Through the Eye of a Needle: Wealth, the Fall of Rome, and the Making of Christianity in the West, 350-550 AD

1155 Pages·2012·6.47 MB·English

by  Peter Brown

THROUGH THE EYE OF A NEEDLE
OTHER TITLES BY PETER BROWN
Augustine of Hippo: A Biography (1967; 2d ed. 2000) Religion and Society in
the Age of Saint Augustine (1971) The World of Late Antiquity (1971; 2d ed.
1989) The Making of Late Antiquity (1978)
The Cult of the Saints (1982)
Society and the Holy in Late Antiquity (1983) The Body and Society: Men,
Women and Sexual Renunciation in Early Christianity (1988) Power and
Persuasion in Late Antiquity: Towards a Christian Empire (1992) Authority and
the Sacred: Aspects of the Christianization of the Roman World (1995) The Rise
of Western Christendom: Triumph and Diversity, A.D. 200–1000 (1996; 2d ed.
2003) Poverty and Leadership in the Later Roman Empire (2002)
THROUGH THE EYE OF A NEEDLE
Wealth, the Fall of Rome, and the Making of Christianity in the West,
350–550
AD
PETER BROWN
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
Princeton and Oxford
Copyright © 2012 by Princeton University Press Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William
Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, 6 Oxford Street, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1TW
press.princeton.edu
Jacket photograph: A hoard of gold and silver coins buried in a wooden chest, along with precious
ornaments and tableware, at Hoxne in East Anglia (Britain).
Copyright © The Trustees of The British Museum; photo credit: Art Resource, NY
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Brown, Peter, 1935– Through the eye of a needle :
wealth, the fall of Rome, and the making of Christianity in the West, 350–550 AD / Peter Brown.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-691-15290-5 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Church history—Primitive and early church, ca. 30–
600. 2. Wealth—Religious aspects—Christianity—History. 3. Rome—History—Empire, 284–476. I. Title.
BR162.3.B77 2012
270.2—dc23 2011045697
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available This book has been composed in Garamond
Premier Pro Printed on acid-free paper.
Printed in the United States of America 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
For Betsy
Jesus said to him: “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to
the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the
young man heard this
he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.
And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man
to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying: “Who then
can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is
impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
—Matthew 19:21–26 (Revised Standard Version)
CONTENTS
LIST OF MAPS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PREFACE
PART I
Wealth, Christianity, and Giving at the End of an Ancient World
CHAPTER 1
Aurea aetas
Wealth in an Age of Gold
CHAPTER 2
Mediocritas
THE SOCIAL PROFILE OF THE LATIN CHURCH, 312–CA. 370
CHAPTER 3
Amor civicus
Love of the city
WEALTH AND ITS USES IN AN ANCIENT WORLD
CHAPTER 4
“Treasure in Heaven”
WEALTH IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
PART II
An Age of Affluence