Her modest station, below
the honors of a wife, above the infamy of a prostitute, was acknowledged
and approved by the laws: from the age of Augustus to the tenth century,
the use of this secondary marriage prevailed both in the West and East;
and the humble virtues of a concubine were often preferred to the pomp
and insolence of a noble matron. In this connection the two Antonines,
the best of princes and of men, enjoyed the comforts of domestic love;
the example was imitated by many citizens impatient of celibacy, but
regardful of their families. If at any time they desired to legitimate
their natural children, the conversion was instantly performed by the
celebration of their nuptials with a partner whose fruitfulness and
fidelity they had already tried.[31] By this epithet of _natural_, the
offspring of the concubine were distinguished from the spurious brood
of adultery, prostitution, and incest, to whom Justinian reluctantly
grants the necessary aliments of life; and these natural children alone
were capable of succeeding to a sixth part of the inheritance of their
reputed father.
Pages:
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330