The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1920-03-29

The Double Standard.
Ulysses Had II.
Solomon Flaunted II.
Will Law End III
BY ARTHUR BRISBANE

by AN HUN bnlophI>I-
Copyright, 1900
A child must have its plaything,
a puppy it's bone, and grown men
their "problem" to keep them out
of mischief.
For the moment prohibition is
put aside, although there will be
some gnawing on that bone later.
Now to occupy mems minds there
is suggested "the single standard
of morals"
After the prohibition miracle
anything might be written into the
Constitution, even the Golden Rule,
and a gentleman from the South
may one day write the single
standard amendment.
Ordinarily you would take into
account what is called "human
nature" the settled habits Of hun
dreds of centuries.
But human nature and habit
were botli brushed aside in the
case of prohibition, and it might
be done again in suddenly inaugu-
rating a single standard, to make
men moral and pure, by law.
1t must not be thought that the
single standard idea is new.
In the fifth book of Homer's
Odyssey, written about 800 years
before the birth of Christ, the
beautiful Goddess Calypso COM
plains that the gentlemen gods
have one moral code for them
selves, another for goddesses and
nymphs. Calypso then had "Jove-
bred Ulysses" all to herself in her
cave on the island when Jupiter
sent word that Ulysses be sent
home to Penelope, patiently knit
ting and waiting. Angrily Calypso
denounces "the insatiate gods"
Chapman thus translates Calypso's
heart-cry for the single standard:
at afflicts your hearts,
That any goddess should, as you
The use of earthly danes, enjoy
the men,
And most in open marriage"
Homer himself, Judge Of gods
and heroes, tacitly indorses the
double standard. He has no criti-
cism of the admirable Ulysses or
Of what happened.
sThe sun set, and earth shadows
gave;
When these two Gin an in-room Of
the cave
Left to themselves) left love no
rites undone."
In those early days all that was
expected of a man was that he
should fight, swim, escape the
clutches of the one-eyed monster.
His wife was expected to supply
the moral qualities.
Consider also the story OF the
Queen of Sheba and Solomon all
told in one short chapter.
She travels from her little king.
dom on the southeast shore OF the
Red Sea all the way to Jerusalem,
bringing camels loaded with
jeweIry and spices, to behold Solo
mon and test his wisdom. When
she realized the wonderful things
that he did, owned and knew. she
was SO much impressed that there
was no more spirit in her."
She never held the double stand
ard up against Solomon. and the
Bible doesn't, for that matter. 1t
considers him a worthy son OF
David, although, as you learn IN
81
book Of Kings:
"King Solomon loved many
strange women, together with the
daughter of Pharaoh, women OF
the MOabites, AmmOnites, Ed0m-
ties, Sid0nians and Hittites."
Also in the third verse OF the
same chapter 1t is said:
aHe had seven hundred wives,
princesses, and three hundred con.
cubines."
There Is what you might call
liberal Interpretation of the double
standard in his own favor. The
Bible, as you plainly see, found
nothing much to criticise in Solo
mons double standard conduct ex-
cept for the fact that:
aWhen Solomon was old his
wives turned away his heart, after
other gods"
It wasn't his double standard
that injured Solomon's religious
standing, but the fact that:
"SoIOmOn went after Asht0reth,
the goddess of the SidOnians, and
after Milcom, the abomination OF
the Ammonites."
Hundreds of millions Of human
beings, generation after genera
ton, for nineteen hundred years,
have heard OF Solomon's conduct
without especially blaming him.
except for his building high places
"for all his strange wives, which
burnt incense and sacrifice unto
THAR podsv -