is even no
reason to enter more closely into its outer manifestations, as the thing
itself is doubted by nobody. It is sufficient to mention as instances
authors like Suetonius, with his naive belief in miracles, and the
rhetorician Aristides, with his Asclepius-cult and general
sanctimoniousness; or a minor figure such as Aelian, who wrote whole books
of a pronounced, nay even fanatical, devotionalism; or within the sphere
of philosophy movements like Neo-Pythagoreanism and Neo-Platonism, both of
which are as much in the nature of mystic theology as attempts at a
scientific explanation of the universe. It is characteristic, too, that an
essentially anti-religious school like that of the Epicureans actually
dies out at this time. Under these conditions our task in this chapter
must be to bring out the comparatively few and weak traces of other
currents which still made themselves felt.

Of the earlier philosophical schools Stoicism flowered afresh in the
second century; the Emperor Marcus Aurelius himself was a prominent
adherent of the creed. This later Stoicism differs, however, somewhat from
the earlier. It limits the scientific apparatus which the early Stoics had
operated with to a minimum, and is almost exclusively concerned with
practical ethics on a religious basis. Its religion is that of ordinary
Stoicism: Pantheism and belief in Providence. But, on the whole, it takes
up a more sympathetic attitude towards popular religion than early
Stoicism had done. Of the bitter criticism of the absurdities of the
worship of the gods and of mythology which is still to be met with as late
as Seneca, nothing remains. On the contrary, participation in public
worship is still enjoined as being a duty; nay, more: attacks on belief in
the gods--in the plain popular sense of the word--are denounced as
pernicious and reprehensible. Perhaps no clearer proof could be adduced of
the revolution which had taken place in the attitude of the educated
classes towards popular religion than this change of front on the part of
Stoicism.

Contrary to this was the attitude of another school which was in vogue at
the same time as the Stoic, namely, the Cynic. Between Cynicism and
popular belief strained relations had existed since early times. It is
true, the Cynics did not altogether deny the existence of the gods; but
they rejected worship on the ground that the gods were not in need of
anything, and they denied categorically the majority