Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1824-09-14

" F.. -
rim, there needs no proof Of his guilt, for they
cannot believe that any father can be SO unna-
tural as TO bring false accusation against his,
own son. But should a son be soinsolcnt as to
mock his father, or arrive at sucliAa pitch of
wiolSedness as to strike him, all the province
where the shameful act of violence is CoTnnit-
ted is alarmed; it even becomes the concern of
the whole empire; the Emperor himself Judges
the criminal. al! the mandarins near the place
arc turned out of their posts, especially those in
the town where lie lived, for having, been SO neg
sent in their instructions; and all the niegh-
hours are rcprimanded for ncg'cCting, by for
MGR punishments, to put a stop TO the wicked
ness of the criminal, before it arrived at such
Righteousness. With respect TO tic unhappy
wretch himself, they cut him into thousand
pieces, burn his bones, razc the house in which
he lived, well as the houses that stand ncarit,
and sow the ground with salt, as surprising tat
there must be some hopeless dcpravity ofnan-
ners in a community to which such monster
| belonged.
The iilial duty is the same with the prince and
the peasant in China; and the Emperor, every
New Years Day, pays particular homage TO
his mother, in the palace, at which ceremony
all the great officers of the state assist.
| The Persians, according TO Hcrodotus, held
the crime of domestic rebellion in nearly as
much dctcstation as the Chinese, but they trea-
ted II after more refined manner. They
looked on the striking or Shaving of n father as
an impossible offences and when an accident of
the kind happened, adiudgcd that the offender
could not be son of the party injured or slain,
but must have been supcrstitiousy imposed on
him as such.
Cicero Observes, that Scion. the wise legisla-
tor of Athens, bad provided no law against par
ricidc: and that being asked why he had not he
answered, ''Tfat 20 make laws against and or
dam punshmcnts for crime that had been ne
yer known or heard of was the way to intro
duce ii rather than prevent it.n
In Rome, no less than six hundred wears from
the building of the city had elapsed, before so
much as a name for the crime of pariicJe WAS
known amongst them. The punishment ortlain-
ed for the first who stained his hands with the
blood OF the author Of his being, was that he
should be scourgcd till he was ilaycd Gicn sown
up in sack. together with Il dog, cock Il viper
and an ape, and SO thrown lieadlong to the bot
tom of Tie sea.
Epaininondas. the Theban general, being
asked what was the most pleasant thing Il ut
had happened to Him in the course of his whole
life, replied, ''that he remembered nothing more
pleasant than that lie had achieved the I.nuc-
trian victory. while his father and mother were
yet alive to be pleased with the glory of their
son.n
Pomponius Atticus, IN making the funeral o.
ration over the remains Of his mother, protested.
THAT though he had lived with her sixty-seven
years, lac had never been rccunciicd tc hern
The audience seemed struck with surprise ri
such a declaration from one Who was ianed COR
his attachment TO his mother. 'No," continu
Ell Atticus, ''ior in all that time there ncycrhap-
pened the least jar bctwixt us, that needed re-
Cancellation"
The gallant Sertor;is, though fond of mill
taly life, and though in situation as general
in Spain which promised him noble harvest of
laurcls, solicited permission from the Senate IL,
return home, that hc might once more enjoy
the society of his mother. Before he could re-
ceive an answer TO ,l.is application, news was
brought 10 him that his mother was no more
Sertorius was afflicted with the tidincs. that
ne shut himself up in his tent for seven DAYS.
during all which time he Law on the ground. la
menimg, and would not suffer even his most IA
milisrtricnds TO break in upon his sorrow
The first giiletl statue that ever was erected.
either IN Rome, or any part of Italy, was one
by son TO the honour of a father; BY NJ. .4ci-
iius Clabrio, knight, In memory Of the tri-
ump.i which his father had achieved over Antio-
chus al the Straits of Thcrmopylae. TWAS G.
rected in the Temple of Piety.
When our Edward the FIRST was in Che HOLY
Land, lie received, successfully, the news ofthc
death of his only and Of his father. Henry
the Third. He took the FIRST loss resignedIv:
but on the second, he was quite comtorlcss and
detected. When Charles, king of Sicily, ex-
pressed his surprise at this difference, Edward
replied. ''God may send me more sons but the
death Of father is iirecoverablc.n