Also glad to see Peter Brown is still writing. One of the original, old school Oxford "Greats" from a bygone era when Greek and Latin mastery was still a prereq

Also glad to see Peter Brown is still writing. One of the original, old school Oxford "Greats" from a bygone era when Greek and Latin mastery was still a prerequisite to considering oneself an educated individual. His latest would make an interesting basis for an "alternative history" of Monasticism ;) Treasure in Heaven: The Holy Poor in Early Christianity http://www.upress.virginia.edu/title/4867 http://www.upress.virginia.edu/title/4867 From the description: "Seen against the backdrop of Asia, Christianity might have opted for a Buddhist model by which holy monks lived by begging alone. Instead, the monks of Egypt upheld an alternative model that linked the monk to humanity and the monastery to society through acceptance of the common, human bond of work."