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11 Threats to the Roman order<br />

260<br />

Roman thinking about illicit versions of religious practices, which might<br />

threaten the religious and hence socio-political order, is the theme of this chap­<br />

ter. Laws defined illicit use of'drugs' for poisoning and magic (11.2) and illicit<br />

forms of divination (11.7); a law regulated clubs and associations (11.9), and<br />

trials were held for foreign superstitio (11.10). In the republican period there<br />

were tears about foreign Pythagorean philosophy (11.1), and in the empire<br />

about the magi (11.3). the Jews (11.8), the Christians (11.11) and the<br />

Manichees (11.12). We also present here texts that reveal something of the<br />

actual practices that were so condemned: love magic (11.4), curse tablets<br />

(11.5) and magical revelation (11.6). Other chapters explore these practices<br />

further: divination (7.7), Judaism (12.6) and Christianity (12.7). But the con­<br />

version of Constantine in A.D. 312 changed the old rules: the Christian church<br />

now received imperial benefactions (11.13), and towards the end of the fourth<br />

century it was now traditional sacrifice that was banned as a superstitio (11.14).<br />

See further: Vol. 1, ch.5.<br />

11.1 Burning of the Books of Numa (181 B.C.)<br />

Aparr from the action against the followers of Bacchus (12.1), there was little<br />

attempt under the Republic to destroy or repress tin-Roman practices. But five<br />

years after the Bacchanalia affair there seems to have been further reaction<br />

against a foreign 'threat', the philosophy of the Greek Pythagoras: Pythagorean<br />

treatises supposedly discovered in the tomb of King Numa (1.2) were burned<br />

on the order of a magistrate. There are problems with the story: Numa pre­<br />

dated Pythagoras by 150 years, and the sources disagree about the number and<br />

content of the books; there is however no disagreement that some books were<br />

destroyed. It may be that the 'discovery' of the books was a deliberate attempt<br />

on the part of some members of the Roman elite to foist some new religious or<br />

philosophical doctrine on the Romans under the guise of attributing them to<br />

Numa.<br />

See further: Delatte (1936); Gage (1955) 328-38; Pailler (1988) 623-703;<br />

Gruen (1990) 158-70*; other sources: Virro in Augustine, The City of Cod<br />

VI 1.34; LivyXI..29; Plutarch, Life of Numa 11.

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