12-06-2012, 09:36 PM
They spin in their graves every time a Roman movie gets made.
I suspect that, when an upper-class man's wife wove his clothes "with her own hands," what is meant is that she supervised her serving-women while they did the actual work, maybe taking a hand now and then for form's sake. Sort of the way senatorial-class Roman men prided themselves on being farmers, meaning that they consulted with the steward, who gave orders to the foremen, who supervised the slaves who performed the actual labor. Men like Augustus puttered around in the garden to keep in touch with their inner farmer (and hope for a supply of poison-free food).
I suspect that, when an upper-class man's wife wove his clothes "with her own hands," what is meant is that she supervised her serving-women while they did the actual work, maybe taking a hand now and then for form's sake. Sort of the way senatorial-class Roman men prided themselves on being farmers, meaning that they consulted with the steward, who gave orders to the foremen, who supervised the slaves who performed the actual labor. Men like Augustus puttered around in the garden to keep in touch with their inner farmer (and hope for a supply of poison-free food).
Pecunia non olet
