Plutarch's Romane Questions: With dissertations on Italian cults, myths, taboos, man-worship, aryan marriage, sympathetic magic and the eating of beansPlutarch
Religion
Plutarch's Romane Questions: With dissertations on Italian cults, myths, taboos, man-worship, aryan marriage, sympathetic magic and the eating of beans
Plutarch
Rome -- Religion -- Early works to 1800; Rome -- Social life and customs -- Early works to 1800
Or rather, like as it was thought a great sinne and exceeding irreverence,
for a man to turne himselfe out of his apparrell naked, in any church,
chappell, or religious and sacred place; even so they carried a great
respect unto the aire and open skie, as being full of gods, demi-gods, and
saints. And this is the verie cause, why we doe many of our necessarie
businesses within doores, enclosed and covered with the roofe of our
houses, and so remooved from the eies as it were of the deitie. Moreover,
some things there be that by law are commaunded and enjoined unto the
priest onely; and others againe unto all men, by the priest: as for
example, heere with us in _Bœotia_; to be crowned with chaplets of flowers
upon the head; to let the haire grow long; to weare a sword, and not to set
foot within the limits of _Phocis_, pertaine all to the office and dutie of
the captaine generall and chiefe ruler: but to tast of no new fruits before
the Autumnall Aequinox be past; nor to cut and prune a vine but before the
Aequinox of the Spring, be intimated and declared unto all by the said
ruler or captaine generall: for those be the verie seasons to do both the
one & the other. In like case, it should seeme in my judgement that among
the Romans it properly belonged to the priest; not to mount on horseback;
not to be above three nights out of the citie; not to put off his cap,
whereupon he was called in the Roman language, _Flamen_. But there be many
other offices and duties, notified and declared unto all men by the priest,
among which this is one, not to be enhuiled or anointed abroad in the open
aire: For this manner of anointing drie without the bath, the Romans
mightily suspected and were afraid of: and even at this day they are of
opinion, that there was no such cause in the world that brought the Greeks
under the yoke of servitude and bondage, and made them so tender and
effeminate, as their halles and publike places where their yong men
wrestled & exercised their bodies naked: as being the meanes that brought
into their cities, much losse of time, engendred idlenesse, bred lazie
slouth, and ministred occasion & opportunity of lewdnesse and vilany; as
namely, to make love unto faire boies, and to spoile and marre the bodies
of young men with sleeping, with walking at a certeine measure, with
stirring according to motions, keeping artificiall compasse, and with
observing rules of exquisit diet. Through which fashions, they see not, how
(ere they be aware) they be fallen from exercises of armes, and have cleane
forgotten all militarie discipline: loving rather to be held and esteemed
good wrestlers, fine dauncers, conceited pleasants, and faire minions, than
hardie footmen, or valiant men of armes. And verely it is an hard matter to
avoid and decline these inconveniences, for them that use to discover their
bodies naked before all the world in the broad aire: but those who annoint
themselves closely within doores, and looke to their bodies at home are
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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