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.