But I have been speaking of the effect of each system, as a whole, on nations and masses of men, and on individuals. And we see that Stoicism, after centuries of effort, proved itself unequal to the regeneration of men, and as completely failed as any other merely human scheme, in this respect. We should keep in mind, that systems are not relatively superior in proportion to the adherence of their disciples. Unwavering obedience, on the part of certain of its followers, does not necessarily imply the excellence of a system; it simply proves that some of its disciples are faithful. On the contrary, the excellence of a system is seen, when it does a great work and raises a fallen world, in spite of the apparent inadequacy of its means; in spite of the luke-warm attachment and want of consistency, often displayed by its followers. In this way, the more than human perfection of Christianity has been shown. If her children had been as faithful to her, as many of the Stoics were to their school, she had, ere this, made our earth a paradise. Even as things are, notwithstanding the introduction, into her midst, of doctrines and practices, foreign to her in origin, and opposed to her principles; notwithstanding the many shortcomings of her friends, and the unceasing opposition of her foes, and the resistance ever offered by the pride of man’s heart to her humbling doctrines; she carries on her glorious work successfully, and proves herself equal to her destined purpose.
CHAPTER III.
THE INFLUENCE OF CHRISTIANITY ON STOICISM.
“Victi victoribus leges dederunt.”
Sen. quoted by St Aug. in Civ. Dei.
There is nothing unreasonable in the supposition, that when two systems such as Christianity and Stoicism came into contact, they would naturally exert considerable influence, one on the other. We perceive, if we trace the history of the religion of Christ, that it felt the effect of the philosophy of the Gentile world, and especially of the Greeks, in various ways. Platonism proved itself so powerful as to cause the rise of the Alexandrian school, with its vast influences. In other cases, we see Christianity so strongly impregnated with notions drawn from heathenism, that various baneful heresies arose, which sometimes threatened the very existence of the truth. Tertullian[[35]] complains that “philosophy furnished the arms and the subjects of heresy.” During the middle of the life of Christianity in the world, so evil were the results, to the Church, of principles external to it in origin, and antagonistic to purity, that we look back on those centuries with deep sorrow, and call them “the dark ages.”
Among other systems of philosophy Stoicism made itself felt by the Church of Christ. In allusion to this Tertullian says, “Our training is from the porch of Solomon.” Again he says, “Let those take care who help forward a Stoic, a Platonic, a dialectic Christianity. We have no need of curious enquiries about the coming of Jesus Christ, nor of investigation after the gospel.” But though Stoic philosophy made itself felt, yet, being practical rather than speculative, it did not produce a distinct school, such as resulted from the Academic system. Still it left its impress on after times, as I shall endeavour to point out in future pages.
Christianity also made a great impression on Stoicism, while the latter continued to exist as a system of philosophy. We do not find its power and principles acknowledged in the writings of any of the school. Yet, from certain expressions in Epictetus and M. Antoninus, we perceive they were fully aware how nearly allied Christian virtue was to their high aspirations; how closely those who were disciples of Christ approached to their own standard. But they were displeased at the principles from which the Christian excellence proceeded; and probably also at the living protest which these men afforded against the philosophy which could not produce results such as their religion produced among the people. So Epictetus[[36]] in B. IV. Ch. 7, speaking of fearlessness, allows by implication that it was possessed by the Galileans, but puts down their fortitude to habit, and commends much more that coming from reason. So Antoninus[[37]] allows that Christians are ready to die, but says that, whereas this readiness should proceed from personal judgment, resulting from due calculation, the readiness of the Christians to die came of mere obstinacy. In other words, they had so strong a faith in the gospel that they would rather die than give it up. Such passing notices as these show decisively that the religion of Jesus was doing a great work of which philosophers became jealous. This work was of the same kind as that which the Stoics professed to have as their object; yet what they failed in achieving was wrought out successfully on principles which they despised. They were vexed and annoyed, and would naturally ignore any influence which the Christian doctrines might have in modifying their opinions. I shall proceed to point out in this chapter that this influence was nevertheless remarkable. What changes occurred in the views of the sect at Athens we do not know: there are no records of the Stoics at Athens at that time. The only writers to whom we can refer, in order to come to any correct estimate as to the development of thought among the sect, of a nature to show Christian influence, were Romans. They are only three in number—Seneca, Epictetus, and the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. I shall refer to the writings of each in this, their proper order.
When I speak of Seneca as a Roman, I do not forget that he was born in Spain; but being a Roman in thought and feeling, as well as by residence and by birth-right, he is rightly reckoned among Roman philosophers. It is not my business, however, to give even a sketch of his life; nor shall I refer to his voluminous writings, except as they show the influence which Christianity seems to have exerted on the Stoic sect in his day. He lived at the same time that St Paul laboured for the truth, and there have been traditions of his having been taught the precepts of the Gospel by the great Apostle himself. These are probably without foundation, but their being so does not prove that Christianity had no influence on his speculations. Their very existence serves to show how apparent that influence was to various readers, so as at least to make the intercourse between the Apostle and the philosopher seem to them not an improbable thing. We must remember that Judaism was the pioneer of Christianity at Rome, as well as elsewhere. Possessed of much divine truth, it necessarily exerted considerable influence there on the world of thought; and so prepared the way for the fuller light which the gospel furnished. Christianity also had now a firm hold on many. Its influence, as we learn from different sources, was beginning to be felt in various ways, and even in the imperial court were found some who acknowledged its power. It is likely therefore that Seneca would study its teaching, or at least would be moved by its presence in the very centre of the world, to listen, even though without conscious sympathy, perhaps with contempt, to what was told him respecting its tenets. We see in his writings that he had many clearer views of truth than the Stoics who preceded him[[38]]. For instance, with reference to the Deity, his providential care avowed as being exercised over men not merely collectively but individually; his sovereignty, his power and glory, not as a mere part of universal nature, but as a being, fully set forth; his work in the human soul recognized as a truth and a necessity for man’s well-doing; these and various other enlarged views of the Lord of all show a vast advance on past Stoicism in the direction of Christian doctrine. Then again, with regard to man, we perceive how clearly he saw that necessary and primary truth, that man is by nature depraved and can only lead a holy life by divine aid. We notice also how he inculcates the duty of love to God and to man, of forgiveness of injuries and of the cultivation of other graces, which have a Christian likeness, if not a Christian parentage. It is doubtless true that these doctrines were the strong and approved opinions of one who was, as Gataker calls him, “home exterior, nec nomini Christiano favens:” but when we read, “cum nec mysterii nostri gnarus esset, nec fidei rationes assequeretur,” the words must be taken in a qualified sense. Experimentally, he was ignorant of the glorious mystery of redemption; but of the religion of Jesus, and of Judaism which prepared the Roman mind for Christianity, he was at least informed, if only by rumour. And we see, from the effect of the religion of the cross at the present time, that its doctrines of purity and mercy may mightily influence even those nations and individuals who do not acknowledge its authority.
Let us look at some of the passages in the writings of Seneca, which serve to bear out the views above expressed; and first, with regard to the divine being and his care of man, we find such expressions as the following: “God comes to men, yea, what is nearer still, he comes into men[[39]]. No mind is good without God. Seeds (of good) are sown in human bodies. And if a good husbandman receives them, there are produced fruits like the original and equal to those from which they sprung: but if a bad husbandman receives them, the ground, not being otherwise than barren and marshy, kills them and thence creates rubbish instead of fruit.” One cannot fail to be struck with the likeness this passage bears to our Lord’s words recorded by St Matt. xiii. 18-23. Again, in the 41st Epistle, we read, “God is near thee, is with thee, is within. So I say, Lucilius, the holy spirit has his seat within us, the observer and guard of the evil and the good of our lives: as he is treated by us, so he treats us.” Intimately connected with this view of an indwelling God, was the theory which Seneca held, that man could not be good and perfect without His help. The view which he had of human weakness by nature and of the depravity of the human heart was a great advance in the direction of Christian truth, from Stoic principles, which held so much to the idea of man’s unaided progress to perfection. Yet the views which Seneca entertained were not unmixed with the old speculations. Indeed his mind was evidently struggling to reconcile old doctrines with some new light which was dawning on his mind. Hence he is often apparently contradictory, as men are when in a transition state, or rather when they are endeavouring to graft doctrines of a totally different type on the old stock. We see, in the passage first quoted above, how plainly he says that no mind is good without God, who sows the seeds of all virtues in the soul, and by his blessing enables a willing heart to bring forth fruit. Again, in the 41st Epistle, he writes, “There is no good man without God. Can any one rise above fortune, unless aided by Him? He inspires grand and upright designs. In every good man he dwells.” But he adds, as if to show the struggle going on within, that He whom he had in the former part of the letter called the holy spirit was to him, as to the Athenians, an “unknown God.” “Quis deus incertum est,” he says of the deity who dwells in every good man. With regard to man’s moral nature requiring the aid of one who is strong enough to purify it, he speaks very clearly. He sees the need of a change from evil to good in order to become what man should be. Yet he does not mention the need of pardon for sin that is past. In De Clementia, I. 6, this passage occurs: “Reflect, in this city, in which a crowd pours through the widest street without intermission, and like a rapid stream dashes against any obstacle that impedes its course; where accommodation is required in three theatres at the same time; where is consumed whatever grain is produced in all lands; what a solitude and desolation were the result, if nothing were left but what a severe judge would pronounce free from fault.” A little further on he adds, “We have all sinned[[40]]; some deeply, others more lightly; some from design, others driven by chance impulses, or borne away by wickedness not their own; others of us have shown little steadfastness in sticking to our good resolutions, and, against our will and in spite of our endeavours, have lost our innocence. Nor is it only that we have erred, but to the end of time we shall err[[41]]. Even if any one has so purified his mind that nothing can shake, or seduce him any more, yet he has arrived at innocence through sin.” These are remarkable expressions, and show how much advanced the views of the philosopher were in the direction of the truth, even though it was by the path of self-humiliation. The writer of the article on “The Ancient Stoics” in the Oxford Essays, remarks: “Those who have been anxious to obtain the authority of Aristotle for the doctrine of human corruption, will find on consideration that this idea, which was historically impossible for a Greek of the fourth century B.C., came with sufficient vividness into the consciousness of persons in the position of Seneca; but not till much later than Aristotle, probably not before the beginning of our era. On the other hand, we are not to fancy that the thoughts of Seneca received any influence from Christianity.” With this last sentence I do not agree. It seems scarcely reasonable to ignore the power of a system which we know was already exercising attention at Rome; a system of high and holy principles, presenting much for the Stoic mind to admire. That similar thoughts struck Paul the Apostle, and Seneca the philosopher, at the same era, is certain. It was a remarkable coincidence, but it was something more. We know that those thoughts in the mind of the converted Jew were the result, not of self-reflection, nor of communing with his own heart, merely, but of a power outside of himself, more mighty and convincing than any inner influence; but still, acting on a strong mind, already trained in many uncommon and elevating doctrines by Judaism; which had also been training the Roman world to look for something purer and higher than the superstition and vain guesses at truth, which were so prevalent heretofore. When Christianity supplied all the demands of the soul, and gave to the Roman world a divine system of doctrine and morals, it soon commanded the attention which it deserved[[42]]. This being so, there would seem to be no reason for saying that it had no influence direct or indirect on the mind of the Stoic philosopher: especially when, on the very face of it, the inconsistency of his writings shows that he owed his conclusions to two distinct sources; one, the old Stoic system—the other, a new class of thoughts which might at least be supposed to have a Christian origin. There is no doubt that, among the Romans at the time of Seneca, Christianity was not distinguished from Judaism, but reckoned a part of that system. We see, in the 95th letter of the philosopher, plain reference to Jewish forms and prohibitions. The word sabbath[[43]] is used; and the whole of the expressions show how conversant the writer must have been with the tenets of the people brought from Palestine. We are struck too with the lessons of piety and charity which he deduces from his reflections. He sets forth the necessity of having, as the end of our endeavours, the attainment of the highest good; and to this we should have respect in every act and word, “as sailors direct their course to some star.” When we read the words, “non quærit ministros Deus: quidni? Ipse humano generi ministrat: ubique et omnibus præsto est:” how naturally our minds recal the words of St Paul to the Athenians: “neither is He served by men’s hands, as being in need of any; seeing He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things[[44]].” We see too that Seneca had clearer notions than his predecessors of the personal existence of the deity and of his intimate care of each individual, as well as of the whole race of men. He perceived the need of knowing and believing God and of offering him spiritual worship; that mere sacrifice and outward homage were vain. In the following passages from the same letter these views are clearly expressed; as is also the great truth which the Saviour taught, that to love God with all our heart and mind and soul and strength, and our neighbour as ourselves, is the essence of religion and virtue: that it is indeed “more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices[[45]].” He writes, “He who knows God, worships Him.... A man should learn how to conduct himself in offering sacrifices, to recoil very far from disquiet of mind and superstitious observances: never will he be advanced enough unless he conceive in his mind what kind of a being God must be, possessing all things, bestowing all things, freely giving His benefits.... The beginning of the worship of the gods, is to believe the gods[[46]]; then, to ascribe to them their majesty; to ascribe to them their goodness, without which there is no majesty; to know that they who rule the world, who control the universe, who are guardians of the human race, are also at the same time full of care for each man.... Look at another question, our proper conduct towards men. How do we deal with this matter? What instructions do we give? That there be a sparing of human life? How small a matter it is not to hurt him to whom you owe benefits. Truly it is great praise if man is gentle to man. Shall we teach that he stretch out his hand to the shipwrecked, that he show the right way to the erring, that he divide his loaf with the hungry? When shall I declare all things which are to be performed, or avoided, since I can furnish in few words this formula of human duty? All this that you see, in which divine and human affairs are included, is comprised in one fact, as a foundation for our rule of action—we are members of one great body. Nature has made us all akin, since she begat us from the same originals and for the same destinies. She has indued us with mutual love, and made us companionable: she has arranged what is equitable and just: by her institution, it is more wretched to hurt, than to suffer injury: and by her command, the hands are ready for the assistance of others. That verse should be in the breast, as well as in the mouth.
‘Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto.’