"And besides this, observing how natural and familiar at Rome were such fatalities as the conflagration and collapse of buildings, owing to their being too massive and close together, he proceeded to buy slaves who were architects and builders. Then, when he had over five hundred of these, he would buy houses that were afire, and houses which adjoined those that were afire, and these their owners would let go at a trifling price owing to their fear and uncertainty. In this way the largest part of Rome came into his possession."
"And besides this, observing how natural and familiar at Rome were such fatalities as the conflagration and collapse of buildings, owing to their being too massive and close together, he proceeded to buy slaves who were architects and builders. Then, when he had over five hundred of these, he would buy houses that were afire, and houses which adjoined those that were afire, and these their owners would let go at a trifling price owing to their fear and uncertainty. In this way the largest part of Rome came into his possession."
anon, i don't know either how exactly you'd fight fires in an urban environment in 1st c. BCE, but classicists have always understood this as meaning Crassus had a firefighting company. it actually doesn't make much sense if you assume his slaves were only equipped to deal with the aftermath of a fire since otherwise both buyer and seller could wait until after the fire to sell the cinders -- the urgency of the transaction and the apparent profitability of the practice implies he could put the fire out.
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"And besides this, observing how natural and familiar at Rome were such fatalities as the conflagration and collapse of buildings, owing to their being too massive and close together, he proceeded to buy slaves who were architects and builders. Then, when he had over five hundred of these, he would buy houses that were afire, and houses which adjoined those that were afire, and these their owners would let go at a trifling price owing to their fear and uncertainty. In this way the largest part of Rome came into his possession."
Plutarch's Life of Crassus
"And besides this, observing how natural and familiar at Rome were such fatalities as the conflagration and collapse of buildings, owing to their being too massive and close together, he proceeded to buy slaves who were architects and builders. Then, when he had over five hundred of these, he would buy houses that were afire, and houses which adjoined those that were afire, and these their owners would let go at a trifling price owing to their fear and uncertainty. In this way the largest part of Rome came into his possession."
Plutarch's Life of Crassus
Um....c & c, there were no firetrucks. There was no technology for putting out fires.
Now there is.
sorry for the double post
anon,
i don't know either how exactly you'd fight fires in an urban environment in 1st c. BCE, but classicists have always understood this as meaning Crassus had a firefighting company. it actually doesn't make much sense if you assume his slaves were only equipped to deal with the aftermath of a fire since otherwise both buyer and seller could wait until after the fire to sell the cinders -- the urgency of the transaction and the apparent profitability of the practice implies he could put the fire out.
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