Women Under Early Christian Law. the ill use of the body, go astray from the law of God and perniciously and abominably corrupt it, a man may without crime put away his wife, and a wife her husband, because the Lord excepted the cause of fornication." When Constantine came to the throne the laws of the State allowed divorce for other causes besides adultery : a man could divorce his wife, if she was an adulteress, a sorceress or a bawd; and a woman could put away her husband if he was a murderer, a sorcerer or a robber of graves, but not for being a drunkard, a gamester, or a fornicator. Thus early do we see the sinning husband treated more leniently than the unfaithful wife. The spirit of license and liberty had now mounted into high places; the Emperor Honorius by one of his laws allowed a man for great crimes to put away his wife and recover both his espousal gift and dowry and marry again as soon as he pleased, and for lesser faults he might put her away did he choose to lose the dowry, and abstain from matrimony for two years. Theodosius ob jected to the heavy penalties that had been laid upon husbands and wives dissolving marriage; and in 449 passed a law enacting that, " If any woman found her husband to be an adulterer, or a murderer, or a sorcerer, or attempting anything against the govern ment, or guilty of perjury; or could prove him to be a robber of graves, or of churches, or upon the highway, or a receiver, or encourager of robbers, or guilty of plagiary [not the literary kind] or man-stealing; or that he associated openly, in her sight, with lewd women; or that he insidiously made attempts against her life, by poison or sword or any other way; or that he beat her with stripes contrary to the dignity of free-born women : in all such cases she had liberty to right herself by a bill of divorce and make her separation good against him at law." In like manner, " if the husband could prove
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his wife to be an adulteress, or a sorceress, or a murderer, or a plagiary, or a robber of graves or of churches, or a harborer of rob bers; or that she feasted with strangers against his knowledge or his will; or that she lodged out all night, without any just or probable cause, against his consent; or that she frequented the games of the circus, or the theatre, or the place where the gladiators or fencers are used to fight, against his pro hibition; or that she attempted his life in any way; or was partaker with any one that conspired against the government, or guilty of any false witness or perjury, or laid bold hands upon her husband": in all these cases the man had equal liberty to give his wife a bill of divorce, and make his action good against her at law. If the woman divorced herself for any other than any of the afore said reasons she forfeited her dowry and her espousal gifts, and had to remain five years unmarried; if she did not wait she was reputed infamous and her marriage reckoned as nothing. If the wife rightly proved her case, she kept the dowry and gifts and could marry again within a year. So, if the man proved his case, he kept the dowry and gifts andValentinian could marry III. again abolished so soon divorce as he by pleased. mere mutual consent, which (notwithstanding Constantine forbidding it) had again come into vogue. But Anastasius, in 497, turned round again and allowed it and permitted the woman to marry after waiting one year. The far-famed Justinian in 528 re-enacted the Theodosian laws, and added another valid cause of divorce, namely, imbecility in the man : afterwards he allowed men to divorce their wives, if they practised abortion, or went to the common baths with other men, or endeavored while married to be married to another man. Although he abolished some ancient laws which allowed divorce for light and trivial causes, he yet kept the door
