Here is a concise summary of the provided text:
**Title:** Historical Forms of Cruel Punishment
**Summary:**
* The text describes various inhumane punishments from history, aiming to evoke fear and deter crime.
* Specific punishments mentioned:
1. **"Death by Showing"**: Hanging upside down, then cut from top to bottom, increasing brain blood pressure until death.
2. **"The Square"**: A device inserted into the mouth, causing the victim to fall into a hole, leading to death.
3. **Ancient Greek and Roman Punishments**:
* Imprisoning people in devices that amplified their screams while being burned alive.
* Tying humans to poles, setting them ablaze as lamp posts (attributed to Emperor Nero).
* **"Quartering"**: Tying limbs to four horses, pulling in different directions, causing a gruesome death.
* These punishments were used for crimes like theft, robbery, rape, and blasphemy, with the goal of instilling fear and maintaining social control.
* The text concludes by questioning the validity of such punishments in the context of modern human rights and encouraging discussion.
Here are the extracted key facts, keeping each fact as a short sentence and excluding opinions:
1. **Historical Punishment Method**: In Europe, a punishment called "Death by Showing" involved hanging a person upside down, then cutting them from top to bottom until water reached their stomach, causing death.
2. **Origins of "Death by Showing"**: The originator of "Death by Showing" as a punishment is unknown, but its purpose was to maximize pain and public spectacle.
3. **Physiological Effect**: Hanging a person upside down increases blood pressure in the brain, keeping them alive until significant blood loss occurs.
4. **Spread of Punishment Practices**: Punishment practices, including "Death by Showing", spread from Europe to India.
5.. **Case of Bhai Matidas**: Bhai Matidas, a minister of Guru Teg Bahadur, was given a cruel punishment by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb for not converting to Islam.
6. **"The Square" Punishment Device**: Introduced in 1627, "The Square" was a device used to punish thieves, involving a square-shaped mouthpiece that, when opened, would cause fatal injuries.
7. **Application of "The Square"**: This device was initially used for thieves but later applied to those who spoke against the state, religion, or practiced certain social vices.
8. **Historical Context of Punishments**: Many cruel punishments were common worldwide in the past due to the absence of modern judicial systems like democracy.
9. **Fear as a Deterrent**: The primary goal of public, cruel punishments was to instill fear and prevent criminal behavior.
10. **Athens, Greece (500-70555)**: Citizens were given punishments disproportionate to their crimes, with names that inspired terror.
11. **"The Bull" Punishment Device**: Invented by Perilous in ancient Rome, this device imprisoned a person, then converted their screams into a sound like a bull, culminating in a fatal outcome.
12. **Roman Emperor Hadrian's Brutality**: Hadrian brutally killed a man, his wife, and children using a punishment device.
13. **Nero's Garden Party Atrocity (Roman Era)**: Nero tied humans to poles, set them alight, and used them as lamps in a garden party, watched by Roman friends.
14. **"Quartering" as a Punishment**: This involved tying a person's limbs to four different horses, pulling them in opposite directions, causing a gruesome death.
15. **Historical Capital Crimes**: Crimes like rape, murder, and blasphemy were often punished with death or severe torture.
16. **Evolution of Capital Crimes Definition**: Definitions of capital crimes have evolved over time, differing significantly from those in the past.