names for married perfons, as I have already faid, we may be led into errors, and call a concubine a wife; and also suppose those wives, who were in a state of * vaffalage.

UPON the whole, it appears that there was among the Ifraelites, a very material difference between wives and concubines, that thofe women of each particular man, whom we call wives, were all taken without the usual ceremonies, except one, who was the matron, or real wife, and who was in dignity equal to her husband, mistress of the family, enjoyed all things in common with her husband, and in whofe children only was the right of fucceffion to the inheritance and honours of the family.

THERE was an allowed concubinage among other nations, as I have instanced of the Romans; in addition to which, I have to fay, that the fpecies, denominated licita confuetudo, was only really so to one man with one woman, whom the severity of the laws

* The only preventative is the invariable use of words of this fort,

had rendered incapable of contracting marriage.

BUT the Germanic concubinage, taken from the allowed among the Romans, is the most honourable of any. The Princes and great Lords, take women under the title of half-marriage---morgengabic-marriage: but without folemnity, they are alfo excluded the common rights of a wife; and the iffue are bastards as to inheritance, nor can they bear the name or arms of the family. The Univerfities of Leipfic and Jena have declared against the validity of these contracts, which, if it proves no more, proves their abhorrence of them. As to other connections of this kind, where the man has but a temporary property in the woman, they are too licentious to deferve a moments attention. Indeed thofe of a fuperior degree have their origin in licentioufnefs. The connections of Nature for propagating the fpecies, are by pairs; two of a kind were firft formed for this bufinefs, and in general, in the irrational part of the creation, two only affociate for this purpose: but man, disobe

dient to the voice of nature, and hurried on by the violence of too eager a defire for the propagation of his kind,--or to speak more properly, by ungoverned luft, courts the embraces of many females.

I THOUGHT it neceffary, previous to any Remarks on Madan's Chapter of Polygamy, to come to fome determinate meaning of the word Concubine ;---to which, except we annex a fcriptural and proper idea, we may be led into very wrong conclufions. In In my attempt to mark the fpecific difference between a wife and a concubine, I have been totally uninfluenced by the vague defcriptions of dictionary-writers, who annex ideas to words, just as fancy or imagination dictate, without any regard to their scriptural or radical import :----my helps have been from Holy Scripture, and the writings of learned men. If I am not wrong in the preceding obfervations, there can be no difficulty in determining what iffue of the different kinds of connections in the way of marriage is legitimate, and what not fo;---indeed, it would be infulting the understanding of my E 3 readers

readers to come to any further explanation; because they are very conscious that the issue, to which inheritances cannot pafs, is not ftrictly legitimate; but yet that of the allowed concubinage was not fo far in a state of bastardy, according to its true fcriptural notion, as to exclude them the Jewish con'gregation, and therefore I fuppofe capable of donations; and in a certain intermediate civil condition between legitimacy to all intents and purposes, and the lowest degree of bastardy for in regard to the term 1100

:

fpurius, alienus a legitima familia, (Deuteronomy xxiii. 2.)---the Hebrews do not understand it of one begotten out of the state of marriage, but begotten of such persons as the rigour of their law prohibited them to intermarry with, or to have any perfonal knowledge of by confent, violence, or any other way. See Patrick's Comment. vol. I. p. 804. And this fpurious offspring was excluded the Ifraelitish society, and all its privileges. From all which it appears, that there was among the Jews, as well as other nations, different degrees of baftardy. *Ed. 3. which is always referred to in this work. С НА Р.

СНАР. VII.

REMARKS on the Chapter of POLYGAMY.

ON

N POLYGAMY, Madan has faid many ingenious things; but who does not see the futility of his reasoning? At present I fhall content myself with some cursory Remarks, and putting a negative on his pofitions; because I intend hereafter to take an extenfive view of the subject.

OUR author is undoubtedly cunning enough not to try this important cafe by the Law of Nature and Reafon, in conjunction with the Divine Law; not that I think it right to give them a preference, but that a contemplation of them should by no means be excluded; because in general they are the foundations of the divine law, and therefore may be explanatory of the spirit of it.---I fay, he is cunning enough in declining contemplation of the dictates of nature and reafon; for Polygamy is repugnant to both, as shall be proved in a fubfequent part of E 4 this