HISTORY OF PAUPERISM. On account of the simplicity of their economic life, great poverty was rare among the Jews. The care of the poor was left to custom and religion. The gleaning of the olive and vine orchards and of grain fields belonged to the widows and orphans. (Dent. xiv.
28-29; xxiv. 19-22; xxvi. 12-13.) Charity was, however, limited by racial lines, and there was little provision for the alien. Under Chris tianity there was a great development of char ity. Men were to feed the hungry, give the thirsty to drink. clothe the naked, shelter the stranger, care for the sick, visit the prisoner. In the early Church the free gifts of the mem bers were distributed by the bishops and deacons to those who were known by the members to he in need. Within the Church the situation seems to have been excellent.
Greece as early as Pisastratus provided for those wounded in battle. Later those unable to work (rigbrarot), if they possessed property valued at less than about $60, received from 1 to obols per day (10 obols = 5 cents). As wages were 2 to 3 obols a day, the amount received must have sufficed for support. In Athens poor persons found shelter in houses without doors. There were in many cities unions (ipavol) which provided against poverty.
In Rome the donations of food and grain were for political effect, in part at least. Gains Grac ails supplied Rome with grain at cost. Clodius gave it free to poor citizens, and in B.C. 33 the amount spent for grain was 10,000.000 scsterces, about $433,000, which rose in A.D. 46 to seven fold. Ca'sar found 301.000 persons receiving grain and limited the number to 150,000, but this figure was exceeded under Augustus. The conditions which entitled men to grain were full citizenship and residence in Rome. Under Aurelius the donations consisted of bread, oil, and meat. From the time of Nerva emperors as well as private citizens gave funds for the edu cation of children, as Forax Antonius in honor of his wife. Faustina (PileIhe Faustiniantc).
After Constantine great churches replaced the small communions, with the result that the ef fectiveness of the earlier charity of the Church was impaired. The Church received vast wealth, and great sums were given for the poor. Large institutions arose for widows and children. Rome and other cities were divided into districts in charge of deacons who dispensed alms. In Rome one-fourth of the goods was set apart for the poor. But the old voluntary offerings disappeared and donations came from the Church funds. After the fifth century the decline of charity is obvious, and beggars increased to an enormous extent.
During the Aiiddle Ages the Church taught that almsgiving was a means of obtaining grace, but pauperism became too extensive to be ade quately met by private charity. Charlemagne brought pressure on the bishops and lords to support the poor. In 779, a year of special need, he imposed a poor tax and expressly forbade begging. He also made arrangements for caring for widows, orphans, and strangers, but the sys tem went to pieces at his death. The benefac tions of the Middle Ages were numerous and varied. There were hospitals of all sorts for the aged sick, the criminal, the homeless, and for pilgrims; free baths; houses for the poor. The charitable orders were also well developed. But no systematic attempt was made to diminish pauperism. There was no discrimination be tween worthy and unworthy, the least deserving often receiving most. Great swarms of beggars arose and threatened to overrun Europe. (See MENDICANCY.) In the fifteenth century city authorities begin to take part in the relief of poverty. In 1437 Frankfort had city almoners. Cologne undertook some supervision of the poor in 1450, and Antwerp in 1458 had an Armen meester. The city council became the guardian of orphans and the insane. But the measures taken to suppress mendicancy were regulative, in effect licensing it, and proved unsatisfactory.