Moneylenders – or those who deal in usury – have had it tough over the years. Condemned by prominent thinkers in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, denounced by the Church throughout the Dark and Middle Ages and onwards, reviled by Marxists, and artistically attacked in literature, moneylending has had some serious image issues.
Fourteenth century Italian poet Dante placed moneylenders in the seventh circle of Hell – along with the sodomites, interestingly – where they would have to walk for eternity with a heavy bag of money around their necks. “From each neck there hung an enormous purse, each marked with its own beast and its own colours like a coat of arms. On these their streaming eyes appeared to feast.”
It’s safe to say attitudes towards the practice of lending money have changed somewhat, but surprisingly, those attitudes have only undergone significant change in the past century or so. While now most people think nothing of taking out a home loan or car loan, or applying for a credit card or three, up until quite recently that would have been impossible.
Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece
Moneylending was condemned as far back as Ancient Greece, when Aristotle criticised the practice as “unnatural”, calling it the most hated form of money-making. Aristotle (384–322 BC) believed that only the moneylender benefited from the transaction, while the borrower lost out. What Aristotle couldn’t see was that the borrower benefited too.
Aristotle’s thoughts were echoed a few hundred years later by Greek writer Plutarch, who described moneylenders as “wretched,” “vulture-like,” and “barbarous,” and over in Rome, Seneca thought the same way, while Cato the Elder famously compared moneylending to murder.
The Dark Ages
Fast forward a thousand years or so, and the decline of the Roman Empire had led to some serious societal regression in Europe. Times were tough and money had been replaced by barter, so while moneylending wasn’t common, people did borrow and lend goods – with goods used as interest.
However, the Church wasn’t too enamoured with the idea of lending with interest, whether actual money was involved or not. The Bible had some strong views on the matter, as illustrated in the Book of Deuteronomy: “Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money; usury of victuals; usury of anything that is lent upon usury.”
While Christianity generally followed the principals of helping thy neighbour, that didn’t involve helping them out with money if interest was involved. Throughout the first millennium and through the dark ages, laws were created to outlaw money lending; unless the moneylender was Jewish and lending to a non-Jew, of course.
According to the Bible, God forbade Jews to lend to other Jews but permitted them to make loans at interest to non-Jews. Very handy indeed. But not always very safe for Jewish moneylenders, who despite offering a service that was in demand, were often victims of horrific violence by Christians who believed Jews were making profit from them.
A Change of Attitude?
As trade with the Far East and exposure to other cultures grew, knowledge, culture, science and “reason” pushed Europe into the Middle Ages. Trade meant more money changing hands, and as society progressed, more people realised the benefits of moneylending.
The Church was still not convinced – officially anyway. Officially, the Church and public opinion remained firmly against moneylending for the next few centuries, however, moneylending carried on under various guises, allowing trade and growth to continue within Europe.
Eventually, the Enlightenment brought about the Industrial Revolution, which used the financial “help” of banks such as Baring Brothers and the House of Rothschild to fund railroads, factories, ports, and industry in general.
Moving into the 19th century and the time of Karl Marx, moneylending experienced another set-back. Like Aristotle, Marx thought of moneylending as unproductive and exploitative – attitudes that were boosted in literature by Charles Dickens’ Scrooge and Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment.
However, capitalism – and moneylending – prevailed, bringing us swiftly through the 20th century to today. It took thousands of years to overcome the stigma and religious dogma against moneylending, but nowadays, most people don’t think twice about taking out credit. Good thing or bad? The historians of the future will no doubt have an opinion.
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