162 



THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION. 



than in those scenes of danger where all are equal 

 ly exposed to deep distress, and where the ex 

 ercise of sympathy and kindness is the only thing 

 that can alleviate the anguish of the mind. 

 Whtn ihe prospect of immediate death, or of 

 prolonged agonies even more dreadful than the 

 simple pain of dissolution, is full before the 

 inirid, one should think that ferocious disposi 

 tions would be instantly curbed, and kindly af 

 fections begin to appear. Yet, even in such situ 

 ations, it frequently happens, that feelings of 

 malevolence and revenge, and all the depraved 

 passions, are most powerfully excited to action. 

 The following facts will tend to illustrate this re 

 mark. Mr. Byron &quot;was shipwrecked, in a vio 

 lent storm on the coast of South America. A 

 mountainous sea broke over the ship ; she was 

 laid on her beam ends; darkness surrounded 

 them ; nothing was to be seen but breakers all 

 around ; and every soul on board looked upon the 

 present minute as his last. &quot;So terrible was 

 ihe*scene of foaming breakers around us,&quot; says 

 Mr. B. &quot; that one of the bravest men we. had 

 could not help expressing his dismay at it, saying 

 it was too shocking a sight to bear.&quot; Even in 

 this dreadful situation, malignant passions began 

 to appear : and, like the dashing waves around, 

 to rage with unbounded violence. No sooner 

 had the morning thrown a ray of light over the 

 dismal gloom, and a faint glimpse of land was 

 perceived, than many of the crew who, but a 

 few minutes before, had shown the strongest 

 signs of despair, and were on their knees pray 

 ing for mercy, &quot; grew extremely riotous, broke 

 open every chest and box that was at hand, stove 

 in the heads of casks of brandy and wine, and 

 got so drunk that some of them were drowned 

 on board, and lay floating about the decks for 

 some days after.&quot; After the greater part, to the 

 number of 150 persons, had got to shore &quot; the 

 boatswain and some of the people would not 

 leave the ship so long as there was any liquor to 

 begot at; they fell to beating every thing to 

 pieces that came in their way, and carrying their 

 intemperance to the greatest excess, broke open 

 chests and cabins for plunder that could be of no 

 use to them. So earnest were they in this wan 

 tonness of theft, that one man had evidently 

 been murdered on account of some division of 

 the spoil, or for the sake of the share that fell to 

 him, having all the marks of a strangled corpse.&quot; 

 The same malignant dispositions weredisplayed, 

 in numerous instances, during their abode on 

 the desolate and barren island on which they 

 had been thrown, notwithstanding the hunger, 

 the rains, the cold, and the attacks of wild 

 beasts to which they were all equally ex- 

 oosed.* 



There is, perhaps, no occurrence that has hap- 



See Byron s &quot; Narrative of the Loss of the Wager 

 Man of War.&quot; 



pened in modern times, which so striking dis 

 plays the desperate malignity of human beings in 

 the rnidst of danger, as the conduct of the crew 

 of the Medusa Frigate, while tossing on the rafl 

 by which they endeavoured to save themselves, 

 after that vessel had been shipwrecked. The 

 Medusa was stranded, in the month of June, 

 1816. on the bank of Arguin, near the western 

 coast of Africa. A raft was hastily constructed, 

 which was but scantily supplied with provisions. 

 There were five boats, which contained in all 

 about 240 persons ; and upon the raft, there em 

 barked about 150 individuals. The boats pushed 

 off in a line, towing the raft, and assuring tho 

 people on board that they would conduct them 

 safely to land. They had not proceeded, however, 

 above two leagues from the wreck, when they, 

 one by one. cast off the tow lines, and abandoned 

 the raft to its fate. By this time the raft had 

 sunk below the surface of the water to the depth 

 of three feet and a half, and the people were sc 

 squeezed one against another, that it \v,is found 

 impossible to move ; fore and aft they were up to 

 the middle in water. Night at length came on ; 

 the wind freshened ; the sea began to swell ; 

 about midnight the weather became very stormy, 

 and the waves broke over them in every direction. 

 Tossed by the waves from one end to the other, 

 and sometimes precipitated into the sea ; floating 

 between life and death; mourning over their 

 own misfortunes ; certain of perishing; yet con-i 

 tending for the remains of existence with that 

 cruel element which menaced to swallow their 

 up such was their situation till break of day, 

 when a dreadful spectacls presented itself. Ten 

 or twelve unhappy men, having their extremities 

 jammed between the spars of the raft, had perish 

 ed in that situation, and others had been swept 

 away by the violence of the waves. All this, 

 however, was nothing to the dreadful scene 

 which took place the following night. &quot;Al 

 ready,&quot; says the narrator, &quot; was the moral cha 

 racter of the people greatly changed. A. spirit of 

 sedition spread from man to man. and manifested 

 itself by the most furious shouts.&quot; Night came 

 on ; the heavens were obscured with thick 

 clouds ; the wind rose, and with it the sea ; the 

 waves broke over them every moment; numbers 

 were swept away, and several poor wretches 

 were smothered by the pressure of their comrades. 

 Both soldiers and sailors resolved to sooth iheir 

 last moments by drinking to excess ; they be( ame 

 deaf to the voice of reason ; boldly declared heir 

 intention of murdering their officers; and, cut 

 ting the ropes which held the rafts together, one 

 of them seizing an axe, actually began the dread 

 ful work. The officers rushed forward to quell 

 the tumult, and the man with the hatchet was 

 the first that fell the stroke of a sabre terminat 

 ed his existence. One fellcw was detected se 

 cretly cutting the ropes, and was immediately 

 thrown overboard ; others destroyed ihs shrouds 



