The aim of author Ramsay MacMullen, in ROMAN SOCIAL RELATIONS: 50 BC TO AD 284, is to get at the feelings that governed the behavior of the broad social groups or conditions at that time. This purpose requires direct quotations so that people may be heard as often as possible speaking in their own words; they mention prejudice, servility, isolation, pride, shame, friendship, indifference, contempt, loyalty, despair, or exclusiveness. The author focuses on the typicality of such feelings, analyzing how these public sentiments shaped the conduct of society and thus shaped events in Roman history. He presents material in the following categories: Rural, Rural-Urban, Urban, and Class-related quotations. CONTENTS: I. Rural II. Rural-Urban III. Urban IV. Class V. What Follows Appendix A: Subdivisions of the City Appendix B: The Lexicon of Snobbery Appendix C: Roman City Financing Ramsay MacMullen is Dunham Professor of Classics and History at Yale University.
