A STEP BACKWARD IN ROME 



tellectual pendulum swing back towards mys- 

 ticism and idealism. 



Philosophy as a science, in its garbled Cicero- 

 nian form, now withstood less than ever the 

 pressure exerted against it by priestcraft and 

 retrogressive obstinacy. Even in the East, where 

 its cradle had been, and where its pulse had al- 

 ways been strongest, it gradually lost all attributes 

 of science and was trampled under the heels of 

 reaction. All pillars of mental evolution gave 

 way, the Grecian and Roman gods lay prostrate, 

 and the obscurity of pre-Grecian stages settled 

 down upon rich and poor alike. 



Among the ruling classes, brutal cynicism and 

 anarchist scepticism spread apace. Their educa- 

 tion was just far enough advanced to enable them 

 to sneer at heaven and hell. But the masses, un- 

 taught and superstitious, could not part with the 

 consolation of mystical beliefs. Everything paved 

 the way for the ascendency of some new god who 

 should be more powerful than any of the dis- 

 avowed gods. 



As soon as the historical stage had been set for 

 the enactment of this new scene, the actors began 

 to play their parts. Of all the religions then ex- 

 isting, none was better fitted to fulfill the require- 

 ments of this historical situation than the Jewish. 



31 



