Herzog

I. The Retainers of Great Households (Important because setting of story is in the household of an urban elite)
A. The Place of the Household in the Ancient World
1. Ancient world organized into the household, the city, the kingdom
a. Basic household was made up of people by whom the wealth of the land was controlled
b. Cities were made up of groupings of households, and kingdoms were made up of groupings of cities
B. Household Bureaucracies and Their Retainers
1. System depends on the household, so lead aristocrats needed their own bureaucracies within the household
a. Organized hierarchally, a larger household staff meant more power
b. In a master’s absence, (they had to travel a lot), duties were left up to trusted retainers
I. Relationship was similar to king and court bureaucrat, if retainer kept his head low he could benefit in wealth by doing king’s dirty work
II. The Nobleman and his Retainers
A. The Distribution of Wealth
1. Fact that man is traveling and a presence of staff makes him wealthy
a. Only wealthy could afford to travel at all during the time, most people remained close to villages
b. Staff was ranked in hierarchal fashion, hence phrase "to each according to his ability"
2. The aristocrat is not testing staff
a. 1 talent is 15 years wages of working man, so aristocrat must trust even the man with 1 talent a great deal due to previous tests
b. Does provide an opportunity for each retainer to improve his status
B. The Business Venture
1. The three servants have convertible assets
a. No agreement is made between the master and his retainers except the distribution of talents
I. At time, understanding was that there would be a profit of 100 percent at least
2. Retainers gain "honest graft"
a. First two retainers get to work quickly, because once they double the master’s money they can keep the rest for themselves
b. This benefits master because the retainers do his dirty work and shift anger away from the aristocratic class.
c. Only way for retainers to benefit is by exploiting the peasant people
I. Retainers moved peasants from their plots of land so elites could control crops to earn more money (like with vineyards) without the protests of peasants
C. The Reckoning
1. Two servants prove to be good exploiters
a. Return with the correct profit and please their master
b. Each retainer receives a higher position in the client’s household, thus becoming more dependent on the client
2. The third servant is a "whistle-blower"
a. Calls the client out on being a bad person and an exploiter who lives off the labor of others
b. Third servant makes a comment on the aristocrat’s style of life through "gathering sheaves of wheat and winnowing them"
I. "Gather in" suggests conversion of goods to cash, then winnow means to squander on excessive living
3. The aristocrat punishes third servant, but never denies his statement
a. Master views his lifestyle as honorable
b. Third servant does return the original money to the king to show that he is an honorable person
c. Elite labels servant as "wicked" and "lazy" to dismiss his criticism
d. The talent is given to the most productive retainer and the third servant is banished to the role of a day laborer
III. The Codification of the Good Retainer
1. The third servant realizes that he will pay a price, but he would rather do that than continue exploiting
2. At end of the story, he will die alone because he acted alone and will receive little support from the peasants he has oppressed