A love for exciting amusements kept pace with other forms of dissipation. Women, not content with music and dancing, and the entertainments of the theatre, began to delight in horse-races, and the contests of wild beasts and gladiators, during which scenes of cruelty occurred too shocking to be described. Sometimes they fought on the arena with men, at the command of the despotic emperors. The celebration of the Bacchanalian mysteries, in which women took an active part, were a continuation of the most indecent and horrid crimes. In many instances they danced on the stage entirely without clothing, and enjoyed the luxury of public baths promiscuously with the men, totally disregarding the modest regulations of former times. Roman husbands, from the earliest times, had the power of divorcing their wives whenever they pleased; and afterward the laws were equalized to such a degree, that either party had liberty to demand divorce. If the wife was blameless, she received all her dowry and goods; if culpable, the husband was allowed to retain a sixth part for each child; if she had been unfaithful to him, he kept all the dowry and marriage-presents, even if he had no children by her. Where there was a family, each of the parties settled a proportionable part of their fortune. Notwithstanding the facility of divorce, five hundred and twenty-one years elapsed without an instance of it in Rome. Carvilius Ruga was the first one who repudiated his wife. He had great affection for her, and parted from her merely because she brought him no children. Notwithstanding this excuse, the Roman citizens were very indignant at the proceeding. But divorces gradually became frequent, and were made upon the slightest pretexts. When Paulus Æmilius repudiated Papiria, his friends said to him, “Is she not wise? Is she not fair? Is she not the mother of fine children?” In reply, he pointed to his shoe, and said, “Is it not fine? Is it not well made? Yet none of you know where it pinches me.” Sulpicius Gallus turned away his wife because she appeared bare-headed in public. Sempronius Sophus separated from his, because she had whispered to a freed-woman. Antistius Vetus did the same because his wife went to some public place of amusement without his knowledge. Cicero separated from Terentia on account of her extravagance and imperious temper; he espoused Publilia, a young heiress, who had been his ward; but he repudiated her for harsh treatment to his daughter Tullia. Cato gave up his wife Martia, by whom he had had several children, that Hortensius might marry her; and when some time after Hortensius died, and left her to inherit his great wealth, to the prejudice of his own son, Cato retook her. Some men married women of tarnished reputation, on purpose to find opportunity to divorce them and retain their dowry.