Thomas Aquinas — "A slave is an instrument of his master, and is his property."
A slave is an instrument of his master, and is his property.
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More from Thomas Aquinas
"The greatest evil is to do wrong and not to suffer for it."
"Concupiscence is a disorder of the appetite."
"The children of slaves are slaves by birth."
"The root of all evil is avarice."
"It is lawful to deceive the enemy in a just war."
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Understanding this quote
What it means
The quote defines slavery as a relationship of total ownership and utility — the enslaved person exists as a tool serving another's will, legally belonging to that person. It treats human beings as property subject to another's authority without autonomous standing. This reflects a hierarchical view of society where some people are subordinate by nature or circumstance, stripped of self-determination and treated as means rather than ends.
Relevance to Thomas Aquinas
Aquinas was a 13th-century Dominican friar who synthesized Aristotelian philosophy with Catholic doctrine. Aristotle's Politics taught that some people are natural slaves. Aquinas, deeply committed to reconciling reason with faith, absorbed this framework into his social theology. His legal and moral writings accepted existing hierarchies, including serfdom and slavery, as compatible with natural law — reflecting medieval Church accommodation of Roman and feudal social structures.
The era
Medieval Europe in the 13th century operated under feudalism, serfdom, and Roman law traditions that codified slavery. The Church did not categorically condemn slavery, distinguishing lawful captivity from unjust enslavement. Aristotelian texts were being rediscovered via Arabic translations, reshaping European intellectual life. Aquinas wrote during the height of Scholasticism, when synthesizing Greek philosophy with Christian theology defined intellectual legitimacy, bringing Aristotle's natural slavery theory into mainstream Christian thought.
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