Mike Aquilina on the similarities between Ancient Rome and modern America in matters of life and death:
Was the child his? If the man suspected his wife of adultery — ancient Rome’s favorite pastime — he might reject the child without so much as a glance.
If the child was an “odious daughter” (a common Roman phrase for female offspring), he would likely turn on his heel and leave the room.
If the child was “defective” in any way, he would do the same. As the philosopher Seneca said: “What is good must be set apart from what is good-for-nothing.”
Life or death? It all depended upon the will of a man. Human life began when the child was accepted into society. A man did not “have a child.” He “took a child.” The father “raised up” the child by picking it up from the floor.
Those non-persons who were left on the floor — while their mothers watched from a birthing chair — would be drowned immediately, or exposed to scavenging animals at the town dump.
Against these customs, the Church consistently taught that life begins at conception and should continue till natural death. In such matters, Christianity contradicted pagan mores on almost every point. What were virtuous acts to the Romans and Greeks — contraception, abortion, infanticide, suicide, euthanasia — were abominations to the Christians.
"Yes, those practices are distasteful; everyone knows that. But let's not forget Roman support for generous welfare programs.
We Romans have built granaries to feed the poor.
And aqueducts to bring water to mothers and children.
And don't forget the roads; Rome would grind to a halt without them. That would leave Roman men out of work and their families impoverished.
And along with ample quantities of bread, we give the people circuses to break the monotony of everyday life.
Taken as a whole these issues form a 'seamless toga' — I know one-piece togas have no seams, but work with me — which permits us to take a broader view than we'd have if we followed the Christians and focused on one issue."
