Errors promenaded in robes under the porticos. Ambition was
honored in Alexander, suicide in Cato, and assassination in Brutus."
"But what say you to Plato?"
"The immolation of ill-formed children, and of those born without the
permission of the laws, prosecution of strangers and slavery; such
were the basis of his boasted republic, and the gospel of his
philosophy."
"Why, then, are these men held up as models for our imitation?"
"Because they are distant and dead; likewise, because they were, in
many respects, great and wise, considering the paganism and darkness
with which they were surrounded. Life was then only sacred to the few;
the many were treated as beasts of burden. The Emperor Claudian even
felt bound to issue an edict prohibiting slaves from being slain _when
they were old and feeble_."
"Which leaves a margin for us to suppose that they might be slain when
they were young and strong," observed Jack.
"By the constitution of Constantine certain cases were defined, where
a master might suspend his slave by the feet, have him torn by wild
beasts, or tortured by slow fire."
"Does slavery and its horrors not still exist, for example, in Russia
and the United States of America?"
"Slavery does exist, to the great disgrace of modern civilization, in
the countries you mention; but, so far as I am aware, its horrors are
not recognized by the laws.
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