C H A 
flave. He faw the ftruggle of her foul; and feizing the 
fatal moment, obtained an inglorious conqueft. Thus 
Lucretia’s virtue, which had been proof againlt the fear 
of death, could not hold out againft the fear of infamy. 
The young prince, having gratified his paffion, returned 
home as in triumph. On the morrow, Lucretia, over¬ 
whelmed with grief and defpair, fent early in the morn¬ 
ing to defire her father and her hufband to come to her, 
and bring with them each a trufty friend, alluring them 
there was no time to lofe. They came with all fpeed, 
the one accompanied with Valerius (fo famous after un¬ 
der the name of Publicola'), and the other with Brutus. 
The moment fhe faw them come, Ihe could not com¬ 
mand her tears; and when her hufband afked her if all 
was well? “By no means,” faid Ihe, “it cannot be well 
with a woman after (he has loft her honour. Yes, Col- 
latinus, thy bed has been defiled by a ftranger; but my 
body only is polluted; my mind is innocent, as my 
death lhall witnefs. Promile me only not to fuffer the 
adulterer to go unpuniflied: it is Sextus Tarquinius, 
who laft night, a treacherous guelf, or rather cruel foe, 
offered me violence, and reaped a joy fatal to me; but, 
if you are men, it will be Hill more fatal to him All 
promifed to revenge her; and at the fame time, tried to 
comfort her with reprefenting, “That the mir.donly fins, 
not the body; and where the confent is wanting, there 
can be no guilt.” “What Sextus deferves,”. replies Lu¬ 
cretia, “I leave you to judge; but for me, though I declare 
myfelf innocent of the crime, I exempt not myfelf from 
punilhment. No immodeft woman lhall plead Lucretia’s 
example to outlive her dilhonour.” Thus faying, fhe 
plunged into her bread a dagger Ihe had concealed under 
her robe, and expired at their feet. Lucretia’s tragical 
death has been praifed and extolled by pagan writers, 
as the higheft and molt noble a£l of heroifm. The gof- 
pel thinks not fo: it is murder, even according to Lu¬ 
cretia’s own principles, fince Ihe punilhed with death an 
innocent period; -at leaft acknowledged as fuch by her- 
l'elf. She was ignorant that our life is not in our own 
power, but in his difpofal from whom we receive it. St. 
Auftin, who carefully examines, in his \soo\^DeCi c vltate 
Dei, what we are to think of Lucretia’s death, confiders 
it not as a courageous afition, flowing from a true love of 
chaftity, but as an infirmity of a woman too fenfible of 
worldly fame and glory; and who, from a dread of ap¬ 
pearing in the eyes of men an accomplice of the violence 
fhe abhorred, and of a crime to which fhe was entirely 
a ftranger, commits a real crime upon lierfelf voluntarily 
and defignedly. But what cannot be fufficiently admired 
in this Roman lady, is her abhorrence of adultery, which 
fhe feems to hold lb deteftable as not to bear the thoughts 
of it. In this fenfe, Ihe is a noble example for all her lex. 
Cbiomara, the wife of Ortiagon, a Gaulilh prince, was 
equally admirable for her beauty and chaftity. D uring the 
war between the Romans and the Gauls, the latter were 
totally defeated on Mount Olympus! Chiomara, among 
many other ladies, was taken prifoner, and committed to 
the care of a centurion, no lefs paffionate for money than 
women. He, at firft, endeavoured to gain her content 
to his infamous defires ; but not being able to prevail 
upon her, and fubvert her conftancy, he thought he 
might employ force with a woman whom misfortune had 
reduced to llavery. Afterwards, to make her amends for 
that treatment, he offered to reltore her liberty; but not 
without ranfom. He agreed with her for a certain fum, 
and, to conceal this defigh from the other Romans, 
he permitted her to fend any of the prifoners Ihe fhould 
choole to her relations, and afiigned a place near the ri¬ 
ver where the lady fhould be exchanged for gold. By- 
accident there was one of her own flaves amongft the 
prifoners. Upon him Ihe fixed; and the centurion foon 
after carried her beyond the advanced polls, under cover 
of a dark night. The next evening two of the relations 
of the princefs came to the place appointed, whither the 
centurion alfo carried his captive. When they had de- 
C H A 123 
livered him the attic talent they had brought, which was 
the fum they had agreed on, the lady, in her own lan¬ 
guage, ordered thofe who came to receive her to draw 
their fwords and kill the centurion, who was then amu- 
fing himfelf with weighing the gold. Then, charmed 
with having revenged the injury done her chaftity, fhe 
took the head of the officer, which fhe had cutoff with her 
ownhands, andhidingit underher robe, went to her huf- 
band Ortiagon, who had returned home after the defeat of 
his troops. As foon as (he came into his prefence, fliethrew 
the centurion’s head at his feet. He was ftrangely fur- 
prifed at fuch a fight; and afked her whofe head it was, 
and what had induced her to do an aft fo inconfirtent 
with her fex ? With a face covered with a fudden blufh, 
and at the fame time expreffing her fierce indignation, fhe 
declared the outrage which had been done her, and the 
revenge fhe had taken for it. During the reft of her life, 
file ftedfaftly retained the fame attachment for the purity 
of manners which conftitutes the principal glory of the 
fex, and nobly fuftained the honour of fo glorious, bold, 
and heroic, an aftion. This lady was much more prudent 
than Lucretia, in revenging her injured honour by the 
death of her ravifher, rather than her own. Plutarch re¬ 
lates this faff, in his treatife upon the virtue and great 
aftions of women ; and it is from him we have the name 
of this, which is well worthy of being tranfmitted to pof- 
terity. 
The Roman law juftified homicide in defence of the 
chaftity either of one’s felf or relations; and fo alfo, ac¬ 
cording to Selden, flood the law in the Jevvifli republic. 
The Englifh law likewife juftifies a woman, killing one 
who attempts to ravilh her. So the hufband or father 
may juftify killing a man, who attempts a rape upon his 
wife or daughter; but not if he takes them in adultery 
by confent, for the one is forcible and felonious, but not 
the other. 1 Hal. P. C. 485. 6. And without doubt 
the forcibly attempting a crime, of a Hill more de¬ 
teftable nature, may be equally refilled by the death of 
the unnatural aggreffor. For the one uniform principle, 
that runs through our own and all other laws, feems to- 
be this; that where a crime, in itfelf capital, is endea¬ 
voured to be committed by force, it is lawful to repel 
that force by the death of the party attempting. 4 
Comm. 181. 
CHASTITY is reprefer.ted in painting and fculpture, 
by a woman of a modeft afpe.ft, holding in one hand a 
whip, as a mark of chaftifement, clad in white like a 
veftal, to lhew her purity and innocence. At her feet 
Cupid blinded, and his bow and arrows lying broken by 
him, to denote that flie has fubdued concupilcence, and 
that the paffion of love has no more dominion over her.. 
Or, her face covered with a veil of lawn, holding in her 
right hand a fceptre, and in her left two turtle-dove.-. 
By others (he has been' reprefented by the goddefs Pallas, 
keeping down Cupid (who is ftriking fire into a heart) 
with a yoke; at her feet, an ermin. Conjugal chaftity 
by an agreeable damfel, whofe robe is embroidered with 
lilies; holding in one hand a fprig of laurel, and in the 
other a turtle-dove. 
To CHAT, <v. n. [from caqueter, Fr. Skinner 5 perhaps 
from achat, purchale or cheapening, on account of the 
prate naturally produced in a bargain ; or only, as it is 
moil likely, contracted from chatter.'] To prate; to talk 
idly; to prattle; to cackle; to chatter 5 to converle at eafe ; 
With much good-will the motion, was embrac’d, 
To chat a while on their adventures pall. Drjden. 
To CHAT, <y. a. To talk of. Not in ufe, unlefs lu- 
dicroufly: 
All tongues fpeak of him, and the bleared fights 
Are fpeftacied. to lee him. Your prattling nurfe 
Into a rapture lets her baby cry,. 
While fhe chats him. Shakefpeare. 
CHAT, f. Idle talk ; prate, flight or negligent tattle. 
—The 
