half-slaves

Updated: May 6, 2025

In the first place, Aristotle is frankly in favour of slavery, as was every ancient philosopher except perhaps Seneca; but he is more insistent on this point than anyone else, for he looks upon slavery, not as one of many foundations, but as the very foundation of society. He considers artisans as belonging to a higher estate but still as a class of "half-slaves."

Émile Faguet - The Cult of Incompetence