SunriseHues

“Since therefore the knowledge and survey of vice is in this world so necessary to the constituting of human virtue, and the scanning of error to the confirmation of truth, how can we more safely, and with less danger, scout into the regions of sin and falsity than by reading all manner of tractates and hearing all manner of reason? And this is the benefit which may be had of books promiscuously read.” -- John Milton, Areopagitica (1644)

Economy and Society in Ancient Greece (Pelican S.)

Economy and Society in Ancient Greece (Pelican S.) - Moses I. Finley, Brent D. Shaw A collection of Finley's 14 most important essays on the social and economic conditions of antiquity -- a useful reference for academic specialists.

The essays are organized around 3 topics: the ancient polis, slavery and dependent labor, and the Mycenaean and Homeric worlds.

I particularly liked the essay comparing the Greek conception of freedom with that of John Stuart Mill and the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.

This collection covers subjects from Athenian imperialism to Homeric marriage. Two themes stand out: the relationship of social values to economic activity, and the analysis of antiquity's stratification system.

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