These are some interesting quotes from the Roman writer Tertullian in his homily Spectacles. In this homily, he considers the perversion of God's good Creation by Man; carnal pleasure in public entertainments and in pagan literature; how good and evil are not perceived properly outside Scripture; how truth which is defined by God (and not by opinion and personal inclination) stabilises feelings and judgement, and controls passions and frenzies which "vex the Holy Spirit":
Tertullian says:
No one denies-- because everyone knows what nature of its own accord tells us--that God is the Creator of the universe, and that this universe is good and has been made over to man by its Creator. But because they (Romans) have no real knowledge of God--knowing Him only by natural law and not by right of friendship, knowing Him only from afar and not from intimate association--it is inevitable that they prove ignorant of His commands regarding the use of His creation. Likewise, must they be unaware of the rival power that by its hostile actions seeks to pervert to wrong uses the things of divine creation. For with such defective knowledge of God one cannot know either His will or His adversary.Tertullian says:
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Accordingly, you will find more people turned away from our religion by the danger to their pleasures than by the danger to their lives. For of death even a fool is not particularly afraid, feeling that it is a debt he owes to nature; but pleasure, inasmuch as it is born with man, even a sage does not despise, since both fool and sage have no other gratification in life but pleasure.
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We must, then, consider not only by whom all things were created (God), but also by whom they were perverted (man).
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God has given us the command both to deal with the Holy Spirit in tranquillity, gentleness, quiet, and peace, inasmuch as, in accordance with the goodness of His nature, He is tender and sensitive, and also not to vex Him by frenzy, bitterness of feeling, anger, and grief. Since then frenzy is forbidden to us….
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What wonder! Such are the inconsistencies of men who confuse and confound the nature of good and evil through their fickleness of feeling and instability in judgement.
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All things, we maintain, are firmly defined by the truth of God. The heathens (i.e. Romans) do not possess the fullness of truth. Since their teacher of truth is not God, they form their judgement of good and evil in accordance with their own opinion and inclination, making what is good in one place, evil in another - and what is evil in one place, good in another.
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This reminded me that Augustine also mentions the arena in Confessions (Book VI) where he describes how his pupil Alypius became intoxicated (temporarily) by the sight of spilt blood. Interestingly Augustine uses the some of the same vocabulary as Tertullian e.g. frenzy. 'When he saw the blood it was as though he had drunk a deep draught of savage passion.'
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