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Article: Inventing the poor: how the early church practiced charity.(Poverty and Leadership in the Later Roman Empire, by Peter Brown)(Book Review)
- Article from:
- The Christian Century
- Article date:
- June 14, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Christian Century Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Poverty and Leadership in the Later Roman Empire.
By Peter Brown. University Press of New England, 176pp., $15.95 paperback.
UPON RECEIVING the Nobel Peace Prize, former president Jimmy Carter remarked that the "growing gap between the rich and poor" is the most elemental problem facing the world economy. But the gap between the rich and the poor is also a very old problem. Princeton historian Peter Brown takes up this issue of care for the poor as it was practiced in the fourth and fifth centuries of the Christian era.
As usual, Brown combines erudition with an elegant style and makes his argument readily accessible. His concern with the social ...