Many slaves were not fortunate enough to have a level-headed master such as Columella describes. (Columella, Res Rusticae, 1.8.15, click for link ) For to a mother of three sons exemption from work was granted to a mother of more her freedom as well.
In fact, I now and then avenge those who have just cause for grievance, as well as punish those who incite the slaves to revolt, or who slander their taskmasters and, on the other hand, I reward those who conduct themselves with energy and diligence. To women, too, who are unusually prolific, and who ought to be rewarded for the bearing of a certain number of offspring, I have granted exemption from work and sometimes even freedom after they had reared many children. Furthermore, I observe that they are more willing to set about a piece of work on which they think that their opinions have been asked and their advice followed… In addition he should give them frequent opportunities for making complaint against those persons who treat them cruelly or dishonestly. Nowadays I make it a practice to call into consultation on any new work, as if they were more experienced, and to discover by this means what sort of ability is possessed by each of them and how intelligent he is. (Columella, Res Rusticae, 1.8.11, click for link ) There is, moreover, no better way of keeping watch over even the most worthless of men than the strict enforcement of labour, the requirement that the proper tasks be performed and that the overseer be present at all times for in that case the foremen in charge of the several operations are zealous in carrying out their duties, and the others, after their fatiguing toil, will turn their attention to rest and sleep rather than to dissipation. (Columella, Res Rusticae, 1.8.9, click for link) If this be done, no weather is so unbearable but that some work may be done in the open. In the care and clothing of the slave household he should have an eye to usefulness rather than appearance, taking care to keep them fortified against wind, cold, and rain, all of which are warded off with long-sleeved leather tunics, garments of patchwork, or hooded cloaks. Columella, in his Res Rusticae, a type of handbook on farming, advises owners on how to treat their agricultural slaves including the clothing they should be provided with and how to achieve the greatest amount of labour from slaves while being as just as possible so that the slaves do not find their lives so difficult that they would wish to rebel. How slaves were treated depended largely on their master and his attitude to slaves. This is what ancient sources do tell us about Roman slaves: Part 2 of Life of a Slave in Ancient Rome continues to expand our understanding of this large group of people who were present in every aspect of life in Ancient Rome, but who are largely absent in the literature and archaeology that have survived.
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