The New York herald., 1922-07-09
By JULIUS MoRITzEN.

Sf11C8 WOnoertm picture OF the
women OF that day. The doors OF
hs Roman household are flung wide
open. and with that penetratiye
analytical skill which to-day marks
Br1ndes as almost alone In his par
Hc1lar field he searches out the
hooks and corners and brings into
the light new knowledge Of the men
and women OF Rome and the lands
that Julius Cesar laid captive. The
panorama that he unfolds furnishes
an aggregation Of lovely femininity.
side by side of which we find cruel
~. ltreacherousness infideaity. such
Is this age cannot conceive.
It Is perhaps true that other
writers have concerned themselves
with Roman society under julius
Cesar. But ii is not given to every
out and out historian to invest his
work with such picturesqueness as
Brandes has succeeded IN throwing
eround the characters after the lapse
o1 more than nineteen centuries
Herein lies his fascination as a
Friter of historical events. Casar's
relations with Cleopatra alone make
b chapter of unsurpassed virility.
During the later years Of his life."
eays Brandes. Cleopatra meant to
dim what Aspasia was to Pericles:
In object for his love and a scandal
"a the eyes of the envious"
Divorce Evil of the Day.
OF the many women whose names
are associated with Cesar's only
very few present a clear cut pic
ture. declares Brandes. In copnpari-
son with the men Of the time little
- known about the women The
historians of antiquity were not in
fer<sted in the sentimental side of
existence And yet the Danish critic
found plenty Of material for his
molding. Take the following. for in
stance: while it was said that
during fun 500 years no divorce
had taken place in Rome. In the
period that now occupies US a whim.
. quarrel. love affair. In particular
political interests. suficed to dis
solve the marriage pact. The incli-
bation to look on marriage as merely
formal grew constantly. They tell
u . lady who in the early years Of
fhe empire had eight husbands in
the course OF I'VE years The dis
position to make changes quickly Is
bvidenced by the actions of another
eady who brought II up TO twenty
three marriages. and her twenty
0ifd husband had in her his twenty
0rse wife
TN former years the head Of the
family possessed unlimited power
over every member. not only over
ne slaves but what we may term
Is all belonging to the household.
Life and death were in his hand.
Thf husband ruled absolutely over
his wife's person and property.
But that time was now long past
Woman had obtained rights and had
freed first her person and then her
property from the domination of her
husband Right of inheritance was
now hers. so that she could dispose
Ct win over property left her. She
had even succeeded in having set
tzide those laws that in former times
6ere decreed against luxury In dress
and expensive jewels.
"JestingIy. the Roman women OF
C4sar's time were referred to as the
rulers OF the masters OF the world.
Where they possessed fortunes they
kept their money affairs in good or
der. had as managers lawyers. who.
3 necessary. instituted lawsuits on
6heir account Should the husband
happen to get in money difficulties
Il was no rare thing for him to bor-
row OF his better half. who made
bin pay high interest Furthermore.
L was not an exceptional thing for
the handsome lawyer to become the
lady's best friend
I'm the circus the women sat
among the men. The same was the
case in the theaters. but here they
liked to occupy the upper rows where
they could be best observed. They
went there perhaps more for the