, 1872-11-12
SELF-SC0URGtNG.
Penance Of the Early Christlnns.-Feo"
pie Whipping ThcmseA'es..-Aee
BLACK Death-PIague--Strcet Flog-

FNHx1nCG Oh E11G 1&AIA3
pie Whipping ThcmselFes---AHe
BLACK Deatb-PIaguc--Strce Flog-
Eing.
Now. this tendency which here shows itself in
conyulsiye movements of the body, will also
show itself in what may call eonVulslve action
! ient feelings and even passions, leading to the
%9st 9s9sat inag The early Christians you
know, practiced decentralization to
great degree aud cons considered enaloa that
to the credit side Of their account in heaven
that. in fact, they were earning title to future
salvation by eelf-mortiication. Among other
means of Standardization, they scourged them
in int the Middle Ages this disposition to self-mor-
tification would attack whole communities, es-
pecally under the dominant idea that the world
was coming to an end. In the middle Of the
thirteenth century, about 1850, there was this
prevalent idea that the world was coming to an
end; and whole communities gave themselves
up to this self-mortifcation by whipping them
selves.
These F1agellants vent about in bands, with
banners, and even music, carrying scourges;
and then, at given signal, every one would
strip off the upper garment omen, women, and
children joined these bands), and proceed to
fog themselves very severely indeed, or to fog
each other. This aubsided for time, but it
broke out again during and Immediately il after
"black DEATH which devastated Europe in
the reign of Edward Ill.,, about the year 1910.
This black death seems to have been the East
ern plague in d very severe form, which
since the great plague Of London in Charles
IL time, and one or two smaller outbreaks
| since, but which has now entirely left uB. Tho
| severity OF this plague in Europe was go great
| that upon very moderate calculation one in
| four Of the entlro population was carried off by
IL md in inRfAncaS il said that
| tenths Of the people died Of it. You may
| imagine, therefore, what terrible infiction it
was. And you would have supposed that it
would hare called forth the better feelings OF
| men and women generally but it did not.
One of the worst features, morally, Of that
terrible afliction WAS the lamentable suspension
of Ill natural feelings which it seemed to induce
| When any member Of family Was attacked by
this plague every one seemed to desert him, or de-
sert her; the sick were left to die alone, ormerey
under the charge of any persons who thought
that they would be paid for rendering this Ser
| vice; and the funerals were carried on merely
| by these paid hirelings in manner most repnl-
| sire to the feelings; and yet the people who so
deserted their relatives would join the bands Of
! fasellants, who paraded about from place to
| place, md even from country to country, mortl-
! fying their flesh in this manner for the purpose
Of saving their own souls, and as they said also
making expiation for the great sins which had
] brought down this terrible visitation. This sya-
TEN Of fagellation never gained the same head IN
this country that it did on the Continent. 4 band
of about 100 came to London about the middle
of the reign Of Edward H., in the year 1850.
| They came in the usual style, with banners,
and even instruments Of music, and they parad-
ed the streets of London. At given signal
! every one lay down and uncovered the shoni-
ders, excepting the last person, who
f]ogged every one till he got to the front, where
ho lay down, and the person last in tho rear
stood up, and in his turn, hogged every one IN
! front of him. Then he vent to the front, and
| lay down; and 60 it went on, until the whole
number had thus been dogged, each by every
one Of his fellows. This discipline, however,
did not approve itself to the good citizens Of
| London, and it is recorded that the band OF
/ daggellants returned without having made any
converts. Whether the skins Of the London
! people we're too tonder or whether their good
| eense prevailed over this enthusiasm, We are not
informed; at any rate, the faggellanta went
back very much as they came, and the system
never took root in this country, yet for many
| years it was carried on elsewhere.
One very curious instance is given Of the
manner in which it fastened On tho mind
that mothers actually ecourge their new
born infants before they were baptized, be-
lieving that in go doing they we're making an
appears to US perfectly absurd. We can scarce
" imagine the state OF mind that should make
any sober, rational persons suppose that this
could be an offering acceptable to Almighty
God; but it was in accordance with the re-
Ggious ideas Of the time; and for q good While
even the Church sanctioned and encouraged it,
until at last various moral Irregularities grew
up, Of g kind that made the Pope think it a very
| undesirable thing, aud it WAS then put down by
ecclesiastical authority yet it was still practiced
in secret for some time longer, so that it 1s said
that even until the beginning Of the last century
there wore3 small bands OF 1age1lants in Italy,
WHO used to meet for this seif-mortifcation.-
t0Dutur Science MOnLh1p.