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http://www.godrules.net/library/clarke/clarkejud1.htm
Book of Judges, Ch. 1 verse 1-7

After the death of Joshua the Israelites purpose to attack the remaining
Canaanites; and the tribe of Judah is directed to go up first, 1, 2. Judah
and Simeon unite, attack the Canaanites and Perrizites, kill ten thousand
of them, take Adoni-bezek prisoner, cut off his thumbs and great toes,
and bring him to Jerusalem, where he dies, 3-7

Verse 6. Cut off his thumbs] That he might never be able to draw his bow
or handle his sword, and great toes, that he might never be able to
pursue or escape from an adversary.

Verse 7. Threescore and ten kinds] Chieftains, heads of tribes, or military
officers. For the word king cannot be taken here in its proper and usual
sense.

Having their thumbs and their great toes cut off] That this was an ancient
mode of treating enemies we learn from AElian, who tells us, Var. Hist. l.

ii., c. 9, that "the Athenians, at the instigation of Cleon, son of Cleaenetus,
made a decree that all the inhabitants of the island of AEgina should have
the thumb cut off from the right hand, so that they might ever after be
disabled from holding a spear, yet might handle an oar." This is
considered by AElian an act of great cruelty; and he wishes to Minerva,
the guardian of the city, to Jupiter Eleutherius, and all the gods of Greece,
that the Athenians had never done such things. It was a custom among
those Romans who did not like a military life, to cut off their own thumbs,
that they might not be capable of serving in the army. Sometimes the
parents cut off the thumbs of their children, that they might not be called
into the army. According to Suetonius, in Vit. August., c. 24, a Roman
knight, who had cut off the thumbs of his two sons to prevent them from
being called to a military life was, by the order of Augustus, publicly sold,
both he and his property. These are the words of Suetonius: Equitem
Romanum, quod duobus filis adolescentibus, causa detractandi
sacramenti, pollices amputasset, ipsum bonaque subjecit hastae. Calmet
remarks that the Italian language has preserved a term, poltrone, which
signifies one whose thumb is cut off, to designate a soldier destitute of
courage and valor. We use poltroon to signify a dastardly fellow, without
considering the import of the original. There have been found frequent
instances of persons maiming themselves, that they might be
incapacitated for military duty. I have heard an instance in which a
knavish soldier discharged his gun through his hand, that he might be
discharged from his regiment. The cutting off of the thumbs was probably
designed for a double purpose: 1.

To incapacitate them for war; and, 2. To brand them as cowards.

Gathered their meat under my table] I think this was a proverbial mode of
expression, to signify reduction to the meanest servitude; for it is not at
all likely that seventy kings, many of whom must have been
contemporaries, were placed under the table of the king of Bezek, and
there fed; as in the houses of poor persons the dogs are fed with crumbs
and offal, under the table of their owners.

He now feels himself reduced to that state to which he had cruelly reduced
others. Those acts in him were acts of tyrannous cruelty; the act towards
him was an act of retributive justice.

http://www.ccel.org/h/henry/mhc2/MHC07001.HTM

We are told how the army of the Canaanites was routed in the field, in or
near Bezek, the place where they drew up, which afterwards Saul made
the place of a general rendezvous (1 Sam. xi. 8); they slew 10,000 men,
which blow, if followed, could not but be a very great weakening to those
that were already brought so very low. 2. How their king was taken and
mortified. His name was Adoni-bezek, which signifies, lord of Bezek.
There have been those that called their lands by their own names (Ps.
xlix. 11), but here was one (and there has been many another) that called
himself by his land's name. He was taken prisoner after the battle, and
we are here told how they used him; they cut off his thumbs, to disfit him
for fighting, and his great toes, that he might not be able to run away, v.
6. It had been barbarous thus to triumph over a man in misery, and that
lay at their mercy, but that he was a devoted Canaanite, and one that had
in like manner abused others, which probably they had heard of.
Josephus says, "They cut off his hands and his feet," probably supposing
those more likely to be mortal wounds than only the cutting off of his
thumbs and his great toes. But this indignity which they did him extorted
from him an acknowledgment of the righteousness of God, v. 7. Here
observe, (1.) What a great man this Adoni-bezek had been, how great in
the field, where armies fled before him, how great at home, where kings
were set with the dogs of his flock; and yet now himself a prisoner, and
reduced to the extremity of meanness and disgrace. See how changeable
this world is, and how slippery its high places are. Let not the highest be
proud, nor the strongest secure, for they know not how low they may be
brought before they die. (2.) What desolations he had made among his
neighbours: he had wholly subdued seventy kings, to such a degree as to
have them his prisoners; he that was the chief person in a city was then
called a king, and the greatness of their title did but aggravate their
disgrace, and fired the pride of him that insulted over them. We cannot
suppose that Adoni-bezek had seventy of these petty princes at once his
slaves; but first and last, in the course of his reign, he had thus deposed
and abused so many, who perhaps were many of them kings of the same
cities that successively opposed him, and whom he thus treated to please
his own imperious barbarous fancy, and for a terror to others. It seems
the Canaanites had been wasted by civil wars, and those bloody ones,
among themselves, which would very much facilitate the conquest of them
by Israel. "Judah," says Dr. Lightfoot, "in conquering Adoni-bezek, did, in
effect, conquer seventy kings." (3.) How justly he was treated as he had
treated others. Thus the righteous God sometimes, in his providence,
makes the punishment to answer the sin, and observes an equality in his
judgments; the spoiler shall be spoiled, and the treacherous dealer dealt
treacherously with, Isa. xxxiii. 1. And those that showed no mercy shall
have no mercy shown them, Jam. ii. 13. See Rev. xiii. 10; xviii. 6. (4.)
How honestly he owned the righteousness of God herein: As I have done,
so God has requited me. See the power of conscience, when God by his
judgments awakens it, how it brings sin to remembrance, and subscribes
to the justice of God. He that in his pride had set God at defiance now
yields to him, and reflects with as much regret upon the kings under his
table as ever he had looked upon them with pleasure when he had them
there. He seems to own that he was better dealt with than he had dealt
with his prisoners; for though the Israelites maimed him (according to the
law of retaliation, an eye for an eye, so a thumb for a thumb), yet they
did not put him under the table to be fed with the crumbs there, because,
though the other might well be looked upon as an act of justice, this would
have savoured more of pride and haughtiness than did become an
Israelite

http://www.gospelcom.net/eword/comments/judges/gill/large/judges1.htm

Bajazet the Turk was humiliated by Tamerlane, who put him into an iron
cage, and carried him about in it, and used him as his footstool to mount
his horse, and at times fed him like a dog with crumbs from his table

====================

Galatians vi. 'Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.'

All who take the sword will perish by the sword.
- Gospel of Matthew

Those who wrongfully kill men are only putting their weapons into

the hands of others who will in turn kill them.

- Taoism, Treatise on Response and Retribution

Ashes fly back in the face of him who throws them.
- Yoruba Proverb, Nigeria

For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.
- Bible, Old Testament Book of Hosea

How do all the formative forces of the universe come then? By struggling,
competition, conflict. Suppose that all the particles of matter were held in
equilibrium, would there be then any process of creation? We know from
science that it is impossible. Disturb a sheet of water, and there you find
every particle of the water trying to become calm again, one rushing
against the other; and in the same way all the phenomena which we call
the universe - all things therein - are struggling to get back to the state of
perfect balance. - Vivekananda

Even the body is a state of consciousness only; it is not an object which
exists ultimately. It appears to be there, but it is really not there. This
'you' and 'I' and all that are phantoms. You have made a gulf of difference
between You and I, which is not really there. It is a mistake that the mind
makes. Just as in dreams persons are there, but are really not there,
they are only split parts of the same mind, one appearing as the I, the
other appearing as you and both are integrated in the single mind in a
certain condition.

- Swami Krishnananda

Facets of Spirituality Complied by S. Bhagyalakshmi Motilal Banarsidass,
Delhi, 1986

===================

CHARACTER AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

The Declaration of Independence tells us we all have an inalienable right
to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

Unfortunately, too many Americans, especially young ones, believe that
they are entitled not simply to pursue happiness but to actually be happy.
And if they're not, they feel resentful. This breeds an "I deserve it"
mentality and "whatever-it-takes" strategies that justify even lying and
cheating to help them get or keep the things they think will make them
happy.

Yes, in a free country we do have a right to pursue personal happiness,
but we also have inalienable moral responsibilities to be good and decent
people. There's nothing wrong with wanting and going after money,
possessions, power and status provided we do so honorably. Ethical
principles like honesty, fairness and respect are ground rules for the
pursuit of happiness.

But the deeper question is: Is the pursuit of happiness an adequate
life goal? Helen Keller said, "True happiness is not attained through
self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose."

The men who signed the Declaration of Independence were not simply
pursuing happiness. Instead, they pledged their "lives, fortunes and
sacred honor" to establish a government based on moral principles. This
took character. And character is what life is really about. According to
philosopher George Santayana, "Character is the basis
of happiness and happiness is the reward of character."

If this sounds out of touch with your reality, maybe it's because you don't
sufficiently appreciate your moral potential and the enormous and
enduring sense of happiness that can come from the pursuit of goodness.

- Michael Josephson, charactercounts.org

Michael Josephson comments on his work:

It was six years and more than 1,500 commentaries ago that I was
invited to broadcast a daily 90-second editorial about ethics and
character. I couldn't resist. How hard could it be? After all, with 20 years
as a law professor and business entrepreneur and 10 more
as a stand-up philosopher called an ethicist, I had a mental closet full of
stories and quotations that I was eager to share.

Well, to be honest, it's gotten a lot harder. It's added two to three hours a
day to the demands of my job as the CEO of the Joseph and Edna
Josephson Institute of Ethics (founded and named in honor of my
parents). And with the ever-growing demands of five children
(including four girls ranging from 5 to 9), I rarely finish writing before
3:00 am. I've often been so exhausted that I've thought of giving it up.
But I can't -- at least not yet.

Radio is a strange medium. You don't see anyone you're talking to, so you
just have to trust that there really are people out there listening and that
at least some of them care about what you have to say. And because my
thoughts are formulated and recorded in
solitude, it's easier to speak from the heart without inhibition. As a result,
I feel an intimate bond with thousands of you who I regard as unmet
friends.

To one who sees himself as a teacher it's a great honor and opportunity to
reach so many minds all over the world and it's especially gratifying
when some of you write to say that you've
found value in my efforts. I thank you with my full heart for letting me be
with you every day.

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