Mine Rescue, by Fletcher Martin, 1939. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC.

Philanthropy

Volume VIII, Number 3 | summer 2015

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Preamble

Pennies from Heaven

By Lewis H. Lapham

The word philanthropy first appears in Western thought in the fifth century BC to denote an act of rebellion and name the crime of treason.

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Treasure in Heaven

By Peter Brown

St. Augustine and other early Christians challenged the Roman idea of charity by invoking the ultimate authority—God.

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Map

Money Trails

Where the UN, the World Bank, and eleven nations send foreign aid.

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Miscellany

When the captain of a French ship landed on the west coast of Australia in 1802 and encountered the local Bunurong people, he stripped down and exposed his genitalia, hoping to dramatize his common humanity for the natives. The Bunurong exchanged curious looks before fleeing in dismay.

1825 | Georgia

Good Neighbors

The chiefs of the Creek nation surrender the country of their forefathers.More

2010 | New York City

Tools of the Trade

Sam Lipsyte on askers and givers. More

1929 | Chicago

Proof Is in the Pudding

Be a Nesselrode, not a Yale. More

Charts & Graphs

Detail of list of quotes

Earthly Reasons

Donors explain why they give.

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English nurse Florence Nightingale.

Photograph of Andrew Carnegie

Photograph of Jorge Luis Borges

Portrait of Alexis de Tocqueville wearing a black suit and standing in front of a chair.

Black and white photograph of former President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt.

Engraving of William Shakespeare from the first folio edition.

Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.

—Alexander Pope, 1738

Edward III & Carol Liu

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