Italy produces no monkeys; but the want could never be felt
till the middle of the sixth century first revealed the guilt of a
parricide.[36]
4. The malice of an incendiary. After the previous ceremony of whipping,
he himself was delivered to the flames; and in this example alone our
reason is tempted to applaud the justice of retaliation.
5. Judicial perjury. The corrupt or malicious witness was thrown
headlong from the Tarpeian Rock to expiate his falsehood, which was
rendered still more fatal by the severity of the penal laws and the
deficiency of written evidence.
6. The corruption of a judge who accepted bribes to pronounce an
iniquitous sentence.
7. Libels and satires, whose rude strains sometimes disturbed the peace
of an illiterate city. The author was beaten with clubs, a worthy
chastisement, but it is not certain that he was left to expire under the
blows of the executioner.
8. The nocturnal mischief of damaging or destroying a neighbor's corn.
The criminal was suspended as a grateful victim to Ceres. But the sylvan
deities were less implacable, and the extirpation of a more valuable
tree was compensated by the moderate fine of twenty-five pounds of
copper.
Pages:
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356