c power, material prosperity, and group strength for
war. In either case all the mores fall into a character, temper, and
spirit which conform to the situation. The early centuries of the
Christian era were a period of decline. Tertullian[121] has a passage in
which he describes in enthusiastic terms the prosperity and progress of
his time (end of the second century). He did not perceive that society
was in a conjuncture of decline. Many, however, from the time of
Augustus saw evil coming. The splendors of the empire did not delude
them. Tacitus feared evil from the Germans; others from the
Parthians.[122] The population of the Roman empire felt its inferiority
to its ancestors. One thing after another gave way. Nothing could serve
as a fulcrum for resisting decline, or producing recovery. In such a
period despair wins control. The philosophy is pessimistic. The world is
supposed to be coming to an end. Life is not valued. Ascetic practices
fall in with the prevailing temper. Martyrdom has no great terrors; such
as it has can be overcome by a little enthusiasm. Inroads of barbarians
only add a little to the other woes, or hasten an end which is
inevitable and is expected with resignation. At such a time a religion
of demonism, other-worldliness, resignation, retirement from the world,
and renunciation appeals both to those who want a dream of escape and to
those who despair. Our own time, on the other hand, is one of advance on
account of great unoccupied territories now opened at little or no cost
to those who have nothing. Such a period is one of hope, power, and gain
for the masses. Optimism is the philosophy. All the mores get their
spirit from it. "Progress" is an object of faith. A philosophy of
resignation and renunciation is unpopular. There is nothing which we
cannot do, and will not do, if we choose. No mistake will cost much. It
can be easily rectified. In the Renaissance in Italy, besides the
rejection of religion and the disorder of the state, there was a great
movement of new power derived from the knowledge which was changing the
life conditions. Great social forces were set loose. Men of heroic
dimensions, both in good and ill, appeared in great numbers. They had
astounding ability to accomplish achievements, and appeared to be
possessed by devils, so superhuman was their energy in vice and crime as
well as in war, art, discovery, and literature. No doubt this phenomenon
of heroic men belongs to an age of