Page:The rights of women and the sexual relations.djvu/29

Rh hands of those whom nature had endowed with the requisite strength, the warlike passion. Who were they? The men! Consequently — women were less able, less privileged, less worthy than men. This sort of logic develops very naturally in practice, even if it is not expressly established, and the "right of the stronger" is the whole secret of it.

True enough, women who distinguished themselves by their intellect or virtue were highly respected. among the Athenians, and the appreciation of the most excellent of men was assured them, But the Aspasias were not numerous, even in Athens, and such exceptions as social life offered did not mitigate the unfavorable position in which the law and public opinion placed woman. Already the classification which was made of them (as partly also of men) can give an idea of how dependent and devoid of rights they were. They consisted, as we know, of three classes, the slaves, the freed women (out of which class the courtesans generally were recruited), and the free born Athenian ladies. It is self-evident that the first two classes occupied a subordinate position also with regard to the last class. But with regard to the men even these free born ladies were semi-slaves. The laws of Solon furnish the best estimate of their position. They acknowledge neither any right nor any inclination on the part of the woman. Fathers, brothers, and guardians