r far back, it must have accurately
expressed the needs and the aspirations of the Roman people in their
struggle for existence. It is obviously, as described by the writers I
have quoted, a very mature growth, a highly developed system; and the
story, if we could recover it, of the way in which it came to be thus
formalised, should be one of the deepest interest for students of the
history of religion. Another story, too, that of the gradual discovery
of the _inadequacy_ of this system, and of the engrafting upon it, or
substitution for it, of foreign rites and beliefs, is assuredly not less
instructive; and here, fortunately, our records make the task of telling
it an easier one.

Now these two stories, taken together, sum up what we may call the
_religious experience of the Roman people_; and as it is upon these that
I wish to concentrate your attention during this and the following
course, I have called these lectures by that name. My plan is not to
provide an exhaustive account of the details of the Roman worship or of
the nature of the Roman gods: that can be found in the works of
carefully trained specialists, of whom I shall have something to say
presently. More in accordance with the intentions of the Founder of
these lectures, I think, will be an attempt to follow out, with such
detailed comment as may be necessary, the religious experience of the
Romans, as an important part of their history. And this happens to
coincide with my own inclination and training; for I have been all my
academic life occupied in learning and teaching Roman history, and the
fascination which the study of the Roman religion has long had for me is
simply due to this fact. Whatever may be the case with other religions,
it is impossible to think of that of the Romans as detached from their
history as a whole; it is an integral part of the life and growth of the
people. An adequate knowledge of Roman history, with all its
difficulties and doubts, is the only scientific basis for the study of
Roman religion, just as an adequate knowledge of Jewish history is the
only scientific basis for a study of Jewish religion. The same rule must
hold good in a greater or less degree with all other forms of religion
of the higher type, and even when we are dealing with the religious
ideas of savage peoples it is well to bear it steadfastly in mind. I may
be excused for suggesting that in works on comparative religion and
morals this principle is not a