2T2 MONEY AND PROPERTY Ix

The fact that the policy of Athens was made by men whose
life was not characterized by the passive ownership of pro-
perty, but by the constant activity of earning — this fact shows
unmistakably the process by which the Polis and its citizens,
no matter whether they belonged to the rich or to the increasing
number of the poor, came more and more under the influence
of economics. The nature of Athenian economics, on the other
hand, was determined by the insignificance of practically all
financial questions. The general standard of life was that of
a modest middle-class, and no capitalism disturbed its moderate
character. Property and work, not capital, were the basis of
economic activity, money was scarce and prices were generally
low.1 Men's outlook was dominated by small-scale activity
which resulted, on one hand, in the modesty and frugality of
Greek life, on the other in a greedy desire for wealth and an
almost complete lack of social conscience.

represented a magnificent method of providing employment, hardly holds good
for the conditions of the fifth century B.C. The return of many citizens from war
may have brought a temporary surplus of population, and the sending out of
cleruchies and colonies was intended and probably sufficient to alleviate this
position. Perikles did not build for the sake of the unemployed, although the
whole of the working population, foreigners and slaves included, had advantages
from the work in which they shared. Still less, therefore, is the opposite true that
Perikles spoiled the Athenians by the public payments and left them unaccustomed
to work (eŁ, e.g., Andreades, 235fF).
1 Cf. Gomme, 5of; Michell, 3if, and his ch. IX, passim.