Between Heathenism and Christianity - College of Stoic Philosophers

Plutarch and the Greece of His Age
it did not originate with the government;
that had
other ends in view. That the Roman policy toward
the proletariat in the imperial capital only made
matters worse, is well known. When we remember
how much has been done in recent years by legisla
tion in every civilized country for the amelioration of
the condition of the lowest classes and how much
still remains to be done, we can picture to ourselves
the state of society where all this was omitted.
When we remember further that up to a compara
tively recent period commerce, trade and manufactures
flourished, in so far as they can be said to have flour
ished, not because they were fostered by governments,
but almost in spite of them, it is not surprising that
they received little attention at the hands of the
Greeks and Romans, either individually or collec
tively. It has already been stated that the sole object
of the ruling powers was to raise the largest amount
of revenue, not to equalize the burdens on all the
subjects. On no question
is ancient thought so crude
as upon economics. The blight, of slavery that made
free labor to a certain extent disgraceful, and a con
dition of things that hindered the establishment of
manufactories on a large scale, tells the sorrowful
story.
In his attitude toward slavery, Plutarch does
not Beem to hold as advanced views as Seneca
and some of the better men of his age and pre
ceding times. Yet he did not endorse the preva
lent opinion, embodied in legistation, that a slave is
no