“Argos, however, was deprived of so many of its citizens, that the slaves usurped the management of affairs, and executed the offices of government; but when the sons of those who had been slain grew up, they obtained possession of the city, and after some contest expelled the slaves, who retired to Tyrinthe, which they seized. They for a time forebore to molest each other, till Cleander, a soothsayer, and an Arcadian of the district of Phigalis, came among the slaves, when he persuaded the slaves to attack their masters.”
Book ix. chap. 48. Ἐν Ἀθηναίοισί τε τὴν πρόπειραν ποιευμένους αὐτούς τε ἀντια δούλων τῶν ἡμετέρων τασσομένους.
“We see you delegating to the Athenians the more dangerous attempt of opposing us, and placing yourselves against our slaves.” Beloe.
In the “Libellus de Vitâ Homeri,” attributed to Herodotus, in the 23d section we find the word συνδούλῳ, used to mean a fellow-slave.
LESSON IX.
We now propose to notice the scriptural use of the word δουλος, doulos, and its derivatives, not only that its use may be compared with the Greek writers, but that it may be seen, as we believe is true, that its use in these carries with it abundant proof, even in the absence of all other, that “it means a slave,” and “that he to whom it was applied was a slave.”
Whenever a thing is made any part of discourse, it is necessarily placed in a position of commendation, reprehension, or of perfect indifference. One of these conditions must unavoidably attend its mention. A little reflection will enable us to perceive these distinctive positions. For instance, in the sentence, “Lay up treasures in heaven, where moth and rust doth not corrupt, nor thieves break through nor steal,” who does not feel the commendable position of the things, treasure and heaven, and the reverse of moth, rust, and thieves? Let us apply this view to the word servant, selecting only those instances in the Christian Scriptures, where the word is translated from the Greek word δουλος, doulos, and means nothing except what we mean by the word slave.
St. Paul commences his epistle to the Romans, to the Philippians, and to Titus, with the appellation of servant. In the two first cases he calls himself the servant and apostle of Christ. In the last instance, he terms himself the servant of God and apostle of Jesus Christ. Peter, in his second epistle, styles himself a servant and apostle: Jude, the servant of Christ. In all these instances the word means slave, and is used commendatively, but figuratively, to signify their entire devotedness to the cause in which they are engaged,—devoted to the cause wholly, as a good slave is to his master. And it may be here remarked, that the professing Christian is indebted to the institution for the lesson of humility and devotedness here plainly taught him, and without which, perhaps, he never could have been taught his duty in these particulars so pertinently and clearly. The humility and devotedness of the Christian are illustrated by this ordinance in John xv. 20: “Remember the words that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord.”
In the parable of the vineyard, Luke 20 and Matt. 21, the servant (δοῦλος, doulos, slave) is presented in a position evincing, the trustworthiness, devotion, and obedience implied in that character, clearly indicating the idea that these qualities inspire the mind of the proprietor with a confidence surpassed only by that in his son and heir. And it may be well remarked, that the position of the slave is one of great facility for the generating of such confidence in the mind of the master. Between the good slave and the good master there can be no dissimilarity of interest, but not so with the hired man, see Matt. 20; for the very moment those hired in the morning for a penny a day perceived that those who had not laboured the whole day received the same amount of wages, they commenced a quarrel with the proprietor.