Vid. Melon. lib. 2. cap. 9.
Nor did the Roman Empire shrink so long as Cocking was esteem’d in Rome. And ’tis reported of that Subtle, and most Victorious Emperor Severus, that when he was determin’d to Conquer (if possible) Great Britain, that to draw off his two Sons Antonine and Geta, from the Bewitching Vanities of the Theatre, and to prepare them in Mind the better to bear the many difficulties and hardships, that they must of Necessity undergo in the Prosecution of so great and bloody an Enterprize, as the subduing even Thule itself, which was then deemed the utmost Region of the North; he commands the Sport of Cock-Fighting, to be exhibited Dayly before his Sons, and the principal Officers of his Army, and that not only to make them emulous of Glory through the Performance of great Atchievements, but also to be firm and unshaken in the midst of Dangers, nay in Death itself.
And really were Cocking now-a-days exhibited to the People of this present Age wherein we live, by the supream Powers and Potentates of the World, for political ends. And certain Orators appointed at the same time to Comment thereupon, and in florid Speeches, Ductarious to War, and Marshal Exercises, and insinuating into the People the great magnanimous Temper and Disposition of these Heroic Birds, with variety of Inferences drawn from particular Passages and the great Essays that they discover to a judicious Eye, in their way and manner of Fighting. I Question not but Cocking would now produce as good Effects as then it did, and influence the British Valour to greater Things, than ever Roman Courage yet dared to Attempt.
Some Instances of this Practice, the Ingenious Nocoli-di-Conti has given in his History of Sumatra. This Kingdom is not only one of the greatest, but is also the most esteemed of all the Eastern Islands, insomuch that the Indians call it Tenarisem, or the delicious Land.
And for the Inhabitants, if we may credit, not only Di-Conti, but also Sir Ed. Michelborne and Sir James Lancaster, Men of Renown in Queen Elizabeth’s Days, and Famed for their Valour and great Integrity; these Knights, both of them, averr the Sumatrans to be a People truly Valiant and Magnanimous, and not only more Subtle and Politic, but also much more Just and Honest than any other of the Indians whatsoever.
None so much loved and courted, none so much by Enemies feared and dreaded, throughout all the East, as Sumatrans: where particular care is taken for the promotion of Cocking; for they annex stately Buildings to their Fanes and Temples, where they keep at public Charge, divers Fighting Cocks, which are brought forth, as the People come to Worship, and are fought in a spacious Court Eastward, on the Right-Hand of the Door of the House of their Gods: after which a certain Priest skilled in Cocking, and approved for his great Ability in Astronomy, and all natural Philosophy, having a voluble ready way of speaking, first takes up the conquering Cock, after the Battle is over, and presents him to their Deities, and then comes and takes up the slain Cock, and puts him into a Golden Cauldron, where he bathes his bloody Limbs in Sankereen; and then, with rich Gums and Spices, burns his Body upon an Altar made for that purpose; after which his Ashes are put carefully up in a Golden Pot, or Urn, there to remain for ever: And then the Brammen, or Priest makes a long Speech to the People, shewing the Excellency of Cocking, and the great Use and Benefit of it to all such as know how rightly to apply it, and Expatiates much upon the present Combate, drawing divers Inferences from the various passages and Transactions made use of by the late Foughten Cocks, shewing also the great Magnanimity, Courage, Skill, and Constancy of these Warriours.
And lastly, he applies it so Pertinently to all that are present, in Terms so fit and suitable, that it conduces greatly to their Edification, grounding in them a firm and stable temper of Mind, with an unshaken Valour, whereby they are now truly said to be a People Invincible; And verily I am of Opinion, that from hence at first came that Saying so common amongst us still, viz. He is gone to Church to see a Cock-Fight: And at this Day there are divers Places up in the East where Cocking is accounted a thing Sacred, and in great Use amongst them, as Magellan assures us.
Isac. Pontac. see.
For, says he, both in Borneo, Calegan, and Pulaoan, Cocks for the Game are kept, and are of Sacred use amongst them, but eat not of their Flesh, that being forbidden by the Bramens, or Priests.