Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1860-07-20

doubtess, IN part from this prejudice.
II in these various ways slavery poisoned
the inner life of the state the insurrections Of
the seventh century of the city shook its out
ward frame no less fcarfully. The slaves Of
Italy were not an ignorant. timid race. but
were in every way equal 90 their masters
cultivated Greeks, willy Crctans. athletic Syr-
ians fierce Ihracians and Dalmatans. Eu-
nus, Athoniou, and Spartacus proved them
selves more than matches for average Roman
commanders, and, knowing that when one
servile war was suppressed, thvro were still
LEFT the same scheming minds, and the same
restless spirits, as materials for another, we
need not wonder at the barbarily of the ven
geanCC, nor at the watchfulness of the police
After the defeat Of Spartacus, six thousand of
the insurgents were crucfcd along the road
from Rome to Capua aud an incident related
10y Cicero is a worthy companion-piece to that
of the Italian farmer who successfully defoud-
ed himself with arms against robbers, and was
consequently punished by tho Austrian gov
crnment for having arms in his possession.
\ slave in Sicily, who had delivered the coun-
try from an enormous wild boar, was crucifed
by the prUtor for having had the spear with
which he killed it in his possession. --
weak and unworthy piece Of cruelty says
WALTON, which Cicero does not dare TO blame,
and which Naerius Maximus approves"
We hayo indicated final stage in the his
tory Of Roman slavery, when slaves came to
be held rather for luxury and show than for
profit. How far this stage existed side by side
with the others, it is impossible to determine
but in itself it is a marked characteristic Of
society under tho empire, as was natural with
rudcly luxurious people. The theatre and
the gladatoral show oxcmplify this in public
and on large scale ior although the own
ers Of the actors and gladators held them for
profit, for the community they were unpro-
ductiyc.f In private the mobiles indulged
themselves to excess in this species Of ostcn-
tation. When they went out, they were ac-
companied by "logions' or cohorts of slaves,
as ancient writer's express it, "The modcra-
ton Of Cato the Censor, Scipio, Carlo, Mark
Antony, and Cato Uticonsis is lauded because
they restricted themselves in their expeditions
To- taking with them three, five, seven, eight,
aud twelve slaves. And as regards the two
Catos, Nllerus Maximus, "after having com
pared with the three slaves of the elder, the
twelve carried 10y the younger under similar
circumstances, adds. 1t is numerically more,
but less when we take into account the differ
encc of manners in their times. SO rapid
had been the growth Of luxury. This was
still under the republic; under the empire no
bounds were placed to extravaganza.
Cato wa- indignant ia his day that should be
paid for handsome slave than for piece Of land. Mar
ii speaks NJ entire inherances absorbed in such pur
chasosi NJ wuncn OF young children, costing 10000
.cstrrccs lSj0Oli and Pluy gives detailed instance,
with the Of the merchant and the purchaser.
What brought Rome this prodpaity not only the
sen aality which 20 be satisfied but also the pleas
urcs ~ the mind literature the fine arts noble fruits
pf HtN a
Greece, hn whose cultivation IN Italy still demanded the
care Of foreign hand and besides thg arstocrscy dis
dancd sometimes 20 cultivate them itself thinking had
the right TO command their services for money The
merchants cxcrtcd themselves TO meet It's wants they
procured men Of letters, artists -Vaion, Vol. II
I p. lGj,
A story told by Seneca (Ep. XXVIT. seq.
is cited in illustration of this. 1t is of a GER
tain Sabinus, a rich man, who had so poor a
memory that he could not remember even the
names Of Ulysses and Achilles
"Ncvcrthcless he desired 20 seem learned Therefore he
devised This short-haud method large sum of money
bought sates,onc To have the charge OF Homer,
Hesod aud among nine others he distributed Mise lyric
poets II is not 70 be wondered at that they cost him
much be could not find such, hc had them made ffa-
ccHdo7 ioc1rD When This band v~rcady, hc began to
his companions. lie bad his feet those FROM
whom he would hom time To t,uc ask verses to quote
and otcn break In n the midst Of convcrsation" One
Sltclus Qnairatus, ''when S1hinus had said that
OF his slaves cost him hundred thousand scscrces an
swcrcd You might have bought many Of books
for less But he Of opinion that he know whatever
any ia his house knew. The same Satollus began
advise him. weak pale, and slender, tu learn
wrrstlc When Sahinus answered, How can am
hardl, alive DO not say So beg said ho do you
NOT see how many vigorous slaves you have -
So also there were rirtuosi in slaves, men
who prded themselves on their collections Of
slaves Of rare qualities and accomplishments
like stock lanciers at the present day. We
will close this division Of our subject by quot
ing from WALTON the account of the household
of Ivia wife of Augustus, as seen in her CO.
hrmbaria, discovered near the beginning of
the eighteenth century in Rome
There arc slaves for the principal departments Of scr
vicc-seryice Of chamber aud nnechamher Of the
body and Of health education Of children the toilet aud
what the Latns called in imitation Of the Greeks, the
world Of the women, mud" muhebris; the care Of gar
meus of jewels the adjustment Of pearls with the deli
cate mission OF choosing among these ornaments that
which make up the most complete ensemble, and
make Of the mistress work Of IAN injudicous
has disclosed to US the coioyafor Of lvia thousand
other minute carcs,to read hold the tablets follow
or sit At the feet functions IN which that more entertain
ug than useful troop Of young children made their de-
bu the services Of display in which, when grown larg
en- they played the principal parthe service Of sacred
Objects images statues of ancestors and ds,fna
ly general service, and the care Of business H.,
IN lI5,
We have thus reviewed the history Of Ro-
man slavery so far as the plan we proposed
10 ourselves demands. Into the details of the
institution itself and the wrotchedness of its
victims, We have not thought it desirable to
enter it was its history rather than its anti
quities that we wished to consider This we
have done from two points Of yiew,-the
changes 1t underwent in form and nature, and
the ruin it brought upon liberty and ciyiliza-
tion. But the two aspects have illustrated
each other, as slavery and Roman institutions
have reacted on each other. II was the do
gcneracy Of the Roman character that made
slavery so harsh but it was in great part
slavery that debauched the Roman character.
II was the idhfiudia that gave slavery its po-
litical power but slavery enabled the system
of iaGfuHaia to develop itself. 1t was slave
labor that annihilated small estates in Italy
and it was foreign captves, brought slaves
to Rome, that as freedmen crowded the city
tribes and constituted the city mob. 1t seems
not TOO much to say, that slavery more than
aught else was the worm which gnawed at
the root Of ancient civilization is soundness
and vitality gone, the whole fabric fell.
For instance. the Lex Cnea forbade lawyer to re.
cci,e frc for arguing No public officer received
anything Ion his services, and agencies, balmcnis Sc
among friends gave no claim for feoompenso'
+ A respectable show NJ gladiatou cost, says Momm-
sen 80 900 thalcrs lS3I6l)
From the Vermont phmnix.
atrgfrI.a Ats A. AttyutrnnAT AnfnaT IN