jammed the docks. The
slaves wore sleeveless tunics. The Greeks were not much given to that
absurd plan of cutting off heads--they simply cut off sleeves. This
meant that the man was a worker--the rest affected sleeves so long that
they could not work, somewhat after the order of the Chinese nobility,
who wear their finger-nails so long they can not use their hands. "To
kill a bird is to lose it," said Thoreau. "To kill a man is to lose
him," said the Greeks.

"You should have your sleeves cut off," said some of the citizens to
others, with a bit of acerbity, as they crowded the docks for their
wheat.

The talk increased--it became louder.

Finally it was proposed that the distribution of wheat should be
deferred until every man had proved his pedigree.

The ayes had it.

The result was that on close scrutiny five thousand supposed citizens
had a blot on their 'scutcheon. The property of these five thousand men
was immediately confiscated and the men sold into slavery. The total
number of free men, women and children in the city of Athens was about
seventy-five thousand, and of the slaves or helots about the same,
making the total population of the city about one hundred fifty
thousand.

We have heard so much of "the glory that was Greece, and the grandeur
that was Rome," that we are, at times, apt to think the world is making
progress backward. But let us all stand erect and lift up our hearts in
thankfulness that we live in the freest country the world has ever
known. Wisdom is not monopolized by a few; power is not concentrated in
the hands of a tyrant; knowledge need not express itself in cipher; to
work is no longer a crime or a disgrace.

We have superstition yet, but it is toothless: we can say our say
without fear of losing our heads or our sleeves. We may lose a few
customers, and some subscribers may cancel, but we are not in danger of
banishment; and that attenuated form of ostracism which consists in
neglecting to invite the offender to a four-o'clock tea has no terrors.

Bigotry is abroad, but it has no longer the power to throttle science;
the empty threat of future punishment and the offer of reward are
nothing to us, since we perceive they are offered by men who haven't
these things to give. The idea of war and conquest is held by many, but
concerning it we voice our thoughts and write our views; and the fact
that we perceive and point out what we believe are fallacies, and brand
the sins of