A. SOUTER.
TRADE AND COMMERCE.—!. Introductory.—
Tr.ade and commerce occupied almost as great a place in the life of ancient communities as they do in modern times. Indeed, apart from such de- velopments as the railwaj', the steamship, the telegraph, and the telephone have introduced, tlie chief ditt'erence between the two periods might lie found in the somewhat changed attitude of the leisured and professional classes towards them. The attitude which the philosopher Plato adopts towards manual industries as /Sdi'oi/iroi, ' base, ignoble, vulgar,' was only too faithfully followed by the whole class of writers, Greek and Roman. It is wonderful how long the absurd hypocrisy has persisted in Europe, by which the very pro- cesses which bring the necessaries of life within our reach, and the very sources from which directly or indirectly many draw their income, are despised.
It would have been hardly necessary to mention this attitude except for the reason that it afibrds a ready explanation of the scant mention which trade and commerce receive in the ancient authors. The extreme meagreness of our information makes it impossible to give any comprehensive or detailed account of the subject. The inscriptions are here
TRADE AND COMJIEECE
TRADE AND COMMERCE 601
more valuable than the authors, and even they as a rule make mention of coiniuereial matters rather V>y aci'itlent than of set iiur|)ose. The everyday experience of life is not as a rule that willi which writers earlier than our own period have thought fit to deal. The obvious is avoided, and we are often left to inference more or less hazardous. Tliere is one way, liowever, in which the permeat- in<; influence of trade makes itself everywhere felt, and that is in the language of metaphor. The Koman writers, for example, constantly employ metaphors from book-keeping.
The Jewish attitude to trade was altogether healthier than that of their Western neighbours. It was the custom to have every Hebrew child, whatever his station, taught a handicraft. The advantage of such a system from the mere health point of view, as a prevention of exaggerated mental development, is obvious. The prudential gain, under altered circumstances, is no less so. St. Paul, though a Pharisee, had been taught the trade of making tents out of rough C'ilician material, and tliis enabled him to be independent of his churches. The valu.able fruit of this inde- pendence was seen in his power to rebut charges that were levelled at fellow-apostles, who accepted a lawful material recompense for evangelistic work. The true Christian attitude has always given labour, however humble, an honour.aljle jilace. It could hardly be otherwise, seeing that the Master Himself was a carpenter by trade, and that a large proportion of the early converts gained a livelihood from manual labour, whether as free men or as slaves.
2. In the NT. — The NT contains a considerable body of references to trade in one aspect or another, some of which may be mentitmcil here, while others are reserved for later mention. St. Paul (2 Co 2") contrasts himself with the many who ' hawk (make merchandise of, KaTrjiXevovTes) the word of God.' 'Christ has bouqht us (i^-nyS- paaef) from the law's curse' (Gal 3'^; cf. 4°, 1 Co 6-" V-"*' ^°) ; we are advised ' to buy up,' ' make a market of ' (i^ayofiaidixd'oi) the opportunity (Eph 5'^ Col 4' ; cf. Kamsay, St. Paul tlic Traveller and the Moman Citizen, London, 1S95, p. 148 f.). One of St. Paul's f.'ivourite words is \oyl^o/iai, ' reckon,' 'calculate' (literally) (cf. Ko 4'- * : of some forty inst.ances in tlie NT, only seven belong to other authors ; cf. the rarer word iWoyiw, AXo7^w, Ro 5'^ Philem "). He constantly uses TrXoPros, irXoi'T^w, irXoi/rifu) (e.f/. 2 Co 8"', 1 Co 1", Ro 2\ Eph 1') of spiritual wealth ; cf. Bijaavpl^ui (Ro 2''). A metaphor from the testing of coin, etc., is 56/fi^os, 'approved,' and cognates (Ro 14'^ 2 Co 10'^ etc.) ; a meta]ihor from the earnest, tlie large portion of the price paid as a lirst instalment of a debt, is ippajiiii/ (2 Co 1" 5', Eph 1"), and /3f^ai6w, li(fiatto<rtt (1 Co 1', Ph 1') are supposed by some to be con- nected with surety. Partnership in business is suggested by Koivuvd; (2 Co I', etc.), KOivufia, M€Tox^ (2 Co 6" 8* 9", Ph P), amKoi.vuiv6s, o-wkoiv- uvlu, ffvf/fiToxos (Eph 3" 5'-", Ph 4''', Ro II"). Profit, gain, is suggested by xilpBoi (Ph 3'), by the constant use of irepiaabs and its derivatives, by irXeoxdi'w, irXeoi-fJfa (2 Co 8"* 9', etc.), and perhaps by Kapirlis. Indeed, the language of St. Paul especially constantly suggests a mental background of trade and commerce, only natural in one brought up in great cities like Taisus and Jerusalem. (On the subject of St. Paul's meta]ihors, see J. S. Howson's Metaphors of St. Paul, new ed., London, 188.'!, and \V. M. Ramsay's Luke the Phy.iician and Other Studies in the History of Reliijion, London, 1908, ch. X.)
3. Trade and the Roman army. —Trade in the Roman Empire both preceded and followed the eagles of the Roman army. That it preceded is
a natural inference from the invariable practice of tra<lers, who seek for every market that they can get, even at great personal risk. The ancient authors naturally say little of this pha.se of activity.
Hut the facilities for greater trade activity opened