The Jewish nation also had their laws to the disfavour of the bachelor.
The rabbis affirm, that according to the Laws of Moses, every one who
has attained the age of twenty-one years is bound in conscience to
marry; and this makes one of their 613 precepts. We should suppose that
if this law ever had existence, it has been handed down by tradition, as
we cannot find any trace of it in the "Books of Moses." Their "wise men"
have many sayings in favour of marriage and against bachelors, one of
which is "He who does not take necessary means to leave heirs behind
him, _is_ not a man, and ought to be reputed as a homicide." The Law of
Lycurgus was not a shade more favourable to them: by his statutes,
bachelors were branded with infamy and disgrace; they were also excluded
from participating in the cares of government, from all offices either
civil or martial, and were not permitted to view either public shows or
sports. At certain of their feasts, they were forced to appear in the
marketplace, and there were exposed to the cutting sarcasm, jest, and
derision of the populace. At one feast, in particular, they were led to
the altars _by women_, amidst a concord of harmonious sounds, and there
were obliged to submit to blows and lashes with a rod, at the _merciful_
pleasure of a _merciful_ people.
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