Roman Life VI: Treatment of Slaves PDF

Roman Life VI Go online Plßchool.com Web Code: j fd-0010 TREATMENT OF SLAVES ven though in Davus's homeland in Britain his own family had owned a few slaves, it had been difficult for him to adjust to being a slave himself. Adjust he did, however, perhaps by taking advice similar to the followin...

Roman Life VI Go online Plßchool.com Web Code: j fd-0010 TREATMENT OF SLAVES ven though in Davus's homeland in Britain his own family had owned a few slaves, it had been difficult for him to adjust to being a slave himself. Adjust he did, however, perhaps by taking advice similar to the following given by an overseer to newly captured slaves: If the immortal gods wished you to endure with calm were free, spirits; if you so I believe; do so, now you will this calamity, endure the toil more you must endure easily. it At home, you as slavery has befallen you, it is best to accustom commands and for your own minds. l%atever indignities your master commands must be considered proper. yourselves and to make it easy for your master's Plautus, The Captives 195-200 Davus enjoys a high position Of course he among Cornelius's slaves and takes pride in his responsi- who is quite humane by Roman standards. Other slaves had more insensitive masters, who saw their slaves not as human beings but as property. Cato in his treatise on agriculture gave advice to Roman farmers on how to make a profit from their slaves. Notice that he feels no sympathy for his slaves who have grown ill or old in his service; they are "things" just like cattle and tools that a farmer should get rid of when they are no longer of use: bilities. has the good fortune to he has work good for a master wine and Let the farmer sell olive oil, if Let him surplus too: old oxen, old tools, an old slave, a sick slave. sell his a price, also his Cato, Some On Agriculture 11.7 his grain. (extracts) masters treated their slaves well and were rewarded by loyalty and good sereven when conditions were good, slaves were keenly aware of their inferior vice, but, position and by way of protest sometimes rebelled or tried to run away. If they were recaptured, the letters FUG (for fugitivus, runaway) were branded on their foreheads. Prison cell with Roman agricultural slaves Nineteenth-century European engraving, artist unknown DEPARTURE 75 Some owners treated their slaves very badly. who fed his slaves to at the whim of their master: despised Vedius Pollio, punished, often Does Rutilus believe that the Even body and soul of slaves masters? Not likely! Nothing pleases him more music the crack of the whip. is when some poor wretch towels. He is the if To his owner were not as bad as the lampreys, slaves were liable to be severely are made the same as their than a noisy flogging. His idea of trembling slaves he's a monster, happiest being branded with red-hot irons for stealing a pair of loves chains, dungeons, branding, and chain-gang labor camps. He's a sadist. Juvenal, Satires XIV. 16 Female Juvenal slaves also tells were often subjected to ill-treatment by self-centered mistresses. at the mercy of her mistress: how a slave-woman was If the mistress is in a bad mood, the wool-maid is in trouble, the dressers are stripped and beaten, the litter-bearers accused of coming late. The rods are bro- ken over one poor wretch's back, another has bloody weals from the whip, and a third is flogged with the cat-o'-nine-tails. hair will have her cause a curl is own The slave-girl arranging hair torn and the tunic ripped her mistress's from her shoulders, be- out of place. Juvenal, Satires VI.475 Fresco of slaves loading amphorae, vessels containing wine or olive Fresco, Pompeii, 76 mid first CHAPTER 10 century A.D. oil, onto a wagon On the other hand, Pliny the Younger speaks of owners who treated their slaves fairly and sympathetically. In I a letter to a friend he writes: how kindly you treat your slaves; so I shall openly admit my own own slaves. I always keep in mind the Roman phrase, "fa- have noticed easy treatment of my ther of the household." But even supposing I were naturally cruel and unsympa- my heart would be touched by the illness of my freedman Zosimus. He needs and deserves my sympathy; he is honest, obliging, and well educated. He is a very successful actor with a clear delivery. He plays the lyre well and is an acthetic, complished reader of speeches, history, and poetry. spit blood and him I sent to Egypt. However, he has developed stored. send him to your place at He has just A few years ago he began to come back with his health re- would be best to healthy and the milk ex- a slight cough. I think it Forum Julii where the air is cellent for illness of this kind. Pliny the Younger, Letters V. 19 was possible for a slave to buy his freedom if he could save enough from the small personal allowance he earned; some masters gave their slaves their freedom in a process called manumission (manümissiö), as a reward for long service. A slave who had been set free was called a libertus and would wear a felt cap called a pilleus. Many who were freed and became rich used to hide with "patches" the marks that had been made on their bodies and faces when they were slaves. It I am very upset by illness among my slaves. Some actually died, including even I find of them have younger men. In cases comfort in two thoughts. I am like this always ready to give my slaves their freedom, so I don't think their deaths so untimely make if they die free men. a "will," which I I also permit my slaves to consider legally binding. Pliny the Younger, Letters VIII.16 ADDITIONAL READING: The Romans Speak for Themselves: Book I: "Slaves and Masters in Ancient Rome," pages 33—39; "Seneca on Slavery and Freedom," pages 40—46. Manümissiö 1. Characterize in a sentence or two the attitudes toward slavery in each of the ancient writers cited in this reading. 2. If you were a Roman slave owner, would you use discipline or relative kindness to strict manage your slaves? Why? DEPARTURE 77