[Other Advertisements]   [Main Page Menu]  [kitchen door]
                      Ciceroman Question
                     A d v e r t i s e m e n t
     The nature of God, particularly whether God is active or
inactive in human affairs, was a topic of such importance that
Cicero thought all the world ought to examine the various doctrines
and judge which  is true. While Cicero was certain that some of his
Roman readers would see his view as one that would flood the
world with darkness, a significant number of Romans shared the
belief that civility was valued sufficiently to allow for thorough and
fruitful discussion. There were more than fifty peoples with distinct
theologies enjoying the relative progress provided by Roman civil
rule. The Ethne of the Sebasteion at Aphrodisias reflect the
Ciceroman confidence that concord is desired by all peoples and is
achievable, without endangering the distinct characters of the
various peoples. Noted by Varro as particularly well suited to the
promotion of justice, is the Hebrew of the Sebasteion, whose
literature in some ways provides a view appealing to Romans of the
sort that wrote Aetna. The Book of Daniel, which appeared in
Jerusalem at about the time that the Fourteen Books of Numa (page
82) appeared in Rome, expresses an attitude, with respect to the
matter Cicero suggests in De Natura Deorum should be decided by
humanity, which must have resonated in the noble Roman mind. In
the Book of Daniel, when three Hebrews refuse to worship the
image set up by king Nebuchadnezzar, he asks them if they believe
that the God they serve can save them from the fire of the furnace
into which he will send them for not worshipping the image he
made. (The answer of Abraham of the oral tradition, as referenced
at page 74, might be, “King Nebuchadnezzar, can the image you
made itself throw us into the furnace?”) The answer given in reply
to the king’s threat is of great value to those addressing the
doctrines Cicero says ought to be examined. The Hebrews say that
their decision to serve their God is not conditioned on their being
delivered from the furnace.  In the Roman view, the Hebrews in the
story are virtuous. If their answer had been that they were certain
that God would deliver them, they would not have been
demonstrating virtue, for, to paraphrase Publilius Syrus, one who
does what is right, because it is in his own interest to do so, cannot
be called good. The Roman and Hebrew views are more compatible
than commonly supposed. The Roman practice of modifying the
rites of the governed to promote civility was then well established
and must have generated discussions of how Judaism might be
altered for Rome’s benefit.                  [kitchen door]
                                                128   [To a Candid World Menu]
             To a Candid World, Copyright 1998,   Thomas Wolfsehr