54 Chris Keith and “slow writers” does not prove that Paul’s letters were likewise unskilled, it does call into question the current robust rejection of Deissmann’s suggestion about Paul’s “big letters”. For the present study, however, the critical point is that, whether or not Paul’s writing is less than calligraphic, it is his. In this sense, Cribiore’s observation equally illuminates the other four Pauline passages as well, as it draws attention to the importance, in the ancient world, of demonstrating the literate ability one possessed. If an individual could do nothing more than sign his name, he could locate himself within that minority of the society that was educated, even if he was clearly not as educated as others. That is, it was better to be on the bottom rung of the literacy ladder (and prove it) than it was not to be on the literacy ladder at all (and prove that). When Paul mentions that he writes with his own hand, therefore, he was not only pointing out how important a particular point or section of the epistle was to him. Though he may have been doing that amongst other things (and likely was), he was simultaneously making a point about himself — proving to the church he is addressing that he is an educated member of society. This was an important point to make, and especially when issues of textual interpretation were at stake and “the bulk of the membership [of Paul’s churches] was nonelite [i.e., illiterate], as 1 Cor 1,26 indicates” (69). Drawing attention to his educated status, however, was perhaps not the only rhetorical function of proving his grapho-literacy. Literacy intertwined with status in a multifaceted manner in the ancient world. One aspect of this complex relationship concerns displays of grapho-literacy such as Paul’s. For persons of prestige, one mark of status was the ability to demonstrate literacy but simultaneously avoid its use (70). “One might almost say that there was a direct correlation between the social standing that guaranteed literacy and the means to avoid writing” (71). (A rough modern analogy to this phenomenon would be the manner in which the über-rich may employ chauffeurs — they could drive themselves, but their ability to pay (69) J.S. KLOPPENBORG VERBIN, Excavating Q. The History and Setting of the Sayings Gospel (Edinburgh 2000) 167. (70) Likewise with reading. See ACHTEMEIER, “Omne verbum sonat”, 16, who cites Pliny, Epistulae 3.5.15. In this passage, Pliny the Younger describes his uncle Pliny the Elder as having a servant ready to read to him (or take dictation) even while bathing. (71) BAGNALL, Reading Papyri, 25.