The Double Standard: Aulus Gellius, Attic Nights x.xxiii.1-5

 Trigger Warning: discrimination, execution

XXIII. Verba ex oratione M. Catonis de mulierum veterum victu et moribus; atque inibi, quod fuerit ius marito in adulterio uxorem deprehensam necare. I. Qui de victu atque cultu populi Romani scripserunt, mulieres Romae atque in Latio aetatem abstemias egisse, hoc est vino semper, quod "temetum" prisca lingua appellabatur, abstinuisse dicunt, institutumque ut cognatis osculum ferrent deprehendendi causa, ut odor indicium faceret, si bibissent. II. Bibere autem solitas ferunt loream, passum, murrinam et quae id genus sapiant potu dulcia. Atque haec quidem in his, quibus dixi, libris pervulgata sunt; III. sed Marcus Cato non solum existimatas, set et multatas quoque a iudice mulieres refert non minus, si vinum in se, quam si probrum et adulterium admisissent. IV. Verba Marci Catonis adscripsi ex oratione, quae inscribitur de dote, in qua id quoque scriptum est in adulterio uxores deprehensas ius fuisse maritis necare: "Vir" inquit "cum divortium fecit, mulieri iudex pro censore est, imperium, quod videtur, habet, si quid perverse taetreque factum est a muliere; multatur, si vinum bibit; si cum alieno viro probri quid fecit, condemnatur." V. De iure autem occidendi ita scriptum: "In adulterio uxorem tuam si prehendisses, sine iudicio inpune necares; illa te, si adulterares sive tu adulterarere, digito non auderet contingere, neque ius est."

 --Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticae, x.xxiii.1-5

An excerpt of Marcus Cato’s speech about traditional gender norms of women, which mentions the right for a husband to kill his wife caught in adultery.

1. Those who write about customs and norms of the Romans say that women both in Rome and Latium lived their lives in sobriety, always abstaining from wine (which in the olden days was called “moonshine*”).  Furthermore, women were conditioned to kiss their relatives, so that the menfolk could catch them if they were drinking, by smelling the alcohol on their breath.

2. They say that women were accustomed to drink sweet drinks—ice wine, grape juice, second-pressed [diluted] wine. And you can read more about this in the books I’ve already mentioned.

3. But Marcus Cato declared that women were not only convicted but also punished by a magistrate if they were drunk—and punished at the same level as adultery (even more so!)

4. I’m quoting a passage of Marcus Cato from his speech “About Dowries,” where he wrote that husbands had the right to kill their wives caught in adultery:

“When a husband divorces his wife, he acts as the woman’s judge and magistrate, and has the authority as he sees fit, to condemn his wife if she has done a shameful or offensive act. She is punished severely if she drinks wine; if she does something shameful with another man, she is condemned to death.

5. And Cato writes this about the husband’s right to put his wife to death:

“If you have caught your wife in adultery, you may kill her with impunity, without a trial; but whether you commit adultery with a woman (adulterares) or a man (adulterarere), your wife cannot lay a finger on you, nor does she have the right.”

*using an archaism here to reflect the archaism in the text

CATO THE ELDER

MAP:

Name:  Marcus Portius Cato

Date:  234-149 BCE

Works:  

[Many works, now lost]

REGION  1

BIO:

Timeline:

 Famous for his line “Delenda est Karthago,” Cato the Elder is an Italian-born Roman statesman who vociferously touted conservative and xenophobic values throughout his political and literary career.

 Early Roman Republic

AULUS GELLIUS	MAP:
Name:  Aulus Gellius Date:  2nd. c. CE Works:  Attic Nights	REGION  UNKNOWN
BIO:	Timeline:
Aulus Gellius lived during the 2nd century CE. His work, the Attic Nights, are a collection of anecdotes about literature, history, and grammar.  From internal evidence, we can deduce that he was in the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius’ social circle, having close friendships with Herodes Atticus and Fronto.	SILVER AGE LATIN