Gift and Gain: How Money Transformed Ancient Rome (Classical Culture and Society)

"The economy of ancient Rome, with its long-range trade, widespread moneylending, and companies of government contractors, was surprisingly modern. Yet Romans also exchanged goods and services within a traditional system of gifts and favors, which sustained the supportive relationships necessary for survival in the absence of extensive state and social institutions. In Gift and Gain: How Money Transformed Ancient Rome, Neil Coffee shows how a vibrant commercial culture progressively displaced systems of gift giving over the course of Rome's classical era. The change was propelled by the Roman elite, through their engagement in a variety of profit-making enterprises. Members of the same elite, however, remained habituated to traditional gift relationships, relying on them to exercise influence and build their social worlds. They resisted the transformation, through legislation, political movements, and philosophical argument. The result was a recurring clash across the contexts of Roman social and economic life. Neil Coffee's comprehensive volume traces the conflict between gift and gain from Rome's prehistory down through the conflicts of the late Republic and into the early Empire, showing its effects in areas as diverse as politics, law, philosophy, personal and civic patronage, marriage, and the Latin language. These investigations show Rome shifting, unevenly but steadily, away from its pre-historic reliance on mutual aid and toward the sort of commercial and contractual relations typical of the modern world." -- Publisher's description The economy of ancient Rome, with its money, complex credit arrangements, and long-range shipping, was surprisingly modern. Yet Romans also exchanged goods and services within a robust system of gifts and favors, which sustained the supportive relationships necessary for survival in the absence of the extensive state and social institutions. In 'Gift and gain: how money transformed ancient Rome', Neil Coffee shows how a vibrant commercial culture progressively displaced systems of gift giving over the course of Rome's classical era. The change was propelled the Roman elite, through their engagement in shipping, moneylending, and other enterprises. Members of the same elite, however, remained habituated to traditional gift relationships, relying on them to exercise influence and build their social worlds. They resisted the transformation, through legislation, political movements, and philosophical argument. The result was a recurring clash across the contexts of Roman social and economic life. 0The book traces the conflict between gift and gain from Rome's prehistory, down through the conflicts of the late Republic, into the early Empire, showing its effects in areas as diverse as politics, government, legal representation, philosophical thought, public morality, personal and civic patronage, marriage, dining, and the Latin language. These investigations show Rome shifting, unevenly but steadily, away from its pre-historic reliance on relationships of mutual aid, and toward to the more formal, commercial, and contractual relations of modernity Cover 1 Gift and Gain 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 List of Figures 10 List of Tables 12 Acknowledgments 14 Part I Orientation 18 Introduction 20 Part II Early Rome: Foundation 40 2. Looking Forward from Archaic Rome 42 Part III The Middle Republic: Adaptation 48 3. Adapting the Law in the Age of Cato 50 4. Ideological Flexibility: Cato and Ennius 64 5. Life before Liberality: Plautus and Terence 78 6. The Gracchi and the Failure of Collective Generosity 96 Part IV The Late Republic: Exploitation 104 7. Crooked Generosity in the Late Republic 106 8. Cicero between Justice and Expediency 116 9. Sallust and the Decline of Reciprocity 126 10. Caesar’s Wicked Gifts 132 11. Atticus: Banker, Benefactor, Paragon 144 Part V The Early Empire: Separation 152 12. Prying Worlds Apart: The Augustan Response 154 13. Seneca’s Philosophical Cure 168 Part VI Conclusions 182 14. Halfway to Modernity 184 Appendix 190 Notes 208 Bibliography 278 Index of Quoted Works 300 Genaral Index 306 I. Orientation. Locating the fault line : concepts and scope II. Early Rome : foundation. Looking forward from archaic Rome III. The middle republic : adaptation. Adapting the law in the age of Cato Ideological flexibility : Cato and Ennius Life before liberality : Plautus and Terence The Gracchi and the failure of collective generosity IV. The late republic : exploitation. Crooked generosity in the late republic Cicero between justice and expediency Sallust and the decline of reciprocity Caesar's wicked gifts Atticus : banker, benefactor, paragon V. The early empire : separation. Prying worlds apart : the Augustan response Seneca's philosophical cure VI. Conclusions. Halfway to modernity. Gift and Gain: How Money Transformed Ancient Rome shows how, over the course of Rome's classical era, a vibrant commercial culture progressively displaced traditional systems of gift giving that had long been central to Rome's material, social, and political economy, with effects on areas of life from marriage to politics.