Hi All,

  I think Aristotle argued in his Politics, that there were natural
slaves (including barbarians, [whose language, not being classic
Greek, sounded like "bar-bar"]) and natural masters.  He did
concede, as I remember it from 30-35 years ago, that the actual
masters and slaves in his society might not be equivalent to the
"natural."

Date sent:              Thu, 14 Feb 2002 08:55:51 -0800
From:                   Kathleen Much <[log in to unmask]>
Subject:                Re: Generalizing Problems
To:                     [log in to unmask]
Send reply to:          Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
        <[log in to unmask]>

> Mario said:
>
> I do not recall ever coming across any ancient arguments that slaves
> were slaves because it was their natural condition to be subservient,
> because they were less than human, because their brains were simpler or
> more primitive, because they were happier being slaves and taken care of.
> ---
>
> I can't put my finger on the citation just now, but I think Aristotle said
> the barbarians of his day were inferior to the Greeks and born to be
> slaves.
>
> Maybe somebody with better access to references will be able to cite
> the precise quotation.
>
> Kathleen Much
> [log in to unmask]
>
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Harold S. Forsythe
Assistant Professor History
Director:  Black Studies
Fairfield University
Fairfield, CT 06430-5195
(203) 254-4000  x2379

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