[211] Vopiscus, Tacitus, 9.

CHAPTER II

WOMEN AND THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH

Meanwhile a new world force, destined to overthrow the old order of things, was growing slowly to maturity and spreading out its might until eventually it fought its way to preeminence.  I have traced the rights of women under the regime of pagan Rome; I shall inquire next into the position of women under Christianity.  We must first note the attitude of the early Christians towards women in general; for that attitude will naturally be reflected in any laws made after the Church has become supreme and is combined with and directs the State.  That will demand a special chapter on Canon Law; but in the present chapter I propose to show how women were regarded by the Christians in the centuries which were the formative period of the Church.

The direct words of Christ so far as they relate to women and as we have them in the Gospels concern themselves wholly to bring about purity in the relation of the sexes.  “Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt not commit adultery; but I say unto you, that every one that looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."[212] His commands on the subject of divorce are positive and unequivocal:  “It was said also, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement; but I say unto you, that every one that putteth away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, maketh her an adultress; and whosoever shall marry her when she is put away, committeth adultery."[213] Christ was content to lay down great ethical principles, not minute regulations.  Of any inferiority on the part of women he says nothing, nor does be concern himself with giving any directions about their social or legal rights.  He blessed the marriage at Cana; and to the woman taken in adultery he showed his usual clemency.  For the rest, his relations with women have an atmosphere of rare sympathy, gentleness, and charm.

But as soon as we leave the Gospels and read the Apostles we are in a different sphere.  The Apostles were for the most part men of humble position, and their whole lives were directed by inherited beliefs which were distinctly Jewish and Oriental or Greek; not Western.  In the Orient woman has from the dawn of history to the present day occupied a position exceedingly low.  Indeed, in Mohammedan countries she is regarded merely as a tool for the man’s sensual passions and she is not allowed to have even a soul.  In Greece women were confined to their houses, were uneducated, and had few public rights and less moral latitude; their husbands had unlimited license.[214] The Jewish ideal is by no means a lofty one and cannot for a moment compare with the honour accorded the Roman matron under the Empire.  According to Genesis a woman is the cause of all the woes of mankind. Ecclesiasticus