Page:The Ancient City- A Study on the Religion, Laws, and Institutions of Greece and Rome.djvu/290

 284 THE CITY. BOOK III. the secrets of his sect, — if, addressing himself to the plebeians, wlio impatiently supported the yoke of this religion, he had disembarrassed and freed them from these auspices and priesthoods, — this man would imme- diately have obtained so much credit that he might have become the master of the state. Does any one suppose that if these patricians had not believed in the religion which they practised, such a temptation would not have been strong enough to determine at least one among them to reveal the secret? We greatly deceive ourselves on the nature of man if we suppose a reli- gion cnn be established by convention and supported by impos'.ure. Let any one count in Livy how many times th^s religion embarrassed the patricians them selves, how many times it stood in the way of the sen- ate and impeded its action, and then decide if tliis religion was invented for the convenience of statesmen. It was very late — not till the time of the Scipios — that they began to believe that religion was useful to the government ; but then religion was already dead in their minds. Let us take a Roman of the first days : we will choose one of the greatest commanders, Caraillus, who was five times dictator, and who was victorious in more than ten battles. To be just, we must consider him quite as much a priest as a warrior. He belonged to the Furian gens ; his surname is a word which designates a priestly function. When a child he was required to wear the prcetexta, which indicated his caste, and the bulla, which kept bad fortune from him. lie grew up, taking a daily part in the ceremonies of the worship; he passed his youth in studying religious rites. A war Droke out, and the priest became a soldier ; he was seen, when wouaded in the thigh, in a cavalry combat^