Page:The whole familiar colloquies of Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam.djvu/325

THE UNEQUAL MARRIAGE. 321 although if it were my fortune to sit at the helm, I would banish them both from civil society. But if any one married one that was infected with this disease, who told her he was a sound man, and I were chosen pope, I would make this marriage void, although it had been confirmed by a thousand contracts. Pe. Upon what pretence, I wonder ? for marriage legally contracted cannot be disannulled by any human power. Ga. What 1 ? Do you think that legally contracted which is contracted treacherously ? A contract is not valid, if a slave palms himself upon a maid for a freeman, and she marries him as such. She that marries such a slave marries an errant slave ; and her slavery is so much the more unhappy, in that the lady Psora never makes any- body free ; that there is no comfortable hope of ever being delivered from this slavery. Pe. Indeed, you have found out a colour for it. Ga. And besides, there can be no such thing as marriage but between those persons that are living ; but in this case a woman is married to a dead man. Pe. You have found out another pretence. But I suppose you would permit pocky folks to marry pocky, that, according to the old proverb, there might be like to like. Ga. If it was lawful for me to act for the good of the public, I would suffer them to be married together, but I would burn them after they were married. Pe. Then you would act the part of a tyrant, not of a prince. Ga. Do you account a surgeon to be a tyrant who cuts off some of the fingers, or burns some part to preserve the whole body ] I do not look upon that to be cruelty, but rather mercy. And I wish this had been done when this distemper first appeared in the world ; then the public welfare of mankind had been consulted by the destruction of a few. And we find examples of this in the French histories. Pe. But it would be a gentler way to geld them, or part them asunder. Ga. And what would you have done to the women, pray ? Pe. I would padlock them up. Ga. That is one way, indeed, to prevent us from having more of the breed ; but I will confess it is a gentler way, if you will but own the other to be safer. Even those that are castrated have an itching desire upon them ; nor is the infection conveyed by one way only, but by a kiss, by discourse, by a touch, or by drinking with an infected party. And we find also that there is a certain malicious disposition of doing mischief peculiar to this distemper, that whoso- ever has it takes a delight to propagate it to as many as he can, though it does him no good. Now, if they be only separated, they may flee to other places, and may either by night impose upon persons, or on them that do not know them. But there can be no danger from the dead. Pe. I confess it is the safest way, but I cannot tell whether it is agreeable to Christian gentleness or no.

Ga. Prithee, tell me, then, from whom is there the most danger, from common thieves or from such cattle 1 Pe. I confess money is of much less value than health. Ga. And yet we Christians hang them, nor is it accounted cruelty, but justice ; and if you consider the public good, it is our duty so to do. Pe. But in this case the person is punished that did the injury. Ga. What, then these, I warrant you, are benefactors to the public 1 But let us suppose that some get this distemper without any fault of their own, though you will find that very few have it that do not get it by their own wickedness : the lawyers will tell you it is sometimes lawful to put the innocent to