religio

religione animos, corpora morbo levavit
he freed their spirits from scrupulousness, their bodies from sickness haec religio dictatori impedimento ad rem gerendam fuit
this religious feeling was a hindrance to getting things done for the dictator

religiō, ōnis, f.: reverence for divine things; piety, devotion, 2.715; sanctity, 8.349; worship, sacred ceremonial, observance, 3.409; sacred thing, symbol, token, 2.151; object of worship; divinity, 12.182; augury, 3.363.

rĕlĭgĭo (in poetry also rellĭgĭo, to lengthen the first syllable), ōnis, f. [Concerning the etymology of this word, various opinions were prevalent among the ancients. Cicero (N. D. 2, 28, 72) derives it from relĕgere, an etymology favored by the verse cited ap. Gell. 4, 9, 1, religentem esse oportet, religiosum nefas; whereas Servius (ad Verg. A. 8, 349), Lactantius (4, 28), Augustine (Retract. 1, 13), al., assume religare as the primitive, and for this derivation Lactantius cites the expression of Lucretius (1, 931; 4, 7): religionum nodis animos exsolvere. Modern etymologists mostly agree with this latter view, assuming as root lig, to bind, whence also lictor, lex, and ligare; hence, religio sometimes means the same as obligatio; v. Corss. Aussprache, 1, 444 sq.; cf. Munro ad Lucr. 1, 109.]

• Reverence for God (the gods), the fear of God, connected with a careful pondering of divine things; piety, religion, both pure inward piety and that which is manifested in religious rites and ceremonies; hence the rites and ceremonies, as well as the entire system of religion and worship, the res divinae or sacrae, were frequently called religio or religiones (cf. our use of the word religion): qui omnia, quae ad cultum deorum pertinerent, diligenter retractarent et tamquam relegerent, sunt dicti religiosi ex relegendo, ut elegantes ex elegendo, tamquam a diligendo diligentes, ex intellegendo intellegentes: his enim in verbis omnibus inest vis legendi eadem, quae in religioso, Cic. N. D. 2, 28, 72: religione id est cultu deorum, id. ib. 2, 3, 8: religio est, quae superioris cujusdam naturae (quam divinam vocant) curam caerimoniamque affert, id. Inv. 2, 53, 161: (Pompilius) animos ardentes consuetudine et cupiditate bellandi religionum caeremoniis mitigavit, etc., id. Rep. 2, 14, 26; with which cf.: illa diuturna pax Numae mater huic urbi juris et religionis fuit, id. ib. 5, 2, 3: de auguriis, responsis, religione denique omni, Quint. 12, 2, 21: unde enim pietas? aut a quibus religio? Cic. Rep. 1, 2, 2; cf. id. Leg. 2, 11, 26: aliquem a pietate, religione deducere, id. Verr. 2, 4, 6, § 12: horum sententiae omnium non modo superstitionem tollunt, in quā inest timor inanis deorum, sed etiam religionem, quae deorum cultu pio continetur, etc., id. N. D. 1, 42, 117: quis enim istas (Democriti) imagines ... aut cultu aut religione dignas judicare? id. ib. 1, 43, 121; cf.: cum animus cultum deorum et puram religionem susceperit, id. Leg. 1, 23, 60: sacra Cereris summa majores nostri religione confici caerimoniaque voluerunt, id. Balb. 24, 55; cf. id. Leg. 2, 22, 55: in quibus erant omnia, quae sceleri propiora sunt quam religioni, id. Verr. 2, 4, 50, § 112: nec vero superstitione tollenda religio tollitur, id. Div. 2, 72, 148; cf. id. Part. 23, 31: medemini religioni sociorum, judices, conservate vestram. Neque enim haec externa vobis est religio (sc. Cereris) neque aliena, etc., id. Verr. 2, 4, 51, § 114: istorum religio sacrorum, id. Fl. 28, 69; id. Verr. 2, 4, 6, § 12; cf. id. ib. 2, 4, 8, § 18: religio deorum immortalium, id. Lael. 25, 96; cf.: per deos immortales! eos ipsos, de quorum religione jam diu dicimus, id. Verr. 2, 4, 47, § 105: religio divum, Lucr. 6, 1276: mira quaedam totā Siciliā privatim ac publice religio est Cereris Hennensis . . . quantam esse religionem convenit eorum, apud quos eam (Cererem) natam esse constat? ... tanta erit enim auctoritas illius religionis, ut, etc., Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 49, § 107; cf. id. ib. 2, 4, 45, § 99: qui (Mercurius) apud eos summā religione coleretur, id. ib. 2, 4, 39, § 84; cf. id. ib. 2, 4, 39, § 85; 2, 4, 44, § 96: (simulacrum Dianae) translatum Carthaginem locum tantum hominesque mutarat: religionem quidem pristinam conservabat, id. ib. 2, 4, 33, § 72; cf., of the same, id. ib. 2, 4, 35, § 78: fanum Junonis tantā religione semper fuit, ut ... semper inviolatum sanctumque fuit, enjoyed such honor, was held in such reverence, id. ib. 2, 4, 46, § 103; 2, 4, 58, § 129: hac (panacea) evulsā scrobem repleri vario genere frugum religio est, is a religious custom, Plin. 25, 4, 11, § 30; cf.: et obrui tales religio est, id. 30, 5, 14, § 42: hi (barbari) ignari totius negotii ac religionis, of religious belief, of religion, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 35, § 77; cf.: venit mihi fani, loci, religionis illius in mentem, id. ib. 2, 4, 50, § 110: de religione queri, id. ib. 2, 4, 51, § 113.—In late and eccl. Lat., a religious ordinance, ceremony, rite: quae est ista religio? Vulg. Exod. 12, 26: ista est religio victimae, id. Num. 19, 2.—In plur.: expertes religionum omnium, Cic. N. D. 1, 42, 119: qui in bello religionum et consuetudinis jura continent, id. Verr. 2, 4, 55, § 122; cf.: a quibus (rebus) etiam oculos cohibere te religionum jura cogebant, id. ib. 2, 4, 45, § 101: religiones expiare, id. Mil. 27, 73: ceterae (nationes) pro religionibus suis bella suscipiunt, istae contra omnium religiones, id. Font. 9, 30: Druides religiones interpretantur, religious matters, religion, Caes. B. G. 6, 13: scientia morum ac religionum ejus rei publicae, Quint. 12, 3, 1: civitas religionibus dedita, Plin. Pan. 74, 5: liberum a religionibus matutinum, Col. 6, 2, 3.
• II Transf.
• • A Subject., conscientiousness, scrupulousness arising from religion, religious scruples, scruples of conscience, religious awe, etc. (cf. sanctimonia): refrenatus religione, Lucr. 5, 1114: oppressa gravi sub religione vita, id. 1, 64: sese cum summā religione, tum summo metu legum et judiciorum teneri, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 34, § 75; cf.: ut eam non metus, non religio contineret, id. ib. 2, 4, 45, § 101: memini perturbari exercitum nostrum religione et metu, quod serenā nocte subito candens et plena luna defecisset, id. Rep. 1, 15, 23: tantā religione obstricta tota provincia est, tanta superstitio ex istius facto mentes omnium Siculorum occupavit, ut, etc., id. Verr. 2, 4, 51, § 113; cf.: obstrinxisti religione populum Romanum, id. Phil. 2, 33, 83: recitatis litteris oblata religio Cornuto est, etc., id. Fam. 10, 12, 3: ad oblatam aliquam religionem, id. Agr. 1, 2, 5: non recordabantur, quam parvulae saepe causae vel falsae suspicionis vel terroris repentini vel objectae religionis magna detrimenta intulissent, Caes. B. C. 3, 72: obicere religionem, Plaut. Merc. 5, 2, 40 (881); cf.: inicere religionem alicui, Cic. Caecin. 33, 97: vide ne quid Catulus attulerit religionis, id. de Or. 2, 90, 367: Gracchus cum rem illam in religionem populo venisse sentiret, ad senatum retulit, id. N. D. 2, 4, 10: nec eam rem habuit religioni, id. Div. 1, 35, 77: ut quae religio C. Mario non fuerat, quo minus C. Glauciam praetorem occideret, eā nos religione in privato P. Lentulo puniendo liberaremur, id. Cat. 3, 6, 15: tunc quoque, ne confestim bellum indiceretur, religio obstitit, Liv. 4, 30: cum ibi quoque religio obstaret, ne, etc. . . augures consulti eam religionem eximere, id. 4, 31: cum plenā religione civitas esset, id. 7, 28; 21, 62: nihil esse mihi, religio'st dicere, Ter. Heaut. 228; cf.: ut velut numine aliquo defensa castra oppugnare iterum, religio fuerit, Liv. 2, 62; 6, 27: rivos deducere nulla Religio vetuit (with fas et jura sinunt), Verg. G. 1, 270: nulla mihi Religio est, Hor. S. 1, 9, 71: nullā religione, ut scelus tegat, posse constrin gi, Curt. 6, 7, 7: quosdam religio ceperit ulterius quicquam eo die conandi, Liv. 28, 15; cf.: movendi inde thesauros incussa erat religio, id. 29, 18: religio fuit, denegare nolui, Plaut. Curc. 2, 3, 71 (350).—In plur.: non demunt animis curas ac religiones Persarum montes, Varr. ap. Non. 379, 11: artis Religionum animum nodis exsolvere, Lucr. 1, 932; 4, 7: religionibus atque minis obsistere vatum, id. 1, 109: plerique novas sibi ex loco religiones fingunt, Caes. B. G. 6, 37: natio est omnis Gallorum admodum dedita religionibus, id. ib. 6, 16: religionibus impediri, id. ib. 5, 6; Auct. B. Alex. 74; Phaedr. 4, 10, 4: plenis religionum animis, prodigia insuper nunciata, Liv. 41, 16: nullus locus non religionum deorumque est plenus, id. 5, 52, 2: pontifices flaminesque neglegentiores publicarum religionum esse, id. 5, 52, 5.—
  • • • b Meton. (effect. pro causā), a religious offence, giving rise to scruples of conscience: ut si profectus non esset, nullā tamen mendacii religione obstrictus videretur, Caes. B. C. 1, 11: liberaret religione templum, Liv. 45, 5: se domumque religione exsolvere, id. 5, 23.—In plur.: inexpiabiles religiones in rem publicam inducere, Cic. Phil. 1, 6, 13.—
      • c In partic.: religio jurisjurandi, or absol., scrupulousness in the fulfilment of an oath, the obligation of an oath, plighted faith: religione jurisjurandi ac metu deorum in testimoniis dicendis commoveri, Cic. Font. 9, 20; so, jurisjurandi, Caes. B. C. 1, 76 fin.; 3, 28; cf.: nec Achaeos religione obstringerent, Liv. 39, 37; Just. 1, 9, 18; 18, 6, 11. — Absol., Caes. B. C. 2, 32: nocturna proelia esse vitanda, quod perterritus miles in civili dissensione timori magis quam religioni consulere consuerit, id. ib. 1, 67: religionem servare, Nep. Ages. 2, 5.—
    • 2 In gen., a strict scrupulousness, anxiety, punctiliousness, conscientiousness, exactness, etc.: Atheniensium semper fuit prudens sincerumque judicium, nihil ut possent nisi incorruptum audire et elegans. Eorum religioni cum serviret orator, nullum verbum insolens, nullum odiosum ponere audebat, Cic. Or. 8, 25; cf. id. ib. 11, 36; id. Brut. 82, 283: fide et religione vitae defendi, id. Deiot. 6, 16; cf.: propter fidem et religionem judicis, id. Rosc. Com. 15, 45; and: testimoniorum religionem et fidem, id. Fl. 4, 9: homo sine ullā religione ac fide, Nep. Chabr. 8, 2: sin est in me ratio rei publicae, religio privati officii, etc., Cic. Sull. 3, 10; so, officii, id. Verr. 2, 3, 1, § 2: religio in consilio dando, id. Fam. 11, 29, 1: alicujus facta ad antiquae religionis rationem exquirere, id. Verr. 2, 4, 5, § 10; so, antiqua, id. Caecin. 10, 28: nefas est religionem decipi judicantis, Amm.30, 4, 10.—In plur.: judicum religiones, Cic. de Or. 1, 8, 31.—
  • B Object.
  • • 1 Abstr., the holiness, sacredness, sanctity inhering in any religious object (a deity, temple, utensils, etc.; cf. sanctitas): quae (fortissimorum civium mentes) mihi videntur ex hominum vitā ad deorum religionem et sanctimoniam demigrasse, Cic. Rab. Perd. 10, 30: propter singularem ejus fani religionem, id. Verr. 2, 4, 44, § 96: in sacerdotibus tanta offusa oculis animoque religio, Liv. 2, 40, 3; so, fani, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 50, § 110; id. Inv. 2, 1, 1: sacrarii, id. Verr. 2, 4, 3, § 5: templorum, Tac. H. 1, 40: signi, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 57, § 127: jam tum religio pavidos terrebat agrestes Dira loci, Verg. A. 8, 349.—
    • 2 Concr., an object of religious veneration, a sacred place or thing: uno tempore Agrigentini beneficium Africani (sc. signum Apollinis), religionem domesticam, ornamentum urbis, etc. . . . requirebant, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 43, § 93; cf.: religionem restituere, id. ib. 2, 4, 36, § 80: sacrorum omnium et religionum hostis praedoque, id. ib.; cf.: praedo religionum, id. ib. 2, 4, 43, § 95: quem tibi deum tantis eorum religionibus violatis auxilio futurum putas? id. ib. 2, 4, 35, § 78; cf.: est sceleris, quod religiones maximas violavit, id. ib. 2, 4, 41, § 88.— Poet.: quae religio aut quae machina belli, of the Trojan horse, Verg. A. 2, 151.—
    • • • β A system of religious belief, a religion (late Lat.): Christiana, Christianity, Eutr. 10, 16 fin.; Leo M. Serm. 66, 2 init.: Christianam religionem absolutam et simplicem anili superstitione confundens, Amm.21, 16, 18; Lact. 5, 2, 8.

religio, ōnis, f. (*religo, ere, wov. religens), die rücksichtliche Beachtung, I) im allg., die gewissenhafte Berücksichtigung, die auf einem inneren Gefühle beruhende gewissenhafte Sorgfalt, -Genauigkeit, die Gewissenhaftigkeit, nimia, Cic.: antiqua, Cic.: hāc ego religione (gewissenhafte Berücksichtigung jedes einzelnen) non sum ab hoc conatu repulsus, Cic.: nulla in iudiciis severitas, nulla religio... existimantur esse, Cic.: u. so nullus deûm metus, nullum iusiurandum, nulla religio, Gottlosigkeit, Meineidigkeit, Gewissenlosigkeit, Liv. – mit obj. Genet., non nullius officii, privati officii, eines bedeutenden, eines persönlichen Pflichtverhältnisses, Cic. – mit subj. Genet., fides et rel. iudicis, Cic.: testimoniorum rel. et fides, Cic.: fides et religio vitae (gewissenhafter Lebenswandel), Cic.: Atheriensium religioni (gewissenhafte Sorgf.) servire, Cic.: admirari fidem alcis et in consilio dando religionem, Cic.

II) insbes., die rücksichtliche Beachtung des Heiligen, A) der Gewissenszweifel, Religionszweifel, das Bedenken, die Scheu des Gewissens, cum summā religione, tum summo metu legum et iudiciorum teneri, Cic.: perturbari religione et metu, Cic.: offertur alci religio, Cic.: causa obiectae religionis, Caes.: inicere alci religionem, Cic.: eam religionem animis eximere, Liv.: res in religionem alci venit, Cic.: u. in religionem venit m. folg. Acc. u. Infin., Liv. 22, 33, 7: alci religio incessit m. folg. Acc. u. Infin., Liv.: tanta religio civitatem incessit, ut etc., Liv.: nova nunc religio in te istaec incessit, Ter.: rem religioni habere, Cic.: religio obstitit, ne etc. Liv.: religio est (alci) absol. od. m. Infin., Plaut., Ter. u. Liv.: u. religio est (es ist verboten) mit Acc. u. Infin., equo Dialem flaminem vehi religio est, Fab. Pict. fr. bei Gell. 10, 15, 4: ebenso religioni est (man macht sich ein Gewissen daraus) m. Acc. u. Infin., religioni deinde fuisse, quibus eam opem dei tulissent, (eos) vinciri, Liv. 5, 13, 8: u. religio alci non est, quo minus etc., Cic. Cat. 3, 15: collegium decrevit, non religioni habendum, quin etc., Atei. Capito bei Gell. 4, 6, 10: religio alqm capit, Liv.: alqd trahere od. vertere in religionem, Liv.: religio vetuit, Verg. – im Plur., quas religiones? was für religiöse Bedenken? Cic.: demere animo curas ac religiones, Varro: religionibus atque minis obsistere vatum, Lucr.

B) das religiöse Gefühl, die fromme Scheu, 1) eig.: a) im einzelnen Falle = die Andacht, sacra Cereris summā maiores nostri religione caerimoniāque confici voluerunt, Cic. Balb. 55. – b) als habituelle Eigenschaft, α) im guten Sinne, der fromme Sinn, die Frömmigkeit, Gottesfurcht, der Glaube, die religiöse Denkweise, die religiösen Gefühle od. Gesinnungen, die Religiosität, inclita iustitia religioque eā tempestate Numae Pompilii erat, Liv.: haud liber erat religione animus, Liv.: vir haud intacti religione animi, ein für religiöse Gefühle nicht unempfänglicher Mann, Liv. – im Plur., bald übh. = religiöse Gesinnungen, Religiosität, impurus atque impius hostis omnium religionum, Cic. – bald = die den Glauben, die Konfession ausmachenden relig. Gesinnungen, der Glaube, die Konfession, die Religion, quod ceterae gentes pro religionibus suis bella suscipiunt, istae contra omnium religiones, Cic. – β) im üblen Sinne, die abergläubische Scheu, der Aberglaube, animos multiplex religio et pleraque externa incessit, Liv.: terrebat eos portenti religio, die abergläubische Scheu, die das W. einflößte, Iustin. – Plur., abergläubische Gedanken od. Bedenken, Besorgnisse, pleni religionum animi, Liv.: novas religiones sibi fingere, Caes. – 2) meton., der Gegenstand frommer Scheu, das Heilige, sowohl an sich, als insofern es an anderen Dingen haftet, a) im allg.: α) im guten Sinne: in sacerdotibus tanta offusa oculis animoqae religio, das Heilige, Scheu vor den Göttern Gebietende, das in den Personen der Priester seinem Auge und Gemüte so majestätisch entgegentrat, Liv. 2, 40, 3. – β) im üblen Sinne, der Frevel gegen das Heilige, der Religionsfrevel, die Religionsverletzung, die begangene Sünde, der Fluch, rel. Clodiana, der von Klodius begangene R., Cic.: rel. inexpiabilis, Cic.: contactus religione dies Alliensis, auf dem ein Fluch ruht, Liv.: de religione queri, Cic.: templum religione liberare, Liv.: expiare religionem aedium suarum, Cic. – b) insbes.: α) aktiv, die religiöse, heilige Verpflichtung, das religiöse Band, der Gewissenszwang, nisi religione sacerdotii attineretur, durch die h. V. seiner Priesterwürde, Tac.: tantā religione obstricta tota provincia est, ut etc., Cic.: nullam scelere religionem exsolvi, Liv.: ut religione obstrictos haberent multitudinis animos, Liv. – u. so des Eides, rel. iurisiurandi, Caes. u. Cic.: dah. prägn. = die Eidesverpflichtung, der verpflichtende Eid (s. Oudend. Caes. b. c. 1, 67, 3), vestra religio, Cic.: timori magis quam religioni consulere, Caes. – β) neutral, der Charakter der Heiligkeit, den etwas hat, die Heiligkeit, einer Pers., deorum religio et sanctimonia, Cic.: magistratus religione inviolati, Cic.: magnam possidet religionem paternus maternusque sanguis, Cic. – eines Ortes, rel. fani, sacrarii, Cic.: templorum, Tac. – eines Verhältnisses, rel. sortis, Cic.: si nullam religionem sors habebit, Cic.: obstringere periurio sacramenti religionem, auf die H. des Soldateneides einen Meineid laden, Liv.

C) die religiöse Verehrung, die Gottesverehrung, der Kultus, die äußere Religion, 1) eig.: religio id est cultus deorum, Cic.: sua cuique civitati religio est, Cic. – rel. Cereris, Cic.: deorum immortalium, Cic.: Iuppiter sollicitatus pravā religione, durch solche verkehrte Zeremonien beunruhigt und gestört, gereizt od. versucht, Liv.: rel. Christiana, Eutr. u. Augustin. – im engeren Sinne = religiöser Brauch, obrui tales religio est, Plin. – Plur. religiones, religiöse (heilige) Handlungen, -Obliegenheiten, -Gebräuche (Zeremonien), und als Inbegriff dieser = die Gottesverehrung, die Religion, der Kultus, diligentissimus religionum cultor, Liv.: institutor ineptiarum religionum, Lact.: interpres religionum, Cic.: religiones nocturnae, nächtlicher Kultus, Nachtfeier (des Priapus), Petron.: religiones interpretari, Auskunft geben über usw., Cic. u. Caes.: de religionibus senatum consulere, Liv.: religiones instituere (einführen), Liv.: neglegere religiones aut prave colere, Liv.: religiones colere pie magis quam magnifice, Liv.: qui sunt sancti (fromm), qui religionum colentes (Verehrer der Religion), Cic.: conficere religiones, die heiligen Handlungen ausrichten (vollziehen), Cic.: sollemnes religiones od. omnes religiones expiare, die Vorgänge gegen die Religion sühnen, Cic. – 2) meton.: a) der Gegenstand frommer Verehrung, das Heiligtum, quae religio aut quae machina belli? v. trojan. Pferd, Verg.: rel. domestica, v. einer Bildsäule, Cic.: religiones ipsae... commovisse se videntur, Cic. – dah. die heilige Wohnung der Götter ad deorum religionem demigrare, Cic. Rab. perd. 30: omnes ad suas religiones (Tempel) convolaverunt, Capit. Maxim. 25, 5. – b) Plur. religiones, Götterzeichen, auspiciis et religionibus inductus, Auct. b. Alex. 74, 3. – ➳ Bei Dichtern die erste Silbe wegen des Metrums lang, dah. relligio geschrieben, s. Kühner Ausführl. Gramm. der lat. Sprache² 1, 938, 6.

religio [CL] 1 system of belief or practice understood as connecting humanity with divinity, religion; b (in etym. gl.). abominatio est enim peccatori ~o Bede Prov. 980D; 957 eatenus ut talis donatio sit fixa et immobilis permaneat quam diu ~o ecclesiasticae sanctionis obtinetur CS 998; tramitem vivendi et normam ~onis eis abundantius contradere (Lit. Archiep.) Lib. Hyda 33; baptizati Christianam legem libenter tenemus, sed perfectum dive ~onis dogma nunquam ediscere potuimus Ord. Vit. XIII 6 p. 13; habet et ~o quelibet principia sua, que aut ratio communis, aut pietas persuasit, quibus proficit in cultu Dei, et morum exercitio, ad beatitudinem obtinendam J. Sal. Pol. 650B; ~o est cultus vehemens et assiduus divine cerimonie tantum obnoxius W. Donc. Aph. Phil. 3. 61; ~o est que divinam curam et cerimoniam affert, i. e. que Deo tribuit quod suum est T. Chobham Praed. 202.  b hec ~o, -nis, eo quod nos ad Dei religet servitium Osb. Glouc. Deriv. 310; a rigeo hec ~o, -nis, eo quod rigida sit. alii dicunt quod ~o dicitur a religando eo quo hominem ad servitium Dei religet Ib. 502. 2 (spec.): a (~o Israelitica or sim.) Judaism. b (~o Christi, Christiana, Catholica, or sim.) Christianity. c (~o haeretica) heresy. d (~o idolatriae or sim.) paganism. a significat autem eos qui natura gentiles erant, sed ~one Judaei, quos Graece proselytos nuncupant Bede Acts 975A; Judaeus enim ~onis est nomen Id. Apoc. 138A; Moyses legem a Deo accepit et nobis dedit, ~onis cultum instituit, ceremonias ostendit Eccl. & Synag. 69; fidem centurionis ob id maxime Israeletice ~oni novimus ab ipso Christo praelatam Ailr. Ed. Conf. 787B.  b tempore ‥ Tiberii Caesaris, quo absque ullo impedimento ejus [sc. Christi] propagabatur ~o Gildas EB 8; iter Christianae ~onis ‥ intrare se putant Ib. 73; fama ad eum Christianae ~onis pervenerat Bede HE I 25; 798 quaesivimus qualiter apud eos fides catholica haberetur et quomodo Christiana ~o exerceretur CS 291; ritus ‥ synagoge transivit in ~onem ecclesie Hon. GA 553C; s611 catholicae ~onis amore succensus (Bulla Papae) Elmh. Cant. 129.  c heretice et superstitiose ~onis homines fictis numinibus, immo potius veris demonibus ‥ turpissimum exhibent famulatum J. Sal. Pol. 431B.  d gentilis versutia ~onem suam non ulla sensus ratione, sed nudo sermonis nitore, solet adstruere Bede Acts 984; contrita est denique et conquassata idolatrie ceca ~o J. Ford Serm. 67. 5. 3 (common life of) a religious community: a (w. ref. to the entire church); b (w. ref. to community under a monastic rule); c (dist. from the life of secular clergy); d (~o privata, as dist. from common religious life); e (w. ref. to forms of life other than monastic); f (~onis as specifying gen., w. ref. to the appurtenances of religious life). a 1173 universa letatur ubique fidelium Christianorum ~o (Lit. Papae) Ep. Becket 785.  b quam beatae sint animae illorum qui in ~one et regulari vita ‥ dies suos usque ad finem perduxerunt Alcuin Ep. 284; ea tempestate Glestonia regalibus stipendiis addicta, monasticae ~onis penitus erat ignara Osb. V. Dunst. 6; per regularis abbatis praesentiam monachica restauretur ~o Anselm (Ep. 100) III 232; nunc ita frequenti ~one monachorum perspicuum ut divinitatis ipsius conscius non immerito estimetur W. Malm. GR IV 335; a1214 predicta Y. poterit ‥ illa [duo masagia] dare vel assignare ubicumque voluerit, sive in ~onem sive extra ~onem Ch. Westm. 421 p. 259; quia feloniam fecit ita quod particeps esse non potest vel ‥ quia ~oni se transtulit Fleta 440.  c ~o itaque monachorum contemptum clericis peperit Eadmer V. Dunst. 22; s974 idiotis nempe clericis ejectis, nullius regularis ~onis disciplinae subjectis W. Malm. GP V 252; c1158 me ‥ dedisse ‥ canonicis de K. ecclesiam de R. ‥ ita liberam sicut aliquis ecclesia ad ~onem liberius potest dari Ch. Chester 120 p. 134; omnem ~onem de Coventrensi ecclesia eliminandam et clericos prebendarios loco monachorum prejudicavit substituendos Devizes f. 28; 12‥ quilibet sacerdos seu clericus ad ~onem transsiens Conc. Scot. II 14.  d ad Cristianam itaque religionem debet homo consulere et hortari, cum illa sit infinitum perfeccior quam privata ~o Wycl. Blasph. 207; quod sancti instituentes ~ones privatas quascunque, tam possessionatorum, quam mendicancium, in sic instituendo peccaverunt (Herford) Ziz. 324; quod religiosi viventes in ~onibus privatis non sunt de religione Christiana Ib. 325; 1416 confiteor quod ~ones private tam possessionatorum quam mendicancium ab ecclesia Romana approbate sunt universali ecclesia proficientes et nullatenus jure [sic] divino contrarie sed pocius in eodem fundabiles et auctorizate Reg. Cant. IV 158.  e prolatis et discussis rationibus, monachatus prefertur cunctis ~onibus W. Malm. GP I 46; incipiam a prima et inter omnes ~ones sacras sacratissima, accipiendo religionem sicut superius limitatur, ordine scilicet altissimo monachorum ‥ Uhtred Mon. V. 379.  f habitum ~onis ‥ accepit Bede HE IV 11; 1066 comes ‥ et uxor ejus ‥ obtulerunt filiam suam ‥ quatinus ‥ ipsi in habitu ~onis perenniter servaret Regesta I 1; filiam regis Scottorum ‥ quam diabolus velamen ~onis deponere fecit Anselm (Ep. 177) IV 60; 1217 dedimus ‥ fratribus ordinis de Grosmund terram de B. ‥ ad quandum [sic] domum ~onis de ordine suo construendam Pat 123; Alberada vero scema ~onis suscepit Ord. Vit. V 13 p. 409. 4 particular religious order. ~onis Cluniacensis numerum per eum augmentatum non nescit W. Malm. GR III 265; inchoat ~o Cisterciensis R. Niger Chr. II 162; plures sunt modo religiosi sicut Minores, Jacobite, Begini et infinite alie ~ones Garl. Mor. Scol. 537 gl.. 5 religious devotion, (act of) piety, holiness. si quis autem pro morte heretici missam ordinavit, et pro ~one sua reliqua sibi tenuerit Theod. Pen. I 5. 13; vir ‥ multae pietatis ac ~onis Bede HE IV 29; ut de Uuintonia sexus simul omnis et aetas / ‥ procedat nudis tria per miliaria plantis, / obviet et sancto cum relligione patrono Wulf. Swith. II 31; circa ~ones talem accepimus. cotidie missam cantans, addebat psalterium, omniumque sanctorum memorias W. Malm. GP IV 140; quidam ‥ monachus ‥ magnum nomen ~onis habebat, et revera ita erat Latin Stories 45. 6 punctilious regard for one’s obligations, conscientiousness. quia de annis presulatus ejus Beda nichil expressum reliquit, michi ex Cronicis cognitum dissimulare preter ~onem videbatur W. Malm. GR I 29; pertinet autem ad ~onem presidis, providere ne potentiores viri injuriis afficiant humilores J. Sal. Pol. 575D; [Parthi] principibus metu, non pudore vel ~one parent Ib. 610A; si autem plegios non habuerit fidei sue ~oni solet committi sicut in placitis omnibus de felonia Glanv. XIV 1; denique in fructibus spiritus simul ista junguntur continentia et castitas, ut sit illa in abdicatione iniquitatis, hec in ~one virtutis J. Ford Serm. 50. 8. 7 (as title or form of address). 701 sicut tua ~o petiit (Lit. Papae) W. Malm. GP V 221; 705 quia ignarus fui quid de hac re tuae ~onis praerogativa decrevere voluisset ut ‥ Wealdhere Ep. 23; convenientius existimo, ut de aliqua virtute nominati, ~onem vestram admoneam Anselm (Ep. 450) V 397; 1105 quod tua ~o regno sublata est Anglico (Lit. Papae) Eadmer HN p. 191; 1231 caveat vestra ~o ne vestri defensores aliqua dilatoriarum [exceptionum] propositione vos unquam tueantur Gros. Ep. 4.

rĕlĭgĭō, (7) ōnis, f. (relegĕre Cic. Nat. 2, 72 ; Gell. 4, 9, 1), ¶ 1 attention scrupuleuse, scrupule, délicatesse, conscience : adest vir summa religione Cic. Arch. 8, est là pour témoigner un homme de la plus haute conscience ; hac ego religione non sum ab hoc conatu repulsus Cic. Or. 36, ces scrupules, pour ma part, ne mʼont pas détourné de mon entreprise ; Atheniensium religioni cum serviret orator Cic. Or. 26, lʼorateur sʼasservissant à la délicatesse de goût des Athéniens ; oratio nimia religione attenuata Cic. Br. 283, éloquence amincie par un excès de scrupule [recherche excessive de la simplicité] ||non nullius officii religio Cic. Sest. 8, lʼobservation scrupuleuse dʼun devoir important || vestra religio Cic. Inv. 1, 56, vos scrupules [de juges] ; judicum religiones Cic. de Or. 1, 31, les scrupules des juges ; religionem adhibere Cic. Br. 293, montrer du scrupule ; sanitatem et integritatem quasi religionem et verecundiam oratoris probare Cic. Br. 284, approuver le bon sens et le naturel [dans le style], comme un trait du caractère scrupuleux et réservé de lʼorateur ; res in religionem alicui venit Cic. Nat. 2, 10, une chose inspire du scrupule à qqn ; religio C. Mario non fuerat, quominus Glauciam occideret Cic. Cat. 3, 15, C. Marius ne sʼétait point fait scrupule de tuer Glaucia ; nec tamen est habendum religioni nocentem aliquando defendere Cic. Off. 2, 51, il ne faut cependant pas se faire un scrupule (un cas de conscience) de défendre parfois un coupable ¶ 2 scrupule religieux, sentiment religieux, crainte pieuse : religio infixa animis Liv. 29, 18, 1, les sentiments religieux gravés au fond de lʼâme ; se summa religione teneri (dicebant) Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 75, ils disaient quʼils étaient retenus par les scrupules religieux les plus puissants ; pietate ac religione omnes gentes superavimus Cic. Har. 19, cʼest par la piété et lʼesprit religieux que nous avons eu le pas sur toutes les nations ||tibi religionem nullam attulit Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 78, [cette Diane] ne tʼa inspiré aucune crainte religieuse ; consules religio tenebat Liv. 27, 23, 1, des scrupules religieux retenaient les consuls, cf. Liv. 26, 11, 9 ; 27, 37, 5 ; augures eam religionem exemere Liv. 4, 31, 4, les augures enlevèrent ce scrupule religieux || aliquid religioni habere Cic. Div. 1, 77, avoir un scrupule religieux à propos de qqch. ; in religionem ea res apud Pœnos versa est Liv. 26, 11, 4, ce fut lʼobjet dʼune crainte religieuse pour les Carthaginois ; religioni fuit, quibus eam opem dei tulissent, vinciri Liv. 5, 13, 8, on se fit un scrupule religieux de mettre dans les fers ceux à qui les dieux avaient donné cette assistance ; collegium decrevit non habendum religioni quin... Ateius Capito d. Gell. 4, 6, 10, le collège des pontifes décida quʼil nʼy avait pas à se faire un scrupule religieux de ; oblata religio Cornuto est non satis diligenter eum auspiciis operam dedisse Cic. Fam. 10, 12, 3, on inspira à Cornutus le scrupule de nʼavoir pas veillé assez consciencieusement aux auspices ¶ 3 sentiment de respect, vénération, culte ; religio deorum immortalium Cic. Læl. 96, le respect à lʼégard des dieux immortels ; religiones deorum immortalium retinere Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 6, maintenir le respect (culte) des dieux immortels ; aut undique religionem tolle aut... Cic. Phil. 2, 110, ou supprime de partout le culte de César ou... ¶ 4 croyance religieuse, religion : superstitione tollenda religio non tollitur Cic. Div. 2, 148, en supprimant la superstition, on ne supprime pas la religion ; ceteræ gentes pro religionibus suis bella suscipiunt Cic. Font. 30, les autres nations soutiennent des guerres pour leurs religions ; res religione omnium consecrata Cic. Tusc. 1, 32, chose consacrée par les croyances religieuses de tous les peuples ||perversa atque impia religio Cic. Sulla 70, croyances extravagantes et impies ; prava religio Liv. 27, 23, 2, fausses croyances, superstition, cf. Liv. 4, 30, 9 ; religiones sibi fingere Cæs. G. 6, 37, 8, se forger des craintes superstitieuses ¶ 5 pratiques religieuses, culte : cum omnis populi Romani religio in sacra et in auspicia divisa sit Cic. Nat. 3, 5, comme le culte du peuple romain en général consiste dans les sacrifices et dans les auspices ||natio dedita religionibus Cæs. G. 6, 16, 1, nation adonnée aux pratiques religieuses ; cærimonias religionesque publicas tueri Cic. Nat. 1, 61, observer les cérémonies et les pratiques religieuses officielles, cf. Cic. Nat. 3, 5, etc. ; religiones colere Cic. Rep. 2, 27, se livrer aux pratiques du culte, cf. Liv. 1, 32, 2 ; 3, 57, 7, etc. ; nihil legibus, nihil religionibus est actum Cic. Domo 69, rien nʼa été fait selon les lois, rien selon les prescriptions religieuses ; in pace religiones instituere Liv. 1, 32, 5, établir un culte pour la vie en temps de paix ; templum et cælestes religiones decernuntur Tac. Ann. 1, 10, on lui décerne un temple et les honneurs divins ¶ 6 respect (vénération) dont est entouré qqch., sainteté, caractère sacré : Diana loco mutato religionem non amisit Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 78, la statue de Diane en changeant dʼemplacement nʼa pas perdu sa sainteté ; sacrarium Cereris est apud Catinenses eadem religione qua Romæ Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 99, le sanctuaire de Cérès est entouré chez les habitants de Catane de la même vénération quʼà Rome ; (barbari) ignari totius negotii ac religionis Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 77, (ces barbares) ignorant totalement lʼaffaire et le caractère sacré de la statue, cf. Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 72 ; 4, 50 ; 4, 111, etc.; in sacerdotibus tanta offusa oculis animoque religio Liv. 2, 40, 3, le caractère sacré des prêtres qui sʼimposait aux regards et au cœur, cf. Liv. 3, 55, 7 || magnam possidet religionem paternus maternusque sanguis Cic. Amer. 66, le sang paternel et maternel possède un grand caractère de sainteté ; jurisjurandi religio Cic. Font. 20, le caractère sacré du serment ; si nullam religionem sors habebit Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 38, si la décision du sort nʼa aucun caractère sacré ¶ 7 engagement sacré : testem ipsum Jovem suæ voluntatis ac religionis adhibere Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 67, prendre Jupiter lui-même à témoin de son dessein et de son engagement solennel ; ut religione civitas solvatur Cic. Cæc. 98, pour délier la cité dʼun engagement sacré [traité dont on refuse la ratification] ; religione obligari Cic. Balbo 34, être lié par un engagement sacré ; timori magis quam religioni consulere Cæs. C. 1, 67, 3, obéir à la crainte plutôt quʼau respect de ses engagements [serment militaire] ; publicæ religiones fœderum Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 49, engagements officiels à lʼoccasion des traités ; docti nullam scelere religionem exsolvi Liv. 2, 32, 2, sachant que le crime ne peut relever dʼaucun engagement ¶ 8 ce qui est lʼobjet de la vénération, de lʼadoration, du culte ; [dʼoù surtout au pl.] chose vénérée, chose sainte, objet sacré : religionem domesticam requirebant Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 93, ils réclamaient lʼobjet de leur culte [une statue dʼApollon] ; quæ religio aut quæ machina belli ? Virg. En. 2, 151, quʼétait-ce ? une offrande religieuse ou une machine de guerre ? sacrorum omnium et religionum hostis prædoque Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 75, ennemi déclaré et pilleur de tout ce qui est sacré et vénéré religieusement, cf. Verr. 2, 1, 9 ; 5, 188 ; religiones ipsæ Cic. Mil. 85, les lieux sacrés eux-mêmes ¶ 9 scrupule de nʼêtre pas en règle avec la divinité, conscience dʼêtre en faute à lʼégard de la religion ; [par suite] état de faute, de culpabilité religieuse qui ne sʼefface que par une expiation : peccatum suum confiteri maluit quam hærere in re publica religionem Cic. Nat. 2, 11, il aima mieux avouer sa faute que de laisser lʼÉtat entaché dʼune impiété [dʼun sacrilège] ; obstringere religione populum Romanum Cic. Phil. 2, 83, charger le peuple romain dʼune impiété ; religione rem publicam exsolvere Liv. 29, 18, 1, débarrasser lʼÉtat dʼune impiété, cf. Liv. 45, 5, 8 ; (cærimonias sepulcrorum) violatas inexpiabili religione sancire Cic. Tusc. 1, 27, interdire la violation des cérémonies funèbres sous peine dʼun sacrilège inexpiable ; de Clodiana religione Cic. Att. 1, 14, 1, au sujet du sacrilège commis par Clodius ; particeps summæ religionis Cic. Inv. 2, 92, complice du pire sacrilège, cf. Verr. 2, 4, 78 ||mendacii religione obstrictus Cæs. C. 1, 11, 2, souillé dʼun mensonge ; religionem in se recipere Liv. 10, 40, 11, attirer sur soi la malédiction divine ¶ 10 consécration religieuse, qui fait quʼune chose appartient à la divinité et ne peut être dʼun usage profane : domum religione omni liberare Cic. Har. 14, dégager une maison de toute consécration religieuse [de toute interdiction religieuse, partant de toute malédiction, de tout anathème] ; expiare religionem ædium suarum Cic. Har. 11, par une expiation [un apaisement des dieux] dégager sa maison dʼune interdiction religieuse ; in meis ædibus aliquam religionem residere Cic. Domo 69, [il prétendait] que ma maison est encore frappée dʼune consécration religieuse || interdiction frappant certains jours considérés comme malheureux[ Liv. 6, 1, 11 ] : Liv. 6, 1, 12 ; 6, 28, 6.

➳ chez les poètes rell- pour allongement de la première syllabe.

religio , onis. f.
敎規。怕罪。忌憚。謹守分。異端。畏聖物。犯敎规。— mihi non est 吾不恐犯罪。— est dicere 吾怕言之則不善。— vitae 心不虧。Eripere religionem domo sacra 以廟改作殿。Declinare ab religione officii 不守本分。Offerre ei religionem 使人忌此。Religioni habere 怕犯罪。敬忌。

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religiō (not rell-; the first syl. lengthened in hexameter verse), ōnis, f

• re-+2 LIG-, conscientiousness, sense of right, moral obligation, duty: nihil esse mihi, religiost dicere, i. e. I say on my conscience, T.: Heium a religione deducere: quid lex et religio cogat cogitare: quaeris aliquem praestantiorem virtute, religione?: iudiciorum religionem veritatemque perfringere: iudicum religiones oratione converti, the conscientious convictions.— A regard for sacred things, devoutness, piety, reverence, religious feeling: sese summā religione teneri: religio, quae deorum cultu pio continetur: sacra summā religione confici velle: omnia, quae sceleri propiora sunt quam religioni: religioni servire.—A religious scruple, scruple of conscience, apprehension of divine anger, fear of the gods, superstitious awe: ut eam, non religio contineret: nullā mendaci religione obstrictus, superstition, Cs.: tantā religione obstricta provincia: obstrinxisti religione populumR.: parvulae causae vel terroris repentini vel obiectae religionis, Cs.: rem habere religioni, i. e. as a divine warning: ne bellum indiceretur, religio obstitit, L.: plena religione civitas, L.: liberatae religione mentes, L.: rivos deducere nulla Religio vetuit, V.: nulla mihi Religio est, H.: movendi thensauros, L.: novas sibi ex loco religiones fingunt, Cs.: religionibus impediri, Cs.: plenis religionum animis prodigia insuper nuntiata, L.—A sense of religious obligation, religious sanction, duty to the gods: viri religione potius quam veritate fides constricta: iuris iurandi.—A religious obligation, oath, pledge of faith, religious sanction: timori magis quam religioni consulere, Cs.: Achaeos religione obstringere, L.: relinquitur nova religio, ut, etc., i. e. a new view of your obligation, Cs.: ius iurandum servabat conservatā religione, N.: religioni potius vestrae quam odio parere.—Divine service, worship of the gods, religious observance, religion, worship: religione, id est cultu deorum: illa pax mater huic urbi iuris et religionis fuit: deorum.—A religion, faith, religious system, mode of worship, cult: venit mihi religionis illius in mentem: neque enim haec externa vobis est religio: expertes religionum omnium: in bello religionum et consuetudinis iura retinere: pro religionibus suis bella suscipere: religiones interpretantur, religious matters, Cs.: publicae religiones, L.—Sacredness, sanctity, holiness, claim to reverence: fanum Iunonis tantā religione semper fuit, ut, etc.: in sacerdotibus tanta offusa oculis animoque religio, i. e. such sacred majesty of expression and feeling, L.: Iam tum religio pavidos terrebat agrestīs Dira loci, V.—An object of veneration, sacred place, consecrated thing, hallowed object: religionem restituere: tantis eorum religionibus violatis: ad deorum religionem demigrasse, i. e. shrines: quae religio aut quae machina belli (the Trojan horse), V.—Of places, a claim resulting from consecration, religious liability: aram si dedicasti, sine religione loco moveri potest: liberaret religione templum, L.: locus religionum deorumque plenus, L.

Religio

(Relligio. The etymology of the word is doubtful. Cicero derived it from relegere [N. D. ii. 28, 72], which is supported by a passage in Gellius [iv. 9, 1]; but the probable base is that of the verb ligare [ Serv. ad Verg. Aen. viii. 349; Lactant. iv. 28; Augustin. Retract. i. 13]; and the notion of binding seems to have been in the mind of Lucretius in using such expressions as religionum nodis animos exsolvere i. 931; iv. 7. See Munro on Lucret. i. 109; Mayor on Cic. l. c.; Corssen, Aussprache, i. 444 foll.; and for the spelling, Brambach, 131). The gods of the Greeks were originally personifications of the powers of nature, limited in their activity to that province of nature from the phenomena of which they are derived. As these phenomena were regarded as acts or sufferings of the gods in question, a cycle of myths was thus developed. In the minds of the people, the special significance of these myths necessarily vanished in proportion as the original connection of the gods with the phenomena of nature receded to the background, while greater prominence was given to the conception of the gods as personal beings holding sway, primarily in their own province of nature, and then beyond those limits, and no longer exclusively in connection with the powers of nature. In the oldest records of the intellectual life of Greece—the Homeric poems—this transition has already been carried out. The Homeric deities are exclusively occupied with the governing of mortals, whose whole life is represented as being under their influence; while traces of the old connection with the phenomena of nature are rarely found, and the old myths had long since become unintelligible tales, in which the actions of the gods appeared unreasonable and immoral, since their meaning was no longer clear. In regard to religion, as in other matters, the Homeric poems are of the utmost importance; for if in historical times a certain uniformity prevails in the representation of the deities, this may be traced in no small degree to the influence of Homer and of other poets (especially Hesiod) who were under his influence, and who gave distinct form to the vague representations of an earlier time. Nevertheless this uniformity only existed in a general way; in detail there was the greatest confusion, for the Greeks never attained to a uniform religious system and to fixed religious dogma. They possessed only a contradictory and ambiguous mythology. The only thing which was comparatively established was the traditional worship; but in this there was great diversity of place and time.

The common belief was that the gods were superhuman, though they were like mortals in form and in the ordinary necessities of life (food, drink, sleep); that they had power over nature and human beings; that all good and evil came from them; that their favour could be obtained by behaviour which was pleasing to them, and lost by that which displeased them. Among the Greek gods there was no representative of evil, neither in popular belief was there one of absolute perfection and holiness; and the deities were represented as being subject to moral weakness and deviation from right—a belief which was fostered by the traditional mythology. The gods possessed immortality, but did not exist from the beginning of all things.

I. In the opinion of the Greeks, the ruling race of gods, the Olympians—so called from their abode, Olympus—were the third race of gods. The first ruler was Uranus (Heaven), who, by his mother Gaea (Earth), who bore him spontaneously, himself became the father of the Titans. He was expelled by his son Cronus, whose daughters, by his sister Rhea, were Hestia, Demeter, and Heré, and his sons, Hades (Pluto), Poseidon, and Zeus. He was himself expelled by his last-named son. When Zeus, by the aid of his brothers and sisters, had overcome the Titans, who rebelled against the new order of things, he divided the world with his brothers. The earth and Olympus remained common property; Hades obtained the nether world; Poseidon, the sea; Zeus, the heavens, and, as being the strongest and wisest, he also had authority over all the other gods, who worked his will, received from him their offices and spheres of action, and served him as helpers in the government of the universe. According to this division of province, the gods are divided into the divinities of heaven and earth and sea.

As in all religions founded on nature, so with the Greeks, the gods of heaven take the first place. They are specially called Olympians; and, in contrast to the gods of the earth and sea, are called the gods above, or the upper gods. The principal deities after Zeus are Heré, Athené, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodité, Hephaestus, Ares, Hermes, and Hestia. Round them are grouped a number of minor deities, who either escort and serve the upper gods (as, for instance, Themis, and the Horae, the Graces, the Muses, Eros, Niké, Iris, Hebé, Ganymede), or else represent distinct phenomena of the heavens, as Helios (the sun), Selené (the moon), Eos (the dawn); or execute special services in the heaven-ordained government of the universe, as the goddess of birth, Eileithyia, the healing god Asclepius, and the goddesses of destiny (Moerae, Nemesis, Tyché). The gods of the sea, besides Poseidon and his spouse Amphitrité and his son Triton, are Oceanus and his offspring, Nereus and the Nereids, Protens, Ino (Leucothea), Melicertes (Palaemon), Glancus (Pontius). The gods of the earth are Gaea herself, Rhea (Cybelé), Dionysus, Priapus, Pan, the Nymphs and Satyrs, Demeter and her daughter Persephoné, with her spouse Hades (Pluto). The last two are the rulers of the nether world, to which Hecaté and the Erinyes also belong.

The number of beings regarded as deities was never clearly defined. From the earliest times in Greece we find deities worshipped in one place who were not known in another. But some of these, as Dionysus and Pau, became common property in course of time; and the more lasting and more extensive the intercourse became with other peoples, more especially in the colonies, the introduction of foreign deities became greater. Some of these were identified with the gods already worshipped, while others preserved their original attributes, subject, of course, to modifications to suit the spirit of the Greeks. This aptitude for naturalizing foreign religions declined more and more as Greece ceased to flourish. On the other hand, some original deities lost their independence, and were merged into others, such as Helios and Apollo, Selené and Artemis. In the popular belief of the post-Homeric time, another numerous class of superhuman beings sprang up, which were regarded as being between gods and men, the demons (δαίμονες) and Heroes. See heros.

As to their nature and their number, there was less uniformity than in the case of the real gods. The Heroes had only local importance. Even in the case of the gods universally worshipped, it was by no means all (not even the most important) that had a place everywhere in the public worship. In the case of certain gods, their worship was only exceptional; and those gods who by order of the State were worshipped in any particular place did not necessarily enjoy forever the position to which they were entitled. Even Zeus, who was universally regarded as the highest of the gods, and figured in the cult of most of the different States, was not himself worshipped as supreme; but those gods who had always had the first place in the cult of the respective States took precedence over him, and these were not always divinities of preëminent importance. In Athens, Pallas Athené was worshipped as the principal deity, Heré in Argos; among the Dorians, especially at Delphi, Apollo; among the Iouians, Poscidon; at Rhodes, Helios; at Naxos, Dionysus; at Thespiae, Eros; at Orchomenus, the Charites (or Graces). Even in the case of the same deities, the local customs often differed considerably in respect of the names that were given to them, their attributes, and the form of worship. These differences were due partly to local causes and local opinions, partly to foreign influence, and were occasionally so considerable that doubts arose whether different deities were not really represented under the same name, as, for instance, Aphrodité.

The deities were supposed to be specially gratified by the careful observance of the traditional ritual. This continued to be carried on according to ancient custom, so that the details of these ancient cults were often curious, and their connection with the religious ideas on which they rested was often unintelligible. However, with the development of morality the view began to prevail that the observance of duties towards the State and fellow-men was also favoured by the gods as guardians of the providential order of the world; but, in the eyes of the multitude, the principal meaning of εὐσέβεια (piety) was the performance of the ordained worship of the gods. Again, the care of the State was confined to the outward forms of religion and to the maintenance of the traditional legal ritual. Alterations in this ritual and the introduction of new cults were only made by authority of the legislative power, usually after an oracle had been consulted to determine the divine will. Besides the worship of the deities recognized by the State, private objects of devotion were found everywhere. For instance, in the case of foreign deities at Athens, where there were many strangers either passing through or permanently resident, foreign religions were tolerated so long as they did not endanger the traditional worship or excite public disturbance by their outward ritual. Many such cults were naturalized in this way, and became, in course of time, part of the State religion. Conquest, again, contributed largely towards the introduction of novelties, for the acquisition of new territory involved that of the religions rites held therein. And, lastly, old religions, which had been looked upon as supremely holy, even if they were not absolutely superseded in the course of time, became less important in comparison with others of later origin.

Shrines, and the statues of the gods preserved in them, were the central points of the worship of the different deities. As long as the gods were not represented as having human form, stones, especially those fallen from heaven, or blocks of wood, were the objects of worship. By various stages of progress the gods were at length represented by actual images. At first they were made of wood, then of stone and metal. Clay, and even wax, were generally used for private objects of devotion. Though the real purpose of these symbols and images was to represent the divinity to the worshippers by means of a visible sign, nevertheless, in the popular belief, it was generally presumed that the divinity was actively present in them. Accordingly, the welfare of the State was often supposed to be bound up with the possession of certain symbols and images of the gods.

The decline of the Greek religion began with the decline of the State after the Peloponnesian War. Although the philosophers had already directed their assault against the belief of the people, which, with its authropomorphism and its inconsistency, exposed itself in many ways to the attacks of the critical spirit, yet the faith of the multitude in the old gods remained unshaken, for it had long attributed the deliverance from the perils of the Persian Wars to their mighty and merciful influence. But after the Peloponnesian War the notions of the philosophers gained ground among the people and undermined the old belief, without, however, supplying any alternative to the religious feeling, which could no longer be satisfied with the outward forms of worship which still survived. With unbelief superstition came in, which was fostered (especially after the Macedonian epoch) by the foreign and barbarous cults, and the degencrate forms of mysticism which were imported from Asia and Egypt.

II. The Italian tribes, from which the Roman people sprang, had a common origin with the Greeks and a common foundation of religious ideas; but on Italian soil these religious ideas received an essentially different direction. Like the Greeks, the Italians regarded the deities as persons separated as to sex and united in couples; but while the imaginative Greeks saw in their gods ideal forms full of individual life, the more sober mind of the Italian tribes, especially of the Romans, got no further than the abstract. Holding to the fundamental idea, they worshipped in the gods the abstract powers of nature, under whose influence man believed himself to be at every moment. The original Italian gods were grave and venerable, and, in a certain sense, more moral than those of the Greeks; but they lacked plastic form and poetic beauty. Accordingly, it is only with certain reservations that we can speak of a Roman mythology in a sense corresponding to that of the Greeks. The Romans lacked an Olympus and a Hades, and knew nothing of stories about the race and relationship and the love affairs of their deities. In this abstract nature of the Roman gods, it is intelligible that the Romans, during the first two hundred years from the foundation of Rome, possessed no images of their gods, but represented them by symbols—e. g. Iupiter by a flint-stone, Mars by a spear, Vesta by fire, which, even in later times, remained the symbol of the goddess. In the earliest Roman religion the deities of two Italian races, the Latins and the Sabines, were united, Rome having been originally peopled by the union of these tribes. The most important gods were the god of light and the god of all beginning, Ianus; the god of heaven, Iupiter, the greatest protector of the nation, with whom was joined the feminine element in Iuno, just as Iana (Diana) was connected with Ianus; Mars, originally the protector of agriculture, the ancestral god of the Latin race; Quirinus, originally the corresponding god of the Sabines; and Vesta, the goddess of the hearth of the State. Besides these principal deities, others were worshipped as patrons of the farmers and shepherds. Their activity extended over the earth, the fields, and the woods; they blessed the fruits of the field and garden, and gave prosperity to the cattle. Such were Tellus, Ceres, Saturnus and Ops, Liber and Libera, Faunus, Silvanus, Flora, Vertumnus, Pomona. The gods of the sea, however, who had such an important position in the Grecian mythology, had not nearly the same importance in Roman ideas as the gods of heaven and earth, for in the earliest times the sea was little regarded by the Romans. Another object of religious worship was the gods of the house and family, the Lares and Penates. But, besides these, there was an unlimited number of divine beings; for the Romans assumed that there were divine representatives of every inanimate or animate object, of every action and every event. Not only did every human being possess a special protector (genius, q. v.), but a number of deities watched over his development from conception to birth, and his further growth, mentally and bodily. See indigitamenta.

Again, there were manifold protecting gods for the different events of life, as Tutanus and Tutilina, who were invoked in times of trouble; Orbona, invoked by childless couples; and Febris, the goddess of fever. There were also separate gods for separate employments, and for the places where they were carried on. In this way the different institutions and phases of agriculture possessed special deities such as Robigus and Robigo, protectors of the crops against blight. So, also, with the different branches of cattle-breeding (Bubona, goddess of the breeding of horned cattle; Epona, goddess of the breeding of horses; Pales, of the breeding of sheep). Similarly with the separate parts of a house: Forculus, god of the door; Cardea, goddess of the hinge; Limentinus and Limentina, deities of the threshold. To these divine beings fresh ones were continually added, as the inclination of the Romans to recognize and trace divine influence in every single event led to the establishment of new cults after every new revelation of divine power. In this way the introduction of bronze coinage led to a deus Aesculanus, and later that of silver coinage to a deus Argentinus. Historical events gave an impulse to the personification of intellectual and moral qualities, such as Concordia, Honos, Virtus, Mens, etc. The same principle which recognized that there were some gods unknown, or, at any rate, not worshipped at Rome, led to the tolerance of private performance of foreign cults. Hence, also, it came about that the gods of conquered countries found a place in the Roman state religion, and occasionally were even introduced into the actual worship of Rome. In the latter case, however, the home deities preserved their rights in so far as the shrines of the newly imported deities were outside the limits of what was called the pomerium (q.v.).

The religion of the Romans was gradually but completely altered by the influence of that of the Greeks. This influence made itself felt as early as the time of the latest kings. Shrines of the gods were first introduced under the elder Tarquin, and under the last Tarquin three supreme gods of the State were established—Iupiter, the representative of supreme power; Iuno, of supreme womanhood; Minerva, of supreme wisdom. These three deities received, as a token of their inseparability, a common temple on the Capitol, and were therefore called the Capitoline gods. This Greek influence was firmly established at the end of the time of the kings by the Sibylline Books, which originated among the Greeks of Asia Minor. (See Sibyllae.) By means of these a number of Greek and Asiatic gods were in course of time introduced into the Roman cult, partly as new deities, such as Apollo, Cybelé (Magna Mater), Aesculapius; partly under the names of native gods, with whom they were often identified in a very superficial way, as Demeter with Ceres, Dionysus with Liber, Persephoné with Libera, Aphrodité with Venus; and with them were introduced many innovations in the old established worship of the gods, especially the Lectisternium (q. v.). When, after the Second Punic War, Greek ideas irresistibly made their way in Rome, it became more and more common to identify the gods of Rome with those of Greece; and thus the original significance of many Roman deities was either obscured or even entirely lost. Divinities highly venerated of old were put into the background, and those of less importance came to be regarded as supreme, owing to their supposed analogy to Greek gods. In this way the following twelve were established by analogy to the Greek form of religion: Iupiter (Zeus), Iuno (Heré), Neptunus (Poseidon), Minerva (Athené), Mars (Ares), Venus (Aphrodité), Apollo, Diana (Artemis), Vulcanus (Hephaestus), Vesta (Hestia), Mercurius (Hermes), and Ceres (Demeter).

The Roman religion was from the beginning an affair of State. Religious, as well as political, institutions emanated from the kings, who, as high priests, organized the worship by law and laid the foundation of a law of ritual. The second king, Numa, was regarded as the real founder of the Roman cult, and of the priesthood charged with the carrying out of the same. After the kings had been abolished, religion was still controlled by the State, and the priests continued to be State officials, who were empowered by the State, on the one hand, to superintend the performance of the different cults, and, on the other (and this was the more important office), to give judgment in all matters of religion. They thus exercised considerable influence. Under the Republic, the royal prerogative of formulating decrees in all matters of religion was transferred to the Senate. As the Roman State in early times was exclusively composed of patricians, the public religion was originally their exclusive property; the plebs were not allowed to participate in that religion, and were only allowed to worship the Roman gods in private. Therefore, in the long struggle in which the plebs, with their ever-increasing power, endeavoured to secure their rights (a struggle that ended in B.C. 300), it was a question of religion as well as of politics. As regards the worship of the gods, according to Roman ideas, a pure and moral life was pleasing to them and gained their favour. This was, however, conditional on the exact performance of the outward ritual which the system of religion ordained for their cult. It consisted in a very prolonged ceremonial, performed according to the strictest injunctions and with painful minuteness of detail. This ceremonial was performed in public and private life, so that no community lacked its special shrines and sacrifices (see sacra), and nothing of any importance was undertaken without religious sanction, which involved in particular the discovery of the divine will by means of certain signs (see augur). The forms of outward worship were retained long after the decay of belief in the gods had set in. This decay was caused by the preponderance of the Greek element, and the contemporary introduction of Greek enlightenment; and it soon spread to the forms of worship. During the greater part of the republican period, the priests allowed religion to take a secondary place to politics, and, either from indifference or ignorance, neglected their official duties. Under the Empire, when the deification of deceased emperors was introduced (see apotheosis), an attempt was made to give an artificial life to the ancient forms of worship; but religious feeling could not be rekindled by forms which had long lost their meaning. When this feeling revived, it preferred, as in Greece, to find refuge in strange Oriental rites, especially those of Mithras and of Isis and Serapis, which, by means of their mysteries and their expiatory ceremonies, offered a certain degree of satisfaction, though, at the same time, they led the way to every conceivable kind of superstition.

The suppression of paganism began in the fourth century, from the time when Constantine decided in favour of Christianity, in A.D. 324. It commenced in the eastern half of the Roman Empire, while in the western half, and at Rome in particular, the Roman form of worship remained essentially undisturbed until the reign of Theodosius the Great (379-395), the resolute exterminator of paganism. In A.D. 394 the Olympic Games were held for the last time; in Rome the endowment of all public forms of worship out of the funds of the State was withdrawn, the priests were driven from the temples, and the temples closed. Nevertheless certain heathen customs long survived, such as the auguries of the consuls and some few festivals that admitted of being celebrated without offering sacrifice or entering a temple. Thus the Lupercalia were not abolished until 494, when they were transformed into a Christian festival.

Bibliography.—See Hartung, Religion und Mythologie der Griechen, 4 vols. (Leipzig, 1865-73); Darmesteter, Le Dieu Suprème des Indo-Européens (Paris, 1885); Limbourg-Bronner, Hist. de la Civilisation Morale et Religieuse des Grecs, 8 vols. (Groningen, 1833-47); De la Saussaye, Lehrbuch d. Religionsgeschichte, 2 vols. (Freiburg, 1887); Girard, Le Sentiment Religieux en Grèce d'Homère à Eschyle (Paris, 1879); Nägelsbach, Homerische Theologie (Nürnberg, 1861); id. Nachhomerische Theologie (Nürnberg, 1857); Peterson, Religion oder Mythologie, etc. (Leipzig, 1870); Ploix, La Nature des Dieux (Paris, 1888); Lang, Myth, Ritual, and Religion, 2 vols. (London, 1887); Heffter, Götterlehre der Griechen und Römer (Hamburg, 1853); Hartung, Die Religion der Römer, 2 vols. (Erlangen, 1836); Jäkel, De Diis Domesticis Priscorum Italorum (Berlin, 1830); Jordan, Symbolae ad Historiam Religionum Italicarum (Königsberg, 1885); Boissier, La Religion Romaine d'Auguste aux Antonins (Paris, 1878); Granger, The Worship of the Romans (London, 1896); Babik, De Deisideimonia Veterum (Leipzig, 1891); Hild, Étude sur les Démons dans la Littérature et la Religion des Grecs (Paris, 1881); Cicero's treatise De Natura Deorum (best edition by J. B. Mayor, with introduction and English notes, Cambridge, 1884); and the works cited in the article mythologia, with the article itself.