Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1828-1831, 1829-07-21
CRUCIFIXION.
rs practiSed nn,nnn 49, r..

idu Perperrated crimes, on robbers. assas
s'hs' ana rebels; among which last. Jesus
was reckoned, on the ground of his mal,;no
himself KING or MESSIAH, Luke %: I-5,I3R
is. - 10
he words in which the sentence was o;v-
en- were as follows: "IHou shalt po fo m.
.tcSS' ne person who was subjected 10
uis punishment, was deprived OF all his
r r'o'heS' excepting something around the
liolS. in tins state of nudity, me was beaten
sometimes with rods, but more generally
with whips. Such was the severity of tb;,
fnagellatlon, that numbers died under it
Jesus was crowned with thorns and made
tne subject OF mockery, but nothing of this
h''lo couid be legally done, or i'm other words.
iisu'tS oi tnls KIND were not among the ordi-
nary attendants of crucifixion. They were
owing, III this case, merely TO the petulant
spirit OF the Roman soldiers, Matt. 81: %
Mark Ia: II. John 10: 9, 5.
The criminal, having been beaten, was
subjected 20 the further suffering of beinp
oDhged to carry the cross himself TO the
pace OF punishment, which was commonly
u NIL, near the public way, and out of the
city. The place of crucifixion at Jerusalem
was hill to the northwest of the civ.
ne cross, post, otherwise called the nm
lProp't'o"s or infamous tree, consisted of a
piece OF wood erected perpendicular.
fhnd lntersected by another at right angles
near the top: so as to resemble the letter II.
NO CRIME, Tor which the person suffered,
was inscribed on the transverse piece near
; the top of the perpendicular one.
There is no mention made i'm ancient wri
tiers OF any thing, on which The feet of the
person crucited rested. Near the middle.
however, OF the perpendicular beam, there
projected piece of wood, on which he sat,
ana which answered as support to the bo-
dy, since the weight of the body might. other
wise, have torn away the hands from the nails
driven through them. Here we see the
ground of certain phrases which occur. such
as the following: ITO ride upon tie cross"
20 be 6orne spO~ N,e cross" 80 rest upon the
sharp crosS,'' &c
L lie cross, which was erected at the place
OF punishment, being there firmly fixed in
the ground, rarely exceeded ten feet in
height The victim, perfectly naked, was
elevated to the small projection in the mid
die, the hands were then bound by rope
round the transverse beam, and nailed
through the palm. We see in this stale
ment the ground of such expressions, as the
iollowing ''Io MONT upon the cross $40
leGP upon the cross" so bring one npon the
cross" &c.
The position which is taken by some. viz:
that the persons, who suffered crucifixion.
were not in some instances, fastened TO the
cross by nails through the hands and feet, but
were merely bound to it by ropes, cannot be
proved by the testimony Of any ancient wri-
= ter whatever That the feet, as eli as the
hands, were fastened to the cross by means
OF nails, Is expressly asserted in the PLAY of
Plautus. In regard to the mailing of the
ieet, 1t may be furthermore observed, that
Gregory Nazianzen has asserted, that one
nail only was driven through both of them,
but Cypuan, (DE PASsIoNE.) who had been a
personal witness to crucifiXions, and is, CON
Nequenty, III tins Case. the better authority.
states on the contrary, that tsuo nails or spikes
were driven, one through each foot.
The cruclfied person remained suspended
in this way, ill he died, and the corps had
become putrid. While he exhibited anv
signs of life, he was watched by guard,
but they left him, when it appeared that he
was dead. The corps was not buried, ex-
cept by express permission, which was some
times granted by the emperor on his birth
] day, but only to very few. An exception,
however, to this general practice, was made
r by the Romans i'm favour of the Jews, on ac-
count of Dcut. 2l %, %; and in Judea, ac-
cordingly, cruciied persons were buried OH
: the same day When, therefore, there was
not prospect that they would die on the
. day OF the crucifiXion, the cScCutioncrs has
tened the extinction of life, by kndling a
tSe under the cross, so as 10 sutiocate them
with the smoke. or by letting loose wild
beasts upon them, or by breaking their bones
upon the cross with mallct, as upon an an
wi, or by piercing them with a spear, in or
der that they might bury them on the same
: day.
q The Jews, in the times o. which VIC aro
/, speaking viz: while they were under the lu-
rlsdlctlon of the Romans, were in the habit
OF giving the criminal, before the commence
mcnt of his suheriugs, n medical drink of
/, wine and myrrh, Prov. 81: 6. The object of
this was TO produce intoNication, and there
by render the pains Of the crucifxon less
: sensible TO the sufferer. This beverage was
refused by the Savior, for the obvious rca.
SON That he chnsc fn die ,u ith tic fnr,hliua a