--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They may be convenient slaves, but…" description: "\"“They may be convenient slaves, but slavery will have its constant effect, degrading the master and the abject dependent.”\" — Mary Wollstonecraft" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d6/mary-wollstonecraft-1568_slavery_they-may-be-convenient-slaves-but-slaver_180669.png" --- # They may be convenient slaves, but slavery will have its… ![“They may be convenient slaves, but slavery will have its constant effect, degrading the master and the abject dependent.” quote by Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d6/mary-wollstonecraft-1568_slavery_they-may-be-convenient-slaves-but-slaver_180669.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d6/mary-wollstonecraft-1568_slavery_they-may-be-convenient-slaves-but-slaver_180669.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d6/mary-wollstonecraft-1568_slavery_they-may-be-convenient-slaves-but-slaver_180669.png) > ““They may be convenient slaves, but slavery will have its constant effect, degrading the master and the abject dependent.”” [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Convenient slavery degrades both master and dependent, eroding humanity on both sides. **In simple terms:** Slavery harms everyone involved. Key Takeaway Reject any form of exploitation. Themes freedom equality human rights morality Mood critical concerned Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - workplace hierarchies - economic exploitation - modern servitude - human trafficking Key Concepts social justice power dynamics ethical philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How does power imbalance affect your relationships? - What steps can you take to dismantle subtle oppression? A Different Perspective Convenient slavery may be rationalized as necessary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Convenient Slaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convenient-slaves-1932660/) [Degrading Master](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrading-master-1932663/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) [Slavery Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery-constant-1932661/) [Slaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slaves/) [Slaves Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slaves-slavery-1932662/) ## Related quotes > [We know, Southern men declare that their slaves are better off than hired laborers amongst us. How little they know, whereof they speak! There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-know-southern-men-declare-that-their-slaves-are-better-off-than/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [We're all slaves to death is our biological curse and thus a form of slavery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/we-re-all-slaves-to-death-is-our-biological-curse-and-thus-a-form-of/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [The slaves who were ourselves had known terror intimately, confused sunrise with pain, & accepted indifference as kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ntozake-shange/the-slaves-who-were-ourselves-had-known-terror-intimately-confused/) [Ntozake Shange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ntozake-shange/) > [Yet thousands of slaves throughout the southern states are thus handed over by the masters who own them to masters who do not; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-kemble/yet-thousands-of-slaves-throughout-the-southern-states-are-thus/) [Fanny Kemble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fanny-kemble/) > [In antiquity slaves were, in all honesty called slaves. In the middle ages, they took the name of serfs. Nowadays they are called wage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/in-antiquity-slaves-were-in-all-honesty-called-slaves-in-the-middle/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [The slaves in Rome were incapable of leisure and so their masters gave them entertainment to keep them pacified.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-slaves-in-rome-were-incapable-of-leisure-and-so-their-masters/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A nation of slaves is always prepared to applaud the clemency of their master who, in the abuse of absolute power, does not proceed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/a-nation-of-slaves-is-always-prepared-to-applaud-the-clemency-of/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [The use of slave women as day workers naturally broke up or made impossible the normal Negro home, and this and the slave code…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/the-use-of-slave-women-as-day-workers-naturally-broke-up-or-made/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [“That was when I realized we weren’t born to be slaves. It was ignorant for any man to think he could be the master…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-grewal/that-was-when-i-realized-we-weren-t-born-to-be-slaves-it-was-ignorant/) [Jay Grewal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-grewal/) > [They are hare-brain'd slaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/they-are-hare-brain-d-slaves/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Once slavery in America was not seen as radical. It became, instead, a revolutionary idea that slaves should be freed. When we have lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/once-slavery-in-america-was-not-seen-as-radical-it-became-instead-a/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) > [“I’d like to run away, to flee from what I know, from what is mine, from what I love. I want to set off,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-d-like-to-run-away-to-flee-from-what-i-know-from-what-is-mine-from/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [The slave and those whose present life is miserable and who can find no consolation in the heavens are assured that at least the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-slave-and-those-whose-present-life-is-miserable-and-who-can-find/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“The master doesn’t need to chain his slaves; their needs will chain them to him. You can end slavery by the stroke of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/the-master-doesn-t-need-to-chain-his-slaves-their-needs-will-chain/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [“Quite so," answered the young lord. "It is the problem of slavery, and we try to solve it by amusing the slaves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/quite-so-answered-the-young-lord-it-is-the-problem-of-slavery-and-we/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More by Mary Wollstonecraft > [Man preys on man; and you mourn for the idle tapestry that decorated a gothic pillar, and the dronish bell that summoned the fat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/man-preys-on-man-and-you-mourn-for-the-idle-tapestry-that-decorated-a/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [“How much more respectable is the woman who earns her own bread by fulfilling any duty, than the most accomplished beauty!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/how-much-more-respectable-is-the-woman-who-earns-her-own-bread-by/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [I love my man as my fellow; but his scepter, real, or usurped, extends not to me, unless the reason of an individual demands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/i-love-my-man-as-my-fellow-but-his-scepter-real-or-usurped-extends/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [Fondness is a poor substitute for friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/fondness-is-a-poor-substitute-for-friendship/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [Women have seldom sufficient employment to silence their feelings; a round of little cares, or vain pursuits frittering away all strength of mind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/women-have-seldom-sufficient-employment-to-silence-their-feelings-a/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [“In this style, argue tyrants of every denomination, from the weak king to the weak father of a family; they are all eager to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/in-this-style-argue-tyrants-of-every-denomination-from-the-weak-king/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [ “If children are to be educated to understand the true principle of patriotism, their mother must be a patriot \[...\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/if-children-are-to-be-educated-to-understand-the-true-principle-of/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [If women be educated for dependence; that is, to act according to the will of another fallible being, and submit, right or wrong, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/if-women-be-educated-for-dependence-that-is-to-act-according-to-the/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [Only that education deserves emphatically to be termed cultivation of the mind which teaches young people how to begin to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/only-that-education-deserves-emphatically-to-be-termed-cultivation-of/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The beginning is always today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-beginning-is-always-today/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [“I wish to show that elegance is inferior to virtue, that the first object of laudable ambition is to obtain a character as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/i-wish-to-show-that-elegance-is-inferior-to-virtue-that-the-first/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [Perhaps the seeds of false-refinement, immorality, and vanity, have ever been shed by the great. Weak, artificial beings, raised above the common wants and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/perhaps-the-seeds-of-false-refinement-immorality-and-vanity-have-ever/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [Make them free, and they will quickly become wise and virtous, as men become more so; for the improvement must be mutual, or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/make-them-free-and-they-will-quickly-become-wise-and-virtous-as-men/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The birthright of man ... is such a degree of liberty, civil and religious, as is compatible with the liberty of every other individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-birthright-of-man-is-such-a-degree-of-liberty-civil-and-religious/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) [Explore all 225 Mary Wollstonecraft quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) ## More Slavery quotes > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/single-acts-of-tyranny-may-be-ascribed-to-the-accidental-opinion-of-a/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Can you look forward to the future of our country and imagine any state of things in which, with slavery still existing, we should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dale-owen/can-you-look-forward-to-the-future-of-our-country-and-imagine-any/) [Robert Dale Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dale-owen/) > [My favorite Founding Fathers, Christians like John Adams, were absolutely appalled by slavery, and did not own slaves. I think we're going to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/my-favorite-founding-fathers-christians-like-john-adams-were/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [Slavery, if it can be legalized at all, can be legalized only by positive legislation. Natural law gives it no aid. Custom imparts to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/slavery-if-it-can-be-legalized-at-all-can-be-legalized-only-by/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [If he's - the inference is that somehow he thinks slavery is a - is a noble institution I would - I would strongly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/if-he-s-the-inference-is-that-somehow-he-thinks-slavery-is-a-is-a/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [We know, Southern men declare that their slaves are better off than hired laborers amongst us. How little they know, whereof they speak! There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-know-southern-men-declare-that-their-slaves-are-better-off-than/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“Work is a vehicle with which man chases some fleeting destination called a full tummy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/work-is-a-vehicle-with-which-man-chases-some-fleeting-destination/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Being a slave is to have nothing but still having something left to lose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lalita-tedemy/being-a-slave-is-to-have-nothing-but-still-having-something-left-to/) [Lalita Tedemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lalita-tedemy/) > [Think about it: we went into slavery pagans; we came out Christians. We went into slavery pieces of property; we came out American citizens.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/think-about-it-we-went-into-slavery-pagans-we-came-out-christians-we/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [Man preys on man; and you mourn for the idle tapestry that decorated a gothic pillar, and the dronish bell that summoned the fat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/man-preys-on-man-and-you-mourn-for-the-idle-tapestry-that-decorated-a/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [They don't really focus on that history here in America. I remember growing up as a kid, history class was very washed-over. 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But to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-murray/to-say-to-the-slave-who-has-not-been-emancipated-do-not-behave-as-a/) [John Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-murray/) [Browse all 2,997 Slavery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They may be convenient slaves, but slavery will have its constant effect, degrading the master and the abject dependent.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Wollstonecraft" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/they-may-be-convenient-slaves-but-slavery-will-have-its-constant/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Slavery" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/they-may-be-convenient-slaves-but-slavery-will-have-its-constant/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d6/mary-wollstonecraft-1568_slavery_they-may-be-convenient-slaves-but-slaver_180669.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d6/mary-wollstonecraft-1568_slavery_they-may-be-convenient-slaves-but-slaver_180669.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d6/mary-wollstonecraft-1568_slavery_they-may-be-convenient-slaves-but-slaver_180669.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“They may be convenient slaves, but slavery will have its constant effect, degrading the master and the…” — Mary Wollstonecraft", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mary Wollstonecraft", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“They may be convenient slaves, but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/they-may-be-convenient-slaves-but-slavery-will-have-its-constant/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/they-may-be-convenient-slaves-but-slavery-will-have-its-constant/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```