"Good heav'ns! what active feats yon artist shows, "What skilful divers are our Phrygian foes! "Mark with what ease they fink into the fand. "Pity that all their practice is by land." The Greeks are reprefented (a) one after another stabbing the dead body of Hector: "Nor flood an Argive near the chief who "inflicted not a wound. Surely now, faid "they, more eafy of accefs is Hector, than "when he launched on the fhips brands "of devouring fire." When fuch were the manners of warriors at the fiege of Troy, it is no surprise to find the heroes on both fides no lefs intent on stripping the flain than on victory. They are every where reprefented as greedy of spoil. The Jews did not yield to the Greeks in cruelty. It is unneceffary to give inftances, as the hiftorical books of the Old Teftament are in the hands of every one. I fhall felect one inftance for a fpecimen, dreadfully cruel without any juft provocation: "And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and "fought against it, and took it. And he (a) Book 22. brought "brought forth the people that were there"in, and put them under faws, and under "harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, "and made them pafs through the brick"kiln and thus did he unto all the cities "of the children of Ammon (a).” That cruelty was predominant among the Romans, is evident from every one of their hiftorians. If a Roman citizen was found murdered in his own house, his whole household flaves, perhaps two or three hundred, were put to death without mercy, unless they could detect the murderer. Such a law, cruel and unjust, could never have been enacted among a people of any humanity. Brutality to their offspring was glaring. Children were held, like cattle, to be the father's property and fo tenacious was the patria poteftas, that if a fon or daughter fold to be a flave was fet free, he or she fell again under the father's power, to be fold a fecond time, and even a third time. The power of life and death over children was much less unnatural, while no public tribunal exifted for punishing crimes. A (a) 2 Samuel, xii. 29. fon, fon, being a flave, could have no property of his own. Julius Cæfar was the firft who privileged a fon to retain for his own ufe fpoils acquired in war. When law became a lucrative profeffion, what a fon gained in that way was declared to be his property. In Athens, a man had power of life and death over his children; but, as they were not flaves, what they acquired belonged to themselves. So late as the days of Dioclefian, a fon's marriage did not diffolve the Roman patria poteftas (a). But the power of felling children wore out of ufe (b). When powers fo unnatural were given to men over their children, and exercifed fo tyranically, can there be any doubt of their cruelty to others * ? (a) 1. 1. Cod. cap. De patria poteftate. During The effect of fuch unnatural powers was to eradicate natural affection between a man and his children. And, indeed, fo little of nature was left in this connection, that a law was found neceffary prohibiting a man to difinherit his children, except for certain caufes specified, importing grofs ingratitude in the latter; which was done by Juftinian the Emperor in one of his Novels. But behold what follows. A prohibition During the fecond triumvirate, horrid cruelties were every day perpetrated without pity or remorfe. Antony, having ordered Cicero to be beheaded, and the head to be brought to him, viewed it with favage pleasure. His wife Fulvia laid hold of it, ftruck it on the face, uttered many bitter execrations, and, having placed it between her knees, drew out the tongue, and pierced it with a bodkin. The delight it gave the Romans to fee wild beafts fet loofe against one another in their circus, is a proof not at all ambiguous of their tafte for blood, even at the time of their highest civilization. The Edile Scaurus fent at one time to Rome 150 pan thers, Pompey 410, and Auguftus 420, for the public fpectacles. Their gladiato hibition to exheredate children renders them indepen. dent; and fuch independence produces an effect still more pernicious than defpotic power in a father. Awe and reverence to parents make the only effectual check against the headstrong paffions of youth: remove that check, and young men of fortune will give the rein to every vice. It deferves to be seriously pondered, whether the fame encouragement be not given to vice, by a practice general in England among men of fortune in their marriage-articles; which is, to vest the estate in trufters, for behoof of the heir of the marriage. rian combats are a lefs evident proof of their ferocity: the courage and address exerted in these combats gave a manly pleasure, that balanced in fome measure the pain of feeing these poor fellows cut and flash one another. And, that the Romans were never cured of their thirft for blood, appears from Caligula, Nero, and many other monsters, who tormented the Romans after Auguftus. There is no example in modern times of fuch monsters in France, though an absolute monarchy, nor even in Turkey. Ferocity was, in the Roman empire, confiderably mollified by literature and other fine arts; but it acquired new force upon the irruption of the barbarous nations who crushed that empire. In the year 559, Clotaire, King of the Franks, burnt alive his fon, with all his friends, because they had rebelled against him. Queen Brunehaud, being by Clotaire II. condemned to die, was dragged through the camp at a horfe's tail, till fhe gave up the ghoft. The ferocity of European nations became boundlefs during the anarchy of the feudal fyftem. Many peasants in the northern provinces of France being forely |