Page:The Ancient City- A Study on the Religion, Laws, and Institutions of Greece and Rome.djvu/105

 CHAP. VII. T.iE RIGHT OF SUCCESSION. 99 her.' If the deceased left only a daughter, his nearest of kind wag his heir; but this relative, who was of course also a near relative of the daughter, was required, nevei'theless, to marry her. More than this, if this daughter Avas already married, she was required to abandon her husband in order to marry her father's heir. The heir himself might be already married ; in this case, he obtained a divorce, in order to marry his relative.* We see here how completely ancient law ignored nature to conform to religion. The necessity of satisfying the requirements of re- ligion, combined with the desire of saving the interests of an only daughter, gave rise to another subterfuge. On this point Hindu law and Athenian law corre- spond marvellously. We read in the Laws of Manu, "He who has no male child may require his daughter to give him a son, who shall become his, and who may perform the funeral ceremonies in his honor." In this case the father was required to admonish the husbiind to whom he gave his daughter, by pronouncing tliis formula: "I give you this daughter, adorned with jew- els, who has no brother; the son born of her shall be my son, and shall celebrate my obsequies."^ The cus- tom was the same at Athens; the father could continue- ' Demosihcnc!'. in EubuL, 21. Flutavch, Themist., 32. Isseus, X. i. Corn. Ncpos, Cimon. It must be noted that the law did not permit marrying a uterine brother, or an emaneipated brother; it could be only a brother by the father's side, because the latter alone could inherit of the father. ' Isasus, III. 04; X. 5. Demosthenes, in Eubul., 41. The only daughter was called InixXi^oog, wrongly translated heiress ; it signifies the daughter who goes with the inheritance. In fact„ the daughter was never an heiress. ^ Laws ofManu, IX. 127, 13G. Vasishta, XVII. 16.