Elderly slave disposal services in the late second century

[bunn]

Average lifespan for people who made it to the age of 10 was 47.5 years.   Say you have a slave who is 45, and is therefore, presumably, something of a banger.

Suppose you are a bit of a bastard and also a tightwad, and  would prefer not to keep spending money on food, accommodation etc for a slave who was frankly always a bit of a lemon.

You aren't allowed to kill them, Hadrian outlawed that.   Your slave has no marketable value.

What do you do?

Comments

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Laws: I seem to remember writing an essay on that very subject a lifetime or so ago. As I remember it, there were several reasons given for such laws:

1) People are doing this. It's appalling. We'll make a law to make them stop.

2) People used to do this all the time! It's appalling. We'll make a law to show how much we disapprove although nobody does this nowadays because we know better.

3) Civilised people make written laws. I shall make a written law that affects people's personal behaviour to their dependents! Everyone will understand that I only have to snap my fingers and they are toast.

4) I shall make a written law that would affect people's personal behaviour, if they read it, which I know they won't, but The Future will remember me, and will know how civilised I was!

ISTR that Charlemagne's capitularies were held to fall in to category 4, although I remember not entirely understanding why.

I think Hadrian's law could be 1, 2 or 3, although I'm sure someone has told me very assertively that it's 2) but I don't know how they knew.

Good point on the ages, backed up by that pdf that ningloreth linked below which gives a reference for the price of slaves falling at age 60, not age 45.