as thoroughly imbued with the Roman spirit, the Christian who held the
same view as his Eastern brother of the evil results flowing from
intercourse with his fellow men, also withdrew from the world, but he
withdrew in the company of a group of men who shared his opinions on the
efficacy of a life of solitude. A delightful instance of the triumph of
the principle of association over logic or theory! We Americans can
understand perfectly the compelling force of the principle, even in such a
case as this, and we should justify the Roman's action on the score of
practical common sense. We have organizations for almost every conceivable
political, social, literary, and economic purpose. In fact, it would be
hard to mention an object for which it would not be possible to organize a
club, a society, a league, a guild, or a union. In a similar way the
Romans had organizations of capitalists and laborers, religious
associations, political and social clubs, and leagues of veterans.

So far as organizations of capitalists are concerned, their history is
closely bound up with that of imperialism. They come to our notice for the
first time during the wars with Carthage, when Rome made her earliest
acquisitions outside of Italy. In his account of the campaigns in Spain
against Hannibal's lieutenants, Livy tells us[101] of the great straits to
which the Roman army was reduced for its pay, food, and clothing. The need
was urgent, but the treasury was empty, and the people poverty-stricken.
In this emergency the praetor called a public meeting, laid before it the
situation in Spain, and, appealing to the joint-stock companies to come to
the relief of the state, appointed a day when proposals could be made to
furnish what was required by the army. On the appointed day three
_societates_, or corporations, offered to make the necessary loans to the
government; their offers were accepted, and the needs of the army were
met. The transaction reminds us of similar emergencies in our civil war,
when syndicates of bankers came to the support of the government. The
present-day tendency to question the motives of all corporations dealing
with the government does not seem to color Livy's interpretation of the
incident, for he cites it in proof of the patriotic spirit which ran
through all classes in the face of the struggle with Carthage. The
appearance of the joint-stock company at the moment when the policy of
territorial expansion is coming to th