The New York herald., 1922-07-09

<klL1C UofiucfIuI pNtuIe oi tuc
women OF that day. The doors OF
<hs Roman household are flung wide
open. and with that penetratiye
analytical skill which to-day marks
Brandes as almost alone In his par
ficular field he searches out the
hooks and corners and brings into
the Hight 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
~. treacherousness infidelity. such
Is this age cannot conceive.
It Is perhaps true that other
writers have concerned themselves
with Roman society under Julius
Caesar. But 1t 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
p1 more than nineteen centuries
Herein lies his fascination as a
writer of historical events. Casar's
relations with Cleopatra alone make
b chapter of unsurpassed virility.
During the later years of his life."
says Brandes. Cleopatra meant to
dim what Aspasia was to Pericies:
IN object for his love and a scandal
IN the eyes of the envious-"
Divorce Evil of the Day.
OF the many women whose names
ore associated with Cesar's only
very few present clear cut pic
ture. declares Brandes. In compari-
son with the men of the time little
ts known about the women The
historians of antiquity were not in
fec<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 IL was said that
during fun 500 years no divorce
had taken place In Rome. In the
period that now occupies US a whim.
3 quarrel. a love affair. In particular
political interests. suficed to dis
solve the marriage pact The incii-
bation to look on marriage as merely
eormal grew constantly. They ten
e q 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
nvidenced by the actions of another
lady who brought II up to twenty
three marriages. and her twenty
&hird 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
as 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 viii over property left her. She
had even succeeded in having set
aside those laws that in former times
6ere decreed against luxury In dress
and expensive jewels.
~Jestingiy. the Roman women OF
c1sar'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.
b necessary, instituted lawsuits on
6heir account Should the husband
happen to get in money difficulties
h was no rare thing for him to bor-
row OF his better half. who made
bin pay high interest Furthermore.
Il was not an exceptional thing for
the handsome lawyer to become the
lady's best friend
"Tn 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