ted by these religions and
the consolations offered strongly attracted the women, who were the most
fervent and generous followers and most passionate propagandists[40] of the
religions of Isis and Cybele. Mithra was worshiped almost exclusively by
men, whom he subjected to a rigid moral discipline. Thus souls were gained
by the promise of spiritual purification and the prospect of eternal
happiness.

The worship of the Roman gods was a civic duty, the worship of the foreign
gods the expression of a personal belief. The latter were the objects of
the thoughts, feelings and intimate aspirations of the individual, not
merely of the traditional and, one might say, functional adoration of the
citizen. The ancient municipal devotions were connected with a number of
earthly interests that helped to support each other. They were one of
various forms of family spirit and patriotism and guaranteed the prosperity
of the community. The Oriental mysteries, directing the will toward an
ideal goal and exalting the inner spirit, were less mindful of economic
utility, but they could produce that vibration of the moral being that
caused emotions, stronger than any rational faculty, to gush forth from the
depths of the soul. Through a sudden illumination {45} they furnished the
intuition of a spiritual life whose intensity made all material happiness
appear insipid and contemptible. This stirring appeal of supernatural life
made the propaganda irresistible. The same ardent enthusiasm guaranteed at
the same time the uncontested domination of neo-Platonism among the
philosophers. Antiquity expired and a new era was born.

* * * * *

{46}

ASIA MINOR.

The first Oriental religion adopted by the Romans was that of the goddess
of Phrygia, whom the people of Pessinus and Mount Ida worshiped, and who
received the name of _Magna Mater deum Idea_ in the Occident. Its history
in Italy covers six centuries, and we can trace each phase of the
transformation that changed it in the course of time from a collection of
very primitive nature beliefs into a system of spiritualized mysteries used
by some as a weapon against Christianity. We shall now endeavor to outline
the successive phases of that slow metamorphosis.

This religion is the only one whose success in the Latin world was caused
originally by a mere chance circumstance. In 205 B. C, when Hannibal,
vanquished but still threatening, made his last stand in