The Arabs at the present day have an ancient law apparently founded upon the above, though in a reverse position and partaking of a strong moral obligation,--viz., If a descendant of "Hagar's offspring"--Ishmael--shall commit a murder, _among his own race_, the _Father_ of the assassin is given to the executioner,--upon the ground of argument, that the Father had not educated his son correctly,--for if he had, the child would not have committed the homicide! This law has a strong tendency to prevent crime, for the Son would not only give his Father to the sword, and thus become a parricide,--but, worse (in the estimation of the Arabs), he would cast upon his Sire's memory, the lasting infamy of having neglected his own offspring. To prevent this hazard, the Spartan child was educated by the State. Noah's sentence upon his youngest grandson, for the crime of that child's father, has never been repeated from that day to the present period, or imbodied in a code of laws,--yet has that sentence been literally accomplished upon Canaan and his descendants. The scriptural reader may, however, believe that the _principle_ of the above is again repeated in the Decalogue;--it is true that a curse is there placed in contrast to a blessing,--but (with humility we submit) that is upon a point of Religious worship only. "Thou shalt have _no other Gods_ before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any _graven image_ [statue], or any likeness of any thing that is in Heaven above [Sun, Moon, or Stars], or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.--Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them [_i. e._ Idols], nor serve them: for I the LORD thy GOD am a jealous GOD, visiting the iniquity _of the fathers upon the children_ unto the _third_ and fourth _generation_ of them that _hate_ me [_i. e._ worship other Gods], and shewing mercy unto thousands [_i. e._ of generations] of them that love me, and keep my commandments." [_i. e. not_ to worship Idols.] (Ex. xx.) We repeat that the above sentence concerns _Religious_ worship only, and not for any _personal_ act,--for that is covered by the after-laws upon the same Tablets,--and in regard to the crime committed by the father of Canaan, it is especially alluded to in Leviticus [xviii. 7].