32. Priscus (p. 61 [p. 194, ed. Bonn]) extols the equity of
the Roman laws, which protected the life of a slave.
Occidere solent (says Tacitus of the Germans) non disciplina
et servitate, sed impetu et ira, ut inimicum, nisi quod
impune. De Moribus Germ. c. 25. The Heruli, who were the
subjects of Attila, claimed and exercised the power of life
and death over their slaves. See a remarkable instance in
the second book of Agathias.