496 INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTIONS. 



810. Various origins of the free labouring class must be 

 set down; some of them having large shares in producing it 

 and others small shares. 



The first, and perhaps the most general, is the purchasing 

 of their freedom by slaves. In various parts of the world 

 the permission given the slave to accumulate property led to 

 this: the property being eventually used by him to ransom 

 himself. It was thus among the Hebrews. It was so too 

 among the Romans; where, as we have seen, the use of the 

 peculium for purchase of freedom was well recognized. Nor 

 was it otherwise among our Anglo-Saxon ancestors. Of 

 course the self -ransomed, and afterwards their children, con 

 tinually augmented the class of free labourers. 



To those who bought their freedom must be added those 

 who received il gratis. We have seen that with the Hebrews 

 emancipation was provided for by law at any rate in case of 

 slaves of Hebrew blood. In Rome, likewise, it became com 

 mon : and under Constantine a religious ceremony sanctify 

 ing it was established. During later times in Europe it oc 

 curred also : the liberation of slaves came to be regarded as 

 an act of pious sacrifice. If, very generally in mediaeval 

 days, slavery was held justifiable, yet there evidently co 

 existed in some the thought that the holding of a man in 

 bondage is not entirely right. Hence came manumissions 

 made by will, in which, &quot; for the good of his soul,&quot; or &quot; to 

 make his peace with God,&quot; a master liberated his slaves. At 

 a later time this motive furthered the manumission of serfs 

 also. 



Emancipations which thus had other-worldliness for their 

 motive, eventually had worldliness also for their motive. It 

 was discovered that the labour of a bondman, whether slave 

 or serf, was unprofitable, that commuting his services for 

 money was a gainful transaction, and that the exchange of 

 wages for work was a still more gainful transaction. Con 

 sidering how little, on the average, men are influenced by 

 other motives than self-interests, we may conclude that this 



