TryingToLearn
Puritan Board Freshman
- Feb 5, 2024
- #6
Ed Walsh said:
Are you familiar with the following document?
Excerpts from:
An Abstract of the Laws of New England,
as They Are Now Established.
by John CottonCHAPTER VII.
Of Crimes. And first, of such as deserve capital punishment, or cutting off from a man’s people, whether by death or banishment.
1. FIRST, blasphemy, which is a cursing of God by atheism, or the like, to be punished with death.
2. Idolatry to be punished with death.
3. Witchcraft, which is fellowship by covenant with a familiar spirit, to be punished with death.
4. Consulters with witches not to be tolerated, but either to be cut off by death or banishment.
5. Heresy, which is the maintenance of some wicked errors, overthrowing the foundation of the christian religion; which obstinacy, if it be joined with endeavour to seduce others thereunto, to be punished with death; because such an heretick, no less than an idolater, seeketh to thrust the souls of men from the Lord their God.
6. To worship God in a molten or graven image, to be punished with death.
7. Such members of the church, as do wilfully reject to walk, after due admonition and conviction, in the churches’ establishment, and their christian admonition and censures, shall be cut off by banishment.
8. Whosoever shall revile the religion and worship of God, and the government of the church, as it is now established, to be cut off by banishment. Cor. 5:5.
9. Wilful perjury, whether before the judgment seat or in private conference, to be punished with death.
10. Rash perjury, whether in public or in private, to be punished with banishment. Just is it, that such a man’s name should be cut off from his people who profanes so grosly the name of God before his people.
11. Profaning of the Lord’s day, in a careless and scornful neglect or contempt thereof, to be punished with death.
12. To put in practice the betraying of the country, or any principal fort therein, to the hand of any foreign state, Spanish, French, Dutch, or the like, contrary to the allegiance we owe and profess to our dread sovereign, lord king Charles, his heirs and successors, whilst he is pleased to protect us as his loyal subjects, to be punished with death. Num. 12:14, 15.
13. Unreverend and dishonorable carriage to magistrates, to be punished with banishment for a time, till they acknowledge their fault and profess reformation.
14. Reviling of the magistrates in highest rank amongst us, to wit, of the governors and council, to be punished with death. I Kings 2:8, 9, & 46.
15. Rebellion, sedition, or insurrection, by taking up arms against the present government established in the country, to be punished with death.
16. Rebellious children, whether they continue in riot or drunkenness, after due correction from their parents, or whether they curse or smite their parents, to be put to death. Ex. 21:15, 17. Lev. 20:9.
17. Murder, which is a wilful man-slaughter, not in a man’s just defence, nor casually committed, but out of hatred or cruelty, to be punished with death. Ex. 21:12, 13. Num. 35:16, 17, 18, to 33. Gen. 9:6.
18. Adultery, which is the defiling of the marriage-bed, to be punished with death. Defiling of a woman espoused, is a kind of adultery, and punishable, by death, of both parties; but if a woman be forced, then by the death of the man only. Lev. 20:10. Deut. 22:22 to 27.
19. Incest, which is the defiling of any near of kin, within the degrees prohibited in Leviticus, to be punished with death.
20. Unnatural filthiness to be punished with death, whether sodomy, which is a carnal fellowship of man with man, or woman with woman, or buggery4, which is a carnal fellowship of man or woman with beasts or fowls.
21. Pollution of a woman known to be in her flowers5, to be put to death. Lev. 20:18,19.
22. whor*dom of a maiden in her father’s house, kept secret till after her marriage with another, to be punished with death. Deut. 22:20, 21.
23. Man-stealing to be punished with death. Ex. 21:16.
24. False-witness bearing to be punished with death.
4 April 2, 1674 Benjamin Gourd of Roxbury (being about 17 years of age) was executed for committing bestial*ty with a Mare, which was first knocked in the head under the Gallows in his sight. N.B. He committed that filthines at noon day in an open yard. He after confessed that he had lived in that sin a year. The causes he alledged were, idlenes, not obeying parents, &c. [from The Diary of Samuel Sewall]
CHAPTER VIII.
Of other Crimes less heinous, such as are to be punished with some corporal punishment or fine.
1. FIRST, rash and profane swearing and cursing to be punished,
1st. With loss of honour, or office, if he be a magistrate, or officer: meet it is, their name should be dishonoured who dishonoured God’s name.
2d. With loss of freedom.
3d. With disability to give testimony.
4th. With corporal punishment, either by stripes or by branding him with a hot iron, or boring through the tongue, who have bored and pierced God’s name.
2. Drunkenness, as transforming God’s image into a beast, is to be punished with the punishment of beasts: a whip for the horse, and a rod for the fool’s back.
Yes, I’m familiar with Cotton’s laws. This is one of those documents that at least seems to indicate that they would go through with such an execution, but I know that’s mostly just an argument from silence insofar as it doesn’t specify what would be done in the situation of a visibly pregnant woman. So I’m unsure how much we can conclude from it.
