CHAP. IV.
| Of the wrong Judgments that are pass'd on the dying Behaviour of Malefactors. |
Having finish'd the Picture I proposed to draw of modern Executions, and the Crowds that usually attend them, I shall make some Remarks on the Judgments that are commonly passed on the dying Behaviour of our ordinary Felons. In a rich and potent Kingdom, where worldly Glory is not in Contempt, and to think meanly of our selves seldom taught by Example, whatever it may be by Precept, nothing is counted more provoking, or less to be born with Patience, than to be called a Coward. The vilest Rogues, and most despicable Villains, may own a thousand Crimes, and often brag of the most abominable Actions; but there is scarce one, who will confess that he has no Courage. Our general Esteem for Valour, which is demonstrable from what I have said, as it is of great Use to a warlike Nation, is very commendable; and Fortitude ought ever to keep its Place amongst the Cardinal Virtues: But the Notions which the Vulgar have of Courage, as well as Honour and Shame, are full of dangerous Errors. Compliments, as well as Reproaches, when ill applied, are often the Causes of great Mischief; and I am persuaded, that the Perverseness of Opinion now reigning amongst us, both in applauding and discommending the Conduct of Criminals in their last Hours, is an accessary Evil, that very much contributes to what is the Subject of our grand Complaint, the Frequency of Executions. To explain my self on this Matter in the clearest Manner I am able, I beg leave to begin with it from the Bottom.
In all living Creatures, that fall under our Senses, we perceive an Instinct of Self-Preservation; and the more sensible they are, the greater Aversion they discover to the Dissolution of their Being. Man, the most perfect of them, sets an inestimable Value on Life, and knows no Fear equal to the Horror he has against Death. This is to be understood only of Man, in the State of Nature, before he has made Reflections on himself, and what he sees of the Creation; but when, after that his Reason demonstrates to him that there must have been a first Cause; that the World is govern'd by an intelligent Being; that himself, a Compound of Soul and Body, is indebted to that Being for all he enjoys, and that there is a strong Probability of a Life after this: When, moreover, he considers himself as incorporated in a Community of vast Numbers, that all together make one Body politick, the Welfare of which he finds universally esteemed, as a Concern superior to all others: When, I say, he finds and reflects on all this, he plainly sees, that the Fear of Death, must, on many Accounts, be prejudicial to the publick Good and common Security, in which he has a Share. It is a Virtue then to conquer it; and if we inspect into the early OEconomy of all Nations, we shall find, that the most powerful Motives made use of to induce Man to lessen this Fear, and moderate the Fondness which Nature has given us of Life, had their Origin from Religion, or a publick Spirit; that is, in other Words, from a Representation of his Duty either to God or his Country. Thus holy Martyrs have suffer'd with Fortitude for their Faith, and, in Confidence of eternal Happiness, hasten'd to Death with Alacrity, and even rejoiced in the Midst of Flames. And thus there have been valiant Men, in all Ages, that have exposed themselves to the greatest Hazards, in Defence of their Laws and Liberties, and, animated by a zealous Love for their Country, sacrific'd their Lives to the publick Welfare. As Men of this Sort have every where deservedly gained the general Applause, and the Virtue they are possess'd of has been honoured by the Name of Courage; so, on the contrary, the Fearful and Pusillanimous, that ever prefer their own Safety to all other Considerations, and are therefore never to be relied upon, are as justly despis'd, and the ignominious Word, by which we reproach the Vice that enslaves them, is Cowardice.
From what has been said it is evident, that the original Reason why Courage is generally esteemed, is, because it is taken for granted, that both the Principle we act from, and the End we labour for in conquering our Fears, are praise-worthy, and have a visible Tendency, either to the Good of others, or our own spiritual Felicity. Nothing, therefore, is more unjust, than that we should continue our Esteem for Valour when it degenerates, and both the Motive Men set out with, and the Scope they aim at, are palpably destructive. Anger, Pride, Envy, and several other Passions, are capable of subduing Fear. But, as these Principles are evil in themselves, so it is impossible that the End to be obtain'd by them should be commendable. What perverse and miserable Judges are we then, that applaud a Person's Intrepidity in fighting a Duel, when in the Act itself, we see him willfully violate the Laws of God and Man? But should human Honour here break in upon me, and my Reasoning, how right soever, be overpower'd by the irresistable Clamour of the fashionable World, what can be said for the senseless Intimidity of a vulgar Rogue, who not only professes an utter Disregard to Honour and Conscience, but has likewise, at his first Setting out, as a Preliminary to his Business, disclaim'd all Pretences to common Honesty? Why should we delight in the Intrepidity, tho' it was real, of a Villain in his Impiety? Why should Christians be pleased to see a great Sinner give up his Ghost impenitent; or imagine that he dies bravely, because he bids Defiance to Heaven, and boldly plunges himself into an Abyss of eternal Misery? Yet nothing is more common amongst us: And the further a Man is removed from Repentance, nay, the more void he seems to be of all Religion, and the less Concern he discovers for Futurity, the more he is admired by our sprightly People: Whereas, he who shews but the least Sorrow for his Sins, or, by his Tears, or Dismality of Gestures, lets us know that he is under Apprehensions of the divine Wrath, is a weak silly Creature, not worth looking at: And he only, in the Opinion of many, dies like a Man, who, in reality, goes off most like a Brute. But some of my Readers, perhaps, will have nothing to do with Christianity. Suppose, then, we lay by that Consideration; I grant, that to subdue the Terrors of Death is a manifest Token of Intrepidity, and promise to pay Homage to true Courage wheresoever I can meet with it; only let us not be imposed upon, but try the Valour of this undaunted Hero, whether it be genuine. No Man can conquer the Fear of Death, but by something superior to it: What is the Power that supports him in the Conflict, and what Principle does he act from? It is not his Innocence, for his Guilt is publick, and his Crimes are proved upon him. It is not Zeal for Religion, nor the Love of his Country: He pretends to neither. Yet it must be some mighty Principle of vast Force and Efficacy; for if he acts consistently, he despises not only Death, but the Wrath of Omnipotence, and a Punishment just at Hand, that shall be everlasting. Will you say that he firmly believes that there is no God, nor Life after this, and that Man is wholly mortal? Suppose it; that's no Support against Death itself: But look narrowly into him, and you will alter your Opinion, even as to that. The Enthusiasm of Atheists has other Symptoms; deplorable as it is, the Appearance of it is more sedate, and they make some Pretences to Reasoning: But what Probability is there, that a poor Rascal, who was brought up in Ignorance, and perhaps cannot read, one who never troubled his Head with thinking, much less with thinking on abstruse Matters, and Metaphysicks, should so far lose himself in the Mazes of Philosophy, as to become a speculative Atheist.
Since, then, we can find no Principle from which it is possible a common Villain should derive his Undauntedness, it is evident that what we see is spurious, and the Bravery we admire only counterfeited, and false at Bottom. The Terror of Death inwardly excruciates him; But his Fear of shewing this, of being called a Coward, and laugh'd at by his Companions, has some Command over his outward Appearance; therefore, (not to be found out,) sometimes he swears or scoffs at Religion; at others he mixes forc'd Laughter with the vilest Language, and trys all the Strength of Brutality to keep down a struggling Conscience, and appear more atheistical and obdurate than, to his Sorrow, he feels himself to be. But his Impudence would soon fail him, and his inexhaustible Stock be but a weak Match for the Agonies he suffers, if he took not Refuge in strong Liquors. These are his only Support, and Drunkenness the Cause of his Intrepidity. Should I be told, that in many of them no Signs are seen either of Fear or Ebriety, it would be of no Force against my Assertion: As great Fear sinks, so hard Drinking raises the Spirits: They are two Enemies, that, when equally match'd, may, by mutual Conflict, easily disarm and hinder the Operations or each other. Let a curious Observer mind the continual Changes of the Prisoner's unsettled Behaviour, the wild Manner of his Actions, and, above all, the greedy Haste, with which he throws down every Thing potable and intoxicating, and he will soon perceive that our Sham-Hero drinks neither with Comfort, nor for Pleasure, and seems to expect no other Benefit from it, than that it may take away his Senses, and hinder him from thinking. Are not they fine Judges, who are imposed upon by such pusillanimous Wretches, that are so far from having conquer'd the Fear of Death, that they go out of the World without having ever dared one Moment soberly to think of it; and of whom it can only be said, that they died hard and unmov'd, because they were senseless, and with the Courage of a Stone suffer'd themselves, without Thought, to drop into Eternity?
The Mischief that these Patterns of Impenitence, together with the Applause that is given them, must produce in a vast and opulent City, will appear from the following Consideration. It is necessary to the publick Peace and Security, that Burglary, Robbing in the Streets, or on the Highway, and all those Crimes where Violence is mix'd with Injustice, should be capitally punish'd: But considering on the one hand, how much more prone Men are to Ease and Pleasure, than they are to Industry and Labour; and, on the other, the Generality of human Wants, and the unequal Distributions of Fortune to supply them, it must be acknowledg'd, that where Men are without Shame and Education, and consequently not affected with the Ties either of Honour or Religion, Poverty itself is a strong Temptation to Thieving, when Opportunities offer. The greatest Charity, therefore, and Compassion we can shew to our Fellow-Creatures, is an extraordinary Severity, and never-ceasing Watchfulness in a Government against the first Approaches of Dishonesty. It is with this View that the Provision of the Legislature, that such Offenders should be punish'd with Death, is to be vindicated; tho' the Punishment is greater than the Laws, framed by God himself for the Jewish Commonwealth, inflicted; or what natural Justice, proportioning the Punishment to the Crime, seems to require: For it is not the Death of those poor Souls that is chiefly aim'd at in Executions, but the Terror we would have it strike in others of the same loose Principles: And, for the same Reason, these Executions are little better than Barbarity, and sporting away the Lives of the indigent Vulgar, if those valuable Sacrifices we are obliged to make to the publick Safety, are render'd insignificant. If no Remedy can be found for these Evils, it would be better that Malefactors should be put to Death in private; for our publick Executions are become Decoys, that draw in the Necessitous, and, in effect, as cruel as frequent Pardons; instead of giving Warning, they are examplary the wrong Way, and encourage where they should deter. The small Concern, and seeming Indolence of the Condemn'd, harden the Profligates that behold them, and confirm to them, by ocular Demonstration, what they encourage one another with in viler Language, (low, as it is, permit me to mention it,) That there is nothing in being hang'd, but awry Neck, and a wet pair of Breeches.