Chapter 115

19Westermarck,op. cit.p. 61sqq.

19Westermarck,op. cit.p. 61sqq.

20Nevill, ‘Vaeddas of Ceylon,’ inTaprobanian, i. 178.

20Nevill, ‘Vaeddas of Ceylon,’ inTaprobanian, i. 178.

21Meyer, ‘Igorrotes von Luzon,’ inVerhandl. Berliner Gesellsch. f. Anthrop.1883, p. 384sq.Blumentritt,Ethnographie der Philippinen, p. 27.

21Meyer, ‘Igorrotes von Luzon,’ inVerhandl. Berliner Gesellsch. f. Anthrop.1883, p. 384sq.Blumentritt,Ethnographie der Philippinen, p. 27.

22Westermarck,op. cit.p. 64sq.Holden, in Taplin,Folklore of the South Australian Aborigines, p. 19.

22Westermarck,op. cit.p. 64sq.Holden, in Taplin,Folklore of the South Australian Aborigines, p. 19.

23It is strange to hear from a modern student of anthropology, and especially from an Australian writer, that in sexual licence the savage has never anything to learn and that “all that the lower fringe of civilised men can do to harm the uncivilised is to stoop to the level of the latter instead of teaching them a better way” (Sutherland,Origin and Growth of the Moral Instinct, i. 186). Mr. Edward Stephens (‘Aborigines of Australia,’ inJour. & Proceed. Royal Soc. N. S. Wales, xxiii. 480) has a very different story to tell with reference to the tribes which once inhabited the Adelaide Plains in South Australia and whose acquaintance he made more than half a century ago.

23It is strange to hear from a modern student of anthropology, and especially from an Australian writer, that in sexual licence the savage has never anything to learn and that “all that the lower fringe of civilised men can do to harm the uncivilised is to stoop to the level of the latter instead of teaching them a better way” (Sutherland,Origin and Growth of the Moral Instinct, i. 186). Mr. Edward Stephens (‘Aborigines of Australia,’ inJour. & Proceed. Royal Soc. N. S. Wales, xxiii. 480) has a very different story to tell with reference to the tribes which once inhabited the Adelaide Plains in South Australia and whose acquaintance he made more than half a century ago.

24Westermarck,op. cit.pp. 23, 24, 71.

24Westermarck,op. cit.pp. 23, 24, 71.

Among the East African Takue a seducer may have to pay the same sum as if he had killed the girl, although the fine is generally reduced to fifty cows.25Among the Beni Amer and Marea he is killed, together with the girl and the child.26In Tessaua a fine of 100,000 kurdi is imposed on the father of a bastard child.27Among the Beni Mzab a man who seduces a girl has to pay two hundred francs and is banished for four years.28Among the Tedâ he is exposed to the revenge of her father.29The Baziba look upon illegitimate intercourse between the sexes as the most serious offence, though no action is taken until the birth of a child; “then the man and woman are bound hand and foot and thrown into Lake Victoria.”30Among the Bakoki, whilst the girl was driven from home and remained for ever after an outcast, the man was fined three cows to her father and one to the chief.31Certain West African savages described by Mr. Winwood Reade, who banish from the clan a girl guilty of wantonness, inflict severe flogging on the seducer.32In Dahomey a man who seduces a girl is compelled by law to marry her and to pay eighty cowries to the parent or master.33Among some Kafir tribes the father or guardian of a woman who becomes pregnant can demand a fine of one head of cattle from the father of the child;34whilst in the Gaika tribe the mere seduction of a virgin incurs the fine of three or four head of cattle.35Casalis mentions an interesting custom prevalent among the Basutos, which on the one hand illustrates the belief that sexual intercourse in certain circumstances exposes a person to supernatural danger, and on the other hand indicates that unchastity in unmarried men is not looked upon with perfect indifference:—Immediately after the birth of a child the fire of the dwelling was kindled afresh. “For this purpose it was necessary that a young man of chaste habits should rub twopieces of wood quickly one against another, until a flame sprung up, pure as himself. It was firmly believed that a premature death awaited him who should dare to take upon himself this office, after having lost his innocence. As soon, therefore, as a birth was proclaimed in the village, the fathers took their sons to undergo the ordeal. Those who felt themselves guilty confessed their crime, and submitted to be scourged rather than expose themselves to the consequences of a fatal temerity.”36Livingstone, speaking of the good name which was given to him by the Bakwains, observes:—“No one ever gains much influence in this country without purity and uprightness. The acts of a stranger are keenly scrutinised by both young and old, and seldom is the judgment pronounced, even by the heathen, unfair or uncharitable. I have heard women speaking in admiration of a white man, because he was pure, and never was guilty of any secret immorality. Had he been, they would have known it, and, untutored heathen though they be, would have despised him in consequence.”37

Among the East African Takue a seducer may have to pay the same sum as if he had killed the girl, although the fine is generally reduced to fifty cows.25Among the Beni Amer and Marea he is killed, together with the girl and the child.26In Tessaua a fine of 100,000 kurdi is imposed on the father of a bastard child.27Among the Beni Mzab a man who seduces a girl has to pay two hundred francs and is banished for four years.28Among the Tedâ he is exposed to the revenge of her father.29The Baziba look upon illegitimate intercourse between the sexes as the most serious offence, though no action is taken until the birth of a child; “then the man and woman are bound hand and foot and thrown into Lake Victoria.”30Among the Bakoki, whilst the girl was driven from home and remained for ever after an outcast, the man was fined three cows to her father and one to the chief.31Certain West African savages described by Mr. Winwood Reade, who banish from the clan a girl guilty of wantonness, inflict severe flogging on the seducer.32In Dahomey a man who seduces a girl is compelled by law to marry her and to pay eighty cowries to the parent or master.33Among some Kafir tribes the father or guardian of a woman who becomes pregnant can demand a fine of one head of cattle from the father of the child;34whilst in the Gaika tribe the mere seduction of a virgin incurs the fine of three or four head of cattle.35Casalis mentions an interesting custom prevalent among the Basutos, which on the one hand illustrates the belief that sexual intercourse in certain circumstances exposes a person to supernatural danger, and on the other hand indicates that unchastity in unmarried men is not looked upon with perfect indifference:—Immediately after the birth of a child the fire of the dwelling was kindled afresh. “For this purpose it was necessary that a young man of chaste habits should rub twopieces of wood quickly one against another, until a flame sprung up, pure as himself. It was firmly believed that a premature death awaited him who should dare to take upon himself this office, after having lost his innocence. As soon, therefore, as a birth was proclaimed in the village, the fathers took their sons to undergo the ordeal. Those who felt themselves guilty confessed their crime, and submitted to be scourged rather than expose themselves to the consequences of a fatal temerity.”36Livingstone, speaking of the good name which was given to him by the Bakwains, observes:—“No one ever gains much influence in this country without purity and uprightness. The acts of a stranger are keenly scrutinised by both young and old, and seldom is the judgment pronounced, even by the heathen, unfair or uncharitable. I have heard women speaking in admiration of a white man, because he was pure, and never was guilty of any secret immorality. Had he been, they would have known it, and, untutored heathen though they be, would have despised him in consequence.”37

25Munzinger,Ostafrikanische Studien, p. 208.

25Munzinger,Ostafrikanische Studien, p. 208.

26Ibid.p. 322.

26Ibid.p. 322.

27Barth,Reisen in Nord- und Central-Afrika, ii. 18.

27Barth,Reisen in Nord- und Central-Afrika, ii. 18.

28Chavanne,Die Sahara, p. 315.

28Chavanne,Die Sahara, p. 315.

29Nachtigal,Sahara und Sudan, i. 449.

29Nachtigal,Sahara und Sudan, i. 449.

30Cunningham,Uganda, p. 290.

30Cunningham,Uganda, p. 290.

31Ibid.p. 102.

31Ibid.p. 102.

32Reade,Savage Africa, p. 261.

32Reade,Savage Africa, p. 261.

33Forbes,Dahomey, i. 26.

33Forbes,Dahomey, i. 26.

34Warner, in Maclean,op. cit.p. 64.

34Warner, in Maclean,op. cit.p. 64.

35Brownlee,ibid.p. 112.

35Brownlee,ibid.p. 112.

36Casalis,Basutos, p. 267sq.

36Casalis,Basutos, p. 267sq.

37Livingstone,Missionary Travels, p. 513.

37Livingstone,Missionary Travels, p. 513.

Of the Australian Maroura tribe, Lower Darling, we are told that before the advent of the whites “their laws were strict, especially those regarding young men and young women. It was almost death to a young lad or man who had sexual intercourse till married.”38Among various tribes in Western Victoria “illegitimacy is rare, and is looked upon with such abhorrence that the mother is always severely beaten by her relatives, and sometimes put to death and burned. Her child is occasionally killed and burned with her. The father of the child is also punished with the greatest severity, and occasionally killed.”39

Of the Australian Maroura tribe, Lower Darling, we are told that before the advent of the whites “their laws were strict, especially those regarding young men and young women. It was almost death to a young lad or man who had sexual intercourse till married.”38Among various tribes in Western Victoria “illegitimacy is rare, and is looked upon with such abhorrence that the mother is always severely beaten by her relatives, and sometimes put to death and burned. Her child is occasionally killed and burned with her. The father of the child is also punished with the greatest severity, and occasionally killed.”39

38Holden, in Taplin,Folklore of the South Australian Aborigines, p. 19.

38Holden, in Taplin,Folklore of the South Australian Aborigines, p. 19.

39Dawson,Australian Aborigines, p. 28.

39Dawson,Australian Aborigines, p. 28.

In Nias the pregnancy of an unmarried girl is punished with death, inflicted not only upon her but upon the seducer as well.40Among the Bódo and Dhimáls of India chastity is prized in man and woman, married and unmarried.41Among the Tunguses “in irregular amours only the men are punished,” the seducer being obliged either to purchase the girl at a certain price or, if he refuses, to submit to corporal punishment.42Among the Thlinkets, “if unmarried women prove frail the partner of their guilt, if discovered, is bound to make reparation to the parents, soothing their wounded honour with handsomepresents.”43In certain North American tribes the seducer is said to be viewed with even more contempt than the girl whom he has dishonoured.44

In Nias the pregnancy of an unmarried girl is punished with death, inflicted not only upon her but upon the seducer as well.40Among the Bódo and Dhimáls of India chastity is prized in man and woman, married and unmarried.41Among the Tunguses “in irregular amours only the men are punished,” the seducer being obliged either to purchase the girl at a certain price or, if he refuses, to submit to corporal punishment.42Among the Thlinkets, “if unmarried women prove frail the partner of their guilt, if discovered, is bound to make reparation to the parents, soothing their wounded honour with handsomepresents.”43In certain North American tribes the seducer is said to be viewed with even more contempt than the girl whom he has dishonoured.44

40Wilken, inBijdragen tot de taal- land- en volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië, ser. v. vol. iv. 444.

40Wilken, inBijdragen tot de taal- land- en volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië, ser. v. vol. iv. 444.

41Hodgson,Miscellaneous Essays, i. 123.

41Hodgson,Miscellaneous Essays, i. 123.

42Georgi,op. cit.iii. 84.

42Georgi,op. cit.iii. 84.

43Douglas, quoted by Petroff,Report on Alaska, p. 177.

43Douglas, quoted by Petroff,Report on Alaska, p. 177.

44Westermarck,op. cit.p. 66.

44Westermarck,op. cit.p. 66.

Passing to more advanced races, we find that chastity is regarded as a duty for unmarried women, whilst a different standard of morality is generally applied to men. “Confucianism,” says Mr. Griffis, “virtually admits two standards of morality, one for man, another for woman…. Chastity is a female virtue, it is a part of womanly duty, it has little or no relation to man personally.”45Yet it is held up as an ideal even to men. It is said that in youth, when the physical powers are not yet settled, the superior man guards against lust.46Though licentious in their habits, the Chinese exalt and dignify chastity as a means of bringing the soul and body nearer to the highest excellence;47one of their proverbs even maintains that “of the myriad vices, lust is the worst.”48Chastity for its own sake, when defended by a woman at the expense of her life, meets with a reward at the hands of the Government. “If a woman”—so the Ordinances run—“be compelled by her husband to prostitute herself for money, and takes her own life in order to preserve her chastity, or if an unmarried virgin loses her life in defending herself against violation, an honorary gate shall be erected in each case near the door of the paternal dwelling.”49According to the Chinese Penal Code, “criminal intercourse by mutual consent with an unmarried woman shall be punished with seventy blows,” whilst the punishment for such intercourse with a married woman is eighty blows.50

45Griffis,Religions of Japan, p. 149.

45Griffis,Religions of Japan, p. 149.

46Lun Yü, xvi. 7.

46Lun Yü, xvi. 7.

47Wells Williams,Middle Kingdom, ii. 193.

47Wells Williams,Middle Kingdom, ii. 193.

48Smith,Proverbs of the Chinese, p. 256.

48Smith,Proverbs of the Chinese, p. 256.

49de Groot,Religious System of China, (vol. ii. book) i. 752sq.

49de Groot,Religious System of China, (vol. ii. book) i. 752sq.

50Ta Tsing Leu Lee, sec. ccclxvi. p. 404.

50Ta Tsing Leu Lee, sec. ccclxvi. p. 404.

Among the ancient Hebrews fornication was forbidden to women51but not to men. The action of Judah towards the supposed harlot on the way to Timnath is mentionedas the most natural thing in the world,52even though the perpetrator was a man of wealth and position, a man whom his brethren “shall praise” and before whom his “father’s children shall bow down.”53Throughout the Muhammedan world chastity is regarded as an essential duty for a woman.54In Persia an unmarried girl who gave birth to a child would surely be killed.55Among the Fellaheen of Egypt a father or brother in most instances punishes an unmarried daughter or sister who has been guilty of incontinence by throwing her into the Nile with a stone tied to her neck, or cutting her to pieces, and then throwing her remains into the river.56Among the Jbâla and Rif Berbers of Morocco she is also frequently killed. For unmarried men, on the other hand, chastity is by Muhammedans at most looked upon as an ideal, almost out of reach. The Caliph Ali said that “with a man who is modest and chaste nobody should find fault.”57We are told that the Muhammedans of India consider it inconceivable that a Moslem should have illicit intercourse with a free Muhammedan woman;58but connections with slave girls are regarded in a different light.

51Leviticus, xix. 29.Deuteronomy, xxiii. 18.

51Leviticus, xix. 29.Deuteronomy, xxiii. 18.

52Genesis, xxxviii. 15sqq.

52Genesis, xxxviii. 15sqq.

53Ibid.xlix. 8.

53Ibid.xlix. 8.

54Burton,Sindh, p. 295.

54Burton,Sindh, p. 295.

55Polak,Persien, i. 217.

55Polak,Persien, i. 217.

56Lane,Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians, p. 209.

56Lane,Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians, p. 209.

57Ameer Ali,Ethics of Islâm, p. 30.

57Ameer Ali,Ethics of Islâm, p. 30.

58Lane-Poole,Studies in a Mosque, p. 106.

58Lane-Poole,Studies in a Mosque, p. 106.

Among the Hindus sexual impurity is scarcely considered a sin in the men, but “in females nothing is held more execrable or abominable. The unhappy inhabitants of houses of ill fame are looked upon as the most degraded of the human species.”59In one of the Pahlavi texts continence is recommended from the point of view of prudence:—“Commit no lustfulness, so that harm and regret may not reach thee from thine own actions.”60But in Zoroastrianism, also, chastity is chiefly a female duty. It is written in the Avesta, “Any woman that has given up her body to two men in one day is sooner to be killed than a wolf, a lion, or a snake.”61

59Calcutta Review, ii. 23. Dubois,Description of the Character, &c. of the People of India, p. 193.Cf.Laws of Manu, ix. 51sq.

59Calcutta Review, ii. 23. Dubois,Description of the Character, &c. of the People of India, p. 193.Cf.Laws of Manu, ix. 51sq.

60Dînâ-î Maînôg-î Khirad, ii. 23sq.

60Dînâ-î Maînôg-î Khirad, ii. 23sq.

61Darmesteter, inSacred Books of the East, iv. 206, n. 1.

61Darmesteter, inSacred Books of the East, iv. 206, n. 1.

Among the ancient Teutons an unmarried woman who belonged to an honourable family was severely punished for going wrong, and the seducer was exposed to the revenge of her family, or had to pay compensation for his deed.62The yet un-Romanised Saxons, down to the days of St. Boniface, compelled a maiden who had dishonoured her father’s house, as well as an adulteress, to hang herself, after which her body was burned and her paramour hung over the blazing pile; or she was scourged or cut with knives by all the women of the village till she was dead.63

62Brunner,Deutsche Rechtsgeschichte, ii. 659sqq.Wilda,Strafrecht der Germanen, p. 799sqq.Nordström,Bidrag till den svenska samhälls-författningens historia, ii. 67. Maurer,Bekehrung des Norwegischen Stammes, ii. 154.

62Brunner,Deutsche Rechtsgeschichte, ii. 659sqq.Wilda,Strafrecht der Germanen, p. 799sqq.Nordström,Bidrag till den svenska samhälls-författningens historia, ii. 67. Maurer,Bekehrung des Norwegischen Stammes, ii. 154.

63Milman,History of Latin Christianity, ii. 54.

63Milman,History of Latin Christianity, ii. 54.

In Greece the chastity of an unmarried girl was anxiously guarded.64According to Athenian law, the relatives of a maiden who had lost her virtue could with impunity kill the seducer on the spot.65Virginity was an object of worship. Chastity was the pre-eminent attribute of sanctity ascribed to Athene and Artemis, and the Parthenon, or virgin’s temple, was the noblest religious edifice of Athens.66It is true that a certain class of courtesans occupied a remarkably high position in the social life of Greece, being admired and sought after even by the principal men. But they did so on account of their extraordinary beauty or their intellectual superiority; to the Greek mind the moral standard was by no means the only standard of excellence. The Romans, on the other hand, regarded the courtesan class with much contempt.67InA.D.19 the profligacy of women was checked by stringent enactments, and it was provided that no woman whose grandfather, father, or husband had been a Roman knight should get money by prostitution.68The names of prostitutes had to be published on the aedile’s list, as Tacitus says, “according to a recognised customof our ancestors, who considered it a sufficient punishment on unchaste women to have to profess their shame.”69But both in Rome and Greece pre-nuptial unchastity in men, when it was not excessive70or did not take some especially offensive form, was hardly censured by public opinion.71The elder Cato expressly justified it.72Cicero says:—“If there be any one who thinks that youth is to be wholly interdicted from amours with courtesans, he certainly is very strict indeed. I cannot deny what he says; but still he is at variance not only with the licence of the present age, but even with the habits of our ancestors, and with what they used to consider allowable. For when was the time that men were not used to act in this manner? When was such conduct found fault with? When was it not permitted? When, in short, was the time when that which is lawful was not lawful?”73Epictetus only went a little step further. He said to his disciples:—“Concerning sexual pleasures, it is right to be pure before marriage, as much as in you lies. But if you indulge in them, let it be according to what is lawful. But do not in any case make yourself disagreeable to those who use such pleasures, nor be fond of reproving them, nor of putting yourself forward as not using them.”74Here chastity in men is at all events recognised as an ideal. But even in pagan antiquity there were a few who enjoined it as a duty.75Musonius Rufus emphatically asserted that no union of the sexes other than marriage was permissible,76and Dio Chrysostom desired prostitution to be suppressed by law.77Similar opinions grew up in connection with the Neo-Platonic and Neo-Pythagorean philosophies, and may be traced back to the ancient masters themselves. We are told that Pythagoras inculcated the virtue ofchastity so successfully that when ten of his disciples, being attacked, might have escaped by crossing a bean-field, they died to a man rather than tread down the beans, which were supposed to have a mystic affinity with the seat of impure desires.78Plato, again, is in favour of a law to the effect that “no one shall venture to touch any person of the freeborn or noble class except his wedded wife, or sow the unconsecrated and bastard seed among harlots, or in barren and unnatural lusts.” Our citizens, he says, ought not to be worse than birds and beasts, which live without intercourse, pure and chaste, until the age for procreation, and afterwards, when they have arrived at that period and the male has paired with the female and the female with the male, “live the rest of their lives in holiness and innocence, abiding firmly in their original compact.”79

64See Denis,Histoire des théories et des idées morales dans l’antiquité, i. 69sq.

64See Denis,Histoire des théories et des idées morales dans l’antiquité, i. 69sq.

65Schmidt,Die Ethik der alten Griechen, ii. 193.

65Schmidt,Die Ethik der alten Griechen, ii. 193.

66See Lecky,History of European Morals, i. 105.

66See Lecky,History of European Morals, i. 105.

67Ibid.ii. 300.

67Ibid.ii. 300.

68Tacitus,Annales, ii. 85.

68Tacitus,Annales, ii. 85.

69Tacitus,Annales, ii. 85.

69Tacitus,Annales, ii. 85.

70Valerius Maximus (Facta dictaque memorabilia, ii. 5. 6) praises “frugalitas” as “immoderato Veneris usu aversa.”

70Valerius Maximus (Facta dictaque memorabilia, ii. 5. 6) praises “frugalitas” as “immoderato Veneris usu aversa.”

71Lecky,op. cit.ii. 314.

71Lecky,op. cit.ii. 314.

72Horace,Satiræ, i. 2. 31sq.

72Horace,Satiræ, i. 2. 31sq.

73Cicero,Pro CÅ“lio, 20 (48).

73Cicero,Pro CÅ“lio, 20 (48).

74Epictetus,Enchiridion, xxxiii. 8.

74Epictetus,Enchiridion, xxxiii. 8.

75Denis,op. cit.ii. 133sqq.

75Denis,op. cit.ii. 133sqq.

76Musonius Rufus, quoted by Stobæus,Florilegium, vi. 61.

76Musonius Rufus, quoted by Stobæus,Florilegium, vi. 61.

77Denis,op. cit.ii. 149sqq.

77Denis,op. cit.ii. 149sqq.

78Jamblichus,De Pythagorica vita, 31 (191).Cf.Jevons, in Plutarch’sRomane Questions, p. lxxxviii.sq.

78Jamblichus,De Pythagorica vita, 31 (191).Cf.Jevons, in Plutarch’sRomane Questions, p. lxxxviii.sq.

79Plato,Leges, viii. 840sq.Cf.Xenophon,Memorabilia, i. 3. 8.

79Plato,Leges, viii. 840sq.Cf.Xenophon,Memorabilia, i. 3. 8.

Much stronger was the censure which Christianity passed on pre-nuptial connections. While looking with suspicion even on the life-long union of one man with one woman, the Church pronounced all other forms of sexual intercourse to be mortal sins. In its Penitentials sins of unchastity were the favourite topic; and its horror of them finds an echo in the secular legislation of the first Christian emperors. Panders were condemned to have molten lead poured down their throats.80In the case of forcible seduction both the man and woman, if she consented to the act, were put to death.81Even the innocent offspring of illicit intercourse were punished for their parents’ sins with ignominy and loss of certain rights which belonged to other, more respectable, members of the Church and the State.82Persons of different sexwho were not united in wedlock were forbidden by the Church to kiss each other; nay, the sexual desire itself, though unaccompanied by any external act, was regarded as sinful in the unmarried.83In this standard of purity no difference of sex was recognised, the same obligations being imposed upon man and woman.84

80Lecky,op. cit.ii. 316.

80Lecky,op. cit.ii. 316.

81Codex Theodosianus, ix. 24. 1.

81Codex Theodosianus, ix. 24. 1.

82Concilium Claromontanum,A.D.1095, can. 11 (Labbe-Mansi,Sacrorum Conciliorum collectio, xx. 817):—“Ut nulli filii concubinarum ad ordines vel aliquos honores ecclesiasticos promoveantur, nisi monchaliter vel canonice vixerint in ecclesia.” See alsosupra,i. 47.

82Concilium Claromontanum,A.D.1095, can. 11 (Labbe-Mansi,Sacrorum Conciliorum collectio, xx. 817):—“Ut nulli filii concubinarum ad ordines vel aliquos honores ecclesiasticos promoveantur, nisi monchaliter vel canonice vixerint in ecclesia.” See alsosupra,i. 47.

83“Perit ergo et ipsa mente virginitas.” Katz,Grundriss des kanonischen Strafrechts, p. 114sq.For the subject of kissing see also Thomas Aquinas,Summa theologica, ii.-ii. 154. 4.

83“Perit ergo et ipsa mente virginitas.” Katz,Grundriss des kanonischen Strafrechts, p. 114sq.For the subject of kissing see also Thomas Aquinas,Summa theologica, ii.-ii. 154. 4.

84Laurent,Études sur l’histoire de l’Humanité, iv. 114.

84Laurent,Études sur l’histoire de l’Humanité, iv. 114.

In this, as in so many other points of morals, however, there is a considerable discrepancy between Christian doctrine and public opinion in Christian countries. The gross and open immorality of the Middle Ages indicates how little the idea of sexual purity entered into the manners and opinions of the people. The influence of the ascetic doctrine of the Church was in fact quite contrary to its aspirations. The institution of clerical celibacy lowered the estimation of virtue by promoting vice. During the Middle Ages unchastity was regarded as an object of ridicule rather than censure, and in the comic literature of that period the clergy are universally represented as the great corrupters of domestic virtue.85Whether the tenet of chastity laid down by the code of Chivalry was taken more seriously may be fairly doubted. A knight, it was said, should be abstinent and chaste;86he should love only the virtues, talents, and graces of his lady;87and love was defined as the “chaste union of two hearts by virtue wrought.”88But whilst the knight had certain claims as regards the virtue of his lady, whilst he probably was inclined to draw his sword only for a woman of fair reputation, and whilst he himself professed to aspire only to her lip or hand, we have reason to believe that the amours in which he indulged with her were of a far less delicate kind. Sainte-Palaye observes, “Jamaison ne vit les mœurs plus corrompues que du temps de nos Chevaliers, et jamais le règne de la débauche ne fut plus universel.”89For a mediæval knight the chief object of life was love. He who did not understand how to win a lady was but half a man; and the difference between a lover and a seducer was apparently slight. The character of the seducer, as Mr. Lecky remarks, and especially of the passionless seducer who pursues his career simply as a kind of sport, and under the influence of no stronger motive than vanity or a spirit of adventure, has for many centuries been glorified and idealised in the popular literature of Christendom in a manner to which there is no parallel in antiquity.90

85Wright,Essays on Archæological Subjects, ii. 238.Cf.Idem,History of Domestic Manners and Sentiments in England during the Middle Ages, pp. 54, 281, 420.

85Wright,Essays on Archæological Subjects, ii. 238.Cf.Idem,History of Domestic Manners and Sentiments in England during the Middle Ages, pp. 54, 281, 420.

86Book of the Ordre of Chyualry, fol. 40.

86Book of the Ordre of Chyualry, fol. 40.

87Sainte-Palaye,Mémoires sur l’ancienne Chevalerie, ii. 17.

87Sainte-Palaye,Mémoires sur l’ancienne Chevalerie, ii. 17.

88Mills,History of Chivalry, i. 214sq.

88Mills,History of Chivalry, i. 214sq.

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