alexandria and her schools-第22章

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sciplina　arcani；　of　an　esoteric　and　exoteric；　an　inner　and　outer　school；　among　these　men；　you　must　not　be　frightened　at　the　words；　as　if　they　spoke　of　priestcraft；　or　an　intellectual　aristocracy；　who　kept　the　kernel　of　the　nut　for　themselves；　and　gave　the　husks　to　the　mob。　　It　was　not　so　with　the　Christian　schools；　it　was　so　with　the　Heathen　ones。　　The　Heathens　were　content　that　the　mob；　the　herd；　should　have　the　husks。　　Their　avowed　intention　and　wish　was　to　leave　the　herd；　as　they　called　them；　in　the　mere　outward　observance　of　the　old　idolatries；　while　they　themselves；　the　cultivated　philosophers；　had　the　monopoly　of　those　deeper　spiritual　truths　which　were　contained　under　the　old　superstitions；　and　were　too　sacred　to　be　profaned　by　the　vulgar　eyes。　　The　Christian　method　was　the　exact　opposite。　　They　boldly　called　those　vulgar　eyes　to　enter　into　the　very　holy　of　holies；　and　there　gaze　on　the　very　deepest　root…ideas　of　their　philosophy。　　They　owned　no　ground　for　their　own　speculations　which　was　not　common　to　the　harlots　and　the　slaves　around。　　And　this　was　what　enabled　them　to　do　this；　this　was　what　brought　on　them　the　charge　of　demagogism；　the　hatred　of　philosophers；　the　persecution　of　princesthat　their　ground　was　a　moral　ground；　and　not　a　merely　intellectual　one；　that　they　started；　not　from　any　notions　of　the　understanding；　but　from　the　inward　conscience；　that　truly　pure　Reason　in　which　the　intellectual　and　the　moral　spheres　are　united；　which　they　believed　to　exist；　however　dimmed　or　crushed；　in　every　human　being；　capable　of　being　awakened；　purified；　and　raised　up　to　a　noble　and　heroic　life。　　They　concealed　nothing　moral　from　their　disciples：　　only　they　forbade　them　to　meddle　with　intellectual　matters；　before　they　had　had　a　regular　intellectual　training。　　The　witnesses　of　reason　and　conscience　were　sufficient　guides　for　all　men；　and　at　them　the　many　might　well　stop　short。　　The　teacher　only　needed　to　proceed　further；　not　into　a　higher　region；　but　into　a　lower　one；　namely；　into　the　region　of　the　logical　understanding；　and　there　make　deductions　from；　and　illustrations　of；　those　higher　truths　which　he　held　in　common　with　every　slave；　and　held　on　the　same　ground　as　they。

And　the　consequence　of　this　method　of　philosophising　was　patent。　　They　were　enabled　to　produce；　in　the　lives　of　millions；　generation　after　generation；　a　more　immense　moral　improvement　than　the　world　had　ever　seen　before。　　Their　disciples　did　actually　become　righteous　and　good　men；　just　in　proportion　as　they　were　true　to　the　lessons　they　learnt。　They　did；　for　centuries；　work　a　distinct　and　palpable　deliverance　on　the　earth；　while　all　the　solemn　and　earnest　meditation　of　the　Neoplatonists；　however　good　or　true；　worked　no　deliverance　whatsoever。　　Plotinus　longed　at　one　time　to　make　a　practical　attempt。　　He　asked　the　Emperor　Gallienus；　his　patron；　to　rebuild　for　him　a　city　in　Campania；　to　allow　him　to　call　it　Platonopolis；　and　put　it　into　the　hands　of　him　and　his　disciples；　that　they　might　there　realise　Plato's　ideal　republic。　Luckily　for　the　reputation　of　Neoplatonism；　the　scheme　was　swamped　by　the　courtiers　of　Gallienus；　and　the　earth　was　saved　the　sad　and　ludicrous　sight　of　a　realised　Laputa；　probably　a　very　quarrelsome　one。　That　was　his　highest　practical　conception：　　the　foundation　of　a　new　society：　　not　the　regeneration　of　society　as　it　existed。

That　work　was　left　for　the　Christian　schools；　and　up　to　a　certain　point　they　performed　it。　　They　made　men　good。　　This　was　the　test；　which　of　the　schools　was　in　the　right：　　this　was　the　test；　which　of　the　two　had　hold　of　the　eternal　roots　of　metaphysic。　　Cicero　says；　that　he　had　learnt　more　philosophy　from　the　Laws　of　the　Twelve　Tables　than　from　all　the　Greeks。　　Clement　and　his　school　might　have　said　the　same　of　the　Hebrew　Ten　Commandments　and　Jewish　Law；　which　are　so　marvellously　analogous　to　the　old　Roman　laws；　founded；　as　they　are；　on　the　belief　in　a　Supreme　Being；　a　Jupiterliterally　a　Heavenly　Fatherwho　is　the　source　and　the　sanction　of　law；　of　whose　justice　man's　justice　is　the　pattern；　who　is　the　avenger　of　crimes　against　marriage；　property；　life；　on　whom　depends　the　sanctity　of　an　oath。　　And　so；　to　compare　great　things　with　small；　there　was　a　truly　practical　human　element　here　in　the　Christian　teaching；　purely　ethical　and　metaphysical；　and　yet　palpable　to　the　simplest　and　lowest；　which　gave　to　it　a　regenerating　force　which　the　highest　efforts　of　Neoplatonism　could　never　attain。

And　yet　Alexandrian　Christianity；　notoriously　enough；　rotted　away；　and　perished　hideously。　　Most　true。　　But　what　if　the　causes　of　its　decay　and　death　were　owing　to　its　being　untrue　to　itself？

I　do　not　say　that　they　had　no　excuses　for　being　untrue　to　their　own　faith。　　We　are　not　here　to　judge　them。　　That　peculiar　subtlety　of　mind；　which　rendered　the　Alexandrians　the　great　thinkers　of　the　then　world；　had　with　Christians；　as　well　as　Heathens；　the　effect　of　alluring　them　away　from　practice　to　speculation。　　The　Christian　school；　as　was　to　be　expected　from　the　moral　ground　of　their　philosophy；　yielded　to　it　far　more　slowly　than　the　Heathen；　but　they　did　yield；　and　especially　after　they　had　conquered　and　expelled　the　Heathen　school。　　Moreover；　the　long　battle　with　the　Heathen　school　had　stirred　up　in　them　habits　of　exclusiveness；　of　denunciation；　the　spirit　which　cannot　assert　a　fact；　without　dogmatising　rashly　and　harshly　on　the　consequences　of　denying　that　fact。　　Their　minds　assumed　a　permanent　habit　of　combativeness。　Having　no　more　Heathens　to　fight；　they　began　fighting　each　other；　excommunicating　each　other；　denying　to　all　who　differed　from　them　any　share　of　that　light；　to　claim　which　for　all　men　had　been　the　very　ground　of　their　philosophy。　　Not　that　they　would　have　refused　the　Logos　to　all　men　in　words。　　They　would　have　cursed　a　man　for　denying　the　existence　of　the　Logos　in　every　man；　but　they　would　have　equally　cursed　him　for　acting　on　his　existence　in　practice；　and　treating　the　heretic　as　one　who　had　that　within　him　to　which　a　preacher　might　appeal。　　Thus　they　became　Dogmatists；　that　is；　men　who　assert　a　truth　so　fiercely；　as　to　forget　that　a　truth　is　meant　to　be　used；　and　not　merely　assertedif；　indeed；　the　fierce　assertion　of　a　truth　in　frail　man　is　not　generally　a　sign　of　some　secret　doubt　of　it；　and　in　inverse　proportion　to　his　practical　living　faith　in　it：　　just　as　he　who　is　always　telling　you　that　he　is　a　man；　is　not　the　most　likely　to　behave　like　a　man。　　And　why　did　this　befall　them？　　Because　they　forgot　practically　that　the　light　proceeded　from　a　Person。　　They　could　argue　over　notions　and　dogmas　deduced　from　the　notion　of　His　personality：　　but　they　were　shut　up　in　those　notions；　they　had　forgotten　that　if　He　was　a　Person；　His　eye　was　on　them；　His　rule　and　kingdom　within　them；　and　that　if　He　was　a　Person；　He　had　a　character；　and　that　that　character　was　a　righteous　and　a　loving　character：　　and　therefore　they　were　not　ashamed；　in　defending　these　notions　and　dogmas　about　Him；　to　commit　acts　abhorrent　to　His　character；　to　lie；　to　slander；　to　intrigue；　to　hate；　even　to　murder；　for　the　sake　of　what　they　madly　called　His　glory：　　but　which　was　really　only　their　own　glorythe　glory　of　their　own　dogmas；　of　propositions　and　conclusions　in　their　own　brain；　which；　true　or　false；　were　equally　heretical　in　their　mouths；　because　they　used　them　only　as　watchwords　of　division。　　Orthodox　or　unorthodox；　they　lost　the　knowledge　of　God；　for　they　lost　the　knowledge　of　righteousness；　and　love；　and　peace。　　That　Divine　Logos；　and　theology　as　a　whole；　receded　further　and　further　aloft　into　abysmal　heights；　as　it　became　a　mere　dreary　system　of　dead　scientific　terms；　having　no　practical　bearing　on　their　hearts　and　lives；　and　then　they；　as　the　Neoplatonists　had　done　before　them；　filled　up　the　void　by　those　daemonologies；　images；　base　Fetish　worships；　which　made　the　Mohammedan　invaders　regard　them；　and　I　believe　justly；　as　polytheists　and　idolaters；　base　as　the　pagan　Arabs　of　the　desert。

I　cannot　but　believe　them；　moreover；　to　have　been　untrue　to　the　teaching　of　Clement　and　his　school；　in　that　coarse　and　materialist　admiration　of　celibacy　which　ruined　Alexandrian　society；　as　their　dogmatic　ferocity　ruined　Alexandrian　thought。　　The　Creed　which　taught　them　tha