HISTORY 361 



begotten " who had created the world. As to what it 

 was desirable to do, Philo taught that logic and reason- 

 ing are of relatively little value, and that the highest 

 philosophy consisted in the acquirement of a direct 

 intuition* of God, to be attained as a reward for com- 

 plete self-renunciation and resignation to divine influence. 



Thus the Neo-Platonic school was essentially mystical, 

 and renounced all appeals to reason as the one only 

 source of the highest knowledge. Philo visited .Rome in 

 40 A.D., and doubtless there exercised a direct influence. 

 But the school of Alexandria accompanied the rise, and 

 combated the spread, of Christianity. 



The religion destined to play so great a part in trans- 

 forming the world naturally appeared at first to the 

 Greeks and Romans as an obscure sect of the Jews. 

 The latter were early regarded as an impious race which 

 despised the gods, and would not ever worship the 

 emperors, for which refusal they suffered cruel persecu- 

 tions. The inhabitants of Antioch burnt alive many who 

 would not abjure their creed, and fifty thousand Jews 

 are said to have been massacred at Alexandria. 



The Pagans could not understand the obstinacy of 

 Jews and Christians in refusing to worship Roman gods, 

 whose clients were so willing to venerate what was 

 adored by either Christians or Jews. Romans were 

 willing to recognise in Jehovah their own Jupiter, and 

 Alexander Severus t erected an image f Christ amongst 

 the deities of his private chapel. But the refusal of 

 Christians to worship the gods in any way, and their 

 repeated declarations that the gods of the empire were 

 but idols to be execrated, drew on them the persecutions 

 and sufferings they had to endure, not only under 



* As to this word, see ante, p. 261. t See ante, p. 351. 



