Chapter 2

The Mischief that one Man can do as a Thief, is a very Trifle to what he
may be the Occasion of, as an Agent or Concealer of Felons. The longer
this Practice continues, the more the Number of Rogues must hourly
encrease; and therefore it is high Time that regular Book-keeping of
stolen Goods should cease, and that all Gangs and Knots of Thieves
should be broke and destroy'd as much as is possible, at least, none of
them suffer'd to form themselves into Societies that are under
Discipline, and act by Order of a Superior. It is highly criminal in any
Man, for Lucre, to connive at a Piece of Felony which he could have
hinder'd: But a profess'd Thief-Catcher, above all, ought to be severely
punish'd, if it can be proved that he has suffer'd a known Rogue to go
on in his Villany, tho' but one Day, after it was in his Power to
apprehend and convict him, more especially if it appears that he was a
Sharer in the Profit.

CHAP. II.

_Of the ill Consequences of_ THEFTBOTE, _and the Licentiousness of
Felons in Newgate._

Often, when I have spoke against _Theftbote_, after the same manner as
now I have been writing, I have heard Men of Worth and good Sense come
into my Sentiments, who yet, after all, would tell me, That if I had
lost any Thing myself, they believ'd that I would be glad to have it
again with as little Cost and Trouble as I could. This I never denied,
and am still willing to own. We are all partial and unfit Judges in our
own Cause; but the most that can be made of this, is, That in that Case
neither I nor any Body else, that has had any Thing stolen from him,
ought to be consulted about the Matter: We are ill qualified, and
therefore incapable of determining any Thing rightly concerning it. I
have another Reason why this ought to be referred rather to those who
never lost any Thing by Thieves and Pilferers, than others who have been
Sufferers that Way: Rogues, it is true, have a thousand Stratagems, and
a Person may be very careful, and yet have his Pocket pick'd, if ever he
appears in the Street, or a Crowd: Yet, if we divide Mankind into two
Classes, that the one will be more exempt from those Misfortunes than
the other, is undeniable. A Man, who is always upon his Guard in the
Streets, and suspects all Crowds; that is temperate in his Liquor;
avoids, as much as is possible, unseasonable Hours; never gives Ear to
Night-walkers; a Man that abroad is always watchful over himself, and
every Thing about him, and at home takes Care of his Doors and Bolts,
his Shutters, Locks, and Bars; such a one, I say, is in less Danger than
others, who are unthinking, and never mind what Companies they thrust
themselves into; or such as will be drunk, go home late in the dark
unattended, and scruple not to talk and converse with lewd Women, as
they meet them; or that are careless of themselves as well as of the
securing and fastening of their Houses. It is evident then which Class
would yield the most proper Judges; whom if it was left to, I don't
question but the sober, careful, and wiser Part of the Nation would
agree, that the Practice in vogue, and Method made use of to recover
stolen Goods, even tho' there was no express Law against it, is, on many
Accounts, mischievous to the Publick, and visibly destructive to the
Interest of honest Property, and our Security in the Enjoyment of it.

There is no greater Encouragement for Men to follow any Labour or
Handicraft, than that they are paid as soon as they have done their
Work, without any further Trouble. It is from such a Consideration as
this, that to encrease the publick Security, the Law not only punishes
Stealing, but likewise makes it Felony, knowingly to buy stolen Goods;
and moreover perpetuates honest Property, and renders the Right of it
inalienable from the injured Owner, who seizes his Goods in what Hands
soever he finds them. These two additional Precautions are of admirable
Use in hampering common Villains, and strengthening the Law against
Theft. From the first, a Rogue, after he has made himself liable to be
hang'd, may be still disappointed, and miss his chief Aim; for as Money
is what he wants, if no Body will purchase what he offers, he is never
the nearer. The Second makes that he is never safe, tho' he is rid of
the Goods, and the Money in his Pocket; for tho' they are gone through
half a Dozen Hands, as soon as the Right Owner lays Claim to the Things
stole, every one is oblig'd to discover where he had them; and by this
Means it is seldom difficult to find out the Thief, or the Receiver of
stolen Goods. To leap these two Barriers, and free himself at once of
the Trouble there is in finding a safe Purchaser, and all Apprehensions
of future Danger, a Rogue could not wish or imagine any Thing more
effectual than that he might lodge what he has stole in the Hands of the
Owner himself, and so receive a Reward for his Pains, and, at the same
Time, a Pardon for his Crime, of him, whose Prosecution was the only
Thing he had to fear. It is evident then, that the friendly Commerce,
and amicable Negotiations, now in vogue, between Thieves and those that
are robb'd by them, are the greatest Encouragement of low Villany that
can be invented, and as sure a Way to keep up the Breed of Rogues, and
promote the Interest of them, as either our Fishery or the Coal Trade
are constant Nurseries for Sailors.

I am not ignorant, that in the present Conjuncture, as Cases might be
stated, it would be very harsh, and seem to be the Height of Injustice,
if we should hinder People from redeeming stolen Goods on all
Emergencies whatever. A Man may be vigilant and careful, and his
Servants the same, and yet, their Eyes being one Moment turn'd from the
Counter, a Shop-Book may be snatched, and carried off, perhaps, a Month
before _Christmas_. This may put a Tradesman of good Business in great
Distress: Must he lose it? I say, Yes, if the Publick is to be preferr'd
to a private Interest. In the mean time, I know very well what every
Body would do in that Case: But that the Whole suffers by the
Redemption, I prove thus: Let us say, that this Year twelve Shop-Books
are stole, that are all recover'd for two or three Guineas apiece got
for them, and no Body punish'd. You may expect that next Year you will
have forty or fifty stole, and in a few Years nothing will be more
common. And again, let us suppose that last Year an hundred Shop-Books
were stole; but, by vertue of some effectual Law for that Purpose, not
one redeemed. The Consequence, in all Probability, would be, that the
next Year you would hardly have ten Shop-Books stole; and if, thro' the
strict Observance of the Law, none of them likewise should be redeem'd,
you would hear no more of that Practice.

Besides, when a Man steals what is of no Value but to me, and can have
no other View than that I should redeem it, and be his Pay-Master
myself, the Felony becomes, in a manner, a compound Action, in which, as
soon as I comply, I join with the Thief: And if we consider that the
changing of Property from one Man to another, is seldom of any
Consequence to the Publick, and that all the Mischief that can befal it
from Theft, that is, the Loss of Goods that Way sustain'd by private
Persons, consists in this, That those who committed it, gain their
Point, and come off with Impunity, let who will be the Thief, or the
Receiver; if, I say, we consider these two Things, it will appear, that
in the Case I have mentioned, myself, who for my own Ends assisted the
Thief with Money, and secured him from Prosecution, had the greatest
Share in the Transaction, and consequently was, of the two, the most
injurious to the civil Society. Without me the Rogue would not only have
been disappointed, but likewise, whilst he continued in Possession of
the Thing stole, remained in the perpetual Dread of being prosecuted for
what he never had any Benefit from; and it is not probable that a Man
who had been twice so served, would ever make such another Attempt.

These Things well deserve the Consideration of wise Men, and I desire
the compassionate Part of Mankind to reflect on what daily Experience
teaches us of common Felons, and they will easily find out, that
unseasonable Pity may prove the greatest Cruelty. The oftner a young
Rogue steals with Impunity, the sooner he'll be a thorough-paced
Villain, that will venture on more hazardous Undertakings; and the more
numerous the Examples of such are, the more loose People will enter into
the Fraternity, of which, whether it be great or small, very few ever
arrive to a middle Age. Some are cunning enough never to be taken in a
Fact; but no Subtlety can save them from the Impeachment of others. A
licens'd Practitioner may be skreen'd and protected some Years, if he
sticks to Discipline, and pays the greatest Part of his Earnings for his
Security; but if he rides resty, and squabbles about the Contribution
required of him, he is in a dangerous Way. It is possible that a
dextrous Youth may be esteemed, and be a Favourite to the Superintendent
a great while; but when he grows very notorious, he is hunted like a
Deer, and the Premium on his Head betrays him. He may baffle his
Prosecutor, find a Flaw in an Indictment, elude the Force of an
Evidence, come off once or twice, be reprieved, break Goal, or be
pardoned, the Gallows will be his Portion at last. The Wretch that is
train'd up to stealing, is the Property of the Hangman: He can never
entirely leave off his Trade: Many, after Transportation, have, with
great Hazard of their Lives, found the Way back again to _Newgate_. A
Thief bred must be hang'd if he lives.

From all which appears, what I undertook to prove, That Remissness as to
Prosecutions, occasion'd by the bare-faced Compositions of Felony, is
one of the grand Causes of that lamentable Complaint, the Frequency of
Executions; and should we compare the Droves that are carried to
_Tyburn_ for Slaughter, with those others that are sent to _Smithfield_
for the same Purpose, we would find the modern Thief-Catcher subservient
to the Executioner in the same Manner, as the wealthy Grazier is to the
needy Butcher; and that of the Cattle in either Sense, few are kill'd by
the one that were never cherish'd by the other.

I am now come to the second Cause, which is the Treatment Felons receive
after they are taken, both in _Newgate_ and their Journey from thence to
the Gallows: First, It is wrong to suffer such Numbers of them to be and
converse together; for nothing but the utmost Corruption can be expected
from a Company of forty or fifty People in a Prison, who, every one of
them, singly consider'd, were all the worst of Thousands before they
met. Secondly, It is an Encouragement to Vice, that the most dissolute
of both Sexes, and generally young People too, should live promiscuously
in the same Place, and have Access to one another. For the rest, the
Licentiousness of the Place is abominable, and there are no low Jests
so filthy, no Maxims so destructive to good Manners, or Expressions so
vile and prophane, but what are utter'd there with Applause, and
repeated with Impunity. They eat and drink what they can purchase, every
Body has Admittance to them, and they are debarr'd from nothing but
going out. Their most serious Hours they spend in mock Tryals, and
instructing one another in cross Questions, to confound Witnesses; and
all the Stratagems and Evasions that can be of Service, to elude the
Charge that shall be made against them; or else in reading Lectures on
some Branch or other of their Profession, the various Arts and Methods
of Stealing, or the Glory, as well as Usefulness of invincible Impudence
on all offensive and defensive Emergencies. As villainous Pawn-brokers,
and all Receivers of stolen Goods, have good Reasons to be liberal to
those they have dealt with, when in this Distress, so no Felons are here
in Want, and reduced to the Allowance of the Prison, but Novices and
silly Creatures, that have the least deserved to be punish'd; whereas
the Veteran Rogues, and such as have been great Traders, are well
provided for. This keeps them up in Debauchery; and many, after
Condemnation, persist in their riotous Courses, and pampering their
Bodies, whilst the Care that is taken of their Souls is very mean. For
such is the Noise and Confusion all around them, that even the best
dispos'd have not sufficient Opportunities to prepare themselves for
another World; and the Helps they receive in Spirituals are, all Things
consider'd, no better than the Accounts we have of them after every
Session.

CHAP. III.

_Of Execution Day, the Journey to _Tyburn_, and a Word in behalf of
Anatomical Dissections._

When the Day of Execution is come, among extraordinary Sinners, and
Persons condemned for their Crimes, who have but that Morning to live,
one would expect a deep Sense of Sorrow, with all the Signs of a
thorough Contrition, and the utmost Concern; that either Silence, or a
sober Sadness, should prevail; and that all, who had any Business there,
should be grave and serious, and behave themselves, at least, with
common Decency, and a Deportment suitable to the Occasion. But the very
Reverse is true. The horrid Aspects of Turnkeys and Gaolers, in
Discontent and Hurry; the sharp and dreadful Looks of Rogues, that beg
in Irons, but would rob you with greater Satisfaction, if they could;
the Bellowings of half a dozen Names at a time, that are perpetually
made in the Enquiries after one another; the Variety of strong Voices,
that are heard, of howling in one Place, scolding and quarrelling in
another, and loud Laughter in a third; the substantial Breakfasts that
are made in the midst of all this; the Seas of Beer that are swill'd;
the never-ceasing Outcries for more; and the bawling Answers of the
Tapsters as continual; the Quantity and Varieties of more entoxicating
Liquors, that are swallow'd in every Part of _Newgate_; the Impudence,
and unseasonable Jests of those, who administer them; their black Hands,
and Nastiness all over; all these, joined together, are astonishing and
terrible, without mentioning the Oaths and Imprecations, that from every
Corner are echo'd a about, for Trifles; or the little, light, and
general Squallor of the Gaol itself, accompany'd with the melancholy
Noise of Fetters, differently sounding, according to their Weight: But
what is most shocking to a thinking Man, is, the Behaviour of the
Condemn'd, whom (for the greatest Part) you'll find, either drinking
madly, or uttering the vilest Ribaldry, and jeering others, that are
less impenitent; whilst the Ordinary bustles among them, and, shifting
from one to another, distributes Scraps of good Counsel to unattentive
Hearers; and near him, the Hangman, impatient to be gone, swears at
their Delays; and, as fast as he can, does his Part, in preparing them
for their Journey.

At last, out they set; and with them a Torrent of Mob bursts thorough
the Gate. Amongst the lower Rank, and working People, the idlest, and
such as are most fond of making Holidays, with Prentices and Journeymen
to the meanest Trades, are the most honourable Part of these floating
Multitudes. All the rest are worse. The Days being known before-hand,
they are a Summons to all Thieves and Pickpockets, of both Sexes, to
meet. Great Mobs are a Safeguard to one another, which makes these Days
Jubilees, on which old Offenders, and all who dare not shew their Heads
on any other, venture out of their Holes; and they resemble Free Marts,
where there is an Amnesty for all Outlaws. All the Way, from _Newgate_
to _Tyburn_, is one continued Fair, for Whores and Rogues of the meaner
Sort. Here the most abandon'd Rakehells may light on Women as shameless:
Here Trollops, all in Rags, may pick up Sweethearts of the same
Politeness: And there are none so lewd, so vile, or so indigent, of
either Sex, but at the Time and Place aforesaid, they may find a
Paramour. Where the Croud is the least, which, among the Itinerants, is
no where very thin, the Mob is the rudest; and here, jostling one
another, and kicking Dirt about, are the most innocent Pastimes. Now you
see a Man, without Provocation, push his Companion in the Kennel; and
two Minutes after, the Sufferer trip up the other's Heels, and the
first Aggressor lies rolling in the more solid Mire: And he is the
prettiest Fellow among them, who is the least shock'd at Nastiness, and
the most boisterous in his Sports. No modern Rabble can long subsist
without their darling Cordial, the grand Preservative of Sloth,
_Jeneva_, that infallible Antidote against Care and frugal Reflexion;
which, being repeated removes all Pain of sober Thought, and in a little
Time cures the tormenting Sense of the most pressing Necessities. The
Traders, who vent it among the Mob on these Occasions, are commonly the
worst of both Sexes, but most of them weather-beaten Fellows, that have
mis-spent their Youth. Here stands an old Sloven, in a Wig actually
putrify'd, squeez'd up in a Corner, and recommends a Dram of it to the
Goers-by: There another in Rags, with several Bottles in a Basket, stirs
about with it, where the Throng is the thinnest, and tears his Throat
with crying his Commodity; and further off, you may see the Head of a
third, who has ventur'd in the Middle of the Current, and minds his
Business, as he is fluctuating in the irregular Stream: Whilst higher
up, an old decrepit Woman sits dreaming with it on a Bulk; and over
against her, in a Soldier's Coat, her termagant Daughter sells the
Sots-Comfort with great Dispatch. The intelligible Sounds, that are
heard among them, are Oaths and vile Expressions, with Wishes of
Damnation at every other Word, pronounced promiscuously against
themselves, or those they speak to, without the least Alteration in the
Meaning.

As these undisciplined Armies have no particular Enemies to encounter,
but Cleanliness and good Manners, so nothing is more entertaining to
them, than the dead Carcasses of Dogs and Cats, or, for want of them,
Rags, and all Trompery that is capable of imbibing Dirt. These, well
trampled in Filth, and, if possible, of the worst sort, are, by the
Ringleaders, flung as high and as far as a strong Arm can carry them,
and commonly directed where the Throng is the thickest: Whilst these
ill-boding Meteors are shooting thro' the Air, the Joy and Satisfaction
of the Beholders is visible in every Countenance and Gesture; and more
audibly express'd by the great Shouts that accompany them in their
Course; and, as the Projectiles come nearer the Earth, are turn'd into
loud Laughter, which is more or less violent in Proportion to the
Mischief promis'd by the Fall. And to see a good Suit of Cloaths spoiled
by this Piece of Gallantry, is the tip-top of their Diversion, which
they seldom go home without enjoying: For tho' no People in their Senses
would venture among them on Foot, in any tolerable Dress, yet there are
young Rakes of Fortune, who care not what they lavish, or destroy: Of
these the maddest sort will often, after a Night's Debauch, mix with
Crowds, and thrust themselves in the midst of the most abominable
Rabble, where they seldom fail of meeting with such Adventures.

Tho' before setting out, the Prisoners took care to swallow what they
could, to be drunk, and stifle their Fear; yet the Courage that strong
Liquors can give, wears off, and the Way they have to go being
considerable, they are in Danger of recovering, and, without repeating
the Dose, Sobriety would often overtake them: For this Reason they must
drink as they go; and the Cart stops for that Purpose three or four, and
sometimes half a dozen Times, or more, before they come to their
Journey's End. These Halts always encrease the Numbers about the
Criminals; and more prodigiously, when they are very notorious Rogues.
The whole March, with every Incident of it, seems to be contrived on
Purpose, to take off and divert the Thoughts of the Condemned from the
only Thing that should employ them. Thousands are pressing to mind the
Looks of them. Their _quondam_ Companions, more eager than others, break
through all Obstacles to take Leave: And here you may see young
Villains, that are proud of being so, (if they knew any of the
Malefactors,) tear the Cloaths off their Backs, by squeezing and
creeping thro' the Legs of Men and Horses, to shake Hands with him; and
not to lose, before so much Company, the Reputation there is in having
had such a valuable Acquaintance. It is incredible what a Scene of
Confusion all this often makes, which yet grows worse near the Gallows;
and the violent Efforts of the most sturdy and resolute of the Mob on
one Side, and the potent Endeavours of rugged Goalers, and others, to
beat them off, on the other; the terrible Blows that are struck, the
Heads that are broke, the Pieces of swingeing Sticks, and Blood, that
fly about, the Men that are knock'd down and trampled upon, are beyond
Imagination, whilst the Dissonance of Voices, and the Variety of
Outcries, for different Reasons, that are heard there, together with the
Sound of more distant Noises, make such a Discord not to be parallel'd.
If we consider, besides all this, the mean Equipages of the Sheriffs
Officers, and the scrubby Horses that compose the Cavalcade, the
Irregularity of the March, and the Want of Order among all the
Attendants, we shall be forced to confess, that these Processions are
very void of that decent Solemnity that would be required to make them
awful. At the very Place of Execution, the most remarkable Scene is a
vast Multitude on Foot, intermixed with many Horsemen and
Hackney-Coaches, all very dirty, or else cover'd with Dust, that are
either abusing one another, or else staring at the Prisoners, among whom
there is commonly very little Devotion; and in that, which is practis'd
and dispatch'd there, of Course, there is as little good Sense as there
is Melody. It is possible that a Man of extraordinary Holiness, by
anticipating the Joys of Heaven, might embrace a violent Death in such
Raptures, as would dispose him to the singing of Psalms: But to require
this Exercise, or expect it promiscuously of every Wretch that comes to
be hang'd, is as wild and extravagant as the Performance of it is
commonly frightful and impertinent: Besides this, there is always at
that Place, such a mixture of Oddnesses and Hurry, that from what
passes, the best dispos'd Spectator seldom can pick out any thing that
is edifying or moving.

Here I must observe, that the Possibility of Pardons and Reprieves, that
often come very late, and which, with or without Grounds, most Criminals
continue to hope for, 'till they are hang'd, is another great Clog, that
keeps attach'd to the World those that are less abandon'd, and more
relenting than the Generality of them; and who, without that Hindrance,
would, in all Probability, prepare themselves for certain Death, which
overtakes many whilst they are still doubting of it. The Ordinary and
Executioner, having performed their different Duties, with small
Ceremony, and equal Concern, seem to be tired, and glad it is over.

The Tragedy being ended, the next Entertainment is a Squabble between
the Surgeons and the Mob, about the dead Bodies of the Malefactors that
are not to be hanged in Chains. They have suffer'd the Law, (cries the
Rabble,) and shall have no other Barbarities put upon them: We know what
you are, and will not leave them before we see them buried. If the
others are numerous, and resolute enough to persist in their Enterprize,
a Fray ensues: From whence I shall take an Opportunity of saying
something upon the Occasion of it. I have no Design that savours of
Cruelty, or even Indecency, towards a human Body; but shall endeavour to
demonstrate, that the superstitious Reverence of the Vulgar for a
Corpse, even of a Malefactor, and the strong Aversion they have against
dissecting them, are prejudicial to the Publick; For as Health and sound
Limbs are the most desirable of all Temporal Blessings, so we ought to
encourage the Improvement of Physick and Surgery, wherever it is in our
Power. The Knowledge of Anatomy is inseparable from the Studies of
either; and it is almost impossible for a Man to understand the Inside
of our Bodies, without having seen several of them skilfully dissected.
Kings and Princes are open'd, and have their Hearts and Bowels taken
out, and embalm'd. It is not then Ignominious, much less offensive to
the dead Body, which may be interred with as much Decency, after
Dissection, as if it never had been touch'd. But suppose that many of
our common Thieves were not to be buried at all, and some of them made
Skeletons; and that several Parts of others, variously prepared, should
be preserved for the Instruction of Students? What if it was a Disgrace
to the surviving Relations of those, who had Lectures read upon their
Bodies, and were made use of for Anatomical Preparations? The Dishonour
would seldom reach beyond the Scum of the People; and to be dissected,
can never be a greater Scandal than being hanged. The University of
_Leyden_ in _Holland_ have a Power given them by the Legislature to
demand, for this Purpose, the Bodies of ordinary Rogues executed within
that Province; but, with us, it is the general Complaint of all
Professors of Anatomy, that they can get none to dissect: Where then
shall we find a readier Supply; and what Degree of People are fitter for
it than those I have named? When Persons of no Possessions of their own,
that have slipp'd no Opportunity of wronging whomever they could, die
without Restitution, indebted to the Publick, ought not the injur'd
Publick to have a Title to, and the Disposal of, what the others have
left? And is any Thing more reasonable, than that they should enjoy that
Right, especially when they only make use of it for commendable
Purposes? What is done for the common Good, every Member of the Society
may, at one time or other, receive an Advantage from; and therefore
quarrelsome People, that love fighting, act very preposterously and
inconsistent with their Interest, when they venture to have their Bones
broke, for endeavouring to deprive Surgeons of the Means to understand
the Structure of them.

CHAP. IV.

_Of the wrong Judgments that are pass'd on the dying Behaviour of
Malefactors._

Having finish'd the Picture I proposed to draw of modern Executions, and
the Crowds that usually attend them, I shall make some Remarks on the
Judgments that are commonly passed on the dying Behaviour of our
ordinary Felons. In a rich and potent Kingdom, where worldly Glory is
not in Contempt, and to think meanly of our selves seldom taught by
Example, whatever it may be by Precept, nothing is counted more
provoking, or less to be born with Patience, than to be called a Coward.
The vilest Rogues, and most despicable Villains, may own a thousand
Crimes, and often brag of the most abominable Actions; but there is
scarce one, who will confess that he has no Courage. Our general Esteem
for Valour, which is demonstrable from what I have said, as it is of
great Use to a warlike Nation, is very commendable; and Fortitude ought
ever to keep its Place amongst the Cardinal Virtues: But the Notions
which the Vulgar have of Courage, as well as Honour and Shame, are full
of dangerous Errors. Compliments, as well as Reproaches, when ill
applied, are often the Causes of great Mischief; and I am persuaded,
that the Perverseness of Opinion now reigning amongst us, both in
applauding and discommending the Conduct of Criminals in their last
Hours, is an accessary Evil, that very much contributes to what is the
Subject of our grand Complaint, the Frequency of Executions. To explain
my self on this Matter in the clearest Manner I am able, I beg leave to
begin with it from the Bottom.

In all living Creatures, that fall under our Senses, we perceive an
Instinct of Self-Preservation; and the more sensible they are, the
greater Aversion they discover to the Dissolution of their Being. Man,
the most perfect of them, sets an inestimable Value on Life, and knows
no Fear equal to the Horror he has against Death. This is to be
understood only of Man, in the State of Nature, before he has made
Reflections on himself, and what he sees of the Creation; but when,
after that his Reason demonstrates to him that there must have been a
first Cause; that the World is govern'd by an intelligent Being; that
himself, a Compound of Soul and Body, is indebted to that Being for all
he enjoys, and that there is a strong Probability of a Life after this:
When, moreover, he considers himself as incorporated in a Community of
vast Numbers, that all together make one Body politick, the Welfare of
which he finds universally esteemed, as a Concern superior to all
others: When, I say, he finds and reflects on all this, he plainly sees,
that the Fear of Death, must, on many Accounts, be prejudicial to the
publick Good and common Security, in which he has a Share.