Weevils are native to the West African continent and are the largest population in the insect kingdom. The small body length is 0.3 cm, and the large can reach about 10 cm. Most species have wings and a long muzzle, like the long nose of an elephant, hence the Weevil. But unlike elephants' noses, the weevil's nose is a sharp tool for them to chew.
The natural enemies of the weevil are only one or two kinds of bees, and the threat to the object snout is not large, so the weevil can reproduce and expand unscrupulously, and is a strong group of insects. Weevils eat cotton, pine trees, rice, as well as bananas, sugar cane, oil palm, bamboo shoots, vines, like to eat human cash crops, and farmers who grow these crops are not willing to go. Generations of people, in the long run, have formed a deep grudge.
In the Middle Ages of Europe, in the Saint-Jean region, the famous wine region of France, the slopes of the hills are full of vine branches and a bumper harvest in sight. Unexpectedly, the weevils made a big move and preemptively held a feast, eating all the leaves on the vines, leaving only the bare vines.
The villagers of St. Julian were so angry that they elected a representative and sued the weevil in the inquisition.
Weevils harm crops, find a way to kill it, sue the bugs, isn't it too ridiculous, is it true or false?
You should not say that in medieval Europe, the recourse to law of animals (including insects) was not only true and necessary, but also a matter of necessity.
Animals have the right to a defence, they can hire a lawyer, the proceedings are exactly the same as those of people, and there are cases where humans and animals are co-offenders, animals are pardoned, and people are executed.
Once, a farmer rode into the city on a donkey, and the donkey was frightened and killed an old woman. The farmer and the donkey were prosecuted together, and the court handed down a sentence of death.
At the time of the execution, onlookers saw the magistrate rushing with a pardon order, and everyone thought that the farmer had saved him. Who knew that the magistrate had saved the donkey, and the unlucky farmer had been hanged.
This kind of thing, which now seems absurd, was commonplace and considered fair and just in europe, when the Christian church was the spiritual pillar, God was the absolute authority, and the biblical doctrine could not be violated by anyone.
St. Julian's weevils have held a feast of grape leaves without the villagers' permission, in fact, more than once, and the weevils have been dried like this a few years ago. At that time, a court of clergy, after trial, held that:
Weevils were sent by God, and their act of eating grape leaves is God's will. Because many villagers are not godly enough, they do not pay taxes in a timely manner, and they have less generosity to the church.
The weevil is the wrath of God, and the only way to deliver is through the repentance of all the villagers and the holding of a mass Mass. The villagers complied.
It seems that God's wrath has thus dissipated, and the weevil has indeed not returned for several years. But the comeback made the villagers angry, and they didn't make a mistake.
Everyone believes in God, and although many children are still starving, people still put all their money into the priest's alms plate to decorate the dome of the church.
To be fair, a lawyer was appointed as the defence counsel for the weevil, and the prosecution and defence commenced proceedings under the auspices of the priest.
The plaintiffs argued that the weevils that ate the grape leaves this time were the same guys from a few years ago, at least their offspring. Severe punishment should be given and expulsion from the church.
The weevil defense lawyer argued that there was nothing wrong with his client because the Bible says that although God created inferior animals to make them inferior to man, he gave them the right to eat every green plant, and the weevils simply exercised their rights.
The plaintiff countered that inferior animals created by God should obey human beings, and that weevils should also bear corresponding legal responsibilities according to the rule that human beings cannot infringe on the legitimate rights and interests of others.
The prosecution and defense have their own opinions and disputes. The defendants didn't seem to take the courtroom seriously. During the trial, they organized several more eating competitions and swept the remaining vines of Saint-Julian again.
Under pressure from the parties, the plaintiff decided to take a step back and set aside an area in Saint-Julian as the territory of the weevil; the weevils gave up reciprocally and no longer ate the vines outside the territory, and the two sides reached a settlement.
However, the weevil defense lawyer categorically rejected the settlement proposal because, after on-the-spot investigation, he felt that the vines in the territory provided by the villagers were not luxuriant and the leaves produced were not enough for the survival needs of the weevil family, so he preferred to accept the court's fair verdict.
Eight months later, the court finally rendered a verdict on the elephant trunk worm case, but because the last page of the judgment that was kept in the file was eaten by the bugs, the verdict is now unknown. It is likely that the result is unfavorable to the nasal worm, otherwise the worm would not have eaten the verdict!
Although this case seems ridiculous, people in later generations still have some opinions on this case.
Some argue that, although this case occurred in the European medieval period from the 5th century to the 15th century AD, it is the same as other animal trials of the same period, reflecting a value of equality and fraternity in the Western world based on the Christian faith;
Some people believe that the sending of the weevil to court reflects not ignorance and superstition, but the concept of the supremacy of law, which has the symbolic significance of social civilization and progress;
The christian and biblical doctrines as spiritual sustenance and codes of conduct are beyond reproach in themselves, and there is no doubt that from the point of view of fraternity, respect for and care for all life, including animals, is beyond doubt.
But if religious beliefs are radicalized or used as a means and means of domination, it is a different matter. For example, if we falsely preach God's will and obtain the property of the villagers in the name of animals, it is not fraternity, but a hateful cunning and hypocrisy.
Animals in nature are only living according to the laws of nature, and even if animals occasionally "violate" the laws of nature and do "wrong" or "illegal" things, they are mostly caused directly or indirectly by people, and it should always be people, not animals, who need to be brought to court. In this sense, the case of pardoning donkeys and executing farmers seems to have some legitimacy.
The plaintiffs decided to take a step back and set aside an area in Saint-Julian as weevil territory; after on-the-spot investigation, the weevil defense lawyers felt that the territorial output was difficult to maintain the survival of the weevil family, preferring to accept a fair court judgment, which is of practical guidance today.
It is indeed time for human beings to give in not only one step, but also a few more steps to the animals of nature! If someone is still unwilling to give in even one step, human law should absolutely play a coercive role at this time, uphold justice for the animals in nature, and make a fair judgment that conforms to the laws of nature and is in the long-term interests of mankind!
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="75" > reference:</h1>
Liu Runtang: "Trial of The Weevil" (Encyclopedia Exploration, Big Technology, No. 2, 2008)