like most roman citizens at this date, he's got three names -- marcus virgilius euriciques. now the first two of those names, "marcus virgilius," are perfectly standard, ordinary roman names, but the last one, "euriciques," isn't. it's a name that comes from the eastern mediterranean. now that suggests -- doesn't prove, but it suggests -- that euriciques' family, perhaps his father, perhaps his grandfather, originally were brought to rome as slaves, captives in rome's wars of conquest in the east. so the larger point is that in the expanding society of rome at this period, even the descendant of a slave could become really wealthy. keach: many pre-industrial states offered the prospect of upward mobility for their people. but they also created poverty and squalor unimaginable in egalitarian societies. in modern states, technology often widens the gap between rich and poor. and so, anthropologists insist that political evolution does not imply progress. in fact, human nature appears to be constant. individuals in all societies have long strived for status, prestige and even do