SLAVERY. 477 



800. Further detail would be inappropriate. Here we 

 are concerned with, slavery as a part of industrial evolu 

 tion, and have to observe only its relations to coexistent 

 institutions and its character as an agency for carrying on 

 social sustentation; for, under the head of industrial regu 

 lation, little attention need be given to the slaves of the 

 household. 



The general truth that slavery is a sequence of war, and is 

 extensive in amount and intense in form in proportion as 

 war is active, is shown by negative evidence as well as by 

 positive evidence by decrease as well as by increase. 

 We see this in the mitigation and gradual disintegration 

 of slavery after the long militant career of the Romans 

 had practically come to a close. The numerous captives 

 taken in battle no longer furnished an adequate supply of 

 slaves. The Romans were &quot; obliged to have recourse to 

 the milder but more tedious method of propagation &quot; ; and 

 this improved &quot; the condition of the slave by rendering his 

 existence and physical health an object of greater value to 

 his master.&quot; Dr. Ingram, while remarking that &quot; the rise of 

 Christianity in the Roman world still further improved the 

 condition of the slave,&quot; recognizes &quot; a change in sentiment 

 with respect to the slave-class, which does not appear to 

 have been at all due to Christian teaching, but to have arisen 

 from the spontaneous influence of circumstances co-operat 

 ing with the softened manners which were inspired by a spe 

 cific regime&quot; That is to say, it was not the creed but the 

 mode of life which was influential not the theory but the 

 practice. This, indeed, is the general reply to be made to 

 that large claim put in for Christianity as the great civilizer. 

 Not to Christian teaching have the improvements been main 

 ly due, but to those relatively unaggressive social activities 

 which have not directly conflicted with Christian teaching; 

 and whether the activities have been aggressive or non- 

 aggressive has been determined by other causes than Chris 

 tian teaching: the whole history of Europe down to the 



