Author Description

'gift And Gain' 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. 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 Terrence -- 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 Reciprosity -- 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. Halftway To Modernity. Neil Coffee. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes.