Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1883-02-01


ancient Egypt, when a cat died in
the house, the inhabitants shaved
their eyebrows; III dog died, they
shaved their whole body.
In Athens one OF the laws oi
Tript0lemus declared that no ono
had q right TO inflct a wrong upon
a living creature.
The Greeks were aware of the
tender and alfectionate care which
the youRg OF the stork exhibited
for their old parents, and recorded
that, when the. latter lost their
feathers from age, the young strip
ped themselves of their down fol
them and fed them with the food
they collected. This was the orr.
gin OF the Greek law called the
''law of the stork," by virtue oil
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 s,Icie.
ties!
Pierquin remarks with reason
that, as man rises, he treats ami.
mails as if they were correspond.
ingly degraded. For a long time
they had the same rights. During
the middle ages they were allow
ed a part in religious ceremonies.
AT Milan they figured in the fes-
tiyals of the kings; and process
sions of animals appear in the
bas4reliefs of the cathedrais oi
Strasbhrg, Mans and Vienna.
On Holy Wednesday all the
Clergy of the church If Rheims
wenU TO Saint Remi to make q sta
ton there; the canons, preceded
by the cross, were arranged in two
lines. each drawing a herring af-
ter him with cord; and each was
intent upon saving his own fish
and stepping upon that of the can
on in front of him.
At Paris the procession Of the
fox was as much enjoyed as the
festival of the ass. The animal.
dressed in a kind OF snrplice, wear
ing the mitre, had his place in the
midst OF the Clergy; u fowl was
put within his reach; he often for.
got 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 pro-
cession. Only a few years ago the
procession of the fat OK remained,
a survival from the pagan feasis,
a real piece of " reckage from van
ished civilization.
While the rights of Ofanimals were
thus recognized, their duties to-
ward man did not escape the ear
lier Legislators. who severely pun
ished their crimes and attempts
upon human life. The law of Mo-
SEES EXODUS xxi, %, 29) recites:
''lf an OK gore a man ora woman,
that they die: then the OK shall
be surely stoned, and his flesh shall
not be eaten; but he owner of the
OK shall be quit. But if the OK
We're wont to push with his horn
in time past, aud il hath been tes-
titled to his owner, and he hath not
kept him i'm, but that he hath hi
led a man or a woman; the OK
shall be stoned, and his owner
also shall be put death" ~.
Judgments based on this princi-
pie are recorded at Athens and
Rome. According to Pierquin,
Democritus wished an animal,
which had occasioned some major
damage, TO be punished with death.
Under Domitian, according 10 the
report of Martial, the ingratitude
OF lion toward it's master was Sc
verely punished.
Caluinella 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 homicide
and punished in the same way;
and the OK enjoyed the same priv
ilege III Attica and PelOponnesus.
Ii is also said that the Arabs in
the mountains of Africa formerly
crucified lions, guilty of murders,
upon trees, as warnings to others
D~1w