CHAPTER VII

EARLY RELIGION AND SOCIETY

I. EARLY ROMAN RELIGION

*Animism.* The Roman religion of the historic republic was a composite of
beliefs and ceremonies of various origins. The basic stratum of this
system was the Roman element: religious ideas that the Romans probably
held in common with the other Latin and Italian peoples. Although traces
of a belief in magic; and of the worship of natural objects and animals,
survived from earlier stages of religious development, it was "animism"
that formed the basis of what we may call the characteristic Roman
religious ideas. Animism is the belief that natural objects are the abode
of spirits more powerful than man, and that all natural forces and
processes are the expression of the activity of similar spirits. When such
powers or _numina_ were conceived as personalities with definite names
they became 'gods,' _dei_. And because the primitive Roman gods were the
spirits of an earlier age, for a long time the Romans worshipped them
without images or temples. But each divinity was regarded as residing in a
certain locality and only there could his worship be conducted. The true
Roman gods lacked human attributes: their power was admitted but they
inspired no personal devotion. Consequently, Roman theology consisted in
the knowledge of these deities and their powers and of the ceremonial acts
necessary to influence them.

*The importance of ritual.* The Romans, while recognizing their dependence
upon divine powers, considered that their relation to them was of the
nature of a contract. If man observed all proper ritual in his worship,
the god was bound to act propitiously: if the god granted man's desire he
must be rewarded with an offering. If man failed in his duty, the god
punished him: if the god refused to hearken, man was not bound to continue
his worship. Thus Roman religion consisted essentially in the performance
of ritual, wherein the correctness of the performance was the chief
factor.

But since the power of the gods could affect the community as well as the
individual, it was necessary for the state to observe with the same
scrupulous care as the latter its obligations towards them. The knowledge
of these obligations and how they were to be performed constituted the
sacred law of Rome, which became a very important part of the public law.
This sacred law was guarded by the priesth