The Importance of Slavery in Democracy

The law against hubris was intended to help citizens avoid hubris, writes Alexis de Tocqueville. A master who excessively mistreated a slave or even killed his own slave could be prosecuted by any citizen - called the Grafé hubris. slaves were protected by law against violent abuse in an indirect way; they couldn't just kill their masters. But Athens had a law that forbid the striking of another person's Slave and many owners gossiped about their slaves from earshot.