246 MOXEYAND PROPERTY Ix

bers. We have seen that the public payments were not given
for this purpose, and that even distributions of corn and the
dtobeha were chiefly political and demagogic measures. The
hardships, however, of the poor became more and more
pressing. A genuine concern lay behind the motion brought
forward in the women's assembly that during the winter people
without beds or blankets should be allowed to sleep in the
furriers' shops where enough covering was to be found l The
State did provide medical aid,2 though it was no 'social ser-
vice* in the modern meaning of the phrase. One of the State-
doctors, Pittalos, was consulted by rich and poor alike.3
Other sources besides comedy speak of these doctors, and we
know that some of them were well paid 4 It is, however, by
no means certain whether they had to give free treatment; if
they did, it was to everyone, not to the poor alone. It was
difficult, on the other hand, to find the right doctor, and it
was well known that physicians, presumably those in private
practice, demanded high fees 5 'Apollo the physician may
cure them, since he's paid for it '6 Everywhere we find the
same outlook, dominated by money, and on the other hand,
increasing poverty and pauperization.

3
It is difficult to say how deeply the longing for wealth was
rooted in the individual small craftsman or farmer. The testi-
mony of literature begins with Hesiod and Alkman, and the
fact that wealth and money are so frequently mentioned shows
that poverty and therefore also the desire to make money were
always widespread. The poor wanted to be rich, and the rich
to have more, 'a purse is insatiable', and it corrupts life.7 Even
the ideal citizen wants to be rich in order, of course, to be
good and useful to other people 8 The varied opportunities
of trade both on a large or small scale doubtless gave a big
impetus to the general desire. The peasants made little money;
1 E4o8ff. 2 A 1030, cf Xen mem IV, 2, 5.
3 A 1032, i222f, W 1432.
4 Herodot. Ill, 131 For the public doctors we have also epigraphical evidence,
though not from Athens in our period Cf O Jacob, Melanges Glotz, IL 46 iff
s E 363^ — PI 4o6fF • B 5 84
7 adesp 660 —B 157!" 8 Xen oik n, 9, n