Banausoi

Plato argued, and Aristotle follows him in this, although not in other things, that the pursuit of arete required leisure. Technical education was necessary but did not make good citizens. Leisure was a necessity of good citizenship something the banausoi do not have. Banausia deforms the body rendering it useless for military and political duties. Those occupations tire out the body and therefore the mind preventing self education by reading and conversing with others. "It accustoms a man's mind to low ideas, and absorbs him in the pursuit of the mere means of life."

Plato and Aristotle teach that the highest thing in man is reason and therefore, the purpose of human perfection lies with the activity of reason; i.e. the 'theoretic' or contemplative life. Trade, industry and mechanical labour prevent this idea. These activities are necessary for a good human condition of life but when these activities are merely regarded as means to making money and not as acts of service to truth, service to others and arete, then these, occupations become base.

...

Em tempo:

Banausos (Ancient Greek βάναυσος, plural βάναυσοι, banausoi) is an epithet of the class of manual laborers or artisans in Ancient Greece. The related abstract noun βαναυσία – banausia is defined by Hesychius as "every craft (τέχνη) [conducted] by means of fire", reflecting the folk etymology of the word as coming from βαῦνος (baunos) "furnace" and αὔω (auō) "to dry". The actual etymology of the words is unknown; they are not attested outside Attic-Ionic or before the 5th Century B.C.. The epic heroes call their smiths δημιουργοί – dēmiourgoi.

Banausos was used as a term of invective, meaning "cramped in body" (Politics 1341 a 7) and "vulgar in taste" (1337 b 7), by the extreme oligarchs in Athens in the 5th century BC, who were led by Critias. These were the Laconophiles who yearned for the good old times when there was none of this "equality" nonsense, and you could beat your neighbor's slave in the street (see Ps.-Xenophon: Constitution of Athens). In this usage, it refers to the laboring class as a whole; i.e. the artisans, such as potters, stone masons, carpenters, etc; professional singers; artists; musicians; and all persons engaged in trade or retail. It makes no distinction between slave or free.