The Holy Life and Happy Death of John Bruen, Chapter 10
CHAP. X.
GOd of his goodneſſe hath given us liberty (I grant) to take the labour of ſome,Gen. 9.2.3. Strab. Geo. l 5. p. 151. and the lives of others, for our uſe. As wee have the fleſh of ſome to feed us, the fleece to cloath us, the ſtrength, and ſpeed of ſome other, to caſe us, and both in peace and in warre to relieve us. And as he hath appointed them to ſerve us for our uſe and comfort,Polyd. de Inven. l. 3. c. 2. &c. 5. Opuſculum horrend. de Feris. Arg. 4. ſo hath he allowed us meanes and inſtruments, ſome naturall, ſome artificiall, to bring them to our bent, and fetch them into our hands. Hence it is, that we may warrantably uſe the naturall faculties and qualities of ſome of the creatures, which are more familiar unto us, for the overtaking and taking of thoſe (which being without our reach and compaſſe) are either unwilling to come neer to do us good, or ready ſtill to ſtand out to doe us hurt. So may we uſe, and that not only for our profit,Retia ad apros, urſos lupos capien. Authem. l. 2. de Feudis § Nemo. but for our pleaſure alſo (ſo it bee in Chriſtian diſcretion and moderation) the ſpeed and ſwiftneſſe of the Greyhound to courſe the Hare, the ſight and flight of the Hawke to take the Partridge, the ſent and ſagacity of the Hound to hunt the Deere, the nimbleneſſe and ſubtilty of the tumbler to ſnatch up and cony-catch the Cony,Plutamb. de curioſit. even when hee ſeemes but to dally and ſport with her. And many other ſuch naturall helpes may we uſe for our ſober refreſhing and delight, as well as for our profit and benefit; yet ſtill with this caution and condition,Neither in the enmity, or cruelty of, or towards the creatures. that we take no pleaſure nor delight, either in the enmity of the creatures one againſt another, or in their cruelty when they tire upon, and teare one another, much leſſe that wee pleaſe our ſelves in their paines, and not content to take away their lives once only, unleſſe we ſport and delight our ſelves by torturing and tormenting of them, to make them dye many deaths together in one alſo. I ſaw once a Gentleman being about to feed his Hawke, pull a live Pidgeon out of his Faulkners-bag, and taking her firſt by both wings,The example of cruelty to the creature. rent them with great violence from her body, and then taking hold of both leggs, pluckt them aſunder in like manner, the body of the poore creature trembling in his hand, while his Hawke was tiring upon the other parts, to his great contentment and delight upon his fiſt.
This Act was held by ſome that ſtood by, to bee ſomewhat too cruell and unmencifull, both becauſe of the torturing paines hee put the Pidgeon unto, and for that hee ſeemes much to delight in the doing of it. It was lawfull for him (no doubt) to have taken the life of the Pidgeon, and to have given her warme fleſh to his Hawke for her ſupper, which he might have done by plucking off her neck to procure a ſpeedy, and prevent a lingring and tormenting death: whereof the foreſaid Gentleman being lovingly and reſpectfully admoniſhed, hee made preſently a reſolute, or rather an obſtinate anſwer, viz. That might peradventure have given his Hawke ſome contentment, but this he did with delight, for his love unto his Hawke, and for his owne pleaſure.
Stiffeneſſe in opinion without judgement, and fond affection without moderation, breed no ſound reſolution, neither in, nor for the truth: but rather obſtinate and ſtrong oppoſition againſt it. Even in taking away life, where the act is lawfull, there may be mercy ſhewen, and ſo it may be done more lawfully, becauſe it is done mercifully: and in the ſame act there may bee much crueltie, and ſo the act for the man, and manner, is made unlawfull becauſe the actor was unmercifull in the doing of it.Polyd. de Jnvent. Rerum. l. 2. c. 11. & l. 3. c. 5. Authent. l. 2. de Feudis §. Nemo retia ſua, aut laq. It is lawfull to kill a Bird with a Bolt, to ſtrike a Deere with a Bow, to ſhoot at Foule with a Peece, to take Fiſh with Hookes and Nets, to ſet Toyles for Foxes, and lay grins and ſnares for wild and hurtfull beaſts; but to take pleaſure and delight (after wee have their lives in our hands) to peek out their eyes, to breake their legs, to pierce their breſts with Bodkins, their bodies with Pikes or Swords, and ſo to lend them a little uſe of their life, onelyonly to linger and lengthen out the paines of their death: this is brutiſh cruelty to a brute creature, and is no ſmall argument of a bloody minde and a bad diſpoſition, if we will give any credit either to the light of nature amongſt the Heathen,Quintil. l. 5 c. 9. Eraſm. ad Epiſcop. Baſil. 15 22 or to the Word of God amongſt Gods people. I have read in ancient Writers (and ſo Eraſ… doth report that he had done) that the Magiſtrates amongſt the Grecians, obſerving a young boy to take great pleaſure and delight, when he had taken young birds, to prick, and peck out their eyes with Pins and Needles; held him worthy to dye for his ſporting cruelty: becauſe they did conjecture, that ſuch a cruell diſpoſition, and naughty humour in a childe, might very dangerouſly breake out into ſome brutiſh and bloody practices, if ever he ſhould come unto his ſtrength and riper age. And this ſeemeth to bee the meaning and intent of the holy Ghoſt,Deut. 22.6 Ex. 23.19. Deu. 14.…. when the people of God were forbidden if they found a Birds neſt, to take the damm with the young, and to ſee a Kid in his mothers milk, leſt being accuſtome to deale cruelly and unmercifully with birds and beaſts,Gal. in E…. cap. 23.…. they might grow on to ſome ſavage inhumanity, and bloody cruelty, to wards men alſo: and that becauſe as a learned man ſaith, Quia his initiis ad crudelitatem in homines itur, ideo non incommode haec crudelitas in belluas, M. Cartvv. in P…ov. 12.10.inhumanitatis cujuſdam peragitur. Becauſe by theſe beginnings of brutiſh cruelty towards beaſts, men make way for farther proceeding in cruelty towards men, therefore is this cruelty againſt beaſts, charged for a kind of inhumanity upon them that uſe it, much more if they take delight and pleaſure in it.