The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1882-12-21
Regard Of the Ancients for Animals.

In ancient Egypt, when 2 cat died in
the house, the inhabitants shaved their
eyebrows; if a dog died they shaved their
whole body. In Athens, one of the laws
of Triptolemus declared that no one had
a right to infict a wrong upon a living
creature. The Greeks were aware of the
tender n affectionate care which the
young of the stork exhibited for theiro old
parents. and recorded that, when the |
latter lost their feathers from age, the |
young stripped themselves of their down
for them, and fed them with the food |
they collected. This was the origin of
the Greek law called 'sthe law of the !
stork," by virtue of which children were |
obligated to take care of their aged
parents, and those who refused to do so
were declared infamous. How different
is it in our modern societies.! Pierquin
remarks with reason that, as man rises,
he treats animals as if they were cor
respondingly degraded. For long time
they had the same rights. During the
middle ages they were allowed a part in
religious ceremonies. At Milan they
figured in the festivals of the kings; and
professions of animals appear in the bias
reliefs of the cathedrals of Strasburg,
Mans and Vienne (Isere). On Holy
w CuucSudy al buc ClcESy vi. tu6 CuuICH
of Rheims went to Saint Remi to make
a station there; the canons. preceded by
the cross, were arranged in two lines,
each drawing a herring after him with
cord; and each one was intent upon saw
ing his own fish, and stepping upon that
of the canon in front of him (Anquetil,
''Histoire de Reims'.9 At Paris, the
procession of the fox was as much en-
400. - A. fk.1 - nl-,
animal, dressed in a kind of surplice,i
wearing the mitre, had his place in the
midst Of the clergy; a fowl was put
within his reach; he often forgot his
pious functions to spring upon the bird
and devour it in the presence of the
faithful. Philip the Fair was very fond
of this procession (Sanval, "Antiquites
de Paris''.) Only a few years ago the
procession of the fat OK remained, a sur
vival from the pagan feasts, a real piece
of wreckage from vanished civilizations.
While the rights of animals were thus
recognized, their duties toward man did
not escape the earlier Legislators, who
severely punished their crimes and at
tempts upon human life. The law of
Moses Exodus xxi, %, 29) r~ecites: 'If
a OK gore a man or a woman, that
Gu6y uuG. bucu tuc OA Shall uo
surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be
eaten; but the owner of the OK shall be
quit. But if the OK were wont to push
with his ho1n in time past, and it hath
been testified to his owner, and he hath
not kept him in, but that he hath killed
a man or a woman the OK shall be stoned
and his owner also shall be put to death"
Judgments based on this principle are
recorded at Athens and Rome. Accord
ing to Pierquin,. Democritus wished an
animal, which had occasioned some
major damage, to be punished with
death. Under Domitian, according to
the report of Martial, the ingratitude of
a lion toward its master was severely
punished. Columella and Varro say
that the ancient Romans regarded the
OK as the companion of the labors of
man, and that the act of killing one was
regarded as a homicide and punished in
the same way; and the Ok enjoyed the
same privilege in Attica and the Pelo-
ponnesus. It is also said that the Arabs in
the mountains of Africa formerly cruel
fed lions, guilty of murders, upon trees,
IS warnings to others.-A. Lacassagne.
in Popular Science Monthly.