Publisher's Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1774 edition. Excerpt: ...to be feen drunk, even in a court of juftice. It was cuftomary, both in France and Italy, to collect for fport all the ftrumpets in the neighbourhood, and to make them run races. Several feudal tenures give evidence of manners both low and coarfe. Struvius mentions a tenure, binding the vaflal, on the birth-day of his lord, to dance and fart before him. The cod-piece, which a few centuries ago made part of a man's drefs, and which fwelled by degrees to a monftrous fize, teftifies mamefully-coarfe manners; and yet it was a modeft ornament, compared with one ufed in France during the reign of Lewis XI. which was the figure of a man's privy parts worn upon the coat or breeches. In the fame period, the judgement of Paris was a favourite theatrical entertainment: three women ftark-naked reprefented the three god-defles, Juno, Venus, and Minerva. Nick-names, fo common not long ago, are an inftance of the fame coarfenefs of manners; for to fix a nick-name on a man, is to ufe him with contemptuous familiarity. In the thirteenth century, many clergymen refufed to adminifter the facrament of the Lord's fupper, unlefs they were. paid for it. Swearing (a) Socrates, Hift. Eccl. lib. y cap. 18. Corpus Chrifti tenentes in manibus, (fays the canon), ac fi dicerent, Quid mihi Swearing as an expletive of fpeech, is a violent fymptom of rough and coarfe manners. Such fwearing prevails among all barbarous nations. Even women in Plautus fwear fluently. Swearing prevailed in Spain and in France, till it was ba-nimed by polite manners. Our Queen Elifabeth was a bold fwearer; and the Englifh populace, who are rough beyond their neighbours, are noted by flrangers for that vice. Tho' fwearing in order to enforce an expreffion, is not in itfelf immoral; it is...
