On Salaried Posts In Great Houses - Classic Text | Alexandria
Among the most incisive critiques of patronage and social climbing in the Roman Empire stands Lucian of Samosata's satirical essay "On Salaried Posts in Great Houses" (De Mercede Conductis), composed around 170 CE. This penetrating work, also known as "Concerning Paid Posts at Great Houses" or "On Working for Pay," offers a scathing examination of intellectual Greeks who sought employment as private tutors and companions in wealthy Roman households.
Written during the height of the Second Sophistic movement, when Greek intellectuals wielded considerable cultural influence throughout the Empire, the text emerges from Lucian's personal experiences and observations of the social dynamics in second-century Rome. The work takes the form of an advisory discourse to an unnamed friend, Timocles, who contemplates accepting a position in a prominent Roman household, with Lucian attempting to dissuade him by cataloging the numerous indignities and humiliations such a position entails.
The text's enduring relevance lies in its unflinching portrayal of power dynamics, social dependency, and the commodification of intellectual labor. Lucian masterfully depicts the daily degradations faced by hired philosophers and teachers: from waiting indefinitely in patrons' anterooms to enduring capricious demands and suffering the contempt of household slaves. Through vivid vignettes and mordant wit, he illuminates the paradoxical position of Greek intellectuals who, despite their cultural prestige, often found themselves reduced to what Lucian terms "voluntary slavery."
Modern scholars have recognized this work as an invaluable window into both the social structures of Imperial Rome and the complex relationship between Greek and Roman cultures during the period. Its themes of intellectual integrity versus material comfort, cultural authority versus social submission, and personal dignity versus professional advancement continue to resonate in contemporary discussions about academic employment and patronage systems. The text stands as a testament to the timeless tensions between intellectual independence and institutional support, challenging readers to consider the price of selling one's intellectual labor in any era.