of property and head of the
family. Our decision here will affect our outlook on the entire
relation of the sexes. The Egyptians decided on the right of the
mother. Their marriage contracts seem to have been entirely in favour
of women. There was no sale of the bride by her parents, but the
bride-price went to her; her own property also remained in her own
charge and was at her own disposal. The husband stipulates in the
contracts how much he will give as a yearly allowance for her support,
and the entire property of the husband is pledged as security for
these payments, whilst the wife is further protected by a dowry[205]
or charge on the husband, to be paid to her in the event of his
sending her away.

It will readily be seen how advantageous these proprietary rights must
have been to the wife. She was able to claim either the fidelity of
her husband or freedom for herself to leave him--and in some cases for
both together, her property being secured to her and her children. In
one contract by which the husband gives his wife one-third of all his
property, present and to come, he values the movables she brought with
her, and promises her the equivalent in silver. "If thou stayest, thou
stayest with them, if thou goest away, thou goest away with
them."[206] The importance of this right of free separation to women
can hardly be over-estimated. Nietzold says the wife has absolutely
nothing to lose, even when she is the guilty party.[207] Some of the
marriage contracts are even more favourable to women; in these the
husband literally endows his wife with all his worldly goods,
"stipulating only that she is to maintain him while living, and
provide for his burial when dead."[208] M. Paturet distinguishes two
forms of marriage settlements, one which secures to the wife an annual
pension of specified amount--usually one-third of the property of the
husband--and the other, probably the older custom, which established a
complete community of goods. The earlier contracts are much less
detailed, due probably to the fact that the position of the
established wife was then fixed by custom; but there seems no doubt
that the equal lawful wife, she whose proper title is "lady of the
house," was also joint ruler and mistress of the family heritage.[209]
There is a very curious early contract of the time of Darius I, in
which the usual stipulation of latter contracts are reversed, the wife
speaking of the man being established as her h