Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-05-07
AN OLD QUESTION.
The Humane Treatment of Animals. a.
1t Appeared to a Writer Of the
First Century

The question whether slaves and domcs-
tie animals should be treated with hu-
manity is an old one cato the elder.
in most things n man worthy of high
praise. used to manage his chattcls in
such way as to get the maximum Of
work or money out of them. When his
slaves grew old or useless. he used to
sell them again lie would feed no ser
wants VINO brought him no profits. Plut
arch's comment ON this characteristic of
the much bc-laudcd Roman is so modern
in its tone as to appeal to our sympathy.
Since C1to's day-hc was consul in Ina
g. C.-thc plutarch' Sic died about 10
A. D.--thc civilized world has made some
gains in respect of the treatment accord
ed to servants of all sorts. including
horses, dogs and the like. This is what
PutHrch saws:
"m my judgment. il marks an over
rigid temper, for a man to take the work
ont of his servants as out of brute
beasts, turning them of and selling them
in their old age, and thinking thorc ought
to bo no further commerce between man
and man. than while there arises some
profit by il. We see that kindness or hui
nanity has a larger field than bare Justice
to exercise itself in; law and justice We
cannot, i'm tho nature Of things, employ
ON others than men; but we may extend
our goodness and charity even to ira
tionHi creatures; and such acts flow from
u gentle nature aS water from an album
ddnt spring. 1t is doubtless the part of
- kind-naturod man to- keep even worn
out horses and dogs. and not only take
care Of them when they are foals and
WholpS. but also when they arc grown old.
tn" Athcnians, when they built their
Iiccltompcdon. turned those mules loose
to feed freely, which they had observed to
have done the hardest labor. one of
these. N
offer its service. and ran along with. nay.
and went before. the teams which drew
the WAGONS up to the ACrOpOliS, as if il
would inCito ana encourage them TO draw
NOR" StuutlN; upon which there passed a
vote. that the creature should Ire kept
at the public charge till it died. The
graves of Cimon's horses. which thrice
Won the Olvmpiau races are yet TO be
seen close by his own monument. Old
Nantnippus, too, amongst many others
who buried the dogs they had bred up
cntomh"d his which swan after his gal
ley to Silamis, when the people fed from
Athens, on The top of cliff. which they
call the Dogs fomh to this day. Nor
are We to use living creatures like old
shoes or dishes, and throw them away
when they are worn out or broken With
service. hut If it were for nothing else,
hut by way Of study and practice in mu-
nanity. a man ought always TO pre-
hobituatc himself in these things to be
# q kind and sweet disposition. As to
myself | would not 50 much as sell my
draught OK ON the account of his age,
much less for small piece Of money
sell a poor old man. and So chase him,
as il were, from his own country, by
turning him not only out Of the place
where he has lived a long while, but also
out of the manner of living lie has been
accustomed to. ana that more especially
when he would be as useless to the buyer
as to the seller. Yet Cato for all this
glorics that he. left that very horse in
Spain. which h" used in the wars when
he was consul. only because he would not
put tho public to the charge of his
freight"
And this is the opinion of a heather"