Pliny the Elder on Money

Within the thirty-seven books of his encyclopedic Natural History, Pliny the Elder makes passing remarks on the use of money in the Roman world. As a wealthy member of the Italian and Roman elite, landowner, public servant, and eventually navy officer, Pliny is likely to have been exposed to the most monetized section of Roman society. As a moralist, he voices strong opinions about wealth, profit, and luxury. It is possible to reconstruct parts of his views on pre-coinage money and the measure of value (pretium). Pliny is no philosopher, but he is certainly influenced by the Stoic moral values of the authors he has read or personally encountered.