Just at the time, when the capitals of Hellas and Rome were reservoirs
for all the streams of wickedness and infamy, there originated in
Palestine a religious sect destined to exercise an enormous influence
upon the moral and political life of the world. Its adherents called
themselves =Christians=, “the Annointed,” and followed the doctrines of
Jesus, who, according to the Jewish historian Josephus, was condemned
for his teachings by Pilate, the Roman governor of Judæa, and crucified.
As Jesus left no records or gospels written by himself, we do not know
his personal views about woman, home, marriage, and maternity. We must
rely on the accounts which were written by his followers many years
after his death, and now are called the New Testament. After the death
of Jesus some of his followers drifted from Palestine to Syria, Greece
and Rome, where for their pure and austere morals they attracted the
attention of numerous persons who stood aghast in views of the vices
that surrounded them.
For the spread of a new religion such as Christianity, the Roman world
was wonderfully ripe. As it had been the politics of Rome not to
interfere with the religions of the peoples subdued by her armies, there
had been added to the already overcrowded pantheon of Rome many of the
principal deities of the conquered nations. But there existed also a
longing for some religion, which would have more individuality and
personal power in it then were supplied by the thoughts of a supreme
spiritual fate, or by the mere materialistic conception of the genius of
Rome. There was a decided thirst for information about sacred things.
Men discussed the claims of the various conflicting religions
philosophically, and amid all the gross materialism of the time there
were longings for some deeper, truer religion than any they had known.
This longing was satisfied by the simple but sublime conceptions of God
held by the Christians, and also by the noble purity of their life.
These Christians had no settled form of doctrine, no settled rule of
discipline, no body of magistrates. They were merely an association of
believers in a common faith, with common sentiments, feelings, emotions
and convictions. To women this new religion was particularly appealing,
as it preached many important reforms. First of all, it granted to woman
the full right of disposing of herself. By making her consent necessary
for marriage, woman remained no longer a piece of property, which might
be sold or disposed of at will by the father, brother, husband or other
relatives. She also was not compelled any more to accommodate, with her
own body, some visiting strangers. There was no hierarchical
prostitution, either, but matrimony was elevated to a sacred ceremony,
of which the benediction of a priest formed a necessary part. Chastity
was regarded a supreme law, which governed the whole family life.
The majority of these Christians consisted of poor illiterate people,
who tried to lead a clean and honest life. Their simple manners and
frugal habits contrasted strongly with the luxury of those Greek and
Roman patricians among whom they dwelt. They regarded such extravagance
with contempt, and the unlimited emancipation and licentiousness of the
rich women filled them with horror.
Accordingly they applied to themselves strict rules which would protect
them against any temptation. For this reason their women never adorned
themselves with jewelry or gaudy dresses of dyed cloth, silk, and
embroideries; they never wore false or colored hair. If married, they
took care of the house, attended to the children, and were devoted to
their husbands, whom they respected as the head of the family. The only
occasion for their going out was when they went to church, or to visit
some poor or sick neighbor.
Depending on one another, husband and wife endeavored to form that union
recommended by the scriptures as the goal of married life.
Such happy nuptial ties inspired Tertullian, a Carthaginian, who came in
contact with Christians in Rome, to the following lines: “Whence are we
to find language adequate to describe the happiness of that marriage
which the church cements and the oblation confirms, and the benediction
signs and seals, which angels report and the Father holds as ratified?
Together they pray, together prostrate themselves, together they perform
their fasts, mutually teaching, mutually exhorting, mutually
sustaining.”
Commemorations of conjugal happiness, and commendations of such female
virtues as modesty, chastity, prudence and diligence, we also frequently
find in many sepulchral inscriptions of the Catacombs, those famous
subterranean cemeteries excavated by the early Christians of Rome for
the express and sole purpose of burying their dead. There are
inscriptions as for instance: “Our well deserving father and mother, who
lived together (for 20, 30, 50 or even 60 years) without any complaint
or quarrel, without taking or giving offense.”
During the first centuries of Christianity women took a prominent part
in all affairs of the church and they were allowed to be active wherever
there was a chance to spread the Gospel. In particular, they taught the
children, took charge of the orphans, and acted as door-keepers in the
assembly rooms, directing the worshipers to their places, and seeing
that all behaved quietly and reverently.
The new sect, which in every respect contrasted so strongly with Roman
customs and conceptions, could not fail to attract the attention and
inquisitiveness of the people as well as of the Government. But also
suspicion and hostility were aroused. As the Christians met secretly in
private houses, people suspected that they were conspirators banded
together for criminal purposes, that they occasionally slaughtered
infants, poured their blood into a cup, and that passing this cup around
they all drank of it. Their insistance in only one God, that of the
despised Jews, and their aim to discredit and overthrow all other creeds
of the world in order to fuse all mankind in their own faith, were
decried as contempt of those deities, under which Rome had become great
and prosperous. Naturally, their enmity against these deities was
regarded as enmity against the State, which stood under the protection
of these deities. Accused of being apostates and revolutionists, the
Christians soon enough became the objects of much bitter persecution;
such as has been described by Sienkiewicz in his famous book “Quo
Vadis.”
During these persecutions the Christian women shared with their
husbands, children and brothers all the horrible cruelties Roman
ingenuity could invent. In the arena they were thrown before lions,
tigers, bears and other savage beasts. They were crucified, or besmeared
with pitch and publicly burned. Worst of all, many of those women who
regarded chastity as their highest virtue, were handed over to the
keepers of brothels and made victims to the voluptuous passions of the
lowest class of people.
But in time the pure and noble ideals which inspired the hearts of those
first Christians, began to appeal to the masses of the people. The
scriptures of the great apologists Tertullian, Justin, Origenes and
others were read and studied with growing interest. And when later on
Emperor Constantine, surnamed the Great, for motives of political
expediency, favored and adopted the new faith, the triumph of
Christianity was secured.
[Illustration]
[Illustration:
ARABIC WOMEN IN ANCIENT TIMES.
]