The Sun.
London, England, 1810-05-11 00:00:00

BY AUGthTUS VON. KOTZEBUE.

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1.0111,0 N Prirted by ItlCri A IZI) 11A1:12IS, ot,No. 4, Martlett..calrt, liow-street; and Published .131 WILLIAM A RMI(.; K SCP.I PPS,-South Molton.street, GnA:verior4cuare,
At tLe Sittc•OFFICE, No, I ill,' Strand,* where Afivertiseiiienis,- Orders for the Paper, Leiters fgr the Niko, &e (posilaid), must be ailirosed,
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[The following whimsical Article is taken from "A"1"
si kepositury- of Arts, Literature, and Commerce," a
Work to which we ave before been inderited for soine'inte-
resting matter.]

A ridiculons prejudice forbids -the eating of ha':
man lie-sh; and so great is the power of this pier'
dice, that Nature lier Self seems to revolt at
nutritious and patat .ble food. Doubts IntVe eve„'
been 'raised whether eannibals. ei existed,.
when the accounts of travelhi-S the most worthy';!
credit placed this ciicunistanCe out ut al; (!Oubt, rE
),v4 then asserted, that the savages devoured i.orr
but their enemies, and that the ['ala{al adi rretP7
of human fiesh.was (welcome only try I,irst
revenge, But ilfis opinion is equally erropeouttq
Abe. former. When Kiusenstern, the e'rcuunii4;
gator, lay at anchor near the islands of New KahiT
wa, was on the best terms- with t. e
who devour their enemies ; and }et when any of li'?
crew were bathing, these islanders would stand UP-
on the shore, and oanifet the strongest desire to
make a Meal of their wlrte" gue,ts. They did not
to be sute•give,way to then desire, but their
_war
iag wis not the less. It is therefore not merely
flesh of enemies, but human flesh in general, that e‘N"
cited their undepraved appetite. •
• Why should not man, the structure of whose
stomach, as it is well known, perfectly curreSponds
with that of the swine, eat and relish whatever that
animal does not- reject ? Is it deemed a disgrace to
•man to _resemble !big- despised brute ? Would tQ
God we had no other point of re.emb'ance.to it Oar!
. this As long, however, as it cannot be denied
that we, for-instance, areas fond o' breaking down
every fence, in order to desolate our neighbotlt:
field, so long I 'shall not be.able to comprehend
why we should, be ashaMed of. its undiseriminaties
voracity. Besides, this is not the tiiu to 1)6,
ashamed of any thing. There is now-a-days no We'
eies 'of vi.ce but what has illustrious examples to
plead in its excuse ; and however lie stile w e may, ht%
Jo imitation, that is to say, when the question.te-
,lates to virtues, vet fashions and crimes al wiqs
meet with servile-admirers and imitan rs ; and wilY
should not an innocent'propensity do the sante
It were, therefore, ardently to be wished I liat
some potentate would resolve to set a good exam :le,
and not merely to cut his fellow-creatures to pieceS
with the sword, but in int ore to grind them with his
teeth; .and hen this useful custoio would instantly
spread over all Europe.. The French, indeed, at
the period of their Revolution, gave us nanny xcel"
lent examples; they dev .urea the heart uT the
Princess de Lamballe, and God knows what

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sides; but these were only obA:u.re wietcbes,
ttnguished for .nothing but this praise7Worthy dred•
To this end, it would be absolutely necessary.that
some celebrated character, who cares tot nothing,
should crown his glory by giving an entrrtninn:,,i,
at which human flesh, roasted or fricasseol, shuulo
be. served up With a 'sauce recommended in the •eil-
•mulzac des Gourmands.
01 what incalcalable benefit would such an ex"
ample be productive, especially to armies ! In die
first place, .the, troops would never want f.,od,
thy- would find "a table spread for. them on the fivY
of • battle. Secnnri:s,_ if th,y'thiitilti "barrien to 1-)'"
pressed by hunger, they would fight with so mu,:b
the more obstinacy; Because they would know tliati
the;battle would be followed" by a feast, of which
those who ran away would not prtake. ThirjiY,
they would never be able to complain'tbai theY
knew not what they were fighting for; since yu"
Might always reply without hesitation, that rt was
for victuals, and this would at feast be a rational

cause. Fourthly, it would spare the pain's that .ear
now taken to conceal the number of the killed, as
the hungry victor would leave no trace of thew be-
hind.• Fifthly, the Commissaries might
conscience purloin the provisions, for why sTI93-11°.
they be carried after the troops when the enelPY
himself is at the trout:le to supply them %
it wouid be some consolarion to dying soldier's It)
know, that they did not sacrifice their lives for iiit%
ambition or thirst of dominion of their Princes, but

that they would have the pleasure of feeding their
• hungry fellow7creatures. It would be an easy mat--
ter to enumerate scores-of such advantages.
But people ought by no means to confine theft'.
.selvelo the devouring of their enemies, This to
be sure is the practice of the savages, bui .we
po-
lished Europeans have, within the last ten yea's
..made a very different sort of progress in civilization:
consequently, in this point also we ought to
leave the savages far benind us, and devour all OA
conies' in our way, whether friend or foe. TM*
again will be the source of numberless advant
.A citizen, for example, who is doomed to be pil7
laged of every shilling he possesses, or whose wife

and daughter-are about to be violated before his eyeii
will be extremely glad to be previously devoured,
and thus spared the trifling mortiticition of %,%ithes.:---
ing such common occurrences. How many r)t. the -
inhabitants .of Lubeck woald, orr the 6th of No:
vemberr 1 ao6, have rather been in the belnes ti
French grenadiers than within tbe walk of theft"
free and neutral imperial cily! And •what • benefit
would not utiforturiate Prussia derive at tins mu-

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went, when her fields are mannred only with bloud,
and sown with nothing-but human bones, if, in ihiS
dilemma, her Miserable itihz.A)itants, were allowed ‘lll
'eat one another ! What advantage would, result. -
from the practice to the peasants of Livonia, who
have lately been adyi,ed by-a professor at Docpx,

so catch Irogs and cat eiglneeTt of !hem a:day !
What a consoLition would it t.):.:.t0 all Germans win)

.have child:en, if they might devour these wretched,
free-born creatures before • slat'ery degrades theta
into atijeet. flatterers!
Some years ago I should perhaps have had some
scruple: to bring forward such a proposal; but now
--when .no honest German will deny 01:11 out 1110-,•'

ral culture has retrograded st-vt.ral centuries—a we-
lanC.holy truth; which all the pimple in the wet td
cannot conceal, and whi:h niuuntants of Lintel
wreaths cannot smother—now,: ppi Dian, 'tliY

proposal is a seasbilatile piece of advice;.

Why suck

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out people.'s blood by drops ?---itatnec dispaict; theca
at once mai eat them up, than let. thenrcxpirt.; 01
bunge,T. - . .
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