It is true, most true, that slavery stands on force, and not on right. It is one of the hideous results of war, or of that barbarism in which savage war plays a conspicuous part. To the victor, it was supposed, belonged the lives of his captives; and, by consequence, he might bind them in perpetual servitude. This principle, which has been the foundation of slavery in all ages, is adapted only to the rudest conditions of society, and is wholly inconsistent with a period of real refinement, humanity, and justice. It is sad to confess that it was recognized by Greece; but the civilization of this famed land, though brilliant to the external view as the immortal sculptures of the Parthenon, was, like that stately temple, dark and cheerless within.
Slavery extended, with new rigors, under the military dominion of Rome. The spirit of freedom which animated the republic was of that selfish and intolerant character which accumulated privileges upon the Roman citizen, while it heeded little the rights of others. But, unlike the Greeks, the Romans admitted in theory that all men were originally free by the law of nature; and they ascribed the power of masters over slaves not to any alleged diversities in the races of men, but to the will of society.[13] The constant triumphs of their arms were signalized by reducing to captivity large crowds of the subjugated people. Paulus Emilius returned from Macedonia with an uncounted train of slaves, composed of persons in every department of life; and at the camp of Lucullus, in Pontus, slaves were sold for four drachmæ, or seventy-two cents, a head. Terence and Phædrus, Roman slaves, have, however, taught us that genius is not always quenched, even by a degrading captivity; while the writings of Cato the Censor, one of the most virtuous slaveholders in history, show the hardening influence of a system which treats human beings as cattle. "Let the husbandman," says Cato, "sell his old oxen, his sickly cattle, his sickly sheep, his wool, his hides, his old wagon, his old implements, _his old slave, and his diseased slave_; and if any thing else remains, let him sell it. _He should be a seller, rather than a buyer._"[14]
The cruelty and inhumanity which flourished in the republic, professing freedom, found a natural home under the emperors--the high priests of despotism. Wealth increased, and with it the multitude of slaves. Some masters are said to have owned as many as ten thousand, while extravagant prices were often paid, according to the fancy or caprice of the purchaser. Martial mentions a handsome youth who cost as much as four hundred sesteria, or sixteen thousand dollars.[15]