perhaps you got proles confused with slaves. Though Orwell used the word somewhat differently and was more based in the Russian use of the word for proletariat...

Beside the slaves, the proletariat or proles, were the lowest class of Roman society, freemen without property. As such they had no vote in any of the Roman assemblies although the mob, largely composed of proletarians, was a factor that Roman politicians had to consider (torches, pitchforks and all that, something we need perhaps to take to hart ). Though sometimes treated better, slaves were lower on the class structure than proles, though some were highly educated and many treated like members of aristocratic households and some far, far worse.