who are tired of their lives, to exift for the fake of others.

To those who are reduced to that deplorable state, wife and children, however dear, are painful objects. Every thing around them aggravates their infelicity, and every bleffing lofes its relish.

CHAP. V.

SECT. I.

Of the Murder of another,

HIS kind of Murder confifts in the

THI

unlawfully killing another, with malice fore-thought. As to the nice circumftances and diftinctions attending this crime, they are foreign to the propofed defign of this effay. There are many niceties respecting the prefumptions implying malice, and many other points, for which we refer the curious to Coke, Hale, Hawkins, &c. and proceed to the Judgment in cafe of Murder.

SECT.

BY

SECT. II.

Of Judgment in Murder.

Your Law, the Judgment in case of Murder, and of all capital felonies, is, that the criminal shall be hanged until he be dead,

SECT. III,

Of the Laws of other Countries, Ancient and Modern, in case of Murder.

B

Y the Laws of moft civilized nations,

both antient and modern, Murder has been justly punished with death.

By the Egyptian Laws, he who wilfully killed any perfon, whether Freeman or Slave, was condemned to die. The Laws

of Egypt, however, went farther in providing for the security of the subject's life, than any other we read of: For he who faw another killed, or violently affaulted on the highway, and did not endeavour to rescue him, if he could, was punished with death. If it appeared that he was unable to give afliftance, he was nevertheless obliged to discover and profecute the offenders according to Law; which, if he neglected, he was doomed to receive a certain number of ftripes, and was kept without food for three days.

By the Laws of Athens, Murderers and houfebreakers were tried before the Areopagites, and punished with death. Their counsel was not allowed even to make a preliminary apology, to speak any thing foreign to the cause, or to urge any motives to excite compaffion,

Nevertheless, fo great was the lenity of their laws, even with refpect to this most heinous crime, that the prifoner was permitted to make his defence in two orations,

delivered

delivered by himself, or, in later times, by his counfel; and if, after the first oration, he was diffident of the event of the cause, he was allowed to fecure himself by flight, and go into voluntary banishment; and if he availed himself of this privilege, his eftate was confifcated and expofed to fale by the

Πωληται.

By the Roman Laws likewife Murder was punished with death.

It is obfervable, however, that in the infancy of the Roman commonwealth, we do not find that Murder was, by Law, capitally punished. Indeed, in the infancy of most States, especially in those formed for, or attempting conquefts, Murder is feldom diftinguished as a capital crime.

A favage behaviour, and unrelenting ferocity, is the chief virtue of fuch military adventurers. Every man is taught to depend on his own prowess, for the fecurity of his perfon and property. Upon any violation of his rights, he is left to profe

cute

cute private revenge, to the utmost extent of his power.

The Law, therefore, at fuch uncivilized periods, takes no cognizance of offences done to individuals. To wreft private revenge, the darling privilege of unpolished minds, from the hands of the injured party, would then have been deemed a species of injustice. Among men who live by blood and rapine, there is in fuch cafes no room for the interpofition of the magiftrate.

It was not till the manners of mankind were foftened by the arts of peace, and that the obligations to induftry taught them at more clofe and intimate connection with each other, that they became fenfible of furrendering the right of private revenge.

This is the reafon why Murder was not capital among the barbarous nations that overran the western empire. Held together by no other ties than that of partnerthip in rapine, they were ftrangers to the more refined focial connections. Every

man