Page images
PDF
EPUB

ifhment, as if he had been guilty of impiety towards God himfelt. When we offer facrifices to him, we do it not in order to furfeit ourselves to be drunken; for fuch exceffes are against the will of God, and would be an occafion of injuries and of luxury; but by keeping ourfelves fober, orderly and ready for our other occupations, and being more temperate than others. And for our duty at the facrifices themselves, we ought, in the first place, to pray for the common welfare of all, and after that for our own: For we are made for fellowfhip one with another, and he who prefers the common good before what is peculiar to himfelf is above all acceptable to God. And let our prayers and fupplications be made humbly to God, not [fo much that he would give us what is good, (for he hath already given that of his own accord, and hath propofed the fame publicly to all) as that we may duly receive it, and when we have received it, may preferve it. Now the law has appointed feveral purifications at our facrifices, whereby we are cleanfed after a funeral, after what fometimes happens to us in bed, and after accompanying with our wives, and upon many other occafions which it would be too long now to fet down. And this is our doctrine concerning God and his worship, and is the fame that the law appoints for our practice.

25. But then, what are our laws about marriage? That law owns no other mixture of fexes but that which nature hath appointed, of a man with his wife, and that this be used only for the procreation of children. But it abhors the mixture of a male with a male; and if any one do that, death is its punishment. It commands us alío, when we marry, not to have regard to portion, nor to take a woman by violence, nor to perfuade her deceitfully and knavifhly, but to demand her in marriage of him who hath power to difpofe of her, and is fit to give her away by the nearness of his kindred; for fays the Scripture, Awomanis inferior to her husband in all thingst. Let her, therefore, be obedient to him; not fo, that he should abufe her, but that the may acknowledge her duty to her husband; for God hath given the authority to the hufband. An bufband, therefore, is to lie only with his wife whom he hath married; but to have to do with another man's wife, is a wicked thing, which if any one ventures upon, death is inevitably his punishment: No more can he avoid the fame, who forces

We may here obferve how known a thing it was among the Jews and heathens in this and many other inftances, that facrifices were ftill accompanied with prayers; whence most probably came thote phrafes of "the facrifice of prayer, the fa crifice of praife, the facrifice of thanksgiving" However, thofe ancient forms used at facrifices are now generally loft, to the no fmall damage of true religion. It is here alfo exceeding remarkable, that although the temple at Jerufalem was built as the only place where the whole nation of the Jews were to offer their facrifices, yet there is no mention of the facrifices themselves, but of prayers only, in Solomon's long and famous form of devotion at its dedication, 1 Kings viii. 2. Chr. the War above, B VII. ch v. 6 6 vol HII.

+ This text is no where in our prefent copies of the Old Teftament.

a virgin betrothed to another man, or intices another man's wife. The law, moreover, enjoins us to bring up all our offfpring and forbids women to caufe abortion of what is be gotten, or to deftroy it afterward; and if any woman appears to have fo done, the will be a murderer of her child, by deftroying a living creature, and diminishing human kind; if any one, therefore, proceeds to fuch fornication or murder, he cannot be clean. Moreover, the law enjoins, that after the man and wife have lain together in a regular way, they fhall bath themselves; for there is a defilement contracted thereby both in foul and body, as if they had gone into another country; for indeed the foul, by being united to the body, is fubject to miferies, and is not freed therefrom again but by death; on which account the law requires this purification to be entirely performed.

26. Nay indeed, the law does not permit us to make feftivals at the births of our children, and thereby afford occafion of drinking to excefs; but it ordains, that the very beginning of our education fhould be immediately directed to fobriety. It alfo commands us to bring thofe children up in learning. and to exercife them in the laws, and make them acquainted with the acts of their predeceffors, in order to their imitation of them, and that they might be nourished up in the laws from their infancy, and might neither tranfgrefs them, nor have any pretence for their ignorance of them.

27. Our law hath alfo taken care of the decent burial of the dead, but without any extravagant expences for their funerals, and without the erection of any illuftrious monuments for them; but hath ordered that their nearest relations should perform their obfequies, and hath fhewed it to be regular, that all who pafs by when any one is buried fhould accompany the funeral, and join in the lamentation. It alfo ordains, that the house and its inhabitants should be purified after the funeral is over, that every one may thence learn to keep at a great diftance from the thoughts of being pure, if he hath been once guilty of murder.

28. The law ordains allo, that parents fhould be honoured immediately after God himlelt, and delivers that fon who does not requite them for the benefits he hath received from them, but is deficient on any fuch occafion, to be ftoned. It allo fays, that the young men fhould pay due refpect to every elder, fince God is the eldest of all beings. It does not give leave to coceal any thing from our friends, becaufe, that is not true friendship which will not commit all things to their fidelity: It alfo forbids the revelation of fecrets, even though an enmity arife between them. It any judge takes bribes, his punishment is death: He that overlooks one that offers him a petition, and this when he is able to relieve him, he is a guilty perfon. What is not by any one intrufted to another, ought not to be required back again. No one is to touch another's

goods. He that lends money must not demand ufury for its loan. These and many more of the like fort are the rules that unite us in the bands of fociety one with another.

29. It will alfo be worth our while to fee, what equity our legiflator would have us exercife in our intercourfe with ftrangers; for it will thence appear, that he made the best provision he poffibly could, both that he should not diffolve our own conftitution, nor fhew any envious mind towards those that would cultivate a friendfhip with us. Accordingly our legiflator admits all thofe that have a mind to obferve our laws fo to do, and this after a friendly manner, as cfteeming that a true union, which not only extends to our own ftock, but to thofe that would live after the fame manner with us: Yet does he not allow those that come to us by accident only, to be admit ted into communion with us.

30. However, there are other things which our legislator ordained for us beforehand, which of neceffity we ought to do in common to all men ; as to afford fire, and water, and food to fuch as want it; to fhew them the roads; nor to let any one lie unburied. He also would have us treat those that are elteemed our enemies with moderation; for he doth not allow us to let their country on fire, nor permit us to cut down thole trees that bear fruit; nay farther, he forbids us to spoil those that have been flain in war. He hath alfo provided for fuch as are taken captive, that they may not be injured, and efpecially that the women may not be abufed. Indeed he hath taught us gentleness and humanity fo effectually, that he hath not defpifed the care of brute beasts, by permitting no other than a regular use of them, and forbidding any other; and if any of them come to our houses, like fupplicants, we are forbidden to to flay them: Nor may we kill the dams, together with their young ones; but we are obliged, even in an enemy's country, to fpare and not kill thofe creatures that labour for mankind. Thus hath our lawgiver contrived to teach us an equitable condu&t every way, by ufing us to fuch laws as inftru&t us therein; while at the fame time he hath ordained, that fuch as break thefe laws fhould be punished, without the allowance of any excufe whatsoever.

31. Now the greatest part of offences with us are capital; as if any one be guilty of adultery; if one force a virgin; if any one be fo impudent as to attempt fodomy with a male, or if, upon another's making an attempt upon him, he fubmits to be fo ufed. There is alfo a law for flaves of the like nature that can never be avoided. Moreover, if any one cheats another in measures, or weights, or makes a knavish bargain and fale, in order to cheat another; if any one fleal what belongs to another, and takes what he never depofited, all these have punishments allotted them; not fuch as are met with among other nations, but more fevere ones. And as for attempts of unjuft behaviour towards parents, or for impiety against God, though VOL. III.

R 3

they be not actually accomplished, the offenders are deftroyed immediately. However, the reward for fuch as live exactly according to the laws, is not filver nor gold; it is not a garland of olive branches or of fmallage, nor any fuch public fign of commendation; but every good man hath his own confcience bearing witnefs to himself, and by virtue of our legiflator's prophetic fpirit, and the firm lecurity God himself affords fuch an one, he believes that God hath made this grant to thole that obferve thefe laws, even though they be obliged readily to die for them, that they fhall come into being again, and at a certain revolution of things fhall receive a better life than they had enjoyed before. Nor would I venture to write thus at this time, were it not well known to all by their actions, that many of our people have many a time bravely refolved to endure any fufferings, rather than fpeak one word a gainst our law.

32. Nay indeed, in cafe it had fo fallen out, that our nation had not been fo thoroughly known among all men as they are, and our voluntary fubmiflion to our laws had not been fo open and manifeft as it is, but that fomebody had pretended to have written thefe laws himself, and had read them to the Greeks, or had pretended that he had met with men out of the limits of the known world, that had such reverent notions of God, and had continued a long time in the firm obfervance of fuch laws as ours, I cannot but fuppofe that all men would ad mire them, on a reflection upon the frequent changes they had therein been themfelves fubject to; and this while thofe that have attempted to write fomewhat of the fame kind for politic government, and for laws, are accufed as compofing monftrous things, and are faid to have undertaken an impoffible task up. on them. And here I will fay nothing of thofe other philo fophers who have undertaken any thing of this nature in their writings. But even Plato himself, who is fo admired by the Greeks on account of that gravity in his manners, and force in his words, and that ability he had to perfuade men beyond all other philofophers, is little better than laughed at and expofed to ridicule on that account, by thole that pretend to fagacity in political affairs; although he that shall diligently perufe his writings, will find his precepts to be fomewhat gentle and pretty near to the customs of the generality of mankind. Nay Plato himfelt confeffeth that it is not fafe to publish the true notion concerning God among the ignorant multitude. Yet do fome men look upon Plato's difcourfes as no better than certain idle words fet off with great artifice. However, they admire Lycurgus as the principal lawgiver, and all men celebrate Sparta for having continued in the firm observance of his laws for a very long time. So far then we have gained, that it is to be confeffed a mark of virtue to fubmit to laws.*

!

It may not be amifs to fet down here a very remarkable teftimony of the great

But then let fuch as admire this in the Lacedemonians compare that duration of theirs with more than two thousand years which our political government hath continued; and let them farther confider, that though the Lacedemonians did feem to obferve their laws exactly, while they enjoyed their liberty, yet that when they underwent a change of their fortune, they forgat almost all thofe laws; while we having been under ten thousand changes that happened among the kings of Afia, we have never betrayed our laws under the most preffing diftreffes we have been in; nor have we neglected them either out of floth or for a livelihood. Nay, if any one will confider it, the difficulties and labours laid upon us have been greater than what appears to have been borne by the Lacedemonian fortitude, while they neither ploughed their land, nor exercifed any trades, but lived in their own city, free from all fuch painstaking in the enjoyment of plenty, and ufing fuch exercifes as might improve their bodies while they made ufe of other men as their fervants for all the neceffaries of life, and had their food prepared for them by the others: And thefe good and humane actions they do for no other purpose but this, that by their actions and their fufferings they may be able to conquer all thofe against whom they make war, I need not add this, that they have not been fully able to obferve their laws; for not only a few single perfons, but multitudes of them have in heaps neglected thole laws, and have delivered themfelves together with their arms, into the hands of their enemies.

33. Now as for ourselves, I venture to fay, that no one can tell of to many, nay not more than one or two that have betrayed our laws, no not out of fear of death itself.; I do not mean fuch an eafy death as happens in battles, but that which comes with bodily torments, and feems to be the fevereft kind of death of all others. Now I think thofe that have conquered us have put us to fuch deaths, not out of their hatred to us when they had fubdued us, but rather out of their define of feeing a furprifing fight, which is this, whether there be fuch men in the world who believe that no evil is to them fo great as to be compelled to do or to fpeak any thing contrary to their own laws! Nor ought men to wonder at us, if we are more courageous in dying for our laws than all other men are; for other men do not easily fubmit to the easier things in which we are inftituted; I mean working with our hands, and eating but little, and being contented to eat and drink not at random, or at every one's pleasure, or being under inviolable rules in lying with our wives, in magnificent furniture, and philofopher Cicero, as to the preference of laws to philofophy: "I will," says, he boldly declare my opinion, though the whole world be offended at it. I prefer this little book of the Twelve Tables alone to all the volumes of the philofophers. I find it to be not only of more weight, but also much more useful?" De Oratore. Or, we have obferved our times of reft, and forts of food allowed us, [during aur diftreffes.]

« PreviousContinue »