An essay on western civilization in its economic aspects ..

W. (William) Cunningham

Sujets

• Civilization
• Economic history

Informations

• Publié par: les_archives_du_savoir
• Nombre de lectures: 7
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 10 Mo

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«iUMi«nMllMMfP*v?4a mm»ttmmmmmamo»mmimoan»minmtmmifffffTHELIBRARY
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OF CALIFORNIA
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BRANCHSOUTHERN
CALIFORNIAOFUNIVERSITY
LIBRARY
CALIF.ANGELES.LOSLiTT.D., LL.D.EDITED BY G. W. PROTHERO,
HONORARY FELLOW OF KING'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE,
WESTERN CIVILIZATION
IN ITS ECONOMIC ASPECTS
(ANCIENT TIMES)CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
ILoililon: FETTER LANE, E.G.
F. CLAY, ManagerC.
ecUinburgl): loo, PRINCES STREET
iSnlin: A. ASHER AND CO.
ILcipjig: F. A. BROCKHAUS
^.cia ^'cr!;: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
MACMILLAN ANDiJomfang aniJ Calcutta: Co., Ltd,
/?// yights reservedAN ESSAY
ON
CIVILIZATIONWESTERN
ASPECTSIN ITS ECONOMIC
TIMES)(ANCIENT
BY
D.D.W. CUNNINGHAM,
OF ELY.FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, ARCHDEACON
CAMBRIDGE:
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
I9II
3U?.211
First Edition Reprinted1898. 1902, 191V. \
PREFACE.
my endeavour in this essay to bring out thehas been
IT
features in the growth and diffusion ofmain economic
the CiviUzed Life in Western Europe, to which so many
have contributed; 1 have not aimedpeoples and countries
at portraying development of each of the separate pohtiesthe
which reference is made.to
that have to be faced, in engagingSome of the difficulties
the first, and othersin such a task, have been obvious from
been felt more clearly as the work progressed. Thehave
The socialchief of these is due to the lack of information.
of life was famiUar their contem-and economic side so to
uneventful, chroniclers haveporaries, and was often so that
particularly.rarely thought it worth while to describe it We
on detailedhave to depend on incidental remark, rather than
especially perplex-and deliberate description. This silence is
•ing in early times, and renders it very difficult for us to trace
the precise connection between one primitive civihzation and
with establishinganother. We have often to be content the
fact of intercourse, and thus indicaling a line along which
''3Preface.vi
could be easily transmitted. It is ofcertain arts and habits
art or institution may have beencourse possible that some
different societies ; but so manyinvented independently in
and are unenterprising andages and peoples have been
distant but related societies,uninventive, that, in the case of
intercourse always seemstransmission along lines of known
that of independent origina-a more probable hypothesis than
tion.
difficulty; even when distinct informa-But there is another
topic has been recorded, we have nottion on some economic
circumstances to be able to inter-sufficient knowledge of the
confidence. The last word has notpret the evidence with
been said on the precise aims of Solon's legislation, nor on the
exact character of the leather money of the Carthaginians, nor
on the agrarian system of the Germans in the time of Tacitus.
suitablePerhaps the hardest task of all is to find phrase-
ology in which to describe and discuss the reported pheno-
money-economy,mena. Before the era of the sides of life,
which we distinguish as economic and as political, were
merged together; in Egyptian history, foreign commerce
cannot be readily distinguished from tribute paid by de-
pendencies, and (to use modern terms) the "organization
of labour" was intimately connected with the "incidence of
taxation." In Greek and Roman life, analysis is much simpler,
and modern economic categories such as capital—can— be
usefully applied.
remarksMany of the in the following pages are necessarily
of a tentative character ; I cannot but hope, however, that the
advance of Economic Knowledge will gradually give us the