314 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [Sept., 1914. 



interest of the individual families would be identical with those 

 of the group. The family would already have paid a bride- 

 groom's price to get their daughter or sister married, and 

 would naturally be indisposed to pay a second, and probably 

 higher price to get her married again. The group, in its turn, 

 would be equally adverse to an arrangement which tended to 

 increase the number of marriageable women." 



Adultery and Divorce .—It is in regard to adultery that the 

 cruelty and injustice of men are most strongly shown. As for 

 the adultery of the husband men have been very slow in admit- 

 ting that it was a wrong of which the wife might complain, the 

 reason of this revolting partiality being very simple. Diderot 

 says that the tyranny of man has converted the possession of a 

 woman into a property. In all legislations she is more or less 

 openly considered as the property of the husband, and is very 

 often confounded with things possessed. To use her, therefore, 

 without the permission of the authority of the owner is a theft, 

 and human societies have never been tender to thieves. In 

 adultery, the object of the larseny, the wife, is a sentient and 

 thinking being, i.e., an accomplice in the attempt on her hus- 

 band's property in her own person. The husband has her in 

 his own keeping ; he can chastise her freely and satisfy his rage 

 on her without any harm being raised for her defence. When 

 the latter does not take on herself the punishment of the guilty 

 one, the husband will always have the public opinion and law 

 on his side. The code of Manu gives us a very complete infor- 

 mation in regard to the penalty for adultery in ancient India. 1 

 It is understood that the adultery of the husband ought not to 

 trouble the wife at all; although the conduct of her husband 

 may be blameworthy in such matters, the wife ought constantly 

 to revere him as a god. The adultery of the woman is natur- 

 ally quite another thing. To pay little attentions to a woman, 

 to send her flowers and perfumes, to frolic with her, to touch 

 her ornaments or vestments, to sit with her on the same couch, 

 are considered by wise men as proof of an adultress love. 1 



In human marriage, every degree of duration is met with 

 from unions which, though legally recognized as marriages, do 

 not endure long enough to deserve to be so called by others 

 which are only dissolved by death. Among high castes, death 

 alone separates husband and wife. In some castes, a man 

 repudiates his wife on the slightest provocation and mar- 

 ries again. Generally speaking, among members of various 

 castes, custom or law has limited the husband's power to dis- 

 pose of his wife permitting divorce under certain conditions. 

 Generally, the chief offence for which a wife can be divorced 

 is adultery. There are also other reasons for divorce— barren- 

 ness, lascivousness, loquacity, thievishness, and inveterate 





* Code of Manu, chap, v, page 154. 



