The Collision: Why Christianity struggled to turn people from Epicureanism

The ideals of Christianity collide with those of Epicurus. Early Christianity was focused on pain. Pain reflecting that endured by Jesus, pain representing man’s dedication to god. Christianity used the threat of eternal damnation in order to sway people to support and abide by Christian ideals. Epicurus’ belief in the atomistic world directly conflicted with many components of Christianity. Epicureanism focuses on living in the now, with a definite way of looking towards the future. He argues that humans ought not to fear death because pain and suffering is brief and ultimately humans ought to seek pleasure “happiness, resulting from absence of physical pain and mental disturbance” (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). As opposed to Christians who believe that pain and suffering are the means to a beneficial end. The impact is that Christianity has no appeal if the afterlife does not exist and Epicureanism calls into question its existence. Also the benefits of epicureanism are definite and immediate while the benefits of Christianity are long term and uncertain. Further research indicates and conquers with Greenblatt in that early Christians attempted to combat Epicureanism by making it appear foolish,  ultimately putting the Christian faith on the other side of human rationality and desire.

 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epicurus/

http://www.epicurus.net/en/history.html#D

Did Christianity Cause the Dark Ages?

     In chapter 4 of The Swerve, Greenblatt describes a violent persecution of classical knowledge and the destruction of any text with pagan affiliations. Most famously, Christians supposedly burned part of the Great Library in Alexandria, threw out the books, and made the surviving buildings into a church. Christians, Greenblatt also claims,  purposefully made themselves illiterate in order to demonstrate their faith and purity. This caused a decline in manuscript copying, the extinction of thousands of works, and eventually, the dark ages. Veritable knowledge of science and mathematics, as well as huge amount of invaluable art and literature, were lost forever.
     I was suprised to find then, that there is in fact considerable disagreement over all of these claims; one internet writer (http://jameshannam.com/literature.htm) flatly denies the burning at Alexandria, and claims that there was no suppression of pagan writings. Instead, the author writes, persecution was only used to control falsehood and fake science. Another writer (http://christianthinktank.com/qburnbx.html) establishes that Christian leadership actually took great pains to preserve classical writing, but fails to explain its near-extinction. Can these claims be dismissed out of hand as internet quacks purposefully overlooking data to make a point, or religious zealots refusing to see fact? Are they valid when compared to the harsh criticism of respected scholars like Greenblatt? I believe that history may never know the full truth of this period, with so much lost to "the teeth of time", and that this will remain a hotly debated issue for a long time to come.

The Roman Church, another possibility for the destruction of ancient works?

            In Stephen Greenblatt’s The Swerve, I was interested in how Greenblatt described the different reasons for the disappearance of important texts such as Lucretius’ works as well as the works of many others. He argues that through the short durability of papyrus, the paper of the time, and because of the numerous bookworms, many ancient works disintegrated and were eaten away before modern historians could save them. He even calls the bookworms the title of chapter four, “The Teeth of Time.” I find this topic very important for understanding why exactly we have so few actual records of the people talked about in The Swerve. Possessing the knowledge of how the books disappeared allows readers to create and brainstorm different ideas about their own opinions around the notion of the reason for a disappearance of many great works. To further extend my knowledge about the actual reason why this happened, I consulted the Internet. Although many sources offered their different reasoning, I found one particularly intriguing. On http://www.livius.org/, I learned that one possibility for the disappearance of books in general over time was due to Church and religious beliefs at the time. This ties in to our current unit of Christianity in Roman times and how it influenced culture in the area. One possibility was that the church, trying its orthodox approach to everything, wiped out the existence of many books contrary to the belief of the religious hierarchy. This would have caused a major absence in books stating the multiple thoughts and philosophies of citizens in and around Rome. Many of these philosophers, such as the much searched for Lucretius, would have failed to convey their personal beliefs as a result of the destruction of them by the church. Although many possibilities for the destruction of books at the time exist, such as Greenblatt’s natural decay theory, the idea of the Roman church ultimately leading to an extinction of books containing thought and ideas of the time was most intriguing to me.

Can't Worm Your Way Out of this One

I found the topic of bookworms to be interesting in "The Swerve." Greenblatt argues that bookworms were one of the causes for the destruction of books and one of the reasons why we don't have any of the ancient texts. I chose to research this topic because I wanted to keep it lighthearted, while talking about something that was still somewhat important, that I don't have much knowledge about. I did not believe that little tiny bugs could've really done any harm, but that idea changed with my research.

There is actually no such insect called a "bookworm," but many kinds of insects will eat the paper of books, given the chance. These bugs include "book lice," who are so small they look like tiny specks, and they eat the mold of books. Cockroaches are some of the most destructive bugs; they will stain your books and lay eggs between the pages. Silverfish are bugs with a silver coating, who will eat cotton, glue, and paper. These bugs all cause immense harm. The former Chief Secretary for Ireland, Augustine Birrell, recounted a situation in which a bookworm had eaten through to the 87th page of a fifteenth-century vellum book. Combined with natural effects and the destruction of the Pagan books at the time, we can see how bookworms did have a somewhat significant effect on the disappearance of literature. 

Lactantius, "The Christian Cicero"

Greenblatt focuses on Lactantius, tutor to the son of Emperor Constantine, as one of the foremost voices denouncing Epicureanism. But Lactantius had other interests in addition to fighting the influence of Epicureanism; he is most famous for his Divine Institutes, an apology for and introduction to Christianity, written in Latin. His elegant style of writing and clear influence from his Pagan predecessors earned him the nickname "The Christian Cicero," although much of his work actually criticizes Pagan religion.

For some background, Lactantius was born in North Africa in 250 A.D. and converted to Christianity as an adult. He was a skilled orator, and taught rhetoric in Nicomedia. Later on, Constantine invited him to tutor his son, Crespus. Lactintius died around 340 A.D. in Gaul.

According to Greenblatt, Lactantius "wrote a series of polemics against Epicureanism" (102), probably referring to his De Ira Dei which was directed against Epicurean philosophy. Greenblatt cites Lactantius as an example of the great Christian backlash against Epicureanism. Christians disliked Epicurean philosophy namely because it preached a life of pleasure, which Christians viewed as a "code name for vice" (102). In Divine Institutes, Lactintius sets forth the first Latin attempt to explain Christian theology, which was a milestone for the spread of Christianity. I think Greenblatt is arguing that Lactantius helped fuel the "swerve" from Roman influence in the west, which encouraged advances in art and science, to a world dominated by the hierarchy of Christianity.

http://www.nndb.com/people/384/000105069/
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08736a.htm
http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2005/2005-04-36.html

Swerve Chapter 4 Analysis

In the Swerve, chapter 4, Greenblatt analyzes the wars between Christianity and Epicureanism. The purpose of life for Epicureans is to pursuit the pleasure and to diminish the pain. Following the nature and discovering the real truth become the way of living for Epicureans. However, Christianity focuses more on the pain. Human are much weaker in the world compare to the powerful god, and full of perpetual sins. Only after they have atoned their sins by infinitive human suffering, they will be able to approach the better life. Christianity asks people to stop desiring. One kind of desires is for the science and knowledge. People’s minds are imprisoned, believing that only god knows the truth. People should not question and rationalize the nature since it is the work of the god. The progress of real science is stopped. The literature work that is not associated with Christianity is abandoned and destroyed. The true fan of those real Latin literatures, like Jerome, is forced to make the sacrifice and give up their love for those real works. Instead of inspiring people to explore more about rational explanation for nature, Christianity is used as a way to gain power. Pope and bishops as the messagers of the god should receive the highest reverence. “Redemption would only come through abasement.”(106) Church high hierarchy is greatly highlighted. Questioning for the authority is not allowed. In short, the eradication of Epicureanism at last and the accentuation of human suffering stops people from questioning and rationalizing, therefore as the spiritual leader of the Christianity on earth, the individuals who in charge of the Christianity can easily gain the power.

The Rejection of Pleasure

The Rejection of pleasure was a defining feature of the early Christians. It was the biggest ideal that set them apart from polytheists and, even more severely, from Epicurius, and his main disciple Lucretius. Epicurius's whole philosophy was based on the seeking of pleasure, and even polytheists would not consider being self seeking as a sin. The very gods they worshiped thought firstly of themselves before others. This shift in priorities marked a great step in cultural evolution. Suddenly pleasure seeking and personal fulfillment were frowned upon. Celibacy was considered the most nobel mission, despite the fact that the celibate could never bear children to maintain the population. There was no longer any worries about the human race dying out anymore. The ability to reject even their basest desires shows deeper level of commitment to faith among many different religions. Celibacy was often a requirement for priests, especially among Roman Catholic, Aztec and sometimes even polytheistic religions, because, by giving up a pleasure, they could devote their focus more fully onto their devotion to their god (or gods). However the early Christians took those pledges of devotion a step further, and they physically harmed themselves to try and show their complete faith. In doing so they believed they would be saved from eternal damnation. They rejected all worldly pleasures to try and prove their commitment. These sacrifices of family and money were honored by society, not in the traditional way with gifts and favors, but rather with respect and reverence at their devotion. The actions of these devoted individuals helped inspire others to try to achieve that level of faith. By making their strife seem not only righteous but reasonable, the early Christians strove to make this devotion a cultural norm. Their actions of self sacrifice set the stage for a new type of devoted worshiper, who put their devotion of god before even their own body.

Sources:
http://www.learner.org/interactives/middleages/morelign.html
http://faculty.college-prep.org:2169/EBchecked/topic/37864/asceticism/433/Forms-of-religious-asceticism
http://faculty.college-prep.org:2169/EBchecked/topic/507284/Roman-Catholicism/257673/The-church-of-the-early-Middle-Ages

Destructive Religion

The Great Library of Alexandria was a center of math, science, and new ideas.  It contained books from many different cultures and encouraged the copying of books to spread education.  However, religion caused the destruction of the Great Library.  The first phase of destruction was caused by the spread of Christianity.  Monotheistic religions such as Christianity and Judaism became popular in Alexandria, which was primarily polytheistic.  Monotheistic religions are particularly dangerous because they are likely to regard gods of other religions as demons.  In other words, the Jews and Christians of Alexandria were not accepting of the pagans.  The Christian leader Theophilus, as well as his posterity, used his influence to attempt to drive out the pagans.  As a result, battles broke out and the Great Library was caught in the crossfire.  Many years later, the rest of the library was destroyed because it opposed the Quran.

Religion is dangerous when applied to large groups.  While it draws people together, it can cause heated conflicts.  It is acceptable for issues surrounding religion to get blown way out of proportion because a criticism of a religion is the criticism of how one views the world.  Religion can easily be used to control a large group of people.  If a government uses religion effectively, it can greatly influence its people.  This causes religion and its ideas to become twisted and lose meaning.  Religion can also be a great enemy of science.  It is a system of beliefs that relies on faith.  Science relies on evidence.  If one can believe in a religion, then why should they trust the real evidence that science provides?  Religion can cause a way on thinking that halts scientific progress.

Swerve Extension: Omitted Books and Teachings

        http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/jesus.html

     In Stephen Greenblatt's The Swerve, the fourth chapter explains how in the newly Christianized Roman Empire, Christians started getting rid of certain books. Specifically, Greenblatt writes about Christian officials trying to remove Pagan books and literature. Through more research I have found that not only were Pagan books removed, but also parts of the original story of Christ were omitted. Roman officials modified the stories and gospels to their own benefits and to make the new religion acceptable. In one instance to please the public, officials tried to cover up the crucification of Jesus because the Romans were the ones who actually crucified Jesus. To distract the public, the officials tried to focus the religion on over exaggerated miracles of Jesus and the preachings of his disciples and their students. By hiding the fact that the Romans had killed Jesus, Roman officials were able to maintain their power. In fact, Christianization of the empire actually became a tool for officials to grab more power. Roman officials and high priests also tweaked the image of Christ from a citizen who stood up against injustice and corruption to a divine being superior to humans. Romans authorities manipulated this idea in a carrot and stick fashion to convince the public to follow them. A Roman historian known as Irenaeus also supported officials by claiming that gospels that were not in their favor were created by the devil. The Roman public were fooled because they themselves were taught  Christianity by Paul and Peter. Since most of their knowledge of Christianity didn't come directly from Jesus, the Romans easily accepted the officials' version of Christianity. Furthermore, Paul's version of Christianity was very similar to the Roman official religion, adding to the illusion. In conclusion, Roman officials and higher ups omitted books and modified Christianity to gain power for themselves.

Swerve Chapter 4 Analysis: An End to Reason

           Through the last have of chapter four of his book "The Swerve", Stephen Greenblatt makes the fascinating analysis of the ultimate battle between the embracement of pain and the embracement of pleasure, embodied by the philosophies of Epicurus and the Catholic Church. Epicureanism holds true the belief that the world is made of atoms, tiny particles that cannot be any further broken down. From there they reach the key assumptions that the soul is mortal, the divine is minimal if present at all, the essential pursuit in life is pleasure. This heavily contrasts with the beliefs of the Catholic Church, who firmly sustained the beliefs that the soul was mortal, that the divine was all present, and that pain and suffering were the key stepping stones to achieving paradise. These contrasting philosophies were so divided that both could not functionally exist without any friction. Eventually, the teachings of Epicurus, which at a glance appears to be far more rational than the beliefs of the Church, were essentially eradicated by the efforts of the Catholic institution. This symbolic struggle between pleasure and pain, and the surprising victory of suffering, reveals a lot about Roman culture at the time. By using slanderous tactics and false accusations the church was able to stamp out the rational and practical, the Church managed to install a theological system that took suffering as the essence of holiness. This reflected the mindset of the general population at the time: a mindset shaped by endless war, poor living conditions, and constant violence that made suffering more understandable than pleasure, and made hopeful promises of paradise in the future more bearable than accepting that this life was all, that death was infinite, and that God didn't care.

Life After Death: Greenblatt Swerve Analysis

In Chapter 4 of his book, Stephen Greenblatt mentions Christians being ridiculed for believing in a life after death. For many years now, people have been following the teachings of Epicurus. This includes his teachings on how everything in life is made up of atoms, and that once you die, your body goes through the same transformations as everything else in life, and decomposes. This is why Epicureans would ridicule the Christians. Father Tertullian maintained the fact that in the afterlife, your body would return to you. This brought up many questions about whether one would you have all of the same body parts and the question of what somebody would do. Father Tertullian replied that on the Day of Judgment, everybody would be brought before a heavenly tribunal in the same physical position that they walked on earth. This argument is rather interesting, because Greenblatt’s argument throughout this book is that Epicurean teachings shaped modern thought in the Mediterranean. This point even further proves the actual impact of his teachings, in the way that they could have people second-guessing even the most popular religions. 

In Greenblatt's book The Swerve, Chapter 4, he talks about the rapid increase of the production of books during the hight of the book trade, which soon led to the plummeting number of copies being made.The Roman book trade centered around the librarii, the copyists, and the scribae, the scribes. The librarii were slaves or paid laborer who worked for booksellers. The scribae were free citizens who often had stable economic standings. The system of copying in the ancient Roman empire was actually very intricate. There was an "anagnost" which was the corrector who would read the manuscript aloud while the scribes around him would write what was being dictated. The book trade also protected the readers by making sure all of the books were copied exactly the same by having sixteen or fifteen symbols after the concluding words which would indicate whether the book was incomplete or not based on the location on the page. Although at first glance the scribing and copying system during the Roman book trade seems inefficient with flaws, the system of copying was very intricate in order to produce identical copies of books for the purchaser.

Reichmann, Felix, The Book Trade at the Time of the Roman Empire. The University of Chicago
           Press. JSTOR. (accessed October 31, 2013)

Bookworms

Bookworms

The one detail that really stuck in my head after reading this chapter was the mention of the bookworm. Book-eating insects, of course, are relatively unheard of in today's world, but apparently in the libraries of the ancient past they were a major problem. And although recent advances in bookmaking have all but eliminated readers' worries, the amount of texts that were gnawed into oblivion by these pests must have given historians major headaches.

When I was researching the first thing all sites informed me that the bookworm was not actually one species, thank you very much. Instead the word "bookworm" refers to any sort of insects that eat books. Robert Hooke's description (p. 83) was probably describing a silverfish, although according to the Encyclopedia Britannica booklice are also very common, along with roaches and termites. These species all feed on paper or the glue used to bind a book together, and can cause major damage. New chemical techniques in bookbinding render them irrelevant, although old books may display wear and tear from these book-eating insects.

Bookworms, silverfish, booklice, or whatever you want to call them, all link to Greenblatt's argument of how unlikely it was that Lucretius' manuscript survived the tide of time. Surviving the purges of Christianity itself was highly lucky, but to have been preserved for centuries and avoiding major damage from these voracious insects is truly a miracle—a swerve, as Lucretius would say.

The Swerve, Preface

As it turned out, my mother lived to a month shy of her ninetieth birthday. She was still only in her fifties when I encountered On the Nature of Things for the first time. By then my dread of her dying had become entwined with a painful perception that she had blighted much of her life—and cast a shadow on my own—in the service of her obsessive fear. Lucretius’ words therefore rang out with a terrible clarity: “Death is nothing to us.” To spend your existence in the grip of anxiety about death, he wrote, is mere folly. It is a sure way to let your life slip from you incomplete and unenjoyed. He gave voice as well to a thought I had not yet quite allowed myself, even inwardly, to articulate: to inflict this anxiety on others is manipulative and cruel. (4-5)

Greenblatt immediately lures the reader into his writing by sharing a piece of personal history about his mother. He explains that Lucretius' philosophy about death, and the fear of this inevitable consequence of life, was a complete revelation to him as someone who grew up with a mother who was constantly worrying about her own ending. On the Nature of Things helps Greenblatt realize that "to inflict this anxiety on others is manipulative and cruel," thus making his mother manipulative and cruel because her fear had a strong impact his childhood. By sharing his personal relationship with Lucretian philosophy with us, as the reader, we receive a different perspective on Lucretius' abstract ideas and also feel a stronger connection to Greenblatt, the narrator.

Analysis of Swerve's Preface

"The stuff of the universe, Lucretius proposed, is an infinite number of atoms moving randomly through space, like dust motes in a sunbeam, colliding, hooking together, forming complex structures, breaking apart again, in a ceaseless process of creation and destruction. There is no escape from this process. When you look up at the night sky and, feeling unaccountably moved, marvel at the numberless stars, you are not seeing the handiwork of the gods or a crystalline sphere detached from our transient world. You are seeing the same material world of which you are a part and from whose elements you are made. There is no master plan, no divine architect, no intelligent design. All things, including the species to which you belong, have evolved over vast stretches of time. The evolution is random, though in the case of living organisms it involves a principle of natural selection. That is, species that are suited to survive and to reproduce successfully endure, at least for a time; those that are not so well suited die off quickly. But nothing—from our own species to the planet on which we live to the sun that lights our days—lasts forever. Only the atoms are immortal." 

--Stephen Greenblatt The Swerve

In this paragraph, Greenblatt illustrates the relationship of human and the world clearly by using the image of atom and universe. Greenblatt shows his denial attitude towards the existence of gods. He argues that the life human lives and the things human creates are somehow the same—they are all chosen by the nature. It seems that the greatness of human civilization to him is just a result of a random selection, but is still kind of predetermined by the nature. His objective view of human civilization reminds me about a famous Chinese saying: That which is long divided must unify; that which is long unified must divide. History is always a process that a person or a group of people shows up to keep everything in a right track that is chosen by the nature, and there are some regular rules that we can find. Greenbaltt’s objective attitude towards history and his simple and concise language really arise my interest in reading his book.