Volume 1

Thelyphthora; or, a treatise on female ruin, in its causes, effects, consequences, prevention, and remedy; considered on the basis of the divine law under the following heads, viz. marriage, whoredom and fornication, adultery, polygamy, divorce, with many other incidental matters, particularly including an examination of the principles and tendency of Stat. 26 Geo. II. c. 33, commonly called The marriage act / [Anon].

  • Martin Madan
Date:
1780-1781
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Thelyphthora; or, a treatise on female ruin, in its causes, effects, consequences, prevention, and remedy; considered on the basis of the divine law under the following heads, viz. marriage, whoredom and fornication, adultery, polygamy, divorce, with many other incidental matters, particularly including an examination of the principles and tendency of Stat. 26 Geo. II. c. 33, commonly called The marriage act / [Anon]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    [ ίοο ] felf, as to forbid^ and yet allow^ the fame thins: under the fame circumftances. O Some have found out, that polygamy was allowed for the more expeditious peopling of the world.” — Suppofmg it is a means of increafing population ' ^ This common notion, or rather vulgar errovy Is adopted by Si\ Augujiinsy De Civ. Dei. lib. xvi. c. 38. where, fpeakino; of the antient polygamyy he fays it was lawful — ^uoniam multiplicands ροβεη- iatis caufa plures uxores lex nulla prohibebat, Be- “ caufe, for the fake of multiplying poβerityy no “ law forbad many wives.”—But let us fuppofe tea men and ten women—can it be imagined, that if thefe ten women are each feverally married to one many they are not likely to have as many children, as if they vvere all married to one ©■f the men ? Portery in his Obfervations on the T'urksy fays, p. 292. that the number of children in Turkifi families is not what the idea of polygamy fuggefts; that they have not, in general, fo many children as are found in common families of ΟΙπβΙαη$ and ymr—He even ufes this as an argument againft polygamy. On the other hand, many have contended for the per- million of polygamy as ‘‘ a fpeedier means of peopling the world ; it appearing, that u\ polygamous cown- ‘‘ tries, people abound more than in others that are monogamous.'' But 1 take the real hate of the cafe, upon the whole, to be this; wherever there are the moil married νύοψεη^ there the increafe of the people will be the greateft. Polygamyy there- fore, as tending to increafe the number of ?narried vjomeuy muil certainly tend to population. But then Vv^e arc to fuppofe, that women who are married un- der polygamous contra6ls, would not otherwife be married at all ; for in no other view can polygamy be faid to increafe population ; in this it certainly muil., - - (which