Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1869-08-05
Ranan WfIes-


The legal position Of. the Roman wife
was for long period, extremely low. The
Roman family was constituted on tho prin-
ciple of the absolute authority Of its head,
who had the power OF life and leath both
over his wife and over his children, and
who could repudiate the former at will
Neither the custom of gifts TO the fsthef OF
the bride, nor the custom of dowries ap-
pears TO have existed in the earliest period
of Roman history; but the father disposed
absolutely of the hand of his daughter,
and sometimes possessed the power OF
breaking off marriages that had actually
been contracted. In the forms of marriage,
however, which were usual IN the earlier
periods of Rome, the absolute power pass
ed into the hands Of her husband, and he
had the right. in some cases, of fputtlng her
to death. Law and public opinion CON-
bined in making matrimonial purity. more
strict. For $40 years, it was said there vas
no such thing as a divorce in Rome and
even after this example, for many years the
marriage tie was regarded rs absoltely in
dissoluble. Manners were so severe that q
Senator was censured for indecency because
he had kissed his wife in the presence OF
their daughter. 1t was considered in a
high degree disgraceful for Roman moth
er to delegate to nurse the duty OF suck
ling her. Sumptuary laws regulated, with
the most minute severity al the details OF
domestic economy. The courtesan class,
though probably numerous, and certainly
uncontrolled, were regarded with much
contempt. The disgrace of publicly pro-
Tossing themselves members of twas be-
lieved to be a sufficient punishment; and
an old law, which was probably intended
to teach in symbol the duties Of married
life, enjoined that no such person should
touch the altar of Juno. 1t was related OF
certain edile, that he fsiled to obtain
redress for sn assault which had been made
upon him, because it had occurred in a
house of ill-.ame, in which it was disgrace
ful for Roman magistrate to be found
The sanctity of female purity was believed
to be attested by all Nature. The most
savage female became tame before a virgin.
When a woman walkednaked round afield,
cater ,illars and loathsome insects fell dead
before her. 1t was said that drowned men
foated ON their backs, and drowned wo-
men ON their faces; and this, in the opin-
ion OF Roman -naturnli sts, was due 10 the
superior purity of the latter. sfn ri
It was remarked of Anstotic, that the
superiority of the Greeks to the barbarians
was shown, among other things, in the
fact that the Greeks did not, like other
nations, regard their wives as slaves, but
treated them as helpnates and compan-
ions A Roman writer has appealed, ON
the whole with greater justice, to the treat
ment Of wives by his fellow-countrymen,i as
a proof Of the superiority Of Roman to
Greek civilization He has observed that,
while the Greeks kept their wives in, a
special quarter in the interior of their
houses, and neverpermitted them to sit at
banquets, except with their relatives. no
Roman ever hcsiated to lead his Wife with
him to the banquet, or to place the mother
of the family at the head of his table,
Whether, in the period when wives were
completely subject 70 their husbands, much
domestic expressions occurred it is now
impossible TO say. A temple dedicated to
a goddess naued Viriplace, whose mission
| it was to appalse husbands, was worship
| ped BIZ Roman women on the Palatine, and
a strange and improbable, ifnot incredible
story is relsed by Livy, of the discovery,
during the republic, of a vast conspiracy Of
Roman wives to poison their husbands
On the Whole, however, it is probable that
the Roman matron was from the earliest
period, q name of honor; that the beautiful
| sentence of q jurisconsult of the empire,
who defined marriage as a lifelong fellow
ship OF all divine and human rights, ex-
pressed most faithfully the feelings of the
people and thai female virtue shone In
every age conspicuously in Roman biog-
raphies. yo -t