34 tfrwret or 



disadvantages, sometimes amounting to sheer degradation, was as 

 ever a subject of discontent : and this was closely connected with 

 the position of free wage-earning labour. At Athens political action 

 took a strong line in the direction of utilizing the wealth of the rich 

 in the service of the state : for the poor, its dominant tendency was 

 to provide opportunities of drawing state pay (/j,i,o-06<;), generally a 

 bare living wage, for the performance of various public duties. The 

 other topic, that of slavery, had as yet hardly reached the stage of 

 questioning the right or wrong of that institution as such. But the 

 consciousness that the slave, like his master, was a blend of human 

 virtues and human vices, was a man, in short, was evidently be- 

 coming clearer, and suggesting the conclusion that he must be judged 

 as a man and not as a mere chattel. Otherwise Euripides would 

 hardly have ventured to bring slaves on the stage 1 in so sympathetic 

 a spirit, or to utter numerous sayings, bearing on their merits and 

 failings, in a tone of broad humanity. 



In such circumstances how came it that there was no sign of a 

 movement analogous to modern Abolitionism? If the slave was 

 confessedly a man, had he not the rights of a man ? The answer is 

 plain. That a man, simply as a man, had any rights, was a doctrine 

 not yet formulated or clearly conceived. The antipathy 2 between 

 Greek and Barbarian was a practical bar to its recognition. The 

 Persian was not likely to moderate his treatment of Greeks in his 

 power from any such consideration : superior force, nothing less, 

 would induce him to conform to Greek notions of humanity. While 

 force was recognized as the sole foundation of right as against free 

 enemies, there could not be much serious doubt as to the right of 

 holding aliens in slavery. But in this questioning age another 

 theoretical basis of discussion had been found. Men were testing 

 institutions by asking in reference to each 'is it a natural 3 growth? 

 does it exist by nature (<J>VO-L) ? or is it a conventional status ? does 

 it exist by law (Z/O/AO))?' Here was one of the most unsettling inquiries 

 of the period. In reference to slavery we find two conflicting doctrines 

 beginning to emerge. One is 4 that all men are born free (<f>v(76t) and 

 that slavery is therefore a creation of man's device (i/o/ua)). The other 

 is that superior strength is a gift of nature, and therefore the rule of 

 the weaker 5 by the stronger is according to nature. The conflict 

 between these two views was destined to engage some of the greatest 



1 The loyalty of slaves to kind masters is referred to very often. 



2 References in Euripides are too many to cite here. 



3 Cf the oft-quoted line from Eur Auge 77 0tfcns ^/3otf\e0', fj vb^uv o65tv /t&et. 



4 Cf Eurfragm 515, 828, Dind, etc. 



5 Cf Eur fragm 263, 1035, Dind, and the use of r6 dov\ov 'the slave-quality' in Hecuba 

 332-3, Ion 983, etc. 



