"...Imagine a full sized replica of a bull,made of brass,with a trapdoor in
it's back to allow access to it's hollow interior.The victim would be
locked inside and a fire lit beneath the belly of the beast.
But that was not all according to the fevered brain of it's inventor,an
artist named Perilaus.As he proudly displayed it to his master Phalaris of
Sicily,he drew attention to reeds he installed in the bull's nostrils that
would convert the screams of tormented victims into a musically pleasing sound.
Phalaris was a harsh ruler yet decided to use it only once,as recounted in
Lucians 'works.'
"Well now Perilaus," I said." If you are so sure of your contrivance,give
us proof of it on the spot;mount up and get in and imitate the cries of a
man tortured in it,that we may hear whether such charming music will
proceed from it as you would have us believe."
"Perilaus obeyed,and no sooner was he in the belly of the bull,than I shut
the aperture and put a fire beneath it."
"Take that," said I,"as the recompense for such a piece of art is worth and
chant us the first specimen of the charming notes of which you are the
inventor!"
And so the barbarous wretch suffered what he had well merited by such an
application of his mechanical talent.However,that by dying there,I ordered
him drawn out while still alive and thrown down from the summit of the rock
where his body was left unburied.
I cant vouch for the absolute truth of these fables but here is one closer
to our time,in 1488 in the city of Tours an execution was set by
boiling,drawing and hanging.The victim struggling loosed his bonds in the
boiling water and he rose twice begging for mercy.The provost and some
locals began to attack the executioner for bringing disgrace down on their
town.The executioner using a metal hook tried hard to push down his victim
yet the townspeople assuming a miracle renewed their attacks to the point
where the ex-executioner lay dead.The condemned counterfeiter was taken to
a monastery while the townsfolk were pardoned by Charles VIII.
Slightly later in France it's said that Louis XVI suggested replacement of
the convex or crescent shaped blade of la Guillotine with a triangular one
for greater efficiency,the testing of he was to enjoy in some detail nine
months later.
Why study the history of torture and it's implements in this day and
age,aren't some things best left forgotten? Yes,I think I'll pass this on
to the SOA and CC alan D.Be careful what you wish for.
