Weekly Calaveras chronicle., 1866-03-31
TIE WHIP AMONG THE RomAr7s.

Iad W6lP AE1CNG THE RCMAHS.
The whip played very conspicuous
part in both the the public and private
life of the Romans The Gctors, al
always attending the consuls, wore their
punches of rods merely for State show
although it was not permitted to beat
Roman citizens except in the case of
their being thieves; but slaves were
beaten with smooth leather straps, call
ed ferule more painful were the ru-
tive, made of several strips of parch-
ment twisted together, and the superla-
tive was the oxhide, called fagellum,
often right terrible Most terrible Of
all was an instrument imported from
abroad-the Spanish whip, used only by
very severe masters. They had not
only the right of whipping slaves at
pleasure, but even of killing them. The
wit of the people divided the slaves ac-
cording to the kind of whip with which
their backs were most acquainted.
Plautus, who had been baker, slave,
and, probably, as such, had collected
very ineligible notes upon the matter
on bis own back, abounds in jokes and
illusions illustrative of this subject
such jokes as poor fellows astonish-
ment that dead oxen should dance on
living men. Some masters, not salts
fed with the plain Spanish whico, made
it more terrible by fastening small nails
or bones and little leaden balls to it,
Slaves were stripped, their hands tied
to tree or post, and their feet hindered
from kicking by the clog of hundred
pound weight The most trifing faults
were punished in this manner, and a
poor fellow might be hogged for the
mere amusement of his masters guests.
1t was no rare occurance shat the slave
died under the whip, and there was no
more regret than for the loss of pan
or other piece of household furniture.
The ladies were particularly cruel to
their slaves. The poor girls in atten-
dance, scratched and bleeding from
wounds made with the longsspins the las
dies wore as an ornament, sometimes
filed the whole house with their cries.
The cruelty towards the slaves in
creased SO much that the emperor made
some effort to check it. Laws were
made, pursuant to which masters who
would forsake their slaves in sickness
forfeited their rights on them after re-
covery, and Roman who should inten-
tionally kill a slave was to be banished
from Rome. Any lady who should
whip or order the whipping Of slave
to such degree that death ensued be-
fore the third day, was to be excom,
municated for from FIVE to seven years.
The young Roman libertines often
chose the disguise of slaves dress for
their love adventures. Rich people
kept SO great crowd of slaves, that
they did not know them all personally,
and thus the introduction into houses
was made easy. Sometimes, however,
the master of the house got hint, per-
haps, from the shrewd lady herself, and
the intruder was fogged as a runaway
slave, OR a spy. Such an oecurance
gave particular delight to the real slaves.
It was misfortune that happened to
the celebrated historian, Sallust, who
courted Faustina, daughter of Tulla,
and wife Of Milo. After having re-
ceived a severe fogging, Sallust was re-
leased on paying considerable sum.
Caligula used the whip with his own
hand, and on the spot, even on people
who, by talking too loudly at the thea
tire, spoiled his enjoyment of the plays.
He did not much care who the offender
was. The vestal Ubina was whipped
by priest, and led in procession
through the streets Other vestals, we
are told, were whipped for the same Of
fence. The guilty one, covered over
with thin veil, was whipped by priest
in dark room. Even Empresses were
not always spared, at least in the Chris
tian time and at Constantinople, where
the mother of Justiniau I. was so ad-
monished To be whipped, however.
was, in the eyes Of Roman, the lowest
disgrace, and for this reason judges Or
dered Christians to be whipped at their
first examination.