Unit 06: Roman Occupations
Contents and layout ©1999 Joseph J. Hughes, Ph.D.
Revised 08 February 2005

vulgus                          tax farming
nundinae                        latifundia
laissez-faire			ager publicus
"Edict on Prices"               Gracchi

I. Roman attitude towards labor
   A. stigma of an honest day's toil
      1. once an idealized part of the -mos- -maiorum-
      2. now avoided at all costs by the wealthy
      3. worthy only for inferiors
         a. the vulgus (the poor toiling masses)
         b. slaves (more later)
   B. accepted livelihoods for the wealthy
      1. living off one's inheritance
         a. public service
         b. "leisure" pursuits
            1). gentleman farming (Horace, Cicero)
            2). arts and literature
         c. dissipated idleness
      2. business/entrepreneurship
         a. forbidden to senators by law
            1). matter of public interest
            2). very easily gotten around
         b. open to two other classes
            1). equestrians: increased their fortunes
            2). publicans: created theirs
	 c.  everyone else worked for a wage
      3. "moderately acceptable" trades
         a. primarily for less wealthy
         b. architecture
         c. medicine
         d. teaching
	 e.  Cicero's comments
	 f.  Cato ap. Cic. on acceptable professions (running livestock)
         g.  The truth about Cato (R 160)
   C. categories of free workers
      1. urban
         a. worked at peripheral trades
         b. lamentable living conditions
      2. rural
         a. worked mostly as poor farm labor
            1). hired hands
            2). sharecroppers
         b. lamentable living conditions

II. The working person's life
   A. the working day
      1. hours of the day
         a. divided into 12 segments between dawn and dusk
         b. sundial imported after 263 BC
         c. poor fake lighting: early to rise, early to bed
      2. days of the week
         a. week not really that important
         b. nundinae (market-day) every nine days
	 c. holidays become more frequent
   B. trades and occupations
      1. "cottage industries"
         a. shoemaking
         b. pottery
      2. service-oriented jobs
         a. launderers
         b. mule-drivers
   C. living conditions for working people
      1. rotten housing (more on this later)
         a. six-story tenements
         b. no running water
         c. no ventilation
      2. diet was lousy
         a. earning power for food virtually nil
         b. rampant unemployment caused a grain dole
         c. ate a lot of glop
   D. money and buying power
      1. average citizen in bad shape
         a. salaries much worse than today's
         b. inflation was rampant
         c. Diocletian's "Edict on Prices" (301 BC)
      2. "Edict of Prices" on buying power (rampant inflation)
         a. "Minimum Wage Method" (probably an overestimate)
            1). 25 denarii/day = $41.20 (8 x 5.15)
            2). 1 denarius: $1.65
         b. salaries
            1). mule driver, sewer cleaner: $5.10/hr
            2). carpenter, baker: $10.20/hr
            3). wall painter: $15.30/hr
      3. "Edict of Prices" on basic commodities
         a. food
            1). 1 lb. wheat: $9.99
            2). 1 lb. raw beans: $6.10
            3). 1 lb. oats: $3.04
            4). 1 lb. beef: $13.03
            5). 1 lb. chicken: $97.77
            6). 1 pt. "Heinz ketchup": $26.06
            7). 1 pt. "Food Club ketchup": $19.51
            8). 1 pt. respectable wine: $39.11
            9). 1 pt. rotgut: $13.03
         b. clothing
            1). good hooded cloak: $97.77 (+ material)
            2). pants: $29.52
            3). working boots: $195.52

III. The world of finance
   A. moneylending
      1. theoryetically illegal
         a. laws passed against "extortion"
         b. also considered dishonorable
      2. riches to be made
         a. example of the "noble Brutus" (48% interest)
         b. modern analogues?
   B. government contracts (-publicani-)
      1.  "Let the private sector take care of everythin, or laissez-faire
	 a.  "Less government is better government"
	 b. mos maiorvm
      2. tax farming
         a. pay the government a flat fee to pay tax
         b. extort as much as possible from provincials
      3. construction
   C. investments
      1. shipping insurance
      2. real estate
      3. agribusiness

 IV. Agriculture
   A. importance of agriculture
      1. staple of the mos maiorum
         a. ideal of the noble Roman small farmer
         b. replaced by agribusiness
      2. Roman world still dependent on agriculture
         a. farming still very labor-intensive
         b. free workers pushed out by slaves
   B. agribusiness as an investment
      1. accumulation of land a good investment per se
	 a.  hard to come by when Roman world was small
	 b.  centuries of conquest provide lots of ager publicus
      2. rise of latifundia system
         a. lots of capital to buy or rent land
         b. lots of ex-POW slaves to work land
         c. very profitable
   C. the simple good farm life
   D. complications
      1. exodus to the cities
         a. spread of latifundia
         b. difficulty of eking out a living
      2. growth of the urban mob
         a. once the ballyhooed "small farmer class"
         b. now subsisting on the grain dole
      3. possible solutions
         a. colonies
         b. land grants
         c. the Gracchi and their programs

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