Between Heathenism and Christianity - College of Stoic Philosophers
Between Heathenism and Christianity - College of Stoic Philosophers
Between Heathenism and Christianity - College of Stoic Philosophers
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wonder<br />
Plutarch <strong>and</strong> the Greece <strong>of</strong> His Age<br />
cum <strong>of</strong> intelligence, this at least cannot be entirely<br />
denied to them, any more than it can be denied to a<br />
bad man. A certain measure <strong>of</strong> reason is the gift <strong>of</strong><br />
nature; perfect <strong>and</strong> virtuous reason is the result <strong>of</strong><br />
practice <strong>and</strong> instruction. The reasoning powers <strong>of</strong><br />
many animals are, to an extent, on a level with those<br />
<strong>of</strong> man; they differ not so much in quality<br />
as in<br />
quantity. It is right, therefore, to use but not to<br />
abuse them. Cruelty to animals is evidence <strong>of</strong> a<br />
base heart. Those who treat them harshly usually<br />
accentuate their bad traits in their dealings with men.<br />
Our treatment <strong>of</strong> animals is, therefore, in some sort<br />
<strong>and</strong> <strong>of</strong>ten to a considerable extent, an index <strong>of</strong> how<br />
we treat our fellow beings. Plutarch finds the lower<br />
animals in some respects more rational than men.<br />
They never eat or drink more than enough to satisfy<br />
hunger <strong>and</strong> thirst; nor do they give way to any un<br />
natural or excessive appetites. He is somewhat<br />
inclined to condemn the use <strong>of</strong> animal food; but, at.<br />
any rate, animals must not be cruelly dealt with to<br />
make them more palatable, nor put to death by<br />
lingering <strong>and</strong> inhuman methods. He had in view<br />
more particularly some <strong>of</strong> the practices prevalent in<br />
Rome in his day. practices that were, in truth, horri<br />
ble in the extreme. It is n&lt;&gt; that he names<br />
them only to condemn them. The extreme modernness<br />
<strong>of</strong> Plutarch in this matter becomes the more<br />
strikingly evident when we remember that classical<br />
antiquity not only very seldon has a kind word for<br />
irrational creatures, but was wont to treat them with