Christianity, which taught that the earthly country was of no account, and taxed with impurity all that related to sexual union, made marriage a sacrament, and consequently an institution quite apart from humble considerations of social utility. All sexual union outside marriage was reputed criminal; the ideal preached to women was the mystic marriage with God. The pious Constantine increased all the penalties against sexual crimes. Adultery became again a capital offence; the woman guilty of marrying a slave was condemned to death;[624] marriage was declared indissoluble; second marriages were blameworthy. At the same time the fathers of the Church and the preachers did not cease to utter their thunders against woman, disparaging her, and abusing her as an impure creature, almost devilish. This encouraged the severe legislation of the barbarians in conjugal matters. I have previously mentioned some traits of these brutal laws. I shall return to them in speaking of questions connected with marriage, which remain still to be treated of--adultery, divorce, and widowhood. We shall then see how hurtful the influence of Christianity has been on marriage, and we shall come to the conclusion that in order to manage earthly affairs well, it is not good to keep our looks constantly raised to the skies. FOOTNOTES: [560] Exodus, xxi. 8-10. [561] Genesis, ii. 24. [562] Deut., ch. xxii., ver. 13-21. [563] Hovelacque, _L’Avesta_, p. 396. [564] _Code of Manu_, book ix. pp. 5-17. [565] _Code of Manu_, v. pp. 147, 148. [566] _Ibid._ [567] _Ibid._ ix. p. 90. [568] _Ibid._ p. 93. [569] _Ibid._ p. 94. [570] _Ibid._ iii. pp. 51, 53. [571] _Ibid._ book iii. [572] _Ibid._ book iii. pp. 171, 172. [573] _Ibid._ pp. 14, 15. [574] _Code of Manu_, book iii. p. 19. [575] _Ibid._ p. 17. [576] _Ibid._ pp. 4-10. [577] _Ibid._ ix. pp. 46, 47. [578] Somerset, _Hist. Univ. des Voy._, t. xxxi. p. 352. [579] _Id._, _ibid._ p. 341. [580] _Id._, _ibid._ p. 350. [581] _Id._, _ibid._ p. 350.--_Lettres édifiantes_, t. x. p. 23. [582] _Iliad_, ii., vii., viii. [583] Goguet, _Orig. des Lois_, t. ii. p. 60. [584] _Odyssey_, xiv. [585] _Ibid._ i. [586] Cavallotti, _La Sposa di Menecle_ (notes), p. 246. [587] _Id._, _ibid._ p. 239. [588] Lycurgus, xxvi. [589] Plutarch, _Apophthegms of the Lacedemonians_.--_Demandes Romaines_, lxv. [590] Solon, xxxviii. [591] Lycurgus, xxxvii. [592] Demosthenes, cf. Step. ii.; in Cavallotti, _loc. cit._ [593] Isaeus, _Heritage of Menecles_, §§ 5-9. [594] Demosthenes, _Against Aphobus_. [595] _Id._, _For Phormion_. [596] Isaeus, _Succession of Pyrrhus_. [597] _Nic. Ethics_, viii. 14.--_Econom._, i. p. 4. [598] Solon, xxxvii. [599] Isaeus, _Succession of Pyrrhus_. [600] _Mysogyne_, Fr. 3. [601] Menander, _The Necklace_. [602] Cavallotti, _La Sposa di Menecle_, p. 158. [603] Friedländer, _Mœurs romaines_, etc., t. I^{er.} pp. 251-254. [604] _Id._, _ibid._ t. xxiii. pp. 1-14.--_Avis de Molestion._