Life in the Roman world of Nero and StPaul . sabots. SOCIAL DAY OF ARISTOCRAT 203 Over all these persons, so long as they are slaves,the owner possesses absolute power. He can boxtheir ears, or condemn them to hard labour — makingthem, for instance, work in chains upon his landsin the country or in a sort of prison-factory — orhe may punish them with blows of the rod, the lash,or the knout; he can brand themupon the forehead if they arethieves or runaways, or in the end,if they prove irreclaimable, he cancrucify them. Branded slaveswho afterwards became free andrich sought to conceal the marks
Life in the Roman world of Nero and StPaul . sabots. SOCIAL DAY OF ARISTOCRAT 203 Over all these persons, so long as they are slaves,the owner possesses absolute power. He can boxtheir ears, or condemn them to hard labour — makingthem, for instance, work in chains upon his landsin the country or in a sort of prison-factory — orhe may punish them with blows of the rod, the lash,or the knout; he can brand themupon the forehead if they arethieves or runaways, or in the end,if they prove irreclaimable, he cancrucify them. Branded slaveswho afterwards became free andrich sought to conceal the marksby wearing patches. There wereinevitably some instances in whichmasters proved so intolerably cruelthat their slaves were driven tomurder them. To prevent anyconspiracy of the kind the law ordained that, whena master was so killed, the slaves should one andall be put to death. It is gratifying to learn thatin the reign of Nero the whole populace sided witha body of slaves in this predicament and preventedthe law from being carried Fig. 61. — SL.^.vE inFetters. But, being a typical Roman, Silius has a strongsense of justice; moreover he values public opinionas well as his own. Also, being a typical Roman, hebehaves with strictness and for the most part with adistinct haughtiness of manner, graduated, no doubt,according to the standing of the individual. WTien, 204 LIFE IN THE ROMAN WORLD chap. as was often the case, he did not even know thename of a slave whom he came across in hall orperistyle, he frequently addressed him as Sirrahor Sir or You, Sir. To the waiter at table andfor ordinary commands, where the master afTects noceremony, the commonest term is boy, preciselyas that word is used in the East or gargon in Silius knew the actual appellation assigned to theslave when bought and was disposed to be kindly,he accosted him by it, calling him Syrian, orThracian, or Croesus, or by his proper Greekor Egyptian name. The slave, unlike the Romancitizen, owne
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