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thing peculiarly striking in the feature , never yet to my knowledge pointed out . These sons inherited the pride , but not the possessions of the father . Perhaps their father lo ^ ed them , preferred them in his lifetime ; but by his legitimate heirs they were excluded and banished as soon as he
was dead . Expelled from a family on which they had been indirectly forced , they found themselves abandoned and insulated in the wide world . They belonged to none ; nothing belonged to them ; and there was no choice of life remaining , since there was no condition but that of lord or
slave . Without being the first * they held themselves too high for the last , and were besides too daintily brought up to learn to serve : what , therefore , could they do ? The vain pride of birth ,
and strength of limb , was all that remained to them ; only the remembrance of previous prosperity , and a heart embittered to society , accompanied them into want . Hunger made 'them robbers , success adventurers , and finally heroes .
Soon they became terrible to the peaceful husbandman and defenceless herdsman , and extorted from him , at their pleasure . Their fortune and conquering deeds diffused an evil renown :
and the agreeable superfluity of their mode of life might well attract many to their standard . " So , " as the Scripture says , " they became mighty , and a great nation . '
This prevailing disorder in the first society would probably have terminated in order , and the destruction of human equality have led from patriarchal rule to monarchy . One of these adventurers , more powerful and bolder than his fellows , would have
aspired to be leader . A fortified town would have been built , and the first state founded ; but these appearances were too early for the Being who wields the world's destiny ; and a frightful natural occurrence put a sudden stop to the career of refinement on which the human race was
about to enter . V . The First King . Asia , abandoned by its human inhabitants at the deluge , must soon have become the prey of wild beasts ,
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who increased rapidly , and in greater numbers , in a country so fertile as that which the waters had left , and extended their dominion where man
was too weak to restrain them . Every tract of land , therefore , built on by the new race must first have been wrested from the wild creatures , and then with stratagem and force be
defended against them . Our Europe is now purified from these savage dwellers , and we can scarcely form an idea of the wretchedness they inflicted ; hut how fearful the plague must have been , we may partially gather from many passages of Scripture , as well as from the customs of the people of antiquity , particularly of the Greeks , who ascribed to the conquerors of wild beasts immortality and divine honours ,.
Thus the Theban CEdipus became king , because he rooted out the devastating sphinx ; thus Perseus , Herctiles , Theseus , and many others , earned their glory and apotheoses . Whoever , therefore , took part in the destruction of these public enemies was the greatest benefactor of men ; and * in order to obtain , success mast
indeed have possessed an union of rare qualities . The chase , before war began to rage among men , was the peculiar business of heroes- It was probably concerted by numbers , who were led by the bravest , by him ,
namely , whose courage and intellect procured him a natural superiority over the rest . He gave his name to the most important of these warlike enterprises , and the name allured hundreds to join his train , to wage under him deeds of valour . As these
hunting matches must have be £ n carried on according to certain regularly planned dispositions , designed and directed by the leader , he tacitly confirmed himself in the right oi appointing the tasks of others , ami of making his will theirs . Insensibly they became accustomed to pay him
obedience , and to submit to his better judgment . Having distinguished himself by deeds of personal bravery , by boldness of soul , and strength of arm , terror and astonishment so operated in his behalf , that they at last blindly yielded to his direction . If disagreements arose among his companions 01 the chase , such as could not long be
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412 Remarks on the First Human Society ^
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1825, page 412, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2538/page/28/
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