A playwright by Plautus in 201 B.C. was made about the treatment and conduct of slaves, and portrayed the sadistic treatment masters gave their slaves. In Act 1, Scene 2, the play gave this picture of an inconsiderate master addressing his slaves, "[He flogs one slave] Well? Does it hurt?... Now stand all of you here, you race born to be thrashed." The treatment conditions of slaves grew worse as Romans grew in wealth in the next two centuries, but did not grow in humanity.
Slaves in Rome were treated as simple objects, just as in other places. A master could simply kill a slave with no punishment or moral judgement from others. Although there is little information about the treatment of slaves, but there are recorded instances of cruelty. Cato the Elder was known for expelling his old or sick slaves from his home. Seneca the Young believed that the better a slave was treated, the better job the slave would perform.