Deck 4: From Classical Rome to the Early Middle Ages

Question 1

Stoic philosophy held that:

A) the universe determines life.
B) the individual is free to choose life's direction.
C) people can control the forces of fate.
D) the individual creates her or his personal consciousness.
E) the end or goal of life is happiness.

Answer 1

the universe determines life.

Question 2

In contrast to the Stoics, the Epicureans held that:

A) each person has a spiritual and immortal soul.
B) reason and freedom characterize human experience.
C) the direction of the individual is determined by fate.
D) the soul is a material part of the body.
E) the environment is governed by a universal determination.

Answer 2

the soul is a material part of the body.

Question 3

Epicurean philosophy held that:

A) the universe determines life.
B) the individual is free to choose life's direction.
C) people can control the forces of life.
D) the individual creates her or his personal consciousness.
E) the end or goal of life is happiness.

Answer 3

the end or goal of life is happiness.

Question 4

Two sources of pressure for early Christianity came from:

A) too many converts and too few bishops.
B) internal heresies and external disintegration of the Roman order.
C) the Gnostic writers and persecutions directed from Jerusalem.
D) Roman persecution and the destruction of Jerusalem.
E) the destruction of Jerusalem and the "anti-pope" of Alexandria.

Question 5

In his Confessions, St. Augustine argued that:

A) personal consciousness, endowed with God's grace, determines life's direction.
B) the rational capacity of the soul is sufficient to explain human activity.
C) the sensory capacity of the body gives knowledge of the universe.
D) the conflict between the passions and reason can never by resolved.
E) each individual should seek pleasure and avoid pain.

Question 6

The teachings of Jesus:

A) emphasized the importance of the soul and the spiritual life.
B) offered a direct challenge to Roman rule over Palestine.
C) were directly understood by Roman and Greek societies.
D) held that people are an inseparable part of the environment.
E) called for the complete repudiation of Jewish Law.

Question 7

During the period of the Roman Empire, intellectual pursuit benefited from:

A) the Roman love of abstract philosophy.
B) the Pax Romana.
C) the building of great libraries by the Romans.
D) the contests of gladiators in the Colosseum.
E) Roman religious practices.

Question 8

With the deterioration of Roman civil authority, the Church:

A) became the sole institution of social structure.
B) insisted on the intellectually pure practice of Christianity.
C) developed a ritualistic style based upon earlier pagan practices.
D) cooperated with the civil authority of the Eastern Empire.
E) became largely an urban institution.

Question 9

The Edict of Milan:

A) led to Augustine writing his City of God.
B) drafted Christians into the Roman Army.
C) made Milan the capital of the Roman Empire.
D) made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire.
E) divided the Roman Empire into a western part and an eastern part.

Question 10

St. Augustine's writings most clearly reflect the influence of:

A) Aristotle.
B) Plato and Plotinus.
C) Pythagoras.
D) the Epicureans.
E) Varro.

Question 11

Church teachings became standardized by:

A) St. Paul.
B) Jesus.
C) the Church councils.
D) the emperor.
E) St. Jerome's Bible translation.

Question 12

The Roman order brought to different peoples:

A) a love of abstract philosophy.
B) new methods of shipbuilding.
C) a common language, culture, and system of commerce.
D) very little.
E) an emphasis on the theoretical over the applied.

Question 13

The spread of Christianity was helped by:

A) the Roman administration.
B) the Pax Romana.
C) the Jewish administration.
D) Greek support.
E) the barbarian invasions.

Question 14

St. Paul's teachings reflect:

A) a strict adherence to ancient Jewish Law.
B) his rejection of Greek Philosophy.
C) his acceptance of Epicurean principles.
D) his pagan background.
E) Stoic self-discipline and spiritual faith.

Question 15

An example of Christian adaptation and extension of Greek philosophy is:

A) the rejection of the concept of the immortal soul.
B) Greek strict adherence to Hebrew Law.
C) acceptance of the seeking of pleasure and the avoidance of pain as the primary motivational principle.
D) the concept of the Trinity.
E) acceptance of absolute personal freedom.

Question 16

Plotinus' revival of Plato's teachings held that:

A) the body and soul serve parallel and equal functions in human psychology.
B) the body is both the agent and the prison of the soul.
C) the soul is probably a part of the body.
D) the body provides knowledge through the generation of ideas.
E) the soul is capable of detailed knowledge of a personal God.

Question 17

The importance of Roman Neoplatonism lies in its:

A) clear expression of Aristotle's thought.
B) acceptance of the seeking of pleasure and avoidance of pain as the primary determinant of human motivation.
C) denial of the spiritual soul.
D) rejection of universal truth.
E) dominance and adaptation during the early Christian era.

Question 18

The Roman appreciation of technological applications, in contrast to the Greeks, gave rise to:

A) a philosophy of universal knowledge.
B) new myths.
C) the study of various languages.
D) specialization of knowledge.
E) original literary forms.

Question 19

Augustine was prompted to write the City of God because:

A) he wanted to tell people about Heaven.
B) he wanted to tell people about Rome.
C) he wanted to articulate the mind-body relationship.
D) the residents of Alexandria had fallen into heresy.
E) he wanted to defend the Church from blame after the barbarian sacking of Rome.

Question 20

In the City of God, Augustine warned against:

A) overzealous spiritualism.
B) the dangers of Stoicism.
C) the evils of spiritualism of the earthly city.
D) the evils of materialism of the earthly city.
E) the dangers of an all-powerful papacy.

Question 21

In feudal Europe, Church teaching under the authority of the pope:

A) allowed great latitude of interpretation to the bishops.
B) recognized and tolerated psychologically disturbed people.
C) relied solely on spiritual power.
D) allowed all forms of intellectual inquiry.
E) equated psychological functions with religious experience.

Question 22

In contrast to the West, the Eastern Empire:

A) successfully fought off encroaching Islamic forces.
B) continued the Roman culture in Constantinople.
C) developed a culture with great centers of learning.
D) failed to convert the barbarians to Christianity.
E) remained loyal to the papacy.

Question 23

The monastic movement in feudal western Europe:

A) disintegrated into corrupt centers of military power.
B) emphasized the spiritual solitude of the hermit.
C) was largely confined to Italy.
D) preserved a semblance of intellectual activity.
E) became great centers of intellectual activity, ultimately giving rise to the universities.

Question 24

The intellectual centers of Islamic culture:

A) preserved and extended the teachings of the classic Greek and Roman writers.
B) were primarily concerned with theological teachings.
C) were confined to Arabia.
D) ignored Greco-Roman traditions and valued only the Koran.
E) emphasized Plato's teachings to the exclusion of others.

Question 25

Among Augustine's great accomplishments, he:

A) elevated the role of bodily processes in psychology.
B) completed the "Christianization" of Platonic dualism.
C) completed the "Christianization" of Aristotelian dualism.
D) succeeded in curbing papal authority.
E) defended the goodness of secular government.