|
In ancient Rome, ''res divinae'', singular ''res divina'' (Latin for "divine matters," that is, the service of the gods), were the laws that pertained to the religious duties of the state and its officials. Roman law was divided into the ''res divina'' and ''res publica'', the divine and public or political spheres, the latter phrase being the origin of the English word "republic." ''Res divina'' also means, as a technical term, ritual sacrifice. In the Roman system of belief, ''religio'' was the acknowledgement of superiors through ''honores'' (honours). ''Caelestes honores'' ("heavenly honours") were offered to the gods, and very occasionally to mortals whose actions had earned great benefits for mankind.〔Beard ''et al'', Vol. 1, 77-9: early, fragmentary evidence from Ennius suggests that Romans of the 2nd century BCE were familiar with the "Greek" idea of the Olympian gods as originally mortal, elevated to posthumous godhead by honours and worship.〕 Earthly hierarchies reflected the celestial order.〔Gradel, 25-6, gives secular examples of “honours-for-benefactions” as the transactional relations between master and slave, patron and client, and cities and their benefactors.〕 Cicero, who was both a senator and augur, investigates the nature of ''res divinae'' and ''res humanae'' (human affairs) in his treatise ''De natura deorum'' ("On the nature of the gods"). He makes no attempt to develop an internally consistent system in which the rituals of ''res divinae'' might be modified by “higher truths” of doctrine or revelation. He concludes that even if the nature and existence of the gods cannot be proved beyond doubt, it is wise and pragmatic to honour them by piously offering the time-hallowed rites. Rome's continued success might depend on it.〔Cicero appears to be influenced by the works of his friend Varro, the prolific writer and philosopher.〕 Cicero's reasoning offers a stark contrast to later Judaeo-Christian definitions of religion as spiritual and godly in contrast — or opposition — to those things regarded as material and temporal.〔Gradel, 4-6: citing Cicero, ''Natura Deorum'' 2.3.82 and 2.28.72 and .〕 ''Res divina'' is an example of ancient Roman religious terminology that was taken over and redefined for Christian purposes, in this case by Augustine.〔J. Den Boeft. "(Some Etymologies in Augustine's De Civitate Dei X )" Vigiliae Christianae 1979 p. 250. Accessed on JSTOR 26 June 2007. 〕 In Augustinian usage, ''res divina'' is a "divine reality" as represented by a ''sacrum signum'' ("sacred sign") such as a sacrament.〔Herbert Vorgrimler, ''Sacramental Theology'' (Patmos, 1987, 1992), p. 45.〕 ==The ''Res Divinae'' of Varro== The multivolume ''Antiquitates rerum humanarum et divinarum'' was one of the chief works of Varro (1st century BC), who was the major source on traditional Roman religion for the Church Fathers. It was a particular target of polemic for Augustine, who incidentally preserves much of what is known about its content and structure. Varro devoted 25 books of the ''Antiquitates'' to ''res humanae'' ("human affairs") and 16 to ''res divinae''. His emphasis is deliberate; he treats cult and ritual as human constructs,〔Clifford Ando, "Religion and ''ius publicum''," in ''Religion and Law in Classical and Christian Rome'' (Franz Steiner, 2006), pp. 140–142.〕 and divides ''res divinae'' into three kinds: * the mythic theology of the poets, or narrative elaboration; * the natural theology of the philosophers, or theorizing on divinity (an elite activity to which ordinary people should not be exposed, lest they come to doubt the sacredness of social and religious institutions); * the civil theology concerned with the relation of the state to the divine. This schema is Stoic in origin, but Varro adapts it to the political and cultural concerns of his time.〔Gian Biagio Conte, ''Latin Literature: A History'' (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994, originally published 1987 in Italian), p. 213 (online. )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「res divina」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|