nown. The contrast between the Pagan and Christian
slavery is even more marked when the dependence of the Christian slave
upon the good nature of his master is considered. Compare this with the
decrees of the Roman emperors:

"Masters were prohibited sending their slaves into the arena without a
judicial sentence. Claudius punished as a murderer any master who killed
his slave. Nero appointed judges to hear the complaints of slaves as to
ill-treatment or insufficient feeding. Domitian forbade the mutilation
of slaves; Hadrian forbade the selling of slaves to gladiators,
destroyed private prisons for them, and ordered that they who were
proved to have ill-treated their slaves be forced to sell them.
Caracalla forbade the selling of children into slavery."

"All that need be added to this is that the later Christian slavery
represented a distinct retrogression, deliberately revived from motives
of sheer cupidity, and accompanied by more revolting features than the
slavery of ancient times." (_Chapman Cohen._)

In the "History of Ethics Within Organized Christianity" is recorded,
"The Church, as such, never contemplated doing away with slavery as
such, even though Stoicism had denounced it as 'Contra Mundum.' Nowhere
does the early Church condemn slavery as an institution. Kindness to the
slave is frequently recommended, but this was done quite as forcibly,
and upon a much broader ground by the pagan writers. It would be indeed
nearer the truth to say that the Christians who wrote in favor of the
mitigation of the lot of the slave were far more indebted to pagans than
to Christian influence."

The Church itself owned many slaves, advised its adherents to will their
slaves to her, and was the last to liberate the slaves which she owned.
Yet, the apologists for the Church would have us believe that she was
instrumental in the destruction of slavery, when it is a fact that there
is nowhere a clear condemnation of slavery on the part of the Church.

H. C. Lea in his "Studies of the Church History" says, "The Church held
many slaves, and while their treatment was in general sufficiently
humane to cause the number to grow by voluntary accretions, yet it had
no scruple to assert vigorously their claim to ownership. When the Papal
Church granted a slave to a monastery, the dread anathema, involving
eternal perdition, was pronounced against anyone daring to interfere
with the gift; and those who were appointed to take charge of