[622] Lea, Inquis., III, 191-192, 238.
[623] Ibid., 198. Collected cases in Fra Paolo Sarpi, Della Inquis. de Venezia, Opere, IV, 24.
[624] Fritsch, Eingeb. Süd-Afr., 99.
CHAPTER VI
SLAVERY
Origin and motives.—Slavery taught steady labor.—Servitude of group to group.—Slavery and polygamy.—Some men serve others.—Freedom and equality.—Figurative use of "slave."—Ethnography of slavery.—Family slavery.—Slavery amongst North American savages.—Slavery in South America.—Slavery in Polynesia and Melanesia.—Slavery in the East Indies.—Slavery in Asia.—Slavery in Japan.—Slavery in higher civilization.—Slavery amongst Jews.—Slavery in the classical states.—Slavery at Rome.—Slave revolts.—Later Roman slavery.—Slaves in the civil wars; clientage.—Manumission. Natural liberty.—Slavery as represented in the inscriptions.—Rise of freedom in industry.—Freedmen in the state.—Philosophers opponents of slavery.—The industrial colleges.—Laws changed in favor of slaves.—Christianity and slavery.—The colonate.—Depopulation.—Summary view of Roman slavery.—The Therapeuts.—Slavery amongst the Germanic nations.—The sale of children.—Slavery and the state.—Slavery in Europe. Italy in the Middle Ages.—Slavery in France.—Slavery in Islam.—Review of slavery in Islam.—Slavery in England.—Slavery in America.—Colonial slavery.—Slavery preferred by slaves.—The future of slavery.—Relation of slavery to the mores and to ethics.
270. Origin and motives. Slavery is a thing in the mores which is not well covered by our definition. Slavery does not arise in the folkways from the unconscious experimentation of individuals who have the same need which they desire to satisfy, and who try in separate acts to do it as well as they can. It is rather due to ill feeling towards members of an out-group, to desire to get something for nothing, to the love of dominion which belongs to vanity, and to hatred of labor. "The simple wish to use the bodily powers of another person, as a means of ministering to one's own ease or pleasure, is doubtless the foundation of slavery, and as old as human nature."[625] "There is an extraordinary power of tyranny invested in the chiefs of tribes and nations of men that so vastly outweighs the analogous power possessed by the leaders of animal herds as to rank as a special attribute of human society, eminently conducive to slavishness."[626] The desire to get ease or other good by the labor of another, and the incidental gratification to vanity, seem to be the fundamental principles in slavery, when philosophically regarded, after the rule of one man over others has become established. The whole group, however, must approve of the custom and must enforce it; otherwise it cannot exist. It appears that slavery began historically with the war captive, if he or she was not put to death, as he was liable to be by the laws of war. Those laws put the defeated, with his wife, children, and property, at the mercy of the victors. The defeated might be tortured to death, as was done amongst the North American Indians, or they might be saved from death by the women. Then they were put to help the women and were rated as women. Slavery, therefore, in its origin, was a humanitarian improvement in the laws of war, and an alleviation of the status of women. It seems to be established that it began where the economic system was such that there was a gain in making a slave of a war captive instead of killing him. It follows that slavery, wherever it has existed, has affected all the mores of the society. It promised great results gratis. It will appear below that it has been a terrible afrit, a demon which promised service but which became a master. When adopted into the folkways it has dominated and given tone and color to them all. That is the reason for giving it a place here.
271. Slavery taught steady labor. It seems to be also right to understand that slavery proved to be a great schoolmaster to teach men steady work. If that view is correct, we must understand that no men would do any hard, persistent work if they could help it. The defeated were forced to it, and learned to submit to it. Then they helped the whole society up to a higher status, in which they also shared.[627] Von Götzen gives some proof of this when he states that he and his troop of carriers sat by the camp fire evenings and that one after another told his life. "Nearly all had been, as children, brought from the inner country to the coast by slave dealers. Now they were proud of this slavery, proud of belonging to the 'cultivated' and of not being any longer 'wild' men."[628] In that view slavery is a part of the discipline by which the human race has learned how to carry on the industrial organization. There are some tasks which have been very hard and very disagreeable. Comrades in an in-group have never forced these on each other. It seemed to be good fun, as well as wise policy, to make members of a rival out-group do these tasks, after defeating them in war. For women the grinding of seeds (grain) always was a heavy burden until modern machinery brought natural powers to do it. For men the rowing of boats (galleys) has been a very hard kind of work.[629] After slavery came to exist it was extended to other cases, even to some classes of cases in the in-group. Of these cases the first was that of debt. Amongst the Eveans a debtor who cannot pay is put to death. This, however, is a very exceptional rule.[630] The course of thought is, that a debtor has used another man's product and is bound to replace it. He therefore falls into servitude to his creditor in fact, whether it is so expressed or not. He must live on and work for the creditor. Another case in which slavery was introduced was that of crime. The criminal fell under obligations of restitution of value to an individual or to the whole (chief). Other cases of extension of slavery will appear below. We have many cases of groups exploited by other groups. The former are then inferior and despised groups who are tyrannized over by others who have beaten them in war or easily could do so.