[17] The exact date of the crucifixion is unknown. It took place during the reign of Tiberius, when Pontius Pilatus was procurator of Judea. [18] Tertullian, _Apology_, 37. [19] See page 199, note 1. [20] The meeting was called _ecclesia_ from the Greek word for "popular assembly." Hence comes our word "ecclesiastical." [21] Whence the word "priest." [22] The word "bishop" comes from the Greek _episkopos_ and means, literally, an "overseer." [23] It is highly doubtful, however, whether this legislation had any reference to Christianity. More probably, Constantine was only adding the day of the Sun, the worship of which was then firmly established in the empire (see page 229, note 1) to the other holy days of the Roman calendar. [24] See page 146. [25] See page 253. [26] See page 267. [27] See page 270. CHAPTER XI THE GERMANS TO 476 A.D. [1] 82. GERMANY AND THE GERMANS PHYSICAL FEATURES OF GERMANY The Germans were an Indo-European people, as were their neighbors, the Celts of Gaul and Britain. They had lived for many centuries in the wild districts of central Europe north of the Alps and beyond the Danube and the Rhine. This home land of the Germans in ancient times was cheerless and unhealthy. Dense forests or extensive marshes covered the ground. The atmosphere was heavy and humid; in summer clouds and mists brooded over the country; and in winter it was covered with snow and ice. In such a region everything was opposed to civilization. Hence the Germans, though a gifted race, had not advanced as rapidly as the Greek and Italian peoples. THE GERMANS DESCRIBED BY THE ROMANS Our earliest notice of the Germans is found in the _Commentaries_ by Julius Caesar, who twice invaded their country. About a century and a half later the Roman historian, Tacitus, wrote a little book called Germany, which gives an account of the people as they were before coming under the influence of Rome and Christianity. Tacitus describes the Germans as barbarians with many of the usual marks of barbarism. He speaks of their giant size, their fierce, blue eyes, and their blonde or ruddy hair. These physical traits made them seem especially terrible to the smaller and darker Romans. He mentions their love of warfare, the fury of their onset in battle, and the contempt which they had for wounds and even death itself. When not fighting, they passed much of their time in the chase, and still more time in sleep and gluttonous feasts. They were hard drinkers, too, and so passionately fond of gambling that, when a man's wealth was gone, he would even stake his liberty on a single game. In some of these respects the Germans resembled our own Indian tribes. GERMAN MORALS