Excerpt from Reformatory Education: Papers on Preventive, Correctional and Reformatory Institutions and Agencies in Different Countries God, the legislator of the Jews, incorporated into the politico-religious code which was the corpus juris of their theocracy, injunctions of charity as extensive as their moral and intellectual development would endure, yet operative exclusively amongst their own nation, and as compared with the corresponding Christian idea, very narrow and low. The half century jubilee remitted all debts, and gave each family its old inherit ance anew. The septennial or Sabbatical year gave to all alike the spontaneous fruit of the earth. The Sabbath was a rest for all, men and animals. Wheat and grapes were to be left for the poor gleaners. No interest was to be taken from a Jew; and no pledge retained after sun down. The poor were always to be remembered and helped. A trien nial tithe was exacted, for strangers, widows, and orphans. The first fruits were to be bestowed in charity. Except this compulsory practice, scarcely a trace of even the form of charity is visible amongst the ante-christian nations. Much more ex pressive of the general heathen hard-heartedness, is the prevalence of legalized child-murder or exposure, slaughter of the old to be rid of them, and such other institutional abominations. The distribution of food or money, by the great rich men of Rome to clients, or on public occasions, to the citizens generally, were to buy votes or influence, or to maintain a pompous retinue. As for the long established custom of daily largesses of food or money to the common people of Rome, established to gain their votes or support, it was continued simply from pure necessity, because these turbulent and powerful beneficiaries, (said to haver numbered not lem than two million sf) would have ended the authority and life together. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.