Page:The Ancient City- A Study on the Religion, Laws, and Institutions of Greece and Rome.djvu/173

 CHAP. ill. THE CITY FOEMED. 167 strument foi- the sacrifice. Its office was to burn the flesh of the victim, and to carry the offering with men"'8 prayers to the majestic divinity whose statue resided in the temple. When we see these temples rise and open their doors to the multitude of worshippers, we may be assured that human associations have become enlarged. CHAPTER III. The City formed. The tribe, like the family and the phratry, was es- tablished as an independent body, since it had a special worship from which the stranger was excluded. Once formed, no new family could be admitted to it. No more could two tribes be fused into one ; their religion was opposed to this. But just as several phratries were united in a tribe, several tribes might associate together, on condition that the religion of each should be respect- ed. The day on which this alliance took place the city existed. It is of little account to seek the cause which deter- mined several neighboring tribes to unite. Sometimes it was voluntary; sometimes it was imposed by the superior force of a tribe, or by the powerful will of a man. What is certain is, that the bond of the new association was still a religion. The tribes that united to form a city never failed to light a sacred fire, and to adopt a common religion. Thus human society, in this race, did not enlarge Uke a circle, which increases on all sides, gaining little