Humanity Against Cruelty to Animals in Historical Literature, Timeline of Animal Rights History

Animal Rights History »»Patrick Brydone

Mr. Brydone [in his twentiethletter] has a disertation humanity towards animals, in the style of Lord Erskine. (Rene Martin Pillet, Views of England [1815]

1773 | A Tour through Sicily and Malta, in a Series of Letters to William Beckford

Letter XX, June 16

The county is delightful; producing corn, wine, and oil in the greatest abondance: the fields are, at the same time, covered with a variery of the finest fruits; oranges, lemons, pomegrantes, almonds, pistachio-nuts, &c. These afforded us almost as agreeable an entertaiment as the consideration of the ruins from whence they sprint.

We dined with the bishop according to agreement, and rose from table convinced that the ancient Agrigentini could not possibly understand the true luxury of eating better than their descendants, to whom they have trasmitted a very competent portion both of their social virtues and vices. I beg their pardon for calling them vices. I wish I had a softer name for it; it looks like ingratitude for their hospitality, for which we owe them so much.

By particular kind of management they make the livers of thier fowls grow to a large size, and at the same time acquire a high and rich flavour. It is indeed a most incomparable dish; but the means of procuring it is so cruel, that I will not even trust it with you. Perhaps, without any bad intentions, you might mention it to some of your friends, they to other, till at last it might come into the hands of those that would be glad to try the experiments; and the whole race of poultry might ever have reason to curse me: let it suffice to say, that it occcsaions a painful and ligering death to the poor animal that, I know, is enough to make you wish never to taste of it, whatever the effect it may have upon others. (Patrick Brydone, A Tour through Sicily and Malta, Letter XX, June 16)

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1773 | Patrick Brydone, A Tour through Sicily and Malta, in a Series of Letters to William Beckford [First English Edition, 1773 ^*] (Boston, 1809).

1815 | Rene Martin Pillet, Views of England, During a Residence of Ten Years, Six of Them as a Prisoner of War, [First Edition: 1815] (Boston, 1818; Digitized by Google, 2007).

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