Philosophies

The intelligentsia were turning to purer forms of philosphy. Epicureanism taught pleasure (not necesasarily sensual) as the chief good in life. Stoicism taught dutiful acceptance of one's fate as determined by an impersonal Reason which rules the universe and of which all human beings are a part. The Cynics, who have anumber of modern counterparts, regarded the supreme virtue as a simple, unconventional life in rejection of the popular pursuits of comfort, affluence, and social prestige. The Sceptics were realativists who abandoned belief in anything absolute and succumbed to doubt and conformity to preavailing custom. These and others philosophies did not determine the lives of very many people, however. Superstition and suncretism characterized the masses. Thus, Christianity entered a religiously and philosphically confused world. The old confidence of classical Athens had run out. The enigmatic universe defied understanding. Philosophy had failed to provide satisfactory answers. So also had the traditional religions. People felt helpless under the fate of the stars, which they regarded as angelic-demonic beings. Gloom and despair prevailed.