The New World Order of Islam — Page 4
New World Order 4 continued during this time. What I wish to say is that, in spite of differences in wealth, the wealthy were in the habit of using their goods and possessions in a manner which occasioned no resentment. Again, in the past the relation between the master and the servant was on a basis very different from that of today. In well-to-do families servants and dependants were treated as members of the household. Distinctions were no doubt maintained. For instance, a master would not marry his daughter to any of his servants, nor was it considered proper for the master himself to marry a servant girl. Nevertheless, the distance between the master and the servant was not so great, nor was it stressed so much as it is today. The master sat on the floor and his servants and dependants sat freely around him. The mistress and her serving women similarly spent their time freely together. Today the master sits on the chair and the servant must remain in attendance standing in a respectful attitude. However tired he may be, he dare not sit in the presence of the master. Even the new modes of travel serve to maintain and stress distinctions. In the past the master and the servant used to ride together across the country. No doubt the master was better mounted than the servant, but both rode together in companionship. Today while the master travels first or second among his own class, the servant travels among his fellows in the third