THE
HISTORY
OF THE
CONDITION OF WOMEN,
IN VARIOUS AGES AND NATIONS.
BY
MRS. D. L. CHILD,
AUTHOR OF “MOTHER’S BOOK,” “FRUGAL HOUSEWIFE,” ETC.
I am a slave, a favored slave
At best, to share his splendor, and seem very blest;
When weary of these fleeting charms and me,
There yawns the sack, and yonder rolls the sea.
What! am I then a toy for dotard’s play,
To wear but till the gilding frets away?--_Byron’s Corsair._
VOL. I.
COMPRISING THE WOMEN OF ASIA AND AFRICA.
THIRD EDITION.
BOSTON:
OTIS, BROADERS & CO.
1840.
Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1835, by
JOHN ALLEN & CO.
in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of Massachusetts.
BOSTON:
STEREOTYPED BY SHEPARD, OLIVER AND CO.
No. 3 Water Street.
CONTENTS TO VOL. I.
PAGE.
Afghanistan 43
Africa 245
Amazons 176
Amboyna 202
Arabia 36
Armenia 48
Assyria 23
Babylon 23
Bali 203
Barbary States 232
Bedouin Arabs 38
Birmah 133
Borneo 199
Caria 28
Carthage 231
Celebes 201
Ceylon 186
China 143
Circassia 44
Cochin China 137
Corea 160
Courdistan 42
Druses 34
Dutch settlers in Africa 298
Egypt 216
Fox Islands 214
Georgia 47
Hindostan 86
Hottentots 287
Japan 212
Java 187
Jews 1
Kurile Island 215
Loo Choo 210
Lycia 27
Malacca 141
Moors of Africa 232
New Guinea 206
New Holland 207
Palmyra, Queen of 30
Persia 72
Philippine Isles 209
Siam 139
Siberia 177
Sumatra 195
Syria 31
Tartary 162
Thibet 130
Timor 204
Troy 29
Turkomans 34
Turkey 52
Van Diemen’s Land 208
HISTORY OF WOMEN.
[Illustration: Rebecca bringing water for the camels of Isaac.]
ASIA.
The ancient patriarchs led a quiet pastoral life, far removed from
those excitements which kindle the avarice and ambition of men in
modern times. Their chief care was to increase their flocks; and for
this purpose they removed their tents, from time to time, near the most
verdant pastures and abundant fountains. Their habits and manners
partook of the simplicity of their occupations; of this there is
sufficient proof in the story of Jacob’s courtship and marriage.
In those times, when the earth was thinly peopled, an increase of
laborers was an increase of wealth; hence, physical strength, being
the quality most needed, was most esteemed. To be the mother of a
numerous family was the most honorable distinction of women; and the
birth of a son was regarded as a far more fortunate event than the
birth of a daughter. Under such circumstances, women were naturally
considered in the light of property; and whoever wished for a wife must
pay the parents for her, or perform a stipulated period of service, as
Jacob did for Rachel. Sometimes, when parents were desirous to unite
their families, the parties were solemnly betrothed in childhood, and
the price of the bride stipulated. Marriage in those primitive times
consisted merely in a formal bargain between the bridegroom and the
father of the maiden, solemnized by a feast.
We are not told how far the affections of women were consulted in these
arrangements, but there is every reason to suppose that they were
passively guided by others.
Among the Israelites, as well as among the nations with whom they
sojourned, innocence was by no means universal. The world seems very
soon to have grown old in sin. Even in the remotest times, there are
allusions to a class of women openly and shamelessly vicious; and it
is hardly possible for the imagination to conceive of a crime that
is not mentioned in the laws of Moses. The deception practised by
Abraham and his son Isaac, lest the beauty of their wives should be the
occasion of their own death, betrays habits and manners sufficiently
violent and profligate. That the husbands of Sarah and Rebecca should
have been willing thus to consult their own safety, at the risk of
exposing them to insult, is by no means extraordinary among a people
where polygamy prevailed; for in all such countries the value placed
upon women has an origin essentially low and depraved. We are told that
Sarah herself consented to pass for the sister of her husband; and
both in Egypt and in Gerar the handsome stranger was ordered into the
household of the king. That marriage was acknowledged as a protection,
and that the concealment of it left her defenceless, is shown by
Pharaoh’s earnest expostulation with Abraham: “What hast thou done
unto me? Why saidst thou, She is my sister? Why didst thou not tell me
she was thy wife?” The same is likewise implied by the reproof which
Abimelech, king of the Philistines, gave to Abraham, and afterwards to
his son Isaac, under similar circumstances.
The occupations of the ancient Jewish women were laborious. They
spent their time in spinning and weaving cloth for garments, and for
the covering of the tents; in cooking the food, tending the flocks,
grinding the corn, and drawing water from the wells. When Abraham
entertained the three strangers under the tree before his dwelling,
“He hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, make ready quickly
three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.”
Jacob found Rachel tending the flocks of her wealthy father; and when
Abraham’s servant sought the beautiful Rebecca as a wife for Isaac, the
damsel not only drew water for him, but for his camels also.
The performance of these tasks does not necessarily imply a deficiency
of respect for women, for at that period kings and princes were in the
habit of reaping their own grain, and slaying their own cattle. The
condition of women then bore a general correspondence to that of the
men, as it ever since has done.
The manners were generally rude, and females of course were not treated
with the politeness which has prevailed in modern times. Thus when the
daughters of Jethro came to draw water for their flocks, the shepherds
of Midian drove them away, notwithstanding their father was high priest
of the country.
Jewish husbands seem to have had a discretionary power of divorcing
their wives; and no bargain or vow made by a woman was binding, unless
made in the presence of her father or husband, and with their sanction.
Before the time of Moses, women appear to have been incapable of
inheriting the estates of their fathers, even when he died without
other heirs. The daughters of Zelophead brought before Moses, the
priests, the princes, and the congregation a petition, setting forth
that their father had died in the wilderness without sons; on which
account they thought themselves entitled to a share of his possessions.
Moses granted the petition, and ordained that in future, when a man
died without sons, his inheritance should descend to the daughters.
We know little of the amusements of Israelitish women; but in the
early periods of their history, when both sexes were almost constantly
occupied in procuring the means of subsistence, it is not probable that
amusements were either frequent or various. Music and dancing were
unquestionably among the most ancient recreations of human beings.
I imagine they were coeval with language itself; for they were but
varied manifestations of those emotions and thoughts which words were
framed to express. Among modern highly civilized nations, dancing is
indeed regulated by merely artificial rules, and has as little to do
with character as the projection of a map; but in more simple forms of
society, the national dances, like national tunes, are an embodiment of
the characteristic passions of the people: such are the war dances of
the Indians, and the voluptuous dances of the East.
Moses speaks of singing men and singing women; and throughout the Old
Testament there is frequent mention of music and dancing at sacred
festivals. After Pharaoh and his host had perished in the Red sea,
we are told that “Miriam the prophetess took a timbrel in her hand,
and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.
And Miriam answered them, ‘Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed
gloriously.’”
Deborah and Barak likewise joined in a song of triumph, after the
defeat of Sisera.
Whether music and dancing were entirely confined to public and solemn
occasions, is uncertain; but we can hardly imagine that it was so. The
ancient Israelites, like other people who live in similar climates, no
doubt highly enjoyed family meetings in the open air, each one under
the shadow “of his own vine and fig-tree;” and to have had musical
instruments, without using them on such occasions, would have been a
strange perversity.
In the later periods of Jewish history, a class of public singers
probably existed, whose character was similar to such classes now found
in the East; this may be inferred from the words of the son of Sirach,
“use not much the company of a woman who is a singer.”
In the patriarchal ages the Jewish women must have enjoyed a large
share of personal freedom; for we read of all ranks engaged in the
labors of the field, and going out of the cities to draw water. That
they were not usually secluded from visiters seems to be implied by the
question which the strangers asked Abraham, “Where is Sarah, thy wife?”
Indeed, living as they did in tents, and removing so frequently, it
would have been no easy matter to have preserved the complete privacy
that exists in the seraglios of the East. But as the Jews grew more
numerous and wealthy, the higher ranks indulged in a much greater
number of wives, and kept them more carefully secluded. Solomon had
seven hundred wives, and three hundred mistresses; but these, like
horses and chariots, were probably valued merely as the appendages of
ostentatious grandeur. To prevent the increasing tendency to polygamy,
a law was made forbidding any man who took a new wife to diminish the
food and raiment of his other wives, or in any respect to treat them
with less attention.
The part of the house appropriated to females was called the armon.
It was universally toward the east, and entirely separated from the
apartments of the men. None but the nearest male relations were ever
allowed to pass the threshold. Any infringement of this law was
punished with great severity.
The houses in Palestine were built with flat roofs, and in such a
manner as to inclose in the centre a large, open, quadrangular court,
called the chazer or thavech. This court was as completely sheltered
from public observation as the most private apartment. It contained a
fountain shaded by palm trees, and screened by an awning which could
be drawn over it whenever occasion required; it was ornamented with
columns, vases of flowers, and tesselated marble, according to the
wealth of the owner. Here the women pursued their occupations, played
with their children, and enjoyed the cool evening air, at seasons
when there was no danger of the approach of strangers. The arrival of
male visiters was doubtless proclaimed in season for them to retire,
as it now is in Christian convents and eastern seraglios. When king
David went out against Absalom, his women assembled on the house-top
to witness his departure, as they are now allowed to do in oriental
countries, when they wish to see any procession or show. From various
passages of Scripture there is reason to suppose that people generally
slept on the house-tops in summer, as they still do in many of the fine
climates of the East.
The occupations of women during the prosperous reign of Solomon may be
gathered from his Proverbs: “Who can find a virtuous woman? Her price
is far above rubies. The heart of her husband shall safely trust in
her, and he shall have no need of spoil. She seeketh wool and flax,
she worketh willingly with her hands. She riseth while it is yet
night, and giveth meat to her household, and tasks to her maidens. She
stretcheth forth her hand to the distaff; her fingers hold the spindle.
She openeth her hand to the poor, yea, she stretcheth forth her hands
to the needy. She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing
is silk and purple. She looketh well to her household, and eateth not
the bread of idleness. Give her of the fruit of her hands; let her own
works praise her in the gates.”
That women sometimes transacted business, and made bargains in their
own name, seems to be implied in the Proverbs: “She considereth a field
and buyeth it; with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
She maketh fine linen and selleth it. She delivereth girdles to the
merchant.” It is likewise certain that women went with their husbands
to Jerusalem, and worshipped in the temple on solemn festivals.
Even in those days there was no dearth of invective against the follies
and vices of the sex. Solomon praises good women in the most exalted
terms; but he implies their extreme rarity by the question, “Who can
_find_ a virtuous woman?” The son of Sirach says, “All wickedness is
but little to the wickedness of a woman.” “From garments cometh a moth,
and from women wickedness.” “A loud crying woman and a scold shall be
sought out to drive away the enemies.” “A drunken woman and a gadder
abroad causeth great anger.”
Perhaps it never occurred to those wise men, that the system of
polygamy was calculated to stifle the best emotions of the female
heart, and to call all its worst passions into exercise. But even
under the most barbarous and tyrannical forms of society, the salutary
influence of good and sensible women is felt and acknowledged. The son
of Sirach says, “Blessed is the man that has a virtuous wife, for the
number of his days shall be doubled;” and the Old Testament abounds
with similar remarks.
The spirit of that age was not favorable to intellectual improvement;
but as there were wise men, who formed exceptions to the general
ignorance, and were destined to guide the world into more advanced
states, so there was a corresponding proportion of wise women; and
among the Jews, as well as other nations, we find a strong tendency to
believe that women were in more immediate connection with Heaven, than
men. Miriam, the sister of Aaron, was a prophetess, and seems to have
possessed great influence. Deborah, the wife of Lapidoth, was not only
a prophetess, but for many years a judge in Israel; and we are told
that Barak refused to go up with his army against Sisera, unless she
went up with him. At a later period, there was Anna the prophetess, who
for many years remained in the temple of the Lord, night and day, in
fasting and prayer. When Joseph and Mary brought the child Jesus into
the temple, she immediately “gave thanks to the Lord, and spake of him
to all them who looked for redemption in Israel.” The belief in women
who were under the influence of evil spirits, is shown by the story of
the witch of Endor.
That women were imbued with the sternness which marked the barbarous
character of men, is evident in the story of Jael, who drove the nail
through the temples of Sisera, her sleeping guest; and of Judith, who
deliberately bewitched the senses of Holofernes, that she might gain an
opportunity to sever his head from his shoulders.
Josephus tells us that Mary, the daughter of Eleazer, who dwelt beyond
Jordan, of eminent wealth and rank, fled away to Jerusalem during the
Roman invasion, and was there when the city was besieged by Cæsar’s
troops. The little property she had been able to bring safely out
of Perea was seized by the rapacious guards, from whom she received
continual insult and injury. At last famine prevailed to a dreadful
degree in Jerusalem, and it became impossible for her to obtain any
food. Goaded to madness by long continued hunger, she killed her own
infant for food, saying, “Why should I preserve thee, miserable babe!
If the Romans spare our lives, we must be slaves; and the seditious
villains among us are more terrible than either of these things. Be
thou my food and a by-word to the world, which is all that is now
wanting to complete the calamities of the Jews.” The soldiers perceived
that food had been cooked in her house, and demanded their share of it.
She produced the remnant of her horrid meal, saying, in mockery, “This
is mine own son; and what has been done is mine own doing. Eat of this
food; I have eaten of it myself. Do not pretend to be more tender than
a woman, or more compassionate than a mother.”
The seditious soldiers, accustomed as they were to bloodshed and crime,
went out trembling and afraid. When the famishing people heard of it,
they desired to die, and esteemed those most happy who had died before
such miseries were witnessed.
The dress of the ancient Hebrew women probably differed but little
from that worn by the daughters of Israel at the present day. A robe
which fell in ample folds, fastened by a girdle; loose flowing sleeves
confined by bracelets; braided hair; and a turban, from which descended
a long, transparent veil. Garments of silk and fine linen, of scarlet
and purple, are often mentioned in connection with people of rank; and
we are told that Tamar wore a robe of divers colors, according to the
custom of the king’s unmarried daughters. Jewels were in use, even in
the days of the patriarchs; for when Isaac sent his servant in search
of Rebecca, he sent bracelets and ear-rings, of silver and of gold; and
when Moses built a tabernacle for the Lord, “Both men and women came,
as many as were willing-hearted, and brought bracelets, and ear-rings,
and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold, an offering unto the Lord.
And all the women that were wise-hearted did spin with their hands and
brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and
of scarlet, and of fine linen.” The Israelitish mirrors were made of
polished brass, and the women were so partial to them that they carried
them everywhere, even to the most solemn places of worship. The use of
false hair among the ancient Jews seems to be implied by the fact that
Absalom’s hair sold for two hundred shekels.
The Jews endeavored, both by law and custom, to keep their nation
unmixed by foreign intermarriages; and it was a favorite plan with
them to unite different branches of the same family. Thus the wife of
Abraham was his sister, by the father’s side; and Isaac and Jacob both
sought wives among their kinsmen. When a man died without heirs, the
nearest relation was bound to marry the widow; and if he refused to do
so, she publicly accused him before the elders, loosed the shoe from
his foot, spat in his face, and said, “So shall it be done unto the man
that will not build up his brother’s house.” And his name was called
in Israel, “The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.”
Notwithstanding the effort to keep the blood of the nation, and even
of individual families, unmixed from generation to generation, the
rule was sometimes broken through. Thus Moses married an Ethiopian
woman; the wife of Joseph was daughter of the priest of On; and Solomon
married the daughter of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
It is generally supposed that formal ceremonies at a wedding were first
prescribed by Moses. According to the rabbies, the appointed days were
Friday for a bride who had never been married, and Thursday for a
widow. The contract was read and signed by ten witnesses, who were free
and of age. The bride was veiled and given to the bridegroom by her
parents. Her father said, “Take her according to the law of Moses;” and
the husband answered, “I take her according to that law.” Benedictions
were then pronounced both by the parents and the guests. The maidens
sang a marriage song, and the men danced around the bridegroom, while
the women danced around the bride. The feasting continued seven days,
unless the bride were a widow, in which case they continued but three
days. If a man married a number of wives in quick succession, he was
bound to allow a feast of seven days to each. At a later period the
form was somewhat changed. In the presence of ten witnesses, the
bridegroom said to the bride, “Be thou a wife to me according to the
law of Moses, and I will worship and honor thee, according to the word
of God, and will feed and govern thee, according to the custom of those
who worship, honor, and govern their wives faithfully. I give thee
fifty shekels for thy dowry.”
The story of Samson and Delilah seems to imply that custom did not
allow a young man to seek a girl in marriage without the intervention
of his parents. He said to his father and mother, “I have seen a woman
of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore get her for me to
wife;” and when his parents started objections, he still pleaded, “Get
her for me; for she pleaseth me well.” The idea of applying to the
beautiful Delilah in person does not seem to have occurred to his mind.
During the magnificent prosperity of Israel, marriage ceremonies
were conducted with more pomp than they had been in the days of the
patriarchs. Instead of the bridegroom’s paying a certain sum of money,
or performing a certain period of service for his bride, it became
customary for wealthy parents to give a handsome dowry with their
daughters. This is the natural tendency of society; because with the
progress of wealth and refinement women become expensive, rather than
profitable, in a pecuniary point of view.
On the day of the nuptials, the bride was conducted by her female
relations to the bath, where she was anointed with the choicest
perfumes, her hair perfumed and braided, her eyebrows deepened with
black powder, and the tips of her fingers tinged with rose-color. Her
companions then arrayed her in a marriage robe of brilliant color,
which fell in ample folds to her feet. The girdle and bracelets
were more or less costly, according to the wealth of her parents. A
flame-colored veil was surmounted by a crown, usually of gold; for this
reason, a bride among the Hebrews was called _the crowned_. Before she
left the bath, her friends from all quarters sent in their wedding
gifts. The bridegroom was anointed and crowned in a similar manner, by
the young men of his family.
The bride, accompanied by her nurse, was conveyed in a litter from
her father’s house, followed by all her female friends and relations
closely veiled. The procession was headed by seventy young priests
bearing flambeaux of oil and pitch, and by a multitude of persons
carrying the clothes, jewels, and furniture, which had been presented
to the bride; each person carried but one thing. Next came the
bridegroom and his friends, in their richest apparel. Then came the
bride in her palanquin: and servants and children closed the train.
When they arrived at the bridegroom’s house, the bride anointed the
door-posts with oil, and adorned them with woollen fillets. Then the
maidens lifted her over the threshold, which formed the boundary
between her single and married life. The nuptial train entered the
courts, and the bride solemnly took possession of her apartments in
the armon, where a feast was prepared for her and her female friends.
When all had partaken plentifully, both men and women assembled in
the inner court. The maidens led the bride, and the young men the
bridegroom, to the parents, who placed the right hand of the wife
within the right hand of her husband, and pronounced upon them the
paternal blessing. “Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, who didst create
Adam and Eve! Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, who causeth Zion to
rejoice in her children! Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, who makest
the bride and the bridegroom to be glad together! The God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, be with you, and help you
together, and give his blessing richly upon you! Jehovah make the wife
that comes into thy house like Rachel, and like Leah, who built up the
house of Israel!”
The marriage festivities continued seven days, during which time
numerous gifts were exchanged between the newly married and their
guests.
When a man believed he had reason to be jealous of his wife, he could
at any time compel her to submit to the public ordeal of drinking the
water of jealousy. On such occasions, the wife was brought before
the priests and elders, in the midst of a crowd of men, women, and
children, who collected from curiosity. When the culprit stood in the
presence of her judges, she was left alone, and if neither persuasion
or sternness could extort from her a confession of guilt, they decreed
that she should drink the water of jealousy, and take the oath of
purgation. Being then led forth from the sanctuary, the priest, who was
appointed for the purpose, threw her jewels, veil, and turban on the
ground, dishevelled her braided hair, rent her garments from the top of
the neck to the breast, and bound a strip of bark about her, in place
of a girdle, saying, “Thou hast forsaken the manner of the daughters
of Israel, who cover their heads, and hast followed the manners of the
heathen, who go with their heads uncovered.”
Then the men spat on the ground, and the women uttered cries of
abhorrence. The husband gave the priest the “offering of jealousy, the
tenth part of an ephah of barley-meal, with no oil or frankincense
poured thereon.” Then the priest filled an earthen vessel with holy
water from the laver beside the altar, and put into it dust from the
floor of the tabernacle. With an elevated and solemn voice he said, “If
thou art innocent, be thou free from the curse of this bitter water;
but if thou art guilty, may Jehovah make thee a curse among thy people,
and bring on thee all the curses written in his law.”
If the woman answered, expressing her willingness to submit to the
ordeal, the priest waved the “offering of jealousy” before Jehovah, and
mixing the meal with salt, he burned it in the fire. Then the curses of
the law were written on a roll, and washed off in the vessel of water
wherein dust had been mingled. The woman drank the water of cursing,
with her eyes lifted toward the holy of holies.
If, after a long pause, she was perceived to be unharmed, a shout of
joy burst from the multitude, and hallelujah resounded from the temple
through the streets of the city. Her parents and husband congratulated
her on this proof of innocence, her hair was braided anew, her jewels
and veil restored, and she was conducted home in triumph.
There was such a firm belief that any guilty person who drank the
“water of cursing” would be immediately swollen with painful and
loathsome disease, that few would have ventured to abide by the ordeal,
unless they were conscious of innocence; and if any one had been
sufficiently daring to run the supposed risk, the priests would not
have been easily deceived by a bold woman, who tried to imitate the
quiet fearlessness of virtue.
By the Mosaic law, an unfaithful wife was stoned to death, and the
partner of her guilt shared the same fate.
Among the customs of Jewish women, it is mentioned that “the daughters
of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite,
four days in the year.” It is well known, from Scripture history, that
Jephthah’s daughter went out with timbrels and dances to meet her
father, when he returned victorious over his enemies; and that she
cheerfully consented to be sacrificed, in order to fulfil a vow he had
made unto the Lord.
It is not recorded what ceremonies were observed in commemoration of
her death; but it was probably done after the manner in which they
were accustomed to bewail women who died unmarried. The procession
were clothed in mourning garments, with dishevelled hair, and ashes
upon their heads, and as they moved, they wrung their hands and
uttered loud lamentations. It was not allowable to bathe, or anoint,
during the days appointed for mourning. Jewish widows mourned for
their husbands at least for the space of ten months, and it was deemed
extremely indecorous for them to marry again in that time.
Children mourn a year for their parents. They do not put on black,
but wear the same clothes they had on at the death of their father,
however tattered and dirty they may be. Mourning for children, uncles,
and aunts, lasts one month, during which period they do not cut their
nails. When a husband returns from the funeral of his wife, he washes
his hands, uncovers his feet, seats himself on the ground, and remains
in the same posture, groaning and weeping, until the seventh day.
The custom of hired mourners to weep at funerals, and excite others to
tears, was common with the Jews, and other ancient nations. Jeremiah
says, “Call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for
cunning women that they may come; and let them make haste, and take
up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our
eyelids gush out with water.”
Women while in captivity wore their hair shaven, and nails cut close,
in token of grief. A new-born Hebrew infant was washed and rubbed with
salt. When it was forty days old, the father offered a lamb of the
first year and a turtle-dove, the first as a burnt-offering and the
latter as a sin-offering for the mother. She prayed while the victims
were slain by the priest, who afterwards sprinkled her with the blood.
At the feast of Pentecost an infant child was solemnly presented by its
parents before Jehovah, in the temple.
There was a Jewish sect called Essenes, who were similar to the
Pythagoreans, and in many points resembled the Shakers of modern times.
Their name was derived from a Persian word signifying resemblance to
a hive of bees. There was an entire community of goods among them,
and very strict subordination to their elders. The tendency of their
doctrines was to keep the body in complete subjection to the soul,
which they believed to be immortal. They lived in seclusion, never
mixed with the world, drank only water, ate only bread and hyssop, and
had great contempt for women. They always wore white garments, and
spat behind them, in token of abhorrence to the world they had left.
Marriage was entirely forbidden among the higher class of this sect,
and among the inferior classes it was allowed only with very strict
limitations and severe restraints. This society was kept up by people
who, from various motives, left the world to join them, or saw fit to
intrust them with the education of their children.
None of the priests of Israel were allowed to marry a widow, or a
divorced woman, or one whose character was not irreproachable.
The Jews are now scattered all over the earth; but they everywhere
adhere to their ancient faith and usages; even in the United States,
where every thing is in the most direct opposition to the old Hebrew
spirit of regulating, defining, bounding, and limiting.
This singular people are very numerous in Poland, where they have
erected stately synagogues and academies. The city of Hamburgh has been
called the “lesser Jerusalem,” on account of the number of Jews who
reside there. They are numerous in Turkey, and have colonies in India.
A German traveller gives the following enthusiastic description of
the Jewesses in Poland: “I may here say a few words about the fair
daughters of Israel, whom I saw at Kalish, decked in ornaments and
rich apparel, in honor of the Sabbath. The pearl bands, worn as head
ornaments by the Polish Jewesses, are so peculiar, that it is almost
impossible to convey a correct idea of them by mere description.
These bands are seen only in Poland, and their form obviously denotes
their ancient and oriental origin. They consist of strings of pearls
intermingled with gold, forming altogether an elaborate piece of
architecture, whose construction it is not easy to describe.
“A Jewess of the higher class, adorned with her pearl hair-band
and gold neck-chain, from which is frequently suspended an ancient
gold coin, is an object of no common interest, especially if she be
as beautiful as I have often seen Jewesses in Poland. The events
of thousands of years seem to be recorded in their soul-beaming
countenances. They deserve to be stored in the memory, as a portion
of the pure, beautiful, and sublime of this world. Dignity, feeling,
tender melancholy, and, not unfrequently, deep-seated sorrow, is
expressed in the features of the fair daughters of Israel, whose
notions of virtue and decorum are as rigid as the laws of their
forefathers. This rule, like every other, has of course its exceptions.
Few will deny that beauty consists more in expression than in the form
of the features. Many women who are pronounced beautiful produce but
little, or perhaps even an unfavorable impression, merely from the
want of intellectual spirit. But the utmost beauty of form combined
with expression leaves nothing to be wished for; and this will be
acknowledged by all who have seen the Jewesses of Poland.”
“A faithful adherence to their national costume serves to heighten
their natural attractions.”
The modern Jewish women light a lamp every Friday evening, half an hour
before sunset, which is the beginning of their Sabbath. The custom
is said to be in remembrance of their original mother, who first
extinguished the lamp of righteousness, and to remind them of their
obligation to rekindle it. Instead of the scape-goat, they now use
white fowls. At the appointed season every mother of a family takes
a white hen, and striking it on the head, says, “Let this die for my
sins; she shall die, but I shall live.”
Women did not succeed to the Jewish crown; two instances, however,
occur in their history, where the supreme power was in female hands.
Athaliah, the daughter of king Omri, and mother of Ahaziah, nearly
destroyed the royal family, and usurped the throne for six years. At a
later period, Alexander Jannœus left the crown to his wife Alexandra
during her life, and then to either of his sons whom she might think
proper to appoint.
The ancient Jews were of the same dark complexion as the Arabs and
Chinese; but their history furnishes a remarkable exemplification of
the influence of climate. They are dispersed all over the globe, and
wheresoever they sojourn, those who marry among Gentile nations are
cast out of the synagogue; therefore whatever changes have taken place
in their color must have been induced by climate and modes of life.
There are now Jews of all complexions, from the light blonde of the
Saxon to the deep brown of the Spaniard, and the mahogany hue of the
Moors. The black Jews of Hindostan were originally slaves purchased
by the Jews who sought shelter in that country, and who, with more
consistency than Christians have manifested, emancipated their bondmen
when they became converts to their religion.
* * * * *
Little is known of ancient Assyria, and of Babylonia, which was at
first a part of Assyria. Being a wealthy and luxurious nation, their
women were of course treated with a degree of consideration unknown
among savage tribes. The manner in which Babylonish women are spoken
of in the Bible implies great magnificence of apparel; and as there is
always a correspondence between the moral and intellectual condition
of the sexes, it is not probable that women were universally and
totally ignorant in a country where the sciences made such advancement,
and written laws were used.
The Babylonians manufactured rich embroidery, tapestry, fine linen,
and magnificent carpets. They were distinguished for elegance and
refinement of manners; were very fond of music, and had a great variety
of instruments. Singing and dancing girls were selected from the most
beautiful to entertain the wealthy at their meals; but we have no means
of knowing whether ladies of high rank considered it a degradation
to dance and sing before strangers. It is generally supposed that
the Babylonian women were admitted to social and convivial meetings
with men; and it is on record that they sometimes drank too freely of
the wine. Weaving and embroidery were no doubt generally practised
by women, either for amusement or profit. With regard to marriages,
they had a yearly custom of a peculiar kind. In every district three
men, respectable for their virtue, were chosen to conduct all the
marriageable girls to the public assembly. Here they were put up at
auction by the public crier, while the magistrates presided over the
sales. The most beautiful were sold first, and the rich contended
eagerly for a choice. The most ugly or deformed girl was sold next in
succession to the handsomest, and assigned to any person who would take
her with the least sum of money. The price given for the beautiful was
divided into dowries for the homely. Poor people, who cared less for
personal endowments, were well content to receive a plain wife for the
sake of a moderate portion. No man was allowed to provide a husband for
his daughter; and no man was permitted to take away the woman he had
purchased, until he had given security to make her his wife. The feasts
by which wealthy Babylonians commemorated their marriages became at
last so extravagant that laws were made to restrain them. The Assyrians
worshipped Venus under the name of Mylitta. Some of the ceremonies
observed in her temple are unsuitable to be described in these pages.
When the Babylonians were besieged by the Persians, they strangled all
the women except their mothers, and one other in each family, to bake
their bread. This was done to prevent famine; and the lot fell upon
women probably because they were of less importance in carrying on the
war.
It is not known whether females were admitted into the priesthood; but
a woman always slept in the temple of Jupiter Belus, whom the Chaldean
priests declared to have been chosen by the deity as his especial
favorite from among all the nation.
Two remarkable women are mentioned in the brief records we have of
Assyria and Babylon. Their names are Semiramis and Nitocris.
When Ninus, king of Assyria, besieged Bactria, it is said the attempt
would not have been successful, had it not been for the assistance
of Semiramis, who was at that time the wife of one of his principal
officers. She planned so skilful a method of attack, that victory was
insured. Ninus became a passionate lover of the sagacious lady, and her
husband committed suicide. Soon after this she became queen. Some say
she requested the monarch to invest her with uncontrolled power merely
for the space of five days; and as soon as a decree to this effect had
been made public, she caused him to be put to death; but other authors
deny this. She succeeded Ninus in the government of the Assyrian
empire, and to render her name immortal, she built the great city of
Babylon in one year. Two millions of men were constantly employed upon
it. Certain dykes built by order of the queen, to defend the city from
inundations, are spoken of as admirable.
Altars were built and divine honors paid to the memory of Semiramis.
The other celebrated queen was Nitocris, wife of Nabonadius, who in the
Scripture is called Evil Merodach. She was a woman of great endowments.
While her voluptuous husband gave himself up to what the world calls
pleasure, she managed the affairs of state with extraordinary judgment
and sagacity. She was particularly famous for the canals and bridges
which she caused to be made for the improvement of Babylon.
Such instances as these do not indicate a degraded condition of women.
Yet the Assyrian monarchs had seraglios, at least in times later than
Nitocris; for we are told that the effeminate Sardanapalus spent his
chief time in the apartments of his women, learning to handle the
distaff, and imitating their voice and manners. This fact proves that
spinning was not unusual with women of high rank. The exceeding love of
perfumes which prevails in the East characterized Assyria. When Babylon
was conquered, all the evils arose which might have been expected among
a voluptuous people so long accustomed to luxurious living. Fathers
and husbands, rather than relinquish their own expensive habits, were
not unfrequently willing to receive the shameful price of a wife or
daughter’s beauty.
* * * * *
The ancient Lycians, supposed to be descendants of the Cretans, always
took their names from their mothers, and not from their fathers. When
any one was asked to give an account of his ancestors, he mentioned the
female branches only. If a free woman married a slave, the children
were free; but if a citizen married a concubine or a foreigner, his
children could not attain to any political dignity. The inheritance
descended to daughters, and sons were excluded. Some say the Lycian
women were treated with this remarkable degree of respect, because
their prayers to Neptune once removed an extraordinary salt blighting
dew from the fields. Others suppose it was because their ancestors,
the Cretans, descended from the goddess Thetis. A woman presided over
the different companies into which the Cretans were divided, had the
entire management of the household, and at table gave the choicest food
to those who had most distinguished themselves. The origin of these
peculiar customs is obscured by fable, but they probably arose from
some great benefit early conferred upon the state by women. The Lycian
men mourned for the dead by assuming female garments.
Artemisia, queen of Caria, so famous for her wisdom and bravery, was
descended from the Cretans on the mother’s side. By the death of
her husband she was left with the government of the kingdom, until
her son should be of age. She served with Xerxes in his expedition
against Greece, and furnished five of the best ships in the fleet.
She endeavored to dissuade the Persian monarch from venturing a naval
battle at Salamis; but her judicious advice not being accepted,
she commanded her portion of the fleet, and fought with the utmost
bravery. When her vessel was pointed out to Xerxes, he exclaimed, “The
men on this occasion behave like women, and the women like men.” The
Athenian conquerors considered themselves so much disgraced by having
a female antagonist, that they pursued her with the utmost vengeance,
and offered ten thousand drachmæ to whoever would take her alive. But
she escaped in safety to her own kingdom by means of an artifice; for
having attacked one of her own allies, with whom she was displeased,
the Greeks supposed her vessel to be one friendly to their cause. Some
other stratagems, which she used to obtain power over her enemies, were
entirely unworthy of a generous mind.
Xerxes entertained so high an opinion of Artemisia, that he confided to
her care the education of the young princes of Persia. Her statue was
erected at Lacedæmon, among those of the Persian generals.
She became in love with a young man of Abydos, who did not return
her passion; in consequence of which she caused his eyes to be put
out while he slept, and then, in a fit of remorse, jumped from the
promontory of Leucas into the sea.
There was another Artemisia, daughter of a Carian king, who married
Mausolus, famous for his beauty. She was so much in love with her
husband, that after his death she mixed his ashes with her drink. She
erected a monument to his memory, so magnificent, that it was called
one of the seven wonders of the world; and from this circumstance the
word mausoleum is derived. She offered large rewards to the literary
men of the age, for the best elegiac panegyric on her husband. Two
years after his decease, she died of grief.
* * * * *
Little is known of the Trojan women. Their condition was probably
very similar to that of women in other nations of the same period.
Andromache, though a princess, and well beloved by her husband, fed
and took care of the horses of Hector. It is to be presumed that she
had a good deal of skill in embroidery, for we are told that she made
a representation of the death of Hector, surrounded by garlands. The
dreams and prophecies of Cassandra, daughter of king Priam, betray the
usual tendencies to invest women with supernatural powers.
* * * * *
The Asiatic Greeks, particularly those of Ionia, were distinguished for
voluptuous refinement, and the beauty and gracefulness of their women.
The celebrated Aspasia, first the mistress, and afterwards the wife of
Pericles, was of Ionia. Her wit and eloquence must have equalled her
beauty; for we are told that Plato loved to discourse philosophy with
her, and that Pericles sought her advice in great political emergencies.
Zenobia, queen of Palmyra and the East, is the most remarkable among
Asiatic women. Her genius struggled with, and overcame, all the
obstacles presented by oriental laws and customs. She is said to have
been as beautiful as Cleopatra, from whom she claimed descent. She
knew the Latin, Greek, Syriac, and Egyptian languages; had drawn up,
for her own use, an abridgment of oriental history; and read Homer and
Plato under the tuition of Longinus. She was the companion and friend
of her husband, and accompanied him on his hunting excursions with
eagerness and courage equal to his own. She despised the effeminacy
of a covered carriage, and often appeared on horseback in military
costume. Sometimes she marched several miles on foot, at the head of
the troops. Having revenged the murder of her husband, she ascended the
throne, and for five years governed Palmyra, Syria, and the East, with
wonderful steadiness and wisdom. After a long and desperate resistance
she was conquered by the Roman emperor Aurelian, who had grown jealous
of the increasing wealth and power of his rival.
The conduct of Zenobia after her capture tarnishes all the lustre
of her character. She who had conducted many battles by her wisdom,
and gained them by her valor, trembled when she heard the ferocious
Roman soldiery demand her death; and she sought to save herself by
sacrificing her best friends to the resentment of the conqueror.
Zenobia, almost weighed down with jewels, and chained with gold,
walked, a splendid captive, in the triumph of Aurelian. That emperor,
however, treated his unfortunate rival with a degree of clemency
unusual in ancient times. He gave Zenobia a very elegant villa,
about twenty miles from Rome. The great Queen of the East sunk into
the obscurity of private life, and her daughters married into noble
families.
* * * * *
Many of the customs of the ancient Jews still prevail in Syria. The
rude mill by which they grind their corn is turned by two women, as it
was in the days of our Saviour. The excellent wells in the neighborhood
of mount Lebanon are still the resort of women, who carry thence large
jars of water on their heads, as the daughters of the patriarchs did of
old. They are very timid; and if a stranger approaches the fountains
they immediately draw their veils. In common with many other Asiatic
nations, they bake their bread in small cakes against a heated brick
wall. When the cake is sufficiently done, it drops of itself. This no
doubt was the manner in which Sarah “baked cakes on the hearth” when
Abraham entertained the strangers in his tent.
When a Syrian lady is betrothed, her lover sends her a ring and other
jewels, according to his rank and wealth. After these are accepted, she
is not allowed to see her intended husband, or any gentleman but her
nearest relatives, until the wedding ceremonies are completed. There is
no period fixed for the bridegroom to send for the bride; but during
the fourteen previous days he repeatedly sends presents to her; and
five days before she is summoned from her father’s house, he sends a
confidential woman with jewels for her head, neck, and arms. Under the
care of this woman, the bride is bathed, her hands stained red, and
her face painted like a doll. Presents from friends are sent to the
bath, and the bride walks several times round the fountain, adorned
with a succession of new dresses and ornaments, accompanied by lighted
candles, and the joyful cries of her attendants. After this, she is
required to sit in a corner with closed eyes the whole day, except at
the hours of eating. The relatives of the bridegroom escort her to his
house, mounted on a horse, with her eyes still closed, accompanied by
musicians, women bearing torches, and mules loaded with the dresses,
ornaments, or household utensils, which she has received. As the
procession passes along, the people invoke blessings on the bride.
The Syrian women ride astride on horseback, veiled; but they are less
scrupulous than most Asiatic women about removing their veils, when
comfort or convenience requires it.