Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 15.pdf/538

 Woman and the Law in Babylonia and Assyria. During the Assyrian and Babylonish exile the Hebrews, contrary to their own habits, conformed to the practice of attesting mar riages by written instruments, if indeed we may judge from what Raguel did when he gave his very much-married daughter Sara in wedlock to her cousin Tobias; "he blessed them and called Edna his wife and took paper and did write an instrument of coven ants and sealed it." This story gives a re markable example of how eager young fel lows were, even in those days, to become the sons-in-law of wealthy men, however unin viting the lady fair might be; manage dc convenance is not a modern European inven tion; the murderous demon lover could not drive away suitors from Sara's side. (Tobit, ch. 6, 7 and 8.) If the wife brought no dowry with her, or even when she did, the husband was often required by the marriage contract to pay her a certain sum of money in case of a divorce. For instance, a marriage contract made in the thirteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar pro vides that if the husband married 'a second wife such act was to be equivalent to a divorce, and the husband w:as to pay over to the first wife her dowry and a maneh of silver (thirty dollars) as well. According to an early Sumerian law, while the repudiation of the wife by the husband was punishable only by a small fine, for the repudiation of the husband by the wife—that is, by adultery —the penalty was death. This law was in force in the days of Abraham, and a document of that date lays it down that if the wife is unfaithful to her husband she may be drowned, while it was provided that the husband could rid himself of his spouse by simply paying a maneh of silver. One Nebo-akhi-iddin, who married a singing woman in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, stipu lated in his marriage contract that if he should divorce her and marry another, he would pay her six manehs, but if she com mitted adulterv she should be slain with an

iron sword. Where the wife came from a wealthy ana respectable family it is not likeK that the husband in those late days would have dared to enforce the old Draconic laws against her; she was then considered on an equality with her lord. We do not know all the reasons that were sufficient to justify divorce. The language of the early laws seems to imply that orig inally it was quite enough to say, "Thou art not my wife," "Thou art not my husband," just as a Mahomedan may say to his wife, "Thou art divorced,'' and she must return to her parents; or the old Hebrew said, "Take thy dowry and go," or the ancient Roman, "Ttias res tibi habcto." The pecuniary penal ties following divorce doubtless kept the husband in check, except in special cases. Perhaps want of children may have been a sufficient reason for divorce; adultery was; and a second marriage in the lifetime of the first wife. Barrenness was a ground of divorce, and if a husband put away his wife for that rea son, he had to give her the marriage portion he had bestowed on her at the wedding and the dowry she brought him from her father's house; if there had been no wedding portion, he had to give her a maneh of silver. If she was found guilty of dissipating his substance and neglecting him, he was permitted easily to dispose of her by throwing her into the water. Extravagance on the wife's part en titled the husband to a divorce and he might send her away without any compensation; if he did not care about a divorce, but wished another wife, the extravagant one might be compelled to remain in the house of her wronged husband as a servant. Sickness of the wife was no ground of divorce; 'tis true, the husband might take another one, hut he could not cast out the invalid—he had to keep her in his house and support and main tain her until death them did part. If, how ever, the sick one on the arrival of number two desired to leave the house, the husband