ROME
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ROME
Rome from the Piuciau Hill ; the Plaza del Popolo iu the foiegrpuud, St. Aiigelo and St. Peter's in the distauce.
Coliseum, from a colossal statue of Nero that stood near it. With an excess of luxury, perfumed liquids were conveyed in secret tubes around these immense struct- ures, and diffused over the spectators, sometimes from the statues which adorned the interior. In the arena which formed the centre of the amphitheatres, the early Christians often endured martyrdom by being exposed to ravenous beasts.
See Smith, Diet of Class. Geoc). s. v. ; Parker, Archce- oloyy of Rome (Lond. 1877, 6 vols. 8vo) ; Wood, Guide to Rome (Lond. 1875) ; Cokesly, Map of A nc. Rome (Lond. 1852).
IL Judaism in Rome. — The connection of the Ro- mans with Palestine caused Jews to settle at Kome in considerable numbers. The Jewish king Aristobulus and his son formed part of Pompey's triumph, and many Jewish captives and emigrants were brought to Rome at that time. A special district was assigned to them (Josephus, A nt. xiv, 10. 8), not on the site of tlie mod- ern " Ghetto," between the Capitol and the island of the Tiber, but across the Tiber (Philo, Leg. ad Caium, p. 568, ed. JVIangey). From Philo also it appears that the Jews in Kome were allowed the free use of their nation- al worship, and generally the observance of their ances- tral customs. W^ith a zeal for which the nation had been some time distinguished, they applied themselves with success to proselytizing (Dion Cass, xxxvii, 17). Many of these Jews were madefreedmen ( Philo, /or. ciV.). Julius CiBsar showed them some kindness (Josephus, Ani.-ydv, 10, 8; Sueton. Ccesar, 84). They were favor- ed also by Augustus, and by Tiberius during the lat- ter part of his reign (Philo, loc.dt.). On one occasion, in the reign of Tiberius, when the Jews were banished from the city by the emperor for the misconduct of some members of their body, not fewer than four thou- sand enlisted in the Roman army which was then sta- tioned in Sardinia (Sueton. Tib.cii\; Josepiius, Ant. xviii, 3,4). Claudius "commanded all Jews to depart from Rome" (Acts xviii, 2), on account of tumults connected, possibly, with the preaching of Christianity at Rome (Sueton. C7««(/. 25, "Judaeos impulsore Chresto assidue tumultuantes Roma expulit"). This banishment can- not have been of long duration, for we find Jews resid- ing at Rome apparently in considerable nimiliers at the time of Paul's visit (Acts xxviii, 17). The Roman bi- ographer does not give the date of the expulsion by Claudius, but Orosius (vii, 6) mentions the ninth year of tliat emperor's reign (A.l). 50). The precise occa- sion of this expulsion historj- does not afford us the
means of determining. The cause here assigned for their expulsion is that they raised disturbances, an al- legation which at first view does not seem to point to a religious, still less to a Christian, influence. Yet we must remember that the words bear the coloring of the mind of a heathen historian, who might easily be led to regard activity for the diffusion of Christian trutli, and the debates to which that activity necessarily led, as a noxious disturbance of the peace of society. The Epicurean view of life could scarcely avoid describing religious agitations by terms ordinarily approjiriated to martial pursuits. It must equally be borne in mind that the diffusion of the Gospel in Rome — then tlie very centre and citadel of idolatry — was no holiday task, but would call forth on the jiart of the disciples all the fiery energy of the Jewish character, and on the part of the pagans all the vehemence of jiassion which ensues from pride, arrogance, and hatred. Had the or- dinarj' name of our Lord been employed by Suetonius, we should, for ourselves, have found little difiicully in understanding the words as intended to be aiijtlied to Jewish Chri.stiaiis. But the biographer uses the word Chrestxts. The us is a mere Latin termination; but what are we to make of the root of the word — Chrest for Christ ? Yet the change is in only one vowel, and Chrest might easily be used for Christ by a pagan writ- er. A slight difference in the pronunciation of the word as vocalized by a Roman and a Jew would easi- ly cause the error. We know that the Romans often did make the mispronunciation, calling Christ "'Chrest" (Tertull. Apol. c. 3; Lactant. Inst, iv, 17; Just. Mart. Apol.c.2). Tlie point is important, and we therefore give a few details, the rather that Lardner has, under Claudius (i, 2.59), left the question undetermined. Now, in Tacitus (Annal. xv, 44) Jesus is uncjuestionably call- ed Chrest in a passage where his followers are termed Christians. Lucian, too, in his rhilopatris, so desig- nates our Lord, playing on the word CInes/vs (Xprj- (Trdf), which, in (ireek, signifies "good." These are his words: "since a Chrest [a good man] is found among the Gentiles also." TertuUian (ut sup.) treats the dif- ference as a case of ignorant mispronunciation, Chris- tiimus being wrongly pronounced Chrestiamis. The mistake may have been tlie more readily introduced from the fact that, Avhile Christ was a foreign word, Chrest was customary. Lips that had been used to Chrest would, therefore, rather continue the sound than change the vocalization. The term Chrest occurs on inscriptions (Heumaiui, Si/llur/e, diss, i, 536), and epi-