고대 그리스시대의 종교적 사고.The Religious Thought of the Greeks, by Clifford Herschel Moore

고대 그리스시대의 종교적 사고.The Religious Thought of the Greeks, by Clifford Herschel Moore
PREFACE
In this book eight lectures given before the Lowell Institute in
Boston during the late autumn of 1914 are combined with material
drawn from a course of lectures delivered the previous spring before
the Western Colleges with which Harvard University maintains an
annual exchange―Beloit, Carleton, Colorado, Grinnell, and Knox. The
lecture form has been kept, even at the cost of occasional repetition.
The purpose of these lectures is to present within a moderate
compass an historical account of the progress of Greek religious
thought through something over a thousand years. No attempt has
been made to give a general treatment of Greek religion, or to deal
with pre- Hellenic origins, with religious antiquities, or with mythology.
The discussions are confined rather to the Greeks’ ideas about the
nature of the gods, and to their concepts of the relations between
gods and men and of men’s obligations toward the divine. The
lectures therefore deal with the higher ranges of Greek thought and
at times have much to do with philosophy and theology.
Yet I have felt free to interpret my subject liberally, and, so far as
space allowed, I have touched on whatever seemed to me most
significant. Ethics has been included without hesitation, for the
Greeks themselves, certainly from the fifth century B.C., regarded
morals as closely connected with religion. A treatment of the [ vi]
oriental religions seemed desirable, since the first two centuries and
a half of our era cannot be understood if these religions are left out
of account. Still more necessary was it to include Christianity. In my
handling of this I have discussed the teachings of Jesus and of Paul
with comparative fullness, in order to set forth clearly the material
which later under the influence of secular thought was transformed
into a philosophic system. Origen and Plotinus represent the
culmination of Greek religious philosophy.
Such a book as this can be nothing more than a sketch; in it the
scholar will miss many topics which might well have been included.
Of such omissions I am fully conscious; but limitations of subject and
of space forced me to select those themes which seemed most
significant in the development of the religious ideas of the ancient
world.
It is not possible for me to acknowledge all my obligations to others.
I wish, however, to express here my gratitude to Professor C. P.
Parker, who has shared his knowledge of Plato with me; to Professor
J. H. Ropes, who has helped me on many points in my last two
lectures, where I especially needed an expert’s aid; and to Professor
C. N. Jackson, who has read the entire book in manuscript and by his
learning and judgment has made me his constant debtor. The
criticism which these friends have given me has been of the greatest
assistance even when I could not accept their views; and none of
them is responsible for my statements. [ vii]