lect02-第8章

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contracts　are　there？'　asks　the　Brehon　textwriter。　'Two；'　is　the






answer。　'A　valid　contract；　and　an　invalid　contract。'　This；　no






doubt；　is　absurd；　but　the　explanation　appears　to　be　as　follows。






The　principle　of　the　absolute　sacredness　of　contracts　was






probably　of　foreign　origin；　and　was　insisted　upon　for　a






particular　purpose。　It　was　therefore　laid　down　too　broadly　for






the　actual　state　of　the　law　and　the　actual　condition　of　Irish






Celtic　society。　Under　such　circumstances　a　treatise　on　Contract






takes　necessarily　the　form　in　great　measure　of　a　treatise　on　the






grounds　of　invalidity　in　contracts；　on　the　manifold　exceptions　to






an　over…broad　general　rule。　Anciently；　the　power　of　contracting






is　limited　on　all　sides。　It　is　limited　by　the　rights　of　your。






family；　by　the　rights　of　your　distant　kinsmen；　by　the　rights　of






your　co…villagers；　by　the　rights　of　your　tribe；　by　the　rights　of






your　Chief；　and；　if　you　contract　adversely　to　the　Church；　by　the






rights　of　the　Church。　The　Corus　Bescna　is　in　great　part　a






treatise　on　these　archaic　limitations。　At　the　same　time　some　of






the　modern　grounds　of　invalidity　are　very　well　set　forth；　and　the






merit　may　possibly　be　due　to　the　penetration　of　Roman　doctrine






into　the　Brehon　law…schools。






　　　　Something　must　be　said　on　the　extent　to　which　Christian






opinion　has　leavened　these　Brehon　writings。　Christianity　has






certainly　had　considerable　negative　influence　over　them。　It






became　no　longer　possible　for　the　Brehon　to　assert　that　the






transgressor　of　his　rules　would　incur　a　supernatural　penalty；　and






the　consequences　of　this　were　no　doubt　important。　But　still；　as






you　have　seen；　in　the　case　of　'fasting　on　a　man；'　or　'sitting






dharna；'　the　heathen　rule　remained　in　the　system；　though　its






significance　was　lost。　Again；　one　positive　result　of　the






reception　by　the　Brehons　of　the　so…called　'law　of　the　letter'






appears　to　have　been　the　development　of　a　great　mass　of　rules






relating　to　the　territorial　rights　of　the　Church；　and　these






constitute　a　very　interesting　department　of　the　Brehon　law。　But






there　has　certainty　been　nothing　like　an　intimate






interpenetration　of　ancient　Irish　law　by　Christian　principle。　If






this　kind　of　influence　is　to　be　looked　for　anywhere；　it　must　be






in　the　law　of　Marriage；　and　the　cognate　branches　of　Divorce；






Legitimacy；　and　Inheritance。　These；　however；　are　the　very






portions　of　the　Brehon　law　which　have　been　dwelt　upon　by　writers






convinced　that；　as　regards　the　relations　of　the　sexes；　the






primitive　Irish　were　near　akin　to　those　Celts　of　Britain　of　whose






practices　Caesar　had　heard。　（B。　G。；　v。　14。）　The　'Book　of　Aicill'






provides　for　the　legitimation　not　only　of　the　bastard；　but　of　the






adulterine　bastard；　and　measures　the　compensation　to　be　paid　to






the　putative　father。　The　tract　on　'Social　Connections　'　appears






to　assume　that　the　temporary　cohabitation　of　the　sexes　is　part　of






the　accustomed　order　of　society；　and　on　this　assumption　it






minutely　regulates　the　mutual　rights　of　the　parties；　showing　an






especial　care　for　the　interests　of　the　woman；　even　to　the　extent






of　reserving　to　her　the　value　of　her　domestic　services　during　her






residence　in　the　common　dwelling。　One　remark　ought；　however；　to






be　made　on　these　provisions　of　the　Brehon　law。　It　is　not






inconceivable　that；　surprising　as　they　are；　they　may　be　the　index






to　a　social　advance。　Caesar　plainly　found　the　Celts　of　the






Continent　polygamous；　living　in　families　held　together　by






stringent　Paternal　Power。　He；　a　Roman；　familiar　with　a　Patria






Potestas　as　yet　undecayed；　thinks　it　worthy　of　remark　that　the






head　of　a　Gallic　household　had　the　power　of　life　and　death　over






his　wives　as　well　as　his　children；　and　notices　with　astonishment






that；　when　a　husband　died　under　suspicious　circumstances；　his






wives　were　treated　with　the　same　cruelty　as　a　body　of　household






slaves　at　Rome　whose　master　had　been　killed　by　an　unknown　hand。






（B。　G。；　vi。　19。）　Now；　though　very　much　cannot　be　confidently　said






about　the　transition　（which；　nevertheless；　is　an　undoubted　fact）






of　many　societies　from　polygamy　to　monogamy　under　influences






other　than　those　of　religion；　it　may　plausibly　be　conjectured






that　here　and　there　it　had　its　cause　in　liberty　of　divorce。　The






system　which　permitted　a　plurality　of　wives　may　have　passed　into






the　system　which　forbade　more　than　one　wife　at　a　time；　but　which






did　not　go　farther。　The　monogamy　of　the　modern　and　Western　world






is；　in　fact；　the　monogamy　of　the　Romans；　from　which　the　license






of　divorce　has　been　expelled　by　Christian　morality。　There　are






hardly　any　materials　for　an　opinion　upon　the　degree　of　influence






exercised　by　the　Church　over　the　transformation　of






marriage…relations　in　Ireland；　but　there　are　several　indications






that　the　ecclesiastical　rules　as　to　the　conditions　of　a　valid






marriage　established　themselves　very　slowly　among　the　ruder　races






on　the　outskirts　of　what　had　been　the　Roman　Empire。　Mr　Burton






（'History　of　Scotland；'　ii。　213）；　in　speaking　of　the　number　of






illegitimate　claimants　who　brought　their　pretensions　to　the　Crown






of　Scotland　before　Edward　the　First；　observes：　'That　they　should






have　pushed　their　claims　only　shows　that　the　Church　had　not　yet






absolutely　established　the　rule　that　from　her　and　her　ceremony






and　sacrament　could　alone　come　the　union　capable　of　transmitting






a　right　of　succession　to　offspring。'　The　tract　on　'Social






Connexions'　notices　a　'first'　wife；　and　the　recognition　may　be






attributable　to　the　Church；　but　on　the　whole　my　impression






certainly　is　that　the　extremely　ascetic　form　under　which






Christianity　was　introduced　into　Ireland　was　unfavourable　to　its






obtaining　a　hold　on　popular　morality。　The　common　view　seems　to






have　been　that　chastity　was　the　professional　virtue　of　a　special






class；　for　the　Brehon　tracts；　which　make　the　assumptions　I　have






described　as　to　the　morals　of　the　laity；　speak　of　irregularity　of






life　in　a　monk　or　bishop　with　the　strongest　reprobation　and






disgust。　At　the　present　moment　Ireland　is　probably　the　one　of　all






Western　countries　in　which　the　relations　of　the　sexes　are　most






nearly　on　the　footing　required　by　the　Christian　theory；　nor　is






there　any　reasonable　doubt　that　this　result　has　been　brought






about　in　the　main　by　the　Roman　Catholic　clergy。　But　this






purification　of　morals　was　effected　during　the　period　through






which　monks　and　monasticism　were　either　expelled　from　Ireland　or






placed　under　the　ban　of　the　law。






　　　　I　will　take　this　opportunity　of　saying　that　the　influence　of






Christianity　on　a　much　more　famous　system　than　the　Brehon　law　has






always　seemed　to　me　to　be　greatly　overstated　by　M。　Troplong　and






other　well…known　juridical　writers。　There　is；　of　course；　evidence






of　Christian　influence　on　Roman　law　in　the　disabilities　imposed






on　various　classes　of　heretics　and　in　the　limitations　of　that






liberty　of　divorce　which　belonged　to　the　older　jurisprudence。






But；　even　in　respect　of　divorce；　the　modifications　strike　me　as






less　than　mig