Dio's Rome, Volume 4: An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek During the Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus: and Now Presented in English FormCassius Dio Cocceianus
History
Dio's Rome, Volume 4: An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek During the Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus: and Now Presented in English Form
Cassius Dio Cocceianus
Rome -- History
At this period a clamor arose in the senate regarding the disorderly
conduct of the women and the young men, this being alleged as a reason
for the difficulty of persuading them to contract marriage; and when they
urged him to remedy this abuse also, meanwhile indulging in sarcasms
because he enjoyed the favors of many women, at first he made answer that
the most necessary restrictions had been laid down and that anything
further could not be defined in a similar fashion. Then, when he was
driven into a corner, he said: "You ought to admonish and command your
wives what you wish,--just as I myself do." When they heard that, they
plied him with questions all the more, wishing to learn the admonitions
which he said he gave Livia. Reluctantly thereupon he made a few remarks
about dress and about other adornment, about going out and modest
behavior on such occasions. He cared not at all that he did not make good
his words in fact. Something of the sort he had done also while censor.
They brought before him a young man who had married a woman after
seducing her, making the most violent accusations against him: Augustus
was at a loss what to do, not daring to overlook the affair nor yet to
administer any rebuke. After a very long time he heaved a deep sigh and
said: "The factional disputes have borne many terrible fruits: let us try
to forget them and give our attention to the future, to see that nothing
of the sort occurs again."
Inasmuch, too, as certain infants were obtaining by betrothal the honors
of married couples, but did not accomplish the object in view, he ordered
that no betrothal should be valid where a person did not marry before two
years had passed. That is, any one betrothed must be certainly ten years
old in order to reap any benefit from it. Twelve full years, as I have
said, is required by custom for girls to reach the marriageable age.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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