6MILITARY ROLES IN CHINA AND ROMEThe great empires that culminated in the Han dynasty in China and the RomanEmpire around the Mediterranean invite comparison in many ways. They both ruledhuge territories (not too dissimilar in total size) and populations (about 56 millionpeople at the height of Han China, about 54 million in the Roman Empire). Theycreated monuments and institutions long remembered, indeed long influential, andthey both ultimately declined, though at slightly different times and with markedlydifferent long-range outcomes. The Chinese Empire began to form earlier than itsRoman counterpart, and it defined elements that persist in China to the present day,including core geography. The Roman achievement later became more fragmented.Both empires, of course, depended greatly on military conquest and sustainedmilitary organization. The great Roman legions formed one of the most famous andeffective fighting forces in world history, with rigorous training and comradeshipamong the soldiers, under the leadership of powerful generals. Chinese generalslacked the power of their Roman counterparts, for there was more bureaucraticcontrol. They too stressed discipline, but they also delved more deeply into issues ofstrategy and even basic philosophy. Sun-Tzu, in the fifth century B.C.E. (under thestill-fragmented Zhou dynasty), wrote one of the great theoretical works of all time,The Art of War, still widely studied and indeed revived by Mao Zedong and used topromote doctrines of guerrilla warfare in the century.The following documents come from very different stages of empire: Sun Tzu waswriting to promote better military organization when Chinese imperial unity had yetfully to form. Vegetius wrote at the end of empire, intending to advise one of thelater Roman emperors (either Theodosius I or Valentian III) and to correctcontemporary failings in recruitment and training. Vegetius did borrow from earlierwritings, dating back to the Republican period, but his work may certainly havebeen colored by the increasing problems Rome was facing with the Germanicinvasions.Questions1. How do Sun-Tzu and Vegetius approach the subject of military success? Do bothworks suggest the reasons China and Rome achieved such great military power inthe classical period? Are the reasons entirely different in the two cases?2. To what extent do the two works reflect very different stages in the imperialprocess? Can Sun-Tzu be interpreted as an author writing before the fulldevelopment of empire, and Vegetius as an author writing when the empire is onthe defensive?3. What do the two works imply about the importance of the military in the largersociety, in China and in Rome, respectively?For Further Discussion1. Is it valid to suggest that these two documents imply significant differences in themilitary role in the Chinese and Roman empires, respectively? What else wouldyou need to know to deal with this question more fully?2. Why has Sun-Tzu survived as a military treatise worth reading, and nocomparable Roman treatise exists?
SUN-TZU, THE ART OF WARThis is probably one of the two most famous military books ever written. (The otherwould be the much more modern work by Clausewitz, written in the 1820s.)• • •Strategic OffenseMaster Sun said:In War,Better takeA StateIntactThan destroy it From Sun-Tzu, “Strategic Offensive,” The Art of War, ed. andtrans. John Minford (New York: Penguin Books, 2002), 14–19. Copyright © 2002by John Minford. Used by permission of Viking Penguin, a division of PenguinGroup (USA) Inc.Better takeAn armyA regiment,A detachment,A company,IntactThan destroy them.Ultimate excellence liesNot in winningEvery battleBut in defeating the enemyWithout ever fighting.The highest form of warfareIs to attackStrategy itself; The next,To attackAlliances;The next,To attackArmiesThe lowest form of war isTo attackCities.Siege warfareIs a last resort.In a siege,Three months are neededTo assembleProtective shields,Armored wagons,
Armored wagons,And sundrySiege weapons and equipment;Another three monthsTo pileEarthen ramps.The general who cannotMaster his angerOrders his troops outLike ants,Sending one in threeTo their deaths,Without taking the city.This is the calamityOf siege warfare.The Skillful StrategistDefeats the enemyWithout doing battle,Captures the cityWithout laying siege,Overthrows the enemy stateWithout protracted war.He strives for supremacyUnder heavenIntact,Intact,His men and weaponsStill keen,His gainComplete.This is the method ofStrategic attack.In War,With forces tenTo the enemy’s one,Surround him;With two,Split in half.If equally matched,Fight it out;If fewer in number,Lie low;If weaker,Escape.A small forceObstinately fightingWill be capturedBy a larger force.
The general is the propOf the nation.When the prop is solid,The nation is strong.When the prop is flawed,The nation is weak.A ruler can bring misfortuneUpon his troopsIn three ways😮rdering themTo advanceOr to retreatWhen they should notIs calledHobbling the army; Ignorant interferenceIn military decisionsConfusesOfficers and men; Ignorant meddlingIn military appointmentsPerplexesOfficers and men.When an army is confused and perplexed,The feudal princesWill cause trouble; This createsChaos in the ranksAnd gives awayVictory There are five essentials For victory:Know when to fightAnd when not to fight; Understand how to deployLarge and smallNumbers; Have officers and men whoShare a single will;Be readyFor the unexpected; Have a capable general,Unhampered by his sovereign.These fivePoint the way toVictory.Hence the saying“Know the enemy,Know yourself,And victoryIs never in doubt,Not in a hundred battles.” He who knows selfBut not the enemy
But not the enemyWill suffer one defeatFor every victory.He who knowsNeither selfNor enemyWill failIn every battleThe Making of PlansThe WayCauses menTo be of one mindWith their rulers,To live or die with them,And never to waver.…On which sideIs disciplineMore effective?Which armyIs the stronger?Whose officers and menAre better trained?In which army are rewards and punishmentsClearest?From theseCan be knownVictory and defeat.The Way of War isA Way of DeceptionWhen able,Feign inability;When deploying troops,Appear not to be.When near,Appear far;When far,Appear near.Lure with bait;Strike with chaos.If the enemy is full,Be prepared.If strongAvoid him.VEGETIUS, EPITOME OF MILITARY SCIENCE
Little is known about Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus. He was a Christian and aprominent horse breeder who probably lived either in Spain or in France (Gaul) andserved a high position in the Roman imperial bureaucracy. He also wrote a book oncuring diseases in mules.• • •(1.3) Whether recruits from the country or from the city are more useful.The next question is to consider whether a recruit from the country or from the cityis more useful. On this subject, I think it could never have been doubted that therural populace is better suited for arms. They are nurtured under the open sky in alife of work, enduring the sun, careless of shade, unacquainted with bathhouses,ignorant of luxury, simple-souled, content with a little, with limbs toughened toendure every kind of toil, and for whom wielding iron, digging a fosse, and carryinga burden is what they are used to from the country.…(1.6) That the potentially better recruits are recognized at selection from the faceand physical posture.He who is charged with carrying out the levy procedure should take great pains tochoose those able to fill the part of soldiers from the face, from the eyes, from thewhole conformation of the limbs. For quality is indicated not only in men, but evenin horses and dogs, by many points. … So let the adolescent who is to be selected formaterial activity have alert eyes, straight neck, broad chest, muscular shoulders,strong arms, long fingers; let him be small in the stomach, slender in the buttocks,and have calves and feet that are not swollen by surplus fat, but firm with hardmuscle. When you see these points in a recruit, you need not greatly regret theabsence of tall stature. It is more useful that soldiers be strong than big.From N. P. Milner, Vegetius: Epitome of Military Science (2nd ed., Liverpool, 1996),4–13. Used by permission of Liverpool University Press.(1.8) When recruits should be marked.The recruit should not be tattooed with the pin-pricks of the official mark as soon ashe has been selected, but first be thoroughly tested in exercises so that it may beestablished whether he is truly fitted for so much effort. Both mobility and strengthare thought to be required of him, and whether he is able to learn the discipline ofarms, whether he has the self-confidence of a soldier. For very many, though theyseem not unacceptable in appearance, are yet found unsuitable in training.Therefore, the less useful ones should be rejected, and in their place the mostenergetic should be substituted. For in any conflict it is not so much numbers asbravery that pays off. So once the recruits have been tattooed, the science of armsshould be shown them in daily training.…(1.9) Recruits should be trained in the military step, in running, and in jumping.So, at the very start of the training, recruits should be taught the military step. Fornothing should be maintained more on the march or in battle than that all soldiersshould keep ranks as they move. The only way that this can be done is by learningthrough constant training to maneuver quickly and evenly. For a divided anddisordered army experiences danger from the enemy which is always most serious.So at the military step, twenty miles should be covered in five hours, at least insummer time. At the full step, which is faster, twenty-four miles should be coveredin the same time. If you add anything to this, it now becomes running, for which adistance cannot be defined. … The soldier should also be trained at jumping,
distance cannot be defined. … The soldier should also be trained at jumping,whereby ditches are vaulted, and hurdles of a certain height surmounted, so thatwhen obstacles of this kind are encountered, he can cross them without effort.Furthermore, in actual conflict and clash of arms, the soldier coming on by arunning jump makes the adversary’s eyes flinch, frightens his mind, and plants ablow before the other can properly prepare himself.…(1.10) Recruits should be trained in the art of swimming Every recruit withoutexception should, in the summer months, learn the art of swimming, for rivers arenot always crossed by bridges, and armies both when advancing and retreating arefrequently forced to swim. Torrents often tend to flood after sudden falls of rain orsnow, and ignorance of swimming incurs risk not only from the enemy but the wateralso. Therefore, the ancient Romans, who were trained in the whole art of warfarethrough so many wars and continual crises, selected the Campus Martius next to theTiber in which the youth might wash off sweat and dust after training in arms, andlose their fatigue from running by the exercise of swimming.…(1.11) How the ancients trained recruits with wicker shields and with posts.The ancients, as one finds in books, trained recruits in this manner. They woveshields from withies, of hurdle-like construction, and circular, such that the hurclehad twice the weight that a government shield normally has. They also gave recruitswooden foils, likewise of double weight, instead of swords. So equipped, they weretrained not only in the morning but even after noon against posts. Indeed, the use ofposts is of very great benefit to gladiators as well as soldiers. Neither the arena northe [practice]-field ever proved a man invincible in armed combat, unless he wasjudged to have been thoroughly trained at the post. Each recruit would plant asingle post in the ground so that it could not move, and protruded six feet. Againstthe post, as if against an adversary, the recruit trained himself using the foil andhurdle like a sword and shield, so that now he aimed at, as it were, the head andface, now threatened the flanks, then tried to cut the ham-strings and legs, backedoff, came on, sprang, and aimed at the post with every method of attack and art ofcombat, as though it were an actual opponent. In this traning, care was taken thatthe recruit drew himself up to inflict wounds without exposing any part of himselfto a blow.(1.19) Recruits should be trained in carrying a burden.Recruits should very frequently be made to carry a burden of up to sixty pounds,and route-march at the military step, since on arduous campaigns they havenecessarily to carry their rations together with their ams. This should not be thoughthard, once the habit has been gained, for there is nothing that continual practicedoes not render very easy. We know that the ancient soldiers used to do this exercisefrom the evidence of Vergil himself, who says: “Just as the bold Roman in hisnational arms cruelly laden takes the road, and before the enemy expects it, standsin formation, having pitched camp.”
7BUDDHISM AND CHRISTIANITYThe origin and early development of two of the great world religions lie in theclassical period. Both Buddhism and Christianity arose where important religiousdevelopments had already occurred, but partially in protest against establishedformulas. Both sought to dispense with what their leaders viewed as excessiveceremonies and religious officialdom, in favor of a focus on spiritual values. Both,unquestionably, spurred new interest in otherworldly goals.Buddhism originated in India, with Prince Gautama (563–483 B.C.E.), who latertook the name “Buddha,” or “Enlightened One.” Protesting key features of Hinduism,including the great role of priests and ritual and the caste system, Buddhismmaintained and extended Hindu disdain for earthly life, looking to an ultimateunion with the divine essence, which the new religion called nirvana. Buddhatransmitted his thoughts to disciples orally, and they were only gradually writtendown. From a small movement concentrated around its holy founder, Buddhismspread widely in India during the classical period, rivaling but also coexisting withHinduism. By the end of the classical period, Buddhism was shrinking in India itself,as Hinduism consolidated its majority hold. But it was gaining new converts in SriLanka, in other parts of southeastern Asia, and in China.Christianity originated later, in the other great center of religious origins in worldhistory, the Middle East. Inspired by Jesus Christ, who was crucified in 30 C.E.,Christianity developed quickly as various disciples and early converts spelled outtheir story of Jesus’ life and doctrines and began to form religious communities. Fora brief time, Christian leaders emphasized reform within the Jewish religion, butsoon other converts were sought as the religion linked to the wider Greco-Romanworld. By 300 C.E. probably about 10 percent of all the people in the empire wereChristian, drawn to the message of hope for the poor and an intellectual andspiritual structure that added important elements to existing Greco-Roman culture.A strong church organization, with religious officials such as priests and bishops,arose in many regions, paralleling the organization of the empire itself.Christianity and Buddhism shared many features, which helps explain theirsimilar success in converting masses of people in various regions and of variouscultural backgrounds. They both offered hope for religious advancement, mainlyafter this life but to a limited extent during it. They both expressed suspicion ofworldly things and offered an ethic designed to help religious people avoid giving into snares and temptations. Both, not surprisingly, sponsored monastic movementswhere small groups of people could seek holiness apart from normal worldly cares.The two religions also differed greatly. Their attitude toward the world and itsdoings diverged; a careful comparison might begin by trying to define thisdifference. Buddhists emphasized miseries, whereas Christian leaders such as Paulstressed sin. How would Christian and Buddhist attitudes toward government orhuman achievement compare? A second difference lies in the teachings about howto deal with misery or sin: what is the good religious life, and how much controldoes an individual have over it? Buddhists and Christians differed greatly in theirviews on how to lead a holy life and also on the intervention of divine forces. Thisdifference relates to the strong organizational contrast between the two religions,
difference relates to the strong organizational contrast between the two religions,with Christianity being far more focused on church institutions as the embodimentof faith.Questions1. What aspects of Christianity and Buddhism—whether similar or different—helpexplain their great appeal?2. How did Buddhist and Christian leaders define the main goals of life? What arethe concepts of nirvana and Christian salvation? How did the two religions viewthe human body and its needs?3. How did Buddhist and Christian leaders define divinity? What were the roles ofBuddha and of Christ in religious life?4. In what respects did Buddhist and Christian leaders agree, and in what respectsdid they disagree, about how to lead a holy life? How would the two religionsview the state? How would they view acts of charity in relation to a holy life?5. Why did Buddhism develop less of a formal church structure than Christianity?Does the difference relate to differences in the ideals of the two religions? Howwould the two religions, as they matured, approach problems of truth and error?What was the Christian approach, by the fourth century, to what it called heresy?Which religion would be more tolerant, and why?For Further Discussion1. How did Buddhism and Christianity reflect the earlier traditions of their cultures—Hinduism and the Indian epics, for Buddhism; Greek philosophy and Romanlaw, for Christianity?2. How did Buddhism resemble Hinduism? How did it differ?3. How would Buddhist monasticism compare with Christian, in institutions devotedto the holiest possible life?4. Why did Christianity and Buddhism both have such wide appeal during the lateclassical centuries and beyond? How did the spread of both religions relate to thedecline of Classical Chinese and Roman Civilizations?BUDDHISMThe first Buddhist selection below, entitled “The Four Noble Truths,” lies at the coreof Buddha’s quest for understanding after he had renounced worldly things. Itsuggests a central definition of Buddhist goals. The second passage, which moreexplicitly explains what an individual should do to live a holy life, comes from theDhammapada, or Footsteps of the Law. This was probably written down toward theend of the period, when Buddhist doctrines had been fully established, at about 70B.C.E. Later Buddhism also reflected some belief in the holiness of Buddha himself,which had not been part of Gautama’s original vision but which helped spread thereligion as people sought to attach their otherworldly aspirations to the merits ofsaintly leaders.• • •THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS1. The Truth Concerning MiseryAnd how, O priests, does a priest live, as respects the elements of being, observant ofthe elements of being in the four noble truths?
Whenever, O priest, a priest knows the truth concerning misery, knows the truthconcerning the origin of misery, knows the truth concerning the cessation of misery,knows the truth concerning the path leading to the cessation of misery.And what, O priests, is the noble truth of misery?Birth is misery; old age is misery; disease is misery; death is misery; sorrow,lamentation, misery, grief, and despair are misery; to wish for what one cannot haveis misery; in short, all the five attachment-groups are misery.This, O priests, is called the noble truth of misery.From Henry Clarke Warren, Buddhism in Translations: Passages Selected from theBuddhist Sacred Books and Translated from the Original Pali into English, Student’sEdition Harvard Oriental Series. (Cam-bridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press,1953), 365–74. Copyright © 1953 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College.Reprinted by permission of the publisher.2. The Truth of the Origin of MiseryAnd what, O priests, is the noble truth of the origin of misery?It is desire leading to rebirth, joining itself to pleasure and passion, and findingdelight in every existence,—desire, namely, for sensual pleasure, desire forpermanent existence, desire for transitory existence.But where, O priests, does this desire spring up and grow? where does it settle andtake root?Where anything is delightful and agreeable to men, there desire springs up andgrows, there it settles and takes root.And what is delightful and agreeable to men, where desire springs up and grows,where it settles and takes root?The eye is delightful and agreeable to men; there desire springs up and grows,there it settles and takes root.The ear… the nose… the tongue… the body… the mind is delightful andagreeable to men; there desire springs up and grows, there it settles and takes root.The Six Organs of Sense.Forms… sounds… odors… tastes… things tangible… ideas are delightful andagreeable to men; there desire springs up and grows, there it settles and takes root.The Six Objects of Sense.Eye-consciousness … ear-consciousness … nose-consciousness … tongue-consciousness… body-consciousness… mind-consciousness is delightful andagreeable to men; there desire springs up and grows, there it settles and takes root.…The Six Sensations.Perception of forms… sounds… odors… tastes… things tangible… ideas isdelightful and agreeable to men; there desire springs up and grows, there it settlesand takes root.…The Six Reasonings.Reflection on forms… sounds… odors… tastes… things tangible… ideas isdelightful and agreeable to men; there desire springs up and grows, there it settlesand takes root.The Six Reflections.
This, O priests, is called the noble truth of the origin of misery.3. The Truth of the Cessation of MiseryAnd what, O priests, is the noble truth of the cessation of misery?It is the complete fading out and cessation of this desire, a giving up, a losinghold, a relinquishment, and a nonadhesion.But where, O priests, does this desire wane and disappear? where is it broken upand destroyed?Where anything is delightful and agreeable to men; there desire wanes anddisappears, there it is broken up and destroyed.And what is delightful and agreeable to men, where desire wanes and disappears,where it is broken up and destroyed?The eye is delightful and agreeable to men; there desire wanes and disappears,there it is broken up and destroyed.…This, O priests, is called the noble truth of the cessation of misery.4. The Truth of the Path Leading to the Cessation of MiseryAnd what, O priests, is the noble truth of the path leading to the cessation ofmisery?It is this noble eightfold path, to wit, right belief, right resolve, right speech, rightbehavior, right occupation, …, right contemplation, right concentration.And what, O priests, is right belief?The knowledge of misery, O priests, the knowledge of the origin of misery, theknowledge of the cessation of misery, and the knowledge of the path leading to thecessation of misery, this, O priests, is called “right belief.”And what, O priests, is right resolve?The resolve to renounce sensual pleasures, the resolve to have malice towardsnone, and the resolve to harm no living creature, this, O priests, is called “rightresolve.”And what, O priests, is right speech?To abstain from falsehood, to abstain from backbiting, to abstain from harshlanguage, and to abstain from frivolous talk, this, O priests, is called “right speech.”And what, O priests, is right behavior?To abstain from destroying life, to abstain from taking that which is not givenone, and to abstain from immorality, this, O priests, is called “right behavior.”And what, O priests, is right occupation?Whenever, O priests, a noble disciple, quitting a wrong occupation, gets hislivelihood by a right occupation, this, O priests, is called “right occupation.”…And what, O priests, is right contemplation?Whenever, O priests, a priest lives, as respects the body, observant of the body,strenuous, conscious, contemplative, and has rid himself of lust and grief; as respectssensations, observant of sensations, strenuous, conscious, contemplative, and has ridhimself of lust and grief; as respects the mind, observant of the mind, strenuous,conscious, contemplative, and has rid himself of lust and grief; as respects theelements of being, observant of the elements of being, strenuous, conscious,
elements of being, observant of the elements of being, strenuous, conscious,contemplative, and has rid himself of lust and grief, this, O priests, is called “rightcontemplation.”And what, O priests, is right concentration?Whenever, O priests, a priest, having isolated himself from sensual pleasures,having isolated himself from demeritorious traits, and still exercising reasoning, stillexercising reflection, enters upon the first trance which is produced by isolation andcharacterized by joy and happiness; when, through the subsidence of reasoning andreflection, and still retaining joy and happiness, he enters upon the second trance,which is an interior tranquilization and intentness of the thoughts, and is producedby concentration; when, through the paling of joy, indifferent, contemplative,conscious, and in the experience of bodily happiness—that state which eminent mendescribe when they say, “Indifferent, contemplative, and living happily”—he entersupon the third trance; when, through the abandonment of happiness, through theabandonment of misery, through the disappearance of all antecedent gladness andgrief, he enters upon the fourth trance, which has neither misery nor happiness, butis contemplation as refined by indifference, this, O priests, is called “rightconcentration.”This, O priests, is called the noble truth of the path leading to the cessation ofmisery.THE WAY, FROM THE DHAMMAPADAThe best of ways is the eightfold; the best of truths the four words; the best ofvirtues passionlessness; the best of men he who has eyes to see.This is the way, there is no other that leads to the purifying of intelligence. Go onthis path! This is the confusion of Mâra, the tempter.If you go on this way, you will make an end of pain! The way preached by me,when I had understood the removal of the thorns in the flesh.You yourself must make an effort. The Tathâgatas (Buddhas) are only preachers.The thoughtful who enter the way are freed from the bondage of Mâra.“All created things perish,” he who knows and sees this becomes passive in pain;this is the way to purity.“All created things are grief and pain,” he who knows and sees this becomespassive in pain; this is the way that leads to purity.“All forms are unreal,” he who knows and sees this becomes passive in pain; thisis the way that leads to purity.He who does not rouse himself when it is time to rise, who, though young andstrong, is full of sloth, whose will and thought are weak, that lazy and idle mannever finds the way to knowledge.Watching his speech, well restrained in mind, let a man never commit any wrongwith his body! Let a man but keep these three roads of action clear, and he willachieve the way which is taught by the wise.Through zeal knowledge is gained, through lack of zeal knowledge is lost; let aman who knows this double path of gain and loss thus place himself that knowledgemay grow.From The Sacred Books of the East, trans. Epiphanus Wilson (New York: ColonialPress, 1900), 138–39.
Cut down the whole forest of desires, not a tree only! Danger comes out of theforest of desires. When you have cut down both the forest of desires and itsundergrowth, then… you will be rid of the forest and of desires!So long as the desire of man towards women, even the smallest, is not destroyed,so long is his mind in bondage, as the calf that drinks milk is to its mother.Cut out the love of self, like an autumn lotus, with thy hand! Cherish the road ofpeace. Nirvâna has been shown by Sugata (Buddha).“Here I shall dwell in the rain, here in winter and summer,” thus the foolmeditates, and does not think of death.Death comes and carries off that man, honored for his children and flocks, hismind distracted, as a flood carries off a sleeping village.Sons are no help, nor a father, nor relations; there is no help from kinsfolk for onewhom death has seized.A wise and well-behaved man who knows the meaning of this should quicklyclear the way that leads to Nirvâna.CHRISTIANITYThe two Christian passages below come from different stages of the religion’sdevelopment. Paul’s Letter to the Romans was written at the height of his career asChristian missionary and formulator of doctrine, between 54 and 58 C.E. It becamepart of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The letter reflects an effort toappeal to all peoples with the message of Christian truth, Christ’s redemption fromsin, and potential salvation. The second document was written by a monk, Vincentof Lerins, in 434, as Christianity became established and began to dealsystematically with quarrels over doctrine. Vincent grappled with the problem ofknowing religious truth from falsehood, in a work that became known as theVincentian Canon. His approach obviously reflected the role the institutional churchhad gained in defining Christian beliefs.• • •LETTER FROM PAUL TO THE ROMANSSo sin must no longer reign in your mortal body, exacting obedience to the body’sdesires. You must no longer put its several parts at sin’s disposal, as implements fordoing wrong. No: put yourselves at the disposal of God, as dead men raised to life;yield your bodies to him as implements for doing right; for sin shall no longer beyour master, because you are no longer under law, but under the grace of God.From The New English Bible (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1922), 182–85,189–91. Copyright © Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press 1961,1970. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.What then? Are we to sin, because we are not under law but under grace? Ofcourse not. You know well enough that if you put yourselves at the disposal of amaster, to obey him, you are slaves of the master whom you obey; and this is truewhether you serve sin, with death as its result; or obedience, with righteousness asits result. But God be thanked, you, who once were slaves of sin, have yieldedwholehearted obedience to the pattern of teaching to which you were made subject,and, emancipated from sin, have become slaves of righteousness (to use words thatsuit your human weakness)—I mean, as you once yielded your bodies to the service
suit your human weakness)—I mean, as you once yielded your bodies to the serviceof impurity and lawlessness, making for moral anarchy, so now you must yield themto the service of righteousness, making for a holy life.When you were slaves of sin, you were free from the control of righteousness; andwhat was the gain? Nothing but what now makes you ashamed, for the end of thatis death. But now, freed from the commands of sin, and bound to the service of God,your gains are such as make for holiness, and the end is eternal life. For sin pays awage, and the wage is death, but God gives freely, and his gift is eternal life, inunion with Christ Jesus our Lord.You cannot be unaware, my friends—I am speaking to those who have someknowledge of law—that a person is subject to the law so long as he is alive, and nolonger. … So you, my friends, have died to the law by becoming identified with thebody of Christ, and accordingly you have found another husband in him who rosefrom the dead, so that we may bear fruit for God. While we lived on the level of ourlower nature, the sinful passions evoked by the law worked in our bodies, to bearfruit for death. But now, having died to that which held us bound, we are dischargedfrom the law, to serve God in a new way, the way of the spirit, in contrast to the oldway, the way of a written code.What follows? Is the law identical with sin? Of course not. But except throughlaw I should never have become acquainted with sin. For example, I should neverhave known what it was to covet, if the law had not said, ‘Thou shalt not covet.’Through that commandment sin found its opportunity, and produced in me all kindsof wrong desires. In the absence of law, sin is a dead thing. There was a time when,in the absence of law, I was fully alive; but when the commandment came, sinsprang to life and I died. The commandment which should have led to life proved inmy experience to lead to death, because sin found its opportunity in thecommandment, seduced me, and through the commandment killed me.Therefore the law is in itself holy, and the commandment is holy and just andgood. Are we to say then that this good thing was the death of me? By no means. Itwas sin that killed me, and thereby sin exposed its true character: it used a goodthing to bring about my death, and so, through the commandment, sin became moresinful than ever.We know that the law is spiritual; but I am not: I am unspiritual, the purchasedslave of sin. I do not even acknowledge my own actions as mine, for what I do is notwhat I want to do, but what I detest. But if what I do is against my will, it meansthat I agree with the law and hold it to be admirable. But as things are, it is nolonger I who perform the action, but sin that lodges in me. For I know that nothinggood lodges in me—in my unspiritual nature, I mean—for though the will to dogood is there, the deed is not. The good which I want to do, I fail to do; but what Ido is the wrong which is against my will; and if what I do is against my will, clearlyit is no longer I who am the agent, but sin that has its lodging in me.I discover this principle, then: that when I want to do the right, only the wrong iswithin my reach. In my inmost self I delight in the law of God, but I perceive thatthere is in my bodily members a different law, fighting against the law that myreason approves and making me a prisoner under the law that is in my members, thelaw of sin. Miserable creature that I am, who is there to rescue me out of this bodydoomed to death? God alone, through Jesus Christ our Lord! Thanks be to God! In aword then, I myself, subject to God’s law as a rational being, am yet, in myunspiritual nature, a slave to the law of sin.The conclusion of the matter is this: there is no condemnation for those who are
The conclusion of the matter is this: there is no condemnation for those who areunited with Christ Jesus, because in Christ Jesus the life-giving law of the Spirit hasset you free from the law of sin and death. What the law could never do, becauseour lower nature robbed it of all potency, God has done: by sending his own Son ina form like that of our own sinful nature, and as a sacrifice for sin, he has passedjudgement against sin within that very nature, so that the commandment of the lawmay find fulfilment in us, whose conduct, no longer under the control of our lowernature, is directed by the Spirit.Those who live on the level of our lower nature have their outlook formed by it,and that spells death; but those who live on the level of the spirit have the spiritualoutlook, and that is life and peace. For the outlook of the lower nature is enmitywith God; it is not subject to the law of God; indeed it cannot be: those who live onsuch a level cannot possibly please God.But that is not how you live. You are on the spiritual level, if only God’s Spiritdwells within you; and if a man does not possess the Spirit of Christ, he is noChristian. But if Christ is dwelling within you, then although the body is a deadthing because you sinned, yet the spirit is life itself because you have been justified.Moreover, if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells within you,then the God who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give new life to yourmortal bodies through his indwelling Spirit.It follows, my friends, that our lower nature has no claim upon us; we are notobliged to live on that level. If you do so, you must die. But if by the Spirit you putto death all the base pursuits of the body, then you will live.For all who are moved by the Spirit of God are sons of God. The Spirit you havereceived is not a spirit of slavery leading you back into a life of fear, but a Spiritthat makes us sons, enabling us to cry ‘Abba! Father!’ In that cry the Spirit of Godjoins with our spirit in testifying that we are God’s children; and if children, thenheirs. We are God’s heirs and Christ’s fellow-heirs, if we share his sufferings now inorder to share his splendour hereafter.For I reckon that the sufferings we now endure bear no comparison with thesplendour, as yet unrevealed, which is in store for us.…Therefore, my brothers, I implore you by God’s mercy to offer your very selves tohim: a living sacrifice, dedicated and fit for his acceptance, the worship offered bymind and heart. Adapt yourselves no longer to the pattern of this present world, butlet your minds be remade and your whole nature thus transformed. Then you will beable to discern the will of God, and to know what is good, acceptable, and perfect.…The gifts we possess differ as they are allotted to us by God’s grace, and must beexercised accordingly: the gift of inspired utterance, for example, in proportion to aman’s faith; or the gift of administration, in administration. A teacher shouldemploy his gift in teaching, and one who has the gift of stirring speech should use itto stir his hearers. If you give to charity, give with all your heart; if you are a leader,exert yourself to lead; if you are helping others in distress, do it cheerfully.…Never pay back evil for evil. Let your aims be such as all men count honourable.If possible, so far as it lies with you, live at peace with all men. My dear friends, donot seek revenge, but leave a place for divine retribution; for there is a text whichreads, ‘Justice is mine, says the Lord, I will repay.’ But there is another text: ‘If yourenemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; by doing this you willheap live coals on his head.’ Do not let evil conquer you, but use good to defeat evil.Every person must submit to the supreme authorities. There is no authority but by
Every person must submit to the supreme authorities. There is no authority but byact of God, and the existing authorities are instituted by him; consequently anyonewho rebels against authority is resisting a divine institution, and those who so resisthave themselves to thank for the punishment they will receive. For government, aterror to crime, has no terrors for good behaviour. You wish to have no fear of theauthorities? Then continue to do right and you will have their approval, for they areGod’s agents working for your good. But if you are doing wrong, then you will havecause to fear them; it is not for nothing that they hold the power of the sword, forthey are God’s agents of punishment, for retribution on the offender. That is whyyou are obliged to submit. It is an obligation imposed not merely by fear ofretribution but by conscience. That is also why you pay taxes. The authorities are inGod’s service and to these duties they devote their energies.Discharge your obligations to all men; pay tax and toll, reverence and respect, tothose to whom they are due. Leave no claim outstanding against you, except that ofmutual love. He who loves his neighbour has satisfied every claim of the law. Forthe commandments, ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill, thou shaltnot steal, thou shalt not covet’, and any other commandment there may be, are allsummed up in the one rule, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ Love cannot wrong aneighbour; therefore the whole law is summed up in love.…VINCENT OF LERINSI have therefore continually given the greatest pains and diligence to enquiring, fromthe greatest possible number of men outstanding in holiness and in doctrine, how Ican secure a kind of fixed and, as it were, general and guiding principle fordistinguishing the true Catholic Faith from the degraded falsehoods of heresy. Andthe answer that I receive is always to this effect; that if I wish, or indeed if any onewishes, to detect the deceits of heretics that arise and to avoid their snares and tokeep healthy and sound in a healthy faith, we ought, with the Lord’s help, to fortifyour faith in a twofold manner, firstly, that is, by the authority of God’s Law, then bythe tradition of the Catholic Church.(2) Here, it may be, some one will ask, Since the canon of Scripture is complete,and is in itself abundantly sufficient, what need is there to join to it theinterpretation of the Church? The answer is that because of the very depth ofScripture all men do not place one identical interpretation upon it. The statementsof the same writer are explained by different men in different ways, so much so thatit seems almost possible to extract from it as many opinions as there are men.…… Therefore, because of the intricacies of error, which is so multiform, there isgreat need for the laying down of a rule for the exposition of Prophets and Apostlesin accordance with the standard of the interpretation of the Church Catholic.(3) Now in the Catholic Church itself we take the greatest care to hold THAT WHICHHAS BEEN BELIEVED EVERYWHERE, ALWAYS, AND BY ALL.That is truly and properly ‘Catholic,’ as is shown by the very force and meaning ofthe word, which comprehends everything almost universally. We shall hold to thisrule if we follow universality [i.e. œcumenicity], antiquity, and consent. We shallfollow universality if we acknowledge that one Faith to be true which the wholeChurch throughout the world confesses; antiquity, if we in no wise depart from thoseinterpretations which it is clear that our ancestors and fathers proclaimed; consent,if in antiquity itself we keep following the definitions and opinions of all, orcertainly nearly all, bishops and doctors alike.From Henry Bettenson, ed., D ocuments of the Christian Church (2d ed., New York:
From Henry Bettenson, ed., D ocuments of the Christian Church (2d ed., New York😮xford University Press, 1963), 83–84. Reprinted by permission of Oxford UniversityPress.
PART IIThe Postclassical Period, 450–1450A MAJOR PHASE OF world history opened with the decline or collapse of the greatempires of Rome, Han China, and Gupta India by the fifth and sixth centuries C.E.New forces were set in motion that persisted until the thirteenth century, followedby a two-century transition lasting until about 1450.During the classical period, the key developments in world history had been theconstruction of large regional civilizations and their integration. This theme did notdisappear. Chinese history, for example, resumed many of its earlier patterns afterthree centuries of real confusion. Indian civilization retained its basic integrity also,though without the capacity to generate large, internally directed empires. TheMediterranean was hopelessly divided, however, with Greco-Roman traditionspersisting only in the Byzantine Empire in the northeastern corner of the region. Thisempire combined the use of the Greek language and culture with Roman imperialinstitutions, Orthodox Christianity, and a lively trade. But overall, the formation ofempires loomed less large in this new period; other, looser political structures wereemphasized.Several new trends emerged. First, major world religions, defined in terms of theirability to convert peoples in various civilization areas, began to gain a greater hold.The collapse of the classical empires prompted many people to turn to moreotherworldly goals; in some cases, such as Western Europe, the new religions alsoprovided the clearest shared beliefs and even institutional structures. Buddhism wasnot new, but during this period it spread far more widely in eastern andsoutheastern Asia. Christianity had already gained strength in the Mediterranean andin a few parts of the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa. Now it spread vigorouslynorthward, in two main strands (Catholic and Orthodox), ultimately reachingScandinavia in the west and Russia in the east. The third religion was new and by farthe most dynamic of all. Islam arose in the Middle East early in the seventh century.It spread rapidly with Arab conquests in the Middle East and North Africa, where anew government, the Caliphate, controlled vast territories. Islam also soon wonmassive conversions in Central Asia, India (as a minority religion), parts of sub-Saharan Africa, Spain, and Southeast Asia.The sheer spread of civilization was the second major development of thepostclassical period, in some cases related to the impact of Arab influence or theconsequences of the various missionary religions. Although the most sophisticatedcities and trade still were in the Middle East and North Africa, the Byzantine Empire,India, and China, civilization also developed in additional parts of sub-SaharanAfrica (particularly a series of great kingdoms in present-day West Africa, known asthe Sudanic kingdoms); in Western Europe, under the influence of CatholicChristianity; in Japan; in Southeast Asia; and in Russia and Eastern Europe. Thesenew civilization areas traded with the leading centers and were able to imitateimportant aspects of culture (often including writing itself) and some politicalforms. Finally, though quite separately, larger civilization zones spread in CentralAmerica, culminating in the great Aztec Empire, and in the Andes region, with theInca Empire taking shape toward the end of the post-classical period.By 1000 C.E. the major societies of Afro-Eurasia were in regular contact. Here wasthe third main theme of the postclassical centuries. Trade levels, cultural exchanges,and some military clashes created a new regional network. Inventions developed in
and some military clashes created a new regional network. Inventions developed inone center, such as China’s introduction of paper, began to spread more rapidly toother areas. Not only religious ideas but also some artistic forms began to affectnumerous different civilizations. Heightened international contact also sped thedissemination of diseases, for example, the great bubonic plague (Black Death) ofthe fourteenth century, which began in China and within decades reached both theArab world and Europe, with deadly effects. An increasingly important componentof world history involves understanding the different reactions by the majorcivilizations to their wider contacts. Muslim traders organized the interregionalnetwork during much of the period, but Mongol conquests and, briefly, Chineseinitiative played major roles in the final postclassical centuries.Two kinds of comparison focus attention on the major developments of thepostclassical period: comparison of separate patterns and comparison of reactions tocommon forces.First, the distinct characteristics of individual civilizations continue to commandattention. Particular world religions provided new contrasts among regions. Thus,the impacts of religion on government forms created some common themes but alsosome new differentiation between the Middle East and Christian Europe. Conditionsof women were affected by the different cultures of Islam and the major strands ofChristianity, whereas China, less affected by new cultural influences, displayed morecontinuity. Comparison is vital to determine the characteristics of the newcivilization centers and their relationship to the older civilizations.The second type of comparison is possible because of the intensification ofinteractions among civilizations in Asia, Africa, and Europe. Still distinctive, manycivilizations had to respond to common influences and events. Increasing interactionthus organizes a new set of comparative issues, which had not existed in theprevious world history periods: comparison around a common development orcontact. Europeans and Muslims encountered each other in Christian crusades toconquer the Holy Land. These conflicts provided important new influences onEurope but also allow analysis of differences and hostilities between the twosocieties that were sharpened by contact. Merchant activity increased in thepostclassical centuries, through both internal and external trade. Despite newcommercial contacts, different societies maintained different ideas about merchantsand their contributions. Near the end of the period, the Mongol conquests in China,Russia, and elsewhere created new channels of international exchange—but again,reactions to this episode varied, showing how civilizations could change as a resultof common impacts but retain their distinctive patterns.
