lect02-第7部分

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stringent　Paternal　Power。　He；　a　Roman；　familiar　with　a　Patria






Potestas　as　yet　undecayed；　thinks　it　worthy　of　remark　that　the






head　of　a　Gallic　household　had　the　power　of　life　and　death　over






his　wives　as　well　as　his　children；　and　notices　with　astonishment






that；　when　a　husband　died　under　suspicious　circumstances；　his






wives　were　treated　with　the　same　cruelty　as　a　body　of　household






slaves　at　Rome　whose　master　had　been　killed　by　an　unknown　hand。






（B。　G。；　vi。　19。）　Now；　though　very　much　cannot　be　confidently　said






about　the　transition　（which；　nevertheless；　is　an　undoubted　fact）






of　many　societies　from　polygamy　to　monogamy　under　influences






other　than　those　of　religion；　it　may　plausibly　be　conjectured






that　here　and　there　it　had　its　cause　in　liberty　of　divorce。　The






system　which　permitted　a　plurality　of　wives　may　have　passed　into






the　system　which　forbade　more　than　one　wife　at　a　time；　but　which






did　not　go　farther。　The　monogamy　of　the　modern　and　Western　world






is；　in　fact；　the　monogamy　of　the　Romans；　from　which　the　license






of　divorce　has　been　expelled　by　Christian　morality。　There　are






hardly　any　materials　for　an　opinion　upon　the　degree　of　influence






exercised　by　the　Church　over　the　transformation　of






marriage…relations　in　Ireland；　but　there　are　several　indications






that　the　ecclesiastical　rules　as　to　the　conditions　of　a　valid






marriage　established　themselves　very　slowly　among　the　ruder　races






on　the　outskirts　of　what　had　been　the　Roman　Empire。　Mr　Burton






（'History　of　Scotland；'　ii。　213）；　in　speaking　of　the　number　of






illegitimate　claimants　who　brought　their　pretensions　to　the　Crown






of　Scotland　before　Edward　the　First；　observes：　'That　they　should






have　pushed　their　claims　only　shows　that　the　Church　had　not　yet






absolutely　established　the　rule　that　from　her　and　her　ceremony






and　sacrament　could　alone　come　the　union　capable　of　transmitting






a　right　of　succession　to　offspring。'　The　tract　on　'Social






Connexions'　notices　a　'first'　wife；　and　the　recognition　may　be






attributable　to　the　Church；　but　on　the　whole　my　impression






certainly　is　that　the　extremely　ascetic　form　under　which






Christianity　was　introduced　into　Ireland　was　unfavourable　to　its






obtaining　a　hold　on　popular　morality。　The　common　view　seems　to






have　been　that　chastity　was　the　professional　virtue　of　a　special






class；　for　the　Brehon　tracts；　which　make　the　assumptions　I　have






described　as　to　the　morals　of　the　laity；　speak　of　irregularity　of






life　in　a　monk　or　bishop　with　the　strongest　reprobation　and






disgust。　At　the　present　moment　Ireland　is　probably　the　one　of　all






Western　countries　in　which　the　relations　of　the　sexes　are　most






nearly　on　the　footing　required　by　the　Christian　theory；　nor　is






there　any　reasonable　doubt　that　this　result　has　been　brought






about　in　the　main　by　the　Roman　Catholic　clergy。　But　this






purification　of　morals　was　effected　during　the　period　through






which　monks　and　monasticism　were　either　expelled　from　Ireland　or






placed　under　the　ban　of　the　law。






　　　　I　will　take　this　opportunity　of　saying　that　the　influence　of






Christianity　on　a　much　more　famous　system　than　the　Brehon　law　has






always　seemed　to　me　to　be　greatly　overstated　by　M。　Troplong　and






other　well…known　juridical　writers。　There　is；　of　course；　evidence






of　Christian　influence　on　Roman　law　in　the　disabilities　imposed






on　various　classes　of　heretics　and　in　the　limitations　of　that






liberty　of　divorce　which　belonged　to　the　older　jurisprudence。






But；　even　in　respect　of　divorce；　the　modifications　strike　me　as






less　than　might　have　been　expected　from　what　we　know　of　the






condition　of　opinion　in　the　Roman　world；　and；　as　regards　certain






improvements　said　to　have　been　introduced　by　Christianity　into






the　Imperial　law　of　slavery；　they　were　probably　quickened　by　its






influence；　but　they　began　in　principles　which　were　of　Stoical






rather　than　of　Christian　origin。　I　do　not　question　the　received






opinion　that　Christianity　greatly　mitigated　and　did　much　to






abolish　personal　and　predial　slavery　in　the　West；　but　the






Continental　lawyers　of　whom　I　spoke　considerably　antedate　its






influence；　and　take　far　too　little　account　of　the　prodigious






effects　subsequently　produced　by　the　practical　equality　of　all






men　within　the　pale　of　the　Catholic　priesthood。　But　I　principally






deprecate　these　statements；　which　in　some　countries　have　almost






become　professional　commonplaces；　for　two　reasons。　They　slur　over






a　very　instructive　fact；　the　great　unmalleability　of　all　bodies






of　law。　and　they　obscure　an　interesting　and　yet　unsettled；






problem；　the　origin　of　the　Canon　law。　The　truth　seems　to　be　that






the　Imperial　Roman　law　did　not　satisfy　the　morality　of　the






Christian　communities；　and　this　is　the　most　probable　reason　why






another　body　of　rules　grew　up　by　its　side　and　ultimately　almost






rivalled　it。