the fear lest the gods
should punish them for neglect; any unusual occurrence may be a sign
that the gods are withdrawing their co-operation from the state, and
this must be looked into, and the due expiations used if judged
necessary." Ritual must always be carried out with the utmost
precision; it is not the goodwill of the worshipper but his
exactitude that counts. He may even cheat the gods of their due if he
is formally correct in his observance. For example, if the auspices
(the signs derived from birds) were unfavourable, they could be
repeated till a better result was obtained.

What we have described is the religion of Rome in its original form,
before it accepted foreign modifications. Its gods are spirits of the
woods and fields, of the market, of the foray, of the treaty, of all
the aspects, in fact, which life had borne to the tribes of Central
Italy, especially to the Latins and the Sabines who combined to form
the state of Rome. These gods form no family and have no history,
they do not, like the gods of Greece, lay hold of the imagination,
nor, like those of Germany, of the affections. They are only dimly
known; but they are powerful, and it is necessary to reckon with
them; and the only relations which can be kept up with such beings
are those of business and of law. It follows that this religion is
one of constraint and not of inspiration. In this it agrees with the
Roman character, which is much more inclined to order than to
freedom, to law than to art. The word religion has here its origin;
its primary meaning is restraint or check, since the chief feeling
with which the Roman regarded his gods was that of anxiety. Not that
the gods were bad; Vediovis, the bad counterpart of Jovis, is a
vanishing figure,--but they were ill-known, and might have cause to
be angry. Worship, therefore, the practical cultivation of the
friendship of the gods, swallows up here the other elements of
religion as a whole. Religion does not free the forces of human
nature to realise themselves in spontaneous activity, but enchains
them to the punctilious service of a nonhuman authority. Everything
exciting is kept at a distance, and men are trained in obedience and
scrupulousness and self-denial. They produce no beautiful works of
art, and have hardly any stories to delight in; but they are reverent
and conscientious; private feeling is sacrificed with an austere
satisfaction to the public interest, and they accordingly bui