The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-05-18

the Lord commandeth that the wife de
| part not from her husband. And if sh
! depart that she remain unmarried, or b.
reconciled to her husband. And let no
the husband put away his wife"
Here we find the Apostle, in his Mas
| ter's name, commanding the separated
| couple to remain unmarried, without arr
| reference to the case Of adultery. If =
| impc rtant an exception existed. st. Pau
, would not have omitted to mention IT.
otherwise he would have rendered the
! Gospel yoke mere grieyious than its Foun-
der intended.
We must therefore admit that, accord
ing to the religion of Jesus Christ, conju-
gal infdelity does not warrant either
party TO marry again, or we are forced
to the conclusion that the vast number OF
Christians whose knowledge of Christian
ity was derived solely from the teachings
of Saints Mark, Luke and Paul were i'm
perfectly instructed in their faith.
The Catholic Church following the light
of the Gospel, forbtds a divorced man to
enter into second espousaIs during the life
OF his former partner. This IS the inf1ex-
fble law she first proclaimed in ths face OF
pagan emperors and people, and which she
has ever upheld, in spite of the passions
and voluptuousness Of her own rebellious
children.
Henry VIII, of England, once an obedi-
ent son and defender of the Church, con-
ceived, in an evil hour, d criminal attach
ment for Anne Boleyn, a lady of the
Queens household, whom he desired to
marry after being divorced from his lalw-
full consort, Catherine of Aragon. But
Pope Clement VII, whose sanction he So
icited, sternly refused to ratify the separ-
alton, though the Pontiff could have cas-
lily foroS2en that his determined action
WOULD involve the Church in persecution
and a whole nation in the unhappy scI1ism
of its ruler.
Had the Pope acquiesed in the repudta-
ton of Catherine and in the marriage Of
Anne Boyeyn, England would indeed have
been spared to the Church, but the Church
herself would have surrendered her peer
less title of Mistress of Truth.
When Napoleon 1. repudiated his devot-
ed wife, Josephine and married Marie
Louise, of Austria, so well assured was he
of the fruitlessness of his attempt to OBJ
tain from the Holy See the sanction of his
divorce and subsequent marriage that he
did not even consult the Holy Father on
the subject.
A few years previously Napoleon appeal
ed to Plus VII. to annul the marriage
which his brother Jerome had contracted
with Miss Patterson, of Baltimore. The
Pope sent the following reply to the EN-
peror:
Your Majesty will understand that up
on the Information thus far received by us
1t Is not in our power to pronounce a sem
tence of nullity. We cannot utter a ;u1g-
ment in opposition to the rules Of the
Church. and we could not, without laying
aside those rules, decree the invalidity of
a union which, according to the Word of
God, no human power can sunder."
The family is the source of society; the
wife is the source of the family. If the
fountain is not pure, the stream is sure to
be foul and muddy. Social life is the reflex
Of family life.
And if we would clearly understand
whittier as a nation we are drifting when
we forsake the Christian standard of NOR
tails and the Christian precepts concerning
the indissoluble nature of the marriage
tie, the history of women in pagan coun-
tries should eniighten us. Woman in
pagan countries, with rare exceptions, suf-
fered bondage. oppression and moral beg
radiation. She had no rights that the hus-
band felt bound tc respect
The domestic life of Greece, it is true,
was founded on monogamy But whilst
the law restricted the husband to one wife
as his hepmate and domestic guardian. it
tolerated and even sanctioned the hetairai.
who bore to him the relation of inferior
wives and who enjoyed his society more
frequently and received more homage
from him than his lawful spouse.
And whilst the education Of the wife was
OF most elementary character, the great
est care was lavished in cultivating the
minds Of the hetairai that they might en-
terrain their paramour by their wit while
they faciHated him with their charms.
The wife was the beast of burden: the mis-
tress was the petted and panpered ami
NAL
The hetairai derived additional impor-
lance from being legally chosen to offer
sacrifice on certain public occa sions. This
oemora-izing system. so far from being
deplored. was actually defended and pat
ronIzed by statesmen, philosophers and
leaders Of public opinion. such as Demos
themes, Pericles, Lysias, Aristotle and
Epicurus.
SCION erects in Athens a temple to Venus
the goddess of impure love. Greece is fun
Of such temples. whilst there is not one
erected to chaste, Conjugal love. No viz
tuous woman has ever left durable rec
ord in the history Of Greece. The husband
could put away his wife according TO his
capricious humor. and take fairer.
younger and richer bride He could dis
solve the marriage bond without other
formaiity than an attestation in writing
before the Archon: and the wife practic-
q ~ mad no power to refuse. as she was
completely under the dominion Of her hus-
band. She was mere chattel. marketab BILE
a VIII; nor had she any power to dissolve
the marriage without her husbands con
sent.
IN a word, the most distinguished Greek
writer's treat woman with 11ndise7Iisas
contempt; they describe her as a source o.
every eva to man. One Of their poets said
that marriage brings but two happy DAYS
10 the husband-the day of his espousals
and The day on which he lays his wife in
the tomb
ffesiod called women ian ac-7I~se6 brood
and CHIEF sco0rSe Of the human race
The daily PRAYER Of Socrates was
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