No More Learning

Miller, Walter (tr. ). Cicero: De Officiis. [LCL. ] London and New York, 1913.
13. THE SKY IS NO LONGER THE LIMIT: DIOCLETIAN'S CAP ON WAGES AND PRICES
INTRODUCTION
At the close of the third century CE, the Roman Empire was facing some serious economic challenges, including runaway inflation. The emperor Diocletian (reigned 284-306 CE) attempted to address the problem by issuing an unprecedented decree limiting the prices for commodities and services, and also capping wages. This decree, the Edictum de maximis pretiis, or Edict Concerning Maximum Prices, was issued in 301. Penalties for violating the edict were severe: death or exile.
The document is remarkable for the detailed information it provides about the relative prices of consumer goods at the time, as well as the wage scale in effect for a large number of occupations and professions.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. This detailed document forms the longest continuous text pertaining to economic issues still surviving from the ancient world, either Greek or Roman.
2. In the years of Diocletian's reign prior to the issuance of the edict, he and his armies had been engaged in seemingly endless wars and in putting down revolts in various parts of the empire. The tremendous expense associated with these campaigns may well have been a major factor in the economic crisis that precipitated the need for a cap on wages and prices.
3. Military adventurism may not have been the only problem. The contemporary Christian writer Lactantius implies that Diocletian's ambitious building programs also played a part in bringing about the empire's economic woes: "he had a certain endless passion for building, and no small exactions from the provinces for maintain- ing laborers and artisans and for supplying wagons and whatever else was necessary for the construction of public works. Here basilicas, there a circus, here a mint, there a shop for making weapons, here a house for his wife, there one for his daughter. " [Lactantius. On the Deaths of the Persecutors vii; tr. Lewis and Reinhold. ]
4. Most of the specified maximum salaries are per day or per month, but some are cal- culated according to the number of clients served, (or animals, in the case of veterinarians).
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Document: An Ancient Roman Wage/Price Freeze
[Excerpts from the preamble:]
If the excesses perpetrated by persons of unlimited and frenzied avarice could be checked by some self-restraint--this avarice which rushes for gain and profit with no thought for mankind . . . or if the general welfare could endure without harm this riotous license by which . . . it is being very seriously injured every day, the situation could perhaps be faced with dissembling and silence, with the hope that human forbearance might alleviate the cruel and pitiable situation. But the only desire of these uncontrolled madmen is to have no thought for the common need. Among the unscrupulous, the immoderate, and the avaricious it is consid- ered almost a creed . . . to desist from plundering the wealth of all only when necessity compels them . . .
It is our pleasure, therefore, that the prices listed in the subjoined schedule [i. e. , the text of the edict] be held in observance in the whole of our Empire . . . Therefore, it is our pleasure that anyone who resists the measures of this statute shall be subject to a capital penalty for daring to do so. And let no one consider the statute harsh, since there is at hand a ready protection from danger in the ob- servance of moderation.
[The initial clauses in the document specify maximum prices for all sorts of food and drink: wheat, barley, beans, rye, peas, rice, wines, beer, olive oil, salt, pork, beef, pheasant, chickens, sparrows, venison, butter, fish, oysters etc. The last clauses set the maximum prices for various commodities, including boots, shoes (men's and women's), fir and pine timber, silk, wool, gold, freight and transportation charges. The middle clauses set the maximum wages for a number of occupational titles, including the following:]
Occupational title
Farm laborer
Carpenter
Wall painter
Picture painter
Baker
Shipwright working on a seagoing ship Shipwright working on a river boat Camel driver
Shepherd
Muleteer
Veterinarian, for clipping and preparing hoofs Veterinarian, for bleeding and cleaning the head Barber
Sewer cleaner, working a full day
Scribe, for the best writing
Scribe, for second-quality writing
Notary, for writing a petition or legal document
Maximum wage (daily, unless otherwise noted)
25 denarii
50 denarii
5 denarii
150 denarii
50 denarii
60 denarii
50 denarii
25 denarii
20 denarii
25 denarii
6 denarii per animal 20 denarii per animal 2 denarii per man
25 denarii
25 denarii for 100 lines 20 denarii for 100 lines 10 denarii for 100 lines
Tailor, for cutting and finishing a hooded cloak of first quality
Tailor, for breeches
Tailor, for leggings
Elementary teacher, per boy
Teacher of arithmetic, per boy
Teacher of shorthand, per boy
Teacher of Greek or Latin language and literature, and teacher of geometry, per student.
Teacher of rhetoric or public speaking, per student. Advocate or jurist, fee for a complaint
Advocate or jurist, fee for pleading
Teacher of architecture, per student
Check room attendant, per bather
60 denarii
20 denarii
4 denarii
50 denarii per month 75 denarii per month 75 denarii per month 200 denarii per month
250 denarii per month 250 denarii
1,000 denarii
100 denarii
2 denarii
The Sky Is No Longer the Limit: Diocletian's Cap on Wages and Prices
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? denarii: A denarius was a commonly circulated silver coin, equivalent to four sestertii. For a discussion of the value of a sestertius, refer to the chapter on sports and games, p. 240.
? ? ? [Tr. Lewis, Naphtali and Meyer Reinhold. Roman Civilization: Sourcebook II, The Empire. (Excerpts from Volume III of the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, or CIL). Harper Torchbooks, New York, first edition pub- lished in 1966 (book was originally published by Columbia University Press, in 1955). Page numbers: 464, 465, 468, 469, 470. ]
AFTERMATH
Unfortunately, Diocletian's bold effort at controlling inflation with a wage/price freeze was unsuccessful, and the edict was revoked a few years after it was promulgated. Lactantius claims that violence erupted when attempts were made to enforce the law, that commerce was suppressed, and that prices actually increased. In any event, it was apparent that the edict was not producing the desired effect. Diocletian abdicated his imperial office around 306 and lived the last decade of his life in relatively obscure retirement.
ASK YOURSELF
1. Some of the wage specifications seem to make sense. An artist creating a mural painting for a wall probably deserved to be paid a better wage than a worker who merely whitewashed the wall. But others seem a little odd. For example, why do you suppose a differentiation was made between a shipwright who worked on a sea- going vessel and one who did the same kind of work but on a riverboat? Or why would a wall painter qualify for a higher maximum than a carpenter?
2. Probably one of the most important occupations in the ancient world--both Greek and Roman--was agriculture. Some experts estimate that as many as 80 percent or more of the work forces of both civilizations were involved in some way with farm- ing work. So if this kind of work was such an important part of the economy, why do you suppose that two of the lowest pay ceilings listed in the document were for farm laborers (25 denarii maximum per day) and shepherds (20 maximum)?
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3. The maximum salaries for teachers vary greatly, depending on the subject(s) taught. Do these maximums tell us anything about the importance the ancient Romans attached to the various subjects?
TOPICS TO CONSIDER
e Someversionofawage/pricefreezehasbeenrecommended,oreventried, at various points in western history, in order to control inflation. Can you find other examples (in addition to Diocletian's edict)? How successful, or not, have these efforts been? If they succeeded, why did they succeed? If not, why not?
e It has already been mentioned that Diocletian's edict was not successful. The contemporary Christian author Lactantius provided several reasons for this. Can you think of additional reasons?
e ThedocumenthasalwaysbeenknownastheEdictofDiocletian,buthow likely is it that Diocletian himself was personally responsible for incorporat- ing the various maximums and other details contained in it? It seems rea- sonable to assume that his economic advisers put together the nitty-gritty details. But is there any way to know for certain?
Further Information
Barnes, Timothy. The New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine. Cambridge, MA, 1982. Corcoran, Simon. The Empire of the Tetrarchs: Imperial Pronouncements and Government.
Oxford, 2000.
Jones, A. H. M. The Later Roman Empire, 284-602: A Social, Economic, and Administrative
Survey. Oxford, 1964. Websites
Edict of Diocletian. http://www. 1911encyclopedia. org/Edict_of_Diocletian
What Things Cost in Ancient Rome. http://www. constantinethegreatcoins. com/edict
Bibliography for Document
Lewis, Naphtali and Meyer Reinhold. Roman Civilization: Sourcebook II; The Empire. New York, 1955.
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FOOD AND CLOTHING
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14. PLUTARCH AND FRIENDS TALK DIRTY (LAUNDRY)
INTRODUCTION
Plutarch's Moralia (Moral Essays), the source for the document, encompass a wide variety of subjects, including the kinds of issues that might be discussed at a dinner party.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. The scene: a dinner party in which three of the guests--Plutarch, Theon, and Themistocles--discuss the merits using freshwater instead of seawater for washing clothes.
2. Although the conversation ostensibly concerns laundry issues, notice that Plutarch also manages to incorporate into it a good deal of information about other topics.
3. Artistotle and Homer are generally considered the ultimate authorities on almost any topic, even something as mundane as the weekly washing, so it is not surprising to find that both of them are referenced in the document.
Document: Laundry Day in Ancient Greece
When we were being entertained at the house of Mestrius Florus, Theon the critic raised the question with Themistocles the Stoic why Chrysippus never gave an explanation for any of the strange and extraordinary things he frequently mentions: for example, "salted fish are fresher if wetted with brine"; "fleeces of wool yield less easily if one tears them apart violently than if one parts them gen- tly"; and "people who have fasted eat more deliberately than those who have taken food beforehand. " Themistocles answered that Chrysippus mentioned such things incidentally, by way of example, because we are easily and irrationally trapped by what appears likely, and contrariwise disbelieve what appears unlikely, and turning to Theon, he continued: "But what business have you, sir, to raise a question about these matters? For if you have become inquisitive and speculative in the matter of explanations . . . tell us for what reason Homer has made Nausicaa [see sidebar] do her washing in the river instead of the sea,
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Women doing their laundry. Greek, red-figured pelike (two-handled, free-standing jar), fifth century BCE. (Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY)
though the latter was nearby and quite likely was warmer, clearer, and more cleansing. "
"But," said Theon, "this problem you propose to us Aristotle long ago solved by considering the earthy matter in sea water. Much coarse, earthy matter is scat- tered in the sea; being mixed with the water, this matter is responsible for the saltness, and because of it, sea water also supports swimmers better and floats heavy objects, while fresh water lets them sink, since it is light and unsubstantial. For the latter is unmixed and pure, and so because of its light consistency, it soaks into cloth and, as it passes through, dissolves out stains more readily than sea water. Don't you think what Aristotle says is plausible? "
"Plausible," I said, "but not true. For I observe that people frequently thicken their water with ash, or soda, or, if these are not at hand, with a powdery solid. The earthy matter, it would seem, is more easily able by its roughness to wash out dirt, while the water alone because of its lightness and weakness does not do this [equally effectively]. It is not, therefore, the coarseness of sea water that prevents this action, nor is sea water a less efficient cleanser because of its acridness, for this quality cleans out and opens up the mesh of the cloth and sweeps away the dirt. But since everything oily is hard to wash and makes a stain, and the sea is oily, this would surely be the reason for its not cleaning efficiently.
That the sea is oily Aristotle himself has said. For salt water contains fat, so making lamps burn better. And sea water itself, when it is sprinkled into flames, flashes up with them. . .
What is more, the phenomenon can also be explained in another manner. Since cleansing is the aim of washing, and what dries quickest appears cleanest, the washing liquid must depart with the dirt . . . The sun easily evaporates fresh water because of its lightness, but salt water dries up with difficulty since its coarseness holds it in the mesh of the cloth. [Tr. Paul A. Clement. Plutarch's Moralia (626E- 627D). Volume VIII. LCL, 1969. Page numbers: 87, 89, 91, 93. ]
AFTERMATH
Plutarch was born in the little town of Chaeronea, in Greece, not far from Athens. It is known that he visited Rome at some point in his life, but eventually returned to his hometown, where he wrote most of his famous works, including Moral Essays. Toward the end of his life, he became involved in the civic life of Chaeronea, where he held various offices.
ASK YOURSELF
1. What are the main arguments for washing clothes in river water, not seawater? Are these arguments persuasive?
2. Aristotle's opinion was that freshwater, because of its "light consistency," soaks into clothing more effectively than saltwater and therefore dissolves stains better. Theon seems to agree, and he asks his friends whether they think Aristotle's view is plau- sible. What do you think?
3. Why does Plutarch believe that Aristotle's view is "plausible but not true"?
Plutarch and Friends Talk Dirty (Laundry)
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Chrysippus: Chrysippus was a third- century BCE Stoic philosopher.
He was a very prolific author of books and treatises on Stoicism; his works were so widely circulated and read that, in philosophical circles, he became more well- known than virtually any of his Stoic predecessors.
Mestrius Florus: According to the translator of the document, Paul A. Clement, Florus was a "pro- minent Roman, consul under Vespasian [Roman emperor, reigned 69-79 CE] . . . close friend of Plutarch . . . participant in no less than ten of the Dinner Conversations . . . "
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? LAUNDRY DAY IN PHAEACIA
In Book 6 of the Odyssey, Homer describes a pleasant scene in which Nausicaa, daughter of the king of the Phaeacians, Alcinous, hauls a load of laundry--via mule cart--down to a river, to do the weekly washing. An odd task for a princess, perhaps, but she is accompanied by several servants who will assist her. Homer's description:
When now they came to the fair river's current, where the pools were always full--for in abundance clear water bubbles from beneath to cleanse the foulest stains--they turned the mules loose from the wagon . . . Then from the wagon, they took the clothing in their arms, carried it into the dark water, and stamped it in the pits . . . And after they had washed and cleansed it of all stains, they spread it carefully along the shore, just where the waves washed up the pebbles on the beach. Then bathing and anointing with oil, they presently took dinner on the river bank and waited for the clothes to dry in the sunshine. [Homer. The Odyssey 6; tr. Palmer. ]
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? ? ? ? GET THAT STAIN OUT!
In another one of his dinner conversation dialogues, Plutarch notes that olive oil stains are among the most stubbornly difficult to remove from clothing. He attributes this phenomenon to the high degree of liquidity present in olive oil.
? ? ? TOPICS TO CONSIDER
e Plutarch states that Chrysippus the philosopher brought up the topics of "salted fish," "fleeces of wool," and "people who have fasted," but that he never explained why he mentioned those topics, other than to state that they were examples of how people often irrationally believe what appears likely or disbelieve that which does not. How would these examples prove his point?
e Canyoutellifanywhereinthedocument,Plutarchrecommendsanykind of additive--that is, laundry detergent--for use in washing clothes? Or is the consistency and composition of freshwater alone sufficient to launder clothes?
e Why do you suppose Plutarch--and Aristotle--claim that seawater is "oily"? What do you think they mean by this description?
e DoyouagreewithPlutarch'snotionthatsaltwaterisinferiortofreshwater for washing clothes, because "salt water dries up with difficulty since its coarseness holds it in the mesh of the cloth"?
Further Information
Barrow, Reginald Haynes. Plutarch: His Life, His Lives, and His Morals. Bloomington, IN, 1967.
Gianakaris, C. J. Plutarch. New York, 1970.
Pelling, Christopher. Plutarch and History: Eighteen Studies. London, 2002. Russell, D. A. Plutarch. London, 2010.
Website
Plutarch: Moralia. http://www. attalus. org/info/moralia. html Bibliography for Document
Clement, Paul A. (tr. ). Plutarch's Moralia. Volume VIII. [LCL. ] London and Cambridge. 1969.
Palmer, George Herbert (tr. ). The Odyssey: Homer. New York, 1962.
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15. AFTER A LONG DAY OF MARCHING OR FIGHTING, WHAT DID THE HOMERIC HEROES EAT?
INTRODUCTION
Athenaeus's lengthy book on dinner conversations offers an account about the menu options for the Greek epic heroes who fought in the Trojan War, and also some of the foods men- tioned in the Odyssey.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. Athenaeus's (fl. ca. 200 CE) Deipnosophistae (Sophists at Dinner) is a vast compen- dium of all kinds of information that one might reasonably expect to be discussed over the dinner table by knowledgeable and clever dinner guests. The work is di- vided into 15 books, all organized as dialogues; 14 guests are present, with the host, Athenaeus, bringing the total number of diners to 15. The translator of the docu- ment, Charles Gulick, aptly notes: "Greek conviviality was not incompatible with more or less sober discussions, and to make a banquet the scene and setting of philo- sophical discourse seemed natural. Plato's Symposium, Xenophon's Symposium, [and] Lucian's Symposium . . . testify to the popularity in ancient times . . . of this lit- erary form" [p. x].
2. The document is excerpted from Book 1 of Deipnosophistae.
3. Athenaeus frequently quotes short passages from both the Iliad and the Odyssey,
indicating the primacy of those works and also the high degree of familiarity with
them that Greek (and Roman) authors possessed.
4. The Phaeacians (first sidebar) lived on an island not far from Athens. Odysseus was
shipwrecked there, on his voyage home from Troy, after the Trojan War. The Phaeacians received him hospitably, and, after a sumptuous banquet, he told them of his many adventures during the voyage. Books Nine through Twelve of Homer's Odyssey are comprised of this recitation.
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? Document: Menu Options Described in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey
The heroes had vegetables . . . served to them at meals. That they are acquainted with the growing of vegetables is clear from the words "beside the farthest line of trimly planted garden beds" [Odyssey 7. 127]. Moreover, they ate onions, too, though they are full of unhealthy juices: "thereto an onion, as relish to the drink" [Iliad 11. 630]. Homer also portrays them as devoted to the culture of fruit trees: "For pear on pear waxes old, fig on fig" [Odyssey 7. 114. ]. Hence he bestows the epithet "beauti- ful" on fruit-bearing trees: "Beautiful trees grow there-- pears, pomegranates, and apples. " [Odyssey 7. 120] . . . The use of these fruit trees was older even than the Trojan war. Tantalus, for example, is not released from his hunger for them even after he is dead, seeing that the god who metes out punishment to him dangles fruit of this kind before him . . . yet prevents him from enjoying them at the moment when he comes near to realizing his hopes. Odysseus, too, reminds [his father] Laertes of what he had given him in his boyhood, "Pear trees thou gavest to me, thirteen," etc. [Odyssey 24. 340].
That they also ate fish is disclosed by Sarpedon [a leader of the Trojan army], when he compares captivity to the catch of a great [fishing net]. And Eubulus [an early comic playwright], with comic wit, says jokingly: "Where has Homer ever spoken of any Achaean [i. e. , Greek] eating fish? " And flesh, too, they only roasted, for he represents nobody as boiling it . . . Nor did the heroes allow the air to be free to the birds, for they set [traps] and nets to catch thrushes and doves. They also trained for bird-shooting . . . But the poet is silent about the eating of vegetables, fish, and birds because that is a mark of greed, and also because it would be unseemly for the heroes to spend time in preparing them for the table, since he judges it beneath the level of heroic and godlike deeds. But that they did use boiled flesh he makes clear when he says: "Even as a cauldron boileth . . . melting the lard of some fatted hog. " [Iliad 21. 362]. Then, too, the ox foot which was hurled at Odysseus [Odyssey 20. 299] is a proof of the boiling, for nobody ever roasts the foot of an ox. Again, the line [Odyssey 1. 141] "he [a servant] took and placed besides them [the suitors who had invaded Odysseus's palace in his absence] platters of all sorts of meat" shows not merely the variety of meats, such as fowl, pork, kid, and beef, but also that their preparation was varied, not uniform, but attended with ingenious skill. [Tr. Charles Burton Gulick. Athenaeus: The Deipnosophists (1. 24-25). Volume I. LCL, 1927. Page numbers: 109, 111. ]
AFTERMATH
Following the descriptions and anecdotes that appear in the first book of the Deipnosophistae, Athenaeus goes on to expound upon many other dining and food-related topics, including
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? fig on fig: See the sidebar, below. Tantalus: The famous mythological figure who, because of a trick that he played on the gods, was con- demned to stand eternally in a pool of water, with the branches of a fruit tree nearby. Each time he bent over to take a drink, the water receded just beyond his mouth, and each time he reached to grab a piece of fruit, a gentle breeze arose, and blew
the branch just out of his reach. etc. : The rest of the passage reads thus: "ten apple [trees], forty figs. And here you marked off fifty rows of vines to give, each one in bearing order. "
[tr. Palmer. ]
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After a Long Day of Marching or Fighting, What Did the Homeric Heroes Eat?
? ? ? ? PHAEACIAN BOUNTY
On his long journey home after the end of the Trojan War, Odysseus was shipwrecked for a time on the island of the Phaeacians (not far from the Greek mainland); the Phaeacians received him hospitably. Homer describes in great detail the wide variety of foods cultivated by the Phaeacians, on four acres of ground:
Here grow tall thrifty trees--pears, pomegranates, apples with shining fruit, sweet figs, and thrifty olives. On them fruit never fails; it is not gone in winter or summer, but lasts throughout the year . . .