, so ready of wit and so prudent. Right gladly would any other man on his return from wander…
Three months after leaving Egypt, Israel camped before Mount Sinai; God calls Moses to deliver a covenant promise of priestly kingship, requires sanctification for a three-day descent, and warns against touching the mount under penalty of death.
The third month after the children of Israel were gone out of Egypt: the same day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed from Raphidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai and had pitched their tents in the wilderness. And there Israel pitched before the mount. And Moses went up unto God. And the LORD called to him out of the mountain saying: thus say unto the house of Iacob, and tell the chi…
Moses and Israel’s leaders ratify the covenant: they hear God’s words, sacrifice, sprinkle blood, behold the God of Israel, then Moses ascends Sinai for the stone tablets while others wait.
And he said unto Moses: come unto the LORD: both thou and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel, and worship afar off. And Moses went himself alone unto the LORD, but they came not nye, neither came the people up with him. And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the laws. And all the people answered with one voice and said: all the words which the LORD hath said, will w…
God commands a voluntary collection for the sanctuary and gives detailed instructions for sacred furnishings, especially the ark, mercy seat, table, and golden candlestick to be made like shown in the mount.
And the LORD talked with Moses saying: speak unto the children of Israel that they give me an heave offering, and of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart, ye shall take it. And this is the heave offering which ye shall take of them: gold, silver and brass: and Iacinth colour, scarlet, purple, byss and goat's hair: ram's skins that are red, and the skins of taxus and sethim wood, oil for lights, and spice…
The design of the tabernacle is specified: curtains, coverings, boards, sockets, bars, the veil dividing holy and most holy places, and the arrangement of ark, table, and candlestick.
And thou shalt make an habitation with ten curtains of twined byss, Iacinth, scarlet and purple, and shalt make them with cherubins of broidered work. The length of a curtain shall be twenty eight cubits, and the breadth four and they shall be all of one measure: five curtains shall be coupled together one to another: and the other five likewise shall be coupled together one to another. Then shalt thou make loops of …
Instructions continue for the altar, the surrounding court with its dimensions and pillars, perpetual olive-oil lamps, and Aaron’s duties for morning and evening worship outside the veil.
And thou shalt make an altar of sethim wood: five cubits long and five cubits broad, that it be foursquare, and three cubits high. And make it horns proceeding out in the four corners of it, and cover it with brass. And make his ashpans, shovels, basins, fleshhooks, firepans and all the apparel thereof, of brass: after the fashion of a net, and put upon the net four rings: even in the four corners of it, and put it b…
God orders priestly consecration for Aaron and his sons and prescribes Aaron’s vestments—especially the ephod and breastplate with engraved stones bearing the tribes’ names.
And take thou unto thee, Aaron thy brother and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me: both Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons. And thou shalt make holy raiment for Aaron thy brother, both honourable and glorious. Moreover speak unto all that are wise hearted, which I have filled with the spirit of wisdom: that they make Aaron's raiment to consecrate him…
Moses gathers Israel and commands Sabbath observance and a freewill heave offering for building the tabernacle, detailing required materials and calling skilled workers to craft its furnishings and priestly garments.
And Moses gathered all the company of the children of Israel together, and said unto them: these are the things which the LORD hath commanded to do: Six days ye shall work, but the seventh day shall be unto you the holy Sabbath of the LORD's rest: so that whosoever doth any work therein, shall die. Moreover ye shall kindle no fire thorowout all your habitations upon the Sabbath day. And Moses spake unto all the multi…
Bezalel makes the ark of the covenant, mercy seat, table, candlestick, and incense altar with detailed dimensions and gold overlays, along with sacred anointing oil and incense.
And Bezaleel made the ark of sethim wood two cubits and an half long and a cubit and a half broad, and a cubit and a half high: and overlaid it with fine gold both within and without, and made a crown of gold to it round about, and cast for it four rings of gold for the four corners of it: two rings for the one side and two for the other, and made staves of Sethim wood, and covered them with gold, and put the staves …
The tabernacle’s outer altar, laver, court hangings, and all brass and silver furnishings are made, with a detailed accounting of metals and a summary of Levites’ responsibilities under Ithamar son of Aaron.
And he made the burnt offering altar of Sethim wood, five cubits long and five cubits broad: even four square, and three cubits high. And he made horns in the four corners of it proceeding out of it, and overlaid it with brass. And he made all the vessels of the altar: the cauldrons, shovels, basins, fleshhooks and coalpans all of brass. And he made a brazen gridiron of network unto the altar round about alow beneath…
Craftsmen create Aaron’s priestly vestments—Ephod, breastplate, tunicle, bells, and the holy crown—using named gemstone rows and gold craftsmanship, and then deliver the completed tabernacle work to Moses.
And of the jacinth, scarlet, purple and twined byss, they made the vestments of ministration to do service {[in]} in that holy place, and made the holy garments that pertained to Aaron, as the LORD commanded Moses. And they made the Ephod of gold, jacinth, scarlet, purple, and twined byss. And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires: to work it in the jacinth, scarlet, purple, and the byss, wit…
On the first day of the first month in the second year, Moses sets up and sanctifies the tabernacle, consecrates Aaron and his sons, and establishes a cloud-and-fire guidance system for Israel’s journeys.
And the LORD spake unto Moses saying: In the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the habitation of the tabernacle of witness, and put therein the ark of witness, and cover the ark with the vail, and bring in the table and apparel it, and bring in the candlestick and put on his lamps, and set the cense altar of gold before the ark of witness, and put the hanging of the door unto the habitation. And set the …
The Levites are instructed to set up and dismantle the tabernacle as it moves, camp around it to prevent wrath, and the Israelites pitch by standards and depart in ordered fashion.
And when the tabernacle goeth forth the Levites shall take it down: and when the tabernacle is pitched, they shall set it up: for if any stranger come near, he shall die. And the children of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man in his own company and every man by his own standard thorowout all their hosts. But the Levites shall pitch round about the habitation of witness, that there fall no wrath upon the congre…
It lists the offerings for the altar’s dedication—silver bowls and chargers, golden censers, and specific numbers of oxen, rams, lambs, and goats—and ends with God speaking to Moses from between the cherubim.
And his gift was: a silver charger of an hundred and thirty sicles weight, and a silver bowl of seventy sicles of the holy sicle, and both full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meatoffering: and a golden spoon of ten sicles full of cense: and an ox, a ram and a lamb of a year old for burntofferings, and an he goat for a sinoffering: and for peaceofferings two oxen five rams five he goats and five lambs of one yea…
After Jesus’s circumcision and purification rites, Simeon and Anna speak in Jerusalem’s temple, then Mary and Joseph return to Nazareth; Jesus is later found teaching in the temple at age twelve.
sayings, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, praising and lauding God for all that they had heard and seen, even as it was told unto them. And when the eighth day was come that the child should be circumcised, his name was called Iesus, which was named of the Angel before he was conceived in the mother's womb. And when the time of their purification (after the law of Moses) was come they bro…
Athens’ ambassadors describe Philip’s destruction in Attica and Greece—temples, monuments, and graves—and urge the Aetolians to join the war under Roman power and the gods.
should be broken, after it has been adjusted and ratified. In the subject of your deliberation, fortune has made no change; why you should make any, I do not see." 30. Next, after the Macedonians, with the consent and at the desire of the Romans, the Athenians were introduced; who, having suffered grievously, could, with the greater justice, inveigh against the cruelty and inhumanity of the king. They represented, i…
Livy records Rome’s civic and religious events: the closing of the census (lustrum), floods and lightning, prodigies like stone showers and wasps, consults by the decemvirs, purification rites, dedication of a chapel, and foundation of a Latin colony in Thurian territory.
Apustius, a third part was reserved, that they might afterwards, when they should judge proper, send out thither a new colony. The footmen received twenty acres each, the horsemen forty. 10. The year was now near a close, and with regard to the election of consuls, emulation was more fiercely kindled than was ever known before. The candidates, both patrician and plebeian, were many and powerful: Publius Cornelius Sc…
Inside Dido’s temple at Carthage, Aeneas finds a painted account of Troy’s destruction and is overwhelmed with tears by scenes of the Greeks, Hector’s death, and Ajax-like atrocities.
eyes, Their lofty tow’rs; then, ent’ring at the gate, Conceal’d in clouds (prodigious to relate) He mix’d, unmark’d, among the busy throng, Borne by the tide, and pass’d unseen along. Full in the centre of the town there stood, Thick set with trees, a venerable wood. The Tyrians, landing near this holy ground, And digging here, a prosp’rous omen found: From under earth a courser’s head they d…
Aeneas sights Italy at dawn, offers wine to the gods, reaches Minerva’s temple landmark, prays at Pallas’s hill, and then sets sail while moving away from a “suspected land.”
no threat’ning tempest nigh, But a sure promise of a settled sky, He gave the sign to weigh; we break our sleep, Forsake the pleasing shore, and plow the deep. “And now the rising morn with rosy light Adorns the skies, and puts the stars to flight; When we from far, like bluish mists, descry The hills, and then the plains, of Italy. Achates first pronounc’d the joyful sound; Then, ‘Ital…
The Roman king Latinus hosts foreign Trojans in a grand palace, described with temples, senators, sacrifices, royal ancestors, and war trophies, then welcomes their delegation as he questions their purpose.
aged prince, That foreign men of mighty stature came; Uncouth their habit, and unknown their name. The king ordains their entrance, and ascends His regal seat, surrounded by his friends. The palace built by Picus, vast and proud, Supported by a hundred pillars stood, And round incompass’d with a rising wood. The pile o’erlook’d the town, and drew the sight; Surpris’d at once with reverence an…
Evander and priests conduct Hercules’ rites in a sacrificial procession, sing Hercules’ labors, then the celebrants retire and Aeneas tours the local sacred places of Evander’s city.
deserts, and this high virtue shown, Ye warlike youths, your heads with garlands crown: Fill high the goblets with a sparkling flood, And with deep draughts invoke our common god.” This said, a double wreath Evander twin’d, And poplars black and white his temples bind. Then brims his ample bowl. With like design The rest invoke the gods, with sprinkled wine. Meantime the sun descended from th…
Turnus flees around the duel area, blames his men, and demands his sword, but the Trojans’ fallen sacred olive tree (for Faunus) traps his spear until Juturna in disguise restores his weapon, letting the chiefs resume.
Aeneas hastens, tho’ with heavier pace— His wound, so newly knit, retards the chase, And oft his trembling knees their aid refuse— Yet, pressing foot by foot, his foe pursues. Thus, when a fearful stag is clos’d around With crimson toils, or in a river found, High on the bank the deep-mouth’d hound appears, Still opening, following still, where’er he steers; The persecuted creature, to and fr…
Sura XV “Hedjr” (Mecca) begins with signs of revelation, then describes God’s governance of destiny and nature, creation of Adam from clay and angels’ worship, Satan’s refusal and curses, Hell’s seven gates, and the hospitality episode of Abraham’s “guests.”
He said, "Begone then hence; thou art a stoned one,10 And the curse shall be on thee till the day of reckoning." He said, "O my Lord! respite me till the day when man shall be raised from the dead." He said, "One then of the respited shalt thou be Till the day of the predestined time." He said, "O my Lord! because thou hast beguiled me, I will surely make all fair seeming to them11 on the earth; I will surely be…
The passage attacks claims of false revelation, asserts that God causes life from death and sets natural signs, then warns against forbidden foods and idol-associated worship while emphasizing mercy and justice.
thou mightest warn the mother-city and those who dwell round about it. They who believe in the next life will believe in It, and will keep strictly to their Prayers. But is any more wicked than he who deviseth a lie of God, or saith, "I have had a revelation," when nothing was revealed to him?25 And who saith, "I can bring down a book like that which God hath sent down"? But couldst thou see when the ungodly are in …
Sura 22 “The Pilgrimage” addresses Mecca and warns of the Day of Judgment, rejecting doubt about resurrection, condemning dispute about God, and detailing the pilgrimage rites culminating in sacrifice, circumambulation of the Kaaba, and rules against idolatry.
"This, for thy handywork of old! for God is not unjust to His servants." There are some who serve God in a single point. If good come upon one of them, he resteth in it; but if trial come upon him, he turneth him round (to infidelity) with the loss both of this world and of the next! This same is the clear ruin! He calleth upon that beside God which can neither hurt him nor profit him. This same is the far-gone err…
Plutarch digresses on the Capitol’s temples—burned, rebuilt, and repeatedly dedicated by different Roman leaders—contrasting lavish building costs with the alleged extravagance and “disease” of Domitian’s construction.
avert him from his performance; but it argues him a man of wonderful self-possession, whether he at once saw through the cheat, or, believing it as true, showed no discomposure. The same fortune attended the dedication of the second temple; the first, as has been said, was built by Tarquin and dedicated by Horatius; it was burnt down in the civil wars. The second, Sylla built, and, dying before the dedication, left…
During the truce episode, maidens return from the river bathing attempt and Porsenna rewards Cloelia (or Valeria), then later Poplicola’s ally-related victories and building honors follow, including outward-opening doors as a civic symbol.
receive back their deserters. To confirm the peace, the Romans gave as hostages ten sons of patrician parents, and as many daughters, amongst whom was Valeria, the daughter of Poplicola. Upon these assurances, Porsenna ceased from all acts of hostility, and the young girls went down to the river to bathe, at that part where the winding of the bank formed a bay and made the waters stiller and quieter; and, seeing no …
In Sardis and Magnesia, Themistocles investigates temples, tries to recover an Athenian bronze statue called the water-bringer from Lydia, manages court resentment, receives summons for a war against the Greeks, and dies in Magnesia after drinking bull’s blood.
of it, a temple in the city of Magnesia, which he dedicated to Dindymene, Mother of the gods, in which he consecrated and devoted his daughter Mnesiptolema to her service. When he came to Sardis, he visited the temples of the gods, and observing, at his leisure, their buildings, ornaments, and the number of their offerings, he saw in the temple of the Mother of the gods, the statue of a virgin in brass, two cubits h…
The senate sends envoys to Delphi; the oracle blames neglect of Latin festivals and commands that the Alban water be kept from the sea or diverted by ditches and trenches, after which priests perform sacrifices and the people work to turn the water.
Italy to portend some extraordinary event. But the greatest talk of it was in the camp that besieged Veii, so that in the town itself, also, the occurrence became known. As in long sieges it commonly happens that parties on both sides meet often and converse with one another, so it chanced that a Roman had gained much confidence and familiarity with one of the besieged, a man versed in ancient prophecies, and of rep…
The passage describes the completion of the Acropolis’ propylaea in five years, a dream of Minerva curing an injured workman, the setting of Minerva’s statue, and comic slanders against Pericles and Phidias.
the flute and on the harp. And both at that time, and at other times also, they sat in this music-room to see and hear all such trials of skill. The propylaea, or entrances to the Acropolis, were finished in five years' time, Mnesicles being the principal architect. A strange accident happened in the course of building, which showed that the goddess was not averse to the work, but was aiding and cooperating to brin…
Stories of Pericles’s stewardship include his dispute with Anaxagoras’s neglect and Anaxagoras’s lamp-oil reply, followed by a Panhellenic proposal to repair Greek temples and coordinate peaceful navigation.
virtue to human uses, may have occasion for affluence, not as a matter of mere necessity, but as a noble thing; which was Pericles's case, who relieved numerous poor citizens. However, there is a story, that Anaxagoras himself, while Pericles was taken up with public affairs, lay neglected, and that, now being grown old, he wrapped himself up with a resolution to die for want of food; which being by chance brought t…
At Rome political infighting ends when the Volscians besiege Lavinium, threatening Rome’s sacred origins; the people press to recall Marcius while the senate rejects it.
all Italy, and universal wonder prevailed at the sudden and mighty revolution in the fortunes of two nations which the loss and the accession of a single man had effected. All at Rome was in great disorder; they were utterly averse from fighting, and spent their whole time in cabals and disputes and reproaches against each other; until news was brought that the enemy had laid close siege to Lavinium, where were the …
After Marcius releases the Volscians and returns toward home, Rome celebrates: temples open, garlands and sacrifices begin, and women win honors, prompting a decree to build a temple to Female Fortune.
though none else, have defeated." After which, and a little private conference with his mother and his wife, he sent them back again to Rome, as they desired of him. The next morning, he broke up his camp, and led the Volscians homeward, variously affected with what he had done; some of them complaining of him and condemning his act, others, who were inclined to a peaceful conclusion, unfavorable to neither. A thir…
The narrative introduces Artaxerxes I’s gentle reputation and then the second Artaxerxes (Mindful), his lineage from Xerxes, his wife Parysatis’s family politics, the succession of Arsicas/Artaxerxes over Cyrus, and a temple rite at Pasargadae.
Cyrus took his name of the ancient Cyrus, as he, they say, had his from the sun, which, in the Persian language, is called Cyrus. Artaxerxes was at first called Arsicas; Dinon says Oarses; but it is utterly improbable that Ctesias (however otherwise he may have filled his books with a perfect farrago of incredible and senseless fables) should be ignorant of the name of the king with whom he lived as his physician, at…
Having stabilized the Roman world peacefully, Julian sets out from Constantinople to Antioch, crossing near Chalcedon and Libyssa, lamenting earthquake damage at Nicomedia, repairing it, visiting Pessinus, and adjudicating disputes.
memorable in olden time by the exercises of the Thessalian chief, and next to that is the city of Tyros, a colony of the Phoenicians, watered by the river Dniester. 42. But in the middle of the arc which we have described as being of an extended roundness, and which takes an active traveller fifteen days to traverse, are the Europæan Alani, the Costoboci, and the countless tribes of the Scythians, who extend over te…
Durkheim sets out a method for defining religion, criticizing definitions based on mystery or supernatural beings, then proposing that religion is marked by a division of sacred from profane things plus rites and beliefs, with attention to the Church.
DEFINITION OF RELIGIOUS PHENOMENA AND OF RELIGION Usefulness of a preliminary definition of religion; method to be followed in seeking this definition--Why the usual definitions should be examined first 23 I.--Religion defined by the supernatural and mysterious-- Criticism: the notion of mystery is not primitive 24 II.--Religion defined in connec…
Durkheim reviews leading theories of elementary religion by assessing animism and naturism, arguing that common explanations fail to account for religion’s sacred-profane division and rejecting the idea that such accounts reduce religion to hallucinations.
LEADING CONCEPTIONS OF THE ELEMENTARY RELIGION I.--*Animism* Distinction of animism and naturism 48 I.--The three theses of animism: Genesis of the idea of the soul; Formation of the idea of spirits; Transformation of the cult of spirits into the cult of nature 49 II.--Criticism of the first thesis--Distinction of the idea of the soul from that of a double--Dreams do …
Durkheim introduces totemism as an elementary religion, outlining a study method focused on Australian totemism (with some American evidence) and specifying how totemic beliefs involve clans and emblems, especially the sacred character of totems and prohibitions.
TOTEMISM AS AN ELEMENTARY RELIGION I.--Brief history of the question of totemism 88 II.--Reasons of method for which our study will be given specially to the totemism of Australia--The place which will be given to facts from America 93 THE ELEMENTARY BELIEFS
He describes totemic beliefs: totems function as clan names and emblems (including carved designs and body markings), including sacred objects like churinga, and explains sacred prohibitions and differing sacredness of totemic animals versus emblems.
TOTEMIC BELIEFS *The Totem as Name and as Emblem* I.--Definition of the clan--The totem as name of the clan--Nature of the things which serve as totems--Ways in which the totem is acquired--The totems of phratries; of matrimonial classes 102 II.--The totem as emblem--Totemic designs engraved or carved upon objects; tatooings or designs upon the body 113 III.--Sacred charact…
Durkheim develops totemism’s cosmological system and the social idea of class: clans, phratries, and classes are treated as shaping first classifications of things, and all classified things share the sacred nature of the totem.
TOTEMIC BELIEFS--(*continued*) *The Cosmological System of Totemism and the Idea of Class* I.--The classification of things into clans, phratries and classes 141 II.--Genesis of the notion of class: the first classifications of things take their forms from society--Differences between the sentiment of the differences of things and the idea of class-- Why this is of social origin …
He claims primitive religions help solve the philosophical question of what religion in general is, because common fundamental representations and rites are easiest to identify where societies are small, uniform, and less refined by theology or luxury.
Besides this, outside of these indirect reactions, the study of primitive religions has of itself an immediate interest which is of primary importance. If it is useful to know what a certain particular religion consists in, it is still more important to know what religion in general is. This is the problem which has aroused the interest of philosophers in all times; and not without reason, for it is of interest to a…
He explains Arunta conception as incarnation via ancestral presences embodied in stones, trees, rocks, or waterholes, including ratapa and namatuna churinga that enter women and determine the child’s totem.
the result of mystic operations, but different from the ones which the other observers told us about. It takes place in one or the other of the two following ways: Wherever an ancestor of the Alcheringa[794] times is believed to have entered into the ground, there is either a stone or a tree representing his body. The tree or rock which has this mystic relation with the departed hero is called *nanja* according to S…
Durkheim argues that Strehlow’s ratapa and namatuna schemes match Spencer and Gillen’s themes: souls are made of the same substance as totems, and sacred ancestors, their churinga, and sacred sites are equivalent.
and Gillen. But in reality it differs only in the letter of the formulæ and symbols, while in both cases we find the same mythical theme in slightly different forms. In the first place, all the observers agree that every conception is the result of an incarnation. Only according to Strehlow, that which is incarnated is not a soul but a ratapa or a namatuna. But what is a ratapa? Strehlow says that it is a complete e…
He links soul and mana through shared attributes and argues that disputes over whether churinga are sacred due to residences or impersonal virtues miss a shared sociological root: collective respect.
adhere to his different bones; and this implies that he is believed to be able to diffuse himself, subdivide himself and incorporate himself in all sorts of different things simultaneously. Just as the characteristic attributes of the mana are found in the soul, so secondary and superficial changes are enough to enable the mana to individualize itself in the form of a soul. We pass from the first idea to the second …
He argues that ancestor-souls also haunt sacred places like nanja-trees, rocks, and water-holes, making them medically dangerous to harm, and likens their functions to rain spirits and local nature spirits.
soul. In the same way, the soul of the Arunta and the ancestral spirit which serves as his genius are only two different aspects of one and the same being. But it is not only in relation to persons that the ancestor has a definite situation; he also has one in relation to things. Though he is believed to have his real residence under the ground, they think that he is always haunting the place where his nanja-tree or…
Using Strehlow, he says sacred rocks and trees cluster around ertnatulunga/arknanaua sanctuaries holding churinga, where myths place ancestor entries into the ground so souls become genius loci protecting individuals.
personage of this sort and a rock or tree. But a fact which we owe to Strehlow furnishes us with a solution of this problem, which is at least probable. These trees and rocks are not situated at any point in the tribal territory, but, for the most part, they are grouped around the sanctuaries, called ertnatulunga by Spencer and Gillen and arknanaua by Strehlow, where the churinga of the clan is kept.[886] We know th…
Durkheim begins a study of primitive cult practice, arguing that sacred beings require separation from profane ones and that negative cult operates through taboos and interdictions.
THE PRINCIPAL RITUAL ATTITUDES THE NEGATIVE CULT AND ITS FUNCTIONS THE ASCETIC RITES We do not have the intention of attempting a complete description of the primitive cult in what is to follow. Being preoccupied especially with reaching that which is most elementary and most fundamental in the religious life, we shall not attempt to reconstruct in detail the frequently confused multiplicity of all the ritual forms…
Durkheim categorizes religious interdictions: some separate sacred things of different species, while the main ones separate everything sacred from everything profane through interdictions of contact and related relations.
But a new distinction is necessary between these latter. There are religious interdictions whose object is to separate two sacred things of different species from each other. For example, it will be remembered that among the Wakelbura the scaffold upon which the corpse is exposed must be made exclusively of materials belonging to the phratry of the dead man; this is as much as to say that all contact between the cor…
Durkheim details negative cult mechanisms, including taboos on touching sacred objects, eating sacred/ Totemic foods, restricting who may eat, and prohibiting sight, speech, and breath contact with sacred beings.
to the same place.[1012] Thus it comes about that a dying man creates an empty space about him; they abandon him after they have installed him as comfortably as possible.[1013] An exceptionally intimate contact is the one resulting from the absorption of food. Hence comes the interdiction against eating the sacred animals or vegetables, and especially those serving as totems.[1014] Such an act appears so very sacril…
Durkheim explains that sacred objects and even names must be kept from profane speech and hearing, including strict taboos, mourning prohibitions, and secret sacred languages and ceremonies.
silence is obligatory.[1024] As soon as the churinga are exposed, every one keeps still, or if someone talks, he does so in a low voice or with his lips only.[1025] Besides the sacred things, there are words and sounds which have the same character; they should not pass the lips of the profane or enter their ears. There are ritual songs which women must not hear under pain of death.[1026] They may hear the noise of …
He describes how profane work and occupations are suspended during major religious solemnities and feast days, treating sacred and profane life as incompatible in both space and time.
lasts a long time.[1041] The same rule is observed during the rites,[1042] of which we shall speak in the next chapter, as well as at certain moments of the initiation.[1043] For this same reason, all temporal occupations are suspended while the great religious solemnities are taking place. According to a remark of Spencer and Gillen,[1044] which we have already had occasion to cite, the life of the Australian is di…
Gibbon says Rome generally allowed foreign cults, describing how Isis and Serapis were prohibited and then restored, and how Rome became a common temple for subjects’ gods.
19 (return) [ Minutius Fælix in Octavio, p. 54. Arnobius, l. vi. p. 115.] II. The narrow policy of preserving, without any foreign mixture, the pure blood of the ancient citizens, had checked the fortune, and hastened the ruin, of Athens and Sparta. The aspiring genius of Rome sacrificed vanity to ambition, and deemed it more prudent, as well as honorable, to adopt virtue and merit for her …
At Emesa, the sun-god Elagabalus—represented by a black conical stone said to have fallen from heaven—becomes central to Elagabalus’s reign, driving an ornate procession and lavish temple sacrifices in Rome.
51 (return) [ Dion, l. lxxix. p. 1363. Herodian, l. v. p. 189.] The Sun was worshipped at Emesa, under the name of Elagabalus, 52 and under the form of a black conical stone, which, as it was universally believed, had fallen from heaven on that sacred place. To this protecting deity, Antoninus, not without some reason, ascribed his elevation to the throne. The display of superstitious g…
Gibbon reports accounts of Persian worship associated with Herodotus—mountain sacrifices and hymns without temples, while also addressing accusations of worshiping elements and explaining the reverence for Mithra (fire, light, sun symbolism).
Some writers, as M. Foucher (resting, as M. Guizot observes, on the doubtful authority of Pliny,) make more than one Zoroaster, and so attempt to reconcile the conflicting theories.— M.] 8 (return) [ That ancient idiom was called the Zend. The language of the commentary, the Pehlvi, though much more modern, has ceased many ages ago to be a living tongue. This fact alone (if it is allowed as authent…