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their preſence a deed which their example had provoked; and the victim was led to ſlaughter like a diſtinguiſhed criminal of ſtate, whoſe life is ſacrificed not ſo much to atone to the violated laws of ſociety, as to gratify the caprice, or to promote the perverſe ambition of a tyrant. Yet even the venerable veil of religion, which covers a multitude of ſins, could hardly hide the horror of the act. By the pains that were taken to trick the animal into a ſeeming
conſent
