Evening star., 1904-03-17
FATHER AND CHILD
RELATIONS OF PARENT AND OFF
SPRING IN ANCIENT DAYS.
Filial Disrespect Rare When the World
Was Young-Commands in
the Bible.

From the New Orleans Times Democrat
'1n ancient times fiiial disrespect was
an unknown quantity, as you will OBJ
serve by the following anecdote," said
the poet laureate of all the Pascagoulas
at the Grunewald last night: Exodus Xxx.
Il. Honor thy father and thy mother;
that thy days may be long upon the land
which the Lord. thy God, giveth thee. The
great law of nature has implanted in every
human breast a disposition to love and
revere those to whom we have been taught
from our earliest infancy to look up to for
every comfort, convenience and pleasure in
life While we remain in state of de-
pendence on them. this impression con-
tinues In its full force; but certain 1t is
that 1t has tendency to wear off, as we
beco me master of ourselves and hence the
propriety of those laws by which. in the
institutions of different nations, 1t has been
attempted to guard against degeneracy
into flial ingratitude and disobedience
Honor thy father and thy mother was
the command of the Divine Author of the
Jewish dispensation That thy days may
be long In the land Is the peculiar reward
which He promises to those who obey the
solemn Injunction. And as He has been
pleased to express His appreciation of a
steady adherence to this law, by singular
marks of favor, so also did He punish the
breach of 1t by exemplary .displeasure;
death was the only expiation for this of
fense. Nor have the Jews been the only
nation who have looked upon disobedience
to parents as worthy of capital punishment
AS It is in China.
I'm China let son become ever so rich and
a father ever so poor, there is no submission,
no point of obedience, that the latter can
not command. or that the former can re-
fuse. The father is not only absolute mas
ter of his sons estate, but also of his chill
dren, who, whenever they displease him, he
may sell to strangers. The Persians ac-
cording to Herodotus, held the crime of do
mestic rebellion in nearly as much detes-
tation as the Chinese They looked on the
striking or slaying of father as an i'm
possible offense; and when an accident of
the kind happened, adjudged that the
defender could not be the son of the party
injured or slain, but must have been sur
reptitiously imposed on him as such. Ci-
cero observes that Solon, the wise legisla-
tor of Athens, had provided no law against
parricide; and that being asked why he had
not, he answered: That to make laws
against, and ordain punishment for a crime
that had been never known or heard of,
was the way to Introduce it, rather than
prevent it,. In Rome no less than six hun
| dred years from the building of the city had
| elapsed, before SO much a name for the
| crime of parricide was known among them.
Punishment Of oParricide.
1.-The punishment ordained for the first who
| stained his hands with the blood OF the
| author of his being was, ;tlfat he should be
| scourged till he was fayed, then sown up
| in sack. together with tas dog a cock, a
| viper and an ape, and So thrown headlong
| to the bottom of the sea. 1t is great stain
| ON the character of the more modern ages
| of the world that the dcrime should ever
| have become of less rare occurrence; yet
| in nothing perhaps have the ways of God
| to man been more signally justified than in
| the punishment which has sooner or later
| followed all deviations fron fflial love and
| duty. The exploit which procured for Eneas
| the title of the Pious iiS known to all who
| have read of the siege iof fHroy; that of the
| brothers Anapias and Amphnomus which
was altogether similar is of less notoriety
| TN the 447th year before the Christian
| era an eruption took place of Mount Etna
| and the inhabitants of it's vicinity were In
| the most imminent danger Every one hast
| ened to load himself with what he valued
! most and to fly from the spot One aged
| couple alone were too old and infirm to
| move but Providence had blessed them
| with two affectionate sons. Anapias and
| Amphinomus. who concefving justly that
| they could save no more precious treasure
| than the lives of their parents, took them
| upon their shoulders the one the father
| and the other the mother. and so carried
| them beyond reach of danger. What Came
rarius adds partakes exceedingly of the
marvellous; but though there is no occasion
| for believing 1t, it has enough of good feel
| ing in it to please. 1T is an admira BILE
| thing, he says, that God, in consideration
| OF this piety, though in Pagans. did a
! miracle, for the monuments of all antiquity
witness that the devouring flames stopped
| at the spectacle; and the fire wasting and
| boiling all about them, the only way