31. Now the greatest part of offenses with us are capital; as
if
any one be guilty of adultery; if any one force a virgin; if
any
one be so impudent as to attempt sodomy with a male; or if,
upon another's making an attempt upon him, he submits to
be so used. There is also a law for slaves of the like nature,
that can never be avoided. Moreover, if any one cheats
another in measures or weights, or makes a knavish bargain
and sale, in order to cheat another; if any one steals what
belongs to another, and takes what he never deposited; all
these have punishments allotted them; not such as are met
with among other nations, but more severe ones. And as for
attempts of unjust behavior towards parents, or for impiety
against God, though they be not actually accomplished, the
offenders are destroyed immediately. However, the reward
for such as live exactly according to the laws is not silver or
gold; it is not a garland of olive branches or of small age,
nor
any such public sign of commendation; but every good man
hath his own conscience bearing witness to himself, and by
virtue of our legislator's prophetic spirit, and of the firm
security God himself affords such a one, he believes that God
hath made this grant to those that observe these laws, even
though they be obliged readily to die for them, that they shall
come into being again, and at a certain revolution of things
shall receive a better life than they had enjoyed before. Nor
would I venture to write thus at this time, were it not well
known to all by our actions that many of our people have