CHAPTER XV 



WH IPS 



No author has written a standard work on whips ; 

 therefore whoever sets an example feels like a 

 literary pioneer. You may wonder what instru- 

 ments of castigation were used in the days of 

 King Solomon ? Let us piece a great deal of 

 evidence together, and begin by ascertaining 

 when the wisest King of Israel lived. He was 

 born A.M. 2971, and died 3209. Evidently whips 

 can be traced back to the time when the Temple 

 was built, as anybody can verify who turns to 

 I Kings xii. 11. We quote Rehoboam's scornful 

 remark : " And now whereas my father did lade 

 you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke ; 

 my father chastised you with whips, but I will 

 chastise you with scorpions." The statement is 

 repeated in verse 14 of the same chapter. The 

 Greeks also had an ingeniously cruel lash made 

 of knuckle-bones, through which a string was 

 threaded, but neither the freemen nor the slaves 

 were often beaten with this abominable implement 

 of torture. 



In ancient Rome the "cat" was frequently 

 used, and the victims fainted under their terrible 

 punishment. Occasionally they died from their 

 injuries, for the lashes were sometimes made of 



MS K 



