Upon this _principle_ it was, that the former treatment began to be fully confirmed and established; and as this _principle_ was handed down and disseminated, so it became, in succeeding ages, an _excuse_ for any severity, that despotism might suggest.
We may observe here, that as all nations had this excuse in common, as arising from the _circumstances_ above-mentioned, so the Greeks first, and the Romans afterwards, had an _additional excuse_, as arising from their own _vanity_.
The former having conquered Troy, and having united themselves under one common name and interest, began, from that period, to distinguish the rest of the world by the title of _barbarians_; inferring by such an appellation, "that they were men who were only noble in their own country; that they had no right, from their _nature_, to authority or command; that, on the contrary, so low were their capacities, they were _destined_ by nature _to obey_, and to live in a state of perpetual drudgery and subjugation."[022] Conformable with this opinion was the treatment, which was accordingly prescribed to a _barbarian_.

The philosopher Aristotle himself, in the advice which he gave to his pupil Alexander, before he went upon his Asiatick expedition, intreated him to "use the Greeks, as it became a _general_, but the _barbarians_, as it became a _master_; consider, says he, the former as _friends_ and _domesticks_; but the latter, as _brutes_ and _plants_;"[023] inferring that the Greeks, from the superiority of their capacities, had a _natural_ right to dominion, and that the rest of the world, from the inferiority of their own, were to be considered and treated as the _irrational_ part of the creation.
Now, if we consider that this was the treatment, which they judged to be absolutely proper for people of this description, and that their slaves were uniformly those, whom they termed _barbarians_; being generally such, as were either kidnapped from _Barbary_, or purchased from the _barbarian_ conquerors in their wars with one another; we shall immediately see, with what an additional excuse their own vanity had furnished them for the sallies of caprice and passion.
To refute these cruel sentiments of the ancients, and to shew that their slaves were by no means an inferiour order of beings than themselves, may perhaps be considered as an unnecessary task; particularly, as having shewn, that the causes of this inferiour appearance were _incidental_, arising, on the one hand, from the combined effects of the _treatment_ and _commerce_, and, on the other, from _vanity_ and _pride_, we seem to have refuted them already.
But we trust that some few observations, in vindication of these unfortunate people, will neither be unacceptable nor improper.
How then shall we begin the refutation?
Shall we say with Seneca, who saw many of the slaves in question, "What is a _knight_, or a _libertine_, or a _slave_?
Are they not names, assumed either from _injury_ or _ambition_ ?" Or, shall we say with him on another occasion, "Let us consider that he, whom we call our slave, is born in the same manner as ourselves; that he enjoys the same sky, with all its heavenly luminaries; that he breathes, that he lives, in the same manner as ourselves, and, in the same manner, that he expires." These considerations, we confess, would furnish us with a plentiful source of arguments in the case before us; but we decline their assistance.

How then shall we begin?
Shall we enumerate the many instances of fidelity, patience, or valour, that are recorded of the _servile_ race?
Shall we enumerate the many important services, that they rendered both to the individuals and the community, under whom they lived?
Here would be a second source, from whence we could collect sufficient materials to shew, that there was no inferiority in their nature.

But we decline to use them.

We shall content ourselves with some few instances, that relate to the _genius_ only: we shall mention the names of those of a _servile_ condition, whose writings, having escaped the wreck of time, and having been handed down even to the present age, are now to be seen, as so many living monuments, that neither the Grecian, nor Roman genius, was superiour to their own.
The first, whom we shall mention here, is the famous AEsop.