T H U 



406 



T H U 



give <ich a faithful representation of the part at would 

 crre a* a guide for the future i. ."_' Hi- ..b-eivalion 

 of human character wa profpuiul : he penetrates wit 

 traordmary elcanBghtednei* into tlie motives ami policy of 

 the leading actors of the war: and lie draws fruin the 

 :.-lates those leasons of political wisdom which 

 ilwaysmadc his work a favourite study with thought- 

 ful men of all count i 



1. urn- for himself the merit of the strictest accuracy, 

 and it is impossible to read his Ilistm-y without being cou- 

 I of tn# trustworthiness of his statements. His im- 

 partiality also it conspicuous : although he had hem 

 banished from hit native city, he does not. like Xenophon, 

 turn renegade, and try to misrepresent the conduct and 

 ni.it; nwii countrymen. Although a contempo- 



rary, and one who had taken an active part in public 

 affairs, he writes at free from prejudice and party-feeling 

 as if he had lived at a time long subsequent to the events 

 he narrate*. 



Ih- Ili-tory is constructed on entirely different principle* 

 from those of his predecessors. He confines himself 

 y to his subject, and seldom makes any digressions. 

 H. feel- deeply the importance of his work, and constantly 

 strives to impress the same feeling; upon his readers. He 

 had proposed to himself a noble subject, and writes with 

 the consciousness of the value of his labours, and the pre- 

 sentiment that his work will be read in all future 

 There U consequently a moral elevation in his style and 

 mode of treating a subject, which is scarcely to be found 

 in any other writer except Tacitus. 



In narrating the events of the war, Thueydides pays 

 particular attention to chronology. He divides each year 

 into two portions, the summer and the winter, and i- 

 ful to relate under each the events that took place respect- 

 ively during that time. The speeches which he introduces 

 are not mere inventions of his own, but contain the general 

 sense of what the speakers actually delivered, although 

 the style and the arrangement are his (i. 22). 



Ihe style of Thueydides is marked by great strength and 

 energy. " Not only his expressions, but even single words 

 teem to have been well weighed before they were used ; 

 each has its proper force and significance, and none are 

 used merely for the sake of ornament and effect. The 

 style is not easy, and it is probable that Thucydides never 

 intended it should be so, even to his own countrymen : his 

 work was not to be read without thought. Still his style is 

 open to serious objevtigns. He does not sufficiently con- 

 sult perspicuitv, which is the fir-t virtue in all writ- 

 ing. His sentences too are frequently unnecessarily 

 long, and the constructions harsh and involved. These 

 remarks are more especially applicable to the speeches 

 inserted in the History, which Cicero found as difficult 

 at we do. (Orator,, 9.) 



The Greek text was first published by Aldus, Venice. 

 I ."mi and the scholia in the following year. The first 

 Latin translation, which was made by Lanrcntius Valla, 

 app \~tVA, fol. The first Greek and Latin 



edition was that of Henry Stephens, the Latin being the 

 translation of Valla, with corrections by Stephens, 1.">(U. 

 fol. Among the modern editions, those most worthy ot 

 notice are Poppo's. which contains two volumes of prole- 

 gomena, with the scholia and numerous notes. Leipzig, 

 111 vols. 8vo., 1821-1838; Haack's, with selections from the 

 k scholia and short notes, which the student will find 

 very useful, 2 vols. ftvo., Leipzig, ]S3>. rcpiinled in London, 

 in 3 volt. 8vo. 1823 ; GollcrV, 2 vols. s\o., Leipzig, 1836, 

 2nd edition, reprinted in London ; and Arnold's, 3 vols. 

 8vo., Oxford, 1KI-1K}5, of which a second edition is in 

 course of publication. 



There are translations of Thueydides into most of the 

 modern European languages. In' Kngli-.li the first trans- 

 lation was made by Thomas Nicolls, from the 1 

 version of Seysel, and was published in Ix>ndon, 1550, fol. 

 Thi* wat succeeded by the translations of Hobbes and 

 William Smith, which have been frequently reprinted. 

 The most recent it by S. T. Bloomfteld, 3 vols. 8vo., Lon- 

 don, 1H29. The most recent translation in German 

 Klein. Miinchcu. 1H2<>, Kvo. ; and in French one of the 

 best i- -aid to hi' ': ' 



ofThucydidet, the reader may consult 

 Dpdwell,' et Xenophonteii,'&c.,Oxf. 



17"i 4to. ; at < hungcn iiber das Le- 



ben de Thucydidtk,' Merlin, i 



THUG (liom Hindu-lain <n a 



--r. and is the sp. 



in India, whom since the year 1*111 it has twcn the >::< tea \our 

 of the British government to root out. (>: 

 can be said with any decree .if certain^ ' .em- 



it to the remotest antiquity, and there is no 

 doubt that the ceremonies with which Hi,. 'heir 



murderous trade can be traced as fai 

 I'urana, where we find them described with 1 

 accuracy. Hut before we proceed to ii 

 history, of which we hnve only a slight and 1111- 

 knowli he them tin- 



time of their discovery. Their gangs, counting ol from 

 ten to two or three hundred men of all me. 

 and religions, yet all joining in the worship of Kali, in 

 about all parts ol' India, sacrificing to their tiitela 

 every \ietini that they could ci/e. and sharing the plunder 

 vill the\ -lied no bin. -.hen 



forced by circumstances; murder being their religion, the 

 performance of its duties re- .uid the instru- 



ment of death was a rope or a handkerchief, which 

 excite no suspicion. They were strangle: 

 had its leader, the Ji-in/nlur or 



(turn, whose duty it was to initiate the novice into the 

 secret of using the r<xnnl, or handkerchief. Then < 

 the Ji/iuttdtrx. that is stranglers. and the Si.l/iax, or cn- 

 trappers. and at last the /.iii'/im-es, or gravediggcrs. In a 

 country like India, the striking character of whose' in! 

 ants is an almost incredible apatln, it , ;n to 



commit the most is murders without exciting the 



interest of the victim's iclations. The immen- 

 which border the roads afforded the Lughm ility 



for effectually concealing the bodies : and the prevailing 

 custom of travelling in parties prevented the designs of the 

 Sotha from being suspected, whenever he sin- 

 offering the protection of his Jemadar to travellers whom 

 their wealth induced him to entrap. The Thugs generally 

 assume the appearance of merchants, which increases the 

 confidence of their victims, whom they despatch with the 

 greatest celerity whenever they find a convenient j 

 Whilst the Hlmttotes arrange themselves in a man- 

 effect their purpose with facility, the Lnghaecs dig the 

 hole; and at a given signal the. mm- -d the 



neck of the traveller, and. being taken unawares, he is 

 strangled without being able to make any resistance. Ib- 

 is then thrown into the hole, and large incisions are made 

 in the abdomen to prevent the corpse from swelling, and 

 the whole is covered over with a layer of dry sand, another 

 of thorns and bushes, and over all is thrown the 

 which had been dug out, which they smooth down 

 not to attract the notice of travellers. Alter every murder 

 they offer a sacrifice, to Kali, which they call , 

 It is performed in the following manner : A large si; 

 spread over the cleanest spot they can se! 

 is cast a pile consisting of one rupee and lour annas' \\oith 

 of coarse sugar : near this th> 



:\e all instrument sacred to Siva and Hhavani . and 

 a piece of siKi <. or silver oft'- 



The leader then sits down on the sheet, and tlu 

 stranglers place themselves on each side of him with their 

 i. They then distribute the sugar and cat 

 it in solemn silence. Hut for this as well as other 

 monies we must refer to the works of ( 'olonel Sleeman and 

 ( 'aptain Meadows, as well as to an article in the \'M\\\ num- 

 ber of the Minlmr!!/! Hi-rifir. Here it will suffice to 

 that many ceremonies to which the Thugs attach the 

 gnatcst importance are scrupulously performed by them 

 both before and after the murder is committed; s'u 



ling the omens, propitiating Devi, thanksgiving.ke. 

 We have already observed that Thugs were found 

 exercising their fearful trade in all parts of India. In the 

 Dcecan they are called IMuinsTgars ; from 6 

 noose) or noosers, and on them we have a very inten 

 paper in the 13th volume of the ' Asiatic Ucsearclics.' Their 

 customs are the same as tho-e of the northein TlniLrs ; but, 

 having fewer Mohammedans among them, the; are more 

 strict observers of the duties which their religion imposes; 

 they kill neither women, nor old men. n. r any of the 

 subjects which the K'lliUa I'ur.lna in the llu<t/iii-<i .lli/,ii/,i 

 U- ii'ifit i< 



there i., nil' 



them, by Mr. Shaiespear: both w 

 in 1810. 



