s, to deceive, to blaspheme; carelessness about the
children, intemperance, luxury, excessive prodigality, drunkenness,
uncleanness, immodesty, application to magic and witchcraft, impiety,
with several other causes. By legitimate causes we do not here mean
judicial causes, but such as are legitimate in regard to the other
married partner; separation from the house also is seldom ordained in a
court of justice.

253. XVII. THE SECOND CAUSE OF LEGITIMATE SEPARATION IS A VITIATED STATE
OF BODY. By vitiated states of body we do not mean accidental diseases,
which happen to either of the married partners during their marriage,
and from which they recover; but we mean inherent diseases, which are
permanent. The science of pathology teaches what these are. They are
manifold, such as diseases whereby the whole body is so far infected
that the contagion may prove fatal; of this nature are malignant and
pestilential fevers, leprosies, the venereal disease, gangrenes,
cancers, and the like; also diseases whereby the whole body is so far
weighed down, as to admit of no consociability, and from which exhale
dangerous effluvia and noxious vapors, whether from the surface of the
body, or from its inward parts, in particular from the stomach and
lungs; from the surface of the body proceed malignant pocks, warts,
pustules, scorbutic phthisic, virulent scab, especially if the face be
defiled thereby: from the stomach proceed foul, stinking, rank and crude
eructations: from the lungs, filthy and putrid exhalations, arising from
imposthumes, ulcers, abcesses, or from vitiated blood or lymph therein.
Besides these there are also various other diseases, as lipothamia,
which is a total faintness of body and defect of strength; paralysis,
which is a loosing and relaxation of the membranes and ligaments which
serve for motion; certain chronic diseases, arising from a loss of the
sensibility and elasticity of the nerves, or from too great a thickness;
tenacity, and acrimony of the humors; epilepsy; fixed weakness arising
from apoplexy; certain phthisical complaints, whereby the body is
wasted; the cholic, caeliac affection, rupture, and other like diseases.

254. XVIII. THE THIRD CAUSE OF LEGITIMATE SEPARATION IS IMPOTENCE BEFORE
MARRIAGE. The reason why this is a cause of separation is, because the
end of marriage is the procreation of children, which cannot take place
where this cause of separation operates; and as this is foreknown by the
p