It is not possible for me to follow this question further. One thing is incontrovertibly certain, that woman's position and her freedom can best be judged by the equity of the moral code in its bearing on the two sexes. Wherever a different standard of moral conduct is set up for women from men there is something fundamentally wrong in the family relationship needing revolutionising. The sexual passions of men and women must be regulated, first in the interests of the social body, and next in the interests of the individual. It is the institution of marriage that secures the first end, and the remedy of divorce that secures the second. It is the great question for each civilisation to decide the position of the sexes in relation to these two necessary institutions. In Rome an unusually enlightened public feeling decided for the equality of woman with man in the whole conduct of sexual morality. The legist Ulpian expresses this view when he writes—"It seems to be very unjust that a man demands chastity from his wife while he himself shows no example of it."[312] Such deep understanding of the unity of the sexes is assuredly the finest testimony to the high status of Roman women.
I have now reached the end of the inquiry set before us at the opening of this chapter. I am fully aware of the many omissions, probable misjudgments, and the inadequacy of this brief summary. We have covered a wide field. This was inevitable. I know that to understand really the position of woman in any country it is necessary to inquire into all the customs that have built up its civilisation, and to gain knowledge upon many points outside the special question of the sexual relationships. This I have not been able even to attempt to do. I have thrown out a few hints in passing—that is all. But the practical value of what we have found seems to me not inconsiderable. I have tried to avoid any forcing of the facts to fit in with a narrow and artificial view of my own opinions. To me the truth is plain. As we have examined the often-confused mass of evidence, as it throws light on the position of woman in these four great civilisations of antiquity, we find that, in spite of the apparent differences which separate their customs and habits in the sexual relationships, the evidence, when disentangled, all points in one and the same direction. In the face of the facts before us one truth cries out its message: "Woman must be free face to face with man." Has it not, indeed, become clear that a great part of the wisdom of the Egyptians and the wisdom of the Babylonians, as also of the Romans, and, in a different degree, of the Greeks, rested in this, they thought much of the mothers of the race. Do not the records of these old-world civilisations show us the dominant position of the mother in relation to the life of the race? In all great ages of humanity this has been accepted as a central and sacred fact. We learn thus, as we look backwards to those countries and those times when woman was free, by what laws, habits and customs the sons of mothers may live long and gladly in all regions of the earth. The use of history is not alone to sum up the varied experiences of the past, but to enlarge our vision of the present, and by reflections on that past to point a way to the future.
FOOTNOTES:
[199] This is the position taken up, for instance, by Letourneau, Evolution of Marriage, p. 176.
[200] Herodotus, Bk. II. p. 35.
[201] Hobhouse, Morals in Evolution, Vol. I. p. 189.
[202] Maspero, Preface to Queens of Egypt, by J.R. Buttles, q. v.
[203] For an account of the reign of Hatschepsut, as well as of the other queens who ruled in Egypt, I must refer the reader to the excellent and careful work of Miss Buttles. It is worth noting that the temple built by Queen Hatschepsut is one of the most famous and beautiful monuments of ancient Egypt. On the walls are recorded the history of her prosperous reign, also the private events of her life: "Ra hath selected her for protecting Egypt and for rousing bravery among men."
[204] We owe our knowledge of the Egyptian marriage contracts chiefly to M. Revillout, whose works should be consulted. See also Paturet (the pupil of Revillout), La Condition juridique de la femme dans l'ancienne Égypte; Nietzold, Die Ehe in Aegypten; Greenfel, Greek Papyri; Amélineau, La Morale Égyptienne; Müller, Liebespoesie der alten Aegypten, and the numerous works of M. Maspero and Flinders Petrie. Simcox, writing on "Ownership in Egypt," gives a good summary of the subject, Primitive Civilisations, Vol. I. pp. 204-211; also Hobhouse, Morals in Evolution, Vol. I. p. 182, et seq.