Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-02-01
pEyoRCEs
Ia Old Times and New.
Albany Law Journal.

Divorce existed in all ages a
Rome, and was always a private
act. For long time it was not
abused by Romans, but toward the
latter pait of the Republic and un.
der the empire divorces became
very common. Seneca notices this
laxity of manners, and Juvenal
! gives a remarkable instance of a
/ Roman matron who is said to have
gone the round of eight husbands in
/ five years. Pompey divorced his
wife Mucia. Cicero speaks of Paula
Valeria as being ready for serving
her husband with notice of divorce
ON his return from his province.
Cicero himself divorced his wife
Terentia after living with her forty
years. The husband generally took
the keys from his wife, put her out
of his house, gave her back her
doWry, and SO dissolved the mar
riage. This might be done in the
Wife's absence. Cicero divorced his
wife Terentia by letter.
The laws in the several Grecian
States regarding divorce were diff
ferent, and in some of them men
were allowed to put away wives on.
slight occasions. Among the Athen-
;ans either husband or wife might
take the first step. The wife might
leave the husband or the husband
might dismiss the wife. The Spar
tans seldom divorced their wives.
The Eghori fined Lysander for re-
pudiating his wife.
An Arab may divorce his wife on
the slightest occasion. So easy and
so common is the practice that
Burckhardt assures us that he has
seen Arabs not more than fOrty-five
years Of age who were known to
have had fifty wives, yet they rarely
have more than one at time.
BY the Mohammedan law man
may divorce his wife orally, and
without any ceremony; he pays her
pOrtion-generally One-third of
her dOWry. He may divorce her
and take her again without her con-
sent, but if he puts her away by q
triple divorce conveyed in the same
sentence he cannot receive her
again until she has been married
and divorced by another husband.
By the Jewish law it appears that
a wife could not divorce her hus-
band, but under the MOhammedan
code, for cruelty and some other
causes, she may divorce him.
Among the HindOOS, and also
among the Chinese, u husband may
divorce his wife upon the slightest
ground, or even without assigning
any reason. She is under the abs0-
Lutte control of her husband.
The law of France before the Rev
OlutiOn, following the judgment of
the Catholic Church, held marriage
to be indissoluble; but during the
revolutionary period divorce was
permitted at the pleasure of the
parties when incOmpatibility Of
temper was alleged. The Napoleon
code restricted this liberty. On the
restoration of the BOurbons IA law
was promulgated, May 8, 1916, de-
claring divorce to be abolished ; |
that all suits then pending for di-
vOrce, for definite cause, should be |
for separation only, and that all |
steps taken for mutual consent /
should be void, and such is now tine !
law of France.
The power of courts to grant linn
tied divorces is well settled in this |
country. Cruel and inhuman treat
ment and abandonment are frequent !
grounds of action. Austerity Of
temper, saIlies of passion, abusive
language and mere indignities to
the moral character or reputation Of /
his wife, vulgar or harsh language |
with such epithets that deeply |
wound the feelings and excite the
passions without any menace indi- |
eating violence to the person, do /
not afford sufficient grounds of di-
vOrce. If a wife render a husbands
condition intOlerable and his life
or if her condnct is
so violent and outrageous as to rem
der the proper discharge Of the
duties of married life impossible, it
is good ground OF separation from
her.