ndment the wife is put on an equality with other property, so
under certain conditions the husband could put away his wife, but
the wife could not put away her husband.

In the New Testament there is little in favor of marriage, and
really nothing as to the rights of wives. Christ said nothing in
favor of marriage, and never married. So far as I know, none of
the apostles had families. St. Paul was opposed to marriage, and
allowed it only as a choice of evils. In those days it was imagined
by the Christians that the world was about to be purified by fire,
and that they would be changed into angels.

The early Christians were opposed to marriage, and the "fathers"
looked upon woman as the source of all evil. They did not believe
in divorces. They thought that if people loved each other better
than they did God, and got married, they ought to be held to the
bargain, no matter what happened.

These "fathers" were, for the most part, ignorant and hateful
savages, and had no more idea of right and wrong than wild beasts.

The church insisted that marriage was a sacrament, and that God,
in some mysterious way, joined husband and wife in marriage--that
he was one of the parties to the contract, and that only death
could end it.

Of course, this supernatural view of marriage is perfectly absurd.
If there be a God, there certainly have been marriages he did not
approve, and certain it is that God can have no interest in keeping
husbands and wives together who never should have married.

Some of the preachers insist that God instituted marriage in the
Garden of Eden. We now know that there was no Garden of Eden, and
that woman was not made from the first man's rib. Nobody with any
real sense believes this now. The institution of marriage was not
established by Jehovah. Neither was it established by Christ, not
any of his apostles.

In considering the question of divorce, the supernatural should be
discarded. We should take into consideration only the effect upon
human beings. The gods should be allowed to take care of
themselves.

Is it to the interest of a husband and wife to live together after
love has perished and when they hate each other? Will this add to
their happiness? Should a woman be compelled to remain the wife
of a man who hates and abuses her, and whom she loathes? Has
society any interest in forcing women to live with men they hate?

There is no real marriage without love, and in the mar