Page:The evolution of marriage and of the family ... (IA evolutionofmarri00letorich).pdf/160

 we have allowed thee thy wives unto whom thou hast given their dower, and also the slaves which thy right hand possesseth of the booty which God hath granted thee, and the daughters of thy uncle, and the daughters of thy aunts, both on thy father's side and on thy mother's side, who have fled with thee from Mecca, and any other believing woman, if she give herself unto the prophet." "O prophet, if believing women come to thee for an asylum, having promised thee that they will flee idolatry, that they will not steal, nor commit fornication, nor kill their children, and will not disobey thee in anything that is just: believe them and pray for them: God is indulgent and merciful." This last text gives a sad enough idea of the morality of the Arab women before the time of Mahomet; but taken together with the preceding one, it shows how convenient and even agreeable it is to be the interpreter of the Divine will.

With such facilities for recruiting, the harem of the prophet must have been richly furnished; therefore he has taken care to free himself from one duty which he recommends to others, of debitum conjugale: "Thou mayest," he says to himself, "either grant or refuse thy embraces to thy wives."

On the contrary, he says to vulgar believers: "Ye can by no means carry yourselves equally between wives in all respects, though you study to do it; therefore turn not from a wife with all manner of aversion, nor leave her like one in suspense; if ye agree and fear to abuse your wives, God is gracious and merciful."

Polygamy is not rare in the world. We have seen it and shall see it again in the course of our inquiries; but the polygamy of the Koran has an advantage over most of the others; it is at once celestial and terrestrial, for the paradise of true believers is only an ideal harem: "Say, O believer, what shall I declare of greater benefit for those who fear God, than gardens through which flow rivers of water, where they shall dwell for ever, and there shall be women, who are pure virgins, etc. Damsels having large black eyes. Therein shall be agreeable damsels, whom no man