Читать книгу Greek and Roman Slaveries - Eftychia Bathrellou - Страница 31

Literature: Schlange-Schöningen 2003: 255–90, 2006.

I must now recall what has already been said, namely that experience together with resourcefulness can detect those who make false claims, including those who pretend to be suffering from severe pain. When another man claimed that he had extremely severe pain in his knee – this man was a slave, one of these who run beside their master in his journeys – I noticed that his pain was a sham. What made me suspicious was both the fact that his master would set out that day and the character of the lad; he was the kind who are capable of shamming in such things. I also asked one of his fellow-slaves who disliked him whether the lad had a liaison with some woman, which would naturally make him wish to stay put when the master set off on a longer journey, into the country, away from home. And this was indeed the case. These things I found out using common resourcefulness. However, there was a huge swelling on the lad’s knee, who would astound a lay man but would be obvious to one with specialist experience as caused by thapsia.²³ This is the result of medical experience, not something that a layperson can resolve with his resourcefulness. Another result of medical experience was the discovery that the lad had not previously suffered or done anything that was capable of suddenly causing such a swelling. For he had not run more than normal, nor had he been wounded by someone else, nor had he got hurt by leaping over a ditch. Moreover, there were no signs of blood excess in his body, nor had his earlier regimen included excessive consumption of food and drink or a sedentary lifestyle. On top, when we asked him what type of pain he felt, he was slow to respond, did not give a straight answer and contradicted himself. So, when his master went out, I put a drag on his knee, which does not at all extinguish pain but is capable of cooling the heat produced by thapsia. After one hour, I had him admitting that he felt no pain at all.

 What is the job of the malingering slave? Are you surprised that the master calls a famous doctor like Galen for such a slave?

 Why does Galen suspect that the slave is lying?

 What does he suspect the reason to be?

 How does he try to find out the truth? Does he ask the master?

 What can we learn about slave life and relations among slaves from this passage?

 Are the slaves mere instruments for the purposes of their masters?

 How does acknowledging slave agency change our understanding of slavery?