[Sidenote: Macro. _lib._ 1. c. 31.]
_Which, as_ Macrobius _also affirms, signifies One, or Only; and this
Attribute they gave to the Cock, because he was the greatest, and
almost the only Deity they Ador’d, the rest being accounted but his
Assistants, and Coadjutors._
_And_ Pliny _in the tenth Book of his Natural History, sufficiently
sets forth at large, the high and mighty Value and Respect that the
antient Romans bore towards Fighting-Cocks, says he there_:
[Sidenote: Plin. _chap._ 21.]
These Birds about our Houses are our Centinels by Night, Nature has
Created them to awaken and call Men up to do their Work; they have also
a Sence and Understanding of Glory: Moreover, they are Astronomers, and
know the Course of the Stars, they divide the Day by their Crowing,
from three Hours to three Hours; when the Sun goes to Rest, they go to
Roost: And like Centinels, they keep the Relief of the Fourth Watch;
in the Camp they call Men up to their careful Labour and Travel: They
will not suffer the Sun to rise and steal upon us, but they give us
warning of it: By their Crowing, they tell us the Day is coming, and
they foretel their Crowing likewise, by clapping their Sides with their
Wings. Ye shall see them to march Stately, carrying their Neck bolt
upright, with a Comb on their Heads, like the Crest of a Soldiers
Helmet; and there is not a Bird besides himself that so oft looketh
aloft to the Sun and Sky; and hereupon it is that marching thus
Proudly as they do, the very Lyons (which of all wild Beasts be most
Couragious) stand in Fear and Awe of them, and will not abide the sight
of them.
_So that hence may be inferred the great Use and Benefit that the
Romans made of these vigilant Astronomical Monitors; Experience
plainly taught them, what would be difficult to make some now-a-days
to believe, Namely, that the Fighting-Cock is a Bird in himself
both useful and profitable, as I shall prove more fully anon, to
the silencing of all those whom Ignorance prompts to say any thing
against it, for you know the abuse of a thing should not take away
the right use of it; and if so, I don’t doubt but to clear the Point,
against any one that shall oppose me herein; but before I leave
this famous Philosopher, see here what_ Plinie _yet farther says of
Fighting-Cocks_: —They are great Commanders, _says he_, and Rulers,
and are made for War and Fighting; and the Countries from whence they
first came, are grown into Name, being much renowned for their Breed,
as namely, _Tenagra_ and _Rhodus_ in the first and highest Degree: in
a second rank and place, be those of _Melos_ and _Chalcis_. And unto
these Birds (for their Worth and Dignity) the Purple Robe at _Rome_,
and all Magistrates of State disdain not to give Honour. These rule
our great Rulers every Day: And there is not a mighty Lord or State
of _Rome_, that dare open or shut the Door of his House, before he
knows the good Pleasure of these Fowles: And that which is more, the
Soveraign Magistrate in his Majestie of the Roman Empire, with the
regal Ensigns of Rods and Axes, carried before him, neither sets he
forward, nor reculeth back, without Direction from these Birds; they
give order to whole Armies to Advance forth to Battle, and again
command them to stay and keep within the Camp.
These were they (_says_ Plinie) that gave the Signal, and foretold the
issue of all those Famous Foughten Fields, whereby we have Atchieved
all our Victories throughout the whole World: In one Word, these Birds
command those Great Commanders of all Nations upon the Earth.
Their Crowing out of Order too soon before their Hour, or too late,
portendeth also, and presageth something remarkable, for well known
it is, that by their Crowing at one time all Night long, they
foresignified to the _Bœotians_, that noble Victory of theirs atchieved
over the _Lacedemonians_. For this Interpretation, and Conjecture was
given thereupon of a Fortunate Day (_says_ Plinie) because that Bird
never Croweth if he be Beaten or Overcome.
And at _Pergamus_ every Year there is a solemn shew, exhibited openly
to the People, of Cock-Fighting, as if Sword-Fencers were brought
within the Lists to Fight at Outterance.
[Sidenote: Vid. Pur. Pil. cap. 16. pag. 329.]
_And_ Strabo, _in_ Purchases _Pilgrimage, extolling the Great and Royal
exercise of Cocking, whence so many Benefits accrue to Mankind, if well
observed, says also, that at_ Pergamus _there was yearly Spectacles
of Cock-Fighting offered where the Princes, Nobles and Gentlemen
both old and young were sure to be, for as much as from hence they
gathered not only and barely Courage and Audacity: But also did see the
great necessity of a firm unshaken Resolution, with Perseverance and
Stability of mind, even to the last Minute: So that by the Example of
these unparallel’d Birds, the People in those Days were extimulated and
spurred on to Great and Generous Enterprizes._
[Sidenote: Vid. Melon. lib. 2. cap. 9.]
_Nor did the_ Roman Empire _shrink so long as Cocking was esteem’d in_
Rome. _And ’tis reported of that Subtle, and most Victorious Emperor_
Severus, _that when he was determin’d to Conquer_ (_if possible_) Great
Britain, _that to draw off his two Sons_ Antonine _and_ Geta, _from
the Bewitching Vanities of the Theatre, and to prepare them in Mind
the better to bear the many difficulties and hardships, that they
must of Necessity undergo in the Prosecution of so great and bloody
an Enterprize, as the subduing even_ Thule _itself, which was then
deemed the utmost Region of the_ North; _he commands the Sport of
Cock-Fighting, to be exhibited Dayly before his Sons, and the principal
Officers of his Army, and that not only to make them emulous of Glory
through the Performance of great Atchievements, but also to be firm and
unshaken in the midst of Dangers, nay in Death itself._
_And really were Cocking now-a-days exhibited to the People of this
present Age wherein we live, by the supream Powers and Potentates of
the World, for political ends. And certain Orators appointed at the
same time to Comment thereupon, and in florid Speeches, Ductarious to
War, and Marshal Exercises, and insinuating into the People the great
magnanimous Temper and Disposition of these Heroic Birds, with variety
of Inferences drawn from particular Passages and the great Essays that
they discover to a judicious Eye, in their way and manner of Fighting.
I Question not but Cocking would now produce as good Effects as then it
did, and influence the_ British _Valour to greater Things, than ever_
Roman _Courage yet dared to Attempt._
_Some Instances of this Practice, the Ingenious_ Nocoli-di-Conti _has
given in his History of_ Sumatra. _This Kingdom is not only one of the
greatest, but is also the most esteemed of all the Eastern Islands,
insomuch that the Indians call it_ Tenarisem, _or the delicious Land._
_And for the Inhabitants, if we may credit, not only_ Di-Conti, _but
also Sir_ Ed. Michelborne _and Sir_ James Lancaster, _Men of Renown
in Queen_ Elizabeth_’s Days, and Famed for their Valour and great
Integrity; these Knights, both of them, averr the_ Sumatrans _to be
a People truly Valiant and Magnanimous, and not only more Subtle
and Politic, but also much more Just and Honest than any other of
the_ Indians _whatsoever._
_None so much loved and courted, none so much by Enemies feared and
dreaded, throughout all the_ East, _as_ Sumatrans: _where particular
care is taken for the promotion of Cocking; for they annex stately
Buildings to their Fanes and Temples, where they keep at public Charge,
divers Fighting Cocks, which are brought forth, as the People come to
Worship, and are fought in a spacious Court Eastward, on the Right-Hand
of the Door of the House of their Gods: after which a certain Priest
skilled in Cocking, and approved for his great Ability in Astronomy,
and all natural Philosophy, having a voluble ready way of speaking,
first takes up the conquering Cock, after the Battle is over, and
presents him to their Deities, and then comes and takes up the slain
Cock, and puts him into a Golden Cauldron, where he bathes his bloody
Limbs in Sankereen; and then, with rich Gums and Spices, burns his Body
upon an Altar made for that purpose; after which his Ashes are put
carefully up in a Golden Pot, or Urn, there to remain for ever: And
then the_ Brammen, _or Priest makes a long Speech to the People,
shewing the Excellency of Cocking, and the great Use and Benefit of
it to all such as know how rightly to apply it, and Expatiates much
upon the present Combate, drawing divers Inferences from the various
passages and Transactions made use of by the late Foughten Cocks,
shewing also the great Magnanimity, Courage, Skill, and Constancy of
these Warriours._
_And lastly, he applies it so Pertinently to all that are present,
in Terms so fit and suitable, that it conduces greatly to their
Edification, grounding in them a firm and stable temper of Mind, with
an unshaken Valour, whereby they are now truly said to be a People
Invincible; And verily I am of Opinion, that from hence at first came
that Saying so common amongst us still_, viz. He is gone to Church to
see a Cock-Fight: _And at this Day there are divers Places up in the_
East _where Cocking is accounted a thing Sacred, and in great Use
amongst them, as_ Magellan _assures us._
[Sidenote: Isac. Pontac. _see_.]
_For, says he, both in_ Borneo, Calegan, _and_ Pulaoan, _Cocks for the
Game are kept, and are of Sacred use amongst them, but eat not of their
Flesh, that being forbidden by the_ Bramens, _or Priests._
* * * * *
[Sidenote: Vid. Sele. _in_ Golch.]
_That great Man, the highly Celebrated_ Selden _observes Cocking to
be a thing of great Use, and much admir’d by rising Marshal Men, who
with keen Swords cut out good Fortune to themselves, from the doubtful
Loyns of Fate. And there is not a surer sign of a Nations or Peoples
degenerating into effeminacy, and so consequently falling into Poverty
and utter Ruin, than when they totally change the Warlike Exercise of
Cocking for mimical Plays, silly Dancing, and such like Fopperies._
Rome _itself was a sad Instance of the Truth of this, when the proud_
Eagle _stripd off all her Gaudy Plumes, lay naked and expos’d to the
Rage, and Fury of the depopulating_ Goths _and_ Vandals.
Gustavus Adolphus, _when he came to rescue the then King of_ Denmark,
_out of the_ Tallons _of_ German _Power, told the distressed Prince,
that he had now nothing to fear, since he was well assured that the
Imperialists had given up the Gantlet, and had nothing left but a
fringed Glove for their Guard, for instead of Cock-Fighting (says he)
and Martial Exercise, they seem wholly to be devoted, and given up to
Effeminate Dancing, and inervating Drunkenness, two Infallible Signs
of a sinking People, as that Warlike King full well observed and after
with his Sword made good what he then said, which wrought so upon the
distressed_ Danes _at that time, that they have been Noted ever since
to be very great Cockers._
_And Sir_ William Corly, _who for some Years together was Resident in
the Danish Court, assures his Country-men that a right bred English
Cock, was at that Day accounted a Bird of Impreciable value in the
Court of_ Denmark, _and that not only the young Princes, but the then
present King_ Christian _himself was a great Admirer of the royal Sport
of Cocking, insomuch that they not only appoint set times (says he) but
do also hang out costly Ensigns, and Rich Flags, whereon is portrayed
both the place, and also the very Gesture of the Cocks, as they at_
Rome, _to which we find_ Horace _alludeth;_
—-—-— Velut si
Revera pugnent, feriant, vitentq; moventes
Arma viri. _Horat. lib. 2. Stat, 7._
_Their Cockings also are attended with variety of Martial Aires, and
loud_ Bellonian Notes, _with preparatory Sounds of War, which first
usher in the Cocks unarmed into the Pit, where both they and the
Weapons with which they are to fight, are exposed to the view of all
the Spectators that are present, after which they are taken up, and
immediately heeled, and then set down to Fight._
[Sidenote: Vid. Virg Æn. 5.]
_For when a Cock of the Game is first brought into the Pit, to be
shown, he only makes a Flourish, and takes a lofty turn, or two.
But when he is heeled, and put in for the Battle, they then compose
their Bodies according to the rules of Art, for the better warding of
themselves, and the readier wounding of their Adversaries. And this
the late King_ Christian _the First, of_ Denmark, _was pleased to
take Notice of at public Cocking, where he professed that the Royal
Sport, so sweetly Sung by the_ Mantuan _Swan, upon_ Ascanius _Son to_
Æneas, _who first brought it out of_ Troy, _was only an imitation of
Cock-Fighting.—Thus the Poet._
Hunc morem, cursus, atq; hæc certamina primus
Ascanius, longam muris cum cingeret Albam,
Rotulit & priscos docuit celebrare Latinos.
See here, _says the King_, how the Cocks Advance now one against
another, sometimes retiring, sometimes pursuing, sometimes in one Form,
and sometimes in another, what variety of Strokes, what Diversity of
Fight is here shown in this one Battle; were I to lead an Army against
the Grand Infidel of _Constantinople_, I would chuse none but Cockers
for my Commanders; nor should any common Soldiers be utterly Ignorant
of this useful Exercise of Cocking.
_So great an Esteem had his Majesty the late King of_ Denmark _for
Cocking. And that famed Hero, the young_ Swedeland _King, at the
Head of a Handful of Men, cuts through the frozen_ Muscovites, _and
makes the Haughty_ Czar, _amidst his mighty Numbers tremble, and beg
for Peace, resolving never hereafter to draw his Cimiter against a
professed Cocker, as his_ Swedeish _Majesty is notoriously known to be,
and has been from his very Cradle almost._
_And the great Hector of_ Europe, _the most Christian King_, Lewis _the
Fourteenth of_ France, _is said to complain of nothing so much as the
want of Cocking in his Country, where the Climate is such, that a Cock
of the Game cannot bear the serenity, or rather the over Sharpness of
the Air, which penetrates the otherwise hardy Bodies of these Martial
Birds, to such a degree, that in a few days time they become so dull,
heavy, and heartless, that they have no mind to Fight, and quickly
after fall into some incurable Disease, such as the_ Black-Sickness,
_the_ Roop-evil, _and the like, of which they soon die._
_Yet in the hottest Climates in the World, in the most Burning Regions,
such as_ Frying-pan Bay, _and also in the Frigid Zone, where everlasting
Winter seems to dwell, are Cocks of the Game frequently known both to
Live, Breed, and Fight, and that as well as in any of the most Mild and
Temperate Climates of the World, where they are kept_, France _and one
part of_ Spain _only excepted, which is a Wonder, and the natural cause
a Secret as yet undiscover’d._
_In_ Holland _they are common, and Cocking is there greatly practised,
and much encouraged by the States: And really it were to be wished
that our own Nation were but as much inclined to countenance and
encourage so innocent an Exercise as Cocking; and how great would the
benefit be, if in nothing else, the good effects of it would soon be
seen in this, that it would divert the English Gentry from effeminate
Dancing, Whoring, and Drinking, which are three Evils grown now almost
Epidimical._
_For want of Cudgel-playing, and Cocking, Men take to Drinking, and
Dancing, and now wear Swords more for shew than Service: a Basket-hilt,
with a Blade three Inches broad, such as our Valiant Ancestors had wont
to wear, is now derided by the effeminate Fops of our Days, who chuse
to hazzard their Lives and Fortunes in the fatal Arms of a diseased
Mistress, rather than venture a push at single Rapier, or take a turn
at Back-sword with a skilful Antagonist, where with their flaming
Blades they might hew bright Honour from the Errors of their Adversary,
and gild their memories with Applause in immortal Date._
_And verily a better expedient to rouse the drowsy Courage, and thaw
the frozen Vallour of a People lull’d with soft Ease, and degenerated
into base and servile Effeminacy, there cannot be found out than
Cocking._
_Next to which Sword-play, and Wrestling are the most Laudable and
Masculine Recreations, and after these Hunting, provided it be a Chace
that has somewhat of Audacity in it, as the_ Lion, Bear, Wolf, or Boar,
_all which are Bold and Noble Chases._
_But to run Whooting after a poor timmérous_ Hare, _or ride mading over
Hedge and Ditch in pursuit of a_ Fox, _that perhaps has pinched two
or three_ Geese, _or snap’d a_ Lamb _from some unwary Shepherd, and is
therefore by_ Diana _doomed to Die and briskly followed by her rural
Maids, dressed up each in her Cap and Feather, but for the Sons of_
Mars, _to be drawn forth after so feeble a Chase, is really a very
mean, and but little better than a base ignoble Divertisment, that
spends a Man’s Time, wasts his Treasure, and profits him nothing:
whereas Cocking fits a Man either for Peace, or War, and creates both
Courage, and Constancy, with Good-nature, and ingenuity all glued
together, according to the Poet, where he says thus;_
————and some more Martial are,
But Cocking fits a Man for Peace, or War;
It makes Men bold and forward for the Field,
And learns them there rather to die than yield.
Cocking does also Constancy create,
And arms a Man to Wrestle with his Fate;
Be it more happy, or severe, his Mind,
Is still the same to a brave end Inclin’d.
_And_ Cleveland _in one of the sweetest Poems that ever was Pen’d, tells
us_,
Heaven-born-boys that in Cocking delight,
Are ever true-hearted and constant in Fight.
_And verily in all my life, I never knew that Man yet that was a
Perfidious Man, or a real Coward, and yet loved Cocking intirely, so
dissonant is Cocking, and Cowardice, nay so inconsistent they are with
each other, that it is Morally impossible for a Coward unfeignedly to
love Cocking, and therefore some timerous Souls to avoid the odium of
Cowardice, have feigned a liking to Cocking._
_And how any one can prove Cocking to be unlawful or wicked, I cannot
imagine, seeing God Almighty has no where declared against it, neither
has any Nation under Heaven ever made any Law against it, but divers
have been made for it._
_If not for Combate, why was the Fighting-Cock created? why has he that
extraordinary hardness and vallour peculiar to him alone given him?
and for what other end was this Stout and Daring Champion made, if not
to Fight? the common Dunghill Cock eats as well, and breeds as well,
or better, and is as good about a house, and as useful in all other
respects (Fighting only excepted;) so that if they were not made for
that end, they had this excellency bestowed upon them in vain, and the
Royal Bird that in valour so far excells all other penigerous Creatures
must be but a useless thing at best._
_But ’tis plain Nature intended the Fighting-Cock to be a Bird of great
use, and benefit to Mankind in several respects, as has already been
sufficiently noted: for this Bird by his Fighting teaches Man Skill,
and prompts him to be Stout and truely Valiant._
_And though perhaps some few that understand not the right use of
Cocking, may follow it for ill ends._
_But what’s all this to the purpose? I would fain know, shall an
innocent practice be forbidden to all, because some particular Persons
make ill use of it? what think you, did that sober King do well, when
he commanded all the Vines in his Dominions to be cut down, and by that
means starved all his Subjects, because some few of his Slaves were
Drunk?_
_But must Cocking therefore be laid aside, because some do abuse the
greatest Blessings? no, by no means, but rather where we have one Pit
now, let us have two for the time to come; and as we ought, let us
improve this Exercise for the general good of Mankind, to which end it
was undoubtedly intended._
_Thus I think I have fully proved this Sport to be very honourable, and
of ancient standing, and a thing in itself both Useful and Profitable._